Nezumi
Chapter 7
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 insistent ring of the telephone roused the woman
from her early morning slumber, beating out the alarm
on her bedside by better than half an hour.  Fumbling
for a moment, her hand finally alighted on the
handset, bringing quiet once again to the sparsely
furnished bedroom.

"Moshi-moshi... Ahh, hello, Kimiko... You've seen
them?!  Where?"  The fog of sleep clearing almost
instantly from her mind, the woman frantically grabbed
a pen and pad from her nightstand and scribbled down
the information she was being given.  "And you're sure
it's them?  Thank you, thank you ever so much...  Yes,
I'll tell you about it when I get back...  You have a
good day as well, once again, thank you."

Hanging up the phone, she cast about for something to
wear, excitement driving away any notion of sleep.  So
much to do, so much to do...  Beaming, she gathered
her bath things and laid out her best kimono; so many
preparations to make...  Yes, it was going to be a
good day.

A couple of hours later, still high on excitement, the
woman adjusted her silk-wrapped bundle as she boarded
a train bound for Nerima.

*****

Not everyone woke up that morning in high spirits,
however, Tatewaki Kuno being a prime example of this
fact.  Opening his eyes, he decided, had been a truly
grievous error in judgment.  An error he compounded by
attempting to move, whereupon his body decided to
inform him, in no uncertain terms, precisely what it
thought of that idea.  Groaning in pain, he slowly
staggered through the miles of hallway that separated
his bedroom from the furo, whilst every bone, muscle,
and sinew in his body screamed bloody murder at the
abuse.  Finally arriving at his destination, he eased
his battered frame into the piping hot water, in hope
of gaining something resembling proper mobility
sometime before noon.  As the heat slowly soothed his
aching body, he wondered why it was he'd never felt
this badly while insane...  Lucidity, he decided, was
highly overrated.

*****

The Tendo home was clean, cleaner than it had been in
years.  When one considers the diligence of its
resident homemaker, that alone speaks volumes.  

Kasumi had discovered long ago that cleaning helped
her deal with stress.  The task of maintaining her
family's home, while at times dull and tedious, helped
her maintain her center, the way kata helped her
youngest sister, providing and outlet for the stress
created by the madness around her.  This last week,
however, there simply wasn't enough to do, not nearly
enough at all.  With Ranma and his father gone, her
workload had dropped considerably, and even Akane's
daily fights with Father, and the tantrums that
invariably followed couldn't make up the slack.  Both
Father and Akane were adamant in their positions, and
the tension this created kept the entire household on
edge...  She winced as a new wave of shouting emanated
from the living room, the battle of wills between her
sister and father once again boiling over.  This ended
abruptly, as the front door slammed hard enough to
shake the house, causing her to pause for a moment,
listening to her father's inconsolable wails, before
re-sweeping her spotless kitchen floor.

*****

As the woman arrived at the address she had been
given, she was startled by the thunderclap of a
slamming door, then nearly bowled over as a very angry
young woman stormed past her and out the front gate. 
Pausing momentarily to regain her composure, she
re-adjusted the silk-wrapped bundle slung over her
shoulder before approaching the front door, which was
now hanging by a single hinge, half out of the frame. 
With no small amount of trepidation, she knocked
gently on the mangled door frame, then stood back a
bit, just in case.

Much to her relief, the door, or what was left of it,
rather, was answered by a serene young woman in a
housedress.  Belatedly remembering her manners, she
bowed and introduced herself.

"Good morning. My name is Nodoka Saotome.  I was told
that I could find my husband and son here."

*****

Far away, in the woods of Mt. Terror, Genma paused for
a second as a chill ran up his spine.  This, however,
proved to be a bad thing to do while sparring,
something proved immediately, as his ever so
ungrateful offspring proceeded to pound him with a
thirteen punch seven kick combo that effectively ended
their training for the next few hours.

