Love Hina Fan Fiction ❯ Immortality Sucks ❯ That's gonna leave a mark ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

A/N: Don’t own the characters of Love Hina or Ranma, if I did I’d be rich.
“Okay, here’s the deal. There’s a place that I’m going to take ya'll, first Ranma and Keitaro then Shampoo, Kuno and Motoko.” Bill told the groups as they walked through the mostly deserted streets that led to the bridge.
“Ranma, you and Keitaro are to just act as a containment for anything that comes out of the rip. The rest of you need to concentrate on keeping anymore from getting out while sealing it up. Piece of cake.” he told them, smiling broadly at the people that now formed a semi-circle around him.
Motoko looked at the man curiously, “Excuse me, but may I inquire about the nature of our adversaries?” she asked, unsure of exactly what they’d be facing.
Bill chuckled a bit, “Oh yeah, guess I forgot to mention that huh? Didn’t Tsuruko tell ya’ll?” he asked, wondering where the other swordswoman went to as he looked around.
“No, she said that you would explain it all to us.” Motoko said, keeping her voice even though she was finding the man’s nonchalant attitude trying.
Frowning slightly at the woman’s disappearance, he blinked a few times as if to comprehend the younger woman’s words. “Anyways, it’s like this. There’s a kind of rip in the dimension that separates this one from the dark dimension...or hell if you want.” he said, seeing their blank expressions.
Eyes went from dull, to wide at his admission. Keitaro’s arms waved wildly about as he realized what was being asked of him. “You mean to tell me we’ve gotta fight a demon? I’m a student for crying out loud! I can’t fight, I don’t have the skills Motoko has...I don’t even have a weapon! How’m I supposed to fight a demon?” he shouted as he raced from side to side frantically during his tirade.
Ranma looked over at his ‘partner’ and sighed, waiting for the exact moment for him to pass by again and sticking his foot out, tripping the man. There was a muffled crunch as he slammed into the ground, ending his exclamations.
Looking over at Motoko, Ranma raised an eyebrow, “Does he always act like this?” he asked the girl, his voice carrying the tone of annoyance as he shook his head.
Motoko didn’t smile, her bearing the look of long suffering, “Usually, though he’s not quite that bad tonight.” she admitted, watching the immortal young man get back to his feet, totally uninjured short of his pride.
Kuno and Shampoo looked at him in surprise after having winced in sympathy at his face first landing into the concrete. Stepping closer to the blushing man, they observed him closely in wonderment at his uninjured state.
“Indeed it would seem the gods themselves have blessed yon ronin with the fortitude of the mountains though he lacks the spirit of the warrior.” said Kuno, closing his eyes as he spoke, dismissing the man as a threat to his own status as hero and champion, in his mind at least.
Shampoo rolled her eyes at Kuno, then returned her attention to Keitaro. “How you no get hurt? Shampoo want know.” she said, cocking her head from side to side, giving him an appraising look.
Keitaro immediately blushed and stammered from the close proximity to the beautiful girl, “Um...well, I don’t really know...” he said, taking a step back only to be followed by Shampoo.
“I hate to interrupt this party but we are kinda on a schedule. I mean, unless you guys WANT to fight a butt load of demons...” Bill said, shrugging and raising his hands as he walked away.
Ranma pulled Keitaro from the close proximity of Shampoo, “C’mon Shampoo, leave’m alone. Can’t ya see we got business to take care of?” he asked, frowning at his fiancee.
Shampoo smiled sweetly at Ranma, “Too too true Airen, Shampoo go kick demon back into hole, then you take Shampoo on date, yes?” she asked, interlocking her fingers behind her as she leaned closer to Ranma, her wide eyes expectant.
The pig tailed boy blushed and raised his hands defensively, “HEY! I never said I’d date you or nothin’, I just wanna test my skills against these guys!” he said, looking very paranoid about the prospect of dating Shampoo while not bothered in the least of fighting extra-dimensional evil.
Bill rubbed his forehead at the assembled heroes, “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all...hmmm...hell on earth.” he muttered, wondering if it could be as bad as chaperoning this crew.
