Subject: [FFML] [FFML][Ranma/DC/IY][Semi-dark] Fires of Vengence - Chapter 1
From: Phillip Sabin
Date: 7/23/2005, 10:47 PM
To: ffml@anifics.com


AN: To understand some of this story, you might want
to read Icka's 
Shinigami Universe. The Detective Conan side is based
off of that AU. While 
it is not required to enjoy the story, it will
definitely help out. 

"..." - Talking
*...* - Thinking
/.../ - otherside of a phone conversation.

Indents are flashbacks

Disclaimer: I don't own the song or Detective Conan,
Ranma �, or Inuyasha. 
  
                              Love - Devotion
                             Feeling - Emotion

                        Don't be afraid to be weak
                     Don't be too proud to be strong
                   Just look into your heart my friend
                   That will be the return to yourself
                         The return to innocence

                     If you want, then start to laugh
                      If you must, then start to cry
                          Be yourself don't hide
                         Just believe in destiny 
   
                        Don't care what people say
                         Just follow your own way
                     Don't give up and use the chance
                          To return to innocence

                    That's not the beginning of the
end
                       That's the return to yourself
                          The return to innocence
                         It's a return to innocence
                       "Return to Innocence" - Enigma

  It was a crispy Saturday morning, in the middle of
summer. There was 
hardly any noise at the moment, for not many people
were up and walking 
around at 5 am. This was the reason no one noticed the
sudden shimmering of 
a light in an alley was. Nor was there anyone around
to see what looked like 
a gate or a portal open up, spilling three weary
travelers out and shutting 
behind after them. The three humans picked themselves
up, gathered the 
belonging they had brought with them, and set off at a
normal pace, looking 
around as if making sure no one had seen them appear.

  As the sun rose over the horizon, its rays
illuminated the travelers. The 
man in the forefront squinted his eyes as he continued
down the street. His 
clothes were torn and he had bruises all over, his
right arm wrapped with a 
bandage that was soaked with blood. The 22-year-old
did not care. Walking 
beside him was his two companions, both male. One of
them had blue eyes and 
black hair in a pigtail. He was wearing a red Chinese
shirt and black pants. 
The other was a little different from the other two.
He had unusual silver 
hair that went down past his waist. What made him
different, though, was the 
fact that he had dog's ears on the top of his head,
instead of human ones.

  "Ranma, Inuyasha, We've made it," Shinichi said as
he saw the Mouri 
Detective Agency. "We've made it back. Back to the
time where our fianc�es 
are still alive�"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              Fires of Vengence       
                

                    Chapter 1 - "The Return to
Innocence"               
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Kagome sat on her bed, hugging her pillow. She'd
been in her room ever 
since she first returned home from the Sengoku Jidai
era. Everyone was 
worried about her, for she'd not left since arriving
last night�

          BAM!

            The door slammed open and Ms. Higurashi
looked out of the kitchen 
          to see her only daughter drop her backpack
and run up to her room. 
          Immediately, she knew something was wrong
with Kagome, and there 
          was only one person it could be about:
Inuyasha. Some people might 
          consider not ver bright, but the Higurashi
matriarch knew where 
          her daughter's heart lied. It was with a
silver haired, inu youkai 
          500 years from the past. 

            "Kaasan?" a young voice by her side broke
through her thoughts. 
          "What was that?"

            Ms. Higurashi looked down at her son,
Souta, and smiled. "That 
          was just your sister returning. She seemed a
little upset, so 
          let's give her sometime."

            Souta grinned up at her. "Okay! I hope
Inuyasha-niichan's coming 
          too!"

            The Higurashi matriarch just laughed as
she returned to making 
          dinner for her family.

  When her mother had come up a few hours later, she
was surprised to find 
Kagome asleep, and looking very troubled. Ms.
Higurashi moved Kagome around 
so that she could cover her daughter with her blanket
and turned out the 
lights, knowing in a little while, Kagome would come
down the stairs and tell 
her what was wrong. *I wonder what the fight was about
this time,* the Higurashi 
matriarch had thought as she shut the door and headed
back down to her son.

                                ------------          
                

  "Why do I have to wait?!" Kudo Shinichi shouted at
his companions, staring 
in their direction as if daring one of them to go
against him. "I've waited 
for five years to see her again, I'm not waiting any
longer."

  "Calm down, Shinichi," Saotome Ranma told his
friend. He too wanted to see 
his girl, but he also knew the ramifications about see
her too soon. "We'll 
see them soon, just not yet. Remember, you're not the
only one to lose a 
loved one."

  "I don't care! I want to see her NOW!"

