Under the Cresent Moon
 
by Lord Overon

Part I

Akane Tendo was sitting in Dr. Tofu's Clinic sipping some tea while the good doctor filled her in on some on the more mundane aspects of her job. She stared at him intently, though not for the information but to trace the lines of his face as he spoke. He was the only man she knew who matched up to what she liked in a man. He was kind, gentle, knowledgeable and always knew what so say to clam her what she was in trouble. A crash in the next room alerted them to the presence on another individual.
 
 

Coming out of the other room or rather through the wall separating the two rooms, Akane's partner in crime, Ryouga Hibiki, blundered into the meeting.

"It's good to see that you've made it Ryouga," congratulated Tofu.

"I set out extra early this time," he confessed and gave Akane one of his best smiles. She smiled back, bringing stars to his eyes.

"Now as I was saying, recently there have been some slayings in the area. Now who's doing them is what I'd like to find out. The only reason I can see for this happening is if two different clans are vying for power and if that is the case then we are likely to have more trouble. Feeding should increase if they want to keep up their strength. You both have to be on the lookout. Nabiki's been trying to get a new list of places for us to look but her list is getting short. Well it's time for school so I will see you two later."

"Hai sensei, I'll see you this afternoon for the rounds."

Ryouga nodded stating that he would also be there. Akane grabbed his hand as customary and led him to the school. She knew that he had no chance of finding it himself and he did not mind holding another girl's hand, especially if this girl was Akane Tendo.
 
 

Dust soon came to the Nerima District of Tokyo and three would be hunters were out that night searching for their prey. Their prey was very elusive, not that they were any different from any other prey- they had their weaknesses- but they were also able to hide. And hide very well.

With a sack on each of their backs, the three headed towards the area that had the most activity the few nights before intent on catching some action themselves. The sound of fighting was coming from the area and they rushed to the site of the noise. What they saw before their eyes amazed them!

Not one, not two, but ten of the prey circled a person at the centre. They attacked the person and it seemed that they hit but the person did not cry out in agony nor did he stumble. Attacks came and the person moved within around and through, until they heard the snapping of wood.

"I'm through playing," he said. With that voice, it most definitely had to be a man.

A wave of death descended upon the prey. One by one they died, their bodies dissolving into mist. One by one, they were cleansed of their curse. The man landed in a crouched position after executing what seemed to be an impossible flip for a normal person.

They approached him and were two metres away when he spoke.

"They were young," he said. "The older ones will be harder to kill. Be on your toes young slayer, Tokyo has been targeted."

Akane was barely able to get out a syllable before he jumped and in a couple of jumps he was beyond their sight.

"Did you see that!" shouted Akane excitedly.

"I think we all did," replied Tofu.

"Do you think he's a slayer?" asked Ryouga.

"No, there's no chance of that. Only women can be slayers but he might know another one. What concerns me more is what he last said. 'Tokyo will be targeted.' I wonder what that means."

"Back to the patrol?" asked Akane.

"No," replied Tofu. "I'm sure we won't find anything tonight. Anyway it a school night and you two ought to be doing some school work."

"Hai!" they replied and wandered off in the opposite direction as they parted ways with Tofu.
 
 

After some time…

"Ryouga, do you think he could be a slayer?"

"Dr. Tofu already said that he couldn't, why?"

"The way he moves. He's good really good. It looked as if he was just playing with them."

"He could be a martial artist. I'm one and I can easily handle one of them."

"Yeah, but could you handle ten? And so easily? It looked as if they never touched him."

Ryouga was getting quite upset that the girl that was his girlfriend or rather hoped that she would be his girlfriend in the immediate future, was thinking about some other boy that they had just met a few minutes ago.

"I could do that!" he announced.

Akane looked at him suspiciously. "I sure you could Ryouga-kun," she answered, trying not to sound sarcastic.

Ryouga thinking he had won the battle dropped the topic, one that Akane kept drumming through her head.

If there was another slayer, then her job would be a lot easier and she would be able to spend some more time with Tofu in the clinic without having to go on her rounds. It was a perfect situation. Now all she had to do was find this boy, and she would find the other slayer. The only problem though was that she did not have any leads. That meant she had to go to the person with the most information on everyone she knew: Nabiki.

**************
 
 

"How was it?" she asked.

"It went well mother," he replied.

"You look tired," she continued.

"Not tired, thinking. They are out there. I can feel them. But they are waiting. Time for them is nothing. They will wait until the time is right."

"My son you know I can no longer stay with you otherwise questions will be asked. Questions I do not yet want to face. Do you know what you are going to do?"

"Yes mother, all is well. I know what must be done and it will be done. I will be alright. If there is any difficulty I will send word."

She kissed him on the forehead.

"Be well until next we meet."

"Goodbye mother."

She flinched when she heard him say that. He had only said that word twice before to her knowledge and the circumstances they were in made her worry.