Motoko watched dispassionately to the whole exchange, ‘Sister, did you too have to deal with such incompetence when you faced the demon hoards?’ she questioned silently, remembering the epic battles her family had fought for centuries against the hordes of the dark.
“Hello? Ya’ll remember me? The one that brought you?” called Bill, now annoyed at the delays. Seeing that he once more had everyone’s attentions, he pointed towards a large bank of fog that was rolling in rapidly.
“Okay, there’s your ride Keitaro and Ranma. Remember, just hold them off from getting through the gates, and don’t worry about the others. Alrighty you two, get going. G’luck!” he said, waving them towards the now solid wall of fog that blocked the bridge.
Ranma smiled eagerly, cracking his knuckles before looking at Keitaro, “Hey man, c’mon! This’ll be great!” he said, noticing the look of foreboding on the man’s face.
“That’s easy for you to say, at least you’re a martial artist. I’m going get killed.” he said, dragging his heels as the boy pulled him along.
Ranma smiled the cocky smile that usually sent shivers of fear through those that knew him well, “Nah, don’t worry about it. I’m the best and I’ll be there to help ya! I’m the heir to the Anything Goes School of martial arts! There ain’t no one or THING that’s better’n me!” he told the worrying man with extreme confidence.
Keitaro didn’t say anything as they rapidly approached the wall of fog, though judging by the expression on his face, he didn’t seem too reassured by that statement.
Seeing the two disappear into the fog, Motoko looked over to the man that was known to the Shinmei school, “Where are they going? It is obviously not on the bridge.” she inquired, feeling a small measure of concern for the manager of the Hinata Inn.
Bill smiled at the girl, “The rip is in the space between. If they succeed in breaching that rip they’ll pour through into this plane. It’s kinda like when your sister held off the last group that had gotten through the place between. That’s where you guys are going now. Straight to the rip. Here, attach these to your sword hilt.” he said, handing her a set of silver bells that were joined by a golden ribbon.
Her eyes narrowed at the items, but she accepted them without comment remembering a similar adornment on Tsuruko’s sword.
Kuno and Shampoo observed the exchange with interest, “What of us noble traveler? Should not the mighty Blue Thunder have such fetishes or charms to assist in the reclamation of our righteous and noble plane?” he asked, taking his eyes from the small bells.
“Nope. Her sword is special and is the only one that can seal that rip. I’ve just given her some help on it. Yours and Shampoo’s job is to keep them off her back so she can do her thing. Got it?” he asked, nodding towards the path that lead from the bridge where a fog was appearing.
Not bothering to give the man a chance to reply, Bill pointed to the now solid wall of fog that had halted only paces from them. “G’luck you guys.” he said, giving the male kendoist a shove in the right direction as he hesitated.
Motoko paused behind Kuno and Shampoo, turning back to Bill, “Will Keitaro be alright against the demons? He’s had no formal training in anything remotely helpful in this.” she asked quietly, voicing her concerns now that there was no one around.
Bill nodded slowly, “I think so, I’ve put him with probably the greatest fighter around. As long as he doesn’t listen to the promises of the dark, he’ll be fine. You’ll see him again Motoko, I promise.” he told the girl, seeing her expression soften a bit at his reassurance before she leapt through the fog and disappeared.
Smiling brightly, Bill disappeared into a swirl of silver blue energies that scattered to the winds as his corporeal form disappeared.
Elsewhere...
Ranma and Keitaro landed lightly onto a dimly lit street that looked remarkably like the one they’d just left. “Huh? What the hell?” asked Ranma quietly, glancing around to the darkened buildings.
Keitaro, used to finding himself landing in strange and exotic locations, got his bearings a bit more quickly. “Wow, it looks like the town...but, check this out.” he said, walking closer to the store that should have been the local shop. The brick work was all blackened, including the mortar and decorative pieces, each a shade lighter or darker then the rest.
“It looks like our world, only once you get closer to it, you see that it’s composed entirely a darker material. How cool is this?” he asked, sounding a bit like Seta in his enthusiasm.
Ranma however, was less then impressed, “So? I don’t care what it’s made of I just want to find these demons and get this over with.” he said, eyes keeping a wary watch on their surroundings. The air was still, heavy with moisture. There was no trace of the fog that had brought them there, nor was there any indication of a way to return.
