Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma 1/2 nor do I own the Legacy of Kain series but that will change after I built my own Chronoplast room and travel back in time.

((Thoughts))

"Dialogue"

/Telepathy/

'Panda signs'

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"She's waking up." said a concerned voice

Slowly she opened her eyes and she could see the silhouettes of two people leaning over, she blinked a few times to clear her sight and started to recognize the persons, "What happened?"

"You collapsed, Kasumi." answered Nabiki, "Aunty Nodoka and I brought you to your room."

"Why… …?" asked Kasumi but then, just as she closed her lips, she remembered and shot up from her bed, "You said something about Ranma dying!"

Nabiki looked at Nodoka and after a moment they silently agreed and nodded, turning her eyes back to her sister Nabiki started,

"Well… It was like this…"

Back to the forest...

"Happosai…" said Ranma with an icy voice

"I see you picked up weapons." responded Happosai, while pulling his pipe out of nowhere

"What is it to you?"

"As the Grandmaster of Anything Goes I can't allow that! In our school weapons are forbidden!"

Ranma turned around and started to walk away casually, "I don't care what you allow or disallow, I'm doing what I think is right."

"We will see that boy. I will show you the consequences of disobeying your master! Prepare yourself!"

That said Happosai jumped towards Ranma intending on striking the back of his head, the old man was surprised when Ranma turned around again and hit him with the flat of his blade. The blow was strong enough to smash the old man through a tree at the edge of the clearing. As soon as his feet touched the ground again Happosai started to sprint towards Ranma at an incredible speed. Now only four meters away from Ranma the creator of Anything Goes used one of his trademark techniques,

"Happo Dai Karin!!"

Happosai threw ten of the destructive bombs but Ranma couldn't dodge anymore since he was too shocked that Happosai could still fight after the hit he took. Eight of the grenades hit Ranma directly, the other two landed on the ground in front of him. The resulting explosion was deafening, the birds in the forest all flew away in shock at the sudden loud noise.

"Ranma, this will teach you not to disobey your master!!"

Happosai's view was obscured though thanks to the pillar of smoke rising from the ground. Not bothered by this the pervert turned to leave; he was disrupted when he heard a voice coming from the column,

"You will pay for that."

Happosai jumped with surprise and turned towards the voice and what he saw scared him to no end. Out of the smoke came a tall figure, a man who wore the same armor as Ranma had just seconds ago but the old master knew that it wasn't Ranma. The man's skin was whiter than snow and his long silver hair was descending down his back, no trace of a pigtail.

As he came nearer Happosai could see more features, the most prominent were the bared fangs and the red glow of the eyes. In each of his hands the man was holding a dangerous looking axe, which seemed to call out for blood to be spilled… … by them.

"Foolish human, this was the last act of your worthless life."

Swallowing his fear, Happosai answered, "You don't scare me boy! I may not know who you are but I certainly know what you are and be sure that you are not the first vampire that a destroyed in my life!!"

"Really?" the man raised an eyebrow at this, Hmmm… So vampires do exist in this world… how interesting.

"Yes, and now it's your turn to be vanquished!" yelled the old master

The man smirked coldly and said again, this time with an amused tone, "Really?"

Suddenly he blinked out of existence and Happosai felt how he was lifted from the ground; slowly he turned his head to see the vampire holding him by his clothes.

"Time to die." and that was the moment the pain started

Electricity began to race through Happosai's body; he tried to free himself but the intensity of the energy rose with every second and then it suddenly stopped and he fell to the ground. Happosai weakly turned his gaze towards the monster that almost killed him, he didn't like what he saw.

The vampire had his right had pointed at the old man and his eyes were glowing red again, "Lighting takes too long… … Immolate."

Before Happosai could even feel any pain he started burning, the flame hot enough to rival the surface of the sun. A moment later it was over and on the ground only a heap of ash remained, which was quickly blown away by the wind.

