--------------------------------
THE CLAN

Chapter 20 - Meeting Conflict
--------------------------------

DISCLAIMER: Ranma and the other characters belonging Rumiko Takahashi
are used without permission. The following chapter contains some
graphic violence. Reader discretion is advised.

Previous chapters and fanart are available at:

http://www.furinkan.net/fanfic/

* * *

    Akane was in a foul mood. She really hated being left behind.
It was a bitter pit in her that Hinako had been *murdered* and her
family had no intention of letting her do anything about it. Instead,
she got to 'watch the house'.
    
    "Baka Nabiki. Baka Kasumi. Baka Ryouga."

    She didn't really feel that way about Kasumi, but it felt good
to let her feelings vent. She was still upset from the news earlier
in the day and needed a release.

    After the sun went down, Akane sat cross-legged in the
Tendous' tea room and wrapped her wings around her shoulders. Bored,
she allowed herself to doze off, her body supported by her wings.

    She felt stiff when she woke up. It was completely dark in the
house, giving her a bit of a start, but she soon adapted. As her eyes
got used to the dark, Akane noticed that the shadows had a bit more
depth than she remembered. What was more, she could see deeper into
them. As she grew more and more accustomed to the dark, she realized
that her sense of smell had become sharper as well.

    She sat in the middle of the floor, tracing scents past the
deep pools of shadows. There, just by the corner, was Kasumi's gentle
trace. It seemed to be a bluish pink color. Nabiki's was more pink,
there by the table and the stairs. Uncle Saotome's was a deep, wild
swirl of burgundy and green, noxious and gamey to Akane's senses.

    After a few minutes, she realized that she was 'seeing' the
scents, like Aunty Saotome had talked about. After a few seconds'
thought she realized that she had seen them before, when Ranma had
stopped in to get his things. Was Kasumi this sensitive? Akane
wondered.

    Her father's scent was a deep orange, but not so animalistic
as Genma's. Tofuu's scent, although much fainter than the others, was
easy to pick out because of the sharp metallic black of the
antiseptic soap he used.

    Oddly, Akane could not 'see' her own scent and could only
catch traces of Ryouga, although his scent seemed to dance and mingle
with Nabiki's. There was an odd absent quality about it, as if it
were partially transparent. It bothered her, but she paid it no mind.

    And there, all around, even on the ceiling, was Ranma's scent.
Like before, Akane perceived it as a confusing mix of fiery red and
earthy, watery green. The scent flowed through the house like the
steps of a crazy dance, intertwining and alighting on every surface,
hiding behind every corner, flowing through impossible gaps in the
air. He was all around her.

    Akane felt a single tear roll down her cheek.

    "Baka Ranma."

    If he hadn't left, there would be someone in the house to
'watch' with her.

    "Baka baka baka Ranma."

    She missed him so badly, yet at the same time was irritated
with him for his absence. If only he would see that she realized that
she had made a mistake. If only...

    "Bakabakabakabakabakabakabaka...."

    The wind began to moan outside the house, taking the bluish-
brown scent of the pond away.

* * *

    "What she doing?"

    Ukyou adjusted the binoculars, trying to get a better focus
against the almost lightless house. "She's sitting... I think. In
front of the table. She's got a blanket or something around her
shoulders."

    "Aiya! Wind changing. Be careful to stay downwind, like great-
grandmother say."

    Ukyou grimaced and leapt as silently as she could from the
tree branch. "I think we're okay," she whispered.


* * *


    Akane's ears twitched as the heard the tiny crunch of leaves
hitting the ground. Her eyes darted for the open shogi, training on
the noise. Outside, the tree shook gently in the breeze. The purple-
pink of some kind of small animal stood out among the other scents
there. There was a quiet, barely audible chatter as if two creatures
were talking. If she strained, she could hear two, loud, frightened
heartbeats.

    "...bakabakabakabakabakabakabakabaka..."

    It was probably squirrels, she thought as she rambled out
loud. Probably just trying to move around in the wind.

* * *

    "Did violent girl see us?" Shampoo asked, perched on only her
toes on the slender branch Ukyou had clung to.

    "She looked this way," Ukyou whispered. "I don't think so."

    "What she doing now?"

    Ukyou adjusted the binoculars. "Singing?"


