Ranma 1. Prologue

Hey everyone! Some of you may already be familiar with my work; I am also working on my 'Guiding the Fallen Angels.' It gets really good reviews and I hope this one does too.

I want to go ahead and say that I started this story when I was twelve. I'm eighteen now and done with high school. However, because I was so young when I wrote the first half of this monster it has to have a SERIOUS rewrite.  
  
If this original story, which has been untouched on for a year, has any fans I recommend you reread the first few chapters as they get posted. They should be different and a lot better. But I don't have the ability to fix everything so if anyone can find a mistake or a plot gap or anything else please, nicely, point them out to me.  
  
Flames are immature childish and rude. If you don't like my work, there is a back button. Use it.  
  
That said, Ranma ½ is not mine and neither is all the glory Rumiko Takahashi receives from me for being absolutely brilliant.  
  
Love to my review crew from GTFA! You know who you are:

Akane

The Sisters of Chaos

Laiko

BabyCakes

Cynical Chaos

Panda-tiney (My home girl)

Independen-and-happy (Kick ass author)

Trak

SakK

Compman44

Last but not least – Father Malvado ( Go preacher man!!)

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Prologue

Choices Not Given

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No human is immortal.  
  
There isn't a way to overcome the facts of life. A body is nothing but a temporary vessel guided by the souls that reside within.  
  
However a soul is forever, everlasting and eternal- it is a flame never to be extinguished by the harsh winds of time.  
  
Every living creature makes a choice that defines itself from the gray. The decisions made will forever damn them into a war each and every bit as eternal as heaven and hell.  
  
But the battle began somewhere...  
  
Along time ago the forces of light and darkness existed together as one. It was a perfect blissful yin and yang. The sides were connected and spiritual with the bond shared between good and evil. There was no war and no hatred. There was simply a difference that did not matter.  
  
So balanced were the two that one creature from both sides fell in love with the other. The land rejoiced with their union. A demon and an angel bound in the hands of matrimony.  
  
However the times of peace were short lived. The child birthed by the demon bore the ultimate light within her soul.  
  
The legions of good rejoiced in the birth even as the forces of darkness seethed with jealousy. The coexistence fell and shattered as the bitterness of the night destroyed millions of lives in revenge.  
  
The light retaliated with as much fury. The battle spread like fire between other dimensions and an irreconcilable blood feud began.  
  
Overtook with worry for their child, the parents of the ultimate light gave their lives to increase her power. A perfect bond of yin and yang solidified the daughter's place as the One.  
  
The girl took the name of Cleyra- meaning life to un-life. Forces spawned of evil massed and congregated to destroy the light of Cleyra.  
  
But instead of stopping the onslaught, Cleyra welcomed and rejoiced in their arrival. As the black swarmed around her feet she shattered all her power into countless brilliant pieces.  
  
As her body was torn to shreds, all the demons could see was her smile.  
  
The most breathtaking smile any had ever seen.

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"Mom that was so sad!" The youngest of three cooed from her place on her mother's lap. The fire crackled and sparked with earth's rhythm.  
  
"Can we hear it again?" The girl with the pageboy haircut pleaded from in front of the campfire.  
  
"Yes mother it would be quite nice. Would you like some more Cocoa?" The wind played with the long brown hair of the oldest daughter.  
  
"No thank you. Now children it is way past your bedtime! What would your father say if he knew I was keeping you three up this late?" The mother picked up the youngest and settled her small body inside the tent.  
  
"Please!!" The two remaining girls begged pathetically from inside of their sleeping bags. The brisk air of autumn was giving them more energy than normal.  
  
"How about this, do any of you know what happened to those pieces of Cleyra that shattered apart?" She waited for their reply. "Well, Cleyra sacrificed herself to create the human race. She gave up her life to give us eternity with our souls."  
  
The middle daughter eyes widened, "She killed herself so we could have souls? That nice lady..." Nabiki yawned and curled into her blankets.  
  
"Wow mother, what a nice story." Kasumi's eyes closed with her submission to slumber.  
  
The mother hesitated at the words. "Yeah, what a nice story..." Hitomi Tendo covered her oldest daughter with a blanket and settled herself down in front of the fire.

The flames danced and sang from the orange glow. Hitomi's brown eyes shinned in the night and reflected the warmth of the fire. The wind blew and the flames grew and sparked unnaturally towards the sky. 

Odd colors harmonizing with rainbows crackled alongside the intense yellows and reds.  
  
A slight buzzing noise droned in the background as a warm feeling spread from her fingers to her heart and to her legs. A light blue glow began pulsing from around her. She couldn't find the strength to tear her eyes away from the intensely burning fire.  
  
The fire died quickly after that and the glow dissipated from the mother of three's body. Hitomi laid inside of her sleeping bag and soon a sleep over took her.

But now a thick cough racked her body from time to time. The sounds of sickness echoed around her favorite training spot.  
  
The doctors were never able to determine where it had come from and why it was there.

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I only want to write if you are there to read. And you let me know you read by reviewing!  
  
So, is it an improvement? Would any of you read this puppy?  
  
Ja Ne  
  
Lady Mokodane


	2. Hitomi's War

Hey everybody!  
  
This is apparently the third time I have started this monster over. I now have great respect for any author that dares undertake a story this large for a rewrite.  
  
It is like writing a whole new story!  
  
I don't know which story is going to receive my attention now. I love 'Guiding the Fallen Angels' and I have people that love it right along side me, but this story has been with me longer. It's deeper in my heart.  
  
My brain works without me and if my muse decides to work with that world then so be it. I am going to try and balance the attention between them. I am going to update GTFA soon. Don't worry.  
  
I really like the concept that this story will bring to the table. I have yet to read a story that takes the same turn this one will- so be prepared to hate me!  
  
Ranma ½ is not mine- enjoy!  
  
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Chapter 1

Hitomi's War

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The callous winds of autumn blew hatefully across the lands of Japan. Brown leaves flitted through the streets as parents ushered their children into warm loving houses.  
  
Charcoal clouds promising rain, storms, and fear rolled softly into the city of Nerima. Shadows grew and concealed the landscape from the light.  
  
Bad omens hung in the electrified air. The sun was dead and the moon was hiding behind its celestial cover.  
  
In the center of the imminently chaotic weather is the hospital of Nerima. A place for the ill and the dying and that night long ago was no exception.  
  
Cradled in the arms of her husband a mother let the strings on her body go. It had become too difficult to hold on and far too futile.  
  
Dumb shocked and hurt the husband refused to leave her side when the doctor's came.  
  
His love was gone.  
  
His hope was dead.  
  
Blood red blotches and dried tears marred his features. His hand was entwined with hers and he had felt her body grow cold.  
  
He felt her death.

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In the waiting room of the hospital a child, the oldest of three, sat in a chair facing away from her siblings and towards the doors where their father had gone. She hadn't had a word spoken to her in hours.  
  
Unlike the rest of her family she was not ignorant to the situation. She was there when her mother collapsed. She was there when her mother shook. She was there when they moved her into ICU.  
  
Before the first nurse looked to her with pity she knew her mother was gone.  
  
Another child sat against the wall next to her little sister. She was exhausted and although she fought it fiercely, she couldn't help but let her eyes close.  
  
Her last thought before she drifted to sleep was how she hoped mother wouldn't be angry with her for not watching over Akane properly.  
  
The last child, a toddler, ripped gaily through the magazines and was quite uncaring about the resulting mess.  
  
'How much longer will it be? Mommy's been in that room forever! I hope she gets up and takes me for ice cream! I want some chocolate ice cream with chocolate coatings and chocolate sprinkles and chocolate chunks and chocolate syrup and...' the toddler began to drool pleasantly while she envisioned a perfect chocolate world.

Her golden eyes sparkled with the happiest of thoughts.  
  
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When a soul is released from its body it follows the path of its ancestry to reside for the eternity of time.  
  
However on this night the path for one is rewritten. The stray soul heard its call and followed as a moth would a flame.  
  
Like ice on fire, this soul slammed back into creation.  
  
She was reborn... 

"Excuse me, are you Hitomi Tendo?"  
  
...and slightly pissed.

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The youngest daughter of the Tendo Clan grew bored and uneasy. Too young to fully understand the feeling growing inside her she assumed her mood was the fault of her sisters. 'They are so boring!'  
  
Looking at her present family warily, the child known as Akane used all of her training to reach the hallways of the hospital undetected.  
  
Once out of sight and danger the toddler ambled down the corridors with a clumsily quick pace.  
  
She was unsure of her destination but something pulled her along.  
  
Something warm and familiar...

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Nothing felt right.  
  
Her children were not by her side and her husband's presence couldn't be felt.  
  
'I can't see anything. What's wrong with my eyes?' Hitomi blinked excess water away and continued to stare into the blinding lights around her. 'Where the hell am I now?'  
  
She could barely see her hands in front of her and the lack of light made things rather difficult.  
  
A frustrated sound escaped her lips.  
  
"Ah, so you are Hitomi. How are you?" The fuzzy creature in front of her was nothing more than a pale unrecognizable figure in the dark. Her eyes were failing to adjust.  
  
Hitomi steadily grew angrier as the moments passed. 'What is going on...?"  
  
"If you are curious as to how you got here, you were battling a disease and you lost." The voice tickled with familiarity. It sounded as if she had heard it all her life.  
  
"So... I am dead. So you must be my ancestor." Her voice was harder to maintain than it used to be. Her vision cleared part of the haze. The man was becoming easier to see.  
  
"Yes." White robes adorned him and billowed in the cherry tree scented breeze. She still couldn't make out much about her setting. However, she could feel cool blades of grass under her feet.

Hitomi found herself in the rare situation where there were lots of questions, but no way to ask. "So," she hesitated, "this is the resting place of my ancestors?" The man had long white hair that moved in synch with his robe in the wind. Curious blue streaks aligned themselves root to tip.  
  
The blue caught her eye. It was the exact hue of her hair.  
  
"No." He seemed to pause merely to confuse her. "Our resting place is waiting for us," he smiled, "all of us, Hitomi. But we won't be returning there for a long time."  
  
The statement left her feeling cold. "So where does that put us?"  
  
His golden eyes twinkled with the midnight sky. "We are taking care of some unfinished business."  
  
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Not long after the nurses came and wheeled out the stiff body of Hitomi Tendo.

Soun became spellbound with the day's progression. Denial coursed through his veins even as his wife was escorted down the hall.  
  
He had to be dreaming...

Any minute now he would awake to her honey brown eyes next to him in bed.  
  
Any minute now he would get to see her teach Kasumi how to cook.  
  
Any minute now he would watch as she taught Nabiki the principals of interest and loan.  
  
Any minute now Akane would cry and there she would be. To kiss it and make it all better.  
  
Any minute now...

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"Do you know why we are here, and not in our rightful resting place?" The man with the gold eyes inquired.  
  
Hitomi deeply breathed in the air around her. It was like nothing she had ever tasted. It lifted her and strengthened her. Even in this body that felt alien to her she could still count on nature to help her.  
  
They were in the middle of a grassy plain, and the greenery took her breath away. Cherry trees scattered themselves around the landscape and ponds of beautiful blue water twinkled under the billions of stars that blanketed the night sky and her and her speaker with light.  
  
"We are part of a war. Our family has direct divine blood from thousands of years ago. Once a battle was fought, one so grand that it spanned everything," he made a grand gesture with his arms, "all dimensions, all realities, all lives were involved in its presence."  
  
"Our heritage pulls us to the surface. That war never ended. You were born to take part in it, but you died to lead it."

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Kasumi wandered through the hospital looking for her sisters. Marks of worry tainted her young and yet beautiful face. Her fist gripped the bottom of her apron as she bit her nails. Her chocolate eyes scanned the halls anxiously.  
  
Nabiki's stubby body appeared from around the corner and fell into step next to her. "Have you found sissy yet?"  
  
Her face was a perfect picture of trepidation. Even at Nabiki's young age Kasumi knew that she would hold herself responsible if anything bad happened to Akane.  
  
"Sister..." Nabiki's high-pitched voice echoed the vacant hallway softly. "When is mother going to wake up?"  
  
Kasumi could do nothing but stare at the floor, but before she could open her mouth to reply, a horrible scream filled the corridor.

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This chapter was SO FRICKING LARGE on my rough draft! I mean seven thousand words! So this bad boy is going to get broken up.  
  
I am having to completely rewrite it... :(  
  
Anywho I need to go to bed now... it is seven am.  
  
Nighty night!  
- Lady Mokodane


	3. Colorful Pain

Hey Everybody!

Anywho, I bought the service pack from It is really worth it for authors that have two or more stories. The counter tells me how many people have been to my stories.

Oh, love you all and Ranma isn't mine!

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Chapter 2

Colorful Pain

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"What do you want from me?" Hitomi stood before the man in the field in bloom with fire in her eyes. "What could possibly be so important that our family's souls roam without peace?"

"What could possibly be that important? Hitomi, the world is that important. Your children's children waking in the morning and being there with people that love them is that important. We are fighting for their existence!

Understand that in this war we could be only a small part or we may be the salvation! We are not alone Hitomi. We fight for life." His voice pleaded for her to understand and his eyes burned into hers for acknowledgement.

