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On Tue, 23 Apr 2002 05:46:22 -0400 Nuki Mouse <nuki_mouse@hotmail.com> wrot=
e:

To the readers on ffml,
  Due to a heavy work load, I haven't written much in the last several
months. But I have finally gotten back to it. Here is chapter ten of
Poisoned Honor.  the other chapters can be found at Fanfiction.net (just
do a title search. or better yet on my website at:
 http://www.nukimouse.homestead.com/MyStories.html

Welcome back.  I hope we can see more from you soon.

=20
The sleeper awoke. Just as the last echoes of Ranma=92s scream faded away=

,

Akane=92s eyes fluttered open. The memory of a memory seemed to haunt her
thoughts, like that dream you can vividly remember at the instant of
waking, but a moment later you had all but forgotten. Disorientation hit
Akane hard, she felt as if she been pole-axed. She fought to bring order
to the incoherent thoughts and sundry emotions that washed over her.
Even her room looked strange and different, and whirled around her. She
squeezed her eyes shut, to stop the room from spinning, as she tried to
concentrated on that elusive {remembrance : memory}, and bring order to

the bedlam{: .}

=20
<A scream? A cry of anguish...> was all she {could recalled : recalled :

could recall}. <Or cry for

help?> Like a hot knife through butter, a sudden need, a desire{, :} cut
through the chaos in her mind and Akane felt a almost overwhelming
compulsion to rush to rescue and comfort the unknown victim. Deep down
Akane felt as if she recognized the voice, that it was someone she knew.
<...A friend? But who...? Or was it really just a dream after all?>
Still woozy from the sedative Dr Toufu had given her, her first
recollections of the morning events had a dream like quality to them as
well, and that is what she first thought them to be.
=20
<Not another =93Ranma the bastard=94 dream...> Akane groggily thought.
Dreams of that sort had plagued her ever since she first started falling
for the irrepressible martial artist. The most common of these
nightmares usually centred around Ranma leaving her for another girl.
<Or sometimes even... a boy...,> she thought with a {shutter : shudder} a=

s tears

began to wet her cheeks. Her Ranma =93dreams=94 were always vivid,
bewildering whirlwinds that sucked her into their vortex and left her as
emotional wreckage in their wake.

<Is someone in there? Is HE in there?> Akane wondered, hearing a thump
and a muffled, feminine, cry come from the guestroom. <Its got to be
Ranma...,> she thought, but this belied her growing conviction that the=

=20

{dream=92 : dream : 'dream'} was real. <Kasumi or Nabiki wouldn=92t let h=

im stay after THAT!>

Akane was sure. She was suddenly scared, scared of the truth, but she
had to know. <If..., if Ranma is in there, then it WAS just a weird
dream...> as she reached for the doorknob.
=20
* * * * * * * * * * * *=20
=20
On the other side of the door, in that same guestroom, a second girl was
also struggling back into the conscious world. A dreadful noise, a
terrifying cry in the night seem to galvanize her mind back to
wakefulness. When she finally opened her eyes, she too was staring up at
a ceiling she didn=92t recognize. <Ooogg...My head...!> Xian Pu thought,
as it felt as if someone was using her eardrums to play the 1812
overture. She tried to move and a cold sweat broke out all over her body
as she fought back a wave of nausea that swelled up from her rebellious
stomach. Xian Pu felt sick, head to toe, {worst : worse} than she could e=

ver

recall before, too ill to even move.
=20
Xian Pu finally managed to twist her head aside and look around, shadows
filled the corners and the black of night filled the window <I was out
hours? Maybe days?> Someone had left a light on in the room,
illuminating her surroundings. Slowly her eyes began to focus <This {isn
t : isn't} my room> she realized as she spied a second futon, in a room f=

ar too

large to be in the small apartment above the Neko Hatten. <Is it my
husband=92s room, at the gorilla girl=92s house?> she asked herself,
rhetorically. <I=92m still here? But how... why...? >=20
=20
Unlike Akane, she could clearly remember the {morning : morning's} events=

 and knew

them to be real, at least up till the moment of being drenched and
becoming a cat. After that, it all became confused and foggy. She had
was some vague recollections of pain, illness, and ...imprisonment? A
sudden sharp ache in her hand drew her gaze to her wounded fingers and
saw the clean white sterile dressing covering the bite. She stared at
the bandages, trying to understand what had happen.

Ukyou spun around to face her fate, expecting a demon straight from a=20
girls and {tentacles=92 : tentacles} doujinshi, but instead found a naked=

 Ran-chan

leaping at her. <What the hell...> she started to think, before noticing
the angry gleam in Ranma=92s eyes and that her whole body seem to give of=

f

a glowing aura shaped like some kind of predatory animal. Ukyou stood
frozen, like a deer in the headlights, unable to move as she saw four
sets of glowing claws reaching towards her...
=20
All {Nodaka : Nodoka} and Ryouga could do was watch in horror, both too f=

ar away to

do anything. Neko-Ran was in {mid leap : midleap : mid-leap}, claws slash=

ing forward when a

blur of bright coloured silk launched itself from the dark canopy
surrounding the clearing. A slender leg emerged and {stuck : struck} Neko=

-Ran in

the side, forcing her to miss her intended prey. The blur continued on,
landing in a roll on the ground and a slightly disheveled Konatsu rose
in a fighting stance, ready to protect his {=91mistress.=92 : mistress.}

