Yeah I wondered when I would get back to this. Here you go.
-Randall Flagg2000

Chapter Five: Illustrated Man

Did you think you could go against me and not pay the price?
-Akito Sohma, Fruits Basket

Eddie's shirt was wet and sticking to his skin. He yanked off the tie, and most of the shirt came with it. The tattoos writhed and glistened like living things. They crawled up his biceps, over his shoulders, and down his chest and abdomen. Dragons roared and tigers leaped and samurai warriors locked swords in combat. Red, white, green, yellow, blue. Brilliant primary colors that made him look feral and monstrous and of the earth.
-Robert Crais, Stalking the Angel

(1)

The yard was quite a wreck. The Hiryu Shoten Ha had torn up most of the earth and there was now a large crater of dirt where the grass had once been. Some trees had also been uprooted and they now lay around the dojo like so many splinters. The dojo itself had not been harmed, but its backyard was but a shadow of what it had once been. It wasn't anything that couldn't be handled of course.

The tornado had been seen from far away, but nobody paid it any heed. To the people of Nerima it was just another example of a martial artist proving himself and it would be wrong to question such an honorable thing.

There was nothing to worry about. Nothing bad could happen in Nerima.

(2)

James Moonshadow looked over the unconscious boy. Ranma's body was bruised and shredded and his Chinese shirt had been reduced to ribbons. He could easily fix this with some bandages and medicine, but it wasn't that which held his fancy so, nor was it the tattered shirt. Oh no, it wasn't any of these matters which were trivial at best.

What held James's gaze was the fact that this was Ranma who was laying here and not Gerard as he had been anticipating.

Yes, yes it was this and this alone which kept him from immediately tending to the boy. It was this which just kept him rooted to his spot, studying the body and taking in all the injuries like a hound taking in a fascinating new scent. It was sort of interesting, seeing Ranma like this, and it was also in a way… fun.

James stepped around Ranma, keeping his eyes riveted on the injuries that covered his body. Slashes, cuts, bruises, some injuries that may need to be stitched up, oh yes this was a sight to behold! It was like something out of a museum, only you could touch this artwork and do as you pleased with it! Ranma had finally lost an honest to God match. Not an eating contest, not an event that involved cats, not any bullshit like that, but pure, unfiltered hand to hand combat! James knew what very few knew, and it was that unless Ranma was faced with hand to hand combat, he could be beaten easily. Oh sure, you could teach him how to fight something different but only a small handful of hand to hand fighters had defeated him and even then their techniques were barely fit to be called "techniques". That boy, Ryu whatever, hadn't even know the truth of Yama-sen-ken until after he had lost for God's sake! And the rest of them-

"How now Moonshadow! What are you doing?" came Kitayama's voice.

James Moondshadow snapped back to attention and turned to face his sensei. Kitayama stood behind him, looking as happy as a clam with a big smile on his face. James did not let his expression change, even though the man before him was dressed in a sleeveless sundress. He was his sensei after all, and it would not be proper etiquette to laugh at him.

"I'm just looking over Ranma, Sensei. You know, checking out his injuries." the Indian replied.

Kitayama giggled. "Ah, playing doctor are you? How nice of you! Are his injuries severe?"

James shrugged. "Eh, I'll manage. I'm sure he'll be on his feet by the end of the day. Still, he had better take it easy. Gerard really hurt him I see. I'm not really surprised though Sensei. You know how that man can get."

Kitayama nodded. "Yes, I will admit he has some… problems, but he's getting better. You do remember when I first brought him here, don't you? How out of control he was?"

James nodded, remembering how Gerard used to be all too well. He remembered the constant explosions of anger, the curses, the screams, the restraints, everything. He had felt so sorry for Gerard when he had first seen him. Gerard had been a snarling animal of a man, trying to forget France and desperate for anything to make him forget it all. Gerard had not been human then. Now he was at least partially sane, but sometimes…

"Oh ho, did you get distracted again?"

James shook his head and came back to reality. Why should he be thinking about that of all things? Things such as that should be forgotten.

Kitayama put his hand over his mouth and giggled, the sleeve of his kimono fluttering with his laughter. "You are going to feel very old if you keep meditating like that all the time James. Believe me feeling old when you are young is not a good feeling!"

James nodded. "I wholly agree Sensei. It's just that Gerard gave me a lot to remember. He gave us all something to remember."

Kitayama sighed and arched his back with a grunt. "As have we all my dear Moonshadow, as have we all."

As Kitayama turned to leave, James called after him, "If I may ask Sensei, what should we do about the Hibiki boy? You know the one who Gerard beat up when we found Saotome?"

Kitayama turned to James and giggled like a child. "Oh don't worry. We'll just let him rot like the piece of obsessive garbage he is. The rest of Saotome's rivals will follow in time." He said this with the smile of a teenager who has just graduated from high school.

Smiling a bit himself now James nodded.

(3)

Frederick Gerard was angry. No, perhaps angry was not the correct term. He was fucking pissed. He didn't know why, but he knew how he felt alright, no doubt about that. He was pissed.

Gerard eyed his surroundings, brooding on his duel with Ranma. Yes, perhaps that was the reason for his sudden change in attitude. It wasn't Diana and Schwartz's interference, nor was it the damage he had incurred. It was… well…

"That I wanted to kill him." he whispered to himself. "I wanted to kill him and I couldn't. Even though I wasn't ordered to, I couldn't kill him. Or more like I wasn't allowed to kill him."

