Disclaimer: This story is a compilation of some of my favorite manga and anime. I don’t own any of these characters. This story is intended for free and simple enjoyment of anyone interested in reading this. It uses characters and situations ranging from Ranma ½, Evangelion, Sailor Moon, and Ah, My Goddess!. Enjoy the story. If you would like to send criticism, compliments, questions, or have an interest in tae kwon do, email me at:
jehtek@hotmail.com.Once again, enjoy the story.
KACHUU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!-chestnut punch
Mouko Takabisha-ki blast
BAKUSAI TENKETSU!-breaking point
KIJIN RAISHUU DAN-vacuum ki blast
Hiryu Shouten Ha - cold attack for tornado, Rising Dragon Ascension defeat
MOUKO KAIMON HA-ki charge kick
RENSHA-HAPPA-DAN-build MT then using KTA, shoot hundreds of blasts
Dawn was beginning to creep upon the night, banishing the shadows within the shimmering rays of light that seeped through the clouds. The dew covering the Misaki temple grounds glowed like a white blanket of snow. Small drafts of wind passed through, causing the area to shimmer and spiral about the courtyard.
"RISING!"
A single figure emanating an aura of blue stood within it all. Ranma had woken many hours ago to begin his new conquest. Though it was cold, sweat had gathered on his shirt and dripped from his face; Ranma’s eyes were closed in a look of deep concentration. Muscles burned for release from the ordeal he had pushed them to endure. He had been in the same position for so long, he could feel all of his joints had locked in place. The discomfort was only temporary; he would see past it until the goal had been met.
"DRAGON!"
The mist no longer settled quietly around the pigtailed martial artist. The increasing power had developed into a vortex of energy, increasing in strength as it circled about him. The wind dragged with it and pushed out the moisture, an increasing hurricane of energy protecting Ranma as its epicenter. He never noticed the wind as it pulled at his clothing or whipped about his face. Ranma simply stood, pushing his body harder with every moment as the aura about him increased in intensity.
"SLAVE!"
The mist became scattered from the temple grounds like frightened children. Ranma arched his back and extended his arms out wide above his head as he released the build up of energy he had been harboring. Starting as a low rumble, the ki about his body condensed and rushed forth into the air, pausing only for a moment above his body. The golden energy had taken the form of a long-bodied dragon, coiled about and screaming like a jet engine.
Ranma could hold it no longer, his body swaying to the demands of exhaustion. He wavered momentarily on his feet before the dragon roared high into the air, becoming lost within the stratosphere. His body was ready to collapse and slip into comfortable darkness, but Ranma would not quit.
Many had died due to his foolishness, losing Akane in his ignorance. There were things he had to atone for and he would not give up as easily as he had done before. It was one mistake too many and now he would never see his beloved, hold her in his arms and pledge his love for each new day. The day would no longer shine, nor would the night sky glitter for him.
There were things he must atone for and he would devote his life to see the punishment was carried out.
Snarling in disgust at his weakness, Ranma pushed himself up to stand tall when facing the dawn. Muscles strained and energy drained, he began again. The goal had been set and there was vengeance to be had.
Ranma, More Than Half
Book 2:
Dark Star
By Michael Fetter
When it first began, Chaos ruled. Space and Time were lost within a void of perpetual confusion. Lines of reality were created and destroyed then blended within each other until, quite by accident, He was created in a point where everything suddenly collapsed. He was all-knowing because He was born and filled with all of Chaos’ potential. In that instant, He brought everything to a halt and gave unto the universe definition. He plucked strands of reality out of the mist and molded them into coherency so that His creations may also enjoy what He now understands as life.
It took millions of years and it took short moments to finish His work, filling the empty space with universes, galaxies, planets, and beings to tend to these gardens of reality. Weaving pictures from space and time came dimensions to build upon the single reality from which all things would begin. One such dimension became the Kami realm to which His attendants would supervise His creation.
There was only one things left to complete His work. Rising again, above the order and reality He designed, He tore his body asunder, the pieces smaller than a point of light but infinite in number, and cast the energy amongst the vastness of Space and into the care of Time. With His sacrifice He lived eternally as Time would nurture each particle of energy as they grew and evolved in His image.
Life across His great works would then feel His great presence in all they saw, felt, heard, tasted, and touched, invigorating freewill and a purpose for it all to continue. As He smiled upon His design so did His design smile back upon Him. Life began to flourish and die, but no longer contained within Chaos. Now the will of Life would strive on throughout the universes, galaxies, and the multitude of realities that resided in His creation from that point on.
Like Chaos, each reality could evolve in its own way, but something would always be gained or lost, never to be forgotten. One out of the infinite found a light no other should ever see. It was alone to create upon itself a single focus of light such has happened once within Chaos, but this would be the first to occur within His design. A point of energy so vast and yet so small amongst the infinite that it would remain lost for billions of years thanks to Time. Growing all the while, preparing for its life amongst the stars outside of its own reality.
