Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Knight of Shadow ❯ In the House of Shadows and City of Chaos ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma½, A Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen, Inu-Yasha... or whatever else might end up in this fic. That's simple enough, isn't it... ^_^; ...and if it isn't? Well, I could mention that I bought a new set of bear traps and a shotgun for lawyer hunting; the game's a foot... X_X

Dialog:"…"

Thoughts: are like this.

Warnings: Hmm, I don't know... Wordy? Serious? A little bit of angst perhaps? It will get better though, I think this is only an overblown prologue. The better stuff is still in the future... I hope... ^_^;

The Knight of Shadow

Chapter 1 - In the House of Shadow and City of Chaos

By: Azrael's Wing

In the realm of shadows there was discussion going on. You couldn't quite call it an argument but it wasn't really a friendly chat either. In a way it was a throwback to the time when the two current gods of shadow had been mere mortals, when instead of being the Lord of Shadow and the Assassin they'd been known as the emperor Logarth Da'igon and his royal advisor Xian il Shin'igami. Being the only one willing and able to argue with the paranoid emperor, Xian had often been the one to create the plans that Logarth would in turn try to dispute.

It had always been their way of doing things, to look the plan or the problem from both sides before taking action. A habit that had remained long after they had risen to godhood, and one that the courtiers of the empire would have recognized, even if it would happen in the realm of shadows instead of the royal chambers.

"Are you really so certain of this? We are taking a huge gamble to get a single man, no matter how promising he may be for our purposes. If we make a single mistake, the results could be problematic at very least... for both of us," a dry and masculine voice commented from the shadows, questioning a woman standing in the shifting light of their domain.

She was tall, almost 6' tall, and was dressed in a concealing black cloak, that hid nearly all of her body, showing only her head and hands. She looked to she was in her late 20's or early 30's but there was certain ageless quality in her face, making clear definitions of age almost impossible.

Seeing her face, most would have called her beautiful, were not for certain unnatural... sharpness in her features... and in her eyes. Her ice blonde hair was mostly cut short but formed bangs that fell over her face, and underneath them was pair of pale blue eyes. They were almost like chips of ice... cold, merciless and quietly mocking.

Added to this, there was something else as well, a kind of aura this woman projected. Her eyes and posture, the very presence she gave, they made her feel more like a weapon than a woman. A sheathed one perhaps, but a deadly weapon none the less.

She stood in the presence of the only being she would see as her superior, her tactics and methods being questioned, but she couldn't be less intimidated. She was Xian il Shin'igami, the patron of assassins and her lips pulled into a brief cynical smile as she answered to the disembodied voice.

"Oh Logarth, you're still the same, a god or not. Seeing enemies in every corner and threats in every move you make. You might as well come out of the shadows, you know. I'm the only around here and you really aren't impressing me with this 'dark and mysterious' look of yours. Why should you have a need to hide in your own domain anyway?" She admonished the hidden Lord of Shadows with a mocking tone, her voice almost dripping of acid.

Few moments later, the shadows nearby her seemed to ripple, revealing a form of a man dressed in regal black and with a silver coronet on his brow. He was extremely tall, 7'2'', but thin without any extra weight on his body. By the look of his face he seemed to be in his late 40's or early 50's, but he had the same ageless quality as she had.

His long silver hair ran freely over his shoulder and back and it was pulled back from his face showing his hard features. His face looked as if had been chiseled from rock, complete with all hard planes and sharp angles boulder would have. It indeed made him look more like lifeless statue than a man, something that was heavily contrasted by his gray eyes that glowed with great inner power.

The response from this man was pointed but surprisingly humorous, something his opponent wasn't clearly expecting of him. "Please, let an old man have his amusements. It's not as if you're really any better, always looking everything like it's a fight to win… or a hit to kill. Sometimes I do wonder how I managed to get a madwoman like you as my advisor. Are you certain that you didn't kill the real one and just hid the body somewhere?" Logarth finished, his mouth pulling into a slight sardonic smile.

