Insertion

Part 72

The beginning of something new

++++++++++

It was a quiet day in the Hibiki household.
Usagi was doing her homework at the table, while
her mother sat with Dan and Carrot in the living
room. The three had separated only a few minutes
before just outside. To Usagi, it seemed as if her
mother had invited them over or something. It
wasn't a new development at any rate.

Yohiko frowned at the two men as they stared
at the television and stood up, moving to the back
of the home and into her room.

Carrot smirked at this and followed shortly
after.

Dan glanced around and sighed. "Oh well. Come
on kid, you and I are going out," he said as he
stood up and walked over to Usagi.

The girl looked up at him and blinked. "Huh?
I've got to do this for..."

"It can wait, Carrot and your mother seem to
have something to discuss in private," said the
man with a rough sounding snort.

The girl blinked at this as she just missed
grasping what he was telling her in a round about
way. "Um, sure I guess. Where are we going?"

"I feel like a beer, but since you're coming,
I guess I'll have to make do with ice-cream."

The girl smiled cheerfully at this and jumped
up from her seat. "Great!"

"I just hope she doesn't eat as much as her
namesake," grumbled Dan under his breath as he
walked out the door after her.

The girl didn't appear to hear him and
cheerfully rushed off in front of him. "Come on! I
know a great place near here!"

"Yeah, yeah," muttered Dan irritably.

++++++++++++

Carrot shoved Xianfu against the wall and
smirked as she stared at him. Neither of them was
wearing a shirt at the moment and they simply
stood for a moment as they were. Their eyes
warring with each other for dominance.

Yohiko had her skirt hiked up around her
waist, and one of her legs was wrapped around the
man's waist.

He smirked a little more and rubbed his hand
down her thigh, pushing her nylon stocking down a
little. "So, here we are again."

The woman put her face up to his, their lips
only a hair's width away from each other. "So it
seems."

"You don't look like you're enjoying
yourself," said Carrot with a small chuckle as he
shoved her up against the wall. His chest pushed
her breasts up against her body, sending
sensations coursing through her. Her nipples
hardened and she gave an almost mocking snort.

"You disgust me."

"I know," he replied calmly as he leaned in a
little more, touching his cheek against hers.
"Intoxicating isn't it?"

"What? You think I care about you? Is that
it?" she snorted.

"Care? I wouldn't say that," he said as he
breathed into her ear. The heat of his breath
causing her to shudder as she clutched at his back
a little tighter with her hands.

"Stop teasing me then," she said coldly.

"You've known me long enough to know that I
enjoy teasing you," he said in a soft whisper.

"A little too much," she said as she pulled
his head back a little with her hand.

"Sometimes," he replied. "Right now, you love
it though."

"Do you hate me?" she asked calmly.

"No, I don't," said Carrot as he pulled at her
pigtail, jerking her head back gently. "Ranma
does."

"Does he? So, this is just you then?" she said
with a cruel smile on her face.

"No, both of us seem to enjoy this pastime,"
replied the man coolly.

"Both of you?" she said as she glared into his
eyes. The hatred there causing an exhilarating
tremor of fear to run down her spine.

"I never forgave you for what you did to us,
but Ranma, has not accepted it. I doubt if he ever
will."

"So, what do you think of me then? Is it love,
something I can throw in your face?" she said
coldly.

"No, you're a real bitch, but you are
beautiful. I suppose that helps," said Carrot as
he kissed her roughly. She responded by pushing
back with as much force as he gave.

Carrot felt her tongue push gently between his
lips, inviting him to open his mouth. He pulled
back and chuckled.

"You don't get it at all do you?" he said to
her.

She cocked her head in a slightly annoyed and
confused fashion.

"Don't you understand woman? I am evil.
Everything dark in this world is mine, my doing,
my plan. I am the devil, and you, you are the
goddess."

"Is that so?" she said with a small smirk of
her own.

"You and Pissant represent the light, and
myself and Ranma are the darkness. He's fallen
from grace, not as innocent as he once was. I'm
cold, calculating, and evil. The emotion he feels
the most is anger and rage. We rule hell, and
you..."

