LEGACY OF FLAME
(Tendo Household)
It was a normal day, as far as Ranma was concerned. Insanely normal, if anyone else would be in his situation but for Nerima's resident aquatransexual martial-arts prodigy, it was fairly routine. Three months had passed since the failed wedding attempt and things were back to their usual schedule which almost always started with Akane dumping a bucket of water over him just to wake him up for breakfast then school. The fiancées were back to their usual form especially Shampoo and Ukyou who couldn't wait any longer to pester him with their engagements to him, each one claiming the priority of theirs over the other's. Genma still filched food from him while Soun was still his usual, droll self. Kasumi was the same though Nabiki was behaving quite oddly as far as Ranma was concerned. Not that it mattered but ever since he learned that it was Nabiki who sold information to both Ukyou and Shampoo, he chose to distance himself from her and only dealt with her when necessary. Ranma was also improving with his hiding and as such, Nabiki hadn't been getting any good shots of either form. But straight into the last week of the first month, it happened. Ranma had just finished lunch when he heard Nabiki's voice along with a few of her associates as they were talking. It turned out that one of Nabiki's 'clients' was more than due for his payment and she wanted to collect, thus bringing her cohorts along for security. He decided to follow them out of curiousity as they went outside the campus. They found the guy in question in the arcade, an older teen named Hiro Sanada who owed Nabiki big time. Hiro was from the adjacent campus and had his own reputation as a toughie and a gambler even before turning sixteen. Nabiki was quite serious today and Ranma knew that the girls she brought along were no slackers as he recognized most of them from their judo and karate classes in Furinkan High. What Nabiki didn't know was that HIro brought his own gang along since he knew Nabiki would try to force him to pay up. When their conversation turned sour, Hiro whistled his signal and fifteen boys his age stood up from various places in the arcade. Nabiki and her group found themselves outnumbered.
"Let's go take a ride, Tendo. C'mon, boys!" Hiro uttered as the others accosted the girls.
Ranma followed them to a secluded area in the park. Hiro and the others were making fun of Nabiki and company whom they tied to various areas on the fence. Hiro and the others doused the girls with water and hurled various insults at them. Nabiki however, stayed silent all throughout even as her supposedly 'tough' girls were already crying and wetting their skirts with fear. Hiro was a suspected rapist as well though his father's connections always saved him from prosecution. As the guys' laughter subsided, Hiro came close to Nabiki and held her chin.
"What? No witty retort from you, Nabiki? I thought you had come up with something by now," chided Hiro.
Nabiki looked at her tormentor for a few seconds, and then spat in his face. Hiro was livid with anger and raised his arm to strike. It was this time that Ranma decided to interfere. Nabiki was expecting the blow as she closed her eyes but it never came. She decided to see what was happening and saw Ranma holding Hiro by the wrist.
"I wouldn't go that far, Hiro," said Ranma who had a stern cold look on his face.
"Eh? Who do you think you are, butting in like this?" This is none of your business!" declared Hiro who found that he couldn't break free of Ranma's grasp.
"Well, I'm making it my business. It's not very manly of you to take advantage of weak girls especially when you outnumber them two to one," stated Ranma who by now looked like he was almost glowing with anger.
"Oh yeah? Well take this!" declared Hiro who twisted free of Ranma's steel- grip. Hiro was a third-dan blackbelt in karate and often won his duels. But this would be one duel which would linger in his mind for a long time. Ranma easily evaded Hiro's axe-kick while parrying an attack from the side from one of the other boys. All of them were in Hiro's martial-arts class and were quite good and as such, the battle was lopsisded: in Ranma's favor. Hiro could not believe his eyes as he saw Ranma make short work of his posse. Soon all the fifteen were on the ground, unconscious or groaning in pain. Ranma didn't notice that Hiro took the opportunity to threaten Nabiki anew as Ranma was busy knocking out the others. As he turned, Ranma saw that Hiro was already behind Nabiki, holding her hair with one hand while pointing a knife at her throat.
"You move, she dies. Plain and simple. I suggest you surrender now," Hiro jeered.
"R-Ranma. Please do what he says. Don't worry about me, I'll recover," pleaded Nabiki even as Ranma saw in her tears that she was scared to the bone even as she maintained a stoic expression.
"Listen to the little lady, boy. She knows what she's saying and I can make it even worse for her," Hiro jeered further. He signaled to the others who were still conscious to immobilize Ranma.
"That's all a coward like you can do," insulted Ranma even as the other boys grabbed him from the sides and forced him to kneel. One of them hit Ranma even as Ranma was kneeling.
"He-he-he. Ranma, was it? What is she to you? If I'm right, you're her sister's fiancée and Nabiki's fleeced even you. She's victimized a lot of other people as well so why bother saving her?" Hiro asked while playing with the knife's edge, sliding it over Nabiki's neck.
"What she does to me is none of your concern, Hiro. I'm a martial-artist and I protect the weak, no matter who they may be and right now, you're the one victimizing her," Ranma replied.
"Well I don't think there's anything you can do about it now, right? I think I'll go have some fun with her," teased Hiro who added just enough pressure to the knife, drawing a bit of blood from Nabiki who screamed in pain. This was all that Ranma could bear as the sight of Nabiki's blood switched something on. With a feral snarl, he shook free of his captors, knocking each of them down and faced Hiro.
"You hurt her..." was all Ranma said as Hiro saw him disappear from sight and suddenly appear right in front of them. This startled Hiro who reacted by raising his knife in order to stab Nabiki. But he found his hand immobilized as Ranma held the knife by the blade. Hiro suddenly found the knife too hot to hold and let go of it. His hands were badly burned and as he looked at Ranma, he saw that the knife was melting in Ranma's hands even as Ranma was surrounded by a fiery aura.
