Copy writes. Characters from Ranma1/2, Rurounin Kenshin, and Tenchi Muyo does not belong to me. I am borrowing them to broaden my own creativity. Hopefully people will read this and be entertained by it. Please do not sue me, you won't get lot out of it. Gathering of Heroes Chapter 1 "You want me to do what mom?" "Nodoka, are you sure you want to do this?" "Yes dear. You had our son for 10 years, it's about time I get some time with our son. You taught him the Saotome School of martial arts and I think it's about time, he learns history behind my side of the family" "Nodoka, but I don't think it's good idea for the boy to leave his fiancee for that long!" "None sense dear, Ranma and Akane is not going to stop loving each other just because of few months. I mean I did not stop loving you and you were away for 10 years" "Mom, are you sure you want to take me on a training trip?" "Yes Ranma. I think it's about time that you learn about my side of the family and my side of the family art" This entire event came as shock to all that heard the announcement by Nodoka Saotome. It seems like she wanted to take her son on a private training journey. Of course it won't be as long as what her husband did. Nodoka said that it will only last about couple of months. It also seem like all who were present did not want Ranma to go on this training journey. They all had their own reasons. Nabiki did not want Ranma to go, because that will cause her to lose one of her greatest income sources as well as entertainment means. Kasumi did not want Ranma to go because, she quite enjoyed cooking for Ranma and also cleaning after him. There will be so much less for her to do if Ranma was not around. Akane didn't want Ranma to go, because she didn't want to be away from Ranma for so long. Of course she was not about to admit that, but that was the reason why she was so worried when Ranma went after Herb, and any other times when Ranma was not around. Soun and Genma didn't want Ranma to go because this will put a dent in their wedding plan, which they had made and were about to carry out again and they knew that this time, the wedding will be a success. Ranma didn't want to go because he had to protect Akane. He will never admit it now, but he cared for the girl and he couldn't see her get hurt. However, none of them could argue with Nodoka, for she had a firm and determined expression on her face. "Ok mom, when are we leaving for this training trip?" "Tomorrow dear, so why don't you go and pack?" "Tomorrow?" "Yes" "Ok" With that Ranma left to go to his room to pack for what will be one of the most interesting training trip that he will ever take. Later... Akane was in her room trying to sleep but couldn't. Answer was simple but she was trying to deny it. The reason was that Akane did not want Ranma to go and she couldn't go to sleep thinking that Ranma will leave with his mother, come tomorrow. She wanted to say something to Ranma or Ranma's mother before they leave but she couldn't think of anything. It took another hour, but Akane finally fell a sleep. Ranma was another person who couldn't fall a sleep. He knew that come daylight, he will have to leave on a training journey with his mother. However, he had this feeling inside of him. Same feeling that he got before he left for Herb, or even before the confrontation with Saffron and his people. The feeling he got before something big happens, some great grand adventure. Morning... Ranma woke up when he felt someone shaking him awake. Ranma woke because it wasn't someone splashing him with cold water or someone kicking him into the koi-pond. It was someone shaking him awake and that difference caused him to awake. "Ranma are you ready to go?" It was his mother. She was dressed already and she was of course carrying her katana with her. However, she was talking very quietly as though she was trying not to wake anybody. "Mom? What are you doing? I thought we were going to leave little bit later?" "Ranma, I thought it would be good if we left without anybody knowing. I have already written a note that explains it all to the families" "What? Why?" "Ranma, if they saw us leaving, then most likely they will try to stop us, or even follow us. I cannot have any of that in this training journey" "Oh, ok" With that Ranma got up, put on his usual clothes and took the bag that he had already packed the night before and followed his mother out of the house that he had learned to call home for past year. "Come along dear, we want to catch the early train" "Ok mom" With that Ranma Saotome of Anything Goes Martial arts and his mother Nodoka Saotome made their way to the train station. Later... Kasumi woke up and started to do her usual morning stuff. She was preparing for breakfast and getting the house ready for the busy morning this will become. Since Nodoka announced that she will be taking Ranma to a training journey, she knew that it will be very exciting morning today. Soon, other people of the Tendo residence start to wake up. They all knew what day today was, and of course Soun and Genma had some plan to stop Nodoka from taking Ranma with her, or at least have her take Akane along. Not to mention they had plans to follow Nodoka from a distance. Nabiki got up so she could take some last minute pictures of Ranma in both of his forms as well as trying to find out where exactly Nodoka is taking Ranma so that she can make money off of that information as well. Akane got up and getting herself ready to see Ranma leave. She should be used to this, she had done this many times before. She did this with Herb, just before Saffron had his people kidnap her, and when Ranma's family was moving back to Mrs. Saotome's house. However, this wasn't something that she would ever get used to. Ranma leaving, and not being sure that she'll get to see him again. All the members of the family got up and they all met in front of Ranma's room. Ranma's room alone ever since Nodoka showed up and after the wedding incident, Ranma had made it very clear that he will no longer share a room with Genma. He made that point very painfully when Genma tried to sneak in during the night. Genma still had a bruises that left him that painful reminder each time he bumped into something. Each of the family members giving each other looks they finally open the door to the room, only to find nothing there. There was no sleeping Ranma, and there certainly was no indication that someone lived in that room. It seems that Ranma packed basically all of his belongings. All of his belongings which didn't add up to much. They all looked around the room in disbelief. And they all started to act like how one would expect this bunch to act. Soun broke out in tears, and Genma started to rant about his ungrateful son. Nabiki was actually getting angry because she felt cheated out of making money. Kasumi was rather disappointed because she wanted to see the grateful look in Ranma's eyes when she served him meal one last time. Akane just stared into the room, and she tried to bring out the anger that she knew she should be feeling but it just will not come to her. She felt empty looking at the empty. She was about to turn away and go back to her room when she saw the note on the table. She reaches it and started to open it up to read it when Soun and Genma tried to snatch it out of her hands only to be met with the mallet blow to the head each. After that, no one objected to her having the note, so she opened it up and started to read it. Dear family, I am truly sorry that we left without anybody knowing about it. However, it was necessary for what I have planned for my son. Please do not worry, we will return when we are finished. Nodoka Saotome. The family just stared at the note when Akane was done reading it. Who could have believed that Nodoka will pull this on them all. Akane looked around the room one more time, to see if there was any trace of Ranma left in the room only to find nothing. Akane looking dejected, left the room to go back to her own to do some thinking as well as trying not to cry about what happened. Once again, she didn't get to say good bye or good luck. Else where... Ranma was thinking of what he was getting himself into. Early this morning even before Kasumi was up him and his mother left the Tendo house to go to some training journey. He looked over at his mother, trying to figure out what she was thinking but he couldn't read her at all. Then Ranma looked at the Katana that she was carrying, and for the first time, noticed that his mother was carrying not one but two katanas. He was about to ask, when the train announced that their next stop is Koyto. "Son, that's our stop, prepare to get off" "Ok mom" Later... Ranma and his mother has been walking for quite a while now. Of course they could have taken a bus or a taxi however, it seems that his mother preferred walking. Finally the two arrived in front of a building. "Mom? What are we doing here?" "This place is run by a friend of our family Ranma. For the duration of our stay in Koyto, we will be staying here" "Ok mom" With that Nodoka walked inside of the inn and Ranma followed. "Hello?" "Hello! Welcome to Aioya inn! We... Nodoka!" "Hello, it has been long time" "Yes, it has been long time! How are you!" "I'm good Misao" "Oh? That's good to hear, and who is this young man?" "This is my son Ranma. He is here to learn about my side of the family" "Your side of the family? You mean you are going to?" "Yes" Ranma was looking from his mother to this woman called Misao. She looked like she was about the same age her his mother. She had long dark hair and was about as tall as his mother. "His name is Ranma" "Nice to meet you Ranma" "Nice to meet you too Misao-San" "Please, just call me Misao" "Umm...sure ok" "Misao-san, can you show us to our room please?" "Why of course Nodoka