[FFML] [XOver][R.5/Bleach] Pale Horse Chapter 6: Tainted (2nd try)
Christoph Pirringer
pirringer at web.de
Mon Aug 6 14:25:29 PDT 2007
Hey there!
I admit i just picked one out of the 100+ possible mails, but maybe you can help me with a problem.
I've been subscribed to the ffml until a few weeks ago, then unsubscribed, but now i somehow seem to receive tons of mail (40+ a day....) from single users of the ffml, such as this one from you.
Any idea how i can get that to stop?
Thanks in advance, Chris
> -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
> Von: The Fanfiction Mailing List <ffml at chez-vrolet.net>
> Gesendet: 05.08.07 07:40:42
> An: FFML <ffml at chez-vrolet.net>
> Betreff: [FFML] [XOver][R.5/Bleach] Pale Horse Chapter 6: Tainted (2nd try)
>
> My busted up mouse accidentally spewed random pastes all over the fic.
> Trying again with a clean version.
>
> Disclaimer
>
> Ranma 1/2 was created by Takahashi Rumiko, and anyone who doesn't
> already know this won't understand this story anyway. Bleach was
> created by Tite Kubo; you don't really need to have seen Bleach to
> understand this fic, but just so you know, anything not Ranma related in
> here was created by him.
>
>
>
> - - -
>
> Ranma asked, "What do you know about Jushenkyou?"
>
> "A terrible place. It gives me nightmares."
>
> "You and me both," he snorted.
>
> - - -
>
> "Why?" Akane's eyes glistened with tears. "Why the hell -wouldn't- you
> tell me? You are--were--my fiance!"
>
> - - -
>
> Happousai pulled a small ivory disk out of his robes and flipped it to
> Shampoo; she batted it aside, but the instant it touched her skin, she
> was wracked with pain, as though she were absorbing thousands of volts
> of electricity.
>
> - - -
>
> Akane leaned back against the dojo wall, then collapsed to the floor.
> Her eyes overflowed with tears.
>
> - - -
>
> "Those five will not remain separate for long; they are too used to
> working together."
>
> Akane stared in horror. "They're gonna clobber her! I gotta help her!"
>
> "No."
>
> - - -
>
>
>
> Tail Kinker Presents
>
>
> Pale Horse
>
>
> Chapter 6: Tainted
>
>
>
> "Hold!"
>
> Ranma raised a hand, and the two girls broke apart. Masami was
> breathing in shuddering breaths, and a red mark on her cheek would be
> browning up quite nicely. Akane, on the other hand, looked as fresh as
> when she'd begun.
>
> "C'mon, Ranma. I wasn't even working up a sweat!"
>
> "We got company." Ranma gestured to the door, where a young woman was
> standing.
>
> She was an odd-looking thing, even for Nerima. Her hair was a silvery
> purple in colour, and she was dressed in black hakama and kimono. The
> look on her face was almost one of fear.
>
> "I came to see Masami. And to see Shaolan."
>
> Ranma rolled his eyes. "Listen, lady, ya can't just go around talkin'
> about this sorta stuff, okay? Not even in Nerima."
>
> "I have some scrolls that you requested, Masami. And my Captain wanted
> me to meet with you, Saotome."
>
> Ranma looked the newcomer over. "With me, or with her?"
>
> "I should tell you the truth. I need to speak to both of you."
>
> "We're the same person."
>
> The woman tilted her head. "Then why did you make the distinction just
> now?"
>
> "Because this is all gettin' to be too damn confusin'." Ranma sighed.
> "Want some tea?"
>
>
>
> - - - - -
>
>
>
> "Kotetsu Isane is the second in command - I believe your word is
> Lieutenant - of the Fourth Division of the Gotei Thirteen. The Fourth
> Division is, as I already mentioned, primarily made up of healers and
> support staff. They are not front-line warriors, but important to any
> major operation."
>
> Isane smiled. "You do us justice. Many, especially those in the
> Eleventh Division, feel that we are an unneccessary waste of manpower."
> Ranma considered this, then asked, "What do you know about Jushenkyou?"
