Akane stared at her swelling hand, sniffing as she wondered how she could mess up so badly. She didn't want to fight with Ranma, he was her best friend, but something about him just made it so easy to get angry. It was just her luck that no one else but Karmine was around. "And what was I thinking, speaking like that about Karmine?" Akane asked herself, feeling very small considering the girl was probably within earshot. Kiima's daughter was a carefree and good-natured soul, much like her father, and here came Akane throwing it to her face in the worst possible way.

She shook her head to clear it and stared at her hand once again. Ranma had gotten stronger. Much, much stronger. Once upon a time she could punch him through half of Nerima. This time, and she was a lot stronger than before, he hardly seemed to feel her attack. That and she almost fractured her hand.

"It just isn't fair..." Akane muttered dejectedly as she allowed her hand to drop, ignoring the pain as it rested on the table next to her ice cream. She used to be the best martial artist in Nerima, or at least she lived under that delusion, until Ranma first came into her life. Admitting he was better than her took a lot of effort and time, her pride couldn't take a blow of that magnitude easy, but eventually she accepted it for a fact. Saotome Ranma was a man that breathed the Art, and as such he had no peers. That much Akane understood at the time.

As the years went by she found another source of pride, to fill the void left by her inferiority to Ranma's skill. Her children. Seeing her little boys win every tournament they participated in, defeat any challenger that came to the dojo, around their age group of course, was a great source of pride for the youngest of Soun's daughters. It was almost as if Ranma never came to Nerima, or rather as if Akira had taken his place as the best.

And what happened? Ranma came to Nerima again; bringing with him a daughter that was just as talented and skilled as he was. Akane relived her frustration and anger at Ranma's original arrival, with the pigtailed martial artist rubbing it on her face this time around. The worse part was that he was right. Karmine, from what Akane had seen of the girl so far, was far beyond Akira's level. With the upcoming tournament she felt it was obvious who was going to win, regardless of what Akira did in the short time of preparation before it.

"Akane?" A female voice was heard and Akane's eyes widened slightly. "What happened to your hand?"

"Nabiki..." Akane said with a rueful smile as she looked back at her hand. It did look like she'd need more than Kasumi's care with it. "... Nothing..."

The middle Tendo sister sat down by the table, her ever-present smirk in place. "You hit Ranma-kun again, didn't you?"

Akane remained silent as her sister stared at her. It always irked the youngest of Soun's daughters that Nabiki could see right through her. And right now was another reminder of just that fact.

"Let me guess... You're upset because Ranma-kun showed you up again," Nabiki said as she leaned back on the chair. "You got angry at him and said something stupid, he said something even stupider, and you hit him. Of course, since he's done nothing but train for his entire life you hurt your hand when you punched him. Am I close?"

Akane could do nothing but stare at Nabiki in shock. How the hell could she figure all that out so quickly!

Seeing the reaction Nabiki nodded to herself. "I though so. You two were always so predictable."

"... It's not funny, you know?" Akane mumbled.

"Yes, it is. If you're seeing things from afar," Nabiki said with a shrug and stared seriously at Akane. "You can't start falling back into your old bad habits, sis."

"You say it as if it was my fault!" The younger woman protested loudly. "That baka had the nerve to say Karmine can wipe the floor with my son!"

"And can she?" Nabiki asked curiously.

Akane sputtered, all the air taken away from her sails. "... That's not the point..."

"Of course it isn't. The point here is that you don't like taking blows to your pride." She crossed her arms over her chest. "And Ranma is a walking offense to people like you." It was bad enough that he was so much better than everybody else, but the fact that he always rubbed it in, even unconsciously, was what made him so many enemies. It was a good thing Nabiki didn't take interest in the things Ranma did, or she wouldn't be able to be objective and join the ranks of people after his arrogant hide.

"... You don't have to make it sound like that..."

"I'm just stating facts, Akane. This is why you two would've never worked as a couple," Nabiki said with a sigh. "You jump everyone that even hints you aren't the best at everything... And don't look at me like that. You have to admit I'm telling the truth. As for Ranma... well, let's just say he isn't the most humble being in the face of the planet."

