Ranma 1/2/??????
Shadow of Nerima
Note: This story takes place four years after the conclusion of Ranma
1/2. It also takes a while for it to get to the fusion part, well to a
part you readers might realize what it is. Give it a little time and I'm
sure you'll be impressed.
Part 1 The insanity.
Kodachi Kuno walked down the dark corridor under her home. The tunnel
twisted and turned through the darkness. She smiled to herself as Sasuke
jumped away from a large rat nearly dropping the torch he carried almost
ceremonially through the darkness behind her lighting the way. She paused
and unlocked a heavy wooden door that led into her laboratory. "Sasuke,
lights," she commanded. The ninja flipped a large switch and backed away
as the overhead lights came on revealing rows of tables and bottles that
lined the walls of the almost dungeon like room. That was in fact what it
had once been.
He silently moved over to a corner and picked up one of the magazines
that littered the floor around his seat. This was not an unusual practice
for him these days. His mistress cackled quietly to herself as she mixed
the chemicals together almost randomly. He sighed and relaxed waiting
patiently for the long hours to pass.
"That witch, I'll make her pay for what she stole from me!" said Kodachi
to herself as she worked. She was referring to Akane Saotome of course, a
name she had never uttered out loud. She had plotted many nights in the
dark recesses of her cavern. Never having the nerve to do what she really
wanted to, the consequences were just to great, she would lose the very
thing she sought to gain by destroying her. Still, the passion burned on
greater than ever within her dark heart as she worked many sleepless
nights.
The fruits of her labors sat in jars along the wall, poisons more lethal
and dangerous than any known to man. Poisons only she knew of. A
terrorist would give his manhood in order to see what her laboratory
contained if he knew the potential of some of the vials. She giggled
madly to herself at the mere thought of it. Something creaked slightly
over her head and she glanced up, quickly dismissing it she continued to
work.
Sasuke heard the sound as well and looked up from his magazine, he
frowned slightly as a few pieces of dirt crumbled from the ceiling over
his mistress's head. "What in the?"
It happened in a flash, before either of them could react. The long
fluorescent light overhead swung down as one of the supports snapped and
pulled away from the ceiling. It swung in a wide arc shattering bottles
of chemicals as it smashed across the top of the lab table missing
Kodachi by mere inches. She screamed and backed away as a strange purple
cloud began to hiss from the puddle that slowly formed at her feet
enveloping her completely in a matter of seconds. She coughed violently
and tried to back away only finding herself further inside the vaporous
chemicals.
"Mistress Kodachi!" screamed Sasuke as he jumped to his feet and pulled
an emergency gas mask from the wall nearby. He placed it over his head
and dove into the cloud in search of his master. "Mistress please!" He
paused as a figure stood upright inside the cloud and placed a hand
against its head. The ninja moved slightly closer struggling to make out
the shape through the cloud. "Mistress?"
The horrible laughter started, it was horrible, but familiar and the
ninja relaxed. "Are you all right Mistress?"
"Ho ho ho ho ho ho!" laughed the girl as she staggered out of the cloud
completely. "I'm fine Sasuke, in fact I just had a wonderful idea!" She
remained in the shadows for a moment giggling madly to herself. "A
wonderful idea indeed."
As she stepped into the light Sasuke jumped back with a look of complete
terror on his face. He jerked the mask away and backed into the wall as
the smoke had mostly cleared away now. It wouldn't have mattered to him
if it had at this point. "Mistress?"
Kodachi smiled, even more than she had already been smiling. "The reign
of the Black Rose shall once again take the world by storm. If I can't
kill her..." she paused and sat down at a table smiling darkly to
herself. "Come Sasuke, we have much to do. Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho!"
The frightened ninja merely swallowed and nodded his head.
Ranma Saotome stood looking at the stone tablet that rested at the foot
of the coffin in silence. He was dressed in a black suit with Akane
crying silently on his arm. He pulled her close and kissed her head as he
looked into the casket.
Akane looked up at him. "She didn't even come, I kind of expected her to
be here."
Ranma nodded silently as he watched the coffin was closed finally. "Why
here?" he found himself thinking. "Why not China, did she really come to
think of this place as home instead?" His private thoughts were
interrupted as Akane broke into another fit of sobs. She pressed her body
against his, her swollen belly pushing softly against his hip.
He placed his hand on her stomach gently and offered a comforting smile.
"We'll make it all right Akane."