>
> "A terrible place. It gives me nightmares."
>
> "You and me both," snorted Ranma. Ranma snorted. "Unneccessary? No
> army can survive without support or docs."
>
> "I did not say that I agreed with them," said Isane with a smile. She
> sipped her tea, then continued. "In addition to healers and support
> staff, we also number a few curse-breakers. Since magic has become less
> popular on this realm, we have fewer in that calling than before."
>
> "Shaolan was a curse-breaker, right?"
>
> "Yes. And one of the best." Isane nodded. "When she died, the Fourth
> Division took the Orchid as its symbol in her honour."
>
> "Oy." Ranma paused. "My Chinese ain't so good. 'Shaolan' means Little
> Orchid, right?"
>
> "Yes."
>
> "When I'm out and about as a Death God, that part of me uses the name
> 'Ranko'."
>
> "Orchids again," mused Isane.
>
> "Not the way I think of it. But that other part of me..." He sighed.
> "The part that wants to be Shinigami..."
>
> Isane drained her teacup, and set it down. "Now, about these scrolls.
> Masami, may I ask why you are requesting information on the Impureza?
> This seems to be more our department than yours."
>
> "At the moment, it is both. But I have a Fourth Division Shinigami
> already on site to assist." Masami glanced pointedly at Ranma. "I
> thank you for the trouble of delivering them personally, however."
>
> Ranma frowned. "Impureza?"
>
> "I will discuss it with you at a later time."
>
> "No, I think now is good." He turned to Isane. "What is an Impureza?"
>
> Isane sighed. "They are not fortunate, that much is certain. Humans
> who have been tainted by the psychic venom of a Hollow tend to become
> darker, more sadistic, and generally unpleasant. They can cause their
> souls serious damage due to the way they act."
>
> "So if...someone were tainted like this, they become evil?"
>
> Isane shook her head. "Not so much evil; they definitely become
> selfish, and lose contact with the emotions and motivations of others.
> Only their own matters to them."
>
> "Not overnight, though?"
>
> "No, it can take years."
>
> Ranma considered this, then asked, "What do you know about Jushenkyou?"
>
> "A terrible place. It gives me nightmares."
>
> "You and me both," snorted Ranma. "What I was thinkin' is, all the
> Cursed people that I've freed from their Hollows. What are the odds
> that they're these Impuwhatsits?"
>
> Isane considered this. "There is a possibility, but I would doubt it
> personally. Generally, the Hollow needs to transfer energy between
> itself and its victim to infect them. Even then, it only happens one
> time in about ten.
>
> "However, I would agree that it would be best to be sure. Who in this
> district has been cursed?"
>
> Ranma began ticking them off on his fingers. "Pops; Mousse; Shampoo -
> we haven't dealt with her yet; me, but you know the score on that;
> Ryouga--"
>
> He winced.
>
> Akane looked up in surprise. "Ryouga had a Jushenkyou curse!?"
>
> "Damn..." Ranma thought quickly. "Remember that night he attacked me
> in the middle of the night? When you found me talkin' to the dog? I
> thought that that was Ryouga, but it was just the neighbour's dog."
>
> "Oh." Akane nodded.
>
> "Yeah, the whole feud between me an' him is because he figured it was my
> fault he was cursed."
>
> Akane chuckled. "I never knew that Ryouga could turn into a dog."
>
> "Dog?" Masami looked puzzled. "Then why did his Hollow look like a
> pig?"
>
> There was a dead silence, broken as Akane's teacup shattered in her
> grasp.
>
> "Did you say...pig?"
>
> "Yes. One of our officers on a routine patrol saw the fight." Masami
> scratched her head. "She said that the beast definitely resembled a
> pig."
>
> Ranma raised his hands. "It's not what you think!"
>
> "You always called him P-Chan, or pig-boy...You objected to him sleeping
> in my bed--and Ryouga had that crush on me--"
>
> Ranma blinked. "You knew about that?"
>
> "You could see it from space!" Akane stood up, a glower shadowing her
> face. "You knew! You knew that he was P-Chan, and you never told me!"
>
> "I promised not to!"
