Ah! My Goddess is owned by Kosuke Fujishima
Ranma 1/2 is owned by Rumiko Takahashi
For the Love of a Mortal
---------------------------------
by Anand Rao
Chapter 4: Demons Don't Dream, They Kill
__________________________________
Ranma stared at his brothers' disappearing forms as they chased after
the unknown demon. He wanted to go with them; he wanted to fight; to
help them, if necessary. He glanced at Belldandy and tried to relax his
face. (I gotta stay with her. -That's- my duty right now,) Ranma
thought to himself.
"Are they going to be all right?" Belldandy asked.
"They should be fine. They two of them together could take on any
demon, no problem!" Ranma said nonchalantly.
"You wanted to go with them, didn't you?" Belldandy asked.
"Huh? Well. . . maybe. But it really isn't a big deal. They should be
okay," Ranma replied.
"If you're worried-"
"It's all right, Belldandy. Really. Come on, I don't want you to be
late for class," Ranma replied, walking through the front gates.
"How did you know a demon was there?" Belldandy asked softly as she
walked next to Ranma.
"We can feel them sometimes. It depends how receptive we are to their
presence and how good they are at hiding from us," Ranma replied.
"Was it a very powerful one?"
"I don't know. At least, it wasn't more powerful than Mousse. He is
the god of Concealment. Only the strongest demons in hell can hide from
him," Ranma said.
"Then they'll be okay?" Belldandy asked once more.
"I told you not to worry! They'll be fine," Ranma replied.
"Well, okay," Belldandy said, smiling, "let's get to class!"
**************************************
"Where'd it go?"
"This way!"
"Are you sure Mousse?" Ryoga asked.
"I won't lose him! I may not be able to see him, but I can sense him
easily!"
The two gods were jumping from rooftop to rooftop following after the
yet unseen demon. They eventually stopped as they reached an abandoned
alleyway. "It's no use trying to hide! We -know- you're there!"
Mousse called out. Suddenly, the form of a tall, lean man appeared in
front of Mousse. He was wearing a blood-red kimono and easily held a
long black katana in his hands.
"Very good, godling! Yet knowing of my presence helps thee not! For
Heaven itself trembles in my wake, and thou can not defeat me!" the
demon proclaimed.
"Kuno!" Mousse exclaimed.
"What kind of game are you playing, Kuno?" Ryoga asked disgustedly.
"Game? This is no mere game! Thy arrogant brother doth seek his death!
Truly he is weak! Can he hope to overcome -my- Master? Why, he can not
even face me! He sends his two lackeys in his stead!"
"We're his brothers, not his lackeys!" Mousse yelled.
"Yeah! Where do -you- get off calling him arrogant and weak? No one
gets to insult Ranma but us!" Ryoga added.
"Feh. Have at thee then!" Kuno yelled as he charged towards Ryoga.
Mousse jumped into the air and launched a pair of daggers at Kuno. In
an amazing display of speed and dexterity, Kuno parried both the daggers
easily. "Damn! He's all yours, Bro!" Mousse yelled as he landed back
on the ground.
Ryoga smiled as the demon charged towards him. Kuno swung his katana
towards Ryoga, trying to cut him in half at the waist. The blade missed
Ryoga by inches as he jumped back; Kuno continued his attack. Ryoga was
able to dodge every strike Kuno made, but he was giving up ground.
Ryoga's smile changed to a frustrated frown; he -never- liked going on
the defensive. Kuno chased Ryoga out of the alley and onto a sidewalk.
Ryoga stood near a light post, staring warily at Kuno.
"So, dost thou admit defeat?" Kuno asked.
"Defeat? You haven't even -touched- me yet, you idiot!" Ryoga yelled.
"I am in a generous mood, godling, and sought to provide thee with some
warning of my prowess," Kuno explained.
"Just shut up and fight! The sound of your voice is making me sick!"
Ryoga retorted.
Kuno silently charged towards Ryoga, his katana singing softly as it
whizzed through the air. Ryoga ducked under the attack, the blade just
missing some stray strands of his hair. Kuno jumped back after the
attack and simply smiled.
