Ranma 1/2: Ranma No More Alternate History By: Dani Yanega yanega@mindspring.com (please respond to this e-mail address) Chapter Forty Eight In an empty lot behind the 'Joketsuzoku Village' the light warriors train with the Amazons, doctors, and Daniel. They learn the Amazon techniques quickly which surprises the matriarchs as it usually takes an excellent warrior months to learn what the Light Warriors have learned on only a few hours. "It must be nice to be able to learn our techniques so fast." Mas Cra tells her counterpart. "Yes, ahh if I were only one hundred and fifty again." Ku Lon responds with a wistful smile. "It may be a nice side effect, but I would gladly give it up if the reason for the ability was non existent." Both elders turn and face Taj one of the leaders of the Phoenix sect. "We all would child we all would." The two matriarchs step into the training circle and stop the training. "I understand that you all have been training in your altered forms except for Ran Koh who does not need to. Mas Cra and I would like to see the progress you have made. So far you show great skill and I think this Saturday we will begin the training in the Bakusai Teknetsu." She smiles slightly as the Light Warriors shudder, the other trainees just look at her with confusion. The elders call forth the Dragon Sect and watches as they transform. Samuel to his wizard self, they then marvel at the increased sizes of the other forms. Ukyo's Tao symbol glows and she becomes a panther, black with silver highlights the sized of a full grown horse. Sera who is watching runs excitedly toward his cousin. Ukyo did not have time to defend herself as the tiger cub jumps her and they tumble in somersaults for several yards. Everyone begins to laugh but Ukyo seems not to be very happy. "Sera, play with Ukyo later we have to train now." Ryoga calls out to the tiger who looks up with a small pout but nods and walks back to where he was sitting. Martina changes next, her form is that of a grizzly bear also following the dragon sect colors of black and silver, she is however over 12' 10" tall. Rufino changes next turning into a falcon the size of a year old pony. Finally Jasmine changes to a black and silver winged horse, the size of a full grown rhinoceros. The elders marvel at the diversity of their shapes and then turn to face the leaders of the Phoenix sect. Alex takes his mage shape, while Taj assumes her shape of a red and copper unicorn. She like the flying horse is the size of a rhino. Roberto takes his alternate shape the size of a 10' 11" red and copper gorilla. Anna takes her lion form which receives a happy roar from Sera as he now has two playmates. She like Ukyo is the size of a full grown horse. Then Msu Tsu steps forward. He takes the shape of a red and copper hawk. As with the falcon the size of a year old pony. Daniel and the doctors watch in fascination as each member of the group changes. Daniel looks to Ran Koh, now knowing the female shape before him is her cursed form. Which means she was a he, he wonders why she chooses to remain in her female form. He is going to have to do some digging to find out what happen to her. The Tiger Sect is the last to change, Ryoga changes to his white and gold wolf, and like birds he is the size of a one year pony. Michael changes into his eagle shape. Joshua is the next to transform and takes the shape of a Centaur, his horse body and hair is white with gold highlights while the human portion of his body is as black as onyx. He follows the winged horse and unicorn in size, for his horse body, while his human form is that of a man over seven feet. Finally Megan changes to her alternate form a white griffin the size of a full grown horse. Everyone in the lot stare in amazement at the variety of creatures and a little nervous at the implications at the presence of the mythological creatures. The three remaining humans of the Light Warriors pairs off the animal warriors against human ones, then begin the sparing. The elders watch in amazement. When over the last hour and a half the Light Warriors as animals hold their own against trained Amazon warriors. The elders begin to help train the animal warriors when suddenly the six leaders of the Light Warriors collapse each shivering in the warm spring afternoon. Nodoka runs to her daughter as doctors start to examine the other leaders. "It is not medical, doctor." Samuel gasps out when doctor Cassia comes to examine him. "Then what is wrong?" Kasumi asks with a worried frown as she helps Taj to right herself, the warriors transforming back to their normal selves. The six leaders all raise their heads and stare directly at each other, their eyes flashing between the different colors of each sect. When the lights fade they each have blank staring eyes. Eyes so void of life that their friends and family shiver at the coldness of them. "The third general is waking." All six tell them with cold empty voices, the others look at them with looks of surprise and a little bit of fear. /*\*/*\ Nabiki pounds the pavement, looking for a cheap apartment close to both school and work. The problem is there is none. She stands outside the sixth apartment building since she left work. Tired and hungry she heads to the front door. She looks and sees it is a building with a security guard. "Hello, I am here to see the manager about the vacancies?" She asks, the security guard looks at her then, calls back to the manager. Nabiki looks around the foyer, a slight frown on her pretty young face. As she feels it will probably be out of her price range as well. She turns when someone clears their throat. She faces an older woman of about fifty with black hair streaked with silver that goes to the middle of her back. It reminds her of the Dragon Sect members. "May I help you child?" She asks Nabiki who smiles slightly and bows respectfully to the woman. "I am looking for