In preparation for the production of Act Five of Onna: Red Side, I'm going
back through the first four acts and cleaning up stuff I missed during the
first revision, plus adding some new material in places. For many of the
newcomers to the FFML, this will be your first exposure to O:RS, and I hope
you enjoy it. For those who have followed the series since it began a year
and a half ago, please enjoy the Perfect Collection release while I prepare
to begin the next act of the story.

I'll try to post about two chapters of this each week. C&C is always
welcome.



   *hajime*

The thin, cool mist he'd encountered at every step of his journey so far
thickened as he descended further down the trail. He had to tread more
carefully as visibility was reduced to nil. Ahead of him, he heard the
sound of water dripping. He continued onward.

A little farther down the trail, he heard faint voices. Straining to hear,
he could make out two: one was laughing cruelly. The other was...a girl
crying?

Gritting his teeth, he strode down the trail, unmindful of the blinding
fog. The mist began to part, and a spectacle from hell unfolded before him.

The valley was filled with small, shallow pools, their surfaces pristine,
unperturbed by the atrocities being committed only meters away.

At the opposite end of the valley, tied to a splintered, uneven bamboo
crucifix was a young girl, perhaps fifteen at most, with long, braided red
hair. She was filthy, naked, covered with welts and bruises, and crying.
Dark rings circled her watery crimson eyes.

Her tormentor stood before her, his posture arrogant and his laughter cold
and mocking. Beside the tormentor lay a pile of sundry torture implements.
If the ruddy stains on them were any indication, all had seen recent use.

Suddenly, he found himself no longer able to move. Rooted to his spot on
the trail, he could only watch in horror as the cruel man raped his young
prisoner. Her screams rent deep gashes in his soul. He struggled to no
avail against the paralysis which forced him to stand by helplessly. Angry
tears streamed from his eyes in tandem with the blood and other fluids
trickling down her bruised thighs.

Her tormentor then turned to face him. An arrogant sneer darkened the all
too familiar features...the ones he saw in the mirror every day.

Saotome Ranma awoke screaming.



    Ranma 1/2
     "ONNA"

       Red
        Side



Disclaimers:
Ranma 1/2 property of Takahashi Rumiko, Shogakukan, VIZ Communications.
Magic Knight RayEarth property of CLAMP, Kodansha.
Characters and situations borrowed from or mirroring other series copyright
the respective owners and used without permission.


   ACT ONE: The Mysterious, Fiery Pigtailed Girl


   Chapter 1: Into cruel dreams


Genma lazily whapped Ranma over the head with a sign that read "Shut up,
boy!" before rolling over and going back to sleep. The Tendou family came
charging into the room, Akane at the head of the pack. "Ranma!"

Ranma rubbed his head. His hand came away drenched in sweat. "Chikushou..."
he swore. He took several ragged, shuddering breaths in rapid succession.

"Ranma-kun, are you alright?" Kasumi knelt beside his futon. Akane knelt on
the other side, concern evident on her face.

Ranma took a moment to compose himself, then softly said, "Yeah...I'm okay.
Just...just a bad dream." Assuming his usual cavalier demeanor, he said, in
a still somewhat shaky voice, "Ah, it ain't nothin'. I musta just ate too
much of your cookin' last night Akane."

Akane's expression went from concerned, to embarrassed, to outraged.
"BAKA!" she screamed, and stalked out of the room.

"Ara..." Kasumi said. Then she started. "I need to finish making
breakfast!" With that, she hurried daintily from the room.

Nabiki clucked her tongue at Ranma. "Good one Saotome," she snickered, and
made her way back to her own room.

Soun bawled for a few minutes, lamenting the quarrel between the two
iinazuke. Genma slept on, thoroughly unperturbed.

******

A few minutes later, Ranma staggered into the bathroom. "Oh man...I feel
like hell..." Stepping in front of the mirror, he groaned. His reflection
revealed a respectable amount of stubble, bleary eyes, dissheveled hair,
and bags under his eyes. "Che...I look like hell too," he muttered.
Stripping off his tank top, but leaving his boxers on, he picked up a
washbucket, and filled it with cold water. Bracing himself, he dumped it
over his head. "Brrrr....cold..." Shaking off the excess droplets, Ranma
was about to commence with the morning toilette, when her gaze locked on
her reflection.

Slowly, the image in the mirror changed. No longer was she looking at her
drowsy, damp, bleary visage. She was now staring into watery auburn eyes
which gazed back at her from a bruised, bleeding, tear-streaked face. The
girl in the mirror was covered in welts and bruises and grime. Her eyes
held pleading and agony. Ranma could do little more than stare back at her.

Until the girl in the mirror spoke.

<Help me. Please...help me. Rescue me. Set me free! Please! Help me!>

Ranma screamed and scrambled away from the mirror.

