By the way folks, I could use some C&C here

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Chapter 1

The flames of the pyre lit the early evening skies,
consuming first the collected wood, then Hidoshi's
remains.  As he watched it burn, Ranma could hear the
chittering of his warren brothers, some commenting on
their recent victory, while others quietly berated him
for wasting valuable time.  Even as the fire consumed
the over-honored hakken, they were already preparing
to break camp and disperse into the night.  Even
before he spoke, Yashida's presence behind him spoke
volumes, questioning his actions this evening.

"Why are we doing this?  Why not leave him for the
carrion birds?  We have much to do before the night is
done."

As true as the words were, he could not bring himself
to agree with the sentiments behind them.  True, the
aged hakken had been a burden, his notions of
honorable combat more than once causing friction
between himself 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..."

"Ehh?" Yashida was more than a little confused by his
warren brothers behavior by this point.  First
allowing the hakken to join their hunt, knowing that
the old wolf would cause trouble, then going through
the trouble of building a pyre when the fool mutt went
and got himself killed.  Now, spouting nonsense and
wasting time when they had appointments to keep.

"He knew our chances were slim..." Ranma's voice held
confusion and a slight hint of awe "He sacrificed
himself as a diversion so we could win the day."

"More the fool then..." The younger warriors words
fairly dripped contempt.  "Had he stuck to the shadows
with the rest of us, he might still be alive."

"He might...  Or we might all be dead...  But, either
way, that was not his way.  While I dont agree with
his views, I can and will honor his sacrifice." 
Adjusting the ornate katana slung across his back, he
turned to Yashida. "The very 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
dismissed 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.

==============================================================

When next Ranma awoke, it was to familiar surroundings
with the morning sun on his face.  With a mild sense
of relief, he realized that the room he was in was the
same one he occupied on a regular basis after an
argument with Akane.  From what he could tell, his
fever had broken though his head still ached slightly
and his throat was bone dry.  Casting about, he
spotted a pitcher of water and a glass that the good
doctor had apparently left in anticipation of just
that eventuality.  While a relief to his throat, the
water merely aggarvated his grumling stomach, which
chose that particular moment to remind him of exactly
_why_ he was not in his hospital room.  Deciding that
he'd had enough bed rest for one day, he was out the
window and headed towards the dojo without further
ado.

It was a quiet day in the Tendo Dojo, as rare as those
are.  Taking advantage of the lack of challengers /
kidnappers / fiancee's / family members, etc. Kasumi
was catching up on the days laundry when she heard
scuffling sounds coming from the kitchen.  Quieter
than a mouse, she crept to the doorway, wondering who
might have come in without knocking.  'Maybe it is
that Ryouga fellow, lost again, or perhaps P-chan...' 
The sight that greeted her instead was that of Ranma,
dressed in a hospital gown, inhaling the leftovers of
last nights meal...  What was left after Mr. Saotome,
anyway.  Wrinkling her nose at the odor of stale bed
sweat that surrounded him, she quickly retrieved on of
his outfits and returning she placed it on the table
before him.  "Ranma, why dont you go wash up 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
himself down, he inched his way into a piping hot furo
to loosen up his muscles and hopefully lose his
headache.  Drowsing slightly 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, he found this
comforting, their presence reasured him for some
reason. Slipping deeper 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 anticipated.  He was running
out of time, if he did not leave for Osaka soon he
would miss the meeting with his brothers, and that
could not be allowed. Slipping into a 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, until 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 in the process. 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!"

Climbing 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's 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 to face
the afternoon sun and started walking...  Only to be
trammpled by a hurried pigtailed martial artist and
then by the love of his life.

"Ooof!"  Sometimes it just didnt pay to get up in the
morning... Slowly he climbed to his feet and began to
stagger after them. "Damn you Saotome!!"

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 mere child's play,
yet 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 he could be defeated by a
mere bare handed peasent, so he convinced himself that
it was magic... He did it so well that some days he
actually believed it. Others, like 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 could 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, and
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 error 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, telling him that 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 his opponent, bokken held at ready,
one part of his mind knowing that it would do no good,
another part rationalizing that appearances had 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 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. 

As he watched, Kuno felt a familiar, at least to him,
blurring sensation as the scene changed.  The training
hall was empty, and had changed in apperance, the
floor was lower to the ground, and the architecture
was of a much more archiac design.  A man entered the
room, casting glances about as if to confirm that he
was alone, and walked to a lose board in the center of
the floor.  Lifting it, he dug a shallow trench in the
dirt underneath and therein placed a silk wrapped
bundle.  After patting the dirt down the man replaced
the board and examined the area critically, then he
turned and left. 

The collective gasp from the class brought Kuno back
to reality as Saotome used the bokken to pry up one of
the floorboards, revealing concrete below. 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.
The 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 who was that man who had
buried it 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.

As he followed, he thought of what he had seen...  The
vision did not particularly trouble him, as he had
been plagued by them since childhood, as had his
sister and their father.  As had members of his family
for generations gone by for that matter.  His father
at one point had claimed that the visions were why the
Kuno house was as wealthy as it was, as several of his
ancestors had taken advantage of the family 'curse' so
to speak, using the predictions garnerd from them to
manipulate the family finances into a sizeable
fortune. 

Members of his family had always seen what others
could not, and paid a heavy price for it in the end...
 While accurate, and sometimes usefull, the gift was
not free.  For every Kuno gifted with visions was
cursed with madness as well...  As little as he liked
to admit it to himself, on days like this, when his
mind was clear, he knew that he had not escaped.

