Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Dark Prayer ❯ The Edge ( Chapter 2 )

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

Dark Prayer
By: X-Zero

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½, those characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

Chapter 2- The Edge

The school day went by surprisingly normally, discounting the fact that Kuno was still unconscious in the infirmary. This meant that Ranma's habit of late, actually paying attention in class, was being observed with a bit of fear. The pigtailed one observed his classes boredly, not finding anything among the curriculum he didn't already know. Of course, when the class topic is involving physics, there are no higher authorities on their laws than one Saotome Ranma. He sat in class, noting a few mistakes being made by the teacher, but nothing worth noting really, just slight miscalculations in minor parts of the formulas, he could almost be called focused, until the bell rang. In an instant he had crossed the room and pushed easily out the window, tucking into a roll in midair.

As he reached the ground another brief flare of his ki could be felt by the sensitive or trained, and in that instant his near terminal velocity had slowed dramatically and he set down on the ground without raising dust. He strode casually to his tree, his refuge from the moronic commonality that was the student populace, each holding some odd superstition about the young man, each equally wrong in their assumption. So far the only ones to get to know him were Hiroshi and Daisuke, and even then, since getting together with Yuka and Sayuri respectively they had less guy time. The two hormone driven teens could be seen chasing after the pair of coeds, apologizing profusely for something they had apparently said, he smiled bitterly as he leapt into a low branch of the tree, pulling out the wrapped bento and saying a silent thank you to the eldest Tendo sister. He opened his lunch and inhaled the wonderful aroma of still warm rice and strips of steak. He started eating the delicious treat slowly, not having to worry about his food being stolen by his greedy father, or poisoned by a lunatic gymnast.

"Hiya Ranchan!" Ranma looked down and saw the smiling face of Ukyo gazing back up to him as he finished the bento, a plate with a fresh Okonomiyaki being offered up to him as he ate his bento. He smiled softly at the young woman, she cared about him so much he knew, but restrained herself from being overbearing, an attitude she had adopted since the failed wedding, having been shocked at her own behavior. He couldn't fault her entirely, she had serious abandonment issues, not that he'd put it in so many words. "Thanks Ucchan." He said, wolfing down the pizza-like dish in a couple of bites, savoring the flavor of the well made pie as he stuffed it in his stomach. "That was delicious, thank you." He said, having emptied his mouth of food. He'd barely had time to swallow before he heard a sound he had come to dread second only to Kodachi's maniacal cackle.

*BRING BRING*

A bicycle bell, so simple a thing that would seem so innocent to so many, but not to him, he knew the horrors such a thing could cause. He darted from the tree limb and pushed Ukyo out of the path of the descending aluminum transportation before…

*CRASH*

It was an interesting predicament, being stuck beneath the tires of a bike, treads digging into his back, while head and his arms thrust forward, spread in a vague warding gesture. He hadn't even been given the chance to recover before being subjected to another one of those cruel punishments fitting only for those that spawned evil, hateful things, like the teletubbies. "Nihao airen, I bring you too too delicious ramen. You eat than take Shampoo on date, yes?" Asked as the bicycle was tossed to the wayside, and he was gathered into a bone crushing... embrace, one might call it.

Ranma could only groan slightly, his air cut off and the darkness swimming across his vision in small spots as he slowly turned a deep blue. Weakly and only if one listened carefully could you hear the strangled plea. "Le'go, help me." He tried, but failed to break the Amazon's grip around the base of his diaphragm. Though she probably couldn't get her off of him, Ukyo sure as hell was going to try, she rushed towards them, "Let go of Ranchan you bimbo." She said, bringing her combat spatula to bear. Near the edge of the oblivion, Ranma's danger sense sent a jolt through him, rousing him. <Oh shit, trouble.>

