Chapter 1: Ranma Awakens
Ranma regained consciousness. He didn't know how long he had been out, or have any recollection of falling a sleep. One thing, however, he was certain of. He had one splitting headache! "I wonder," He began as he clutched his head and tried to adjust his eyes to the pitch, black darkness. "If this is what it is like to have a hang-over."
Ranma shook his head to clear the cobwebs from his brain, and tried to get a grip on the situation. He remembered that he had stolen billions of souls, and that he purposely didn't try to escape for that reason. Maybe that was the cause for his headache. His power seemed shifty as well, like his body was still compensating for the sudden increase. He could leave the realm at any moment now. He had seen Largo, Shadow and Andrea's traveling companion, create a portal into his own world, his pendant could take care of the rest. However, did he really want to go back? In his current state, he was vulnerable and too much of a threat at the same time. He couldn't put a finger on himself right now. Everything felt so chaotic. His breathing was heavy, and if he were in a better state of mind he would have noticed that his hair was no longer in its trademark braid. There were people in his own world that would pay money to see him in that condition. One elf in particular, but he would just have to miss this golden opportunity.
The realm was very musty, damp and dark. Ranma could feel the dampness on the skin; the whole area was very humid. It was very much like the inside of a cave, but the smell was very different. The smell was that of death. Ranma?s acute senses picked up the smell of blood and rotting flesh. Some were even scorched, that was a scent that Ranma knew better than anything else. In a nutshell, the realm was not a very hospitable place to be, and one would probably never want to go there on a vacation or holiday. It wouldn?t be in anyone?s best interests. Well, except Ranma.
Sounds were heard from all around him. Growling, clawing, slobbering, horrible sounds that would drive any sane man to insanity. Ranma was already insane, as others may say, and he had a splitting headache. He covered his ears and shut his eyes in agony to try and block out those horrible sounds. It was then that he felt a cold tingling feeling run down his back, but before his mind could respond Ranma felt heat, and heard a howl of pain. The tingling feeling was gone, and when Ranma looked to see what it was, all he saw were the ashes of a demon that resembled that of a gargoyle. It appeared that his body reacted out of reflex and scorched the beast. It was odd for him to let loose that much power with out trying to however, and that worried him. More demons jumped towards him, and Ranma's eyes had finally adapted to the pitch darkness of the realm. He didn't know if it was just his own ability, or if it had something to do with the souls he took before, but he didn't much care at the moment. He jumped and hovered over the demons, looking at each one to get a hold on just what kind of beasts they were.
They were all different. Many had disfigured limbs, and horrible eyes. Some didn't seem to have any, but those that did held a lifeless feel to them. The seemed glazed over in white; some black, red, or even gold, but they all seemed the same in that respect. Perhaps it was due to the lack of light. Many were unlike any creature the evil mad man had seen before. He gazed in awe as he watched the demons turn on each other when they noticed that their prey had evaded their attack. It seemed that they didn't care who they killed. "I thought I took from every demon in the realm." Ranma said to himself out loud, assuming that no one would be there to here him.
"They are children. It appears they just spawned today." Ranma heard from behind him. It was a deep, harsh voice that seemed to command power.
"And you are?" Ranma asked as he turned around to get a look at the man that seemed to share the realm with him. The man wasn't a man at all. He was a demon, standing seven feet tall with spikes on his shoulders, white eyes, onyx skin, and long black hair. His muscles were bulky and he wore no clothes at all. This, Ranma found disturbing. "Also, why isn't your soul in either me, or my sword?"
"I am called Kaidan, and I had just entered this plain of existence minutes ago. Demons constantly transfer to different realms, but now I know why this one seems so bare." The demon are you not a demon your self?"
Ranma chuckled and shook his head. It seemed that his headache had worn off. "No, no I'm not. I'm actually supposed to be trapped here for all eternity. My name is Ranma Hikage. I pretty much rule the realm that is parallel to this one." He said. "Well, at least parallel and to worlds over."
Kaidan seemed to find amusement in Ranma's lack of fear. It wasn't often that he found a man of Ranma's stature. The man before him could fly, which showed that he obviously had some sort of power. "You aren't ever getting out you know."
"You seem to get through the realms just fine."
