����� I'm back from a long and tiring sabbatical.� Actually, it was more
like finishing 5 papers in the span of one semester.� But who cares?
Bygones, whatever.� I'm not gonna give up on my fans, not now when I'm
down to the last few chapters.� Thanks for all the support, and for this
I bring you...
---------------
������������������������������� The Leper
�������������������������������� Part 16
������������������ "And the Truth Shall Set You Mad..."
��������������������� by Nikholas "NomaD" F. Toledo
����� Ranma 1/2 is the property of Kitty, VIZ and the omnipotent Rumiko
Takahashi.� I am a property of Switch (so you know who to sue).
����� I am NomaD... I am coming... I am near...
����� Don't expect any summaries...
����� Names and spellings have been explained in part 1...
-----------
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on.
����������������������������������������������������� - Dean Martin
-----------
����� "HIIIRYUUU SHOOOOTEEEEN HAAAAA!!!!!"
����� The dragon began to form as loose objects around the dojo began
getting sucked into the deadly spiral.� The heaven blast reached its full
power and blasted through the roof.
����� In the middle of it all, Ranma was struggling to control the
twister.� He gritted his teeth while he tried to keep steady his
outstretched arm.
����� Just outside the helical horror, Kii grabbed onto a loose
floorboard for dear life, but he was beginning to slip away.� He felt his
legs rise in the air and into the spiral.
����� He was starting to lose his grip.
����� "Noooo!� I won't let yoooooooouuuuu..."� Kii's voice trailed off as
his body flew into the air, inching closer to the spiral.
����� Even though Ranma couldn't see where Kii was, he was smiling at
himself, for he knew that it would only be moments before Kii got sucked
in and up the deadly twister.
����� It was no use, he was already in the air and there was nothing to
grab onto.� Kii gave the lone figure in the tornado one last menacing
look.
����� "If I'm goooo...iiing dooown... Yoooouuuu're goooooing dooooown
wiiith meeee... RAAAAAANMAAAAAA!!!!"
����� Kii twisted his body in the air until he found himself almost
inverted.� He looked up and he could see the ground passing before him.
He desperately reached for it.
����� <Come on, just a little more...>
����� Kii stretched his body to its fullest.� He just needed to touch it
for just one brief...
����� THERE!
����� For the one second that it took Kii to touch the ground, he was
also able to complete one full orbit around the blast before getting
sucked in.
����� Ranma felt Kii go in and he instinctively looked up.� He saw Kii
being dragged up into the spiral.
����� For an instant, their eyes met.
����� Within that instant, Ranma was able to interpret the look in Kii's
face.� A look that almost said...
����� "Gotcha!"
����� The ground around the spiral exploded and Ranma felt the floor
collapse.
����� It collapsed downwards then up through the spinning horror.
����� He couldn't control it anymore.
����� Slowly, the upward force started picking him up and, before he knew
it, he was violently trashed inside the loop.� He crashed into a number
of things - who knows, he probably even crashed into Kii.
����� What seemed like an eternity only actually happened in less than
thirty seconds.� It ended as quickly as it began, and the bodies started
falling down from the sky.
----------
����� She watched as all of this transpired.� Only when the first
explosion was set off in the dojo was she made aware that the battle had
begun.
����� She rushed to the window near the porch beyond Akane's room and saw
everybody running outside.� Then the blazing tornado tore through the
dojo's roof.� She saw two figures fly out.� Their frail bodies hung in
the air for one brief moment as the twister died down.
����� One body was lucky enough to land right smack into the pond.� As
fate would have it, it was Ranma who fell into the waters.
����� The other was not so lucky as he crashed into the tiled roof of the
dojo.� He did not crash through, though.� She could see from his face
that he was in great agony.
����� She smiled as she secretly enjoyed watching him suffer and yet half
of her felt sorry for him, a very small half.
----------
����� Ranma felt cold... and wet.
����� But he (or she) was too unconscious to mind it.
����� But he was yanked out of unconsciousness, literally, by the hair.
����� When he came to, his first image was the face of Akane with her
hand over his head.
����� "Ack!� Ranma, are you okay?� You could've drowned!"
����� "Huh?� Wha- ?"