an apartment, and am here because of your advertisement." Nabiki tells her, the woman's smile pulls a gasp from Nabiki, and the woman stares at her with confusion. "I am sorry, it is just that you remind me of someone from a long time ago. How much is the apartment?" Nabiki asks trying to stay away from any painful questions. "Don't you want to see the apartment first?" The woman's soft voice asks her as she raises her eyebrow. "Well I would like to see it but if it is out of my price range I don't want to be disappointed again." Nabiki says looking around with a critical eye, the woman nods. "Well I have several apartments for rent at this time, the studio apartment is the cheapest at 3500 yen a month. It is on the fifth floor. It doesn't have much of a view but it's clean." The woman tells her, Nabiki smiles slightly. "Well it is within my price range, I would like to see it if I may." The woman smiles that smile again and Nabiki feels her heart wrench. The two go board the one elevator to the fifth floor to look at hopefully Nabiki's new apartment. The woman leads Nabiki down the single hallway of six apartments to the seventh at the end of the hall. She opens the door and Nabiki steps inside. The apartment was a single room with a small bathroom, and kitchenette. The wall opposite the door was all glass, which as the woman had said has a lousy view. It looks out onto the roof of the building next to it. "This apartment is about thirty foot square, this door leads to a small bathroom with shower. That door is the walk in closet, and as you can see you have a small kitchenette over there." The woman tells her as she points out the different features of the apartment. The closet and bathroom are on the wall to the right of the door entering the apartment, while the kitchenette is on the left. It is quite small, but since it is only her she didn't mind. The wall of glass has a small step up and about a five foot deep ledge. Which she could use as a reading area or an office if she chooses. She turns back to the woman and smiles broadly. "I will take it Miss..?" Nabiki pauses as she realizes she did not ask the woman's name. "Oh, I am sorry, my name is Aimeko Mander." She tells Nabiki while she bows to the girl then puts out her hand, which Nabiki gladly shakes. "Lets go to my office and get the lease signed and you can start moving in when ever you want. I require first and last months rent, plus a security deposit of one months rent." Aimeko tells her while Nabiki takes the offered keys and locks her new home. /*\*/*\ Aimeko leads Nabiki into her office. It is not very large about nine by ten, but very homey. Nabiki sits in the offered chair and looks around the office while Aimeko gets the paperwork together. The walls are painted white with a wallpaper border along the ceiling of an old blue Wedgwood design. The carpet was a soft plush royal blue and the curtains on the only window in the room were white with royal blue trim. She has three oak filing cabinets with five drawers each that match her oak desk with a tiffany bankers light and laptop. The chair Nabiki is sitting in matches Aimeko's desk chair but without the wheels. The two chairs plus one other sitting next to Nabiki are white wing back chairs with blue piping all around the chair where the fabric meets the oak wood. "Here we go my dear, my standard contract." Aimeko tells her while writing something on the contact. She then hands the contract to Nabiki, who sees it is a month to month contract and that Aimeko hand wrote the rent amount in, as well as the date. She looks over the contract and finds nothing out of place. Happy with what she sees Nabiki signs the contract and then takes out her checkbook and writes Aimeko a check for 10500 yen. Aimeko looks over the contract and notices the signature, her eyes widen with surprise which she quickly pushes away before the girl across from her can see it. She then stands up and makes a copy of the contract then gives a copy to Nabiki. While she files her copy. "I will start moving in tonight if that is ok? I don't have much and I can use a futon till I get my furniture." Nabiki tells the woman, who nods looking up from the filing cabinet. "Do you need any help? I don't have much going on tonight, I don't think I will get anymore inquiries this late. It will also help you move in faster since it's already after seven." Aimeko asks with a soft sad smile. "I don't want to put you out. I only have my clothes and they are at my sister and her fiancé's apartment." Nabiki explains while she gathers her belongings. "It is no trouble and with the my car we can do it in one trip." Aimeko tells her with finality while she picks up her coat and car keys. She leads Nabiki out of her office and to her car. There is a small lot behind the building for the tenets to park their vehicles if need be. It is a short drive to Dr. Tofu's clinic and only pleasantries are exchanged. "KASUMI! DR. TOFU! I guess they are over at the Nekohanten." Nabiki tells her new landlady." Aimeko looks around the small apartment with a slight frown. She notices it is a one bedroom and that Nabiki has been sleeping on the sofa. She spots a picture of Nabiki and two other girls. She picks it up and stares at it with a warm smile. Nabiki comes up behind her and looks over her shoulder. "That's my sister Kasumi and that's Akane." She tells the landlady pointing out each of them. "I would love to meet them when they come to visit." She tells Nabiki with a sad smile. "My husband and I never had any children, I always wanted daughters." Aimeko had a wistful look as she gently replaced the photo. "Well Kasumi you might meet, but Akane won't be visiting for sometime." Nabiki slams her mouth shut not wanting to let something else slip. "Oh? Why is that, I mean if you don't mind my asking?" Aimeko asks seeing the look of frustration on Nabiki's face. "I would