Once again, the rest of the household tore into the room. Akane looked
worried again, but slightly annoyed. Kasumi looked genuinely concerned.
Soun was bawling again. Genma wore no expression. Nabiki smirked.

"Really, Ranma. Twice in one morning?" Nabiki chided.

"That...the mirror...girl...my dream..." Ranma gasped, on the verge of
hyperventilating.

Akane frowned. "Ranma...what are you talking about?"

Ranma pointed at the mirror...and froze. All it revealed was her own
panicked visage.

She blinked. "What in the...?"

Kasumi prompted, "Ranma? Are you alright?"

Ranma stepped back shakily from the mirror. "Ah...yeah. I think so. Yeah."

With that, the Tendous and Genma retreated from the bathroom. Akane glanced
back at Ranma with worry evident on her face, before closing the door
behind her.

Completing her morning activities in silence, Ranma contemplated the dream,
the vision in the mirror. *What the hell's goin' on here?*

Returned to male form, Ranma made his way downstairs, hoping to put the
strange visions out of his mind with a good breakfast.

He decided to ignore the ghostly image of a long, scarlet braid in the
mirror as he edged past it.

******

[China]

:Be careful down there, daughter. It's dangerous.:

:I'm alright, Father. Don't worry about me.:

Plum searched the small crevice at the base of the cliff overlooking the
west side of Jyusenkyou. Her father had spotted something down there, and
she was the only one small enough to check it out.

:There doesn't seem to be anything down here, Father...:

Suddenly, a bright red light flared from the corner of the crevice. Plum
frowned, and made her way over to it.

:How odd...:

Wedged between two rocks was a slightly dingy white gauntlet with a red
jewel set into the back of the handguard. As she examined it, the jewel
began strobing, nearly blinding her with its pulsing crimson glow. With a
shriek, Plum dropped it.

:Daughter! Are you alright?:

:Yes, Father. It just startled me. What is it?:

:I don't know, Daughter. I have seen nothing of this sort before.:

The jewel abruptly stopped flashing. Plum picked up the gauntlet and
examined it more closely, frowning. She could have sworn it was dirty a
minute ago; now, it was pristine white. It also seemed a slight bit larger.
:This thing is too strange,: Plum commented. Tucking it into the knapsack
slung over her shoulder, she made her way out of the crevice.


   Chapter 2: The Fiery Pigtailed One


"Ranma? Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

Ranma was walking, not on the fence as usual, but on the sidewalk. He was
gazing down at the ground, and there seemed to be a tangible aura of
despair about him. "I'm fine Akane."

"No, Ranma...you're not. Has it got something to do with that dream?"

Ranma's head snapped up, and he glared at Akane. "Che... what would YOU
know about it? Just...forget it. Don't bring it up again, alright?"

Akane scowled. "Fine then, Ranma! See if I care!"

Ranma sighed. After a moment, he murmured softly, "Akane...I'm sorry."

Akane did a double take. Ranma? Apologizing? "Ranma...?"

Ranma sighed, and began, "It's just....you got no idea..."

Akane stopped walking, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Ranma...tell
me."

Ranma took a deep breath. "Well, it's like this," he began...

...when Benshou-san, a local who had a bad habit of dumping water out of
his window, chose that moment to do exactly that. Right on Ranma's head.

"Sorry about that!" he called, before shutting his window.

Akane watched Ranma expectantly. She wasn't sure if the slight redhead
would tell her story or grumble about the unfairness of it all. Ranma just
sighed, and said, "We're gonna be late to class."

With the discussion effectively ended, the two girls continued toward
Fuurinkan.

******

Ryouga grunted. This wasn't one of his worst days. Not one of the best, but
it could be worse. At least he was back in Nerima. He knew that for a fact;
he'd just seen Ukyou leave her shop, and was following her to the school.

Of course, things weren't incredibly good either. At the moment he was
stuck in pig form, and he'd somehow managed to misplace his favorite
bandana. How the thing came off, he had no idea. At least he had his spare,
the solid yellow one he'd worn the day IT happened.

Up ahead, he saw Akane and Ranma. Akane was a plus. Ranma was a definite
minus.

Oh well, he'd come this far. Might as well reunite with his beloved...

******

"Buii! Bukii!"

Akane turned to the source of the sound, and her eyes lit up with joy.
"Look Ranma! It's P-chan! P-chan, c'mere baby!"

P-chan trotted happily up to Akane. Ranma looked on with mild amusement. As
Akane swept P-chan into her arms, she noticed something different. "Ranma,
look! P-chan's got a new bandana! I wonder where he got it?"

Ranma noticed this, and for a moment, her eyes lit up as well. "Oh,
kawaii!" she enthused in a rather bubbly voice. P-chan blinked. Akane
glanced at Ranma in mild shock. "Uhh...Ranma? Are you sure you're feeling
okay?"