>
> "Why?" Akane's eyes glistened with tears. "Why the hell -wouldn't- you
> tell me, promise or no? You are--were--my fiance!" She turned and
> stomped off.
>
> "Akane, wait!" Ranma jumped up and ran after her.
>
> Isane watched the two leave, then turned to Masami. "Is this usual
> here?"
>
> Masami nodded.
>
>
>
> - - - - -
>
>
>
> Shampoo dropped the cloth on the table with a snort of disgust.
>
> Whatever had cured Mousse of his curse had also left the blind boy quite
> ill; with him curled up in bed upstairs, and her great-grandmother off
> running some errand, it left her the only person in the restaurant.
> Between the rushes, such as now, she could handle it, but she fervently
> hoped that Cologne would return before lunch.
>
> The bell rang over the door. Shampoo assumed her most welcoming smile,
> and turned. "Welcome to--" She cut off. "You!"
>
> Happousai grinned up at the Amazon. "Glad to see me?"
>
> "You go away! Not welcome in place of Amazons!"
>
> "Now, is that any way to speak to your master?" He pulled a small ivory
> disk out of his robes; Shampoo noted that it was ornately carved, and
> was instantly wary.
>
> "Catch!" He flipped it to her; she batted it aside, but the instant it
> touched her skin, she was wracked with pain, as though she were
> absorbing thousands of volts of electricity.
>
> Her screams were almost drowned out by Happousai's cackles of glee.
>
>
>
> - - - - - -
>
>
>
> "Akane, please listen to me for once!"
>
> Akane whirled to face him. "You've kept this from me for almost a
> year! What else haven't you told me? Maybe you're really a girl who
> turns into a boy?"
>
> "I wanted to tell you, but--"
>
> "But you considered a promise to a low-life like Ryouga to be more
> important than your fiance!"
>
> "Ever heard of bushido?" Ranma scowled. "This was Ryouga's weak spot;
> I couldn't tell -anyone-."
>
> "But you let him sleep in my bed, you let him watch me change - I told
> him everything!"
>
> "Stuff you couldn't tell me."
>
> "Yes! I--" She paused.
>
> "You see?" Ranma sighed. "Akane, when this whole thing started, we
> weren't gettin' along too well, and we were still fightin' our Pops on
> the whole engagement thing."
>
> "But--"
>
> "Akane, you just had your say. It's my turn."
>
> It was the first time she could remember that he'd ever cut her off like
> that. She clamped her mouth shut and waited.
>
> "First. I didn't -let- him do anythin'. If you recall, I was
> constantly tryin' to keep him out of there. Remember? You hit me a lot
> because of it."
>
> "But--"
>
> "Second." He raised his voice, to cut her off again. "I dropped plenty
> of hints. Like you put it, you could see it from space!"
>
> "But I--" She paused, the tears now flowing freely from her eyes.
> "Didn't you care? Didn't it matter to you that Ryouga, with that crush
> of his, was -sleeping in my bed with me-?"
>
> "Didn't I just say that?"
>
> "I..." She choked back a sob. "I told him everything, Ranma.
> Everything about how I felt, when you made me angry."
>
> "And he'd try to pound me over it later."
>
> Her features hardened. "At least -he- stuck up for me! At least -he-
> never lied to me! Maybe I would have been better off if I'd listened to
> him, just once!"
>
>
>
> - - - - -
>
>
>
> "What a haul!"
>
> The howls of angry women receding behind him, Happousai bounded along
> the wall, a large sack of silky treasures over his shoulder. He
> chortled. Liberating such darlings was even easier today, what with--
>
> The walking stick caught him square across his forehead, knocking him
> off the wall. He picked himself up, and glared at Cologne.
>
> "Haven't you already learned to leave me alone."
>
> Cologne held up a scroll. His eyes widened.
>
> "So that's what this is about."
>
> Cologne's voice was trembling with anger. "It took me three days to
> completely decipher this scroll. What on earth possessed you to give
> this to Son-In-Law?"
>
> "He can handle it--"
>
> "No! No-one can handle -this-!" Cologne hopped down off the wall.
