Revised version. With thanks to Gary Kleppe, Vincent Seifert, Thomas Hackwood, and Michael Noakes for their detailed and helpful commentary. C&C is most welcome. Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is the property of Rumiko Takahashi and her publishers. I am merely using the characters for the purpose of profit-free entertainment and make no claim on them. Vincent Seifert has kindly provided webspace, still, for most of my fanfics and links to the rest at the following address: http://www.csus.edu/indiv/s/seifertv/kagami/ Thanks for not giving up faith in me, Vince. You can contact me at: kagami@jeack.com.au --- He ran through the darkness. Ranma left all obstacles behind, slipping between tightly- woven trees, hurdling oversized boulders, and dodging angrily hissing reptiles without a care or a thought. From a great distance, he could hear the shouts and calls of the others who had followed him to this black island, but he paid them no heed. The only thing that concerned him was a single thought: Umibouzu had never told him the consequences of sealing his mother into the darkness. It didn't help, didn't drive away the guilt and despair. There was always a choice. The price of release was the life of a human being, sacrificed by the releaser. A soul sentenced to darkness to redeem another. Ranma sent up a spray of broken glass nodules as he skidded to a sharp halt at the very edge of the cove where Umibouzu had 'dropped' them off. The beach was ominously quiet apart from the gentle lapping of waves upon the black sand. He called desperately with his mind, to no avail. The waves surged higher, and Ranma jumped back to avoid getting wet. Turning female now, with the coating of protective soap probably washed away by sweat and exertion, would be ridiculous and highly embarassing. Again the waves surged, and he quickly backed away. Something was coming; he could feel it. Was it Umibouzu? Or was it that seaworm - the Ayakashi - returning for another round? A dark, serpentine head broke the surface of the water, rising higher and higher, spraying huge droplets from shining flukes. Ranma breathed out in a silent release of tension. It was Umibouzu. Then he scrambled back hurriedly as the Great Devourer spat out the remnants of a blue whale carcass onto the beach. "Where the hell were you?!" Ranma shouted, both furious and relieved, needing to verbalise his outrage and anger. Umibouzu's mental voice sounded grumpy and dangerous, but Ranma didn't care. He stalked closer to the towering form in the cove. "You didn't tell me! You didn't tell me about the price for releasing my mother! Damn you, why didn't you tell me that?!" The tableau held for a brief moment - man, or half-demon, against monster. Umibouzu rumbled, steam issuing from gaping maw, whether in anger or annoyance Ranma did not know. "Dammit! It's not!" Guiltily, he wondered. Succeed at any cost - that was the message drummed into his head from birth by his father, by Genma. That was the way he'd always fought! "If you believed that, why'd you help me, anyway?" A blast of heated air shot from Umibouzu's upwardly-pointing jaws, lancing into the sky like the spume of a great whale. "Restraint? How d'ya know that?" --- "Wake up, Ranma! Hmph, you sleep like a log!" Ranma found himself blinking groggily as Akane shook him upright. Blurry dream memories of his earlier conversation with Umibouzu fled away, mingling with the sight of a rosy dawn in his half-fogged mind. He nearly slipped on the damp and treacherously slick scales of Umibouzu's neck ridge. Gasping, he clung to a nearby fluke for support. Was that Tokyo in the distance? "What? What's going on?" "See for yourself, dreamer." Akane prodded him until he was sufficiently awake to peer at the sight confronting him. "And don't think I've forgotten about you running off like that last night, Ranma." Akane's voice promised future punishment, something he might have savoured, given half a chance, but as his eyes sharpened into clarity everything else dropped away. It was Tokyo; they'd come home safely. But why was it so white... ? "Why's it so white?" he asked aloud in unconscious repetition. Then he realized. A thick blanket of snow lay like a white shroud over the entire city. --- An Awakening of Demons A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic By Kagami Chapter 12: White Shadows "Everything's sharper against a background of white, even shadows." -- unattributed saying --- "It's only late October; why's it snowing?" Ryoga asked, as he stepped off the Great Devourer's back onto the abandoned pier. Umibouzu's seal prevented almost everyone from seeing them, and Tokyo harbour was unnervingly quiet in the early morning. "Looks like a shroud. I remember seeing the Turin shroud when I was in Italy." His desperate attempt at cool poise disintegrated a moment later as a warmly, purring bundle attached herself to his right arm. "Oh, Ryoga-sama, I never realized you were so polished and urbane. The Turin shroud was always high on my list of art treasures to see. Sadly, Father would always insist on Hawaii as the destination for every overseas holiday." Kodachi was a surprisingly pleasant burden on his arm. It made him realize that he was alive, back in Japan, and Akane was alive, and... "When did you get lost to Italy, P-chan?" ... and Ranma was also still alive and annoying. "Hey, I didn't get lost on that trip, Ranma! It was a family holiday: Dad made it back from an overseas trip, Mom returned from her shopping trip to the local store, and I got back from supporting the girls' team at that Martial Arts Tennis Tournament back in junior school. We made it to Italy together." "Huh, a minor miracle, and Martial Arts Tennis Tournaments? I never knew -- hey!" Ranma's sentence was cut off as Akane dragged him away. "But, Akane, he'd know something new..." Fortunately, the voice cut off into an inaudible