Ranma’s feet rattled as he stared out of the buses window at
the passing city outside. He and Nabiki were on their way to
Okayama.

They had made their way back to the Tendo home in the
dark of the night, sneaking past the caution tape and two cops left
out front. The two moved throughout the house, avoiding the bloody
floors as best they could, while collecting all the necessary items they
might need later on: clothes, money, and food.

Ranma had collected his belongings faster than Nabiki
since he had so little to begin with, and waited out by the koi pond,
staring at it blankly. It was all he could do not to look back, into
the room where it had happened. Their bodies were already gone.
The house was silent except for the two cops talking softly out
front.

Time seemed to have moved in a crawl, and Ranma soon
found himself growing annoyed. Nabiki seemed to be taking
forever, much longer than he had wanted to be there. The longer
he had to be at the house, the heavier the guilt weighed on his
shoulders.

Ranma continued to stare at the pond, even as he heard
Nabiki walk up and stand beside him. The last living Tendo took a
sharp intake of breath.

The slender, brown haired girl mumbled something before
turning and entering the house again. Though Ranma couldn’t
make out the words, he knew what she was doing. When she
returned to his side, he gave her a sidelong glance.

“Are you going to say goodbye?” she asked softly.

“Yeah. Alone,” he said forcefully. “I’ll meet you at the
front gate.”

Nabiki nodded, picked up her duffle bag and shuffled
around to the front gate.

The pigtailed teenager sighed, and closed his eyes.
Keeping them shut, he turned and walked into the house. He
stopped short of where the he knew the blood stains were. Having
lived in the house for nearly a year, Ranma had come to memorize
every nook and cranny of it. He could run through the house
blindfolded without bumping into a thing.

Ranma bowed his head toward his fallen family. “Before I
came here I never really had a home. . . . Kasumi. . . Mr. Tendo.
. . . Pops. . . . A-Akane. . . . sorry 'bout this.”

Disclaimer: I own neither Ranma ½ or Tenchi Muyo, their
respective owners, Rumiko Takahashi and Masaki Kajishima
do. If I owned either of them, I wouldn’t be writing this fic,
that’s for sure!

“God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without
sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day,
comfort for the tears, and light for the way.”
- Anonymous

A/N: I forgot to mention that this story takes place before Ranma meets
his mother. Also, it's AU for Tenchi Muyo, ignoring the GXP and 3rd
OAV series.

V 2.0 (May 26th, 2007)

Juraian Knight
A Ranma ½/ Tenchi Muyo Crossover
By Hawk

Chapter 2 - Finding The Pain

The bus hissed to a stop, causing Ranma and Nabiki to
lurch forward in their seats. They both groaned, stretched, and
yawned.

Ranma turned and stood. Picking his backpack up off the
floor, he noticed Nabiki rubbing her eyes. She yawned again,
making a small ‘yeep’ sound, which caused Ranma to smile briefly
before remembering why they were in Okayama.

Nabiki, who missed the whole thing, stood, grabbing her
small duffle bag. She made her way off the bus, followed by
Ranma. They stepped off the bus and breathed in the fresh
Okayama air.

Turning to Nabiki, Ranma’s visage darkened. “Lets get to
work.”

After looking for a hotel, Ranma and Nabiki rented a
room. No words were spoken as Nabiki climbed into the bed and
Ranma laid out on the floor. They were asleep within minutes.

Halfway through the night, Ranma was awakened when he
felt his shoulder shaken. He blinked his way to semi-consciousness,
yawned and stretched, noticing someone looming over him.

He reacted, grabbing the assailant by the neck.

“Ranma!” the person squeaked, wrapping their hands
around his wrist, attempting to pull his hand away.

He left go of the neck as if he had been burned. “What’s
wrong?” he asked urgently, sitting up.

“I can’t sleep,” Nabiki muttered, rubbing her neck.

Ranma looked at the clock: 5:08 A.M.

“I need someone to . . . . just . . . . I just need to know I’m
not alone.” She tugged on his hand, indicating she wanted him to get
into the bed.