***********
 

Akane and Ryouga trudged alone in the dark once again making their usual rounds. Three weeks had passed since their first meeting with the stranger and there had been no sighting of him since then. She had thought about him -too much she admitted to herself- but for some reason she hoped he would become a permanent fixture in the ward. She could do with a break and a nice long holiday.

A sudden movement in an alley caught her interest and soon she was running towards the disturbance. When she turned the corner into the alleyway, she found nothing there except a cat. A cat that had been slit open at the throat. Something was written in blood on the pavement and Akane flicked on the penlight she carried.

"The Red Fist is coming slayer."

That was what it read. And that was what gave Akane the chills.

"It won't be too long now," spoke someone behind her.

She whirled around in anticipation only to face the shadows and another hidden within the shadows.

"They will be coming. Not now, they want you to wait. But they will come. Be prepared slayer, the world is not what it seems."

She struggled so to shout something to him, to ask something, but by the time she could force anything out of her mouth, the figure was gone. Shaking her head in disbelief she exited the alley and by pure coincidence found Ryouga wandering close by. She closed the gap and soon enough they were heading back to the clinic. If anyone knew what was going to happen, it would be Dr Tofu.
 
 

At the clinic...

"And he said they would be coming."

Akane nodded her head again.

"This is very peculiar...hmm."

Akane looked at him with wonder. She had always wondered how come he knew so much about things she had never heard of.

"I think we may have stumbled onto an anomaly here. I have heard from my counterparts that there are a few of the undead who are able to resist the temptation and the taint after they have been taken over. Usually they become so weak that the others easily kill them but this one seems strong. Akane, he might just be another vampire."

"What, no way!"

"How else can you explain those amazing feats he performed? I agree that Ryouga sometimes defies human logic with his martial arts at times, but not even he could defeat more than five at any one times without your help and this man took down ten."

"Still he can't be..."

"True I am just theorising but if it is true then you must handle yourself carefully next time," he cautioned. "He can even creep up on you and that's not good. If those he is warning you against are even close to his ability, you will find yourself in difficulty."

"Hai sensei...what do you suggest we do."

"You and Ryouga should practice. The more you do, the better you will get. You are naturally enhanced, but it is time for you to make use of your training partner. And Ryouga, you must stop holding back."

Ryouga looked a bit abashed as if one of his secrets had been revealed.

"Holding back!" exclaimed Akane.

""I know for a fact that Ryouga has been holding back against you. He might not like the idea of hurting you but it is better for him to hurt you than for someone or something else to."

Akane turned to Ryouga.

"Have you been holding back?"

Ryouga slowly nodded the affirmative.

"That's sweet but I need you not to. Can you do that for me?"

She flashed him one of her winning smiles and he couldn't help but agree with her. Only after a few seconds did the consequences of his promise sink in. He frowned deeply. He did not want to hurt Akane but he had just promised her that he would. Damn that man who told Akane those things!

"Good, we should get some practice now!"

Ryouga sighed as he was led back to the Dojo. How was he supposed to attack her without really hurting her?
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hours later, Kasumi helped Akane nurse a small bruise on her forearm while Ryouga guiltily watched.

"It's okay Ryouga, really. I won’t get better if I don’t get knocked around a bit."

Ryouga nodded his head slowly. It made sense to him but he did not like it at all.
 
 
 
 

A new girl had ventured the halls of Furiken High school. She was not the typical sort of girl. Indeed her long hair was pulled into a braid that made her seem unsightly. The thick glasses she wore did not help the picture, nor did the over-conservative uniform that stretched the limits of the school rules on uniforms in the other direction that most teachers would not have expected from a girl. There was nothing particularly eye catching about the girl. She slumbered around at a snail's pace and sat to the back of the class with probably the only person who knew she existed. She had been introduced as a new student weeks before but the din of noise and her seeming lack of feminine progress in certain areas had deemed her sub-normal, which was fine with her. In fact, the only person who took notice of her was the other person in the class who was usually overlooked himself: Hikaru Gosunkugi. To call the interaction between them friendship would be glorifying their relationship a bit too much. Acquaintance was more like it. He knew who she was and she him. They sat next to each other at the back of the class where the teacher forgot completely about their presence. Even acquaintance might be an overstatement when you really thought about it.

The similarities were close. They were both in the same class and were treated the same way by the others in their class. They could almost be called social outcasts except for the fact that they were in class. They ate by themselves and troubled no one. The each had their own secrets. Hikaru his magical arts and the girl, the girl had one that was many times darker than his. So dark in fact that the mere idea of it was frightening to the most staunch religious devotee.

The said girl was sitting quietly under a tree away from all of the other students; away from the noise. Her lunchbox lay empty before her and the wrapping folded neatly into a pile. The thick blanket of shade hid her from the view of most but if one were to strain the eye from a certain angle, one could have seen an image of her. One would probably have noted that her eyes were closed, what one may have overlooked was a dark blue aura that seemed to rise just slightly off her clothes and her skin. Her arms were folded below her breasts and her chest rose with the slow even monotone of a deep sleep. She however was not sleeping and when the bell rang, she was already moving towards the entrance of the school.
 