It was within the early years of Homo Sapien that the Fourth happened upon this single entity, trapped in a desolute universe. All other realities held the vastness of Space and His design for Time to tend with, but this place was a void of chaotic storming, flowing off into the vastness of Space.
God was no longer all-knowing, for the First was no longer there to be known, and so this ‘singularity’ in his design came as a conundrum to Him. Expressing the kindness of any of His creations, the Fourth took the creature of energy from the dismal universe and laid it upon the other realities until He found its place. With a kind smile and a gentle hand, He laid it upon the world to grow and watched with rapt attention.
This child, He observed, will be fated to a destiny surpassing that of my own. Grow strong little one, He whispered in the child’s ear, Destiny has plans for you. He smiled warmly upon the newborn child asleep in its crib and kissed it once on the forehead before He returned to the Kami realm.
No one noticed the dark spot within the shifting mists of an empty reality.
The temple grounds shook slightly, causing some of its occupants to be woken from their slumber. Ranko stirred slightly, only to bury her head further into the pillows on her bed. Mamoru was beside her and wasn’t disturbed in the slightest. Being God meant you knew what was going to happen some of the time. Of course, Ranma wasn’t a hard one to figure out. After mourning for a week locked away in his room, something happened to the martial artist. When he reemerged he seemed to be filled with a new vigor; this was the first time Ranma ever truly held a grudge and he was taking it to the extremes.
The light works of his new techniques settled down after a few moments and Ranko pulled her face out of her pillow. "He’s been at it for two weeks now. You think he’s become obsessive?" Sort of a no-brainer, Ranko thought, but it was good to ask these questions out loud sometimes. She actually shared Ranma’s views of the Angels; Akane was a good friend of hers too. The difference was, Ranko had lost family before. She was depressed but she would get over it. During the week Ranma stayed in his room, Ranko went straight to the vengeance Ranma now wanted.
Mamoru was lying on his back and staring at the ceiling. His thoughts were lost on more of his own problems up in Heaven. Ranko’s voice brought him back to reality, however, this reality anyway. She was turned away from him and staring out the window to where she imagined her brother to be. Her form was half covered by the blankets, giving him a sensual view of her lower back up to her shoulders. Draping one arm over her waist to pull her closer to his body, Mamoru kissed Ranko below the ear. "He’ll be okay. Ranma know what he wants, but he won’t forget anyone else. The two of you are in the same boat, ne?"
Ranko sighed and rested her body against his, keeping her eyes to the open window. The sun was rising over the mountains and the skies were clear. With summer so close, winds around Tokyo-3 were already warming up. She felt the breeze caress her naked flesh and flutter the sheets a bit. It wasn’t the sun that heated that breeze though. "How long has he been at it?"
Mamoru checked the clock sitting on the nightstand on his side. "Almost three hours. The strength of the technique he has been employing has been on the decline for the past hour."
"He’s gonna wear himself out." Ranko stated, annoyed. "How’s that gonna help if he can’t even walk to fight an Angel?" She gave herself a moment to regret leaving the comfortable embrace she was in, but Ranko soon threw the covers aside and walked to the closet. Pulling out some clothes, she dressed in her Chinese outfit, a red shirt and black slacks, and tied her hair back into a pigtail. "You gonna stick around for a while?"
Mamoru nodded from his place on the bed. "I’m going to stick around for as long as I can. I’ll be needed in Heaven in a few days and I’m not sure when I’ll be back."
Ranko stopped at the door and blinked to herself internally. She had been separated for over a millenium and she cherished every moment he spent with her now, but she was no fool. Mamoru was devoted to her and would never leave her, but there were things happening between Heaven and Hell and she knew their time together was growing short. Hopefully it wouldn’t be long until she could join him again in Heaven, but right now her place was here, on Earth. "I’ll be an hour." She smiled at Mamoru before closing the door.
Ranma was working himself to the limit and it wasn’t healthy. People at NERV believed Ranko could save them single-handedly, but she knew better. If the Earth was going to survive the next generation of Angel she was going to need a real crew of Eva pilots to help her. Specifically, she was going to need Ranma’s help since he was the best. She found Ranma in a horse stance on the edge of the clearing behind the temple. He hadn’t responded to her presence as of yet, but she was certain he was aware of her. Ranma’s aura had dropped to a glimmer at its focusing point, no longer covering his body. The exhaustion his body was going through was plainly visible in his straining muscles and the veins protruding along his neck and forehead. Whatever he was planning, Ranko could feel there wasn’t enough energy left to burn a dry leaf.
