Case Closed Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Fires of Vengence ❯ Return to Me, Salvation ( Chapter 3 )

Fires of Vengeance

 

AN: The song's lyrics are edited. Remember: Bold is flashbacks, italicize is thoughts.

 

Disclaimer: I don't own the song or Ranma, Inuyasha, or Detective Conan.

 

Chapter 3 - Return to Me, Salvation

 

I tried to kill the pain,

But only brought more.

(so much more)

I lay dying,

And I'm pouring, crimson regret, and betrayal.

 

I'm dying,

Praying,

Bleeding,

Screaming.

 

Am I too lost to be saved?

Am I too lost?

My god! my tourniquet,

Return to me salvation.

 

Do you remember me?

Lost for so long.

Will you be on the other side?

Will you forgive me?

 

My wounds cry for the grave.

My soul cries, for deliverance.

Will I be denied?

Christ! Tourniquet! My suicide.

"Tourniquet" - Evanescence

 

"NIICHAN!!!!!!!! THEY'RE BEING MEAN!!!" the boy shouted. To all the amazons horror, he changed shape right before their eyes and took off into the sky, his shinigami wings pumping furiously. As another flying creature was seen approaching the little shinigami, Cologne wondered what she'd just done. It was then she recognized the other being: a fully-grown shinigami.

One thought echoed in the minds of all the amazons present. Death had come to call.

 

You could here a pin drop from the silence following the young boy's shout To the amazons, the expression on the fully-grown shinigami wasn't exactly pleasant. It was like looking death in the eye, and death was not amused.

Then, to the surprise of the elders, arrows, some with burning tips, started heading toward the flying creature. For Cologne, it seemed like some of the younger warriors thought that if they brought the creature down, they could increase their public standing. She immediately sought out the troublemakers.

"I am not a noontime snack!" The shinigami roared as the arrows continued coming.

Cologne, upon arriving at the archer's destination, bopped each and every one of the warriors on the head with her staff. "Fools!" she shouted, "Are you trying to get us all killed? That's a shinigami. It could kill us without even trying."

She turned back to watching the two youkai, when to her surprise, they disappeared from her view. After a few minutes every amazon took a deep breath.

Shampoo was no exception to the terror the shinigamis had evoked. After several moments, she turned back to where Ranma had been sitting a few moments before. Much to her astonishment, instead of him still there, there was note addressed to both her and her great grandmother. Opening it, she read the contents.

 

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Shampoo, Cologne, and Amazon Villagers:

 

Hello everyone! We are sorry to announce that the marriage between Saotome Ranma and Shampoo of the Chinese Amazons will not be taking place. We are sorry for the inconvenience, and hope you enjoy the rest of your stay on the earth.

 

Yours,

Kudo Shinichi,

Resident Shinigami

 

P.S. Shampoo, find your own husband. I'm already taken! ~ Ranma Saotome

 

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Shampoo screamed, her aura glowing brightly. Almost instantly, Cologne appeared by her side. Seeing she wasn't going to get an answer out her great granddaughter for a while, she picked up the note and, after reading it, paled visibly.

"<Shan Pu!>" Cologne barked in Chinese. "<Do you know what this means?>"

"<Yes! It means Akane has stolen my husband once again!>" Shampoo angrily shot back.

"<No, you fool! It means Ranma is out of our grasp forever. He is protected by a shinigami. We can do nothing more.>"

"<No! I will not surrender Ranma to Akane! I will have Ranma, no matter the cost!>" With that said, Shampoo ran out of the building to get ready to travel.

Cologne sighed. There was nothing she could do, now that her great granddaughter had chosen a path. She had that right. She sat there stewing about what she could possibly do to minimize the adverse affects she knew Shampoo was going to face, when she heard Mousse come up from behind her.

"I will follow her." It surprised Cologne to hear Mousse speak in Japanese, but his tone left no room for argument. Nothing she said could make him change his mind.

"Arigato, Mousse. I know you'll do your best." Even though it was rare, Cologne decided that being civil to Mousse was a good thing, since she couldn't go after her great granddaughter.

Mousse just silently left, going to prepare for the journey and hardship he knew he was going to face.