mutter. Feh, as if he'd ever teach Ranma the secrets of Martial Arts Tennis Playing, like the Burning Heart Smash, the Net Post Ricochet, or the No-Return Love Serve. Come to think of it, that experience might have exacerbated his shyness to girls. "Come on, let's get to Kuno's. I'm worried about Kasumi, Dad, and Nabiki..." Akane said, hand still wrapped around Ranma's mouth. "What about Panda-man?" Shampoo added as she hopped down, carrying her bonbori, sword, a short spear, and half-a- dozen other weapons Ryoga couldn't remember seeing her with on the island. Moeru slid down beside her, shooting a brief smile up at the towering, silent form of Umibouzu. "..., oh, and Uncle Saotome as well." Ukyo was the last to descend. Shampoo was surprisingly unaffected by the sight of Akane clinging to a semi- reluctant Ranma, but Ryoga caught Ukyo shooting black glances at both the pairs on the pier. There was an air of resignation and yet great determination around the okonomiyaki chef, almost as though she were silently declaring 'I haven't lost yet, not by a long shot' to the world. Ryoga felt a flash of almost pity. --- Snow continued to fall on the way to the Kuno estate. Delicate flakes of white descended in supreme majesty to coat the ground in a mantle of wonder; eventually to melt and become the bane of Ranma's existence. The current fall seemed too solid to seriously worry him. Still, he kept one hand moving in a blur to ward off as much snow as possible. Akane was beside him, with Ukyo and Moeru just behind. Behind them, Ryoga was a bundle of abject misery, too paranoid to trust the unseasonal weather and huddled beneath his large umbrella, sharing it with a grateful Shampoo and an annoyed Kodachi. It would be a problem if he changed right in front of Kodachi. Or maybe it would solve one of his problems instead. There were too many uncertainties to be sure, and this was a particularly bad time to experiment. Still, there was an air of almost-happiness about them. They had made it through yet another dangerous journey. They all had, Ranma thought with satisfaction, as they approached the front gates of the Kuno estate. The merry mood of survival gratitude was unfortunately broken the moment Ranma crossed the boundary of the Kuno manse. A flicker on his danger-sense, and Ranma was already moving, leaping to the side, cradling Akane in his arms. Cologne's staff shattered the ground where he'd just been. "What's this?" he growled, not amused in the slightest. He set Akane down, sensing no further threat around him. Cologne merely hopped off her staff and extended it tip- first toward him. Ranma snatched the letter on its end and opened it. "Small welcome, Granny," Ukyo said from the doorpost. "What was that attack on Ran-chan for?" Ranma wordlessly handed her the letter. The group crowded around Ukyo, reading the missive from the sides and over her shoulder. For a moment, the words failed to make any sense, then Ukyo gasped. "Tonight?" "Yeah, well, we better get ready," was all Ranma said as he walked toward the house. --- "Please make yourselves at home," Kodachi said politely to the others, bowing, as courtesy demanded, before quickly spiriting her prize away. "Hey!" exclaimed her prize, nervously looking back at the rapidly dwindling group behind them. "Where are we going?" demanded Ryoga. "Why, Ryoga-sama, how can you ask that question? Since we're safely home, we should bathe, dine, and then retire to my bedchamber as befits a new couple." Kodachi smiled brilliantly, evoking a host of conflicting emotions in Ryoga's heart, not to mention an upwelling of blood to his vulnerable nose. "Perhaps Ranma-sama might care to join us?" The upwelling dwindled to a trickle. Ranma was like a dash of ice water to the system. Ryoga shivered at the thought of sharing a bed with the two of them. He stopped cold. It has to end now. I've let it go long enough. Akari, my sweet... Fate, and the possibility of danger, intervened in the form of a bokken suddenly poised at the tip of his nose. "You there! What villain dares touch the sister of the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, Tatewaki Kuno?" Tatewaki, obviously unamused, held his bokken high. Lightning crackled across the wintery sky behind him. "I have yet to grant my noble permission for you to date my sister, and never will I do such! Unhand my sister at once!" "Wha... ? Wait, it's not what it..." A light touch by Kodachi halted his faltering sentence. "Really, brother dear, this is Ryoga Hibiki - a dear friend of mine." Her delicate finger shifted the tip of the bokken away. "He is a guest of this house, so please refrain from threatening him. Remember your photo album in the hidden compartment of your wardrobe." The bokken was hurriedly withdrawn. Kodachi loosed a victorious laugh. "Oh-hohohohohohoho!!" Hmm, it was lacking in something, some minor touch of intonation or pitch. She really needed to resume her normal fifteen minutes of practice in the morning. "Really, sister, how can you carry on so with this peasant when Ranma Saotome is in this very same house?" And awaiting my seduction, Kodachi completed the unspoken thought on behalf of her brother. Or perhaps not, given Tachi's strange ideas in that arena - awaiting an exchange of diaries might be more in keeping with his style. "Why should I not have a choice? My love is great enough for two." "No! That is not acceptable. Ranma Saotome should have your entire devotion," Tatewaki declared grandiosely. "To split your love in twain is dishonest. It is despicable. It is--" "--the pot calling the kettle blue?" Kodachi smiled as her brother drew himself up, righteous fury filling his veins and head to the detriment of all good sense. It had been too long since their last battle of words. Beside her, Ryoga's piteously desperate "Umm..." was lost to the wind. --- Ranma side-stepped the drunken embrace of a