Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½

Chapter 34

The Return of the Demon Slayers

Akane checked the hallway as she exited Ranma's room. She gave him a quick glance to tell him it was all clear. She put the sign outside not to enter, a sign that was usually useless since interruptions seemed to happen all the time in her house. She had to apply the cure and it had taken her all day of silently meditating and trying to remember Cologne's words. She needed to add the cure as bath salts and try to cleanse her mind of all thoughts. It was important that she wasn't disturbed and Ranma was to be put on guard.

She gave him an awkward smile as she closed the door. She didn't need him grinning at her. It made her want to kiss him. She tried to erase the idiot from her mind but she couldn't shake that warm feeling inside her that she was loved.

If it was fish that triggered her Neko-Ken, she needed to eliminate its hold over her mind. That was where the infused bath salts would work, if she could focus on her trigger and cast it from her mind there would be a way to cure herself. She poured some of the salts into the bath. A faint pink colour melted into the water.

"I take control of myself…" Akane said as she stepped into the bath. She could feel herself becoming dizzy. "I am Akane Tendo…" She whispered. "I am not a cat…"

She brought the image of a fish into her head. All those times in the past week were she had blacked out. There was always a fish involved. She tried to cage it away. She lay back in her small bath and tried to breathe through her nose deeply. All she needed was time to let the cure work and keep focusing on who she was.

Ranma sat outside the bathroom. He might get called a giant perv or a lecher but he was secretly looking forward to seeing her washed and in her bathrobe. That was just a small bonus being able to smell her freshly washed body as she always used that nice soap he liked.

'Ugh, I really am a pervert.' He berated himself. He looked up when he heard a thud on the roof. Someone, who wasn't a ninja, was up there. The continued light thumps confirmed his suspicion and he went to the window in his room to climb onto the roof to see who was coming for a surprise visit.

'It can't be Ryoga.' He thought as he easily flipped up onto the tiles. A dark shadow was above where the bathroom was. 'Is it that old letch Happi?' Ranma hunched down and made his way slowly. He didn't want anyone else to see his Akane naked.

'Heh… yeah she's my Akane….' He mused.

"Hey Asshole!" Ranma shouted. "No-one gets to sneak a peek except me!"

He heard a thud from underneath as Akane heard him and he could imagine exactly what she was saying. 'Ranma… you idiot!'

"Ranma Saotome! Your perverted Devil-Cat-Man ways have been proven!" The shadow shouted back.

"Oh damnit… it's Kuno…" Ranma sighed disappointedly. He was hoping for a stronger enemy.

"Oh… Ranma… you charmer…. Not just one Kuno…" A voice purred by his ear and he felt a ribbon wrap around him from behind.

'Dammit! Kodachi is there too!' He had forgotten about their recent team up. He ducked down letting the ribbon unwrap from him but Kodachi was already advancing. His eyes were adjusting to the dark and he could see Kuno had his wooden sword back and was running towards him with it raised.

"Didn't you two give up already?" Ranma said flipping upwards while the siblings collided together.

"We will never quit while such abominable demons walk this Earth!" Kuno declared. He pointed his bokken upwards in a pose. Kodachi stood at his back behind him.

"The brother and sister Black and Blue Rose Demon Slayers shall take it upon ourselves to purge this World of you and that Akane wench." Kodachi said boldly.

"I thought we were the Twisted Thorns of the Black Rose and Blue Thunder Demon Nightstalkers of Nerima!" Kuno corrected her.

"Such a crude name, we shall never be remembered with such a long name."

"It is feeble to argue in front of our enemy my Twisted Sister, let us do what we came here for and strike down our foes!"

"Indeed, we'll debate it later then. Oh-Hohohohohoho!" Kodachi laughed and forward flipped towards Ranma kicking at his head. He blocked her kick and pushed her back. Kuno took that chance and swung his sword down onto Ranma, he dodged left and the bokken smashed the roof.

"Hey, guys, gimme a break Nabiki is already charging me for the fence damage!" Ranma whined as he steadied himself ready for the next attack.

"We care not. All our goals have been waiting for your return so we can salt the Earth with your bones!" Kuno spat.

'Wow, he's really not holding back!' Ranma thought as a volley of forward strikes surged towards him. Kodachi threw some random smoking bombs that Ranma had to focus on parrying back into the garden. The duo attacked in unison with each other. It proved to Ranma that they must have done some training while he had been in the mountains. 'I can't just be on the defence… I need to get a hit in!'

Ranma round-house kicked as Kuno continued his straight sword strike. It knocked the senior off balance but Kodachi leapt in throwing a large bomb ball. Ranma was expecting it and kept his momentum of his kick and brought round his other leg hitting Kodachi off balance so she landed on her brother with the bomb. The roof finally collapsed and all three fell into the room below.

