Star of War A fanfiction by Dragonlord. Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is propriety of Rumiko Takahashi. Hokuto no Ken is of Buronson and Tetsuo Hara. This is only made for fun, so please enjoy. C&C welcome! e-mail: valheru_2002@yahoo.es or valheru@mixmail.com This fanfiction can be found at the following places: *Tannim's fanfiction: http://tannim.anifics.com *Hawk's place: http://www.geocities.com/tenma83 *Nighthawks's fanfiction: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/6189 *NesTea's place: http://www.cswnet.com/dlody *Zaxxon's place: http://zaxxon.freeshell.org/FanFic/Other/Fist_of_the_North_Star *Seraphina's place: http://www.angelfire.com/anime3/Seraphina *Lady Cosmos's place: http://www.crosswinds.net/ladycosmos Chapter 5: Confrontations. Part A. ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- "For ages now I've often faced the fear It's hard to see Old memories are clouding my mind It's beyond this life I know the secrets are within me Wondering In a world of broken dreams Depressed and haunting me No way out So many times it's hopeless and grey No way out And other times it's hope that saves the day Many moments of my life I pray tomorrow Inner peace will find its way and set me free There's a light beyond the dark (darkest day) There's a light beyond this life And painful memories will all wash away No longer struggle with fear of The end and what's beyond I lived a life of loyalty True to myself and my own The way out A sea of light so peaceful and serene The way out The path of light lies open wide for me ... ..." Demons and Wizards; The Path of Glory "What mysteries we are, human, vampire, monster, mortal, that we can love and hate simultaneously, and that emotions of all sorts might not parade for what they are not. I look at Louis and I despise him totally for the making of me, and yet I do love him. But then I love Lestat every bit as well." Merrick, the Vampire Chronicles. Passage of Claudia's diary. ------------------------------------------------- "There has been a change" said a deep voice. "I know, the Seeress had also noticed it. It's well hidden but not for long she thinks." Answered another voice, this one with a slight note of worry. "Did she felt anything else?" "Only some feelings. She even had tried some reading but whatever that disturbance is, it is too well hidden, even for her Sight... Almost as if something was hiding it from her. But one thing is clear: it is powerful and is starting to be felt in heaven's order." "What did the Cards tell her?" Inquired the first voice The second voice remained silent for some moments. "For now only one sign was revealed to her. She believes that when that disturbance is finally revealed she will be able to "see" more." "What figure it was?" A pause. "War." "War?" The voice sounded doubtful. "Why is the "War" symbol related to this disturbance? This world is burning in the flames of countless struggles, dry earth is being soaked in blood. Then tell me why would something as generalised as war be related to this alteration of the Order?" A moment of silence passed before the other voice spoke. "The Seeress believes that someone or something that could be identified with the concept of war had appeared. But this is nothing more than a supposition, nothing that could be true. You know how little we can guess about _one_ of her signs." "So we have to wait?" There was a chuckle. "What is time for us? Nothing. It's not like the last time; this time we don't have the same forces against us. No. Time is right now in our favour and waiting some more will mean nothing at the end." The first voice remained silent as if pondering that information. Then as if changing the subject it asked. "What about the "Lamb" and the keys of power needed to the Ceremony? The Queen is patient but even she wants it to be finished. The Winds of Change are starting to blow and soon they will have the force of a tempest the likes this world had never seen. We need those keys and soon!" "I tell you we are still in time! The Change is not here yet. The Lamb and the others will soon be in our hands. As for the key's quest, the Warmother will be working on it." "The Warmother? I believed her to be in the western front of the war." "It was until a week ago. The Queen had recall her to this very mission. Soon, my friend, we will have all the instruments to the Ceremony." The two voices remained silent for a moment more. "What do you think of that disturbance?" Asked the first voice to the second one. "Honestly?" "Yes." Pause. "The skies are troubled since that disturbance appeared. It may be nothing more than a response to the possibilities that the Ceremony can unleash, ripples in reality's fabric, but what I think is that we may have a third player in this game." "A third player? Do you think that finally that "you know who" is answering the Queen's challenge for Creation's dominion?" "Why not? He did it last time, and the Queen knows that... It was only a matter of time before other forces appeared to oppose us. It happened before. But I know our Queen well enough to have the certitude that she will have a plan directed to taking care of that possibility. After all she knows all we know." "I do hope so. Soon it will all be finished. One way or another." "Yes. Soon." ------------------------------------------------- Ripples were felt upon the water of the Koi pond of the Tendo house as the Koi fish jumped with a dry sound. Cold wind blew Cologne's hair as she looked to the silent figure in front of her. Ranma, the boy that was the central figure to the chaos of Nerima, was there standing and looking at her with passive eyes. His eyes. Cologne remembered them blue grey, a sky where a storm was about to explode. Now they were like the sea of a deep blue, a blue that held so many mysteries, them reflecting gold when light touched those orbs being one of them. And they were so old! As if he had seen things that no mortal should have seen or known. So like hers. This only made things worst. Truth to be tell she wasn't sure of how to approach this new Ranma. Beyond the physical changes like his short hair or his disturbing eyes there was an air of power, well hidden to anyone but for a being of her experience. Oh powerful he was indeed if the display in the dojo was a hint! Yet she was sure that he held back a lot of his real power. She could feel it even if he was trying to cancel it. She opened her mouth to speak but she was interrupted. "I was expecting the elder Cologne and not you girl. Explain me why. Fast." His eyes were hard. Cologne closed her mouth as she felt some sort of... fear? Yes fear cursed trough her body. To answer to that fear she simply said: "I'm Cologne..." Ranma snorted. (1) "Please! Cologne is three hundred years old while you are about twenty. Now way that you could be the Old Ghoul!" Cologne couldn't help but smirk. Only Ranma could have know how he called her before his exile. Not many would call her so with her new body. She would have smiled if the situation wasn't so serious, so critic. She needed him to believe her! "You want some proof? Let me explain shall you?" Ranma rise one eyebrow but remained silent, giving her the opportunity to do so. She breathed deeply before talking, she needed to express her feelings if she wanted to have a chance. "I am Cologne, elder of what was Joketsuzoku, the Chinese Amazons. Yes I'm young now but it was from using the cursed waters of Jusenkyou to my advantage, to regain the strength that being young gives." She paused to see if there was some reaction but seeing none continued. "Years ago I helped to shape a young warrior, using the excuse of trying to make him part of my tribe by marring him to my great-granddaughter, Shampoo, that generation's champion of my people." She paused as if not knowing which words to use. "He had a way to... Feel the Art that was something unique; coming from within him, from the abuses he suffered during a ten years training trip with his father. But that trip only helped him to attune that particular view of martial arts, making him superior." "From me he learned the Katshuu Tenshin Amaguriken and the Hiryu Shoten Ha in the adventures he had while living in Nerima, a ward of this city when it was called Tokyo." She smiled as she remembered those past times but she continued with her tale. "Yes, adventures and quests seemed to follow him, and in his struggles he inspired several emotions in his peers. She paused "Girls loved him as he was very popular and charismatic, and very handsome. But above all of that he had some charm, a way to make people and specially girls to feel special and cared. And that charm was even greater because he himself ignored that he had it, being absolutely clueless about it." She slowly started to walk towards him, looking to his eyes, that seemed to glow with emotion. Maybe some regret? She continued. "In others it caused awe and admiration by the feats he alone could do. And finally in others there was jealousy looking to all his accomplishments. Yes jealousy it was, jealousy of that inner strength of that vibrant soul. So great was that jealousy that at the end three of his rivals, which loved several of the girls that were in love with the young warrior planned a trap to make him disappear." She looked down as she told her story, the man in front of her remaining silent even if the distance between them was getting smaller with each passing step. "They made their move in an afternoon similar to this one, gathering all the ones the young warrior cared about in the High School he went. Then using some drugs and a holy item of my tribe they trapped the young man and in front of all his comrades, his peers, was banished as the young girls that loved him the most could only stand there crying." Cologne swallowed hard knowing very well that she was nearing the delicate part of her speech. They were simply at an arm pace from each other. "But as he was disappearing he made a vow to one day return and make those three to pay for that treachery. And I believe that he had finally come back." She paused once again and this time she locked her eyes with those blue-golden polls as her hand slowly reached his cheek, caressing his warm skin. "His name was Ranma Saotome and he is in front of me right now." The man remained silent for a moment and Cologne could feel his gaze examining her as if trying to find some lie. Then his hand moved slowly and placed itself upon hers, his tact gentle, soothing. Slowly he spoke, his voice full of emotion, his eyes seeming to shine. "Cologne?" Cologne smiled. "Yes, Son-in-law." She couldn't help but try to joke but his face betrayed no emotion of distaste or anger as would have been his reaction so long ago. Instead to her great surprise he smiled, a small smile, full of sadness but still a smile, a smile of friendship and some regret. But it was a smile, an a beautiful one that made his face to appear more human, more attractive. Cologne looked down, suddenly disturbed, blushing "What happened to you?" There was some slight curiosity in his voice. Cologne looked back to him, her face a little surprised even if she should have expected that question. "I made a choice that was necessary to save those that I loved." She withdraw her hand as did Ranma, yet the warm lingered upon hers. She stepped back but still she looked at him. "I'm not proud of it or even happy to be young again -life is a burden- but I decided to do it. I will say that in that moment it was necessary. I have to live my life now as it is, but what happened to you Ranma? How did you return here and why precisely now?" Ranma stood there silent, his eyes closed and his head turned to the skies. Then he opened them and looked back to the once elder looking amazon, the power in his gaze making Cologne to pale as if she looked to something so vast that it left her insignificant. "The Ranma you knew is dead Cologne. Ryouga and the others did their work well." His voice held so much bitterness that she was almost humbled by it. "What do you mean? You are alive!" He waved his hand as to dismiss the idea. "No. Not in the sense you believe. Ryouga and the others banished me to another earth where I had to start a new life that twice cost me more than what you can imagine. I was a five years old again Cologne. Five years old with the mind of a sixteen years old betrayed, tortured by whom he believed to be his friends. All of that in front of the people that were a part of his life, ashamed, defeated by treachery because Ryouga and the others couldn't face reality!" He stepped and breathed deeply his smile gone along with the sad tone, only to be replaced by coldness. It almost chilled her to the bone. "No Cologne Elder of the Chinese Amazons. Ranma Saotome of the Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu is no more. Now I am Ryuken of the Shoke ruling line, Heir of the Hokuto Shin Ken and last practitioner of the Hokuto Shoke Ken (2)." He closed his eyes once again sighed. When he opened his eyes again his eyes flashed golden before turning blue again. "And I will have my revenge." If his voice was cold before now it was downright glacial. Cologne bite her lips. It was as she feared but she couldn't blame him because he was in his right, even the amazon laws and the more basic ones would back him. During less than one year Ryouga and the others had accused Ranma of things that weren't his fault, promising death and suffering because of envy and a negative to face life, blaming everything on the once pig-tailed youth. She decided to put aside that part of the conversation. He said... "Hokuto Shin ken? That's your Ryu now? What of the Musabetsu?" Ranma, or Ryuken as he called himself, looked at her as if she had said something stupid. She wasn't used to that kind of look. "What about the Musabetsu Kakuto? It's a weakling's art. In that world after some... painful moments I was chosen by the last master of the Hokuto Shin Ken; to be the Heir of that Art. The Anything Goes is a thing of the past as is the Amazon-Wu-Shu or any other martial art that I may have learned as Ranma Saotome." She looked at him shock clear on her face. "But those ten years of training with your father, you have shunned them? Only for another Art?" Cologne's voice showed that she was doubtful of what Ranma was telling her. "First Genma is not my father, he was a long time ago but he had lost the right to call himself my father when he started selling me like if I was some ticket to feed his fat stomach... And for what he made me suffer with the Neko-ken." He frowned and, for a moment, Cologne desired to be miles away from him, but the feeling passed as soon as it came. "No Genma is NOT my father. In fact since the moment I landed on the earth Ryouga, Mousse and Kuno send me most of the links with my life in Nerima were severed." "But..." She started to say before Ranma cut her. "No buts. Another was... IS my father; the one that cared and loved me." Cologne's eyes narrowed. "Your master was your father, the one that made you his Heir?" For one moment Ranma's eyes locked with hers and she could see some deep and raw pain along with an infinite sadness. "Yes he is. Kenshiro..." Now his voice was full of warm and positive feelings, so much that somehow they were transmitted to Cologne. "He showed me that even with the harsher of the training there is still place for love and compassion. Believe me the Neko-Ken training or that ten years long training trip was nothing, and I mean nothing, compared to the trails that I passed to be the warrior I am now." "You said that your school was called Hokuto Shin Ken?" Ryuken nodded. "That is. And being the Supreme Heir I am thus the Fist of the North Star." Then his eyes narrowed. "And for now that's all you will know." Her eyes widened. She needed to know more! "But... Wait a moment son-in-law!" She exclaimed reverting to her own way of calling him without noticing it herself, while Ryuken noticed it. Ryuken sighed. "Remember my fight with those elemental monsters? You only need to know that I was holding back, but you already know that, don't you?" He was smirking. Cologne nodded. "Well yes, but it wasn't so difficult to guess it looking how you behaved in our fight or against those monsters." It was Ryuken's turn to nod. "The truth is that I could have ended that fight, and the one with those monsters in mere seconds had I wanted so." Her mouth was open, ready to ask a question before she was prevented by Ryuken's words. He held his fist in front of her. "Hokuto Shin Ken is an assassin's art, Cologne. One of the most lethal art ever devised. with one finger, with one touch or even _without_ touching you body I could have obliterated you down to cellular level without breaking a sweat." He paused while considering something. "Cologne you must realise that I was only using the more elementary teachings of my school while we fought and even with those monsters I was holding back any real destructive power. Believe me when I say that the Heir of the Hokuto is the most powerful being in any world once his training is completed." Cologne was pale. "For now that is enough. When the time is right I will tell you all my story as well as the history of the Hokuto Shin ken" Cologne for some moments simply remained silent, unmoving as her eyes, wide, were fixed upon him. "But why, if you are so powerful, what prevented you of saving those lives that those monsters killed, why holding back? And if you want revenge so much why not come and directly face Ryouga and the others?!" There, she had said it. It was risky but she needed to know... There was still a lot that he hadn't told her. A lot that she needed to know. Ryuken stayed silent for a moment as if he had exchanged places with Cologne. "Because I don't know what I face. I need to know what is happening in this dimension if I have to fix it and to that I need information. I came to Nerima not because I wanted to meet you and the "Wrecking Crew"," he said the name with evident distaste "But because I need something that only you and the others could give me: knowledge." Again a pause. "As for Ryouga, Mousse and Kuno... I will not kill them. I made a promise and killing them to me means nothing." Cologne visibly relaxed at this. "But there is a debt that is to be paid, a debt of pain and blood. As for Akane and the others... who once were my iinazukes, I don't know what to think but for now I know that I need knowledge... I must know _why_ they married those... men... that exiled me when they saw what they did." Ryuken then neared Cologne without even moving, and his face inches apart from hers spoke in even tones. "Now Cologne you will tell me how I can fight Ryouga and the others." His voice betrayed no menace but Cologne knew on a lower level of consciousness that she was in danger, that the man, be it Ranma or Ryuken as he called himself, was dangerous. Nay. It was worst: he was danger. She stepped back, her three hundreds years and more meaning nothing to those feelings, her control shattered in an instant as that dark part of our mind tried to take control To that part of the human psyque we are still children afraid of the dark. Ryuken seemed to be aware of it and stepped back, sighed and sat upon one of the rocks in the Koi pond and absently put one hand in the water sending ripples as his eyes unfocused, looking in the depths of the clear water Then softly he started speaking. "The destiny of a Hokuto Shin Ken Heir is difficult and full of pain. You don't know yet what happened in that world that is now _my_ world. I am here to help you but to do that I need to know how strong you all are." Cologne looked at him and felt foolish for letting her fear take hold of her in that way. She looked at him, as how he was there sitting; his mind in another time and place. Then she noticed. "You're still male!" Ryuken looked back at her his face showing confusion. "Your Jusenkyou curse... its cured!" Ryuken looked to his hand dripping cold water He shrugged. "Oh that... Well yes, since more than twenty years back. I suppose that it's a side effect of my exile, I don't know and I don't care." He looked at her again. "I know that you have still a lot of questions as what I'm going to do to Ryouga and the others." He paused as if it was difficult for him to say his thoughts. "To be honest I don't know myself... I only know that I will not kill them." She looked at him with some curiosity. "But why? If you hate them so much why not killing them?" He looked at her and his eyes were now, again, as hard as stone. "Do you want me to?" his eyes seemed to glow with light and for a moment she felt foolish. She remained silent. "I made a promise not only to my father but also to someone to which I owe a lot. Be thankful for that because I was very tempted to do so, to make them feel a thousand death yet being still alive... Alive until they begged me to kill them, and even there I would show to those three that the pain they had felt until then was nothing compared to what I was going to do next!" He sighed but his anger didn't seem to vanish. Cologne could feel it lurking there, something alive within the shadows of his mind, barely held in check by a will made of steel. "No. Killing them will make no good but I still _need_ to fight them. Now please tell me how can I do it?" Cologne remained silent for a moment as she pondered what to do. If he said that he wasn't going to kill then he would not do it. But she knew too well that there were things worst than death. His little speech had made that point clear. Finally what convinced her was that if she didn't said something he would go by himself in search of the others. Better to lessen the impact now that she could. She looked at him, her young-old green eyes, locked with his blue ones. "There will be a championship in a week as a celebration of the foundation of the Free City of Nerima and of the resistance against the Queen. In it everybody is free to participate. At the end the finalist is allowed to fight again the better elements of what was the Musabetsu Kakuto." Ryuken rose an eyebrow. "Was Musabetsu Kakuto? What does that mean? "I will tell you when all this matter between you and the others is settled. You can enter in the tournament that same day with only signing in." Ryuken's eyes showed a momentary spark of amusement as he smirked slightly. "It reminds me to the amazons tournaments to choose the village champion. I suppose that this time there will be no food as the prize right?" Cologne couldn't help but to laugh at that. "No this time there is no food, but the finalists are chosen to be part of the staff within our movement or, in this very case, to be part of a very important mission." Ryuken nodded and Cologne sensed that he was about to leave. "There is something more that you should know." Ryuken looked at her. "Yes?" She breathed deep. "The woman which you spoke before..." "Yes?" He asked with the feeling that he would not be pleased by what he was about to hear. "She's your mother." Ryuken's mouth stood open for a moment and suddenly his eyes were golden, glowing brightly as if the surprise had given his place to anger. Cologne stepped back as the menace he emitted grew tenfold, the fire in his eyes almost burning her with the sheer intensity of it. She saw how Ranma clenched his fists with such strength that she was ready to see blood dripping. "That can't be! I remember clearly Genma telling me that she died. I remember that clearly enough! It was just before coming to the Tendo's!" Cologne gulped, but she had to finish it. "Ranma..." She started to say but those inhuman eyes looked at her and she felt the blood in her veins to grow cold. "I mean, Ryuken, your father had a reason but I don't know if you want to hear it..." Ryuken's eyes narrowed and in a cold voice spoke slowly. "He... is... not... my... father! Speak! And my name is Ryuken!" Cologne flinched. "He never told you because he made a... Pact with her." Ryuken's eyes were now two slits that for a moment glowed red instead of golden as if Hell's flames were within him. "What kind of pact?" She involuntary moved back, as if her body moved by its own accord, wanting to flee from his presence, but she had to finish it. "To make you a man amongst men or..." "Or..." "Or commit Seppukku." For a moment the surprise was so great that he was dumbfounded by it, his eyes wide. "Se... ppu... kku?!" Cologne could only nod. He closed his eyes. "As you had the curse he preferred to remain silent... You couldn't stood as a man being a girl each time cold water hit you so he choose to lie to you." He remained silent. For a moment she feared that the shock had made him to faint while still standing but that illusion was short lived when he started shaking. For some moments he stood there like that but then his eyes opened wide and she could see red-golden sparks fly as he clenched his teeth in silent rage. Cologne in that very moment wished to being able to hide in the far corner of the world than to remain one moment more near him. By the gods he was making her to wish to crumple and cry! Suddenly he was air-born in a gigantic lap that took him away from the Tendo propriety way before Cologne's senses could even register his move. And still no ki. "Hell!" She cursed before returning to the control room. She had still work to do if she wanted to preserve the secret of Ranma's return. A secret that was destined to explode, shattering her world. ------------------------------------------------- Fast. Each moment faster. There are several kind of speed. A warrior can use his speed as a weapon sending waves of displaced air against his foes, the stronger you are; more damaging that strike can be. You can even slice your opponent with your speed, the pressure of the air acting as a gigantic blade that only the most skilled of warriors can hope of dodging. Others worked specially in making a vacuum thanks to that speed, that strange manifestation can be even more devastating than the air cutting moves that some martial arts created. There are even others that try to work so hard in harnessing their body's speed that to the untrained eye your movements are blurs, and even in some extremities you seem to change of place almost instantaneously. But there is a speed that is so great, so beyond limits that there is no mark, no hint of your movement until you have it done, the effect of that breaking of the physical laws being _none_. Only the death that your strike caused, your own strength having noting to do with it, only the kinetic energy released in the move. And that speed is only reserved to a handful of chosen. And Ryuken is one of those few. Right now he was not moving with that god-like speed, yet his passage was barely acknowledge by the nerimians he crossed. But where he passed by people would look behind their back or hug themselves as "something" told those bystanders that death had brushed them, even if it was for the shortest of moments. Such a brief moment but enough to made those he crossed to have nightmares for the following days, their drams troubled by that feeling of dread that would let them gasping for air as cold sweat covered their bodies. To the Hokuto Shin Ken Heir those people would be soon forgotten, nothing more than shades, as now only powerful emotions crossed his mind and body, wrecking his soul. Ryuken's mind was screaming in rage against a world that once again betrayed him. He wasn't even aware of where he was going, only that he had to run or he would make something that he would always regret. Something like the utter destruction of the city of Nerima and all his living beings. Even if he didn't reached for that extreme he was generating enough satsuki (3) to put in shame an army of berserkers, some people even running without knowing why as his rage ignited with a heat that put in shame the one of the sun. Inside of his soul the others that lived within him were as outraged as himself but Ryuken wasn't even listening to them.(4) He felt so used that he only wanted to unleash his power. He needed to exit Nerima. Soon he was near the channel, the same river meadow where he had passed so much time thinking about his life in general, but right now he didn't care about past moments. So he continued running with speeds that not even marked the ground. Yet the water did feel his passage and two huge tidal waves marked the passage of the enraged Hokuto Shin Ken Master as he started to run upon it, making people to be soaked, people wondering what happened with the water of the canal. Inside of Ryuken's mind, in his inner sanctum he felt like if the pain coming from the part of him that was still Ranma Saotome had no end. His mother alive... Once again he had been lied by Genma, by that fat bastard, only because the fear that the man had of accepting responsibilities, something that made Ranma Saotome to suffer. Time and time again. Sold. Abused. Tortured. Betrayed. A pact, a seppukku pact was the basis, the foundation of all his pain and emotional suffering. And what would have happened if he had remained in this earth, if he hadn't been exiled and all of the problems that this earth had been somehow prevented... Then what? Would have Ranma Saotome been forced to hide from his own mother because something that destiny had inflicted upon him? Upon he had no control? Would he have presented himself to that mother that he believed dead while risking himself to have to realise seppukku due to a twisted sense of honour everybody around him seemed to have and that marked him forever as the victim? He reached the limits of the Free City of Nerima. He still run, jumped and soon found himself out of the city's outer limits. There he stopped, his body adapting to the change in speed, something he hardly noticed. He remained there breathing deeply, this having nothing to do with the exertion he had just made. Heck! If he needed to he could have ran still for days before needing to stop. No. He was breathing so hard only to regain a semblance of control upon his anger and rage to the unfairness of it all. For some moments he battled with himself, a sterile fight that left him with the feeling of having been used time and time again. he sat while hugging himself. He needed something... But he didn't knew what. He was at loss. He was the last Hokuto master and a Hokuto master was supposed without any motherly links, one of the reasons why his father, Toki, Raoh and a lot of other had fallen in love with Yuria; the one of the Nanto Muon Ken, the Mother Star (5). Now he was with a mother a way to attack him if he accepted the link, if there was one. He bitterly laughed. As if a normal mother would have allowed to make that damned pact with a still infant son, almost a baby that had the most basic concept of reality. He called the musotensei to explore his own memories, that as always came as senseless images. He could see himself not even more than four years old, believing all of what Genma was telling him was some kind of game in his childlike mind. He could see how his mother agreed when she saw him to use his painted hands to "sign" a contract that would be the basical cause of the obliteration of Ranma Saotome in that reality. What kind of parents were Genma and Nodoka Saotome? Once again he laughed and it was a cold, emotionless sound. He was an Hokuto Shin Ken master. He let his mind to wander and he could feel, without even recalling it to life Yuria's own smoothing presence. As the one of a mother. He closed his eyes and a tear run his tanned cheek as a small smile appeared upon his lips as more and more presences were felt within him, making him to glow with positive feelings. His father, Toki, Raoh, Yuria, Fudo, Shuu and so many others were comforting him. His family. He let himself being bathed in those feelings, rejoicing on the comforting presences of people that had fought between each other but that in the end recognised the need of being with loved ones. Love... such a powerful feeling but as evasive as time, yet he could feel himself being filled by it. He was sure of one thing as he opened his eyes, Even with his life as Ranma Saotome being only a source of pain where he had been betrayed and exiled, even being a dimension away from the people that cared for him, from Lynne, Bart, Aili and Mammya; away from home he would never been alone. Never that. Alone. Again he vowed looking to the darkening skies, to the seven stars that were the symbol of his school, that were a symbol of death, that his life would be vowed to protect with care, with his own heart's blood, the innocents of the places where destiny send him. And as if listening to him, he believed that the starts of the Great Dipper for a moment shone stronger as in acceptance of his vow. He get up and slowly he made his way once again to Nerima, to face whatever destiny and fate had for him. ------------------------------------------------- Free City of Nerima. Some hours after. As the night descended upon the Tendo dojo what once was a bunch of extremely powerful martial artist and a family without a mother slowly gathered in their house. The dojo was closed to the public but the lights were still on. After all it wasn't so strange that some of the members of that family trained until late hours. Yet one of the members of that particular family seldom used the dojo for training. Nabiki Tendo once know as the Ice Queen of Furinkan High was not a fighter and, in fact, only made some light exercises (a woman had to take care of her body, more if it was a _great_ body) as she prided herself of being able to resolve problems only with her brain. That was true most of the time. Yes she was a poor martial artist, the only lesson she took, basic ones of course, was when her mother still lived, but even with only that little of martial knowledge only a fool would cross her. After all even if she wasn't a martial artist she had a family that was among the best in their arts. I fact they were the best. Another reason why no one would dear to lift a finger against her was her occupation within the resistance movement against the Dark Queen. She had no fighting skill to be counted but instead she had something that was without price. Information. When the movement against the Queen and her hordes started she put her considerable skill in gathering information (learned form her days at Furinkan) to form the first and most expanded net of spies in the world, filling a void that appeared with the downfall of what was known as the Old Order when the world was governed by money and politics. It still was but after the collapse of the great nations on earth there was no security agencies such as the FBI, CIA, NSA and others to gather information that was needed if one day the planet wanted to be freed from the menace that came from China all those years ago. Truly Nabiki alone couldn't hope to check all the information she received from several spots in the world by herself. She had several dozens of helpers but most of the really vital information she handed it personally with the same analytical mind that she always prided herself of. But there was one constant that she had since starting the movement of resistance and that was what happened in Nerima. She took it as a personal duty to overlook to the information coming from _her_ city when the day ended. She had several reasons of course, personal pride could be one of them but the fundamental one was that all her loved beings lived in Nerima and after all the pain they all suffered she would rot in hell before letting anything happen to her family. It wasn't easy, more taking in count the situation on a world wide scale but as long as she could she would continue to fight. Each night she worked on her studio to late hours as she prepared plans or measures depending on the information that she receive after being confirmed of the validity of the information. Her studio was one of her personal pride. It was all she had ever wanted to have in her days of student in that madhouse that was Furinkan High. A solid, large dark oak table with two computers on it where she stored most of the information that she received in an accessible way. She had only to tape some words and the information would load itself quick and efficiently, as she wants it. Few other things reflected other than a need for control and efficiency. A mini bar, a video audio system and a comfortable leather chair for her and another for the people that would come to her place were those other things that could be find there, in her sanctum as she liked to think of it. A chimney were some fire was usually burning (as it was the case that night) to give some heat to the room and nothing more. Nothing fancy. There was only one touch of the Nabiki outside of the office. A photography of her family and another of her and her husband along with her children. She so wanted to have more time to be with them but for now it was impossible as before them was the world; what remained of the world that with luck she would give to her children. All of this she was doing for the people that she cared about that she loved and that was the only thing that she needed. To know that they would be safe; that thanks to the sacrifices of a life they would have a little of freedom; of