DISCLAIMER: Ranma and the other characters belonging Rumiko

Takahashi are used without permission. This chapter contains

adult material and graphic violence. Reader discretion is

advised.



As always, previous chapters and fanart are available at:

http://www.furinkan.net/fanfic/



----------------------------------------

THE CLAN



CH 23 - Sacrifices to be made

------------------------------------



    Akuji kept the grade-school girl quiet by the simple

expedient of crushing her throat. She had shown up early for

school, for reasons that Akuji didn't bother to speculate on. At

this time of morning the only other people in the school building

that could possibly interfere were the janitors, but Akuji still

didn't want to create any unecessary noise.



    As the girl gurgled, trying to draw oxygen into her ruined

airway past the pouring blood, Akuji dragged her limp body out of

the classroom and out of the school, careful not to let her bleed

on the floor. It was important that no one discover her body.

After all, if the vampires or the damned meddling boy found out

what he was doing, they could delay his plans.



* * *



    The bed was still warm where Ranma had been sleeping in it.

Despite the comfortable warmth, however, the nameless girl began

to twitch and writhe in her sleep. Her sleeping face spoke of

exhaustion, but she bared her teeth as if in anger, her long

fangs slashing angrily at the empty air. She cried out once, but

her eyes did not open. She settled after a few minutes, but a

troubled expression still haunted her face.



* * *





    Nabiki was angry at him, Ryouga thought. She hadn't said

anything the night before. She came in angrily and went straight

to bed. She wouldn't let him comfort her with his body or even

sleep in the bed with her. Ryouga slept fitfully, longing for the

softness and warmth of Nabiki's body.



    She didn't even drink his blood. Ryouga wondered what he

had done wrong.



    He rose early, and watched her face as she slept in the

pale dawn light.



    When the alarm went off, Nabiki refused to speak. A tired,

grumpy expression on her face, she dressed without looking at

Ryouga and stormed down the stairs. Ryouga pulled out a fresh

change of clothes for himself and followed after as soon as he

was dressed.



    Although it was crowded, breakfast was a very quiet affair.

Akane, her wings folded behind her, alternated between eating

ravenously and dozing lightly on the table. Kasumi kept large

portions of food coming out for the girl, but Akane seemed like a

bottomless pit. She even ate more than either Ryouga or Genma.



    Ukyou had a weary expression. She had borrowed one of

Akane's school uniforms, and was ready to go to school, but

looked as if she could use a few more hours of sleep as well. She

tugged frequently at the too-small uniform and did her best to

blink the sleepiness out of her eyes.



    Soun, Athia, and Genma on the other hand, looked positively

rested, even if both men were sporting the large black bruises

indicative of 'feeding' on the sides of their necks. Nodoka

looked rested as well, but there was an odd expression on her

face.



    "So you'll try to find Ranma today?" Kasumi asked Nabiki as

the two older women listened intently to the police-band radio.



    "Sure, sure," Nabiki sniped. "Go get boy wonder and see if

he wants to save the world."



    "I'll come too," Ryouga volunteered.



    "No," Nabiki commanded angrily. "Stay here."



    Ryouga felt as if he had been kicked.



    With breakfast over, Nabiki and Ukyou went off to school,

while Akane sleepily helped Kasumi clean up.



    Athia, Soun, Genma, Nodoka and Tofu discussed the situation

with Ranma and the Ravener King the night before while listening

to the relatively light traffic on the police-band radio. Ryouga

didn't feel like he had much to add, so he went outside and sat

by the pond.



    What had he done that upset Nabiki so badly? He really

didn't know. More than anything, he wanted her to be happy. He

felt complete, even satisfied, when Nabiki was happy. The only

way Ryouga really knew of making Nabiki happy was with his body,

but now she wouldn't allow him to do that.



    He had to find out what he had done to make her unhappy and

try to fix it. It came back to the fact, however, that she wasn't

speaking to him.



    Ryouga growled in frustration as his thoughts looped and

pounded his fist into a large stone near the koi pond. It cracked

slightly.



    He sat like that for a couple of hours, desperately trying

to think of some way to appease Nabiki and to make her happy

again. It all came back to the fact that he just didn't know what

was wrong.



    Finally, he came to the conclusion that he just couldn't

make any progress without getting more information. He had to

talk to her. The only way to do that was to actually go to her,

which meant finding her at school. He had been there before. How

hard could it be?



    Burning with the desire to make Nabiki happy again, Ryouga

rose from his position near the pond and ran around the house

until he found himself in the street. He ran in the direction of

the sun.



    If he had actually run in the direction of the school,

things would have turned out quite a bit differently that day.



     Less than a minute later, a large, grunting shape ran up

from the direction opposite Ryouga had run.



    "Go, Katsunishiki! Ryouga's not at his house, so maybe he's

at the Tendou's place. We're almost there!"



* * *



    *GRRRNNNNN*



    The group looked up in surprise from their conversation as

the loud grunt echoed through the house.



    "A pig?" Tofu asked.



    "Sounded more like a boar," Soun said.



