Project A-Ko Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Vampire Hunter (Darkstalkers) Fan Fiction ❯ Nabiki 1/2 (A Very Scary Thought) ❯ Posse Enraged... ( Chapter 49 )

Nabiki 1/2

(A Very Scary Thought)

Written by Jim Robert Bader

Proofread by Shiva Barnwell

Based Upon the Altered Destinies Storyline

Inspired by the works of such fans as

Wade Tritshler

Richard Lawson

James Jones

And Many Others

Standard Disclaimer: This is inspired by the work of Takahashi Rumiko and is not my original creation. All characters belong to her. This is only a fanfictional work, and is not intended to compromise the rights of the original owners, distributors and publishers of the Ranma series. I have no money to spare and would very much appreciate if no one tries to sue me.

Hanton Jiro took a puff on his Western-style cigarette as he surveyed the alleyway with a slightly bored disdain. Guard duty never really was the most exciting part of working for this outfit, no where near as fun as roughing up old men for loose change and extorting protection money from shopkeepers. Nothing very exciting ever happened, outside of the occasional police raid, so the main challenge was usually trying to pretend he was not bored senseless. Leaning against the wall with one foot raised for balance, he almost wished something would break up the monotony.

So you could hardly blame him when something did occur upon his watch, causing him to fall for one of the oldest cons in the book: a pretty girl in an immodest dress came calling.

Actually, she was a pretty stunning looker, not too tall but with very long legs, which she displayed to full effect, along with other noticeable body parts in her light tank top and cut-off shorts. She had long red hair done up in some manner of pony tail, and features that were clearly Eurasian. Her eyes were an astonishing blue, and when she smiled her lovely face was rendered all the more appealing.

"Hi there, big boy," she cooed as she sauntered up to greet him, "You doing anything at the moment?"

"Not at the moment," Jiro smiled, unable to believe his incredible luck. Either this girl was a prostitute or a teenaged girl looking for a bit of action. Well, action was his middle name as he flashed his manly charms as he said, "You looking for some excitement?"

"Sure am," she grinned, "Found it too!"

Before Jiro could so much as blink an eyelash he felt her foot suddenly slamming up between his legs before it retracted and shot out again at a 140-degree angle, colliding against his jaw with the force of a sledgehammer. He was out like a light before he could hit the pavement.

Keiko turned and signaled to the others before hauling the gangster to the side as the rest of the Posse moved into position. Once everybody was where they needed to be, Keiko turned to confront the now unguarded door and drew upon her full resolve, then launched herself forward in a dragon-stamp kick that would have done worthy to its namesake.

Inside the building were startled gangsters hot at work converting stolen cars into resaleable hardware. The attack came in the form of three near simultaneous explosions that hit them from three sides at once without hardly any warning. Besides the redhead that came crashing through the door, there was a loud explosion of glass that heralded a body crashing down through the skyline, while the garage door itself was shorn loose in three quick sword slashes as Kuno Tatawaki stepped through the open gap with Saotome Ranma following in at a casual stride. Ryoga was, by this time, half way to the ground with his umbrella fully extended, and when he hit the top of the car he had been aiming for, he stove in the roof as though the thing had been smashed by a wrecking ball.

Ryoga himself looked no worse for wear as he contemplated the astonished gangsters.

"Look, friend Saotome," Kuno smiled, "These common bandits with their Chop shop operation are like flies caught in the amber. Shall we do these peasants a favor and render them living to the authorities or treat them like the gutter refuse they are?"

"Whatever turns you on, old buddy," Ranma said as he cracked his knuckles, "Give me some room and you can have as much fun as you want. Just leave something for the police to identify later."

"Very well," Kuno smiled, and now for the first time everyone could see that the blade he unsheathed from its wooden scabbard was not his usually preferred bokken.

It was a katana, very old and very sharp!

Of course, the gangsters wasted no time breaking out of their brief astonishment as they reached for whatever weapons they could find on hand, and there were close to twenty of them at all, hardened men of the streets who were no strangers to brutality and violence.

They never stood a chance. The fight--such as it was--was over in less than forty three seconds…

"Can I help you, young lady?" Madam Sue Mi asked of the curious looking young girl in the Chinese outfit.

"Perfume want know if this place where men buy services of young girls," Perfume asked of the Chinese woman, who was clearly proprietor of this place called the Coral Pink Lotus.

