Under the Crescent Moon

by Lord Overon

Part III

The distance covered by Ranma and Ukyou as they leaped was remarkable to say the least and Ukyou wondered at the godlike boundless strength that she seemed to have. Along with an appetite to go with it. She couldn't believe how much she had eaten at breakfast.

Ranma had somehow donned her black pants and red shirt as they bounded to Ukyou's amazement. She still had not figured out how Ranma was able to change so quickly. It was as if, with the snap of the fingers, the clothes transformed magically.

"Ran-chan where are we going?" she asked questioningly.

"Something is happening," replied Ranma.

"How do you know?" she asked slightly amazed. From since she had been with Ranma she had learned quite quickly that there were many mysteries surrounding him. Mysteries that he did not want to speak of as yet.

Ranma smiled and answered as if reading her thoughts. "Another one of my little secrets." She wondered if he could read her thoughts. She would not put it beyond him.

As they leapt to and fro, Ukyou finally felt something that chilled her slightly. She froze in place, trying to analyze that strange feeling that stretched from the base of her spine to her limbs, lingering on the tips of her fingers. Numbing the sense of touch in her fingers like cold ice. Ranma noticed her hesitation.

"Ucchan?"

"Something's here. I can feel it," she slowly replied pausing between sentences as she half-doubted her reasoning.

Ranma sniffed the air and something around the area did not smell right. "Yes, you're right. Something's here."

They moved further on as Ranma became attuned to the scent.

"How do you know what's going on?" she asked wondering if she learn something more about him.

Ranma smirked. "Just another one of my secrets..." he replied. Ukyou frowned slightly at the lack of substance in his answer but did not drill him further since she suddenly saw his eyes alight with a strange fire.

"Ucchan," he told her excitedly as he picked up a familiar scent, "Put on your hood! It's time to have some fun."

At first she was surprised at Ranma's eagerness but obligingly Ukyou slipped the mask on and then pulled the hood over her head. She did not understand why she needed this but Ranma told her that anonymity would be handy and she guessed he knew from experience. By the time she saw Ranma she was no longer a she but a he. Girl had changed to boy and his face was totally hidden from the light. Even his eyes were held under the shadow of the nape of his hood. She could tell that he was excited. She wondered how she could tell that. It was creepy. The time for introspection was over though when one leap later, she saw the brawl in front of them.

She clenched her fists in expectation and pulled out her trusty spatula. This was going to be fun. This was going to be part of her revenge for what was done to her. This she would enjoy.

They were fighting but she didn't care. They were who they were and she had become what she had become. The electroplated outer silver layer of her huge spatula glistened in the moonlight before it came down in one quick sharp movement, slicing two of the brawlers in half. Their death was almost instantaneous and soundless as their body-parts silently fell apart. She largely ignored everything else around her as her battle aura intensified simultaneously with her concentration and she began, in earnest, to engage in her desire to destroy all the bloodsuckers she could find. She did not care why they were fighting each other. She simply did not care for them at all. They were evil, they had taken what little innocence she had remaining in her life. They were the bane of her existence and...they were to be disposed of.

Slash! Slash! One fell after the other and she was ecstatic. Each slash was punctuated with her own combat style she had developed on the rocky seaside, and a bit of the anger she felt for being tricked into a life she did not care to have permeated into each attack. She did not care to reflect on the carnage she left behind, hopefully to rot for all eternity. They were dead once she was sure of that they did not warrant any more of their attention. She had cut off the feet of the last one and was bludgeoning it into paste when two hands wrapped around her. Infuriated that she had allowed one to sneak up on her she tried to flip out of the hold which would allow her to swing her spatula into the body of her assailant. Then whatever was foolish enough to touch her would have paid the price that went along with the prize. As she flipped though, whatever it was hooked her hand and by a foreign command her hand lost all sensations causing her to drop her weapon. Shocked she whipped her untouched hand for a mini-spatula when The thing holding her grabbed her tightly, removing any room for movement. It was only then that she looked up and saw who it was.

Those eyes, she always remembered those eyes...and she could picture that face...and the body to go with it. She mentally licked her lips and ceased her struggle as he held her.

"Ranma..." she murmured in a tone she had never before used. It was soft, sensuous almost like an amorous purr.

"Shh...it's okay Ucchan. It's dead."

