Ranma Tales ½: Chapter 18 – A Woman Scorned

Part 1: Nabiki's Plan

The next morning rolls around and the day starts as usual, though Nabiki is awfully quiet. This even continues as she walks to school with Ranma and Akane. Both of who start to worry about her.

Just before one of them can ask her what's wrong she looks over at them and asks "Ranma... I have a question for you..."

Ranma looks puzzled and says "Ok. What is it?"

Nabiki asks "Have you ever looked for your mother?"

Ranma blinks not having expected this question, finally he replies "Not really. I don't really have any details. Heck I don't have any details at all. The only thing I know is that pop didn't give birth to me."

Nabiki says "Well your father's name would give us a place to start, if you want to find her."

Ranma looks at the ground and says "I don't really want to get my hopes up and then find out she's dead, ya know? It's easier to just accept the fact she probably died years ago, than to look and see for sure."

Nabiki looks annoyed "But you don't know, she could be alive just waiting for you to come back home..."

Ranma shrugs "True, but if she was alive I would have thought pop would have had to mention her some time. He never did though."

Nabiki says "You just want to believe because it's easier. You're just a coward, too scared to find out the truth."

Akane exclaims "Nabiki!" & Ranma yells "Hey!"

Nabiki shakes her head "You are, I'm not about to take that back." She pauses and then adds "Well ok, I will, if you ask me to look into it for you and find out one way or the other."

Ranma blinks as his anger fades a bit. "You'd do that? You could do that?"

Nabiki nods "Sure, I won't even charge you. This is about your mother after all. I can't charge someone for something like that."

Ranma looks at the ground again and then looks up at her. "Why do you want to do this all of a sudden?"

Nabiki sighs "Look, we lost our mother years ago and it hurt a lot... But I think not knowing would hurt more in the long run. Just look at Auntie Nodoka last night as an example. She hasn't seen her family in years. If something did go wrong, it's possible that months could pass and she'd never know. Her situation reminds me a lot of yours. I know she would rather know for sure than suffer not knowing."

Ranma stares at her as they walk. Akane looks slightly surprised and says "I never expected you to say something like that... It's almost Kasumi like... No offense."

Nabiki laughs and says "Well she is my sister. No offense taken for that either. A few weeks ago, I may have thought it... But you couldn't have paid me enough money to say it... Maybe I'm just growing up."

Akane looks thoughtful. Ranma says "I guess I can't turn down someone offering to help. If you're willing, I'm willing to find out."

Nabiki smiles "Ok, I'll start later today. The sooner we start the sooner we'll know." She pauses then adds "Oh, remember how you wanted me to create something so you don't have to go over your whole life story every time someone finds out your secret?"

Ranma nods "Sure, I remember saying something like that."

Nabiki grins "Well I think I already have something I can show you during lunch. I'll track you down once I pick the first copy up."

Ranma shrugs "Sure. We'll probably be by our tree anyways..." He glances at Akane.

Akane shrugs "Sure that's ok."

They walk on, things now much more normal between the three of them. Ranma and Akane are back to teasing each other. Nabiki walks mostly in silence, except to toss a comment into the mix from time to time.

Nabiki however is really thinking about her plan. 'I can't be sure, yet, if Nodoka is really his mother. Daddy would know, but he seems to be reluctant to tell Nodoka that Ranma is her son. Is daddy not really sure himself? That seems silly, Genma was his friend for years by the sound of things. Then why isn't he saying anything? What angle is he playing?'

She shakes her head 'Never mind that, I need to contact my helpful courthouse employees who owe me favors. There have to be records somewhere to tell me if Nodoka is Ranma's mother or not…clan rosters, birth certificates, marriage certificates, and more. This should be easy.'

Part 2: The Hand of Fate

Homeroom is fairly normal, for Furinkan at least. Well, up until a knock at the door caused everyone to look up. A young man with long brown hair tied back in a pony tail and a beautiful feminine face enters the room. His uniform is the same as any other boy in the school except for the large spatula that seems to be strapped to his back. He walks over to the teacher.

The teacher asks "What can I do for you?" He hands the teacher a note and the teacher reads it over quickly. The teacher then stands up and says "Class it seems we will have a new student joining us today. Please introduce yourself."

The boy nods and says "I'm Ukyo Kuonji. I am one of Japan's best Okonomiyaki chefs. Please take good care of me." The last is the standard phrase used when joining a new class.

The class has fairly mixed reactions. The boys are fairly jealous for the most part, easily noticing this new boy is one of the better looking guys in the school. The girls for the most part get hearts in their eyes as the delight in a new cute guy in their midst. Akane didn't really care one way or the other.

Ranma however had the oddest reaction of all. He had been staring wistfully at Akane ignoring the goings on of the class and instead thinking about what he wanted to do at lunch. Hearing the name 'Ukyo Kuonji' however surprises him into making a comment out loud.

He mumbles "Ukyo Kuonji?" Then somewhat louder he exclaims "Ucchan?" several nearby heads turn towards him including Akane's. Ukyo looks over at him and smiles an intimidating, no, evil smile.

Ukyo walks over to where Ranma sits and Ranma can't help but stare at him the whole time. He finally stands near Ranma and says "Ranchan. It's been a long time."

Ranma smiles then frowns slightly "Yeah it's been ages, in fact I never thought I'd see you again... But, uh…Ukyo since when where you a girl? And why are you dressed in a boy's uniform when you're a girl?"

A look of surprise crosses Ukyo's face and every single person in the room besides those two face faults. Ukyo hisses "How did you know?"

Ranma shrugs "Your aura, is a bit off... But it's pretty obvious that it's a feminine aura. I always thought you were a boy..."

Ukyo's face grows red and she looks angry "You thought I was a boy? Your father engaged us to be married!"