"We fight for life... but that still doesn't answer my question! Why am I here? What am I supposed to do?"

"We have the divine blood in our souls. We are chosen to lead. The war of the light lies partly in our hands, as it has for generations. You will help guide the warriors and show them the way."

Hitomi stood there without movement. She didn't yet understand what was happening, but she showed no sighs of resignation.

All at once brilliant lights burst into the sky. Rainbows of beautiful colors blanketed the earth in the colors of the gods. Reds and Blues blended magnificently in the air- creating explosions that rocked the earth under her feet.

Hitomi became mesmerized by the show above her head. The intense colors harmonized in the night- it made her feel young.

"What is that? It's so pretty..." The show eerily stole her energy away from her.

"It means that the chosen one has been found."

"Really? I wonder who it is..." Hitomi responded lazily, she was transfixed by the colors above her.

She suddenly felt incredibly tired.

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Nabiki and Kasumi wondered curiously through the confusing hallways of the hospital. The corridors were abandoned by the nurses and doctors that seemed to always haunt the concrete paths.

The atmosphere was desperately cold and the sisters huddled together as they walked. However the closer they came to the last hallway the worse their insides felt.

Fear grew and consumed them both. However their instincts pushed them on. They had to find Akane.

They both stopped in unison before the final path. Taking a deep breath and quieting their fears within themselves, they pushed on.

Their faces filled with quiet horror.

Their sister's body hung lifeless in the air. Both sisters panicked and ran towards their sister. However the sisters were stopped abruptly and forcefully by some power they couldn't see.

They became paralyzed where they stood.

"I... I can't move! Akane are you okay? Akane say something!!" Similar cries filled the walls and bounced unheard off of Akane's ears.

Akane's body remained still in the air; legs and arms dangled by her side motionless.

Her normally pretty face was masked in an expression of agony. Her brown eyes were open and lifeless in view of her sisters. She appeared to be unable to see or recognize their presence.

Colors symmetrical to the ones above the sky of their mother began pulsating around the child. Brilliant hues of orange and purple thumped closer and closer to Nabiki and Kasumi. Their child eyes filled with fear.

They were still unable to move and yet the bright lights coming from their sister kept coming nearer to them.

The air was electrified and alive around them. Hundreds of unnamable colors engulfed the three sisters all at once.

They could do nothing but scream at the burn. Their bodies became engulfed in pain.

Opening her eyes Nabiki saw through all the light and into the eyes of her sister. She croaked at what she saw.

Akane's eyes were open but all Nabiki saw was her pupils. Her brown eyes had no color- just the black dots that hauntingly stared at her through the colorful haze.

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Soon nurses found the three daughters asleep in the hallway. They were identified to be the dead woman's children and were given back to their father.

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So what did you think?

Yes I know it is short. This is the other half of the first chapter which now has to become the second chapter. Sorry folks!

Ja Ne (Good Bye)

Lady Mokodane


	4. Hollow On the Inside

Hey everyone, a wicked badass virus got to my computer. So it will be a few days before the next chapter.

If any of you have any doubts about the main relationship in this story, I am not going to come out and tell you who it is. But honestly, who do you think it is? There is only one Ranma ½ couple I care about. So figure it out... even though at times it isn't going to look that way.  
  
Oh well, thanks everyone for your kind reviews. You are all so sweet and if I don't forget my personalization's are at the bottom so if you reviewed check it out. Chapter 3  
  
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The day started out as beauty envisioned in a moment.  
  
The fluffy towering clouds scattered throughout the sky cast shadows upon the land and provided a cool brisk temperature.  
  
Flowers matted together wildly throughout the landscape and displayed magnificent colors that rippled the colors of the rainbow.  
  
What made everything infinitely better was the way the sun hit everything just right, magnifying the harmony of the earth to uncountable levels.  
  
The gift of nature caused all who noticed to gasp in thanks.  
  
However in the city of Nerima there are at least two teenagers who failed to see the beauty passed down from above.  
  
"You sure you want that Akane?" Ranma woke up that morning filled with a dire sense of dread.  
  
At first he assumed some apocalyptic guy with a bad accent was going to stroll up to the door and ask for Akane's hand in marriage... or something similar to that anyway.  
  
Unfortunately he felt that there would be no major battles coming to his attention. No grand journey that he must make to save the world. There would be no "damsels in distress" that needed rescuing.  
  
For Ranma Saotome there was something infinitely worse in store.  
  
Akane asked him to train her.  
  
At that very moment in time something in him wanted to crawl into a hole and die.  
  
"Yes. I want to be taken seriously as a martial artist and I know you can help me." The girl in question stared determinedly into his eyes. He could tell she desperately wanted this.  
  
Question was: Did he?  
  
Ranma was far too lazy to willingly undertake a quest as rough as this one. He had just saved her from Saffron and as soon as he gets this golden opportunity to do nothing...  
  
There had to be some way out of this predicament. Sure he wanted her to get better, but in a way that caused him little or preferably no grief.  
  
It wasn't anything against Akane; he just didn't feel like doing anything right now. But he knew there would be no saying "no" to his fiancé without making her angry.

Thank the gods the Saotome School of Anything Goes is full of different ways to say no by saying yes.

Putting on his best smile Ranma began calculating the best way to escape the scenario unscathed. It didn't take long for an evil plot to form in his mind.  
  
"Alright Akane, I'll train you. On one condition- You have to land a solid blow against me before one month's time. You do that and I'll know you are worthy of learning the true form of Anything Goes."  
  
It only took a moment before she started jumping up and down with excitement. She giggled and flashed a brilliant smile at him before a loud "thank you" spilled over with her joy.  
  
A slight guilty feeling filled through him. He already knew there would be no way for her to land a blow against him. However that didn't stop him from smiling back when she threw her arms around his neck and proceeded to hug fiercely.  
  
===================  
  
He still had trouble remembering that smile without blushing.  
  
Two weeks have past since that day and true to his prediction, Akane has failed to hit him. Throughout all of her tantrums Ranma displayed his true martial arts ability and dodged or sidestepped every angry fist and every thrown object.  
  
Akane's mood has done everything but stay normal since she realized she only had ten days left to land that blow. He simply couldn't tell what the girl was thinking unless she was mad.  
  
"You better take me seriously this time Ranma!" The young heiress to the Tendo Training Hall shouted fiercely from across the dojo.  
  
As if some unseen message crossed her mind the girl attacked without abandon. She was fast. However, not quite fast enough.  
  
Ranma jumped over her outstretched fist and flipped behind her. She countered with a sweep that he easily stepped over.  
  
Angered past concentration, Akane yelled "Why won't you just fight me?"  
  
He looked at her as if she were stupid, "Because you are a girl."  
  
He made it sound as if that sentence explained everything.  
  
"Liar, you fought Shampoo on more than one occasion. Quit lying and attack me already!" Her anger seeped through her moves. She was much sloppier than when she had started.  
  
He couldn't count how many times he had had this argument with her. Each time she challenged him in the dojo all he had to do was make her mad. Then she'd lose her temper and storm off.  
  
He was sick of it.  
  
He regretted ever telling her he would train her if she hit him. All he wanted was to be lazy for a little while and everything turned around and bit him on the ass.  
  
Ranma Saotome gave into the anger welling within his chest and decided if she wouldn't end these pointless fights then he would.  
  
"You're good Akane! But you know, you apparently weren't meant to reach our level. You're too damn clumsy!" If she hadn't have failed to notice she would have seen his eyes turn color.  
  
They wickedly began reflecting a darker green, rather then the intense blue he was known for.  
  
Once again it only took a moment for the weight of what Ranma said to take hold on her. She didn't move for a while and her eyes were focused firmly on the floor.  
  
Akane felt broken.  
  
For an instant some dark hidden part of Ranma loved the pain he inflicted on her. The green in his eyes flashed brightly before vanishing completely.  
  
Ranma shook his head quickly and the full weight of what he said registered. He felt disgusted with himself.  
  
At once her eyes snapped into connection with his. "Why do you have to be such a jerk? If you weren't going to care about me you shouldn't have made the bargain." Her voice shook violently with barely restrained anger and sadness.  
  
Before a tear could fall from her honey-colored eyes she was in the house and away from her fiancé.  
  
Ranma watched Akane storm off with mixed expressions of guilt. He still couldn't believe he had said that to her. 'What the hell came over me?'  
  
The pigtailed boy began thinking of different apologies to use on his fiancé. But he couldn't find himself meaning any of them.  
  
Oddly, today didn't really feel right for him. It was as if most of his emotions were locked away and unreachable.  
  
Ranma felt hollow on the inside.  
  
===============  
  
Akane's entire body felt dirty.

Even her soul felt emerged in fifth.  
  
Jumping into the bath water she took a washcloth and scrubbed until her whole body burned. She had not even bothered with rinsing first.  
  
Ranma's callous words hurt her so that she forcibly accepted them as truth. She felt ridiculous and stupid for ever hoping that he would help her.  
  
The last two weeks she did nothing but train in her free time. She practiced different styles of martial arts, she tried ki control, and she studied different ways to surprise Ranma and hit him just that once.  
  
But not for lack of trying Ranma always found himself two steps ahead of her.  
  
Making matters worse, she had been experiencing horrible mood swings lately. At first she didn't notice, but eventually she started to feel her mind shift emotions. She could go from elated to depressed in minutes. Both her anger and her happiness were becoming impossible to control.  
  
Sometimes she would rampage through her day and other times she would float from class to class on some invisible Cloud 9.  
  
But her thoughts mainly revolved around her fiancé. He had grown so distant lately... the way he had looked at her. She felt like trash.  
  
Repulsed and filled with new vigor, Akane began scrubbing harder on her skin. ===============  
  
Fumbling down the stairs a little later than normal, Nabiki let a lazy yawn erupt from her tired body.  
  
Even after all these years of school, mornings were never that kind to the middle Tendo daughter.  
  
As soon as she rounded the corner Akane bumped into her rather hard.  
  
A distracted "sorry" found its way to Nabiki's ears. She was just about to comment on her sister's actions when her expressionless voice filled the room.  
  
"Ranma can find the school on his own today. I have to go." The door shut softly behind her and she was gone before any further argument could be presented.  
  
Nabiki stared for a moment at Ranma, expecting him to recognize the situation and act. She was surprised to see that he didn't seem to care.

He just kept eating.  
  
"Oh Ranma..." Nabiki drawled. If anyone could fix her baby sister, it was him.  
  
"Yo, whatcha need Nabiki?" He was sitting at the breakfast table and she watched for a moment as food disappeared down his throat with little attention to chewing.  
  
"Why didn't you go after your fiancé?" The question seemed innocent enough...  
  
"What? The tomboy can take care of herself. I'm busy." Ranma wasn't too excited about his and Akane's next rendezvous. "The boys from the school don't mess with her anymore. She'll be fine." He seemed to be talking to himself more than Nabiki.  
  
Nabiki raised an eyebrow as if saying 'if that's the way you want it.'  
  
She made a dramatic show of looking at her wrist, as if a watch was adorned. "You know it's about time for Ryouga to show up. With Akane depressed, thanks to you, Ryouga may think it is the perfect time to 'cheer her up?' Who knows, he may get lucky!"  
  
It took a moment for Ranma to move. Nabiki was about to get worried when Ranma slammed his chopsticks down on the table. "Whatever. If that is what I have to do to be left alone." Ranma took one final bite of Kasumi's breakfast and ran to the door.  
  
Nothing but a trail of dust could be seen soon after.  
  
Nabiki sat down to finish Ranma's breakfast. This new mood to settle down with the pig tailed boy piqued her full interest.   
  
And Nabiki's interest was something nobody wanted.  
  
==============  
  
Akane didn't acknowledge Ranma's presence. He had tried everything to get her to talk to him. For some reason he was acting like the Ranma she used to know.  
  
"Come on Akane please say something! I am sorry for what I said, I have no clue where all that came from." Ranma jumped down and walked directly beside the youngest Tendou daughter, hoping that proximity would get her attention.  
  
It didn't.  
  
He quickly became frustrated and hurt she showed no attention to his apology. Ranma lashed out towards the pain.  
  
"Come on Akane! It's not my fault that you're clumsy and slow. Quit being so stupid already and talk to me! Just get over it." He made it sound so simple.  
  
Akane continued her march of silence. For the first time in two weeks her dark golden eyes held no emotion and no recognition towards the pig tailed boy. She simply kept walking towards the school, no matter what he did.  
  
Ranma finally assessed the situation the way he should have from the very beginning. He could now see that Akane wasn't angry at all.  
  
A cold chill was emitting from her and perhaps part of him understood why.  
  
She locked her self down.  
  
=========================  
  
Akane and Ranma continued their quiet walk in uncomfortable silence when a familiar and quite unwelcome jingle shattered the retrospective mood.  
  
"Ranma! Shampoo bring you good breakfast, you eat yes?" The eternally bubbly girl flashed a beautifully flirtatious smile towards her fiancé.  
  
Shampoo stood directly in front of Ranma and made sure her back was directly blocking Akane's view of him.  
  
"Thanks Shampoo! I didn't get breakfast this morning." While Ranma was eating the ramen, Shampoo watched him, overjoyed that Ranma showed preference towards her.  
  
