Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma in any way, shape, or form.

IMPORTANT: Read Author's Notes at the end for important information.




File 04: King of Blades


Chaos.

That's the best and only way to describe the situation. There was gunfire
blazing everywhere, bullets flying every which way you could imagine. One
misplaced ricochet and your brains would vacate your head.

"If you surrender now, I'll give you the honor of a quick and painless death."

The heroine of my little story was pretty high up. She had gone up there to take
some of the heat off of her sister who was down below in thick of it. She had
succeeded and several dozen of them had followed her, each intent on giving her
a few
dozen blowholes.

"No matter what, you will not leave here alive."

She was tired, her lungs were burning, her limbs felt like lead. She had
probably been fighting for close to an hour straight and yet they wouldn't stop
coming.

"I'm impressed, your tenacity is quite admirable, but it ends here."

She could only wonder how her sister did it. She was all over the place down
there, 10 to 1 odds at LEAST and they had assault weapons, but she was her only
weapon and the only one she needed

"You've been in a thorn in our side for far too long. In order for us to move
forward, certain restricting components must be eliminated."

She had been in battles before. She had survived her share of major fights, but
nothing like this. It had been a trap from the beginning; a plan orchestrated by
god knows how many sides just to eliminate two people. She...had never been
targeted before...she had never been hunted before.

"DIE!!!"

He charged. She wasn't near ready to take on this guy. He was the best Silver
Sword had. He had killed more people than she could count. There were horror
stories about how efficient and ruthless he was with his katana. She was still
green. This was only her second run in the field.

"AN AMATEUR LIKE YOU CAN'T DEFEAT ME!!"

She was...scared... and she knew it went against everything she had been taught,
but fear had a way of disregarding small things like training. He had long since
drawn first blood and it had only gone on to second, third...fourth. She was
trying her best...she really was, but it just wasn't enough.
It...just...wasn't...enough.

"I'll take great pleasure in evi..."

An explosion, it went off directly beneath them. She didn't know what had
happened, she didn't know what had caused it, she didn't know what had happened
to her sister.

"PAY ATTENTION!!"

She was distracted. She kept her eyes averted for one second too long. By
the time she realized her mistake, there was a sword going through her shoulder.
Her arm went dead...she wanted to scream...but at that point it seemed
pointless.

"Pathetic. Perhaps I overestimated Heaven's Star. This wasn't even worth my
time."

She couldn't stop him. She was helpless. He was going to kill her and there
wasn't a damn thing I......she......could do to stop him. She just stood there
like a pathetic, scared, little child when he brought the sword down on her.
There was blood everywhere; he seemed to enjoy the sight of it I think. She
thought that getting sliced open would hurt, she only felt a tingling, maybe the
pain came later.

"I should leave you here to bleed to death, but there is a little experiment
I have always wanted to try."

He hoisted her up by the throat and could've snapped her neck right there just
as easily. All the while he had this sick, demented grin on his face that would
stay burned in her memory for as long as she lived. He tangled her over the
edge, she couldn't breath, she couldn't think, she just couldn't fight anymore.

"Have you ever heard the saying 'to fly without wings'? Do you think that is
possible?"

Have you ever seen your life flash before your eyes? Do you know what that does
to a person? To see everything, all the tragedy, all the pain, and all the
mistakes you've ever made in the span of a second? She did, and it was an
experience she would never forget.

"Why don't we find out? If it works, then truly the wiseman who said it was
astute beyond his years. If not, well...I'm sure you could care less by then."

He let go. She though it was almost funny, it kinda did feel like she was flying
for a second. But as they say; it's not the fall that kills you, it's the sudden
stop. Which was about the time she woke up...


***


"AAH!!" She woke up with a start. Her eyes were wide and frantically
searched the room. She breathed rapidly, and a cold sweat drenched her
face. "Not again. Goddamnit"

She looked at the digital clock that was to her left, it read 5:17 in the
morning. She sat up in her bed and wiped the sweat off her face. Her hand moved
to her shoulder as she felt a tingling running across her chest.

"I thought I was over this..."

She rolled off and walked over to the mirror on top of her dresser. She stared
at the face looking back. Her finger traced over the long jagged scar that
began at her right collarbone and ended at the left of her stomach.

"I'm not...like that anymore."

She had spent all this time trying to convince herself of that. To get the
person she was staring at to believe her.

"I've changed...I've grown."

The first few times, it was sadness. She had to cry herself back to sleep. It
then became depression. She dozed off with thoughts of how much she despised
herself. Now, it was something purer, now it was something she could use, now it
was something she could focus on.

"I...am...not...weak."

Hate. For the person who made her bleed, for the person who nearly ended her
life, for the person who's face would always be in her memory for as long as she
lived.

"Never...again."

A pale red aura over came her entire body. She was seeing his face even now, his
sick, twisted, manic grin was plastered on it. It vanished as soon as her fist
rammed into the glass, the cracks starred off and pieces fell and shattered
against the table.

"I...need some air."



It was pitch dark in the Tendo household. The only illumination was the pale
light of the moon pouring in through the windows. She slowly strolled down the
stairs; her movements totally devoid of sound. As she approached the living room
she could make out a figure; the door to the back was open, and the person
seemed to be staring out into space.

"Ranma?"

