Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ nor do I own the Legacy of Kain series but that will change after I built my own Chronoplast room and travel back in time.
((Thoughts))
"Dialogue"
/Telepathy/
'Panda signs'
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"Argh, damnit!!" he said holding his injured hand
Kasumi who heard Ranma rushed to him, "Ranma, are you okay?"
Yes, I am." answered Ranma, "It's only a small cut, nothing serious."
„Ranma, please take a seat at the table. I'm going to tend to your wound." said Kasumi after walking to a cupboard and taking a first-aid kit out of it
"There is no need to do that Kasumi." replied Ranma, "You know how fast I heal. This cut won't be noticeable in a few hours."
"Ranma. Take a seat. Now!" ordered Kasumi in a stern voice, throwing Ranma completely off since he never heard her like this.
"O-okay…" said Ranma now sitting in a chair
"Good." responded Kasumi, "Now let me take a look at your hand."
Ranma who was still a little off from Kasumi's outburst did as he was told to.
"Sorry for snapping at you like this Ranma but you had me worried." said Kasumi at the same time using alcohol from the kit to disinfect Ranma's wound.
He winced slightly but replied with a slight smile, "No need to apologize."
After patching the wound up with a plaster she stood up, "Finished, it's as good as new."
"Thanks, Kasumi."
"You don't have to thank me Ranma." replied Kasumi happily, while bringing the kit back to the cupboard, "It was a pleasure to help you."
"Kasumi, I think we should go back to making breakfast." he reminded her
"Yes, you're right."
With that both proceeded with making food for their family. One hour later almost all the other house occupants awakened from their sleep. Akane was jogging like she did almost every morning.
Genma and Soun were playing shogi on the porch, cheating to their hearts content. Happosai was nowhere to be found and Nabiki was still sleeping. Ranma was taking a quick dip in the furo and Kasumi was setting the table for breakfast.
After twenty more minutes everyone was seated at the dining table except Nabiki.
"Ranma, could you go and wake Nabiki before the food gets cold?" asked Kasumi
"Okay, Kasumi." replied Ranma standing up ((I bet she is still tired from the whole ordeal last night. Good that Kasumi asked me... I wouldn't want to see Akane's reaction, if she saw the bruise on Nabiki's face.))
"Why the pervert, and not me?" asked a slightly angered Akane
"Now listen you uncu…"
"I asked him because he was the first one that came to my mind, imouto-chan." said Kasumi trying to diffuse the tense situation, "Now Ranma, could you please go and wake her."
Ranma proceeded to walk to stairs nodding his head ignoring Akane, who still wanted to argue.
Our favorite martial-artist was now standing before Nabiki's door.
((Hmm, should I knock… …)) thought Ranma, "Nah, I know she's still asleep."
This said, he opened the door and stepped in.
Ranma, now inside the room looked at Nabiki's sleeping form. ((As I thought, she's still sleeping. What's this... the bruise is almost gone?))
The cursed boy silently walked toward the bed and kneeled down next to it, still focused on the wound on Nabiki's cheek... if you could still call it a wound.
"Nabiki, wake up. Breakfast is ready!" said Ranma shaking her slightly.
"Go away Kasumi. It's still too early…" replied a sleeping Nabiki not realizing who was talking to her.
"Nabiki, I'm not your sister." said Ranma smirking a little
Nabiki's eyes snapped open when her brain registered Ranma's words.
"What, who…?!" shouted Nabiki now fully awake
"Nabiki, cool down. It's me, Ranma."
After hearing Ranma she calmed down and narrowed her eyes, "Ranma, don't scare me like that!"
"Okay, okay…" responded the boy waving one hand dismissively, "You should hurry and change, breakfast is ready. I'm waiting outside."
Ranma was about to leave the room when Nabiki interrupted him, "Ranma?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you again for saving me last night. I won't forget it."
"You're welcome." he said smiling and left the room.
He waited for five or six minutes then Nabiki emerged from her room dressed in a green T-shirt and black leggings.
"Ready for breakfast." asked Ranma
"Yes... just one question though."
"What is it?"
"What happened to the bruise on my cheek? I looked at it last night and I doubt it could heal that fast."
"To tell the truth, I have no idea at all. Let's think about it later."
With this short exchange both of them walked to the others, who waited for them.
Back down again they entered the dinning room.
"What took you so long, Ranma?" asked a suspicious Akane
Nabiki, not wanting to see Ranma's 'foot in mouth' habit surface answered for him, "He waited outside my room so I could change."
"Oh… okay." said Akane, believing it since it came from her sister
"Now you two, sit down so we can finally start eating." said Kasumi
Nabiki and Ranma did as they were told to.
Breakfast proceeded normally, in other words that meant Ranma and Genma were fighting over food. Soun was reading the newspapers. The three Tendo daughters ate and occasionally watched the chop stick sparring match between the Saotome's. The only thing different was that Ranma was watching Nabiki frequently.
Akane however noticed this and made it known, "What the hell are you looking at Ranma?!"
