Arc Two: In Darkness, In Fire
Chapter Seven: Blood of the Orochi
"Excuse me, do you know the way to the Tendo Dojo?" Those familiar words were, contrary to popular belief, not spoken by a certain lost boy. Fact that was proven when, as soon as the man had an answer, his hand shot out of his pocket, and the passersby who had been so gracious as to provide him with the answer crumpled to the ground, dead from the dagger in his heart.
"Well, then, they did say I could have some fun on the way." Ryujin Yamazaki smirked cruelly as he set off in the direction he had been pointed in.
V-------------------V
"I'm glad you're home and safe, Ranma-kun." Kasumi smiled as she opened the door. The eldest Tendo daughter knew something was amiss, however, when she noticed the look on her fiance's face. The pigtailed martial artist walked slowly, deliberately, with a slump to his shoulders that indicated he was carrying a burden too heavy for him to bear.
Nodoka followed her son, briefly exchanging greetings with her, but Kasumi merely answered mechanically. Her mind was occupied with what could be bothering Ranma. Nodoka excused herself and left the two alone as the elder Saotome left for the bathroom to freshen up.
"Akane and Nabiki are still at school, but I think they'll be back in about an hour or so," Kasumi started, noticing she wasn't getting a reaction out of the pigtailed boy.
"Would you like a snack?"
When he didn't reply, Kasumi began to worry in earnest. There were few constants with Saotome males, and food was one of them. She gently took hold of his arm and guided him over to her own personal sanctuary, the kitchen, and sat him down on a stool.
Pulling up a second stool next to his, she sat down and pushed up his chin so he was looking her straight in the eye. "Is something bothering you, Ranma-kun?"
The boy shuddered as he took a deep breath. "I…I don't know if I can talk about it yet, Kasumi. I'm still trying to figure it all out. I-"
She placed a finger against his lips, silencing him. "Take your time, talk to me when you're ready." She smiled angelically and leaned back, despite the fact that her mind was working frantically to come up with a reason for his strange behavior.
"It's Ucchan," Ranma suddenly said, just as she thought she wouldn't be getting an answer. "And Cologne."
"What about them?" Kasumi frowned. She liked the chef. Ukyo was an old friend of Ranma's, and she made him happy. The eldest Tendo was glad he at least had a few friends that close; besides, she would never exactly wish anyone harm. Well, Genma came close. As for Cologne, Kasumi had disliked the ancient woman at first. Then again, the only impression she had gotten from her was someone who was so old, yet so strong, and used their strength to further rather selfish goals.
Over time, Kasumi had to admit, she had come to admire Cologne. The amazon matriarch had been the first to see the potential in Ranma. Cologne had been the first to acknowledge he was something special, that there was a genius hiding behind the façade he showed the world. She had challenged him, and he had overcome them, growing stronger and more mature in the process. She had become a teacher and occassional ally, and Ranma eventually regarded her as a close friend.
"They're dead." His voice was so low she almost missed it, but she didn't. Her eyes widened in shocked surprise.
"It wasn't supposed to happen, they were supposed to care…they didn't care…they killed them and they didn't care…" Ranma degenerated into hysterical ramblings as Kasumi finally gathered her wits and pulled him towards her.
It took a while for him to calm down, and when he did, he pulled back and offered her a weak smile. "Sorry, Kasumi-chan. I guess I'm still not quite over it."
"Ranma-kun…I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry." Kasumi felt a deep sadness she contained with an iron will that rarely showed in her ever-friendly persona. She contained it for Ranma's sake; right now, the boy needed someone to be strong for him, someone to tell him it was all right. She would grieve for them later, in the privacy of her own room, after she had made sure her fiance was going to be fine.
"They were supposed to care, Kasumi. The gods were supposed to care…"
"What do you mean, Ranma-kun?"
Ranma wiped at his tears angrily as he told her what had occurred only a few days prior to their return. When he was done, the elder Tendo was pale as she stared at him, torn between a newfound respect for his courage and anger at the gods above.
"She was supposed to care, y'know. I mean," Ranma gave a strangled laugh, "aren't the gods supposed to be benevolent? But she didn't care who got killed. She didn't care they got killed because of her mistakes, heck, she didn't even care if she blew up the world!"
For once, Kasumi was at a loss for words. It wasn't just because she was struck deeply by what Ranma had said, it was also because his words had caused herself to question her faith. Being a very traditional young woman, Kasumi had always been rather strict in her religious beliefs, having been brought up in a Shinto household. But what Ranma had just told her – and she had no reason to doubt the pigtailed boy's words – had shaken the very foundation of her religion.
The fact that the gods she prayed to were, in fact, completely unconcerned with the fate of their worshippers was equivalent to a huge slap in the face to them. It meant that their whole life they had clung to a hope that had suddenly turned out to be a cosmic joke. She made a decision then and there, one that would have far-reaching consequences for the eldest Tendo daughter that she was, at the moment, blissfully unaware of.
She decided that, with all that Ranma had gone through, he deserved a break, and that the gods didn't care for them, then religion be damned. If her fiance needed something, or someone, to hold on to, then she would be that someone.
"They might not care, Ranma-kun," she whispered softly, "but I do. I care about you. I love you. And I'm so very, very sorry for your loss."
