Ranma Saotome was looking out at the skyline as the sun was setting one Saturday evening. His mind was set on one thing; Akane Tendo. ‘What to do?’ his mind screamed at him. ‘Even after all of this time, she thinks I’m a disgusting pervert.’ He took a bite out of the pear he had brought up to the roof with him. Saotome looked down at his hands, chewing the piece of fruit slowly. As the sweet nectar of the pear rushed over his tongue he thought again about Akane. ‘That uncute, macho, stupid, violent, bitchy fucking tomboy!’ He took another bite of the pear. ‘That ignorant cunt doesn’t know who she’s dealing with. I’m Ranma Saotome!’ He absently crushed the piece of fruit in his hand with one squeeze. ‘That bitch! Why did she do it!?’ He held his clean hand up to the bruise on his face. The only question going through his mind was ‘Why?’

Akane looked out her window and up to the roof. “Ranma...” ‘I’m sorry...’ She looked at her hand, which had become a fist when she clenched them again. She was always running ahead with her foot in her mouth, just like her hentai iinazuke.

Ranma looked back to the sunset. His anger continued to rise as he thought of the things that Akane had done to him since the very first day they had met. The table, the slap across the face, threatening to turn him into a girl again and again, the endless line of blunt objects used to hit him with when he stuck his foot in his mouth. He couldn’t stop thinking that somehow all women were essentially like this. His mind went over the various females in his life, from Ukyo, to Shampoo and Kodachi, to Nabiki and Kasumi. His mind backpedaled a bit when he added Kasumi to the list. Kasumi was the only one who was always there for him in his time of need, even when he wasn’t hungry.

But then he focused on all of the other girls in his life. Ukyo, the only *cute* tomboy he had known of. His best friend from his childhood days. One of the few people he didn’t try to hide his curse from. The one who had hit him numerous times with that damned spatula when he embarrassed her, accidentally or not. His anger rose again. The one who, acting like his friend, had tried many things, including blackmail, to get close to him. His rage again grew within him. Then he thought of Shampoo. The Passion Spice, the Formula 110 shampoo, the Reversal Jewel, the Phoenix pill. His displeasure, his unbridled fury ascended to heights unknown. But that was the tip of the iceberg with the Amazons. Cologne was the cause for all of the crap he was put through by Shampoo. Ranma scowled as he remembered what Cologne had cooked up the first time he tried to get the Phoenix Pill. Even though he learned a new technique, she had tricked him by putting a candy drop in the case instead of the real thing. His hatred began to reach a level of near insanity. His thoughts turned to Kodachi and all of the poisons and powders and potions she had used to paralyze, lure, excite, and control him with. He always wanted to hide under a rock when Kodachi poked her head into his life. His abhorrence for the women in his life grew until, when he finally reached the edge, he flew at least a hundred feet away from sanity! He couldn’t take anymore of the bullshit and the crap from his family and ‘friends.’

Ranma screamed as the feelings overcame his control. The sun had finally vanished from the sky. The darkness had a calming effect on the Child of Chaos. Ranma growled deeply in the back of his throat as he looked down at the roof. “Guess what, Akane... You’re finally gonna have me the way you always wanted me...” He looked towards the house; his eyes had changed from blue to a blood red. He sneered as his thoughts turned carnal once again. “Heh heh heh... you’re in for a hell of a ride, you kawaiikune otenba...” His sneer turned into a snarl as he ducked back into his room window and waited for everyone to go to sleep.

---

Akane had heard her iinazuke’s scream and cringed, hoping that he wasn’t angry with her. They had somehow met in the changing room, again, but this time Ranma was leaving the bath in his male form. She had looked down, noticing that his ‘little friend’ wasn’t so little. She had smiled slightly, but then had also noticed that it was beginning to notice her. Apparently, she had thought it was his fault, so she slammed him into the ground with a mallet, and then slapped him across the room. The look he had given her as he was getting his clothing was not a good-natured one to say the least. Still, he had not said a word about her as he made his way out of the bathhouse. But the look in his eyes... She shuddered when she remembered the look in his eyes after she had hit him. It was a look of absolute madness, like he had lost his mind in that brief instant. Ranma then turned away from her and dressed himself. She knew he had jumped up to the roof from the loud footsteps above her. After the bath, she had gone back to her room and had listened for any signs that Ranma had calmed down. When she had heard him scream, she knew she had really fucked up. Akane cried into her pillow as she fell asleep.

---

The full moon was beautiful. Ranma hopped out of his bedroom window and snuck across the roof. The light in his eyes was still of that strange blood-red hue. Ranma smirked evilly as he crept towards the area above Akane’s window. ‘I noticed that smile, Akane’ he thought as he looked into her window. ‘You think I was big before, just wait till I get in there.’ Ranma grinned as he thought it over and over again in his cloudy mind. The red haze that covered his conscience was impenetrable. ‘Akane, you never knew how I felt about you.’ He slowly opened the window. ‘You otenba... I loved you... now I see that you hate me... so I think I’ll show you what it’s like to be truly unloved...’ he thought as he finally opened the window wide enough to allow him to get into her room. ‘Wakey, wakey, Akane...’ he thought as he entered her room.

Akane, her tears soaking the pillow, turned her head in the direction of a noise that had made itself evident. She gasped as Ranma’s silhouette blocked some of the moonlight. “R-Ranma?” she whispered. “Wh-what are you doing here?” She gasped again as she saw a strange red glow originate where his eyes would be if there was any actual light in the recent vicinity.

“Doing something that should have been done a long time ago, you fucking bitch,” he spat as he walked over to her bed. “And I thought you would’ve been happy to see me...” He ripped off her pajama top. “Akane... don’t you want this?”

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, RANMA!?” Her voice rang throughout the neighborhood. She punched his arms as they wrapped around her body.

“Akane... don’t you get it yet? You can’t stop me...” to prove his point, he grabbed her wrists and tied them tightly with the sleeves of her shirt. “Well, it seems you are interested... I never thought of you as the type to like being dominated...” he grasped her breasts and began to massage them.

She shuddered slightly under his skillful hands. “S-Stop R-Ranma... please... you know I didn’t mean it...” she gasped as he squeezed her breasts. “N-no m-more...”

“Why should I stop? You caused this to me many times...” he squeezed the fleshy objects in his hands. “And you seem to like this so much...” He licked her nipples, her gasping escalated.

‘Pl-please, Ranma...’ Akane thought. ‘I never meant to hurt you... you’re raping me... why...’ Her mind turned to the one thought that had run through her mind when she had seen his member in the changing room. ‘Kami-sama, I want to know what that feels like.’ Well, it looked like she’d get the chance.

“You are going to find out what it feels like, Akane-chan. You will love me and hate me for this, but then again, what would I know? I’m just the fucking hentai that you beat the crap out of everyday.” He bit her nipple, drawing a small amount of blood. Akane was almost ready to scream when Ranma began to lick up the blood and clean her tiny wound. She purred in pain and delight at the feelings being forced into her. “You think I would do this unprepared? There are some reasons that I might actually like my cursed form, you know... I know more about the female anatomy than any man alive. And I thought that you should be the first to see what I learned.” Ranma grinned as he looked at her prone and helpless form. “I always wanted to know what you looked like under that guise, you wannabe tomboy...” he said as ripped off her pajama bottoms. His eyes cleared as he looked at her naked form.

Akane thought Ranma had spaced out. She was getting impatient. Even during a rape, she couldn’t help herself. “Ranma, what are you doing?” She growled at him silently, hoping to get his attention without arousing his wrath. Ranma looked back down at Akane’s face.

“Shut up you bitch,” he grunted as her gaze bored into him. He smacked her across the face, which sent her sprawling to the floor. She landed on her stomach, her ass high in the air. “I thought you didn’t want this! It seems these lips want something...” Ranma grinned again and slid his finger into her. When his finger was about an inch or so inside of her, he felt some kind of barrier.

Akane groaned as Ranma slid his fingers into her. She gasped when he stopped. “Huh?!”

Somehow, his sanity had put up a front. It had found purchase at Ranma’s surprise.

“Y-you-you were... untouched?!” he gasped aloud.

Akane smiled slightly. The beast within him was backing down for a minute. His eyes were changing back to their stormy-blue color. “Ranma...Please... come back to me...” Her eyes shone with a small glimmer of hope as he gazed upon her body with his clear, stormy-blue eyes.

The thoughts running through his mind were taking over, when, out of nowhere, a small voice in the back of his mind said the one thing that would make him lose his sanity again. ‘Was she waiting for Ryoga? Or Mousse? Shinnosuke? Kuno? Gosunkugi? Touma? WHO!?’ The strange blood-red hue shaded his eyes again as he went insane with anger and jealousy. “Bitch. You thought that would work, didn’t you?” Ranma growled loudly, his anger and rage building as the images of Akane ran through his head.

“R-Ranma, NO!! Come back to me!” she screamed as Ranma fell to his knees, holding his head in agony. Her expression changed when Ranma stood up again. He was staring at her with a blank look in his red eyes.

“It is time, you fucking whore. I will make you hate me... as I have grown to hate you. “ Ranma grabbed her legs and spread them for her. “You dried up... good... I’ll be able to cause you more pain this way...” he stated as he pulled his asoko out of his slacks.

Akane’s eyes went wide as he said his last intelligent words. All through the night, screams and grunts were heard from Akane’s room.

---

Ranma groaned as the sunlight hit his face. He turned over in the bed and almost screamed when he saw Akane lying next to him. ‘WHAT THE HELL!?!?!?’ his mind screamed at him. He scrambled away from her prone form, all the while hoping that she wouldn’t wake up and beat the shit out of him. That was before he took a good look at his surroundings. “Wha.. Huh? Where am I?” His head spun for a second as he realized he was in Akane’s room. On Akane’s bed. Lying next to Akane. Without his boxers or shirt on. He looked at her when his mind finally clicked onto that one detail. He looked at her body, wondering all the while why the hell she hadn’t woken up. His eyes ran down her form when they came to her legs. Actually, his eyes focused on the area between them. She wasn’t wearing anything at all! His eyes widened as he committed every detail to memory. ‘She sure is messy... wonder what happened...’ Ranma’s eyes panned up to her torso and upper-body. Her arms were tied at the wrists with her own pajama top. Her wrists had what looked like rope burns around them. ‘My god... what happened!? Why can’t I remember!?’ Ranma sighed, knowing that he would have to untie Akane. At a snail's pace, he got to his feet. He bent down towards the bed, reaching for her hands. Gradually, he unbounded her hands from her pajama sleeve, making sure to try and not wake her up. He gazed at her face as he untied her hands. Ranma grimaced as he noticed some kind of white substance on her cheek and her chin. ‘What the hell is that???’ Akane grumbled in her sleep as he touched her face, wiping off the creamy, translucent liquid.

“Nnn... ranma... don’t do that......... please don’t...” Akane mumbled in her slumber. “Not there... no....” a light snore followed her words.

Raman’s eyes widened slightly more so as he heard these words. “No... no... we couldn’t... I couldn’t have...” he mumbled silently. Ranma looked at her in horror as her words echoed through his mind. ‘What the hell did we do last night?! Oh Kami-sama, what did we do?! What did I do!?!’ He glanced at his crotch. ‘Did you have fun, you little bastard?!’ He looked back towards Akane’s still form on the bed. ‘Shimatta... why... Akane... what happened...’

---

Akane’s peaceful visage hid well the nightmare she was having. The endurance marathon she had experienced played over and over again in her mind. One of the worst parts of the night was when Ranma had made her suck his dick. He had nearly choked her into unconsciousness with his economy-sized ondori. She had told him not to do it, that she couldn’t take it, but he didn’t seem to hear her and had forced it halfway down her throat before he relented somewhat. The very worse part for Akane was when he did her anally. The scene kept running through her head as she slept. “DON’T DO THAT! PLEASE DON’T, RANMA! NOT THERE!” she screamed as he ripped her insides apart. “NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Akane had a moment’s peace when something touched her face. Her dreams were invaded by a voice. A familiar voice, one she knew very well. His voice. Her fiancé’s voice. Ranma’s voice. She stumbled through her unconsciousness as if it were a thick fog. ‘His voice’ she thought as she slowly woke up. ‘He sounds so scared. Why?’ an errant thought spoke to her from the deepest recesses of her mind. Slowly, very, very slowly, she began to wake up.

---

Ranma sat on the edge of Akane’s bed, still questioning himself about what might have happened. For some reason, his conscious mind had decided to hide his memories of last night. A small noise caught his attention.

“Huh? Akane?” he looked at her, having covered her with her comforter. “Akane? Are you awake?” he whispered to her.

Akane gradually opened her eyes as she awoke. “R-Ranma?” she whispered hoarsely. She cleared her throat of some of the cum she had ingested before continuing. Strength returned to her voice as she whispered, “Just why in the hell are you still here, Ranma?” Tears were forming around the corners of her eyes. “Do you want to rape me again!?”

Ranma’s eyes were the size of large saucers. “R-RAPE YOU!?” he screamed. He calmed down a little before continuing. “Oh my god, what have I done? I-I’m so sorry... Akane... I’m sorry...” he bowed on the floor, doing a pretty fair imitation of Mousse. ‘What happened? How? Why? I couldn’t have... I don’t remember...’ Akane stared at the spectacle that Ranma was making of himself. She laid her hand, which still had a small amount of jizz on it, on the top of his head.

“R-R-Ranma, I l-l-l-love y-y-y-y-you, but you must get out... now... before I hurt you... please... I need to be alone...” Akane’s eerily calm state of mind was about to shatter as she looked at him. A genuine smile crossed her lips as he walked out of her room. She heard him position himself right outside of her door.

‘He’s trying to protect me.’ she thought in amusement. ‘But he’s the one who did this to me... how could he!? How could he... rape me!? Why did he rape me!?’ her thoughts turned darker. ‘Does he hate me that much?’ she thought as she looked out the window.

---

Ranma walked out of Akane’s bedroom, not noticing that a certain dasanteki had been watching the entire time. Nabiki sat at her door, wondering if she should venture out into the hall while Ranma Saotome was sitting outside. She had recorded everything that had happened in Akane’s bedroom through the multiple button cameras and micro-cassette recorders that had been set throughout the Tendo home. She was amazed that their father hadn’t woken up during the course of the night. Akane’s screaming had woken up the hydrothermal transsexual’s father, but he went back to sleep pretty quickly. He was probably thinking that his son had finally taken responsibility and chosen his bride. Nabiki stared at the wall on the other side of her room. Her mind raced as she thought of the video and live feeds she had watched when Akane’s screaming had awoken her. Nabiki frowned as the flashbacks overtook her...

               

Nabiki grumbled as a loud noise disturbed her sleep. She was dreaming about money, as usual, when all of a sudden, a loud scream interrupted her peaceful snooze. She jumped out of bed and fell onto the floor of her room as she was kicked out of her peaceful slumber. She recognized the voice as Akane screamed again. “Huh? Wha the fuc... SHUT UP OVER THERE!!” Nabiki growled and fell asleep for maybe a few milliseconds when Akane screamed yet again. Her eyes widened when she heard the words “Ranma... please... stop... no more... I can’t take it...” Nabiki cringed as she heard the fear in Akane’s voice. ‘What the hell?! What are they doing?!’

Nabiki got out of her bed and went over to her desk. She seemed to be looking for something when her hand hit the only book that didn’t move on her desk. She opened the book, and gazed upon the mini-keyboard that was set in the middle of it. Nabiki pressed the biggest button, typed in Wild Stallion on the keyboard, and grinned as her little network of cameras and mini-microphones activated throughout the house. As soon as the wall in front of her rolled away to reveal a multitude of TVs, her eyes locked on the one TV on which the motion sensors had activated.

Nabiki gasped as she looked at the TV. The screen showed the interior of Akane’s bedroom. On the bed, Ranma had tied Akane’s arms up with the sleeves of her pajama top and was standing behind her, his massive asoko wavering slightly. “So, Akane... you want to know what it’s like? Well, here’s to you, you fucking bitch.” He brushed his “other head” against her anus. “I think it’s time you see what it feels like to be me. We’ll start with this, and work our way up... to the more intense stuff... just like when Pops was training me...” Nabiki shuddered as a small tear ran down Ranma’s cheek. ‘He’s supposed to be so strong... what's wrong with him?!’

Ranma grabbed Akane’s hips and plunged himself into her backside. She screamed out in pain as he raped her. Nabiki cringed in a corner as she overheard everything that Ranma did to Akane. She couldn’t fall asleep after that, and spent the entire night crying or cursing the name of Saotome. She still couldn’t get the look in his eyes out of her mind. Their crimson color was what had scared her the most...