Hearing this, Xian looked shell shocked for a brief moment, but then suddenly started laughing quietly. After getting her breath back, she once again spoke to Logarth, but this time her mouth has a genuine smile of affection upon it, tone of her voice matching it. "Logarth, I'm impressed. I didn't know that you had sense of humor anymore. I would have thought you would have had it killed at some point, but now it seems that you had some dregs of it left, hidden in some freezer no doubt," She paused for a brief moment and then continued with a more mysterious smile on her face. "And as for your quite interesting suspicions, you'll have to find about it yourself. It is a secret you know..."

Logarth just chuckled briefly at this before returning to the matter at hand, his sudden amusement disappearing behind his stone like mask. "Hmph, as if I didn't know the truth already... Anyway Xian, you're certain that we don't have any better options than this? There are reasons why the older houses don't use this method."

"For the last time, yes I'm certain of it! We don't have the resources they have, so we really don't have any other option. If we're to gain any more power to our house, we need Ascendants. Unfortunately, our world is an old one and others before us have taken or killed any that there might have been before we came to be, that and Deus' meddling of course. Our only viable option is another realm and only way to open a portal unnoticed is to use our core power. There really isn't any other choice, as much as even I'd like there to be. I'm going to supply the other half of it, remember," Xian said to Logarth, her exasperation brimming to the surface now and then during the lecture.

Logarth could only sigh at that tirade, as correct as it was. "I know I know... I guess we don't have much of a choice, do we? The only way to breach barriers unnoticed is to do it this way, probably because none of the other houses would dare to do so... and for a good reason too. We could risk our very own life force on this gamble, just in hopes avoiding the attention of Deus..." Logarth trailed off, his mind deep in thought.

After few moments of deep thoughts he finally threw his arms into air and exclaimed, "Oh hell, let's get it over with! Our Ascension… Heh, our entire domain was just a one big gamble, what's one more in this grand game of ours?"

"In the end, always the gambler," Xian said chuckling, and then continued "I think our entire Ascension was based on a game of head and tails, which I by the way won Logarth. So, let's get it as you said 'over with', and see if we can screw that bastard Deus royally in the process! Let's begin!" Xian exclaimed, while starting to channel her own energy into the 'floor' in front of her, making it pulse with an eerie blue glow.

Following Xian's lead, Logarth did the same, his hard features becoming tense due his intense concentration. Their eyes began to glow silver as their powers started to change a part of their domain into something else, taking something from them, a part of their power and what they are, and creating a conduit between them and their newborn creation.

Time passes and two deities of shadow stand where they are, only their eyes showing that something is going on. That and the intensifying glow near their feet. It's a glow that begins to form a symbol, a circle of power holding incredible strength.

This magical circle is surrounded by complicated sigils and runes, an intricate pentagram found in the center of it. Pentagram and the sigils glow with a bright blue light, giving a pulse every few second or so, making it almost seem as if it had a heart beat. In a way perhaps it did have one, its power coming straight from the life forces of the two gods that had created it.

Their creation complete, Xian and Logarth took a breather from their straining task, clearly tired of this effort. After a moment Logarth spoke to Xian once again, breaking the tired silence with his amused voice. "So, it is done and we both still live... I guess we could this success then, eh Xian?"

"I guess you would Logarth, after all you're not the one to use this thing, not that I'd let you to do so even if you'd want to. You never were known of your diplomacy, remember?" Xian comments with a biting tone at her fellow god.

You could almost see a sweat drop forming on Logarth's head, Xian's reminder bringing certain not-so-dignified memories up to his mind. "Err, let's not think about that. Anyway, how are you going make sure he accepts the deal? As excellent choice he might be, he won't be much of a use to us unless he agrees to come to us. How are you going to deal with him?"

The smile that formed on Xian's face could have only been described as impish, something that seemed to puzzle the Lord of Shadows quite a bit. After fed moments of waiting, he finally grew impatient and barked an irritated question. "Well, what is it? Spit it out already!"