The errie green glow that emanated from his left eye made him seem surreal to
her. The Cyclops implant usually only did that when it was active, but it seemed
almost natural when seen this early in the morning.

"Nabiki. What are you doing up?" His voice was low and soft. She never expected
him to sound like that.

"I...couldn't sleep. What are you doing?"

Ranma turned his head and nodded to something outside.

"She's been at it since 5."

When Nabiki approached and sat down next to him, the sight immediately
captivated her. It was Kasumi, she was bathed in some unearthly blue-white
energy; she looked angelic.

"Does she always do this?"

"Only....sometimes. I've only seen her do it two or three times."

Her movements were so controlled and precise it seemed as though she were
dancing. The style had to be Tai Chi Quan or Wu-Shu, most likely it was a mix of
both.

"It's...beautiful..." They were the only words Ranma could come up with.

Nabiki was entranced by it all. Everything chained together so smoothly and
perfectly it hardly seemed possible. It was like she was moving through water.
Trails of light were following her limbs; the swirling mist-like force she was
giving off seemed to fluctuate in tandem with her breathing. The entire effect
was hypnotic and it was no surprise she became enthralled so easily.

"Nabiki?" Her voice broke her out of her trance. Kasumi was kneeling in front of
her with a concerned look on her face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah..." When she looked to her right, Ranma was gone. She had no idea how long
her mind had been wandering.

"What are you doing down here so late?"

"Kas...I...wanna ask you something." Nabiki's voice was unusually meek and
small, and her question almost went unnoticed by Kasumi.

"What is it?" She sat down next to her.

"I...I...had...that dream...again..."

She already knew what she was talking about. The incident two years ago that
left her in a coma for three weeks. It was only her second mission out, and she
nearly lost her life. She hasn't forgotten it since.

"It's in the past...you should let that go."

"I know that... It's harder than I thought it would be..." She sighed, her face
had a forlorn expression on it.

"What did you want to ask me?"

"I wanted to know...why you did it."

"Did what?"

"I know how much you...dislike...using weapons. And...you probably know...that
after I was thrown off...I...came to a couple of times."

Kasumi wondered what she was trying so desperately to ask. She knew that she had
initially slipped in and out of consciousness after she was thrown nearly two
stories; she was amazed she had survived the fall.

"One of the times I came to...I saw you...you had taken the rifle from one the
assault team members. You kept telling me...how relying on a weapon is a
weakness...so why did you use it?"

Their eyes met for a moment. The question was indeed genuine, and it seemed it
had been on her mind for quite some time.

"You were hurt, I had to get you out as quickly as possible."

"Why...would you do that for me? You always stick to your principles, so why did
you drop them for me?"

Kasumi gave her sister a look that asked whether she truly meant what she
was asking. By what she could see on Nabiki's face it looked as if she needed
the answer more than anything.

"Because. Father, Akane, you. You're everything to me, and I would do anything
to protect you."

There was another moment of silence between them. Kasumi turned her eyes to the
stars, they seemed to be unusually bright that night, it was one of the
reasons she was outside in the first place. Her attention returned when she
all of a sudden felt her sister's head come to rest on her shoulder.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For...everything..."


~**~

"Central. This is post #001, is Mr. Sankichi scheduled to have visitors?" One of
three guards stationed inside the gates of an all too massive secluded estate
spoke into his earpiece.

"Not that I can see on the schedule. What's going on?" The controller responded.

"Some limo just pulled up. No one's come out yet."

Said vehicle was currently parked across the street, just across from the
entrance. It was a rather long stretch limo and whoever sat inside had to be
very much endowed with the green stuff. It was 7:30 in tthe morning and visitors
were rarely seen at this time.

"Think we should check it out?" Another one of three whispered to the first.

"So far no one has come out. We'll wait a couple of minutes before..."

Two car doors finally opening interrupted his words. Three individuals stepped
out from the vehicle, one is a young man dressed in a white and black casual
business suit. His two shorter companions however were not clad so typically,
they seemed to be wearing some sort of skintight silver suit that looked like
one large weave of circuitry. There were strange metallic devices that looked
like pads attached to their elbows and knees, from these devices a wire ran to
another small device that looked like an external Cybercom collared to the back
of there necks. The two were in actuality twins, and they both seemed to be at
partially Chinese in ethnicity.

"Excuse me gentlemen, I have an appointment with one Hung Sankichi. Would he
happen to be in at the moment?" The young man asked.

"Sorry pal, but Mr. Sankichi is not expecting anyone today. Right now your
trespassing on private property and you will vacate immediately." The leader of
the three then noticed the sheathed katana in the person's hand. "Central, we
may have a problem. Requesting immediate assistance at checkpoint #001." He and
his two comrades reached slowly into their jackets.

"Please forgive the intrusion, but my meeting with the good Mr. Sankichi cannot
be abated by trivial legalities such as an appointment." The man smiled
wickedly.

"YOU MOVE, WE SHOOT!" All three drew 9mm machine pistols from their holsters. At
that same moment the young man's companions suddenly vanished from sight.

"What the hell. Where did they..." One of the sentries muttered.

"UP THERE!!" The third yelled to the both of them. As they aimed to fire the
twins dropped from out of the sky and landed feet first on the faces of the
guards. The hard collision seemed to knock the both of them out instantly, as
neither attempted to rise from the attack.

