Ranma ½ -- A Deadly Choice

Chapter 12: Will the Real Demon Kidnapper Please Stand Up?

The knocking at her window snapped Akane out of a deep depression. "Akane, can I come in?" asked Ryoga.

"If you want to," said Akane, sitting up and wiping her eyes dry. The window slid open and Ryoga climbed into the room.

"I’m sorry if I’ve done something to upset you," said Ryoga.

"It’s not your fault," replied Akane. "I always get like this whenever Ranma’s around. I wish I could understand why."

"It’s a natural reaction," said Ryoga, placing his hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Some people just become depressed whenever they’re around a certain other person. It doesn’t matter how much they may care about each other; their chemistries just clash. There’s no way those people can be happy except to stay as far from each other as they can get."

Akane’s eyes misted over. "Do – do you really think Ranma and I are like that?"

"It’s something I read about in a book," said Ryoga. "I’m not saying it applies to you, but the evidence seems to support it. I’m sorry."

"No, don’t be sorry," said Akane. "It’s not your fault if Ranma and I can’t be together." She threw her arms around Ryoga and buried her face in his chest.

"Akane..."

"Don’t say anything. Just hold me." Ryoga ran his hand through Akane’s hair, silently praying that this moment would never end. As Akane’s tears began to soak through his shirt, the back of Ryoga’s neck began to itch. He turned to the window and thought he saw a shadowed figure ducking out of view.

Akane straightened up. "Is something wrong, Ryoga?"

Ryoga shook his head. "I thought I saw someone outside the window. But it was nothing."

Akane brushed the tears from her eyes again. "Well, thanks for your support, Ryoga. I appreciate having a friend like you."

"Anytime."

*************************************************

"That jerk!" shouted Ranma as he punched through a telephone pole. He stepped out of the way as the pole crashed to the ground. "I can’t believe he would sink so low, taking advantage of Akane when she’s upset!" And who upset her, a tiny voice inside his head asked. "What do I care if Akane and Ryoga are seeing each other?" he asked aloud. "I don’t care at all! I hope they’re really happy together!" But it’s not true, is it, he asked himself as he turned to gaze on the wreckage he had left in his wake. Why would I be destroying half the city if I didn’t care?

"Just try not to think about her," said Ranma. "Just try not to think about looking in her window and seeing her... with Ryoga...AGAIN!" Ranma wound up and smashed a nearby wall. "What’s the use? I can’t stop thinking about her!" He clenched his fists and ran down the street toward the Cat Café. "Not going to think about Akane," chanted Ranma. "That’s why I’m going to see Shampoo."

He pushed open the door of the Cat Café, and a plume of black smoke surrounded him. He hastily waved the smoke away and charged into the restaurant. "Shampoo!" he shouted. "Where are you?" He stepped forward, feeling his way through the darkness. "Razor, I know you’re in here somewhere! What have you done with Sham-" Ranma’s next step was into the hole in the center of the room. He fell down into a cold room, landing nimbly on his feet. A laugh echoed in the darkness. "Shampoo?"

"I’m afraid not, Ranma Saotome," said Sasuke. "Welcome to the Kuno labyrinth."

*************************************************

Shampoo slowly opened her eyes. A warm cloth covered most of her body, and she quickly recognized it as an Amazon robe. She looked up into the eyes of her rescuer and found herself staring back. "Shampoo, you’re awake," said Mousse, adjusting his glasses.

"Mousse? What happen?"

"We’re in the Kuno labyrinth," explained Mousse. "I found the Cat Café and tried to dig my way out, but the demon was there. We’re hiding down here until we can sneak past it and escape." At his mention of the demon, Shampoo began to shiver involuntarily. She sat up quickly.

"Where demon now?" she asked.

"I don’t know," replied Mousse. "That’s not such a bad thing, since it means it’s not here."

"We go now, Mousse? Shampoo scared."

"Not as scared as you’re going to be," hissed a low voice from the darkness. Shampoo screamed.

