Nezumi
Chapter 5
by Soul Survivor

---
Disclaimer: Aside from Rumiko Takahashi, the list of
people who have the rights to Ranma 1/2 escapes me at
the moment. However, I can tell you with absolute
certainty that it most definately does NOT include me.
---

The trees of Mt. Terror echoed, as they often have in
the past, with the cries of those who dedicate their
lives to the Arts of combat.  This time, however,
neither combatant was human.  One, and oversized
panda, moved with a grace and speed that far
outstretched even the wildest expectations one could
have for such a beast.  The other, a humanoid rat,
moved with a blinding speed normally not seen off of
the silver screen.  Both fought with a level of skill
that would bring tears of envy to many a Hong Kong
action hero.

Accustoming himself to fighting in his hybrid form had
proven to be more of a challenge than Ranma had
expected.  While the old man was no longer pulling his
vanishing act, a trick that he steadfastly refused to
teach, fighting with a tail and claws was a definite
pain in the ass.  Focusing on his art however, gave
him a moment to relax and think the last few days
over, and as he did, one question began to nag him,
and inconsistency that begged for resolution.  Calling
a halt to their sparring match, Ranma regarded his
father with more curiosity than he normally gave his
daily life.

"Got a question for ya, old man," he said as he
shifted fully human.  "How is it that you're so calm
'bout this?  I'd a thought you'd be flipping balls
'bout this whole deal.  'Stead you start trainin' me,
like ya know what's up...  So, what's the deal?"

Genma paused a moment, as if debating his response to
the inquiry before answering.

"Heh... I was wondering if you would ever think to ask
that question... Well, I suppose now is as good a time
as any to tell you about your heritage, though, to be
honest, I would rather never have had reason to have
this conversation..."

"What the hell are you babbling about, Old Man?" Ranma
snorted, "You're stalling, trying to weasel outta
tellin me what's goin on..."

"As I was saying," Genma interrupted, "while this is a
conversation I would rather not have, your condition
leaves me no other option, so... If I may continue?"

At Ranma�s slightly abashed nod of assent, Genma
sighed in annoyance before continuing.

"Your 'curse' as it were, is one that has plagued my
family every few generations for as long as our family
history is recorded at the very least.  The last one
that carried it was my Grandfather Sato, and it was
his hope that I be the next Nezumi Warrior in our
family.  It was to this end that he began my training
in the martial arts, as well as other slightly less
honorable pursuits.  Now, you may consider me
dishonorable, I know that others do, and to a degree,
you may be right... But Grandfather's 'Low War', as he
called it, was something that I simply could not deal
with.  You see, boy, the Nezumi are killers of the
worst sort, murderers with no regard for honorable
behavior, or the welfare of any that stand in their
way."  Genma shuddered a moment at the memories, then
gave his son a piercing look before speaking again.

"Listen to me, boy...  Some of the things I have done
in my life may not have been those of the honorable
man I have tried to mold you into, but I swear, on
what honor I have left, that I have never taken a life
needlessly, nor have I deliberately tried to end the
life of another...  With the exception of the Master,
that is."  The last was followed by a bitter chuckle
as he regarded his son's shell-shocked expression a
moment before continuing.

"It was Grandfather's continued pressuring that
finally forced my hand...  I heard of a wandering
Master of the Art, and in the hopes of escaping my
Grandfather's influence and plans, I sought him out
and became his student, all without bothering to find
anything out about him... Heh... It's actually amusing
now, but consider my shock when I discovered that my
sensei was the most perverted man in all of Japan! 
Still, for all of his faults, the Master was not a
killer, and that thought alone kept me from running
away for the first few months, then fear of my
grandfather finding me kept me with him after that. 
As much as I reviled the Master for his perverse ways
and brutal training, he was all that kept my
grandfather's minions from bringing me home.  As a
human being, the Master left a lot to be desired, but
as a martial artist...  He could sniff out
grandfather's me regardless of their guise, and those
that confronted him were not very pretty to look at
after he finished with them.  Eventually, they either
stopped trying or perhaps our travels finally caused
him to lose track.  Then, shortly before I met your
mother, I learned that Grandfather had disappeared
without a trace, and was presumed dead.  I was more
relieved than I have ever been in my life, then I
found that the Master had no intention of ever
releasing Soun and myself.  What followed that, you
already know."

