Chapter 5 - First Battle! Don�t Fight It Ranma!

Ranma�s eyes widened as he took in the scene before him, frozen like some grotesque tableau. Akari was
standing there, hair like blood on snow, evil clearly spread across her face as she took a sick joy in
what she was doing.
Killing Akane.
Ranma barely noticed the living blood which swirled around Akane�s body as he slowly and painfully
realised that it was, in fact, nothing more than her lifeless corpse, hanging limply above the floor in
the moonlight.
�Not again!� Mousse growled, angry with himself as he reached the same realisation. �I�m too late again!�
Akari scowled at them, then smiled coldly. �Say your last goodbye,� she hissed, throwing Akane�s corpse
into Ranma�s arms, �because now you�ve got to die!�
�I really hate it when the bad guys speak in rhyme,� said Mousse, stepping forward and taking up a
protective stance in front of the kneeling Ranma, who was cradling Akane�s cold body in his arms.
�Oh, Akane... I never... never got to tell you...� he sobbed painfully, tears dripping from his blue eyes
as he stared into the dead orbs which he had once loved to look into, now flat and almost grey rather
than their usual warm brown. �That I loved you...� he finished, placing his warm lips against her cold
ones in a gentle kiss. Gently, he closed her empty, staring eyes with the lightest touch of his
fingertips.
�How very touching,� Akari said icily.
�How very disgusting you mean! That�s a dead body!� Mousse exclaimed.
�You have no sense of romance, do ya?� Ranma shot back, standing after laying Akane�s body gently on the
floor.
�Maybe not, but at least I have a sense of hygiene!� Mousse retorted, scowling at Ranma.
�Excuse me,� Akari cut in with an edge of annoyance to her voice, �but I really don�t like being
ignored!�
�So why do you go out with Hibiki?�
�Grr...�
�Right! Akari, I�m gonna make you pay for killing - hey, what happened to your hair?�
�Huh? Oh, that�s just a side-effect of this spell, see -�
�WHAT HAPPENED TO HER HAIR?! SHE JUST KILLED AKANE USING LIVING STREAMS OF BLOOD, AND YOU ASK HER WHAT
HAPPENED TO HER HAIR?!!!� Mousse bellowed at Ranma, then moved closer to the now near-deaf youth. �Just
how stupid are you Saotome?� he asked in a deadpan tone.
�Hey! I just thought it was unusual, that�s all! I mean, she usually has brown hair, y�know?� Ranma
retorted indignantly.
�WILL YOU TWO CLOWNS STOP IGNORING ME AND DIE!!!!� screamed Akari, finally losing her temper and
thrusting a spear of churning blood at them.
�No. Wait, I mean, SHIELD UP!!!� yelled Mousse, raising his hand, palm outwards, and quickly uttering an
odd-sounding syllable. A sphere of brilliant white light rapidly surrounded him and Ranma, protecting
them from the blood, which bounced off, seemingly harmlessly, the redness of the splattering streams
standing out in the gloom of the darkened room.
�So, you know white magic...� Akari growled, glaring venomously at Mousse, who returned the look with an
icy, grim regard.
�NOW IT�S MY TURN! SHISHI HOKODAN!!!� yelled Ranma, gathering all the pain and misery caused by Akane�s
death and using it to fuel his ki, the overflowing mass of which he formed into a glowing sphere between
his palms. With a guttural roar, he thrust the burning, seething mass of energy at Akari.
�NO DAMNIT! SHIELD DOWN!!� Mousse yelled, shocked and exasperated, dropping the shield of light
surrounding them to prevent Ranma�s shishi hokodan bouncing back and engulfing both of them.
As the destructive wave of negative energy bore down on her, Akari smiled icily. �BLOOD SHIELD!� she
exclaimed, eyes glowing redly as the blood surged up, surrounding her and absorbing Ranma�s blast. Mousse
glared at the wide-eyed Ranma, who was openly gaping at the fact that his attack _had not worked_. *An
opening!* Akari thought gleefully, thrusting a spear of blood at each of the two boys.