She was almost annoyed that he had not reacted to her voice and she was confused momentarily as to why she felt that way. She followed his eyes and found herself looking at the bloody paste on the floor and fell back into his arms. Had she done that! She dropped the mini-spatula she had in her hand in a disheartening shock. She saw the carnage she had wrecked for the first time. Besides the severed limbs that greeted her, were skulls that had been cracked open, their contents oozing over the paved streets. Chests had been caved in as if sucked in by vacuum leaving ribs sticking sickly out of the carcasses. She shook uncontrollably for a second and Ranma caught her before she lost her footing.

Ranma hugged her tightly, allowing his touch and his warmth to soothe her senses. She buried her head in his chest when she awoke for her self-imposed trance. She stood there for a second holding her before slowly and reluctantly allowing her to regain her usual composure. He held her hand though and she accompanied him as he returned to some of the bodies he had disposed of earlier. They were killed in a little more humane way if there was such a thing. He had simply removed their heads from the base of the neck, leaving the glyphs exposed.

He lined up a few of the bodies and from them the difference was as clear as daylight. There were definitely two different glyphs. That and the fighting could only mean one thing. It would not be good for any of them if they were caught up in a challenge for power, or would it? A civil struggle within might do them a favour by diminishing their numbers. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise, he would have hated to think otherwise.

Suddenly his head perked up and Ranma furrowed his eyes as he picked up something with his senses. Someone was coming. It was the slayer.

"It's time to go," he told Ukyou quickly. "They will be gone in a little while."

Indeed the bodies were already dissolving into an ooze that would disintegrate soon. From dust you came and to dust you shall return....

"The slayer...I can feel her. She's coming isn't she?" asked Ukyou, wondering how she knew that.

Ranma was a little surprised. Just a little, he had had too many surprises in a short period of time and he was beginning to accept the unexpected as part of the norm.

"That's strange. We'll talk about this later."

With that they took to the roof and back to the window they usually entered during the night. However, they were so busy hiding that they did not see the figure peering at them from a hidden position. If one had night vision one could probably see that it had one red hand.

Akane Tendo and Tatewaki Kuno turned the corner. He was one of the less than liked of her helpers but he was useful with a bokken. He had promised also not to 'try and win his fair tigress at night.' During the day, though, he acted his normal self, which was to put it mildly, slightly annoying in Akane's mind. His company was not entirely unwanted since an extra pair of eyes never hurt though he was sometimes more of a problem than an aid. Those misquoted Shakespearean analogies of his were getting tiresome.

They froze momentarily as the visual perceptions they were receiving registered in their neural pathways. There were more than twenty bodies mutilated to varying degrees, dissolving into the earth. Finally finding something other than Kuno's ravings to capture her attention, Akane ran towards the bodies. Dismembered limbs were all around her. The last evidence of their presence was quickly disintegrating into ooze and dissolving into dust. Soon nothing would be left save for the clothes on the ground and even those only stayed there for a few minutes before the scavengers retrieved their prize. She tried to figure out what had happened but the bodies were too unrecognizable. Someone had taken them out and quickly too by the looks of things. Since the bodies were still there it could not have happened more than moments ago.

She studied the rapidly disappearing handiwork in front of her and from her limited martial arts experience she could see two different styles at work. One was animalistic in natural, destroying everything in its path: a truly deadly style. The other was more exacting, relying more on precise strikes. She shuddered at the latter. It was the deadlier of the two and that person had to be more powerful in order to fight that way. From the handiwork she hoped it was the same man she had met the other night. She wondered why he hadn't waited for her. She would not have minded seeing him again in fact, she was rather looking forward to seeing him again. He couldn't have done this more than ten minutes ago since the bodies were still gooey from their rapid decay.

Unlike his self-proclaimed love, Kuno did not enjoy surveying the dead. Instead he held his bokken at the ready, waiting for something to pop out. He was keenly aware that there were no rules to the game they were playing and losing was not an option. It never was when he fought. He was not the brightest of Akane's followers but he was a warrior and his instincts blared out to him that something was amiss. He trusted his instincts. He had been told that he trusted them too much but to his knowledge they had never proved him wrong.

He waved his bokken in front of him protectively as he approached the connecting alleyway. From the meager illumination of the street light, he could barely see the definition of a body there, a human body. On closer examination he could define droplets of blood spewed on the ground randomly in front of the body, but that did not interest him. Why were the drops so far from the body? Indeed that itself was a pertinent question. Why did the drops also lead to the body? That was truly peculiar. Usually the blood fell in torrents from the victims, but this one was made to suffer. After he passed the body, he noticed that there was a small trail of blood leading further into the alley. He was so interested that he dropped his defenses slightly. That was all that was needed.