> "You have no knowledge of Jushenkyou! When I finally learned what this
> technique will do, what it will set loose on this world--"
>
> "You are quite wrong, my dear." Happousai drew his pipe from his robes
> and carefully lit it. "I know exactly what effect this technique will
> have on the boy. And the best part is, you helped him learn it!"
>
> "More fool I. I should have fully transcribed the scroll for him.
> Instead, I may have doomed him, and many of those around him."
>
> "Now, now...you win some, you lose some." Happousai made a careless
> wave with the pipe. "But don't give up on the boy yet. You see, you
> don't really know as much as you claim about Jushenkyou."
>
> Cologne's eyes narrowed. "I have guarded the Cursed Springs for the
> last hundred years. If anyone else knows--"
>
> A trace of fire crept into Happousai's eyes. "And I have spent the last
> three thousand years learning all about them, at the most intimate
> level."
>
> "Three--"
>
> A hand struck the back of her neck, precisely targeting between two
> vertebrae. Her entire body seemed to light up with pain, and she
> collapsed helplessly to the ground.
>
> Shampoo knelt next to the old woman, and smiled coldly.
>
> "Out cold, but not dead."
>
> "Good." Happousai drew another mouthful of smoke before continuing.
> "Keep her restrained. We may yet have a use for her."
>
>
>
> - - - - -
>
>
>
> Akane stalked into the dojo, and glared at Masami.
>
> "There is no need to stare," said Masami. "I have done nothing wrong."
>
> Akane deflated. "I guess not." She sat down opposite the Shinigami.
>
> "Akane, I am growing more concerned. The taint of the Hollow is growing
> stronger. Your physical abilities are boosted, but so is your anger and
> depression."
>
> She scowled again. "My anger, and what you call my depression, are
> growing because I've just found out that my so-called 'fiance' has
> betrayed me."
>
> "No. He has not."
>
> "Just like any woman around Ranma. Quick to jump to defend him." Akane
> stood again. "No need to waste my time talking to you; you're just
> another bimbo ready to crawl into bed with him--"
>
> Masami was on her feet in a flash, and her hand lashed out almost of its
> own accord. The echo of the slap was loud in the dojo.
>
> Akane stared at her in shock.
>
> "Have I managed to get past your rage? Is it Akane listening to me now,
> and not the Hollow?" Masami's voice was cold. "You want to hear me say
> that I am attracted to Ranma. I am. It is hard not to be. He is
> handsome, fearless, honourable and kind. In so many ways, he is a most
> admirable individual."
>
> She scowled. "You--"
>
> "I will do nothing about it. Attraction is one thing. Ranma loves
> you." Masami scowled. "We can treat your infection. With your
> assistance, we can probably remove it entirely. But you must want it
> gone. Do you understand me?"
>
> "And what if I don't want it gone?"
>
> "Then it will consume you. You will lose Ranma, and everyone else you
> hold dear. You will lose yourself as well." Masami's voice was
> becoming colder by the second. "Every time you feed your anger, every
> time you give yourself over to fear, rage or self-doubt, the taint
> becomes stronger."
>
>
>
> - - - - -
>
>
>
> Ranko stepped away from her male body, and turned to the two girls.
>
> "Akane...what the heck happened to your cheek?"
>
> Akane scowled at the floor.
>
> "Oh, right, you're still not talking to me." She turned to Masami.
> "Standard Hollow patrol tonight?"
>
> "No." Masami shook her head. "Isane gave me some interesting
> information just before you left. A powerful martial artist, with a
> Jushenkyou Curse, came to the district this morning. She senses
> multiple Hollows within him; probably, he suffers from more than one
> Curse."
>
> "Taro."
>
> "We will be proceeding to this individual, and then we will watch you
> battle him."
>
> "We?" She glanced over at Akane again. "Does this 'we' you're talkin'
> of include the Tomboy?"
>
> "Yes. I think it is important that she see this."
>
> "Okay. You're the sensei." Ranko unlimbered her nagimaki. "So where's
> Pantyhose?"
>
>
>
> - - - - -
>
>
>
> The butt of the nagimaki knocked the Hollows out of Pantyhouse.
