Ranma, Sailor Moon 1. Chapter 1

Author's note: This story is a double crossover between Ranma 1/2, Sailor Moon, and Shadow Hearts: Covenant. There is a third series that will be added in, but that will not come until the final arc of the story. For those of you who have read my previous stories, particularly my Naruto stories, you'll be pleased to know that I've already written down the entire plotline so that my muse cannot get away. Without further talk, Heir of the Lost Dynasty begins!

* * *

Nodoka Saotome was calmly sitting in her living room sipping tea when the doorbell rang. She calmly got up from the table and walked to the front door. Once there, Nodoka politely called out, "Who is it?"

A reserved voice behind the door replied, "My peaceful rose. Would you please be so kind as to open up the door for your father?"

Instantly, Nodoka's face broke out in a smile as she heard her father's voice behind the door. The Saotome matriarch hurriedly opened the door to see her father standing in the doorway. Nodoka calmly noticed the changes in her father Nicholas Inugami since she had last seen him. His full red beard that cover his mouth and jaw now had a few specks of grey in it. Nodoka knew that her father looked remarkably like his namesake and grandfather. Those looks had cause some of the more spiteful older generation to look down on Nickolas, but Nodoka always thought it gave her father an aura of respect.

Very quickly Nodoka rushed forward to hug her father and kiss both of his cheeks. She then smiled and said, "It's so good to see you father. I've missed you so much."

Nicholas smiled and replied, "I've missed you too Nodoka. It's been too long since we've see each other. Last time was when little Ranma was born. Speaking of the boy, where is my grandson?"

For a split second, Nodoka's smile faded before she quickly replied, "Oh, Ranma is out at the moment. Genma wanted to make sure that Ranma could get in some training."

A small frown crossed Nicholas's face when Nodoka mentioned his son-in-law. It was no secret that Nicholas thought that Genma was completely unworthy to be married to Nodoka. This wasn't just typical fatherly concern over a daughter; Nicholas didn't trust or respect Genma at all. The fat fool couldn't own up to personal responsibility and had a lot of connections to unsavory characters. Those unsavory characters weren't the misunderstood weirdoes and half-decent monsters that Nicholas was acquainted with. No, Genma associated with several shady people that most honest people would have the common sense to avoid like the plague. Genma's 'master' Happosai was a good example of Genma's poor taste in picking associates. It was only the fact that Nodoka refused to accept any other man as her husband that made Nicholas tolerate Genma.

Nodoka quickly decided to try and get her father's mind off of her husband and as she lead him into the house said, "And what about you father? I haven't heard from you in six, almost seven years. Surly you could have at least stopped and visited while you're on business."

Spotting a seat, Nicholas sat down and replied, "It would have been hard to visit you my dear peaceful rose. That would have put an unnecessary risk on both yourself and Ranma. I would not risk the chance of the KGB finding you again after some of my associates managed to remove their files on you. I've only now risked seeing you again because the Chairman of the KGB and I have reached an understanding. He will stop hunting what remains of the Clan and in return, I will not kill his family like I did his slain predecessor."

Unconsciously, Nodoka started to shutter as she saw glimpses of the demon that her father kept locked away inside of him. She then got some tea and softly said, "I wish this stupid feud had ended years ago. Why did they have to keep coming after us all these years? Why did you and my uncles have to continue to aggravate the KGB? Our clan could have hidden itself during WWII." Her eyes drooped as she continued on, "I know that the clan made the honorable decision, but it cost us everyone else in the family. You taught me to stay true to honor and to keep my word; still, I wish honor wasn't as hard to bear as it is."

Nodoka felt her father put his hand on her shoulder and she looked up to see Nicholas reaching across with his arm. The Inugami patriarch then softly said, "If things were a perfect world, we would be sitting in a large house filled with aunts, uncles, and a dozen or so cousins. Sadly, this is not a perfect world and we must deal with what is and the consequences of our actions. The threatening of the chairman's wife and children, even to protect your life, makes me pray to God every day for forgiveness. Our clan's special ability is not the only burden that we must bare."

For hours, mother and father talked about all sorts of things as they tried to catch up with each other. As the time passed, Nicholas slowly became more and more concerned about things in the Saotome household. Where were that good for nothing loser Genma and his grandson? Surely the two would be back by now. Last time Nicholas had been here, Genma always arrived right as Nodoka would start preparing dinner. For a second Nicholas thought that Genma and Ranma might be on some sort of father-son bonding trip. However, Nicholas didn't think that Genma would ever do something like that. Moreover, why did his daughter only have pictures of a very young Ranma up on display? Nodoka had his mother's love of photography and this sudden cutoff on the photos of Ranma didn't make any sense. Finally, Nicholas couldn't stand it any longer and he said, "Nodoka, where is Ranma?"

For a second Nodoka faltered before replying, "He's out training with Genma father. I told you this earlier."

Nicholas gave his daughter a mildly disappointed look and then continued. "Nodoka, where are Ranma and Genma? Your husband was never this late for dinner even though you haven't started making it yet. Moreover, why is it that you don't have any photos of Ranma pass a certain age? Don't say that you lost interest in photography; you've been linked with a camera since you were two years old!"

In a much more nervous manner Nodoka exclaimed, "But Father! Genma and Ranma really are on a training trip." She then very quietly added, "It's just a multi-year long trip."

Unfortunately for Nodoka, her father heard that last bit and was not amused. Nicholas let out a deep growl and shouted out, "WHAT! You let that fat lob of flesh out of your sight for years in order to 'train' Ranma?! Are you out of your god-given mind Nodoka? Might I remind you that this is the same Genma that I had to go drag out of a bar with his training buddy Soun in order for them both to be at the church in time for your wedding? Why haven't you tracked him down? I know that you can since your demon morph Grano is useful for tracking."

Nodoka started to break down under her father's continued verbal offense. Through her sobs, Nodoka said, "I hate my demon morph father! I wish that I didn't have these damn harmonixer abilities! How can I be normal woman if I can change into a demon? How can anyone in our family have a normal life with these powers?"

Nicholas frowned and coldly replied, "That power that you so loathed is the only thing that allowed us to survive. If the Soviets had it their way, we'd all be dead like they claimed back in '18. Our entire family owes its life because your grandfather possessed and passed down the harmonixer power. Remember back to 73 where the ability to fuse with Grano allowed you to escape. Do you think that your mother's death at the KGB's hands would have bought you enough time to escape on foot?"

A sharp hiss came from Nodoka as she practically shouted out, "Don't you dare bring mother's death into this! The KGB would have never have found us if it wasn't for those maniacs chasing us for the demon god bound in your soul graveyard."

Nicholas felt his hands clench into fists at his daughter's accusation. How dare she blame him with his beloved Koyuki's death! He had no control over the whims of others. Hell, the only reason he had Astaroth's soul was because of another group trying to make a soul-pact with the demon. Reigning in his temper just a bit, the older harmonixer said in a low voice, "It's obvious that I've overstayed my welcome. Good day daughter and I hope you wake up to the reality of the world!" With that said, Nicholas stormed out of the house leaving Nodoka to wonder how such a pleasant visit could sour so quickly.

* * *

Three weeks after the incident in the Saotome house, Nicholas Inugami strolled into a small town in the Kansai with an ominous aura surrounding him. The old harmonixer had been hot on Genma's trail, unknown to Genma, ever since that confrontation with Nodoka. In every town that Nicholas had been to he heard tales of Genma running out on a bar tab here or a restaurant there. Per town, Genma would only rack up two or three petty crimes like that. But, when added all together the petty crimes created a mountain of evidence that Genma was just unsuited to raise a child. Nicholas already knew that of course, but the evidence would help his late wife's nephew in the Japanese Diet pull a few strings to get Nicholas custody of Ranma once he found the boy.

Nicholas was walking down the town's main street towards the police office when he heard two old women talking. The first old woman said, "Oh dear, where did my sweet little Tora go? I haven't seen my sweet Tora for the past three days."

The second old woman replied, "I understand Migemi. My dear little C-Chan is missing as well. In fact, all the cats in the neighborhood are missing. I wonder where everyone's cat could have gone to."

Hearing these words caused Nicholas to freeze in his tracks as his face whitened in horror. All the cats in the neighborhood missing for several days, plus Genma and the man's usual stupidity added up to a very horrify possibility. For a second, Nicholas tried to convince himself that not even Genma would be so stupid as to do what he was thinking. Nicholas then smacked himself and remembered that this was Genma he was thinking about. That dumb tub of lard would only need to hear 'ultimate technique' and would then proceed to disregard any warnings or common sense. Not that the fool had any after throwing his lot in with the oldest living embarrassment to Japan.

Nicholas quickly decided that time was short supply and pulled out a town map. He hurriedly scanned through the map trying to locate a secluded out-of-the-way spot. Genma would have to set up camp in such a spot if he was going to 'train' Ranma in the Neko-ken. A small forest preserve near a local temple seemed to be the best location near the town. Nicholas just dropped his map and rushed towards the forest like the proverbial hounds of hell were after him. It didn't matter to him that he was causing a scene by his sudden mad dash. All that mattered to Nicholas was making sure that his grandson was safe.

Ten minutes later, Nicholas was rushing through the undergrowth of the forest preserve when he heard a little boy's voice call out, "Pops! Get me out of here! The cats are hurting me."

Hearing Ranma, for whom else could it be, wail like that caused Nicholas to loose all restraint. A field of glowing mystical energy formed around Nicholas as he activated his harmonixer powers. There was a blinding flash of light as he completed his demon morphing that caused all the woodland creatures to start to flee. When the light subsided, Death Emperor stood in the forest. The lesser spirit of darkness quickly extended his wings and took to the sky.

Now air born, Death Emperor soared through the skies just above the tree line frantically searching for his grandson. The fused demon's search quickly became successful as Death Emperor spotted a clearing with Genma and what looked like wood over a pit with a rock on top. Death Emperor threw his head back letting out a demonic roar and then shot out of the sky towards pit. The spirit of darkness flipped in a cartwheel action as he neared the pit. In this cartwheel, Death Emperor fluidly kicked the rock away, ripped the boards away from the pit with one hand, and then grabbed Ranma out of the pit with his other hand.

Ranma had a completely bewildered look on his face as Death Emperor proceeded to gently place him on the ground. The young boy remembered being attacked by the cats in the pit and then being suddenly pulled out of the pit. At first, Ranma had thought that Pops had rescued him. Then he saw the monstrous form of his rescuer and his eyes widened in amazement. Ranma didn't feel afraid of his rescuer and he started asking in admiration, "Who are you mister?"

There was a blinding flash of light as Nicholas resumed his human form. Nicholas gave Ranma a smile and replied, "Family Ranma. I'm family." The middle age harmonixer then whipped his head towards Genma and practically growled out, "Genma Saotome. I warned you never to harm my family when you married my daughter, but you've seemed to have forgotten that. You abandoned your wife so you can live the life of a drifter. You've created a mountain of petty crimes ever since you left my daughter. You endanger Ranma, your son and my grandson's, health and sanity with a technique that any half-witted man would realize is insane."

Nicholas's hand moved for his saber as he continued in a subzero tone. "I have not forgotten my warning Genma and it still stands. I am the judge and the jury of this trial you tub of lard for which you have been found guilty Genma. You have three options Genma: beg for forgiveness, flee leaving Ranma with me, or prepare yourself for combat. Which do you choose?"

There were only a few things in this world that could make Genma truly afraid and his father-in-law was one of them. Nicholas was one of those rare men who had both the power and the will to make the world bend to his wishes. Even before Genma had met Nodoka, he had heard of Nicholas Inugami's name spoken of in a hushed, if respective, manner. The fact that the man seemed to have it out for him always made Genma nervous. Hell, he had actually been praying that the KGB would get lucky and take down his titan of an in-law. That offer of fleeing the area sounded mighty tempting to Happosai's pupil.

However, there was one thing stopping Genma from getting out of doge. Nicholas wanted Ranma with him and that was something that Genma couldn't allow. How could the honorable school of Anything Goes be passed down if Ranma wasn't taught it by him? The school's future rested on Ranma staying with him; Nicholas would never allow Ranma to learn a School that he held in contempt. As for the pledge with Soun, well, Genma knew that his old training buddy was held only slightly higher then him in Nicholas's eyes. Genma's eyes narrowed and he got into an offensive stance. For the future of the schools, the pudgy martial artist would face the one being scarier than then The Master: his father-in-law.

Seeing Genma's resolve, Nicholas let out a small smirk as he said, "So you choose to fight? It's futile you fool, but at least you are finally starting to act like a man." With that, the Inugami sword master then drew his saber from its scabbard and got into a defensive stance. The gleam on the saber's razor sharp edge shouted the blade's desire for Genma's blood.

From the sidelines, Ranma silently watched as his newly discovered grandfather and his pops square off to fight. The young boy couldn't understand why his gramps and pops were fighting each other. It was one thing if they were sparing, but Ranma just knew that this wasn't a spar. He could just feel that this battle was more than a mere spar.

Genma started off by unsealing the sen kens, he knew that they would be needed in order to win, and sending a Kijin Rashu Dan at Nicholas. Expecting this, Nicholas ignited his saber and cut the void blade in two destroying the attack. Nicholas pointed his blazing saber at Genma and then said, "Did you really expect that to work against me Genma? I was killing demons that packed more punch than that since I was 15. Watch how the professionals use a ranged attack, Bullenfogel!" Nicholas slashed with his sword and sent a column of fire racing towards Genma.

The overweight martial artist barely avoided getting singed from Nicholas's attack. Genma then proceeded to unleash a barrage of Kijin Rashu Dans at Nicholas hoping to slowly bleed him to death. Unfortunately for Genma, Nicholas had long ago learned how to read incoming attacks and also mastered dogging with minimal movement. Not only this skill annoyed an enemy, it also allowed Nicholas to conserve his energy for when it really mattered. Ranma watched in amazement as the battle kicked into high gear with Genma trying to get in close to attack Nicholas. Every time Genma approached Nicholas, the elder man would make a single shallow cut in Genma's flesh. The saber's flames would cauterize the wounds, but leave Genma even weaker then if he had just been cut.

Genma found out very quickly the folly of challenging his in-law. The match just was not in Genma favor and that was becoming rapidly more apparent. Anything Goes was based around beating and defeating someone in a martial arts match or a freestyle event. The Inugami sword style was based around maiming or killing your opponent in battle. Genma started to realize that he was completely unsuited for this battle mentally as he started to develop a burnt bacon scent. Eventually, the battle damage became too much for Genma and he lost consciousness. The last thing that Genma saw was Nicholas walking towards Ranma.

* * *

Two days later, Nicholas and Ranma were sitting at a restaurant's outside table. Ranma, like any seven year-old, was fidgeting in his seat, while Nicholas calmly sat at the table drinking tea. The past two days had been confusing for Ranma. After Grandfather, Nicholas insisted that he not be called Gramps, had beaten up his father everything in Ranma's world was turned on its head. Nicholas had lead Ranma to a police station and told him to wait while he sorted out some things. Ranma couldn't understand what the big commotion was, but half a dozen policemen quickly rushed out of the station. Those officers returned a half hour later dragging Genma into the station. The last that Ranma saw of his father was Genma being thrown into a holding cell.

Once Genma was locked away, Ranma remembered being told by a police officer to stick with his grandfather until some paperwork was sorted. This made absolutely no sense to the little boy. What did stacks of paper have to do with him?

Just as Ranma was about to jump out of his seat, Nicholas placed his tea cup down on the table and calmly spoke. "Ranma, I know that it is difficult for you, but please sit still. Our companion will be here soon to bring word on what will happen to you. Sitting still like a grown up will impress our visitor on how much of a big boy you are." Instantly, Ranma stopped fidgeting and sat with a strait back. Nicholas shook his head slightly when he saw Ranma's reaction. It would take some time to get Ranma to act like a gentleman thanks to Genma's teachings. Luckily, that tub of lard hadn't permanently damaged Ranma's social graces. Getting Ranma to not act like a ruffian was second on Nicholas's list of things to do after making sure that he was sole guardian of his grandson.

Soon enough, a small black car pulled up along the side of the road near the restaurant. The rear door near the restaurant opened up and a man in his mid-thirties wearing an expensive suit stepped out of the car. Nicholas gracefully stood up and motioned for Ranma to do the same. Naturally, Ranma stood up as well even if it was more like he jumped out of his seat. As the man approached the table, Nicholas politely bowed his head and said, "Good day Takashi Hino. It is a pleasure to meet with you again."

Mr. Hino bowed a little lower than Nicholas did and respectfully replied, "Uncle Nicholas. It is an honor to see you again in good health." Takashi turned to look at Ranma who was obviously struggling to stand still. The governmental representative gave the boy a quick look over and then said, "So this is the young man that is generating so much trouble for the Imperial government. He looks like a fine boy who will undoubtedly grow up into a fine example of a man; especially when one considers who will be taking care of him."

One of Nicholas's eyebrows rose up at that comment. Nicholas then inquired, "Does that mean what I think it might mean?"

Takashi put the briefcase that he had been carrying on the table and said, "It does indeed uncle. It is the ruling of the Imperial government that both Genma Saotome and Nodoka Saotome are unable to handle the responsibilities inherent with rising children. Mr. Saotome has been disqualified because of his criminal record and child abuse. Mrs. Saotome has been disqualified because of child abandonment and potential premeditated murder." Mr. Hino quickly started to explain when he saw the shocked and horrified look on Nicholas face. "The police found a document in Mr. Saotome's belongings stating that either he would make Ranma a 'man among men' or both he and the boy would commit seppuku. The document states that Mrs. Saotome is to be the judge of the pledge and has her signature as witness to the pledge. Criminal charges are being pressed against her by the Imperial government. Given the circumstances, it was decided that you, being both the nearest blood relative and a person held in high esteem, would be the perfect guardian for young Ranma here."

Mr. Hino then paused to pull out several documents from his briefcase and a pen. He set them down on the table and turned to face Nicholas as he resumed speaking. "These are the documents that you will need to sign Uncle in order to make you the full legal guardian of Ranma. I've also included the necessary documents to have Ranma transferred from the Saotome to the Inugami clan register if you so decide to do so."

Nicholas sat down and proceeded to fill out the paperwork to make his guardianship of Ranma official. After a few minutes, he got to clan register transfer form. Nicholas set the pen down and turned to look at Ranma. In a grandfatherly tone he asked, "Well Ranma? I have the option of giving you my clan name. Would you like to have your grandfather's clan name, or do you want to stay a Saotome?" The old harmonixer truly wanted Ranma to become an Inugami. However, he figured that such a break with the past had to be by Ranma's choice or the boy would resent him.

Ranma gave his grandfather a bewildered look when he was told to pick his last name. Genma had always simply told Ranma what the two of them were to be doing. The little boy was happy for the most part to be told what to do since it involved training. However, that stunt with the cats made Ranma grateful to be offered a choice. The actual decision was easy for Ranma to make; his father was apparently doing some bad things, while his grandfather had gotten him out of that pit. Ranma looked up at his grandfather and cheerfully said, "I'll be an Inugami Grandfather!"

* * *

Several hours later, Nicholas and Ranma returned to their hotel room after having dinner. Ranma quickly jumped onto one of the beds and Nicholas pretended not to have seen his grandson leap like that. The older Inugami figured that he had more urgent issues to work with Ranma at the moment. Nicholas put his coat on a hanger and then sat down on the other bed looking at Ranma. He then said in a grandfatherly tone, "Ranma, I need to talk with you."

Instantly, Ranma focused his attention on Nicholas and he replied, "Sure Gram- er, Grandfather. What's this about?"

Nicholas gave his grandson a small smile and then answered, "Now that your guardianship situation is straitened out, I need to explain some things about the Inugami Clan. Ranma, do you remember how I rescued you? Do you remember that other form I was in when I pulled you out of the pit?"

The little boy's eyes widened and he gasped out, "That, that was real?!" Given everything that had happened to him at the time, Ranma had started to believe that he had dreamed the whole descending demon figure up. The flaming sword, on the other hand, had stuck in Ranma's mind.

Nicholas nodded his head and replied, "Yes Ranma. That was real. Our family is special; we are Harmonixers. Don't worry if you have trouble remembering the name. Even I had a bit of trouble when I was your age Ranma. Harmonixer is a way of saying that we can transform into demons and use their powers. This is a very rare and special gift found only in our family. As such, it needs to stay our little secret; sort of like those sentai show heroes have to keep who they are secret."

Ranma nodded his head and replied, "Gotcha. We turn into demons and no one can know." The little boy then put his fingers to his lips like he was telling Nicholas to keep quiet. It was a charming sight that caused a small smile to form on Nicholas's face.

After letting out a small chuckle Nicholas said, "That's right Ranma. No one can know about our abilities unless I say they can know." The elder Inugami's face then hardened as he continued on, "Ranma, you're still young, but you must understand this: our power is both a blessing and a curse. We're really strong in our demon forms, but it costs us skills in other areas. I couldn't learn how to use that fire sword I used against Genma until I was 47. Most slow learners can do it when they're in their early 30's."

The boy gave Nicholas a confused look and asked, "Why'd it take you so long? You're not dumb."

Simple and direct, children had a way of cutting through things to the heart of the matter without even realizing it. Nicholas inquired, "Ranma, do you know what Chi is?" Instantly, the little boy nodded his head. Ranma knew a good deal on fighting and martial arts techniques even though, or more like because, Genma hadn't put much emphasis on traditional learning. Now on the same page with his grandson, Nicholas continued his explanation. "Unlike other people Ranma, our chi is mostly focused inward as an effect of our gift. This gives us great strength and endurance, but it hampers our ability to project chi. When we transform, our Chi reserves transform into Mana reserves and we can use it offensively." Seeing the look on Ranma's face, Nicholas quickly dumb down what he was saying. "You won't be able to use attacks like my flaming sword without transforming until you're really, really skilled Ranma."

Nodding his head, Ranma then asked, "Grandfather? How do you change? When will I be able to do that as well?"

Nicholas quickly replied, "You won't be able to change for a few more years Ranma. We usually develop the ability when we're around 12-13 years old. A rare few have developed the ability as early as 10 or as late as 16. I'll explain things to you more thoroughly as you start to show your harmonixer powers. Now, it's late and you young man need to get some sleep. Tomorrow, we're heading off to the old Inugami family lands."


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: On the pairings, I won't say more than that Ranma's female companion (and the second main character of this story) comes from the Sailor Moon universe. Who is it? Well, I'm not going to announce that by listing her name until a point in the story where she becomes the lead.

* * *

Before WWII, the Inugami village was a peaceful little settlement where the Inugamis and several other connected clans had lived. Nicholas and Ranma walked into the village to see only rubble with overgrowth. Ranma looked up at his grandfather in confusion and sadness as he asked, "Grandpa? What happened? I thought we were heading to our family home?"

Nicholas looked down sadly at Ranma and solemnly answered the boy. "This is our family home Ranma. For generations, the Inugami clan has lived on this land. When I was a little boy, there were almost 400 people living in this village. However, the village was attacked forty years ago by the KGB who used WWII as a smokescreen in an attempt to end our family."

Unbidden, the memories of that night rushed at Nicholas. He had been twelve years old and his mother Anastasia was just tucking him and his little sister Alexandria into bed with the attack started. Even after all those years, Nicholas could still remember the worry on his mother's face when a strange whistling sound was suddenly audible. Anastasia had pulled Nicholas and Alexandria to the ground just as the RPGs exploded. Burned into Nicholas's mind was the image of shock and pain on his mother's face as she was impaled by several chunks of wood and quickly died in front of him. Her last words were, "Run Nicky and take your sister. I love you."

