[Ranma/Spawn][FanFic] A Life Once Lived: Prologue - Chapter 2

[David Perrin]

A Life once Lived
The TydRipper

Prologue: Memories & Misgivings

The darkness of the Nerima night penetrated into his eyes. He got up and
looked around. Where was he? He couldn't remember. In fact, he couldn't
remember anything past two seconds ago.
The place he tread upon had struck him as familiarity, but he couldn't
place it. He couldn't remember anything. What was happening to him? He
looked at his surroundings.
Though it was night, he could make out the area quite easily. He was on
the rooftop of a three story building, looking out from the rooftop he could
see walls, and a swimming pool. He could hardly make out the sign which
stood at the entrance of the grounds.
'Furinkan High School', it read. Another flash of familiarity. He knew
this place, even if his consciousness could not remember, his inner self
did. He was about to scream in frustration when something had hit him.
*Akane*, the name meant something. Something warm, something deep, but
he could not for the life of him remember what. He began to move along the
rooftop of the school, jumping past air circulation vents and whatnot. But
something else was wrong. Out of place. He still couldn't place it. Then he
noticed the chains.
The Chains seemed to be connected to his suit somehow, a suit which he
had no memory of ever possessing. It felt... Almost alien, but he could not
bring himself to tear it off. The cloak on his back fluttered in the wind,
not as though the wind was controlling its movements, but as if the cloak
itself were rehearsing some kind of dance, or even...
An image flooded his head. Nothing more, but when he thought of the
image, he could only think *Akane*. The image was apparently the holder of
the name. How it was coming to him periodically, he had no idea, but he
found himself taken aback by the beauty portrayed by his mind. A vision of
lovelyness, dark lavender hair and beautiful sparkling eyes, but he couldn't
bring himself to realize it. To him, the image also came with a word.
'Tomboy'.
Something else. It was coming slowly... Another word... No. A place. A
place he cursed with all of his inner being, a place he could remember only
by name, but with the name came an image. An image of a field. A field
with... Springs... and large bamboo poles... A place called 'Jusenkyo'.
He tried desperately to remember more concerning this place, Jusenkyo,
and the woman that had invaded his mind. But he found himself drawing a
complete blank. He could not remember...
Something else was coming. Not a word, a place or a name. An event. An
event that had taken all of a millisecond to complete. An event that had
taken place only seconds before he awoke in this place. The event that had
sealed his eternal fate. He remembered, the 'deal'.

Darkness, nothing more. "Do you love her?", it asked.
Without even thinking of the answer, he replied. "Yes. Of course."
The darkness seemed to laugh. "Would you like to see her again?"
Again, not even thinking of an answer. "Yes."
"Then so be it.", the darkness revealed itself.
He screamed at first sight of the horrible monster that had released
itself from the darkness that surrounded him. A creature... no... A Demon
like none he had ever seen.
It had long silver hair that seemed to ripple with pleasure at every
whimper, ever scream and cry that was heard worldwide. The teeth protruded
three feet from the creatures mouth, and what a mouth at that, it was large
enough to swallow a dragon in a single gulp.
The demon laughed, "Go my Hellspawn", it said. And then it had
dissappeared.

In the Nerima night, a figure on the rooftop of Furinkan High School,
screamed in anguish at the memory of his deal.

Authors Notes: This fic came from a sudden inspiration from an unknown
source... (Okay, so I watch watching one of my Ranma Tapes & happened to
glance up at my Spawn poster.. My mind was somewhere else..).. Anyways, I've
written up to Chapter Three. This, as well as the first two chapters have
been posted to the FFML, however I felt it was time to post to the RAAC.. If
you liked this, then keep an eye out for the next chapters, which I will be
posting.. well.. right after I post this..

Questions? Comments? Flames? Suggestions? Email me at
watcher...@hotmail.com

A Live Once Lived
The TydRipper

Chapter One: Demons & Doorsteps

Ryoga woke with a start. He looked left and right, but suddenly calmed.
His martial arts reflexes had detected something amiss, but he couldn't
quite place it. He knew something was wrong. He looked to his left to
discover that his wife had the same feeling.
"What was that?"
Akane looked over at her husband and shivered, "I don't know. I just had
this weird feeling."
"Me too. Should I check it out?"
Akane nodded her agreement, and relucantly got up from her bed, making
sure that her son was fast asleep in the crib situated next to the bed.
Together, the two of them searched the one bedroom apartment thouroughly,
and even went so far as to check the outside hallway.
Nothing was amiss. Nothing wrong.
Ryoga sighed and looked out the window. All seems to be okay out here as
well. He turned his head to signal to Akane that nothing was wrong. She got
the idea and returned to the bedroom. Ryoga followed.
"So what do you suppose it was?", Akane whispered.
"I don't know. Whatever it was, its gone now. It's late and I don't want
to wake him up."
Akane nodded silently and began to lay back down in the bed. It was
nearly two hours before either of them got to sleep again.