Ranma looked up and mustered a weak smile for her sake. "I'm sorry you had ta find out, Kasumi. You of all people don't deserve to have their belief taken away from them."
The brunette shrugged nonchalantly. "Ranma-kun, I would have figured you'd know by now. The only thing I really need to be happy is for you to be happy."
"Thanks, Kasumi. You don't know how much that means to me."
Kasumi merely smiled. Maybe I do, Ranma-kun. Maybe I do.
"Tadaima!" Akane's voice turned both their heads as the girl stuck her head through the kitchen door. "You're home, Ranma!" She exclaimed happily before taking note of the tear-tracks that lined the pigtailed boy's face. "What's wrong?"
"Ranma-kun's back?" Nabiki's head followed Akane into the kitchen as the other brunette entered the house.
Said martial artist merely shrugged. "I'll tell you later. It's…kind of difficult."
"You didn't pick up another fiancee, did you?" Akane mock-scowled. Ranma managed a brief smile as he shook his head. Any other day he would have risen to the jibe, and their usual verbal sparring would result. It surprised both Nabiki and Akane when he didn't; it had become somewhat of a routine with them.
Akane had mellowed out somewhat. She still had her fiery temper, though under Ranma's careful tutelage, and with the right incentive - of which there had been plenty of after the second disaster at Jusendo – she had it under control, most of the time. Kuno could still get her riled up, but that was more because the morosic kendoist had taken to a more…physical approach in his courtship of her. Actually, he had even gone so far as to transfer to Todai, merely because Akane was going.
Nabiki, on the other hand, was still as crafty as ever, if a bit more on the legal side these days. If there was information on any specific thing around you were looking for, Tendo Nabiki was guaranteed to be able to find it, or your money back. She also didn't quite have as much work to do as she used to, as Nodoka had brought her family's formidable assets to bear, and Kasumi had practically forced Genma to get a job if he wanted to remain living under their roof. She still had a couple of shady operations running, though those mainly restricted themselves to gambling on staged fights, of which there were plenty in Nerima.
Time had also not dulled the middle Tendo daughter's wit and senses, and she could see something was bothering the pigtailed boy. However, after enough run-ins with his stubbornness and Kasumi's protectiveness, even Nabiki had eventually learned that it would be more profitable for her to simply wait until he was ready to talk.
A slight knock on the front door diverted their attention, however, and Kasumi was about to leave the kitchen to answer when Nodoka waved her off coming down the stairs from the bathroom. "I'll get it, Kasumi-chan."
The Saotome matriarch straightened her kimono before opening the sliding door, only to backpedal rapidly as the first thing that greeted her was the sharp end of a wicked-looking knife. Nodoka's sharp intake of air alerted the group in the kitchen, and Ranma frowned at the hostile-looking man who casually twirled a combat knife in his hand. He sneered at them as he glanced at the two other Tendo sisters, and smirked wolfishly.
"The boss said you owed him, Tendo Nabiki. I'm here to collect."
Every eye in the room focused on Nabiki at that moment, who was frantically shaking her head. "I never ripped off anyone! Who the hell are you working for, anyway?"
"Boss Tanaka hired me to teach you a lesson for rigging a bet," the man smirked again, "but he didn't say anything about anyone else." His eyes settled on Kasumi who was, in contrast to her usual friendly manner, glaring at him dangerously. "I think I'll have some fun before I kill you."
"Over my dead body." Ranma took all he was going to take and stepped forward, settling into a combat stance.
"That can be arranged." The man stuck his hands into his pockets as he grinned at the pigtailed boy. "Ryujin Yamazaki. Remember the name on your way to hell."
Yamazaki blinked in surprise when Ranma appeared in front of him with a haymaker that rocked the Yakuza off his feet. He stood easily, slouching forward slightly. "That all you got, boy?" he sneered.
Ranma eyed his opponent carefully. The other man stood with a confident slouch that suggested he knew he could take on the Saotome youth without any trouble, and the ease with which he had gotten up from a punch that would have floored Ryoga unsettled him.
Yamazaki leaned forward, leering past Ranma at Kasumi. Said pigtailed boy bristled at being so casually dismissed. Time for the big guns, the Saotome youth thought grimly. With a savage yell Ranma launched himself at the Yakuza with a flying kick that again did nothing more than knock the wind out of him. It did, however, propel them both out the door onto the porch, as Ranma had intended.
Finally, with room to fight, he cupped his hands in front of him. "Moko Takabisha!" The blast of brilliant golden ki rocketed from his hands and towards his opponent. Yamazaki sneered and lifted his arm in a lazy arc, and Ranma's eyes widened in shock when his own ki blast reflected back at him. The pigtailed martial artist barely had time to cross his arms and summon a weak shield before it hit, overloading his senses.
Blinking the light out of his eyes, his ki-senses blinded from the detonation of ki around him, Ranma failed to see Yamazaki's charge. The taller man smirked cruelly as he reached for the pigtailed boy, knocking him high into the air. The Yakuza spun out of the way of Ranma's reflexive counter-kick and grabbed hold of his leg, slamming him down into the ground hard. Before Ranma could reorient himself, Yamazaki had him by the neck and was driving him across the ground. After several feet, the Yakuza slid to a halt and reared back for a kick to Ranma's ribs, but the pigtailed boy took hold of his wrists and twisted, wrenching the Yakuza around and over him until their positions were reversed.