To say the least, Ranma was in shock at his father�s
revelations.  Following shock came revulsion at what
he had become, a killer, a monster, a freak!  Shaking,
he could barely bring himself to speak, and when he
did, it was with a noticeable quaver in his voice.

"So that�s what I am?  A monster?  Of course!  Look at
what I did to Ryouga!  A godforsaken killer freak!"

Genma�s sharp retort cut through his depression,
cutting short his self-recrimination.

"Wrong, boy!  That is what you might become," stepping
up to his son, he let his gaze bore into the
despairing eyes of his offspring, "but only if you let
it happen!  That is why I brought you here, that is
why we are working on controlling your anger, bringing
you back to your center, helping you gain control. 
Control your anger and you control the beast inside
you, control the beast, and you make your own destiny!
 The question you need to ask yourself is this, boy. 
Can you do this?  Are you enough of a MAN to control
your fate IN SPITE of your heritage?  Are you?!"

As his father�s question resounded in his mind, one
thought kept surfacing.  This was a challenge, a
battle for his soul as it were, and battle was
something he could understand and relate to.  For the
first time since coming to with Ryouga�s throat in his
hand, he felt the stirrings of confidence.  This was,
at its most basic level, another fight, and when the
chips were down, Ranma Saotome never lost.

When he met his father�s gaze, it was with the
beginnings of his normal cocky grin, and his voice was
firm and resolute as he gave his answer.

"Yes."

*************************

While Ranma dealt with the meaning of his existence,
life in Nerima continued unaware.  In the confines of
his booth at the Nekohaten, the scion of the House of
Kuno pondered the meal before him.  The meal, cold and
untouched, seemed to stare mockingly into his
bloodshot eyes as he stifled yet another yawn and
shifted uncomfortably on the vinyl seat.  To the best
of his recollection, this was the longest period of
lucidity he had ever experienced since his visions
started at puberty, and for the first time in his
life, he prayed for his delusions to return.  It
wasn�t that he enjoyed the madness, but he was
beginning to believe that it served a purpose. 

Since his vision of Shampoo�s murder, he had been
rational.  He had also slept for maybe three hours in
the last two days.  When he did doze off, his dreams
were haunted by varied images, from Shampoo�s rictus
grin, to the death screams of everyone he knew as they
were consumed in black flame, and so on in that vein. 
Needless to say, none of this was conducive to a good
night�s sleep, the lack of which was responsible for
his present condition.

Gazing about at the hustle and bustle of the
restaurant, his gaze was drawn to the nearly blind
busboy.  Mousse�s posture, normally resigned to his
toils, or fawning on the purple-haired waitress, had
become rigid with annoyance as his hand shot out and
trapped a large fern in a steel hard grip.  Not
bothering to look at his captive, he simply snarled in
anger.

"I thought I told you never to come back here,
Tsubasa."  The tendons on his arm stood in stark
relief as he tightened his grip.

Before anyone else could respond, Cologne�s annoyed
voice rang out.

"What the hell are you doing, Part Timer?  That�s a
plant, not a pervert!"

The frost in Mousse�s voice was clear as the disdain
in his retort.

"Is that so?  Then tell me  _Oh Wise Matriarch_  why
your �plant� is turning blue."

Sure enough the formerly green and healthy fern was
taking on a decidedly unhealthy blue pallor, and
finally collapsed out of the pot to reveal Nerima�s
least favorite cross-dresser.  

For about 10 seconds silence reigned broken only by
Shampoo�s soft "Aiyah..."  Finally Cologne spoke
again.