"You hurt her!!" repeated Ranma who suddenly blurred and attacked Hiro from all sides. Each punch and kick was heavy yet fast and each one left a burning imprint on Hiro who could do nothing. The beating would've gone further if not for Nabiki who yelled for Ranma to stop.
"Ranma! No! That's more than enough! Please, stop! You'll kill him!" uttered Nabiki even as she freed herself and ran towards Ranma.
Ranma was about to dish out even more punishment when he felt a pair of arms grab him from behind in a glomp not unlike Shampoo's. It was a crying Nabiki who refused to let go of him so as to stop him from beating Hiro into a bloody pulp. Nabiki saw that Ranma's eyes had no pupils in them and looked like they were ablaze but these returned when she stopped him.
"Nabiki? He hurt you..." uttered Ranma who seemed like he was coming out from a dream.
"I'm fine, Ranma. Believe me, I'm fine. Th-Thanks for saving me," said Nabiki who was kneeling by his side now as he felt somewhat drained. Ranma saw that the wound on Nabiki's neck was still fresh and tore a piece from his shirt in order to bandage it. Nabiki was surprised at this but thanked Ranma nonetheless. She didn't know that Ranma himself was also surprised by his actions and even as they stood up, he was still confused. Their gazes accidentally met and after a few seconds, Nabiki reached out to touch Ranma's cheek where one of the boys hit him when they thought they had the upper hand.
"I - I think I'll go on ahead," Ranma declared as he ran from the park and leapt onto a roof, disappearing from sight within a few seconds.
"That was strange, but thank you, Ranma," Nabiki thought to herself as she attended to the other girls. Nabiki noticed something on the ground as she was walking towards the area where one of the girls was still tied to the fence. She bent down to pick it up and saw what it was: Hiro's melted knife.
Elsewhere, a certain fat-balding martial artist was roused from his sleep while a woman who was tending to her garden in Juuban dropped her watering- pot.
A week later, Ranma was currently sailing over Nerima courtesy of Akane who malleted him during lunch-hour when he absent-mindedly took both lunches that Ukyou and Shampoo gave him, disregarding Akane's toxic concoction altogether. Ranma noted that his current trajectory was taking him home to the Tendo dojo. He then shifted his body and landed safely on the street adjacent to the dojo. Not wanting to attract attention, Ranma used one of his father's forbidden techniques to render himself invisible. As he turned the corner, he almost bumped into a carpenter who was carrying some lumber and wooden boards, as he exited from the house. Ranma noticed that half of the man's load was new lumber while the other half looked like it had seen much better days. Intrigued, Ranma went into the household for further investigation. What he saw were eleven other carpenters who looked like they had just finished redoing a room or part of the house. At first, Ranma thought that repairs on the house were what these people attended to but saw no proof of it. Another man emerged from the house carrying what seemed to be wires and other stuff in a box. Upon closer inspection, Ranma saw that it was a collection of coaxial-cables with their respective connectors, a dozen or more mini-microphones and finally, a dozen micro- cameras and all these were addressed to the nearest second-hand gadgets store. Ranma found it odd as these were Nabiki's spying equipment. He then heard her voice as she talked to the man who seemed to be the head of the group.
"I hope you didn't forget anything, Mr. Hiyakawa. I must say, your group did their job well," stated Nabiki who was inspecting their handiwork.
"Well, that's all the stuff you wanted removed, ma'am. I made sure the guys took extra care removing them. Mr. Sanozuki was amazed when you offered to sell it all to him. These are surely state-of-the-art gear you have here. Just sign here and we'll be off," stated the supervisor as he handed a receipt-form to Nabiki.
Peeking from the corner, Ranma saw Nabiki as she finished signing for the stuff she sold. The man then handed her a cheque, then took his leave. For all intents and purposes, this meant only one thing: Nabiki had decided to stop spying, on him at least. This was the second thing that she did which utterly confused Ranma. The first one was a week ago when they were heading to school. Kuno was expecting them at the gates again and was about to declare his love for Akane and his pig-tailed goddess when he was knocked out. Ranma and Akane were busy arguing during that time so both were surprised to see a twitching Kuno lying face down on the ground. Since neither of them did it, they scanned around for whoever it was that did it. The only person they saw who was near enough was Nabiki who was muttering to herself about Kuno's denseness. Later that day, he overheard Nabiki saying to Kuno that she wasn't able to get any new photos of the pig-tailed goddess citing their upcoming exams as a major reason. Kuno wasn' arguing back since he was in the same level as Nabiki so their conversation ended with him reminding Nabiki to get more as soon as exams-week was over. Ranma heard Nabiki mutter to herself as Kuno was out of earshot: "As if I would, Kuno. As if I would."
Those were three major incidents that confused Ranma. Was it because he saved her from that Hiro a few weeks before? It was all too confusing for Ranma to think about so he focused his attention instead to his martial- arts. He himself was confused even more as to why and how he was able to do what he did during that time he saved Nabiki. He recalled how Saffron's threatening Akane's life could elicit a similar response from him and even then, he had to use a weapon in order to defeat the phoenix-deity. Why did the sight of Nabiki's blood and her scream awaken something more powerful in him? He distinctly remembered how he suddenly felt his chi flare into life but somewhat differently this time and how he melted Hiro's knife, along with a burning anger that fueled him and infused with his every move. He also remembered how his strikes left a burn on each of the boys. And what was weirder still was that Ranma was able to use the same technique freely now, in fact, he was feeling comfortably warm even while he practiced.
Later that night, Ranma was having a dream. He started having them ever since that day he saved Nabiki. In it, he felt something calling out to him, drawing him nearer. As he walked towards what he thought was calling to him, Ranma heard another distinct presence call to him as well. These two opposing presences vied for his attention and Ranma always woke up when he felt like they would tear him in two.
