A killer.
Her father was an assassin. Not only that, but one of the best.
She closed her eyes for a minute, and felt the earth beneath her feet. The ground felt reassuring to her, comforting, whole. It was her bedrock; it was her as much as her arms and hands and heart. And... it made her a killer - if she wanted to be.
She knew a few people had died from the earthquake she'd unleashed. Wrong place, wrong time; a bookcase fell, a person fell awkwardly against a countertop... people died as a result of what she'd done.
Emma-O... he was a killer par excellence. He could have dealt with those crowds easily. He wouldn't have even had to kill; intimidation would have been enough to disperse them. But... if he had to, he would have done it. Before he had met a dark-haired enchantress named Kimiko, he would have done it.
She had to do it.
She knew the road Kunou was taking. The longer he lived, the more people he would lead to death. Today, a few neighborhoods. Next week, perhaps all of Tokyo. Within a month, the whole island. Half-breeds and non-Japanese would be killed; war would be threatened, possibly killing millions. The so-called glory days of the Empire during the height of World War II would come back - and, just as surely, would come Japan's destruction. Men would die from the bullet or sword; women and children, from the empty hollow of famine. The survivors would be few - and, without a Soviet Russia to fear, Japan would be brought low and kept low. She'd heard it from the earth, from the voices of the bones buried deep within the land.
Kunou couldn't listen to those voices. The voices he listened to were inside his head.
She looked down at her fist. She could do it, she knew. With her father's techniques and her mother's elemental gift, she could take Kunou down. His army could be laid waste by the earth; he himself could face Judgment and Damnation, and that would be the end of it.
But it had to be done immediately. Time was life - and the lives of many hung in the balance.
"Father!" she called out, not turning her head. She could feel his footsteps from the dull echo of the dojo's wood.
"Yes, Akane?"
She nodded her head slowly. "Father, I'm sorry. Please... get Ranma. It has to be done - and it has to be learned tonight."
Soun shook his head. "N... no. I can do it, if I have..."
She summoned the armor from the very earth, feeling it as it hugged around her like a comfortable gi. She looked over at him, at his slack-jawed expression. "Father, Mother had her own gifts for us. I am already in this fight - and I will see it to the end." Her eyes peered out from the armor, an apologetic glance. "Sorry, Daddy. Mom had these amulets for us and..."
Her father's shock turned to resignation and steel. "Why am I not surprised..." A wry grin formed on his face. "Okay, Akane. But you're learning more than just those moves. If someone used a gun on you -"
"Someone did," Akane interrupted. "It just... bounced off."
Soun sighed. "Wish I'd had that when your mother was around..." He gave a sad smile to her. "I'm sorry it had to come to this. I'm so sorry... for what I'm about to teach you..."
She nodded; she could feel the tears coming down her cheeks. "I know, Daddy. I know."
He smiled. "So this is why Ranma's been teaching my girls?"
"Yeah," She dragged a toe through the dirt. "But... I'd really like it if my daddy taught me."
Soun closed his eyes for a moment; he didn't give the waterworks of tears, but the single one down his cheek said more. "Okay. Tell your sisters to come."
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(Posted Fri, 20 Dec 2002 01:20)
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