and I expect that you would want the stuff?" "Yes, please bring them to our room" "Of course" Later... Ranma and his mother was settled in a room. It was pretty nice room, much bigger then the room that he had in the Tendo home. Ranma looked outside through the open window. The place was kept very nice and it had that traditional look. He saw that they had a koi-pond and that reminded him of Tendos. Ranma had gotten used to living in the Tendo home that he started to call the place home. He didn't even know when he started doing that. Ranma didn't wanted to finish the thought, but he still wondered if Akane missed him. "Nodoka, can I come in?" "Of course Misao" Ranma turned and watched as Misao came in with another katana in her hands. Misao also came in with a box which seemed like it was pretty old. "Here you are Nodoka, are you sure about this?" "Yes, I'm sure" "Ok, call me if you need anything" With that Misao left the room and close the door. "Ranma please come here" "What is it mom?" "I'm going to tell you a story" "Um... ok" Ranma wondered what was going on. His mother was acting very strange about things. "Ranma, do you know the story of Meiji government and how it was formed?" "Not really mom" Ranma didn't pay much attention to his studies and specially history. It bored him to tears and he didn't think much of it. Why should a martial artist know about such things. "Ranma, I will tell you. You probably did not learn this in school anyway" "Ok" "Ranma, at the end of the dynasty, there were many factions that wanted to rise up and put up their own brand of government. However, Meiji government was formed. It was formed with lot of blood. And one person who contributed more then anybody to that blood was a person who was called Hitokiri Batthow-sai." "Umm...ok" "This Hitokiri Batthow-sai was known as the strongest and the ultimate assassin. He was known as the best with the sword. With his help, the Meiji government was formed. After the rise of Meiji government, he left his assassin self and found himself a new self. He went back to being just himself, and he found a new way of life. He became Rurounin and wonder the land. He walked from place to place helping those in need of his help until he met this special woman. After many of the troubles and meeting of new friends, they were married" "They were happy, and they had a beautiful daughter that they named after the man's first love. Her name was Tomoe. After that, they had a second child, however the child was also a daughter, so they named her after one of their good friends. Her name was Megumi. They tried for a son, however, they could not bare another child after that. The former Hitokiri Batthow-sai, former Rurounin, and now a husband and father of two wanted to pass on his knowledge and skills to a son, but that was something that was denied from them. His master had died the year before and he was the only living practitioner of the art. Death of his master was very sudden, he was still very healthy and strong when he died. This left him with the responsibility of passing on their school of art and he wanted a son to pass it on to. However, not too much later, he had figured out that all the blood of the people was preventing him from having a son" "Mom, where are we going with this?" "Ranma, will you please listen to my story till the end without question? When I am done, I will answer all the questions that you might have" "Ok" "So the man decided to wait for one of his daughter to have a son so that he may pass it on to his daughter. The man's special school of art allowed him to live much longer then regular man. He waited for both of his daughter to get married, however because he did not have a son, his first daughter kept his family name to continue on his family line. So the man waited till his first daughter had a child. However, the child they had was a daughter. The man watched as the his second daughter also had a daughter. It seems that he was not to see a male heir in his life time" Nodoka at this time took a little breather and closed her eyes as to remembering something. After a little while, she started to speak again. "After seeing that he could not have a male heir to pass on his arts, he started to write down his art on the book. He then sealed the book he completed in a box and using certain magical items sealed it so that only someone from his family can open it, and only a male can open the box. He had already decided that it was too much for a woman to have this kind of responsibility on her hands. After it was complete, the man spent all his remaining days raising his granddaughters with loving cares" At this point Nodoka had a tear in her eyes, and Ranma saw that. "So the first granddaughter grew up and married a budding martial artist. Together, for the first time, had a son. Her cousin had a daughter however, they had a son. Finally a male heir to pass on the school. However, before she could tell her son about his heritage, her husband took him on a 10 year training trip and finally they were reunited again" "Huh?" "Ranma, dear do you know who the granddaughter is?" "Mom... it almost sounded like you were saying that you were the granddaughter of this Batthow-sai character" "I am, my name before marrying your father was Nodoka Himura, and the name of your great grandfather is Kenshin Himura" "Are you saying that I'm related to a bloody murderer!" "Ranma! How dare you!" "Mom, but you said it yourself! You said that he was a bloody killer!" "Ranma, grandfather Kenshin thought he was doing it to save the lives of people of Japan. He did it all to save the suffering people of Japan. After that he risked his life time and again to rescue the lives of the people" "Mom, that still doesn't change the fact that he is a killer!" "Son, it was a turbulent time and without your great grandfather, it is high possibility that you will not have Japan as you know it today" "Mom..." "Ranma, did you understand the other aspect of the story I told you?" "What other aspect?" "Ranma, you are the first male born to our family since grandfather Kenshin married. You have the responsibility to learn and pass on the school of Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu" "Mom! I am not going to learn the ways of an assassin!" SLAP!!! The sound of Nodoka's hand making contact with Ranma's face reverberated through out the house. "Mom?" Ranma barely felt that slap, but the mere fact that it was his mother who slapped him caused him to look at her with pained expression. "Ranma, never ever say those words again! If it wasn't for your great grandfather, there won't be the Japan as you know it. There won't be the Tendos that you remember, no Kasumi, no Nabiki, no Akane! You probably won't even exist! Do you have any idea what your great grandfather had to sacrifice, give up in order to insure the future happiness for all of Japan?" Ranma couldn't do anything but stare at his mother. She had tears running down her face and she was looking at him and talking to him with such passion. He had never seen her like this before. Before, his mother has always been calm and gentle, but now, his mother was acting very much unlike herself. "Ranma, you are the first male born into our family since your great grandfather married great grandmother. It was his wish that the male born of our family learn the technique that protected so many lives, protected this country" "Mom, it's still the technique that kills! It uses a sword and only thing a sword is good for is killing! Beside, I don't use weapons!" "Ranma, there is a solution for your first problem. And as to your second objection that you don't use weapons, that may be true. However, you cannot be truly great martial artist without the ways of weapon as well as the bare handed techniques" "What are you talking about? I'm already a great martial artist!" "Ranma, you are a good martial artist, however you are no where the level where you could be if you just get over this silly notions that your father has put upon you. Those things will one-day cause you to lose" "What are you talking about mom?" "Ranma, never underestimate women, that will get you killed one day. Women are very conning and when they want to be, they can be the most dangerous and effective weapon" "Mom, you got to be kidding, girls are not that dangerous" SLAP!!! This wasn't going too good for Ranma today. This was second time that his mother slapped him. "Son, you must abandon that idea that your father installed upon you. How many times now, in your own experience that the women were key factors in almost dealing you your own defeat? From my understanding there were plenty. Now if the women are as skilled as you? If you do not count her as threat, then she will surely defeat you!" "Mom, no girl can be as skilled as me" "Ranma, you must rid of this foolish pride as well" "That's because I'm the best" "Ranma, you are good, but you are not the best, and I can assure you of that fact" "What?" "Ranma, you are no where as good as some of the people that exist in this world. I have met many and know about many that can defeat you, and some of them are indeed women" "Also, you must get rid of the notion that the weapons make you weak. I understand what you are thinking, that once the weapon is taken away that the person is helpless. However, what if you are not skilled enough to take that weapon away from them? How will you defend yourself then? How will you defend your loved ones?" "I can do anything mom!" "Ranma, until you realize your own weakness you will never be truly great. Until you realize that being great in both armed and unarmed combat is the true key to being a great martial artist, you will never be great!" With that she stood up, leaving the box and two of the katanas in the room, leaving Ranma by himself to think