Credits:                        WARNING! *ahem* FANFIC!

Based on characters and situations created by Rumiko Takahashi
Inspired by Marisa Price's "A Lesson in Love: Part 10"
(Found at http://value.net/~marisa/lesson.html)

Now, without further ado...

WITHIN THE CANDLE-FLAME
-Christopher Willmore

 	"Ryouga-sama!" Akari rushed towards him as he propped himself
against the doorway, almost too weak to stand.  Good, gentle,
Akari...  He could always count on her... No matter how much Ranma
taunted him, no matter how much he realised that Akane's cuddles
and caresses were only for her 'P-Chan', he knew he had a place
here... In the country...  Away from fights, or disputes, or
kidnapping... Just peace, tranquillity...  And Akari's walnut
hair.  "What's happened to you?" she cried, horrified.  He forced
himself out of his stupor - the  sight of her had drawn him into a
deep trance, and it took all his mental effort, more than that
required to focus the Shishi Houkodan, to bring him out of his
pink pig-dotted dream-world, and back to reality.
	What that reality WAS, was, at the moment, a bit uncertain.
	"I... I mean... I..." He blinked. "Where am I?"
	"My house."
	"Your house? But I..." He'd never been here before - Had
he? It was... So hard to remember... He took a glance into the
entry-room, and decided he had not. He'd surely remember a place
whose walls were papered with pictures of pigs.
	That meant.... That meant, that not only had his horrible
navigation not gotten him lost... (Well, not in any BAD way) It
had brought him to HER house...
	<It... It must be fate...>
	His Niobe shook him by the shoulders.
	"What's wrong?!? ANSWER ME! Are you all right?" Tears filled her
 eyes. "I... I NEED you, Ryouga... There's... There's no one ELSE that
can fill me like you can..."
	"FILL you?"
	Ryouga's nose started to throb...
	<Baka, that's NOT what she means, and you KNOW it.>
	But he WAS having those thoughts, he admitted to
himself... Could it be.. Could it be that he'd FINALLY...
	"I'm empty inside, Ryouga, and.. None of the others...
They... They just can't SATISFY me... Only you..."
	Maybe... Maybe she DID mean that...
	A trickle of blood flowed down the groove in his upper
lip.
	Especially when he thought of...
	"Others?"
	"Hai," she nodded, and smiled. "Dozens. Sometimes thrice a
day, seldom less than twice..."
	*piku* *piku*
	Nice, gentle, Akari...  He had always thought she was so
innocent, so sweet, and now it turned out that she was... Quite
the lady... By her OWN admission...
	The trickle grew into a torrent as mental images of her
exertions filled his mind, and he began to tremble.  Rock
fragments, he could deal with.  Angry martial artists, as well....
But... A lustful would-be bride, with EXPERIENCE, and...
	"You'll give them all up for me?"
	"I would, Ryouga. To have you, I would give them up." More
tears from her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.  From
anyone else, this would have landed him in a coma, but from her,
it seemed... Right...
	Her thin, bare arms were draped around the sides of his
upper chest, going up his shoulders, and following his backpack's
straps to just behind his red umbrella, where clasped hands met at
the base of  his neck, pressing against his mane of hair, pressing
it again his skin, as it filled itself with sweat...
	Sweat also coursed down his brow, joining with the blood
from the middle of his face and dripping down, drop by drop, onto
Akari's bosom.
	Ranma would have found it disgusting.
	Akane would have probably blushed, and pretended she
didn't notice.
	Akari grinned, and seemed to enjoy it.
	<Oh, boy...>
	Already weakened by a disease he had picked up in Mexico,
his knees softened and turned to jelly, while his stomach turned
somersaults... Fortunately, he had not eaten for days...
	"Who.. Who were they? I don't mind, but..."
	She looked him in the eyes mischievously, then shushed him
with a brief release of air from her barely-parted lips.
	He gulped, and those same lips came closer.
	And closer.
	Then... Touched.
	It begun as a tingle, at his mouth, then spread through
his cheeks, down his sides, gaining in intensity, and in
pleasure... She explored his teeth and tissues, searching,
looking, tasting...
	"Akari..." he tried to murmur, but her tongue against him
soon silenced him.
	The feeling of pleasure grew... He... He hadn't KNOWN that
this could be... He'd had a hint, when Akane had stroked him as
her pet, but this...
	She needed HIM, and she was taking it...
	Finally, the culmination.  Her grip on him became airtight
- he was unable to breath, and with his weakened limbs he felt
himself drift close to unconsciousness...
	And then, the pain as she bit into him.
	He should have screamed, or shouted, or pulled away,
but.... He relished it, ENJOYED the novelty of welcoming such a
sensation...  Ranma's chestnut punches didn't come close to
this... Sharp shrapnel, sometimes, but...  There was friendship,
and promise of more, mixed in with this...
	At length, the farmer-girl pulled back, with bloody lips.
 She smiled again as her Ryouga-sama rubbed his mouth, and licked
the reddish tincture off her own.
	"If you must know about the others..."  Her countenance
grew sombre.  "They were SWINE."
	<Swine?> Maybe the rumours about farmers...
	"Not like YOU, mind..."
	<You don't know HOW relieved I am to hear you say that...
Not that it'd change anything, not now...> Or would it? Who
knew... Right now, he couldn't think. He'd given up all mental
processes and decided to let his senses rule him.
	Sight - a beautiful and enthusiastic girl, with his blood
on her face.
	Sound - Her promises of fidelity, and of renouncing all
others for HIS sake! Not for P-Chan's, not for Ranma's friend and
adversary, but for Hibiki Ryouga!
	Smell - His own nervous sweat, and the ambrosia that was
her scent.
	Taste - His tongue still kept the memory of her own mouth,
of how it'd savoured, how it'd proved more delicious than...
Than...  There was no dish rich enough to compare it to.
	Touch - He was trembling, from fear and anticipation... It
was like the time he thought he'd met his mate, another one of
Ranma's disguises...  He'd promised the same things, and they'd
gone together to the park... On that walk, he'd... Felt these odd,
consuming shivers...  A fever also burned inside of him, whether
from the illness, or the effect of the girl before him, he did not
know... And his knees still wobbled, making him sway...
	No matter... He felt that as long as he had her before him,
as a beacon, he could never stray... Her... Her NEED for him
would always be there... It'd brought him to her today... He knew
that if he could only gather up the resolution, he'd never be lost
again...
	"Not... Like me?" he asked.
	She shook her head.
	"They were all... Easy to catch, and CONSUME...  They
were so easily spent... You...  You are quite the challenge... No one
has taken you, but... I would do so, if you'll let me..."
	<If I'll LET her?!?>
	His legs finally gave in, and he dropped into an impromptu
kneeling posture.
	"I.... I'll let you, Akari! I will!"
	"You WILL?"
	"Yes!"
	"Are you sure?"
	He was sure. For the first time, he was sure... What he'd
seen and heard in the past few days had finally convinced him that
his chances with Akane were slim, if any...  And here she was...
Sweet... Loving.. And... Other things.
	"I'm sure!"
	The girl squealed with delight and jumped up into the air,
clicking her heels.
	"Oh, this is WONDERFUL! We... We must get you bathed..."
	"Bathed?"
	"You have to be clean, before... Before I can gobble you
up!"  She winked.  "Don't you faint, now! Then, it's no fun...  It
can be done, but..."
	"I... I WON'T!"

