Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma 1/2: The Truth and the Tempest ❯ Growing and Learning ( Chapter 32 )

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

[Author’s Note: The characters and setting herein- with the exception of one or two O.C.’s of my own design- are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. I don’t own ‘em, I’m just borrowing them until Nabiki starts charging me late fees. And now…]

Ranma ½: The Truth and the Tempest

Chapter 32: Growing and Learning

--------------------

A pair of bleary eyes blinked twice, shaking off remnants of a sleep that the owner of the eyes had not enjoyed in the least. The eyes had grown red-rimmed, not from dust or pollen, but from a steady stream of tears that the owner’s dreams had elicited. The tears had stopped, but the feeling behind them lingered on. The eyes shifted to the right as their owner struggled upward, taking in the room he was in- the furniture, the ornamentations long forgotten when the eyes’ owner took leave of said room eleven years previously.

Genma was not happy. He could tell something had happened in the room; the faint scent of incense still pervaded the air about him, though the burner had grown cold. He could remember occasional incidents in his own training, years prior, when Happosai would use bizarre incenses and ritual tools to accomplish a specific purpose- usually resulting in him and Soun being roped into another panty raid or tied up and kept away from the food the Grandmaster wanted to eat. It wasn’t a scent he recognized, but with what he had encountered he was fairly sure it had something to do with the dreams he had had.

That wasn’t what made him unhappy, however. It was the dream itself, and the images it had brought back. His own training as a younger man, and the sometimes barbaric things his diminutive sensei had done to him and his best friend. Things he had pushed to the back of his mind, hoping to never remember again- and then feeling them claw at him once more as he saw himself doing the exact same thing to his own son.

He had tried to dredge up his oldest defenses- that a martial artist’s life was one of trial and discipline, that it was all for the sake of the Art, that Ranma would never be the warrior he was today were it not for him. And every time he did so, each excuse rang hollow in his ears. For the first time in his life he saw, in his dreams, everything he had ever done reflected back on him, every scam, every training technique, every little excuse he had used in his life. And it was repulsing him. It was something he had not wanted to see… but at the same time, he could not deny that it was something he should have seen.

He looked at a cupboard nearby that had a small arrangement on top- a series of framed photos. Finding his glasses lying next to him, he put them on and shuffled over to get a closer look.

There was a photo of him and Nodoka when they had first married. He wore the same gi back then, too- but much cleaner. He was slimmer, too, and still had a shock of jet-black hair sticking out from under his bandanna. He bit his lower lip and absently prodded his bulging belly, remembering a vision from the dream that had cast him in the image of a pig in a kimono, yanking food away from not just Ranma, but the rest of the Tendo family.

And Happosai was standing behind me and cheering me on, Genma thought to himself with a shiver before looking at the next photo.

There he was, a proud grin on his face, holding his infant son in his arms with Nodoka looking on warmly. The light in the room was dim, but he could clearly see something on Ranma’s face that he hadn’t seen very much of in recent times. An innocent, loving smile.

He blinked hard and looked at the next pictures in rapid succession. Him with Ranma on his shoulders, walking through a neighborhood park… Nodoka folding an origami crane while Ranma sat in her lap, enthralled… the three of them together on a family picnic, with Genma holding the camera at arm’s length and sporting a cheesy grin…

He stared at the pictures for the longest time and wondered what it was that had made him throw it all away. A fresh tear lingered at the corner of one eye.

“Was there… was there really a time when the Art wasn’t everything?” he whispered softly. “When it was just the three of us?”

For a brief moment he could almost hear the voice of the Grandmaster chiding him, telling him to stop being soft. Then more memories, pearls of wisdom from the perverted sensei’s lessons on a man’s place in the world. Lessons he had taken to heart far more easily than Soun ever had… if only to earn a small bit of favor and avoid the Master’s wrath.

Avoid his wrath? He gripped the photograph in his hands tighter. Is… is that why I left my family behind? Was I so afraid of that pint-sized pervert’s whims and disciplines that I just… pushed my family away?

He paused, then sighed. No… there’s more to it than that… I just… I wanted to be the best, but… I couldn’t take doing it the hard way. I never could… sure, I can put up a good front when I want to, but I couldn’t take any more of that old man’s treatment. I couldn’t last long enough as his student to reach his level and best him fairly, that’s why me and Tendo buried his sorry ass and ran off… just like I ran off from every other problem I got myself into.

They’re right. I’m a fool… an old, fat, fool. No… worse than that, I’m a damned hypocrite. Gods, why the hell didn’t I see it? Putting my own son through training even worse than what I suffered at the old goat’s hands? Using him as a pawn instead of doing the work myself? Did I…

Did I take the Master’s lessons that seriously? So much that it… that it turned into second nature…

His eyes shut and his head hung low. “Kami, I’ve been such an idiot,” he moaned. “When am I going to learn that taking the easy way isn’t always the best way.” He shook his head and winced slightly, putting one hand up to the spot on his jaw where Ranma had knocked a few of his back teeth out. The wounds had closed thanks to Ranma’s post-match ministrations, but that hadn’t eliminated all the pain. It throbbed along his face in dull pulses, echoing similar sentiments in his heart at that moment. The typical self-serving impulses that usually guided him in situations like this were being beaten to a pulp by the impulses that had been awakened- or more appropriately, re-awakened- by the previous day’s duel and his dreams.

I’ve wrecked everything. I couldn’t deal with staying in one place to train the boy, so I used one of Happosai’s excuses about the coddling nature of women to get away from the house… couldn’t face manual labor or honest work, so I took another page from his book… good gods, I pushed the boy into everything just hoping HE could be the one to take that damned Happy off my back instead of me! I never thought that barrel would keep him sealed forever… but I couldn’t face that fact and wound up… I wound up turning my boy into my own free ride… abandoning my wife on the pretext of training, just so she wouldn’t slow us down…

A few more tears worked their way loose from his eyes. “I threw away my family.”

Footsteps echoed in the hall just outside the door. A moment later the bedroom door slid open and the light was turned on.

“I thought you might be awake now, Genma.” Nodoka’s voice was wavering, an undercurrent of sadness beneath a veneer of iron. “I was just on the phone with Kasumi; apparently something happened at school today and the children got sent home early. She’s invited us over for dinner; if you’re feeling up to it I think we should go. There are some things you need to discuss with Ranma.”

Genma didn’t say anything, but shut his eyes and nodded.

“How are you feeling? You’ve been asleep most of the day, you know.” Her tone was stern, but not cold.

Another moment of silence. Genma’s eyes remained shut; his fists clenched the fabric of his gi pants.