plastered panda. Literally, that is. The old man was still strapped into three limb casts. The panda fell flat on his face with a dull thud. Nearby, an equally drunken Tendo patriarch held a less-than-enthused Akane, covering her with joyful tears and alcoholic breath. "A-Akane! You-- you're s-safe! I dream-hic-ed you died! D- drowned! J-just like your m-mother..." Soun wailed. "We-- we were hic-planning the f-f-funeral." "Uh, thanks..." Akane choked out, trying to avoid the insidious fumes. It was nearly as bad as standing in Umibouzu's maw. Then what her father had said struck her, and she turned her head to stare suspiciously at his sake- red face. "Say, didn't you tell me Mom died in a car accident?" Empty eyes, still leaking futile tears, stared back at her uncomprehendingly, and Akane sighed. Empty bottles littered the floor mats of the room, bespeaking the incredible amounts the two old fools had put away - especially considering the efficiency with which Kasumi must have been cleaning the room. Ranma squatted next to the fallen panda and snorted, mostly in disgust. "Hey, Pop, why're ya in panda-form anyway?" A limp paw shakily held up a painstakingly scrawled sign: Uh huh. Ranma grabbed a couple of handfuls of damp fur to drag his father's face close. "And why aint'cha worrying about Mom, huh?!" The coherency died as Genma's eyes rolled back into his head, and he sank into blissful unconsciousness. Ranma dropped him in exasperation. Extracting Akane from a still-weeping Soun took several more minutes. "Still happy we came back?" Akane sighed. "I don't know why I worried." Ranma shook his head. Pop didn't have all that much, even in the sneaky tactics department, but hope sprang eternal... to be constantly and bitterly dashed. "Well, they're no use. Maybe Cologne could help... and Moeru." He turned around. "Say, where is Moeru anyway?" --- The kitchen was filled with warmth by an old-style fireplace. Kasumi Tendo was at home here. Akane had come round earlier with news of their safe return, which gladdened her heart. That happiness and joy was soon to be translated into a more physical medium - food. If only she could locate the matches for the stove. Strange how the Kuno household had an abundance of certain items and a lack of other common utilities. Perhaps it reflected the spirit of the Kuno family as a whole? The bustling servants were off bustling elsewhere, and there were no matches to be found. Well, she could always use a stick from the fireplace... "Here, allow me." Kasumi glanced up to meet the eyes of a dragon. She blinked in surprise. No, just another woman of around twenty, dressed in an odd, but elegant, mix of Japanese and Western clothing. The eyes were a startling blue, emphasized by a head of red hair, but still normal. Why had she... ? She recovered sufficiently to realize she was staring. "Ah, pardon me, I am Kasumi Tendo." "Moeru. A friend of Ranma's." "I see. By friend, you don't mean..." Ranma, she realized, didn't have all that many friends. Enemies, yes; allies of the moment, yes; but friends, well, no. And his female 'friends' were all would-be fiancees. Kasumi hoped Moeru was not; Akane had been through enough headaches already. "Oh no, he's much too young for me. Just a friend." Moeru flashed a disarming grin. "About the fire..." "Yes, please." Kasumi blinked as her new companion turned on the stove and snapped her fingers to light the gas ring. Unsure of what she'd seen, she ventured, "Thank you. You know, that was my first reaction when I heard about Ranma. I thought him more appropriate for Akane." "Yes, they do seem well matched." "Well..." The sound of a throat being delicately cleared interrupted them. "Oh, Nabiki." Kasumi turned to notice her younger sister. "I was just starting dinner." "Ranma's--" Nabiki broke off, briefly puzzled, though for what reason Kasumi could not guess, "ah, that is, we're holding a meeting in the dining room." --- "This is a sad house," Moeru said, looking at the portraits of past Kunos lining the quiet hallway they traversed. "Cold and empty." "Yes, well, that describes the Kunos to a 'T'. Despite their bright passions." Nabiki glanced curiously at the avatar of the Blue Dragon. Such strange dress. The kimono was ancient but well-preserved; Nabiki mentally assessed its worth and arrived at a pleasant sum. And yet the blue beret might have complemented any modern UN peacekeeper. It was hard to believe someone so peculiar and yet ordinary was part of a legendary creature. "What tipped you off? Some mystic sense?" "Actually, it was the floor traps." "Heh, same for me." Nabiki chuckled. "Of course, I knew Kuno better, as well, back then. Is that why you were in the kitchen? For the warmth?" Moeru shrugged slightly. "I like fire, and it likes me." "Hmm, and my sister can be quite a comfort as well." Nabiki stole a look at the long, delicate fingers that had stroked a flame from the air, her sense for profit tingling overtime. "Can you do any other tricks with fire?" "You saw?" At Nabiki's confirming nod, she went on, "A few more. Why do you ask?" "Well, we could make a huge saving on hot water bills." For a start. Cologne bounded up on her wooden staff and joined them. She looked quizzically at Moeru, who returned the look. "A Matriarch of the Hero Tribe," Moeru mused aloud. "You must be associated with the other Joketsuzoku warrior who came to the island with Ranma." "Yes, Shampoo is my great-granddaughter. I am Cologne." "Well met. I am Moeru, Seiryuu's avatar. Tell me, Matriarch Cologne, why warriors of the Hero Tribe - who has sworn not to mingle blood with demons - accompany a half- demon such as Ranma Saotome?" "She who stands beside you holds many answers." Cologne directed a sidelong look at Nabiki who strove to hold a neutral mask over a glint of avaricious curiousity. "This she knows and may speak of." Nabiki snorted. "I'm sure we can work