Enter the Black Rose By Kyokukou Disclaimer : I don't own the characters from Ranma 1/2 only the characters that I write myself . So please don't sue me ! But if you try to use my characters .....there will be ...unpleasant consequences if I find out . Do not repost or reprint this without my permission , however if you do ASK there is a good chance I will let you . " Showing mercy to a enemy is a two edged blade . Your enemy can either return your honor or tarnish his own with your blood ." -Kyoujaku Masaru , Kamakura period Chapter 9 Why am I getting a bad feeling again ? She paused at the guest room's door . It had been a almost a week since the 'bad day' , and Ranma had healed quickly , astoundingly quickly , but she had begun to suspect that he had that feeling of foreboding again . The door opened before she could finish her thoughts . Ranma stood there , looking at her without a hint of surprise . He must have know she was coming before she even reached the door . He gave her a genuine smile , but she could see the weight behind it . " What's wrong ?" She began without preamble . " Is another bad day coming ?" " No ." He said , his smile dissolving , but no surprise registering . " But something bad is coming . Akane was talking about the girls on the martial arts rhythmic gymnastics team being put out of commission one by one . I think that may be it ." " OH ." She said , relieved . " That's simply Kodachi's mischief ." " Me ?" Ranma gave her a very confused look . " I was here at the time ." " Huh ?" " You think I did it ?" He blinked at her . " No , no ." She shook her head . " Kodachi did it . Kuno Kodachi , Kuno Tatawaki's younger sister ." As Ranma sorted it out she gave a mental start , realizing that Ranma must still answer to the name Kodachi just as his own . How sad . " Ack ." Was all Ranma came up with . * * * " Where , where , WHERE !" She bit on a pencil in frustration . The acquisition and distribution of information was her business , yet , here she was , unable to find hardly anything on Ranma's past . The book he had was now in hiding , her resources at home were exhausted . So now she sat here at the history club's database finding nothing again . " What'cha lookin' for ?" A unfamiliar voice asked her . Annoyed she turned to face a young senior with a pleasant smile on his comely face . The name tag on his shirt identified him as , Toryama Hiro , the history club's chairman . " Alright Chairman ," She challenged . " What do you know about a famous swordsman people called 'The living Kodachi' from about seven or eight hundred years ago ?" " The Kodachi rose up as the champion of a small unassuming valley ruled by a warlord that had his own share of fame . Of course all accounts from that period of such things must be taken with a grain of salt ." The man paused for breath , his smiling expression still unchanged . " Honestly , a Japanese man with eyes that were reflective like the swords he used , yeah right . Or a man called 'The Dragon eyes' , this time his were supposed to glow green . Don't get me started on the things they were supposed to be able to do ." Another pause for breath , but not long enough for her to get a word in edgewise . " Leaping over canyons , shattering stone with a kiyai , moving faster than arrows or even the human eye . Sounds like Dragon Ball Z stuff . Now-" " Just a sec !" She interjected . " Could you tell me where you learned all this from ?" " Sure !" He all but chortled . Whipping out a pen and paper he scribbled down the names and numbers to a few books and computer archives for her . " The archives we have here , but you'll have to go to the library for the rest of it ." Mumbling her thanks she turned back to the keyboard with the note in hand . Running a search for the first archived item on the list she was not disappointed . * * * Normally he chose to tune out the conversations of others if he was out of a earshot for a normal person , however , when his name is mentioned several times curiosity tends to supercede courtesy . He might have been only two rooms away , but with a open window from both rooms and no wind , all it took was the slightest attention to hear every word . " Oh come on now ." Akane said . " since when do I do gymnastics ." " But it's martial arts rhythmic gymnastics ." Another voice countered . " Yeah Akane , you're awesome at martial arts ." Another agreed . " If it has martial arts in it you'll be sure to win !" A third added enthusiastically . " But , it's still gymnastics and Kodachi has been specializing in it for years now...." Akane sounded reluctant to either accept or turn down her friend's offer . " But she injured all of us , and if you don't we'll lose again this year by default !" " How about Nabiki , this is more her style ." " We can't AFFORD Nabiki ." " Um , Kasumi ?" " Not a student at our school ." " I liked it better when we were talking about that baka ." Akane sighed . " We'll get back to the hunk after you agree ." " Fine , Fine ! I'll do it ." " YAY !" Three voices cried . " She'll get what's coming to her ." " Yeah ! Akane'll kick her black rose butt all over the ring !" More promises were made about the painful fates that Kuno Kodatchi would suffer until the conversation switched back to him abruptly . " Soooooooo , Akane ." One girl began . " How far have you gone with him ?" " What ?" Akane asked flatly . " Around a hunk like that how can you restrain yourself ?" Another asked . " What are you talking about , he's a total baka !" " Uso !" " How ?" " Yeah , how ?" " I'll tell you how ." Akane began , in a tone that indicated a list