"Ranma!" He didn’t respond except to focus harder. The blue shirt had been discarded and was resting on the grass at Ranko’s feet. She picked the article up and tossed it to the pigtailed martial artist.
"What?!" Ranma stumbled backwards a step and peeled the shirt off his face, looking at it like he’d never seen anything like it before. Blinking away the sweat in his eyes, he focused on the person standing before him. "What is it Ranko?"
Ranko frowned at the grumbling man. "You know what. Get in the temple and take a bath. You’re going to make yourself sick, depleting your energy like this all the time."
"I’ll be fine." Ranma muttered and dropped the shirt back onto the ground. "If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got training to do." Thinking the matter closed, Ranma slowly settled into the horse stance and focused on what little power he had left.
"If you’re gonna be difficult, I’ll just drag you into the house." She grabbed a wrist and started pulling.
"Forget it, Ranko!" He twisted his arm and pulled her hand away from his wrist. "I’m fine. Now get lost!"
Ranma was hurting; he lost some of his confidence when he couldn’t protect Akane. Ranko could still hear him call out her name in the middle of the night. He had become so withdrawn and devoted to becoming stronger, and Kasumi had taken over caring for Goku full time. Ranko knew that Ranma needed time, but with the way things were with the Angels, time was running out.
Snarling a little, Ranko grabbed Ranma by waistband of his pants and hauled him into the air.
"What are you doing?!" Ranma yelled at her.
Ranko remained silent and lifted into the air, flying swiftly across the trees. Ranma was so low on energy that flying would be impossible right now. The lake was only a minute away at a leisurely flight speed.
"Damn it, Ranko, put me down!"
"Certainly Ranma." She heard him gasp as he began to tumble through the air. He had sense enough to straighten his body out and dive into the water. It would have been a painful belly flop from this altitude.
Ranma sputtered to the surface of the lake, shivering from the cold water. "Damn it! It’s cold!"
"Good!" Ranko yelled back. "Now you can drag your sorry butt back to the temple and dry up!"
"Get down here, Ranko. I’m too weak to swim all the way back to the shore." Ranko snorted and drifted closer to the water where Ranma was treading water, barely.
"Pathetic. What would you do if an Angel did attack us and you were too weak to fight?" Ranma tried to reach out for her, but Ranko just hovered overhead, her arms crossed over her chest.
It was hard to yell at her and keep himself from sinking below the water so Ranma settled for glaring at the redhead when he wasn’t spitting out water.
"We’ve got work to do to prepare for the next Angel, Ranma. So you either spend the rest of the day resting or I knock you out. You got me?"
Ranma was waving his hands a little more frantically now. Before he slipped beneath the water again Ranko saw him nod. Satisfied with the response, she dropped her arm to the water and dragged a spent man out of the water by his wrist. "One more thing." She hissed at Ranma, bringing his face within an inch of her own. "Unless you’re planning on being the same prick Genma is, I suggest you start spending some time with your son. Akane would be very upset if you neglected him." Ranko added a sneer to the last part to show how upset she would be with Ranma as well.
Ranko dropped him on the courtyard a minute later and helped him walk into the house. After depositing him in the bathroom, she made her way to the kitchen. "Kasumi, are you up already?"
Kasumi smiled at her from the stove as Ranko walked in. The last Tendo was cooking up a large breakfast like she always did. It was a miracle the girl hadn’t been home when the Angel attacked. Kasumi had actually been out buying groceries with Nodoka and visiting Dr. Toufuu. The three of them had returned to the dojo a few hours after the attack to find Ranma and Ranko being attended to by NERV rescue teams. Genma has been seen since he returned to Nerima after the first visit to the temple.
The older girl had been very upset as anyone would be, but she knew the best way to remember her family and honor them wasn’t in closing herself off from the world. She took over at the temple, doing much the of the same duties she had at the dojo with the exception of Goku. If it weren’t for the baby, Ranko believed the girl may have ended up a complete wreck.
Goku had the same effect on Kasumi as he did on Ranma. Both were doing all that they could to see he was cared for in their own way. Goku was Ranma’s best connection to Akane and he was the legacy Kasumi’s father had been praying for since the promise with Genma, eighteen years ago.
"Morning Ranko!" She didn’t have the same cheer in her voice she used to, Ranko noted, but it was returning, slowly.
"Good morning Kasumi-chan." Ranko gave the girl a kiss on the cheek as she made her way to the fridge for something to drink. "Heard anything from Ono-san yet?" Talking about Toufuu always made Kasumi feel better.
"Oh yes." She smiled. "He will be stopping by today if that’s okay?"
"Of course it is, Kasumi-chan." Ranko filled a glass with orange juice and closed the fridge. "Will he be spending the night?"
Kasumi blushed and looked at the stove she was working at. "I . . . I asked him to."