happiness. At least for now. It wasn't so rare for her to sit there and look to the ceiling, looking back to the time when money was the centre of her being, the reason to go on. It all started with the death of her mother and it followed with that need of control. During a long time control, trough money, was all mattered to Nabiki Tendo as it was a way to protect her family... it was almost an imperative for her. Protect Kasumi, ever selfless Kasumi that took the place of the mother of the family even at the cost of her personal life, of her dreams. Protect Soun, a man crippled by the untimely death of his wife; his ever beloved Kimiko, forever being turned into an emotional wrecked being, forever unable to control his emotional state. Protect Akane, a child that used her anger as a mean to deal with a world that took away her mother, leaving her as a slave of her always destructive anger. With time that circle that at first only held her family expanded now holding all that people that were her family. All of this; all of her sacrifices were for them and for a world that was needing of people willing to sacrifice more that their lives if some hope was to be saved. It was paramount to protect her family, her city and her world so it was normal that after what happened that afternoon she was, to put it lightly, in a bad mood. Not only what happened in the dojo, her dojo, but also a list of weird things that had happened in the last hours across Nerima. The situation was the following: The dojo had suffered an attack from an unknown force, more probably some new creations from the Queen bitch and her damned scientists. This alone posed several problems and questions that needed answers. And quickly. In those moments her own team of specialists was working on studying the remaining of those creatures. She sighed. That was only the first thing. To anybody that would have entered right now in her studio and looked at her would think of her as cold and focused as ever when working to the several problems across the globe. That would not have been so far fetched from the truth. Well most of it. The reality was that inside she was screaming in frustration and fear. To those creatures to have breached the defences appearing for thin air was more than enough to make her to feel the odds go up against her and Nerima. The fact that they were new kind of biological weapons with the power to blend the elements to work for them without any struggle made her admit, even grudgingly, that the Queen and her specialist group of demented scientists were the bests when creating stuff that seemed to come right from the deepest pit of hell. Truly the work of a sick mind. Oh indeed such perversion of nature had the mark of that bitch and since the war had started Nabiki had seen such horrors brought to life that it put in shame the morbid imagination of writers as Clive Barker or Stephen King. Nabiki licked dry lips to the possible repercussion those new monsters could have to the planetary equilibrium of strengths. They could easily kill any martial artist even those of high level with frightening ease, so to normal humans... A dark part of Nabiki's mind even summoned the image of Akane or even Kasumi going against such quasimodo creatures and it wasn't pretty. Returning to the first problem there was another factor to have in count: how did they achieve to transport those three killing machines? To that peculiar question Nabiki had her own suspicions and as the first problem it wasn't an pleasant thought. But to the question spawned by the first one that was more tricky to Nabiki's mind to elaborate a solution. The questions that now ere getting on Nabiki's nerves were: A)Can this be repeated and if so then with how many time between different "transports"? B)How many of those monsters could be transported? As her mind worked on the problem it also worked on the solution. In all of this mess there were more things that one can guess at first and she had been working on it since the first news of the attack had come to her. Nabiki loved mysteries but this time it was more important: something was going on and she had to find the truth before the events of the afternoon threatened her loved ones, her city and, in general, the world. Or what remained of it. She sighed and returned to her mental struggles. To the ice of the cake. Where the key to prevent more blood to be spilled was. Those three monsters were stopped by a mysterious warrior. This man alone destroyed them, an if the several reports of witnesses were true, he did it as if he was chasing some molesting fly. The attacks from those monsters not even harmed him. From what the witnesses explained to her intelligence corps the man seemed almost bored by their attacks while his were even more destructive. she started mentally as if speaking to herself. She looked to slim inform of the fight and opening it started reading it while her mind was processing the information in each part. She flipped the page Turns the page. She blinked. "A page is missing!" Looked to the following pages and discovers with barely contained anger she quickly scanned the rest of the folder. Instead of one page, three were missing. The rest of the fight was missing, the pages that missed leading her to an inform about the three monsters from the labs where the bodies of the three beasts, or what remained of them, was being analysed. But it was difficult to do so when in some of the cases there was only a pulp to study. Anyway the most important part is missing. Any information about the warrior is missing. Not a description, nor a report about his abilities. Nothing that could give her any idea about that fighter, nothing to work on it. Nabiki face turns darker. One thing is sure there would be retribution once she found who was behind the disappearance of those pages. Lives depended on that! And before she could say something or do something the door opens. Startled from her inner tantrums Nabiki looked up to the door only to see a well known figure entering in her studio. Cologne steps and slowly closes the door. She walks towards Nabiki's desks and without a word takes the seat in front of the once middle Tendo daughter. For a moment Cologne simply remained silent looking upside down, after a moment she sighs and Nabiki can perfectly see something that few had ever seen; the ever confident Cologne worried sick. The once elder looking amazon passes a hand upon her face as if to chase her weariness of some perspiration, Nabiki can't decide which. Then Cologne directed her suddenly gleaming eyes to hers as she spoke. "We have a big problem." Nabiki snorted. "As if we hadn't since the last twenty five years. Since that bitch took the power." She paused. "You want some problems? Fine. We are fighting a lost war Cologne and we both know it. Ryouga and the others will not accept it but we are with a huge disadvantage here. The West Alliance is barely holding his own against her troops and if they fail then we are the next." She paused not wanting to gave words, some simile of flesh, to an unwanted thought; a terrifying reality. With great reluctance she finally voiced her darkest belief. "And she still holding back." Cologne nodded. "That's how things are." She sentenced. Nabiki sighed and sitting up went to took a pot of hot water that was resting in the chimney. "Some tea?" Asked Nabiki. "With pleasure. My old bones need it." Nabiki returned to her desk, closed her computers, put orders to her work and to the pages of the inform of the "dojo accident" and from a little box upon her shelf took two bags of tea. Soon the room was filed with a relaxing aroma. Nabiki blew the steam from her mug before drinking some of it. Cologne did the same and both women let a pleased sigh to came from their lips. "You know Cologne you are the only one to still see you as an aged amazon matriarch. It brings some of the children absolutely wild when they try to compare themselves to you. That without taking in count that half the male population of this town is absolutely ga-ga for you." She drank a little more of her tea, savouring the flavour of it, and with a smile talked, with the hopes of cheering. She really needed to forget what she said before. "Why don't you search some nice guy and have some quality time with him? And who knows maybe have a child or two before all of this ends... You know that Shampoo and Nodoka think that you should do something like that..." Cologne green eyes were looking to the deep red colour of the steaming tea, not even bothering to acknowledge Nabiki's attempt of humour. And when she talked it was as if Nabiki had never spoken. "It may be so but I do feel those years upon my soul and today more than ever. As I said before we have problems but it may also tip the way of this war in our favour." Nabiki, once again those dark thoughts running wild on her mind, forgot that fable attempt herself but looked at Cologne as if the amazon had lost it. And when she talked it was bitterness that dripped from her voice. "I don't understand. That slut and her servants still hold back a lot of their troops while she uses both genetic engineering along with the magic of Jusenkyou as a weapon. Against that even fighters like Ryouga and the others have a hard time. Since the Darkness Wave there is no modern weaponry to use and that was in her favour." "I know it child." Said Cologne and for a moment her voice sounded as aged as when she first arrived to Nerima. She remained silent before asking without looking up from her own mug. "I suppose that you were looking to the information about the fight in the dojo when I came in here right?" Nabiki nodded, not even bothering in wondering how Cologne knew of what she was doing just before she entered her studio. She drank some more tea. "Yes. And I'm going to have the liver of the one that misplaced the pages of the inform, as soon as I find him." Cologne without making eye contact with the brown gaze of the Tendo middle daughter spoke. "You don't have to search. You have her in front of you right now." Nabiki mouth stood opened a good moment, no sound coming from it, until she exploded. "You?! But why?" Cologne slowly purred the last of her tea. That done she slowly put her mug on one corner of the desk as she handed Nabiki a black videotape, appearing thanks to the Hidden Weapons trick. "Because we have a big problem," she paused. "In this tape are things that I presume you alone can put together. If you took the wrong choice we can end having even more problems than the ones we have right now." Nabiki took the tape. "What's in there?" "The recording of the fight, if you can call it, of the monsters and... myself with the warrior." Nabiki looked from the tape to Cologne, a strange gleam in her eyes. "You fought with that man? Why? And the fight with those monsters... If you were there then why didn't you interfered?" She looked at the tape once again before talking, this time without looking at the elder, her attention focused in the tape and in the mysteries that were about to be revealed to her. "You will realise it when you see the tape." Her tone almost wistful made Nabiki to forget momentary the tape. Cologne continued talking her eyes returning to Nabiki. "I'm here talking to you because even without the tape or the complete report of the fight you would have guessed that something wasn't right as you are doing right now. With only the slightest effort you would have discovered that I was there." "Why?" Asked Nabiki in a tone that wouldn't have accepted a negative. Cologne with a shrug answered. "Sakura, Kaori, Jem and Nodoka were there. And Coral was in the control room recording all of this. Sooner or later they would have said something that would have put you on the way to discover a... shattering truth." Nabiki pondered all of the things said and the subtle ways Cologne body reacted while speaking. Some things were missing. "Why are you doing this?" "Because I need your help." Nabiki thought some more and went to put the tape on the videoplayer that was near her oak desk, the leather of her chair making small noises once relived if Nabiki's weight. "Something more before the show starts?" She asked almost jokingly. Her humour only produced a half smile on the lips of Cologne "Be ready. Some of the things in that tape are rather... Brutal." "I read part of the inform... I think I can menage." "I don't think so." Nabiki looked back to Cologne and even allowed herself to smirk. After all, due to being the one to supervise all of the information to come to Nerima trough her net of spies, few things would made her to be impress. She had seen things that had cured her of such impressions. She introduced the tape an took the remote controller. She then sat again in her chair letting it embrace her, relaxing her taunt body and pressed the play button. It was a pity that she hadn't some popcorn. ------------------------------------------------- Half our later a more than pale Nabiki stopped the tape. Thank God that she had nothing on her stomach or else she would have thrown up. In a shaking voice she asked, something that was screaming within her mind. "Is that a human being?" Cologne remained silent for some moments as if pondering a question that she had asked herself several times. "I don't know," she said softly. Nabiki frowned. In her lifetime Cologne had seen more things that anyone except maybe Happossai. To the once elder to show some doubt was as if recognising that two times two isn't four. Well if she couldn't have an answer by that side she would try by another. "You fought with him. What can you say about his strength?" Cologne stood up and went to the window of Nabiki's working room, silent again, at least for a while but when she spoke it was as if she was fighting to pronounce the words. "I can't start to guess. If what he said to me is true..." She was interrupted by Nabiki' shout. "You spoke to him?! But that's..." Cologne looked back at her softly said "Insane? No, I don't think it to be an insane act. You see... I know that man or knew him a long time ago." She sighed. Nabiki was surprised, to say the last. "You know him?! What's going on here?" Cologne gestured to the young woman to come near her before her gaze turned to the northern skies. Softly she spoke as Nabiki came near her. "Look at the skies, to the seven stars of the Great Dipper... They are shinning more brightly than ever. I remember to have looked up to the night shaded skies several times in my long life and never those starts had glowed so strongly." Nabiki despise her state, and somehow puzzled by this change in their conversation, she looked to those starts and had to agree with Cologne. "You're right, they are shining brighter." Then remembering the chest of the dark haired warrior she looked back to Cologne. "Do you think that the state of those stars had something to do with that man? Isn't it strange that a man had that kind of scars to start with?" Cologne barely showed physical reaction but even so Nabiki could see some tension in the muscles of Cologne's lithe body. "I don't know. But in my live I have started to ignore what people call coincidence. No, what I believe is that some things are linked and this maybe one of this things." She paused. "And I have seen things that I could have thought impossible to happen." She said almost to herself. Nabiki still was thinking about what Cologne had said and started to sum things. "You had a reason to try to hide all of this right? There is something that you are trying to protect... or to hide. A "shattering truth" you said but you weren't speaking of the world or even Nerima. No this is something... personal? Who is that man? You said that you knew him. From when? Tell me Cologne." Cologne looked to the woman at her side. "You're as sharp as ever," she said softly. Nabiki nodded. "And you are near the truth, yet..." she paused as if considering once again the woman near her. "Yet I have given you a lot of leads to the truth. Think Nabiki, use some more that brilliant intellect of yours, that intellect that you are so proud of, look to that man, doesn't he remember you of someone. Think. Remember!" Nabiki went back to the video recorder and rewind. She played it and put the pause in a moment when the videocameras recorders had been able to register the face of the young warrior. He was the key. For a lot of things he was the key but if Cologne's subtle hints were true then it was something more private, something that concerned first their families than the world. Nabiki looked to that handsome face during a long moment in which both women sat back in the comfortable chairs, Cologne looking at Nabiki as if waiting for the younger woman to find the obvious. Meanwhile Nabiki's mind was in fast drive as she looked intently to the face. Why would Cologne face him when he had made nothing? Why would she risk herself talking to that man? Why that interest in him? Why sending Nodoka to speak with him? Why... Wait a moment! Nodoka... The impossible made possible... She looked to the face trying to rip trough the veil of her own memories. she tried to analyse the young man's physical aspect as well as his fighting style; too much unpredictable, almost as much as Musabetsu Kakuto. But more refined, more powerful but at the same time changing to adapt to his adversaries she would said. An extremely adaptable fighting martial art, adaptable to chaotic battles Chaotic. Chaotic and wild, almost brutal in its efficiency. Her mind fought to remember, to puzzle the enigma. Slowly only one thing came to her mind, a spark that something that she had nearly forgotten. Suddenly all made sense as if it had made "click" when the parts of the puzzle came together almost by themselves. It couldn't be. Her mind almost overloaded with the wild possibility, the possible repercussions of what would happen if that wild idea became a reality, spreading as fast as roaring fire upon dry grass, leaving her cold, shivering. She whispered almost to low to Cologne to hear her from the window but the old amazon picked it anyway. "Always making the impossible to look possible..." Looking down Cologne gave Nabiki the last push to accept something that send her mind reeling. "Would it help if he had a pig-tail?" Nabiki that was up looking to the frozen frame was falling apart from within, her muscles loosing all strength. If not for the leather chair she would have fallen to the ground. Her mind for once started speaking almost by itself, ideas becoming pronounced words. "Oh God! Oh my God! It can't be him! It cannot be Ranma! He was exiled! You said that it wasn't possible to return from a banishment made by those damned orbs!" The last was said almost as an accusation. Cologne looked to the younger girl her face full of sorrow, her eyes gleaming from a thousand opposed emotions. "Don't you think that I know? That I'm trying to accept it also? It never happened before! It couldn't happen! It couldn't! And now he is here! Accept it Nabiki. Ranma has returned and he is not happy!" Nabiki snorted, her legs still weak as even more memories flowed in her. She looked back to the frozen image of the videotape, at the face. The face of Ranma Saotome Now there was no doubt. He could be older, the hair shorter and be more tanned than what she remembered but there was no mistaking possible once the truth was there. "Not happy!?" She shouted even more memories flowing to her, memories of a sun filled afternoon when all was lost. She swallowed hard. "You weren't there Cologne, you didn't see Ryouga kun and the others banish him! You never saw what they did to him only because they were jealous of the poor guy! You don't had to awake during months after that because of nightmares filled with the images of that day, time and time again, nor the cries of pain he shouted! Oh those cries as if the were reaping him apart a thousand times over! You don't know!" She hugged herself, her knees pressed against her almost in a childish fashion "The cries of pain... It was as of they were tearing his whole being apart. And I was in part responsible for all of that madness! I helped to made it worst because I believed that a fast yen would never hurt him." She laughed a bitter sound, her growing anger and fear giving her the strength to rise up and walk again near the amazon, her fists clenched. "The boy was simply too good for his own good; always forgiving everyone of us that made his life hell! And you say he is not happy? Heck for half of what I did to him _I_ would have gone in a killing fury!" Cologne faced Nabiki's anger with green eyes that seemed to shine by frustration alone. "Don't you think that I don't know? Why do you believe that I tried to hide it? Because none of us is ready to face the consequences of his return! She paused. "Yes I said that it was impossible and all of us took that as a permission to continue with our lives without wondering about that far fetched possibility." She sighed as if the weight of the world was upon her shoulders. "Now Shampoo and Akane are married with Ryouga and Mousse, while Kuno also found his happiness with you. All of those that exiled him are as happy as they could be having what they wanted when exiling him. Even with all we suffered..." Nabiki snorted cutting Cologne's speech. "Please let's get real! I don't think that what we passed by is going to melt his heart. To him what must be important is the results! And the way it ended the lesson of the story is that for an honourless moment Ryouga, Kuno and Mousse achieved what they wanted while Ranma, that had always been honourable, ended Kami-Sama knows where." Cologne nodded. "And now he had returned with so much power..." She whispered. "How powerful is he?" Cologne hugged herself as if the idea wasn't very pleasant. "I can't even start to guess his true power. You saw it yourself and if what he said is true then that was only the most basic of his power so far. To give you an idea he doesn't use his ki in battle. All that you have seen is nothing more than his physical and that wasn't his strongest!" Nabiki whistled in wonder. "There's more" "More!" Cologne almost laughed but only a feeble chuckle came from her mouth with no humour at all, only bitter irony. "There are good and bad news" "Oh crap" Cologne nodded. "That's way to put it." Nabiki sighed. "Okay I bite. The good ones?" "He is on our side. He needs information to proceed but he will fight against the queen, without our assistance if need be. A strange feeling, one of wonder crossed Nabiki's heart, a feeling that she hadn't fell in a long time. "So there is some hope?" A small smile crossed Cologne's features. "Yes there is still some hope... If he is as good as he says." "Did he told you anything about his Ryu? It's clear that he doesn't use Musabetsu Kakuto anymore." Cologne nodded while some frustration crossed her face. "His Ryu is called Hokuto Shin Ken and if what he says is right he is not only the only master of that school." Nabiki frowned. "Well that's some piece of information that you have." Some sarcasm could be found on her voice but Cologne ignored it completely. "There is something more. If he told me the truth this art, this Hokuto Shin Ken was created by... God some 2000 years ago. Nabiki pushed herself back looking to the ceiling. "Hokuto Shin Ken... A martial art created by a god. Is it possible? There was nothing in her voice but a kind of wonder, not showing any surprise but some wariness could be felt. Cologne looked to the young woman that was now looking to those seven shinning stars. "Until he speaks of his past to us I will believe anything he says. This take us to the bad news." Nabiki sighed before looking back to Cologne, the seven stars of the Great Dipper momentary forgotten. "Oh perfect the bad news. Okay fire." "He don't calls himself Ranma anymore." "Oh?" Was the simple answer coming from Nabiki. Cologne nodded. "Now he is Ryuken of the Shoke ruling line and..." She paused before sighing deeply. "To say he is mad to us in general and to Genma in particular is a huge understatement of the concept murdering rage. As soon as I told him that he had a mother and the story behind that... you can imagine." "Oh yes!" Almost shouted Nabiki, looking at the amazon elder as if she had grown another head. "What in Kami-sama's name made you told him about that madness? Have you lost your mind? Or do you wanted him to kill us all on the spot?" Cologne's eyes were stern. "He promised to someone that he would not kill. As for why I told him that was something he needed to know. Better to have him knowing about the seppukku pledge than allowing him to learn about it from say Genma or Nodoka... and when he will learn that he got a sister..." "You know Cologne I don't know if to feel grateful knowing that he will not kill us. I feel relived. There is only the tiny detail that there are things worst than death!" Cologne nodded. "Yes there are things worst than death. But it was better that he knew about all that mess days before he met Nodoka and Genma. And Ranko." Nabiki groaned, eyes shut. She was starting to feel a monstrous headache creeping on her head. "There is something more." Nabiki's eyes snapped open. "More?" "For good or bad he will take part in the tournament." Nabiki remained silent, and if her face was pale before, now it turned paler. Softly she spoke, her words shaking. "We're in deep shit are we not?" Cologne slowly nodded. "We are above our heads of shit Nabiki." It was Nabiki's turn to nod. "I was afraid that you would say something like that." They remained silent for some moments before Nabiki silently moved towards the videoplayer, ejecting the tape and turning off the equip. Then with a surge of ki destroyed it. She sat as Cologne did the same the silence in the room turning unbearable yet none of the two women there made any attempt to break it. Finally Nabiki rose to search the last of her hot water. Slowly, almost ceremoniously, she purred it refilling her cup, steam coming towards her face as a soft caress. She looked towards Cologne that was looking to her youthful hands but Nabiki had the impression that the amazon was getting older under her very eyes. "Do you want more tea?" She asked Cologne. Cologne slowly looked up to her and in tired voice slowly answered. "Yes..." Nabiki did so, repeating then the process that she had done a while ago and, once again the soothing rich aroma of the tea filled the room. That done both women remained silent, not drinking their tea as if waiting something, as if wanting to steal some moments of peace to the all father Time. "Nabiki?" Asked Cologne breaking the illusion of silence. "Yes?" "Do you have some alcohol for the tea?" Nabiki only rose to her mini bar, opening it with barely a sound. "Ron or whisky?" She asked without looking back. "Both. Very loaded please. I need it." If the answer surprised she didn't showed it as she deftly took both bottles. Soon the dark tea of both mugs was filled with the alcohol. Nabiki smiled before drinking her tea. What she had done wasn't something that she used to do, hell it was a sure ticket to a hangover or worst but she didn't cared about that. She needed it. From her sat she rose her mug and across the oak table Cologne answer to her toast. Slowly Nabiki spoke in even tones. "To Ranma." Cologne nodded. "And to the impossible made possible," added Cologne with a small smile. Nabiki returned it but slightly more wide before sentencing. "Amen to that, sister." They shook their mugs. Nabiki drank deeply her tea while the alcohol warmed her blood, for that blessed moment she let the possibilities of Ranma's return to flow upon her, not touching her yet allowing herself to relax for the first time in a long time. ------------------------------------------------- Perspiration purred from Selene's brow as she faced her new friend Ranko Saotome in the dojo of the Tendo ancestral home. Right now, to put it simply Ranko outclassed her by a long stride. A very long stride. Yet she refused to give up and, with another loud kiai, charged the smirking red-head that answered the flurry of punches with her own. A high punch was blocked by a kick and a following roundhouse kick was answered by another. Both girl whirled and once again were facing each other as once again Selene refused to recognise defeat. As far as she was concerned she wouldn't surrender even if she knew that she was going to loose. She tried a feinting move in the hopes of fooling the green eyed girl but as she discovered soon those kind of moves were haphazard and had a great chance of being discovered even before they were started. Simply Ranko was too good as Selene found when send rolling after a swipe robed her footing. She rolled and at once assumed a defensive stance and it was in extremis as the Saotome heir was upon her as a vengeful spirit. Ranko smirked and it was then when Selene's brain started screaming "pain incoming!". She tried to dodge but the red-head seemed to be able to read all of her moves so, once again, for the eleventh time in the last hour she was sent flying when her punch was stopped and used as leverage for the pig-tailed woman. This time Selene landed on her rear in an ungraceful fashion. Yet she knew that she had no time complaining for her sore butt as her new friend was again coming at her. The dark haired girl awaited and in the last moment twisted her body sending a double kick to Ranko's stomach and chin and for once she was rewarded by an impact as the red-head was send spinning. This time in an inverted role: Selene that going after the red-head, her fist ready to met Ranko's face. Contrary to Selene Ranko made a graceful flip and landed lightly on her feet but showing some disorientation as if Selene's blows had made her loose some of her incredible balance. She had a chance to level the score. It was then when looking to the still and ever present smirk upon the red-head's lips that she knew that she had been framed. It was all an act! Well she would ponder about it later as she still send her fist flying ready to answer what Ranko had in mind. Unfortunately she wasn't ready for what the Saotome heir did as Ranko jumped on the air, just enough to dodge the blow and fall as a vengeance upon Selene. Ranko trespassed Selene's quasi non existing defence and quickly smashed her fists in a chopping motion right upon the dark haired woman's clavicles. Pain flared as she was send once again landing upon her rear and it was with her body aching that she tried to gain as much room as she could. In an instant she was meters from the red-head that stood there in a basical stance as if waiting Selene to be ready. The dark haired woman relaxed even if slightly just after rising up panting. Willingly or not she had to recognise that she was tired, her muscles burning and her breathing was still raged. She was perspiring profusely as she could feel her cheeks crimson, burning. The rest of her body and clothing wasn't in their top condition either. The white gi and the sport top bra that she was given for training was drenched, almost becoming as a second skin as it latched upon her stylised body while her black-silver bangs were plastered, framing her face. The rest of her hair was tied up with a string made of leather and sliver, thing that she was thankful of. Honestly having long hair was sometimes a bother as it was when she started sparring with the red-haired martial artist. Those days she had lived with the people Ryu let her with had been one of the happiest time she had ever lived. In fact her life had improved after her final release when she met the Saotome matriarch and she finally accepted the deaths of her family. She still mourned them but she was ready to put her past existence at rest and move on. So many changes in so many time and she had to thank Ryuken for that. "Hey!" A female voice called her back just in time to see a fist rushing fast to her. That was going to hurt and idle part of her mind whispered. Quickly, almost instinctively, she blocked with her left arm and using a twist griped Ranko's right arm with her own to twist it and send the young red headed woman flying. Still with a smirk (that never disappeared in the whole session) the red head moved her body to make it land swiftly with a grace and agility that were clearly inhuman, another hint of the real level of the Saotome heir. She turned towards Selene that was now blushing for having been taken so easily distracted. Ranko simply smiled and slightly bowed. "That was good!" She complimented her student before relaxing her posture signalling the end, for now, of the training. Selene breathed deep and also relaxed. Both women neared a small table were some cold water was put to their attention by Nodoka along with some towels to dry their perspiration off. Both Selene and Ranko gratefully drank the cold water and with a sigh Ranko looked to her new friend, some deep emotion in her green eyes. "I still can't believe that you are so good being without any martial arts knowledge... You sure never had any sensei?" Selene still drinking nodded. "Still in the last moment you zoned out... Remember that you must always be ready. Next time I will not warn you!" She jokingly punched her in the shoulder, making the dark haired girl to shoot her an apologetic look where also shone some merriment. Ranko smirked and threw the towel she had been using against a chair near the table. Then she looked to her new friend with some mischief. "You were thinking about that boy, right? The one that took you here?" Her voice was teasing and even a little sultry. Selene stopped drinking, almost choking when Ranko's words registered, and looked to her friend with her lavender eyes, while blushing. "No... no... I- I wasn't thinking on him! I haven't seen him in a week! Why would I think about him?" She looked down. "I mean I was only someone he saved... He could perfectly have left me behind." "Uuuummm" Said Ranko tilting her head to one side, her eyes semi closed as her lips curved into a smile, her hands behind her back. "wha- what?" Stammered Selene backing off a little. Ranko's eyes gleamed, like those of a cat. "My oh my Selene... Your blushing!" "What?!" She exclaimed. "Uh uh." Ranko nodded her pig-tail moving. "You have a crush on this Ryuken guy! Recognise it girl!" "NO WAY!" Selene exclaimed, yet her blush was reaching near atomic levels making Ranko's grin to grew even more. But even denying it so violently Selene couldn't help but remember her time before Ryuken saved her. So strong was that notion that she excluded herself from the rest of the world as her mind started wandering. She was the slave of that ever present fear, that during years made her feel weak; a pray to be captured or killed by the razors and their masters. The fear was like a cancer devouring her and her will. And in her life she had loved her fear as one loves a dear old friend that grows on you becoming a part of you before you realise it. Her fear had been taken, reaped apart by a pair of golden eyes. Thanks to Ryuken those days seemed to have come to an end. It was thanks to him that she was now in a secure zone far away from all those killers and rapists. She was a little sad to not have any news from him but she couldn't do anything. She had to centre in the here and now. But never again would she be a slave of her own fear. Thanks to Ryuken. She was broken from her thoughts by Ranko's laugh, a silvery and still teasing sound. "Oh sister! You're so in love with him that's even mushy!" That said Ranko exploded in laughter, even wiping tears when she looked to Selene's embarrassed face, that if it had lessened a little from before returned full strength and more, she becoming redder by the moment. "I told you before! No way I'm in love with him! I'm... thankful to Ryu for saving me but nothing more! I swear!" Proclaimed Selene while waving her hands at Ranko. Yet the red head smile still held and with dramatic gestures put a hand upon Selene's shoulder. "Puuulease! Don't lie to me Sel-chan..." Then she neared her face to Selene's and brushing her cheeks with her own, she whispered in the dark haired's ear. "No need to be shy you know... If you're having the kind of thoughts for that stud there is no problem..." Ranko's soft lips trailed upon Selene's cheeks until she was face to face with the dark haired woman, her noses almost touching as her green eyes were locked with Selene's. Selene blush reached near critical levels but she couldn't move her eyes from Ranko's. Even the voice of the red head, sultry and teasing, held her unmoving. "Yesss..." She whispered to Selene. "When you find him you can do this..." And with each passing second her lips neared Selene's, her breath drying the ones of the dark haired beauty. Yet as Ranko closed the space between them Selene suddenly knew that something was up, if only because the eyes of the red head glimmered with a different light. "Tag your in!" Shouted the green eyed red head as she pocked Selene's noose, laugher echoing trough the walls of the dojo as she bolted from the bewildered Selene. Such was the surprise that said woman stood there unmoving even if for some seconds before exploding into motion chasing after the laughing pig-tailed girl. "Why you little! Wait until I get you!" Yet Ranko danced around