> However, it was not two, as Ranko had expected, but five. Ranko backed
> off worriedly, as they began to coalesce around her.
>
> From the top of a nearby building, Akane and Masami watched the scene
> below.
>
> "Those five will not remain separate for long; they are too used to
> working together."
>
> Akane stared in horror. "They're gonna clobber her! I gotta help her!"
>
> "No."
>
> The five forms merged into one, and stretched vertically, until they
> stood ten meters tall at least. Massive wings stretched out from its
> back, ten arms reached out in all directions, and the white mask was
> adorned with two long, wicked horns.
>
> Akane turned to stare at Masami in shock. "What are you saying!?"
>
> Ranko leaped into the air, dodging a claw attack, but was promtly
> blasted to the ground by an energy attack.
>
> "Did you not turn away from him? Did you not tell him that you were no
> longer his fiancee?" Masami's voice was cold as an Arctic wind. "Did
> you not call him traitor, uncaring, liar?"
>
> Ranko picked herself out of the dirt, shook herself off, and raised the
> nagimaki before her. A second energy blast rippled around her, but
> failed to connect directly, as though the glaive was shielding her.
>
> "You--you heard me?"
>
> "Quite easily." Masami pointed down at the battle below them. "Do you
> see that Hollow? It is a Menos Grande - a smaller one, but still very
> dangerous. They come into being when too many Hollows gather in one
> area."
>
> Three more Hollows moved into the battle area; Ranko leaped forward and
> cleanly split its mask, destroying it. The other two ignored her,
> however, and merged with the larger Hollow.
>
> "Some kind of super Hollow?"
>
> "Yes. They feed voraciously on other Hollows, increasing their size
> until they can become almost invincible."
>
> Ranko scowled, and jumped in closer to the Menos Grande.
>
> Masami continued relentlessly. "This is the path before you, Akane."
>
> Ranko twisted to the side, dodging another energy blast, and let the
> turn pull her back towards the Hollow.
>
> "This is where your anger, jealousy, all your negative emotions lead."
>
> The creature raised one massive foot, and stepped on Ranko.
>
> "These emotions feed on each other, and grow."
>
> Ranko grasped the glaive firmly over her head, and the Hollow's foot
> would not descend to crush her.
>
> "If you let that part of you consume you, this is what you could
> become."
>
> She slashed, severing half the creature's foot, and was drenched in its
> blood.
>
> "A monster."
>
> Akane shuddered.
>
> "You have two choices. Let Ranma help you now..."
>
> Ranko leaped backward, her feet touching the tree behind her.
>
> "Or let Ranko help you later."
>
> She leaped into the air, and with one firm strike, cut the Menos' head
> clear in two.
>
>
>
> - - - - -
>
>
>
> Akane leaned back against the dojo wall, then collapsed to the floor.
> Her eyes overflowed with tears.
>
> Masami knelt beside her, and wiped a tear from her cheek.
>
> "That you can still weep tells you that the Impureza has not won."
>
> "I can't let that happen to me," Akane sobbed. "I've gotta...gotta let
> him know that--"
>
> "No. You don't need to let him know." Masami smiled. "You just need
> to know it yourself."
>
> Akane looked up at Masami. "I'll do it...I'll help you clear the taint
> from my soul. I want to be free of it. I hurt him so bad..."
>
> "I will help you."
>
> "Thank you." Akane's voice was almost a whisper.
>
> "Look strong, now. They are coming." Masami stood and turned to face
> the door, as Ranma and Ranko entered.
>
> "Looks like it was a hell of a fight, Masami." Ranma grinned. "I can't
> wait to remember it."
>
> "I think you will appreciate it." Masami glanced over at Ranko. "You
> need to recharge; I think it's time to re-integrate with your other
> half."
>
> Ranko scowled. "No."
>
>
> - - - - -
>
>
> Special thanks to ChaosBurnFlame, who supplied a lot of feedback on this
> chapter.
>
> --
> Homepage: http://www.tailkinker.net
> ICQ: 66022322
> eMail: groves_ca at yahoo.co.uk
>
>
> ---
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