 
 
 

Gymnastics. They were supposed to practice gymnastics. The idea did not appeal to her. She did not need practice so she hid behind the others listening to their idle gossip to amuse herself as the time passed. Gossip meant nothing to her. They were the carrion on the field, the lambs to be slaughtered. It amused her sometimes to think about them like that but that was exactly what they were to the other side. She leaned against the wall thinking absorbed in her own thoughts.
 
 

Akane easily breezed through the exercises. They were nothing compared to what she could do. She landed on the mat with a thud without losing her balance but when she looked at the instructor to see what mark he had given she was disappointed with the 9.2 he held up.

"Not graceful enough," he told her as she passed by for his reason. She bit back her anger and returned to her seat. She had beaten everyone else in the class by a wide margin though and that soothed her temper.

"Ranma Saotome!" he shouted. "Saotome!"

"Hai sensei," was the delayed reply from the back of the group.

"You're up next," he informed.

She walked up towards him.

"Ah…sensei. I would prefer not to take part…"

"Miss Saotome," he replied as he cut her off. "I don’t know where you went to school before but here all students have to pass Physical Education. Even Mr. Voodoo over there," he responded as he pointed over to Hikaru. Maybe his secret really wasn't a secret?

She didn't move towards the equipment.

"I'll make it easy for you. Choose which one you think will be the easiest and you can do that exercise."

She gave him a slightly annoyed look and then stared at the gym, then at the students. All of them were eager. Eager to see her fail, eager to see her humiliated. She cracked her knuckles and smiled as she walked over to the bars. Air was her element. She had seen gymnastics once during her travels. She had received a refresher course by watching the other students and she knew what was expected. Their eyes were on her as she walked to the bars. She knew they would expect her to fall from them. The baggy pants and shirt she wore did not grace her figure too well but she had an excuse for them. She rubbed her hands together and reached for the lower bar.

She swung on the lower bar and with the momentum she had, she released it a casually reached for the higher bar. She easily found purchase with the one hand then held onto the bar with both hands as she swung around to gain momentum. When she thought she had barely enough, she released her hold and did a double somersault to the lower one which, instead of catching with her hands head first she caught with her hands behind her head feet first. She heard the gasps and smiled as she swung around and released, flipping in the air and catching the other bar blindly. She swung around the bar twice and ended simply with a triple tumble, landing soundlessly on the mat.

There was no sound from the other students or from the teacher so she simply went back to the place she had been sitting before. Stunned the teacher only motioned that class was finished. Everyone turned around to find her but by that time, she had disappeared.
 
 

Akane searched. She searched the whole school for the girl but that had been the last period and the girl had simply disappeared. No one she knew had seen the girl. That had been amazing! She had never seen anyone do anything that spectacular in her life and she made it seem so easy. She knew about grace but that, that was not grace, that was…She could not think of a word for it. Maybe this girl could teach her how to do things like that. It might not come in handy but maybe it would change the view of a certain doctor towards her a little more.

She was almost about to give up when she spied her sister walking out of the school building.

"Nabiki! Hey, wait!"

Nabiki turned around. "Akane, what's up?" she asked.

"Do you know where that redhead girl in my class lives?" she asked.

"Why?"

"She knows some ahh…cool moves that might help me in my extracurricular activities."

That had Nabiki's interest. If it could help with that, it made it important for her to find out.

"Hold on a minute."

Nabiki brought out her portable laptop. She was lucky she had brought it to school to get a software upgrade from someone who owed her. After the system booted and she checked her files, she brought up the names of people in Akane's class and their descriptions. She clicked on the redhead and found the address of the girl. Nabiki gave Akane the address and watched in bewilderment as her sister sprinted off in that direction.

Nabiki was about to shut down her computer when she decided to move that file to one of the 'pending'. Anyone who could help her sister in any way deserved a bit more attention. If the girl refused to help Akane maybe she could find some means of convincing her. She read the name 'Saotome Ranma'. Strange to give a girl a boy's name but then it wasn't all that strange. She wondered if Akane even knew Ranma's name. With her sister it was a possibility.
 
 

Akane ran to the street that her sister had given her then started searching for numbers. She walked down checking the numbers then finally she found the right one. When she looked up though, the place was a diner, not a house. Maybe the girl's family owed the business. She shrugged her shoulders and entered.

"Hello, how may I help you?" asked the matron as she entered.

"Uh, I'm looking for…" What was her name again? "A girl, with red hair about so tall," described Akane with gesticulations.

"Oh Ranma!" called the woman.

A boy returned from behind a curtain with several trays on his hand and arms and shoulders. How could he hold so much and how could they not fall when he opened the curtains?

