The prologue is finished. Go ahead and C&C it, and gimme
your thoughts.
Disclaimer: I haven't taken my Prozac, so be warned. Oh,
and, by the way, this is a non-profit Fanfiction. Please
don't sue me, Ms. Takahashi-sama!
Hazards of Redemption
Prologue
"I'm tellin' you, Akane, somethin' weird is about ta
happen!"
Tendou Akane looked up at her pigtailed fiance. This
wasn't unusual, as he was taller than she was. The fact
that she had to look way up, since he was walking on the
fence, wasn't all that unusual, either. "Look, Ranma, it's
just been quiet for a while."
"Right! So somethin' big must be coming, you know,
like the calm before the earthquake." Ranma stopped for a
moment, and looked around. Reassured, he continued walking.
"I jus' think it's way too quiet. I mean, Shampoo ain't
parked her bike on me in a while, the Kunos are outta the
country, an' Ryouga ain't been around for two weeks."
"First," said the girl, "it's the calm before the
_storm_, not the earthquake. And, second, all that doesn't
mean that anything weird is going to happen soon. That is,
weirder than usual."
The pair reached the gates of the Tendou home, and
walked in. "We're home!" called Akane.
"We're back here," came Nabiki's voice.
As they walked back to the back yard, the Tendou
patriarch's voice carried to them. "Masterful move,
Saotome."
A second voice responded. "Yes, good panda. But I have
known that gambit for over three hundred years." The voice
was deep, and guttural, with the overtones of a bull being
slowly mutilated. Ranma sent a glance to Akane, and they
continued around the corner.
The sight was one that should have shocked them, but
didn't. Genma, in panda form, was sitting at the shogi
board, and Soun was with him. However, the eldest Tendou
was not across from Genma, but beside him. Instead, the
panda's opponent was an Oni. A seven foot tall,
muscle-bound, red-skinned, four-horned oni. With spikes. And
glowing green eyes.
"Would you like some more tea, Mr. Oni-san?" asked the
perennially cheerful Kasumi.
"Why, yes. Thank you." The oni looked at Soun. "That
_was_ the proper use of those words, was it not?"
"It most certainly was. Saotome, watch it. That move
has left you wide open."
"Growf," muttered the polymorphed martial artist. He
pulled out a sign, which read, 'Ah, yes. He's falling into
my trap!'
Akane looked at Ranma. "Okay. You were right."
***************************************************
The Tendou's dinner table was used to crowds. However,
Genma was usually the only one that was large enough to count
as a crowd by himself. With both the large panda and their
supernatural guest, there wasn't much room for the rest of
the family.
"Ow! Watch those shoulder spikes," complained Ranma,
holding one hand to his right eye.
"Sorry. Perhaps I should remove myself from the table."
The Oni did his best to appear apologetic, but the toothy
visage he presented instead twisted into something that could
curdle milk at ten paces.
"Umm, nah. Don't worry about it." A blur of chopsticks
later, and one of his father's egg rolls disappeared into the
young martial artist's bottomless stomach.
"Growyeouch!" complained Genma, as his paw encountered the
spikes at the Oni's elbow.
"Heh, serves ya right, Pops. Ya shouldn't steal a
guest's food," gloated Ranma.
"It is no matter. I do not need food, anyway," rumbled
the Oni. As an attempt to keep the peace, it would have
worked. That is, if his voice didn't sound like a freight
train colliding with a herd of buffalo.
Shortly after dinner was over, and the dishes done, the
family settled down in the living room. "Okay," said Akane,
"first of all, what do we call you? I mean, we don't want to
call you 'hey you' when we want to talk to you."
Sitting up very straight, and very formal, the huge Oni
cleared his throat. "I am called He Who Has Destroyed the
Virtue Of Maidens, Devastated the Huan Mao Dynasty, Defiled
the... "
"Umm, okay, how about something simple, and not so...
evocative," asked Nabiki.
"Very well. Call me... um," he glanced at the cover of a
nearby manga, "Rumiko."
"Y'know, that's, um, a girl's name," said Ranma.
"Oh. Then what should it be?"
Ranma scratched the back of his head. "How about
Kenchiro? It's a common enough name."
"Sounds good to me," said Nabiki. "Now, Ranma and Akane
haven't heard the story, yet. Why don't you fill them in?"
Once again, the Oni sat up straight. "The story begins
with the last of the Takamaru clan, ancestral enemies of the
Tendous... "
***************************************************
Takamaru Yoshi traced the summoning circle with the
incense for a third time, as prescribed by the ancient text
before him. He continued chanting, filling the words with
hate.
A swirl of darkness filled the circle. With every
syllable that spilled from the old man's lips, it grew, and
gathered into form. Soon, the ritual was complete, and the
Oni stood in the center. "What is your command, my master?"
The wizened figure scowled. "I am the last of the
Takamaru clan. For centuries, the Takamaru and Tendou clans
have been enemies. Now, I stand, a childless old man, and the
last of my clan. The Tendous are thriving, and are poised on
yet another generation. That must not be.
"I want you to destroy everyone in the Tendou household.
I want their last child to die before I do. The Takamaru clan
must outlive that hellspawn."
The Oni nodded. "It shall be done." Transforming once
more into a black mist, it left the room.
Yoshi stared into the darkness of the basement room for
several minutes. Secure in his knowledge of the destruction
of the Tendou clan, he settled onto the floor, and fell
asleep. Sometime in the next half hour, the Takamaru clan was
no more.