Akane had to admit Nabiki was right on that one. "Then how come he's been married to Kiima for so long?" The Phoenix woman certainly wasn't one to put up with anyone's crap.

Nabiki shrugged. "Maybe she just is even more arrogant and self-centered than you are."

"Gee, thanks," Akane snapped sarcastically.

"Think about it for a moment. They are married, and they certainly love each other from what we've seen of them." Akane nodded, following Nabiki's train of thought so far. "But even if he loves someone, Ranma will still act the way he always does. You were proof enough of that."

"And?" Akane asked and Nabiki rolled her eyes at having to spell it out for her less perceptive sister.

"The only way for Kiima, who definitely isn't humble, to ignore Ranma's flaunting of how much better he is would be if she didn't feel her self-worth threatened," Nabiki stated. "Which means she doesn't care if Ranma is better than her." She then smirked. "Of course, I could be wrong in my assumptions and love can really beat any obstacle. But I'm too cynical to believe that."

"Nabiki!" Akane protested and laughed at her sister's rather pragmatic view of the world. She might not be helping her in regards to Ranma right now, but at least she took her mind off of what happened.

"Take your filthy hands off my person, you cretin!" A female scream caught Ranma's attention as he ran on a fence and he turned to see what the commotion was all about. He almost rolled his eyes when he caught sight of his son, in a rather disheveled state, holding a struggling girl against a wall. Usually the scene would elicit some sort of anger in him, but there were two facts that prevented the pigtailed man from feeling that particular emotion.

First and foremost was the fact that Ranma could see the couple had been in a fight, if only because of the destruction all around them and the broken bokkens on the floor. Seijuro was just trying to submit the girl without hurting her too badly. Though that hold he had on her arm looked rather painful. And second, the girl looked almost like an exact replica of Kuno Kodachi. "Hello, son."

Seijuro snapped around at that, forgetting all about his opponent at hearing his father's voice. "Dad!" He didn't want the man to think he was beating on a girl.

Ranma was about to reprimand his son for being too rough when the girl glared at Seijuro's back and kicked him hard, right between the legs. He flinched in sympathy when Seijuro clutched his abused privates and dropped to the floor in a fetal position. "That is your just reward, peasant! How dare you...?"

"Excuse me, young lady," Ranma interrupted, not in the mood to put up with the Kuno ability to talk in a senseless monologue.

Makoto turned to regard the older man, surprised that someone would dare interrupt her.

Once Ranma had her attention he nodded to her. "Are you Tatewaki or Kodachi's daughter?" When the girl's eyes narrowed Ranma tensed his muscles slightly, completely at the ready. After seeing both Ryoga and his son take a blow to the groin he wasn't taking his chances. Even if he could take it better than those two it would still hurt.

"It does not concern a peasant such as you," she said haughtily as she picked up a bokken. "And who are thee to speak so familiarly of the members of noble house Kuno?"

Ranma groaned. "Tatewaki... Hey!" He barely managed to avoid the bokken hitting him in the nose. "Watch it, girl! You'll end up hurting someone with that thing."

Makoto glared at the elusive man, as she had yet to score a hit on him. Unlike the boy that she downed not even a minute ago, who used a warrior's weapon and fought remarkably well, this peasant danced around her strikes with apparent ease.

"Nice technique," Ranma complimented with an annoying smirk as he leaned back impossibly fast. It seemed like Kuno had taught his daughter well. Even the wholes the older kendoist had in his defense while attacking were gone from the teenager's own stance.

"I FIGHT ON!" Makoto cried and charged with her father's air pressure technique. It was crude, in her opinion, but her own wind techniques were out of the question while wearing a skirt. "STRIKE, STRIKE, STRIKE, STRIKE!"

It was then that something shocked the girl speechless. Ranma stood his ground and caught the tip of her bokken in one hand with all the ease in the world. It should've been impossible! "What sort of sorcery?"

