Amethyst Chapter 2: The Paradigm Effect by Celeste Byrd ======================================================================== Insert your standard, boring disclaimer here. It's tough to keep the legal people happy, so why try? I'm not doing this for any monetary gain, and we know the characters in the story belong to their respective creators. So there. Any comments and criticism is welcome at [belldandy@studio-aesir.net]! ======================================================================== "How the heck does Grandpa expect us to learn anything when we're so tired?" Tenchi asked as they sat down in their seats, getting ready for class. "I don't know if I can even see straight." "You sort of get used to it after a while," Ranma replied, opening his textbook and pretending to read. "Getting attacked in the middle of the night and on the way to school did wonders for my stamina. If it weren't for sleeping in class, I wouldn't have been prepared for the battles during lunch." "The way you say it, Ranma, sounds as if it were a daily routine." "It was, believe me. If worse comes to worse, sleep during chemistry or something." The cave had not been what they had expected. Nothing ever was what they expected as far as the Masaki youths were concerned, but this was quite beyond their usual tolerance for things not happening in their favour. Their first problem was opening the door itself. Seven hundred years of disuse had fused the tumblers in the lock together, and this rendered the key useless. It took a good half an hour to break off the lock, a method they realised would have saved them a lot of trouble had they tried it before challenging Katsuhito. Another problem they faced was the lack of light. It was a small oversight on their part, and they had to run back to the house, a distance of three kilometres, to retrieve a flashlight. They very nearly kicked themselves when they realised that the batteries were dead, but fortunately they travelled only a third of the distance to the cave; they were able to pick up a fresh set of batteries without too much trouble. Those setbacks didn't affect their enthusiasm, and nothing would, excepting if the cave had nothing of interest. First checking to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything, they carefully reopened the doors and cautiously walked down the passageway. The entire atmosphere inside the place reminded Ranma of the story Soun and Genma had once told him. It was in a similar dungeon that they had sealed their evil and perverted master. Unfortunately, Happosai had managed to escape, and while he was not actually a demon, he was twisted enough to be deemed as such. The story itself wasn't very scary, but the fact that it would come up at a time like this in a REAL demon's prison sent shivers up Ranma's spine. As they reached the end of the passageway, Ranma had discovered a strange rock bound by hundreds of spirit wards. On the floor, Tenchi had found the dusty hilt of a sword, encrusted with a few grimy gems. The blade itself was embedded in the stone, for years of rust had separated the pieces on what must have been a beautiful weapon. Unfortunately for the two, their presence combined with the passage of time caused the wards to crumble, and the rock to crack open. Underneath the stone, a pool of water began to form at the base. A mysterious light illuminated the pool, and its brilliance caused the boys to shield their eyes. They had been ready to bolt out of the place when something beckoned them to look into the fading glow. They nearly freaked when SOMETHING in the pool open its eyes, but they decided--safely in the house and under the blankets, of course--that it was just a trick of the light. Nothing could have survived after seven hundred years of containment. The dead didn't suddenly decide that life was worth living again but they first needed to air out their bodies, right? Neither boy wanted to question what the apparition was doing there in the first place. Neither boy wanted to remember the question OR the incident, so the entire event was filed away in the little place near the back of their brains. "I'm swearing off snacks before bed," Tenchi had declared. "I'm not," Ranma had answered. "You never know when you need a bite to eat." Believing that it all had been a big disappointment, the two went to class the next day in a more sombre mood. The multiple contusions received from Katsuhito were also a contributing factor to that. It was hard enough to muster enough energy to get to school in the first place, but they persevered. "Did you get ANY sleep yesterday?" Tenchi asked, removing his pencil case from his book bag. "Only a bit," he admitted. "The ghoul looked a helluva lot like Cologne. That nightmare kept me up all night." "Same here!" "Anyway, what's done is done, and I don't think we'll be seeing that thing in the pool getting out and about. Hopefully." They shuddered voluntarily. Some things were just so hard to forget, but it didn't hurt to try. "Oh well," he shrugged as the teacher walked in. "At least you won't get nightmares from physics, unless you can't understand it." "It's fine by me," Tenchi gave him a tired grin. "Physics doesn't scare me at all, not after all that studying we did." --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- "They certainly know how to forget traumatic visions." The sarcasm was very evident in Toltiir's voice. "Everyone trys to, Toltiir. It's the way people cope with things they can't understand. They file it away in a little corner in their minds so they don't have to deal with it." "Explains a lot with those two. I'd hate to see a timeline where Ranma actually understands from the start what Shampoo and the others are trying to do with him." "Too bad they won't be able to do the filing, especially now that their lives are going to get just a bit more colourful." --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- Katsuhito sighed as he surveyed the remains of the cave entrance. It looked as if a monster had broken free and had destroyed the place in vengence. Seven hundred years would do that to a person. "I'm getting too old for this," he grumbled, sweeping pieces of granite off the pathway. "This is what I get for encouraging a bunch of young adults." The challenge had been fun, he had to admit. Ranma had pushed him farther than he had ever gone in ages. Not since the battle against Ryoko did the older Masaki feel himself reaching his limits. He had been surprised that Tenchi had progressed so well in the Art, and he attributed it to Ranma's influence. Though he still had a ways to go, Tenchi was beginning to show the signs of manifesting the powers of his Jurai bloodline. Ranma was also starting to develop his powers, but for some reason they were not on the same level as Tenchi's. Perhaps it had to do with the amount of time he had spent at the shrine, under the canopy of the Jurai tree. Tenchi had been living here ever since he could walk, while Ranma had just recently arrived. Katsuhito planned to consult Funaho to find out if his hypothesis was correct. The boy would be moving away soon, that much he knew. While Tenchi planned on becoming a shrine priest in the same vein as his grandfather after he received a degree in Architectural Design, Ranma wanted to go beyond university and see what he could make of himself. If that were the case, as he envisioned, it would be years before he'd be able to merge with and summon the Wings of the Light Hawk, perhaps the most powerful fighting psyche in existence. "Not that he really needs it," he muttered, soothing a few painful welts on his legs. "He's good enough without the power of Jurai manifesting itself. Even then, who knows what form it'll take with him." Unless something drastic occurred, Katsuhito saw no reason to worry about their latency. In fact, the boys had much more important things to take care of. As soon as they realised what needed taking care of, which would probably happen in a few hours. Katsuhito hoped that Ryoko had learned some restraint in the past seven hundred years, but he wouldn't bet his lineage on it. ---------------------------------------------------- It was your average, regular, long, boring, school day. The lack of rest caused the boys to act in the same way railroad stop lights did; one would sleep, the other would take notes, and then the boys would alternate after a few minutes. A few times they had almost been caught sleeping, but they were pretty familiar with the course material after all the studying they did for the entrance exams, and so they were able to answer questions without too much difficulty. Eventually the bell rang, signaling that it was time for lunch. The Masaki brothers decided to go to the rooftop and eat. People rarely came up there, and they considered it their haven on school grounds. When they had the opportunity to come up, they could have