What has gone before:
Hikaru Gosunkugi, using a mystical book he bought from an occult
book store, attempted a spell meant to make Ranma cowardly and weak.
Instead, it made Ranma an enraged madman, lashing out at anything in sight.
After violent confrontations with Hinako, Ukyo, Akane, Nabiki, and
Ryoga, the secret of Ryoga's curse was revealed to Akane. Later, after Ranma
had been subdued and chained to prevent him from harming anyone else, he
contemplated killing his adversary. Akane, who walked in just as Ryoga had
decided not to harm Ranma, flew into a rage of her own, telling Ryoga to
leave and never come back.
Meanwhile, Nabiki and Soun bring Cologne, who examines Ranma and
determines what the problem is. She tells Akane to assemble the others,
saying that if they didn't hurry, Ranma would die.
==================================================
Ranma 1/2: The Rage, Part Five
==================================================
"Okay, Cologne," Nabiki said, "let's take it from the top." Cologne
looked to each face, eyes fixed intently on her as she pondered where to
begin. Tension crackled in the air like an electric current, whirling
emotions adding to the barely restrianed storm that threatened to tear the
fragile silence. The trouble was, she didn't know what they needed to hear
the most. Nothing is every easy, she thought with a mental sigh as she began.
"Ranma has been afflicted with a rage spell," she said, starting
with the obvious.
"Rage spell?"
"As its name implies, it is a magic that induces horrific anger in
its victims."
"What about Ranma dying?" Ukyo shouted, her voice tight from fear
and anger. Cologne couldn't begrudge her the question, it was what everyone
wanted to hear about the most.
"I am getting to that, Ukyo," Cologne said in her most patient
voice. "There is more to this spell than you think."
"Such as?"
"For starters, Akane, this is not a spell that I can remove."
"Oh, my..."
"You gotta be kidding!"
"My son! My son!"
"QUIET!" Silence eventually returned, the growing maelstrom of raw
emotions raising the fine hairs on the back of her neck. "It must be removed
by the one who cast it. No one else can."
"So, who cast it?" Nabiki asked, the color struggling to return to
her face.
"If I knew, I would tell you."
"Cologne," Tofu said from beside her, "what else can you tell us
about this rage spell?"
"The anger it causes is Ranma's own." Everyone looked at her,
confusion plain on their wide-eyed faces. Sighing, she continued, "Nabiki,
when Ranma attacked you, what did he say?"
"That this was his playground, and I had better learn the rules."
Cologne saw an involuntary shudder run through Nabiki's body at the
recollection of her treatment at Ranma's hands, and her heart went out to
the young girl.
"Did he say anything to effect of 'you had this coming'?"
"Yes." Nabiki's voice became small and frightened, her two sisters
draping supportive arms around her bandaged shoulders.
"What are you saying, Cologne?" Genma asked.
"That somehwere, deep inside, Ranma feels that way." Nabiki burst
into tears, whether from Cologne's satement of from her memories of the
beating she didn't know.
"Liar." The sheer venom in Ukyo's voice nearly took her aback.
"Ranchan doesn't feel that way! He doesn't feel that I'm some fucked up slut!"
"Perhaps that was a bad way to phrase it," Cologne ammended. "I know
that Ranma resents having four fiancees. It may not seem so to some of you,
but he does."
"What's your point?" Akane snarled.
"The purpose of a rage spell is to take one's existing feelings of
anger and resentment and bring them to the surface. However, at the same
time it increases them, twisting them into hate and loathing.
"What I am trying to explain is, while Ranma does not see you as a
'fucked up slut', he does abhor something about you. The spell just dragged
that out and warped it."
"How will this kill him?" Kasumi asked, heading off the coming
explosion. Cologne smiled inwardly in gratitude to the eldest Tendo daughter.
"Doctor Tofu, you said something about Ranma's ki being hot, correct?"
"Yes. I've never seen anything like it."
"And that the Shiatsu point you used only weakened him?"
"Yes."
