Aria of Malice

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ nor do I own Castlevania, wit hall titles to it… I only own the general storyline, thanks to playing Aria of Sorrow one too many times…

Belmont's, Vampire Killer and Castlevania

It was another usual day in the sunny and bright prefecture of Nerima. The birds were chirping, the sun was high in the sky and shone brightly, the cries of rage and anger from Ranma's enemies were heard, disturbing the birds and the occasional sound of something breaking was heard…

A perfect day in Nerima, with abuse being heaped upon one Saotome Ranma, whose father had destined that for him, being the wise and courageous and so manly man that he was…

Somewhere in the world, the author burst into laughter at the image of Genma being honorable and swears that when he is, Apocalypse will come, with the author being Pestilence…

Blood was slowly moving through his body, recuperating it very fast, faster then any human. He could feel how his muscles protesting against movement, a 'lovely' fiancé about to feed him something which looked like it was still alive and was covered in brown mucus, something which seemed to still move on its own, probably poured onto it while the primary thing was unmoving.

He absently scanned the room for any route of escape, but realized that he'd just have to be a man and make sure that he was alive, and not dead.

Something inside of him died that day… normally he looked at life with more vibrancy in his eyes, which seemed to be normal for him, but his close brush with death had made him gain a new appreciation for life… however… the meeting with the cooking came back to him… Akane had forced her concoction down his throat amidst his heavy protests and he could not help but feel his stomach still being upset, however it was calming down fast now… It had been three days, which was an improvement from a week earlier, when he had been out for 4 days.

He looked at the peaceful birds, already making up his mind about what he was going to do. An odd peace settled over him, making him feel very content with just sitting there on the porch and enjoying the peace. He looked at one of the birds, beckoning it to come to him with a hand, and as if by a miracle, it flew down from the branch of the tree and landed on his hand, on which it sat to look at him with bird eyes which seemed to shine with sadness "You feel it too, haven't you?" he muttered, looking at the bird before sighing, getting up to attend to the violent tomboy who had made his life a good part of hell. He wished that it could have been other then this, more peaceful, but he knew that there would be no such time…

Akane looked at her fiancé with her brown eyes looking somewhat distraught "You will accompany me to the Shrine tomorrow." Ranma frowned at that, since it had been a tradition of the school to have a trip to a shrine with the school…

The ride towards it was very chaotic, with Ranma getting splashed a few times, but he always heated some water to make sure that there would be him turning back into a guy. the trip was tiring him out already, making him feel a bit woozy until they finally arrived.

He looked at the shrine and then sighed and muttered "There will probably be a demon or something imprisoned here who will see Akane as the perfect bride and then attempt to marry her or do something to her, and I'll have to play the gallant hero once again…" Akane gave him a prod in the side and he sighed deeply and then walked next to her like a loyal puppy, internally wondering how the things could have gotten so messed up…

He looked at the shrine once again, seeing where shrine maidens did their duty, giving him a sense of nostalgia, making him feel like he had already seen this one time before. He looked at his watch, while Hinako-sensei gave a lecture about this being a shrine dedicated to Amaterasu, only a minor shrine however, but still had a length of history.

He was waiting for the next suitor, rival or whatever to appear, but only heard a low rumble and he sighed, as he looked at the altar which held a strange stone on it. He seemed to find it interesting as his gaze lingered upon it. It wasn't a particularly big stone, but it seemed to compel him to touch it, to feel it…

He could see it pulsating with some sort of light; compelling him to walk to it and pick it up… he looked at the fellow students of his class and saw that they were listening to Hinako-sensei with intensity, because she had just shifted forms into an adult once again.

"What is that crimson stone on the altar for?" he asked one of the attendants, who looked at him and said "It was a possession of a vampire, which had been entrusted to us by the vampire himself, since it would be a nice addition to the shrine or something like that. We have the exact proceedings copied somewhere, but what has been told, the stone has been in our possession ever since 1699. The vampire then supposedly disappeared, leaving it as an artifact."

Ranma nodded and asked "Anything of interest about it?" the attendant nodded and saying "It is untouchable by any of us, having lain there for over 300 years. If the altar is damaged, it automatically repairs with that stone on it, still laying there even though a bullet has impacted with it, no trace of it being visible after a night." Ranma could feel the pull increasing and without really thinking about it, he went to the altar, looking closely at the stone and then reaching out to touch it.