“It’s not-we shouldn’t,” Ranma stuttered.

“I just need to know that someone is here. Nothing else,”
she said and tugged again.

Ranma thought for a moment, and shook his head in
defeat. He grunted as he stood up and walked with Nabiki over to
the bed. They climbed in and laid so they their backs were against
one another. Nabiki slowly fell asleep while Ranma lay awake,
feeling uncomfortable and uncertain. But even the uncomfortable
must fall asleep at some point, and so, Ranma did.

Ranma’s eyes slitted open, taking in the ceiling above him.

“Unfamiliar ceiling. . .” he muttered.

It wasn’t the Tendo home. His father wasn’t sleeping in his
Panda form beside him. Instead he was sleeping in a bed, and
there was a weight across his chest.

Turning his head, he found Nabiki sleeping next to him, her
arm draped across his chest. He froze up and looked around the
room, waiting for Akane to barge in screaming, but she didn’t.
Minutes passed and still Akane didn’t appear, the room remaining
silent except for the steady breathing of the girl sleeping beside
him. Ranma sighed, realizing that his tomboy wasn’t going to show.

He slid out of bed, Nabiki rolling over because of it.
Tiredly, he dragged himself to the bathroom and took a long, hot
shower.

Nabiki’s eyes inched open, and she stretched out, arching
her back like a cat. She eyed the clock: 11:24 A.M. She sat up
fast, pulling herself out of the bed, muttering a quick ‘fuck’ under
her breath. She tumbled and fell off the bed, her legs tangled in the
sheets.

She groaned and looked around the room for Ranma,
remembering where she was and what had happened. She called
out for him, getting no reply. Worry gripped her. Crawling over to
the bathroom door, she listened. At hearing the shower running, she
sighed in relief.

Nabiki calmed herself, steadying her breathing, and
sat on the bed, waiting.

“Excuse me! Hey, excuse me!” Ranma yelled at the man
working behind the front desk.

“Yes?” the man asked as he approached the desk.

Ranma put the ‘Okayama Cleaning’ business card on the
table. “Do you know where we can find this place?”

The man glanced at the card. “No, but I’ll find it for you,”
the man said, and turned away from the two towards the
computer.

“I don’t think you’re ready for this yet. Your side hasn’t
completely healed,” Nabiki muttered, hoping to reason with him. She
had dyed her hair a strawberry blonde after her shower for whatever
reason, Ranma wasn’t sure, but admitted to himself that she looked
good with it. "Just let me go alone today."

He sighed. “I'm not going to let you do that.”

“You can’t risk reopening your wound! There's no reason
for you to come today!”

“I’ll be fine,” Ranma shot back, and felt his side lurch. He
hid his discomfort from Nabiki’s scanning eyes by glaring back at
her. "I'm not letting you go anywhere without me."

“It’s just a couple blocks from here,” the man announced,
having ignored their spat.

Ranma and Nabiki continued to glare at one another
before Ranma turned to the man. “How do we get there?”

“So how long are we going to watch this place?” Ranma
asked. The two were sitting at a table outside of a restaurant
across the street from Okayama Cleaning.

“Until we get a good scope of it,” Nabiki replied.

“All we needed was to find out where this place was today,” Ranma said,
crossing his arms over his chest.

“Yeah, but it's best to find out what type of place it is,” Nabiki
stated, mimicing Ranma's action.

“Then why doesn't one of us go in and look?"

“I will then.”

“I think I should,” Ranma cut in. "Or we both can."

"No, you won't know what to look for. Look, we're trying to be
inconspicuous, both of us going in there isn't doing that. If these three guys
are coming here to sell their 'product' or whatever they used on you, then
this dry-cleaning business might not be just a dry-cleaning business," Nabiki
explained.

"What are you suggesting here?" Ranma asked, eyes narrowing.
He was getting at what she was saying.

"What type of dry-cleaning place buys a weapon?"