{Shit!} Mousse swore, slipping into Chinese as he quickly used a silver blade to slice through the sharp
tendril of blood, which fell, splashing uselessly on the floor and soaking into Akane�s carpet.
Ranma was not so fortunate. Already tired from expelling the large amount of ki in his shishi hokodan,
his movements were too sluggish to escape the sharp tendril of blood. He yelled in pain as it lanced his
chest, ripping through fabric, tearing flesh and shattering bone, passing within inches of his heart and
smashing out the other side of his body. His agonised shouts turned to gurgles as he choked from internal
bleeding, the salty-sweet tang of blood filling his mouth before he vomited it out onto the floor, where
it sank darkly into the plush carpet.
�SAOTOME!� yelled Mousse, slashing the stream of blood which was still in Ranma�s body so that it
splattered onto the floor, leaving the hole in Ranma for all to see. �For God�s sake Ranma, I told you to
get out of here! We have to get you to Dr. Tofu NOW!� for some reason, Mousse seemed to be holding back
tears as he said this.
�Ah, the sounds of death, pain and suffering. How delicious,� sighed Akari, licking her lips as her eyes
glinted in hungry triumph.
�M-move it, duck-boy!� Ranma hissed, leaning on the wall for support as he clutched at his profusely
bleeding chest. �Get the others... out of here!� he growled, choking back blood and shrugging off
Mousse�s hand as he tried to help him.
�Stubborn fool,� muttered Mousse, noting the pale blue glow that Ranma was beginning to emanate. �Fine.
I�ll do what I can. I only hope Shampoo understands what happened...� he added as he crashed through the
wall into Nabiki�s room.
�Wha?� muttered Nabiki, only half awake as she sat up, her sleep-fogged brain taking a moment to realise
that what had woken her was a young martial artist making a large hole in her wall. She automatically
started calculating how much it would cost to have it repaired, but her mind snapped into focus when she
felt strong arms encircle her waist and lift her bodily out of bed. �Hey! What the hell d�you think
you�re doing?!� she yelled as Mousse carried her to the window.
�Sorry! Try to land as well as you can Nabiki Tendo!� he called apologetically as he threw her out of her
own window.
Nabiki instinctively somersaulted in mid-air, landing neatly on the ground below. Then she scowled and
swore under her breath. *Great! Here I am, ruining all my hard work in hiding my fighting skills. If I�m
not careful, I�ll end up inheritig the dojo, a totally unprofitable situation. And whilst that can be
changed, I definitely don�t want to end up marrying Ranma!* All this sped through her mind like
quicksilver, she had thought it over many times before. And as before, her thoughts stopped short of
admitting the reason why she would rather not marry Ranma. 
Looking up at her window - correction, her _broken_ window - Nabiki noted that Mousse was not observing
her, so maybe he had not seen her land. *Good, maybe I can feign a bruised ankle or something...* she
mused, but was startled out of this thought as Mousse, carrying Kasumi in his arms, burst out of Kasumi�s
window and landed on the ground nearby.
�Oh my!� Kasumi said, a little sleepily, as Mousse set her on the ground.
�You are giving me one too many shocks recently,� Nabiki said to Mousse in a stonily annoyed voice.
�My apologies, but I -� Mousse started, making to run back into the dojo. Luckily, he was stopped by
Nabiki�s cool hand on his shoulder. �Huh?�
�I don�t think that�s such a good idea,� she said. Moments later, she was proved right.
�ULTIMATE SHISHI HOKODAN!!!!� yelled Ranma�s ragged voice from inside the dojo. Almost immediately, an
immense pillar of blue-white energy shot up into the sky, shattering the wood and tiles of the roof,
which rained down around the three figures outside, Mousse standing protectively in front of the two
girls. Moments later, the energy came crashing back down to earth, causing the dojo to disintergrate in a
cloud of smoke, earth and charred debris.
