Ranma Lord of the Sith

Part 3

The Darkness within her.

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

Ranma Saotome sat in his bedroom in the middle
of the night, his legs crossed and his eyes closed
in concentration. A dark smile was on his lips as
he reached out across the home. "Tell me your
secrets," he said to himself.

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

Kasumi Tendo rolled in her bed, her sleep
restless as she struggled with a nightmare. "No!"
she whispered as she rolled onto her side and
squeezed her eyes tightly shut.

Inside her mind, she was standing in the
middle of her home, or rather what was left of it.

Clothes were strewn about all over the place;
dirt and grime clung to every surface. There were
stains and puddles all across the floor. She
turned and almost shrieked in horror. Her
immaculate kitchen was destroyed, clean only a few
seconds before. "This can't be! I just..."

Akane was standing behind the stove; the pans
dirty and cluttered in stacks. Food was burned
onto the surface of every pot. She was wiping her
hands off with a dishtowel and tossed it over her
shoulder carelessly. "Dang, that didn't work. I
guess Kasumi can clean up this mess."

She turned again and gasped, her father was
squatting on top of the table with a bottle in his
hands, pouring it out over a potted plant,
splashing dirt and sake all over the tabletop. He
picked up the plant and set it on a window. A
moment later it fell to the ground, shattering and
creating a pile of mud and broken pottery. "Oh
well, someone else will clean that up."

"Father!" gasped the girl as she stepped back
in horror. Her rage burning inside her, but with
no outlet, a cheery looking smile formed on her
lips. "I'll get that! Oh my! I have so much to do
today!"

She paused as a cold feeling rushed up her
spine. Someone was behind her. She turned her head
slowly; looking at the black boots and cape that
brushed the ground. "Are you going to just let
them get away with this?" asked Ranma as he stared
down at her.

"What can I do?" she said fearfully as she
backed away from him. Her instincts telling her to
run. Every sense of her being told her to get as
far away as she could, she stood, but found the
boy in her path, blocking her way.

Ranma smirked at her, his eyes glowing with a
strange red power. "Kasumi, you can't run from me.
I'm here to help you."

"No!" muttered the girl as she flinched away
from him. "You can't help me!"

"Oh, but I can. Look at them, doesn't it
disgust you?" he asked her as he nodded towards
her family.

The rest of the Tendo clan was now sitting
around the table, eating messily and ignoring the
filth that surrounded them. Genma was there as
well, but he was almost faded. The pair of
Saotome's hadn't really been in the home long
enough to seep into her subconscious. It was
obvious that Ranma had placed him there.

"No! I love them!" she gasped.

"They why do you hate them so much?" he
countered coldly. "I can feel your anger. You hide
it well, but your hatred of them is strong."

"It's not true," she said with uncertainty
filling her voice.

"Ah, but it is. You know it's true Kasumi, you
hate them. They are destructive, messy, uncaring.
None of them appreciate anything you do for them.
They're like pigs."

The girl stared at her family, tears forming
in her eyes. "No! It isn't true!" she demanded
loudly as she pulled away from him.

The family ignored the outburst behind them.

"I love them! They're my family!"

"Do you mind Kasumi! We're trying to eat!"
said Akane as she turned to glare at the girl.

Ranma smiled at the horrified expression that
crossed the girl's face.

"Even if it is true! There's nothing I can
do!" she snapped as she glared at Ranma.

"Ah, but there is. You don't know it yet, but
I can show you the way. Your anger has made you
strong Kasumi, I can feel the power of your
hatred, aching to be released."

"What?" stammered the girl as she stared at
him.

"I can make you strong, I can show you true
power. Power to rule your own life, power to
punish those that do not appreciate what you are.
Power to finally be free of your prison."

Kasumi's features softened as she looked at
the ground. "Prison?"

Ranma's evil smile widened, his eyes narrowed
as he glanced at the family sitting around the
table. "Yes. This place holds you from your
dreams. I can feel that. It's time you released
yourself, became the master of your own fate."

"My own fate?" said the girl as she stared at
her family. "But...they need me."

"So, eliminate that need," said Ranma as he
held out an object to her.

Kasumi stared at it, she knew exactly what it
was, and didn't know how. "I can't!"

"Can't you? Even if this is only a dream?"
replied Ranma.

"Dream?" she muttered nervously.

"Yes, for now. If you wish it, I can make it a
reality. I am the only reality here besides you.
Take the weapon; strike down those you hate so
much. Let your anger and hatred fly, if only for
once. Feel what it's like to be free."