Ranma stared at the front door of the building across the street.
"Yeah, a criminally owned one."

"Yakuza owned," Nabiki corrected. "That's just my guess though. If
these three are coming here with their 'product', we don't know that. They
may just be coming here to pick up some clothes."

Ranma crossed his arms over his chest, mimicing Nabiki. "Somehow,
I doubt that," he muttered.

"That's why one of us should go in and take a look, and I'm the
better choice."

"Why're you better than me for this?"

"I'll know what to look for, and I'm already in disguise," Nabiki
replied, grinning smugly, pointing to her strawberry-blonde hair.

"That's your disguise? I can change my sex. THAT is a
disguise," Ranma retorted. "All you did was change your hair color."

"It's better that I look different, Saotome. And for that matter, you
SHOULD be in your girl form right now," Nabiki countered. "Go find some
water and change while I take a look inside. Grab a newspaper as well."
The last Tendo stood up, ignoring Ranma's indignant shout. She quickly
made her way across the street and to the stores front door.

Looking back, she frowned at Ranma, who was still sitting
at the table. She lifted her arm and pretended to dump a glass of
water on herself, staring at him pointedly.

Ranma responded by sticking out his tongue and making
a face before grumpily standing and walking into the small
restaurant.

Nabiki shook her head, and opened the door to
Okayama Cleaning, stepping inside. "Such a baby," she mumbled
to herself.

"May I help you?" an older woman in casual clothing
asked. She raised an eyebrow at Nabiki, clearly annoyed by her
appearance. "You're not one of our registered customers, ma'am."

"How do you know that?" Nabiki replied.

"I know all of our customers very well, ma'am, so I'm
going to have to ask you to leave." The woman smiled politely,
or as politely as she could while acting like a bitch.

"Well, I just wanted to use your bathroom anyway," Nabiki
said, smiling back just as cattily, and she quickly looked around the
small front room, pretending to look for the bathroom.

"Sorry, employees only," the woman responded. "Why
don't you use the one across the street, in the restaurant." The
woman's cold smile grew wider. "You were just eating there, weren't
you?"

"I tried, but the bathroom there was just disgusting," Nabiki
lied.

"And what about the boy you were with?" the woman added.

"No one I knew. Was just some stupid boy annoying me," Nabiki
countered. "I've been waiting for a friend of mine and he wouldn't leave me
alone." She turned back to the older woman. "You know, you ask a lot of
questions to someone that just wants to use the bathroom."

"And you picked a weird place to want to use the bathroom, out
of all the stores around here."

"And because of that, I guess I'll find another place to go. Thanks
for all your helps," Nabiki sarcastically retorted and exited. She looked
across the street, seeing Ranma-chan holding a newspaper and glaring at
her. In front of her stomach she motioned for Ranma-chan to go right
and she turned in the other direction.

Five minutes later they met up a couple stores away.

"So what the hell was that about?" Ranma-chan asked. "Why'd
we have to go in different directions?"

"The woman in the store was watching us while we were at the
restaurant. She was smart."

"So what do you think? What'd you see in there?"

Nabiki shook her head. "Very suspicious. I'm willing to bet
a lot that that place is actually owned by the Yakuza, and you know
how I am with betting, Saotome. I don't bet to lose."

Ranma-chan's head fell back and she groaned. "Just great.
This is now much more complicated than we needed it to be."

"All we need to do is come back here tomorrow, and watch
from some place other than the restaurant. A better hiding place,"
Nabiki replied. "And we'll just follow the three after they leave back
to wherever they live. Simple as that."

"We'll watch from the restaurant's roof then," Ranma-chan
decided.

There was a moment of silence. "Ranma. . . I've been
meaning to ask you something."

"Eh? What's that?"

"These men, Musou, Kahji and Takenda. . . why did
they come to my house? Why did they choose our house? Were
they there because of-"

"They were friends of our dads," Ranma-chan stated, staring
her in the eyes.

"Our dads. . ." Nabiki muttered, nodding her head slowly.

