Once upon a time, in a place that may or may not have ever actually
existed outside of my own head, there was a man who had far, far
too much time on his hands, and he was becoming rather bored.
Fortunately, this man commanded a rather large and powerful Fanfic
studio, based in a complex that was almost but not quite a complete
rip-off of the Biles' Story Command Center. And one day he was
surveying a room in his complex. It had a large movie screen that was
readily adapted for fic viewing, big, comfy plush couches, snack-filled
refridgerators, and two of the man's lackeys were in it at the time,
arguing over which one got the good couch.
The man had just finished watching a certain show featuring two
bickering robots and a human reviewing movies.
Suddenly, he had something to do with his spare time.
And just for the record, HE gets the good couch.
Submitted for your approval....
LST1/2K: Lunatic Science Theatre 500.
Starring, in no particular order....
Mercutio: The internationally recognized Bane of Tybalt. (tm)
Mackie Stingray: If anyone asks, he was never here.
Hikaru Gosunkugi: Yeah, yeah, whaddya want. He's actually kind of
intersting to talk to.
Mercutio: Introductions aside, let's move right along to......
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^_- I L L M E T B Y S T A R L I G H T ^_-
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by Susan Doenime and Mike Loader
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Previous chapters at: http://www.humbug.org.au/~wendigo/imbs.html
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Chapter 11 - Heart of Darkness
Such a muddy line between
The things we want
And the things we have to do
- Sheryl Crow
Mercutio: Sheryl Crow?
Hikaru: Don't ask me. I listen to Tom Jones.
A boy, black school uniform spotless and impeccable, sat
underneath a tree near Furinkan High School. He was, on the
whole, very average looking; slender build, black hair,
pleasant, slightly absent smile. Could have been anyone.
Hikaru: Could be me.
Mercutio: We already established the fact that you won't get a part
in this. Let it go, Gos.
But the eyes were chips of hot ice, and the gauze bandage
on the side of his head was still fresh.
He sat, and for a long time no-one came to disturb him.
No-one even came near him. His part of the field was empty,
and this was because it was, indeed, his part of the field.
So when the footfalls sounded and a blue dress
registered in his peripheral vision, he knew immediately who
it was.
"Well, Asa?"
Mercutio: AACK!!! A-ko tribute!! Bad! Badbadbadbad!!!!!
The girl in the blue school uniform fidgeted, and he
noticed with forced dispassion that she seemed upset. "Tendo
Nabiki is in the hospital, and they say she's going to die."
His eyes hardened, and a slight frown replaced the smile.
"And 'they' are?"
Mercutio: The ubiquotous "they," of course.
Mackie: They are all around us.... watching out every move.....
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!!!
Hikaru: (sweatdrops) Ummmmmm....... sure.
^_-
"Fooled you, didn't he?"
Ukyou glanced over at Akane. "Huh?"
The other girl shrugged. "You were absolutely sure he
was going to kill Shampoo. Shan Pu. Whatever. He was about to
shove that knife through her throat, and you were surprised as
anything when he didn't."
Ukyou blinked, and stared at Akane. "Yeah. That's it
exactly. He was gonna cut her throat..."
Akane smiled, a bit sadly. "I thought so too, even though I
knew better. He's done this before. We're reading him all
wrong, and I don't know if he does it on purpose or not."
She frowned. "He might not of killed her, but he did cut
her."
Akane turned away. "I don't think he enjoyed doing it. But
he had to be sure she was telling the truth. And if she would
keep her oath even as he slit her throat, then she can be
trusted up to a point."
Ukyou's frown turned troubled. "So do you think she really
can be trusted?"
Laughing sourly, Akane sat down on the sofa. "No. I don't.
But I think we can trust her not to kill us while we sleep, or
stab us the minute we look away."
She mulled this over in her mind. "It'd be nice if she was
telling the truth."
"It would, wouldn't it?" Akane chuckled wryly. "Who
knows, Ukyou, maybe you've started a trend by showing up and
not wanting to kill him. As it is, this just leaves Tsen, Mariko,
and her brother. Four of us, three of them. Much better odds."
