nosferatu (Me and You)
Chapter 1, Mothers warn your daughters about the dog-demon
Author's Notes: And no it's not a cross-over with Inuyasha (even though you just gotta love the dog-demon ^_^) There seems to be some confusion about the last chapter. It's not complicated, I mean, I just took away the basic grammer rules, that was it! It was meant to show the simplicity of the scenes. It wasn't just a chapter, it was like a dream almost. But as always, it didn't turn out the way I planned and just confused a lot of people. ;) Just let me clear about some things...No! Ranma is *not* Akane's brother *shakes her head*. No! Ranma is in no way related to Akane. No! The guy in the last chapter is in no way related to Ranma (this isn't going to be another Scarlet Trail people). And finally, the final thing I want to make clear is that none of my stories as of yet are abandoned so if you like any of my stories and it hasn't been updated in awhile, don't worry. It will be (I just don't know when). For those of you who have lost loved ones, you have my condolences. I know that isn't much, but it's something.
Disclaimers: Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. Fallen Angels belong to Aerosmith.
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There's a candle burning
In the world tonight
For another child
Who vanished out of sight
And a heart is broken
Another prayer in vain
There's a million tears
That'll fill a sea of pain
Sometimes I stare out my window
My thoughts all drift into space
Sometimes I wonder if there's a better place
Tell me
Where do fallen angels go?
I just don't know (I just don't know)
Where do fallen angels go?
They keep falling (They keep falling)
Well, the times is frightening
Can't ignore the facts
There's so many people
Just slippin' through the cracks
So many ashes are scattered
So many rivers run dry
Sometimes your Heaven is Hell
And you don't know why
So, listen
Falling, falling, falling
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Somewhere out there
There's a shining light
And I got to be with you tonight
And with all we're nowhere
We still pay the price
Yeah the Devil seems to get his way
In downtown paradise
There's a candle burning
La, la, la...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It waited patiently in the limb of the tree outside of the boy's window, it's form crouched and low. The dark night wrapped around the creature like a faithful servant and it's pure white hair contrasted beautifully with the night. Human eyes could see nothing through the black window, but these were not human eyes that looked through them. The creature had followed the boy around for some time now, waiting and watching. When the creature had returned to it's home, it hadn't expected the new scent in it's house. The creature cared not for the old man, he was nothing more then a useless carcass of human flesh still alive. The old man did nothing more then annoy the creature, but no...there was another. Another scent. Another male. A boy that was living and pure energy...and the creature wanted nothing more then to rip the skin off of the boy's throat and devour it as blood gushed out.
In the dark, the white creature grinned a malicious smile as it's sharp teeth glinted. Even as far as it was, the creature could still hear the boy's breathing and it imagined the boy's chest going up and down...up...and down...up...and down...Oh! How it would love to just rip the heart out of that ugly human. Chew and spit out the hands that kept touching it's mistress. At the thought of the male touching it's mistress, the creature growled and bared it's teeth as saliva dripped. The window suddenly didn't seem all that distant anymore. Just one wrong move, the creature thought licking it's teeth, one wrong move, boy and you're all mine.
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Akane never had a nightmare in her entire life...at least not one that she could remember. It wasn't to say that she always had good dreams either, just that she rarely dreamt at all. Usually, it was just a light sleep where she closed her eyes one second and the next she opened them and it was hours later. It wasn't that way with her fiancee, though. He and his father would sleep for hours on end as though they were in a coma. Once those sparkling eyes of his closed, he was knocked out. That was why when she was asleep she wasn't really asleep at all. 'It was a just a closing of the eyes' here father had said once. How many Martial Artists in the world had wanted that ability? To be asleep and yet unconsciously awake also? When she dreamt, the dreams were always light...nothing too detailed...as though whoever designed her dreams was a simple-minded seven year old girl. Sometimes she dreamed of her pet P-chan and the dreams were full for flowers and warmth. Othertimes she just dreamed of being the best Martial Artist in the world. Dreams were simple things, really...at least they were to her.
This night, however, there were no dreams...just sleep. A light simple kind of sleep that she nearly always had. Maybe that was why she heard the sound so quickly as though she had been expecting it. The crash and the sound of glass breaking. The sound of inhuman growls ready to rip apart screams from human bodies. Akane had sat up with a start...as if she was never even really asleep...but just laying there with her eyes closed... waiting. When the sound of broken things entered her mind, the girl greeted it with something akin to relief and fear.
With a few quick movements, she was out of the bed and heading for the door. What was that sound? It sounded like it came from the guest room where Ranma was. *Shampoo probably snuck into bed with him again* and with that thought a burst of red hot anger raced through her. *How dare that jerk sleep with Shampoo!* came her next line of thought. With these things in mind and a barely controlled temper, Akane ran out the room to give Shampoo a piece of her mind and Ranma a piece of her mallet or fist.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The golden girl sat up with a start, her eyes bright and glinting. Her breathing was rough and ragged as she stared into the darkness of her room. If anyone saw her now they would probably have died of shocked by the sheer ferocity of her stare. What happened to the gentle girl? What happened to the oblivious, forgiving girl? The golden girl felt its presence somewhere in the house, the presence of the demon that she had tried to kill before. She had awoken from her sweet dreams without knowing what had waken her, but now she knew. The thing was here...it had returned. But...if *it* came back...maybe then *he* came back too...