Ranma was now kneeling on Yamazaki's chest, pinning the Yakuza down with his weight as he began raining blows on his opponent. Yamazaki, however, merely shrugged off the punches and forced his opponent's arms back by brute strength. Ranma's eyes widened impossibly at the display of strength, and he stumbled back, barely tumbling out of the way as Yamazaki pulled his knife from its sheath and lunged at him.
The blade left a shallow cut on his forearm, and Ranma frowned as he felt warm blood flowing from it. Yamazaki brought the knife up, casually flipping the blood-stained blade through the air.
"I'm going to kick your ass for that," Ranma hissed, his aura blossoming to life around him. "Don't tell me the big, bad Yakuza is afraid of a mere boy?"
Yamazaki's sneer never left his face as he eyed the pigtailed boy, never saying a word.
Can't draw him into a spiral…he's too experienced to let himself be taunted into it, Ranma mused. Then I'll bring it to him.
With a low his, Ranma sprung from the ground, covering the distance between them in a single leap. Like before, Yamazaki's arm shot out, but it only grabbed air as Ranma twisted, flipping himself forward and crashing into the Yakuza feet first. The impact sent Yamazaki reeling, and Ranma landed in a crouch, flipping forward the instant his feet touched the ground, with a cry of "Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken!"
Four-hundred-odd punches later, Ranma pulled back, ducking under a retaliatory elbow strike. Pain exploded when Yamazaki altered the course of his attack, striking down into Ranma's shoulder, and a snap-kick tossed the Saotome youth away like a rag-doll.
Ranma managed to right himself and land in a crouch, his eyes narrowing dangerously. That didn't even wind him! Four hundred punches and he's not even feeling it…just what is he? With a low hiss, Ranma swept his hands out, trailing a light golden glow as the claws of the Neko-Ken formed.
Yamazaki blinked in surprise at the new ki attack, but brought his arm and knife up to block it. The Yakuza hissed in pain when instead of the expected effect, four parallel gashes opened on his forearms and his knife fell to pieces. He snarled at the pigtailed boy.
"I'll kill you for that!"
Ranma leapt over the shoulder charge that followed, almost not managing to move out of the way of the follow-up strike in time as he watched the wounds close themselves before his eyes. Before the pigtailed martial artist could react, the ground behind Yamazaki exploded into high-velocity shrapnel, making the Yakuza howl in pain.
"Can't leave you alone for an hour, can I? Just got back and already in trouble." Ryoga smirked as he walked through the spot Yamazaki had just vacated, courtesy of a punch from the lost boy.
"Heads up!" Ranma bolted past Ryoga as the lost boy sidestepped Yamazaki's shoulder charge. The pigtailed boy easily leapt over the Yakuza, landing a back-kick to his unprotected back, causing him to stumble forward for an instant before he caught himself.
That instant was all Ryoga needed. "Kaen Kito!" Ryoga's fist embedded itself into Yamazaki's stomach, and the Yakuza stared down at the offending fist for a moment. Ryoga grinned ferally as his fist began to glow, the ki detonating violently as it finished building up, propelling Yamazaki into the property wall.
"Moko Takabisha Double!" Ranma took full advantage of the opportunity as he hammered his trademark double ki blast into Yamazaki's prone form. "Don't let him get back up," Ranma grunted as he continued his barrage. "He heals faster than Saffron!"
Ryoga's eyes widened in surprise as he watched Yamazaki's blurry form getting back up through all the smoke. "Kaen Kito!" He hammered his fist into the ground in a variation of the technique, directing his ki as it travelled to a spot right under their opponent and blew up the ground underneath him in an explosion that rivalled the Bakusai Tenketsu.
With a savage roar, Yamazaki shrugged off the attacks and rushed forward, his arms flashing out to grapple with the pigtailed boy. Ranma nimbly leapt out of the way, taking to the air as he twisted around the Yakuza's attempt to use his superior body mass. Yamazaki almost didn't notice Ryoga until it was too late, and even with his Orochi blood enhancing his stamina the Yakuza felt the lost boy's shoulder-ram as Ryoga wrapped his arms around his torso and effectively pile-drove him into the ground.
"P-chan, time to fly!" Ryoga looked up as Ranma descended from his jump, and nodded in understanding. He kicked off the ground, meeting his rival in mid-air. Ranma took hold of the lost boy and flipped, using his innate dexterity to propel Ryoga further into the air.
The lost boy rose to an impressive height that he had to admit he wouldn't have been able to achieve alone. Gravity took hold of him again, but even before his ascent had stopped, Ranma was in the air again, triangle-jumping off the property wall and into Ryoga, giving him another boost up into the air.
Yamazaki's prone form began to stir, and Ryoga's eyes glittered dangerously as he took aim and hauled back.
Yamazaki groaned in pain. It had been a long time since anyone had been able to really hurt him, and left injuries that lasted for more than a few minutes. Yet in the span of half an hour, these two boys had managed to batter, bruise, and cut him until he was feeling like he had gone through a meat grinder. Without his Orochi powers.
He struggled to get back up, his mind focused solely on killing the two when pain exploded between his shoulders, and the world went black.
Ryoga's fist impacted Yamazaki's back, driving the Yakuza into the ground amidst a cloud of dust and debris. When the smoke cleared, Ryoga was still kneeling on the Yakuza's back, his fist still extended in a striking position. "Tsuchi Buchikomu," he muttered, eyeing his opponent carefully until he was sure he was indeed out cold.