“Genma, I’d appreciate it if you’d say something, you’ve had more than enough time to ponder the events of…”

“Dear,” Genma began in a low, morose tone, “I know that… something happened while I was asleep. Something that made me have… strange dreams…”

Nodoka nodded slightly, her expression serious. “I thought you might have thought that when you awoke…”

“Those dreams… they weren’t just dreams…” He let go of his pants and turned towards her slightly, head bowed in a penitent position. “No-chan… what would you have of me?”

Nodoka blinked. “I beg your pardon?”

“You were right… to do what you did; I don’t deserve the school anymore… and I’ve done so many stupid, stupid things in my time, at the expense of our son… at the expense of us… our family…” He began to tremble ever so slightly. I can’t run away any longer; if I do that, I really am nothing more than a worthless panda… “I won’t deny I didn’t want to dream what I did… but if I hadn’t, then… I don’t know… oh Kami, I’ve never felt this way before…” His voice was beginning to crack. “I’ll do whatever you want me to, whatever it takes… and if that m-means c-carrying out the c-contract… then… I’ll d-do it.” Genma shuddered at the thought for a brief moment; he’d never been fond of the seppuku pledge and had always wanted to be as far from it as possible, but after the hell he’d been through in his dreams and in the match with his son, it was beginning to feel inevitable. And after everything I’ve done, I probably deserve it… some father I was… much less a husband…

A long moment of silence passed; Genma’s hands stayed planted on his knees, his head bowed and eyes shut as he waited for Nodoka to say something- harsh words, stern words, any words at all. He fully expected her to lash out at the foolish things he’d done to their son, especially the Neko-Ken. He expected to get slapped across the head or face, or feel a tanto being pressed into his hand before she took up position as his second, katana at the ready.

What he did not expect was to feel her hand gently lift his chin up. He opened his eyes and saw hers, the steely look fading into a softer one.

“You’re right. You have done some very stupid things in your life, Genma,” she said with a sudden severe look that made him wince. “Monumentally stupid, even… so much that I was beginning to think you’d forgotten who you used to be. I was beginning to think you’d become more like that horrid old Master of yours than the man I fell in love with.” She paused, and her face softened again.

“I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to see that for yourself. Or be able to admit it if you did see it.” She reached up and brushed his cheekbone gently. “You just admitted it, and not just to me. To yourself.” A tear of her own escaped her eye.

“That’s what the Genma I remember would do.”

She leaned forward and pulled him into a gentle embrace, which he readily accepted. New tears began forming at the corners of his eyes, which were clenched tight against the sudden onslaught of emotion he was experiencing. Slight hope, small relief, and no small amount of feeling incredibly unworthy surged through his brain as he clung to Nodoka almost desperately. “I’m so sorry, No-chan…” he mumbled into her shoulder.

“I know,” she replied quietly. “I am still very upset with you, Genma.”

“I know.”

“You know you will have to make amends with more than just our son.”

“I know.”

There was a pause. “Will you be fit to go to the Tendos’ tonight? I know at least Soun will be happy to see you.”

“I will be, No-chan… just give me a little while.”

--------------------

There were certain things that Ranma Saotome had seldom, if ever, seen in his life, and often had never expected to see. A number of such things had, of course, occurred over the past two weeks, often prompting him to mutter, ‘now I’ve seen everything’. The Hell Hound incident at the school was not such an occurrence; after the incidents over the past year they had hardly fazed him. However, three separate occurrences over the course of the afternoon were now firmly lodged in his ‘I didn’t expect that’ section of his brain. One being the incident with Mousse, the other being the Kiss of Brotherhood he had received.

The third incident had taken place on the trip home to the dojo. Nabiki being rendered completely speechless.

“Sis, are you okay?” Akane asked, prodding Nabiki’s elbow. “Look, I know it’s a lot to take in right now, I wasn’t expecting this either, you know…” She trailed off and sighed. “Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to tell her everything all at once.”

“Hey, Shin was right, we had to fill her in on this, didn’t we?” said Ranma as he shifted his position, giving Akane and Nabiki a bit more cover with the umbrella. “And it’s not like you an’ I weren’t thrown by this, ya know.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t have to hit her with all that info at Mach 2, dummy!” she replied, swatting his shoulder. “For all we know, her brain’s still trying to sort it all out; I could barely understand you myself!”

“Heh, with a mouth that big you know he couldn’t help it, Akane,” Ryoga drawled with a smug grin. He was walking just behind them with his own umbrella open and Akari next to him. Katsunishiki lumbered behind them; Shingen ambled along beside Ranma, not bothering with an umbrella. Ukyo was not there, having parted ways with the others at the Neko Hanten to go tend to her own restaurant. “Isn’t that what helped you win that martial arts eating contest anyways? That big mouth of yours?”

“Sweetie, stop teasing him,” Akari chided playfully.

“Eh, so I got carried away a little, but we gotta get home before Mr. Tendo outcries the rain clouds, right? So the faster we tell her, the better?”

“That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, Ranma,” Akane sighed, rolling her eyes. “But you’re right, we’d best get home before Dad starts to pitch a real fit.”

“I won’t argue with that,” Shingen added. “I’ve got some work of my own to do; with a Tengu on the loose it’ll be prudent to fortify some of the warding I put up around the estate. I put some protective wards in place after the first imp incident in the dojo, and those are going to need strengthening.”

“Whatever you say, man, so long as it means less headaches all around,” Ranma replied. The taller man nodded and began to jog, and it wasn’t long before the others picked up the pace to keep up with him.

Akane looked at Ranma and smirked slightly. I noticed when you started telling Nabiki about our bloodlines, you left out telling her about Astral Links. Care to explain?

Ranma turned his head to look at her, returning the smirk. Easy. If she knew we could talk mind-to-mind with each other or with Shingen, she’d figure out how you managed to win that pool on how fast I could beat Pops. An’ I am in no mood to face her wrath if she DOES find out… He chuckled. Akane blinked, then giggled.