There was no time for thoughts now, she had to hurry. The golden-girl stepped out of bed and ran over to her closet door, flinging it open. Her eyes landed on the object hanging proudly with no dust on the wall. A light from somewhere, probably the moon, reflected the sword and it shone slightly...as though beckoning to her. With a set of her chin, the girl walked proudly over and pulled the sword from it's place on the wall. For awhile she just stood there, feeling the rough cloth of the handle in her hand...petting the sharp, deadly blade soothingly. It had been too long since she used this...not that she minded. The golden girl was a peaceful person...and her sword was also...but when time called for it's use...then it would be used.
Her hand tightening on the sword, the golden girl walked quickly out the door of her bedroom, her long, beautiful tresses of hair trailing behind her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The girl had been sitting at her desk, counting her money and monthly income under the dim light of her desk lamp. This was the only time that she could calculate her profits and losses without fear of interference or discovery from one of her family members. Hmm, that was strange...it seems she didn't make quite a large enough profit this month... which to her was a loss. *I must stop being so compassionate* the girl thought. Suddenly, her body convulsed and shivered. The girl's eyes widened in shock and fear before another shiver ran through her, this time more strong then the last. The girl known as Nabiki started to shake...shake and convulse as she fell from her chair to the floor.
*Oh please no* she begged in her mind, though she knew no one could possibly hear. Her throat started to clog up with something and the girl found herself choking as well as shaking. Fear and stark terror was all she felt. This girl who feared nothing...feared this more then anything else. The shaking wouldn't stop nor could she breathe. Her skin broke out in a cold sweat...the cold-hot liquid trickling down her skin and onto the carpet of her bedroom.
*No!* her mind shouted. This girl who had always been strong and willful. *No!* her mind shouted again and this time her body flooded with the joyous heat of anger and emotion. *I'm not a child! How dare you do this?! How dare you?!* her fury and anger provided the much needed heat she sought. It also provided a thought in her head that was clear from the fog of fear and terror. Her shaking slowed down...then stopped altogether. The stuff in her throat slided away until there was only a nasty taste left.
Her frail, white hand shook slightly as she put it on the bed to lever herself off the floor. When she managed to stand up slightly with only her hand to hold her up, her knees wobbled and she nearly slipped and fell. Her other hand raked through her perfect, short, brown hair as she breathed out a sigh of relief and tiredness. Suddenly, a though raced through her mind and her terror was back.
"Oh geez! Akane!" Nabiki half-shouted, half-whispered as she dashed out of that room, intent on saving her sister from the demon thing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ranma had been asleep in his room when he heard the crash and felt the shattered glass fly across the room. He sat up with a start, his blue-gray eyes wide and alert in the darkness. *What was that?!* his mind screamed before he felt something sharp clamp painfully down on his arm. With a cry, he used all his strength to fling the thing across the room before scrambling off his futon and rushing over to turn on the light switch. Sweat poured down his body in beads as his large eyes darted this way and that in the room, trying to sense or locate the thing that caused the crash and bit him...but there was nothing. There was nothing but a broken window and his snoring panda father who still laid asleep. He stared down at his futon and noticed the blood there. Where was it? *What* was it? And the most important question of all...where the hell was it now?
Before another thought could pass his mind he felt a strong presence and turned around just in time to see a flash of white and a pair of sharp teeth clamp viciously down onto his neck.
"What the hell?!" he screamed as he grabbed the thing and flung it towards the wall from his neck. It's large form slammed against the wall before it bounced back up again, growling it's teeth at him. Ranma felt his hand move of it's own will towards his throat and when he looked down he saw blood all over it. *Oh shit!* his mind cursed again before turning to look at the creature. It was too big to be a dog or a wolf...and yet too small to be anything else. The thing was like a large wolf of some sort...only ten times more ferocious... and a million times more deadly. The thing's ears were pulled back to it's head and it bared it's sharp fang-like teeth to him in growls of hostiliy...but the thing that really scared the young teenager, although he would never admit to it, were the eyes. Those burning red eyes that seemed to stare deep into his soul and wished it demise and pain. Whatever this thing was, it was death in the form of a creature...
...and Ranma was frightened...
...more frightened then he had ever been in his life...
Suddenly, the door to the guest bedroom was burst open and both awake occupants of the room turned their heads to see a seething Akane stand there. Akane had gotten herself into a downright fit and was turning her eyes angrily around the room to try and spot her fiancee.
*No, you idiot, get out of here!* Ranma shouted in his head...but no sound came out of his mouth.
"Ranma, how dare you-!" but her voice dwindled away as she saw the blood on the floor and the bloody Ranma by the wall. Her face lost most, if not all, of it's blood and her eyes widened considerably.
"What happened?!" she shouted as she stared at him in shock. Her feet began to move and the girl started to run to her fiancee when the creature moved.
"No!!!" Ranma screamed as he saw the flying bundle of white hair jump up with lightening speed and jump on Akane. His fear left, leaving only a flaming hot anger. He rushed toward Akane but what he saw stopped him immediatly in his tracks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The golden girl ran down the hallway, her sword in her hand, her eyes dark and intent. Before she reached the room where the demon's blood called out to her, she saw a door fling open in front of her and a shaky Nabiki run out. Running faster, the golden girl caught up to her sister and clamp a hand on the other girl's shoulder. Nabiki jumped and flung her body around, her eyes darting this way and that in fear until they landed on Kasumi.
"Oh geez, Kasumi, you scared me!" she said, her hand over her heart. The golden girl just looked sadly down at her pale sister with the shaking hands.
"Oh Nabiki..." she said softly as she stroked her sister's cheek with the hand not holding the sword.
