A/N: This is a repost and rewrite of my previous story, "Nerima in the Dark", taking away most of the palagrism.

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ or Sailormoon.

CHAPTER III

A year ago:

"What are we doing here again?" Ryouga asked as he looks up the large creepy mansion in front of him along with Ranma and Mao Lin.

"We're here to transport a book to a shrine at the other side of Hong-Kong. By the way, where have you been this past week?" Mao Lin said.

"Mongolia, I think. Anyway, why come to us? I mean, how hard is it to take one simple book from here to the other side of the city?" Ryouga said again, grunting.

"I don't think it's just your average old book, P-chan. The client was quite adamant about us making sure that book reach the shrine in one piece and said something about the world ending if we failed." Ranma said in a serious tone.

Ryouga noticed this and frowned. "What's eating you, Saotome?"

"Nothing." Ranma said instantly. "It's just I get this vibe from this place that makes my hair stand on end. My danger sense has been working overtime since we got this case."

"I see." Ryouga pondered about this. He knew that every time Ranma gets this sort of feelings, things always tend to go very, very bad one way or another. The last time he got this serious was when Mao Lin had them on a mission to retrieve a stolen map of a certain Jusenkyo guide from a tribe of winged people on Jusendo. What they didn't know was that a group of Amazons was also there in a mission to rescue a kidnapped great granddaughter of the matriarch that would be used as the sacrifice for the ascension of the Pheonix God Saffron. With the help of the Amazon rescue team, Ryouga and Ranma battled the Pheonix God and managed to beat it using the keys for its ascension, the Revered Fire Staff and the Ice Staff. In the end both fighters managed to level an entire mountain battling the God, earned the gratitude of the Amazon tribe, become the rightful keepers of Saffron's keys for ascension thus being the next judges for Saffron's next ascension, and indirectly rendered Jusenkyo in total wrecked for the next couple of years.

When both boys found out about Jusenkyo, it wasn't pretty.

"So, what do you think we'll find in there?" Ryouga asked Mao Lin.

"Why asked me? I'm not going anywhere near that book. I'll be waiting for the both of you at the shrine, thank you." Mao Lin said indignantly, earning a sigh from both boys that she just shrugged off. "Just make sure you get that book at the shrine in one piece so we could get paid in full. He only paid us half of it."

Both men just sighed. They had gotten used to Mao Lin's attitude for making money a priority over their lives. She was the kind of woman who would willingly sell her soul to the devil if there was enough zero in the cheque. But she does know her stuff, as long as there is no danger in the immediate area.

"I think things would get hectic once the book is out of its protective case." Ranma said before turning towards the lost boy. "Are you sure you got enough weapons on you?"

"Yeah. I've managed to restock all my bandannas and my new umbrella have had enough mystical enhancement to be effective enough even against demon lords."

"Good. Because I have a feeling that we'll need all the advantages we could get." He said, taking out two 45 Caliber Desert Eagle hand guns to inspect if they were fully loaded.

Ryouga knew perfectly well why both guns have different colors than your normal hand guns. It was because Ranma used the Phoenix God's staffs of ascension to craft them. One has a red and black motif on it since the steel used on it was from the Fire Staff, while the other one has a blue and white silver motif on it from the Ice Staff. After making sure that both were fully loaded, and there was enough ammo inside his subspace pocket, Ranma put both guns away and started heading inside the mansion with Ryouga following close behind.

"By the way, Ranma. What's the name of this book?"

Ranma stopped on his steps for a moment to answer, "It's called the Necronomicon."

For some reason, both boys felt a sudden chill running down their spines at the mention of the name. Ryouga voiced his opinion and said, "Why don't I like the sound of that?"

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! CLICK-CLICK-CLICK!

"DAMN!" Ranma cursed as he once again had to avoid a swarm of demon imps as he reloaded the bullets on both guns.

"SHI SHI HOKODAN!" Ryouga shouted as he vaporized a group of rat demons that tried to get the Necronomicon from the bag on his back.