    "It came from the front door," Athia said, rising to her

feet. She walked down the hallway to the door, opened it and

looked at what was behind it in wonder.



    "Hello!"



    "Hello," Athia responded. "Kasumi. There is a girl riding a

very large pig at your door."



    "Oh, that would be Akari-chan and Katsunishiki!" Kasumi

exclaimed, rising to her feet and walking to the front door.



    "Who?" Soun asked.



    "One of Ryouga's girlfriends," Kasumi explained.



    "But I thought..." Genma wondered aloud.



    "Aren't Ryouga and Nabiki... seeing each other?" Soun

asked, choking out the last part.



    "Well, hello, Akari-chan!" Kasumi greeted. "This is Athia-

san. She's staying with my family for a few days."



    Akari bowed from Katsunishiki's back. Athia couldn't help

but laugh at the sight.



    "That is a *very* large pig," Athia said in awe.



    "Is Ryouga-sama here?" Akari asked. "I checked his house,

but he wasn't there either."



    "You may have just missed him," Kasumi explained. "I think

I heard him say something about Furinkan high school."



    "I'll look there, then!"



    "Maybe you would like to wait here?" Kasumi suggested.

"There is a violent monster wandering the streets. You would be

safer if you would stay with us while you are in town."



    "I'll be okay! Katsunishiki will protect me," Akari

declared. "I have to find Ryouga-sama!"



    "Akari-chan, wait!" Kasumi pleaded.



    The girl was already gone, however. Katsunishiki was

galloping down the street at full tilt. Within seconds, the pig

and girl were out of sight.



    "I hope she'll be okay," Kasumi said.



    "Surely the Ravener King will not kill again so soon after

last night," Nodoka said, walking up to Kasumi.



    "Perhaps," Kasumi noted quietly, "but all the girls in this

town are still in danger."



* * *



    The nameless girl groaned and clutched at the wrinkled

linnen sheets. Her face contorted as if in great agony. She cried

out, and was silent, collapsing back onto the bed, her breath

coming in heaving gasps.



    Some distance away, Akuji smiled in glee as the young

office lady quit twitching. She had put up quite a fight. Akuji

responded by crushing her jaw so that she couldn't scream and

tearing off both her arms. He watched her bleed to death in a

poorly-lit subway maintenance tunnell. He shook as he performed

the ritual.



    "Almost.... almost ready," he whispered in an anxious

voice.



* * *

    If anyone had told Hikaru Gosunkugi that he would

consummate a romantic relationship before Ranma did, he would

have gloomily laughed in their face and gone off and felt sorry

for himself for a while.



    That was before Mio.



    She was a strange, quiet girl, with oddly-colored eyes and

a penchant for fortune telling. When she went to join the

Furinkan High Occult Studies club, she found that the club only

had one other member, Hikaru, all alone in the attic above the

auditorium reading a book on Jamaican-style voodoo.



    There wasn't much in the way of chemistry between them. Mio

was spacey, but quite a bit more popular than he was. Hikaru was

quiet, shy, creepy, and... well... he just wasn't interested in

Mio. Akane was the only one for him.



    That was until he found the girl curled up in a corner of

the attic/club room one afternoon reading one of his voodoo

books.



    Photography was Hikaru's original love. Photography was

what brought him the first images of his angel. Photography was

what he lived for. People do grow and change, however. The study

of dark magic was like a newly opened door. Sure, there were

scary things behind the door, but there was knowledge to be had.

There were things to learn and to experience. For a weakly built

boy like himself, it was too good an offer to pass up, even if it

never worked quite right to bring Akane to him. Magic had become,

even when he knew that it would never allow him to be able to

take Akane away from the others, an end unto itself.



    It was the end of that odd circle that found his fingers

twitchily reaching for his camera that afternoon in the school's

attic.



    Mio looked up, hearing the almost inaudible tone of the

flash capacitor charging. As her head turned, her hair swished

across her hypnotically colored eyes just so.



    *click*



    "What was that for?" she asked, a slight smile playing

across her lips.



    "I... uhh..." Damn! Why did his voice have to sound so

whiny? "I thought that you would make a good... I thought...

uhh... good portrait?" Hikaru cursed himself for being such a

wiener.



    Mio giggled and went back to reading. God, she was pretty.



    *No! Think of Akane! Don't betray her!* Hikaru berated

himself.



    "I'm... *urk*... going to Mason's Books," his mouth

betrayed him. "Do... do you think you'd like to go with me?"



    "The occult bookshop and coffee bar?" Mio asked. "Sure! I

hear they have a special on crystals," she agreed, happily

getting to her feet and placing Gosunkugi's book back on the

shelf. "Mother has been hounding me to pick up a new crystal

ball."



    Later that evening, Hikaru stumbled into his house. Wired

on coffee and a serious discussion on the nature of lesser

summonings, his eyes darted around nervously. Why did he feel

like Akane would somehow be waiting for him? Why did he feel so

guilty?



    His parents were already in bed, so the house was quiet and

dark. Hikaru jumped three feet without bending his knees when the

phone rang.