private conversations, study for tests, practice some martial arts, or even just sit against the fence and watch the students below file in and out of the school. The reason they didn't go up often was because of soccer or baseball games the male students often threw during lunch. They were pretty good players to have on a team. It was a rather chilly day today, and no games were planned. The majority of the student population went to the cafeteria, while others converged in groups to gossip and eat in classrooms. Ranma and Tenchi walked down the main hallways on the third floor until they reached the door leading up to the top of the school. The roof was designed in such a way that it prevented strong winds from blasting by in three directions. It was always a few degrees warmer up on the roof than out on the school grounds for some reason, and it was a fact they couldn't believe no one had figured out yet. "How was calculus, by the way?" Ranma asked as they sat down to eat. "I was asleep for half the period." "Same old, same old," Tenchi sighed. "It was just a review period. You're lucky to have been sleeping during that, 'cause I wouldn't have remembered what the teacher might've taught." "Heh heh," Ranma chuckled. "Looks like I got the break this time." "Did the dream come back to you?" He smiled. "Y-yeah, I was kinda surprised. I was expecting the nightmare to haunt me again. Mind you, she scolded me for not paying attention in class, but she forgave me afterwards." "Find out what she looks like this time?" "No..." Ranma shook his head sadly. Tenchi patted his brother on the shoulder as a comforting gesture. "Well, I'm sure it will happen someday." "I hope so," he sighed. "Oh yeah, we can't sleep after lunch," Tenchi reminded him. "We've got computers next, and then history." Dreams took a backseat to reality as Ranma groaned. "Aw man, not history! It's as boring and repetitive as Furinkan's high school teachers!" --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- "Dreams?" Urd gave Toltiir a sidelong glance. "What kind of dreams are we talking about here?" "I don't know," he admitted with a shrug. "I don't invade someone's head for kicks, you know. I do enough nosing around with people's lives; the least I can do is keep their inner thoughts private." "That's a load of bull, coming from the God of Mischief." Urd gave him a wry grin. "Forgive me if I don't sound very convinced." Toltiir placed his paws together as if in meditation. "I'm serious, Urd. I mean, there are a tonne of things no one wants anyone else to know, and sometimes it reaches a point where one's willing to kill oneself to make sure it stays that way. Take you, for instance." "Me?" "There's probably a sea of thoughts in that pretty little head of yours that you'd keep to yourself for all you're worth. I COULD take a peek at them and be hopelessly embarrassed, but I'm not that kind of god. Who knows what kind of stuff I could pick up?" Urd took half a step back, just in case. "If you EVER try and look--" she glared. "Like I said, I don't do stuff like that. Being omniscient isn't very funny. Besides, I like to keep myself sane," Toltiir turned away, preventing Urd from catching his smirk. "Can't live as long as I have by going off the deep end." The goddess wisely decided not to comment on that. The general belief among the deities in Heaven was that Toltiir lacked a bit of... stability up in the... upper atmosphere. As Grey once put it, politely of course, Toltiir was a few whiskers short of a small, fluffy thing (1). "You could always check his file in the Yggdrasil database, or take over your counterpart in this timeline and make direct contact with his head. Either way, you'll satisfy your curiosity..." Toltiir suggested. "Are you kidding?!" She covered her neck. "Do you know what Belldandy will do if she finds out, or Astrild, or even Amaterasu? I'm not that desperate to go in front of Him and be reprimanded!" Toltiir snickered at her expression. "Surprised you're showing some common sense for once," he replied. "We'll never know, will we?" Urd sighed. "You're doing this to kill me, aren't you?" "Hell no. I'm just as in the dark as you are." Toltiir waved a paw over the well, and the image of the Masaki boys disappeared. Another image replaced it, but the platnum-haired goddess couldn't make out any absolute details. "It's too blurry to see anything, Toltiir." Then, with a puff of smoke, a small rectangular object shot out of the pool and bonked her on the head. "What the hell is this?!" Urd demanded, rubbing the spot where she was hit. "I'm going to kill you if you did that intentionally!" Toltiir grinned and held up a Tarot deck. "Even if I'm against diving into someone's dream, I can still look at the shape of it. I'm not THAT clean." The two deities chuckled briefly. "Should have expected this sort of thing from you," she replied with a smile. "You hate not knowing anything, don't you?" --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- "I guess I get to sleep during that period then," Tenchi smirked, "since I'm not the one who can't get his important dates and events straight." "Payback, huh?" Ranma shrugged. "Makes up for the last class, doesn't it?" "Darn right it does!" He gave him a victory sign. He grinned sheepishly. "Well, why don't we make up for lost sleep right now?" he asked. "We've got the better of a half-hour before we gotta go back in." "Good idea! Snoring in the middle of class again would be too embarrassing, wouldn't it?" "Hey, I'm used to being embarrassed in class. Haven't been for at least a year, though, and that's something to be proud of. Didn't sleep in class either until today." "So you say, Ranma," Tenchi smirked. "It's true!" "Uh huh." He crossed his arms. "How about that time when Nakamura-sensei was our substitute teacher for finite?" Ranma strained his brain trying to recall whatever event his brother was referring to. "When was that? Don't think I remember... When did he take over the class?" "Nakamura-sensei was a SHE, Ranma! I can't believe you don't remember her!" Slowly, the incident came into focus. "Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me. She was the one where the guys ended up slobbering for the entire period, right?" Tenchi rolled his eyes. "Except you, of course." While every male student in class had decided that the mathematics behind probability was worth listening to for once in a lifetime, Ranma happened to be the only one sleeping the period away. He wasn't like the normal, developing, hormone-crazed teenage boys in his class in that he didn't do that sort of thing. Always the oddball, Ranma was. He gave his brother a non-commital shrug. "It was just a self-study and review period for the test next day, and you KNOW how boring those get." "You didn't find that class interesting at all?" The corners of Tenchi's lips were trying not to tug into a grin. "Nope. If I had a choice in a practically free period to either leer at some woman's--" --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- "High Priestess!" Toltiir declared, holding up the card for Urd to see. "Looks like we have a feminine influence there." "Not too clear, but I kind of get the gist of it. Do you know when he started getting dreams like this?" "No clue, though I'm betting it's after the wish. What I REALLY want to know is the girl's identity. The same card keeps popping up no matter how many times I shuffle the deck." Urd nodded in agreement. "We'll find out eventually, I guess. Judging by the number of times he's dreamed with her in it, I'd say it wouldn't be long before she showed up for real." "Want to find out what she looks like before Ranma does?" Toltiir asked. "Not too many fine details, but some minor characteristics and clothing's easy to check out." "What about you? Do YOU want to know right now?" "Not really," he shook his head. "Don't want to spoil the surprise." "Then we won't. It's not like you were going to, anyway." --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- "--or to sleep and feel rested for the next class, I'd take the latter any day of the week." The younger Masaki shrugged and smiled. He guessed that he'd be in the same boat if girls had thrown themselves at him on a constant basis years ago. As it was, he had to admit that he paid more attention in math that day than any other subject over the school year. "Anyway, I'm going to sleep," Ranma declared. "I don't want to be caught with my nose against the keyboard next period." Tenchi nodded in agreement. "Good policy to have!" They quickly polished off their meals and leaned against the wall, allowing the pressures of the past day to catch up to them. A few minutes later, Tenchi quietly drifted off, the accumulated stress overcoming him first. As his own breathing began to steady, Ranma watched some birds circle the clouds in the sky, and absently traced their flight patterns