	She took his backpack off of him and propped him up,
helping up the stairs of the house to the second floor.
Thankfully, the bathroom was just beyond the landing.
	"Well... Here we are..."
	"I... I'm afraid I don't have any spare clothes... I gave
my last outfit away to..."   He stopped himself.  No need... No
need to go into that. Now that he'd found HER, he wouldn't end up
with... With that other woman... As if they'd ever liked each
other, anyway...
	"Oh," purred Akari, "I don't think you'll be NEEDING
clothes for much longer...."
	That was very fortunate, because a full half of his coarse
yellow shirt was at that moment stained with blood.
	"Just walk through the door, dear," she continued, and
helped him through it.  Once they were in, she locked it behind
her, and pocketed the key.
	Now, Ryouga began to see stars.
	The bathroom tiles were in an Escher-like pattern of pink
pigs, and the large metal bathtub had pig anti-slip adhesives on
the bottom of it.
	"Nice... Nice decorations."
	"I loooooooooooove pigs," smiled the girl.  "Now... For
the clothes..."
	He closed his eyes, knowing that if he SAW this being
done, he might faint, and at the moment, he WANTED to experience
all of what would be going on...
	When prompted, he raised his arms above his head, and she
easily slipped off his shirt.  It was somewhat stiffed, caked with
mud, and sweat (and smelling of it!), now covered in a crimson
liquid...  Yet, it slipped easily past his muscles, lubricated as
they were with his body oils and excrescences.
	"Your muscles..." she murmured, "They're... So smooth, and
tight..."
	"I practice a lot," he stammered.
	"A little... Heat will relax them, I'm sure..."
	He gulped.
	"Oh, yes," she went on, as she slipped off a bandanna,
"things might start off a bit cool..."
	"No! No! Not at all..."
	She poked him in the nose.
	"But I GUARANTEE they'll get a LOT steamier..."  A few
moments later... "Say, how many of these do you HAVE?"
	He opened his eyes to see a heap of yellow-and-black
patterned cloth in front of him.
	"Uh... I lost count."
	"Could you take them off for me? I like my little
piggies... COMPLETELY naked before I start..."
	"Uh... Ah... Er..."
	She closed his eyelids for him with her thumbs, then
guided his hands to the right place on his head.  Then, Ryouga
took off the rest of the accessories.
	Her hand went next to his heels, poking, and tickling...
	He giggled as she pulled off his slippers, running her
index finger up and down the sole of his feet...
	Next off were the white socks.  When his feet were bare,
she grasped them, running her hands over them, and even... Testing
them once or twice, with her tongue...
	<Now I'm REALLY going to faint... Hold on, Ryouga, hold
on...>
	"Nice spice..." she murmured, then went on to undo the
knot at his waist that kept his trousers tightened over him.
Instinctively, he reached out to stop her.
	"Akari, I..."
	"We can't go on unless you take those off, honey..."
	"I know, but..."
	"You promised," she pouted.
	"But..."
	"I can't see it...  Not unless you let me take them off...
 And I'll bet it's so nice and FLESHY, too..."
	Another gulp from him.
	"I.. Ah..." He grew quiet.
	"Silence gives consent," said his partner, and undid the
cord.
	The pants came off with surprising ease.
	"We're almost done, Ryouga-sama....  Just a few more
minutes, and you'll be in me..."
	"A... Akari..."
	He still couldn't believe this was happening.  His clothes
were gone, he was in a locked bathroom with a girl who wanted
to... Wanted to...  He... She....
	She was crouching above him, legs straddled over his hips,
and holding a sharp dagger to his throat.
	"N...  NANI?!?"
	"Like I said, Ryouga-sama.... Soon you'll be in me..."
	"But... I thought..."  He tried to move, but found he
couldn't.
	"Don't even bother, dear... The nerve paralyser I rubbed
into your feet should have done the job by now... No movement from
the neck down...." She glanced below his navel. "Unfortunately...
Then again, I make it a rule not to play with my food."
	"FOOD?!?"
	"Of course!  I run a pig farm... I eat pork for two or
three of my daily meals... I *love* it...  Every hunt is a thrill
for me - I get to know every victim... I thought my sumo pig was
the ultimate conquest, so I saved him... I saved him as a test for
my groom-to-be; a man who could defeat THAT pig could aid me in my
quest for the ultimate porcine delicacy...  Until, of course, I
found out that that delicacy was YOU."
	"I am not a PIG!!!"
	"Some would disagree with that."
	"What?!?"
	"Like Akane... Ranma... (Of course, he thinks you're swine
of a different kind), and... Myself..."
	"You tricked me!"
	"Doesn't everyone?  You're just so fun to deceive,
pig-boy...  It's almost too bad the game has to end, but it does,
doesn't it? You were diverting me from other goals... And now..."
	"Now?"  Sweat rushed down his forehead.  What could he do?
Call down a ki-blast? He was more scared than depressed,
though... Scared, for the first time in his life...
	<Think, Ryouga, THINK...> He had to focus on the BLACK
aspects..  <Akane... Akane thinks of you only as a PIG.  Ranma
TRICKS you. EVERYONE tricks you...>  Not good enough... He'd been
too happy, too recently....
	"Oh, no... None of THAT, darling... I know your powers,
and I'm not about to let you destroy my pig-farm with one of those
explosions...  At least, you're going to die happy.  Or before
you're truly depressed, at any rate...  Goodbye, Ryouga... Though
I have a feeling I'll be having P-Chan for supper..."
	Those were the last words he heard before the dagger swung
down and slit his throat.
	
