Ranma 1/2: Ranma No More Alternate History By: Dani Yanega yanega@mindspring.com (please respond to this e-mail address) http://www.mindspring.com/~yanega/index.htm or Visit my Mirror site at: http://www.ranko.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/index.htm Chapter Sixty One Li Ly and Taji turn at the sound of a groan. They watch, as do the others as Ran Koh starts to wake. Taji runs to her granddaughter and places a comforting hand on her forehead. "M..mom?" Ran Koh whispers as she slowly turns toward her grandmother. *GASP!* A startled breath escapes Taji and Li Ly as Ran Koh shoots upright. The whole group jumps when Nodoka follows suit. Both women sit their eyes wide and unfocused. They watch as the women begin to shudder. Hayashi notices as Li Ly' eyes go blank and she also begins to shudder. He taps his father and brother on the shoulder and points to the Amazon matriarch. Keitaro and Hiroshi turn to look at the Amazon and stare with wide eyes as she shudders in fear. Keitaro turns to his wife expecting to see worry on her face. Instead it is his face that fills with worry as he races toward his wife. Taji is standing next to Ran Koh's bed her eyes also blank and trembling in fear. "'He Who Devours the Light'" Ran Koh whispers, as she wraps her arms around her body. "Yes, Ran Koh he is getting stronger, if other then the light warriors are able to feel his presence." Li Ly responds to the statement. Ran Koh looks at the matriarch with a small amount of confusion. She then turns and looks at the others. Her eyes narrow slightly as she looks to her mother, then her grandmother in the embrace of her grandfather. She turns to the doorless entryway and sees Tofu holding Kasumi both with the same blank look. Her uncles she notices do not seem to be effected as neither does her grandfather. She stares at the Takashi men and watches in awe as they begin to sense the evil of what they are fighting. "MY KAMI-SAMA! I could have lived a hundred lives and been happy not to know such evil!" Hiroshi gasps as he feels the evil wash over him. "I agree brother, I agree!" Hayashi tells his younger brother. "We need to get back to the 'Joketsuzoku Village' now!" Ran Koh tells them her face set with determination. She starts to swing her legs around to stand when she feels a strong hand stop her. She turns to see the cold hard sapphire blue eyes of her grandfather staring down at her. His large callous hand grasping tightly on her shoulder. "You will not leave until Dr. Tofu tells you that you are well enough." Keitaro states flatly with no room for argument. Ran Koh opens her mouth to rebut his statement the she stops as she stares into his sapphire blue eyes. Images of her past life. She remembers those same determined blue eyes, staring back at her in from many mirrors. She lowers her head to hide the tears and nods slowly. "Hai, grandfather." She allows him to push her back down onto the table. Keitaro then signals Dr. Tofu over to inspect Ran Koh's and Nodoka's wounds. Nodoka's seem to be ok after the jolt of sitting up quickly. Ran Koh on the other hand seems to have started bleeding again. /*\*/*\ Kuno sits in his mansion staring blankly at the television. The CNN report of the battle beginning shown before him. His eyes wide and his hands clenching and unclenching on his lap. He turns at the sound of whispering silk behind him. "What do you want twisted sister?" Kodachi stands behind him in a black kimono. Kodachi stares at the television her mouth opened and ready to say something. She freezes as the horror continues to play over and over on the broadcast. Tatewaki watches as his sister pales at the evil before her. Kodachi's gray eyes tear up as she watches as the evil before her slowly seeps into her addled brain and breaks through the haze of mental blocks she put up years ago. The blocks she and Tatewaki put in place to save their young psyche from the anguish of their abusive mother and uncaring father. "B..Brother!" She whispers as she brings her delicate hand to her mouth fear forming her smoky gray eyes. Tatewaki watches as he sees his once beloved sister break through the maniac and return to him. He stands and then looks over his shoulder at the events that broke through his own defenses. He turns back towards his sister and sees for the first time on over a decade the little six year old he thought had died so long ago. He walks around the sofa to his sister and takes her into his arms. He feels her stiffen then slowly go limp as her arms wrap around his waist. He feels the hot tears fall onto his shirt. His eyes cloud over as the memory they both tried to bury crashes back on him and he knows on his sister. ***Flashback*** A seven year old Tatewaki scampers quietly down the hallway staying in the shadows like the family retainer Sasuke had taught him. He hears his parents down stairs arguing and heads toward the staircase. When he arrives his little sister is kneeling at the railing. He stops and stares at her shaking body knowing she is sobbing. A spindle in each hand, she kneels next to the railing resting her head against the two