The figure jumped down to the grounds of the school, and situated
himself near a tree on the edge of the soccer field. He knew this place. Yes
indeed. Had he gone to school there? Did he teach there? He could not
remember. All he knew was that the place was definately familiar.
The man silently looked himself over. Even though he could not remember,
he knew something was different. The way he walked, the amount of weight he
was pulling around with him. Chains were ttached to his suit at several
points, a large red cloak hung from his neck, and a mask covered the place
where his face once was.
He sat uncomfortably at the base of the tree. He definately had sat at
this place before. He could distinctly remember the outline of the homes and
businesses over the wall of the school. He got up and continued to walk.
He soon reached the school's olympic sized swimming pool and gazed at
his reflection. The image that reflected back was alien to him. He could not
remember what he had used to look like, but above all, this was not it. He
looked... Evil.
After tearing himself away from the pool he had felt a sudden calm come
over him. He immediately paused, and then returned to the pool, this time
not looking at his reflection. The tensed feeling had returned, and he did
not know why.
He grunted in frustration. The swimming pool fascinated him, but he
hesitated. It wasn't long before his curiousity took over. He reluctantly
plunged his arm beneath the surface of the reflective water and waited...
Nothing happened. It was if he had expected something, and he felt strangely
empty as he retracted his arm from the cool waters.
It wasn't long after that before he decided it would be best to leave
this place as soon as he could. He jumped effortlessly over the fence and
ran into the streets beyond.
For a reason unknown to him, he had let his subconscious take over, and
found himself darting down streets as quickly as his feet would take him, as
if there were some destination he was headed for.
He stood outside of a piece of land surrounded by ten-foot stone walls.
He knew what was over the wall, he could envision it in his mind. 'Home' he
thought to himself, and then bounded over the wall.
He took a look at his surroundings, it was his home alright. He could
even envision the inside. His room. He noticed a pond around the back of the
house and felt his stomach clench at the thought of it. He began to walk
towards the front foor when he felt a presence.
"I figured it wouldn't be long before you showed up here, Saotome", the
presence said.
He turned towards the source of the sound. The source of the voice
itself was a disgusting man. Dressed in a pair of pants with the fly undone,
and the button as well, a white, stained shirt that hugged his skin easily,
and a trenchcoat. He had makeup on his face, which made him look remarkably
like a sadistic clown. It wasn't long before he realized, that was exactly
what he was.
"Who are you?", he asked.
"Why, Saotome, I figured you'd be asking the opposite. Who _YOU_ are as
a matter of fact.", the man replied.
"I don't have time for this", he replied, "I've got to go." He turned to
walk away.
"Go where? Home?" The clown laughed. "Thats not your home anymore."
He stopped. "What do you mean?", he sneered at the man.
"It sure does look familiar, don't it Saotome?"
"Why do you keep calling me that?!"
The clown frowned. "Thats your name isn't it?", he smiled wickedly,
"Ranma Saotome of the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts?"
He froze. That name. That... Title. It meant something. He realized it.
Ranma Saotome was his name.
"How... How do you know my name?"
The clown laughed, "Ahh, so you are starting to remember eh?"
"Just answer my question!"
"Now, now. Is that any way for the new hellspawn to treat his teacher?"
"Hellspawn? That's what that... thing called me...", Ranma looked
closely at the man in front of him, "Who are you? Really."
"Really, Spawn?", he began. "Right now you can call me the Clown.
But that may all change in the future."
"My name is Ranma!"
"_WAS_ Ranma. Past Tense. Now you're Spawn, servant of Malebolgia.
You've been gone longer than you think, Saotome."
"What are you talking about?"
Clown laughed, "Boy wouldn't I love to tell you, Spawny... But no.
You've got to find out for yourself. Go ahead. Open the door, be welcomed by
your friends and family."
Ranma grimaced under his mask, but then decided to ignore the man and
continue on. As he began to open the door, he heard a chuckle from the man's
direction, but when he turned around, he was gone.
He pushed open the door.

*Bingo*, Soun thought as the door began to open. He could hear talking
outside only moments ago, but couldn't make out the conversation. *If
someone wants to rob our Dojo*, he thought, *They'd better be well equiped
to deal with me!*
He started by landing a snap kick directly into the figures chin, and
continued by releasing punch after punch to the figures abdomen. The figure
grunted at first, obviously surprised by the sudden kick, but for some
reason refused to fight back. All the better for Soun, if he could knock the
figure into unconsciousness, then it would be free sailing to call the
police. Since Genma and Nodoka had left, Soun was left to fend for himself,
which he found quite entertaining.

Ranma was dazed. One part of him was telling him to fight back, and
maybe even kill the man attacking him, while another part of him said not
to. It wasn't long before the latter half took over.
"Wait!", he screamed, blocking the figures kicks and punches.
"Get out of my home!", he yelled back.
Ranma sighed. The only thing he could do was block and hope he gave up
and would listen to him. But he wouldn't give up, and Ranma soon lost his
patience, knocking him back into the floor.
"Who are you?", the figure got up and asked.

Soun was angry that this figure had managed to block every punch and
kick, save for the first one, and even knock him back against the wall.
"I.. don't know..", the figure replied. Again his voice struck a
familiar chord in Soun's subconscious, but he could still not remember
the source.
"I.. know you.", Soun said, unsure of the source of his feeling.
"Yes.", the figure replied. "I'm sure of it."
Soun shook his head. How could he know this.. thing? Chains shook around
the figure, seeming almost ghostly, and his cloak fluttered in the wind.
*What wind?*, Soun thought for a moment, and looked around for the source.
No draft. Nothing.
"I need to know your name.", the figure asked.
"Yours first.", Soun replied, still suspicious.
The figure paused for a moment, and then answered. "I.. _THINK_ It's
Ranma. Ranma Saotome."
Soun almost collapsed. "R..Ranma?", he was sent backwheeling. "You're
alive?!"
The figure seemed so unsure of itself, but now that he thought of it,
the voice did resemble Ranma's voice. Ranma's boy-half anyways.
Yes. Thats where the familiarity came from. It _WAS_ Ranma!

"Oh Ranma!", the figure jumped towards him, "You _ARE_ alive! Akane will
be so happy!"
The figure seemed to be no threat to him, however another part of
him saw differently, and was using his chains and cloak to defend. The man
was knocked off his feet, and he looked up in fear towards Ranma's eyes.
"Ranma!", the figure cried, "It's me! Soun! You're father-in-law!"
Ranma frowned, "I... Didn't do anything.".. Did he? He couldn't
remember. Ranma scowled. He finally become frustrated and pulled his cowl
off.
Soun fainted.

Images of the years past danced throughout Souns head. Of the wondrous
day Ranma and Akane had married, thus fulfilling the duty that he and his
dear friend Genma had agreed on. Then of the week they spent away from home,
at a resort that Nabiki had unwillingly paid for. And then finally, and
unfortunately, their return. Soun opened his eyes and stared into the
darkness.
Soun sat up and scanned the room around him. He grimaced at the sight of
the figure he had just fought, and had just realized was Ranma Saotome.
"Ranma", he began, "How long was I out?"
Ranma didn't reply. Instead he shivered in place, standing facing out
towards the Koi pond.
"What.. Am I?", he asked out loud.
*What is he talking--* Soun began to think, and then remembered. The
grotesque face that had stared abck at him was nothing like the face that he
had seen on Ranma's body the last he had seen him. Nearly five years ago.
"Ranma", Soun began, approaching the cloaked figure, "What happened to
you?"
Ranma turned around. He had put his cowl back on, much to Souns
relief and looked furiously at Soun.
"If I could remember, do you think I'd be here?!", he said.
"Ranma, my boy. Do you remember anything at all since the last time I
saw you?"
Ranma cast his view towards the floor. "I can barely even remember you."
Soun took a step back. How could this be? Ranma Saotome, the son of his
dearest friend didn't remember him?
"Do you remember anything at all son?"
Ranma thought hard. "Only a few things. A person. A place. And a curse."
"Ahh, you're still affected by your Jusenkyo curse then."
Ranma looked straight into Souns eyes. "You know of Jusenkyo?
What is it?"
Soun looked confusedly at Ranma, and then replied. "Of course.
It's where you got your curse."
"I got this.. Curse at that place?"
"Yes, you fell into Nyannichuan."
"Nyannichuan?", Ranma asked.
"Spring of Drowned Girl. Thats why you turn into a girl everytime you
are splashed with cold water."
Ranma took this new information in. It had a ring of familiarity to it,
but no more than simple Deja-vu. But it did explain some things, such as the
fact he had expected something to happen when he touched the cold water at
the pool. But unfortunately, it wasn't the curse he was talking about. This
curse had nothing to do with Ranma's current situation.
"I'm not talking about that curse.", Ranma said, looking away.
"You mean. Your... Body?", Soun asked.
Ranma simply nodded.
"Ranma, theres something you're not telling me."
Ranma looked at Soun. Suddenly, something came back, as if flooding his
memory like an open dam. He remembered Soun.
"Mr. Tendo.", Ranma said, clutching his head.
"Ranma? Whats wrong?", Soun said, coming to the aide of Ranma.
"I remember you now. Your Soun Tendo. You own this dojo with..
With...", Ranma stuttered, then screamed as more memories began to flood his
mind. Memories of Kasumi, Nabiki and Akane soon flooded his mind. He could
now place Akane's name and face to a personality.
"A..Akane", Ranma cried.
Soun felt a tear escape from his eye. It had been years since he
had cried. Since the apparent death of Ranma, he had not cried a single
teardrop.
"Ranma.", he began.
"I remember.", Ranma said. "I remember how I came to be here. I remember
who lived here. I remember the Jusenkyo curse. But theres still a lot of
other things I don't remember. Like how I ended up like this."
"Ranma", Soun continued, "I think you need some rest."
Ranma stood up defiantly. "I'm not tired, Mr. Tendo. Where is everyone?"
Soun shook his head slowly. "Ranma, its been so long. Kasumi has
been with Dr. Tofu the past few years, Nabiki left right after you..
Disappeared, and Akane.." Soun looked at the floor.
"What about Akane?", Ranma asked.
"Enough of this.", Soun said. "Ranma, its late. I'll tell you all about
it in the morning, but for now lets sleep."
Ranma began to protest, but according to his memory, it was futile, and
he reluctantly agreed.