The moment they took the book out of it's protective casing, minor demons of all shape and sizes begun assaulting both of them to get to the book. Both of them were thankful that for the moment, it was only low level demons that had been harassing them, which allowed them to managed getting halfway to the shrine killing all demons that stood on their way.

Suddenly, both boys felt a spike of power all over the place, causing all the minor demons to scramble away from the place. Turning towards the source of the power spike, they saw a huge boar demon standing on top of a three-story building in front of them. It was at least twelve feet tall and almost humanoid, except for its boar like head and lower body. Its entire body is covered entirely of dirty gray fur. Beside it is a cute eleven year old girl with bat-like wings, yellow ram-like horns, a tail, and huge yellow cat-like eyes. She was also wearing a lovely yellow sun dress that matches her dark purple hair. If it wasn't for her demonic features, she would be absolutely CUTE.

"Who the heck are you?" asked Ryouga hotly.

"Oh, me? I'm just a businessman with a little proposition for you." The boar demon said as it grinned at the two humans below him. It snapped its fingers and two dozen beautiful naked women started steeping out of the building he was standing on. Ryouga almost fainted in blood lost upon seeing so much female flesh. Some of them begun to giggle at the lost boy's beet red face and some started calling for them in a very sultry and seductive voices. "These are all my slaves. They are yours to do whatever you wish to satisfy your earthly pleasure. All of them in exchange for one book."

The boar demon grinned some more upon the silence he received from both boys. Them being hot blooded males, he was sure to lead them on his trap. As soon as his slaves managed to get close enough, he would spring his trap, kill those two boys, get the Necronomicon, and use the demonic book to increase his power a hundred folds.

"Master, I don't think," The little cute demon tried to say but she was immediately cut off by a strong backhand slap from the boar demon. She slammed into the ground, blood dripping out of the side of her mouth.

"Naomi, what have I told you about interrupting me?"

"S-sorry, m-master I," She was cut off again when the demon used its huge hoofed leg to step on her, causing anguished pain on her little body.

"And I told you never to speak unless I say so! It seems I need to teach you another lesson once this is over." It said as it increased the pressure on his foot, grinding it a little to cause even more pain. "Now speak up!"

The little demon coughed a bit of blood first before answering in a pained voice, "Y-yes, m-master."

"Good." The boar demon gave Naomi one more kick on the ribs for good measure before turning back towards the two young men. "Well now, what is your answer?"

Ryouga, who had seen the entire display of cruelty, was shaking in rage. Never had he seen anyone treat other beings like that. "Y-you MONSTER! How dare you do that to your own subordinate!"

"Oh, you mean this?" It asked as it kicked Naomi one more time, causing her to fall off the building and crash into the ground below. "She is a demon slave bonded to me. No matter what I do with her, no matter how much I torture her, she would do my biding unconditionally. For with out me, she will cease to exist in this world." The demon boar said, grinning maniacally at the enraged boy before turning a glance at his slave. "Stand up, you worthless piece of manure."

For a moment, the young girl demon stayed still. Then, ever so slowly, she begun to painfully stand on her own, her muscles eliciting a groan of pain with each movement. "Y-yes, m-master."

Ryouga, seeing the demon girl battered the way she is, with blood running down her mouth and nose, onw of her wing hanging useless behind her, and one arm bent in an unnatural angle, was enraged even more. He was about to charge the boar demon when,

BANG! THUD!

One of the two dozen naked women was thrown back with a bullet hole on her forehead. The moment the woman fell to the ground, it's entire skin turned blue and her once beautiful face transformed into a hideous mess of flesh and bone. The rest of the women started transforming themselves. The bent down in all fours, their skins turning from fresh pink to dark blue, their mouth growing razor sharp teeth, and their hair turning full white.

"W-what?" The demon boar asked in shock.