Nabiki, for her own part, was processing information at blazing speed. She had finally finished processing the situation with Mousse, the fact that he had nearly gotten killed, and had moved on to other things. I don’t believe it. Saotome and my little sister, they both have this… this bloodline thing that… but how? BOTH of them? Bona fide Demon Hunters? Well, I guess that does explain a few things, like Ranma’s penchant for getting trouble to find him, but still… how is it I was completely unaware of this? She paused and frowned. Then again… I didn’t really know about Ryoga’s little porcine problem until a short while ago, either, but this is different! This is a FAMILY thing! MY family! She glanced up, noting the blue wakizashi clutched in Akane’s hand next to her book bag. Ranma said something about Sagara and Saito… that this came from our mother’s side of the family… does this mean I might be part of this, too? Or Kasumi? And what happens now, are we gonna get dragged into this as well? I can’t fight, and neither can Kasumi…

She paused again, a calculating look crossing her face. Then again… Akane did say something about this being voluntary, choosing to accept or repress her power. So I might not have to get roped into this, especially considering that I DON’T want to. Guess that means Akane really is the dojo’s heir, in more ways than one. She sure as hell better not get herself hurt over this, or Kami help me, I’ll… A sudden thought hit her. Wait a moment. If Mom really was descended from a Hunter, then that means our family has ties to other Hunter clans… maybe even legacies left in their names, unclaimed or set aside. Great Kami… we could be the heirs to a hidden fortune, if that wad of cash Shin-kun carries around says anything about a Hunter’s financial situation… he may not have named a source, but they’ve got to be funded somehow…

A grin spread across her face; one could almost hear the sound of cash registers going off in her mind.

“Hey, sis? Are you okay?”

Nabiki blinked. “Hm? What? Yeah I’m fine, Akane, why do you ask?”

“You had this goofy look on your face for a moment, and I know we just dropped this bombshell on you and all…”

“Oh, that,” Nabiki replied, blowing out a derisive puff of air. “Yeah, that was a bit much at once, Akane, but I’m fine now. Don’t you worry about me.” She shrugged, then turned to look at Akane more seriously. The cash register in her head stopped ringing, replaced by her seldom-used ‘big sister’ mode. “You know, you could have told me about this after that oni fight, it might’ve explained things a little quicker if you had.”

“Well… Nabiki, we were still trying to work out how to break it to you and Kasumi, and also how to do it without turning Dad into a complete wreck,” Akane replied awkwardly. “And… well… I wasn’t so sure I wanted to tell you just yet… besides, we had to deal with Ranma’s situation with his mom, so…”

“Yeah, I know we had to deal with a bunch of things, but you still could’ve told me!” Nabiki replied. “C’mon, something like this happens to you and you don’t tell your big sister? All else aside, I do care about your well-being, Akane; if you’re gonna get involved with something dangerous like this, the least you could do is tell us.”

Akane flushed and looked at her feet. “I just… I didn’t want you to worry…”

“C’mon, Nabiki, give her a break,” said Ranma. “Fact is, we kinda had to deal with it ourselves before dumping it on someone else ta deal with. Least we told ya about it at all; better late than never, right?”

Nabiki paused, then nodded resignedly. “Okay, you’re right about that, Ranma… but like I said, I do care about my kid sister, so if she’s getting mixed up in something like this you’d better make DAMN sure she doesn’t get blindsided by something. We’ve been through a whole lot this past year because of oddball garbage thrown at the two of you, and if she winds up getting hurt- or worse- because of this bloodline thing…”

Ranma sighed. “Sounds familiar, doesn’t it, ‘kane?”

“Seems like everyone’s telling us the same thing,” Akane replied with a groan. “Oneechan, I told you, don’t worry. We’ve talked about this a lot ever since we found out; hell, this is why we’ve been training so hard in the first place. I know what I’m doing; I’ll be okay.” She paused, then poked Ranma in the ribs. “Besides, I’ve got this dummy watching my back, right?”

Nabiki smirked. “Hm. You do have a good point, sister mine.” And to think a month ago you would’ve griped about him watching your back, bragging that you could ‘take care of yourself’…

“Glad to be of service,” said Ranma in a mock-irritated tone.

“Okay, okay… I guess I’ll have to trust your instinct for the moment,” Nabiki continued. “Of course, if you ask my opinion, you’d best not tell Dad about this for a while longer. Better give him a chance to calm down over the incident at school; that way when he does hear about it, he’ll be less likely to have an apoplectic fit.”

“Better not delay it too long, though; the longer you put it aside, the more it might hurt when he does find out,” Shingen mused. “Right?” The others nodded; Ryoga sported an incredibly sheepish look and wondered if Shingen was making another dig at the P-chan fiasco.

“So, uh… how much longer till we get there, anyways?” the Lost Boy said at length. “Don’t forget, you promised me one last fair fight, Ranma.”

“Geez, man, you’ve visited here enough times you think you’d recognize things by now,” Ranma replied, rolling his eyes.

“Shut up!” Ryoga barked heatedly. “You don’t have to remind me my direction skills suck, you know! I can’t help it if I keep getting the street signs around here mixed up!”

--------------------

Three blocks later, they were at the Tendo estate, confronted by a very panicky Soun Tendo. He practically bowled over Shingen and Nabiki as he hugged Akane, crying out his thanks that his ‘baby girl’ hadn’t gotten hurt in the accident at school and drenching those in the near vicinity with a fresh geyser of tears. Nabiki gave him a half-lidded glare and told him to stop embarrassing her, at which point his emotion switched directions as he started berating Akane and Ranma for not making it home sooner. More tears flowed as he wailed about them having no concern for his feelings, begging them to call if something was going to happen, and generally badgering Ranma over ‘making sure your fiancée is safe and sound!’

One wave of tears wound up catching Ryoga across the face; he had flinched reflexively, expecting the change to happen, only to blink and slap himself on the forehead when he didn’t transform. That’s right, he thought. I don’t change with water anymore, not after that Purge thing… well, not unless I want to. He shook his head and exchanged his own awkward hellos as he stepped inside; Soun, who was being talked out of his distressed state by a flustered Akane, didn’t pay him much attention. Kasumi gave him a somewhat stern look just inside the front hall, but it soon faded into her usual genteel smile as Akari, Nabiki and Shingen followed suit.

Per mutual consensus, nobody told Soun about what had happened at the Neko Hanten; they had all agreed that even if he wasn’t best of friends with Mousse, he wouldn’t take what had happened to him very well at all.

“Refresh my memory; is he always like that?” Ryoga whispered as he and Ranma made their way past the front hall.

“Depends, man, but I’ve only been here a year, I’m no expert,” Ranma replied. “Akane told me he wasn’t always that way, but after… y’know, Mrs. Tendo passed on…”

“Oh, yeah,” said Ryoga, scratching the back of his head. “That must’ve been rough…” He paused, then shook himself slightly. “So, shall we get this over with? Or do you need another day or five to get ready?” he said with some of his old bravado.

“Yeah, yeah, just gimme a second to get changed and I’ll meet you out in the training hall,” said Ranma before turning and darting upstairs to his room.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about.” Ryoga smiled broadly and straightened his bandanna… and then looked around somewhat sheepishly. “Um… which way was the training hall again?”

