Shampoo : "Shampoo no like ant-nest.... too quiet."
Cologne : "Yes, we've not seen a demon yet, have we?"
Looking around her with her Giant Oversized Combat Kick-Ass Battle Spatula (G.O.C.K.A.B.S) clutched tightly in her hands, Ukyo tries to detect any hint of movement.
Ukyo : "They're making it too easy for us to rescue Ran-chan honey, aren't they? Be careful.... they may be setting a trap for us."
Mousse : "Do they know we were coming?"
Cologne : "Perhaps they expected Kuno?"
Suddenly, everyone stops in their tracks, even Sekki, and look at each other.
They shake their heads and sweep their hands in a dismissive gesture. (EVERYONE!?)
Everyone : "Naaaaaaaaah."
Continuing onwards, everyone's nerves begin to tense as the silence becomes even more oppresive, where even the coarse crows of the crows outside the mountain entrance is muffled out by the stone of the mountain. As they descend deeper into the cavern looking for some sign of Ranma, it begins to get darker, although an occasional burning sconce lights the way.
Shampoo : "Shampoo no like darkness..... no light."
Mousse : "Not to worry, my beloved Shampoo! I shall be by your side and keep you well protected!"
Sekki : "WHAT ARE YOU DOING! GET OFF ME!"
*stomp* *stomp* *stomp* *stomp*
Sekki stares with disgust as a pounded Mousse weakly puts his glasses on
and realizes he was trying to hug Sekki instead. Shuddering with revulsion,
both parties glare sparks at each other before an appropiated torch appears
between them and lights up. Shampoo's head pops up a second later besides
the happily burning torch.
Shampoo : "No waste good lighting chance! Now got light source!"
*crumplecrashcrumble*
Shampoo : "Shampoo say something wrong?"
Suddenly, Ukyo's head pops up from her collapse point on the floor and she raises a hand to the group as she does a hushing sign.
Ukyo : "Ssssh! I hear something!"
*...........cheer...........*
"..........welcome back!............"
Ukyo : "Hear that?"
Cologne : "My ears may be old, but I hear it all right. Come on, if they're all gathered here, we may have a chance to go unnoticed yet!"
Sekki narrows her eyes as she listens more carefully, her super-sharp hearing picking up something else.
Sekki : "Hold."
Everyone stops suddenly at the commanding presence in her voice. Cologne looks at her and pulls at the magical rope binding Sekki.
Cologne : "What is it?"
Sekki : "Your ears are old, and mine are older, but I can hear better."
".......Ranma?............You know.............have done?................"
Sekki : "Ranma is there."
Cologne : "How can we trust you?"
Sekki : "You can't, but you've no choice."
Cologne : "Damn it, you're right."
With one of Ryouga's numerous bandannas wrapped around Ranma's eyes, Ranma stands before Kuriimu as Kuriimu speaks.
Kuriimu : "Ranma? You know what you have done, don't you?"
Ranma : "Caused you lots of pain, yeah, I know that."
Kuriimu : "You know I could've killed you then, and I can still now. Even in a one on one challenge."
Ranma : "Yeah, but martial artists don't turn down a challenge!"
Kuriimu : "Good. But that seems to be over now."
Akane, Ranma & Ryouga : "!?"
Ryouga steps forwards and sweeps his right arm around before wincing in pain and realizing it's the one with the broken bones.
Ryouga : "What do you mean!? First you drag us in here, threaten us with death, try to drag Shampoo to be your wife, almost get us killed a second time, and now it's all over!? I haven't even gotten even with you for killing Akane-san yet!"
Akane steps up and pulls Ryouga back as Kuriimu stares at Ryouga incredulously.
Akane : "I wish you wouldn't mention that, Ryouga. You know how I feel over that."
Ryouga looks infinitely sorry and shocked as Akane looks away with her hand still on his shoulder. Ranma looks around for a moment, even blindfolded, but gives up after thinking about the huge cat in front of him.
Ryouga : "Oh... I'm sorry, Akane-san!"
Turning in the direction of Ryouga's voice, Ranma shouts.
Ranma : "Hey, Pork-boy! You're asking for it, aren't you!?"
Ryouga : "Who's pork-boy!? And what am I asking for!? You pickin' a fight with me, Ranma!?"
Ranma : "Even blindfolded I'm gonna kick your butt so hard it'll be sore for months!"
Ryouga : "Oh........?"