But no, the vision itself was not the problem here,
Saotome knowing the location of a sword buried at
least a hundred years ago, on the other hand, was
cause for more than a little interest on his part.

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 is it!' Rouga thought, 'A man to man fight, no
one to interfere, no one to keep me from finally
defeating him!'  "Ranma! Prepare to Die!"

Ranma could feel anger, anger like he'd never felt
before, it was fire coursing through his veins, the
chittering in his head growing louder and louder.  He
wanted to rend, he wanted to maim and kill!  Rage,
rage such as he had never felt before welled up inside
him, clouding his thoughts to the point that Ryouga
got a blow in, then a second and third.  Strangely
enough, the blows didnt really hurt, they simply fuled
the fire raging inside of him.  Looking at his
opponents face, he saw a mask of anger and hate, and
then, everything Ryoga had ever done to him, came
rushing in.  Every unprovoked attack. *kill him* Every
interfereance with Akane. *Kill Him!* P-Chan. *KILL
HIM!!*  He could feel something growing inside of him
as he fought, something clawing it's way out as his
rage quickly consumed the last of his reason.

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 nothing would ever be the
same 'Gods... Why him...  Why my son?'

Snapped out of his reverie by Ryouga's attack,
Tatewaki stepped off to one side, out of sight as he
picked up the bundle lost during the initial assault. 
Unwrapping it he confirmed his suspiscions, it was a
katana, an old one, Tokugara era from the looks of it,
and 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. 

Ryouga was elated...  For the first time in years, he
finally had his nemesis on the ropes...  Victory was
finally within his grasp!  Feinting a strike with his
umbrella, he lashed out with a powerfull forward kick,
flinging his opponent into a wall.  Stepping forward,
he drove him to the floor with a vicious overhand
strike, poleaxing the smaller martial artist.  Drawing
back for a finishing strike, he paused in
astonoishment as Ranma's body began to change. 
Hackles rising in unreasoning terror he backe off as
his opponents features began to swell and distort. 
The figure that rose before him was something out of
his worst nightmares, better than 6 feet tall, heavily
muscled and covered in fur, it growled at him
menacingly.  Try as he might, the terror that consumed
him would allow no movement, neither attack nor
flight, all he could do was stand in numb shock as
death came for him. 

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
desire to tear his opponent limb from limb.

Tatewaki was at a loss, part of his mind was screaming
at him to flee, while another, the cool calm part he
associated with his visions, held him in place as he
watched Saotome transform into a large furred rat-like
creatue and proceed to tear the Hibiki boy apart.  He
knew of the lost ones incredible endurance and
resistance to damage, he had seen the breaking point
attack and had watched Ryouga shrug off the resulting
shrapnel blast with no ill effects, yet this creature
tore into him with ease, leaving great bloody rents in
his flesh.  And for all of the lost boy's vaunted
strength, he was being tossed about like a rag in a
tsunami, never even getting a blow in.  Kuno stepped
forward, not sure of what to do, but trying to prevent
a murder when a scream stopped him in his tracks. 

Akane was still looking for Ranma when she heard the
yell followed by the cries of pain. 'Ryouga?' She
wondered. 'What could do that?'  Following the sounds
she came upon a sight that chilled her to the bone and
brought forth 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, as the creature stood with one
clawed hand cocked back, ready to tear the lost boys
throat from his body.

The scream caught Ranma's attention, and, seeing the
look of horror on Akane's face the 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 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 when he saw the
blood on his hands, his world collapsed around him.
Releasing the lost boy, he backed up, his hands making
warding gestures while muttering incoherent denials,
as if that would make it all better. 

As he looked around himself, he saw Kuno standing
there, a worried expression on his face...  As their
eyes met, the expression went from worry to dismay
followed by horror.  He watched as the normally
impasive swordsman hit his knees, a strangled scream
escaping his lips.

Finally, unable to deal with what had happened, he
ran, sprinting down the road in the vain hope of
outdistancing himself.

Tatewaki stood. It took every ounce of self control he
had to keep from collapsing from the horror of what he
had just witnessed when his eyes had locked with
Saotome's. The scene had blurred, and he had seen
Ranma, sprawled in a pool of blood with his throat
sliced open, the implement of his demise, a shard of
glass from a bottle, still clutched in his right hand.
 While this disturbed him, he could understand
Saotome's reasons, no one _wants_ to be a monster.  

Then he saw another image.  He saw a rain of fire
falling down, destroying everything in its wake, for
half an instant he _felt_ every scream, every death as
the world around him was consumed, and he knew...  He
knew that if his first vision came to pass, then the
second would as well, and while the part of him that
was 'The Blue Thunder' might hate Saotome with a
passion, even delusions only went so far.  The katana
fell from his suddenly nerveless fingers, as Kuno ran
in the direction Ranma had fled, all the while praying
that he was not to late.

Genma watched.  He didnt know what to do, and for once
there was no plan, no scheme that could fix this, all
he could do was pray that his son would recover. 
Jumping down to the road, he picked up Ryouga and the
forgotten katana and headed for Dr. Tofu's. 

Tbc

==============================================================

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 simkin@rocketmail.com

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

SoulSurvivor

We are the equalizers, the Low Born, the ultimate
truth. When our Hakken brothers realize the need for
us again, they will come, and we will make a
killing...literally. 
-- TienBao, Nezumi Warrior

Nezumi = Rat or Mouse, in this context Wererat
Hakken = Werewolf 
Bakemono = Demon of sorts

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