"Hammer drive?" Ranma asked from the side as he massaged his bruises. Ryoga merely shrugged.
"You gotta admit, it hits hard, if anything."
"True. Then again," Ranma snickered softly, "I had half expected you to get lost in mid-air."
Ryoga mock-growled and lightly elbowed his friend. Light for Ryoga, that is. In his condition, Ranma barely managed to keep from doubling over. The lost boy noticed instantly. "He got you good, huh?"
Sudden clapping could be heard from the porch, and the two rivals turned around to see an unfamiliar man standing at the door, smiling coldly. It wasn't an unfriendly smile, rather it was one that told them of his desire to test his abilities against theirs as warriors.
Ranma eyed the newcomer carefully. He was a lean man, obviously a foreigner, standing almost a foot taller than even Tendo Soun, with a shock of blonde hair and aristocratic features with wild, piercing blue eyes that spoke of his lust for battle. The Saotome youth moved into a defensive stance, not really wanting to get into another all-out fight so soon after taking down one would-be challenger.
The blonde man smirked and held up his hands. "I'm not here to fight. Actually," he noted with a smirk, "I came to warn you that Yamazaki there was on his way." He nodded at the downed Yakuza. "Oh well." He shrugged.
"So, what's with him, anyway?" Ryoga walked over to Yamazaki's prone form and knocked him on the head as he began to stir, causing the man to drop back down.
"I'm afraid to say he's somewhat of a loose cannon. He used to work for me, but I had more occasion to want him dead than I would have preferred." The blonde eyed the Yakuza on the ground. "His toughness was the only thing that made him remotely useful."
"Yeah, what's up with that, anyway?" Ryoga snorted. "I've never seen anyone who could take that much punishment and not go down." The lost boy pointedly ignored the arched eyebrow his rival was giving him.
"It's quite a long story. Needless to say, it takes quite a bit to take him down, and I'm rather impressed you two managed it." The blonde man took a step off the porch, extending his hand in a western handshake. "My name is Geese Howard."
V-------------------V
"So, you want my help in setting up a fighting tournament?" Nabiki suppressed a snort. She could almost smell the fact that there was an ulterior motive to this man's actions. After Yamazaki had been taken care of – courtesy of the tall gaijin's bodyguard – he had formally introduced himself as Geese Howard, host to one of the most infamous fighting tournaments in the world: The King of Fighters.
Nabiki had heard of the man, of course. It was hard not to when he was so rich and powerful he basically controlled an entire city with far-reaching connections into Brazil and Japan. He made no secret of the fact that he was deeper into organized crime that the Italian Mafia, and that he obviously had heard of Nabiki's more…shady business transactions in her younger years.
He also made no move to hide the fact that, should he really want her to help him with whatever he needed her for, there was no way she could say no. Not that he actually had said anything to that effect, but Nabiki prided herself on being an expert at reading other people.
Geese nodded. "You've heard of the King of Fighters tournament?"
Nabiki nodded, having heard the name in passing several times. It was a big entertainment issue in the States, but that was the extent of most of her knowledge. Ranma, on the other hand, almost choked on his tea and ended up spitting it across the table.
"The King of Fighters?" The pigtailed boy whispered almost reverently.
"What's so special about some tournament?" Ryoga frowned as he looked at his friend's almost-glazed over eyes.
Ranma immediately snapped around to stare at Ryoga incredulously. "Only the fact that it's the place where the most powerful martial artists of the world meet and fight! It's where everyone dreams of being one day, to be able to compete with them, to test your skills and your strength against the best of the world!"
Geese chuckled at the boy's enthusiasm. "You're mostly correct, boy. However, you're wrong in one thing. Most of the fighters aren't martial artists. They're warriors. They come prepared to give it their all, to fight until they can't lift their arms anymore – and then some."
"So, why come to Nerima?" Nabiki peered at Geese intently, hoping to find any indication of the man's hidden agenda, but his amused stare revealed nothing even to her trained eye.
The blonde man shrugged, placing several cards on the table, sliding them over to Ranma and Ryoga. "I've heard of this place. An acquaintance of mine, Sakazaki Takuma, referred me here. He told me interesting stories about the area."
Ranma picked up the cards from the table, eyeing them curiously. The pigtailed boy's eyes widened in shock, something that didn't escape Nabiki's attention. "These are…"
"Invitations to the King of Fighters 1997. I take it you will see to their distribution?"
The Saotome youth lowered his head as he caught two of the names on the cards. He slid them back to Geese. "They won't be attending." All those present could hear the strain in his voice, and both Nabiki and Kasumi, who knew what to look for, could see the tears held back by the martial artist's iron control.
"And you know that how?" Geese asked him with an arched eyebrow. Ryoga leaned forward and snuck a glance at the two cards, and the lost boy understood why Ranma was returning them.
"They're dead." Ranma's voice was flat, emotionless as he watched Geese's eyebrow climb higher. "They died four days ago in China." Nabiki and Akane, who had remained silent until this point, gasped in shock. Their eyes focused on Ranma, finally realizing the reason behind his depression.
