Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Nezumi ❯ Consequences Faced ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Chapter 3

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Disclaimer: Aside from Rumiko Takahashi, the list of people who have the rights to Ranma 1/2 escapes me at the moment. However, I can tell you with absolute certainty that it most definately does NOT include me.
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Tsubasa whimpered.

He had hidden himself in the Ucchan in the hopes of spending time with his beloved Ukyo-sama as he always did, when IT happened. He wasnt clear on what IT was, he simply knew that IT was a BAD THING. Now he had to do the impossible, he had to cross the 20 or so feet between himself and the door. His body was only just able to move again, he wasnt sure why it could not before. Maybe the spiders where holding him down? Spiders... Spiders where bad, creepy crawlie things that sucked you dry... Where had that come from? His mind rebelled at the thought and promptly squashed it, but still, spiders where not his friend... Half way there now. A small part of his mind asked why he was running away from his Ukyo-sama, that part was immediately beaten into submission by his subconcious who wanted OUT of here, immediately, if not sooner. Almost to the door, hardly daring to breath as he ever so gently unlatched it, a shuffling noise from upstairs...

Half of Nerima woke to a high pitched scream of terror, as a large potted plant ran for its life from something only it could see.

Elsewhere...
The little man walked down the corridors of the Nerima mourge, dreading what he might find. He had recieved the call barely an hour before, asking him to identify the remains of one Sakura Sagakure, and had spent that time praying it was a mistake. Now, as he entered the chilled basement area, following a rather bored looking police detective, he prayed even more, convincing himself over and over again that someone had made a mistake.

One look at the mishapen form under the clean white sheet dashed all of his hopes forever. She had been literally torn apart, ripped limb from limb while being slashed with a razored edge, but enough of her face remained to tell him that his daughter was dead... He listened in mute shock as the medical examiner explained how she had been kept alive thru it all and had actually died as the result of poisoning. Apparently, after torturing her, her killer had injected her with enough brown recluse venom to kill an adult bison.

Elsewhere...
Little white pills. Little white pills, in a little paper cup. Not much, not much at all. Unless, of course, you happen to be the Black Rose. Then those little white pills in the little paper cup mean the end. The end to what, you say? Why the end to everything, of course, then end to light, the end to color, the end to life. Those little white pills, in their little white paper cup would end it all and drag her back to _there_. Back to the small minded world that everyone else lived in, that drab and lifeless place, home to the one trick pony known as sanity. As she did every day, she dropped them, pills, cup and all into her waste basket, where they rightfully belonged, knowing that as every other day, they would be replaced in the morning by one of the servants.

They meant well, of that she was sure, but they would never understand. How could she be expected to give it up? All the life, color, sound and texture that only she could percieve? That wasnt counting her friends. No, not the drab and lifeless people around her, her real friends, they were everywhere, they danced with her in the night when she ran, telling her things about the world around her, although today they seemed sad.

She watched in confusion as one, a small serpentine dragon spirit retrieved the cup and its little white pills, and placed them in her hand. Why? Why were they, her friends, trying to send her away?

-Its only for a while, they told her, just for a little while then you can come back, we don't want to see you hurt, we dont want you to see today... -

They bowed thier beastial heads in sadness as the pills were flung back into the trash. She watched the dragon re-coil itself around her ribbon as the others took up their places around her, in her clothes, on her shoulders, in her hair.

-We tried,- they said, -we tried.-

She then made her way to school, wondering if today she would see her Ranma-sama, he who shined with a beastial light, not unlike her friends. They said he was special, special and dangerous, but that only made him more enticing, farther from the drab lifelesness she despised.

She saw it as she approached the gates of her school, a point of bright light in the distance, bright, yet dark at the same time. Stopping for a moment she watched as it grew in size and detail, coalescing into the form of a bird, a bird of black flame. After a few moments she began to realize that its apparent size was more a factor of distance than mass, for now it's wingspan extended for miles in either direction.

Behind it was what concerned her however, for behind it the earh was scorched, nothing but embers lay behind its glowing ebon tail. She couldnt move, she could barely breath as her ears were filled with the sound of flames and screams. She watched in mute horror as the devastation approached then consumed her in a blinding flash of ebon light. When again she could see, her world was changed. Gone were the pretty colors, gone was the warmth, the light. In its place was a pall of greenish black, superimposed on the world around her was one of death and devastation that slowly healed. Yet as things finally returned to what they were, she could just make out a point of bright darkness, approaching from the distance once again.

