Permanent
Part 26
Hunter of Evil, Demon of Light.
Akane stood inside a Ramen booth as the sun set behind her. In her hands
was a bowl of instant Ramen that was now nearly gone. "Out again eh? A
young girl like yourself shouldn't be out this late," commented the cook
with a small frown.
"Don't worry, if there's one thing I can do, its handle myself at
night," replied Akane as she paid for her meal and stepped out of the
booth.
"I only hope that's true," commented the man with a half-hearted smile
as he turned away from her to the next customer.
Akane smiled as she walked away and pulled her dirty brown cloak over
her head. She had taken it from a mugger in her early nights of wandering
almost two weeks ago. She didn't really know why, but she liked the look
it gave her, mysterious and intimidating.
She swaggered out into the street looking for more interesting places,
she didn't get far though.
"So we meet again demon," said a familiar voice from behind her.
Akane spun around to see a recently familiar sword pointed at her in the
hands of a young blonde woman no older than she was. "What do you want?
Why can't you just leave me alone Keiko?"
"How dare you address me in such a familiar manner!" snapped the angry
girl as she rushed forward.
"What the hell did I do now?" sighed Akane as she jumped out of range
easily and landed on a sign that hung from a nearby business.
"Evil that never sleeps, your dark heart will be your undoing! I shall
conquer you at last tonight!" screamed the girl in a rage as she jumped
up and cut Akane's sign from underneath her.
"Give it a rest will ya? All I've done is buy some Ramen!" she snapped
in retort as she landed nearby on the pavement.
"Die monster!" screamed the girl as she charged again, only to be
outmaneuvered again as Akane rolled away.
"Who are you calling a monster? You do more damage with that stupid
sword than I ever could!" retorted Akane.
"Shut up and fight hell spawn!" screamed Keiko as she rushed forward and
cut a dumpster in half with another missed strike.
"Hell spawn?! Are you out of your mind? Every time I try to do anything
you're breathing down my neck for no reason! I tried to catch the panty
thief and you got in my way! I tried to stop a mugging and guess who
showed up just in time to let those punks get away, and now I stop for a
bowl of Ramen and here you are!" She rushed forward at an unbelievable
speed and slammed her fist into the girl's gut sending her to her knees.
"Get off it you psycho!"
Keiko recovered from the blow and glanced around angrily only to find
her quarry had vanished again. "Damn it!" The familiar electronic static
filled her ears again.
"Got away again Keiko?" said the voice with a heavy sigh.
"You shut up you! I'll get her yet!" screamed the girl in retort as she
ignored the strange looks the people on the street were giving her.
On the roof above the scene a figure dressed in a long white cloak stood
watching. Golden locks of hair flowed from his hood blowing dramatically
in a nonexistent wind as he smiled down on the girl. "Interesting." He
raised his arm revealing a strangely glowing claw like hand. A ball of
light formed in his palm followed by a flash of light; when it dissipated
he was gone.
Ranma dusted off her hands and untied her apron as she sat down after
the Cat Caf� finally closed its doors for the evening. "What a night."
"Is very busy tonight yes?" said Talcum as she rubbed the back of
Ranma's neck before sitting down across from her with Ko li beside her.
"I suppose so, but those stupid Young Japanese Businessmen's Association
jerks irritated me. We haven't had this many marks on the board since we
started," muttered Ranma a little bitterly.
"Yes, um thank you sister Ranma," said Talcum with a small bow.
"Sure thing kid, now I know why you hate them so much," replied the girl
with a weak smile.
Cologne hopped over to them and sat down after putting Shampoo and
Mousse in the kitchen for the night. The pair slept on a small pad in the
back of the kitchen area now. Ryoga was long gone for the evening
already.
She smiled at the girls and sat down with them. "We did well this
evening."
"All right ghoul, spill it," replied Ranma cautiously.
"Who's a ghoul?" snapped Cologne as she hit the girl square in her head.
Ranma rubbed the spot for a moment and leaned forward when she remained
silent. "Well?"
"You are too perceptive young Ranma, I wanted to ask you about that
night. The one that you spent at the Tendo's?" said the old woman calmly.
Talcum and Ko li leaned forward towards her suddenly interested.
"I got drunk," said Ranma simply. "And then I accosted Akane in her
room. I think it was because I went into the old man's room while I was
drunk. I must have absorbed some of the perversion. In the end nothing
happened."
