I know it's been a couple of days ( a long time for me), but I've had
writer's block. Also, I'll have the next chapter of The Emperor's Hand
out soon. Anyway, here's the fic. C&C greatly appreciated, Flames
greatly ignored.
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
Chapter One: Oni the Lonely
Hell is not the absolute monarchy most people think it
is. Instead, it is a massive bureaucracy, with numerous
offices and divisions, each one dedicated to dealing with a
particular aspect of sin, temptation, or response to
summonings. In one particular office, at the back of a very
long line, stood Takamaru Yoshi. Needless to say, he wasn't
too happy.
He had been standing in line for over eight hours, and
he seemed to be no closer to the desk, far off in the
distance. This would not do. No, this would not do at all.
"By the Terrace of the Mirror of the Wicked, I demand to
reach the front of the line! I am the last scion of the
Takamaru clan, and Master of the Black Arts!" He raised his
hands, and summoned all of his dark power.
Which wasn't very much. One would think that the power
of black magic would be stronger in Hell than it was on
Earth. Of course, it is, as long as you are either a demon,
or alive. Yoshi was neither of these at the moment. All he
managed to summon was a small flame on the tip of his index
finger, which promptly snuffed out as it burned him. He
started hooting and hollering, and leapt about like a Mexican
jumping bean.
After a few minutes, he finally settled down, and
resumed his place in line. That was when a particularly large
demon, with eight horns, reached down, and plucked him from
his spot. "Get in the back," it growled.
"But this is my spot!" he declared.
"GET IN THE BACK!" roared the demon.
Gathering his rather disheveled kimono around himself,
Yoshi glared at the fiend, then slowly walked to the back of
the line. The walk took him ten minutes.
***************************************************
No matter where Ranma went, the stars were one of the
few constants in his life. Some fled with the seasons, while
others stayed where they were, but they were there, year
after year. When he needed time alone to think, the stars
listened, and didn't judge. They simply were there.
Tonight's deep thoughts revolved around the Oni that was
attempting to reform. Kenchiro, he had named it - rather,
him. So what happens? They decide that Ken is now Ranma's
'cousin' to the world at large. Oh, great. If Kuno hears
about this, I'll never get him off my back.
On the other hand, if Ken doesn't get the hang of the
whole inner peace thing, he's likely to get rather
frustrated. And that could mean a whole lot of trouble. So,
perhaps it was better to try to help him out.
The big problem was the general chaos surrounding
Nerima. If Ken were to get caught up in the whole mess,
things could get ugly. And, in his natural form, Ken was
pretty ugly. That could probably trash the Oni's attempt to
reform, if that was what he was doing, and they'd have to
deal with one ticked off demon. Not that they couldn't, but
the less mass destruction the better.
Ranma was distracted by the telltale sound of a ladder
dropping into place against the roof. Glancing over, he saw
the short, black hair of his fiancee. That is, he saw one of
his fiancees. It was Akane, to be precise. "Ranma, are you
sleeping up here tonight?"
He stayed on his back, but crossed one ankle over the
other. "Well, where else'd I sleep? I have a new cousin, now,
an' he's probably sharing the room with me an' Oyaji. With
those two, there's not much room fer me, ne?"
"Actually, he's not sleeping anywhere," she giggled.
"Huh?"
"Baka, he's a spirit! He doesn't need sleep. He's
sitting by the koi pond, meditating," said Akane.
Ranma sat up, and stretched a little. "Oh, um, okay. I,
um, gotta get to bed them. We got school tomorrow. Um,
they're not gonna make him come to school with us, are they?"
Akane glared at him. "He's several thousand years old,
to begin with, and his form, body, whatever, looks about
thirty. He'd look funny at Furinkan, wouldn't he?"
"Um, yeah." He looked at her, and froze. The moon was
full, and the blue-white light was shining in Akane's eyes.
She was half smiling at her own joke, and he didn't think he
could breathe. "Ahh..." began Ranma.
"Yes?" asked Akane.
"Ahh..." he continued.
"Well?" she demanded.