"What did you think this is?" Sue Mi asked, surprised at such a naïve question, "Are you looking for employment?"

"No thank you," Perfume replied, "I already employed. Want know if man named Godai-sama is present. Perfume have important business that no can wait."

Oho! This clarified matters somewhat, either a wife or a jealous mistress. Either way, company policy forbade divulging such confidential secrets, unless the price was adequate.

"I'm sorry," Sue Mi put on her best patented "Sorry Honey" smile and pretended to be sympathetic, "I can't give out that sort of information to just anybody…"

There was a flick of the girl's wrist and suddenly an axe was poised just below Madam Sue Mi's chin, and the girl was no longer smiling in an entirely friendly manner.

"Perfume think you know," she said confidently, "You tell now, we no have further business."

"Ah, let's not get too hasty here," Sue Mi replied, trying not to sound flustered as she reached down under her table and pressed a concealed alarm button. A moment later her fervent prayers were answered as the establishment bouncers rushed in to subdue the dangerous creature before her…

Or at least they tried, which only earned them a rather humiliating comeuppance as Perfume produced a second axe and became a whirling dervish of blinding swift motion. A few heartbeats later the bouncers were all on the floor wearing a few scraps of cloth over their underwear, their weapons in even worse condition.

"Perfume ask again," the Amazon smiled as she now held both axes criss-crossed under Madam Sue Mi's chin, "You tell Perfume what she want to know, she no make paperweight of head, ne?"

Sue Mi made a swift decision that resulted in an extremely wise choice, and then Perfume used the flat of one axe to send her to dreamland, thus sparing her the awesome agony of what was shortly to become of her establishment. The people inside the building, however, learned first hand what it meant to see the full unchecked fury of a one-girl Amazon blitzkrieg…

"Last call, all bets in, what will the lady have?" asked the dealer at the gambling table.

"Pair of sixes," the girl with short brown hair wearing the Chinese clothing replied as she rolled the dice and turned up the predicted total.

"That's impossible!" the man next to her declared, "You can't win by the same roll three consecutive times! The odds are inconceivable..."

"Sounds to me like you're just a sore loser," Nabiki smiled as she pulled in her now-much-larger pile of chips, only to find a man in a three piece suit had come up to place a hand on her wrist to stop the motion.

"Lady," the man said, "I'm afraid we're going to have to insist that you leave…"

"Really?" Nabiki asked before the man found himself flat on his back with his arm being twisted out of its socket, "Nobody told me there was a ceiling to how much you can win. Hey, everybody! They're trying to cheat us! They won't let us win fairly!"

To emphasize her point she reached down and scooped up a double-handful of chips, which she proceeded to toss into the air as she spoke the magic words, "FREE MONEY!"

As predicted the area nearest to her erupted into a chaotic state as men and women began to scramble to pick up the chips, which caused the bouncers some difficulty and made them easier targets for Nabiki to pick off one-by-one. She made just enough of a commotion to attract the right wrong kind of attention as men started pouring out the back and sides converging on her position.

That was when, on cue, the rear wall exploded in an Amazon-shaped hole, and through this gap strode Shampoo with Bonbori in hand, looking more than ready to start her own kind of commotion.

"Nihao!" she cried cheerfully and promptly dispatched the first two bouncers who tried to show her towards the exits. Her instructions had been to create maximum disruption and property damage with a minimum of casualties, and she set to work with an enthusiasm worthy of her ancestors.

This heightening of the violence level naturally brought out men with weapons of their own, but that was when Nabiki's other backup came into play as Kodachi and Akane shed their disguises and went right for these new challengers like a well oiled machine, Akane attacking from the ground level while Kodachi leaped onto a craps table and put her ribbon into play disarming every man who came within her radius. Akane simply made like these thugs were no different from the high school bullies she had taken on every day for most of a semester with the results being similar. In no time at all, the opposition was sprawled out on the floor in various positions, both natural and unnatural.

Once Nabiki had judged the damage sufficient she withdrew, along with her colleagues, but they would turn up again in other parts of town throughout the day, hitting one operation after another along a carefully pre-selected map, making as much noise and trouble as possible before at last calling it a day, satisfied that a message had been sent to the right places.