His sleeping father, on the other hand, usually slept through anything that wasn't cataclysmic. But Genma suddenly roused from his deep sleep at the same time that Ranma was in the middle of his dream. Genma sat up and turned towards Ranma. What he saw left him in awe, though he was expecting something like it. Ranma was tossing and turning in his sleep which was normal for anyone dreaming, but what wasn't normal was that both his hands were aflame. Flames which didn't burn Ranma at all but seemed to originate from him. And the most unnerving of all was that the flames were of different color: the right hand had a reddish-white flame while the left had a purplish-white one. Ranma then woke from his dream, sweating profusely. Ranma saw his father staring at him and was about to ask why when he himself saw the reason: his burning hands. Ranma couldn't say anything and could hardly believe what he was seeing. Genma seemed to snap out of his being dumbstruck and approached his son.
"Pop. What's the meaning of this? Why are my hands.....? Pop!" was all that Ranma could say.
"Its okay, my son. No need to panic. Calm down," Genma advised as he tried to calm Ranma down. Seeing that Ranma wasn't responding, Genma did the only thing that he knew would get Ranma's attention since he noticed that the futon Ranma was on was starting to smolder. Genma raised his hand and produced his own flame.
"Pop! That's......that's what I've got! You too?! What do you mean...?" Ranma asked, amazed at what his father just did and calmed down.
"Like I said, it's okay, son. No need to fear this. All will be explained to you in due time. I suggest you go back to sleep and we'll deal with this thing in the morning. Trust me, Ranma," Genma advised, flaring his hand anew in order to confirm that Ranma did see him do just that. As soon as Ranma was asleep, Genma stood up and went down into the Tendo living room. He went to the phone and dialed a number.
Nodoka Saotome was wide awake at this unholy hour. She too, was awakened when she felt something happen to her son. As she woke up, she noticed that her own futon was slightly smoldering as well so she was expecting this call. She heard her phone ring a few minutes after she got up.
"Genma. It has happened, hasn't it?" Nodoka asked, not even bothering to confirm the identity of the caller as she already knew who it was.
"Yes, dear. But more than that,.....he has BOTH our flames," replied Genma, the serious tone of his voice evident even as he tried hiding it.
"BOTH?!! Then that means....." Nodoka uttered as Genma cut her short.
"That's exactly what it means. Ranma and I will be coming home later today. We'll see you til then, dear. I suggest you sleep some more as we have a long day ahead of us later. Take care," stated Genma as he put the phone down. Nodoka wanted to ask some more but she knew her husband was right. Added worrying was of no use in this situation so she just headed back into her bedroom and went back to bed.
"Damned Orochi," she muttered to herself.
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Morning in the Tendo household was strange today. Genma was on the phone talking to Principal Kuno asking for Ranma to be excused for the rest of the week due to a family emergency. Akane was all confused as to why Ranma had to be excused all of a sudden but nobody was answering her questions. Kasumi was tending to breakfast while Nabiki seemed calm and was actually helping Ranma out with whatever study material he could bring during his break. Her father was of no help as he too seemed to know what was going on and was talking to Genma after Principal Kuno gave his approval.
"Can anybody please tell me what the hack is going on?!!!" Akane yelled.
"I suggest you keep calm for now Akane as this doesn't concern you. I'll explain things to you later but only until then," Soun Tendo sternly replied with a look that Akane couldn't counter for the first time.
"Thanks again, Tendo. I'll call you as soon as we're back in Juuban," Genma said as he thanked his friend.
"Of course, Saotome. I'll join you as soon as I've informed the others. Have safe trip," Soun replied.
"Uh, thanks for the books and tips again, Nabiki. I'll be sure to study them when I'm there," Ranma said on his end as Nabiki gave him his pack.
"No problem, Saotome. Make sure that you do study. I've let your mom know that you really need it so she'll be there to remind you. Call us when you get there," Nabiki replied.
Ranma noticed how Nabiki looked like she wanted to say more but she turned away and went into the kitchen after she realized that she was staring at Ranma,
The farewells were quick and soon, Ranma and his father were heading for the train station. Ranma was about to board the ordinary train when Genma stopped him, pointing to the Shinkansen (bullet-train to westerners) as that was what they were taking to Juuban.
"You serious, pops? A ride on that costs twice as much as the ordinary train. And why do we have to take a train when mom isn't that far away in the first place?" Ranma asked.
"The sooner we get to your mother, boy, the better. Now come on," Genma replied, not really paying attention to his son's query.
As they rode the train, Ranma noticed that a certain passenger was trailing them. He looked like he was about a year older than Ranma and was dressed oddly, mostly a tight-fitting leather outfit reminiscent of western biker gangs. The guy's hair was platinum blonde but didn't seem artificially colored. The guy was in the back of the train and since there were a lot of people riding, his progress was hampered. Ranma had informed Genma of this and Genma immediately advised him to move into the front of the train away from the strange person. This slow chase carried on until they arrived in a station that was way past Juuban whereupon Genma grabbed Ranma by the sleeve and ran towards the exit. Ranma was surprised since Genma was actually leaping over people in the same fashion that he employed over roofs every so often. Once they were on the street, his father pulled him into an alley, and then executed his forbidden stealth-technique. Ranma did the same and was about to ask why when Genma silenced him. They saw the stranger scan his surroundings and was almost to turn into the same alley when he apparently slumped his shoulders in defeat and walked away.
Once Genma was certain that they were alone, he ended the technique and started to walk back towards the train station.
"Another train ride pop? Why the heck did we ride one if we were just going back?" Ranma asked his father who still gave no reply even as they boarded another train though a slower one this time. They got off at the station and proceeded to the area where Nodoka's house was.
"Who was that, Pops? And why did we have to avoid him?" Ranma asked.
