Disclaimer: I don't own the Ranma 1/2 casts but I do own the fanfic. This fanfic is a little dark and it's serious, contain violence and blood shed and it's a little graphic about it, too. If you can't handle that, please do NOT read this. Also, please don't say I didn't warn ya! ^_^ Night Owl Part Two By: Silver Star Kuno stood in the center of his garden and stared at the full moon. He thought. He looked down from the moon and looked at the paper that was on a board so he could write. In his right hand is a ballpoint pen. He stood there as he stared at the paper in concentration of deciding which girl is worth the beautiful night. Kodachi was also staring at the moon in her room, which is right above the garden. She knew her brother is below her, thinking up a new poem for his two beloved. She also knew to never disturb a writer at work so she left her brother in peace. She stared at her brother for a few moments as he pondered on which girl to write about. She looked up just in time to see a blur of shadow passing the moon on the walls of the Kuno Estate. She asked herself as her ribbon magically appeared in her hand. Apparently, Kuno saw the shadow as well and was staring at the general direction the shadow had gone. After a few seconds without sounds and movements, a cat meowed and then jumped on a tin garbage bin outside the estate, overthrowing it and making a loud racket. Kuno relaxed and loosened his hold on his pen. Kodachi also relaxed and her ribbon disappeared. With the recent attacks with the monster, nothing in Nerima seemed to be very safe. Kodachi knew very well that the Ukyou is good at Martial Arts. Knowing that the monster can defeat a good martial artist with ease, not even the wealth of the Kunos will be able to keep them from the attacks. Kuno was about to get back to his poem when he heard a scream. He dropped his pen and the paper in shock. "HELP!!" Somebody screamed. There were struggling sounds and they came from the gate of the Kuno estate. Kuno almost dropped from shock as he recognized the voice. "Sesuke!" He yelled and sprints toward where the scream had come from. "Master Kuno!!" Sesuke yelled and then screamed in pain as a pair of claws brought a huge gash on his arm. "Help!!" Kuno didn't do his usual speech about evil and justice. He just knocked the unknown attacker off of the injured Sesuke bodily. "WRRREEOOWWW!!" The attacker screeched in frustration. "Get out of here, Sesuke!!" Kuno yelled, trying to disentangle himself from what looked to be a monster. At that moment Kodachi appeared with her ribbon, dressed in her leotard. "Brother!" Kodachi yelled. "Look out!!" But it was too late, the claws of the creature already brought a wound to his left shoulder. "Get Sesuke out of here!!" Kuno yelled, backing away from the now standing cat-like creature and trying to stop the flow of blood from his shoulder with his right hand. "Go!" He yelled again when Kodachi hesitated. "Here!" Kodachi yelled, throwing something toward her brother. Kuno looked up in surprise and caught the thing in his right hand. It's his bokken. Kuno held his bokken in front of him with both hands, ignoring the pain of his shoulder when he tightened his hold. The cat-like creature hissed but didn't move. The creature has a half-human face with slitted cat eyes, sharp canine fangs, and furry cat ears. It seemed to be female with short black hair that have a faint navy highlight. Around her neck is a collar-like gold necklace with a oval shaped black onyx on the center. She's wearing a loose long-sleeved black shirt and the bottom of the sleeves was shredded. A solid gold cuff was around each wrist. Instead of hands, she has paws and sharp claws poked through the soft fur. Her loose Chinese pants were black and the bottom was shredded also. Around her ankles were two gold cuffs, just like the ones around her wrist. Like her hands, instead of feet, she has two paws. Kuno stared at the creature in front of him. He thought. He jumped back to avoid another slash of the claws and then charged toward the monster with his bokken held high. The creature spun around, raised one of her legs and caught the side of Kuno's head, like so many time "The Pigtailed Girl" and Akane had done. Kuno shook his head to clear away the stars as he leaned against the wall of the Kuno Estate. His eyes widened and then dodged just in time to avoid a fatal kick. Kuno rolled away, wincing as his injured shoulder pressed to the ground. He got up, raised his bokken high, and charged toward the creature. He slashed at the monster, followed by a series of shorter slashes, but the creature dodged them all. He thought desperately as he dodged a series of punches. His ongoing thoughts were suddenly disrupted when the creature slammed into him, knocking the breath out of him. He just lie there on the ground, gasping for breath, watching as the sharp claw slashes down toward him... "Brother!" There was a scream and something resembles a whip slashed out, making the creature on top of him jump back. There was sounds around him but he couldn't make out anything. His head was swimming with dizziness. After what seemed like hours, all the noises stopped and he felt hands on his uninjured shoulder. "Brother?" A tentative voice called out. Kuno raised his head to see who it is but came right back down, wincing at the pain on the back of his head. "Don't move. Help