with his eyes. Being an experienced on-the-job sleeper, he knew that it was best to have a relaxed frame of mind before moving off into the realms of the subconscious. No one was going to attack him from out of the blue, so it wasn't a waste of precious sleep time. "Wonder how they're all doing?" he mused. The thought of the Nerima gang brought out mixed feelings within him. On one hand, he was all too glad to be out of that hell of an arrangement, but on the other... there was the feeling of potential lost, of what could have been. The possibilities were endless, but it didn't matter to him anymore. He was past the crossroads, past the uncertainties. This was the direction he wanted to take, and the path he wanted to follow. "Confidence in the mind is hope for the future," he thought as he sat back. "I guess I can look forward to it, now that everything's turning out alright for me." --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- The deities looked at each other, then put on illusionary hard hats. NOTHING ever turned out positively when something like that was uttered. "How long before she blows?" "About five seconds." --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- Ranma reached his optimum point to reach restful sleep and was about to join his brother when he felt an unnatural chill in his body. It usually happened to him when something big was about to blow up in his face. Generally it was an opponent challenging him or a girl hitting him, but sometimes he felt it just before a fiancée he never met showed up to stake a claim and Akane hit him with her mallet or some other convenient bulgeoning instrument. Okay, so that fell under the second category. He knew for sure that it couldn't be any of the usual responses. It couldn't be; he left it all behind him when he made that wish. What could possibly invoke the same feeling within him? His answer was an enormously powerful aura, full of vigour and energy that it nearly blew him back from the shock. Normally he wouldn't be affected so greatly, but he hadn't expected or been prepared for such power. Wide awake and alert, he lept onto the balls of his feet, ready to defend against whatever his visitor had in mind for him. "OW!" Ranma immediately wished that he hadn't done that, because the sudden rush in altitude caused his brain to hiccup, then complain. "Ouch," he mumbled, clutching his head and falling back down to the ground. "I'm never getting up before going to bed ever again." There was a slight pause as he worked over what he had just said. "I'm also gonna try saying something that makes more sense." The unknown visitor was briefly forgotten as Ranma waited for his head to stop spinning, and for the blood to return so he could try and think about whatever he was supposed to be thinking about. Right. "Okay, what was it again?" he mumbled to himself. <<>> "Huh?" <<>> "Ow!" THAT cry of pain resulted from Ranma hitting himself over the head. The last thing he needed was to pretend he was some kind of android on a serialized anime. He had watched enough television to know that mechanical beings had some major societal problems when they tried to intermingle with humans. He already had a curse no one could respect--the last thing he needed was another reason for people to frown upon him. "Time to face the music," he sighed mentally. "I knew it was too good to last." Whatever it was that was projecting such a powerful aura had to be skilled, and Ranma took his time turning to face a potential disaster. There were only three people he knew that could project an energy signature as powerful as the one right next to him. Two of them were living in Nerima, and the other was his grandfather, still back at the shrine. Ranma knew there were a great number of people with powers that dwarfed his own, but he wasn't in the mood to deal with those people right now. "Meow." He blinked, then sighed in relief. "Oh, it's just a cat," he thought, relaxing slightly. "I'm getting worked up over nothing." His brain mulled over the possibilities. No doubt, it was a creature of magic. The power it radiated was too much an indication of that. It was strange how it could hold such an aura within such a small body, but then again, it was only a year ago that Grandfather Katsuhito taught him how to estimate an opponent's ability by their life force. (2) Ingrained memories began to nag at him. That couldn't be all of it. He was missing a small but vital piece of the puzzle. There should be a feeling of fear right about now, but for the life of him, he didn't know the reason. There was something... something... Time to think. Not something you do everyday. Enough with the sarcasm! Hmm... Careful. You might faint from the strain. Will you shut up? There's something about small furry animals, but... But...? Wait a minute. That's a cat, isn't it? Yep. I'm facing the thing I fear most in my life, aren't I? Took ya long enough. The connection between the sensory organs and the central nervous system was made. Ranma reacted in the only way his brain would let him, partially because it was still mad for the earlier incident, but mainly because it was the only way it COULD react. "C-c-c--" The larynx was given emergency treatment. The message had to be delivered. "CCCCCAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!" Ranma's body responses congratulated each other for a job well done. They then shut down as the automated reflexes took over. --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- "Impact!" Urd cheered, waving a flag around. "It was bound to happen," Toltiir shrugged, removing his hat. "Chaos seems to follow him no matter where he goes." The flag was banished into dimensional storage. "Has there been ANY timeline where it hasn't happened?" Urd's question was met with an uncomfortable silence on Toltiir's part. --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- Tenchi woke up with a start. "Oh no, where is it?!" Ranma's scream was incoherent as he tried to put as much distance between him and the feline as possible. The cat disappeared, only to be replaced by a confused, cyan-haired woman. "Hey, I'm not really a cat!" she yelled after him. "No," Tenchi agreed. "She's not!" Ranma was too far to be able to listen to that. Not that he would have been able to understand. Thanks to the training he went through under Genma, he had this nasty habit of running away whenever he faced something he couldn't understand, or feared. On general principles, it worked. Though he loathed to admit it, there had been many an occasion where running had avoided catastrophe. Naturally, all fears are punctuated with screams of terror, unless the fear was so horrific that the victim is rendered speechless. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" The pigtailed martial artist had lots of practice. "Ranma," Tenchi shouted, "that's a fence!" That meant nothing to the panicking Masaki, and he tore through it as if it were made of cheap paper. He had once gone through a concrete wall in his effort to avoid the damned furballs, so interlinked metal wires weren't quite up to the task of slowing him down. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA--whoops." Fear can often be overwritten by stupidity. While the hole in the fence was a minor problem that could be dealt with, the fact that he was now five floors above ground level and treading on air was not. Ranma decided that a berating was in order. It wasn't going to do very much, but at least he could knock himself out with the knowledge that what he just did was NOT a good thing. "WHYOHWHYAMISUCHANIDIOTNOWIMGONNAohcrapthisisgoingto--" There were a series of crashes, followed by a very loud thud. Tenchi cautiously slipped through the hole in the fence and leaned over the parapet. "Ranma!" he called. "Are you okay?!" He waited patiently until his brother could remove his face from the concrete and spit the leaves from his mouth. "I... think so!" was the reply. "Give me a second and I'll get up there! Is it gone?" "What?" "You know!" Tenchi paused before answering. "Yeah, it is." "Good! Be up in a minute!" Glad that his brother was still kicking, Tenchi carefully moved away from the edge and glanced at his visitor, the one who for all intents and purposes had been in a feline form. The woman with the odd hairstyle simply hovered in the doorway, watching him. Literally. She stood a good decimetre or two above the ground, but the way she was standing seemed to convey that she had no concept of foundations or ground-levels. It was an insignificant detail to Tenchi, for her beauty was unparalleled considering all the women he had seen in the eighteen years of his life. "Ryoko." "What?" Tenchi blinked, suddenly realising that he had been daydreaming. "That's my name," she added. "Oh." And a breath later, "...beautiful..." The woman calling herself Ryoko facefaulted. There was something