A Study in Scarlet

by Gregg Sharp

=====

setting and major char by Rumiko Takahashi
add'l char & situations by Gregg Sharp
webpage: http://members.aol.com/MetroAnime/main.html
        "life is what happens while we make other plans."

__/Cliffs Of Athaq, Aramar, 543 7th Age\______

	She was old, older even than Cologne had been
back in the unimaginably distant Furinkan days. Bent but
not broken by her years, she had given up on finding what
she had sought for her first century of life here. Until just
under a week ago, when Baron had brought her a bit of
news.

	A deep rumble brought her attention to her 
travelling companions. The dragon was moving back,
giving her time to be alone now that her quest was finally
at an end.

	"You needn't do that, Baron," Akane addressed
the dragon. "I might as well say goodbye now. I've been
formulating the wording for this for weeks."

	*Careful, child,* the dragon's mental voice was
surprisingly gentle for a creature of his size. *Wishes from
the djinni are difficult to fix, this is a thousand times a
thousand more so.*

	"Well, if it didn't have that sort of power output,
it wouldn't be able to accomplish what it needs to, ne?"
Akane looked back at one of the few friends she'd made in
this world that hadn't died. A misfit, much like herself, and
as a dragon- one whose life span was normally measured in
centuries instead of decades. "I shall miss you, old friend."

	*And I, you, child. Don't you go and forget your
friends now.* The dragon turned to face the entry to the 
cave, the red-gold of his scales catching the flickering light
of the guardian beast's pyre. *Best to get this over with,
and try not to end up back here. This particular method will
only work once, you know.*

	"Ah yes," Akane reached out and laid her palm
on the crystalline shape before her. Wishes were a tricky
thing in the best of circumstances, as she well knew.
After all, it had been a casually expressed wish that had
gotten her into this mess. 

	"I invoke the sacred contract, and in the name 
of the nine gods of this world do make my wish be known."
This part was required, a sort of magical access code. "I
wish to travel back along the paths of time and space, to
my plane of origin, to the time when I was still enrolled in
Furinkan Senior High School, knowing then what I know
now, but to be the age I was when I was there originally,
with minimal disruption to the timestream from my entry."

	*Nicely worded,* came the dragon's thought.
*I think you forgot something though. Oh well, too late,
maybe it'll work out anyway.* Baron's tail lashed in 
irritation. He had to get moving soon anyway, Akane had
developed many enemies over her long life, and no doubt
one or two would show up before long.

--------------------------------------------

	Akane briefly saw an image of herself, though
much older and with a sad air about her. Then came a 
feeling as if she were shoved aside by an irresistable 
force.

	Akane looked about herself, smiling a little as
she took in the old dojo.

	She could barely remember it, so many years
and so many events had passed. A pile of bricks were
stacked nearby. With a quick grin she picked the top
one up and crushed it in her grip.

	"There you go again, Akane, no wonder
the boys think you're so weird."

	Akane stared, tears coming to her eyes.
"Na-Nabiki?!"

	Nabiki took a step away. "Akane, what?"

	Akane moved so quickly that Nabiki only saw
a blur before she was swept up and swung around in
her sister's embrace.

	"NABIKI! By the Seal, it's been
so long!"

	"Uhm, right, Akane. It's been at least a
couple of hours." Nabiki wondered exactly what
Akane was going on about, when she noticed how
odd Akane's embrace felt. There was no give, as
if she were being hugged by a statue.

	"Is everyone here? Is Ranma here?
Oh, kami, I've missed you!"

	"Who's Ranma?"

	Akane blinked at that. Her face
went blank as she worked out the possible
ramifications of that question. Funny, she
had been working out how to get here for
so long that she'd never considered what
to do when she actually did get back.

	"Anyway, Akane, Father's got
some sort of announcement he wants to
hit us with, so he's called a family meeting."

	"It's THAT day?" Akane slowly
grinned. "Oh, kami, there are things I've 
wanted to change about that day..."

	Nabiki began to look worriedly
at her sister. "Sis, you okay?"

	"Let's go have that family 
meeting, Nabiki. I haven't felt _this_
good in ages."

----------------------------------------

	It HAD been a long time, 
and Akane didn't remember a lot of the
things that had happened way back
when. *Or should that be, way back
now,* Akane pondered.

	Nabiki's constant poking of
the little girl's breasts, with her being 
quite upset about the fiance not being
a boy after all. It would be enough that
the two would never get along thereafter.

	Kasumi was mainly polite, but
would never consider Ranma due to the
incredible gulf of three years difference on
their ages. Akane inwardly chuckled at
THAT. If Kasumi knew how much older
her younger sister was now, she'd flip.