“Allow me,” Nabiki piped up as she took hold of Ryoga’s arm and led him, not unlike a child, through the side doorway and out to the training hall. Akari followed suit; once inside, she took a seat near the door as Ryoga began stretching and limbering up, concentration and determination etched onto his face.

One last match. After this, no more revenge fighting. No more death threats, just one shot to see how well I stack up against you, Ranma. Ryoga grinned and flexed his arms. You spent a weekend training, huh? Well, you’re not the only one; all those wrestling matches I’ve been having with Akari’s stable really did a number on me. I haven’t felt this good in MONTHS! He jumped up and down a few times, shaking out his elbows and knees to get all the kinks out, then took a series of deep breaths. Time to see how good you really are, Ranma. No tricks, no ki techniques. Just you and me.

A few minutes later, Nabiki had just finished setting up her camera at the edge of the dojo- complete with tripod- when Ranma slid the door open and stepped inside. He had changed into his red vest and black forearm guards, and a fresh set of black pants.

“Took you long enough,” said Ryoga in a teasing tone. “You ready to face the music?”

“Keh. I was born ready,” Ranma shot back, flipping his bangs out of his eyes. “Remember, bacon breath, no ki attacks and no weapons. Skill against skill alone.”

“I got no problem with that,” Ryoga replied, removing his backpack, umbrella, belt sword and all of his spare bandannas and laying them to the side in a heap. He cracked his knuckles and slipped into a ready stance.

“Be careful, sweetheart,” said Akari from the sidelines.

“Don’t worry about me, I can take whatever he can dish out,” said Ryoga with a laugh. He looked up again, then paused. “Think we oughta wait for a bigger audience?”

“I think this is ‘bout as good as we’re gonna get,” Ranma replied. “Mr. Tendo didn’t seem as interested as I thought he’d be, said something about needing to catch up on the news and ‘seen it all before’, dunno what that meant. An’ Akane said she needed to talk to Kasumi about something or other, wouldn’t tell me what it was.”

“Needing to talk to Kasumi?” Nabiki mused. “Wonder what that’s about?”

“Dunno, but she did say it had ta do with something ya said a while back, Nabiki.”

“Something I said?”

“That’s what she told me.”

“Could we have this discussion later?” Ryoga grumbled. “Are you gonna fight me or not, Ranma?”

“Oh, yeah… we do have that to attend to.” Ranma turned back to Ryoga and smirked. “You want some, come get some,” he drawled, raising his hand and making a ‘come here’ motion with his fingers. And an instant later, that’s exactly what Ryoga did.

The two sprang at each other and met at the center of the dojo, Ryoga aiming at Ranma’s head with a high kick. Ranma blocked the kick and ducked in low, peppering Ryoga with a series of quick jabs to the stomach and chest that sent the Lost Boy stumbling backwards. Ryoga laughed and lunged forward again, delivering a set of lightning strikes of his own which Ranma quickly countered, and the two traded punches and blocks for ten seconds straight before Ryoga dropped, spun and drove his left elbow into Ranma’s gut. The strike grazed Ranma’s flank as the pig-tailed boy spun to avoid it; as he spun, he took a quick step and hopped into the air, flipping over Ryoga and catching his head in a leg scissors which quickly turned into a take-down grapple that sent Ryoga tumbling across the dojo.

Ryoga planted his left hand and pushed himself into the air, spiraling towards Ranma who was in turn moving to intercept him. Ryoga lashed out with what looked like a double axe-handle blow, which Ranma moved to block- but a blink of the eye later, and Ryoga had kicked out with his right foot instead, intending to smash Ranma across the ribs. Or it would have, if Ranma hadn’t corrected his block in the nick of time, instead catching Ryoga’s ankle and pulling the Lost Boy off balance again. He tumbled about two meters before halting and jumping into a crouch, where he was promptly assaulted by a flurry of punches and kicks that was only a few steps away from being a bona fide Amaguriken; Ryoga couldn’t block the attacks in time and took three punches to the shoulder and chest, a kick to the upper thigh and a spinning backfist to the cheekbone. The two fighters sprang apart to catch their breath; Ryoga shook his head briefly and flashed Ranma a cocky smirk.

“You’re better,” he breathed. “You’ve gotten faster than you used to be, Ranma.”

“Looks like you’re no slouch either, buddy,” Ranma replied with an identical smirk. “I can tell, yer a little stronger… and tougher, too. You been practicing that Bakusai Tenketsu training again?”

“No, just a weekend of sparring with Akari’s champions and odd jobs around the farm,” Ryoga drawled. “Twelve hours a day.”

Ranma arched an eyebrow. “Twelve hours?” He whistled. “Not bad, not bad at all… so why dontcha show me how much ya learned from that training and fight me for real!”

“WHAT did you say?”

“You heard me, stop tryin’ to graze me with all those slow hits o’ yours and gimme a REAL fight!”

“Okay, Ranma, that’s it! You’re gonna get it now!” Ryoga bared his fangs and charged, jumping up at the last second and kicking Ranma three times in midair; the first two kicks were blocked, but the third caught Ranma just across the chin, giving Ryoga a momentary opening. His fists shot out, smacking into Ranma’s right flank once before Ranma retaliated, and the two lapsed into another series of punch-kick-block exchanges that one might have seen in any of the Matrix movies. Only in this case, it was hard to tell which one would be Neo and which would be Smith; the action was so frenzied that Nabiki was having a hard time keeping up with her camera and Akari could do nothing but watch in awe. The rapid-fire punches soon gave way to Ryoga snaring Ranma’s arm and pulling him into an overhead throw, slamming him onto the hardwood floor. Ranma responded by executing an unfazed kip-up and snap-kicking Ryoga in the sternum and chin almost simultaneously, launching him into the wall of the dojo. Ryoga recovered easily and re-entered the fray with a spinning roundhouse which Ranma blocked and pushed away; quickly he reversed it, spun low in the opposite direction and cracked Ranma across the shin with a reverse roundhouse. Ranma winced but instead of stumbling, moved his leg with the motion of Ryoga’s kick, spinning in a complete circle and cracking Ryoga across the face with a roundhouse kick of his own. Ryoga tumbled across the floor again, lurched up and barreled towards Ranma once more, who was already pulling into his defensive loose stance…

--------------------

Sounds like they’re really giving it to each other outside, Akane mused to herself as the sounds of the duel wafted down the hall. Part of her wanted to head out to the training hall and watch the fight, if for no other reason than to see her man… not like I can really deny it any more, he’s MINE, she thought… beat the ever loving snot out of Ryoga. The whole P-chan thing was still a slight sore spot with her, despite the fact that she had more or less accepted Ryoga’s apology, and she and Ranma both knew it’d take a while for her to forgive Ryoga completely.