That was also the moment the vampire fell to the ground, but before he could touch the earth there was a flash of light and the nosferatu wasn't there anymore. The smoke of Happosai's last attack was fading and on the ground was the unconscious Ranma, who didn't move since the bombs exploded, he had burns all over his face which were rapidly healing and the armor protected the rest of his body.

Two hours later…

Ranma woke up with a splitting headache and got shakily to his feet. He looked around to see where he was, after a few moments his mind started kicking back in and he remembered what happened.

"Happosai..." muttered the young man, "I never thought he was insane enough to throw that many bombs at someone."

"How long was I out anyway? Oh well... seems that the old pervert disappeared, that's too bad."

Ranma let his armor and sword disappear and walked back to his camp to make himself something to eat. Once he reached the site he made a fire and rummaged through his backpack to find the food he brought with him.

"Where is all the stuff? I had enough to last me at least two days with me..." wondered Ranma, "...Happosai... he must have found this place before he got to me."

He stood back up and rubbed his head in thought, "Hmm... I think there was a river nearby... It's time for some fishing."

Ranma walked back into the forest and after only five minutes he reached a small, clear stream, where several different sized fishes were swimming.

"Now... ... how do I get them without getting wet in the process?" asked the boy no one in particular and after a few seconds of thinking an idea formed in his head, "That could actually work... I hope."

He walked behind a tree to cover himself and then pointed with one arm at the river, "Moko Takabisha!!"

The ki-blast hit the water and caused a small explosion and bathed the area in yellow light. After it subsided Ranma marched back to the bank and saw that there were in all six fishes lying on the sides of river, two on his side and four on the other.

He picked all of them up, which was easy due to their small size and walked back to his camp. Back there he proceeded to gut and clean the fishes and spear them on some small branches he found nearby. Then he stuck the branches into the ground around the fire so that the fishes were near to the flame.

As Ranma waited for his meal to roast, his gaze began to linger on the fire. Like he was hypnotized by it, the young man stared deeper and deeper into the fire and suddenly another vision appeared in his mind.

>>>>>>>>>>>>Vision>>>>>>>>>>>>

A strange being entered the Sarafan's relic hall; it didn't seem to have any semblance of skin or organs. Only its arms, legs and ribcage were covered by a thin layer of blue muscles. It had short black hair and white, glowing eyes and wrapped around its shoulders and mouth was a brown cowl with a white symbol.

On its back there were the remains of what once could have been wings and it also didn't have human-like hands or feet, only talons.

As it walked further to the center of the great citadel it could see the corpse of a soldier leaning against one of the pillars next to a gigantic gate that led to a chapel. The creature walked over to the dead man and checked him out, his neck has been obviously broken and blood has been running out its torn throat.

The being glanced away from the body and spoke to seemingly empty hall, "Show yourself, Kain."

"Here, Raziel!" emerged a voice from the depths of the small chapel beyond the steel gate

The creature, Raziel, walked towards the portal and the nearer he got, the more reality started to shift around him. Once he reached the gateway he threw it open with a push of his claws and marched further to a sarcophagus, which was the center of the chapel.

He could see the one he searched for standing next to the tomb. It was a tall man with long white hair, who had the same kind of talons as Raziel. His skin was dark yellow-green and a red cape hung from his right shoulder. He wore black leather pants and his forearms were covered by brown leather guards.

Without even acknowledging Raziel's presence he started to talk, "Everything is decided here... You cannot comprehend the magnitude, the rapture and the tragedy, of this moment... And yet you must if Nosgoth is to be dragged from the wreckage of its damnation."

"I understand only this, Kain - that you and Moebius have impelled me to this moment, simply means that I can trust neither of you. I don't know who's pulling the strings but it no longer matters, because I'm cutting them. I set my own course from here." with that he turned around to leave

Kain watched him for a few moments and then replied, "If it were only that simple..."

Raziel stopped but didn't turn around, he responded frustrated, "Your fatalism is tiresome, Kain."

