Authors Note: I do not own Ranma 1/2. Ranma 1/2 is copyrighted to Rumiko
Takahashi, Viz, ect. But Yugo Saotome is copyrighted to me, as is the
storyline. Please ask if you would like to use either him or the
storyline(though I will almost always say yes ^_^) Now, enough with legal
stuff. After reading, please review and now:
Chapter 1 Black and White
There Shall come a day when the two greatest shall be born. One shall be given Dark Light, while the other will obtain Glowing Shadows. When seperated, they shall learn. But when joined, they shall perfect. When the tigers meet, all will know joy. When the tigers cross, all will know power. When the tigers twist, all will know fear. If the two dragons are found, then the twisting tigers shall be bound, and the world will know harmony. But if the tigers are slain, then only a sacrifice of love will promise to restore the balance. A young boy sat in the lotus position.There was a fire crackling before him, though it did little to ward off the rapidly approaching cold of fall. With wary eyes, he carefuly watched the man across from him. The aging man wore a white cap on his head and a gi of similar colour. In his hands was a wrapped package, it appeared to be about arms length, and slightly curved. But young Ranma was less interested in the package, he was too busy carefuly watching his old man. "So, what do you want, father?" He spat the last word as if it was the most vile word known to man. Genma Saotome either didn't catch the edge in his voice, or chose to ignore it. "Ranma, I have something for you." He proclaimed proudly, then he unwraveled the package. Inside was a beautifuly crafted katana and scabbard. Both the hilt and the scabbard were pure white. The hand guard and the scabbard were beautifuly decorated with gold. Ranma spared only a brief moment to glance at the weapon before his gaze returned to Genma. He had learned that it was foolish to take ones' eyes off of the old man for more than a brief second, the many bruises that covered his body were a firm reminder of the fact. "It's a sword. So?" Genma was obviously annoyed that his boy wasn't showing more interest in the subject. "Foolish boy! This is no ordinary sword!" After this brief, but expected outburst of anger, he calmed down and continued. "It's name is 'White'." He explained, Ranma noticed that the old mans' hands hadn't touched even the scabbard. Not even once. Instead, continued to grip the weapon through the white cloth. "Yeah? I still don't see your point." Ranma lied. He knew the signifigance of the very name itself, but he never thought he'd see one of the two legendary weapons up close. Genma shut his eyes and quietly counted to ten before continuing. "This is one of two legendary weapons," Genma explained as he put on his best 'Ancient Warrior' look. Duh Ranma thought in annoyance, but let the old fool continue. "The counter part to this one," He motioned to the katana in his hands,"Is called 'Black'. Which is coloured in the exact opposite way that this one is." He must mean black and silver as opposed to white and gold. His son reasoned. "These two weapons are suppose to grant its master unlimited power, unbelievable skill, and immortality." As he spoke, he stole a glance of longing at the weapon, Ranma had seen him look at food the same way. "My master gave it to me," Bullshit. Ranmas' bitter thoughts continued, "And now I pass it on to you." With that Genma stood, walked around the campfire, and offered the weapon to Ranma, it felt too much like a peace offering. "Who has the other weapon?" Ranma's question was un-expected and it was apparant that Genma was unprepared. "Your broth-, er I don't know." He had attempted to hide his blunder with ignorance, but the man was a horrible liar. "So, Yugo has it, or rather, had it." Ranma was surprised at how controlled his voice was. "Tell me, did you tell him that," his voice changed to his best 'loving father' voice,"My master gave it to me too?" His voice changed back to normal as he spoke the last word. It was quite apparant from the sweat pouring down Genmas' face, and the extremely nervous look in his eyes that he was having second thoughts about the whole idea. "I'll take the damn sword. Not for you, but for Yugo." As he spoke, he stood. Then he snatched the weapon away from Genma. But as Ranmas' hand closed around the hilt of the sword, exquisite, unspeakable pain exploded through Ranma. He couldn't remember if he shrieked or not, but he did vaguely remember flying throught the air, his hand still gripping the