As soon as Ranma finished that meal he knew he had made a mistake.  
  
Akane was gone. She had never even gotten angry.  
  
Ranma sprinted ahead, forgetting quickly about the Amazon.  
  
But her thoughts never left him.  
  
===================  
  
Anywho, this chapter just pissed me off to no end. The entire thing was rewritten, the plot changed on me.  
  
Damn it all. This puppy sat open on my desktop for days and all I could do was stare at it... quite angry that I couldn't portray what I wanted.  
  
So eventually I just deleted half of it and smiled and did it anyway.  
  
I think I am losing the faith in my writing... I don't know what's wrong with me! Maybe I will get over it because I hear it is normal for an author to undervalue their work.  
  
I just need to swallow whatever that feeling is and focus on my review crew and making them happy.  
  
Oh my god! I loved Chronicles of Riddick. Vin Deasil is so wonderful in the role of Riddick. I desperately want them to make a second sequel. I went out and bought the anime and it is definitely worth your time. The game is coming soon... just need to quit spending money!  
  
Plus there is really really good fanfiction out there for it. Nowadays, good stories are so impossibly hard to find! I have branched out into several other stories, trying to hunt down talented authors... Anywho, 'Convince Me' in the Pitch Black section is so amazingly wonderful. It's rated R.  
  
You really need to read it. On with the thanks!  
  
ZRO4825 – Thanks, I think! I hope you figure out what you think of it and give me a holler holler... word  
  
Sieg1308 – Glad you enjoyed it!  
  
Cynical Chaos - holds back a tear. Thanks, you totally kick ass for the long review. I don't know about publishing anything, but I do like writing. So as long as I can shut my self bruised ego up I think I can continue writing.  
  
Father Malvado – aka preacher man – Yes, all night. Just for you! Although you are one of my newest consistent reviewers, your also one of my favs.  
  
SakK – What are you doing reviewing? Get back to Stolen Romance this instant! Lol, thank you very much.


	5. Chocolate Amber

Hey everyone! I hope you all aren't too pissed at Ranma's moodiness. Just bear with me and all that jazz.  
  
I hope you all enjoy this story, since I think about it a large percentage of the time. This chapter isn't as long as the others, sorry!  
  
Ranma ½ and all the characters are the creation of Rumiko Takahashi and thus, not me.  
  
==================

Chapter 4

Chocolate Amber

==================  
  
Today was always a highly respected day in the Tendo Household. Each member remembered what happened so many years ago in their own way and on their own time.  
  
There was no friendly letter in the mail or a red circle on the calendar to tell them that the anniversary of their mother's death was at hand. Even though everyone was vaguely aware that the day was coming, no one really wanted it to be counted down.  
  
Soun was the only one who remembered weeks ahead of time. He had prepared for this day way in advance. His outfit was pressed and ready to be adorned at his wife's grave later on in the evening. Soun sat silently on his bed- staring at a picture of his wife on the bed table.  
  
Kasumi, on the other hand, didn't remember until she checked the expiration dates on some bottled milk in the fridge. When realization hit, the numbers on the package seemed to wave hazily at her. A sudden wave of shame flowed through her for being so forgetful.  
  
She left the dirty dishes where they sat and retreated to her room. She suddenly didn't feel like cleaning and the expired milk remained in the fridge.  
  
Genma only knew what was going on because his wife, Nodoka, had had the good graces to call him and warn him to be on his best behavior. So he was currently putting in some overtime at the Clinic.  
  
It was later in the day for Nabiki to realize the significance of the day. She was copying some homework assignments from the board and the lead broke from her pencil halfway through writing the date.  
  
The blood drained from her face as she left the classroom. She mumbled something about being 'thirsty' to the teacher and headed to the bathroom.  
  
==================  
  
Watching the day with vapid amusement, a slightly older woman feigned hurt at being so easily forgotten. She still hadn't missed a day in watching over her family. 'I just love the perks of the job!' she mused to herself looking at her very own crystal ball.  
  
Hitomi Tendo would have been dead thirteen years today. She awkwardly felt at peace with the thought of her own death. She shook her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts. Today is a very important day. This was the worst possible moment for her to be slacking off on her duties as a guardian.  
  
She cast a casual glance around her living quarters. It was an oddly warm room to be so large. Although her crystal ball was her favorite thing in the room, it wasn't by far the most important. Even though she could watch her family and her old friends, it didn't supply her with the necessary knowledge to be the best guardian.  
  
The open scrolls that lay open around her did that. Books littered the once spacious but now cluttered room. She had read every one of them multiple times over. She had to be prepared for her duty.  
  
The silky white robe she wore was identical to the rest of her clan's. It was long enough to touch the floor and her wrists, but was small enough to show that she was a woman. Gold trim lined the entire garment and the Tendo Crest gleamed in the candlelight on her left breast.  
  
Hitomi touched the beautiful crystal in front of her and took in the sight of her youngest daughter. It still startled her how much they look alike. 'Oh my, she's not taking this very well...'  
  
Apparently the first stage was being initiated. The mother prepared herself to help her daughter if she needed her. A soft lull of chants foreign to the ear rolled methodically off her tongue.  
  
'I hope you're ready, daughter of mine.'  
  
====================  
  
Ranma and Akane were still slowly traversing to the school. They were both quiet and lost in their own thoughts. However the engaged pair were focused simultaneously on Akane and her current mood.  
  
'What is wrong with me lately? So Ranma thinks I'm not good enough, big deal. What else is new? But these last few weeks have been so crazy for me and my sanity. I am not used to being this depressed. Maybe I am a failure at martial arts.' Her footsteps slowed even more.  
  
Ranma was agitated that he was forced to take even smaller steps to stay even with his fiancé. He was just about to open his mouth to comment when his eyes locked into hers. He watched them go from a lighter color brown to a deep chocolate.  
  
He kept his mouth shut and wondered how much time they had until the bell.  
  
"Ow!" Akane's cry pierced the silence. He closed the distance between them and looked down at her. Her arms were tightly wrapped around her head and her face was covered in pain.  
  
"What happened?" Worry was plainly etched onto his features.  
  
"My head, it hurts! I hear this sound... sounds like screeching!! Do you hear it? God it is so loud! Ranma make it go away!" Her arms gripped tighter around her head in an effort to shield her from a noise that no one could hear but her.  
  
He tried to pick up something that wasn't supposed to be there, but his sense of hearing failed him. "No, hey there's nothing going on. Akane are you gonna be alright?" Worry and frustration lined every word that came from the pigtailed boy's mouth. He began to panic.  
  
Akane's head rose to look him in the eye briefly before the dark chocolate swirled back into a bright gold. She visibly calmed and her arms returned to her sides. An odd expression crossed her face before she lost consciousness and began to fall.  
  
Ranma was right there to catch her. All previous remnants of their fight were gone in the face of danger. "Hey Akane, wake up! Come on, please wake up for me!" He urgently shook her and after a moment her eyes fluttered open.  
  
"Ranma, what happened?" Her voice was shaky but she appeared to be better than she was before.  
  
"You, uh, kinda passed out after yelling about some sound. But, I never heard nuthin'. You gonna be alright Akane? Do I need to take you to Doctor Tofu's?" His blue eyes burned down into hers with a combination of fear and... something that Akane couldn't identify.  
  
She blushed when she realized he was still holding her. She remembered what happened this morning, but for some reason she didn't care at the moment. 'I suppose another mood swing saves the day for Ranma.'  
  
She jumped down from Ranma's grip. She felt incredibly happy and let a rare smile that only her fiancé could elicit from her go. It was her brightest and best and always made the both of them blush.

"I feel fine now Ranma. Looks like you saved me once again. Let's go to school before we are late, alright?" She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the school.  
  
He fought off the urge to protest and was content to simply follow her, until she called him a slowpoke and challenged him to a race.  
  
And Ranma Saotome of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts never turns down a challenge.  
  
The two giggling teenagers sprinted quickly up the road and towards Furinkan High School.  
  
After barely missing the tardy bell and arriving at their desks at just the knick of time- Ranma noticed that Akane was still sending smiles his way.  
  
Sure he liked it but it kind of unnerved him that his 'uncute' fiancé that had been annoying him for the past two weeks could turn in to this cute girl.  
  
Plus, besides her mood swings, there were his own to deal with. Even he noticed that he was acting strange but there wasn't really anything he could do about it. He never noticed it happened until after the fact, usually after it was too late to fix the situation.  
  
Ranma plopped down in his desk and huffed out his last tired breath from their frantic run to school. Daisuke and Hiroshi made their appearance at his side. Daisuke poked Ranma in the ribs and gave him a smile that only insinuated mischief.  
  
"So Ranma, what has you all breathing hard so early in the morning?" A lecherous smile played across both the boys' lips. "There something you want to tell us?"  
  
"Me and Akane ran full speed from her house. Running tends to make you sweat." He cast a bored glance at them and casually rested his head on his hand. "Not that it is any of your business."  
  
"You sure you aren't lying to us Ranma? You look kinda like you need a bath and Akane looks pretty clean." Ranma cocked an eyebrow at his friends in annoyance before turning to face his fiancé.

She really didn't look tired. 'No way, me and the tomboy ran together full speed all the way from her house. Was she holding back? Nah, Akane runs but she us nowhere near the shape I am in. Maybe she'- before his thoughts could progress any further, his attention span went back to his friends who were now staring at him with concern.

"Ranma, we've been wondering... we have both talked about it a lot and this seems to just verify everything." The two boys exchanged worried glances. Ranma sat up from his lax position on his desk.

"We want to ask something and we just want you to know that we will be your friends no matter what. It doesn't matter how you answer; you can always count on us to be there for you."

For some reason he felt truly touched his only two non-lethal male friends would take time to think about him and his feelings. All three boys leaned in on cue so that only they would know what they were talking about.

Ranma seemed to hold his breath in anticipation.

"Ranma," Hiroshi sighed, "are you the 'giver' in your relationship?"

The blue-eyed boy looked bewildered for a moment at his friends before he realized exactly what his 'truly concerned friends' were hinting at.

Ranma went deathly pale.

"You two are really sick. I would never do that with the tomboy! I don't know why the girl isn't tired and I don't think it really matters." Ranma huffed and sulked, signaling that the conversation was officially over.  
  
For the rest of that class and a few after, Ranma's eye refused to stop twitching.

However a steady mantra seemed to have the power to keep him calm. He also found that it somewhat satiated the twitching.

'Damn Daisuke. Damn Hiroshi. Damn Daisuke. Damn Hiroshi.'  
  
===========  
  
Look, I would like to apologize to everyone if this story is moving too slow, but I have these chapters from when I was a kid and I attempted this and I am trying to stick to them. I need to get as much as I can from the old story so please bear with me.  
  
If anyone wants to try, tell me how my point of view is working.  
  
Thank you to Cynical Chaos- you so totally kick ass for all of your thought of me. I really appreciate it when I get special attention from reviewers.  
  
Oh and please enjoy your day and have a Power Aid Slush from Sonic. They are so freaking good!  
  
Ja Ne – Lady Mokodane


	6. Racing Delinquents

Thanks to everyone that reviewed my last chapter. I have a new proof reader... he hasn't actually read my story yet but that is no big deal, just a meager detail.  
  
His name is Kalen Darkmoon and he's my new friend!  
  
Anywho, please enjoy the latest installment of Choices Not Given!  
  
==================

Chapter 5  
  
Racing Delinquents  
  
===================  
  
Akane sat completely bored in her desk. She had finished the day's assignments the night before so while her classmates sweated and cursed silently she passed time by staring numbly at the sky.  
  
When she was a child the sky had fascinated her. The way the clouds piled together and formed gargantuan piles of crystal white puff... it always unleashed her imagination.  
  
She could find castles and princesses and dragons simply by pretending with her eyes. She wondered if she could still call on her imagination the way she used to. But before she could try a fellow student dropped their bag and startled her from her reverie.  
  
It wasn't the thud of the bag that caught her attention, but the tinkering sound from the zipper that distracted her. It sounded like a very familiar jingle that she had grown to hate.  
  
Well she hated the sound, not really the person. The sound always seemed to bring the situation that gets her into trouble with Ranma. She idly wondered if it was normal to hate some random sound more than the actual cause of the sound.  
  
She sighed and returned her gaze to the sparkling blue sky outside the window. 'I don't hate Shampoo. I just wish she wasn't so much to handle.' Akane had been rather reluctant to admit it at first, but she counted the Amazon as one of her friends. 'An annoying, competitive, pain in the ass... friend.'  
  
She smirked at the thought before her slight amusement turned bitter. 'It doesn't really matter what I think. Everyone knows Shampoo hates me.'  
  
It had bugged her for some time now. If she liked someone, wasn't it fair that they like her back? The Amazon had shown some kindness, but it seemed that it was always some ploy to steal Ranma.  
  
Akane silently reprimanded herself for looking for friends that simply weren't there. Her eyes lazily followed another string of clouds across the window. She peeked over her shoulder to catch a quick glance at her fiancé.  
  
Ranma had... changed lately. She thought Ranma would leap at the chance to train her. 'I don't know why... he's so damn lazy.'  
  