Selene while stucking out her tongue. "Na Na! Your too slow, you wicked girl!" Said wicked girl jumped once again against towards the red headed girl that, while easily dodging her, continued teasing the dark haired woman while laughing with her face flushed by laughter. From the sidelines Nodoka was looking at them, while trying not to laugh at the sight of the chase going on in the dojo. As always she marvelled at the graceful form of her daughter, her well defined frame and cat-like grace that she impressed in every one of her movements as she circled Selene dodging the attempts of the dark haired girl from trapping her. What a wonderful girl that Ryuken warrior asked her to take in her care. As she reflected upon the moments when she accepted taking care of the sleeping Selene, she realised that it was more than giri what drew her to accept his request. She accepted it when Selene emotionally broke down, a lonely girl without any family and no friend apart from that mysterious warrior, and to herself she vowed to be a support for the young woman, that is until "Ryu" came back for her. But in the following days, as no news came from that mysterious man, she grew very fond of the young woman and was decided to care for her as the a mother should, quite an natural reflex for her. Because, and with regret, Selene was not the only orphan that she held between her arms. But Selene had something in her... She couldn't name it but it was uncanny how she would make everyone around her fell "well", a presence that drew forth the very goodness in everyone she met. Even when she presented the dark haired, silver streaked, woman to her own daughter, it was uncanny how they immediately hit off. In fact almost everybody liked her and it was fascinating how a smile from that strange young woman could make a day to seem even brighter. It was even more surprising the natural ability the young girl showed for martial arts, nowhere near their level of her daughter and her cousins but taking in count that it was something that she was for the first time trying it was simply astonishing! Nodoka looking how the two girls clashed once again remembered those first days. FLASHBACK Selene slowly opened her eyes and discovered looking to a unfamiliar ceiling. As far as she could tell she was in a small room that, with the windows closed, was illuminated by some of the rays of the sun. She was lying upon a comfortable futon, something that was almost alien to her live of running and hiding. What was she doing there? Where was she for starters? And where was Ryu? The last thing she remembered, as her mind cleared, was crying upon the shoulder of that lady... what was her name? It was... Nodoka? Yes Nodoka was her name. Yes that kind lady had supported her in her final release, when that overwhelming sadness had been released by the form of hot tears. Then... Then what? She closed her eyes as if gathering her memories. Then she felt a... A touch? As when Ryu met her. He had done something to put her to sleep it seemed. And she knew that he was able of that and more. But why? Why? Would it be the last time she would see him? For some reason that particular thought let her feeling uncomfortable. Maybe it was because he was her only friend? Yeah that must be it. She breathed deeply before her hears picked the sound of steps coming towards the door of the room. Selene simply looked towards the door while asking herself who was coming. In her actual state there was little that she could do apart from waiting to see who was coming trough the door. She heard the door to open and slowly, silently. Nodoka silently entered the room as if fearful of awaking Selene. That was until she saw the eyes of the young woman open which made her release her breath. "Selene-chan are you well?" Selene nodded from where she was lying and with some effort started to rise. It was difficult. Nodoka kneeled and his surprising strong arms helped the younger woman to rise up. "Let me help you dear. How are you feeling?" Selene swallowed hard. Her mouth was dry. "Fine. More or less." She even smiled to relax some of the concern that appeared in Nodoka's face. Nodoka nodded as if knowing what was going on inside of Selene's head. Finally Selene was on her feet, still a little weak but gaining strength quickly. "How many time did I remain unconscious?" Nodoka looked at her an finally answered. "Two days." Surprise was clear on the younger woman's face. "Two days? How?" "The doctor couldn't give us an answer so I preferred to let you to repose as much as your body needed. We couldn't make anything else." And that seemed to perturb a little the Saotome matriarch. Selene smiled both trying to ease Nodoka as to show some lacking confidence. At least that explained why her legs seemed made of cotton. Then she noticed how she was clad; a pair of dark violet pyjamas, nothing more. "My... my clothing?" "I sent it to be washed and repaired. It should be ready for tomorrow. I have already some clothes ready for you and after you take a bath I'll take you to eat something. After two days you must be ravenous." As if on clue Selene's stomach answered making the younger woman to blush and Nodoka to laugh. "Ready to take a bath?" Asked Nodoka still smiling. Right now that sounded like the best plan. "Oh yes!" ------------------------------------------------- To Selene's tired body and mind the furo was, to put it mildly, heaven on earth. She wasn't used to this kind of bath but after the explication from Nodoka she could manage as well as possible. So it was with a contented sigh that she let the hot water wash away her wariness as she sank on it. She was so relaxed that she even slept a little. Definitively paradise, oh yes. Once she stepped out of the furo and dried herself, she returned to the first room of the bath to find the clothing that Nodoka had left for her. It wasn't what she was used to wear but after looking at it she decided that it was better than anything and once put on she felt even better. She stepped out of the bathroom and was mildly surprised to see Nodoka waiting for her. "Let me see you dear" She looked at Selene with interest. She was wearing silk black trousers tied to the ankles along with a sleeveless midnight blue silk shirt both of them of Chinese style accompanied by a pair of black arm bracers that covered almost all of her forearms. All in all it was more or less of her size and fit her figure in a suggestive way. "Oh dear you are absolutely stunning!" Selene blushed. "Uh... thanks. I think." That last thing called Nodoka's attention. "Why do you say that dear?" Selene remained silent for a moment the blush now gone, but she refused to met Nodoka's eyes. "Honestly no one ever considered me stunning before, even less pretty." Nodoka seemed surprised by this, but smiled and slowly lifted Selene's head. "My dear child, you never had much of a life did you?" Selene barely nodded. "I never had time to have a normal life. Always running from one place or another each time the fear grew that we would get caught by the troops of the Queen. I had no time to consider my looks and I never believed myself to be... pretty." She looked down. Only to feel Nodoka hugging her tightly. "Oh Selene you are a beautiful young woman, never forget that." She released a little the bewildered girl still holding her by her shoulders. "Now let's eat something, shall we?" Selene nodded and followed the older woman, feeling better. And she was really hungry. ------------------------------------------------- The kitchen, a large room with several oven, was only occupied by a young woman with the reddest hair Selene had ever seen. Said woman greeted Nodoka with a simple "Hi mom!" before looking at Selene as if weighing her. To not be less Selene answered the look the red head was giving her with one of her own, trying silently to show no ill feeling to the strange girl while looking at her. She was as tall as she was, wearing an outfit that almost matched hers the only difference being in the colour of the shirt that was green. Apart from that the girl supported a set of scars on her face that weren't able to tarnish her beauty. They were similar to the strips of a tiger. Being of a lighter colour than the rest of the skin they helped to enhance her beauty and those deep emerald green eyes that seemed to be piercing Selene as if stripping all her secrets and feelings. Nodoka from the side lines was silently amused by Ranko's examination of Selene and was more than ready to bet what was going on her daughter's head. Moving without a sound Ranko left behind what she was doing and neared Selene, walking silently on tip-toes. Once there she bent a little looking to the shirt Selene was wearing. Her head was mere inches from Selene's chest then she looked up to the quickly getting uncomfortable girl, grinning. "That shirt is mine!" Selene blushed slightly looked back to Nodoka that was smiling and back to the red head that was still grinning. "That is..." She started. But she was interrupted. "Oh well. It sit you well. Keep it. I insist." Selene by now was lost. "Umm thanks?" Then Ranko burst laughing Nodoka advanced and put a hand upon the slender shoulder of her daughter. "Ranko dear I would like to introduce you to Selene. Selene this is my daughter Ranko." Ranko whistled appraisingly. "What a beautiful name. It fits you soooo well! You're so beautiful and with those silver tresses with the rest of your hair so black!" Selene smiled. "Well yours also fits. With that red hair as like a wild fire caught there; burning." Ranko touched her hair pulled back on a pig-tail. "Thanks." Then she stopped as if to consider something. "Hey are you interested in going out with me and some of my cousins? We were going to the mall to see some clothes and have some fun. Feel to join us?" Selene was about to say yes even if she ignored what was a mall or had never the time to have too much fun, but it sounded interesting. Yet there was Nodoka... She looked to the woman that was smiling. "I was going to ate something with your mother..." "Please call me Auntie, Selene-chan and I think that's a wonderful idea! You can pick something at the mall and bought some clothes." Selene was a little surprised by that. "I would like to but... I have no money." Ranko waved her hand as if resting importance to Selene's the problem. "That's not a problem. Mom asked you to call her auntie and that means that to her you are as a daughter, a member of the family. That means that what we have is what you have." Nodoka nodded her eyes shinning with pride for her daughter. "What Ranko says is true Selene. I promised to that young man that I would take care of you. Please let me do so." Selene looked to Nodoka their eyes meeting an none breaking the contact. "Because Ryu asked you?" She didn't want to feel too hopeful. If Ryu asked Nodoka to look after her then it would mean that Nodoka was only upholding a promise, not for her. "Yes." Selene almost broke the contact in disappointment. Almost as Nodoka not even paused. "But that's not the reason, dear." She then put her free hand upon one of Selene's shoulders making the young woman to near her and her daughter. "I think that you are a wonderful young woman and I will do all I have in hand to help you feel at home as one of us. As I know all in this family will do. Please be a part of it. Don't be alone anymore." "I don't know what to say..." That was too good to be true. "Then accept. It's as simple as that." Said Ranko putting a hand upon Selene's free one; closing the circle. Selene simply stood there looking from one to another, to their smiles, to the clear eyes free of any other feeling that ones of friendship and acceptance. Slowly Selene nodded and smiled. Nodoka nodded, answering Selene's smile by one of her own before Ranko practically dragged the still surprised Selene with her. "Now lets go! The others must be waiting! See you later mom." And in a fit of laughter both disappeared. ------------------------------------------------- China, Phoenix Mountain. He felt so old. And so cold. It chilled him to the soul. It reached to his bones each time he looked to his work, to the irreproachable work he made in his Queen name. How he hated it all. How he despised himself. He wished that things a were simple but that was a fool's dream; one that would never happen. The storm was coming as it did the last time and this time nothing would be able to stop her. If he could he would rebel, fight against his own fears and ideals. But he did his choice long ago and now, as he did the last time, would continue with what his pledge brought him. Arguun was looking to the lands surrounding the once proud home of the bird people, now only a shade of its former glory. From where he stood, the highest pick of Phoenix Mountain, he could see the results of his own work and of the others; released spirits that she summoned, the very ones that sided with her in her rebellion so long ago. Black where once the earth was green. Full of live it was now a barren land where darkness was master. No light could touch what ash clouds covered. Almost all of China, the clouds preventing the sun to light that damned land, fires burning now and would continue to as long as she ruled. As for what feed those fires... that was a knowledge that he preferred to ignore. Thankfully that wasn't part of his duties, but that didn't helped in smoothing the pain that his soul felt, knowing very well what was needed in keeping those flames burning. But his eyes would bring him more unwanted images, as were the works proceeding for the performance of the Ceremony. He could see the other four Soul Towers being risen and knew that they would be ready in time as would be the Dome in the centre of the inverted pentagram, the key point of the Ceremony, that aberration for the glory of the Queen and her Masters. Once the Ceremony finished she would dethrone the Creator and sit at the sides of the power that made her what she was forever sending all realities to utter darkness, for ever broken. It would be a cancer that would spread to all dimensions. And he could do nothing about it, be his soul damned for all time. He sighed. She needed only the Keys and it was only a matter of time until she claimed them as no power upon this earth could oppose hers and the one of her legions. Now the Warmother was coming to put her power and skills to the service of the Queen, her mission in the west side of the war finished. The resistance of the American continent was about to be broken so her presence there was not needed anymore. Arguun sighed and turned around, entering the maze of corridors that crossed Mt. Phoenix from side to side, his thoughts full of despair. He brushed aside a strand of his white hair and looking to his dark skinned hand could see it drenched in perspiration. He clenched it and called to his power, the darkness around him disappearing as red light surrounded his massive frame at the same time heating the cold air around him. He let the power of his aura to warm him. Another thing he loathed; the chilling cold put only for his torture, and that was another of those things he hated, the way they were treating him, all waiting to his last defences to crumble down so he could tell her where to find two of the keys. And he would crack and that would be his end, no longer of use for her. He continued advancing, the meeting hour coming close. Once again they would use the Mirror. He nearly spat thinking on the sick mind that created such artefact. Why would someone create a thing like that... a thing that feeds on souls and blood!? Again a remnant of the Great War when he lost all that mattered for him. When so many things changed and not for good. ------------------------------------------------- He finally arrived to the throne room where golden phoenixes were deeply engraved on the golden walls. The Immortal Bird, the very symbol of that fallen kingdom, looking as if he was everything but the bringer of hope. He quickly looked to the people gathered in the gigantic room. Indeed the room's dimensions were almost awe-inspiring, undoubtedly constructed in the purpose of gathering all of the race of the bird-people while they would hear the words of their God-king. Now all that remained from that proud race were a pitiful number of miserable slaves, the majority of them soldiers and the refugees in Nerima, in the major part women and children. Arguun would feel thankful for this if it wasn't for the fact that Nerima was as damned as was the rest of the world. Quickly he went to his place, a dark corner of the room, his back against one of the phoenixes engraved pillars where he would be able to see all the presents in the room without being recognised. That was all that mattered to him, but he knew that _she_ would always feel where he was. Wasn't he her best general? Wasn't he the equal in rank to Herb her own consort? Wasn't he the one that risen her, taught her all she needed to know? Wasn't he her damned shadow, always ready to serve his Queen? "Yes" was the answer to all those questions even if he wished with every fibre of his being to be able to deny all of them. His eyes roamed the room taking note of who was present. Four of her red robed priests where in her presence, guarding the Mirror. Herb was there of at her side in his glistering golden armour, a sense of triumph in his crimson eyes for being there, in the hall of his once enemies, a feeling that almost no one could see but that he could. The Musk King was as always standing by her side and that always made her smile, smile because it was a reminder of the failure of the dragon line. Also, even if no one could tell apart of himself, Thorn was there. Oh yes, the best of the Queen's assassins was always there as if she was a shadow of her ruler. Thorn, one of the first to pass to the Queen's side in the early days of her reign was one of the deadliest of warriors the Dark School produced. And she was totally mad. Arguun never feared her but he respected her skills, even if limited by her human body and mind already shattered. And those that didn't died in suffering, the victims of her arts begging for death, for deliverance. Of course they didn't received it. The luckiest would die from their wounds even if in an agony like no other, their nerves burned by the raw pain. Those that survived... Would go on living in between life and death, their wills shattered as were their minds in a state worst than Thorn's. With time their bodies would rot, ending with their entire being corrupted. And of course the Queen loved that very aspect of Thorn's art, the utter ruination of God's work even if it was in that little aspect of creation. Arguun eyes returned to his Queen, to the woman he loved as if she was his own daughter, the smallest of his tragedies of his dishonour. She was as always beautiful beyond mortal words. A monster with the face of an angel. He would have almost sighed if in that moment the room started to be crowded and he saw her smile making her even more beautiful. Even a saint would have been tempted by her in that moment. How could someone believe that under that beauty was a soul so twisted and corrupted, so dark that even the utter darkness of the Void would seem bright in comparison? Ah maybe there was her greatest weapon, that lie of goodness and beauty that in one time brought her most of her servants. Yes. There was a time when only the wisest and the most cleaver could see trough that mortal illusion. And when she was for the first time denied... That started all, a small breeze that ended being the grandsire of all storms, the mightiest tempest. But who would have known back then? No one. So there he was: her general in the shadows of the once glorious hall, looking to the one that brought him to the darkness, totally unable to do anything about it. Meanwhile the Queen looked to the people gathering in the hall. Her eyes passed without stopping upon the frame of the slaves kneeling around her nor did her mind wonder once again upon the pleasure of knowing that their minds and souls were shattered, forever pitiful creature reacting only to extreme emotions and, of course, to her desires. Once again her eyes passed without looking upon the different beings gathered in the hall of Mt. Phoenix. Her priests guarding the mirror, Thorn cloaked in shadows guarding her, Herb king of the fallen Musk Dynasty and so much more. And Arguun his black skin blending with the darkness of a forgotten corner of the room making him almost invisible even if the vibrations of his soul ever told her where he was or what he was feeling yet, as always, only emptiness met her senses. Enough of that senseless wandering. For now she had only to wait for the news, at most an hour of waiting. And if her long imprisonment had taught her something it was patience. So she waited. As she supposed it took another hour for the people and beings called to the meeting to arrive to the hall. Then as she knew that the time was right she made a small gesture to Herb. This one nodded and, in a blooming voice demanded silence. At once all save a few dropped to their knees, giving mute tribute to the mightiest being on the world. Between those four walls the slightest mistake could warrant death. Or worst. The Queen simply looked to the ones present and nodded. "Basara." She simply called. Silently a man advanced towards the throne where the Queen sat, bowed once and stood up, a smile dancing on his face. The queen looked to the man in front of her, remembering all they did together before their imprisonment. Handsome with short fiery red hair Basara would appear, if he wanted so, quite charming with a honeyed tongue; always knowing which words to use to make women's hearts to beat faster. The same could be said about men. Basara: Intelligent. Charming. Attentive. Deathly. But above else useful. For her that is. Right now he was in charge of the works on the Towers and the Dome. The last true architect of a long gone age, he alone (apart herself of course) knew how to work with the elements and materials to do what had to be done. And he was enjoying it after their millennia old imprisonment. So here he was: the only one in that room apart from Arguun to be with her since the beginning. The others would soon joint her but right now only Basara's work mattered to her. He neared her a little more and bowed his head once again as his hand moved to his hearth, his white hand brushing his green clothing. "Yes my Queen?" He said in a golden voice. She smiled as ever when speaking with him. "How is the work in the Towers proceeding? And in the Dome?" He passed his hands upon his hair. "As expected the work is going within the time limits. The work upon each of the Towers is nearly finished and the one in the Dome is nearly 80% done, at least on the architectural parts." He paused as if considering other aspects of his work. "The marking of the stones on each of those structures will take some time more, but the ones in charge of that part are working on fine. I can almost guarantee that we will have them ready before the end of the month. "So we are speaking of a work of four weeks?" "More or less my queen. This is a difficult work depending more on precision than in the work itself. Of course having those... Primitive means is slowing us down considerably." He then seemed disgusted about his limitations as if remembering when he had none. "My dear Basara..." She said with a smile that was almost affective even if the man knew that she would never feel the feelings that she was trying to make the people believe that she had. "As always your work is superior to what is expected. Fear not dear friend, even with those "primitive" means you are making well in your mission. You can leave." Basara bowed and, turning his back to his queen, started to exit, but her silvery voice stopped him. He turned to see her and he already knew what she was going to say. She smiled, her eyes gleaming with what he would believe was amusement. "Don't forget to kill the slaves you use. The work needs blood to gain its strength. So kill them, all of them each passing week. Give them as little food and water as you can without stopping the work's pace." Then her eyes glowed red as her smile grew. "I want them to die miserably, their lives spend away in a never ending work. Make then to desire death but be sure to make them to suffer before killing them. I don't care the way you choose while it's pathetic and very painful but do kill them." The she shrugged her shoulders speaking almost to herself a thing that both Arguun and Basara knew to be only an act. As if she cared about those humans. He shrugged. As if they mattered to him. "It's not as if we hadn't slaves to spent," he answered. Basara nodded and silently exited the room ready to do as his queen ordered him. The queen looked at him exit the room and turned to another male member of her court standing almost near the end of the huge room with his arms crossed upon his massive chest. This one had short dark brown hair streaked in white, his cold green eyes shining fro a moment as if knowing that his time had come. "Arus. Come to me." She simply said. Arus smirked slowly made his way towards his queen, the gathered people staying away from his path as he walked towards the smiling woman upon the golden throne. As always an aura of power was around him, chilling the air around him by the coldness of the aura's strength. Called a show off by many none was as foolish enough to say it at his face. After all no one was suicidal and the tall man walking as if time was his was known to kill for matters of lesser importance. So was Arus, a man that betrayed family, nation and race to be able to grasp power, a murdered which ambition was so consuming that, when learning in the School of Shadows, was feared by his comrade. Those who didn't ended generally stabbed in the back. That usually was seen as a valid form of ascension. And he wanted so much more... Several times he had said that it was a pity that he had sold his soul as he couldn't do it again. Yet he had the favour of the queen, his ruthless behaviour serving her cause making him to reach the rank he was in the new order faster than what was usual. Oceans of blood tainted his hands and countless sins darkened his non existent soul yet to him it was a mark, a pride. Unrepentant, his dreams always brought him to the same point: rule at the sides of the queen at Herb's place. But the moment of the confrontation with the Dragon blooded warrior was not to happen in some time. Arus, if anything, respected power. He desired it but knew well his place and he knew that his time would come. But right now it would be suicide: Herb would crush him as a dragon would batter away a molesting fly. Ironically Herb knew it. Indeed he knew! Arus smiled internally as he eyed the Musk king in his golden armour. The Dragon king should be an idiot if he didn't know it, and if Arus knew something it was that Herb was not stupid, the charred remaining of the people that believed so were a testimony of it. But to Arus greatest delight Herb was powerless to harm him as long as he had the favour of the Queen. And the fact that he had been assigned to this very mission was the proof that the Queen counted on him. If he prevailed and accomplished his mission power without limits would be his, beyond Herb's and Arguun's power. But if he failed... Things would not be pretty for him. Yet what was the meaning of having power if you didn't worked to have it? Power was a reward. Nothing more than a way to achieve your goals. His eyes returned to the queen as he arrived to the place where Basara was before. He kneeled and, a fist to upon this heart, rise his eyes to see the Queen. A smile danced upon his lips as he sensed the stares coming from Arguun and Herb. His smile turned wider feeling the shifting in Herb's aura. The crimson eyed lord was not happy; as he was each time they were in the same room. In fact an it was well known that Herb despised Arus by other reasons than the seeming threat the rogue captain posed for the Queen's consort position. The Queen's aura flared once, and all in the room stood still, motionless, thoughtless as their bodies were numb from the power exposed. "Enough of those petty rivalries!" She snapped, her eyes narrowing. "We are at the brink of winning the war and I will not tolerate any possible rift between my forces that may put in danger the Ceremony. Is it clear?" She looked at Herb that simply nodded and then to Arus that remained kneeling. "Arus? Is it clear?" It was clear the she was not happy. Arus swallowed hard and also nodded. It wouldn't do to antagonise the Queen. He wasn't that mad (yet). The Queen smiled and in an almost childlike gesture giggled. "Now that this matter is settled let's go business, shall we?" Arus rose, bowed once, and awaited for the confirmation of his orders. "You Arus, along with a chosen number of creations, will enter the portal that my priests will open. Once there you have to find some of the Keys. I don't care if they are alive or death but bring me them! Once the targets are secured you are allowed to created as much destruction as you see fit. Any question?" she said almost merrily. Arus was silent for a moment. He knew very well who, or better what he was searching, but he preferred to leave sloppy details clear. "Let me get this right: after I've gathered the keys I'm allowed to kill, rape, gut, torture, main and overall destroy everything I wish?" The Queen nodded, smiling. "Yes. But remember that the power of the mirror is limited. And even if you have more than enough time to do as you wish, remember that you have that only limit. Something more?" "No, my Queen. I think I can menage." "Good." Then she signalled two of the red robed priests. "Bring the Reformed here along with the energy source." The cloaked figures bowed once and quickly went to do as they were ordered. After a while guttural sounds could be heard coming from the entrance of the throne room and to the indifferent eyes of the gathered people several dozen dark shapes appeared. As they neared their corporal forms could be seen and the sounds coming from their throats were clearly not human. Not anymore, as they once were. After a while the monsters stopped walking and remained at the centre of the room, just in front of the Queen, Herb, Arus and the Queen's slaves. As they had approached the people that had been present had moved to the sides of the room allowing the Queen to see their shapes perfectly. Arguun could almost feel the dark, raw joy that she experimented each time she saw such perversions, and even if the dark skinned man showed no sign of discomfort to the gruesome vision, within he was feeling only pure repugnance. Originally slaves that were too weak to continue with their physical tasks, those men and women were brought to the pools of Jusenkyou. There they were dunked in those cursed waters time and time again in different pools after the wild magic of Jusenkyou had stabilised itself (as much as it could stabilise) for the first time. At the beginning of the process they were sent splashing in the pool of the Yeti-Riding-A-Bull- Holding-a-Crane-And-A-Heel. That particular pool was somehow able to allow those that ended into its magical waters to add the forms of other pools. From that point to a "tour" of at least twenty different pools. eventually the human mind, already weakened by their lives as slaves would snap, making the victim to loose him/herself into the amalgam of animalistic impulses coming from their new twisted forms; murderous anger and other strong emotion would rule forever the transformed being After that there was a couple of things to do in order to have the perfect killing machine. The final steps were to douse the victims in one of the Musk's magical artefacts, the Chifuson, that would lock the shredded mind in that unnatural form. Anything those monsters could think of was in killing, eating and other gruesome things barely controlled by their masters. Once any human "good" impulse destroyed a special kind of soldier, with several mental aptitudes would link his mind to the one of the now monster becoming actually the master of the beast. There was no other option to control the destroyed minds as the bodies would be such a blend of different animal parts, all of them incompatible. Otherwise it would be a lost of time, the monster totally unsuited for battle. And that was one of the several kind of corruption she enjoyed so much. The voice of his liege brought Arguun again to reality. His eyes moved from the monsters to his mistress. "These are your troops Arus. Make good use of them." Arus nodded once "As I will my Queen." She snapped her fingers, making all in the room to look at her as the once humans grovelled. The priests nodded and started preparing the mirror. The group of priests split and, while some of then disappeared by one of the numerous corridors connected to the room, the others silently started to prepare the elements needed for the use of the Mirror. Not much was needed as the last activation of the mirror was only a few days ago but even so all was done with incredible care. The Mirror itself was not too big, more or less two feet wide but the way of channelling its energy source, along with its results, was more complex. Recent, deeply engraved on the ground and more or less in the middle of the Throne room, a set of lines was in convergence with the place where the mirror would be put. Each of those lines, four in total, parted from the place where the mirror's location would be and connected with a round altar wide enough to hold the body of a child that was sunken on the ground. Then from each of the round altars (themselves connected by another circular line) would start an half circle. Just in the middle of the half circular line would rise another set of circular altars of the right size to hold an adult body easily. Those four adult sized altars would be connected between them with another circle. Along with those lines others started from them that connected with the mirror. This diagram, along with the 12 altars rising from the ground were placed to allow the queen to enjoy all the details of the ceremony that would open a space-time rift to the place already designed. In fact the mirror homed the place where the users of the mirror wanted to go by "feeling" huge amounts of life energy and today, as every year, the destination where the troops would be sent would be saturated by ki. But for the moment the altars were still a part of the ground also awaiting for the words that would make them to rise, the last step in the formation of the bridge between space and time. After the final checking the priests stepped aside of the black box that contained the mirror, awaiting for their comrades to bring the energy source needed. After a moment the rest of the red robed beings appeared from two passage way at the sides of the room. From the left one four children, two boys and two girls stripped to the waist came. None of them could be older than eight or nine years and the four of them had a blank expressions on their faces as their eyes were white. The priests easily moved them along, and like senseless sheeps, without any struggle they followed the simple gestures of the red robed men. From the right one, alongside with the priests, came eight adults. Four men and four women, similarly dressed as the children their faces as emotionless as the children's. The Queen's ministers stopped, conducted the children and adults to the sides of the room and all of them turning to the Queen they awaited for her sign. The Queen, her bare arms upon the golden phoenixes, nodded and smiling ordered to proceed. The two priests that had been standing along the black box then opened the container and, with infinite delicacy, produced the round mirror. As always when showed the mirror seemed to fill the room with pain and despair. Of a deep blue colour, it gave no reflection to the little light of the room. Even the light coming from the torches hanging from the walls failed to be reflected by its smooth surface. In fact it seemed to drink the light that touched it and at the same time seeming to turn darker. Anyway one of the priests took with reverence the mirror by it's metallic lined edges and, handing it to his fellow, closed the box once he took the dark object. The red hooded man slowly walked towards the patterns on the ground and with a delicacy that even surpassed the one of his fellow, put the mirror on the centre of the diagram, the dark slight disc entering its designed place with a "click". That done the man retreated from the place and reunited with his comrade at the sides of the black box. At the same time eight of the priests placed themselves around the outer circle, rising their arms until their palms were facing the ones of their fellows. Then in a low voice, in a language even older than time, they started to chant, their voices a soft as in a lullaby. But even to the ones that didn't understood the tongue in which they were speaking, the sound of it made them to shiver as a feeling of uneasiness washed upon them. As the voices reached their crescendo the mirror started to give off a cold blue