At that Xian's smile only grew wider for brief moment before she answered. "Simple, I'll do something that almost no one dealing with him had ever done, something that you with your ever present paranoia couldn't even think about. I will use the sharpest and deadliest tool ever available in this kind of negotiations... I will tell him the truth!" And saying that, Xian il Shin'igami, the patron of Assassins stepped into the glowing portal and vanished, leaving gaping and spluttering Lord of Shadows behind.

Everyone has their limits, regardless of how powerful or patient they are. For some, reaching that limit may take far more time than for the others, making it seem as if their patience would have no limits. In a way, this makes them far more dangerous than those with a normal temper, for when their temper finally snaps no one knows what will happen...

It was a general agreement in Nerima, as false as it might have been, that Kasumi Tendo and Ranma Saotome were the two least likely individuals to break under any pressure. Where as Kasumi would seem as stable as bedrock under any circumstances, a quaint 'Oh my' aside, Ranma had gone through everything from simple beatings to being poisoned, cursed and being blamed for nearly everything but the fall of man without going completely psycho and butchering everyone like Hannibal Lecter on a diet.

This was clearly seen as a sign that nothing would shake this boy/girl, therefore justifying them to turn a blind eye to the more unusual happenings in the area. As unusual was seen as usual anywhere near Ranma, no one noticed a subtle change that had come over him after he returned from China. Sure, his family and 'friends' seemed to tread bit more carefully around him for a while, but soon enough things returned 'normal' in Nerima... That is, for everyone else but Ranma Saotome himself.

It was fortunate then for the general population, and for the Nerima Wrecking Crew in particular that the pigtailed wonder of Nerima would be leaving somewhere else pretty soon, taking his newly gained temper with him...

At the moment though, the boy in question was sitting cross legged at the top of the Tendo Dojo, his inner turmoil hidden by an outer calm. It was night, and cool breeze ruffled his hair as he sat there, dressed only in a black t-shirt and shorts.

A month had passed since the incident with Saffron, time that Ranma had hoped to prove his fears and suspicions false. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be so and instead they only solidified, proving them to be true and only fanning his newfound anger to greater heights.

It is hard to stay calm when you find out that you don't even know your true self anymore, that what you had once been had been made into a puppet. To be controlled so by someone else; knowing that someone had done so to him fueled his anger, even more so by the fact that this someone else had been his own father.

Then again, as much as Genma's actions had enraged Ranma, he couldn't help but to feel some amount of respect towards the old bastard and his methods. That he managed to cast all those spells and curses on me without out messing them up is pretty impressive, as much as I hate him for them. Were not for Jyusenko and Saffron, I still might be the easily controlled fool he made of me, manipulated by everyone around me, he mused, trying to keep his rage contained as he thought about it.

The fight with Saffron had been quite an eye opener for him, or perhaps it had just been the catalyst, something to finish what Jyusenko had started. That something was the eradication of the control Genma had imposed on him when he was a child, and the main reason for this hell he now called life.

The strength of the Jyusenko curse had disrupted or weakened what Genma had done, and the death of Saffron had been just the last straw, enabling his mind to break free of the bondage it had been placed into.

One of the things that had been manipulated by it had been his emotions, so that he would be easier to control no doubt. Unfortunately, whatever spell it had been it wouldn't really prevent certain emotions; instead it would simply stop them behind a barrier of sorts. Like a dam, it would prevent them coming forth normally. Now though, the dam had burst and all those negative emotions were coming back with a vengeance, above them all... hate and anger.

Anger for not being in control of his own life.

Anger for always being blamed for things he had not done, for being something that he wasn't.

And hatred for those who had made his life such a hell...

The Tendo's, his fiancés, his rivals and above all, for his parents.

There were some exemptions for this though. He could understand Nabiki's actions, for the household would need money and Soun would be of no use, being the waste of space he was. He might not have liked the way she used him for money, but he understood why she did it.