His mother's death had been what caused Nicholas's harmonixer powers to awaken. In that moment, Nicholas's despair and rage had unlocked the Dark Altar within his soul graveyard summoning Death Emperor. A single tear rolled down the old man's face as he remembered the fragments that he could recall through his berserker rage. He had lacked proper control that night and let the demonic spirit control his actions. That night he had killed just as many friends as he had enemies. But, the greatest shame that Nicholas had from that night was it was by his hand that Alexandria had died.

Returning to the present, Nicholas looked down at Ranma again and said, "Look on this village Ranma and always remember the price of our power. Most of this damage was caused by the KGB working with a Chinese sorcerer. But, I caused a good deal of damage as well that night because I failed to control my harmonixer powers. I have allowed this village to stay in ruins as a permanent reminder to our family. We must always keep watch for dangers from without and remain masters of ourselves."

Ranma nodded his head in a subdued manner. He then softly asked, "Grandfather? Where are we going to stay?"

Nicholas pointed to a path that was almost completely hidden in the forest growth. The elder Inugami then said, "Down that path is a small house that my two brothers and I build after the attack on the village. Its where all the main family artifacts are kept locked away. We will be staying in that house for the foreseeable future Ranma."

With that said, Nicholas led Ranma down the path towards their home. Along the way, the two Inugamis stopped at the cemetery that Nicholas and his brothers had dug for their family. The duo stopped at the cemetery for only a moment so that Nicholas could place an incense stick near his parents' grave and light it. While Nicholas was making this offering, Ranma read the gravestone. It said: Anastasia & Kurando Inugami-Romanov 1942. Spotting the last name, Ranma looked up at Nicholas after his grandfather had made the offering and asked, "What's with the last name? I thought we were Inugamis?"

Nicholas tilted his head slightly and softly replied, "Technically, our clan name is Inugami-Romanov. This is because of the fact that the Romanov's were the Imperial family of Russia and thus highly placed. However, only high level government documents list us as Inugami-Romanovs because of the hostility of the Soviets towards your ancestor Tsar Nicholas II and the number of charlatans trying to cash in on your great-grandmother's name. We go by Inugami for the most part and our linage is kept a secret for the most part. Now, let's head home."

The elder Inugami quickly led Ranma away from the cemetery and to a cozy little house. Nicholas opened up the front door and led Ranma inside. The interior of the house was western style with thick walls and wooden swinging doors. After Ranma had a chance to take it all in, Nicholas led him up the stairs to Ranma's future bedroom. The room itself was pretty bare, but then, most of the rooms were bare. Nicholas had put most of his stuff into storage before leaving on his one man crusade against the KGB. The old harmonixer told Ranma to just put his things neatly in one corner and that they'd spruce up things tomorrow.

* * *

Two days after the duo arrived in the village, Nicholas and Ranma got started on Ranma's training. Ranma was naturally eager to begin. However, Nicholas didn't start the training off by sparing with Ranma. Instead, the elder Inugami lead Ranma to a locked room in the basement. Nicholas stood in front of the door and said, "This Ranma is the Inugami clan armory. Every weapon that members of our clan have been given by allies, bought at various shops, or otherwise obtained are stored within here. All Inugami are taught how to wield a weapon to help us fight against monsters when not in our fusion forms. The weapons are arranged in rows by type with a training version of that weapon type placed on the shelf facing us as we go in. We will go in and you will pick which type of weapon you wished to be trained in. Think carefully Ranma, I will not allow you to try a second type of weapon until you are a master of the first type you pick."

Nicholas then opened the armory door and lead Ranma inside. There were six rows of weapons. The weapon on the first row to the left was a large book. Next, there was a little egg on display. This was followed by the center rows having first a puppet and a large block of wood. Second to the right was a bokken and on the far right was a pair of gauntlets. Ranma quickly dismissed the egg, the book, and the puppet as ridiculous weapon ideas. Seriously, who would think that those things would make a good weapon? The block of wood was considered for a moment by Ranma until he decided that it was just too unwieldy. This left Ranma with having to choose between the sword and the gauntlets.

Both of the two remaining weapon choices seemed to call to Ranma. The sword seemed to sing of a noble and elegant power that would allow the young harmonixer to lay low is foes. On the other hand, the gauntlets shouted of savagery and indomitability to Ranma promising to rend his enemies apart. These calls that Ranma felt when he looked at the weapons were only reinforced by his memories of the day he had met his grandfather. Ranma honestly couldn't think of a more amazing sight than when his grandfather fought his father. At the same time, Ranma could remember, and was a little afraid, of the pain that the cats had inflicted with their claws.

Nicholas watched his grandson carefully as Ranma's eyes constantly moved back and forth between the sword and the gauntlets. Eventually Ranma's eyes came to rest on the gauntlets and the boy's face hardened slightly. Nicholas watched silently in surprise as his grandson walked over and proceeded to don his chosen weapons. No Inugami had ever chosen to wield the gauntlets before now. The last time any of the weapons in that row had seen battle was when his distant cousin Yuri Hyuga fought against Suzano at Tamanhaka. Nicholas's father Kurando had been handed Yuri's Chimera Claws by Yuri before he and Anastasia left Tamanhaka for 'safe keeping'. Those claws were, like all ultimate level weapons, kept under lock and key at the end of the row in the back.

Putting the uniqueness of Ranma's choice aside, Nicholas walked over to Ranma, knelt down next to the boy, and proceeded to examine how Ranma had put on the weapons. The boy had mostly gotten them on correctly and Nicholas only had to make a few minor adjustments to the straps keeping the gauntlets firmly in place so that Ranma couldn't put undue pressure on his fingers. Once everything was ready, the older man got up and said, "Okay Ranma. From this day forward you will train with this type of weapon until you are a master."

Nicholas paused for a second so that he could point to a small bookshelf that wasn't visible from the armory's door. He then continued to speak, "On that bookshelf are books detailing the 'proper' usage of the weapons here. I will collect the books on your weapon type. Your training will be as follows when you don't have school: morning will be physical conditioning, afternoon will be for practicing basic motions used in wielding your weapon, and evening will be set as a time of meditation."

Almost immediately after Ranma heard that he shouted, "What?! But Grandfather, when will we spar?"

With a perfectly stoic face Nicholas replied, "Simple Ranma: we don't spar. Until you have the basics down to my satisfaction you and I will not fight. Don't pout now, sparing before you learn the basics will not help you any. In fact, it will cause you to learn the basics incorrectly as you try to use them to defend yourself. We might, if you really apply yourself, be able to start light sparing in a few months."

Ranma could grudgingly accept the lack of sparing. However, there was still one thing that didn't sit well with him. The young boy then asked, "What about the medit, medtais, you know, that stuff you want me to do in the evening? Why can't we just get rid of whatever it is and do more real training so that we can spar sooner?"

Instantly, Nicholas's stoic face turned stormy and he quickly replied to Ranma with an edge to his voice. "Never, ever, dismiss meditation Ranma Inugami! The ability to keep one's self centered is absolutely critical for a harmonixer! Without it, the demons we use in our fusions can take control of our bodies while we are fused. It was because of my lack of control that your great aunt Alexandria died. Do you want someone close to you to die because you just wanted to rely on your willpower alone to keep control of your powers? Could you accept finding yourself coming out of a berserker rage with your hands covered in my blood because you just wanted to do 'real training'? You are a child Ranma, but for this aspect of your heritage you must mature real quickly."

The verbal lashing caused Ranma to shrink back in tears like he had been hit. A trickle of tears ran down Ranma's cheeks as he started to cry. Through the sobs, Nicholas heard his grandson say. "I'm sorry. I, I, just, wanna be a good, *hic* martial artist. That's what father taught me."

To Ranma's surprise, Nicholas got down and embraced his grandson. Softly, the elder Inugami whispered into Ranma's ear. "Ranma, I didn't mean to frighten you. I was so hard on you earlier because I know the pain that losing control can bring. I don't want you to have to suffer the same kind of torment that I do knowing that my sister died because I lost control. Understand this Ranma, you are my grandson and I will love you no matter what happens. If I am tough on you, it is because I am trying to prepare you for the troubles that are going to come in the future."

Nicholas then stood up and continued on talking. "Ranma, there is one thing that I need to stress now. You are not a martial artist and you will never become a martial artist. Today, martial artists are generally considered to by hobbyists or professionals who practice martial arts for either exercise or self-defense. I am not going to be teaching you this. I will be teaching you how to hunt down and eliminate all threats against yourself, your family, or an innocent person that you've run across. You will not be taught how to make someone submit in an official match; you will be taught how to maim and/or cripple someone in a street fight. In short, I will be teaching you how to be a warrior. Remember always this first rule of combat: never draw you weapon outside of a spar unless you are prepared to kill your opponent."

Ranma looked up at Nicholas with his face at first unsure, but quickly the look on his face grew firmer. The young boy said in a determined voice, "I understand Grandfather. Can we get started on my training now?" Nicholas nodded his head and quickly led Ranma to the training field.

* * *

The sun was just beginning to set over the horizon when Nicholas came walking down the dirt path to his home with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder. Two weeks ago, his nephew Takashi Hino had called with a request from the emperor. A small group had been studying Garan the Oracle's writings and was attempting to send the soul of the prime minister into hell. Needless to say, the Japanese government couldn't allow the leader of the government to have his soul sent to hell and so Nicholas had been sent in. It was actually a fairly simple mission for Nicholas since the Followers of Shi, as the group had called themselves, were not the greatest of mages. They were able to create a few golems to cause some trouble, but something like casting a soul into hell was just beyond their abilities. Those morons were now the newest residents of the land they wanted to send the prime minister to.

Nicholas was nearing the porch of his house when the front door opened and Ranma came walking out. The younger Inugami quickly closed the gap between himself and his grandfather as fast as was seemly to. Ranma gave Nicholas a bear hung and said, "Grandfather! It's so good that you're back. I missed you Grandfather."

Returning the hug, Nicholas replied, "I think so as well Ranma and I missed you too. Were you a good boy while I was away?"

Ranma back out of the hug only far enough so that he could nod his head and answer, "Of course I was Grandfather. Why wouldn't I be a good boy?"

Nicholas looked down at his twelve year old grandson and gave him slightly questioning look with his eyes. He then asked, "Will Setsuna give me the same report on your behavior Ranma?"

Said emerald haired lady chose that moment to walk through the front door. Setsuna looked on the tender grandfather/grandson pair scene and let a tiny smile crack through her usually stoic looks. However, there was just a touch of longing in her face as she looked at the duo. She had heard Nicholas's question and quickly responded, "Don't fret Nicholas. Ranma was a good boy for me just like he always is when I look after him."

The elder Inugami nodded his head when he heard this and then turned to face his grandson. In clear voice Nicholas said, "Ranma, will you please go into the house and get things ready for dinner? Setsuna and I will be in shortly. We just have to talk about a few grownup things that you'll find rather boring." Ranma nodded his head and quickly walked into the house.

Once they were alone, Nicholas asked Setsuna, "How did Ranma do on his schoolwork? I already know that he'll have kept up his training given how enthusiastic he is about that."

Setsuna rested her face lightly on her right hand and answered Nicholas. "Ranma got A's as usual in his Demonology and Mystical Appreciation classes. He got a B+ in History and a solid B in Math. Science and Language, well, they're definitely not Ranma's strong points. However, his C's in those courses are solid and at times get close to B level. The boy isn't going to be a scholar, but he's no dunce either."

Nicholas nodded his head and then softly said, "Thank-you for doing this for me Setsuna. I'm glade that I have a friend like you that is able to look after Ranma while I'm called away to take care of these little brushfires and that I can trust to protect Ranma."

The emerald haired woman just shrugged her shoulders and replied, "It wasn't that big of a deal Nicholas. Those sentries that you got Roger to set up around the Time Gates mean that I can take time off to be with my friends. Besides, Ranma's a joy to be around." There was a slight touch of sadness and longing in Setsuna's voice when she mentioned being around Ranma. As much as it shamed her, Setsuna was jealous of the fact that Ranma was Koyuki's grandson and not her own. It was her darkest secret, and she was grateful that she had so far been able to keep this part of her from being seen by Nicholas.

In a soft and thoughtful tone, Nicholas asked, "Are you going to stay for dinner Setsuna?"

The guardian of time shook her head and then replied, "I need to get back to Chiron Castle. The sentries guarding the Time Gates start get a little antsy when I'm gone from the castle for several days in a row." Setsuna then tilted her head and said, "What about you Nicholas? Ranma has been talking about how you're considering taking him on a demon hunt. Are you truly considering bringing a twelve year old on a monster hunt?"

Nicholas solemnly nodded his head and replied, "Yes I am Setsuna. Ranma's powers are getting ready to awaken; I can feel that the graveyard within his soul has formed. He needs only to collect enough soul energy to become a fully activated harmonixer. There's a small pack of Revenants that some moron created in an abandon graveyard a few km's away from here. No one's been near that graveyard yet and those monsters never wander far from their origin. They're a simple group of monsters that Ranma can use to get a feel to monster fighting. I'm going to be there to make sure that he doesn't lose his head or get into any real danger."

Setsuna nodded her head and replied, "I understand Nicholas. Have a good night and take care." That said, Setsuna summoned the Garnet Rod and then teleported away from the Inugami house.

* * *

The next day, Ranma and Nicholas were standing just outside the haunted graveyard doing some last minute checkups before going in. The younger Inugami was wearing black jeans and a red Happi with a white double-headed eagle embroidered on the back. On Ranma's wrists were the Rusty Fangs that Nicholas had allowed to be retrieved from the armory. All and all, the young Inugami looked like he was ready to fight is first monster.

Nicholas looked down at his grandson and calmly asked, "Are you nervous Ranma?"

Knowing that his grandfather wanted him to be honest, Ranma slowly started to nod his head and replied, "Yes Grandfather. I'm a little nervous." The younger Inugami was ashamed to admit what he just admitted. What would his grandfather think of him being afraid of low level monsters after all the training he had gone through?

To Ranma's surprise, Nicholas gave a small smile and said, "That's good Ranma. The nervousness is your common sense and instincts working together to warn you. Always be grateful to feel a little nervousness or fear; it keeps you grounded. A man without fear is an idiot rushing off to die. Now you must learn how to let your fear and nervousness past through you imparting their warnings while not being paralyzed by what they inform you. That is one of the secrets to being a good warrior."

The older Inugami then continued on. "Okay Ranma, here is the situation. There are anywhere between eight and fourteen Revenants spread out throughout the graveyard ahead. Your mission is too disposed of all the Revenants. Treat this like you are on a solo mission. I'll be behind you every second, but I won't step in unless things get out of control. We'll start whenever you decided to enter the graveyard."

A moment after Nicholas said that, Ranma started prowling into the graveyard. Nicholas waited until Ranma was ten steps ahead before he started following his grandson. Ranma's immediate actions were to assume a stance that would allow him to fight or doge at a moment's notice. The young harmonixer was also searching the graveyard in a through and methodical manner. Nicholas noted with pride how alert Ranma was and how he had yet to make any beginner mistakes on this hunt.

It didn't take long for Ranma to spot a pair of Revenants that were aimlessly wandering around the graveyard as this type of monster liked to do. Nicholas nodded in satisfaction as Ranma checked the wind, crouched down to reduce his profile, and weaved through the gravestones towards his targets. The boy struck like lightning once he was close enough to the monsters. Ranma put his 'fangs' into one of the Revenant's chest with the backs of his hands touching each other. As soon as the fangs were in, Ranma separated his hands causing the fangs to create deep gashes across the Revenant's back. This created too much damage for the Revenant to handle and the monster 'died'. Still on adrenaline and instinct, Ranma whipped around and slashed the other Revenant's head resulting in a decapitating blow.

For a few seconds, Ranma stood next to his kills in silence as his brain started to process what he had just done. Then, as Nicholas was expecting, Ranma started swaying a bit and what he had done fully seeped into his head. The elder Inugami approached his grandson and, while still keeping alert for trouble, proceeded to comfort Ranma. He placed a hand on Ranma's shoulder and said, "Acceptable job Ranma. You were quick, efficient, and you didn't try to show boat. That's the sign of a good warrior."

Ranma's voice got bitter as he replied, "Acceptable job? Sign of a good warrior? I just killed those two creatures. What's so great about that?"

Nicholas quickly and stoically replied, "There's noting great about killing Ranma. You knew that in your head from your training. Now, you know that in your heart. The only 'good' that comes from this is now these two monsters can't attack any civilians who may come to pay their respects. Also, the spirits trapped infused in the Revenants can now rest in your graveyard. Remember two things from this Ranma. The first is that there is no glory in the battlefield, only the dead and the living. The second is that you shouldn't forget your head in the middle of a battle!"

Ranma grimly nodded his head as his grandfather reminded him just where exactly he was. How many times had he been told to never ever forget where he was in a fight? Sorting out what he was feeling could wait until after this graveyard was cleared out. Ranma's face then hardened and he proceeded to prowl after more of the monsters in the graveyard. Within an hour, Ranma had killed every Revenant and Nicholas carried the exhausted young man home.

* * *

Within the soul of every harmonixer exists: The Graveyard. This is a stormy place of imprisonment where the souls of all the monsters a harmonixer has ever killed in his life are 'buried'. It is a harmonixer's greatest burden and the source of their greatest power.

Ranma had learned about The Graveyard from his grandfather and had been told what to expect. However, the young man was a little unnerved to actually be in The Graveyard with its stormy skies and its macabre aura. The fact that the souls of the Revenants he had slain last week were locked up in here also put Ranma off a bit. True, the Graveyard would not allow the Revenants to attack him. But, the thought of having those monsters in a sense living within him was unnerving.

After looking at the stormy sky, Ranma smacked his forehead and said, "Alright. This place is creepy just like Grandfather said it would be. How about I just figure out what alter to charge up, beat-up whatever soul it summons, and get my first fusion form." Ranma then closed his eyes and tried to feel the direction of the altar he was closest aligned with. A newbie harmonixer couldn't just pick an elemental altar at random and power it up. More experienced and more skilled harmonixers could use multiple fusions. However, a beginner harmonixer needed to merge with the soul that shared his elemental affinity because it made the fusing process bearable for the beginner.

It didn't take Ranma long to feel the call of his aligned altar. The young Inugami opened his eyes and walked to the left side of The Graveyard until he reached the Gate of Heaven's Commandments. Ranma could feel the altar beaconing to him from the gate and so he opened the door. After entering the chamber, Ranma turned to his right and saw a door with the symbol for fire inscribed upon it. The call of the altar seductively came from behind that door.

In a cautious manner, Ranma opened the Door of Fire. The chamber on the other side of the door was empty except for the stone looking altar with the symbol for fire weakly glowing. Ranma knew what he had to do and he calmly walked towards the altar. Once in front of the altar, the young harmonixer raised his hand towards the altar and let the soul power flow from him into the altar. The altar grew brighter and brighter until a flash of red light filled the chamber.

The instant the red light touched him, an immense rage surged Ranma's heart. He wanted, no, yearned to fight someone and see their blood. The destruction of buildings called to him. He wanted to tear out someone's heart and-

NO! Ranma's mind shouted as the harmonixer realized what was he was thinking. He didn't want to do or see something like that! It was the soul of the demon that wanted to do those things. He needed to take control and make the demon realize that he, Ranma Inugami, was the master. It wasn't an easy task by any means. The fiery soul that Ranma had summoned was a stubborn one that refused to yield to a mere human child.

For what seemed like hours, even though it was really only seconds, Ranma and the demon minds warred for control of Ranma's body and the demon's power. As powerful as the demon was, it just couldn't keep up against the unbending will of a harmonixer. With the demon's will broken, Ranma felt the rage fade to be replaced by the demon's power coursing through him. A small smirk formed on Ranma's face as he said, "Your power is now mine Karyl."

* * *

Family connections: This is for those of you who are a little confused as to who is related to whom. Anastasia Romanov (*b. 1901 d. 1942) married Kurando Inugami (b. 1897 d. 1942). Anastasia and Kurando had five children: Nicholas (b. 1930), Alexandria (b. 1934, d. 1942), and three currently unnamed older sons. Nicholas married Koyuki Hino (b. 1929 d. 1968) and they had several children of which only Nodoka (b. 1955) survived. Koyuki Hino's brother fathered Takashi Hino (b. 1956) who in turn is the father of Rei Hino (b. 1980). Nodoka married Genma (b. 1953) Saotome giving birth to Ranma (b. 1979) who took the Inugami clan name after Nicholas got guardianship.

*The real Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov was born on this year.


	3. Chapter 3

Rei was surprised at her current position; she was sitting with her father on a bench having breakfast. Ever since her mother died three years ago, Rei had been living with her grandfather while her father was busy with work. Usually, they only saw each other once a month for dinner. However, Takashi had changed the plan for today and picked Rei up a few minutes ago so that the two of them could spend the whole day together. Up until now, Rei had been content to eat her breakfast and to try getting over the shock of her father doing something so unexpected. Once Rei finished her last bite her curiosity overcame her shock and she asked, "Father? Why are you here? I mean, it's wonderful to spend time with you, but this isn't how we normally do things."

Mr. Hino, who was sitting next to Rei just polishing off the last bit of his breakfast, nodded his head and then replied, "You mean that I normally don't see you except for dinner." There was a moment of silence as Takashi put his breakfast tray in the trash bin next to the bench before he continued. "Let us be truthful Rei; I have been a poor father to you for these past three years. My work in the government is important and doesn't leave me much free time. However, I could and should make more time to be with you. Ever since your mother died, the two of us have become strangers to each other even though we are father and daughter. This is a situation that shouldn't have happened in the first place and should be corrected if possible."

This threw the thirteen year old raven haired girl for a loop. Her father thought that the two of them seeing each other once a month was a bad thing? He felt that they should spend more time with each other? Immediately Rei's heart went to war with itself as one side longed for the love of her father while the other side cynically remembered the past three years. Rei turned her head towards her father and said in an unsure voice, "Really? You want to spend more time with me?"

The elder Hino nodded his head and replied, "Do indeed Rei. At the very least, I plan to call you more often so that we can stay current on how each other are doing. Sadly, there will be days when I will not be able to call do the important nature of some projects that I am apart of in the government. That's not to say that I consider you less important Rei. It's just that some of what I am involved with has a wide impact on many people. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. My fault has been in neglecting your needs and putting too much emphasis on the needs of the many."

Rei could accept that. She was simmering with resentment for her father over his neglect, but she did understand where he was coming from. Still, intellectually understanding and emotionally understanding were two totally different things. Rei therefore tried to change subjects so as not to loose her temper and asked, "Father? Do you have any plans for today? I mean, are we going to be doing something or are we playing this by ear?"

Takashi turned to give Rei a small smile and replied, "A little of both actually. I figured that a good way for us to try and correct the divide between us would be to introduce you to some relatives from my side of the family. My uncle Nicholas Inugami and his grandson Ranma Inugami, who is only a year older than you, are in town and agreed to spend the day with us. Nicholas has something planed out, but I do not know what it is."

Rei was having some trouble figuring out what was more surprising for her: the fact that she'd get to meet some of her father's relatives or the fact that her father was in the dark about what they'd be doing today. Despite knowing a good deal about her maternal linage, Rei was almost completely in the dark about her paternal linage. All her grandfather would say is her father's family was an old, respectable family that had unfortunately suffered heavy losses in the recent past. The young woman also never knew her father to leave things to chance. It seemed like he had everything set up in a schedule and never deviated from his plan. Heck, her father was known as the 'Fiery Mountain' by many political commentators partially because of this.

Before Rei could say anything, her father's eyes focused on the street and he said, "They have arrived." The younger Hino quickly followed her father's gaze down the street to see Nicholas and Ranma walking towards them. Both Inugami men threw Rei for a loop. These were her relatives? Nicholas surprised Rei because of his obvious foreign heritage and Ranma surprised her because of the outfit he was wearing. Now, Rei wasn't prejudice or anything, but she had been expecting something a little more high class from family on her father's side.

