Demoness of Jusenkyo

Ranma fanfic by Seras4545

A/N: Sorry bout the wait, school has killed most of my free time. Hope you like this new addition to DOJ.

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Most people assume that demons are all the same, that they all have the same powers.

This is not true. A study of demons and their society has revealed that each demon has

his or her own special characteristics and abilities that make them unique, and that

they live much like you and I, with just a few distinct differences being the abilities that

Classify them as demons.

I for one am saddened by the intolerance of others for something they cannot understand.

I have found Demons, or Gifted as they preferred to be called, to be rather friendly and

accommodating, perfect hosts to a polite guest. I have seen what they are capable of and

have come to the realization that they have not even used the full potential of their power

against those who oppress them, they have been holding back for our sakes to their detriment. God help us all if someone manages to anger them enough to use their true power.

Demonologist of the age of Wonder, 2500 years before The Fall.

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Ranma groaned as he got up off the floor, realizing as he did that someone had put a pillow under his head and had put a blanket over him. The dojo was dark, night having fallen, and he waited for his eyes to adjust. When they finally adjusted to the murky darkness, his vision becoming almost as good as when it was daylight, he saw Nabiki slumped in a chair nearby, looking as if she had stayed up as long as she could watching over him and then finally fallen asleep.

Touched, Ranma took the blanket and draped it over her sleeping form, enjoying the feelings that her concern elicited in him. Ranma stretched and winced as his muscles protested, the arts that Reyn had used on him not completely worn off yet. Damn, Reyn didn't have to go that hard and deep into the muscle. I was fighting with a handicap after all. Guess I deserved it though. Ranma thought, remembering the many times his pride, confidence, and arrogance had nearly gotten him in trouble and when Reyn would put him back in his place, correcting his over inflated ego.

Looking at Nabiki once again, Ranma decided it would be better if he took her up to her room rather than leaving her in that chair, she would have a rather bad crick in her neck if he left her as she was. So he carefully picked her up in his arms and was slightly surprised at how light she was. He walked out of the dojo and made his way into the house and up the stairs, treading carefully so as to not make very much noise. The house was fairly old after all and you could never tell if a step would creak or not. He had made it as far as the door to Nabiki's room before doom found him. Doom being a certain short tempered raven haired girl named Akane.

She scowled as she realized who was up so late, not wanting to deal with Ranma now, after finding out that he had rejected her as a student. Then she noticed that he was holding a sleeping Nabiki in his arms and her anger lit up like gasoline soaked tinder.

"Ranma... PUT NABIKI DOWN NOW." She managed to grate out between clenched teeth, not wanting to scream and wake the entire household.

Seeing this display of anger, Ranma smiled, though he was in no hurry to get into another fight. Then he felt a stab of pain in his temple and felt 'her' pushing to the fore of his consciousness. He took one hand from Nabiki to clutch at his head, the pain pounding in resonance with his heartbeat.

"Damn it! Not now..." He managed to grate out before he felt the change begin to overtake him. Reyn had damaged his ki too much for him to attempt to suppress her. He held Nabiki tighter to his body and gave Akane a warning look, seeing her look of astonishment as Ranma's skin began to writhe and reform.

Akane watched in horror as Ranma seemingly melted and a tall red headed woman took his place. She looked much like Ranma had, with the exception of the fire red hair and the pointed ears that reminded Akane of the elves she had read about once before. Then there was the greatest differences, her blood red eyes that spoke of wisdom and a deep rage barely kept in check. Akane's blood ran cold as that gaze locked with hers.

The demoness smiled coldly as she observed the mortal that was frozen in fear. She examined her host's memories of her and her smile grew even colder as she analyzed the girl's potential and personality.

"Well well. Akane is it? Quite appropriate, 'Red Rage'. You seem to have a very short temper along with a huge ego with skills that don't even come close to meriting such high thoughts of yourself. My host was right to not give you the luxury of being taught our skills, not to mention that the better ones are out of your reach no matter if you were a better martial artist than him or not."

She turned her attention away from the stunned Akane to gaze down at Nabiki whom she held in her arms and her smile grew warm. She stroked a stray hair away from her face lovingly, caressing her as she did so. Nabiki moaned a little and stirred in her arms a bit, then shifted her body so that she was closer to the Demoness' body and fell into a deeper sleep.

"... W..who are you?... What are you?... and what are you doing to my sister?!" Akane finally managed to overcome her fear of the creature that had taken Ranma's place.

The Demoness looked back at Akane and her smile grew cold again, menacing.

"Do you really want to know, little girl? Some truths are better not known."

Having gotten over her fear, Akane refused to back down, despite every instinct in her body telling her she should be a hundred miles away from this creature by now and still running, and nodded.

