[Ranma][FanFic] Permanent, Parts 26-29

[Ryoga P Hibiki]

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 herself. "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 Cafe 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. "MaybeI 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.

Permanent

Part 27

Okonimiyaki means... What the hell?

The teacher stood at the front of the room and for once actually held the
attention of most of the room. The object of interest was a sixteen year
old boy who stood next to him with a scowl on his face and a large spatula
strapped across his back. "Class, I'd like to introduce a new student..."

The boy spoke up. "My name is Ukyo Kuonji, my hobby's making Okonomiyaki."
He skillfully flipped one over on the grill he had set up in the front of
the room. This impressed most of the students present and Ranma glanced up
from her book.

"Ukyo Kuonji?" she stared at the boy for a long moment as if trying to
remember something.

The boy's attention moved to her immediately, she saw Ranma with a large
book propped up in front of her face. The pigtail was unmistakable though.
"Ranma! It's been a long time!"

Ryoga stopped cold and looked up from his nap in the back corner of the
class. "He knows Ranma?"

Ukyo's arm flew in a wide arc and Ranma reached up instinctively to catch
the Okonomiyaki. She glanced at it in mild surprise and frowned for a
moment at the smiling face that looked at her on the top of the pastry. "I
know him..." she glanced up at him and smiled slightly. "You're..."

Ukyo smiled and readied several small spatulas in his hand. "For ten years
I've hunted you!" He threw the razor sharp utensils as Ranma jumped from
her seat and rushed forward missing the weapons without noticing them.
Ryoga caught one and his eyes narrowed as a few other boys scrambled away
from the projectiles.

"You're Ucchan from the Okonomiyaki cart!" she cried cheerfully as she
appeared out of nowhere in front of the boy. Ukyo jerked back in horrified
surprise.

Ryoga leaned back and relaxed slightly with a confused look on his face.
He didn't remember any Okonomiyaki cart on any of his travels with the
sorceress. If it was before they met then it was something Ranma could
handle easily on his own.

Akane blinked at the scene and stood up. "Ucchan? You were childhood
friends?"

"Yea, for a while anyway," confirmed Ranma cheerfully. Ukyo remained
silent as he watched Ranma in complete shock.

The male populace of the class gasped in shock, many of their faces fell
at the appearance of this new rival. They turned to see a displeased look
cross Ryoga's features as well. He remained silent though.

Ranma turned towards the class and smiled. "I met Ukyo when pop and I were
training. Ucchan was a name I came up with. I would come to the cart and
Ukyo and I would get into a fight, when I won I would get free Okonomiyaki
practically every day!" The girl looked proud of this statement.

Akane twitched, she had never seen Ranma react to a situation this way.
She was so... cheerful. She shook it off and took in what Ranma had just
explained. "Uh, Ranma? Isn't that called theft?"

Ranma smiled at her and shook her head. "No, look." She held up the
Okonomiyaki and showed her the face drawn onto the surface. "Ukyo used to
draw little pictures with the sauce. He'd always have one hot n ready for
me."

"Sounds like a childhood crush to me," noted Daisuke.

"I never knew Ranma had it in her," agreed Hiroshi.

Ryoga smiled from his spot in the back of the room. "I know he doesn't
have it in him." He walked up next to Ranma and realized she had frozen in
place. "Forgot about something Saotome?"

Ranma slowly turned to see Ukyo shaking in place as he slumped against the
wall with a look of complete shock on his face. His eyes were firmly
planted on Ranma's chest and his jaw was wide open. "It can't be..." he
whispered quietly.

"Ucchan?" whispered Ranma as she noticed this. "I uhh..."

"Ten years...ten long years, and this..." he stood upright and stared
Ranma dead in her eyes. "It all makes sense now. You didn't even know did
you?" He turned on his heels and walked out the door into the hallway.

"Ucchan wait!" cried Ranma as she rushed after her.

"Now see here!" cried the teacher as he stood up from his desk. That was
as far as he got, Ranma looked him dead in the eyes and waved her hand
slightly. The man froze and shook his head, "Um, everyone take your seats
and open your books."

"What about Ranma?" cried Akane in shock.

"What are you talking about Miss Tendo?" said the man with a confused look
on his face.

Akane blinked and took her seat. "Never mind Sensei."

"Ukyo! Where are you going?" cried Ranma as she chased the boy down in the
hallway.

"I've been looking for the wrong Saotome," he said coldly as he pushed
open the door to the school and walked out into the courtyard.

"Wait! Tell me what's going on!" cried Ranma as she caught up with him.

Ukyo turned to look at her and frowned. "Did you know?"

Ranma blinked obliviously and stopped. "Did I know what?"