The woman nodded slowly and could not bring herself to look at the
casket again. She could not believe Cologne was gone.
Ranma stared at the plot for a long moment and sighed. She had chosen to
be cremated here, not buried in her village. Somehow over the short time
she had lived here this place had become home. He knew that it was in no
small part due to him. "You know, she was a pain in the ass until the
very end Akane."
His wife looked up at him with a look of complete shock and disgust. She
pushed herself away from him slightly, but he held her close to him.
"I'll really miss her," he finished causing Akane to relax. There were a
good number of people at the funeral. Students from Furinkan that
attended the school while Akane and Ranma were there, as well as many
friends she had made in her business. Her great grand daughter and Mousse
were absent, the pair had vanished into Tokyo almost two years ago; just
after the wedding.
Nabiki and Kasumi stood next to their sister with Soun at their side.
Ranma's father and mother were opposite them grieving respectfully. They
had no love for the woman, but knew she had a special place in their
child's heart. Nodoka was ill and sat in a wheelchair, she had contracted
a rare disease and Ranma fully expected to attend another funeral in the
near future. His world was slowly falling apart around him.
Genma had a somber look on his face as he pushed her away, she was
beautiful still; but frail and quiet. The Saotome's had returned to their
rebuilt home leaving Ranma at the dojo with his wife. He smiled softly at
them acknowledging them before they left. Genma returned the nod, but
Nodoka merely stared forward blankly, the Katana still wrapped up and
firmly grasped in her hands.
A few moments passed and Ranma led Akane away, he placed his arm around
her and kissed her gently. "I don't know what I'd do without you now."
She clutched him again and walked slowly out of the small chapel where
the services had been held. "It's a beautiful day," she commented noting
the weather.
Ranma glanced back over his shoulder one last time. "I wish it would
rain."
Nabiki pulled up next to them in a silver sports car, it was a four-seat
car, Kasumi, Tofu, and her father sat in the back. "Can I give you two a
ride?"
"No, I think we'll walk. It isn't that far," said Akane with a weak
smile.
"All right, just don't strain yourself," said the girl as she drove off
slowly.
"Maybe we should have," said Ranma as he placed his hand on her belly
again.
"Ranma, I'm not made of glass," said Akane sternly. "It's too late
anyway, lets go."
A few moments later they walked through the streets of Nerima slowly
making their way towards the Dojo. Ranma stopped and looked at the Cat
Caf� wistfully for a moment with Akane. "So many memories Akane."
She nodded and smiled lightly. "Come on, let's go home."
He nodded and allowed himself to be pulled along, the sun started to set
in the distance behind them. The streets were sparsely populated with
commuters as they slowly made their way towards their homes. Ranma looked
at his wife once again and paused as she stopped cold in her tracks and
stared straight ahead. He looked up and saw a man in a black leather
jacket in front of them with his hand in his pocket. He motioned into the
alley and smiled. Ranma's face grew hard as he glanced around and saw no
one nearby looking at them. He pulled Akane with him and moved into the
shadows.
"Your money, all of it," said the man firmly.
Akane growled but Ranma put his hand on her stomach and pushed her back
lightly; reminding her of the risk in the situation. One he wasn't
willing to take. "All right, just take it." He tossed his wallet over to
the man with Akane's purse.
The man caught them one handed and smirked. Ranma found himself unable
to move as Akane rushed forward hoping to take advantage of the man's
distraction.
The assailant didn't waist a moment, Ranma felt his blood run cold as
the gun inside his pocket gave a clean report. His eyes went wide with
shock as Akane fell forward with a look of surprise in her eyes. He
managed to catch her in his arms. "NO!" His gaze went up to the man as he
vanished into the streets. "I'll kill you!" He could not chase him
though, he pulled Akane into his arms and sobbed. "You fool! It wasn't
worth this!"
"S-sorry," she managed with a small smile.
"How badly are you hurt?" he asked her as he lifted her up into his arms
and rushed out of the alley shoving a few pedestrians out of his way.
"It doesn't feel too bad," she managed weakly.
"Somebody call an ambulance!" he screamed at the few people who walked
by silently as if nothing was going on. "Damn it! My wife has been shot!"
They continued to walk away ignoring him, actually giving the space he
occupied a wide berth.
Ranma froze as someone walked by close to him, a woman in a business
suit. He would never remember her face, but the words would haunt him for
the rest of his life. "S'not my problem." She hadn't spoken to him
directly, she seemed to be saying it to herself. He looked around in
horror and finally noticed a pay phone nearby. He glanced down at Akane
again and saw her eyes were still open, "Hang on Akane!... Akane?