	"Nabiki," Akane gently chided,
"Ranma is our guest whether he's a boy
or a girl. Ranma, would you care to join me
in the dojo? I'm Akane, do you want to be
friends?"

	Ranma seemed a little intimidated,
that smile wasn't a cute little girl grin, but the
sort of smile that usually accompanied phrases
like "paybacks are a bitch." Still, what harm
could it be? She nodded.

----------------------------------

	Akane was aware of Nabiki following
them. She was pretty sure that hadn't happened
the first time, so she must have done something
to throw Nabiki's natural curiosity into high gear.

	 It had been so long, so very, very,
long, since she'd made that first wish. An odd
item from Happosai's "treasure trove" in her 
hands during one of the usual arguments, and
she'd wished Ranma was dead.
	
	The rod was of the djinni, and it 
worked by altering the wielder. So it merely
moved her forward in time, to a time where not
only Ranma but any of Ranma's lineage were
long gone in their graves. The Seventh Age
Of Man, where she'd done things that made
even Ranma's life look tame.

	"Uhm, you okay, Akane?" Ranma
was looking at her curiously. "You seemed to
go asleep there for a minute."

	Akane blinked and shook her head.
"I'm fine, Ranma. You've studied kempo, right?"

	"A little," was Ranma's response as
she turned her attention to the dojo.

	"Well, then, let's have a little match."
Akane noted Ranma looked a little uncertain. 
"Just for fun. Don't worry, I won't go all out on
you."

	"Uhm, yeah, sure." Ranma stopped
and her eyes widened.

	Akane realized that Ranma was reading
her stance, like any martial artist would, and was
revising her opinion of Akane's skill level accordingly.
Ranma shifted into a defensive stance immediately.

	Akane's grin was like a wolf that had just
found fresh prey.

	Akane sent a couple of quick jabs towards
Ranma, nothing fancy. Ranma blocked them and
jumped over the legsweep. Each getting the feel for
the other's skill level.

	Akane cranked the speed up a notch.
"You can fight back now, or don't you take me 
seriously?"

	Ranma was still dodging. "I don't hit
girls..." Well, there WAS that fight with Shampoo.

	"Oh, really? You know when I said I
wouldn't go all out?" Akane spoke in a calm
voice that didn't match the double circle kick
she had just executed. "I lied."

	Nabiki's eyes widened as the already
fast battle turned into something she'd never 
expected. Akane launched one attack after another,
moving more fluidly  than she had ever done in her
life, and this Ranma was just barely dodging them.
As it was there were rips appearing in Ranma's
clothing from the near misses.

	"Think that's bad, Ranma, check this
out," Akane thought this would give Ranma 
reason to stay on her good side. "Black Rose
Torture Fist!"

	Ranma flew across the room, slamming
into and through the dojo wall, going down and
twisting in agony as she did.

	"Hang on, Ranma, I'll be right there,"
Akane smiled. This ought to knock some sense
into him early on in their relationship. He'd take
her skills seriously if nothing else.

	"What did you do?!" Nabiki stared at
the figure out in the yard. She'd heard the phrase
writhing in pain before, but had never seen it. This
certainly fit.

	Akane walked over to the nearly 
unconcious figure and struck three times in
very precise locations. "Black Rose Torture Fist,
a nerve strike technique that causes excruciating
pain to the target, often stops a fight without
actually causing permanent damage."(1)

	Ranma shuddered and gradually 
uncurled, looking at her hands as if surprised
that they were still intact.

	"I'm getting a bath, Ranma, don't
you dare walk in on me," Akane called out as
she walked back to the house. Things were
getting better already. She'd have Ranma's
respect from the very beginning this time.

	Nabiki watched her sister go back
into the house, then turned back to Ranma.
She didn't think there was ANY chance of
Ranma walking in on Akane. The look of
fear on the younger girl's face was just too
clear an indication of that.

	Noting how pale Ranma was,
and the sweat and shaking muscles, Nabiki
felt a sudden wave of a foreign emotion to
her. Pity. Ranma had not only been beaten,
but thoroughly humiliated in seconds.

	Nabiki didn't exactly know how
to comfort, TLC wasn't one of her strengths,
but she knew whose it was. Nabiki went to
the kitchen. She needed Kasumi.

---------------------------------------

	"I'm Genma Saotome," Genma 
gestured at the boy next to him. "This is
my son, Ranma."

	"Are you really her, the girl
we saw earlier?" Kasumi watched carefully.
Nabiki was right. Ranma wouldn't even
look in Akane's direction and seemed
very nervous.