One place in particular was more significant than all of the others combined…

"Say that again?" demanded Godai Kuondo as he bore holes into the eyes of his subordinate with a glare that could have been registered as a lethal weapon.

"She jumped us out of nowhere, Boss!" the man replied as if begging for his life (which in effect he was, his boss being in a mood somewhat blacker than the Marianas Trench), "We thought she was one of the restaurant staff, and who notices something like that big spatula strapped to her back until she brought it out and started laying into our men without the slightest warning! We tried to fight back, but it was like she wasn't human! She put down six of our best men in less than ten seconds, and then the rest of our boys chased her into the kitchen where she…man! I was there and I still don't believe it!"

"You're saying this one girl took out twelve of our best men and took my nephew hostage all by herself?" Godai said in stark disbelief, "What do you take me for? An idiot? Who paid you to turn against me?"

"I didn't! I wouldn't! I swear, I'm loyal!" the underline stammered, now having no pride left to stand and take his punishment in dignity as his boss nodded to one of his men, who took out a weapon and pointed it at the head of his fellow gang member.

"Not in here, you idiot!" Godai snarled in disgust, "You'll ruin my linoleum! Just take him and put him with the other idiot who lost my son claiming a Chinese broad with brown hair who tore up the Coral Pink Lotus!"

A coarse, harsh, guttural laugh caused everyone, including the doomed gunman, to turn and look towards one corner of Godai's office. The masked man standing there leaning against one wall had an attitude of contempt quite apart from the underlings who surrounded them, which irritated Godai enough that he glared at the man and said, "What's so funny, Ronin?"

"You," the big man hissed in a voice that was more of a wheeze than the kind of deep, guttural voice one would have expected from a body so huge, "Can't believe a lone woman could spank your little boys with her toy spatula. As if these hired thugs of yours had balls enough to stand man-to-man with a real fighter."

"Hey," one of Godai's senior henchmen reacted, but Godai promptly waved him to silence.

"I was just going to get around to you," Godai said levelly, "I thought I was paying you to keep stuff like this from happening to me, now I've got reports coming in from all over the city telling me my operations are being shut down one by one. No drugs, no prostitutes, no guns, and no numbers rackets. Bad enough my gambling casinos and arcades got broken up, but now I also hear one of the dives your boys hide out in was also hit hard, and what have you got to show me for the money I've paid you?"

"Tendo Nabiki surprised me," the other man said simply, "I underestimated the speed with which she would react to my challenge. I also severely underestimated the resourcefulness of her allies, who are even better than my agents said they were. You may have suffered a few setbacks…"

"Setbacks?" Godai rocked back in his chair, "You call the amount of yen I'm losing in a single day just a setback? The police raided every one of my operations right after they got broken up by a bunch of rowdy teenagers! I could have hired ten like you for the amount I've lost, to say nothing of the lawyer fees I'm going to have to pay out to get some of my boys out of the slammer!"

"Why don't you take your fancy-pants biker boys and split before we demand a refund," the unwise senior henchman who had spoken before said as he imprudently stabbed a finger towards the Ronin.

"No, don't!" Godai cried out too late as the Ronin's fist slammed into the Henchman's chest, knocking the man all the way across the room, where he slammed into the wall and was imbedded several inches.

The man's torment was not ended, however, as he started to cry out incoherently and grabbed at his head, which was bulging in alarming and unnatural ways in spite of his frantic attempt to contain his own rupturing blood vessels. Another moment later the walls were sprayed red as the man expired in a gruesome and most agonizing death.

Godai winced as he groaned, "Man, why did you have to do that to poor Marcon? And I just got through cleaning up the last mess you left here…"

"He tried to touch me," the Ronin said harshly, "No one tries to touch me and lives! I thought I made that point plain to you and your people!"

"Yeah, but with the fiasco on the school campus you can hardly blame them for having a few doubts," Godai tried to sound reasonable as the Ronin came to stand over his desk.

The other bodyguards and senior ranging gang members all tensed, but nobody drew their weapons. One glance at the still spurting body in the corner was enough to make them hesitate as the big man leaned over the desk, resting his massive fists on the polished cherry wood surface, and said in a hiss as menacing as anything Godai had ever heard in his life, "I find your lack of faith disturbing."

A softer chuckle broke the tension in the room and caused heads to swivel about to take in a new arrival, who was leaning up against the doorframe.

