It seemed that the air and very nature of the world understood the importance of that morning. An unnatural stillness had overtaken the town. Three figures crested the final hilltop that preceded the approach to Nerima, and in the frosted dawn things changed, as they once had, they did again.

XZero Presents

So Cold

Chapter 10 - The Return

Outskirts of Nerima

"Ranma, are you okay?" Kiima's soft voice broke the silence that filled the air with an oppressive weight. Ranma's aura had been fluctuating since last night, a turbulent look stuck in place across his ordinarily carefree features. He was likely worried about his reception here. His family was here, and they had moved on without him.

"Yeah. I'm..." She didn't wait for him to finish the obvious lie, bumping his hip with her own.

"Really?" She gave him a look that caused him to slump a bit, the facade of strength diminishing slightly before returning. He stopped walking, turning to face the silver tressed woman.

"Really Kiima, I'll be alright, I've just got a lot on my mind. I... I just don't know how much things will have changed, whether this will still be the home I remember, or if there won't be anything left for me here, because if there isn't then well, I've got nowhere." He flinched as he felt the hand on his shoulder; he didn't want her to see the tears that he was attempting to throttle. Emotional stability had never been his strong point, and now, things were worse with the loss of the only pillars he'd ever known.

The hand on his shoulder transformed quickly into an embrace from behind, her warm breath tickling the short hair on his neck. Her words brushed his ear and sent shivers down his spine. He knew what she was doing, and appreciated it.

"You will always have a place Ranma, and you will always have someone." Her voice was soft, and he closed his eyes as the feeling of her aura pressed comfortingly against his own.

"Thank you Kiima, for everything." He turned in her embrace, and gazed at her, eyes lidded and heavy. Something in her drew him in, his brilliant blue eyes blazing as he gazed into her own silvery orbs. They inched closer to one another, an all-consuming gravity leading them to an inevitable end. Until, that is, a cough brought both to reality with a start, both jumping away from the other startled. As one their eyes turned to the third member of their party, who stood a short distance away with a knowing smile over his features.

"Are we ready to move on? Or shall I leave you two alone for a bit longer?" His tone was not accusatory, nor was it particularly innocent. The two in question burned crimson in embarrassment. Ranma opened his mouth first, used to such situations.

"Nothing was going on." He declared with a hint of steel in his voice, arguing with him would be dangerous Mu Tzu decided. With a light chuckle the blind weapon master continued along.

Less than a mile later they were walking down the outermost streets of the Special Ward of Tokyo named Nerima. It was early, and only the myriad salary men were on the streets, moving sedately toward the station, bound for their jobs, faceless in their sameness. Blazers only varied by color. Ranma had seen their kind many times in the past, as he was once of the sort to be up at the crack of dawn, whether due to his father's attempts to teach him "respect" or through various challenges issued by the multitudes of crazies that once dominated his life. He had seen every side of Nerima, and for once it seemed something he'd never really seen, normal. The unusual stores and vendors that were scattered through the ward seemed to have vanished. As they passed, Ranma gazed at the storefront that once housed a curio vendor, Kuno had bought the phoenix egg from this same place, now it was vacant, a sign declaring the open lease propped in the dusty window.

Things had changed, just as he'd feared, martial arts did not seem to be the focus of the residents if his senses were telling him anything. He could sense a few auras that were of any consequence, but not nearly as many as he knew must have once walked the ward. His sigh gave away a bit of depression, and it was almost an unconscious act to seek out Kiima's comfort. His fingers wiggled slightly where they hung while he walked, and without seeming to notice, the slender digits of the phoenix woman intertwined with his own.

Mu Tzu, for his part in things, remained silent this time as their childish displays of affection once again spilled over into the painfully obvious. He had hoped that some sort of resolution to this frankly uncomfortable romantic tension would have happened in their travels, but of course, he had forgotten how incredible Ranma's ability to either not notice, emotions of any sort. It was slightly embarrassing to watch, how he managed to fail to notice the attraction that was growing between them. Kiima, well, he wasn't sure about her. She showed all the same signs of attraction, and was never found very far from the anachronistic man, but she seemed content to let him decide the pace and structure of their relationship. As things stood they would be almost a century old before the pigtailed man finally noticed what was going on. The blush on their features earlier though, maybe things were as convoluted as they seemed.