Ukyou nodded. "I'm gonna see if I can get Shan to set up a
meeting between me and Tsen. With a bit of thought, maybe we
can come up with an alternative to killing Ranma."
Shuddering, Akane eyed her dubiously. "Much as I like the
idea, I wouldn't want to be alone with Tsen."
She blinked. "Actually, he kinda struck me as an okay guy.
Mariko was the one who gave me the creeps."
"Heh. You're frightened by the girl, and I get all nervous
about the guy. I suppose that makes a twisted sort of sense."
Mercutio: This entire STORY makes a twisted sort of sense.
"Tsen seems to have a sense of honor," Ukyou pointed out.
"It's there, even if it isn't pointing in the right direction at the
moment. Mariko... Mariko just hates him, and she wants to kill
him. Tsen's forced to by his culture's code of honor, but
Mariko's going to enjoy doing it."
Akane nodded, looking unhappy. "She really isn't that bad
a person, you know. It's that hate... I thought I almost got
through to her a couple of times, but then it all came boiling
back up. It's like she's convinced herself that killing him will
make everything okay again."
And here was a question Ukyou had been turning over and
over in her mind, and there was no easy way to ask. So she'd do
it the blunt way. "Did he really kill her brother?"
For several seconds, Akane said nothing; she just stared
at the far wall. Finally, just as Ukyou was beginning to worry
that the question had been a major mistake, she looked up.
"Yes. He did."
Ukyou slowly nodded. "Why?"
"It was a fight. He... he was hurt very badly by the other
boy, and he thought he was going to die, and he snapped." The
other girl's agonized look made it clear just how often this had
gone through her mind, what it meant about him. "By the time
he came out of it, his opponent was dead. It's been tearing him
up for the past few years."
Mercutio: A cut that barey leaves a noticeable scar does NOT count
as being hurt very badly.
Mackie: She's rationalizing. You really think she'd going to paint Ranma
in anything BUT the most promising light? She DID almost sleep
with the man, after all.
Hikaru: You were just using that as a cheap excuse to mention sex,
weren't you.
Mackie: You can prove nothing.
"Mariko made it sound like..."
Mercutio: ...like he brutaly smashed Ryoga's throst into a bloody
pulp? Gee, can we guess why?
^_-
Shan Pu hopped nimbly across the stepping stones of the
lake, feet barely touching the surface. A thin trickle of blood
still wound its crimson way down her neck, vanishing between
her breasts like a river cutting into deep hills. She paid it no
mind. Her mission had succeeded.
Mercutio: Damn. It would appear that Shampoo doesn't scab as fast
as normal peo- Mackie, stop that.
Mackie: What? I wasn't doing anything.
Mercutio: You were trying to look down her shirt, weren't you?
Mackie: (sweatdrops) I was simply.... admiring the hills. Yes, that's it.
For a few terrible seconds, she had been sure she was
going to die. So had everyone else; as Ranma's knife had driven
toward her throat she had dimly glimpsed Ukyou's horrified
face, a scream about to well up from it. Akane's had held
surprise, apprehension... perhaps regret. She was his creature.
But it had been a test, which was lucky. Because her
word was her bond, and she was held by honor to it. Even if
that meant letting him gut her like a fish.
She cleared the stones, pushed aside the island's light
trees, and trudged into the camp. The Hibikis sat there,
expectant looks on their faces. On Koji's face, anyway. Mariko
looked more sour than anything else.
Striding over to the cooking equipment, she poured a
glass of cool water and doused herself.
Tsen straightened, and smiled.
"Was success. Shan go to them, give oath not to hurt or
give you information. They test, Shan pass."
Smiling, Koji leaned back in his seat on the log.
"Excellent. Can you sketch a plan of the house interior?"
"Can do that. Also, is good news. Ranma hurt, bad
shoulder. Think is broken."