"I'll answer your questions once we're home, boy. Now let's hurry," Genma replied.
Ranma decided to hold his questions until they were home. It wasn't far and soon, they were knocking on the gates. Nodoka welcomed her husband and son and they all entered. Once inside, Ranma and Genma immediately proceeded to the living room where they waited for his mother as she went to get tea. She emerged form the kitchen carrying a tea-set on a tray. She sat down opposite Ranma and beside Genma. She poured tea into three cups and they all took one. Ranma noted that the tea was cold and asked his mother why. Nodoka simply smiled.
"Why of course it's cold, son. You'll have to warm it to your own preference," she replied.
Ranma was about to ask further when he saw his mother produce a purple flame from her hand as she held her cup while his father did the same with his purely reddish flame.
"Mother! You mean, you too?" Ranma asked.
Nodoka simply nodded in answer. Genma then proceeded to tell his son about their family's past.
"Yes, son; your mother and I both have the same gift of flame. However, our flames are not of the same source. Where do I start? Oh yes..." and with that, Genma went on.
In the past, there were many ninja clans of various disciplines. Of course, despite their number, clans could often be classified according to the specific thrust of their arts. Assassination was but the tip of the iceberg that was the range of what ninjitsu could actually do and of course, there were good and bad ninja clans. Among those clans which considered themselves good were two highly respected ones: the Kusanagi of the Northwest and the Iagami of the South. The foremost skill of these two was the ability to produce and control flame. It was rumoured that the two clans were actually descended from one founding master but split along the way. But even though they were separate and often competed with each other, the two clans nevertheless were bound by their sacred oath to protect the seal that bound the cursed stone, the Orochi. It was a beautiful jewel infused with a dark power that once ravaged the land and it was defeated once before by the ancient master of flame who founded their schools. It was he who sealed the Orochi away and left specific instructions for his successors to never let the seal get broken. Little did he know that the Orochi was steadily growing in power even as it was sealed away. It called out to one of the Kusanagi masters who was soon taken over completely by it's influence. In the end, it took the combined efforts of both clans who by then, were engaged in a very bitter rivalry even as they were honor- bound to keep the seal on the Orochi. The unholy stone's power was such that even as it faded, it was still able to influence another of the Kusanagi elders and caused him to lay sole claim to the victory, thereby eclipsing the Iagami clan. Unfortunately, it was the definition of their specific roles which also unwittingly aided the lie that the Kusanagi elder perpetuatued. The ancient flame master before then, had produced two specific flames which he considered to be too powerful for any one man or clan to hold thus his splitting them into two clans. But even then, the flame that was to be The Sword was passed on to the Kusanagi clan while the flame that was to The Shield went to the Iagami clam. Thus, most of the Iagami warriors were decimated as they had to take the brunt of the Orochi's attacks, weakening it enough so that it would be helpless once the 'sword' flame of the Kusanagis was used; and so the unfortunate continuation of the bitter feud of the two flame clans.
"Where do we come in that picture pop?" Ranma asked.
"Simple: you see, I am actually from the Kusanagi clan while your mother is from the Iagami clan," Genma replied.
"What?!!" Ranma said in surprise at his father's revelation.
"Your father chose to retain his mother's name of Saotome while I in turn retained my mother's name of Akimoto," Nodoka added.
She went on to tell Ranma about how she and Genma met for the first time. It was actually a chance meeting as she was with 2 of her clan brothers while Genma was with 2 of his own clan. Their assignments were identical: that of ensuring that the seals on the Orochi were still intact. But the feud was such that no sooner than they were done with the inspection, one of her brothers, Kurowa, started to insult Genma and his brothers and they in turn responded in kind save for Genma who wanted to get out of the area immediately. He feared that such a confrontation would only result in a fracas and indeed, such a thing was happening now. Nodoka was trying to pacify her brothers but to no avail and soon, all 4 ninja were flaring up their flames. A battle ensued and neither Genma nor Nodoka could stop it as battle-fever consumed the 4. The place was being decimated by their flames and since they were about equal in power and skill, the battle was a stalemate. It was then that both Genma's and Nodoka's eyes were opened and both saw the need to make their clans do away with the feud. Indeed, even while sealed, the Orochi had influenced the 4 ninja and fanned their hatred, thus making them fight. She and Genma saw this and knew that no amount of reasoning would dissuade their brothers from their fight. She was startled when Genma was suddenly by her side.
"Let's get out of here. There's no more hope for them as the blood-fever has consumed them," Genma suggested.
The 4 ninja were now powering up for their respective final attacks. They launched at about the same time and after a huge explosion, 4 burnt corpses were lying on the ground. Genma and Nodoka left hurriedly as they knew that others from both their clan would've sensed this battle and would be arriving soon.
After half an hour of fleeing, the 2 of them decided to rest in an abandoned temple in the outskirts of the city. It was getting cold in the night so Genma had gathered a few branches and started a small but ample campfire. Nodoka was about to belittle his use of the flame when she realized that the compulsion to do so was gone. She sensed how it faded steadily as they went farther away from the Orochi and she knew that Genma sensed this too. The 2 accidentally locked gazes and it was Genma who spoke first.
"I was actually awaiting your barb but it never came. What does this mean then?" Genma asked.
"It may have something to do with this temple," Nodoka replied.
She and Genma stood up and proceeded to inspect the temple. The fact that it was old gave a slight clue to what was happening to them. After a thorough inspection, they came upon a very old scroll in the middle of what used to be an altar. In it were text and a few illustrations which clearly showed the Orochi being used by a flame-master like themselves. But what was surprising was the figure of another person who was clearly another flame master. What was strange was that the one with the Orochi had purplish-black flame while the other had purple-white AND reddish-white flame in either of his hands. What they read was actually the account of the 1st time that the Orochi was sealed away.