The three continued walking, and before they knew it they were in the heart of the city, the old building front where the Ucchan's used to be was a sushi restaurant now. What once was the Nekohanten had been demolished at some point, the space filled with a sandlot playground. Had anything remained from his time here? Too soon they passed Furinkan High, the school, once a source of stress for Ranma was now something of a fondly remembered time. Things had been so simple then, so pure. Now... Now he didn't fit, didn't have a place. Kiima would stay with him, and that thought was sometimes what kept him moving forward. A glance down at their joined hands brought a gentle smile to his features, lightening his stormy mien. She had been a steadfast friend since he'd awoken, and though he didn't understand entirely why she was with him, he was glad that she was.

"Kiima..." She silenced him with a nod, understanding his unspoken request.

"Ranma, I'm sure that this will work out just fine. We'll get through this, together." She squeezed his hand, and he stepped uncertainly to the door of the Tendo Dojo.

Ryouga woke with the earliest bits of dawn, eyes snapping open and coming alert and focused in an instant. He could feel it, an aura that he hadn't felt in nearly twenty years. Ranma had entered Nerima. With mounting dread as he felt the power flare wildly for a moment, he rose from his bed. Akane would no doubt wake in a panic if left alone now, and so he reached a hand over to shake her, when instead of finding her rousing in her usual cat like fashion she instead was laying with her eyes opened dramatically wide in a look of utmost terror. Ranma had haunted her dreams for many years after leaving Jusendo. She could not seem to remember him as the carefree and steadfastly loyal man he'd been, instead she remembered the half c-conscious fever dreams from when she had been turned into a doll. She knew, academically that he was a great person, but every time she tried to remember those sweet moments from their engagement, she could only summon the wrathful mien of him enraged by Saffron. To her he had become nothing less than a deity of wrath and destruction, a reminder of terrible pain, and ceaseless struggle.

"Akane, it will be okay, I can feel him too, and instead of anger, I feel sadness. I don't think that he is what we should be afraid of." His words were confident, but behind the demeanor he presented to her he knew that he was anything but. He felt the niggling fear that he was perhaps wrong in his declaration. He could only go about his day as normal until the pigtailed man arrived, for he was undoubtedly coming here.

Akane for her part released a breath she did not know she had been holding, closing her eyes to settle the tremors of fear she felt running through her body. Once she had collected herself at least as much as she thought she could, she rose from her bed and moved to collect her bathing supplies. She and Ryouga had come to the same conclusion; they would soldier on, and face the situation as it developed.

A hot bath later, the martial artists went about their day, the anticipation making every moment seem to draw on for an eternity. Akane went to the kitchen to begin breakfast, years of practice and then-newfound patience helping her to learn the art that had long evaded her. It was chiefly due to her husband's diligence that she was able to realize her flaws. She had not been coddled by him once she had convinced him to seriously train her. He had been harsh, and shattered every illusion she had of her competency against opponents on his level. He had done exactly what Ranma would not, when she struck, he stood his ground and let her flail against his superior defense. It had taken her a month and a broken hand before she had come to realize that no matter what she did, she could not defeat him, and with that realization she understood why Ranma had never taken her seriously. It still infuriated her somewhat that her one-time fiancé never came out and told her, but she understood now that she never would have accepted his words; they were too unwelcome for the immature girl to accept. That realization though, that had shaken the cobwebs off her rational thought, and given her the means to become patient enough to understand her faults, and work to correct them. Learning to cook had taken the years between Ranma's death and Rei's second birthday. Her martial arts skills had grown similarly, and now she knew herself to be superior to the Ranma who once protected her.