about what she had said. Later... Ranma was still in the room, thinking to himself about what his mother had said to him. Ranma continue to think to himself that he missed a mist that came from the box that surrounded him. With that Ranma fell asleep. As soon as Ranma fell asleep, the box started to glow and soon after Ranma started to glow as well. Somewhere else... It was an old temple where an old temple priest was working to keep the temple clean when he felt strange power. Then he remembered, it was the power that he had lent to one of his friend. Only man ever to defeat him with sword. At the time of his defeat, he was very surprised. A man who cannot be more then 20 something had defeated him, a man with hundreds of years of experience in Jurian sword techniques. Later on, he learn that the man was actually in his 40's and it seems that the sword techniques he uses somehow causes the practitioner of that school to age slower then normal people. Yosho remembered well the day Kenshin came to him for help. He wanted to leave something that somehow will only work for his male heir. Yosho couldn't think of other way except to use the power of Funaho. So he cut off a branch of the tree of Juri and made a box out of it, giving it a specific task. Only way that the box will stop it's function was for the main tree to die or be destroyed and Yosho had long before found out that for some reason Ryoko's gems were keeping the tree alive. With that he started to look for his grandson, who was at the time being held by both Ryoko and Ayake. "Tenchi! Tenchi! Time for sword practice!" Back to Ranma... Ranma was having a strange dream. He was in what seem like old Japan where there was people dressed in old style. "Man, what the heck is going on?" However, the people around seem not to notice him at all. He kept walking around until he heard a familiar name being called out. "Kenshin! Kenshin!" Ranma knew that his great grandfather's name was Kenshin so he turned around to see who would be named Kenshin and saw there was rather short guy with long hair with katana by his side being choked by a girl with long dark hair. "Man, that looks familiar, except that when I have red hair, I'm a girl and Akane have a short hair not long" Ranma was wondering why he was having this strange dream, when the scene shifted and this time he was seeing an two people staring at each other with sword drawn. He recognize the guy with red hair as "Kenshin" but he didn't recognize the other guy with funny hat that looked like it belong to Raiden from Mortal combat. He then saw the sword that the "Kenshin" was using. "What the? That's not right, the blade is on the opposite side. He can't kill anybody with that thing" Indeed as the scene moved on, he saw that as the fight progressed on, he could see that "Kenshin" couldn't kill the person. He watched on as fight drew near, and it was the other guy killing himself and not "Kenshin" who killed him. He did all he could to try not killing him. Scene shifted again, and this time, "Kenshin" was in what looked like a dojo, fighting with some guy in police uniform and it looked like "Kenshin" had taken a quite a beating. However, something about it was different about Kenshin. Ranma looked at his eyes, and knew that this person was different from the other time. His eyes were filled with the aura of death. "That the?" As the fight progressed he knew that "Kenshin" could have killed this guy in uniform easily. That one spinning move he did, connected with the back of his neck. If "Kenshin" used the real blade or the opposite side of his sword, he could have cut off his head right there and then, but he did not. "What's going on?" Then the scene changed to where Kenshin was standing he had two cuts on his neck, and he looked like he took a beating again. He was facing off against an opponent who looked really young. "Himura-san, why did you show your move Ryu-Shu-Sen?" "You still don't understand about Kenshin!" It was yelled out by a guy that was behind "Kenshin" he had a hair like a chicken. "Kenshin did not want him to be killed! If Kenshin did not show Ryu-Shu-Sen, then Shi-Shi-O would have killed him. Being and enemy does not mean that Kenshin does not value his life!" That got Ranma thinking about what he said about his great grandfather and what his mother had said. "What is going on here?" Then the scene changed to a snowy day and this time Kenshin was facing against an opponent, but it looked as though his spirit was broken and he only had a downward scar on his face and not the cross scar. He watched as Kenshin and his opponent went for the kill and Ranma saw that Kenshin was going to die. However, what surprised him was a woman jumping in front of the, saving Kenshin's life, and taking a fatal blow herself. When Kenshin opened his eyes, he saw what happened and he took the woman in his arms. Ranma saw the woman giving Kenshin the other scar, leaving him with cross scar. "What does this all mean?" When Ranma said this, the scene changed to black and there was only him and Kenshin. "So, you are the male heir of my family?" Ranma was surprised to say the least. The image was talking to him "Huh?" "You are son of one of my great granddaughter" "You mean to tell me that you are my great grandfather?" "Yes, I am the image of Kenshin Himura, formerly known as Hitokiri Batthow-sai, and also Rurounin" "How is this happening? What do you want from me?" "How this is happening, I do not know either. All I can say is that I am doing this with the help of one of my good friends. I am just a memory of Kenshin. What I want from you is to pass down the art" "But I do now want to know the art of an assassin!" "Ranma" "How did you know my name!" "You are seeing the memory of Kenshin Himura, and I can see your own mind. I know about your name and many other things. What I was about to say is this. Art itself is not the way of an assassin, it is how the user uses it that makes it an assassin art, or the art of killer or an art of protector" "Huh?" "Ranma, if you wanted to, you can very well turn your own art into a killing art" "I am not a killer!" "Of course not, you have honor and you value human life. You are perfect to embody the philosophy of the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu which I have failed to do so for the earlier part of my life" "What do you mean?" "Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu was first created to help the people and not for the purpose of killing. I thought I was helping the people by doing what I did. However, later part of my life I have learned that Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu wasn't for what I used. I have accepted the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu as way for atonement for what I have done and I took up this reversed blade as the blade that protect people and not to kill" "Oh" "Please, Ranma we cannot let the spirit of the Hiten-Mitsurugi- Ryu die, you must accept it and pass it on. The spirit of Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu, to protect life that is threatened. Will you take up the mantel as the next master of the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu?" "I don't know... I don't know" "Let me try once more to convince you" With that Ranma started to see images of Kenshin saving the life of the baby who was threatened. He saw Kenshin helping out a woman named Megumi and Kenshin trying to bring back man name Aoshi from the depth of sin that he had fallen into. He saw Kenshin taking on pain and sorrow all for the sake of the people he loved and for the sake of the people of the country. "I accept" "Good" With that, Ranma's training to learn and master the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu began. End of chapter 1 Authors note. I just watched all of Rurounin Kenshin and I thought it was a great anime. And I decided to write a crossover between Ranma and Kenshin about it. Then I decided to add Tenchi Muyo about it. Although, you might not see Kenshin character in the beginning, I'm thinking of a way to bring some in. And Tenchi Muyo will definitely become major players later in the chapters. Ok for the time frame. This takes place after the Saffron incident and failed wedding attempt for Ranma1/2. This takes place after the visit from the Jurian Royal family. Also, who ever wants to be my pre-reader for this fic please email me. My email address is Jjang13977@aol.com I have my own web page. http://www.angelfire.com/anime2/ericheeohfic/index.html Copy writes. Characters from Ranma1/2, Rurounin Kenshin, and Tenchi Muyo does not belong to me. I am borrowing them to broaden my own creativity. Hopefully people will read this and be entertained by it. Please do not sue me, you won't get lot out of it. Gathering of Heroes Chapter 2 It has been hours since Nodoka had left her son back in their room. With this thought in her mind, she started to make her way back to the room she shared with her son. As she near the room, she felt that some power was working and that she should hurry, in case her son was in danger. She was standing in front of the room, and notice that the lights in the room were out, that could mean that Ranma was out or he was sleeping. She open the door not really seeing anything at first because of the darkness of the room. Then her eyes started to adjust to the darkness and she saw the outline of a man. "Ranma?" "Mother" "What are you doing in the dark?" "Mother, I have accepted the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu and it's philosophy, I will inherit the style and I will pass it on" Nodoka was quite surprised by her son's change in demeanor. She would have thought he would have put up much more of a fight and argue some more. However, she knew not to look at the gift horse in the mouth, so to speak. "Good. Then