"Free?" said the girl as she slowly reached
out for the weapon.

"Yes," said Ranma with a hunger in his voice.
"It's a wonderful thing Kasumi. The power to rule
over those who oppose you."

"I don't have power," replied the girl as she
pulled her hand back.

Ranma narrowed his eyes, his cape rustling as
his power jumped slightly from his frustration.
"You do. Don't you even realize?"

"What?" said the girl nervously.

"The power within you, is greater even than
the strength of your sister. You have the ability
to surpass Akane. Let me show you the way!"

Kasumi flinched from the commanding tone in
the boy's voice. "Stronger than Akane? It can't
be! Akane, she's a martial artist. She always
wins..."

"No, she is not," replied Ranma. "Nor am I."

Kasumi looked up at him and immediately
averted her eyes away. "She isn't?"

"The power is within your grasp Kasumi Tendo,
you need only take it. I can show you the way, the
way to mold it to your will. It sits deep within
your heart. The festering sore that burns within
there. The scar these people placed there. The
scar that wouldn't be there if she had lived."

Kasumi's eyes flashed with anger, she glared
up at him and frowned. "What would you know about
that?"

Ranma smiled. "What indeed? I know Kasumi, I
know how she left you, abandoned you. Left you all
alone to face this place, took away all your
dreams."

"How dare you!" cried the girl as she backed
away.

"I didn't, you did," replied Ranma. "I merely
told you what was going through your mind at this
very moment." He turned his head and looked at the
table again. Where Genma had once been, was
Kasumi's mother. She sat there; smiling cheerfully
as the rest of her family ate around her.

Kasumi gasped. "Mother?" Pain flashed through
her eyes, pain and longing.

Ranma smirked as something else appeared deep
inside of her. "Betrayal."

"No! Mother was sick! She..."

"She gave up. You heard the doctor say it
himself. She might have lived if she had not, at
least long enough for you to escape." He stared at
the woman for a moment. "She gave up. I wonder why
she did that?"

"Mother..." said the girl.

Ranma smiled, the weapon still held out to
Kasumi. "Now, it is time for you to take back what
you have longed for. Take back your life. Make it
your own."

The girl's head moved slowly, back and forth
between the weapon and her family. The feelings of
pain and fear whirled around her like a typhoon,
warring with the intense hatred that flashed like
lightning.

"I can feel your anger. You want this," said
Ranma as he turned the weapon over in his hands.

"I..."

"Grasp the power, take the weapon. Do what you
know in your heart you want too," said the boy
firmly. "Take your place!"

Kasumi turned away, slowly. Her back faced
Ranma and she shook as she sobbed and leaned
against the wall. Her hand slid and she stopped
long enough to look at it. Her palm was now black
with the grime that was there.

Ranma smiled in triumph as the girl whirled
around, snatching the lightsaber from his hand. It
came to life as her hatred suddenly exploded and
she charged her family with a vicious looking
snarl on her face. "Nooooo!" she screamed as she
realized what was happening.

Akane's head rolled across the ground, and her
family all looked up at her. The girl was looking
at what she'd done in horror. Her feelings
starting to fade.

Ranma frowned at this, and glared at Soun.

"Kasumi dear, I do hope you plan to clean that
up! We have guests coming over today. They'll be
here any minute."

The girl's hatred flared again, stronger than
ever. She screamed in anger and began to hack into
her family, her strokes growing in strength with
each blow. "Die! Die! Die damn you!"

"Excellent! Excellent!" said Ranma as he
laughed behind her. "Now Kasumi Tendo, you, like
your sister, are now...mine."

Kasumi fell to her knees, only partly
registering the boy's voice. Tears streaked down
her cheeks as the power that filled her slowly
faded. It wasn't something she could put her
finger on, but she didn't feel sorry at all. There
was no guilt, no remorse this time. Only a feeling
like Ranma had described, and she knew it wasn't
him doing it. She was free.

Slowly she stood up and turned to face him.
The weapon shut down in her hand and she looked at
him in a sort of awe. "I...I'm free."

Ranma smirked at this and took a step towards
her. The girl walked up to him and handed him the
lightsaber. He took it and smiled at her.

Kasumi didn't know why she knelt on the ground
in front of him, but it felt right, disturbingly
so. She didn't care though and merely shook her
head for a moment.