*Very good, Spawny.* Clown thought to himself. *You're starting
to piece it together!*
The figure that had previously stood in Clowns space, outside of the
dojo walls suddenly changed shape. In a grotesque trade-off, what was once
Clown now stood a creature of disgusting proportions. At least nine feet
tall, with tusks growing out of its gums, and rows of jagged, sharp teeth.
*Very good indeed.*

"What?", the voice yelled on the other end of the phone. "It's 4
o'clock in the morning!"
Hiroshi sighed. He calmly tried to explain to his friend and partner
exactly _WHY_ he was being dragged out of his comfortable bed.
"Daisuke", he began, "Theres been a murder".
"I don't care if there was a mur-- der?", The cellular phone fell silent
for a few moments, then the voice returned. "I'll be there in ten minutes."
Hiroshi put the reciever down and walked back towards the crowd of
policemen and various journalists. Even the odd passerby had been there.
Hiroshi walked up to the security officer and instructed him to move the
crowd back.
"So, what do we have exactly, Glen?", he asked the on-site coroner.
The american man looked up and shook his head. "Its nothing like I've
seen back in the states.", he began. "Its definately an execution, possibly
organized crime, but the weapon used is not of the norm."
"What kind of weapon?", Hiroshi asked, now curious.
Glen lifted the head of the dead man up off of the ground and exposed
the stump of the neck directly to Hiroshi. Hiroshi swallowed for a second,
trying to keep his guts where they belonged. Glen just non-chalantly pointed
out several things.
"The head was sliced clean off. More likely with a katana, or even a
scythe.", he pointed, the turned the head upwards to point at several points
on the caved in skull, "But this part right here is the problem. That wasn't
the only weapon used. The skull has definately been struck by a blunt
object. From the looks of it, I'd say a mace."
"Mace?", Hiroshi asked, envisioning a spray can.
"Not mace", Glen continued. "_A_ mace. A weapon that probably hasn't
been used in wide circulation for a few hundred years. At least."
"So, with multiple weapons, that means there was more than one person
invloved."
"Not necessarily. There are weapons sold today that resemble a scythe
tied to a mace. Mostly at antique shops. I remember seeing one a few weeks
ago."
"So, its possible that the weapon was purchased at this store."
"Yes, but I'm not finished.", Glen placed the head down on the ground as
neatly as he had picked it up. "The body didn't go without its share of
injuries. Here.", he opened the man's shirt to reveal a bloody mess. "If
this is what I think it is, then our man is indeed talented."
Hiroshi examined the chest for as long as he could stand it. Then
looked away. "What do you think it is?"
"A bonbori. Its a weapon usually used by--"
"I know what a bonbourri is.", Hiroshi interupted, recalling a certain
purple-haired amazon from his friends past.
"Well, it looks like it struck him directly in the center of the
ribcage, and literally crushed his heart."
"But that would--"
"Yes," Glen interupted, "The force involved in such a strike would be
astronomical."
"Excuse me, sir?", a voice interupted from behind.
"Yes?", Hiroshi asked the policeman behind him.
"This woman claims to have witnessed it." he said, motioning towards a
shaking woman near the police boundry.
Hiroshi jumped at the mention of it, then bounded off towards the woman.
"Excuse me Miss?"
"Kinshien.", the woman replied, and nodded her head.
"I'm Hiroshi, junior detective for the Nerima Police Department.", he
began, "I understand that you witnessed this event."
"Yes.", she said, looking towards the floor.
"What can you tell me about it? How many men were there?"
"Just one.", she said, sullenly.
Hiroshi thought for a second. For a single man to carry all those
weapons. Only one man in his memory could do such a thing, but there were
two holes in his theory. 1. That man was dead and 2. That man would never do
such a thing, unless out of revenge. And this was more than likely a Yakuza
execution.
"Can you describe him?", Hiroshi asked.
"He was...", she began, looking around suspiciously, "He was dressed in
black."
Okay, that got us nowhere. "Can you tell me anything else?"
"I think he was Chinese. he had an accent."
"He spoke to you?"
"Only briefly. He mentioned it was a nice night, then walked away
calmly."
"He didn't threaten you in any way?"
"No. He was actually rather.. polite."
This man was a professional all right. To let a witness get away as
easily as that, he had to be either very very smart, or very very stupid.
Hiroshi hoped to god it was the latter.
"Hey, what happened?", the voice came from behind.
Hiroshi turned around and motioned Daisuke to come towards him.
"Miss, this is my partner, I'm going to have you tell him everything
you saw while I go and check something out."
"Whats up?", Daisuke asked, walking within hearing distance of Hiroshi.
"I need you to get the information from this woman, I'm going over to
check something.", he said, walking towards Glen.
Daisuke shrugged and pulled out his notepad.