When his hand reached it, the stone seemed to hum for a moment before settling down. He touched it with the tips of his fingers, before picking the stone up and looking at the attendant. "No word of this is to be said…" the attendant got a dreamy look on his face and he repeated: "No word is told about this."

Ranma nodded and rejoined the class once again. "… This shrine has been used in the Second World War as a general relief post by the Japanese army, making it into a historical place which has seen its share of battles. The Americans didn't retaliate too much, since destroying this place would be hard, due to the forests and such making it difficult to pinpoint this place. Generally, almost no combat has occurred here, though Hiroshima was hit pretty badly by the nuclear bomb which they dropped onto it."

Ranma could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as he watched something appear in the air, looking at the class with hungry yellow eyes. He was not surprised when a woman dressed in very skimpy clothing appeared in the middle of the class, holding Akane by the neck and saying; "She shall be used as the sacrifice to revive the Master!"

"No, she won't." he muttered as he saw Akane struggle in vain with the creature's grip and he grinned softly at the look on Akane's face which promised murder. He smiled softly and then moved into motion, looking at the creature for a second before he smashed his fist into her face, making her fly back because of the force used. He grinned softly and then walked towards the creature slowly, watching it crawl out of the indentation it made in the wall. Akane had been released and Ranma's ire was awakened as he looked at the bat-like wings which emerged from the creature's back and he smiled softly as his hand began to glow with Ki.

Suddenly a pulse from the crimson stone in his pocket made the power increase and turn a deadly red and he lashed out, slamming his fist straight through the gut of the creature, causing it to look at him, the talons which were her hands now hanging limply to the sides.

"M-m-master?" it uttered softly in English and he smiled softly and then watched how she seemed to fade away, like a bad dream and then could feel a feeling in his body, something being added to it, strengthening him…

"You flirted with that, that floozy!" he heard close to his ear and he was on the receiving end of a fist of Akane, using Ki to enhance the power, sending him crashing into the ground, creating a small crater in the pavement. He looked at the girl with an unreadable expression on his face and then got up and muttered something about useless weak-minded tomboys.

When he returned to the Tendo house, he looked at the man who caused him a lot of trouble, being the patriarchal figure to him, his father, Genma. He looked at the fat man and how well-behaved he looked while his mother was around, making him very… displeased with the man's previous habits.

"Ranma-kun, I please talk to you in private? It's important…" she said looking at him, and at that moment, a few things happened. She had been carrying some sort of box, which caught the attention of several of the local residents, and one of the walls came crashing down, with an Amazon trio emerging from it.

From a side door, a yellow and black dressed youth emerged, cursing Ranma's existence while also making Nodoka have a big sweat drop on the back of her head as the boy was shouting something about Ranma making him be chased by strange furry things which touched him in the ass… Someone should do the world a favor a shoot the idiot in the legs then send him back to the 'fury things'... Ranma would be the prime dispenser of that justice in the Author's mind.

From the normal entrance, an Okonomiyaki chef emerged, looking at Ranma while Akane looked to be a bit pissed off…

And to top it all off, a man who looked like a little puppet /gnome/troll/abomination/male mummified demon monkey/imp/uncle of barney appeared with a mirror in hand, gleefully exclaiming something about more silky darlings to be liberated in the future…

Happosai stumbled over Genma's legs, causing the mirror to shatter, which wasn't good because of the case in Nodoka's hands and the stone in Ranma's pocket, the mirror shards began to turn into some sort of portal which sucked them all into it, into a destination unknown…

The feeling of being inside the portal made him feel a bit nauseous, but the crimson stone in his pocket pulsated once, sending a surge of comfort seep through him, making him feel very sleepy

When he appeared up in the air, he landed on his feet, like he usually did, looking around for any sign of life. He absently noted that there was a castle gate behind them and that it was in a medieval western style. He could feel a sense of belonging settle over him and he looked at his mother who had turned ashen in the face, looking at the castle around them while the rest of the people looked in stunned realization.

