[Episode 104646] [Episode 104646]"Are you sure about this?" Ranma asked looking up to the sky with a frown on his face.
Mara sighed in exasperation. "For the last time, YES! Now will you get on with it?"
The pigtailed demon shook his head. "It just feels weird doing this during the day, you know? What if someone walks in?"
"I told you ten times already! Don't worry; I'll take care of it."
"Okay, okay." Ranma walked towards the building, but even then Mara could hear him muttering about a stupid tomboy.
It took everything the demoness had in terms of self-control not to go after him and kick his ass. She calmed herself down and started to channel her energy so that Ranma and his 'friend' would get some privacy. Once she was done, and the walls of the building were effectively soundproof, she only walked to the front door and placed a sign that read 'Be back in an hour.' "That should do it."
---
"I'll be right there." Came the male voice from another room when Ranma stepped in. The demon's eyes narrowed dangerously when recognizing said voice. He silently moved to stand beside the door, making his best to hide his presence. As expected he couldn't feel the approaching man, yet he didn't need to feel him. Seeing him would be enough to land the initial blow.
Ranma smirked when he saw the man enter the room, inches from him, and look around. "What can I do for...?" The man never finished asking his question. Instead of it he screamed in pain when a blow from the side got him on the knee.
The pigtailed demon moved fast knowing his opponent, or rather victim, was very dangerous. After kicking the knee out of place he cocked a fist back and let loose with a powerful punch that shattered the man's shoulder just as he was falling. The sickening sound of pulverizing bone was music to his ears.
The attacked man, even if in tremendous agony, recovered his wits and jumped back on his good leg. His instincts saved him from the follow-up that would've collapsed his ribcage inward. He turned to see who was attacking him. Nothing could've prepared the man for what he saw. "Ranma?!"
Ranma allowed a smug smirk to form on his lips. "Hey, doc!" The pigtailed demon felt he could engage in some conversation with the first of his murderers. The way Tofu was hurt he was going nowhere. It was a miracle he could stand on one leg, considering the damage to his knee and shoulder.
"But... but..."
"Didn't think I'd be back, huh?" The smirk was replaced by a glare. "You thought you could get away with betraying me, didn't you?"
Once Tofu calmed down enough to think after the shock he started to take stock of the situation. Ranma was standing three feet away from him, obviously not in the mood to play around, even though he made sure the pigtailed boy was dead in that warehouse. Both his right arm and leg were useless right now, courtesy of a very well executed surprise attack. While the door to the street was only a couple of feet away he'd never make it in an attempt to escape, Ranma was too fast to allow that.
All in all it looked bad for the doctor.
"Why?"
"Huh?"
Ranma continued to glare at Tofu, but the doctor could also see some curiosity creeping into the pigtailed martial artist's eyes. "Why did you kill me?" When the doctor didn't answer he smirked. "Don't even bother stalling for time. No one will come to the rescue. As for you... I'm going to kill you and nothing will stop me. Just want to know how painful it should be."
Tofu shuddered at the casualness with which Ranma spoke about murder. Never before had Ranma sounded so blood-thirsty. But then again never before had Ranma been betrayed and murdered by one he considered a friend.
Ranma got impatient with the prolonged silence. "Aren't you going to answer the question?"
Feeling light-headed, but knowing that to lower his guard would mean instant death, Tofu answered the question without taking his eyes off the pigtailed martial artist. He even got some of his strength back out of anger. Anger at remembering the reason why Tofu helped in Ranma's fall in the first place. "To keep Kasumi away from you."
"What?" Ranma asked in confusion, blinking a couple of times. He had never tried to go after Kasumi in a romantic sense.
That was the reaction Tofu was expecting, and so he took advantage of the short time Ranma had his eyes closed to reach forward with his good arm and press a series of shiatsu on Ranma's torso. While the pigtailed martial artist was one of the very best he tended to get overconfident. That overconfidence had him frozen in place, paralyzed for the doctor to give him the finishing blow. "And so you die again and Kasumi is safe from you. Nothing personal, Ranma."
With those words Tofu threw a punch for Ranma's throat. It wouldn't be an elegant way of killing him, but in the current circumstances it would have to do. His shock was great when the punch landed into Ranma's awaiting palm. The pigtailed martial artist was smirking at him. "Nice try."
Tofu screamed in pain again. Ranma crushed his fist with an iron grip, bones snapping out of place, and proceeded to dislocate both his shoulder and elbow. The sickening sounds of the action almost caught the doctor's attention instead of the pain as his remaining good arm was demolished.
When he recovered his bearings, through the red haze of pain and nausea, he was laid on his back and staring at the ceiling. "How?" He asked once more, his voice a whisper.
A chuckle to his side indicated Ranma was still there. The voice that followed, though it sounded like Ranma's, was colder than the doctor had ever heard from the young man. "How? Doc, you should know shiatsu don't affect someone that has no chi. We demons don't have chi."
Tofu's eyes were now the size of dinner plates. Demons? Ranma was a demon?!
He was brought back to his current predicament when Ranma continued. "My eternal soul at the beck and call of Nifelheim for revenge on the ones that did me in. It was a very good deal. Wouldn't you agree?" The pigtailed demon then frowned thoughtfully. "You know? I was going to torture you and get answers to some questions I have but... I always did sort of like you. Even now." He traced his fingers down Tofu's chest, to the base of his ribcage, and started applying pressure. "I'll just kill you and get the answers from the other two. Nothing personal, doc."
Tofu howled in agony as Ranma's fingers pierced his skin and the pigtailed demon took a firm hold of one of his ribs.
---
"Nice touch." Mara said with an appreciative smile. "Though you have to learn to keep the blood off your clothes."
"Shut up." Ranma snapped, but it wasn't as angry a retort as before coming to Nerima. He found his activities of just minutes prior to e very therapeutic.
Mara rolled her eyes and continued walking down the street. Today they'd go back to Osaka and plan their next move with Nabiki, but she was definitely looking forward to their next target. The show Ranma put up was... entertaining to say the least.
---
Hours later one of Tofu's patients discovered the body. It wasn't a hard thing to do, with no attempt to conceal it at all.
While the lady ran down the street screaming for help others came to look what happened. They wished they hadn't.
Tofu's corpse was nailed down to the front door of his clinic, the 'nails' being his own ribs. His internal organs were hanging loosely and received the rays of the Sun, coagulated blood reflecting them to appear like pearls. In his forehead the kanji for 'Ranma' was written with dried blood.
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(Posted Tue, 08 Jun 2004 03:31)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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