Author's Notes: Although time travel is interesting, it can be a pain to explain. I hope things don't get too confusing... Also, if you're reading this, please take the time to review. It would mean a lot to me to see how many people are enjoying this fic, and I'd also get some feedback on what I'm doing right or wrong. Thanks to those of you who've already reviewed.
Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi owns all the characters except for Kaori Kamikuro because, well, I was the one who created him!
Chapter 2 - The First Jump
"RANMA!" Akane screamed as tears ran down her face. She ran as hard as she could, trying to put distance between herself and Gosunkugi. Her attacker grabbed her from behind, and she struggled in vain to break free.
Akane covered her head and sobbed. "Ranma's not coming," she thought. "Not this time."
"AKANE!"
Looking up she saw Ranma, like an angel, falling from above. He was diving toward her headfirst. She saw him lash out with his fist and knock away the knife in Gosunkugi's hand as he barreled into them. The three of them fell into a tangled mess and Akane freed herself from Gosunkugi's grip. Quick as lightning, Ranma was up and pulling her to safety.
"Akane! Are you hurt?!"
It was odd how the sunlight streaming from behind Ranma illuminated him in such an angelic way. She mused at this ever so briefly, before answering him.
"No, but there's something wrong with Gosunkugi. He tried to kill me!"
Ranma turned to Gosunkugi, who was still on the ground.
"You want to explain what's going on?" Ranma asked his fallen foe in a cold voice.
"Get away from him, son-in-law!" Cologne warned as she headed toward them.
"Too late, you old ghoul!" Gosunkugi yelled and he knocked Ranma off his feet with a quick sweep of his leg.
Ranma fell on his back and saw Gosunkugi raise a fist and bring it down upon his stomach. He had never felt a punch from Gosunkugi, but he assumed that it would be fairly painless. Nevertheless, he braced his body for it's impact. An explosive pain that felt like a mountain had fallen on him shot through his stomach. Cologne jumped into the fight with a swing of her walking stick that drove Gosunkugi back a few steps.
"So, young shadow assassin, you have come to see me as promised," she greeted him.
"Of course. An assassin never breaks his word," Gosunkugi replied, bowing slightly. "Like the Amazons, we have our honor, too."
"What?" Ranma asked in a strained voice as he accepted Akane's help to stand. "Who are you?"
"Is something wrong, Saotome? Don't you remember your old pal Gosunkugi?" His eyes shimmered with a dark sparkle that sent shivers down Akane's spine.
"You're not him!" she yelled back. "The Gosunkugi we knew never had the speed or strength to hit Ranma."
"Would you believe that I've been working out?" he asked with a malicious grin.
"Do not be fooled," Cologne said calmly. "This is not your classmate. He is being controlled by the shadow assassin."
"He's the one we're looking for?" Ranma asked, still clutching his tender stomach.
The assassin bowed again, never letting his eyes stray from his enemies.
"Kaori Kamikuro, shadow assassin at your service."
"Shadow assassin...?" Akane asked. The others ignored her.
"Does that mean you've chosen your target?" Ranma asked, feeling quite nervous at the thought of Akane's timeline being endangered.
Kamikuro eyed Akane. "Yes."
Beside her, Akane felt Ranma's battle aura suddenly grow. He flexed his fingers and pulled them back into fists before adopting a fighting stance. "Stay back," he whispered to her.
"Shed that body, Kamikuro! I want to fight you man to man!"
"Sorry Saotome, but I don't think so. Let's see how well you fight when you risk hurting a friend."
Ranma's expression grew dark. "I thought you had honor. How honorable is it to use a defenseless person as a shield?"
"This move isn't about honor. It's about strategy." Kamikuro pulled out a short sword and began advancing.
"Don't underestimate us, sonny," Cologne said, drawing her walking stick like a sword.
"This fight is personal Cologne," Ranma said, trying to step in front of her.
"You can't do this alone, groom. An enemy like him must be taken down with assistance."
"You should listen to her, Saotome. Granny knows best!" he yelled, lunging toward Ranma.
Cologne struck back with her walking stick and blocked the sword strike. Kamikuro struck again and again, but Cologne's wooden stick held its own against the steel blade.
"That must be some strong wood," Ranma thought as he looked for an opening. Kamikuro's back was exposed to him. "I hate to strike an opponent's back, but I'll do it for Akane's sake!"
With his left foot, he aimed a high side kick at Kamikuro's head. Sensing the back attack, Kamikuro spun with his razor sharp blade and met Ranma's kick. Had Ranma not seen his enemy's movements and leaned back to lift his kick higher, the blade might have cut off his leg. Luckily, Kamikuro had missed by a hair's width. Both attacks passed harmlessly by their targets.