Nabiki growled as she looked up from her position on the floor. Ranma was going to pay dearly for his actions. She would make sure of it, just as soon as he was out of sight.  In the meantime, she kept thinking of everything she had seen and heard the night before. Ranma’s muscular form bent over her sister, doing unspeakable things to her. Nabiki shed a single, ice-cold tear as she thought of what he had done to her imouto-chan. The screaming, the grunting, the horrible cries of pain and pleasure scarring her brain over and over again. Oh, was Ranma Saotome going to pay... only this time it wasn’t going to be through his wallet. The evil glint in her eye would have scared even Ranma as an idea entered her consciousness. ‘You’ll wish you were never born, Saotome. I’ll make sure of it.’ “You’re a dead man, Saotome,” she whispered.

---

Downstairs, at the breakfast table, Kasumi was getting breakfast ready, as was the custom in the Tendo household. She smiled at her father, as usual. She looked up just in time to see Ranma grab his father and throw him in the pond. For some reason, Ranma seemed especially agitated this morning. She dismissed the thought as a giant panda jumped out of the pond and started attacking its son. The panda held up a wooden sign. *How dare you sneak up on your father, boy!?* He turned the sign around. *Have you no honor?!*

“Shut up, and fight, Oyaji!” Ranma growled and crouched into an attack stance. The panda growled and punched at his son, who deftly dodged the blow and kicked him in the face. Genma growfed and fell face first into the pond. Ranma scowled and looked for someone stupid enough to try and fight him.

As if on cue, Ryoga popped into the Tendo household. “Where the hell am I now?!” he wailed as he scanned his surroundings.

“Take a guess, P-Chan...” Ranma scoffed as Ryoga growled.

“Who said that?!” he asked as he turned his head, looking for the person in question. When his eyes fell on Ranma, he screamed. “Ranma!? What are you doing in France?!” Ryoga was out cold before his next words could be said.

Ranma growled as he picked up the Lost Boy by his lapels. “What should I do with you, Ryoga?” He grinned as he thought of the perfect punishment. “Maybe I should give you to Akane... Kasumi? Could you please get me some hot water?” Ranma smirked at the geographically challenged youth as his eyes began to change colors. “Oh yeah, Kasumi? Be sure to bring it to Akane’s room, please? Also, would you be so kind as to bring a bucket of ice water with you?” He growled as he dragged Ryoga up the stairs by his feet, making sure to go at a pace that would probably have left a normal person in a coma.

---

Akane scowled as Ranma walked into her room again. Her face scrunched up into a disgusted look as he plopped Ryoga on the floor beside her bed. She growled silently at Ranma, her anger rising as she saw what he had done to her friend. A large lump was forming on the back of his head, and he was unconscious. “Ranma... what are you doing in here?! I thought I told you I wanted to be alone!”

Ranma stared at her, his eyes flickering between their normal stormy blue and a deep crimson.

“Shut up, Akane.” She gasped as he spoke, his harsh tone digging into her soul. She almost screamed as she saw his eyes, the same color they were as the night before. ‘How could he have changed so much in one night?’

“So, you really do want to know?” he said, as she was about to vocalize her thoughts. “You hurt him... you hurt him! How could you hurt someone who loved you so badly... baka kawaiikune otenba...” he spat venomously. His eyes flickered again, shock and fear apparent on his face for an instant. Ranma grabbed his head in pain as he finally began to understand. The fear and anger overcame his rational thought processes and the dark part of his soul took over again.

“What-what are you?” Akane stammered anxiously. ‘It can’t be... it just can’t...’

“What do you think I am? The Neko-ken? Surely not. I’m not that random.” He paced the room, thinking of what to tell her. His eyes flickered back to their normal shade of blue again. Ranma collapsed to the ground as the other being retreated back to the deeper recesses of his consciousness. “No...N-No... how could he c-c-c-come b-b-back...” Ranma’s aura flared around him as the darker element of his psyche took over again. “Be quiet you,” he said as he got back to his feet.

Akane cried out in fear as Ranma got to a standing position. The crimson shade of his eyes captivated her. ‘What is he?’ Akane’s mind searched through hundreds of possibilities.

Ranma staggered over to her bedside, his crimson eyes glowing as if the fires of Hell were behind them. “Move, you kawaiikune bitch, before I hurt you,” he growled as he pushed her aside. “So, you want to know who and what I am, huh?”

Akane stood up and shook her head slowly. Before her was the person who had raped her all through the night, into the early morning hours, the person who had driven her to near insanity with his taunts and teases, who had pissed her off everyday of her life since she had met him. He was also the one person she had been able to care for in a way other than family. She couldn’t tell him now, now that he remembered what he had done, but maybe...

“Save your idiocies for someone else, Akane-saseko.” Akane glared at her future husband as he called her a whore. “Don’t even think of it, waremechan. I am much stronger than your stupid little fiancé. And you can’t even beat him! HAHAHA! Ranma Saotome is no more now that I’ve taken over. I am Akume Saotome. I still don’t know why he cares for you. All I see is some weak, stupid, little girl who thinks she can hang with the best just because the very best is her fiancé. Trust me, Akane-san, you are nothing!” His taunts and curses scarred her deeply. She growled deeply in the back of her throat as she lunged for him.

Akume grinned as he touched her wrist, which sent her flying into her bedroom wall. He smirked as she got up. “Even Hiijiji can’t compare with me now.” He smirk disappeared as something caught his attention. “Why not?” he said to no one in particular. “But, she deserved it!” he looked up at the roof as he spoke again. “Oh, alright, I won’t rape her again, but she needs to learn who’s the boss... Besides, why do you still love her? All she’s ever done to you is hurt you, Father,” he questioned to the air. Akane’s eyes widened to the size of teacup saucers. “Don’t look at us like that... can’t believe you couldn’t tell by now... hell! He couldn’t admit to himself that you actually loved him. That Reversal Jewel shit really fucked with his head. Maybe I should just leave you two alone or something now, but I think I’ll ruin your life some more before I retreat back into his mind.” Akume grinned as he looked towards the door. “Here she comes now.”

               

---

Kasumi walked up to Akane’s room and knocked. She pondered why Ranma would drag Ryoga up to her sister’s room, but forgot about it as the door opened. A crimson-eyed Ranma answered the door.

“Here you are, Ranma-kun.” She handed him the bucket of ice water and a kettle.

“Arigato, Kasumi-san.”

“Why do you need the water, Ranma-kun?” She smiled up at him.

“I’m just taking care of a little Jusenkyo business, Kasumi. Thank for caring, though.” He turned around and had started to close the door when an idea came to him. “Tell Jiji that the wedding’s on. But, tell them to wait before planning anything. Please, Kasumi?” Somehow, his crimson eyes took on the characteristics of a puppy’s.

“O-okay, Ranma-kun.”

He turned back into Akane’s room again, but spun around and grabbed Kasumi’s shoulder. Kasumi gasped and turned to face the hydrothermal transsexual. “And, please, call me Akume. Okay?”

“Okay, Akume-kun.” She smiled up at Akume.

“Okay, Kasumi-san. I’ll see you later, alright?” He grinned at her and closed the door.

Kasumi almost frowned, showing her displeasure and distress at the way Ranma was acting. “Oh my...” Her thoughts focused on the one thing that could have caused a major system shut down in almost everyone in the household except Kasumi. “OH MY! Oh my, did I just yell? What do I do about father and Mr. Saotome...?”

---

Akume grinned at Akane as he walked back into her room with two items in his hands. The smirk on his face told her that he was about to do something that she might regret. “Akane-saseko, I’m about to show you something that should have been noticed a long, long time ago.” Akume growled as he looked over to Ryoga. “It’s time to show her who you really are.” He turned his gaze to Akane. “Watch the boy closely. Don’t turn your eyes away, or I will rip you apart. This time it won’t involve your backside though.” Akane winced, as she remembered what Ranma, no, now that she thought about it, it had to have been Akume the whole time, had done to her throughout the night.

Akume grinned and poured some of the cold water onto Ryoga’s prone form. His grin widened considerably as Ryoga’s body shrank. Akume noticed that Akane was about to look away, so he grabbed her head and growled, threatening to separate her head from her shoulders. “Watch, onna. Maybe then you’ll figure it out.” An agitated squeal came from the pile of clothing that had once been on Ryoga’s body.

‘Oh please tell me that’s not,’ Akane’s mind stammered within her.

“Oh, but I’m afraid it is, Akane-saseko. Your poor little P-Chan is nothing but a human. And a complete block head that couldn’t find his way out of a paper bag.” His eyes changed color for a moment. . “No, he didn’t do that... Akume, you idiot! Now, Ryoga’s gonna kill us both!!!” Ranma screamed at his inner self. His eyes switched to that dark red color again. “Don’t worry about Ryoga right now, you dolt, worry about that bitch of a fiancé you have.”  ‘Dad, I wonder if she’ll try to hurt us now...too bad I won’t give her the chance.’

Akane stared at the diminutive black piglet in horror. ‘What the hell! Ryoga? I-I-I was sleeping with Ryoga the whole time!! Akane no baka!! How could you not have noticed!? That bandanna! What the? Wait a minute...’

“Heh heh heh... you know what, Akane? Ranma couldn’t tell you because Ryoga there made him swear not to tell you about his curse. Honor demanded it.” His gaze turned to a more sinister form. “It’s not our fault that you’re almost as blind as Mousse when it comes to Ryoga. You never knew, but Ryoga thought of you as much more than a friend. He loved you, for some strange reason. It was probably because you didn’t use that fucking mallet of yours on him like you did us.” The black piglet squealed at Akume, displeased that Ranma had gone back on his word. Akume turned to the piglet with a scowl on his face. “Shut the fuck up, you little rat. *I* never promised that I wouldn’t tell. Ranma did that on his own.” He looked up at the ceiling with a questioning look upon his face. “Why do you want to do that? You can’t be serious, Father! Alright, alright!!” Akume grabbed the kettle and poured it over the black piglet, grumbling all the while.

Ryoga stood up, covering any interesting parts with his hands. His face was a mask of pure anger as he stared at the hydrothermal transsexual. “Ranma, I’m going to kill you!!! How dare you go back on your word! You’ll pay for- ack!” Those were the last words out of his mouth as Akane slammed him against the wall with a 100-megaton mallet. Her panting was the last thing he heard, and the strange, red-eyed stare from Ranma was the last thing he saw as he passed out.

“So, Akane-saseko? Did you get that out of your system?” Akume grinned slightly as Akane turned to face him.

“Give him back...” she said slowly. “Give him back, NOW!! I’LL KILL YOU BOTH IF YOU DON’T GIVE ME RANMA! RIGHT!! FUCKING!!! NOW!!!!” She grasped the mallet and spun it around in her hands as if it were a baseball bat or a bokken.  Even Akume knew that this was a good time to leave.

Akume’s eyes changed back to Ranma’s stormy blue as he collapsed to the ground. Akane stood still as Ranma opened his eyes. “Nnnn... Akane... what, what happened...” he looked over at Ryoga and gasped... “Oh shit... I know he deserved it, but damn...”

Akane’s aura slowly decreased as she gazed at Ranma. She looked at her fiancé with a worried expression on her face. “Ranma? Is that really you?”

“Who else would it be, Otenba?” he lightheartedly stated. Ranma rubbed his eyes as if trying to rub the sleep out of them. He gasped as his memory kicked in. “Uh oh... um... you’re not gonna kill me, are you? I was bound by honor not to tell you...” He got to his feet, if a bit shakily. “Akume... I don’t believe it...”

“What’s wrong, Ranma? Who is Akume? And why the fuck did you rape me last night!!! I think I deserve some fucking answers!!” Ranma cringed under the force of her words. The part about him raping her brought an image to the forefront of his mind.

“Oh my,” he stated, doing a perfect impression of Kasumi. “You were beautiful, Akane...I’m sorry... I would have stopped him if I had known he would come back...” His eyes took on a horrid look of fear and depression as the full account of what had happened last night ran through his head. He got down on one knee and gazed up into her eyes.  “I’m sorry... I wasn’t able to protect you... but maybe... from now on...”

Akane smiled at Ranma’s attempt to apologize for something he hadn’t done. ‘Ranma, you don’t have to apologize. You weren’t the one who did it...’

“But, I did do it, Akane... I got so angry...lost my temp...” he stopped talking as the strangest idea came to him. “You didn’t move your mouth... and yet... I heard you speak...” His mind raced. ‘How can she talk without moving her lips? Couldn’t be ventriloquism... she’s too clumsy for something like that. That means that one of us is...’ “Um. Akane? Could you do something for me?” He stared into her beautiful brown eyes and got lost for a few moments. He shook his head clear of the lewd thoughts that were actually memories.

Akane looked down into his stormy blue-gray eyes and smiled. “Yes? What do you want from me Ranma?”

“Think of something. Say something in your mind, please, Akane? I want to make sure I’m not crazy...” Ranma’s pleading look made her cave in.

“Alright, Ranma.” She suddenly got a look on her face that Ranma couldn’t place. ‘You want something, you got it.’ Her mind raced back to the night before, the anal rape clear in her mind. She almost screamed when she finally remembered, the feelings of being ripped apart from the inside, and yet slightly pleasant as well. ‘Maybe if he hadn’t been so forceful...’ His hard dankon tearing into her soft flesh, the way he had forced her on her face as he drove himself into her. Akane grimaced as she got to the part where he had made her give him head. She remembered swallowing the white-translucent fluid that had burst forth from him as he climaxed into her mouth. His forceful nature seemed to thrill her even as the one man whom she loved was raping her. She was snapped out of her reverie by a sound coming out of Ranma’s mouth. For some reason, it didn’t sound like anything she had ever heard before.

‘You want something, you got it,’ Akane’s voice screamed in his head. Ranma gasped as he tried to clear the images from his mind. Akane getting raped anally by him, or more likely, Akume. ‘Maybe if he hadn’t been so forceful...’ the voice said again. He ran the image through his mind, paying more attention to Akume’s face. He looked exactly like Ranma, except for the eyes. ‘So that’s how Oyaji knew when to run.’ Ranma groaned as the next set of images and emotions hit him. Akane sucking a hard dick. He could tell it was his by the little birthmark by the base. He could feel his own cum flow into her mouth and down her throat, some of it dribbling out onto her chin, and as he pulled away, onto her breasts. He noticed that he still hadn’t gone soft. ‘It must have wanted some more fun...’ He looked down at his crotch and cursed his own sex drive. ‘You had a whole lotta fun without me, didn’t you?’ he moaned and growled at the same time as he thought of things that he could do to punish himself.

Akane cleared her throat forcefully as Ranma’s eyes glazed over in a total sensory overload. She had to resort to smacking him repeatedly to get his attention. “Ranma! Ranma! Wake up! You still have to answer me something!!! RANMA!” Ranma slowly looked over at Akane.

“Don’t ever do that to me again... I’m sorry, Akane... I’m sorry he did that to you... you want to know who he is, don’t you? You want to know who Akume Saotome is, right? Isn’t that right, Akane-chan?” Ranma’s piercing gaze never left her as he got to his feet. “You won’t believe this, but...you were thinking about last night... when I... raped you... ‘Maybe if he hadn’t been so forceful...’ ” Ranma gulped as he ran the memory through his head again, but from his prospective.  ‘Damn, she is cute... I never should have called her that...’

Akane stared at Ranma in disbelief. ‘Ranma? You can hear what I’m thinking!?’

“Yeah... but stop screaming... you’re giving me a headache...” said the Child of Chaos. “It seems Akume had a little gift in store for me.”

‘So you know what I’m thinking right now? I’m thinking that you’re going out of your god damn mind.’ Akane stared into Ranma’s eyes, hoping that her worse fear and her greatest hope was lurking behind them.

“I’m afraid I’m not crazy, not just yet, kawaii otenba. I wish I were though.” Ranma stared into Akane’s eyes, forcing her to look away. “Right now is not a good time to ask me how it works, so don’t think about it... please. Um, Akane? Did he say anything, you know, about the wedding?”

“I heard him tell Kasumi that the wedding was on, but make sure that Mr. Saotome and Father don’t make any plans.  Why do you want to know?” ‘What is he planning?’ she thought.

“I have no idea what Akume was planning, but I think I’ll try to put a stop to it.” He grabbed her shoulder, causing her to flinch slightly. “Akane, be very vigilant around me. I don’t know when I’ll slip back into Akume... you think you can take him, don’t you?” he grinned slightly. “Don’t try it Akane. I can’t control him, but I know that he’s stronger and faster than I am. Probably because he doesn’t hold anything back. Anything. Don’t fight him, Akane. Trust me this much, at least.”

---

It was at least noon or so by the time Akane and the new Ranma stepped out of her room. Ranma accidentally stepped on Nabiki, who had a tape recorder and a parabolic microphone in her hands. “Get up Nabiki. I know you saw what he did last night.” Ranma grinned down at Nabiki, who scuttled to the other side of the hallway. “Don’t think that about me... I was not... in control at the time.” ‘Sometimes I cannot take this place.’ He looked down at Nabiki, snarling secretly as his eyes changed colors again. “Try it, and she won’t be the only one I hurt, you stupid, sadistic cunt,” he whispered.  Akume grinned at her reaction, disappearing with the quick change of color in his eyes. Ranma stared down at Nabiki, a look of total shock upon his visage.  “Na-Nabiki, I-I’m s-sorry! I couldn’t-!” he continued to stammer until Akane put her hand on his shoulder.