spindles. He walks up to her and kneels next to her. She snaps her head toward him, and his puts his finger on his lips to keep her silent she nods. She then releases her iron grip on the relieved woodwork of the railing. She wraps her arms around her brother and silently cries into her small chest. Both children have learned over the years to cry without any noise for fear of bringing the wrath of their unstable mother upon them. They both jump at the sound of a slap coming from downstairs. They can not hear what is being said but they know from experience it is the same argument their parents always have. This time however both children know something is wrong. It is different somehow. The door to the parlor slams open and they watch as their mother Akeda and their father Norkedo stand in front of it. They watch as their father grabs their mother's arm and spins her to face him. His face in a distorted mask of hate. "If you leave _bitch_ you will have nothing! No money, no home, no name and no _kids_!" He snarls at her. Her gray eyes flash with defiance and a snarl of her own crosses her red lips. She is about 5' 7" tall long ebony hair reaching just past her waist. She is slim but curvaceous, and walks with the grace of a runway model. Her face is that of an angel's but with the snarl it mars its beauty. "HAHAHAHAHAHA! I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR MONEY OR NAME AND I CERTAINLY DON'T GIVE A FLYIND DAMN ABOUT THOSE SNIVLEING BRATS! I JUST WISH I HAD KILLED THEM WHEN I HAD THE CHANCE!" Their father's hand lashes out to strike their mother across the face. She flies back into the house's foyer and crashes into the marble table in its center. The table falls over at the impact Akeda slowly rising from the floor. She glares at her husband a trickle of blood falling from the corner of her mouth. Tatewaki holds his sister tighter, placing a hand gently over her mouth to keep her from crying out. He knows if their parents find them there watching they will be beaten. "DON'T YOU DARE TALK THAT WAY ABOUT THE CHILDREN!" Norkedo snarls at her. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! DON'T GIVE ME THAT YOU IMPOTENT BASTARD!" Akeda chortles at his indignant rage, but continues before he can say anything. "YOU DIDN'T WANT THOSE LITTLE BASTARDS ANYMORE THEN I DID! YOU ONLY NEEDED THEM TO GET YOUR MONEY ON THE TRUST FUND SET UP FOR YOUR CHILDREN IF YOU SHOULD HAVE ANY!" She continues her rage rising along with her disgust. "SINCE THE OLD BASTARD CUT YOU OFF FOR MARRYING ME, THOSE LITTLE BURKIUMS WERE THER ONLY WAY TO GET ANY MONEY. EVEN THAT DIDN'T WORK SINCE THAT OLD BASTARD SENT SASUKE ALONG TO MAKE SURE YOU HAD NO CONTROL OVER THE MONEY!" Akeda's tirade went on Norkedo's face going white. "WHAT WOULD THAT OLD BASTARD SAY IF HE KNEW YOU WERE STERILE AND HAD GOTTEN A SLEASY DOCTOR TO REMOVE SOME OF HIS SEMAN IN ORDER TO GET ME PREGNANT!" Akeda watches as her husband stumbles back against the parlors door frame. "That's right _husband_ go pale. Y not only did it once to your bastard father but twice! Just so when the blood tests were done they would have Kuno DNA in them." Akeda and Norkedo never saw the children listening to them, nor did they see the movement in the shadows. Tatewaki and his sister listen to this new line of argument. Their child minds not comprehending what is being said. The only thing they do understand is that neither of their parents wants them. Their only reason for living was so their mother and father can have access to the Kuno fortune. Their little eyes glaze over as the two siblings start to build the walls around the truth and begin to create their twisted fantasies that will become their reality. The children do not see the shadow downstairs as it moves slightly. "What do you think that old fool would do if he found out what you did? That those little bastards where his children and _not_ his grandchildren!" Norkedo's eyes narrow as his rage builds. "You will leave this house now _bitch_! Do not ever darken my doorstep again! If you do it will be the last thing you ever do!" Norkedo turns and walks to his study he stops at the door to look back at his wife. "SASUKE!" A short little man of forty or so stands quickly next to the Kuno patriarch. "Take _that_ trash out, and deposit it outside the gates! She is never to be allowed on Kuno property again!" Norkedo does not wait for a reply as he slams the study door. Sasuke does as he is bid and escorts Akeda off of the Kuno compound. He watches her as she struts down the street without a care in the world. He watches her with narrow eyes and snarl on his face until she vanishes. He turns and looks back at the house his snarl deepening as he stares at the front door. "Master Kuno-san is not going to like this at all." He whispers as he heads back into the house. Tatewaki and Kodachi are gone from the top of the stairs both going to their rooms. Both trying to bury the information they have gained. Both trying to pretend they are their father's children and not their grandfathers. /*\* /*\ The fantasies they build become stronger as the days pass. Though