 

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When Akane woke up, Kasumi could immediately tell something was wrong, just by looking into her eyes. Instead of the usual fire burning, they were cold, empty, and dark. Akane just stayed lying down on her bed, not moving a muscle. It was like she'd given up on everything, and the real world didn't exist for her. She'd collapsed so far in on herself, Kasumi was worried her sister may never return.

"How is she? Is she wake?" Nabiki's voice came from the doorway. As Kasumi turned to face her, Nabiki was surprised to notice tears flowing down her face. Kasumi didn't say anything, just motioning for Nabiki to come closer.

Nabiki moved closer and almost cried out in shock at the state of her younger sister. Immediately, Nabiki could tell there was something terribly wrong with Akane. The only question she had, she knew no one could answer completely. What do we do now? Nabiki wondered as she and Kasumi stood watching over their sister.

 

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"Kagome," Inuyasha spoke, still holding the girl in his arms. "There is a few things we need to do."

Kagome was surprised. He has changed in the five years…supposedly. "What do we need to do?" she asked him, looking directly into his eyes.

"We need to meet a few friends of mine. Remember how I said I'm from five years in the future?" Kagome nodded. "Well, I didn't come alone. Two others helped me get here: Saotome Ranma and Kudo Shinichi. I've got some information I need to discuss with some of the friends of Shinichi and I'd like you to come along. Hopefully, along the way, we can have help with unsealing the well."

"Why?" Kagome asked. "Why are you doing all this?"

Inuyasha sighed. "The future I come from is dark and dreary place. Many horrible things happened, things we hope we can change."

"Wait a minute!" Kagome halfway shouted. "You came back in time to change history to the way you want it? What about the laws of Physics and Time and…other stuff?" Things were starting to get over her head. Was what Inuyasha was trying to do good? Legal? Morally right? There ware too many questions, and not enough answers, Kagome thought to herself.

"Kagome, the future…it shouldn't exist."

"How do you know? What is so bad about the future that needs changing?"

Inuyasha didn't want to tell her the full story, but he knew he'd need for her to hear some of it for her to go along with his plans. "The future…there really isn't much of a future anymore. In five years, 98% of the world's population, youkai, ningen, or hanyou, is dead." Kagome gasped at his words. "My friends and I are working on changing that."

"H…how? What happened to cause this mass destruction?"

"One group of terrorists: Hell's Fury. They somehow got a hold of some nuclear missiles, fired them at the major powers and started World War III." Kagome was surprised. Not only had he grown more emotional, but Inuyasha had kept up with current ningen affairs. "We were lucky. Most of nuclear firearms had already been destroyed, but when the missiles were launched, all nations retaliated. Most of the land was inhabitable to youkai for 5 years. Ningen still can't go to those parts."

"If the group has nuclear capability, why don't you just alert the official?"

"Do you think people would believe three boys who claim the world is going to end soon, when there isn't much proof? Not fucking likely."

"So what are you going to do?"

"We're going to get a group together that's strong enough to fight the terrorists to stop them before making this world like our own."

"Alright," Kagome said, slipping out of Inuyasha's grasp and moving to her dresser. "Let me get dressed, and then I'll help you. Who is it we need to see?"

"Someone by the name of Hattori Heiji. Shinichi said we'd be able to reach him through Mouri Ran."

 

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"HOW COULD HE LEAVE AGAIN! AND THIS TIME, HE EVEN TOOK CONAN-KUN!" Ran shouted as she paced in her living room. Off in a corner, Mouri Kogoro cringed. It wasn't that he was afraid of his daughter. He knew she wouldn't hurt him, just sometimes her temper got the best of her and she wouldn't realize what she was doing until she calmed down. THAT was what freaked the detective.

"Now, calm down, Mouri-san. He is coming back," Koizumi told her friend. "After all, Kaito-kun's with him, so he'll make sure Kudo-san comes back."

Ran sighed. "I know, but I still don't like it. After all this time, he still leaves me just after he finally comes back."

"Hey, cheer up. When this is all over, Kudo-san will be with you. You did say he told you he wasn't going to leave you again."

Before Ran could respond to that, the doorbell rang, squashing any further arguments from her. She huffed, turned, and walked over to answer it. Opening the door, she was surprised to see two teenagers standing on the doorstep. One was a female with black hair and wearing a green and white sailor outfit. She looked to be about Ran's age. The other, from what she could tell, was a youkai. He had silver hair, wore a red outfit and had dog ears…dog ears…

"They're so cute!" Ran squealed, surprising the boy. Before he could react, Ran had reached up and rubbed her fingers across the ears. After a few seconds, Ran seemed to calm down and backed off. "Sorry 'bout that," Ran muttered, slightly embarrassed.

