Nezumi
A Ranma 1/2 - WoD Fusion
by Soul Survivor
By the way folks, I could use some C&C here
------
Insert Disclaimer Here
------
Chapter 1
As he watched the pyre burn, consuming first wood, then Hidoshi's remains,
Ranma could hear the chittering of his fellows, some commenting on the
battle, others berating him for wasting valuable time. Even as the flames
consumed the over-honored hakken, they were already breaking camp, preparing
to disperse into the night. He felt Yashida's presence aproach well before
the young warrior spoke.
"Why? Why not leave him for the carrion birds? We have much to do before
the night is over."
As true as the words were, he could not bring himself to agree, the aged
hakken had been a burden, with his notions of honorable combat more than
once causing friction between him and the rest. It had even been the cause
of his death, facing the bakemono openly, inviting then to lay him low,
yet... His suicidal frontal attack had also given them their victory, the
bakemono, so occupied were they with the lone raging wolf, never saw the
rats with daggers striking from the shadows.
"He knew...."
"What? What did he know" Yashida was more than a little confused by his
warren brothers behavior
"He knew he couldnt win... He sacrificed himself as a diversion so we could
win the day."
"More the fool then.." The younger warriors word fairly dripped contempt
"had he stuck to the shadows with the rest of us, he might still be alive."
"He might.. but that was not his way, while I dont agree with his views, I
can and will honor his sacrifice." He adjusted the ornate katana slung
across his back "The least I can do is return his sword to his clan, and let
them know that he died with honor" Turning back to face the flames he
addressed his warren brother "leave with the others.. when my business is
concluded I will meet you in Osaka" he then returned to his meditations as
his brothers slipped off into the night.
==============================================================
The next time Ranma awoke it was to the morning sun on his face and a mild
sense of relief. His surroundings were easy to recognize, as he was in the
back room of Dr Tofu's clinic, on the same cot he normally occupied after an
argument with Akane. His fever had broken, that much he could tell
immediately, his head still ached slightly and his throat has bone dry, the
glass and pitcher on the counter next to him told him that the good doctor
had apparently anticipated this. The icewater was a welcome relief to his
throat, but just annoyed his stomach which decided to remind him
_why_ he
wasnt in the hospital room. 'Oh man... the hell with this.. I gotta get
somthin' to eat' He was out the window and on the rooftops headed for the
Dojo befor he had actually compleated that thought 'I hope Kasumi has
leftovers..'
Kasumi was folding the days laundry when she heard the scuffling sounds from
the kitchen and decided to investigate, walking in she was greeted with the
site of Ranma in a hospital gown inhaling the leftovers from last nights
meal... what was left after Genma anyway. "Oh my..." when he looked up she
could see the sheen of bed sweat, as well as smell it on him. Wrinkling her
nose momentarily she went to her clothes pile and removed one of his
outfits, returning she placed it on the table "Ranma-san why dont you take a
bath and get changed while I make you some lunch? You need it rather badly"
Before he could answer, she was already at he cabinets selecting
ingredients. After taking a quick whiff of himself, he had to agree with
her, so grabbing his clothes he headed for the bath. After scrubbing
himsedlf down, he inched his way into a piping hot furo to loosen up his
muscles and hopefully lose his headache. Slightly drowsy from the furo's
heat the buzz in his head resolved itself down to what sounded like the
simultaneous muttering of thousands of chittering voices. Strangely enough,
this was comforting, he could almost tell what was being said, and their
presence reasured him for some reason. Slipping farther and farther into
his trancelike state, he failed to hear the rest of the family arriving as
he was elsewhere...
==============================================================
Ranma walked down the streets of the prefecture known as Nerima, Hidoshi's
katana still slung across his back. He needed to find the old hakken's
family so he could rejoin his... this however was proving to be more
dificult than he had thought. He was out of time, if he did not leave for
Osaka soon he would miss his meeting with his brothers, that could not be
allowed. Slipping into an old kendo training hall he hid the wrapped
bundle, digging a hole for it under a loose board. He then vowed to return
when his battle was won, but till then Tendo Hidoshi's family sword would
have to wait.
==============================================================
Ranma sat up.. He knew... He knew where it was! He could feel it..
Stumbling out of the tub he gave a quick once over and dressed as he was
exiting the bathroom, plowing over Akane who was half undressed in the
changing room. Before she even had a chance to yell, he was out the door
and down the hall, still muttering, "I know where it is... I know where it
is"
As she climbed to her feet Akane was more than a little annoyed 'That
Baka!.. he didnt even see me! What the hell was he talking about? ''I know
where it is'' He knows where what is?' "RRRAANNNMMMAAA!! Come Back
Here!!" 'Dammit!! I
_WILL_ find out what is going on here' She turned and
began the chase 'Even if I have to beat it out of him!'