"Are you finished Kuno? If you are-" Ryoga started to say as the light
post he was standing next to tilted in his direction.
"Pathetic. Truly, to fall for such a simple feint," Kuno said as the
light post fell towards Ryoga.
Ryoga nonchalantly held out his hand and easily caught the light post
before it could hit him. "You really are an idiot, Kuno. Why do you
think I'm known as the god of Strength?" he asked as he hefted the
large light post like a spear.
"Dost thou thinkst that such a crude weapon will serve well against me?"
Kuno asked, obviously unimpressed.
"I think it will serve me just fine," Ryoga replied, throwing the post
at the demon. Kuno brought his katana in front of him and, on contact,
it sliced through the post like warm butter.
"Indeed. Such a weapon is worthy of thee," Kuno said sarcastically. He
took a single step towards Ryoga and then he was suddenly wrapped in
chains.
"Never turn your back on one of us, demon," Ryoga said with a smile as
Mousse walked out of the alley, dozens of thick chains streaming from
his sleeves.
"Now, Kuno. What are you doing here?" Mousse asked.
"Is Knowledge truly power in thy eyes? Then speak to that whore,
Nabiki!" Kuno spat. The chains holding him suddenly fell to the ground
as he disappeared.
"Damn! Where'd he go?" Mousse demanded, looking around.
"I don't know. Kuno always -was- good at running away," Ryoga replied.
"Ryoga, do you think you could make it back to the University on your
own?" Mousse asked.
"Sure, I got the map, remember?" Ryoga replied confidently.
"Are you -really- sure?" Mousse asked dubiously.
"Yes!" Ryoga snapped, "Where are you going?" he asked.
"I'm going to try to find Kuno, you idiot, what else?" Mousse asked.
"Hey! Who are you calling an idiot, you blind, pathetic, no-good excuse
for a god?" Ryoga demanded.
"Blind? Pathetic? Ryoga. . ," Mousse growled, stalking towards his
brother.
*******************************************
Ranma, stifling a yawn, tried in vain to keep his eyes open. He sat in
the back of the large lecture hall that served as Belldandy's classroom.
The professor, an old man, with balding gray hair, was droning on about
the human body's skeletal system. Ranma glanced to his right at
Belldandy and grinned in amusement. She was staring at the professor in
rapt attention, conscientiously taking notes and actually listening to
the lecture.
Ranma looked back towards the professor as a folded up slip of paper
landed on his desk. He picked up the paper and looked curiously over
his left shoulder. A few rows back, three girls sat huddled together,
giggling quietly and looking openly at Ranma. He smiled and waved to
them, making sure that the professor was not paying attention. He once
again turned back to the front of the class and unfolded the sheet of
paper.
"Are you Bell's new boyfriend? (Y/N)" was written on the paper.
(Boyfriend? Man, rumors start up quick around here! Better stop this
before it gets outta hand,) Ranma thought. He grabbed a pencil that
Belldandy had lent him and wrote a large 'N' on the sheet of paper.
Folding up the note, he hesitantly glanced at Belldandy. He turned back
towards the girls, and tossed the note back to them.
Akemi caught the note as it was about to land on her desk. She unfolded
it as Yuri and Natsuko leaned over her shoulder to read Ranma's reply.
"I guess he isn't the one," Natsuko whispered in dismay.
"Are you kidding? Did you see the way she was looking at him before
class?" Akemi objected.
"Yeah, he's the one, all right. He just doesn't know it," Yuri chimed
in.
"Maybe we should. . . help things along," Akemi suggested.
"That's a great idea! Besides, it will give us a chance to get to know
him better," Natsuko observed.
"Oh?" Yuri asked.
"Yeah. If he doesn't like Bell, well, maybe he'll like someone else,"
Natsuko explained mischievously.
The girls waited patiently for class to end, then hurried to Belldandy
and Ranma's desks. "So Bell-chan, who's your new friend?" Akemi asked.
"Yeah, tell us where you've been hiding him!" Yuri mock demanded.
"Th-this is Ranma. He's an exchange student from the United States,"
Belldandy replied.