However in her hindsight she could see that there was no way Ranma was going to train her. His impossible request of a strike had done nothing to comfort her.  
  
She frowned at where her thoughts were taking her. An audible click resounded in her head and depression flooded into her heart, 'another mood swing... how nice.'  
  
It felt as though black sludge was filling her entire body with sadness. Horrible memories concerning her and her fiancé bounced around her head.  
  
From dark recesses she involuntarily called upon her memory bank of fights and arguments between her and her fiancé. The clock rolled backwards and pulled on things she had buried and hoped to forget.  
  
Malicious words shared between the two. Horrible scream fits that only ended in her slamming him into the sky.  
  
All her years of tears... torture... and restless nightmarish dreams rushed back into her.  
  
The clock continued to count back and when the flashback ended, Akane felt the sudden urge to throw up the little breakfast she had managed to eat that morning.  
  
'My mother died thirteen years ago.'  
  
"Oh, shit."  
  
Before Akane realized she said it, the entire room was staring at her. Swearing in school was a giant taboo when there was a teacher present. She nervously looked at her instructor, hoping that Ms. Hinako wasn't paying attention.  
  
She wasn't that lucky.  
  
"Miss Tendo."  
  
"I am so sorry! I don't know what came over me, I never swear! I am so sorry, please forgive me!" Akane quickly withdrew from the depression and began to panic.  
  
Her teacher scoffed, "You can be sorry all you want, but you still acted like a delinquent. Do I have to teach you a lesson on acting right?" The pre-adolescent voice was still quite menacing, even in her youngest form.  
  
Ms. Hinako climbed onto her desk and pulled her coin from the front of her dress. The child flipped the small piece of metal in the air and caught it with a rather snazzy flip of her wrist.  
  
Ranma jumped out of his seat, "Don't you dare! She said she was sorry, what more do you want?" Agitation laced itself through his words. He clearly wasn't in the mood to save his fiancé.  
  
The young girl looked at Ranma with a somewhat bemused expression. "Your fiancé acted like a delinquent. She swore in school. You defend her, you share the punishment," she closed her eyes for a second's concentration and called upon her attack.  
  
"Happo Go-en Satsu!" As the prism of chi hastily approached the unprepared pigtailed martial artist, Ranma soon realized that he couldn't get out of the way.  
  
He scrunched his eyes shut and waited for the horrific attack to take his energy from him.  
  
He waited... and waited... and continued to wait-- because no attack robbed him of his strength.  
  
Ranma opened his eyes to find Akane standing in front of him. 'Stupid tomboy— what did you do?'  
  
Akane took the drain that was rightfully meant for her... for Ranma.  
  
Everyone waited for Akane to fall and to admit defeat to Hinako. However Akane never felt anything short of normal. Her voice sounded slightly disappointed, "Was that it?"  
  
==================  
  
Ranma was impressed.  
  
Before him stood a child left void of energy and his fiancé with a full supply.  
  
"What? Why didn't it work? Fine Akane, if you want to play hard ball I can do that too." The child pulled out another weapon to use against the so called "delinquents" of Furinkan High.  
  
"Happo Goju-en Satsu!" The fifty yen coin spun between her fingers.  
  
Ranma watched the interaction between the two with great interest. Gone was the concerned fiancé, Ranma was now the martial artist. He was going to find out what happened, and how to do it himself.  
  
The blast hit Akane just like it had done him several times in the past. However where he had been drained, Akane looked bored and uninterested.  
  
The young Ms. Hinako was livid.  
  
====================  
  
"Ha! How you like them apples?" Hitomi Tendo thrust a victorious fist into the air. "Couldn't get my daughter, could ya? Damn Succubus..." She did a proud victory dance before sitting back down on her chair.  
  
"You know you gloat horribly, Hitomi." A silver haired man shared Hitomi's smile. He was the same person who had greeted her at the gates of their kingdom the first night of her death. "You need better coordination."  
  
She cast him an annoyed look. "I don't care Icky-tan. The art of gloating shamelessly is a powerful form that I feel I mastered. My daughter and I defeated that madwoman and her damn coins," she looked back at the crystal ball at the young Ms. Hinako's distraught expression, "so I am going to gloat."  
  
"My name is Ickariiya", the distaste of his nickname was evident, "for the millionth time, not Icky-tan. By the way, your daughter and who defeated that 'madwoman'?" He cracked his fingers leisurely in front of him and leaned back in his chair.  
  
"You expect me to give you credit for that? I opened the link. I was transferring energy. I placed the drain block in her. What exactly did you do?" She ticked off her accomplishments on her fingers.  
  
He gawked at her a moment as if the answer was obvious. "Hitomi, it was I that told you to do all that. All the credit lies within me." He grinned at her before dodging a fist.  
  
==================  
  
Ranma walked to the gym after school. There was an after school athletic meet that everyone was forced to go to. Those that weren't actually in the meet, would still have to be there as spectators.  
  
After the incident with Ms. Hinako and Akane, he had to find some way to force himself to quit thinking about it. It seemed that the more he dwelled on Akane's victory, the more he found himself jealous that Akane had somehow deflected the attack.  
  
The more jealous he got, the angrier he got... with Akane. He could feel the anger welling inside of him.  
  
He had to make himself forget to think.  
  
He entered the gym room and changed out of his school clothes and put on his athletic uniform. Besides being a great distraction for him this was the perfect excuse to show off and get some extra recognition for his skills.  
  
That always put him in a good mood.  
  
==================  
  
On his way to the track, Ranma could hear the coaches talking in their office. He wasn't particularly interested and was content to mind his own business-- until he heard his name being mentioned.  
  
"What do you mean? I don't believe it. If Ranma can't do it, she sure as hell can't." Ranma recognized it has being his coach. He leaned closer to the door, careful not to make too much noise.  
  
A sultry saccharine voice answered haughtily at him. "Well, Akane laughed at Hinako's face when she tried to drain her," it was the girl's coach, "let's see your precious Ranma do that."  
  
"I don't believe it. Ranma is twice the athlete your precious Akane is. I don't know what you're getting at with your lies but if it is a bet you're after," Ranma's imagination allowed him to see his coach wearing a snide expression, "then you got it."  
  
==================  
  
"Wow, go Ranma!" He smiled.  
  
"That was amazing!" He beamed.  
  
"How many flips was that? Two?" He loved every minute.  
  
Laughter and clapping constantly erupted from around Ranma. He was on the balance beam and was performing to the best of his ability.  
  
'This is too easy. If Akane's coach thinks that I am going to lose, she has another thing coming,' he greedily thought to himself. As if on a punctuation to his thoughts, Ranma increased the speed of his form.  
  
Ranma was basking in something he loved almost as much as food- the admiration and adoration of the ones around him. He loved being the center of attention.  
  
The only other student that could hold a candle in this school was Akane. Ranma smirked to himself, 'but she'll never be as good as me.'  
  
He cast a glance towards his coach. Even from his constant movement on the balance beam, Ranma could still make out the proud smile adorned on his face.  
  
Ranma was brought back to the task at hand by a very loud cheer from far away. Shortly after that, Ranma flipped off the end of the beam to get a closer look at what was happening.  
  
At first he was annoyed to see so many people had left the gym. 'They all have to be somewhere, where is everybody?" Ranma wandered through the doors to the track in just enough time to see a tiny figure pole-vaulting in the distance.  
  
The closer he got to the field, the more bored he seemed to get. Pole-vaulting was a boys only sport at Furinkan. No girl had ever seriously decided that they were interested in the sport so the administration had never even conceived of starting an all girls team.  
  
This fact in mind Ranma was having trouble trying to figure out what the large fuss was over a simple pole-vaulting match. 'What's the big deal? Oh... I suppose that's it.'  
  
That is when he saw Akane high jump the bar... by quite a bit. There were "ooows" and "awwws" erupting from all over the crowd.  
  
Ranma felt the disgust consume him. Competition and jealousy masked any memory of him and his fiancé. A slight headache washed over him as he watched her add flourishes of flips and spectacularly clear the bar.  
  
Ranma overheard some boys watch Akane in amazement, "Did you know that she's one of the first girls that have ever cleared that thing? It is set at its highest level. She is so great! I think I love her. Think she'll marry me?"  
  
Jealousy consumed Ranma. Over whether it was the boys gawking at his fiancé or his fiancé giving the boys another reason to gawk in the first place... he wasn't quite sure.  
  
What he did know was that he wanted justice. He wanted the crowds to recognize the superior martial artist. He wanted their love.  
  
Once again, without anyone noticing, where once stood beautifully deep diamond blue eyes, callous emerald green shown with contempt.  
  
'You want to go girlie? We can go.' Ranma ran into the crowd and disappeared.  
  
After flying over the bar one last time, Akane wiped her sweat covered brow and wove to the crowd that had gathered around her. She found herself looking for Ranma, but when she didn't see him she did not let the disappointment show.  
  
'He would be so proud of me too...'  
  
==================  
  
Akane took her position on the white line. It was time for cross country and the coaches had arranged for an extra long run. She felt she was ready, even though she had been unable to find Ranma.  
  
While she stretched she looked around the group of girls that also prepared for the run. After performing so well at the pole vault, Akane had a burst of confidence that told her that the competition would not be fierce.  
  
When the referee signaled it was time to go, Akane immediately jumped to the front of the race. 'Keep a steady fast pace and win. If I do this, maybe Ranma will change his mind and train me. I have to do this, I need to win!'  
  
Akane broke free of the competition shortly after. She wasn't getting tired. She smiled, 'this race is going to be a piece of cake.' She allowed her legs to take her faster.  
  
Ranma ducked in and out of runners. Her red pigtail bounced against her as she ran. She was fortunate to find one of the girl uniforms in the bathroom.  
  
The redhead looked frantically around for Akane, but when she wasn't to be found, Ranma knew that she was in the lead. 'Damn it all! Get back here! I will not lose to you.' Ranma's green eyes shimmered again with greed.  
  
She ran faster. Her new speed seemed to double the sprint to the school that morning. Soon the competition faded far behind her. She was running on a quiet mountain trail that was located behind the school.  
  
It seemed that she was running by herself. The trail was empty ahead of her and the other runners were far behind.  
  
'Nah, Akane has to be up here. I know that girl is running full speed. Probably knows about the bet. I will show you—I am going to win.' Ranma soon found his fiancé. She had a good distance advantage on him.  
  
'Ranma Saotome never loses and I am not going to start now.' Deep green pools glinted with something akin to retribution. She never even noticed the moodshift.  
  
==================  
  
Hi! I hope you all like it. I am kind of unsatisfied with it... if anyone has a suggestion towards my grammar or my tense- speak up!  
  
I'm not too confidant with this chapter... but here it is.  
  
I have some kinda good and kinda bad news regarding "Guiding the Fallen Angels." I am going to rewrite it. Not near what I am doing to this but, I think I need to bring the grade level up closer to me. I don't think it is written well enough to satisfy me.  
  
I am going to change some smaller things in it. Say goodbye to Katie!  
  
Ja Ne – Lady Mokodane


	7. Changing Places

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

Chapter 6

Changing Places

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

The predetermined track was wildly scattered through the woods. The basic idea behind the cross country race being held there was that each runner would have their own choice of which paths to take.

There were beginner, intermediate, expert, and unusable trails that lined one end of the large scale wooded area to the other. The entire plotted territory was massive and used strictly for training purposes. The wildlife and the trees were somewhat unpredictable so Furinkan High was unable to have it sanctioned for tournament use.

It was true that the majority of the runners stuck somewhere between beginner to intermediate, with small exceptions by some of the more veteran runners. Most of these young teen girls didn't fail to notice how tranquil the woods actually were.

Several different types of vegetation lined the path and the hills, allowing a nice invigorating scent of wildflowers and cherry blossoms to fill their senses. Several small animals watched the girls running through, stopping their feeding to send small squeaks to their fellow kind.

The sounds of the wind blew around the runners in a way that was both warm and lifting all at the same time.

It was just a really relaxing run… for almost everyone. It seemed as if the only two people who failed to notice how lovely and cooperative Mother Earth was being were ironically the only two that took the unusable paths.

Akane Tendo's entire body felt electrified with limitless bounds of kinetic energy. The greenery around her was barely a blur as she bounded gracefully across stray rivers and large decrepit trees. Her spirit soared with her as she jumped high into the air to run and flip into the trees.

Her laughter filled the area as she landed with a soft crunch on the ground, only to continue her tremendous speed shortly after. Her blue hair whipped around her, encouraging her to fun faster, even as the whir in the back of her head picked up decibels.

She idly noticed it was the same sound that had caused her so much pain earlier that day. However the thought shortly faded into the back of her mind as a cracking of a branch behind her caught her attention.

The great competitive nature of the girl smiled aggressively as she saw her fiancé in female form catching up to her. She slowed down long enough to match pace with the redhead.

"What's up Ranma? Anything I can help you with today?" She asked the shorter girl next to her, secretly checking to see if she was out of breath or not.

"Yeah, quit pretending and get ready to lose Akane. I know you know about the coach's bet and I intend to win!" Both girls jumped over a log at the same time. Ranma was further agitated to notice that Akane was able to pull off the maneuver without breaking eye contact.