"Well well," Kamikuro said. "Not many people would have seen that strike coming. That speed of yours is impressive, although Gosunkugi's mind already gave me an idea of the kind of abilities you have."
"What?!" Akane called from the sidelines. "You're violating Gosunkugi's mind?" It was not that she cared so much about Gosunkugi, rather it was Kamikuro's lack of respect for others that made her so mad. "You disgusting little--!"
"Don't waste your breath on me yet," Kamikuro replied calmly. "Save it until I have you screaming for mercy under my knife."
"SHUT UP!" Ranma yelled. Enraged, he lunged at his enemy and drew back his right arm, ready to punch Kamikuro in the mouth. Just inches from his target, Kamikuro caught Ranma and held him in the air with one hand while Akane gasped at the strength of the assassin. Ranma didn't care that his opponent had the power to stop him in mid flight. He drew his arm back again and connected to Kamikuro's jaw with a powerful hook. Ranma watched in horror as Kamikuro's head snapped to the side and turn back to face him, unfazed.
Kamikuro drew Gosunkugi's mouth into a triumphant smile. "Is that the best that the legendary Ranma Saotome can throw?" He hurled Ranma away and began advancing with his short sword.
"Son-in-law!" Cologne leapt forward again in Ranma's defense. With blazing speed, Kamikuro slashed a fist at Cologne's head and knocked her sideways, out of his path.
He roughly lifted Ranma's head by his hair and leaned in toward him. "Can you protect her when you're dead?" he whispered into his ear and threw him back to the ground. Kamikuro held his sword above Ranma with both hands as Ranma remained on his back in a painful heap. "Say goodbye to her!" he yelled, and plunged the sword downward.
As though in slow motion, Ranma saw the sword begin it's decent on his body. He brought his right leg up toward his chest and, with all the strength left in his battered body, Ranma kicked Kamikuro in the stomach as hard as he could. He saw Kamikuro's expression of shock as his body was lifted off the ground. He watched in amazement as his enemy flew over forty feet and slam into a tree with such force that it uprooted itself and fell over. Never in his life was Ranma able to kick something so far and so hard. He was stunned.
"Ranma...?" Akane asked, coming to his side. "How did you...?" Her eyes were wide in amazement.
"Uh..." Ranma was at a loss for words. Akane helped him up and they checked on Cologne, who had seen the final attack.
"He is not finished yet, son-in-law. His battle aura still burns."
"How can anything human survive a kick like that...?" Akane wondered out loud.
The three of them cautiously approached as the dirt began to settle. They saw a black shadow emerge from Gosunkugi's body and form itself into a man. His face was shrouded in a black mask and he wore the thin black garments of an assassin.
"Kamikuro," Cologne said in a firm voice, "do you admit total defeat?"
"I admit defeat, but only in this time period," he said with a sneer. "I don't know how you did that Saotome, but let's see if you're as lucky in the future."
"You're not going anywhere!" Ranma yelled. "This ends here!" He stepped forward to grab Kamikuro and watched in surprise as Kamikuro melted into a shadow and disappeared back into Gosunkugi.
"What are you doing?!" Akane cried.
Gosunkugi took off running. "In time, I may find another use for this body. Catch me if you can Saotome!"
"Come son-in-law! We must kill him while he is weak!" Cologne turned to follow the fleeing enemy, but Ranma caught her arm.
"Wait, when did we say anything about killing?" Ranma asked. Throughout all of the years he had trained in martial arts, he had never killed anyone and he didn't want to start now.
"You must kill him, son-in-law; for the sake of you fiancé!"
"Don't do it Ranma," Akane pleaded, taking his hand in hers. "You can't take a life. There must be another way!"
"There isn't another way, and there isn't time to discuss this!" Cologne yelled frantically. "Come, son-in-law!"
Ranma could barely process everything in his head. He needed to protect Akane, but that meant killing Kamikuro. How could he take a life...? But, then again, how could he risk losing Akane?
"Akane, I have to do something. I'm not going to let him hurt you."
"But Ranma, you can't--"
"Hurry, son-in-law! We must go!" Cologne called as she left Ranma and ran after Kamikuro.
"I have to go! Please Akane, don't follow us. Just know that no matter what happens," Ranma said, staring into her eyes, "I will never stop protecting you!" He turned and bounded after Cologne.
"Ranma..." Akane whispered, tears forming in her eyes, "please be safe."
Kamikuro clutched the stomach of his borrowed body. "Damn that Saotome! I have to get out of this time before he can stop me."
