Fixed some major details and made the ending make more sense. Otherwise,
just the same vast improvement over the original version that the
previous chapters have been. Hope everybody's enjoying the new version.
More than halfway done now. (And there wasn't a single subject in any of
those sentences. Oops.)



Ranma 1/2: A Deadly Choice
Chapter 10: A Blade-Back Encounter

SO FAR: The intertwined plots continue to unravel as Ranma and Akane
investigate the strange goings-on in Nerima. Kodachi and Ukyo have been
kidnapped by a demon that can take Ranma's form, but Shampoo insists
it's not HER demon. However, she and her new partner, Razor, have
admitted responsibility for Ranma's unusual behavior over the past few
days, and agree to let him speak to Cologne about it face-to-face.
Hikaru Gosunkugi is also investigating the demon, but he has his own
plan in the works, and as his Akane voodoo doll fails him yet again, a
shadowy figure demands to know where the real Akane is.

    Gosunkugi didn't even look up as the front door opened and the
intruder burst in. "Where is Akane Tendo?" the figure demanded.
    Gosunkugi sighed. "I told you it wouldn't do you any good to know
that."
    "Shut up!" snapped Ryoga. "It's the stupid book's fault! It's
defective or something!"
    "I'll bet you say that about all the atlases you read," quipped
Gosunkugi.
    Ryoga pulled a book out of his backpack and waved it under
Gosunkugi's nose. "Does this look like an atlas to you? It's a book
that's supposed to fix my bad sense of direction, and it used to work!"
    Gosunkugi had to cross his eyes to focus on the rapidly moving
cover. "Wait... that book isn't...?"
    Ryoga suddenly realized what he was doing and quickly shoved the
book back into his pack. "Um... just forget you saw that, okay? I don't
have problems!"
    "Y-yeah, sure thing!" stammered Gosunkugi as his visitor made his
egress. He would gladly forget that book, and would do anything to
ensure that he never had to set eyes on it again....
*************************************************
    Cologne looked up with only mild surprise as the kitchen door
opened. She'd heard four sets of footsteps approaching rather than the
one she'd expected, but knowing Ranma as she did, it was a less than
distant possibility. Indeed, Ranma was fully conscious as he followed
Razor, Shampoo, and Akane into the back of the Cat Cafe. She bowed a
hasty greeting. "Come in, please," she invited them. "There is much we
must discuss."
    "Darn straight there is," said Ranma, striding right up to the
counter on which Cologne was seated. "Why don't you start with what
you've been doing to me and Akane?"
    "I've done nothing to Akane," Cologne replied. "She was merely in
the way yesterday and had to be brought here with you to have her memory
erased. We were relying on the element of surprise, and her knowledge of
our actions would have made that rather difficult."
    "Answer the question," spat Ranma. "What did you do to me?"
    "You've noticed the changes, haven't you?" Cologne asked pointedly.
"Even now, you're standing up for yourself even more forcefully than you
used to. Look at the way you talk to me without fear."
    "I've never been afraid of you, Grandma," said Ranma. His fingers
closed around the collar of her robe before she could react, and he
pulled her up to his face. "Now, for the last time, what did you do to
me?"
    Cologne calmly tapped him on the forehead with her staff, breaking
his grip. "I was getting to that," she said. She scuttled across the
counter and pressed a button on the small box in the corner.
    With a quiet click, a soft voice emerged from the cassette player.
"Remember, you ARE an important person, and your needs ARE important.
Others' needs are important to them, and you must respect those needs so
that others will in turn respect yours. But your priority should always
be your own needs. You are the only one who -"
    Cologne pressed the stop button. "While you were unconscious from
Razor's poison, I played this tape to you. You've been subliminally
learning from it."
    "What kind of tape is that?" asked Akane. "It sounded like
psychotherapy or something."
    "It's the world's foremost self-help book," Cologne replied. "This
is the audio-book version of Benjamin Egrul's 'How to be More
Assertive'. Hundreds of people have read it and experienced much better
lives as a result."
    "I don't understand," said Akane. "Why would you be teaching Ranma
to be more assertive?"
    "Because I still don't see the two of you as a couple," Cologne
replied. "You're completely wrong for each other, and it's only those
silly emotions that keep you together. Part of the training is learning
to understand what your needs are and remove the factors that hold you
back from them... such as misplaced emotion."