"I don't know what you are talking about but if you think you can take me Ranko, let's go. Nothing like a friendly competition between us girls right?" Akane proceeded to blow a kiss at her fiancé, which as she had hoped, thoroughly agitated him to no end.

"I am a guy damn it! Don't forget this when it's over Akane—you are going to lose to me," an audible click resounded loudly through both their heads and the young girls stopped dead in their tracks.

In this place in the woods there were no animals or beautiful flowers to lighten the mood. The sun was mostly blocked by the branches of wicked dark arms of dead trees. It was surreal how heavy the air had turned and just how thick and difficult it had become to breathe.

Both girls stared at each other fully expecting something to happen. Soft as a whisper the buzzing sound that had so easily brought Akane to her knees began to lull and bounce around the forest. Slightly discolored fog rolled around the young couple, calming them into an expressionless trance. They were locked into each other's eyes.

Ranma watched completely motionless as Akane's eye color changed and rolled smoothly into hundreds of different hues. All at once she aggressively stepped back at her own viewing of what was happening to her fiancé. Her irises stopping frequently on the reddish hues they manifested.

Ranma's once vibrant blue had shifted into only one color. A sick color of green shone and pulsated from her eyes. Red hair unbidden blew softly around her wickedly bright jade orbs. "Don't forget this when it's over Kalian—you are going to lose to me… when that happens you will surrender your power and your lands to me." Ranma's voice was layered with ice as she began circling the Tendo girl.

The blue-haired girl's hair crackled in a nimbus of electricity around her. Vibrant purple shot and glowed from her as her own low voice matched Ranma's in deadly monotone, "you will never take Cleyra's Soul demon! I would die before I let her fall into your hands Malamarie."

The forest bowed towards the awesome power displayed before it. A ring of dead life encased the young girls as they circled nearer to each other. Inches apart their ki battle had turned outward as bright green and purple thumped from both parties.

Ranma spoke with her face inches from Akane's, "Perhaps you shall. But I would much rather keep you as a pet." Her voice faltered none as the redhead closed the distance and seared her lips against Akane's.

With that contact the entire forest had changed back to the way it was. With a snap the eerie atmosphere was shattered and the woods sprouted life back into the forest.

The teenagers hadn't realized they were kissing until they had both begun to enjoy it.

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

The entire Earth rumbled under the onslaught of the masses congregated. Countless dark shapes moved faster and roared louder with each passing moment. Blood poured in steady streams down the massive hill and pooled at the bottom.

The air was full of the vile stench of death. Screams full of pain assaulted the ears with vicious intensity. The sky was black and charred from the fires covering the region.

The entire army of death was assembled to obliterate the glowing star that lit the top of the hill. As the masses continued to march on the light, it became obvious that they were merely fighting a girl.

Their demented glee held no bounds.

The beautiful girl moved rhythmically in patterns that closely resembled dance. But no matter how many demons attacked at once, it seemed as if the star would only move faster in her dance.

Hordes of black bombarded the girl and as she moved gracefully around her circle, the blood rivers only continued to run thicker with each demon slaughtered by the most beautiful of killers.

Eventually there were no more movements from the mass. Soon the beautiful girl slowed her steps and glanced around. Blood smeared on both cheeks and hands; she flicked the blood from her blades and rubbed her soft pink eyes.

After a calming breath her eyes fluidly changed into brown. Satisfied that her job was complete, she turned on her heel towards the horizon and smiled at the sunshine.

Her long blue hair fluttered in the new wind.

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

Ranma woke with a start. His entire body was covered in sweat and he could still taste blood from his dream. Ranma sat up and rubbed his head. He was surprisingly pleased to find himself in his own bed. For some reason he expected to wake… someplace else.

'Oh shit! This means that Akane brought me here after that damn forest run!' His thoughts of how he woke up in the forest were removed from his mind as a haphazard analysis of the house proved to show that there was something horribly wrong.

Ranma sensed powerful magic nearby. Every hair on the back of his neck stood on end. A battle aura so violent that it shook his soul was close.

He could feel the familiarity of it, the sense that this person was close to him. This chi was something he came into contact with everyday… but right now it was unreal how much was being bombarded into his senses.

Closer than everything else-- It was Akane; something like this could only be Akane.

Ranma couldn't remember a time when he had gotten to a destination faster. A slight hesitation at the door was put aside as the chi pulsed like a heartbeat and nearly knocked him over.

Upon entering, the martial artist's entire mouth went completely dry.

Akane was floating in mid air. Her body was limp and Ranma was unable to see clearly due to the bright light cascading from her. The beautiful body of Akane formed a limp cross and blood dripped down her arms and spilled onto the bed in rivers.

Ranma stared in sick fascination, far too scared to move. The light faded and eventually went away.

The blood had smeared her face and formed patterns down her arms. Blood continued to roll onto the wooden floor making soft beading noises. Her hair was wrapped around her waist as Ranma approached the bed. His entire body shook with fear at the changes in his fiancée and how much blood was pooling around them.

Finally his dream came back to him. This is exactly what the girl in his dream had looked like. 'Was the girl in my dream Akane?' The stench hit Ranma next. It was the same from the blood drenched hill. He could never forget that smell.

In a flash the entire room was different. The blood was gone and Akane was resting on her side. Ranma looked frantically around to see if anything was out of place but found that the entire room was in normal condition again. No smell, no blood, and her hair was back behind her ears.

It was his Akane again. Soon Ranma would chalk what just happened to that of hallucination and try to go back to sleep.

But what little rest he did get wasn't really worth the effort.

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

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Sorry to everyone for not updating in so long, college is stressful and a giant pain.

Please forgive me.

Ja Ne – Lady Mokodane


	8. Rivers of Adaptation

Hello! Its time for me to fill out some more apartment paper work, so what better way to procrastinate than to update and prevent my imminent death from all my annoyed reviewers?

Hmmm….. The opening scene has some pretty disturbing things… well one thing. It just happened when I started writing… I swear its mostly implied… well maybe not.

I love all my reviewers!

Cynical Chaos, inheyl and Father Malvado- hello and long time no see! Miss ya!

Okay everyone, get ready for the late and overdue installment of "Choices Not Given" – the fallen love story.

* * *

Chapter 7

Rivers of Adaptation

* * *

Within the shadowed eclipse of the earth's heart is the darkness that threatened once to gobble the existence of eternity. It is a dimension that thrives on pain, sorrow, and screams from the breath of the pure.

Those spiritually enlightened believe this wretched and torn place is but a stone's throw from our reality and shall once again rise to power with its vanity. Once before it attempted to inhale our world but failed.

The time is at hand for the armies of the damned to surge a second time. However the odds are not sorted as they were before. This dark hell has evolved into a beast most unstoppable. An entire organism devoted to destruction resides within this plane.

Those wise call it Morgaku; "the plane of Nothing."

Deep in the black heart of this massive continent is the capital. It is a grand obtuse obstacle where the blood of the dark flows freely. It is here that the fallen experiment just encountered his death.

"A shame really," drawled a honey-flavored voice from the window, "maybe you weren't strong enough after all. But you were ugly, no fun for someone as purrr-fect as me," the voice cooed from the sill.

Cackles of laughter filled the cold room as a girl with waste-length wavy orange locks sauntered across the laboratory. Her whiskers twitched as her demented yellow eyes examined the corpse of the earth warrior.

The barely recognizable carcass's ivory hair stiffly lay beside him on the counter. The minx-woman thought busily to herself about the perplexing gender of the man. 'I could have sworn you were a female. But you are most definitely a man.'

"No bother. Silly mortal shouldn't have come across the spring if he wasn't strong enough to handle the consequences."

The thin layer of fur that covered most of her body stood on end as the temperature of the room dropped in degrees. The presence of her master could be felt. On instinct she immediately turned and bowed to her superior.

"So the prince was a failure." His voice boomed in the ears of the cat girl. She nodded in response, but never raised her head to face him- she knew better.

"This will be your fault, Janeko. You will fix this. If another candidate is not found it will be your head lying next to the Musk ruler on that table." Even as she heard him turn on his heel and leave the room the chill stayed with her.

She would be damned before she would fail her leader. She casually swept her tabby-orange hair over her shoulder and returned to the table where the body had already begun to break apart.

She had to find another descendent of Malamarie. Honestly she wasn't sure how the Prince was even a relation… but she did suspect it had something to do with the curse that he bore.

With but a rumble of the feline's stomach a Cheshire grin manifested on Janeko's face. "My, we mustn't let good food go to waste!"

So the cat began to feed. The sounds of cracking bone were only masked by the purrs and the slurps of one happy kitty.

* * *

The Cat Café was in rare shape today. Due to the track meet at the school today, students were practically lined around the block to get some good food.

Cologne could not be happier. "Sure the business is merely a front to cover our stay Shampoo, but you know what they say dear. A little profit never hurt anyone." The old woman was cooking at a phenomenal rate and handling the large quantity of orders with ease. She was having no trouble bouncing around the kitchen on her staff.

"Yes grandmother. We make lots money and Shampoo take Ranma out on fancy date, yes?" The young warrior was waiting tables and making a fair amount of tip money. Of course it never hurt that she flirted with almost every customer, male or female.

It took a moment for the elder to respond. "Of course dear," was her reply as four more bowls of ramen noodles flew from the kitchen towards Shampoo.

Just as Shampoo laid all the plates balanced on her arms down on one table she quickly jumped towards the ceiling and managed to catch every bowl thrown her way from the kitchen.

She couldn't help but overhear the conversation going on next to her, "Yeah, the bimbo is good, but today you should have been there for Akane! At the track meet, you know the pole vault bar?" Shampoo cursed at having to leave ear shot and proceeded to deliver the orders of ramen noodles tossed to her from Cologne.

However the next table she approached was fortunately having a similar conversation, "She was so cool! I wish I looked like her when I do stuff like that!" The girl's voice annoyed Shampoo, "she was running, not breaking a sweat and she outran none other than…"

'Damn!' the Amazon was out of earshot again. Deftly catching more bowls from the kitchen she chastised herself for missing one. It slammed against the wall- splattering on a customer.

"Oh! Shampoo so sorry, you get free food, yes? Make better?" With her best smile she couldn't stop the entire table from leaving. They muttered words about the "damn clumsy waitress" all the way to the door.

A chipper voice wedged its way back to the Amazon's ears. "She had to have! He was passed out when they exited the woods by the school." Shampoo refused to let gossip about the "violent tomboy" affect her anymore. Shampoo solidified herself and blocked out anymore conversation about that subject.

The day passed by quickly from there. Raw curiosity plagued Shampoo until she couldn't stand it anymore. Right before the gates were going to be locked to the Cat Café, she got the attention of a departing customer.

"Hi, you may no know me, but I am a dear dear friend of Akane's... what happened while Shampoo stay home today?" She tried to sound as sincere as possible.

The girl started smiling and talking about how great Akane was at the track meet, but the part that got Shampoo's anger boiling was when the ditzy girl finally convinced her that a passed out redheaded Ranma Saotome had been what Akane had carried from the woods.

By the time Cologne exited the kitchen, the gate was not locked and Shampoo was most noticeably, not present.

"Oh, dear."

* * *

The wind blew Sakura Blossoms around the cemetery where Hitomi Tendo was buried. Akane couldn't help but notice, as she made her journey towards the grave, how well manicured the grass was here.

Nabiki and Kasumi walked side by side, there were no tears shared between the two, just comfortable silence. Earlier today they had both been suffering from severe headaches and were now recovering.

Soun and Genma walked together, stiff and distant from what was happening in the real world. Soun wasn't entirely paying attention to what was going on. Despite his stone façade, it was clear he was breaking apart on the inside.

Ranma trailed behind everyone. His gaze was primarily focused on the sky. Every now and then he would take a glance in a glance of the Tendo family and let it linger on Akane. A possessive feeling overtook him and he took strides to catch up to her.

The entire family was adorned in silky black fabric. It was the consensus of the group that they cleaned up rather nice.

* * *

"What the hell do you mean I am not in Nerima? I think I know how to get there, I don't need your damn help!" Angry shouts filled the foreign village as its members sought to calm the rampaging boy in the center of their marketplace.

"Yes good sir, please believe us. This is not the Nerima that you speak of… please calm down," the elder man of the area pleaded with the bandana-clad boy to stop smashing their homes apart. "Perhaps if you remove the cloth from your eyes you could see better and find your way home."

Tears ran down the boys hidden eyes as his fingers grabbed the bandanna and yanked it fiercely from his head.

The villagers gasped at what they saw. "Your eyes… they…," the old man found it hard to finish his sentences.

Ryouga Hibiki stood tall and his tears ceased, "I woke up this morning and my eyes would not work. Please, tell me what's wrong with them!" His anger had temporarily subsided.

The village elder was quiet. It was a young girl who spoke next. "Hi, my name is Annika, pleased to meet you." Ryouga felt her hands on his knees and he bent down where he assumed she was.

Her hands touched his nose and then she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him fiercely. "Your eyes are gone, mister. Don't be afraid. I promise I will take care of you. I will be your eyes from now on."

He wrapped his arms around the little girl, and the grown man started to cry into her shoulder. "What's wrong with me? Please, tell me. Why can't I see you?"