“Baka, stop fooling around. We have to tell them all. Maybe I’ll get more of an answer out of Mr. Saotome than I will you,” she said as she walked down the hall towards the front of the house. As she disappeared around the corner, Nabiki finally got to her feet.

“I should beat the shit out of you and take every yen you and your family owns, but I’m not going to,” she spat venomously. “Want to know why?”

Ranma glanced at Nabiki and waited a few seconds before his eyes morphed to the blood red hue that had scared her the night before. “I should rip your head clear off your shoulders and shove it up your ass, but I’m not going to,” Akume stated clearly. “You don’t have to know why, but what the hell. He hates you. Everyone you know either hates you or is afraid of you at some level. Don’t be afraid of me. Be afraid of your own ruthlessness. It’s going to get you in trouble one of these days, and good old Ranma isn’t going to there to save you. Only me, the one and only Akume. Now, if you have something to say, please,” he said as he lowered his head to her face. “Say it to my face instead of hiding it behind that puny, self-centered emptiness you call a mind.”

Nabiki was scared, more terrified than she had ever been in her entire life. Ranma Saotome was staring her down! No one had ever stared her down! Not even the old ghoul had frightened her this much. Akume was good she had to admit that. He was very good. But she kept her cool, as usual. “So you think you can get what you want just by stepping on everyone’s feet? Ranma, you need a life. This split-personality crap is only going to get you into deeper shit with me and Daddy.”

“Is that so? What if it is true? What will you do then, Yuki-ama? Ask Jiji. He knows what happened. He was the cause for all of this in the first place. But only I know the whole truth.  Father knows who I am, but only I know everything about it. I can sense that you want to know about this. The thoughts running through your head almost intimidate me. You try anything like that, and I’ll kill you before Akane can stop him or me. Something lost and never seen. That’s what’s goin’ ta be left behind when I’m though with you.” He stood up and grabbed Nabiki by the lapels of her shirt with one hand. Her feet dangled in the air, searching for purchase. Akume stared into her brown eyes with his crimson orbs, hellfire apparent in his eyeball. He growled as Nabiki continued to struggle. “Don’t get any bright ideas. You should know, he could have done the same thing long ago. Maybe I should let Father out before you anger me past the breaking point. Your thoughts are deteriorating my hold on this anger and hatred.” Akume blinked and collapsed to the ground as his eyes changed back to Ranma’s stormy blue-gray hue. Nabiki rolled out of his reach, looking up in time to see Ranma scrambling to his feet and backing away from her. 

“What are you, Saotome?’ Nabiki whispered.

“I have no idea what I am. I wish I knew...” A single tear ran down his cheek. “I’m sorry, Nabiki... I don’t think I should be around people until I can control this.” With that, he tore down the hall, looking for a quick way out of the house.

---

Genma Saotome, now in his cursed form, stared at the teen before him. She was threatening to cook something if he didn’t give her an answer. He gulped as she put her hands on a pot. * Okay, okay!!! I’ll tell you everything!!! * said the wooden sign he now held. * No need to get hostile! * Akane put the pot down, picking up some salt and some chili powder.

“Come on, Mr. Saotome! You know what’s wrong with Ranma!” she growled as she glared at the panda. “Who is Akume!?”

* But I’m just a panda! I don’t know anything! * he signed as he glanced at the door, looking for a way out.

A figure jumped down from the staircase as Genma was about to make his escape. * Boy! how dare you get in my way! She’s trying to cook again!!! * Ranma punched the panda in the head, sending him sprawling into the pond.

“Shut up Jiji. Trying to get away from your punishment.” Akane looked at Ranma, and cried out when she saw his eyes. They were of a crimson color; one that signified something dangerous was lurking behind them. Akume smirked as he looked into Akane’s eyes. “Go find your sister, Akane-saseko. She deserves to hear this.” He clenched his fist as he remembered the birth of his existence, when he became aware of his separate consciousness apart from the persona of Ranma Saotome. “This lack of self-control, I fear, is never-ending,” he whispered to himself. “Kasumi-san! Come out here! You should hear this too.”

Kasumi walked out of the kitchen and looked at whom she had come to know as Ranma Saotome.  Akume Saotome now stared at her with scarlet eyes. “Yes, Akume-kun, what is it?”

“Thank you, Kasumi. Mr. Tendo, you might not like what I have to say, but you will not be able to hurt me or touch me in any sense if you try to attack me after hearing what must be told.” He gazed into the older man’s eyes. “You should know before this that what ever Kasumi told you before we came down here was true. I told her to tell you that the marriage will take place as planned by you and Jiji over there. But she will not be marrying Ranma Saotome. Not in the sense that you think, anyway. I am Akume Saotome, psyche-son of Ranma Saotome. I guess that’s the best way to put it. It’s all that old fool’s fault! He started all of this shit! I never asked to be born! That fucking asshole and his Neko-ken training! But it all started before that. Let’s wait till they get in here... shouldn’t be too long.”

Mr. Tendo gawked at his future son-in-law in amazement. “Ran-ahem, Akume, what have you done?”

“Please, wait until the sisters are down here. They must hear my story as well. Akane, especially.” Akume smirked and collapsed as he retreated into Ranma’s consciousness. “A-Akume... I’ll control you yet...” he whispered to himself as he got to his feet. “I hate waking up like this.” He looked around the room, sensing Akane’s consciousness near the stairwell. “Akane, what happened? Where am I now?”

“I swear, you scare me sometimes, Ran-chan,” she said as she walked into the room, dragging Nabiki behind her. “Found her hiding in her room looking at a wall of TVs. Seems she was monitoring *everything* that happened last night.” Ranma gulped audibly and looked away.

* What did happen last night?  I heard a lot of grunting last night. It actually woke me up, * the panda signed.

“You want to know the full story, huh?” Nabiki said sarcastically. “I’ll sell it to you for 100000 yen.”

“Nabiki, that won’t be necessary. And quit thinking that about me!!! I wasn’t the one who was in control at the time!!” Ranma’s self-control was just about shot all to hell, but he was going to finish this before he lost it again. “You want to know, Akane? Nabiki? Change Pops to his human form, we got a long story to tell.”

The panda gulped as hot water was poured over his head. Genma Saotome groaned as he looked at his son. “Do you have to tell that one? That was worse for me than it was for you!”

“You don’t know how bad it was, you stupid old fuck! If you hadn’t considered that Neko-ken shit, then maybe I wouldn’t have turned into a cat that day! And maybe then Akume wouldn’t have had to kick your ass when I was brought out of the Neko-ken! This is all your fault, Old Man!!!” Ranma’s anger seethed throughout his entire being; gradually deteriorating the rather small amount of control he had left over Akume. “Okay... here we go...”

---

It was two months after the Neko-ken training. Chibi-Ranma was walking alongside his father, who was balancing atop the fence. “Pops? Why are we out here? There’s nothing to do! You and your lame ideas! Come on! Let’s go back to camp!”

Genma was contemplating on what to tell his son. They couldn’t go back because the police had found them. They were going to take Ranma away because they said his father was abusing him. But such words were not meant to be heard by children. Even a child who has been groomed to be a man among men. “Ranma, my boy, we are not going to go back just yet. I have something to teach you. I’m going to teach you how to control your anger and fear. The cockiness will always be apparent, but this will teach you how to control your fear and anger and put them to a better use.”

And so began the psychological aspect of training. They began sparring, as usual, when Genma started to taunt his son. “Boy! You are weak! You will never be able to become the heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes martial Arts if you don’t work!” Ranma punched at his father, missing him by a few millimeters. “Were you trying to hit me? Nice, if you were trying to hit the side of a barn! Come on boy! Stop trying to hit me and hit me!” Ranma, who wasn’t used to be teased, became angry very quickly. His hair stood on end as his face transformed into a mask of anger and rage.

“Feeling like I have no release...” were his final words as everything that his father had done to him finally clicked into place. The Neko-ken training and taking him away from his home were the last straws. Ranma glared at his father, growled deeply in the back of his throat, and lunged for his throat. Somehow, combined with the Neko-ken training, he caught his father by the neck and started to strangle him. Genma’s eyes glazed over with fear as Ranma stared him down, attempting to kill him. The scarlet hue of Ranma’s terrified him beyond belief. “You shit! Who do you think you are, Genma! I’ll destroy you if it takes all of my energies to do it!”

Genma cried out and threw his son to the ground as Ranma kicked him in the face. Ranma somersaulted into the air, twisting his body around to kick him in the face again. Genma grabbed his son’s leg and threw him at the ground again. Ranma spring boarded off of the ground and landed a punch into Genma’s face, sending him sprawling into the nearest pond. A soaking wet Genma stepped out of the pond, glaring at his son for a second before ducking.  A human missile named Ranma Saotome was about to collide with his head as Ranma dove for his throat again. He flipped; turning his body around, spring boarded off of the earth behind him, and grinned maliciously as he unclenched his fists, turning them into makeshift claws. Ranma’s ki extended from his fingers, turning them into razor-sharp ki claws. Genma’s eyes went wide as he ducked a second time. What was left of his hair fell to his feet as he looked at Ranma’s flying form. Genma gulped and ran as fast as he could down the forest trail.

Meanwhile, Ranma was making his way to the front of the forest, silent as a panther stalking its prey. Unfortunately for Genma, he was the prey. ‘So, Old Man? You think you’ll get away from us? Ha! Here we come!’ Ranma jumped into the branches of an elm tree and flipped upwards into the foliage. He ran along a branch and jumped off of the end, landing on another branch. Ranma grinned as he looked down and saw his father running on the forest trail. He smirked, thinking that the old fool was heading in the wrong direction. ‘Aren’t the cops in that direction?’ But Genma wouldn’t make it that far. Ranma jumped down from the tree branch he was hanging on and landed on top of his father. He started to tear his father’s back up with his blood-red ki claws, sending crimson liquid flying in every direction.

Genma screamed in pain as his son ripped the muscles in his back to pieces. His strength, which was leaving him all too rapidly, was the only thing he had left. Genma grabbed both of Ranma’s arms, and dislocated them both at the shoulder. Ranma fell to the ground, writhing in pain and anger. “I’ll kill you, Old Man! I will! He won’t stop me!!! I’ll destroy you!! Somehow, someway, I’ll kill you, Genma...” And with those words, he passed out.

The father winced in pain and picked his son up, making sure that he would be out for a long time, before taking him to a doctor. Genma had noticed the claws his son had used against him. They were the claws of the Neko-ken. Genma smirked slightly as he thought that his son had mastered it. Two months after the initial training, no less! He grinned stupidly as he walked down the forest path. “We both need some medical attention, boy. You’ll be the perfect heir to the Saotome School.” Genma groaned, the pain in his back making his vision slightly blurred.

A few minutes later, Ranma woke up, screaming his head off. Genma dropped his burden and fell to the ground, trying to clear his head of the bells. His eyes widened considerably when he realized he had let go of a martial artist that might still have been in the Neko-ken. And one who thought that he was lunch. Genma spun around, only to find his son, a kid, who had a minute ago put a whole lot of lacerations into his back, writhing in pain and crying silently. Genma pulled himself to his feet and walked over to his son. “Ranma, get up. It’s only a dislocation. A real man could take a hell of a lot more than that.” He reached down to his only child, and grabbed him by the arm. He snapped the arm back into place, resulting in another ear-splitting scream. “Should have warned ya, kid. This is gonna hurt too, so clench your teeth and bare the pain.” Genma turned his son around and grabbed his other arm. He clenched his hand, and then popped the shoulder back into place.

Ranma was going to shriek in pain from the impromptu orthopedic procedure. He collapsed from the pain, his vision blurring. “Akume,” he whispered as he passed out again.

---

The woman gasped as the young boy regained consciousness. She looked at his face, which was marred with scratches and cuts that were a few days old. She knew that most of the cuts would scar his face horribly. She decided to get the boy’s attention. “Excuse me, young man? How are you feeling?”

The kid just groaned in pain as he held his right hand to his forehead.

“Excuse me, young man? How are you feeling, child?”

He growled like an alley cat when he caught site of her, his mind racing as to how to get out of the room with the strange lady. His body, as if acting on its own accord, backed against the wall. The fear in his heart was almost tangible. He didn’t know who this person was, or what she wanted, but he knew he had to get away.  Ranma’s fear seemed to get the best of him as his eyes changed colors. A deep purple hue covered most of his eyeball as he stared at the nurse. His body stopped trying to back away, an aura flaring out and upward, burning anything and everything that was in the vicinity. The nurse ran for her life as Ranma’s aura destroyed the room.

“I feel it all slipping away...” Ranma’s eyes changed colors again, a pure blood-red hue. The youth growled again, scanning his surroundings. He levitated into the air, using energy he never knew he had. His ki lifted him out the window, where he floated down to the floor he sensed his father was on. “OYAJI!!!!!!” The boy’s scream shattered all of the windows on that floor of the hospital.

Every person that was within the district took off like there was no tomorrow.

He looked at the wreckage of the 8th floor of Hokkaido Century Medical, sneering all the while. He grinned as he caught sight of his target. He levitated over to a pile of rubble and moved it out of the way with a wave of his hand.

Genma Saotome gulped, sensing that his end was near. “Boy, calm down... don’t do anything rash...” The child hovered a decimeter above the tile floor. His aura flared outwards, surrounding the area with a strange blood-red light. Genma gasped, amazed that his son could control such power so soon.

“Oh, Old Man, you don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for this.” A malicious grin crossed his lips. “Hehehe... Hehehe... time for you to die, you bastard.” The youth’s hands began to emit a blue-green light.  “ENE-TAMA!!” A ball of blue ki formed in his right hand as he pointed it towards Genma. “KIANZEN!” A disk of composed entirely of ki formed in his left. The boy sneered as he threw the ene-tama at Genma. Genma crashed through multiple walls within the remains of the 8th floor of the hospital. He shrieked as he tore through the outer wall of the hospital, plummeted the entire eight stories, and landed on the sidewalk. His body broken, blood gushing from his mouth, nose and multiple cuts and lacerations, with no one in town to help him, he collapsed. He cursed himself for putting his son through the Neko-ken, wishing he had never done it.

---

Genma woke up slowly, pain shooting through his system at a phenomenal rate. He checked his surroundings, happy to see that there were no police officers stationed inside to keep watch over him. It seemed that no one in the district had found out about Genma and his Neko-ken training stunt. He looked down at his body, groaning when his neck didn’t want to move correctly. The IVs and monitoring devices hooked up to him weren’t helping his growing uneasiness. ‘A bomb must have gone off or something...’

A pretty young woman walked into the room, gasping when she saw that the man was awake. She smiled politely, hoping that the man wouldn’t pass out this time. The man had awoken many times over the past month and a half, but seemed to have forgotten each and every time.

“Excuse me, sir, but how are you feeling today?” she asked.

Genma groaned, trying to get up as pain shot throughout his entire body. He managed to choke out an “I’m fine” before collapsing to the bed. “Where’s the Boy?” He groaned and sunk into unconsciousness as another electric-like surge of pain ran throughout his body again.

In another room, about three doors down from Genma, his son finally opened his eyes. Since both had been in comas since the incident at the other hospital, Ranma hadn’t searched for his father. Ranma looked at his surroundings, happy that his Oyaji wasn’t there to make fun of his moment of weakness. He silently groaned as he got to his feet. Muscles and joints that hadn’t been used in a long time creaked and cracked as Ranma walked across the room. Ranma looked out the window, smiling as he caught sight of the evening skyline. A nurse walked into the room and gasped.

Her eyes as wide as saucers, she stammered out, “W-What? T—T-Two in-n o-o-o-on-one day!?” Her face broke out in a warm smile as she saw that the little boy was thoroughly confused.

“Who are you, ma’am?” Ranma finally looked down at his body. “And where are my clothes?!” The hospital gown was a bit drafty. He continued to look around the room, not finding his clothing. The child looked up at the woman, his face asking the question for him.

“Um, let’s see... What happened? Well, kid, you and an old man were found in the remains of a terrorist attack at Hokkaido Medical. By the way, what’s your name, little boy?” The nurse beamed at the boy, hoping to get an answer out of him.

“My name is Ranma Saotome, of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts,” he said with pride. Ranma frowned, still looking for his clothing. “Um, could you get me some clothes? This stupid thing is too flimsy.”

The nurse smiled warmly as she began to walk out of the room. Something finally seemed to click into place as she turned around again. Her eyes went wide when she saw that Ranma was standing and walking around the room. “Wha-what?! How?” She put her hand to her lips as she stared in amazement. The child shouldn’t have been able to move period, much less walking like nothing was wrong. He had remained in bed the since the first day he was brought into the hospital. His muscles and tendons should have atrophied at least enough to make walking difficult. She decided not to press matters, though, since the boy seemed to be completely fine.