A flicker in the dim light was all the warning he got. He whirled around in time to see the dead woman almost upon him, jaws open and teeth ready to sink into his living flesh. She was almost upon and he realized in an instant that it was too late to use his bokken as a defense. For the first time he had been defeated and for a samurai defeat only came once. He instinctively closed his eyes waiting for death to embrace him. A milliseconds later when nothing had happened. When he did not feel the piercing of his skin, the smell of his blood, or the resistance from his body as his limbs were torn asunder, he opened his eyes to find the creature on the ground, its decay initiated. Protruding from its back was a long metal pole.

"My thanks Akane Tendo, truly tonight you have saved my magnificent self."

"Whatever Kuno...what I'd like to know is how you let that sneak up on you?"

He gestured towards the grimy paving in front of him and Akane approached. She found something scribbled into the dirt.

 It was scribbled in the woman's blood.

 "Methinks this is a bad omen fair one..."

Akane did not answer. She could feel nothing but residual evil in the air. Whatever had wrote this was long gone. There was nothing more for her here. Turning she led Kuno back to the place they could study the night's events.

"This is troubling..." muttered Tofu as he pondered the words he had been told. "And you are sure that the man from the other night had been there?" he asked Akane. She nodded her head. She was very sure of the style. "This is very troubling...Akane...I know you think that he is not involved but you can't rule him out."

"But sensei..."

"No Akane. You can trust no one but your friends. Otherwise, you will put us all in danger."

"Hai...hai..."

"Don't worry. I'm not saying to go after him," he replied in fatherly tone, "just that you should watch your back."

Akane just nodded. They had been having this conversation for the last few days since she had seen the man in black, and she had become used to the routine.

"I wonder what war they are speaking of?" asked Akane.

"That's a good question, anyone have any suggestions? What about you Nabiki?"

"No, I haven't heard anything about a war from my contacts."

"Ryouga?"

He shook his head.

"Kuno?"

"I regret I am unable to procure such useful information that would..."

"I see..." replied Tofu cutting his soliloquy short. "Do any of you think Kodachi might know anything?"

They all gave their answers in the negative with varying degrees of dislike in their voice. The girl was useful but her laugh and pompousness usually drove them up a wall. She made her brother seem tame by comparison.

"Then we go to the books," announced Tofu.

That comment elicited a round of groans from the group. Tofu had an extensive library and those books were more difficult to read than trying to understand what Kuno was saying. One by one they grabbed a book and began to skim the contents. This was going to be another one of those nights.

By the time Ranma and Ukyou had returned to the window of one of the vacant rooms and silently crept to their room to change, Ukyou could feel the excitement surging, trying to take over her body. She was excited and, she was thirsty. But her mind was also thirsty.

"Ran-chan? What was that?" she asked.

"Hmm...which part?"

"All those sensations. I could feel when you were excited. I could feel the anger around them. I could feel the evil. I could even feel the slayer...wait I've felt that before..." Ukyou searched her thoughts and her feelings, trying to connect the long lost sensations from days past. After a few minutes of intense concentration where she taxed her memory to the fullest realization dawned in her eyes. "Akane...Akane is the slayer!"

Ranma nodded.

"And you let me go there this afternoon!" exclaimed Ukyou angrily.

"I needed to know if she recognized your signature and she hadn't which means two things: either she was too angry to recognize you or I'm masking your presence. That and I think you're gaining some of my abilities."

"You think!" she replied exasperatedly.

"Well I don't know for sure," he replied truthfully while shrugging. "It's not like this has been done before."

Ukyou frowned slightly but he was right. They were treading on foreign ground. They had no idea what was really happening to them and there was no book, no manual to give them directions. There may be someone to give a somewhat partially helpful guidance but that person was beyond their reach. She did not even know who that was, only that the person existed and knew Ranma quite well. She had to just accept things as they happened. There was nothing else in her mind that she could do that would not deprive her of her sanity.

He reached their room first, although he would never all it their room, and closed the door behind him shutting her out. Relieved at finally being alone, he slowly took a deep breath and centered his already waning control. This was one of the gifts he had been given but it felt more like a burden. With each battle, with each surge of adrenaline, hormones were poured into his system. Hormones that raged an internal battle in his mind every single time he fought. That was why he preferred to live alone, secluded from everyone else. That was why he preferred to disappear after one of those fights. The hormones were surging now and with the absence of adrenaline, the fight to control them was taxing his mental capabilities. That was why he had released her hand earlier and had stayed one step in front of he while returning home. That was why he shut her out. She was right, she could still fell his excited state. The feeling was reciprocal. He could feel her, smell her through his heightened senses. He knew that her heart was racing, faster even than his was.