"They all pity you Ryouga, but I don't. This happened for a reason so I will take you to Nerima." Just as the young girl backed away from him she whispered once more to him, before he fell asleep from exhaustion.

"Be strong hero."

"Do you see anyone? Who is that boy talking to? I suppose it doesn't matter, poor blind kid. Take him to the hospice tent to recover. We will figure this out tomorrow."

The young girl known as Annika watched them handle her friend with care. 'Oh Ryouga, my blind seer, how angry will you be with me once you realize what I had to do?'

Her eyes softened around him as the villagers started to walk through the silhouette of her body. Soon she disappeared altogether.

* * *

The Tendo procession was on its way back to the Tendo Dojo when Ranma decided that he had some "unfinished business" over at the Cat Café.

His body was bouncing roof to roof and out of sight before Akane could even find her voice of jealousy to protest. She looked towards her family for sympathy but was almost surprised they didn't care.

Anger swelled from her chest and she started to feel the need for justification from her fiancée for leaving her like that. "I need to take care of some things with Ranma, alright father?" she looked to her dad but oddly he said nothing.

Nabiki and Kasumi watched Akane walk towards town with similar lidded expressions. They had decided some time ago that there was something wrong in the house. "Today is not a day for investigation, Nabiki." Kasumi's voice was calm and monotone as she walked in the side entrance of the dojo.

"I reluctantly agree." The sisters made it to the medicine cabinet to escape their headache. They both headed to Kasumi's room to sleep for the night.

"You know what they say, Kasumi?" Nabiki lifted her head from the pillows long enough to finish, "misery favors company."

She was almost asleep when Kasumi responded, "In both our case and Ranma and Akane's it seems…" Both sisters drifted into restless dreams soon after.

* * *

"Old Ghoul!" Cologne was on her way out of the kitchen to great Ranma before he had even entered the Café. 'His presence is stronger today…'

"You should be more respectful of your elders, sonnyboy. Your fiancé is not here at the moment. She left shortly after work." She hopped onto the countertop and began sipping on a nearby cup of hot tea.

Ranma was hesitant to enter the room at first, but eventually made it to a table close to where Cologne sat, balanced on her cane. "I came here to ask ya a question. Now don't go getting any funny ideas or nuthin', but there is no one else that can help me."

The Amazon eyes squinted before arching a curious eyebrow. "Is that right, son-in-law and I'll see what I can do." She casually tipped the tea cup and drank the steaming nectar.

The boy began to play with his ponytail before continuing. "Akane she… she beat me today--," he was halted by Cologne spitting out the tea into the air.

"You let the Tendo girl beat you? What were you thinking? You are lucky this won't jeopardize the Amazon rules regarding you and Shampoo!" Her anger was evident.

"Look Old Ghoul, I don't give a rat's ass about your bimbo of a granddaughter. Akane beat me, isn't that strange to you?" Ranma stood so fast his chair skidded across the floor.

Cologne lit her pipe from her robes and upon inhaling the drug, "yes. No way she did it naturally, I'd say. You sense any potions?" she puffed her pipe.

Ranma shook his head while waving away the smoke that had chosen to accumulate around him. "It was a race," he was weary to tell the Amazon too much, "and I kept up with her, but even if we didn't finish… she beat me."

"There is something that you are not telling me, son-in-law, I need to hear your entire story." Her voice was notably calmer as she put her cigar out on the heel of her palm.

He hesitated for a moment, but his will resolved. "Promise me Ghoul, that you will not use this in any way against me?"

"That I promise, my boy, now on with it!" Her agitation evident.

Ranma breathed deeply, "Her eyes kept changing color, and I have been having weird dreams about her being this ruthless killer… she's having these mood swings… and I guess I am too… I think I may sound dumb to you. I think I will go now." He made his way hastily to the door.

"Ranma! You must stay away from the girl!" He looked over his shoulder at the old woman. She was deathly pale and from his view, she appeared horrified.

* * *

Greetings and Salutations!

Hooray, another chapter down, I would say thirty to go. I have decided to add a small spoiler to this area, so if you do read this, you're one up on everybody else.

* * *

A preview, of Chapter 8!

Looking around for the first time in a while, Akane was sure she was lost. But that didn't change the fact that there was a parked bike lying next to the only light pole in the nearby vicinity.

"Akane must think she big brave now she make Ranma pass out," the clearly Chinese voice echoed around the street, "he probably saw how ugly you is Akane! That why he out cold." High pitched laughter bounced in a way that left Akane blind to her location.

"I hear you, Shampoo… unfortunately. What do you want, come out so I can see you!" The youngest heir to the Tendo name looked frantically around the area, still unable to locate her adversary.

"Shampoo tired of the Violent One always hurting my Airen! You will be defeated today and you will quit claiming him as your fiancé. Do you accept challenge?" The Amazon dropped from above, intent on landing on Akane.

* * *

It isn't much, but it's the only part I already have written. I do believe writing with colloquialism in regards to both Shampoo and Ranma is quite annoying.

Can't the ditz just learn Japanese already?

Anywho, sorry it has been so long, so I hope you enjoy it!

Love, Lady M


	9. Giving to Fear

Hello! I have decided to finally get down to business and answer my reviews… despite the fact that there weren't that many… which is fine. I shouldn't worry about trivial stuff like that when I have such really good fans on my side! Oh and don't forget to check out my new bio. Finally updated!

* * *

Chapter 8

Giving to Fear

* * *

Akane had decided miles ago that she was not going to look for Ranma in her journey walking around Nerima.

But what she was actually looking for, she was not quite sure. Her surroundings were growing increasingly less familiar and she even admitted to herself, as the cold night air kissed her neck, she was a little lost.

Goosebumps running the length of her arms and legs made her wish she had decided to wear something warmer than her little black dress. It barely brushed the tops of her knees as she walked, forcing her to rub at the cold in an attempt to subdue it.

As she passed yet another street lamp, her thoughts previously focused on nothing at all drifted to where she hoped they wouldn't.

Ranma Saotome.

Today she shared her first real kiss with the boy and she had felt fire. 'It was like nothing I have ever experienced before. The way everything stopped,' she hesitated at her own thoughts, 'made my heart almost quit.'

She felt her fiercely cold cheeks grow warm at the memory. If she dwelled on the thought too long, she was almost sure she could taste him all over again.

Several trash cans crashed into each other from across the street, causing Akane to jump at the sound. A rather large alley cat 'mewed' and ran back into the darkness.

The golden-eyed girl held her hand over her heart in an effort to quell its rapid pace. She couldn't help but laugh after the incident, "Being scared of cats is Ranma's thing, not mine," she mumbled to herself.

The blunt cold air wafted lazily around her legs. This time the chills brought on another thought besides a change of apparel. 'Ranma had been a girl! That pervert! I didn't even notice…' the thought utterly dumbfounded Akane.

Her pace quickened in her aching heels as her anger piqued. She began talking out loud. "How could I be so stupid as to let that ignorant ass kiss me as a girl? How could I be so stupid as to let Ranma touch me at all!"

She rounded a corner hastily and noticed for the first time that she now had absolutely no idea where she was. Her anger did not dissipate when the fear and panic of being completely lost settled in. They combined and sent her reeling into a state of complete hysteria.

Her thoughts were alien and jumbled to her as she tried to recognize street signs or stores. The buzzing from before settled within her ears but ironically went unheard.

No familiar places and no familiar things were her reward. Akane's dress whipped around her legs as she flew down the road in a mad attempt to regain her bearings, but she was too unfocused to recognize even the things she did know.

The fear in the girl was a tangible thing. It laced around her thoughts and triggered something deep inside her heart.

Akane's breathing was erratic and her vision began to blur as her speed down the road increased. The intense pains in her feet from her heels only resulted in her kicking them off and into wall. They didn't fit well anyway.

As her bare feet slapped loudly against the pavement, dark hair rose in an electric halo behind her. Her vision pumped with the beat of her heart and her entire body felt as if it were a raw conduit of untapped energy.

It almost hurt how full of power Akane felt as her speed increased. Her dress ripped along the sides and whipped sporadically about. The wind from the night only dropped in degrees as it picked up its own intensity.

Her golden eyes shown with a massive heat behind them and tonight, Akane Tendo was a sight to behold.

* * *

Somewhere near…

"Akane must think she big brave now she make Ranma pass out," the clearly Chinese voice echoed around the street, "he probably saw how ugly Kitchen Battering-ram is and fall clean down," she laughed to herself.

Shampoo was now desperately looking for a way to vent her own frustrations at the world.

As much as she ridiculed the youngest Tendo, she was well aware of the threat Akane possessed to Ranma and her relationship. "How husband going to run away with Shampoo if hussy always around to beat him?"

The Amazon was a few blocks away from the Cat Café when a massive pulse of power caught her attention. The reaction within her was instant.

She sprang to the rooftops in an effortless jump and found herself running full speed towards whatever could produce that kind of energy.

'This thing is fast,' she thought to herself as she altered her course with the intense speed of the source.

The freezing air made her tighten her shirt in an attempt to keep warm. As her legs found footing and pushed her along the path towards the intense ki spike, she boggled with the effect the intense power was having on her senses.

"This thing is really fast," she mumbled between breaths in Chinese.

She leapt from the final ledge in a surge of strength in an attempt to catch this powerful beast unguarded. There was no question within her; something this strong had to be taken out.

Shampoo's body formed into a perfected high angle attack that would definitely devastate any martial artist and would hopefully do something similar to whatever she was about to come into contact with.

A slight fear clutched at her heart as the light finally lit the source running full speed down the street.

"This thing is…Akane?" Shampoo briefly panicked in the air. There was no way not to hit her. In an instantaneous realization Shampoo knew that this attack could kill Akane if it connected.

She had enough momentum in her from jumping from the roof that she could topple a brick wall, and was headed straight towards the unsuspecting girl.

Just as her extended leg reached range, Akane's hand snapped onto Shampoo's ankle and viciously slammed her onto the concrete road.

The cracking sound her body made on impact was unique and singularly deafening.

Akane's reflexes had been superb. The technique had been of a mastery level.

But the lack of sympathetic emotion displayed by her had been almost evil. Even now, as her golden eyes rested solely on the fallen warrior, her face was stoic.

Shampoo struggled to retain consciousness as black dots attempted to ease over her vision. It was sheer willpower keeping her awake.

"Stupid… girl… no can defeat Shampoo! Shampoo is too too good for you!" She stumbled to her feat. She winced as her limbs struggled to support her.

Something somewhere was broken.

The pain was unbearable.

But real fear was absent from Shampoo until she looked at Akane. It was subtle at first, but it was there. Her entire body radiated something fierce.

Her stance was subtle but obviously wickedly effective. Her joints were jagged in appearance. Akane was a stationary ball of kinetic energy.

Her hair whipped around her face in the wind and would sometimes hide the cold glare her glowing yellow eyes would induce on Shampoo's soul.

She looked like a monster.

She looked like she was hunting.

Every light on the street flickered out but Akane's eyes only picked up in intensity. Yellow sparks flicked about her and her golden orbs slowly faded into red.

Shampoo's own eyes lit with fear and it was very apparent that she needed to run very fast.

* * *

Ranma sipped his tea lazily at the diner. He was growing bored waiting on the Old Ghoul. The Amazon Matriarch said something about a book on prophecies and went to go look for it.

This left Ranma alone to sit on the stool and ponder over when exactly his "easy-life" plan had turned to "shit."

"Hey Son in law, you still here?" she shouted from the top of the stairs.

Ranma was relieved to hear her voice, "Yeah, what did you find out," he hesitated, "anything good on fixing the tomboy?"

Cologne bounced down the stairs with grace, "No. But I did find what our teaching say it is."

Ranma looked at her expectantly from his position across the counter. "Well, what is-," his comment was cut off by a pulse in energy around him, "Woah! Do you feel that?"

He turned towards the front just in time to see Shampoo's body tossed from one side of the front display window to the other.

He reacted before the feeling of dread had even settled in. He heard Cologne mutter something but it was quickly ignored. He bolted out the door and into the cold night air towards Shampoo.

Ranma knelt by the fallen warrior and rolled her over to her back. "You ok? You're busted pretty bad… hey, Shampoo, wake up!" He felt for her pulse and gently tapped her on the cheek in an effort to get her to regain consciousness.

She opened her eyes slowly before they shifted to intense fear. "Ranma, you have to save Shampoo! Violent Girl, she-," Shampoo held on to him moments before he was grabbed from behind and tossed away from her like garbage.

He rolled on the street once before watching Shampoo be roughly lifted and slammed back into the ground… by Akane.

He was in shock.

Akane was tearing Shampoo apart limb from limb and he was so numb from the sight that he couldn't do anything to stop it.

A small part of him recorded her movements and decided that he didn't recognize what martial arts form she was using. With what she was wearing, it was hard to even distinguish the combatant as even being Akane.

Why couldn't he move and save Shampoo? He watched Akane roundhouse her into the nearby wall. Blood was coming from somewhere and it caked on her hands and dress.

As his fiancé held the Amazon high against the wall by placing her foot under her larynx, Ranma instinctively knew she was preparing for the kill. 'I have to move now!'