“Um...I just thoughta somthin’” said Ranma, looking more than a bit sheepish.
“What’s that?” asked Keitaro, walking closer to the martial artist, watching the younger man rub the back of his head in embarrassment.
“You don’t happen to know how we’re gettin’ back do ya?” he asked, smiling nervously.
Keitaro stopped and stood very still for a moment, the full implications of the words resounding in his mind. Unfortunately, when he did realize what had occurred, he reacted in typical fashion, he panicked.
His hands flew to the sides of his head and grasped his thick black hair and began to vigorously muss it, “Oh my god! We’re stuck here and don’t have a way home! Naru is gonna kill me for sure! How could he do that to us? What’re we gonna do now?” he shouted as he ran in a wide circle around the now stunned Ranma, who observed him with wide eyes.
“Wow, this guy really needs a vacation.” he muttered watching him circle for the ninth time, his verbal tirades never ceasing or decreasing in volume. Seeing him reaching yet another revolution around him, Ranma thrust out his arm and grasped the frantically moving young man by the back of his collar, easily holding him off the ground to stop his running.
Keitaro, oblivious to the fact that his feet were no longer touching the ground, kept his legs moving at a rapid pace, while his eyes were tightly closed as he still screamed to the heavens about their predicament.
Shaking him back and forth didn’t bring Keitaro back to reality, so Ranma pulled him close and shouted into his ear. “YO! Get a grip will ya? Geez, you’re worse’na girl.” he yelled, finally breaking through the panic induced motions.
Blinking dumbly at his partner, Keitaro blushed as he noticed he was being held aloft, “Oh, uh...sorry about that.” he told him sheepishly. “I’m ok now, you can put me down.” he assured the pig tailed boy.
Sighing to himself, Ranma shook his head and dropped him, though he was surprised that he was able to land on his feet and keep his balance. “You’ve had some training in the art, ain’t ya?” he asked, smiling at him.
“Kinda, I worked a bit with Seta, a friend of Naru’s that’s an archeologist.” he said, nodding back. “He taught me a bit of how to defend myself, not that it works very often.” he mumbled, remembering all too often how much he was sent into LEO.
Ranma nodded in understanding, “Yep, me’n Akane are the same way. She’s an uncute tomboy that don’t let me explain or nothin’, instead just blasts me into next week whenever she feels like.” he commiserated with him.
Further conversation was halted a low ominous growl that seemed to come from all directions at once. Both sets of eyes widened before turning and quickly looking around them for the location of the growl. The shadows that only seemed to be magnified by the black terrain were lengthening, as if stretching to reach them.
Ranma leapt up into the air, turning a flipping spiral to land atop the building, giving him a better vantage point to see their attacker.
Keitaro meanwhile looked on in awe at both the power and grace the boy showed in the single move. “Wow!” he said, his eyes tracking the movements all the way to the top.
The demon had been nearby, trying to stealthily approach it’s prey, the low growl one of hunger at the thought of warm flesh to feast on. It’s taloned feet clacked on the cobblestones, alerting the amazed immortal to it’s appearance, as it drooled in anticipation of it’s meal. It could sense no power from the man, no weapons that could pierce it’s scaly hide nor any type of means of escape from it’s claws.
Keitaro turned slowly to finally lay eyes on the demon, a thing born of nightmares. It stood almost 9 feet tall, it’s long gangly arms reaching the ground before it, each ending in 7 fingered hands that bore claws on the end of each extended fingers. He swallowed hard and tried to call for Ranma, only a squeaking noise emitting from his mouth. His tongue was sudden very dry, almost sticking to the roof of his mouth as he tried once more to shout for his partner, and again only a whispering cry coming from the attempts.
With amazing speed for something so large, it closed the gap to the man, reaching cruel claws out to impale it’s victim and rend flesh from bone. It’s claws struck true, only instead of skewering the man, they drove themselves into him without breaking the skin deeply, leaving only superficial wounds. The momentum of the impact folded his midsection and drove the air from his lungs, before he was thrown backwards at almost the exactly same rate of speed that the monster had approached at.