something out." "Let me ask you something, Moeru," Cologne said, a questioning look on her face. "The Blue Dragon has long been associated with the element of water in the ancient legends; I find it curious that you now represent fire instead." "Nothing is eternal." Moeru reflected on the powerful, shifting nature of water - a strong, sometimes vicious element. Called the giver of life by many, and the bringer of death by others. Or rather, to be more accurate, the bringer of change. "So it was once, and so it will be again." Cologne chuckled. "Nicely put. Utterly vague and mysterious. I could learn something from you." "Ah, you're simply a few thousand years too young to match me, Matriarch." Cologne merely chuckled again as they arrived at the dining room. Nabiki, beside them, grumbled under her breath about secretive and annoying elders. --- The dining room simmered with a quiet tension. Nabiki chose a seat close to the wall with a perfect view of the entire room. Ranma was stuck in the strained silence of three surrounding fiancees. Well, two really. Shampoo was sitting with them, but her attention was focused on Cologne and Moeru; Akane and Ukyo more than made up for her lapse, though. Beside Ukyo was the ever-faithful Konatsu, quietly looking around as if wondering at the astronomical cost of the room. A number of piles of books had mysteriously migrated from the library to rest on the long, rectangular dinner table. Well, not mysteriously, Nabiki thought wryly, rubbing slightly sore arms. She had managed two loads before imperiously enlisting the Kuno family servants. Kuno himself was already seated at the head of the table, peering interestedly at the pages of a small book labelled 'Oni Poetry'. Nabiki shuddered inwardly; that was one work she should have burned when she'd had the chance. The drunken fathers were still sleeping off the sake in their room. But where were... ? Nabiki felt her jaw drop as Kodachi swept in with Ryoga in tow. Kodachi was dressed in a provocative black satin evening gown, decorated with black roses and darkly clinging with one shoulder exposed. Ryoga, in a matching suit, looked horribly embarrassed and overshadowed. Nabiki furiously wondered just how she had kept hold of Ryoga while changing. And where had she gotten the suit for Ryoga? Ranma bounded gratefully to his feet as the last two people arrived. "Let's get started, then--" "Hold, Saotome!" Kuno commanded as he rose from his seat. "As head of the household, it should be I who governs this meeting." "Put a sock in it, Kuno," Ranma shot back in asperity. "We got things to plan here." "Really, Ranma-sama," Kodachi slid in smoothly, "do you all really plan anything? I thought the usual option was simply a full frontal assault." "Remember the shrine, sugar?" Ukyo drawled, smug in the role of saviour. "You nearly bought it there, and that was with a plan. Just think what could have happened without one." "Shampoo remember shrine. Also know plan fall apart like Akane's cooking!" Shampoo had a familiar glint in her eyes. Old grudges were like long-time best friends. "This time we go in, kill all things. Keep simple, yes?" "Hey! That was nothing like my cooking!" Akane protested, jumping to her feet. "I nearly died, not Ran-- um..." She sat back down, disgruntled. WHAM! Nabiki flinched as Cologne's staff slammed into the table. A resounding silence ensued. "Children!" Cologne said in a voice full of contempt, remarkably acid for a three-foot tall troll standing atop a dinner table. "Is this the group that will assault the Tokyo Tower tonight? Shukumaru will destroy all of you. Do you even know why it is snowing?" "Um, that was a question I had," Ryoga said. "This is why!" Cologne flung down an open book on the table. The group jumped up and clustered around, staring at the image on the page. It was a well-drawn picture of a tall, white-haired lady in a pale kimono, standing on a snow-covered mountainside. "Shimoyake, the Ice Maiden, sister to the Snow Woman. Shukumaru has bound her powers, and Tokyo is the victim of those powers. "She now has hold of two of the four Cardinal Servants of the East. Do you know what that means? Do you?!" "Well, what?" Ranma asked Cologne eagerly. "I don't know." Nabiki shook her head at the multiple resulting thuds. Really, it was just too obvious sometimes. She wasn't about to be caught out by the old bat. She took a seat and waited for the others to pick themselves up. "Old ghoul, I should--" Ranma choked out as he clawed his way up. "Shukumaru is gathering power for some reason." The quiet voice belonged to Moeru, still seated beside Cologne. "Neither I nor Matriarch Cologne have been able to determine why. I need to get closer and see the energy flows." "Gathering power? But we know why: she's aiming to become Demon Lord," Ukyo said. "I mean gathering power directly for a ritual. Assuming the position of Demon Lord does not require such methods as I have detected." Moeru shook her head in emphasis. "No, this is for some other purpose." "Well, then we just need to stop her, right, Ranchan?" "Right." Ranma nodded firmly. "Look, I figure we leave for Tokyo Tower at eight--" "Why so late, Ranma-sama?" Kodachi asked, leaning forward towards her pig-tailed love. "What if Shukumaru completes her ritual beforehand? She could be more powerful when we face her." "No, she said midnight in the challenge letter. I'm guessing that's when it's gonna finish. We'll get our best shot near the end." Ranma slammed the palm of his hand on top of the table. "She'll be distracted then and--urk!" Kodachi laid her own warm hand over his to the growls of angry women. "You know you have my complete support, Ranma- sama. I hope your reasoning is sound." Akane and Ukyo both grabbed an arm each and yanked Ranma away. The light of battle sparkled dangerously in the eyes of three competing girls. Kodachi waved her offending hand