Whatever it was, it had passed. "Yeah Akane, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Well...it's just, you were acting kinda weird there for a second."

Ranma blinked, then shrugged. "Eh, let's forget about it and get to school.
I don't wanna have another run-in with Hinako-sensei this mornin'."

P-chan continued to eye Ranma warily as they continued onward. The morning
sun could be playing tricks on him, but he almost swore Ranma's eyes had
changed color briefly. *I'm fairly sure Ranma's eyes aren't red in girl
mode...*

******

As the group approached the gates of Fuurinkan, they were greeted by Kunou.
As usual, he was strutting around with his bokken slung over his shoulder.
Upon seeing them, his eyes sparkled, and he launched into one of his
trademark speeches.

"Ah, on this beautiful and clear day, fortune doth indeed favor the noble
scion of the house of Kunou..."

"Well, y'know what they say...fortune favors the foolish," Ranma
interjected. Akane snickered.

Kunou paused, and shot a somewhat amused glance at Ranma before continuing.
"And so the fiery pigtailed one indeed doth make jest at her love. From the
lips of any other, the taunt would garner a severe thrashing. However, fair
goddess, from thine lips it is not a barb, but an invitation to do
honorable battle for the pleasure of DATING with me!" With that, Kunou
launched himself at Ranma, bokken slicing the air before him.

Ranma did a series of backflips, placing herself out of the range of
Kunou's striking pattern. Akane expected this to be the moment in which
Ranma downed Kunou with one kick. However, something most unexpected
happened.

Ranma's eyes glazed over. When she came back into focus,
she shrieked as Kunou's bokken almost tore her gut open. Diving wildly to
the side, she sprang back to her feet. She seemed to be concentrating on
something. Then, after a moment, she looked down at her left hand, as if
something were missing. As Kunou's sword began raking towards her again,
she rolled several feet to the side. Springing up once again, she raised
her right hand over her head, palm up.

"What's that idiot doing?" Akane wondered quietly. P-chan, from his vantage
point in her arms, was wondering the same thing. As much as he disliked
Ranma, he knew this fight should have been over before it started.

Suddenly, something FLARED above Ranma's right hand. Expression fierce, she
shouted, "HONOU NO...YAAAAAAA!!!" and brought the raised arm down, pointing
straight at Kunou.

Several narrow streaks of bright flame erupted from Ranma's hand. Kunou's
eyes widened, and he frantically tried to parry the fire with his bokken.
The wooden sword was immediately incinerated by the burning projectiles.
The flames slammed into Kunou and knocked him across the courtyard, into
the wall of the building.

Akane and P-chan stared at this spectacle with wide eyes. "What on
earth...?" Akane wondered aloud. P-chan bweed softly. If Ranma had a new
attack like that...

Suddenly, Ranma began blinking rapidly. She stared at her hand, then at the
pile of smoldering ashes marking what once had been Kunou's bokken. Then
her gaze traveled to the slightly blackened Kunou himself.

Akane rushed over to her. "Ranma?"

Ranma blinked a few times, then said, in a somewhat hoarse voice, "Yeah?"

"What....what did you just do?"

Ranma shook her head. "I...I don't know. I...can't remember."

******

Nabiki grumbled irritably as she trailed Sasuke, who hauled Kunou's carcass
to Tofuu-sensei's clinic. "Idiot...both this one and Ranma...what the hell
was that all about anyway?"

Kunou groaned once in response.

Dragging Kunou through the entrance, the small group was greeted by a
rather concerned Tofuu. "What happened to him?" Tofuu-sensei asked, nodding
at the unconscious kendoist.

"Ranma happened to him, what else?" Nabiki smirked. "But this was different
than usual."

Tofuu-sensei raised an eyebrow. "How so?" As they talked, Sasuke lifted
Kunou onto an examination table, and quietly slipped out of the clinic.

"Well," Nabiki frowned thoughtfully, "Ranma hit him with some kind of fire
blast."

"You mean a chi attack," Tofuu-sensei corrected as he examined the burns on
Kunou's chest.

Nabiki shook her head. "No, sensei. Ranma doesn't have any chi techniques
like what he did this morning. This was FIRE."

Tofuu-sensei frowned, and began probing the burns. "Well, these burns will
heal...but you're right. A chi strike wouldn't leave burns like these."
Frowning, he picked up the phone.

"Who are you calling, sensei?" Nabiki asked.

Without responding, Tofuu began speaking into the phone. "Shampoo? This is
Ono Tofuu. Could you please ask your great-grandmother to come over to my
clinic? It's urgent. Thanks."

Nabiki stared incredulously at the doctor. "What on earth do you want with
that old crone?"

Tofuu frowned, and sighed. "There's something about these burns...I'm not
sure what to make of them."