"I can never be sure," replied the boy simply. He paused, "Where is your
father?" He dared to hope that she might help him, perhaps after the old
man was gone they could even rekindle their friendship, as it should be,
not with him as he was now. He knew Ranma would never forgive him though
after he finished what he had to do. All that was shattered in an instant
though.

"Pop?" she looked at Ukyo quizzically. "Ukyo, he's gone."

Kuonji froze and stared at her in shock. "What do you mean gone? Did he
abandon you too?"

Ranma paused and looked at her. "Too?" she thought to her self. "No Ukyo,
I mean he's gone. It happened in China."

The cry that the boy let out could only be described as anguish and pain.
Everything he had lived for over the past ten years was for nothing. Now,
even revenge was denied him. "No! How could this happen! He was mine damn
it!" He fell to his knees and clutched the dirt while hyperventilating.

Ranma took a step forward and crouched down next to him. "Ucchan? What
happened? Why are you here?"

Ukyo looked her dead in the eyes with a stare of contempt that faded
instantly. "You really don't know do you?" With that said he stood and
turned his back on her before walking away from Furinkan.

"Ucchan?" Ranma wanted to follow and find out what was going on, but her
legs would not let her for some reason. She felt her heart tighten
slightly as she watched him leave. Her eyes narrowed as she realized that
she had the answers she was looking for right under her nose.

Ranma appeared inside the Cat Café and cracked her knuckles. "Ranma, what
are you doing home so early?" said Cologne as she hobbled out of the
kitchen.

"Where is my father?" asked the girl calmly.

"I sent the fool to take the trash out, he should be back any moment now.
What is this about?" asked the old woman carefully.

"That's what I mean to find out," said Ranma coldly.

Genma froze when he saw her sitting at a table waiting for him when he
walked back inside the restaurant. "Uh oh. I don't like that look," he
thought as he glanced towards the door looking for an easy escape.

"Don't even think about it old man," commented Ranma as she indicated a
seat at the table. Genma took it and stared at her waiting for whatever it
was.

The panda looked at the pen and paper that was set down before him in
confusion. "What's this for?" said the sign.

"You're going to tell me what I want to know pop, if you don't I have
other ways of finding out," she told him calmly. The panda froze with a
fearful expression on his face, he knew she was right. "You remember that
boy Ukyo, from the Okonomiyaki cart? He showed up at school today."

Genma stared at Ranma and tried to mask his surprise. "He?" the animal
thought carefully.

"I want to know why he was looking for you old man," snapped the girl
angrily. She kept herself under control though as her father might
actually have a reason for this. She couldn't think of a single one
though, but there was always the chance.

Genma merely nodded his head and started to write. "He thinks I stole the
Okonomiyaki cart from his father."

Ranma blinked as another memory came back to her. It was the one of her as
a young boy sitting on top of the cart while Ukyo chased after them with
tears in her eyes. "Pop, I'm going to kill you!" she screamed as she
reached across the table and grabbed him.

Genma held up a sign and waved his paw around frantically. "But her father
gave me the cart!"

Ranma paused and dropped him. "What?" Genma might be stupid, but he was
smart enough to come up with a better lie than that. "What do you mean?"

The conversation was interrupted as a cheerful voice chimed in from the
door. "Nihao!" Talcum marched through the door followed by Ko li.

"Hey Ranma," noted the girl calmly as she passed by.

Ranma looked back and saw that her father had vacated the table. She
sighed heavily, only her father would take four hours to take out the
trash. "We'll finish this later old man." She would have to track down
Ukyo later and ask a few more questions. The boy had seemed deeply hurt,
and she was sure there was more to this than a stolen cart.

Ryoga stepped into the restaurant and sat down across from her. "So did
you catch your old friend?"

"Yea, it only got more confusing from there," she told him.

"Really?" Ryoga didn't look surprised and that bothered Ranma slightly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she snapped.

"Well, if I found a childhood friend that I thought was a boy ten years
later and he had breast, I'd probably be confused too." He offered her a
fanged grin as he said this.

"Shut up Mr. P. I think there's more to it than that," she looked towards
the kitchen and turned a few thoughts over in her mind. "What the hell am
I gonna do about it though? That's the real question."

"Well, he seemed angry at first, but he calmed down real fast," noted
Ryoga with a shrug. "Maybe he thinks you're cute?"

Ranma winced at this, it was very possible. Still, it didn't fit the way
he was acting when he left. "What is it that I don't know?" she asked
herself out loud.

"More than you'd like to think sometimes," commented Ryoga dryly.

"Mr. P, shouldn't you be getting to work now?" grumbled Ranma angrily.