A lecherous smile on her lips, Ranko sidled up next to the taller girl and hip-checked her lightly. "You want me to tell him the guestrooms are under repairs? Without them, there is only one other bedroom to sleep in, ne?"
Kasumi blushed a little deeper. "Ranko, you are scandalous."
"Wouldn’t have it any other way, Kasumi-chan." Setting the empty glass down in the sink, Ranko returned to Kasumi’s side. "Now then, what can I do to help?"
"Oh, there is no need, Ranko. I’ve got everything under control." Kasumi chirped. Her hands were constantly moving around the kitchen, moving from pot to pan, stirring and flipping as she went. "You could tell me which shampoo you use to wake up smelling like roses all the time."
It was Ranko’s turn to blush. "Uh . . hehe . . . well, it’s not really like that. The clean and fresh smell I get kinda comes from . . . uh, making love to . . . you know."
"Yes I do." Kasumi smiled devilishly at Ranko. "I just like seeing you blush; reminds me of Ranma when Akane would . . ." There was an uneasy silence after Kasumi mentioned Akane. She didn’t cry as often anymore, but Kasumi still got depressed every now and then when she thought of her family. Most of the time she would trudge on and recall all the wonderful memories she had of them. The rest of the time she was depressed when she saw something she normally associated with her family.
The sizzling bacon shook Kasumi from her thoughts. "Oh, excuse me. I lost my train of thought for a moment. Go have a seat in the dining room. I’ll have everything set in a few more minutes."
Ranko was hesitant to leave so quickly. This was one of those situations where you gave some comforting words, but Ranko wasn’t sure what to say. Kasumi was much better at that sort of thing. She opted to give the older girl a quick hug and left the room in silence.
In the living room, the TV was tuned on to morning cartoons. Ranko found it quite amusing the first time she discovered Skuld up so early. The girl was almost two thousand years old and she still woke up early to watch cartoons like a young child. Skuld explained that she was just influenced by her position in Heaven, but the attention she gave the show dispelled whatever professionalism she was trying to display.
Bellandy was also up and sitting beside her sister on the couch. She wasn’t as interested in the program as she was by the locket around her neck. It was a gift from that Keiichi boy Bellandy had met at Ranko’s birthday party. Urd had made it her mission to help her sister and the boy fall in love with each other. It seemed to be going well if Bellandy had begun to fondle the locket without thinking about it.
On a side note, Ranko decided she would have to meet this Keiichi boy soon if things kept going the way they were.
Urd made her presence known as she yawned from the stairwell. "Ohayo." She continued to stretch out her arms at the base of the stairs in her usual sensual manner.
"Morning."
Urd was suddenly startled to full wakefulness as Mamoru walked down the stairs behind her. He seemed to take enjoyment from the way he could sometimes startle his family. Over the weeks they had become much more at ease with him in the temple and even stopped calling him All Mighty some of the time. It had much to do with his Earthly form; it wasn’t quite as intimidating or magnificent to look upon as his true form.
Turning around, Urd smiled at her father and jumped into his arms. "Morning, daddy!"
They still do that to me occasionally, Ranko thought, amused. Her daughters were trying to make up for all the time away from their parents as best they could. It brought a warm feeling to Ranko’s heart to claim this as her happy family.
"How goes your project, Urd-chan?" Mamoru asked, returning the hug.
"See for yourself. I don’t think Bellandy is even aware of the rest of the world the way she focuses on that necklace Keiichi gave her." Urd smiled broadly.
Mamoru chuckled and walked in the rest of the way with his daughter, sitting down at the dining room table. Kasumi walked in a moment later with glasses of juice and a warm teakettle. Mamoru exchanged pleasantries with Kasumi and continued his talk with Urd about Bellandy, laughing occasionally at some amusing happenstance Keiichi and Bellandy had.
"Is Goku still in his crib, Ranko?"
Ranko turned around to see Ranma addressing her. She nodded in the affirmative and watched the young man make his way upstairs. Suddenly feeling a need to hold one of her own children, Ranko targeted Skuld and sat down beside her on the floor. "Hi, Skuld-chan."
Blinking away the TV screen, Skuld gave her mother a warm smile before hugging her around the waist and lying in Ranko’s lap. "Morning."
It felt good to have a child lounging upon your lap, full of trust and love. Almost a year now they had been reunited. Ranko was starting to retrieve more and more of her old memories of life, the life she had with Mamoru. She still wasn’t sure how long now she has been alive, but every morning she could feel those years compounding. Ranko still had her youth, but it was her children that made her feel like kid.
Two years ago, when she was with the Amazons, if someone asked Ranko to have a family and live happily, she would’ve spit in their face and told them not to waste her time. Back then it was Ranko versus the world. You didn’t survive by stopping to help someone else. There was no time to deal with another’s problems.