Ranma chuckled in amusement, holding the bokken as the girl struggled to free it of his grasp. "No sorcery, girl. Just enough experience fighting against your old man."

That stopped the girl's struggling as she stared at Ranma. "You know my daddy?"

"Yeah, I know Kuno," Ranma said as he let go of the bokken. His smile widened when Makoto didn't instantly attack him again. "I fought against him enough times to know that technique you just used has a very weak spot."

Makoto took offense at that, even if she knew her father's first real technique could do with a lot of improvement. "And what, pray tell, is that weakness?"

Ranma shrugged as he walked over to his son and knelt down next to him. "Each and every strike has a small gap where the bokken isn't moving at all, so if you're fast enough you can catch it without much trouble."

Makoto blinked. That was mostly true but... "But the air pressure part of the attack would cut your hand."

"It would, if you actually placed your hand in front of the bokken. I caught it from the side," Ranma explained as he patted his son on the shoulder. "How're you holding up, boy?" He chuckled when the answer he got was a groan.

"... Who are you...?" Makoto asked as she looked at Ranma curiously. His easy demeanor and obvious skill cutting through the haughtiness of the Kuno line for now. It also helped that he was an older man and didn't comment on the panties she got as a birthday present from her father.

Ranma decided to give Seijuro some more time to recover his breath and stood up to his full height with a relaxed smile on his face. It was then that Makoto noticed he was easily as tall, if not taller, than Kuno Tatewaki. "The name's Saotome Ranma. And I'm the current Grandmaster of the Saotome branch of Anything Goes Martial Arts."

Makoto's eyes widened in recognition at that. "You're the foul sorcerer!" Whatever she was expecting him to say at the accusation, having him laugh out loud was definitely not it.

Kiima's husband just couldn't help himself. It had been so long since he last heard someone refer to him like that. It brought back memories of his days at school. Very stressful days when he was younger, but now that he could look back on them it was kind of relaxing to know once upon a time things were a lot less serious.

Seijuro gasped for breath as he slowly sat up, still one hand holding his family jewels protectively, and stared at his laughing father.

Ranma finally stopped laughing, but continued smiling, and turned to the two teenagers. "We'll walk you home, girl."

Makoto would've replied indignantly at the man for being so familiar if it wasn't because she was caught in the mesmerizing effect of Ranma's presence. The easy confidence and roguish smirk made her heart beat faster. Now she could understand her aunt Kodachi's infatuation with this man, even if her daddy made sure to paint as grotesque a picture of him as possible.

Ranma didn't notice the look he was recipient of, as usual, and walked off in the direction of the Kuno mansion.

Seijuro rolled his eyes in annoyance, and a little jealousy, as he carefully stood up to follow. It was the same thing everywhere his father went... and he didn't even notice!

As they walked Makoto quickly kept up to Ranma's side, with Seijuro having difficulty following. "My aunt told me you are a superb martial artist."

"I'm the best there is," Ranma said with no small amount of pride. "How is Kodachi, anyway?" That he didn't want to marry the girl, and was happy to live as far away from her as possible, didn't mean he didn't care about her well being.

"Aunt Kodachi is a psychiatrist," Makoto said with pride and frowned in confusion when Ranma suddenly stopped in mid step.

The pigtailed man turned to regard the girl in disbelief. "A psychiatrist? Kodachi helps people with their mental problems?"

Makoto nodded and resumed walking, with Ranma right by her side and holding a pleasant conversation.

"Damn it, old man..." Seijuro gasped as he tried his best to keep up. If only his knees weren't giving out from under him...

"I really envy you, sugar," Ukyo said with a smirk as she fed another okonomiyaki to a ravenous Karmine. The girl came in about half an hour ago, looking tired as all hell, and Ukyo had been feeding her since.

Karmine blinked after swallowing and regarded the chef. "... Why?"

"I remember a time when I could eat like you do without worrying about my weight."

Karmine blushed in embarrassment at that. "Sorry... It's just that training all out with father makes me so hungry..."