the information is not totally hidden from them as it corrupts their hearts toward each other and their father. Sasuke watches with dismay and sadness as the once vibrant but never happy children become lost in worlds of their own making. Their grandfather not wanting anything to do with them until they regain their senses. He does however force Norkedo from the Kuno mansion but he does not forbid his return. ***End Flashback*** "B..brother, why?" Kodachi asks her face still buried in his chest. "I don't know sis..Dachi-chan. Maybe the realization that those things could mean the end of everything. The end of _our_ torment." Kuno tells her as he leans his head on top of hers. Kuno feels his sister stiffen slightly at the long forgotten name. Then feels her relax and hold on tighter to her brother her frighten sobs escaping into his chest. "We must go Dachi-chan we must go and offer not only our skill but our home to the warriors that fight. I fear this battle is not a one time occurrence. I..I can feel the evil reaching out..it..it wants to take us for its own." The young Samurai tells his sister holding her more tightly. "I can feel it also, bro..Waki-chan. It frightens me, I can feel myself wanting to give into it. To let it take over me and wrap me in its protective embrace." The youngest Kuno whispers to her brother. "I know sister I feel its evil as well. We must fight it though we do not need its fallacious protection. Those warriors are were our true protection lies." Kuno whispers back as he turns her toward the replaying of the battle at the park. "B..But will the except us brother?" Kodachi shudders at the thought of being abandoned again. Her memories so long hidden, are finally breaking through the buriers she has been building over the decade. She looks up at her brother and in his gray blue eyes she sees his protective walls have also been destroyed. "They will not Dachi-chan, I am sure they will listen to us and will find our offer a valid one." Kuno notices the shifting in the shadows in the foyer. Kuno's eyes narrow as they pierce the darkness, long ago memories of the training he had at the hands of the Ninja retainer his gran..no his father sent to them. He looks into the shadows forcing his pupils to expand to make them believe they are in the shadows as well. /*\*/*\ Sasuke hides in the shadows a small smile on his face. He watches as the young master and mistress watch with horror the battle taking place only a short distance from their fantasy kingdom. He watches as they hold each other and talk quietly. He watches their faces as he witnesses the rebirth of the children so long ago lost to that strange and malevolent kingdom. His smile broadens as he watches his young master use again the lessons he taught him a decade ago. He watches as Kuno uses the shadow eyes technique and when he is sure that the young man has done it, he gives him a smile and thumbs up then disappears deeper into the shadows. He leaves the two siblings to come to terms with their past. /*\*/*\ Tatewaki stares into the shadows and watches as the vision of their retainer comes into view. He tightens his grip in his sister as he feels her sobs increase with the pain of their past coming forth. He looks down at her shaking body and makes a soothing noise to try and calm her. He strokes her hair as he stares back into the shadows. He watches as Sasuke smiles broadly at him then gives him a thumbs up sign before vanishing completely. "Shh, my Dachi-chan we will survive this and we will be the stronger for it. Come lets us prepare to leave. We must not only visit the stronghold of the warriors but we must also make arrangements to keep our _half brother_ away from us." Kuno spits out the last statement. Kodachi nods and allows her brother to lead her to her room. He leaves her at the door and turns to walk away. He stops when he feels her hand on his arm. He turns and looks into her soft gray eyes. Her fear and confusion playing across them loudly. "Bro..Waki-chan, why? Why are you so readily to forgive what I have become?" The young girl asks fear of the answer comes to her young face. "You mean what we both have become my dear sister. Our _family_ abandoned us to the fantasies that we built that night. Our true father never came to claim us or protect us from that _bastard_. We owe them nothing. "Our inheritance is secure and we will finally have the peace we so long have deserved. I forgive you my beloved sister because you forgive me. We are the only family we have left." Tatewaki puts his hand gently on her cheek. His gaze turning toward the sound of the television they left going downstairs. He then turns back to his sister a small genuine smile on his lips. His hand brushing a stray strand of her black hair from her face. "We will now gain a new family my sister one we will help to save our world and in return their acceptance of us will save our sanity." His eyes twinkle with mischief. "Besides my _angel of love_ would not turn down her one true love!" He takes a pose reminiscent of the buffoon he has become. "Oh, brother!" Kodachi giggles and lightly punches his arm. "Now sister we must hurry. We do not know when the next attack will be and we need to be ready." She nods then reaches up and kisses his cheek before disappearing into her room. Tatewaki stands there his face frozen in shock. He then reaches up and puts his hand over where she kissed him. He smiles as he remembers the love they once shared as they were all the family they had back then as well. He turns and heads into his room to prepare for a different kind of battle. /*\*/*\ Nabiki wakes up slowly the alarm buzzing incessantly on her night stand. Her arm reaches out and smacks the button on top. She sighs as the quiet envelopes around her and she drifts back to sleep. *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *GRRRROOOAAANNN!