With a smug look, Ryouga walks up to Ranma, grabs him by the shoulders, turns him to face Kuriimu, and takes off his blindfold. Everyone in the cavern stares as Ranma sees Kuriimu looking at him, amused, and screams. He jumps right into Akane's arms.
Ranma : "C...c...c....c....aaaaaat! Get him away from me....!!!!"
Akane scowls at Ryouga and uses a hand to cover Ranma's eyes as she nods gratefully at Kuriimu, who's trying to hold back a grin so big it's threatening to take over his face.
Akane : "Thank you for letting us off, Mi-"
Kuriimu whisks his claws in air and a very sharp whistling sound is heard as it passes through the air. Akane winces as she remembers the exact same sound was the one that disemboweled her in the first place on that day....
Kuriimu : "Nothing of that, Akane. You know from Lina already rule much the demon world?"
Akane nods. Lina smiles.
Akane : "Yes."
Kuriimu : "What made you think I wanted to rule humans too?"
Akane looks surprised at the question, and looks down thoughtfully at Ranma, still shivering in fright uncontrollably.
Akane : "er......... because all demons were supposed to be evil? And Lina said that she wanted to rule the human world..."
Kuriimu looks at Akane queerly, then at Lina, then laughs. Now it's Ranma, Akane and Ryouga's turns to look at Kuriimu queerly.
Kuriimu : "Oh, oh...... *guffaw* Lina, you were serious, weren't you?"
After Kuriimu stops laughing, Lina looks at him sheepishly. She stubs a boot against the dirt floor.
Lina : "Well.... I thought it'd be a nice touch for your birthday present...."
Kuriimu raises an eyebrow at Lina, then laughs again.
Kuriimu : "Nobody told you?"
Lina shrugs.
Kuriimu : "That's a nice thought, Lina. But I don't need that, I've already got my own kingdom to run. I do that best anyway."
Akane looks at them, then clears her throat.
Akane : "Excuse me? I thought in all those legends and tales that demons always try to take over the world or something?"
Kuriimu looks at her queerly. It's a rather discomforting sight too, to see a huge cat look at you like that.
Kuriimu : "We're not greedy demons you know. Our world's as vast as yours, only you don't see it in the open. There'll always be a few black sheep on our side here causing mischief anyway. And besides, we know that Kami-sama up there wouldn't let us touch the humans if He can help it. Anyway, seeing the human world as it is now, I don't think they'd need our help messing up their lives."
Kuriimu chortles as does the rest of the cavern full of demons, and Lina shrugs apologetically at Akane, smiling all the while. Akane shrugs back and puts Ranma down as Ryouga grudgingly ties a bandanna around his eyes again. As the laughter dies down, Akane clears her throat to get Kuriimu's attention. Something at the back of her mind is gnawing away at her curiosity.
Akane : "I have something to ask you, Kuriimu... but one thing before that, can I ask you to change into something less objectionable to Ranma? I think it's cruel to let him stay blind-folded like this..."
Kuriimu : "Certainly."
A quick change later, the same rougishly handsome man with dazzling white hair similar to Lina's is standing before Akane. She pulls the blindfold off Ranma, who looks around cautiously. Ryouga is still standing there, watching him.
Kuriimu : "Now, you wanted to ask something?"
Looking at him with a sombre face, Akane slowly mentions the thing that's been gnawing at her mind for some time now.
Akane : "I'm guessing there's a catch here somewhere, Kuriimu, but.... since Sekki wanted to rule the Demon world in Lina's place..... isn't she the proverbial bad-guy? I mean, she brought me back to life like this.... isn't it a bit... illegal or something?"
Kuriimu and Lina nod sadly.
Lina : "She's very good with words, Akane. I know she seems sincere, but that's a trait we can all imitate quite easily."
Ranma laughs sharply once, and everyone looks at him. Nodding at Lina, Ranma asks in a questioning tone.
Ranma : "Meaning? Are you playing with us?"
Lina steps back defensively and puts a palm on her collarbone. She shakes her head vigorously.
Lina : "Not us! We aren't that honest, but we aren't telling a lie now!"
Ranma : <Tell me about it.>
Ranma shrugs as Akane puts a warning hand onto his shoulder. Nodding to Kuriimu and Lina, Akane takes a step back and looks at Ranma solemnly. She prepares herself mentally for the silent deal the two exchanged on the way to this chamber.