  "Shinichi, surely because you're a Shinigami, you
know what might happen if 
we change the past too much. We only have a limited
time here, so we need to 
be careful," Inuyasha said, putting in his two cents
worth.

  "Alright, alright, you guys win. But what are we
going to do? I don't want 
the future to happen again. I don't ever want to see
that again�"

  "We know, we know. Now let's get down to business.
What are we going to 
do? We only have two weeks to change the past. At
least, that's what the old 
ghoul said, so I wouldn't push it." Ranma looked at
his friends for 
suggestions.

  "I think we'd better gather a bit of information
first. There are a few 
things we need to know: One, what today's date is;
two, what is going on in 
our past selves lives; Three, where the heck the
Hell's Fury gang is. The last 
one can wait until we can more prepare everyone for
the fights," Shinichi 
said, starting to layout a plan. "Let's first work on
what we'll teach our 
previous selves. After all, they can't learn
everything we know now in two 
weeks."

  "Agreed."

                                ------------

  "Akane?" Kasumi opened the door and looked in on her
younger sister. In the 
dark room, she could barely make out the shape of the
youngest Tendo lying on 
her bed, curled into a fetal position. "Akane? Can you
please come eat?" 
Kasumi tried asking again.

  The blob on the bed moved a little bit, but no sound
came out. Sighing, 
Kasumi opened the door more and walked in, shutting it
behind her. Moving over 
to Akane's desk, Kasumi sat down in the chair and took
a better look at her 
sister. Akane was still curled up into a fetal
position, hugging her stuffed 
P-chan with all her might. Kasumi could see the tear
tracks on her face. The 
eldest Tendo sister's heart went out to the broken
girl in front of her.

  "Akane, you can't blame yourself for what happened.
It was an accident."

  "Why?�" Came the question, miffled from behind her
stuffed animal. "Why'd he 
have to die?"

  "We all die at some point in our lives. Some just
come sooner than others."

  "But why did _he_ have to be the one to die? Why
couldn't it have been someone 
else? Why'd he have to die now?" Akane broke off her
questions as sobs came out, 
racking her whole body.

  "There, there, Akane. You should be grateful. He, at
least, died a hero's 
death," Kasumi told her as she moved to sit on the
bed.

  "But I didn't get to tell him!" Akane wailed,
dropping her stuffed toy and 
throwing herself into her sister's arms. "And I'll
never know if he cared or 
not? Why'd he have to go so soon?!" Akane couldn't say
anything more as her 
tears overpowered her and she just clung to her sister
for dear life, letting 
wave after wave of anguish and suffering pass through
her.

  For her own part, Kasumi was at a loss. Her little
sister was hurting, and 
for once, there was nothing she could do. *Why did it
have to end like this? 
They would've been so good for each other!* Kasumi
thought to herself.
  
  Akane kept her hold onto Kasumi even when she'd
cried herself back to sleep. 
Every time Kasumi tried to move or get her to let go,
Akane'd whimper and pull 
her sister closer, seeking a safety Kasumi knew didn't
exist outside of _his_ 
arms. That was who Akane really wished was there,
holding her: the man she 
grew to love.

  As she continued to hold her sister, Kasumi
reflected on the past couple of 
years. Ever since their mother's death, all three
Tendo girls had changed. For 
her, she had almost no childhood, being somewhat
forced to take over her 
mother's position and grow up quickly. Nabiki had a
similar situation. She had 
to grow up fast also, but instead of taking care of
the house like Kasumi did, 
she took care of the finances. This caused a poker
face to grow, over taking 
the kind hearted little sister that Kasumi once knew. 

  Out of the three of them, you could say that Akane
had it the worst and also 
the best time. She was still able to keep a childhood
and grow up normal in 
that sense, but what happened to her was much worse.
Akane'd shut off all 
feeling and emotions of love or companionship,
allowing no one to get any 
closer, for fear of losing them too. 

  When Ranma and Akane had first met, Kasumi hoped the
red-haired girl would 
be able to become a much-needed friend for Akane,
since it'd looked like they 
very well couldn't complete their fathers' arraigned
marriage. But when they 
found out that Ranma was actually a guy, Kasumi felt
like there was no one out 
there who could help her sister. Because of the way
the male side of Ranma and 
Akane had met, it'd put a damper on any feelings
growing between them, thus 
cause more pain for both of them in the end.

  Kasumi shook her head to clear her thoughts as the
bedroom door opened to 
show Nabiki. 

  "Kasumi? How is she?" Nabiki asked as she sat down
on the desk chair.