�Oh my! It�s a good thing father and Mr. Saotome are out drinking,� sighed Kasumi.
�Wait! Where�s Akane?!� Nabiki gasped.
�Uh...� Mousse started, averting his eyes, �well...�
�What do you know?� Nabiki asked probingly, her tone cold and sharp.
�I�m really sorry, I tried but Icouldn�tdoanythingIwastoolateI�msosorry!� Mousse blurted, squeezing his
eyes shut and fighting back the memories, concentrating on trying to comfort Nabiki and Kasumi.
�You mean... Akane... she�s dead?� Nabiki asked slowly, blinking as the meaning of his words sank into
her mind like rocks into quicksand.
�Yeah... I�m really, really sorry, I tried to help but I just - I just - I wasn�t quick enough,� Mousse
stammered, a hard lump forming in his throat.
�What... what about Ranma? That was him, wasn�t it? Is he going to be okay?� Nabiki asked weakly. Kasumi
had frozen, near catatonic, tears welling up in her eyes.
�Not really. That was kind of a suicide blast. I tried to tell him to get out, to get away, but he
wouldn�t,� Mousse sighed, realising that he took no pleasure in the fact that Ranma, his biggest rival
for Shampoo�s heart, was gone.
�I see. I only hope they get on better in heaven than they did on earth.� Nabiki said solemnly, her mind
withdrawing to grieve and leaving her run on automatic, complete with a stony, cooly humorous facade.
�I have to go back inside and check that the blast got Akari Unryuu,� Mousse said, turning.
�If it didn�t, be sure to finish her off!� called Nabiki, a grim smile twisting her lips.
�That�s easy for you to say,� Mousse muttered, entering the smoking wreckage of the dojo and searching
for any signs of life. Turning a dark, dusty corner, he gasped as he saw Akari.
Alive.
Battered, bruised and bleeding, but alive.
She was standing over Ranma�s body, and... doing something with the blood which swirled around her...
Ranma�s blood...
She was draining Ranma�s blood to replenish herself, make herself stronger!
Mousse leapt forward, flinging a silver blade which sliced through the streamers of blood, and landed
between Akari and Ranma�s body. �Leave him alone you vampiric fiend! Do you have no respect for the
dead?!� he yelled, outraged.
�Why should I have any more respect for him when he�s dead than I did when he was alive?� she retorted,
icy fury contorting her face, before a thoughtful expression crossed her pale features. �Vampiric, eh?
What an interesting thought. Very well then, I�ll be a vampire - and my next victim will be you!� she
hissed venomously, thrusting a multitude of thin, sharp tendrils of blood at Mousse.
�SHIELD UP!� he yelled desperately, even though he knew he was too close and they were too fast. A few of
the strands of blood splattered against the curved wall of white light, but the majority got through, the
shield cracking where they penetrated it. Mousse grimaced, wincing as the sharp, pulsating tendrils
sliced into his body, slashing his left cheek, ripping painfully into his side, and tearing viciously
into his legs. Mousse stumbled, dropping the shield and pulling out a knife to slash through the snaking
blood, when it retracted, pulling back as if stung. �What?�
�Huh?� Akari winced as pain prickled lightly up the blood which had harmed Mousse, and looked at him
curiously. �How - how the hell?!�


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Member 30 of SSoAGMA, Deadly Everyday Object Weaponary Technique, Dragon Warrior Style
Mousse no miku; Generally dangerous English otaku; Supporter of cliched pairs;
Member of the Chan club; WoS; SCG; COURT; SOotCiP;CotMHW - Launderer of the Robes of Death;
Head Castrator of the Hotnit Feminisation Project; Keeper of the Moneybags for the Hotnit Fan Club;
4th Gen. EOE; Image Consultant For "That Guy"; #WASHU#;AKPReSS, Gen. Div.; SLAP;
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