familiar about her, and Tenchi's mind feverishly tried to work out the details. He was sure he would have remembered someone as attractive as Ryoko, but for some reason he couldn't make the connection. "Do I know you?" he asked. "Only by reputation." There was a speculative gleam in her eye. "It was cold in that cave, you know..." A certain memory of last night's activities presented itself in the confines of Tenchi's mind. Once it was called up and sorted out, he took a step back in shock. "YOU'RE THAT DEMON FROM THE CAVE!!!" Tenchi gasped. He could recognise those eyes anywhere, especially since he had seen them just yesterday. It was amazing what burned into his mind when he was frightened, but it was even more astonishing that he had completely forgotten about her. This Ryoko person didn't look a thing like the shrivelled corpse he saw in the pool, and Tenchi refused to make the link between the two. How could they be one and the same? Those eyes... "It was really dark in that place," Ryoko began. "It was lonely, too. Do you have any idea what it's like?" Tenchi understood that he was going to be in deep trouble if he stayed on the roof with this demon. She might be a pretty demon, but she was still a demon. "Um..." he began, then stopped. What could he say to save his hide? What could he do? "It's no picnic, let me tell you that! It was HELL!!!" It was going be more hell for Tenchi if he hung around and listened to the entirety of what sounded like a long and carefully prepared speech. Ryoko's voice began to increase its tremolo. "For SEVEN HUNDRED YEARS I was trapped--" "Sorrygottagocheckonmybrotherbye!!!" Tenchi shouted as he ran past Ryoko and down the stairs. He was very fond of the life he was living, and he didn't want it to end so quickly. Besides, Ranma might need help getting up after falling five storeys onto his face. The demon of legend blinked. Did he just run by her? WITHOUT waiting for her to finish her speech? One that she had spent so much time REHEARSING? "Hey!" Ryoko shouted at Tenchi's retreating form. "YOU JERK!!! Have you any idea how long I've spent on this?! Don't you care about all the hard work people do once in a while?!" Ryoko huffed. If he was too busy to wait, then they'd just have to get down to business, wouldn't they? --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- "Toltiir?" "Quiet, I'm still thinking." --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- "Wehavetogetoutofhere!" Tenchi panted as he nearly collided into Ranma on the stairs. "What?! Slow down, I can't hear you!" Ranma tried to calm his brother's excited state. "Shesout!Shesout!" "Tenchi, make sense!" He grabbed his brother's uniform and shook him gently. "Who the heck's out?!" "Notimetoexplainrightnow!Wehaveto--" "There you are!" "We're dead," Tenchi said simply. Ranma looked past him to see a strange woman leaning against the railing. While the lights needed to be fixed in the stairwell, he could still trace the outline of her figure and the shape of her eyes. He nearly fell down the stairs as he realised who she was. "IT'S THAT CAT ON THE ROOF!!!" "Would you stop calling me a cat?!" "She's not a cat, Ranma. Definitely not a cat." Ranma peered closer, adjusting to the dim light. "You're right," he blinked. "Sorry about that." "It's all right," Ryoko smiled before she realised that she shouldn't be. "Thank goodness," Ranma added. "I don't I have the energy to run cross-country. Who are you, by the way?" Ryoko facefaulted. Tenchi would have done the same if he wasn't gripping the railing so tightly. Ranma stood there, trying to work out the reason for her sudden change in elevation. "Um, am I missing something?" he asked. "Why exactly are we going to croak, Tenchi?" "Her name's Ryoko," he answered. "And she's going to kill us if we don't get out of here!" Ranma didn't understand. "Why's that? Did you accidentally molest her or something?" "No!" "Took something that belongs to her?" "No!" "Injured a member of her family?" "Of course not!" "Then why--" "SHE'S THE DEMON FROM THE CAVE, REMEMBER?!" "Oh, I get it!" There were times when Tenchi wanted to strangle his brother for being so dense. It was astounding how Ranma could be so observant on one hand and be completely oblivious to something else. "So it wasn't a dream..." Ranma muttered. "And I spent all that time trying to convince myself I was delusional. You sure that she's the demon?" "Right as rain," Ryoko interrupted. "Now if you're going to keep standing around and acting like idiots, I'll just have to KILL BOTH OF YOU!!!" "Um," he scratched his head. "Why exactly do you want to kill us?" "WHO CARES?! I HAVEN'T HAD A GOOD FI--" Ranma pointed at something behind her. "Look!" he cried. "It's a giant walrus eating a ceramic truck tire!" "Huh?" Ryoko turned around to see. "Wait a minute, I don't see any--" The few precious seconds gave Ranma the time he needed to run down the stairs, with Tenchi trailing close behind. They had more important things to do at the moment, for example purchasing one-way tickets to Antarctica. "--walrus," she finished. She turned back around, only to find the stairwell empty. Ryoko slowly blinked and wondered why the boys weren't there anymore. It took a moment for her to realise that she had been tricked, and she vowed to pay them back in kind. All she had to do was look for them, and... "They'll be sorry for doing that to me! NO ONE tricks me like that!!!" Strangely enough, she seemed to be smiling as she phased through the wall in search of the two. --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- "She's in a stairwell with absolutely no windows, and she falls for that gag?!" "She didn't inherit intelligence from her mother, I guess." --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- "Just our luck that the truant officer had to be at the gate," Tenchi sighed as they hid in the men's bathroom. "How the heck are we going to escape now?" "Wait a few minutes, then we make a break for it," Ranma whispered. "I bet they'll understand when they see what we have to deal with." "I seriously think it's safer if we stay in here. I don't think she'd come--" "You guys are such jerks!" Ryoko snarled as she phased through the wall. "How am I supposed to kill you if you won't stand still?!" "YAH!!!" The Masaki youths decided that hanging around would be decremental to their health, and broke down the washroom door in effort to escape. They shot down the hallway, veered around a corner, and dived into an empty classroom. "It's not going to work," she said conversationally as she appeared in the doorway. "There's nowhere you can run or hide, so be a man and take what's coming to you!" Ranma's left eye twitched. "Don't even think about it, Ranma," Tenchi whispered. "You'll just get killed." He nodded, deciding to pay the demon back for that crack later. He wasn't sure HOW he could pay her back, but that was something to deal with later. Right now they had to find a way to save their hides. As the boys backed up near the window, Ranma eyed her wearily. Now that he had a good look at Ryoko in the light, she wasn't as bad as he made her out to be. Her eyes still frightened him for some reason, and she had these strange glittering stones embedded into her hands. Other than that, she could have passed for human. And a very attractive one, at that. He glanced at his brother to see what he made of her. "Tenchi," he whispered sideways. "You're drooling." "Am I? Sorry." Ryoko smothered a smirk. At least, that's what it seemed like to the pigtailed martial artist before it disappeared. Though the demon woman was glaring at them now, he could have sworn that she had been smiling at Tenchi for a few milliseconds. "A shame I have to kill some cute boys, but it can't be helped." She drew a glowing sword from out of nowhere, and Ranma decided that some things were worth thinking about AFTER you were safe and not about to be skewered by a demonic light sabre. He turned. "Got any ideas, Tenchi?" "Only one, and I'm not even sure if it'll work again." "Better than nothing, so let's try it." --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- Urd slapped her forehead and sighed. "Isn't there some law that prevents people from falling for the same trick again?" "Don't think so." "Oh well. This whole thing seems vaguely familiar, somehow," Urd commented. "Too true. Let's see, those two manage to give Ryoko the slip once again, and she ends up destroying half of the school chasing them. It's just their luck that the place is evacuated after the first energy blast." "Even when they're being chased by a demon out for their blood, they manage to retrieve their book bags. Is the sword in Tenchi's bag, as usual?" "Not sure. We could check, if you want. Just rewind the timeline a bit." "I'll be fine, Toltiir. Just hope this doesn't turn into a typical Tenchi universe first confrontation." "You can only hope, Urd. As long