Mercutio: Yes, Ranma's shoulder was bad, so he hurt it.
Hikaru: Ah, the wonderful nuances of Shampooese.
Koji nodded. "If we know where he and the others sleep,
we can launch a raid on the house, kill him while they slumber.
If he's got a broken shoulderblade, Marichan and I can take him
down with ease, especially if he's wrapped in blankets and half
asleep."
Tsen nodded. "Shan see you, she honor-bound stop you. Is
oath."
"So we arrange for you to be asleep while it happens. We
go in, break his neck, and run like hell. And the world is a
better place." Koji smiled like a shark. "I can just picture the
expression on his face when he wakes up to find a hand
crushing his windpipe. It's a fun sort of mental image."
^_-
It was early afternoon when Akane quietly made her way
into Ranma's room, slowly pushing aside the door.
He lay curled on the futon, half covered by a blanket, his
face oddly clear and untroubled. Almost peaceful. He looked
strangely vulnerable like that, she thought tenderly.
Mercutio: That would be what Koji and Mariko are counting on, yes.
For almost a minute she just squatted by the futon and
watched him, occasionally sending an absent glance at the few
furnishings in the room. A chair. A wardrobe. A low table, upon
which sat the vase of cherry twigs and the picture of the
woman in its silver frame. His mother? She could see an echo
of his face in the woman's features, and a determined look she
knew very well seemed to be hidden just beneath the surface
of the smile she gave the camera.
Ranma, she suddenly realized with a rush of excitement,
had never so much as mentioned his mother. Why? Was she
dead? Could that be...?
No. She knew what it was like to have your mother die. It
was horrible, and it changed you forever, but it didn't drive you
to snap and kill your friend. Accidentally kill.
Mercutio: Oo, slip! Freudian slip!
"Hey," she softly called, knowing better than to shake
him. "Wake up, you."
Slowly, his eyes opened, and he smiled slightly. "Hey,
Akane. Naptime over?"
"Yup. Up and at em."
He casually flipped into a sitting position, still smiling.
"Shan Pu back yet?"
"I think so." She frowned slightly, a question coming to
mind. "Why did you stick her in with Ukyou?"
His eyes flicked downward. "It's still Nabiki's room," he
said quietly. "For a little while, at least."
They sat for a while in silence, and then Ranma smiled
faintly. "Besides, it's not as much of a problem as you think."
She raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Ukyou ever hit on you?"
She blushed a deep scarlet. "What? No! Of course not!"
"What, no flirting? No hidden sexual tension?" His tone
was amused and sardonic.
Mercutio: Uh-oh.
Hikaru: He knoooooo-ooows.
She shook her head, baffled by the turn in the
conversation, and a little uneasy at it. "None. Not a bit. He
treats me just like one of the guys, really."
"Bishonen, ain't he?"
"Yes, he's..." What Ranma was getting at suddenly dawned
on her. "Oh. Oh my. You think Ukyou-kun's..."
Mercutio: A girl?
Hikaru: A chick?
Mackie: A babe?
"...gayer than a tree full of monkeys, yup." He smirked. "I
knew there was something off, but I didn't realize what until I
offered to fix him up with a date. You shoulda seen him look
awkward, fumble... yeah, he definitely prefers men."
Mackie: Uhhhhhh.....
Hikaru: Then again, maybe he DOESN'T know.
Mercutio: Err.... well, he's right, but he's..... well, damn.
Akane nodded, certain mannerisms and behaviors
suddenly making more sense. "That... you're not uncomfortable
with that, are you?"
"Nah. If he were straight, he could be attracted to my
girl-body, ya know? It's not like he's gonna come on to me or
anything. What he does in bed is his own business." He winked
at her. "Besides, he knows the competition's too much for him."
She blushed. "Well, I guess rooming with Shan won't be a
problem for him, then."
^_-
Nerima was busy; hordes of people flocking along the
streets and byways. She quickly sensed that Shan didn't like
this, was set on edge by the crowds. When they passed under
the trestle of an elevated train, the nervousness seemed to
increase. The girl obviously wasn't a citydweller.