"...and profoundly ingrained, Raziel. You must understand that our presence here doesn't alter history. You and I meet here because we are compelled to – we have always met here.

History is irredeemable. Drop a stone into rushing river – the current simply courses around it and flows on as if the obstruction were never there. You and I are pebbles, Raziel, and have even less hope of disrupting the time-stream. The continuum of history is simply too strong, too resilient.

Except... then how do we explain William, here?" he gestured with a claw at a stained glass window depicting the battle of a young man with a vampire, both of them holding the same weapon.

Kain turned back towards the sarcophagus and continued talking, "The beloved boy-king turned tyrant."

He took the sword, the Soul Reaver, from the casket and turned to Raziel again while pointing the blade at him, "In my youth, I witnessed William's rise to power and his transformation into the 'Nemesis', who laid waste to Nosgoth."

"Keep your distance, Kain." said Raziel steely, his eyes not once leaving the Reaver in Kain's hand. The vampire didn't heed Raziel's words though and came nearer towards the wraith.

"Years later, I stumble upon a chance to journey back in history, unaware that the entire affair has been orchestrated by Moebius. In my wisdom, I seize this opportunity to murder the young king before he can ravage Nosgoth... ... and thereby provide the catalyst Moebius needs to ignite a genocidal war against our race."

Raziel grew more and more agitated the closer Kain came, "I warn you - no further!"

Kain continued, his voice growing more and more urgent, "This one reckless act unravels the skin of history. The Nemesis never becomes the Nemesis; William dies as martyred saint. I, the vampire assassin, become the author of my own species' destruction. And Moebius profits from it all. I destroyed one tyrant only to create one far worse."

Pointing back at the glass window that depicted the battle, Kain continued, "But how can it be so? How, if history is immutable?"

Kain advanced further towards Raziel and the nearer he got, the stronger the feeling of displacement that Raziel felt when he opened the gate became.

"The answer is here in this room, Raziel. Moebius propelled William and me together – but ensured first that we were both armed with the Soul Reaver. The Reaver is the key. Two incarnations of the blade meet in time and space... a paradox is created, a temporal distortion powerful enough to derail history."

Kain took a final step towards Raziel and the distortion around them reached its peak and out of its own will, Raziel's weapon, the wraith-blade manifested on his arm.

"Is this your sorcery?" asked Raziel in alarm

"Not mine, Raziel – yours. You have nothing to fear from me, Raziel. You hold all the cards." this said, Kain turned the blade and extended it towards Raziel, hilt first.

The wraith slowly took the sword and Kain let go of it walked a few steps back. As Raziel gripped the hilt, the displacement around them intensified.

Raziel now addressed Kain icily, the wraith-blade wrapping itself around its physical counterpart, "Then perhaps I should test your sincerity."

Quickly Raziel brought the tip of the blade up to Kain's throat. The vampire master stepped back and Raziel advanced with him, keeping the sword at his throat.

"If what you say is true, you should be terrified. I could kill you here and now."

Kain's voice when he responded was clearly apprehensive but also strangely resigned, "And so you do, Raziel."

The blade began to tremble slightly, as if it got its own will. Raziel was clearly confused by this, "What's happening?"

The trembling got stronger and Raziel had to struggle against the Reaver's pull.

"We are hurling toward our destinies, Raziel. What you feel is the pull of history rushing to meet us. This is where history and destiny collide."

Suddenly the Reaver lunged at Kain, who stumbled backwards against William's sarcophagus and fell on the ground. Raziel tried to fight the pull of the ancient blade, which became harder the more time passed.

Kain's speech continued with even more intensity, "If you really believe in free will, Raziel, now is the time to prove it. Kill me now and we both become pawns of history, dragged down the path of an artificial destiny. I was ordained to assume the role of Balance Guardian in Nosgoth, while you were destined to be its savior. But the map of my fate was redrawn by Moebius and so in turn was yours..."