we should get some sleep and you can start to learn the move tomorrow" "Yes, sleep" With that Ranma and Nodoka prepared to go to sleep, Nodoka thinking about the change in her son and Ranma thinking about what he will learn in his sleep. Later... "Ok, what am I suppose to do now?" It was Ranma, in the same dark place where he met his great grandfather Kenshin. In front of him stood Kenshin with two swords. "Take this" With that Kenshin, threw Ranma one of the swords. "Don't worry, that is Sakabatou just like the ones I use" "Ok" "I have already explained to you that during your sleep that I will teach you the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu style, of course you will have to practice them on your own" "I know, you already told me, but what about the book inside of the box?" "Oh, that is about the philosophy behind the art, not the actual art itself. I decided that it will be too much to write down the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu" "Ok" "Let's begin" With that Kenshin got into a stance and Ranma got into his own stance. Ranma waited for something to happen when he saw Kenshin blur and knew that the fight was on. Later... Both Kenshin and Ranma looked like they had seen better days. Ranma was surprised that he had not been able to take that sakabatou sword away from Kenshin. Ranma winced feeling his side. First time he tried to disarm Kenshin, he received a nasty hit to the side that if it was a real sword, would have either killed him or wounded him seriously. Then it hit him, this was all in his dream, how the heck was he feeling this pain? "Hey! How come I'm feeling pain? This is just a dream!" "Ranma, things here will work basically the same as in the real world. My good friend Masaki-san explained to me that, in this state, you will feel tired, limited to what your body can do, and you will of course feel pain" "Oh" Kenshin was amazed at the level of the skill this young man in front of him already possessed. Most of them would be very useful in learn the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu. Ranma already possessed a speed that is on par with himself and skills with hand to hand that was beyond Aoshi. However, no matter how good Ranma was, he could not beat the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu master. "Ranma, are you ready to go again?" "You bet! And this time, I will get you!" With that two started to fight again, however, this time Ranma had a surprise for Kenshin. Ranma jumped up in the air that Kenshin knew to be a trade mark of the Anything Goes Martial Arts, thanks to the power of Funaho. However, what surprised him was that Ranma seem to be pulling off of Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu Ryu Tsui Sen! "What?" "Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu! Ryu Tsui Sen!!" With that Ranma executed the move perfectly and only thing that Kenshin could do was use another Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu move to counter it. "Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu! Ryu Sou Sen!" When the swords clashed, both were thrown back because of the force of the blows. "Ranma, wait!" "Huh?" "How did you do that move!" "What?" "Ryu Tsui Sen" "Oh, you did that move on me last time remember? I was trying to figure out how to do them when we were taking a break and I got it" "Ok, we go again" With that Kenshin started to go at each other again, both probing for weakness and both trying to read the others moves. Later... "Do you understand me Ranma? You must be able to read the opponents move before he makes them" "I already do that" "No, you anticipates the moves, you must be able to see the move happen before it happens" "You mean like seeing the future?" "Sort of, but not completely. You must be able to read the move before it happens. It's like reading a book, you can read ahead and see what will happen, however in this case you can prepare for what will happen and change the course" "That sounds cool" They were taking a break, both men laying on the ground. Ranma was hit with Sou Ryu Sen and wasn't prepared for it however, Kenshin was not prepared for the Moko Takabisha that Ranma launched as he was being hit with Sou Ryu Sen. Kenshin couldn't help but feel proud of the man that he is training. The next Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu master, Ranma Saotome. Morning... "Ranma wake up, Ranma, we must practice" Nodoka was trying to wake Ranma, but she couldn't wake him no matter what she tried. Then finally a good idea came to her. She brought a bucket of cold water and dumped it over her son's head, turning her manly son into a woman. "Oroooo" "What did you say son?" "Nothing mom" "No! You just said oro!" "Did I?" Ranma had spend incredible amount of time in his dream training with Kenshin. It seems that he had spent about 1 year time in his dream when it was only one night. "Ranma, did you know that it was your great grandfather's trade mark phrase?" "What was?" "Never mind. Let's just open the box and get your training started" With that Nodoka pointed towards the box so that Ranma can open it and finally start to learn the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu. "Ok mom" When Ranma touched the box, there seem to be a spark then nothing. The box was very easy to open and when he open the box, there was a rather thick book sitting in there that Ranma just had to stare at. "Oh Ranma, hurry and take it out" It seems that Nodoka was very excited. It had been years since she saw the hand writings of her great grandfather. When Ranma took the book out of the box, Nodoka had tears in her eyes. "Son, let's go to a place where we can train" "Ok mom" So Ranma and Nodoka got up to go to a place where they can start the training, Nodoka not knowing that the real training had already begun for Ranma. Later... "Ranma, how are you so good with sword when you hate weapons?" Nodoka wanted to know. She herself was considered master at Kamiya sword style and Ranma was beating her rather easily. "Well mom, you know I'm the best, and once you know one martial arts, it's really easy to pick up others" Ranma wasn't exactly lying. He was picking up the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu pretty fast and he was one of the best. He just didn't tell her that he was already learning the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu in his sleep. "Ranma, does the book really teach you so much?" Nodoka wanted to know herself. Ranma, for some reasons did not wanted her to see the book, so he was keeping it away from her. He would occasionally take a look at it or during the break time, he would read it, but he won't let her see it. Ranma was having a hard time denying his mother access to the book. He didn't wanted her to know that the book was not the actual training manual but philosophy of the style. He didn't wanted her to know that he can see and talk and learn from his great grandfather in his sleep. For some reason he thought it was good idea for him to keep that a secret until he was done with training. "Well, mom, this is great stuff you know, it teaches you so much" "Well son, let's see how great this is" With that Nodoka and Ranma once again crossed swords. Later... Completely exhausted Nodoka was being helped back to the Inn where Ranma and Nodoka were staying. She was being half carried by Ranma. She could not understand how she was doing so poorly against her son. She at least thought that she would land one blow, however, she did not land one blow. In fact, he danced around her like she was not even there. Ranma was looking forward to learning more about the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu from his great grandfather tonight. Somewhere else... Head of the Masaki clan had felt the power of Funaho at work all night last night and knew that the training to pass on the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu has begun. Of course, it wasn't as though Tenchi was a weakling. He was after all the crown prince of planet Juri, and he was also blessed by the goddess of courage Tsunami herself. He could being forth the wings of the lighthawk. However, Yosho knew that Tenchi could not depend on the wings of the lighthawk too much. He needed to be toughened up and that was one reason why he allowed such a craziness in his life. Right now, Tenchi was being chased around by Ryoko and Ayake while both were throwing their own brand of energy blast which only managed to hurt Tenchi and no one else. With that thought, Yosho decided that it was time for him to pass on the more serious part of the Jurian Royal sword play. Ranma's dream... It was simply amazing. Ranma was picking up moves like it was nothing. Of course, if one knew of Ranma's life, it won't be as much of a surprise... actually Kenshin knew of Ranma's life and it was still a surprise to him. Ranma was having fun, he was learning Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu and it seems that more he learn more he came in touch with himself. The book that he read today also helped in learning the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu. "Ranma, there are only two more things that I can teach you" "Cool" "Pay attention now, I will demonstrate this move to you and you will stand still. If you move you will die, it's as simple as that" "Umm... ok" "Ranma, you have now learned the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu and you must know about the art of budo. In the art of budo there are nine vital points that one attacks. The head, the left shoulder, the right shoulder, the left arm, the right arm, the left wrist, the right wrist, between the legs, and the chest. Any attack or defense will center around these nine points" "Ok" "However, if you attack all of them at once, in simultaneous strike!" With