"A pity. I heard they were exceptional fighters." Geese shot an amused glance at the pigtailed boy. He could easily see Ranma would like nothing more than to jump across the table and take his frustration and anger out on someone. "So," he noted, returning his attention to Nabiki. "It's a very good business, and I assure you," he added with a small smirk, "it's all perfectly legal."
The middle Tendo daughter quickly weighted her options. She was still reeling from the fact that someone they knew had died, but quickly steeled herself. There would be time to get the whole story from either Ryoga or Nodoka later. She fully realized that in his current state, Ranma was in no condition to tell them about it. "What do you need me for?" She finally asked.
"You have contacts around here. I need someone to handle the finances and set up several locations for the tournament, and make sure it's advertised. I also need someone to contact and invite the fighters." He nodded appreciatively, "you've been referred to me as the best." His eyes glinted in amusement. "I'm willing to offer you a 25 percent commission on this job."
"And if I refuse?" Nabiki felt much too cliché'ed, but she felt she had to ask anyway.
"Then I take my business elsewhere. I would still like to hold the opening ceremony in Nerima, and invite the fighters here, and I'll do it with or without your help."
Nabiki quickly glanced at her sisters, seeing Kasumi's nod and Akane's inquisitive look, she returned her gaze to Geese. "You've got a deal," she told him. The tall man rose, smirking, and handed her a business card. "I'll be calling you then, Ms. Tendo. Good day."
The room was silent until he had left, at which point both Nabiki and Akane turned to Ryoga, dragging the lost boy up the stairs to question him. Ranma merely sat, staring at the invitations in his hands.
Kasumi and Nodoka merely sat in silence, watching him as he fought with the tears. Both women knew him well, and realized that the loss of two of his friends would leave a deep wound that would take a long time to heal…if it ever did.
Finally, Ranma broke down again, silent tears streaming from the corners of his eyes as he clutched the two cards with Ukyo and Cologne's names on them. "It's not fair," he whispered. "It's not fair. They should be here. They should be getting this. Ucchan should be celebrating all the business it'd be gettin' her, and Cologne should be jumping at the chance to show the world her three thousand years of Amazon fighting techniques."
Kasumi's heart nearly broke at seeing the man she loved like this. This wasn't the Ranma she knew, it wasn't the one who had left for China three weeks ago, happy to get an invitation from Cologne to come and visit the rebuilt village. This man had a gaping hole in his soul, and the only thing she feared she could do was offer him comfort.
The eldest Tendo daughter reached over from where she sat next to the pigtailed young man and placed a hand on his shoulder as they sat in silence.
V-------------------V
After seeing to her great-grandmother's funeral, Shampoo had stepped before the Council of Elders. The circle of ancient women had offered her a place amongst their ranks; the same seat Cologne had once held, but Shampoo declined in a not-so-polite way with a mace into a table.
After seeing her only family killed so callously by her own sisters, the purple-haired amazon had fled the village angrily for days, refusing to remain in the same place that had caused her so much grief. Ukyo had been her friend, too, and her sister by honor, if not blood, and her death on top of Cologne's was salt in the wound.
Now, a week after Ranma had left, a week after the funerals had been held, Shampoo was regretting not taking the pigtailed martial artist up on his offer to return to Japan with him. It was true, the Nekohanten held too many memories that still hurt, but at least she would have been amongst friends there.
Here, she was all alone, in the middle of rivals, ancient trolls who had once been jealous of her great-grandmother's position. Shampoo let out a tired sigh. She just wasn't cut out for politics. She had even less respect for the remaining elders who, now that she had declined Cologne's old position, had returned to bickering among themselves for the seat of matriarch.
Besides, she needed something to take her mind off what had happened, or at least someone to share it with; unfortunately for her, there were no open ears in Joketsuzoku. Soap, the village's lore master, with whom she had formed a tentative friendship after the siege of Jusendo, had died two years ago, a victim of old age and the stress of rebuilding a culture.
Cologne and Ukyo were dead, and Ryoga, Ranma, and his mother had returned to their islands. Shampoo allowed herself a soft chuckle. With any luck, Ryoga would get lost and maybe stop by.
And Mousse – he still had not returned from the Musk, and it was unlikely he would anytime soon. Cologne had dispatched the myoptic Hidden Weapons master to Herb to serve as a liaision between the Council and the dragon prince.
She sighed as she packed the last of her belongings into a duffel bag, casting a last, reminiscing look around the hut she had been raised in by Cologne. A soft knock at the door drew her attention to the front of the house. Wondering who could be wanting anything from her at this time of the night, she walked over. To her surprise, the only thing she found was a letter pinned to the door.
Cologne's heir searched the night for the messenger, but she blinked in surprise when nothing caught her eye, as if the person who had brought her the letter had vanished into thin air. Closing the door, she sighed. I must be really far gone if I'm starting to imagine things, she mused, but the paper in her hand proved that it had indeed not been her imagination.
She tore the envelope open, almost instantly recognizing the messy scribble that covered the first page. A small smile tugged at her lips as she read through Ranma's letter. Shuffling through the pages, she found the small card he was writing about.
Hey, Xian Pu,
I hope you're doing well. I really wish you'd come with me and Mom back to Japan, but I guess there's too many memories here. Somehow, it's not the same here without you and the old ghoul, and Ucchan. It's too quiet. Anyway, a couple of days ago this strange guy stopped by, and he's inviting all of us to a tournament that's going to start here in Nerima. Your invitation is attached, and I'm really hoping you'll be coming. After all, the King of Fighters is the biggest tournament all around, and I'm pretty sure Khu Lon would love to see you there. She'd be proud of you, I'm sure. It might take your mind off things, for a while.