Ranma, who had been silent the entire time, turned a cold glare, as well as his still smoking gun, at the demon boar and said two simple words that could have freeze hell over. "No Deal."

Present Time:

"I can't believe that old fool! Imagine, selling something as dangerous as that to a mere high school student! If he weren't a human, his head wouldn't still be attached to his body!" Ranma-chan frowned as she and Naomi, in her human child form, walk towards the their destination . . . The Tendo Dojo.

"Does master want Naomi to go back and kill?" She asked hopefully.

"Not until next week, Naomi. If he's still there by that time, do to him what you want."

"Is Naomi allowed to do anything Naomi wants to shop owner?" She asked hopefully, already thinking of ways to torture the old man like she used to when she was still bonded with her previous master.

Ranma-chan saw that look in Naomi's eyes and started to think the fault in her command. But since she looks so hopeful, she just shrugged and hope Naomi doesn't do anything too drastic. Besides, if that fool doesn't heed her warning, then he deserves everything Naomi can provide for his death.

"Anyway, Naomi, why don't you go scout the rest of town for a while. I'll go do this errand alone and meet you back at the hotel. And try that thing I taught you on how to relax if you can, okay?"

"Is master sure Naomi should leave for while?"

"Sure, Naomi. And try to find Ryouga if you can."

"Naomi obey, master." Said the girl as she flew up to the sky as soon as she sprouted her wings. Ranma-chan shook her head, thinking she should really teach the demon to make sure no one was looking before revealing her demonic abilities.

Ranma-chan was too busy looking at her familiar that she didn't notice a young woman coming around the corner until she collided with her. With her martial arts reflexes, she managed to catch the other girl's arm before she fell on her rear. But Ranma wasn't able to catch the groceries she was carrying.

"Oh man! I'm really sorry about this, miss." Ranma-chan said apologetically as she started picking up the spilled vegetables off the ground.

"Oh my. No, it was my fault." Said the young woman as she started picking up the groceries as well.

As soon as all the groceries were picked, Ranma-chan finally managed to see the girl's face. She seems to be in her late teens, with long brown hair tied with a white ribbon, and wearing a simple housedress. She was radiating calmness with that cheerful smile of hers.

Ranma-chan bowed low once more as she said in her most sincere voice, "I'm really sorry about that. I should really look where I was going."

"Oh, please don't worry about it. I'm sure it was an accident." She said with that same cheerful smile, which was now a little strained as she held her arm.

Looking at the girl's arm, Ranma-chan winced as she saw a red handprint on it. She must have grabbed it tighter than she had thought. "No, it was my fault. And I'm sorry for grabbing you like that."

"Oh my. It's no problem at all. I'm sure it will be gone in a few minutes. It really was an accident." The girl declined politely.

"At least let me carry your stuff for you while it heals." Ranma-chan insisted politely.

The other girl seems to be thinking about it for a moment. Her hand did hurt a bit but it was negligible. But then again, the redhead seems to be blaming herself for it, and having a guilt like that is quite hard on a person. Then, after a few seconds of silence, she smiled at her brightly and said, "Well, if you insist." She gave her the groceries, which the redhead immediately took. "Thank you, miss, ah. I'm sorry but I never did asked you your name."

Ranma-chan first reaction at the female prefix was to grimaced, but then she is a girl at the moment. So what she did was gave her a smile and said, "Ranma. Ranma Saotome."

The young woman looked at the other girl, smiled and said, "Hello there. My name is Kasumi."

"Wow, Akane. Your appetite seems quite healthy this past few days." Yuka teased as she and Sayuri watched their friend devour her lunch. It was lunch time and the three of them were sharing a blanket on the roof of the school.

"Yeah, Akane. If you keep it up, you'll lose your figure." Added Sayuri with her own retort.

Akane stopped chewing for a moment to smile at her friends before saying, "Very funny, you guys. But I don't think I have to worry about my figure anytime soon. Besides, for some reason, I just feel hungrier these past week."