"I am your master now Kasumi Tendo. I will
teach you what you need to know, but I will do it
in dreams. This is how I was taught, and how I
will show you the path to true power."

Kasumi nodded. "Akane?"

"Akane has uses to me, I will show her only
what I want her to know. You will be my true heir,
my right hand. Akane will become strong,
infinitely so, but you...you will surpass her."

Kasumi nodded and looked at the ground.

"Tell no one of what you saw, your dreams are
your own. This is very important, there are those
who would stop you, and you are not yet strong
enough to defend yourself from them. In time, all
will be revealed."

Ranma faded away and Kasumi was alone. She
turned and saw the home was now immaculate, not a
speck of dust on the tables or a single spot on
the floor.

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

Ranma opened his eyes and smiled. The power
around him faded away, leaving him sitting in the
room while his father snored loudly at his side.
He turned to look at the man for a moment and
stood up.

He was tired and drained, but not sleepy. The
effort of controlling the dream had told him that
his master was much more powerful than he was,
having done that every night to him since he
discovered him. It was probably why he had faded
away in the end, using the last of his power to
teach the boy what he needed to know.

He turned and looked out the window of his
room for a moment and then back at his father
again. The night was still young, the Tendo family
tended to turn in early, and it hadn't really been
more than an hour since they had gone to bed. He
opened the window and pulled his traveling bag out
from a corner. He began to dig through it and
chuckled to himself as he pulled out a folded
piece of cloth.

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

Ranma smiled as he stood on the roof to the
Tendo home, the black cape billowing in the wind,
and a belt now hung from his hip with his
lightsaber attached. It was hidden away by the
folds of his pants mostly, but within easy reach.
"This place is new, I should see what I can find."
He jumped down and into the streets.

+++++++++++

After about an hour of walking, he found
himself in the middle of a small quiet
neighborhood. He had liked what he had found so
far; the place was silent, almost like a ghost
town. The sounds of the city could be heard far in
the distance, but where he stood was little more
than desolate. It was the perfect place to train
his students.

Something caught his attention suddenly. A
shift in the air, a dark presence not very far
away. He frowned as he searched it out for a
moment, seeking to discover what it was, and what
it meant to him, if anything.

"It's close...moving...this way," he said to
himself as he stood firmly in the middle of the
street and waited. After a moment of thought, he
glanced aside and stepped into the shadows of a
small alley between two of the homes. With that,
he crouched low and waited.

His wait was not long, cloaked in shadows he
frowned at the thing that appeared before him.
"What is that?" he muttered under his breath. It
clearly wasn't human. Yet it fit no species of
alien his master had told him of.

It's brown skin was clammy and wrinkled, and
it's eyes glowed with an eerie white light. It
looked almost like a deformed dead human. The
fangs and claws told him that it probably wasn't
human, at least, not any longer.

It simply stood in the middle of the street
and glanced around anxiously. A dark power Ranma
didn't recognize seemed to radiate around it.

Slowly, it turned and looked directly at him.
A disgusting looking grin formed on its face and
Ranma stood up. "Who are you?" he stated as he
stepped out of the shadows and frowned.

"Human! Give me your power!" screeched the
thing.

Ranma scowled and snorted in disgust. The
thing was brainless.

"Take it," he stated coldly as he moved out
into the street in front of him. His anger hidden
behind a calculated mask of indifference.

Another voice surprised him; it was young and
feminine, laced with concern. "No! Get away!"

Ranma blinked as he found himself surrounded
by five young girls. They were wearing what
appeared to be modified school uniforms. "What?
How did they? I didn't feel them at all?" his mind
screamed in shock.

"You'll all die!" screamed the monster as it
moved forward despite the odds.

"Get out of here! We'll handle this!" said the
brunette who stood closest to him.

The blonde girl who had spoken to him first
frowned as he stood staring at him. "Don't worry.
The Senshi will take care of this." She smiled
nervously and winked at him. Her pigtails bobbed
as she turned to look at the thing for a moment.

Ranma found himself smirking as he felt the
fear well up inside her. She was absolutely
terrified of the thing. "Well, should I feel safe
then?" he said out loud as he turned to stare at
the thing.

The girls gasped in shock as the monster
ignored them and dove for the boy. Ranma cursed as
he stepped back. He hadn't been expecting it to
move so fast, its power was miniscule, and it had
a strange crystal in its grasp.