"Guess it's true what they say about there being no honor among thieves," said Asamiya Saki with a rude smirk on her face while she played with an apple that she tossed up and down in her hand, "Sorry to spoil your fun, boys, but I'm kind of pressed for time and I've got a message to deliver."

"Who are you?" Godai asked, relieved to have someone else to focus his wrath upon, though the pink haired girl seemed far too confident of herself, and she must have somehow managed to get by his men outside in order to make this timely interruption.

"Not important," Saki straightened up and pointed, "My message comes from the lips of Tendo Kaneda himself to the one who calls himself the Road Ronin. He wants to meet you at dawn tomorrow in Furinkan Park to settle this issue once and for all. You either show up or we continue to hit your places one by one until you won't be able to sell rice cakes on a street corner, Godai."

"Interesting," the Ronin said as he straightened up, "So you're a member of her Posse, is that it?"

"If you like," Saki smirked before glancing to one side and seeing the mess there, which caused her to wince a little as she said, "Don't you have a maid or something?"

"And what makes you think you are going to be walking out of here?" the Ronin turned fully around, his hands extended at his side in a deceptively non-threatening manner.

"One word," Saki replied, "Shonkar!"

With that she tossed the apple into the center of the room, where it promptly exploded into a cloud of billowing smoke that completely filled the office and left several men stunned who had been closest to the blast. By the time the spoke cleared Saki was no where to be found.

"Shonkar?" Godai coughed, "What the hell kind of a word is that?"

"A meaningless word," the Ronin said, unaffected by the smoke, "Kaneda, eh? I've heard the name used but I didn't see him anywhere at the high school. He's supposedly just as formidable as his cousin, but there is strangely no history I have been able to research of a Martial Artist by that name."

"Who cares?" Godai wheezed almost as badly as the Ronin, "Him and his cousin are gonna break me unless you take them out this time!"

"Don't worry," the Ronin said as he cocked one of his pistols to eject a cartridge from the chamber, plucking it from the air as he continued, "I will avenge myself on this upstart who thinks that he can challenge the Road Warriors and win. I will make an example of Tendo Nabiki, her entire family and friends, and then I will punish those who dared to teach them so that no one will ever again believe that they can stand against the Ronin."

He held the bullet on the palm of one hand and stared at it for a few brief seconds. A moment he placed the bullet between two fingers and pointed it at Godai, where it went off and just missed hitting the gangster's head. Godai reached up a trembling hand and felt the blood from where the bullet had barely nicked his ear and felt almost like fainting.

"That is for doubting me," the Ronin told him flatly, "Next time I won't miss."

With that he turned and left the office, Godai's men clearing a hasty path, not wanting to so much as catch the glance of the towering mercenary…

"Shonkar?" asked Ranma curiously, "What kind of a word is that?"

"Honestly," Nabiki snorted, "I thought you were into science fiction. Don't you watch Babylon Five like the rest of the planet, Ran-chan?"

"How about letting the rest of us in on the joke, Nab-chan," Ukyo pondered, "What's the word supposed to mean exactly?"

"Terror and revenge," Nabiki smiled, "What we've just put Godai through, a one-day reign of terror that ought to shake up a few apple carts from here to Taipei."

"I don't get it," Akane frowned, "You mean we're trying to get their attention? I thought the idea was to discourage future reprisals."

"Doesn't work like that, neechan," Nabiki shook her head, "Gangs are used to threats and intimidation. You can't really score points with them by simply making them afraid of you, you have to make them go weak in the knee in stark raving fear of your merest shadow. These punks think they can throw their weight around because nobody has the determination to call their bluff and make them work for a living."

"Why we let them live?" Perfume asked, "No want bother family, is logical to go for leaders and leave only dead to ask questions."

"Too simple, Per-chan," Nabiki sighed, "Besides getting us in trouble with the law, leaving a bunch of bodies strewn about Nerima would just mean somebody else would move in to take their place, and most probably try establishing their name by taking revenge against us. This way we just make them lose face and leave a lot of hurt and bruised gang members for the police to round up and question. Once we break the back of the organization some might even be willing to talk and turn states evidence. It's a good thing we're not dealing with real Yakuza here, just local thugs who pay fealty for use of the turf. The big boys won't want to get involved once the heat is on and too many witnesses are left standing around asking too many questions. Toadstools like these only grow in dark places without the light of publicity, which we're in the process of shining on them."