The girl just giggled. "See, Inuyasha. I'm not the only one who can't resist them."

The boy called Inuyasha just grumbled.

"Oh, I'm sorry, where are my manners? Please, come in," Ran said, opening the door more and motioning for them to enter. Once they had, she shut the door behind them. "So, what can I do for you? Have a case that needs help solving?"

To both of the girls' surprise, Inuyasha chuckled. "You could say that, not that Mouri-tantei could ever solve it."

His words set off Ran's temper. "You don't even know my dad, and yet you're already insulting him?"

"Actually, I know more about Mouri Kogoro than you probably do. But, that does not matter. I'm here to see Kudo Shinichi."

"What makes you think Shinichi's here? He's been missing for over a year now." Ran was surprised to hear that not only this boy had heard of her boyfriend, but knew he was back, even if he wasn't currently in the building.

"I know he's back because I talked with him yesterday morning."

"Oh…" Ran mumbled. "Well, I'm sorry, but he's…" She was cut off as the doorbell rang once again.

Grudgingly, Ran moved to open the door. This time, she knew who it was when she saw the two people standing outside.

"Kazuha-chan!" Ran squealed as she moved to hug her friend. Then, she turned to the boy standing next to Kazuha. "Hello, Heiji-kun."

"Hi, neechan. Can we come in? I've got some things I want to discuss with you."

"Sure, come right in."

As soon as the three had entered the living room, all hell broke loose. Inuyasha, who had been looking around the room, suddenly smelled a cat. Without him wanting to, his inu instincts took over. For them, the thought process was simple. Smell cat…find cat…chase cat… Frantically, his nose sought out the perpetrator. His gaze settled on Kazuha.

Kazuha, herself, noticed a dog's scent in the room, and being a neko youkai, she tried to find out who it was. Immediately, she saw the white haired stranger with the dog-ears, who was, surprisingly, growling. She moved behind Heiji.

Kagome was surprised when Inuyasha suddenly launched himself at one of the people in the room. Without thinking, she said the only word she knew could stop Inuyasha quickly. "Oswari!"

Much to everyone else's surprise and amusement, the inu youkai was suddenly brought down, face planting right into the floor. They were even more surprised when he didn't get up, instead choosing to curse up a storm that made even Kogoro blanch.

"Now," she said too calmly. "Do you want to explain to me why you just suddenly chose to attack a harmless ningen?" Kagome's voice left no room for arguments.

"Not….ningen…" the hanyou muttered from the floor.

"Why do you say that? Of course she's ningen! Just look at her!"

"Not…ningen…youkai…" Inuyasha continued to mumble.

Kagome looked over at a paling Kazuha. "Do you have any idea what he's talking about? I mean, I guess you can tell he's not ningen, but you've got to be."

Heiji knew trying to act human wouldn't work around the new boy. He was youkai, and his senses would pick up on the youkai traces not covered by their illusions. "Actually, we aren't," he said as he dropped his human appearance. "I'm part oni, Kazuha's a neko, and neechan's an ice maiden."

This surprised Kagome. "Well, that does explain why he tried to go after Kazuha-san. After all, he is an inu youkai."

Everyone except Kagome and Inuyasha paled at this.

"What's the matter?" Kagome asked innocently.

"Inu and neko don't mix," Kazuha stated, hiding more behind Heiji.

"Oh, nonsense. He'll be have himself, won't you?" Everyone could hear the underlying threat in Kagome's words.

Inuyasha hastily nodded.

"See? There's not going to be a problem." Kagome smiled like there was nothing wrong in the world, much to everyone's surprise.

Heiji sighed. "Well, I'd better do what I came to do."

Ran looked at him curiously. "What's that?"

"I don't fully understand either. Kudo called me yesterday morning and said to meet someone named Inuyasha. Why? I don't really know. He didn't even give me a description of him. He just said I'd know him when I met him."

Inuyasha stood up. "That'd be me."

Finally, Heiji's detective mind made the connection between the name he was given and the person standing in front of him. He immediately started berating himself for missing the clue Shinichi had given him.