Gazing out the kitchen window, her eyes came to rest on her daughter. Rei was a special girl, she knew now, and not merely the special that all children were to their parents, truly, the girl was gifted with a sight that neither of her parents truly understood. For now she went through her kata in the morning chill, steady and fluid in every movement. Prodigy was not strong enough a word to describe her ability in the martial arts, and admittedly, Akane feared her daughter's progress a bit. The adolescent was frighteningly capable in the Art, more so because her style was not something she could be taught, not by anyone living, at least, anyone that could have been considered living. Ranma's techniques were evident in her every movement.

The Hibiki style, one that had come to be merged with the Tendo school of Anything Goes, was fundamentally a style of overwhelming power and stability. Ranma's style, personalized from his father's Saotome style, was a combination of his own immense strength, but it focused on his adaptability, emphasized his unique and instinctive ability to understand the actions of his opponents. Combined with the incredible strength of his ki, the style was ephemeral. Every action changed it slightly, personalized it through the experience of the artist as they wove their way through life. Rei could not have understood when she began what she was undertaking, she was the second practitioner of Ranma's unique style, which embodied perfectly, yet transcended the essence of Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu.

At the same time, it was an unfinished style, tested yes, but unfinished. It was Ranma's force of will that kept him grounded, Akane realized, and if not for that same will, which saw him victorious without care for reason, he would have lost himself. The Mouko Takabisha was the best example of this, he could not duplicate Ryouga's technique as it was, so he took it and made it his own. Rei would need to find her own center, or else that style would consume her, and she would lose herself in the styles and attitudes of her opponents, lose sight of who she was, and be consumed by her own spirit. She would have to find herself, and understand her own heart before she could blend the skills of others. Akane feared, because what teenage girl could be said to know their own heart truly? Hopefully, Ranma's return would bring with him an answer to the question his school asked of its students.

"Damn you Ranma." She sobbed a bit, pained gaze on the shimmering ebony mane of her child as she flew through kata in the yard. "It's all your fault."

Khu Lon wished the two men had more news, but she was unsurprised by their lack of knowledge, the timeline of their journey had them dispatched before Herb went to Phoenix Mountain, before the fight between Ranma and their lord at Jusendo, and before the true threat of which prophecy spoke came awake once more in their world. Still, she could use them now, and would.

"Boy's would you do this old woman a favor?" She was by no means comely, and so did not go that route to gain their assistance, instead she played every bit the old woman, and in this year, old is truly how she felt. She needed them to deliver a message to Joketsuzoku, and to the Phoenix. Khu Lon would stand with the pigtailed warrior, and did not expect to return. Xian Pu must never know this, and so none of her sisters must know but for the matriarchs of the other families. She was council elder, and so matriarch of their people as whole, but the others would need to be warned of her departure, and elect new leadership.

The diminutive woman affected a wistful smile as she rested old eyes on her great-granddaughter. The woman she had become was a blessing to the elder's heart. Xian Pu had grown into a fine woman, and would do well as the next matriarch of their family. Khu Lon was proud, and promised herself she would see that Xian understood this before her time was through.

The coming days would be dark, but she had no doubt Ranma would prove the victor, no matter the cost. That boy had always had a way of finding strength from weakness. She would very much like to survive to see Xian's daughter compete in the village tournament.

Her reverie finished, she explained her need to the men, and with happy smiles both agreed without condition to deliver her messages. She knew they would keep their silence, they understood, and before departing the amazon camp, cast shameful glances at the lavender tressed woman. She would never know that her grandmother was preparing to die, and they would aid the old woman, one warrior to another, because she asked. Neither of the beast men wanted to see the look on the younger woman's face when the matriarch's plan came to fruition, losing family was always hard.

Khu Lon watched them depart, a burden lifted from her by the message they bore. Her affairs were in order, if she had to depart this life, she would face it like a warrior.

