AN: I wish to apologize to all the mythology buffs who noticed some glaring errors in my prologue. Some, such as Odin surviving Ragnorok, were intentional. Some, such as the Freya/Frigga mix-up and some other things were not. I had gotten a big book of world mythology that's title shall remain unnamed as to avoid a slander suit, that obliviously had a lot of wrong information in it that I used. Unfortunately for you mythology buffs, the errors that I used, I'm keeping, so sorry if that turns you off from this fic. If you can stand a few intentional and non-intentional errors though, please continue to read this fic. Thank you for pointing them out though.

A BLACK HEART STILL BEATS

CHAPTER ONE

NOTICING TRUTH AND SELF

Nerima, Japan: inside a tea house: at a booth in the back

Hild was sitting in a booth with both her daughters. Kami-Sama felt that Hild would be on her best behavior if one of his agents that was sent to watch that she did not break the treaty was her Goddess daughter. And he was right. So Hild was at one booth with Marller and Urd, while Belldandy and Skuld shared a booth with Pandora. Yes, Kami-Sama had sicced all three of the Norns on Hild. He had justified it as they had the most dealings with her lately, which technically was true at this point in time.

"So mom" Urd said the last word with some venom "Why are you after this guy? I mean why do you want him enough make a treaty with dad over him?" Urd asked Hild.

"Marller, see Urd can call me mom, even if she does make it sound like an insult. Why can't you?" Hild started off with. Then turning to look at Urd, Hild said "As to your question Urd, just watch me. You just may figure it out. You may not believe it, but I am not the evil bitch you think of me as, and maybe hanging around me like this will show that to you" Hild said while thinking 'Kami-Sama you truly are devious. You are trying to get Urd to see me in a new light. And this scheme of yours may just work.'

"I somehow doubt that." Urd said flatly.

"Well we'll see." Was all Hild said in a mirthful reply.

"So mom" Marller said, stressing the word "just how are you going to approach this guy?" she asked Hild.

"I honestly don't know. I'm thinking of just being upfront and honest with him." Hild said flatly. Her two daughters' jaws dropped in their utter shock at that statement.

"You, don't know?" Marller asked slowly.

"Upfront and honest?" Urd asked, even slower and articulating the words heavily.

"Yes." Hild sighed. 'Was it that hard to believe?' She asked herself. She then continued aloud with "Ranma would be able to sense my power. In fact he, and many others, most likely already knows we're here, if not who we are and just what we want. He HAS managed to banish a few minor Demons AND defeat a Demi-God, so he can recognize our energy signatures. The one's no ones bothering to hide. And it's too late to do so girls." Hild said as they looked surprised. She continued on to say "We're just higher up on the food chain then the beings he has had dealings with. And with some of the others in that can sense us in the same situation as Ranma, we are currently being monitored by everyone near-by that knows what we are, and a lot of humans that just sense our power level but do not know just what we are. Just that we're damn powerful otherworldly beings." Seeing the gaping looks on her daughters faces she said "This IS Nerima dears." As if that explained everything, which it did in all honest truth, if you know anything about Nerima that is.

"So that's why you're willing to be 'Upfront and honest' with him?" Urd asked in a slightly disapproving tone. "He would see through any of your lies?"

"No." Hild said slightly sharply while shaking her head "He would not see through any lie I could come up with that would explain myself. He is quite dense to when he is being lied to." Hild told Urd in a disappointed tone of voice. "I'm just choosing not to lie to him, for no relationship can be built off of lies Urd. A lesson YOU should learn." Hild told her daughter. Urd stayed silent in response to that statement.

"So," Marller began in order to break the building tension between her sister and her mother "Just how are you going to break every thing to him?"

"Slowly. Very slowly." Hild began. "Plus I must see if he's willing to even try to see me. He has a lot of negative associations with relationships, and has a lot of other woman after him as well." Hild said with a very small sigh. She then signaled for the check, effectively ending the conversation.

Nerima, Japan: the streets: on the way to the Tendo house and Dojo with Hild's party

Hild was aware of all the mortals who noticed her little group and was even more aware of the two that were currently following her at a discreet distance behind them. Cologne and Happosai. She had picked up Happosai first, as the diminutive lecher had been roof hopping near them and felt them out and had been following behind ever since. Cologne was even simpler to explain. They had to pass the Neko Hanten on their way from the tea house to the Tendo's and she felt their power and started following as well.

Hild didn't particularly care about the looks of amazement she and her entourage were getting from the populace of Nerima, or their two stalkers, unlike the rest of her party who, with the exception of Pandora, were not that familiar with the idiosyncrasies of this chaos driven sub-ward of Tokyo. No she was too busy reminiscing over just how she came to be in this position, in love with a mortal whose eternal soul she owned.