“How long was I out?”

The nurse was startled by the question. She didn’t think that Ranma knew anything about stuff like that. “A-About a month and a half... why?”

Ranma groaned and collapsed to the ground, beginning to rant slightly. “That old fool’s gonna make me work double-time since I was outta action for so long! What the hell am I gonna do?” Ranma frowned as something clicked in his head. He had a glimpse of a power that would be years in the making as he sensed his father’s presence with close vicinity of himself. “Where’s my Pops?”

“Huh?” The nurse looked at the boy, perplexed by his questions.

“Forget it, I’ll find him myself.”

               

---

Genma freaked when his son walked into the room. He scrambled out of the bed, scared that his son would try to kill him again. A yelp of pain came from him as he fell to the ground, landing on the back of his head. He was going to scream when he heard Ranma ask, “What are you doing, Pops?”

The old man gulped, hoping that his son wasn’t angry with him. “N-nothing Boy... what makes you think I did anything?”

“Um, because you’re trying to run away from me?”

Genma got off of the floor and grabbed Ranma by the shoulders. He stared into the little boy’s eyes for a second, and then a big smile appeared on his face. “Heh heh heh... My Boy! Thank Kami you’re back to normal.”

For a small increment of time, Ranma’s eyes flashed back to that strange crimson color. As they did his features contorted into pure hatred for the man standing in front of him. “Genma, normalcy has disappeared from this situation. I am his protector, and you will never be allowed to live as long as I exist!”

Ranma collapsed to the floor as his eyes turned back to the ice blue of their normal hue. “Pops...” Ranma shivered as fear crept into his eyes. “Akume...”

---

“And that was the beginning of Akume. I just knew what to call him, I guess,” Ranma said as he looked down into his lap. “If you hadn’t done that stupid Neko-ken training bullshit, then maybe none of this would have happened! You know he was supposed to protect me from you! And until you’re dead, he won’t go away! And now I gotta worry about the otenba getting hurt too!” Ranma glanced at Akane for a moment, and then looked away. “In fact... I already did hurt her...” He looked away from the entire family in shame.

“Ranma, you don’t have to tell them...”

“But I must! Even if honor to your family doesn’t demand it, then the honor I have in myself does! I’m sorry Akane...” he said as he panned his gaze towards the head of the Tendo family. “We, I, he, we r-raped her.” He looked away from Mr. Tendo and the rest of the family, hoping that no one could see the tears that were beginning to run down his face.

Mr. Tendo coughed into his hand as he ran what had just been told to him through his head. The circumstances may have been a bit too strange even for the Saotome family, but Soun knew there was only one thing to do. “I guess this means that you two are now betrothed. Although I don’t like the idea that my little girl is getting married to a potential psychopath, the Schools of Anything Goes are united in every physical sense.” Tendo gulped as a crimson-eyed Akume glared at him.

“I thought I told you not to make any plans?” he snarled. He held his hand out at Akane as some unknown force drew her to his side.” I know we want her, but we are not marrying her until after high school. Besides, Tendo-san, I still have some unfinished business with a few of our other fiancés and ‘friends.’ ” He glanced towards the staircase. “We’ll start with a little black piglet and his little curse. Akane, could you go up to your room? Go kick what’s left of Ryoga while you still can. He’s a dead man sleeping right now. ” His eyes changed back to their normal stormy blue. “He’s losing strength. I never let him out this long.”

Akane nodded and headed back to her room. She gasped as the boy, now her husband, pinched her butt.

“Ranma!” she exclaimed.

“Heh heh heh...” Ranma chuckled. “Sorry, Akane. I just couldn’t resist. I had to know why he wanted to do that so badly.” A glint of something mischievous appeared in his eye as she turned away from him and began to walk at a faster pace.

She didn’t want him to know that she was getting excited, if that was the right word. She had never known these feelings could be felt with such intensity.  Ranma’s actions had left her with a large blush in her cheeks.

Back at the table, Nabiki stared daggers at her brother-in-law. “So, Saotome, think you can explain why you threatened me upstairs?” She rubbed at her neck, trying to see if he had left a welt or two.

“Nabiki, please... stop thinking that about me... it’s embarrassing.”

“What am I thinking about you, Ranma-kun?” she asked slyly. “Can you guess?”

He growled as Akume tried to take control. “I’d stop that if I were you... thinking that I’d do... THAT... to you and Kasumi.”

Nabiki’s eyes went wide again as she looked upon Ranma’s visage. Somehow he had guessed what she was thinking. ‘Okay, Saotome-kun... think you can get away with it by playing these games with my family?’

“IT’S NOT A GAME, GOD DAMN IT!” he screamed.

Everyone backed away from the seething Saotome. Ranma’s aura kicked up as his eyes changed once again. Akume stared at the dasanteki sitting across from him. “BAKAYARO!!! HOW DARE YOU! WE COULD SNAP YOU IN TWAIN!” Akume continued to seethe as Akane bounced back down the stairs, dragging Ryoga by the feet.

Akane gasped as she caught sight of her iinazuke. “Who pissed him off now?!” She could understand if he was mad at Saotome-san, but it seemed that he could hold off for a while. But who else could anger him so? “Nabiki......?”

“She hid under the table when I changed back,” Akume stated. He grabbed Nabiki by the back of her shirt and hauled her to her feet. Akume turned her to face him while she was still in his hands. “He just said this isn’t a game, saseko...” He threw her at her seat, grinning as she landed on her backside in her place at the table. “Maybe now you will listen. Akane,” Akume pointed at her as he willed her to his side. His crimson orbs stared into the irises and pupils of Akane as he spoke. “I suggest you say good bye to Ryoga, ‘cause you may never see him again.”

“I have no reason to speak to it,” she spat.

“Talk to him. I’m waking him up now. I want him to be awake when I kill him.”

Akume walked over to Ryoga’s prone form and pressed a couple of pressure points, animating the almost-dead body. Ryoga slowly got to his feet. “So, does the piglet have anything to say before his sentence is carried out?”

Ryoga gulped as he turned to face Akume. “W-What are you?”

“He learns so well. I’m your worst nightmare,” he said. ‘If you show your face at this Dojo again, I will personally destroy you.” He grabbed Ryoga by the lapels and lifted him off of the ground. “Do you honestly think that you can beat me?”

Ryoga punched the hydrothermal transsexual in the face, only to find that Akume never moved an inch.

“So.... That’s the way you wanna be, huh? Fine!” The crimson-eyed male laughed as he stared at Ryoga. “Let’s settle this, P-Chan. Ene-tama...” He sneered at Ryoga as a ball of pure ki formed in his palm. “No emotions, just pure old-fashioned power...Good bye Ryoga.” Akume grinned as he clenched his fists, the ball of energy still surrounding his hand. He punched Ryoga square in the jaw and fired off the ball at point blank range. Ryoga went flying out into the yard, slamming against the perimeter wall. The energy ball exploded as Ryoga hit the wall. His body bounced like a rag doll for a couple of seconds before he summoned enough strength to flip to his feet.

The Lost One stared in amazement at Akume, holding his shoulder to keep his arm from falling off. That punch had weakened him to the point where he actually had been injured seriously. Ranma never had that much power. He stood in the middle of a small crater, cursing at himself for being so stupid. ‘Never should have punched him...’

“That’s right, P-Chan. You shouldn’t have punched me.” Akume growled as he closed in on Ryoga. “Ryoga, you are going to die now. Do you have any last words?”

‘What’s happened to you? Who are you?’ Ryoga’s mind ran over a hundred questions past his mindsight, but they were all equivalent to those two questions. He backed away from his opponent, trying to think of a way out.

---

The evening breeze raced over Akume’s skin as he growled at Ryoga. “Ryooogggaaaa... HAHAHAHA!! Why you persist in thinking that you can get away?” He looked down at Ryoga and smirked when he saw the injury to his arm. His red-eyes laughed in delight as his aura flared again. His aura was bluish-black as he stared at the Lost One. “My patience has run out. Kianzen!” A black disk of energy formed in Akume’s left palm as he took a step towards Ryoga. “Ene-tama!” A ball of black ki formed in his right hand. The energy in the ball swirled for a few seconds before solidifying into a solid energy mass. It pulsed with incredible power.

Ryoga took another step back, still trying to find a way out. He bit down on his lip to keep from screaming as the shift in weight made his arm jiggle slightly. Pieces of meat tore away from the socket as his arm moved. He fell to his knees as the pain overwhelmed his senses. ‘No...it can’t end like this...’

“Oh, but I’m afraid it will end this way.” Akume stood over his ‘friend’ with a smirk. “My Father’s nemesis... His best friend... His most hateful ally.” Akume raised his hands, the energy ball pulsing black light over their bodies. “You should know, before you die. Ranma loved you. He loved everyone. He loved his friends, enemies, rivals, fiancés, and nemesis. But you never could accept that maybe some of the shit that’s happened to you was your own goddamn fault. Now this is the price you pay for your stupidity. Good Bye, Ryoga!” The black ki disk continued to spin as Akume jumped away and prepared to throw it at Ryoga’s other arm.

“Wait!!! Hold up, Akume!!!” Akane rushed behind her husband and pulled on his arms. “Stop, Akume... Would you really do it...?”

Akume turned around, the ki disk and the ene-tama still formed. His eyes held the same hellfire and hatred for everything around him as they did before. “Of course I would, Akane-saseko.” Her eyes narrowed at the nickname. A twitch seemed to form under both of her eyes. “Stop that. He may love you, but I do not. I despise you. All that you have done will not go unpunished. He let his sins put him in this situation. Do not do that with your own.” He turned away from her and scowled at Ryoga. “So, I shouldn’t talk that way to her?” He scoffed and disappeared from Ryoga’s view.

Ryoga gasped as Akume kicked him in the ribs, slamming his fist into his kidneys and picking him up by the back of his shirt. The ki attacks had dissipated from his hands the second he disappeared. “Ryoga... You think too much. Speak, before I tear out your tongue.”

“What have you done to Akane?”

“Not as much as I will do to you. She only got raped. You, I will kill for the sake of my Father.” The kianzen formed in his hand again as he spoke. Akume raised his hand to strike the final blow. He brought down the disk onto Ryoga’s skin and grinned as his blood sprayed all over the yard and onto his face. Just as he was about to finish him off, something stopped him. “N-NO! HE MUST DIE!!!” Akume’s eyes changed to Ranma’s stormy blue as he fell to the ground, his aura disappearing with the switch.

Ranma was face down on the ground crying. “No...no...he couldn’t have...why did he... Akume... Ryoga was my friend...” Ranma continued to cry as Ryoga got to his feet. “I’m sorry... I’m so sorry... I couldn’t protect anyone... how could I...? With this... creature... inside of me...” Ryoga stood over Ranma, a small and grim smile on his face.

“At least you didn’t hold back this time...” he collapsed next to his ‘friend’ as his willpower finally gave out.

“R-Ryoga... no... don’t leave me... I’m sorry...” Ranma drug his body over to Ryoga's prone form and tried to pick up his dying friend. “You were my only friend... he knew... he knew but he still... he still did it...” Ranma cried over his friend as Akane walked to his side.

“Ranma, bring him inside. There’s nothing you can do if he bleeds to death.” She smiled at him,, trying to cheer him up. She did not succeed.

‘But... I couldn’t protect him... I couldn’t protect you... I’m worthless...” He looked down at Ryoga’s face. “My friend... I can say it now... you were my only friend... Ukyo doesn’t count... she never thought of me as a friend... **he** made me realize that...”

Akane grabbed Ranma by the shirt and pulled him to his feet. He, in turn, dragged Ryoga’s body with him.  “Come on Ranma! We don’t have time for this!! He’s not dead, so quit acting like he is!” She looked down at her husband, who was still crying. She knew she shouldn’t have been acting so callous, but she couldn’t help it. Even though she was mad at Ryoga, she couldn’t let him die. He was still her friend.

“Akane? Can we save him? Tell me we can!” The tears in his eyes made her cave in.

“Bring him in... now...”

At that moment, the gods decided to be cruel as a downpour began.

---

The rain poured outside as Kasumi worked at keeping Ryoga alive long enough for Dr. Tofu to get there. Ryoga was losing blood very quickly. Ranma-chan paced up and down the hall, peeking in whenever her anxiousness got the better of her. Kasumi usually told her to wait outside.

In the meantime, Ranma-chan kept thinking about what was going on. She had read Kasumi’s mind like a book, how she was afraid the Lost One would die right then and there. It was lucky for him that Ranma-chan had covered his body when the downpour began, otherwise, he probably would have been dead instantly. His skin was a deathly white as she snuck another peek into the guest room. Kasumi turned around and actually glared at her, her politeness disappearing from her face as she looked at the boy-turned-girl.

“Get the fuck out, now!” Kasumi screamed at the poor teenager. Again, Ranma-chan cried and ran down the hall as the newest images made themselves clear to her mind. Kasumi was pissed. Livid, in fact. She was angrier than she had ever been in her entire life. All of her anger was focused on one person: Akume Saotome. She had known something was up the moment she had seen him downstairs earlier that morning. Ranma was acting too jumpy, as if something was wrong. Something definitely was wrong, as she had found out that her baby sister was raped and that Nabiki had been threatened with a fate worse than death. Nabiki was scared to death, opting to hide out in her room until Ranma and Akume were asleep. Akane, on the other hand, decided to stay with her new husband for the night. Ranma-chan smiled as she ran this one through her stress-racked brain. Akane wasn’t scared of him, just Akume. Ranma-chan had decided to stay in her current form, just in case the switch was made again. ‘He won’t be able to rape anyone tonight, that’s for sure.’

Ranma-chan gasped as Kasumi walked out of the guest room. “He’ll live, Ranma. I want to speak to Akume.”

“A-Akume? W-W-Why?” She knew perfectly well why. Akume was the cause for everything that had happened that day. All because she couldn’t keep her temper in check last night. Kasumi wanted to tell that bastard off in the only way she knew how: by threatening not to cook for him ever again. Even Akume knew how good Kasumi’s food was. “I can’t control when he comes, Kasumi... nor would I want to.”

“If he can hear me, he will never be able to repay what he has done to my family. I love you very much, Ranma-chan, but this is inexcusable. I vow to make him pay for what he has done.” She walked down the hall with thoughts of killing a certain red-eyed, pigtailed martial artist running through her mind.

Ranma-chan growled as an errant thought entered her head. ‘We should do something about that.’

“NO! YOU WILL NOT HARM KASUMI IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM!!!” Ranma-chan fell to her knees and started to cry again.

‘Father... I’m sorry... I should have realized...’

“Should have realized what? That she is the most kind, giving person on this planet and you just thought of r-r-...”

‘No... you love her almost as much as you once did Akane.’

She wiped her nose on her T-shirt as she spoke. “Yeah, well, she never wanted to hurt me... just you... if she knew what you just said, she would have killed me... somehow.” Ranma-chan continued to cry as she headed towards Akane’s room.

‘Why do you go here?’

“Because you caused everything. Now, I must make up for it.” Ranma-chan took a minute to scan her surroundings. Her telepathy had grown stronger. Akane was wondering what that noise was outside her door. ‘Shouldn’t keep her waiting. My wife. She’s my wife now. What am I gonna do about those damn fiancés of mine?’

---

The dawn was short in coming as Akane awoke from her slumber. The fact that she had slept next to Ranma scared her a little. That was until she realized that they were now man and wife. Finally, he had told her he loved her. She knew that the only problems left were some certain fiancés that his father had set up. She gazed at her husband, a peaceful expression on her face. Akane smiled as she looked down at her visage; so peaceful, nothing like the creature lurking inside her mind. Ranma-chan grumbled in her sleep as something disturbed her dreams. “Ranma?”

“Ryoga... Akane... nnnn.... I’m sorry...” She turned over as her dream turned towards the nightmare of her life. “I couldn’t protect either of you...”

Akane decided that enough was enough as she touched Ranma-chan’s shoulders. She bolted up as she was slammed into the world of the conscious. “AAAHHH! NO!” Ranma-chan’s breathing quickened as she looked around drowsily. Her sapphire-blue eyes locked onto Akane as she fully awoke. “Akane! Thank Kami!” She grabbed Akane and wrapped her arms around her wife in a display of affection. “It was all a dream! Thank you, Kami-sama!”

“Ranma? What in the blue hell are you talking about?” Akane scowled as she looked at her husband.

“Huh? Was it... real? No... It couldn’t have been... I couldn’t have... I would have stopped him...” Ranma-chan began to cry again as her memory came crashing in on her. “Akane... What happened to... Ryoga...?”

Akane stared at Ranma-chan as she questioned her. She held her left hand to her forehead as a headache began to make itself apparent to her senses. ‘You should know by now, Ranma.’

