For entertainment purposes only. No infringement intended. Ranma ½ is owned by Takahashi Rumiko. Rurouni Kenshin is owned by Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Author's Note: This isn't canon Ranma or Kenshin; you really don't need any previous knowledge of either to read this fanfiction, though it is helpful. Some ideas were also taken from Samurai X, a prequel of sorts to Rurouni Kenshin.

Any C&C is welcome at: fxffects@hotmail.com

Reviews are appreciated. So is constructive criticism.

Chapter Three: Filler

Pools of Sorrow,
China,
14 years ago:

<<<Kenshin stared blankly down at Cologne, then eyed the worn book she was holding. "What’s that?" he asked, scratching idly at the patch covering his left cheek.

Cologne smirked lightly, as she flipped open the book to a marked page. "A better disguise than that patch, son," she cackled, as Kenshin pulled the patch off, revealing his crisscross scars.

"Oh?" he asked, cocking his head slightly, as he idly skimmed through the selected page. "And how are folktales and myths…?"

Cologne merely snapped the book shut, frowning as she tucked it back into her sleeve. "Really, child, you should know by now not to question me."

After bopping Kenshin lightly on the head with her cane (i.e., beating him senseless), Cologne continued on with her explanation. "How do you think people would react to seeing the infamous Hitokiri Battousai wandering the streets, Himura?" Cologne asked, causing Kenshin to blush slightly.

"But, the patch--"

Cologne scoffed, cutting off Kenshin’s reply with a wave of her hand. "Not all people are as blind as Mu Tse," she replied curtly, causing Kenshin to blush even harder. Cologne withdrew the book, and smirked. "Now, how would people react to seeing a pretty young girl wandering the streets…?">>>

Kenshin smiled softly at the memory, as she dipped a small towel into the steaming bowl beside her senseless father.

"Wake up, father…" Kenshin whispered softly, as she applied another hot towel onto Genma’s forehead.

"Oh, God, I just had the strangest dream," Genma groaned, as his eyes flickered open.

"Hi," Kenshin chirped cheerfully, as she pecked Genma lightly on the forehead. She grinned slightly, as Genma's eyes nearly popped out their sockets.

"Calm down, father," Kenshin gently chided, as Kenshin laid another towel onto Genma's head. Genma merely blinked, then began to fall backwards, eyes rolling back into his head.

"Oh, no you don't, father," Kenshin muttered, as she grabbed Genma's gi tightly with one hand and pulled him up, slapping him about several times before he stirred awake.

"Ranma?" he asked fearfully, as the redhead nodded affirmatively.

"I prefer Kenshin nowadays, though--"

"Oh, God help me," Genma interrupted, as he rubbed at his throbbing temples. "How am I going to tell Nodoka that her only son is gay?"

Kenshin started at the last comment, and cocked her head to one side, blinking several times in surprise. "Oro?"

"… and that’s basically what happened," Kenshin finished, as she sipped at the warmed sake. Genma nodded, as he downed another bottle of sake. His hands shook slightly, as he poured himself another cup.

"S-so, that’s the story," he stammered out, as he gulped down the alcohol, automatically pouring himself another shot. He stared down at the steaming cup of sake, and shook the cup slightly.

"See, the situation isn’t as bad as it appears," Kenshin added, smirking. Genma nodded, and sipped at the sake.

"So the curse isn’t permanent?" he asked, sweating bullets as he waited for Kenshin’s response. Kenshin smiled, and slowly poured herself another cup of sake.

"Hot liquid reverses the process," she replied, as she doused herself with the hot sake. Genma stared at Kenshin, as he witnessed the change of forms with barely concealed astonishment, a small grin forming on his face. Kenshin pulled a towel from within his hakama, and began toweling off his long red hair, as Genma’s grin continued to widen.

Kenshin glanced up at his grinning father, and frowned slightly, as he tucked away the towel. "What are you so happy for?" he asked, running a hand through his hair. Genma merely shook his head, and got to his feet, pulling Kenshin up as well.