    "And you think he'd choose Shampoo over me?"
    "Shampoo make him good wife," said Shampoo. "We go back to China,
get away from crazies in Tokyo and have normal life. That one what Ranma
want, yes?"
    Akane looked at Ranma, expecting him to leap to her defense, but he
hadn't moved since Cologne had touched him with her staff.
    Cologne sighed. "I wouldn't expect him to run right to Shampoo once
he grasped the truth about your relationship, but at least he'd be able
to see past you and consider his other options. We could work from there
to make sure that he ends up choosing Shampoo."
    Ranma grunted.
    Cologne pressed the tip of her staff to his shoulder, releasing him
from her technique. "Have I answered your question now?"
    "I suppose so," admitted Ranma. "So, are you going to erase our
memories now and preserve that element of surprise?"
    "I wouldn't tell you if I were," said Cologne. "But I'm not. I have
much more important business with you... business that is more important
than our previous plan."
    Ranma rubbed his shoulder. "What are you talking about?"
    "I'm giving up," explained Cologne. "Something else is going on in
Nerima - something that you already know about, but there's an important
detail that you don't understand, and it affects us here at the Cat
Cafe. In the face of that evil, our plan is meaningless. We have no
choice but to give it up and ask for your help."
    "That evil?" repeated Akane. "Are you talking about the demon that
kidnapped Kodachi and Ukyo?"
    "Convenient change of topic," said Ranma, cracking his knuckles. "I
was just about to ask what you know about it."
    Cologne's eyes lowered to the floor. "I swore I would never do this,
but I have no choice. Honor comes before life, but the life of another
comes before honor." She leapt across the room to the sink and filled a
bucket. "Razor... hold me back."
    Razor's jaw dropped he steeled himself for what was coming. "Being
must another way!"
    "We must gain his trust," said Cologne. "I'm sorry, Razor... the
truth must be told."
    Shampoo stepped back. "Great-grandmother... what you need hot water
for? Shampoo and Ranma both people."
    "I've kept this a secret even from you, Shampoo," replied Cologne.
"But the demon I sent to spy on Ranma is in this room with us." She
swung the bucket, splashing Razor from head to toe. Black smoke poured
out of his clothes, and they fell to the floor with the clatter of
hundreds of knives as the body that had occupied them turned into mist.
    Shampoo gasped and backed away from her partner. "Razor... is
demon?"
    "I knew it!" shouted Ranma. "You're the one who kidnapped Ukyo!"
    "No, I am not!" Cologne shot back. "Do you think I'd show the demon
to you if I were trying to keep it hidden?"
    "You would if it gave you the opportunity to say that," Ranma
replied smugly.
    "It can't be a Jusenkyo curse, can it?" asked Akane. "You used hot
water... so that would mean that Razor's really a demon?"
    "Remember, he's under a second curse," Cologne reminded her. "A
curse that makes his body react to everything backwards. That includes
the curse he acquired at Jusenkyo. Hot water changes Razor into his
cursed form, and cold water will change him back."
    "You've gotta be kidding me," said Ranma. "How could a demon drown
in a cursed spring?"
    "It was the demon that guarded the curse-breaking knife," Cologne
explained. "When the decision was made that Razor would be cursed, it
was not unanimous. Those of us who felt the punishment was unfair
insisted that he be given a chance to redeem himself by recovering the
curse-breaking knife of legend. He managed to do so, but he awakened a
demon. In trying to fight it, he fled, finally reaching the training
ground of Jusenkyo. He leapt into one of the uncursed springs, and the
demon followed him, but the powerful magic in the water was toxic to the
demon, and it drowned. Razor was cursed at the same time, but because it
would take warm water to trigger that curse, he didn't discover it until
he returned to the village. I was the only one who learned of his curse,
and I swore to keep it a secret because that species of demon is the
hated enemy of the Amazon tribe... and if anyone else were to find out
about it, they would have him sacrificed."
    "On knives curses breaking only knife being sad part," said Razor.
"Why with knives fighting learning I being that."
    "Whatever," said Ranma. "I saw Razor kidnapping Ukyo with my own
eyes."
