Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ or any of the characters. This is simply a what-if situation. What if this had happened? Also, I would like to apologize to those that are waiting on me to work on "Evil Kasumi Returns" and "Ranma and the Outers." Although I have not had many ideas for them lately, I will not let them die as I have some of my Previous Tenchi Muyo stories. I'm just taking a slight break from them to work on some other ideas that won't get outta my head until I write them down.

Note: Well, it has been some time since I've sent this to my pre-readers, but have only heard back from one so far. So I am going to post it as is.

Primal Ranma Walking in Shadow

It was not long after Ranma and Nabiki left the Cat Café, that Happosai approached it. Seeing that the door was shut and the closed sign displayed, Happosai did just what no one else would have thought of, he opened the door and let himself in. "Cologne-chan, you in here?" he called out teasingly.

"That is a stupid question Happosai," the aged Amazon said evenly.

"Ah so it is…" he said and sighed. He was going to put his hands behind his head but he was missing one.

"How are you feeling?" Cologne asked only slightly worried about him.

"Much better now that I've cleaned my aura."

"Oh?"

"Yes and I've come to see Shampoo and Mousse."

"Why's that?" She asked sensing an ulterior motive.

"This is the true Neko-ken… I have only run across it once before. It has a powerful fear aura, and since both of your charges were near, then it's possible that their aura has been infected too."

Cologne blinked. 'I've not even thought of that…' she thought to herself then asked him, "What does this infection do?"

"It causes terrible nightmares, those that have been infected before have sometimes taken their own lives to end them." He warned her gravely.

"Then Shampoo is infected, she has been plagued by horrible nightmares that have kept her awake at night. Had it not been for Mousse and myself being near her, I am afraid to think of what might have happened."

Happosai was surprised at the last part. "Mousse you say?"

"Yes, he has stopped acting like the village idiot and returned to the friend she had before."

"Humm, even though she's receiving comfort, she'll never be truly rid of the nightmares unless we cleanse her aura." He told her as he rubbed his chin.

"Then lets go," she said simply and led the aged Anything-goes master to her great-granddaughters room.

Upon entering the room, they were treated to the sight of a sleeping Shampoo who was cradled in Mousse's lap. Her arms were wrapped around him tightly, even in her dreams. Mousse looked up at them, though he did not release the precious cargo he held in his arms. If anything, upon seeing Happosai in the room, Mousse held her closer. "What are you doing here," he hissed quietly.

"I've come to help her boy," he said just as quietly. He assumed that from the tear streaks on her face that Shampoo must have cried herself to sleep in his arms. 'To see a proud warrior reduced to this,' he thought sadly.

"Mousse, Happosai believes that Ranma's Neko-Ken aura has infected and poisoned hers, which is causing her the nightmares."

The young warrior tried not to look too excited. "Then you know how to help her?"

"My boy, I would've though you'd enjoy the chance to hold her like this?" the aged master chuckled.

Desperately Mousse tried not to growl at that. "So what if I do? I love the fact that I can give her some comfort, but I'd give it up to have her back to normal. I love her; I'd do anything for her. If it took me giving up being able to do this to return her to normal, I would do it," he stated the last four words simply and slowly to make sure that there was no confusion.

Cologne looked at him proudly. "Mousse, you have shown your true character this day." She was about to say more when Happosai let out a startled gasp. "What is it?"

"I don't believe it… she's cleansing it herself…"

"So that's good, right?" Mousse asked.

"It's good and bad," he told the young warrior. "She's cleansing the poison out of her system, but she's not doing it on her own. Your aura has merged with hers now."

Cologne's eyes opened wide as a startled gasp was heard from Shampoo. "Oh… um… Shampoo you're awake," Mousse said to her nervously.

"Shampoo hear what pervert man and you have say." She told him and gave him a look that he never thought possible, a look of serious contemplation. Shifting herself in his arms so that they still held each other she looked at the two elders. "Elder, you say Shampoo… infected?"

"Your aura is child; it's a part of the Neko-Ken." Happosai told her seriously.

"Then you can fix?" she asked.

He nodded but then told her, "I can, but since you have used Mousse's aura to clean yours some, then that cannot be removed."

"I see," Cologne said softly. "Well then, let's get started."