that Kenshin blurred and he was passed Ranma. However, Ranma saw what Kenshin did was amazed. "That Ranma, was Kuzu Ryu Sen. That happens to be my master's favorite and coolest move" "That was cool" "Now, you try it" Ranma was already thinking and analyzing it in his head. "Ok, here I come!" With that Ranma blurred. What he did not expect was Kenshin charging at him with same move. When both men passed each other, there was surprised look on Kenshin's face. Kenshin expected Ranma to lose this match with Kuzu Ryu Sen, however during the clash, Ranma had compensated for the charge and somehow match his own Kuzu Ryu Sen. What Kenshin did not know was that, Ranma was already incredibly fast. With learning of the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu Ranma's speed and his toughness was also augmented. However, his speed had gotten so great that, it would over come even Soujirou Seta! "I did it!" "Yes, you did, however there is one more move...and I think you are going to have little trouble learning this move" "Huh? What do you mean" "You have countered my Kuzu Ryu Sen with your own. However, there is another counter to the Kuzu Ryu Sen. That is the last technique of the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu that you must learn" "What?" "The succession technique of the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu Ama Kakeru Ryuno Hirameki is what you must learn!" "How?" "Ranma, think about the nature of the Kuzu Ryu Sen, and think about what you are suppose to do. Open your heart and look inside you, and when you find what you are looking for, the Ama Kakeru Ryuno Hirameki will flow freely from your heart" Ranma began to think about the Kuzu Ryu Sen and the nature of it. Then he started to look deep within himself to find whatever Kenshin was talking about. Then he began to see images in his mind. Images of himself, his curse, and his friends and enemies. He had almost sacrificed himself for all of them at one point or the other. Ranma then started to notice something about the Kuzu Ryu Sen. Then he realized what he had to do to counter the Kuzu Ryu Sen and knew what the secret of Ama Kakeru Ryuno Hirameki was. Then he started to see what will happen if the Kuzu Ryu Sen and Ama Kakeru Ryuno Hirameki clashed. Ranma seeing that if he performed that move, it will most likely hurt Kenshin and with his speed and power, it might even be enough to kill him even with the sakabatou swords. Ranma knew that this Kenshin was not his real great grandfather, it was a memory of him that somehow left behind to teach him the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu, however, this was the image of his great grandfather and he will not hurt him even if it was just an image. Ranma decided on the course of action. He got down on both his knees. "Great grandfather, I thank you for passing on the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu to me. However, I don't think I can learn the last technique, and I regretfully must decline it" "What?" Kenshin was not liking where this was headed. He must pass on the succession technique for Ranma's Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu training to be complete. Then he decided to go with his master's way. "If you do not learn the succession technique, then I must kill you here and now!" With that Kenshin started to move towards Ranma, preparing the Kuzu Ryu Sen. "Great grandfather, I cannot learn that technique" "You will!" With that Kenshin launched the Kuzu Ryu Sen at Ranma, hoping that Ranma will learn and use the Ama Kakeru Ryuno Hirameki just like how he learned it and used it at the last minute. However, When Kenshin was done performing the move, he looked around and saw no one. By that time, it was too late, Ranma had already started to perform Ryu Kan Sen and when it connected Kenshin was knocked out cold. "I'm sorry great grandfather. Even if there was slight chance that I could kill you I will not do it. Just like you, I must take up the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu to protect and not to kill" With that Ranma vanished from the place, waking up in the real world. End of Chapter 2. Authors note. I just watched all of Rurounin Kenshin and I thought it was a great anime. And I decided to write a crossover between Ranma and Kenshin about it. Then I decided to add Tenchi Muyo about it. Although, you might not see Kenshin character in the beginning, I'm thinking of a way to bring some in. And Tenchi Muyo will definitely become major players later in the chapters. Ok for the time frame. This takes place after the Saffron incident and failed wedding attempt for Ranma1/2. This takes place after the visit from the Jurian Royal family. Also, who ever wants to be my pre-reader for this fic please email me. My email address is Jjang13977@aol.com I have my own web page. http://www.angelfire.com/anime2/ericheeohfic/index.html Copy writes. Characters from Ranma1/2, Rurounin Kenshin, and Tenchi Muyo does not belong to me. I am borrowing them to broaden my own creativity. Hopefully people will read this and be entertained by it. Please do not sue me, you won't get lot out of it. Gathering of Heroes Chapter 3 "Grand pa! Why do I have to practice again?" "Tenchi, stop your wining, you are beginning to sound more like a girl then the crown prince of Juri" "But Grand pa, it's peaceful time!" "Here I come!" With that head of the Masaki clan, former crown prince of Juri launched himself at Tenchi, his grandson. Tenchi by his own right was competent fighter and with the Juri power, he was one of the most powerful beings in the universe. However, put up against actually physical fight, and he won't last a minute against a real enemy. Tenchi could not even beat Kagato without the aid of his own Wings of the Lighthawk. Later... Yosho was dragging unconcious Tenchi into the Masaki home much to the dismay of the female population of the Masaki residence. "Yo! Do you have to beat up on poor Tenchi like that!" "Brother! I cannot believe you are beating up on lord Tenchi!" Of course the most vocal of the female group spoke up their mind to the elderly looking Masaki. "It is necessary" Only saying that much, he left the house. Only thing the girls could do was look at each other. However, only Washu had her knowing look on her face. Somewhere else... "Lady Tokimi, I have report on the one called Tenchi" "What is it A1?" "It seems that the champion of Lady Tsunami and Lady Washu has began his training" "Hmm... This is interesting, could they have figured out about my plans?" "Lady Tokimi, there is another thing" "What is it A1?" "It seems there is another human on Earth who posses great powers" "Who could this be?" "We are not entirely sure yet my lady, however, we have sent and investigation team to "look" into the matter" "Very well, inform me of whatever you learn" "Yes my lady" Else where... It has been a month since Ranma and Nodoka had arrived on Kyoto. However, Ranma has now become master of the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu style and he had already developed few of his own moves from the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu. Nodoka was amazed how fast his son had picked up the moves. To her it was only a month, however to Ranma, he had spent almost every night in the dream state where he practiced about a year. He had at least 30 years of practice and to master the moves. Ranma had found that by using the box and that strange magic, he can create his own plane of practice field so that he will not have to face against his great grandfather, who probably will insist that he learn the succession technique. He had not seen his great grandfather once since the last time he left him. Ranma was deep in thought when the side of the building that they were staying blew up. "What the?" Ranma got to know the people who ran the Inn well since his time here. It seems that Misao was named after her great grandmother, who was also named Misao. Ranma genuinely liked the lady and he could not believe anybody would do such a thing to such a nice lady and people. He went down stairs only to come face to face with what seems like a demon from hell. "What is that?" Nodoka had also came down baring her katana and it seems as though she might need it. When the monster saw Ranma, he started to attack him without even a preamble. Ranma was having no trouble avoiding this monster. Month ago, he might have had some trouble, but not after mastering the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu which as boasted his own natural speed. Monster was not liking how things were going. He wanted to take this human apart, he wanted to spill blood, and he wanted to kill. However, this human was avoiding him all to easily, that was when he saw the two woman and made a move to kill them. Ranma saw what was happening and something in him clicked. "NO! You will not touch them!" With that Ranma launched himself at the monster. Ranma thought about using the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu, however, he decided that it was good a time as any to use the new style that he came up with after learning the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu. "Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu unarmed combat style! Ryu Tsui Sen Zan revised!" With that Ranma jumped high in the air and as he was coming down, avoided the monster's claws and with the fingertips of his hand went straight for his head. What happened next made some of the people who were watching it faint. What happened was Ranma's hand went through the skull of the monster and in as deep as his elbow. (If you ever watched the Fist of the North Star, just imagine Fist of the Southern Cross) Of course the monster was dead. However, it made Ranma sick to his stomach, and he drew his hand as fast as he can