The creature stopped suddenly, clawed feet digging trenches into the stone beneath in complete shock that the man had not only gotten away, but wasn’t injured in the least by the attack. It watched in stunned silence as the man slammed into the building at the far end of the street and blasted right through the stone wall and into the darkness beyond. There were several more crashes to be heard, indicating that the man’s flight path hadn’t been totally slowed by the initial hit and had continued on his destructive way.
The demon’s mind was so focused on the sight that it failed to register the sudden and deadly appearance of the other as it leaped down onto it’s broad back, calling something out in a language it didn’t understand before a thousand blows rained grievous devastation on it’s back. The blows blasted through the natural armor that could stop all but the most powerful of demonic claw, ripping into sinew and bone beneath, ichor and bits of broken flesh raining onto the ground below.
Ranma attacked again and again after watching in horror at the assault on the defenseless Keitaro that had sent him flying. Using the ‘Chestnuts roasting on open fire’ technique again to make sure that he put the monster down. Leaping from the demon’s back, Ranma did a midair somersault, landing on the balls of his feet, one hand bracing himself as he looked at the wound he’d given the thing.
Smiling tightly at the monster as it slowly sank to it’s knees, long arms reaching back to try to stem the flew of what passed for blood, he launched himself forwards again, this time summoning his ki and focusing it on the center mass of the demon’s torso. “Moko Takabishi!” he cried out, his fist shooting out and launching a ball of blazing energy into the demon.
The resulting explosion sizzled both ichor and flesh, evaporating then disintegrating the monster from existence and destroying a good part of the street as well. Ranma had covered his eyes with an arm against the resulting explosion, smiling in grim delight at the destruction of the demon. As the light and debris fallout died down, he leapt to the ruined front of the building where he assumed was the remains of one Keitaro Urashima.
Picking his way delicately through the rubble, he found the dazed young man walking towards him absently rubbing his belly. “That really stings!” he muttered, sounding a bit angry as he regarded his ruined shirt and sweater. Seeing Ranma before him, he paused then looked over the boy’s shoulder, “Did you get him?” he asked, wondering if he should go and hide beneath some rubble until it was done.
Ranma’s jaw hung open at the sight of Keitaro, unbroken and not bleeding standing before him. Blinking dumbly at the man, Ranma’s respect for the amount of damage the man could take increased exponentially, and started his mind working on whether or not Keitaro could teach him how he did it. ‘Man, I could really lay a hurting on the old ghoul if I could soak a beating like this guy.’ he thought idly, then shaking his head.
“Keitaro! You’re ok?” he asked incredulously, moving towards him and checking the rent shirt and sweater for blood, not finding any nor any wounds.
Slapping the boy’s hands away as he had unintentionally tickled him, “I’m fine! Really, it just took my breath away getting hit like that so hard. I mean, even Naru gives me at least SOME warning.” he told him defensively, wondering if the boy was making fun of him.
Laughing at the uninjured immortal, “You’re incredible Keitaro! Wish I could take a punch like that and just shake it off.” he said, walking from the ruined building with him. They reached the ruined street, Keitaro giving a low whistle of admiration at the sheer level of destruction.
“Holy...YOU did this?” he asked, looking at the crater that was several feet deep as well as the ruined shop fronts for meters in every direction.
Nodding, Ranma looked nonchalant, “Yep, ‘bout normally really. Only I was able to go all out instead of just trying to knock someone stupid. Felt kinda good.” he admitted with a shrug and laugh.
Keitaro joined in after a moment, the adrenaline and shock of facing off against a demon fueling the great and exciting feeling of still being alive. “I wish I could fight like you do!” Keitaro told him, kneeling and picking up a shattered cobblestone from the street.
“One day I’ll teach ya! That way you’ll learn how to land better after you get socked by that gorilla girl.” he offered, remembering the girl that had assaulted him back at the inn.
Keitaro’s face darkened slightly, “She’s NOT a gorilla girl! She just has...issues...” he trailed off, unsure of how exactly to defend Naru’s tendency to knock him as close to next week as she could.