The rest of them nodded and started on the cleansing. However, during the process, Shampoo never released Mousse, not did he release her.

While the three ex-amazons and the perverted master cleansed Shampoo's aura, another group of people were having trouble with two patients. "NAY! Verily I tell you that the Great Tatewaki Kunö, scion of the house Kunö, Rising star of the Kendo world, thus the Blue Thunder of Furinkan must have use of mine hand again!"

The doctor sighed and looked at the young man. "But sir, not only was every bone in your hand completely broken but with the extent of the damage there is no way that we could have repaired that damage. Not in a hundred years!"

"But…"

"I'm sorry sir, but there was no way to repair the damage, it was like every bone was turned into powder. Even if we put your hand in a cast, there is no way to tell how the bones would grow."

"But to have struck such a blow to such a Noble samurai as myself…"

"I'm sorry sir, but we did the best we could. Your shoulder was broken, or rather pierced by your sword and we have to keep your arm from aggravating the injury. We have already gone though several hours of intense surgery to stop the multiple levels of internal bleeding as well as sewing up the skin to leave as small a scar as possible… "

"But you have taken the hand of the greatest Samurai of the Kunö line!" Said delusional kendoist said as he held up the stump that used to be his right hand.

"I'm sorry sir, maybe in time you can switch to using your other hand, or maybe a prosthetic hand can be…"

"NAY! I refuse to allow my noble personage to be use for the ills of science and become a mockery of a man! I demand that you return to me mine hand!"

"But…" The doctor tried to say when a nurse entered the room and while Kunö's mind was on getting his hand back she used that distraction to stick a needle into his neck.

"Ouch! How dare you woman… you… you…" He then passed out and began snoring.

"I'm sorry doctor, but the other patients have been complaining about the noise he was creating."

The doctor smiled, "It no problem. I was having trouble getting him to understand. Obviously, he has some severe mental trauma as well. As soon as his wounds are healed enough, we will send him where he can get help for the mental stress he's been under."

"Well we keep him under sedation until then?"

"I think that may be best… How is our other patient?"

"She is under sedation as well…" The Nurse said as the two of them left the unconscious Kunö in the room. "After replacing the sutures three times across her face we put her under heavy sedation."

"Three times?" He asked incredulously.

"Yes, each time she has picked at the stitches until she has started bleeding again. The other nurses believe she is muttering something about deserving to be marked for attacking someone… but we cannot get any useful information out of her."

"Ah I see, so how are they lasting this time?"

"Better, but where as before she would have had a very light scar that could easily have been hidden by either mild surgery or make-up… she is to the point that the scar will be obvious for quite some time."

"What about cosmetic surgery?"

The nurse shook her head, "At this point it will be hard to hide that. Unless she spends a large amount of money on it, she will have a scar from over her right eye, down across her nose ending on her left cheek."

Wincing at that the doctor could not help but worry. "And more than likely when she wakes up and sees the scar she will be after us like there's no tomorrow."

Even as the doctors and nurses at the hospital kept their vigil over the two insane Kunö's, things were happening at the Tendo Dojo.

Holding his attackers arm straight out behind his back with the man face first in the floor, Ranma decided to teach this sniveling coward a lesson. "Sssso, youuu attack while my back is turrred… well… no morrreee… you'rrre life endsss now Soün… say hello to yourreee wife!"

Kasumi's eyes opened wide when she heard what Ranma said and her heart stopped for several long moments. 'No… please no… not daddy too…'

In her arms, Akane thankfully had not heard what Ranma had yelled, as she was too busy trying to block out the sights and sounds around her. 'What happened… how'd this happen?' she thought to herself frantically. 'Ranma was just fighting everyone as usual and hen he just snapped… why… what happened?'

In the tearoom, Nabiki didn't know what overtook her when she saw Ranma draw back his arm to end her fathers' life. Instead of being frozen in place, she acted.

Ranma was quite surprised when a body tackled him to the floor. The body had one arm around him while another hand was holding his arm up in the air. From his position on his back he was about to say something when the body began trembling. Through the haze of his anger, Ranma slowly recognized the body as Nabiki, especially when she began pleading with him.

"Please don't kill him Ranma! I know you're mad… but don't take my daddy away from me!" Had Nabiki been in better control of herself she might have used different words, but now was not the time to sit back and think. "I know you hate him and I know daddy abandoned us... but don't take him away… please?"

