Wow. Just wow. The responses I recieved were staggering, but each
held the same basic meaning: FINISH IT ALREADY!!! <ahem> So, I'll do just
that. C&C? Love to hear it!
=============================================
The Rage, Part Two
=============================================
//Can't... control it!\\ Ranma staggered down the busy sidewalk,
anger burning throughout his entire being. It seared his mind, his flesh,
and his soul, steadily burning away his own self. The curious stares from
the various passerbys served only to fuel the insatiable fires that grew
with each passing moment.
Were these thoughts his own? Ranma didn't know, his brain so alive
with livid rage. His stride became steadier, more focused as the war inside
his mind grew yet again. He began to revel in the glorious wrath, it's fire
giving him strength and renewed vigor. Let those peons stare at him! They'd
come to regret it soon enough!
In the distance, he saw a familiar yellow tunic, a red haze falling
over his vision as he recognized the man who wore it. Oh, yes, he had been
waiting for this! Unmindful of the danger the battle would pose to the
innocent people surrounding him, Ranma stormed over to where Ryoga stood,
the latter attempting to read a map. The sight would have made Ranma laugh,
but the time for laughter was over.
==============================================
"Ukyo, c'mon, he couldn't have meant it." The words pierced the fog
of despair around her heart like a shaft of light, shining on the tiny seed
of hope that bore the same promise. He couldn't have meant it.
Ukyo silently repeated it like a soothing mantra, the tears and pain
ebbing away with each turn. He couldn't have meant it, no way, not in a
million years. She was his fiancee, damnit, and he would never talk to her
that way! Not unless...
"Something's real wrong with Ranchan." The words came out choked and
strained, her throat sore from each wrenching sob.
"Yeah, something's wrong," Akane replied, giving Ukyo's shoulder a
supportive squeeze. Ukyo opened her eyes, looking up at Akane. The main door
of the Ucchan was behind her, memories of Ukyo's blind rush back home coming
back to her. After Ranma had stalked off, she had run here in a state of
agonizing despair. If Akane hadn't followed, who knew what she would have done?
"But what?" Ukyo asked as she rose from the floor. "What could have
made him fly off the handle like that?"
"I don't know, but he's been that way since this morning. He
actually blew up at Uncle Saotome!"
"Not that I really blame him there, sugar," Ukyo said, some of her
cheer returning.
"Okay, I can buy that." Akane giggled a little, prompting Ukyo to do
the same. It felt good to laugh, it really did.
"But Kuno? I heard what Ranma did to him."
"Yeah, I saw it," Akane said. "I know Ranma doesn't like him, but to
hurt him like that?" Broken ribs may not be very serious, but were far
beyond the norm for Ranma.
"Maybe we oughtta talk to Ranma," Ukyo said, taking a seat on one of
the stools.
"After the way he shouted at us?" Akane growled. Ukyo fought the
temptation to roll her eyes. That girl could be so predictable.
"So, he doesn't want to talk to us. We just find someone who he WILL
talk to. Or at least won't blow up at."
"Only two people I can think of," Akane said, giving her a knowing look.
"And only one of them is close by," Ukyo replied, acknowledging the
glance.
=============================================
The bare bulbs in the ceiling flared to life, banishing the shadows
of the basement with their artificial light. Hikaru Gosunkugi cautiously
descended the short staircase to the cold concrete floor. Boxes were stacked
haphazardly across the floor, on top of them piles of voodoo texts and
magical artifacts that never worked.
He wrung his hands before him, his mind racing in a never ending
circle. The spell hadn't worked, at least not the way he thought it would.
It was supposed to make Ranma weak and cowardly, not enraged and violent!
What had he done wrong?
The occult bookstore owner had said that the anicient tome had real
magical power, and that it had to be used with the greatest of caution.
Gosunkugi had bought it, thinking that he could easily master the magics
held within, if it even worked. Just about every other magical book had been
a flop, and it was a good chance that this one was as well. He had even
practiced every spell in another tome before finally seeing "Made in Taiwan"
printed on the inside back cover!
After seeing Ranma so belligerent, Gosunkugi realized that the old
book did indeed have some power to it. The owner probably hadn't thought so,
even though he had charged a pretty yen for it.
But what to do? Could he reverse it? Maybe even cast the correct
spell? He had to try, Ranma had to be brought low. The feeling of working
actual magic, even if it had backfired, was a heady thing indeed. If he
could get the hang of it, then he would become a force to be reckoned with!