He pulled out a tattered scroll and whispered an incantation in an ancient tongue. Kamikuro and the air around him began to shimmer and he disappeared in a hazy white light.
"No! Cologne shouted, seeing him disappear. She stopped and waited for Ranma to reach her.
"Where did he go?" Ranma asked.
"He just jumped into another time. You must follow him!"
Ranma nodded. He took off his right shoe and quickly pulled out the Gem of Times. "OK, what do I do?"
Cologne tapped him on the back of his head with her stick just hard enough to sting.
"Son-in-law!" she scolded. "How dare you put such an important treasure in your shoe?"
"Ow! Hey, I didn't have anywhere to put it!" He gestured toward his pocketless clothing. Cologne gave an exasperated sigh. She plucked the gem from his hand and pulled a spool of fine silver thread from the sleeve of her shirt. Then she began moving her hands at the speed of someone who was performing the "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" technique.
"There," she said, holding out the Gem of Times to him. It was now encased in an intricate weave of silver thread that hung from a necklace made of the same material. "You can wear it around you neck. The thread is quite strong."
Ranma obediently wore the necklace.
"Now, hold the gem in your hand. Many believe that this gem can hear your wishes, so whether you tell it to take you to an exact time, or to follow Kamikuro, it will do so. But, keep in mind that wherever you first jump from is the same place that you must return to if you wish to jump again."
"Why?" Ranma asked.
"A rip in time will appear when you use this gem. After it opens, it can only exist in that same place and will only be accessible to anyone holding the gem. The rip is so disruptive to the flow of time that more than one cannot be opened." Cologne explained.
"What happens when we want to close the rip?" Ranma asked.
"The rip will only be closed when the gem comes in contact with it at the same time that it was first created. Now go, son-in-law! We're wasting time while Kamikuro prepares to attack Akane in another time!"
"Ok, I'm gonna jump!" Ranma looked around and saw that he was in an alley behind a strip of stores. It was completely deserted and seemed like a good place to choose.
"Remember that shadow assassins are honorable. When they time jump, that will always attack a target and they only jump again after being defeated! Good luck, son-in-law!"
Ranma nodded his thanks to her. He grabbed the gem around his neck and wished, "Follow Kamikuro!"
Ranma opened his eyes and realized that it was nighttime.
"Huh? What happened?" he wondered, looking around. Through the darkness, he could see that he was right where he had been when he first time jumped, and everything looked the same. Nothing looked newer or older. It all looked exactly the same, except it was nighttime now.
"Did I even jump at all?" he asked no one in particular. He suddenly realized that Cologne was no where to be found. Ranma began walking toward the Cat Cafe to find her when he remembered the reason for time jumping in the first place.
"Akane!" he yelled, and quickly took off in the direction of the Tendo Dojo. Even in the dark, he knew the way back to the place he had called home since he was sixteen. As he approached the dojo, Ranma saw that the lights in the dinning room were on.
"I guess it's time for dinner." Ranma jumped over the pond, dashed up the steps, and quickly threw back the door. He stepped inside and stopped in surprise.
The family was sitting down to dinner alright, but it wasn't the family he expected. He saw Akane sitting where she usually did at the table, as well as Nabiki and Kasumi. However, his father and Mr. Tendo weren't there. In their places were Dr. Tofu and Kuno!
"What's going on?" Ranma thought to himself. He looked at everyone in confusion, and everyone looked back with equal surprise. No one moved or spoke for several moments before Akane broke the silence.
"Ranma?" she asked tentatively. "Is that really you?"
"Uh, yeah..." he answered somewhat stupidly. Even if he overlooked Dr. Tofu and Kuno having dinner at the dojo, something seemed to be off and he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"Where have you been Ranma? You've been gone for...so long..." Kasumi said.
Ranma didn't know what to say. It had been quite a few hours since he left the house this morning to look for Akane, but somehow he knew that that wasn't the answer to Kasumi's question.
"How do we know that's really Ranma?" Akane asked the others.
Before he could respond, Nabiki splashed him from the table with a glass of cold water.
"That's him, I mean, her alright," she said with complete sincerity.
"Nabiki!" Kuno reprimanded. He picked up a kettle of hot water that was sitting on the table and poured it over Ranma's head.
From under the stream of hot water, he looked at Kuno. "Wait, you know that I'm the pig-tailed girl?" Ranma asked him.
Kuno nodded. "Nabiki filled me in while you were gone." He sat back down and another round of silence began. After a few uncomfortable moments, Dr. Tofu cleared his throat.
"I'm sure Ranma has a very good explanation as to where he's been for the last two years..."