“Hey! Sorry man, but I know how it is. I’ve got a girl just like that back home. I like her’n all, but she’s just so...” he paused as if considering his next words.
“Violent.” Keitaro finished, realizing the he’d found another that was misunderstood as much as he was.
Ranma smiled at him, clapping him on the shoulder and almost knocking the poor man over, “Exactly. C’mon, lets see what else is out here.” he said, walking towards the bridge.
The two men walked casually, each with arms behind their heads as they shared details of their lives and the chaos the women in them brought. Their laughter and comradery was interrupted by another hissing growl that came the shadows. Once more from around them came demons, spewed forth from the shadows, though these were a much smaller variety then the first. They were almost physically identical from their larger brother, though these were a sickly green with glowing red eyes.
Keitaro jumped at the sight of the red eyes, his thoughts immediately going to the sight of Naru and her red eyes of rage just before nailing him into LEO once more. Realizing that this wasn’t Naru and that he was about to face smaller versions of the ugly thing before, he did what was normal for him in this situation. He panicked.
“AHHHHHH!” he cried, leaping back only to find himself within the ranks of more of the demons. The demons, surprised at the sudden arrival of their prey next to them, looked at him, as he looked at them. Nothing was said for a long moment, before Keitaro screamed. The demons in turn screamed with him before watching him leap to the farside of the circle.
Ranma, unused to such ariel techniques that didn’t involve beating on a similarly airborne opponent, wasted no time in jumping at the little monsters and weaving into an intense battle with them. He was all motion and strikes, wasting no actions or openings as the quicker and more skilled fighter laid into the demons, carving a wide swath of destruction in his wake.
A voice called from the far side of the street, “Ranma Saotome prepare to DIE!” screamed a young man wearing a yellow shirt with matching yellow and black bandana’s. He wielded an umbrella of the same color as well as was wearing a rather heavy and sturdy looking backpack.
Ranma, without missing a beat in his attacks, groaned before yelling to the new comer. “Yo!
Chan, can’t you see we got bigger issues at the moment?” he yelled, driving his fist into the skull of a demon, crumpling it around his knuckles.
Ryoga, pulling off a bandana and whizzing it at another demon, neatly slicing off it’s leg, blushed, “Sorry, old habit.” he said, focusing on attacking the demons with his long time rival and friend.
Keitaro, stunned at the arrival of another highly capable fighter, paused to regard his newest ally, leaving himself wide open to a triad of demons that leapt atop him eagerly, sharpened fangs seeking flesh. He screamed in terror as they attached themselves to him, unbalancing him and sent falling into a building nearby. The demon on his back, so intent on trying to get a bite of the human in it’s grasp, was unaware of the imminent danger until it was too late, getting unceremoniously smashed into the wall.
The immortal felt a wet substance ooze down his back, increasing his horror and fear, thinking that he’d been seriously wounded. “Help! It got me! GETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFF!” he cried to his two allies, leaping from the ground and running at an incredible rate around them.
His circuit around the two master fighters had taken him once more into the path of the remaining demons, his furiously pumping legs not stopping as they ran up and over several of the unfortunate creatures, either stunning them outright or knocking them back into the shadows. The remaining two demons could only hold on in fright at the speeds in which Keitaro was reaching, the winds howling as they threatened to rip them from the tenuous hold they had on the man.
Ranma and Ryoga looked on in stunned awe at the frantically screaming and running man, repeatedly running over any remaining demon that had dazedly picked up it’s head, smashing it back into the unforgiving ground.
Looking over at Ranma, Ryoga could only point, his mouth hanging open at the surprisingly successful antics of Keitaro.
Ranma nodded with a rueful smile, shaking his head and going to finish off the remaining demons, including the two that had fallen off the screaming immortal and were now walking in a dizzied circle trying to get their bearings.
Finishing off the demons, Ranma once more waited just inside the route of Keitaro’s run, then stuck out an arm and grabbed him by the collar. “YO! Keitaro!” he said, shaking the man vigorously to snap him back to the here and now.
The violent jerking of his head finally brought the poor man’s mind back into control and he looked over at Ranma. “I, uh, did it again didn’t I?” he asked, sheepishly, laughing at himself as he rubbed the back of his head.