"Hi, nice to meet ya," Ranma grinned in reply.
"Ohhh, he's an American!" Yuri exclaimed.
"But he looks Japanese," Natsuko commented.
"And he speaks Japanese really well," Akemi commented.
"Well, uh, my parents are Japanese," Ranma explained.
"So, do you have a girlfriend?" Yuri cheerfully asked.
"Uh. . . well," Ranma floundered.
"Oh goodness! Look at the time! We really should be getting on to our
next class," Belldandy interjected.
"Yeah! I don't wanna make a bad impression on my first day," Ranma
said. The couple quickly stood up, gathered their things and walked out
of the classroom.
"You scared him, Yuri!" Natsuko accused.
"Interesting reaction though, wouldn't you say?" Akemi asked.
"Yeah, there's something there all right. They just need a little help,
I think," Yuri mused.
"So, are we going to help them, or what?" Natsuko asked.
"Of course we are!" Yuri exclaimed. "After all, this is Bell-chan's
first chance at romance, we -have- to help her." The two other girls
nodded their heads in solemn agreement, then decided their next course
of action.
******************************************************
"I'm sorry about that, Ranma," Belldandy said as they walked into their
next class.
"Aw, don't worry about it. People were bound to get curious about me
sooner or later. I just need to work on my cover story a little," Ranma
replied.
"I guess. . ."
"So, what's this class about?" Ranma asked.
"Calculus."
"That's math, right?" Ranma asked.
"Right," Belldandy giggled.
"Hey, I'm a warrior! I never needed to learn this stuff," Ranma
protested.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you," Belldandy replied, still
giggling slightly. "You gods are just like us, aren't you?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Ranma asked.
"You have strengths and weaknesses. You're not perfect, you're just
like human beings," Belldandy explained.
"Yeah, except we live longer, we don't get sick, we're stronger, better
looking, we-"
"And so modest, too," Belldandy sniffed disdainfully.
"Um, yeah." Ranma grinned sheepishly. "Look, all I'm saying is, we may
look and act the same, but we really are a lot different," he explained.
"What about demons?" Belldandy asked.
Ranma's face took on a subdued expression, but the professor entered the
classroom before he could reply. Belldandy quickly opened her math note
book and turned towards the front of the class. Ranma sighed and placed
his head on his desk. (Great. Looks like I'll have to get used to
sleeping during the day,) he thought.
********************************************************
"You're pathetic, Kuno! I knew Herb-sama should have chosen someone
else for this job!"
"Be Silent, Dog! The situation was well in hand! You and your foolish
brother need not have interfered," Kuno spat back. He was currently
arguing with two of his colleagues. One was a man with short black
hair, wearing malleable tiger-stripped body armor with matching shoulder
pads. The other had short blue-black hair on the front of his head and
brown fur and an extra set of ears on the back.
"Mint's right, Kuno. We saved your ass, but only cause Herb-sama still
has -some- use for you." The tiger-striped demon said.
"You can go back to hell now, Kuno. Lime and I can take things for
here," Mint said assertively.
"Surely not! The task of destroying the god of Justice was given to
me!" Kuno bellowed.
"Yeah, but you weren't supposed to let him know you were around yet!"
Lime pointed out. "Besides, you -know- the plan didn't include
attacking him or picking a fight with those two idiot brothers of his."
"They were of no importance, I would have dispatched them quite easily
if you had not interfered," Kuno sneered.
"Sure, Kuno," Ryoga replied sarcastically. Mint and Lime quickly
turned away from Kuno, searching for the god who had spoken.
"Yeah, you were -really- close to beating us, weren't you?" Mousse
chimed in.
Mint grinned in feral delight. "We're not supposed to touch Ranma, but
no one said any one about the two of you."
"Get ready, Bro," Mousse advised.
"Heh. This will give us enough points to at least even up with Ranma's
score," Ryoga realized.
"Although, defeating Kuno won't be worth too much," Mousse replied, just
as Lime jumped towards him.
************************************
Belldandy stared across the table at the god who seemed to be fidgeting
nervously in his seat. "Is there something wrong, Ranma?" she asked.