weapon, then passing out. In the darkness of his mind, Ranma heard a deep, inhuman voice chuckle. "So, you seek to master the white tiger. I sense that you have the potential, but do you have the spirit?" "What? Who are you? Show yourself!" He demanded of the invisible voice. "Very well then, master." The last word was drenched in sarcasm. Ranma yelled in terror as a large, pure white tiger materialized out of the darkness. "Ohgodohgodohgod." Ranmas' voice was full of terror as he tried desperately to get away from the large jungle predator. "What this?" The tiger stopped, his voice full of confusion. "I sense, a dormant spirit. The Nekoken?" If what possible for a tiger to give an expression of realization, then it would look like the one that it was giving Ranma. "Oh, I see. I guess I will be seeing a lot more of you boy, but first." With one magnificent leap, it was standing in front of the terrified young boy, the memories of Yugo Saotome, his twin brother, screaming as he slipped into the Nekoken surfaced, followed by Ranma himself succumbing to the same inhuman training that caused his brother to disappear. Ranma was trying to crab-walk backwards, but it felt like he had hit a wall. The tiger slowly moved forward, then pressed its forehead to Ranmas' in the same way that the Demon Cat had done five years earlier. Ranma waited for more pain, for the insanity to come, but it never did. Instead, Ranma felt a plethora of strange feelings and senses rise. He could distinguish every different smell, he could hear every little sound, and he could sense the life force of every living creature in the forest. Including an extremely confused, startled and slightly worried human male in his mid thirties. "If you can master this little drop of power, then maybe, just maybe, will we meet again." "And if that happens?" Ranma asked, almost overwhelmed by the abilities that just seemed to flood his mind, and also by the fact that he was no- longer scared of the large feline predator. The large cat chuckled again, this time in merriment, "We will cross that bridge when we reach it Ranma. But for now..." The large cat slowly faded from existance, as a multitude of images slowly came into focus. Ranma blinked, "That was amazing!" He declared in excitement. The ten year-old boy was completely unaware that his father was staring at his eyes, which had taken on a very feline look. "Interesting." Koh-lon muttered to herself as she examined the sleeping figure. The ancient Chinese amazon understood why the warriors had brought the boy back instead of just leaving him, or worse, killing him. The boy looked to be roughly ten years old. His head was crowned with waist deep black hair, except for a triangle-shaped area above his left eye, which was grey, almost silver. His clothes were ripped and torn, and were definately a few sizes too small, not to mention that he was covered in mud, dirt, and blood. Koh-lon had a suspicion that not all the blood was his. But the most amazing part, was the katana that was strapped to his belt, seemingly the only thing that had survived intact, the boys' sanity excluded. With just one look she knew what that sword was capable of, and if the blade had chosen already chosen boy as its host, then she would abide by it. As much as she didn't want to, she would abide by the descision of 'Black'. But since you brought him to me, that must mean that you wish me to train him. Or, at the very least, release him from the Nekoken. Koh-lon understood, She would've attempted to release him anyways, no-one deserved the insanity brought on by the Nekoken for any amount of time. And judging by the length of his hair, and the condition of his clothes, Koh-lon guessed that he must've been in this state for quite some time, five years at least. But I need to know exactly how long you've been this way little one. Turning to the two guards that were still eyeing the boy warily. Even though he was asleep, they weren't about to let down their guard. They explained earlier that he had wounded three of the five warriors before they managed to subdue him by hitting him with a sleeping dart. Fortunately, the other two warriors had enough sense to bring him back alive, instead of just killing him on the spot. "Leave us." She spoke in her native tongue of Chinese to the two guards. They bowed, then walked out of the rather grand hut and into the night. I didn't want them to do somethinb brash should something happen. She spoke only to the sleeping form of the Neko-boy. Koh-lon placed one of her hands against his