Ranma-chan turned away, and closed her eyes. "Sorry,"
she mumbled.

"It wasn't your fault, Ranma."

"Yeah. . . not my fault." The newspaper was snatched from
her hand.

Nabiki scanned the front page, then opened it, looking inside.
"Nothing about your or me. We're lucky. There should be something by
tomorrow or the next day at least. The cops might be trying to keep it
under wraps that their prime suspect escaped from them and is on the
loose."

"Well, that's a lucky break, I suppose."

"Or newspapers just didn't have time to report on the story
because it happened so late. We'll check tomorrow."

Ranma stumbled forward, surrounded by darkness. He
flared his ki around him but no light appeared. The world remained
black except for the blue hue surrounding him.

Voices began streaming in from all sides; Akane, Kasumi,
Soun, his fathers. They were all calling for him, bidding him to find
them. He covered his ears, but couldn’t block out their voices.

He screamed, keeping his ears covered as the voices grew
louder. His side began to throb in pain, and he took off running, his
hands out in front of him, in what direction he didn’t know or care.
Ranma ran unheeded, as fast as he could, yelling loudly to try and
block out the voices calling to him, his side beating, about ready to
burst. Everything was black, even right in front of his eyes, he
couldn’t see his hands.

He tripped, over what, he didn’t know. As he pushed
himself to his hands and knees, his injury having reopened from the
fall, he felt something cold wrap around his ankles, pulling him
back down. It wrapped around his wrists, keeping his hands away
from his eyes, and the voices grew louder.

Kasumi’s lifeless eyes looked into his.

Nabiki’s voice called out to him, and he realized they were
Nabiki’s eyes.

He cried out, and struggled against his invisible bonds, his
side burning, spewing fresh blood across his stomach and down
his leg.

Soft hands pushed down on his chest, forcing him to lay
down on something comfortable, and soft. The bed, he realized,
and his eyes snapped open, the darkness around him fading,
light streaming in like a surging army. He observed Nabiki
hovering over him, a worried expression on her face. One of her
hands moved and pressed on his forehead, feeling his temperature.
Ranma breathed deeply, trying to catch some air.

He swallowed heavily. “You have smooth hands,” he
muttered.

Nabiki didn’t blink or blush, but took the compliment in
stride. “It’s because I don’t break cinder blocks with them,” she
remarked.

Ranma grinned, though his tone turned serious. “I’m glad
you’re here. I don’t think I could’ve done this alone.” And then he
was asleep again. He would awake the next day, unsure if the
conversation had been all a dream.

Katsuhito Masaki, runner of the Masaki Shrine in
Okayama, was sweeping away leaves in the early morning, as he
seemed to do every morning. He yawned, and covered his mouth,
shutting his eyes.

When he opened them, Tsunami, the Juraian Goddess of
Life and Order, stood before him.

He jumped back a little.

“We have a problem,” she stated in all seriousness.

The two moved to Katsuhito’s office and took seats
across from one another.

“Sasami is . . .?”

“Sleeping, yes,” Tsunami replied. “Yosho . . .”

“What’s the problem, your holiness?”

“With Tenchi, Ryoko, and Ayeka having left for college,
Sasami only has you and Washu to protect her. I do not believe
that is enough,” the Goddess explained. “My powers have not fully
developed in Sasami, thus she can not yet protect herself.”

“What would you suggest we do then?” Yosho asked.

“While Tenchi is my chosen Champion, he is not here to
be my protector as well. I intend to find someone to be Sasami’s
guardian while he is away, but if I do, you’ll have to take them in,
feed them, house them.”

“Do you already have someone in mind?”

“Not yet, but I will, and you’ll know when.” And with that,
Tsunami vanished.

Picking up his broom, Katsuhito returned to his sweeping
as if nothing had happened.

The next day followed as the first. Ranma and Nabiki
sat on the roof of the restaurant across the street from Okayama
Cleaning this time though. The more they watched, the more they
came to believe that it was Yakuza run. A few men in fine tailored suits
and sunglasses would enter and exit with no laundry to show for it.