    "H-h-h-hello?" he answered the phone.



    "Hikaru-kun?" Mio's voice asked over the other end.



    His eyes wild, Gosunkugi did his best to lower his voice

and stop the tremors. "Yes?"



    "Thanks for taking me out this evening. I was wondering if-

-"



    *I TOOK HER OUT?!?! I... I... I...*



    "--wondering if you would like to go to a seance my Aunt is

holding tomorrow night."



    *Akane,* he thought to himself with some guilt. "Ah, Sure!

Sure, Mio-san! I'd love to go!"



    The next few weeks surprised him. Mio was interested in

many of the same things he was. Voodoo, summoning, mysticism...

In turn, he found out quite a bit about Tarot, fortune-telling,

palm-reading and many other occult disciplines. Once he met them,

he found out that her whole family had similar tastes.



    Mio was even fascinated by photography, which he loved so

much. Even though he liked to try to catch her during unguarded

moments, Mio enjoyed modeling for him and seemed to really like

his work. At her suggestion, he sent the first picture he took of

her in the attic to a photography magazine and won a small prize.



    Hikaru's dreams became a mish-mash of Mio, cameras, Voodoo,

future-seeing, and Akane. Eventually, Akane began to disappear

from his dreams.



    Then the Slasher came.



    The first news reports of the Tokyo Slasher were garbled

and inaccurate. Serial killings weren't by any means common in

Tokyo, but they did happen from time to time. Hikaru noticed Mio

taking extra time to walk safely to school and to avoid bad

neighborhoods or suspicious strangers just like all the other

girls were doing.



    After the fourth killing, he started showing up at her

house before she left for school each morning so that they could

walk together. Hikaru had no illusions as to his martial skill,

but there was safety in numbers, right? His presence alone could

offer her a shade of protection. If nothing else, he could

sacrifice his own body so that Mio would have time to flee.



    After school and during weekends, both of them began to

read up on protective spells and mystical countermeasures. Hikaru

was not certain any of the spells he was reading would work, but

Mio seemed to have faith in him. That alone made him want to

continue.



    Then Ranma announced the true nature of the raveners: they

were evil mystical beasts who thrived on virgin sacrifice. That

same night while they studied at her house, Mio had a grand mal

seizure.



    They were alone in her room, both intently pouring over

books of magic and history, trying to find some information about

the raveners.



    "Hikaru-kun?"



    "Hmmm?"



    "I-I think--" Mio stammered. Her eyes rolled up and the

book she was reading fell from her limp arms.



    "Mio!" Hikaru caught the girl before she could fall off her

bed and started shouting for help. Mio shook in his arms and her

teeth clenched and began to grind noisily.



    Seconds later, Mio's mother dashed into the room. She

looked at her daughter with a worried expression.



    "What's wrong?" Hikaru asked. "Is she epileptic? Do we need

to take her to the hospital?"



    It was not uncommon, Mio's mother explained while she and

Hikaru waited for the girl to regain consciousness, for female

members of their family to have an occasional seizure. They were

not epileptics, but the seizures invariably signified a major

psychic episode. Mio was seeing the future.



    After the initial seizure passed, Mio was unconscious for

about an hour. When she woke, she explained what had seen.



    "I saw... I saw everyone who's going to die because of the

raveners."



    "Who?" Hikaru asked, struggling to keep his voice calm.



    "A lot of people I don't know," Mio admitted, "But there

were people I did know. Ranma, Akane and her sisters. A lot of

people from our school. You... me."



    Hikaru gulped. "Can this be changed."



    "Yes," Mio's mother answered. "The prophecies can almost

always be acted upon. You must understand how to act upon this."



    "Ranma's going to fight the raveners," Mio explained. "And

then he'll fight a dark man. I can't tell if he's a ravener or

not. The first time, he'll win. The dark man will flee. The

second time, the dark man will kill Ranma."



    "What about you and me?" Hikaru asked.



    "I will be the second from our school," Mio stated quietly,

her face green and trembling. "One will pass before me and then I

will be next."



    "We have to find some way to change this," Hikaru said,

feeling an anger burn inside him with a passion he had never

really felt before. Even when he found out that Akane had been

engaged to Ranma, he had not felt this mad or determined. "Some

spell, some weapon."



    Putting everything else on hold while the world seemed to

be falling apart, Gosunkugi and Mio began research full time,

even at school. With the facts that Ranma had given them all at

the assembly, they began to troll through Mio's family's tomes

and all the information available at Mason's and a few dubious

resources they had found on the internet. Like all mystical

knowledge, there were tons and tons of hogwash for every kernel

of truth. In the end, they did little but confirm Ranma's story

with an old history of Shampoo's amazon tribe that had somehow

worked its way onto a women's studies page.



    Then Hinako died.



    "The first from our school," Mio stated coldly as they

listened to the news.



    Hikaru didn't know what to do. Scared, frightened for Mio,

he went home and started to go back over his own magic books.

Finally, his father came to him.



    "You've been pretty busy lately," the older man stated.



    Hikaru nodded, paying more attention to a reprint of an

ancient tome he had picked up at Mason's than his father.