    "And Tatewaki Kuno saw you kidnap his sister with his," Cologne
replied smoothly. "Can you tell one amorphous black cloud from another,
Ranma?"
    "You can't expect us to believe that there are TWO demons in the
city," said Akane.
    "Perhaps that is why the other demon chose this time to strike,"
said Cologne. "The point is that Razor is NOT the demon you're looking
for... and Akane may not be its next victim."
    "Then who is?" asked Ranma.
    Cologne pointed to Shampoo, who was just working up the nerve to
step out of the corner.
    "Shampoo wants to marry you too, Ranma," said Akane. "So if
Cologne's telling the truth, then it could be coming after her next."
    "I think this is all some kind of trick," said Ranma. "You want me
to leave Akane alone so you can have Razor kidnap her, too."
    "If I wanted to kidnap Akane, I would have done it while you were
unconscious and helpless in my restaurant," Cologne pointed out. "I do
not give up easily, but Shampoo's life is at stake. I beg for your help,
Ranma."
    Ranma blinked. "You called me Ranma... don't you usually call me
Son-in-law?"
    Cologne bowed her head. "This matter is of the utmost importance,
Ranma. If you will help us, I am willing to call off the engagement
between you and Shampoo."
    A long silence followed this declaration as everyone waited to hear
what further provision there would be. But Cologne said nothing more.
    "I don't get it," Ranma said at last. "After all the crazy stuff
you've done to make me marry Shampoo, you're just going to give up?"
    Cologne's fists clenched around her staff so tightly that her
knuckles turned white. "It is not my choice, Ranma. But I must make you
understand that I am serious, and I can think of no better way."
    "You no can do that, Great-grandmother!" Shampoo protested. "Ranma
is Shampoo airen!"
    "I can, and I will," Cologne said coldly. "As a tribal elder, my
word is law. Or had you forgotten that?"
    Shampoo threw her arms around Ranma. "No! Say it not true! Say still
want to marry Shampoo!"
    Ranma bent down, dragging Shampoo with him, and put his face right
in front of Cologne's. "You'd give me your unbreakable word, on your
honor and tribe and anything else you can think of to swear upon, that
you and Shampoo and your whole crazy family will go back home and never
come near me or anyone else in Tokyo ever again?"
    "I would," she replied without flinching.
    Ranma stood up, dislodging Shampoo completely. "It all sounds a
little TOO convenient if you ask me. There's only one girl standing
between me and Shampoo, and now you want me to abandon her and baby-sit
a girl you're not going to make me marry when it's all done. Is that the
story?"
    "I would not ask you to abandon Akane," said Cologne. "The two would
remain together under your protection. Neither one must fall to the
demon."
    "Oh, right, my mistake," Ranma agreed facetiously. "Akane's gotta be
there so when Shampoo uses some fancy trick to knock me out, your demon
buddy over there knows where she is."
    "Shampoo never-!"
    Cologne held up a hand to silence Shampoo. "You speak true. In the
past, we have been duplicitous to a fault. I suppose I have only myself
to blame for the situation at hand. However, there must be SOMETHING I
can do to convince you that this is no lie!"
    "There's nothing you can do," said Ranma. "Not even your word is
good enough for me anymore. You and Shampoo have been lying from the
start. Why would you stop now?"
    Cologne pursed her lips, then bent down and pressed her forehead to
the floor. "Ranma... I beg you, on behalf of the Joketsuzoku tribe.
Please believe what I say! Our tribe has fought demons like this one in
the past, and our power can't stand up to it. You are the only one who
might stand a chance!"
    "Why don't you get YOUR demon to do it?" asked Ranma, jerking a
thumb toward Razor. "If they're really two different demons, he should
be able to handle it, right?"
    "Razor no can fight like demon," replied Shampoo. "Him backward."
    Akane nudged Ranma. "You know, I think they may be telling the
truth. If they're really willing to break the engagement, why not accept
it?"
    "It's what they want me to do," said Ranma.
    "Well, I want it too," Akane said decisively. "I think you owe it to
our families to sever your ties with Shampoo, and this is the perfect
opportunity."
    A sneer crossed Ranma's lips. "So, that's how it is."
    Cologne raised her head, a shudder running down her spine at his
tone.
    "You DID give Akane a dose of that assertiveness training!"