Akane was waiting for the inevitable; she'd already jumped out of the bath and struggled to get dressed as the bathroom ceiling caved in and 3 bodies landed into the bath. Ranma was quick enough to dunk Kuno's head down into the water and he landed next to Akane in just her bra and panties. He gave her a silly grin and she was about to reply but the wooden sword hit her solidly in the head knocking her out.

"Oh crap!" Ranma said as he saw her fall down. He moved to pick her up with from the bath two drenched Kuno siblings emerged.

"Prepare yourself!" Kuno spat bringing out his real katana.

"We shall never surrender!" Kodachi echoed while bringing herself into a pose.

"Ranma Saotome…" Kuno said as he mirrored his sister's stance.

"Akane Tendo…" Kodachi pulled out her bladed ribbon.

"You shall be purged!" They screamed together striking a double pose.

"Oh just give it up!" Ranma spat.

"Mrrrr…." Akane agreed as she wiggled free from Ranma's hold.

Ranma's eyes shot to the side to see Akane in her bra and panties bending over in the Neko-Ken pose.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" Ranma yelled as Akane pounced. He growled inwardly as he decided to join Akane in the defence of their house. The cat version of Akane snagged the ribbon in her mouth and pulled. Kodachi wasn't giving up and held on but was thrown into the bath. Ranma quickly followed and kicked Takewaki on top of his sister. There was a large splash and the hot water washed over them. Ranma huffed and continued to keep in a guard position. Kuno was not down yet.

Akane was startled by the water and curled herself behind Ranma she was making a high pitched unhappy noise. She was disturbed by the intrusion by the Kunos.

"Let's finish this Akane!" Ranma said, trying not to think of her as a cat. The last thing he wanted was to let himself be taken over by his Neko self. 'Beside me is my fiancée Akane, I don't see a cat, nope. Nope, no cat…' His leg trembled slightly as he couldn't quite convince himself. Akane meowing loudly wasn't helping at all.

"We shall not let thee demons win." Kuno panted. He seemed to be struggling with his breath. Kodachi also seemed to be panting heavily. They were drenched in the warm bath water that was filled with Chinese herbal bath salts. Ranma who saw an opportunity knocked Kuno back into the bath water and shoved a squeaky duck into his mouth. He spluttered as Kodachi bounced on his head to swing herself down onto Ranma. Neko-Akane tackled her attack sending her into the back cabinet.

The shacking of the room had attracted a small audience and the Tendo family were watching from the bathroom door. Genma in his panda form was quietly betting with Soun about who would win. Nabiki who would be eagerly egging this on was busy calculating the damages.

"Oh no Akane!" Kasumi cried as she saw her sister in a half naked state. "She'll get pregnant!"

"10,000yen on a new heir!" Soun yelled.

Genma growled and upped it to 50,000 against.

"You guys are… not helping!" Ranma shouted as he tried to throw a dressing gown over Akane. The cat-girl shook it off and continued cat punching Kodachi who was on the defence.

"My overzealous brother I feel strange."

"Indeed... I too." Kuno agreed. "We are beset by Demon Sorcery!"

"Yeah I'm the best, but it's no magic!" Ranma shouted confused by Kuno's use of English but used the chance of his defence being down to flip Kuno up with a kick. "Get out of our house!"

"You imbecilic inability to understand me baffles me." Kuno sneered and grabbed onto the roof. "Sister we must abdicate our plan!"

"As you say! Ah my hair!" Kodachi snarled and swiped her leg to knock the attacking Akane off balance. The cat-girl dodged it but it gave Kodachi enough room to backwards flip up to the hole they had left. "The room it spins…"

"The Demon cats must be purified from this Earth." Kuno said as he raised his sword with a pose. Kodachi followed to mirror him but she clutched her stomach.

"I have been inflicted Brother, let us return home to recuperate!"

"Yeah, recoup it up and leave!" Ranma shouted back as he held back Akane from jumping up after them. She swiped at them both letting out a large meow.

"It matters not your time shall come Ranma Saotome!" Kuno warned and a flurry of black and red rose petals seemed to fill up the room. "The Kuno Siblings will be ever present for you inevitable demise!"

"We'll be back…" Kodachi tried to give her shrill laugh but she ended up hunched over her brother as he carried her away. The lightening cracked as the pair departed hopping over the Tendo fence with the shower of rose petals following behind them.

Ranma sighed in relief and noticed the audience and how close he was to the cat-Akane. She was rubbing her face sleepily next to him oblivious to the cheers from the fathers.

"Genma, she's not pregnant, you win the bet, please give me the money father. It'll pay for the roof." Nabiki said quickly to the pair her eyes sparkling with glee.

"Ranma get Akane to her room." Kasumi said as she tried to block out the noise of the objections and attend to the real matters. "She might catch a cold like that."

