"So who the hell are you two?" He asked, folding his arms across his chest in annoyance.
The girl looked up and shrugged her shoulders helplessly. "I guess that you can call me Ranko." She sighed and looked away. "I have all your memories and experiences up to your rejection of everything."
"So... what?" The young man asked,quirking an eyebrow upwards. "You're me or something?"
The redhead sighed and shook her head slowly. "I'm you but I'm not you."
"Huh?" Came the witty rejoinder from the pig-tailed male.
Rubbing her forehead in frustration, the girl stared the boy in the eye. "I'm you in memories... but I'm one hundred percent girl. I'm your curse taking human form." She explained.
"Oh." Ranma replied, keeping his face carefully blank.
"You don't understand, do you?" She asked, feeling her eyebrow twitch in annoyance.
"Um... no?" The boy replied, feeling a sweatdrop falling off the back of his head. Both figures ignored the chuckling feline next to them.
"Okay... I'm a girl that's been given all your memories." Ranko explained. "I used to be your curse... sharing your mind and body with you."
"Ah, okay." Ranma nodded his head as he returned her gaze for a moment. Then, turning his attention to the miniature panther, he frowned. "How come I ain't scared of you?" He asked.
"I'm the Neko-ken." Replied the panther. "Or rather, I'm the demon that the Neko-ken placed inside you to taint your soul."
Ranma blinked several times before replying. "So the whole training thing was just a possession thingy? The fear, pain, and stuff is just to put a demon in me?"
"Yep." The panther nodded.
"Well..." The boy said, staring blankly at the toy panther.
"That sucks." Stated the girl.
"Relax." The feline ordered, finally standing up on all fours. "It's not like I ever got the chance to taint you or anything."
"Why not?" The girl asked, arching an eyebrow as she stared at the feline creature.
The panther blinked in response and said, "I could never do anything that would make your life worse." He sighed in frustration. "Every time I tried to do something to make you more miserable, it actually wound up improving your life."
"Huh." Ranma replied with a smirk. "I'm that good, huh?"
The panther shot him a tiny glare that wiped the smirk off of his face. "No, you're father was that much of an idiot." Came the snarky reply. "Everything I could do just seemed to pale so much in comparison that it made you happier."
Both of them ignored the giggling redhead. "Man, that sucks." Ranma said with a great deal of sympathy in his voice. "So whatcha gonna do now?" He asked curiously.
Well, I can't really go back." The panther demon remarked snarkily. "For failing my mission, I'm sort of stuck here in Midgard until I can make up for it."
"Heh." The redhead chuckled. "That's pretty funny, actually. A demon making your life better for you while it's trying to make you miserable."
Ranma glanced at her for a second before chuckling himself. "Yeah, you're right there." Turning back to the demon, he asked "So... you wanna join up with us or something?"
The panther looked surprised. "You wouldn't mind?"
"Naw." The boy waved a hand dismissively. "The more company the better and all that."
"You know," The redhead started to say before stopping to collect her thoughts. "I'm not really a person or anything." At his curious look, she decided to explain further. "I'm still your curse, I'm just outside your body. When you die, I'm gonna die too. Until then, I just sort of hang out with you."
"You're not real?" Ranma asked, eyeing the girl up and down. "You seem real ta me." He reached out a finger and pushed in her breast a little. "You feel real." He said, ignoring the blush the girl was displaying and the snickering cat. "I don't get it."
Slapping his finger away, Ranko started to explain. "I don't have my own soul." She said carefully. "And I'm not an immortal like a God or demon. When your soul leaves, I'm gonna cease to exist like I never was." She said, her voice lowering as her head turned away.
"So we gotta get you a soul." Ranma slowly said, watching the emotions playing out on her face.
"You can't." She replied sadly. "Only Kami-sama can create a soul."
Ranma sneered at the name. "Somewhere in this world is something we can use." He declared with certainty. "We'll find something, don't you worry. Just remember, Soetome Ranma don't loose." He finished with pride before he spun on his heel and started walking away.
"You're right." Ranko said with a tight smile. "You never loose when it's important." She finished, walking over to his side.
"Hey, don't leave me out of this." The panther demon declared, rushing up to join the two. "This sounds like a lotta fun."
(Posted Tue, 03 Aug 2004 20:29)
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