white light as if compensating from his lack of reflection. The light moving by the lines connected to the mirror as slowly as molten lava, reaching the first altars. Once circled the liquid light stopped as child sized altars rose from the ground. Then the four of the priest would gather the children in their arms, their innocent faces blank even if, in a way opposed to the peace that seemed to come from their faces, they were crying and their bodies slightly shaking. Unperturbed and flowing at the rhythm of their comrades the priest would gently put the children upon the four altars. As their back touched the cold hard stone they stiffened, their bodies as frozen even if the tears did continue to flow. And if someone would have looked to the adults they would have seen the bodies almost reproducing the children's behaviour, silent tears running along their peace filled visages. The prayer, because it was one, grew in intensity as the priests near the children seemingly drew from nowhere a glistering knife with a curved silvery blade. Smoothly, with a precision that was not human, they sank slowly the knifes on the chest of the children; all of them moving as one as the smile on the Queen's face grew even more as if delighted by some unknown ambrosia. But the red robbed creatures' work was not finished. As easily as they had sank the knife to the hilt they started cutting until they reached the belly button. Then, with a speed that gave no time to the blood to follow the blade as it was pulled out, they started to cut in each of the major blood flow on the children bodies. The blood now free started to fall from the altar mingled along with salty tears. But then the blood, still warm and bright red, instead of going in every direction joined the seeming liquid light turning from white-blue to a dark purple that still gave white light. The four priests as they finished gutting the children's now life-less bodies joined their brothers in their chant. The bloody light continued its way, fuelling each of the lines engraved upon the ground as all the blood of the children bodies was drained by some obscure magical art. But as it reached the eight still sunken altars the same manifestation happened, that is the adult sized altars rising from their earth imprisonment. Their time at hand the adults were carefully placed upon the altars as were the children before, the same effects on their bodies once touching the white marble like stone. And again, as one, the eight remaining priests gutted the silently crying adults. That done the priests that had done the killing joined the dark chant; now all the priests were outside of the last circle, the latest blood mixed with the purple liquid turning it coal black but with silvery light dots cursing trough its surface. But the process wasn't finished. The rhythm of the chant grew, sometimes all the priests singing it separately, other times all at unison as the dark blood continued flowing by the lines, the nexus being the mirror that was no more of a black colour but was more and more white with each passing moment. The singing voices filling the hears of all the presents by it's force, as the silver dots turned into lightning bolts, arcs of electricity that started to flow along the surface of the mirror and upon the flowing blood. The lightening was touching all that was still within the boundaries of the circles around the mirror, a buzz starting to resonate along with the powers gathered within, coming from the once white crystal. Yet the light show started to gather around the death bodies that were resting upon the still risen altars. For a moment they seemed to be drawn by and to the wounds upon the bodies. Indeed for a timeless moment the lightning seemed to probe the dead corpses until, in a roar of light and sound, something seemed to be extirpated from the bodies, something that seemed to be fighting desperately to earn its freedom. A hopeless struggle, as that "something" that seemed to be a ball of some silvery/golden light was finally puled within the smooth surface of the mirror. Immediately, as the dozen balls touched the mirror, the chant ceased when blue light seemed to explode; coming all from the mirror and blinding everyone even if for a short moment. And as everyone expected a dome of white blue light was there awaiting to be used, to bring death and destruction to the placed chosen. Doomed. To Argunn that ceremony could only be qualified as an aberration. It make him want to trew up, empty his stomach on the marbke white floor He knew very well what had been said, what had been given to the Mirror, to feed it and its power. He had to brace himself when he saw the children and their parents, because the adults were always the parents of the children gutted on the altars. It was even worst than what it seemed at first. The drug used to make both parents and children as docile as senseless sheep effectively prevented them to fight or even to do the slightest to defend themselves. But it let them to be perfectly aware of what was going on. For the victim those tears was the only release. The parents had to watch their sons and daughter being killed, sliced in front of them, almost splitting them in half. All that impotence, watching your loved ones being killed, unable to do anything to prevent it! All the raw feelings coming from that; pain, fear, hate, rage, despair, sadness... They were delightful to scum like the Queen or Arus and even to Herb but to Argunn it only made him to wish to die. Arguun's fist clenched, veins bulging under the dark skin. If only it was only the death and suffering. If only. But it was worst. Even as death reclaimed those poor innocents the power of the Mirror, already feed by the blood and the pain coming from the victim of the ceremony, searched for it's source of energy: It's victim's soul. The Mirror fed upon the souls of the sacrificed to its dark power. Forever trapped within the mirror each passing second was torment, an eternity of tortures and unending suffering with no hope of release. Death's deliverance nothing more than the prelude to true agony. The same deliverance that Arguun wished for turned into this! He wanted to scream to the gods about the injustice of it all! And he wasn't able to do even that simple thing. In some sense he was as trapped as the countless souls feeding that mirror. The Queen's words brought him immediately from his inner thoughts. "There Arus. The bridge is done. You know the rest." Arus bowed and smiling ordered his troops to move into the portal. Almost at once the beast troops, the few humans and the mental controllers were entering the pulsing light, fading in it's glowing depths. Arus was ready to follow his troops, but when he was about to step unto the light the Queen's voice sounded once more. "Be careful Arus." He looked back. "We already sent a scout party early this week to test the defences of your destination place. For what we know they were exterminated, and no normal warrior should have been able to stop them." Arus smiled. "I will return triumphant with the keys for your supreme victory, my Queen. Fear not I will not fail." She smiled and definitively her smile wasn't friendly. "Better believe it because if you DO fail don't bother returning Arus. I have no patience for losers. Is it clear?" Arus looked at her, his own smile gone, a look of cold anger burning in his eyes lashed by fear. "Crystal clear your majesty." That said he bowed once and stepped into the light, soon disappearing within the mists of the rift. ------------------------------------------------- Free City of Nerima, at the same time. Ryuken looked to the mirror, while checking his "disguise". He had returned to the place where he had passed the night when arriving to Nerima the first time as it was a place where questions were sparse and he didn't need to interact with other people. Since his meeting with Cologne a week had passed and today was the day when he would face his inner demons. As Cologne said a tournament, like those in Joketsuzoku was to take place; all kind of warriors fighting to have the privilege to face the members of the "Nerima Wrecking Crew" They would all be there. Well; the ones that mattered. The system of the tournament was very easy to understand but the important part was, to put it simple weird to him. In his training in the Hokuto Shin Ken he had participated in uncountable challenges in the land of Shura (5) and all of them were till death of one (and in some cases he had seen both) of the fighters. In this tournament, in a pure Anything Goes style, all kind of martial arts were accepted and the use of weapons was also allowed, but it was forbidden to attack the eyes and lower parts of the body of your adversary. You could loose by ending outside of the fighting area or by loosing consciousness more than ten seconds. Death was, of course, forbidden and if it happened, the killer was disqualified and later interrogated. Fights had no time limit. All in all very basic rules. Ryuken finished shaving, cleaned his face with a towel and looked to the mirror of his room. While he would not disguise what he was, an Hokuto Shin Ken warrior, he would hide who he was. Fortunately that would hide the fact that he was the one that stopped those three mutants in the dojo a week earlier. Too much people had seen him fight and if he wanted to end in the finals, were he would fight the ones of the Nerima wrecking Crew, secrecy was even more important than before. No he would only say who he was when facing Ryouga and the others. He only hoped that his disguise would last until facing pig man. In the week or so since deciding to take part in that childlike play that here was called tournament (when you have taken part in a tournament like the ones in Shura any other martial arts competition were death was not allowed is like a children play, not to say boring as hell) he had searched a way to change his physical aspect. Finally he had done one simple change. Going to what seemed a drugstore, he found what he was searching. The idea came from one of those half forgotten memories of when he was cursed. Generally all of his memories of that damned time were useless and that particular one, of when he needed to disguise his female half, had made him hung his head in shame thinking that he had been so idiotic. What could someone do when desperate. Anyway he found what he was searching. Some hair dying product. Money wasn't a problem as what would have been considered as precious (gold, jewels and other) was since long forgotten as a measure of wealth in his home dimension. The truth was that for the world he was right now he was quite wealthy as the Hokuto Temple had enough financial treasures to last several lives. When dying his hair for the first time all of that seemed strange to him, almost alien, but finally he had achieved to look like another being, while being comfortable with his aspect. Blond hair now replaced in raven locks. He finished the change with some stimulation thanks to some combination of hikus and the use of some burst of his aura. Now that golden colour seemed natural but deep inside he was almost disgusted by it all not for the change but for the reason of it Fortunately, as a sort of comforting thought, he knew that he could turn again to his natural hair colour with only rising his defensive aura. His eyes presented some other dilemma. The change to golden was something that he could barely control and even with his blue eyes someone looking attentively could see it gleaming golden when the light of the sun touched him. He would have to control his death aura more strongly than before. To help him hide it all her had purchased some dark glasses, allowed by the tournament rules. As he looked to the mirror he could see, with some satisfaction, that even with such a little change -black to golden- his overall aspect was quite different form his original self. All of it would disappear once the time was right, and that moment was in only a few hours. He turned to his bed where the last of his "change" was. From the Hokuto Temple he had brought with him, before departing from his family and home dimension, some of his father's old clothing. Now, some minutes later, as he was going to exit his room in the refuge for the newcomers coming to live in Nerima he glanced to the mirror before closing the door. Dark leather boots matching his even darker pants and a leather sleeveless jacked barely reflected the dim light. All in black and steel, the only colour disrupting the severity of the black outfit was a sleeveless red shirt. He let even a sort of smile cross his lips as he looked to his hair. It really seemed natural. No one would know that it was a dye. Really a good work. He put the last detail to complete his disguise, the pair of dark glasses as he nodded to himself. Perfect. "Let's go killer. World beware; here I come!" He said jokingly to himself. Silent as death he exited the room, closed the door and walked to the exit of the refuge, people stepping from his path, not knowing why but instinctively knowing better than to be on his way. ------------------------------------------------- This time it was definitively easier to Ryuken to find his way as a literal mob of people was moving towards the place were the tournament was going to take place. He was walking in the flow of humanity as he discovered new faces of this new Nerima, things that reminded him of places he had himself seen in his travels while being under Kenshiro's tutelage. Slowly the streets of Nerima changed from what he remembered them to be;, the narrow streets turning wider but still as full of people as more men, women and children marched towards the place of the meeting. Ryuken was pleased to hear the people talking, joyful sounds coming to his ears and he let himself be bathed by it, enjoying those sounds that were so different from the noises of agonising humans, of broken bones and fists smashing flesh, noises all to well known to the current Hokuto Shin Ken Heir. After some time the mob arrived to the place where this martial arts meeting was going to take place and to say the last Ryuken was impressed. Before him stood what seemed a copy of the Coliseum of Rome, that he had seen in those images when Kenshiro taught a younger Ranma the history of his world, surprisingly similar from the one of the world from where a younger Ryuken came of. Immense, overwhelming, a good part of the old (and new) populace of Nerima could enter in that place. Ryuken stopped when the crowd he was in arrived to the surrounding area of the Coliseum and started to look for the entrance to the ones wishing to fight in the event. It was more easy than what he had guessed as groups of what he thought were the judges were shouting to the fighters to move towards some of the other entrances of that monument to the art of fighting. Soon, as he moved passing by men and woman of all races, he arrived to one of the entrances and put himself in the and braced himself for the waiting as the number of fighters was astonishing. But as time passed he moved until came his moment to sign. Without looking at him the functionary that was in charge of the register of the entrance (this one, Ryuken learned before was one designed with the letter "D") asked with a bored voice: "Name?" Ryuken had expected that question and came had thought about it. He couldn't use his name nor the one of Ranma so he had chosen another. His voice was soft but still the man heard him clearly. "Kenshiro" "Kenshiro, eh? Well..." Still without rising his eyes to look at him, his hand moved swiftly, writing the name on a list in front of him. "The name of your Ryu/School?" "Hokuto Shin Ken." Said the youth without even trying to come with another name for his art. Hiding himself was one thing but his school never! "Uff," snorted the man. "Very well Kenshiro of the Hokuto Shin ken school. Go straight until you find the personal in charge of directing the fights of classification. You can't miss them as they will find you. Now Move!" Ryuken simply nodded and started to move as he entered with other warriors. The man simply muttered "Another hot shot martial artist with a weird school... all crazy. 'Will not pass even the first round." Then as he sighed, his mind wandering on the injustice that put him in that place. "Next!" ------------------------------------------------- It was one of those days full of surprises it seemed. When Ryuken had left the man responsible of checking the fighters entering in the Coliseum he made as he was told and soon found the ones in charge of the inner organisation of the tournament. Strangely he was lead, along with several other fighters, to some elevator that took them down, to some underground complex. When the doors of the elevator opened, light filled the small space of the until seconds before descending cabine. When he and the other fighters stepped outside of the elevator they could see that they were in one of the entrances to the "room" where the selection fights were to take place. Ryuken slowly moved, blending with the numerous people gathered in there all looking to their surroundings. He slowly whistled looking to the infrastructure of the room. Simply it was impossible to not be impressed by the human power that had been needed to made the Coliseum and the underground zone where he was now and he guessed that this was only one part of the underground complex of the monument where he was in. More than a hundred people were gathered around some eight areas of fighting all made of stone at a chest level, allowing those wanting to see the fights to do so perfectly but for now there was no one in those rectangular platforms. His gaze moved to the people waiting as he was for the judges to start the fights, but to be honest Ryuken wasn't pressed to start with that senseless exchange of blows. No; the important thing for him, for his own inner peace, was the fights that would oppose him to the people which once he lived with. He spotted a lonely place, near one of the walls, where he could wait to what would happen in the gigantic room in a sort of tranquillity. He moved to it and soon was sitting his legs crossed extended in the most comfortable way he could find, sighing in contentment. Well, nothing to do but be patient and he closed his eyes to take a nap. A time latter, his eyes snapped as a sound overwhelm the sound of the voices of the participants. His eyes moved quickly, noticing that the number of people gathered with him had grew significantly, at least a couple of hundreds of fighters were gathered in there. Along that several structures had been disposed, probably to allow the judges to speak under the eyes of all the people there Soon the sound (that came from the audio system of the room) disappeared and all the gazes turned to the main structure had been formed, a set of speaker put there to allow the voices of the judges to reach all the immense room. Ryuken looked to the structures that had appeared during his little nap and his eyes immediately fell upon the group of gathered judges, easily recognisable thanks to their black outfits. After a while some of the men in that group moved to take place upon the central podium and his eyes widened slightly when he recognised one of the people taking place in that stand, in fact that person took the main microphone and started to speak, showing clearly his status of leader of the judges gathered there. He knew that man. Indeed it was the old "good doctor" speaking to the fighters in the room that were now looking at him with unveiled interest, some of them glancing to some panels being installed near the auditorium as some huge urns were installed. "Gentlemen and ladies," said Tofuu with his voice direct and cold, without any hint of humour in it as his glasses gleamed due to the artificial light of the room. "Welcome to the third tournament of the City of Nerima. Before anything let me tell you that we are proud to say that the number of fighters this year is greater than the one of two years ago." He paused for a moment as he moved up his glasses, still gleaming hiding his eyes. "This is an event like no other. Many of the ones that were in past years are no longer with us, fallen comrades in the fight against the Queen and her armies. As you all know those of you that achieve to arrive to the finals will be selected for special missions from which a great numbers of lives depend." Again he paused as pleased by the silence of the room. The proof that those inside of it knew the seriousness of the situation. He continued after judging that his words had had the desired effect "And of curse the champion will have the privilege of fighting the members of the Nerima Wrecking Crew if he or she chooses to do so." In this last thing there was as a note of amusement, as if all of that was a secret joke that only few could understand." He cleared his voice, drank a little of water from a nearby glass and once again started speaking. "For those of you, new to the rules of the fighting I will announce them." Another pause. "The matches in this first part will be of a time limit of ten minutes. You can win if your adversary looses consciousness, surrenders or end outside of the fighting area. Blows to personal parts as well as to the eyes are sanctioned with a direct elimination. Apart from that death is the only thing sanctioned. In any other thing Anything Goes rules." He stopped for a moment almost as if he was about to remember something. Then as a smile crept upon his lips he spoke. "Ah! Yes. Dear ladies, if per chance there is between you any Amazon remember that the laws about the Kiss of Marriage and the one of Death aren't valid. The same goes to you gentlemen: don't expect to find a cute girlfriend once you defeated an amazon. Don't expect to be able to do it either." The last set of rules made some of the crowd to laugh or to some, both male and female to swore. Then Tofuu gestured towards the panels and urns. "Each and all of you will be called by your name and will be asked to draw a number from one of those urns. That number will put you in one of the eight groups represented in those panels. Only one of the fighters of that group will pass to the upper fights, those ones public. The winner will be elected champion of the tournament and will fight the Nerima Wrecking Crew if he feels to be of the right level to do so." He paused. "This is all. In brief moments each of you will be called, good luck." With that said Tofuu stepped from the auditorium and using a nearby door, exited the room. Soon, as the doctor said names started sounding from the speakers and the people gathered in the room moved to take their number. Ryuken simply remained where he had been sitting since arriving to the room as he thought about the scene that had taken places just moments ago. He had changed from the kind man that took care of him when living in Nerima. Apart from Kasumi the only one that never judged him or expected something of him. Tofuu seemed to enjoy being there to help the young man that was Ryuken in those times. Young, innocent and hurting. But in the "Doc" he found one of the few friends he made in both of his lives, and Ryuken that was still Ranma, regretted the changes he had seen in the one that was his friend. Gone was the tenderness of an healer born, of a man that when ga-ga every time Kasumi was mentioned (to the danger of the people nearby.) Now, even if strangely Tofuu hadn't aged so much, looking now as a fit man of some thirty years, a more cold and clinical behaviour marked him; Ryuken recognised those changes. And their reason to be: pain and suffering as only those two things could change a man in that way. What had happened to him? And what changes could he expect in the people with which he had lived? What happened? Ryuken sighed. He stopped his mental thoughts. He closed his eyes, hidden by his shades. As ever when remembering that moment the pain came to him. That pain alive, a force crushing all his tries of fighting back as fire cursed trough his body as it was destroyed to be send to the world where his destiny was awaiting him. That phantom pain that shielded him from other pains, that phantom pain that spawned the being that he was now... That phantom pain that would be put at rest today once his fist had smashed Mousse and Kuno... But more than anything when he had at last he would face Ryouga and the pig man would be as his feet his strength and live of lies crushed. Once that done he would sever any tie he had with that group, those ghosts of a long gone past. In his mind a sad laugh sounded. Enough. Enough. He was so in his thoughts that he barely registered that he was called. Slowly but with a grace that drew some stares to him, he rose and quietly marched towards the urn assigned to the ones entering by the gate from which he accessed the Coliseum. Once there he looked to the judges. One of them was with a list and called aloud once more to be sure that the man standing in front of him was the right one. "Kenshiro of the Hokuto Shin Ken School?" The dark leather clad man looked at him and nodded as he spoke slowly. "Yes." The judge marked Ryuken entrance as the Hokuto Shin Ken Heir drew his number. Ryuken looked at it, then handed the marked piece of paper to another judge. "Kenshiro, number 117; group E. Please go to the fighting area E, sir." The now blond haired Heir nodded once and moved to the area assigned to his group and as he did before choose a spot where he could wait, sitting, to his call. ------------------------------------------------- He was bored. It seemed that his number was to never been called and since the starting of the fights he wished to be out of the place. He was about to do something, say go and see the fights, but he simply found it a lost of time and energy. But finally he was called. With that thought he rose up, stretched dramatically and even yawned as if it was the most natural reaction when to enter a fight. He neared the fighting area and, with a small jump, was in the tatami where his adversary was waiting for him. The referee was also waiting for Ryuken and nodded once the leather clad warrior stepped on the fighting area. "Number 117 Vs number 101. Ready?" Ryuken nodded as his adversary turned to bow to the referee. Once the man knew that both fighters were ready he stepped outside of the area and as he looked to both of the men standing face to face he nodded to another of the judges. This one shouted with a voice like thunder. "Fight!!" The man in front of Ryuken, of Caucasian complexity and bare chested unwrapped a whip that seemed made of metal that he had around his arm and made some swings with it, his body moving at the rhythm of his weapon. Some of the fighters around the fighting area showed some surprise seeing how the whip, each time it touched the stone ground of the tatami made the stone crack. Meanwhile the man as he finished his exercises of control upon his weapon decided the attack. After all the man in front of him reacted as if he was moving too quickly to follow his moves, not that it surprised him as he had once cut a man in half without this one reacting to it; the attack being so quick. His green eyes widened and with a loud kiai send his whip straight towards Ryuken's face that stood there unmoving as if alone in the room. Several of the spectators were sure that the man in black leather was about to receive the blunt of the attack, and with an attack like that it could only meant the end of the fight. But when the whip was only mere inches from his face he rise an arm an blocked the whip, that snapped with a metallic sound as it warped around his forearm. As Ryuken expected the whip curled itself on his arm and with only a minimum effort he pulled and along the whip also the fighter that was on the other side of the weapon. The whip wielder fighter let a startling shout before realising that he was flying towards Ryuken. This one, with the same lazy way he had to move, braced himself, moved to a standard stance and when the flying man was within his range punched once. The fighter number 101 felt like a sledgehammer had smashed his face, sending him flying. Flying outside of the area of fighting just before he impacted against a nearby wall, unconscious, his mind already in la-la-land. Ryuken simply stepped out of the tatami and returned to his spot to continue his nap as all the looks were fixated in him and in the way he dealt with the whip wielder. His last thought before closing his eyes was made of only one word. ------------------------------------------------- In the following three hours Ryuken had to face a great number of fighters each of them powerful masters of their own arts. But each of them ended outside of the area as to the Hokuto Heir it was the way to end the fights in the quickest way possible with the smaller amounts of pain for the expelled fighters. Soon people grew wary of him and the incredible ease that he had to counter any martial art send against him. A Kenpo grandmaster was slapped twice as his fist was gently deflected seconds before being back handed. When the man recovered from the slapping (that almost made his jaw to explode) he send a roundhouse kick that Ryuken gripped and used to send the man flying out of the fighting area in one move. A Sumo Oyabun pretended to blast the young Hokuto Heir out of the area but found that it was easier to empty the seven seas with a spoon than to do so. He realised it just before being tossed as a rag doll by the man that had grabbed him by his waist. Then with a display of inhuman strength he was send crashing against the wall that was beginning to feel the strain of all the fighters that were dealt alike. The only fight Ryuken took more seriously was when facing an Aikido practitioner, and curiously it was the last before the next round of the tournament. Both Ryuken and the girl facing him were the last of their group, the eliminated fighters looking at them from the side lines. As it was a very young girl maybe not even sixteen with dark hair tied in q short ponytail with a red string yet some strands of black hair would fall, framing her face. She had white creamy skin that made her black eyes more What really called Ryuken's attention was her age. Differently form his other opponents that were all clearly older and more experimented fighters she was so young that she almost seemed out of place facing him. To come so far in what Ryuken considered almost a game still impressed him. So he choose to make what he would have done in a true combat, really fight his opponent but always taking in count his or her possible strength. He would make that fight different, still short, but different. It was also to show to the ones he defeated, that were looking to him with gazes not so kind, what he was capable of, what they had faced. The girl assumed a defensive stance, inherent to the teachings of her martial art, and prepared herself to fight her opponent that, from what she had seen in his previous fights, was definitively stronger than she. But she wasn't afraid. After all her art specialised in using your opponent's strength against him. So she stood there, a white lily, a strand of her black hair crossing her cheek. But even with all her preparation she wasn't ready when the man disappeared from her sight, not even leaving a blur in his wake. She only instinctively moved to her right side waiting for the strike. But there was none. After a moment she relaxed her defensive stance and started to look for her mysterious rival, the last step before the next level of the tournament. But where could he be? From the startled voices of the people watching the fight they had the same reaction and the same question in their minds. Where the heck is he? The young girl moved continuously in the hopes of avoiding any strike that she knew could be fatal for her hopes of entering the finals. So she was surprised that instead of the blow she was sure to receive she felt a light tap on her left shoulder and a soft voice that whispered in her ear just before darkness claimed her. The last thing she was aware was of a light presion in her back, trough to fabric of her kimono. "Sweet dreams, princess." ------------------------------------------------- It had been almost too easy to Ryuken to move with a speed so fast that not even a blur or an afterimage was given, simply using his power in a subtle way to mask those details that would have shown where he was. He almost regretted to defeat that young girl. After all he could have chosen another way to deal with the problem of approaching the others but as he was now, fully integrated to that "game" it was too late. He regretted it but it was necessary. He simply would have to make it up to that girl after the fight. Right now he had to put her out of consciousness. He couldn't help but to feel somehow amused by her tries to prevent his attack, not wanting to loose... He understood her very well as he would have reacted alike at her place, but that wasn't enough to stop him of pressing the tsubo. He reappeared behind her, soundlessly in the way of the killers of the Great Bear and before any had the time to make her realise that he was behind her he lightly tapped on her left shoulder as he whispered a kind of excuse to the girl. "Sweet dreams, princess." He pressed the hiku, the girl falling like a stringless puppet. He caught her to prevent any harm and put her lightly and as carefully as he could in the ground. He sat and waited for the judge to count. This one, as surprised by the change of strategy in the combat as by the display of speed, started to count, the procedure when one of the fighters had lost consciousness. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, TEN!" One of the other judges exclaimed "Fighter 117, Kenshiro of the Hokuto Shin Ken school classified for the final part of the Nerima championship." Ryuken simply watched as the paramedics came to take care of the young girl and as they were about to exit the fighting space Ryuken took one of them by his wrist. "I wish to be by her side once she recovers. Is there any problem?" The medic glanced to his companion who briefly nodded. No way would they challenge his right to be where he wanted. Not after looking how he fought against all those fighters. Ryuken nodded and simply followed them. ------------------------------------------------- The first thing Arashi saw when opening her eyes was a ceiling. Her mind was a little disoriented. The last thing she remembered was... She bolted "I lost!" At once sadness washed upon her. She had been so near passing to the finals, to achieve her dream. "How could I loose... I was so near..." Her eyes started to water. "I'm sorry" said a soft voice. She whirled and sharply looked to her side. She was so deep in her feelings that she not even bothered looking if she was alone. She looked to the one that was with her. Dark leather clothing and red shirt. Dark boots and arms bracers. Steel protections. Golden hair and dark glasses. "YOU!" she growled before jumping from the bed and launching a flurry of punches, fury in her system. The man not even bothered moving from the place where he was sitting legs crossed. But when she was within range he slowly used his crossed leg to, with a speed that made his foot to blur, kick both of Arashi wrists. The touch was light but she could feel how her arm's muscles started to lock. Even so she continued attacking, this time with a flying kick. But once again, from his relaxed position, his foot flashed making her attack to be redirected to one side, making Arashi to loose her equilibrium, stumbling towards him with a shout of surprise. Her panic only lasted a second until a powerful arm took her, holding her body and preventing any harm. She struggled against him, her wounded pride refusing to allow the one that crushed her dreams to help her as tears of impotence flooded from her eyes. "YOU BASTARD!!" For a time she continued insulting him until she collapsed crying as he hugged her; silently letting her to relive her feelings. After a time she stopped and noticed that she could move her arms. She wiped her tears. "Better?" he asked in the softest voice she had ever heard, warming her with feelings of comfort. She could only nod. "I'm sorry." He simply said and she could feel that he was telling the truth. She looked at him and it was with some surprise that she looked to his eyes, now free of his shades, blue with a sort of golden glimmer. She sighed and making some space between them bowed. "No. I'm the one that should be asking forgiveness. You defeated me fare and square and the way that I acted was unfitting of a martial artist." She looked at him and could see, with some surprise that he was smiling. "I think that this talks a lot in your favour. But even so I must ask you forgiveness. To you this tournament means a lot but to me, to be honest, it means little." To say that she was shocked was am understatement. But if that was so then why did he took part of it? "How could this be? To any fighter this tournament, to be deemed worthy to face the members of the Nerima Wrecking Crew is one of the biggest honours one can have in this city!" He sat and cross legged motioned to Arashi to do the same. Once she sat he spoke. "That may be so but Nerima is nothing more than a step in my way. To me the only think for which I'm in this match is that it will give me the opportunity to face what you call the "Wrecking crew"." "And that why?" He sighed. "Because a long time ago I was..." He paused as of considering something. When he spoke again it was as if he had came to a decision. "I'm sorry but I can say it. instead let me ask you this: if you had been betrayed by people you considered your friends, by people that you kept forgiving time and time again and then defeated by a cheap trick and left to die what would you do to them?" She remained silent, knowing somehow that her answer was important in a strange way. As if she was privy to a dark secret upon its answer hang several lives. "I don't know. I don't think that I'm the right being to be asked that kind of question. "Thought so..." He almost whispered as he closed his eyes. "But..." He looked back at her. "I think that it depends on what they have made since that betrayal." "What do you mean?" He asked those blue golden eyes of his not wavering as he locked them upon her. She wasn't afraid even if she knew that there was something terrible in those eyes, something that told her of suffering and destruction. She wasn't afraid because in that moment what those eyes held was nothing as terrible but instead they were warm and also curious of what she could tell him. "I think that if they had made something to atone for that act, or if they had sufferedd the consequenses, maybe there is a way to them to find forgiveness." He remained silent for a moment as if pondering what the young woman had said. Finally he nodded slowly. "Maybe you're right. But I will know it only when the time is right." He paused, his eyes now closed. Then he breathed deeply, as if savouring something that was beyond Arashi's knowledge. He slowly spoke almost to himself as his right hand moved towards his chest, resting upon his heart, as of feeling something. "Oh father..." and his voice was filled with sadness. "Why is all of this so complicated? Why so much pain? Is this what you felt when facing your brothers? The feeling of never ending to this senseless pain, this senseless struggle?" He slowly released his breath, his muscles relaxing. Then he shook his head and looked once again to Arashi, this one feeling awkward as if she had seen something that no one should see from this man, that incredible sadness that seemed to make him wise but not enough to release himself from his inner battles. Then he rose and turned towards the door but before opening the it and exit the room he turned towards her and with a small smile he spoke. "I'm sorry from preventing you from reaching your dream princess... I had no right to do that and if I could change things I would do so. If it helps you know that you will be a great martial artist, never doubt that." Then he exited the room leaving behind a very confused girl. Arashi quickly rose and exited the room with the hopes of catching him, not knowing why but with the impulse of talking more with him, to know more of him. But he was no where near the room as if he had vanished as a ghost, silently, leaving no traces of his presence, no one but the maddening beat of her heart. "I must see the next fights." She said to herself. If things resulted as she thought then she was about to see fights dwarfing anything that she had saw before. She rushed to met with her friends. ------------------------------------------------- Ryuken slowly walked to the meeting point where he would find his other rivals. From time to time he would ask some judge the way as the in immensity of the complex within the Coliseum still disoriented him. But as his booted feet barely made a sound he was again thinking on the next hours when he would find if he could let his past life behind before confronting what destiny had in store to him. He thought of his last twenty years and more of life, of how the natural and supernatural marked both of his lives. Was he already marked by the Great Dipper's destiny when he lived as Ranma Saotome? By war and suffering? By the possibility of being who -what- he was? So many questions... So many possibilities... He arrived to the gathering place in the upper level of the Coliseum. It was a large rectangular room with all the possible commodities for the waiting warriors. there was even a little bar with several glasses and bottles for their use. Several chairs had been disposed there for their comfort . In one side of the room was a corridor that Ryuken suposed to be connected with the fighting arena of the Coliseum. The sun's light was purring from it giving enough natural light to give the room a more warm feeling than what the artificial one of the room would have given. Near the exit a panel had been disposed showing the blank diagram of the fights, as the fighters' names were still to be written. Right now he wasn't interested in the... six gathered fighters. What he wanted was to walk towards one of those inviting seats and let it swallow him, holding him, shaping itself to his body's muscles. He did so, and sank deeply in the farthest to the assembled warriors. For a moment he let his eyes look to the ceiling without really looking at it, letting his mind to drift, disconnected from his surroundings, wandering as a vagrant without a bound to the world to any being... His breath passing trough his lips in a soundless sound. He slowly started to focus, almost in an unconsious way, in the beating of his heart, of the quick rush of his blood flowing in his veins. His mind drifted going backwards in time, that endless serpent, its rings surrounding all things from Eternity. Time... Memories... Once again he was Ranma, once again he was facing Kenshiro in one of their last fights they had, one that went for days. How he had enjoyed those days testing himself against the mightiest warrior to ever walk the earth! He could remember the glimmer of joy and pride his father had for him, how he himself enjoyed being tested against the warrior he had helped forging. They had fought with so much passion! With so much power! With so much energy! The elements raging between and around the two warriors, the last remaining users of the Hokuto Shoke of a resurrecting world. Rocks flying, thunder smashing the earth as it was torn apart by their blows, wind blowing all around them, all of nature unchained in all its magnificent glory as if God was with them, taking pleasure in the fight, as if they were His avatars as blood was spilled from both of them, Father and Son, focused in the other. At the end the fight was a draw. They both had stayed panting turned back to back, resting onto each other as their wounds closed in a typical Hokuto fashion but more Slowly. Each of them had a warm smile in their faces even if their bodies hurt down to his last atom. His mind again wondered trough the flow of time until returning to the present. Ryuken now felt refreshed and happy. Maybe it all reduced to one concept: Life had its bad moments, moments like his banishment, moment that shattered his life, but those dark moments were the ones that made the good ones to shine more brightly. To him his miserable life in Nerima was wiped away by his life with Ken. Now, more than ever, he shunned from his life in the Tendo dojo and before when he was with that sick excuse for a father called Genma Saotome. Ryuken; Ranma Saotome embraced even more (if that was possible) his present life. His present incarnation. But even this acceptance didn't made him forget the betrayal he suffered. It seemed something that would never let him be. Why couldn't he shake the feeling that things wouldn't be as easy as he wanted then to be? In that moment he could feel the different judges, between them Tofuu, enter the room. He slowly got up and neared the little group of selected fighters. Tofuu stopped and nodded to his helpers before talking to the gathered martial artists there. "Congratulation to all of you that wave passed the first round of elimination." He adjusted his glasses and gestured for the panel near him, the one near the exit, two fellow judges near it, Ryuken noticed that they had put two urns near the panel surely while he was remembering better days. "In here are designed the fights in which you are all to take part. Once the referee calls you please pick up one of the balls in the red urn. It will be marked with a number, the rest I believe you can deduce." He took a list that one of his assistants gave him. "Lets see... Laeya?" He looked up, smiling. "Here." Called a sweet voice. All the presents looked to the answering girl. Ryuken looked at her, mildly curious about the people that he would fight in the next hours. Amazon he could tell, with a good control upon her body from the way she moved as well as a good hold on her ki that he could feel. Dark hair tied in a braid that reached to her midback and brown eyes that seemed to sparkle with mischief. A pair of katanas were strapped on her back and for the way the gleamed she took good care of them. "So you did it," said Tofuu with a smile as Laeya put her hand in the red urn and started moving the balls in there while she answered. "Yes! I just hope that to make it up to Coral and Ranko!" Tofuu nodded in a knowing way Finally she handed the ball to Tofuu who grabbed it. "Laeya, number four." She frowned a little but quickly smiled as her name was being written in the panel. Then she moved back to allow the other fighters to proceed. For the next ten minutes Tofuu called the different warriors gathered there, sometimes giving some words of congratulation to the ones he knew. Then Tofuu once more looked to his list and for a moment he seemed to show some unknown expression. After some moments of silence he rose his head and spoke. "Kenshiro of the" he paused again as if to check it "Hokuto Shin Ken School?" Ono look to the gathered people and his eyebrow rise when Ryuken left the place where he had been sitting while waiting for the calling. Once he was near Tofuu one of the referee presented him the urn with the numbered balls. Silently the Hokuto Heir drew his number and checked it, that done he handed it to Tofuu. The once Nerimian doctor glanced to the number, noted it and said it aloud: "Kenshiro; number six. He will face Kanill on the third fight." Said man, Kanill, stopped speaking whit two other warriors to look at Ryuken in a clear try in try to gauge the strength of his opponent. But apparently wasn't able to do so by the way how he clenched his fists, the muscles under dark skin rippling before turning his attention again to the two twins that had stopped speaking when Kanill had look at Ryuken. Ryuken simply nodded once but before he had the chance to return to his place Tofu's voice sounded, calling him. Ryuken looked back at him noticing that Tofuu had been looking at him as if examining something. For one moment they stood there unmoving until Tofuu, with a voice that showed some doubt, asked something that bothered him since looking to the young man. "Do we know each other?" For some moment Ryuken remained without answering to the question... A long moment of silence before doing so softly. As if in regret. "No. I don't think so sir." That said and without awaiting to any answer from the older man he returned to his sitting place while he could still feel the strength of Tofuu's gaze upon him. Yet it mattered little to him, soundlessly sitting on the place where he was before. Tofuu restrained himself from saying anything, yet his eyes never left the young man as he returned to his sitting place looking as of nothing of this tournament bothered him. It was almost as if being there, even on the verge of starting the part of the tournament open to the public meant nothing to him Since Cologne had asked him to check on any man going by the teachings of an until now unknown school of martial arts denominated Hokuto Shin Ken he had been slightly curious about it. Tofuu prided himself of being able to read much of Cologne's intentions and true objectives but there was something in that request that was stranger from anything that Cologne had asked him to do since the time they started to work together. He had agree to do as she asked, that is informing her as soon as possible who presented himself with that school of martial arts, without any question about that strange plead from the once amazon elder. But now his own curiosity was aroused as he couldn't shake the feeling that he knew that young man; "Kenshiro". There was something in that man... Something that seemed to call to some deep part of his mind. On a whim he tried to check the aura of this stranger and quickly, with the easiness of someone that was used to use his skills that way, changed his perception to be able to do see the aura of the young man. It was with a surprise that he could see nothing! Well not nothing as there was "something" there... But it couldn't be possible to do what he was seeing! Because the young man was containing the vibrations of his aura, of his ki and that task, done so effortlessly, spoke of a mastery upon his own body, upon his own soul that was so far beyond what was mortally possible that for some moments Tofuu's mind reeled. Who was that man and why Tofuu couldn't chase the feeling that he knew him? How powerful was he to do something so way beyond human limits that it should be totally impossible to do so by a mortal? Yet one thing was sure the young man was hiding something, if not then why hide his aura to that level? What secret was he protecting? Tofuu shook his head, no need to waste time now. That "Kenshiro" (if that was his name) was going to take part of the tournament and he would have more than enough time to solve the mystery that represented the young man. He quickly looked down to see the last name on his list and his blood ran cold before burning with an anger that he barely restrained. He had dared to present himself to the tournament?!! "Xaran?" He asked his voice as cold as ice, "present yourself." The name seemed to make the temperature of the room to drop as almost everyone seemed to radiate a cold aura of fury. All but Ryuken that looked to the display with little curiosity as he wondered what was going on. That was when a naughty laugh sounded coming from everywhere in the room. It was a sound that was the antithesis of a good hearted laugh, a sound that negated all that was kind and generous in a human soul. As soon as the presence showed himself in that fashion Ryuken could pick the dark vibrations of that aura. A man seemed to step outside of the darkness of the room as if being a part of it. The man was naked from waist up, his tanned skin showing numerous scars criss-crossing his skin. A long black tattoo covered his entire left arm rising as flames that would cover half of his face in the likeness of a predator. His dark pants and dark boots making no sound as he moved towards the once nerimian quiropractor, gliding across the stone ground as if he was a big stalking predatory cat, each movements contained but powerful, lethal. As he moved the gathered warriors, minus Ryuken that still sat in the leather chair, closed around Tofuu in a semi circle, their attitude clearly protective as Ryuken could see from his shadowed corner. Xaran stopped, none of the fighter protecting Tofuu making a sound yet most of them were by the time Xaran was facing Tofuu releasing some battle aura filling the room with energy, almost as if it was suddenly filled with electricity a storm about to explode. The tattooed man sneered, showing a pair of fangs that would have stood Ryouga's. He moved his head to the side, his dark long free hair hiding the part of his face clear of the tattoo as he moved his hand to the urn, taking a number. He looked to the number, his unhidden eye gleaming coldly as he showed the ball to Tofuu. "Number 3 doc. " Laeya hissed but Tofuu still holding his own clear gaze with Xaran's slowly nodded and inn a voice that was as hard as still repeated. "Xaran number three, will face Laeya in the second fight." The referee that was charged of appointing the names suddenly realised that Tofuu had spoken and quickly wrote the name, his hand shaking. To Ryuken's senses the man was swallowed in a cloud of his own fear. Xaran roared in laughter, a sound that seemed to call all the darkness of the room and slowly walked towards Laeya. The dark haired girl's body was starting to show her fighting aura that from her anger was turning bloody red. The tanned man stopped mere feet separating them as Laeya's aura grew even more. It was clear to Ryuken that if she hadn't lashed out against the tall man it was only due to a fantastic control of her emotions. Her aura was, to Ryuken's eyes, shining with killing ki, nowhere near his level of course, that would have been like comparing a grain of sand with the Himalayas, but still impressive in its own rights. Also interesting was that almost all the people in the room where sharing that killing need against that man. Xaran bowed mockingly. "My you have grown rather nicely since the last time that I have seen you..." He licked his lips. "Your almost as beautiful as your neesan now! So tell me how is doing Mirya?" Laeya's aura exploded in an orgy of anger fuelled ki and she was suddenly lashing out with her fist. Xaran laughed and answered in kind, preparing himself to strike back. "ENOUGH!" Tofu shouted, his voice commanding, stopping both fighters in their attacks. Laeya's aura flickered out of existence, her face showing that if she was restraining herself it was only by respect to Tofuu. Xaran said nothing as he crossed his arms upon his chest, but his face showed clearly his satisfaction. Tofuu advanced his eyes moving between both fighters. "Any confrontation is forbidden outside of the fights of the tournament! Any other fight is sanctioned with the disqualification of the tournament." "Why thank you doc! if it wasn't for you that little bitch..." "You..." Started Laeya, fist white by the pressure in them. "Enough!" Shouted again Tofuu. "Laeya I know your feelings," he said as his eyes gleamed looking at Xaran. "But right now he is protected by the laws of our city. Anyone taking part of the tournament is under an amnesty. I feel like you but right now he is not within law's reach." "And if he wins this tournament he will be forgiven of his crimes! You know how strong he is. My sister will never be avenged because he will be forgiven before justice's eyes! You can't let this be Tofuu. You can't!" Tofuu's gaze softened. "I'm sorry Laeya, but the law is the law. I can't do anything about it. and there is nothing that says that he will be the winner..." For one moment Ryuken believed that Tofuu eyes passed upon him when saying that. Xaran exploded in laughter, and this time it was clear that he did believe what Tofuu said to be funny. "Please doc! There is no one on that bunch of losers that could defeat me and you all know it to be true!" Tofuu nodded once, his face dark. "I know but you can't know when death is going to reach you." He sighed and turned to the completed panel. "The fights will be the following ones:" He paused as the fighters, save Ryuken and Xaran, neared. "The first fight will oppose Soap to Keishii" Soap was an amazon of golden hair with red highlights that was holding a long Chinese spear as she looked to her adversary; Keishii a Japanese young man that was garbed in what seemed a combination of Chinese and European clothes. Soap green eyes gleamed when looking to Keishii, almost burning with fighting sprit. The young man answered that gaze with his own; never faltering even if suddenly he seemed almost embarrassed to have to fight her. "The second fight will oppose Laeya to Xaran." The young woman directed a venomous look to the tattooed man that answered her with an evil grin, showing his fangs. "The fourth fight will oppose Kanill to Kenshiro" Most eyes in the room moved to see the unmoving Ryuken that with his dark glasses seemed to be sleeping. Kanill snorted before returning his attention to the panel and Tofuu's words. "The last fight of the first round will be between Shara and Sharon. The winners of those four fights will face each other in the next round that will give us the two warriors that will fight for the tittle of Champion of the City of Nerima." He paused to see his clock and, nodding to himself, looked back to the fighters. "The first fight will start in thirty minutes. I advice you all to relax in that time, and remember that any fight outside of the ones of the tournament is penalised with descalification. This goes for all the fighters but specially for you Xaran, and you Laeya. This said I will meet the champion at the end of the fights. Good luck to you all." He looked a last time to the two people he named last and exited the room, leaving the fighters to their own devices. ------------------------------------------------- Ryuken looked to the people he would have to fight eventually. He had no reason to feel concerned by them but the killing intent that the girl Laeya had stored against that other guy Xaran was pretty amazing and intrigued him. He rose from his seat and neared the place where Laeya was sitting. She was on the bar and Ryuken was surprised to see her drink some unknown alcoholic cocktail. She truly seemed depressed by something as her gaze was lost on the depths of the light brown liquid. That gave Ryuken the chance to study her. All the fighting spirit seemed to have disappeared and that was weird. He was able to feel it as someone would feel the heat in a room and when he stepped in the room the feeling of fighting spirit was quite high. It wasn't so strange after all supposedly there were assembled some of the best fighters in Nerima but since that Xaran guy had appeared half of the fighting spirit that Ryuken could feel seemed to have disappeared, replaced by what seemed fear and in some cases anger. But in no one the change was so radical than in that young woman. The barman was looking at Laeya with a confused look and seemed unable to decide what to do when he spotted Ryuken that had taken a place at Laeya's right but as far as he could be from her. The barman neared him with a smile that was of easiness. "Yes? What do you want?" Ryuken looked at him for a moment before pointing to Laeya with his thumb. "What's up with her?" The barman sighed. "Wish I knew sir. I'm not so in the martial arts myself so I can't tell you but once that Xaran guy and Tofuu sensei disappeared she came to me and asked me the strongest drink I had." He paused to clean a glass that was near him. "As I tell you I'm not in martial arts but I know that drinking before a fight is a quick way in being defeated." Ryuken nodded. "She even asked me for the whole bottle. I did it but I'm not sure how to tell her that it's no good for..." "Let me deal with it." The barman no older than Ryuken looked sceptically to the Hokuto warrior, but slowly nodded. "And an advice." Now the look was clearly intrigued. Who was that man that seemed so commanding? In the years Aoshi had been serving as a barman in Nerima he had found few people with an air of command so thick. He didn't knew who that guy was but he knew instinctively that he wasn't a man to cross with. "Yes sir?" Ryuken gestured to the gathered fighters. "No one except her will want something to drink so your presence here is not needed. understood?" Aoshi looked to Ryuken a moment before nodding slowly. Then as slowly he put the glass in its place, took whatever items he could find that he needed and exited the room. Ryuken sighed and took off his shades as he moved towards Laeya. --------------------------------------------------- He silently sat by her side and with an empty glass in front of him took the bottle that was half empty. A slender hand took him by his wrist, exerting a slight pressure. Ryuken looked at Laeya that without looking at him had taken his wrist. "It's mine and I will drink it all." She said still without looking at him, but slowly releasing him. "I think there is enought for two." He said lightly. Laeya snorted. "I'm going to die today. I want it all." Ryuken remained silent a moment then he nodded. "I don't think that we are entitled to know the moment of our death." She snorted again. "You saw Xaran? He is going to kill me and there is nothing that will prevent it." "Care to explain me what's going on?" Then she looked up to him and for the longest moment remained silent as she looked at him from head to toes. Then she smiled briefly. It was a sad smile. "I will if you take a drink." He looked at her, their eyes locked and he slowly nodded. His hand moved towards ther bottle. He was about to take it when her hand closed upon his, more lightly than before, almost a caress. "I told you: it' s mine." Ryuken again nodded. --------------------------------------------------- Both now with some drink Laeya started speaking. "It all started some years ago. Back then this city as well as most of the places in the world were fighting to hold whatever shred of freedom could be concerved. The war agaisnst the Queen was raging and everyone that was of age fought. It was a dark time but we were all togheter; all mankind against the Queen and her troops." She drank more and blinked. "But of course there are people that passed to the other side for power. Here in nerima the fighting was furious and in those days there was little checking on those that came to learn how to fight, as every hand was needed." She sighed her eyes looking to the dark ember liquid. "I was too young but my older sister Mirya did took part in the defense of the city. We were originaly coming from the ocupated territories to Nerima. We were of amazon origin so Nerima was our first obvious choice to find some measure of peace so years ago we arrived here and made it our home. My sister, that had seen so much suffering, entered in the Academy." "You had lost your homes but here you find another one, right?" Laeya nodded without looking at him. She emptied her glass in one strike and followed refilling it. She drank again. Ryuken himself drank from the alcohol, tasting it even without being used to it. He was letting the young woman set the place and time of her tragedy. She spoke again. "Even if the war was raging outside here we had some mesure of happiness, all against the evil that raged in the world. it was a good time and my sister... My sister..." A tear crossed her cheek. "My sister since starting in the Academy was very loved. Not only was she a very good fighter but she had the soul of a healer. it was usual to see her with the wounded and all the suffering people that was brought here to Nerima. She was so beautiful... Once Tofuu-sensei said that iof she was that good helping people was because her soul was a good soul and that was noticied." The young amazon paused again as she drank more but this time slowly. She sighed as she rested her head uon the comd surface of the bar. "She.... She was the kind of being that I had always wanted to be. I loved her so much..." Without making anything to confort hezr Ryuken slowly asked: "What happened, what did Xaran do to your sister?" She looked to him, the tears purring against the wooden surface of the bar. "Xaran... Xaran was a good friend of my sister. Even more. They were comrades in the classes of martial arts and both were suddents of Tofuu sensei, both in martial arts and in medicine, all seemed well in Xaran..." "But?" "But one day corpses started appearing, savagely disfigurated. For months the dead appeared in several points of the city, each body more dmaged. Soon it was always women and after a while children. People of all ages and sexes... all of that mattered little to the killer or killers." She drank again. "One day my sister was in a patrol inside of the city limits, as groups had been disposed to stop the murders. she heard a sound and went to check it. What she found was the killer gutting a pregnant woman." She sighed. "My sister almost went crazy by what she saw, she attacked the murdered that was covered from head to toe with the blood of his innocent victim. They clashed for some moments but he was too good. In fact she exited out of that alive bexcause the people with her on the patroll checked on the sounds of her battle. But even being overwelmed by the murderer's strenght my sister menaged to score one hit on him, wounding him in the shulder." "What happened next?" Laeya laughed bitterly. "At the following day my sister had training with Xaran. But he had said that he couldn't go, that he was feeling ill. So my sister went to check on her friend. What she found? That Xaran was wounded in his shoulder with a strike that radiated her ki." Tears purred even more. "Xaran was the murderer. When my sister found it she was so shocked that she was shocked by it. You know she loved him... She loved him and saw him kill a woman and an unborn creature. He was mad or maybe that's what people tell because thinking about that, they can't come with a reason for a man like Xaran to behave in such way. But that's too simple." She sighed. "My sister loved Xaran but never told him. And there Xaran tryed to prevent that she told anything. she was unable to defend herself when he started beating her. When his fist impacted aginst her body. He... he... Before it all ended he raped her. But that wasn't the worst." She drank the last of her glass. Then she garbed the bottle only to find in her disapointment that it was empty. Ryuken soundlessly handed her his glass that was still half filled. She smilked at him, and drank. "At one point Tofuu went to find them as time was getting short and he was surprised by the absence of his two star pupils. He was the one that probably saved the life of my sister, if it can be called "life" after what he did." She paused as if thinking. "Tofuu found him as he finished raping her. He tried to do something but Xaran with a skill and power that he never showed untill then, wounded him. yet as they battled Tofuu achieved to answer the strike with one of his own. Xaran fled and he was never again seen in Nerima." "Until now." She remained unmoving for a while as she looked again to the liquid her mind lost in her memories. Then she nodded. "Yes. until now." "What did he do to your sister? "No one knows exactly but until now she lives but her body is crippled to such levels that she is unable to answer the world. What can be done to her comfort is made. In Xaran's belongings several blood strained clothes had been found even more marking him as the sole responsible for the killings. It seems that he had tried new killing techniques, that may be one of the reasons for those acts but no one knows for sure." Then she had finished the glass. She sighed. Ryuken was looking at the young woman as he pondered Laeya's history. Truly it was tragic and it explained a lot. Then a voice suddenly filled the room making him and Laeya to look up from their empty glasses. "THE MOMENT AS COME. FIGHTERS FOR THE FIRST FIGHT PLEASE ENTER IN THE ARENA. I REPEAT ENTER IN THE ARENA." Ryuken eyes moved to the first fighters that would open the second phase of the tournament. The young woman features hardened while the ones of the younger man simply reflected determination. They walked and together marched towards the light, soon disappearing. "You wanna see the fight?" Asked Laeya. Ryuken looked back at her. Her eyes seemed free of any effect of the alcohol "Yes but how?" She smiled and emptied her glass. "Follow me." She simply answered. She moved with grace and precision and guided him trough the corridors that connected with the room. He noticed that several of the fighters also moved with them. They rose, folowing the maze-like corridors to finsh in a room with ample windows, sun's light blasting trough them. Laeya moved towards one of the great windows that was opened to the fighting arena. It was the first time that Ryuken looked to the gigantic construction that was the Coliseum and was surprised by it. It wasn't greater to some of the constructions in his world. There the castles of the conquerors such as Raoh, Hyou or even Kaiou were of dimensions that were sheer madness but there was an air of purity in the Coliseum, as if a place totally dedicated to the spirit of fighting had somehow taken part of it making it its own. Truly it remained him of the images of the old Coliseum in Rome. The same dimensions and overall make up but with the difference. If the Roman Coliseum was an arena of sand for the fights of the gladiators and other bloody sports, the Coliseum of Nerima had an elevated fighting arena made of white stone, surrounded by grass on the ground level, more or less meter and half from the proper fighting area. As for the stone tatami (as the disposition of the stone ground did remind of a tatami) it was square, of a size that put at ease any fighter. There was space enough to use powerful attacks, preventing any possible harm to the public that was filling the Coliseum to its tops. For more protection, as did the ancient Coliseum, the public was separated from the ground, and thus from the fighting arena, the limits hanging some five meters from the grass. Ryuken's eyes, sharpened by his Hokuto training to a degree that was beyond human levels could clearly see the public. There seemed to be a greater number of women and young men and young women, some of them still practically children. there were some grown man far and in between but they were a clear minority. He pointed that fact to Laeya that snorted as if he had said something silly. "Well of course. Most of the men in Nerima are in their posts. This may be a festivity but there is still a war raging not too far from here. Now shut up. They're entering." Effectively both Soap and Keishii entered side by side in the fighting arena. They stepped the stone grades that were disposed to allow a easy access to the stone tatami. Keisihii annd the amazon advanced until they arrived to the centre of the arena. She remained behind as Keishii walked to be in front of her Then the voice of the judge that had been selected to present the fight sounded trough the system of speakers installed in the Coliseum. With clarity and confidence his voice sounded trough the whole monument. "People of Nerima. We are here gathered for the fourth Nerima Martial Arts tournament." The crowd exploded in cheers, clapping and other joyful sounds. "Here, awaiting for their chance to win the crown of victory with the strength of their fist, are gathered the best eight fighters of Nerima." More of the above from the crowd "Here for the first of the fights of the second phase of the championship are Soap of the amazons and Keishii of the Cheng Dojo." He let the announce to hang in the air before speaking again. "Fighters ready?" Both Soap and Keishii took their respective stances. Soap's full of agresivity while Keishii's seemed to blend with Soap's, opposing it while respecting it. Ryuken had a fair idea of who would win the match but abstained himself in saying anything. "AJIME!" Soap sprang into action, rushing against the young calm man with the evident intention of finishing the fight quickly. Keishii looked to the incoming attack with tranquillity and rolled down her swing, getting up in seconds ready to answer to any attack she might use. The amazon for her part bursts into a frenzy of attacks, combinations and every kind of physical attack but the young man blocked what he could and avoided the rest, always keeping his cold blood, calculating every move. They danced like that for a while until she decided to push the fight to another level. Her aura came to life making all her moves to grow in speed and strength. It surprised the young fighter that could not block al of her attacks, some of them actually hitting flesh. Keishii winced, pain clear in his face before summoning his own aura quickly making place between them. Soap followed him, her hands burning with ki, sending all of her might in a complicated pattern. It was countered by a quick strike to her legs that made her fall before her hits connected. With a cry she stumbled and Keishii, using a Capoeira move, quickly get up, jumped back and assumed his usual defensive stance. Soap was few second later than he in getting up but when she did it was with a look of new found respect that she eyed her adversary. She circled him slowly trying to find a flaw to his defence but after a while it was clear that she couldn't find any. Her eyes narrowed before widening the answer to how break the wall of his defence now clear. Her eyes moved towards the ground and remained so for maybe a couple of seconds. Her hands blurred, and small perforations could be seen on the ground just before it exploded in a burst of shattered stone and dirt. At once she gathered her aura and unleashed a great ball of blue red power. It raced only to connect to another one that came from the still hanging dirt. For some seconds they battled each ball fighting to gain dominion, when suddenly they repelled each other, flying back to their source of origin! Soap's eyes widened and shock appeared on her face as she drew more ki to block her own attack. It connected with her crossed arms and pushed her backwards, her foot