and ran to the corner and threw up everything he had eaten that day. Ranma thought that only thing it will do was tent the top of the head or at least do a minor damage. What he forgot to put into equation was his new found speed and his new toughness. Any scientist can tell you that the force is equal to the mass times the speed. Nature of Ryu Tsui Sen is all about the speed and using one's mass as they are coming down. Ranma's force was sufficient to do that much damage. However, Ranma did not know that. "Son?" Nodoka who witness the whole thing came to see if her son was ok. He had protected her and Misao, however, it seems like there was something wrong with her son. "Mom" "What is it son" "I've killed" "Son?" "I have killed. I took up the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu to protect life, but already I have killed!" "Son! It could not be helped. You have seen that the being was of evil! It would have killed me or Misao. The being was not even human in origin" "Mom, that doesn't matter, I've killed a living being using one of the styles that I derived from Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu" "Oh Ranma, please you must understand, there are things in this world that are not always right or wrong. What you have done is something that is not wrong, and something that you should not sadden yourself over. Of course, it will have been a tragedy if you have killed an innocent being, however that was a monster, a demon. If you have not done what you have, then it would have killed many people. Even if you have some how stopped it without killing it, then what? It would have surely escaped and kill again" "You don't know that mom" "Ranma, have you seen what it had done to the walls on Misao's Inn?" Ranma turned to look and it seems that the whole side of the wall has been destroyed. "Ranma, I doubt that any prison can hold something that can cause that much damage. Now, dry those tears and save them for those poor souls that the monster might have already killed along the way here" "Ok mom" Else where... "Lady Tokimi, I have report on that other human being" "What is it A1?" "It seems that the agent we have dispatched had been very easily dealt with" "Oh?" "It would also suggest that the human is very powerful indeed to have done such a thing to one of our agent" "Hmm" "Lady Tokimi, what shall we do? Shall we eliminate him?" "No, I want you to keep watch on him. If he is not claimed by either of my sisters, I want you to try to bring him into our side" "As you wish my lady" When A1 had faded from the view, Tokimi started to think about what this could mean for her. "It seems that I may have a champion of my own sisters" Furinken High... It was lunchtime, however there were not many people eating lunch. It seems after the disappearance of Ranma, the boys have once again take it upon themselves to challenge Akane again. However, this time, she was not going to stand for it and made it clear on the first day that it was not a good idea. She sent majority of the boys to the hospital and those who have survived the trip to the hospital quickly realized that if they attack Akane, they better be prepared to visit the hospital as well. "Akane Tendo! I will date with thee!" However, once person who still have not gotten the idea was the resident idiot Kuno. "Kuno! How many times do I have to tell you! I am not interested!" "Your denial of your true love for me is very touching however, there is no more need of it, for the foul sorcerer Saotome has fled, fearing my ARK!!!" Kuno could not talk anymore thanks to the powerful kick Akane placed upon his mouth, which knocked him out. "Ranma you jerk! You better be back soon" Kyoto... Ranma was in the room. After helping Misao clean up the mess and help fix the place, Ranma came back to the room to sit and to think about what happened today. What happened today was that he killed. It didn't matter to him whether it was human being or not. For the second time in his life he had killed. But unlike the first time, this one didn't come back to life. Ranma couldn't handle it anymore, and was about to leave the room, and tell his mother that he is sealing the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu, when he saw that book that was written by his great grandfather. He didn't finish the book, he started but he didn't finish it. He decided to read it. And as he read on, his mind started to clear. The book pointed out that there are unstoppable evil in the world, there are things that one must protect the innocent people from. When that evil can be stopped, then it was the job of the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu to stop that evil. Then he recalled what his mother had told him, that the being could have killed her or Misao. Then something else struck his mind. That the being could have killed any number of people along his way to the Inn. Ranma asked himself not getting any answer from anyone. Masaki Shrine. Yosho was sitting there meditating after practicing with his grandson Tenchi. He was getting better, but not fast enough for his taste. He was thinking about a way to speed up the progress with his grandson when he felt her. "Tsunami?" "Yes Yosho" "What are you doing here?" "I have come to warn you" "Warn me?" "Yes, it is important that you continue to train Tenchi, however, that is not the only important thing now" "What is it?" "Yosho, you must find a young dragon" "Who?" "A young dragon who will become one of the two heroes that will save the world from coming dangers" "A young dragon? Two heroes?" "Yosho, search your heart, you know who this young dragon is, find him before the others get to him first" With that Tsunami vanished. "Young Dragon? A two heroes?" Yosho started to think what that could mean, then he saw something. Two heroes... he was sure one of them was his own grandson Tenchi. After all he was blessed by the goddess herself. "Who could the other be?" Then a realization struck him. He remembered the only man ever to defeat him using the sword. "Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu!" End of Chapter 3. Authors note. I just watched all of Rurounin Kenshin and I thought it was a great anime. And I decided to write a crossover between Ranma and Kenshin about it. Then I decided to add Tenchi Muyo about it. Although, you might not see Kenshin character in the beginning, I'm thinking of a way to bring some in. And Tenchi Muyo will definitely become major players later in the chapters. Ok for the time frame. This takes place after the Saffron incident and failed wedding attempt for Ranma1/2. This takes place after the visit from the Jurian Royal family. Also, who ever wants to be my pre-reader for this fic please email me. My email address is Jjang13977@aol.com I have my own web page. http://www.angelfire.com/anime2/ericheeohfic/index.html Copy writes. Characters from Ranma1/2, Rurounin Kenshin, and Tenchi Muyo does not belong to me. I am borrowing them to broaden my own creativity. Hopefully people will read this and be entertained by it. Please do not sue me, you won't get lot out of it. Gathering of Heroes Chapter 4 Yosho was thinking and his thoughts were troubled. Tsunami came to him and told him to find the young dragon. And he just came to the realization that the young dragon was the new master of the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu master. Now he only had one problem. How to find the new master of the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu. Yosho had no idea who it might be. He was too busy training his own heir that he did not stay in contact, nor did he kept in touch with his friend Kenshin or his family. "Grand Pa! Grand Pa!" "What is it Tenchi?" "Sasami says that dinner is ready!" "I'll be right there!" After answering his grandson and his heir, Yosho continue to think of how to find this Young Dragon. Yosho went to go to the house to eat the dinner that his half sister Sasami cook, completely forgetting that there was an easy way to find the Young Dragon. All he had to do was trace the power of Funaho that Ranma used almost nightly. However, it can be said that stress can cause some peoples mind to not function properly. Koyto... It was dinnertime, but Ranma wasn't there. Both Nodoka and Misao were looking towards the room with concern written all over their faces. "Nodoka, is your son ok?" "I'm not sure Misao. He took it rather hard that he had killed that creature today" "What? Why? The creature was evil! It was a demon!" "I know that. However, Ranma seems to have this value for all life... He also said that he took up the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu to protect life and he had just killed" "I don't know Nodoka, he did protect us from that thing, and who knows how many people that thing killed and could have killed if not for your son?" "I know that Misao. I told him as much. But he just doesn't seem to understand it" "Perhaps, I should have a talk with him?" "Thank you for the offer, but I'm sure it won't do any good. Sometimes my son can be very stubborn about things. I've seen it with his fiancee and how they always seem to deny their feelings for each other" "Nodoka? Your son has a fiancee?" "Oh? Didn't I tell you? My son is so manly, he has four different girls chasing after him" "Oh my! Four?" "Yes!" Ranma's room... Not knowing that his mother and Misao downstairs were talking about his love life, Ranma was completely focused on his own thoughts and the ways of Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu. Even after the talk with his mother and reading the book that his great grandfather left him, he still could not come to terms with what he had done to that thing. Ranma was so intent on thinking and finding the way that he wasn't completely using all of his senses to his surroundings. If