Trust
Ch3: Untitled
Ranma was angry, at himself and at the monstrosities that persisted in attacking him and slaughtering the villagers. His aura flared wildly as he thought of the horrors he had both witnessed and participated in. He was out of control and he knew it, but it didn't stop him from smacking a ram headed ogre into a stone house hard enough to crumble the building around the beast. These fiends might look tough but they were incredibly slow and a decent hit crushed them.
No, he needed to calm down and stop this rampage, Ranma freely admitted to himself that he had been caught up in the 'them and us' mentality along with the other top knotted sword wielding defenders. Their lack of remorse should not have controlled his actions in this situation, although the brutes carried potentially deadly weapons there was little chance of those cursed blades ever getting close enough to harm him and it wasn't like him to wildly lash out in retaliation like this. He needed to calm down, to focus and forget all the betrayals in his past.
The sudden lack of buildings caused him to momentarily pause and his aura to falter. He had been so lost in his anger at the inhuman actions of the invaders that threatened the small community that he had not realised he had been making his way out of the township and closer to the centre of the fighting, the front line of defence.
Ranma's moment of distraction provided enough opportunity for three of the brutes to jump him from behind. Only the rusted creaking of their mismatched mail and the sound of their cursed blades cutting through the air forewarned him allowing him to avoid the attacks. Counter attacking by reflex Ranma winced as the sound of cracking bone and the wet sucking sound of pierced lungs, they died too easily and too quickly when he forgot himself like that.
Diving to the ground to avoid the sharpened metal arrowhead that pierced his aura and almost managed to impale him Ranma turned to see who had shot at him. Although he didn't see anyone, the one responsible for shooting at him could only have been one of the village defenders, these monsters weren't armed with such weaponry and besides, the arrow had come from the wrong direction. Once again his aura exploded as his anger built at another betrayal. He had killed in defence of these people, killed and witnessed people being killed, he had only stuck around and defended them despite the stomach churning horrors he had been forced to endure for these people. He had given these people a chance to redeem the trust he had been losing and they had turned on him, spurned the chance he had given them.
This was the last time, 'No longer' he roared. The heat of his aura repelled both the village defenders and the attacking monstrosities. Ranma didn't even notice though as he made his way north out of the fighting and away from the village, travelling North once again. There was no longer any other reason to stay, people would die as a result of his decision but then people would have died had he not been there. Besides it seemed that just as he had lost faith in others, others had made it clear that they no longer wanted anything to do with him.
Ranma smiled grimly as one of the more humanoid attackers braved his aura to attack him. His smile lightened as it proved to have some skill with the blade it wielded and the speed to make him a threat. Still a threat and a credible challenge were two separate things and he would not allow it to stand in his way, blocking his way north, away from humanity. Ranma paused to watch the figure thrash around after a quick palm strike to the throat before continuing north ignoring the bloody and increasingly frenzied battle behind him.
No, the top knotted sword wielders were just lucky not to have braved his aura. At the moment and probably further into the future he would have no doubt that he would not go easy on anything that attacked him, human or monster. He had been betrayed for the last time, he could no longer distinguish between these demons and the humans who tried defending themselves and the village against them. It was a conflict he felt no further need to interfere in.
"Stop human and face me. Give me a challenge that these villages cannot," despite being whispered Ranma heard the words clearly. Or rather he felt them as they cut through his hot aura like a cold knife. Like a snake rustling through dead leaves the evil tone of the tall man mostly hidden in a black coat created a cold shiver up his spine. This was an opponent he could not, would not leave behind. Like Saffron, he felt that a fight against this foe could only help him develop and strengthen his plethora of techniques and skills as he was forced to improvise.
Ranma smiled grimly, already forgetting the rivers of blood, which continued to flow in the community behind him. The coming conflict was all that mattered now, and after the fight who knew what his priorities might be.
Shaidar Haran watched in amusement as the human lashed out with lightning fast jabs and accurately placed kicks. Downing two of the foolish Trollocs who had tried to sneak up behind him in seconds and impaling the third on a broken sword wrested from one of the already bloodied Trollocs. It took seconds for him to overcome those suicidal Trollocs and confirm the conclusions Shaidar Haran had drawn about the human. In none of his previous lifetimes had Lews Therin ever mastered any sort of martial arts. His preferred weapon had always been the sword. The lethality of a master swordsman backed by the power of Saidin, always. For that to change now would be too great a shift in the pattern. Besides this human used some kind of power in combination with his peculiar style of fighting that didn't smell of Saidin. Nor did it smell of Saidar, it only lacked the sweet smell of corruption for him to draw a definite conclusion about the power the youth wielded.