They passed out of the shopping districts, and into the
areas by the docks. The language grew rougher, the faces more
sullen, the looks more guarded. Now Ukyou was the
uncomfortable one; Japan was a safe place, but this area
looked like a crime zone if ever Tokyo had one.
The voices now spoke in Chinese and Korean, with other,
stranger accents mixing in. She was out of place here, and
knew it.
Shan Pu strode down the street like she owned it. From
the respectful berth she was being given, perhaps she did.
Somehow sensing her line of thought, the Amazon turned
and smirked. "They know Joketsuzoku, know we sent
Kuomintang running, Triads smashed. They know. Not worry.
Our vengance that of gods, but so much more reliable."
Mercutio: Who cares about the Kuomintang? They got toasted by
Mao, and ended up cowering on Taiwan. I'd like to see
how well the Amazons stand up to the commies and the
People's Liberation Army.
"How can the law's obligation end, Tsen? I'm sure not every
Joketsuzoku who's run afoul of this has had to marry or kill..."
He shrugged. "Joketsuzoku women very desirable wife;
smart, beautiful, much spirit. Marriage usually common."
"What if the man's already married?"
"Is failure, then. Great loss of face, warrior return home
with much bad honor for failure."
"But it's better than dying, ne? Or marrying Ranma?"
"Is moot. Ranma not married."
Ukyou smiled. "Ah, but what if he were?"
Tsen stared at her, eye crinkling in amusement. "You
want set up Ranma and Akane, marry them."
Mercutio: Wow. Ukyo is TRYING to fix up Ranma and Akane.
Hikaru: Ya know, in any other story she'd be incredibly OOC for
trying that.
"Why not? They're practically drooling over each other.
Probably have been sneaking into each others' rooms at night
for weeks now."
Mercutio: Not a word, Mackie. Not.... one.... word.
^_-
Kasumi arrived home at six, and once again Akane's heart
curled into a ball the second her sister walked through the
door.
Akane sighed. She was worried about Kasumi; her older
sister had always been so... untouchable. Panics would come
and go, disasters would strike, life would deliver its petty
insults, and through it all Kasumi would wade with an
oblivious smile, seemingly secure in the knowledge that
everything would be okay. Until now.
She dimly remembered a time when Kasumi had been a
reckless, snide girl with a wicked sense of humor and a
fondness for slipping rubber snakes in the beds of her two
little sisters.
Mercutio: My mind literally cannot hold that image of Kasumi.
That was before Mother died. After that...
After that, her memories of Kasumi and Mother started
to blur together, because it was hard to tell where the one
began and the other left off.
In fact, she realized, she didn't know what Kasumi
wanted out of life. She didn't know if Kasumi liked anything
besides cooking. She didn't know if Kasumi had ever been upset
or happy or sad or disappointed or had even felt anything at all
in the last ten years.
She didn't know anything about Kasumi, except that she
cooked and cleaned and tidied and was nice to her. The old
Kasumi, before mother died, liked playing cards and insects
and was the world champion at junken pow and thought 'Hello
Kitty' was stupid. The old Kasumi had opinions and feelings and
emotions, and had more personality than the 19-year-old
housewife who had been her surrogate mother.
It's our fault, she thought guiltily, trudging down the
stairs. The new Kasumi had been so much easier, so
convenient, so easy to call when you needed her and ignore
when you didn't. So easy to assume that she really was happy
and normal, when in fact she was probably a more than a little
disturbed from so many years of repressing herself behind that
mask. All the little things - the compulsive quirks (she'd stare
at someone eating for hours), the 'accidental cuts' (like Kasumi
would ever be careless enough to cut her arm with a pairing
knife, always the same arm, always the same size cut), the
'afternoon naps' (but she wasn't sleeping, because you could
hear her pacing and throwing things), and above all the
smiling, content, placid, happy face (the car ran the light and
missed Kasumi by maybe an inch, and even when it looked like
it couldn't possibly miss she just kept smiling, and didn't bat
an eye as it almost killed her just like mother)...