Ranma-chan’s eyes widened slightly as she read her wife’s mind. “It’s true... god damn it... no...” Her eyes flashed a dark shade of crimson as she clutched at her cranium. Akume-chan looked at Akane, smirking the entire time.

“Cute trick, Ranma. Took me a while to get past, but here I am again.” She glanced at Akane. “So, whaddya think? Aren’t I just adorable?” She struck a pose that would have made any man fall to his knees and beg to touch her. It had no affect on Akane. “Hmph. What a bitch. And I thought you liked this form as well.” Akume-chan sauntered over to her wife, grinning like the cat that caught the canary.

“Akume, we have school,” she said quickly.

Akume pouted slightly, and then looked Akane in the eye. “Do you honestly think that I care about school?”

“No, but I do,” she spat. “Me and Ranma are going to school. You are not welcome to come along. Give him back.” The venom in her voice intimidated the Dark One slightly. “Now.”

“Fine... don’t blame me when he gets his ass kicked. I am his fighting spirit as well as his dark side.” Akume-chan scowled, collapsing to the floor as her eyes changed to a sapphire blue. Ranma gazed up at Akane as she came back into control.

“A-Akane...”

---

Ranma walked out of the bathroom and peeked into the guestroom once more before heading down to breakfast. Ryoga seemed to be okay as Ranma headed downstairs. “Ryoga... I’m sorry...” He winced as a tear hit his cheek. Akane walked past him as he was at the top of the staircase. She scowled.

“I’m sorry, Akane... It’s all my fault. You should have killed me yesterday... I wouldn’t have objected...” He stared at the floor as the waves of depression took him over. If he had wanted to, he probably could have thrown 5 or 6 Perfect Shi Shi Hokodans.

‘Rnama, look at me’ Akane grinned as he looked up. ‘Seems that your powers still work.’ “Listen to me! It’s not your fault!” She grabbed him by the shoulders. “I love you, Ranma. I wouldn’t have said anything if he had done what he did. I will hate him for the rest of my life, but you I will always love.”

Ranma’s depression deepened as he remembered what his body had done. His anger had corrupted his survival instincts, changing them into something inhuman. He looked at Akane and smiled sadly. “I can’t help it...” He hugged her, and then ran downstairs.

---

Akane stared at the ceiling of the bath as she thought things over. ‘Why did he have to apologize? Putting all of the blame on himself... It’s not right...’ She looked down at the water as she too began to get depressed. ‘It isn’t all his fault... I never should have hit him... He just... scares me sometimes.’ She sighed as she thought of what her sisters must have been thinking... ‘ ‘What the hell happened to him?’ and ‘Why did she go along with it?’ Who says I went along with it? It’s not like I wanted him to fuck me! Damn hentai... that stupid fool... and people say I have a problem with anger...’ A noise outside her door made her flinch. ‘It has to be Ranma...’ She looked at the door and hollered, “Come in, Ranma-kun!”

Amazingly, both of her sisters walked into the room, sans clothing. “Akane, are you okay?” Nabiki looked at her sister cautiously as she walked towards the bathing stool. Kasumi was right behind her.

“It’s not like I’m going to hurt you...” Akane looked disappointed as she gazed at the ceiling again. Her eyes closed as she sighed.

Kasumi was smiling, a slight trace of displeasure crossing her features. “Akane, may we bathe with you? We feel that you need some company.” She sat down on a stool and began to scrub herself clean.

Nabiki looked over at Akane as an idea came to her. “Imoutochan, why are you so quiet? Aren’t you going to tell us to get the hell out or something?” She couldn’t seem to keep her cool demeanor anymore. Ever since that night...

“I’m fine, you guys... just don’t worry about me so much...” Akane smiled wanly as she looked at her sisters. “Um, why are you even in here?”

“Akane,” Kasumi whispered. “You were raped two nights ago. Did you even think about the consequences? You might have gotten pregnant, or worse...”

“You think that getting pregnant is a bad thing?” Akane almost broke the side of the furo as she gripped the edge of the bath. A strange twitch under her eye signaled that Kasumi had struck a nerve. She growled and sunk lower into the furo.

“You’re 18! What the hell?!” Nabiki’s choice of words issued an “Oh my” from Kasumi.

“If I am pregnant,” she said in an eerily calm voice, “I’m keeping it.” She glared defiantly at both of them. “I love Ranma, no matter what you say. He would be the father, not that bastard in his head!” She started to cry suddenly. “I just wish that you wouldn’t hate my husband so...”

Both girls gasped. The same thought ran through their heads. ‘What’s her temperature?’

“Why do you say that, Akane?” Kasumi frowned slightly, allowing more displeasure to show. “Why do you consider him your husband after what he did?”

“Because, because I love the hentai...” She sniffled and wiped her nose quickly. “I don’t want to see him hurting like that ever again...” Akane’s tears dripped into the water as she stared at her sisters. “It’s actually my fault this all happened...” She told them of what had happened before they had all gone to sleep Saturday night. She looked down at her hands as she told them. “My anger got the best of me... and his got the best of him... because I couldn’t help myself... I just had to beat on him... he was going to snap sooner or later, I just accelerated it...” She looked up, ready to jump out of the tub and run away with tears trailing behind her dramatically when Nabiki stepped into the furo and stopped her. She grabbed Akane and pulled her to her bosom, hugging her like a mother would.

“It’s okay, Akane-chan... it’s okay... it wasn’t your fault...” She pulled Akane away from her for a second and looked into her brown eyes. “It wasn’t your fault. How could you have known?” Nabiki uncharacteristically made a smile that would have made Kasumi proud.

“Thank you, Nabiki... Thank you, Kasumi... I think I needed that.” She looked down again... But... what about Ranma...? He thinks that it’s all his fault... he said he loves me... that I am beautiful...” Her face broke out into a smile. ‘He said he loves me! After two years of not knowing...’

A different voice boomed inside her head. ‘And I meant it too, Akane... I love you... more than you’ll ever know.’

“Ranma?!” Akane jumped out of the furo, causing water to drip off of her body, the water making her skin glisten. ‘Huh?! What the?! Ranma?! Was that you?’ A panicked voice boomed in her head again.

‘Don’t tell me... Akume, you’re going to pay for this!!!’

‘That is you!! Ranma!’ Akane smiled and ran out of the bathroom. She quickly changed in the changing room and rushed downstairs. She found a frightened Ranma slowly turning around. He laughed nervously as he caught sight of her.

“Hehehehehe!!! Wha-what brings you down here so early, Akane?” ‘No, no, nononononononono... he couldn’t have...’ the voice in her head exclaimed.

Another, more confident voice said, ‘Oh, but I did... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!’

‘Ranma... what’s going on?’ Akane thought.

‘Why is she asking me that? Akane? Can you ‘hear’ me?’

‘Yes, Ran-chan... what’s happening to me? Why can I hear your thoughts? And that, that r-rapist’s!’

‘I take no questions and give no answers,’ the confident one said.

‘Shut up, Akume. I’ve had enough of you...’ thought Ranma.

Akane grabbed Ranma and squeezed the life out of him in a massive bear hug. “A-Air! N-N-Need a-a-a-a-air!” Ranma’s face had turned a mysterious shade of blue as Akane continued to hug him. Akane gazed into his stormy blue eyes, smiling kawaiily.

“Ranma! Kuso! Are you okay?” She was still hugging him to death.

“I-I, *wheeze* will b-be *wheeze* when you let *wheeze* let go!” he choked out. He looked down into her face, a snide remark on his lips. But it died before he could utter it. Because she knew what he was going to say...

“RANMA NO BAKA!!!!!!!” Ranma went on a trip via Akane’s Mallet Express Air. Ranma broke the sound barrier ten seconds after being launched into the stratosphere. His descent back into the atmosphere was recognized by a tight whistling sound. As he came back into sight, a blood-red aura surrounded his body. A scream of rage was heard as he descended towards the pond.

Akane gulped, fearing the worse. She had a reason. She had lost it again. Akume was about 100 feet above the pond as the water began to ripple from some unseen force. The murky liquid swirled in the pond bed as Akane stared at it. Akume’s descent was slowing down as he came closer to the ground. He came to a complete stop in midair as the aura around him flared up. The pond had evaporated from the heat of his aura.

“AKANE!!!! HOW DARE YOU!!!” He floated over towards her as she began to back away.

“Ranma... no! Please, no...” ‘THIS IS YOUR FAULT!!! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO NOW!!!’

‘I know what you can do, Akane-saseko... you can try and run away... because you’re going to die. I thought I taught you about what happens when you cross us!’ Akume stared into her eyes, his red orbs glowing with untold power. He grimaced as something caught his attention.

‘Run, Akane! Run now!!!’ Ranma’s voice boomed in her head.

“Enough. Stand still, or I will blow you away.” He raised his hand and pointed its palm at her. “Saseko... I know you have trouble with your anger, but this will not go unpunished. You will learn what it means to be him. To be me.” The stormy blue color returned to his eyes as his aura died down. Ranma fell to the ground as the control over his ki left his conscious mind.

‘Akane!’ He rushed her and hugged her as tightly to him as he could. “Are you okay?”

‘Hai, Ranma-kun... Just a little scared, but I’m fine.’ Akane thought as tears came to her eyes. “I’m sorry, Ranma... I forgot...it’s just that...”

“Yeah... someone saying that you have that strength of a pack of wild elephants might do that to a person...” He looked down. ‘But you certainly don’t look like it...’ he thought. Akane smirked slightly as she stared into his eyes.

Ranma backed away slightly, noticing something that he had never seen before in her. That look, it spoke of a hunger, a hunger for something insubstantial. He looked away and headed down the stairs.

“Ranma...” Akane whispered as she walked behind him. “Look at me...”

‘No... wouldn’t be right...’ He smiled. “Kawaii otenba...”

Akane beamed at his back as he rushed downstairs. ‘Someday... we’ll apologize to each other for the way we met...’

“I heard that!!!” said a voice from downstairs.

---

They were on their way to school when that old lady splashed Ranma for the nth time since he had been dragged to Nerima. Anger overtook Ranma-chan as she stared down at her body. Akane turned around to see what was holding her husband up and gasped at what she saw. A deep crimson aura surrounded a now female Akume, levitating her off of the ground.

“Baka yaro, Otoosan...” she stated as she stared at the old lady, wondering why the hell this happened everyday. She jumped into the woman’s mind, trying to find the answer. ‘What the...’ she thought as she found it. “Okay... that’s not right...” Akume-chan groaned in disgust and hurriedly returned to her own head.

“A-kane,” she said as her aura dissipated, “let’s get outta here... now...”

“What’s wrong, you bastard?”

“Come on!” Akume-chan shouted as she was already about two blocks ahead.

‘Wait up, baka!”

---

A little further on down the road, Akume switched back with Ranma, a look of utter disgust upon her visage. A gagging sound was coming from her throat as she fell to the ground and regurgitated what little food she had eaten that morning.

“That old lady... it was horrible...” Ranma-chan continued to gag as the old woman’s thoughts continued to pop themselves into her mind.

Akane turned around and gazed at Ranma-chan. ‘What’s wrong, Ran-chan?’

Ranma-chan coughed up some bile as she continued to try and puke her guts out. ‘Y-you... wouldn’t want to... know!’ She accidentally sent a picture of the old woman’s psyche to Akane. She fell to the ground, drool and food frothing from the side of her lips. ‘Oops...’

Ranma-chan picked up her wife and carried her on her back as the raven-haired girl continued to convulse and expel food particles from her gastro-intestinal track. ‘Baka, Otenba... I gotta put up with this too...?’

---

By the time they reached the school, Akane had stopped vomiting long enough to regain her composure. She was running beside a red-haired demon who was only beginning to slip into the darkness of her soul the closer she got to the school. Furinkan loomed in the distance as the pair finally reached the front gate. A bunch of students who had been expecting the pair to show up cheered as they entered the gates. But all of them screamed and ran into the school the moment they laid eyes on Ranma Saotome. She seemed to be floating, a large, glowing crimson aura surrounding her entire body. One student turned towards her, and freaked again when she saw the redhead’s eyes. The blood-red color made the girl scream at a shrill pitch, nearly shattering every window in the building.

“Interesting...” Akume-chan said. She looked around, daring anyone to come close. It seemed that most of the population of Furinkan had run back into the school and was now watching the redhead’s every move. No one seemed to notice that Akane was standing beside the demon-like Saotome. “Cowards...” ‘Honestly... why did we ever put up with these imbeciles, father? Why not just crush them all?’

Akane mentally screamed at her psycho teishu. ‘WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN IMBECILES?!?!?!?!?! THOSE ARE MY FRIENDS!!!!!’ She somehow kept her temper from showing externally. “Akume-chan-otto, please... clam yourself.”

At that point, a red rose flew down from the heavens. It was caught and crushed into oblivion by the enraged Akume-chan. ‘One problem presents itself.’ A certain brown-haired, bokken wielding buffoon made himself known quite quickly.

“Do mine ears deceive me?” He looked down at the two girls from atop a storage facility. “The goddesses upon which I base mine honor are infatuated, no, married, with each other?! How can such a falsification and tragedy happen within mine lifetime?”

“Kuno Tatewaki... you are a fool!!! An idiot! You know nothing about me, yet you still chase this body!!!” Akume-chan’s aura flared brightly as she formed an energy disk in her right hand. She advanced towards him, the energy disk increasing in size and power with every step. “You are so fucking ignorant! A god damn retard doesn’t compare with your stupidity!!!” Akume stopped as Akane put her hand on her spouse’s shoulder.

“Akume, Ranma... don’t. Don’t let your bloodlust take you over again,” she said quietly, a shuddering breath passing her lips. Akume-chan stared at her as she thought of something to say.

‘There is no need to say it... as much as this part of you hates me, the one I have grown to love, to treasure, loves me infinitely more.’ Akane shed a single tear, her eyes flashing an extremely lighter shade of crimson as she spoke.

Kuno’s gaze switched between one girl, then the other, his mind trying to figure out what the hell was going on. His pigtailed goddess and the fair Akane Tendo should have been pronouncing their love for him, but they were just looking at each other. Kuno jumped when he saw Akane’s eyes change in hue as she looked at the redhead. His twisted mind tried to make sense of what was befalling his damsels.

“Saotome...” he whispered. “He has bewitched you both with a darker sorcery than I had thought possible.” He brought his bokken up to bear. “I will break his hold on you, my fair ones!” He dove at both girls, ready to attack.

But, as soon as he had spoken his final word, Akume-chan had appeared beside the kendoist and proceeded to paralyze him with a pressure point. She looked down at the pathetic being with contempt in her heart. “I’ve had it with you... You’re going to see whom your pig-tailed goddess really is.” Akume-chan growled as she tore a nearby fire hydrant from the ground. Water sprayed everywhere as Akume-chan easily tore the hydrant apart. “Now, Kuno-chan, watch carefully.” Akume-chan flared her aura once again, making the water begin to boil in mid-air. The hot water landed on Akume-chan, changing her before everyone’s eyes. The students that were hanging out the windows awed as Saotome’s bouncy female body was exchanged for the hard, muscular body of the male.

“Kuno-sempai! Did you see?” The crimson aura still surrounded him. “I AM THE PIGTAILED GIRL!!!”

“S-Saotome... how can this be...” Kuno groaned slightly as he tried to move his hands. “What have you done to my red-haired vixen?”

Akume-kun’s eyes went wide as he stared at the idiotic kendoist. Something snapped as he undid the paralysis point. “Kuno, you are dead...”

---

Akume’s aura flared as he glared at Kuno. “Get up, you autistic piece of shit. I’ve had it with you...” He frowned as Akane grabbed his arm. ‘Don’t try to stop me, Saseko. This is between us and Kuno over there. Even the Amazon male isn’t this stupid.’ He shoved her to the ground and turned his back to her.

Kuno’s rage began to build at the precise moment he had seen the Foul Sorcerer defile his fair Akane by jostling her to the gray cement. “How dare you?! Who do you think you are, Saotome? Her husband?!”

“That, Kuno, is exactly what we are. Now and forever. Come between Father and Akane, and we will destroy you, utterly and completely.” He got into a different ready position than was the Anything Goes norm. Black ki claws made themselves visible on the tips of his fingers. Akume smirked and glared at Kuno as his power level began to rise. “Come on, Kuno... you know you want to fight...” He waved his hand at Kuno, gesturing for him to attack first. Kuno fell for the bait.

“I will save my pigtailed goddess and the fair Akane Tendo from your clutches, villain!” With those famous words, he launched himself at Akume, his weapon moving as fast as lightning.

Unfortunately for him, he forgot that Ranma could move faster than lightning. But something was off. Kuno noticed it at the first shot. Ranma was a lot better than the previous week. He speed and strength seemed to have gone up at least twenty notches.

Akume smirked to himself, as thoughts from a certain Otenba entered his head. ‘How could you, you jerk?’ Akume blocked a bokken strike before answering the thought with one of his own.