No this youth was no Lews Therin, no dragon reborn. He was further confused by the fact that only wielders of the true power ever made his bones ache like it did now. It wasn't possible that the Great Lord would have granted access to his power without him knowing and the power was neither Saidar nor Saidin so what was it.
The Hand of the Dark felt like laughing as he watched one of the village defenders shoot at the powerful youth even as he was dealing with the weak suicidal Trollocs. Up until now he had been all that stood in his way of achieving the destruction of this town and the kidnapping of its inhabitants for the forges of Shayol Ghul. Now through the actions of one of their foolish defenders that protection had been put in jeopardy.
As the glowing figure dodged the arrow, Shaidar Haran grinned evilly. He had found his challenge, someone to test his might against and explore his limits while at the same time removing a potential threat to the Shadow. Drawing deeply on the fine threads of power that connected him directly to the Great Lord he threw off his cloak, pitch-black lightning crawled against his skin – evidence of the vast power of the Lord of Lies. Mortals who craved this power often died from its addictiveness, they paid for their cravings of such awesome power.
Shaidar Haran watched as the human played with one of his Myrddraal amongst the increasingly thickening wood smoke, evidence of the Sheinar town's immanent destruction. The sound of death and dying carried along with the guttural laughs of his Trollocs having fun. Not too much fun he hoped since there had to be some survivors for the forges. He would see the troops punished if there were not.
Seeing the powerful human end his game with the Myrddraal he growled out a challenge, stalking the boy across the field of battle. "Stop human and face me. Give me a challenge that these villages cannot."
He watched as his opponents' aura blinked out briefly before increasing in size, the visible fluctuations in the human's aura intensified the coldness in his bones as the glowing figures attention focussed on him. "I no longer have any interest in this conflict." Shaidar Haran listened to the enraged youth, the boys face filled with betrayal and his eyes shinning at the prospect of a challenging fight. "However you may provide me with a decent challenge," the boy's aura became more focused as his face was split by a grin, his teeth bared.
"I will show you more than a challenge," Shaidar whispered charging the youth. "You will not live through the day," the lightning continued to web its way across his flesh as the youth shivered. Before he could draw his sword ending the fight before it began with a quick strike a cry of "Kijin Raishü Dan," filled the air.
"Stupid human," Shaidar Haran sneered as the attack sped towards him. No attack that used with the true power would be affective against him, he was the Hand of the Dark, the power of the Great Lord made him invulnerable to such petty things. He had already taken precautions against possible attacks with the Saidin or Saidar, what other attacks were there that could hurt him? With the breaking of the seals he felt as if he could take on the armies of the south by himself, this human could only provide minor amusement as he explored the depths of his powers.
The hand of dark was unprepared then when the attack hit him completely freezing his bones almost incapacitating him, the black web of lightning that crawled across his skin almost vanished as the power of the boy momentarily overwhelmed him. Great rents appeared in his flesh quickly filled with angry black flames. The deep cold, which had been an annoyance, intensified stopping him in his tracks. "Wha…" he stuttered in confusion drawing heavily on the Great Lords power until the ecstasy became pain, demonstrating the effectiveness of the seals that bound his prison. Only the breaking of additional seals would strengthen him further, at least the iciness that had sunk into his bones had vanished and his wounds had been healed enough for him to continue the fight- he would not lose to a mere human nor be caught unprepared again.
Unfortunately by the time he had restored his protective black lightning and thawed his bones enough to move with the True power granted to him by the Shai'tan, the annoyingly persistent human had already closed the gap between them forcing him to franticly defend himself with his sword. The speed of the youth easily compared to his but he knew that one opening left in the powerful humans defences and this fight would be ended. There was a reason why he was rarely engaged in close quarters. Even a graze of his sword would be a fatal wound, the corruption of his sword would seep into the boy's spirit killing him – there was little defence certainly none that remained in this time.
