--- Cursed in Life, Cursed in Death --- " " are speaking ' ' are quotes { } are thoughts * * are sounds ### are flashbacks --- Prologue : Here's Ranma... --- Nerima's graveyard. A burial was ongoing and the priest was telling the final farewells to the dead. The family and friends were reunited around the coffin. Most of them had tears running freely on their faces. ### "Hey, let her alone!" shouted Ranma, seeing a group ganging on a girl. The four assailants turned to face the newcomer and Ranma could see their faces... but were they truly humans? Their sharp teeth seemed able to tear apart flesh and bones with the same ease, their eyes shined an evil greenish light and their brow was bulging, finishing to ruin the faces of these beings so similar to their victim yet. "Just when we were done with the appetizers, here come the main course all by himself, we are some lucky guys!" shouted one of the assailants. "He came just right, I was starting to get hungry again." Added another creature. ### Nodoka was crushed, supported by Genma who was staying impassive despite the tears running on his cheeks, betraying his real feelings. For once, Soun wasn't trying to imitate a waterfall because he needed like his friend Genma to support his family. Kasumi was in a state alike Nodoka's. Nabiki was trying to keep her heartless mercenary façade, but the wetness in her eyes was talking for her. And Akane closed herself from the outside after his death, beginning a refusal phase. ### "Hu? What da ya mean 'you're hungry'? Are you some kind of cannibal?" Ranma was surprised by their remark. "So innocent, so ignorant, your blood must be delicious." Stated one of the females of the group. "First come, first get!" shouted another male, rushing forward with lightning speed, surprising Ranma and catching him by the throat with outrageous strength. "What's the... urgh!" {Damn, he's strong, I must get free or I'll lost consciousness.} thought Ranma, gripping his inhuman opponent's wrist and preparing a counter. "Not bad, you nearly got me here, but I won't let myself be surprised anymore." Told Ranma to the monster before throwing him into a wall while freeing himself in the same movement. "He got notions. But we'll get him, dinner's ready!" shouted the other male while rushing like his friend had. "Blood!" added the female, joining the fight. "Come get me!" Ranma warned them. The two creatures made random blows, not having the same level of martial arts mastery than Ranma. He blocked or dodged the hits with ease and grace like he always do. ### The others girls were doing better. Ukyo was putting a brave face, crying nonetheless at the injustice, having lost everything all again. Kodachi was silent, rumor wanted that the emotional shock restored her sanity. Shampoo, despite being a proud amazon warrior, was the worst yet, showing that the Kiss of Marriage wasn't the only thing that pushed her to chase after her airen. ### All was good for Ranma in that fight until... the monster that Ranma had thrown into the wall caught him from behind, Ranma thinking he was out cold. This gave the two others the opportunity to hit him dead on. Ranma spitted blood. {How can they be so strong? Even Ryoga's blows didn't have a tenth of that power.} The last monster came closer to the one holding Ranma and helped him. The two hitting Ranma smiled evilly before starting to hit him again. {I must get free or I'm done for. Don't have much choice, my arms are caught and I don't have strength in my legs to hit them hard enough. Time to take off kid gloves.} He concluded, starting to shine a golden light while his battle aura was spreading around him. "What the fuck is..." Instinctively, the creatures backed off, understanding that their prey was going to use a devastative attack. "Moko... TAKABISHA!!" shouted Ranma, sending his ki in both his hands and hitting the two monsters that were still holing him. They immediately died, turning to dust with a scream from beyond the grave. Freed, Ranma fell to his knees, gasping for air and more than astonished. ### The boys, on the other hand, were taking things differently. Ryoga should have been jumping all around in joy from getting rid of his nemesis, but it was only this one gone that he realized what he really was for him : his only true friend. Mousse didn't have that problem, and seeing his injuries he surely thought that shampoo would finally be his, but she seemed to not have the same opinion. Kuno wasn't present but running to Akane to announce that he had 'at last vanquished the sorcerer that keep them apart' wasn't that good an idea, Akane having broke several of the kendoist's bones in a fit of rage. ### "What in hell was that!?" shouted Ranma, agape between the newly formed piles of dust. "You'll pay!" screamed the female , kicking him in the head and sending him backward. "Your blood won't be enough, you killed them and you'll regret this!" screamed the remaining male, jumping to get to Ranma faster. He caught him by the throat and lifted him easily off the ground. "All that excitement got me hungry. Shall we dine?" the male asked his friend before directing his teeth toward Ranma's neck. "I hope he's juicy, he sure made us work an appetite!" the female answered before biting on the other side of their prey's neck. Ranma was felling faint, falling into darkness, while his blood was being sucked out of his body. It was only now that it was too late that he understood the