Raziel struggle to stay in control grew even more, "This is madness!"

"Fight it, Raziel... This moment does not have to be an ending – it can become a prelude."

The pull of the Reaver got stronger and stronger and slowly Raziel started to loose his strength, "I can't..."

"You can, Raziel – look inside and see that it is so. You have the power to reshape our inevitable futures."

As if not bothered by the vampire's words anymore, Raziel raised the Soul Reaver and brought it down violently. Kain turned his head and tensed up for the impact; the sword came crashing down with a blinding flash of light and Raziel staggered backwards, finally free of the blade.

Slowly Kain opened his eyes and looked to the side; the Reaver was embedded in the now fractured tomb of William the Just and missed his head by mere inches. In the last moment before Raziel almost killed him, he must have diverted the sword's course and saved his life.

Slowly and a little unsteady Kain got back to his feet, his eyes never leaving the coffin, "...poor William."

All of a sudden, the room was plagued by an indescribable disturbance, their surroundings began to warp and blur and a colossal groaning filled the air as history was altered.

Raziel looked around in confusion, "What is this?"

"History abhors a paradox, Raziel. Even now, the time stream strains to divert itself, finding its old course blocked by your refusal to destroy me. The future is reshuffling itself to accommodate your monumental decision."

As Kain continued, the distortions started to subside, "This is where we restore ourselves, Raziel, and reclaim our intended destinies. It may yet be possible for me to assume my role as Balance Guardian and return the Pillars to their rightful owners..."

"...to the vampires." completed Raziel disdainfully, "And this is the destiny you urged me to discover? I don't know what game you and Moebius are playing, Kain – but I refuse to be your pawn. Unlike you, I still revere whatever shred of humanity I've managed to preserve. You will not use me as the instrument of your messianic delusions."

Raziel turned his back on Kain and strode out of the chapel.

"Very well, Raziel. I will not ask you to trust me – your truths are for yourself to discover."

The former vampire lieutenant paused briefly and replied without turning, "Humble words for one who presumes to teach me a lesson at every turn."

"Then continue your journey and learn your own lessons, Raziel. Remember – Moebius led you here but you walk away unfettered. A champion of free will and conqueror of false histories."

Raziel stalked away without even looking back and left Kain standing in the chapel, "There is much more for you to unearth, if you have the heart for the truth and the will to see it..."

>>>>>>>>>>>>End Vision>>>>>>>>>>>>

Ranma broke out of his stupor and noticed that some of the smaller fishes started to become too crispy and black for anyone's taste. Quickly he reached out to pull them away from the fire.

Of course he burned his hand, "Argh! Why do I always have to hurt myself after I get one of those damn visions?!"

Some minutes later...

Ranma was now eating his meal and contemplated what occurred in his vision, ((All that stuff was pretty confusing... ... but does it really mean that everything is predestined? No, that can't be... I refuse to believe that all my decisions were set in stone from my birth! But... what if it is? What if there truly was no free will? Jusenkyo, Nerima, the Neko-Ken... ... the Neko-Ken!

The man said that he saved me from the demons of the pit... but he comes from another dimension, which would mean he's an outside element, at least in this universe. Does that mean that he changed my fate? Should I have become a demonic host back then? Oh man... all that thinking about destiny makes my head hurt...))

/I can relate to that.../

((Huh?)) thought Ranma intelligently, "Who is there?"

/Ranma? You can hear me?/ asked the voice

"Who...? Kain?"

/Yes, it is me. The question is how we can talk to each other all of a sudden./

"Well, don't expect an answer from me. I have no clue how we can go this."

/Hmm... let me think for a moment... I feel something familiar./

"Take your time, it's not like I have anywhere to go for the time being."

After a few minutes of silence, Kain came finally up with something, /Of course... The Whisper./

"Errr... what are you talking about?"