forming in her mind . Unconsciously he leaned towards the window . " He's a cold , uncaring , self-centered , egotistical , over muscled and under skilled , baka that never admits that he's wrong , doesn't care about my side of this little engagement deal that he got me stuck with , he doesn't recognize anyone else's skill aside from his own , he's either got his head in the clouds or where the sun doesn't shine , he's got a weird curse , that scar's ugly , and that's just the beginning !" Ouch . " OH , come ON Akane !" One responded . " He's gentle , caring , gorgeous , strong , thoughtful , and he doesn't chase tail like the rest do ." Sit up straight , square shoulders , and puff chest out . " You don't live with him !" Akane countered . " He's completely different here than in public ." " Like how ?" " He's a lazy slob that doesn't do a lick of housework , all he cares about is training for martial arts . You can't talk to him , he complains when I do , and he's practically a Peeping Tom to top it all off !" May day , May day , the ego is going down in flames ! " So how do we know this , huh ? That sounds nothing like the Saotome Ranma I've seen ." " Last week he walked in on me while I was taking a bath !" Owwie . That was a hit below the belt . " Uso !" " I'm sure it was a mistake ." " Yeah right , I was making plenty of noise , he knew I was there . He's a lousy hentai !" " Uso !" " It had to be a mistake ." " Why don't we ask Ranma about it ?" A ray of light ! " Yeah right , he'll just glare at us ." " No Ranma isn't like that ." " I'm telling you he's just like all the other guys ." " Uso ." Will that girl stop saying that ? " Fine then , we'll just go ask him ." " Yeah ." " Whatever , you'll see ." Upon agreement the four began to get to their feet and head for the door . Eeep ! His mind raced . " What can I do to prove Akane wrong without looking like I am ?" Little feet padded down the hallway . " Think fast Saotome !" He gripped his head . An idea formed only seconds before the trio reached the door ." Perfect !" The door to his room , already half open , was all but thrown the rest of the way as Akane fairly stomped into the room . Only to find him sitting with his back to the group . " Ranma ?" She asked in a barely pleasant voice . " Hai ?" He made a show of placing a bookmark in the tomb before looking over his shoulder . " Oh , konichiwa ," Using the voice and expression he once used to pacify women who held knives to his throat he rose to greet his visitors . " you must be Akane's friends from school ." He began before carefully slipping some genuine concern into his expression . " What's with the bandages ? What happened ?" " Oh , don't worry , Akane-chan is taking care of her ." The apparent leader of the group said . Akane looked at him with a defiant look that told him she waited for vindication . " Oh , if Akane's protecting you it's all taken care of then ." He used a mask of mild relief to conceal the triumph he felt when Akane's jaw fell open . He reveled in his victory as the idle conversation with the injured schoolgirls continued until he prompted them to leave by asking what time it was , citing that he had to be somewhere in thirty minuets as a excuse . Akane left with her jaw still slack . " Saotome Ranma : two . Tendo Akane : zero ." He thought to himself as he shut the door . " Teach her to talk bad about people behind their back ." * * * " Guess what , he just might be ," Otama whispered in her thoughts . " only 'just might be' mind you , be as good a person as he seems to be ." Otama began the conversation just after her friends departed . Now in the privacy of her room they could hold a decent conversation without anyone gawking at the girl staring off into nothing . " He can't be , he's a boy ." She retorted . " But , he might not be all that bad ." She admitted . After all he hadn't retaliated even after taking some of the worse insults she had in her bag . " Good , remember recognition is the first step ." Otama's words flitted through her thoughts . " What's with being my conscience all of the sudden ?" She mentally responded , suspicion arousing . " You trying to get me to fall for him ?" " No-" " -That's it !" She cut Otama off . " You LIKE Ranma ! I see it now ! You want to get me to like him so there'd be no problem ." " Now wait a-" " Ota-chan , I'm hurt ," She began , using her more familiar name for the sorceress . " you know I'd understand if you'd just have told me in the first place ." " SHUT UP !" Otama shouted , normally Otama's words lightly breached the surface of her thoughts , almost inaudible when she was thinking hard , but this shoved aside other thoughts like a charging rhino . " Ota-chan ?" She reeled . " Akane-chan ," The sorceress began at only slightly higher cerebral volume than her normal psychical whisper . " I may be included as a potential fiancée by my adoptive Father , but I know that was merely a courtesy . I'm no marriage prospect , I don't even have a body !" " Oh , come on now ." She preformed the mental equivalent of rolling her eyes at Otama . " You get your turns , the next two weeks are yours remember ." " Akane ." Otama's faceless voice sounded distant suddenly . " You know that's not fair to you . It's your body , your life , I don't have any business even taking two weeks out of every two months . I'm a dead girl , Akane , I saw my own corpse through your eyes . I should be dead , gone , null and void , crossed the Sanzu noh Kawa . But I traded that to possess you like a dammed Oni ." Otama was normally a cheerful , bright , vivacious girl with a calculating