temple, closed her eyes, then let her ki mingle with his. Koh-lon felt her mind touch his, then a waterfall of images cascaded into her brain. She watched as a man gave him the 'Black', her vision then faded to the young boy being thrown into a pit of cats. Next thing she knew, it was winter. The boy was half asleep in a cave as his ki extened, warming his makeshift home to a quite comfortable temperature. Then darkness. "Hi!" A childish voice said from somewhere in the building. Koh-lon blinked, then peered around in confusion. The building was obviously some sort of dojo, but she had no idea where it was, or how she even got there. "Er...Konnichiwa." She replied. Koh-lon was still at a loss to where she was, or even if owner of the voice could hear her. "What's your name Mrs?" The voice asked with pure curiosity. Koh-lon descided to answer, if for no other reason than to try and follow his voice. "Koh-lon." "Cologne?" Came the reply, then a giggle. For some reason, Koh-lon felt indignant. "Something I said amuses you child? Show yourself." "Okay!" With that, the young boy slid a door open, and walked up in front of her. "Hello Mrs. Cologne. My name is Yugo Saotome." He looked so young, so full of life. His eyes, those strange, neko eyes. They were slitted, and they danced with merriment, as well as danger, his body was not caked with blood or mud, but rather, conveyed a feral, untamable power. His manners were also very curious, he was acting as if they were old friends, not complete strangers. "You're kinda old." Yugo informed. Koh-lon almost laughed with merriment. Out of the mouth of babes. She thought of when her great-grandaughter, Xion- Pu had said the same thing. "True, but with age comes wisdom." She replied sagely. "I Guess so. But since you're the first person to visit me besides Mama so, I'll give you a gift." Before Koh-lon could inquire as to who 'Mama' was, or what this 'gift' was, Yugo had lifted the index finger of his right hand, and pressed it to her forhead. Koh-lon felt strange, as if someone was stretching and pulling her like some kind of child's plaything. It didn't really hurt, but it did tingle uncomfortably. Then, just as quickly as it had begun, it was over. "Well?" He inquired hopefuly, "What do you think?" Koh-lon was about to ask what he meant, when she realized that she was looking down at him, instead of eye-to-eye. Koh-lon slowly looked down, her clothes weren't the same ones she had been wearing moments earlier, instead, it was a blue dress that came down just above her knees. "What in the name of-" She gasped at the sound of her own voice, which wasn't the same kind of screeching that had been made by her aging voicebox, instead it was the sweet purr of a young woman. "I'll show you what I did." He promised, then he raised a mirror that just materialized into existance. Koh-lon gazed at the stranger looking back at her. She saw a girl that was in her early twenties, as opposed to somewhere passed three hundred. She gazed at her own emerald eyes, and at the body that she thought had left her. "How did you do that?" She gasped. "I'm the one who has been instructing Yugo." A distinctly feminine voice informed. Koh-lon looked up past Yugo, who had twirled around shouting Mama!', and saw a young woman enter through the same door that Yugo had. She had chestnutt brown hair and eyes and was clad in a white kimono. It would've seemed so normal, if it weren't for the black and silver katana in her belt. Black! Koh-lon realized. She felt her jaw drop at what happened next. Yugo suddenly ran up and leapt at the older woman, who opened her arms and embraced him. "My little Yugo!" The motherly tone in her voice was unmistakable, she was the only reason that Yugo was still alive. She had been treating the young boy as her own son, using her own incredibly powerful ki techniques to keep his mortal husk alive while she cared for his spirit and mind. She watched as the woman and Yugo hugged, and she rocked him back and forth, until she finaly put him down. Then bowed to Koh-lon. "Greetings honoured guest. I am Nodaka Saotome." She explained after righting herself, her voice was kind and tender, but her eyes warned Koh- lon that she had better not reffer to her as anyone except 'Nodaka'. "Umm, greeting Nodaka." Koh-lon quickly bowed. "Mama, this is Cologne." Yugo informed his mother. Nodaka nodded, "Oh, I see." Then she turned back to her adopted son, smiling affectionately she suggested that he go work on his katas' while she spoke with Koh-lon. Yugo nodded, then went out