as it's different, it's okay with me. It's hard to be original when you're dealing with infinite possibilities here." "Why does the school always end up getting blown up? It's way too damn cliché, if you ask me." "Maybe it insulted a powerful sorcerer in a past life or something," Toltiir shrugged. "How the hell should I know?" --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- A few classrooms were on fire, but the school's sprinkler system wasn't working. Ryoko severing one of the main water pipes might have been the reason why. Tenchi crouched under a desk, trying not to make a sound. Ranma squatted behind an equipment cupboard, searching his memory for possible exits in this part of the school. As he did so, his mind began to take stock of the situation. Ryoko wanted to kill them. He had no idea why that was, because he was sure that she'd be more grateful for being free after so long. As the only other demon he had experience with was Happosai, Ranma wasn't sure what was considered proper demonic behavior. "Never understand women," he muttered. "The ones I have to deal with are always trying to either kill me or marry me. I'm not sure which is worse right now." She was chasing them with the intent of prematurely ending their lives. More specifically, she was chasing two male students with school uniforms and ponytails. "Yeah, like there's any way we can direct her somewhere--" It quietly dawned on him. Maybe... If he and Tenchi were to look different somehow, Ryoko might ignore them. After all, she had been easily distracted with their outrageous comments before. Dressing up couldn't be that much different. His brother must have received the same idea, for Tenchi quickly removed the thread that kept his hair together, and rummaged through his bookbag for anything he could wear. The search proved futile, and he gestured for Ranma to open the cupboard to look for clothing. Taking care not to let the doors squeak, Ranma scanned the shelves and found something that could work. He pulled out the bundle and tossed it to Tenchi, who unrolled it and dressed hastily. He now looked like a chemistry student who just had a hair growth experiment performed on him. It was an incredibly lame disguise, but it would have to do. He gave Ranma a thumbs up. Ranma was about to untie his hair when he remembered his problem. He couldn't remove the Dragon's Whisker without triggering his OTHER curse, and he'd have a lot harder time keeping it in control than if he changed into a girl. A girl! He nearly hit himself over the head for forgetting such an obvious deception tactic. Ryoko had never seen him in his female form, so it'd be easy to slip past her and leave the school grounds. He opened his book bag and found his water bottle. There was enough water to activate his Jusenkyo curse, and he unscrewed the cap to pour the liquid over his head. "Found ya!" Ryoko shouted, shifting through the wall behind him. "There's no escape!" She blinked. One of the Masakis was right in front of her, but where was Tenchi? He and Ranma were always together ever since the pigtailed boy ended up at the shrine, so where could he have gone? A saving throw versus cluelessness was made. Tenchi almost made it through the doorway when Ryoko teleported behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. He froze. "Excuse me, kid," Ryoko asked. "Have you seen a guy by the name of Tenchi anywhere?" Ranma facefaulted, which she paid no attention to. It was fortunate for him, because the bottle of water emptied itself on the fallen martial artist, triggering the change. "Um, c-can't say I have," Tenchi answered, praying that Ryoko wouldn't see through his "disguise". While it was holding up very well at the moment, he didn't want to take any chances. He refused to turn around and meet her gaze. "Damn," she cursed. "He got away!" Ryoko turned around to face a drenched redhead, and blinked. "How the hell did either boy escape so quickly?" she wondered aloud. "Damn it, and I went through all that trouble too..." Ranma-chan smiled apologetically, then made eye contact with Tenchi. The Masaki boy nodded slightly, and the two tried to walk casually out of the room while Ryoko pondered behind them. Unfortunately, a law of universal villainry states that competent villains cannot be completely clueless to their surroundings and past events. If anyone had told the Masaki boys that, they'd have wondered why anyone would find the time to come up with a rulebook explaining such obvious and stupid facts. Anyway, the rule applied to this point in the story. The demon made her intelligence check. Past knowledge came into the forefront. Ryoko smiled as she teleported in front of the two. "Nice try, guys," she said conversationally. "I'm not completely stupid. I've seen you change before at the shrine, Ranma, and that disguise of yours really sucks, Tenchi." "I have no idea what you're talking about," Ranma-chan tried her best innocent expression. "Yeah, we're just ordinary students here," Tenchi agreed. "If you will just excuse us..." She rolled her eyes and gave them a "yeah right, what do you take me for" look. She then added a "if you pretend that I'm stupid ever again, I'll make sure they'll never find your bodies" glare. Ranma-chan smiled nervously. "If we were hypothetically the guys you're looking for..." "And you are." "Well, I don't suppose you'd let us go by, count to ten, and then chase after us, would ya?" she asked. "Nope." "Figures." --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- "Ouch," Toltiir winced. "There goes one of their plans of escape." Urd smiled. "Well, it's starting to get interesting now, isn't it?" "Yep. Now as long as there isn't any gratuitous bloodshed, it's fine by me." "Don't you mean 'violence'?" "Wouldn't be a Ranma or Tenchi timeline then." --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- "How the hell are we going to beat her?!" Ranma panted for all they were worth. It was the only option they could admit to having left, and not the most comfortable of choices, either. Taking a stand in the computer lab wasn't the most brilliant idea, but the boys were tired of running. Deciding that demons weren't technically girls, Ranma had no problems with fighting back. Unfortunately for them, their attacks had absolutely no effect on the legendary demon. In fact, they seemed to have made her even angrier. "You really shouldn't have called Ryoko that!" Tenchi shouted at his brother. Strike one. "It was an accident! Old habits are hard to break, you know! I never thought that she'd get THAT pissed because I called her a 'dried-up old mummy'!" "I don't think that's the only reason why she's mad at us!" Strike two. "Okay, so maybe I shouldn't have followed through with that monster crack! I swear I'll try and keep my feet out of my mouth next time!" "Not that either! You know what I'm talking about!" Strike three. "That's not my fault either! The computers exploded then, so how was I supposed to know in all that smoke that she'd be a few centimetres higher than I imagined?!" Ranma had made a grievious miscalculation in judging her position, when all he wanted was restrain Ryoko from using that strange energy blade of hers on his brother. The curse had been lifted by the steam, and he had tried apologizing for his conduct, but it had been too late. Instead of having to deal with a demon's bloodlust, they now had to deal with a demon's embarrassment and complete female rage. At least, Ranma did. Tenchi was still at the plate, but he wasn't sure he wanted to be. Was there any way to stop her? Waitaminute, of course! Tenchi would have kicked himself had he not been running for his life. "We're gonna need that old sword!" he shouted. "Why's that?!" Ranma yelled back. "Don't you remember the legend?! Yosho used it to seal her there in the first place!" "Right! Where?!" "The cave, where else?!" "NO! I meant, where did you put the sword?!" As they ran, Tenchi fumbled through his bookbag. His eyes widened. "I thought I put it in my bag this morning! It's not here!" "Oh no, don't tell me--" "I left it at home!" "Damn!" Behind them, the already burning school exploded in a shower of flames and concrete debris. It wasn't their fault that the gas leaked in the chemistry lab because of her energy blasts. It wasn't their fault that after the incident in the lab, Ryoko would chase them into the home economics room, where the stove would turn on. It wasn't their fault that a stray piece of paper would land on the grill and ignite, creating enough heat to combust the gas. It wasn't their fault, honestly! "You can run, boys, but I'm still gonna get ya!" Tenchi glanced back to see a grinning Ryoko rocketing towards them. She looked ready to fire another one of her energy blasts, and from all the destruction she caused, he really didn't want to add to Ryoko's hit tally. "Think we'll make it home in one piece?!" Ranma