"Nabiki." answered Ranma without thinking who he was talking to.
Nabiki's face reddened out of embarrassment, while Akane's face turned crimson from anger.
"Ranma no BAKA!!" screamed Akane brandishing her mallet.
Ranma's brain only now caught up to what he said and his eyes widened when he looked at Akane.
"Err… Akane, I didn't mean it like that!" said Ranma standing up and stepping back from her.
"What didn't you mean like that?! I asked who you were looking at and you said Nabiki!!" yelled Akane lifting her hammer.
"Akane, stop it!" shouted Kasumi, "Ranma's head is hurt."
The angry Tendo daughter stopped her advance since she never heard her sister yell like that.
"Ka- Kasumi…?" questioned a confused Akane, her mallet disappearing
"Akane, you finally need to grow up. You can't solve every problem with that mallet of yours... in fact, you can't solve even a single problem with it. Ranma looked at Nabiki? So what about it, let him look and don't get jealous over everything he's doing."
Everyone else in the room also looked now at Kasumi dumbfounded.
"S- sis?" asked Nabiki, ((Wow, I never thought she had it in her. Way to go!))
"Kasumi?" said a crying Soun who was reminded of his wife when she scolded him for doing something stupid like hanging around with Genma.
The before-mentioned Saotome somehow got cold water, activated his curse and held a shield up which said 'I'm only a cute little panda' since he was reminded of Nodoka who he feared even more then his master.
"Kasumi, you didn't have to do this." said Ranma not as shocked as the others since he already saw something like this earlier this morning, "I could have handled it fine."
"I know you could have but I've seen enough of these useless quarrels over the past two years." replied Kasumi, "Someone had to stop this."
"Onee-chan, why are you siding with him, I thought we are a family?" requested Akane, tears welling up in her eyes.
"We are a family and I'm not siding with anyone. I only decided to end these arguments like I should have done at the beginning."
"Hmph!" was the only thing Akane brought up before she ran to her room
"Kasumi-chan, was that really necessary?" asked her still crying father
"Yes father it was. It was necessary on the first day Ranma arrived." answered Kasumi still with a stern voice, "Maybe even before."
'Ranma, you're going upstairs and apologize to your fiancée' was written on the shield of the idiotic panda.
"Okay, I'll do it." answered Ranma not really caring, ((For what I have to apologize I don't know, but if it gets the stupid panda of my case…))
Ranma's thoughts were interrupted by Kasumi, "Ranma, you're doing no such thing. Akane needs to grow up and if you go to her now she will only be supported to continue with her behavior."
Ranma silently accepted this and went back to eating.
"Kasumi, you said Ranma hurt his head. What happened?" asked Nabiki slightly concerned, ((Maybe he did he get hurt by the thugs? I never noticed something; he was fine when I woke up last night... ... the blood could have been from him...!))
"Before you all woke up Ranma was training in the dojo. He fell on his head while doing a midair kata." replied Kasumi
"Are you okay Ranma?" questioned Nabiki
"Yes, I'm fine. You don't have to worry." responded the cursed boy
"Okay, that's good to hear." said a now relieved Nabiki
Kasumi watched this exchange with a raised eyebrow, her sister and Ranma were never so civil with each other.
"I'm going upstairs now. I want to sleep a little." said the half-time female
"All right Ranma, you didn't get much sleep last night, did you?" replied Kasumi
"Yeah, I'm really tired." lied Ranma, ((It's not that I'm tired but I want to think a little bit.))
"Sleep well, Ranma."
"Yes, sleep well." said Nabiki
The students of Happosai didn't interfere in the discussion of their children and played shogi.
Ranma, who was now on the first floor walked to his room. On his way there he heard strange sounds emerging from Akane's room and decided to investigate. He knocked on her door and after some seconds of shuffling noises inside the door opened. Ranma could only see half of Akane's face, which stirred something in his mind.
"What do you want?" asked Akane with a hostile tone in her voice
But it was already too late for her to receive an answer to this question because there was yet another vision flashing before Ranma's eyes.
>>>>>>>>>>>>Vision>>>>>>>>>>>>
The Pillars of Nosgoth, even in life, few sights have moved him such as this. He marveled that such beauty should grace this dying world.
Approaching the Pillars the vampire could see the ghost of a woman floating between them. She talked to herself.
"Nupraptor, your madness has shattered our dreams and blinded you... ", said the spirit but then she sensed someone walking toward the Pillars. She turned around and saw a white-haired man walking towards her. She floated nearer to him to get a better look.
The nobleman watched as the ghost came closer to him and was shocked when he saw the head of the spirit. One half of the face was that of a beautiful woman with blonde hair, the other side was the face of death. It was only a skull.
