"No further, Kuno," said Akane, standing in front of her home.
"Now that I have the power that courses through me, who can gainsay me?" asked Kuno. "I shall spare thee, Akane Tendo, and thy family. Merely come away with me, as was intended by the Heavens themselves."
"I don't think so," said Akane. "In fact, I'd really suggest you not take one step forward. I haven't been having a good day."
Ranma crawled to the window and glanced out.
Kuno stepped forward, spreading his arms wide. "Come, Akane. I shall collect the pigtailed girl and together we shall-"
Akane seemed to nearly teleport inside Kuno's reach, then strike.
KA-POWIE!
Windows rattled, roof tiles on nearby buildings flew away, the street collapsed as Akane dug in her heels and reflected that Newton's laws about force pushing objects DID apply. She managed to stop herself at the front door to her home.
"Aaaaaaaaaa," screamed Kuno/Pestilence as he began to arc back down in the upper stratosphere.
Ranma picked his head up and looked at the results. "Damn. Just the shockwave." That walls were cracked, the street was caved in, and the gates of the Tendo home were now leaning away from where Akane had unleashed her wrath was sufficient evidence of how much force had just been applied.
"Kuno will come back eventually," said Akane/War. "With the power of Famine filling him, though eventually he will be gone forever."
"Well, yeah," said Ranma as the crash of bricks revealed something along Kuno's flight path had given up the ghost.
"No, you misunderstand," said Akane, her voice losing the odd reverberence to sound normal for a bit. "Baka. Listen for once. Taking up the mantle of a Horseman or any similar power is itself a test. If you take it to protect, that's one thing. If you do it because of pride or lust or the desire to conquer, that isn't so good. Anyone who does it for those reasons won't be around at the end of the war. They'll be gone."
"So, uhm," said Nabiki as she slowly made her way out of the house. "What powers do you get out of the deal?"
"Immense strength and stamina," said Akane/War. "The red horse. The ability to appear wherever there is strife. Which is just about anywhere really. War is about battle and battle is about conflict, and you have that anywhere you have even micro-organisms. War is that on its most basic level, but also many other things. I can use anything that can be used as a weapon. Until the end of this part of the devastation. Practical immortality. The ability to draw on a vast intellect and billions of years of experience. Now, I see I must be going."
"What about Kuno?" asked Nabiki as Ranma was apparently struggling with some sort of internal conflict.
"Africa," said Akane after a moment of thoughtful silence. "He landed in Swaziland. He's already determined that his strength can be increased and is doing so. No doubt the spirit he's wielding is influencing him. Now that's he's worked there, he's heading North. I expect he'll cause some problems in Europe then head into Russia."
Read the comments on this episode
(Posted Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:01)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.