rather not, it is family business." She states quietly while she finishes packing. [It would be safer for me also!] She thought to herself as she remembers the day she left the Tendo house for good, the day Akane tried to brain her with that _stupid_ mallet. Aimeko watches Nabiki with a sad smile. When Nabiki packs the last of her belongings, she turns to her new landlord. She smiles at the woman and sighs deeply. "Well that's the last of it. I will have some friends help me move the rest of my stuff in later. May we stop at the Nekohanten on the way back so that I can tell Kasumi?" She asks the woman, who smiles broadly at her. "Yes of course, I have heard so much about the place I would like to see it." Aimeko tells her picking up one of Nabiki's suitcases and heads for the door. /*\*/*\ Two airplanes land at the Tokyo airport, one from China and one from the United States. The people in the airport stop and stare at thirty of the most beautiful women they have ever seen and gape at the still stunning woman of fifty leading them. She carries a six foot staff and is two inches taller then it. Her hair is the color of onyx and reaches her ankles. The watchers shiver when they stare into her cold gray eyes. Many can tell by the way the woman walks they are warriors, and though many of the men would love to get closer the leader of the warrior women keeps them at bay. The men just watch them leave with sad frowns. The attention given to the women is interrupted when they all turn to watch a group of twelve exotic men walk by. Although they all look much the same long black hair some with leather strips around their foreheads some with cowboy hats. Some had deep brown eyes while others had black. They watchers can tell they are different also. Their features although similar vary from hard and angled to soft and rounded. Some are thin while others are heavily muscled. What frightens the crowd though is what they see in the eyes of the men. Where in the women they see stern warrior eyes, eyes eagerly awaiting battle. In the eyes of the twelve men they can see what warrior the maids did not know, the horror of what that battle will entail. The men's eyes are hollow, empty of life, but they are also determined and ready to fight. /*\*/*\ Akane kneels in the dojo staring at the pile of bricks, her eyes red and puffy. Her tears drying on her pretty face. She stares down at her hands, the hands that were going to attack non combatants, if it wasn't for the intervention of Ranma and his Amazon friends. She has no one she can talk to about what happen Kasumi is gone, and Nabiki, well she doubts she would tell Nabiki anything because she didn't want to be blackmailed. She lowers her head and the tears start a new, she would gladly pay Nabiki's blackmail if it meant she was still living here. Akane is so caught up in her thoughts she did not hear the entry of someone behind her. "I hope those tears are for those you nearly killed this afternoon?" Akane jumps into a ready stance turning she faces her arch nemesis the reason for the destruction of her family. "_What_ do you want _Ranma_!" She growls at the white hair girl in front of her. "If I were you I would start calling me Ran Koh not because I _will_ begin to retaliate, but because as long as you consider me a male our fathers will not rest until we are married." Ran Koh tells her with hard cold eyes. "_I WON'T_ marry a freak like you!" She snarls back at the warrior in front of her, Ran Koh shakes her head and turns to leave, surprising Akane. "Wait why did you come?" Akane asks not believing her curiosity, Ran Koh stops and turns to face her. "I came at the request of your sister Kasumi, to try and make peace. I don't have the time or inclination to be at war with you when I am preparing for..never mind. You are not interested, and I don't have the time to placate you. Just stay away from me and my friends and we will stay out of your way." With that Ran Koh disappears into the night. Akane stares at where the girl was standing, she is trying to figure out if she should be angry or something, but at the moment all she can feel is numb. 'Kasumi still cares' is all she comes away with from the meeting. She leaves the dojo and heads to her room for a long cry. /*\*/*\ Nabiki and Aimeko enter the Nekohanten, Aimeko stares at how busy they are even after nine o'clock. Aimeko's attention is drawn to an exotic white hair girl, who seems upset. She notices the girl is talking to Kasumi, who she is able to recognize from the picture she has seen. Nabiki notices Ran Koh's state of agitation and fears the war is going to start sooner then everyone expects. She forgets her landlady and heads straight for Kasumi and the sorceress. "What is happening? They aren't coming _now_ are they?" Nabiki asks when she is close enough. "No, sister the war is not starting yet. Ran Koh just came back from a talk with Akane. I am afraid our sister is still being stubborn. We thought we could at least get a cease fire on that front. Well maybe we still can." Kasumi says with her usual 'everything will be fine' smile. "That's good, oh and sister I am moving out I found an apartment and I am moving in tonight. This is my new landlady Aimeko Mander." Nabiki turns to face her landlady never seeing the anger that crosses her sister's gentle face. Ran Koh sees it and so does Aimeko. She tries to smile at the older Tendo who stands there with her fists clenched while she tries desperately to contain her rage. Ran Koh places a hand lightly on the elder Tendo's shoulder, who whips her head around and glares at the girl ready to say something, but she stops herself. She turns back toward her sister and Aimeko. "_How dare_ you show your face here after what you did!" Kasumi reaches out and slaps the woman hard across the face then turns and storm off to where her fiancé is standing. She wants to leave and leave now.