/It's a dark gift all vampires possess, since they are created. It allows us to speak with each other over great distances without anyone listening in on us./

"Wait a minute. There is something wrong with your theory."

/And what should that be, Ranma?/

"Well... I'm no vampire so I can't have this dark... gift."

/In that point you are mistaken./

"What do you...? Hey, are you suggesting that I'm a vampire?"

/It's the only logical explanation. Why do you think that you heal so fast in the last time?/

"But... I can walk in the sun and I don't even have any urge to drink blood."

/That the sun isn't harming you can be easily explained, necromantic vampires evolve very fast. I discovered my invulnerably towards daylight only a few months after I was raised./

"What about the blood?"

/The only reason that comes to my mind is that you are not fully transformed. It would also explain why water isn't harming you yet./

"Wait... vampires are harmed by normal water?"

/Yes, though I am no longer affected by rain or snow. We will only have to worry about larger bodies of water, like the ocean, a lake or a river and even that won't destroy me, only weaken me considerably./

"So... I could still turn back from my cursed form to normal?"

/As long as you don't plan to take a bath to turn back, it will be okay. You have to live with the curse as long as it takes me to find a cure./

"You could find a cure?" asked Ranma hopefully

/Of course, I plan to get rid of it before we merge. I don't know how it would affect us, if not./ responded Kain, /On another note, you seem to take it pretty lightly that you turn gradually into a vampire./

"Well, it doesn't seem like I have much of a choice and I wouldn't have to kill people to stay alive, would I?"

/Not really, you wouldn't have to drain humans completely of their blood to survive. You will just have to go on more hunts to satisfy your hunger./ answered Kain, ((That will change though, he has to learn how to kill humans when we return to Nosgoth.))

"... ...That doesn't sound too bad... ... even though I have to drink blood. Okay then. I think I'll go to sleep now, it was a long day and I have training to do tomorrow." replied Ranma and stood up

/Before I forget it, I want you to return to Nerima the next morning. We have to do some research in the local library./

"But my training..."

/You don't need any training. I doubt you will meet anyone, who is strong enough for you to need my weapons and armors. You are powerful enough as it is./

"What about Happosai? He beat me today."

/I don't believe that you will have to worry about the fool anymore./ replied Kain and Ranma could almost feel that the vampire was smirking

"Ooookay... I'm not even going to ask." said Ranma and walked to his tent, "What do you want to investigate anyway?"

/I want to know more about the vampires of this world. I think the library would be best place to start the search./

"How do you know that there are vampires on this planet?"

Kain thought back to what Happosai said but then made a story up for Ranma, /Well, you seem to know what a vampire is and from what I have seen there seems to be a lot of fictional work about them. It must have a source somewhere./

"Sounds reasonable enough. Okay, tomorrow morning we go back to the dojo so I can drop my stuff there, then we can go to the library."

Ranma entered the tent, undressed to his boxers and laid down on his sleeping bag. It was a pretty warm night, so he didn't need to cover himself.

"Good night, Kain."

/Sleep well./

The next day...

When Ranma returned to the dojo he was surprised when he found Kasumi clinging to him like an Amazon. He gave his mother a questioning look and she said,

"Kasumi accidentally heard Nabiki and me talking about you and your problem. We had to explain everything to her, since then she has been very worried."

Ranma looked down to the girl hugging him and patted her on the back, "Don't worry, I'm not going to die. I promise."

"Really? You really mean that?" asked the girl, looking up at him

"Of course, you can count on it."

The Tendo sister stopped hugging him and stepped back a little, with a smile on her face she said, "Thank you! I know you won't break your promise."

"Now son, why did you return so fast from your training trip? I thought you would at least be gone for a week." asked Nodoka

"I have to do something more important at the moment; if there's nothing else I'm going to dump my backpack into my room." replied Ranma and walked past the two women

"What do you have to do?" questioned his mother curiously

Ranma answered without stopping in his tracks, "Doing some research in the library, don't worry."