into the center of the dojo, bowed to the shrine, announced the name of his kata, then began. "Follow me." She whispered to Koh-lon. The young woman nodded, and followed her out of the dojo and into the dining room where there were cups of tea set out. Nodaka offered Koh-lon a seat, which she accepted, then Nodaka took her place across from the other woman. "As you probably have suspected, my real name is 'Black'." Nodaka stated, Koh-lon carefuly sipped her tea, then nodded in confermation. "You're probably wondering why I have pretended to be Yugo's mother instead revealing myself to him. Well the answer is easy." Nodakas' gaze went to the door, where Yugos' shadow could be seen as her performed the kata. "Yugo was captured by the Nekoken at an extremely young age. A little earlier, he had received me, 'Black', as a gift from his father." Nodaka turned back to Koh-lon. "When he was sucked into the Nekoken, I managed to protect his soul from becoming absorbed by the cat soul when his neko form took control. You see, Yugo has needed a mother, not a sensi. But I couldn't be both, so I opted for something halfway. The body you see before you is the body of his true mother, who died during childbirth as she gave birth to twins." Koh-lon almost choked on her tea. Twins!? That could only mean one thing! That Yugo and his brother were the twins of prophecy. They were the ones whos' death would bring balance to the world. Koh-lon looked at the boy's shadow as he performed a different kata, "So he is a tiger." She said quietly. "Yes. That's why I'm asking you to free him from the Nekoken. Free him and complete his training. I've already trained him in all sorts of ki manipulation, in anything goes, most weapons, some cat-fu and Ju-jitsu. All that remains is the art of the Amazons." "The art of the...Nin-jitsu?" Nodaka nodded. "Yes, Nin-jitsu. Please train him, let him learn all that will help him survive. But remember that you must let him leave to find his family. " Koh- lon could've sworn that she saw a small tear trickle down Black's face, "And, tell him that his mother loves him, and will always watch over him," "Do these things, and I will reward you beyond your wildest imagination." Koh-lon hesitated, then put a hand on Blacks' shoulder. "I promise." She was telling the truth, for she had no intention of incurring the wrath of Black upon herself and her village. "As someone who has her one of her own, I swear that I shall protect Yugo as if he was of my own blood." Nodaka faced the dojo where she saw Yugo still performing his kata. "I love you, my son." she whispered, then a white glow emenated off of her and enveloped the entire house. Koh-lon groaned as she sat up. Her head was banging like a gong, and her body ached. She quickly looked around, and found to her dismay that she had reverted back into her ghoulish, old body. But the promise of Black still rang in her mind. "Do these things, and I will reward you beyond your wildest dreams." Koh- lon, frowned. What the heck is that suppose to mean? She had some hunches, but she didn't want to get her hopes up. A strange sound snapped her out of her thoughts. It was the sound of confused whimpering. The sound a child, no matter what its species, makes when it has been seperated from its mother. Koh-lon looked over to the mat where Yugo was laying. Her heart ached as she listened. He was sitting now, his strange neko eyes looked around, he was looking for his mom. His gaze finaly rested on her, and he made a questioning noise. "Yes, It's me." She cooed, he obviously recognized her, because some warmth returned to his eyes. Koh-lon hobbled over to the entrance to her hut, and called the two gaurds in. "Yes elder?" One asked when the two had entered. Koh-lon peered at them for a brief moment. "I want you two to convey a message to the survivers of the hunting party." She informed, and didn't bother to wait for her amazon guards to reply, "You two and the hunting party members, are not to breath a word of this boy to anyone. As far as you are concernered, his name is Jaiy-el, and he's my apprentice. That is all you know, and that is all they know." After the guards left, Koh-lon turned back to the confused and very scared neko. "Well Gel, if the sword wants you to learn Nin-jitsu, so be it," She got a thoughtful look before continuing. "However, that doesn't forbid me from teaching you some other, very helpful techniques." As she spoke, he padded up to her, and began to rub his head against her leg. "But first, we need to get you out of the nekoken." She began to scratch him on the top of his head, and he started to purr. A smile spread across the amazons' lips. "But that can wait until morning." END OF CHAPTER 1