The memories of her own childhood plagued Ranko’s dreams occasionally. Tightening her arms, she brought Skuld closer to her to ward off the fear of losing this peace.
"Momma?" Ranko looked up to see Skuld shaking her arm and smiling like the morning sun upon a dark valley. "Kasumi-san is calling us to breakfast."
Ranko smiled back and let her arms slack off around Skuld’s frame. "Hai."
"We’ll get you out of here as quickly as we can, Ranma. We just need to make sure you can sync with unit 003 still." Ritsuko’s voice was barely holding back her glee to have the pilot return. She felt bad that he was back to find his revenge for his wife’s death, but after the last Angel and the threat of stronger ones to come, NERV personnel weren’t feeling as safe as they used to. Ranko was still quite capable of handling the Angels, but the depression she was feeling wasn’t helping matters any. Hopefully with Ranma’s return, everyone’s egos would get a good needed boost.
Ranma didn’t reply, lost in his thoughts. He never thought he would return to NERV, stupid idea. As a martial artist, it was in his duty to protect those weaker than himself. When he left it was only a matter of time until fate reminded him of his responsibilities. Akane’s death was a hard thing for him to get over; he still thought of her, but she wouldn’t want him to stop living. With Goku at home, Ranma had more than enough reason to return to NERV and resume his position as pilot. Ranma took strength from the thoughts that Akane was in Heaven with her family, finally reunited with her mother. It hurt to not be able to show her in person what a beautiful child they had, but she was up there, watching and smiling down on him.
After Ranma dragged himself from the alter he had made for Akane at the temple Ranko found him. He was a miserable wreck, bags under his eyes, pale skin, and starving. Kasumi was ready to take care of him with a large meal. When he was finished, Ranma headed to his room. Goku was asleep, just as restless as his parents and making the strange and adorable baby noises. He had Akane’s brown eyes and Ranma’s thick dark hair. Goku is going to be a handsome man when he grows up, Ranma thought as he cradled the infant in his arms.
Ranma was on his way down the stairs when he heard a familiar voice. Mamoru-sama had returned. God been had gone for a week; Ranma wasn’t sure why, but seeing the man gave Ranma an idea.
* * *
"Kami-sama?" Goku continued to sleep in his father’s arms as they advanced on the God. Mamoru looked up from the red-haired woman in his arms.
"What is it, Ranma?" It was strange how calming and soothing the Kami’s voice was even when Ranma felt like he was covered in blankets of depression.
Ranma shuffled a moment in the God’s gaze, unsure if he was overstepping his bounds to talk to the deity. "I-I was wondering . . uhm . . if maybe you could. . . uhm . . ."
"Take you to Akane?" Mamoru had been expecting this. He had planned on doing just that. This kind of thing is very unusual, but Ranma was sort of family and he was one of his favorite mortals. Plans were being set in motion to use Ranma to his fullest potential. More importantly was the child in Ranma’s arms. Saotome Goku had a file even before his birth. The child had been prophesized about by Yggdrasil for some time now.
Ranma nodded while keeping his eyes on the ground. He hated asking for favors, feeling that a real ‘man amongst men’ should be able to do things for himself. This was a little beyond men though, even Ranma.
The Kami smiled on Ranma and addressed the pigtailed martial artist with a hand on the young man’s shoulder. "We will be leaving soon."
"We . . . we will?!" Mamoru nodded as Ranma smiled broader than he ever had in the last week. Ranko could see the young and exuberant man she had come to know as her brother return to Ranma’s eyes. Even Goku seemed to perk up as his father became more animated. It was more reflexive than anything, but Ranma was soon enveloped in a wonderful and soothing white glow, similar to the one Akane had used in her last year of life.
"My daughters are gathering your family together as we speak. They have been most helpful. Some people choose to rest others become reincarnated. Your family chose to rest." Ranma seemed a bit confused about why resting was such a good thing so Mamoru elaborated a little more. "You see Ranma, resting means that they have decided to stay in Heaven. Your family is particularly special because of Akane and Nabiki specifically."
"Oh?" Ranko inquired with a raised eyebrow. She still hung to her husband about his waist as she followed the conversation. "And what are my talented sisters up to?"
Mamoru smiled again and squeezed Ranko again. "Your sisters are advancing through the ranks of Heaven as administrators of Yggdrasil. Akane has become a system’s debugger and an officer in my army. Nabiki, she’s a smart girl, she is a supervisor in sysadmins. The system has been running much more efficiently since her employment."
Kasumi had taken Goku from Ranma so she could feed the baby. Hearing about how happy her family is made Kasumi feel happy for the first time since their deaths. It’s nice to have a Kami for a relation. "How is father, Mamo-chan?" One of his first requests of Kasumi was that she refer to him in a casual manner in the temple. He seemed to like the idea of a home and close family.