Beside them lay the morning newspaper, the headline: "August
15th. Murder In Nerima. Key Witness Gone Missing." The following
articles went on to describe the deceased and how Ranma was the
prime suspect and had gone missing as well as the last Tendo daughter,
Nabiki.

"Well, it's started," Nabiki had stated after reading through it.
"They're looking for you for further questioning. They're not coming out
and saying that you're the murderer, it would spread panic if they
announced you were the killer and out free. They are saying that you're
a possible suspect because of your disappearance."

"A good excuse for them to use since they already were
suspecting me," Ranma muttered. He had stayed in his male form
that day, stating that since they were hiding on the roof, being
female wouldn't matter. "Did they say anything about you?"

"Yeah, little bit about me going missing, but no theories
as to why yet. We knew this was a risk when we chose this."

"Yeah."

They sat silently after that, content to just watch the
store front of Okayama Cleaning.

"I'm about ready to quit for tonight," Nabiki muttered, the
sun having set a couple hours before, the night air now chilling her.
She yawned, yeeping cutely again.

Ranma shook his head. "We can't. This is the night they're
supposed to show. If we leave and they come, then all this will be
for nothing."

“Wait, here's someone,” Nabiki suddenly stated.

“What's he look like?” Ranma asked, turning to look.

“Short, stocky. Fat.”

“That's Kahji,” Ranma muttered, rising to a stand.
"See anyone else with him?"

“No, he's alone. How’s your side?” Nabiki asked.

“It’s fine,” Ranma lied. “Don’t worry about it. Just keep
your eyes open for the fat mans exit.”

They watched for over an hour before the fat man, who
was indeed Kahji, pushed open the front door and stepped into
the night air.

“It’s show time,” Ranma growled as he leapt off the roof
and after his prey.

Nabiki called after him, but he was already long gone.

Tsunami, eyes closed, and from inside Sasami’s
subconscious, continued her search throughout Japan from a suitable
guardian. In the day that had passed the Goddess had found few
she would consider for the role. One had intrigued her though, a
teenager named Ranma Saotome.

Using what little powers she had reacquired, Tsunami had
searched his memories, learned his past, his curse, and all his other
troubles. Though strong, and an amazing fighter, he was brass and
arrogant. He had been rude to his deceased fiancee which led
Tsunami to believe he could possibly be rude to Sasami; but he
had protected Akane and his friend with such fierceness that he
would have died for them. He would likely do the same for Sasami
after a short time of knowing her.

The biggest problem would be taming the wild horses
crass, chaotic nature.

She would send him a vision, to lead him to her. But first,
she needed him to fall asleep.

Kahji muttered to himself as he walked down the darkened
streets. Occasional street lights proved brief moments of better all
around vision.

A street light a little ways ahead of him flickered weakly,
and again when he stepped under it. He grumbled at the lack of light,
then blinked as the other street lights around him began to go out.
He was left surrounded by the night, the street light above him still
flickering weakly.

“What the hell. . .”

“Did you think I wouldn’t look for you, Kahji?”

“What? Who’s there?” The short man spun around,
looking about for the speaker.

“You thought I wouldn’t find you, didn’t you? Or maybe
you just thought I was dead!”

Kahji tripped over his feet, falling onto his back as a figure
dropped down from the street light above him. Ranma landed
heavily in front of the fallen man, towering over him, a dark look in
his eyes.

“Y-you-you are dead! You can’t be alive!” Kahji
screamed, crawling backwards on the ground to try and get away
from the angry teen. A lone rock found itself under the palm of his
hand and he grabbed it.

“What's the saying? Don't wound what you can't kill?” Ranma’s
eyes were crazed, staring with cold hatred. He was breathing heavily,
clearly excited by his catch.

“You're not so unkillable, boy!” Kahji screamed and threw
the rock at Ranma catching him in the stomach, right near his patched
up side.

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Ranma back
pedaled, allowing Kahji enough time to climb to his feet and take
off running.