Ryouga was lost. While there is nothing new about this fact it is still
fair to mention it at times. It wouldnt be so bad if he at least had a clue
as to where he was, last he checked he was in Kyoto, now he was here, and
while here looked slightly familiar, so did most of Japan. Kobe.. yes this
looked like Kobe.. So where was Nerima in relation to Kobe? North?... yes
North.. so thinking, he turned into the afternoon sun and started walking...
only to be trammpled by a hurried martial artist and then by the love of
his life..."Ite..." sometimes it didnt pay to get up in the morning. Slowly
he climbed to his feet and began to stagger after them. "Damn you Saotome,
damn you for trampling me, and damn you for forcing the sweet Akane to do so
as well!!"
On the rooftops there is a bare flicker as a handkerchif covered bald head
pokes out momentarily then vanishes once more.
The Blue Thunder of Furinkan High was in his most sacred temple.. The kendo
hall next to the high school. There, he was able to pass on the wonderous
knowledge of the sword to his peers and junior classmen. Like now,
maintaining a pace that challenged yet did not overtax the advanced members
of the Kendo Club. Challenged
_them_ anyway.. for one such as himself,
these drills were childsplay, but they cleared his mind and allowed him to
think.. his problem today was the same problem as yesterday, and the day
before that.. That Foul Sorcerer Ranma Saotome... On a subconcious level,
he knew that Ranma was no sorcerer, simply a master martial artist, yet his
pride would not allow that, so he convinced himself that it was magic.. he
did it so well that some days he actually believed it. Others, liker today,
when he was losing himself in the motions of his art, he could actually come
close to admitting the truth. The truth about Saotome, Akane and his Pig
Tailed Goddess... though the last.. what was supposed to be the truth
proved to be as bad as his fantasies, so he simply ignored it.
His problem was that as much as he would like to drop the whole sordid
affair, he could not, he had openly declared his love for the pigtailed
girl, and his pride would not let him admit that she might be other than she
seemed. Yet while he was ocasionally delusional, he was not entirely
stupid.. he had seen them change into each other on many occasions and even
delusions have their limits, yet if he admitted that she was Ranma then he
admitted to declaring his love for a man, and that would not be tolerated.
So caught up was he in his thoughts that it took him a few seconds to
realize that the class had stopped, as one they were staring at a new
arrival. Following their gaze, a smile touched his lips momentarily before
his eyes hardened. 'Saotome!' The Game was afoot!
Falling into character, he glared daggers at the young martial artist
"Saotome! How dare you defile these sacred halls with your foul stench!
Begone at once ere I show you the errors of your ways!" upon seeing that he
was being ignored he advanced, while in the back of his mind warning signals
were going off left and right, something was not right here.
"Very well then sorcerer, the Wrath of heaven is slow but sure... Prepare to
Meet Justice Fiend!!" with that he charged, a part of his mind knowing that
it would do no good, another part realizing that appearances have to be
maintained. He was not in the least bit surprised when he felt his boken
leave his grasp, nor when he felt Ranmas foot connect with his chin,
slamming him into the far wall.
Feigning unconciosness, he watched Saotome, curious of his behaviour in
spite of himself. He observed as Ranma looked at the bokken as if he had
never seen it before, then walking over to far left wall, he paced his way
from there to roughly halfway across the room. There was a collective gasp
from the class as he used the bokken to pry up one of the floorboards,
revealing concrete below it. They then watched on in mute astonishment as
his hands became a blur reducing the floor in that section to rubble which
he dug out, digging thru into the dirt below. Their greatest shock came
when he withdrew a bundle wrapped in tattered silks from the hole he had
made, and with a smile of satisfaction turned and left the hall, unimpeded
as the club members, unlike their leader, knew better than to try and stop
him.
Kuno waited until he had left and before rising, curiosity burning in his
soul. If he didnt know any better, he would have sworn that the bundle was
a wrapped sword, if so, then how had it gotten under the hall, and more
importantly, how had Saotome known of its location? After leaving the club
members with terse instrucions to stay put, he left the hall to follow
Saotome.
Ranma was still in a daze, barely registering where he was going, thus he
was wholly unprepared for the blow that slammed him into a building and
knocked his bundle flying. As anger began to cloud his mind he saw the lost
boy standing over him, umbrella held at ready.
"Maybe that will teach you not to ignore me Ranma" This was it Rouga
thought, one man to man fight, no one to interfere, no one to keep him from
killing his hated rival "Ranma! Prepare to Die!"