Authors Notes: Theres Chapter One, as promised... I gave it a quick
once-over before posting it, so hopefully there should be no typos, but then
again, I may have missed a few... Anyways, Just a few things before I go
onto the next chapter.. First: I'm going to have a page up soon to archive
my fics.. (This is my first one, so it'll be pretty miniscule to begin
with).. I'm not great at HTML, but I can manage.. What I wanted to know was
if anyone who can draw, could do some fanart.. I think it would be kinda
cool to see a picture of Ranma as Spawn.. :) (Even though he'll look mostly
like spawn than Ranma).. but interacting with Main Ranma characters, hey!
What a treat.. :)

The other thing is that I'm looking for reliable pre-readers.. two or three
should be fine, if your interested, email me at watcher...@hotmail.com

A Life Once Lived
The TydRipper

Chapter Two: A Reason to the Rhyme

The dawn spread itself over Nerima Ward around 5:47 AM. It was a Monday
morning, about time for everyone to commute. And as usual, the train was
filled to capacity. Amidst a flurry of activity, a single man could be made
out in the puzzle of flesh. He stepped away from the boarding area, and
squinted from exposure to the western sun. The man was easy to make out as a
foreigner, but he also has an alien quality to him. Needless to say, no
passenger would stand anywhere near him, if they had the choice. He looked
around briefly, before choosing his direction, and then set off, not knowing
exactly where his feet would take him.
Perhaps he would find what he was looking for today. Perhaps tomorrow.
All he knew was that what he was looking for was in Nerima, and that he had
to find it. Then man left the train station, and began his quest down
Kunoichi Street.

The light shone in through the upstairs window, and blasted through
Nabiki Tendo's eyes. She squinted reflexably, and then slowly opened them.
She sat up and pulled the blanket off of her. To her relief, she was in her
own bed. Alive. She secretly thanked god and went down stairs into the
restaurant.
Kinami, her main okonomiyaki cook had been already awake, she was
already dressed in her usual cooking garb, and had already started to heat
up the griddle. Nabiki greeted her and fetched herself something to eat
before they opened the restaurant.
Opening the refridgerator in the back room, Nabiki pulled out some milk
and a box of cereal from the cupboard. She was in a remarkably good mood,
and didn't want to jinx it by allowing herself a large meal. As she sat down
to eat, she noticed the gash in the side of the table.
The gash was nothing new. In fact, it had been there for close to five
years. Nabiki knew she really should buy new furniture, but what for?
Expecially if this furniture had nothing else wrong with it. Nabiki let her
mind drift as she ran her fingers around the edge of the gash. She knew how
it had gotten there, she had been there when it happened. Ukyou had put it
there, with her spatula. She also knew why it was put there. She had
accompanied Ranma and Akane to Ucchan's one day, to take care of the
impending disaster that Ranma and Akane's decision would cause.
Of course, she had accepted a fee for her accompaniment. Nabiki had
accompanied them to ensure Akane's safety. It was well known that Ukyou was
not a match for Ranma, but they had to ensure that Ranma wouldn't have to be
alert for every day of the rest of his life. Nabiki had dug up some dirt,
and threatened to use it if push came to shove. It had worked, and since she
couldn't strike Akane, she had driven her spatula into the table and walked
out. About a week later, Nabiki recieved a letter.
There was no return address, though Nabiki, Akane and Ranma desperately
sought her wherabouts. But what was more interesting was the contents of the
letter. It was not adressed to Ranma, or even
Akane. It was addressed to herself.
Ukyou had left the deed to Ucchan's to Nabiki, knowing full well that
she was capable of taking care of the place, and even making it succeed.
Which was exactly what it had done. Succeeded.
Ranma died a few months later. A sad event, but Nabiki wasn't about to
let it ruin her life. Yes she cared deeply for Ranma, as a sister would a
brother, but life goes on. She had to continue. She had made the Okonomiyaki
restaurant into a nationwide hangout. There had even been a time when Jackie
Chan himself had shown up and eaten at the restaurant during a business trip
into the country. Of course, they added other things to the menu, even some
western foods. However, the main source of revenue was the Okonomiyaki.
Nabiki chuckled to herself. Ukyou was a great cook, even Nabiki knew
that. However, she also knew that she lacked the business sense that had
caused the restaurant to thrive as much as it did.
Kinami stepped over and unlocked the door, allowing the regulars
entrance. The regulars weren't there.
Nabiki's eyes shot wide, and her stomach did the splits. There, in the
doorway a familiar form stood, along with another man whom she didn't
recognize. She felt her stomach wrench at the memory of the man. His name
was Makaro.
Makaro had made his presence known the previous year, after Ucchan's
sudden burst of popularity. He had originally been one of a duo, a
partnership with a man named Gendo.
At first glance, they had seemed to be nice people. Nabiki was an
excellent judge of character, but for some reason she couldn't pick up
anything out of the ordinary with them. She showed them a table and rushed
off to help Kinami and the other staff with dinner. When she turned around,
she found that much of the restaurant had been emptied, and whoever was
left, was leaving at that very moment.
Gendo and Makaro stood there smirking at her.
They were very polite at first, introducing themselves as Yakuza. But
Nabiki knew with that name came trouble. After a while, they propositioned
Nabiki with a deal. She would cater to their meetings and such, and offer
her a 'fair' price. However, when they say 'fair' they mean 'free'. Nabiki
had refused, knowing full well what they were capable of, but Nabiki also
knew what she was capable of.
In the end, they had won. One night they came into the restaurant, and
brutally attacked her, leaving her nearly dead. She had spent a week in the
hospital, after many visits from Gendo and Makaro, and returned to the
restaurant. After that she had no choice but to do as they said.
Then last week she had pulled something. She may not have had the
connections of the two Yakuza men, but she pulled up a little bit of
attainable information from another Yakuza member, who was a close friend of
hers. She found out about Gendo's family.
Gendo's family was wealthy, and even well respected in the community.
His father was even the mayor of a town to the west. If the press even got
wind that a Mayors son was a Yakuza member, they would have a field day. She
waited until Gendo was visiting alone before informing him.
At first mention of this, he threatened to kill her, and her family. But
when she informed him that the information was at that moment in the
posession of a dozen people, who would gladly contact the press if anything
were to happen, Gendo backed down. Since then, neither he or Makaro came by.
She had won. It was over. Or so she thought.
"Well, Miss Tendo.", Makaro began, snapping Nabiki from her flashback.
"What are you doing here?", she demanded, "I went over this last week
with Gendo. If you--"
"Mr. Satoni has suffered an.. accident.", he informed her.
"He.. What?", she asked.
Kinami backed away from the door and started towards the back room.
"Where do you think your going?", the other man asked, "You're staying
right here miss. This concerns you too."
Makaro nodded and smirked at Nabiki. "Gendo told me of his little chat
with you last week. He wanted me to find a way to get around it, so I did."
"You.. Killed him didn't you?"
"Now, Miss Tendo. Do I look like the sort of person who would do that?",
he said, looking out of the restaurant towards the limosuine that had been
parked out front.
"Come on in.", Makaro said. And a man walked into the door. He was
dressed in black, and a mask had covered his face.
"Why am I here?", the man asked.
Nabiki stood back and took the image in. The voice seemed somewhat
familair, but she couldn't place it.
"Meet our new friend. He just got here from China. He speaks
pretty good Japanese eh?"
"What do you want Makaro? Get to the point."
"My point, Miss Tendo. Is that our previous deal is now Null and Void.
If you wish to continue your... meaningless existance, I suggest you do what
we say, unless you want us to release our friend here."
"I will not kill a woman.", the man said.
Makaro frowned and looked back at the man, "You'll do what we pay you
to!"
The man began to walk towards Makaro, but upon seeing Makaro's jumpy
reaction, just chuckled and fell back into place.
"Anyways, our new deal is this. We will allow you enough money to pay
your help. We will allow you enough money to pay your bills. But the rest,
Miss Tendo. Is ours. Try anything else like you did with Gendo, and I will
personally see to it that you are eliminated."
The man with the mask looked to the floor. It had seemed like he had
wanted to say something, but for the time being, remained silent.
"And now Miss Tendo, we shall return at closing time. Leaving you
enough time to get to your bank and empty it. Consider it a... Price. The
price for Gendo's life."
Nabiki gave a cold stare at Makaro as he left, and then, collapsed to
the floor.