Cologne sat on the counter sipping tea. "This could be interesting."

Akane Tendo walked through the streets of Nerima towards her home. She
paused when she saw a familiar looking boy in the street with a large
metal spatula strapped across his back. He turned and glanced at her as
she approached, but quickly looked away uninterested. "Hey, you're that
guy Ukyo, Ranma's friend aren't you?"

The boy frowned at her. "I wouldn't call her a friend at the moment."

Akane blinked at this. "Why not?"

Ukyo sighed and hung his head. "Who the heck are you anyway, why are you
bothering me about this?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry. It's just that Ranma is probably my best
friend. I'm a little worried about her," said Akane in embarrassment.

Ukyo laughed out loud at this. "Why am I not surprised?"

"You aren't angry with her about something are you?" said Akane with a
worried look on her face.

Ukyo looked at her and paused in thought. "No, I'm not angry, not with her
anyway."

Akane grabbed him by his arm and smiled. "You've got to tell her that
then! I know it's none of my business, but I've never seen her look that
happy before! When she saw you it was like she was a child again! Like she
forgot about her problems completely!"

Ukyo looked at her as she released him. "Ranma isn't happy you say?"

Akane blushed and looked around as if checking that no one would hear.
"Well, I wouldn't say she's unhappy. She's just so serious all the time,
it's like she's been depressed or something. She's getting better since
she came to Nerima. I think it has to do with her father dying in China."

Ukyo looked at Akane and sighed again. "What kind of person is Ranma to
you? I haven't seen hi-uh, her in years."

Akane blinked and stepped back from the boy. "Well, she's really nice. I
think I trust her more than anyone else I know. She goes out of her way to
do things for people sometimes. I think she's probably the best friend
I've ever had. You wouldn't believe some of the things she's done for me
in the past."

Ukyo smiled at this, "Try me."

Akane laughed nervously, she had been speaking literally about the
disbelief. Somehow she doubted if she had been a sorceress back when she
knew Ukyo. Not from the way she had described things anyway; if Ukyo
didn't know he wasn't going to find out from her. "Well..."

"Evil demon!" screeched a familiar voice. Akane stopped her conversation
and whirled around with a shocked and horrified expression on her face.

"No! Not now! It isn't even night time!" cried Akane. Ukyo gasped as he
caught a glimpse of the black scar hidden behind her thick bangs.

Keiko dropped her shopping bag as her eyes fell from the cute boy that
walked by her to the strangely familiar figure walking with him. "It can't
be!" she gasped. "Evil demon!" She pointed towards Akane and saw the girl
grow rigid for a moment.

Auska pushed her glasses up her nose and frowned. "Where? It's too early
for that Keiko!"

"I guess evil does not know the difference between night or day!" cried
the girl dramatically as she pulled a ring from her pocket. She placed it
on her finger and jumped into the air as her clothes vanished only to be
replaced by a green dress and long sword. "Foul demon! I, demon slayer
Keiko shall teach you to defile the sacred sanctity of the shopping
district! How dare you tempt innocent young men so!"

Akane cursed under her breath and dashed into the crowd leaving Ukyo and
Keiko behind. The boy was looking at the demon hunter in shock. "Uh, did
you say tempt young men?"

She blushed slightly and smiled at him. "I hope that evil monster didn't
hurt you good sir."

Ukyo frowned at her and glanced into the crowd searching for Akane. "What
the hell happened to her?"

"The cowardly beast ran away," said Keiko proudly.

Ukyo merely shook his head and turned away. "Whatever." He started to walk
off and glanced upwards. He stopped as a figure appeared on the rooftops.
Just as quickly it was gone. "Who?"

Keiko stood next to Auska and smiled broadly as she lifted her shopping
bags back into her arms again after changing back to her so called,
'civilian identity'. "So?" asked her companion.

"So? So what?" muttered Keiko.

"Did you get his number?" squealed the girl cheerfully.

"No, he wandered off before I could ask him. He was a real babe too,"
grumbled Keiko a little dejectedly.

Up on the rooftop the white cloaked figure watched the scene again in
silence. His smile widened slightly. "Ranma? I wonder what her connection
is with this demon? I suppose I'll find out soon enough, my role as
passive observer will end soon." he thought to himself before he vanished
in a wave of light.

TBC...

Next time: More Ukyo, and Ranma grows closer to learning the truth, or
does she? All kinds of gender confusion to come.

C&C to Carro...@juno.com

URL: Http://www.geocities.com/misatira/

Permanent

Part 28

Five fools and a demon.