Akane's glowing red eyes landed on him for a second before a small green blur bounced between them and gently tossed a bag of powder towards his fiancé's face.

In an instant her eyes were normal and she wavered a moment before dropping her leg from the high split against Shampoo's throat.

Her eyes glazed a moment before she fell gently towards the ground and Ranma dived to save her from landing on the concrete.

As he held her and looked at Cologne and the battered Shampoo, he had absolutely no idea what to do.

* * *

Ryouga Hibiki is missing his eyes.

He woke days ago in a mysterious village and found that someone had stolen them while he was sleeping.

Annika, a young girl only he can hear and talk to, tells him that it is a good thing that they are gone.

That it gives him special powers.

That it is the only way for him to find the true path and communicate with her.

It allows them to become friends with each other; otherwise he could not hear her tell him where to go and where to lead the others.

So now a blind man is walking towards a town, following the orders of the young invisible girl holding his hand.

She tells Ryouga to stay calm and she'll watch over him and that even though he has lost his eyes, she will never let him get lost again.

The thought of never getting lost again comforts him.

Annika told him on the first night without his eyes that while he had them, he misused them. He took his eyesight for granted by constantly getting confused and misguided by direction. Now, even though he can't see, it is more as if he can do it better.

"Hey Annika," he asked after a while of silence, "where are we?"

A slight squeeze on his hand and a voice in his mind whispered, "We are looking for the chosen-born." Her voice was light and girly.

He pondered on that for a second. "So where's that?"

"Nerima, silly," and the little girl giggled.

* * *

Oh my.

That wasn't supposed to go so far. But you have to understand, faithful Shampoo fans that I needed this to happen. I will make it up to you, promise.

I am thinking that I need to make this R. I want lots of blood… bits of cussing… and some sexy stuff too.

So, what did everyone think of my fallen love story this chapter? I took the advice of a reviewer and slowed this one down a bit. It focuses more on the "moment." - All for you Cynical Chaos.

Anywho – on with the reviewer responses!

Father Malvado – Oh how I have missed you! Yes, I plan on getting a good bit into this story real soon. All the things we have talked about are soon coming to pass! BWAH HA!

Dagorwen of Ithillien – I will do my best!

Anime addiction 2.0 – yes I found my mistake as well. I rationalize not going back and fixing it because I built my character around the name Hitomi. Going back would only confuse me later. I'm real dumb. Like rice paper dumb.

Inhyel – yes the lovably insane indeed. I am glad you liked Shampoo, cause I plan to use the hell out of her.

Cynical Chaos – oh where has my once faithful reviewer gone? Are you as scorned by my non updating as I fear you may be, my love? Please your forgiveness is what I need, to go on…

The liz – you would be correct good friend!

Compman44 – I am sorta proud of Hitomi too. Just wait to see her in action!

SaKk – I don't know what to tell you without spoiling the story, but just hold on. We'll see who you are rooting for soon enough.


	10. Accidental Pain

You know, there can never be too many mean people.

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Chapter 9

Accidental Pain

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"It was an accident."

"How stupid you think Shampoo is?"

Silence.

"How highly I would rank your intelligence is beside the point. I don't remember doing it, so it is not my fault."

"What's that suppose to mean? You forget going super butch-girl on Shampoo, so it okay?"

"I am NOT butch you dumb bimbo. But it was an accident."

"No, it wasn't."

"Yes, it was. You jealous of Shampoo!"

Ranma was actually contemplating suicide. Seriously, he was counting the different ways he could do it in this very room. A brief estimation left him with fourteen. However, if he could gather enough ki, he was sure he could bump that number up to around twenty.

Akane snorted, "What would I possibly have to be jealous of YOU for? Surely not your amazing communicational skills, heck, you still speak in third person!"

The purple and green blankets covering the injured Shampoo fell to the floor as the Amazon continued to yell from her position on the cot. She shouted something in Chinese at Akane.

Ranma could only assume that they weren't pleasant words. Cologne had run to the store to gather some bandages and herbs. Of course, Ranma now second guessed the reliability of her claims. The old ghoul knew Shampoo would be a bitch when she woke up, thus provoking the "inner" bitch in Akane.

Ranma looked up, surprised, when Akane rattled off some words back at Shampoo, also in Chinese. They probably weren't that pleasant either.

"And I didn't have to use third person either!"

"Violent Girl need to shut mouth before Shampoo shut it for her! You still jealous." Shampoo was sitting on her knees on the cot.

Akane matched her point for point and stood at the foot of the bed so that she could look the Amazon in the eye. "Just what do you think I need to be jealous about?"

Ranma, at first, thought it was going to be the insane shrieking sound of Akane's voice that was going to do him in.

"Of course, you know the way Ranma want my body." Shampoo rubbed one hand through her hair and one down the curves of her hip and thigh before striking a pose. "It too too much better than Akane's man body."

But now he realized that it was going to be the direction this conversation was going that was going to do him in.

Akane shrieked. "I do NOT have a man body! Do I Ranma?"

Immediately he began looking around the room for that butter knife he had seen earlier. Hey, he was a martial artist, seppuku with a child-safe knife wasn't impossible.

"Ranma!"

"Ranma!"

A few moments of complete silence went by. Ranma had just opened his mouth when the door opened.

"How are my children feeling?" Cologne bounced in the room with a paper bag full of various supplies.

"Oh thank god! Thank you so much!" Ranma latched himself around Cologne before making an odd guttural sound and leaving the room.

"Oh my, what was that about?"

Akane and Shampoo huffed at the same time before resuming their proper positions from across the room.

"Not my fault."

"Is too."

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

"Hey Nabiki, how are you feeling?" Kasumi made her way into the living room with a tray of tea. "Does your head still hurt?"

Nabiki sat up and reached for a cup. "Yeah, I guess. I don't talk about it much, but ever since I was little I have always been," she hesitated, "aware of things. Like when I am missing something it sticks out like a puzzle piece."

Kasumi nodded before sipping her own glass of black tea. "Do you think you are missing something now?"

Nabiki locked her green eyes into her sisters, "The biggest piece ever and I don't even know where to look."

Kasumi smiled before setting her cup down on the tray. "Biki-chan, it is going to be okay. Oh my, Biki-chan… I haven't called you that in forever…"

"You haven't… since before mother died." Nabiki leaned back against the grainy texture of the couch. "Do you think she would be proud of us? If she were to walk back into our lives… do you think she would call me selfish?"

"I know she would never do that. We are all grateful to you Nabiki, you save the dojo just as often as Ranma. Somewhere she watches us and I know she smiles every time she sees you."

Nabiki moved her shoulder so that it rested on Kasumi's. "How do you know? What makes you so sure?"

"Because I am also aware Biki-chan. I can tell about things like that. Besides, about your puzzle… I think the pieces will be falling together anytime now."

A loud crash came from the kitchen was heard and both sisters leapt from the couch.

"Who is there? Can I help you?" It was Nabiki who took charge and headed towards the noise. To say the loud crash startled the two girls would have been an understatement.

When Nabiki rounded the corner and saw Ryouga from behind, she felt at ease and lowered her guard. "Hey Ryouga, don't do that! You know better than to barge into… Ryouga… you ok?" Kasumi placed her hand on her sister's shoulder to let her know she wasn't alone.

Nabiki immediately registered the way Ryouga was standing to be… not right. He was facing away from them towards the corner with his neck angled oddly. His entire stance was not what she was used to. It didn't …_ feel_… like that was her friend at all. His presence felt more like a stranger's.

"Kasumi… why don't you go get Mr. Tendo? Tell him to get here quick."

"Why? It is only Ryouga."

"I didn't ask who it was, I said go." She hated to snap at her sister, but she had a bad hunch about this.

Nabiki listened until she couldn't hear the sounds of her sister's bare feet against the wood anymore.

"Hey Ryouga, how is it going?" She approached cautiously and attempted to sound as pleasant and friendly as possible.

His head turned slightly towards her but his dark hair kept his face and eyes obscured from view. He inhaled deeply and let the air out slowly, as if getting a taste for the air around him. "I do not believe you are the sister I am looking for."

Nabiki decided she was standing too close to Ryouga so she took several steps back. "Is everything okay, Ryouga?"

"My name is not Ryouga. You may call me Annika."

"Is that right? Who is that?"

"I am Ryouga's guide and he is my link to the world. He has given me power over his body for a while." His back straightened as he popped his neck to the side. The unhealthy cracking sound echoed around the kitchen.

"Oh well, thanks for clearing that up. Now, which sister are you looking for? Kasumi?"

He hesitated, as if listening to someone whisper in his ear. "I don't think so."

"Say, you aren't looking for Akane are you?"

He breathed and the entire kitchen shook with his speed.

In a second he had her pinned flat on her back on the dinner table. Both his legs were on the outside of hers and her hands were held captive by one of his, high above her head.

She was about to scream when she remembered, hell, Nabiki Tendo doesn't DO scream.

She does witty sarcasm.

"Can I help you?" She froze as Ryouga's skin grazed her cheek as he leaned his nose into her hair and inhaled, deep. She couldn't help but feel his stubble rub against her face as his silky dark hair trailed down her neck like droplets of water.

She had to admit, it was not a totally unpleasant experience being held against a hard wooden surface by a hard muscled guy.

"You smell like the mountains. Do people tell you that often?" His voice sounded monotone, so unlike the life she usually heard reverberate through him.

'Holy crap, he went crazy.'

"No, Ryouga, I got to admit I don't get that too often. Is Annika making you act this way or is it you that is behaving like a loon?"

He breathed in her hair again, this time running his free hand down the length of her arm. Nabiki's thoughts almost ceased function as it trailed lower, without hesitation, across her breast and down her stomach towards the dip of her hip.

"I think I am going to have to go with a little of both of us. Where is the girl?" His hands tightened painfully on her wrists. His hair still obscured his eyes from her, but she did catch a ghost of a smile on his lips.

'Remember girl, I do not DO scream. You can do this.'

She struggled to rein in her breathing. "What do you want Ryouga? I will give you nothing until you tell me what the hell is going on."

She felt Ryouga move his weight to his arm and lift his body so that he could stare down at her. After only a moment, she was able to gather the wits necessary to look him in the eyes for the first time that day.

A mistake she would later regret, because her screams were heard for miles.

Ryouga had no eyes.

But she would later swear to having heard a child's laughter.

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

"Not my fault."

"Is too."

"No it isn't—"

"Quiet! I have had enough; I am the Queen Matriarch of the Grand Amazons of China! I will not stand for this insufferable argument any further. Shampoo, do you not understand that Akane would not try and kill you?"

"Shampoo make no such—"

"Xian Pu!"

"Yes grandmother, Shamp—I am aware that she would not."

Akane whistled, "So your real name shuts you up huh? I need to remember that. Comes in handy, right _Xian Pu_?"

"And Akane, for you to not take responsibility for what you attempted to do, is a debauchery in of itself. You are the heiress to the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. You are not allowed, if I am to understand your school's teachings, to kill."

"But I didn't kill! She is right there!"

"But you tried to," the last sentence came from Ranma, "same difference."

Akane grew silent.

"We see what shuts up Akane as well," Shampoo mimicked.

Cologne stared between the two girls, "I think both of you need to be beaten."

Shampoo snorted, "Tomboy do enough of that already."

Akane growled, "Want me to do it again?"

"Bring it, man girl!"

Ranma was getting ready to find the butter knife again when the Cat Café's phone rang. "I will get it, anything to get me away from those two." With that he stormed down the stairs to the corded phone.

"Alright girls, I did some research on what Ranma told me was happening to Akane's eyes."

The girl in question shook her head, "What's wrong with my eyes? They work fine for me."

"Both Ranma and Shampoo said they saw your eyes shift colors, change from the deep brown they are right now." Cologne rested on the cot next to her great-grand daughter.

"What … what color are they changing to?"

"They are changing into every color, my dear, or more precisely all the different colors of all the different ki. There are teachings in our tribe that speak of such occurrences but they are not usually accompanied by mood swings as well."

Akane held her hands in her lap, "So what does that mean?"

Before Cologne could move to speak, Ranma could be heard taking the steps three at a time. He tripped on the last one and it was pretty clear to everyone in the room it was an emergency.

"It was Kasumi. Ryouga went crazy and attacked Nabiki! Pop and Mr. Tendo are doing their best, but she says I need to get home quick."

This time Cologne saw it. Akane's eyes shifted immediately into a deep green color. "What's wrong? I am coming too."

"It's too dangerous, stay here with Cologne. I mean it Akane! Stay here." Then with that, Ranma was back down the stairs and, more than likely, half way across Nerima.

Both Shampoo and Cologne knew what was going to be said next.

"It is my dojo Ranma! You couldn't keep me from it if you tried." Akane was up from her spot in a heartbeat.

"Are you too stupid to hear Airen's instructions? He said stay here." Shampoo sat up again, her bandages around her ribs constricted her movements and she winced in pain.

Akane did not spare her a second glance, "Would you listen if the situation was reversed?"

"Of course not, Shamp—I is wondering why you still here."

Cologne watched as Akane practically disappeared with speed found only in the highest ranking Amazonian Warriors.