-It wont stop,- they said, -this is why you must go for now. When it is gone for good you can return, and we will be waiting.-

The world was destroyed six times before she made it home again, regardless of how many times she saw it happen, the spectacle was never once any less horrifying than the first time. Running thru halls that were at the same time whole and ruined, she made it to her room, where the little white pills in their little white paper cup were waiting for her. Waiting to end her pain, yet also waiting to end her life. With one final goodbye to her friends, she swallowed the little white pills that marked the end of an era, thus ended the reign of the Black Rose.

Elsewhere...
Once again, the little man walked. This time the corridors were those of the sewers beneath the city of Tokyo, there he walked with nothing more than a cheap disposable flashlight to illuminate his path. Yet this time he did not travel alone, his family was with him, scurrying around his feet, their numbers were legion. For hours he traveled, never once pausing, never hesitating as he navigated the labrynth of tunnels, some man made, but more and more often, either natural, or dug by thousands of tiny clawed feet.

Finally, after the better part of a day, he came into a large dimly lit cavern, crowded with dozens of large humanoid rats. There was a raised dais in the center of this chamber, covered with a mound of refuse, intermixed with bones, both human and other and topped with an oversized, over stuffed chair. The rat-man that sat on the improvised throne was old, his eyes yellowed and filmed over, his muzzle white. He was missing his right ear, the scars of the blow that removed it running down the side of his face, leaving furrows of pink flesh in his pale fur. Across his knees lay a sword, a large two handed affair that looked to have been made of beaten iron, yet its edge seemed to glow with a preternatural light.

The elder looked down upon the little man as he entered the chamber and bowed. After a few moments it spoke in a screeching, chittering tongue.

*What brings you here Guardian?*

The little man looked up at the elder, pausing for a moment to properly phrase his request.

"Elder, for twenty years, I have held the title of He Who Guards The Seers, as my father before me held the title, and his father before him. For the last eight generations, we have performed our duties to the best of our abilities, bringing news of visions that might in some way affect the Warren. In all that time we have asked for nothing, being content to serve the Warren and Mother Rat... Is this not so?"

This brought a murmur from the beings assembled, only some of whom knew what the title entailed. The Elder waited a moment for it to die down before answering.

*That you have, as have your forefathers before you. Am I understand that after all this time you have a request?*

The little man simply nodded his head in assent.

*Then speak and you shall be heard.*

Standing to his full height, he looked up to meet the Elder's eyes as he spoke, his voice a bare monotone, yet still betraying the anger and pain bottled up inside of him.

"Three days ago my daughter Sakura Sagakure, known to you as Sakura Walks In Shadows was murdered. Her killer tourtured her over the period of several hours before allowing her to die. Were her killer a human being, I would not need the help of my kin, I would have taken no small amount of pleasure in making him pay... But he is not. According to the autopsy report, she was killed with a massive dose of spiders venom and there were traces of webbing found under her fingernails and in her hair."

He paused for a moment to let his words sink in, the rising cacophony of voices telling him that his bretheren had drawn the same conclusions as he had and it pleased him to note that many of his distant kin were already plotting revenge. Once the voices had quieted down to a more manageble level he continued.

"Yes, my daughter was murdered by a Kumo"

The Elder sighed, this was one of those times when politics truly got to him, and the resigned tone of his voice was missed by none.

*As much as it pains me to say this, there is not much we can do. I hate the damn bugs as much as any of you, but the Beast Courts will not allow us to strike at them openly. We may be strong, but we are not strong enough to defeat the combined might of the Hengeyokai, should it be brought against us.*

The voices in the chamber muted a bit, although there were still those plotting private revenge should the culprit be brought to light. They all quieted when the little man spoke again.

"No, you cannot strike at them, but you can give me what I need to avenge my daughter. As a man I am not strong enough to fight a Kumo, so I ask that my time as a man be ended tonight, one way or another. I request the Rite of The Birthing Plague, to join Rat as one of her warriors. Should She choose to remove me from this mortal coil instead, then so be it!"

The muted chitterings rose into a roar as all present had something to say in this matter. The Rite had never been performed on someone his age, what he was attempting would surely kill him. Yet others could feel the rage inside of him, with that much anger to fuel him, he just might survive though the odds were slim. Out of all of them however, not a single voice questioned his right to request it, and that was what the elder was listening for.

*SILENCE!!*

The Elder looked down at the little man for a moment before speaking again.

*Step forward and place your hand upon the dais.*

There was nothing but determination and a little anger on his face as the man did as he was told. He watched as the elder shifted down to his rat form and hopped off the chair onto the platform before him. The pain of the oversized incisors piercing his flesh was nothing compared to the pain of seeing his daughter on the morticians table, and the almost immediate fever that tore thru his body was welcome, as it would be an end either way. As the room slowly emptied out, the elder shifted to his human form, which appeared to be in it's eighties, and looked down upon him, not unkindly.

"Sasuke Sagakure, may Mother Rat guide you and keep you on your journey."