Nabiki's eyes watered for a moment before they dried again and she brushed Kasumi's hand aside distractedly.
"I'm okay, oneechan, really. We need to get to Akane," she said and Kasumi's mouth hardend as she nodded her agreement. Nabiki swallowed a lump in her throat as she looked at her oneechan. It had been years since she had seen Kasumi this way...years...so many years that she almost forgot. Kasumi wasn't supposed to be this way...Kasumi was supposed to be loving and carefree and sweet...
*...but when terror strikes...* Nabiki thought.
Both sister ran down the hallway until they reach the room where the demon's blood called out. Without any hesitation, they flung open the door and immediatly, their eyes landed on the same spectacle that Ranma beheld.
Akane sat on the floor of the guest room, her brown eyes childish and afraid as she tried to push the creature on her off without openly showing it. The thing...the wolf-demon...the creature...sat perched on Akane's crossed legs. It's red-hot eyes had dimmed down to a mild dark brown that gleamed with contentment as it licked one of Akane's hands. Even it's size seemed to have shrunk when the white hairs on it's back wasn't standing on end...and it's ears weren't pulled back in hostility.
Akane seemed to have forgotten about Ranma as she turned dilated pupils to her two sisters in the doorway. The tomboy was scared out of her mind...quite literally.
"You said it wasn't going to come back again," Ranma heard her whisper to Kasumi and Ranma wasn't even sure Akane knew she was saying these words, she was so scared. The creature seemed to have heard her, though. The demon turned it's head up to stare at Akane with pained eyes, but Akane just inched her head back in fear and disgust. For a moment, the pig-tailed fiancee almost felt sorry for the creature who seemed so hurt by the young girl's words.
"Eemmm..." the thing whimpered and Akane whispered involuntarily in disgust, "Don't touch me."
The creature's head reeled back as though hit...but still it would not budge from it's place on Akane's lap. Not as long as there was another male in the presence.
The golden girl suddenly broke out of her shocked gaze and the hand on her sword tightened as the other joined it there.
"Get away from my sister!" she shouted before rushing toward the creature. It looked as Kasumi in shock before leaping out of Akane's lap and onto the floor. Ranma watched in surprise as he saw Kasumi moved with a Martial Arts ability he never saw before. Even stranger yet, was the fact that, instead of just attacking the weaker girl and killing her, the creature chose to dodge her attacks.
Finally having enough of the attacks, the creature stopped for a second to issue a menacing growl at Ranma before disappearing out of the window. Kasumi looked furiously at the place where the creature had been before rushing over to Akane. The hard and protective look in her eyes weren't exactly gone...just lessened until it was back to the same Kasumi-like texture again. The older sibling bent down and hugged Akane close to her as she provided the comfort she herself needed.
The sleeping panda decided upon this moment to wearily open it's eyes. The same eyes widened as it stared around the room.
"What happened?!" Genma-panda signed.
Nabiki, now that thew danger was gone, was back to her old self so she said in a wry, amused tone, "It seems that Akane's lost puppy found it's way home."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a darkened alleyway a mean looking cat sat on a garbage-can chewing on a piece of bone it found. A canine walks from the shadows to apporoach the feasting feline. A growl is heard...then a hiss...
...and blood splatters...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ow! Watch it!" the boy cried out as the doctor tied the bandage on his arm and started on the wound in his neck.
"Take it like a man boy!" Genma said which only got him a deadly glare from his son.
After the 'incident', as they put it, the group of teenagers along with a confused Genma-panda made their way into the kitchen only to find Soun already d own there. Kasumi made hot tea for everyone as Nabiki phoned Dr. Tofu to rush over. Now, they all sat around the table on the floor in the kitchen after Nabiki gave a brief summary of what had happened to everyone. They all sat contemplating this.
Finally, Soun stood up with a sigh and a forlorn look on his face. All eyes were on him as he walked out of the room, and then, a few minutes later, came back with a blank envelope in his hand.
Walking over he handed the envelope to Kasumi and said, "I thought it was good news when I got this, but after tonight...I don't know. Maybe it's not over yet."
A flicker passed through Kasumi's eyes before she opened the envelope and pulled out a postcard.
After reading the brief message, she uttered a stunned, "Oh my."
Everyone else, including a newly bandaged Ranma and his father, stumbled over to read the message over Kasumi's shoulder.
Ranma heard a curse uttered beside him and turned his head to see the color flow away from Nabiki's face. Wanting an answer to the strange message, he turned his head to see an equally bewildered Akane.
"What does it mean?" the youngest Tendo asked her father, "I'm coming home, dad? Taku? Who's that? And what was that thing?" Kasumi, Nabiki and Mr. Tendo turned sad, almost pitying, eyes to Akane. This did not get lost on the girl or her fiancee.
"What?" she asked as she started to back away.
"Akane-chan," Kasumi said slowly, "what did that creature make you feel?" All eyes bore on the young girl now.
"I...I...I was scared, I guess. Why?" Akane's now nervous eyes darted in question to her father.
"She doesn't remember," Soun said, almost to himself and his middle child said dryly, "Well, how can you expect her to, daddy? She was only about three when it happened."
"Would somebody please tell me what is going on? Who's Taku?" Ranma asked, voicing Akane's questions again.
Soun sighed as his eyes lowered in what almost seemed like shame.
"My son," he answered.