"You’ll see, my boy," he answered vaguely, as he dragged the red-haired boy out the front door. "But, first--"

Genma paused, slowing to a stop, as he looked about the front yard, a puzzled look on his face as he glanced over at Kenshin. "Oy, boy, where's your sister?"

"Sister?" Kenshin asked, a blank look on his face as reached into his hakama, pulling out a small water canteen. Genma frowned, as Kenshin poured the water over his, now her head, but didn't press the matter much as he reached into his gi.

"A short little redhead, about yea tall, mallet about this big?" Genma elaborated, whipping out a small photograph of an angry redhead wielding a large mallet. Kenshin blinked, a small sweat-drop forming on the back of her head, as she held the photo in one hand.

"Oh…" she murmured, quietly tucking the photo into her hakama, as a faint red blush spread across her cheeks. "Oroo… Well, you see…" Kenshin began, nervously scratching the back of her head at the question. Finally, she pointed towards the body shaped hole on the far wall, chuckling sheepishly as she cracked a wry grin.

Summer,
Japan,
A few hours ago:

<<<"DIE!"

"Oro???" Kenshin uttered, wide-eyed, as she stepped aside to avoid having her head taken off by an enormous mallet, which flew past in a blur, mere centimeters from her nose.

"DIE!"

Unfortunately, the mallet was dead on target with Genma's. Kenshin watched as the mallet slammed directly into Genma's face, carrying his considerable girth off the ground and into the koi pond in that one blow.

"YOU TOO, BIMBO!" Ayame screamed, as she twirled about and attempted to hammer the redhead into the ground, pounding away with reckless abandonment against the…

"Huh?" Ayame sweatdropped, as she stopped pounding away at her mother's rose bed. *Oh god, oh god, oh god, mom's gonna kill me, what am I gonna d--*

"Um, excuse me, miss?"

Ayame's head snapped up, as she followed the voice towards the roof, where the bimbo sat, perched lightly on the weathervane. The bimbo had a perplexed look on her face as she stared down at the mauled flower bed, her mouth quirking into something of a grimace as Ayame slowly grew impatient.

"WHAT!?" Ayame screamed, as she waved her mallet about wildly over her head.

"You missed a spot," Kenshin replied with a grin.

*I am so gonna ring that scrawny little…* "SHUT THE HELL UP, SMART-ASS!" Ayame screamed, slamming the mallet against the house several times, shaking it slightly with each blow. "NOW, GET… DOWN… HERE!" She punctuated each word with an earth-shaking swing of the mallet against the house wall, which was quickly crumbling under the heavy abuse.

The bimbo seemed to consider the demand for a moment, before smiling brightly and shaking her head. "No. Why don't you come up here?" she replied in a sing-songy voice, smiling cutely as she hopped off the weathervane to sit on the red roof tiles. "Okay?"

Ayame ground her teeth together, as her grip on the mallet tightened, the handle cracking a bit under the strain. *Damn aapaa…* "I SAID," she began again, this time winding up a bit as she took aim at the wall, "GET DOWN HERE!"

"Oro??" was all Kenshin got out, before the house collapsed beneath her…

… A rather soggy and bruised Genma crawled out of the koi pond, gingerly nursing a rather crooked nose as he looked about for the two redheaded hooligans.

"GET DOWN HERE!"

Genma's jaw dropped, as he watched a section of his house crumble to pieces, and promptly fainted.

Ayame smiled brightly, leaning slightly against her mallet, as she surveyed the rubble which had once been the main furo. *All in a day's work,* she thought brightly, as she tucked the mallet back into her gi, the massive weapon seemingly fitting comfortably within the shirt.