Then there was Dr. Tofu, someone he had learned a lot from for all the times he'd tended in his clinic. He had given him books and scrolls to read, helping him to learn medicine and shiatsu. He was hardly a master in either of them but he knew of them now... and could learn more.

For some reason he also couldn't bring himself to hate the Kuno's, for they were insane and not responsible for what they did. Likely they were simply victims of their own parents, hardly a fault of their own.

And then of course, there was Akane...

He had loved her once, perhaps he still did have some small affection towards her, but the love had been eroded by her abuse and distrust towards him. Oh, he had not been faultless in the matter, and the regular doses of insults and his chauvinistic attitude had not helped in dealing with her. Even so, he had done but a fraction of the things she had accused him of, the explanations and apologies always falling to deaf ears.

But none the less, as much as she had hurt him in the past he couldn't make himself to hate her. Not yet at least, but as long as this life of his continued to go on as before, that could and would change eventually. And that was the root of his problem.

If the things stayed the same, and so far nothing had indicated otherwise, eventually he would crack, and that would be fatal to quite a few people around him. He freely admitted that he had more than a healthy ego, but also he also knew that ever since fighting Saffron any the others wouldn't be much of a challenge to him. It was about more than just the strength and skills between them, as important as they were. What mattered was that before he had been held back the restraints imposed by Genma, this preventing him from seeing most of the fights beyond semi-friendly spar.

Now it would be different. His mind was free of any control; he could react to attacks with any amount of force he would see needed. And more importantly, if he'd let his anger loose, that response would be harmful at best and lethal at worst. And as much as he hated most of them, he didn't want to kill them. …Yet.

But what could he do about it? The only solution he could see would be to leave Nerima. That however wouldn't be as easy as it sounds, as for all those that'd like to see him gone, there would be those that wouldn't like to let him slip loose.

Cologne, Nabiki, perhaps even Genma among others would certainly have desire and perhaps the means to trace him were he to leave unnoticed, and as long as there were all these strings tied to him, an escape would be almost impossible.

"If only there was some way to leave without a notice, to go somewhere where they couldn't follow..." he whispered into the night, fearing that changes for it would be scant in least, as much as he might wish otherwise.

Suddenly he heard a female voice whispering in his head, answering to his rhetoric question. Perhaps that can be arranged, I voice suddenly seemed to whisper in his mind.

Ranma couldn't quite pinpoint where the voice had come from, as the sound seemed to simply appear into his head out of nowhere. Reacting to this sudden intrusion, he quickly rose from his position and spun around, his stance ready for any sudden attacks that were known to plague him.

Scanning the nearby area for any threats, Ranma noticed a strange symbol floating in the air several feet away from him. It was a glowing blue disk with a glowing blue pentagram in the middle of it. Strange markings or letters surrounded the pentagram, blinking on and off in oddly regular pattern as he stared it, wondering whatever mess would this lead to.

He didn't have change to stare it for long, as it suddenly flashed brightly, blinding Ranma for a brief moment. As he furiously blinked of the spots in his vision, he suddenly noticed someone standing in front of him, right where the disk had been.

She was dressed in a black cloak with a hood over her head, its fabric covering all but her hands. He recognized it soon enough to be a woman, a consequence of dealing with a quite a few cross dressers... and with his own cursed nature as well. For now both of then stood still and silent, Ranma unsure of this stranger's intention, the stranger remaining silent for only god knew whatever for...

After some more moments of strained silence, Ranma's patience was finally gone and he decided to demand some answers from this intruder. "Who are you, another challenger... or a fiancé? I've had enough of both of them, so if you've got some business with me, say it so I can get it over with!" he growled at the stranger, readying himself for a fight he now expected. It seemed a logical conclusion; that she was here to challenge him as he sensed the power she radiated all around herself without much of an effort.

At first she only chuckled at the demand, the brief sound feeling somewhat chilling as it reached Ranma's ears. Then she threw back the hood, revealing her face to him, a sardonic smile decorating her lips.