Akane Tendo stood on the roof of her home overlooking Nerima as
she did every evening. The expanse of the city spread out before her, and
a breeze shifted her bangs away revealing the dark scar that covered the
left side of her face. She frowned and tightened her cloak before jumping
into the shadows again.
As she roamed her thoughts wandered to the drastic changes the
young sorceress had brought into her world. Her new powers were probably
the most drastic of them, but there was a lot the girl had brought into
her life, most of it not good. Despite that, she found she really did love
her Ranma Saotome was probably the best friend she had ever had. Their
relationship had almost been lost because of her own stupid mistakes, but
things were stabilizing now between them.
Ryoga Hibiki was another matter, she knew she cared for the boy,
but whether or not she was in love with him was another matter. She had
enough trouble dealing with Ranma, much less him as well. Fortunately she
had been able to beat back the engagement between them. He seemed just as
relieved as she was about it, but for his own reasons. Ranma or her
actions had destroyed almost everything in her life; but the girl had also
done her best to rebuild it. For some strange reason she could not even
imagine disliking her. Akane paused on the roof of a small business as she
thought about Ranma again, a slight blush formed in her cheeks as she
looked out over the darkened streets. She shook her head and turned away
pulling the hood of her cloak down over her face again.
She tended to spend her evenings away from home as of late. She
didn't need to sleep any longer and was restless at times. As to not
disturb her family she found herself roaming about the city aimlessly.
Unfortunately that also entailed many of the dangers of a demon roaming
the street alone at night.

"Shit!" Akane rolled away as a shadow loomed up behind her in the
moonlight. She spun around just in time to catch a shadowy figure standing
silhouetted in the moonlight behind her. It was a girl with long flowing
hair that blew dramatically in the wind behind her. "Damn it Keiko! Can't
you take a night off every once and a while?"

A soft laughter floated over the rooftops towards Akane and she
froze as another figure appeared nearby, and then another, and another,
until five girls stood around her in the shadows. "Ha! Evil creature who
knows no love for mankind! I shall end your evil plot tonight! On behalf
of the stars, I shall punish you!"

Akane raised her eyebrow slightly and stared at her. "What evil
plot? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Don't try to play dumb!" cried one of the girls off to her right,
even in the minimal light it was easy to see that her hair was darker than
the first girl's. "We know you're plotting something! I shall punish you
in my economical and comfortable pumps!"

"I was just gonna go for some ramen. Who the hell are you people
anyway? Why are you bothering me?" said Akane a little irritated at these
strange newcomers.

"I am Sailor Sol!" cried the lead girl dramatically as she posed
in the moon light after stepping forward so Akane could see her better.
She had two long flowing braids and blonde hair.

"I'm Sailor Betelgeuse!" cried the brunette girl with the ponytail
as she moved forward as well.

"Sailor Polaris!" called a shorthaired girl who looked remarkably
similar to what Akane had once looked like.

"Sailor Novis!" said the dark haired girl firmly.

"And I'm Sailor X-23!" said the final girl, she was blonde with
long hair that went below her waist. All five of them were dressed in
sailor fuku.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," muttered Akane as she fell
down to her knees and sighed. "What is it with you people? Can't you leave
me alone? I haven't done anything!"

"Y-you haven't?" said the lead blond as she almost fell out of her
pose.

"NO!" screamed Akane angrily.

The shorthaired girl put her hand up to her ear and blinked.
"Stella, are you sure this is the source of dark energy you found? I mean,
she doesn't seem like any youma I've ever seen."

Akane blinked, for the first time since the whole mess had started
someone was actually taking the time to listen to her? It seemed almost
too good to be true.

"I'm positive! We have to destroy it now! The enemy is getting
smart, she must be deceiving you!" cried another strange voice. Akane
glanced around for a moment and then noticed the small headset that rested
in the girl's ear.

Sailor Sol simply stood and looked at the girl sitting in the
middle of their group and blinked. "But Stella, she isn't doing anything.
She's just sitting there."

"Are you sure that thing isn't broken Stella?" said Sailor Novis.

"No it isn't!" screamed the voice angrily. Polaris shuddered
slightly and winced.

Akane finally got up enough nerve to speak. "Who are you talking
too?"

"You'd better answer our questions first! Who are you? Why are you
on the roof?" snapped X-23 bitterly.

"I don't have to answer any of your questions!" cried Akane
defensively. "Just leave me alone! Why do you always have to bother me!?"

"Why is Stella reading you as a demon then? At least tell us
that!" cried Polaris.

Akane sighed and glanced around noticing that she was surrounded.
She wouldn't escape without going through at least one of them. "I've been
tainted with demon blood."

"Tainted?" said Betelgeuse in confusion.