making deep gushes on the ground as she resisted her own energy. Finally it dissolved after what seemed an eternity. The young amazon dropped to her knees panting, head hanging down as she battled to regain her breath when she suddenly jumped and assumed a defensive stance. But it was too late. Keishii 's attack did return to the place where it came from but rather to oppose it the young martial artist deflected it towards the ground using the attack own power against it. It impacted on the ground, again rising a cloud of dust and pulverised stone that served to his purpose. Rising is own battle aura Keishii blurred at the same time that Soap finally stopped her own ki blast. He passed behind her and awaited his moment. And when she stood up, her defence in place, he attacked. He intentionally made enought sound to allow her to know that he was coming and, using again his ki, increased the speed of his body. His arms blurred touching precise points in her body, locking muscles and overall incapacitating Soap to fight back. She landed on the ground with a loud "toud". The judge immediately started his count. "One... Two... Three... Four... Five... Six... Seven... Eight... Nine....... TEN!" The crowd roared in approval and Keishii neared his fallen adversary, touching lightly precise point of her body unlocking her body. She regained her footing stumbling a little as sensitivity returned to her limbs. She stepped back looking to her adversary that returned the look with another of equal calmness. Then Soap smiled, imitated by Keishii that opened his arms to her. She flew to them and embraced him, both kissing passionately. That shut up the crowd and most of the ones looking to the fight. After a while that both weren't giving any hint of stopping soon the judge spoke. "Ah... Fighter Soap? Fighter Keishii? Umm.... Sorry to interrupt but can you go to another place to continue? We have still a tournament to finish..." Both Soap and Keishii separated themselves and, blushing furiously, they ran out of the area holding hands. "Well the first fight finished we are going to have a pause of half an hour. in the next fight Laeya of the Tendo Saotome school of martial arts will face... Xaran of the Black Soul School of Martial Arts?" The crowd that had been muttering and cheering Laeya's name quite loudly dropped deadly silent when listening to who was her adversary. Even the voice of the judge that had been speaking had somehow turned mute. ---------------------------------------------------- "Well it seems that my time is up. A pleasure meeting you." Said Laeya as she stepped from the window where she and Ryuken had been looking to the first fight. Once that finished, and the time came up Laeya sadly sighed and neared the exit. She was about to exit the room when Ryuken took her from her wrist slightly pressing it. She turned surprised: she hadn't see or even felt him move towards her after she left him by the window. How could he do that? "What do you want now?" He released her wrist but put his hand upon her shoulder. She looked back and forth between his hand and his face. His hand was very hot, almost burning. Almost because even if she could feel the heat it wasn't painfull or even incomfortable. In fact it was quite soothing and it was step by step making her own body to heat, her body that seemed almost made of ice since Xaran appeared, crushing her dreams and hopes of revenge. She looked to the tanned face of this "Kenshiro". She was sure that it wasn't his true name as it was... As if it was unfit to call him like that, improper even. So she stood there looking to that face. Gosh he was beautiful! Now she noticed that. How could she not? The first time she looked at him she was under the haze of the alcohol of the drinks she had taken so she couldn't care less than his looks but now... He was gorgeous even; with those deep blue eyes that seemed to be concerned for her and she could tel that concern wasn't a feeling that was common in him. In fact that particular feeling seemed to be out of place in his face, in those deep eyes. Gorgeous in a rugged kind of way, his face and body almost perfect at her eyes. Well it was a pity that she was to die if she had knew him before... And if she had been able to hide him from Ranko and the others. Ranko and her friends... Her lips curved into a sad kind of smile. She would not see them anymore. Xaran would do to her what he did to her sister; crippling her to the point of no return and she wasn't strong enough to do anything about it. "You will not die, nor will you share your sister's fate." She looked at him. "What do you mean?" "I can feel when someone is going to die and you are not. And as for what that Xaran bastard may do.. you would have to trust me in that." Could she trust him? Could she trust a stranger? Surprisingy she realised that she could. Even without knowing him, without having seen him fight or knowing what kind of man he was she knew that she could trust him even with her life. There was simply something in him that pushed her to trust him. She nodded and slowly exited the room after sharing with him a last long look. But in that look he had said enough. She may suffer and her body may be destroyed in the following hour but she knew that Xaran last hours upon that land had arrived. And as if reading her mind he muttered quietly, making that only her would hear him, he added: "I will kill Xaran. I promise." His eyes glowed golden for a second when he said those words, as if making his promise stronger. There was no reaction for a while but finally she nodded. Then she rose on tip toes and kissed his cheek before turning her back to him and directing herself towards the arena. But the feeling of marching towards her end never left her. ---------------------------------------------------- Xaran was having such pleasure in beating the still moaning figure of Laeya to a pulp. The fight had been from the beginning a one sided battle. From the first steps of this second fight Xaran was showing that he wanted nothing more than Laeya's humiliation. His blows were pulled off to do the little damage but that didn't stopped him in showing his superiority by breaking all of Laeya's attacks and all of her moves. She had been almost crying in those moments when he matched all her blows, all her moves with ones of his own but stronger. He was playing like the cat and the mouse and as cats do they play with their prey before ending their lives. And he did that for another while taunting her about the fate of her sister, his words loud enough to be heard by the crowd that had been frozen by the fear they suffered when learning that he was taking part of the tournament. Even now silence was the master of the Coliseum. The master if not by Xaran's words and Laeya's shouts of pain. Increasingly, with each passing moment, Xaran became even more brutal: his blows, that Laeya wasn't able to block or dodge, impacted soundly against her flesh making her shouts to increase. He burned her with several dark ki blast that tore clothing and skin. His fist rammed on her body time and time again breaking bone and muscle. The displaced air of his attacks cut deeply on her body, making her blood to flow even more quickly, draining strength and hope in equal parts. After a time of agony, Laeya stumbled in the ground, panting hard but still head looked up. Xaran smirked, rising her chin with the end of his boot. "Your eyes tell me that you still keep some fighting spirit somewhere in your broken carcass. Well that will not do! I want you screaming, begging for your life!" she spat some blood. "I-- I will see you dead before that!" His leg blurred and Laeya was send flying backwards, her body rising from the ground from the strength of the blow, more blood coming from her mouth as she crashed on the ground seemingly unconscious. "Eh... Fighter Laeya seems to not be able to continue I will proceed to count. One... Two..." One of the speakers exploded by a ki blast, static filling the air, making people to cover their ears in pain. "This fight will finish when I say so! he shouted to the gathered people. Then he turned to the fallen form of Laeya, a vicious smile on his face. The beating continued. Already her eyes had swollen shut and blood was coming from her mashed lips, the whole of her body nothing more than a pulp. To his delight she wasn't unconscious after his kick. Yet she was still holding on with a will to no surrender that was more than human. Xaran almost laughed as he paused in his destruction of her body. She still wanted to defeat him, to avenge the body and honour of her older sister Mirya. That was to be expected coming from one of the pupils of Cologne and the rest of those idiots of the Nerima group! They had to be taught that only power mattered and power he had, power to do as he wanted. He had trained hard, turning slowly the teachings of those idealistic fools into an even more destructive form of martial art and now was the moment to show to the world that he was the one to deserve having the power in Nerima. His was the only way of survival for that city, for the world he would forge here once he had killed them all. He would claim what was his; what Tofuu and the others prevented him in claiming the last time. Once his thirst of power was satisfied he would appeal to the Queen. Surely his strength and will to do what was to do in the name of the power would call to her own ambition. He had seen her once and her image was burned forever in his mind. She was so beautiful, so desirable that he would burn the very world to posses her. Her and the powers she represented! By the Devil's name, they were made the one for the other! He laughed as he griped Laeya's hair and rise her to his eyes level. Laeya' eyes opened slowly as she groaned in pain once again but as soon as she recognised the man that was holding her in such a painful manner she snarled. "You still have fight in you, ne?" He bent a little and licked her cheek, savouring the taste of her blood, of her tears. "I already told you: you will shout to me, pleading to have the same fate as your sister..." He was interrupted as she spat on his face, saliva and blood binding him momentary She laughed. She laughed! "You are a bastard... and you are already dead... even if you don't know it ... yet." He maintained his grip and with his free hand slowly cleaned his face, his eyes burning. "You will pay for that. You said you wanted to die? Then I will do as you wish!" He turned her back, still holding her arm this time putting more pressure; increasing the pain. then with his free hand he pressed a special point in her body, digging in her flesh. Laeya's body tensed and she screamed a blood chilling cry, eyes wide by the pain that cursed now freely in her system. Xaran increased the pressure -the pain- and quickly, without a pause, pressed another point on her body. The pain, that lessened a little in the instant Xaran changed the pressured point , returned full force and then some more. To the young woman all was pain, she was pain. It was as in her entire life only pain had been there; past and future gone, turned to ashes by the burning pain that Xaran was inflicting on her flesh, on her mind as he systematically destroyed the flow of ki of her body, threatening to cripple her for life. Slowly he continued pressing the pressure point only to pass to another once he was sure that the damage was forever done. He was about to touch the sixth and last point of his technique when a voice sounded. An unknown voice that did what all wanted, pleaded for stopping the torture Laeya was suffering. "Release her or I kill you." Xaran released his hold on Laeya's body and slowly turned to where the voice sounded, Laeya's body failing muscles unable to held her, she crumbled on the ground, shivers crossed it as sobs slowly came from her troath, her arms slowly embracing herself. Xaran looked to the man that dared to threaten him with death. It was one of those unknown warriors that from time to time appeared. Truth is until now Xaran had not taken him in count. "What did you say, fool?" The man sighed and slowly took his dark glasses off before piercing Xaran with his eyes. "You have done enough. Continuing with that torture would meant nothing so let it be." Xaran crossed his arms upon his chest and snickered to Ryuken. "And you would kill me if I continued hurting that bitch? Ryuken said nothing as he continued looking to Laeya's torturer. "No. I said that if you didn't stop I would kill you there. I will kill you but not now." Xaran burst laughing. "As if a worm like you could do so!" Suddenly his danger sense started screaming. He looked back to the man, to Ryuken, and couldn't help but feel the strength coming from his blue eyes. Blue eyes? At first he had been sure that they were blue but slowly they seemed to lighten, to turn from blue to light green then to yellow to finish golden. Golden eyes that seemed to hold all the violence in the world in their depths. Suddenly Xaran shivered. This surprised him. Who was that man? What was he? He tried to enter in his mind with his mental abilities but it was like trying to enter within a wall of steel. He snorted. "Very well, that wore his yours," he snorted. "But I think that after my tender mercies she will not be able to do very much." That said he stepped outside of the fighting area laughing. --------------------------------------------------- Ryuken quickly rushed towards Laeya's fallen form that was still holding itself, sobbing quietly, her eyes empty of the spark that was her soul. Ryuken cursed under his breath, as he quickly pressed a set of hikus that should stabilise her flow of ki almost totally destroyed by whatever Xaran made to her. Swiftly he gathered her in his arms as some of the people in he crowd cheered his acts. Paying no attention to them he ran towards the medical facilities of the Coliseum where he had met Arashi. What he had done should give him the time to see what that bastard did to the young woman, but that wouldn't stop him for blaming himself. He should have done something way before Xaran used that last technique but he knew that Laeya wouldn't have forgiven him from interfering in her fight. He had to remain in the shadows, looking how that bastard crushed her under that onslaught of attacks. But he did nothing. For his eternal damnation he did nothing until it was too late for her. Now he had to pray that he had the necessary knowledge to save her as even the Hokuto Shin Ken has its limits. He rushed, not waiting to the healing staff that tried to help him. They would be on his way, a hindrance rather than a help. Anyway they would be of no help at all in helping him heal Laeya. He had recognised the type of attack that man used against her and Ryuken knew that only he had the knowledge to set right what was wrong on her body. He smashed the door of the nearest available room with a well placed kick and entered the sun filled room, softly putting her body on the bed there. He turned her body and reaped apart her clothes to have a good view of her back. He cursed. Five bloody points crossed her back all of then surrounding her spine. If he had not prevented the sixth one, her flow of energy as well as the totality of her neural system would have been destroyed by the pressure points. Worst was that dark ki he could still feel cursing trough her system, a destructive energy that her opponent had introduced by those points in her body. It was a venom that not only destroyed the body but also affected the mind and soul. If he had not prevented it by now she would be a lifeless body in the worst of the case and in the better she would have remained as a crippled vegetal. "What do you think you are doing? Stay away from her young man!" Ryuken turned to see Tofuu in the door along with the staff that he had ignored before and some of the warriors of the tournament. the face of the doctor was red of anger and from what Ryuken could see was near using physical violence against him. He cursed again. He was sick of it all! "I'm saving her life, that's what I'm doing!" He growled, and part of his growing frustration led him to said something foolish. "Go and see Kasumi! At least then you have an excuse for being an idiot!" Tofuu stepped back as if slapped, his face pale. "How did you know... I mean Kasumi... I was...You... Who are you?" Ryuken then realised that he had said too much and sighed. he looked to the people gathered there and pointed them with his thump. "Get them away from here and I will explain. You may even help me with her," his eyes quickly moved to the comatose Laeya. "Her time is getting short." Tofuu nodded once, quickly gave some orders and closed the door. Ryuken scanned the several ki readings slowly getting away and breathed deeply. He turned towards Tofuu. "Quickly hold her by the shoulders. What I am about to do will be very dangerous in her weakened state. Her body will be trashing wildly for some moments " "What are you going to do?" Tofuu said as he took her by her bare shoulders. Ryuken took some moments in answer him. He had to find the exact points where the dark Ki was spreading to stop and erradicate it. He knew what was to come, so he pressed the tsubos that would block the muscles of her jaw to prevent any other harm more than the one already done. If it all went well then she would be fully recovered in a few days, but if not.... "The ki that guy used in her body is acting like a spreading cancer. Not only it destroys the flow of the body's ki but also acts like a poison that attacks the living cells already weakened by the disturbing of her energies." "so, what can you do?" "The only thing I can do: stop his ki, destroy it and force her body to reset itself by introducing my Touki. It should give her the power to heal if the pressure doesn't kill her Be ready here I go" in two heartbeats Ryuken pressed the hikus that would correct the flows of ki in her body to follow immediately with the infusion of his own ki of battle. His fingers penetrated in the five wholes Xaran made and did a sixth himself. Blood purred as his fingers dig into precise spots in her body, spots only known to the users of the Hokuto Shin ken and of the Hokuto Ryuu Ken. Almost immediately he send his own powerful and unique kind of ki in her organism . The reaction was instantaneous. Laeya screamed, or tried to, with her jaws locked but she reacted as if her body was on fire and in some way it was! Her muscles grew some as they tensed under the pressure of the two adverse kis raging a war in her organism. "Come on, come on! Hold there girl! Resist!" He said as he could feel the battle going on in her body. The patterns of the flow of ki in her body had been corrected by the first set of hikus but the destruction done by the ki introduced by Xaran along with the regeneration of what had been destroyed could very well be killing her. He still purred some of his own life force in her body trying to maker hers stronger. After what seemed an eternity but that had been in reality some minutes, Laeya's body relaxed and her breath returned to a semblance of normality. Ryuken slowly retreated his fingers from her back. He pocked some more points without the violence used before and, after a while of examining her with senses that went so far beyond human limits, relaxed a little gesturing Tofuu to release the hold he had upon Laeya's white shoulders. The good doctor did so and Ryuken could see the marks that were the mute testimony of the violence of Laeya's reaction. "You did well doc. Now all is up to her." "You can't do anything more?" He asked quietly. "No. Right now it' s her desire to live, to go on that will say if she survives." He sighed "If this had been a natural sickness, or even a normal poisoning I could do more. But this... This was a deliberate attempt on destroying her with a technique designated to do so, simple, but very lethal." Tofuu looked at him sharply, his face bleak as he looked to the young man the feeling of knowing him stronger than before. "How do you know it?" Ryuken remained silent fro some moments. How did he knew it? He knew the answer but that only made him more weary. What Xaran used... "I know that technique because it's one of the most simpler of the killing technique of the twin school of mine." He paused pondering the repercussions. Suddenly this new development changed it all. "A teaching of the Hokuto Ryuu ken, the sister school of my own the Hokuto Shin Ken... Killing arts that are not of this world." Tofuu eyes gleamed. "You mean that its an extraterrial martial art?" Ryuken remained silent for a moment. "No. What I mean is that the arts of the Hokuto are not of this dimension. They are the supreme martial arts of a parallel earth were the destiny of humanity was changed by that knowledge." He looked at Tofuu that stepped back when those eyes that he had seen blue turned burning golden . "In that earth the Hokuto was the star that commanded the movements of the Heavens. When the North Star moves the cosmos moves, changing the fates of humanity as a reaction. And where the Hokuto goes war follows." "Who are you? I know that I know you! And why is Cologne interested in you?" Ryuken stood there looking at the man that once he called friend. Tofuu never had let him down and was always ready to give a sympathetic hear to the young Saotome. He sighed and closed his eyes dissipating the satsuki that coloured his eyes. He opened them and with a steady gaze looked to Tofuu holding his brown eyes with his now deep blue ones. "Who are you?" Repeated the doctor. "I'm... Ranma." --------------------------------------------------- Ryuken walked back to the fighting area. If what Tofuu told him was true the fighting had been stopped due to his helping of Laeya. Due to the pressure coming from the public he hadn't been sanctioned by his leaving so it was with his mind on other things that Ryuken stepped where Kanill was awaiting him. The fighting area was even more impressive once you were there than from the ground. It was a space designated to give the fighters all the room they needed to use their special techniques without having to bother in tuning down their destructive powers in fear of harming the public. Indeed the stone tatami could hold a small army easily and still having more space. Truly impressive and all the damages done in the previous fights had been repaired with care but with efficiency, living it as if it was being used for the first time. Kanill, tall, his dark skin gleaming under the rays of the sun was there standing his eyes closed as if feeling all around him. Anyway his eyes snapped open when Ryuken entered the fighting area. Even if he made no sound the Hokuto Heir was sure that Kanill was more than attuned to his surroundings. There was no doubt in Ryuken's mind that Kanill was a splendid fighter within the power levels of fighters of Nerima. Unfortunately for them all Ryuken was in another dimension of fighting. He walked until he was mere meters from the dark skinned fighter that looked at him with deep brown eyes that seemed to be examining him. "Ladies and gentlemen! Before starting this fight the committee of the tournamet wishes to make you all know that Laeya of the Tendo School of Martial Arts is no longer in any physical danger." The crowd cheered madly at the news, the name of Tofuu and Laeya being repeated time and time again yet Ryuken not even heard them as his attention was focused in the man in front of him. "Ono san and his group of specialists had achieved to save her life and stabilise her station. It is expected that she will be able to continue with his functions within Nerima in a short deal of time." Another round of cheers that never reached the ears nor the eyes of Kannil. Only the man in front of him mattered. "This said lets start the third fight of the day opposing Kenshiro of the Hokuto Shin Ken School of Martial Arts and Kanill of the Martial Arts School of the Rightful Fist." More cheers, all of them to Kanill. "The winner will pass to the second round of the tournament were he will face the winner of the fourth .... fighters ready?" Kanill blended into a defensive stance while Ryuken remained in his loose stance, arms limply at his side. "AJIME!!!" Kanill sprang into motion unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks that Ryuken dodged easily. Suddenly the hands of Kanill started to double almost as if Ryuken's eyes were starting to loose its focus. Kanill sensing that Ryuken had doubted for a second (all that he needed) increased his speed, soon reaching amaguriken as a clear blue aura spread upon his arms and blurring hands. Ryuken dodged with increasing frenzy as his eyes continued loosing their focus. In front of him Kanill's body doubled, tripled as if he was using the splitting cats hair, but it wasn't so. Ryuken eyes narrowed as Kanill send a last blow. Normally Ryuken would have no problem in dodging any attack, even one with the speed than the fabled Katchuu Tenshin Amaguriken but the weird optic effect that he was suffering was preventing him in fighting with his usual control. And if he loosed the concentration he needed so much to hold his destructive powers he could very well finish killing the man in front of him. Ryuken jumped back as the blow passed inches from his face. He landed as Kanill stopped his special move and passed his fingers trough his cheek. Blood. He looked back to his adversary who looked him with a look that held both satisfaction and awe. "How did you resist my Ghost Fist?" He asked the Hokuto Heir. Ryuken moved his eyes from his slightly bloodied fingers to the man, that had touched him. "Ghost Fist? It's that how you call that effect in your blows?" Kanill nodded. "The optic effect of my technique allows me to affect the senses of my adversary preventing him to know which his the correct part of my body that is attacking him until its too late for him to see true from false." Ryuken passed his fingers from where the attack, the air pressure of it, had cut him. "A very good move. You are a good fighter. Any other than me would have died or would have been seriously beaten by your attack. But I'm not like the others." That was a fact. He wasn't boosting or exaggerating. Kanill nodded. "I know. I doubt that I could defeat you if you stopped to hold back..." "So you know?" "Oh yes! I would have to be a fool to not realise that you are way more powerful than I am. But I need to reach the final to have my revenge on Xaran. For me and for the others that he had destroyed." For some moments Ryuken remained silent before nodding. "I see that all of you have something to deal with that bastard. You are a proud man and I'm glad to have you as an opponent but I fear that I must finish this fight. I have some questions to pose to that piece of shit." He bowed once. "It was an honour." Kanill went into a stance, this time making it more to the defence than for the attack. "I will not go down without a fight." Ryuken nodded. "I know." Then he blurred, disappearing. Kanill eyes snapped wide. He was about to move when Ryuken appeared in front of him. The sonic boom reached him in the following second and even before it had slammed fully into him Ryuken kicked him in the stomach with a violence that made the fighter to be sent flying. He passed with great speed the limits of the fighting area to end slamming into the stone walls of the coliseum, just under the limits of security for the spectators that remained there silent as if not believing what they had seen. Kanill slowly crumbled unto the grass that was between the stone tatami and the walls of the Coliseum, unconscious. Ryuken remained there, his right leg still extended and, as slowly as Kanill reached the ground, it touched the stone ground. He bowed once and then turned, cloaked by the silence of the unbelieving crowd as darkness claimed him. --------------------------------------------------- The next fights were quickly taken care of, under the concerned eyes of the crowd and of the judges, as the two remaining confrontations were quickly increasing in violence. Xaran defeated Keishii with a devastating three hit combo that successfully broke all of his ribs, and as the younger man was holding his ribs, Xaran finished him with another combination of strong kicks. Even after Keishii had lost consciousness Xaran continued to destroy as much as he could of the young martial artist's body. He was nothing more than a dark blur that prevented Keishii from dropping to the ground while sounds of broken bones sounded in all the fighting area. When the young Japanese fighter dropped he was battered beyond recognition. Xaran stepped out of the ring after spitting upon the broken body. Ryuken's fight wasn't so brutal but was also one sided battle. Shara after seeing the fight against Kanill knew that she was way over her head in that fight but as her friend preferred to go down while fighting. Ryuken knew that as soon as he saw her eyes. She had a fighting spirit that wasn't to be mocked and even less humiliated, so he decided that the best way to deal with that adversary was to be so superior that there would be no doubt that even if she was good he was infinitely better. Shara attacked with a rising uppercut that Ryuken stepped while sending a kick that she couldn't block that send her flying upwards. He jumped and in the air send a double hit strike that made her land outside of the fighting area. So there they were: both finalist as the whole Coliseum knew that there was more in that fight than the title of the Champion of Nerima. For that fight Ryuken took of his glasses, his eyes already burning golden while he contained the killing ki of his body. Xaran was holding his own against those burning orbs as he let his dark ki manifest itself in his aura all the darkness and evil he could hold purred down in that representation of his soul. "People of Nerima!!" The crowd remained silent as all their attention was dwelling upon the two men standing in the middle of the immense stone tatami. The judge, that expected some reaction from the crowd, was surprised for some moments before speaking again. "Umm... We are here to assists to the final fight of this championship. the winner will be declared the champion of Nerima!" Still no answer so the judge (that was sick of looking like an idiot!) decided to cut his ten minutes long speech to what everyone, including himself, was expecting. "Fighters ready!" None of them moved and the crowd was deadly silent. "AJIME!" Hell broke loose. Xaran's aura expanded like a bonfire as he moved becoming a blur, advancing towards Ryuken. He rose his fist and could see how the Hokuto Shin Ken warrior did alike. Both fists crossed and the shockwave made part of the ground of the Coliseum to break, the zone of the crash now a depression deep of two meters. Xaran was thrown backwards but Ryuken barely felt the impact. Quickly changing his strategy Xaran unleashed a volley of dark red ki blasts that Ryuken evaded as he closed distance with his antagonist. Again fists and kicks were exchanged with a speed that made most of the people in the public to rub their eyes.. They continued like that for a while, Xaran using ki blasts from time to time to gain more fighting room but to the eyes of the crowd both fighters were evenly matched. But it was not so. Xaran had to grid his theet from the pain coming from his arms and legs. Each of the places where their kicks and fist strikes crossed was almost smashed by the strength that man was punting in them! He could hold the pressure but he would have to change quickly the way he viewed the fight. That the man he was facing; that Kenshiro was showing more fighting skills than was enough humiliation. That he was doing it so effortlessly was even worst! It was as if the fight was nothing to him... As if he, Xaran, was nothing!! His face turned into a snarl as his aura turned stronger, feeding from his anger as the black mixed with burning red. He gathered that power making it even more powerful. Then he jumped back, his aura moving around him like a terrible cloud of negative emotions. Ryuken tensed as he felt the increasing of power in his foe's aura. His eyes narrowed. Xaran smiled, the gesture hidden by the dark colour of his ki. He wasn't fool enough to use all that power in a single strike against that man. Against that man. But not against the crowd! He roared, his voice as thunder and Ryuken's eyes widened when he realised what his adversary was going to do. "Save them if you can you poor fool!!" He blasted his energy and it soared against the crowd. The people understood the danger and reacted, all trying to escape even knowing that it was impossible. Ryuken moved. Under Xaran's eyes he disappeared as if fading from reality only to reappear in front of the blast! It impacted in his chest with incredible violence. The strength of the blast achieved to push him to the limits of the fighting area and it seemed that it would push him put of it. It seemed that it would be so. With any other it would be like that. But in the last possible moment, under the unbelieving eyes of all the presents Ryuken stopped the raging blast and pushed it up, the concentred energy blasting into the blue sky. Ryuken breathed a little when his danger sense screamed at him to move. In less than a heartbeat he rolled out of the danger of the limits of the tatami. Just in time as Xaran crashed there, destroying a good part of the ground with a ki powered kick. The ground was still shaking when he spun right after Ryuken. The Hokuto heir had barely the time to sense Xaran moving when pain flared like a burning coal on his right shoulder, quickly spreading in his whole arm. His eyes took a glimpse of Xaran's hand covered in blood, and anger rose within him, maybe already aroused by countering all of that dark, corrosive anger that Xaran used in his previous blast. His body moved with an agility and speed that surprised not only a now smug Xaran but also the attending people as he propelled himself with his damaged arm, leaving a trail of blood as he jumped towards Xaran. Xaran had just the time to open his eyes in alarm when Ryuken's foot impacted with a wet sound, crushing his nose. The violence of the counter strike was so great that Xaran was send rolling like a rag doll. It took him some time to gain again his senses while he augmented the strength of his aura. His eyes opened to the sight of Ryuken standing there with his right arm covered in his own blood and more than half of his lather jacket, including metal protections, gone. Xaran smiled evily when looking to the battered aspect of his rival. It was as if he had already won. Xaran rushed, his ki warming his blood, making his beat to go even faster thanks to the power he was producing. His fists burned in the glow of his powerful aura and his smile widened even more thinking in the easy victory that awaited him. More than victory; Power! He was brought quickly to reality when a fist smashed soundly against his face sending him spinning back, landing quite painfully on the hard ground. A powerful kick caught him unprepared and he was violently propelled from the ground, his arms clenching tightly where the blow took him, his face pale. Before he had even the time to wonder how, he was airborn. Another strike blew the air out of his lungs, followed by another, and then another and another until he had almost lost count of them. Finally he landed on his back panting heavily, his all body hurting like hell. Slowly he menages to rise up, his legs barely holding him as he assumed a defensive stance, all dreams of power forgotten. Only his survival was important now. That "Kenshiro" was not like the others... He once threatened him of killing him if he continued to abuse of that bitch Laeya. Then he had believed it to be all some kind of joke even with those golden eyes... But now Xaran was sure that what that man had told him was true. Ryuken remained looking at him. For a moment he remained like that as if studying him. Then he slowly moved his wounded arm to take the remaining steel protection and with a simple movement tore it from his body, letting the remaining of his leather jacket to fall on the ground heavily. Now only clad on his red shirt he started to crack his knuckles as his golden eyes seemed to be boring into him, muscles reaping full of power, barely held in check by the shirt. Xaran had in that moment a shiver that crossed all his body as he realised something. The wound of the shoulder even if important was not bothering that man in the slightest. Xaran could even see the muscles under the torn skin to move each time the muscles of the arm contracted. Then his voice sounded, cold and merciless. "I will ask you one single question: where did you learn the technique you used against Laeya?" Xaran exploded in laughter. "That was what you want? You could hold the world in your fist and you ask me about that?" He laughed again even as his body was pain. "Where did you find it!" Xaran snickered. "Fine if that's what you want to know... To prevent some knowledge to fall in the hands of the Queen and her troops Nerima had been gathering in this last thirty years all kind of scrolls and paintings with some scarp of knowledge about martial arts." He paused. "When the world entered in war against the Queen's armies the gathering of that millennia old knowledge was interrupted. But just before that in a cave found in the eastern part of Asia a single scroll was found and finally send here." "A scroll..." Xaran nodded. "That's it. the scroll was old, very old at least six thousand years in languages almost forgotten... But even so the translators here achieved to traduce part of it. It seems that it was only a description of a set of martial arts extremely powerful but also extremely violent. I robed it but as it was a description I could only do little with it... But even that little was enough to give me a weapon like no other in the world!" "You are a fool!" What Ryuken pointed him "You are a fool! That knowledge, that supposed power, turned you like you are. You sacrificated everything you had, all the respect others had for you for a shard of a power that you can't understand. What you did to all that people, to Laeya and to her sister..." His hand snapped shut into a tight fist. "What you did to them I will return it to you!" Xaran laughed. "You are the fool! In this land only power means something and that scroll gave me the secrets of techniques undreamed of. You can't start to guess my true strength!" "Then show me that power!" His eyes gleamed even more "But this night you'll sleep in hell!" Xaran's aura grew again but this time he didn't let it to expand his power. Instead he altered it to empower a certain part of his body. Ryuken expected an attack but he had never expected one to be _mental_. Pain flared in him and that was more than physical. It sought to destroy his mind; introduce itself and once trout his natural defences destroy him. There would have nothing more than a body his mind broken forever if he not acted against the attack. Xaran mind attack achieved to brush his inner core but nothing more as Ryuken defences were set up, cutting the waves' access to his more intimate parts of his psyche with what could be compared to a thirty meters thick steel wall. The effect was immensely painful as the waves were reeled back to Xaran mind. He held his head as he shouted a cry that was more than physical, yet in that moment Ryuken closed the distance between them unleashing a flurry of strikes that almost destroyed Xaran's body. The man crashed into the ground trashing and sobbing, crying for pity, shouting senseless words. Without a hint of gentleness or delicacy Ryuken took Xaran by his neck, making enough pressure to shut him up. "Out of my way". Was the simple thing that he said before sending him flying against one of the walls. Xaran crashed there with enough strength as to leave a mark on the wall. He remained there between a spiderweb of fissures in that wall before gravity took over dragging him slowly to the ground leaving being tears, blood and teeth. For some moments more the silence reigned as sole master upon the Coliseum. Then slowly a roar rose and it was the voice of nearly forty thousand throats. Men, women, children absolutely went wild as the absolute champion of Nerima stood on the middle of the fighting area. Soon the speakers of the Coliseum resonated and the crowd restrained itself after ten long minutes of adoration. "Kenshiro of the Hokuto Shin Ken School of Martial Arts is declared champion of the city of Nerima!!" Pause. "HAIL TO HIM!! And the crowd cheered even more than before to the point that the Coliseum seemed to vibrate with the sound coming from the people gathered there. Slowly the crowds started stopping in their wild chorus so the judge spoke again. "Kenshiro you are now entitled to face off the members of the Nerima Wrecking Crew..." He was again interrupted by the cheers of the crowd that with the name of Nerima's first martial arts group had exploded again. The judge wisely choose to wait until they calmed themselves. that done he spoke once again. "Will you do it?" Silence. Then in a voice that could be heard by everyone Ryuken gave sound to the word all were expecting. "Yes." Then he turned still bathed by the cheers of the crowd that followed him even as if the known darkness of the corridor cloaked him. It suited his mood perfectly, that darkness that wouldn't last ten meters as his thoughts were as dark as it. In a short time he would be facing the Nerima group, hope of all that people and he would defeat them, there was no doubt in his mind about that. But would he only defeat them or would he go even further... That, only the future would tell but if Ryuken knew something it was that it would be bloody.