* * *


    "...bakabakabakaBAKAbakabakaBAKABAKAbakabaka..." Akane began
to vary the tone of her voice with the colors of the scents she saw.
Realizing her feet had gone to sleep, she shifted quietly, trying to
get more comfortable. She turned and stretched so that she wasn't
sitting on her legs.


* * *

    "Holy shit!"

    "What?"

    "I dunno," Ukyou hissed, trying to reig in her voice. "But
that's not a blanket. It's... something else! Something... something
*alive*."

    Shampoo's violet eyes hardened in dread and revulsion. "We get
ready to go in now. See if girl moves again and then attack. Akane
doing bad magic now. Shampoo kill before too late."

    Ukyou nodded, not wanting to add her voice to Shampoo's dire
threat.  Nonetheless, she began to check all her spatulas and the
special bandoleer she was wearing just for wooden stakes. If what
Cologne had said were true, they might have very little choise. Ukyou
wasn't sure of what she had seen, but the half-glimpse had chilled
her to the bone.

* * *

    At a corner cafe, Kasumi and Nabiki sat and sipped tea. Ryouga
and Tofuu were chatting, although all four were scanning the crowd
for any sign of disturbance. Nearby, a pretty young waitress was
serving coffee to a group of college students. If Kasumi's fine sense
of smell was right, she was the one the raveners would come for.

    Nabiki began to fidget. "Shouldn't they be here by now?"

    Ryouga reached out gingerly and touched her hand.

    "We should be patient, Sister," Kasumi said in a soothing
tone. "It may take some time, or it may have gone after Aunty Saotome
and Athia-san. They will let us know if anything has happened," she
said, gesturing to Tofuu's cellular phone.

    
* * *

    In a park, Athia and Nodoka watched a junior-high school girl
feeding ducks as she had been for quite some time. The two sat
quietly, listening to the sound of news coming from Soun's portable
radio. Behind them, the quiet click and scrape of Soun and Genma's
shogi game echoed through the trees.

    Both were starting to get nervous.

    Athia briefly glanced at the cell phone they had brought with
them, but Nodoka shook her head. "Kasumi is very good. She will do
well."

    Athia nodded, a little bit anxiously. She had only known the
Tendou girls for a few days, but was already deeply attached to
Kasumi. It would be painful for her if the raveners managed to get
through her defenses.

    "Nabiki is also very skilled," Nodoka continued, "if a little
headstrong. They will be just fine. I hope," she added quietly.

* * *

    Deep in the offices of TBN's Tokyo local news station, a phone
rang. A young man who was fiddling with a video camera reached down
to pick it up.

    "TBN Fifteen; this is Akoto. What can I do for you?" Akoto
listened quietly for several seconds, but then his eyes went wide. He
scrabbled for a legal pad and began to rapidly write. "Thank you!" he
shouted into the phone. "We'll be right there! What's your name?"

    There was a click as the line went dead. Akoto looked at the
phone in surprise, but dropped it and started yelling. "Chioki!
Chioki! We've got a tip on the Tokyo Slasher!"

    A woman in her mid-twenties fell out of a nearby cubicle.
Obviously having been awakened from an illicit nap, she stood and
brushed her dress skirt off. "What?"

    "Just outside Nerima district! The slasher just killed some
girl in a warehouse. I got the address!"

    Chioki looked at the pad, and nodded in excitement. "Let's go!
This could be the big break on the story!"

* * *   

    Deep in the heart of an abandoned factory, Ranma Saotome went
to war. He leapt high above the head of the Ravener King and angled
in for a powerful attack. Ranma aimed a long steel bar he had found
in the factory at the Ravener King's head.

    Akuji took a step back from the girl's body in front of him
and held up his good arm. White, diseased-looking spikes burst
through the flesh of his fingers to lance up at the martial artist.

    Ranma jerked to one side, letting the spikes rush past his
face. The steel bar punctured the monster's chest and knocked him
down. Ranma drove the bar in further with a solid kick, and snapped
his foot up to catch Akuji in the chin.  Before he bounced away,
Ranma directed a quick, powerful punch at the Ravener King's extended
hand, tearing off the finger-spikes at the knuckle. Avoiding the red
and black gore, Ranma bounced back into the shadows and hid behind a
stack of crates. He turned, trying to get a vantage over the
situation.