"I got into a fight with a demon, we managed to kill it... but
some of its blood got inside me through my injured; I was also attacked by
some weird monsters that helped make it easier for the blood to taint me.
That's what Ranma says anyway." Akane stood up and dusted off her pants
before adjusting her cloak.

"Stella?" inquired Polaris.

"It's unlikely... but possible." The voice reluctantly agreed with
Akane's story and was silent after that.

"Who's Ranma?" said X-23 suspiciously.

"None of your business," replied Akane curtly, a little more so
than she had intended.

The girls stood around silently for a long moment before one of
them finally spoke up. "Are you sure you aren't draining energy from
humans to help your nefarious plot?" said the lead girl.

"What? What the hell are you talking about? I can't drain people's
energy," said Akane in confusion.

"You can't?" said the shorthaired girl in disbelief.

"I don't think so... I've never tried that before," admitted
Akane.

"We can't trust her," said the voice over the intercom.

"You shut up! You don't even know me!" cried Akane defensively.

"She's right about that," noted Sol calmly.

The voice was silent after that for a long moment. "I suppose
you're right, back off... for now," it replied reluctantly. The five girls
jumped away from Akane leaving her alone.

"Honestly," snorted the girl as she watched them leave. She stood
up and dusted herself off before bounding away into the night.

A small pink rodent of sat behind the controls of a computer
glaring at the screen for a long moment. She sighed and turned the power
off before falling back on her back and looking up at the ceiling of the
small control room she was sitting at.

"I'm disappointed in you Stella," commented the cloaked figure
that stood behind her.

"We aren't mercenaries you know. If she hasn't done anything wrong
yet we can't do anything about her," commented the rat calmly. "You may be
our sponsor, but we do have to keep some standards."

"She is evil, I will see her destroyed," said the thing calmly.

"When she starts rampaging across Tokyo call us and we'll help
out. I don't have any reports fitting the description of a girl like
that," said Stella firmly.

"I understand, I will not ask this of you now. The code I placed
to your kind still stands. We will find another way to deal with this
problem. Devil hunters are still considered mercenaries after all." The
figure stepped out of the shadows revealing a long white cloak with locks
of golden hair flowing from the hood. "She is too dangerous to be left
alone in this world."

"I know, we'll be watching her closely," commented the rodent.

"Don't bother, I'm always watching." The man turned towards the
door and paused for a moment. "Just don't let your guard down."

"As if we ever would," snorted the creature playfully.

"Soon the battle will begin, I will seal off her kind from this
world once again, no one will stop me." He looked back over his shoulder.
"The devil hunters are clearly outclassed. Perhaps I will bring in outside
help on this one."

"Be well Azrael," said the rat as he left the room.

Fire, all around her it was all she had known in her life, as far
as she knew anyway. Fire and pain, tortures beyond imagination. It was the
way of the world. She sat on the pillar overlooking the blinding light
that surrounded her and the screams that had always filled her ears. "The
time will arrive soon," said a deep booming voice. "What do you want from
me?"

She looked up and saw nothing, only the blinding light. "Power,"
she didn't know why she had said it. The words just came to her mouth, no
reasoning behind it; she didn't even understand what the words meant.
"Give me power!"

A laughter filled her ears, a strange sound, something horrible
that she had never known even in all of her torments. "So be it."

Hikaru Gosunkugi sat at his desk as he did every evening. A
strange book in front of him lulled him to sleep. He sighed deeply as he
closed the ancient tome and pressed the bridge of his nose. "I sure have
been tired lately." He glanced at his watch and saw there was a reason for
it. It was almost three a.m. he shoved the book aside and flopped down on
his bed.
There were no spells in the book to cure his condition; he
couldn't remember any of them at the moment anyway. After a moment he
flicked off his lights and turned on the nightlight. He wasn't afraid of
the dark anymore, but it was the only way to sleep with the golden shadow
glowing around him. It drowned it out just enough for him to fall asleep.
"Man, I've got to do something about this," he rolled onto his
side and dozed off with those thoughts.

Ranma Saotome sat in front of a large crystal in her room after
the Cat Cafe closed for the evening. She sighed heavily as the images were
fuzzy and unclear. "This is strange."

"Something is wrong Ranma?" asked Talcum as she entered the room
with two cups of tea. Ranma smiled and accepted the drink thankfully.

"My old man is hiding something from me, I've tried to find out
what it was with a few items I've got, but nothing is coming through,"
replied the redhead in a slightly frustrated voice.

"You need relax," noted the girl lazily in reply. She was dressed
in a bathrobe at the moment and had her hair tied up on top of her head. A
few tresses fell through along the side of her face.