airily, dismissing the challenge, before linking it around Ryoga's arm. "Yeah, well..." Ranma attempted to gather his thoughts. "We go in with two groups. The main group is a diversion to handle any tricks and demon fodder Shukumaru has available. The other group goes in the hard way: through the outside." "What? You ain't serious, Ranchan! Climb Tokyo Tower in the dark and snow?" Ukyo snorted in disbelief. "That's three hundred meters! You don't even know where she'll be." "Yep. That's why it'll be just Ryoga, Moeru, and me," Ranma declared. "Moeru can sense where Shukumaru is, and I can handle her." "What about me, Ranma?" Ryoga asked from across the table. "What do you need me for?" "Well, you'd just get lost going in the normal way, P- chan. I figured even you can't get lost climbing a piece o' steel with only one way to go - and that's up." "Why, you! R-R-Ranma..." Ryoga growled, a red wave of anger descending on him. He reached out across the table to seize and rend. Unfortunately, the girls yanked Ranma further away, and Kodachi held him back. Ranma felt Akane's hand tighten on his arm. "Ranma, you're not leaving me behind. I'm coming with you." "What, no way, Akane! There's no way you'd get up there - a clumsy tomboy like you." Akane swung him around, and, for a moment, Ranma thought she'd hit him and put a stop to the conversation. Instead she closed her eyes momentarily and took a deep breath, and said quietly, "I'm coming with you." "And so am I, Ranchan," Ukyo said just as quietly from behind him. --- Ryoga sighed in satisfaction as he stared out at the red evening sun from his perch beneath the overhanging roof. The slate shingles were comfortable enough, and he was out of the snow. And it was blessedly quiet, peaceful without Ranma, or even Kodachi, around. Dinner had been the only thing stopping the ensuing argument and brawl. Kodachi had been right. Planning just didn't sit well with this group. Straight in and blast anything in the way was surely the best option. If he were Ranma... well, that was just it - he wasn't. And he was letting Akane accompany him. That fool! That idiot! That-- "Hey, Ryoga!" "Gyah!" Ryoga jumped as a short, pig-tailed girl swung down from over the roof, landing neatly into place next to him. "What the-- ! Oh, it's you, Ranma." His heart stopped pounding at twice the going rate, and he got to one knee, fist poised menacingly. "What's the meaning of this?!" Far from being menaced, Ranma locked his hands together in a gesture of supplication, eyes huge and pleading. "It's like this, Ryoga--" "And why're you in girl-form?" He stared suspiciously at the pig-tailed girl. The only times Ranma was a girl around him was when he wanted something. Badly. "Huh? Well, it's been some time-- and it's not important. Look, I need something from ya, Ryoga." "Ah-hah!" Ryoga pointed triumphantly at his former rival. "I knew it! The great Ranma Saotome comes around to beg, and he does it as a girl. What's with you anyway, Ranma?" "Hey, I'm telling ya it's not important, okay? It's about tonight, and Akane..." "I know what you're going to ask, Ranma. And it's 'no'." "What? No!? It's Akane, man! She'll be in danger!" Ranma spluttered in disbelief. "You're refusing ta help--" Ryoga flung his emergency thermos at the babbling idiot. "Ask me as a guy, fool." --- The sun, already dim in the falling snow, sank without a murmur to plunge the world into darkness. Ranma slipped out before the moon rose, reaching the wall without problems; the traps were off tonight. He made it over the wall with a single bound, then trotted down the snow-laden alleyway to meet Ryoga and Moeru. And a third figure dressed in black Devil Hunter's garb. Ranma gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath. Ryoga, you idiot. Can't you do anything right? "Hey, Kodachi. What'cha doing here?" Kodachi chortled - softly, fortunately. "You did not think to leave me out of this, did you, Ranma-sama? You will need my powers tonight as well as those of your minions." Ranma winced inwardly. Moeru was less restrained, shaking slightly, murmuring, "I resent that minion remark, Devil Hunter." The sibilant whisper of the Devourer arose within. Ranma emphasized firmly. He squashed the thought. Ryoga looked pretty guilty at arriving with extraneous company. "Um, well... Kodachi... uh, we should get going." With a muted laugh of embarassment, he charged off. In the wrong direction. Ranma sighed, unsurprised. --- Tokyo Tower: a massive lattice of steel girders stretching to the heavens, standing three hundred and thirty-three meters tall. Painted a crimson red, it stood like a radiant torch in the heart of Japan's capital city. In the dimness of the cloudy night, its scarlet hue faded into inky blackness, becoming a shadowed blade thrust into the night. The Tower mounted two observation decks: the Main Observatory at one hundred and fifty meters, and the smaller Special Observatory near the pinnacle. Linking the platforms was the massive central column holding sets of elevators and broadcasting studios for various Japanese TV stations. At night, the Tower was normally brightly lit by dozens of high-powered spotlights, but not tonight. Instead the structure was shrouded by darkness and the swirl of snowflakes. It was ominously quiet. "A warding." Moeru looked solemn, her face pale in the shadows, and held a hand forward. She touched a point in the air two feet before her which flared up in pulsations of malevolent green, illuminating the shield. "The Tower has been closed to the attention of normal people. Likely all the night security guards are already dead." "How about unusual people?" Ryoga asked. "They know better than to interrupt something this big." Moeru brushed away the snow piling upon her shoulders and sneezed once. She shook her head to clear it. "We should get moving." "What's going on in there?" Ranma wondered, looking at