She was good looking, he couldn't deny that, but there was something about her that disturbed him none the less. Her hair was pale, almost white, and behind the spiked bangs that fell from her forehead stared a pair of cold blue eyes, almost like some frozen pools of ice. Her mocking smile never wavered as they stared at each other, the silence making him feel uncomfortable in presence of this strangely cold woman. It almost felt as if he was in presence of death him... or herself. A notion Ranma tried to banish as soon as it came to his mind, as hard as it was.

Finally the woman broke the silence, her sarcastic voice cutting through the silence like knife through butter. "Heh, you really are on a hair trigger, aren't you? Try to relax a bit, I'm neither a challenger nor a fiancé, as cute as you may be," the woman commented, her tone slightly mocking to his ears. After a brief pause she continued. "In fact, I'm here to make you an offer Ranma Saotome, a chance to get out of this annoying rut of yours. Isn't that what you want, a way to leave without anyone following you, without someone to bring you back against your will?"

Hearing her words, he was naturally suspicious. There had to be a catch somewhere, something she'd want from him in exchange... and how did she know about him anyway? These suspicions in mind, he told her just that, demanding to know her true intentions and her name...

To his surprise, she didn't deny that she wanted something from this, but instead proceeded to tell all these things to him.

"Of course I want something, that's the basis of a deal... something for something isn't it? On the other hand, I think you'll find what I want quite acceptable as well," she said pausing for, and then continued with a smirk. "But where are my manners? My name is Xian il Shin'igami, of the House of Shadows, the patron Goddess of Assassins," she finished, giving Ranma a little mocking bow to top her introduction.

Ranma's reaction to his visitors nature was as to be expected, his encounter with Saffron still in fresh memory. "A Goddess!? What do you want from me? If this has something to do with Saffron..." He demanded warily.

He had little reason to doubt her words of her nature, since it did after all explain the great power he felt from her. And as for her being Goddess of assassins? For some reason to him, it didn't disturb him nearly as much as he thought it should.

Unlike he expected though, Xian didn't seem to care about Saffron at all, dismissing the demigod with a wave of a hand. "I have nothing to do with that little firebird; his demise is but a plus for you in my books. No, I'm from a... 'pantheon' not even native this realm. The House of Shadows is its name, as I said when I told you of myself."

His anxiety eased slightly, Ranma continued to question Xian, still feeling slightly edgy about his visitor's divine status. "Then what do you want from me? Your kind always seems to have some kind of rules about these deals. I don't want to mess my life any further than it already is, so tell me already," Ranma demanded from her, his tone still showing signs of healthy amount of distrust.

"Simple, we wish you to join us," was the simple answer, causing Ranma to reply with a confused, "...err, what?!" and the shell-shocked look on his face was quite amusing to Xian.

None the less, she proceeded to explain things in more detail to thoroughly shocked Ranma. "It's quite simple you know... There are numerous worlds beyond yours, all of them having their own gods and demons. In my world, we, as in myself and the Lord of the Shadow, were the first... and so far only mortals to Ascend in eons. That means to rose into godhood if you're wondering the term."

At this point she paused for a moment and let Ranma to digest what's been said, and then continued on with explaining things to him.

"Ironicly, that wasn't supposed to happen. By turning from mortal to gods, we broke the rules of certain holier-than-thou being named Deus." Xian spat the name out with scorn, clearly indicating what she thought of this being, but continued soon after.

"Deus is a being of order, and being such likes to impose such. One of his rules seems to be that he has to approve any of those who wish to rise into godhood. He likes to think himself as some kind of an overgod, but he's just someone who's got more power than others. Fortunately, since we got through a loophole he couldn't do much to us without breaking his own rules. Unfortunately though, he could prevent us becoming any stronger than we already were."

At this point Ranma interrupted Xian's speech impatiently. "I still don't see what this has to do with me... Why would you want me to join this House of yours?"