����� Ranma was still a bit out of it but Akane managed to pull her out
of the pond.
����� "Look at you!� You're soaked!"
����� When she stepped on solid ground, her immediate reaction was to
crush the spinning sensation in her head with her hands.� She shook the
dizziness off and managed to say...
����� "Where's Kii?"
����� Akane looked around.� "Nobody knows where he landed.� Ukyou's
searching the grounds for him.� Can I help you or something?"
����� Ranma just stared at her for a bit.
����� "Geez, Akane, how come you were never this nice when you found out
for the first time that I was a boy?!"
����� Akane started blushing from shame.� "Well, I..."
����� "Never mind, it was a rhetorical question.� I could use a towel,
though."
����� Without a word, Akane went in the house to get one.
----------
����� He could hear Ukyou calling for him.� He tried to open his mouth to
answer but the spinning sensation bombarded him and his first reaction
was to throw up.� He didn't, thank goodness.� But the spinning wouldn't
stop.
����� He tried to grab onto the ground, for he felt that he'd fall off
the earth.� That's when he felt the broken tiles of roof around him, and
he deduced where he was.
����� He tried to sit up but collapsed again.� He grabbed his head to
stop the pain.� That's when he realized that he lost his glasses again.
He tried to open his eyes and the first thing he saw was the sky.
����� It was almost nighttime.� The sun was setting to his side and the
first glimmer of stars was appearing before him.� At that single moment,
he found everything at peace.� He breathed a healthy amount of air and
found the wind quite soothing.
����� He wanted to just sleep but he knew that he couldn't... not just
yet.� He sat up once again, and this time he didn't feel like collapsing.
����� He felt a shadow cast itself over him.� His first instinct was to
look up.� He saw her silhouette against the light of the hallway.� He
couldn't see her face but he knew she was smiling.� He smiled back, just
to mock her.
����� He checked to see if he was okay.� No bones or ribs seemed to be
broken.
����� Being a Niwatori had very distinct advantages - the impossibility
of attaining fractures was one of them.
����� He peered down at the yard below.� He saw Ranma getting out of the
pond.� He turned into a girl - that might pose as a problem.
����� "I've never fought girls before... now what."
����� Then he felt his glasses brush against his arm.� He turned his
head.
����� "Hey!� What're you doing here?� Did you follow me?"
----------
����� Ukyou crawled under a row of bushes behind the dojo.� "You in
here?"� She got out, dirty and disappointed.� "Kii!� Where in the world
are you?!"
����� She heard something break from above.� A piece of roof tile passed
her eyes and dropped a few feet in front of her.� She looked up.� She
then heard something large rolling down from the roof.
����� She sidestepped just in time.� Kii lay face flat on the spot where
she stood before.
����� "There you are!� You okay?"
����� Even though Kii's entire body was in unimaginable pain, he still
managed to turn his head just to give Ukyou a look of sarcasm.� Ukyou
just smiled innocently.
����� "Yes, Ukyou.� In fact, I feel peachy!"
����� Ukyou pulled him up to his feet.� Both their faces were a mess.
Ukyou licked her thumb and tried to clean Kii's cheeks, like a mother
cleaning a child.� "Well, if it helps, Ranma got pretty messed up, too."
����� Ukyou took an arm over her shoulders and walked with him to the
dojo.
����� "Kii... you can stop now, you know."
����� "I know."
����� "SO WHY WON'T YOU STOP ALREADY?!?� All this bravado of yours is
getting way over your head.� You should stop before it kills you."
����� Kii looked at Ukyou.� He tried to smile at her but she was just
looking straight ahead.� She was hurting deep inside, this he could see.
She was biting her lip, trying not to cry for him.
����� Kii's smile faded and he looked straight and serious.
����� "D'you really think I should?"� Without waiting for an answer, Kii
spoke.� "Okay, then.� If it makes you feel better, then let's stop this
now."
����� Ukyou stared at his face.� She was speechless and tears began
swelling up in her eyes.� She couldn't contain her joy.� She stopped
herself from jumping at him and embracing him.� If she did this, she
probably would've killed him.