Chapter 1 Black and White
There Shall come a day when the two greatest shall be born. One shall be given Dark Light, while the other will obtain Glowing Shadows. When seperated, they shall learn. But when joined, they shall perfect. When the tigers meet, all will know joy. When the tigers cross, all will know power. When the tigers twist, all will know fear. If the two dragons are found, then the twisting tigers shall be bound, and the world will know harmony. But if the tigers are slain, then only a sacrifice of love will promise to restore the balance. A young boy sat in the lotus position.There was a fire crackling before him, though it did little to ward off the rapidly approaching cold of fall. With wary eyes, he carefuly watched the man across from him. The aging man wore a white cap on his head and a gi of similar colour. In his hands was a wrapped package, it appeared to be about arms length, and slightly curved. But young Ranma was less interested in the package, he was too busy carefuly watching his old man. "So, what do you want, father?" He spat the last word as if it was the most vile word known to man. Genma Saotome either didn't catch the edge in his voice, or chose to ignore it. "Ranma, I have something for you." He proclaimed proudly, then he unwraveled the package. Inside was a beautifuly crafted katana and scabbard. Both the hilt and the scabbard were pure white. The hand guard and the scabbard were beautifuly decorated with gold. Ranma spared only a brief moment to glance at the weapon before his gaze returned to Genma. He had learned that it was foolish to take ones' eyes off of the old man for more than a brief second, the many bruises that covered his body were a firm reminder of the fact. "It's a sword. So?" Genma was obviously annoyed that his boy wasn't showing more interest in the subject. "Foolish boy! This is no ordinary sword!" After this brief, but expected outburst of anger, he calmed down and continued. "It's name is 'White'." He explained, Ranma noticed that the old mans' hands hadn't touched even the scabbard. Not even once. Instead, continued to grip the weapon through the white cloth. "Yeah? I still don't see your point." Ranma lied. He knew the signifigance of the very name itself, but he never thought he'd see one of the two legendary weapons up close. Genma shut his eyes and quietly counted to ten before continuing. "This is one of two legendary weapons," Genma explained as he put on his best 'Ancient Warrior' look. Duh Ranma thought in annoyance, but let the old fool continue. "The counter part to this one," He motioned to the katana in his hands,"Is called 'Black'. Which is coloured in the exact opposite way that this one is." He must mean black and silver as opposed to white and gold. His son reasoned. "These two weapons are suppose to grant its master unlimited power, unbelievable skill, and immortality." As he spoke, he stole a glance of longing at the weapon, Ranma had seen him look at food the same way. "My master gave it to me," Bullshit. Ranmas' bitter thoughts continued, "And now I pass it on to you." With that Genma stood, walked around the campfire, and offered the weapon to Ranma, it felt too much like a peace offering. "Who has the other weapon?" Ranma's question was un-expected and it was apparant that Genma was unprepared. "Your broth-, er I don't know." He had attempted to hide his blunder with ignorance, but the man was a horrible liar. "So, Yugo has it, or rather, had it." Ranma was surprised at how controlled his voice was. "Tell me, did you tell him that," his voice changed to his best 'loving father' voice,"My master gave it to me too?" His voice changed back to normal as he spoke the last word. It was quite apparant from the sweat pouring down Genmas' face, and the extremely nervous look in his eyes that he was having second thoughts about the whole idea. "I'll take the damn sword. Not for you, but for Yugo." As he spoke, he stood. Then he snatched the weapon away from Genma. But as Ranmas' hand closed around the hilt of the sword, exquisite, unspeakable pain exploded through Ranma. He couldn't remember if he shrieked or not, but he did vaguely remember flying throught the air, his hand still gripping the weapon, then passing out. In the darkness of his mind, Ranma heard a deep, inhuman voice chuckle. "So, you seek to master the white tiger. I sense that you have the