"Airen prove she good strategist," Shampoo said proudly, "Make enemies think twice before challenge Amazon vengeance. Great Grandmother no could plan better."

"Well, as much as I had to throw cold water on the party, people," Saki noted grimly, "We still have to deal with the Ronin himself, and that won't be easy after what I saw in that office."

"You mean the exploding head thing?" Keiko winced, "Yeah, that definitely poses a bit of a problem…"

"Exploding heads?" Ryoga looked puzzled, "I've heard of some strange techniques, but a single blow that does that? That's pretty hard to credit…"

"Like the thing your pussy-cat friend here can do with the touch of a finger?" Kodachi asked in mild amusement, "What do you Amazons call it again…?"

"Bakusai Tenketsu," Perfume replied, "Is principle that all things in Universe have a breaking point that can be exploded with a touch. Training very hard, no everyone master it. For Perfume it very hard, but she learn quickly, can do even better than Shampoo-cousin."

"But technique no good against human body," Shampoo pointed out, "Is too many energy patterns must disrupt to make body explode. Bodies are composite parts, no solid like stone or metal."

"So this guy knows a technique that isn't part of the Amazon repertoire?" Nabiki mused, "That's not too good, unless Cologne might know something she hasn't taught to either of you. I'll have to go ask her, if she's anywhere around at the moment."

"I think I saw her in the dojo talking to some old guy," Akane frowned, "I didn't know we were having guests over. I thought Dad and Mister Tendo thought it was too dangerous to let anybody in until this crisis is over."

"That's what I thought, too," Nabiki frowned, "But if Cologne invited him over, it must have been important. I don't always agree with the old woman, but she's never done anything to my knowledge without a purpose."

"True enough," Akane looked at her older sister and said, "I've got a question of my own…why did you tell him to meet up with Kaneda?"

"Why yes," Kodachi suddenly arched her tone mischievously and cooed, "What of my darling Kaneda-sama? How is he involved in these affairs do you wonder, Nabiki-san?"

"Ah…" Nabiki winced, then said, "Well…the Ronin's never actually met Kaneda, so I thought it might give us the edge and…um, I really do wonder what Cologne is up to in there?" she asked in a feeble attempt at changing the subject.

"I suppose we could go over there and ask her," Ranma pointed out.

"When all else fails try the direct approach, eh?" Nabiki smiled, "Why not? I've had enough subtlety for one day. Wait here and I'll be back as soon as I get to the bottom of this mystery, people."

She headed for the dojo as Kodachi murmured to Akane and Keiko, "Take charge sort of girl, isn't she? She presumes a lot in giving me instructions."

"Oneechan's just that way," Akane shrugged before giving Kodachi a cross look and murmuring softly, "And what's with that Kaneda-dig anyway? You already know Nabiki and Kaneda are one in the same."

"True," Kodachi grinned the more as she added in the same low tone, "But she doesn't know that I know, and I do so much enjoy seeing the way she squirms when I catch her off guard like that. After the way she let me make such a fool of myself I feel I am entitled to a little payback. Now if only I could convince my idiot brother to give up on his obsession regarding both parts of her."

"By the way," Keiko said, "He sure helped us out this time, and he never even tried hitting on me the whole time we were on our little blitzkrieg."

"Are you kidding?" Kodachi chuckled, "He is beside himself with pleasure at finally getting to act out the role of heroic samurai, which he has fancied himself for many years. 'Taichi may be prone to missing a few clues now and then, but he is competent enough with a sword in his hand, and if you give him a worthy cause to fight for he will storm the very gates of hell, as he so often likes to boast when anyone will listen."

"Well, I don't know about you guys," Ranma turned to the others, "But I'm still pretty wound up in spite of all the excitement. Care to spar with me for a bit, Ryoga-kun?"

"Now that you mention it," the lost boy replied, cracking his own knuckles, "I do feel a lot unused energy I feel like working off, if you don't mind me pounding your head in, Ranma-kun."

"Ah…but…" Akane started to say, then sighed in disappointment, "Never mind."

"What's with you?" Ukyo asked, sensing the downward shift in Akane's spirits.