����� They rounded the corner, heading for the entrance.� They saw the
others about to enter, too.� Akane was also helping Ranma, who was now in
girl form, into the dojo.� Ranma's path trailed a stream of water in the
ground.
����� "Good thing we're gonna stop this now."
����� "Why?"
����� "Because... I've never fought a girl before, just a guy who dresses
like a girl."
����� They looked at Ranma, then at each other.
����� "Okay, not exactly a girl, but not exactly a boy, either."
����� They took the stairs one step at a time.
����� "Ucchan?"
����� "What is it?"
����� "I'm gonna ask that question now."
����� "Okay."
����� "Well... I was just wondering... who WAS the fianc� you were
looking for?"
����� Ukyou looked at him, as if realizing something.
����� "You mean I haven't told you yet?!"
����� "Uh, no.� The last mention of him was when you left our old
school."
����� "Well, silly!� As if it wasn't obvious enough, who's the only
person here who's got a trail of fianc�es running after him?"
����� "You mean..."
����� "Yup.� Ranchan!� Geez!� All this time, you never knew.� I thought I
told you just before I left."
����� "No, you..."
����� Kii stopped dead in his tracks.� Ukyou mistook this as a sign that
he wanted to rest a bit.� She went in the dojo, leaving him by the
entrance.
����� Kii's eyes stared into nothingness.� "... never..."
----------
����� Ranma gave her hair one final towel-drying session.� She saw Ukyou
enter, with Kii just by the door.
����� "So, Ucchan.� We ready to start again?"
����� "I don't think so, Ranchan.� Kii's just about had it."
----------
����� "... told me..."
----------
����� "WHAT?!?� You mean I won already?!?� That's not fair!"
����� Not one second more of Ranma's frustrations did a bop hit her on
the head.
����� "Well, try to be a bit more enthusiastic, why don't you?!?"� Akane
was fuming.� "Just what do you think you're saying?� You mean you weren't
here to win back your place!"
����� Ranma recovered from the hit.� "That's not what I meant, you dork.
I just wanted to test this form with Kii!"
����� "Oh, so now call me a dork, why don't you?!?� You want to test your
girl form?!?� Here, test it on this!"
����� "Oh man, you are SOOO unc-"
����� <SMASH!>
����� Ranma's head flew straight up before she could finish her sentence.
Her head crashed through the ceiling.
----------
����� "... it was..."
----------
����� Ukyou just finished explaining the situation to Soun.� Soun
scratched his head.� "Well, if that's the case...� He beat up Ranma
nicely, after all..."
����� Behind him, Genma was dancing around holding a fan in each hand.
Confetti was falling on him from out of thin air.
����� "I guess young Saotome just got his place back as rightful heir of
-"
����� "RAAAAANMAAAAAAA!!!"
����� Ukyou turned in alarm.� She saw Ranma, who just got pulled out of
the ceiling, still shaking her head.� Kii was running fast, finger ready
to strike.� Her back was turned to him.� She wasn't going to see him in
time.� Akane and Kasumi were with her.
����� "Oh, no... RAAAANNN..."
����� "DIE, RANMA SAOTOME!!!"
����� "...CHAAAAAN!!!"
����� *krak*
����� Ukyou felt the air ignite into burning whiteness.� She couldn't
even prepare herself for it.� She just felt her limp body flung back into
the wall.� The air was knocked out of her and she drifted into darkness.
----------
����� Ranma didn't know exactly what happened.� When she stirred into
consciousness, she just found herself shielding Kasumi and Akane.� She
could hear somebody shouting from beyond the ringing in her ears.
����� "Wha..."
����� "... up!� Get up, Ranma!� Face your beating like a man!!!"
����� Ranma groggily got up and faced Kii.� "Kii... what did you...?"
����� "The time for talk has passed!� This time, your life will be taken
by my hands!"
����� With an uncontrollable rage, Kii charged Ranma.� Ranma was almost
blinded by the battle aura that Kii was releasing.
����� Ranma veered away from the two Tendos so as to not involve them.
She was only able to take a couple of steps before Kii pounced on her.
����� Ranma blocked each blow, for her speed was now able to match Kii's.
But she could sense that there was something wrong.� Kii's determination
was immeasurable.� The man wasn't trying to win, he was trying to kill
her.