"Maybe, but I think it's being jammed somehow," said Ranma
seriously.

"Maybe Panda?" asked Talcum.

"No, pops doesn't know any magic," replied the girl simply.
"Nothing like this anyway."

"Is bad omen," said the girl somberly. Ranma nodded in agreement.

"If Ryoga was nearby I might be able to break through, but that
wouldn't tell me who was doing this," said Ranma as she waved her hand and
put out the soft green glow the crystal was giving off.

"Want call pig boy?" asked the girl.

"No, the Tendos are asleep. It can wait until tomorrow," replied
Ranma simply as she plopped onto the ground just in front of Talcum's
knees.

The girl leaned forward and looked her dead in the eyes. "You
looking tired."

"Yup, I'm going to bed," said the pigtailed girl lazily with a
small grin.

"Good night Ranma," said the girl cheerfully as she leaned forward
and kissed her dead on the lips lightly. Ranma froze in place as Talcum
stood up and walked out of the room.

"What the?" Ranma blinked and sat up for a moment. "What was that
all about?"

Ukyo Kuonji lay on his back staring at the sky above him. It was a
nice night out and she decided to sleep under the stars. It was peaceful
and gave him time to think. "Ranma, what am I going to do about you?" The
question ran through his mind over and over. There really was no way she
could have known about it. She had seemed so happy to see him as well. A
small pain formed in his heart as he thought about it, the two of them
were not so different.
"A friend?" Memories of happier times came to him as he lay out on
his travel blanket. Ranma had always been one of the best friends he had
ever had, and now it seemed she had not betrayed him in the first place as
he had long thought. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep. "Ranchan...
maybe you can be Ranchan to me again?"

"Perhaps she can," said a new voice in the back of her mind. It
seemed gentle and calm, beautiful. "I came to offer you something Ukyo
Kuonji, your revenge is pointless. I shall give you a new cause, a greater
one. You will become the greatest of all my children."

He sat up violently when he realized that the sound was not just
inside his head, but all around him. "Who are you?"

"Do you wish to become one of my children?" said the voice as it
ignored his question.

Ukyo had no time to think about his answer, the voice sounded
urgent and firm; there was no way he could refuse it. "Of course..." he
didn't know why he agreed to it. He wasn't even sure what he just agreed
too.

"My child, I shall grant you power beyond your wildest dreams..."
At that moment a pillar of light shot down from the sky and seemed to
absorb the boy completely, there was no fear or panic in his eyes, he
simply accepted.

On a hill a short distance away Azrael stood watching with a small
smirk on his face. His eyes glowed slightly for a moment and he vanished
with a small flash of light.

TBC...

Next time: Akane Vs. The Star Sailors!
Ranma confronts her father again!
Ukyo confronts Ranma yet again as well!

C&C to Carro...@juno.com

URL Http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/fountain/3203

Permanent

Part 29

Demons and Wizards.

Ranma Saotome sat at a table in the back corner of the Cat Cafe.
Her father had not yet returned from wherever it was he was hiding and the
magical objects still prevented her from looking into Ukyo Kuonji's past
in any way.

"Whoever it is, they are powerful indeed," noted Cologne.

"There isn't anyone this powerful nearby, I would have known about
it," said Ranma coolly.

"You think someone this strong can't hide themselves if they want
too?" commented the old woman carefully.

"You're right about that, but I wonder what Ukyo has to do with
someone like this?" Ranma leaned her head into her palms and thought for a
long moment. "I just don't get it."

"Perhaps it is not Ukyo they seek?" Cologne left her alone after
this and went off into the kitchen.

"That can't be though, Ukyo and I haven't seen each other in
years. I'd hardly call her friendly either. Something is up here..." she
rested her head into her arms and muttered unhappily at the new problem.

"Is sister Ranma all right?" chirped Talcum as she walked over to
the girl.

"Not really," admitted Ranma. "I can't figure this out. Why is
someone blocking Ukyo out? What's the connection?"

"Why no just ask?" said the girl cheerfully.

"Sure, if he decides to come back and speak to me again I'll bring
it up," muttered Ranma sarcastically.

"Ok, is sitting right over there," Talcum pointed to the other
side of the restaurant where Ukyo was eating a bowel of Ramen.

Kuno stood at the door of the Gosunkugi home and sighed. Hikaru's
parents had met him at the door and were standing in shock as they looked
at him. "May I speak to your son?"

"Uh huh," said the man dumbly.

"Kuno, uh... what's up man?" said the boy as he walked down the
stairs and met him.

"I am growing concerned. It's about Akane, can we talk alone?" the
kendoist stepped into the house ruffling his wings as he went by the two
adults.