"I am what?"

"You're justice, Pissant is kindness and
forgiveness," replied the man coldly. "You know
it, and it drives you up the wall that you're so
attracted to it." He whispered this into her ear
and kissed her neck, moving slowly down towards
her shoulder, stopping to suck softly with each
subtle movement of his neck. "You love it, because
you know it's wrong."

She muttered through her soft moans. "What
does that make Dan?"

"Neutral. He's the deciding vote, the one who
decides which of us will win, when it comes down
to a decision."

"The middle ground?" she said as she pulled
his head back and gently nipped at his chin. "Is
that it?"

"You're not a fool," replied Carrot calmly as
his hand caressed her breast softly. Their lips
met again, this time he welcomed her tongue and
responded with his own.

"What is it that you get out of this?" she
asked coolly.

"My reasons are the same as yours, lover," he
replied simply.

"Love has no place with us. Don't call me
that," she said with a slightly angry snarl in her
voice.

"Fair enough. You know, I'm the only thing
stopping him from killing you now," said the man
with a slight growl to his voice. "I almost want
to set him loose on you."

"You won't though," she replied. "I know I'm
safe in your arms."

"Are you?" he prodded as he kissed her cheek.

"Oh yes," she said passionately. "You could,
but you won't. I don't think you ever will." She
could feel the waves of negative emotion pouring
from his soul. It sent a tingling sensation down
her body as her danger sense kicked in, adrenaline
coursed through her veins.

Carrot chuckled as he brushed the soft flesh
of her neck with his hand, tracing her jawline
slowly. "You're right."

"Why is that? Why won't you?"

"Because I enjoy this game as much as you do,"
he replied simply.

He squeezed her breast again and slowly slid
his hand down her belly.

She pressed herself up against the wall as he
did this, aching for release. "Stop toying with
me."

"I'll stop when I feel like stopping," he
replied with a cruel smirk. Once again, he had won
the battle of wills.

"So what does that make us? Enemies?" she
snapped as she stared at him with an anger of her
own.

"No, we're partners, and we always will be.
Family, mate, soulmate, opposites. We are a part
of a single being."

"And this is your way of jerking off?" she
replied snidely.

"Everyone needs a little release, and Hotaru
isn't here to play with us anymore," replied the
boy in an equally condescending tone.

"So. Go ahead and vent then," she said as she
shoved him back away from the wall and forced him
down onto the bed, straddling him forcefully.

Carrot smirked as she pressed down his
shoulders and stared him dead in the eyes,
signaling that she hadn't yet given up the fight
just yet. She leaned forward, brushing the tips of
her nipples along his chest as she did so. "Do you
want this body?"

"Is this a trick question?" he responded
calmly, his smile never once leaving his lips
throughout all this.

"I'm tired of playing, and I've got the
advantage now. No more talking, understand?"

Carrot smirked as she locked her lips on his
again and forced her tongue into his mouth,
forcing her way through his teeth. His resistance
was minimal though. She broke off and he simply
chuckled.

"Why do you kiss me, if you hate me?" he
asked.

She narrowed her eyes at this and smiled back.
"Because it feels wrong. It's very satisfying."

"So you admit I'm right?" he responded.

"I never said you weren't," she said coolly.
Her hand slid under the waist of his pants, and he
arched his head back, finally submitting.

"Hmmm. Good boy," she said with a slight
cooing in her tone.

"Never have been," he said through a small
gasp.

"Well, that's what makes this so
entertaining."

+++++++++++++++

Dan sighed as he watched the girl eat yet
another bowl of ice cream. He'd only ordered one
for himself, and he was still picking at the soupy
remains.

"That was great!" said the girl cheerfully.
"So, do you think they're done fucking yet?"

Dan almost fell face first on the table. "What
the?"

"Oh come on! I'm not that stupid! I may just
be a kid, but I'm not that young!" said the girl
as she laughed at him.

"I know that, I was just surprised about how
you put it," he said a little sourly as he glared
at her for a moment.

"Well, they don't seem to like each other
much," said Usagi. "It's weird really."