temper that took a lot to invoke it full wrath . But living in Akane's body had spawned a deep guilt in the sorceress . Otama felt that her 'turns' were depriving Akane of living her life , and that her existence was more like a parasite's than a human's now . While the youngest Tendo had always been able to pull her closest friend out of the sporadic depressions , they were becoming more frequent and intense every year . She refused to contemplate when Otama's guilt would become too heavy a burden for either of them to handle . " Ota-chan , don't ever say that . Don't EVER say that !" She repeated . " I'm coming in there right now !" Sprawling on her bed unceremoniously she didn't wait for the bed to settle before beginning the retreat into the psychological neutral zone that both her and Otama's awarenesses could meet . From long practice the journey was brief . Her six senses closed to her as she delved into her mind . Otama described their common ground as a small but luxurious temple atop a mountain . Which happened to be entirely different from what she was always met with . She entered a traditional Japanese home , it's interior seemed to be perpetually fresh and bright , especially the empyreal garden . Between the their research and Otama's knowledge of the mind , they had concluded that the discrepancy was from the fact that each of their minds interpreted such things differently based on their subconscious minds . So something in Otama wanted their middle ground to look like a mountain top temple , and hers wished for a more home like setting . " Otama !" She called loudly after 'entering' through the gate . " I'm in the garden ." Otama's voice , clear and real now , sounded from the inner courtyard of the home . Wasting no time she rushed through the hallways and out into a garden that even in her current state still forced her to slow for a moment at it's resplendence . A unearthly light filled the air like a mist , shifting colors and obscuring fine detail . In that dreamlike light of the garden all blemishes were shrouded to favor the beauty shining through on the light . Shaking her head as if to clear it she looked at her hands , the only thing that was never affected by the light was her flesh . The sight of her perfectly normal hands focused her . " Otama ?" She called , much more softly than before . " I'm here ." Otama answered somberly . Heading for the voice she rounded a cluster of cherry trees beginning to bloom . Otama sat on bench of cobalt blue marble , the sorceresses alabaster skin reflected the light in a gentle radiance . Otama was clad in a western knee-length skirt and a blouse that appeared to be of Chinese influence . Both were made of the same emerald gossamer material . The deep green set off both Otama's fair skin and her pale azure hair . The dreamlike light lent her a ambient aura about her of the mixed colors . The effect was to give Otama even in her current state the air of quiet resplendence . It was another thing that never failed , in all their time together , to strike her with a sort of awe at the young sorceress . Forcing it to pass quickly she hastened to her friend's side . Without a word she plopped herself down close beside Otama . " I should just crawl back in your mind and never come out again ." Otama whispered , more to herself than anyone else . Those words sent a sharp stab of pain through her . She expressed it with a hurt gasp , only for Otama would she be so open about her true emotions . " You do and I'll hunt you down and drag you back here ." She promised with a closed fist . " Otama-chan ," Her voice softened . " I'm closer to you than any of my blood sisters . Don't you dare leave me like that ." Gently , she placed a hand on the young sorceresses shoulder . Otama promptly shrugged it off . " I'm stealing your youth from you ." The azure haired girl continued to stare straight ahead , her pallid expression ambiguous . " I died , I'm just a ghost now , a soul without a shell . I don't deserve to steal time you should be living . I need to let go of life and just-" The sorceresses cut her own words short at Akane's response . One altogether rare for such a girl . Tenderly she gathered Otama up in a soft embrace , and whispered her ultimatum into Otama's ear . " If you die , I will kill myself ." For a moment neither moved , two young women in a unearthly haven , both with hearts much too heavy for their years . Finally Otama wrapped her arms around her companion's shoulders and began to silently weep into her shoulder . " Otama-chan ," Her voice began to break with emotion . " You're not going to leave me like that . I swore I would find a way for you to be free again and I will . I'm not going to let you just give up like this ." Otama's reply was almost inaudible . " What kind of Karma do I have ? Bad enough to get killed , But then I end up with a friend like you ? The spirits like to toy with me don't they ?" She did the only thing she could think of for her friend . She held Otama tighter as the young girl silently cried her frustrations out . * * * " Now that really feels weird . What the hell ?" He thought as a ki unlike any he had previously assensed entered his perceptions . " What's wrong ?" Nabiki asked from across the living room's table . " Nan ?" He looked back at her from his seat on the porch . " You got a surprised look all of the sudden ." She explained . " Oh , I just got a really weird feeling for a second ." He shrugged . " Like what ?" Nabiki closed her ledger and leaned over the table . " Well ..." He put a hand behind his head nervously . " I've