"It's because there's no one left in our world that could ascend anymore because of Deus. Ours was an oversight that was fixed soon enough. He can also prevent us to gain more power than we already have from our world, thus keeping us weak compared to those that accept his rule. Rest of the houses are quite happy with that, as it stops us from being a threat to them. Only thing left for us was to reach into other realms, and that's where you come in." Xian finished, waiting for Ranma's reaction.

"You want me to become a god... so that you can become stronger? How does that really work? Sounds a bit fishy to me..." Suspicious and quite puzzled Ranma asked from Xian.

"There's strength in numbers, even more so when you're deity. In a way, a house... or a pantheon if you will pools their strength together, becoming more than sum of their parts. Also, it doesn't hurt that you'd open us a new world to draw power from..." Xian mused.

"Then again, I really can't outright make you a god. I can only give you the means; you'll have to do the rest yourself."

During this speech Ranma had slowly began to loose his uneasiness with Xian. Her... openness concerning their situation was strangely making him trust her more. It was rare that someone would be open of their motives for him; in fact it was almost unheard of. This Goddess of Assassins openly admitted that they needed him, that in exchange for him joining them he would gain what he wanted... but how, he'd need to find that out before he'd make his decision.

"All right, let's say I'm interested. How is this going to work? Do I have to kill someone or something, you being the patron of Assassin and all...?" Ranma asks worriedly. Even though he had killed Saffron, he didn't really look forward to kill anyone else unless it was really necessary. The thing just was, if he didn't get out of here, he'd end up killing someone anyways... someone he'd know in fact. It was a no win situation and Ranma saw now a way out of it, and however bloody it might be, he would take it.

"Hmm? No, nothing like that. You should we capable of killing though, as we're not exactly light gods, you know. Anyway, it goes like this... I can't make you a god just like that, but I can make you an Ascendant though. It's kind of like a being a demigod, but you wouldn't get any real extra powers from it, just your basic immortality.

"Basic immortality?"

"Basically, you'd be immune to ageing, that's all. I'd would be your job to gather enough power, be it Ki, Chi, Magic, Divine or otherwise to enable me to complete the Ascension. Well, it does remove any plateaus that you might reach, enabling you to gather the necessary powers without any limiters. The chance for you to do this gathering would also be your escape by the way..."

At this point Ranma really perked up, eagerly demanding to know more. "How? How would it help me? There are always those that can find me. I'd need some way to escape and hide from them," he pointed out, hoping her to give him some solution to this problem.

"It's quite simple really... time. I will use what's left of my powers reserved for this mission of mine to make you a portal trough time. As time runs differently in our realms, one year for me would be 360 for you; about as many days as in your year isn't it? You'd use that time in the past to gather power and when you'd reach the time you left, we would deal with your Ascension. Simple enough for you?" Xian finished, smirking at the hopeful looking Ranma.

"But isn't there a threat of a paraldo, parapto... err something like that..." Ranma wondered aloud, trying to recall the strange word he had heard in class.

"Paradox? That's up to you; this isn't my world after all. As long as you survive its fine with me, so don't go killing your dad as kid or having sex with your mother. In fact further back that your grandparents, the time can handle itself but after that point it gets complicated." Xian said with a serious tone of voice.

"I see..."

"Anyway, do we have a deal?" Xian asked somewhat impatiently.

Ranma knew that this was the turning point, and for once it was his choice, no one else was controlling him here. Not his father, not his mother, not even the Tendo's or his rivals. He could accept the deal and see what would happen, or continue living this life of his like before. It really wasn't a choice when he thought of it... There was a one last thing he had to ask though; before choosing his fate.

"What about my curse? Would it be cured of it or something?" He asked from her, curious of the answer, for it was one of those things that had disturbed him greatly in the past.

"Which one, the Jyusenko or Neko-ken? I think that with enough time and power you could at least control it if not cure the Jyusenko curse. Honestly though, I think it's too ingrained into your soul by now to be removed without killing you." Xian says, waiting for his reaction for the mixed news.