  "Not good, I'm afraid. I think this maybe the last
straw for her. She finally 
opened to someone and they were once again taken away
from her. I don't know 
what to do anymore, Nabiki!" Kasumi surprised her
sister by breaking out into 
tears. "Akane's hurting and there is nothing I can do.
What am I supposed to do 
now? I'm not god. I can't bring him back. And yet, if
he doesn�t come back, I'm 
afraid we may lose her for good."

  Nabiki stared at Kasumi in shock. Never had the
happy, almost oblivious Kasumi 
shown so much emotion or pain. To be honest, Nabiki
wasn't for sure what to do 
either. Ever since they'd gotten the word of his
death, she'd been worried about 
Akane's continued health. For once, money couldn't fix
the problem. Looking 
down at her younger sister, Nabiki ran her hand over
her cheek and spoke, for 
once, with rare insight. "The only thing we can,
Kasumi: show her we're still 
here for her."

                                ------------

  "Alright, let me get this straight," Ranma said as
he went over their plans 
once again. "We each split up and go to our respective
selves. We somehow 
convince them to believe that we came from the future
and then once again, 
convince them that we need them to go to the meeting."

  "That about sums it up," Shinichi replied.

  There was a pause for a few seconds before Ranma
spoke once again. "Well, 
I like it. So when do we begin."

  "As soon as we are done here. I don't know about you
guys, but I'm hungry. 
No offence, but none of your cooking is anything like
Kagome's Ramen," 
Inuyasha said, his stomach growling.

  Shinichi and Ranma laughed. "You've been living in
our era for five years 
and you still haven't found anything better than
Ramen. You are one crazy 
demon, Inuyasha," Shinichi replied.

  "Hey, potato chips aren't too bad!"

  All three broke out in laughter at his comment, but
quieted down when the 
food came. After they were done eating and had paid
the bill, they split up, 
going their separate ways and promising to meet up
again in three days, at 
the designated spot and time. 

                                ------------

  "Conan-kun! Tousan! Breakfast!" the young woman's
voice rang through the 
house, bringing the two out of their pleasant dreams.
For Mouri Kogoro, it 
was a date with the newest pop star model. For the not
so young Edogawa 
Conan, it was about being his true self and going on a
date with the girl 
of his dreams. As they both treaded down the stairs,
they could pleasant 
aroma from Ran's cooking and it speed up their waking
processes. By the time 
they had reached the dining room, both were capable of
intelligent speech. 

  Conan watched with fascination as Ran turned a
simple breakfast into a 
feast for the three of them. Just as she was about to
sit down at the table, 
though, there was a knock at the door.
 
  "I wonder who that is, this early in the morning,"
Ran stated as she walked 
out to answer it. Conan heard her open the door and
then her startled gasp.

  Wondering who it was that could surprise Ran, Conan
got down and was heading 
towards her when he heard her cry of, "SHINICHI!"

  *Shinichi?* Conan thought as he continued on his
way. *But I'm right here. 
Why'd she say my name, unless�* All of Conan's
thoughts shut off as the scene 
at the door came into view. Standing there, holding
Ran in his grasp, was none 
other than Kudo Shinichi, the famous teenage
detective.

  *HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!* Conan thought as the world
turned black and he 
fainted from shock and lack of food�

                                 ------------

  Inuyasha sat in the tree, contemplating what was
going on. It was unusual, 
for the window was shut and locked and the blinds were
closed, not allowing 
him view of the room. As far as he could remember,
she'd never done that while 
she was in her time, and he could tell she was here
because of her scent. It 
was one of the few scents he'd memorized because of
the time he'd spent with 
her. The absence of his scent didn't surprise him, for
he knew his behavior 
from this time did leave much to be desired. Spending
five years without her 
had made him grow up a lot.

  Sighing, Inuyasha resigned himself to doing what he
didn't want to do. 
Jumping down, he went to the front door, and rang the
bell. After waiting for 
a few moments, the door opened to reveal Kagome's
mother.

  "Inuyasha?" To his amusement, she sounded surprised.
"What're you doing here? 
Did you somehow unseal the well?"

  That shocked the dog demon. The well is sealed? If
so, he had a major problem 
on his hands. Deciding to think about later, Inuyasha
asked the one question 
he'd never thought he'd be able to again: "Where's
Kagome?"

  Silently, her mother motioned to her bedroom and
Inuyasha took off with a leap 
and landed at the top of the stairs. He slowly opened
her bedroom door and looked 
in, seeing her on her bed, facing the wall and hugging
her pillow. He could smell 
her tears quite strongly, meaning she'd been doing a
lot of crying. Inuyasha 
was determined to fix that. He stepped into the room
and shut the door behind 
him and turned to face Kagome, who still had her back
to him.