The Inugamis walked up to the Hinos and politely bowed their heads. Nicholas then said, "It is good to see you again Takashi." The elder Inugami then turned to Rei and said, "At long last grandniece, we get to meet. You have your mother's face and I can see that you will become every bit as beautiful as she was." A faint blush appeared on Rei's cheeks as she heard her granduncle say that. Nicholas continued one seemingly not noticing the blush and said, "Rei, this is your second cousin Ranma."

Rei watched as Ranma bowed her head and he said in a friendly tone that was also laced with confidence, "Nice to meet you cousin. I hope you aren't like those airheaded weirdos back home." Nicholas quickly shot Ranma a withering glare. This quickly made Ranma wince and say almost mournfully, "Sorry about that Rei. I hope I didn't offend you."

In all honesty, Rei wasn't offended at all. Ranma's friendly, if blunt, attitude was quiet refreshing after having to deal day in and day out with her snobby classmates. Besides, she had run into quite a few classmates that the phrase 'airheaded weirdo' described almost perfectly. Rei gave Ranma a small smile and replied, "Its okay Ranma. You didn't offend me; your question just took me by surprise." This quickly earned Rei a smile from Ranma that almost made her want to check on just how closely related they were.

Takashi couldn't help feeling satisfied that Rei and Ranma were getting along so well. Perhaps it was a sign that the rifts in his family could start to mend. The elder Hino turned to face his uncle and politely asked, "If I may ask uncle, what are we going to do? Can you tell me what the plan for today is, or do you still wish to keep me in the dark?"

Nicholas smiled and replied while the teenagers chatted in the background, "Since you're here, I'll tell you. We're going to a mixed martial arts tournament that's being held a few blocks away. Ranma has wanted to test his skill for a while now against regular opponents. The local punks that Ranma occasionally tangles with make for a good fight, but Ranma wants to try out a more controlled fight."

One of Mr. Hino's eyebrows rose and he quickly replied, "And you're letting Ranma go to this tournament? I thought you didn't approve of tournaments and stressed that a person should only fight if the local punks are causing too much trouble." Left unspoken was the fact that Takashi was surprised that Nicholas allowed Ranma to fight with demons and other monsters in the first place.

Nicholas shrugged his shoulders slightly and answered his nephew. "I don't particularly like that Ranma wants to enter this tournament. However, I promised Ranma that he could do one thing within reason of his choice while we were in Tokyo and he chose to enter this tournament. Ranma meets the minimum age requirements so I can't deny his request without breaking my promise and that is something that I will not do. Hopefully, Ranma will get his fill of tournaments with this one."

The elder Inugami then got a faraway look in his eye as he continued on. "The call of battle is strong for Ranma. While my grandson completely understands the seriousness of battle, he cannot help but be drawn to it. It was the same for my brothers and the same for me. Ranma will not be able to truly resist the call of battle until something horrible happens as a result of a fight. I do not wish that, so in that regard, I am grateful that Ranma feels compelled to fight."

* * *

Ranma was in the locker room getting ready for the Tokyo All Ward Mixed Martial Arts Tournament when he noticed something weird. It took a second, but Ranma soon realized that one of the lockers in the locker room was missing. Ranma took a second to walk over to abrupt break in the line of lockers and quickly determined that the missing locker was yanked from the wall. The young harmonixer spent a few seconds wondering who on earth had ripped the locker from the wall and then went to get his weighted-knuckle gloves. The gloves weren't on the banned weapon's list, which was only guns and metal blades, for the tournament and Ranma couldn't help shake the feeling that he would need the extra oomph of the gloves.

Exiting the locker room, Ranma followed the arrows that had been set up to where the junior division was meeting. The young harmonixer quickly entered the room and looked around at his competition. There were several dozen people standing in the room and naturally most were older than Ranma. However, this didn't really get to Ranma since his grandfather had taught him how to fight opponents who were bigger and stronger than he was. What caught Ranma's attention was the fact that one of the contestants was carrying a gym locker on his shoulders.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the locker that the guy was carrying was the missing locker from the boy's locker room. Most of the contestants had figured that out and had decided to avoid the fanged young fighter. However, Ranma decided to approach the mysterious boy and said in a friendly manner, "Hello there. I'm Ranma Inugami. Who are you and why did you grab the locker from the boy's room?"

The other young fighter was a startled for a second to hear Ranma talking to him. However, the boy quickly got over his shock, casually placed the locker on the floor, started posing, and said in a grandiose voice, "I am Ryoga Hibiki! I am a student of the great and manly art of wrestling. As for this locker, its spirit sang out to me about wanting to venture into the holy ring! So as my Teacher taught me, I've brought it with me."

A small sweat drop formed on the back of Ranma's head as he listened to Ryoga. Was there some sort of a family curse that caused weirdoes to come out of the woodwork around a harmonixer? Seriously, who used phrases like 'great and manly art' or 'holy ring'? On the other hand, he did transform into demons so it wasn't like he paragon of normality. Ranma eventually decided to just shrug and say, "Okay. Whatever floats your boat."

That blasé comment from Ranma started the two young men on the path to friendship. No one bothered, or even wished to approach, the two 'weirdo' fourteen year olds as they talked about fighting moves. Neither of the boys had ever met someone their own age before who had as much interest and knowledge of fighting before. Thus, Ranma and Ryoga had become friends by the time everyone had assembled for the tournament.

At the appointed time, a tournament official appeared and started to make announcements. "Welcome! Welcome! It is such a pleasure to see so many young people here today to compete in this tournament. Today, as you all are aware, has been set aside so that young fighters can show their talent without worried about being overshadowed by older, more seasoned fighters. The adult division will be fighting tomorrow. I'm also proud to see that there are 46 contestants before me. Unfortunately, only eight of you will get to fight in front of our audience."

Immediately, there was a loud roar of outrage from most of contestants. Ranma and Ryoga didn't shout because both boys were sure that they'd be among those eight fighters no matter how the positions were allotted. This was a tournament after all, so skill had to be involved and both boys had skill in spades. They remained calm and focused on the announcer who was motioning for everyone to settle down.

Once things had quieted down a bit, the announcer started to speak again. "Please, everyone. We want to give the audience the best fights that they can watch. Unfortunately, several of our sponsors feel that many of you probably aren't ready to publicly flight in this kind of tournament at the levels they feel our audience deserves to see. Thus, only the best among you will be selected for the finals. If you will turn your attention to the monitor above my head you will see a progression chart with numbers. Each of you will randomly draw a number from a box that an assistant will shortly bring out. You all will then fight in seven minute matches under the eye of a judge who will determine a winner by knock-out, ring-out, or submission. If you all cooperate we can have the preliminaries done in under an hour. Thank-you very much and I wish you all the best of luck."

The attendant quickly approached Ranma and Ryoga with the box for them to draw their numbers. After they did so, the two fighters looked up at the screen to see where they were placed in the preliminaries. Ranma smiled and said, "I'm fighting in the first section. Where are you Ryoga?"

Quickly the fanged wrestler replied, "I'm fighting in the eighth section." Ryoga then turned to Ranma and said, "If I'm reading the charts correctly, our section determines our spot in the finals. That means that you and I can only fight if we make it to the final round. I plan on being there Ranma, and I want you to be the one who faces me in the holy ring for that match."

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and confidently answered his new friend. "I'll be there Ryoga. There's no way that anyone here, even you, will stop me from winning this tournament. Don't loose your locker; I don't think that the judges would be too happy if you had to use their table as its replacement."

* * *

Rei was sitting in her seat in the stadium watching the demonstrations being preformed in the ring. While the junior league was having its preliminaries, masters from local dojos were showcasing their art to both amuse the audience and attract students. The raven haired miko in training wasn't particularly entertained by the spectacle going on below her. Seriously, what was so great about a couple of guys pounding each other into unconsciousness?

Suddenly a voice beside Rei said, "Hello miss. Would it be too much trouble if you would move your purse?"

Rei looked up to see Setsuna standing in front of the previously vacant seat with a small tray of snacks in her hand. The miko in training blushed and quickly grabbed her purse to stash it under her seat. Sheepishly Rei said, "Sorry about that. I thought no one was using that seat."

Setsuna smiled and replied after she had sat down, "No harm done. My name is Setsuna Meio. What's yours?"

Rei politely answered, "My name is Rei Hino Ms. Meio."

At this point both Takashi and Nicholas stopped talking to each other and turned to greet Setsuna. Once the men returned to previous conversation, Setsuna turned to see the surprised look on Rei's face. The guardian of time couldn't help being amused by her future teammate's confusion. Setsuna then said, "I'm an old friend of Nicholas. In fact, I've watched Ranma for Nicholas when he's been called away on a business trip every once and awhile."

If it wasn't for how honest Rei could sense Setsuna was being and the men's greetings; she wouldn't have believed what the elder woman was saying. Seriously, Setsuna looked like she was in her mid-twenties at the most. How could someone that young be old friends with someone comparable to her grandfather in age? There was the possibility that Setsuna just aged really, really well. If that was the case, Rei knew she would want to know Setsuna's secret to looking so young.

Before Rei could say anything else, an announcer stepped on the stage and started to speak. "Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the seventh All Tokyo Mixed Martial Arts Tournament! Today we are proud to host the Youth Division. You will get to see the eight most promising upcoming fighters in the city. These eight have fought several preliminary battles each to prove that they are skilled enough to fight before you all."

The stadium video screens then turned on and started showing photos of the contestants as the announcer said their names. "In the first match-up we have Ranma Inugami who is trained in the Demon Claw style verses Akane Tendo who is trained in Anything Goes. The second match-up pits Tatewaki Kuno, an upcoming master of Kendo, verses Jim Kong who is a future master of bojutsu. Our third match-up is between Ryu Hatake a student of Kempo verses Yuna Ikari whose specialtly is Muay Thai. Finally, the kick-boxer from America Reiko Armistead will be facing the wrestler in training Ryoga Hibiki. Who will emerge the victor? That is for us to see. Ranma Inugami, Akane Tendo, come up to the stage so that the tournament can commence!"

Down on the main floor, the two competitors walked into the arena from opposite ends. Once they were in, both began to size up their opponent. Ranma quickly noticed that Akane giving off the tell-tale signs of a hard hitter. She probably would try to win by delivering crushing blows and forcing him to either surrender or be knocked unconscious. Her foot work practically screamed that she'd go for a straight charge once the ref started the match. A smirk crossed Ranma's face. As long as he didn't get blinded by confidence he'd have this match in the bag.

Akane saw the smirk on Ranma's face and started to get annoyed. She very hotly said, "Don't dismiss me like that! I'll pound that smirk right off your face."

One of the rules of battle that Nicholas had pounded into Ranma's head was to never let your emotions control you in a battle. If you lost control, you left yourself wide open to your enemy. Ranma quickly decided to use Akane's frustration to his advantage by making a come and get me gesture with his hand. He could practically see the steam rushing out of Akane's ears as he got further under her skin.

Sensing the tension, the referee quickly said, "Combatants' Ready, FIGHT!" Akane charged at Ranma like an enraged bull out for blood. Nearing Ranma, Akane launched a haymaker that had enough force to shatter bricks at Ranma. She wanted to wipe that smug grin off of his arrogant face and this, she was sure, would do it.

However, Ranma had been planning for this all along and quickly rolled out of the way. During the roll, Ranma lashed out with his foot to knock the air out of Akane's lungs. The younger harmonixer immediately followed this with a punch to the head followed by an elbow thrust to the back that forced Akane to the floor. Was it a 'clean' or 'honorable' attack? Most martial artists would answer an emphatic no, but Ranma wasn't a martial artist so he didn't really care. To him, the important thing was that he had quickly and efficiently taken out his opponent.

Akane tried to cope with the pain and get up for a counteroffensive. However, Ranma lightly, but firmly, paced his foot on her head while she was still on the ground. Ranma calmly turned to the referee and said, "My opponent is unable to fight, call the fight."

The referee nodded his head and called out, "Akane Tendo is unable to fight. Therefore, Ranma Inugami is the winner." Almost immediately boos came from the audience in the nearby rows. They had come to watch a good, clean martial arts fight. Instead they were treated to a beat down. Ranma ignored the booing of the crowd as he walked back to the fighter's waiting room. After all, it wasn't his fault that his opponent couldn't keep her head.

Up in the stands, Rei didn't know whether to be more shocked that her caring cousin had brutally beat down his opponent or the fact that her father and granduncle weren't fazed by the fight. Seriously, Ranma had just beaten up a girl and the men were acting like the fight wasn't even worth their attention! Rei felt like she wanted to pull her hair and scream.

Setsuna noticed the look on Rei's face and whispered into the young girl's ear, "Don't judge until you know all the facts Rei."

The fiery girl nearly jumped out of her skin when she first heard Setsuna. She had caught her breath by the time Setsuna finished speaking. While the emerald haired woman had a point, Rei couldn't see where that applied here. Hoping for some insight, Rei turned to Setsuna and said, "What could possibly make what I've witnessed okay?"

In a soft voice Setsuna replied, "Ranma's been trained in a style that is meant to kill. The Demon Claw style has not been watered down for sporting purposes; it is a pure style of war. Also, Ranma has been trained to view fights as battlegrounds where victory means that the opponent is either dead or crippled. Understand that there is a place for this even in a modern and peaceful time like ours. The Inugamis maintain the Demon Claw style because they are the ones called upon when such services are needed. Your father knows this and understands this aspect of his relatives. You need to understand this as well Rei. There may come a day where you'll wish you had someone like your cousin at your side."

* * *

Down in the fighter's waiting room, Ranma was sitting off by himself. None of the other competitors it seemed wanted to come near him. That was just fine with Ranma and he was prepared to silently wait for his next match. However, Ryoga walked over to where Ranma was at and said, "Why did you fight like that Ranma? The Holy Ring is supposed to be a place where competitors' sweat and toil can be show cased."

Ranma looked up at Ryoga and calmly replied, "To you that is what a match is. However, I only see an opponent that must be taken down as quickly as possible. I think that we can be good friends Ryoga, but know that I will not show you any mercy if we fight each other."

Ryoga nodded his head and said, "I understand Ranma. While I do not approve of how you fight, I would still be honored to face off against you in the finals. Oh, and as a word of warning, you're likely to face off against Kuno in your next match. I saw both he and his opponent fight in the preliminaries and Kuno is likely to come out the victor. I'm telling you this because Kuno has a good deal of skill and a crush on Akane. He'll be out to avenge her."

Ranma nodded and then calmly said, "If Kuno is blinded by his passions I will be able to beat him."

About fifteen minutes later it was Ryoga's turn to fight. He walked into the ring in a flamboyant manner just like his teacher told him all true fighters must when entering the Holy Ring. Reiko Armistead looked at his opponent carrying a gym locker while acting like a WWF star and wondered what bizarre tournament he had entered. The kick-boxer turned to the referee and asked, "Is he allowed to use that locker in the match?"

The referee shrugged his shoulders and replied, "The list of forbidden items does not include a gym locker. Thus, your opponent's weapon is legal. Do you wish to forfeit the match?"

Reiko shook his head and focused on his opponent. Dealing with a kid that used such a weapon, or the fact that the boy was that strong would be a challenge. Still, Reiko had come here to fight and he wouldn't back down.

Ryoga looked into his opponent's eyes and grinned. He had won all of his preliminary matches due to forfeits and the fanged wrestler didn't like that at all. Finally, he would have a chance to fight!

The referee looked between the two opponents and then said, "Combatants' ready? FIGHT!" Very quickly the referee got out of the ring because he didn't want to be near Ryoga with that locker. Reiko didn't have much choice in the matter, but the 18 year old focused on finding a way to beat his opponent. The older boy rushed at the wrestler hoping to get a hit in before Ryoga could bring his weapon to bear.

Things didn't work out quite like Reiko had been hoping. Ryoga quickly kicked Rieko in the chest. He then said, "Come on! You'll have to do better than that if you want to beat me. In the Holy Ring only my teacher is better than me."

Reiko glared at Ryoga and spat out, "You're a freak you know that? What kind of weirdo talks like that?"

That got to Ryoga and made him mad. Ever since he had been little, Ryoga had been teased about being a weirdo. This was due to the fact that he tended to get lost rather easily. However, one man had accepted him even with his lack of direction. That man was his teacher and Ryoga happily patterned himself after the man. To have this man insult both him and his teacher was unforgivable to Ryoga.

The fanged wrestler hefted his locker and swung it at Reiko. The older boy tried to doge, but Ryoga was too fast in his swing. Locker and kick-boxer meet with a meaty smack. Ryoga then pulled the locker away and looked at his opponent who was now crying in pain. The fanged wrestler than said, "Are you going to fight, or are you going to cry? Tears have no place in the Ring!"

Reiko looked at Ryoga, then at the referee, and then back at Ryoga before he spoke. "You're nuts man. I quiet. I don't want to deal with a psycho like you." It was only the sense of respect that Ryoga's teacher had instilled in him for the ring kept him from lashing out at Reiko for that parting shot.


	4. Chapter 4

The announcer stood on the stage and said, "Alright viewers, we're now into the semi-finals of the All Tokyo Mixed Martial Arts Tournament Youth Division! In the semi-finals we have Ranma Inugami fighting Tatewaki Kuno in the fifth match and Yuna Ikari fighting Ryoga Hibiki in the sixth match! We all know that these four are skilled warriors so without further adieu, come on up Ranma and Tatewaki!"

As directed by the assistants, both young men exited the waiting room, walked along opposite sides of the wall, and entered the ring directly opposed to each other. The announcer took one look at both of their eyes and felt goose bumps running down his back. Kuno's eyes showed with fury and hinted at enough skill to most people get on the defensive. However, it was Ranma's eyes that scared the announcer the most because they were cold and calculating. Children shouldn't have eyes like that; heck, most adult fighters didn't have eyes like that.

Before the announcer could say anything Kuno blurted out, "How dare you attack the fair Akane Tendo so, foul fiend. I, Tatewaki Kuno, age 15, the blazing comet of Furinkan High, will see that you are brought to justice. When you exit the ring it will be in the just shame of defeat."

This was not what Ranma had been hoping for in this match. He had been hoping for a fight against someone who could challenge his skill. Instead, he got a fight against a slightly delusional swordsman who was obsessed over a tomboy. At least Kuno showed signs of having some skill to back up his words and was keeping his temper relatively in check. Ranma was sure that he would have forfeited the tournament if he had to put up with another sure win match. He and Ryoga could always rumble in a junkyard if he had to forfeit and his new friend still wanted to fight.

Kuno launched into an offensive as soon as the announcer gave the word. Unlike with Akane, Ranma couldn't use a quick set of strikes to knock Kuno out of the match. First, the sword greatly added to Kuno's reach. Second, the kendoist was still in control of his reasoning faculties so Ranma couldn't pull a fast one like he did with Akane. Finally, and most importantly, Kuno was fast with his bokken. This wasn't just regular fast, but fast as in Kuno was creating sharp blasts of air pressure capable of doing damage with each stab and thrust.

Ranma managed, with an occasional close call, to doge Kuno's attacks and proceeded to try and plan a counter-offensive. Kuno didn't show any signs of wearing out quickly and Ranma knew he couldn't afford to try and wait Kuno out. After all, the kendoist only needed to a single lucky hit in. The pig-tailed harmonixer needed to get past Kuno's sword and attack the flowery poetry spouting swordsman directly.

However, Ranma wasn't sure how he was supposed to win this. While Ranma had sparred with his grandfather many times, he had always used a clawed gauntlet in those practice sessions to deal with the sword blade. Weighted-knuckle gloves were kind of lacking in blade department. The other option usually opened to Ranma was also unusable in this fight. Transforming into a demon to win probably wasn't a legal move even in a tournament like this. Besides, the young harmonixer didn't want to cause a panic with the audience. Ranma considered an aerial attack for a brief moment before discarding it. Such an attack would leave him too open in the small confines of the ring.

Then out of no where, an idea hit Ranma like a bolt of lighting. There was a way for Ranma to win this match with his handicaps. It was tricky and slightly dangerous, but it would work.

Meanwhile, Kuno was keeping up his assault on the dishonorable Inugami. In Kuno's mind, only a completely dishonorable cretin would dare to so savagely attack the fair Akane. The heavens knew this for a fact as well; why else would the dishonorable cretin be tiring so soon? With one mighty thrust, Kuno lashed out with his great blade and struck his barbaric opponent.

Ranma felt the bokken hit his left shoulder and draw blood. It was only a glancing blow, but the young harmonixer didn't need to look at his shoulder to know that he had just gotten a nasty cut. Ranma ignored the pain and the shocked expressions of the crowed so that he could complete his plan. Quicker than lighting, the young harmonixer grabbed Kuno's sword hand with his right hand and proceeded to twist the bokken out the kendoist's hand. Ranma also lashed out with left leg at the same time and used a sweeping attack on Kuno's leg.

Before Kuno realized it, he was unarmed and on his back. Ranma immediately placed his foot on Kuno's throat and said, "The match is mine." Kuno wanted to protest, but the referee called the match before he could say anything. More than anything in the world, Kuno wanted to pick up his sword and smite the dishonorable Inugami. However, the referee, bewitched though he might be, had called the match and Kuno was honor bound to accept the man's ruling.

Just as Ranma was about to leave the ring, the referee walked over to him and whispered, "That's a nasty cut you've got there kid. Do you want to call off your next match so that you can go to a doctor to treat it?"

Ranma shook his head and replied, "That won't be necessary. I have two hours before the finals. That's more than enough time for me to treat this by myself so that I can go into the final match. Besides, to forfeit now would make my allowing the hit to win pointless." Ranma left the ring and the shocked referee after saying his reply. While walking to the fighter's waiting area, Ranma discreetly grabbed a Thera Leaf from his back pocket and placed it in his mouth. The wound on his should rapidly started mending thanks to the mystical healing properties of the leaf.

* * *

The announcer walked into the ring again and said, "Now ladies and gentlemen, we have the second half of the semi-finals! In this match we have Yuna Ikari verses Ryoga Hibiki. The previous match set the bar pretty high, but I know that our fighters are more than equal the challenge."

Yuna and Ryoga quickly entered the ring and started sizing each other up. Ryoga couldn't help feeling a little, okay very, nervous about fighting a pretty girl. He couldn't help that he was shy around pretty girls! How was he supposed to fight Yuna if he was constantly blushing around her?

Suddenly, Ryoga had a flashback to one of the last things his teacher had told him. "Ryoga," his teacher had said, "There will come days when you shall fight those in the Holy Ring that you wish you wouldn't have to fight. They might be friends, they might be enemies, and they might even be monsters preparing to conquer the world. However, you must meet them in the ring with all your blood, sweat, and courage for the ring and the path of a true man requires nothing less. Fight with all of your might and your heart will shine through." Bolstered by his teacher's words, Ryoga prepared to fight.

Yuna quickly sized up her opponent and thought about what she should do. Agility would be necessary as she couldn't allow herself to be hit by Ryoga. The boy had proven his strength in his previous match. Getting him angry wouldn't be a good idea since he had also proven to be very dangerous when enraged. The blush made the Muay Thai briefly consider flirting with Ryoga to keep him off his game. However, Yuna quickly rejected that idea as she didn't want to win by such underhanded tactics.

The announcer called the start of the match and the crowd was treated to real treat. This mix-up of power verses speed and unarmed verses armed were exactly why people had come to the tournament. Ryoga kept himself to a small area of the ring forcing Yuna to try and hit him. Every time she tried to get at Ryoga, the wrestler would use his locker to counter-attack Yuna. Sometimes Yuna would get a decent hit in and other times Ryoga would get a glancing blow in. This was a battle of strategy, cunning, and staying power.