It was true. He had wanted to kill Ranma during their duel. At first it had been nothing more then just a curious itch, nothing but mere fancy, but as the duel progressed it had grown and grown to a more fevered level of intensity until it had became absolutely irresistible. It was the same old problem. He couldn't resist it. And there was something very… fascinating about seeing a person in pain. Oh yes, there was.

Gerard stood up and stretched out his arms. His body still ached from the blows Ranma had given him. It hurt, but it was a good hurt. The way a person felt after lifting weights for hours or pulling out a muscle during exercise. God in heaven he loved that feeling. A man could go without sex if he could just discover the sheer thrill of this.

And that was another flaw in his personality. He loved to fight. He had for a good portion of his life in fact. It wasn't any sort of pleasure out of hurting a person that gave him such pleasure nor was it victory or the rush of adrenaline a duel brought. It was simply that in a duel he was doing. Not doing something but simply doing. When a person was just doing, it meant that they had stepped outside of the boundaries of human thought. They had severed the ties to the human race and the world of the mundane. A person who was doing could think at a rapid pace, move their body at high speed, and do things most people wouldn't be able to do. And that lovely rush could only be brought on by a duel because to duel was to do. It was the only thing he lived for nowadays. It was the only thing that brought him any real happiness, aside from what he was involved in now.

The creak of a door being opened disturbed him from his brooding thoughts and he looked up to see Kazuki Kitayama standing before him.

(4)

"My dear Gerard, how are you doing? Still aching from your fight with Saotome? I'm not surprised you know. The boy is incredible for his age."

Gerard sighed. "You aren't still angry at me, are you Sensei?" he asked.

Kitayama tilted his head to one side like a cat. "Angry? Now why would I be angry with you of all people?" He began to walk towards the stereo on the other end of the room.

Gerard stood up. "You know what I mean Sensei. I almost… killed Ranma." His voice faltered as he spoke these last two words.

Kitayama pressed a button on the stereo and the machine opened up. He reached into the pocket of his kimono and took out a CD and placed it inside. "Do tell." he replied. His voice was as playful as ever.

"You saw what happened, Sensei! I mean, you watched the match, didn't you? You saw what I did!"

Kitayama turned to him and smiled. "Oh I know Gerard. I know very well. I forgive you, but that doesn't mean you are in trouble."

Gerard sighed in relief. "That's good. Now what sort of music are you putting on?"

"Oh, nothing much, just some old piano sonata Something to help relax you a little while I play with you."

Gerard froze. He knew that that meant.

"You… you said you wouldn't punish me!" Gerard stammered. He began to back out of the room.

"It's true, I did. I just didn't say I wouldn't punish you at all." Kitayama laughed. He began to roll up the sleeve of his kimono.

Gerard's eyes traced Kitayama's unveiled arm, looking over all the countless tattoos trailing up his arm. Dragons, tigers, katanas, star pentagrams, words written in languages older then time, all of them seeming to bob and dance with the tight muscles of his arm. Only those who had known him for a long period would know that it wasn't just Kitayama's arm but his entire body that was covered in these brightly colored tattoos. From his ankles up to just below his neck, tattoos of all sorts crawled and spread over his body like a Yakuza assassin. The difference was that these were more then tattoos. Much more.

Still smiling that same childish smile, Kitayama pinched a small portion of his arm and Gerard suddenly screamed in agony. He fell to the ground writhing and clutching his head which was beginning to bleed as if he had been struck there. The pain was horrible, a constant burning rush of fire through him.

"Oh Gerard, please forgive me but I'm doing this for your own good! Just think of me as a parent who is doing his duty to his son!"

"Je t'emmerde!" Gerard howled. Kitayama's eyes widened in shock and he pinched his arm harder. Blood began to drip out of Gerard's nose and cheeks as if somebody had cut him open with a knife. Gerard screamed miserably and thrashed his arms over his face, splashing his suit with blood.

"You can stop this at any time you know." Kitayama said sadly. "All you have to do is promise that you won't do something like that again and that you will try to control yourself better."

"Oui, oui, I promise Sensei, please let me go! LET ME GO!" The pain was burrowing into him like a drill and was not ceasing.

Kitayama giggled again and pinched his arm harder still. "Do you proooomise?" he said, drawing out the word like a bratty younger sibling.

"I PROMISE! I PROMISE, I PROMISE, I-!"

The pain was gone. Gerard slowly got to his feet, feeling his face and forehead with his hands. There was no blood, except for the stains on his suit. He'd have to get it laundered quickly. Blood didn't come out very easily.

"Remember your promise Gerard and try to keep it. You know that it is dishonorable to break a promise and that the consequences are severe, do you not?" Kitayama said as he pulled his sleeve back down.

Trembling like a kicked dog Gerard nodded. He couldn't bring himself to speak.

"Good. Then there isn't really anything else to say. I will be seeing you. And do try to control your temper." With another laugh, Kitayama left the room.

(5)

Gerard sat on the ground trembling, his eyes darting all around. God he hated it when Kitayama did this. It always left him feeling sick and weak and nobody liked to feel that way. He was lucky it had only lasted this long. He could remember how Kitayama had done this once to Diana for an hour straight. The woman had screamed like a cat and he had never stopped smiling or changed his tone. No, he had remained pleasant and cheerful through the whole thing.

"That son of a bitch." Gerard whispered. "All this time and he never gets angry or raises his voice. He just keeps smiling and laughing. All this time he just keeps smiling and laughing!"

Gerard wondered just how he had gotten into this in the first place.

END OF CHAPTER FIVE

You'll find out about Ranma and the rest in time. I just hope you enjoyed this chapter.
-Randall Flagg2000