"Ouchie…"

Ayame watched the bimbo crawl out from beneath the wreckage, her grin widening as she noticed that the bimbo was looking rather worked over. *Guess I showed her who's boss.*

"Serves you right for making a pass at my old man, slut," Ayame chirped happily, as the bimbo slowly got to her feet. Her eyes widened suddenly, as she stared at the male figure standing before her. Granted, he was wearing a bra, but he was undoubtedly male.

Kenshin glanced down at his soaked clothing, frowning as he patted down his chest. "Hot water," the red-haired male muttered, as pale green flames slowly began to flicker about his body.

Ayame gulped nervously, as waves of heat rolled over her body, and numbly let her mallet slip from her grip. "W-who are you?" she asked, her voice shaking uncontrollably as the strange man glanced up at her, surprise plain on his face.

"Ah, damn it," Kenshin cursed under his breath, as he glanced up at the red-haired girl, who was watching him with a bit of curiosity and… fear? Crouching low, he let the flames condense about his taunt frame, red hair flaring behind him slightly, as a he flashed a cocky grin. "Don't blink…"

"Wha--?" was all Ayame got out, before everything went black…>>>

"… And well, I… uh," Kenshin mumbled, scratching the back of her head nervously as Genma continued to stare at the body-shaped hole in the wall.

"I think I hit her a bit too hard…"

~~~~~ Interlude ~~~~~

The guard slowly fell to his knees, clutching his right arm in pain, as blood started to bleed into the sleeve, turning it a dark crimson colour. He began to tremble slightly in fear as he watched the assassin approach his fallen comrade, sword dripping blood as it slowly arched back for one swift blow. He quickly averted his gaze, face white as a spray of blood splattered against his jacket, turning it an even deeper red, almost purple colour.

"Please don't kill me," the guard began murmuring, as he slowly curled into a small ball, wrapping his arms about his knees as he awaited his fate. "Please don't kill m--"

The guard trailed off, as he felt cold steel gently press against his neck. "Take off your clothes," a voice whispered into his ear, as the steel blade pressed harder against the guard's skin, breaking the skin and drawing a thin line of blood. The guard barely tilted his head, as he slowly began removing his overcoat.

*…I'm alive,* the guard thought numbly, as he stumbled through the bloody streets, occasionally tripping over one of his fallen comrades' bodies. The guard shivered slightly, as a cool night's breeze blew through the area, carrying with it the smell of sulfur and the dead.

The guard paused, as he noticed a few of his comrades stumbling along the opposite side of the street, a few limping badly, others being carried along. He smiled brightly, as he waved at the ragtag group, shivering again as he tugged at the assassin's tight hakama.

The group paused, as they noticed their lost comrade, who was crying tears of joy by now, his smile ever widening. *I can't believe I made it, I can't bel--*

"IT'S HIM! FIRE AT WILL!" one of the guards yelled, as he noticed the assassin stumble into view, mockingly waving at the group as he flashed them his chilling smile. "FIRE, FIRE!!!"

Time seemed to slow for the guard, his smile falling as he watched his comrades level their rifles, taking aim at him. He suddenly looked down at his clothing, his eyes wide in horror, as he finally realized why the assassin--

"NO!" the guard screamed as the first shots were fired. The guard fell to his knees, mouth wide open in surprise, as a volley of bullets tore through his body.

The assassin carefully watched the scene from atop a nearby rooftop, sighing as the guard was riddled with bullets. *My best hakama,* the assassin thought with a frown as he quickly slipped back into the shadows, adjusting his guard's uniform slightly as he sheathed his katana.

To be continued.

Author's notes: This was a sort of filler chapter. I put it here to explain why Kenshin's a girl, and, uh…. Well, writer's block is really killing me right now, so I couldn't really think of anything else to add to this chapter. Oh well, I promise chapter four will be much more clarifying, and, might I add, a lot longer. My pre-reader (baka-koneko…) pointed out that my 'chapters' were only seven or so KBs long. Gomen, I'll try harder to make it longer. Ja!

Webmaster: Larry F
Last revision: May 21, 2007