Ranma looks at her blankly. "Uh, say that again? I don't remember Pop's engaging me to anyone... Well other than the arrangement between him and Mr. Tendo. I only recently found out about..."

Ukyo looks even angrier "How could you not know! You rode off on the Okonomiyaki cart that was my dowry, leaving me behind!"

Ranma frowns "Well I do remember pop making me leave and I was riding on something... I also remember you chasing after us and then falling on the ground. I always just thought you didn't want me to leave..."

Ukyo doesn't look any happier. She snaps "I cannot believe you didn't know! I refuse to believe you didn't know! In my shame I discarded my identity as a girl!"

Ranma looks puzzled "Uh Ucchan we were like, you know, six and all... I barely remember life when I was six. But why would you 'discard' your identity as a girl? Isn't that a bit extreme?"

Ukyo loses what little is left of her temper and yells "That's more than enough from you! I challenge you to combat after school behind the gym! Be there or face the shame of your cowardice!"

The teacher chooses that moment to finally call the class back to order instructing Ukyo to take a seat near the back of the classroom. Most of the class is completely confused. Akane is angry. Ranma simply wonders if all his friends from his youth will come find him with a desire to inflict bodily harm to him. Ukyo stares into Ranma's back the whole time they are in class together.

Part 3: Of Friends Lost

Under their tree an angry Akane is glaring at Ranma. She has been doing that very thing for nearly five minutes, when finally she sighs and says "Ok Ranma, spill it, what the heck is up with you and Ukyo?"

Ranma replies "I don't really know. It's what I've been thinking about all morning myself. I mean I've cherished what I remember of him... err, her. Since we were six, she was my first friend. I didn't know she was a girl though, I always thought she was a boy. I mean she never wore dresses, had short hair, and Ukyo is a mostly boys name... How was I supposed to know?"

Akane frowns and says "What about this whole engagement thing?"

Ranma takes her hand in his, though he has to place his other hand over top of hers so she can't pull it away. He sighs and says "Akane, I didn't know anything about an engagement. Pop must have wanted free food, he was such a bastard. For what it's worth we are technically engaged as well in the same way and your claim to me predates hers by over six years..." He smiles "Besides you're the one I like in that way, not her... I'd love to have her as a friend again, I won't deny that. I've missed Ucchan a lot over the years... That doesn't mean you aren't more important to me though Akane."

At just that moment Nabiki steps around the tree and says "Nice words Ranma. I for one am glad to hear that." Then she takes a seat next to them both.

Akane stares at Nabiki "Ok. Not that I'm not happy to see my sister or anything, but uh I don't remember inviting you at the moment."

Nabiki shrugs "I told you I had that brochure for Ranma to take a look at this morning. I'm pretty sure I said I'd give it to him at lunch." She pauses and adds "Besides with the news of a possible fiancée, other than my little sister, appearing at school for Ranma's hand, I figure I had to check in and see what you two were going to do about her."

Ranma says "I don't know what to do about Ucchan... She's just another innocent victim of my stupid father. She was my best friend when we were kids. I really don't want to hurt her, but she really does seem to want to fight me..." He sighs.

Nabiki shrugs "Well I already have a betting pool going for the fight, so you have to at least show up... Other than that I suggest knocking some sense in her. I mean she dresses as a boy for god's sake..." She pauses and says "Anyway... Here is a prototype 'Ranma Saotome: The Myth and Lore' brochure. Let me know what you think. I need to get back to work. If you need a hand let me know."

She smiles as she stands up and waves to the two of them as she leaves. Everyone who saw a smiling Nabiki grew completely worried, after all everyone knew Nabiki Tendo the Ice Queen didn't smile... Nabiki noted it, but ignored it. 'Better to keep them guessing, at least for now.'

Ranma watches Nabiki leave and says "You know I haven't really known her long, but she seems a heck of a lot nicer lately than she normally is..."

Akane nods "I know what you mean. Before the other day it had been years since the last time she hugged me... Heck it's been years since the last time I saw her smile. If she didn't seem so much happier than she had been in all those years I'd be worried. As long as she's happy though, I'm all for it... It's nice to have my sister back and not the Ice Queen."

Akane then she looks over at Ranma as a thought comes to her. "Now where were we... Oh yeah, you were trying to prove I had nothing to worry about from your old friend..."

Ranma smiles as he gets an idea and says "Yeah I was... Now how could I prove it to you..." He moves closer to Akane, still holding her hand.

Akane lowers her voice a little and replies "I'm not sure... I'm awfully upset about the whole engagement thing after all... It would have to be something special... Have any ideas...?" She leans her head a bit closer to his.

Ranma replies "I may have an idea or two..." He leans his head closer to hers until their lips touch. Soon they have their arms wrapped around each other and are locked in a passionate kiss.

Eventually they are interrupted by the sound of giggling very close to them. They pull away a bit breathlessly and see Sayuri and Yuka staring at them and trying to cover their faces with their hands. Yuka asks "Quite the show you've been giving a good chunk of the school. You want a room or something? I'm sure we could think of something to tell the teachers..."

Both Ranma and Akane blush a deep red. Akane stammers out "No, that's ok, we just got a little carried away..."

Sayuri teases "You sure? I know I sure as heck wouldn't want to stop if I was doing that..."

Sayuri and Yuka were amazed as the couple turns an even brighter shade of red. Ranma looks flustered, but says "No. Uh, it's probably time to go back in huh?"

Yuka smiles and says "Almost. We came to check on you two in case you were still angry. I have to say if you still are you hide it awfully well..."

Akane grabs Ranma's hand in hers and stands up. "Come on Ranma, we should get back inside." Ranma stands up and is pulled along behind her until they get inside. Then she presses, a somewhat confused, Ranma up against a wall.