Unfortunately for Yuna, Ryoga was winning this match and she knew it. The fanged wrestler was forcing her to waste so much energy trying to attack him while he was staying relatively fresh. She needed to take him out now or he would simply wear her down into defeat. That would be tricky considering that a single good hit from that locker would most likely force her to concede the match.

Ryoga watched as Yuna made a mad dash towards him and wondered what she was planning as he brought his locker to bare. Yuna anticipated this and shockingly jumped onto the locker. She raced up the locker before Ryoga had a chance to react and flip-kicked him in the head with both feet. The force of the blows caused Ryoga to stumble backwards until he brushed up against the corner post of the ring.

Yuna grinned as she saw the dazed look on Ryoga's face and commenced with a full frontal assault. All she had to do was keep up the pressure and Ryoga would be defeated. Sadly, Yuna misjudged Ryoga's recovery time. The fanged wrestler caught her foot just as she was about to kick him and flipped her into the air. Yuna went flying through the air and crashed into the announcer's bench near the audience.

The referee quickly looked at Yuna to make sure she was okay and then he grabbed his microphone to announce his ruling. "Due to a ring out, Ryoga Hibiki is the winner of the second half of the semi-finals. There will be an hour and a half intermission for lunch. When we get back, Ranma Inugami will fight Ryoga Hibiki in order to see which will become the All Tokyo Mixed Martial Arts Tournament Youth Division champion."

* * *

Tournament rules specified a there had to be a two hour break between the semi-finals and the finals. This was so that the competitors could rest up and fight at their best. Ranma was sitting on the bench when he saw Ryoga walk into the fighter's waiting room officially starting the two hour break. The young harmonixer gave the fanged wrestler a small smile and said, "Hey Ryoga. I'm going to grab a bite to eat. Want to hang out with me and my family for the break?"

Ryoga shook his head and said, "Uh, thanks for the offer Ranma. However, I'll just stay right here. Thanks for the offer though." Ryoga was touched by his friend's offer and would have come along except for one thing: his directional issues. Now, despite what some of his classmates would say, Ryoga couldn't get lost in a room that only had a single door. He just got easily confused about where to go over long distances and/or in crowded environments. His poor directional sense meant that there was too great of a chance of him missing the final match if he wandered too far from the ring.

Ranma just shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Suit yourself Ryoga." Immediately after saying that, Ranma pulled a Thera Leaf out of his back pocket and handed it to Ryoga. He calmly said, "Chew on this like a piece of gum. It's a Thera Leaf and helps the body to heal. I used one to heal Kuno's wound so you should have one to take care of your injuries as well."

Ryoga took the Thera Leaf, looked at it, glanced at clean _healed_ skin exposed by the cut in Ranma's jacket, and then put the leaf into his mouth. Relief came to Ryoga as soon as he started chewing the leaf and this wasn't painkiller relief. He could actually feel his aches and pains' being soothed away like someone was hitting the rewind button on a movie. Once the last of the pain was gone, Ryoga turned to Ranma and said, "Thanks man. I'm looking forward to our next match."

The young harmonixer nodded his head and left the fighters' waiting room. Outside, Ranma saw Nicholas, Takashi, Rei, and Setsuna waiting for him. Ranma gave his relatives each a head nod and then said, "Setsuna! I didn't know you were coming."

Setsuna gave Ranma a friendly smile and replied, "Of course you wouldn't Ranma. After all, I don't like to give away the future that easily."

Nicholas chucked at his old friend's joke and then said, "Yes Setsuna, you're very good at keeping mysterious." A faint blush appeared on Setsuna's face which Nicholas didn't notice. The elder Inugami then said, "We have two hours till Ranma's final match and it's after 1:30. I say that we all head down to the dining section and get something to eat." This was met by murmurs of agreement by everyone else.

Rei ended up walking next to Ranma on the group's way to the dining section. The normally fiery miko-in-training was having difficulty dealing with being next to her cousin given what he had done in the arena. Sure, Setsuna had explained things, but that didn't settle things for Rei's heart on the matter. How could someone be so laidback after fighting so brutally? Finally she couldn't take it anymore and blurted out, "How can you act like that Ranma?"

Ranma turned to look at his cousin with a confused look clearly on his face and replied, "Huh? What do you mean Rei? I'm not acting at all."

Rei wanted to bash her head on something and practically screamed out, "Urrh! That's exactly what I mean Ranma! How on Earth can you be so laid back after those fights? You beat up that Tendo girl, after that you took a wound in your shoulder, and then you pummeled that Kuno guy. Now, after your matches are over, you're acting like nothing has happened! Are you bipolar or something?"

Everyone in the group watched as the joyful look on Ranma's face melted away into a hard and stormy face. Ranma quietly spoke in a completely serious tone, "Bipolar? Do you honestly believe that I have a serious mental condition? The ability to detach one's emotions from circumstances after being trained to do so is not a mental illness. It is a skill that many people learn for many different reasons. Doctors detach their emotions so that they can work on patients without panicking. Lawyers detach their feelings for their clients and defend them even if they feel they might be guilty. Soldiers learn how to compartmentalize their feelings to keep going if a comrade is hurt or killed. Is it really so hard to accept that have the same skill when I'm fighting?"

A part of Rei understood what her cousin was trying to say. However, she didn't want to accept what she was being told. Rei immediately countered by saying, "But your just a teenager Ranma! Doctors, Lawyers, and soldiers are grown men and women who have been trained for years to do what you're talking about. No child should have to have such ability or could cope with the kind of stress it brings."

To this Ranma replied, "I've had over six years of mental training in learning how to cope with battle. For the past two years, I have been hunting around the Inugami lands." Ranma raised his hands up so that Rei could clearly see them before he continued, "On each and every hunt I killed the animal I was hunting using claws on my hands. Trust me Rei you learn quickly how to detach yourself from your emotions when you rip a creature apart." It actually had been demons and monsters that Ranma had been hunting.

For a few seconds, Rei just stood there silently opening and closing her mouth. Finally, she came out of her daze and said, "Why?! Why by the kami would go do something like that? Who'd be so irresponsible to let a child go hunting and in such a dangerous manner-"

Takashi cut Rei off before she could say anything more. "That is enough Rei! It is not your place to question how your cousin has been raised. Also, you should accept your cousin's training and not ask questions that you are too young to understand. Perhaps one day, when you are older and more mature, you will be able to understand and appreciate why your cousin is the way he is. As Setsuna told you, there is a good reason why Ranma has had his training, but you are not to know of it at the moment."

Pending off an uncomfortable silence, Setsuna immediately diverted the conversation. "Many women may subscribe to the Twiggy look, but I've never really understood the whole skin and bones routine. Would anyone like to accompany me to the dinning area? A girl needs to eat in order to maintain a healthy appearance you know."

* * *

Soun Tendo was walking through the dinning section of the center looking for Nicholas Inugami. The head of the Tendo branch of Anything Goes was a jumble of emotions as he frantically tried to find the Inugami clan head will still maintaining a collected façade. He was elated at running across Ranma, enraged over what the boy had done to his sweet Akane, scared by the mere thought of Nicholas, and worried over where Genma could be.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, even though it was only four minutes, Soun spotted Nicholas Inugami. This was a good thing because that meant that he could now talk to Nicholas about Ranma. It was also a bad thing because it meant that Nicholas had seen him as well. Soun could tell by the glare the elder Inugami was sending him that Nicholas did not want to see him. The Anything Goes master was so tempted to get out from under Nicholas's gaze by running as far away as possible. However, Soun forced himself to stay where he was; this was too important to run away because of a glare.

Nicholas saw that Soun wasn't running away like a scared cat and sighed. So much for quickly taking care of an irritant, he supposed. The elder harmonixer turned to Takashi and said, "Would you please excuse me for a moment nephew? There is something I need to take care of. It won't take more than a minute or two."

Takashi discreetly looked at where Nicholas's gaze had been and then politely said, "Of course uncle. We wouldn't want a problem bothering Rei and Ranma now would we?"

Nicholas nodded his head to show his agreement and then got up. He then walked up to Soun and directed with his head for the man to follow him. Soun flinched at the look in Nicholas's eyes, but the man quietly followed the elder Inugami. The two men walked until they reached a spot that was out of earshot. At that moment, Nicholas turned around and coolly said, "What is it Tendo?"

Soun gulped and then replied, "I, I came to congratulate you on Ranma's advance to the final round of the tournament. You must be proud of that the boy is so skilled at his-"

Nicholas raised his left hand to cut Soun off and then coolly stated, "I did not leave my family and friends to listen to false platitudes from you, Tendo. Say what you want to say and then leave or leave now. I want to spend my time with those I care about; not with the whimpering friend of that tub of lard I still have to call my son-in-law." Nicholas accentuated his point by calling up the faintest whisper of Astaroth's power. It wasn't enough to trigger the demon morph, but it did cause Soun's knees to buckle.

Fighting his fear, Soun replied with only a tiny squeak in his voice showing his terror. "Genma and I made an honorable pact that Ranma would marry one of my daughters to continue the Anything Goes School. I wanted to know why Ranma wasn't using Anything Goes since he will need it when he marries one of my girls to continue the schools."

Nicholas's eyes hardened giving him the air of a predator. His normal stoic manner had slipped and the harmonixer now growled out, "A pact you and Genma made, about my grandson? How dare you even mention such a thing to me! Ranma is Inugami, not Saotome. The Inugami Clan will never recognize any 'honor pact' made by Genma Saotome regarding Ranma. Besides, one must have honor in the first place if one is to make an honor pact and neither you nor Genma have any honor after debasing yourselves by studying under your 'Master'." Nicholas practically spit out the word master since to him it was an insult to the word to use it for Happosai.

Indignation overrode Soun's normal cowardly instincts causing him to puff himself up and practically shout, "How DARE you say that about-" Soun lost all his bluster when he was hit by another touch of Astaroth's power. The Tendo master of Anything Goes immediately remembered why he was so afraid of Nicholas.

The harmonixer then coldly said, "That man was a blight on this nation and all that he created is also a blight. One who follows and learns from an honorless man like you and Genma did becomes honorless as well. The Saotome School of Anything Goes is dead: Genma is in jail for more crimes that I can recount and I burned the training scrolls. My grandson will never debase himself by become part of that man's school. Any useful techniques that the style had that Ranma would want to learn will be learned the proper way by going to the dojos that the moves were stolen from and studying under the dojo's masters."

"As to Ranma marrying one of your daughters, that is completely out of the question. Genma's 'pact' with you is void through the lard's own actions and the fact that Ranma is Inugami now. Any attempts at a Tendo-Inugami union would receive not support from me. In fact, I'd advise Ranma against even dating your daughters. But then, I'm not worried about Ranma even thinking about something like that since he was not impressed at all by your daughter's sloppy fighting skills. My grandson is free of the dishonor his father would bring him and he will be free of the taint that associating with you would bring. The Inugami will never, and I mean never, associate themselves with anyone connected to Happosai."

Nicholas gave Soun one final glare to emphasis his point and then he walked back to the table by himself. The elder harmonixer gave Setsuna a polite smile before he sat back down. Takashi quickly resumed his and Nicholas's conversation as if they had never been interrupted.

* * *

The stadium lights focused on the ring where the announcer stood. After tapping the mike for a sound check, the announcer started to speak. "This tournament gathered all of the best fighters throughout Tokyo and weeded through them until the top eight among them could be found. Of these eight, only two remain: Ranma Inugami and Ryoga Hibiki. These two talented teens have fought there way to this point and now we come to the final round of the tournament. One will emerge victorious and the other one will suffer defeat. Which one will it be? Let's find out, boys, come to the stage!"

With that, both Ranma and Ryoga walked onto the stage. Ranma's face was completely serious as he walked without a single excess bit of moment to reach his spot and adopt a casual stance. Ryoga was sporting a big grin as he did an elaborate choreographed routine to get onto the stage and then getting into a battle stance. The announcer looked at the two teenagers in front of him and felt a little nervous. These boys were radiating more power than most of the adult fighters that this tournament saw. After a few seconds the announcer called out, "Ready, set, FIGHT!"

Ranma opened up the battle by charging at Ryoga with blinding speed. The Inugami heir knew that it would be too hard to get Ryoga mad enough to charge and make mistakes. Besides, this promised to be the best match he had fought in all day and Ranma wasn't about to waste it by getting his opponent sloppy.

Ryoga was surprised that Ranma was going on the offensive. However, the fanged boy wasn't about to let himself get hit and promptly swung his locker at Ranma. A smile crossed Ryoga's face as he did this since it meant Ranma would have only two options: get hit by the locker or duck out of the way. If Ranma got hit he'd be in a world of hurt and if he dogged Ryoga could hit him with a sweeping kick. Either way, the opening round of attacks would be in his favor.

A loud crash suddenly shocked Ryoga and the audience. Ryoga quickly recovered and noticed that his locker had stopped in mid swing. Everyone in the stadium quickly looked down the locker and gapped in shock. There was Ranma calmly standing with his left fist halfway buried in the locker. The fanged wrestler dumbly blinked his eyes for a second and then shouted out, "You blocked my attack?!"

Ranma fought back against the pain in his left hand and gave Ryoga a smirk. He then pulled out his fist and quietly said, "I have inside me the blood of czars. I have no rival and no man can hope to be my equal." He then pulled his fist out of the locker revealing the hole where he had punched completely through the metal.

Ryoga gulped for a second seeing the hole in his locker and then a tear rolled down his cheek. It was a sad day with a locker lost its fighting spirit and must retire from the ring. The fanged wrestler than tossed the locker out of the ring and got into a grappling stance. Ranma would not intimidate him and Ryoga was determined to prove to Ranma that he was both rival and equal.

The battle now took on a whole other dimension as the two young men fought. Ranma fought like a hurricane lashing out at Ryoga and delivering devastating attacks while at the same time remaining calm. Ryoga was like a mountain that withstood all attacks against it and tried to bury any that sought to challenge it. The crowd was screaming with excitement as Ranma would strike while trying to avoid getting caught in Ryoga's vice-like grip. When Ryoga managed to catch Ranma, it became a race against the clock as to whether Ranma could escape or the pain would force the pigtailed boy to surrender.

Currently in one of these holds, Ranma desperately tried to fight back the pain and think of an escape plan. Unlike other times, Ryoga had gotten lucky and was squeezing his left hand as the fanged wrestler focused on dislocating his left elbow. What was he supposed to do? The Inugami's left hand was still hurting from that stunt a few minutes ago with the locker and it wasn't like he could just slip a Thera Leaf. Had this been a real battle, Ranma would have taken a leaf long ago. However, this was match and Ranma wasn't about to pull something like that. There was a major difference between ruthless and dishonorable after all and Ranma would never cross that line. Desperate, Ranma through everything he had in one last punch.

Ryoga was focused on one thing and one thing only: getting Ranma to submit. The fanged wrestler was on his last legs as well. Ranma had really done a number to him throughout this match. Not even Teacher had pushed him so hard in showing his heart in the ring. Heck, the only reason Ryoga had chosen this particular grapple was because it allowed him to be on his knees and Ryoga knew he didn't have the energy to stand. Ranma's right fist flew up and caught Ryoga square in the face. The fanged wrestler couldn't take anymore and crumpled on the ground. However, Ranma was also sent into unconsciousness from the pain of the grapple.

Both the referee and the announcer rushed into the ring to check on the boys. The referee immediately checked Ranma and Ryoga's pulses. He then looked at the announcer, saw the question in his eyes, and nodded his head.

The announcer then stood up and said, "Well fans, both Ranma and Ryoga are fine. However, both are unable to continue the match and thus the final round is a draw. Still, let's give these young fighters a round of applause for their spectacular match here today!" The crowd dumbly sat there for a moment before a roar of applause errupted.

* * *

Author's note: I just wanted to congratulate BlazeStryker for figuring out who Ryoga's teacher is.


	5. Chapter 5

Nicholas, Rei, Takashi, and Setsuna were sitting in the nurse's station of the sports complex. In front of the group calmly resting on their own couches were Ranma and Ryoga. The nurse had given the boys a check half an hour ago immediately after their match and ruled that they just needed some rest. Given how peacefully the boys were resting, most people would find it hard to believe that they had been pounding the daylights out of each other earlier.

Rei worriedly looked at the two boys and then at the adults. Her father was politely sitting in a corner smoking a cigarette. Setsuna and Nicholas were calmly talking about some trip they had gone on in the late 40s to Poland. However, she figured that they must know about her listening in on her and were trying to pull her leg. There was no other reason that could explain the two of them talking about demons and rounding up some priest named Wojtyla to help them close a hellmouth. Yes, Rei thought as she turned her attention back to the boys, better to not react to what they were saying and pretend that she hadn't been eavesdropping.

Five minutes later, Rei saw Ranma start to stir. The fiery miko rushed to the couch and watched as her cousin slowly opened his eyes. For a few seconds, Rei silently watched as Ranma's eyes wandered around in an unfocused gaze. She was just about to ask Ranma if he was alright when the boy focused his eyes on her. Ranma then spoke up, "Hi Rei. Did I win?"

A twitch appeared over Rei's eye and she went ballistic. "DID YOU WIN? DID YOU WIN?! Here you are in the infirmary, lying on your back, and the first thing you want to know is whether or not you won?!!" Rei then looked up at the ceiling and continued on in a more desperate tone, "Kami above, what's wrong with my cousin? Did he get pounded too much during his match?"

Rei would have continued her ranting to the amusement of the adults, but she stopped when she heard a groan coming from behind her. She turned around to see Ryoga open his eyes and mutter, "What an epic fight. Teacher will sad when he hears about what he missed."

That statement caused Rei to throw her hands up in frustration and storm out of the room. Boys! If they wanted to act like a bunch of moronic cavemen bashing each others' skulls then by all means, they could go right on ahead. See if she cared the next time their brains were on the floor because they had bashed in their skulls.

Ranma was still feeling a little too sore to turn on his side to look at Ryoga so he just spoke up, "Hey Ryoga? You conscious?"

Ryoga was in a similar state as Ranma and the fanged wrestler quickly replied, "Yah. I'm too sore to be dreaming. Hey Ranma, do you know who won the match? Last thing I can recall is your fist in my face."

Ranma shrugged his shoulders, winced slightly from the pain, and then replied to Ryoga. "I don't have a clue. Who cares really? That was the best match I had all day. Next time I'm in the mood for a fight, I'll just track you down instead of bothering with a tournament."

The fanged wrestler chuckled at Ranma's answer and then said, "Same here Ranma, same here. It's nice to know that there's someone willing to fight me in the ring who can also challenge me. How about next time we met we have another match?"

"That sounds good Ryoga," Ranma said in a quiet voice. He then spoke softer as he slowly went back to dreamland, "Yah. That's sounds like a great idea."

* * *

Two years later…

It was a peaceful day at the former Inugami village. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the flowers were blooming. This lovely scene abruptly ended when an Orexis flew through the sky while being chased by a Czernobog. The two dark demons flew through the air like pro fighter aces. Orexis kept on diving and using every trick he knew of to get Czernobog off his tail. However, no matter what Orexis tried, the older and more powerful demon followed him.

Czernobog suddenly bellowed out, "**Give it up. You don't have the power, skill, or experience to beat me.**" The Orexis turned its head around and stuck its black tongue out in reply. This only caused Czernobog to snort and call out, "**You've been taught better than that! SPIRIT POLLUTION!" **

Orexis immediately felt the drain on his magic reserves and tried to think of some way to beat Czernobog. Options were limited since Czernobog had him out classed in every way. Going toe to toe with Czernobog would be stupid since he was physically stronger than Orexis. There was also the fact that the other demon had decades of aerial combat experience. Using magic was pointless since the other demon could take the damage that all the Hell's Eye or Dark Claws attacks Orexis could do at the moment with his magic reserves and still keep going. Using Mind Assault was pointless since Czernobog could swipe more magic with his Spirit Pollution attack. Orexis would really need to think outside of the box if he wanted to win this match.

Without warning, Czernobog saw Orexis fly towards the sun. Most fighters would naturally try to keep visual contact with Orexis and that was exactly what Czernobog didn't do. He could track the younger demon well enough with his ears and wasn't about to be caught by such an amateurish tactic. The only question Czernobog had at the moment was when Orexis would realize that he wasn't taking the bait.

Czernobog heard the sound Orexis diving at him and smiled. Yes, the high demon thought, come at me sung in the protection of the sunlight. It will drive home that you still have much to learn. Czernobog then frowned as he listened closer to the sound of the incoming Orexis; the sound indicated a faster rate of speed than the high demon was anticipating. The high dark demon immediately activated his demonic perception and was shocked at what he felt. Instead of sensing a pit of darkness, he felt a blazing column approaching him. This change shocked Czernobog so much that he looked up and saw Barbaria falling towards him.

Barbaria smirked as he looked at Czernobog's surprise. The high dark demon had no time to react as Barbaria's foot smashed into his face. Without wasting a moment, the fire demon drove his sword into Czernobog's right wing. The two demons fell from the heavens crashing onto the earth. Barbaria was standing on Czernobog using the other demon to brake his fall. He then said to the other demon, "**You're right, I have been taught better. BLAZE!"** The fiery attack quickly singed Czernobog's body.

When Czernobog opened his eyes after the attack, he saw Barbaria's sword posed next to his neck. Barbaria then demanded, "**Do you yield?**"

Czernobog nodded his head as much as he was able and then said, "**Yes, I yield.**" Barbaria then got off of Czernobog and transformed back into Ranma with a flash of light. A similar flash of light enveloped Czernobog and soon dissipated leaving Nicholas on the ground. The graying haired Inugami got up, brushed off the dirt, and then walked over to his grandson. Nicholas placed a hand on Ranma's shoulder and said, "Good job Ranma, good job. You used the sun to hide your transformation and used my hubris against me."

Ranma gave his grandfather a confident smile and replied, "Thanks Grandfather. However," here Ranma's voice got a little less confident, "I wasn't sure if everything would work out. You had me from the get go by using Czernobog. I like a challenge in these spars, but fighting against a high level demon is still extremely tough for me. Your experience doesn't make it any easier."

Nicholas nodded his head and then said, "I know Ranma and that is exactly why I used Czernobog as opposed to Death Emperor or Chiron. You need to be push to your maximum during training so that when you fight for real you'll come back alive. This also teaches you to be resourceful as your victory shows. Just remember that there is always a bigger fish. That's why I will start using Astaroth when you get your own high level demon morph."

Unconsciously Ranma started to shiver. His grandfather had once used the deity level demon in combat last year when things had gone badly. There was a very good reason why demons such as Astaroth were referred to as demonic deities. That battle had turned into a slaughter when Astaroth, well Neo-Astaroth since Nicholas had unleashed the demon's full power, had made his appearance.

Spotting Ranma's shaking; Nicholas put his hand under Ranma's face and gently directed the young man's eyes towards his own. The elder Inugami then gently said, "Don't worry Ranma. One day I know you'll have the power to beat me even if I was to go all out as Astaroth. That day is coming and when it does, I'll be even prouder than I am right now. I'll be proud then because that day will mean that you have taken everything that I have or will teach you and that you've grown beyond it into a man that anyone would be honored to call their grandson."

A tint of pink appeared on Ranma's cheeks as he listened to his grandfather's praise. He then softly said, "Thanks Grandfather." Nicholas heard what Ranma said and gave him a bear hug.

Nicholas pulled away from Ranma a few seconds later and started to speak. "Come Ranma, we need to pack. We've delayed packing for as long as we could so that you could get this extra training in. After all, we won't be able to spar like this while we are in Tokyo."