"Yes, let the boy do it." Soun agreed. "Bets might change, eh?" He added in a lower voice to Genma.

The old man panda held up a sign. [Don't do anything I would do!]

Ranma ignored them as he was busy dealing with his phobia and secret love for Akane. His face was flushed as his mind couldn't decide to be aroused or petrified as his love started making purring noises like a cat as he carried her.

He was saved though by the fact that the cat Akane had fallen asleep and was making normal un-purring snores. She seemed like she had returned to her old self. The fathers left to return to their game of Go and for now he was alone with Akane in her room. He didn't think the cure had worked, she had turned into a cat so quickly. It didn't seem like their trouble with the Neko-Ken was anywhere near being fixed.

"Sorry Akane, I couldn't stop them." Ranma sighed stroking her head. She was lying down in her bed and Kasumi came in with a gentle smile and a bucket of cold water.

"We'll keep this by her bed, just in case." She told Ranma. "I'll get her into her pyjamas; there are some cookies downstairs that need eating."

"Thanks." Ranma said. "Um… is it okay if I come to watch her, I mean, guard her?"

"Sure, just behave yourself or there won't ever be any cookies again." Kasumi said.

Ranma shrugged and left quickly not wanting to talk back to the cookie master, the older sister really did know how to threaten him.

As he passed by the living room he overheard their fathers speaking about future wedding plans.

"Seems like a Wedding might be happening soon." Soun chuckled to a happy roar from the panda.

It made the usual delicious cookies taste pale slightly as he ate and thought about the consequences. Their Wedding was always over their heads threatening them. Now it seemed like they couldn't even cure the hypnosis that had been inflicted on Akane. He needed to really check to see if she agreed with the idea of marriage. He wanted her, sure. As his wife, in the future, in the very far future, he could see it. But now? When he was still in High School?

He knew he couldn't keep his word and not flirt with Akane. He finally had her accepting him and being able to tell her what he wanted to say rather than what macho words came out of his mouth to protect his ego. He always said what he did before as he felt she didn't feel the same way. Now he knew, she loved him! She loved him and let him hug her and kiss her. As long as there wasn't anyone watching!

'Well screw that!' Ranma thought. 'I want to touch her and kiss her whenever I want!'

Ranma's inner pervert had fully awoken. He didn't want to marry, but he sure as hell wanted to date Akane and do a lot of other more interesting things. 'I wonder if she'll ever let me join her in the bath.' He sniggered to himself as he could smell that lovely soap scent coming from Akane's room. He sat down on the floor near her bed and looked over to her.

"We need to decide soon." Ranma said to her as she mumbled in her sleep. Akane sensing that Ranma was near reached out and pulled him on the bed in one of her death grips. Ranma chocked and almost wished he could finish his cookies but he just shrugged and let his back bend over as he head rested next to Akane. It was uncomfortable but it was worth it as he could secretly let his face press against her.

'I really want you to be all mine." He thought as he was unable to actually say the words due to mild asphyxiation.

000

For Ryoga, Ukyo and Akari it was an awkward five minutes of more meditation and drinking of bad tasting medicine but the effect didn't seem to change. Akari was starting to blush from lack of air and embarrassment as her fiancée and new friend hugged onto her close.

"Well, that's that." Cologne sighed clapping her hands again as the pair hugged Akari tighter. "Oh sorry." The old woman cackled slightly not really sorry.

"So there's nothing you can do?" Ryoga said as he let go of Akari.

"Not now, we'll try again in the morning, for now I suggest you all keep close to one another." Cologne said. "One good point is that it's not as strong as Akane's the spell wears off on its own. Although the trigger has seemed to change."

"So instead of thunder you've changed it to hand clapping?" Ukyo asked trying to make this clear. "You know that's worse than thunder right? We're more likely to hear that."

"I miscalculated." Cologne explained. "I forgot to take both of your idiotic minds and the audible trigger into consideration."

"We're not idiots." Ukyo snarled then looked at Ryoga. "Well, not all of us."

"Hey!" Ryoga snapped back at her. "What are we going to do now?"

"We've been at this all afternoon, so I suggest you go home and sleep and come back in the morning." Cologne said. "I have a different method to try and it might work. We'll need to see your little friend too but she can leave her pig behind. It's dug up most of the road in front of the restaurant."

"I'm so sorry. I'll ask my father to send compensation."

"It is fine child; at least you offer me money which I will humbly accept of course." Cologne said. "Look on the bright side at least you're not hugging each other, you're now hugging such a nice girl like this."

"Akari…" Ryoga looked at her smiling face. She didn't seem worried much. He wondered if she could argue sometimes as it seemed like she could be too much of a walkover.

"I still have spare futons out so you're welcome to come to mine." Ukyo said. "Thanks Cologne, I might send you some extra cabbages I've been unable to use since my restaurant has been closed."