    Akuji flipped to his feet. His head hanging limply to one side
and the bar protruding from his chest, Akuji chuckled and bent over.
His head straightened out with a sickening crunch and the sickening
white flesh creeped back over both the gouge in his arm and his
broken off-hand. Akuji's claws resprouted from the new flesh. He
flexed them and and laughed out loud. With his now whole hand, he
pulled the steel bar from his chest with a sickening slurp and threw
it to the side.

    "Come out, come out, little boy! I want to show your body to
your mother, just before I tear her liver out!"

    *Oh, son-of-a-BITCH!* Ranma thought in ire as he caught his
breath from the attack. *I hate these bastards who regenerate! At
least this guy isn't on fire.*

    Ranma looked around for inspiration on how to immobilize his
opponent as Akuji began to search around for him. Seeing that the
crate he was hiding against was slightly off-center, Ranma grabbed
the corners and lifted it into the air. He tossed it, just as Akuji
whipped around to face him. The Ravener King collapsed under the
weight, but stood right back up through the wooden wreckage. "Surely
you don't thin--GURK!!!"

    Ranma smiled, looking at the crane hook now protruding from
the front of Akuji's face. Screaming incoherently, the Ravener King
began to claw at the hook. Ranma jumped on the chain and swung in
violently, tossing the monster into a cement wall. The hook came
loose with a wet tearing sound and a spray of gore.

    Ranma hopped down to investigate, but one of Akuji's claws
shot out from the bloody mess. Ranma dodged, but the claw still
managed to cut his shoulder.

    Ranma clutched the wound and dodged back into the darkness.
"Damnit!" he hissed. "You'd think I'd learn! These guys ain't human!"

    "No, were not," Akuji's cultured voice called out. There was a
little wet sound to it, as if he was talking around a mouthful of
food. "But you don't need to worry about that, little boy. You need
to worry about dying."

    Ranma jumped up to a darkened rafter, disappointedly noting
that the massive gash in Akuji's face was already starting to heal.
"This isn't gonna be fun," he said quietly, dodging as another of
Akuji's claws shot out.
    

* * *

    A lone television van pulled up in the parking lot outside the
factory. Chioki and Akoto quickly piled out. Akoto was carrying a
bulky camera, and Chioki had a wireless microphone and headset.

    The sounds of the fight and a scream of pain began to filter
to them from inside the building.

    "Oh goodness!" Chioki muttered. "This looks like the real
thing! No more late-night duty for me!"

    Akoto nodded and lifted the camera. The two crept over to a
low window and peered inside. The first thing they saw was the corpse
and the burning star. Akoto gulped and kept rolling.

    Chioki held a hand to her headset. "We're live," she informed
Akoto in a quiet voice. "They just preempted wrestling for us."

    "I've got the long-range microphone ready," Akoto replied. If
we can wedge the window open, I can get some audio."

    Chioki nodded and helped the cameraman pull at the pane of
glass. After he had his camera and microphone ready, Chioki held up
her wireless mic and started to talk quietly into it.

    "I'm Chioki Tanaka, and we're reporting live from the scene of
the Tokyo Slasher's latest killing. The Slasher is still here and is
involved in a fight. We'll move in a little closer and try to get a
picture of the killer that's held Tokyo in terror for weeks."

* * *

    Konatsu woke at the sound of a familiar voice. Careful not to
disturb the cast on his arm or the bandages around his chest, the
ninja looked around. His eyes finally alighted upon the television in
his hospital room. The screen was blurry and jostled, but a flash of
red whizzed by an indistinct figure of white and black.

    "This is for Hinako, you bastard!!"

    The white figure flashed with a spray of red blood and
screamed in rage.

    "Ranma-sama!" Konatsu exclaimed, scrabbling for the remote
control.

* * *

    "Why are you doin' all this killing?" Ranma demanded, careful
to stay hidden as Akuji lurched around. "What're you up to, you evil
son-of-a-bitch?!"

    "As if I would tell you." Akuji lurched, sending white spikes
through the crates above Ranma's head.