never been good at explaining stuff like this ." " Try ." She deadpanned . " It's still there , almost at the edge ." He began . " It's kinda like a drunk person , but mixed with a lot more vigor ...um.." He began groping for the proper words . " uh...hell !" He gave up trying to describe . " It's almost like a psycho but different !" He threw his arms up . Nabiki blinked . " I don't feel anyone ." " She's over there !" He snorted in frustration , stabbing a finger out into the back yard . " I can't see her through the tree though ." " I don't see anyone ." Nabiki dryly observed . " Of course !" He was rather exasperated now . " Didn't ya hear what I just said ! She's behind the stupid tree and on the neighbor's roof !" " I still don't see anyone , it is after dark though ." She observed once more after changing position to get a better perspective . " Nonono ! She's down the BLOCK , THAT neighbor's roof !" " I can't see that far , much less sense that far ." Turning , she gave him a skeptical look . " You're just pulling my leg ." " Damn it !" He screwed his face up in frustration . It was such a simple thing , why did she make it into a contest ? He couldn't resist winning a contest . Just looking at her out of the corner of his eye told him that she knew it . " Come on !" He stood and took her hand . " Wait a-" Nabiki began to protest . After a few running strides to make sure she could keep up he leapt over the Tendo wall . Nabiki followed without further protest , not that she had much choice being that he had a firm grip . A few roof to roof leaps and they sailed over a crouched figure in the shadow of a tall tree . The pair landed on the roof beyond just as they had traveled so far , in near silence . He grinned as Nabiki gaped at the now silhouetted form of a shapely woman . " Kodachi ." Nabiki narrowed her eyes as she whispered the name like a curse . " What'd I do now ?" He whispered back . " Huh ?" She blinked at him . " Oh , Kuno Kodachi ." " Anyway ," She returned to looking at the still silhouette . " we have to stop her ." " From what ?" " Who do you think busted up Akane's friends ?" Nabiki took a combative stance . Her next sentence was lost to his ears , he had already heard enough and was in action . The hikarinohayasa took him twenty stories up in one tenth of a second . He would wait one full second to asses the terrain before he would appear beside Kuno Kodachi and take her out with a pressure point . It would have worked if his target hadn't picked that time to try to start leaping away , right into him as he hurtled toward the ground . Reflex saved him from a nasty bruise and the Kuno girl from shattered bones . His hands shot out and redirected her momentum to the side , and right into a leaping Nabiki . Not a good night for roof hopping it seemed . " Ambusher !" Kuno Kodachi snarled , producing a gymnastic club from apparently nowhere . Nabiki blocked the blow fairly easily , but had her own counter attack turned aside as well . The two martial artists , entangled in their attacks , were approaching the roof a bit too quickly . " Nabiki !" He shouted a warning . Knowing that discretion was the better part of valor the middle Tendo shoved herself away from the Kuno daughter just in time to land . Kuno Kodachi was not so quick . The gymnast landed on the roof with a rather ungraceful thump . But she was not to be defeated so easily . Before Nabiki could continue to retreat , she found herself dodging a barrage of thrown clubs . " Where the hell do you get all of these !" Nabiki yelled as she desperately avoided what she could and blocked what she could not . " Alright ." He said with a tone of finality after he fell into a offensive stance . " It's over now ." " I agree ." Kuno Kodachi gave him a ravishing smile that still managed to convey contempt . " I call this 'Falling petals of the cutting edge' ." Kodachi proclaimed before finishing her apparently limitless fusillade of clubs and leaping into the air , drawing her gymnastics ribbon . He felt her ki focus and draw power . Unconsciously his hand groped for a sword was wasn't there . This was going to be big , whatever it was . " Falling petals THIS Rose-girl !" Nabiki grunted before punting one of the blocked clubs . Which smashed into another , still airborne club , and another , and another like some ricochet from a movie . Until one final club ended it's rapid flight by smashing into the side of the Kuno daughter's head . Her limp form reached the apex of her leap and then fell like the proverbial stone . For a martial artist like Kodachi had proved herself to be , a fall from such a height would normally not present much of a danger . Unless she happened to be unconscious and falling head first towards a old man's stone garden . " Well , Shit ." He shrugged mentally before lunging after the hapless girl . Catching the limp girl was a fairly easy task . Soon he was standing on the bolder Kodachi would have smashed her brains out on . " How is she ?" Nabiki hopped down into a bolder near them . He looked down at the unconscious girl in his arms . Asleep , at peace , she looked strikingly beautiful . Shifting his hand he felt her neck for a pulse , and found a strong one . A angry red mark was beginning to color near her temple , but otherwise she looked fine . " She'll wake up soon enough ." He assured Nabiki . " Good ," The middle Tendo smiled unkindly at the other girl . " We need to find out what she was doing here ." With only a nod of agreement the pair set off for the Tendo house with their prisoner . " Why am I getting a bad feeling again ?" He wondered .