"Why, oh why, didn't I make the connection?" Heiji told no one imparticular.

"Connection?" Kazuha asked.

"Inuyasha. Shinichi told me that I'd recognize Inuyasha when I saw him. Think about it; Inuyasha's got inu in his name, and if I'd been thinking properly, I'd recognize the connection between the inu in his name and his appearance. MAN, I'M SO STUPID!"

"Calm down, Heiji-kun. Anyone could've made the same mistake you did," Ran told her friend.

"Yeah!" Kagome included. "After all, how many youkai do you see that have dog ears? Probably a lot."

"Actually," Heiji mumbled. "He's the first inu youkai I've seen."

"No way! I'd have sworn more inu youkai survived to this day and age." Kagome was stumped. Did Inuyasha and Sesshomaru not make it to my time?

"Well, most youkai hide their scent and looks today," A new voice said from behind them.

Everyone turned around to see a girl around their age. She had brown hair and was wearing her school uniform. Everyone except Kagome and Inuyasha recognized the new comer.

"Aoko-chan!" Kazuha and Ran shouted as they ran over to hug their friend. After Aoko was introduced to Kagome and Inuyasha, Aoko expanded on her earlier statement.

"Most youkai today hide what they really are. For example, Kaito looks human and smells mostly like one, but he's actually a youkai…well, according to him, he's a hanyou."

That triggered something in Inuyasha's memory. "Wait a minute…he wouldn't happen to be a white kitsune, now would he?"

"Yup."

Kagome caught on to what Inuyasha was saying. "Then he must the one you fought for the jewel shard a while ago."

"Try over five years ago," Inuyasha muttered to himself.

The mention of a fight brought back Aoko's memories. Wait a minute…fight…white hair…dog-ears…IT'S HIM! NO, NO! WHY IS HE HERE?! Aoko took a step back, trying to hide her sudden fear of Inuyasha. Ever since that fight, Aoko had dreams where the fight didn't turn out the way it did. Some, Kaito got hurt worse than he did. Others, Kaito never made it, dying in her arms as Inuyasha came for her.

Kazuha was surprised when she suddenly caught the smell of fear in her friend's scent. What was it about Inuyasha that scared her so? "Aoko-chan? You okay?"

Aoko by this time was visibly shaking. "No…" she mumbled. "No…please no…don't let it be him…don't let it be him…"

Kazuha was deeply disturbed by whatever was scaring Aoko. Usually, it'd take a heck of a lot to even make her shiver, and here she was, almost ready to bolt, scream, attack, or break down into tears.

Ran also noticed Aoko's reaction. She, too, wondered what was bothering her. "Aoko-chan? What's wrong?"

"He's…" Aoko gulped, pointing to Inuyasha. "He's going to take my Kaito away!"

 

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Ryoga sat down, still wondering where the heck he was. Ever since he'd been told by Ranma to look after Akane, he'd tried to find the Tendo Dojo. Soon after leaving Ranma's position, he'd done what he'd always done: he'd gotten lost. This time, he thought he was in Ukraine, but he wasn't for sure. After all, Ukraine and Brazil looked a lot a like, didn't they?

"ARG! DAMN YOU RANMA! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Ryoga shouted, not caring who heard him.

"And how exactly is this Ranchan's fault?" a voice asked. "After all, if he isn't alive, how can it be his fault? Unless, you want to claim he didn't die."

Ryoga turned around. Behind him stood Kounji Ukyo. "Hello, Ukyo," Ryoga mumbled, slightly embarrassed to be caught by her. "How are you?"

"Answer my question. How is this Ranma's fault? And what is it exactly?"

"Ranma made Akane think he was dead so he could run off with his other fiancées. You're in on it, aren't you?"

"Ranchan surviving? Do you think I'd be here if he did?" She said angrily, pointing to a sign nearby. It read: 'Nerima Cemetery'.

"So you didn't know he's alive?" Ryoga was slightly surprised about this. He figured Ukyo would be the most likely to be in on the plot.

"Ranchan's alive? HOW?!" Ukyo grabbed his collar, halfway lifting him up.

"He…he came to visit me the day of his 'death'," Ryoga related. He was slightly scared of the fire he saw in Ukyo's eyes.

"WHAT DID HE SAY?!" Ukyo continued to shout at him, not caring about the way she was speaking.

