Spring of Drowned Vampire

6. The Vampires' Duel

Author:

The shapely redhead yelped from the shock of icy water, feeling dismayed and disoriented as she sometimes did when the transformation caught her off- guard as it had now.

Disappointment was undeniable; she'd been so close to finishing the job! One more moment and her prey would have been caught completely unaware of the threat posed to her mortality. Ranma had used this method of obtaining meals in the past and it had never failed. Why, a second more, and she would've made it to the vein-

Ranma-chan stopped herself, frozen to the spot by more than the icy water which had begun to evaporate from her and Akane's bodies. The very idea of what she had almost done! The hostile claws of fear hooked themselves deep into her stomach as she realized what she had been inches away from doing- who she had been inches away from preying on!

She looked down at Akane, who at the moment was propped up on one hand and who held the partially-drenched sheet clutched to her chest in the other. She kept glancing up behind Ranma-chan, as if unsure of which should worry her more, the look on Ranma's face or the man standing in the windowsill. Ranma-chan, horrified with herself, didn't notice and began stammering. "Akane-I don't think-I can't trust myself-"

"Damn right you can't!" growled a voice from the open window.

Ranma-chan twisted to see a silhouetted figure perched on the windowsill holding an empty bucket. His arms were crossed and his entire body was shaking in anger. "How DARE you go back on your word? How DARE you, Ranma?"

With that menacing remark, the figure dropped down the seven feet or so to the woven mats as gracefully as if he'd slid down one of the rays of light which were lancing through the swirling dust of the room. The bucket, tossed negligently into a corner, echoed hollowly through the rising tension of the room.

Anger flared up in Ranma-chan like a lit match dropped in sake. She shifted from the bed, muscles taut despite their recent rigorous exercise. She was dripping wet, and completely naked as she approached her assailant, but this did not dampen the smooth, liquid confidence with which she moved. "Ryoga," she said, "do you honestly think I would be stupid enough, heartless enough-desperate enough to do that?"

"Ryoga?" Akane's murmur of surprise seemed to fall unheard in the tension of the room. Confused, she clutched the wet sheet tighter around her nudity and tried again, "Ryoga, why'd you do tha-" Her voice trailed off as she noticed that neither Ryoga nor Ranma-chan had broken the silent staring contest.

"Honestly, Ranma?" Ryoga fumed, glaring a moment more at Ranma-chan, and took the few steps up to the mattress where Akane lay. He settled down into a crouch before her, and reached out to dab at her neck. She hissed a little, pulling away, and he returned to hold the incriminating evidence in Ranma-chan's face. "Yes, I do think you are stupid enough to go back on your word."

Ranma-chan paled at the sight of the blood smeared across Ryoga's fingertip. Her own pulse beat more rapidly in her ears, clamoring at the sight of the tiny crimson stain. His whole body screamed at him, yearning for just a taste, just a quick taste of the coppery flavor, undoubtedly still warm to the touch-unlike the last time he'd feasted at the blood bank where the blood had been cold and lifeless.

'Control yourself!' came the cry from the human side of Ranma-chan's frantically whirling mind. A shiver passed through her, a series of unreadable emotions flew across her beautiful features and she looked away, clenching and unclenching her fists.

Akane felt at her collar, where the smooth skin of her neck met the well- toned shape of her shoulder muscles. She was alarmed to find a little nick there, a tiny drop of blood welling up dark and red. What had happened.? She tried to recall the scene into her memory, but it was all clouded over with the passions of the moment. There was that last moment before the orgasm, where she'd felt something touch her skin, but she hadn't taken much notice of it at the time.

Well, she took notice of it now. "Ranma? Ranma, this doesn't mean that." She looked up at her lover, horrified by what had just occurred to her. Would she, too, become a vampire and live out all eternity under the curse that haunted Ranma's life? Fear settled like a lump of coldness into the pit of her stomach.

But it was Ryoga who answered her. He was shaking under the effort of controlling his own impulses, and his voice quavered as he stared intently at his own fingertip. "The bite isn't deep enough to have a lasting effect, dear Akane. He did not taste your blood, so you were not harmed." Akane felt a chill, watching Ryoga's odd behavior (Was it possible he was a vampire as well? No, it couldn't be...) To think that such a small amount of her own blood could have such an effect on Ranma-chan! She grew even more alarmed at the thought of how close she had come to being cursed with a similar fate-at the hands of one whom she loved, no less.