	"I am," Ranma's voice was soft
in reply.

	"It's such a long story," Genma
said after a moment. "I don't know where
to begin. Well, then," he threw Ranma into
the pond.

	Ranma, now a girl, spluttered up
and began to run back and confront her 
father when she caught sight of Akane's
smirk. She froze.

	"Father, you certainly have some
unusual friends," Kasumi said in the silence
that followed. She saw fear briefly in the young
girl's face. A quick glance confirmed that she
was looking directly at Akane.

	"Told you," came a whisper from
Nabiki managing to look as if she had just
accidently brushed Kasumi as she got up.

	Kasumi absent-mindedly nodded.
She wasn't sure about Nabiki's story about
how Akane had acted in the dojo, but her
initial reaction of sibling rivalry was beginning
to look a little less likely.

	Soun continued on with his explanation
of Jusenkyo and its curses, oblivious to what was
going on around him. Even Genma had realized
something was up at this point, just seeing his son
fail to react as he normally would, had given  him pause.

	"Well, your problem isn't so bad, is it?"
Soun went out into the yard and guided girl-type 
Ranma into the house, not noticing that Ranma
was trying deliberately not to look in a particular
direction again.

	Akane frowned briefly. What was wrong
with him, anyway? He had never acted like this 
before. Ranma didn't even seem to want to look in
her general direction.

	"This is my oldest daughter, Kasumi,
she's 19. This is my middle daughter, Nabiki, she's 
17. This is my youngest daughter, Akane, she's 16. 
Pick anyone you like, she'll be your new fiancee."

	"I'll marry him," Akane jerked her thumb
at herself. "Hell, maybe we can even give your old
man a rest and you can spar with me every morning.
Wouldn't that be great?"

	Genma felt a flash of anger and concern
as he saw Ranma cringe at that.

	"Uhm, no, I'm sorry, I really don't think
that would...I mean I've got to go back and find a
cure for my curse."

	Nabiki exchanged a glance with Kasumi.
The way the boy's father was looking at him was
sufficient indication that Ranma normally didn't act
like this. (2)

	"I'm sorry, Akane, but I have priority in
this instance."

	"Kasumi?!"

	Kasumi shrugged. The look of pain and
anguish on the young girl's face called out to her
maternal instincts. Besides, she could always step
out of the way later when she knew more about 
what was going on.	

	Nabiki caught the glance that Kasumi
discreetly shot her and wiped a smirk from her
face. She didn't know if she could survive Akane
giving her a lesson, but Kasumi would be safe.

	Akane closed her mouth. What were
they doing? Why was Ranma acting like this? 
What had prompted Kasumi to step in? This
wasn't how she had thought it would go.

	"Well, I don't really care which of
you marries him," Soun said with a smile. This
was going even better than he had planned.
"Well, Ranma, which will it be, Akane or Kasumi?"

	Ranma glanced at Akane and restrained
himself. He was still feeling muscle cramps from the
spasming, and nausea from the amount of pain he'd
endured less than an hour ago. "Uhm, Kasumi, I
guess. Nothing personal, Akane."

	Akane blinked and stared at her tea.
He'd chosen...Kasumi?! After hundreds of years
trying to get back here, Akane had lost her fiance.
He'd never even said that he'd chose her, even up
to that failed wedding attempt. He'd only said that
he'd loved her when he thought she was dead.
Now he'd actually chosen a fiancee, and it wasn't
her?

	Akane clenched her jaw. She was NOT
out of the running yet. 

=============================

(1)	The Black Rose assassin cult are not
nice people. Even the outcast who taught Akane
this martial art is a humorless, mean, and tactless
person. At this point Akane has spent many years
in another culture (Orc's Tusk Isle, due to a couple
of misunderstandings that occurred between her
and the elves, then later on the dwarves, she never
bothered with the amazons) where the attitudes
were considerably different. Akane has just reacted
in a way appropriate to that other culture, demonstrating
her strength and place in the pecking order.
                       This particular technique floods the body
with overwhelming pain. The Black Rose style of
martial arts has dozens of manuevers like this, though
the overall style is similar to ninjitsu- emphasis is on
incapacitating or killing an opponent quickly and quietly.

(2)	Yes, this is OOC. Consider that you've been
training most of your life in the martial arts and you've
gotten really, really, good. Now here comes a 16 year old
girl who is BETTER, and with one touch not only launches
you through a wall, but leaves you with every nerve ending
in your body transmitting agony. The pain level sufficient
that an hour later, he's still nauseated and dealing with the
muscle cramps from the related spasming. It will be awhile
before he gets anywhere near his usual cockiness again.