He walked to the nearest pile of books, a dreamy smile on his face. Things
were finally...
//Hmm. Not here.\\ He stepped over to another pile, looking through
the titles and realizing that the book wasn't there, either. His concern
began to grow as he searched another pile, then another, and another.
//Oh, crap, don't tell me!\\ His search became frantic, old books on
magic flying about as he desperately sought the book. This couldn't be
happening, not now, not to him!
"WHERE IS IT?"
==============================================
"RYOGA!" The shout startled the lost boy, his body jerking
involuntarily at the suddeness of the sound. The voice was familiar, but for
the life of him he couldn't place it.
He put away the map, damn things weren't of any use to him anyway,
and looked for the source of the shout. His eyes fell on Ranma, his
customary anger stumbling a bit when he beheld the other's face.
"What do you want, Ranma?" he shouted in reply. Wow, he had never
seen Saotome so... pissed before. Wait, what was he doing in Kyoto? This WAS
Kyoto, right?
"What do you think, asshole?" Ryoga was almost taken aback at the
challenge and anger in Ranma's voice. So, Ranma really wanted to fight, huh?
Ryoga was only too happy to oblige.
"Looks like you finally got some spine, Ranma!" Ryoga taunted,
parasol at the ready. He had to admit, it was refreshing being challenged by
Ranma for once instead of having to hunt for the little twerp all over
creation. This made things so much easier.
"SHUT UP AND FIGHT!" The first attack came with blinding speed, a
lunging punch that Ryoga almost couldn't block. Caught momentarily
off-guard, he countered with a right uppercut which Ranma managed to side step.
The fight grew more intense by the second, speed versus power as the
two rivals went at it hammer and tongs. A blazing Amaguriken attack smashed
into Ryoga's chest, launching him back into the brick wall behind him. He
barely managed to roll clear of the resulting crater before Ranma's diving
kick sailed through the space his head once occupied. Grabbing his discarded
parasol, Ryoga tossed the weapon at Ranma. The canopy snapped open, the
whirling edges glinting in the sunlight as it screamed towards the pigtailed
boy.
Ranma leapt clear, the umbrella passing harmlessly beneath him and
burrowing through the wall of a nearby building. As Ranma descended and the
pedestrians scattered to relative safety, Ryoga hastily re-evaluated Ranma's
intentions.
He had never seen Ranma so enraged before, so violent. Whenever they
fought, Ranma acted as if the battle was of no consequence to him. As if it
were a game. Now, however, he was acting like killing Ryoga was the only
thing that mattered in the world. For the first time, Ryoga was becoming
genuinely wary of his rival.
"Is that the best you can do, numbnuts?" Ranma spat as he landed. "I
could pull a better attack outta my ass!"
"SHUT UP!" Ryoga charged the leering Ranma, his uncertainty
forgotten. Ranma rushed to greet him, the two exchanging blows at lightning
speed.
//What the hell's going on?\\ Something was wrong, Ryoga could feel
it. Ranma's technique was completely different, absorbing blows instead of
avoiding them. Ryoga grinned ferally at Ranma's mistake. Ranma was trying to
beat him at his own game! Well, so much the better then!
"What's the matter, P-CHAN!" Ranma howled as he landed shot after
shot on Ryoga's head and torso, "am I too tough for ya?" Ryoga leapt clear,
the deluge of punches and kicks forcing him to back off.
//This is impossible!\\ Ranma was nowhere near as hardy as he was,
and yet he was taking shots that could crumble boulders! Ranma stood there,
mocking him with pig noises without a single blemish visible on his body.
Ryoga's breath came in deep and painful gasps, the beating finally catching
up to him. How could anyone be so driven by rage? Ryoga finally learned what
it was like to be on the receiving end of such anger, and the lesson was
painful indeed.
"In your dreams, Ranma," he growled, pushing himself back to his feet.
"Dreams can come true, ya know!" The Ki bolt formed in Ranma's hands
with amazing quickness, the yellow orb tinged with arcs of red growing
dramatically before launching.
//Oh, shit!\\ Ryoga took a step back, quickly glancing around for
anyone who might still be in the way. That split-second of responsible
behavior proved to be a painful mistake.
The impact was intense, more painful than anything he had felt
before. The physical impact was followed by fire that seemed to burn
straight through him. The world vanished in the blast of yellow Ki. He felt
himself tossed backward as the pain seared his every nerve, the stone wall
behind him scarecly registering as he smashed through it.