Mercutio: Once again, I reiterate: That girl ain't right.
Dinner that night was quiet and subdued. Ukyou and
Ranma and her exchanged idle conversation. Shan Pu ate.
Kasumi smiled vaguely at nothing, and stared at the walls.
After the food was gone, Kasumi brightly informed
Ranma and Ukyou that they could help her with the dishes.
They, of course, replied that they would be delighted to help,
and the three of them vanished into the kitchen.
Akane stared across the table at Shan Pu, and forced a
smile. "Er, hi."
The Amazon nodded, watching Akane with interest.
"Um. Thanks for helping me. Back in that, uh, building."
Real smooth, she told herself sourly. Next ask her about the
weather, or baseball.
Shan Pu shrugged. "Was nothing." A gleam appeared in her
one good eye, and she smiled slightly. "You martial artist,
yes?"
"Yes. I'm the heir to the Tendo-ryuu," she replied. Months
ago, she would have been very proud of that. She still was, but
now she knew just how far she had to go.
The smile grew. "You spar with Shan Pu?"
Mackie: YES! Chick-
Mercutio: Chickfight, yes, we know. You finally get your wish.
^_-
Ukyou carefully closed the door to the changing room, and
gratefully stripped off her clothing. She had forgotten how
grimy dishwashing could be, and the dirt of the city was still
on her.
Off came the shirt and pants, then the tight bandage she
wore wrapped around her chest. It was always a relief to take
that off, although slightly painful. The first year she had worn
it had been agonizing. Now, well... her breasts were slightly
flattened, and would probably stay that way. Not unattractive,
she supposed. She hoped.
Mackie: Ya know, I'd ordinarily ogle, but for some reason I'm not
turned on by cross-dressing women with gender identity
crises.
Hikaru: (not without sarcasm) Amazing.
Mercutio: I'll say. There's something that DOESN'T turn Mackie on.
Picking up the small washcloth, she entered the furo
room. Fairly standard; a sunken tub, a shelf with a faucet for
pouring the cold water, and a bucket and stool. She had never
really enjoyed the cleaning process, but the soak afterwards...
ah, that was the true pleasure of the bath.
Filling the bucket, Ukyou squatted on the low stool and
doused herself, shivering slightly at the temperature. Icy, she
thought critically, scrubbing with the washcloth. The Tendos
must like to freeze themselves before they entered the hot
tub.
Idly, she wondered how Akane's match was going. It
would be nice if the girl could win, but somehow she didn't
think that was going to happen. Akane struck her as sturdy and
competent, but Shan Pu was as sharp and dangerous as the
Chinese knife Ranma had pierced her throat with. Still, you
could always...
A hand brushed lightly through her hair, almost
inperceivably.
Instantly she leapt to her feet and spun, in the process
crashing into the person standing behind her. She tottered for a
second, almost falling, and then hands firmly reached out to
seize her upper arms in a tight grip.
Ranma smiled slightly.
Mercutio: This can't possibly be good.
"Boy, Ucchan. You've filled out. Too many upper body
exercises?"
He was nude, her mind noted in shock. "I... I was..."
"Shouldn't have bent your arms like that, washing the
dishes. Guys' elbows are hinged all different from women. You
learn these things." She stared at him, transfixed by the light
burning in his eyes, boring into her. "So, my old friend turns
out to be a rather attractive girl. How about that."
Dear God, she thought dazedly, I'm right against him and
that thing pressed against my stomach is...
Mercutio: Thus begins the lemon portion of our show.
Mackie: About friggin time, too.
The stare blinded her, sucked her in, and she knew that
even without the grip on her arm she wouldn't move. Didn't
want to move.
A fingertip danced lightly along her breast. "Who ever
would have thought it." The hardness pressing into her stomach
seemed to be burning into her skin, molten...