*****

Shortly before the clock struck noon, a much happier
Kuno finally finished his soak.  Feeling much better
about life in general, he dressed and made his way to
the kitchen for a much belated breakfast before
heading back to the Nekohaten...  That was his plan,
anyway.  Instead he found himself confronted by
Sasuke, who, instead of being his normal timid self,
was this day most dour of countenance.

Before he could comment on this change, the diminutive
ninja bowed formally and addressed him in the gravest
of tones.

"Master Kuno, I regret to inform you that
circumstances have arisen that require me to leave
your service at this time and for the foreseeable
future."

Blinking momentarily in confusion, Kuno looked at his
family's retainer in bewilderment.  "I don't
understand...  What circumstances could take you from
my family's service?"

Sasuke found his need for revenge suddenly challenged
by a lifetime of loyalty to his unstable charge. 
Steeling himself as much as possible, he pushed on. 
"Please, Master Kuno, don't make this harder than it
already is.  I have... personal... business that must
be attended to...  A family matter that I must deal
with personally..."

Responding to the pain in his servant's eyes, Kuno
placed a hand on the man's shoulder while replying. 
"Say no more, you can take as lon- Argh!"

On a lance of flame, the vision assaulted his mind, an
unstoppable torrent of images wrapped in a blanket of
rage and sorrow that drove him to his knees, unable to
do aught but watch.  A raven-haired woman, torn to
pieces while still alive...  The monster from the
Nekohaten gloating over her remains...  The pain of a
father discovering that he has outlived his child... 
Tunnels and rats, so many rats...  An ancient rat-man
on a throne of refuse...  Pain...  Sickness... 
Rebirth...  Darkness.

Kuno awoke where he'd fallen, a cold compress across
his brow and Sasuke by his side.  Looking the agitated
ninja over, he composed his thoughts before speaking.

"The girl, the one killed by the Kumo, she was your
daughter."

Stunned by Kuno's bluntness, all Sasuke could do was
nod.

"And you, you are one of them now, one of the
rat-folk."

Mentally pole-axed by Kuno's matter-of-fact tone,
Sasuke was at a loss.  Never before had the boy
inferred this much specific information from a vision.
 Looking at his charge with new respect, he finally
found his voice.  "We are called Nezumi, Master."

Rising to his feet, Kuno motioned for Sasuke to follow
him as he made his way to the kitchen.  There, he had
the ninja sit as he prepared himself a sandwich, then
joined him at the table.

"Nezumi...  A fitting name...  Tell me, Sasuke, what
do you know of the Kumo that killed you daughter?"

Sorrow crossed the little man's face as he answered,
"Nothing at all, Master, I can only hope its lair is
in this area, as its trail is quite cold."

Kuno's lips pulled into a grim smile.  "Not as cold as
you might think, definitely not as cold as the beast
would like, that much is for sure."  Pausing a moment
to take in the ninja's look of confusion, he
continued.  "The beast you seek attacked the Nekohaten
yesterday afternoon, as it apparently holds a grudge
against the old crone that owns the establishment. 
Between the old woman, the busboy, and myself, we were
barely able to drive it off, wounding it sorely in the
process.  Moreover, the elder is convinced that the
beast will try again, which is why I am headed there
shortly."

Worry and elation danced across Sasuke's features at
this news.  "The creature cannot be far, then.  Do you
intend to remain at the restaurant?"  Seeing Kuno's
nod of assent, he stood.  "Then I shall know where to
find you once I uncover the beast's lair!"

He was gone before Kuno could respond.

*****

A trail of destruction marked Akane's progress through
the streets of Nerima.  Pock-marked walls, mangled
street signs, and other bits of random devastation
stood as testimony to her rage.  Fuming, she stormed
on, totally oblivious to the wide berth being given to
her by terrified pedestrians, more accustomed to a
certain bandanna-clad boy being responsible for this
behavior.