potential, but do you have the spirit?" "What? Who are you? Show yourself!" He demanded of the invisible voice. "Very well then, master." The last word was drenched in sarcasm. Ranma yelled in terror as a large, pure white tiger materialized out of the darkness. "Ohgodohgodohgod." Ranmas' voice was full of terror as he tried desperately to get away from the large jungle predator. "What this?" The tiger stopped, his voice full of confusion. "I sense, a dormant spirit. The Nekoken?" If what possible for a tiger to give an expression of realization, then it would look like the one that it was giving Ranma. "Oh, I see. I guess I will be seeing a lot more of you boy, but first." With one magnificent leap, it was standing in front of the terrified young boy, the memories of Yugo Saotome, his twin brother, screaming as he slipped into the Nekoken surfaced, followed by Ranma himself succumbing to the same inhuman training that caused his brother to disappear. Ranma was trying to crab-walk backwards, but it felt like he had hit a wall. The tiger slowly moved forward, then pressed its forehead to Ranmas' in the same way that the Demon Cat had done five years earlier. Ranma waited for more pain, for the insanity to come, but it never did. Instead, Ranma felt a plethora of strange feelings and senses rise. He could distinguish every different smell, he could hear every little sound, and he could sense the life force of every living creature in the forest. Including an extremely confused, startled and slightly worried human male in his mid thirties. "If you can master this little drop of power, then maybe, just maybe, will we meet again." "And if that happens?" Ranma asked, almost overwhelmed by the abilities that just seemed to flood his mind, and also by the fact that he was no- longer scared of the large feline predator. The large cat chuckled again, this time in merriment, "We will cross that bridge when we reach it Ranma. But for now..." The large cat slowly faded from existance, as a multitude of images slowly came into focus. Ranma blinked, "That was amazing!" He declared in excitement. The ten year-old boy was completely unaware that his father was staring at his eyes, which had taken on a very feline look. "Interesting." Koh-lon muttered to herself as she examined the sleeping figure. The ancient Chinese amazon understood why the warriors had brought the boy back instead of just leaving him, or worse, killing him. The boy looked to be roughly ten years old. His head was crowned with waist deep black hair, except for a triangle-shaped area above his left eye, which was grey, almost silver. His clothes were ripped and torn, and were definately a few sizes too small, not to mention that he was covered in mud, dirt, and blood. Koh-lon had a suspicion that not all the blood was his. But the most amazing part, was the katana that was strapped to his belt, seemingly the only thing that had survived intact, the boys' sanity excluded. With just one look she knew what that sword was capable of, and if the blade had chosen already chosen boy as its host, then she would abide by it. As much as she didn't want to, she would abide by the descision of 'Black'. But since you brought him to me, that must mean that you wish me to train him. Or, at the very least, release him from the Nekoken. Koh-lon understood, She would've attempted to release him anyways, no-one deserved the insanity brought on by the Nekoken for any amount of time. And judging by the length of his hair, and the condition of his clothes, Koh-lon guessed that he must've been in this state for quite some time, five years at least. But I need to know exactly how long you've been this way little one. Turning to the two guards that were still eyeing the boy warily. Even though he was asleep, they weren't about to let down their guard. They explained earlier that he had wounded three of the five warriors before they managed to subdue him by hitting him with a sleeping dart. Fortunately, the other two warriors had enough sense to bring him back alive, instead of just killing him on the spot. "Leave us." She spoke in her native tongue of Chinese to the two guards. They bowed, then walked out of the rather grand hut and into the night. I didn't want them to do somethinb brash should something happen. She spoke only to the sleeping form of the Neko-boy. Koh-lon placed one of her hands against his temple, closed her eyes, then let her ki mingle with his. Koh-lon felt her mind touch his, then a waterfall of images cascaded into her brain. She watched as a man