Akane : "Enough of that, Ranma. Right now, your goal is to get Kuno and get off of this island. No sense in staying any longer among us.... demons. And you know Sekki's after your blood now, you'd be safer leaving this island. Kami go with you."
Ranma and Ryouga suddenly feel lightning bolts tear through their heads as Akane lowers her head. They remember the spell on the island all of a sudden and realize what they came here for in the first place.
To remove the spell.
They came to remove a spell, but ended up uniting the affections of two demons (of all the people!) and seeing the dark side of their supposed ally.
Ryouga : "Akane-san...."
Ranma clenches his fists suddenly and punches the wall besides him with an amaguriken attack. He suddenly feels a wave of despair wash through him as he realizes that what Cologne taught him is almost useless.
Ranma : <The old crone tells me how to detect surprise attacks of demons by watching for their chi, she tells me how to stay alive on this island, she even gives me a detailed history lesson! But she forgets to tell me about that damned spell! Wonderful!>
Akane watches as Ranma pounds on the stone wall, every punch of his amaguriken attack now as seemingly slow as a normal punch. In the chamber, every other demon files out quietly as Kuriimu dismisses them, while he himself and Lina go to a corner to let the trio solve their problem themselves.
Basically alone with Ryouga and Akane now, Ranma is resting against the stone wall, leaning on his fist embedded in the quarter meter deep hole in the wall. Sweat drips from his chin and pigtail with a constant *pip* *pip*. All is silent.
Ranma : <Damn it! Why can't this spell break!? What was it, "Till the evil is destroyed, the innocent shall suffer. A gentle touch, may be all that matters."? Hah! What gentle touch!? And all the only evil I know is out of my league! What am I supposed to do!?>
Akane walks gently up to Ranma as Ryouga watches the event carefully. Throughout the time he has spent in the cavern, he has been doing a lot of thinking.
Ryouga : <Akane-san.... even though you belong to Ranma and I know it, I still can't bear to see you suffer like this.... and much as I hate to say it, Ranma too. Damn it, what can I do!? Kami, give me a sign!> (Oh, BTW, Kami-sama is God in Japanese.)
Closing his eyes and facing upwards, Ryouga tries to ignore the event besides him.
Akane puts a hand on Ranma's shoulder. Ranma doesn't respond.
Akane : "Ranma?"
Ranma : "Go away, Akane. I've only brought you pain and suffering, you know that 'well as I do."
Akane : "Ranma, please. I may be like this now, but...."
Ranma suddenly turns around, and with a sweeping motion of his hand
sweeps Akane's hand off his shoulder. He grabs her by the shoulders forcefully
and shakes her once before holding her there and looking at her with burning
rage.
Not at her, Akane realizes.
Himself. He's angry with himself.
Ranma : "But what!? Akane, tell me. What have I done FOR you so far!? Nothin'!"
Akane : "Ranma-"
Ranma : "And don't you start tellin' me 'bout you forgiving me and everything, 'cause I can't forgive myself! You know something? They're right. Those people who keep saying something about treasuring what you have 'cuz it's gonna be too late once it's gone! Stupid ol' me, treating you like you had all the patience in the world with me 'cuz you're my fiancee and that's what fiancees do! Now, this happens! And I thought I'd lose you in the plane crash alone!"
Akane : "Ranma!"
Akane tries to pull Ranma's arms off her shoulders, but to her surprise, Ranma's grip is much, much stronger than she could imagine. Ranma shakes her again, gently this time, and his face softens.
Ranma : "Damn it, Akane, listen to me! I'm a martial artist, and my obligation was to protect the weak. When you came along, I thought you'd need protecting too simply because you were my fiancee. Of course, you never needed to be protected that often, just rescued...."
Akane : <What's THAT supposed to mean!?>
Ranma : "....but look at you now! You can't get off this island and go back home with us because I wasn't there this time to save you! Ryouga's good, heck, he's great! But the thing is, I wasn't there. Akane, I've failed in my obligation. I've failed you and everyone I trusted because I couldn't be there for you! What am I now? Nothing without you! Akane, do you understand!?"
But without waiting for an answer, Ranma lets go of Akane's shoulders and turns around, face downcast.
Ranma : "I don't deserve you, Akane. Even if you do get off this island as a normal girl again, I can never pay back that life debt to you unless I kill myself saving you. I don't think there's anything now that can do that."