Ko li nodded in agreement. "From what the elder tells us it's probably
true."
Talcum and Cologne were not convinced in the slightest. Ranma obviously
didn't believe the excuse herself. "Well, I only hope you're careful
child. Try not to drink so much in the future."
Talcum remained silent and got a strange smile on her face as she
watched Ranma carefully. "So, it seems she has a weakness after all?" she
thought privately.
The three women walked up stairs for the evening and went to bed. Ranma
stopped long enough to read a few more pages in one of her books before
settling down for the night.
Hikaru Gosunkugi stepped into his bed and shook his head groggily. For
some strange reason he didn't really feel like trying to find a way to
fix his arm that night. He glanced back over his shoulder and noticed the
strange shadow was still there. "I hope this wears off soon."
He paused for a moment as a strange laughter seemed to fill the room
suddenly. "Maybe I should tell Ranma about this?" He blinked and shook
his head as he suddenly felt very tired. "Maybe tomorrow."
Akane Tendo stood on the rooftops of Nerima as the night dragged on.
Both of her eyes glowed with power as she overlooked the city. "I wonder
how that girl keeps finding me?" She jumped down onto the street and
started walking. The area she was in wasn't a particularly good area and
she navigated fearlessly through the alleys and dark back streets.
She turned the corner and came face to face with a group of men clad in
leather jackets. "Well, well, it seems I've found a rats nest," she
thought. She did not attack them yet, instead she walked fearlessly by.
One of them moved in front of her with a stupid looking grin.
"Hey babe! What you doin out at a time like this?" he said as smoothly
as he could. He wasn't an ugly boy, but not exactly a bishonen manga hero
either.
"Go away," she said stepping slowly by him.
"Aw, come on babe! It's not safe here! You could get hurt in a place
like this, let us walk you back to the street at least," pleaded the boy
with a strangely predatory smile.
"No thanks, I can handle myself," she commented pushing by again. The
boy's stood watching dumbly and started to follow her as she walked
through the back alleys staying closely behind her.
The lead boy grabbed her shoulder and smiled as she turned to face him
again. "Look, I mean it. There are a lot of dangerous characters around
here. I'll even do it for free, the boy's don't mind. This is no place
for a girl."
She smiled at him and shook her head. This group looked tough, but they
didn't appear particularly dangerous. "Sorry boys, but I know what I'm
doing." With that said she jumped up onto the rooftops leaving them
staring at her in shock, or where she had been moments before.
Akane smiled to herself, the boys had been real jerks, but hardly a
problem she needed to deal with. She landed on another rooftop and
frowned as she saw someone waiting for her there. It was a girl with long
dark hair tied back into a ponytail. In her hand was a mace of some kind,
mostly ornamental with a few charms hanging from the tip.
"I've been waiting demon," she snarled.
Akane sighed. "Who the hell are you?"
"I am the Demon Killer Jukaru, and you have met your end!" cried the
girl as she charged. The staff took on a strange glow and Akane jumped
away as a beam of light slammed into the ground where she had been
standing moments before.
"Hey! You could hurt someone!" she snapped as she lashed out with a kick
that sent the strange mystic object flying across the roof. She then
pushed out with her arm pinning the strange girl to the wall.
Jukaru could not move as fear gripped her heart. The demon raised its
fist and prepared the strike that would probably end her days here and
now, or at least put her in a world of hurt. She braced herself for the
impact never closing her eyes determined to stare death in its eyes no
matter what. The thing looked mostly human, with a black scar and a
single golden eye hidden behind her bangs on the left side of her face.
She could see nothing in the golden eye, no fear, hatred, or any other
emotion.
Akane froze as she saw a sudden fear in her eyes, it was obvious the
girl had not been expecting such a quick reaction. She lowered her fist
and released the girl to the ground. "Go home kid, you could get hurt out
here." She turned away and jumped off the roof.
"What the?" muttered the girl as she walked over and retrieved her staff
in confusion. "Mercy... from a demon?" She narrowed her eyes and snorted
in disgust. No doubt it was playing with her now, not seeing her as any
real threat it had left her on the roof unharmed. She would teach it
differently the next time their paths crossed.
Morning came entirely too soon. Ranma woke up and met Ko li and Talcum
in the bath. "Mornin," she slurred to her two friends.
"Morning Ranma!" chirped Talcum cheerfully as she sat next to her in the
furo. Ko li rolled her eyes and dumped a bucket over her head cleaning
off the soap.