Ranma could feel anger, anger like he'd never felt before, it was fire
coursing thru his veins, the chittering in his head getting louder and
louder. He wanted to rend, he wanted to maim and kill, rage, rage such as
he had never felt before built up in him, clouding his judgement to the
point that Ryouga got a blow in, then a second and third. Strangely enough,
the blows didnt really hurt, they simply provided fuel for the fire inside
of him. Looking at his opponents face, he saw a mask of hate, then
everything Ryoga had ever done to him came rushing in. Attacking him without
warning or reason on a daily basis
*kill him* intrfeering with him and Akane
*Kill Him!* P-Chan *KILL HIM!!*... He could feel something building inside
of him as he fought, something trying to get out as his rage slowly consumed
any barriers that he might have had.
Genma crouched on the roof overhead and watched. He could feel something
building up down there and had a sinking feeling he knew what it was, he
also knew that if he was correct then things were going to change radically
'Kami-sama.. why him.. why my son?'
Tatewaki stood off to one side, out of sight as he picked up the bundle lost
during Ryouga's attack, unwrapping it he confirmed his suspiscions. It was
a Katana, an old one from the looks of it, probably a family blade, his
ruminations were interrupted by the latest development in the battle.
Ryouga was on a roll, for the first time, he finally had had his nemesis on
the ropes and he could feel victory within his grasp. Feinting an umbrella
strike to the head, he nailed Ranma with a vicious forward stomp, flinging
him backwards into a wall, then poleaxed him to the floor with his umbrella.
As he drew his arm back to finish him off, he paused in astonishment as
Ranma's body began to change. His hackles rose and he was filled with and
unidentifiable fear as Ranma's body began to swell and distort.
Ranma rose to his feet, he could feel the his shirt tighten then burst under
the strain, his shoes ripping apart on his feet as his rage consumed him.
As the change completed, he let out a feral yell and looked down at the puny
being who dared attack him. With a single swipe of his clawed hand he tore
the umbrella from the lost boy's grasp, then his tail whipped around,
snapping across the boys face and driving him back. With an incoherent
snarl of pure rage he leapt at his opponent claws extended, there was no art
here, no school, no discipline, simply rage, and a deire to tear his
opponent limb from limb.
Akane was still looking for Ranma when she heard the yell followed by the
cries of pain 'Ryouga? What could do that?' following the sounds she came
upon a sight that chilled her to the bone and brought an involuntary scream.
Ryouga was being held by the throat by what looked like a giant huminoid
rat, he was battered and bleeding from dozens of slashes on his body, and
the creature looked ready to finish him on the spot.
The scream caught Ranmas attention, when he saw the look of horror on
Akane's face te rage bled out of him as if it had never existed, he barely
noted when his body shrank back down to human. When she turned and fled all
he could do was watch in numb shock, then he remembered what had happened.
Looking down he saw the barely breathing form of Ryouga, his fingers still
locked on the lost boy's throat, then he saw the blood on his hands and his
world collapsed around him. Releasing the lost boy, he backed up, his hands
making warding gestures as if that would make it all better. Finally, he
ran, sprinting down the road in the vain hope of outdistancing his actions.
Genma watched. He didnt know what to do, for once there was no plan, no
scheme that could fix this, all he could do was pray that his son would
recover. He was about to follow him when he saw the Kuno boy approach,
carrying the bundle that Ranma had recovered earlier.
Tatewaki was confused... he had no idea why he was following Saotome, all
things considered, save for the look he saw in his eyes before he ran, a
look of utter hopelessnes and despair, a look that he had seen more than a
few times, always before in his bedroom mirror. An instinctive part of him
knew, he knew that if he walked away there was a good chance that his rival
would die by his own hand. 'If Saotome is to die,' he rationalized 'it will
be in combat with me' yet he knew, as soon as he saw that look, that his
feud with Saotome was over.
"Sasuke!" the diminutive ninja was by his side before he had finished
calling for him "Yes Master Kuno?"
Handing him the wrapped bundle "Take this to the mansion and have it
cleaned, see if you can find out who's family it belongs to, I shall return
shortly." with that he sped off in the direction Saotome had traveled.
Genma watched them leave and decided to leave well enough alone. If nothing
else it would give him time for a little damage control. Jumping down to
the road, he picked up Ryouga and headed to Dr. Tofu's.
Tbc
sammie ==============================================================
People, I could use some C&C here... I know Kuno is OOC, as is Genma,
however this simply reflects my personal view on the characters, and much of
their odd behavior is explained in later chapters. Im hoping my chapter
size increases in the future, but even with that I am looking at at least 8
to 10 chapters for this story.. Also, if anybody has a pic of a Crinos
Ratkin they can spare, I would appreciate it.
Send C&C Questions to
simkin4@hotmail.com
Nezumi = Wererat
Hakken = Werewolf
For those of you who wonder about the Nezumi, this may give you some
insight:
http://members.tripod.com/wwta/Breeds/Ratkin/Tribes/Nezumi/nezumi_tribe.htm
________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at
http://www.hotmail.com