����� Ranma sped up her strikes and connected with Kii's jaw a couple of
times.� But the fire in his eyes did not flicker even once.
����� Kii doubled his efforts and struck her on the face and gutted her
belly.
����� Ranma was stunned at the strength of the punch.� This was
unbelievable - the punch was so strong it could fell a tree.
����� This momentarily surprised Ranma and Kii was able to take advantage
of her confusion.� He grabbed her by the hair and slammed her face on the
floor.� The force almost made her face go through.� Kii then grabbed her
by the neck and started choking her.
����� Ranma's eyes popped open.� She felt the air escape her and she was
starting to turn blue.
����� "What's the matter, Ranma?!� Why are you holding back, you
animal?!?"
����� Ranma drew back a fist.
����� "Ka...shu... Tenshin... Ama...guriKEN!"
����� She released the onslaught of punches but she realized her mistake.
Her short arms could only reach up to Kii's shoulder.� She was mere
inches from connecting.
����� "You're pathetic."� Kii flung the small figure and Ranma careened
in the air before crashing on the wall.
����� Ranma's lifeless body hit the floor.� She didn't even try to get
up.
����� "You have done great harm today, Ranma.� And now, you die by my
hands..."
����� Kii grabbed her by the hair and lifted her against the wall; her
feet didn't even touch the ground.� He then drove a knee to her stomach.
Because of his speed, she wasn't able to recover from the blow before she
was hit by the next one.� She was probably hit more than twenty times in
the span of a few seconds.
����� But still, she didn't do anything.
����� Kii threw her body to the center.� "What the hell's wrong with
you?!?� Fight me, damn you!!!"
����� With great determination, Ranma was able to hoist herself up.
����� "No..."
����� "What?!"
����� She said it stronger this time.� "NO, I WILL NOT FIGHT YOU!"
����� This angered Kii more, but it was obvious in his expression that he
was waiting for an explanation.
����� "I know that look in your eyes, Kii.� Somehow, you've had the 'Ai
no Bakusai Tenketsu' done on you.� And now you've focused all your rage
on me.� What I don't get is why me?"
����� "You mean you don't know, you lecherous swine?!?"
����� Ranma shook her head.
����� "It's because of what you've done to Ukyou!� You are the one
responsible for everything that's happened to her!� You were her fianc�,
you bastard!� You could've treated her better, but no!� You had to run
away with their family business like the coward and the scoundrel that
you are!� She denounced her womanhood because of you!� And for what?!
Akane Tendo?!� You replace her with Akane Tendo?!?� By insulting her, you
have earned my wrath!!!"
����� "Is that it?!?� You mean, all this time, you never knew?� In any
case, I still won't fight you.� I'll just wait for it to wear off.
You're not in your right state of mind right now."
����� "You won't fight me, will you?"
����� Ranma's face held her answer.� Kii just sneered.
����� "What?"
����� "I didn't want to have to do this, Ranma.� But you leave me no
choice."
����� Kii turned and faced the bodies of the sisters.� Only then, were
they beginning to stir.� Akane held her aching head and looked at her
sister, then at Kii.
����� "Kii?� What-?"
����� Ranma cut in.� "YOU WOULDN'T!"
����� But Kii already had his arms crossed.� "MOKO..."
����� Ranma started running.� Each step was painful and cumbersome but
she didn't care.� "Akane!"
����� The realization slowly seeped into Akane.� "No... Ranma!!!"
����� "TAKABISHA!!!"
����� The ball of energy was surprisingly huge.� Kii's battle aura was
just as powerful as the force he emitted from his palms.� The ball sped
and covered the distance in a fraction of a second.
����� Ranma's heart jumped.� She could feel herself shouting but her
voice was drowned by the powerful explosion that rocked the dojo.
----------
����� When the smoke cleared, a third of the wall was blasted through.
����� Ranma went limp.� She then turned and her heart stopped a beat.� A
surge of happiness and relief showered over her.
����� "Akane!"
����� In the corner, Akane and Kasumi were on the floor, unscathed.� They
had each an arm around their waists.� Arms which belonged to no other
than...
����� "Ukyou..."