How could he do this to her?  Didn't he give a damn
about HER feelings?  Didn't he care that Ranma had
become a monster?  How the hell could he expect her to
marry someone, no, someTHING like that?  "Daddy no
baka!"  Lashing out, she looked up to find her fist
embedded to the wrist in Nerima General's front sign. 
Sighing in frustration, she extracted her slightly
bruised hand and made her way across the parking lot
to the entrance.  Perhaps talking to Ryouga would help
take her mind off things.

As she approached his room, she heard a splash,
followed by a shriek as a nurse nearly trampled her
while fleeing the room.  Rushing in, she was stopped
dead in her tracks by the sight of a strange girl in
Ryouga's bed.  Blinking in confusion, she was about to
re-check the room number when she noted the
distinctive yellow and black bandanna on the girl's
forehead.  "R-ryouga?"

Slightly panicky, the girl held her hands in a warding
position as she tried to get her vocal cords to
function.  "Eh... Uh... Akane!" she squeaked.  "I...
Uh... I can explain?"

Her desperate attempt to come up with a plausible
explanation was interrupted by Akane's logical leap to
the wrong conclusion.

"You don't have to...  I can't believe this!  After
everything that baka has done to you...  You got
yourself cursed trying to find a cure for him, didn't
you?"  Shaking her head, she smiled at him.  "That is
just so like you."

It was Ryouga's turn to blink in confusion as she
tried to follow her reasoning.  Giving up, she offered
her a rather sheepish grin and silently praised her
good fortune as she answered her.  "Yeah...  Yeah,
that's what happened alright...  Just trying to
help...  Yeah, that's it."  Better that lie than
explaining how he'd somehow jumped into the wrong
spring while trying to cure his own curse.  Damn that
guide and his lousy directions, anyway.

Painfully, Ryouga-chan made her way to the bathroom
sink to change back as Akane sat down.  Male once
again, he returned to his bed, only then noticing the
troubled expression on Akane's face.  Worried, he
arranged the pillows so he could speak to her
comfortably.

"What's the matter?  You're not upset about my curse,
are you?"

For a moment she said nothing, then, sighing, she
looked up at him, anger and confusion warring on her
pretty face.  "No, it's not that...  It's...  Well,
it's my father...  He, he still insists on going
through with the damned engagement!  Even after all
this crap, he still wants me to marry Ranma!  Why
doesn't he understand that I can't do that?"

Ryouga's tone was conciliatory as he agreed, trying to
calm her.  "Of course you can't marry him, how can you
marry someone you don't love?"

Standing, Akane paced the room in frustration while
giving voice to the turmoil within her.  "That's just
it...  I do love him."  Oblivious to the shattering of
Ryouga's heart, she went on.  "Or at least I thought I
did...  I don't know anymore!  How can you love
someone you're terrified of?  I've had nightmares
every night, always of him going berserk and attacking
me!"  She paused in her pacing, fear plain on her
features as she turned to face him.  "I think of all
our fights, all the times I've hit him, and I
wonder...  What if he hadn't run into you?  I was
following him, that day you know... I was angry, so
angry, and I would have yelled at him like I always
do, I would have hit him like I always do, like I
always do...  Only this time..." Slowly she fell to
her knees, tears coursing down her face.  "It could
have been me, Ryouga...  It could have been me..."

Clumsily, Ryouga vacated the bed. Ignoring the pain of
his injuries, he knelt and wrapped his arms around her
as she sobbed into his chest, his joy in her proximity
tempered by her sorrow.  "Shh...  It'll be alright... 
I would never let him hurt you, you know that..."

Eventually, Akane's sobs died down, leaving her
acutely aware of Ryouga's embrace.  After a moment's
consideration, she decided to remain there for a
while.

*****

Kuno was a little surprised to find the Nekohaten open
for business when he arrived later that afternoon. 
Nodding a greeting to Mousse and Shampoo, he made his
way to the back of the dining area where Cologne sat
with a teapot and two cups before her.

"Well, I must say, you look like hell, Kuno."