"I suppose so, they didn't used to be this
bad," said Dan with a small shrug.

"Really?" said Usagi in surprise.

"No, before, she was just trying to kill us
all the time," said the man with a small shrug.

"Oh," said the girl as she blinked at the
comment. "This is better than that though, right?"

"Not really," said Dan with a small frown. "At
least she leaves me alone these days."

"Why do you visit so often?" asked Usagi.

"Because Carrot is a horny bastard, and so is
your mother," replied Dan with another shrug.

"Hey!" cried the girl.

"This from the girl who just told me that her
mother was fucking some guy right now?" snorted
the man in retort.

"Oh, well I guess you've got a point there,"
grumbled the girl irritably.

"Yeah, pretty much," he responded with a
slight frown. The voice in side his head was
scolding him angrily about speaking in such a
manner to such a young girl. He pinched his leg
and it quieted down for the most part.

"What did you mean about 'namesake'?" asked
the girl suddenly.

"Huh?" said Dan dumbly.

"You said something about a namesake when we
left the house. Oh, yeah." The girl seemed to
remember something and Dan felt a sharp pain on
his leg.

"Ouch! Damn it!" he cried irritably. "What the
hell?"

"What do you mean eat as much as my
'namesake'? Are you callin me fat?"

"Actually, she was as skinny as a bean pole.
Grew up to be quite a pretty lady," responded Dan.
"She could pack away twice as much ice-cream as
you just ate."

The girl blushed at this and muttered an
apology. She looked up at him again and sighed.
"Her name was Usagi?"

"Yeah. I'm not sure if your mother named her
after you, or if she just liked the name. We all
knew her, but Carrot and I knew her a lot longer
than your mother did." The statement was full of
half-truths, but Dan wasn't about to start
explaining that they were the Supreme Being reborn
in a human body...sort of.

Dan looked at his watch and sighed. "Come on.
We should get back."

The girl sighed and nodded her head. "All
right. Thanks Mr. Dan."

"Whatever," replied the man with a shrug. "I
just wanted to get away from all that screaming
for a while. It's no place for a girl your age to
be either. Even if you have done it before
yourself."

Usagi froze and stared at him. "Wha?"

"Thought I didn't know about that did you?"

"MOM TOLD YOU?!!!"

"Naw, Carrot and I are in on the whole
'Shadow' thing," replied the man with a shrug. "He
thought it was funny as hell. Me, not so much."

The girl blushed and quietly followed the man
as he went to pay the bill.

+++++++++++++

Carrot sat up staring at the wall. Xianfu was
sleeping soundly beside him, her naked body
covered in the sheets. He mulled silently and
turned to look at her for a moment.

"You think we had something to do with this?"
asked Ranma suddenly.

"With what we've been doing? The way we feel
about her? No, I don't think so."

"But?" insisted Ranma.

"Right, but I also think we know about it, and
we're using it somehow."

"How do you feel about her?" snorted Ranma.

"If you're wondering if I'm in love with her,
no. I don't love her. I don't know what it is,
it's similar, but not love," replied Carrot
calmly.

"So you like her?"

"No more than you do, but it's different. I'm
not as direct as you, you should know that by
now," said Carrot with a small chuckle. "There is
some feeling there. It's a bond, I'd almost say
family. Not quite, more like I'm clinging to a
part of myself that I don't like, but I can't let
go."

Ranma nodded at this. "I understand."

"Same for you too huh?" said Carrot with a
small snort of amusement.

"Shut up!" snapped Ranma.

"Stop it," said Carrot coolly. "You and I both
know it's true. We're more connected to each other
than the others are. There isn't much you can hide
from me."

"Same here, don't forget it," snapped Ranma.

"Much as I hate to admit it, I do care. I
don't want her to die, she deserves us more,"
replied Carrot with a cold smile on his face.
"She'll get what she deserves."

"Let me kill her," snarled Ranma.

"No," replied Carrot.

"You're going soft."

"You've just grown to hard, that's all."

"Going to hell will do that to a man," snapped
Ranma.

"Didn't do it to me," retorted Carrot.