is coming." After that, all is darkness. <><><><><><> "Woah, look at this." Nabiki said at the breakfast table with the newspaper in front of her. "Kuno's attacked last night." A flitting emotion of concern and fear appeared in her eyes but they disappeared quickly. "Kuno?" Ranma asked, surprised. "Well, actually, Kuno's servant, that guy, Sesuke, was attacked. Kuno got him out of the trouble." Nabiki corrected. She looked up from the paper in front of her and looked across the table to the youngest Tendo. "What do you think, Akane?" There's not a sound. Shadows covered Akane's eyes. Her head was bowed and she didn't even lift the chopsticks on top of her bowl of food. There's something unnatural about the silence that was wrapped around her, like the calm before the storm. "Akane?" Ranma called tentatively, almost as if she's going to lash at him. "Let's go, Ranma." Akane said in a calm, dark voice that could be heard even in the loudest room. She stood up with the grace of a cat. She flashed him a look...and that's when Ranma saw the cat eyes. <><><><><><> "You have done well, Ignira." "I know you will be pleased when I planted the demon seed inside that girl." A pleased hiss followed those words, pleased at the fact that her master approved. "And now, all we need to do is to wait" The man smiled a menacing smile. "The beast is hungry...and when its desperate, it will do anything to get what it wants..." And the laugh that followed strikes fear into the heart of all his minions. <><><><><><> Ranma looked down toward the silent girl worriedly. There's no hint of the cat eyes or the cat fang that he saw that morning. He was sure he saw cat eyes instead of normal human eyes. There was a glint in there, a dangerous glint, that he'll never forget, so long as he lives. Akane seemed to be normal, now. Her face is still very pale but there doesn't seem to be any dark circles under her eyes. Her head is bowed, liked the last two days, and her eyes are dull, not glittering like they usually are. She didn't say anything since they left the breakfast table. Her shoulder is hunched forward slightly, showing that she doesn't want to talk to anyone right now. She's thinner than before. The pale hand that was holding her book bag was loose and looked as if she's going to drop it any second. Under the bright morning sun, something glittered under the cuffs of her uniform. Ranma wondered what it is but decided not to talk to her right now. There's something about her right now that makes him reconsider about making any insults. Ranma was preoccupied by the change in his fiancée, so it took him totally by surprise when a bicycle landed on him. He groaned silently to himself when Shampoo attached herself to him again. The last thing he need is this. "Shampoo, get off!" Ranma yelled desperately, hoping to get away before Akane decided to separate them herself. "Ranma take Shampoo on date, yes?" Shampoo asked happily, clutching Ranma's arm like her life depend on it. Ranma was still trying to untangle himself from Shampoo when he saw the cold glint in Akane's eyes. And that's when he decided Neko-Hanten isn't safe for Shampoo. <><><><><><> "Ranma, what is the meaning of this?" Soun asked dramatically as Shampoo bounded to Ranma from the open doorway and attached herself permanently to him. "My boy, you are Akane's fiancée." Genma added. "How can you bring another girl home?" "Yeah, Ranma." Nabiki said, annoyed and slightly angry. "How can you bring Shampoo home without our permission?" She raised an eyebrow inquiringly, asking silently what this all meant and where her younger sister fit in. "Ranma, does this mean that we'll have a guest for dinner?" Kasumi asked, a small worried look entered her eyes. "We don't have that much for tonight and the store is already closed. I'm afraid we can't have another guest tonight." "No worries." Shampoo said. "Shampoo brought food for Ranma and self. No need cooking for us." She turned her attention to Ranma again, beaming happily. "Look, Pops, Mr. Tendo, I'll explain-" he stopped, frozen in place, mouth suddenly dry with fear. "Well, well, well. Looks like you finally brought the hussy here." Akane's voice was calm, collected, and cold. "What? Are you afraid the beast will eat her?" She laughed. The sound sends chills up Ranma's spine. She stood at the top of the staircase, eyes covered by the shadows. A smile stretched over her lips. An evil smile. "Shampoo no hussy." Shampoo said sharply, her face turned to Akane, but her arms still encircled Ranma's arm. "And Shampoo can beat creature any day." "Oh?" Akane inquired mockingly. "Are you sure about that, Shampoo? You better watch out. You just might get more than you can eat." With those words, she disappeared back into the shadows. A few minutes later, the soft sound of a door closing reached the silent hall. The silence stretched on. "Akane want scare Shampoo, but Shampoo have Ranma." Shampoo said, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence. "Ranma protects Shampoo, right?" Ranma didn't answer, instead, looked at the place where Akane had been a few moments ago. Something's going to happen. Something really bad. <><><><><><> To be continued... <><><><><><> So? Any comments? Suggestions? Or questions? Anything but flames!! Anyway, email me at bailuli@hotmail.com Please email me!! ^_^ Oh, and visit my page. It's better than before, now!!