Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, Samurai Deeper Kyo, Blade of the Immortal, Rurouni Kenshin, or any anime that I will use in this fic.

word / - thoughts

Chapter 2:

Big trouble in little Sengen

It had only been a couple hours of walk for Ranko and he enjoyed the quiet serenity of the forest around him, as if a mother singing a lullaby to her sleeping child. He regretted leaving such an interesting young woman behind but he couldn't afford to let anyone getting too close to him, which would lead only to their deaths.

When Ranko had finally reached Sengen, he was very disturbed at the silence that hung heavily on the village with the exception of the cawing crows perched on the straw roofs as if waiting for their next meal.

"Hello?!" Ranko called out nervously and was answered by silence, "Anyone here?" he tried again with the same outcome as before.

Ranko slowly walked further into the village, his head scanning left and right for any signs of incoming danger. He sensed that there were something or someone following him but he couldn't tell since the aroma of blood had gotten stronger as he got closer to the center of the village.

"What could've hap......" Ranko trailed off as his eyes looked to his left and saw the bodies of the dead villagers being feasted upon by the crows. It was a massacre as blood was dripping everywhere his eyes could see. It reminded him of what had happened four years ago.

"Who...who......would do such a thing?" Ranko asked himself as he trembled in rage. He was so off in his own world that he did not hear Yuya's shouts of bodily harm as she approached him, her face bathed with sweat as she ran after her bounty in hopes of catching up to Ranko.

"YOU BASTARD!!!" Yuya shouted as she pulled out her gun at pointed it at him, "You'll pay for humiliating, Yuya Shiina!" the woman was even more infuriated when Ranko ignored her, "How dare you ign............" Yuya stopped ranting when she saw the scene in front of her and gave of an involuntary gasp of surprise and horror,

"My god.........these poor people......" she said under her breath

"We're not safe here." said Ranko as he looked at Yuya who was right next to him, "You shouldn't have followed me Yuya-san. The murderers might still be in the village, we should leave right now."

"Don't be afraid, Ranko." Yuya said trembling, "No one can sneak up on........." she was interrupted when Ranko grabbed her and leapt away from their attackers

"RAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!" Ranko dodged a swing that would've cut him and Yuya in half and put some distance between them before he put Yuya.

"Get ready!" he shouted to Yuya as he went into a fighting stance. Yuya couldn't do or say anything before they were attacked once again by their pursuers.

"YAAA!" one of the attackers shouted as he attacked Yuya with his scythe and the bounty huntress in turn blocked the attack by putting her gun against the scythe's handle as the blade hovered a few inches from her face.

"Who are you people?!" she asked her attacker which the man responded by grunting and putting more pressure on her.

"Sorry, but I don't give up too easily!" Yuya shouted as she looked over to Ranko and was awed by what she saw.

He ducked a swipe and gave his opponent an uppercut that sent the man staggering back and gave his attacker another uppercut, this time sending his adversary flying before he finished it off with an overhead smash. Ranko saw two men coming at him from directions and he merely jumped up and spun himself as he stretched out his legs that caught both men in surprise and sending them into unconsciousness. He took care of another as he somersaulted backwards with heel of his sandals catching the chin of the man and sent him sprawling into darkness. The man was like a whirlwind of fists as he took down all who stood against him.

Yuya finally noticed something about Ranko,

/Why doesn't he use his sword?/

That was when the unthinkable happened as Ranko tripped on a loose rock and was sent down on the ground where more attackers to take advantage of his misfortune to finish him off.

"I'll kill you!" shouted one the men as he raised his katana to kill the downed Ranko

"Ranko!!!" shouted Yuya as she incapacitated her opponent and ran toward him in a vain effort to save him.

That was when everything went to hell as time suddenly slow down to a snail's pace for Yuya as she watched in surprise that Ranko was standing in a slight crouch with his hair covering his eyes as he clutched the hilt of his sword. Yuya stopped as she saw one thing standing out from Ranko.

/I-Is he.........smiling?/ then she and their attackers were hit a powerful aura of killing intent that froze them on the spot

"What?! What is this?!" screamed one of the attackers in shock and terror.

/What the hell?!!!! I can hardly move!!!/ Yuya thought as she struggled to move her body

Then in the blink of eye Ranko was standing away from the group, sheathing his sword. Moments later the attackers fell crumpled down in a heap, leaving only Ranko and Yuya , who was currently thinking,

/What in the world is he?/

She was surprised when Ranko clutched the hilt of his sheathed sword with his right hand so tight that his knuckles turned white.

"Is there anything wrong, Ranko?" Yuya asked nervously and was shocked when he slowly fell towards her and she caught him in her arms when she heard him say,

"Damn him."

/Why do I have such a very bad feeling about this? Ranko's really creeping me out./ Yuya thought as she laid the unconscious man down, /I've never felt such killing intent like that before.

/And........./

/.........who the hell was he talking about?/

"What can we do?"

"Er......""

"I-I have......no idea......"

"Quiet.........he's waking up."