"There's a girl here to see you!"

"Hello, do I know you?" he asked.

"I'm looking for a girl, red hair, blue eyes, about that tall."

He knew whom she was talking about and he also knew why she wanted to talk to her. He also knew who she was. He had been keeping an eye on her.

"Wait a minute and I'll try and get her for you."

He disappeared behind the curtains again.

"He's a very nice young man," informed the matron making Akane blush slightly. "Those muscles, that body, I'm sure a girl like you would find him attractive."

Akane did not quite know how to answer that.

"If you want, I can arrange for you to meet him somewhere, secretly of course. Wouldn't want anyone knowing would we?"

The blush in Akane's face was rising, just what did this woman think she came for? She was not that kind of girl!

"It would be nice to see Ranma go out with some girls, all he ever does is stay in his room all night."

Was that what she meant? Akane blushed again more because of what she thought the woman meant that what she said?

"That's nice," responded Akane not quite so sure how to reply to the woman.

"Hello Akane."

"Hello, um ah…"

"Ranko."

"Yeah, ah Ranko, I was wondering if you would show me some of that stuff you did in the gym today."

"You mean gymnastics."

"Yeah, that's it."

"Why?"

"Well I just want to. Could you show me, please?" pleaded Akane.

"I don’t know, I have to help here…"

"Well you could come over for dinner tonight."

"Maybe, but it might be better if Ranma taught you. He's better at it than me."

"Okay then he'll come over tonight then."

"Tonight."

"Cool I'll be waiting."

When she left, the matron smiled at her.

"That's a nice girl, she's the daughter of one of the most respectable men in the town. She's quite lovely don’t you think?"

"Yes," she replied idly not really thinking about what the matron had said. She had agreed for a reason. If she could get to the Tendos that made her job a lot easier. This was a good idea. This would help her greatly in her cause.
 
 
 
 

Ranma sat on the wall surrounding the Tendo estate. He had not been here himself but he knew what happened here from the information he received. He knew which room was whose and who could be found where at what time. With a little hop he was on the path and a short walk brought him to the door. There was a bell on the door and he took the leisure of using it instead of calling out his presence. After he pressed it, a beautiful girl wearing an apron greeted him. She exuded an aura of kindness and tranquility: a prime target.

"Hello?" she asked again.

"Oh sorry, I'm here to see Akane Tendo," he replied.

"Oh, Nabiki told me to expect a girl. Oh well, Akane is in the back in the Dojo. Let me show you."

"Arigato," he replied and followed the girl to the Dojo.

He stood there in the doorway with Kasumi and she was about to call out his name when his raised hand silenced her.

"I need to assess her skill before I can train her," he replied to the unasked question.

Kasumi raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Ryouga was the only other boy Akane had ever trained with, maybe she was finding new friends...that was nice to know.

Ranma had lied of course he had seen her train. He had even seen her train with the boy and that was beyond pathetic compared to some of the training he had received. The boy could give him a challenge but the methods he used were pathetic compared to the ones he would employ if given the chance. The boy was good, but Ranma knew the boy would not use the best methods of teaching because Ranma knew the boy did not want to hurt Akane. In the past he would have done the same thing, but now his outlook on life was different. In fact, his whole life was different. He had another purpose to fulfil and for that he could not waste any time.

Akane finished her exercises and her katas and when relaxing from her workout, her eyes came upon the form of the boy leaning on the doorway.

"You came," she remarked between puffs.

"I said I would," he replied. He walked closer towards her. "You seem tired, perhaps we should start this tomorrow."

"No, it'll just take me a minute to catch my breath," she informed.

"More than a minute," he thought. "A lot more than a minute."

He sat down and waited for her.

"What are you doing?" she asked when she fully regained her composure.

"Waiting for you," he replied matter-of-factly.

"Don't you have any warm up exercises to do?" she asked

"I don't have to do any," he replied to which Akane smiled. If he did not have to do any exercises and she was sure she was a martial artist then this would be easy. She would be able to learn the exercises in a short time and then show that sensei a thing or two about marking her down. She might even beat that red head girl; his sister.

"I'm ready then."

"Are you sure?" he asked. She nodded.

"How strong are you?"

"I can lift those over there," she commented with pride as she pointed to the weights across the hall. Ranma went over and tested them, picking the 150-pound pair of weights with one hand. They were the ones with the best grip on them. Akane gaped as he casually brought them over to her and handed them to her, almost threw them in reality.

"Hold those," he instructed. She held them up as if to do curls.

"Now follow the kata."

Ranma began a slow kata.

"You want me to do that while I'm holding these!" she remarked incredulously.

"Yeah, it helps build your upper body strength and control when you actually start training. If you can do the kata with the weights and you can do it gracefully with the weights then you can do it gracefully without the weights. That's why you wanted to learn gymnastics wasn't it. But if it's too much for you..."

