"Yes. Broken wrist. Fractured skull. Three ribs on the left side cracked. Jaw broken - hairline fracture. Considerable bruising. Left collarbone split. Some infection - zombies apparently do not practice good hygiene. Severed optic nerve also on the left side." Ranma spoke in a distracted voice that was a different one than that of the brash young man he'd been.
Kasumi stared at Ranma briefly. That voice - that gentle but strong voice. Ranma was growing up at last and if this was the sort of man he would become- Akane was very lucky indeed.
Nabiki watched as the pained look faded from Akane's face.
"Her chi's blocked and distorted too. Can't tell if any of those zombies might have contaminated her." Ranma was quick and decisive now too. He regretted it, but there was only one thing he could do.
"The Nirvana Touch?" Nabiki guessed. "Come on, sis, you've got to see this. Besides, if you have witnesses Ranma - we can attest later that nothing ecchi was done."
Ranma nodded gratefully. Considering Akane's focus on such issues and her tendency to jump to conclusions, that had been one of his reservations. Not that he would have put it like that.
Genma and Soun's ears twitched. A secret technique out of the boy's hidden practice? And Nabiki knew about it and hadn't sold them the information? What was going on here?
Drawing from sky and earth was more difficult in Akane's bedroom than in the park, but Akane would be more comfortable there.
Nabiki and Kasumi watched as the technique was slowly done on Akane, and a feeling of warm peace seemed to flow through the room.
"Ranma, later on, do you think?" Kasumi was hesitant to ask, but judging from the muffled moan Akane gave in her sleep that was a very good massage.
A minor hesitation, but Ranma nodded. He'd been noticing light and dark and how people's chi flowed lately - not even intending to. It was somewhat disturbing to see the taint in so many. As if just the process of growing up fouled the channels somehow. Kasumi was cleaner than average but there were still blockages and stains. There was also this angry node of red in her lower chest he'd have to look at.
He'd also have to consult Cologne later. If anyone knew how to fight zombies, it would be the Old Ghoul.
Cologne stood on the rooftop, seeing the destruction that indicated the zombies had appeared here. Yet now that she was close she could feel something else tickling her senses. It was the work of a minute to determine who and where.
Now this was a fine riddle. Ranma's behavior had changed - and much for the better. Now that she had confirmed that he was becoming a practitioner of White Chi Magic, that explained a lot right there. It also threw a kink in Shampoo's acquisition of him as a husband. As a brash but talented martial artist, Shampoo's husband might stay in Japan or move to the village -either was a possibility. If Ranma were now progressing on an Epic Destiny - that was another thing altogether. She'd have to think about this at length over a hot pot of tea.
She felt Ranma's presence and felt the flow around her.
She felt intense pleasure as she soared through clouds of ecstacy. First the pain had muted down and now it was washed away by indescribable torrents of...
It was like being wrapped in joy.
It was sensual pleasures in levels that she'd never known before, in a soft-edged intensity beyond anything she'd ever imagined possible.
She didn't know that part of Ranma's newfound maturity and thoughtfulness resulted from his daily cleansing rituals and that he'd purged most of the taint his father and childhood had forced on him. That he still had some distance to go, but that he was already a Journeymage in Chi Mastery. She didn't know that at all and was still operating on the theory that he was sneaking off to be with some floozie. Akane wasn't clairvoyant, and as noted earlier had a tendency to jump to conclusions and run with them.
She did know that for all his brash immature jerk-ality - it was the occasional glimpses of something better underneath that kept her from terminating the engagement for more than a month at a time.
And here it was - in all its glory. Shining whitely through the darkness was a brief look at the soul of one Ranma Saotome.
"She's smiling but she's crying, did I do something wrong?" Ranma puzzled over the way Akane's cheeks glistened as the tears ran into the pillow.
Nabiki shook her head. "No, Ranma. I felt the same way. It's a girl thing. You wouldn't understand."
"Oh," agreed Ranma, putting it in the mental file marked "Things about girls that I don't understand" (currently three drawers worth and growing) and finishing up. "I'll be with you in a minute Kasumi."
Kasumi nodded as Ranma finished up. Things had been stressful lately and that looked very relaxing.
Meanwhile:
(Posted Mon, 18 Nov 2002 13:18)
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