With the door shut and the object of his raging hormones separated by the door, he relaxed slightly as he undressed. The muscles in his hand continued to twitch from his lack of total control and he forced himself to lie on the futon in front of him. He had to block her out of his mind. He had to block out those primal urges that sought to control him. The uncontrollable urges were his gift and his burden.

Outside the door Ukyou smirked. After last night she knew that he would try something like locking her out. Tonight though she did not want to be out of that room. For some reason she had an intense desire, an intense need to be with him. She needed to be there by his side. She was thirsty. She was thirsty but not with the thirst she had felt before. She thirsted for something else. Some great needed filled her being. She tried at first to ignore it but it was too great for her to push it aside in her mind. The little strip of electrical tape she had placed earlier that day had done its part as she slowly opened the door. Inside she watched him as he stripped to his boxers and slipped under the covers.

Seeing his muscles rippling in the night already flared her heightened senses leaving her dizzy. She could see and smell him from the distance. She could smell the musky scent of his perspiration as it caused his underwear to stick enticingly to his body. She could smell the scent of a great predator and finally she was beginning to understand a little of what he had told her nights before of predators and darkness. Then suddenly she realized that she also was becoming a predator.

With speed she did not know that existed within her body she dove in after him but this time she did not have an easy time pinning him. She had not even pinned him when she looked into his eyes. His eyes were wild and frenzied as he strove to fight her off.

"Ucchan, please. Not now. Not tonight. It's too strong tonight," he pleaded.

"Exactly," whispered Ukyou as she stared into his eyes and then kissed him, ripping apart the sheet that separated them. He resisted for the short time his self-control could muster a defense, but those urges he had tried to suppress had returned, much stronger than before. Before she knew it, her clothes had been shredded apart and as she felt his body against hers, she could feel the soft fur as it caressed her skin. She was shocked when she first felt it but soon even that was lost to her as a different urge to feed developed and she sank her teeth into his neck. The reaction though was not what she expected.

The first deep swallow had her drunk already then she made the mistake of looking into his eyes again. Eyes that were the same colour as they were before, but now, she could feel the unhindered wildness that lay behind them. She grasped the back of his head tightly with her hands and pressed her mouth forcefully against his then she was carried into the blissfulness of the wild.

The morning sun pierced through the junction of the roof and the walls, dimly lighting the room. Ukyou yawned as she was briefly awoken by something tickling her nose making her sniffle slightly. She slid her hands down her body and was surprised not to feel any fabric against her skin. Alarmed, she sat up but the hand around her prevented her from rising. It was only then did memories from the night before surface in her mind's eye.

Remnants of various articles of clothing lay strewn around the room as they lay naked on the futon in each others arms. She smiled. This was something she had dreamed of many nights in her past when she ignored her father's demands for revenge in her dreams The feel of his warm body against hers was better than anything he could imagine. She could still feel the stickiness of dried perspiration against her body but instead of moving away, she slowly moved his arm to a place where she preferred it to rest, hoping not to wake him as he slept. After a soft peck on the lips she settled into a comfortable position against him and hummed herself back to sleep. There was probably nothing at that moment that could threaten to diminish the smile on her face.

As a brief moment of euphoria descended upon her, she allowed herself to be coaxed back to sleep.

The next time she awoke to the smell of food. The said aroma caused her stomach to rumble slightly and the turning of her stomach woke her.

"Ucchan, time to eat," advised a gentle voice and she felt the presence of someone lifting her upper body. Resentfully, she awoke, memories of her previous dreams already dissolving into nothingness. Then she noted something being pushed into her mouth. She murmured appreciatively as a tender succulent piece of pork was given to her. Its taste was enough to taunt her into opening her eyes and when she opened them, she found herself being cradled in someone else's lap.

Her head whizzed around to see who that person was, only to find Ranma chuckling at her actions.

"If I knew you had that kind of reaction to pork I would not have brought it," he remarked through a bad attempt to hide his smile

She nudged him in the chest with her elbow and lay back down in a more comfortable position on his lap. She opened her mouth waiting for him to give the piece of pork he had trapped in the pair of chopsticks. He obliged but instead of placing it in her mouth, he placed it above her nose. She shrieked slightly as the juices from the pork ran down her...

"Hey Ucchan, you okay?" asked someone as they gently shook her.

"Hmm...what...yeah...pork..."

"Pork?"

Ukyou shook her head and looked up to find Ranma staring into her eyes.

"You were screaming in your sleep," remarked Ranma worriedly.

Ukyou finally woke up and found herself next to Ranma under a thick blanket. She felt a bit drafty and tried to pull down her pajama when she realized something. She wasn't wearing one. Her hand moved slightly and instantly she knew Ranma wasn't wearing one either.