    Ranma ducked and kicked at the metal bars released by the
shattering crate. They flew in a high arc and impacted the Ravener
King in the chest. One stuck, but Akuji pulled it out and threw it
back.

    "You'd like to know, I'll bet," Akuji wheezed. "Just come out
here, and I'll tell you, little boy!"

    Ranma exhaled roughly and dodged. He was hurting. There were
now two cuts on his thigh to match the one on his shoulder and his
ears were still ringing from where he'd impacted the wall just a few
minutes ago. He had torn the Ravener King to shreds, but the guy just
kept coming back for more. Worse, Akuji shrugged off Mouko-Takabisha
attacks, and Ranma just couldn't get close enough to use the
Amaguriken on him.

    Ranma considered using his Hiryuu-shoten-ha attack. Inside a
place where there was so much potential shrapnel, he could do a great
deal of damage to his opponent. Unfortunately, there was not a lot
heat to speak of. Ranma was going to have to get his opponent angry
the hard way. He sighed and grabbed a broken off wooden spike left
over from one of the crates.

    "Okay, you asshole. Now you're really starting to piss me
off!" Ranma ran out into the middle of the Ravener King's line of
sight and leapt, doing his damnedest to pin the bastard.

* * *

    "Nodoka-chan, listen!" Genma shouted, turning the radio up.

    Nodoka started in surprise and turned her attention to the
portable radio.

    "We go live now to coverage from TBN Fifteen's Chioki Tana--
*zzzzzzttttt*..."

    As Athia and Nodoka abandoned their vigil, Soun adjusted the
antenna to get better reception.

    "...*ssssstttt*--ook to the right, the man has hit something
into the Slasher's chest. He's running in a circle now. I think the
slasher is coming out and--"

    "HIRYUU-SHOTEN-HA!!!!" Ranma's voice rang out through the
tinny-sounding speaker.

    "Where is it?" Athia asked.

    Soun held a finger to his lips and turned the volume up some
more.

    Chioki's voice sounded out again after the roar cleared. "The
man has used some sort of martial arts attack on the Slasher, but the
Slasher is getting back up--"

    "Call Kasumi," Soun urged. "Now."

    Nodoka nodded and started to dial.

* * *   

    "NIHAO!!!" Shampoo shouted as she busted in the front door.

    Akane jerked and leapt to her feet. Unconsciously, her wings
spread out behind her. Akane's fists clenched in the darkness.

    "S-shampoo!" she stammered as the Amazon crouched in front of
her. Akane could see the silvery glint of steel out to Shampoo's
side. She had her sword, and wore a killing expression on her face.
Another figure rushed in behind Shampoo. Ukyou, Akane realized from
the swish of long hair and the cooking smells before she could
actually she the girl. With a sinking feeling in her gut, Akane
realized what she had been sensing in the trees.

    There was a steely hiss as the okonomiyaki chef drew a handful
of spatulas from her bandoleer. Akane gulped and backed up, doing her
best to stay in the shadows. She adjusted her stance and clenched her
fists, ready to defend herself.

    Ukyou shuddered. In the darkened house, she couldn't see
anything of Akane besides the small reflections in her eyes, but her
martial arts training told her that there were dark *shapes* hovering
behind the girl.

    "The game is over, Akane," Ukyou said out loud. "I don't know
what you've done to Ranma, but--"

    "I haven't done anything to that baka!" Akane protested, still
feeling guilt at the accusation. "He left because he wanted to. I
told him he didn't have to go!"

    "Pervert-girl give up now," Shampoo said, as if she was making
a trivial suggestion. "Shampoo only knock out, not kill."

    Akane gulped. She had never really won against Shampoo before,
and the girl was *really* serious. "What did I do to you?" she
demanded, trying to buy herself some time.

    Ukyou shuddered, seeing the shapes move again. "What's wrong
with you, Akane? What did you do to yourself?"

    "I didn't mean for it to happen, okay!?!?" Akane shouted.
"Just leave me alone and get out of here! Ranma's not here, so just
go away!"

    "It not Ranma we here for," Shampoo countered. In the
darkness, she lashed out with her blade. Akane didn't know how she
dodged, but could feel the steel just scrape the shaft of her left
wing without cutting. Akane rolled and came up again across the
floor. She leapt up, just in time to dodge three spatulas as they
embedded in the wood beneath her.