Ranma panicked, Shampoo and Ukyo weren't safe, and they wouldn't sense the attack until they couldn't avoid it. An instant was enough to formulate a plan. Finding his focus he released enough ki that his aura surged outward in a strange shockwave. Both girls were blown back by the density and expulsion of tightly reigned bio-energy, clearing the blast zone as the young man reigned his aura back into his body, weaving it tightly into every cell, pushing each to its limits. His perceptions returned to the physical, watching as chains, daggers, and a varied assortment of pointy, slicy, and poundy type death annihilated the ground where he was moments earlier, lifting dirt and rock into the air, masking his position in the air until his ascent carried him over the bloom of earth. He scanned the immediate area, finding his target a short distance away before loosing that feral grin. The earpieces were still there, despite being brained. His lips formed words spoken to seemingly no one. "Mousse" The song began, he knew its name, One Step Closer, by the American group Linkin Park. He grinned, gathering energy around his fists as he fell toward the blind-ish Amazon male. "Hey duck boy, this is it, I'm tired of your shit." He yelled, not hearing his opponent's response. <Probably something about how I'm trying to seduce shampoo.> He thought irritated as he released his own barrage of attacks. "Ryuusei Ame!" His fists glowed red as restrained rage filled his fists and unleashed the feelings into Mousse, the hard way.

The punches rained down on the painfully near-sighted Amazon for nearly ten seconds, each red coated fist exploding against his white robes, the fist pumping back to regain its scarlet hue, each fleshy weapon alternating in this fashion. Finally, with a rage filled scream Ranma threw a last punch, the force and expelled ki exploding around his fist. Both he and Mousse were thrown backward by the larger than average burst of energy. Mousse was thrown dazedly to land on his back, groaning as he rose from his position, refusing to succumb to unconsciousness. He'd win damnit! He wouldn't leave his beloved to this monstrous beast! The myopic martial artist growled loudly and released a barrage of chains at his enemy, the spiked links tearing through the air as the morningstar heads plowed into the ground before Ranma before he himself rushed inwards toward his hated foe. "Die, enemy of women! Kamo Hitouchi!"

A white-gold glow seemed to swirl around he thrust his clenched fists outward, opening as he struck. The glow launched forth, before showing to be dozens of small feather shaped ki-bolts. The pigtailed hero quickly realized that his opponent had trapped him, using his refusal to involve innocents in his fights to keep him from dodging this attack. If he did he would endanger the non-martial artist students who had flocked to the fight. Determined he released his aura, and with the rapid release it exploded outward. He threw his left arm out at a slight angle, simultaneously doing the same with his right. The limbs moved so quickly they tore the very air, and a pair of vacuum blades formed within his aura, and immediately surged outward catching several of the feathers in their wake, others within the blade itself, each exploding on contact, their flow disrupted.

"That's enough! Put one more of them in danger cause you wanna kill me duck boy, and I'll show you why Saffron lost." He promised, his aura expanding with hot anger, veins crimson pulsing through his aura of confidence. Ranma's challenge went unrequited, and Mousse launched from his volumous sleeves a heavy payload of chains at Ranma, leaving a crater in place of his opponent whose anger could be felt in tangible waves by everyone present, and masters throughout the island chain on which Japan was situated. Ranma had not wasted a motion, sidestepping the onslaught that scarred the school grounds, only suffering a few shallow cuts from unearthed rocks. Ranma sneered at the pitiful man he faced, and rushed Mousse from his standing position, his takeoff speed pushing a rut into the concrete on which he stood from the pressure.

As the pigtailed martial artist charged his opponent those in the crowd normally unable to see his aura were surprised, a bonfire of energy having been visible to the mob of teenagers for the majority of the fight, their untrained eyes marveling at the deadly beauty of Ranma's soul. They were all shocked, having believed that the story about Ranma going to China, and blowing up a mountain were exaggerated tales from an over inflated ego, though now they could all share a common thought, one who despised him more than any other on the grounds, Kuno Tatewaki who watched everything from the window of the infirmary, finally standing. "Could it be that the mercenary Tendo spake the truth? That the sorcerer journeyed to the mystic land of China to do mortal combat with the Honou-tentei?" Others who were uncertain could no longer deny what they saw before them.

A spinning back fist from the left, reaping sweep to the ankles from the right, and the ki-enhanced hammer fist to the back sent the myopic martial artist crashing to the concrete, dazed and hurt. Ranma leapt back, struggling to control the swelling rage within him, wanting desperately for the boy to rise, he hadn't finished him, just reminded him where his place was, his place in the pecking order, Furinkan and Nerima were his, and he wasn't going to let any fool wannabe take from him his territory, he'd show him that he wasn't at all boasting when he said he was the best.