She wanted this, she suddenly realized, she had wanted
this ever since he had cast her aside all those years ago, had
wanted this even as she had hated him for leaving her. All that
hurt, all that rejection, she needed him to be hers and hers and
to love her, and the reason she had come as a boy was because
she had been scared to death of this very moment, which she
wanted so badly...
Leaning forward, she kissed him savagely, pushed into
him, felt her breasts press into his chest as his length slid
against the smooth skin of her lower body...
And then he shoved her, sending her sprawling on her
backside upon the smooth tiles.
"Do you try to screw all your best friends, Ucchan?" His
voice was sardonic, slightly amused, and suddenly she felt
filthy.
Mackie: And not in that good way, either.
"Bastard," she spat, struggling to a sitting position,
ignoring the dull pain in her buttocks. "You're my fiancee,
asshole. You don't know how much I wish you weren't."
She had the slight satisfaction of seeing shock move
over his face. "What the hell are you talk..."
"You father engaged us," she snarled, furious with him,
furious with herself, feeling sick and dirty and used. "Why'd
you think I was so upset that you left? You asshole! You
destroyed me, ruined my reputation, and my nutcase of a father
made me his 'son'! Eight years of this, eight fucking years, and
you have the gall to... to..." Fury choked the words off. Shaking,
desperately trying to avoid crying, she stumbled to her feet.
The sardonic expression vanished. "I didn't know that."
He did look... no. He looked awkward, stiff, like someone
who'd just done something terrible in front of a crowd of
witnesses.
"So?" she choked bitterly. "You still... you came in here,
and you touched... you were supposed to take me with you..."
"I thought it was all another part of the game," he said
slowly. "Part of the net they have for me, all of them, and you
lied to me..."
"Asshole!" she screamed, enraged. "You enjoyed that! You
enjoyed it!"
He sat down, heavily, and his face contorted. "Yes."
Ukyou stared at him, pity and disgust warring in her. "I
should leave. I should get the hell out of Tokyo and just go back
to Kansai, but I'm not, for three reasons. One, because I like
what you and Akane have, and I don't want to see it die with
one of you. Two, because you're my friend. I should have my
damn head examined, but you're my friend."
He stared at the floor, hands twisting. "What's reason three?"
"Your father told me what happened when you were
eight."
Hikaru: Insert dramatic minor key music HERE.
Ranma looked up at her, fear and shock and terror running
through his eyes. "You don't know. You can't. He doesn't know all
of it... I chose to do it... he asked me and I CHOSE..." His voice
was a ragged snarl, hysteria running through it like an electric
current, and Ukyou almost drew back in sudden fear.
"You need to tell Akane, Ranchan."
"No... no, I can't, never, I chose... I can't get out, Ucchan,
I've tried..."
"She can help, Ranchan." All the anger and shame ran out
of her, replaced by pity and horror at what she was seeing.
"You've got to. It's the only..."
"NO!" he screamed, jumping to his feet, violence seeming
to suddenly surround him like a cloud. For a second he stood
there, hands balled into fists, fear and rage and horror and fury
written across his face. And then, shaking, he turned and left.
Ukyou sat back down on the stool.
She needed a bath. She still felt filthy.
Mercutio: Ya know Mackie, there's no GOOD way to be filthy.
Mackie: You aren't doing it right, then.
Hikaru: I did NOT need to hear that!
^_-
Akane slammed into the wall face first, blinked, and
passed out.
Panting, Shan Pu slumped to the ground. That had not
been as easy as she had expected. Nowhere near as easy. If the
training her great-grandmother had given her in the Bakusai
Ten-Ketsu hadn't boosted her stamina to superhuman levels,
Akane might well have won. Useful technique, that.
The Kashuu Tenshin Amaguriken wasn't proving nearly as
helpful. Oh, her speed was now better, and she could do the
clever multiple punch trick... but it was like driving a fast car
with bad steering. She couldn't control the movement at top
speed, and she slowed down just enough when male so that the
Amaguriken punch wouldn't work.