gave him the 'Black', her vision then faded to the young boy being thrown into a pit of cats. Next thing she knew, it was winter. The boy was half asleep in a cave as his ki extened, warming his makeshift home to a quite comfortable temperature. Then darkness. "Hi!" A childish voice said from somewhere in the building. Koh-lon blinked, then peered around in confusion. The building was obviously some sort of dojo, but she had no idea where it was, or how she even got there. "Er...Konnichiwa." She replied. Koh-lon was still at a loss to where she was, or even if owner of the voice could hear her. "What's your name Mrs?" The voice asked with pure curiosity. Koh-lon descided to answer, if for no other reason than to try and follow his voice. "Koh-lon." "Cologne?" Came the reply, then a giggle. For some reason, Koh-lon felt indignant. "Something I said amuses you child? Show yourself." "Okay!" With that, the young boy slid a door open, and walked up in front of her. "Hello Mrs. Cologne. My name is Yugo Saotome." He looked so young, so full of life. His eyes, those strange, neko eyes. They were slitted, and they danced with merriment, as well as danger, his body was not caked with blood or mud, but rather, conveyed a feral, untamable power. His manners were also very curious, he was acting as if they were old friends, not complete strangers. "You're kinda old." Yugo informed. Koh-lon almost laughed with merriment. Out of the mouth of babes. She thought of when her great-grandaughter, Xion- Pu had said the same thing. "True, but with age comes wisdom." She replied sagely. "I Guess so. But since you're the first person to visit me besides Mama so, I'll give you a gift." Before Koh-lon could inquire as to who 'Mama' was, or what this 'gift' was, Yugo had lifted the index finger of his right hand, and pressed it to her forhead. Koh-lon felt strange, as if someone was stretching and pulling her like some kind of child's plaything. It didn't really hurt, but it did tingle uncomfortably. Then, just as quickly as it had begun, it was over. "Well?" He inquired hopefuly, "What do you think?" Koh-lon was about to ask what he meant, when she realized that she was looking down at him, instead of eye-to-eye. Koh-lon slowly looked down, her clothes weren't the same ones she had been wearing moments earlier, instead, it was a blue dress that came down just above her knees. "What in the name of-" She gasped at the sound of her own voice, which wasn't the same kind of screeching that had been made by her aging voicebox, instead it was the sweet purr of a young woman. "I'll show you what I did." He promised, then he raised a mirror that just materialized into existance. Koh-lon gazed at the stranger looking back at her. She saw a girl that was in her early twenties, as opposed to somewhere passed three hundred. She gazed at her own emerald eyes, and at the body that she thought had left her. "How did you do that?" She gasped. "I'm the one who has been instructing Yugo." A distinctly feminine voice informed. Koh-lon looked up past Yugo, who had twirled around shouting Mama!', and saw a young woman enter through the same door that Yugo had. She had chestnutt brown hair and eyes and was clad in a white kimono. It would've seemed so normal, if it weren't for the black and silver katana in her belt. Black! Koh-lon realized. She felt her jaw drop at what happened next. Yugo suddenly ran up and leapt at the older woman, who opened her arms and embraced him. "My little Yugo!" The motherly tone in her voice was unmistakable, she was the only reason that Yugo was still alive. She had been treating the young boy as her own son, using her own incredibly powerful ki techniques to keep his mortal husk alive while she cared for his spirit and mind. She watched as the woman and Yugo hugged, and she rocked him back and forth, until she finaly put him down. Then bowed to Koh-lon. "Greetings honoured guest. I am Nodaka Saotome." She explained after righting herself, her voice was kind and tender, but her eyes warned Koh- lon that she had better not reffer to her as anyone except 'Nodaka'. "Umm, greeting Nodaka." Koh-lon quickly bowed. "Mama, this is Cologne." Yugo informed his mother. Nodaka nodded, "Oh, I see." Then she turned back to her adopted son, smiling affectionately she suggested that he go work on his katas' while she spoke with Koh-lon. Yugo nodded, then went out into the center of the dojo, bowed to the shrine, announced the name of his kata, then began. "Follow me." She whispered to Koh-lon. The young woman nodded, and