He is a nice guy at heart, I guess, she thought as she made her way down the hall. But he should have told me. He should’ve come clean… and he shouldn’t have used that damn oath Ranma swore against the two of us. Gods, it would be so nice just to watch him getting what he…

She shook her head. “No, I can’t think like that,” she said softly to herself. “I accepted his apology, I already hurt him enough that day I found out… I can’t keep going around holding grudges all the time. I do that, and I’m right back to the way I treated… the way I treated Ranma…” She sighed and listened to the sound of the fight a few seconds longer before squaring her shoulders and walking in the opposite direction.

Still, it would be nice to watch and at least be supportive of Ranma… on top of that, he really is hot when he’s in a fight, especially with those legs and that… She shook her head, ridding herself of sudden naughty thoughts. No, I can’t afford to get distracted. I need to do this. This is important… not just for him, but me as well.

A moment later, she was at her destination. She took a deep breath, bit her lip and stepped through the door on her left. “Kasumi? Can I come in?”

Kasumi looked up from the counter where she was cutting carrots. “Oh, Akane! Is something the matter?”

“No, nothing’s the matter, nothing at…” She trailed off, then looked at the floor and sighed. “Well… actually, yes, something is the matter. A big something.”

“What is it, little sister?” asked Kasumi as she set the knife down and crossed the kitchen floor. “Is it about what happened at school today? You didn’t get hurt and not tell Father about it, did you?”

“No, no, it’s nothing like that,” Akane replied. “It’s just… well…”

“What is it? Come on, you can tell me.” She paused, then looked at Akane sternly. “You aren’t fighting with Ranma again, are you?”

Akane’s eyes remained locked on the floor. “It’s not that, either. It’s just that…” She sighed again. “Nabiki said something earlier this afternoon, and I, well… I guess I didn’t take it too well. I didn’t say anything on the way home… didn’t want anyone to think it mattered to me that much…”

“Nabiki?” Kasumi sighed. “I thought we’d reached an agreement; she told me after your wedding fell apart that she was going to try and not hurt you or Ranma carelessly anymore…”

“She didn’t really hurt me, oneechan,” said Akane glumly. “She just sort of… reinforced something I guess I knew all along, but had a really hard time accepting. But… with the way things are going these days, it’s something I guess I had to face sooner or later. And if I’m going to do that… I need you to help me.”

Kasumi blinked. “Help you? What do you need me to help you with, Akane?”

Akane heaved one final sigh before looking up. “I… I need you to teach me how to cook, Kasumi.”

Kasumi blinked, a very un-Kasumi-like sweatdrop trickling down the back of her head. “Teach you how to…” she started, fresh memories of Akane’s previous attempts at cooking springing into her mind. It was certainly a valid request, but one that secretly chilled her to the bone; the kitchen was Kasumi’s sanctuary, and she privately dreaded every time that Akane made an effort to prove that she wasn’t all tomboy. Adding too many fancy ingredients, not cooking things the way they were meant to be- trying to hard-boil eggs in the microwave came to mind very easily- the list was exhaustive, and try as she might, Kasumi was unable to completely maintain her calm demeanor under the barrage of the memories. “Akane, are you really sure you want to do that right now? I’ve already started preparing dinner as is, we can’t just start over…”

“Oneechan, you don’t have to start over; I promise, all I want to do right now is watch,” Akane replied quickly, hanging her head. “I swear. I don’t want to interfere with how you do it, I know I’m a terrible cook… probably the worst in Tokyo…”

“Oh, come now Akane, just because you’re a little… rough around the edges, that doesn’t mean…”

“Sis, you don’t have to sugarcoat it, you know how lousy I am, Dad knows it, hell, Ranma definitely knows it…” Akane shook her head and trembled ever so slightly. “And the simple truth is, I’m tired of lying to myself. Nabiki mentioned offhand something about my cooking earlier, and it got me thinking. What with everything that’s going on right now…” She looked up. “I’m not trying to do this to prove something. I’m doing this because I want to do something nice for Ranma for a change, and besides, all I can really do effectively right now is boil water; when we do get married I don’t want us to live off instant ramen all the time. I just… I wanna do something right, and I really need you to help me!”

Kasumi blinked again, images of Akane the Kitchen Destroyer vanishing from her mind, replaced by a sudden feeling of compassion for her baby sister. My goodness… she really is serious about this, she thought. She never asked for help before, she always barreled ahead on her own in some sort of attempt to prove herself, usually against one of the other girls. But now she wants to learn for Ranma’s sake and hers as well? This is a side of Akane I haven’t seen very often…

She looked up at the girl in front of her who was currently sporting an ashamed look, and smiled sympathetically. “Akane… it takes an awful lot to admit when you need help in something, especially knowing you the way I do,” she said gently. “And I think it’s very nice that you’re doing this for the reason you said. I’m very proud of you, imotochan.” She stepped closer and gave Akane a warm hug before taking her by the hand and leading her further into the kitchen. “And I’ll be glad to help you the best I can, and I’m sure Auntie Saotome wouldn’t mind if you ask her once in a while.” I only hope what I have to say sticks, she thought to herself with a slight air of concern. She tried to learn before, and it’s never worked out well…

“Thanks Kasumi, this really means a lot to me,” said Akane happily. “I’ve been browsing through Mother’s old recipe book, but it hasn’t been helping me that much.”

“Well, you can’t learn everything just from reading, Akane,” Kasumi replied, retrieving her cutting knife. “Now watch and learn. There’s no need to be forceful when preparing a meal, it’s not like a challenge or a sparring match. You have to use a gentle touch.” She demonstrated as she cut the carrot beneath her into neat, tidy pieces with quick, easy cuts of the blade. “Of course, you can’t just learn that touch overnight; it’s taken me years of practice. See, you have to treat the knife more like a conductor’s baton or a paintbrush, not like a hammer or a sword.”

Akane nodded with a slight blush, remembering a cutting board that she’d splintered because she’d chopped the vegetables a little too… ferociously. “Gentle touch, don’t be forceful… I’ll try to remember that. Guess I let my frustrations get the better of me now and then.”