"I can do it!" she replied angrily. "I'll show you I can do it," she thought angrily. No boy was going to say that she could not do anything. He was not going to insult her in her own Dojo and tell her that she could not do...whatever it was he was going to do.

"Right, let's start then."

After five minutes...

"Does it have to be so slow?" she complained.

"It won't be graceful if you do it faster. What kind of a tomboy are you? At least ...my sister can do that easily."

"I am not a tomboy!" shouted Akane. She raised her hand to fling the weights at him.

"So you're gonna throw that at me huh?" he asked as he stopped the kata. He scratched his head then an idea came to him "Then I guess I can't teach you anything. Geez too bad Ranko thought you could give her some competition. Oh well I guess you're not that good then."

"What! I'll show you! I'll beat your sister. Come on what are you waiting for I've got some training to do!"

Ranma smirked and began the kata again. He would have to do some research and see if there was anything called Martial arts Gymnastics.

Hours later when Ryouga finally found the Tendo Dojo again and emerged from the furo, he found Akane with an expression on her face that told him she had just been introduced to the realm of real exercise.

"Uh, Akane-san, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Remember those weights use sometimes use for training..."

He nodded he knew which ones he was talking about.

"I've been dancing with them for the last two hours. I have a sadist for a gymnastics teacher and the worse thing is that I challenged his sister. Oh Ryouga what am I going to do?" pleaded Akane. At that moment however, Soun happened to enter having heard everything.

"Oh daughter," he began wailing. "Finally you have sought the true training of the Anything Goes School. Oh I am so proud!"

"Dad! What do you mean the true training."

"Oh how I remember the days with the Master training from dawn till dusk...pushing ourselves to the limit. The life of a martial artist is fraught with peril and only training will make you better..."

"What does that mean!" screamed Akane.

"I think little sister," informed Nabiki. "That dad here is glad that you are in pain."

"What!" she shouted at her father.

"Waaaahh! My little girl is shouting at me!" he wailed in reply.

Nabiki shook her head. That was so embarrassing, and when would her little sister ever stop and think before acting.

"What he meant Akane," she emphasised, "Is to compliment you for taking your martial arts training so seriously."

Soun nodded vigorously.

"Oh?" replied Akane "Thanks dad!" Then she gave him a bone-crushing hug which may have actually crushed some bones since Ryouga did hear a small popping sound.
 

Ryouga was not a happy camper simply because someone had caused his Akane pain and even though she did not mind it, he would teach this person a lesson on how his Akane-san should be trained. The only thing was that he did not know who the boy was and that was a problem. He could find out though, there was always Nabiki or he could ask Akane, but he did not want Akane getting in the way of a man to man fight.

He was being led again by the hand to the clinic. He liked having to hold her hand but also  resented it a bit. It reminded him that he got lost easily while also gave him this sort of euphoric feeling that Akane-san would hold his hand. He blushed again as she continued to lead him along the way. Luckily she was not focusing on him so he could intently stare at her beautiful face as they walked along.

When they sat down in the clinic the amusement was quite evident on Tofu's face.

"So Akane, I see Ryouga's starting to train you harder. I can sense you've been exercising pretty strenuously."

Akane blushed slightly and took her eyes off him as she glowed in his praise. "Thanks Tofu-sensei, but it wasn't Ryouga. It was a friend of mine's brother who's teaching me gymnastics."

"Gymnastics?" sputtered Ryouga. "You could have asked me Akane-san."

"You can do gymnastics too?" inquired Akane. Ryouga nodded. "That's great! Then you can train me and we can challenge the both of them!" Ryouga nodded vigorously. Beating the boy who had dared to strain his Akane-san appealed to him.

"No," voiced Tofu.

"Huh," replied Akane and Ryouga simultaneously.

"It's best if you keep training with this boy. He might be able to teach you some new things for your nightly activities."

"Hai," they replied unquestioningly. Or more likely Akane replied and Ryouga followed her lead.

Tofu knew he was duping them but he was doing it for a reason. He knew Ryouga would not train Akane as hard as he could and this boy did not seem to have any qualms about pushing Akane to her limits. He would have to look into this new trainer.

"Akane, you should bring this boy around the next time, I would like to meet him."

"Okay, I'll see if he wants to come tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" inquired Ryouga.

"Yeah, he says the only way I could even pose a challenge to his sister was if I trained every day." "Lousy jerk," she muttered under her breath.

Ryouga clenched his fists. So that was it. This boy wanted to take his Akane-san away from him. He would not allow it. He did not care about the delusional kendoist but he knew this boy could be trouble.

Tofu nodded his head absentmindedly. It was time to do the rounds. His hands wrapped around a small sleek kitten he had found a week or so ago. He scratched behind its ear enliciting a contented purr. This boy's training would be good for Akane in the long run. He was sure of it.
 