"Damnit!" The leader whirled to fire, but then he discovered the barrel
of the pistol of one of his partners pointed in his direction. The bullet had no
trouble entering his brain through the bridge of his nose.

"Open the gate." The seventeen-year-old swordsman ordered. One of the twins
complied via a remote from one of the fallen guards.

"Central...intruders...enteri..." The only live and conscious sentry managed to
croak out. His words were interrupted by a foot slamming into his throat, a
twist of the other twin's heel produced a sickening snapping sound that forever
silenced any attempts at summoning aid.

The path leading to the four-story mansion was not long. The problem was the
fact that the inside was not only heavily guarded, but the building itself was
quite well fortified. A problem that was easily remedied...

"Daihokuse, Daikokuse." He wordlessly commanded.

The twins stood side by side. Their teeth and fists were clenched, as they both
concentrated immensely. The heat began to increase steadily as thin auras of
black and white respectively began to shift in and out of existence around them.
The two opposing colors intermixed and swirled until a column of gray energy
that formed between them.

"TWIN FLARE!!!" They both screamed in unison. There hands shot forward and a
beam of pure concentrated energy tore through the air. The horizontal column of
power ripped a swathe through reality itself as it careened headlong toward its
target. The resulting explosion at impact eclipsed everything else in the area;
the blast of superheated air forced all three to cover their faces for
protection. Any part of the front of the mansion that wasn't instantly vaporized
was now engulfed in smoke and flame.

"Sweep the area. No one is to leave here alive." Tatewaki Kuno unsheathed his
blade. The handle had several grip-like grooves embedded into it and the metal
was a strange light blue color, even stranger was the fact that after it was
fully drawn it began to glow an eerie white. Then like a man possessed, he
charged into the flames of hell...



"WHAT THE HELL IS GOIN ON HERE!!" A miniature army of men, each armed with sub-
machine weapons, swarmed into what was left northern end of the building. Most
were on the first floor while the remaining occupied the balcony area at the
height of the stairs leading to the second floor.

"Jesus are we being invaded or something?!" Another near frantic man yelled.

A sudden rush of cold wind exploded from the inferno. At that moment an entire
line of men were quite literally blasted in half at the waist. Their bisected
corpses were shot backward and slammed into the terrified arms of the remaining
men.

A figure shot through the fire and his first act as their collective killer was
to drive his blade through the throat of the first man he saw. By the time
everyone realized he was even there he had severed the head with a simple twist
of the blade and proceeded with the wholesale slaughter of every living thing on
the first floor. He continued the charge, coming in low and dividing another
victim lengthwise with little to no effort. Hurtling through the split pieces he
veered left and let his blade slice cleanly through a row of opposition one by
one. For some reason his sword was meeting no resistance, even as it cleaved
through the bone itself. To compare the act to a hot knife through butter would
not be a far off comparison and would in fact be morbidly appropriate.

The men who had already occupied higher ground had since opened fire on the
fast-moving living scythe. A combination of 9mm and a smaller amount of 7.62mm
ammunition poured down like rain but every round was missing its target, his
speed and the fact that each kill came as swiftly as the time it took to stomp
an ant, assured that he was never in the same place as the bullets when they
struck.

Then the inevitable occurred. There was a collective sound of clicking as
triggers were pulled with no ammunition to eject. The men spat multiple curses
as they rushed to load a fresh clip. Kuno then took his time as he drove his
blade into the ground, went down to one knee, retrieved an unused Uzi from a
body that didn't have time to fire it, cocked it, and strafed the entire upper
level. The entire front line was perforated as others sought cover behind the
makeshift human shields. With their number significantly reduced, Kuno threw
away the firearm and retrieved his blade. Hefting the cadaver of the very same
victim he charged up the stairs as the survivors once again attempted a counter-
offensive. Bullets slammed into and shook the barrier as blood and flesh erupted
with each impact.

As soon as he reached the top he hurled the corpse to his left, sending it
toppling into and disorienting his opposition on that side. He moved right and
sent the katana shearing through four more of his combined adversaries. He then
brought his sword up and in the final move brought it down diagonally. A second
burst of wind generated from the charged katana cut down the last remaining
defense just as they were regaining their bearings.

A sudden deathly silence, save for the savage crackling of the flames, wafted
through the area. Kuno sneered as he surveyed the inhuman carnage he had left in
his wake.

"Pathetic." He spat finally.


"Squad 1! Squad 2! Central! SOMEBODY ANSWER ME DAMNIT!!" One of two bodyguards
yelled into his earpiece. They were the last line of defense for the 54-year-old
Hung Sankichi, one of the most powerful and well-respected Yakuza dons in the
country.

"You are supposed to protect me and you allow THIS to happen! What the hell do I
pay you people for?!" He ranted as he paced back and forth in the reading room
they were holed up in.

"Not to worry sir, they won't find us in here." They then both noticed that the
gunfire had finally ceased. "Maybe they got him finally..."

"We'll check it out." His partner took a step toward the door just before it
exploded open in a shower of splintered wood. An invisible blast cut through the
room and ripped his arm clean off leaving a hemorrhaging stump behind. He
screamed in both terror and pain as the assassin stepped inside with a look that
would put the most hardened murderer to shame.