"Well, that went remarkably well.", Makaro said, after informing the
driver of their next location.
"Yes.", the man in the mask said.
"What is wrong with you?", he asked, "You shouldn't be questioning my
_PAYING_ authority in front of others!"
The man looked up at him and replied, "I apologize. I am being
paid for this, but I knew that woman."
Makaro's eyes shot open. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"You didn't tell me who it was until I had seen her."
"So", Makaro began, "Who was she?"
"I don't talk about my past."
"No, consider it a paid conversation. You've piqued my interest."
"I don't sell conversations. Only services."
"Well", he said, "Your no fun. This had better not be an obstacle,
however. If I pay you to kill her, you do it."
"I will not kill a woman."
"If I pay you to, you will, or I'll have the entire Nerima chain of the
Yakuza up your ass."
"Threats have no meaning to me."
"They will.."
The man shook his head.
Changing the subject, Makaro spoke up. "So, why don't you take off your
mask?"
The man leaned back and replied, "If I were to show you my face, I'd
have to kill you."
Makaro started to chuckle, still unsure if it was a joke or not, but
upon seeing the stillness of the other man, he knew it wasn't.

Nabiki rushed about the restaurant frantically. Since the incident only
minutes earlier, she had thrown up twice, and broke down crying three times
before she finally gained control. They would be back tonight. God, that
wasn't enough time to think about it. Nabiki was definately brighter than
most people. Her crude business sense had left more than one person broke in
her day. But she couldn't get her way out of this. More time. She needed
more time!
She rushed to the cash register. Already, a few of her regulars started
to show up as the Yakuza left, most of them visually worried about Nabiki's
behavior. She had pulled out the money from the register and begun to count.
Good, same amount as was there last night. Maybe if she could hide a certain
amount of money--
No. That wouldn't work. They'd find out, and have her killed. Nabiki
cherished her money, but even she knew her life was worth no price. It would
take some time to think of something. She considered force. Her father? No.
She didn't want him involved. Her sister? No.
he wasn't skilled enough. Even Gendo was more skilled than her, and
that.. Masked man apparently had done him in easily. Ryoga? Possibly.
His strength was unmatched, and his Shi Shi Hokoudan would probably
blast that man to kingdom come. But no, that wouldn't work either.
Above all else, she did not want her family involved in this. If Ranma
were still alive, at least he could gather up the strength to fight them. He
beat a _DRAGON_ in combat, the Yakuza would be no match for him.
Nabiki sighed and put the money back in the register, she walked to the
window and sighed. The only thing she could do for now, was follow their
orders.

Soun opened his eyes. Aparently he had slept in a little longer than
usual. He attributed his sleepiness to the disturbing dream he had the night
before, and stepped out from his room on the top floor of the Tendo home.
The home was empty. Genma and Nodoka had left last month to live with her
family. Soun smiled at the memory of his dear friend and wife living with
him the past five year, even after Ranma's death.
Thinking about Ranma had immediately reminded him of the dream he had
the night before. Ranma had shown up, %100 alive, even if a bit disfigured,
and wearing the strangest suit. A chill run up his spine as he remembered.
Soun began to step down the stairs of the home when he noticed the picture
missing.
The picture he had taken only last year was missing from the wall by the
stairs. He looked towards the ground, and noticed that it wasn't there
either. It was gone.
He thought for a second, trying to remember if it had been misplaced
when he had given the place a cleaning the day before, but promptly
remembered that he hadn't even dusted it, let alone take it down to wash the
frame. He immediately began to search for it.
He remembered the day the picture was taken. The entire family had
gathered together, even Genma's family had posed for it. He remembered the
hard time he had positioning everyone together correctly so there would be
no problem fitting all of them in. He mentally counted the number of people
in his head.
The whole Tendo family was there, as well as the Saotome family. Kasumi,
Nabiki, Akane. He smiled at the thought of his three daughters.
Kasumi was in her fourth year at Medical School. She had since married
Dr. Tofu, which was the main reason he had popped up in Souns memory of the
event. Genma and Nodoka were there with Ranko, the child they had after
Ranma's death. Nodoka had originally wanted another child long ago, before
Ranma had died, but Genma had nothing to do with it. He only wanted one
child, and Ranma was it. But after he died, Genma and Nodoka could only find
happiness in each other, they're relationship has blossomed after that, and
they were like teenaged lovers again, then Ranko showed up.
Ranma's alias before Nodoka knew of his curse had been Ranko, and they
had named they're new child that for two reasons. 1. Out of
respect for Ranma, and 2. Because of her red hair. It wasn't long after
that, the Tendo/Saotome family pact had been reborn. Akane had a child at
the tender age of 19. Even though it was against Soun's wishes, they went
ahead and had the child. 'They' being Ryoga and Akane.
Originally, Soun had thought the idea of Ranma's friend marrying his
widow was scandalous, and an outrage. But seeing Akane upset nearly 24 hours
out of the day was even worse, and he had relucantly agreed to the wedding,
under the condition that Akane would keep 'Saotome' in her name, out of
respect for Ranma. And thus, Ranma Saotome-Hibiki was born.
Soun since then had grown to love Ryoga as a son. He still felt guilty
from time to time for allowing the marriage, but Ryoga had assured him that
he felt the same. If Ranma and Akane were a perfect match, then Ryoga was
the next best thing. If only Ranma could have had a son before he died.
Again, his mind drifted to the dream he had the prior night, but when he
walked into the tea room, his brain went into overtime.