Mercutio: Shampoo's driven a fast car with bad steering?
Hikaru: It's called poetic liscence.
^_-
Shan smiled, and quietly slipped into the room she shared
with Ukyou. He lay stretched on his futon, asleep, a slight
frown on his face.
A soft sigh escaped her lips. She wondered if she had
done the right thing.
"Your brother's cute," he had told her, then chuckled. "But
don't tell him I said that. Don't want to scare him."
"Oh," she had said, heart pounding, "no worry. He like men
too."
Ukyou had stared at her, and she thought she had seen
either dismay or hope there.
Why the hell had she told him that? Did she really want
him flirting with Tsen?
She wanted him flirting with her, she told herself
stubbornly. She liked him. A lot.
But then what? He liked men. She wasn't a man. Well, she
was, sort of, but... Shan wasn't.
The whole thing gave her a headache.
Still, no harm in a little innocent flirting, right?
Mackie: I'm not touching that one.
Sighing, she took one last look at his sleeping form and
curled up on her futon. Silently she damned Ranma, and drifted
off into sleep.
^_-
And finally, on a door, a push-pin with the very tip sliced
off. She signaled to her brother and he nodded, bracing himself.
Quietly, slowly, they opened the door and slipped inside,
closing it after them.
The dim light inside illuminated a sleeping figure in a
corner futon, curled slightly, a thin sheet covering it.
Koji motioned to her, flashing three fingers. Plan three.
On his mark.
Koji's left hand clamped down over the sleeper's mouth,
pinning the head to the futon and muffling any shouts, and his
right slammed into the chest to hold him to the mattress. As
the sleeper burst into struggle, Mariko savagely thrust her
umbrella down to crush the monster's skull...
"No, don't!"
Her umbrella continued down, and she wondered what
Koji meant, and then his hand flicked away from the sleeper's
chest to knock her weapon off line.
She stared at him in shock.
"It's not Ranma!"
"Wha... bullshit!" She stared down at the figure, seeing
the ponytail dimly through the black. "Are you nuts? Of course
it's..."
The sheet fell away, revealing a bare and very female
chest.
Mercutio: Sleeping in female form, apparently.
Hikaru: Thank you, Captain Obvious.
Mariko gaped. "What the...?"
The girl had stopped struggling, and now stared up at
them, her eyes wide with terror.
"I'm going to remove my hand," Koji said, his voice still a
low whisper. "We're not here to hurt you, but if you scream... Do
you understand?"
The girl nodded, shaking slightly. Slowly, Koji removed
his hand from her mouth, and the girl shrank back against the
wall, panic in her eyes. She was smaller than Ranma, Mariko
noticed absently, and barely fit those boxers she was
wearing... who the hell was she, and what in the name of the
Christian Jesus was she doing in Saotome Fucking Ranma's
goddamn room?
"Please don't hurt me," the girl whimpered. "I won't be
bad. Don't hurt me. Did he send you?"
"We aren't going to hurt you," Koji said soothingly. "Who
are you?"
"I'm... I'm Saotome Miyabi. Please don't hurt me, I'll be
good, really I will, please...."
Hikaru: 'Miyabi?'
Mercutio: A little tribute to Caroline Seawright, apparently.
"You're his sister?" Koji said, incredulous. "You're
Ranma's sister?" Mariko just stared.
Miyabi flushed, and huddled into a ball, turning her face
away. "I didn't want to," she mumbled wretchedly. "I didn't
want to. He made me."
"Made you?"
The girl whimpered, and seemed to try to press herself
through the wall. "I was 11. He told me he would kill me if I
didn't do what he told me, and then he took off my... it hurt... I
washed all day but it didn't help, and then he did it again, and
again... and then he gave me to his friends... are you his
friends?" She looked up at them, eyes dull and empty, and
reluctantly began to undo the drawstring waistband of
the boxers. "I won't fight, honest. I'll be good. Don't beat me."