When he was gone Nodoka looked blankly at Kasumi, who had the same expression, "My son is going to the library to do research..."

"It must be really important... ..." responded the eldest Tendo daughter

After Ranma brought his pack into his room he quickly left the Tendo house again and made his way to the library. It was a pretty old building and two stories high; it was almost two times as large as the Tendo property.

He entered the library and was awed by all the books he saw, it was the first time in his life that he was in such a place.

"Wow... so many books... ..."

/Eh... pretty moderate. Let's go to the librarian now./

"Who?" asked Ranma puzzled

Kain sighed, if that was possible for a soul, /The... 'keeper' of this place. Maybe you should just talk to that woman sitting behind the counter to your right./

((I'll do that.)) replied Ranma in his thoughts and then walked to the black-haired female Kain pointed out.

"Err... Hello, miss?"

The woman looked up from the book she was reading and looked at Ranma, "Good morning, can I help you?"

"Well... I'm searching for the librarian, can you tell me where he is?" asked the Saotome heir genuinely

The vampire soul in Ranma suddenly had the urge to bash something to pieces, /Ranma... she is the librarian./

The woman giggled slightly and then answered friendly, "You found her already. So what can I do for you?"

Ranma blushed a little and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "Sorry about that, it's my first time in a library. I'm searching for books about vampires."

"Vampires? Do you have something more specific, like a certain author?"

"No, not really." responded the young man

"Oh well..." together with her swivel chair she rolled over to her computer and started typing, "Let's see."

Two or three minutes later she was finished with her search and printed something out. The woman rolled back to Ranma and gave him the paper.

"Here's a list of the books I could find, I hope it helps."

"Thank you. I'll go search for them now." replied Ranma with a smile

"No need to thank me, it is my job. Good luck with finding them!" said the female librarian and then continued reading her book

Ranma walked now further into the library and took a look at the list:

Carmilla the Vampire, by J. S. LeFanu

Chronicles of the Immortals vol. 1 – 5, by Wolfgang Hohlbein

Circus of the Damned, by Laurell K. Hamilton

Dracula, by Bram Stoker

Guilty Pleasures, by Laurell K. Hamilton

Interview with the Vampire, by Anne Rice

Queen of the Damned, by Anne Rice

The Laughing Corpse, by Laurell K. Hamilton

The Lunatic Cafe, by Laurell K. Hamilton

The Vampire Lestat, by Anne Rice

((Uhmm... Do you want me to read all of them?)) asked Ranma a little horrified

Kain sighed, /Don't worry, I will read them. You just have to turn the pages./

After around half an hour Ranma found all of the listed books, he placed them on a table and sat down. He looked at the pile, took a book from the top, and mumbled, "Well... here goes..."

Six hours later...

Ranma couldn't believe how fast Kain was reading, there were only two books left now and one of them was already halfway finished.

/Are all these vampires homosexual?/ muttered Kain disbelievingly while reading the third Anne Rice novel

Another hour later...

Ranma brought all the books back to their shelves and left the library. He was on his way home and talked all the while mentally to Kain.

((So... were the books helpful?))

/Some were, others weren't but it seems that there are some reoccurring themes like a weakness to sunlight, holy objects, silver and garlic... not to forget fire./

((Is that good for us?))

/Yes, they have more weaknesses than we do, which is a huge advantage for us./

((Hmm... do you expect to get into fights against them?))

/It's very probable that we have to battle them, since we have to search the Reaver and seeing as I was flung through space and time, it could very well be that it landed in the past. In that case we have to find someone who is old enough to remember such a weapon./

((The Reaver could also be in the future then, what are you going to do if that's the case?))

/Still remember the mirror that sent you through time?/

((The Nanban Mirror...? But Nabiki stepped on it.))

/I clearly remember that Cologne picked up all the pieces and she was very careful not to miss one. She must know a way to repair it./

((And you think that she is just going to give it to me?))