"Yeah, we noticed." Sayuri teased, looking at her friend's bento, which is twice the size of their own. "Anyway, I'm glad you started getting better at handling the Hentai Horde. You rarely get late now compared to the last several weeks."

"So tell us, is it another side effect of being half demon?" Yuka asked casually while Akane was drinking her juice. Both girls were immediately tapping her back when the juice went down the wrong pipe, with teasing smiles on their faces.

"Really, Akane. We're alone on the roof, you know. There's no one was listening." Sayuri admonished.

"Mou! I knew I should have never told you guys about that!" She pouted as soon as she was able.

"Relax, would you. Besides, it's not everyday we got a demon for our best friend." Yuka said, a-matter-of-factly.

"Half-demon, Yuka." Sayuri admonished. "Anyway, we heard rumors of another senshi attacking a hooded youma last night. Care to comment on that?"

"The brat just couldn't get it in her head that I'm no danger to society. Honestly! I was just out for some ramen. She managed to corner me when I was getting home." She explained. She was so glad her friends accepted her for what she is now.

There was really no way in hiding it from Yuka and Sayuri since they were there when she bought that demon-possessed object from that store. They saw how the demon burst out of the object when she tried using it the first time in the Tendo Dojo. They witnessed how she struggled to fight off the demon until she was able to absorb it into her body at the end. Although they freaked out a bit the first time her eyes glowed golden yellow orbs, she still managed to convince them that she was still the Akane they grew up with.

"And to top it all off, that boy appeared from no where and . . ." Akane said before she could stop herself.

Both girls immediately perked up at the mention of 'boy'. Yuka was the first to say, "So who is he?"

"Is he cute?" Sayuri squealed.

"How did you met?"

"How old is he?"

"Did something else happened?"

"We want every dirty details!" They said at the same time.

"Guys," Akane begun, a sweat drop on her head. Her friends are really just hopeless romantics. "It's just some guy who saw me fighting with the senshi brat. I don't know who he is but he seems to be our age. He said his name is Ranma. I've never seen him before. I didn't stick around since I was already running late getting home. That's all."

"Well, that was pathetic. You could have at least asked him his number." Yuka said with a sigh.

"Did he notice your, you know, other trait?" Sayuri asked cautiously.

"I don't know. I think he did, but he seems so, I don't know, casual about it? I mean, I threatened to maul him but he didn't even seems concern about it, particularly when he saw me fighting with the senshi and my eyes started glowing."

"So, Ranma didn't freaked out?" Yuka.

"No. He said he rather get into a conversation with me."

"Conversation with you?" Both girls asked at the same time. They look at each other for a moment before turning to Akane once again.

"Did he sound sincere about it?" Sayuri asked.

"I'm not sure."

"Did he seem like the type to hold your interest during a conversation?" Yuka asked.

"I wouldn't know."

"Did he tried to ogle you, undressing you with his eyes as he said that?"

"There was nothing to ogle. I was wearing a cloak."

"Was there any hint of perversion in the way he asked, or anything that suggest something else than a decent conversation with you?"

"Um, I don't think so."

"Did he seem like a freak, someone masochistic delusional who would suddenly sprout poems and try to beat you so he can date you?"

"No." Akane answered slowly. She's starting to notice where they are trying to get with these types of questions. She wasn't disappointed.

Both Yuka and Sayuri look at each other before turning to her as they said in the same time, "THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU TAKE UP HIS OFFER?"

"Really, Akane, it's not everyday you meet a boy who would rather engage you in a conversation than try to beat you up for a date." Yuka said.

"Not every boy you met are like Kuno and the Hentai Horde." Sayuri added.

"How do you expect to catch a boyfriend if you turn down every guy you meet?"

"This Ranma character seems sincere enough to give you his name first."

"And he did still asked you after seeing your fight with the senshi, which means he might not care about your demonic traits at all. It would be a major advantage when you guys starts dating since you don't have to hide that from him."