"Huh? No, why do you ask?"
"You haven't touched your lunch. Is. . . is there something wrong with
it?"
"I'm just. . . not hungry, I guess," he replied.
"You're worried about your brothers, aren't you?"
"What? No, those two idiots can take care of themselves. But they're
going up against a demon!" Ranma exclaimed. "They're gonna catch up to
my score."
"Score?" Belldandy asked, thoroughly confused.
"Yeah," Ranma said moodily, sinking a bit into his seat.
Belldandy frowned and continued to eat. "What exactly do you mean by
'score'?"
"Every time a god defeats a demon, he gets awarded a certain amount of
points. The amount of points per demon varies depending on the demon's
rank and strength," Ranma explained. "Oh, you also get extra points for
killing one."
"You. . . you actually keep score on that sort of thing?" Belldandy
asked, completely appalled by the idea.
"Well, sure. . ."
"But, why!"
Ranma blinked at Belldandy in confusion. "Why? They're demons, we're
gods! It's what we do," he explained.
"Why doesn't Kami-sama do something to stop that? I mean, He can't like
you killing each other."
"Well. . ," Ranma replied uncomfortably, "He tried. Things didn't work
out quite the way He expected."
"What happened?"
"Kami-sama set up the Double System. Each god was paired up with a
demon. If one of the pair died, so did the other. Kami-sama hoped that
this would keep us from warring with each other all the time."
"It sounds like it would work," Belldandy replied.
"It didn't. There was this demon prince named Saffron. He was kinda
crazy. He started killing all the demons around him. A. . . lot of
gods; my friends, died then. Kami-sama got rid of the Double System
right away, and we declared war on Saffron." Ranma's face took on a
haunted look and his eyes lost focus.
"Oh Ramna. . . I'm so sorry! I- I didn't know!"
Ranma blinked then smiled warmly at Belldandy. "It was a long time ago,
Bell." He nodded his head encouragingly at her doubtful look. "Really,
it's okay. Anyway, we've been fighting each other ever since. Nothing
major, just a skirmish here or there, usually one-on-one. I don't think
anyone is ready for another big war, and I doubt there's anyone left in
hell strong enough to lead all the demons again."
"So you and your brothers just. . . fight and grant wishes all the
time?"
"We fight and train a lot. The wish granting. . . well, it's kinda a
part-time job, ya know?" Ranma replied.
"I'd think that granting wishes would be more fun. It must be wonderful
to help people like that. I wish I could do that." Belldandy sighed
wistfully and smiled at Ranma.
"You shoulda thought about that a few days ago," Ranma quipped.
"Hmmm? Oh yeah!" Belldandy exclaimed. "Ranma, what -would- have
happened if I had wished that I could grant wishes?"
"I don't know," Ranma admitted. "Maybe you'd become a-" Ranma suddenly
clutched his stomach and grunted in pain. "Oww. . ."
"Ranma! What's wrong?" Belldandy asked, suddenly worried.
"Ryoga's. . . hurt," Ranma replied.
"You can feel his pain?" Belldandy asked, gently rubbing the spot on
Ranma's torso where he seemed to be hurt.
"Yeah. I'm connected to all of my family, but to Ryoga and Mousse in
particular."
"Are you okay? Is he okay?" Belldandy's voice quavered.
"I'm fine, but I gotta go. Those idiots must be in trouble." Ranma
gently removed Belldandy's hand from his torso and stood up.
"Ranma. . ." Belldandy suddenly clutched his shirt.
"Hmm?"
"Just. . . be careful, please?" She looked down, refusing to meet his
gaze.
"Hey, I do this sorta thing all the time," he reassured her, grinning
confidently. "I'll meet ya back at your house later."
"All right. Bring your brothers along, I'll cook dinner for them,"
Belldandy offered.
"Great!" Ranma held Belldandy's hand for a few moments and smiled warmly
at her. "And don't worry, we'll be fine."
******************************************
Ryoga gritted his teeth in pain as he pulled the blade out of his
stomach. "You'll pay for that," he managed to say, glaring angrily at
Lime.