"Mr. Tendo is living with your mother now. Though he does plan on joining my army later. Right now he just wants to spend all day with Tendo Kumiko. They have a lot to talk about." Kasumi nodded her understanding, a smile almost as broad as Ranma’s was on her lips.
Ranko swallowed hard as she picked up some of the important parts of Mamoru’s news. Hopefully Ranma and Kasumi were to busy hearing about the happy lives their family was having in Heaven that they didn’t see Ranko forcing the smile on her face. She could think of only one reason for Mamoru to pull regular mortals from Heaven and give them positions in the army. How long until the war started? Ranko was only beginning to recall her last battle in Heaven. It didn’t happen often, but when it did, the war lasted a very long time.
Kasumi made a quick check through the temple to be sure nothing was left on before they gathered in the courtyard. Mamoru instructed them to keep a tight circle as he raised one hand to the sky. As they stood closer, Mamoru spoke something in an ancient tongue and the group became enveloped within a golden cylinder of light. NERV wasn’t going to need their monitors to know a powerful magic had been employed. The golden light, though it lasted a moment, could be seen for miles around.
There was a park in Heaven where all the birds of Earth’s history casually flew about on gentle breezes and ate the fruit growing on the trees. The sky is clear and blue, allowing a warm glow to fall upon the grounds from a sun high above. The grass was always green as were the trees and all around, flowers bloomed in a myriad of color. Small clear creeks snaked through the gardens, forming a large lake in the center where many of the nature-going residents of Heaven would congregate.
They discovered their family waiting in one of the small clearings just off the main path. As they strode forward through the park, Mamoru called forth a veil of mist to offer the reunion some privacy. The silence lasted long moments as none of them had hoped to believe they would see each other again. It was broken as Kasumi finally sobbed once before rushing forward to her family.
Ranma hardly noticed as he took steps to meet Akane halfway, never averting his gaze from hers for a moment. They came within reach of each other and leaned in for a kiss they both had longed for so desperately . . .
"NOOAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!" The silence was broken as Kasumi fell to her knees on the ground behind her family. Ranma and Akane blinked in surprise then gasped in shock as Kasumi whirled about and tried to touch her father, but passed through his body like he was made of air.
Returning her attention to Ranma and Goku, Akane could only stare into the deep blue eyes of her husband, too afraid of what this could all mean. Akane reached out to caress her baby’s cheek with the back of her hand. She came within a centimeter of the infant’s skin to reflect on the child’s warmth and soft steady breath, but her mind was struck with confusion. Where was her child?
She could feel nothing. No breeze would reveal Goku’s exhale. There was not a change in Heaven’s perfect climate to prove the baby was even alive. Akane saw Goku sleeping soundly in Ranma’s arms and the slow rise and fall of his chest, but nothing more.
More afraid than ever of what this last chance, she reached out more hesitantly, praying silently to herself that she was wrong. "Ranma . . ."
Ranma blinked, the smile dying on his face, as he heard the sorrow and devastation in Akane’s voice. He gasped in surprise as he watched his beloved’s hand pass unhindered through the body of her child. Goku did not even stir as the ghostly hand disappeared beneath the folds of his blanket and reformed on the other side.
"Ranma . . ." Akane’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears. "Ranma . . . I can’t-sniff-. . . I can’t . . ." Her sobs shuddered through her body as she attempted again to reach out and touch her child with no effect.
Ranko had watched the proceedings in stunned silence. She had not expected this, but the slow and tense manner her husband was breathing told her that he had.
"Why didn’t you tell them?" Ranko asked with sorrow for her family and scorn for her husband.
He stared silently as the family finally settled onto the ground beside each other. "I hoped they were beyond these rules." Came his grief stricken response. It was an old rule, designed before his time; most likely reaching back into the age of the First. No mortal can reach out and touch the deceased.
What could he do? Ranma had to sit there on the grass and watch his wife weep uncontrollably on the ground. What he wouldn’t do to comfort her right then? The pain in his stomach grew larger with every passing moment. He could see Kasumi was still weeping, but she was doing her best to talk to her family through her father’s wailing. She would hate herself if she didn’t take this time to get to know her mother.
This can’t be right. He didn’t come all this way to make the pain Akane was feeling worse. NO! This is not going to happen! Damn the Angels! Damn his foolishness!
Holding Goku closely to his chest, Ranma stood up with a look of determination burning in his eyes. Gritting his teeth against the wave of emotion he was pulling from the depths of his soul. The depression of losing Akane, the love he still felt for her, and the pain at her suffering were at the forefront of his tidal wave of energy. Screaming with the effort it took to manifest the sizable amount of energy as quickly as possible, Ranma didn’t notice that his aura had broken through the mist and scattered it to the wind.