"Mr. Sankichi I presume?" He asked the proverbial question as he bent down and
retrieved a large splinter.

"S...Stop right there!" The bodyguard who still had all his appendages shakily
pointed a pistol at him. Of course he knew if several dozen men with assault
weapons could not stop him, he would have little to no chance as well. "Stop or
I'll...*"

He was silenced as the wooden shard flicked by Kuno buried itself into his
heart. He fell over with a thud and Kuno almost expected him to explode into a
pile of ash.

"W...What do you want with me?" The crime lord backed away slowly.

"You have been quite the irritant little flea, do you know that Mr. Sankichi?"
Tatewaki stalked slowly toward his prey.

"I...I'll give you anything you want! Money, jewels, anything!" He pleaded.

"You and your pathetic Yakuza brethren attempting to assert yourselves within a
war you have no place in." Kuno shook his head in pity. "We have seen your many
attempts to place spies and saboteurs within the ranks of both Heaven's Star and
Silver Sword. Trying to make yourselves into a power worth glancing upon."

"You...you don't know what your doing. They won't let my death go unavenged."

"Vengeance is only possible in those you have the strength to carry it out.
Insolent little worms such as you have no chance in the realm of vengeance, old
man. Not with the opposition you have seen fit to give yourselves."

"Y...you...I know who you are..."

"Do try to remember in the afterlife that this was not personal on my part."
Kuno raised the glowing blade.

"You're that...that assassin...no one has ever seen your face and lived to tell
about it..."

"On behalf of Heaven's Star. I end your dismal existence." Kuno grinned. He
looked back at the barely alive, and one-armed bodyguard. "Can you remember all
that?"

"The K..."

In a single smooth swipe Hung Sankichi's head was separated from his shoulders.
His body fell into a useless heap while his head rolled aimlessly on the floor.

"I am known as the King of Blades. But to you..." He watched the head come to a
stop, a look of sheer horror forever etched into the face. "I am Death."



The scene outside was similar to the inside. Bodies lay strewn across the land,
some horribly mangled, others were simply lying in a tepid pool of there own
life-fluid. Daihokuse stood with his arms crossed, looking rather bored.
Daikokuse finished off the last of the enemy; a swift turn of the man's head at
an awkward angle ended his existence just as quickly.

"Mission completed. Sankichi is dead and all hostiles have been neutralized."
Tatewaki kept a hand to his ear while he spoke.

"Excellent work Tatewaki. I take it they offered you no trouble?" The voice of
his father, Hideo Kuno, spoke to him through the earpiece.

"Feh. Such pitiable opposition is not worth my time." He walked over to the
scabbard he had temporarily discarded at the start of the slaughter. The blade
ceased its illumination as he resheathed the weapon.

"Tatewaki, I have already explained, we can no longer afford to keep you as an
elite operative. As unfortunate as it may be we will be utilizing you for more
mundane assignments." Hideo explained. "Did you keep one man alive?"

"Yes, though if the proper authorities do not arrive in time he will not be
alive in time to deliver the message that Heaven's Star is seeking to destroy
the Yakuza." Tatewaki grinned. "Though simply saying they are responsible may
not be enough."

"You would be very amazed how belligerent the Yakuza can be. What is your rating
of the sword?"

"Perfection. The balance is superb and it is near weightless." Kuno looked over
the scabbard. "Daimonji's department outdid themselves."

"Indeed. While the metal was not their creation, the forging of it into a blade
was." Hideo went silent for a moment. "Tetsuo wishes to speak with you."

"I left someone alive inside. Get him out, and then level everything." Tatewaki
ordered the twins while he waited. They both dashed off into the still burning
structure immediately.

"How did the twins fare?" The new voice of Tetsuo Gosunkugi asked.

"Well enough. That attack of theirs...it has its share of uses." As if speaking
of the devil, the two twins in question appeared from the devastation carrying
the one-armed bodyguard. He was still breathing, but barely. The two then
adopted a familiar position as they gathered their power once again. Just like
last time, the hairs on Kuno's neck stood on end.

"Excellent. Standby while I initiate the data feed to the cyber-tran suits."

A second more powerful, if that is possible, blast erupted from behind him.
Another wave of heat slammed into him and this time he had to fight to keep his
balance. The sounds of the entire multi-million dollar mansion collapsing on
itself echoed throughout the area.

"Receiving statistics... All of you return to headquarters." Tetsuo cut off the
transmission.

"Daikokuse. Daihokuse. We're leaving." Kuno announced as they proceeded back to
the waiting limousine.

They left nothing more than a smoldering hell behind them. Whatever bodies were
left behind were either incinerated or soon would be. The corpses that lay
strewn across the outside were thrown to the wind by the blast and were now even
more manhandled than they were before. The thick smoke that rose into the air
blocked the morning sun and the sound of sirens could be heard approaching as
the limousine drove off into the distance...


***


"As you can clearly see there physical statistics are quite remarkable. In terms
of speed, agility, and reflexes their numbers exceed that of an N3 Cyborg by a
margin of 89." Tetsuo was currently in the executive office of Hideo explaining
the Intelligence Department's most recent findings to both him and Tatewaki, who
was currently staring out the window onto the cityscape and seemed to care less
about the briefing. "Their ability to so perfectly synchronize such a large
number of their movements, especially in mid-combat, suggests that they may also
possess a latent and very likely rudimentary telepathic ability."