Hope to see you there,
Ranma
Shampoo smiled softly as she turned the small card end over end, reading the elaborate script that spelled out her name and four simple words: The King of Fighters. Hefting her bag, she folded the letter and left both the house that had been her home for most of her life, and the village that had been given birth to her. She never looked back, hoping that Cologne would smile upon her decision from the afterlife.
V-------------------V
Dinner at the Morisato temple was, for once, a quiet affair. This was unusual, because Urd was, oddly enough, not reacting to any of Skuld's taunts. The eldest Norn simply sat quietly, picking at her food before politely telling Belldandy that she had lost her appetite and would be in her room. Then she would pick up her dishes, place them in the sink, and leave the room.
Belldandy sighed as she watched her elder sister leave the dining room. For the last week, Urd had been strangely subdued, and neither her nor Skuld's best efforts at coaxing her into talking about whatever had her in such a funk had met any success.
Matter of fact, as far as the goddess of the present could tell, all Urd was doing in her room was lie on her bed and stare at the ceiling. She never thought she would actually admit it, but she almost wished that Urd would be doing something, but her silver-haired sister had neither touched her potions nor reacted to any of Skuld's insults since her return from China.
Belldandy was beginning to wonder what was going on; her father hadn't replied to any of her attempts to contact him, and the rest of Asgard was seemingly as tight-lipped about whatever incident had occurred in China as Urd was. The only break of monotony had been an appereance by Mara, just after Urd's return. The demoness had locked herself in Urd's room together with her half-sister, and if Belldandy had to hazard a guess, she would have to say they were drowning their sorrows in alcohol.
Skuld's angry cry brought her back to the present, and she sighed in resignation as her youngest sister almost tossed her trusty hammer after Urd. Keiichi had long since backed away into a corner of the room where he was relatively safe from the angry outbursts of the young goddess. "Really, sometimes she can be so...so..." Skuld grasped for words, but a stern look from Belldandy silenced her.
"We don't know what happened there, Skuld. Please, just give her some time." Internally, though, the goddess of the present was almost as agitated as her sister, mainly because it had been a long time since she had seen Urd so shaken up. No, that wasn't quite right, she corrected herself. Urd had been in a pretty deep ditch after Ryoko's death, but she and Setsuna had managed to climb back out. But this, this went beyond anything Belldandy had ever seen Urd do.
Keiichi glanced over at her, and she gratefully noted the concern in his eyes; Keiichi had been the first to predict that something wasn't right when the happy-go-lucky Urd had gone on her depression trip. "Excuse me, please," Belldandy announced as she rose from the table. "I'll go and check on Urd."
The remaining two occupants nodded silently, though, in Skuld's case, rather reluctantly. The youngest Norn had learned not to barge into Urd's room unannounced, the hard way. For once, Urd hadn't held back on her lightning bolt strike, and Skuld had realized just how powerful her sister was. She still winced at the memory of the shock she had received.
"Urd's Castle" the sign on her door proclaimed, but as Belldandy knocked on the door and entered, she stood stock still for a moment in quiet surprise. The room, which had previously been furnished in luxurious colors and had had expensive furniture and laboratory equipment strewn around in an organized chaos that only Urd could hope to figure out, was bare. The walls were white and the only pieces of furniture in the room were a table and a bed.
A bed, which was currently occupied by the Norn of the past, who was trying to feign sleep and failing miserably.
"Urd?" Belldandy asked as she moved to sit down on the edge of the bed.
"Go 'way." Urd slurred, hoping to get rid of her sister.
"No, Urd. Not this time. We're worried about you, all you've been doing for the last week is lock yourself in and drink until you pass out. Please, my sister. Tell me what happened."
Urd chuckled dryly. "You see any sake in here?" She snorted in a most unlady-like fashion. "Been running so dry Mara thought I'd been taken over by a pod person."
Letting a small smile of relief pass her lips, Belldandy glanced around the room and noticed that it was indeed bare of any alcohol. "Then what have you been doing?"
"Thinking." Urd shrugged.
"About?" Belldandy prodded, knowing that she was treading dangerous waters. One wrong move and Urd would clamp up so tight not even the Allmighty could pry anything from her.
Again, the silver-haired goddess shrugged. "Lots of things."
"Like?"
Urd sat up abruptly. "Look, Bell. I know you mean well, but this isn't something you should hear. Heck, I don't want to hear it."
"Try me." Belldandy leaned back, peering into her sister's eyes. "Maybe you just need a second opinion?"
"No. I'm not telling you. It's for your own good."
"But you can talk to Mara about it?"
Urd's eyes almost pleaded with Belldandy to let it go, but the goddess of the present decided to ignore it and plow onwards. "Please, Urd. You need to talk about this to someone. Should I call Mara up here?"
"No." Urd shook her head. "She knows, because it affects her directly. I can deal with it, so please, just leave me alone."
"Urd, you are obviously not dealing with it well. You're spending all your time in here, you're not eating, you're not talking to us...please, Urd, we're worried. We want to know what happened so we can help you."