Akane gaped in shock at the power her husband was manifesting. She knew Ranma was strong, but this was amazing. It was soft and barely noticeable, but Akane could feel the flames of Ranma’s aura, reaching beyond the boundaries of mortality. When his aura flared blue and began to sparkle with flecks of gold, he opened his eyes and Akane could see they were no longer the pretty blue she knew, but a solid gold covering both of his eyes.
"A . . ka . . ne." His voice was strained, not from the power, but from the control he was barely hanging on to. He could feel the edges of madness that had claimed Akane once before reaching into his soul. Ranma leaned forward, bringing his face closer to Akane’s.
She knew instantly what Ranma was trying to do and leaned forward to her intangible husband. It was . . . the most amazing kiss she had ever gotten from him. The energy surrounding his body crossed the grave separating them and began to fill her soul with his emotions. Akane tingled all over and felt her legs begin to buckle as she desperately clung to the image of her husband’s lips as he passed more power through the link.
Ranma kept up the build up of energy for as long as he could. He found Akane’s lips were still unreachable to him, but the show of happiness on Akane’s face made it all worth the effort. If he could not feel her again then he wanted her to be happy.
When it finally ended, Ranma collapsed slowly onto the ground, cradling Goku cautiously in his arms. Akane continued to stand up, locked her pose of complete rapture, slowly opening her eyes like she were waking from a dream. "Ranma . . ." Akane slowly dropped to the ground in front of her husband, rubbing her hands across her body, relishing the aftereffects of the kiss. Looking up into his bright eyes, she purred, "Why couldn’t you have been like that when I was alive?"
Ranma laughed happily and even had the good grace to blush a bit when he noticed the other Gods and Goddesses could now see them.
"Arigato, Ranma." Akane smiled at him with all the love and affection she could place in one look. Despite her best efforts, the tears continued to roll down her cheeks. A last kiss. It had been in her dreams and somehow she knew Ranma would fight to give her nothing less. Her eyes drifted to the small bundle in Ranma’s arms that had begun to cry. Poor Goku. Kasumi was the only one left. Akane didn’t have to worry about asking her eldest sister; Kasumi had a heart of gold, especially for her family.
Shushing Goku was never an easy endeavor, not without food handy anyway. Sitting across from Akane, Ranma attempted to shush the infant while keeping an eye on his wife. It hurt to see her stare at Goku and know she will never cradle him in her arms. The life she should have had, with Goku, was stolen, ripped from her arms by those . . . those damned . . .
"I’ll kill them." He growled.
Akane looked up, startled to hear such venom from the pigtailed martial artist. "Ranma, I don’t want you to get hurt. Goku will-"
"No." Akane was hushed by the authority in Ranma’s voice. "This is more than just a challenge. These . . . monsters have stolen something from us that can never be replaced. For that, I will kill them . . . all of them."
Akane nodded at Ranma’s decision. Not even her mallet could change his mind. Family honor demanded it. "Be careful, Ranma. I love you."
Ranko watched the reunion from her place at Mamoru’s side. Skuld became more tightly bound in her arms as Akane continued to cry over her loss. Ranko had been separated from her children before, but she wasn’t awake to live through the pain Akane must surely feel.
* * *
Ranma snarled as he thought of those memories. They couldn’t spend too much time in Heaven because of Yggdrasil, but there was enough time for everyone to visit and say the goodbye most people couldn’t. Akane had cried a bit more before they left, but there was nothing Ranma could do for her. He could only grit his teeth and face life with an impossible goal that he would achieve. The Angels would die!
"Good job, Ranma. You’re sync just jumped over one hundred percent." Ritsuko applauded him in her usual cold tone. Ranma would have noticed, but he was too busy plotting out every scene of each Angel’s gory death. He’d never wished to see more blood in his entire life than he did now; Ranma liked it.
In a small booth overlooking the pilot testing area, a woman in her mid-thirties was moving about the room, reading different printouts on Ranma’s sync rate and its origin. Ritsuko doesn’t usually smile, but when it came to Ranma and Ranko and their extraordinary abilities she felt like a kid with her first chemistry set.
When Ranko had first come to NERV, Ritsuko had been skeptical about her first readings on the redhead’s unusually high sync rate. The girl seemed to be able to control her sync rate like a finely toned muscle. Contracting it by focusing her mind on the confidence she always carried with her. What Ritsuko wouldn’t give to be able to understand it all better?
At one point, she had considered having Ranko come in and taking all sorts of unnecessary tests so she could dissect the girl beneath her microscope. But it simply wasn’t possible. Whatever samples Ritsuko would take simply wouldn’t conform to any testable experiment. Two weeks she tried to pick apart this puzzle and had become so frustrated she almost tore down her lab.