The Tendou home was quiet. Soun and Genma had left for
the baths not half an hour earlier, and the younger siblings
were at school. Kasumi stood in the kitchen, singing to
herself, and happily preparing a little something for snacks,
later in the day.
Gliding over to the countertop, she set down a cookie
sheet, and began pressing lumps of dough onto its floured
surface. Behind her, a wisp of darkness grew, and took form.
The red-skinned Oni drew its hands back, and its fanged mouth
broke into a cruel grin. "Woman," it growled, "prepared to
die."
Kasumi turned around. Smiling, she said, "Oh, I didn't
know we had a visitor. Would you like some tea?"
"Did you not hear me, woman?" growled the Oni.
"Yes, you said you were going to kill me," she said.
"Um, right. Yes, I am here to kill you, and all the rest
of the Tendou household! I have no time for tea."
"Are you sure, Mr. Oni-san? I have some rice cakes,
too," she said.
The Oni stared at her for a moment. "I tell you I am
here to kill your entire family, and you offer me
hospitality?"
"Yes."
"Oh. Very well. I guess I can accept the offer. It has
been a thousand years since someone was this polite."
Shrugging, the Oni followed her out to the dinner table.
"So, Mr. Oni-san, did Happosai send you? He's always so
thoughtful, sending various guests our way." She carefully
poured his tea. "Of course, most of them aren't trying to
kill us. At least, other than Ranma, that is."
"Um, no, he didn't. Your ancestral enemy, Takamaru
Yoshi, sent me. I wouldn't be so free with this information,
if I had not felt my master's death ten minutes ago." He
lifted the teacup to his mouth, one pinky extended. He took a
sip, then lowered it again. "So, mortal, tell me. Why are you
so calm, knowing what you do about why am I am here?"
"Inner peace."
"Inner peace?" he repeated.
"Yes. More tea?" she offered.
"Well, since the primary reason I was summoned is no
more, I guess I could wait some more before I destroy you."
He held his cup out for her to fill, then sipped his tea
again. "How did you achieve this inner peace?"
"I just did. Did you say that your primary reason is no
more?" asked Kasumi.
"Actually, yes. Takamaru wanted me to destroy you, so
that the Tendou line would be destroyed before his own line
ended. As he was the last of his line, and he is now dead, my
mission cannot be accomplished."
"Well, then, there's no reason to kill us, now, is
there?" She sipped her own tea.
"I guess not." He regarded her for a moment. "Tell me,
do you think you could maintain your composure, even in the
face of the Yama Kings?"
"Oh, my. Kings? Well, we've had princes stop by to visit
before..."
"Oh. Well, do you think you could teach me how to find
this 'inner peace'? It would be invaluable in my future
dealings with my kind."
She smiled. "I can't show you how to get there, but I
can show you the path. Of course, you couldn't kill anyone."
"No killing? Hmph. Very well, I will not kill as long as
you are guiding me." The Oni set down his teacup. "Can I at
least maim? Or torture."
"Well, it's not very nice," she frowned. It looked
rather fake, since she didn't have much experience at
frowning.
"Nice, ugh." He considered for a moment. "Very well. I
will be nice. At least, until I learn this 'inner peace'
thing."
Smiling again, Kasumi said, "Thank you, Mr. Oni-san.
Rice cake?"
***************************************************
"Of course, when Mr. Tendou and Mr. Saotome returned
home, it took some explaining," finished Kenchiro.
"Ah, yes. Of course, I stood my ground to protect poor
Kasumi, not realizing she wasn't in any danger," said Genma.
"I don't buy it," blurted Ranma. "I can't see you
challenging anything with horns, spikes, fangs, or even a bag
full of panties."
"Panties?" asked Kenchiro, one spike-covered eyebrow
raised.
"Don't worry about it," said Nabiki, "we'll explain
later."
"Now, Ranma, Uncle Saotome was actually very
considerate," said Kasumi.
"He was?"
"Yes," she continued, "he even pretended to be scared to
preserve Mr. Oni-san's feelings."
"I, er, um..." stammered the bald martial artist.
"He was so cute," she said, barely stopping, "crouched
down at his feet, begging Mr. Oni-san not to kill him."
"Heh, just what I figured," smirked Ranma.
Nabiki stared at the Oni. "So, you are basically a
spirit, manifested in physical form?"
"Exactly, Miss Tendou."
"Is there any way you could manifest a less, well,
obvious physical form?" She glanced at his horns and spikes.
"If too many people see you, they could jump to the wrong
conclusion, and there would be a whole lot of trouble."
"Of course." He closed his eyes, and his form flowed
like running water. In seconds, an exact duplicate of Soun
Tendou sat at the table. "Is this sufficient," he asked in
Soun's own voice.
"Well, that could also cause problems," said the middle
Tendou daughter. "Can you be a little more generic?"
Shimmering, he lost the mustache, and incorporated
Genma's nose, and Ranma's eyes. "How about this?" he asked,
in a voice similar to Ranma's, but with a deeper, baritone
resonance.
"Perfect. If anyone asks, you're Ranma's cousin."
"Why?"
"Because Oni aren't exactly accepted in modern Japanese
society," she explained.
"Oh." He turned to Ranma. "Greetings, Cousin."
"Um, yeah. Hi." He sighed. "I have a bad feeling about
this..."
=====
- Valandar the Red of the Empty Tankard
Captain of the Guard of the Barony of the Far Woods
Empire of the Iron Mountains
http://members.tripod.com/~Valandar/fanfic.html
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