The Demoness sighed, resigned to having to pound this explanation through the mortal's thick skull. She was not in the mood to kill anyone today. She just wanted to be with her lover, her host's lover, their lover.

"Alright then." She said with a smile that told Akane that she wasn't going to like this one bit.

"I'll start with the history of what you mortals have termed 'demons'." She spit out the last with such vehemence that Akane was left with no doubts as to how much she hated the word.

"Long ago humans and demons were one race, with the exception of the gifted animals, and there was no differences between them. Then something changed in the balance of the world, giving birth to the phenomenon called magic. It was then that the differences between the two lines of humanity became apparent. Some found that they had special powers that allowed them to perform beyond the endurance and strength and ability of normal people, others found they had a natural affinity for certain animals and could speak with them, still others found they could shape the world around them to their own desires. The multitude of abilities was great. We shared these abilities with our brethren who had no powers, so that we may benefit and grow together. But the non gifted as we came to call them shunned us, despite our good nature and generosity. They drove us out of our homes and villages, to fend for ourselves in the wilds."

She smirked as she saw the girl's anger rise against her own people. Too bad the girl has not been 'seeded' by one of us. She is still young and would be able to work toward understanding. But that was of no matter. The seeding has already taken place, and she was not chosen.

"We made do with what we had in the wilds, our wits and power, and thrived. But stories of us were passed down through the generations of humans and were twisted, becoming stories of horror rather than of envy as they were before. Soon, mobs of people were making forays into our villages and towns, burning down homes we had built, ruining work that took several decades of magic to complete, destroying our fields and herds, and hunting us down like the monsters and animals they thought we were."

"Some of us, pushed to their limits, fought back, but most of us fled, being too kind to use our powers against our ungifted brethren and having little desire to fight, despite the atrocities committed against us. But it was never enough for the majority of humans. They kept pushing us further and further back. Some even developed what is termed as Arts, a counter to our magic. They had immense destructive power, even the lowest techniques. The Arts are the origination of modern day martial arts. With these they managed to decimate a large part of our population and finally pushed the rest of us to our limits and forced us to fight back. We learned their Arts and thusly renamed them Gifted Arts, or as your ancestors called them, Demon Arts. The combination of our Magic and the Arts proved sufficient to put the war at a standstill. That is, until divine power made its way into the world. In truth, it was just another form of magic but one that healed, and so was labeled 'divine'. They used those gifted against us and had them place seals on the springs where it was regularly known that we drank from and used to bathe and wash clothing. The seals trapped us in the waters, and while trapped we were still aware of our surroundings. For thousands of years we were trapped in those springs, and for the most part your people had forgotten us except for a few. And for those thousands of years our anger and vengeful thoughts festered. Until one called Ranma Saotome fell into my spring. His pure soul and strength of body and spirit eased our feelings of anger and the massive amount of magic residing with him released us from the seals."

She smiled as Akane seemed to be making the connections. She looked fearfully at the demoness. "So you took possession of Ranma?"

She snorted in derision. "No, you foolish girl. Ranma allowed me within him. We are kindred souls. He is the salvation of my kind and of this world. When your ancestors killed so many of us and entrapped the rest of us, it created a massive imbalance in the world. Ranma is the result of this imbalance correcting itself in one go. He is a being without limits, magical, physical, or mental. Though he has to work for every little scrap of power to be able to reach his potential. We are creatures of the past, having no physical bodies of our own anymore. So we find a soul that best matches our own and bond with it if the owner of said soul is willing. Nabiki has already bonded, as has many people throughout your world, though strangely many of them are concentrated in this small island nation."

"Nabiki bonded!?" Akane asked, looking at her sister in shock.

"Yep, and to a former lover of mine no less. Which means that Ranma is perfect for her. And I won't tolerate any interference. Got it?" She stated, her voice becoming sub zero near the end.

Akane knew when to fight and when to back down, and she could tell from the woman's tone that she was very serious. But there was one last thing she wanted to know.

"Um... May I ask your name at least? I think I should at least know that much."

"Ah ah ah. Can't tell you my real name, those things have power over us gifted. Hmm... Call me Ranko, it's close enough anyway. But enough of this, I'm letting Ranma take control again."

She closed her eyes and Akane felt a subtle change in the feeling from her and when she opened them again, they no longer glowed.

"Ranma...?" She asked tentatively.

Ranma sighed in relief when she saw that Akane was still alive. "Yea, it's me. So, I guess she just gave you a lecture, huh?"

"Umm... yeah. I guess, if you can call it that. What else would she have done?"

She saw a flash of pain in Ranma's eyes and then wished she hadn't asked. But the boy turned girl answered anyway.

"Either she gives a person a lecture and they leave me and her alone, or she kills them."