He lay there for a few seconds, the burning sensation fading as the
world came back into focus. Every inch of him hurt, even the roots of his
hair throbbed as he slowly rose to his feet.
His vision blurred for a moment as he wavered on his feet, the scene
becoming clearer as he shook off the effects of the blast. The wall before
him held a sizeable hole, the sunlight spilling through and lighting up the
floor. Several tables lay scattered around him, a frightened murmur buzzing
from behind.
//Oh, crap...\\ A familiar shadow darkened the newly-formed
entrance, a reddish-orange orb of supercharged Ki rapidly forming in its
hand. //Gotta move fast!\\ Ryoga called upon his vast reserves of anger and
depression, the green sphere forming in his own hands. He dumped more and
more negative emotions into the orb, the Shi Shi Hokodan charging faster
than it ever had before.
"MOKO TAKABISHA!"
"SHI SHI HOKODAN!" The twin blasts slammed into each other with a
violent fury, the two energies explosively cancelling each other out. The
world became filled with light as the shockwave sent Ryoga tumbling
backward, toppling more desks and crashing him thorugh the thin plaster wall
behind him.
Slowly, painfully, he rose once more, deciding that discretion
really was the better part of valor. Ryoga stumbled to the nearest door,
hoping that Ranma was as out of it as he was. Running from a fight galled
him, but it was far better to fight again another day.
Ranma pulled himself out of the car the blast had nearly embedded
him in, his fury rising to new and dangerous heights. That sneaky little
bastard had managed to pull one more rabbit out of his hat, and Ranma would
see him pay for it.
Growling like an animal, Ranma charged thorugh the gaping hole in
the wall, his eyes scanning everything. The room was a total shambles,
tables and chairs splintered and strewn in every direction. Several people
cowered along the back wall, terror in their eyes as they gazed at him.
Fueled by their fear and his own rage, Ranma charged through the
Ryoga-shaped hole in the far back wall. The room was empty, an open door to
his right the only other sign that the little piggy had been there.
"GET BACK HERE!" he screamed to the empty corridor, "I AIN'T DONE
WITH YOU YET!" As suddenly as the anger had come, the feeling ebbed, leaving
Ranma drained and spent. His hands shot to his head, a keening moan escaping
his lips as the pain set in, a pounding drumbeat that threatened to tear his
skull apart.
//What.... did I... do?\\ Those people, all those civillians, he
coulda really hurt them! Ranma staggered almost drunkenly down the corridor,
away from the site of the battle. He had to get away, had to keep control!
//What's happening to me?!\\
==============================================
Ryoga sat in the alleyway, back against a dumpster as he spent the
next ten minutes teaching himself how to breathe without coughing. He then
began to twist himself around until the bones of his spine were a little
less tangled. It was all excruciating, but it took his mind off the
resounding defeat.
His tunic was torn, even burnt in some places, one of his eyes
already swollen shut. As Ryoga sat there, he wondered just how Ranma had
gotten so powerful. Was it some sort of new technique? One that used so much
anger that any attacks could literally cause burns?
It was possible, the technique could use such a towering rage to
boost even normal attacks to lethal proportions. On the downside, however,
it seemed to send you out of control.
Ryoga was apalled at Ranma's sudden lack of concern for innocent
bystanders. The man just hadn't cared who got hurt, so long as he got a
fight. Ryoga had to admit, while Ranma may have been a piece of womanizing
scum, he never risked hurting innocent people. That was one saving grace at
least. But now...
How the technique affected him wasn't important. All that mattered
was finding Akane, he had to protect her from the madman Ranma had become.
Then, he could find a way to counter that anger technique. From there...
Ryoga almost had a nosebleed at the thoughts of him and Akane together.
Pushing those thoughts away with some difficulty, he painfully got
to his feet and stumbled towards the alley entrance. Lousy navigational
sense be damned, he had to find Akane!
For once, it seemed that fortune was smiling on Ryoga Hibiki that
day. As he stumbled out of the alley, someone bumped into him from behind.
He turned around, ready to issue an apology, when he heard her voice.
"Ryoga!" Akane gasped, "What happened?"
"A-Akane...." he stammered, his heart triphammering. How could he
have found her so fast?
"Hey, sugar, you look like somethin' the cat dragged in," Ukyo said
from beside Akane, her school uniform still in place.