Akane looks him in the eyes and says "When you do meet with her after school I want to be there with you, ok? We both need to explain a few things to her."

Ranma smiles "Sure thing. Though, if you keep me pressed against this wall much longer I'm going to have to kiss you again."

Akane blushes again and says "Well think of that later when we get home... We can't keep making out at school."

Ranma points out something with a smile on his face. "You still haven't let me up though..."

Akane sighs and pulls away from him saying "Let's get back to class..." In her own head though she thinks 'God, I need a cold shower when I have gym class.' They slowly head back to class.

Part 4: Clash of Destiny – Akane's Side

Akane leaves the girl's dressing room after taking a very long cold shower. Gym was her last class of the day and the only thing left was to go help Ranma deal with Ukyo. Just thinking about Ranma, however, seemed to cause her hormones to go into overdrive today. Well at least since lunch. So she'd taken a cold shower for several minutes to get herself back under control. It had her thinking of how cold she was rather than Ranma at the very least.

Outside the other girls had already left. Going to either to club activities, Ranma's fight with Ukyo, or simply home, which left her all alone at the moment, with no one else in sight. She was considering that a good thing, until a black rose embedded itself into the ground at her feet.

She took a small leap backwards and then she heard the cackle. It was the laugh of doom only one girl could possibly make. Akane sighs inwardly and thinks 'Why did she have to show up now? I have things to do...' She scans the area, until she sees the girl standing on the limb of a tree.

Akane growls, "What now Kodachi? Haven't been beaten often enough lately? Decide to pick another fight with me?"

Kodachi laughs some more and replies "Why you foolish girl. No one has ever beaten me in a fair fight. If you hadn't cheated I would have won."

Akane narrows her eyes and says "I think you were the one who cheated; you only decided I did when I stopped you from being able to cheat."

Kodachi waves her hand as if the matter was unimportant. "I need not listen to commoner lies. However you have hurt my brother. What he sees in you I shall never know. No lowly commoner may dare harm a Kuno though. So you must be made to pay. On top of that I hear scandalous lies that you dared sexually assault my dear Ranma. There is no way he could pass up my obvious charms for one of your kind."

Akane growls "If you mean I kissed him, then yes and he enjoyed every minute of it. He's my boyfriend, it's kinda one of the things we do... Oh wait, I forgot you wouldn't know seeing as how you've never had a date in your life. Let alone a boyfriend. And your brother is wealthy perverted scum, he deserves more than a few broken bones."

Kodachi narrows her eyes and says "We shall see who has the last laugh!" She lashes out with her trusty ribbon and Akane dodges out of the way.

Akane continues to dodge strikes from the ribbon as she tries to work out a strategy. She's at a disadvantage since Kodachi's ribbon is extremely long and her place in the tree make the other girl hard to attack up close. Kodachi has obviously been ready for this.

Kodachi sneaks in a new attack. Much like the rose Akane saw land in front of her before, Kodachi tosses a Black Rose at her like it was a dart. At the same time Kodachi lashes out with her whip limiting her movement options. Akane chooses to block the rose with her left forearm, to avoid the ribbon.

This proves to be something of a mistake when she felt the rose strike her forearm and leave behind a burning/stinging sensation. Kodachi laughs her hideous laugh yet again, obviously enjoying whatever evil scheme she has in mind. Kodachi lashes out again with the ribbon and Akane leaps backward.

Kodachi says "Have you realized the power of my new black roses yet? Each rose has a special neural toxin that it secretes from it's thorns. The toxin doesn't affect the whole body, but it does affect a fairly large portion of it. If you arm hasn't gone completely numb yet, it will!" Her grin is truly insane as she finishes her rant.

Akane realizes the truth to Kodachi's words as she tries to move her arm and finds it nearly impossible. Akane yells "That's cheap Kodachi! Can't beat me fair even with an advantage, so you poison me?"

Kodachi simply smirks. "My methods are simply beyond mere commoners. It's only a matter of time before enough poison accumulates to render you completely immobile. Maybe once that happens I will find Ranma and take you both home with me. Then you can watch as I play with him and I will let my dear brother play with you."

Those were absolutely the worst choice of words she could have said. Akane grits her teeth and says "So that's how you want to play it, huh? Me and Ranma are just some sort of playthings for your twisted desires? Well ok, if that is how you want to play the game... Then the kid gloves are off." She clenches both hands into fists and feels the now familiar surge of power as she calls on her fire affinity.

Kodachi calls out "Parlor tricks will not save you now you common street slut." She reaches back her ribbon to lash out once more.

Akane however had been thinking all night about Ranma's lessons on ki attacks last evening. She'd replayed everything she could remember from her unconscious use of such an attack. She then added the new concepts he'd taught her. She'd even come up with names. Names she'd thought would be cute to share with Ranma later when they practiced, but cute names or not, if she could use them now, Kodachi would be the one suffering.

As the ribbon lashes down at her, Akane blurs. Her ki enhanced legs moving her almost to fast to see a she rushes under the ribbon toward the base of the tree Kodachi stands in. Leaving the tip of Kodachi's ribbon to scour the ground where she had been standing and throw up debris.

When Akane reaches the base of the tree she reaches out with her right hand and concentrates as she says "Flame Tongue." A ring of flames springs outwards from where her hand touches the tree, expanding almost to quick to follow. Where ever it passes the tree blackens as it is turned almost to ash in an instant. Kodachi barely springs away from the tree as the ring of flame reaches the tree limb she has been standing on. Within moments the tree is consumed and all the leaves are burning as the trunk collapses under it's weight.

Akane springs back out of the way of the tree. Kodachi calls out "So it is sorcery you use to manipulate my dear Ranma and my brother! I should have realized earlier!"

Akane growls and says "If you think this is sorcery, than you should take a better look at Ranma. Now do you still want to play you stupid arrogant bitch?"