The Hand of the Dark blinked realising that he was being drawn into a spiral as he defended against the lightning fast jabs and kicks, not that it mattered since he had spotted an opening in the boys defences which would prove the boys downfall. "It ends now," Shaidar Haran bit out as he struck. His sword was a blur of darkness as it swallowed up all light that fell on it from the reddened sun. A desperate block proved futile as the human was flung back from the force of his strike a line of blood seeping from a shallow cut across his chest. The distance between the human and the time provided by his recovering opponent allowed him enough time to summon a wall of angry black flames, which rushed towards the fallen youth.
It had indeed been a challenge, the human's speed had been phenomenal and he would have been dealt with harshly for his initial mistake of overconfidence if the boy had been able to maintain his speed. The spots of blood and the diminishing of the boy's aura in the face of his attack told him that this fight was over. Even as he watched the boy's doom he couldn't help but salute the boy's skill, he could count on one hand the forsaken and dreadlords, which would have stood up and challenged him and stood a chance. At least as much a chance as this boy had had against him.
"Möko Takabisha" Shaidar Haran eyes widened as a ball of power detached itself from the humans aura and sped to intercept his black flames. The strange power that the boy wielded struck the flames engulfing them in an explosion, which shook the surrounding countryside, glazing the dirt around the explosion and knocking down the few houses left standing within the burning town.
Even as he readied himself for a counterattack through the smoke and dust that obscured his vision, he knew that none would come. He had lost all sense of his opponent, an opponent that had fled the field of battle leaving him to revel in his victory and pretend that his powers had once again overwhelmed any opposition. In truth the fight had been fairly even but with the wound he had inflicted on the boy he was as good as dead anyway.
"Tell me, what do you make of this Vandene?" Adeleas asked her sister as she gazed at one of the reports she had been sent from one within her network of eyes and ears.
"That's impossible? Medo was a medium sized town, there is no way enough Trollocs could have been smuggled that far south, past the borderlands armies, to burn it to the ground. Why, it would have taken at least a couple of fists." Vandene's disbelieve was apparent as she skimmed the report, they may have retreated from the world to Tifan's Well - a farming community in Arafel but still remained important to maintain awareness of the world and the increasingly frenzied events that abounded.
"While I admit the destruction of Medo is serious it is not what I was referring to. This is the second report of a glowing figure attacking the forces of the shadow, once at Tarwins Gap and now at Modo. Both encounters were at a time when the shadow attacked in force, doing massive amounts of damage resulting in a large loss of life. Was the figure in fact attacking them or leading them. Evidence of a dreadlord or another male channeller on the lose in the borderlands is not what the nations needs right now, they must stand ready to unite behind the dragon and white tower against the dark one." A male channeler under the control of the dark one was almost as bad as the thought of the forsaken being released from their prison.
"A dreadlord sister?" Vandene asked her sister in scepticism, "while I admit the sighting is unusual I wouldn't go that far. It is far more likely to be another of these false Dragons. Besides with news of this attack on Medo, no doubt all the armies in the borderlands will be mustered, it is unlikely that another attack of such a magnitude could be repeated or even successful with the borderlands readied and forewarned."
"Vandene, I am the first to admit that our work is important. We have collected the largest store of knowledge on the prophecies outside the Tower. But we have been at this so long, how many decades have passed and we have not even started writing the history we originally planned. Why I bet few in the White Tower even remember us, we are green ajar lets leave this job to the brown where it belongs." Adeleas implored her sister, trying to stress the importance of investigating the report she still gripped in her hand further.
"What has you so rattled Adeleas, we are nearing the end of our age making our work even more important. Why the time when the real Dragon distinguishes himself from the number of false ones is drawing nigh, our knowledge of the prophecies will be invaluable when it comes time for the white tower to guide him to the final confrontation."
"I know, I have been through all those books as often as you and yet I feel within my bones that we must investigate these rumours. It is not far and if we are to gain anything insightful we must beat the reds to Medo. Rumours of a male channeler can only complicate things, besides we don't need the interference of the reds right now, you know how they are. Please sister it is not far and then we can return to complete our work, let us be green ajar for a time and not the brown we have convinced ourselves we are."
Vandene muttered dourly at her sister's impulsiveness, Adeleas was never satisfied with the quite life of Tifan's Well. "Fine but be sure to write a report to Talene Minly, it is time we reminded the green back home that we are still alive." Not even the unenviable task of reporting to the Tower soured Adeleas spirits as she clapped her hands in joy and went to tell her warders the good news. In the time left Vandene wanted to ensure that all their work was filed. If their journey took an unexpected detour she wanted all their work to be in order for when they returned.