Akane walks up to Ranma and gently touches his shoulder with her fingers using feather-light pressure. As she tries to control her voice against the tears, she thinks of something to say.
Akane : "Ranma.... please, you know what I want to say, but.... if I had to die again for you, I would. You aren't the only person who thinks a certain iinazuke means so much you know."
Ranma raises his head slowly, but doesn't turn to look at Akane.
Ranma : "I appreciate the effort, Akane. But..... there's nothing else for me to do now."
Spectral Voice : "Not so, Ranma."
Everyone : "!?"
Ukyo : "I think we're almost there!"
Cologne : "Good."
Our intrepid group of rescuers are making their way through the caverns towards the prison area carefully with Ukyo in the lead. Suddenly, a myriad of noises echo down the corridor.
Ukyo : "Get down, everyone! Demons coming!"
In a flash, everyone disappears behind the rocks as a whole army of demons appear in the corridors and spread out, going about their normal duties. Ukyo looks wonderingly at them as she overhears some of the more intelligible conversation from a pair of demons standing in the corridor much further down. The group scuttles behind the rocks to hear better.
Fat demon : "Boss no want to rule humans."
Well-groomed demon : "Surely so, old chap. Why, the demon world IS a large place after all and he'll have his hands full, what?"
Fat demon : "Uhh.... yeah. But what about new bat-girly?"
Well-groomed demon : "Ah, Miss Akane is it? Why then, surely with their brains, I'm sure Master Kuriimu and the rest can come up with a way to get the spell broken now that's everything settled, what say you, old chap?"
Fat demon : "I say not so good idea. Burbor like new girly."
Well-groomed demon : "Tell him sorry then, my boy. The human boy, Ranma was it? is already hers. And didn't you hear? They'll be trying some weird pishposh to help her become a normal human again, although I find that supremely distasteful. Why would anyone want to be a normal human again? They're so.... boring."
Fat demon : "Uh.... maybe they can get off island?"
Well-groomed demon : "Good point. Darn it, I hate it when you're right."
As the two walk off, Ukyo looks back to the others with wide eyes. Standing up once the coast is clear, Ukyo gathers with the others.
Ukyo : "Do they mean Akane!?"
Sekki : "Surely."
Cologne : "I'm sure you have something for her, don't you, Sekki?"
Sekki glares at the group evilly as Cologne looks at her. She nods.
Sekki : "That ungrateful wench will pay."
Mousse : "Pardon me, but wasn't it you who caused all this in the first place?"
Sekki gives him a glare so poisonous Mousse cringes even without his spectacles.
Mousse : "F....orget I said that."
Ukyo : "Come on, what are we waiting for anyway!? We've got to find Ranchan honey and see what we can help him with!"
Cologne : "And in the meanwhile, we decide what to do with you."
Sekki : "Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough."
Ranma : "Who.... are you?"
Ranma blinks once, then rubs his eyes to make sure he isn't seeing things. In front of him stands a monkey. A big, bipedal monkey, dressed in the saffron/red-gold robes of a priest, but a monkey nonetheless.
Monkey : *Ahem, Mr. Author? I'm a SIMIAN, not a MONKEY, as you so crudely put it.*
All right, so it's a big simian on two legs wearing a priest's robes.
Anyway, Ranma and the rest stare at the figure of a simian priest standing there, glowing a slight blue (a la Star Wars). Ranma starts searching his pockets for something and pulls out a faded old yellowed photo and stares at it, then back at the priest. He points at the priest.
Ranma : "Hey, you're that priest guy who trapped the oni back in Japan, aren't ya? Thought you died a long time ago?"
The priest clears his throat and glares at Ranma.
Priest : "Don't be so impudent! I am a emissary of Kami-sama! I didn't die, I just ascended!"
Lina : "Sure sure, whatever you want. So what're you here for anyway?"
The priest slaps his head and shakes it, sighing in resignation. Shrugging, he floats up to Akane and points an ape-like *ahem!* Simian finger at Akane. Akane blinks and looks surprised.
Priest : "I have just been given orders from Kami Himself to help you regain your humanity, Tendou Akane."
Akane : "Me?"
The priest nods sagely. He turns to face the two current rulers of the demon world. (Not much to rule for now.)
Priest : "As such, he has given me permission to initiate the Final Trials. You two know what that means."
Kuriimu and Lina stare at him for a second. They nod.
Lina : "Very well. We shall set up our part of the ring."