    Ukyou hissed. Akane could smell her fear and revulsion "What's
on your back, Akane?"

    "I don't have to--"

    "This stupid! No fight in dark!" Shampoo reached up and
grabbed the cord to turn on the fluorescent overhead light.

    Akane trailed off as the two girls beheld her with horrified
stares and open mouths.

    "A-a-a-a-kane?!?!" Ukyou stammered. "Oh, god... It's true!"

    The girl Ukyou *thought* she had known was standing in front
of them. Akane was clad in only shorts and a black leotard. The
reason for the leotard was obvious at first sight. Bluish-black wings
spread away from her back in a ready position and two long fangs were
just visible over the girl's bottom lip.

    Shampoo's eyes went wide in shock and dread. She pulled her
sword up and gripped it with both hands. "Shampoo kill demon-girl
now."

    Ukyou's expression narrowed similiarly as she pulled several
of the wooden stakes from her bandoleer.

    Akane saw the two girls' killing expressions. She turned and
ran.


* * *

    "Yes, Aunty, we see," Kasumi noted into the phone as the four
of them watched the Cafe's television in unconcealed shock. "I can't
tell where it is from the picture. I can't sense it from here,
either. Wait, I can hear police sirens in the distance."

    Kasumi nodded and hung up the phone. "Aunty and Athia are
going back to the house," she informed Nabiki, Tofuu and Ryouga.
"Nabiki and I are going to follow the sirens and see if we can help
Ranma."

    Tofuu nodded. "We'll come along."

    Kasumi nodded, leading the group away.

    *How could Aunty have been wrong?* she thought as she started
to lead the group on a jog through Nerima district.


* * *

    Ranma was getting tired, and the factory was getting seriously
messed up. There weren't very many good places to land any more, and
Ranma was running out of strength and ammunition. He didn't dare try
to fight the beast at close range.

    The cutting force of one of the Yamasen-ken techniques
actually seemed to work against him, Ranma had discovered, but it was
a costly maneuver in terms of strength. Worse, Akuji seemed to still
be regenerating from anything Ranma could do to him. The really
powerful variations of the Umisen-ken required some preparations
that Ranma just didn't have ready.

    Sighing in exhaustion, Ranma dodged out from behind a pile of
rubble and attacked.

    "DEMON GOD ASSAULT BOMB!!!!"

    Akuji staggered against the force of the blow. It had nearly
torn his arm off. It started to pull back together, but it wasn't
fast enough. If he took another blow, and the limb came away from his
body, he would lose the use of it permanently. He cursed bitterly,
spitting blood and black bile. This Ranma Saotome was proving to be
quite a hindrance to his plans. He needed to end the fight quickly so
that he could recover before the next harvesting.

    "Give up, boy?"

    "Eat steel, freak!" Ranma cried, leaping up into the air and
throwing a dozen nails into Akuji's chest. Akuji staggered back, and
coughed up even more black bile. Ranma landed badly, though, and fell
to one side. He struggled to his feet, but was clearly exhausted.

    In the distance, police sirens began to howl.

    Ranma breathed heavily, dropping into a defensive crouch,
waiting for the wounded Ravener King's next move. "Ya givin' up,
already?"

    "Hardly, boy. I'll see your flesh torn from your bones while
you scream in pain before I bow to the likes of you!" Akuji lashed
out with his claws, albeit slowly. He was starting to feel his
injuries.

    Ranma leapt up onto a stack of crates. His speed was off, but
he felt confident, now that the monster was starting to look hurt.
Ranma inhaled deeply, trying to feel his second wind. "Ranma Saotome
don't go down for nobody pal! I've seen worse'n you."

    "Shut up and die," Akuji bit out, sweeping at Ranma's
position.

    Ranma almost chuckled. He finally had his chance. As Akuji
closed in, Ranma took to the air. He arced over one of the steel
beams over the factory floor and lashed out with his foot, tearing
the beam out of its place.

    Akuji saw it coming, and snarled angrily, trying to get out of
the way.

    Grinning meanly, Ranma kicked the ten-foot beam in mid air,
angling it to impact the Ravener King.