Inside his room Hikaru cleared a few books off of his bed so they
could sit down. "You're worried about Akane?"

Kuno nodded. "Yes, she is complaining about so called magical
girls. They see her as an enemy and attack her in the night."

The boy looked away uncomfortably at the mention of Akane. "Well,
she is part demon you know."

"True, but hardly an evil force. These attacks are growing in
number and frequency and that worries me." Kuno looked out the window as
he spoke. "Something is going on my friend."

"Magical forces have been building in Nerima ever since Ranma
showed up," commented Hikaru sagely.

"You believe him to be the cause of this?" Kuno looked slightly
worried.

Gosunkugi merely shook his head. "No, to be honest with you, I
think she's more of an effect than a cause."

"Meaning?" Kuno was not very comfortable at the moment with the
way the boy was speaking.

"Something shifted, Nerima became a hot house of trouble. Ranma
was attracted by that force, along with anything else that has showed up
recently."

"Hot house? What are you talking about?" Kuno was more than a
little worried by the boy's words.

"Well, I read about it in one of the books Ranma gave me a while
back. There are trouble spots all over the world. They shift from place
to place and stay for a few years or so. While they stay in a place things
go nuts, all sorts of interesting things will happen. Demons, monsters,
aliens, you name it. Apparently one of these magical fields of chaos has
settled on Nerima." The boy tapped his fingers on a leather bound tome and
sighed. "Unfortunately the more people in an area the worse the chaos is,
and Japan as you know is pretty densely populated; especially near Tokyo."

"This is not a good thing," said the winged boy flatly.

"It's not really all that bad, many people forget that chaos
swings both ways. However bad it gets, it'll get just as much positive
energy as negative. It's just a matter of which way the last swing goes."
Gosunkugi chuckled to himself.

"How do we push it in the right direction?" said Kuno seriously.

"We can't, the best we can do is hope for the best." Gosunkugi
smiled broadly and turned back to his book.

"Very well, I do have a request for you though," the smaller boy
looked up at Kuno with an odd interest in his face.

"What could that be?" he asked.

"I want you to find a way for Akane Tendo to hide her demonic
blood from these 'magical girls'," Kuno frowned as he said this.

"I don't have anything off the top of my head, but I'll look into
it. Why don't you go to Ranma with this? She's a better sorceress, and
she'd be more than happy to help out Akane." Gosunkugi looked surprised
and flattered that Kuno had chosen him.

"Saotome has problems of his own," replied the boy simply.

"Sure thing, I'll look into it like I said," replied the boy
simply with a small shrug of his shoulders.

"Good Day Gosunkugi," said Kuno as he walked out of the room.
As he walked down the stairs he stopped and blinked as the
decoration in the house had changed almost completely. All sorts of
religious themes and decorations adorned the walls and various bibles and
important religious text were thrown out on the coffee table. Both of the
boy's parents were staring at him nervously and trying to act like they
were reading the bible intently.

Kuno paused by the front door and looked back at them, he wondered
for a moment if he should tell them that he wasn't a real angel. After a
moment he simply walked out of the home and went on his way.

Ukyo sat across from Ranma and smiled at her weakly. "Hello
Saotome."

"Ukyo," replied the red head as she shifted slightly in her seat.
After a long moment of silence between them Ranma spoke up. "We need to
talk Kuonji."

"We sure do honey," agreed the boy.

Ranma ignored his informality and raised her hand. "First off,
what in the world did my father do to you to get you so mad at me?"

This caught Ukyo by surprise. "You really have no idea?"

Ranma grit her teeth and shook her head from side to side slowly.

"Well, I guess I can't really blame you then can I?" replied the
girl with a smile.

"I guess not, but still. I'd like to know Ukyo," said the girl
guiltily.

He gave her a wry grin and chuckled. "Well Ranchan, that's in the
past. I'm convinced you didn't have anything to do with it. Let's just
forget about it all right?"

Ranma blinked and stood up in her chair she wasn't sure if she
should be happy or just frustrated. "Ucchan?"

"See you around Ranchan, I'm going to be hanging around town for a
while." The Okonomiyaki chef walked out the door after placing her money
on the table in front of Ranma.

The redhead stared blankly at the money and smiled to herself.
This didn't mean that she'd stop trying to find out about what had
happened, but it did take quite a bit of the pressure away from it.

Talcum ran up to her and threw her arms around her neck. "Is so
happy for sister! Now you having friend back again!"

"Uh yeah," agreed Ranma nervously.

Ko li emerged from the kitchen and noticed the joyous hug. "Well,
what have we here? Plans going well elder?" She raised her eyebrow and
noticed Cologne smoking her pipe next to the counter.