yelled. "The shrine's at least thirty kilometres away!" Tenchi shouted back at his brother. "I'll take that as a 'no', then!" --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- "Tenchi didn't bring the sword with him," Toltiir turned to Urd. "You got what you wanted." "At least it's different this time around," she smiled. "I was getting sick of the battle taking place at school. So where is it going to end up, do you think?" "Where else? The shrine. Like it or not, the sword's practically the only way they can stop her." "All right, I'll bite. How in His name are they going to get there before Ryoko feeds them to the woodland animals?" "You're not going to like the answer." "I don't care! Tell me!" Toltiir paused for dramatic emphasis. "'Author-Influenced Plot Space.'" There was a crash of thunder. "Oh no," Urd shuddered. "You're right, I don't like the answer at ALL." The feline God of Mischief was solemn. "Complete and utter control, authors do." No one could escape the power of authors. Not once has a character been able to avoid being led by the nose whenever the higher forces saw fit. Not even the powers guiding the universe could hold a candle to the immense magical energy that authors possess. Insert appropriate deranged laughter here. --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- Getting to the shrine hadn't been easy. The boys couldn't take the most direct route, because it left themselves in the open. They were quite fond of their heads, and quite fond of what their heads were attached to. Hours of backtracking, zigzagging, and hiding had given them the edge they needed to reach the outskirts of the shrine. The forest surrounding the shrine grounds provided the appropriate cover for the rest of the trip. They were so close to getting the sword. Unfortunately, their final obstacle was getting into the house, and this feat the boys considered instant death. The reason for that was a certain demon perched on the roof, waiting for them to emerge from their hiding spot. She knew what they wanted, now all she had to do was wait. "Doesn't she ever get tired?" Ranma had significantly more breath than Tenchi. "Well, the only way we can stop her is if we have the sword." "Can't believe that you left the blasted thing in there." "How was I supposed to know she'd show up?" "Right, right..." Ranma rubbed his forehead. "We gotta calm down. Better to be able to think than to be yelling at each other." "Good idea," Tenchi whispered. "Got any on how we're going to get inside the house?" "Nope. Ryoko's staked it out." Ranma peered at the house from his vantage point in the trees. He quietly moved the leaves back, and regarded his brother straddling one of the branches. "You're not gonna fall, Tenchi." "I know, it's just that I'm not as good at balancing as you are. Any entrances she hasn't covered?" "No, she's got everything in her sights. Even if we came from two different directions, she could pick us off like flies. Being sneaky is out of the question." "Grandfather is going to kill us when he finds out about the school and stuff," Tenchi changed the subject. Ranma broke out of his concentration. "What was that?" he asked. "Think we have a chance of stopping Ryoko before Dad comes home? I don't think he'd be too happy to know that a demon is out to kill us." "Wanna try a direct confrontation? It's almost all we got left." Tenchi shrugged weakly. "Might as well," he replied. "Maybe she'll have calmed down by now. Won't count on it, though." He then blinked. "'Almost' all?" "Yeah, I've got an idea, but you know how brilliant my plans are." "How does it go?" he asked. Ranma told him. Tenchi looked shocked. "I can't let you do that, Ranma! Why don't we use the direct confrontation method?" "Because then we have only a slight chance of getting you that sword. If one of us is the decoy, then the other'll be able to get it." "Why don't I be the decoy, then? She's not as mad at me as she is you!" Ranma grimaced. "I've struck out already, and I'm not descended from Yosho. How could I wield it if I retrieved it?" "I really don't like this idea..." he shook his head. "Hey, I'm better at running than you are. I'll distract her and lead her off, you go and grab your sword, I'll try and double back." Ranma shifted his weight slightly. "Then you defeat her with the sword and we put her back in that stupid cave." "How are you going to distract--" Tenchi was speaking to the air. His eyes widened as he noticed his brother calmly walking towards the house. He was crazy, he was stupid, and he was going to be mercilessly flayed alive. But then again, it was the stupid plans that always worked. There was a law for that, too. "Good luck, bro. You're going to need it." ---------------------------------------------------- "Hey, Ryoko!" The demon grinned as she peered down at the young man. "Finally decided to come out, huh?" Ranma nodded. "I know I wouldn't stand a chance against you right now, but I figured it's a last ditch effort to try. Couldn't live with myself if I didn't attempt it." Ryoko glanced around her. The pigtailed martial artist was stalling, that much she knew for sure. It struck her as a bit odd, however. Tenchi had as much chance of sneaking past her as Ranma did beating her right now. The boys were really underestimating her intelligence, weren't they? "No, we don't think you're stupid!" Ranma called up to her. "I'm out here because I figure that I might be able to give Tenchi some time to get what he needs." "Oh?" Ryoko's eyes narrowed. "You're going to fight me?" He shrugged. "I ain't out here for a cup of tea, am I?" The demon started laughing. She laughed and laughed until her sides hurt, but Ryoko wasn't nearly finished. Ranma grit his teeth, but waited for her to finish. Ryoko wiped tears from her eyes. "Okay, exactly HOW do you think you're going to beat me? Yosho did it because he had his damned sword and the Wings of the Light Hawk, neither of which YOU have!" "Wings of the Light Hawk?" he blinked. "What's that?" "Doesn't matter," the demon smirked. "You don't have it, so you don't have even a prayer against me!" It was time to execute his plan. Ranma discovered that he DID happen to have a prayer, and he silently offered it to any deities that were listening right now. He really didn't have anything against her, but his other plan had an even lower probability of success. "Here we go," he muttered to himself. --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- Urd put a hand over her eyes. "I've got this nasty feeling that Ranma's plan isn't what it's cracked out to be." Toltiir grinned. "Oh, you've seen it already?" --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- Ranma could thank Genma for several things. He wouldn't but he could. Thanks to the idiot he once called his father, he well understood what it was like to be constantly on the run, to be hunted by police, and to go hungry regularly. He could do a very credible job of surviving conditions that would give serious difficulty to others in his age group. Also through personal experience and observation of his father's relations with others, Ranma understood the fine art of the Taunt and Insult. It wasn't something he practiced a lot nowadays, but it had been almost reflexive for many years. When insulted, insult back, show no quarter, show no mercy. Find your opponent's weak points and exploit them. This kept them offbase and you could pull all sorts of stuff off while they were thus distracted. "Do I really need the sword, Ryoko?" Ranma asked mockingly. "From what I've seen so far, I'm not surprised that Yosho was able to handle you. Honestly, I've seen people fight with much more passion than that!" Ryoko glared at him. "Care to repeat that?!" Her look promised much pain if he dared to say it again. She had enough power in her weakened state to set the entire shrine grounds ablaze, and the boy thought she wasn't capable of beating him?! "Masaki school of martial arts, special attack," Ranma whispered. He was here and it was now. He was getting closer and closer to the abyss, and there was no way he could stop safely. The only choice he had was to speed up and jump over. Ranma took a deep breath. "Are you deaf as well as ugly?! You heard perfectly well what I said!" The insult hit home. Ryoko didn't care anymore; he might be Tenchi's sworn brother, but now he was about to be roadkill. All the little black marks tallied up, and it was time to pay in full. She saw nothing but red as she attacked. "DIE!!!" The martial artist quickly leaped out of Ryoko's blast radius. The ground in front of him exploded as he landed a short distance away. Shielding himself from the debris, Ranma almost didn't see her lunging at him with her energy sword drawn. "Whoa!" He leaned back, and the sword passed through where his head once was. Ryoko extended too far however, and Ranma used the advantage to lock her arm with his