Punishment 2. “What could go wrong?”

Author:

Chapter Two

 

Bast and Ranma proceeded down the stairs and into the main dinning area. Here they found an unconscious Mousse and an annoyed Cologne. It took less then half a second to see this as dangerous and immediately dropped into a battle stance and hoped that the old ghoul was not going to kill him. Before either party spoke a word the goddess decided enough was enough and spoke in a deep, commanding divine voice, “Either of you fight in my presence without my consent and I will smite both of you.” After stating this her voice went back to its normal serious voice, not a large change. “Understand?”

Deciding he didn’t want to annoy his sensei, he dropped the stance and stood at some ease. Cologne was on the verge of laughter, though she could not see the girls aura, she saw the way she walked. Her stance shows grace, but not that of a fighter. What a pitiful creature, who does this strapping think she is ordering around the matriarch of the Amazons? Doing her best to keep her face void of mirth, she stated, “I will fight who I wish, when I deem fit young one! I am not annoyed at son-in-law, but I am annoyed at you now. I suggest you correct your attitude, before I am forced to teach you a lesson in manners child.”

Bast did not have the same moral restrictions of the ancient amazon in front of her, she laughed and laughed hard, “*Snicker* You :: chuckle :: think you ::snort:: can teach me?!” After laughing for a minute or so and casting a petrifaction spell on the mortal woman to keep her in place, she started speaking again. “I am Baste, Goddess of Cats... To me it is you who is the child here human. You can not move because I put a petrifaction spell on you. Now I am to train my avatar here, and rid himself of the fear he holds for the creatures I protect. Now as to why the room was locked and Mousse was not allowed into the room is simple. The young one in there now had violated several cosmic rules. In doing this she had to be punished. This was not my doing, but I did make it so your offspring went through as little trauma as possible. By all that is alive, Shampoo is no longer Ranma’s wife. She is now his property.” At this statement Cologne was simmering with rage, and Ranma was about ready to tear his hair out. They were acting like he was not even here.

He could not get a word in edge-wise and couldn’t tell them that he held some love for Shampoo and did not want her as a tool, but as a loved one. As soon as he noticed that Bast was waiting for him to state his aggravation, he did so, “ I DON’T WANT TO OWN HER, I WANT TO LOVE HER!!!”

Both the goddess and elderly woman woke up from their thoughts and the woman took a step back, while the goddess looked on with approval. “You can do both if you choose so and with HIS blessing, but only with those. Those rings however will ensure that she will be incapable of having sex with another male without your consent, and will bend her sex-drive to your will, ultimately making her your slave. You may have my father ease up the incantation on the brand and rings, but it will still respond to your desires on a low level. They however can never be removed, all of those tools were of divine forging, and are both permanent and unbreakable. Do you wish to start training now?”

Cologne was growing curious, What markings, what tools, Brand? Rings? Guess he did get her something to state his love after-all. Úhh Training? I thought son-in-law was the best. After all he did defeat Saffron the Phoenix God.

At this comment Bast waved her hand dismissive and noticed that the boy had awakened and stealthily went upstairs without any ones notice but her own and Ranma’s. “He still has yet to master the Neko-ken. And Saffron was only a weak demi-god. What my avatar has coming at him will be stronger than that thing by ten-fold at least. He has the ability to surpass that. Being my avatar he can only be killed by a few things. One being other deities, demons, and other avatars. If killed by a mortal source he will reawaken shortly. This does not say he wont feel the pain of it. Seeing as how your descendant has been linked to him via majick, she will not die permanently unless he dies and only if he dies. Again, saying she will feel the pain of death. She will only reawaken when Ranma is within twenty or so feet horizontally. There is much I must teach you, Ranma about your bond to her, and your powers you must learn and master. Your future has arrived,, are you ready to go, my avatar?”

This brought Ranma from his thoughts, and he nodded numbly, “Yes I am ready for what I must face, after all I am Ranma Soatome of Soatome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts and Avatar to the Goddess Baste. I never loose and never back down from a challenge.”

Hearing that brought her to a painful realization Gotta rid him of that overconfidence after I finish ridding him of his fear of cats. It will get him killed. “Ok got get Shampoo, we will need her for the training ok?”

Ranma nodded and went up stairs to fetch his sleeping love. Reaching the top of the stairs he found Mousse as he thought he would be. Doing his best to destroy the door and let himself into Shampoo’s room. “Mousse, give it up, that room is magically sealed. Go down stairs and Baste will explain everything to you. Ok?” That said he entered the room, and watched as the male amazon tried to enter only to run into an invisible barrier. He shrugged and went over to get Shampoo, only to find she was not in her bed. Alerted he began to frantically search the room for her, only to find her happily washing in the shower. Ranma smiled and decided to join her.

Shampoo was delighted when she noticed Ranma enter the shower with her. Her delight was short lived when he continued to help her wash. The room they were standing in was not the spacious washroom like that the Tendou household has. It was simple and in the style of an American bathroom, with a toilet, sink, and a standing shower with glazed glass door. She felt his hands glide purposely over her back, scrubbing away the grime, dirt, and sweat. Ranma soon was finished with her back and held her close to him, while he began to scrub the front, his body already been washed at Armeguiken speed. She was just starting to enjoy his ministrations when all of a sudden without warning he froze and held her protectively in his arms.