Two wire frame images floated in the air. Areas were highlighted as he continued
recanting everything they had gleaned from the brothers during combat.

"And to think they were discovered as the bodyguards of a prince of a third-
world island nation..." Hideo murmured to himself.

"The most intriguing aspect of the two is their apparent ability to generate a
massive burst of highly charged electrons." Tetsuo tapped his nose in thought as
he stared at the wire frames. "To produce such a large output of electrical
energy without an external generating source is a feat in itself. However the
ability to direct such a blast would designate the presence of a powerful
magnetic field, again all without the use of a visible energy source. This would
in turn dictate that it is being generated naturally...fascinating..."

"Indeed. The ability seems similar to what Tatewaki is capable of is it not?"

"Yes it is. However the power boasted by your son seems attuned to the aspect of
enhancing his natural ability. It would seem that the same energy wielded by the
twins is also capable of bolstering a human muscle structure, a natural
adrenaline derivative only ten times more potent and longer lasting. We do not
yet fully understand this phenomenon..." You could almost hear the gears
grinding in Tetsuo's head.

"They will both make a fine addition to the project. However their work for the
day is not yet completed." Hideo reminded him. "Tatewaki, I have one more
assignment for you."

"Tch. What can your most talented errand boy do for you now?" He rolled his eyes
in disgust.

The floating image changed from two wire-frames, to that of a teenager wearing
suspenders, a backwards cap, and wielding a camera.

"This man is Kenneth Li. He is known to many more, however, as 'Copycat Ken'."
Tetsuo explained. "An expert in infiltration and disguise. It is said he can
look like anyone simply by taking their picture once."

"He was seen entering the country two weeks ago. Most recently he was spotted in
the area of Osaka. I want you to find him and bring him to me Tatewaki," Hideo
turned to his son.

"What is this? First you have me running around like some low-rank peasant, then
you involve me in some petty deception with the Yakuza..." Kuno began ranting.

"I have explained already Tatewaki. In the midst of our restructuring we must
throw our foremost rival into a state of distraction until we our once again at
full strength. The Yakuza will serve as the perfect cannon fodder to that end,"
Hideo explained.

"I prefer a direct confrontation to all of this trivial pretext. And what of my
mission to terminate Saotome and Hibiki? Has that been thrown to the wind as
well?" He turned toward his father, his face showing his growing annoyance and
rage.

A tense silence overcame the room. Tatewaki huffed and returned his gaze to the
outside. Tetsuo was not exactly sure if he should interject or not, fortunately
for him he did not need to as Hideo himself rose from his chair.

"My boy, you know that there is one thing I have always tried to instill in you
since the moment you were capable of comprehending my words." He began as he
stood next to his son. "I have taught you that power is everything in this
world. To have power, unlimited power, is the only goal you should be striving
to attain. At any cost."

His son, while he did not look it, was listening quite intently to his words.

"You have taken to this lesson well. Your name is already one to be feared
throughout the world. It is a common fact that the King of Blades is a name that
instills terror in whoever is unfortunate enough to hear it." Hideo indicated
the metropolis they were gazing upon. "But I expect more. Soon, everything you
see before you will be yours. Silver Sword has ascended to monumental
proportions and soon enough all of it will be in your hands."

Hideo then placed his son's shoulder.

"Soun and myself have been enemies for as long as I wish to remember. However
there is one sentiment he and I share in common." Hideo recalled. "And that is
the acknowledgement that your generation is far more powerful than anyone could
hope to imagine. Boy, do not think that everything I am making you do now is
because I believe you are unworthy..."

Their eyes met at that moment, two generations, one old and one new.

"You are the finest example of our bloodline as I have ever seen, you AND your
sister." He chuckled slightly. "My time is passing, this is a new age we live in
now and soon I and my entire generation will have no place in it. Daihokuse,
Daikokuse, Saotome, Hibiki, Tendo's daughters, Kodachi, and you; you all seem to
possess powers far greater than all of humanity before you. When the time is
right and you claim this world for your own I know you will make our entire
family, both past and future, very proud. Kuno will be a name to be feared by
even God himself."

Tatewaki's ever-present scowl seemed to soften, only ever so slightly. Only his
father would notice such a difference.

"Feh, you are far too sentimental old man." Tatewaki chuckled as turned away
from the window and passed by the image of Ken. He gave the hologram a
scrutinizing look before retrieving his sword and jacket at the door. "Kenneth
Li was his name, you said?" He stopped himself just as he was leaving.

"Yes." Hideo returned to his desk.

"Expect him by the end of the day..." he said quickly before slamming the door
behind him.

"Well said sir." Tetsuo approved as he blinked.

"He can be fiery at times, but his loyalty is unquestioned." Hideo smiled.
"However it does not lie with this company, or me for that matter."

"Then what?"

"His loyalty to his family, his blood, and his name. Kuno, that is what he is
devoted to." Hideo eyes narrowed. "And I expect nothing less."


***


The streets of Osaka were alive with activity. One of Japan's most active
commercial districts was constantly moved with the presence of tourists, locals,
and daily passerby. However, few were there for the reason of one Tatewaki Kuno.
At the moment he was on the hunt for a certain individual who could look any one
of the people who had just passed him by, a needle in a haystack would be a good
allusion.