"Nothing," Akane growled as she turned around and headed back towards the main house, "You guys coming? I was thinking of baking up some cookies with Kasumi in a little bit."

There was a momentary look of panic on the faces of the other five remaining women before Kodachi and Keiko hurried to catch up with their friend, taking Akane by either arm as they murmured into her ears of other pleasurable things they were thinking of doing together.

"What did I say?" Ukyo asked in growing confusion.

"No what you say, Airen," Perfume replied, "Think Akane want spend time with stupid bandana boy. You no see how they look at each other?"

"Well, now that you mention it, just about every time they're together," Ukyo smiled, "Ryoga and Akane. Well, that's better than if she were still after my Ranchan."

"Shampoo think maybe those two no find each other without push," Shampoo smiled, "If left to them no see how they get together any time soon."

"You're probably right," Ukyo stroked her chin with her fingers, "Well, I'm not in Nabiki's class when it comes to making up plans, but maybe we might find a way to help those two out. After all, Ryoga's my friend, and I've gotten to like Akane, for all her many faults. I think that maybe we ought to find a way of bolstering their courage a little…"

"What, like love potion?" Shampoo brightened, "Think maybe Shampoo know way. Great Grandmother bring spellbook from China, it has many useful recipes for potion, charms and herbs."

"A recipe book, eh?" Ukyo smiled speculatively, "Tell me more about it, Sham-chan. Think she'd mind if I had a look at one of the pages…?"

When Nabiki reached the dojo she was surprised to find not one but two strangers occupying the center, and--more astonishing still--both Cologne and Happosai were facing them in postures that conveyed attitudes of great respect, more respect than either of the two Elders was prone to showing.

The man facing them was very old to look at with frost white hair and bushy eyebrows, heavily robed like a Buddhist monk yet showing no evidence of a precise religious order. At a guess she would have placed him at seventy, but there was something about him that appeared far more ancient. Moreover, the nearer she came to his presence the greater the sense of agelessness weighted about his aura. There was such a dignity about his bearing that it caused her to look at him alertly, clearly sensing that there was far more to him than could be met by appearance.

At his side was a young man approximately Ranma's age who had jet black hair and astonishingly blue eyes, not definably Asian but possibly of occidental origin. The boy turned to watch her approach and there was something about his handsome features that made her heart begin to flutter for no reason that she could name. His expression was neutral but not overtly hostile, more curious than formal, and Nabiki found herself liking his face for some reason. He reminded her of Ranma, and not just because they bore a passing resemblance.

"Ah," said Happosai as he took note of her approach, "Nabiki-chan, so good of you to come, we were just about to call you."

"I heard that we had company," Nabiki replied, looking towards the older man before adopting a respectful nod on the principle that anyone who could impress both of her teachers had to be somebody with whom you wanted to stay on good terms, "Konnichi wa, honored sir."

"Good day to you, honored daughter of the house of Tendo," the older man replied in a surprisingly clear voice, "I am Ryuken, and this is my son, Kenshiro. We are here at the invitation of Elder Cologne and Master Happosai, which whom I have had past relations.. I trust this is not an unwelcome intrusion into the harmony of your House?"

"Not at all," Nabiki replied, "Are you the specialists I've been referred to?"

"We represent a very ancient school of Martial Arts known as The North Star," the elder Ryuken replied, "And I believe we may be of some assistance in solving the mystery surrounding the one you know of only as the Road Ronin."

"Indeed?" Nabiki said as she sat down besides Cologne, "Anything that you can tell me would be greatly appreciated. He's been a source of much unpleasantness since yesterday afternoon…"

"Ah yes," the old man nodded, "My apologies for that. It would seem that your troubles are in part my fault. You see…I was the one who trained him."

"Indeed?" Nabiki murmured, "Your school…the North Star is it? I'm not familiar with that particular art…."

"It is a very august and important School, my Apprentice," Happosai said portentously, "The North Star and The Southern Cross are two of the most ancient disciplines yet in existence, descended from the same teaching, passed down over the generations from father to son, the preservers of a legacy to which even the Amazons of Joketsuzoku are beholden."

