Twisted Diadem Productions Presents

An Eric Adams Fanfic

Inevitable

    Soap hesitated, just for a moment, before she handed the scroll over to her master. She could see the greed and longing in the old woman’s eyes and she had considered using it to her advantage. The moment was fleeting, however, and Soap passed the scroll on. She ran her hand through her thick green hair, mocking her master's thinning hair. She grinned inwardly to herself. 

    "It is a dangerous game you play, young one.", Soap’s master murmured softly.

    Soap blushed but said nothing.

    The wizened hands that grasped the scroll, slowly unfurled it. 

    Soap waited patiently and studied her master. Her master had not improved and her age seemed to be catching up to her rapidly. When last Soap saw her she still had some virility left and her hair was thicker. 

The crone who stood before her now was a shadow of her former self. Still Soap knew that her master was amongst the most dangerous women alive and despite her growing disrespect for her, this knowledge kept her at bay. There was more Soap could learn from her master. There were secret techniques to be learned and knowledge to be gained. In time, Soap hoped that she would become a master.

    "This scroll is everything I had hoped for", the crone’s hands were shaking, Soap was unsure if it was excitement or old age, but decided on the latter. "Where are the other two?"

    "They are waiting outside." Soap replied easily.

    "Did they bring me the boy?"

    Soap waited for a second before answering, she could see her master’s impatience and delighted in aggravating her, "I believe Brianna found one. He seems to be quite taken with her."

    Her master cast her a wry grin before turning around and heading to the table to study the scroll more. "Brianna always had a way with boys", she commented, "Then again to her all men are boys."

    Soap merely shrugged, "He isn’t much, quite young in fact, no more than fifteen.", Soap also delighted in putting her training partners 

down in front of her master.

    "No doubt, you have others in mind, some who are more suited to the task, perhaps?", the crone seated herself at the table and stared at the scroll. "But in any case, I think we have kept your sisters waiting long enough."

    "Perhaps I have Master, after all it was I that found the scroll."  Soap wanted to reinforce that impression on her master. She would be the old woman’s heir at any cost.

    "Yes, I remember, Soap", the crone answered absentmindedly. Soap grinned as she turned to leave the room, as she opened the door, her master’s voice called her back, "However, I also remember that Megami was there to help you. I trust you do not forget that either."

    Glaring daggers and plotting the old woman’s downfall Soap summoned her two partners in training, Brianna and Megami. 

    Brianna was a pretty red head, with cold blue eyes and long hair tied tightly into a thick knotted braid. Soap had seen her knock a man out with that braid. She moved with calm assurance that defied anyone to touch her without permission despite the revealing clothing she often wore. She asserted herself with strong hips and her eyes left no doubt whom she felt was in control. Her favored weapon was a whip. Soap often found herself at odds with Brianna.

    Megami, on the other hand, was a difficult one to grasp. She moved in such a way that eluded the eye to look ahead of where Megami was actually standing. She often wore a grayish clothing that seemed to blend in slightly with her surroundings. Her hair was black and very long. She used her hair while fighting causing it two swirl about her and giving her the image of being larger than she was. Her eyes were green and often downcast, but when her eyes focused, they appeared to look right past what she was looking at. Everything about Megami was meant to throw people off. In combat her movements were blurred and the majority of her attacks were feints. Megami kept to herself and shared her secrets with no one. Soap was unperturbed by her apparent lack in being the Master’s heir and considered her a rival nonetheless.

    Between the two was a young boy, roughly fourteen years old. He looked at Brianna with unrestrained adulation. Soap grudgingly had to admit that Brianna knew her way around boys better then she did. The boy seemed to be unaware of his surroundings as he was brought into the darkened room. As the door shut behind him, he become aware of his surroundings and fear seized him for the first time. "Where am I?" he asked in a small voice.

    Brianna merely smiled coldly at him. "Hush boy."

    Soap knelt before him and smiled wickedly, "You are about to be awarded a great honor." 

    The boy looked skeptically at her.

    Soap jumped as her master spoke, she had appeared beside her without her noticing, "Don’t lie to the boy," her master chided, the crone snatched the boy’s wrist and dragged him to her, "I’m going to take something from you boy. Maybe before your time but I will take it anyways."