It had been true! It hadn't been a dream!

Excited, she jumped on Ranma with some force and pinned him to the floor.

"It was real," she whispered.

"What was?" asked Ranma, a bit puzzled. "Then as the reality of their situation dawned on him he began to struggle.

"Ucchan...we can't do this," he tried to explain as she held him down. He had awoken to the sound of her screaming and had ignored everything else. Only now did the true events of the past night reveal themselves to him.

Shocked at his reprimand, Ukyou savagely glared at him and raised her fist to strike him. He braced for the impact. She saw that and her anger deflated slightly. Instead of hitting him, she sat on his chest arms folded.

"Ucchan...what..what are you doing?"

"Ranma Saotome. I'm giving you five minutes to explain yourself..."

""Ukyou what we did was not right...."

"Was not right! What the hell do you mean was not right!"

"We're not married!" he defended lamely with the first thought that came to his head.

"What..." Ukyou screamed mentally in frustration. It was going to be hard to get into Ranma's think skull exactly what her intentions were, then an idea popped into her head. What if she was going about this the wrong way. She slid down his body resting her elbows to either side of his head, allowing her hair to fall to either side of her face. Then she stared into his eyes, a move that obviously made Ranma more than uncomfortable by his fidgeting to look away. Her elbows though were strategically placed on either side of his face to prevent him from turning away. He could do nothing but stare at her face or close his eyes and for some unknown reason he could not close his eyes.

"Ranma?" she asked in a soft sultry voice. "Am I attractive?"

Caught with nowhere to go he had no option to answer but he didn't want to answer that question. He was not prepared to answer that question. Ukyou took his silence as an affirmation but she acted as if it were a denial.

"So I'm not attractive am I?" she responded. "You're right. You deserve someone better then me. Someone normal who you can settle down with. I'm just being a burden here."

She rose slightly to leave but the words did have an impact on Ranma. He did not want to see her hurt like that. He did not like hearing those words coming from her mouth so he did the best thing he thought he should do.

"Ucchan..." he responded softly. "You are very beautiful."

Ukyou smiled inwardly at his response as his hand cradled her face. She lay back down on top of him bringing their faces close together.

"Am I attractive?" she asked softly, barely a whisper.

"Very..." he replied before she slowly closed the minute distance between them and kissed him. Ranma remained rigid for a few milliseconds before he responded in kind and after a lot of playful foreplay the two settled down to enjoy a relatively quiet day. Satisfied with her results, Ukyou quickly fell asleep with Ranma's arms wrapped tightly around her but for Ranma, his thoughts were less than calm. There was to a certain extent a feeling of dread dawning upon him.

The dread was not centered around the girl in his arms or not entirely. He could read her. His bond with her gave him that power and while she did not reciprocate the power, he felt her calm and happiness with the situation. No, she wasn't the cause of his dread. In fact, she might have just calmed his life a little. With the effects of the curse and his change in China, he was in continual battle with his raging hormones that he had to keep at bay. She allowed him an outlet that had not previously been there before. Plus, he knew he felt something for her, something strong and powerful but was it love? He did not know. He didn't have too much experience with that emotion for him to know.

The feeling of dread did not come from her. It had something to do with her but not her exactly. The night before had a lot to do with it. That, compared with what he sensed and what he had seen though his contacts, had him weary. There were things moving about at night. Not the usual vampires, but something else; hidden in the darkness. It was tainted and the truth was that he did not know what it was and that fact scared him more than anything else.

Right now though, he just closed his eyes and allowed his body to permeate with her warmth. He was going to enjoy what little time he had remaining. Fate had dealt him an uneven hand and he was going to make sure he made the best of it.

*************

Ranma and Ukyou crouched on the rooftops, Ranma peering into the distance and Ukyou waiting for his signal.

"Something's out there," he told her. "It's hiding among the shadows waiting for something. Waiting for me I think, but I'm not too sure."

"Maybe we should investigate?" offered Ukyou.

"Maybe," replied Ranma as he strained his eyes without really focusing as if he was watching though someone else's eyes. "But we don't want to give ourselves away yet. I don't even think the slayer has picked it up yet."

"Akane should have sensed something..."

"No," he replied. "She did not sense either of us and both of us are tainted. Remember Ucchan, not all things evil act evil."

Ukyou did not need a reminder of what she was and as she shuddered, she found two arms around her.

"Thanks Ran-chan..."

"Shh...don't worry. One good thing about being evil is that you don't need to sleep much," he quipped. She punched him lightly on the arm then perked up.