Kodachi stares at Akane with completely undisguised hatred in her eyes. She lashes out yet again with her ribbon. This time however Akane doesn't try to avoid it. Instead she reaches out and catches it when it gets near her. Because of the razor-wire on the edges it hurts to grab it, but she doesn't care. Thoughts of pain are for later.

She smiles and says "Flame Tongue" again. The part of the ribbon in her hand gets so hot the metal actually vaporizes under her hand, and the ribbon itself burns away in an instant all along its length. Kodachi barely drops the handle in time to avoid getting burnt. The now glowing red razor-wire is the only thing that remains to fall to the ground.

Kodachi however simply pulls out a set of clubs and extends the spikes hidden in them. Holding two in one hand she launches another black rose and then sends a club following it. Akane continues to smile and says "Flame Strike" as she points her hand outwards. A small burst of fire shots from her outstretched hand to wither the rose to nothing and badly damage the club, causing it hit the ground near her feet.

Kodachi screams "What the hell are you!" and then rushes forward with a pair of clubs in hand.

Akane sighs and then changes her position. She takes a pose that makes it look like she going to blow someone a kiss. That sort of wild almost silly grin still on her face, she says "Flame Kiss." A ball of fire forms just in front of her outstretched palm and then jets toward Kodachi like a comet, leaving a trail in it's wake. Kodachi tries to stop and jump back, but she isn't nearly fast enough. Akane however wasn't aiming directly at the girl so the ball hits the ground a foot or two in front of her instead. The ball explodes on contact and the shock wave picks Kodachi off the ground and tosses her back a couple dozen feet before she rolls across the ground. Where the ball hit is now a five foot wide crater.

Akane walks toward Kodachi at a leisurely pace, taking her time as the girl feebly tries to pull herself to her feet. While she walks Akane says "Ranma is mine and I am his. Got that bitch? You and your brother need some serious mental help." She pauses then adds "Though right now, I just have a simple choice for you to make. I hope you pick option one, because that sounds like fun to me, but it's your choice. Option one is you telling me some more stupid insults and I get to beat on you till you end up in the hospital with your idiot brother. Option two is where you limp off and leave Ranma alone, so I don't have to kick your ass all over the school grounds."

Akane finally comes within five feet of Kodachi and stops. She asks "So, which option is it going to be?"

Kodachi can't help but stare as a cold fear grips her. She hasn't just gotten beat this time around, she's been mauled. By a mere peasant girl none the less! She can feel the torn or burnt patches to what had been a brand new leotard only an hour ago. She can also feel the torn and burnt patches of skin to go along with the look of the leotard. Nothing has been broken, yet, but since those flames had started to dance around Akane's hands she's been completely useless. She now understands why her brother had ended up in the hospital, quite clearly.

Kodachi decides on the better part of valor. She struggles to her feet and, without looking at Akane, she limps away. Having to run off with her tail between her legs was new to her and she didn't like it at all. Eventually, however, she manages to leave the schoolyard.

Akane takes a step as her anger drips away and promptly falls on her ass. She'd overexerted herself quite a bit, not realizing exactly how taxing those abilities where to use until after she'd worn herself out. For the moment all she can do is sit on the ground and think 'I'm sorry Ranma, I won't be there in time to help you.'

Part 5: Clash with Destiny – Ranma's Side

Ranma walks through the crowd until he is in front of a strange looking fighting ring. Strange looking in the sense that it has a reflective black floor in the middle ringed with a more standard material in white along the edges. Well that and the large cylindrical containers sitting next to Ukyo where she stands near one end of the ring.

Ranma however is paying very little attention to that and far more to the fact that Akane is late. Its at least ten minutes since class has ended and he hasn't seen her. 'Where could she be?'

Ukyo however spots him as he passes the crowd and calls out "So you finally decided to show up?"

Ranma looks over at her and replies "I don't want to fight you Ucchan, but you're not giving me any other choice right now."

Ukyo grins "So get in the ring so I can beat you."

Ranma sighs and then hops into the ring on part of the white edge lining the center of the ring. He says "You do remember I always won when we were little, right? Also who is going to judge this thing?"

Ukyo narrows her eyes and says "I remember just fine, but I'm not a little girl anymore. As for who will judge... I don't think we'll need a judge."

Ranma shrugs "I guess we can go without that, though you did challenge me. Normally that would imply a judge and all."

Ukyo shakes her head "Stop stalling and fight damn you!"

Ranma sighs again and walks toward her. She gets annoyed by the fact he doesn't seem to want to attack and so pulls out some small spatulas from a bandoleer across her chest. She tosses a series of spatulas at him and he dodges them, though he is somewhat amazed by how well they seemed to fly. He does however take a look at where they land. Each spatula had buried itself part way into whatever it encountered.

Ranma turns back to face Ukyo and says "Um Ucchan... You do realize you could hurt someone with those, right?"

Ukyo grins evilly and says "That is sorta the plan."

Ranma sighs and mutters "It seems all my childhood friends come back to kill me... What the hell is up with that?"

Ukyo yells "Enough talk!" and tosses another series of throwing spatulas toward him. Ranma avoids again frustrating Ukyo, who in turn throws yet another series of throwing spatulas. Ranma however has been watching to make sure they don't leave the ring and when one does finally go to the wrong place and head for the crowd he lashes out with a kick that sends it flying across the ring to embed itself in one of the back left corner post.

Ukyo picks up her giant spatula and sticks it into one of the bins, then she yells "That seems to easy for you, but how will you fare against this!" That said she pulls a mass of what look like noodles from the cylinder and tosses it at him. This proves harder to dodge as they break apart as they come toward him. In the end his left arm gets tangled in some of the noodles which he can't avoid.

