That left her a few billion candidates worldwide.
Narrowing it to the area of Japan within a few hundred miles cut it down to a few million.
Next was the consideration of who her assassin would be. The person who had power already would be ideal, or perhaps one who had held power briefly and craved it again.
That narrowed it down to less than a hundred.
Mara phased through the roof to one of the more powerful of those individuals, intent on gathering first hand information.
Despite the lack of Ranma, life went on at the Tendo Dojo.
There might have been a little bit of dark circle under Akane's eyes, a little less amusement in Nabiki's smirk, a more defeatist air in the big panda, but life has a way of continuing on.
Happosai stood up from where he had been napping and oriented towards the Northeast. "Damn. What's brought that to Nerima?"
Soun twitched as he saw a measure of, well not necessarily fear but at least some apprehension on his dread Master's face. "What's going on, Master?"
"Something I encountered years and years ago and made a deal with that turned out to be botched," said Happosai. "You remember that oni?"
Nods from a panda, a father, and two of three daughters. Kasumi just continued to hang up the wash.
"This is a real demon," said Happosai. "One of the deal making kind probably."
"So we could make a deal with this demon?" Soun asked, thinking of riches and a solvent dojo.
"Don't be more of an idiot than usual," admonished the Master Of Anything Goes. "I ran across one centuries ago. The deal was fulfilled, but not all the costs and side effects were listed. No demon of that sort has ever made a deal that doesn't cause more pain and misery than it started with."
"Sounds like you," stated Nabiki.
"That's comparing the flame of a candle to a burning orphanage," said Happosai coldly. "Soun, Genma, you can finish your game later. We need to investigate this."
"...and stupid violent pervert girl kill airen, so why stupid lost boy saying he found Ranma? Shampoo just get too too upset at this. Shampoo want to find strong man, not go back to village, get on with her life and have marriage. NOT TO MOUSSE! So now when it look like Shampoo find boy not too full of self and one who Shampoo could MAKE strong, stupid Lost Boy come up with wild goose chase!"Whak! "Great Grandmama?"
Cologne frowned, her eyes turning to slits, and getting uglier than normal as a result. Her eyes carefully tracked every movement and she extended her every sense.
"Stupid damn elder won't let me kill weak foreigner obstacles," grumbled Mousse. WHAK! "Hey!"
"Quiet," commanded Cologne.
"Stupid damn razzle-fratzing damn..." mumbled Mousse.
Cologne spun and stabbed out with the pointy end of her cane, moving like an old bat out of hell. Shampoo eeped and Mousse reflexively tried to block. Cologne's staff made a nice small hole in one section of wall.
"EEEK!"
The two younger Nichieju tribe members stared at the leather clad foreigner who appeared and tumbled to the ground.
"Demon," proclaimed Cologne. Compared to how she looked now, the normal Cologne would be considered "cute and cuddly."
"You detected me?" Mara was slightly impressed. There were goddesses she could have snuck up on easier than this.
"Shampoo. Mousse. This battle is beyond you." Cologne grasped her chi and prepared to fight full out. "This is an evil beyond anything you have faced or that you will want to."
Mara smirked. "If you know me that well, then you might as well listen to my offer."
"There are costs that I am not willing to pay, and I know full well how any agreement made with the forces of Hell will lead to the misery of everyone involved," replied Cologne.
Mara blinked. "You're speaking from practical experience? Damn, I knew I should have checked the files first."
Words were set aside. Cologne attacked. Mara leapt aside, confident in her abilities as a demon first class.
Cologne went full out. She hadn't used her reserves or fought so hard against Ranma, nor had she gone to this extent even against Happosai. Ranma was skilled and talented, Happosai very learned and capable. In neither case was she fighting to kill.
The martial arts, in its simplest terms, was the precise application of violence. Precisely avoiding it, and precisely dealing it. In more philosphical terms, this was best achieved by uniting mind and body and spirit into one instrument.
Mara lost her utter confidence the third time she was used to make Mara-sized holes in the walls of businesses.
"NOW CUT THIS OUT," Mara snarled as she picked herself up from the wreckage of a crepe cart. Her face went to mild surprise as she realized a manhole cover was making a beeline for her nose.
WHANG!
Mousse had his glasses on. Only one thought went through his head at the display. "I'm just glad she never did that to ME."
Shampoo nodded in wordless agreement, most of her attention spent on putting weapons where she could reach them.
On a roof nearby, Soun and Genma gaped at the display. They'd known the Old Ghoul was formidable in her own way, but they were also impressed by the black leather wearing biker-girl who kept getting up!
"They'd be cleaning me up with a sponge if that was me down there, Saotome," said Soun. "Remind me to pay that takeout bill on the refrigerator."
Genma nodded silently.
Fortunately for Mara, unfortunately for Cologne, the Elder wasn't as young as she had been. Experience had been hard won and the years remorseless. She slipped ever so slightly while trying to press her advantage and fell to the side.
Mara recovered her breath and teleported away.
She had seen better days, she was hurt and exhausted and would have to rest and recover for WEEKS after this. She would not be able to lead her troops directly into combat as a result. "Old fool, you have sown the whirlwind. Reap now the consequences of crossing a Demon First Class!"
Crackle Boom!
When the smoke cleared, the demon was gone, but Mara's transformation spell had gone off. As she had done to the Earth Elemental Spirit in Megumi's apartment and to Megumi herself at a different time, she had chosen to transform her victim into a normally inanimate object. In the case of Cologne - she was now:
(Posted Tue, 08 Apr 2003 12:20)
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