"I...I sense her..."

"Who?"

"Akane..."

"Yes...she is an easy picking for any capable demon. She is young and inexperienced and she thinks she knows everything..."

"She is the slayer," interjected Ukyou.

"That she is, but what she doesn't realize is what she doesn't know will get her killed and she had much to learn."

"Is that why you train her?"

"Partly... she is just too immature and puts too much trust in her strength. Strength without skill..." He left the sentence open though it was easy to tell where it would lead.

"Did you know other slayers?"

"Just one, she lives in China. I saw another while coming to Tokyo but she was dying when I reached her. She was another of those who thought she could save the world without anyone's...." Suddenly he stopped speaking.

"Ra..." she began but was stopped midway as Ranma raised his hand for silence. He searched for a second before staring into the shadows near the chimney.

"I know you're there..."

A figure faded into view as it floated forward into the light.

"I'm impressed young cat. I didn't think you would sense me. Though I should know that your mistress would not pick you if you were not capable."

"Who are you?" asked Ranma.

"Don't bother your little head with that. Let's just say I have a mutual interest in this project."

Ukyou growled a bit.

"Oho, and what do we have here? Is this your little bedmate?"

This time Ranma growled.

"I guess I'm right once again. Not a bad choice though. Nice hair, shapely body and a tight ass. She's a cute one," the figure replied as it leered at her then it faded away into the darkness once again.

Ukyou waited, clenching her spatula until Ranma told her it was gone finally. It was only then that she relaxed a bit and sat next to him.

He grinned as he turned to face her.

"What are you so happy about?" she asked.

"It seems we have an ally from the dark in this," he smirked.

"Why do you say that?"

"'cause if he wanted to kill us he would have done so already. It did take us a while to recognize that he was there."

"So what do we do now?" she asked.

"We wait and see what happens. There's nothing else we can do."

Ukyou nodded as if she herself had thought the same thing and both sat comfortably in each others embrace waiting for morning to approach.

School was school and Ranma-chan and Ukyou were there as usual. They were ignored by most except Akane who kept reminding herself why she went through the daily torture of training with that insensitive jerk.

Ranma-chan's gymnastics expertise did not seem to carry to other sports but since the coach wanted her to join the school gymnastics he allowed her the freedom to opt out of gym. Ranma no doubt took that option and somehow arranged for Ukyou to be opted out also. The lost time was however spent on history... a strange academic option when you realize that Ranma actually hated schoolwork. The real reason though was Ranma was intently looking out for things that were hidden in the old texts in the libraries around Tokyo.

Through the librarian Ranma had gotten her hands on various old arcane scrolls. The library exchange program allowed her to import books and scrolls that were not being used and were not thought of any particular importance. Ranma knew from experience that reality was hidden and people usually thought some of the stories told in the scrolls were just stories...some of them were...others were an entirely different matter altogether. There was a familiar mark on the borrowing list of some of the books though. One Tofu Ono had frequently perused them and Ranma made a note to visit the said person. The name was familiar though she did not know why.

Ranma-chan was intently following an old pictogram when a gasp from Ukyou broke her attention. She quickly scurried over to Ukyou and peered over her shoulders.

"What is it?" whispered Ranma.

She pointed towards the image of a figure coming out of the dark.

Ranma understood. She saw the image that was blurred and the one specific object that stood out from the darkness. It was a red smudge midway though the image but Ranma knew what it represented. It was a crude hand: the hand of the Red Claw.

"So that's what he meant..."

"What who meant?"

"The last time we met, he said that he would not be the first nor the last once the blood was fresh."

"What does that mean..."

Ranma shrugged. "I don't know, and I don't care but I'll promise you this. I will find him and kill him."

"So will I," added Ukyou with a blank face. She was deadly serious!

The sun fell and night returned hailing the return of the two roof hoppers. This time though, their destination was well known by many of the people who lived in Nerima. Soundlessly they dropped onto the roof of the clinic. Ranma hung from the roof inverted, and peered through the window. Inside two men were talking.

He had learned knew skills from his mother and lip reading was one of the most useful. He could not see the face of one of them but he could read the lips of the other and from the words, he guessed the responses of the first.

Inside Ryouga and Tofu were sitting down sipping tea. Ryouga was conveniently tied to the chair by a piece of rope in a valiant attempt to make sure he did not get lost. It had worked a couple of times before Ryouga's amazing strength managed to break the rope without him trying.

They were currently speaking of Akane's new trainer.

"I don't like it," spat Ryouga for the umpteenth time.