	It was done.  The prey had been slaughtered, now all she
had to do was drag the corpse into the tub, turn on the cold
water, clean the resulting piglet, and take it down to the
kitchen.
	Sure, it might have been easier to splash him to begin
with, but where would the fun have been in THAT? What would have
been the CHALLENGE in hacking a cornered porker? This way, she'd
remember it...
	For ever...
	And the meal, of course...
	She grunted as she lifted the heavy corpse into the metal
tub... A kind of coffin, when you thought of it...  She turned the
water on and... Nothing.
	She blinked.
	And stared.
	Granted, she enjoyed doing that.  Even after death, the
body was not...  Unpleasant... Under other circumstances, she
might have... 	
	Never. She had to save that aspect of herself as a
prize for he who beat the pig...
	But... She tested the water. Cold.. Maybe the curse was
reversed?
	Hot water, now.
	STILL nothing.  Curious... Had he cured himself? No...  He
would have told her...  Maybe...
	She remembered an old werewolf movie, where the final shot
was of a naked, uncursed man lying dead in the street with a
silver bullet through his chest.  Maybe Jusenkyo was the same, and
the curse fled the body when it was killed...
	Oh, well... She grinned. A pig was a pig, no matter what it
looked like.
	And this one looked FABULOUS.  There'd be more meat now -
she'd have to freeze some of it - and of a higher quality... All
those 'trained' muscles of his, and that one, tender, untrained
one that proved to be delectable, as well...
	She'd heard the natives of the Fiji islands had some
WONDERFUL recipes for this kind of thing.... Maybe she could get
her friends in town to look up a few in the library...
	Akari turned the cold water back on and whistled happily
as she began to scrub the meat.

			* * * * *

"Within the candle-flame, there never burns a spot so bright
  as does not feed from blackened wick."
					-Anonymous

"When a great many people are unable to find work, unemployment 
results" - Calvin Coolidge, (Stanley Walker, City Editor, p. 131 (1934))