    "Can you tell me what you're doing, son?"



    Hikaru blinked at his father, and chuckled mirthlessly.

"I'm trying to find a spell to stop the Tokyo Slasher before it

kills Mio."



    "So you believe the rumors that the Slasher is a monster

and not a man."



    "Yeah," Hikaru admitted.



    "Then I want you to have this." Hikaru's father pulled out

an leather-bound book with an intricate steel lock on the cover.



    As weak as Hikaru's mystical senses really were, even he

could tell that the book fairly radiated dark power.



    "It belonged to your great-great-great grandfather," the

elder Gosunkugi explained. "Your mother and I didn't want to

encourage you when you have so many problems at school, but since

the situation right now is so bad, this might be for the best."



    "How do I open it?" Hikaru asked.



    "Uhhh... well... that's a problem."



    Examining the book, Hikaru found a long inscription carved

into the leather on the back. He started to read. Then he blushed

profusely.



    "Oh. That's... That's a problem, all right," he said.

"Uhhh..."



    "If you can open it, son, then I wish you all the luck in

the world. Also, if you need any *ahem*... extra supplies... I

can provide those as well."



    "Extra?" Hikaru asked.



    Staring at the ceiling, Hikaru's father pulled a small

rectangular box out of his pocket and handed it to him.

       

    Hikaru's blush intensified.



    "I don't know if you can use these for the... uhmm...

*sacrifice*," his father said, "but... it never hurts to be safe,

you know?"



    Hikaru read the box again, hoping that his face wouldn't

catch fire. The items contain within were 'Spermicidally

Lubricated for Your Protection'.



    The next day at school, Mio came to him. She was shaking

with fear.



    "I'm scared, Hikaru. I don't want to die."



    "Y-y-you may not have to," Hikaru whispered. He showed her

the book and explained the requirements for opening it. Her eyes

went wide with shock and embarrassment, but then she said, "The

raveners have only killed virgins up until now."



    Hikaru nodded in agreement. Inside, he was shaking every

bit as much as the girl in front of him. Could he do such a

thing? To save Mio's life...



    "You'd do this for me?" she said in a quiet voice. "You'd

save me?"



    Hikaru nodded, more sure than he had ever been before in

his life. "We can do it tonight. We need a large space to make

the diagram."



    "And a futon," Mio suggested.



    "And the other items listed in the inscription," Hikaru

agreed, gulping.



    After school, Hikaru drew the diagram in the attic with

colored chalk. It was a seven-pointed star with small circles at

each point. He lit candles all around the room, careful not to

put anything where it could cause an accidental fire. Finally,

after some thought, he brought up a portable stereo and some

CD's.



    Finally, after the sun was down, Mio arrived, carrying her

items in an overnight bag.



    In five of the circles, they placed Hikaru's camera, three

five-hundred yen pieces, a small brass bell, Mio's crystal ball

and a single pigeon feather. In the center of the circle, Mio

nervously laid down on the futon. Above Mio's head, in the

seventh circle, Hikaru placed his ancestor's tome.



    Hikaru laid next to her, just as frightened and nervous as

she was. She reached out and touched his face, running her

trembling fingers along the curve of his jaw. Somewhat

artificially, they began to kiss.



    Using a silver knife, Hikaru cut Mio's clothes away from

her. Then, using only his hands, as was specified on the back of

the book, he pulled away her brassiere and panties. He rose

briefly from the futon to place the knife, clothes and

undergarments in the sixth circle.



    Before laying back down on the futon, Hikaru pulled off his

own clothes, doing his best not to look foolish in the process.

His efforts were ruined, however, when he tripped over one pants

leg and fell to his knees.



    Embarrassedly shielding her naked body, Mio giggled at the

sight. Unlike the laughter of his mean-spirited classmates,

however, there was no malice in Mio's voice.



    "Are you ready?" she asked.



    Blushing, embarrassed by his own nudity, Hikaru nodded and

laid back down beside her.



    They kissed again. Mio wrapped her arms around Hikaru's

head and began to run her fingers through his hair.



    For the first time in his life, Hikaru held a girl he loved

in his arms. At first, it seemed as if there was some other girl

he was supposed to be remembering, but for the life of him, he

couldn't remember her name. The sensation of Mio's petite breasts

pressed up against his chest and the way her body trembled

against his erased all other thoughts.



    "Hikaru-chan," she prompted in a breathy, expectant voice.



    Forgetting the 'protection' his father had offered him,

Hikaru nodded and changed his position. Gently, he put his hands

on Mio's waist as he kneeled over her. She pulled her knees up

slightly.



    Hikaru leaned forward again, and kissed the girl. He

realized that he was shaking almost as much as she was.



    "Mio," he whispered. "Mio-chan..."



    "Do it now, Hikaru-chan," Mio pleaded.



    Hikaru nodded and pushed forward. Both he and Mio reached

in between his legs to properly align themselves. Finally, Hikaru

pushed with all his strength, and penetrated Mio.