The pair passed one another and the girls
gasped as the boy slowly turned his head down to
look at the thing's severed arm on the ground. The
crystal clattered across the asphalt and the sword
in his hand hummed with power. Ranma glanced up at
them and frowned, not sure of what to do. He
tensed himself to fight, thinking that they knew
too much.

"Senshi! Stop! Get out of his way!" said a
tiny voice that his ears barely picked up.

"What?" gasped Mars in shock as she and the
others turned defensively on Ranma.

He readied himself, holding his lightsaber
upright. "Damn."

"He doesn't need your help, let it be!" said
the tiny voice. Ranma frowned when he saw the tiny
headset on the blonde's ear.

The monster was kneeling on the ground,
holding it's severed limb in pain. It wasn't
screaming, but Ranma could sense the anger
emanating from the creature. The girls backed
away, watching the battle in confusion.

Ranma narrowed his eyes at the thing and held
up his hand.

The thing was lifted off of its feet and held
upright, strangling in the air with its toes
barely above the ground. "Who are you? Who do you
work for?"

"You'll be destroyed!" snarled the monster.

"I doubt that," sneered Ranma as he pushed the
thing's throat closed a little more. "Answer my
question monster." His tone was warning.

"I serve Nephrite! General under Beryl, the
dark queen!" gasped the thing.

"Thank you," said Ranma as he closed his fist
completely. The thing's windpipe was shattered,
and he could feel the blood rushing into the
monster's throat, drowning it as it already
suffocated. It shuddered violently and then
vanished into nothing.

One of the girls stepped forward as the boy
shut down his blade and glared at them. She had
short cut blue hair and the colors of her uniform
matched that. "Who are you?" she whispered more to
herself than him.

"I am Ranma Saotome, who are you?" he replied
calmly.

"What? We're the Sailor Senshi! Where have you
been?" snapped the one with long blonde hair.

"China," he replied as he leveled his glare on
her. He was slowly starting to understand the
situation.

"I don't believe it! A Jedi!" said a familiar
voice. Ranma smirked as he recognized it from the
small communicator the lead girl had used. He felt
his anger burst to life at the term she had used,
but suppressed it.

A small black cat was standing behind him, her
eyes wide with awe. She sat down and stared up at
him.

Ranma gasped in horror, taking a single step
back. Fear welled up inside him and he quickly
used it to feed his power, defending himself
against the side effects of his ill-gotten
training. He calmed visibly and stared at the
thing. "A Moon Cat."

Luna nodded slowly. "Don't be afraid girls."

The group slowly started to move in around
him.

"What's a Jedi?" muttered the lead girl
dumbly.

The shorthaired girl was already working on a
small laptop. "This is..." She smiled at the man.
"They were defenders of the Universe. An order of
powerful warriors. They were one of the strongest
allies we had during the Silver Millenium."

"Huh?" said the brunette.

"Intergalactic police it sounds like," offered
the one with long dark hair.

"Yes, not quite, but it's close enough," said
the shorthaired girls.

"I see, so you are this planet's Shanishi,"
said Ranma as an understanding seemed to come
across his face.

"Shanishi?" muttered Usagi.

"My master told me of them. They are rare, but
a few planets have them, there are rumors of ones
strong enough to hold entire galaxies under their
protection." He smiled at the girls coolly.
"Shanishi, it is a word that means 'Planetary
Defender'. It's an old practice, most planets
don't use them anymore. Although, why one planet
this backwater would need five of you is beyond
me."

He smirked to himself as he looked at them.
Shanishi were said to be as strong as a Jedi
Knight, a few could even rival the power of a Jedi
Master. However, these girls were young, and
inexperienced. No threat to him yet. In fact...

"So, what are you doing on this planet?" asked
the cat.

"This is my planet. My master found me here
and trained me when I was very young. He taught me
many things about the Universe."

Luna gasped. "You mean, there is another?" she
muttered hopefully.

"No, he is gone," said Ranma calmly.

"I see," said the cat as it hung its head. "We
need your help. This planet is in great peril. A
force invades us, a dark and evil presence."

Ranma looked down at her and smiled. "I'll do
what I can, but you must understand. My power is
limited here, as is my authority."

"That is all we ask," said Luna.

"Wait! What do you mean 'limited'?" snapped
Rei.

Luna stood in front of her and glared angrily.
"Rei!"

"I cannot interfere directly. Planetary
takeovers are tragic, but healthy for the system
as a whole. They are not illegal if done
correctly, especially since the one who plans to
take over this world, is a native."