Ranko groaned as he slowly opened his eyes to look at an unfamiliar ceiling and at unfamiliar faces, which was when he realized that he and Yuya might have been captured when he lost consciousness that sent into overdrive. In less than a second, Ranko rolled away from his futon and was in a defensive stance ready to kick ass and ready to save Yuya.

"Cool it, Ranko, they're not here to fight!" said Yuya cheerfully as it was the villagers who were quite afraid of Ranko when they saw him in action.

"What?" he asked dumbly as he relaxed but he was ready to move in an instant if their 'hosts' were lying.

"We're in the house of Shoya-san, the leader of Sengen Village." Yuya further elaborated

"Please accept our apologies for our hostility, young man." the old man said, "The villagers mistook you for the vandals."

"I'm getting really annoyed of people mistaking me for another person and trying to kill me." said Ranko in irritation.

"I'm very sorry!" Shoya, the old man, shouted and presented Ranko with a tray of food containing steamed rice, hot miso soup, and scrumptious beef teriyaki. That was when Ranko's stomach roared in full force and made it's presence known.

"Well no hard feelings then!" shouted Ranko in glee as he gobbled up his food in front of the nervous looking Shoya

Yuya just sweat dropped at Ranko's table manners which reminded her of a pig.

/Do always think with you're stomach, Ranko?/ Yuya then remembered the bodies of the dead villagers and looked at Shoya

"What happened to your village, Shoya-san? Why are there so many dead?"

The old man just sighed in resignation and told their village's plight,

"I can hardly believe that it has been four years since the Battle of Sekigahara, where many of our friends and families lost their loved ones."

Yuya noticed that Ranko ate more slowly as Shoya told his tale and found it quite odd but said nothing,

"But through it all we had the strength to rebuild......that was when the Bantouji brothers came to Sengen." the old man paused to catch his breath and continued,

"The oldest of the two is so fast that even if it looks that he's right in front of you, he kills you from behind. The eldest is touji 'like wind'. The youngest of the two is so strong that he crumbles the biggest rock with one hand, cracking the beneath as he does so. He is banji 'like iron hammer'. They are demons!!! They're unstoppable!!!"

Ranko snorted at Shoya's outburst and said, "No one's unbeatable, old man. There is always a way and if not, make one."

"We tried resisting!" Shoya shouted in anger and then spoke in a low voice, "What you saw were the results. They gave us two days to collect all of the village's money."

Yuya sipped at her hot tea as Ranko just snorted again and looked at the open door of the room as he noticed someone eavesdropping on their conversation.

/There's no hope for these people, unless.../

"Is there no one who can stop these brutal savages?" Yuya let her hot tea slowly slip from her hands as Ranko raised an eyebrow as he noticed Yuya's reaction.

"We would handsomely REWARD the one who can stop this madness." Yuya's eyes widened in glee and Ranko just sighed at Yuya's apparent greed.

"Well, you're luck has changed." Yuya said to Shoya as she presented to him her business card, "I am the bounty huntress, Yuya Shiina. They say I'm the best anywhere on Tokaido- cho! Surely you've heard of me. I will defeat the terrible bantouji brothers for you."

"Are you mad?! Y-you're just a woman!" shouted Shoya in disbelief

"You shouldn't judge a book by its cover." Ranko said as he stood up

"And where are you going?!" Yuya turned her attention to Ranko's departing figure

"I'll be outside." said Ranko as he left Yuya to discuss with the old man on how much money she would get for her reward.

/That woman would do anything for money./

"Please, Ranko!" Yuya begged Ranko as he was laying down underneath the shade of a large tree

"I said 'no' already, this is so troublesome." Ranko sighed in exasperation at Yuya's constant pleas for assistance

"Don't be like that Ranko darling! Won't you help me?" Yuya tried the sad puppy dog eyes on Ranko only to find him with his eyes closed and standing up

"Why can't you understand that no means no, you got yourself in this mess, now get yourself out of it!" Ranko snapped in irritation as he tried to walk away from Yuya,

"Ever tried being nice for once?" Ranko asked Yuya sarcastically

"I'll show you nice." Yuya said sweetly as she pulled out her gun and opened fire on Ranko who dodged effortlessly

"Hey, watch where you're shooting that thing!" shouted Ranko as he sensed someone behind him and caught a bucket aimed at his face as he turned around.

"Get away from our village!" shouted a young boy with a slingshot who was accompanied by a small girl, a chubby boy, and a child who had drool running down his face.

"You can't fool us, we know you're working for the bantouji brothers!"

"What?!" Yuya asked in surprise and then knelt in front of the kids and wagged her finger in front of them, "You kids, got it all wrong we're not........." Yuya stopped talking when she noticed the children slowly backing away from her fearfully. She turned around and saw Ranko taking menacing steps towards the children.

"No one tries to hit me and gets away with it!"

"What the hell are you thinking, Ranko?! They're just kids!!!" shouted Yuya in anger thinking that Ranko was going to hurt kids who didn't know any better.