“Well, that’s the other thing to think about. Patience is key, Akane, you can’t rush everything all at once. You need to take it one step at a time, and allow yourself plenty of time as well.” She finished slicing the carrot and moved on to a daikon radish. “Also, it’s best to follow the recipe exactly as it’s intended, and not try to spice it up or make it taste better- especially if you haven’t tasted it yourself. You need to master the basics before making changes or additions- and I know you’ve had a little difficulty in that area.”

Akane nodded sheepishly. “Yeah, I get carried away… and that rushing thing is probably why I keep misreading labels…” Her shoulders slumped and she let out a heavy sigh. “It’s just that you make it look so easy, Kasumi, I can’t help it sometimes!”

Kasumi smirked. “That’s only because I’ve been doing it so long, it’s like second nature to me. Just like martial arts is second nature to you and Ranma. Right?”

Akane paused, then nodded slowly with a small smile. “Right.”

“Now, let me show you what I’m doing here. We’re having vegetable stir-fry tonight, so what I’ll need to do next is…”

--------------------

About an hour later, Akane emerged from the kitchen, her mind spinning with a list of things she needed to stop doing the next time she attempted to cook. Don’t rush things. Don’t try to change a recipe unless you’ve mastered it. Don’t get distracted and let something burn or boil over. Don’t put something in unless you’ve read the label first. Don’t look at cooking as a challenge, but an expression of how much you care for the people eating it… geez, Kasumi sure has a long list of ‘don’ts’ for cooking! She shook her head and nodded to herself. Still, it’s a start… I just hope to Kami I can remember everything when I do try something myself!

She stepped out onto the back porch of the house, past her father whose nose was buried in the newspaper. The rain had finally stopped, and a few faint rays of the late afternoon sun were beginning to peek through the clouds. The sound of Ranma and Ryoga’s duel in the dojo continued to echo through the backyard, and from what she could hear they were both giving out as good as they got. Every once in a while, the training hall would visibly tremble as one fighter presumably got hurled into a wall by the other.

“Sure sounds like they’re having fun,” she quipped, folding her arms.

“That depends on what your definition of fun is, I guess,” said a voice directly behind her.

A few weeks prior, Akane would have jumped out of her skin from the suddenness of the voice and the voice’s owner’s proximity to her. As it was, that reaction didn’t occur, for she wasn’t quite the same Akane she used to be. Her training in aura sensing was still rough at best, but the weekend’s exercises had honed her to the point where her only reaction to the person behind her was a bemused smirk. “Were you trying to sneak up on me, Shingen? Some sort of test?” she asked with a raised eyebrow, turning to face the tall man behind her.

“The thought had occurred to me, but no, actually I wasn’t,” Shingen replied as he knelt on the porch and pressed a paper ward onto the still-damp timber. He quickly made a series of five hand motions and muttered something that Akane couldn’t quite make out. “You just happened to be standing next to my next warding point, that’s all.” Another hand motion and the ward glowed bright blue for a second, then incinerated before their eyes. A residual ward glyph glowed on the wood for an instant, then faded as well.

“So what exactly is that supposed to do?” Akane asked. “I thought you’d already scattered these things around the estate once.”

“That was for the Spirit Purge, to keep demonic energy from escaping,” Shingen replied, straightening up. “These are another type of Shielding ward, to keep demons out of here. Once I’ve finished, they should last fairly long- at least until something more permanent can be made ready.”

“Permanent?”

“Technically , this is a Hunter estate now,” said Shingen in a low voice as he removed another paper ward from his jacket, moving out of Soun’s earshot. “Once you two have fully realized your powers, it would be best if the house was protected at all times from demonic threats. The barrier I’ve been setting will work for now, at least until Father and Reika can help me install a stronger one. It’ll keep you or your families from being targeted by more than just imps. Or Hell Hounds, for that matter.”

Akane paled slightly. “Or that Tengu that got away earlier…” She looked up. “Are we in danger right now?”

“I don’t know. It isn’t that often a Hunter estate is targeted by a large-scale power, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.” Just then a resounding crash echoed from the training hall, followed by a pair of groans. Shingen adjusted his bandanna and raised an eyebrow. “Something tells me those two might be on the verge of resolving their little duel.”

Akane nodded, pushing the thought of being targeted out of her mind for the time being. If anything happens, then it happens… no different from all the other kooks that show up on our doorstep from time to time. She shook her head and flipped her bangs out of her eyes. “Might as well go and make sure those two aren’t trying to kill each other,” she said with a laugh before jogging over to the training hall’s door. Shingen followed, catching up to her just as she opened the door and stopped dead in her tracks, staring at the sight within.

“Hey, what’s the hold-up?” Shingen asked.

“I don’t believe it…” Akane murmured, wide-eyed. Shingen was about to inquire what she was talking about, when he was interrupted by a pair of groans.

--------------------

Ryoga and Ranma both lay sprawled on the floor, flat on their backs, their exposed flesh covered with contusions and bruises. Ryoga sported a massive shiner over his left eye; Ranma had a lump on his head the size of a cantaloupe. Both their eyes were rolling in their sockets and each man was breathing heavily. From their positioning it looked like both had slammed their backs onto the ground simultaneously, as if one had pulled the other into a toss and had fallen at the same time. Akari was chewing the corner of a handkerchief nervously, while Nabiki kept recording away.

Ryoga twitched. “You… were… holding back… at first… weren’t you, Ranma…”

Ranma coughed and winced. “Oughta know by now… I always… do that… an’ it’s not like… you weren’t holdin’ back… either, ya damn dummy.”

“Not after you… started mockin’ me… I wasn’t,” Ryoga retorted with a cough of his own, followed by a weak chuckle. “You know you’re about… the hardest man to hit… the way you keep bouncing around like that?”

“That’s who I am… but yer no slouch either,” Ranma chuckled. “I dunno… what you’ve been doing with… those sumo pigs, but whatever it is… yer hittin’ harder than ever.”

Ryoga shut his eyes and smiled weakly. “Not like it matters much… Just wound up wearing out before I could… finish it…” He laughed again, then winced against the pain in his ribs. “Maybe if I’d taken it to the next level…”

“If you did that… I’d have had to take my game to that level…” Ranma replied with a laugh of his own. “An’ believe me… you DON’T wanna fight me at that level… an’ I don’t wanna do that either.” Ryoga shuddered at those words, his mind flitting back to Jusendo and the memories of Ranma’s full-scale power, ki techniques and all the dozens of combat tricks he’d used then that he hadn’t used in their duel.

“I won’t argue with you on that…” Ryoga mumbled.

“Boy, talk about anticlimactic,” Nabiki scowled suddenly, turning her camera off and unhooking it from the top of her tripod. “I’m not gonna deny that was probably some of the best fighting I’ve seen from you two, but I’m just a tad disappointed it ended like this.”