The well-aged woman prepared her morning tea in silence, her too large house cavernous in its emptiness. Mornings much like these she could not help but remember, and the haunting memories of her past, and of the family that was no longer there. She was a woman descended of Samurai, and in keeping with the noble breeding she was able to maintain her stoicism, even now when her heart wrenched with loss. She had broken down when they said her son was dead, she had wept and sobbed and keened. She cried for months, and then, she stopped. She would do her son no honor, nor cherish his memory weeping. She knew well the discomfort he felt at her pain, but it was a long time before she was able to become the strong figure she had been. In the time that he cared for her diligently, Genma, her so very flawed husband, wasted away without his son and heir. For all his failings, Genma had loved his son, and made their boy's success everything in his life. In taking care of her during her breakdown, he had fallen ill, and carried on in silence until his illness had progressed too far to be treated. In the end, she had convinced herself that he had died not of pneumonia that winter, she believed, that he had simply no longer wanted to live. With their son dead, Ranma's father could not bear to face the day, when she was finally able to function once more. Tendo had not survived his oldest friend by long, and during his last days, he had been delirious in his grief, unable to function. He had lost his wife, his daughters no longer needed him, not that he had been of much use to them in his life after, but with the loss of his oldest friend, and of their dream of unification, it had been certain that the arts Tendo had learned, mastered and improved, none would truly survive him. Ryouga and Akane's marriage had given him hope for the future, as had Akane's renewed training under her new husband.

Nodoka could not help but to smile, loving as she did Akane's daughter, the girl warmed her heart, and was so much like the little boy that Ranma had been before he and his father left. She had released tears of joy when the young couple asked her to be little Rei's grandmother, neither of them having parents of their own anymore. The little girl truly loved her 'baa-chan'. To her dismay, she had not taken time recently to visit them recently, and vowed to herself to rectify that soon, perhaps tomorrow.

But for this morning, she had an appointment with the local orphanage. She had come to volunteer at the orphanage when she had run into some of the children at a park. Those troubled youths had given her an outlet for the maternal feelings that she had never truly gotten to express to Ranma. She could give them affection - and starved for it - the children would eat it up greedily. It gave her peace to be able to help those children, though it hurt that she would never be able to hold her own child in her arms again.

Nerima, Tokyo

The worn sign that had hung there when he had arrived so long ago was still there, though faded considerably in the years that had passed since he'd last seen it. That thought was just another reminder that he had been gone a great deal longer than the two months that it felt to him. That threatened him with another bout of depression. He couldn't think like that, though the stormy expression budding on his face lifted when he felt the squeeze of Kiima's hand in his. That gave him strength, and when he squeezed back, she smiled at him before he took his hand from hers and lifted it to the gate, knocking three times loudly. He swallowed heavily, taking a deep breath that he forgot to let out for several moments. This was it, his panic moment, if he didn't flee now, the gate would open and everything would be confirmed for him, he couldn't pretend in his heart that this was anything other than a depressing reality.

The moment was stolen from him, as seconds after his fist left the gate, he could hear someone approaching. They were smaller than anyone who should be here, and the cold knot in Ranma's stomach grew heavier. Whoever it was didn't bother asking who it was, instead opening the gate quickly. The heavy wooden portal swung open into the yard, and standing before him was a child, only a few years younger than him actually, well, not anymore. Shaking his head to clear the confusing train of thought from his mind, he opened to introduce himself.

"I'm..." The girl cut him off, excitement written across her features.

"Saotome Ranma." She spoke, the smile threatening to split her features. "I can't believe you're really here." The girl was nearly vibrating in place. Confused, the raven haired man spoke again.

"Can we come in?" She knew who he was, so maybe this wouldn't be as the dread situation he imagined.

"Sure." Her voice was level now, calm. She seemed to have gotten her excitement contained, and allowed them passed her as she closed the gate. Ranma, for his part, was moving into the yard to stare at the koi pond that he was so very familiar with when it happened.

Kiima could only stare as the girl who'd greeted them with such enthusiasm launched herself across the yard to attack Ranma, foot leading as she unleashed her martial prowess on the unsuspecting man.