    She cried out at the sensation, but thrust back, inexpertly

grinding her hips against Hikaru's



    Hikaru could feel the magic rising from her body. The

seven-poined star began to glow, and the latch on the book began

to creak. More importantly, he was having sex with the girl he

loved. Sure, it was part of a dark ritual to summon mystic

powers, but the sensations and the feelings were still the same.



    Their lovemaking was clumsy and inexpert, but it rapidly

improved. Hikaru was desperately afraid that he would finish

before Mio, but his fear and the oddity of the situation helped

him to hold on. At Mio's prompting, he reached down between them

again, and began to carefully rub her. Mio reached down as well,

directing his fingers over her most sensitive parts.



    Just before Hikaru felt he would be too exhausted to do any

more, a low moan started in Mio's throat. He could feel her

muscles begin to clench around his shaft. Mio cried out again,

and lay still.



    Startled, Hikaru reached down and touched her face to make

sure she was okay.



    "Mmm..." Mio moaned, putting her hand over Hikaru's as his

fingers brushed her lips. "Did you... uhmm..." she asked.



    Hikaru realized he hadn't. "It's okay, though. The book is

open," he noted seeing that the lock had disintegrated and that

Mio's panties had dematerialized.



    "Oh," Mio noted quietly. Hikaru couldn't help but feel lost

in her hypnotic, ocean-deep eyes. "So... do you want to look at

it or..."



    "Or," Hikaru stated firmly. "Hmmm?"



    "Mmmm.."



    "Oh... Oh, yeah...."



    Life was good for Hikaru, and for the time being the girl

he loved was safe. More importantly, in the opened book that was

being pointedly ignored by the young lovers, information existed

that might help them to stop the raveners.



* * *



    The next morning, Mio and Hikaru sought out Ranma before

classes at Furinkan High School. Hikaru held his ancestor's tome

under with one hand and Mio's hand



    Before they found Ranma, however, Nabiki came across them.



    "Have either of you seen Saotome?" she asked in an

irritated tone.



    "We're looking for him too," Mio noted.



    Nabiki rolled her eyes and stormed off.



    Hikaru and Mio eventually found Ranma.



    "There you are," Ranma said. "I need to talk to you, Gos.

Hey, you're pretty good with magic stuff too, right, Mio?"



    "You're looking for a way to defeat your enemy, the

raveners," Mio said in her spacey 'fortune-telling' voice.



    "Uhh... yeah. Okay. Yeah, I am," Ranma said, a little

disconcerted. Mio couldn't help but giggle at his discomfort.

"I... okay, this is gonna sound stupid, but I had a dream last

night where a sorcerer cast a spell on a village full of

raveners. I remembered everything but the spell itself."



    "We found this," Gosunkugi explained, paging through the

book.



    Ranma eyed him distrustfully. "I hope this is gonna work

better than those paper dolls."



    For the first time, Hikaru felt confident about his arcane

knowledge. "This spell stops the unstoppable. It hurts the

unhurtable."



    "That sounds about right," Ranma said, rubbing his chin.

"The raveners have to kill themselves. You can tear them apart

all day long, but they just keep coming. You saw the one on

television last night, right?"



    Mio and Gosunkugi both blushed.



    "We were busy," Mio explained. "Researching the spell."



    "No?" Ranma guessed. "Well, the things I did to it woulda

killed *anybody*, and it got up and hurt another girl before it

ran away. Will this stop it?"



    "It belonged to my ancestor," Hikaru continued. "He and one

of his allies used the spell to stop the raveners when their

village was attacked."



    "Oh man." The bottom dropped out of the Ranma's stomach.

His dream suddenly made sense.



    "All the spell really does is strip away the magical

protection the raveners seem to have. You'll still have to fight

them, but you *can* kill them. The problem is the fact that I

can't cast the spell alone. I need another sorcerer, preferably

someone who knows more about it than I do."



    "Your ancestor's companion. He wrote about 'em?" Ranma

asked. "Short, perverted?"



    Gosunkugi nodded.



    "It's Happousai," Ranma stated coldly, the pieces of the

puzzle snapping together in his mind. "Happousai can cast the

spell."



* * *



    Yuka Kisawa was concerned for Akane. She had not seen the

girl in days. The teachers all said that her father called the

school and said she had a bad cold, but neither Ranma nor Nabiki

would answer any questions about her.



    She and Sayuri had been taking turns making copies of their

notes for her, but Yuka began to wonder if Akane ever *was* going

to come back.



    The situation played over and over in her head as she

walked to the restroom. She hoped Akane was doing all right. She

also hoped that nothing had happened between Ranma and Akane. Her

friend liked to gripe about her fiance, but when it came down to

it, she really thought Akane cared a lot about the impetuous

martial artist.



    Maybe she should actually go over to the Tendou house after

school and see if Akane was okay. Maybe she could use someone to

talk to.



    Sighing, she went into the restroom and took care of her

business. She heard the door open while she was bent down over

the porcelain basin, but thought twice about calling out to greet

whoever had just come in.



    She got up and closed the stall. She washed her hands with

soap and took a few seconds to inspect her face in the mirror.