Wincing as he took the vacant seat across from her,
Tatewaki gave the matriarch a once over.  "One could
say the same for you as well, Madam.  We can only hope
the beast is in worse condition than ourselves, else
we may not have the upper hand should it deign to
return today."  Pouring himself a cup of tea, he went
on.  "However, it appears we have an unexpected ally
in this battle."

Arching an eyebrow, Cologne sipped her tea before
responding.  "You don't say...  And who might this
be?"

"As it turns out, my family's ninja Sasuke, of all
people.  His daughter was murdered by the beast, now
he's joined the Nezumi in his quest for revenge.  Even
as we speak, he is laboring to track the beast to its
lair."

"Interesting...  Do you believe he can accomplish
this?"

"Sasuke has served my family for longer than I have
been alive, and in all the time that I have known him,
he has never once failed me...  If the beast can be
found, Sasuke will find it... The question then
becomes, what then?  Even with his help, can we kill
this creature?"

The malicious grin that split her features would have
sent demons scurrying in fear for their lives.  "Oh,
trust me, boy, I have that angle covered, covered
indeed."

Evening found a fragile peace in the Tendo Dojo, as a
slightly shell-shocked Nodoka tried to fully absorb
what she had learned.  While she had found the curses
hard to swallow at first, a reluctant demonstration by
the Chinese delivery girl had changed her mind on the
subject, much as she'd rather believe otherwise.  Her
son...  Her MANLY son...  What had her foolish husband
done?

Idly, she caressed the hilt of her katana, tracing its
shape from pommel to tsuba as she tried to come to
terms with this new view on reality, the terms of her
husbands contract etched clearly in her mind.  What
could she do?  The contract stated the terms clearly,
A Man Amongst Men.  How could Ranma fulfill that now? 
After all this time, all this wait, she was going to
lose her only child to magic, something that until
this day she hadn't even believed in...  If only he
didn't have that damned curse!  Then...  Then what? 
There still remained his recent transformation into
some form of beast...  A transformation that was due
to his lineage, if Genma's explanation to Soun were to
be believed...  Then again, how could Ranma be judged
for something he'd been born into?  Something he had
no control over... No control over, just like his
curse.

Relief washed over her as the concept took root in her
mind.  The contract counted Ranma's upbringing and
training, NOT magical influence.  Of course!  It was
right there before her the entire time!  Besides,
wasn't it said that a man was judged by his actions? 
On how he overcame adversity?  What better test then,
than to see how Ranma dealt with not one, but two
curses?  Relaxing for the first time in hours, she
finally returned her attention to her surroundings
just in time to watch the young woman, Akane was her
name, that had nearly trampled her earlier, enter
through the recently repaired front door.

While no longer angry, Akane was, if anything, even
MORE confused about her feelings.  Kicking off her
shoes in the entryway, she made her way through the
house in a daze, not even noticing the strange woman
sitting across from her father in the living room as
she silently climbed the stairway towards her room. 
Once safely ensconced within, she sprawled on her bed
and went over the details of her afternoon, trying to
make sense of her jumbled emotions.

What had she been thinking?  Her behavior with Ryouga
bothered her, and yet, at the time it had seemed
right...  While it had not gone further than that one
embrace, that was bad enough.  Why had she let it go
on?  What did she want?  Then again, why did this
bother her so much?  All he was doing was comforting
her...  Right?  And yet, the way he had looked at her
that first day, made impossible to ignore the fact
that he...  That he...  Loved?  Did he?  If he did... 
Then what?  Why did the idea bother her so?  Kuno
loved her, Ryonosokke loved her, hell half the male
population at Furinkan claimed to love her!  Why did
Ryouga's feelings matter so much, then?  More so, how
did she feel about him?  He was her friend, yes, but
did she want him to be more?

Burying her face in her pillow to muffle her shriek of
frustration, she found the day's emotional drain
taking its toll.  Slowly, she faded into sleep, her
unanswered questions remaining just that... 
Unanswered.
===================================
Tbc

Previous Chapters Found At:
http://www.soulsurvivor.itgo.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

DarqueChilde
aka 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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