Mu Tzu chuckled, observing the growing fight between the kid, Akane's by the look of her, and Ranma. It wasn't going anything like the fight's between him and the unskilled that he'd seen in years past. This kid was good, though her style was familiar, and not to either of her parents. He couldn't put his finger on it. Her ki was pulsing oddly as well, and he saw what it was after a few moments.

Their heartbeats, they had synchronized, and so their martial dance had become an interesting duet. Ranma never attacked the girl, evading each attack she sent at him by a hairsbreadth. The blind man could not see his expression, obviously, but the feel in his ki was familiar enough. Ranma was perplexed by this match, though why, Mu Tzu could not discern. The girl, for all her skill could hope only to get the pigtailed man's clothes dirty, and only by kicking up dust. Her well placed strikes were not swift enough to touch the man, though she did not seem over concerned about that fact.

"Rei, that's enough!" The stern voice of her father couldn't truly reach her, though her opponent seemed to hear what he was saying, and stopped her next punch with a single finger.

"Play time is over kid." He said seriously, before turning his head to the man who'd emerged from the house.

"Ryouga?" Seeing the recognition in the other man's eyes begin to light up, Ranma tried to break the tension he felt.

"You've gotten old, man." The confidence in his voice and face didn't reach beyond the physical. He was nervous, though nothing about him betrayed that. The fanged martial artist was dumbstruck for a moment, before he threw his hands in the air and laughed. Ranma's barb did exactly what the man had intended, it gave them an easy place to begin.

Their banter was doomed from the start, and before he could respond, the pigtailed man's glance slid past him, and rested somewhere that caused a cloud of something not quite distinguishable to pass over his features. Ryouga understood immediately what happened, turning, he reached for Akane, who stood frozen in the doorway. She had dreaded Ranma's return, far more than was reasonable, he couldn't understand it, and would not explain.

Breaking his gaze away from Akane, Ranma instead turned his eyes on the young girl, the couple's child he thought a touch of jealousy.

"Who taught you those moves?" He demanded of the girl, who shrunk a bit in on herself.

The girl mumbled something into her collar, scuffing her feet in the dust. Ranma's calloused hand clamped down on her shoulder, anger written across his features as his aura began to leak out of him.

"Y-you did." She spoke, shakily at first, and then at length. "You left a piece of yourself in the dojo, and I learned from watching your training." She finished strongly, her confidence returning as she gathered her spirit. Ranma, confused and worried, gazed at the girl, cocking his head to one side.

"Call out your aura." He said sternly, a master calling out a pupil. Ryouga frowned, and looked about to say something until he felt his wife squeeze his hand. He took a moment to glance at her, finding her shaking her head at him. Akane knew something he didn't, and they would wait until later to discuss it. With a sigh and grimace, the fanged martial artist turned his disapproving gaze back on the scene before him with his daughter and oldest friend.

Rei turned to look at her father, and seeing his stony gaze, returned to looking at Ranma. She did as he commanded then, calling within herself for the wellspring of her spirit. She knew where her power lay, though it was inconsistent in its willingness to respond to her command. She felt nervous; would she be able to pull it off with her hero standing there? She felt uneasy, and her empty stomach threatened to rebel. Her concentration faltered, and the power that she had been coaxing vanished. She opened her eyes, looking up into the impatient storm of Ranma's blue-grey orbs. A breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding expelled violently from her lips. Drawing in another deep breath she felt his gaze piercing her, she wanted to look away, but felt it in her soul that if she did she would lose any respect he might hold for her.

She could do this, she knew she could, she'd done it countless times since she'd learned how. She knew she could, she had performed a technique more complex against her father only days ago. She had no doubt, refused to acknowledge doubt, and then she felt it again, the confidence, the power. Acting then upon that certainty she grasped her ki, felt it sing in her veins, as it burst forth. It was not the bonfire that her father suppressed, nor was it the potent flame her mother could summon, but it was there, it was enough. Time stood still, and she kept her eyes locked with his, though she knew her brow was screwed up in concentration, her focus requiring too much to do anything but stare at him with the defiance she felt. She would prove herself.