"Score one for the part timer.  Mousse, unless you
want to go to jail for murder, I suggest you let the
pervert breathe, then perhaps he can explain his
presence here."

With one final squeeze for good measure, Mousse
complied and the next few moments were silent aside
from Tsubasa�s choking gasps and the footfalls of
customers discretely exiting stage left to avoid what
might become a potentially violent situation.

Tsubasa, of course, wasted no time at all in adding
his match to the powder keg.

"You *choke* have no *gasp* right to *wheeze* keep me
from my *cough* beloved Shampoo... URK!!"

The last exclamation came from being forced to his
tiptoes by the point of Mousse�s dagger at his throat.

"Your Shampoo!!"  Mousse thundered.  "How dare you lay
claim to my rightful bri...OW!"

Mousse�s tirade was cut short as an expertly thrown
chopstick struck a sensitive nerve cluster in his
wrist causing his hand to spasm and release the dagger
he was attempting to ram through Tsubasa�s throat. 
Before he could react, Cologne was at his side, and
the look on her face stopped him cold.  When she
addressed them, her voice was strangely subdued.

"Calm down, Part Timer.  If you kill him, nothing I
can do will keep the authorities from taking you away.
 As for you Tsubasa, why aren�t you out harassing
Ukyo?  Why risk death to come here and harass..."

The look of utter loathing and disgust that warped
Tsubasa�s features stopped her in mid-sentence as he
snarled his reply.

"Ukyo?!  Why in hell would I want that cross-dressing
freak?  She disgusts me!  She always has!  I love
Shampoo!  I always have, and you all know it!"

Taking advantage of the momentary stunning effect his
outburst had, Tsubasa made a mad dash out the door,
screaming all the while.

"You wait!  Shampoo will be MIIIIIIIIIINE!"

It was Tatewaki, forgotten in his booth, who finally
broke the ensuing silence.

"That... was different."

***********************

In a hospital room across town, Ryouga awoke to an
angel at his bedside, and for the moment, simply
basked in her glory.

Akane felt a hot flush creep across her cheeks at the
naked adoration in Ryouga�s eyes when he awoke.  For a
moment she was at a total loss for words, and the
seconds ticked by in silence, as, for the first time,
things began to click in her mind, A leading to B
leading to C.  For the first time, the conclusions she
was drawing were accurate, and based on these
conclusions, a lot of the previous few months began to
make sense.  What worried her was her own reactions to
these conclusions.  Finally, the thoughts running
through her mind and the pervading awkward silence
became too much to handle.

"Ahem... How... How are you feeling?"  Blushing even
deeper at the catch in her voice, Akane focused on the
room, the floor, anything besides those adoring eyes.

Snapped out of his reverie by her voice, Ryouga
realized that he had been staring a little TOO
intently, and blushed himself.

"I... I�m doing fine," he stammered.  "I�m g... glad
you came to see me, Akane-san."

When she looked at him again, he avoided her gaze, his
lips pulled into the weak grin she was familiar with. 
This Ryouga, the painfully shy one, she could handle
him, he was familiar territory, and yet, a part of her
missed what had been there just a moment ago.  Shaking
her head to clear it and try and avoid blushing again,
she focused instead on Ranma.  That did the trick
quite nicely, thank you very much, her thoughts on the
pigtailed Martial Artist being about as far from
romantic as it was possible to get.  Centered once
again, she addressed one of the things she had
overheard from Ryouga�s doctor.

"Is it true that you can�t remember what happened to
you?"

At his nod she went on.

"I saw part of it... Towards the end... It... It was
bad, very bad..."

At the haunted look on her face, Ryouga�s heart melted
all over again, then, her words registered on his
hormone-befuddled mind.

"You saw?  What happened?"

Gathering herself, Akane proceeded to relate the
events as she recalled them.

"Well, it all started..."

tbc
============================

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

Soul Survivor

Questions? Comments?
E-mail me at:

simkin@rocketmail.com

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

Hakken - Werewolf
Nezumi - Wererat
Kumo - Werespider

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