"This is so, Daughter-in-law," Cologne said gravely, "For once Happy has not garbled the facts to suit his own perverse whims. Ryuken is the reigning Fist of the North Star, and Kenshiro is his designated heir, the Fist of the North Star that is to be. Yet Kenshiro is also Master Ryuken's third and youngest child…"

"He is my youngest son," said Ryuken simply, "He has two older brothers, one of whom you have had the misfortunate to have met, who may call himself a Ronin now but once went by the name of Jaggy, my middle son and greatest disappointment."

"You mean the Ronin…" Nabiki gasped.

"Is my son," Ryuken replied, "Or was before he turned his heart to the dark path he now follows. Jealousy has twisted his heart and made him a creature of hate who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals."

"It is a great pity," Cologne said, "I remember the boy when he was much younger. Even then I could tell that he envied his brothers, the older for his power and the younger because young Kenshiro had a kinder and more generous disposition. Such bad-hearted students corrupt the art to their foul purposes and seek to destroy those who have only wished to love them."

"Indeed, a great tragedy," Happosai nodded, "Sounds to me as if this boy was a lost cause from the very beginning."

"I fear you are both right," Ryuken replied, "But can you blame a father for failing to see the imperfections in his child until it was far too late? Jaggy left home some years ago, only to return and attempt to take by force that which was not his to have in the first place. Kenshiro was forced to defend himself against his own brother, for which he bears a burden on his heart for the injury he was forced to inflict upon him, the injury that causes Jaggy to wear a mask to this very day. That is why you must allow us to help you bring an end to my son's criminal career before he can bring more shame upon our school with his actions."

"Of course I would welcome your assistance most heartily, sir," Nabiki replied, "But what is the secret of your discipline that allows this man to be such a danger to others?"

"My son will demonstrate," Ryuken replied, nodding to the boy at his side, "Kenshiro, perform the dance of the Nine Ultimate Levels."

Kenshiro rose to his feet fluidly and bowed to his father, then to the elders, and lastly to Nabiki, pausing to meet her curious gaze before turning way and assuming a horse stance in the space between both parties. Nabiki watched curiously as the boy went through a series of rapid katas while remaining where he first stood, going through a repertoire of rapid kicks and punches that flowed one to the next with hardly a break in the interim. Each motion gradually escalated in complexity until he reached and surpassed the plateau Nabiki knew to be her own skill level before continuing on to the final motions, which were executed flawlessly with such control and power that Nabiki was held speechless.

Kenshiro finished his motions, then bowed and took his seat at his father's side, not even breathing hard at his brief exertions. Nabiki just sat there staring at him in disbelief while Cologne and Happosai nodded gravely, the latter voicing the sentiment, "You have done well with this boy. He will perhaps one day even surpass the wisdom of his father."

"That is my hope," Ryuken replied, "Perhaps the hope of the world. The Fist of the North Star has a destiny to protect the flame of life. There must always be a North Star to guide mankind through whatever dark times may await us in the future."

"The ultimate technique of your school," Cologne resumed, "It involves a process by which the human body may be subjected to lethal levels of Chi-force?"

"Indeed," Ryuken nodded, "At low levels the power merely involves cutting off the flow of Ki throughout the body while saturating the victim with a concentrated burst of energy that churns within one without the ability to circulate or equalize, eventually seeking release through the weakest vessel of the body. At more advanced levels the power requires only a single blow to a certain vital spot and the charge is released at the point of contact. The use of this technique is almost invariably lethal. It is more dangerous by far than the Bakusai Tenketsu and is never taught to outsiders. We cannot allow the knowledge of this deadly technique to escape our control or else the consequences can be devastating."

"And your son knows this secret killing method?" Nabiki asked, giving Kenshiro a closer study and noticing the uncomfortable way the boy shifted in place and would not this time meet her glance.

"He does," Ryuken replied, "I am teaching him all of my knowledge that he may advance that much more quickly in the art. Kenshiro is at present in danger from either one of his two brothers, but one day he will surpass them both in skill and knowledge."

"That is quite a burden for one of such tender years," Cologne noted matter-of-factly, "I myself am not yet ready to pass on all of my secrets to my two Disciples, nor shall I until I am convinced that they are fully ready."

"That is as you would have it," Ryuken said sagely before giving his son a side-glance, "Kenshiro, why not escort Tendo Nabiki out into her garden that you two young people might allow your elders a few moments to catch up on old times? You each will be summoned when the time is right."

"Yes, Father," the boy said with a very masculine voice.