The three are about to turn and leave for the center of the chamber when
Akane stops the Priest.
Akane : "Excuse me?"
The priest turns around.
Priest : "Yes?"
Akane clears her throat and looks at him questioningly.
Akane : "You weren't the one who put the spell on this island in the first
place, were you?"
The priest blinks once, then scratches his head as a bead of bigsweat forms.
Priest : "Erm.... yeah.... kind of...."
Akane laughs sharply once the same as Ranma did, and smiles at him.
Akane : "You were tricked by Sekki, hm?"
Priest : "That IS true.... but I made amends for it..."
Akane : "Oh?"
Akane looks at Kuriimu.
Akane : "What evil did he mean when he sealed your soul in the tree, Kuriimu?"
Kuriimu looks at the priest, darkly. The priest looks at them defensively.
Priest : "Not him! I knew my error then! Now! Please, if we can continue...."
The other two nod reluctantly, although Kuriimu keeps giving the Priest
the dirty look. He surrepitiously ignores that. They begin work on the
circle, inscribing runes.
During this time, Ranma, Ryouga and Akane stare at each other, blinking.
Ranma : "What's this Trial thingy all about?"
Akane : "Search me."
Ryouga : "I'll go ask."
Ranma grabs Ryouga's shoulder as he sets off for the priest and turns him around to face the correct direction.
Ranma : "That side, Ryouga. Not the open cavern."
Ryouga : "Right."
Ryouga marches up to the priest, who is about to raise his hands and mutter something and taps him on the shoulder.
Ryouga : " 'Scuse me, but would you mind explaining this Final Trials thing to us poor mortals over here?"
The priest lowers his hands and looks irritatedly at Ryouga. Ryouga is grinning widely, and the priest decides not to anger this pseudo-vampire.
Priest : "Well.... it's quite simple really. Akane and her.... reviver.... fight to the death in a ring created by the forces of light and darkness, ordained by the rulers of both sides. Winner gets their set conditions granted, no regrets."
Ryouga : <That was straightforwards enough.>
Ryouga turns around and walks back to Akane and Ranma a small distance
away. From their spot on the impromptu podium in the chamber, they can
see the three representatives chanting something and glowing in strangely
coloured lights.
Akane taps Ryouga on the shoulder.
Akane : "So what'd he say, Ryouga?"
Ryouga : "Erm..... he said it's a fight to the finish."
Akane : "And.....?"
Ryouga : "The winner gets their set conditions granted...."
Ryouga trails off here, afraid to continue. He knows that what he has to say next will probably not be healthy for Akane's ears. Akane, of course, picks up on this hesitation to continue. She prods him.
Akane : "What else, Ryouga? You're holding back."
Ryouga : "You're.... going to face.... Sekki."
Ranma immediately covers his ears, closes his eyes and turns around, expecting the worst reactions from Akane possible.
He turns around a second later to see that nothing has changed, except
that a huge glowing circle is taking form in the center of the cavern,
with four columns of stone somehow positioned at the four cardinal points
of the compass around the circle.
Akane nods at the news, calmly, solemnly.
Akane : "Very well........ I knew it had to come to this sometime...."
Voice : "Ranchan! Ranchan honey! There you are! We found you at last!"
The three in the cavern turn immediately to face the source of the voice, coming from Ukyo over in the corner. For a moment, all their faces light up at this unexpected and rather pleasant reunion.
Then Ukyo spots Lina a small distance away. She immediately draws her (taped up) spatula. Shampoo peeps around the cavern entrance and sees what Ukyo's up to. She sees Lina too.
Shampoo : "Aiyah! What evil silver bat girl doing!? Making spell to rule world?!"
Akane and the other two boys stare at Ukyo and Shampoo. Ukyo and Shampoo notice that they are being stared at. They both look at Ranma.
Ranma : "Who told ya Lina wanted to rule the world?"
Shampoo : "Crazy bat girl Sekki."
Ranma : "Wellll......"
Ranma scratches his chin.
Ranma : "That WAS true, for a moment, but it turned out all right, I guess. Lina was pretty upset we ruined her birthday present for Kuriimu, but she's all right now."
Ukyo drops her spatula (which breaks again) and her jaw with simple shock, while Shampoo drops to the floor completely.
Ukyo : "B....b....birthday present? The world?"
Akane shrugs before Ranma can.
Akane : "Forget that for now, alright?"