Ranma barely acknowledged Soun's presence, he had his mind on other
things. For some reason he had not been tired at all the night prior, and
had spent his time trying to remember more about his past, and looking at
various pictures around the house. He had emembered most of his life up to
the Saffron incident when he noticed it.
The picture had been rested on the wall near the stairs. He had passed
it several times in his efforts to remember more by looking
around the place, but had never actually noticed until he accidentally
knocked it off of the wall. He picked it up, and was about to replace it
when he saw them.
Akane was the first he recognized. Then bit by bit, each of the people
in the picture began to surface in his memory. Kasumi. Doctor Tofu. Ranma
wasn't at all surprised at this. He had expected them to marry, and he
silently chuckled at the memory of Dr. Tofu's
lightheadedness whenever he was in Kasumi's presence. Next he noticed
Nabiki. Although her image in the picture was well presented, he could note
a hint of worry in her eyes. Next he came to his father and mother. This was
a shock to him, to see them so close to each other, and smiling. Most of his
memories of his mother were of hiding and lying. Pretending to be 'Ranko'
the cousin of the Tendo family.
Most notably about his parents, was that they were not alone. It
seemed that there was another member of the family. One that Ranma could not
remember no matter how hard he tried. A little girl. Her hair
was red like Ranma's girl form, and did share alot of Ranma's girl-form
qualities. Right down to the eye colour. He mentally noted that he
would have to visit his sister one day soon, as well as his parents. At
least to tell them that he is still alive.
What he noticed next blew his mind. Ryoga, his.. 'aquaintance' from
memory, but friend from heart was shown holding the hand of the woman he
loved most. The woman he had endured this curse for. He was holding Akane's
hand. Not as friends, but as lovers. The image of a small boy sitting on the
ground between them seemed to verify his
worries. After that point, he had been enraged with pure anger and
hatred, but let it die down to simple contemplation afterwards.
"Ranma?", Soun said, stepping towards him.
Ranma temporarily cut himself loose from the trance long enough to greet
Soun, but not much else.
"Hello Mr. Tendo."
"Ranma...", he said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "it wasn't a
dream."
Ranma scoffed, "I wish it was."
"Ranma, whats the matter?"
Ranma turned and pointed towards the picture laying on the tea room
table. The frame had been broken and picture crumpled and if by a fist.
Soun immediately knew what was wrong. "Ranma, I wanted to tell you last
night, but..."
"It's not your fault, Mr. Tendo.", he said, depressingly, "I know you
just didn't want to hurt me."
"Ranma, you were gone so long, they thought you were dead, as did the
rest of us."
"I loved her."
"I know Ranma, we all knew. And it was painfully obvious after you had
gotten married--"
"What?", Ranma asked, looking even closer into Soun's surprised
face.
"You mean, you don't even remember that?"
"No, of course I don't remember. How long were we married before
I disappeared?"
Soun looked sullenly towards the ground. "Five Months."
Ranma took this new information in. He knew he loved her, but he didn't
know that they were married. The last thing he could remember was the
botched up wedding, which, if memory served him correct, was _SERIOUSLY_
botched up.
"How long after the Saffron incident did we get married?"
Soun looked into Ranma's eyes. Though they were mainly covered by his
cowl, he could imagine the pain which was portrayed in their image.
Nearly a year."
Ranma tried desperately to remember what was going on. He would have to
question Soun for whatever he was fuzzy on, or didn't remember.
Soun suddenly noted the time. Quarter to Ten. He let an image pass
through his mind, and quickly decided it would be best to avert a meeting
between Ryoga and Ranma at this point. At least until Soun could have a talk
with Ryoga about the events that have transpired.
"Ranma, we're going to have to finish this conversation another time. As
much as I'd like you to stay around, I think its best you go out and find
some things out for yourself, the morning class will be here
soon."
"Morning class?", Ranma asked.
"Yes.", Soun winked at him, "This dojo has become a hotspot for aspiring
Martial artists!"
Ranma began to protest his leaving, but after Soun began to push
him out of the door, he knew it was futile.
Annoyed, he started to speak, "When should I come back?"
Soun looked at the clock and then replied, "About four."

"Gendo Satoni", Daisuke said, dropping a file down in front of
Hiroshi.
"What?", he asked.
"Gendo Satoni. The corpse?"
"Oh. Thats his name?"
"Yep, and get this. He's the _SON_ of Mikasagi Satoni."
Hiroshi frowned, "Who is...?"
"You don't follow politics much, do you?", Daisuke replied. "Mikasagi
Satoni, as in _MAYOR_ Mikasagi Satoni of Kosaka."
"You mean hes the sone of a mayor?"
"Duh. Apparently junior here was a member of the Nerima Chapter of the
Yakuza."
"Have we got any more information on the perp?"
"Not yet. Apparently there's a few rumours floating around underground
that there's a new assassin in town, all the way from China."
"Could it have been him?"
"More than likely, I got the file of another of his 'clients' back in
Hong Kong. Lets just say the MO is... Similiar."
"So, whats the deal on motive?"
"Well, apparently this guy was big on extortion. A few business owners
stepped forward after his death and told the whole story."
"Could it have been one of them?"
"Doubtful. From what I hear, this Chinese guy is expensive, and from the
amount of money Gendo was extorting from them.. Well, use your head."
"I see. Do we have anything else on the suspect?"
"Just a file larger than a breadbox. He's got over 40 confirmed
killings, and another 15 unconfirmed. This guys MO is strange, but
methodical. He kills them three times through. First, he hits them in the
heart with a--"
"A bonbori, then crushes their skulls with a mace, and takes their heads
off with a scythe."
Daisuke nodded. "Pretty much."
"Daisuke, maybe its just me, but doesn't this sound familiar. A single
man, having two or three weapons at his disposal."
Daisuke shook his head. "It can't be him. He died with Ranma."
"Yes, but isn't it possible that Mousse survived? I mean, When Shampoo
came back, spouting that they were both dead, she had no evidence!"
"Look, even he was _WAS_ still alive, he couldn't have done it. Mousse
may have been nearsighted and quick to judge, but there's no way in hell he
was a killer."
"Well, maybe there was someone else with Mousse's skills. It possible!"
Daisuke paused for a moment. "Your right", he said, "We should check out
the immigration department for any Jokusetsuzoku immigrants."
Hiroshi nodded, and began to flip through the file that Daisuke had
thrown on his desk. He looked up at his friend and contemplated.
"Do we have a list of the business owners that were being extorted?", he
asked.
Daisuke acknowledged him and pulled a sheet of paper from the files on the
desk. "Right here", he said, handing it to him.
Hiroshi scanned the sheet quickly, seeing if anything would pop out at
him. Fortunately, something did.
"Well, I'll be.", he muttered.
"Whats up?"
Hiroshi didn't even answer, he just turned the paper around and pointed
at a name. Daisuke let a grin show on his face as he recited the name.
"Nabiki Tendo."

