Sidhe Ranma Skirmish

"Well, Shampoo's a cat," Akane said. "So that's no problem...wait, why aren't you afraid of her?"
Ranma shrugged, not really wanting to delve deeply into that question.

"I don' know," Ranma said. "What are we gonna do about Nabs, Kodachi and Kurumi?"

"I don't know," Akane said, still rifling through Ryouga's pack. "Maybe Ryouga has something fireproof. We're going to have to go shopping for her, find something synthetic that won't burn or melt."

"Ain't those sensamatic things always pretty tight?" Ranma asked.

"Yeah," Akane said, blushing a little. "But, somehow, I don't think that's a problem."

Ranma's ears twitched a moment and she stood up straight, looking into the shadows about them. Everything was so clear and loud, that she wasn't sure how much to trust her hearing, but every other sense of hers screamed that something was wrong.

"What?" Akane asked, noticing that Ranma had suddenly turned more than a little distracted.

"I thought I heard something," Ranma said, looking about, trying to track down the sound he'd heard, something like a furitive footstep.

Akane tensed and joined Ranma in watching the trees. There was enough strange going on as it was. The easiest clue to that was the changes to their bodies.

"AHHHHHHH!!!!" Ryouga screamed as he bolted awake, setting Akane and Ranma each to jumping at the sudden shock.

"Was that it?" Akane asked.

"No," Ranma said, clinching his fist and returning to watch for signs of movement.

"A...Akane?" Ryouga asked nervously.

"Uh, yeah," Akane said, turning to look at Ryouga. "Errr, sorry about going through your things, Ryouga...but we needed to get some clothes for everybody."

"Th...th...that's all right," Ryouga said, still in shock from what he was seeing. "You and Ranma..."

"And all the other girls, yeah," Akane said, blushing furiously.

Ryouga's mind froze as the choice of a direction came and he couldn't figure out which to do. Pass out from that image presented, scream revenge on Ranma...or should he scream revenge on the girls? Or maybe he could ask if they minded him joining in.

That last, rather hentai, thought almost sent Ryouga back into unconsciousness. Fortunately, something happened to distract him.

Still standing a short distance away, Ranma's attention suddenly focused downward and she started to move, drawing Akane and Ryouga's attention. The elf's arms lashed out to grab at thin air seemingly and then moved to throw it.

"Ranma," Akane said. "Nows not the time to be playing mi...what the hell?!"

The ground near Ryouga and Akane shuddered, the grass flattening, as something unseen landed forcefully against it.

"An invisible attacker!" Ryouga shouted increduously.

"Man, that was lucky," Ranma said. "Ryouga! You got any ink or something in that bag of yours?"

"Yeah," Ryouga said.

"It's standing up," Ranma shouted, noting the creature's movement. "Watch the ground for its steps!"

Akane didn't wait for it to stand, instead rushing forward and lashing out with a leg at the unseen body. The invisible thing skittered across the clearing and slammed noisly into a rock set out as decoration. Akane leaped across the field, eyes popping at how far she was suddenly able to jump, and landed before the shuffling of the grass revealed that the creature was standing.

"What do you want me to do with this ink bottle?" Ryouga called out, holding up the aforementioned bottle.

"Throw it!" Ranma answered impatiently.

Ryouga blinked and then tossed the ink bottle, sending it on a spinning arc out toward the red-haired elf who dodged out of the way, despite the surprise evident on her face.

"Not at me," Ranma shouted angrily. "At the thing Akane's fighting!"

"Oh," Ryouga said sheepishly. "That would...Ranma! Behind you!"

Ranma turned about in time to see a pair of ink smattered pieces of air split off. One headed for him, and the other headed for the unconcious girls.

"Oh know you don't!" Ranma snapped, leaping over the mostly unseen creature reaching for him, and landing between the invisible assassins and the unconscious girls. "You get to them through me, and only through me."

The creatures didn't seem to mind the challenge and charged forward at the elf.

Suffering from the inability to see the exact punches coming in, Ranma had to rely solely on her instincts and other senses. She blocked the first pair of blows well enough, but the third slammed into her stomache, doubling her over and leaving her open for something to claw three strips out of her back.

Akane grimaced and felt a curious shock as her last punch into the unseen creature ended in a wet sounding crack. Something unseen oozed over her hand and she stepped back, disoriented as the realization that her opponent was dead started to seep in.

Ranma's plight distracted her from that for the moment, but it would come soon, when the battle was finished surely.

"Ranma!!" Akane called out as Ranma stumbled backward from another series of partially intercepted attacks. "Ryouga! Do something!"

The lost-boy was already moving before the red-cap's insistant command, he landed what he assumed was behind the ink-splattered assailants and stuck his finger into the ground.

"Baksai Tenketsu!" he shouted out, warning Ranma of the explosion to come.

Ryouga, meanwhile braced himself against the explosion and waited for the dust to start settling. Two forms, blocks of air untouched by the dust, were thrown off their feet by the showering debris of rock and stone.

As they stood up, Ryouga watched as Ranma stepped in like an avenging goddess. Her elven form moving fluidly and without mercy to snap the first one's neck before it could do more than turn to face her. The second, and last, faired no better as a palm strike shattered the chest of the creature.

"I've already proven I'd kill to save one of them," Ranma whispered to the falling monster. The sound carrying to Ryouga's ears. "Threaten all of them? That's a no-no."

Still, the skirmish, and perhaps the stress of the day already, showed in Ranma as the elf started to topple forward. Akane reached her then and caught the weakened elf firmly, holding her tenderly.

"Ranma, please be all right," Akane said urgently. Then her voice turned enraged, harsh and inhuman. "I'll devour the fool whole that dared to do this to you, my love."

A chill of fear swept through Ryouga, and only part of it was Akane's admittance of love. Fear seemed to dripping out of the words of her second statement, the ferocious image she spoke only adding to that effect. Even Ryouga, not the intended target, felt his insides water as Akane's anger was expressed.

"I'm just tired," Ranma said weakly from Akane's arms. "I'm fine."

"You're not fine," Akane snapped. She turned to the lost boy. "Ryouga, help me wake up the others! We have to get Ranma some help!"