The panda's eyes widened considerably and Ranma yelled out, "Your son?! You have a son?" He turned to Soun, Kasumi and Nabiki hoping for an answer but none of them would meet his eyes. Then, he heard a gasp nearby and looked over to see Akane with her mouth open and a look of recognition in her face.
"Oh yeah," she said out loud, her voice holding a tinge of a joyous memory, "Taku."
"You remember him?" Soun asked in fear, his eyes bordering near tears.
The blue-haired girl's eyes held confusion for a second before she answered, "A little bit. I'm still not sure though..." Here her eyes crinkled slightly and they sparkled with warmth.
"A boy with warm hands. A smile...and eyes...brown eyes that never got mad at me...that was always smiling. Am I right?" she asked suddenly, breaking out of her trance.
Nabiki gave a sniff and turned her head away while Kasumi gave a soft smile that was a mixture of pain and love.
"You couldn't be more right," the oldest Tendo girl said.
"But...but he left. Why'd he leave?" Akane asked in confusion. The memories in her head were so hazy...and so very vague...
{{{Memory}}}
...the baby girl snapped her head up as a sob erupted it's way from her throat. With tears running down her cheeks, she moved her hand over to clutch onto her Taku-chan and sob her tears. She knew as soon as the nightmare had jerked her awake that she was in Taku-chan's room and not her own...nobdy knew this but her and him. The little girl had her own room but she was still afraid of monsters and the dark so when everyone was asleep, she would get out of bed and pad her way over to Taku-chan's room to sleep with him. Taku-chan kept the monsters away. And in the morning, when she woke up, she was in her own bed again and the toddler knew her older brother and carried her back to her room. It was their little secret.
...but Taku-chan wasn't there...he wasn't there that night to hug her and tell her it was just a dream...he wasn't there to tell her that he was keeping the monsters away...
With a terrifying grip of fear over her heart, the toddler scrambled out of bed and ran out the room. It was still hazy...even now...the memory...she couldn't remember how long the stretch of hallway was...nor how dark it was. She just remembered it was long and that everything was too big...to large...too overwhelming. When she reached the steps, the little girl ran down...
...and her short legs tripped...
The girl gave a scream as she fell head first and rolled down the stairs. When the tumbling and the endless pain stopped...she found she was laying on her stomach with a cut on her shoulder.
Giving a soft, "Ungh," the girl looked up and suddenly the thought of her shoulder's pain was erased by what she saw. Her small eyes widened and she gave a cry.
Nabiki layed on the floor, blood surrounding her as though it was splashed on, buckets and buckets of blood. Kasumi stood on the side, her hair wild and her cheeks wet with tears as she tried to hold onto the heavy sword in her hands. Dad was bent down next to Nabiki, sobbing as he clutched her to his chest...and Taku-chan..
...Taku-chan stood in the corner with shock in his eyes...
...and blood on his hands...
{{{End of Memory}}}
"...Akane?...Akane?!" Akane broke out of her trance as she felt the shaking on one side of her shoulder.
"Huh? Huh? What?" she asked, turning her dark brown eyes to meet Ranma's.
Snorting the boy said, a bit miffed that she had ignored him, "Geez, ya stupid tomboy, can't you even pay attention?"
"Hey!" Akane shouted, her anger flaring up, leaving the trace of her memory forgottened for now, "Who are you calling a tomboy, you jerk!"
"Who are you calling a jerk?!" he shouted back at her and the tension between them was so strong, it sizzled.
"Grrrr," Akane growled and that was the only warning Ranma got before a mallet connected with his face, pushing him back into a wall. Nobody lifted a hand to help Ranma up.
"Hmph!" the blue-haired fiancee lifted her nose in the air and stomped her way out of the room, the importance of the conversation earlier not weighing in on her. After awhile, Ranma grumbled and picked himself off the floor and out of the room.
Silence hung in the air for awhile before it was broken by Genma's question, "So... does your new son know how to cook, Tendo?"
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He came.
There was no loud processions...no screams and hugs. There were no curses to speak of and nothing strange at all. Nobody was mad at him and they greeted him with comfort. A week after the nightly 'incident', Taku Tendo had come home and it was like he never even left. The golden girl opened the door and true there were tears down her cheeks as she hugged him and saw how much he had grown...but nothing was strange. The middle girl broke into a little half smile, one of the rare ones she ever showed and cancelled all her bets for the day in celebration of his coming home. His father didn't say anything, just shook his hand and observed how much his son had grown in such a short time...well not so short. The boy, now a man, had been traveling with another man...one that was grim and never smiled...and they both headed upstairs to settle in Taku's old room.
But the boy's old room was no longer his. In the years of his absence it had been turned into a guest room and for the past year, another boy and his father had been living there. Soun tried to explain to Taku and the boy just said it didn't matter...that he and the other man could just sleep on futons in the dojo. Yet, the feeling of a replacement was still in the air.
Then there was a scream out in the front yard and everyone ran out to inspect it.
There were a group of teenagers there, fighting and yelling. One of the teenagers was an Amazon, one was a fighter, one was a pig and one was the boy's replacement.
And another, one other, a girl...the girl...his girl...
He stood in the yard waiting for her to notice him and when her eyes caught his form...she gasped and turned around to face him.
He grinned that quirky, half-smile of his that seemed to just warm her heart.
"Hi Red," he said as he took a hand out to scratch the back of his head sheepishly.
"Taku-chan!" she screamed in joy and ran over to hug him briefly.
There was nothing strange about the hug. Akane was just happy to see her brother again and her brother was happy to see her.
Really, there was no reason for Ranma to be glowing blue like that.