` After all bloody was the life of the Hokuto Shin Ken Heirs and in that world the next blood that he would gather would be Xaran's. He had seen him escape trough a shadow, surely already plotting his revenge. He didn't knew what that man had seen in that brief instant when he touched his mind but he knew that would only sever to increase his thirst for power. He had given him a hint as how a move from the Hokuto Ryuu ken could be used in a land that supposedly couldn't know about any of the Hokuto arts. Answers that led to more questions for Ryuken. As for Xaran... He may be able to escape from men's justice, or even from his inner demons but he would never escape what Ryuken unleashed in his organism. and it was better like that. Yes soon the future would be red. Blood red. --------------------------------------------------- Xaran moved as he could trough the shadows of the Coliseum, carefully avoiding the people around it. He had been defeated by that... that... that bastard! He almost howled in rage when thinking in the humiliation that he had just suffered. He had been so near having his revenge on those bastards that prevented him in reaching the power that should be his! He had been training so hard to be able to soak himself on their blood and even if what he did to that bitch Laeya had been sweet it didn't prevented to be feeling as humiliated as possible. Who was that guy? From where did he came from? How could he be so powerful? He wasn't like those idiots that believed that the level of power that Kenshiro guy used was his limit. Oh no! He kept most of his powers in check; that he could feel. But the question was how much, and what was most important still, how could he use that power? How could he take that power from that man? He had felt it, its true magnitude for a single moment, when he had managed to sneak into his mind just before Kenshiro's mental defences came forth closing his mind as like a steel trap. A trap that almost fried his brain. Such power would allow him to put on his knees those bastards of the Wrecking crew! No! It was far more, enough to give him the world and even more! Xaran slowly smiled even if that move made his face hurt like hell. His thoughts were interrupted by a wave of pain so devouring that Xaran's mind almost shattered by its pressure. It held enough time to let him regret that he hadn't lost consciousness with the first wave of pain as slowly it increased, as of his body was being torn apart. As it was. What Xaran didn't knew was that Ryuken had let him go, even when he had said that he was going to kill him because he was already death. During the fight Ryuken had touched some of Xaran tsubos that would made the body explode after a number of heartbeats. The count was starting to reach zero and the self-destruction programming that Ryuken installed in Xaran's body was starting to enter in its critical phase. In the shadows none heard the shouts of pain coming from Xaran, and no one heard his body explode in a cloud of red hot blood and shattered bones, of destroyed organs and torn muscles. Nothing remained of Xaran to mark his end; his evil already forgotten in the mind of those that had the bad luck of knowing him. ------------------------------------------------- As the program said there was to be a pause of two hours between the end of the championship and the fights between Ryuken and the Wrecking Crew. In that time the members of that special group would be called as their responsibilities towards the Nerima Martial Arts Academy and the tasks in the government of the city prevented them to assist to the championship itself. Supposedly that was also to favour the champion as none of the Nerima team would knew about him or his fighting skills firsthand. In that time, it was past noon, the spectator as well as the staff of the tournament would take a pause, eat something while seated, relive themselves and so on. As for Ryuken he was offered some food and drink as well as an assistance to any favour he could need. At first he had decided to not ask about anything but after thinking some he requested that his pack, that he had left behind in the refuge was brought to him. Soon he had his few possessions with him. Only then did he eat something even if he needed no food to go on (6). Some white rice with ham and some clear fresh water were more than enough to him. Some medical attention was proposed to him concerning the wound on his shoulder but he politely declined it. The truth was that the wound was already healed, thanks to his incredible healing abilities. Now he was sitting as he did before, the waiting room all for himself as the other fighters that had taken part on the tournament were moved to another facility of the Coliseum. So there he was alone with his own thoughts. He would face six members of that "Wrecking Crew", supposedly each stronger than the other but the details were hidden to him as any information concerning him would be closed to them. He would face each of them only to know his adversary when looking at his or her face. He had a good guess that the ones that he was after would be the last ones, but as for the first three... Well the possibilities were numerous to say the last. He didn't knew what to do if he came to fight against his ex-fiancŽes, nor how to feel about them or about the fact that they had surrendered themselves to them. He clenched his fist. What kind of love was the one they said to have to him? He could only compare their love to the one that Yuria and his father shared and what Akane, Shampoo and Ukyou felt for him was nothing to the absolute feeling Yuria and Kenshiro shared even beyond death. Even when Yuria believed that Ken was death she had never stopped loving him, refusing all the presents Shin offered her. No he had still to find someone that loved him like Kenshiro had been loved, or as they loved him, their feelings of love coming to him trough the musotensei. It was the only thing that smoothed his hurt heart, the love all of the souls that lived in his soul had for him. Love... Love is the true strength of the Hokuto Shin Ken. Of the Hokuto Shoke. And Ryuken's heart was full of love. He could not prevent it, nor stop it. A love covered in blood and sadness. He buried his face on his hands and weep for a young man called once Ranma. ------------------------------------------------- Ranko entered in the room specially prepared for them in the Great Coliseum and found already there most of the interested in the fights that were to take place that afternoon. Akane and Ryouga were there of course along Sakura. Both Akane and Ryouga had changed little with the years, their mastery upon their ki making their ageing to slow down and in their early fifties both of them showed an age of about twenty five, maybe a little less. Akane, dressed in clothes that mixed several cultures stood relaxed, her eyes full of confidence. the hair that she had brought short once long ago now reached her midback and still accentuated her femininity, the promise of a cute smile now a reality as the cute teenager blossomed into a beautiful woman. Ryouga for his part had changed little. His hair, grey in the temples, was a little longer and still hold back by his ever present yellow-black bandanna. His body was tall and his powerful body screamed physical strength. His eyes were maybe greener but as always they spoke of secret sadness and of mighty responsibilities that few could understand. They both stood with their older daughter surely giving her tips and advises that Sakura, strong willed and somehow arrogant of her own strength would surely ignore. Both parents knew about it of course but that lessened in nothing the love they felt for the strong headed daughter. Both where like that when they were younger and they knew very well that kind of pride. Near them, also forming a small group were Shampoo, Mousse and Coral. Shampoo as Ryouga and Akane showed little the advance of time if only in the fullness of her physical beauty that was as always exuberant and sensual. Her Chinese clothing only put emphasis on her curvaceous figure. Yet her body also spoke of control and agility, of grace and power. Anyone foolish enough to fall for that beautiful face and desirable body would soon know of the madness of his ways. For she was Xiam Pu one of the last pure amazon, a princess of her tribe of proud women and undisputed champion of her folk, beside her great grandmother Cologne but the tittle was hers. Next to her as always was Mousse or Mu tsu. The ones mad enough to make fun of his name would live only to regret in doing so. Clad all in unrelieved black, Mousse that had his eyes always closed was to the strange people unnerving. He never opened his eyes but seemed to know where was everything or anyone. The sole Great Weapon Master's long black hair was streaked by white tresses, the only visible hint of his age, only helped to make him more impressive. Now he was smiling on his daughter, Shampoo's arm around his waist, looking as if all was right in the world. A beautiful illusion that only covered them in moments like that when all of them gathered, all the "Family". Kuno by his part was sitting in one corner, clad in his ever present blue Kendo GI, his special katana posed upon his knees. Alone yet a tiny smile graced his lips. Alone as Nabiki was surely working and thus was rarely with any of them, even her own daughters. It was kind of sad thought Ranko but all of them understood Nabiki's responsibilities. In a way if there was still freedom in the world it was thanks to her work, thanks to the information that she gathered. Information vital for Nerima. Ranko sighed. She herself was alone as her father was with Soun in the Academy and would return home only late that night. As for her mother she was with Selene meeting Sel's remaining family. She would have liked to be there for her new found friend but unfortunately she had to be there fighting. Well surely the guy that had the guts to challenge them would be done in short time so she could return to her house to wait her friend. Anyway for now her mother would be enough of support to Selene and... She was stronger than what seemed at first. Selene was so beautiful that it was easy to forget that under all that flesh was hidden a burning spirit. In the days they had been together she was surprised by those bursts of strong will and fighting spirit that even Selene seemed unaware to posses! Now once all that mess of the tournament was finshed and Selene had dealt with her family she would continue with her personal project; that is finding that Ryuken guy. It was so clear that Sel was head over hells in love with that man! Yet she continued to tell herself that she wasn't good enough to that man or that he surely he would not feel the slightest for her. That guy must be made of ice if he was able to resist Sel's good looks. By the Gods she was gorgeous! Ranko remembered the incident in the mall the day they had met for the first time. No soon had they made it to the mall running non stop, and entered there the males (and in some cases the women too!) customers had noticed her a riot had exploded about who would ask her out! At the end it was by sheer luck that they had escaped. once they found coral and the others they had taken by the rooftops a mob after them. Truth is she was also curious about that man. Anyway that was for later. Her aunt Ukyou entered along with Kaori, Hinako and Chiara. All were talking between them, seemingly carefree in the world, all of them happy in their different works. Ukyou still favoured the uniform of a traditional okonomiyaki seller though she had stopped selling the so called Japanese pizza. Of what once was the "Ucchan" nothing remains and when Ranko asks, Ukyou gave her a look that she had learned to understand. Ah yes she understood quite well. Ranma Saotome his still a taboo in her family. All are of the same mind that Ranma had been a unique being; one of those that you see one each century. But when Ranko asks about his disappearance she hurts against a wall and no one, not Akane, not Ukyou, not Nabiki are willing to say much about it. Only some half backed tale that he died against an unstoppable foe. But that's another story. As for Ukyou she not only works as a martial arts sensei in the Academy, but is also the responsible about the feeding of the city as well as other minor parts of the well being of Nerima. As for now she is being helped successfully by her older daughter, Kaori but also by Hinako and Chiara the fourth of Soun's daughters. Hinako an ex ki vampire felt in love with Soun once he saved her from a band of soldiers of the Queen. The then little chi vampire could have perfectly defeated those soldiers but Soun's appearance prevented that. The fact that he was ready to sacrifice his life for a band of strangers (Hinako was leading a group of people towards Nerima when the soldiers attacked) was deeply graven within her mind. In the following months she grew to know Soun quite well and things led to other things, and finally Hinako and Soun were to be wed. That "Cured" Hinako of reverting to her child state, to the great relief of most of the family. She still remained her powers upon ki and now she was the one in charge of the educational system of the whole Nerima, thus what was Tokyo and the surrounding region. Chiara for her part looked like a younger version of her mother but retained from her several special techniques involving ki manipulation. Her control was not perfect as was the exact limits of her abilities but under the tutelage of Cologne, Ryouga and the others she was extending her control. She helped her mother as well as the rest of her family when needed. She could very well work one day with Tofuu using her ki abilities to help his pacient or she could be helping Ukyou with her tasks within the nerimian organisation. Her sunny disposition made her very loved by all that came to know her, forgiving some childlike attitude that she showed from time to time. Quickly Ranko looks to the gathered people in the room. as far as she knows all of those that must be here are present. --------------------------------------------------- Soon all of them were sitting in the large table that had been installed there. Akane cleared he throat, the attention of the group fixed on her. "It seems that for the first time in the history of the tournament there is someone with enough courage to challenge us." Kuno snickered. "He must be a fool if he believes for a second that he stands a chance against us! Let me face him and he will taste humiliation!" "Uhh Kuno he is in his right to challenge us you know? Said Ryouga sweating a little. Kuno had nearly stopped with his speeches but still there were moments... "Yeah sugar," said Ukyou. "That guy is in his rights as the champion." Most of the group nodded. Kuno snickered but remained silent. "What do we know about that man? asked Mousse. "Little," answered Hinako as she gave a single page with all the information allowed to them. then she started to read aloud. "Kenshiro, last name unknown. Uses a martial art called Hokuto Shin Ken..." "Hokuto Shin Ken?" asked Coral. "Never heard of it. Does someone? All eyes moved towards Ryouga. As the strongest of them and an all round wanderer Ryouga had come in contact with martial arts all around the globe. But this time his face was as blank as the one of his friends. "No I never heard of this... North Dipper God fist. I suppose that not even Cologne knows about it right?" He looked towards Shampoo that as heir of the once amazon elder should know more of ancient martial arts than anyone in the room. The Amazon's history stretched to more than 3000 years, gathering all the martial arts lore of ancient China. if someone knew about this Hokuto Shin Ken it would be Cologne. Shampoo shook her head sadly. "No. Great grandmother never spoke of that art." she answered simply. "Well that means nothing." Said Ranko "We still have to deal with that guy. Yet I'm surprised that the winner of the championship wasn't Laeya or even Kanill." Hinako looked to Chiara one moment. The young woman nodded once. Hinako sighed. "Well as far as I know Kanill was defeated by this Kenshiro in the third fight." "What?" Chorused several of the people gathered in surprise. Hinako nodded. "Chiara was looking at the tournament as she was a part of the medical staff." All eyes looked to Hinako's daughter. "That's right. Kanill was defeated in less than five minutes. At first it seemed that he had the upper hand but after the first clash Kenshiro defeated him with a single kick." "That can't be right! With a single kick?!" shouted Sakura. Hinako nodded. "It's not only that," said Chiara. Her eyes glowing in anger "Xaran was the other finalist." "Xaran? That piece of shit?!" Growled Ranko. "He had the nerve of taking part of the tournament?" Then she paused. "Wait a moment if so... Then this Kenshiro guy defeated Xaran? Whoa that's no mean feat! Xaran had to be stronger than last time and that "Kenshiro" defeated him?" "Not only that but the fight was rather spectacular. He completely humiliated Xaran and he also stopped him in killing Laeya too." Chiara said. "What do you mean sister?" Asked Akane. "I mean that when Xaran was beating Laeya and doing that attack that crippled Mirya this Kenshiro appeared and told him quite clearly that if did not stop he would kill him." "Kill him?" Asked Akane a little shocked Chiara nodded. "Then he took Laeya with him. I felt her ki before he took her to one of the rooms of the clinic side of the Coliseum. She was nearly dead, her ki lines totally ravaged. But last thing I hear was that with the assistance of Tofuu he had saved her." "Are you sure of it?" Asked Ukyou. "As sure as I can be without looking at her. Tofuu had forbidden the access to the room where she is. I know this though : it seems that he had been talking with this Kenshiro for a long time. That's why the next battles were delayed." "So Tofuu knows about him..." Muttered Mousse. "Well that's enough. we are here to choose who of the presents will face that man." Said Shampoo in a one that cut off all small talk. "It should be easy to decide," said Ryouga. "We had already decided at least half of the fights when we thought on the possibility of someone deciding to challenge us. Now the problem is going to be the first three fights." At that point Ranko, Sakura and Coral looked at each other. Those three were as near as sisters as you can get, even with an understanding greater than what Akane Kasumi and Nabiki shared. With a look it was enough to share thought and ideas. "Well daddy that's already taken care of," said Sakura. "Meaning?" Asked in unison Akane and Ryouga. "Meaning that the first three fights are ours," said Sakura while gesturing to her near sisters that nodded with smug looks in their faces. "Is that so?" Asked Akane her eyes narrowing as she exchanged a look of her own with Shampoo and Ukyou. Wisely Hinako and the others decided to stay out of it. Better for the health. "Oh yeah," said Coral. "That poor guy would have not a prayer if he fought against all of you. So we are giving him at least a chance. And after all if he defeated Xaran he may be a decent enough fighter. It may be funny even." Akane's eyes narrowed at the bring to refuse what her daughter and her sisters said but then Ukyou's hand lightly posed upon her shoulder. She looked back to Ukyou, that silently shook her head. She sighed. Ukyou was right. Those three would sooner or later do as they wanted but that doesn't meant that she was happy with it. there was something... Like a feeling of dread that filled her once she heard that name. But she had to bend her will this time, when looking onto their eyes. They would fight for the right to face that man almost as of it was a joke or a game. But they were warriors and as such she had to respect their wishes. She sighed once again. "very well? But who is going to face him in the first fight? "That's easy: me." Was said by the trio. Once they realised that they had said it she looked at each other, eyes narrowing auras rising. "Now, now Sakua-chan, Coral-chan, you know that I will the first to face that guy." Said Ranko as her hands moved as claws and her lips tensed into a pseudo smile. "If you believe that Ranko-chan then you are even more crazy than what I thought!" Said Sakura her smile as tense as Ranko's "Enough with you two! I will be the first, you both know it." "In your dreams!" Shouted Ranko and Sakura at the same time. "It will be me!" "Ah and you still believe that!? _I_ will be the first!" "I will be the first, so shut up!" "You're delirious!" .... .... ..... .... .... ..... ------------------------------------------------- Ryuken slowly stepped into the repaired area, looking to the alterations made to the fighting area. It was in pristine conditions, the repairing staff having done its work efficiently while the two hours pause between the final fight between him and Xaran. And the series of fights that would oppose him to the selected members of the so called Nerima Wrecking Crew. The only difference with the finales was that in two opposing corners of the enormous rectangle that composed the fighting area two special areas had been prepared; one white and the other black. He stopped to look to both corners not really knowing where he had to put himself when one of the judges at the sides of the tatami motioned him to go to the black one. Ryuken shrugged, indifferently, and with the same calm went to his assigned place. There he crossed his arms and prepared himself for his first match. For some several moments he stood there silent as the crowd was making all the (un)wanted sound, all the discussions buzzing, augmented by the sheer numbers of people gathered in the Coliseum. He could wonder about what they could be talking about but he knew that all those cheery sounds that he heard from time to time weren't going to last long. He sighed. With all the thoughts, even with all the times he examined his feelings, he had the growing sensation that all rational thoughts would be thrown out of him given the chance That bothered him, concerned him. There was still a feeling there, some dark spot of raw anger and fury that no word could smooth. If things continued like that he would only know the truth when the moment was right. He was reaped from his inner thoughts when the crowd exploded in cheers as his first adversary stepped in the fighting area, slowly moving towards the white corner opposing his dark one. Short dark hair with reddish highlights fashioned in a tomboyish way, green eyes gleaming like emeralds when the light touched them and a smile which showed some short fangs. She walked with the grace of a natural born fighter, confidence clearly showing on her face as the wind blew the pangs of her hair. She was wearing a white sleeveless gi with dark pants tied at her ankles, two arms bracers finishing her outfit as she saluted the gathered people as her smile widened. Ryuken's fists clenched with strength, nails digging on his skin as he recognised who was going to open the matches between him and the so called defenders of Nerima. He had already seen her. He didn' t need to check again her aura, her face and those damned fangs screamed her parentage and a rush of unexpected feelings made their way to the core of his being. Akane's daughter. Ryouga's daughter. Ryouga's. RYOUGA'S!! His blood ran cold as the voice of the judge that had announced all the previous fights sound again trough the speakers "People of Nerima!" The crowds cheered. "Here we are to assist to the second part of our traditional tournament of the city of Nerima." More cheers. "In the white corner, defending that Arts of the city is Sakura Hibiki of the Iron Mountain sub-division of the Tendo/Hibiki Anythihg Goes School of Martial Arts!!" More wild cheers, the crowd roaring as if a tsunami had been unchained upon the Coliseum. "And for the first time ever in the history of the Nerima Championship a fighter is proud enough to continue the fight! Cheers. "On the black corner we have Kenshiro, of the Hokuto Shin Ken School of Martial Arts and winner of the tournament!!" The crowd continued cheering but clearly with less strength and passion than with Sakura. But to Ryuken that was nothing. He wasn't even aware of it as his mind was a rush. He need to finish this as quickly as possible, to once and for all challenge that dark part of him that was screaming to tear the whole place apart with the sheer power of his battle aura. Slowly, in what seemed to him an eternal time, he took control of himself, barely restraining his most inner feelings from turning his eyes golden; controlling the killing potential within. The voice of the judge sounded even stronger trough the whole complex of the Coliseum. "Advance to the centre." Sakura started moving from her corner and Ryuken followed suit. After some minutes they were both face to face, Sakura examining her adversary that was standing there silently, looking at her down, coolly; no emotion showing on his face. But she knew that something was up if only by how his knuckles were white by his strength or how is eyes were cold hard. She tried to read his feelings better. One of the teachings from Cologne was to read the almost unseen tensions of the body in order to read the emotional state of your adversary. Those feelings could be an information over his possible pattern in the fight. From what she had learned this guy fought with little emotion, systematically tearing down defences with powerful, precise and quick strikes. He was fast, very fast and if his previous accomplishment were right very strong too. Yet she was sure that she was stronger than he. She tried to reads his feelings but for all words he was a statue of ice, not showing anything. If she didn't knew it better she would have thought that he was dead for the lack of movement, but the steady rhythm of his respiration told her otherwise. well if the pure physical examination was without any effect she would read is aura, doing so by deepening her perception, her ki awareness. She concentrated... And she found nothing. Her face darkened. When one was able to control his own ki to that level it could only mean that you had mastery upon the body and the mind. In other words the ability to use your ki in a semi solid form along with physical boosts. Yet if he had that control why didn't he used it in his previous matches? Chiara had been sure that he had not used any ki at all, in any fight. Curious. A shadow of a smile appeared on Sakura's lips. It was since a long time that she had the possibility of fighting with someone of a good level, outside of her family. She knew that the judge was at the verge of starting the fight so she had little time to check his emotions. She gathered her energies, yet at the same time trying to make the power up discreet and send it as a probe to the emptiness that was his aura. For some moments there was a resistance, a barrier preventing her from reaching to him. She was ready to drop it when a ripple appeared almost as an answer to her attempts. It was feint but she could feel a very powerful emotion: Anger. Undoubtedly it was anger, after all she had used that same emotion time and time again to power up her aura. Her smile grew a little more. In a fight some emotions were dangerous to use and amongst them anger was the worst if not well controlled. From that little glimpse she had felt his anger was barely restrained. All the better for her. The voice of the judge resonated trough the speakers. "Fighters ready!" Sakura tensed and gathered her energies. "AJIME!!" Sakura jumped backwards as her aura surrounded her a sense of power filling her. She adopted her stance, one with emphasis on strength but allowing easily to shift into a defensive one. Along with the power of her battle aura it should be enough to withstand anything that this man could send her. After all as now she was strong enough to withstand a round with her farther and she was sure that no matter what, this guy was weaker than her father. And as all in her family she had passed by the Backusai Tenketsu training, boosting her already unnatural strength. No. Nothing that guy had could possibly harm her. But even so she would wait until he had moved first. So she remained unmoving, silently looking at her adversary. He hadn't moved. Nothing at all. For some moments they remained there, silently looking at each other. Slowly the moments passed, turning into minutes of nothing. And as any respectable showman can witness, a supposed spectacle where the main actors are doing nothing is bad for the business. Eventually the crowd began to turn restless, whispers turning to roars at the lack of fighting. The fact is that even Sakura was starting to loose her patience. Patience was never one of her strong points. Some would say that it rules in the family (7) Then he moved. Unfortunately for Sakura it wasn't the kind of move she expected. In fact the surprise nearly made her loose her concentration upon her aura. The man yawned as if sleepy, in an overly exaggerated gesture, as if he had been sleeping deeply and was awaking. Half the crowd facevaulted. Ryuken moved his head from side to side as if chasing some pain on the neck. After some moments he focused again on the young woman in front of him. "Sorry but you are so boring." He said with a smirk on his lips. A very _annoying_ smirk. Sakura's brow twitched. He continued as if he had not noticed the small reaction but he had and within he was smiling and it wasn't a good fellow kind of smile. It was vicious and deadly, the kind your worst enemy had when about to cut your throat. "Are you stupid? Who are you trying to fool? Do you really want me to attack you _first_? With those holes in your defence? You must be joking!" She twitched some more. "Should have expected something like that," he muttered to himself but loud enough to allow Sakura to listen "What do you mean?!" She practically yelled at him, her aura once more burning at full blast, crimson on her growing anger. His eyes gleamed with the light of the sun and almost in a whisper he answered. "That you are your parents' child." He said simply. If Sakura had been thinking straight she would have been intrigued by the fact that this "guy" seemed to know her parents. But unfortunately for her she wasn't thinking straight. For her that simple words were an insult well hidden and as such it needed to be dealt with in consequence. Her aura already of considerable proportions grew even more, but if Sakura expected some reaction, like fear she was disappointed. Ryuken snorted. "Oh please! Do you really think that such a weakling's aura can frighten me? Oh please!" Sakura's aura burned even brighter and some of the ground began to shake violently. "You... called... ME... a... WEAKLING?!!" Ryuken shook his head almost in regret. He sighed. he should feel ashamed for it but he wasn't. His smirk was so offensive that Sakura nearly lost her mind. "You got that right. You're a weakling..." Sakura exploded in a fury of punches, kicks and all sort of attacks all of them at Amaguriken speed. For a full half minute she unleashed blows that could have turned stone into dust and steel into twisted scraps, such was the brightness of her aura that none could see what happened between the two of them. One of her strikes touched the ground that exploded a could of dust cloaking them both but shortly after and Sakura emerged from it, aura still blazing. She was carried by her own impulse and for a moment couldn't stop herself. She continued with her mad dash, her aura still around her with the same brightness but it was clear that it's strength had diminished, the light now tight around Sakura's body. She was breathing hard but a smug smile was upon her lips, the cheers from the crowd rising to a new degree of euphoria. Sakura breathed deeply and her aura winked out of existence. She then started walking towards the cloud of dust that is still hanging on but quickly dissipating. She crosses her arms upon her chest. "Who's the weakling now mister?" She shouted to the cloud, not expecting any kind of answer. And for some moments there is only silence. So her disbelief was great and turning bigger when a sound that could only be a laughter started to come from the cloud. It finished dissipating totally showing how devastated was the area where Ryuken had been standing just moments before. Unfortunately for the young woman her opponent was untouched, if only a little dusty. "You." He simply said as he stated to chase the dust upon his shirt, a cold smile still dancing upon his lips. He then continued to dust himself, ignoring the young woman