true nature of there creatures : vampires ### Keeping themselves apart were a 'troll' and a 'ghoul', and even if their eyes were devoid of tears, their faces showed great sadness from having lost so young an adept so good at their respective arts. He had been their last student, combining the strongest parts of their arts without the weakness. Knowing Happy, he was surely weeping after his student's girl body. And Cologne's heart went out for Shampoo, knowing the pain of losing one's love. ### After the two vampires drank their fills, they laid Ranma on the ground. "And now, his turn." Sniggered the male, cutting his palm with a sharp nail and letting his tainted blood flow into Ranma's mouth kept open by the female. Ranma's body acted on instinct to keep from drowning and swallowed the blood gathering on the back of his throat. Ranma being conscious, he'd have spat the vampire's blood, knowing what the cursed liquid would do to him. But it wasn't the case and Ranma couldn't prevent fate from running it's course. ### After the ceremony, the graveyard was emptied slowly but it was only late into the afternoon that the last person departed, leaving the nightfall and a feeble wind to watch after the fresh grave. After the sun disappeared, a couple came to visit the grave. Strangely, their eyes were shining a greenish light into the darkness of night. "Hmmm... I feel him living already. We were nearly late." The girl said to her friend. "Pff, we are here in time to celebrate the rebirth of the last member of our little family." He replied, grinning evilly. The freshly moved earth on the grave moved then shoot out while a hang was trying to free itself. Then came the arm, the hole into the earth grown until a head appeared. A familiar head, with black hair tied into a pigtail, but the eyes were glowing the same green as the two nocturnal visitors instead of two blue-gray orbs. A few more efforts and the new undead finished to dig himself from his own grave, dressed in the same clothes he liked so much when still alive : chinese red shirt with black tai-fu pants, matching sleepers and combat bracers. After he got rid of the last remain of confusion he was feeling, because of his troubling awakening, Ranma cast a glare at the couple in front of him. For a short time, he didn't recognize them, then his memories started up again. "You!" He shouted, wanting to jump them, but he tripped, his body still sore from his rebirth. "What did you do to me?" He screamed surprised of the strange way his body reacted. "I offered you eternal life, welcome into the family of the night's children." Explained the man. "After you killed our two friends yesterday, it was rather nice of us, don't you agree?" added the woman. "You'd have died anyway." "So we changed you like us." Completed the man. "NOOOO!" screamed Ranma, jumping on the man and sending both of them rolling between tombstones. "I'm not like you! I'll never be! NEVER!" Ranma continued to scream, punching the man between two rolls. "Is that your way to thank us?" shouted the woman, coming to the help of her friend. Her only reward was a punch from Ranma, sending the vampire back from where she came. "I never asked you to make me into a... a..." said Ranma. "Vampire?" asked the man, still pinned under Ranma, then he used his vampire's strength to push Ranma back who rolled backward and fell into an open grave, already dug for the next day. Ranma exited the hole a few seconds later, holding a shovel. "All you had to do was to die!" said Ranma before breaking the shovel's handle on his knee. "Last time, I didn't know what you were, but now I do!" He showed off his self made stake. "You think you can kill both of us?" shouted the girl, jumping on Ranma. On one fluid movement, he deviated her punch with his free hand before planting the stake on her heart with the other hand. The nocturne creature was dusted without even having time to scream. "Bastard! As if the Slayer wasn't enough! Are we going to get killed by our own now?" shouted the man, in rage. "The Slayer? What's that?" asked Ranma. "He, he, he. Why should I tell you?" the vampire asked back. In a blink, Ranma was on him, holding the stake only millimeters away from the vampire's heart. "Because I can kill you without breaking a sweat if you don't answer." Ranma told him coldly. "Uuh... if you see it that way... the vampire slayer, that's her title. She's a girl with the power to fight against us and win. Each time she's killed, another girl inherit the power and become the next slayer." The vampire explained obediently, trembling out of fear and backpedaling. But for each step backward, Ranma took one step forward, keeping the stake at the same distance from it's target. "And where's the actual slayer?" asked Ranma, making the stake to touch the man's torso. "Som... somewhere in the USA, near Los Angeles. A small city. Something like Sonnydale, or Sunnybale. I know only one more thing : you must keep as much distance you can between yourself and a slayer if you value your skin." Told the vampire, trembling more and more. "If you have nothing more to add, then I'm finished with you!" said Ranma even colder than before, pushing the stake past the torso and into the heart, killing his own sire. "Sunnydale? Here, everybody think I'm dead, and I'll not add to their mourning by imposing them this new curse. USA, here I come!" Ranma decided, turning his back to his old life. --- Prologue - End