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Flashfyre5 Presents,
A Flaming Amarant Production,
In association with Digital Wizardry Studios, Minnesota
"A Darker Choice"
Prelude
A Ranma ½ altverse fic that diverges at the beginning of the Hiryu Shoten Ha
cycle.
Hey all. I should be working on "Of Gods and Men" right now, but my
laptop's in the shop, and it's got all my stuff on it. Sorry bout this. In
any case, if I get enough feedback on this, I'll continue it. Oh yeah, Ranma
and co. belong to Ms. Takahashi and her affiliates. I hope they won't sue me
for this, and if they do, they'd be getting all of about $7.30. That's my
net worth. Sad, aint it?
" "= speech
< >= thought
* * * * * *
Akane walked home, alone, the cool night air surrounding her. The
nighttime was her favorite time of the day, so to speak, as everyone who
normally made noise was in bed, the usual heat of the day was gone, and
everybody respected a girl confident in her fighting abilities to walk alone
at night. <What a beautiful night,> she thought to herself, smiling. Taking
in a deep breath of the night air, enjoying it with closed eyes, she failed
to notice three men, all dressed in black, detach themselves from an alley
she had just passed. However, she did notice when something cold and hard
was pressed against the back of her skull.
Just as she was about to scream for help at the top of her lungs, a cold
voice said, "Make a noise and it'll be your last. This little baby cost me
half a year's salary. It's a Desert Eagle, the world's largest handgun. I
pull the trigger and they'll be scraping the bits and pieces of your head off
the wall over there for days. Understand?" Akane, understanding only that,
martial arts training or no, there was no way she could disarm him before he
shot at her. And, if what he had been saying about the power of the handgun
was accurate, one shot was all it would take. "Now, nice and easy, head for
that next alley over there. Do what we say, and I might let you live," he
continued, pushing her lightly with his hand. Not knowing what else to do,
Akane obeyed.
Reaching the alley, she turned in, walking slowly, desperately hoping
that a police officer, a passerby, ANYONE would see and help her. However,
as she entered the deep shadows between the buildings, her hopes dwindled to
naught. The man behind her gave her a rough shove, pushing her deeply into
the alleyway.
Leveling his gun at her, he commanded, "Strip. Now." Akane's eyes widened,
her jaw trembling; she knew exactly what they wanted, she knew that all too
well.
"No, please," she begged, "Anything but that."
"Strip," said the man calmly, "or die."
Numbly, Akane nodded, reaching for the top button of her blouse. Just as
she was unbuttoning it, however, the man collapsed in a heap, a crouched
figure atop him. The sickening crunch of breaking bone was clearly audible
from the man's chest cavity, and he shuddered once before going still. The
other two, confounded for a moment, found their senses and reached inside
their jackets, presumably for their guns. Akane watched in amazement as the
figure leapt from the body of the first man and kicked a second marauder,
sending him crashing into the wall.
This, however, gave the third man time to draw his gun. At a range of
less than three feet, it was impossible for him to miss, as he snapped off
two deafening shots straight into the strange figure's chest. The figure
staggered for a moment, then seemed to slump against the third man. However,
they both remained standing, and it soon began to seem like it was the figure
that was supporting the man. Sure enough, after a few tense, silent minutes,
the third man slumped to the ground, a strange look that was somewhere
between horror and rapture on his face. The figure just stood there,
ignoring the dead men at its feet.
Akane stepped forward slowly, not quite trusting the figure yet. "Are
you all right?" she asked, drawing near, but remaining on her guard.
Suddenly, the figure whipped around and stared right at her. The figure's
eyes were glowing a bright, angry red, which faintly illuminated its whole
face. Only an instant passed before the figure leapt away, landing on the
roof of one of the buildings that made up the alley, but not before Akane saw
its face.
"Ranma?" she asked after the figure. A whistling wind was her only reply.
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