"Ranma, do you have notes for the math test we have today?" asked Ko li
with a knowing smile.
"Ack! No! I've been so busy with all that's been going on lately that I
forgot!" she panicked and jumped out of the water. The amazon pushed her
back down and smiled warmly.
"Don't worry, you can borrow mine, just don't forget to study during
breaks," she said warmly.
Ranma blushed and nodded grimly. "Thanks."
"Why you look so sad Ranma?" asked Talcum with a worried look on her
face.
"She's just afraid she's going to fail the test," replied the other
Amazon lazily.
"I'm not, I could use a spell or something if I was that worried, I
just... what am I worried about?" Ranma blinked and tried to remember.
"Is worried about seeing lover Akane again," snorted Talcum as she stood
out of the tub and wrapped her towel around her body.
"We aren't lovers, nothing happened," insisted Ranma, it was clear this
would become an old conversation quickly.
"Yea, is too bad," said the girl with a giggle as she walked out of the
room.
"The scary thing is I think I agree with her," thought Ranma with her
frown deepening slightly.
"You know Ranma, it's easy to forget there's a man in there somewhere,"
said Ko li as she followed the other Amazon out leaving her alone with
her thoughts.
"Too easy," agreed Ranma. She had a feeling today would be more eventful
than most. The calm before the storm had set in once again.
Akane walked across the schoolyard with her bag in her hand. She paused
and leaned against the tree with Kuno. He glanced at her for a moment and
returned to his reading. "Good morning Tendo."
"Is it?" she said out loud without really meaning it.
"You seem tired," noted the boy lazily as he flipped the page.
"Long night," replied Akane.
"Ah, demon killers bothering you again are they?" noted the boy lazily.
"Yea, I'm not sure what to do about it either," agreed Akane. "I can't
kill them, but they're such a pain."
Kuno nodded silently before closing his book and looking at her. "I've
seen you going out at times, my eyes can see far into Nerima now. You
should be more cautious, stay home at night Akane, one of these days
these hunters will get lucky."
The girl nodded at his reply and hung her head. "I guess you're right,
but..."
"There is a reason you go out this way?" he pressed.
"Yes, but I'm not really sure what it is," said Akane honestly. "I think
I'm looking for something, but I don't know what it is?"
"Enlightenment perhaps?" said the boy as he raised his eyebrow and
smiled.
"Maybe," said the girl with a thoughtful look. "I'm just not sure."
"Well, if you find it let me know, I'll be very interested to hear about
it." Kuno stood and made his way towards the building.
"Gosunkugi," Kuno nodded towards the boy as he passed.
Hikaru froze and blinked in surprise. He and Kuno had gotten along well,
but even the kendoist usually failed to notice him when passing by.
"Weird." He almost had a heart attack when two other boys stopped him.
"Hey, Gosunkugi. What happened to your arm?" said Hiroshi as he pulled
him aside Daisuke was with him and staring intently at the stub.
"I had a little accident a few weeks ago," replied the boy with a shrug.
"Weeks ago?" said Daisuke in disbelief.
"No one usually notices me," answered the boy.
"Well, I'm sorry to hear that, you should be more careful," said Hiroshi
with a friendly nod.
"Right," he turned to see Akane Tendo watching him with a disinterested
look on her face. He smiled at her and caught himself. "She noticed me?"
He didn't feel the joy he usually would in this situation. Her eyes fell
away from him with a uncomfortable look about her. For some reason that
pleased him.
Akane watched Hikaru pass by and frowned. The look he had given her was
unusual for him. He had a strange confidence around him that she had
never seen before. He didn't look as sickly as he usually did either. He
was still frail, but now looked... healthy. She turned away from him and
glanced back a moment later to see him walking towards the building
again. "I guess Ranma's been good for him too."
Ryoga had met Ranma on the way to school. He paused and turned towards
her. "Ranma, why do I get the feeling something important is going to
happen today?"
"You too huh?" replied the girl with a frown. "I'm not sure if it's good
or bad though."
"Well, at least it won't be boring," sighed the boy.
"I can guarantee you that Mr. P."
A figure stood overlooking Furinkan High School. The sun was at the
figure's back as it moved towards the school. A vicious looking smile was
etched onto the stranger's features. It spoke a single word as it walked.
"Ranma."
TBC...
Next time: It's a secret! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!
C&C: Carrotglace@juno.com
URL: Http://www.geocities.com/misatira/