Akane repressed a shudder at that fact. She was definitely going to leave this particular girl alone. She had no wish to end up in a body bag. Her attention returned to Ranma when she continued.

"She killed pops for being the selfish, greedy, and stupid person he was. She destroyed an entire village of amazons for trying to force me to marry into their tribe when I defeated one of them and activated one of their laws. She is ruthless when it comes to those she perceives as a threat to me."

"Oh my god... That's horrible."

Ranma looked up at this and smiled in a disturbing way.

"Well, when you think about it, not really. They got what they deserved for trying to force themselves and their beliefs on me. It's not like I can't bring them back."

Akane shot her a weird look. "What do you mean, not when you think about it? They are dead, they can't come back."

Ranma's smile grew even wider at this and Akane saw a flash of glowing red in her eyes, as if she and the Demoness were somehow becoming of one mind. "Sure they can. I just have to build them a new body and put their soul into it."

Akane blinked at this, not sure whether to believe her or to think her mad.

Ranma cocked her head at her. "What, you don't believe me? Then I'll just give you a little demonstration."

She pulled out an urn from behind her and Akane saw the kanji for father written upon it.

Akane looked on in revulsion as she opened it and took out a still beating heart, though the blood had long since dried to dust.

"That's... That's not what I think it is, is it?" Akane asked in horror.

Ranma smiled at her wickedly, enjoying her discomfort.

"Yep, its pops heart. I was sad at first when she killed him, but after thinking it over I realized he got what he deserved."

Akane flinched at the anger in the redhead's voice.

"But... Seeing how saddened your father was when he found out he was dead made me consider bringing him back. He and the fat bastard must have had some kind of good memories and times together. So, to prove I can do it and to bring some happiness back into your father's life, I'll let his soul go and put it back in a body."

Akane still didn't believe that she could bring back the dead but thought over the consequences if she could.

"What about dad? Wouldn't it be kinda strange to have your father dead then suddenly show up as if nothing happened?"

Ranma chuckled, though it was a cold laugh that sent shivers down Akane's spine. She noticed that the glow had grown stronger as the conversation had continued, though it was still Ranma in control, she could tell by how her voice sounded.

"I'll make sure that your father doesn't remember that his friend had ever died. Unfortunately for you and your sister, Kasumi, I'll have to do the same to you to make sure you don't ruin the effect. Nabiki should be fine with Talo instructing her. Pops should now know better than try anything, though I'll have a long talk with him. I haven't seen him since Jusenkyo." Her smile turned cruel and her eyes glowed with their own life now. "I hear the process of ripping memory is quite painful for the subject however, so painful that death seems like bliss in comparison. But I'll try to do my best, though I am a bit rusty."

Akane shuddered at the chuckle that followed after and tried to edge away, but found her body completely immobilized. Filled with fear she tried to scream but found she couldn't.

"Now now. No trying to escape before my demonstration is done, though afterwards all you will remember is that you are now sure I can raise those I have killed."

Akane watched as lines of what looked like raw power seeped out of Ranma's hands and wrapped around the beating heart, forming an intricate lattice work that followed very specific patterns to direct the flow. The lines flashed as Ranma seemed to feed power into them and they separated from her, no longer dependent on her but fully capable of completing their assigned task on their own now. She saw Genma be reconstructed from the bottom up atom by atom, clothes and all. The process was surprisingly quick, and soon a fully constructed body that was obviously Genma from what Akane had seen in some pictures, though a little thinner and more lithe now, stood in front of her, though the eyes showed no intelligence or awareness.

Then a thread of the lattice shot out and attached itself to the kanji for father on the urn and Akane noted the soft blue aura being siphoned off the urn into the body as the kanji was erased.

As if a light was slowly growing with him awareness flooded the eyes of Genma and soon followed intelligence as he realized what had happened. His son had returned him to life. Normally Genma would have screamed and try to flee from his killer, but he was not ignorant, nor was he as stupid as he pretended to be. He had been allowed some slight awareness of Ranma and the surrounding area as part of his penance. He knew what was going on and knew that for now he was safe, so long as he didn't anger the demoness or do something that Ranma felt was wrong. 'hmph... Easier said than done. I don't think I know what he thinks is right or wrong anymore.'

He looked up into the eyes of his son turned demon and shivered as he saw Ranma's eyes. He could tell from the way they glowed like the demon's yet retained the kindness and mercy that he had come to associate with Ranma when his son was dominant that he and the demon were acting as one, that they both agreed that this was the right action, which brought them both closer to being one personality. That was something he didn't want to see personally. When they become one, he wasn't sure if one of them would become permanently dominant, or if they would become a different person altogether.

Genma shivered as he felt the cold caress of their joined minds as they rifled through his. He saw the thoughtful expression on Ranma's face and wasn't sure what to make of it.