As he tries to untangle the first batch of noodles, she hurls another which manages to catch his legs as he dives toward the center of the ring. His hand brushes the surface of the black center area and screams "Hot!" He tries to correct the fall and get off of the black section, but it's much to late and his feet are hopelessly tangled in noodles. His shoulder touches the black surface and he rolls across the surface trying to minimize the damage he takes. Eventually he rolls onto the white material again. Though his shirt is now burnt and his shoulder is extra crispy.

He tries to struggle to his feet, but the noodles hold him tight. Ukyo laughs in a sort of maniac way at the sight and says "Having trouble? Maybe you've realized exactly what your situation is...? By the way those are my special binding noodles, given a bit of time or some heat they turn as hard as concrete... Oh and do be careful of the floor unless you want to become dinner for something..."

Ranma growls and thinks to himself 'I don't want to hurt Ucchan, but she's really not making this easy on me. I mean hot plate floored fighting rings? I've seen some weird stuff, but that's new... Don't even get me started on concrete hard noodles... Oh well let's give everyone a real show and maybe I can get Ucchan out of here and talk to her for a bit in a more calm and civilized manner.'

He manages to finally sit up as Ukyo prepares to throw another set of throwing spatulas at him. He calls on his element and says "Flash". Electricity crackles across his skin and burns away the noodles, just in time to dodge the throwing spatulas.

He stands up and says "I really don't want to fight you Ucchan, but you aren't giving me a choice. So let's leave this ring behind and get serious."

He puts on another burst of ki before she can reply and is suddenly standing before Ukyo. She blinks having barely seen him move and he reaches out to grab the collar of her boy's uniform. She screams, an entirely feminine scream, and jerks away from him which tears the buttons along the front of her shirt. Switching things around Ranma grabs her by the waist and uses a ki assisted jump to send them both upwards to land on the roof of the school. He then lets her go.

Ukyo staggers a few steps and then turns around with tears in her eyes. She holds her shirt together with one hand and yells "Were you just playing with me? Again? First you leave without out me and make my life hell. Now you make me think I could get my honor back by defeating you, only to have you one up me and make it all worthless!"

Ranma shakes his head "I didn't try to fight you seriously because I treasure my childhood memories of you. Also like I told you, I never knew what was going on when we left. If I did I would have been yelling for pop to take us back or take you with us. Back then I still expected we'd see you again. It was about two years before I realized pop almost seemed to refuse to visit the same place twice unless it was in the middle of nowhere."

Ukyo sneers "Sure. My life is hell because we were kids and your father is a worthless piece of trash... That's just great... Where is that worthless bump of flesh anyways?"

Ranma calmly says "Buried two feet under the ground in a remote part of china. He's been dead for at least three years now."

Ukyo blinks and then laughs out loud. "So I'm to be denied even that bastards head, huh? Just great..." She sighs.

Ranma asks "Why do you want to kill me so bad...?"

Ukyo looks at him, staring into his eyes. Finally she says "Do you really want to know?"

Ranma nods "Yes. Yes, I do."

Ukyo shrugs "Well when you two left me crying in the road it was horrible. Everyone in town told me how I must be such a horrible girl to have my fiancée run away and leave me behind. Not just the kids mind you, but the adults as well. My father heard it all as well; he'd been suckered out of his cart with barely the shirt on his back remaining. In the end he had to beg grandfather to take us in. Without the cart he just couldn't take care of me. Grandfather is a traditionalist though. He saw this as a huge smear on the family honor. He took us back in, but to regain some sense of honor he had me legally recorded as a boy rather than a girl. After all a boy couldn't marry another boy, and so the loss of the cart was simply theft and incompetence. Both of which weren't as bad as the alternative. To live I had to give up being a girl."

Ranma says soothingly "I know how that must have felt..."

Ukyo cuts him off "You know how I feel? Don't make me laugh. The hell that was my life only got worse as a boy. Other boys often could tell I wasn't quite like them and they avoided me. I spent my days training in my families martial art. Battling the sea with my battle spatula. My father couldn't take it all and practically abandoned me to the will of my grandfather. It only became worse when I started puberty and noticed guys... In that way... I only ever tried to act on those thoughts once and it cost me one of the few friends I managed to make. Not to mention being considered a freak by the entire student body. You and your father are the only people I could possibly blame. But I couldn't find you. So I held my hate strong in my heart and trained for my vengeance."

Ukyo pauses and, before Ranma can speak, she continues "Now I finally managed to find you and all my training was wasted. I can't beat you... Heck I couldn't even see you when you ran toward me down there... So what have I spent my whole life doing? What was the point? Not to mention I can't go back now, my grandfather ordered me to return with your head or with your hand in marriage. Failure means I have no place in the family anymore. I'll be all alone." She trails off and falls silent, staring at her hands.

Ranma gazes at Ukyo for a long moment and then says "I do understand. Better than you might think. I can tell you now, you were probably better off not coming with us."

Ukyo frowns and throws an angry glare at Ranma. "If you think that, you're a fool. My life has been hell."

Ranma smiles slightly and says "Well let me tell you about my life and you decide..."

She shrugs and Ranma starts to tell of his life. "After leaving you pop was reluctant to settle in one place for more than a month or two. So we were always on the move. Pop made my life all about the art, and only the art. He made me fight with him for every scrap of food I ever ate. That didn't change until he died. He woke me up at dawn with buckets of cold water, until I learned to avoid threats even in my sleep. That alone took years. He also tried to train me in a technique only he would be stupid enough to try to teach someone. He tied me in fish sausages and threw me in a pit with a bunch of starved house cats. It wasn't just one time either. I lost count of how many times I entered that pit screaming and begging him to stop. He never did. Finally, I did 'learn' the technique he was trying to teach. What I 'learned', however, was a way of making my mind regress into that of an animal. On pure instinct with my other training it causes some unique effects. I basically act like a cat in human form. Or at least I did for years, I couldn't even hold a kitten or it would send me into hysterics. When I emerged from the pit the first time, I savaged pop. He never stood a chance. Luckily for me a little old lady came by and by treating me like a cat she settled me down and I slowly came back to myself. She even got pop some medical attention so he didn't die. I was nine at the time."