"You're different, you've changed too. Not for
the better either," said Ranma.

"Maybe so, but we fit our roles as well," said
Carrot with a somewhat broken grin on his face.
"You've got to learn how to calm down. You're as
bad as this Akane used to be sometimes."

"I..."

"We aren't in hell anymore Ranma," responded
Carrot. "He's dead, we've righted the wrongs,
we've won."

"..."

"Our real victory is yet to come, have
patience. We've got all the time in the universe."

"Ya really mean that too," said Ranma. He
chuckled at the realization and shook his head.
"Tired yet?"

"Naw."

"Then why is she sleeping?"

Carrot looked down at Xianfu and brushed her
hair out of her face with his fingers. She shifted
and muttered to herself in her sleep. His hand
paused over her neck for the briefest of moments,
and he smirked.

He leaned in and kissed her, rolling onto her
a little.

Slowly she opened her eyes and returned the
kiss. Neither one of them said a word.

+++++++++++++++

It was morning. Carrot sat up and shielded
their face from the rays of the sun. He squinted
and groaned in irritation. "Damn. Why is morning
so damn early?"

"Shut up," muttered Xianfu as she rolled over
onto her side and pulled the covers a little
tighter onto her body.

Carrot froze. Very slowly, he turned his head
and looked at the small alarm clock that rested on
the small table beside the bed. He gasped when he
noticed the time. "Eight hours."

"What's going on?" grumbled Ranma irritably.

"Ranma, it's been eight hours. Something is
wrong."

"Wha?" muttered the lazy voice.

"Dan? You in here?" said Carrot.

"Who are you talking too?" asked Xianfu as she
sat up and slammed her pillow into their faces.
She slumped back down and started to snore again.

Carrot narrowed his eyes at her and jerked the
blankets away, tossing her roughly out of bed.

"What the hell? You bastard!" screamed the
woman as she jumped to her feet. She paused and
blinked at him for a moment. "Again? Isn't it a
little early for this?"

He looked down at himself and his clothes
melted into place, she did the same and frowned in
confusion.

"Do you have Dan with you?" asked the man
calmly.

"Huh?" she looked blank for a moment. "No.
Didn't he leave already?"

"Shit," muttered Carrot. "We never went back
last night."

"Huh?"

"Something is up. We're still separated," said
Carrot as he frowned at her. "We never merged back
last night."

"Maybe we did it in our sleep?" muttered the
woman irritably.

"I don't think so, all of us at the same time
is unlikely," said Carrot as he glanced around.
"We should find Dan."

"Maybe he did it?" she muttered.

"That wouldn't have separated the three of
us," said Carrot.

Xianfu frowned and opened the bedroom door.
She walked out into the hall and frowned as she
noticed the man sleeping with a bottle of alcohol
in his hand at the table.

"Wake up idiot," she snapped.

"Hun? Whazzis?" he muttered as he sat upright
and glanced around. "Hey. Took ya long enough. I
fell asleep waitin on ya."

"Waiting on what?" asked Carrot.

"For this thing to run out? What time is it?
How much we got left. I think my watch is busted,"
said the man irritably.

"Shit," grumbled Xianfu.

"Well, this is just great," muttered Carrot.

"You're damn right it is, get out of my
house," said Xianfu as she smirked at them evilly.
"Both of you. You're not welcome here."

"Heh. Yohiko Hibiki lives here," replied
Carrot as he shifted forms in front of her,
becoming a mirror image. "Yohiko Hibiki, has my
handwriting too. I'm also the one with all of our
financial information."

The woman's face fell. "Shit."

"Huh?" said Dan dumbly.

"Well, looks like Yohiko Hibiki just got two
more roommates until we figure this out," said
Carrot.

"Maybe we just improved a little. It's only
been eight hours," said Dan.

"No, doesn't feel right. This is something
else. We should get ahold of Xellos."

"I'm afraid you're quite separate, at least
temporarily. It will last quite a while though,"
said the voice as Xellos appeared in the room with
a smirk on his face.

"What caused this?" asked Carrot.