Ranma nodded his head and followed Nicholas down the path to their home. Takashi had sent a letter to Nicholas earlier in the week requesting that the Inugami's move to Tokyo. Specifically, he requested that they come to the Juban prefecture. Monster sightings in that prefecture had soared dramatically over the past month and the government wanted to insure that the city remain safe. Sure there were the Sailor Senshi, but the government wasn't about to let the safety of city depend solely on two or three unproven demon hunters. Besides, other things that went bump in the night besides what the Senshi were fighting were moving into Juban as well.

The house came into Ranma's view and he let out a sigh. He'd miss this house while he and his grandfather were in Juban. Ranma knew that his grandfather owned several houses throughout Japan, but this house was special to both Inugamis. To Ranma, it represented a real home with a loving grandfather. To Nicholas, it represented the will he and his brothers had to survive and thrive no matter the odds. To both, the thought of calling somewhere else home almost seemed like a sin. The duo both paused for a moment and then reluctantly entered to start packing.

* * *

The Tokyo Institute of Learning High School was one of the most prestigious private high schools in the district. It wasn't some snobby rich kid's club. Rather, it was a place where children who strove to succeed could do so with the best education that middle class and rich people could pay for. Almost half of the students here were on partial or complete scholarships due to the school's policy of 'The mind comes first; blood and stature comes second'. There were more expensive schools out there, but those were the typical rich kid's playground.

Nicholas and Ranma stood outside the front gate of TI High and gave the campus a once over. In Nicholas's hand tucked under his arm was a folder containing Ranma's grades. The elder Inugami nodded appreciatively at the building and said, "Right where Setsuna said it would be. Well, come on Ranma. We need to get you signed up for classes."

Ranma nodded his head and followed his grandfather into the school. Personally, Ranma wanted to stay in his correspondence course. However, Nicholas felt that Ranma could use some time being with other teens his own age. Besides, it wasn't like they were in the middle of no where here in Juban.

The duo quickly headed towards the academic advisor's office, briefly paused to check in with the secretary, and entered the office. Inside the office was a middle aged man who was working on his computer. The man turned around to face the duo and gave a friendly smile as he spoke. "Welcome! My name is Ishimura Horaki and I am the Academic Advisor. You must be Nicholas Inugami and his grandson Ranma Inugami."

Nicholas calmly replied, "We are."

Ishimura nodded his head and said, "Good. Here at the Tokyo Institute of Learning High School we pride ourselves on cultivating students to become thinkers and future leaders of the community. I know that Ranma's transfer has been approved or you wouldn't be here today. Do you have Ranma's academic files? They're needed so that we can see were exactly Ranma will fit in our school."

Nicholas handed the folder that he was holding over to Mr. Horaki. The academic advisor quickly opened the folder and started reading. As he read, Ishimura mumbled to himself, "Speaks Russian and passable Mandarin as well as the required English. History and Math are good. Science is just a touch lower than preferred, but not troubling. What's this? Demonology? Mystical Appreciation? Oh, I see, anthropology courses focusing on the myths and legends of different people."

Finally, Ishimura put the folder down and said, "Congratulations Ranma Inugami. You'll be joining us tomorrow in Classroom 23. You can go down to the storeroom and they'll give you the textbooks that you need. I hope you enjoy your time with us and learn a lot."

Ranma politely bowed his head and answered Ishimura, "Thank-you Mr. Horaki." The two Inugami then left academic advisor's office and headed towards the storeroom to get Ranma's books. As they were walking Ranma glanced at his grandfather and questioningly said, "Anthropology courses?"

Nicholas nodded his head and calmly replied, "Can you think of a better way to hide your more unique courses? Having them listed in this manner allows you to get full school credit without raising anyone's curiosity too much. Any questions on why you would have those for anthropology can be easily answered by the fact that I am a master folklorist."

Ranma nodded his head and quickly said, "Makes sense. 'Place something in the open with a reasonable explanation and no one will question it. Only when something is concealed will there be trouble since one cannot hide all the loose ends. Concealment might be possible for a short time-"

Nicholas nodded his head and then took over repeating the lesson that Ranma was quoting. "But, the concealment will only be temporary. Eventually, someone will find a loose end that the person doing the concealing overlooked and unravel everything.' Keep that lesson in mind when you deal with your classmates. Now, let's go get your books."

* * *

The next day Ranma was standing outside Classroom 23 in his school uniform with his books in his backpack that was casually slung over his shoulder. Personally, Ranma would rather go to school in his regular outfit, but school regulations called for all students to wear the school uniform. Nicholas insisted that Ranma follow the school guidelines on this issue and Ranma had grudgingly agreed. The young harmonixer's problem with the outfit wasn't how it looked or felt. Rather, his problem was that it wasn't designed to handle combat. The outfit offered no protection and would tear too easily in a fight; not that Ranma was planning to get into a fight. He just took these things into consideration automatically.

If it was up to Ranma, he would have just walked into the classroom with his fellow students and started the class without any fuss. However, the Tokyo Institute of Learning High School had certain traditions that simply had to be followed. One of these little traditions was that a transfer student had to be announced by the teacher in front of the entire class. Right now, the teacher was probably giving some speech about how his new classmates should all welcome him. Ranma couldn't exactly make out what the teacher was saying because of the acoustics of the room.

After what seemed like hours, Ranma finally heard the teacher call out from the classroom, "Mr. Ranma Inugami, would you please come in now." The teacher's voice was muffled, but Ranma could clearly hear what he was supposed to do. His eyes glanced up at the ceiling as if he was asking the heavens for something and then the young harmonixer opened the door. When Ranma opened the door he saw that the teacher was looking strait at him. Obviously, the man had needed to speak directly at the door to overcome the soundproofing. The middle-age teacher gave Ranma friendly smile and said, "Good morning Mr. Inugami. Will you please face your fellow classmates and give a few interesting facts about yourself?"

Ranma turned to face his new classmates and politely spoke, "My name is Ranma Inugami age 16. Ever since I was seven I have lived with my maternal grandfather Nicholas Inugami. I enjoy practicing martial arts and reading about the folklore of different peoples." Ranma's fellow students didn't really seem to care one way or the other about what he had just told them. However, one or two of the girls had gleams in their eyes as they weighted Ranma's potential as a new boyfriend. Those gleams were naturally ignored by the young harmonixer since he honestly wasn't that concerned about his future classmates.

The teacher politely nodded his head once he was sure that Ranma was finished speaking and the teacher said, "Good to hear that Mr. Inugami. Now then, your seat is next to Miss. Michiru Kaioh. Oh Miss. Kaioh, would you please raise your hand?" The aqua haired student in question raised her hand and Ranma promptly sat down next to her. Once that was taken care of, the teacher returned to giving his lesson.

The class ended thirty minutes later and the teacher left to go to his next class. Most of the students started chatting among themselves as soon as the door was closed. Ranma was one of the few students who didn't start talking and he just pulled out a copy of the Complete Collection of Russian Folklore to read. He did honestly enjoy folklore beyond learning about what he should avoid and it wasn't like someone was going to talk with him. After all, he was the new kid.

A polite voice quietly spoke up before Ranma could get too into his book. "Pardon me Inugami, but could I ask you a question?"

Ranma put a book marker in, placed his book down, and turned to see Michiru Kaioh looking at him. A puzzled looked crossed the harmonixer's face as he replied, "You've already asked a question, but you can ask whatever it is that you want." For the life of him, Ranma couldn't figure out why Michiru wanted to speak to him. However, he wasn't about to be rude to her by ignoring her question.

The aqua haired young woman politely asked, "What are you reading? I don't recognize the script that it's written in. You seemed to be enjoying the book and I couldn't understand the title written on the spine."

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and simply replied, "It's the Complete Collection of Russian Folklore written by Nicholas Inugami and edited by Setsuna Meioh. This is the Russian edition and you probably wouldn't recognize the script because it's Cyrillic."

Michiru's eyebrow rose slightly as she spoke again, "I didn't know that they sold books like that here."

Ranma nodded his head slightly and replied, "It is a bit tricky to find a copy of this particular edition since there is a rather small market for these kinds of books here in Japan. Usually, one would have to go to a university bookstore since it's popular with advanced Russian language teachers. However, I got this copy from the author. There is a Japanese version of the book, but something seems lost in the translation to me."

Her question satisfied, Michiru gave Ranma a polite nod and turned to look back at the blackboard. She didn't have anything more to ask or tell her new classmate. Ranma picked up his book and continued to read for the remaining break period.

* * *

Lunch couldn't come quick enough for Ranma. Unfortunately, the school wasn't letting the students eat outside because of the high chance of rain. This meant that he had to put up with the noisy, crowded cafeteria and the hassle of trying to find a spot to eat with all the cliques claiming their tables. Ranma was forced to walk through the cafeteria with his lunch tray scanning the room for an open space. Eventually, he spotted a table in the back that only had a single person sitting at it. The young harmonixer made up his mind and quickly walked to the table. When Ranma got there he asked, "Hey, can I eat here?"

Haruka Tenoh looked up from her tray to see Ranma looking at her with his tray in hand. Since he wasn't one of the jerks from the track team, she said, "Alright." Ranma immediately sat down, said a quick grace, and then dug into his lunch. Haruka looked at her new companion eat and then almost gasped out, "Woah. I've never seen anyone, and I mean ANYONE, tear into the school mystery meat with such gusto. You getting enough at home?" Ranma paused in mid bite to shoot Haruka a glare. He then swallowed the bite in his mouth and was about to respond when Haruka put her hands up. The track star quickly said, "Hey take it easy. I was just joking and I'm sorry if I offend you. The name's Haruka Tenoh."

Ranma nodded his head and responded, "I'm Ranma Inugami and I accept your apology." Haruka's earlier comment had stung Ranma since it reminded him of some of Genma's speed training ideas. Even after all these years, some things still stayed with the young man.

An uncomfortable silence descended on the table as Ranma continued to eat his lunch. While the silence didn't bother Ranma too much, it did eat at Haruka. Here she was having just met someone and she had completely soured a potential acquaintanceship. There were a lot of guys at school that she was on poor terms with, but that was because of their actions. This was the first time that she had messed things up. Finally, Haruka decided to try and correct her mistake. "Hey Ranma," She began, "Where are you from? I don't recognize you from around school."

Ranma looked up at Haruka and answered, "Shizuoka*. You wouldn't recognize me from school because this is my first day here."

Haruka nodded her head as she thought about what Ranma had told her. It was just her luck to cause trouble with the new kid. However, Ranma seemed to semi decent and wasn't being sour over her initial blunder. The lead racer of the school and future Sailor Uranus quickly decided to try and keep Ranma talking. She then said in a jovial manner, "Shizuoka eh? I must say that we don't get many people outside of the wards coming here to the school. Why are you here and what made you come to this school?"

Since it was harmless, Ranma answered the question. "My grandfather took a professorship over at one of the local community colleges as a favor to a relative. He signed me up here since I needed to go to school and he heard that this place had a good reputation."

The track racer nodded her head and replied, "Fair enough." She then gave Ranma a once over and spoke again. "Are you going to join any of the sports teams? The teams can always use another member and you seem to be in good enough shape to join any team you wanted." A small part of Haruka hoped Ranma's answer would be yes. It would be great to have a semi-decent person to hang out with on the team.

Sadly for the future sky king, Ranma shook his head and stated. "I don't have time for school clubs. Besides, my training would make it unfair to any opposing team. One sided sporting events bore me."

Haruka fought back the urge to call Ranma out for saying something like that. She put up with enough bragging from her track teammates and she wasn't about to put up with it at lunch. However, there was something in the young man's voice that told the hot headed racer that Ranma wasn't being boastful. As much as it grated her, Haruka knew that her new companion was simply telling the truth. Haruka forced down the sharp barb on her tongue and then said, "So what? That just means that the boys will have to work for the gold this year."

* * *

The school day could not be finished fast enough in Ranma's mind as he stormed to his locker. Seriously, why did he have to stay till 4 in the afternoon at his desk just because of some bureaucrat said that schools go till four? Back in the village, he could get out at 1 or 2 if he applied himself at his lessons for the day and get more training time. But no, he had to stay while the teacher droned on and on about something that could have been finished twenty minutes ago.

Ranma quickly grabbed his gym bag and joined the rush of students pouring out of the front door. He then weaved his way through the crowd and took to an alley running by the school. It was a good fifteen minute walk to the apartment complex that the Inugami's were staying at going by the main roads. However, Ranma knew that he could shave several minutes off of that via back alleys and a few fences. Just because Nicholas had taught Ranma how to be a gentleman did not mean he had to be one all the time.

About halfway to the apartment, Ranma was walking on a chain linked fence when he heard someone screaming. The young harmonixer immediately dashed off towards the scream hoping to help whoever it was in time. Ranma arrived to see an old homeless man screaming in terror at a gremlin. Just as the minor fire demon was about to attack Ranma called out, "Hey firefly! Leave the old man alone." A flash of light enveloped Ranma as he activated his harmonixer powers and then continued on as a Nox, "**Try fighting a fellow demon**."

The gremlin turned away from the old man and faced the low level dark demon in front of it. After all, the gremlin reasoned, a fellow demon was a much greater threat than any mere human could be. Nox gave a supremely confident grin that just infuriated the gremlin before starting to slowly back away from the other demon. The gremlin gave a demonic grin when it saw this and rushed towards Nox.

However, this was all a trap for the gremlin. Nox waited until the fire demon was just out of arms reach and then suddenly jumped over it. Before the gremlin had a chance to react, Nox had landed on the ground and turned around to face the other demon. Nox coolly called out his attack now that the homeless man was out of the blast zone, "**Hell's Eye**." The dark attack struck the gremlin and killed it.

A flash of light surrounded Nox for a second as he transformed back into Ranma. The young Inugami folded his arms together across his chest and said, "That was not really worth my time."

* * *

*Author's note: Shizuoka is a Japanese prefecture in the Chubu region. The Inugami village appears to be located here or very closely nearby going from it's position on the Asian Theater Map in SH:C


	6. Chapter 6

Ranma and Nicholas's apartment in Juban was a penthouse on top of an apartment complex that was owned by the Inugami Clan. The young harmonixer got off of the elevator, walked past the hot tub, and entered the apartment proper. Naturally, the apartment was cozy consisting of a family room, a kitchen/dining room combo, two bedrooms, a study, and a bathroom. Laundry was taken care with the apartment's laundry mat. Neither Inugami felt the need to buy a private washing machine when they had the master key to the machines in the complex.

Now inside, Ranma tossed his books on the couch and headed to the fridge. He then pulled out a can of coke and promptly proceeded to guzzle it down. Once the soda was empty, the young harmonixer crushed the can with his hand and proceeded to chuck it into the recycling bin. Ranma then grabbed his books and head to his room to take care of his homework.

It took Ranma an hour to finish his homework. The sound of the front door opening was heard just as Ranma finished answering the last question. Ranma quickly got up and left his room to see who was at the door. As expected, the young Inugami saw his grandfather entering the apartment. It was a little unsettling for Ranma to see Nicholas carrying a briefcase instead of his sword, but the college did have a rule against weapons being on campus. Both Inugami men quickly walked towards each other and gave a welcome home hug. The hug was only an instant as they separated again very quickly. Ranma then asked, "How was you day Grandfather?"

Nicholas took off his coat and replied, "About as well as can be expected. Half of my students are just there because they need a social science credit. A third of my students signed up because they thought my course would be an easy three credit nap time. I'll lose them by the end of the month. The rest signed up because they genuinely want to learn about different culture's folklores."

The younger Inugami nodded his head as his grandfather told him that everything was going as expected. Nicholas then gave Ranma a nod and then headed to his office to check on his grading rubric. Ranma shook his head slightly in a good natured manner about his grandfather and headed outside to perform some katas. Although the Inugamis wealthy, Nicholas had been taught and taught Ranma to stay a productive member of society. Having jobs had saved the family because of Anastasia being outside of Russia dealing with a mystical threat when the rest of her family was captured and shot. Besides, sitting around all day like some pretty boy was insanity causing boring!

For the next hour and a half, Ranma continuously practiced the various katas that he knew of constantly shifting between them. Anyone who could have seen his practice would have been amazed by the sight. A 'normal' exercise to Ranma was the average joe's idea of a wuxia action sequence. Ranma's hands were moving faster than the eye could see; he was doing twenty meter high jumps filled with punches and kicks, heck, he was even leaping across the street to continue his routine on the roofs of other skyscrapers!

This martial arts madness that Ranma called training ended when Nicholas walked out of the penthouse and called out, "Ranma! Get back here now!" The grey haired elder Inugami scanned the skyline of the city looking for his missing grandson. After a few seconds, Nicholas spotted a blur moving from roof to roof in the glow of the evening sun. Finally, Ranma leaped across the street and landed in front of his grandfather. Said grandfather gave his grandson a disappointed look as he spoke, "What do you think you were doing?"

Ranma looked up at Nicholas and tried to cringe when he saw the disappointed on Nicholas face. The younger Inugami mumbled out, "I was just practicing."

Nicholas sighed and then calmly spoke, "Ranma. Where are we?"

Ranma was confused, but quickly answered, "We're at our house in Juban."

Nicholas nodded his head and continued on. "That's correct Ranma. We're in Juban, not the Inugami village. This is a city and we cannot do certain things in a city that we could out in the country. Among this list of things that cannot be done is that you cannot train wherever you want. You're allowed to do whatever you want for training on the roof of this building; however, your training stays on this skyscraper. Do not jump across the street or practice on other roofs! Is that understood Ranma?"

The younger Inugami bowed his head in embarrassment and slowly nodded his head. It wasn't his fault that the skyscraper roof was so confining! Besides, those movies that Setsuna had brought over last month for movie night made the idea of rooftop fighting on a city skyline look so cool. After a few moments, Ranma raised his head and said, "Grandfather, I promise that I will stay just on this building when practice."

Nicholas nodded his head and firmly placed a hand on his grandson's shoulder. He then calmly replied, "Good. I know that you'll keep that promise Ranma. Now, you can do your balance exercises on the fences on your way to school. I would actually prefer that over you practicing your balace on the ledge up here. It's just that you cannot treat the skyline as your personal training ground."

With his point made, Nicholas' eyes took on a more jovial look while he continued on in his normal stoical tone. "The forecast calls for a clear night tonight and the sun fully sets in fifteen minutes. Let's go inside and have a quick dinner. You'll need the strength to go flying tonight."

Ranma immediately whipped his head around to stare in shock at his grandfather. The young Inugami blinked his eyes and blurted out, "flying?"

Nicholas nodded his head and replied, "You heard me Ranma: flying. Our dark alignment demon morphs are excellent at flying and are almost impossible to spot in the sky at night. There is just something magical and refreshing to see a city at night from the sky. As long as you stick to me we won't make the front page of tomorrow's tabloids. Besides, I need to relax after dealing with my job."

* * *

Setsuna Meioh calmly walked to the Juban Community College dressed in a simple white blouse with a dark green skirt combo. She walked up to the information desk of the college, showed the secretary her card, and politely said, "Can you tell me where Professor Inugami's office is located?" As the secretary hurriedly looked for the office, Setsuna calmly repressed the urge to grin. Being the main supervisor in charge of the educational system in the Juban district had its perks.

Very quickly, the secretary looked up at Setsuna and said, "Professor Inugami's office is located at room C 329. Ms Meioh, Professor Inugami will be in class for another twenty minutes. Would you like me to page him?"

Setsuna gave the secretary a smile and replied, "Thank-you, but that's not necessary. My business here is non urgent. I just want to welcome the newest teacher to take up a post in my district. I'll just wait for Professor Inugami to finish his lesson, which you must agree is more important than just meeting me." The secretary was not sure how to answer that and just remained silent. Setsuna didn't particularly care what the secretary thought anyway and she quickly left to go to Nicholas's office.

The office was two flights of stairs, a long walk down a hallway, a left turn, and another long walk down a hallway from the information desk. The office door was closed, but unlocked when Setsuna got there. She quickly walked into the office, closed the door behind her, and looked around. Over all, the office was rather plain. There was a bookcase filled with various books appropriate for a folklorist teaching college level courses to have. Nicholas' desk had a computer and three pictures.

Curious, Setsuna walked closer so she could see what the photos were. The first photo was of the gang back in 1949 Poland after their big adventure. Setsuna got a wistful look on her face as she thought back to those days. The second photo was of Ranma and Nicholas on the beach in Okinawa. Setsuna almost giggled as she remembered the antics Ranma had told her about that trip. The third and final photo was set apart from the other two and showed the late Koyuki Inugami. Setsuna's face scrunched up and her right hand unconsciously clenched into a fist when she saw that photo.

No one else in the world ever called forth such respect, friendship, and hatred from Setsuna as Koyuki did. It took a great deal of effort on Setsuna's part to keep her from just slamming the picture frame onto the table so that she didn't have to look at Koyuki's face anymore. With clenched teeth Setsuna practically growled out, "Damn you Koyuki. You just had to take Nicholas didn't you, even when you knew I wanted him. I played nice so that Nicholas wouldn't see us fighting over him and you just had to worm your way into his heart. Nicholas should have been mine. He was to be my prince, my husband! I earned that. I fought by his side, not you."

Emotions long buried welled up in Setsuna and she continued on, venting her frustration at the photo. "You're still there in his heart you know. It's been over twenty years since you died and I still haven't been able to get him to look at me like he looked at you! I can accept his devotion to the memory of his late wife. Heck, I would have tolerated just being his concubine if I could just have a portion of his love as a lover. But no, you've claimed it all. You had him while you were alive, must you have him until his death too?"

The sound of footsteps coming down the hall snapped Setsuna out of her venting and she quickly composed herself. Setsuna heard the footsteps getting louder and she quickly turned around to face the door. The door then opened to reveal Nicholas standing in the doorway obviously surprised to see Setsuna calmly standing in his office. Nicholas quickly assumed his typical stoic expression and asked, "What are you doing here Setsuna?"

A small smile crossed the guardian of time's face as she politely replied, "As you may or may not be aware, I'm the main supervisor for this school district. It's my little tradition to visit the new teachers and check to make sure that they're settling in. How have your classes been so far?"

Nicholas simply answered, "About as expected. Two students dropped today and I'm expecting another to send in official notification by the end of the week. Dropouts aside, things are going well for me."

Setsuna nodded her head and softly said, "That's good. I was hoping things would work out for you." Her face then took on a harder tone as she continued on in a more serious manner. "A word of warning Nicholas, something is about to happen. The Time Gates showed a major monster assault occurring in a few hours. Beryl's forces are not involved, but Ranma and at least one of my teammates will be drawn to the fight. I don't know which of my teammates will be involved, but I do know that Ranma and whoever he works with have a fairly decent chance of beating this one time threat on their own."

Knowing how his old friend thought, Nicholas politely cut in. "But, there is still an uncomfortably large chance of this fight escalating beyond their control. Thanks for the information Setsuna."

* * *

Michiru was walking down the sidewalk trying to find the source of her unease. Ever since she was little, Michiru had been slightly sensitive to supernatural forces. This gift of hers had been useful in tracking down demons to eliminate ever since she had become Sailor Neptune. However, her sensitivity was like being it in Marco Polo. She could tell that something was wrong, but she could only sense the general location of the problem until she was right on top of it. As a senshi, it was her duty to make sure that whatever was causing this dreadful feeling be eliminated. It wasn't something she enjoyed or looked forward to, but something that she needed to do.

Her hunt had lead Michiru away from the normal residential areas of Juban towards the warehouses. These weren't her usual haunts and that made the outer senshi nervous. Michiru was navigating her way through a row of boxes when she heard the sound of someone walking towards her. The Senshi of Neptune immediately pressed her back against the crates and watch out of the corner of her eye as the unknown person walked into view.