He turned to look at Usagi again. His smile
widening as an old memory surfaced. A history
lesson, he had always hated that part of his
training. Still, it was now becoming useful in a
way that he could not have imagined. "All I can
do, is offer my protection. I can defend a person,
not the planet. I shall defend you, Princess
Serenity."

The girls all gasped in shock as they stared
at him.

"How...did..." stammered Usagi dumbly.

"You look like your ancestor," he replied with
a small chuckle. "Exactly like her."

"This Beryl, she is...from Earth?" said
Mercury as she stepped forward.

"Yes," said Ranma calmly. "If she was from
another place, I could possibly help you. Jedi to
not become involved in conflicts of a planet's
politics. Not even his own planet. It is a
safeguard against the overuse of our power."

The girls all looked uncomfortable at this
statement.

"We haven't introduced ourselves. I am Luna,"
said the small cat as she bowed her head in
apology. "These girls are Sailor Moon, Sailor
Mars, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Venus, and Sailor
Jupiter." The animal nodded towards each of them,
and the girl responded by raising her hand in
greeting.

"I see, so they are not of this planet. That
explains why so many of your are on this one. Your
planets were rendered inhospitable by the fall of
the Silver Millenium, and you came here,
fascinating."

The girls once again looked uncomfortable.

"We'll meet again, I'm certain of that," said
Ranma calmly. He turned away, his cape billowing
dramatically in the wind.

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

Nephrite growled as he finished re-watching the
scene play out from a small crystal. "Damn. A
Jedi? This is..." I light rain had started only a
few seconds before, and the senshi had already
dispersed and gone to wherever it was that they
went. He would give his arm to find that out, but
that was a question for another time. The
transformation actually made them difficult to
follow, even though the amount of magical power
involved should have made them shine like beacons.
Somehow, whoever had enchanted them had taken that
into account, and made it nearly impossible to
track their movements, even by following them.

"It is what?" said an amused sounding voice
from behind him.

Nephrite froze, he slowly turned around and
stared at the girl who was standing behind him on
the rooftop. "Who?"

A redhead, her pigtail drooped down her back,
and she was dressed as the boy in the image was.
"Jedi!" he snarled angrily as he backed away,
creating a porthole behind himself to escape.

The girl frowned and raised her hand. Nephrite
was lifted off the ground as easily as his minion
was, and found himself suspended off the edge of
the rooftop he had been standing on. "Jedi? You
dare compare me to such a weak being?"

The man's eyes were wide with terror. "What?
Who are you?"

"I am Darth Ken'o, you must be Nephrite," said
the girl calmly. "I sensed your dark presence and
decided to come and see. Tell me, what are you
planning?"

"Darth Ken'o?" muttered Nephrite through his
gasps. A memory long since buried surfaced in his
mind. The name, not hers, but something from the
distant past. "Darth Okkota!" he muttered through
his strain.

"So, you have heard of my master?" said the girl
as she pulled him back onto the roof and let him
fall to the ground. "Interesting."

"Master?" muttered the man as he stood up
slowly and stared at her in open shock.
"You're..."

"I know what I am, tell me who you are, and
why I shouldn't destroy you and whatever else lies
on the other side of that porthole?" Her eyes
glowed with power for a moment as she sneered at
him fearlessly.

Nephrite gasped and backed away in horror. He
knew she could do it if what she said was true,
and he'd seen nothing to discount that fact. "I
serve Queen Beryl! Your master, was once our
ally!"

Ranma smirked at this, "So Beryl still lives
does she? I had thought Serenity destroyed her."

"Sealed her away, with Metallia," corrected
Nephrite. "She has awakened again."

"Who? Beryl or Metallia?" said Ranma with an
amused tone.

"We await the awakening of Metallia, she is
not fully revived yet," said Nephrite carefully.

"I see, and that thing that tried to steal the
Jedi's power. It was collecting power from these
weak fools for this?" said the girl as she nodded
in understanding. She reared her head back and
laughed. "Oh, how rich. The past repeats itself."

"No. The Senshi are weak, we can destroy them
this time. Serenity does not hold the crystal this
time. We will find it first, and destroy them!"
Nephrite stood upright, a commanding tone to his
statement.

"So, they don't hold the crystal this time?"
said the girl as her face became serious. She was
becoming glad that her master had forced her to
learn all those things about her own planet's
history now. "That means the outcome is
questionable this time."

Nephrite frowned at this. "The outcome is
assured. We will destroy them."

Ranma glared at him for a moment and he fell
to his knees, clutching desperately at his throat.
"Don't question me again."