followed her out of the dojo and into the dining room where there were cups of tea set out. Nodaka offered Koh-lon a seat, which she accepted, then Nodaka took her place across from the other woman. "As you probably have suspected, my real name is 'Black'." Nodaka stated, Koh-lon carefuly sipped her tea, then nodded in confermation. "You're probably wondering why I have pretended to be Yugo's mother instead revealing myself to him. Well the answer is easy." Nodakas' gaze went to the door, where Yugos' shadow could be seen as her performed the kata. "Yugo was captured by the Nekoken at an extremely young age. A little earlier, he had received me, 'Black', as a gift from his father." Nodaka turned back to Koh-lon. "When he was sucked into the Nekoken, I managed to protect his soul from becoming absorbed by the cat soul when his neko form took control. You see, Yugo has needed a mother, not a sensi. But I couldn't be both, so I opted for something halfway. The body you see before you is the body of his true mother, who died during childbirth as she gave birth to twins." Koh-lon almost choked on her tea. Twins!? That could only mean one thing! That Yugo and his brother were the twins of prophecy. They were the ones whos' death would bring balance to the world. Koh-lon looked at the boy's shadow as he performed a different kata, "So he is a tiger." She said quietly. "Yes. That's why I'm asking you to free him from the Nekoken. Free him and complete his training. I've already trained him in all sorts of ki manipulation, in anything goes, most weapons, some cat-fu and Ju-jitsu. All that remains is the art of the Amazons." "The art of the...Nin-jitsu?" Nodaka nodded. "Yes, Nin-jitsu. Please train him, let him learn all that will help him survive. But remember that you must let him leave to find his family. " Koh- lon could've sworn that she saw a small tear trickle down Black's face, "And, tell him that his mother loves him, and will always watch over him," "Do these things, and I will reward you beyond your wildest imagination." Koh-lon hesitated, then put a hand on Blacks' shoulder. "I promise." She was telling the truth, for she had no intention of incurring the wrath of Black upon herself and her village. "As someone who has her one of her own, I swear that I shall protect Yugo as if he was of my own blood." Nodaka faced the dojo where she saw Yugo still performing his kata. "I love you, my son." she whispered, then a white glow emenated off of her and enveloped the entire house. Koh-lon groaned as she sat up. Her head was banging like a gong, and her body ached. She quickly looked around, and found to her dismay that she had reverted back into her ghoulish, old body. But the promise of Black still rang in her mind. "Do these things, and I will reward you beyond your wildest dreams." Koh- lon, frowned. What the heck is that suppose to mean? She had some hunches, but she didn't want to get her hopes up. A strange sound snapped her out of her thoughts. It was the sound of confused whimpering. The sound a child, no matter what its species, makes when it has been seperated from its mother. Koh-lon looked over to the mat where Yugo was laying. Her heart ached as she listened. He was sitting now, his strange neko eyes looked around, he was looking for his mom. His gaze finaly rested on her, and he made a questioning noise. "Yes, It's me." She cooed, he obviously recognized her, because some warmth returned to his eyes. Koh-lon hobbled over to the entrance to her hut, and called the two gaurds in. "Yes elder?" One asked when the two had entered. Koh-lon peered at them for a brief moment. "I want you two to convey a message to the survivers of the hunting party." She informed, and didn't bother to wait for her amazon guards to reply, "You two and the hunting party members, are not to breath a word of this boy to anyone. As far as you are concernered, his name is Jaiy-el, and he's my apprentice. That is all you know, and that is all they know." After the guards left, Koh-lon turned back to the confused and very scared neko. "Well Gel, if the sword wants you to learn Nin-jitsu, so be it," She got a thoughtful look before continuing. "However, that doesn't forbid me from teaching you some other, very helpful techniques." As she spoke, he padded up to her, and began to rub his head against her leg. "But first, we need to get you out of the nekoken." She began to scratch him on the top of his head, and he started to purr. A smile spread across the amazons' lips. "But that can wait until morning." END OF CHAPTER 1