Ukyo just stares as he pauses. His voice had gained a dull almost haunting tone that deepened the entire time he talked and left no doubt in her mind that it was true. He continues "While he recovered we spent some time at a dojo somewhere nearby. I'm not exactly sure where now. There I meet a young boy who would become the second friend I ever had. I walked him to school and would tease him about his bad sense of direction, it was fun for a time. He apparently never thought that way. I ran into him not to long ago now and he tried to rape my girlfriend and kill me. He never even explained why he hated me so much as to do that. Pop took us away again before we were supposed to have a fight. He then took me to a training ground in china. It was cursed, but that never stopped pop. If he didn't believe in the curse before, he did after. The magical pools change the person that falls into them. He fell into the pool of drowned panda. Then he knocked me into the pool of drowned girl."

Now this part Ukyo just can't believe and she sniffs dismissively. Ranma smiles ever so slightly again. "It's quite true. My body changes into that of a girl every time I get splashed with cold water and has since I was ten. At least you had a normal puberty, for half of mine I was a girl. Pops freaked out and we spent the next year trying one wacky solution after another to get rid of the curses. Nothing ever worked, but eventually the danger in the attempts proved his downfall. So there I was alone in the middle of no where in china and every time it rained I turned into a thirteen year old girl. In what had to be the luckiest moment of my entire life I met a person who wanted to take me in. Not just take me in, but continue teaching me the only thing I had ever learned how to do. Life wasn't easy though. His life is hardly normal at the best of times. I found myself in more than one life and death situation and I've even had to kill people. Evil people they may have been, but they were still people. That's still leaving out things like the times I've had guys try to do various things to me. At least you were left alone, I would have loved to be left alone sometimes."

Ukyo isn't sure what to say. Ranma hands her the brochure Nabiki had given him at lunch. "Here, this explains things a bit. Akane's sister made it for me so it's easier to explain things. I thought you deserved to hear most of it from me directly though."

Akane has finally managed to get to the roof by this time. She holds back a ways, seeing that they are just talking. She does however notice Ukyo's ripped shirt and the wrapping hidden beneath it. Ranma senses her presence and is relieved.

Ukyo asks "So where does this leave me?"

Ranma shakes his head "I can't answer that for you. Personally I'd like it if you'd be my friend again. I've missed you all these years. But you can't just kill me outright and I'm sorry, but I don't want to marry you either. All I can say is, I'll do what I can to help you, but you have to take your life back from others. You aren't your grandfather or even your father. You are Ukyo Kuonji. You're also really a young woman. I think you are cute enough, if you just didn't wear boy's clothes and didn't pretend to be a guy I'm sure you'd have a lot of attention around here."

Ukyo blushes and says "Thanks I guess..."

Ranma says "Think about what I've told you and let me know if you need any help. If nothing else I'm always there for my friends and family."

Ukyo blinks "Family?"

Ranma turns his head toward Akane and smiles "Yeah family. I didn't understand for a long time. Maybe too long, but a home is where you make it and family are those that you care for you and you care for them back. It's not just about blood or honor."

He holds out his hand toward Akane and she walks over. He frowns however when he sees the marks on her uniform and the way her left arm is hanging limply. Ranma raises an eyebrow and asks "What happened to you?"

Akane scowls "Kodachi decided to play with me. She thought poison roses that paralyze your limbs would be just thing to guarantee she'd win. To bad for her I took exception to her plan and kicked her ass into next week. She ran off with her tail between her legs." Then she smiles shyly and says "Of course, I kinda overexerted myself and it's taken awhile to pull myself back together."

Ranma asks "How did you do that...?"

Akane smiles "Well let's just say Kodachi got to be the first to see what I'd planned on showing you tonight during our training session."

Ranma blinks and says "You already pulled off a ki attack?"

Akane smiles coyly and says "Not just one, but three. Surprised Kodachi, I can say that much."

Ranma shakes his head "Never do anything the easy way huh?"

Akane grins "Nope, wouldn't ever work if I did. Though you're hardly one to talk... It looks like you got attacked by a griddle..."

Ranma sighs "Don't ask..."

Akane smiles and says "Sure..."

Ranma takes her hand in his as Ukyo watches. After looking into each others eyes for awhile, Ranma turns back to Ukyo. "I need to get home. Remember what I said though. We are both here if you need us."

They slowly walk away hand in hand as Ukyo stares. 'That should be me holding his hand. It's not, but it should be...' She glances down at the brochure. 'I guess I get some homework tonight after all. What am I going to do...?'

Part 6: Nabiki's Plan Take 2

Nabiki enters her room and collapses on her bed. 'Who would think it could be so hard to find records? You'd think they were military secrets or something. I can find all sorts of strange records listed under 'Ranma Saotome', but 'Genma Saotome' is almost a blank slate. I even ran 'Nodoka Saotome' and had better luck. In fact there is a Nodoka Saotome who lives in Tokyo, I'm just not sure if she's our 'Auntie Nodoka' or not. Heck at this point it would almost make more sense if she was the sister to Ranma's mom and they happened to name their kids the same.'

This trail of thought had started when she'd heard back from her contacts earlier. Even though she could find Ranma Saotome as a resident of Tokyo, he had no birth certificate she could find through her sources. It got worse though. Some of the records that turned up claimed nothing but nonsense, like a police file claiming Ranma was a forty something panty thief. She didn't need DNA tests to tell her Ranma wasn't any older than her sister Akane was. So where did this stuff come from?