that was there unmoving, like in trance. "Honestly what do you pretended to achieve lashing out like a wild pig?" He asked casually as if talking about the weather. _That_ made her react as she closed her fist, the cheers from the crowd now as silent as it was mere instants before. She growled. "Well at last I do something not like the jerk you are!" she shouted back. The smile vanished from his face, the last statement too much like what Akane would have said him. He snorted and tried to revert to his old Ranma Saotome personae as he could. "Well I may be a jerk but at last I know how to fight, not like someone I have right now in front of me." Again temper was getting the better of Sakura as a pale red aura was forming around her. "What do you mean?" She practically snarled, eyes closing slightly. "That at last I'm not some rampaging gorilla tomboy, unable to see how low she stand in the martial arts division!" The aura gained more colour as it gained more power. "Are you saying that I'm not a martial artist?" A cold, bone-chilling laughter was her answer. "You a martial artist? Gods you have one freaked sense of humour in this damned city! You better had tried to be a clown. There you had some potential." Sakura's aura grew by tenfold, saturating the air around her with anger ki. He started pacing in a relaxed pace as if thinking about some different matters, not having a anger-maddened ki wilder mere meters from him. "I mean, you're sloppy, you show your moves way before you _do_ them, you waste too much strength and energy in your strikes..." Now the whole area was glowing redder by the minute. She charged him again summoning the amaguriken's speed, and even more. Her fist was flying towards his face, ready to smash his cheek and the flesh when he turned to face her. Then for a single instant his eyes gleamed golden. "And most of all you don't have CONTROL!" Sakura's eyes widened when she saw him move at a speed that she couldn't hope to match in her life. First she saw him dodge her fist. Then she felt a powerful hand grabbing her extended wrist. Then pain. The next she was aware of was of being lifted and smashed against the ground, the stone broken as a web appeared at impact point. WHAM! Her aura disappeared, her concentration broken as pain flared on her body and the air in her lungs was violently expelled. She blinked trying to clean her dust-filed eyes as she fought to regain her breath when she was again lifted, effortlessly, and once again slammed against the hard ground. WHAM! The difference being in her kissing the cold ground. She would have continued her thoughts but for the fact that she was again lifted and slammed. WHAM!WHAM!WHAM! WAHM!WHAM!WHAM! Bones snapped with each impact, starting by the ones of her captured arm, the bones on her shoulder popping out of their sockets, fuelling the pain that was cursing trough her body, joints seemingly exploding each time she met the ground. WHAM!WHAM!WHAM! WHAM!WHAM!WHAM! Again and again she was slammed the ground, fighting to hold on consciousness even if the strength behind each slamming was increasing. Along with the devouring pain. After some unknown time she could even taste the iron savour of her own blood in her mouth as the effect of the beating were starting to be felt in her body. She coughed some more of her blood with the little strength that she had left in her body. Between conscious and unconscious she could fell how she was risen and prepared herself to be slammed again. Nothing could save her from being once again used to destroy the stones of the Coliseum as even the resistance and protection granted by her Backusai Tenketsu had been overwhelmed. It was frightening how quickly it had been nullified a part of her mind supplied but she was beyond caring. For now only two brutal facts were in her mind; the ever present pain and the cold, ruthless reality that she had been defeated in a ridiculous short time And she could do jack about it. For some moments she awaited the pain that would flare from her bruised body but strangely she felt nothing. She waited. She waited for what seemed, to her, a long time. As nothing was happening she tentatively opened her eyes, the vision unfocused as she tried to capture some image that wasn't floozy. Slowly the image passed to be a face. _His_ face. She would have spat if she had strength enough. For some time disorientation was the only thing that she had clear along with the fat that his face was very near hers. But bit by bit she regained some orientation and realised that she was still in the air, a few feet from the ground, her body a single mass of painful bruises. So she did the only thing that she could in her state: She glared. Needless to say if looks could kill, Ryuken would have ceased to exist on the spot. He chuckled as he saw the still stubborn girl refusing to surrender. He chuckled. "Sure you got fire under all that bad ass attitude even after you have been defeated." She tried to move yet only pain answered her efforts. He chuckled once again. "Well it seems that you don't know when you have been defeated" She struggled even more. Ryuken coupled her face with his free hand and with almost tenderness pressed his trump into and hidden tsubo on her neck. Sakura's head dropped, her whole body relaxing. "Sorry girl... Better luck next time." That said he moved towards the nearest limit of the fighting area still holding Sakura's wrist, thus dragging her limp body. Once there he lifted the still unconscious body and dropped it out of the fighting area. Then without looking back he returned to his corner. For moments the entire coliseum remained silent. Then the voice of the judge, clearly disturbed was heard. "Ah... uh... Sakura Hibiki, disqualified for landing outside of the fighting area. Winner Kenshiro of the Hokuto Shin ken School of Martial Arts." People started to talk between them as the voice went on. "Next fight will be in thirty minutes. Be there!" Ryuken silently exited the area, the shadows of the rest room awaiting him as several interested eyes followed him. ------------------------------------------------- Several people were gathered outside of the room for medical emergencies as in concern they were waiting for Tofuu and his assistants to finish with their administrations of Sakura. She had been unconscious when brought in and Tofuu and his staff had immediately took care of her. So here they were awaiting for the diagnostic in the medical section of the Coliseum. Akane was sitting absently looking at her hands as the rest of her family was with their eyes locked to the door from which they expected Tofuu to come out. She looked at each of the ones that formed her family. Her father, Kasumi and Genma were still at the academy finishing their classes and would soon met them for the last matches of the tournament. if not after the end of it. Nodoka was with Selene, helping her to face the rest of her family and wasn't expected to return for at least the next couple of hours. As for Cologne and Nabiki none of then knew where they were and right now Akane didn't even bother in thinking about it. Shampoo was quietly discussing with Mousse and Coral, concern clear in their face as their daughter was the next to face this... Man that sent her older daughter to ICU. As always Coral's face was full of confidence (something that was usually shared along with her "cousins") but Akane was well aware, from little signs, that her confidence wasn't so high than usual. She sighed. She herself wasn't sure if she could feel as confident as the younger ones. She looked at Ranko and Kaori, talking with Chiara, Hinako and Ukyou as they eyes kept moving to the door. They also seemed relaxed if not by the concern for Sakura's well being but also in them the hints of worry and doubt could be found. Her eyes moved to the last of the group; Ryouga and Kuno. It was clear that Ryouga was pissed, worst he was angry as a volcano at the brink of exploding but he knew better than letting his feeling to take the better of him, but it was clear that it was taxative; all the muscles of his body taunt to their limits. A little more and Akane would have expected some ki-manifestation. For now it seemed that Kuno was achieving what he expected; calming down Ryouga even if his own concern, anger and doubts were clear. Akane once more looked to her hands, marvelling at their intricate but at the same time simple functionality. She had to put her mind in those little, insignificant things or her mind would snap. Since a long time her major weakness was a quasi abusive concern for her family and the people that, as a martial artist, she was sworn to protect. She couldn't help it after looking at so much pain and suffering. She was extremely sensitive to the well being of her loved ones and right now that concern was suffocating any ill-thought against the man that brutalised so much her daughter. That man... From the first time she saw that... "Kenshiro", something was telling her that something was wrong, that something wasn't as it should be, but she wasn't sure of what it meant. It was as if a part of her was... Frightened by that man. Yes that was it: she was frightened. Not of a physical confrontation with him. Even if from what she had seen so far this was a first rate fighter maybe even better than her, but from something else, something that was hidden within that man. She felt a arm hug her. Startled she turned her face to see Ukyou's concerned face looking at her with a little smile and some concern. "Hey sugar." Akane smiled. "How are you doing Akane?" Asked the ex-okonomiyaki chef. Akane forced a smile if only for her friends behalf. "Fine, I suppose." She looked to the door. "As fine as I can be with my eldest child on intensive care." For a moment she remained silent. Then in a very low voice spoke. "I'm scared Ukyou." Ukyou hugged her tiger. She knew perfectly well that Akane wasn't referring only to Sakura's well being but about a good number of other things. "I know Akane, but for now better focus on Sakura-chan, ne?" Akane nodded, the sighed. "Not being able to do something is driving me crazy Ukyou. I should be there by her side not here looking at my hands or anything else. I just should be there, comforting her." Ukyou nodded. "But I can't." A bitter laugh came from her lips. "I can not even go and rip that bastard into pieces by the rules that I helped to create for this damned tournament!" Some in the room looked at her, specially Ryouga, Looking at her with his gaze filled with concern, anger and the seemingly ever present depression. But when they realised that Akane wasn't even noticing them they returned to their own discussions. Akane sighed. She hated that. The feeling of hopelessness, of not being able to do anything to put things right, not only with her daughter, but with her world. And right now her world's centre was her daughter, so like herself in some ways and so much like her father in others, so much like any other child of this world. Ukyou said nothing even if she supposed what was going on in Akane's mind. With the years both women, along with Shampoo had formed a relationship that sometimes bordered on the sistership and sometimes was even more than that. She sighed grateful in knowing that her own children weren't in the tournament this year, but Akane's pain for her daughter was Ukyou's own; as she cared greatly for all in her family. And that family was Akane, Shampoo and the others, with their sons and sisters. Yes she was as suffering as Akane but keeping the perspective that the pain may grow sooner. She was doubtful in sharing this but she felt that Akane needed to think on what she was concerned. "Akane I know your pain but..." she paused. "But right now I'm more concerned about Coral and Ranko." Akane nodded but remained silent. "I know that I shouldn't but this Kenshiro guy is giving me the creeps." She said, careful that her words only reached Akane's ears. "Care to explain yourself?" Asked Akane as she returned her gaze to her friend. Now it was Ukyou's turn to remain silent. For some moment she was looking to the door mickmicking Akane. "I don't know... Since he appeared and after hearing how he defeated all the others with barely an effort at all. And then being so... Brutal with Sakura... I can't shake the feeling that this guy got other reasons for being here apart from testing himself." Akane nodded. "I mean," continued Ukyou, "he is a too _good_ fighter to just decide to take part on the tournament? Then why is he here? There are other ways to make himself a name in Nerima... what I mean is that..." "That he wants to fight _us_" concluded Akane. Ukyou nodded. "Something like that. And I think that what happened with Sakura is going to happen with Coral and Ranko." She paused. "This guy... There is a darkness within him... A darkness that is hiding things. And I got the feeling that we aren't going to like what we are going to find within it." For another moment they remained silent as was the rest of the room, but eventually Akane broke the silence between them. "Haven't you the impression that there is more going on?" "What do you mean?" For another moment Akane remained silent as if gathering her thoughts. "That something isn't right with... everything?" Ukyou smiled, a sad smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Sugar nothing had gone "right" since Ranchan..." Realising what she was about to say Ukyou stopped, closing her mouth quickly. It was an old wound that never healed properly and never would. Akane smiled, her smile also full of sadness as were her eyes. "Yes since Ranma died." Suddenly the door opened and Tofuu stepped from the dark room, silently closing it. All the faces turned towards the good doctor and quickly they gathered around him, some of the faces showing openly their concern and anxiety for Sakura's well being. Akane was the first to speak. "Ono... How is Sakura?" Tofuu breathed deeply and with a tired smile nodded to Akane. "She is going to make it." There was a feeling of satisfaction and relaxation that suddenly exploded in the room the faces showing it openly. Tofuu picked his glasses and massaged the bridge of his nose as if tired. "She was never in a real danger." "What do you mean?" Asked Ryouga concerned and confused. "What I said. Yes I know that her external aspect was terrible and frankly there isn't a part of her body that isn't bruised or battered, but internally the damages were lesser than what at first we thought." He paused, the people gathered waiting him to finish his diagnostic. "There aren't too much damage done to her organs but there had been some internal bleeding but it was quickly healed. Her bones structure is what had suffered most: all of her joints are separated and almost half of her bones are broken or cracked. Some of them are broken in two or three points..." Akane's face darkened. "And that is what you call "not a real danger"?!" Tofuu looked at her with a cold gaze. "Considering the beating she took you should be grateful that her state is so light. Any being that hadn't passed by her training and specially by the Bakusai Tenketsu would have his bones totally destroyed and more likely would have died at the first blows." Akane had the decency of looking sheepishly. Ryouga looking at the distressed state of his wife put a comforting hand upon her shoulder. Akane smiled and put her own hand upon it, silently thanking him for his support. Tofuu looked at the couple and nodded. "I'm sorry Akane, I shouldn't have snapped like that. Truth is I feared her to be in a situation more life threatening." Akane sighed and even smiled a little. "It's all right Ono... it's that..." Tofuu just dismissed what she was about to say with a gesture and a smile. "I would have felt the same if it was my own son in Sakura's place. No need to excuse yourself for a natural reaction." "And now what?" asked Ryouga. Tofuu looked to the fanged martial artist. "I will move her to the intensive care unit of the New Nerima General Clinic. Even if her condition is not life threatening, more due to her training, it's still delicate. For now we have put her into a full body cast after checking that all bones are correctly set back. From there we will see." He paused a moment looking to the younger people gathered there. "Look you should all prepare for the next fights, the rest time between fights, even if it had been extended, is about to come to an end." They nodded and started moving towards the exit but before exiting Tofuu's voice called them. "One last thing." They turned. "The man that put Sakura in that sate... Be careful." "Hey doc leave him to me! I will cream him for what he did to Sakura-neechan!" Exclaimed Ranko her fist glowing with ki. She was bashed by a bombori handled by a glaring Coral. "That will be after I finish with him!" Ranko glared back. "Why you!" Most of the adults in the room sighed an single thought in their heads: "Those two will never learn." Yet Tofuu expression turned deadly serious. "If I were you place I would be careful with that man." "What do you mean?" asked Shampoo, her voice betraying some concern for her daughter. "This man is dangerous. Mark my words you had better to not underestimate him." Before he could concretise his warnings the speakers sounded. "WARRIORS FOR THE SECOND FIGHT. PRESENT YOURSELVES IN THE FIGHTING AREA. I REPEAT PRESENT YOURSELVES. THE TOURNAMENT RESTARTS IN TEN MINUTES." Silently they started moving Ranko and Coral bickering between them. Tofuu looked at the people exiting the room the feeling that Sakura was only the first member of his family that he would take care of. If he had been free to spoke freely to tell them who was the man they would face he may have felt a little better with himself, but he had sworn to not tell anything of what Ranma had told him. It was still unbelievable that Ranma had returned from that apocalyptic place so changed and in any other circumstance he would have said something both to his departing family, that had no idea what they would be facing or to the young man that had been his friend in what seemed now another life. No. Ranma would pay his revenge and even wanting Tofuu could not say anything to try to change his mind. he had been so anger as was Ranma when he had seen what Ryouga, Mousse and Kuno did to the pig tailed youth and during a time he had sworn any contact with them. But as time passed and as the threat coming from Jusenkyou grew to swallow the world he had slowly started to forgive. No he had no right to try to stop Ranma in claming his revenge, nor in betraying his trust but he knew that his moral position, his decision to cover Ranma would only hurt a lot of people that he loved. Tofuu sighed and slowly returned to his patients his heart heavy. ------------------------------------------------- In a room, restricted the access to a handful of people, two women were talking to each other, viewing a set of photos describing the last fights, specially the one between Ryuken and Sakura. And discussing the possible consequences that this day would bring, to them, their families and their world. Nabiki was a little pale as she looked back at the beating Ryuken, that is Ranma, gave to her niece. For once she wished to be wrong on his assessing one Ranma's personality because she would have sworn, before this day that Ranma Saotome never hit woman, more if they were weaker than him. And above anything else with such brutal viciousness. "You saw what he did to her." Cologne was looking at the same photos (a copy) with her brows tilted in concern as she moved a lock of her air, absently. "Yes." Nabiki was a little unnerved seeing the little concern that Cologne had for the whole "show". "And what do you think?" Cologne sighed and looked at the younger woman. "Right now I'm expecting to see what will happen when he will face Coral and, more specially Ranko." She looked back to the photos, now turning her attention to another set. They were blurry in some moments, the speed used by Ranma was beyond the cope of the recorder even if it was regulated to amaguriken speeds and a little beyond. She snorted, annoyed by the limitations of the technology they had at their disposition. Nabiki looked to the same photos. It was clear that Ranma had improved, but to which limits? His previous fights in the first phase of the tournament had been as short as they could be. He only slowed his pace at his fight with Xaran but even then he had finished his fights with a speed that was... disturbing. It was as if all the moves, all the techniques used against him were, simply, ineffective, as if he had a counter any other martial art. She had to recognise that what he said to Cologne was starting to become a cold truth: Against the Hokuto Shin Ken any other martial art is a weakling's art. Right now she wasn't sure if she wanted to met him... More after what she had seen him do to Sakura, to Akane and Ryouga's daughter. In the depth's of her being Nabiki Tendo was starting to be afraid for all of them. If that happened when he came face to face with the daughter of the one that send into to oblivion then what would happen when he would face Kuno, Mousse and Ryouga. Above any other Ryouga. As far as her knowledge of the mind of the old Ranma went, she had no doubt that if Ranma blamed someone without the shadow of a doubt that had to be Ryouga. For one moment Nabiki wished that things were more simple. But unfortunately they weren't. Because she knew that Ryouga wasn't the only one to blame. They all shared a part of the fault and all had more than a single sin to atone for and she suspected that Ranma felt like that, ready to even the score. "Cologne?" The amazon eyes moved to hers. "Yes?" "What do you think of Ranma?" Cologne sighed, somewhat bothered by the interruption but until the next fight she wouldn't be able to make any other hypothesis about Ranma's powers and fighting skills. "As you surely had noticed the fights in which he had taken part are unusually short. As you may have guessed it may be due to his martial art being superior to the other used." Nabiki nodded "But there is more to that simple statement." "As?" "For starters there is no excessive technique in his way to fight." "Something as in Muai Tai?" Cologne remained silent as if searching for the right way to expose her conclusions. "More or less but there are more than met the eyes than such simple statement. You see Ranma's fighting style is simple because he doesn't need to make it complex. He doesn't feel threatened by any martial art that is used against him so he uses his physical superiority to end his fights." Nabiki's eyes gleamed "An example." Cologne snorted, as if annoyed. "An example? Use your eyes girl! He his like a juggernaut, destroying all in his wake. He overpower strength upon strength and speed upon speed. He adapts to the level of his adversary and uses the strength, endurance or speed needed to defeat him or her with ease." Again she paused, gathering her thoughts. "There are two facts that disturbs me when he overpowers the other fighter. "Such as?" this wasn't what she had asked for but it was giving her answers she would need after. "First is the fact of how effortlessly he does so. There is no strain in his fights. He not even sweats when fighting, he doesn't change the rhythm of his respiration..." "So that means that he is holding back. A lot." "That's an understatement." Cologne gestured to the photos now covering the table between them. "Let's take the fight against Sakura. She attacks him with the amaguriken but she not even touches him. His clothes are cut by the air pressure but she barely menages to touch his skin." Nabiki nods "Then he takes her and starts slamming her against the ground. Think on the strength used to lift her and slams her with such violence that the grounds can barely hold such pressure. Think also in that fact of how strong is Sakura... That augmented with her ki that is flaring at full power." "And he is not even sweating or breathing hard..." musses Nabiki. "Exact. Whatever was his training it hold secrets still unknown to us and thinking in the martial arts' history of this world that is quite a long time. And that leads us to a disturbing conclusion." "That is?" "What bothered me from the moment we crossed our fists... The lack of ki powering." Nabiki paled some, her lips dry As if no noticing Cologne continues. "Ki is the source of life in the universe. Each being use it with each heart beat, from the moment we are born to the moment of our death. It can be used to many wonderful and terrible things." She then proceeds to handle one of the photos pointing to Ranma. "And here we have a warrior that without using ki is stronger and faster that any ki-wilder. But we know that he must have vast cantities of ki power. The point is: what would happen if he used ki?" Nabiki's eyes sparked. "He would be virtually impossible to be stopped. If his strength and speed along with his endurance are so high, then with a ki powering they would be off scale." "Exactly. But this is only half of the problem." "Meaning?" Cologne breathed deeply. "As you pointed his fight with Sakura was brutal. Too brutal. It's not difficult to imagine what he tried to accomplish with such beating but that's besides the point." Nabiki eyebrows arched. "Explain." "I can't help but remember the fight on the dojo and compare it with his fights in this tournament. In the dojo he toyed with those monsters but with the intent of killing them. He was holding back a lot of his real power back then. I know so much because he told me so and he wasn't lying." She gestured the photos. "I have no trouble to compare the two fights and the ones here..." She paused. "I think that if he was fighting full-out, without holding back, all of his opponents would be death in ways more brutal than what he used with Sakura." Nabiki palled. "But Ranma isn't a killer! Or at last he wasn't..." Cologne snorted. "that's the point. Wasn't." She closed her eyes and in a cold voice repeated. "Hokuto Shin ken is an assassin's art" She opened her eyes and looked to the younger woman. "An assassin's art. That can only mean that he is a killer. A killer that is choosing not to kill. Even if he can and it's so obvious that to him killing as an act as natural as to breath, not to say as easy." Again she paused. "And I'm afraid that he already was even before his exile." Nabiki's face showed her shock. "What do you mean?! Ranma was practically harmless back then! Sure he was jerk and a baka but a killer? No way!" Cologne's eyes glared. "You don't understand. Whatever happened to him opened a way for his more darker side to show itself. Do you think that you kill only by learning? Some people are born that way, maybe one between a million but those people are gifted in killing. With them killing is an art and what Ranma displayed in the dojo was that dark potential given flesh." Her eyes her now gleaming as if her ki was slowly rising. "Only honour stopped him from unleashing that potential. If things had remained as they were back then one day Ranma would have killed. It was inevitable." A pause, the silence chilling. "He was the best; build, created, powered to be the ultimate living weapon. Only his honour, his need to be different from his father, to hold on something; that martial artist code, prevented him from taking advantage of others. That and his heart, always forgiving. His heart that was what caused his downfall." In that moment, to Nabiki's eyes, Cologne seemed way older as if the magic of Jusenkyou had only hidden the true age of the once matriarch "And now this Hokuto Shin Ken; this North Dipper God Fist. The perfect weapon to the perfect warrior. You wanted to know what I think? I think... no. I _Know_ that there is no fighter in this tournament, not to say in the world, with the power and the skill to defeat him. Nabiki I'm afraid of what is to come when he will face Ryouga." Nabiki was silent until, slowly she asked a question which she didn't wanted to know the answer. But she needed to know, needed to know if her own fear was the one of the woman in front of her. "Cologne... What do you fear?" Silence answered her for a long moment. Cologne was looking at her hands intertwined. Then slowly, as slowly as Nabiki asked her question, Cologne answered. "What I fear is that once he fights Kuno, Mousse and specially Ryouga, that darkness that he wields overwhelms him. And... If that happens there will be no force on earth to stop him from claiming the vengeance he carves for." She looked at Nabiki and her eyes generally so clear and confident were troubled. "And his price will be in blood." Both women locked eyes, silence reigning until the speakers, trough the whole structure of the coliseum, came to life. "WARRIORS FOR THE SECOND FIGHT. PRESENT YOURSELVES IN THE FIGHTING AREA. I REPEAT: PRESENT YOURSELVES. THE TOURNAMENT RESTARTS IN TEN MINUTES." "The second act begins." Mussed Nabiki. Both women turned their eyes to the windows and moved towards there where they could see perfectly the whole fighting area. Ready to see the next part of the drama. ------------------------------------------------- Coral could see how her adversary stepped into the fighting area and took his place in his dark corner. The damages that the ground had sustained had been quickly been taken care of (8) and now the place looked new. But that, to the daughter of Shampoo and Mousse was of little, if none, concern. What was in her mind was the state in which this "guy" had left Sakura. Since her early childhood she along with Sakura, Ranko, Kaori and the others had been taught to work together in any time, the bond between them growing as years passed, only becoming stronger as their families passed by all the struggles possible trying to defend Nerima and all the people within its boundaries. It was thought, more for a bunch of growing girls as strangely there were few boy in their group, but their friendship helped it and Coral knew that she could count on her "cousins" that were even more than sisters, altought there wasn't the same blood relation between them. Simply in a dark world things like friendship and family mattered more than conveniences. Sure she used to bicker a lot with Ranko and Sakura but only when it came to fighting. Internally she recognised the superiority of Ranko but she would be damned if she let it know! No, there wasn't a simple relationship between the young women of those special families but one think was crystal clear: When someone messed with one then he messed with them all. And that simply wouldn't do. No mister. This guy, this Kenshiro, had brutally defeated Sakura, ridiculing her skills in the martial arts and left her in a lamentable state. Well she was going to make him pay, and in spades! She still remembered Sakura being taken quickly into the intensive care unit of the Coliseum, her face and what parts of her body appeared trough her gi darkened by nasty bruises, some of them so big and dark that Coral was afraid that they would leave a mark on Sakura's body. That without speaking of the blood that tainted her face and body even as she coughed even more of the red liquid. No. If she bickered with Ranko like a child about who would have the liver of this bastard it was because she wanted to be the one to tear him apart. this time there would be nothing left of that guy to the claws of the wild child of the Saotome family. Yet she was cautious. She was too well trained, not only by her own parents but also by Cologne, Happosai and the other adults, to rush madly against that man. One of the first rules was to never underestimate your opponent. It was a rule that, unfortunately, Sakura had never been to keen in following mostly due to her temper. A temper that she had inherited from her parents, the difference being that Akane and Ryouga knew how to use that anger, controlling it and not otherwise. She looked again to her adversary. Tall, obviously very strong and fast. And absolutely ruthless. The judge shouted once again the presentations but she paid no heed to them. She knew her enemy. She advanced towards the centre as the man did the same. She couldn't help but notice the way he moved almost gliding upon the ground as if he not even needed to move to advance towards her. He stopped as she did, nearly a couple of meters separating them, her muscles relaxed but ready to spring into movement once the judge had given the starting signal. She looked at his face, a mask of neutrality. She looked at his eyes, two twin pools of the purest blue she had seen ever, but remembering her a little of, curiously, Ranko's. But there was something in his eyes, something alien to her. Yet... Yet she had the impression that she knew him or at least that she had already crossed paths with him. That let her a little puzzled because she couldn't figure where or when their path had crossed. But this wasn't the time for remembrances. She was there to win a fight and show to everyone that here in Nerima, within her family, were the best mortal fighters in the world. This hot shot could have won the tournament and he could have defeated Sakura but that mean nothing. This guy could be good but he couldn't hope to pass to Ranko. The judge shouted. "AJIME!!" She moved. ------------------------------------------------- The judge shouted the starting of the fight and Coral started with a rising uppercut. Ryuken moved out of reach and Coral followed; her fist and occasionally some kicks barely missing the Hokuto warrior. She pressed the attack, each of the moves of her antagonist closely followed, the amazon fighter ready to counter anything that the man would send her. They continued like that for some minutes Coral growing frustrated for the lack of results. Sometimes he dodged her by mere inches, sometimes he moved so quickly that she missed him by a wide margin and each time she would press her attack. Ryuken jumped, rolled, dodged, feinted all in all keeping the distance with the young woman while examining her, checking and double-checking her, her speed, her ki levels, the beat of her heart and the flowing of her blood. He could have finished the fight quickly. In fact he could have finished it the following second, once the starting signal had been given but this time he wanted to check what Cologne could produce as a fighter. This was her great great granddaughter and even if she was Mousse's daughter he respected the once Old Bat too much to make to her heir what he did with Akane's daughter. Overall he was pleased that the woman lived to be of level he believed her to have to be. After all he recognised her from the day he went to the dojo and he had no doubt that she was the one that called Cologne to "look" at him. He had no proof of course but from what he knew of the amazon customs that was a possible reason explaining what was doing Cologne that day in the Tendo dojo. Well enough of the reminiscence, he had a fight to win. Coral was starting to see that if she wanted to win this fight she would have to change the way in which she was fighting. The guy was simply too quick and agile to hope in winning if she didn't altered her fighting style. She continued examine him and quickly came with a plan. She attacked with a low kick and as she guessed he jumped over it. Quickly she summoned a minute of her ki, her aura coming to life quickly and used that burst of power to expand her speed and hitting power. Faster than what the crowd could see she had kicked him in the chest, for once gaining a little of advantage upon her adversary now air born some thirty feet in the air. Coral followed suit, the fight turning into a mid-air combat, where she expected to have to upper hand with the Saotome branch of the Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu. She started to trade blows with Ryuken in an increasing speed yet not reaching the amaguriken. But even using the Saotome speciality she couldn't gain the advantage she supposed to have. Simply it was as if the man was reading all her moves and if Cologne had taught her something it was to prevent such a thing! Truth is she should have had she faced a normal fighter. But Ryuken wasn't normal. What Coral couldn't know was that the Hokuto Shin Ken was a fighting style devised, between other things, to dominate any kind of fight style even the most chaotic ones like the Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu. There were few styles that could check the Hokuto Ryu and unfortunately for Coral she wasn't using any of them. And what was worst is that Ryuken was Heir to all the Holly Schools. Simply there wasn't any human martial art that could put a threat to the Hokuto Shin Ken Heir. Yet Ryuken was impressed with the girl. She had a good plan and the old Ranma would have been hard placed fighting against her. She was probably faster than what he had been even in his girl form, and the use of both Amazon Wu-Shu and Musabestu Kakuto was a magnificent blend as he had showed before his exile. Also the fact that she used only minute of her power in boosting some of her movements, thus confusing an enemy with her different speed and strength was also a good tactic. But totally ineffective with him. And as now, with the both of them about to touch the ground she realised it.