“Yep, but you sure did a number on the ugly little guys.” he congratulated the young man, setting him back down.
“This here is Ryoga, an old friend of mine.” he introduced the lost boy to Keitaro who shook his hand.
Ryoga pointed to the mess and goo that was the remains of the demons, then back to Keitaro, “How?” was all he managed before holding up his hands and shaking his head. “Never mind, never mind. I’m better off not knowing.” he said finally, feeling the familiar ache in his mind that came with dealing with Ranma.
Keitaro meanwhile was trying to look at his back, wondering how badly he was wounded. Looking over at the other two, he swallowed hard, his face going pale. “Okay, tell me how bad it is. I can take it.” he managed to say, knowing that he was probably going to die here in this place between. ‘I never even got to really kiss a girl! I’ll never make it into Todai. Never get married and have kids...or do the thing that brings kids to the world.’ he thought, a goofy smile appearing on his face at the thought.
Ranma shook his head and wrinkled his nose at the sight of the smashed demon on the man’s back. “Um, I think you’ll survive, but you’d best take a bath...soon.” he emphasized, picking off a piece of goo covered remains from within the folds of Keitaro’s now throughly ripped and ruined shirt.
Keitaro, even the pragmatist, took one look at the slime that was covering his back and realized what it was. He smiled dumbly at them, then his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell backwards, fainting dead away.
Sighing, Ranma leaned next to the man, shaking his head at Ryoga who had done the same on the opposite side of the immortal. “He’s not too bright is he?” asked Ryoga, poking the man in the chest to make sure he was still alive.
Ranma smiled at the lost boy, “Nope, but he sure can take a beating.” he said, chuckling at the devastating unconscious man and his unorthodox but highly effective tactics. ‘Maybe I should incorporate his techniques into the Anything Goes School...’ he thought, then remembered the running and flapping arms accompanied by high pitched screams. ‘On second thought...’ he decided to just keep his mouth shut on this one.
Back near the Hinata Sou...
Bill chuckled at the sight of the goo covered and semi-conscious form of Keitaro, his arms stretched across the muscular shoulders of Ryoga and Ranma as they carried him through the gate of fog. “I take it he did well then?” he asked, smiling broadly.
Ranma nodded and gave the man a tired smile, “He’s something else...not sure exactly WHAT that is, but he’s something alright.” he affirmed, gently setting the man down.
“Glad to see you finally showed up too Ryoga. Have many problems finding the place?” asked Bill shaking the man’s hand in greeting.
“Your directions weren’t very clear.” he said, blushing at the statement, but unwilling to lose face infront of the others that were assembled.
Kuno was a mass of bruises and cuts, though he mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like “I fight on.”
Motoko and Shampoo meanwhile were spotless and unscathed from their actions with the rip. “Did Urashima suffer any wounds during your battles?” she asked quietly, noting his torn and disheveled appearance as well as the coating of demon goo.
“Nah, he actually gave a lot more than he got. Took out a good number of the smaller ones while he was at it. Got blasted through a couple of buildings but got right back up like it was nothing.” admitted Ranma, elaborating on the confrontation with the large monster.
Bill smiled knowingly as he nodded at the story, watching with interest at the expression of Motoko as she heard of his efforts. ‘Hmmm...perhaps I was correct.’ he thought, seeing both her concern and pride at the actions of the immortal one.
“Okay guys, great work. When ya’ll get back to your homes, not one word of what happened, understood? Your rewards will be in your rooms waiting for you. You did great!” he applauded them, nodding to each in turn, even the still dazed Keitaro.
Watchingas the group from Nerima carried away the beaten Kuno, he smiled at Motoko, “So, I take it he got the worst end of the deal?” he asked her.
Motoko looked disgusted as she watched them carry the loud mouthed buffoon away, “He was caught posturing to a demon that proceeded to use him for target practice. With the exception that he never gave up, even after taking a beating, he’s useless. His skills with the sword are a pale form of our school, and he lacks focus...” she began to list off his faults, quickly running out of fingers as her expression grew dark.