    Cologne shook her head. "I didn't! Why would I want to help her?"
    "I've heard enough lies," spat Ranma. He grabbed Akane's hand. "Come
on, Akane. We're leaving."
    "I didn't want to have to do this, Ranma..." said Cologne. "Razor,
get Akane out of here!"
    "Elder, yes!" The black mist spread quickly, surrounding Ranma and
Akane before they could get to the door.
    Ranma snarled. "What's the deal, you old bag? First you beg for my
help, now this?"
    "I didn't want to have to force you, Ranma," Cologne repeated. "But
I can't let you leave. The survival of our tribe depends on it."
    "Don't be so dramatic!" shouted Ranma, trying to protect Akane from
all sides at once. "It's just one girl!"
    "The demon is our sworn enemy," Cologne said darkly. "That is our
law above all others, even the code of honor. We haven't seen one in so
long that I'd hoped we'd never have to follow it again. But all other
considerations must now be put aside. I will ask one more time. Will you
help us?"
    Ranma began to back away from her voice. "No dice. I don't want any
part of your battle. I'll fight the demon my own way." He reached into
the black cloud, felt something solid, and twisted it hard. Water
noisily gushed from the faucet.
    Razor laughed. "Solid not being my body because, me touching cannot
you."
    "That's not what I had in mind," said Ranma, grabbing the bucket
from under the sink and holding it under the tap.
    "That water's hot, Son-in-law," Cologne warned him. "It's not going
to have any effect on Razor."
    "Isn't it?" Ranma groped blindly in the direction of the baskets of
silverware and dumped several handfuls into the bucket. "What if it's
got knives in it?" he asked, hurling the contents of the bucket into the
cloud. Shampoo shrieked, but Razor remained unaffected.
    Cologne clicked her tongue disapprovingly. "When Razor is a demon,
his body isn't in contact with the curse-breaking knife," she said.
"Knives are no exception to his curse in this state."
    Akane fearfully grabbed Ranma's sleeve as the darkness closed in.
"Ranma... please, just do what they want. It's not worth fighting over!"
    "If I can't beat this demon, there's no way I'd beat the real one!"
said Ranma, dropping the bucket back into the sink. "Just keep moving!
Maybe we can find a way out!" He grabbed Akane's arm and pulled her with
him as he moved around the perimeter of the small space that remained
within the swirling cloud. The darkness reached for them, but couldn't
get a hold of them before they'd passed through it, scattering small
black wisps everywhere. But the mist surrounding them was too dense to
pass through, and Ranma didn't dare lead Akane into the main mass of
Razor's body.
    It was Cologne who first realized what was happening. "The spiral!"
she shouted in warning. "Razor, watch out! It's the Hiryu Shoten Ha!"
    "Me not affecting will that!" said Razor with a laugh as he closed
in on his prey.
    "Then how about this?" Ranma shot back as he withdrew his hand from
the bucket and threw the water at Razor again. The cloud shrank in on
itself, scooping up the robe from the floor as it took the form of a
human. The robe quickly covered its owner just as the black mist turned
into flesh, and the familiar red hair solidified around the blade of the
curse-breaking knife.
    Cologne nodded her grudging approval. "Using the soul of ice to cool
the water instead of the air... rather impressive, Son-in-law."
    Ranma pushed Akane behind himself and took a fighting stance. "So,
how about it, backwards boy? You and me, man to man, for Akane."
    "Exactly that wanting did I," replied Razor, drawing a pair of
knives from the depths of his robe.
    "Hey!" Akane protested. "I'm not some prize you can fight over!"
    Ignoring her, Ranma charged forward, aiming a rapid set of punches
at Razor's face and chest. Razor expertly blocked each one with the
blade of a knife, but Ranma ignored the cuts and increased his speed,
punching so quickly that his hands became a blur. Not even Razor could
keep up with the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken, and punch after punch broke
through his defenses, pounding him mercilessly.
    Suddenly, the attack stopped, and Razor squeezed his eyes shut to
avoid looking at his opponent. It was a few seconds before he could sort
out his thoughts enough to open them. Ranma stood before him, casually
tossing the curse-breaking knife into the air and letting its tip rest
on his finger before catching it for another throw. "What's the matter?"
he taunted. "This is yours, ain't it? Come and get it!"