"Hmm... Well pops, I guess you get a second chance." She finally said after some thought and what Genma believed was an internal conversation with the demon.

Genma felt like rejoicing but held himself in check, knowing that the demon's moods were mercurial.

"However you need to do exactly as I say. Make sure to behave as if you arrived with me and Reyn yesterday. I sparred with Akane and won. I sparred with you and knocked you unconscious. You have no memory of what happened after that. You will wake up tomorrow morning and act as your usual self, though try not to be a glutton and keep yourself in shape. You will inform Soun that you have passed on my primary training to Reyn, who is a master of many magical arts and mystical fighting styles, though you still retain the right to inform and teach me any techniques you have not yet taught me, such as the sealed techniques of the Yami Sen Ken and the Umi Sen Ken."

Seeing the shocked look on Genma's face Ranma chuckled. "Don't worry old man. I did take every technique and training method that was not sealed and use it for myself, and have even improved on them so in skill I have probably surpassed you, but I respected the fact that the yamisenken and the umisenken were sealed away and did not even take a small peek at them. The same goes for any memories that you felt were private. I may be half demon now, but I am not perverse nor am I without morals."

Genma sighed in relief, glad that he still had some leverage over Ranma, even it was only a small amount. It would allow him to have at least a little more influence in Ranma's life.

"Other than that, cause no trouble and mind your manners, and your free to go. You have anything to say?" She smiled as she removed the spells holding Genma immobilized and mute.

Genma stumbled as he suddenly had to balance again and felt disorientated from how strangely light his body felt. He looked up into the eyes of Ranma, and saw that she had meant every single word of it. Humbled by his son's once again immeasurable mercy and kindness, for he knew that many of the things he had done in the name of making Ranma the strongest was not only reckless and life threatening, but also mentally and spiritually scarring and therefore unforgivable.

"Umm... Thank you, son." Genma mumbled.

"What was that? I couldn't quite hear you." Ranma said, turning her head to hear Genma better with a self satisfied smirk on her face.

"I said.. Thank you, and I'm sorry." Genma stated a little louder, deciding the addition of an apology would go a long way.

Ranma cocked her head in thought, seemingly trying to decide on whether or not it was enough. Then she nodded her head.

"Well, it's a start. Now, go into the guest room and fix up a pallet and go to sleep. I'm going to sleep in Nabiki's room." Ranma pointed at the room just slightly down the hall and Genma obediently left and disappeared behind the door.

Ranma then turned her attention back to her other captive and felt anger coming off the girl in waves. Her eyes narrowed as she felt the anger and then she smiled as she thought of an interesting course of action.

"Well, It seems you really do have quite an anger problem. I think I should just nudge your personality factors a little and get rid of that problem along with altering your memory of this event. Though from what I have heard both of these operations are quite painful if the one performing them holds any malice towards the subject."

Akane's eyes widened in fear and Ranma chuckled as she went to work. Even the muting spells weren't enough to contain her anguish and screams tore through the hallway, but they never made it past the wards Ranma had quickly place in case of such an event.

When done he placed the unconscious girl into her bed and closed the door and went to work altering the memories of the rest of the household with the exception of Nabiki, Reyn, and Genma. These went far more smoothly as Ranma performed the magic properly this time, not intending the others any harm. Then she stripped down to her boxers and grabbed a spare pallet from a closet along with a blanket and a pillow and set them down on the floor next to Nabiki's bed.

She lay down and covered herself in the bedding and quickly drifted off as she basked in the presence of Nabiki and the soul growing within her...

Reyn closed his eyes as he felt his master drift off to sleep. He could feel the changes in all within the household. Akane would no longer be prone to mind blinding rage, and would be able to concentrate with much more ease, though the pain she had suffered was a hefty price to pay for it. Genma was back, and he could even now feel the change wrought in Soun by his presence, and the old man was wiser and far more thoughtful than before his death and imprisonment. Not only that, but as soon as Genma had been brought back Reyn had felt the soul of one of the gifted beasts latch on to his soul. Like it or not, Genma would be blessed with being one of the awakening gifted. The greatest change was in Ranma though. Ranma was coming closer to truly awakening as one of the gifted, and soon after Ranma's second awakening the others would follow with their first. Reyn was both looking forward to and dreading that day. As fate was a tricky mistress and for such powers to be released all at the same times spoke ill of the future. Something dire was building on the horizon of time and Reyn did not think it would be anything good...

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A/N: Well, sorry again for the long interim between chapter updates but I am really busy and writer's block has been unmerciful. Hope you like this new addition. I know it is not as dark as it could have been but I have been finding it difficult to find the proper mood to write it as such. Anyways, please review and tell me what you think. Oh, and I am considering continuing Let go of the past, embrace a new beginning after a little rewriting of the current chapters.