"24% Match."

"13% Match."

"43% Match."

"8% Match."

The words scrolled by in front of his eyes. The sunglasses he wore were based on
Cyclops technology. He was told that no matter what form "Copycat Ken" took, his
base statistics such as height, weight, and build would remain the same. The
techs had assured him that the glasses would be able to pinpoint the closest
match based on his stats by 10% margin of error, and given his chosen lack of a
Cybercom, he would have no choice but to use them.

"One hour left..." He muttered as he reached into his pocket and read off the
timer on the small device he pulled out. A wire ran from the glasses to that
device, actually s battery powering the glasses. "Daikokuse, Daihokuse, report."
Kuno reached to his ear and spoke into his ever-present earpiece.

"I have just received a percentage match of 64%. Moving to investigate."

"Nothing on this end."

The twins were currently running across the rooftops. It was thought best, since
the suits they were forced to wear were not typical clothing by any means, they
stay out of sight so as not to bring undo attention. Daihokuse was also carrying
Kuno's sword, to walk around in public with such a weapon would also not be the
most discrete action.

"Perhaps I should think twice before I allow sheer idiocy to cloud my common
sense." Kuno grumbled as he continued to walk through the crowd. He eventually
came to rest at a table outside a coffee shop.

"Sir. I have just picked up some suspicious activity. Several vehicles have just
parked across the street from your position." Daihokuse's voice appeared through
the comm.

His eyes scanned the given location. As described three town cars had come to a
stop directly across from him. From two of the vehicles stepped four rather
normal looking gentleman, but the occupants of the third vehicle caught Kuno's
attention. Two extremely large men, each about seven foot tall each and made of
nothing but solid muscle, stepped out. The car they stepped out of literally
bounced under the release of the massive weight being put on it.

"My, they do work fast do they not?" Kuno murmured to himself. "Care to take a
guess as to who they are looking for?"

"I do not believe they have spotted you sir, at least not yet."

"Perhaps I should..." Kuno started, but was interrupted by something most
important.

"94% Match."

The message flashed across the lenses and Kuno's eyes widened instantly. He
immediately bolted upright from his chair and quickly scanned his surroundings.

"Where are you...?" He whispered through clenched teeth.

The targeting reticle that locked onto the individuals to scan them was now
rapidly searching through the crowd. Kuno knew that whoever it was that had
sparked such a high match could not have gotten that far. His efforts were
rewarded when the target fell upon the back of a crimson haired woman who looked
to be in her early twenties.

"94% Match."

"Daihokuse, Daikokuse; return to me. I have spotted our man...or...woman."

"THEY HAVE GUNS!!!" A civilian suddenly yelled at the top of there lungs.

Kuno's attention immediately shifted back to that of the men he had spotted only
seconds ago. They had now spotted him and were currently pointing machine
pistols in his direction. Kuno uttered a not often used, at least for him, curse
before kicking the table he was occupying over and using it as a shield when the
bullets started flying.

"Guns are supposed to be outlawed in Japan I thought!" Kuno snarled. He of
course knew that certain factions like the Yakuza and the large conglomerate
organizations had ways of bending the rules when it came to enforcement of that
well-known law.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOING!!" Another unfortunate bystander yelled.

The bullets were tearing not only through the air, but also the bodies of
anything else that happened to be in their path. They were shooting
indiscriminately through the crowd, all of which to get straight to there
target.

"Where are those twins?" Kuno flinched as another round ricocheted off the
table, creating another indention.

From what little he could discern from the chances he received to look past his
barricade; he saw that the two larger men were approaching him and the four
remaining normal henchmen were holding back and using the cars as cover while
trying to pick him off from a distance. That's when he noticed two distinct
shapes dropping down behind the shooters, totaally unnoticed by them in the
process.

"Finally."

The shooting ended abruptly as two of the four had their necks snapped out from
under them. The remaining two suffered just as swift a fate; their deaths were
slower and more painful however as it was the result of several quickly ruptured
internal organs.

"What the hell..." One of the two lumbering brutes noticed what had just
happened to their back-up.

"You take the two little shits. Pretty boy is all mine." The second giant smiled
evily.

Kuno had since emerged from behind his shield and smirked at the compliment
given to him by the monster. He had to be a cyborg, most likely N3 or at the
very least a high-class N2. Anything else and he would have to feel insulted.

"So you're the puke from Heaven's Star that wasted our boss." The giant sneered.
"Hard to think a tiny snot-nosed piece of crap like you got by his security."

"If you're so unsure then why don't you allow me to show you what I did to his
so-called security?"

"Bring it punk!" He yelled and charged.

Kuno was not totally inept at hand-to-hand combat; it just was not his forte. At
first one would not think this was the case as Kuno launched himself into the
air. He gained some impressive altitude before he dropped down feet-first,
slamming down onto the goliath's face. Using it also as a springboard he pushed
himself off into a very agile back flip and landed effortlessly. Such a move
would have floored any other opponent, but the laugh emanating from the brute
however showed that he was no ordinary opponent.

"What..." Kuno eyes widened.