The girls weren't supposed to wear makeup at school, but there

were always a few exceptions at Furinkan.



    Suddenly, the mirror was coated in an odd-looking red

fluid. Yuka felt an strange pain in her stomach. There was a

flash in the mirror, and then a horrible, twisted face staring

back at her past the red spray.



    "What?" Yuka tried to say, blood and gore bubbling in her

throat. Panicked, she looked down to see a grotesque five-

fingered claw protruding from a gushing wound in her abdomen,

just below her ribcage. Her feet went out from her and she fell

backwards, hanging limply on the blood-covered claw.



    "You are the last of the circle!" Akuji cried triumphantly

as he shook the girl's body off his extended claw.



    It was the last thing Yuka heard.



    "The gate is open now," Akuji said after the burning eight-

pointed star erupted in Yuka's pooled blood. "Regardless of the

interference and trials I have faced. Now, I must find a suitable

host. We will be unstoppable!"



* * *



    Nabiki was at the end of her patience.



    She had been badly humiliated the night before, and it was

not something she took well. Nabiki Tendou was *supposed* to be

the cool one, the one in charge. She had slipped badly, however,

and really shamed herself, first in front of Kasumi and then

before the Amazons. Kasumi even *warned* her about that one, and

Nabiki didn't pay attention until it was too late.



    To make matters worse, she couldn't do anything to find

Ranma as her sister had asked. It was like he had disappeared.

She couldn't smell him, couldn't hear the familiar sound of his

heartbeat or even find any classmates who had seen him wandering

around.



    At lunch, she decided that he probably didn't even bother

coming to school. Casting a minor illusion, she slipped out of

school past a couple of teachers whom the principal had set to

guarding the gate and started walking back towards her house. It

was possible that she could get a glimmer of Ranma's presence.



    She had gone a little over a block away from the school

when she smelled the familiar scent of pork.



    "Nabiki!"



    Nabiki sighed at great length as the lost boy ran up to

her. "I thought I told you to stay home."



    "I had to find you," Ryouga said, doing his best to justify

his presence. "I need to know what I did to upset you."



    Nabiki rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. "It's not

you, okay. I... I've just been having a rough time."



    Concern in his eyes, Ryouga stepped closer to Nabiki and

wrapped his arms around her, drawing her close to him. "Tell me

what I can do to make you happy. Please, Nabiki."



    Nabiki exhaled and let her head rest on Ryouga's chest.

"C'mon. Let's go somewhere. I don't think it's *that* important

to find Ranma."



    Ryouga scowled at the mention of his rival's name, but

nodded in agreement. He let Nabiki guide him. Eventually, they

came across the same park where they'd hidden when Nabiki was

injured. In the daylight, Nabiki realized that they were pretty

close to the St. Heberke academy, and the wooded property where

she fought the ravener along with Nodoka, Kasumi, and Athia.



    She led Ryouga to a bench and gestured for him to sit down.



    "I... I'm sorry I've been so rude," Nabiki said in an

exasperated tone as she sat next to him. "There have been a lot

of... of..."



    Ryouga smiled and gently touched her face.



    "It's okay," Nabiki said in a guilty tone. "You don't have

to worry about me."



    "But I do worry about you," Ryouga said. "I can't think of

anything else anymore."



    He leaned over and gently touched his lips to Nabiki's.



    She started guiltily at his words, but Nabiki relaxed a

little and snuggled against the brawny boy. "You shouldn't. I

shouldn't. You should--"



    Ryouga silenced her with another kiss. He wrapped his arms

around her again and began to caress her cheek. "I love you,

Nabiki."



    Nabiki believed him. She could smell his arousal, and see

and feel the waves of heat coming off him as his excitement

built.



    "You're a naughty boy, Ryouga-kun," she whispered,

forgetting her earlier concerns a bit. She leaned into his

embrace. "You're spoiling me, you know."



    "Am I?"



    "Yes, you-- *sniff*." Nabiki sniffed the air curiously.



    "Huh?"



    "Ryouga-sama..." a crying, trembling voice called out from

behind them.



    Nabiki's blood froze. She felt a gnawing sensation in her

stomach.



    "A-A-Akari?!" Ryouga stammered. "How?"



    "Ryouga-sama!" the crying girl called out. She was behind

the bench, as if she had just come out of the woods. "How could

you?! I thought you cared about me!"



    Nabiki's heart fell. *No,* she prayed. *Please, please

don't remember. Please, Ryouga!*



    "Akari?" Ryouga scrambled to his feet, jostling Nabiki.



    "Why. Ryouga-sama? Wasn't I enough?" Wailing, she turned

and fled. A few seconds later, Ryouga and Nabiki heard a loud

crashing. Katsunishiki, bearing the wailing Akari on his back

bolted angrily through the park and out the other side in the

direction of St. Hebereke.



    "How could I have forgotten her?!" Ryouga wondered out

loud, his voice breaking. "How? I love Akari! How could I just

*forget* about her?!"



    "R-R-Ryouga?" Nabiki cried out. Did he know? Did he suspect

what she had done?

