Ranma the Tenth Hakkeshu or Ranma’s Cousin Iori

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Disclaimer:  I do not own Ranma ½.  That is property
of Rumiko Takahashi.  I do not own The King of
Fighters is property of SNK.  I do however suggest you
look up information on these two properties.  You
won’t be disappointed.

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Note:  This takes place after the Ranma ½ manga and
little while after the King of Fighters ’97.

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Ranma the Tenth Hakkeshu Chapter 2:  Secrets Revealed

	Ranma begins to toss and turn on the futon he’s lying
on.  He realizes what is he doing on a futon?  Could
what have happened been a dream?  He opens his eyes to
see his mother Nodoka sitting beside him.  No, what
happened isn’t a dream.  It is a living nightmare.  He
looks up to his mother and asks

Ranma:  Mom, What happened?  Where am I?

Nodoka (Looks down at him):  You are in my house son;
but as for what happened, why don’t you tell me.

Ranma (A bit hesitant):  Well… I was forced to eat
Akane’s cooking, I insulted her, got beat up by her
pummeling me with her mallet, had Ryoga show up, he
beat the tar out of me and…

Nodoka:  And?

Ranma:  Then the color purple and blood and then… I
don’t know what.

Nodoka:  Ranma, that is a curse our family lives with.
 That was the riot of blood.

Ranma:  The riot of blood?

Nodoka:  Please son, don’t interrupt.  The riot of
blood is caused by an imbalance with our Human blood
and Orochi blood of the Yagami clan.  Our blood is
like this because of a pact made with the Orochi 660
years ago because of a feud with our rival clan the
Kusanagi.  In the pact we get the power of Magatama no
Orochi, in return we have to defeat the rival clan of
the Kusanagi.  The feud started because the Kusanagi
clan fought with the Yagami clan along with the Yata
to defeat the Orochi when he first came to this world
1,800 years ago.  We defeated him, but only the
Kusanagi clan got the glory and the prestige of being
the world’s saviors.  This caused jealousy among our
clan members, for it was not a single effort that
defeated Orochi but our combined effort.  When the
chance arose, our ancestors made the pact to get power
from Orochi to defeat our enemies.  Instead, we were
seen as the enemy, traitors to the cause, and had our
allies turn their backs on us.  We are seen as a
tainted people because of this.  There is a horrible
side effect to this power as well.  The Orochi blood
is incredibly powerful, but it is also poison to the
human body.  Because of it we live short lives.  The
average life span being around 50 years.  As members
died from either the poison of our power, or being
killed by members of the Kusanagi clan, we scattered;
for there are those that fear us and would try and
kill us, because of our connection to the Orochi.  You
get this power from me because I am a member of the
Yagami clan.  I’m sorry.

	Ranma sat on the futon dumbfounded. He didn’t want to
believe that is what happened, he couldn’t be a member
of the dreaded Yagami clan by blood.  Can he? He makes
a stab at maybe it’s because of something else.

Ranma:  I don’t believe you.  (Ranma’s eyes bug out
because of what he sees).  Wha…

	Ranma just stares dumbfounded.  He looks at the
violet flame engulfing his mother’s right hand, but it
is not burning her.  She closes her hand and it
disappears.

Ranma (Frightened):  How?

Nodoka:  I told you, I am a member of the Yagami clan,
and so are you Ranma.  More importantly, by going into
the riot of blood, you’ve proven that you the
Legendary Tenth Hakkeshu.

Ranma:  Hakkeshu!?

Nodoka:  Yes.  The Hakkeshu is the title for the 8
generals of the Orochi.  That includes his Four
Heavenly Kings each having power over an element of
nature.  Earth, fire, wind, water, and lightning. 
There is a legend.  When the 8 Hakkeshu fail to
resurrect the Orochi there will be two more.  The
ninth will have very little power, but the Tenth will
have power equal to that of the god Orochi himself, to
replace the Orochi and carry out his unholy mission.  

Ranma:  What makes you think I’m the Tenth Hakkeshu?

Nodoka:  Because I have seen the 8 generals and I have
seen the Ninth Hakkeshu.  You yourself have exhibited
the power of the Hakkeshu today meaning you, my son,
are to be the replacement for the Orochi. (1)

	Ranma sits there shocked he can’t believe what he’s
hearing.  The fear of becoming a demon tears through
his mind like a hurricane.  Ranma begins to shake with
fear.  Even though he knows it not manly to, he cries.
 Nodoka goes down to him and gives him a reassuring
hug.  She starts to talk.