"Oh... I guess I can live with that," was Ranma's quiet response, and that was in fact the truth. He had truly grown accustomed to it through all this time, only randomness of it giving him trouble constantly. He could live with his girl half as long as he could control it. A thought that would make Genma roll in his grave, if he only was in a one... //Hmm, what a pleasant thought.//

"And as for the Neko-ken? That's entirely up to you, `cause in three and a half century you should be able to find some cure to it..." Xian said slightly mockingly.

A bit annoyed at the tone, Ranma none the less took the advice on face value. He still has his ego, he was Ranma Saotome after all, and given the time and freedom he would have, he should be able to do just what she said.

Seeing the determination on his face, Xian reached the right conclusion and said,"I guess we have a deal then," with a slight smile gracing her lips.

"Yeah, I guess we do... oh, could I have time to get some stuff of mine with me? Before you make that portal of yours?" Ranma asked.

"Fine, be here in one hour. We'll finish things then." Xian responded, having expected the request and turned invisible to wait for Ranma's return.

Not wasting any time, he left the roof to pick up some things of his... and some things that were not his, but would be useful in this 'training trip'. Wrapping himself into the Umi-sen-ken chi-cloak he quickly roofhoped to Nekohanten, some creative 'shoplifting' in mind. Hoping the old ghoul to be a heavy sleeper, for he had no interest to face her so close to escape, he slipped in. None the less, she had some things that would be useful for his trip, if he only could get them from her.

Thankfully Genma had been a good teacher in many things, as horrid individual he might have been otherwise, and Ranma's thieving skills were quite good. As little as he liked to use them, he saw that they had their own uses from time to time, like getting the Amazon secret techniques from the elder right now.

This in mind, he sneaked through the building, carefully avoiding Mousse's cage in the kitchen and steering way clear of Shampoo's room. Finally reaching Cologne's chambers, he still kept the cloak on, wishing to make certain he'd remain undetected through this incursion.

There, behind a loose board under her bed was the box. Thinking for a moment, he took it with him, deciding to open it later on. Who knew what kind of traps there might be in it. He'd have time to deal with it after he got away from all of this.

Leaving as silently as he came, he returned to the Tendo's, one more act of thievery in his mind. In the house, he made his way to Genma's room, the goal firmly in mind. For all the hell Genma had put him through, he would deserve some kind of payment. If he couldn't take it in flesh and blood, then the Saotome secret techniques would do in exchange. He might know them in part already, but he would master them with the scrolls in his possession.

When in Genma's room, he searched it for the scrolls, wondering where the bastard has hidden them. Finally he had to resort to his chi-senses to find them, proving that his... father was not a complete moron after all. In the end he finally found them in Genma's backpack, hidden under a fixed Umi-sen-ken cloak in a corner of the room. It was an ingenious idea, perfectly suited for hiding stolen loot, so it was no wonder Genma would had thought of it. No doubt the secret of it could be also found within the scrolls...

Without wasting anymore time, he looked through Genma's possessions, searching for whatever might be useful to him. He found the sen-ken-scrolls, several more of them than Genma had even hinted on, and some others as well... like a familiar leather bound tome. Perhaps stolen from Happosai or some temple while they were on the road, he didn't know, but he took all of them with him as well, hoping them to be of some use as well in the future... or the past as it will soon be.

Finally he returned to his own room for his meager possessions. There was not that much really. His camping kit and some books from Tofu, some tokens and keepsakes from his training trip with Genma, an extra set of clothes and some food from the kitchen on the way... and finally his mother's katana.

Whereas he wished to have nothing to do with Genma anymore, his mother was a slightly different matter. Genma had no honor, but her mother had almost too much of it. He didn't know what might have caused it to go to the direction it had, with her rigid demands of manliness and such. Perhaps it had something to do with her childhood, he didn't know, but it was something his own life seemed to hang upon these days.

When he'd return, he'd take time to deal with this with her mother, to see if he could reason with her at all. For all that had happened to him, he didn't really thin he'd wish to become an orphan. But if not... well, there was no need to think of that now. That was indeed something for the future...