he did, he would have felt a presence that was watching him. Somewhere... "Lady Tokimi, I have rather good news" "Oh? What is it A1" "Our agent who has been watching the mortal has just turned in a rather interesting report" "Yes?" "It seems that the mortal is now in mental turmoil of what he has done to our previous agent" "Hmmm... Mental turmoil did you say?" "Yes my lady. It seems that the mortal is now having trouble of the fact that he has killed a living being" "This seems interesting. Mental turmoil can be used, it can be a tool to manipulate his mind" "Do you wish me to go and convert him my lady?" "No. We will watch him more. I want to see if he has the will to bring himself out of this" "Excuse me my lady?" "A1, if he has such a weak mind that he will break apart because of this one thing, then he will be of no use to me. Only when he proves to be strong, both in body and mind, will he be useful to me in my up coming battles" "I understand my lady. Forgive me for my shallow approach to the situations" "Very well" With that A1 left lady Tokimi to her thoughts. Elsewhere... "I don't know why Tenchi has to do all those practice. I mean, he has the light hawk sword to protect him" "For once I agree with you. Lord Tenchi should not have to do all those physical work, he is after all, a royal blood" It was of course Ryoko and Ayake who were complaining about Tenchi's new training hours. Because for some reason Tenchi's grandfather, and also the half brother of Ayake decided to train Tenchi more, they have not been spending enough time with him. "Tenchi should be with me, not practicing. With me, nothing will happen to him" "What do you mean, with you? Why would Lord Tenchi be with a monster woman like you?!" "Who are you calling monster woman?" "You! You are a monster woman. Besides, you are way too old for Lord Tenchi. You are after all thousands of years old. I don't think Lord Tenchi would be happy being pursued by an old mummy" "Why you! How dare you!?" "What? I speak the truth" "Well, then I don't think Tenchi will want to marry his great aunt!" "What?" "You, you spoiled little brat! Tenchi is Yosho's grandson" "Yes, that's how we are related by royal blood" "Well, in earth they don't do things like you Jurians do. I bet the thought of marrying his great aunt makes Tenchi sick to the stomach" "How dare you!" "Well now, look who is out of the running" "I will not tolerate this type of behavior from a monster woman!" "Oh yeah princess? What are you going to do about it?" "I'll make you pay!" With that Ryoko and Ayake both started to power up their powers and the destruction of the Masaki compound started. Kyoto... "Nodoka, I think we should check up on your son" "Misato, I think you are right" Both women were worried about Ranma. It seems what he did this morning was taking a bigger toll on him then either of the women thought. After discussing every detail about Ranma's love life, they check the clock to find that they have been talking about 4 hours and still no sign of Ranma coming out of his room. Both Nodoka and Misao was making their way to the top of the stairs to see if what Ranma was doing when they felt something. Both were somewhat decent martial artist and could sense a presence there. "Misao, do you feel that?" "Yes..." Both women were quite for a moment then they realized where the feeling was coming from. "Ranma!" With that both women charged to Ranma's room to see what was happening. Ranma's Dream. Ranma was still dreaming, and still thinking about what he had said, when he remembered one person who could help him. However, he didn't want to see him. Last time he saw him, he was trying to teach the succession technique of the Hiten-Mitsurigi-Ryu Ama Kakeru Ryuno Hirameki which could end up seriously hurting him what with his power and speed now. "I wonder if I should find him… and talk to him about this. But, if I see him now, what stops him from trying to teach me the succession technique again" Ranma was having the mental battle with himself, asking his self worth and his ideals. He was asking himself if he had the right to take another life even if that life was evil. Ranma was still in this state of mental battle when two women charged into the room. Waking him up from his state. "Ranma!" "Ranma!" "What? What’s going on?" Ranma having waken up from two women yelling his name and shaking him. "Ranma, thank goodness you are ok my son" "We thought something horrible had happen to you" "Huh? What are you two talking about?" "Ranma, can’t you feel it?" "Feel what?" Ranma was still somewhat sleep and also too focused on finding the answer that he wasn’t fully paying attention to the environment around him. "Ranma there was some kind of presence here" "Presence? I don’t feel anything" It was true, as soon as the two women charged into the room, the presence had hidden itself. "Ranma, you must trust us on this, there was some strange presence here. Perhaps it was evil, trying to harm you for what you did today" "Yes, you must be careful, those things probably wants revenge for what you have done to one of their own" "Umm… ok, but you don’t have to worry about me, I can take care of myself you know" "We know that you are good martial artist and you have some skills with the sword. But, you are not in the right mind frame to take on another one of those things" "What do you mean?" "Ranma, we all know that you are suffering out of guilt for killing that thing today, even though it was evil, even though it would have killed me and Misao here" "Mom" "Ranma, listen. You cannot go on with your guilt and self doubt forever. What if something like that attacks again, and because you are too deeply in your self doubt and guilt that you could not help and it kills many people. What if it kills your family and friends, like Akane" "I will never let that happen!" "I don’t know Ranma, the way you are behaving right now, you won’t be much good to anybody" "But Mom, I’ve taken a life, how can I not feel this way?" "Ranma my son, in this world, there are times when one must stand for all the others. One must stand and do things that the others can’t do because without you doing that, then those others will have no hope. They will have no way out of the dark place that they will be forced into. Ranma, you have the power to protect others. You have the power to rise up and stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. Will you not do that? Will you forsake the people because you cannot over come this?" "Mom… I don’t know, I just don’t know" "Nodoka, why don’t we live your son alone now? Since the presence is gone, we won’t have much to worry about" "Ok. Ranma, remember my words. There are evils in this world that one cannot stop by keeping their hands clean. There are evils in this world that must be stopped to keep the rest of world in peace. Ranna, if you have the power to keep that peace, if you have the power to do something, but if you don’t use that power, then that in itself is evil" With that Nodoka rose and went outside, along with Misao who looked at Ranma as she was leaving. Ranma was thinking again about what his mother said. Ranma was once again settling into deep thought when the box that he kept which contain the memory of Kenshin started to glow again and the glow expanded to surround Ranma. Ranma’s Dream… "Oh man, not here…" Ranma was looking around the field where he first met his great grandfather who trained him in the arts of Hiten-Mitsurigi-Ryu. "Ranma, you have neglected your duty to the Hiten-Mitsurigi-Ryu. How could you refuse to learn the succession technique and hope to continue on the school?" Ranma didn’t have to turn around to know that it was his great grandfather talking to him. "Great grandfather, I know what you mean, but I cannot learn that move from you" "You have no choice!" With that Kenshin charged at his great grandson, this time watching him carefully fully aware of his great grandson’s abilities. As he drew near to Ranma, he called out the attack move which will have to be defended by the succession technique. "Kuzu-Ryu-Sen!" Ranma knew this was going to happen, but he was already beyond the speed of the Hiten-Mitsurigi-Ryu. He was even faster then Soujirou was when he was going his maximum speed. Ranma simply dodged all the strikes. "Great grandfather, stop this!" Kenshin was shocked. Not even Soujirou with his Sukuchi speed was that fast. "How?" "Great grandfather, there is no way you can get me, and truth to tell you, I’ve already figured out the succession technique" "What?" "Yes. I already know, it’s high speed bathowjutsu with your left leg taking a step forward instead of your right" This shocked Kenshin, he didn’t know that his great grandson’s ability to pick up and learn moves went this far, to pick up the succession technique without actually seeing it once. However, there was something wrong. He wasn’t picking up the correct aura from Ranma for someone who knew the succession technique. "Ranma, you may know how to do the move, but do you know the true philosophy, true meaning behind the move?" "What?" "Ranma, Ama Kakeru Ryuno Hirameki is not just another move you do, it’s not something you practice. It is suppose to flow through you, come naturally from your heart because of love of your life, love of your own self worth, and wanting on your part to continue whatever you need to do" "What?" When Ranma heard Kenshin’s words, he started to think. He started to see in his head what would cause one person to perform such a move as the Ama Kakeru Ryuno Hirameki, which was dangerous move to start with. If you did one thing wrong, you could slice off your own leg as well as killed by the coming attack. Kenshin could see that Ranma was getting the point, that he was finally understanding the true meaning behind the Ama Kakeru Ryuno Hirameki. "Ranma, you