*Where is the damn bus?*, Ryoga thought. He normally took the bus to get
to work, it was part of Akane's master plan.
Since Ryoga had constantly been getting lost, she began to walk with him
to certain places, and soon worked out a system. For cross-town
destinations, a map would be drawn, and he would use mass transportation to
reach it.
For shorter trips, like from the front door to the bus stop, he soon
learned, that instead of focusing on the main destination, he would focus on
'baby-steps' as Akane had called them. For instance, His first destination
from the front door, would be to follow the walkway to the sidewalk, from
the sidewalk, he would walk three streets left of his position, and wait at
the bus stop. The bus soon showed up, and he got off at the third stop. From
the third stop, he would get off, walk across the street, turn left, walk
two streets over, and face his right. That would usually place him at the
outside wall of the Tendo Dojo. From that point, he was usually okay, but
from time to time he would turn left instead of right and end up missing for
days at a time.
Before long, Akane stopped getting worried and just waited patiently for
him to return home.
Although not completely 'fixed', his sense of direction was getting
remarbly better. He had even learned to retrace his steps. He let his brain
wander for a minute when the bus showed up. Again able to process conscious
thought, he stepped onto the loading platform, and let the doors close
behind him.

Ranma knew he couldn't be seen, and he made sure he wasn't. Since he had
left, aparently, Nerima had been nearly devoid of Martial Artists, and he
found himself easily escaping the views of everyone he passed by, over, and
in some cases, under. He soon found himself blocks away from the Dojo, and
began to think of where his new destination would be. He thought for a
moment, and then reluctantly decided the closest place would be the
Nekohanten, and set his sights for the restaurant.
Although he hadn't expected anyone he knew to be there, there was still
the chance that it was run by someone associated with Shampoo, Mousse or
even Cologne.
He passed from rooftop to rooftop on his journey to the Nekohanten. He
wasn't hungry, but he needed to see things for himself.
While jumping across a wide street, he had waited for the nearest
vehicle to pass by between him and the other end of the street,
incidentally, the vehicle had been a bus. He timed his jump correctly and
jumped across, landing on the bus and then on the other side of the road,
leaving behind nothing but a thump and a small dent.

Ryoga had nearly had a heart attack. Here he was, just sitting on the
bus, counting the stops, when the roof _RIGHT_ above him had nearly caved
in. Examining the ceiling he noted two foot-shaped dents and began to
wonder. It had been a long while since any _GOOD_ Martial artist had come to
Nerima, and the ones that were there, he knew personally. Shampoo and Ukyou
had left a long time ago, Tarou hadn't been seen in.. God only knows how
long, Happosai went to America, but it was doubtful that he weighed enough
to make that kind of dent. Ryoga suddenly felt a familiar chill run up his
spine, it was only moments later when he released that it was the same as
the one he had the night before.

Akane felt the chill run up her spine. She had felt a familiar presence,
but dismissed it, so as not to worry her son.
Ranma Saotome-Hibiki was three years old. He would be four in five
months, and he was already becoming the elite martial artist that his
namesake would have been proud of. Although Akane felt remorseful that she
never had the chance to have big Ranma's child, she loved her son with all
of her heart.
For a reason unknown to Akane, she had been thinking alot of Ranma over
the past two hours since she woke up. She couldn't identify exactly why, but
the thoughts were pouring in her head like an endless waterfall. Her memory
drifted back to the time she found out Ranma had died. The day Shampoo
returned to Nerima and gave the dreadful news that Mousse and Ranma had died
protecting her.
Originally Akane was in denial, she waited day after day on the front
porch of the dojo, but he still never showed up. It was only after that that
she had accepted the fact that he would never come back.
Akane did the only thing she could do. She ignored it. Pretended she had
never met Ranma, but that had come with its consequences. After two weeks of
her 'ignorance', she was admitted into the hospital, near death because she
hadn't eaten anything. She may have been able to forget about Ranma, but she
also forgot to eat. Her only support during those times was Shampoo, Nabiki
and most notably, Ryoga.
She had found out of Ryoga's 'secret' just before Ranma had died. She
was extremely angry at him for weeks afterwards, but after Ranma died, it
just didn't matter anymore. Before long, she found herself becoming attached
to him.
The courting process was long, and not without its share of problems.
She cared for Ranma deeply, and being with Ryoga felt like betrayal to
Akane, even if Ranma _WAS_ dead!
But soon, fate had taken its course. She had fallen in love with Ryoga.
True, the feelings weren't as strong as they were for Ranma, but there were
feelings nonetheless, and before long, Ryoga proposed.
Getting her father to accept the proposal however, was harder. The old
man gave in after a while, and they were married. It wasn't long after
before she found out she was pregnant.
And thus, Ranma Saotome-Hibiki was born, and much to Akane's relief, there
was no trace of the Jusenkyo Curse. It just wouldn't do well to have your
first born wander around as a piglet.
She smiled at her son. Even though he was a mere three years of age, he
took martial arts seriously, even more seriously than his parents. He seemed
to follow after his namesake. Most children his age watched the greatest
kids shows, and went to preschool to play with
toys, but little Ranma, was a martial artist at heart. In fact, at that very
moment, he was practicing his Kata on the balcony.
"Whatcha doing honey?", she asked her son.
"I doing kata!", he excitedly replied.
"Wow", she feigned. "Well, when your done, why don't you come in and
have something to eat?"
Little Ranma nodded and jumped into the house. Even for a three year
old, his balance and Coordination was impecable. Akane often wondered about
it, but soon dismissed it as a gift.

The Nekohanten was still the Nekohanten, much to Ranma's relief. It was
still a restaurant, and still open. But the owners, however, were not the
originals. From a quick check-in, he had found out that these people had
purchased the restaurant from Shampoo and Cologne five
years earlier, but refused to tell him any more than that, and shooed him
away with the threat of calling the police. Even though Ranma could easily
take the police down, he just wasn't in the mood for such a thing. He looked
around for a moment, and then decided on a new
destination. Ucchan's was three blocks away.
"Ranma Saotome?", the voice asked.
At first, Ranma thought it was his visitor from the previous night, but
on closer examination at the source, he changed his mind.
The source was an old man. A white beard extended down to his stomach
area, and his eyes sparkled with intelligence.
"Who are you?", he asked.
The man walked up to him and replied, "I am Count Nicholas De
Cogliostro."
Absolutely positive that he didn't know the man, Ranma began to
interrogate him. "That doesn't tell me much." he said.
"Of course.", the man stepped up to Ranma and held out his hand, "We
have something in common."
"Oh yeah? Whats that?"
"Your curse."
Ranma's brain worked into overtime, considering the mans statement, he
soon broke free of his trance and stared at him.
"So, that doesn't explain how you know my name."
"I have my sources.", the man explained. "I'm surprised it was you
actually, from my examination, during your life you were a kind person, if
not a little.. Shall we say.. Ill-tempered?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I had thought I had narrowed who the new Hellspawn would be to a
government assassin. I was in New York for the past few months waiting for
him to emerge there, but a few days ago, I felt your presence beginning to
manifest. I had to follow it."
"You're not answering my questions!", Ranma was now near-raging.
"I suppose you'd need a better explanation. Above all, you should
remember the deal.. Correct?"
"The deal...", Ranma looked towards the ground, "Yes."
"Well, lets just say, long ago, I had made the same deal."
Ranma looked into the man's eyes. He wasn't lying. "Why did this happen
to me?"
"You are a hellspawn. A warrior recruited by the likes of Malebolgia."
"What?"
"You apparently did something during your life that warranted being sent
to hell. Upon your arrival, Malebolgia offered you something, in exhange for
your services."
"Hell? You're crazy, old man.", Ranma said, turning to leave, "I'm not
dead."
"You are dead, Saotome. Even if you don't realize it now, you will.",
Cogliostro said, but it was too late, Ranma had already disappeared.