‘Because I was made to protect only one thing. Myself!’ Akume snarled, swinging his ki claws at the bokken, tearing it into several slivers.  The remains of the wooden sword fell to the ground, the shavings left of it floating in the air. Kuno’s eyes went wide as he stared at his weapon, which was now in a million pieces (Literally). Shavings thinner than paper landed on his nose, making him sneeze suddenly.

Akume took that as his opportunity to attack. He started off with a slow punch that was faster than the eyes could see. Then, he picked up the pace throwing his ki behind his punches. Kuno could block none of the attack as the brunt force of it shook him to his very soul.

Kuno couldn’t even scream in pain as the faster than light attacks kept coming, over and over again. After what seemed like hours, he heard the few words that would keep him screaming for years on end.

“SHOTO KACHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!!!” A million punches per second rained down on the hapless martial artist. But, behind the punches, showers of ki blasts were fired from each strike. Kuno slammed against the wall; the impacting ki blasts enveloping him. His skin was beginning to char and peel when, all of a sudden, the onslaught ceased. Kuno slumped to the ground, almost nothing left of his clothing, skin and hair. Kuno groaned as utter exhaustion overcame his senses. The last thing he saw was a pair of blue eyes gazing down at him from above.

---

Ranma looked around at the devastation. A body was lying next to a wall, blood oozing along the ground from multiple cuts and lacerations. He looked around and freaked out when he saw Akane lying on her backside, a scrape on her elbow. “W-What have I done???!!!” Ranma rushed over to the body to see if the hapless victim was still alive. He shrieked when he recognized Kuno. (Although I don’t know how, I mean his body was damaged beyond recognition.) “NO! WHAT HAVE I DONE TO HIM!?”

Akane glanced over at the area that her teishu had run to and fainted when she saw what was left of Kuno’s body. It wasn’t because he was dead. She could’ve handled that. It was the fact that he was still breathing that had made her faint. She imagined the pain that he must have been going through, his hair, skin and most of his clothing were burned beyond belief. It was a gruesome sight that appeared before Akane. Blood was oozing onto the ground from Kuno’s ravaged body.

“Stretcher! Someone get a stretcher!” Ranma screamed at the entire populace of the school. No one could budge, the scene before them horrifying and entrancing all who observed it. Most of the students were afraid that Ranma might go berserk again as well. “Get some medical attention!”

Ranma tore his gaze from the school and looked at Kuno’s prone form on the ground. ‘If he keeps bleeding, maybe he’ll die.’ Ranma could hear the sneer in the thought.

‘Akume, I’m going to get rid of you, somehow, someway...’ A glint appeared in Ranma’s eye as he remembered the connection he held with Akane. ‘AKANE!!!’

Akane tore her gaze from Kuno’s bloodied form and jumped about ten feet into the air when she heard Ranma’s thought. “BAKA!” She was about to hit Ranma when something registered in her mind. ‘Ranma? Wha-What happened?! When’d you come back?’

‘Never mind that, Akane-chan! Go get a stretcher or somethin.’ We need to get him to the infirmary. Right now!’ Akane hadn’t moved an inch. She was still petrified by what she had seen.

‘AKANE!!! HURRY UP!!!’ Ranma mentally screamed at his wife.

She jumped again, and then ran into the building. A few seconds later, she was running out the front door, gurney in hand. Ranma looked at the doors of the front entrance. She had ripped them off of their hinges in her rush to heed his request. Ranma wrenched his gaze away from the stupendous sight, and looked down at Kuno again. He checked for a pulse, relieved when he found it. A grim smile crossed his face as he realized how strong Kuno must have really been to have lived through such a ravaging. “Akane, bring the gurney over here.”

Akane ran towards Ranma and the unfortunate Kuno with gurney in tow. She wheeled the stretcher next to them.

Ranma picked Kuno up quickly and carefully, making sure not to injure him further. He laid the poor boy down on the stretcher and turned quickly towards the gates of the school. As Akane was screaming at him, telling him that the infirmary was the other way, Ranma thought to her. ‘I’m takin’ him to Dr. Tofu! Get Nabiki to make an excuse for me. Do what you have to.’ And with those last few thoughts, he dragged the gurney down the street at lightning speed.

---

Akane stared after her husband, freaking out slightly. “Ranma get back here! I can’t do this by mySELF!!” However, Ranma didn’t hear her as he raced towards Tofu Ono’s office. He was long gone.

‘Baka! Why are you taking him there? It’d be quicker to take him to the infirmary!’ she thought.

‘Because, I trust Dr. tofu more than that damned nurse! Plus, he won’t squeal on me like she will!’

Akane gasped as a hand was placed on her shoulder. She turned around to find that Nabiki had somehow snuck up on her.

“What’s he doin’ to Kuno-chan, Akane-chan?” Nabiki stated with a little fear in her voice.

‘Taking him to Dr. Tofu’s!’ She answered in thought. Nabiki didn’t hear her though. So she spoke aloud. “He’s taking him to Dr. Tofu’s, Nabiki-oneechan. Ranma doesn’t want Kuno to die.” Akane looked at her older sister, feeling something stir within her. “What’s wrong, Nabi-chan?”

“Oh, nothing really...” Nabiki said nonchalantly. She thought something entirely different though. ‘If he hurts Kuno, I’ll kill him... somehow... someway... I will kill him. I will kill him!’

“You’ll do no such thing, Nabiki.” Akane’s aura flared as her eyes were covered by a slightly red hue. “You will never hurt him. And neither will anyone else.” Akane stared at her sister as her eyes cleared back to their original deep brown. “No one will harm him. I swear it.”

“Um, Akane, See ya!” Nabiki eeped and disappeared into the building.

---

Ranma sped down the street, ripping concrete and asphalt from the ground in his wake. Somehow, none of the shrapnel hit his passenger, the completely foolish kendoist, Tatewaki Kuno. Ranma crashed through the door to Dr. Tofu’s office, Kuno in tow. He skidded to a stop in the doctor’s waiting room, carefully made sure that the stretcher wasn’t going anywhere, and ran into the back. Ranma gasped as he saw Kasumi leave one of the examination rooms. She was chuckling to herself as she walked towards the front of the building, and consequently, towards Ranma.

Kasumi looked up as she bumped into the pigtailed martial artist. “Oh! Sorry...” Kasumi looked up and smiled brightly as her eyes locked on Ranma’s. “Hello, Ranma-kun.”

‘Uh-oh... hope Tofu didn’t see her.’ He gulped as he looked into her mind.

‘Tofu is such a nice man,’ she thought. ‘Ranma... why are you scanning my brain?’

“YIPE!” Ranma jumped as if he had been burned badly. “Ka-Kasumi?! You can... you can-can...”

“Read minds? Yes, Ranma-kun, I can,” she said matter-of-factly. “But no one knows except for Otoosan, and now you.” She looked down meekly. “Don’t tell anyone... please?”

‘Okay, Kasumi... I won’t...’ “Please tell me you didn’t just see Dr. Tofu.” Ranma’s pleading look almost killed her; it was so full of pain. Kasumi didn’t have the heart (or the know-how) to lie to him.

‘Gomen, Ranma-kun but I did. He’s such a silly man.’ Kasumi’s cheerful demeanor wasn’t present in her telepathic voice. The pain she had felt over the years drenched her psyche with guilt and hindered her emotionally. She had only been using her powers more frequently because of what had happened Saturday.

‘But, I needed him t-to take care of K-Kuno.’ Ranma’s brain was running on overdrive. He had to find a way to get Kuno some medical attention. The poor bastard was going to die, his blood on Ranma’s hands. ‘No... Kami-sama... I’m a murderer...’

Kasumi took pity on Ranma as she gazed into his eyes. Their stormy blue color was mesmerizing her. “Okay, Ranma. I’ll see what I can do.” She turned around and went back into the exam room from which she had come. ‘You are not a murderer, Ranma-kun. Don’t think that you are.’ Lewd thoughts entered his head as he heard something from the other room.

‘Couldn’t be...’

‘Oh, but it can, Ranma.’ The thought-voice giggled in his head. ‘I’m ‘taking care’ of Tofu-san right now.’

Ranma started to convulse as sensory overload hit him again. Images of Kasumi and Dr. Tofu getting it on crowded his poor mind. ‘Whoa! Never knew Kasumi had that in her!’

*Scene is partially deleted for the reader’s sake, and because I have no idea on how to put the lemon scene in.  Anyone got some suggestions? ^_^;*

Kasumi grinned as she walked out of the exam room. Ranma had this priceless look on his face. His tongue was hanging out of his mouth, and his eyes were glazed over. Kasumi looked down and frowned when she saw a stain on the front of his pants. ‘Ranma... Wake up...’

A puddle of drool and blood had accumulated on the ground in front of Ranma. His nose had burst like a geyser the moment he had picked up those images. Ranma continued to waver back and forth as he looked off into space, the psychic images rolling over and over in his mind’s eye. Ranma remained in a comatose-like state until Kasumi walked up to him and touched his shoulder. ‘Ranma!!! Look at me!!!’

Unintelligent words were all that were coming out of his mouth. Incomprehensible thoughts popped into his head. Ranma mumbled something as the shock had started to wear off. “Kasumi... ... ... ... cu... ... ba... shi... ... wa...”

Kasumi frowned again, knowing that she had only one thing left to resort to. She smacked him upside his head and sent him flying through a wall. (What did you think I was gonna do, have her fuck him? Are you outta your god damn mind?! I might get to that later though...^_^) Ranma got back up, eyes flashing crimson.

“What the hell is your god damn problem, Aka- eek!” Akume flinched as his body went stiff as a board. “K-Kasumi-san! What happened?”

‘Akume Saotome... How dare you show your face...’ Kasumi’s expression remained neutral as she stared into Akume’s eyes. ‘I hate you... Akane... my sister... how could you...?’ Kasumi continued to remain neutral as Akume raised an eyebrow.

‘So... she thinks she can kill me?’ Akume cracked the vertebrae in his neck as he advanced towards Kasumi. ‘I’d love to see you try, Kasumi-chan.’

Kasumi glared at him. ‘I may not be able to beat you, but I will make you pay... somehow...’ A single tear ran down her cheek. Akume backed up some as something clicked in his head.

‘Kasumi? How? How did you-?’

She clenched her fists and turned away from the boy, murder still on her mind. ‘What do you mean how? Ask Ranma-kun if you want. You’ll get nothing from me.’ Kasumi glared daggers at the wall as she tried to think of ways to kill the rapist standing behind her.

“Hmph... so you think I’m a rapist?” Akume began to radiate a dark red aura. “You don’t know what it’s like to live your entire life alone with Genma Saotome, then, do you?” He levitated off of the ground. “Kasumi-chan, you have no idea what it’s like to be us. I’m not sorry I did what I did, but don’t you think she had something coming?” He looked at her back, a lewd thought entering his mind. ‘Heh... think she’d like that? It would stop her from being such a bitch towards me...’

“Don’t touch me, you bastard!” Kasumi turned around and punched Akume out the window. Akume landed with a sickening thud, a crooked smile crossing his face.

A weak voice came from outside as Kasumi fell to the floor of the office, tears soaking into the hardwood floor. “kasumi... help me... ite...” Kasumi gasped, ran out the door and knelt down beside the boy’s body.

“Ranma? Are you okay?” She touched his back and tried to pick him up out of the street. He had passed out cold, his eyes mere slits.

“so cold...” He shut his eyes as Kasumi’s hand wavered over his forehead. Kasumi tried to read his mind, to make sure he was okay, but a thick mental cloud covered everything.

“Ranma? NO! Don’t! Stay awake, Ranma!” She tried to pick him up again, but he was too heavy. A thought of pure genius entered her mind. ‘The curse!’ She ran inside the doctor’s office, grabbed a bucket of cold water and brought it back outside. “Hope this works...” She dumped the bucket over the hapless martial artist. Instant girl, but no awakening. Her eyes were shut tight.

Kasumi growled. ‘How can a person sleep through that?’ She put her fingers to the redhead’s neck. The girl’s pulse was very weak. ‘!!!!!’ “Ranma!” She picked up the girl, slung her over her shoulder, and ran into Dr. Tofu’s office. She headed for an empty exam room and put her on the bed. Again, Kasumi checked the teenager’s pulse. Her pulse was still weak, but was growing stronger with every second.

“kasumi...” the redhead whispered, “arigato....” Her eyes snapped open, and she stood up. “But I’m  not gone yet...ha ha ha ha ha!! Sorry... got a little maniacal there.” Akume-chan jumped off of the bed and looked up into Kasumi’s eyes. “Kasumi-chan... calm yourself, I won’t hurt you.”

Kasumi’s face had remained neutral, but her mind raced as she was trying to think of a way to flee. She knew she was no match for the petite redheaded monster before her. Even though she had trained with her father, she knew how out of shape she was. She hadn’t trained in a very long time and no matter what she did she would never be up to Akume’s or Ranma’s level of skill and grace. She could do anything she wanted and no one could stop her, especially to an innocent girl like Kasumi Tendo...

“What!?” Kasumi whispered. She couldn’t believe that Akume was letting her off so easily.

“I’m not entirely heartless, Kasumi-chan,” Akume-chan stated. “She deserved it, as well as does Nabiki, but you never did and probably never will. You are the kindest, most considerate person we know, and we love you.” Akume-chan reached up to brush a strand of hair away from Kasumi’s face. “I’m sorry for scaring you back there, but you don’t know what’s happening here.” She looked down, her foot twisting around on the ground.  Akume-chan then looked up with a nervous smile on her face. “Ranma’s the only reason that I haven’t hurt you, though. Everything he felt for you, Akane, his own father and everyone around you, he hid deep within himself. The hatred for that bastard, the anger and love for Akane, the disgust at Nabiki’s personality, his shame for having so many fiancés.” She looked away from Kasumi and frowned, her red eyes squinted. Akume-chan shed a tear, but it disappeared quickly. “I’m a murderer, rapist and everything that you’re thinking. But what else can I be if I continue to be forced into these situations?”

‘Grin and bear it, motherfucker. Oh my, where did that come from?’

“I’m leaving now... I might see you around, but I might not appear for a while... see ya, Kasumi-chan.”

“What do you mean by leaving?” Kasumi said suddenly. She thought that if she said nothing, she might not be hurt. But something compelled her to speak.

“Ranma will be in for a while, so get some rest. You look like you need it, Kasumi.” With that, Akume-chan collapsed, the crimson color of her eyes disappearing, swirling back into the bright sapphire blue iris of Ranma-chan’s eyes.

‘I’ll be back, Ka-chan...’ Akume’s voice whispered into her mind.

Kasumi rushed over to the vessel that contained both Ranma and Akume Saotome. “Ranma? Speak to me, Ranma!” Ranma-chan looked up, a small blush on her face. Her eyes were slightly glazed over, just like before.

A cough escaped her lips as awareness came back to Ranma-chan. “Kasumi, you can let go now...” Kasumi’s arms were wrapped around Ranma-chan’s body. “Kasumi? What’s wrong?” ‘What happened? What’s wrong with her? She’s never shown me this much emotion...’

Kasumi looked into Ranma-chan ‘s eyes, a large smile across her tear-streaked face. ‘Thank kami... Ranma, please tell me it’s over... I can’t take this much longer... my sisters... you... everything is leaving me... what’s wrong with you, Ranma...’

“Kasumi... calm down... where’s Tofu-sensei? We need to get Kuno some help,’ Ranma-chan stated, pulling herself and Kasumi to their feet. And with that, they began to look for Dr. Tofu...

---

Ranma growled he ran back to the school. It had taken a lot of coaxing and pleading to get Kasumi to leave Dr. Tofu’s, but somehow he succeeded. Tofu, on the other hand, was an even harder nut to crack. Kasumi’s presence had the familiar effect on hi, making him delusional and mentally inept to do anything of importance. When Ranma-chan was dragging the gurney to the back, Tofu stumbled over it, knocking the kendoist to the floor. Luckily, the floor was impeccably clean, or Kuno would have had a nasty infection. It took about an hour for Ono Tofu to return to normal. Ranma had grabbed some hot water by then and finally asked him to make sure that Takewaki Kuno was well taken care of. After that, he left to get back to school.

‘Hinako-sensei must really be pissed...’ Ranma’s eyes went wide when he thought of something ‘NABIKI! KUSO!!!!!’ With a tremendous burst of speed, he flew towards the school, concrete and asphalt flying into the air from his wake.

---

Akane grumbled as she looked at the clock. ‘Where are you, Ranma?’

‘At the door, Akane-chan,’ a voice said in her head. ‘But what do I do now?’

‘I haven’t the faintest idea, Ranma...’ Akane scowled and tried to think of something. Her thought process was interrupted however as someone touched her shoulder.