    Razor backed away quickly until he hit the wall behind him. He
smiled politely at Ranma and smacked himself in the face. "That knife
recovering will I!" he whispered.
    "Good luck," said Ranma, "when you can't do anything properly
without it."
    Cologne snarled. "Razor, give Ranma the knife!"
    Razor lunged forward at Cologne's command, but Ranma easily shoved
him aside and kept the blade out of his reach. "Come on, Granny! Can't
you just grab it yourself and give it back to him?" he taunted. "No,
wait... you can't, can you? You never took a dip in a Jusenkyo spring!"
    "You don't understand what you're tampering with!" warned Cologne.
"Why can't you just listen? We must work together to keep both Shampoo
and Akane safe from the demon!"
    "The demon's groveling at my feet," Ranma pointed out. "And
nothing's gonna stop me from walking right out of here with this knife
and keeping Akane safe my own way."
    "And what way is that?" asked Cologne.
    Akane tugged on Ranma's sleeve. "Ranma... maybe we should listen to
her. If we're going to fight that demon, we'll need all the help we can
get. If we ask Ryoga and Kuno to help us, and we all fight together, we
might stand a chance."
    Ranma grabbed Akane's hand. "No. I'm not dealing with either of
them. And I'm not dealing with the Amazons either. We can't trust anyone
anymore."
    Everyone started to shout at once, but a splash from near the
refrigerator silenced them all. Shampoo climbed out of her wet clothes
and arched her back threateningly.
    "You don't scare me anymore, remember?" said Ranma. "I've mastered
my fears thanks to your training."
    Shampoo screeched as she leapt right at Ranma's face with her claws
bared. Despite his boast, Ranma screamed and ducked, inadvertently
letting go of the curse-breaking knife. Shampoo caught the blade in her
mouth and bounced off Ranma's head, landing in Razor's arms and
depositing the knife in his hand. Razor's fingers curled around the
handle of the knife, and he looked up at Ranma with ice in his eyes.
    "Over yet not being this fight!" he shouted, reaching into his
sleeves and pulling out so many knives that his hands looked like a pair
of metal porcupines.
    Cologne held up her hand. "Razor, stop!"
    Ranma prepared to meet Razor's charge, but Razor stood still and
stared at his elder in disbelief.
    Shampoo meowed, echoing the confusion of everyone else in the room.
    "This is a fight that no one can win," said Cologne. "Even if you
manage to defeat Son-in-law, he will not help us. I can see that now. We
have dug a fine grave for ourselves, and now we have no choice but to
lie in it and wait for it to be filled."
    "Glad you finally see it my way," said Ranma, brushing himself off.
"I didn't want to have to hurt the poor guy."
    Cologne sighed. "Perhaps you will be able to see it our way before
it's too late. And if you are right, and Akane is indeed the next
victim... I hope you can put your pride aside and come back to us."
    "Damn straight," said Ranma. "I'll be coming back all right... to
tear Razor apart and get her back."
    Akane tugged at Ranma's sleeve again. "Ranma, listen... I think
they're telling the truth! Why won't you just let them help us?"
    Ranma grabbed her arm. "We're leaving."
    "But, Ranma -!"
    He ignored Akane's protests and led her out of the building with
such authority that she followed him without trying to resist.
    Cologne held her breath until the door had slammed closed. "We've
created a fearsome one in that young man. It won't last long, without
him receiving the full course, but I still don't think we'll be able to
influence him until he's recovered. To think that our plan has come to
work against us...."
    Shampoo mewed and pawed at Cologne's robe. The old woman refilled th
e bucket from the sink and poured its contents on Shampoo, restoring her
to her human form. "We'll need to find Mousse, and quickly. Our final
stand is not far away."
*************************************************
    They were a few blocks away when Akane managed to drag Ranma to a
halt. "Ranma, would you stop and listen to me?"
    Ranma abruptly let go of her. "Don't bother. I know what you're
going to say, and you're right. Cologne's telling the truth."
    "What? But you said -!"
    "I know what I said. But the demon that kidnapped Ukyo was an
incredible fighter. It would never have let me through its defenses the
way Razor did. And you saw how helpless he was without that knife. Even
if they were trying to gain my trust, I can't imagine him ever giving it
up. Besides which, if they were trying to eliminate Shampoo's
competition, they wouldn't have taken Kodachi Kuno. The only one who
thinks I'd ever marry Kodachi is Kodachi."