the Tower entrance dubiously. "I cannot say for certain, but it would appear your Shukumaru is attempting a full-fledged manifestation," Moeru offered. "Though she is a rather young demon to be trying such." "A what?" Ranma asked. "And she's not my Shukumaru." "She means Shukumaru is trying to assume her full demon form," Kodachi translated just as the avatar of the Blue Dragon opened her mouth to explain further. Moeru, thunder stolen, muttered about presumptious mortals. Kodachi merely looked superior in return. "Demon form?" Ryoga questioned. "Is she going to turn into a giant cat or something?" "Exactly, Ryoga-sama," Kodachi beamed, obviously pleased. "I knew you were brighter than everyone believed." "Thanks... I think," Ryoga replied hesitantly. Ranma, of course, wasn't even listening to the byplay. Instead his mind had seized upon the one relevant word in the whole conversation. "A c-c-cat?" "Well, yes, Ranma-sama," Kodachi affirmed. "After all, she is the offspring of a Cat Demon, just as you are." Ranma bashed his head against a nearby concrete pillar in frustration. "Great. Just great. Three things I absolutely hate: cold water, cats, and tomboys - and they're all gonna be-- Wait!" He stopped, then brightened. "No tomboys." --- Akane was polishing a piece of steel that had been in her family for generations: her mother's katana. For all that the Tendos had traditionally been wielders of the spear, the ancient blade was due a position of respect as the carrier of the family name. There were legends about the sword, she knew, but unfortunately her mother had not passed them down to any of them. Father was still incapable of facing the blade without breaking down and weeping, though he did that about many things these days. Life had held still for him and, increasingly, it seemed the same way for her as well. School hadn't been a major factor in her planning over the past few days. Her father had written notes for them which might last a few more days. However, 'demons attempting to kill my family' didn't really cut it as an excuse with the school examination board. Well, Principal Kuno would believe it, but he'd probably just set up another of his crazy Find-the-Coconut games again. Obtaining a pass in that manner wouldn't make her mother happy, though Ranma would probably be delighted. Akane sighed and slid the polished blade into the lacquered scabbard. There was nearly an hour to go before they had to leave. Something nagged at her and she frowned. What was it? She could hear the wind blowing outside, a soft shrieking that set her hair on end. The tick of the clock on the mantelpiece resounded in the room's silence... that was it! She leapt up, aghast. It was far too quiet. With Ranma and the gang around, there was typically as much noise as a demolition crew. That meant-- Akane slammed out of her room and pounded up the hallway to Ranma's room. The door was closed, but a quick kick flung that barrier open. Akane strode in... to an empty room. "Don't panic," she whispered to herself. "He could be somewhere else in the house." But, deep within, she knew it was too late. Ranma had gone. Again. --- "It's a trap!" Ryoga said sharply as they crossed the barrier. "Well, jeeze, P-chan, we know that." Ranma snorted inelegantly. "That's why we're here." "No, I mean it's a real trap. Over there." He pointed at the ground before them, near the entrance to the Tower. "I've seen it before - at Kaminari shrine. I didn't know what it was, then, but now I do. It was that lightning beast, Raiha." The ground shook in reply to Ryoga's announcement. Chunks of rock and earth flew in all directions before an almighty explosion shattered the garden plot. The group jumped back hastily, wincing as rubble and flowers pelted them. Ryoga blinked away dirt and tears as an star-bright, electric- blue mass heaved itself from the crater. The light from the mass threw shadows all around. Ryoga squinted into the azure luminance as the figure shimmered into a familiar form: a massive wolf of crackling lightning. There was a roar of static in the air, and small bolts leapt from Raiha to ground themselves in the tormented earth. "So, mortals, we meet again." The blue wolf's bass rumble shivered the air. "Shukumaru has commanded your deaths. Come forth and perish." Ranma strode forward, but Ryoga caught his arm. "Wait, Ranma. This is my fight! You guys go on and leave him to me." "What, Ryoga? We can take him and then--" Ryoga shook his head. "Come on, Ranma. All that bull before about midnight being the end of the ritual. You haven't the faintest, have you? That's why you came early." Ranma flashed him a tight grin. "Don't die on me, Ryoga. Akane'd kill me if you did." Kodachi drew near and kissed him on his cheek. "Truly you make a fitting husband for a Devil Hunter, Ryoga-sama. Best him quickly and join us above." Ryoga chuckled, a little hollowly, as Ranma and the others circled warily around the monstrous form of Raiha. The wolf seemed content to let them pass as Ryoga faced him squarely. He cracked his knuckles in preparation, sending explosives echoes into the night. "You hurt Akane at the Thunder Shrine, demon. I'll make you pay for that." "Come and die then, mortal." Ryoga leapt in. --- "She's further up," Moeru called as they climbed the steel lattice of Tokyo Tower. The avatar of Seiryu was shivering heavily in the inclement weather. She sneezed again, then muttered something inaudibly. The wind whistled past, howling nameless threats at those who defied it. Ranma refused to look down at where Ryoga was no doubt battling for his life. He unlocked his grip on the steel bar beside him and launched himself up another ten meters. Hands darted and feet stabbed painfully into the metal to purchase a new balance amid the shrieking gusts. Moeru was doing well, finding a steady pace in climbing the Tower, girder by girder. Her height lent