Ranma's black aura winked out and the room temperature rose quickly as her crying and pleading cut though any attempts by him to be angry. But now that he was returning to himself, he could recall with crystal clarity everything that he's just done. Attacking his father, Mr. Tendo and then having almost trying to kill Soün, only to be stopped by Nabiki. Slowly, Nabiki's pleading got though to him and he realized that she, the Ice Queen was begging for her fathers' life. 'What have I done?'

By now, Nabiki had been reduced to tears as she kept pleading with Ranma to spare her fathers life. Slowly Ranma's trembling arms wrapped around the middle Tendo. "What… what have I done…" he asked as the tears started to form in his eyes. "Please… kami… tell me I didn't just…"

Not far from them, Soün slowly began to push himself up off the floor. "I'm alive…" sitting up onto his knees he looked over at his daughter and Ranma on the floor. Slowly his mind was able to filter what his daughter was saying as she cried. 'She's… begging for my life…' he thought and as he realized she was saying that even though he abandoned them… she still wants him around. 'I… I didn't abandon them… I…' even as he tried to deny it, his eyes were opened for the first time.

Hearing a noise, Soün looked at the entry to the tearoom and from here, he could see Kasumi sitting there, but in her lap was his youngest daughter. Hearing Akane's crying tore at his heart. 'What have we done?' he thought. In precise clarity, his mind replayed to him every time that Ranma and Akane fought as well as how both Ranma and Akane looked last night after Ranma lost his control the first time. Yet that was not all. He could also recall how when Akane came rushing home from school today and told them about how Ranma fought Kunö today. The plan seemed simple, get Ranma to stop practicing the art until he could control himself and then marry Akane and then everything would be fine. Perfect.

'But that didn't happen…' he thought remorsely. Looking at his three daughters, he felt a pain he never thought he could feel since loosing his wife. 'Akane… she's been through so much… and Kasumi… she gave up her dreams… and Nabiki… kami without her we would've lost our home. How did she do it, how'd she keep us going? How'd they all keep us going?' Standing up, Soün flexed his arm and winced. 'He… he could've killed me… or…' Turning he looked at his long time friend. Flinching from the sight, he realized that he lucked out. 'If Nabiki hadn't stopped him that could've been me I…' that thought stopped him.

"Father…" a voice called from behind him. Tearing his eyes away from his friend, he spared a glance at Ranma and Nabiki, both crying and trembling. He knew why Nabiki was crying, or at least he guessed he knew. Looking past the entryway, he saw Kasumi there looking at him. "Father, are you ok?"

Shakily he nodded his head as he continued to massage his sore shoulder. "I… I'm fine… Saotome needs help." She just nodded at him, but did not make a move to help as Akane was still shivering in her elder sisters' arms. "Is Akane going to be…"

"She will be…" Kasumi replied, but she knew it would be a while.

He just nodded his head, after staring Ranma in the eyes he felt as though he was starring death in the eye. 'How'd he do that?' he wondered, though right now he was wondering what he should do. Stepping towards the two crying teens, he kneeled down and placed his hand on Nabiki's shoulder. "Nabiki…" Trying to compose herself, Nabiki pushed herself up off Ranma as best she could with his arms still holding her in place.

"Daddy?" she asked as she looked at him. 'He's alive… he's ok!' passed though her mind as she snapped out an arm and drew her father to her. This movement though caused Nabiki to loose her balance and she fell back onto Ranma, and pulled her father down with her. "Oh daddy… I'm so glad… you're alive… thank you Ranma…"

"I-I'm sorry N-Nabiki…" Ranma cried as he held her, still trembling and not truly realizing that Soün was also covering him. "I… I didn't mean it… I don't wanna hurt anyone… oh kami please let them be ok…"

Hearing that, Soün was too shocked to reply. 'He… he really wasn't in control… then what happened?' As he stayed there, Soün slipped one arm under Ranma, and the other around his daughter. Slowly shifting his weight, he was able to move them to their sides and then with a little more effort he was able to pull his daughter and Ranma so that they were now resting in his arms. "It… its ok son… everything's gonna be ok…" he said softly. He was not sure what he expected to happen. But when Ranma suddenly latched onto him, he realized that this was the best possibility. What Ranma was saying he was not completely sure, but he was certain that the boy was apologizing.