"A rage spell also increases one's power by a few orders of
magnitude. The anger coursing through him now has rendered him nearly
invulnerable to all but the most powerful techniques.
"But such power does not come without a price. His superheated aura
is generated by that rage. In essence, there is a fire burning inside his
mind, body, and soul."
"So you're saying that Ranma... will burn to death?" Akane asked in
a frightened voice.
"If his heart does not give out first," Tofu replied. "The human
body can only take so much stress. When I last checked his pulse, it was
racing as if he had just run across Tokyo. If it goes on much longer, he'll
go into cardiac arrest."
"We must move quickly," Cologne said. "If the spell is not removed
soon, Ranma will die. But be warned, just because the spell is removed does
not mean he is out of danger."
"Huh?"
"If we take too long to remove the spell, the shock of having his
anger taken away so suddenly will also kill him."
"What're you talking about?!"
"Maybe I can explain this, Akane," Tofu said, wiping the residual
mist off his glasses. Cologne foudn it somewhat sad, how he could only
remain in his right mind around Kasumi in the most dire circumstances. At
least he wasn't trying to dance with his plastic skeleton again.
"You see, Ranma's anger is dumping a great deal of adrenaline into
his bloodstream. When the spell is broken, and his rage removed, it's
logical to assume that the adrenaline produced could vanish as well.
"If that were to happen, then Ranma could go into shock, almost like
slamming into a brick wall at a high rate of speed. Such a jolt to his
system would very likely kill him."
================================================
Night began to descend on the world, the coming shadows greedily
consuming everything in their path. The air was warm and humid, bringing the
promise of a sweltering summer in the approaching weeks.
Ryoga Hibiki sat atop the roof of the Tendo Dojo, staring up at what
few stars he could find. Gazing at the myriad pinpricks of light hanging
unencumbered in the endless dark sky had always brought him calm when he was
lost, but no more.
Why am I still here? he thought as he tried to locate the north
star. The question had nagged him incessantly since mid afternoon, when
Akane had... Akane.....
Ryoga violently choked off the tears that tried to escape. Crying
wouldn't make anything right again. He didn't know what would, but crying
would not help.
He had listened in on Cologne's account of what had, and what would,
happen to Ranma, and found himself feeling guilty. After all the times he
had wished Saotome dead, and now to learn that it would happen....
I have to set this right, he thought as he rose to a sitting
position on the tile roof. I don't know how, but I have to do it.
Maybe Akane would come to forgive him in time. She would never learn
to love him, but at least she might be his friend. Perhaps that was for the
best after all.
===========================================
Ukyo upended the bucket, allowing the cold water to wash the last of
the soap and sweat from her body. She stood alone in the small washroom
adjacent to the large bath, shivering slightly as the water coursed down the
drain.
Ranma doesn't hate me, she thought as she glanced at her reflection,
he loves me. Right?
Cologne's statement about Ranma's anger being his own disturbed her.
The thought that anyone could harbor so much rage and loathing was beyond
her. But, Ranma was still under that rage spell! Even if there was something
about her that he didn't like, so what? It had been the spell talking when
he called her a doorknob, not him!
But what is it? she thought as she sank into the steamy bath water.
The warmth began to seep into her muscles, relaxing them as she leaned her
head back against the rim of the tub. What was it about her that he didn't like?
She looked down at her breasts, thinking that was it. She kept them
bound all the time, always trying her level best to look like a man. Maybe
Ranma wanted someone more feminine? If so, then Shampoo had her beat by a
mile. Unless....
"That's it, Ranchan," she muttered aloud, "I'm gonna look like the
woman I am for you. But first, we're gonna break that spell. I'm gonna find
who did this to you, and I'll make him pay."
==============================================
"Ranma?" Kasumi stepped into the room, finding Ranma still bound
securely in the corner. The red haired girl's eyes immediately locked on
hers, the whirling emotions in their depths betryaing the anguish inside.
Muffled sounds came from behind the black leather bit between Ranma's teeth,
grunts of pain and anger that set Kasumi's own fears on edge.