"It's not for you to like," replied Tofu sternly. "The choice is hers and she chooses to continue."

"He shouldn't hit her," continued Ryouga angrily.

"Maybe...but the fact that he can says a lot for what he can do. You have seen it yourself. She is much better than before."

"I could train her better," grumbled Ryouga.

"I don't doubt that," soothed Tofu, "but you still can't force yourself to hit her and that's the problem. Until you can, you are of no help to her in training."

Ryouga grumbled some more when Tofu's demeanor suddenly changed and he silently walked to the window and opened it. Then he sat back down where he was previously seated.

"You can come in," he spoke to no one in particular. Ryouga was confused at the last part until he saw two people jump in through the window.

"Thank you," replied the taller. He was wearing black Chinese clothing and sported a pigtail. Ryouga instantly recognized him.

"Ranma Saotome for ruining my life and hurting Akane I will kill you!" he shouted and attacked before Tofu could do anything about it. Ryouga charged and as quickly as he closed the distance to Ranma, he found himself flying backwards into the wall. He landed roughly and flipped off the ground to attack when Tofu's outstretched hand stopped him.

"I will not tolerate any more fighting," he told Ryouga in a gentle but commanding voice.

Ryouga turned to argue but Tofu's stern eyes told him otherwise, as did the large weapon that appeared to the side of the woman next to Ranma. He did not know who she was but he knew she had an idea of how to use that thing in her hand.

"I guess you are Ranma," reflected Tofu thoughtfully.

"And you are Tofu," replied Ranma with some certainly and a little respect.

"Please sit." Ranma and Ukyou complied as they accepted the offered chairs. She still gripped her spatula firmly though, just in case that boy wanted to go for Ranma. If he did, then he would taste metal.

"So Dr. Tofu, who are you really...."

"I will explain in a moment but first I would like to thank you for assisting Akane in her marital arts."

"It was nothing, she's a klutz. But a powerful klutz though. She has potential but she has no idea how to use it."

Ryouga growled as Ranma continued his evaluation. The other two men paid him no attention. Ukyou however, fingered one of her mini spatulas in her bandoleer.

"What do you mean?" asked Tofu generally interested.

"You have discipline on your art. Akane doesn't. She uses brute force in her fights to compensate for her lack of training and knowledge. That's why she could never beat anyone in rhythmic gymnastics and that's why she fights better with the little training I've given her."

"It seems you know a lot about fighting."

"I've picked some things up," Ranma smirked. "Akane still has a long way to before she matches her potential."

Again Ryouga growled and was largely ignored.

"Can you help her reach her full potential?"

"If you're asking if I can train her to be better then yes, but to her potential...then no. I will not put her through some of the things she has to go through. She will have to do that by herself."

"I see..."

"So doctor again I ask, who are you?"

"Let's just say I represent a worldwide interest in removing these night crawlers from the world."

"Hm...." replied Ranma. "Okay then. I just wanted to pop in. Bye Ryouga," waved Ranma.

"Ranma you're a dead man..."

Ranma laughed. "Its good to see that you haven't changed a bit after 10 years."

Ryouga growled but before he could do anything, Ranma and Ukyou were out of the window. Tofu stopped him before he could break the rope.

"What's the story between you and Ranma?" he asked expecting an answer.

"Ranma's a coward. He has no honour and will do anything to get himself out of trouble."

"Oh and how do you know this?"

"Well when we went to Junior High he always stole my bread and he walked away from a man to man fight!"

"He did!"

Tofu was surprised mostly about the last part.

"I ran and ran and when I finally got to the place where we were supposed to fight he wasn't there!"

Tofu raised an eyebrow. Something did not fit.

"Ryouga, how long did it take you to get there."

"Only four days..."

"And where was it?"

"In my back yard..."

"Oh..." replied Tofu as he nodded though he did not say a thing. He knew what had happened. Somehow he couldn't help but smirk. Only Ryouga would take four days to find the back of his own house.

Ukyou and Ranma sat in the furo relaxing before changing to go to school. Their relationship had changed drastically in a few days but for some reason neither of them cared. Having someone else brought a new level of comfort to their lives. Before they had practically no one to confide in now, with each other, the outlet was available.

They dressed...slowly...after soaking, and replacing the man and the woman from the night before were two girls who were, by their drab mode of dress, less than pleasing to the eye. It was another day at Furiken High.