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Chapter 1, Mothers warn your daughters about the dog-demon
Author's Notes: And no it's not a cross-over with Inuyasha (even though you just gotta love the dog-demon ^_^) There seems to be some confusion about the last chapter. It's not complicated, I mean, I just took away the basic grammer rules, that was it! It was meant to show the simplicity of the scenes. It wasn't just a chapter, it was like a dream almost. But as always, it didn't turn out the way I planned and just confused a lot of people. ;) Just let me clear about some things...No! Ranma is *not* Akane's brother *shakes her head*. No! Ranma is in no way related to Akane. No! The guy in the last chapter is in no way related to Ranma (this isn't going to be another Scarlet Trail people). And finally, the final thing I want to make clear is that none of my stories as of yet are abandoned so if you like any of my stories and it hasn't been updated in awhile, don't worry. It will be (I just don't know when). For those of you who have lost loved ones, you have my condolences. I know that isn't much, but it's something.
Disclaimers: Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. Fallen Angels belong to Aerosmith.
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There's a candle burning
In the world tonight
For another child
Who vanished out of sight
And a heart is broken
Another prayer in vain
There's a million tears
That'll fill a sea of pain
Sometimes I stare out my window
My thoughts all drift into space
Sometimes I wonder if there's a better place
Tell me
Where do fallen angels go?
I just don't know (I just don't know)
Where do fallen angels go?
They keep falling (They keep falling)
Well, the times is frightening
Can't ignore the facts
There's so many people
Just slippin' through the cracks
So many ashes are scattered
So many rivers run dry
Sometimes your Heaven is Hell
And you don't know why
So, listen
Falling, falling, falling
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Somewhere out there
There's a shining light
And I got to be with you tonight
And with all we're nowhere
We still pay the price
Yeah the Devil seems to get his way
In downtown paradise
There's a candle burning
La, la, la...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It waited patiently in the limb of the tree outside of the boy's window, it's form crouched and low. The dark night wrapped around the creature like a faithful servant and it's pure white hair contrasted beautifully with the night. Human eyes could see nothing through the black window, but these were not human eyes that looked through them. The creature had followed the boy around for some time now, waiting and watching. When the creature had returned to it's home, it hadn't expected the new scent in it's house. The creature cared not for the old man, he was nothing more then a useless carcass of human flesh still alive. The old man did nothing more then annoy the creature, but no...there was another. Another scent. Another male. A boy that was living and pure energy...and the creature wanted nothing more then to rip the skin off of the boy's throat and devour it as blood gushed out.
In the dark, the white creature grinned a malicious smile as it's sharp teeth glinted. Even as far as it was, the creature could still hear the boy's breathing and it imagined the boy's chest going up and down...up...and down...up...and down...Oh! How it would love to just rip the heart out of that ugly human. Chew and spit out the hands that kept touching it's mistress. At the thought of the male touching it's mistress, the creature growled and bared it's teeth as saliva dripped. The window suddenly didn't seem all that distant anymore. Just one wrong move, the creature thought licking it's teeth, one wrong move, boy and you're all mine.
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Akane never had a nightmare in her entire life...at least not one that she could remember. It wasn't to say that she always had good dreams either, just that she rarely dreamt at all. Usually, it was just a light sleep where she closed her eyes one second and the next she opened them and it was hours later. It wasn't that way with her fiancee, though. He and his father would sleep for hours on end as though they were in a coma. Once those sparkling eyes of his closed, he was knocked out. That was why when she was asleep she wasn't really asleep at all. 'It was a just a closing of the eyes' here father had said once. How many Martial Artists in the world had wanted that ability? To be asleep and yet unconsciously awake also? When she dreamt, the dreams were always light...nothing too detailed...as though whoever designed her dreams was a simple-minded seven year old girl. Sometimes she dreamed of her pet P-chan and the dreams were full for flowers and warmth. Othertimes she just dreamed of being the best Martial Artist in the world. Dreams were simple things, really...at least they were to her.
This night, however, there were no dreams...just sleep. A light simple kind of sleep that she nearly always had. Maybe that was why she heard the sound so quickly as though she had been expecting it. The crash and the sound of glass breaking. The sound of inhuman growls ready to rip apart screams from human bodies. Akane had sat up with a start...as if she was never even really asleep...but just laying there with her eyes closed... waiting. When the sound of broken things entered her mind, the girl greeted it with something akin to relief and fear.
With a few quick movements, she was out of the bed and heading for the door. What was that sound? It sounded like it came from the guest room where Ranma was. *Shampoo probably snuck into bed with him again* and with that thought a burst of red hot anger raced through her. *How dare that jerk sleep with Shampoo!* came her next line of thought. With these things in mind and a barely controlled temper, Akane ran out the room to give Shampoo a piece of her mind and Ranma a piece of her mallet or fist.
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The golden girl sat up with a start, her eyes bright and glinting. Her breathing was rough and ragged as she stared into the darkness of her room. If anyone saw her now they would probably have died of shocked by the sheer ferocity of her stare. What happened to the gentle girl? What happened to the oblivious, forgiving girl? The golden girl felt its presence somewhere in the house, the presence of the demon that she had tried to kill before. She had awoken from her sweet dreams without knowing what had waken her, but now she knew. The thing was here...it had returned. But...if *it* came back...maybe then *he* came back too...