Enraged, Ranma slammed his fist into the light post, denting it.
He jumped up, into the darkness, giving chase.

Kahji continued to run as fast as his pudgy legs could
carry him, unsure of where he was going. He was lost, the
confrontation with Ranma having caused him to run off in the
wrong direction of where he had originally been going. The
boy was faster than Musou had thought and for that the plan was
going awry

“Come back here!” Kahji heard Ranma scream from
behind him.

He made a sharp right, turning into what looked like an
empty construction site from what little he could see. His feet got
caught underneath him and he stumbled to his knees, landing on his
chest, knocking the air out of him. Kahji flinched as he heard
Ranma land lightly behind him.

He was lifted off the ground and into the air, face to face
with Ranma.

“Why! Why’d you do it!” Ranma cried, his side aching,
tears starting to sting his eyes. “Why’d you kill them! I helped you
and you repay me by killing my family!” He was both pissed and
near bursting into tears.

“Kahrack chanicrach bisirunh!” Kajhi screamed.

“What the hell did you just say!” Ranma threw Kahji to
the ground. “Who the hell are you!”

“Brinick Turdra baldrop!” Kahji cried, leaping into
Ranma’s chest and knocking them to the ground.

Ranma’s side began to burn as they rolled across the dirt
lot. He kneed Kahji in the gut, knocking him off. Pushing
himself to his feet, Ranma raised a hand toward Kahji, a dark
green ball forming in his hand.

“Who are you?” Ranma growled, his side about ready to
burst from the pressure of forming a ball of ki. “Where are Musou
and Takenda?”

“Tak rahnick lurtrah!” Kahji screamed as the muscles in
his body began to bulge and grow larger, his veins popping out all
over. His fat began to expand outward even more as his eyes
glazed over and his breath became low and heavy.

A grotesque sound filled the air as the skin on Kahji’s body
start to tear from his body, and a stranger, more disgusting form began
to take shape. Long nails, wide yellow eyes, and pale grey skin. The
creature opened its snout like mouth, full of sharp teeth before howling
loud and fierce.

Narrowed eyes scanned the creature as it roared at him,
and Ranma sensed no demonic aura around it. “You’re not a
demon, so what the hell are you?”

The monstrous Kahji lunged at Ranma, swiping at him with
his clawed hand.

Ranma dove to the side, and bracing himself, fired the
green ball of ki. The ball slammed into Kahji’s stomach, knocking
the monster back. Ranma grunted as his side burst open, fresh
blood oozing from his wound. He dropped to one knee, and
clutched his side, crying out in pain.

Kahji lumbered over to where Ranma knelt and picked
him up by his head. The monstrous form growled low in its throat,
speaking as much as he could within his heavy breathing. “You. . .
want. . . to know . . . what. . . I am. . .?”

Blood began to seep out from Ranma’s nose. “I’m going
to send you. . . back to hell.”

The beast-Kahji laughed, a harsh, scratchy noise in
Ranma’s ears, causing shivers to go up his spine. “You think. . .
I’m a. . . demon. . .? Try. . . elsewhere. . .” He turned his
grotesque head upward, to gaze up at the stars. “Up there. . .”

Ranma was tossed unceremoniously aside where he
slammed into the ground like a rag doll. He clutched at the dirt
under his hands and attempted to stand up but was slammed
into the ground when a large foot stepped on his back. The
heel of Kahji’s alien foot ground into his side, causing his wound
to reopen completely.

The foot left his back, and Ranma could hear Kahji sniffing
the air. “You’re bleeding. . . quite. . . a lot.. . Apparently. . . you
didn’t. . . go. . . completely. . . unharmed. . . by our. . . gun. . .”
Kahji’s turned away from him, and started walking away. He
sucked in a large amount of air, rumbling out in one breath, “Bleed
and die slowly, alone, Ranma Saotome.”

Then Kahji was gone, grabbing his discarded skin, and
vanishing into the night, leaving Ranma to die once again. Breathing
weakly, his eyes slowly closed and the world around him went
dark.