Nabiki Tendo had copies of all the files on Ranma Saotome in her hand. It had taken her bit of time to get them together but finally she had them all. There were many differences between the Ranma Saotome she knew and the one on record. The Ranma Saotome at Furiken was a girl but the birth certificate listed Ranma as a boy. The description was the same except for the red hair and feminine features, which led Nabiki to one conclusion. The 'Ranma Saotome' at school was a fake. He had somehow learned to look like a girl and to pass as one. Nabiki knew that Ranma waited until everyone else was finished before using the bathroom and that was more than ample proof of her discovery.

Nabiki Tendo was not one to live down this opportunity for making some extra cash for her family. Akane was getting more expensive by the minute and was digging into Nabiki's private fund for having fun. That was not something that Nabiki liked. Nabiki wondered how much she could extort from this 'Ranma'.

She smiled as she saw the redhead enter the school compound. She had business to discuss with her associates.

At lunch Ranma and Ukyou remained in the corner of a classroom away from the other students and there Nabiki found them eating lunch peacefully.

"Ranma Saotome I presume?" asked Nabiki as she gleamed expectantly at Ranma with a predatory smile she had perfected.

"Yes," replied Ranma as she shrugged from her position.

"Well then, I have a proposition for you."

"What's that?" asked Ranma disinterestedly.

"For a price I won't tell anyone your secret?"

That got Ranma's attention but before she could answer, she was answered for...

"And what secret would that be?" asked Ukyou.

"Oh nothing. Just that she is a he and can just disguise himself really well as a girl."

Again Ranma was answered for.

"So you think Ranma is a cross-dresser?" asked Ukyou. She had a lot of experience with that kind of thing.

"In simple, yes."

"Then you're an idiot," summed up Ukyou. That got Nabiki slightly angry. No one told her she was stupid. She had the whole school rigged and if these two couldn't see it then she would make them see it.

"Well then we'll just have to prove it," responded Nabiki quickly and grabbed the strap of Ranma's uniform, pulling it down in one quick motion then she grabbed Ranma's breast with the intent of removing the false breast.

There were a couple of problems to this though

1) the breast did not fall off

2) Ranma gasped in pain

3) Ukyou protected her mate by punching Nabiki off Ranma

4) the whole incident was seen by all in class 1F including Akane.

There were many hushed whispers around the classroom. Many were confirming to others what they had previously thought: that Nabiki was of the alternate lifestyle. Nabiki however did not listen to any of them, she was for all intensive purposes furious though she did not show it. When she got angry she knew how to use it properly. She gingerly touched the large bruise forming on her right shoulder.

"This is not the last of it Saotome," she warned as she left the classroom.

Ukyou was going to follow and teach the girl a thing or two but Ranma's hand on her shoulder told her no.

"It's not worth it Ucchan."

"But Ranchan..."

Ranma shook his head. "She's another one of those who think they know everything. Ignorance is bliss."

Ukyou lost her temper as understanding dawned on her. She realized how futile the effort was and how it just simply was not worth it.

"Hai Ranchan." The bell rang signaling the end of lunch and everyone hurried off to class.

Akane readied herself for class with the jerk again. He was there waiting for her in the Dojo and he was not alone. The other girl was there with him. The girl she recognized as the one who hung around Ranko. The one who defended Ranko today.

"What's she doing here?" spat Akane at the close friend of her enemy. Or at least that's how she saw it in her mind.

"She is your sparring partner," announced Ranma. "I'm raising your level of training. From today you will train and spar or is that too much for a little girl like you," taunted Ranma.

"Sounds too easy to me," mocked Akane.

"Then begin."

Akane was right; it was easy. The exercises that is. She had been practicing them for some time now with both heavy weights and light weapons, and had somehow passed Ranma's cursory examination promoting her to the next level. After the exercises came the sparring and after the sparring Akane had to drag herself to the furo for a long soak. Unlike when Ranma had hit her previously, this girl seemed to know nothing about holding back. Akane thought every muscle in her body had to have been dealt a blow during that sparring session.

That weird weapon of hers had turned out to be quite useful as the bruises on Akane's hands and legs could attest to. While Akane sat in the furo she closed her eyes to relax when suddenly she felt a presence in the room. It was the man she had met before, the one with the black mask.

"For a slayer, you don't use your powers well enough. Be careful Tendo Akane, not everything is as simple as it seems." When Akane rose to stop him. He ignored her amd jumped through the window in the bathroom. She stood there amazed as he had passed soundlessly between the sliding glass that could measure no more than eight inches in diameter. The window itself was only two feet long.

She woke from her frozen state and a white sheet of paper caught her eye. On it were scribbled a few words.

'I was watching you for few minutes, long enough for me to kill you while you soaked.'

 It was a simple warning but the ramifications were clear.

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