(Tendo Household)
It was a normal day, as far as Ranma was concerned. Insanely normal, if anyone else would be in his situation but for Nerima's resident aquatransexual martial-arts prodigy, it was fairly routine. Three months had passed since the failed wedding attempt and things were back to their usual schedule which almost always started with Akane dumping a bucket of water over him just to wake him up for breakfast then school. The fiancées were back to their usual form especially Shampoo and Ukyou who couldn't wait any longer to pester him with their engagements to him, each one claiming the priority of theirs over the other's. Genma still filched food from him while Soun was still his usual, droll self. Kasumi was the same though Nabiki was behaving quite oddly as far as Ranma was concerned. Not that it mattered but ever since he learned that it was Nabiki who sold information to both Ukyou and Shampoo, he chose to distance himself from her and only dealt with her when necessary. Ranma was also improving with his hiding and as such, Nabiki hadn't been getting any good shots of either form. But straight into the last week of the first month, it happened. Ranma had just finished lunch when he heard Nabiki's voice along with a few of her associates as they were talking. It turned out that one of Nabiki's 'clients' was more than due for his payment and she wanted to collect, thus bringing her cohorts along for security. He decided to follow them out of curiousity as they went outside the campus. They found the guy in question in the arcade, an older teen named Hiro Sanada who owed Nabiki big time. Hiro was from the adjacent campus and had his own reputation as a toughie and a gambler even before turning sixteen. Nabiki was quite serious today and Ranma knew that the girls she brought along were no slackers as he recognized most of them from their judo and karate classes in Furinkan High. What Nabiki didn't know was that HIro brought his own gang along since he knew Nabiki would try to force him to pay up. When their conversation turned sour, Hiro whistled his signal and fifteen boys his age stood up from various places in the arcade. Nabiki and her group found themselves outnumbered.
"Let's go take a ride, Tendo. C'mon, boys!" Hiro uttered as the others accosted the girls.
Ranma followed them to a secluded area in the park. Hiro and the others were making fun of Nabiki and company whom they tied to various areas on the fence. Hiro and the others doused the girls with water and hurled various insults at them. Nabiki however, stayed silent all throughout even as her supposedly 'tough' girls were already crying and wetting their skirts with fear. Hiro was a suspected rapist as well though his father's connections always saved him from prosecution. As the guys' laughter subsided, Hiro came close to Nabiki and held her chin.
"What? No witty retort from you, Nabiki? I thought you had come up with something by now," chided Hiro.
Nabiki looked at her tormentor for a few seconds, and then spat in his face. Hiro was livid with anger and raised his arm to strike. It was this time that Ranma decided to interfere. Nabiki was expecting the blow as she closed her eyes but it never came. She decided to see what was happening and saw Ranma holding Hiro by the wrist.
"I wouldn't go that far, Hiro," said Ranma who had a stern cold look on his face.
"Eh? Who do you think you are, butting in like this?" This is none of your business!" declared Hiro who found that he couldn't break free of Ranma's grasp.
"Well, I'm making it my business. It's not very manly of you to take advantage of weak girls especially when you outnumber them two to one," stated Ranma who by now looked like he was almost glowing with anger.
"Oh yeah? Well take this!" declared Hiro who twisted free of Ranma's steel- grip. Hiro was a third-dan blackbelt in karate and often won his duels. But this would be one duel which would linger in his mind for a long time. Ranma easily evaded Hiro's axe-kick while parrying an attack from the side from one of the other boys. All of them were in Hiro's martial-arts class and were quite good and as such, the battle was lopsisded: in Ranma's favor. Hiro could not believe his eyes as he saw Ranma make short work of his posse. Soon all the fifteen were on the ground, unconscious or groaning in pain. Ranma didn't notice that Hiro took the opportunity to threaten Nabiki anew as Ranma was busy knocking out the others. As he turned, Ranma saw that Hiro was already behind Nabiki, holding her hair with one hand while pointing a knife at her throat.
"You move, she dies. Plain and simple. I suggest you surrender now," Hiro jeered.
"R-Ranma. Please do what he says. Don't worry about me, I'll recover," pleaded Nabiki even as Ranma saw in her tears that she was scared to the bone even as she maintained a stoic expression.
"Listen to the little lady, boy. She knows what she's saying and I can make it even worse for her," Hiro jeered further. He signaled to the others who were still conscious to immobilize Ranma.
"That's all a coward like you can do," insulted Ranma even as the other boys grabbed him from the sides and forced him to kneel. One of them hit Ranma even as Ranma was kneeling.
"He-he-he. Ranma, was it? What is she to you? If I'm right, you're her sister's fiancée and Nabiki's fleeced even you. She's victimized a lot of other people as well so why bother saving her?" Hiro asked while playing with the knife's edge, sliding it over Nabiki's neck.
"What she does to me is none of your concern, Hiro. I'm a martial-artist and I protect the weak, no matter who they may be and right now, you're the one victimizing her," Ranma replied.
"Well I don't think there's anything you can do about it now, right? I think I'll go have some fun with her," teased Hiro who added just enough pressure to the knife, drawing a bit of blood from Nabiki who screamed in pain. This was all that Ranma could bear as the sight of Nabiki's blood switched something on. With a feral snarl, he shook free of his captors, knocking each of them down and faced Hiro.
"You hurt her..." was all Ranma said as Hiro saw him disappear from sight and suddenly appear right in front of them. This startled Hiro who reacted by raising his knife in order to stab Nabiki. But he found his hand immobilized as Ranma held the knife by the blade. Hiro suddenly found the knife too hot to hold and let go of it. His hands were badly burned and as he looked at Ranma, he saw that the knife was melting in Ranma's hands even as Ranma was surrounded by a fiery aura.