“And if that, that, that...THING! offered to date me one more time, I was going to kill him myself!” she said, her voice rising indignantly.
Bill barely restrained his laughter, remembering well the reputation of the sword masters from the Shinmei school and knowing it would be hazardous to his health. “Well, his whole purpose was to distract the demons, and it looks like he did a good job of that. Look at the bright side, he took a beating for offering.” he said, winking at the much younger girl.
Motoko glared the man, but said nothing, feeling slightly better with the memory of the abuse the fool had suffered and survived at the hands of the demons.
“Anyhow, you need help getting sleeping beauty here home?” he offered her, pointing to the now stirring Keitaro.
“No, he will be fine in a moment. I thank you for the opportunity to assist in this threat. Call upon me again should the need arise.” she said, giving him a bow of respect.
Bill returned the show of respect, but smiled cryptically, “Oh, ah...don’t worry about that. I’m sure we’ll meet again soon. You want me to make sure Keitaro here comes with?” he offered, keeping his face neutral to gather her response.
Her expression softened looking at the man lying on the ground, his eye lids just starting to flutter. Nodding finally, she smiled affectionately at him, “Yes, I believe that he will do well with these experiences.” she told him quietly, before wondering about her own words. ‘Why would I ask for him to come?’ her mind asked, ignoring the quiet and rarely recognized voice from her heart that told her the reason she refused to see.
Nodding, “You got it then. He comes with you. Take care of yourself and him Motoko, you brought much honor to your family tonight. They’ll receive word about your exploits shortly.” he told her, waving happily as he walked off into the night whistling a cheerful ditty.
Looking back over to Keitaro, she straightened her red pants as she secured her sword then leaned down and assisted him to his feet. “Come Keitaro...” she said softly, “I’ll keep watch while you use the hot springs. You deserve that much for your actions this night...you performed with a warriors soul.” she told him, her voice barely audible.
Keitaro, feeling her touch but not understanding a word she said, nodded drunkenly. Together the two unlikely companions made their way back home, under the watchful but unseen eyes of someone high above them in the inn, a frown on her beautiful face.
Elsewhere...
Chase looked at Bill across the table as he entered, shaking her head with a wry smile. “Okay, you’re right, he’s got the stuff. But tell me, did you really know he would be okay out there?” she asked, pointing to the display that showed Keitaro running around frantically.
Bill laughed openly but shook his head in the negative. “Nope, but it sure was a riot to see him in action wasn’t it?” he told her, slapping his knee at the man’s antics.
Chase pursed her lips as she considered her best friend, “You know you shouldn’t be interfering in their relationship right? We could get into some serious issues by you doing that.” she asked him, knowing he’d understand.
Bill’s smile slipped a bit, but he shrugged. “I’m just trying to do what we were told to do. Make sure that our heroes are well cared for. Besides, it’s not like the attraction wasn’t already there, right? All I did was push them closer so they could see it.” he defended his actions with an innocent smile.
Shaking her head, she stood slowly and stretched, “I hope you know what you’re getting into. We’ve got indications of several more rips about to surface. Seems like the Oni of old are going to make a reappearance. Don’t rock the boat too much Bill, if they want it, they’ll find it. Now go find your wife and kid, I’m sure they miss you.” she said, making a shooing motion with her hands at the man.
Bowing to her, “Yes your almighty ladyship that rules my meager and pitiful existence.” he said, his voice going to a deep baritone.
Rolling her eyes, she laughed as he bounced from the room, “That’s it, no more bringing that Kuno guy on your missions. You’re goofy enough as it is.” she ordered to the closing door.
End of chapter notes: Okay, I need to give credit to a site where I got some of Ranma’s attacks from. Tapanime Dot com. Under the physical violence section. It’s got a good section that’s humorous as well as informative. If it’s inaccurate according to the true cannon, I’m sorry, but it fit what I needed. :) Also, I have to say thanks for the reviews on this story, I’m having some fun writing it, and hope it’s as enjoyable to you all as well. Stay tuned Kei-fans for more antics and actions from our reluctant hero. Same Kei-time, same Kei-channel. (Runs off humming horribly off key the campy batman theme)

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