Nodoka:  Ranma it will be alright.  You don’t have to
become the New Orochi if you don’t want to.  Your
destiny is up to you to decide.  This just means you
have another possibility for your future.

Ranma:  What should I do?

Nodoka:  I suggest you find your cousin.  My brother’s
son Iori Yagami.  He himself is a Hakkeshu, but he has
been able to refuse the dark path for the most part. 
He will be able to teach you how to control your
powers better than I ever could.  But be warned my
son.  Iori is not an easy person to find, nor is he
very trusting, but I have something that may remedy
that.  Also you must be warned there will be those
that would stop you.  There are the Hakkeshu that will
try to get you to lead them in destroying the human
race.  There is also the members of the Kusanagi clan
and the Yata, that would try to kill you as soon as
look at you.  There are also greedy humans that know
of the Orochi power, that want it for themselves. 
Finally there are your fighters that fight, because
they believe in the will to fight, just like you
Ranma.  Well… it’s getting late.  I suggest you get
some sleep tonight.  You have a long journey ahead of
you Ranma if you plan to overcome this part of your
life.  We will talk more about this in the morning.

	Slowly Ranma agrees.  She takes him to the guest room
and lays him down, slowly but surely, he falls asleep.
 In his dreams he sees only the color purple.

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	It is morning when Ranma wakes up.  He smells food
from downstairs.  Being whom he is Ranma runs
downstairs and starts to chow down his meal.  After
Breakfast Nodoka hands Ranma a necklace.  It is a
simple silver chain with the crescent moon symbol of
the Yagami clan on it.  She tells Ranma to show it to
Iori when he finds him, for he will see him as family.
 She tells Ranma a description of Iori, so he knows
what to look for.  She also tells him there are rumors
that he is in the heart of Tokyo at the moment. 
Later, she hands Ranma a huge backpack with plenty of
survival gear and hands Ranma a decent amount of cash.
 She tells him not to spend it all in one place, for
he will probably need it for something important.  She
tells him that now on when he will use a ki based
attach, it will draw upon power from the Orochi as
well, so he should be careful no to gain attention
with it’s purple flames.  For he has the power over
Orochi fire.  Ranma hugs his mother goodbye and is on
his way.  All the while thinking

Ranma:  Chinese curses, multiple fiancées, and now the
power of a demonic god.  I guess she didn’t name me
“Wild Horse” for nothing.  I’ll just look at it this
way gives me an excuse to get away from the normal
craziness of my life… And most likely gain some new
craziness along the way.  Oh man, what have I gotten
myself into now?

Nodoka stands, watching Ranma make his way down the
street.  She let’s out a sigh of relief.  She has
always feared the coming of the Tenth Hakkeshu, but
now she sees, it’s her son.  She knows that he has the
will, and the strength to succeed.

Female voice:  Are you sure it’s wise to let him go
like that?  He doesn’t seem that strong willed to me.

Nodoka turns her head to see a woman she recognizes
immediately.

Nodoka:  Chizuru Kagura…

Chizuru:  It’s been a long time Nodoka Yagami.  Do you
despise me for not believing in your son?

Nodoka (Angry):  Ranma is not like the rest of the
Yagami clan.  He will overcome this.  HE WILL!

Chizuru (Smirks):  Very well, I’ll leave him alone for
now, but be warned.  If I see him start to slide down
the wrong path, I will take matters into my own hands.

And with that, Chizuru disappears as mysteriously as
she appeared. 

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End Chapter 2.  

Next time, Ranma sets off in his search for Iori and
ends up facing off against “Legendary Lonely Wolf”
Terry Bogard during a bar fight.  Blue Mary also shows
up and offers some assistance to Ranma.

(1) For those who don’t know, the Hakkeshu consist of
Goenitz, Yashiro Nanakase, Shermie, Chris, Vice,
Mature, Iori Yagami, Leona, and Ryuji Yamazaki

Questions and comments can be sent to
RedPriest17@aol.com or at Ryutsurugi@yahoo.com

Note:  Flames will be read and then fueled to power
the Orochi