Ranma gazed at this girl, who inexplicably knew his style. She knew the motions, and he could see from her eyes that she understood the philosophy. He had created the kata and techniques of his nameless style to be his master stroke, his contribution to the Anything Goes. These techniques, once complete would have seen him a master, a worthy peer to his father who had created a style too potent for use, and sealed them away. The Umisenken and Yamasenken had to be sealed away because they proved too dangerous for use even by the trained, ambition and weakness in the heart would corrupt and destroy the user. His style had the same problem. He had never gotten the opportunity to complete it.

"That's enough." He said roughly, seeing the signs he had feared to see in the girl's aura. She had used the style too much, and was too receptive to her opponent. Already he knew that the defiance and confidence that she felt were not her own, they were his. Her confidence left unchecked would become arrogance, which would become her destruction. He didn't know for certain how to correct it, hadn't had someone other than himself to see the problem truly. Now he had that pupil.

His thoughts were interrupted as he gazed up at Ryouga, and found his eyes instead drawn to Akane. She knew. He realized with dread. She saw the techniques for what they were, self-destructive. He remembered the past with a smile. Akane, for all her stubborn pride and anger, had known him well, better than any but his father. That was the past.

"I can do it, but you'll need to work with me…" He'd already forgotten the girl's name; his memory for names had never improved. She though seemed to sense this, and turned her gaze to her parents. Ryouga looked dubious, though when he looked from his wife to his best friend he felt those doubts vanish. Ranma had never failed in anything he set himself to do, even when it had cost his life.

"Rei, you'll be training with Ranma while he's staying here." Ryouga sketched a quick glance at the long haired man, who subtly nodded to him after looking for the same from the platinum haired woman.

Rei felt the weight crash against her as she realized that she would now be training, not under the tutelage of a memory, but under her style's master. Saotome Ranma had been a legend that none could match, and now he was a titan before her. She knew that the training would be intense, but the confidence that she felt made her sure that she would prevail. She would earn his respect.

Location Unknown

Happousai awoke, his entire body screaming in agony, but there was more of it. Beneath the terrible pain he knew that his wish had been granted. Struggling against the new sensations of vitality and drained strength he turned his head. Elder Hwai Nyu Ren, though she looked nothing like an elder now, writhed under the same feeling of brutalization. Happousai felt something in himself stir that hadn't in decades, her lithe body was not covered nearly as well as it had been before. The robe that had been volumous on her tiny frame before was tantalizingly short now. Ratty white hair had darkened to a deep pink, and skin folded and wrinkled like parchment had smoothed, moisture and youth suited her well, and the way her body moved…

A shiver ran through Happy as he felt his loins stir. Glorious vitality! The feeling was too much for him, and though pain dominated his existence, something more primal flooded him. Fighting his weakness, he moved to the woman, who he now saw was awake. Her eyes locked with his, and in them he saw the same carnal desires.

As they joined, and the lust peaked, both felt the other presence among them. It was a demon, a primordial evil that they had unleashed, malignance warped their perceptions, bent their attention to a being of indescribable horror. It took the shape of a man, though that was where the resemblance to a mortal ended. The flesh was as shadows, without true definition, and there seemed to be something moving beneath the surface. A statue of deepest obsidian, though it did not shine in the light. The awesome power the thing radiated forced their verve to subside, and they parted, yearning welling up within them as the magnificence of their newfound physicality vanished. Still, the abyss demanded their attention. Its will struck them, and they were bent into subservience. Hawi Nyu Ren first found her voice, and quavering, she spoke.

"What is thy bidding, my master?"

To Be Continued…

A/N: Wow, this didn't come out quite the way I wanted, but I feel it's close enough. I've got a 16 unit course load right now, so it's kind of hectic for me. Hope you all enjoy. Oh! Please review, yeah?