Ukyo waved it off and gave the girl another freshly made okonomiyaki. "Don't sweat it, sugar. The way you're training you need the extra energy." She was still amazed at how similar to Ranma young Karmine was. Her dedication to martial arts, particularly now that the tournament was coming, was making her push herself to heights only the pigtailed martial artist wouldn't consider unhealthy. As she understood it the girl did have other interests outside of the Art, unlike Ranma, but she still seemed highly obsessed. Chances were she'd leave those other interests if she continued to dedicate more and more of her time to training, like Ranma.

Karmine finished off the last of the okonomiyaki and sighed in contentment. "You truly cook the most delicious food!" She now only needed a couple of hours of rest before training some more.

"That she does," Kiima said as she entered the restaurant and walked over to them. "No matter how hard Ranma tried he could never cook something that good."

Ukyo raised an eyebrow at that. "Ran-chan... Cooking?"

The silver-haired woman sat down next to her daughter. "We share the chores of the house, especially now that Karmine and Nodoka are old enough to help. He's always been the better cook."

Ukyo just shook her head and wondered how Ranma could ultimately fall in love with Kiima. The woman was graceful and beautiful, that was for sure, but she was also strong-headed and independent. Two qualities that she didn't expect would appeal to Ranma at all. After all 'girls are weak', as Genma so liked to say. She shook her head to clear it of such thoughts, they eventually only served to depress her.

"How was your training session with your father, Karmine?" Kiima asked, having noticed Ranma was nowhere to be seen and knowing he wouldn't pass up on food, particularly Ukyo's.

The silver-haired girl sighed and explained what happened between Ranma and Akane. She didn't really listen in to the conversation, but her ears did pick up on Akane badmouthing both her and her father venomously. If Ranma hadn't snapped back at her she would've done so.

Kiima's eyes narrowed at the retelling of the confrontation while Ukyo simply sighed and shook her head. She really had to wonder if Akane had matured at all or she simply appeared as though she matured. Ranma wouldn't change, that was a fact, but that Akane didn't realize it and fell on the same trap over and over...

"And where is your father now?" Kiima asked after mulling over what she just heard.

"I don't know. He told me to come here and that we would train some more after I was rested," Karmine said and fidgeted a little. "I wanted to follow him, but I was too tired."

Kiima nodded and stood up. "I'd better go to him before he gets himself in trouble again."

Ukyo smirked. "I take it that hasn't changed either?"

Kiima didn't respond to that with words. She simply smiled and walked out of the restaurant, leaving Ukyo and Karmine to inconsequential talk.

"This is a bad idea," Ranma muttered to himself as he waited for Makoto to return. Upon arriving the girl offered them both a glass of lemonade, justifying herself that it was an apology to Seijuro. Of course, said apology would be more convincing if she didn't glare at the boy before entering the mansion.

Meanwhile Seijuro was looking around the Kuno mansion in an attempt to distract himself. He was very uncomfortable right now and all he wanted to do was lay down with a well-placed icepack.

They didn't wait for more than two minutes before someone walked into the room once again. "Koda..." Whatever else Ranma was about to say was muffled when Kodachi jumped into his arms and gave him the mother of all french kisses.

"DAD!" Seijuro cried in alarm, unable to understand how his father could be doing this to Kiima.

Not that he had much of a choice in the matter, having been caught completely off-guard. To his credit he did break the kiss as soon as he recovered and pushed the gymnast away. He could feel she'd kept up her training all these years. "... Kodachi..."

"Ranma-sama!" Kodachi cried happily, oblivious to Ranma's unease. "I knew you'd come back for me! You've finally realized only I, the Black Rose, can fulfill all your desires!"

The pigtailed man sweat dropped heavily. It was a very bad idea to come here. "Uh... Kodachi... I'm still happily married and..." He was again interrupted by the woman trying to kiss him, completely ignoring his words.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY WIFE!" Seijuro and Ranma turned at the angry bellow just in time to see a dark-haired man charging with death in his eyes.