Mackie: Ah... ugh. Yow. I'm all for sibling.... relations... but...
well, yow.
Mercutio: Mackie Stingray has been grossed out by incest.
Hikaru: If you'll excuse me, I have to go look for flying P-Chans.
"Oh my God," Koji breathed, a sick look of horror moving
to cover his face. "Oh God, that... he..."
He nodded, a tear glistening in the dim moonlight. "Where
is he?"
"He's... he's in Akane's room... I wanted to warn her, but
he'd punish me, I'm punished when I'm bad... I tried to kill
myself, but he made me throw up the pills and then he...." She
clung to his shirt, shaking uncontrollably. "Please don't hurt
me..."
Aghast, Koji gingerly patted her on the shoulder, and
turned to Mariko. "Akane... oh God, we'd better hurry before
he..."
Mariko watched the girl wince in pain at the light pat.
'Ranma hurt, bad shoulder. Think is broken,' Shan Pu
whispered in her mind.
A picture. River water splashing over Tsen, his form
shrinking, breasts appearing, but the eye still covered by the
patch, oh my God...
"KILL HER, IT'S RANMA!" she screamed, leaping for the
girl.
Mackie: Houston, we have comprehension.
Koji hesitated for a split-second, eyes widening.
"Surprise," purred Miyabi, and brought her knee up into
his groin as her fist slammed into his stomach. She dived to
one side, Mariko's thrust clipping her as she did, and came up
in a spinning kick that sent the Hibiki girl staggering.
Gasping, Koji staggered backwards, folding at the waist.
Mariko howled, and swung her umbrella in a vicious arc at
Ranma's legs. It missed, but as Saotome leapt, a thrown stool
hurled through the air to crash into his injured shoulder,
bringing a snarl of agony. Koji grinned through the pain, still
bent double, and looked for something else to heave.
Mariko's next few attacks slammed past Ranma, but the
smaller girl was obviously in trouble. The dodges were slow
and jerky, the shoulder wound clearly crippling her. Mariko
gave a fierce grin, snarled, and pressed the attack. He was
dead. It ended tonight, she would end it here and now...
The door exploded inward in a sudden shower of wood
shrapnel. With a howl of rage, Akane burst through the shattered portal
and leapt for Mariko's throat like a jaguar.
Mercutio: The yell. She didn't do the yell.
Hikaru: Yell?
Mercutio: BAKUSAI TEN-KETSU!!!!! <SMASH>
Hikaru: Hey! I loved that coffee table!
"I'm really sorry, Tendo-san..."
To her horror and surprise, Kasumi weakly tried to rip
away, crying. "No.... no, don't kill me..."
"I'm letting you go now! I just said I was sorry, really!"
The girl was clearly terrified. She didn't blame her; if a
psychopath with a shotgun had tortured her and put a gun to
her head...
"They always say sorry before they kill them... in the
movies.. that's always what happens... please, don't kill me..."
Mercutio: Actually, they rarely apologize. What they do is let you
go, and after you've run a couple steps, they shoot you
in the head.
Sick at heart, Mariko let go of her. "I hope you can manage to
forgive me some day, Kasumi-san. God only knows
how."
Then she darted into the fog, and ran, and ran, and ran,
knowing with a horrible despair that the thing she was fleeing
from was running just as fast as she was and would always
keep pace with her.
Koji followed, his face expressionless except for the
tears, and then the mists swallowed them up. And then all that
was left was a sobbing figure kneeling by a gate, weeping in pain
and terror.
-< End of Chapter 11 >-
Mercutio: Well, that was pretty cool. Mayhem, murder, romance,
torture, and death.
Hikaru: All the things we've come to expect.
Mackie: Nabiki's really hanging in there. I wonder when she'll finally,
y'know..... die.
Mercutio: Hey, perhaps she'll pull through after a long agonizing
and awake from her coma to find out that Ranma is dead,
ane knows everything, and Hikaru has almost tripled her
organizations profits.
Mackie: And perhaps monkies will fly out of my butt.