 
 
 
 

Ranma sat on a beam above the gym waiting and noting what was going on between him. He had asked the matron about Martial Arts Gymnastics and was surprised that there actually was a yearly competition in the art. She told him that St. Hebereke had won the competition for the last few years and that was why he was intently looking at the forms the girls below him practised. He smiled at the forms, they were easy to copy. He realised that with this form, weapons were the sole means of attacking your opponent. He frowned at that. He did not like using weapons but it did not make a difference to him either way. He also frowned at some of the more esoteric weapons being used. He saw a hoop slice through a block of wood and imbed itself in the concrete floor. Dangerous…

When the practice was over, he waited until all were gone before he jumped from his perch onto the mat below. He fingered the weapons he girls had been using then the dangerous weapon he had seen. Only one of the girls used the dangerous ones confirming his suspicions that he had seen before hand. She was the leader. She was also probably slightly gone. That maniacal laugh was irritating. He felt the presence of someone returning and jumped back onto the beams above and silently out of the gym. He had some planning and training to do.
 
 

At school the next day, Ranko was surprised to find herself being beckoned by Akane. Shrugging she walked across to Akane and sat next to her.

"So are you ready?"

"Ready for what?" Ranko asked puzzled.

"Didn't your brother tell you that I challenged you?"

"You did, why, how?" asked Ranko totally confused. When had she been challenged? She didn't remember Akane challenging her.

"Well he kinda taunted me and I fell for it and told him that I'd beat you in a fight."

"Oh?" replied Ranko. Now she remembered. The taunting, she forgot Akane had said that. She didn't even realise that she had been challenged. It wasn't a problem though. That gave her more reason to train Akane.

"So where should we fight?" asked Akane.

"You're the challenger, you tell me," replied Ranko.

"Okay, my Dojo, next week."

"No problem..."

Ranko would have continued but a couple of Akane's friends came up and started chatting idly with her. Ranko did not follow most of the conversation and since Akane's attention was no longer on her she decided to surreptitiously leave.

Akane turned her head after talking to Sayuri for a second to find Ranko gone. She frowned a little then headed off after Sayuri.
 
 
 

For the next few days Ranma and Akane made an arrangement where Ranma would meet Akane in the Dojo after school and not bother going into the house. This was partly due to the fact that Akane did not want her dad seeing her training. The things that boy made her do! She could not believe that he made her one-hand push-ups for over and hour then had her jump through small hoops without hitting the side until she could do it perfectly. He even had her juggling while doing katas. The only reason she did not complain was the fact that if he told her to do it, then his sister could do it and Akane knew she could beat his sister. Ranma -that was the boy's name- his training methods might be strange but if training with him would allow her to defeat the girl, then so be it.

Ranma had Akane juggling weights while keeping a ball aloft in the air when Kasumi walked in for Akane. They had started practice late that day since Akane had a field trip that day. Ranma was showing Akane what she should do to make herself more graceful while Akane tried not to throw things at him. When she threw them though Ranma always caught them before they hit him and that irked her more than anything.

"Akane, Dr. Tofu is on the phone for you." Akane dropped everything and ran to the phone. Ranma glanced at the sun as it peeped down below the horizon then he saw something that made him shiver. He spied the moon coming into view. The moon wasn't the problem, its colour was. It was a haze orange-red colour: a blood moon. Damn...he would have to be on the lookout tonight. He was about to leave when he remembered Akane. That could not be helped. With a few leaps, he was out onto the roofs of Nerima searching for his prey.

He sat on the roof as the dark came and lets his senses open out to the places where he could 'see' them or 'smell' them. There were things he could do not that he did not know how he could do but he did not ask either. Nothing, as yet. They would be out and where they were, he would find them.
 
 
 

The Red Claw sat there with one of the newly born. She was beautiful in a different way from all he had caught. He had not touched her as yet for if he did she would lose her importance to him. She was his bait. All he needed was a bite and she would rid him of that pest he had back in Peking. He knew the boy knew he was coming here and that was why he had to get rid of the boy. All his plans centred on this little city. Once he had the city the country would be his since this country in particular had no army to oppose him. All he needed to do was influence certain people. He drank deeply from the goblet he had been given.

The girl stared at the goblet. She had not tasted yet and he took great lengths to make sure she did not. The bond between them was not great as she had not drank of him to become fully what she would be. He had promised her the goblet and a position, once her job was complete. He knew she desired greatly for the job to be complete.
 
 

Ranma waited. He knew they would be out any minute now. He wondered if Ryouga and Akane would be ready and he somehow knew that this Tofu was probably a watcher of sorts. He donned the mask he always wore and stretched his senses again. He would find them tonight.

He waited and watched and soon something assaulted his senses. He smelt them, saw them moving through eyes that seemed not his own yet were. Unconsciously he began to move towards them, seeking them out like prey for the killing because that was what they were, his prey, and they had to be killed. He smelled the taint of fresh blood in the air. He would have to hurry to save another soul from being lost in the eternal abyss that came with the transformation.