Michiru almost let out a gasp of surprise as she saw Ranma walk into view wearing his battle getup and gauntlets. Ranma was in Michiru's view for a few seconds before he walked out of sight. This unexpected appearance by her new classmate caused Michiru to raise her right hand to her mouth in contemplation. Was Ranma the source of the disturbance? Or, did he somehow sense that something was wrong too and came to investigate? If the latter was true, what could he do that would be effective against a supernatural threat?

Even if it was not elegant, Michiru felt like pulling her hair in frustration. Why of all teenage girls did she have to be the reincarnation of Sailor Neptune? Why couldn't she just be a regular girl who painted and played the violin? Why did she have to be the only one of the Sailor Senshi to be reborn*? Was it too much to ask for someone to help her make these decisions and share the burden with her?

After thinking everything over, Michiru decided to tail Ranma to see what was going on. She quickly walked to the end of the row and turned right to follow the perpendicular path that Ranma had walked down. Michiru was not an expert at stealth, but she knew how to walk silently and how to stick to the shadows. Both harmonixer and senshi slowly made their ways towards the heart of the warehouses.

Ranma was currently unaware of his tagalong since he was too busy scouting for trouble ahead of him. This meant that Michiru, who wasn't currently hostile towards him or radiating malicious intent, didn't register on the harmonixer's senses. Michiru might not have been detectable to Ranma, but he could pick up the approaching henchmen just fine. The young harmonixer focused his eyes on the boxes ahead of him and called out, "Alright. I know that you people are ahead of me. Show yourselves!"

Michiru watch as five men in punk biker outfits wielding iron crowbars smugly walked into view. The lead thug loudly called out to his followers, "Well looky here. Seems we've got ourselves a little would be hero on our hands. Boss wants no interrupts while he does his little voodoo summoning thing so we're just gonna have ta beat ya black and blue."

Ranma's eyes grew cold as all emotion fled from his face. He then spoke in a bone chillingly calm voice. "I'm here to stop that summoning. Anyone who gets in my way will join their ancestors. These gauntlets are bathed in the blood of man and monster who have opposed me. Shall they now be bathed in your blood?"

As Ranma had hoped, the knees of three punks started to shake. With a little bit of luck, they should decide that he could more to harm them than their boss could. Ranma wasn't afraid of killing these punks. In fact, he'd kill all five of them in a heartbeat if left with no other choice to stop whatever was being summoned. But, his willingness and ability to kill did not necessarily mean that the young harmonixer wanted to kill. A warrior only killed as necessary to protect and Ranma had been trained for years as a warrior.

However, the leader couldn't take Ranma seriously and cried out, "You're bluffing! A brat like you wouldn't last in a schoolyard fight." The leader of the punk charged at Ranma waving his crowbar in his hand certain that the pig-tailed boy would run away. There was a maniacal grin on the leader's face as he shouted out, "Run back to your mother you litt- AUGGGH!!"

Michiru and the other four punks eyes bulged out when they saw Ranma's right fist punch right through the leader's ribcage coming out the other side. Ranma quickly pulled his fist out of the man and leveled a glare at the four remaining punks. He then spoke while carefully making sure to not look at the dying man lying next to him, "In battle I make no bluffs."

The remaining punks looked at their former leader's still warm corpse in terror. Suddenly, the punk on the far left cried out, "Like hell man! I'm getting out of here!" With that, the left punk ran like the hounds of hell were after him. The three remaining punks followed the wisest punk out of the warehouse.

As soon as the punks were gone, Ranma clapped his hands twice. He then quickly gave a silent prayer for the leader's soul and promised to bury the man if he survived the upcoming battle.

Michiru silently watched this in perplexity. How could a man so calmly kill a person one moment and then apparently pray for that same person a moment later? Just who, exactly, was Ranma Inugami?

Answers would have to wait as both Michiru and Ranma's senses went on overdrive. Ranma snapped his head towards his right and saw a beacon of black light shoot up. The harmonixer warrior immediately knew that the summoning ritual had been completed and he activated his powers. There was a flash of light that hid Ranma from view for a second and then the flash ended leaving Barbaria in Ranma's place. The fire demon then rushed off towards the black pillar to destroy whatever had been summoned.

Thousands of questions assaulted Michiru as she silently watched the scene with Ranma happened. What was Ranma? That red armored thing he had transformed into screamed demonic to the sailor senshi's senses. Did that mean that Ranma was actually a demon in disguise? That didn't make any sense because a true demon wouldn't have given those thugs a warning or let the other four get away. If Ranma wasn't a demon, what was he?

Michiru quickly gave herself a smack to the cheek. Now was not the time to have this sort of debate! Whatever had been summoned needed to be stopped and Ranma seemed be with her on this matter. He could be sorted out later, this couldn't wait. She quickly summoned her henshin pen and called out, "Neptune Planet Power, Make-up!"

Barbaria rushed into a clearing and stopped in his tracks. There was a demonic summoning seal on the ground with six dead goats littered around the seal. The smell made it obvious that the goats' blood had been used to write the seal. In the center of the seal was a man shaped demon that looked like he was covered in large grey scales. The demon's right arm was heavily distorted with three long red fingers and a large growth off of its elbow. Barbaria knew the demon and growled out, "**Godhand**."

Godhand turned around to look and Barbaria and hissed out, "**Harmonixer! Do you come to try and stop me?**" Barbaria nodded his helmeted head. Godhand merely chuckled and continued on, "**I'll gut you in two Harmonixer for what that other one did to me 80 years ago. Then, I'll rip this city apart. This time everyone will learn to fear my name! My current medium was a more foolish that that Lenny was. I don't have to share control of my body this time making me even more powerful!**"

Both demons were surprised when a voice off to the side shouted out, "DEEP SUBMERGE!" A sphere of magically charge water came rushing at Godhand and struck him square in the chest.

Barbaria whipped his head towards where the blast came from and shouted out, "**Don't let your guard down whoever you are! Godhand is not slain!**" As he said this, the fire demon rushed at Godhand hoping to get a clean strike before the other demon could recover.

However, Barbaria was caught flatfooted when Godhand grabbed the fire demon's sword in his oversized hand. Godhand grinned for a second and then sent both Barbaria and the demon's sword flying towards Sailor Neptune before Barbaria could recover. Sailor Neptune quickly rolled to the side as the armored demon flew right by where she was standing and crashed into the wall of crates.

Barbaria quickly pulled himself out of the crates and looked around to get his bearings. The fire demon spotted Sailor Neptune and called out, "**Sailor whatever, do you mainly use physical or magical attacks?**"

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Michiru couldn't help being offended at being addressed so rudely and practically hissed back, "Neptune! I'm Sailor Neptune! Why do you care how I fight?"

The fire demon turned so that the senshi of oceans could look into his glowing red eyes and answered her question. "**Godhand is a very powerful second tier demon, near third tier status. My power is only that of a solid second tier. It will take us working together to insure victory over him. If I know how you fight I can help you in taking him down. Now,**" Barbaria paused for a moment to carrying Sailor Neptune out of the way of Godhand's attack before continuing, "**HOW DO YOU FIGHT?!"**

It only took the sailor senshi a second to make up her mind. As Barbaria leaped out of another attack, Sailor Neptune whispered out, "I use a blast of magical energy." She was very inclined to side with Ranma at the moment since he was obviously trying to protect her from Godhand's attack.

Barbaria nodded his head and then quickly stated, "**Good. Now Sailor Neptune, I'm going to shift forms and place you somewhere where you can supply fire support while I engage Godhand up close." **Sailor Neptune didn't have a chance to respond as a blinding flash of light signaled a shift in forms for the harmonixer. When the flash ended, Barbaria had been replaced by Orexis.

The dark demon didn't waste a second taking to the air and flying towards the warehouse manager's box office. A quick application of Hell's Eye destroyed the window of the office allowing Orexis to fly through the window frame. Orexis quickly let Sailor Neptune stand on the office and said, "**This should provide you cover while you blast Godhand. Now to insure that you do the most damage I'll boost your powers, SURGE!" **

Sailor Neptune felt like something thick and oily was being pumped throughout her veins. Then suddenly that oil she was feeling within her was ignited causing her powers to explode. It was a painful euphoria that enveloped the senshi of the oceans as her powers were augmented by the demonic abilities of Orexis.

Luckily, Sailor Neptune was able to come to grips with the power coursing through her shortly after the spell had been cast. She whipped her head around and saw that Orexis had changed back into Barbaria. The fire demon was fighting Godhand with his sword and was doing much better now that he knew how strong the earth demon was. Sailor Neptune easily saw that Barbaria had maneuvered Godhand so that the earth demon had his back exposed to her. Well, far be it from her to snub such an elegant invitation to attack. The sailor senshi pointed her hand towards Godhand and cried out, "DEEP SUBMERGE!"

The demonically enhanced Deep Submerge was huge. With her hand at the center, Sailor Neptune noted that the ball of magically charged water nearly touched the ground. Sailor Neptune's attack quickly plowed through the concrete surrounding the destroyed window frames like they weren't even there and rocketed towards Godhand.

At the same time, Barbaria grinned and shouted out, "**Your time on the Earth is over! BLAZE!" **The fire attack hit Godhand from the front just as Deep Submerge slammed into the earth demon's back. The two attacks quickly burrowed into Godhand until they met triggering a massive explosion.

Sailor Neptune was forced to look away to protect her eyes from the explosion. However, she looked down at the battleground as soon as she safely could. The senshi of the oceans quickly spotted Barbaria calmly standing with the blacked husk of Godhand's host lying at his feet. Sailor Neptune watched as Barbaria's head slowly turned up until the two of them were looking eye to eye. She knew that she was looking at his eyes because they glowed like embers.

Barbaria raised his sword so that it was pointed strait up in the air with his sword arm stretched strait out in front of him. The fire demon then quickly rotated the blade a 180 degrees, brought the tip to the ground, and finally nodded his head towards Sailor Neptune. With that, the fire demon started to walk away. There was a flash of light near the exit of the warehouse as Barbaria changed back into Ranma.

Sailor Neptune quickly changed back into Michiru Kaioh and the aquamarine haired woman stood in the wrecked manager's office trying to come to grips with what had just happened. She had just worked with a demon, demons, er, shape-shifting demon, oh whatever it was that Ranma was to kill a demon. Nothing like this had ever happened before in the history of the Silver Millennium! Demons were the enemy while the senshi were allies. That's the way it had always been. "But," Michiru quietly spoke to herself uncertainly, "perhaps the rules have changed." With that thought in mind, she discreetly left the warehouse as well.

* * *

Unknown to Michiru or Ranma, Nicholas and Setsuna had watched everything. Nicholas nodded with grim satisfaction over his grandson's performance. The elder harmonixer turned to his companion and said, "Looks like Ranma and your teammate were able to handle things after all."

Setsuna nodded her head and replied, "Yes they were. I am most impressed with Neptune's ability to put aside her past life's memories and work together with Ranma. This fight has opened her eyes to the shadows and the infinite shades of grey in which we must work. If she hadn't gone through this ordeal I fear that her old black and white mentality would have returned."

Nicholas gently placed his hand on Setsuna's shoulder and simply said, "It's not easy is it." Setsuna glanced over at her long time love interest as if inviting him to explain what he meant. The old Inugami softly continued on, "Letting them grow, it's not easy. I know how much you wanted to take out that wizard before he completed the summoning. I wanted to take him out just as much. However, if we took care of him then my grandson and your teammate would not have been able to grow from this experience. There will come days when neither you nor I will be able to help them in situations like this. Better they learn what they need to survive now where we can intervene if things get too out of control than later when we cannot help them."

Setsuna nodded her had and resignedly spoke, "Your right Nicholas. But, that still doesn't make it any easier for me. My teammates deaths at the end of the Silver Millenium is something that I never want to experience again and I consider Ranma as my own. How were you able to stand there and watch everything so calmly?"

The old harmonixer simply answered, "Trust. I trusted Ranma to find a way to win."

The senshi of time nodded her head and started to walk away. She paused for a moment to turn around and call out to Nicholas, "Just a heads up. You're going to receive a letter from an old business associate in a few days. I'd recommend tacking your partners up on their request. It has the potential to be a very good long term investment." With that said, Setsuna summoned her Time Staff and teleported away.

*This is before Michiru discovered that Haruka was Sailor Uranus, so she is currently operating under the assumption that she was the only senshi to be successfully sent into the future.


	7. Chapter 7

After leaving the warehouse, Michiru headed to the townhouse her family owned in Juban. Currently she was the only one living in the townhouse as her parents mainly lived at the main family house in the countryside. The aquamarine haired senshi wasn't thrilled about living on her own because her parents wanted her to attend TI High, but could freely admit that there were perks to the situation. She didn't have to worry about any nosey parents trying to check up on her for disappearing at odd hours of the night because of senshi business.

Once inside the house, Michiru promptly headed up the stairs to the room she had converted into an art studio. There were about a half dozen finished paintings in the studio along with a dozen more in various stages of completion. Michiru looked at her selection of unfinished work and tried to select one to work on while she cleared her mind. Sadly, none of the paintings called out to her and she promptly grabbed some charcoal and drawing paper.

The artistic senshi quickly sat down at her drawing desk and just automatically began to draw while her mind wandered over the day's events. Who was Ranma? What was he? Had she received the help of a demon to vanquish another demon? Why did she let Ranma walk away? Was that the right thing to do? So many questions were in her mind, and yet, she had so few answers.

Michiru's thoughts and questions raced inside her head like an endless chaotic whirlwind. Why couldn't she have someone to talk and help her sort this mess out? Unfortunately, there was no one that Michiru could turn to for help. Haruka was her closest friend at TI High, but this was one issue that Michiru couldn't speak about. Sailor Neptune had to remain her secret and her secret alone; it would be irresponsible and selfish to bring anyone into the chaotic world she now lived in without just cause.

The reborn ruler of Neptune closed her eyes after going over everything for what seemed like the thousandth time and whispered, "Queen Serenity. If you and the spirits of the past queens are still watching over me, lend me some guidance. I just don't know what to do."

Suddenly a voice from behind Michiru called out, "Hello Sailor Neptune." The aquamarine haired senshi felt like she almost had a heart attack as she whipped around and saw Sailor Pluto standing in the studio. Sailor Pluto smiled and continued on, "I may not be the Queen, but I think that I can help you out."

Michiru blinked her eyes and then gasped out, "Sailor Pluto? You're alive? How did you survive?! Where were you?"

Setsuna in her senshi form gave Michiru a bittersweet smile and answer, "Yes I'm alive. Queen Serenity ordered me to go to the Time Gates and make sure that they were not captured by the Dark Kingdom. Because of that order, I am the only survivor of the fall of the Silver Millennium. You, the rest of the Sailor Senshi, the Moon Princess, and Prince Endymion of Earth were sent forward and reborn. You've woken up relatively early compared to the other Senshi, but the rest will soon wake up."

The aquamarine haired senshi nodded her head. It was a relief for her to know that she wasn't the only survivor. Michiru then opened her mouth and was about to ask about Ranma when Sailor Pluto raised her hand. The Senshi of Time gave her teammate an enigmatic smile and said, "Don't bother to speak Michiru. I already know what you're going to ask me. What should you do about Ranma?"

Setsuna then closed her eyes and solemnly stated, "The truth is Michiru, I cannot tell you what you should do about Ranma. I can offer advice and give you information so that you can make an informed choice. However, in the end only you can make that call. Would you like me to give you what I know about Ranma Inugami?"

Michiru nodded her head slightly dazed that Sailor Pluto was being this forthcoming with information. Her fuzzy memories from the Silver Millennium always showed the Guardian of Time to be mysterious and cryptic. Still, she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth and so she calmly waited for her teammate's explination.

Sailor Pluto got a faraway look in her eye as she started to weave her tale. "After the fall, supernatural threats started attacking the Earth that would otherwise have been stopped by the Silver Millennium. It was during this period that almost all remaining traces of the Earth Kingdom and the Silver Millennium that existed on Earth were destroyed. Now, the reason why I'm mentioning this dark period is that during this time some people began to develop ways to fight off the supernatural."

"One of these early defenders was a man named Vishnu. Vishnu lived in a part of Asia now known as Jusenkyo which has a set of magical springs with transformative powers. The water that fed these springs had been used by Vishnu's ancestors for generations as drinking water. Thanks to the water and the sorcerer's blood running through his veins, Vishnu developed the shocking power to assume the form of demons that he had slain. Over thousands of years, Vishnu's power has mutated in his descendents so that the last of his bloodline, the Inugami, have the power to transform themselves into demonic forms wielding the powers of the demons whose forms they assume."

Michiru blinked her eyes as she tried to assimilate what she had just been told. She then carefully said, "So, what you're telling me is that Ranma is a defender against the supernatural. The reason why he assumes a demonic form is because an ancient ancestor of his developed the ability to change his form?"

Sailor Pluto nodded her head and replied, "Yes. One could even liken the Inugami powers to those of the Sailor Senshi. We both draw power from outside sources to enhance our bodies and allow us to defeat supernatural threats. The Senshi draw their power from the worlds they are bound with, while the Inugami draw from the darkness sealed within them."

"As to my advice, I would recommend that you work with Ranma rather than against him. Both of your goals are the same: protect the people from harm. I have personally fought with someone that has Ranma's powers so I can tell you that harmonixers, as they refer to their powers, are very valuable allies. However, the choice is as always, yours. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to return to the Time Gates." With that, Sailor Pluto vanished from the studio leaving Michiru to mull over everything that she had learned.

* * *

Ranma was on his way home from burying the goon he had killed yesterday when he hear a commotion ahead of him. It sounded like the crowd was gawking at something or someone. Curious, Ranma's eyebrow rose and he wandered over to see what was intriguing the crowd. Approaching the crowd, the young harmonixer heard a young woman call out, "Airen! You no get us lost again? Is too too much trouble when lead by you. We never find this friend Ranma you know at now rate."

By now, Ranma had worked his way through the crowd and saw what everyone was gaping at. There on the sidewalk was Ryoga Hibiki with a frozen full sized pig on his backpack with a beautiful purple-haired woman berating him with a metallic fan in her hand. From what Ranma had overheard his best friend along with his friend's traveling companion were looking for him and he didn't see any reason to delay their search. The Inugami warrior stepped forward and called out, "Hey Ryoga! Long time no see."

Ryoga gave Ranma a friendly smile and relied, "Hi Ranma." The wrestler then turned to his companion and said, "See Shampoo? I knew that we'd find Ranma in Nagoya!"

Shampoo quickly whacked Ryoga on the back of the head and said, "Silly Airen. Is Tokyo, not Nagoya. Why you not know cities of own land? But, is too too good that we find friend of yours."

Ranma looked between Ryoga and Shampoo in a puzzled manner. Who was his friend's traveling companion and why was she referring to Ryoga as her husband? Ranma looked Ryoga in the eye and casually asked, "So Ryoga. Who's your new friend?"

Before Ryoga could answer, Shampoo jumped right in and answered for the fanged wrestler. "Is not friend! Shampoo wife to Ryoga!" She said it with such force and authority behind her voice that one would have a hard time arguing against her claim even through her badly broken Japanese. The fact that Ryoga seemed a bit embarrassed, if pleased by Shampoo's announcement only added more weight to her claim.

Following a hunch, Ranma quickly replied in Chinese, "(Oh? I'm sorry if I offended you Mrs. Hibiki. I was just surprised that Ryoga here had gotten married and had not informed me. After all, one should hope to at least receive an invitation to attend their best friend's wedding now shouldn't they? Perhaps my notice just got lost in the mail.)"

Shampoo was shocked for a second to hear someone talking to her in Chinese, but she quickly replied, "(I accept your apology Ranma Saotome. Please, call me Xain Pu. I can tolerate how my name gets mangled in Japanese, but when we're speaking in Chinese I would prefer to have my name spoken correctly.)"

Ranma nodded his head and then spoke again, "(I understand Xain Pu. All I ask is that you please be patent with me when I speak to you in Japanese. I tend to pronounce names as they are spoken in the language I am currently speaking and not as they are supposed to be spoken in a person's native language.)"

The purple haired Amazon nodded her head and quickly replied again in Chinese. "(I will accept that Ranma Saotome and it is good to finally meet you. My husband speaks highly of you as a friend and wanted to visit you on our way to meet his parents. Sadly, my husband's directionally challenged status along with that of his parents has made both of these tasks harder than they normally would be.)"

At this point Ryoga added his two cents to the conversation, "(Hey! No make fun of curse family. Ryoga not too too poor for find way. Found Ranma after all.)"

Shampoo sighed, turned to Ryoga, and then said, "(Might I recommend that you stick to speaking Japanese beloved? The atrociousness of your Chinese is only matched by how poorly I speak Japanese.)" She then paused for a second and then continued in Japanese, "Shampoo too too glad that you find friend. Perhaps find Airen's parents now, yes?"

Ryoga shook his head and then regretfully said, "I don't think we'll find my folks just yet Shampoo. Nerima's on Hokkaido after all. Teacher would say that I should be happy that my sweat and hard work has allowed us to find Ranma, but that even more sweat and blood would be needed to find my parents."

Ranma bit his tongue and didn't bother to mention that Nerima was a ward of Tokyo. Ryoga's sense of direction seemed to get worse every year. The young harmonixer knew that it would be an exercise in futility to try and get Ryoga back to his home, where ever in Nerima it might actually be. Ranma mulled an idea over for a few seconds and then said, "Hey, why don't you two come and stay over at my place for tonight? I'm sure that Grandfather wouldn't mind you two staying over for tonight. It would give us the chance to talk about what's happened since you and I parted ways after taking down those Triad members three months ago Ryoga. What do you say?"

Ryoga and Shampoo looked at each other for a second and then nodded their heads. The fanged wrestler then turned to Ranma and said, "Alright pal. You've got yourself a deal."

Nicholas opened the door to the apartment holding the mail in his hand and quickly noticed two extra pairs of shoes in the bin near the door. He then heard his grandson call out, "Are you kidding me? THAT's how you two got married?"

The elder Inugami put the mail on an end table and heard Ryoga defend himself, "Quite laughing Ranma! It's not that funny."

Almost instantly Nicholas's grandson shot back, "Ryoga, You wandered into Jusenkyo Valley thinking you were on your way to Shangri-La. Startled two Amazon sentries causing them to chase you into their village. Once in the village, you barreled into a building to hide not realizing it was the bathhouse. You were then chased by the bathers into the town square where Shampoo here was fighting in a tournament; which incidentally you interrupted by lifting the challenge log and throwing it at your pursuers. Shampoo challenged you to a match and you won the match making her your wife by using some half-blind moron that had a thing for your wife as a bludgeon. Ryoga, that's both amusing and bizarre. Keep in mind that this is coming from a guy who once fought a demonic kangaroo with a cheesy French accent."

Nicholas chose this moment to enter the room and calmly said, "The circumstances surrounding Ryoga and his wife's marriage are no laughing matter Ranma. While they might seem amusing to outsiders, Ryoga and Shampoo if I heard correctly, were married and that accords the events a dignity that they otherwise would not have had." Ranma's cheeks got a pink tint at his grandfather's mild rebuke while Nicholas turned to speak to Shampoo. "I'm sorry if the actions of my grandson have offended you Mrs. Hibiki. He means well, but occasionally slips up."

Shampoo gave the elder Inugami a friendly smile and replied, "Is no large problem sir. Shampoo know Ranma can mistake. Is good Ranma have Grandfather to teach proper no? Besides, is true friend to invite to house for talk."

The elder Inugami then asked about what the Hibikis were doing in Juban and then quietly contemplated the answer he received. After a few moments Nicholas said, "So, you came to Tokyo so that Shampoo could meet Ryoga's parents. However, that looks like it will be a while and thus you're thinking about staying in Tokyo until you can meet the elder Hibiki couple. It sounds like a good plan, but I would like to ask two questions to help you in making your decisions: where are you going to stay and what are you going to do in the meantime?"