AKANE!!"
Soun Tendo sat in the emergency room with his son in law pacing back and
fourth nervously. His face was remarkably calm. He simply sat silently
and watched the wall while Ranma moved back and fourth through the room
jumping around nervously while the other patients milled about around
him.
A few moments later a doctor appeared from the door and the two men's
eyes met immediately. Ranma didn't need to hear what he had to say. He
simply rushed out of the room into the street. Nearby Nabiki and Kasumi
fell into each other's arms sobbing. Soun merely looked at them numbly
and said nothing. The doctor approached him and placed his hand on his
shoulder, "I'm sorry Mr. Tendo, if she had been brought in just a few
minutes sooner..." He turned away from the family and allowed them to
grieve for a moment.
Sinzuki Koshiro sat at his desk. The back of a huge leather chair rose
into the air behind him and he smiled as his secretary brought in a
package. "What do you have for me?"
"The woman said it was a gift for you," said the woman calmly.
Koshiro smiled. He was in his early thirties and quite handsome, his
activities remained secret for the most part, hidden under the veil of
his legitimate business. He flicked on the security camera and smiled at
the sight that met him. It was a woman with long legs dressed in a black
business suit, a veil covered her face and long flowing purple hair hung
in a ponytail behind her head. She waited patiently in the room just
outside his office. "Well, what do we have here?"
He pulled a small penknife out of his pocket and ripped open the lid to
the package. He pulled out the package and frowned slightly. It was a
jack in the box, he cranked the handle in morbid curiosity and smiled
slightly when a skull jumped from inside the box. "Cute, let's find out
what she wants."
The secretary turned towards the door only to find the woman standing
inside the room already. "I want you dead of course; I hope you don't
mind I let myself in, I heard my song playing."
"You have one sick sense of humor lady," commented Koshiro flatly as he
placed his hand on the gun under his table. He could make out a smile
beneath the black lace veil the woman wore.
"I think it's artistic really," she commented as the box on his desk
started to hiss as a greenish gas escaped a hidden nozzle inside. Koshiro
coughed violently as he was unable to react quick enough to the gas. His
secretary backed away gagging as she felt her tongue swell up and block
her windpipe. He struggled to stand and fell to the floor shaking
violently as she struggled to breathe and fell in front of his desk. The
woman walked over to her and kicked her over face up and frowned at the
painful expression on her face. "I'll have to do something about that."
She pulled a pink highlighter from the dead man's desk and kneeled down
next to her for a moment. "There, much better; she was pretty, too bad."
She walked over to the desk and pressed the button. "Yes Mr. Koshiro?"
said the receptionist at the desk. "Arrange a meeting with the board of
directors, you've just been promoted to secretary."
"Sir?" said the woman in shock. "Yes sir!"
Hours later on the rooftops of Tokyo, a beautiful figure silhouetted by
the moonlight stood atop a large building, her lavender hair blew in the
wind behind her put up in a ponytail. She smiled to herself as she
pressed a button on the belt that rested against her hips tightly. She
was dressed in a black bodysuit with several large pockets along the
legs. She looked over the edge and smiled as she put on a vest and tapped
the headset that rested on top of her head. She pulled down her night
vision goggles and jumped down off the edge of the tower stopping a few
feet below as the line holding her up stopped. Pressing another button
she lowered herself slowly along the side of the building and stopped a
few stories below. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a small
glasscutter and carefully cut out a small section of window. She smiled
to herself as she noticed there was no security system in place.
Carefully removing the round piece of glass she slid it out skillfully
and placed it into one of the vest pockets. The woman gave a small
satisfied laugh as she reached inside the window and pulled at the latch
before sliding the whole widow aside. Skillfully she pushed herself
inside and crawled across the floor adjusting the goggles to the darkness
inside revealing several lines of light that crossed the doorways. She
almost laughed out loud as she rushed forward without a sound and jumped
through a hole in the pattern stopping inside a darkened hallway.
"Well, what have we here?" she thought as she slid along the wall and
noticed a glass door. Inside was an art gallery, several expensive
statues and assorted jewelry were encased in several protected stands
inside.
She pulled a small electronic device out of her pocket and slid it into
the keypad security system. Moments later the door opened without a
sound.
She moved quickly across the room and pulled out a compact in front of
another keypad on the wall, it was a touch screen system. Delicately she
powdered down the keys and smiled as several fingerprints became visible.