"Why me...?" Ranma asked no one in particular as Kodachi, predictably, stepped out of harm's way in such a way that he had no room to maneuver. All he could do was brace for impact, crossing his arms in front of his chest and hoping the poor fool didn't fracture his hand.

It was just his bad luck that such impact came in the form of a vacuum blade instead of a fist, making him recognize the man. "... Ryuu?" he asked just before blood sprayed everywhere.

Kiima frowned when she left the Tendo Dojo. Akane was obviously upset over what happened, so she spoke to Kasumi instead. It seemed like her husband didn't come to the dojo like she expected.

That wasn't what bothered her, though. It was how the eldest of Akane's children, Akira, looked at her. She had done nothing to the boy yet he eyed her as an enemy, studying her moves for possible weaknesses. She'd have to talk to Ranma seriously about this; maybe allowing Karmine to show him up in the tournament wasn't a good idea. Karmine was almost an adult, yet even then Kiima didn't feel like allowing her daughter to get herself an obsessive enemy. One Cologne was enough.

The silver-haired woman walked through Nerima wondering where Ranma would go if he was upset, for he clearly was if Karmine was to be believed. Even knowing Nerima as she did, it had been a long time since they were last here. And her wayward husband was the most unpredictable man in the face of the Earth.

She completely ignored the stares she got as she walked the streets, for a woman like her was clearly out of the ordinary in Japan, and decided that she might need to fly over the district to find the nearest source of trouble. Chances were Ranma would be in the middle of it.

Kiima was just about to decide on doing that, secrecy be damned, when she heard her son screaming in the distance. Without thinking about it she rushed towards him.

Seijuro stared in disbelief at the sight before him, eyes wide with shock and jaw hanging open, as his father fell to the ground in a pool of his own blood several feet away from his attacker and remained still. "DAD!" He cried in horror as he rushed to his side.

Kodachi could do nothing but stare in shock. Her Ranma-sama... was dead? Just like that? He was supposed to be invincible, wasn't he?

Ryuu took a deep breath, trying to calm himself after killing the fool that was taking advantage of his wife, and turned to Kodachi. "Are you alright?"

The black-haired woman turned to regard her husband. "... You... killed him..." She whispered brokenly and in awe. She couldn't believe the man she married was strong enough to actually defeat the one she'd pinned for all these past years. She shuddered a little in desire for him, always attracted to displays of power.

"Dad, wake up! Come on, wake up! Laugh it up like you always do, please!" Seijuro cried frantically as he shook Ranma's inert body. He might be trained in the most dangerous sword form of Japanese history, but even then he was still a boy. A boy that was crying in agony over his father's agonizing form. Revenge would come later; right now fear over losing him was overwhelming all other emotions.

The damage done by the vacuum blade was enormous. While his left forearm had a deep wound his right arm was cleanly cut off. The vacuum attack all but devastated his ribcage, cutting so deeply Seijuro could actually see Ranma's lungs filling with blood and his heart fighting to keep on beating, even if it was badly damaged as well.

Makoto picked that precise moment to step through the door, a tray in her hands. She stopped dead on her tracks and the tray fell from nerveless fingers as she caught sight of the scene before her. Seijuro was crying despairingly over Ranma's bloodied body. While usually she wouldn't give a damn about some boy crying the sheer agony in his sobs cut right into her heart. The fact that the man she'd just met and spoken to lay dead on the yard of her house... She'd never seen a dead body before!

"Dad! Wake up already!" Seijuro cried desperately, only to see Ranma's heart stop beating. "NO!"

Makoto took a step forward to try and help, even if it was to only comfort the boy, and tripped over something. "KAMI-SAMA!" She cried in panic and jumped away, having tripped with Ranma's removed arm.

When Kiima arrived she studied the situation instantly. There was a couple kissing next to the house, a trail of blood leading from them all the way to her husband, where Seijuro was sobbing brokenly. A couple of feet away a pale-faced girl sputtered incoherently.