* Nabiki sits up in bed her bare breasts covering in goose pimples as the cold morning air greets them. Her hair flying in every direction and eyes still shut. She reaches at the foot of her bed for the warm terry cloth robe. "ALRIGHT! ALRIGTH! I'M COMING!" She yells at her persistent guest. Nabiki swings her legs over the side of her bed her naked body shivering. She pulls on her warm robe and slips her feet into the warm matching slippers. She looks over at the clock and scowls when she sees it is only four o'clock in the morning. She rises and shuffles toward the door tying her robe close as she goes. She stops at the door, her hand on the locks when she pauses. She looks around in remembrance of where she is and then turns back to the door her scowl deepening. "WHO IS IT!" She yells through the door. *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* Nabiki jumps at the continuance of the loud knocking. She cusses to herself and mumbles something about a peep whole in the door. She comes closer to the door and with a deep breath, shouts through the door. "YOU CAN STOP POUNDING I AM _NOT_ OPENING THIS DOOR UNLESS YOU IDENTIFY YOURSELF!" Even then she wasn't if she doesn't know who it is. There is a long pause on the other side of the door. She listens as she hears feet shuffle back and forth in front of her door. She hears the person on the other side of the door give a muffled growl as it grabs the door knob and starts to shake the door violently. Nabiki backs away from the door her eyes in fear. She lunges for the phone and dial the emergency number for aid. She is quickly connected and tells the operator the problem and where she leaves. *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *RATTLE!* *RATTLE!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* Nabiki stares at the door in fear her mind flashing through images of her being raped, tortured, and killed. Then her mind travels to the images of the battle in the park and her mind turns to more horrible nightmares. She quickly picks up the phone and dials the number of the 'Joketsuzoku Village'. She waits amidst the sounds of the door being shaken and the constant pounding. She hears the phone connecting and her fear diminishes slightly. "Who is this?" Comes the gruff voice on the other end of the phone. "I am sorry Cologne but I need help someone is trying to break into my apartment! I ask who they are but they won't say anything. All I can hear is growling on the other side of the door! EEEPP!" Nabiki jumps as the pounding starts again. *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* "I don't know why they haven't broken in already as hard as they are trying?" Nabiki's voice feels with fear and cracks with controlled sobs. "We will be right there child. You can thank Ran Koh for that, she put a spell on all the entrances to your apartment to protect you from harm. Kasumi asked her to do it." Before Nabiki can say anything Cologne hangs up the phone. *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* "AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGG!" Nabiki backs away from the door her hand clutching at the neck of her robe. She sits on the floor in front of the sofa her legs drawn up around her chest as she keeps her eyes on the door. She wraps her arms around her legs and pulls them in tighter as she tries to let her mind wonder to anything but what is on the other side of her door. /*\*/*\ Ku Lon hangs up the phone, she looks at it with hard cold eyes then jumps from her bed. She goes quickly to Mas Cra's room. She wakes her counterpart and tells what is happening. The two women go and wake several of the Amazon warriors then head out for Nabiki's. /*\*/*\ "Xian Pu you go tell the Light Warriors what is going on. We will be back shortly with Nabiki." Xian Pu looks at her great grandmother sleep clouding her eyes until her words seep into her brain. "BUT XIAN PU WANT HELP!" She wails at the old woman before her. "DON'T ARGUE WITH ME GIRL! NABIKI'S LIFE MAY BE AT STAKE, NOW GO!" Xian Pu nods and leaves for next door, as Ku Lon and the others head out. /*\*/*\ When Xian Pu reaches the apartment building next door she is surprised to see several of the Light Warriors already leaving the complex. One is Msu Tsu, she heads for him. "MSU TSU! YOU TAKE XIAN PU ON BACK!" The ex-Amazon looks at the woman he once loved and