“Huh? Wait a minute, sis, what’re you talking about?” Akane asked.

Nabiki rolled her eyes. “Look at them. They beat each other up so badly that neither one of them can get up. Neither one lords over the other. A complete standstill. A DRAW. Can you believe it? I got some incredible footage, but I was hoping I’d at least have a WINNER…” She shoved her tripod under her arm and stomped off to her room, muttering something about ‘every duel needing a winner and a loser’ with a parting shot at Ranma for ‘letting his big sister down’; anything further she said was lost as she disappeared into the house.

Ryoga let out a long sigh. “Shoulda known. Even after all this time, I still can’t beat you…”

“Ya didn’t lose, man,” said Ranma with a cough. “Neither of us did. Didn’t I tell ya, man? You’re one of the best sparring partners I got… one of a real small number o’ people that can really push me. Hell, if ya had been using all your tricks and ki techniques…” He paused, then smirked. “But like I said, you’d have forced me to use my tricks too…”

“Still have to get the last one-up, don’t you, Ranma,” Ryoga groaned before adding a smile of his own.

“Eh. Can’t help it sometimes,” the pig-tailed one answered as Akane crossed the dojo and began helping him up into a sitting position. Akari got up from where she sat and began assisting Ryoga in turn, while Shingen cracked his knuckles and prepared to execute the Naosu Kousen on each fighter in turn.

“I gotta admit, though… brought back a lot of memories, fightin’ like that,” Ryoga mused. “We’ve been doing this- how long again?” he added, turning to glance at Ranma over his shoulder before wincing again.

“Ryoga, don’t twist around like that, you’re going to hurt yourself if you’re not careful,” said Akari as Shingen administered the Healing Light to him. Ryoga flinched at first, then sighed as his ki reacted to the treatment and his bruises faded at lightning speed.

“Ah, don’t worry ‘bout him too much, Ryoga’s too damn tough to stay down for long. That’s probably how he learned the Breaking Point so fast,” Ranma quipped as he sat up further and flinched, grasping his left shoulder.

“Well, that and the fact he was trying to learn it because he thought he could kill you with it,” said Akane with a hint of ice as she rubbed Ranma’s back, trying to will her ki into her hands to replicate a Naosu Kousen of her own.

“Hey, I said I was sorry,” said Ryoga. “I wasn’t thinking right, I admit it. I made a mistake. Okay?”

Ranma shrugged. “Hey, as far as I’m concerned, that’s all bygones right now. Hell, we both made some mistakes back then and damn if the ol’ ghoul didn’t make both of us look stupid because of it.”

Ryoga paused, then chuckled. “Yeah, I guess you’re right about that.”

“Damn straight I am,” Ranma said with a smirk.

A few moments later, both of them had been treated and had recovered sufficiently to stand on their own. Ryoga got up, leaning on Akari slightly. “Hey, Ranma…”

“Yeah?”

“…Tha nks. I needed that.”

Ranma smiled. “Yeah, me too,” he said, dragging himself to his feet. “You’re a lot better than ya give yourself credit for, you know that?”

Ryoga raised an eyebrow. “I’d hope so. You’d just get soft if I didn’t give you a good workout once in a while,” he said with a sly grin before exiting the training hall. Fortunately, Akari only had to steer him back towards the house once before they reached the dining room.

“Sounded like you two had declared war in here,” said Akane softly. “Looks like it a bit, too,” she added, noting several sections of wall with human-shaped dents, two broken sections of floorboard and the exploded remains of two training dummies that appeared to have been unwitting recipients of Ryoga’s fiercer punches.

“Eh, if you’re gonna bury the hatchet, might as well go out with a bang,” Ranma replied. “It was a good fight. He’s definitely gotten stronger… could use some work on his defense…”

Akane paused and looked at him for a long moment, one eyebrow quirked.

“What?”

“Ranma… was that really a draw, or did you hold back on him?” she asked in an amused voice.

“Hey, he asked for a fair fight and I gave him one. No ki attacks, no secret trick, just straight-up skills.”

“You didn’t answer the question,” Shingen piped up from the center of the dojo where he had been setting another shield ward. “Was that a genuine stalemate or not? The question’s quite simple.”

“C’mon, you both saw me; the guy hits like a goddamn bulldozer! Sure, I might have him beat in the speed department, but when he gets riled up he can get hard ta dodge!”

Shingen looked up and gave Ranma a knowing smile. “If that’s the case, then why’d you put the training bands back on before the fight?”

Akane blinked. “Huh? Training bands?” She looked up at Ranma, who was suddenly sporting a familiar guilty look on his face. “Ranma… what’s he talking about?” she asked in a no-nonsense tone. Ranma sighed, then took hold of the bracers on his forearms; in one quick motion, he tore them off and dropped them to the ground, revealing a pair of familiar-looking smallish wrist weights on each arm. He bent down and pulled up his pant legs, displaying the matching ankle weights; a quick snap and the set had tumbled to the floor with a series of extra-loud thuds.

Akane stared. “You mean to tell me… you were wearing those weights we used at the warehouse the whole time you were fighting him?”

Ranma stared at the floor. “Look, I know what I can do, an’ I could sorta guess what he could do just from the way his aura feels. If I fought him at full speed, I probably would’ve won no sweat… I just wanted to give the guy what he wants without making it look like I was holdin’ back. And the fact is, I wasn’t holdin’ back either. Took everything I had just to break even as long as those weights were on…” He shoved his hands in his pockets and sighed. “I was testin’ myself just as much as I was testing him, okay? I just… I dunno…”

“You were letting him save face in front of Akari, weren’t you,” said Shingen, arms folded and a knowing smile on his face. “He gets a fair duel with you, you put yourself to the test against these handicaps-” he stooped and picked up one of the weights, hefting it with a sudden surprised look in his eyes- “and at the same time, he gets close to beating you in combat- which might give him incentive to train harder himself and become a better fighter. Am I right?”

Akane blinked in surprise. Ranma, is that true? Did you do all that to give him some sort of motivation? she asked in his mind’s ear. Or was it just out of pity?

A moment of silence passed, ending with Ranma scratching the back of his head and turning to face Akane and Shingen. “Either of you tell him I did that to get his butt in gear, and I’ll deny it.”

Akane shook her head in amazement accompanied by a mild hoot of laughter. “I swear- just when I think I know you, Ranma, you go and do something like this! And I always thought winning was everything to you!”