He spied them. They were over twenty and were all intent on feasting. Most of them were newly born, he could smell it. One jump had him in the midst of them and he began his slow and deadly dance. He became death for it was one of death's messengers he served. Every attack was flawlessly executed from his father's style and one by one his attackers were defeated. This was part of him, the waiting, and the fighting. He had been born with it in his veins and he could feel the blood flow within him.

Only his extra senses allowed him to judge a blow from a person he had not even sensed. It disappeared once again into the darkness around him and Ranma began to fight with the pureness of the art that made him almost invincible. There were only five around him. A complex series of punches in an aerial kata brought that number to two when that extra sense gave him the impulse to lean forward suddenly. The swoosh over his head told him that he had just missed being hit. This time though, he would not let his opponent disappear into the darkness. He swirled around and darted knowing that the other two would run back to their master. They may be inhuman but they were not stupid.

A strike came from the air above but this time he had been anticipating. He blocked the huge sheet of metal and stood shocked when he tried to get the scent of his attacker. It had been one he was familiar with. It was…but it couldn't be he was not a…but he was!

"Ucchan!" he shouted.

"Don't call me that you scoundrel!" she shouted back at him.

Ukyou was a girl not a boy as he had thought, but a girl!

He smelled her felt her through his senses. She was not one of them as yet, but she was strong. She had just been transformed and the energy that came from the transformation was sustaining her and giving her extra power that no normal inhuman possessed. Her state also allowed her to evade his senses for she had no real aura.

"I can help you Ucchan."

"I don't need any of your help. I've been searching for you for ten years since you and your father dumped me. I can't have my revenge on him, but I will have my revenge on you."

She kept up the inhuman pace of her attack but Ranma dodged. He did not think that she would do it. He had to at least give her a chance. She had been his friend at one time and for friendship's sake he would give her a chance. One chance was all he would give. One chance was all he could afford to give. He would not kill her now. Hurt her yes, but not kill her, not until the next time. That was when one of those he thought had run away attacked. He had been so focused on her that he had not sensed it and its kick connected, carrying him directly into the path of a spatula. It connected and Ranma was sent flying into a wall. He stayed there motionless but he was not gone. He was waiting. Waiting for the perfect opportunity.

She walked towards him with a mini spatula unsheathed and ready for use. She was only two feet away as he watched her through slitted eyes. He waited, if she did try to kill him then and there, he would be forced to kill her. No mistakes to clean up like before. This time, he would do it right!

Her hand flicked forward but nothing came out. She repeated the motion again with the same result. She had him where she wanted him. She had pursued him for so long. She gazed upon him and the memories began to besiege her. She could not shake them out of the head. She could not shake the image of a young boy who would play with her every day, who would smile, who would let her sleep on his tummy as they slept. She couldn't kill him she realised. For some reason, she just could not work up enough hate to do it. Ten years searching had finally brought him to her and seeing him again…she just could not work up the rage, the courage to do it.

"I can't kill you Ran-chan. I just can't," she whispered silently. That no one could hear, but he did hear for he was someone. Someone very different. "I cannot fulfil my pledge." Tears started to streak down her face and she ran.

She had been converted a week ago while searching for him and she yearned for that chalice that the red hand offered her when she killed him. But she could not kill him. She stared at her hands. They were cold now, very cold. She had not fed since she had been born and with every passing moment she could feel herself grow weaker. She knew what she had become, what she had been forced to become. The hunger was growing, it tore at her mind and at her soul but she could not give in. If she gave in, she would turn into one of them and that was the last thing she wanted to happen.

She saw what they did. She was powerless against them for he could sense her through them. She would not become one of them. With the last of her strength she scaled one of the tallest buildings around and waited. Dawn would break soon. She could not live with herself if she became one of them. With dawn, all that desire would be gone, all her dishonour would be gone, everything would be gone and she welcomed it.

"Why are you here?"

She turned around to see him sitting there behind her watching.

"Go leave me alone!" she shouted swinging a fist at him that he caught. He was strong. Much stronger than she had first realised.

"Not until you tell me why. How were you changed?"

"Red Claw," she answered. "He found me. He...he used me to find you. I did not understand then but after he...he..." she looked pleadingly into his eyes and she knew he understood. "He made me what I am once he knew you were here. Told me it would make me stronger."

"You're getting weaker," he informed her.

"I know that," she snapped. "But I don't want to turn into him. I don't want to do that for eternity."

"There is another way," he informed.

"No there isn't," she defended.

He closed the distance between her and took her hand.

"Ucchan trust me. There is another way."

"How?" she asked. She had been away from Red Claw for too and she was feeling very tired and very weak. All that exertion from the fight with Ranma was getting to her.