/Of course not, most probably we have to steal it... or take it by force. I prefer the last one, that Amazon witch needs to be taken down a few notches./

Ranma sweatdropped, ((I should have known that you would say this. What do you plan to do next?))

/Get rid of your curse./

((Really?! Do you already have any ideas?))

/The easiest solution would be to travel to Jusenkyo,.../

Ranma interrupted him, ((But all the pools were flooded.))

Kain completely ignored Ranma and continued talking, /...dig a hole and drown a boy in it to create a new cursed spring./

((You're not serious, are you?))

/I said it would be the easiest way, not one you would like./

((Think of something else.))

/I knew you would say that./

Later in the Tendo Dojo...

"So you say that Ranma returned this morning right after we went to school?" asked Nabiki her older sister and Nodoka

Kasumi nodded, "That's how it was."

"And he said he was going to the library?" continued Nabiki in bewildered

Ranma's mother replied this time, "Exactly."

"Yeah right, I bet he's together with one of his bimbos!" butted Akane in

At that moment the front door opened and Ranma stepped in, he walked to the living room where all the females were together, "Ahh... nice to be home, I already missed the sounds of jealousy."

All of them caught the sarcastic tone in his voice, almost all of them that is, "I am not jealous of you, you idiot!"

"How fortunate for me, if you were jealous that would mean you cared about me. I wouldn't know if I could survive that."

"Very funny..." responded Akane dryly and stomped out of the room to brood over what Ranma said

"Heh... I knew that would get her to go away." stated Ranma with a smirk

"That was mean, Ranma." said Kasumi with a slight frown

"You shouldn't threat Akane like that." added his mother

"I liked it!" said a smiling Nabiki

"Now we four can talk without being disturbed." after saying this he noticed something, "Where are the panda and Mr. Tendo?"

"They were so happy that Happosai didn't come home yet, so they went to a bar to celebrate." explained Nodoka while shaking her head at the antics of her husband

((And I thought it would only bring advantages to annihilate the pervert... now these two idiots will be happy. Can't let that happen.)) thought Kain

Ranma didn't know why, but he felt a shiver going down his spine, "Good, now let's sit down."

"So... what do you want to talk about, Ranma?" asked Nabiki after she sat down on the couch between Nodoka and her sister

"Well, during my training session yesterday Happosai attacked me. He knocked me out with around ten of his bombs and some time later I woke up and he wasn't there anymore..."

"Err... and that's why you returned back home? Revenge on Happosai?" questioned the middle Tendo sister with a raised eyebrow

"No, that's not the reason why I'm here. Now where was I... oh, yes! I woke up and discovered that I could finally talk to the other soul inside of me."

It was kind of funny how the eyes of the three women widened simultaneously, "Really?!"

Ranma winced slightly when the triple shout reached his ears, "Yes, really."

"What have you talked about?" inquired Nabiki

"What is he like?" asked Kasumi

"Did you figure out how to solve your problem?" questioned Nodoka

"Hey, hey, hey... not everyone at once." requested Ranma defensively, "Okay, we talked about how to get rid of my curse."

"Okay..." replied Nabiki thinking about his answer

"Next, he seems to be pretty arrogant, intelligent, cold-hearted and honorable."

"... ... that sounds... nice..." murmured Kasumi

"And last but not least, there is only one solution to all of this, mom – Kain and I have to merge, otherwise we are both going to die in a few months."

"Kain?" asked the eldest Tendo sister

"The guy inside of me." replied Ranma

"Oh, okay."

"So that's how it is!!" screamed someone suddenly

Ranma looked towards the source of the voice and saw Akane standing at the door of living room, "What are you talking about?"

"I always knew that there is something wrong with you and now I know it!"

"I don't really like to repeat myself but... What the hell are you talking about?"

"I always knew you were gay!!"

/"What?!?"/ was shouted by four people and one vampire soul at the same time

"And all of you knew it too! Even you, aunty Nodoka!"