  "Kagome?"

                                ------------

  Ranma was busy jumping over the rooftops, hoping to
stay out of sight from 
anyone he knew. He didn't want to arouse suspicion
just yet, and knowing the 
Nerima Wrecking Crew, once someone spotted him, his
life would once again go 
down the drain. Just as he passed Furinkan High
School, a familiar cry rang out.

  "DAMN YOU, RANMA!"

  Curious to why the shout, Ranma headed over in the
direction of the eternally 
lost boy, for once, not understanding his predicament.
After all, when someone 
blames you for something, don't you want to know what
you supposedly did? And, 
as everyone knew, Ryoga blamed everything on Ranma,
whether it was really his 
fault or not. 

  Ranma finally caught up with the martial artist near
the edge of the forest. 
For some reason, Ryoga looked a lot more down that
usually, like he'd just lost 
someone close to him. Not understanding the situation,
Ranma approached the 
depressed boy and gave is usual remark.

  "Yo, Ryoga, how's it goin'?"

  Instantly, Ryoga flipped around and brought his
hands up to fight. "RANMA, 
PREPAre t�." Ryoga trailed off when he realized what
he was saying and whom he 
was saying it to. "No," he spoke, his face full of
fear and dread. "It's not 
possible�you can't be here�."

  "Okay, man, you're starting to freak me out. Why
can't I be here?" Ranma 
asked, moving closer.

  "You�you can't be�.you're dead!"

                                ------------

  "Conan-kun? Conan-kun, you okay?" Ran's voice
filtered through the haze 
surrounding the detective's brain. "Come on,
Conan-kun. Time to wake up."

  Conan slowly opened his eyes to look into Ran's
concerned ones. Shaking his 
head lightly, Conan moved to sit up. "Ran-neechan, I
just had the weirdest 
dream. Shinichi-niichan returned home."

  Conan watched in horror as Ran smiled. "That was no
dream, Conan-kun. 
Shinichi's finally returned!"

  Instantly, Conan shot up, ready for action. "Where's
Shinichi-niichan 
right now?"

  "I'm right here, Conan-kun." Conan looked up and saw
Kudo Shinichi standing 
in the doorway leading to the dinning room. "Ran, do
you think I can have a 
word with Conan-kun privately for a few moments? It
seems he doesn't 
particularly like me."

  Ran sighed. She'd hoped to be able to not lose sight
of Shinichi for many 
hours, as he had a bad tendency of disappearing in a
moment's notice. "Fine, 
but don't take long. Breakfast is almost ready."

  She disappeared into the kitchen and Conan motioned
for Shinichi to sit 
down on the couch, his watch pointed at the older
detective. "Okay, who are 
you really?"

  Shinichi smiled. "What? Can't tell by my
appearance?"

  "Appearances can be deceiving."

  "Alright, I'm Kudo Shinichi, 22 years old. Meitantei
of the West."

  "Now I know you're lying. Shinichi isn't 22 years
old."

  "He would be if he was from the future."

  "Yeah, but everyone knows time travel is impossible
in real life."

  "That's what you think. How shall I prove it to you?
Ah yes: Let's see, 
Hattori's only 1/4 oni; Koizumi-san's a witch;
Toyama-chan's a neko; Ran's 
an ice/snow maiden; Kuroba Kaito, AKA Kid, is a
kitsune, and a white one at 
that�oh, and of course, we're both Shinigami's!"
Shinichi smirked at the 
shocked expression on Conan's face.

  "Yes, I do know you are Kudo Shinichi, age 17,
reduced to being a school 
boy, Conan-kun."

  "There's no way�.I'd have felt your Shinigami
power's by now�you can't 
be me�oh man, oh man, he knows my secret!" Shinichi
shook his head as 
Conan's antics. Ever since he'd been force fed that
pill that'd reduced his 
body, he'd developed a fear to being exposed. He
didn't like it when anyone 
knew about his alternate identity. At least, that was
the way it was until 
he'd found the cure.

  Shinichi sighed and changed into his shinigami form,
startling Conan out 
of his shock induced haze. 

  "You�you really are a shinigami�you really are�me�"
Conan said in 
bewilderment.

  Before Shinichi could respond, though, his cell
phone rang. Answering it, 
he recognized who was on the other line.

  "Hello, Ranma. How'd it go?"

  "/We've got problems./� Came the reply.

  "What are they, and how bad?"

  "/I'm dead�/"

To Be Continued...

C&C Very much Welcome!


		
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