The moon was blood red in the sky, looking large to him, and Ranma could sense that there would be something happening… he looked to see a pale dark haired man look at him and he nodded, seeing the man do the same and then step forth. "May I ask what you are doing here?"

Nodoka looked at the man and then answered "I am Belmont Nodoka and this is my son, Saotome Ranma, who will wield the Vampire Killer. This is the castle right?" Ranma looked at the man as he nodded slowly and replyed "Hai, this is the castle."

"Castlevania…" he muttered, slowly looking at the spires and the arches which went there and grinning as he recognized them, his soul reaching out for a hint of that darkness which permeated the air… the crimson stone was pulsating within his pocket, making him itch to bring the stone out and just do whatever it wanted.

"My name is Genya Arikadou and I am of the Japanese Intelligence bureau here to investigate this castle, Castlevania." Nodoka nodded and asked "What year is it?" Genya closed his eyes and said "The year is 2035."

The group froze. Except Ranma. He looked at the man with a glint in his eyes. "So this means we're in the future… oh well, as long as there is no older Happosai or Cologne here I'm fine with it…"

That garnered him a bonk on the head by Akane who lectured him on dishonoring his elders…

Ranma shook his head and inquired "What was that about a Vampire Killer?" Nodoka looked at him and said "Since we are here, I can tell all of you. Even though I wanted to train you in vampire killing myself to eventually fight Dracula, it is better that you get some practical experience…" he looked at her and then she opened the case and revealed the whip in all its glory, laying there, thorns adorning it.

He could feel a brief shudder go through him and she spoke "I am of the Belmont clan of vampire hunters, sworn to defeat Dracula with the whip Vampire Killer. This is our legacy, of which you are too… you must fight to defeat Dracula, or the world will be steeped within eternal darkness."

Ranma nodded slowly, the crimson stone within his pocket giving some sort of feeling of discontent and he watched as she got out the whip and handed it to him. He was reluctant to touch the whip, and when he touched the handle, his eyes went wide and he sank to his knees as a wave of excruciating power surged through him, burning his flesh, the flesh sizzling where he had taken the whip in his hand and he let it drop to the ground, shaking in pain…

"Cats…" he shivered, the memory coming to his mind…

Nodoka's reaction was one of surprise: "Strange, it shouldn't do that… and what was that about cats?" Genya was the first to speak "I sense you have a great fear of cats… were you perhaps trained in the neko-ken?"

Ranma nodded slowly and Genya's face contorted into a grimace of anger. "That would be quite a logical explanation as to why you can't wield Vampire Killer. The Neko-ken is a B level Demon Summoning ritual, binding the soul of a cat demon to a small child, granting the child awesome power, at the loss of his sanity…. How did you survive? Who taught it to you?"

Nodoka's eyes widened and she looked at her husband who was cowering slightly, beads of sweat on his brow. "My father. How I survived, I do not know, but I freak every time I see a cat…"

Genya looked at the assembled people, focusing at the sweating Genma after a few seconds. "The one in the white gi is the one, right?" Ranma nodded and Genya smiled and said "You are to survive without my aid, forsaken one. The youth and innocence of this child has been twisted, his Belmont blood is now defiled with a demonic taint… If it were still the 16 hundreds I would have you executed for witchcraft…"

Genya looked at the rest and said "Castlevania is not without its dangers. There are a few areas which will be inaccessible for you, but feel free to enter at the risk of your own life… Miss Belmont will guard you with the best of her ability, correct?"

Nodoka nodded and Ranma could feel his hand slowly healing. He looked at his mother and felt a twinge of anger on the back of his mind at her for thrusting that damned weapon in his hands… it was like getting to be as bad as Ryoga blaming others. Ranma was the one to take the whip, she didn't force it on to him.. well physically anyway.. but who knew what the woman thought about her son?

Inside Ranma's soul, a dark presence stirred, making an appearance by slowly grinning in the dark recesses of the soul and spreading the darkness throughout Ranma's body and soul…

Thought this would be a nice new project to undertake for the moment… Hope that you guys like it…

Been playing Aria of Sorrow a bit too much but I'll try to tone it down so you can get more chapters if you want more…

Please review, they are important as to my decision to continue writing this…