    Soap noticed that Brianna was grinning scornfully at her, apparently Brianna had noticed their master’s approach and figured that she had scored a victory over her. Soap turned her back on Brianna and addressed their master who was dragging the struggling boy across the room, "What shall we do now master?"

The old woman smirked, "Ask Brianna, she knows how to bring boys to us and I will need more boys now."

    The boy looked hopefully at Brianna for help. Brianna merely shrugged and said, "It’s only going to get worst for you from here on in." Brianna turned on her heel and left the room.

    Soap had no other choice but to follow, all the time glaring at Brianna’s back. Megami lingered for a second, but what interaction took place Soap had not the slightest clue.

    Megami shut the door behind her as she approached where the other two were standing. Soap often got a headache following Megami and decided to stop watching. 

    "Well, Brianna?" Soap turned to Brianna, "What have YOU found for us?" Soap had her ace in the hole and hoped that Brianna had come up empty handed in her search for boys. Though she would not admit it under torture, she was know aware that her master knew that it was Megami who had found the scroll, and she needed to regain her status as the crone’s favorite. 

    "Well, Soap," Brianna, though American, spoke flawless Japanese with only the slightest hint of an accent, "I found two boys, very strong martial artists in their right, but boys nonetheless."

    Soap grimaced inwardly, "I, too, have found my intended victim," she admitted, "What about you Megami?" hoping to score a victory over someone.

    Megami merely shrugged, "I have agreed to take one of Brianna’s."

    Megami’s tacit acceptance of her failure did not give Soap the resounding victory she had hoped for. Word games however were for politics and her body itched for action. "Are you sure you can take yours, if they are such strong martial artists? And where are they?"

    Brianna grinned, "They are in Nerima as I assume yours is as well," Brianna accepted Soap's nod with a smirk, "As for us being able to take them, well, as I said earlier boys will be boys." Brianna’s grin and she turned and left the room with Megami following behind, left no doubt in Soap’s mind of the outcome of any fight between Brianna and any boy. But now, Soap had her own mouse to catch.

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    There was a storm brewing over Nerima that day. It had been a hot summer so far and the boiling clouds rushing over the horizon promised release. In the distance the lightening flashed and shortly afterwards thunder shook the windows in town. Cologne stood in front of the Nekohanten and watched the storm approach.  

    Cologne was wily, smart, powerful and set in her ways, but never had she been called stupid. She had been in Japan for just under a year and had been surprised by what she had discovered. She had spent most of her life in the Amazon Village, she had struggled to first gain acceptance and then to become the leader of the village. 

    Thunder rumbled ominously and another lighting flash lit the sky. People ran into their houses and shut their windows, but Cologne was immersed in her reverie.

    When she had found out about Shampoo’s failures, first to kill the female Ranma and later to make him her husband, she had decided that it would be a simple matter to come to Japan and fetch the boy and take him with her to China. However, the boy had proved to be formidable, and though, Shampoo deluded herself into thinking that Ranma would love her if it wasn’t for Akane, Cologne harbored no such illusions. At first Cologne had not accepted Ranma’s love for Akane, there were rules and laws to be obeyed after all. After time though she understood that Shampoo had little chance of separating the two.

    A shaft of lightening flashed down and struck nearby, a brief five seconds later, the thunder rumbled loudly through the district. Windows shook from the blast and in the distance someone screamed.

    Despite this revelation, Cologne had decided to stay, there was always a chance that Ranma might fall in love with Shampoo. More importantly, though, was that with all the fighting in the Nerima district and all of Ranma’s fiancee’s, Cologne had discovered in each of them a strength that reminded her of herself and had come to grudgingly respect each of them. Except for Kodachi whom she considered dangerously insane. Both Ukyou and Akane displayed great potential as martial artists, as great as Shampoo’s and with the proper training they each might rival Ryouga or even Ranma.

    The lightning and thunder were nearly simultaneous now, the sky was dark and in the distance the horizon was blurred by the falling sheets of water.

    Cologne had been alive for three hundred years. She had risen to become the most revered of the Elders, she was considered to be one of the most dangerous women in the world, her skill was unparalleled. In all this time she had never admitted defeat, but she had also learned a valuable lesson: one does not live three hundred years if one cannot learn to accept change.