"How did you get the idea that I am gay?!" questioned Ranma incredulously

/I would like to know that too!/ said Kain even though no one else except his host heard him

"You pervert were talking about 'merging' with some guy named Kain, you were raving about how honorable and intelligent he is and you even said that you would die, if you couldn't be with him!!"

All of the people present stared at Akane for a few moments in absolute silence and then,

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!"

/What a fool... and I thought Raziel was thick-headed at times./

"What?! Why are you all laughing at me?!"

"Akane, this was one of the best conclusions you've ever come to." said Ranma with a grin

"Ha! So you really are gay!" replied Akane victoriously

The cursed boy shook his head, "No, I meant your conclusion that we are all laughing at you. It's pure genius if you consider who said it."

Akane's body shook with rage and with a mighty cry of "Ranma no Baka!!" she malleted him on the head. When she opened her eyes again, she was shocked that the boy was still standing there with the mallet on his head; the problem was that it didn't faze him at all and he was standing there still grinning.

"Hmph." Akane quickly walked out of the room, dragging her mallet behind her on the ground, she seemed to be completely insulted.

"Was that really necessary?" asked Nodoka

"Not really, mom, but it was the fastest way to get her of my case." responded Ranma nonchalantly, "Maybe she won't try it again after she saw that it didn't work."

"But there is also the possibility that she's just getting a bigger mallet." stated Nabiki

The cursed boy sweatdropped at this, "Errr... well, that's true."

"What are you going to do if that happens?" asked the middle Tendo daughter

Ranma smiled sweetly, "Easy, I'll show her this!"

With a quick act of concentration a red-black ball of energy showed up above the palm of his right hand, slowly it took another form and after he gripped the handle of weapon it solidified. Now he a held wicked looking spiked mace in his hand that looked like it could tear through steel without much trouble.

"I bet that will scare her enough not to try anything." then the weapon disappeared again

"Where did you get that thing from?" questioned Nabiki with wide eyes

"It belonged to Kain." replied Nodoka's son, "It seems like I can use all of his old weapons."

Kasumi took this moment to stand up, "I'm going to make us all some tea, we need to refresh a bit."

"That would be nice, Kasumi." said Ranma

"Yeah, I think we're going to need it." continued Nabiki

Nodoka stood up as well, "I will help you, Kasumi-chan."

"Thank you, aunty Nodoka!"

Both of them left the room and went to the kitchen, leaving Nabiki and Ranma sitting in the living room.

Nabiki took this chance to ask something, "What are you going to do now? It seems that you have come to terms with the merge."

"I need to get rid of the curse before I can merge with Kain. He said that it could cause complications if it remained."

The girl raised an eyebrow at this, "But you already tried that for over two years, how do you expect to do it in a few months?"

"Well... the easiest way would be..."

"Yeah, yeah... dig a hole by Jusenkyo, fill it with water and drown a boy in it. I already came up with this a long time ago but I doubt you would do something like this."

Ranma stared at Nabiki in disbelief, ((I don't believe it, she had exactly the same idea you had.))

/She always reminded me of myself when I was younger and still human./

"What is it? Do I have something on my face?" asked Nabiki, her cheeks reddening slightly due to Ranma's gaze

"Uhmm... sorry, it's just that Kain said the same thing you did."

The girl raised an eyebrow at this, "Really?"

Ranma nodded and continued, "Yes, and you were both right in the aspect that I won't do something like that."

"Then what are you planning to do? Everything else you tried failed miserably."

"That's the problem; it seems that some higher force wants me to keep this damned curse."

/I might have an idea that could work./ said Kain

"What kind of idea?" asked Ranma and then told Nabiki, "Don't worry, I'm talking to Kain. He said he had an idea."

/We would have to merge immediately, when it's accomplished though. And we will need something for it to work too./

"And what would we need?" asked Ranma curiously

/A corpse./

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