"You hurt her!!" repeated Ranma who suddenly blurred and attacked Hiro from all sides. Each punch and kick was heavy yet fast and each one left a burning imprint on Hiro who could do nothing. The beating would've gone further if not for Nabiki who yelled for Ranma to stop.
"Ranma! No! That's more than enough! Please, stop! You'll kill him!" uttered Nabiki even as she freed herself and ran towards Ranma.
Ranma was about to dish out even more punishment when he felt a pair of arms grab him from behind in a glomp not unlike Shampoo's. It was a crying Nabiki who refused to let go of him so as to stop him from beating Hiro into a bloody pulp. Nabiki saw that Ranma's eyes had no pupils in them and looked like they were ablaze but these returned when she stopped him.
"Nabiki? He hurt you..." uttered Ranma who seemed like he was coming out from a dream.
"I'm fine, Ranma. Believe me, I'm fine. Th-Thanks for saving me," said Nabiki who was kneeling by his side now as he felt somewhat drained. Ranma saw that the wound on Nabiki's neck was still fresh and tore a piece from his shirt in order to bandage it. Nabiki was surprised at this but thanked Ranma nonetheless. She didn't know that Ranma himself was also surprised by his actions and even as they stood up, he was still confused. Their gazes accidentally met and after a few seconds, Nabiki reached out to touch Ranma's cheek where one of the boys hit him when they thought they had the upper hand.
"I - I think I'll go on ahead," Ranma declared as he ran from the park and leapt onto a roof, disappearing from sight within a few seconds.
"That was strange, but thank you, Ranma," Nabiki thought to herself as she attended to the other girls. Nabiki noticed something on the ground as she was walking towards the area where one of the girls was still tied to the fence. She bent down to pick it up and saw what it was: Hiro's melted knife.
Elsewhere, a certain fat-balding martial artist was roused from his sleep while a woman who was tending to her garden in Juuban dropped her watering- pot.
A week later, Ranma was currently sailing over Nerima courtesy of Akane who malleted him during lunch-hour when he absent-mindedly took both lunches that Ukyou and Shampoo gave him, disregarding Akane's toxic concoction altogether. Ranma noted that his current trajectory was taking him home to the Tendo dojo. He then shifted his body and landed safely on the street adjacent to the dojo. Not wanting to attract attention, Ranma used one of his father's forbidden techniques to render himself invisible. As he turned the corner, he almost bumped into a carpenter who was carrying some lumber and wooden boards, as he exited from the house. Ranma noticed that half of the man's load was new lumber while the other half looked like it had seen much better days. Intrigued, Ranma went into the household for further investigation. What he saw were eleven other carpenters who looked like they had just finished redoing a room or part of the house. At first, Ranma thought that repairs on the house were what these people attended to but saw no proof of it. Another man emerged from the house carrying what seemed to be wires and other stuff in a box. Upon closer inspection, Ranma saw that it was a collection of coaxial-cables with their respective connectors, a dozen or more mini-microphones and finally, a dozen micro- cameras and all these were addressed to the nearest second-hand gadgets store. Ranma found it odd as these were Nabiki's spying equipment. He then heard her voice as she talked to the man who seemed to be the head of the group.
"I hope you didn't forget anything, Mr. Hiyakawa. I must say, your group did their job well," stated Nabiki who was inspecting their handiwork.
"Well, that's all the stuff you wanted removed, ma'am. I made sure the guys took extra care removing them. Mr. Sanozuki was amazed when you offered to sell it all to him. These are surely state-of-the-art gear you have here. Just sign here and we'll be off," stated the supervisor as he handed a receipt-form to Nabiki.
Peeking from the corner, Ranma saw Nabiki as she finished signing for the stuff she sold. The man then handed her a cheque, then took his leave. For all intents and purposes, this meant only one thing: Nabiki had decided to stop spying, on him at least. This was the second thing that she did which utterly confused Ranma. The first one was a week ago when they were heading to school. Kuno was expecting them at the gates again and was about to declare his love for Akane and his pig-tailed goddess when he was knocked out. Ranma and Akane were busy arguing during that time so both were surprised to see a twitching Kuno lying face down on the ground. Since neither of them did it, they scanned around for whoever it was that did it. The only person they saw who was near enough was Nabiki who was muttering to herself about Kuno's denseness. Later that day, he overheard Nabiki saying to Kuno that she wasn't able to get any new photos of the pig-tailed goddess citing their upcoming exams as a major reason. Kuno wasn' arguing back since he was in the same level as Nabiki so their conversation ended with him reminding Nabiki to get more as soon as exams-week was over. Ranma heard Nabiki mutter to herself as Kuno was out of earshot: "As if I would, Kuno. As if I would."
Those were three major incidents that confused Ranma. Was it because he saved her from that Hiro a few weeks before? It was all too confusing for Ranma to think about so he focused his attention instead to his martial- arts. He himself was confused even more as to why and how he was able to do what he did during that time he saved Nabiki. He recalled how Saffron's threatening Akane's life could elicit a similar response from him and even then, he had to use a weapon in order to defeat the phoenix-deity. Why did the sight of Nabiki's blood and her scream awaken something more powerful in him? He distinctly remembered how he suddenly felt his chi flare into life but somewhat differently this time and how he melted Hiro's knife, along with a burning anger that fueled him and infused with his every move. He also remembered how his strikes left a burn on each of the boys. And what was weirder still was that Ranma was able to use the same technique freely now, in fact, he was feeling comfortably warm even while he practiced.
Later that night, Ranma was having a dream. He started having them ever since that day he saved Nabiki. In it, he felt something calling out to him, drawing him nearer. As he walked towards what he thought was calling to him, Ranma heard another distinct presence call to him as well. These two opposing presences vied for his attention and Ranma always woke up when he felt like they would tear him in two.