With that, Shampoo gets up with incredible speed again. Smiling sweetly as if nothing had happened, she turns to face Ranma, to which she immediately comes running over for a hug, ignoring her bad leg.
Shampoo : "Aiyah! Ai ren! Shampoo thought no see ai ren again after this!"
Ranma watches as Shampoo takes a short leap towards him, arms extended. Ranma sighs mentally as he feels the all too familiar tug on his pigtail and the sudden sense of movement as Akane swings him the opposite side and Shampoo ends up hugging air. Akane glares angrily at Shampoo, and Shampoo glares back heedless of Akane's obviously more powerful state.
Akane : "You've still got the nerve to hug him now, Shampoo!?"
Shampoo : "What's wrong? Shampoo no can hug ai ren?"
Akane : "He's NOT your Ai ren!"
Mousse : "Ah, Shampoo! Please don't bicker with her, you know I'm the one you want! Come to-"
*BIFF*
Akane/Shampoo : "Shut up, Mousse!"
Mousse : "....*heh* *heh*.....my....arms...."
*crumple*
However, Akane doesn't have the time to start a staring match with Shampoo as another figure appears in the cavern entrance with a glowing golden halo around its midsection. Akane suddenly sucks in her breath as she recognizes the all too familiar body shape of Sekki. Shampoo looks behind her and sees Cologne following behind the Succubus, her grip on the cord even tighter than before. And for good reason too.
Akane : "Sekki!"
Sekki walks up to Akane as if she weren't bound by a magical demon-subduing rope at all, and looks down at Akane with slitted eyes.
Sekki : "Hello, Akane. It's been a while."
Akane : "Yes.... it has."
Sekki smiles slightly, and turns to look at the source of the glow coming from her left. She takes in the sight calmly.
Sekki : "I see... Final Trials? My, this is serious. My dear Akane.... you do know who you're going to fight with, don't you?"
Akane glares at Sekki, her hatred rising up in a hot wave through her gut and her face. She clenches her fists in restraint. Ranma looks on cautiously.
Akane : "I do know......"
Sekki : "Good child. You'll have to do your best, you know. This isn't one of your dojo training fights, this one's for keeps."
Akane doesn't release her grip as Sekki turns her eyes to look at the formation of the Trial Arena. Sekki's silver eyes gleam bluish-green with the glint from the formation of the ring.
Sekki : "I don't expect you to want to spare me, Akane."
Akane : "No, I don't expect to do so either."
Sekki : "Good."
With a slight shrug, Sekki shreds the binding ropes apart as if they were made of toilet paper. Cologne's eyes widen (wow! She's broken a new record!) at the impossible sight, and everyone except Akane step back in surprise. They figure that if Cologne's surprised, it's baaaaaaaaaaad.
Sekki : "I knew it would come to this the minute you ran off. Poor child, for what I put you through. And after all this time, I actually misunderstood my own younger sister too..... this wouldn't have happened, you know. I would've left you for dead then."
Akane is staring at Sekki, slack jawed. Sekki watches the final stages of the Arena's creation as the three Representatives finish off the final runes and inscriptions on the circle.
Sekki : "Sad, isn't it? It had to come to this?"
Akane shakes herself out of the stupor and looks suspiciously at Sekki.
Akane : "What are you talking about?"
Sekki : "Akane, you know what I'm talking about."
Akane : "No.... I don't."
Sekki : "Don't you?"
But before Akane can reply, the Priest, Lina and Kuriimu raise their
arms and mutter one final word, before the cavern is awash in light and
darkness, a powerful blast of energy sweeping the chamber and forcing everyone
except Sekki and Akane to flinch and cover their faces.
When it is over, Akane looks to the priest, who turns around and faces
them.
Priest : "It is done. The Final Trials will commence now."
Akane looks back at Ranma, and finds that he, and the rest of the group, are frozen in cylinders of purple light. She can see that Ranma is shouting something and pounding at the wall of energy holding him back, but she can't hear what he's saying. Sekki sees this and smiles.
Sekki : "You'll find out, Akane. Soon. Come... let us finish this once and for all."
Akane turns around and sees the Priest nodding to her solemnly.
Akane : "Very well."
Hm...... this fic is turning out a little stranger than I hoped it would. I guess I don't do well during the examination period, do I? Well, I hope I can revise this fic a little to take the cheese out, 'cuz I'm ending it in part 20. Read on, loyal reader, and thank you for your continued support! ^_^