There was no time for thoughts now, she had to hurry. The golden-girl stepped out of bed and ran over to her closet door, flinging it open. Her eyes landed on the object hanging proudly with no dust on the wall. A light from somewhere, probably the moon, reflected the sword and it shone slightly...as though beckoning to her. With a set of her chin, the girl walked proudly over and pulled the sword from it's place on the wall. For awhile she just stood there, feeling the rough cloth of the handle in her hand...petting the sharp, deadly blade soothingly. It had been too long since she used this...not that she minded. The golden girl was a peaceful person...and her sword was also...but when time called for it's use...then it would be used.
Her hand tightening on the sword, the golden girl walked quickly out the door of her bedroom, her long, beautiful tresses of hair trailing behind her.
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The girl had been sitting at her desk, counting her money and monthly income under the dim light of her desk lamp. This was the only time that she could calculate her profits and losses without fear of interference or discovery from one of her family members. Hmm, that was strange...it seems she didn't make quite a large enough profit this month... which to her was a loss. *I must stop being so compassionate* the girl thought. Suddenly, her body convulsed and shivered. The girl's eyes widened in shock and fear before another shiver ran through her, this time more strong then the last. The girl known as Nabiki started to shake...shake and convulse as she fell from her chair to the floor.
*Oh please no* she begged in her mind, though she knew no one could possibly hear. Her throat started to clog up with something and the girl found herself choking as well as shaking. Fear and stark terror was all she felt. This girl who feared nothing...feared this more then anything else. The shaking wouldn't stop nor could she breathe. Her skin broke out in a cold sweat...the cold-hot liquid trickling down her skin and onto the carpet of her bedroom.
*No!* her mind shouted. This girl who had always been strong and willful. *No!* her mind shouted again and this time her body flooded with the joyous heat of anger and emotion. *I'm not a child! How dare you do this?! How dare you?!* her fury and anger provided the much needed heat she sought. It also provided a thought in her head that was clear from the fog of fear and terror. Her shaking slowed down...then stopped altogether. The stuff in her throat slided away until there was only a nasty taste left.
Her frail, white hand shook slightly as she put it on the bed to lever herself off the floor. When she managed to stand up slightly with only her hand to hold her up, her knees wobbled and she nearly slipped and fell. Her other hand raked through her perfect, short, brown hair as she breathed out a sigh of relief and tiredness. Suddenly, a though raced through her mind and her terror was back.
"Oh geez! Akane!" Nabiki half-shouted, half-whispered as she dashed out of that room, intent on saving her sister from the demon thing.
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Ranma had been asleep in his room when he heard the crash and felt the shattered glass fly across the room. He sat up with a start, his blue-gray eyes wide and alert in the darkness. *What was that?!* his mind screamed before he felt something sharp clamp painfully down on his arm. With a cry, he used all his strength to fling the thing across the room before scrambling off his futon and rushing over to turn on the light switch. Sweat poured down his body in beads as his large eyes darted this way and that in the room, trying to sense or locate the thing that caused the crash and bit him...but there was nothing. There was nothing but a broken window and his snoring panda father who still laid asleep. He stared down at his futon and noticed the blood there. Where was it? *What* was it? And the most important question of all...where the hell was it now?
Before another thought could pass his mind he felt a strong presence and turned around just in time to see a flash of white and a pair of sharp teeth clamp viciously down onto his neck.
"What the hell?!" he screamed as he grabbed the thing and flung it towards the wall from his neck. It's large form slammed against the wall before it bounced back up again, growling it's teeth at him. Ranma felt his hand move of it's own will towards his throat and when he looked down he saw blood all over it. *Oh shit!* his mind cursed again before turning to look at the creature. It was too big to be a dog or a wolf...and yet too small to be anything else. The thing was like a large wolf of some sort...only ten times more ferocious... and a million times more deadly. The thing's ears were pulled back to it's head and it bared it's sharp fang-like teeth to him in growls of hostiliy...but the thing that really scared the young teenager, although he would never admit to it, were the eyes. Those burning red eyes that seemed to stare deep into his soul and wished it demise and pain. Whatever this thing was, it was death in the form of a creature...
...and Ranma was frightened...
...more frightened then he had ever been in his life...
Suddenly, the door to the guest bedroom was burst open and both awake occupants of the room turned their heads to see a seething Akane stand there. Akane had gotten herself into a downright fit and was turning her eyes angrily around the room to try and spot her fiancee.
*No, you idiot, get out of here!* Ranma shouted in his head...but no sound came out of his mouth.
"Ranma, how dare you-!" but her voice dwindled away as she saw the blood on the floor and the bloody Ranma by the wall. Her face lost most, if not all, of it's blood and her eyes widened considerably.
"What happened?!" she shouted as she stared at him in shock. Her feet began to move and the girl started to run to her fiancee when the creature moved.
"No!!!" Ranma screamed as he saw the flying bundle of white hair jump up with lightening speed and jump on Akane. His fear left, leaving only a flaming hot anger. He rushed toward Akane but what he saw stopped him immediatly in his tracks.
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The golden girl ran down the hallway, her sword in her hand, her eyes dark and intent. Before she reached the room where the demon's blood called out to her, she saw a door fling open in front of her and a shaky Nabiki run out. Running faster, the golden girl caught up to her sister and clamp a hand on the other girl's shoulder. Nabiki jumped and flung her body around, her eyes darting this way and that in fear until they landed on Kasumi.
"Oh geez, Kasumi, you scared me!" she said, her hand over her heart. The golden girl just looked sadly down at her pale sister with the shaking hands.
"Oh Nabiki..." she said softly as she stroked her sister's cheek with the hand not holding the sword.