Ryoga and Shampoo looked at each other and blinked. Neither of them had thought about that. Nicholas then quickly came in with a save for the young couple. "Perhaps, you could stay at one of the apartments here in the complex. I'd be willing to role your apartment payments under one of the many scholarship programs the Inugami clan finances in return for two things. The first is that you would go to a school and get fairly good grades. The second condition is that you'd agree to lend a hand whenever there is a supernatural threat to be taken care of. Ryoga, I know that you're able to more than hold your own with the kinds of demons we regularly get. Shampoo, I'm assuming that as the Amazon Champion you have the basic level of fighting skill needed to due battle with malevolent supernatural forces."

While Ryoga and Ranma were too stunned by Nicholas's offer to speak, Shampoo was not. She cautiously looked at the elder Inugami and asked, "Why Offer? You no know Shampoo. You know Airen by Airen knowing grandson, yes? Island land have much cost, make big profit if lease. See not why offer made." Grandmother Cologne had made sure that Shampoo was well versed in the arts of politics and negotiation.

Nicholas calmly sat down and proceeded to politely lay Shampoo's suspicions to rest. "You're absolutely right Shampoo, I don't know you and I know Ryoga only in the sense that a typical parent knows their children's friends. However, I know by Ranma's actions that he trusts you and that I in turn can trust you. Also, this city is in need of more defenders and this offers a way to boost city defenses while helping you out at the same time."

The offer now made a lot more sense to Shampoo. She turned to Ryoga and firmly said, "Airen. We take offer." Ryoga quickly showed who wore the pants in the marriage by nodding his head. Nicholas and Shampoo then left to go get the Hibiki's their apartment while Ranma and Ryoga continued to chat.

* * *

Takashi Hino put his office phone down and closed his eyes. He had just spent the past half hour talking with Rei over how things were going for her in school. Mr. Hino was happy that he and his daughter were on friendlier terms than they had been years ago, but did Rei really have to talk about the gossip being told about her? How other people perceived you was important. However, there was no reason in the elder Hino's mind to go into detail when the rumors were the same as they had been in the past. Nevertheless, a small smile appeared on Takashi's face knowing that Rei trusted him enough to let her rant.

Unfortunately, Takashi didn't have a lot of time to enjoy call to Rei and he quickly dialed the phone again. The recipient of the call quickly answered. "Hello, this is Nicholas Inugami. What can I help you with?"

Mr. Hino quickly responded, "Uncle Nicholas this is your nephew Takashi. I'm calling about that Kabuki script we were discussing the other day."

There was a momentary pause and then a static sound. Once the static was gone, Nicholas started to talk again. "Okay nephew, my line is scrambled. What supernatural threat are you calling about?"

Takashi quickly replied, "No current threats for you to handle this time Uncle. I just want some information. Two days ago, Ranma and a UMG defeated a demon that was summoned in Juuban. My field agents say that this UMG is the same one that's been identified fighting against several youma. This UMG's uniform is said to be similar to Sailor Moon and Sailor Pluto. I need to know what you know about this girl."

Nicholas calmly stated over the phone, "My information on the girl is limited nephew, but I will tell you what I know. According to Ranma, her name is Sailor Neptune and she has an attack called Deep Submerge. Setsuna did identify her as one of her reincarnated teammates. Beyond that, I know nothing."

Takashi nodded his head and then said, "Thank-you Uncle Nicholas and descramble your phone." Mr. Hino then hung up the phone and closed his eyes. Being the hidden Minister of Supernatural Activities for the Japanese government was not an easy task. He had to keep track of all 'unusual' people and events while making sure that the public didn't realize what was going on. The Supernatural Activities Office had control over almost every tabloid in Japan using them, and some careful editing of 'official' records, to get people to dismiss the truth.

Of course, the SAO wasn't just about pulling the wool over everyone's eyes. It was also responsible for directing funds to repair damages caused by the supernatural and protecting helpful people with unique abilities. Take Usagi Tsukino a.k.a. Sailor Moon for example. Within 10 hours of her debut appearance, Takashi had been notified about her and had her place on the magical girl protection list. This list insured that Usagi's family were under hidden observation to reduce risk of them being kidnapped by harmful agents and that Usagi would be given some, slack, in her schoolwork during periods of hostile activities.

After a few moments Takashi stood up and started to pace across his office. Setsuna had warned him years ago that the awakening of her teammates would signal an intensification of malevolent supernatural activity that hadn't been seen in this corner of the world since Uncle Nicholas's last major adventure against the Angra Mainyu cult back in 57. The SAO would undoubtedly be running overtime to alleviate the effects of the battles Setsuna had warned about. At least Takashi had his uncle and cousin with their harmonixer powers to count on. Now if only he could find out whom the Sailor Senshi were to place their families under protection. The sooner he knew who to protect, and if necessary contact, the better for everyone.

* * *

Ranma, Ryoga, and Shampoo were walking back to the Inugami apartment complex talking about the Hibiki's first day of school. Well, at the moment Ranma and Ryoga were just silently listening as Shampoo vented. She practically growled out, "Stupid males at school no respect look not touch. Next not Airen to touch butt, I cut off hand! Islands just land of perverts."

Wanting to calm his wife down, Ryoga turned to Ranma and loudly asked, "Hey Ranma. Do you think that you and your grandfather can put some pressure on the school's behavior enforcement?"

Ranma shook his head and said, "The public schools don't allow private donations so my grandfather doesn't have much influence there. However, Aunt Setsuna works in the school system and has a lot of contacts. She should be able to put some pressure on the school officials. Only other option I can think of is seeing if Grandfather would be willing to upgrade you two to private school."

Ryoga sighed and wondered what he was going to do to get his wife in a good mood. He liked her as a martial artist and as woman, but nothing in Teacher's lessons about the Holy Ring and the manly art of wrestling seemed to apply to Shampoo. What good were his blood, sweat, and toil if she was continually annoyed? First it was his slight problem with directions, then it was the fact that he still hadn't come through on whatever his 'marital duties' were, and now some punks at school thought it was a good idea to 'check out the new model'. At least with that last problem he had been able to seek out the fighting spirit of a nearby basketball hoop pole and show the punks the error of their ways.

Luckily for the boys, Shampoo simmered down when she heard that a woman could take care of her problem and soon reverted to her typical perky persona. She quickly stated, "Tonight Shampoo make good Ramen, so Airen no go out to practice. Want eat Shampoo's dinner when warm, no?"

Ryoga got a slightly glazed look as he thought about his wife's cooking and started nodding his head like a dog. The meals that Shampoo cooked were simply divine to Ryoga who had previously subsisted on restaurant food, discount canned goods, and spam. Shampoo had declared back when they had left the Amazon village that she was taking over the meals because she couldn't handle having Ryoga's idea of food everyday. Ryoga had never had a reason to complain about his meals ever since that declaration.

The trio quickly reached the apartment complex and parted ways. Ranma naturally took the elevator up to his penthouse apartment and then walked through the front door of the apartment. To Ranma's surprise, Nicholas was sitting on the couch reading a book. The young harmonixer blinked his eyes and then said, "Why are you here Grandfather? Don't you usually stay at the college and grade papers for another hour?"

Nicholas put his book down and calmly said, "Sit down Ranma. I want to have a talk with you." Ranma quickly did as he was told and then Nicholas continued to speak. "I came home early today because there is something I want to talk to you about."

Ranma watched as Nicholas reached over to the small table next to his side of the couch, opened the drawer of the table, and pulled out a small letter. Nicholas then said, "I got this letter three days ago when your friend Ryoga and his wife Shampoo showed up. It's from a long time business associate of mine who helps run our family's corporation."

The younger harmonixer nodded his head and said, "And you wanted to mention this to be because?" It wasn't that Ranma didn't care about the family business; he just figured that he wasn't ready to work in that level. Besides, the Inugami family was mainly involved in holding stock and property. The various ventures the family owned were largely left to trained managers to run.

Nicholas looked Ranma in the eye and said, "I wanted to inform you about this letter for a very simple reason Ranma. It is a request for an arraigned marriage between you and my associate's daughter. After careful consideration these past few days, I have decided to agree to his request."

Ranma's eyes bulged out and he forgot all sense of decorum shouting out, "What the hell?! Are you out of your god-damned mind Gramps? Where the heck did you get this crazy idea?!"

The older Inugami's face hardened and he stated in a firm voice, "Silence Ranma. Act as the gentleman I taught you to be; not the buffoon that Genma tried to turn you into." Ranma immediately shut up and bowed his head in shame.

Once Nicholas was sure that Ranma had calmed down, he softly spoke, "Look at me Ranma." The younger Inugami slowly raised his head and the elder Inugami started to speak again when their eyes met. "I am 65 years old Ranma. The fact that I am so old given everything I've been through is almost a miracle. But, I am only getting older. Ranma, you are currently the last heir of the clan. Do you know what that means? It falls upon you to continue the legacy of 300 years of Imperial rule and the thousands of years that both the Inugami and the Hyuga clans spent guarding Japan. I want to insure that our family doesn't die out."

Ranma's eyes shown with his frustration as he interjected, "But I'm only 16! Grandfather, why are you making this push now? Can't it wait till I'm in my mid twenties or later before you start to worry? Besides, shouldn't I have a say about whom I'm going to marry?"

Nicholas sighed and said, "Ranma, our power and the conflicts we get pulled into results in us having a much higher risk of dying young than even the typical soldier. If you had a brother, sister, or a cousin, I would agree to let you wait. However, you are the last which means it is vital that you marry young to have a family. The fact that you have not so much as asked a girl out or showed signs of a crush tells me that you would progress very slowly in this if left to yourself. As to love, you know as well as I that our family has either great or terrible luck in that department. My mother and I were able to marry the people we loved and things were good for us. My grandfather and your mother married the people they loved and look how that turned out. Grandmother Alexandria unknowingly and unintentionally did everything in her power to destroy the Romanovs. As to your father, I think we both know his faults."

Suddenly, Nicholas got up, walked towards Ranma, and put his hand on the pigtailed-boy's shoulder. Ranma looked up at Nicholas as the elder Inugami started speaking while keeping his hand on Ranma's shoulder. "Relax Ranma and don't worry too much about this betrothal. You won't be rushed into marriage. The betrothal arrangement I was sent requests that the actual marriage waits until both you and your bride to be are legally adults. That gives you four years to get to know your future wife. You either could fall in love during that time, or at least become friendly enough to make the marriage work. If on the off chance that the four years show that marriage will just not work, the betrothal agreement will be tabled and the two of you can go your separate ways. But Ranma, I wish that you would give me your honest effort to make this arrangement work."

To say that Ranma was torn was an understatement of the year. Ranma hated the idea of such a major thing like who he was going to marry being made for him. However, he had to admit that his grandfather had valid reasons for making this arrangement. The fact that Nicholas had given him time to get to know his potential bride to be and had given Ranma an out softened the sting of the betrothal announcement. For the next couple of minutes Ranma silently sat in his chair as Nicholas watched the war going on inside his grandson's mind from the expressions on Ranma's face. At long last, Ranma sighed and said, "Alright Grandfather. I'll give this betrothal a chance."

Note: In Japan, the age of majority (being an adult) is 20


	8. Chapter 8

Ranma stood by the window in the Hikawa Shrine main meeting room that looked out at the building where the actual shrine was kept with the sacred fire. The young harmonixer was dressed in a formal western suit and desperately trying not to tug at his collar. Of course, Ranma's discomfort at the moment could only partially be blamed on his stiff shirt collar. Most of his discomfort came from the fact that today he was meeting his betrothed.

Why oh why did his grandfather agree to this? Ranma wanted nothing more that to transform into Orexis and take off like a bat out of hell. He was only 16! Someone as young as him had no reason to be married. True, Ryoga was married at 16 while Ranma only had a four year engagement, but it was the same thing right? He didn't even know who the woman was that was supposed to be his future wife! But, wasn't the whole point of this meeting and the long engagement just so that the two of them could get to know each other. He had no say in the whole process! However, his grandfather had set things up so that an out was possible if things just didn't work out.

Every time Ranma tried to justify why he should just bolt, his mind would come up with a counter argument that would leave him all the more confused. Eventually, Ranma became so confused that he did something that he normally wouldn't do. The young harmonixer pulled out the orthodox cross that he kept under his shirt and began to pray. Technically, every member of the Inugami family ever since Anastasia married Kurando was Russian Orthodox, but Nicholas and Ranma tended to both be rather unreligious and continued many Shinto practices.

A few minutes later, Rei walked into the room and her eyes practically bulged out seeing her cousin praying. The raven haired priestess waited a few seconds so that she could burn what she was seeing in her memory and then she politely coughed. Ranma immediately got up off his knees and placed his cross back under his shirt so fast that Rei wouldn't have known he had it if she hadn't already seen him holding it while praying. The two cousins looked each other in the eyes for a second and then Ranma said, "They're here aren't they?"

Rei nodded her head and then said, "I feel sorry for your new fiancée." Ranma shot Rei a glare which only caused her to roll her eyes and reply, "Let's look at the facts cousin. You're a fanatic when it comes to martial arts training, you've got an obsession with studying folktales and the occult, you can make yourself have the personality of liquid oxygen at will, and your best friend acts like the lead character of a cheesy wrestling movie. I wouldn't be surprised if whoever you're supposed to marry breaks the engagement off after a month."

Ranma raised an eyebrow and shot back, "Oh really, Rei? You see the engagement ending after a month? Did your voodoo tell you that or is it just women's intuition?"

Just like Ranma had hoped, Rei's face became red with anger and she shouted out, "Divination! I practice divination, not Voodoo! Use the little paste that remains of your brain after all the hits you've taken to remember that." Rei's rant was quickly derailed by Ranma's snickering that was quickly joined by giggles from Rei.

As soon as the laughter died down Ranma asked, "Hey Rei. When are Grandfather, my betrothed, and her parents coming in?"

Rei shook her head and immediately replied, "Sorry Ranma, but the meeting is being held in the house; not here in the office. Uncle Nicholas and Grandfather had you wait in here so that they wouldn't have to put up with your nervousness before the meeting. Can't say I blame them since it looks like you've worn a hole in the carpeting. Now come on you big lug, we don't want the lucky lady to think that you're tardy as well as a weirdo." Ranma nodded his head and then the two cousins walked over to Rei's house.

Ranma was lead by Rei into the family room where everyone was waiting for him. The young harmonixer immediately looked at his grandfather and the elder Hino. His eyes then drifted to a dignified middle-aged couple who were obviously the parents' of his bride-to-be. Finally, Ranma's eyes moved towards his intended bride and bulged out. Without warning Ranma blurted out, "Michiru Kaioh? You're the woman Grandfather wants me to marry?!"

The aquamarine haired woman slowly nodded her head not trusting herself to speak. She was just as shocked, if not more so, as Ranma about this whole betrothal business. Her parents had shown up at her house two days ago to inform her of the match and now she found out that Ranma of all people was to be her future husband. Why didn't Sailor Pluto give her a warning?! What was she supposed to say about having to marry a guy who she had one brief conversation with in school, witnessed him kill a man with a single punch, and then helped fight of a demon?

Mrs. Kaioh spoke up before things among the two teens could become even more awkward. "Oh phew, you two know each other. I was hoping to prevent either of you from getting any preconceived ideas about your intended by keeping your identities secret until now."

Ranma quickly glanced at his future mother-in-law and said, "Don't worry Ma'am. Other than her name and the fact that we're in the same classroom, I know nothing about Michiru. O-of course that will change quickly." Ranma hastily added the bit about getting to know Michiru because he didn't want to risk offending Mrs. Kaioh.

Mr. Kaioh's eyes narrowed for a split second as the father in him sensed possible innuendo towards his daughter. However, the aging businessman quickly relaxed as his sharp eyes detected no sign that his potential son-in-law meant what he said like that. Mr. Kaioh reflected on what he remembered from the copies of Ranma's grades that Nicholas had sent, the oral report that Takashi Hino had given him during their meeting last week, and finally what his own eyes were showing him. Ranma was a strong young man with a better than average, though not top of his class, grades who was trying to handle this situation. The boy's answer to his wife showed intelligence, restraint, and a great deal of concern over what he said might be interpreted as. Yes, the young man was a good solid choice for his dear Michiru's future groom.

Nicholas politely coughed to get everyone's attention and then said, "Grandson, this is Mr. Shinji Kaioh and Mrs. Misato Kaioh. Mr. and Mrs. Kaioh, this is my grandson Ranma Inugami." The elder Inugami waited a moment for Ranma to bow to the elder Kaiohs and then he continued on. "Now then, why don't we go over what's expected of the two of you during your betrothal. After that I think we should let the two of you have some time to yourselves to talk about status among yourselves. You'll want some time to sort everything out without our presence I believe."

Both teens remained silent, so Mr. Kaioh pulled out a small piece of paper and began to read from the document. "The two of you are expected to go on at least one date a month and contact each other at least once a month unless extraordinary events prevent this from happening. Your dates do not have to be extravagant; we just want you to spend time together doing something together so a picnic or a movie is good. Naturally, you two are expected to be faithful to each other and so will not go on dates with someone besides each other. Also, you two are expected to work out any problems among yourselves in a mature and adult manner. Talk over your problems, ask the three of us for advice, and if you feel you two need it seek out a relationship councilor. You may not ignore any problems, pretend that they don't exists, or refuse to speak to each other about a problem. We've put these expectations in place to help insure that your future marriage is a healthy relationship. Finally, you two are allowed full discretion over the level of, ahem, 'intimacy' in your relationship before the wedding. However, the wedding will be held earlier if needed to maintain proper decorum." Even though he tried to phrase it diplomatically, there was only so much that Mr. Kaioh could do to limit the embarrassment of that being brought up or the consequences if Michiru became pregnant.

An uncomfortable silence descended on the room after Mr. Kaioh finished speaking. This silence ended when Mrs. Kaioh spoke up, "Well then daughter, why don't you and your new fiancée go and have some time to yourselves?" The two teens quickly took the option to leave. Even if they were supposed to spend some time together, it would be a lot less awkward that being around their elders.

* * *

Shampoo was in her house sitting at the kitchen table writing a letter to her great-grandmother Cologne. Her letter was very detailed as it described what had happened since she had left the village:

'Dear beloved elder Ku long,

I, your great-granddaughter Xain Pu, write this to you so that you might know the events that have happened to me since I left the village with my husband Ryoga Hibiki. As I related to you before leaving, my husband and I set out from the village in order to find my husband's parents and let them know about the union between their son and myself. This has been no small challenge due to the distance between our village and my husband's homeland. Furthermore, my husband's troubles with navigation where inherited from his parents increasing the difficulty of locating my in-laws. I pray to the ancestors that my own children do not inherit such problems from my husband.

Upon leaving the village, I and my husband set out roughly north-east until we reached the Huang He. We then followed the Huang He towards the sea stopping at towns along the way and earning money from underground pit fights. Ryoga may sound a bit silly with how he goes on about wrestling and hasn't yet given me a proper wedding night, but he is certainly capable of taking care of me. Two times the Triad attempted to procure me, but in each case my husband took care of them before I had to lift a finger. It may not be proper for an Amazon to have someone else fight her battles for her, but I must confess that it felt good to not have to pound a hormonal male that was lusting after me.

Back to the journey, my husband and I followed the Huang He to the see. When we reached the sea we then walked along the coast of Laizhou Bay to the city of Longkou. In Longkou we procured the services of a smuggler ship that carried us to South Korea. Once in South Korea, we traveled overland to the city of Pusan and from there purchased a legal boat ride to Japan. We spent two and a half weeks trying to find my in-laws before admitting that we would just have to wait until our paths crossed each other. My husband, since he couldn't find his parents, then decided to find his best friend Ranma Inugami whom we eventually found in Tokyo.

It is thanks to Ranma and his grandfather Nicholas Inugami that my husband and I have the home we currently are staying in. The Inugamis, from what I understand, are connected to the Japanese government and are tasked with helping to eliminate supernatural threats to Japan. Nicholas Inugami gave my husband and I our house provided that we help take care of supernatural threats and attend a local school in return. Both of these conditions I find fair, although I will that some of the students at the school I am attending were a little more restrained. Were it not for elder Inugami's devotion to his late wife's memory and the recent engagement of the younger Inugami, I would have insisted that fellow members of the tribe be sent out to challenge the Inugamis for marriage. As of this moment I'm observing them, particularly Ranma, for possible friendship status within the tribe.

Over all beloved elder Ku Long, I am happy here in Japan. I miss the village, I miss my sisters, and I miss you. However, what I have seen and experienced on my journey along with the people I have met make this journey worth it. That is not to say that my journey has replaced the village in my heart, but that my experiences have allowed me to bear the separation.

Your great-granddaughter,

Xain Pu'

Shampoo gave her letter a through look over to make sure it said everything she wanted it to say. Once she was satisfied, the young Amazon folded the letter and stamped her personal seal on it. She then got up and walked to spare bedroom that Ryoga had converted into a training room. The purple haired woman stuck her head inside the room and licked her lips. Ryoga was calmly bench pressing four times the world record without his shirt on.

Ryoga quickly noticed his wife looking at him and put his weights on the stand. He then got up and said, "Hi Shampoo. What do you want?"

Shampoo smiled and said, "Airen, Shampoo leave to mail letter to great-grandmother. Shampoo later shop for good ingredients for good dinner. See you after Shampoo back home." With that, Shampoo gave her husband a wink and headed off to mail her letter.

* * *

Back at the Hikawa Shrine, Michiru and Ranma were silently standing in the shrine's courtyard. The newly betrothed couple had no idea what to say to each other. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Ranma spoke up. "You know, this is extremely awkward Michiru."

Michiru couldn't help herself and gave a faint smile. Yes, she thought, it was very awkward for her to be engaged to a man that she was sure would have been classified as an enemy during the Silver Millennium. Moreover her crush on Haruka, which had so far remained a crush given the other girl's flirting ways, took things to a whole new level of awkward for the warrior of Neptune.

Ranma started scratching his head while speaking up again. "Look Michiru, I, er, I," the young harmonixer paused for a second, closed his eyes for a brief moment, opened his eyes, and tried again. "Michiru, I have no idea how to be a boyfriend; let alone someone's fiancé. So, ah, would you mind setting the pace in our, er, relationship? I just don't want to make things too terrible for you!"

The aquamarine haired magical girl felt a small tug at her heart as she listened to Ranma. His stuttering and broken speak was grating on Michiru's nerves, but the absolute sincerity and honesty Ranma was projecting more than made up for that. It was sweet that he was trying to look out for her and wasn't being a jerk like she feared when she first found out about the engagement. Michiru nodded and said, "Okay Ranma."

Relief washed over Ranma's face when he heard Michiru agree. He had been terrified that she might be upset over him not 'being a man' in the relationship. True, he didn't know what Michiru was expecting of him, but Ranma had heard that guys were supposed to be the leader in relationships. Whatever the case, the couple had set down an important guideline to their future relationship. Ranma then asked with a little more confidence in his voice, "Uh Michiru? How do we handle things at school? I mean, do we announce the engagement, just hang out together during lunch, or do you want to pretend that we just know each other from class while at school?"

That was something Michiru hadn't thought about. She had been so surprised over her engagement, particularly the fact that she was to a boy who turned into a demon, that such mundane things as how the engagement would affect things at school had never crossed her mind. Michiru bit her lip and thought about Ranma's question for a few seconds. Finally she gave her answer. "Let's keep things low quiet about the engagement while at school Ranma. I don't mind having lunch with you and if some asks why we are spending time together we explain the engagement. However, I do not see a reason for us to broadcast this arraignment to the whole school since it is a private matter."