    

    "Akari!" Ryogua called out, running after the giant pig's

path in the brush, for once running in a straight line.



    He caught up with the girl just inside the woods, dodging

in front of her angry pig. Katsunishiki barrelled into Ryouga,

but the youth proved himself immovable. Katsunishiki tumbled,

sending Akari flying a short distance. She landed rolling, and

stood, clutching at a scraped elbow.



    "Akari!" Ryouga shouted, running over to the girl. "I-I-

I..."



    Nabiki appeared out of the brush behind him. Akari's

tortured eyes narrowed in grief and rage. "You! How could you?

Why did you choose her, Ryouga-sama? You had me! I would have

done anything for you!"



    Ryouga's shoulders slumped, tears pouring down his face. "I

don't know how I forgot you," he cried out. "But... Nabiki..."



    "You meant the world to me," Akari bawled. "Why, Ryouga!

Why did you choose her?"



    Katsunishiki finally managed to right himself, and glared

angrily at Ryouga and Nabiki.



    Ryouga blinked, his mind churning in thought. "I... I don't

know. But... I... love... ARRGGHGH!" He yelled, clutching at his

face. "I don't know who I love!"



    Nabiki stared on in horror as Ryouga confronted the girl.

Did Ryouga know what she had done? Could he have guessed that

Nabiki repressed his memories?



    "Goodbye, Ryouga," Akari wailed as she buried her face in

Katsunishiki's bristly side.



    Ryouga dropped to his knees and began to glow a sickly

green color. "No, Akari. Please... please don't go."



    Akari climbed up on her giant pig and nudged him gently in

the ribs, sending him galloping away.



    "No... Nabiki," he turned to the girl. "How? How could I

have forgotten her?"



    There was no accusation in his voice, but Nabiki still

staggered under his gaze. "I... I didn't mean for it to happen

this way. I only wanted to--"



    "What?" Ryouga asked incredulously. "You... *You* did

this?!"



    Nabiki staggered back under Ryouga's unbeleiving gaze.



    "Why?" Ryouga demanded angrily. "I trusted you! I loved

you!"



    "I only meant to make you forget about Akane," Nabiki

stammered, desparately trying to salvage the situation. I had no

idea that this would happen."



    "NO IDEA?!" Ryouga bellowed in anger and rage. "I betrayed

someone I loved... because of you?! Nabiki..."



    "Ryouga... I--" Nabiki's stomach suddenly turned. An acrid,

rotten stench assailed her nose. She clenched her eyes shut as

she desparately tried to keep from being sick. The initial wave

of Nausea passed, but Nabiki's horror did not. Akuji was there."



    "Ryouga!" She shouted. "RYOUGA!"



    Unfortuneately the lost boy had already run off into the

woods after Akari. Nabiki took off after him, her vampiric senses

and strength allowing her to gain on Ryouga.



    "Oh, God, no, please, no!" She pleaded out loud. "Not here,

not now!"



    "No! Katsunishiki! NOO!!! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" she heard

Akari's voice cry out in the distance. Nabiki gasped, hearing a

sick ripping noise. The scent of pig-blood filled the clearing.

Nabiki's mind filled with panic and horror.



    "RYOUGA!" Nabiki cried out. "It's the ravener king! He's

got Akari!" She couldn't tell if Ryouga heard her or not. He was

already far enough ahead of her that she couldn't see him.



    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!!" Akari screamed as another

gruesome tearing sound reached Nabiki's sensitive ears.



    Nabiki barreled into Ryouga, who had dropped to his knees

in shock. They were just inside a clearing near the school.

Ryouga, his eyes wide and uncomprehending, was staring at Akari.



    Just behind a bloody, twitching mound that could only be

what was left of Katsunishiki, Akari was suspended in midair over

Akuji's head. The Ravener King's white, pasty claw had plunged

deeply into her abdomen. Hanging upside down, she screamed in

pain and scrabbled uselessly at the claw. Her hands were covered

in her own blood. Akuji was also slowly being bathed as her blood

ran down his grotesque arm and onto his distorted body, which was

only barely covered with human-looking skin in places.



    "OPEN!" Akuji commanded with a roaring bellow. "OPEN THE

GATE! YOUR SERVANT AWAITS, MY QUEEN!"



    "Oh shit," Nabiki murmured.



* * *



    At Furikan high-school, the girl's bathroom where Yuka's

undiscovered corpse lay erupted in a fountain of black lightning.

The door blew out and exploded out the glass window on the other

side of the hallway.



    Students scurried and took cover as the school began to

shake.



    Some distance away, at the warehouse where Akuji had fought

Ranma and wounded the reported, a similar explosion took place.





* * *



    At the Kunou mansion, the nameless girl writhed and shook,

still asleep. She shuddered and screamed, her voice sounding out

through the quiet building. Scrabbling at the sheets, she fell

from the bed.



    Her eyes came open as the she hit the cold floor.



    "No!!"



    Having heard the scream, Sasuke rushed into the room.

"Hello? Is someone there? I wonder who could have made that

noise?"