"Um…" Ryoga was slightly embarrassed. He didn't remember everything Ranma had said because he was either terrified or angry at the time. "He said something about being from the future and that he was back here to stop something…you know? He never said what it was. He also said that the 'present' Ranma was alive, just captured by the Amazons, who had used the accident to take him by force."

"Damn that hussy!" Ukyo muttered under her breath. She should've realized something was up. "Wait a minute, if Ranchan's alive, why aren't you with Akane?"

"I've been trying to find my way to the dojo for over three days now. I have been to Ukraine, China, Chile, Ontario and other places I don't even know the name to," Ryoga grumbled. Then, he finally realized something. "Can you take me there? If Akane falls for me, then Ranma's all yours!"

Ukyo thought about this. If Ryoga was lying, then there was no harm done. But, if he was telling the truth… "Alright, I'll do it."

Ryoga sighed in relief. Ukyo slid her hand down to grab his wrist and proceeded to drag him in the direction of the Tendo Dojo. After almost losing Ryoga four times, they finally arrived at their destination. Ukyo left him standing there as he rang the doorbell. A few moments later, the door opened up to reveal a dishevel Kasumi.

"Hello, Ryoga-kun," Kasumi said, smiling. Ryoga figured nothing could ever make her frown. If someone did, they'd better run for the hills, for the entire Nerima population would be after them. NO ONE made Kasumi frown.

"Hello, Kasumi-san. Is Akane-san here?" Ryoga replied.

Maybe he can…"Of course, Ryoga-kun. Why don't you come in?" She moved out of the way and motioned for him to enter.

As soon as he'd entered, Kasumi led him to where Akane was sitting. On the way, she tried striking up conversation to help Ryoga understand the situation.

"Ryoga-kun? There's something you should know," Kasumi said, much to his surprise. "Akane-chan's not been herself lately…maybe…do you think you could help her out?"

Akane-san not being herself? Ranma, you bastard! What did you do to her this time? "Um…sure, Kasumi-san. I'll try my best," Ryoga answered.

Kasumi sighed. That was the most she'd hoped for, even though she knew it wasn't Ryoga Akane needed, but Ranma. She feared that if something wasn't done soon, she'd lose another loved one, this one because of her own 'free-will', not that she'd consider the state Akane was in exactly decision-making material.

They rounded the corner to see an unusual sight. Instead of Soun and Genma trying to cheat while they played shoji, Soun was sitting on the couch, reading a newspaper. Genma, for once, was slowly eating a snack, like he wasn't really into doing it. Ryoga could see the flicker of lights coming from the living room, so he figured Nabiki was watching something to pass the time.

Finally, he sight fell on Akane. Her appearance surprised him the most. She was calming sitting on a rock by the koi pond, facing him. She was still dressed in her usual school uniform, but it was so ruffled and dirty, it looked like it might need a few times through the washer to clean it thoroughly. Her dark blue hair was a mess, looking like it hadn't been combed in days.

What scared him the most, though, was her eyes. Ryoga wondered how the bright chocolate eyes could ever become the dark, dull, almost lifeless brown ones that where staring at him without so much as a hint of recognition. It was then Ryoga noticed the blade in her right hand.

"No…" Ryoga muttered.

Time slowed to a stop for everyone in the dojo turned to face Akane. Ryoga started walking toward her, fear and shock slowing him down. He hoped to get there in time and watched in horror as the knife was raised to her left wrist.

"No! AKANE-SAN, DON'T DO IT!" Ryoga desperately yelled, speeding up his movement. He prayed his shout did something…anything…even if all it did was stall her for a second. A second was all he would need to reach her in time. Unfortunately, she gave no reaction to the yell. It was like she was oblivious to the outside world.

The knife continued on its trajectory, coming in contact with the pink, smooth skin just below her hand. With seemingly no effort, the blade cut through the flesh on that wrist and then flipped around to get her other arm. Ryoga arrived just as the knife finished making the second cut and Akane fell forwards, towards the pond.

He grabbed her and immediately laid her down on the grass. He looked into her eyes to see if she was still conscious and couldn't help but watch as the light started to fade from her eyes. Akane Tendo was dying, with a smile on her lips…

 

AN: Well, my sister once again has helped me with brainstorming and beta reading. She's been a very big help. I hope you're enjoying this fic!