    "Then why couldn't you accept their help?" Akane asked indignantly.
"This is MY life you're taking into your own hands!"
    "That's exactly why I had to get away from them," said Ranma. "This
is something that I couldn't let them hear me say."
    Akane's heart skipped a beat at his tone. "What is?"
    Ranma turned around suddenly and grabbed Akane's shoulders. "Akane,
this is something I've been thinking about ever since we figured out
what the demon was after. I know you're always yelling at me and
smacking me around and calling me a pervert and a jerk, and I know you
and Ryoga have been getting really close lately."
    Something about the matter-of-fact way that Ranma had delivered his
observation drilled into Akane's heart. He didn't seem upset about the
insult. He seemed... determined.
    "I don't really care about any of that stuff right now," Ranma
continued. "But it looks to me like maybe you don't really want to marry
me after all."
    How could she respond to something like that? "Wh-what are you
saying?" she asked around the lump in her throat.
    "I'm saying maybe the demon isn't going to want you anyway," he
replied. "And that means you'd be safe. But there's only one way to be
sure. You've got to say it."
    "Say what?"
    "Tell me you don't want to marry me. Say it like you mean it. And
then you'll be safe, and I'll never bother you again."
    Akane took a step back in shock. "You want me to call off the
engagement?"
    "This ain't about what I want!" snapped Ranma. "Look, do you really
want to be the target of a demon that even Cologne's afraid of? It's
pretty clear you don't really want to marry me, so just say it and be
free already!"
    "Is that what you think of me?" Akane yelled back. "You can be such
a jerk sometimes!"
    "Exactly! So say it!"
    Akane hauled back and smacked him. "Of course I'm not going to say
it! I don't care how powerful that demon is, it's not going to make me
back down!"
    Ranma covered the hand-shaped mark on his cheek and smiled at her.
"That's what I wanted to hear. That's the first time you've ever said
you really wanted to be engaged to me."
    Akane's face burned with a blush. She tried to come up with a way to
relieve her embarrassment, but the words didn't come, so she remained
silent.
    "It's okay," said Ranma. "I feel the same way."
*************************************************
    "So, this was the problem," Gosunkugi murmured as he pored over the
instructions in his voodoo recipe book. "I used the wrong kind of thread
in the loop." He turned the doll over and carefully cut the loop of
thread from its back. "Easy enough to fix."
    The door opened forcefully, slamming into the wall of the study.
"Where is Akane Tendo?"
    Gosunkugi uttered a silent curse upon the intruder. "Look, like I
told you the last thirty times you asked that question, I don't know!
She went to the Cat Cafe with Ranma a long time ago, and by now they've
probably finished their business there and left."
    Ryoga stormed to the desk and slammed his palm down on the wooden
surface. "It's not my fault I keep coming back here! There's some warp
in space or something!"
    "I'm sure," said Gosunkugi, pointedly setting the doll down on the
desk.
    "Look, isn't there anything you can do?"
    Gosunkugi sighed. "Fine, let me give you this." He opened a drawer
and gave Ryoga a handful of small metal objects from within.
    "What's this?" asked Ryoga.
    "About seven hundred fifty yen," replied Gosunkugi. "I'd appreciate
it if you could buy me some food while you're out and bring it with you
next time you come back. If you can do that, I'll help you find Akane
and even give you some tokens that will make your wish come true."
    Ryoga blinked. "But if I'm trying to come back here, there's no way
I'll find the place!"
    "That's what I'm counting on," replied Gosunkugi. "You're getting in
the way of my work."
    "What work? This doll?" Before Gosunkugi could stop him, Ryoga
snatched the doll up and examined it closely. "Wait a second... this
doll looks just like Akane!"
    "Hey, be careful with that!" shouted Gosunkugi. "You don't know what
effect it might have on the real Akane!"
*************************************************
    "I know things have been pretty tense between us," said Ranma. "And
I can't really blame you for the stuff you've done recently.... I
haven't really gone out of my way to get close to you or anything. We
just lose our tempers too easily." He fretted. "There's gotta be some
way we can get past that tension."