“Akane Tendo!” Hinako-sensei was standing right next to her, a textbook in her hands. “Can you answer the question?” The diminutive teacher stood on the tips of her toes, trying to get Akane’s attention. This was a first, Akane Tendo spacing out in class. Hinako-sensei looked up at Akane, a sneer on her face. “Akane!!! Answer the question!” When Akane didn’t face her, Hinako-sensei scowled and walked back to her desk. Once there, she picked up a handy eraser (usually meant for Ranma) and threw it at Akane. Akane’s head disappeared in a cloud of chalk dust as Hinako’s aim was true.

Akane coughed as some of the dust got into her nose and throat. ‘Kuso!’ “What was that for?!” she coughed out before she realized what was happening around her. Sayuri leaned close to her.

“Akane-chan, answer the question, before she gets mad...” Sayuri coughed as some of the dust accumulated in her nose.

Akane scowled, and then blushed slightly. “Uh... what was the question again, Hinako-sensei?” Akane asked nervously. She smiled nervously as Hinako facefaulted. Hinako regained her composure quickly and scowled. It looked quite cute on Chibi-Hinako’s face.

Ranma picked that moment to burst into the class. ‘Better me than you, Akane-chan...’ He stood in the middle of the doorway, a crooked smile on his lips. “Dochirahe, Hinako-sensei! Sorry I’m late, but there was something I had to take care of!” He smiled sweetly, hoping that she’d go easy on him. Unfortunately, Hinako-sensei was agitated in the first place.

“Ranma Saotome! How dare you skip my class, you delinquent?!” She walked over to the door, ready to decimate Ranma’s ki levels. Every male in the classroom was grinning and sulking at the same time. The people who were closest to Hinako would be drained first. Hinako began to drain Ranma’s ki and everyone else’s. The first row of students collapsed, either from exhaustion or loss of blood. Hinako had quickly changed from her child body into her adult form. Ranma just stood there, his aura building, glowing a deep red.

“Come on, Teach... it’s not my fault...” His eyes began to droop slightly. He shook his head, warding off the drowsiness. His aura flared out and upward, as more ki was being draining from everyone in the room. Hinako was getting frustrated.

‘Why isn’t he dropping like a fly?’ Hinako’s mind asked. Her body continued to grow, filling out even more in the chest and buttocks. She felt like she was going to explode, her body filled with so much ki. Ranma continued to stand.

The boys who hadn’t passed out from the ki drain stared at Hinako. They had never seen this happen before. Hinako’s clothes were stretched even tighter than usual when she changed into her adult form. Most of them had developed nosebleeds while the rest just stared, hypnotized by the voluptuous teacher.

Ranma was staring also, entranced by some unknown force. His eyes flashed suddenly as Akume tried to get out. His aura flared again.

Hinako stopped draining his ki when she saw that nothing was happening to Ranma. Ranma frowned, his eyes flashing. Ranma’s aura pulsed a final time before dying down, showing that he had power to spare. He looked at Hinako, his eyes a deep crimson. “Sorry, Teach. Seems your little trick doesn’t work anymore... heh heh heh...” ‘Want to see something, Akane?’

‘Not her Akume... leave her out of this,’ she thought.

“Hinako-sensei... You’ll have to excuse Ranma... he’s going through something that no human being ever should.” Akume growled at Hinako, a feral grin across his face. His eyes ran up and down her figure.

Hinako stared at Akume with a blank expression. ‘How? How come you didn’t succumb to my attack?’

“It’s because I am far beyond your limit in power,” Akume said. “Akane, come here.” His gaze went past the sexy woman in front of him to the tomboy sitting behind her. Akane gulped and stood up.

All eyes locked on her as she walked up to Akume. Yuka and Sayuri gasped, having heard rumors from Nabiki that something devastating had happened to the Tendo family. They both hoped it wasn’t what they thought had happened. Akane had seemed withdrawn ever since she had gotten to school, they had noticed that much. It was too bad Nabiki had made the price extremely high for information on what had happened.

Hiroshi and Daisuke also gasped, wondering what the hell had gotten into Ranma. Never in the time they had known him had he done something like this. He never actually ordered anyone around, just asked him or her to do something for him. But this... he was finally showing some backbone. They both smirked for a minute, when something clicked. Nabiki had said that something bad was going on between the Saotome and Tendo families, but she wouldn’t say what, no matter what they paid her. Both boys wondered if this was what she was talking about.

Akane looked at her husband, a sullen expression upon her visage. ‘Akume... what are you up to...’ She stopped when she was standing in front of him, her head bowed.

“Heh heh heh... Akane... you kawaiikune otenba... you’ll figure it out very soon,” said the crimson-eyed atrocity. Akume pushed Hinako down and laughed. He flared up, his aura changing from the deep red to black-dark gray. “Hmmm... kill her, or leave her alone... Akane, what do you think?” Akume sneered as he looked down at the well-endowed woman.

Hinako, for her part, was frozen, a deep fear creeping into her heart and paralyzing her. Ranma was always hard to drain completely, but now, she couldn’t even make him drowsy! She tried to back away from him, but ended up running into a boy who had passed out from a nosebleed.

“Hinako-san, get up. Ikeike... I said get up!” Akume raised a hand and pointed it palm-first at Hinako-sensei. “Ene-tama...” he said as a ball of black ki formed in front of his palm. Hiroshi, Daisuke, Sayuri, and Yuka gasped as Akume grinned. “Good bye, sensei... Maybe you’ll come back as a normal person.”

Akane stared at her iinazuke in disbelief. Would he actually go through with it? ‘Akume!’ she mentally screamed. ‘Don’t! Please don’t!!!’ She was punched in the face for her efforts. Akane flew to the ground, blood streaming from her mouth.

“Stay out of this! This does not concern you!” Akume exclaimed. He glared at her, barely containing his anger. “Don’t interfere.” He turned to the entire class. “Fools... you still think I’m Ranma? I am beyond him and his restrictions.” Akume growled and turned back to Hinako-sensei. “I thought I told you to get up!!!” He looked into her mind, and frowned at what he saw. She was still a child. Even after 25+ years, she was still a child mentally, even if she had accumulated so much knowledge.

“Child... a child...” His gaze softened as he looked at her. The aura surrounding his body decreased in size and intensity as he looked at his teacher. “A child... she’s still a child...” the ki ball in his hand disappeared as he brought his hands to his sides. “Kami-sama... she’s still a child...”

Hinako-sensei looked up at the boy standing above her.  Her fear had kept her frozen throughout the entire ordeal. Her eyes glistened with tears. “Ranma?”

Akume’s gaze hardened. “Sorry, Onna... Ranma isn’t here at the moment.” He looked over at Akane, grimacing as he saw the blood dripping from her mouth. A smirk appeared on his face as he looked at her. ‘So... you still want to fight me, Akane? Sorry, but you shouldn’t have gotten in the way.’

Akane moaned, spitting out blood and a tooth as she lay on the floor. She was almost unconscious; that was how powerful his punch had been. ‘And you were holding back...weren’t you?’

‘That, I was, Akane.’ “Daisuke, Hiroshi. Get over here. Nabiki shouldn’t have told any of you a damn thing,” he said. His sidekicks made their way up to Akume slowly. “I won’t hurt you, guys...”

After a few minutes of shuffling, both boys were standing if front of the class, looking at their so-called friend. “Ranma? What’s going on?” Hiroshi asked.

“He’ll tell you later, man. I don’t want to sound like Kuno, but you will address me as Akume,” the boy chuckled, and then frowned. “Hiroshi, get Akane to the nurse.”

“H-Hai, Ran, uh, Akume-kun.” Hiroshi went over to Akane and lifted her from the ground. She spit out some more blood, staining the floor. “Akane-chan, are you okay?” Hiroshi didn’t say anything, but Akane was heavy. He was having trouble holding her up.

“Yuka! Sayuri!” Akume boomed. Both girls ripped their gaze from their best friend as Akume shouted at them. “You want to leave, right? Help Hiroshi with Akane.”

“How could you?!” Sayuri screamed. She glared at Akume, even though fear was evident in her eyes. She staggered over to Akane and put her arm over her shoulder. She looked sullen as she helped cart Akane out. Yuka couldn’t move, scared out of her wits.

Akume glanced at the girl. “Go, now, before I get angry.” He frowned when she didn’t move. “Get out of here, Yuka, before I blow your head off!” Akume growled as a ball of black ki formed in his right hand. Yuka shrieked and ran as quickly as she could. Unfortunately, she wasn’t looking where she was going, and ended up crashing through the wall. Both she and the wall fell to the floor, blood and plaster spraying in many directions.

Daisuke winced as Yuka hit the wall. ‘Ouch.’ “Um, Saotome-kun, what do you want me to do?”

Akume smirked as he turned to the other sidekick. “Just stay here for a minute.” His gaze panned back to Hinako-sensei. She was on the other side of the room, crying into her lap. He scowled as he thought of something to do. “Make sure I don’t break anything, Daisuke,” Akume said.

“Huh?” Daisuke grabbed Akume as he was about to smack face-first into the floor. “Saotome-kun!”

---

Ranma awakened as someone splashed his forehead with cold water. He felt the familiar change take place as the water rushed down his face, but the anger she had felt earlier that morning wasn’t present this time. A light slap to the face brought her back to reality.

“Saotome-kun? Saotome-kun! Wake up, man,” a voice echoed in her hearing.

“nn--- Huh? Daisuke?” Ranma-chan looked up, and smiled at the face of her friend. “Wha... what happened?”

“You don’t know?” Daisuke put his hand on Ranma-chan’s shoulders and helped her to a sitting position. “Man, what happened? Ha!” Daisuke grinned slightly. “What happened to you? You beat Kuno-sempai to a bloody pulp, punched Akane in the face, and scared the shit out of Hinako-sensei and everyone in here!” He grabbed Ranma-chan by the shirt. “Now what in the fuck is going on, Saotome?!”

“Daisuke, get off of me. Let me up,” she said in an eerily calm voice. “Where’s Akane?”

“In the infirmary, Saotome-kun,” said the boy. “What, you wanna go beat up on her some more?” Daisuke glared at Ranma-chan’s back as she began to leave. Something clicked as she remembered something important.

“I’m sorry, Daisuke-kun,” she said as she turned around. “Where’s Hinako-sensei?”

A whimpering noise was heard as Hinako continued to cry. Her eyes were red and she kept repeating “save me” over and over again. The woman looked up as a shadow was cast over her.

“Sensei... shitsureishimashita...” Ranma-chan reached down and touched Hinako-sensei’s shoulder. The brunette bombshell burst into tears again as Ranma-chan knelt on one knee. “I have failed you and everyone I know. Somehow, I’ll make it right,” she whispered. She wiped away one of her teacher’s tears, a morose expression marring her visage. “Hinako-sensei, please... you don’t have to fear either of us. Akume won’t touch you...” Her eyes glinted as she thought of her psyche counterpart.

“R-Ranma...? Wh-why d-d-did you-u-u-u-u...” Hinako-sensei stuttered as she began the cry yet again.

“Listen to me,” she exclaimed. “I was not ranma Saotome when that happened... I’m terribly sorry...” Ranma-chan stood up and smiled slightly. “Little girl... Hinako-chan... You really are a child... a child that was never loved... just like me.” With that, Ranma-chan picked Hinako up and sat her down in one of the empty chairs. She had to push one of the ki-drained victims out of the way, but she didn’t hurt the boy. “I must go... before I hurt anyone else. Daisuke!” She looked over at her friend who was tending to Yuka. “Daisuke, come here, please...”

Daisuke couldn’t help but notice the helpless-girl tone in Ranma-chan’s voice. “What’s wrong, Ranma?”

“First, I want you to take care of Yuka. Then, could you tell Akane that I had to go?” Daisuke nodded slowly, not sure if he really should. “Tell Nabiki too... she’ll be real happy, I bet...” Again, Daisuke nodded. “Thanks, man. Seeya later...”

---

Akane screamed as she woke up. ‘He wouldn’t! Ranma! NO!’ Akane broke the restraints that held her to the bed. Sayuri’s eyes opened wide with surprise.

“Akane! Get back in bed!”

“NO! I must find Ranma!” Akane shouted as she fell to the ground. “I gotta find Ranma...”

“Akane!” Sayuri ran over to Akane, and put her back into the bed. “You have to rest, Akane-chan.”

“I can’t... Ranma... I have to save him...” she whispered. She picked her head up and stood up straight. “I have to go,” she said in a stronger voice. “Ranma’s in more danger than I am, Sayuri... besides, he’s my iinazuke.” Akane stared into her friend’s eyes, depression and a touch of fear clouding her own. “If I can’t help him, who can?”

“Akane... you couldn’t... after all of this...” Sayuri’s shocked expression became even more so as it occurred to her.

Akane nodded, accepting her fate. “I love him. I love Ranma... I don’t know how, but I do,” Akane said as she blushed slightly.

Sayuri frowned, remembering what the Saotome in the classroom had done to her friend. “But what he did... how can you love someone so, so, abusive?”

The tomboy smiled. “Because that wasn’t Ranma... Ranma Saotome would never harm on a woman, no matter what,” Akane’s smile turned into a frown. “But Ranma’s not the same person he once was... Akume Saotome is his other personality...” Akane’s face was wet with tears. “It was my fault that all of this happened... everything that I did to him... I hurt him too much, Sayuri! He’s my responsibility! I have to help him...” She looked away from Sayuri, tears running down his cheeks. “I can feel him, Sayuri... I can feel his mind... I don’t know how... But I can feel him.”

Sayuri sighed, knowing that she wouldn’t win a verbal fight with someone as stubborn as Akane. From experience, Sayuri knew that a verbal confrontation with Akane Tendo usually turned physical sooner or later. “Okay Akane... Go...”

Akane hugged Sayuri, and then ran out the door. In her rush she didn’t pick up Sayuri’s last thought.

‘You aren’t the only one who can, Akane...’

---

Ranma-chan looked down from the roof of Furinkan. ‘It’s so easy...’ She took out the tanto that her father had given her so long ago. ‘Mom... I didn’t even get to see you as my true self...’ She stared at the blade in her hands. Sunlight gleamed off the flat of the weapon, flashing in her eyes. ‘How could you, Akume? How could you scare a child? Hinako-sensei... Akane... Kasumi... how could I...?’ Ranma-chan shed a tear and wiped it away. “Good bye, Akane...” she said as she brought the tanto up to her neck.

A sound caught Ranma-chan’s attention. Tears ran down her face as she stared at the door.

---

Akane was crying as she made her way up the stairwell to the roof. She ran up the stairs as quickly as possible, nearly slipping as she got to the top of the stairwell. Akane skidded to a stop when she reached the door to the roof.

“Please,” she whispered. “Don’t do it, Ranma.” Slowly, she opened the door.

---

Kasumi screamed as she picked up on Ranma-chan’s stray thoughts.

“No... oh Kami-sama, no...” she whispered. She gripped the counter as her strength began to slip away.

‘It’s so easy...’

“No...please... Ranma...” Kasumi slipped to the ground as Ranma-chan’s thoughts swam past her mind’s eye.

‘Mom... I didn’t even get to see you as my true self...’

Genma and Soun looked into the kitchen. Both of them gasped as they caught sight of Kasumi sitting on the floor with her back against the stove.

“Kasumi-san?” Genma was the first to speak. “What’s wrong, Kasumi?”

“Ranma... Akane... what do I do...?” Kasumi whispered.

“K-Kasumi?” Genma stuttered. “What’s going on?”

Soun pushed Genma back out of the doorway as something clicked in his head. He knelt down and brushed some of Kasumi’s hair out of her eyes.

“Kasumi, look at me,” he said. “My daughter... what’s happening to Ranma...?”

“Ran-Ranma’s going to-to...” She burst into tears and embraced her father, shaking as the thoughts and feelings coursed from Ranma-chan.

---

Ranma-chan stared at the door as it opened. Tears ran down her face as she saw Akane walk out the door.

“Akane-chan... go away...” Ranma-chan whispered. She turned away from the door. “Akane, what are you doing up here?”

“I could ask you the same question!” Akane glared at Ranma-chan, trying to intimidate her. Ranma-chan gazed at Akane, her expression blank.

“I’ll ask you again, Akane, why are you here?” Ranma-chan continued to cry silently, tears running down her face. “This is the way it has to be. Let me die in peace.”

“Ranma... how can you?” Akane slowly approached Ranma-chan, gracefully walking to her side. “Why- oh... I see... you coward...” Akane scowled and grabbed Ranma-chan by the shoulders. She spun Ranma-chan around so quickly that the tanto went flying. It embedded itself in the roof. ‘Ranma...’

Ranma-chan gasped and dove for the knife. Akane had other ideas. She drove her knee into Ranma-chan’s stomach, knocking the wind out of the petite girl. Ranma-chan cursed under her breath and collapsed to the ground. Akane stood over her, glaring at her back.

“I won’t let you kill yourself! Not like this!” Akane screamed at Ranma-chan’s back. “I love you too god damn much to see you die like this! I’ve waited too fucking long!” Tears exploded from her eyes as she screamed at her husband.