"I didn't mean to, Ryoga-you know I didn't-" Ranma-chan had found her voice finally, even if it was trembling a bit. 'Damn these female hormones', she thought privately. 'Get a grip on yourself!' "I let my guard down for a moment, just a moment. I didn't see it coming. I thought it was safe, because. because."

"Because of what?" barked Ryoga, crossing his arms. "You swore, man, we both did. An oath, and you nearly threw it away! I want to know what could have prompted you to come so close to dissolving that oath."

Ranma-chan could clearly recall the night- had it really been years ago? It didn't seem possible- that he and Ryoga had taken the oath. The night itself hadn't been of any importance. He was sorry to admit that neither had his victim. He couldn't even remember the girl's face, and it hadn't been that long ago, really. Ranma had attacked from above, that much he could remember through the hazy memory of the vampire's animal-like hunger. He had attacked, and fed until the victim's face glowed a bloodless white in the light from the stars. As always, following the feeding, the vampire had sat back in a daze as human consciousness returned.

That was how Ryoga had found him, (completely by chance, in his usual style) and subsequently panicked. Afraid it was his beloved Akane lying cold and dead in front of Ranma, Ryoga had threatened his life. A short, fierce battle had ensued, until Ryoga discovered that it was in fact not Akane's corpse lying half-forgotten on the ground. At that point, the accused vampire had demanded an explanation; when Ryoga stuttered it out, Ranma found himself just as horrified by the resemblance. The two, shaken to the bone, took a solemn oath-there under those cold, distant stars, next to the cold, lifeless body-that neither would taste Akane's blood, upon pain of death.

"Ranma? Ranma, what is he talking about-I don't understand-" Akane's voice broke into Ranma-chan's reverie. She didn't know how to answer her beloved.

"Akane, it's not what you think-"

"Answer me, Ranma!" interrupted Ryoga, who was growing visibly more agitated. "What gave you the right to throw away a vow of honor like that?"

"It was the nightshade!" confessed Ranma-chan heatedly, wishing he could defend himself. "We got it from Dr. Tofu. Extract of Nightshade. It was supposed to help with the hunger. I thought it would be enough, but before I knew what I was doing, the need was upon me again."

"Fool," spat Ryoga1. "You should know better than to trust something created by human hands-they could never know the depths of a vampire's bloodlust."

"Don't call me a fool!" Ranma-chan roared, her anger returning with newfound strength. "If it weren't for me-"

"What is going on here?" Akane interrupted again, confused as she looked back and forth between the two fighters, who looked about as tense as taut bowstrings, and as ready to fire as any arrow she'd ever seen. "Ryoga, I don't understand-when did you find out?"

"Find out?" he snorted, smiling bitterly. "I 'found out' the same day I first met the girl chasing the panda through the Chinese bamboo forest. Ranma made me who I am today. I-" he paused, shivering involuntarily from the memory, "I was his first victim."

Akane drew back, wide-eyed. "Then you're a. a vampire, too?"

"Thanks to Ranma, over there, I am." He leaned down to face Akane again (she had forgotten her lack of apparel for the moment, and he quite enjoyed the view this position afforded him). "And just think, a moment more, and you would have suffered the same fate from the same hands.or should I say fangs?"

"I didn't mean it!" growled Ranma-chan, incensed at the accusation, however true it might be. "I would never, ever purposefully harm her! Damn it, Ryoga, I love her!"

With that, Ranma-chan took a running leap and planted a high kick squarely in Ryoga's chest, propelling him into the opposite wall, which splintered and gave slightly under the force. He slid down, landing on his feet, and whirled to aim a quick series of punches at Ranma-chan's exposed torso. She blocked, dodged, and twisted to avoid them, in the process managing to land one fist up the side of Ryoga's head that sent him reeling backwards for a moment.

Finding the opening she wanted, Ranma-chan dropped to a crouching position, swinging her leg around in a low kick to knock Ryoga's feet from under him, but her opponent reacted quickly. He skipped over the kick, whirling to deliver one of his own, which the redhead then ducked. S he leapt to her feet, dodging a punch or two, feinting to the right, then the left, and finally slamming her fist up alongside Ryoga's ribcage, knocking the wind out of him. Wheezing for only an instant, he recovered unbelievably quickly.