����� Ukyou stood up and turned at the sound of her name.� She faced him.
For the first time, she was afraid of him and for her life.
����� "Kii, stop this!"
����� "You shouldn't have interfered, Ukyou..."� Kii advanced.
����� Out of reflex, Ukyou grabbed three spatulas from her chest and held
them with firm but trembling hands.� "You wouldn't..."
����� "Oh, really?� Don't be too sure of yourself.� This is all your
fault.� I'm the way I am because of you... you bitch!"
����� This stung Ukyou.� She felt sick.� She just wanted to ball up in
the corner and cry.� But she held her emotions in check.
����� He was still advancing.� It was him or her.
����� She blindly released the spatulas.
����� They sailed through the air but Kii managed to snatch them in the
air as if they were floating feathers.� He nonchalantly threw them back
at her.
����� She ducked just in time to see them hit the wooden corner where her
head would've been.
����� "Shouldn't have done that, Ukyou... That only made me angrier..."
����� He was speaking in such even tones that it chilled her straight to
the bones.
����� He crossed his arms once more.� They were in the corner, no where
to run.� She just tried to spread herself over the sisters and braced for
the impact.
����� "Moko..."
����� A soft, luminous ball appeared in Kii's palms.� It glowed a sickly
blue, casting shadows over his face.� This made him look like a being of
pure evil.� Ukyou gave a soft whimper before -
����� "Oomph!"
����� - Ranma tackled Kii down to the floor.� The ball dissipated
harmlessly into the air.
����� Ranma struck Kii in every part of his body that was in her reach.
"You fight ME!� NOT Ukyou!� NOT Kasumi!� And ESPECIALLY not AKANE!!!
MEEEE!!! YOU DO NOT GET THEM INVOLVED, UNDERSTAND?!?� YOU BASTARD!!!"
����� Kii managed to bend his knees and place his feet to her chest and
kicked her away.� He got up and faced her.� "That's more like it...� Now,
I'll have the pleasure of - wha?!"
����� Ranma was on him before he could finish his sentence.� She fought
him with the fury of a cornered animal.
----------
����� Cologne and Shampoo helped Ukyou, Akane and Kasumi out of the
corner.� They brought the three to the front door where they were met by
an elated Soun Tendo.
����� Soun embraced his most prized possessions.� Tears were rolling down
his cheeks.� "Oh, my babies..."
����� Akane and Kasumi cried with him and crushed him in their embrace.
����� Ukyou, however, was devastated.� She was down on her knees and just
stared blankly at the floor.� She couldn't believe that Kii was capable
of harming her, even in his present state.
����� She felt a hand hold her behind her head.� The hand then guided the
head to a chest to cry on.� Ukyou looked up once before weeping on the
chest of Shampoo.
����� Cologne just kept on observing the fight.� She noticed what both
parties were doing and she was concerned.
����� "Oh, son-in-law... are you blind?� What are you doing?"
----------
����� Ranma was held a mask of rage.� She never thought that, even in his
present state, Kii would go so low as to harm Akane.� She never held
back.
����� Kii kept moving backwards and calmly blocked Ranma's blows.
����� A little too calm, Ranma observed.� She then realized, though a
little too late, what he was trying to do.� She wanted to kick herself
for falling into his trap.� But it was too late.
����� They were only a couple of steps from the center of the spiral, and
there was no way to stop their momentum.
����� Kii sneered at her before executing the upward thrust.
����� "Oh, shi-"
����� "HIRYUU SHOTEN HA!!!"
����� Being so near the center, Ranma was instantly pulled upwards inside
the deadly spiral.
����� Kii smiled in triumph.
����� The spiral went through the hole made by the previous cyclone.
����� Ranma darted through it.� But, unknown to Kii, Ranma already
devised a way to counter this move.� He just wasn't able to do it earlier
because he was caught off-guard.
����� Ever since her battle with Herb, she found it disadvantageous that
only Herb was able to counter the 'Hiryuu Shoten Ha'.� Ranma, in turn,
countered this with the 'Hiryuu Korin Dan'.� But after that, she wondered
how she could counter the move herself if it was somehow done to her.
She couldn't use Herb's move because she didn't know how.