"Keep your distance or I'll send you back to Hell, spirit!" shouted the undead man
"There is nothing left of me to fear, vampire. I am only a shadow of my former self... Ariel - the Balance of the Circle of Nine. Even so, I can provide the answers you seek." said the dead woman
"I seek only a cure." replied the noble
"There is no cure for death. Only release. You must destroy the sorcery that is now poisoning Nosgoth. Only then will you realize peace." said Ariel and then told a story that will change the undead life of the young man forever,
"The Nine of the Protectors of Hope were sworn to use their powers to preserve our world. Now these pillars have been corrupted by a traitor. My murder at the hands of this beast drove my love Nupraptor mad. Now he spreads misery and pain among the Circle, crumbling the very foundation of Nosgoth. You must restore balance. You must right the Pillars of Nosgoth."
"I care not for the fate of this world." responded the vampire coldly
"Then for yourself... ", said the former Balance Guardian before leaving, "Beware the Unspoken…"
The ghost disappeared, leaving the nobleman to ponder his situation.
((Nupraptor, with his blind act of vengeance threatened to destroy all of Nosgoth.)) thought the man, ((Each Circle member was bonded to the Pillar he served. The Pillars reflected the mental state of their servants, and as the minds of the Circle degenerated and descended further into dementia, the Pillars crumbled.))
((To restore them, each member of the Circle had to die, and the artifact that served as their link to the Pillar had to be returned.)) reflected the undead in his head
"Only when all the Pillars were restored, did Ariel claim my curse would end." contemplated the young male aloud and went on his way
And so the hunt for Nupraptor began…
>>>>>>>>>>>>End Vision>>>>>>>>>>>>
The vision ended and Ranma returned to reality where a fuming Akane was standing behind her partly opened door.
"Why are you staring at me pervert?!"
"What? I wasn't staring!" snapped Ranma back
"Then why were you looking at me for over two minutes without blinking?!" questioned Akane almost shouting
"Umm…" was the only thing Ranma brought out; ((I can't tell her about my visions. She would think I'm insane.))
"Ha, I thought so." and with that comment she slammed her door shut hitting Ranma directly into the face.
"Arghh!" yelled Ranma, rubbing his nose, "Damn tomboy!!"
Ranma proceeded to walk to his room. Once there Ranma took off his clothes until he was only clad in his boxers and undershirt, then he slipped under the covers of his futon and after almost an hour he fell asleep.
He woke up in midair on his way to the koi pond.
"What the hell?!" cried a shocked Ranma and fell into the cold water
"Why am I punished with such a lazy boy?" questioned the one who threw him out, Genma.
"What was that for Oyaji?!" yelled an angry redhead
"Boy, you slept the whole day yesterday and the whole night." answered his father
((I really slept this long??)) thought a surprised Ranma but then his anger welled up again, "But you didn't have to throw me out of the window to wake me!!"
With that both Saotome's began a fierce sparring match.
Nabiki who was woken by the quarrel looked out of her window and shook her head at the antics of father and son, ((These two will never change.))
15 minutes later the Tendo's and Saotome's were sitting at the dinning table. All of them were eating silently and Ranma was back to boy-form. After breakfast Ranma, Nabiki and Akane got ready to go to school.
"You three should hurry now or you're going to be late." said Kasumi
"Okay, Onee-chan." answered Nabiki
With this the three teenagers left. On the way to school Akane's eyes widened.
"Oh my God! I've forgotten my homework in my room!" said a shocked looking Akane, "I must go home. I still have enough time to fetch them and be in time for school."
Without thinking about the two people with her Akane ran back to the dojo.
"What was that?" asked Ranma
"No idea." replied Nabiki with a shrug
"Okay."
Ranma and Nabiki now walked alone to school, they didn't bother to wait for Akane since both of them didn't want to be late and deal with Hinako or the principal. Some minutes later they reached the school gate where Kuno waited.
"Today is the day where the evil sorcerer Saotome shall be vanquished once and for all. I, Kuno Tatewaki, will free my beloved tigress Akane and the beautiful pigtailed goddess from his evil hands." said Kuno while doing a heroic pose
"Hi Kuno, you look more demented then you usually do." said Nabiki and Ranma at the same time.
The kendoist on the other hand took the simultaneously said sentence wrong, "Ah, what do my eyes see here? The mercenary Nabiki Tendo stands under the spell of the evil wizard."
"I'm under no one's spell you idiot!" yelled Nabiki
"Is that true?" asked a suspicious Kuno
"Yes, it is." answered Ranma
"If you say the truth then I must vanquish her too!" replied the lunatic
"What?!?" was shouted out by Ranma and Nabiki
"Yes, I could have forgiven her, if she was under the spell of the fiend. Now that I know that she is willingly working with him, I shall show no mercy." said Tatewaki drawing a real katana out of nowhere.
Nabiki's eyes widened in shock when she saw Kuno running at her with full speed, he lifted the katana above his head ready to strike her down. Nabiki closed her eyes awaiting the blow that would end her life but then she heard a sound.
CLANG
She opened her eyes and saw to her wonderment that Kuno's sword was stopped by another, a beautifully crafted broadsword. She looked to the side to see who carried such a weapon.
It was Ranma…
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