In the end she felt like she had information on two separate people, both named Ranma Saotome. One was the young man she knew. Passports, police information from several countries across the world from strange unexplainable incidents, and an age of roughly sixteen. All that information was mostly over the last three years.

Then there was another Ranma Saotome. Some things seemed similar: They were both martial artists, both traveled a lot, heck they both even put away food like mad when they wanted from the reports. The biggest difference was a list of, mostly petty, crimes, failure to pay back loans, and an age difference of more than twenty years. So who was the other Ranma?

'Well now that is a good question...' She thought. 'What makes it worse is the lack of records on Genma. I did find a birth record for him. Beyond that though... Well you'd think he hadn't gotten so much as a parking ticket his whole life. That makes no sense when compared to Ranma's stories of his travels with his father.'

She takes a deep breathe and finally admits what she's tried not to think. 'The only thing that makes any sense is that Genma purposefully erased as much as his record as possible. Then once he did... He used his sons identity to get himself out of trouble. Who would do that to their own son though? And why?'

She sighs. 'I need a new angle on this...So what else can I do...?' She wonders for awhile and then she has another thought. 'Wait, daddy knew Genma for years... They studied under the same master. They went to high school together. Genma may have erased himself, but I can't believe daddy could do the same thing. So if I can find records of daddy, then I should be able to trace those with him... Well at least it's a start.'

She thinks about it some more and gets another idea, though it will be much harder to pull off without revealing what she really wanted to confirm. 'I need to see if mother might know. I'll have to be careful to tread that path. It means asking Kasumi if she can summon mother again just to answer my questions... I'm not sure she'll want to. Oh well, no point beating around the bush... I'll just have to try to ask her when I can get her alone."

Her plans now set, she gets up and starts on her homework.

Part 7: Gathering in the Dark

It should be an idyllic scene. After all it's late night in a park in one of the subsections of Tokyo, with Sakura trees all around and a brightly lit colored fountain sparkling in the middle of an open area ringed by benches. However a chill creeps through the air promising dark deeds to all who pass through on this night.

A young woman wearing a black lace Victorian style dress with red trim, with long strands of black hair pooled behind her stands to one side. She carries a large doll dressed in a black satin version of a sixteenth century European gown. The dolls eyes however are very strange in that they glow with a dark red light standing out like burning embers in the darkness.

Three figures emerge from the shadows on the opposite side of the clearing. Once the first girl notices the others arrive she starts toward the fountain. The other three do as well.

Both sides stop about ten feet apart and the middle of the three figures speaks. "You must be Saeko Kenjou the mistress of dolls and Suigin Tou the demon doll."

The girl with the doll nods her head in a slight bow and replies "We are. You must be the Dark Sisters: Aya, Kasha, and Nori." Each girl nods their head in response and Saeko looks them over in the light from the fountain.

Each of the teenage girls stands naked. Well, naked in the sense that they aren't wearing anything that could be described as clothes. Instead, the only thing covering them up is a series of patterns that cover their bodies like glowing dark red paint. They look very much alike, except for the way their black hair is arranged and the shapes of the patterns covering each. If they aren't triplets they could easily pass for them.

The girl on the left is Kasha, she has long hair that cascades down her back hanging loose. A single bar of glowing red passes under each eye and across her nose covers her face. A circle with a triangle under it adorns each shoulder and a line of glyphs traces the path from the tip of the triangle down to her wrist on each arm. Another red bar passes over each breast to cover the tips of each and curves around her sides, though it doesn't continue all the way around to the back. Another circle with a triangle covers the area between her legs. And lastly another set of the circle with a triangle under it covers each hip with a line of glyphs continue down her legs until they reach her ankles.

The girl in the center is Aya, she has long hair as well though hers is tied into a long braid down her back. A line curves across her forehead and follows parallel paths on each side of her body. Down her cheeks, along her neck, over the tip of each breast, across her tight abdomen, on each hip, and finally passes down each leg along the outside of the thigh until it ends at the base of her ankle. Another line begins at her belly button and travels across her belly downwards to cover her most private area and then comes up along her back till it reaches the base of her spine where it ends.

The girl on the right is Nori, she has shoulder length hair with two short braids along her temples. She has three triangles covering her face, one on her forehead and one on each cheek. The one on her forehead points a tip upwards, the ones on each cheek have the tip pointing down. Another triangle with an upward facing tip adorns each shoulder. On her chest one upward facing triangle sits below her neck and one downward facing triangle covers the tip of each breast. Each hand has a triangle covering it that points toward the fingers. A longer triangle points upwards toward her belly button to cover her lower regions. On each hip sits another upward pointing triangle. And finally a last pair of triangles covers the top of each foot pointing toward her toes.

The doll seems to get impatient while both sides appraise each other. Finally she says "So what brings you three here?"

Aya, who acts as their spokesperson, replies "We just came to have some fun. We heard there were some entertaining people here that taught Ryoga and Shampoo a little lesson. I guess that old Amazon bitch and Mistress Talon couldn't whip the two toys into shape well enough to pass their final test for mastery."

The doll smirks and replies "Both were still not ready and didn't do nearly enough work to gather information. That however doesn't really explain why you are here."

Aya smirks back and says "Well we thought there might be enough fun to be had by all and we got bored... The Americans on our mission were too easily defeated. Would you be willing to share some of your information with us, if we agree to share the information we find while we enjoy ourselves in return?"

Suigin Tou seems to think it over and then says "Saeko, give them information on those targets we are aware of currently and then return home. Also give the girls your number in case they need it. That will be all for tonight."

Saeko replies "Yes mistress." as the light fades from the dolls eyes.

Kasha asks the other girl "Don't you get tired of listening to that old thing?"