"Run away!!!" screamed the little girl as the kids ran away from the angry man, the kid with the slingshot tripped and started falling to the ground.

"Inari!" the little girl screamed in fright, but before Inari could hit the ground, he found himself being lifted up and put back on his feet by a smiling Ranko. The other children and Yuya could only look in awe.

"You should always watch where you step." Ranko scolded Inari in a soft tone of voice and noticed tears in the boy's eyes, "Hey now, don't cry because you'll just hate yourself in the end." Ranko wiped the tears away from Inari's eyes

"How about we play a game? What do you guys say?" asked Ranko as he picked up Inari's slingshot off the ground and gave it to the kid.

"But the bantouji brothers........." Inari murmured worriedly

"Don't worry about those clowns!" Ranko pumped his fist into the air, "It'll be a piece of cake!" Ranko then pointed at Yuya, "If you're her at least........."

"Eh.........?" Yuya couldn't help but blush in embarrassment but she shook it off and glared at Ranko,

"What's wrong with you messing with little kids like these?"

Ranko just ignored Yuya and held his hand out to Inari, "Don't worry about it. So c'mon......let's play!"

"Yeah!" shouted a now happy Inari

Yuya just stood there as she watched Ranko play with kids who wanted to 'beat him up' a minute ago without a care in the world

/You're such an enigma, Ranko./

She saw the happy smiles that adorned the faces of the children and couldn't help but smile also. Yuya felt something tugging at her kimono and looked down to see the little girl who asked,

"Will you play hide and seek with us, onee-chan?"

"I'd be happy to play with you." she said smiling down at the girl who in smiled in return.

"You know, Yuya-san......" she heard Ranko's voice and saw him walking away, "............you should smile more often.........it makes you look cute." with that Ranko was gone.

Ranko shouldered his traveling pack as he silently trekked through the forest at night.

/I'd better go before trouble catches up to me.........and while Yuya-san is busy....../ Ranko thought as he slowly got farther away from the village, /I feel kinda bad leaving without saying goodbye to those kids.........but.........those kids will be much safer without me around....../

Ranko heard a splashing sound to his right and what he saw drove all thought from his mind. It was Yuya Shiina bare naked and bathing in the middle of the river underneath the glow on the full moon.

/What the hell am I staring for?!/ Rank mentally smacked himself on the head, /Geez...I'm turning into a pervert............/ he felt blood going out of his left nostril and wiped it away and tried to leave before Yuya noticed him. That was when he noticed the scar underneath her breasts.

/Is that from a sword......?/ he thought to himself as he finally turned around and was going to walk away when he heard Yuya's voice.

"R-Ranko?!"

"Er.........yes, Yuya-san?" asked Ranko fearfully

"Were you peeping on me, you pervert?!"

"N-No! I was just passing by and I thought I heard a noise........." Ranko said lamely, he never saw the fist coming or the kick to the family jewels that laid him low.

"I said I'm sorry already." Ranko moaned in pain as he lay curled on the ground in a fetal position.

"Well I'm not!" snapped Yuya as she polished her gun

"Put that stupid thing away so when can get some sleep and get ready tomorrow." Ranko said as he tried not to move from his position.

"You moron, this 'stupid thing' as you call it will kill the bantouji brothers and get me my reward!" said Yuya as she looked at Ranko with a sad look marring her face

"I know you think I'm greedy.........but with this money.........I'll be able to find the man with the scar on his back.........!"

"........."

"I'll forgive you but only if you help me deal with the brothers tomorrow!"

"And I told you no!"

Yuya then picked up Ranko's sword, "How about if you let me use........." she was surprised when the sword disappeared from her hands and she saw that Ranko actually ran up to her and took the sword without her noticing it.

"Don't touch this sword." said Ranko coldly which surprised Yuya again.

"Touchy." Yuya said sarcastically, "I think you're plain nuts, Ranko! First you go crazy on the villagers and then on the children. Now this." she finished with a sigh and rubbed her forehead in annoyance and then she noticed how silent Ranko was.

"I too have a purpose........." said Ranko breaking his silence, ".........and nothing shall stop me........."

"Ranko........." Yuya said as she looked at Ranko as he looked right back at her, his face full of confidence and determination.

"Nothing........." with that Ranko took his stuff and headed back to the village.

Yuya just sat down and stared at as Ranko form was swallowed by the darkness of the night and thought about what he said,

/I've seen him serious, but what I saw just now........./ Yuya cut her musing as she yawned and also headed back to the village,

/An enigma indeed........./

As he walked to the sleeping village of Sengen, Ranko looked up at the night sky, looking straight at the twin stars side by side shining brightly in the darkness, one pure white and the other dark red. He looked down at the Muramasa in his hands and remembered her words, even as she died in his arms and in front of his eyes,

"Take care of Ranma for me........." and then she closed her eyes forever

Author's Note: Ahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! I finally updated after a very long time!!! Sorry to have made you wait AyanamiReiII!!! Thank you for all the nice and not so nice reviews!!! Hopefully I will be more faster with my updates!!!