"You think a love-tap like that is enough?" He smiled wide, showing his teeth.
Dual footmarks were imprinted onto his face but other than that there was no
indication that he even felt anything. "TRY AGAIN BASTARD!!"

A massive fist came sailing toward him. Kuno moved to intercept the blow but the
sheer force behind it was too much even for him. The impact knocked him clear
off of his feet and sent him flying through the glass window the coffee shop
behind him. The sudden shattering of glass and the crashing of a man into so
many tables and chairs succeeded in destroying what little composure the
denizens hiding inside had, multiple screams of terror broke out as Kuno forced
himself to stay lucid.

"What a monster. This is why I detest cyborgs." Kuno groaned. "Daihokuse. I
require my sword." Kuno spoke through the communicator.

"Yes, sir. However we are currently occupied with the other." He twin replied
back. Sounds of combat could be made out in the background.

"Just throw it when I give the word."

"Throw it sir?"

"Yes." Kuno rose to his feet again. The giant seemed to be biding his time,
waiting for his prey to come and meet his death. "Well, it seems this was not a
complete waste of my effort after all." A thin veil of white encompassed his
form as he said so. Everyone present looked on in awe at the phenomenon, the
cyborg massive lost his smirk and it was replaced with slight confusion.

"What the hell is that shit doing?" He whispered to himself.

Tatewaki launched himself like a human torpedo; an explosion of dust and glass
went off behind him as he shot forward. He slammed shoulder first into the
cyborg wall and much to his enemy's surprise he was actually being pushed back!

"You...have...UNDERESTIMATED ME!!" Kuno yelled as he sent his fist crashing into
his opponent's face. The blow succeeded in sending the brute reeling, a look of
complete shock was plastered on the cyborg's face. Using the giant's forearm as
leverage he jumped up onto his shoulder where he then took off to the air again.
"DAIHOKUSE! MY SWORD!!"

The twins had been engaged with the second Yakuza enforcer. He yelled as he sent
his fist flying in a hammer strike toward the car the twins were currently
standing on, they quite nimbly leapt to two sides and the blow was sent crashing
into the vehicle itself. The power was enough to completely split the car in
two, but before he could regain his bearings two feet slammed into either side
of his head. He was knocked off kilter giving both his opponents the opportunity
to send their combined fists into his stomach; he keeled over and invited them
to knock him onto his back with a synchronized uppercut.

"DAIHOSUKE! MY SWORD!!"

Kuno's call roused the attention of the respective twin, and as he was
instructed he hurled the blade that was strapped to his back toward its owner.

"YOU FRIGGIN ASSHOLE!!" The man-machine yelled from under him.

Kuno twisted in mid-air, catching the blade. His next movements came with such
swiftness it was hard to determine exactly what actions he took. He landed
perfectly from the high leap, facing his opponent who was just beginning to turn
around. In a single fluid motion he drew his sword and sound of the metal
cutting through the air could be heard.

"Peasant scum...." Kuno muttered.

The cyborg was frozen stock-still. His eyes were wide open and his mouth looked
ready to hit the floor. A simple tap from Kuno's scabbard sent the top half of
the brute crashing to the ground in a geyser of white-blood, the distinguishing
characteristic of all full-body cyborgs.

"That's one..." Daihosuke did not finish the sentence as the back of a fist
slammed into him. He had actually been standing on the fallen giant's chest
after he had thrown the blade. Now he was the one being thrown as the force of
the blow knocked him several feet away.

"BROTHER!" Daikokuse yelled as the monster slowly returned to his feet and
lumbered toward his second target.

"Now, you little bastard flea, you're next." The cyborg snarled as his massive
frame shadowed over his diminutive adversary. "DIE!!"

The blade of a katana exploded out of the side of his head. The weapon was
buried all the way to the hilt and the glowing sword itself was covered in his
grey matter. The giant fell over, the sword embedding itself in the ground first
and the head sliding down along the length until it came to a stop at the
concrete.

"The target has taken the disguise of a red-headed woman. She must have headed
north along the street." Kuno lowered his arm from throwing the weapon. "Stop
her."

Daihosuke got up and was rubbing his jaw; overall, he seemed to be in one piece
considering the inhuman strength that had knocked him flying. Together the twins
took to the rooftops again and dashed down the street at terrific speed. Kuno
approached the corpse and gripped the handle of his blade.

"As for you dear boy, I will leave you and your partner a bit of advice using
the expletives you both seem so fond of."

There was a wet sound as he withdrew the sword from the cyborg's skull; the
white and gray of his blood and brain covered the now non-glowing metal.

"Do not fuck with a Kuno."


She had been running for close to ten minutes now. She had just been walking,
minding her own business, when all hell suddenly broke loose. She as well as
many others had hightailed it to the hills as soon as they could to avoid being
killed.

"And here I thought Osaka was known only for its shopping centers." She panted
as she came to a stop on the now deserted avenue. She turned and looked back
down to finally notice that there was an eerie silence in the air. "Finally
over. Jeez, what the hell was that all about anyway?"

"Copycat Ken?"

She whirled around immediately at the mention of her name. She came face to
face, so to speak, with two Chinese twins.

"W...who are you?" She began backing away slowly.

"You will accompany us back to Silver Sword headquarters immediately." Daikokuse
said tactlessly.