"This? Well, I'm not entirely sure..." said
Xellos with a smirk on his face.

"Can it loon. I know you know exactly what's
going on," snarled Xianfu.

"All right, you have me," said the man as he
backed away from the three angry stares. "Some of
it has to do with that little talk you had with
Carrot last night."

Xianfu gasped. "What?"

"You've started to realize your places in the
grand scheme of things, now it's time for that to
develop a little bit."

Carrot frowned at him and shook his head.
"That's not all though. Is it?"

"No, but the rest...is a secret."

"From us?"

"Only myself, and L-sama know the full
details. Nephrite only knows what he needs too,"
said the priest calmly. "I couldn't tell you if I
wanted too. My hands are tied, not that I would if
they weren't though."

"I'm betting this was your idea, whatever it
is," said Dan as he glared at Carrot for a moment.

The man in question froze and simply stared at
the wall, knowing better than to argue with that
statement. "Heh." Both Dan and Xianfu were glaring
at him.

"At any rate, I've said what I need to. See
you later," the mazoku vanished from sight and the
trio all sat down at the table.

"Not a bad deal," said Dan with a shrug. "I
get some 'me' time."

"Who has Pissant?" asked Carrot as he glanced
at the pair.

"He does, the whiner always goes with him,"
said Xainfu as she pointed at Dan.

"Yeah, irritating bastard," grumbled the man
sourly. "I can ignore him pretty good though. I
got lots of practice."

"Yeah, whatever. "Well, I suppose we're free,
for a while anyway."

"Vacation then?" asked Xianfu cheerfully.

"I doubt if that'll happen," grumbled Carrot.

"Yeah, I hate us," said Dan sourly.

"We aren't sure how long we have either,"
pointed out Carrot.

"So, we'll work this out later," agreed
Xianfu.

"Now what?" asked Dan.

"Well, I'm going to wake up my lazy good for
nothing daughter," snorted Xianfu.

"Our daughter," replied Carrot calmly.

"Yeah, you do that," snorted Dan.

"We'll discuss that later," said Xianfu as she
glared at Carrot.

"She was my idea, she's based on my real
daughter, so I do have a legitimate claim here.
Don't start getting pissy with me. You'll regret
it, and you know better than to cross me on
something like this," replied Carrot.

"What does this matter to you?" she said with
a deep hatred lacing her voice.

"I like her, Ranma is attached to her, plus he
wants to irritate you," said Carrot with a shrug.

"And you don't?" snorted Dan as he pretended
to ignore the conversation.

"Well, I don't think it's a bad idea if that's
what you're asking," replied Carrot cheerfully.

"Dick," snorted Xianfu as she turned away.

"And that's about all you're interested in
from what I gather," retorted Carrot as he picked
up a newspaper from the table with an indifferent
look on his face.

+++++++++++++++

Carrot sighed as he walked through the streets
of Nerima with his hands in his pockets; or
rather, her pockets. She'd decided to go out as
Yohiko again whenever she was in this area of
town.

She paused and stared at the empty building in
front of her and her smirk fell. "What?"

The Cat Cafe was closed down.

"When did this happen?" said the woman in
confusion as she stared at the note. It informed
anyone interested enough to read it that the
Amazon's had returned to China. "Whoa."

Carrot shrugged and turned away, moving down
the street. It was somewhat unexpected, but not a
complete surprise. Soon enough, the Ucchan would
be closing down as well. Ridding the area of the
last remnants of what Carrot and Dan knew as the
'Nerima Wrecking Crew'.

"Well. Wanna stop and grab a bite?" asked
Carrot as they looked towards the Ucchan.

"Sure, why not?" replied Ranma.

The plan was shattered as a young girl turned
the corner in front of a small construction site
down the street.

"What the hell?" muttered Ranma in shock.

"Hey! That's..." said Carrot dumbly.

++++++++++++++

"Aiya! Is the end for me!" screamed the girl
as she dashed away. A dark mass of black crows
flew behind her, gaining ever closer as they
threatened to overtake her.

She gasped as she felt someone grab ahold of
her and swat the birds out of the air as she dove
by them. The strange woman was flicking stones at
them from a small pile at the edge of the
construction site.