"Now that is fine compensation." Cologne smiled gratefully. She gave Ryoga a stare and he sheepishly offered her a spare bandana from his bag. She took it wordlessly and without any bow.

The three left the Nekohanten and Akari got on her giant pig.

"Perhaps I should ask my father to send someone to pick him up." She said.

"Might be an idea sugar." Ukyo said. "I never imagined in two years I would be trying to forget about Ranma and hugging random pig people."

"So you really have given up on Ranma?" Ryoga asked.

"Have you?" Ukyo bounced back.

"No, he is forever my rival and enemy."

"So Men friends forever then?" Ukyo sniggered. Akari joined her and laughed along as Ryoga failed to think of a come back.

The trio watched as a flurry of petals and two people seemed to stop above them on the rooftops.

"Dreaded Sister, What sorcery led us here?"

"I don't know, do I my disgustingly sentimental brother." Kodachi scoffed. "Though it seems we have an audience."

"Hah! Saotome's friends!" Kuno shouted as he noticed them. "Perhaps they have been possessed as well by the demons."

"I have no idea what you're talking about Sugar." Ukyo sighed. "Keep walking guys, let's just ignore them."

Kodachi jumped down blocking the path, her brother leapt down behind them. "I don't like being ignore you little bumpkin."

"What'd cha say?" Ukyo snapped her anger over taking her normal sanity.

Kodachi sniffed turning her head to snub her and looking up to her brother. "What does your demon detector say?"

Tatewaki Kuno took out a string of beads with 3 large bells. He held it up and looked through at them. Ukyo and Ryoga watched unimpressed as the wind picked up. There was a slight jingle from the bells.

"That's such a nice accessory." Akari noticed.

No one else commented it looked like something a superstitious old lady would use to play the Lotto with to choose numbers. The bells jingled again in the wind, the Kuno siblings remained silent.

"The bells have spoken." Kuno said dramatically. "The small innocent girl on the pig is free to go, the two Ukyo Kunoji and Ryoga Hibiki have been judged corrupt, and their fate is to submit to us and face your punishment!"

"Well, isn't this a nice turn of events." Kodachi cackled. "It looks like I do get to play with the Hicks."

"Akari, get back." Ryoga snapped and he got himself into a fighting stance.

"You sure should have picked a better battle!" Ukyo snarled drawing out her large spatula. "You gotta learn some manners, City Slicker."

The battle lines were drawn Akari sat back using her giant pig as a cushion to watch. There was a low rumbling from the increasing tension in the air. There was no Ranma, to give any smart ass comments and Kuno continued his long poetic prophecy of defeat without the usual snarky remarks. They were ready to charge but paused and stopped as a small cat walked out yowling loudly. The Kunos paused from their fighting and stared blankly.

"We must escape." Kodachi said blankly, no usual cackle in her voice.

"Indeed, let us avert any confrontation." Tatewaki agreed and they both ran away over the rooftops the returning shower of petals the only thing left.

"Just what the Heck happened there?" Ukyo snapped.

"What the Heck is right." Ryoga agreed.

"I think I know." Akari said hopping down from her pig and petting the kitten. "I think they had a similar look as you two got when you hugged me. As if they were hypnotised."

Ukyo laughed clapping her hands in joy at the irony and instantly regretting it as she instantly began hugging Akari and was joined by Ryoga.

"See!" Akari gasped pointing at their blank eyes cheerfully. "Like that! Exactly!"

As Ukyo came out of her trance she looked dubiously back at the sweet girl smiling back at her. She was a lot smarter than she looked.

"Let's go home then." Ryoga coughed unsure why Ukyo was looking at Akari and smiling silently. He was trying to hide his jealousy as he was starting to think Ukyo swung both ways.

"Whose home?" Ukyo snapped and hit the back of his head. "Akari is welcome and you're just tagging along."

"Just don't sleep in the same bed, I couldn't take it."

"You're a weird pervert, worse than Ranma!" Ukyo snarled and grabbed Akari's hand. "Let's go, looks like we're having a sleepover."

Akari cheered as she ran along with her new friend and Ryoga coughed as he tried to hold back his objections.

000

Author's Note: Wow, bit of a one-shot of the Kuno's here. I did resist making the stand-off a cliff-hanger as it was just a damp squib of a fight. There was no need to build up the tension. The real tension lies with what Ranma is going to do about his family as they're getting close to discovering their love. Plus Ranma really wants to be a pervert to Akane as much as he likes. This chapter was a bit longer than usual as I tried to wrap up as much as I could as my updates are sporadic to put it lightly!

Again, many thanks to the continued readers, new readers and those that forgot this story existed and found it again! Yes, I'm still alive and working on this story. It's just my focus has been on other projects but I can at least try to update soon as we're almost near the end.