She paced back and fourth while Nephrite
strangled, contemplating. "What should I do? Who
should I side with? The outcome is questionable,
perhaps I should distance myself from..." Then she
realized, she was already doing it. A cold smile
formed down on her lips as she looked down at
herself and then back at Nephrite.

The man was nearly blacked out from his
struggles. She released him and strolled up to his
side. "Tell this Beryl, I wish to speak with her.
Meet me here, tomorrow night at this time. She
will come to me, I will not come to her."

Nephrite stood up and growled at her.

"Do not forget this," said the girl in a
warning tone. "You will regret it if you do."

The man nodded, and finally took his porthole
away from the rooftop.

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

Ranma sat at the breakfast table the next day,
he was still a bit tired from the night before,
but that wasn't too much of a problem. He'd gotten
enough sleep after he'd returned. He didn't need
much really. A full night every week or so and he
could feed off his power for a few days.

Kasumi walked out with a bucket of rice in her
hands with a cheerful smile on her face.

Ranma looked up at her and smiled. It wasn't
quite an unpleasant grin, but it was hardly
friendly.

Kasumi gasped in shock as her eyes fixed on
the table. She almost dropped what she was
carrying. Sitting beside Ranma on the table, was
the thing he had given her in the dream. She was
visibly shaken, but quickly regained her
composure.

"Kasumi dear! Are you feeling all right?"
asked Soun in concern. He was halfway standing and
ready to rush to his daughter's side. Of course,
his action caused his drink to fall over and spill
across the table and onto the floor. He ignored it
in favor of worrying about his daughter.

Kasumi's expression actually changed slightly.
Her eyes filled with hate, while the cheerful
smile remained. "Oh! I'm just fine father. Don't
worry. You should clean that up though, and be
more careful."

Soun looked down at his drink and blinked.
"Um, yes. I should."

Ranma smiled at the girl, and was taken
slightly by surprise. "So, she's a fast learner.
Excellent," he thought to himself.

++++++++++

A short time later, Ranma walked through the
hallway in a pair of boxers being the only thing
she was wearing. She was in her female form, and a
light rain fell outside the home.

"No," said the pigtailed girl calmly as she
continued on her way without stopping.

"Ranma, all your clothes are in the wash now,"
said Kasumi as she walked up to her with a blush
on her face.

"Yes, I know," replied the girl.

"Oh, well let me fill your bath now so
that..." started Kasumi.

"You can't just walk around naked you know!"
snapped Nabiki as she took up the position beside
her sister.

"Can't I?" said Ranma calmly as she continued
to walk down the stairs with both girls following
after her.

"You're a guest aren't you?" cried Nabiki
angrily.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" said
Ranma as she waved her hand in front of the girl's
face.

"What's that got to do with anything?" snarled
Nabiki coldly as she glared at the girl.

Ranma narrowed her eyes at the girl for a
moment. "You should really find something else to
do."

"Don't change the subject!" snapped Nabiki.

"Oh my!" said Kasumi as she turned away from
her master's frustration and quickly found
something else to be doing.

Ranma was perplexed. She'd used this trick on
Nabiki before and it had worked fine, now the girl
seemed to be immune. She was unable to sway her
mind. "This could be a problem," she thought
darkly.

"Come on! It's just clothes! You don't even
have to wear a skirt," said Nabiki as she grabbed
the girl by the shoulder and started to pull at
her.

Ranma reacted instantly. Nabiki wasn't even
sure what hit her. She was just sprawled across
the floor, with a small trickle of blood seeping
from her nose and an intense pain in her shoulder.
Ranma was already walking away.

The girl looked up from her place on the floor
and groaned. She saw Akane sitting at the table
looking at her. The girl had a hard frown on her
face. "She..." Her eyes went wide with shock as
Akane smirked at her and made a tiny chuckle
before turning back to watch the back yard.

"Wha? Akane?" she muttered to herself as she
stood up and rubbed at her shoulder. The blood
tickled her lip as it dripped down her face.
"What? You're not going to do anything?" she
muttered as she glared at her sister.

"You should learn to take care of yourself,"
replied the younger girl calmly.

Nabiki nodded and started towards the
bathroom. "I see."

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

"Where is Furinkan High School?"

"If it's Tokyo, it's five hundred miles south
of here."

Ryoga Hibiki would wander for another week
before he found what he was searching for.

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

TBC...

Next Time: Deal with the Devil...