Meanwhile...
The mite sized spider hung from its thread over the dining area of the Nekohaten and watched. A few blocks away, in the apartment over a very different restaurant, a much larger spider sat in the webbing filled chamber that had, at one time, housed the best okonomiyaki chef in all of Japan.

Ichiro watched, he had eyes spread all through the old bitches restaurant and could follow her every move. When he had seen what time had done to her body, he had almost been tempted to simply watch her die, yet the drive for revenge demanded something a touch more personal. He almost hadnt recognized her, but then again, it had been over 100 years since last they had met. His defeat at her hands had been the most humiliating of his life, and he fully intended to see her pay for it.

He had been running an import/export business at the time, though most of his business had been composed of opiates and slaves for the foreigners in Shanghai. Through Kui-jin contacts, he had learned of a group of magic springs that had the ability to change the shape of any who touched their waters. After having a sample sent to him for corraboration, he had put together an expedition to this place called Jusenko. Things had gone wrong shortly after arriving, starting with the fact that there were hundreds of springs, each with their own unique curse and no-one knew which was which.

He had sent scouts in all directions, foraging for supplies and, more importantly, looking for a local that might know the location of one particular spring, the Nyanichuan, The spring of Drowned Girl. Once that one was found, he intended to return home minus two dozen porters and plus two dozen slavegirls for the Shanghai brothels. Looking at the unknowing victims he had to laugh... By the time they figured out that most of the weight in the packs they carried where their own collars and chains, it would be far to late.

Then, it had seemed, that things were starting to look up for them. One of his scouts had returned, telling tales of a village of warrior women, almost all of exceptional beauty, without a single firearm to be seen.

They had attacked at dawn, a black powder charge was used to blow the main gates, as his men flooded in, guns blazing. Only, things had not gone according to plan. Instead of the disorganized rabble he had been expecting, his men met stiff opposition. Even then, their firearms would have carried the day if it were not for _her_. She moved through his men like a purple haired demon, leaving broken bodies in her wake, a crushed larnyx here, a shattered spine there, till he suddenly found himself surrounded and alone.

Chuckling, he shifted to war form, laughing out loud as they broke ranks and ran, all except for her. She simply stood there, nothing but disdain on her face as she addressed him.

"Kumo! Know this. You have trespassed upon the lands of the Joketsozuku and for that you will die. I am Ku Lohn, Village Protector, and the last living being you will ever see!"

With that, she assumed her war form, an oversized pre-historic tiger with purple fur so dark it shined black in the early dawn light.

They rushed each other, titans battling over a cowering village, each vying for supremacy. At first she had the advantage, her speed was incredible striking him multiple times before he could even begin to defend himself. Yet it was his ability to literally see and strike in any direction that eventually began to give him the upper hand as he pushed her on the defensive. She then spent all of her time defending and backing off, her light slashing counters doing nothing more than angering him further.

Her shifting back to human form was the last thing he had expected and the smirk on her face only served to enrage him further but when he tensed to lunge, she threw a single punch, a punch that came nowhere near him as she yelled out an attack that would serve to haunt his nightmares for decades.

"Hirou Shouten Haa!"

The resulting whirlwind had shattered him, the spiders that made up his being were sucked into the vortex and crushed. Where it not for the few spiders he had left at the springs to watch his future slaves, his life would have ended that day. It had taken him years to reform, only to find that his financial base had long since been taken over by others. It had taken him the better part of a century to recover what he had lost, though he had spent much of the time studying the martial arts, in an effort to find a counter to the move that had nearly killed him. To this day, he had been unsuccessful.

His only real consolation was the fact that she was practically helpless now, a meddling old crone managing a restaurant. He would take great pleasure in killing her, that was of course, after making her watch her great granddaughter get sucked dry. Yes, he had waited this long, he could afford to wait a couple of days to set it up perfectly.

The dry laughter emanating from the upstairs area of the Ucchan cleared out the few customers that were there, as Konatsu looked up, sighed and smiled.

In the Nekohaten, an old, if far from helpless woman shivered, before returning to her tea.

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< br> Tbc

Previous Chapters Found At: http://nezumi.homepage.com

For those of you who wonder about the Nezumi, this may give you some
insight:

http://members.tripod.com/wwta/Breeds/Ratkin/Tri bes/Nezumi/nezumi_tribe.htm

DarqueChilde
aka Soul Survivor

Questions? Comments?
E-mail me at:

simkin4@hotmail.com

We are the equalizers, the Low Born, the ultimate truth. When our Hakken brothers realize the need for us again, they will come, and we will make a killing...literally.
-- TienBao, Nezumi Warrior

Hakken - Werewolf
Nezumi - Wererat
Kumo - Werespider