Nabiki's eyes watered for a moment before they dried again and she brushed Kasumi's hand aside distractedly.
"I'm okay, oneechan, really. We need to get to Akane," she said and Kasumi's mouth hardend as she nodded her agreement. Nabiki swallowed a lump in her throat as she looked at her oneechan. It had been years since she had seen Kasumi this way...years...so many years that she almost forgot. Kasumi wasn't supposed to be this way...Kasumi was supposed to be loving and carefree and sweet...
*...but when terror strikes...* Nabiki thought.
Both sister ran down the hallway until they reach the room where the demon's blood called out. Without any hesitation, they flung open the door and immediatly, their eyes landed on the same spectacle that Ranma beheld.
Akane sat on the floor of the guest room, her brown eyes childish and afraid as she tried to push the creature on her off without openly showing it. The thing...the wolf-demon...the creature...sat perched on Akane's crossed legs. It's red-hot eyes had dimmed down to a mild dark brown that gleamed with contentment as it licked one of Akane's hands. Even it's size seemed to have shrunk when the white hairs on it's back wasn't standing on end...and it's ears weren't pulled back in hostility.
Akane seemed to have forgotten about Ranma as she turned dilated pupils to her two sisters in the doorway. The tomboy was scared out of her mind...quite literally.
"You said it wasn't going to come back again," Ranma heard her whisper to Kasumi and Ranma wasn't even sure Akane knew she was saying these words, she was so scared. The creature seemed to have heard her, though. The demon turned it's head up to stare at Akane with pained eyes, but Akane just inched her head back in fear and disgust. For a moment, the pig-tailed fiancee almost felt sorry for the creature who seemed so hurt by the young girl's words.
"Eemmm..." the thing whimpered and Akane whispered involuntarily in disgust, "Don't touch me."
The creature's head reeled back as though hit...but still it would not budge from it's place on Akane's lap. Not as long as there was another male in the presence.
The golden girl suddenly broke out of her shocked gaze and the hand on her sword tightened as the other joined it there.
"Get away from my sister!" she shouted before rushing toward the creature. It looked as Kasumi in shock before leaping out of Akane's lap and onto the floor. Ranma watched in surprise as he saw Kasumi moved with a Martial Arts ability he never saw before. Even stranger yet, was the fact that, instead of just attacking the weaker girl and killing her, the creature chose to dodge her attacks.
Finally having enough of the attacks, the creature stopped for a second to issue a menacing growl at Ranma before disappearing out of the window. Kasumi looked furiously at the place where the creature had been before rushing over to Akane. The hard and protective look in her eyes weren't exactly gone...just lessened until it was back to the same Kasumi-like texture again. The older sibling bent down and hugged Akane close to her as she provided the comfort she herself needed.
The sleeping panda decided upon this moment to wearily open it's eyes. The same eyes widened as it stared around the room.
"What happened?!" Genma-panda signed.
Nabiki, now that thew danger was gone, was back to her old self so she said in a wry, amused tone, "It seems that Akane's lost puppy found it's way home."
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In a darkened alleyway a mean looking cat sat on a garbage-can chewing on a piece of bone it found. A canine walks from the shadows to apporoach the feasting feline. A growl is heard...then a hiss...
...and blood splatters...
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"Ow! Watch it!" the boy cried out as the doctor tied the bandage on his arm and started on the wound in his neck.
"Take it like a man boy!" Genma said which only got him a deadly glare from his son.
After the 'incident', as they put it, the group of teenagers along with a confused Genma-panda made their way into the kitchen only to find Soun already d own there. Kasumi made hot tea for everyone as Nabiki phoned Dr. Tofu to rush over. Now, they all sat around the table on the floor in the kitchen after Nabiki gave a brief summary of what had happened to everyone. They all sat contemplating this.
Finally, Soun stood up with a sigh and a forlorn look on his face. All eyes were on him as he walked out of the room, and then, a few minutes later, came back with a blank envelope in his hand.
Walking over he handed the envelope to Kasumi and said, "I thought it was good news when I got this, but after tonight...I don't know. Maybe it's not over yet."
A flicker passed through Kasumi's eyes before she opened the envelope and pulled out a postcard.
After reading the brief message, she uttered a stunned, "Oh my."
Everyone else, including a newly bandaged Ranma and his father, stumbled over to read the message over Kasumi's shoulder.
Ranma heard a curse uttered beside him and turned his head to see the color flow away from Nabiki's face. Wanting an answer to the strange message, he turned his head to see an equally bewildered Akane.
"What does it mean?" the youngest Tendo asked her father, "I'm coming home, dad? Taku? Who's that? And what was that thing?" Kasumi, Nabiki and Mr. Tendo turned sad, almost pitying, eyes to Akane. This did not get lost on the girl or her fiancee.
"What?" she asked as she started to back away.
"Akane-chan," Kasumi said slowly, "what did that creature make you feel?" All eyes bore on the young girl now.
"I...I...I was scared, I guess. Why?" Akane's now nervous eyes darted in question to her father.
"She doesn't remember," Soun said, almost to himself and his middle child said dryly, "Well, how can you expect her to, daddy? She was only about three when it happened."
"Would somebody please tell me what is going on? Who's Taku?" Ranma asked, voicing Akane's questions again.
Soun sighed as his eyes lowered in what almost seemed like shame.
"My son," he answered.