==============================

Where to go from here?
            Akane is much more mature and powerful than
in her original timeline. She's also used to a completely
different culture with completely different values and 
has forgotten a lot of her Japanese heritage.

	Planned scene: the morning battle, with
Akane using a "Hundred Strikes" technique to hit
a series of pressure points on the various males 
attacking her. Shiatsu impotence spot, shutting down
production of testosterone until Dr Tofu figures it 
out and reverses it on those who come to him with
the problem.

	Planned scene: Doctor Tofu learns of
Kasumi's engagement to Ranma from Akane. 
The doctor decides he needs to move quickly or
it will be too late. To make sure he does, Akane
hits a couple of pressure points that will cure
his reaction to Kasumi at least temporarily.

	Planned scene: as Ranma learns that
Kasumi is about to dump him and accept Doctor
Tofu's proposal, he gets desperate as he sees
Kasumi as his only real chance to avoid Akane.
Nabiki sees this going on, and decides that Ranma
is "salvagable."

	Planned scene: Ranma throwing himself
into his schoolwork with the same dedication he
used to show for the martial arts. After all, he spent
his whole life trying to master the Art only to have
some girl who apparently only spent an hour a day
practicing thoroughly humiliate him.

	Planned scene: Akane starts laughing
when Kodachi calls herself the Black Rose. Explains
that the Black Rose assassins are an all female group
of killers dedicated to ritual murder. Ties Kodachi up
in her own ribbon and leaves her hanging from the
rafters. As much as Ranma fears Akane, after her 
attack on Akane, Kodachi is scared spitless of her.

	Planned scene: Kasumi rejects Doctor
Tofu, after all, Ranma is acting much more mature
and helpful now. Ranma can't take on a part time
job without permission from his school, but is
trying to help out whenever he can. He is meeting
her for lunch when Ryouga attacks. Ranma has
gotten a little rusty and gets hurt pretty badly 
when he shields Kasumi from the flying bandanas.
Ryouga sees all the blood and comes to his 
senses.

	Planned scene: Akane reunited with
P-chan. She still hasn't put it together. Starts 
talking to P-chan about what's going on, which
really freaks Ryouga out. Ryouga decides that
if Saotome is SCARED of Akane, then getting
them together would be a living hell for his rival,
or should he simply pursue Akane and wish
Ranma luck pursuing someone else.

	Planned scene: Charlotte Cup. Akane
sees this as her chance to get Ranma jealous.
Ranma isn't. Kasumi is so nice, after all. During
one of these attempts, Mikado kisses Ranma's
girl form in front of Kasumi. Kasumi sees how 
much this has upset Ranma and kisses him a
little later on, as she knows at this point she's 
going to have to take the initiative. Akane
sees this and comes back to ice rink. Mikado
tries to claim Akane Tendo's lips. Mikado 
finds out what happens when a girl who can
kick through a car door applies a similar move
to the male groin area. Mikado in ICU.

	Planned scene: Shampoo defeated
by boy-type Ranma. Shampoo uses Formula 110
on a hapless Kasumi. Doctor Tofu tries to propose
again, this time Kasumi accepts as she doesn't 
remember Ranma. Ranma's world is shattered  
again, and he's really angry at Shampoo for 
attacking a noncombatant. Shampoo comes 
after girl-type Ranma only to find that Akane
sees her as the only competition at this point.
Shampoo, beaten by Akane, gives Kiss Of
Death. Akane beats Shampoo unmercifully,
then uses a Black Rose technique to "seal
off" Shampoo's ability to fight.

	Planned scene: Shampoo dares not
go back to the village as she can't even make
a fist, much less fight effectively. She's been
reduced to such a pathetic level that Ranma
forgives her, as long as she undoes the memory
block on Kasumi. She does. Kasumi forgives
Shampoo for acting on her tribal laws, and
arranges for Shampoo to sleep in the dojo.
After all, Shampoo is pretty helpless at this
point. Shampoo can't fight, and so focusses
on activities she CAN perform, and develops
a measure of friendship with two of three 
Tendo sisters, plus Ranma. Finds out Ranma-chan
is Ranma.

	Planned scene: Cologne notes from
observing Akane what the Black Rose style is:
quick kills, pressure point manuevers, and 
devastating in-close fighting. That there are
no ranged attacks or weapon manuevers is
something she can exploit as she plans revenge
for what has been done to Shampoo.

	

Boy, does this get divergent or what? Obviously
doesn't fit the Bet's framing device, but included
here for your voting pleasure. 

Ja ne,
gregg