seem to be getting the true meaning of the succession technique. Then, let me teach you one more technique" "One more? But I thought that the succession technique was the last of the Hiten-Mitsurigi-Ryu techniques" "Succession technique is the last of the Hiten-Mitsurigi-Ryu techniques. However, I have come up with a move of my own" With that Kenshin got into the Ama Kakeru Ryuno Hirameki stance then jumped up into the air, which looked like he was going for the Ryu Tsui Sen, then he positioned himself upside down with the sword still in the sheath. Ranma was amazed at what he was seeing. What his great grandfather was doing was incredible, it was beautiful and it seem to give off something which touched his heart. When Kenshin was done with the move, Ranma couldn’t speak or move for a few second. Then he had tears in his eyes. "Ranma, I developed this move when I was fighting Shi Shi O. One of the most dangerous man I have ever faced. This is what Sano would call, Kenshin Ryu, air bathowjutsu" "Great grandfather" "I trust you got the move, but did you get the feeling, the emotion, the beauty of the move?" "I felt something. I…" "Ranma. Let me tell you something. I was the feared Hitokiri, but I became a simple Rurouni to atone for what I have done. In that time, I have protected those who I love and the innocent people of the time without using my sword to kill…However, if I was put in a position to kill to protect the ones I love, the innocent lives that I swore to protect, I would do it no matter the cost to myself" "Great grandfather" "It’s time Ranma. You must rise above all else and take your place among the world as the protector, the champion, a hero" "I will great grandfather" End of Chapter 4 Authors note. Thanks for waiting. I am finally updating again. Sorry for not doing it sooner. Well, I didn’t send this to the pre-readers because it has been such a long time and I decided to update it as soon as I was done. Ok for the time frame. This takes place after the Saffron incident and failed wedding attempt for Ranma1/2. This takes place after the visit from the Jurian Royal family. Also, who ever wants to be my pre-reader for this fic please email me. My email address is Jjang13977@aol.com I have my own web page. http://www.angelfire.com/anime2/ericheeohfic/index.html Copy writes. Characters from Ranma1/2, Rurounin Kenshin, and Tenchi Muyo does not belong to me. I am borrowing them to broaden my own creativity. Hopefully people will read this and be entertained by it. Please do not sue me, you won't get lot out of it. Gathering of Heroes Chapter 5 Somewhere… "Lady Tokimi, I have news" "What is it A1?" Lady Tokimi, the goddess of power was looking down upon A1 with neutral look on her face. "My lady, it seems the young mortal has over come the problem that he was facing" "Is that so?" "Yes my lady…however" "However?" "We seem to have picked up energy signature of Jurian power, or tree near his presence" "Jurian power? Are you sure about this?" "Yes my lady" "Could it be that my sister has already made her move?" "I do not know my lady" At this Lady Tokimi paused to think. "A1! Here is my order, send one of our agents and make contact with the mortal" "What should I tell the agent?" "Tell him to invite the mortal to our side" "What if the mortal refuses my Lady?" "If he refuses, then I have something in mind" "Of course my lady. Contact will be made" "Good" Kyoto… Misao and Nodoka was worried about Ranma. It seem to the two women that Ranma after the incident with the monster has gone into some kind of depression. "Nodoka, what do you think we should do to help your son?" "I don’t know…I have just recently been reunited with my son…I don’t know him that well enough to know how to help him" "Nodoka, do you think, perhaps, he needs a girl?" "Huh? What do you mean Misao?" "Like you said, back home he has no less then four girls to help him cheer up, and here he has no girls to help him" "That is true…" "Perhaps, we should get him a girl to help cheer him up?" "Yes, my son in manly, and it would help life my manly son’s spirit if he had a girl…" "So, should I set him up with a girl?" "Yes, why don’t we set him up with a girl? With that, Nodoka and Misao started to make plans to get Ranma a girl. Upstairs… Not knowing the plans that his mother and Misao was making, Ranma was just coming out of his state. Ranma was still thinking about the last move his great grandfather showed him. The first Kenshin Ryu, spinning air bathowjutsu. Ranma kept running the move over and over again in his mind remembering every single detail of the move. However, if Ranma knew that the two women were planning, he would have ran down and tried his best to stop them. Next Day… "So, this is the place…" Young woman with long brown hair, was standing in front of the Aioya Inn. She enter the Inn and made her presence known. "Welcome to Aioya Inn, what can I do for you?" Misao greeted the young woman. She took a good look at the young woman and noted that she had a long flowing brown hair, shinny brown eyes, and figure that was just right. Not to big and not too small. "I am here looking for someone…" "Oh?" "Is there a man named Ranma Saotome here?" "Excuse me young lady, what business do you have with Ranma?" "I heard he defeated a monster, and I would like to ask for his help" Misao was watching the young woman as she was talking. However, for a woman who was here to ask for help, she was being very casual about it, as well as showing no fear for whatever she needed help with. "Please with here" With that Misao went back to talk to Nodoka, leaving the young woman to herself. With that, young woman made her move. Moving faster then normal eyes can see she jumped over the counter and went to the back room, made her way to upstairs. Meanwhile… "Nodoka, there is a young woman here looking for Ranma" "Young woman?" "Yes, she said she was here to ask for Ranma’s help, but there was something wrong with it" "What did she look like?" "She had long brown hair, and brown eyes" "It could have been Ukyou" "No, she didn’t have any spatulas" "Let’s go see this woman" With that two woman made their way out side, but found it to be empty. "What? She was right here!" "Oh no!" Both woman looked at each other and made their way to where Ranma was staying only to find an empty room. "Oh no!" Masaki Shrine… Yosho was looking down upon his grandson who has once again passed out from pure exhaustion. Ever since Tsunami told him that he must find the young dragon and that there will be two heroes, he was sure that one of them was his grandson Tenchi. After all, he was blessed by the goddess herself. He also knew who the other hero could be, the new successor of the Hiten-Mitsurigi-Ryu. He knew it to be fact because he felt the power of his tree being used. He helped Kenshin set that up so that he could pass the style to the future generation. Now, only if he could find where he was… He started to drag his unconscious grandson back to the house, where he would be tended by the various of women living in the house. Still deep in thought, he almost missed the flow of power. Almost being the key word. Yosho felt strange power, it almost felt like Jurian power, but it was darker in some ways. He knew instantly that it had something to do with the new master of the Hiten-Mitsurigi-Ryu. He started to track the energy source, it was faint but it was distinct enough to give him a direction where to go. He got to the house in a hurry, and dropped Tenchi to the ground. When all the women came and were about to start yelling at him for putting Tenchi through this, he silenced them all with a single look. Was on the mind of all the women that were silenced by Yosho by the look. Washu, of course being Washu knew something was going on. "When Tenchi wakes up, tell him to prepare himself to go on a journey" "WHAT!" "I will be going with him" "Brother! Where do you think you are going to take Lord Tenchi!" "Look old man! Tenchi isn’t going anywhere!" Yosho once again gave them the look to silence them. "You are all welcome to come" "Huh?" Yosho, after that, without another word, made his way out of the house to go to his shrine to prepare for the journey. Aioya Inn… "Nodoka…you think Ranma was kidnapped?" "Ranma? Kidnapped? Misao did we hear any kind of explosions?" "What? What kind of question is that?" "Just answer me" "No" "Then, he was not kidnapped" "How do you know?" "My son will not allow himself to get kidnapped without at least putting up a fight" Misao nodded her head in understanding, however she thought of something. "Nodoka, that might have been true before, but he was in vulnerable state, his emotion…perhaps he didn’t put up a fight" Nodoka had to think for a moment…that might all be possible. Her son, out of guilt, might not have put up any resistance at being kidnapped. Also the young woman could have used her womanly ways to seduce her son. "We have to find him!" "Find who?" At the third voice, both women froze. As one both women turned around to face Ranma Saotome of the Saotome school of Anything goes Martial arts and new master of the Hiten-Mitsurigi-Ryu, although they didn’t know that yet. "RANMA! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!!!" End of Chapter 5 Authors note. Thanks for waiting. I am finally updating again. Sorry for not doing it sooner. Well, I didn’t send this to the pre-readers because it has been such a long time and I decided to update it as soon as I was done. Ok for the time frame. This takes place after the Saffron incident and failed wedding attempt for Ranma1/2. This takes place after the visit from the Jurian Royal family. Also, who ever wants to be my pre-reader for this fic please email me. My email address is Jjang13977@aol.com I have my own web page. http://www.angelfire.com/anime2/ericheeohfic/index.html