"Yeah, right," Lime snorted. "You're dead, god; and you know it."
Mint turned towards Mousse, a smug grin on his face. "You're next," he
predicted.
Mousse took a step back, lifted his arms, and five short blades appeared
in each of his hands. He took a second to glance around the alley. He
knew that Kuno was down and out of the fight, lying on the floor behind
him. Ryoga was leaning against a wall on his left, blood pouring from
his open wound. Mint and Lime stood in front of him, several yards
away. (Ryoga, can you teleport?) he telepathically asked his brother.
(No. . ,) Ryoga replied.
"Damn," Mousse murmured. He leaped into the air and threw all ten
blades at the two demons. Lime jumped back out of range of the blades
while Mint quickly caught the five that were thrown in his direction.
"Thanks for the gift," Mint replied. He threw the blades back to
Mousse.
"Damn, damn, damn!" Mousse repeated. He dodged two of the blades,
caught the third, and batted away the remaining two with his right hand.
As quick and agile as Mousse was, the blades only distracted him for a
second; plenty of time for a speed demon like Mint.
As Mousse took care of the last two blades, Mint teleported behind him
and slammed his elbow into Mousse's lower back. Mousse flew forward
with a grunt and landed face first on the ground. "Time to end this,"
Mint said.
"Spirits of Justice, heed my call! Defeat that demon, once and for
all!"
Mint looked up just in time to see a large green ball of energy flow
from Ranma's hands and hit him squarely in the chest. "I thought you
could cast that spell silently now," Mousse said as he heard Mint crash
into the back of the alley.
"So I was feelin' a bit dramatic," Ranma said defensively. "You guys
okay?"
"I'm fine. Ryoga. . ."
"I know, I felt it," Ranma replied. "Take care of him." Ranma ran
further into the alley, but found no sign of Mint. He looked back, but
could not see or even feel Lime or Kuno's presence. He sighed and went
back to check on his fallen brother. "How bad is it, Mousse?"
Ryoga groaned and tried to sit up. "I'll be fine, just give me a few
seconds to catch my breath."
"Sit still, Moron," Mousse snapped then turned towards Ranma. "He's lost
a lot of blood. We need a healing spell and quick!"
"Right, right. . . got a phone?" Ranma asked. The god of Concealment
reached into his robes and pulled out a small cellular phone and tossed
it to Ranma. "Thanks." Ranma dialed a number and waited for the other
side to pick up.
"Goddess Relief Office," a female voice greeted.
"Hey, this is Ranma. Transfer me to Urd, will ya?"
"Ranchan!" the voice exclaimed.
"Ucchan? What are you doing at the Relief Office?" Ranma asked.
"Just filling in while some of the other goddesses get better. What are
you doing on earth?"
"Look, I'll tell ya about it later, but I -really- need to talk to Urd
now," Ranma replied.
"Um, okay. Call me later!" Ukyo put Ranma on hold and dialed Urd's
extension. After a few rings, the line picked up.
"Whoever you are, call back later, I'm busy!" an impatient voice
snapped.
"Urd! Wait, it's Ranma!"
"What do you want this time," Urd sighed.
"Look, I need ya to come to earth, right now."
"Are you nuts? Or have you finally lost your brains along with your
manhood?" Urd asked.
"Ryoga was attacked by a demon and I don't know any healing spells, get
down here, now!" Ranma barked.
Urd winced and held the phone receiver away from her ear. (Jeez, must be
bad if he's actually talking back,) she realized. "Fine, I'll be right
there, just turn on your television."
"I don't -have- a television, and I doubt Mousse is carrying one in his
robes," Ranma said, glancing questioningly at his brother. Mousse merely
shook his head.
"That means I'm going to have to teleport to your location." Urd sighed.
"Ranma, do you know how much energy it takes to teleport from Heaven to
Earth?"
"Urd. . ."
"Alright, alright. . . I'll be there in a sec," Urd replied.
"Good." Ranma turned off the phone and tossed it back to Mousse. A
few seconds later, with a flash of light and a puff of smoke, Urd
appeared in front of Ranma. The platinum-haired goddess was wearing a
black bikini top, a short black leather skirt and a large white lab
coat.