Mousse stood up and drew his weapons. "If you want Shampoo, you’ll have to get through me!"

Shampoo’s eyes glittered in the darkness. "Mousse, you protect Shampoo?"

"A challenge?" said the demon. "I accept." The black cloud solidified in front of Mousse. Mousse launched a barrage of weapons at it without hesitation. The weapons passed through the cloud without effect.

"Shampoo, run!" shouted Mousse. "I’ll hold it off as long as I can."

"Shampoo not run," she said, grabbing her bonbori. "If run, never stop. Must fight now."

"Yes," said the demon. "Give up now. It will be so much simpler if you don’t resist."

"Demon talk too much," said Shampoo, taking a fighting stance. "Shampoo ready to fight."

"You’d best be ready to die," taunted the demon.

Shampoo sneered. "Is good day to die."

*************************************************

Ranma leapt into the air and kicked the shaft of the giant pendulum, splitting the wood. The bottom half of the pendulum rolled down the hallway, while Ranma grabbed the top half and began to climb up the swinging shaft. "How did I end up here again?" he asked aloud.

"Now prepare yourself for Kuno’s House of Gadgets Special Attack number 47!" shouted Sasuke. "‘Whirling Shaft of Doom!’" The wooden shaft stopped swinging back and forth and began to spin, speeding up as it went.

"Aaaaaaaah!" screamed Ranma. "Make it stop!"

"It will only stop when you let go!" taunted Sasuke.

"Fine by me!" shouted Ranma, letting go of the shaft. He flew through the darkness, bracing himself as he smashed into the wall. The wall crumbled, and Ranma fell through onto something soft.

"Get off of me!" shouted Mousse. "Shampoo’s fighting the demon!"

"Shampoo? You mean she’s still alive?"

"Shampoo still alive," Shampoo assured him. "But demon fight good." She leapt away from a darting tendril of black mist and swung her bonbori at the demon. The rush of air disturbed the demon’s mass, but it reformed again as soon as the air had settled. It reached toward Shampoo again, and she leapt away, but the demon grabbed the leg of her pants, and Shampoo stumbled and fell.

"Shampoo!" shouted Ranma. "Get your pants off, quick!"

"Only in front of husband!" returned Shampoo. "Not in front of Mousse!"

A knife flew from the darkness and sliced apart Shampoo’s pants, freeing her from the demon’s grip. "Shampoo kidnapping not you!" shouted her hidden rescuer.

"Razor?" shouted Ranma, Shampoo, and Mousse.

"You telling did I, girls kidnapping not did I!" said Razor as he stepped in front of the demon.

"And you foolish humans mistook this backwards freak for me?" asked the demon. "No wonder I fooled those other two into thinking I was Ranma. You overlook the truth whenever it suits you."

"I suppose I owe you an apology, Razor," said Ranma.

"For that need being not there," replied Razor.

"Right!" shouted Ranma, charging up his battle aura. "If you want Shampoo, you’ll have to fight all three of us!"

"Correction," said the demon. "All three of you will have to fight me, if you want to protect her."

"What’s the difference?" asked Ranma.

The demon grabbed Mousse and Razor and flung them away into the darkness. "The difference is who’s on the defensive."

"Well, that ain’t gonna be me!" shouted Ranma. "Mouko Takabisha!" Ranma released a ball of ki energy at the demon. With a sound like a sigh, the demon’s body shifted slightly. The energy ball vanished as it approached the demon. "What the heck happened?"

"Would you like to see?" asked the demon, advancing on Ranma. "Anchuu Jaakuna Nekoken!" Thousands of invisible fists pounded Ranma in the face and chest, sending him flying backwards into Shampoo. "Like a cat in the darkness, I strike invisibly at my opponent."

"Him too fast!" said Shampoo admiringly. "Shampoo not even see it move!"

"‘Cat Lurking in the Darkness Fist?’" said Ranma. "It’s just like my Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire Fist, but..."