Instead of stating that she was not going to go with them anywhere, she decided
to skip that line and make an immediate run for it. She got a whole two steps as
she turned to run, only to almost run into the tip of a katana pointed at her
face.

"Mr. Li. Please forgive my associates, it seems they are as tired of this game
as I am," Kuno's face has a slightly irritated look to it.

"W...where did you come from? How do you know who I am?"

"If you would be so kind as to alleviate yourself of your current disguise..."
It sounded like a request, but everyone there made it quite clear by their
glares that it wasn't.

Ken warily complied. Her face shifted and congealed, as well as the rest of her
body though it could not be seen. The long red hair slowly began to shorten and
turn the shade of black, her green eyes slowly morphed to a shade of brown, her
bust began to slowly decompress, and even her skin color shifted. Fortunately
she always made it a habit to wear clothing that would be suitable for either
sex, her earlier experience had forced that trait onto her.

"A metamorph? Interesting..." Kuno murmured.

The figure standing before them now was the Japanese male known as Copycat Ken.
He nervously eyed all three individuals who were surrounding him.

"S...so, what do you want with me?"

"We are representatives of Silver Sword Enterprises. The president of which has
taken a great interest in your talents." Kuno sheathed his blade.

"He...wants me?" Ken knew the name of Silver Sword. One of the most powerful
companies in the world, and they wanted him. Opportunity was slapping him in the
face stronger than it ever had.

"Yes. Now do try not to dawdle, the day has been long and I wish for it to end
as quickly as possible..."


~**~


It was past midnight, another night of the stars shining brightly in the velvet
sky, another night of the serene silence overcoming the whole of Nerima, and
another night in which the restful bliss of sleep was denied her.

"This had better not become a habit again..." Nabiki muttered to herself. She
was
laid down upon the grass and was staring aimlessly at the studded night sky. It
had been quite some time since she had the same nightmare twice in a row; she
hoped it would be the last.

She sat up slowly and brought her hand involuntarily to her shoulder. It had
been two years already, and yet she found she was unable to shake to memory. No
matter how hard she tried, no matter how she trained, there was still that
unshakable fear. That constant feeling deep inside, that she would never be able
to beat him. That he would always be there in her dreams...killing her over and
over...

"What is wrong with me...?" She groaned. Thinking the way she was would not help
matters in the least.

She felt a tingling through her system. Someone was now in the area with her,
she had not heard anyone come out so whoever it was had to have been there for
quite some time.

"It's me." The sound of her voice and the hand on her shoulder prompted any
tension that was building to drain away completely. Her footsteps had been non-
existent when she approached her, she could only 'feel' who it was.

They both sat in silence next to each other for some time. Sounds of crickets
and the occasional splashing of a fish at the koi pond were the only sounds with
them.

"You have gotten so much stronger since then. I can feel it." Kasumi whispered.
"You...don't have to be afraid anymore."

"I...I'm not afraid...I...just...the memory of it...I just can't get rid of it."
Nabiki murmured. "And...I don't want to..."

Kasumi gave her an understanding look, as bizarre as the statement sounded she
did understand what she meant.

"There's a reason I keep the scar. An artificial skin graft would get rid of it
easily, but...I need to keep reminding myself of what I was." Nabiki sighed. "I
was naïve, green, and thought I could take on anybody. My ego was running out of
control."

"You were also young. You couldn't have known better."

"It took me almost getting killed to knock me to my senses. To realize that I am
not the best, and that if I want to be I'm gonna have to work for it." Nabiki
eyes moved forward. "Whenever I think I'm getting too high up there. I use it to
remind myself of just how weak I really am..." Her last words were laced with
venom.

Kasumi put an arm around her before she started.

"Nabiki, we've been partners for how many years?"

"Close to three years now..."

"Every time we go out, we risk...losing our lives." She knew it was a harsh
truth, but it had to be said. "Every time we go out, we have to put our lives in
each other's hands. Do you think I would give that responsibility to someone who
was weak?"

Nabiki was silent. The question and the obvious answer made more than sense.

"I didn't think so. I understand that things like this can take time. You just
have to remember that you are not the same as you used to be. You have changed,
and for the better."

"Thanks..."

"It's the truth."

Nabiki sighed, and Kasumi could feel her depression being released along with
it.

"What...exactly was it you were doing last night?"

"It's...something I made up. Whenever I feel that my mind is becoming too
cluttered, it helps me clear it. Do you want me to show you?"

"Yeah...sure."




To Be Continued.........










Author's Notes:

1). Yet another chapter that went through so many revisions that I've long since
lost count. But then again I've been told that something like that is normal,
its when the revisions start reaching into the hundreds is when you should start
worrying......

2). There were several objectives I wanted to reach in this chapter. One, to
make Kuno a more credible threat then he is in the manga. Two, to give a prelude
of things to come, more precisely in terms of what level of power I've given to
everyone. Third, was quite simply character development. I hope I succeeded in
all these areas.

3). A lot of people ask if this series fuses with Shadowrun. I really don't know
as I have never played or read Shadowrun before. Maybe it does and I just don't
know it.

4). Daihosuke and Daikokuse, for those who have not yet deduced this fact, are
the twin Go players from the first Ranma ½ movie; Big Trouble in Nekonron China.

5). As always C&C is highly valued and archived for later reference.