Ranma-chan slowly inched over to the tanto. She shielded her thoughts from Akane as she approached the weapon. Akane continued to rant as Ranma-chan grasped the blade in her hands.

Akane wept as she gazed at Ranma-chan. “How could you even think of it? Ranma, I love you, baka! How can you!? After all of this?! How could you even think of this?!” Akane’s eyes bugged out as Ranma-chan got back up, on the other side of the roof, with the tanto in hand.

Ranma-chan smiled slightly. “You don’t know how much you mean to me, Akane... but this has to end... I won’t let him hurt anyone ever again...goodbye Akane...” She brought the blade up to her neck again, the sad smile still on her face.

Akane gasped as all time stood still. She wouldn’t be able to stop Ranma-chan from doing it. Nothing could stop it.

---

Nabiki sat in the classroom, slowly losing her mind. ‘Ranma rapes Akane, Akane says that she deserved it. Akane might be pregnant. Ranma beats Kuno-chan to a bloody pulp, and now, I don’t know what the hell is going on. Hiroshi tells me that Ranma scared the crap outta his teacher and punched Akane like she was a white belt facing a Grand Champion. He’s going to pay big time when we get home,’ she thought. Something distracted her attention. She was getting a strange feeling that something bad was happening.

‘What’s going on?’ Nabiki’s mind went into overdrive trying to find out what that feeling was. It was eating away at the rest of her sanity. “What in the hell is wrong with me?!” Nabiki’s outburst got an eraser stuck to her face.

“Nabiki, go stand in the hall!” the sensei exclaimed. ‘Honestly... now she’s acting like that loudmouth Kuno...’

---

Kasumi gasped as Ranma-chan put the tanto to her throat again. ‘NO!!! RANMA!!!! DON”T DO IT!!!!’ she telepathically screamed.

‘Kasumi! Calm down... maybe he won’t do it,’ Soun thought, his arms still wrapped around her, trying to protect her from the world.

“I have to save them... somehow... Otoosan... help me up,” Kasumi whispered. She got to her feet shakily, barely able to stand. Tendo-san had one arm over her shoulder to keep her from falling again.

“Where to, Kasumi?”

“Furinkan High, Father. We have to get there as quickly as possible, or Ranma is doomed...” a tear ran down her cheek as they leapt from roof to roof.

---

Ranma-chan smiled sadly at Akane as she brought the blade to her throat. “Goodbye, Akane,” she said as she began to pierce her own flesh. A small amount of blood trickled down her neck as she grazed the blade across her skin.

Akane screamed, going into a pure rage as she watched her husband try to kill herself. ‘Ranma... drowning deep in my sea of loathing...’ Akane’s eyes changed to a deep cobalt-blue, the darkest part of her soul breaking loose from the tight restrictions held upon it. “I WON’T LET YOU!!!!” Her aura kicked up, a column of black and blue energies flaring high into the sky. “RANMA!!!! NO!!!!”

---

The ground quaked. The oceans roared. A massive earthquake was destroying Furinkan High. Seismologists couldn’t figure out what in the hell was going on within the Nerima district. Meteorologists never knew that the weather could be such a bitch. It was like a hurricane and an earthquake had popped up all at once. And all of it was centered at one spot. Above the ground, on the roof of a high school, the epicenter of one of the world’s most powerful seismic enigmas was taking place. Her name was Kanashimi, Sorrow. Akane was no longer the only one inside her body. This being was made of all of the sorrow and grief that she had experienced throughout her lifetime. And Ranma-chan had just set her loose upon the world.

---

Ranma-chan gasped as Akane flared into life. ‘Very impressive,’ Akume thought from behind his psychic barrier. ‘Let me out, father!!’ he screamed.

“Never...” Ranma-chan dragged the knife across her skin again, closer to her jugular vein.

Kanashimi stared at Ranma-chan, her grief tearing at her sanity. “Ranma Saotome... I can’t let you do this.” Kanashimi appeared next to Ranma-chan and snatched the tanto out of her hands. But it was too late. Ranma-chan had succeeded in cutting her jugular vein and was bleeding all over the roof of Furinkan.

---

Nabiki cursed, as the feelings within her got stronger. ‘Why is it telling me to get to the roof?’ She always followed her gut, and it was telling her to get up there on the double. So, she ran as quickly as she could. The vibrations coming from the other side of the door to the roof scared her a little, but she opened the door anyway...

---

Kasumi screamed as her father jumped from roof to roof faster than Ranma ever thought possible. “He did it!!! NO!!!!!” Kasumi cried as something else hit her psyche. “No... Akane... not again...”

Soun Tendo’s eyes went wild with fear as Kasumi’s words clicked into place. “It couldn’t be... Akane couldn’t have...”

Kasumi stopped crying, tears staining her face. “She did father... she lost it... just like with Okaasan...”

---

Kanashimi screamed in pain as a link was brought to her attention. “You fell in love with Ranma Saotome...” She knelt down next to the Boy-turned-Girl and laid her hands on the wound on Ranma-chan’s neck. “Not good... Ranma, how could you do this to yourself...” ‘Let him go, Ranma. He’ll heal your wounds, child.’

Darkness was descending upon her as she stared at the face of her wife. ‘Akane...? Is that you......?’

‘No, Ranma Saotome, she is protected, for now. Just like you are when your ‘son’ takes over. I am Kanashimi, the sorrow of Her, my mother, Akane. She cares for you more than life itself. Why did you do this?’ Kanashimi began to focus her energies at the wound on Ranma’s neck.

“I-I didn’t w-w-want anyo-one get-t-t-t-ting hurt because of m-me...” Ranma-chan continued to bleed slowly. “It’s getting dark...s-so dark...”

‘Fool... let him free... he will heal you, child. Even if you despise him... let him be a part of you... Akane made the same mistake that you are right now, when her mother died,” Kanashimi said in Ranma’s mind.

‘I can’t... I’ll never be free of him... Akane... I’m sorry... it’s so dark...’

Nabiki burst through the door to the staircase and screamed at what she saw. Ranma-chan was naked, blood seeping down her neck. Her sister was standing above the redhead, holding onto the wound at Ranma-chan’s neck. “No... not this...” Nabiki slowly backed toward the edge of the roof, gasping for breath. She took a good look at the raven-haired girl standing over Ranma-chan. “No... no! It can’t be! Not you! Kanashimi... how... I thought...”

“You thought wrong, Nabiki-san. Mother needed me when he decided to do this to himself,” the cobalt-eyed woman said. “She called to you, somehow she called to her sisters. Her powers have come back, Nabiki. She could tell what you were thinking this morning. That’s why she got angry. How can you think that Ranma would actually hurt you on purpose?” Kanashimi stood up and stared Nabiki in the eyes.

“That boy is dying because he didn’t want to hurt you or Akane or Kasumi or anyone else ever again! Now how in the hell do I save him?! He loved everyone he knew! He never looked for a fight except when it was called for by his School.

“Ranma Saotome is a kind-hearted individual who cares deeply for everyone he knows. Help me save him, Nabiki-san,” she pleaded. Kanashimi’s cobalt eyes burned into Nabiki’s soul.

‘After all that he’s done to her... how can I help that, that-‘ Nabiki’s thoughts were interrupted when Kanashimi grasped her shoulder.

“You may hate him for his other side, but you can not let a human life pass without trying to save to save him, can you Nabiki?” Kanashimi smiled sadly, mimicking Ranma-chan. “Help me save her one true love, so that Akume and I may both be at peace.”

“Alright, get off my back, I’ll help the ingrate,” Nabiki drawled sarcastically. “Something must be wrong with the both of you in that head of yours. Why you would want to save someone who raped you is beyond me.”

Kanashimi scowled. “Akane was right, you know. You will never harm him. She swore it, and so will I. I’ll kill for Ranma Saotome if needed,” Kanashimi’s eyes flashed, the colors from both people mixing and changing to a dark purple. “We will save him, Nabiki-oneechan.”

Nabiki was pushed aside as Kanashimi moved towards Ranma-chan. She began to mutter slowly as ki flowed to her fingertips. “Must save him... for all that is holy and hellish, Saotome must live...” A dark cobalt aura surrounded both Kanashimi and Ranma-chan.

Sinew and blood vessels were repaired as more ki was passed between Kanashimi and Ranma-chan. All of her physical scars were healed, but no one would be able to repair what was inside the redhead’s mind.

“Come on, Ranma... Akume... help him... you must help you Father,” Kanashimi whispered over the redhead’s body. More importantly, she was sending messages to Ranma-chan’s brain with her thoughts, hoping to coax the dormant evil to manifest itself.

“T-too weak, Kanashimi... we ca-can’t do it...” Ranma-chan whispered as Kanashimi continued to heal her wound.

“You won’t leave us, alone, Ranma! We care too much about you!” Kanashimi said in a low voice. “Chiyureiki!” The ki in her hands pulsed, flowing into Ranma-chan, healing her body.

Nabiki gasped as Kanashimi worked. ‘Well, at least you improved, Kanashimi,’ thought the mercenary.

Kanashimi growled  when nothing seemed to work. “Last ditch option, Nabiki... get away from here...” Her aura flared brightly, its cobalt blue deepening into black.

Nabiki’s eyes widened. She knew what Kanashimi had in mind. “No...” she whispered. Don’t do it... he’s not worth it...”

“You want Akane to live? Then leave me and allow me to use the only thing I have left!” Kanashimi screamed as her aura pulsed ever higher...

---

Kasumi cursed under her breath when she saw the cobalt fire above Furinkan. “Father! She’s going through with it! She’ll die if she doesn’t succeed...” Kasumi’s face was twisted up in determination. “I won’t let it happen...”

Soun jumped when his daughter began to glow. “Not you too, Kasumi...”

Kasumi didn’t hear anything except the thoughts trampling down her self-control. “No one cares... HAAA!!!!” Kasumi levitated up towards the roof as a silver-blue aura flared around her body. “I’ll save them, Mother...” She stared up at the blue flame with silver-blue eyes

“Kyuui! Make sure my daughters come back safe!” Soun yelled after her. “Kami have mercy on their souls... all of them.”

---

Kanashimi pounded on Ranma-chan’s chest when her power began to run low. Ranma-chan’s heart had stopped beating twenty seconds ago.

Kyuui looked over the edge of the building. “Sorrow...”

Kanashimi smiled slightly as she caught sight of Kyuui. “Peace...”

“We must save him, Kanashimi...” Kyuui grinned slightly. “I have an idea that might work...”

“We couldn’t do that... Nabiki is still here,” Kanashimi scowled.

Nabiki backed away in fear, a dreadful feeling in her heart. ‘That can’t be..’

“Oh, but it is, Nabiki,” Kyuui grinned again. “Jurei-ataeru!” Kyuui turned around and forced some of her ki into Ranma-chan’s body. Ranma-chan’s heart began to beat slowly, like an engine trying to turn over. “I can’t keep that up.. he’s dying... we have to get Akume out into the open.”

“I tried, Kyuui, I tried,” Kanashimi wiped a tear away. “I can’t help him... not on my own... cousin... help me...”

“I will, Kana-chan,” Kyuui said as she faced Nabiki. “You must leave now, Nabiki-san. Go, please. Go. We have a way to save His life, but you must go, or you will be hurt.”

Nabiki got the message. “A-Alright... but you both owe me a lot of money for this one.” She hightailed it down the stairs and hid under a desk when she got back to her classroom.

“So, shall we get to work, Kyuui-san?”

“Let’s.”

---

Ranma-chan struggled for each breath. Her vision was almost completely gone. Something was tugging at her mind, distracting her from her task of dying. ‘No one will be hurt anymore by you or me...’

‘Father... let me loose... I must save us...’ Akume thought quietly.

‘No... never again... we’ll die today...’ Ranma-chan whispered mentally. She gasped in her mind as something external distracted her.

Someone was touching her, bringing out her primal instincts. Akume snarled in his cage.

‘Let me out! I must know!!! I must see who is doing this!’ Akume screamed in their mind.

‘NO! I won’t let you!’ Ranma-chan screamed back.

Akume growled, raising his ki levels bit by bit. ‘Father, you can’t win... you’ll never win against me... let me save us, or you will die and I’ll be the only one left.’

The sensations coursing through her body set Ranma-chan’s consciousness reeling. ‘Akane.. I can’t control it anymore... I’m too weak...’

Another voice penetrated her mind. ‘Ranma, let him... save yourself...’

Akume began to tear down the barrier that Ranma-chan had placed over him.

Ranma-chan gasped as the sensations began anew, pleasure eroding her control even more quickly. ‘Do it, Akume... but please... let me remember this time...’

Akume stopped what he was doing and grinned slightly. ‘Thank you, Father.’

---

Kyuui and Kanashimi striped Ranma-chan and began their work. Kyuui moved to down to Ranma-chan’s cleft and began to lick her slowly, sending tendrils of ki into Ranma-chan through her tongue. Kanashimi slowly trekked to Ranma-chan’s breasts, kissing her neck and shoulders as she neared her target. Kanashimi smiled slightly as she looked at Ranma-chan’s face. ‘She hides so well the tortured mind she possesses. How I wish I could heal you, our love...’

Ranma-chan squirmed slightly under their ministrations, but nothing much happened. Kyuui growled as she pushed more ki into the redhead’s body. Her silver-blue eyes glowed sharply as she boosted her own ki levels. ‘Stubborn as always, isn’t he?’

‘He always will be... that’s why we all love him, isn’t it?’ Kanashimi licked the nipple of Ranma-chan’s right breast while massaging the other. A small groan emanated from the petite redhead. ‘Sensitive, aren’t we?’

Kyuui smiled as Ranma-chan’s clitoris unsheathed itself, signaling her arousal. Kyuui bit down lightly, sliding two fingers into Ranma-chan’s nether lips. The girl beneath her buckled as she came, but made no sound at all. Kyuui scowled as she lapped up Ranma-chan’s fluids. ‘He didn’t let his Child go...’ Kyuui smiled slightly as something popped into her head. ‘Kana-chan, speak to his mind. Make him let go of his inhibitions...’

Kanashimi grinned, her cobalt eyes glinting as she gathered what was left of her energy. ‘Alright, let’s hope this works.’ She kissed Ranma-chan, playing with her tongue. She sent a mental message on carrier waves of ki into Ranma-chan’s head. ‘Ranma, let him... save yourself...’ She jumped in surprise as Ranma-chan’s tongue began to fight back, dueling with Kanashimi’s own appendage.

Kyuui continued to send large amounts of her ki into Ranma-chan’s body. The redhead jumped into the air an orgasm hit her again. Her aura flared out, crimson and black swirling around her body. Ranma-chan’s body sat up slowly, a scarlet hue clouding her eyes. Akume-chan smirked.

“Arigato, Kanashimi... you finally got through to him...” Akume backed up quickly as Kanashimi’s cobalt eyes stared into her crimson orbs.

“Akume... we only did it to save Him. Ranma is everything to us.” Kanashimi’s gaze bored into Akume-chan. “We love him more than life itself.”

Kyuui bit down on Akume-chan’s clitoris again. The redheaded demon jumped as an orgasm ran over her body. ‘Kasumi... please stop... w-we can’t take much more...’

As the girl looked up, Akume gasped. “K-Kasumi? Not you...not you too...”

“Yes, Akume-kun... I am Peace...” said Kyuui. Her silver-blue eyes rested on Akume’s face. “I’m sorry... Mother couldn’t stand it... seeing Him in her head... tearing His soul apart...” Kyuui looked down. “Mother loves Ranma... just as much as Akane-obasan does,” she whispered.

Kanashimi raised an eyebrow. “You know that mother won’t like this turn of events, don’t you, Kyuui-chan?” Kanashimi smirked as she continued to massage Akume-chan’s breast.

“Um, could you stop that? I can’t control this, this hormonal downpour...” Akume-chan continued to squirm under both females. “Not that I’m complaining, but I’m kinda tired.”

Kanashimi and Kyuui glanced at each other. ‘Please, don’t tell Akane-obasan... She usually has a problem containing her temper...’

‘Don’t worry, Kasumi-obasan’s secret is safe with me, Kyuui-chan,’ the raven-haired one stated.

Akume-chan frowned. ‘And I thought I was stupid...’

Both females gasped and covered their mouths. ‘What the?!’

‘You two... are two of the dumbest Guardians I have ever seen!’ Akume telepathically screamed. ‘I promised Ranma that I would let him remember everything... I thought you could read minds!’

Two auras flared beside one another, the dark cobalt-blue of Kanashimi contrasting with the silver-blue of Kyuui. “AKUME NO BAKA!!” Twin mallets came out of nowhere, landing smack-dab on Akume-chan’s skull. Akume-chan crumpled into a heap as the mallets collided with her head.

The twin auras died down quickly when they realized what they had done.

‘Oops...’ they both said. ‘At least he’ll survive...’

Created: Sunday, December 02, 2001 9:45:00 A.M.