    Suddenly, Akane stumbled forward, losing her balance. Ranma caught
her easily, then prepared for the smack that he knew was coming. It took
him a few seconds to realize that for once, his hands were not on her
breasts, and she was staring into his eyes in a way he'd never seen
before. Well, perhaps a few times, but they were rare, and something
always happened to screw them up. He felt his nerves folding up inside
him and balling up in his throat... only it wasn't fear of being
pummeled that was mangling his vital organs. The tangible emotion was
from nothing more than seeing her face before him, her eyes tightly
closed in anticipation, as she settled into his arms as comfortably as
she could manage. His instincts were driving him to do something....
    'Ah, screw it,' he thought as he leaned down to give Akane their
first kiss.
*************************************************
    Ryoga held the doll out of Gosunkugi's reach. "What's the big deal?
It's just a doll."
    Gosunkugi shook his head. "You may not believe this, but that's a
powerful voodoo doll. It's an effigy of Akane, and anything that happens
to it will happen to her as well."
    Ryoga blinked a few times, unsure whether to believe Gosunkugi or
not. "So if I move this doll around...?"
    "Akane would probably get dizzy, or sick," said Gosunkugi. "That's
why you have to be careful with it. So if you'd just give it back to
me...."
    Ryoga held up a finger and stepped out of reach again. "Wait... so
if I were to kiss the doll, it'd be the same as kissing Akane?"
    Gosunkugi lowered his eyes to the floor to hide his blush. "Well, I
suppose you could say something like that... WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU
IDIOT?"
*************************************************
    Akane let Ranma pull her into the kiss, surprised at her own
willingness to go along. But it was the moment she'd been waiting for
ever since... well, when? How long had she felt this way about Ranma?
Not since they'd first met, obviously... she'd hated him for not being
the girl she thought he was. But he always stuck by her and somehow
managed to avoid COMPLETELY screwing up everything he did... no, that
wasn't what she should be thinking about. She pursed her lips and
pressed them against Ranma's, preparing to enjoy their union at long
last.
    It felt like a giant mouth slobbering all over her face. She could
almost feel the saliva running into her eyes and sticking to her hair,
and she couldn't inhale for fear that she'd drown in drool. Was that his
tongue licking her nose?
    Who would have thought that such a good-looking guy, and such an
incredible martial artist, could be such a horrible kisser?
    She pushed him away forcefully and wiped her face with her hands,
trying without much success to remove the taint. "Eww! Gross! That was
the most disgusting thing I've ever...." She froze. The sensation was
gone, and she realized just too late what she was doing. She glanced up
imploringly at Ranma, begging for his forgiveness, but the look in his
eyes told her it wasn't coming. She'd hurt him deeply this time,
striking him where her fists had never been able to reach - his pride.
"Ranma, wait. I didn't mean -"
    "You know..." Ranma began slowly and carefully. He paused to take a
deep breath and steady his emotions before continuing. "For a second
there, I thought maybe I understood you, just a little bit. But I don't
know what you want anymore."
    She could see the tears beginning to form in the corners of his eyes
in the split second before he turned around and leapt to the nearest
roof.
    "Ranma, wait! Come back! It's okay, really!" She knew he wasn't
going to come back, of course. It was just the only thing she could
think of to do. She couldn't chase him across the rooftops, and it
wouldn't do her any good even if she could. He wasn't going to look at
her again.
    They'd been so close... how could she have messed things up so
horribly?
*************************************************
    Gosunkugi snatched the doll out of Ryoga's hands, anger burning
within him like a demon's flame waiting to erupt. "DON'T YOU EVER TOUCH
THIS DOLL AGAIN, OR I WILL MAKE ONE OF YOU AND TEAR ITS HEAD OFF!"
    Ryoga slowly backed away, reminded eerily of Soun Tendo's similar
approach to protecting his daughters. "Hey, calm down! It's all right!
Nothing happened!"
    Gosunkugi blinked a few times as if trying to figure out where he
was. "Huh? Oh, right. The doll." He carefully laid the Akane doll on his
desk. "You have to be more careful when dealing with powerful magic. But
in this case, I suppose it's all right. In the end, there's no harm
done."
    And the knife in Akane's heart twisted just a bit deeper.

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

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