“Well, if I hadn’t put the weights on I woulda mopped the floor with him, ya know…” Ranma shot back defensively.

“Oh, don’t get so uptight about it; I think that’s pretty nice of you!” Akane replied, reaching up and mussing up his hair. “Imagine, the great Ranma Saotome, handicapping himself for the sake of someone else! I never thought I’d see the day…”

“Hey, cut it out! You want him to hear that? He’ll blow a gasket if he finds out about those weights!”

“Oh, right. Sorry,” said Akane. “Well now that you two are finished, maybe you could join the rest of us? Kasumi should have dinner finished any moment now.” Ranma nodded in response, and the two of them exited the dojo and headed straight for the dining room. Shingen took one last look at the training weights on the floor before picking them up and tapping each one in turn, dispelling their density wardings before slipping them into his jacket pocket.

That is definitely something I wasn’t expecting, he pondered as he straightened his lapels and shut the training hall doors behind him. I knew Ranma was plenty strong, but I didn’t think he had adapted to the weights that fast in that short span of time. To go from 2 ½ pounds per strap Friday afternoon to fifteen pounds as of now… that’s sixty pounds of weight that was holding him back!

Granted, Hibiki still has him beat in the strength department- that umbrella alone being forty pounds, and gods know what else he’s carrying in that backpack of his. The pack frame alone has to be hefty to be able to support that umbrella without collapsing- but still! Adapting to that sort of increase in weight over a span of three days?

Shingen shook his head in amazement. Kami… he could easily become the greatest Hunter we’ve ever known.

--------------------

Far to the West of Nerima, in a dank cave set in a remote chasm deep in the Japanese mountains, something was stirring. Several somethings, in fact. The cave wound back into the rock walls of the chasm as if eaten through by a giant earthworm. Here and there, stalagmites jutted out of the cave floor like rotted fangs coated with luminescent lichen. Dust and mold lay thick upon the ground, evidence that few, if any, people had trod within the cavern for at least a hundred years, if not more.

At the furthest reaches of the cave lay a rough-hewn chamber, lit by a vacillating purple light. The light flickered and flared, throwing stark shadows across the wall and the remnants of a complex pattern of runes. The faint chalk outlines of four circles set equidistant from each other in a square, with a fifth circle at the exact center of the square, were all that remained. The complex kanji within each circle had been obliterated, leaving only scorch marks behind. The light grew, both in size and intensity, illuminating a series of dried vines that had grown through the cavern over time, but focusing on one vine in particular that was thicker than the others. The tattered remnants of braided Shinto wards barely clung to the edges of the vine.

The light splayed and bent, causing two sets of eyes to narrow and their owners to shield their faces. One set of eyes belonged to an especially ugly imp with strange patterns burned into its right hand. The other set belonged to its companion, a silent black Tengu with silver chains adorning his massive forearms, who rested on one knee, head bowed to the amorphous violet form before him.

A moment later, the light contracted and congealed, taking on a new form… the form of a handsome man, with white hair and violet eyes, clad in a white tunic and pants that appeared Chinese in design. A faint indigo aura swirled around his body as he looked at the two figures before him and smiled.

“You have done well… both of you,” said the man in a deep, silky voice. “It has been far too long since I set foot outside these walls… many years of crafting the suitable counterspells to that accursed five-fold prison, many more years waiting for those suitable to bear the mark.” He nodded to the imp, who looked up at him with hopeful eyes. “I knew I was right in choosing you as my viceroy, whelp. I am pleased.”

The man paused, then shut his eyes with a vexed expression. “I had hoped to see the counterspells activated by the life force of humans, rather than our kind… still, it matters not. Only that five lights of ki be brought to bear.” He turned and looked at the Tengu. “Your erstwhile host may live yet, Kurowashi- but that is of no import. Only that you brought me sufficient ki to break the final seal.” The man smiled. “And you, of all the others, survived those accursed Hunters. You always were the greatest at hiding your power until the prime moment.”

Kurowashi, the Tengu, said nothing, but nodded once. The man turned and strode towards the thick vine at the rear of the cavern; a quick thrust forward and the vine was in his grasp, the paper wards falling away uselessly before burning to ash. The man gave the vine a sharp twist, and a section three and a half feet long broke away from the wall. His eyes flared purple-white, and the outer skin of the vine burned away, revealing a perfectly straight, jet-black walking stick with a multifaceted amethyst set in the very top.

“Yes, my friend… you’ve missed me, haven’t you. So close, and yet so far away for over two hundred years,” the man purred as he slid the walking stick into his belt, much like a samurai would carry his sword. That done, he turned back to the others.

“There is much to be done… but patience will yet be our virtue. It will not be long before the Accursed One feels the wrath of those he has wronged. Once he has weakened, we shall take the opening and crush him with one swift stroke.” He paused, then laughed- a low, calm, menacing laugh. “Once the Accursed One falls, the heirs to Sagara and Saito will follow… but slowly. Painfully. They have not yet attuned to their power as of yet… and I am in need of some sport.” The Tengu nodded, while the imp snickered nastily.

The white-haired man’s eyes glinted in the dim light. Yes… it has been far too long since you sealed me away, Accursed One. Now you will know my full wrath… and the wrath of Astaroth is seldom kind.

To Be Continued.

--------------------

Author’s Note 12/7/05: To all of you who have reviewed so far, I thank you. Every comment you’ve sent has helped me in one way or another. And now, on to this chapter. I didn’t intend it to be as long as it is, but there was so much I wanted to get on paper… well, you know the drill.

Some of you may be asking why Genma is reacting the way he is, and for that, my answer is simple. He saw the light, or at least a small portion of it. His son bested him for the school, beating him severely in the process, and when something like that is followed up with the induced dream, where he relived all the scams he’d pulled in his life, it would take a heartless bastard not to awaken with at least a few perceptions altered. Yes, it is true Genma is a major SOB, but there have been moments in the series where he actually did do some good things. They weren’t often, but they were still there. He’s not out of the woods yet, of course- but what happens from this point is yet to be seen.

As for what happened in the previous chapter with Kodachi, there is more I have in store for her and the rest of the Kunos, but there just wasn’t enough space to put it all in. Future installments may shed more light on that particular aspect.

It’s still hard to believe that this story is now one year old. Happy Birthday to me, I suppose.

Again, I thank each and every one of my reviewers for their kudos and critiques, and hope you will continue to support this haphazard work. I’m not sure if my next installment will be posted this month, I need to take a little more time off to recharge my batteries and get into gear for Christmas. I wish you all well, and humbly request a review or 2 if you have the time. Until next time.

Neon Ronin