"Where's the patient?" she asked. Ranma and Mousse stood aside and Urd
knelt near Ryoga. "Oh, that's a nasty one," she remarked, studying the
wound. She pulled a small vial out of her coat pocket and held it out
to Ryoga. "Open up, sweetie."
Ryoga's eyes widened in fear and he tried to back away. "Uh. . . aren't
ya gonna cast a healing spell?" Ranma nervously asked.
"If -someone- had turned on a television like I asked him to, I wouldn't
have used up all my energy teleporting down here," Urd explained. "This
potion is the only way. Come on, Ryoga."
Ryoga shook his head rapidly. "No thanks," he said weakly.
"Urd. . . your potions. . ," Ranma began.
"What about my potions?" Urd demanded.
"They don't work!" Ryoga exclaimed, then groaned in pain.
"Don't be silly, of course it'll work. I just improved the formula for
this one, too," Urd insisted. Ranma cringed at the word 'improved'.
"Now, open your mouth," Urd commanded. She broke the seal on the vial
and prepared to pour its contents down Ryoga's throat.
"I don't want-" Ryoga began to protest. Urd grabbed hold of Ryoga's
face and held his mouth open.
"You big baby," she snapped, quickly dumping the liquid in the vial into
Ryoga's open mouth. The god of Strength gurgled and coughed as the
potion flowed down his throat. The wound on his stomach fizzled and
hissed, and slowly sealed. "See? I told you!" Urd exclaimed, grinning
smugly at Ranma.
"I guess. . . it's okay," Ryoga said, surprise and relief flowing
through him in equal measure.
"Of course it is!" Urd snapped. "Honestly, try to do a god a favor. .
."
"Uh. . . I feel kind of strange," Ryoga said.
"What do ya mean?" Ranma asked.
"I. . . I don't know. I just. . ." A bright blue glow surrounded
Ryoga and be began to shrink and change shape. "What's happening to
me?" His voice rose a few octaves and he began to shriek, then grunt. A
puff of blue smoke exploded from Ryoga and the other three gods stepped
back.
"Ryoga?" Mousse hesitantly queried.
Ranma turned towards Urd. "Look, I don't know much about healing, but
was that supposed to happen?"
"S-sure. . . it's all part of the p-process," Urd weakly replied.
The smoke cleared, and Ranma walked back towards Ryoga. The god of
Justice looked down and groaned. Urd and Mousse quickly walked up
behind him.
"What's wrong, isn't he healed?" Mousse asked. He looked over Ranma's
shoulder and blinked at what he saw. "Um. I'm kind of blind. He hasn't
really turned into. . . into. . ."
"Yes, Mousse," Ranma sighed, "he has." Mousse grinned, then began
chuckling.
Urd followed Mousse's gaze and blushed guiltily. "I guess. . . I'd
better work on an antidote," she said contritely.
"Yeah, before someone decides they want a fresh steak for dinner," Ranma
wearily sighed. Standing in front of him was a small, and very irate
cow.
"Moo!" Ryoga agreed.
********************************
End Chapter 4.
********************************
Notes:
Come on, you really didn't expect a pig, did you?
All forms of C&C welcome: public, private, constructive, flames, MSTs,
complete silence, and even compliments!
Well, I never thought I'd finish this chapter, yet here it is. Chapter
5. . . gods, it's not close to being planned yet. I took a bit of
creative license, I think, with regards to how the gods and demons
powers work, but this fic is so far off canon already, so I didn't think
it would matter. If you think something would work better, especially
you AMG experts out there, please let me know.
I am currently putting all my effort into my UY-Ranma cross, so
everything else will be on hold until it's done. I got about 15 more
scenes to write, but it's going fairly quick. I need a title for it, so
those of you who have been reading the WIP versions, please give me your
suggestions.
Namaste,
Anand
Anand Rao
anandr@earthlink.net
anandr@deranged-otaku.com
http://www.deranged-otaku.com/
"He's a sex object. He asks for sex and women object."
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