His sleeping father, on the other hand, usually slept through anything that wasn't cataclysmic. But Genma suddenly roused from his deep sleep at the same time that Ranma was in the middle of his dream. Genma sat up and turned towards Ranma. What he saw left him in awe, though he was expecting something like it. Ranma was tossing and turning in his sleep which was normal for anyone dreaming, but what wasn't normal was that both his hands were aflame. Flames which didn't burn Ranma at all but seemed to originate from him. And the most unnerving of all was that the flames were of different color: the right hand had a reddish-white flame while the left had a purplish-white one. Ranma then woke from his dream, sweating profusely. Ranma saw his father staring at him and was about to ask why when he himself saw the reason: his burning hands. Ranma couldn't say anything and could hardly believe what he was seeing. Genma seemed to snap out of his being dumbstruck and approached his son.
"Pop. What's the meaning of this? Why are my hands.....? Pop!" was all that Ranma could say.
"Its okay, my son. No need to panic. Calm down," Genma advised as he tried to calm Ranma down. Seeing that Ranma wasn't responding, Genma did the only thing that he knew would get Ranma's attention since he noticed that the futon Ranma was on was starting to smolder. Genma raised his hand and produced his own flame.
"Pop! That's......that's what I've got! You too?! What do you mean...?" Ranma asked, amazed at what his father just did and calmed down.
"Like I said, it's okay, son. No need to fear this. All will be explained to you in due time. I suggest you go back to sleep and we'll deal with this thing in the morning. Trust me, Ranma," Genma advised, flaring his hand anew in order to confirm that Ranma did see him do just that. As soon as Ranma was asleep, Genma stood up and went down into the Tendo living room. He went to the phone and dialed a number.
Nodoka Saotome was wide awake at this unholy hour. She too, was awakened when she felt something happen to her son. As she woke up, she noticed that her own futon was slightly smoldering as well so she was expecting this call. She heard her phone ring a few minutes after she got up.
"Genma. It has happened, hasn't it?" Nodoka asked, not even bothering to confirm the identity of the caller as she already knew who it was.
"Yes, dear. But more than that,.....he has BOTH our flames," replied Genma, the serious tone of his voice evident even as he tried hiding it.
"BOTH?!! Then that means....." Nodoka uttered as Genma cut her short.
"That's exactly what it means. Ranma and I will be coming home later today. We'll see you til then, dear. I suggest you sleep some more as we have a long day ahead of us later. Take care," stated Genma as he put the phone down. Nodoka wanted to ask some more but she knew her husband was right. Added worrying was of no use in this situation so she just headed back into her bedroom and went back to bed.
"Damned Orochi," she muttered to herself.
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Morning in the Tendo household was strange today. Genma was on the phone talking to Principal Kuno asking for Ranma to be excused for the rest of the week due to a family emergency. Akane was all confused as to why Ranma had to be excused all of a sudden but nobody was answering her questions. Kasumi was tending to breakfast while Nabiki seemed calm and was actually helping Ranma out with whatever study material he could bring during his break. Her father was of no help as he too seemed to know what was going on and was talking to Genma after Principal Kuno gave his approval.
"Can anybody please tell me what the hack is going on?!!!" Akane yelled.
"I suggest you keep calm for now Akane as this doesn't concern you. I'll explain things to you later but only until then," Soun Tendo sternly replied with a look that Akane couldn't counter for the first time.
"Thanks again, Tendo. I'll call you as soon as we're back in Juuban," Genma said as he thanked his friend.
"Of course, Saotome. I'll join you as soon as I've informed the others. Have safe trip," Soun replied.
"Uh, thanks for the books and tips again, Nabiki. I'll be sure to study them when I'm there," Ranma said on his end as Nabiki gave him his pack.
"No problem, Saotome. Make sure that you do study. I've let your mom know that you really need it so she'll be there to remind you. Call us when you get there," Nabiki replied.
Ranma noticed how Nabiki looked like she wanted to say more but she turned away and went into the kitchen after she realized that she was staring at Ranma,
The farewells were quick and soon, Ranma and his father were heading for the train station. Ranma was about to board the ordinary train when Genma stopped him, pointing to the Shinkansen (bullet-train to westerners) as that was what they were taking to Juuban.
"You serious, pops? A ride on that costs twice as much as the ordinary train. And why do we have to take a train when mom isn't that far away in the first place?" Ranma asked.
"The sooner we get to your mother, boy, the better. Now come on," Genma replied, not really paying attention to his son's query.
As they rode the train, Ranma noticed that a certain passenger was trailing them. He looked like he was about a year older than Ranma and was dressed oddly, mostly a tight-fitting leather outfit reminiscent of western biker gangs. The guy's hair was platinum blonde but didn't seem artificially colored. The guy was in the back of the train and since there were a lot of people riding, his progress was hampered. Ranma had informed Genma of this and Genma immediately advised him to move into the front of the train away from the strange person. This slow chase carried on until they arrived in a station that was way past Juuban whereupon Genma grabbed Ranma by the sleeve and ran towards the exit. Ranma was surprised since Genma was actually leaping over people in the same fashion that he employed over roofs every so often. Once they were on the street, his father pulled him into an alley, and then executed his forbidden stealth-technique. Ranma did the same and was about to ask why when Genma silenced him. They saw the stranger scan his surroundings and was almost to turn into the same alley when he apparently slumped his shoulders in defeat and walked away.
Once Genma was certain that they were alone, he ended the technique and started to walk back towards the train station.
"Another train ride pop? Why the heck did we ride one if we were just going back?" Ranma asked his father who still gave no reply even as they boarded another train though a slower one this time. They got off at the station and proceeded to the area where Nodoka's house was.
"Who was that, Pops? And why did we have to avoid him?" Ranma asked.