All that's needed finally gathered, he returned to the top of the dojo, well prepared for his journey ahead. Finding the spot where he had spoken with Xian, he spoke to the air,"Are you around here somewhere Xian? I'm ready!"

At that, the air shimmered slightly nearby him, revealing the cloaked form of the Goddess. "So, everything's in order? Good, let's get it on then," and then put her hand on Ranma's face, covering his right cheek with it.

From the corner of his eye Ranma could see strange shadowy glow covering the hand, the shadow slowly seeping into him through the touch doing only god... or goddess knew what. Soon he began to feel a strange tingling feeling at his cheek, slowly intensifying until he almost felt almost unbearable need to scratch it. Then, in an instant, the strange feeling disappeared and Xian pulled her hand back, apparently examining her handiwork.

"How... fitting," seemed to be her only comment, almost making Ranma to demand what's going on.

Anticipating that, Xian pulled a simple mirror out of her sleeve and pointed it at Ranma. Looking into it, he soon realized what has changed. Where the Goddess had held her hand, there now was what seemed to a tattoo. It was pure black, showing a stylized silhouette of a horse, the kind of like a knight in a chess game.

"What is it?" he asked, puzzled by its appearance.

"What do you think? It's your mark of Ascendant, different for every Ascendant. It's supposed to reflect on the personality and nature of the one that wears it," Xian answered and then continued, "I guess that means that you're going to be the knight of Shadow then, eh? I guess we're going to need one if we're going to go against Deus eventually," she mused.

"I can also contact you through it, but not often since the distances are somewhat large between us... in reality and time both, so do try to use it only if necessary. Anyway, let's now get you where you should be," Xian said, opening the blue portal once again with a wave of her hand.

Steeling himself, Ranma walked towards the glowing disk, by now feeling the raw power radiating from it. Pausing for a moment at the edge, he made himself to take the final step and walked onto the glowing sigil. For a moment nothing happened but then everything seemed to turn bright blue. Just as he started to ask, "What the..." he disappeared from the top of the dojo, as if he never were there at all.

Seeing that her job was done; Xian il Shin'igami. the Goddess of assassins disappeared as well, leaving Nerima behind as a strangely emptier place. The nexus of the chaos was gone for now, in temporal sense at least, but as time flows things return. Can the inhabitants of Nerima accept what will come back though, now that is a different thing entirely...?

In the middle of the forest there was a flash of blue light, and suddenly where there was nothing before stood the form Ranma Saotome. Taking a cautious look around he saw that he was clearly somewhere out of civilization, a fact that suited him more than well.

"I guess I should go and make myself a camp, then find out where I am... Well, I do have all the time in a world," he chuckled and then began his journey…

TBC...

Author notes: Well, here I go again... -_-; another start for a new fic, but I think this will be last new one for while though. That's the problem imagination, it doesn't work when and how you want it to do. Anyway, as I said there will be action in the next chapter, probably even hints of the current crossover series. Then again, there aren't that many possibilities are there? ^_^ Oh yeah, some of the ideas of the gods and houses are ripped from the books of Malazan the Fallen, by Steven Erikson. Great fantasy books and all credit to him for the ideas... Not that I won't modify them to my own directions.

For the next chapter though... My priority seems to be Circle of Blood at the moment, having an inspiration for ch4 right now... so reviews could speed up the process. *HINT!* Hah, not that I don't want reviews anyway...

Revision notes: Nothing really new, just fixed some typo's I hope... and modified the disclaimer just a bit. I hope you approve Vash... ;)

Revision notes mk2: Tenses, tenses… how I hate thee! As you can guess, they are my pet peeve right now. ^_^; Well, I hope that this fic is now better than before. I really do hope…

-Azrael's Wing

-We forget that we are all dead men conversing with dead men.

-Jorge Luis Borges, Argentinean poet

"Behold! I've become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds"

--Robert Oppenheimer