He started falling through the darkness, or swimming, he
wasn’t sure, but there was no solid ground beneath him. Once
again, Ranma couldn’t see his hands in front of his face.

Ranma called out for help, but couldn’t hear himself.
Concentrating, Ranma attempted to form a ball of ki in his hands
but found the darkness overwhelmed it quickly. He began to
panic, fearing he was trapped in eternal darkness.

He tried calling out again, but no noise escaped from his
lips. Arms flailing, Ranma attempted to swim through the
darkness, but couldn’t tell if he moved anywhere. He look around
him, but only saw black.

‘Am I in hell?’ Ranma thought, his heart clenching in his
chest.

He searched frantically in every direction until he noticed a
very small white dot. Pushing and pulling himself toward it, he
found it slowly growing bigger until Ranma could make out his
hands in front of his face. He pushed himself harder until the light
grew and he came upon a hole in the darkness. Shading his eyes,
he pulled himself through with his other hand.

As he uncovered his eyes, Ranma was struck dumb by the
most beautiful scenery he had ever seen in his life, which was saying
a lot since he had seen nothing but scenery for ten years of is life.

“Am I in heaven?” he whispered to himself, admiring the
stunning nature around him.

Lush green trees, crystal clear water, and a serene blue
sky over head. This was the epitome of peace. He felt so calm and
without worry or care, that he no longer felt afraid of not returning
to Okayama. “Where am I?” he asked aloud, hoping for an
answer.

The land around him shifted and he found himself standing
in front of an old shrine. A lone old man was sweeping away the
fallen leaves.

“Excuse me?” he called out.

The man made no response to Ranma’s presense other
than continuing his sweeping

“Katsuhito-san can not see or hear you,” a sweet, melodic
voice replied from behind him.

Ranma spun around, seeing a woman more beautiful than
all of his fiancees had ever been. Long sky blue hair, and deep
caring pink eyes gazed back into his. She wore a large, white
dress, a ceremonial garb by the looks of it. Her face and smile
were as clear and peaceful as the nature around them.

“Who’re you? Where am I?”

“I am the Goddess Tsunami, and this,” she made a hand
gesture to her surroundings, “is the Masaki Shrine in Okayama.”

“It’s beautiful,” Ranma replied, gazing down at the lake
and the nearby house.

The scenery around them shifted again, and they stood in
front of a massive tree, its trunk as wide as an elephant. “That’s a
big tree,” Ranma muttered, looking the plant up and down.

“This is Funaho. Find her, and you will find me. I will help
you.”

Spears of darkness began slicing through the world,
destroying it around him. Ranma turned to grab Tsunami, but she
was already gone. A line of the spreading darkness cut through his
side, and he cried out in pain, his eyes opening.

“Hey, kid, you ok?” a lone man asked. He was dressed in
ratty, torn clothes and his face was covered with dirt smudges.

“Where am I?” Ranma replied weakly.

“Shingen Construction site. You need medical attention,
you’re bleeding bad,” the homeless man said, pointing to the pool
of blood by Ranma’s side. “Hold on, I’m gonna go call the police.”

“No, I’ll be alright,” Ranma muttered while painstakingly sitting
up.

“Well at least let me help you get to where you’re gonna
go,” the man offered, carefully helping Ranma up to his feet.

“I’ll be fine, seriously, don’t worry about it,” Ranma
mumbled as he covering his side, feeling his blood start to seep
through his fingers.

“Come on, kid, lets gets you to where you wanna be,” the
man said, putting Ranma’s free arm over his shoulder. The two slowly
walked out of the construction site and back towards Okayama
Cleaning at Ranma’s behest.

Next Time: Chapter 3 - The Tree of Jurai
Ranma and Nabiki are left struggling to find Funaho, with things
seemingly getting worse for by the minute.

A/N: This chapter was much longer, but I cut it in half, so chapter
3 is already done. Constructive R&R can be sent to
2.0 (May 26th, 2007)