Happosai relaxed on the stonewall bordering the Tendo compound. It had been a couple days since Ranma had disappeared and things were already settling down into a routine. Ukyo had joined Tofu in attempting to find a way back while Nabiki had been busy needling Akane, ensuring that she stayed out of any rescue attempt. Cologne had recently sent word that Shampoo had reached their village. 'Bah' the old man grunted 'Cologne must have pushed Shampoo exceedingly hard to get there so soon. Even I would be hard pressed to travel that distance so quickly.'
Rumours abounded about Ranma's disappearance but those that knew were silent. No one liked to think about the possibility that he had voluntarily left Nerima behind rather than being kidnapped. Still, it was scary thinking about someone or something that held the power to kidnap such a powerful martial artist without a struggle.
Despite the days that had passed Happosai had been clueless about how he could disrupt the plans now in motion involving his heir ten thousand miles apart, it was a good thing inspiration was about to strike. "What do you want Pantyhose," he breathed through the end of his pipe calmly.
"You know exactly what I want old man. I want my name changed and today you will do it." The young man dressed in loose trousers and shirt stood menacingly behind the old man with a vile of water gripped in one hand with his earrings swaying in the gentle breeze.
"Perhaps Pantyhose, perhaps. Defeat me today and I will change your name to whatever you want." Pantyhose Taro stepped back in surprise, Happosai had never agreed to change his name before under any circumstances, it was as if he liked being beaten up by his cursed form every time he visited Nerima.
"What's going on old man, where's the catch." Taro's grip on the vial tightened threatening to crush it, spilling the contents and activating his curse.
"No catch pantyhose," Happosai cackled insanely bounding off over the skyline of Nerima. "Beat me and I will change your name, but you have to beat me."
"Nothing easier," declared Taro arrogantly as he activated his curse of drowned-Yeti-riding-a-Bull-holding-a-Crane-and-Eel. Already a path of destruction could be seen in his wake as he crashed through the houses in his rush to defeat the ancient master of Anything Goes.
"You wont defeat me like that," Happosai cackled throwing some of his Happö Daikarin widening the field of destruction before running off, leaping over Tofu's clinic. Both Ukyo and Tofu were skilled enough to get out of the enraged Minotaurs way but all the research, which the clinic housed, would be completely destroyed after he had finished his fight with Taro.
"Whoop, ya almost got me there me boy," he shouted as he leaped over one of Taro's massive tentacles before continuing to cause mass destruction in Nerima by leading the cursed boy to the local High School. Even if he had to agree to change the boy's name it would be worth it to disrupt Tofu's plans for long enough to meddle in Colognes plans. If he was right and it was at least partly Ranma's choice to travel between dimensions then not much could be done once a decent amount of time had past. Ranma was only vulnerable to being drawn back against his will in the first month. By his calculations it would be at least that long before Tofu had restored his information on interdimension travel.
"Stay still and fight letch," Taro growled out through his deformed voice box.
"Okay boy, show the old man who baptised you how you've grown." Happosai replied in a relaxed stance tapping his pipe showing his readiness.
Ukyo watched the burning remains of Tofu's clinic stoic grief and a sense of defeat. Burning with the rubble of the doctor's clinic were her hopes of getting her best friend and fiancée back quickly from wherever her had been kidnapped.
"Don't worry too much Ukyo, we can rebuild and there are always other sources of information" Tofu tried to cheer the young girl up as he watched Taro fly away from the destruction he had caused with an unconscious Happosai in his arms.
"Doctor Tofu, how long will that take. While you had the books here I felt that the answer to being united with my Ranchan lay at my finger tips now though."
Tofu sighed as looked at the depressed and defeated cook, 'Ranma wherever you are I hope you realize your absence is hurting people.'
"We will get him back Ukyo, don't forget we have Happosai and the wealthy of knowledge that the amazons can provide." Tofu's determination and optimism momentarily cheered Ukyo up before she once again looked at the devastation left by the latest fight in Nerima.
A/N – as usual I am releasing this before revising it. Please critique it tell me what's good what's not and Why. The Why is important if I am to improve it. Thankyou in advance for reviewing it and for continuing to read my many works, blame this chapter on Teal Thanatos J