Soon a large crash was heard throughout the building, it was formed of flesh meeting glass then falling through furniture and landing solidly on the floor and it came from Shampoos bedroom. Ranma told her to stay there while he went to check it out. When he arrived he found Baste was already there tending to the fallen person. He seemed to radiate dark power, but seemed to be of no threat to their safety. His form was covered in tattered armor that looked to be little more than a wetsuit after a diver had surfaced. Over the armor, was a trench-coat that was glittering with his blood, and sported many cuts as well. Through the cuts in the fabric one could see many deep gashes in his skin and through that you could see his bones. Many of the visible bones were cracked and some were shattered. Yet as one looked on at the poor creature, his regeneration was obvious to the human eye. They decided to take him to the lower parts of the building where both Cologne and Baste could watch over him, while the couple washed up.

After several hours and way after Ranma and Shampoo had finished their shower, the thing woke from his pain and wound induced slumber with a low growl and groan of pain and anguish. When the person opened his eyes, everyone except Baste, who had dealt with stranger things took a step back. His eyes were black as night, with out an iris, white, or any other part that should be there. You could see that they were not holes in his head, but just flesh orbs, that were dark as night. His hair was black as well, and in fact the only thing other than his physical body not counting his eyes, that was not black as the night, were his pants, which were such a deep blue they almost were black. His scabbard, was made of an obsidian, and lined with a swirling pattern of sliver. The hilt of the sword was simple, yet just as stunning. The actual handle of it was made of a rubber looking substance. His coat seemed to flow and fit around him like it was his shadow instead of his clothes. His teeth were similar to the Hibiki’s, only his looked like they were tougher and used to tear into live flesh, like an animal. He stood about five-foot, eleven. When he spoke it was with a commanding yet gentle voice, “What world am I on, and which realm am I in?”

Ranma responded with an intelligent, “Earth stupid, where did you think you were?”

Even the goddess did not understand what he meant by the word realm, so she began to ponder this man’s origins, “What do you mean by realm traveler?”

The traveler in question snorted in response to Ranma’s answer and pondered what the female could be asking him to answer. He began to stand, and as he moved you could literally hear the scraping and popping of bones sliding and shifting in his body, his only sign of pain was that of a grimace and his jaw being clenched and fists being tightened. He grunted in pain, but stood none the less. Finally he came up with a better way to ask his question, “What part of creation is this planet located in?”

This got Baste to understand. Her father had said that he had created more than they knew about, but set their jurisdiction here on this galaxy. They were left in the dark and had assumed that the demons territory was what he had kept them out of. If this man before her knew this than he must be of some supernatural being. “You are in Midguard. Where do you come from? (Forgot what they called it in Ah! Megumi-sama.)”

“I am from Eris. I last came from a nameless realm of war. My enemy went for a suicide attack and blew himself up with his own power. I only survived through opening a realm-gate. Unfortunately that sapped much of my power and I could not direct myself to a location and left it up to Chance. I landed here. I would like some sustenance and some housing if you would be kind enough to provide it for me.”

That did it for Baste, her question was still not fully answered, so she decided to test him by speaking in the divine language only known to the gods and goddesses, and a select few avatars, “*What name do you go by traveling warrior? If you understand and answer me in the same tongue I will give you lodging.*”

This language he had heard but only learned enough to speak a few words. After all there were countless gods and goddesses on his home planet. And he had accidentally wandered into the God’s Realm once. In response he spoke in a bit rough but coherent gods-tongue as he liked to call it, “*Qai Tetsuo is name. Understand little of this I. *”

Her fears of him being a demon were set aside, since they were only able to speak their own in response. She nodded to Qai and then returned to Japanese for the rest to understand, “He is a friend. Give him what he needs. Ranma, Shampoo come with me, I must continue your training.”

Qai looked on quizzically, and Ranma nodded as followed with Shampoo at his side. Mousse was nowhere to be found, so Cologne was elected to show this male to a room. “We only have the basement to spare, would that suffice?”

Qai nodded and followed silently. While he walked through the door and down the stairs he continued to stretch and put bones back into place. His grunts were beginning to unsettle to aged matriarch, as they resembled much of that equal to an animal other than human. Most of the deeper ones seemed to not be of an animal in origin at all, but that of a demon would more accurate. She stopped at the place where this warrior of sorts could rest. Again he nodded, and removed his coat, which had somehow been mended. In response to her gaze, he shrugged and replied, “Majick.”

When his coat was set down it made a heavy *Thunk* when it hit ground. He flexed his shoulders and his armor disappeared, leaving him in a pair of electric blue pants with lines of silver in a pattern that looked similar to lightning. He wore boots that resembled American Army issue. At his side was still his sword, and no shirt was visible. Cologne tossed him an old cloak from the corner. Then she said, “Wear something to cover your top, it isn’t proper on this planet to walk around without a top unless you are at a pool or beach in the summer.”

Qai nodded and donned the cloak. He then inquired about food, and they went back upstairs so he could eat something.