She dialed the number and smirked as the beams of light around her
vanished in an instant remaining only around the exhibits themselves.
It took less than five minutes to clean out the jewelry and a small cat
statue that had caught her eye. She moved back towards the door and
smiled as she closed it behind herself and moved back to the window she
had entered from. Within a split second she strapped on the vest again
moving quickly and not bothering to muffle the clicks as she closed the
clasps shut again. She backed out of the window and used the line to
climb up the side of the building manually. Technology was good, but
there was no point in getting out of shape.
She tightened her gear and patted the pockets before jumping across the
a nearby building that was a few stories lower than the one she was
standing on. She smiled to herself and removed the body suit revealing
bright and very sheer undergarments. She smirked as she pulled a dark
blue evening gown from the bag waiting for her and placed her gear inside
of it. Once dressed she walked towards the door to the roof and opened it
easily.
A man with long dark hair stood waiting for her. "Well?"
"You worry too much Mousse, it was clean," she replied.
"I still don't see why we're doing this," muttered the man
half-heartedly as he accepted the bag and sighed.
"Japan owes me, I lost my honor because of this place. I can never
return home, so I'm going to take it out of their pockets," snapped
Shampoo bitterly as she pushed by him.
He sighed and hung his head. "Yes Shampoo, enjoy the party."
She nodded and smirked at him. "I'll enjoy it even more when I come back
here tomorrow night."
Mousse found himself smiling despite himself at her words. "Just be
careful my love."
She rolled her eyes at this and stomped away. "Stupid Mousse, Shampoo
rather marry cabbage!"
She walked into the building and was met with the sounds of a party
inside. Mousse's smile fell as he walked down the stairs he glanced up at
the door and made his way down to the bottom floor where he could dispose
of the merchandise in the trunk of the car.
A fat businessman smiled as Shampoo as she walked back into the party.
"Well, you sure took long enough! How long does it take a woman to powder
her nose anyway?" he laughed. The men around him joined in the joke she
seemed to miss.
"Long enough to bleed you dry tomorrow night you fat bastard," she
thought to herself. "Oh, Kaneda-samma you so funny!" she replied out loud
in her usual pidgin speech. She brushed up against his arm and turned on
her bubbly charm as the men merely enjoyed watching her, no matter what
came out of her mouth. She noticed several of the women there with her
giving her dirty looks and ignored them as she took a glass of champagne
from a waiter that passed by.
The board of directors at Hisima corp. sat watching the woman who sat at
the head of the table silently. She smiled at them from beneath her veil
and waved her hand around. "Hello gentlemen. I am here to tell you about
my hostile take over of your Organization." She stopped and waited for
their reply.
Finally one of the men spoke up. "Who the hell are you? Is this some
sort of sick joke?"
"Yes it is in fact, a very sick joke. Unfortunately, the joke is on
you," she replied with an insane giggle. With a flick of her wrist she
pressed several buttons on the table.
All of the men present jerked back in their chairs shaking violently,
many of them foamed at the mouth, while others began to smoke, a few of
them even did both. A single man sat untouched by the carnage and he
curled up in his seat screaming in terror and waiting for his own death.
The woman slapped him on the shoulder laughing maddly. "You don't get
more hostile than this!"
She pressed the buttons again and the men stopped moving suddenly, most
of them falling on the table, a few sat rigid in their places still
smoldering. "What a lovely smell," commented the woman. She turned
towards the man and smiled wider at him. "I'll bet you're wondering why
you aren't dead?"
He blinked and nodded at her dumbly, tears flowing freely from his eyes.
A look of complete and total fear was etched into his features.
"To be perfectly honest, your switch broke," she replied indicating the
failed switch. "I'm kind of glad though, I need someone to help...
convince the organizations I'm in charge now. I also don't want to deal
with those bothersome legal businesses. You'll be in charge of that, is
that all right?"
The man nodded dumbly and shrank further back into his chair. "Who are
you?"
The woman smiled at him and winked. "You can call me Black Rose, or
master whichever you prefer."
A figure emerged from the shadows and walked up to her side. "Mistress,
you said I could handle the legitimate business!"
"Calm down Sasuke, I have a special job for you," replied the woman.
"You're going to make sure he doesn't screw this up."
"Oh, thank you mistress!" said the red and black clad ninja. The look in
his eyes told the man that he would take any opportunity to get rid of
him gladly.