He rose to his feet again and offered his hand to Nabiki, who accepted it after only a moment of hesitation. Much to her surprise she found him much stronger than she even would have imagined. A part of her fairly thrilled to the incredible power she felt implied by that brief contact, but she had the presence of mind to keep from showing how much she was affected.

Once they stepped outside, however, Nabiki felt a different sort of reaction, one of acute embarrassment as the two of them stared outside and saw Ranma with Ryoga locked in an intense sparring match that bordered on an all-out melee.

"Kuso," she murmured under her breath as she saw the energetic exchanges going back and forth between her childhood friend and iinazuke. She silently guessed that Ranma must have once again said something that set off Ryoga's hair trigger temper, and when Ryoga really got going he tended to zone out everything but the need to pound some sense into Ranma. She wondered what subject had triggered their continual grudge match this time and privately laid odds that it had somehow concerned her youngest sister.

"I'm sorry," she apologized to her guest, "Those two are going at it again. Honestly, I don't know what gets into them sometimes…"

"Anything Goes style, eh?" Kenshiro said thoughtfully, "That one over there is faster and has better control, but his friend has raw strength and endurance on his side. Not much in the way of finesse, but I can see great potential."

Nabiki looked at Kenshiro in surprise then managed to say in a level voice, "Um yes…that one over there is my fiancée, Saotome Ranma, the other is an old friend of mine named Hibiki Ryoga."

"Fiancée, huh?" Kenshiro actually smiled at that, "I wonder if they'd mind if I spar with the winner? I'd like to learn more about this Anything Goes style."

"You would, eh?" Nabiki mused, "Well, it just so happens that I'm presently the senior disciple of the art and designated heir to the Anything Goes school."

"Then perhaps you would indulge me the pleasure of a brief sparring match?" Kenshiro asked.

Again Nabiki controlled her surprise as she replied, "You don't mind sparring with a girl?"

"Are you any good?" the boy asked.

"As a matter of fact I'm very good," Nabiki assured him.

"Then why should I mind?" Kenshiro asked, smiling in a way she found very pleasant, as if accepting her implicitly without the usual doubt and hesitation to which she was accustomed.

"Hey!" Ranma suddenly motioned to Ryoga for a time out, which was reluctantly granted since Ryoga had finally worked himself down past the edge of his anger. He followed Ranma's gaze and at once spotted a boy their own age talking to Nabiki. He frowned, as did Ranma, then by silent assent they both turned and walked in their direction.

Nabiki was just in the process of squaring off to face the newcomer when she saw Ranma approach and smiled, "Ranchan…I'd like you to meet a guest of our house, Kenshiro…?" she deliberately arched the last part into a question.

"Just Kenshiro," the other boy replied, "And you're Saotome Ranma?"

"Who wants to know," Ranma gave the other boy a hard study then said, "Are you another old friend of my iinazuke?"

The way he said that last part implied possessiveness that Nabiki had thought Ranma had matured beyond. Then she noticed that Ryoga was also giving Kenshiro a hard stare that implied very little warmth and a great deal of resentment.

"No, we've only just met, so you don't need to sound so jealous," Kenshiro assured him.

"Who's jealous?" Ranma's tone looked ugly as though he wanted to start something, and Nabiki had the guilty realization that her own actions had this time given him cause to suspect mischief.

"I think you've got the wrong impression here," Kenshiro sounded more amused than offended, "Tell you what, though, since you've both been warming up together, why don't we three spar for a bit, then the winner can have his turn sparring with Nabiki."

"You mean…both of us at the same time?" Ryoga asked as he exchanged looks with Ranma, who smiled back at him, causing Ryoga to smile, then together they flexed their fists and smiled, challenge obviously being accepted.

"Oboy," Nabiki murmured to herself. Something told her this was a big mistake, but there was little that she could do besides sit back and watch the inevitable. She silently laid odds that it would be Kenshiro whom she would be sparring with in another five minutes, so she set herself to doing some stretching exercises.

She was wrong, of course. The match took less than one minute. Ranma and Ryoga were laid out on the ground groaning from various hurts as the one who vanquished them both set himself to sparring with Nabiki. She spared the other two boys a brief look of sympathy, then turned back to her match, intending to learn what she could from her new sparring partner, suspecting that for once she would be in for a real challenge…

And was not disappointed.

Continued

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