"Plus, he doesn't suddenly sprout Shakesperian and try to beat you for dates."

"Guys," Akane begun, a huge sweat drop on her forehead. "Would you stop it? I only meet the guy for at least twenty seconds before I left him there. You two make it sounds like I'm destined to marry him or something."

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if you did? I mean, how often do you meet a dashing stranger out of the blues?" Yuka said with a dreamy expression on her face.

"It would definitely be romantic if you got home one day to find a handsome young stud engaged to you by my parents. It would be a dream come true!" Sayuri squealed with the same dreamy expression.

"Keep on dreaming because it's never going to happen." She said irritably before putting on a sad face. "Besides, who would ever want to have a demon for a girlfriend, much more a wife."

Both of her friends were on her sides in an instant. They knew that whenever she gets into her self-pitying mood, she needs all the reassurance she could get. It's been really hard on her since that day she got tainted with demon blood, but Sayuri and Yuka had been there to bring her out of her mood every time. They usually joke about it, but mostly they just share a group hug in silence until all her doubts disappear, such as right now.

Silence reined over the three for a couple of minutes, each savoring the friendship they had for each other and that no matter what happens, they'll always be friends. Soon enough, they parted from each other, each one had a smile of understanding on their faces.

"Thanks, you guys." Akane said sincerely at her two best friends.

"No problem, Akane. What are friends for?" Yuka said.

"Best friends." Sayuri corrected.

"Yeah. Best friends for life." Akane agreed wholeheartedly before suddenly stiffening. She turned around frantically looking around the place. There, sitting on top of the metal fence at the edge of the roof, a young girl was sitting and looking at them.

"Hello." The young girl said cheerfully.

Every fiber on Akane's body went tense as she stares at the young girl. She tried sensing any sign of danger from her but she found none. But still, the little girl doesn't feel quite human to Akane.

"Wow! She's so cute!" Squealed Yuka, oblivious to the fact that she wasn't there a minute ago.

"Um, little girl, you shouldn't be there so close to the edge. You might fall." Sayuri said a little nervous for the cute girl's safety.

The little girl merely shrugged, stepped down from the ledge, and started walking towards the three friends. She graced them with another cute smile.

It took approximately three seconds before Sayuri and Yuka was swooning over the girl. They bent in front of her so they were eye leveled with the girl.

"What's your name, little girl?" Yuka asked.

"Naomi."

"What are you doing here, Naomi-chan? Are you lost?" Sayuri asked.

"Naomi's master said Naomi should relax. Master also said Naomi should try make friends." Said the girl cheerfully before staring straight at Akane. "Do you want to be Naomi's friend?"

"Oh, um, sure, Naomi." Akane said a bit uncertainly. Try as she might, she couldn't trace any lies on the girl. She seems sincere enough but it still doesn't explain the fact that she just appeared out of nowhere. Throwing caution to the winds, she bent down to look Naomi in the eye and asked, "Why do you want to be friends with me, Naomi-chan?"

"Because you is like Naomi." The girl said casually.

Just then, the bell rang, signifying that lunch was over.

"Oh geez, we're late for class!" Yuka exclaimed as she frantically cleans up her still open bento along with Sayuri.

"Would you like to come down with us, Naomi-chan?" Akane asked cheerfully to the girl.

"Is okay. Master said Naomi should search for master's companion."

"Okay then. My friends and I are going for some ice cream after school. Want to come with us?" Akane asked again, mainly because she wanted to know what the girl meant when she said that they were the same.

"Sorry but Naomi needs to find master's companion." The girl answered cheerfully.

"Come on, Akane. We're going to be late for English class." Sayuri said as she run into the stairs.

"Yeah, Akane, let's go." Yuka added as she followed Sayuri.

"Okay, I'm coming." Akane said as she turns her attention on them. When she turned back to Naomi, she saw her standing there smiling at her. Smiling back at her one more time, she left.