"What plans do you mean dearie?" cackled the old woman quietly.

Akane Tendo was roaming the streets of Nerima yet again. Things
had become relatively quiet at school, and at home. The nightlife was
always exciting. Her cloak ruffled in the wind behind her as she spun
acrobatically through the air avoiding the blows of her chief rival among
the various magical girl circles.

"Damn it Keiko, what the hells the matter with you! There are
people down there!" screamed Akane as she caught a large iron support beam
that the girl had cut in an attempt to crush her.

"Silence devil! What do you care about them!?" snarled the girl as
she spun around and slashed her long sword in an arc that cut the beam in
half and sent Akane flying across the rooftop.

"I'm beginning to wonder that about you," muttered Akane under her
breath as the girl charged her again and was pushed back by a quick
combination of punches and kicks.

"Damn monster!" screamed the girl as she was rocked back by a hard
right to her face. There was no real damage, but it hurt quite a bit.
Keiko spun around and performed an aerial kick to counter Akane's they met
in the air and the Tendo girl was knocked away. She hit the ground hard
and almost tumbled over the edge of the roof, she caught herself and
peered over the edge.

Akane rolled and tried to get to her feet, unfortunately Keiko was
up first. She found the blade pointed at her neck. "You are beaten, it is
useless to resist."

Akane grit her teeth and kicked her leg out knocking the blade
away. She was on Keiko in an instant viciously punching the girl
repeatedly in the body and face. "I am sick of this! Leave me alone you
psycho!" She punctuated each word with a fist and at the last word Keiko's
grip on her sword was lost. It clattered to the ground and Akane grabbed
her by her neck and lifted her into the air.

The magical girl smirked as she hung from the demon's grip. She
had been utterly defeated in the end, now she would die flung off the edge
of a building by the thing. Akane glared at her hatefully with her eyes
glowing yellow in the shadows of the cloak.

"How can you be so careless?" screamed Akane as she dangled the
girl off the edge of the roof. "Somebody could have been hurt by that
beam! Maybe I should just make sure you can't hurt anyone else!"

"Go ahead and kill me demon," spat the girl hatefully as she
glared her in the eyes.

"You're foolish to believe you can hunt demons with this much
hatred," said Akane as she returned the gaze purposefully

Keiko stopped and a sudden fear welled up in her eyes. "What?"

Akane shifted her grip and brought her back onto the roof. "I'm
not going to kill you fool. Go home." She was about to drop the girl on
the ground when a searing pain erupted in her arm.

"AKU RYO TAI SAN!"*

Akane fell to her knees in pain as a savagely burning cut appeared
on her arm followed by a white light that almost blinded her completely.

Keiko found herself sprawling across the pavement as Akane grabbed
her arm and flailed back from the strange glowing object that stuck in the
ground. She felt her sword return to her hand after sliding a few feet
across the ground and stood in a battle ready pose. Stuck into the ground
was a small white rectangle of white paper with familiar kanji written
across it. "What the?"

"Where?" The magical girl glanced around and frowned when she
realized Akane was no longer there.

"It seems she's escaped me. Next time she won't be so lucky," said
a new voice from above.

Keiko spun around on her heels and gasped at the man who stood
above her. He was silhouetted in the moonlight and his hair blew
dramatically in the wind. A small mask covered his features and a single
ward fluttered gently in his hand as he smiled down at her. "Don't give up
hope, you'll get her sooner or later." With that said he dashed away
across the rooftops.

"Who the?" Keiko looked over the edge of the roof and remembered
her near death experience moments before. Her mind wandered to the
mysterious and handsome stranger who had rescued her from the demon's
grasp. He was very soft spoken and very elegant looking. Two large hearts
appeared in her eyes. "Cool."

"Keiko! What's going on? Who was that? Keiko! Did you meet another
cute boy? Damn it Keiko! Answer me you ditz!" the magical girl frowned and
took the headset out of her hear as her partner squawked angrily.

She tossed it over the edge of the roof and sighed. "Who was that
guy? He was a babe!"

Akane sat in the shadows and growled to herself as the girl
finally wandered away. Whatever it was the stranger threw at her, it hurt
a lot. More than anything else she'd ever felt. This was not good. "Damn,
why doesn't this get any easier?" She slipped away into the darkness and
retreated home.

TBC...

Next time: Ukyo opens shop! Ranma catches up with her father! And
Ryoga actually gets a part again!

C&C to Carro...@juno.com

URL: Http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/fountain/3203/

* A common ward to exorcise demons. Sailor Mars uses the phrase
from time to time when she uses her spell wards. [It's what the Kanji on
them says]