She jumped off the wall and made her way slowly to Ranma, her expression unreadable.

When she saw the state he was in her eyes first widened, only to narrow in anger.

Seijuro, even in his grief, felt someone's presence behind him. He turned and, upon recognizing Kiima, hugged her legs as he continued crying in earnest.

The woman placed one hand over her son's head stiffly before turning her gaze dangerously towards the kissing couple. The trail of Ranma's blood led to them.

A burning anger overwhelming her grief for the moment, the silver-haired woman produced a sword with the hidden weapons technique and patted Seijuro on the head. "Go to the Uchan's, son. I have something to deal with before joining you..."

Seijuro was taken aback by the sound of Kiima's voice. Never before had he heard her sound so emotionless, so... cold...

Without even realizing what he was doing the boy let go of his mother's legs.

Kiima walked purposely towards the couple just as they broke he kiss and noticed her. Her grip on her sword tightened upon seeing their flushed faces. They'd lived through so much, defeated so many enemies, and now an idiot had to come and get a lucky shot in on her Ranma. Regardless of who this person was, she vowed that his blood wouldn't be the only one to be spilled today.

Weak women cried over their fallen loved ones. Kiima avenged them! Grief could come after that.

Kodachi didn't seem to notice the murdering look in Kiima's eye; she rather tried to place this woman. She looked rather familiar.

Ryuu, on the other hand, instantly tensed at seeing and, most importantly, feeling the approaching silver-haired woman's disposition. She was exuding ridiculously high amounts of power, and the look in her eyes left no doubt as to what she wanted to do with that sword. "Look, lady..." He started in an attempt to make her calm down. It didn't even cross his mind that he'd just killed a man and this was probably retribution for it.

"Why?" Kiima demanded in a voice devoid of emotion, even if her body language suggested otherwise, as she stopped two feet from the couple. It was all she could do not to kill them where they stood without asking any questions. Ranma wouldn't like that, the sweet forgiving fool.

Ryuu frowned as he remembered what happened. "That asshole was all over my wife. He deserved what he got," he said angrily as he hugged Kodachi possessively to his side.

"I highly doubt that," Kiima replied and her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Is that the only reason you had for killing my husband?" When she didn't get an immediate response she nodded slowly, as if passing sentence. "I see..."

When Kodachi heard Kiima refer to Ranma as her husband she remembered who it was that stood before her. It was that very same harridan that took her Ranma-sama away so many years ago. And now she returned... after having weakened the pigtailed martial artist so that he could be taken out, in front of Kodachi herself no less. It had all obviously been a plot to hurt her, an attempt at destroying the Black Rose through a weakness. But she has failed, Kodachi thought somberly as she reached into her kimono and retrieved her deadly gymnastics ribbon. "How dare you...?"

"Silence, landling!" Kiima bellowed, using an insult she hadn't uttered in nearly twenty years.

That brought Seijuro out of his shock. "Mom?" He couldn't remember his mother ever using that demeaning insult. One that while it didn't bother Ranma it did bother his children.

"What are you doing here still, Seijuro?" Kiima asked coldly without turning to regard her son. "I thought I told you to leave."

Seijuro gulped. "But mom... I..." He froze on the spot when Kiima turned over her shoulder and he could see the sheer amount of rage in her eyes.

"Well?" Kiima asked when she saw him hesitate.

"... Right..." Ranma's son answered shakily and rushed out of the Kuno mansion. He left, however, for another reason than following his mother's orders. He needed to get Karmine so they could help calm their mother down before she did something she'd later regret.

The silver-haired woman, once satisfied that Seijuro wasn't anywhere close, turned slowly to the now at-the-ready Kodachi and Ryuu. "The question now is... who wants to die first?" She asked as she assumed her own fighting stance.

END PART 6

Author's notes: Rather pathetic how I got Ranma killed, huh? Even the most powerful of fighters can be taken down if caught off-guard, and he certainly was here. Next should come a rather interesting fight, with more of the Nerima regulars making an appearance.

Till then be seeing you all.