"Ahh..."
"Come on, what?" she growled.
"AH-CHOO!"
"RANMA NO BAKA!" >Blam!<
Down below, Kenchiro the Oni glanced up at the scene
above him. "Fascinating. I did not know the boy had enough
mastery of his chi to fly, yet."
***************************************************
In a black-curtained office, King Chuan Lun Wang, High
Yama King of all Hell, drummed his fingers on his huge, ebony
desk. The clicking of his metal, finely manicured talons
echoed through the cavernous room. The only light came from
the monitor of the computer sitting on his desk. Being Hell,
it was only a 286, despite his lofty position. His clothing
was fine, and without stray threads anywhere, and perfectly
tailored for his skeletal frame. As his left hand drummed out
its staccato beat, the right hand fiddled with the mouse on
its Disney mouse pad.
At the far end of the room, doors large enough to allow
the Hindenburg through slowly cracked open. A small voice
croaked in the shadows. "Y-you asked for m-me, your Grand
Supreme Evil Omnipotence, sire?"
"Yes."
An uneasy silence filled the room. The underlit black
skull that served as a face for King Chuan Lun Wang turned
slowly to gaze upon the tiny imp that slowly crept in to his
august presence. "Um, S-sire, w-what can I d-do for my mighty
and p-powerful Master?" squeaked the imp.
The drumming of the fingernails stopped. That hand
slowly left the table, and dipped gently into a large bowl on
one corner of his desk. Withdrawing translucent, writhing
shapes, he placed them in his fanged mouth, and slowly
chewed. He swallowed, then spoke with the dusty voice of the
grave. "One of our number has decided to leave us."
"Sire?" The imp could not believe he had heard the High
Yama King correctly.
"He was in the Department of Vengeful Summonings. His
mortal master died most untimely, thus negating part, but not
all, of the reason for his summons. With an open ended
contract, rather than taking advantage of it, he decided to
attempt to reach something called 'inner peace'. This must
not be." King Chuan Lun Wang reached into the bowl again,
bringing out more of the squirming contents. "Find the mortal
known as Takamaru Yoshi. He will be in the line at office
number 547B. Bring him here."
The imp snapped to attention. "At once, Master!"
Motioning at the bowl, the High Yama King continued.
"Also, bring me some more of these mortal delicacies. Gummi
worms, I believe they're called."
***************************************************
>Splash!<
"So, does this conflict occur every morning?" asked
Kenchiro, as he sat just inside the dining room.
"Growf!" Genma held up a sign, saying, 'Of course! The
boy's gotta train!'
Ranma, still in male form, punted the panda back into
the koi pond. "Seems ta me that you're so outta shape, you
gotta train s'more, too!" A paw reached out, and snagged the
young man's red shirt, tossing him in as well. "Glarble!" was
all he could manage to say in protest, since his head had
gotten stuck in the soft mud at the bottom of the pool.
"Breakfast is ready!" called Kasumi.
Genma hopped out of the pond, dragging Ranma out along
with him. It wasn't intentional, however; one of his claws
was still stuck in his son, er, daughter's shirt. The two
almost reached the table, when Kenchiro stopped them. "For
the sake of my sensei, I must insist that the two of you
clean up first."
"Guuhr?" Genma noticed the pigtailed martial artist
dangling from one of his claws, and shook her off. She landed
with a rather wet 'splut'.
Wiping the mud off her face, Ranma-chan glared up at her
father. "An' I got first dibs on the furo!" she exclaimed,
completely clearing the dinner table and those at it, landing
on the stairs already running.
By the time Genma had gotten cleaned up, turned human,
and gotten downstairs, there wasn't much left for him to eat.
Grumbling to himself, he devoured what was left, as Ranma and
Akane raced off to school.
"Oh, Kenchiro-san, they forgot their lunches again. Would
you take them to them?" asked Kasumi.
"Of course, sensei. Where are they going?" said the Oni.
In a few minutes, the demon was on his way to Furinkan High
School, and the start of a really bad day for many students
there.
=====
- 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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