Ranma nodded his head and replied, "That sounds good to me." The young harmonixer paused for a moment and then continued. "I want to ask you something. How do you feel about this, the engagement you know?"

Michiru sighed and then softly answered Ranma. "I was most displeased when my parents told me about the arrangement. In my mind, I have too much to do at the moment between my schoolwork, my painting, and my violin recitals" –not to mention my duties as Sailor Neptune, she privately added- "to deal with the added demands that an engagement would bring. Furthermore, the idea of anyone else, even my parents, picking a partner for me" –Michiru mentally added that she knew her parents would pick a man and, while bisexual, she preferred women- "to be both insulting to my judgment and archaically barbaric. Finally, the thought of having to marry someone that I do not know" –and who turns into a demon she thought- "frightening at best."

The aquamarine haired young woman paused for a second and then continued on. "However, things have gone better than I thought they would. You're not who or what I was expecting as my selected fiancé Ranma. I don't love you or even know you well enough to say that I even like you. However," here she paused for a moment to gently bring her hand to Ranma's face, "What I have seen from you lets me know that I will like you as a friend in the future and, perhaps, I'll even grow to love you. But for now, you're only an acquaintance that I know I'll have to marry one day."

Ranma was silent for a few minutes as he came to terms with what Michiru told him. Finally, he sighed and said, "Well, I guess it's good that I know where I stand. Just so you know I wasn't thrilled about this whole thing either. However, Grandfather had some good reasons for agreeing to this and I decided to trust him."

The shrine courtyard was silent for a few moments. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, but it was a bit awkward. Once again Ranma spoke up and said, "Michiru, why don't we call it a day and meet again some other time?

Michiru nodded her head and replied, "Agreed. We both need time to deal with everything that has happened. Meet me in the cafeteria tomorrow at school for lunch. It will give us a chance to get to know about each other a little better and the atmosphere there should make things less uncomfortable then they are now."

Ranma quickly nodded his head, said goodbye, and then left the courtyard. Once Michiru was alone she looked up at the waning moon in the sky and softly said, "Spirit of Queen Serenity, Please watch out for me and help me in this."

* * *

Haruka Tenoh was walking down the street giving off an aura of anger and depression that made everyone give her a wide birth. Today was the day that Michiru was going to that stupid betrothal ceremony to meet her 'fiancé'. The star track athlete wasn't sure what burned her more: the fact that the Kaiohs had done something like this or the fact that Michiru was going along with it. Oh, if only she could get her hands on the snot nosed wimp that Michiru was being forced to marry. After all, only a complete loser would resort to something like an arraigned marriage to get a girl.

Suddenly, Haruka heard Michiru's parting words from there last conversation in her head and her mood dampened. "Listen Tenoh, I may not like that my parents arraigned this engagement for me, but I'm going to go through with it. I'm not about to run away from home due to a disagreement with my parents. Besides, a formal agreement between families should keep whoever my parents have arraigned for me to marry form 'letting their eyes wander'."

Okay, maybe she had reacted a little too much when she had found about the betrothal. But, did Michiru really need to send those barbs at her? Haruka hadn't been on speaking terms with her parents in over a year since they tried to put her in an arraigned marriage. In her defense, the boy was a total loon who thought he was a samurai. However, her refusal had broken the camels back in an already strained parent/child relationship. The elder Tenoh's had set up a trust fund that would let Haruka live comfortably without working for the rest of her life and used their contacts to help get her started in racing. But, they had otherwise cut off all contact with Haruka.

It was the other thing that Michiru had said that truly dug at Haruka. The two of them were in love with each other, or at least like each other a lot. However, the duo weren't exactly an item yet and that was mostly because Haruka like to check the market. She couldn't help it! After all, there were so many pretty girls around and it wasn't like she meant anything when she flirted with them. However, for some inescapable reason to Haruka, this behavior did matter to Michiru.

Haruka continued to walk down the street in her foul mood never noticing that someone had been following her with their eyes. Setsuna was barely able to hold back a tear as she watched her teammate walk by in such pain. What made so hard for Setsuna to watch was the fact that she had contributed to the distress that was plaguing Haruka.

As Haruka walked out of view Setsuna muttered, "This is why I hate my job." Being the guardian of the Time Gates meant that Setsuna was also charged with insuring that things didn't go horrible for the Earth. Well, that wasn't in her official job description. She had added it after her failure to act on information about Metallia had caused the destruction of the Silver Millennium and almost a trillion people's lives. For the most part, Setsuna was content to let things go by themselves. However, there were times when high probabilities of certain future events required her to act.

One such event was an ice age that was typically referred to as 'The Great Freeze'. Circumstances surrounding this ecological disaster varied from timeline to timeline, but the basic gist of them all was that the Sailor Senshi got in over their heads and an enemy turned the planet into an ice cube. Setsuna was not about to let such a disaster and the death of billions happen and closely examined the timelines where 'The Great Freeze' either didn't happen or was severely mitigated. In all those timelines Setsuna found that the Sailor Senshi were closely allied with various force that could generally be described as 'grey'. These forces weren't squeaky clean heroes or evil villains, but somewhere in-between like the Inugami.

Encouraging Nicholas to go through with the engagement of Michiru and Ranma was just Setsuna nudging things so that the senshi would be more open. The Guardian of Time hated breaking up Michiru and Haruka before they even truly got started, but it was for the best. Letting the two get together would lead to the duo to adopting a very xenophobic and isolationistic attitude that would infect all the other senshi. Further more, it would save to duo from a lot of heartache. Michiru and Haruka were very different people from Princess Michelle and Princess Armara. Usagi and Mamoru had a soul bond that would unite them throughout all time allowing them to overcome any and all challenges. Michelle and Armara had a life bond that had been passed down to Michiru and Haruka due to their reincarnation. A life bond allowed a couple to overcome any and all challenges like a soul bond, but it was only meant for one lifetime.

Setsuna then muttered, "Better to let the past die and suffer one major heartbreak then it is to hold on to the past and live a thousand years with constant small heartbreaks. I just hope that they can forgive me for meddling if they find out what I've done." The lonely Guardian of Time left to go get a drink. Even with the knowledge that most timelines showed her teammates happy with their future partners, Setsuna still felt the need for alcohol to convince her that she had done the right thing.

* * *

Nicholas Inugami walked up to the receptionist at the front desk of Atsuko Detention Center for Women and waited for her to recognize his presence. Finally the receptionist looked up from her computer and asked in a dreary manner, "What are you here for sir?"

The harmonixer calmly pulled out a document from his jacket and said, "I am Nicholas Inugami and I am here to see my daughter Nodoka Saotome." He then handed the document to the receptionist whose eyes bulged out when she saw the approved request for a visit form being handed to her. She was new and had never come across someone wanting to visit an inmate before. After all, Atsuko Detention Center for Women was for the worst female criminals in Japan. Family members of the center's inmates usually pretended that the women had died.

For the next few minutes, Nicholas patiently waited as the receptionist entered the paperwork into the detention center's computer system. After what seemed like hours to the graying warrior the receptionist finally said, "Take a right and go down the hall to meeting room 5. The inmate you wish to see will be waiting for you." Nicholas nodded his head and then walked to the meeting room.

When Nicholas entered the room, he saw Nodoka sitting down in the chair on the prisoner's side of the meeting room. Father and daughter were separated by a two inch thick sheet of glass that cut the room in two. No one else was in the room, but there were security cameras so that the guards could watch what was happening. Quietly, Nicholas sat down in the chair that had been provided for him and looked at his daughter. The years in confinement had not been kind to his daughter. There were tear stains running down her cheeks, her face was showing premature wrinkles, and there was a slightly hallow look in her eyes.

Nodoka was the first to speak. "Why are you here Father? It's not my birthday."

Nicholas nodded his head and replied, "I know and I will be back here when it is your birthday to visit you. This visit is because Ranma has been betrothed and I wanted to let you know. You are his mother after all."

Immediately, Nodoka's head dropped and she barely whispered loud enough for her microphone to catch. "What does it matter? I'm dead to him."

Nicholas quickly and firmly said, "No you're not daughter! Ranma still acknowledges you as his mother. He doesn't come to visit you and he doesn't like to talk about you because he feels betrayed by your actions. However, he does still love you as a child loves his mother just like a part of him still loves Genma even though he has no respect for the man."

Nodoka nodded her head and sat silently for a few moments. After a bit she hesitantly asked, "Who is Ranma's wife to be?"

The old harmonixer calmly replied, "Michiru Kaioh, the only daughter of Shinji Kaioh. She has good grades, is local celebrity in Tokyo's art and music circles, and is reasonably attractive. Furthermore, Setsuna gave her endorsement to the match so I am confident that she will be able to handle some of the more eccentric parts of Ranma's life." The two continued to talk for the next half hour about the match until Nicholas's visiting time was up. What neither of them noticed was a small robotic fly sitting on the roof recording everything they said.


	9. Chapter 9

Hi everyone,

It's HistorianoftheKais here with some bad news. I can't find it in myself to continue this story. Now would be a good point to rail off curses at me, I've done the same when I see notes like this on stories that I like. There are two reasons why I'm ending this story. First, it no longer feels like a Ranma 1/2 crossover as the connection to Ranma 1/2 seems to be growing far too tenious. However, the main reason is that this story no longer holds any interest to me and even with the outline the chapter doesn't want to write itself. I hope you all can be a little understanding. After all, what's the point of any of us doing this if we can't enjoy our own work?

For those of you who like my Ranma/ Sailor Moon stories, your in luck. My muse has given me the idea of another story that I will start working on. This new story will be out once I can finish the first chapter and I will rotate writing it with my Where the Trees meet the Mountains which is a Naruto story. I've included my plans for how Heir of the Lost Dynasty would have gone so that its fans can have some sense of closure. As you can see, its quite long. Maybe it was too much of an epic for me to tackle right now. If anyone wants to try their hand at this story, just send me a message so that I can approve the adoption or not.

Heir of the Lost Dynasty

Ranma/Shadow Hearts/Sailor Moon crossover

Background: At the end of Shadow Hearts Covenant Princess Anastasia and Kurando married. They are Nodoka's grandparents and thus Ranma's great-grandparents. The Inugami-Romanovs have been pretending to just be Inugamis and the family has stayed small because the KGB was trying to finish exterminating the Tsar's line. Ranma's maternal side has escaped many threats thanks to their fusion abilities, but the KGB managed to take out the Inugamis one by one through trickery until only Nickolas Inugami (Nodoka's father) and Nodoka survived.

Nickolas goes to visit Nodoka, who he hasn't seen since Ranma was born in order to go make the KGB 'lay off' attacking his family. Gramps goes to track down Genma and Ranma when he hears about the 'promise' to make Ranma a 'man among men'. He never really liked or trusted Genma much. Gramps stumbles upon Genma and Ranma during the Neko-ken and goes Death Emperor on Genma's ass. Thanks to connections in the Japanese government, Nickolas gets Genma and Nodoka declared unfit guardians with himself named as Ranma's guardian.

Time skip to Nickolas and Ranma moving to Juuban. Officially, Nickolas is accepting the position at a local college as the Russian language teacher. Unofficially, Nickolas and Ranma are in Juban because the Emperor wanted a trusted friend 'overseeing' the area's little monster problem.

Nickolas Inugami: born 1924. Aspect: Dark. Nickolas is the last surviving son of Anastasia and Kurando. He is proud of his royal bloodline and possesses an immense hatred for Communism and the Soviet Union. He his stoic about many things, but easily becomes gruff when someone is either wasting time or his family is endangered. He specializes in saber combat Fusion: Death Emperor.

Ranma: like canon, Ranma is immensely confident in his skills and has a great learning curve. He is also a generally kind boy when not put on the defensive. However, he is far more 'refine' thanks to his grandfather's insistence that he behave himself. Ranma's fighting style is similar to his dead great-great-uncle Yuri Huyga with the sen-kens mixed in to form the Demon Harvester style. Fusion: due to the stress from the partial training in the Neko-ken, Ranma possesses the ability to fuse with multiple demons.

Rough outline:

(Rescue Saga, two chapters) Nickolas goes to visit Nodoka and finds out about Ranma- Nickolas encounters Saotomes during Neko-ken training- Grandfather smackdown of Genma follows- Nickolas is proclaimed Ranma's guardian- Nickolas explains Harmonixer powers to Ranma_Nicholas and Ranma choose what Style of combat Ranma will learn. Nicholas takes Ranma on first demon hunt to get soul energy. Ranma goes into his graveyard and picks altar to charge. Fights demonic spirit and gets it recognize him as its master granting him his first fusion. _

(Tournament Saga, three chapters) Ranma (now 14) is entered into a tournament- meets Ryoga in the lobby- two vow to meet each other in the finals- first match Ranma fights against Akane- Ranma wins the match- *during the break Soun approaches Nickolas over Saotome-Tendo marriage- Nickolas hotly declares that Ranma is not bound by oath because Ranma belongs to the Inugami clan- Soun's lack of judgement causes any chance of his daughters to win Ranma to break down- second match begins with Ranma fighting Kuno- match harder, but Ranma wins again- *Kuno leaves calling for vengeance against the 'foul dog'- Ranma and Ryoga fight- match ends in draw with both boys knocked out- Ranma and Ryoga share championship promising each other to fight again when they get the chance

(Juban Saga 4 chapters) Timeskip again Ranma (now 16) and Nickolas move to Juban- Ranma is enrolled into prestigious high school- meets Haruka (who hasn't become Uranus yet) and Michiru at school*- after a few days Ranma stumbles on a daemon attack- Fuses into low level demon to kill daemon- Michiru watches Ranma kill several demons- bigger demon emerges to force Sailor Neptune out and Ranma to fuse with a second tier demon- Sailor Neptune/fused demon win-*** **Royga comes to Japan and bunks with the Inugamis for a few days- Shampoo (Ryoga's 'wife') shows up- Nicholas reluctantly agrees to let Shampoo stay as long as Ryoga is staying- Nicholas, feeling that Ranma should have a suitable wife, informs Ranma that he is arranging an omai-* Ranma goes to the omai where he finds out that Nicholas has arranged a match for him with Michiru since the Inugami and Kaiohs are friendly business acquaintances- Michiru and Ranma aren't thrilled with the match, but grudgingly agree to the match after some talk-

(Romance Saga 3 chapters) **Ranma and Michiru go out on a date and are attacked by a rouge former KGB agent- agent captures Michiru who escapes with her- Ranma calls Ryoga and Shampoo for backup in rescuing Michiru-* Trio captures Agent's henchmen- tourchure used to get location of agent's base- Ryoga and Shampoo storm front of base to get attention**- Ranma in dark second tier demon mode storms through the back- Ranma kills KGB agent and de-transforms in front of Michiru-* He asks her to keep quiet for now and that he will explain later- Michiru (who already knew) agrees- Ryoga and Shampoo show up- later that night, Ranma explains Romanov heritage to Michiru- Deciding that Ranma has earned the trust, Michiru reveals that she is Sailor Neptune

(China Saga 5 chapters) Shampoo receives call from Chinese embassy rerouted from Amazon village- Shampoo is informed via phone by her grandmother that the Musk have started a campaign against the Amazons- Ranma, in order to repay his debt for rescuing Michiru, promises to go to China to help- Ranma goes on a quick visit to inform Michiru about what is going on and to give her the crests (shadow hearts magic) for safe keeping-* Trio arrives in Amazon village to be greeted by Cologne- knowing of the Inugami, the Amazon elders request that Ranma not use harmamixer abilities unless needed- Ranma agrees for diplomatic immunity to the kisses for him and his descendents- The trio are assigned to guard a pass-* Herb leads an attack on the pass- initially Musk are in the lead- Amazon leader orders Ranma to fuse- Herb forced to retreat with heavy losses- Musk King hears of Ranma's abilities and decides to form a soul-pact with Amon-* massive battle between Amazons and Musk, king unleashes Amon's power- Thanks to the elder's assistance, Ranma kills Musk king and gains Amon's power.* Herb made king of the Musk and marries an Amazon maiden to confirm peace between the two tribes- Ranma attends wedding, but then quickly leaves for Japan

(Death Eater Saga seven chapters) Ranma greeted at airport by Michiru- While on the way home Michiru mentions that a new threat has appeared- Ranma dropped off at home- Nicholas fills Ranma in more on the situation- Elder Inugami suggests that Ranma take a more public side to demonic control-* Michiru talks to Haruka about her fiancé- both agree to include Ranma in their team- Ranma enrolls in Juuban High due to grades slipping while in China- Minako and Makoto start to swoon over Ranma- During lunch Ranma cruelly (because he abhors the thought of possibly cheating on Michiru) shoots down Makoto's attempts at flirting-* News of the Harmomixer reaches the Inners- The Inners come upon a battle between the Harmomixer & Outers verses a pack of SH demons-* Ryoga and Shampoo (returning from China) rescue Hotaru from being picked on- Nicholas notices that Hotaru is being possessed and calls in Roger Bacon to help cure her- Haruka and Michiru assist in ceremony as guards while Roger 'pulls' Mistress 9 out of Hotaru for Ranma to kill and absorb-* Roger retrieves talismans from Michiru and Haruka- Setsuna appears and suggests that Ranma, the Habikis, and the Outers meet with the Inners for planning the final attack against the Death Eaters- meeting with everyone- quick strike planed to take down Death Eaters-* things go wrong since Dr. Tomoe got his hands on a copy of part of the Emie Grey Manuscript- Hotaru turns into Sailor Saturn while Ranma goes Amon-* Sailor Saturn dies in battle, but Ranma _and Usagi_ resurrects her as a baby- Shampoo and Ryoga decide to adopt Hotaru. _Usagi also shortly dies due to magical exhaustion before anyone can treat her._

_(Resurrection Saga) Ranma tries to use his powers to resurrect Usagi, but her soul has already left the area. The senshi are depressed and try to figure out how to resurrect Usagi. Setsuna suggests that they use the Émigré Manuscript to resurrect the princess. Roger is roped into the project. Nicholas, extremely begrudgingly, agrees to contact his old friend in the Vatican to authorize access to the document- At Rome, Pope John Paul II starts to berate Setsuna for such a dangerous idea. Nevertheless, he agrees to give them the book, if they can retrieve it out of Aponia Tower. Everyone fights to get to the top where the Émigré Manuscript is stored. Group goes to Wales where Roger grants the use of his lab for the experiment. Setsuna, Ranma, and Mamoru then successfully resurrect Usagi. _

(Oronos Saga 7 chapters) Mamoru has dreams about a great danger about to be unleashed- Kuno stumbles upon a magical sword that possesses him- Nicholas receives a call from Japanese government over monster sightings in Nerima- Ranma and Michiru (who just received a locket from Ranma) on double date with Mamoru and Usagi when place their at is attacked by monsters-* Senshi magic revealed to be ineffective against monsters- Mamoru goes Endymon and discovers that his sword is very effective against the golems- Ranma and Endymon clean up monsters- Setsuna reveals that the Titans are actually an old royal house of Earth that Endymon's ancestors subdued (immune to senshi attacks due to pact with Gaia)-* Attack on Juban by Rhea (who is possessing Kodachi)- senshi given crests to help battle titan forces- battle of Juban ends with Endymon killing Rhea/Kodachi-* Nicholas, who has been putting out brushfires, explains that the only solution is to go stop the titans at Nerima- Setsuna suggests that senshi get Gaia to agree to let the senshi magic work against the titans-* Ranma and Nicholas go to Nerima to buy time for the Senshi to get to Atlantis- Fight against tarot card girl who is possessed by a titan- Senshi and Endymion rejoin after fight-* team makes way to Kuno estate where Kronos/Kuno fights enemy- Kronos killed by Nicholas activating portal-* Oronos appears through portal- epic battle commences- Michiru wounded causing Ranma to go to Neo-Amon, Neo-Amon slays Oronos and destroys portal- Ranma and Michiru caught in blast from destroyed portal

(Lost Saga 3 chapters) Ranma awakens to come face to face with himself (canon Ranma)- discussions with Ranma gang over where Ranma Inugami came from- Ranma Inugami beats up Genma to show that he will not be cowed* skip to Outers house where Setsuna brings someone she found at the Time Gates- local senshi surprised to see another Michiru- hunt for information finds locket with Ranma and Michiru pictures- Story Michiru wakes up to a bombardment of questions- to get answers, Story Michiru uses crest to summon a demon-* crest demon tracks down story Ranma- After reporting to Story Ranma, crest demon heads back to Juban- senshi with Story Michiru head to Nerima- Everyone watches as Ranma and Michiru are reunited- Setsuna figures out that using the Nanban Mirror and the Time Gates together will allow Ranma and Michiru to return home- Ranma and Ranma go beat up Happosai for the mirror- travelers return to proper reality

(Imperial Saga 5 chapters) One year later, Ranma and Michiru are on a date when they hear that Russia has voted to restore the Tsar- Ranma quickly brushes this off figuring that one of his more noted European cousins will get the throne- Arriving at Ranma's house, the couple find Nicholas in a foul mood- The couple find out that Nicholas, as the grandson of Tsar Nicholas II, is to become Russia's new Tsar with Ranma as heir presumed-* next day at school is a mad house at the fact that Ranma is royalty- Michiru gets similar treatment- The Inners, hearing from Chibi-usa, learn that Ranma will eventually become one of the new 'four heavenly kings' who will each rule a portion of the Earth with Mamoru as the High King of Earth- Ranma and Michiru try to go out to eat only to get caught up in a 'terrorist' attack- Both survive and take out the terrorists leading to greater enthusiasm for the new Inugami branch of the Romanov Dynasty-* Next day secret service agents from Russia under the command of Sanoske Sagura show up to 'protect' the new royal family- Questions raised over Michiru's 'suitability' as potential Tsarina- Ranma tells courtiers what to do with political expediency saying that he'll marry Michiru whether they like it or not- Nickolas throws his full support behind Ranma-* Arrangements are made for Ranma and Michiru to wed after Nickolas is crowned- wedding day comes around- Amazon honor guard prevents attack on wedding-* fight to Moscow- demonic attack at airport forces the Inugamis to show off supernatural fighting abilities on live TV- Russians talk about 'General Hell' joining General Winter and General Mud in defense of Russia- promises are made to track down who is responsible for the attacks- Nickolas crown Tsar Nickolas III of the reformed Russian Empire

(Qwaser Saga five chapters) four months after Nickolas's crowning, information comes up about a mysterious group forged from Sapientis gladiolus- group discovered to be behind attacks on the Tsar's family- in Japan, Usagi is kidnapped for her 'Soma'- Senshi go rescue Usagi, but find her traumatized by her experience as a soma supplier-* Michiru, aghast at the news, quickly sends for Usagi to come to Russia to recover- Mamoru tags along to make sure that his fiancée is alright- Roger, shanghaied by Nickolas as supernatural advisor, examines the dead Qwaser's body-* Roger gives a report explaining what the Qwaser did to Usagi and that part of their power is drawn from the émigré manuscript- Ryoga and Shampoo pop in explaining that the valley is under attack by men each wielding control over a specific element- Ranma, despite courtiers' pleas, goes to Jusenkyo valley to fight the Qwasers- kills all but one so that he can learn plan-* Amazons get Qwaser to talk revealing plans- goal is to conquer Russia so that the 'Master Qwaser' can become Tsar- the mysterious master attacks the palace, but Michiru and Nicholas fend him off-* Nicholas mortally wounded and dies days later- Master Qwaser threatens to destroy a major city unless Ranma fights him- Ranma and Master Qwaser fight- during battle its reveal that the Master Qwaser is the direct great-grandson Nicholas Conrad and Veronica Vera- Ranma kills Master Qwaser- Ranma and Michiru are crowned.

Total chapters: 44

End of Heir of the Lost Dynasty


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