Saeko smiles faintly and says "I won't speak ill of her. She still has much she can teach me of how to animate objects. I'm sure we shall part one day, but that time has not yet come."

Kasha sighs "Yes, but you have passed your mastery. You could work on your own and find your own answers."

Saeko replies "I know. It's just faster to convince her to give me the answers that already exist, while I work on my own new skills."

Kasha says "Ah! Use her to get all the solutions she already knows and use your free time instead to work on creating new works... Not such a bad thing... You sure you want to admit that in front of her body though?"

Saeko shrugs "I've learned over time what it feels like when she is in her shell and when she's not. Right now she is elsewhere and I can speak freely..."

The three sisters nod and Aya speaks up "We really should get together and talk more again, but we do need the information."

Saeko nods "First I should tell you that most of the targets seem to attend a school called Furinkan High School. The easiest way into their midst is to start there."

The girls nod again and Aya asks "Ok, so we transfer to their school. Now who do we look for?"

Saeko replies "Well at the school the main targets are a boy with black hair in a ponytail and a girl with short black hair. Both show talent and are by all accounts very popular. There is also a girl with red hair in a ponytail who seems to appear on occasion there, she is easily the equal of the other two. There is also a new girl who arrived today who shows some potential, though the boy defeated her." Saeko pauses and then adds "There is also a potential neutral element, a boy named Tatewaki Kuno. He comes from a rich family and seems rather... Dumb. However he has potential if someone chose to instruct him, he is a Fire and Water type however and, therefore, unsteady right now. He also has a sister that attends another school. She shows at least as much potential, but suffers from the same problem."

The girls think that over and Aya asks "What of others? This can't be all from what we have heard."

Saeko smiles a cold smile and says "It isn't. Another girl lives with the boy and girl I mentioned first. She is far stronger than either of them currently, but she seems untrained. Another potential target lives in a unique environment. Recently some Chinese amazons set up shop in a cafe the Nekohanten. It seems they have been sent to keep in eye out for the wayward Shampoo. Of those amazons the one that has shown the most talent is actually a boy named Mousse, if you remember he is the would-be suitor to Shampoo, the one she despised. He has some skill."

The girls nod and Aya asks "Is that all?"

Saeko shrugs "So far that's all we have under observation... However I have felt more within the city. One seems to be a doctor working in a clinic and another pair attend another nearby high school. Currently those are the strongest I've noticed. We aren't tracking those, however, so little is known of them. That is all for now however."

The sisters smile and Aya says "Thank you we will be in touch... Now we have work to do, so if you will excuse us.."

Saeko nods and says "Goodbye." The girls turn around and walk away. Saeko stares after them a moment as she thinks 'Things have just gotten even more interesting.' Then she walks away carrying the doll back to her room.

Neither party however noticed a shadow nearby that never wavered in the changing lights, it however stayed until both sets of girls had left and the faded away.

Author's Notes:

Well Ukyo is finally here, what do you think? I decided she needed to be a lot more conflicted than the manga/anime Ukyo, who frankly seems fairly deluded. This one also doesn't get to kick Genma's ass, so she has a much stronger urge to fight. Ukyo however is one of the characters that is hard to use in a series with a serious take on fighting. Even more so when you look at the fact that she never once uses any 'Chi' abilities in the series, yet they let her go roof hopping and do other fun stuff only those trained in 'Chi' abilities could. I think it worked out fairly well in the end.

Also more evil has come to play. How will Ranma, Akane, and the rest of this new Nerima Wrecking Crew fare against the growing darkness?

Oh and before someone comments on it... Suigin Tou is the name of one of the dolls in the anime Rozen Maiden (in fact she's the evil doll of the series). I however just borrowed the name to use here, nothing else other than names were taken from that series. Well that and a bit of their look and style, though a lot of that came from the Japanese Gothic scene to begin with so it's hardly new. In fact I wasn't thinking of that series until I tried to think up a name for the demon doll for this series. I did however enjoy watching Rozen Maiden and recommend it as something a little bit different. A second Rozen Maiden series is currently airing this fall in Japan as well.

Also the appearance of the dark sisters was inspired by a poster of three anime girls that hangs in one of my favorite shops. I couldn't help but add in more characters using their appearance. I did modify it slightly though to fit the style I wanted. Also I have no idea if those characters have names, the poster lacks any identifying information. So the names were pulled at random.

A bit of trivia this chapter marks the point where this story tops 100,000 words. In fact this chapter rivals the longest day, though I hadn't intended it to. Way to much to cover this time around. As a sort of present to you all for hitting this point, I'll finally get some sort of page up on my website and have full versions of my current stories in PDF format for download. When it's ready I'll post a link to my site in my profile here. I should warn you though. The end of the story as it will appear will include my character index, which has some things that I haven't written in yet. Not to mention work on future chapters that's already finished.

JakeTheSheepy thanks once more for your comments! Though I can't see a good way of incorporating the mokuo takabisha (Lion something Blast if I remember correctly... Got a site that lists Ranma ½ attacks and their English names anyone?), some attacks will be worked in when they can be. 'Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire' for instance would be possible, it just doesn't get 'named' and secretly I've worked in another Ranma attack, it just hasn't shown up yet. The problem tends to come from the elemental nature of most of the attacks they use, the original Ranma just didn't really tend to care about that sort of thing.

Last, but definitely not least thanks goes to borg rabbit for proofreading this chapter for me, so errors of a grammatical nature should be few and far between. Edit: Strangely the one mistake you missed, isn't in my original version... ;)

Also Ranma Tales: Fall From Grace – Shampoo's Tale is now done. Like the last side story I'll post it separate from the normal chapters. Just take a look at my author page to take a look.

Thanks for the feedback and I'll see you all next chapter!