Mousse grunted in pain as he rose to his slippered feet, he was determined to win; he'd do anything to get Shampoo, anything. The moment he was able, he loosed an armorer's cache of daggers at a rapid rate born of obvious desperation, trying to ward of the slowly advancing form wreathed in spirit fire. Unfortunately for him, the path of his knives was far too widespread and even more unfortunately, would hit the students were they to miss their target. "Time to burn, ducky." His anger bolstered his degrading strength, the protective aura having taken great strength from him. His arms burned as power flooded them to complete the task he had set before him.

"Nigori Hari!" The pinpoint motes of light drew out of the air and between his wrists; the energy coalesced and was thrust forth in a matter of seconds, small bolts of directed ki spread from his body, reducing the projectiles to molten slag with seemingly minimal effort. Then with an expression of his enormous will he turned the remaining shots of energy at his half-blind foe, each small bolt striking the Amazon or the area around him detonating on impact. No small amount of rage fueled his attack on the raven-haired Amazon. As he released his hold on the technique, the myopic moron fell into unconsciousness, body riddled with burns from the explosions and otherwise grievously injured. "Sleep mode." And the earpieces went silent, the track ending. He then noticed to his horror that one blade had slid through his guard, past him and into some innocent in his haste to destroy them all. He lost any appearance of tired as he rushed toward the downed girl, hilt of a dagger jutting out of her leg. He knelt down to her, with a quickly diminishing look of panic, he needed to stay calm. He appraised the wound with grim efficiency, no damaged nerves; it had missed the artery but would need stitches. He quickly tapped a few pressure points around the wound halting the slowing the blood flow, and halting the majority of the bleeding. "C'mon, I'll take you to the nurse; she can help you until the ambulance arrives." He said lifting her into tired arms, and began to sprint, as fast as weary muscles would carry him, to the nurse, and the infirmary.

Akane, whom had stayed inside until she heard Ranma's technique explode against dozens of blades and a blind duck, only saw him lifting a random girl and running off with her, so she followed his path to the entryway, hurrying to find him, jealousy and anger clouding her mind from noticing the obvious, such as the unconscious Amazon, the craters, or even the dozens of melted knives that lay as glowing pools on the concrete.

In the infirmary Ranma was resting on a cot that had been set up for unconscious members of the hentai horde, ingesting a gross amount of the leftover lunch menu, hunger having gotten to him after his worries were sated. The paramedics had arrived shortly after he had, and were instructing the injured girl, who, now removed from his battle haze, Ranma recognized as Akane's friend Yuka, how to use the crutches she'd need to use for a while as her leg healed.

Akane made it to the infirmary as the paramedics left, gone off to deal with things elsewhere within the city. There she saw Ranma, obviously gorging himself after doing perverted things with some hussy. With that thought she decided he needed to be punished, and so she went she stomped toward him, her anger driven battle aura, swirling up into a blaze of jealousy and rage. She pulled out her mallet and dealt the blow she felt was divine justice being delivered. She never saw the attack that sent her into the wall, spider web cracks forming as she slumped to the floor unconscious.

Unnoticed, the cloaked woman stood in the tree outside, watching as events played out during the fight, and then in the infirmary. <He's beginning to release his hold on his skill. The strength with which he is using the techniques is increasing, soon, very soon will things fall into place.>

To be continued…

Ranma's beginning to release his hold on his power, strength left checked until the direst of times. What'll happen next?


Techniques Translation:
Ryuusei Ame: This means Meteor Rain, it's an anger driven ki-empowered barrage of Amaguriken speed strikes, tiring at first but with training Ranma's improved on the technique, making it easier to do.
Kamo Hitouchi- This literally translates into Wild Duck Blow.
Nigori Hari: This roughly translates into Cryptic Needle; its literal translation is Murky/Unclear Needle.
Honou-tentei: This is a poetic way of saying Phoenix God. The route word honou refers to the mystical phoenix, the suffix tentei means, lord, god, or heavenly l