{Although :} Nodoka had spent her youth immersed in training to battle th=

e

supernatural, but the need for such skills had apparently lessen in
modern times. In fact she had never fought a Bakemono, Oni or any other
type of demon before. This did not lessen her determination to face the
one she believed possessed Ranko.
=20
=93Silent Dragon Soul Protect=94 Nodoka yelled out, and a blue aura spran=

g

from her sword and briefly danced all over her like St Elmo=92s fire. Now
protected herself against demonic possession, she slowly approached
Ranko as she limped her way to the clearing=92s centre, circling and
watching the two other girls. Nodoka {plan : planned} her course of actio=

n. <If I

can evoke a cleansing while the sword is touching Ranko, it should drive
the evil spirit from her soul.>

Cologne watched as the strange woman evoked her chi once more and saw
the blue foxfire erupt from the blade and envelope her in a protective
mantle. This was not battle chi, the chi was too precise, too controlled
and that {bother : bothered} her. <How could one so young be skilled?> So=

mething must

be helping her, focusing, directing her chi, an artifact or sacred
weapon of some kind. <Maybe the katana?> Cologne thought,
...remembering... <HUH! But... is it THAT blade? It can=91t be! That=92s
IMPOSSIBLE! That would mean she... But SHE can=92t be, they=92re all DEAD=

!>

Cologne thought in shock as she recognized the technique (and the
katana!) from her youth, when she but 100 or so.

Ryouga=92s instincts and fighting style was always the direct approach,
just to wade in and try to {over power : overpower} and outlast his oppon=

ents. His

=93honor=94, and Ryouga had believed himself to be very honorable, un-lik=

e

Ranma, <Damn!, there I go again..., blaming him!> did not normally
include stealth or attacking unannounced. Sure , he might wait in hiding
for Ranma, otherwise the honor less cur <damn, damn, damn!> would duck
out of the fight, but Ryouga kept his =92honor=92 by always announcing hi=

s

pending attacks with a loud =93Die Ranma=94 and a list of Ranma=92s lates=

t

offensives, as he leapt out and attacked.
=20
<But that won=92t work right now> Ryouga acknowledged. Ranma had
transferred his fear of cats to include men. Ryouga always claimed he
seen hell due to Ranma but looking at the hell Ranma must have just
lived though made that all that {paled : pale} in comparison.
=20
<I can=92t beat him...um HER.., not now> Ryouga knew. <Hell I couldn=92t
beat him before, how can I beat her while Neko?> Also, he didn=92t want t=

o

beat her, but to help her! Ryouga had spent much time researching
Neko-ken during his =93travels=94 and how to counter it, knowing one day =

he

{may : might} have to face Neko-Ranma. Ryouga believed he knew more about=

 Neko-ken

even Cologne, definitely more than Ranma. It=92s power came from the {Nek=

o

s : Neko's} ability to channel their chi back into themselves, a kind of =

super bio

feed-back, and not from its parody of a cat=92s movements. The stronger
the victim=92s chi, the more powerful was their Neko, and Ranma=92s chi w=

as

nearly inexhaustible. In all of Ryouga=92s research, he found only three
ways to defeat the Neko-ken.

But in Ranma=92s case there was also a fourth way, trigger the curse. <If
I can just get her wet, but she=91s a CAT, there=91s no way she=92ll will=

ingly

go into the water,> Ryouga pondered the problem. <If she sees me, a
male, she=92ll attack, she=92ll kill....> He eyed the nearby canal, there
was all that water but he had no container to hold it and no time to get
one. <Damn! But if I sneak around...?>

Since Ranma's female right now, it needs to be hot water.  Ryouga should
know that or at least consider it a possible problem.

<Friend, beware! It Male! Help... protect!> Neko-Ran crouched, ready to
pounce at Male/Fake as it stalked Female/Friend , but still the terror
of men evoked by her ordeal under the overpass held her in check.
<Other? Where? ...Shadows! > Neko-Ran eyes darted along the clearing=92s
edge. The other, Male/Foe, was still near! She could smell {it : its} ste=

nch

upon the air, hear its hot breath at her back, she could feel its foul
presence, waiting... wanting.... hungry... stalking its victims....

The mental strain of the last few minutes had taken {it=92s : its} toll o=

n Ukyou.

First seeing Ran-chan after her rape, followed by the almost {divine like

: divine-like}

way she survived Nodoka=92s chi attacks. Then realizing her =93love=94 of
Ranma wasn=92t the all sacrificing love that Akane seemed to have. Then
lastly, knowing that Ran-chan=92s actions while in Neko-ken proved his
true love {: for} Akane, while his attacking her when Neko proved...! Thi=

s was

too much for Ukyou, it shattered every dream and plan she had for Ranma
and their future together. Ukyou=92s eyes rolled up to the back of head,
and her body swayed from side to side then collapsed like a sack of
potatoes.
=20
* * * * * * * * *=20
=20
Konatsu saw her shaking and didn=92t miss the look Ukyou gave him as he
stood by her side. <She scared to death, she can=92t understand what=92s
happening!> Well nether did he. Konatsu watched with a lovelorn heart as
Ukyou silently stared {: at} Ranma again.

--
Mac :})
** I normally forward private questions to the appropriate mail list. **
Ask Smarter: http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.htm
Give a hobbit a fish and he eats fish for a day.
Give a hobbit a ring and he eats fish for an age.




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