    Akuji was just too injured to move quickly enough. The beam
crushed into Akuji's side, driving him to the floor with a howl of
pain. Ranma landed on top of the beam, driving it deeply into the
concrete floor with a loud crunch.

    Ranma landed a safe distance away from the Ravener King,
breathing heavily.

* * *

    "It looks like the Slasher has gone down," Chioki whispered
into the microphone. "Let's go in and see if we can find any more
information."


* * *


    "Can you tell our viewers why the two of you are fighting?" A
voice called out.

    Ranma jerked in surprise. There was a woman in a dress suit
and a guy with a camera a little bit behind her. He groaned in dread
as he readied himself to protect the foolish woman.

    "I'm Chioki Tanaka with Channel Fifteen. Can you confirm that
you are indeed the Tokyo Slasher?" she called out in the near-
darkness.

    Akuji was desperate. He needed the distraction. With a single
deft movement, he sent a claw through the woman's abdomen. Seeing
that Ranma was already running toward her, Akuji tore himself off the
spike and began to stagger away from the scene of the fight. He
growled, clutching at the massive wound in his side. *We'll meet
again, Ranma Saotome,* he thought to himself. *And I'll make good on
my promise to you then!*

    Chioki didn't seem to realize what had hit her. Her microphone
clattered to the floor and she dropped to her knees. She opened her
mouth to speak, but vomited blood instead.

    "Chioki!" Akoto screamed, almost dropping the camera.

    "Keep... r-rolling, damnitt! *URRGH*" The girl coughed,
spraying blood all over her own face. She fell over onto her side.

    Ranma ran over and started to examine the girl's wound. His
stomach began to boil at the smell of all the blood. "Shit. At least
it didn't go all the way through." He tore his shirt off and held it
tightly against the wound. Sirens approached more closely.

    "Go see if there's an ambulance!" Ranma commanded. Akoto
nodded, running from the room.

    "If you *haarrk* turn off the... the... camera..." Chioki
gurgled, "I'll haunt you forever,"

    Crying, Akoto nodded and ran outside.

    Chioki lay still and let Ranma tend to her wound. Just a few
seconds later, police and paramedics burst into the ruined factory.

    As the paramedics pulled him away, Ranma gritted his teeth and
did his best to keep the tears from forming in his eyes. The fight
was over, but the Ravener King had gotten away. He was still out
there. Still killing. Still murdering, and Ranma had to stop him.

* * *

~To be continued...

* * *

Next time:

Akane, Nabiki, and Kasumi have a chat with the amazons. Ukyou makes
some tough choices, and Ranma goes on TV.

Author's notes.

First, let's have a round of Applause for Vincent Seifer, Rick Robinson, David Eddy, Allyn Yonge, Steven Pirrone and Nick Leifker. These guys are *it* when it comes to pre-reading. Thanks, guys!

Yup, I killed Hinako. (I didn't do it! Akuji did!) She heard Ranma's advice and didn't pay attention! What else was supposed to happen?

Actually, the 'murder-scene' bit was very difficult to write, especially after  reading Elsa's recent essay on being mean to your characters. I tore it down and put it back up several times, and then my pre-readers shredded it for me.

During the fight with Akuji, Ranma uses the 'Demon God Assault Bomb', one of Ryu Kumon's attacks from the "Yamasen-Ken, Umisen-Ken" story. For those who don't know, Genma invented the attacks, which are basically techniques for theiving. To the best of my understanding, the 'Assault Bomb' technique creates a vacuum in front of the attacker, which shreds everything in front of him with a scythe-like force. In contrast, the Umisen-ken techniques require the person using them to erase their presence and hide their actions. The Umisen-ken techniques are more in line with Ranma's personality, but the Ravener King takes a *lot* of killing.

Finally, I would like to take a few seconds to thank everyone who's written me about 'THE CLAN' and 'Ranma's Apartment'. Hopefully, we'll get to see the end of Chapter 4 of Ranma's Apartment before the end of summer.

Ja, Minna-san!

C.

* * *

C. Jones - guilty@furinkan.net
http://www.furinkan.net

* * *
I get full-motion streaming video and sound, I listen to
radio and steal, steal uh, you know, my music through MP3,
like everybody else does. I write the laws that say it's
illegal, and I do it anyway.

            -Senator Bob Kerrey (D) Nebraska