legs. With his hands against the ground, he used Ryoko's momentum to flip her over and throw her into the forest, away from the house. Satisfied that he gave his brother the necessary distraction, he began to run after the falling demon. ---------------------------------------------------- Tenchi guessed as to where Ryoko would land, noted the direction Ranma was running, and slowly climbed down the tree. He then dashed into the house, hoping that they still had enough time to defeat Ryoko before she wiped the floor with his brother. He offered a prayer up to the gods, hoping that, at the very least, they'd buy him some time. "Please, let me make it..." ---------------------------------------------------- Katsuhito looked up at the sound of an explosion, sighed, and went back to sweeping the shrine grounds. The boys could take care of themselves, and the Tenchi-ken would protect them if it came down to that. ---------------------------------------------------- Somewhere in Okinawa, a bandanna-clad boy wondered where he was, why he was such a wimp when he talked with his dear sweet Akane, and what the heck it was that was following him. Naturally, he blamed it all on his missing rival. The furry little rodent with the odd colouring gave a human-like shrug when the strange guy began to yell at the top of his lungs. It wasn't as if it WANTED to follow him, per se. Anyone who could traverse between dimensions without realising it had to be either completely hopeless at navigation or incredibly stupid. Besides, it needed to find a way home, and this guy was the only one who had a running chance of leading it back. "RANMA!!! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!" The rodent sighed. "Pika pi." ---------------------------------------------------- One floor below the Yggdrasil computers, where the Mimisbrunnr was located, two deities looked at each other and blinked. They then shrugged and continued to peer into the waters of the well. Eventually one of them zapped the creature back to its home dimension, as it was getting really distracting when all they wanted to do was watch a good fight. ---------------------------------------------------- Ranma had no idea why he was running AFTER the demon when he should be running in the opposite direction. Why was he doing this, if he didn't want to die? "I REALLY hope Tenchi comes around with that sword soon!" he thought. "I don't think I can last very long in a one-on-one duel against a demon with a lightsabre!" While it was demoralizing to fight a losing battle, it was also exhilarating. Never before had Ranma felt his spirits soar so high. It was strange to feel this way in a near-death situation, but then again, he was once a Saotome. Saotomes ALWAYS found themselves in hot water, so they'd might as well enjoy the ride, right? Ryoko didn't even touch the ground as she swerved and faced him. "You're gonna PAY for that!" she shouted, raising her hand and firing off an energy blast. She then fired another one, followed by another, all in rapid succession. He thanked the gods for his Amaguriken and martial arts training as he weaved in and out of the blasts, always not being there where he should have been. The lack of direct hits was beginning to frustrate Ryoko, and she increased her tempo. "Damn it," Ranma cursed. "If I don't do something now, she's gonna blow me to pieces with that attack of hers! But what can I do?!" The only long range attack he had was the Heavenly Dragon Ascension technique, but that only worked if he could circle around with Ryoko and raise his fist at the nexus point. She wasn't giving off the heat associated with battle aura, and there wasn't any way he could get close enough to use his other attacks. "If only I could throw something back at her!" he thought. "Then maybe I'd be able to survive for another minute or two!" As he continued to dodge for dear life, he suddenly felt everything in a drunken stupor, except that he was completely sober. It was as if someone had pushed a "frame advance" button, slowing the world down. There was Ryoko with her smirk, pulling her arm back to charge up and release another energy ball. He noticed how the jewel on her hand flared brilliantly for half a second before the energy was released. He studied the way Ryoko's hand moved to perform the action. As he jumped out of the blast radius, his brain began to associate the images with similar ones he had seen earlier in the day. Suddenly, it all came into focus. The legend Katsuhito often preached, the motions, and the surges of energy. "She's tapping into the gems as a power source!" he realised, just as he ducked to allow the energy ball to furrow into the rock behind him and explode. He jumped over the remains and hoped the dust and debris would slow her down a fraction. If there was one thing to be said of Ranma's skill in the martial arts, it was the way he could incorporate anything as a part of his style. Anything Goes literally meant anything goes. Ranma had the movements down, he had an energy source, and he had an opponent. It was all he needed. As Ryoko momentarily paused in her attack, the young Masaki slid to a halt and faced the demon with a determined expression on his face. "Giving up?" she taunted. "And I thought you said you weren't a coward!" Ranma fought off the urge to retaliate with another biting remark, but held his ground. As Ryoko flew at him with her sword, he closed his eyes in concentration. Ranma found his centre, poured all his energy to a single point and copied the movements he saw Ryoko perform. He then extended his arms, palms pointing at the charging demon. In a spectacular blaze of fire, he released the blast. "MOUKOU TAKABISHA!!!" --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- "That's one way of learning it, I guess." "Well, there's no Ryoga Shi Shi Hokodan to counter, so this is the only way he COULD learn it." "I'm not complaining. It's time he had another chi attack." --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- Ranma fell to one knee, exhausted. The chi blast took a lot out of him, a lot more than he thought. At least it was going to slow the demon down. --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- "Uh oh. This isn't good." "'Uh oh'?" "See for yourself." --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- To his surprise and growing horror, the ball of energy dissipated harmlessly against her sword. He barely shook himself out of his shock when it was Ryoko's turn to attack. "Dodge this!" she shouted. The sword thrust was elegant, deadly, and efficient for a swordsman--sorry, swordswoman--of her calibre, but this was Ranma. No matter what the odds, he always came through. He only had a split-second to react, but it was enough. He fell backwards as Ryoko flew over him, the sword a mere four millimetres from his body. He rolled back onto his feet and into a kokutsu dachi--back stance, his hands out in a knife block position. "Close, but not quite!" he smirked as Ryoko turned to face him. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain on the left side of his face. He placed his hand to his cheek and to his amazement found it slick with blood. It was Ryoko's turn to smirk. "Surprised?" she smiled evilly. "It's an ENERGY sword, after all. Thought of all people, at least YOU would figure it out!" Ranma silently cursed at his mistake. It was rare for his opponent to draw blood, but it would be the last time. He hoped. Time to make an intelligence check. "This is NOT good," he thought. "Ryoko's taking my best, and she isn't even feeling it! I guess I have to use that secret technique about now." For once, Ranma's common sense drove his pride into the concrete, and he dropped his stance. Unless the sword was in Tenchi's possession, there was no way he could defeat this demon. With that in mind, he executed one of the most effective methods of ending a fight. He ran. And for once, he wasn't ashamed. ---------------------------------------------------- Tenchi ran up to the clearing, the sword at the ready. He wasn't completely sure how a rusty and ancient weapon would stop the demon, but he wasn't going to tempt Fate by asking the question aloud. "Hold on, Ranma! I'm--" His jaw dropped. This part of the shrine had definitely seen better days. A few broken branches and charred trunks were the only indications that the area had once been lush forest. "Hope he's doing okay," Tenchi muttered as he followed the path of destruction. "Got to help him before it's too late..." ---------------------------------------------------- "Such a beautiful day," Ranma sighed inwardly. "A shame I haven't had the time to enjoy it." If he wasn't fighting for his life, he would have spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing here, by the lake. He would probably be painting some landscapes, or be sleeping in the shade of the giant tree facing the crystalline