He picked her off the rooftop and hopped from one to the next until he was hopping along the roofs of the downtown shops. Within minutes before sunrise, he alighted in front of a door and slid it open, helping her inside. He carried her to a small room which had no window. It had been a closet but now it was no longer a closet. He took the glass of water he kept handy from the side of the room and splashed himself.

Ukyou stared at him.

"Ran-chan you..."

Ranma walked slowly towards where Ukyou lay and removed her slightly damp shirt and hung it to the side of the room. Ranma lay next to her.

"Ucchan, feed on me," she said quietly.

"No!" she replied aghast. "I can't, I can't I'll kill you Ranma!"

"You won't kill me Ucchan, you can't," Ranma replied and lay down on Ukyou chest, pushing away Ukyou's hands as they tried to stop her. "It may be that I might kill you," Ranma murmured softly.

Ranma bent her neck backward a little as she lay on Ukyou's chest. Her neck was fully exposed and Ukyou's heart began to beat wildly as she could smell and even taste the blood that was in Ranma.

"Ranma..."

Ranma placed her hand on Ukyou's cheek and caressed it. Then Ranma kissed her lightly at first on the cheek. It was beginning to take over now it was beginning to meld into her. Ranma  had given up something when she had been changed but she had been given something else. Now those wild urges threatened her once again. They were primal urges that she had inherited and she had fought hard to repress them but they were coming alive again as she could feel her body pressing against Ukyou. She fought for a little while then she realised that she did not want to but she had to. Instead of what she was urged to do, she rubbed her neck against Ukyou's lips, enticing her. Ranma knew that Ukyou would not be able to hold off for very long. She bent her neck knowingly and soon she felt the long caress of Ukyou's tongue against her neck, then the penetration. She gasped as she was bitten and as she felt her blood being drawn out. It was painful and pleasurable at the same time. She had heard that it was the pleasure that drew the victim until after a few nights, all the blood was drawn then the moment came. The moment that decided if the victim would pass to the other world or join the ranks of the undead. Ranma could feel the longing as each drop was removed from her. Such great pleasure. She had never felt pleasure of such great magnitude before and moaned deeply as Ukyou drank.

The fangs receded and Ranma found herself being flipped around so that Ukyou was now on top of her caressing her neck where she had bitten. When Ranma stared into Ukyou's eyes and saw the feral look in them Ranma knew that Ukyou had been saved.
 
 
 
 

There was no light in the room when Ukyou awoke. Her head throbbed slightly but she did not feel as weak as she had the other nights when she had been around the Claw. She felt soft hair against her face and realised that she was hugging Ranma. Ranma was a...a girl. It was a strange concept to think of and she knew she would get an explanation from her, or him. Whichever. She however was content to dwell within the pleasant sensations of flesh pressing against flesh. She had never been this close to someone especially a boy before and this boy...well girl at the moment was Ranma.

She couldn't do it last night. She could not kill him. She had him right in her sights and she knew she could have killed him if she tried but she just couldn't, not like that. It was then that she realised why she couldn't kill him. To kill him would be like killing part of herself she had never let go of. All her life had been wasted to find him and she had become something inhuman just for that purpose. In that one second she wondered if it was all worth it and in that brief second the answer had been 'no'.

She could smell Ranma, could smell and taste her blood. So strong...she knew Ranma would be strong but he was way beyond any of her expectations. The longing hunger was gone, replaced by something entirely different. She would have continued but the girl before her rolled over eyes open and smiled at her.

"Morning Ucchan."

Ukyou smiled. "Morning Ran-chan."

"It's time for me to go to school," Ranma informed. "You stay here and rest. You should feel very strong now, but it will only last a little time. You'll feel very tired in a little while." Ukyou did not comment but as Ranma began to get up to change, Ukyou held her around the waist and kissed her on the cheek.

"Thank you Ran-chan."

"Why?"

"You saved me."

"I hope you think so when I tell you what you've now become," Ranma replied a little worried.

Ukyou shook her head. "I've been searching for you for ten years. Nothing you say could make me leave."

Ranma smiled at her. "I've always dreamed of the times we had together," she spoke as she put some clothes on over her boxers. Then Ranma handed some clothes to Ukyou since she was at the time wearing less than a pair of boxers. The remains of the rags she had been wearing were in the corner of the room.

"These should fit you well enough."

Ukyou did not wait until Ranma left before she threw the cover off herself. Ranma blinked and turned around as she blushed. She however felt a feather kiss on her neck where she had been bitten.

"I hope you're not that shy Ran-chan. I don't think that's the last time I will need to feed."

Ranma turned around slowly and stared up into her face and put her arms around Ukyou in an embrace that almost begged for acceptance or forgiveness. "You don't know yet. I can't...we can't be friends yet. Tonight. I'll tell you tonight and then the choice is yours."

"What are talking about Ran-chan!"

"Tonight," she replied hastily as she opened the door. "Tonight I'll tell you."
 
 
 
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