"Would you like some water?" Ranma nodded her head, her eyes calming
somewhat as Kasumi held forth the cool glass. "Good, you must be thirsty.
Here, let me remove this for you."
Kneeling before her, Kasumi placed the glass on the floor before
reaching around Ranma's head to unclasp the snaps holding the gag in place.
The bar came free a second later, the sound of Ranma's labored breathing
filling her ears.
"How are you feeling?"
"Burns... inside..." Ranma managed through clenched teeth. Her voice
was strained and cracked, barely audible whimpers escaping her lips.
"Hurts.... to try and control it.... Like there's a war in my head!"
"Shhh.... it's okay, Ranma," Kasumi cooed, embracing her in her best
reassuring hug. "We're here, and we'll help you." She stroked Rama's hair,
the heat of her skin seeping through the yellow sweater Kasumi wore.
Cologne's warning immediately replayed itself, that Ranma could easily burn
to death if they moved too slow.
Releasing her, Kasumi picked up the glass, condensation forming a
slick sheen on the surface and placed it to Ranma's lips. The red haired
girl drank deeply, almost trying to inhale the liquid as it drained from the
glass to her throat.
"That's enough, Ranma," Kasumi said gently as she took the glass
away. "We don't want any to go down the wrong way."
"Kasumi?" she asked after a moment, turning her tomented eyes to
her, "it... hurts..."
"I know it does...."
"NO!... the chains... My wrists are startin' to hurt..."
"Oh, let me look, then."
Kasumi gently pushed Ranma forward, the chains clacking softly
against each other. The latticework of linked steel was almost confusing at
first, with chain seeming to go every which way around the smaller girl's
body. From the looped bonds around her upper arms stretched a short length
of chain attached to a padlock. Another length ran from the lock to her
crossed wrists. Kasumi could see red marks down where the metal met Ranma's
bare skin, and could see a trace of blood marring the cold blue of the steel.
"Oh, my," she muttered. Kasumi reached into her apron, producing a
small bandage of the sort she always kept handy. From another pocket, she
pulled out the key that would release every lock on the series of chains.
Her hand paused halfway to the lock, caution finally rearing it's
ugly head. If she loosened the chains, even just to bandage Ranma's wrists,
she might try to attack. If she got the key and managed to free herself...
But she's bleeding! another part of her cried. You have to help!
Kasumi's hand remained frozen, fear and sympathy clashing for control. She
wanted to help, but was this the right way?
A strained grunt came from Ranma's lips as a tremor passed through
her. Poor dear, she must be in agony! The battle inside Kasumi ended, with
compassion winning out. Ranma was in pain, and she would at least ease some
of it.
"Hold still, Ranma, I'm going to bandage your wrists."
"Th-thanks... When Akane splashed me... I got a little control back.
I.... I..." The words choked off abruptly as another shudder ripped through
Ranma's body.
"Just relax, Ranma, I'll take care of it."
The key turned in the lock, the latch popping open with a soft
clack. Working quickly, Kasumi unhitched the chain leading to Ranma's
wrists. She pulled the length down, discovering that it was actually a much
longer piece that had been wrapped around the other girl's wrists and
connected to the lock in the center of her spine.
Up close, the abrasions were even worse. Blood trickled from the red
and lacerated flesh, some of the chains sticky with it. Silently, she set to
work bandaging Ranma's wrists.
"Y'know, Kasumi?" Ranma asked, her voice suddenly strong and
menacing. Kasumi's hands stopped, icy fear sinking its talons into her heart
as the realization hit her. Oh, what had she done? "You're even dumber than
I thought!" The last thing Kasumi felt was Ranma's head smashing into hers
before the abyss of unconsciousness claimed her.
========================================
Ranma shoved the gag into Kasumi's mouth, snapping it as tight as
she could manage. The chains which once adorned her own body were now
wrapped tight around Kasumi, holding her in a fierce hogtie. Ranma examined
her work for a moment, shaking from the force of the rage pounding
throughout her body.