That took Nabiki by surprise. "A problem you can't fix?"

Tofuu slumped into a chair. "You have to remember, Nabiki...I may be good
at handling a lot of the more...unusual situations that show up around
here, but I'm still fairly young and inexperienced. Cologne is over four
times as old as I am...and experienced with magic."

Nabiki's eyes widened. "You're saying that what happened to Kunou was
magic?"

Tofuu looked pensive. "I'm not sure. That's why I want to get her opinion
on it."

******

Ranma was unusually quiet at lunch. Akane was worried. Ryouga was too; he
was watching Ranma closely from his porcine vantage point.

Ukyou walked over and sat down with them. "Ranchan? I heard about what
happened with Kunou this morning."

"I don't want to talk about it," Ranma said.

Ukyou shot a glance at Akane, who sighed. "He's been like this all day."

Suddenly, water rained down on the group, and a lecherous old voice called
out, "Ranma-chan! Come let an old man console you in your time of need!"

Happousai attempted to glomp Ranma, only to be flattened by a spatula.
"Leave Ranchan alone. He's had a rough day."

"But...but I only wanted to comfort the sweet young thing!" Happousai
protested.

Suddenly, Ranma stood. Hatred smouldered in her eyes. In a dead quiet
voice, she said, "Why can't you sick, evil people just leave me alone?"

Everyone stared at her in shock. A nonexistant wind stirred her clothing
and her pigtail. Akane and Ukyou backed away nervously. Happousai examined
her curiously.

"But Ranma-chan...I only wanted..."

"I've had it with you people treating me like...tying me
up....doing...doing..." she shuddered visibly. Everyone was staring at her
strangely now. With a scowl, and with undisguised hatred burning in her
eyes, which seemed to have turned a dark shade of crimson, she snarled, "NO
MORE! I'm not taking ANY MORE!" She extended her cupped hands in front of
her, and a small, angry red nexus of energy formed between them.

Ukyou gaped in shock. Akane yelled, "EVERYONE GET DOWN!"

Happousai could only stare like a deer caught in the headlights.
*Masaka...what on earth is...this...power?*

Sparks danced along Ranma's hands, fueling the energy between her palms,
expanding it, making it brighter. Then she pulled her hands back to her
side, and with a shout of "AKAI INAZUMA!", she pushed forward, releasing a
white-hot ball of energy, surrounded by an angry red corona. It tore into
Happousai before the old pervert could react.

Happousai was slammed across the courtyard and through the fence. He lay
out in the street, clothing and what little hair he had left on fire. A
long, scorched trench in the earth marked the passage of the fire blast,
grass still smoldering in places. Ranma trembled, then slumped to the
ground. Ukyou and Akane rushed over to her, while everyone else backed away
nervously.

"Ranma!"

"Ranchan!"

Ranma was unconcious.

******

[China]

:It lasted much longer this time, Father.:

The Guide and Plum were standing over a small table, on which rested the
white gauntlet. The gem in the handguard pulsed one last time, then went
dark again.

:What do you suppose this thing is, Father?:

:I have no idea. I've asked one of the elder Niichieju to take a look at
it.:

There was a knock on the door. Plum opened the door, and a tall, leathery
old woman with graying yet dark hair stepped into the cottage.

:Show me this item.:

The Guide presented the gauntlet to her. She examined it thoughtfully,
frowning.

:This object...has tremendous magical power.:

:Elder, what is it?:

The woman shook her head. :I do not know.: After a pause, during which she
continued to examine the gauntlet, she nodded decisivly. :Keeper of the
cursed springs...I would ask of you to send this object to Japan.:

:Japan?: The Guide was puzzled thoroughly.

The elder nodded, her expression impatient, as though it should be obvious.
:I would have the eldest of our tribe, Kho Lon, examine this artifact. She
will more be able to discern its origin and its purpose than I or any other
in the village would.:

The Guide nodded. :Very well then. It shall be done.:

The elder removed a few gold coins from the sash around her waist. :Use
these coins to insure that the package will be delivered immediately. To
the modern world, they are worth enough to buy many luxuries. You will be
able to have the object delivered very swiftly.:

The Guide nodded and took both the coins and the item. :As you wish, Elder.
Thank you for coming.:

:It is I who would thank you for bringing this object to our attention.
Such powerful magic as this is not something I would care to have lying
around without knowing what its purpose is.:

With that, the Elder departed for her village, and the Guide and Plum
departed for the nearest town with delivery services.



---------------------------------------------------------------------------
That's the fullest moon I've ever seen...

The Eternal Lost Lurker
Insane evil fanfic writer type nutcase otaku
White Knight of the Knightly Order of Mihoshi Enthusiasts
eternallostlurker@worldnet.att.net
http://www.geocities.com/~etlostlurker
ICQ# 22559724