����� So she made her very own technique.� It was simple but it worked...
theoretically... since this was the first time she'd actually apply it.
����� Ranma inverted herself while being flung around by the spiral.� She
saw Kii spinning in her vision.� She stuck out a fist and started
spinning herself.� Her spin was in the same direction as the spiral's.
She slowly built her speed until her spin brought her closer to the
center.� Her speed was fast enough to counter her upward movement.� She
then spun even faster until she reached the center of the cyclone where
the winds were unusually calm.
����� That was when she began losing altitude.
����� She sped through the center like a torpedo, with an arm
outstretched.� She saw Kii spinning before her, getting closer.� Kii saw
her, too.� His bewilderment was apparent from the expression on his face.
It was too late for him to do anything.
����� Ranma's spinning fist landed on him like a power drill on putty.
She hammered Kii straight through the floor.
����� Then the vertigo set in.� Ranma collapsed on the ground, unsure of
where her opponent was.
����� But Kii emerged from the hole; his cheek was red and bleeding.
����� "It takes a lot of effort to make a Niwatori bleed.� For that, I
shall reward you with a quick death."
����� In her spinning world, Ranma could barely see Kii approaching her.�
She rolled to a random direction, since she couldn't figure out which
direction Kii was coming from.� Good thing she did this - she rolled just
in time as Kii drove his finger forward.
����� The air at the tip of his finger exploded, destroying the floor
below it.� But Kii gave no effort to get away or dodge the explosion.� He
just took it all in, somehow not feeling the pain anymore.
����� After the explosion, Kii's arm was red and smoking and all the hair
on the arm was burned to a crisp.
����� Ranma got up on one knee and surveyed her surroundings.� The entire
dojo was covered with holes and splinters.� The place wasn't fit anymore
for battle.
����� Kii stood just a few meters in front of her.� He just stared at her
for a second, and then he made his approach.
����� Ranma just stayed there, taking each breath as if it was her last.
She didn't know how to fight him.� She wasn't as determined as him.� She
knew that the trance would end eventually.� It was all just a question of
when.
����� To Ranma's surprise, Kii charged and, in an eye-blink, was
immediately over her.� He had his finger drawn back, ready to strike.
Ranma instinctively crossed her arms and countered the oncoming strike.
����� "Bakusai Tenketsu!"
����� "Moko Takabisha!"
����� Because Ranma was in a lower position than Kii, the double
explosion sent him flying backwards.� He landed flat on his back and got
the wind knocked out of him.
����� Ranma was in no better shape.� She just experienced what it was
like to have the force of two wrecking balls dropped on one's chest.� She
sat herself up and immediately grimaced from the pain in her chest.
����� Across her, she saw Kii also trying to get up.� She got up first
this time.
����� When Kii matched gazes with her, Ranma could see that something was
bothering Kii.� He seemed distracted.
����� "What's the matter, Kii?!� You've given up?� Is that it?!"
����� Kii didn't respond.� It was evident from his stance that he wanted
to charge at her but he seemed reluctant.� Ranma couldn't figure it out
so Akane answered it for her.
����� "Ranma, it's your shirt!"
����� Ranma looked down on her shirt.� The explosion tore a hole which
exposed a hefty amount of cleavage.� Ranma looked back at Kii and she saw
the slightest hint of blushing on his face.
����� "Ah, so that's it!� Looks like even in your state, your male
instinct still kicks in...� Well, don't expect me to be modest!"
����� Ranma launched herself at him.� She made no effort to hide her
exposed breasts.� One could even swear that she was brandishing them on
purpose.� This was her only advantage as of the moment.
����� In a battle to the death, a little thing like modesty didn't matter
anymore.
����� Kii blocked her punches but he was still distracted.� He just fell
back, placing himself in a defensive mode.
����� He was struck more than often enough but the punches were a lot
lighter than when Ranma was a guy.
����� Kii was getting restless from blocking and drove a powerful right
to Ranma's face.
����� Ranma leapt a foot off the ground.� The oncoming fist was now met
by the incoming breasts.
����� Kii pulled the punch at the last second but still managed to touch
the soft, supple skin.
����� Almost immediately, all the blood rushed out of his brain and
flushed out of his nose.