Kill her! it screamed. Do it! Waste the stupid bitch! Ranma glared
at the purple bruise on Kasumi's head, a rush of excitement lancing the
flames of his anger. She had that coming.
How? How did she deserve that? That nagging voice of reason held
little sway in the chaos of Ranma's thoughts, quickly drowning in the primal
rush of emotions that fueld her. She glanced at the key in her left hand,
the light playing on the brass surface. Well, the little bitch won't be
needing this! With a dismissive toss, the key landed beneath the small chest
of drawers that occupied the room.
Grinning like a madwoman, Ranma turned and headed for the door.
First, she'd change into something more comfortable, like her own body. And
then....
===========================================
Akane stared at the television, only pretending to watch the
American music video. The music washed across her ears, her mind not
registering the thundering, nitro driven guitar licks. All she heard was
something about a guy in a car with a bad habit of blowing stuff away.
Ranma... she thought. Her mind was a jumbled mess from having chased
its own tail for the remainder of the afternoon. Who could have done this to
Ranma? It had to have been one of his enemies...
Yeah, Akane, *that* really narrows it down. She stretched her legs
across the couch, covering her eyes with the back of her arm. Whoever was
responsible had to at least hae some skill in magic. Happosai was a likely
candidate, but why? What would he gain from this?
What about Cologne? She probably had the skill to do it. After all,
she *did* recognize the rage spell, and seemed to know a lot about it. But
what would she get out of it? While the old woman could be sneaky as all
hell, Akane somehow doubted she was the one behind it.
For a while, she had even considered Hikaru Gosunkugi, a thought
which had almost made her laugh out loud. He couldn't pull a rabbit out of a
full rabbit pen, much less cast a real spell.
"Akane?" the sudden voice startled her, shaking her back to the land
of the living. She looked up to see Doctor Tofu staring down at her, a
concerned look on his face.
"Yeah?"
"Have you seen Kasumi? She should be done checking on Ranma by now."
A cold feeling of dread settled over Akane at Tofu's statement. She
couldn't place her finger on it, but something suddenly seemed very wrong.
"No..." Akane glanced over at the clock that hung on the far wall,
the sensation of impending doom growing. She had been up there for... oh,
no. Please, say this isn't what I think it is!
Leaping up from the couch, Akane started at a dead run up the
stairs. She heard Tofu's thundering footfalls behind her only vaguely, her
mind now focused only on her eldst sister.
She kept trying to tell herself that it was nothing, that Kasumi had
probably went into her room for something. Maybe she had gone to the bath,
maybe...
Maybe something had happened.
The walls blurred past as she reaced up the staircase, heart
pounding in a cadence of terror. Ranma, he wouldn't dare hurt Kasumi, would
he? Of late, such facts about him that she had taken for granted were now
cast in doubt.
She cast open the door to Ranma's room, coming to a dead stop at the
sight of the empty corner. The spot was bare, as if he had never been there
at all. The feeling of dread became stark terror at the thought of Ranma on
the loose, and...
"KASUMI!" Silence was her only answer. "Kasumi!"
"What the..."
Akane took a small step forward just as the fain sound reached her
ears. She looked over to the shut door of the closet when the sound came
again. Before she could even move, Tofu had bounded over to the closet.
Swinging the door open, the two of them gasped at the sight of Kasumi lying
bound and gagged on the floor.
"Kasumi!" Her sister grunted anxiously as she writhed in the chains,
vainly tryign to free herself. "Hold on, I'll get you out of there!" She saw
Tofu's hand grasp one of the small padlocks, crushing it as if it were an
eggshell.
Akane was taken aback at the look on his face as he set to work on
the other locks while she unwrapped the chains. His jaw was set, eyes clear
and sharp. She found herself trying to avoid that piercing gaze while she
worked. She had never seen Doctor Tofu angry before, and knew at that moment
that she did not want to ever see it again.
=========================================
Well, that's enough for now, I think. Questions? Comments? Love to
hear em!
Jed
BTW, the song I as referring to in that whole music video scene was
the song Bad Habit, by the Offspring.