Realizing that her sister wasn't going to just go away and leave her to her own, depressing thoughts, Urd shifted, almost glaring at her sister. Belldandy reflexively shied back at seeing the emotion in her elder sister's eyes. Urd's usually sharp, clear emerald eyes were clouded with anger, confusion, sadness, and fear. What caused her to pause was the fact that Urd was actually afraid of something, and she had never seen her sister show fear.
"Bell. Leave me alone. It's for your own good. I'm not telling you."
And, for the first time in a long time, Belldandy felt something stir deep within her. For the first time in centuries, she felt angry at her sister's words. "No, Urd," she almost hissed. "I'm not leaving. I'm sick and tired of you telling me it's for my own good! We're worried about you, we're trying to help you! Why don't you trust us for once? Trust us that we'll be able to handle what happened? Do you really think that lowly of us? Do you really think we'll fall apart at the slightest piece of reality?" She took a deep breath at the end of her rant, and glared, actually glared at Urd defiantly.
"No, I don't, Bell." Urd's voice was strained, as if all the fight had left her at once, leaving her tired and feeling incredibly old. "But this...is so surreal I don't want you to even try to handle it. I've seen it happen with my own eyes, but I don't want to believe it," she said softly.
"Seen what? What happened, Urd?"
"Please, don't make me tell," Urd whispered, her voice hoarse as a few lone tears managed to leak past the iron control she had erected around her emotions.
"Please, Urd, tell me," Belldandy told her sister softly. "You've got to tell someone for the healing to begin. Please, let us help. Let your sisters take care of you, for once."
Urd remained silent for a while, her shoulders heaving as she struggled to regain control over herself. Finally, after several long minutes, she broke the silence. "You remember when Mara came over?"
Belldandy nodded, not sure where her sister was going with this.
"She came to tell me a friend of ours died."
"Oh, Urd, I'm so sorry…"
The eldest Norn lifted her head, letting Belldandy see the true extent of anger her emerald irises held. "She was a demon."
That caused Belldandy to pause. "How…?"
"Doublet system."
"You mean-" Belldandy trailed off, blinking in disbelief. While it wasn't unheard of for a mortal to defeat and even kill an immortal, even a demon or god, it was very, very rare. So rare, in fact, in this age of civilization, that she knew of only one who had accomplished this spectacular feat in more than a thousand years, and that was one Saotome Ranma. In case a mortal managed to defeat an immortal, however, the doublet system was suspended, as its only purpose was to prevent demons and gods from killing each other. As it was, the only alternative was that a god or demon had killed one of their own.
Urd snorted in disgust. "Do you remember the emergency we had a few days ago? That wasn't just any normal bug. We got a real big power spike in Joketsuzoku, China. You remember, that amazon place?"
"Yes."
"A while back, I think before you even remember, Amaterasu had a daughter," Urd began. "It was a pretty nasty story, and most of us didn't really do what's right, what we were supposed to. I don't think you remember her, do you? Amatsu?"
Belldandy shook her head in negative, wondering how long ago this had happened. While she wasn't nearly as old as Urd, she had lived through a long time.
"Didn't think so." Urd laughed hoarsely. "That was back when we sort of decided to leave Midgard be, you know, withdraw from actually living here. Amaterasu was one of the few who…well, I guess you could call it an ego-trip. She's got this habit of going overboard every few centuries just to prove she 'still has it,' as she calls it. Amatsu, she didn't quite agree. She argued we should stay on Midgard, that it was our duty as gods to aid the mortals, so they could reach their full potential, you know. Amaterasu didn't really think there was anything exceptional to mortals – quite the opposite, really."
"So what happened?" Belldandy had heard the bedtime stories and myths surrounding the legendary daughter of the sun as she was growing up, but she knew there was more to the story than the heroine-turned-evil.
"They argued. Amatsu ended up trying to take Amaterasu's place as the sungoddess when she almost blew up a continent and didn't care. They ended up fighting, and you know the saying – history is written by the victors. Amatsu was branded a fallen goddess and sealed away. Jusenkyo Valley was containing so much magical energy at the time it could easily power the seal, and we placed one seal each with each of the three races that inhabit the valley to keep that power under control, remember?"
Belldandy nodded. "That was what that demon was after a few years ago, wasn't it?" While she hadn't been involved in the fighting of what Urd had dubbed the siege of Jusendo, Belldandy had been involved in the cleanup of the fallout. Yggdrasil had suffered much damage, and there were so many dead it reminded her of the great wars of the century. Fortunately, through some foresight and good leadership on the part of a few select mortals, Midgard had been spared a much more destructive conflict in the wake of the catastrophe.
"Yeah. Well, what we also put in the amazon village, since Amaterasu is their matron goddess, was Amatsu's seal. She's been in suspension for probably longer than you've been alive, Bell. A week ago…she came back. Someone in that village discovered Amaterasu's old sword, and awakened Amatsu." Urd shuddered. "When I read her power spike, I went and got Amaterasu, and you know what she said? 'I'll finish her off,' she said. 'Her life was forfeit the moment she turned on me.' She went down to Midgard to kill her, Bell. Her own daughter. She didn't care that Amatsu was her daughter, she didn't care that she was killing someone else through the doublet system, all she cared about was that there wasn't anyone strong enough to be a threat to her!"
Urd's almost hysterical cry shocked Belldandy. As long as she had known her older sister, Urd had always been able to swing from one mood to another in the blink of an eye, but she had never been so…extreme.