����� Kii collapsed to the ground with a severe case of nosebleed.� But
he still wasn't out, but just barely conscious.
����� "Whoa!� Quite a gusher you got there!"
����� "I haven't... given up... yet..."
����� Ranma figured that the best thing to do was just to knock him out
and then wait for the trance to wear off.
����� Finally, it was over, and she won by a nosebleed.
����� It was time to finish this.� She turned to the spectators,
specifically to Akane.� "I could use some hot water right now."
����� Akane nodded and ran to the house.
����� Ranma turned to Kii and knelt down.� He faced her and he could see
the smug smile on her face.
����� "I've gotta admit, Kii.� That was a bit anti-climactic.� But it'll
have to do.� Any last words before I send you to Dreamland?"
����� Kii whispered something inaudible.
����� Ranma leaned closer.� "What was that?"
����� Kii then shouted to her ear.� "Ishi!� To me!"
����� From the gaping hole on the dojo's roof, the gray, furry feline
dropped to soundlessly to the floor.
����� Ranma jumped back in fear.� "W-what the...?� Oh, no..."
����� Kii pulled himself into a sitting position.� "I thought I wouldn't
have to do this, but you leave me no choice."
����� Kii gestured the cat to proceed towards Ranma.� It slowly walked
towards her.� For each step that it took, Ranma cringed a step back.
����� Ranma was gripped in horror when her back touched the wall.
����� She tried to step to the sides but the cat just followed, always
placing itself in front of her.
����� Kii just sneered in amusement.� "Well, looks like I've turned the
tables yet again.� What's the matter, Ranma - afraid of a little kitty?
Who's the CHICKEN now?!?"
����� Ranma did not look at him nor did he respond.� Her eyes were locked
in fear with the cat's.
����� "Looks like it's MY turn to finish this...� Ishi!"
����� At the sound of its name, the cat lunged forward and grabbed onto
Ranma's face.
����� Ranma let out a blood-curdling scream.
����� She ran frantically, not knowing where she was going.� She was
flailing her arms around but made no effort to touch the feline that was
viciously clawing his face.
����� Unfortunately, she ran toward Kii's direction.
����� Kii drew his fist back.� At the right moment, he struck a dozen
blows to Ranma's belly.
����� Ranma doubled over and the screaming stopped.� She gave short gasps
as she tried to recover the air that rushed out of her lungs.
����� Ishi stepped off of Ranma's face and placed herself at a
considerable distance from the two.
����� Kii loomed over the fallen Saotome.� "It is time to finish you off,
once..." Kii drew his hand up at level with his face, "... and for all."
����� Kii twisted his fingers in such an odd way that his forefinger
almost looked dislocated.� His pinky was folded while his ring and middle
fingers were fully extended.
����� He looked at the awed spectators and focused his gaze on Ukyou.
"Let you all who have watched this fight bear witness to the DEATH of
Ranma Saotome!"
����� As if on cue, Akane came through the door and almost dropped the
kettle she was holding.� "No..." she whimpered and almost collapsed.
����� Ukyou's eyes were pleading for Kii to stop but he just ignored
this.
����� "Behold!� Inochi no Bakusai Tenketsu... the breaking point of
life..."
����� Before anybody could do anything, the hand made its descent.
����� Ranma's body lay unmoving.� Then...
����� ... she hissed.
---------------
end of part 16
---------------
����� Time passes by so darn quickly.� Another semester has passed and a
new one begins.� Old friends graduate while new friends enroll.� But I'm
getting too old for this, I wonder when I'll graduate.� Next to never,
most probably.� So, how'd you like it?� This is taking to long, I'll try
to end this before the Christmas break starts, that's a promise.� For
comments and suggestions, please write to the "Nikholas F. Toledo Zu" at
niftol@i-manila.com.ph, care of NomaD.
����� I'd like to thank the following people:
Switch, he came back from Malaysia.� They placed fourth in a game that
I'll never understand how to play.
Elf, she just entered the wonderful world of princess making.
Deed, she misses me so much she wants to kill me.
����� Anywhere you go, there you are.
Everyone else my age is an adult, whereas I am merely in disguise.
- Atwood
-NomaD-
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