The two circled each other a little, exchanging punch for punch and matching blow for blow. Ranma-chan did not use the full force available to her with each punch; instead she carefully measured the power behind her blows, saving a little extra for later, and she suspected Ryoga of doing the same. Watching them, Akane realized why the two were always so much further ahead of everyone else, skill-wise in the fighter's arena; it must have something to do with loosing their mortality. Perhaps, she wondered, wincing as Ranma barely evaded a powerful kick, perhaps being a vampire comes with certain advantages. At times the two moved with such supernatural speed that their fists blurred and she could no longer follow the movements of their feet.

Ranma-chan settled neatly into the rhythm of the fight; this was comfortable to her, this was familiar. This she knew how to handle. The rush of adrenaline, the heightened senses, all were part of her life-long training. Exhilaration built in her as the fight wore on. She and Ryoga danced around the room, moving from blow to kick, to block, to punch, to jab, to kick again as though it was a highly choreographed combat sequence. And she hadn't even broken a sweat yet!

She halfway considered leaping from the window to draw Ryoga out and perhaps tire him, but it wouldn't be easy, and it probably wouldn't be worth the attention her nudity would attract. If only she could pause to pull on some clothes! Flipping backwards out of her opponent's way, she spotted her black silk pants, crumpled at the foot of the bed where they'd been tossed the night before. 'Or maybe just pants, and then find a way to get some hot water.'

This gave her an idea, though, as she whirled and dodged, punched and kicked. If she could just maneuver Ryoga into some cold water.. 'But, no, not in front of Akane.' He'd promised long ago not to expose Ryoga, and despite what the lout had just accused him of (however rightly), Ranma was one who liked to keep his promises.

Ranma-chan sidestepped to avoid a high kick aimed at her torso, but managed to forget which body she occupied, and so didn't move far enough out of the way. Had she been a strapping, flat-chested young man, the kick would have missed her by inches. Unfortunately, with the extra three inches or so provided to her by her feminine body, she took the hit across her exposed breasts, and staggered back from the revelation of pain. Blinking back the vampire-tears that welled up in the corner of her eyes from the unexpected tenderness, she was unable to see the first bandana that whizzed past her face.

"Ranma!" cried Akane, too late to alert the off-balance fighter. This unanticipated support would have caught her off guard as well ('I thought Akane would hate me!'), but she was already ducking another razor-sharp bandana and had no time to give it any more thought. Before she could blink, the air seemed full of yellow and black bandanas, flying every which- way like a swarm of bees.

"Chestnuts Roasting Over an Open Fire!" shouted the pig-tailed girl, and her hands moved into a whirling blur of motion as each bandana was snatched from the air. Before long, the barrage of airborne razors stopped, and the two adversaries faced each other. Ryoga stood, sweating mildly, and glaring knives and daggers at Ranma-chan, who grinned wolfishly back, her hands full of bandanas yet somehow unscathed.

Ryoga's hair, without the bandanas to support it, draped down over his eyes. He shook it angrily out of the way, and launched forward, fists flying.

Without a second thought, Ranma-chan leapt above her assailant, balancing neatly on the wooden rafters overhead. With a roar, Ryoga joined him, landing just out of arm's reach on the foot-wide beam. Ranma-chan was ready for him, though. As he was recovering his balance from the jump, she planted a kick in Ryoga's abdomen directly below his ribcage, so his wind would be knocked from him again. This time, Ranma-chan didn't hold back, and gave it every ounce of strength available. Her opponent doubled over, wheezing in pain.

Three things happened, then, in the same instant. The first was that Ranma- chan dropped her weight to her hands, swinging her body around the rafter like a gymnast so she could knock Ryoga's feet from under him. The second was that Akane shouted something to the effect of "Ranma, look out!" which neither Ranma-chan nor Ryoga ever heard. Thirdly, Ryoga's fingers curled around his second piece of razor-sharp apparel, his belt. Straightening his body with an effort, Ryoga whipped it out to lash at Ranma-chan.

The rod-like razor-sharp belt missed its target by inches, whizzing by harmlessly, but, unfortunately for Ryoga, Ranma-chan did not miss hers. Tangled impossibly as Ryoga tried to reach for the rafter again, the two fell like dead weights to land on the floor with a thud.

The fight went downhill from there, the two assailants rolling on the floor, cursing and tearing at each other like rabid dogs.

Neither noticed that the blade-like belt had indeed found a final resting place.

Akane's last thought, before she blacked out from the loss of blood, was one of irony-it was always the belt that got her. She could recall a day, years ago, during Ranma and Ryoga's first fight when the thing had sliced off her beautiful long hair. If her throat hadn't been sliced open so inconveniently, she might have sighed. It was always the belt. The room lurched around her, and everything faded to darkness.

TBC?