    A few miles away, standing on the observation deck of the

Tokyo Tower, the nameless girl watched as eight black explosions

erupted and sent pillars of black lightning into the air.



    "It's too late," she murmured sadly. A single tear coursed

down her face.



    The eight columns turned and arched, meeting just above St.

Hebereke.



* * *



    In the attic above the auditorium, where Gosunkugi and Mio

were explaining how their spell worked to Ranma, the martial

artist suddenly twitched and looked upward to the ceiling.



    "Ranma?" Mio asked.



    There was a loud explosion somewhere nearby and the sound

of breaking glass. Gosunkugi screamed and gripped his head.



    A look of pure hatred and anger entering his eyes, Ranma

stood and ran for the stairwell that led to the first floor. Torn

between staying with Hikaru and seeing what was wrong with Ranma,

Mio tried to calm down the screaming Gosunkugi, but gave up and

ran after the martial artist.



    She found Ranma outside, staring up at eight lines of black

lightning that converged over a point a few miles away. Ranma's

fists were balled up and he was swearing profusely. His eyes were

twisted in rage and hatred.



    "Ranma, what is it!"



    "It's that bastard, Akuji!" Ranma yelled. "He's already

made his move."



* * *



    At the Tendou house, Akane was dozing at the table,

surrounded by dozens of empty bowls. It seemed like she just

couldn't get enough to eat. Her body felt weak and tired. As much

as she didn't want to break her promise, she was beginning to

wonder how long she would last if she refused to drink blood.



    She was jolted to awareness by a pain in her stomach, and a

sudden sick feeling. Then she heard the thunder crash overhead.



    "This just in," a voice the radio nearby.



    Genma, who was sitting near Akane, reached over to turn the

news report up.



    "Police have located two bodies in Nerima district that

bear similarites to the victims of the Tokyo Slasher..."



* * *



    Nabiki and Ryouga stared on in horror, unable to move.

Black lightning began to rain down all around them as Akuji held

Akari's dying body in the air. Overhead, eight columns of the

evil energy converged and exploded into a spray of blinding

power.



    When Nabiki could see again, the lightning struck down and

hit Akari's body. The girl spasmed horribly, her body wrenching

in all directions. Even over the roar of the thunder, Nabiki and

Ryouga could hear the sharp crack of breaking bones. The girl's

weak screams, however, were lost in the tumult. The black

lightning seemed to warp around Akari's body, lifting her off

Akuji's claw with a sick slurping noise. Where it touched her,

the lightning turned into a thick, black paste which flowed into

the wound in her gut. It ran up her torso and into her mouth and

nostrils.  It seemed to be covering all of her, both sealing and

invading.



    "YES!" Akuji screamed over the roar. "YES, COME TO ME, MY

QUEEN!"



    Nabiki held her hands in front of her face as Akari's body

began to glow blindingly.



    "Akari!" Ryouga screamed. "NOOO!!!"



    There was another explosion. Nabiki and Ryouga were driven

to the ground by the force of it. Ryouga clasped his hands over

his ears, which were already half-deafened by the roaring

thunder.



    When the light from the blast faded, Nabiki could see

Akari's body floating back down to the earth, but it was *not*

Akari. The girl's skin had turned the same dreadful pasty white

as Akuji's and her eyes were black pools. There was no white to

them at all. The wound in her abdomen had healed, but she was

still covered in black slime and ooze.



    "Akari!" Ryouga called out.



    "Oh, God. That's not her, Ryouga!" Nabiki warned.



    "My servant," Akari's body stated in a voice like a closing

tomb. Akuji dropped to his knees before her, his hands raised in

supplication.



    "Command me, my queen!" Akuji shouted triumphantly. "Take

this host and rule this world."



    "Of course, my servant. There is still power left from the

gate. RISE, MY ARMY!" she shouted, raising one hand in the air.



    From the arcing lightning that still coursed and shot

around the clearing, eight bolts impacted around her and the

Ravener King. The black ooze shot off of her body and out of the

lightning bolts. It coalesced into eight fully-formed raveners.



    "Akari!" Ryouga screamed out.



    "That's not her, Ryouga," Nabiki said, bodily grabbing the

boy around the waist and hauling him away from the clearing.



    "Go, my army!" the Ravener Queen commanded. "Go and inhabit

this place for my glory! Take as many pure souls as you can to

summon your brethren. GO!"



------------------------------



... to be continued.











Author^H^H^H^H^H^HEllipses' Note...



We, the ellipses (... ) contained within THE CLAN have taken

military control of the story... We are currently holding the

author hostage... and will not release him unless all authors who

read this agree to use at least one ellipsis per... chapter in

all future fanfiction...



Once our political goals are met... the ellipses will be one step

closer to recognizing equality with the imperialist bourgeois

period... comma... question mark... and the Great Satan... the

exclamation point...



Viva... La revolution...



(Jones (gagged and bound): MMMMMMMMMPPPH!!!!)







* * *



C. Jones - guilty@furinkan.net

http://www.furinkan.net



Watashi ha ultra-relakusu!