her a considerable reach which made things relatively easier. Kodachi was having the easiest time of all of them, her Soul Lash wrapping around each successive girder to swing her up and around. They had nearly reached the Main Observation Deck. This would have to be navigated by crawling, upside down, across its base while fighting the pull of gravity on a perpendicular body. Akane would never have made it. He reached for the first grip. --- Gray clouds cloaked the stars as Ryoga faced off against the greatest challenge of his life - apart from Ranma, that is. The Thunderbeast had knocked him unconscious in one blow at their last meeting. That was bad enough, and that it had happened in front of Akane was... Ryoga cracked his knuckles. Raiha prowled around him in a tightening circle. Lupine blue jaws gaped, letting droplets of crackling electricity fall to splatter on melting snow. That was a concern. Ryoga warily eyed the steaming mush where the Thunderbeast had trod. Falling into that stuff might just be enough to trigger his curse and bring a quick end to the battle. Another worry to add to his load of permanent angst and depression. The end to his spiral of despair came swiftly; the cerulean wolf's jaws widened even further, and white fury erupted forth. He flung out his hands and cupped them together in a familiar position. "Shishi Hokodan!" The Lion's Roar met the incoming bolt in a furious storm of mutual annihilation. When the roiling cloud of energy spent itself, only a blackened circle, ten feet wide and free from encasing snow, remained. Ryoga locked gazes with the Thunderbeast, fighting down a wave of satisfaction. Was that a hint of wariness in those azure eyes? He could it. He could win and redeem his earlier failure. He could... With a howl that heralded doom, Raiha leapt at him. Ryoga flinched aside, and gigantic jaws snapped shut inches above his head. He slammed his fist into the chest of the beast in an automatic counter, and screamed as electricity coursed around his hand and up his arm, jolting and wracking every nerve in his body. He wrenched his stiff arm away from the contact point and flung himself to his left. The soft snow felt marvelously cooling after his brief bout of electrocution, but there was no time to wallow in relief. Ryoga rolled aside as a massive paw smashed the ground where he had just lain. "Bakusai Tenketsu!" Ryoga stabbed his finger into the ground, flinging up a concealing cloud of broken rocks and snow spray. He stumbled away from the enveloped wolf, muscles trembling uncontrollably and aching as if he had embraced a power main. He could still win. It would just be far harder than he had thought. --- Groaning, Ranma swung himself over the edge of the Observation Deck and onto the roof. Snow still blanketed his view, dropping in a chiaroscuro of whirling shadows. Moeru and Kodachi clambered up beside him to stand blinking in the darkness. Ranma heaved himself upright, fighting the pulling wind, and trotted forward. "Wait, Ranma," Moeru warned. "There is a familiar presence here." A bolt of ice screamed forth from the darkness to shatter on the roof as the three of them flung themselves aside. Moeru staggered up and called a flame to the palm of her hand. The brightness illuminated a pale figure garbed in deathly white. "Shimoyake." "Well, well, the eternal dragon returns at last. How have you been, Moeru?" The voice of Kori Otome was brittle as ice. "Still as arrogant as ever?" "Still the yapping frost bitch, aren't you?" Moeru returned. "First you failed the father, and now you've been beaten by the daughter. How humiliating for you." "Silence!" Shimoyake hurled a lance of scintillating ice forward. Moeru countered with a bolt of red flames. Inimical forces met with an explosion that rivaled celestial thunder. She wove a shield of fire to block frozen daggers, then thrust forth a blazing tornado that melted her target. A huge hole yawned in the central column of Tokyo Tower, exposing the main elevator shaft. Ranma and Kodachi gaped at her. Moeru growled, "Go! I'll keep her busy." She covered their run, circling her adversary with barrier held in place. She collapsed it as soon as she felt it drawing on her vital essence. It was just too cold. Shimoyake had had far too long to set up her battlefield. All the advantages lay with her opponent. It was a question of lasting as long as she could. Even as she recognized the danger facing her, the weather changed for the worse, falling snow hardening into hailstones. Moeru dodged as best she could, conserving her energy. She fueled a shred of flame, then drew the chill air to fan it into a wave of orange heat. Moeru forced the flaming wave outward, rolling over the icy roof to smash into a wall of white ice. The fire clawed futilely at the uncaring wall, melted ice reforming almost at once in the cold. The fiery wave ebbed, red-gold tongues flickering to die in the night. As the last of the flame died, the wall crumbled away to reveal Shimoyake, lips curled into a cruel, satisfied smirk. "They can run, Moeru, but I will catch them." Moeru set her shoulders. "First, you'll have to get past me." --- Ranma and Kodachi leapt from wall to wall, springboarding off the vertical surfaces to climb the empty elevator shaft. Kodachi used her Soul Lash as an aid to anchor her to a point above. Leaping to-and-fro over gaping emptiness, three hundred meters above a messy demise, was pure madness without support - or Cat Demon reflexes, such as Ranma possessed. She might be a trifle exuberant, but that was a far cry from full-fledged insanity. Nothing triggered her demon sense, but Kodachi still felt uneasy. Surely Shukumaru would not leave herself unprotected - or could she be so confident about the outcome? Only that uneasiness saved her as a jet of steaming water spurted past. Kodachi twisted left, hand catching the lip of a protruding support