"But opposite in polarity," finished the demon. "When I take your form, I use your martial arts techniques. When in my own form, I have my own techniques, far more powerful than yours."

"We’ll see about that!" shouted Ranma, leaping to his feet. "Hiryu Shoten Ha!" The Rising Dragon Hurricane attack flew from Ranma’s hands, swirling right through the demon’s body. The black cloud vanished as the ki energy scattered it in all directions. "Is that it? Is it finally gone?"

"Ranma, help!" screamed Shampoo. Ranma turned to see the demon reforming behind him, right where Shampoo was standing.

"Shampoo!" shouted Ranma. "Hiryu Shot-"

"No!" shouted Mousse, grabbing Ranma’s arm. "You’ll hit Shampoo!"

"Than Shampoo capturing the demon letting us better being perhaps her killing us," said Razor.

Ranma, Mousse, Shampoo, and the demon all froze in place. "What?" asked Ranma.

"Never mind him!" shouted Mousse. "We have to rescue Shampoo!"

They all turned to face the demon, but it was already gone. "Too late," said Razor.

"From now on," said Ranma, "stick to short sentences without verbs. It’ll be easier for everyone."

Razor bowed his head. "If verbs having long sentences speaking me wanting you, -"

"Never mind," said Ranma. "There’s nothing we can do now. Let’s just get out of here." He paused briefly to think. "Razor, you stay here."

*************************************************

Once Akane had excused herself to take a warm bath, Ryoga took the opportunity to grab his book from her bookshelf and quickly leafed forward to the page he remembered. "‘The key to a successful relationship is honesty. It is impossible to convince someone of your viewpoint if you are not completely truthful, and a relationship is no different.’"

"Oh, how can fate be so cruel!" shouted Ryoga. "It’s telling me that the one secret I’ve kept so well all this time is the key to Akane’s heart! But how can I possibly... I must! For Akane’s sake, I can’t remain silent any longer!"

"About what?" asked Akane from the doorway.

Ryoga quickly hid the book behind his back. "Finished with your bath already?"

"What do you mean, ‘already?’ I was in there for over an hour!"

‘Hmm,’ thought Ryoga. ‘I must have taken longer than I thought to find the page.’

"Well, what was it you were talking about?" asked Akane.

"Akane," said Ryoga slowly, "there’s something I need to tell you."

"I’m listening," replied Akane.

"It’s – it’s about P-chan."

"P-chan? What about him?"

"Akane, I... I was in China when Ranma got cursed at Jusenkyo..."

"You were?" asked Akane. "Ranma never mentioned that..."

‘How can I do this?’ Ryoga asked himself. ‘After Ranma, although he is my enemy, kept my secret hidden for so long even at his own expense, how can I take Akane from him?’

"It doesn’t seem like that big a deal," said Akane, thinking Ryoga had finished. "And I don’t see what it has to do with P-chan."

"Well," said Ryoga, "while I was in China, I saw P-chan at a pet shop and bought him, hoping that someday, I’d be able to find someone to care for him."

"That’s so sweet," said Akane. "Then P-chan is really your pet pig?"

"No, I’d never be able to love him the way you do," said Ryoga. "He’s yours. I just want you to think of me whenever you hold P-chan, and... I’ll be thinking of you."

"I will, Ryoga," said Akane. "Thank you. Although..."

"Although?" asked Ryoga, starting to sweat.

"I wonder if maybe P-chan came from Jusenkyo..." She smiled. "Wouldn’t it be funny if P-chan was really a handsome prince cursed in the Jusenkyo Spring of Drowned Pig?"

"Itonichuan," said Ryoga without thinking.

"What was that?" asked Akane.

"Uh, nothing... I think I’ll go now."

"Okay," said Akane. "If I see P-chan tonight, I’ll tell him hello for you." Ryoga left through the door and walked down the hall to put the book in the bathroom closet with his clothes before turning into P-chan. Although he knew that Akane couldn’t possibly love him until he was honest with her, at least his secret would be safe for another night... barely.