Ranma jumped from rooftop to rooftop, Ucchans was just a little further,
and Ranma didn't want to stick around with the old man. Of course he wasn't
dead, how would he be here?
But the premise did explain a few things, like how he no longer had his
Jusenkyo curse, and how there's a good six years missing from his memory,
five of which he had been apparently dead. And also-- No. He stopped
himself. He was thinking crazy things, of course hes not
dead.
Ranma kept jumping along the rooftops until he reached his new
destination. Making sure the place was empty, he went through the doorway.

Nabiki sighed. Two things were bothering her. The first was that, since
the few customers that had shown up earlier, barely any had came into the
establishment since, and the place was devoid of life. The second was what
she was going to do about Makaro. She took a look back outside into the main
restaurant, and noticed Kinami sitting in one of the chairs eating some of
her own Okonomiyaki. She mentally noted to charge her for the food.
She went back to thinking about what she was going to do before she was
interupted by a screech.

Kinami had known the consequences of eating the supplies, even if there
were no customers, but she knew she would accept the punishment and pay for
the supplies out of her wages. She was hungry, and it was the only thing she
could do to take her mind off of the incident earlier.
Kinami cooked herself some okonomiyaki and sat down at a table. She
began to scarf it down, wondering how she would help her good friend Nabiki.
She had the beginnings of an idea when she saw him.
He had appeared out of nowhere, coming through the door without so much
as the sound of a footstep, and he was dressed strangely. Chains all about
his body, even a large red cloak and a cowl. She looked to him like a
sadistic superhero, when she let her larynx take over.

The woman screamed at him. A response he had expected. However, he had
also expected it to be someone he would recognize. It was not, some woman
dressed in an okonomiyaki chefs outfit. Ranma shrugged inwardly, he wasn't
in the mood for asking questions and began to turn around an leave. He was
nearly out the door when he heard it.
"What the hell is-- Oh my god.", the females voice said from the back.
Ranma immediately recognized it.
"What the hell do you want? We've got until tonight!", Nabiki yelled at
him.
Ranma felt his guts wrench inside of him. Here was someone else from his
past someone he recognized. Here was the sister of his love, Nabiki Tendo.
"Nabiki..", he said.
"We've got until tonight!", the voice replied, "And who gives you the
right to call me by my first name!"
"Nabiki", Ranma pleaded, "Its me!"
Nabiki began to let her stern expression evolve into something else, but
then returned to its former position.
"Who are you?", she asked.
Ranma began to think of what to tell her. 'Hey, its me Ranma, I'm not
dead, just had amnesia for the past five years' didn't seem plausible. "I'm
a friend.", he replied instead.
"Oh yeah?", Nabiki stepped up to him, "I don't have friends who dress
like that."
"You don't even recognize my voice, do you?"
Nabiki thought for a second and replied, "Yeah, it sounds familiar, but
that doesn't mean a thing."
"Nabiki. If I tell you who I am, you've got to promise that you'll hear
me out."
Nabiki stared up into his eyes. "Fine." she said, still visibly
suspicious.
"I'm... I'm Ranma."
Something clicked. Nabiki let the name seep in. The voice, she knew it
seemed familiar, but Ranma? She let herself think long and hard over the
present situation. A number of possibilities ran through her head. At first
she thought was that it was some sort of sick joke, but the posture. The way
he talked. It _HAD_ to be Ranma.
"Ranma?", she said, backing away, "H..How?"
Kinami also knew the name. Many nights had passed by when Nabiki would
talk of nothing but Ranma and his skills, and his curse. She also made sure
to mention how much money she had made off of him.
"I thought Ranma was dead.", she said to Nabiki.
Ranma looked at Kinami. He was sure he didn't recognize her, but asked
anyways, "Do I know you?"
Kinami turned towards Ranma and smiled, "No, but Nabiki sure does talk
about you alot.", she held out her hand, expecting it to be shook.
Ranma reluctantly held out his gloved hand. They shook and Kinami
immediately began to inspect his costume.
"Hey, cool threads!", she said, "I was never really into the goth thing,
but I've gotta admit.. Very trendy!"
"Ranma?", Nabiki asked, mouth still gaping wide open.
"Yes, its me", he held out his arms as a friendly gesture.
Nabiki ran into them immediately. She hugged him as hard as she could.
Her brother-in-law was back. _HE_ could help her with her problems!
"N..Nabiki?", Ranma asked.
"I can't believe you're alive!", she cried.
"I'm.. uhh.. I'm not going to be much longer if you keep hugging me like
that."
Nabiki smiled. Now _THIS_ was the Ranma she remembered. Sense of humour
intact, even if his wardrobe was a bit... different.
She backed away from him for a moment and took his image in. "Get tired
of the same old clothes?"
"Well", Ranma said, looking himself over, "This isn't exactly by
choice."
Nabiki smiled. She didn't know what he meant, but she didn't care
either. Ranma was back. The _ONE_ person that could save her from the
Yakuza. The _ONE_ person outside of her own family that she cared for like a
brother. Nabiki wouldn't let her smile go and even let a tear run down her
cheek. Suddenly, her business sense had taken over.
"Ranma", she said, "I've got a problem."
Ranma knew this. He knew this ever since he saw her only a few minutes
ago. She was afraid of him, even threatening him. Of all the possibilities
in Ranma's mind, he could only narrow it down to one.
"Somethings going to happen tonight.", he said.
Nabiki nodded. "Yakuza.", she said.
Everything began to fall into place. There were still a few things he
was unclear on, such as how Nabiki got to own Ucchans, and why they were
extorting such a small business, and when they had made they're presence
known in Nerima, but he got the main idea. Extortion.
Ranma felt obligated to help, and that was exactly what he planned on
doing. "You can count on me.", was all he could say.

Authors Notes: Ahh, there.. Chapter Two done and posted... :).. Anyways,
After Chapter Three is all fixed up through pre-reading and such, I'll be
posting it here... Remember, any Flames, Comments, Suggestions, C & C, or
anything of the sort.. email me at watcher...@hotmail.com