"I'll answer your questions once we're home, boy. Now let's hurry," Genma replied.
Ranma decided to hold his questions until they were home. It wasn't far and soon, they were knocking on the gates. Nodoka welcomed her husband and son and they all entered. Once inside, Ranma and Genma immediately proceeded to the living room where they waited for his mother as she went to get tea. She emerged form the kitchen carrying a tea-set on a tray. She sat down opposite Ranma and beside Genma. She poured tea into three cups and they all took one. Ranma noted that the tea was cold and asked his mother why. Nodoka simply smiled.
"Why of course it's cold, son. You'll have to warm it to your own preference," she replied.
Ranma was about to ask further when he saw his mother produce a purple flame from her hand as she held her cup while his father did the same with his purely reddish flame.
"Mother! You mean, you too?" Ranma asked.
Nodoka simply nodded in answer. Genma then proceeded to tell his son about their family's past.
"Yes, son; your mother and I both have the same gift of flame. However, our flames are not of the same source. Where do I start? Oh yes..." and with that, Genma went on.
In the past, there were many ninja clans of various disciplines. Of course, despite their number, clans could often be classified according to the specific thrust of their arts. Assassination was but the tip of the iceberg that was the range of what ninjitsu could actually do and of course, there were good and bad ninja clans. Among those clans which considered themselves good were two highly respected ones: the Kusanagi of the Northwest and the Iagami of the South. The foremost skill of these two was the ability to produce and control flame. It was rumoured that the two clans were actually descended from one founding master but split along the way. But even though they were separate and often competed with each other, the two clans nevertheless were bound by their sacred oath to protect the seal that bound the cursed stone, the Orochi. It was a beautiful jewel infused with a dark power that once ravaged the land and it was defeated once before by the ancient master of flame who founded their schools. It was he who sealed the Orochi away and left specific instructions for his successors to never let the seal get broken. Little did he know that the Orochi was steadily growing in power even as it was sealed away. It called out to one of the Kusanagi masters who was soon taken over completely by it's influence. In the end, it took the combined efforts of both clans who by then, were engaged in a very bitter rivalry even as they were honor- bound to keep the seal on the Orochi. The unholy stone's power was such that even as it faded, it was still able to influence another of the Kusanagi elders and caused him to lay sole claim to the victory, thereby eclipsing the Iagami clan. Unfortunately, it was the definition of their specific roles which also unwittingly aided the lie that the Kusanagi elder perpetuatued. The ancient flame master before then, had produced two specific flames which he considered to be too powerful for any one man or clan to hold thus his splitting them into two clans. But even then, the flame that was to be The Sword was passed on to the Kusanagi clan while the flame that was to The Shield went to the Iagami clam. Thus, most of the Iagami warriors were decimated as they had to take the brunt of the Orochi's attacks, weakening it enough so that it would be helpless once the 'sword' flame of the Kusanagis was used; and so the unfortunate continuation of the bitter feud of the two flame clans.
"Where do we come in that picture pop?" Ranma asked.
"Simple: you see, I am actually from the Kusanagi clan while your mother is from the Iagami clan," Genma replied.
"What?!!" Ranma said in surprise at his father's revelation.
"Your father chose to retain his mother's name of Saotome while I in turn retained my mother's name of Akimoto," Nodoka added.
She went on to tell Ranma about how she and Genma met for the first time. It was actually a chance meeting as she was with 2 of her clan brothers while Genma was with 2 of his own clan. Their assignments were identical: that of ensuring that the seals on the Orochi were still intact. But the feud was such that no sooner than they were done with the inspection, one of her brothers, Kurowa, started to insult Genma and his brothers and they in turn responded in kind save for Genma who wanted to get out of the area immediately. He feared that such a confrontation would only result in a fracas and indeed, such a thing was happening now. Nodoka was trying to pacify her brothers but to no avail and soon, all 4 ninja were flaring up their flames. A battle ensued and neither Genma nor Nodoka could stop it as battle-fever consumed the 4. The place was being decimated by their flames and since they were about equal in power and skill, the battle was a stalemate. It was then that both Genma's and Nodoka's eyes were opened and both saw the need to make their clans do away with the feud. Indeed, even while sealed, the Orochi had influenced the 4 ninja and fanned their hatred, thus making them fight. She and Genma saw this and knew that no amount of reasoning would dissuade their brothers from their fight. She was startled when Genma was suddenly by her side.
"Let's get out of here. There's no more hope for them as the blood-fever has consumed them," Genma suggested.
The 4 ninja were now powering up for their respective final attacks. They launched at about the same time and after a huge explosion, 4 burnt corpses were lying on the ground. Genma and Nodoka left hurriedly as they knew that others from both their clan would've sensed this battle and would be arriving soon.
After half an hour of fleeing, the 2 of them decided to rest in an abandoned temple in the outskirts of the city. It was getting cold in the night so Genma had gathered a few branches and started a small but ample campfire. Nodoka was about to belittle his use of the flame when she realized that the compulsion to do so was gone. She sensed how it faded steadily as they went farther away from the Orochi and she knew that Genma sensed this too. The 2 accidentally locked gazes and it was Genma who spoke first.
"I was actually awaiting your barb but it never came. What does this mean then?" Genma asked.
"It may have something to do with this temple," Nodoka replied.
She and Genma stood up and proceeded to inspect the temple. The fact that it was old gave a slight clue to what was happening to them. After a thorough inspection, they came upon a very old scroll in the middle of what used to be an altar. In it were text and a few illustrations which clearly showed the Orochi being used by a flame-master like themselves. But what was surprising was the figure of another person who was clearly another flame master. What was strange was that the one with the Orochi had purplish-black flame while the other had purple-white AND reddish-white flame in either of his hands. What they read was actually the account of the 1st time that the Orochi was sealed away.