Then Ranma had come along. Ritsuko had been so enthusiastic about finally exploring these amazing powers she almost didn’t give it the respect it deserved. The brief episode with Akane and her berserker behavior had almost cost everyone their lives because Misato wanted to get her own information. But they had also gained a good deal of information.
Most everyone had forgiven Misato for her bad judgement, even Akane, who was almost executed for it. They lost a lot that day. Ranma left with Akane, two Eva’s were badly injured and low on energy, and they discovered Kaji was a double agent with SEELE.
He is still out there, Ritsuko thought grimly. Hopefully, not even SEELE wants him around anymore.
"Ranma! The test is over, man." Shinji was bent over the edge of Ranma’s tube, extending his hand to help Ranma out of the water.
His thoughts of Akane’s suffering had given Ranma a temper almost as violent as Akane’s herself. He had to bite his tongue a lot more than usual to keep himself from really insulting someone. It gave him an edge that most people would award a wide birth.
Disregarding Shinji’s hand, Ranma pulled himself out of the tube and made his way to the changing rooms. The anger had even pushed aside the embarrassment Ranma normally felt when he was naked, especially in front of two girls.
"Ranma, we’re heading out to grab a bite. Why don’t you join us?" Ranko asked with a smile, though it sounded like a bit more of a command. Dealing with the new Ranma was obviously trying her patience.
He continued to walk to the boy’s changing room. "No thanks."
"Ranma? Passing up a chance to get some food?"
"Strange." Rei agreed with Shinji’s bewilderment.
Ranko was irritated, to say the least, about her brother’s gruff manner. He was still no match for her, but there were things about Ranma’s new temper that truly bothered her. She remembered telling Akane how difficult it was to change the nature of a person’s aura, either years of training or a traumatic event. Akane’s death was understandably traumatic, but not even Ranko thought Ranma would resort to anger.
Nothing could be done about it. The new Angels would be attacking Earth soon and they needed Ranma as a pilot.
Outside of the changing rooms, Ranko, dressed in a new blue cotton dress, waited for Ranma. She had hurried through her shower and dressing to be sure he didn’t leave before she got out, so her hair was hanging loose and still a bit damp.
"Ranma!" She called the pigtailed boy over when he appeared. He seemed to be visibly calmer, but the faint red aura surrounding his body told another story. "Do you want to talk to me about something?"
"I don’t think so."
"Then what’s with the attitude? I know you want to get your revenge, but this just isn’t like you."
Damn it! Couldn’t she see he needed some time. Of course this wasn’t like him. "What would you know about it, Ranko! You’ve never lost someone and had to carry on no matter how much it hurt!" Ranma’s argument came to an abrupt standstill when he opened his eyes again. Ranko stood an inch before him, staring straight into his eyes with a gaze of fire.
Ranma dropped his clenched hands he wasn’t even aware he had brought up to Ranko’s face. He was ready to beat the hell out of her and was barely capable of recognizing of who she was. Her eyes had all the explanation he needed though. This was Ranko. She wasn’t an enemy and she was pissed. Whatever Ranma had been doing for the past couple of weeks had worn her patience to the bone. He had to get a grip.
"I’ll see you later." Ranma mumbled as he stumbled out of NERV, his mind a mass of knots too confusing to make sense of.
Rei and Shinji watched Ranma head down the hallway and out of sight before they dared to speak. "Is he going to be all right?"
"I hope so."
In another small room, this one not connected to the testing facility, a man with spectacles watched Ranma conclude his last test. It was mainly unnecessary considering the power and ability the pigtailed boy possessed.
Gendou had been only slightly worried that Ranko had told the truth about Ranma’s aura rejecting the Eva’s last time. The girl was good, bright, and very intimidating. It took an iron will to not bend under Ranko’s glares, but Commander Ikari didn’t get his position by being a pushover.
"It was him?"
Gendou looked away from the computer console on his desk to the young woman sitting in a leather chair on the other side of his desk. She was pointing to Ranma’s image on the screen at the opposite wall. The light in the room was barely sufficient enough to make out the girl’s long and unruly red hair and pale slender arms. "Yes, that’s him."
There was another long pause. Gendou could see the young woman evaluating Ranma’s performance and comparing it with some of her own statistics.
Finishing her analysis, she flicked her hair in a swift and easy movement. "He’s strong." Turning about in her chair to place her attention back on the man behind the desk, the light seemed to shift just so as to keep her face hidden within shadows. "But I’m better."
Gendou allowed himself to smirk at the girl’s arrogance. No doubt, she was strong, but he would wait to see some real results. Assume nothing and criticize everything, a rule to live by.
"We shall see."
End Chapter One