deep down still does. "I do not take orders from you or any other _Chinese_ Amazon." He then turns and changes shape. He then takes flight after his friends, leaving a stunned Xian Pu behind. /*\*/*\ Joshua, Megan and Msu Tsu feel the evil in their sleep. They awaken by a sense of foreboding. When they awake they feel the evil more strongly. Though not a large group it is still a power demon. The three quickly dress and run into each other as they leave their apartments. "Did you feel it also?" Joshua asks the other two who nod affirmative. "I can feel the victim's fear!" Msu Tsu tells them. "It feels familiar like I know them." He pauses to concentrate on the fear, when his eyes snap open. "It's Nabiki what ever it is, it is trying to get her!" He heads out the door Joshua and Megan behind him. Once outside Megan transforms into her griffin state. Joshua climbs on board. They pause when they hear the broken Japanese of Xian Pu coming up behind them. They watch at the confrontation of Msu Tsu and the purple hair girl. They both smile as the Hidden Weapons Master does not allow himself to be controlled by her any longer. Once he changes shapes they take off and head for Kasumi's little sister's apartment. /*\*/*\ Nabiki stares at the door as the banging changes to the slamming of a shoulder into it. She watches in horror as the door gives and bows she can see the oozing puss covered fingers try and slip through the small opening. Then hears it howl in pain as the door slams back into place. She stares at the pieces of fingers laying on her floor. Her fear grows as they start to wiggle and grow. She remembers they regenerate but she was hoping not from such small pieces. She pushes herself off the floor and heads for her window. She throws open the drapes only to see another demon trying to get into her apartment more quietly there. Once he sees her he gives up stealth and goes for brute force. She backs away when he slams into the barrier around her windows. She hears a scraping noise and turns to see the fingers have grown into a crawling hand. Nabiki runs to another window and opens the curtain only to see another demon trying to quietly break in. This time though she spots movement behind the demon. Her hopes rise only to fall when she sees hers is not the only building the demons are attacking. She turns to find a second hand crawling toward the window opposite her. She realizes it is going to let the other demons into her apartment. Nabiki lunges for her closet and pulls out the katana and tanto Ran Koh made her take. "Magic within I summon thee!" Nabiki shouts the catch phrase that releases the magic. She next throws the tanto at the hand nearest the window. The magically glowing blade flies true and pins the demon hand against the floor like a butterfly in a collection. She then turns to the hand making its way toward her. The katana glows with the power of the spells that Ran Koh and Nodoka put on them. She takes her ready stance and waits for her demonic opponent to make its move. As she watches she sees the hand grow an arm onto it she knows she can not stop a full grown demon so she attacks. With speed born of desperation she smacks the open end of the arm with the flat of the katana. The sizzling noise tells her she has done what she was expecting. With the growing arm now cauterized she has no fear of it getting longer. Her mind clicks then she turns toward the hand still pinned to the floor and sees an arm coming from it and using the new extension to try and free it from the tanto blade. Nabiki using the Tendo Anything Goes School she picks up a chair and throws it at the tanto causing to go slightly deeper into the floor making it harder for the growing appendage to escape. Nabiki spots movement from her side and turns in time to see free hand and arm jump for her. She rises her katana and swings with both hands. The blade connects with the incoming demon wannabe and she slices it in half. She hears the sizzle of a cauterizing wound and watches as it turns to a puddle of bubbling goop. She then turns toward the other hand. She runs forward and lifts the chair. She sees it struggling to get free but now it has the muscular upper arm. She uses the flat of her katana to stop its growth. Glad for the knowledge she got from the warriors during their first battle. She then rises her katana over her head. She pauses as the two demons at the window increase their efforts to enter her apartment. In the back of her mind she notes how strange the one at the door seems very quiet. She brings down the blade and severs the hand from the arm again the sizzle of heat as the blade seals the wound. She steps back and watches as the demon hand dissolves into the pool of demon remains. She snaps her head up as she hears the first scream. She thinks it is the demons falling to the light warriors, then she realizes it is the demons finally breaking into the other homes around her. Her face goes white as she remembers her aunt in the apartment below her. Nabiki races to her phone and dials her aunts number. She waits impatiently for her aunt to pick up the phone.