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

Ranma had taken the high road to get back to the dojo. Without even thinking he was leaping over houses two at a time in a mad dash. It was night time, extremely late and he didn't even have the right shoes on for this type of thing. But none of that mattered.

Kasumi had sounded terrified on the phone.

The highly trained martial artist grinded his teeth in frustration, hell, he had trusted Ryouga! That bastard was attacking them like strangers and hurt Nabiki! Sure, their relationship was love/hate. Nabiki loved money and Ranma hated always giving it to her.

But that changes nothing, Nabiki was part of his family and that bastard was going to pay for hurting her.

It was moments later when Ranma arrived at the Tendo Dojo and before he even landed on the cool grass, he saw his father and Soun tossed out the side door and land several meters away.

The moonlight caught their blood as it arched high and splattered on the foliage around them.

Genma was sporting bruises all over his face and body and Soun was bleeding from the side of his neck, the blood had caked on his white collar.

Ranma grew somber as he approached the two men. "He did that to the both of you?"

Soun buried his hands in his oily black hair, it was slick with sweat. "He was too much; I think something is wrong with him. He says he wants the other sister and he wasn't talking about Kasumi!"

Ranma paled as his fists shook with anger. "That bastard won't get anywhere near Akane, not if I have anything to say about it!"

"Ryouga, what are you doing to my sister!" Akane's voice shrieked from the entrance to the house.

The three men exchanged glances. It was all Ranma could do not to scream.

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

In was an instant transformation in the room as the temperature dropped at least twenty degrees. It felt as if an ice cube were being trailed down Nabiki's spine.

"Ryouga, what are you doing to my sister!" Nabiki looked towards the doorway at Akane and watched as her hair whipped around her face in a mad tangle. She had to admit that her sister did look pretty menacing, even barefoot in a short ripped little black dress.

One of Ryouga's hands tightened on her wrists and the other gripped firmly into her hip forcing Nabiki to arch painfully into the much larger boy. "Girl, did I say you could look away from me?"

He looked to Akane, "I hate to disappoint you princess, but Ryouga has little to nothing to do with this particular situation. But we both do agree that we find your big sister to be quite appealing."

Ranma approached just in time to see his rival lean deep into Nabiki's hair and breathe in. "You sick bastard, let her go," Ranma barked.

Ryouga cocked his head to the side before extracting himself from Nabiki. She rolled off the table and practically scrambled to the hallway, where Kasumi was hiding from Ryouga's wrath.

"I am not a bastard, little man." Ryouga popped his neck to the side, his hair once again obstructing clear view to his eyes.

It was Akane who spoke next, "You sure about that?" The lights in the room were not on, but even in the dark Ranma could tell that her eyes were more of a deep purple than brown. He still didn't know what that meant.

Ryouga spoke, "Absolutely. The correct term would be 'bitch,' but I wouldn't call me that princess, especially since I came a long way to talk to you."

"What do you mean by correct term?" Ranma clearly didn't understand.

Nabiki choked from the hallway, "He means that he has been possessed by a woman, granted, a woman who kicked the shit out of Genma and Dad, but a woman none the less."

Ranma looked between Ryouga and Nabiki, "Come again?"

Ryouga stepped between Ranma and the hallway, his eyes caught the light from outside and a ghost of a smile crossed his features, "My name is Annika and I have a message to deliver to the princess."

Ranma gasped as the hollow sockets of his rival became visible. "Dude, what happened to your eyes?" A second went by, "What do you mean princes? Who the hell is Annika?"

Ryouga let out a chuckle. It made everyone in the vicinity shudder, give or take Akane. There was something raw and emotionless about the sound. "Ryouga was chosen by the higher powers to accomplish a certain task. His Hibiki blood made him an ideal candidate to communicate with me."

"And your name is Annika, right? What exactly are you suppose to be, some undead bimbo with a thing for girls?" Ranma lost his patience some time ago.

Annika smiled with Ryouga's fangs, "You could sort of say that. But it is more than that. I am not from around here. In order for me to communicate with someone they have to be completely focused. I have to be able to take over their thoughts and what they see and feel. So I did what I had to do to deliver my message to the princess."

Akane spoke, "So you took our friends eyes away?"

Ryouga visibly shuddered, "Oh how I love the rumble of your voice! They told me the Tendo sisters were exquisite but I was sorely unprepared! Yes, princess, I took his eyes. He can't see me if he can see. Get it?"

Ranma lunged for his throat in a flash, "You sick bitch! Fix my friend!"

Annika rolled with the boy and used a fraction of her strength to toss him completely out the door and into his father. He landed somewhat unnaturally and Genma and Soun rushed to his side.

"Ranma!" Akane made to run after her fiancée but choked on her collar as strong arms slammed her against the open door. The door banged against the cabinet behind her and "thwapped" against the back of her head, hard. Her eyes went fuzzy with the impact.

Ryouga inhaled against the side of her neck as if inspecting her smell. "I must apologize for my behavior chosen one, but I have not inhabited a human body in quite some time. Our kind never ventures to earth unless it is an emergency. We tend to get … overwhelmed by the emotions of the bodies we inhabit. This one is surprisingly lustful. But, I need to deliver a message so pucker up." He leaned in to kiss her.

"Touch her and die." Ranma pulled Ryouga off and kicked him in the neck, sending the fanged boy reeling, choking and gagging into the backyard. "You okay Akane?"

She nodded as his deep blue eyes inspected hers. She wanted to ask what color they were right now, because he looked so sad to see them, "I gotta handle this. Stay here." He left her body cold and ran to where the possessed boy was.

Akane looked in the hallway at her sisters, "Are you two okay? Nabiki is everything alright, he didn't do anything to you did he?" She hugged them both.

"Besides round second base? Nah, nothing I can't handle sis. Hey there is something I think you should know. I think that you should list-" Whatever she was going to say was interrupted as a loud crash signaled that one of the boys was in trouble.

Akane was outside before she realized what was happening. At first the two fighters were impossible to see but she found them on the roof. They were squared off and talking about something she couldn't quite hear. Her father and Genma were trying to sneak up on Ryouga in a surprise attack.

It appeared as if they were going to actually get him, but the fanged boy moved too fast to see and was able to knock both men off the roof and into the koi pond. Using his momentum he dodged and blocked every punch and kick from her fiancé. Even Akane knew Annika was toying with Ranma at this point.

Both boys blurred as Ranma accessed his inner Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken speed and Ryouga simply… dodged. Akane pulled her father out of the pond and heard him gasp at the battle ensuing on top of their home. The water coming off of him drenched her figure in water, making the already small dress shrink and cling.

She turned and looked at the roof in time to see Ranma's body sickeningly twist in the air as it arched towards the heavens. A normal human would never have made it in time to catch his body from hitting the ground.

Her bare feet slapped on the earth as the anger and panic in her heart took over. She crossed the entire massive Tendo compound in two seconds from a dead stop.

She caught her fiancé high above the heads of the viewers and landed with more grace than any had ever given her credit for. He was bleeding and the only thing she would later remember is that she literally saw red.

The wind picked up speed again as she gently deposited Ranma on the ground. As her head slowly turned to face the cause of her problems her eyes sparked yellow and crackled with unshed fury and electricity.

Annika smiled with Ryouga's fangs and leapt towards the diminutive but hell-bent girl. Before he had a chance to strategize with his immense strength and speed and power, he was on the ground with her shin in his throat.

A wicked smile was on her lips as she popped her knee to the side in an attempt to send his throat through the back of his head. Her dress billowed in the dark electric winds around her.

He kicked her legs off of him and watched bemused as she back flipped off of him to land several feet away in a crouching position. "Good to see you Kalian. I knew you were in the girl, even if it's you in your most primitive form—bloodlust. You learned to control this part of you in your past life, but hell, guess that training didn't stick with you. How many people have you killed so far? Without my help you might even kill your boyfriend over there."

The two fighters lunged toward each other before Ryouga leapt high into the air to attack from above. Akane stayed firmly planted to the ground as she successfully blocked every attack at her from the air.

Ranma shook his head from his position on the sidelines. He had been hit by his rival before, but never had it hurt this bad before. Maybe there was some merit to this whole "possession" thing.

He had to look twice. There Akane was, in her dress that he had to admit that he liked, doing a better job at defeating HIS rival than he did. She was holding her ground against Annika. But even he knew that that wasn't his fiancée fighting out there. Her yellow eyes were more than a giveaway.

It was the same part of her that throttled Shampoo earlier. That would kill if she wasn't stopped. This chick inside of Ryouga said she had a message to deliver. Maybe she wasn't lying.

Either way, one of two things was about to happen. Ryouga would win and deliver the message anyway, or Akane would win and then she would attack the family if he couldn't stop her.

Oddly enough, there was a part of him that wanted to fight her. That little voice had been with him since she had asked him to train her weeks ago. Of course now, he thought to himself, it didn't appear like the girl needed too much training.

This piece of him wanted to cause her pain, and he hated it. It was there when they went running in the woods for school. The few moments they lost together only to wake and find themselves… kissing, as girls.

In his dream where she fought all those demons and he found her in her room, covered in their blood, he felt moved and scared for her. But the more he thought about it, a part of him sympathized with the demons whose blood, if only temporarily, layered her body and room.

He was angry at her, and for what he had no idea. But he knew there was a seed of bitterness that screamed for contact with her. Hell, she wouldn't even let him touch her! He was her fiancé. She was his property.

He looked towards the fight in time to see her leap into the air. The wind played with her dress and her hair. It sent the bright blue hue of it twisting behind her in waves as her tiny frame was engulfed in the bright blood red moon behind her.

Wait, blood red?

Her body turned and her leg snapped towards Ryouga in an attempt to take his head off. He blocked it with extreme effort. She was not playing around and Annika was paying the price. Ranma watched as her long tan legs locked from behind around Ryouga's neck and squeezed.

Ranma, fed up with the entire situation, decided to take the battle away from Ryouga and give Akane what she wanted. He had full intention to beat the hell out of her. Hell, she was his property; he could do what he wanted.

He didn't even notice as his body shifted into his other half without water.

Ranma's red braid thumped against her back as the wind blew wildly around her much smaller form.

Her eyes flashed sickly green as a dormant part of him breathed.

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

Nabiki watched the battle ensue from her position on the porch with calculating eyes. Kasumi and she were huddled together trying to not be seen but unable to look away.

"Kasumi, do you see Ranma?"

She felt her sister nod, "Yes. He appears to be readying himself to rejoin the fight."

"Yeah but do you _see _him? He looks pissed at Akane! Hey, did you hear what Ryouga, or Annika, or whoever the hell said about Kalian? Do you know who that is?"

"It sounds familiar, but no. Why would this Kalian person be in our sister? I don't understand."

"Kasumi, why don't' you go call Cologne and tell her we need her here, get a hold of Dr. Tofu if you can, too. We may need a doctor before this is all over."

Kasumi disappeared inside the house and Nabiki continued to stare at Ranma, she had to look twice, but she was positive that his eyes were glowing… green.

"Now what the hell does this have to do with anything?"

Her throat went dry as she witnessed something that she had never prepared herself for. Ranma shrank before her eyes and rounded in the familiar curves of Ranma-chan.

"Oh my, the plot thickens."

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

She sensed her as she approached. Hell, she smelled her as soon as she turned. Tired of her current toy she knocked him in the back of the neck with the heel of her bare foot. He went down fairly fast.

Akane dropped down and rounded her body in an attempt to catch the redhead off guard. The motion was so fast that it almost worked.

The redhead jumped over her leg and proceeded to access her inner speed and slam her fists into the cheek of the taller girl.

If it hurt, she gave no sign, and began dodging and blocking the punches sent at her, despite the speed at which they were coming. Akane rounded her leg into Ranma's stomach and failed to flinch when it was caught and snapped away from her.

The smaller girl with the translucent glowing green eyes smiled as Akane was wickedly tossed on the ground next to the still form of Ryouga.

"I always thought you looked your best wallowing on the ground, Kalian. I like a man that grovels." Ranma's foot rested on her chest and pressed down hard on her lungs. "Of course, in that dress you hardly resemble the man you used to be."

"Is that so Malamarie? Well even born as a man you still resemble the blood sucking bitch you used to be. Oh, and for the record," Akane grabbed the ankles of the towering redhead and jerked her down so that she would fall flat on her back on the ground. Akane straddled her, "I always thought you looked your best when you were flat on your back."

"You always were a goody goody."

"You always were impossible to please."

"Bastard."

"Bitch."

It was that moment when Ryouga nailed Akane in the chest and kissed her full on the lips. A flash and a spark fizzled between the two.

In that single moment both the anomalies Malamarie and Kalian rescinded back into Ranma and Akane and they were left in the moment.

Ranma stared in shock as he came to, only to see his fiancé and his rival locking lips. "What the hell?"

When they separated both Akane and Ryouga fell to the earth, completely asleep and exhausted.

The message had been delivered.

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

Chapter 9

Complete

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Sorry it took so long guys, this chapter was so hard to write.

I would like to give a …shout out … to KyLewin for his awesome reviews. You so rock and I appreciate it.

So this story got inducted to a C2 and I had no idea. I thought they would at least send me an email but hey. So I think this chapter sucks.

Like royally blows ass. What do yall think?

Ceya – Lady Mo.


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