The panda's eyes widened considerably and Ranma yelled out, "Your son?! You have a son?" He turned to Soun, Kasumi and Nabiki hoping for an answer but none of them would meet his eyes. Then, he heard a gasp nearby and looked over to see Akane with her mouth open and a look of recognition in her face.
"Oh yeah," she said out loud, her voice holding a tinge of a joyous memory, "Taku."
"You remember him?" Soun asked in fear, his eyes bordering near tears.
The blue-haired girl's eyes held confusion for a second before she answered, "A little bit. I'm still not sure though..." Here her eyes crinkled slightly and they sparkled with warmth.
"A boy with warm hands. A smile...and eyes...brown eyes that never got mad at me...that was always smiling. Am I right?" she asked suddenly, breaking out of her trance.
Nabiki gave a sniff and turned her head away while Kasumi gave a soft smile that was a mixture of pain and love.
"You couldn't be more right," the oldest Tendo girl said.
"But...but he left. Why'd he leave?" Akane asked in confusion. The memories in her head were so hazy...and so very vague...
{{{Memory}}}
...the baby girl snapped her head up as a sob erupted it's way from her throat. With tears running down her cheeks, she moved her hand over to clutch onto her Taku-chan and sob her tears. She knew as soon as the nightmare had jerked her awake that she was in Taku-chan's room and not her own...nobdy knew this but her and him. The little girl had her own room but she was still afraid of monsters and the dark so when everyone was asleep, she would get out of bed and pad her way over to Taku-chan's room to sleep with him. Taku-chan kept the monsters away. And in the morning, when she woke up, she was in her own bed again and the toddler knew her older brother and carried her back to her room. It was their little secret.
...but Taku-chan wasn't there...he wasn't there that night to hug her and tell her it was just a dream...he wasn't there to tell her that he was keeping the monsters away...
With a terrifying grip of fear over her heart, the toddler scrambled out of bed and ran out the room. It was still hazy...even now...the memory...she couldn't remember how long the stretch of hallway was...nor how dark it was. She just remembered it was long and that everything was too big...to large...too overwhelming. When she reached the steps, the little girl ran down...
...and her short legs tripped...
The girl gave a scream as she fell head first and rolled down the stairs. When the tumbling and the endless pain stopped...she found she was laying on her stomach with a cut on her shoulder.
Giving a soft, "Ungh," the girl looked up and suddenly the thought of her shoulder's pain was erased by what she saw. Her small eyes widened and she gave a cry.
Nabiki layed on the floor, blood surrounding her as though it was splashed on, buckets and buckets of blood. Kasumi stood on the side, her hair wild and her cheeks wet with tears as she tried to hold onto the heavy sword in her hands. Dad was bent down next to Nabiki, sobbing as he clutched her to his chest...and Taku-chan..
...Taku-chan stood in the corner with shock in his eyes...
...and blood on his hands...
{{{End of Memory}}}
"...Akane?...Akane?!" Akane broke out of her trance as she felt the shaking on one side of her shoulder.
"Huh? Huh? What?" she asked, turning her dark brown eyes to meet Ranma's.
Snorting the boy said, a bit miffed that she had ignored him, "Geez, ya stupid tomboy, can't you even pay attention?"
"Hey!" Akane shouted, her anger flaring up, leaving the trace of her memory forgottened for now, "Who are you calling a tomboy, you jerk!"
"Who are you calling a jerk?!" he shouted back at her and the tension between them was so strong, it sizzled.
"Grrrr," Akane growled and that was the only warning Ranma got before a mallet connected with his face, pushing him back into a wall. Nobody lifted a hand to help Ranma up.
"Hmph!" the blue-haired fiancee lifted her nose in the air and stomped her way out of the room, the importance of the conversation earlier not weighing in on her. After awhile, Ranma grumbled and picked himself off the floor and out of the room.
Silence hung in the air for awhile before it was broken by Genma's question, "So... does your new son know how to cook, Tendo?"
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He came.
There was no loud processions...no screams and hugs. There were no curses to speak of and nothing strange at all. Nobody was mad at him and they greeted him with comfort. A week after the nightly 'incident', Taku Tendo had come home and it was like he never even left. The golden girl opened the door and true there were tears down her cheeks as she hugged him and saw how much he had grown...but nothing was strange. The middle girl broke into a little half smile, one of the rare ones she ever showed and cancelled all her bets for the day in celebration of his coming home. His father didn't say anything, just shook his hand and observed how much his son had grown in such a short time...well not so short. The boy, now a man, had been traveling with another man...one that was grim and never smiled...and they both headed upstairs to settle in Taku's old room.
But the boy's old room was no longer his. In the years of his absence it had been turned into a guest room and for the past year, another boy and his father had been living there. Soun tried to explain to Taku and the boy just said it didn't matter...that he and the other man could just sleep on futons in the dojo. Yet, the feeling of a replacement was still in the air.
Then there was a scream out in the front yard and everyone ran out to inspect it.
There were a group of teenagers there, fighting and yelling. One of the teenagers was an Amazon, one was a fighter, one was a pig and one was the boy's replacement.
And another, one other, a girl...the girl...his girl...
He stood in the yard waiting for her to notice him and when her eyes caught his form...she gasped and turned around to face him.
He grinned that quirky, half-smile of his that seemed to just warm her heart.
"Hi Red," he said as he took a hand out to scratch the back of his head sheepishly.
"Taku-chan!" she screamed in joy and ran over to hug him briefly.
There was nothing strange about the hug. Akane was just happy to see her brother again and her brother was happy to see her.
Really, there was no reason for Ranma to be glowing blue like that.
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