She supposed it started with her check up on him at his birth, a standard procedure for prebought souls, and detected his highly chaotic nature. She remembered thinking "He's going to be one to watch in my free time, for he seems to have the 'May you live in interesting times' curse on him already.' And so she spent a little time occasionally checking up on him, just to see what he was up to.

She had to watch the Neko-Ken training on video replay, for she had been very busy that month and had missed it. It would have broken her heart to see that footage, for she already had developed a slight soft spot for the boy by then. Not a crush by any means, but a soft spot she should not have had, if her heart had not already been shattered beyond recognition long ago.

After seeing that utter fiasco of human stupidity, she assigned Pandora to watch Ranma when she could not. And some how over the years, her slight soft spot for him had bloomed into an attraction to him. And she could not see just when it was. She knew it was sometime after he came to Nerima that she admitted, to her self at least, that she was attracted to Ranma Saotome, and maybe even more, but it was not until she heard that he had killed Saffron and her first response was her inner willingness to stand against all of Asgard if they went after him in response for his actions that she realized that it was not just an attraction, it was love.

And now she was in a true pickle. She had to figure out a way to convince a mortal that had had nothing but bad dealings with Demons, woman and relationships in general, to try having one with her. 'This would be the hardest sell of my entire career' Hild thought mirthlessly with a visible smirk.

Urd, who was standing by her, saw the smirk and wondered what it was for. Coming to the wrong conclusion, she thought 'She must be so happy everything going her way right now.' She incorrectly thought.

Hild and Urd, and everyone else in the group for that matter, were brought out of whatever they were thinking when Hild noticed they had arrived and she said aloud "We're here." And then the door slowly opened before anyone could knock on it.

Nerima, Japan: Tendo house and dojo: a little while early

Ranma was doing something he hardly ever does. Sit and think. Well it was closer to brooding on the couch, but there was thinking involved with the brooding. He had felt them massive power levels a few blocks away. At first he was confused as to just what they were, so massive were the levels of power he was feeling, but after a few minutes of silent concentration, he discovered just what they were.

Gods and Demons. A lot of them, and all extremely, no make that ridiculously powerful at that. The most powerful was Demonic in origin, then it was a Divine power source, then a Demonic one, two Divines then followed closely there after followed distantly by a last Demonic one.

'What are they all doing here, and why are a bunch of Goddesses teamed up with a bunch of Demonesses?' Ranma asked himself, for he could feel the gender of the powers, but not their intent.

Then the powers left where they were, and headed his way. It seemed that Happosai and then Cologne joined in in the watching of the party by starting to follow them, as they headed to just where he knew they had to be going. Here.

Looking up, Ranma silently mouthed to the heavens "What did I ever do to you?" then he called out to Kasumi, for she was the only one home "We're going to have some company! I'll get the door!"

"Oh, good thing I made a lot of food for dinner! Too bad that everyone else left though. Why did they all leave I wonder?" Kasumi asked.

Ranma knew the answer to that. His fat tub of lard for a father had felt the powers in the ward and had hightailed it out of here with that crybaby Soun, and Nabiki and Akane, seeing the looks of panic of their father's face, had decided that discretion was the better part of valor, and had left as well. Nobody had thought to inform Kasumi of the impending doom coming to the house. Ranma silently hit himself for not thinking of it either. He'd just have to make sure that if a fight started, Kasumi got away before he got creamed. Ranma may consider himself the best, but he was under no illusions that if this group started a fight with him, he was toast. The weakest one out of the group had at least five times Saffron's power level, and the next one up had about fifty or so.

He headed over to the door to answer it for the group about to knock there, while thinking 'I am so doomed.'

A discreet distance away from the group of otherworldly beings: at about the same time

Happosai and Cologne were almost touching each other, so close together were they, yet in their determined pursuit of the powerful other worldly beings walking through the streets of Nerima, they had utterly missed each other. Until they noticed the group they were both following enter the Tendo compound though, and they asked in synchronized unison "Ranma, what have you gotten yourself into now?" then looking at the other from inches away, they asked each other, again in unison, "What!?! When did you…Never mind we got to go see the boy/son in law" the said saying almost the same thing until the very end. Then they noticed the door being opened by Ranma of all people, and the group went inside after him.

Finally after a few moments of silent shock, Happosai asked "Maybe we should go in?"

"Yes, let's" Was al Cologne responded with.

EAN: A little shorter then I wanted it, but I wanted to do Ranma and Hild's first meeting in the next chapter. Thanks for reading this, and reviews are always appreciated. Bye for now.