"Oh, this?" Ryoga said, his pride coming to bear, "it's nothing. You
should see the other guy." Ukyo and Akane glared at him, clearly not
believing it. "Listen, Akane, I've been looking for you. There's..."
"Ranma did it, didn't he?" she asked, though the tone of her voice
told him she already knew the answer.
"Yeah." Ryoga paused for a second, the gears in his mind nearly
stripping. "Hey, how'd you know?" Ryoga looked from one to the other,
finally noticing the blemish on Ukyo's cheek. "What happend to you?!"
"C'mon, Ryoga," Akane said, "it's a long story."
=============================================
//Finally home.\\ The dojo was empty as far as Ranma could tell. The
sliding door that led to the path outside to the house proper was tightly
shut, and for the first time Ranma was alone.
He leaned against the plastered wall, the pain in his head becoming
unbearable. No matter how hard he tried, the primal urge to lash out at
everything still tainted his conscious thoughts.
//Gotta... get a grip on it...\\ Ranma thought as he gathered what
was left of his will. He had to control it, use it to make himself stronger.
He had to focus all this anger and hate, maybe get rid of it in some kind of
monster Ki blast or something. It was worth a shot so long as nothing
happened to make him lose it again.
Ranma heard the door to the storage room open, a curse almost
escaping his throat. The footsteps were soft and even, the presence very
familiar. Oh, no, of all times, why now?
"Well, well, well," the sardonic voice said, "if it isn't Ranma.
Fancy finding you here."
"Get lost, Nabiki," Ranma said, his voice a choked rumble. "This
ain't a good time." He could feel the rage swelling up again, warping his
perceptions and rekindling the flames. If she didn't get out and quick...
"Oh, I think it's the perfect time, Ranma dear," she replied in her
traditional haughty voice. Despite himself, Ranma looked up into her smug
and superior face, the unreasoning hatred nearly seizing him completely. Oh,
how he wanted to rip that look off her face!
"I mean it, Nabiki," Ranma said, "go away!"
"Oh, not until you hear my latest offer."
//Can't... give... in!\\ He couldn't hurt Nabiki, no matter how much
she deserved it. She couldn't fight back against him! She was a GIRL!
"You see, I saw what happened in the hall today. Now, wouldn't it be
interesting if somehow Genma found out that you slapped Ukyo? And nearly
crushed Akane's hand? Genma AND Daddy would definitely want a word with you,
not to mention Ryoga and Kuno."
Nabiki paused for a moment to let the implications sink in. She knew
she had him. Even though he had almost hurt her sister, this was a business
opportunity and she would not pass it up.
"Of course, I'm perfectly willing to sit on this. For a small fee,
of course." Nabiki hardly saw him move, the impact to her solar plexus as
hard as it was swift. The blow to her head came not a second later, the
coppery tang of blood filling her mouth as she sank to her knees.
She felt a hand grip her hair, roughly yanking her upward. Her heart
nearly stopped cold when she saw the anger in Ranma's sea-blue eyes. For the
first time, Nabiki Tendo knew true fear.
"Ranma..." she said, spitting out blood and a tooth. Never had she
thought he would actually hit her, his hangup about fighitng women a decent
insurance policy against the threat. Until now.
"Did you really think that this wouldn't happen, bitch!" Ranma's
voice was filled with fire, promising very painful things to come. "Did you
think I actually liked being your personal pin-up girl? That I wouldn't pay
you back for all the times you used me just to make a few yen?"
"Ranma, let me go!" Another blow connected with her stomach, her
breath leaving her lungs in a rush as he tossed her against the nearest
wall. Her head slammed against the surface, the world losing focus as she
slid down to the floor.
"This is MY playground, Nabsy," Ranma snarled, "and it's high time
you learned the rules!"
"S-stay away from me!" She looked about, desperate for escape from
the insane martial artist before her. She had no illusions about her chances
of slipping away, Ranma was easily fast enough to put the kibosh on running.
"Or what, you'll scream?" The mirthless chuckle in his words chilled
her to the bone. Oh, no, she did not like this at all. "You think that fat
bastard and your simpering excuse of a father can take me? Go ahead, scream!
I'll be done with you LONG before they get here!"
"HELP ME!!!!!!"
=============================================
Well, this looks like a good spot to end it. ^_- I didn't finish it
this go 'round, but it'll be done in another installment or so. In the
meantime, I'd love to hear what you think!
Jed