girder. Across the shaft, she saw Ranma hurl himself into a corner, barely avoiding a rush of icy water. She cast a desperate glance up into the shadows and saw nothing. No silhouettes, no motion, nothing at which to strike. A cheery, infantile female voice rang out, echoes drowning the source of the sound. "Look, brother! What a pair of agile rats we've caught." "So I see, Oyuhime. Shame about these things, you know." Someone tapped an insistent tink, tink, tink against the metallic wall of the shaft. "Only twenty feet across. I'm guessing I can fill that up completely. What do you think, sister?" Kodachi's eyes widened. She clung desperately to her handhold and the Soul Lash as a torrent of cold water blasted down the vertical passage. The icy deluge soaked her to the skin and shocked her system, leaving her gasping. It was followed two seconds later by a falling wall of boiling water. Kodachi closed her eyes desperately and fought back a scream as the heat scalded her exposed skin. Then it was another icy blast, and then a blistering wave of heat, and on and on. Water, merely water, but Kodachi never realized what a hatred one could develop for something so ordinarily pleasant and useful. Her eyes snapped open as Ranma screamed, a tortured cry that held more than a touch of despair. There! She tracked a hand that was descending all too rapidly in the freezing waterfall. She launched herself without even thinking, grabbing the outstretched hand, and steeling herself as the full weight nearly ripped her arms out. The Soul Lash held, as she knew it would, and she reached the peak of her arc and swung into the backspin with an appalled realization. The launching pad - a solid metal surface - came up abruptly. Kodachi and Ranma slammed into the wall with near bone-breaking force. "Ahhh!" Kodachi spat blood from a cut lip, and tried to fight the pain that shot through her body. "R-Ranma, can you find any purchase?! Ranma?" She looked down-- --and the pig-tailed girl looked back up, dazed, with pain- filled eyes. Kodachi tightened her grip involuntarily, which was fortunate as her first instinct was to let go. Then the next wall of falling water burned her back. Kodachi blinked and found herself holding Ranma. She stared in disbelief and growing horror. "What!?" Cold water fell and the pig-tailed girl returned. Kodachi could feel the change as the hand in her own palm transformed and the weight in her grasp grew or lessened. Hot water, cold water, hot, cold, hot, cold. Ranma screamed again as the changes came rapidly, far, far too rapidly. "K-Kodachi, I can't take much m-more," the pig-tailed girl gasped out. Kodachi shook her head. It wasn't Ranma, it couldn't be Ranma. She must have lost it completely, just like her mother. That was it. A giggle escaped her. "Kodachi!" The voice echoed commandingly. Kodachi looked down again, compelled. Ranma was male once more; strange how she'd missed that last wave of water. She hadn't felt it at all. "Kodachi, look at me! I'm gonna try something." She looked. Ranma tried to smile at her, but it came out as a tired, tormented grimace. It was the eyes that struck her. So blue, so bright, so like the pig-tailed girl's. Why had she never noticed? And now a living flame arose in them, pure and devastating. "Close your eyes." She did, and her last sight was of his arm stretching past her. "MOERU!" Flames rushed past, filling the elevator shaft, rushing up to eagerly consume anything in its path. Screams resounded above and a final wave of water struck them. It was strangely gentle and tepid in temperature, soothing to skin red and aching. She couldn't seem to react to anything. Not even when Ranma clambered past her, not even when he pulled her to a metal lip in the vertical passage to rest. "Kodachi, listen to me. Those two, they ain't dead. I just scared them off." He shook her gently. "Come on, Kodachi. You saved me, back then. Don't do this no--" Her hand whipped across to slap his face. "Then go, Ranma! What are you waiting for? I shall defeat these monsters when they return." "Kodachi--" She raised her hand warningly, and he shook his head. "--I'm sorry." Then he was gone, bounding up towards his goal. Kodachi watched as he disappeared into the darkness and shook her Soul Lash rigid, the reformed tip of the Spear of Fuma glinting in the poor light. She spoke softly to the waiting night. "Come out, my little water devils. I intend to repay my pain a thousand-fold." Her tears fell unnoticed to mingle with the puddle of dirty water at her feet. --- The elevator doors were invitingly open. Ranma flung himself up and through, spinning a full circle before landing in a low crouch, right hand slapping the floor to absorb the impact. His eyes darted towards the figure waiting no more than ten meters in front. Shukumaru. A black mist surrounded her pale form on the Special Observation Deck of Tokyo Tower. Even as Ranma watched, Shukumaru turned her gaze from the brilliant sight of the Tokyo nightscape. The mist turned with her. It shifted and coallesced, drifted and collapsed. A face, vaguely feline, formed and snarled at him. Ranma shuddered. Blue eyes, so like his, stared into his own. Shukumaru's eyes held... victory? Ranma frowned as the slightest smile etched lips painted a pale white. "At last you've arrived, Ranma." Shukumaru licked her lips, tongue flicking delicately. "I've awaited this moment ever since I awoke. My spell of manifestation is nearly complete, save for a single element: the blood of an Accursed One, touched by the Waters of Transformation - Jusenkyo!" Shukumaru paused, face aglow with the light of triumph. "Your blood, dear brother." --- Author's Notes: 1) The last scene explains why Ryoga was chased by the oni, Hiwai Oushi, in the starting scene of Chapter 1 of An Awakening of Demons. And it only took me about 11 chapters to get around to providing the reason. :)