The bird's dispersed and revealed an angry
looking birdman that glared at her savior angrily.

"Kah! Give me that girl!"

"Heh. Come get her," replied the woman
confidently.

"Kah! You'll die then!"

Yohiko jumped back with the girl in her arms
and dashed down the road.

+++++++++++++

"Hmmm. Looks like it might rain again." Ryoga
Hibiki was walking down the road with his umbrella
held over his shoulder as he wandered aimlessly.
His thoughts floated around the strange girl he
had met recently. He'd seen her a few times, and
she was almost as aggressive as Usagi had been, if
not a little more. He wasn't entirely comfortable
with her, especially with her weird pig obsession.
That was for obvious reasons. However, he could
feel his resolve weakening.

"Damn you Ryoga Hibiki! Why must you be so
spineless when it comes to women?" he lamented
angrily. He paused when he noticed a familiar
figure running down the road towards him. "Auntie
Yohiko?"

"Ryoga! Catch!" cried the woman as she tossed
the girl to him.

He caught her without thinking and blinked in
surprise as he looked down at the small Chinese
girl in his arms. "Huh?"

"Aiya! I'm delicate!" cried the girl fearfully
as she landed on him a little roughly.

Yohiko smirked as she turned to face off
against the birdmen.

"Give us the girl landling!" snarled one of
the pair of birdmen who now hovered in the air
behind her.

She chuckled and glared at them icily. "Who
are you calling a landling feather boy?"

The pair gasped in shock and almost fell out
of the air.

Out of Yohiko Hibiki's back, were a huge pair of
bat-like wings. They gave her a ten-foot wingspan
as they spread out wide behind her.

"Auntie?" muttered Ryoga in shock.

"What is this?" cried one of the birdmen as he
floated up a little higher.

"She's not a landling? What is she?" muttered
his companion in confusion.

"I've never seen..." muttered the other
birdman dumbly.

Yohiko rose into the sky, just as a light rain
started to fall around them.

The birdmen crashed to the ground and glared
at the woman, to their surprise she was now slowly
descending towards them with huge flaps of her
wings slowing her decent. The pair now appeared to
be human, their wings gone, and their clawed feet
and hands replaced with human limbs. "It seems
you're the ones with the disadvantage now. How
interesting."

"Damn you woman! If it wasn't for this rain,
we'd have kicked your sorry ass!" snapped one of
the two boys.

"I seriously doubt that," said Yohiko coldly.
She swat them into the wall with one of her wings
and they slumped to the ground. Ryoga and the
little girl joined in beating them to the ground.

"You saved me!" cried the girl as she looked
up at Yohiko and Ryoga. The woman was regarded
with more than a little caution.

"Hmm. So, tell me what those flying rats from
Phoenix Mountain were doing chasing you little
girl?"

"You are their enemy?" asked the girl
cautiously.

Yohiko laughed. "No, but I've heard of them.
Don't worry child, my wings aren't real. My
clothes have a spell on them." It was the easiest
explanation and she shifted into a Chinese style
dress to show the girl. "I've seen your face
before. In a photo on the Jusenkyo guide's desk."
Another lie, but it was the best way to explain
her knowledge.

"You are Honored Guest!?"

"At one time," said the woman with a small
nod.

Ryoga gasped at this, his umbrella faltered in
his grip for a moment, but he managed to catch it.
"You mean? You too?"

Yohiko sighed. "Not really."

"Oh! I'm so glad," said the boy with a
relieved sigh.

"Thank you for saving me. I am Plum," said
the girl politely.

"No problem. You'll be safe with us. Come on
and tell us about your little problem. Maybe we
can help you," said Yohiko.

Ryoga frowned at this and looked at his aunt.
"Huh?"

"Come with us, Ryoga," said the woman calmly.

"I..." muttered the boy lamely. He sighed and
did as he was told, walking after his Aunt with
his head hung. "I wish, I wish, I wish I had a
spine..."

++++++++++++++

Next Time: Kiima! Wai! Wai! ^_^