waters. The sandy shores separating the lake from the forest were out in the open; the best place for an all-out battle. Ranma didn't know how much longer he could face Ryoko, but at least he had room for a final confrontation. He wasn't going to run anymore. He wasn't like Genma. If he wanted to put the past behind him, he had to stand his ground. He was the one who had angered the demon, and now it was he who had to take responsibility. "All or nothing, then," Ranma smiled, without sorrow. "Gods please have mercy upon me." --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- "Ranma Saotome GIVING UP?!" Urd shouted. "NO WAY!!! I DON'T BELIEVE IT!!!" Toltiir covered his ears with his paws. "Would you stop yelling?!" The goddess subsided. "This isn't Ranma at all! No matter how he changes, he ALWAYS wins in the end!" "Of course he does," the trickster rolled his eyes at her outburst. "Who said he was giving up?" "He's not? Looks like it to me." "Then you need to get your eyes checked. Take a look." --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- "I started this fight. It's my job to finish it." Ranma slipped into a kiba dachi--horse stance, closed his eyes and focused his chi. Even though his inner reserves were depleted, he could draw upon other sources for his new attack. He drew his hands back, allowing the energy to trickle into them. "Sei-shin." Around him, the sunlight seemed to dim as all of the radiant energy was focused into his hands. He could feel the power gathering, threatening to overcome his tired body. "I won't lose," he whispered. "I won't!" ---------------------------------------------------- Somewhere in the three worlds above Midgard, a young woman smiled and brushed silken hair from her eyes. Holding her hands out, she chanted something in a language as old as the world itself. A soft glow emanated from her delicate fingertips, and she nodded with satisfaction before gently blowing into her hands. ---------------------------------------------------- He kept his eyes closed, searching for his target with his other senses. Ryoko was flying at him at a rate of fifteen metres per second, her eyes glittering as she held up her sword. As she drew closer, she shifted the weight of her weapon closer to her body, ready to run him through with her momentum. "IT'S TIME TO DIE!" she bared her teeth. Ranma opened his eyes. "Not today." It was barely a whisper, but it echoed across the lake and into the trees. If Ryoko thought about it for just a moment, she would have been scared, or at least a bit wary. The pigtailed boy dug his feet into the sand and waited. There would be no room to avoid the sword now. Even if he moved his head, the blade would find its mark through the side of his face and into the tree ten metres behind him, if Ryoko continued at such high velocity. Wait for it... Ryoko flew slightly to the right so she wouldn't collide into him when she drove the sword through his body. Just a little longer... She was twelve metres away from him, but it was enough. Ranma brought out his hands and pointed them at the flying demon. "YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!" The world went dark as Ranma released his attack. ---------------------------------------------------- Katsuhito frowned as he looked up at the sky. It was barely four in the afternoon, and there wasn't a single cloud visible. Though it was for a brief second, he could have sworn that... Neither boy seemed to be in any danger, otherwise the Tenchi-ken would have been activated to protect the young Jurai princes. With that, he forced the doubts out of his mind and went back to work. ---------------------------------------------------- Ryoko took the blast full in the face. Ranma grinned in victory as he felt the demon's life force diminish quite a bit. His expression of joy turned to one of fear as he realised she was still careening towards him! He tilted his head, cursing the law of inertia. At least, he thought with a twinge of regret, he had his chance to start over. With a prayer, Ranma Masaki prepared himself to move on. Suddenly, a gentle wind began to blow, embracing and caressing the startled young man. Around him, it increased its strength, raging at an equally startled demon. "What the hell?!" The unexpectedness of Ranma's energy attack followed by the breeze blasted Ryoko back, smashing her into a few trees before dropping her on the ground. "How in the world...?" The sword had still managed to nick him in the side, but the pain was forgotten as Ranma stared at Ryoko's semi-conscious body. Her cry of agony had been loud enough to reach him. "Who could have done that?" he wondered. He glanced around him as the winds died down. There was no way it could have been him. It couldn't have been a natural phenomenon, could it? It was almost as if someone had used the Heavenly Dragon Ascension technique, but he hadn't gone through the motions nor had taught it to anyone. Examining the foliage around him, he realised that it couldn't have been the Dragon technique. The only trees that were damaged were the ones that Ryoko had flown into, and the technique was NOT localized. "Ranma, you alright?!" His mullings were interrupted as Tenchi ran up to the clearing, the hilt of the sword at the ready. As he approached the battle site, he stopped in his tracks to stare at the bruised and battered form of Ryoko. He then stared at Ranma who was clutching his bloodied side, then back down at the demon. "Was she the one who--" He waved his brother's concerns off. "It's nothing." He then winced and touched his cheek. "Well, almost nothing." "Did YOU do this?" he asked excitedly, pointing to the fallen demon. "We didn't need the sword after all! Wow, you're really good to beat Ryoko without Yosho's sword! Wait 'till I tell Grandpa around this!" Ranma shook his head. "I don't know what happened," he replied, "but I didn't do it." He blinked. "If you didn't beat her, then...?" "I dunno. She was about to kill me, but then--" Ryoko groaned. The Masakis decided to talk about it later as they surrounded her. Tenchi hefted the sword hilt while Ranma stood in a loose stance, ready for any tricks. "What the hell happened...?" she asked groggily, trying to get up. "Feels like someone rammed me into a wall." She paused. "Several times." "Well, you slammed into a couple of trees. That might be the reason why..." The demon looked up, recognised the hilt Tenchi was holding, and sighed. To think that she was beaten by a bunch of boys, and without the Tenchi-ken as well. She must have gotten rusty over the past seven hundred years to lose like that. Now that they had the sword in their grasp, she didn't stand a chance if she attacked now. Might as well stick to the rehearsed speech. It wasn't as if she really wanted to kill them. The fog of rage slowly cleared, and Ryoko felt genuinely sorry for attacking so harshly. "Another battle lost. Story of my life it seems," Ryoko shook her head. "I'm sorry about that fight. Wasn't thinking clearly." "Forget it. People used to try and kill me all the time," Ranma replied. "Are you okay, by the way?" "Yeah, no thanks to you," she smirked. "Bet you don't know how strong you really are! Wham!" Ryoko laughed heartily. The boys glanced at each other, then joined her in her laughter. It was kind of funny, in a way. They were nearly killed by her, but now they were acting as if they were old friends. Not that they minded; it was better to make a friend then a bitter enemy. "Are you really that demon from the legend?" Tenchi asked. "The one Yosho sealed up?" Ryoko nodded. "Don't worry about me," she smiled as she disappeared into the trees. "We'll meet again soon." --------------------------===- ** -===-------------------------- "Well, that certainly was different." Urd nodded in agreement. "Looks like they didn't need the 'Heaven and Earth Sword' after all." "True, but it also looks like they had outside help." Toltiir turned to the goddess. "Did you do it?" "Do what, the wind trick? Not me!" Urd shook her head vigorously. "I was here the whole time, and it's not my element either!" Toltiir shrugged. "It doesn't really matter if you did it or not," he replied. "I guess someone's looking out for them. Or him, at least." "Got any ideas on who?" "Nope." "You're lying, aren't you?" The cat grinned. "I'm not going to tell you." "Come on! Please?!" "Nope." "Toltiir, I hate you." ======================================================================== (1) Urd couldn't quite remember the creature Grey had described, but it had seemed appropriate at the time. Then again, she had been drunk. (2) Ranma already knows how to judge ability by battle aura, but battle aura is only a manifestation of someone's aggression. Life force (or chi, qi, ki, etc.) is more accurate. ======================================================================== To be continued... Celeste Byrd [07.04.2000]