'What have we done to him?' he wanted to know, and unfortunately, he was able to recall everything that they have done to push his daughter and this boy together. 'Everything we've done… has only hurt them more… please… ancestors… help me.'

Off in the corner, a certain bald martial artist lay in pain and unconscious. He did not know that Nabiki had saved his life, nor did he know that his supposedly manly son was currently crying like a lost child in the arms of his best friend. Instead, all he knew was that whatever his son did to him, it hurt.

Sometime later, Nabiki realized that she was not being held by just one set of arms, but two. Turning her head, she looked into the face of her father. "Daddy?"

"Shh… Everything's going to be ok. Ranma's sleeping." Blinking and looking at the boy in her arms, she was not sure what to say. "He's finally calmed down, Kasumi put Akane to bed and she's taking care of her."

"But…"

"I'll check on her in a few moments. I needed to make sure you two were ok."

"Daddy… thanks." Nabiki told him and gave him a hug. When she felt him loosen his arms she was able to pull not only out of his embrace, but also out of Ranma's as well.

"I need you to call a doctor for Saotome." He told her softly.

She nodded to him and awkwardly made her way towards the phone. Glancing towards Genma, she noticed he was still unconscious, and the cuts and scratches have scabbed over. Wincing she realized that he was going to be in a lot of pain when he woke up. 'The bastard deserves it…' she thought morosely before hurrying out of the room.

With just one person in his arms, Soün was able to move around a little easier. 'Now what?' Soün wondered as he sat there with Ranma asleep in his arms. 'Things are bad… if Ranma hadn't been stopped then he would've killed not only me but Saotome as well.' These thoughts brought a shiver to him. 'We have to stop this… if we keep this up… no, I won't think about it.'

"Daddy…" Nabiki called. When he looked up and continued, "I have someone on the way… what are we going to do?"

Soün shrugged his shoulders as best he could. "I'm not sure. Can you tell me what has happened today? I don't believe you went to school in that?"

"Oh…" Nabiki blushed as she looked over herself. "I got this from Shampoo, its one of hers, thought it's a bit small."

"So I guessed… but what happened between school, and now?"

"Well, I think I should start at the beginning of the day."

He nodded. "Sounds good to me," he said and while holding the sleeping Ranma he listened to what Nabiki had to say about Kunö, Ukyo, Kodachi and the Amazons. Nabiki left nothing out, not even how she ended up taking a bath with Ranma. When she stopped speaking, he let out a tired sigh. "So he really has no control over it?"

His daughter shook her head, "I don't think so. But instead of when he goes 'cat', he can remember everything."

"…no…" whimpered Ranma after Nabiki had mentioned cats.

Nabiki watcher her father pull Ranma tight against him to calm down the troubled martial artist. "I would… if I could that is… ask him to give up the art until he gets control but…"

"But?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"But I know it is useless. From what you said, it's easy to tell that others will not give him a chance just to walk away. And now that the authorities have had to step in things could run badly."

Outside the Tendo dojo, a boy in a black and yellow bandanna came to a stop. Looking around he grinned, "I'm back! I've actually found it!" Opening the gate Ryoga somehow managed to run in the right direction and even run into the very room where Ranma was. "RANMA! Because of you I've seen hell and I…. I…" He suddenly stopped as he saw an unconscious Ranma in Soün's arms. "What the…" he said just before he took in the startled expression of Nabiki's face. However, in his attempt to look back at Ranma, he ended up getting a good look at Nabiki's hip as well as almost all of her leg as the middle Tendo daughter stood up.

"Ryoga, now's not a good time," she told him and placed her hands on her hips which just drew his eyes to her mostly exposed hip and thigh.

"Perhaps you should come back later," Soün tried to say to the boy.

Shaking his head, Ryoga growled out. "I'm not leaving till I've finally killed Ranma and…" Whatever he was going to saw was lost as a loud clang filled the air. Slowly Ryoga sank to his knees before falling on his face.

Behind the lost boy was Kasumi who was looking at one of her pans. "Oh my… Nabiki I seemed to have bent the pan… can we get another?"

to be continued...

I would like to thank everyone for their encouragements.