"And you know what?" Urd whispered, "Amatsu said something. She said something, and I'm scared because I know it's true. Without living next to mortals, we've grown so…so decadent. We barely go out and do anything anymore. We're drowning in our own superiority, and while we're deluding ourselves in being so great, we're ignoring what the people here on Midgard are accomplishing. We're ignoring that there's anything worth our attention here because there's no one left who's strong enough to challenge us. We think we can toy with their lives as we please, and no one is there to judge us, because we are the judges."
"Urd…"
"No Bell, let me finish." Urd took a deep, shuddering breath. "Amatsu made mistakes herself. She practically killed dozens of humans to come back to full strength to challenge her mother, and while the ends don't justify the means, what she said isn't any less true. You can't deny it, Bell. Look at Asgard. You can't tell me it's not true."
Belldandy remained silent for a few moments, before meeting her sister's eyes and seeing the total conviction in them. "No, Urd, I can't."
"Ranma, bless that kid, he fought her. Damn all the odds, he fought her, because he wanted his friends, all those who'd died because of Amaterasu and her daughter, to be brought back. He fought her like the devil, Bell. He fought and won against both of them. And you know what? You know what he walked in on? He walked in on Amatsu stabbing his best friend through the heart and drinking her blood. He found the corpse of pretty much his grandmother pinned to a wall. And still, he turned around and walked away after he beat her. He walked away, Bell. All he wanted was for them to be brought back, not revenge." The tears came freely now, but Urd made no move to wipe at them.
"What happened then?" Belldandy was almost afraid to ask, hoping that her premonition wouldn't come true.
"Amaterasu just walked forward and killed her. She just didn't care, Bell. She said no mortal could ever best her, and that she was above listening to them. She tried to get Ranma to just walk up to his mother and kill her just to prove his point."
The goddess of the present covered her mouth in horror. "Kami-sama…"
"He resisted her, Bell. For all her power, for her claiming to be above mortals, he bested her. He demanded she bring them back to life, but she just didn't care…" Urd's words degenerated into a jumbled mess of thoughts as the dam broke and she broke down in her sister's arms.
V-------------------V
Shoppers made a wide berth around him as he walked down the aisles of the grocery store. He was smirking outwardly, cutting a distinctive figure with his flaming red hair and dark blue jacket, but he had resigned himself to never being able to lead an ordinary life. His heritage and bloodline had taken care of that. When he reached the cashier, he resisted the urge to groan when the girl at the register fumbled with the buttons, causing a cacophony of beeps and bleeps that attracted more attention than he was already drawing.
When she finally gave up fighting the devilish contraption, mumbling that it was on the house, he managed to force himself from banging his head against the nearest convenient wall in disgust. After all, he had an image to maintain.
So, he just nodded gruffly, shoved his hands in his pockets, the bags of groceries hanging from his wrists, and walked out, uncaring of the people staring at him.
Actually he could understand why they were staring, after all it wasn't every day that you saw him walking the streets, but this was getting ridiculous. He had to eat, after all. Yagami Iori, the 'Insane Orochi Warrior,' smiled slightly at the thought of a few well-prepared meat dishes that awaited him at home. Passersby that caught sight of his upturned mouth made haste to scramble out of his way, and for some unexplainable reason, Iori began chuckling.
His full-blown laughter, however, died before it even started as he glanced around and saw no one around for three blocks. Oh well, he shrugged. Not my problem. Probably another Gojiro alarm, or something.
Thinking happy thoughts about the half-dozen steaks that occupied his shopping bag, Iori walked home with a rare spring in his step. Alas, his perfect day was not to be. Iori froze in mid-step, slowly turning around as a wracking cough shook his body. His eyes widened in shock as his hand came away bloody.
What the…what's going on? He felt a burning sensation all along his body, as if his blood was boiling inside. The feeling almost made him want to tear his skin off, but strangely enough, it passed quickly after a few moments. Deciding to ponder this mystery later, Iori hastened his paste to his apartment.
What he failed to see were three people who had just rounded the corner ahead of him. A tall, muscular man with sandy blonde hair, a woman in a leather dress a number too tight with long violet hair in a ponytail and an ever-hungry leer, and a little boy whose brown bangs covered his eyes.
V-------------------V
Halfway around the world, unbeknownst to the Yagami heir, a similar scene was playing out. Unlike Iori, however, this person collapsed in pain for long enough to pass out. When she came to, she stared into a bright blue eye next to an unblinking black eyepatch.
"What happened?"
"We're hoping you could tell us. Ralf and Clark heard you screaming, and when they got to you, you were outside, unconscious." The commander of the infamous Ikari Warriors mercenary army, Heidern, sat back. Only Leone could make out the slight indication of relief in his eyes, but she saw it despite his best efforts to hide it.
"I don't know. I thought I heard something, and I went outside to check. I don't know why, but I just felt…like my blood was on fire."
"Intriguing." Heidern steepled his fingers. "We'll look into it. I'll have the perimeter guard doubled and scout for anything that's out there."
Leona nodded, moving to slide off the infirmary bed. Heidern stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. "Rest. You were in pretty bad shape when we found you, and I'm sure you're feeling it."
Heidern's adoptive daughter nodded and lowered herself back onto the bed as he left the room.