"You need one of these." He said as he turned his head to one side and pointed to a symbol on his left cheek. It was a circle, with a semi circle at the top and bottom of it pointing. It had another semi circle below that pointing down that had spikes on the tip of each side jutting out. There was a bigger spike underneath that with a rounded top that pointed down, and there were two boomerang looking things that arched out on each side of it. "It's one of the marks of chaos. You can only get them from the chaos gods them selves. I just happen to be an avatar of chaos." Kaidan said with a grin as he pointed to his chest with his thumb. He was obviously very proud of his status.
"Really, it doesn't seem that big a deal to me." Ranma shrugged. "I could care less about these chaos gods. I'll just beat it out of them if I have to."
"What?" The demon yelled! "You must have a death wish to say that in front of me! In this realm no less!" Kaidan was obviously very upset. "I should kill you where you stand human!"
"Human? Well, that is a big assumption. You can try Kaidan, but you'll regret it."
"Prepare to take on the strongest of avatars of chaos! Class 'S' demon of course!" He yelled as he lunged at Ranma with his clawed hand. He was way faster than someone as bulky as he should be. Ranma was caught off guard a bit, but bent back and flew down a bit to dodge the strike.
As Ranma dodged the attack, the demons that had gathered bellow jumped at him. Noticing the yelling they assumed that someone would become their dinner, and the man with the shiny hair seemed to be heading their way. Unfortunately for the demon Ranma sensed it, twisted his body, and let loose a powerful kick to knock it back down. He didn't want to deal with the weaker demons during the fight so he killed them the same way he killed the other demon. He pointed his palm towards the huddled up mass of demon flesh and scorched them to death. Afterwards Ranma landed on the ground and blocked the next clawed strike that had come his way while he was taking out the weaker trash.
Ranma sent a punch at his dark skinned opponent that was blocked right away. The demon grabbed Ranma arm and tried throwing him into the air, but Ranma kicked him in the gut before he had the chance. Kaidan staggered back a bit, but he was, for the most part, unfazed. "Is that all you can do human?"
"Is that all you can do?" Ranma asked and cocked an eyebrow. Kaidan growled at Ranma's words and attempted another clawed strike. The strike was so fast that most men wouldn't be able to follow it. Ranma used his right hand to push the attack aside as he moved his upper body with the blow to dodge it completely. Ranma punched towards the demons skull, but it was also blocked with the demon's other hand. The demon attempted to kick Ranma just as Ranma tried kicking the demon. Their shins connected and repelled each other. The fight continued on for two or three minutes, but it wasn't anything epic. Ranma punched and his opponent side stepped the attack. He used his foot to trip out Ranma's front foot and slashed at Ranma as he lost his balance. A long gash appeared on Ranma's back as he yelled from the pain. It started at Ranma's right shoulder blade and ran down to his left hip. Kaidan was indeed powerful, but Ranma did what had to be done. It was always a lunge, nothing new. The 'S' class demon would almost always start out with a lunge every time he attempted an offensive against Ranma. Finally he lunged and Ranma sidestepped. When Kaidan passed him, Ranma swiped his hand in an arch vertically towards the demon's open back. There was a ripple in the air... "Goodbye, Kaidan."... And the demon was sliced in half; Death by wind blade.
Ranma began to walk away, but with his first step a sharp pain ran down his back. He arched his body forward as if it would help alleviate some of the pain, but it only seemed to make it worse. He looked behind him and saw no one there. He was shocked for a moment, but what he saw next sent a shiver down his spine. There was blood on the ground, and it didn't belong to Kaidan. The blood was his. Ranma reached as far back behind him as he could and touched his wound. Once again he felt a sharp pain, and when he looked at his hand it was covered in blood. "Blood?" Ranma questioned himself. "How?"
Ranma opened a rift and took one of his shirts that he had stored earlier on. Shosami had suggested he do that. He had never thought of storing items in his rifts before that day, and realized that his rifts were useful out side of battle as well. He took off the shirt he was wearing, tore it, and wrapped it around his body. Some of the gash was uncovered, but that would have to do. He then put on the clean shirt and walked off. Pain coursed through his body after every step he took. It was unnatural and very unnerving. This had never happened to him before. He had always healed himself up completely without even trying after receiving damage. He didn't notice that the mark on Kaidan's face had vanished. His mind had been on other things.
