{Two unlikely people start up a repossession service in the greater Tokyo area...}

Warning: To get this story started, I had to make one of the major characters out of character. Of course, the two major characters stray FAR from their usual personalities anyway, so maybe it was a bit redundant mentioning that. On with the show!

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Ranma ½

A Fusion Fic with Getbackers.

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ is owned by Rumiko Takahashi. I have no claim on the series whatsoever, but if I did, Rumiko-san owes me a lot of money ^__^

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Chap 1- Escape from Nerima!

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"Shampoo!"

The young Chinese Amazon, now a beautiful 17 years old girl, stood meekly before her Great Grandmother. She tried to mask her distress with a stoic face, but her trembling lip, and sad eyes made it a worthless effort. Her great grandmother Cologne stood before her with a spiteful look creasing her aged features. The pointed tip of her gnarled staff was pressed against her granddaughter's throat, and Shampoo tried not to wince.

"You have shamed the Amazon name," Seethed the old woman, "Not only have your actions shamed the Amazon name, but now your chances of claiming Son- in-law as your rightful husband have been dashed like ashes in the wind."

Shampoo cowed under her Grandmother's biting words, and lowered her head. "I sorry great-grandmother. Shampoo made a mistake..."

"A mistake?" Scoffed Cologne "A mistake is repairable. What you have done is far graver."

Her dark eyes narrowed, and she whispered angrily, "Not only that, but you have totally wasted a special herb I had been cultivating for the past fifty years for your own gains. That alone is unforgivable."

"But is powerful love spice!" Interrupted Shampoo.

"IT'S NOT FOR PASSION SPICE!!" Yelled Cologne. "It's uses are far exceed that of a mere 'love spice'." She said, scoffing the word like it was a curse. She watched Shampoo tremble, while she kept her head lowered. Cologne gave her grand-daughter a piteous look, a total turnaround from her earlier blazing anger, "I am sorry to say grand-daughter, but your actions are much to impulsive. It is a shame."

Shampoo gazed questioningly at her grandmother. Inside though, she felt her heart twist and squeeze itself of its own life. Cologne had only used that look a few times before. Those times were when she had to kill her prized horse because it had become feeble, and when she had to exile her own husband because he had broken the laws of the male Amazon code.

She tentatively stretched a hand toward Cologne. "Great grandmother..."

Cologne looked at her with a hard stone look. "Your attitude and impulsiveness are not becoming of a future leader of the tribe," Coldly stated Cologne, "That characteristic of yours will surely hurt rather than help it, much like the exiled leader Mao Shin Rai from one hundred years ago."

Shampoo choked back her tears. To be compared with the dictator of the Amazon's that stained it's history was a great shame in itself. But Cologne didn't stop there, and continued with her poisonous tirade.

"It is because of this, Shampoo, that I must exile you."

Shampoo sadly gazed down at her great grandmother, "You no mean that..."

"Yes I do." Cologne stated morosely.

Tears streaked Shampoo's face, but she tried to hide it by quickly turning around. As Shampoo buried her face in her hands, she felt a wrinkled hand place itself warmly on her shoulder. Shampoo kept her face hidden from view, as she weeped quietly to herself. A brief silence descended upon the two, then Cologne leaned in close, and whispered to her, "Do not worry Shampoo."

Shampoo's tears slowly ebbed away as she listened, "Your exile will only be a temporary thing, until you realize what you have done wrong."

Shampoo turned tearfully toward Cologne, "But Shampoo does understand!"

Cologne sadly shook her head. "No I don't think you do. How long will it be before you fall back into that vicious cycle."

Shampoo stared at Cologne as she lectured her. "One of the virtues of Confucionism is to reflect on your life. Do that Shampoo, and when you attain your enlightenment, then come back to me. Because I will surely miss you if you don't come back."

Shampoo smiled at her grandmother sadly, "You no want me to go?"

Then, Cologne finally gave her a genuine smile, "Who would want their own grand-daughter to leave? But this life here in Nerima is poison for you. Leave, and find your own path in life, and realize the greater things you are capable of."

A beautiful but sad smile crept onto Shampoo's face as she nodded, "Shampoo understands great grandmother."

"Good. Now go now before Mousse comes back, for he will surely chase after you, and I want you to find yourself a new life."

Shampoo chuckled jovially, "Of course Great grandmother."

She made her way toward the staircase, then stopped and turned around, "But can you tell Mousse, that Shampoo will miss him?"

Cologne gave her an incredulous look, "But that will only make him go out to look for you."

"True," giggled Shampoo, "But Shampoo would be lying if she say she wouldn't miss Mousse. Plus, it wouldn't be right if Shampoo didn't say goodbye to him..."

Cologne gave her a wan smile. "It looks like you are already on the path to learning."

Shampoo smiled back at her, then bounded up the stairs.

As soon as Shampoo disappeared, Cologne turned toward the Neko-haten's doorway, and sighed. "This is for the best."

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It was late at night, but that didn't mean Dr. Ono Tofu had to close his office. He kept it open late into the midnight hour daily, mainly because of his location. It was especially important that he kept his clinic open, considering that this was the Nerima ward. So many weird things happened during the night hours. Like, for example, the repeated cases of high voltage shock victims that occasionally came by, or the monster attack victims that he treated this late at night. Sometimes, there were those incidents when these three particular people would come in because of alcohol poisoning. Then there was Ranma's gang of friends.

These instances made his work interesting, and it brought in a good amount of income. Unfortunately, it meant that he couldn't leave his office as regularly as he used to. And that meant he couldn't see Kasumi as much anymore. That left him a little melancholy.

The sound of the door opening pulled his attention away from his musings. Collecting himself, he went out of his office, and moved toward the reception area.

"Good Evening. How may I help...oh my." He paused in midstep, and looked at the other occupant of the room with surprise. There, on the other side of the room, stood Ryoga Hibiki, bruised and battered, with blood running down his face.

"G-Good Evening," Whispered Ryoga in a hoarse voice. As soon as the words left his lips, his body leaned forward as if he was going to topple over. Ono Tofu rushed across the room and caught Ryoga before he hit the floor.

"Ryoga," He queried as he supported the young man in his hold. Ryoga managed a smirk and looked at the doctor. "Heh, thanks. But you don't have to worry, I think I can walk to the examination room."

Tofu gave him a serious look. "You probably can, but I wouldn't advise it."

Ryoga looked back with a level gaze, then nodded slowly, "OK, I understand."

Tofu gave him an approving smile, then led him to the back room.

As they walked toward the examination room, Tofu curious as to Ryoga's present condition, asked in jest, "So, I take it you had an eventful visit to the Tendo's?"

Suddenly, Ryoga seemed as if his body had become a boneless heap, and Tofu had to struggle under the weight to keep him standing. "Ryoga, what's wrong?"

Ryoga answered with a bitter chuckle. When he looked up, Tofu was shocked to see the total emptiness in his eyes. "You don't have any idea." He stated solemnly.

"What happened?" Whatever it was, Tofu knew it was worse than Ranma just smacking him into a wall.

An expression of sad contemplation descended onto Ryoga's features, and the room fell into a heavy silence. Then, in voice laced with a depression deeper than a ravine, Ryoga said, "She knows."

Tofu stared at him, already knowing the brevity of those words. "How did it happen?"

Ryoga took a deep breath, then told the story as if he was looking at it from far away, "It happened sometime in the late afternoon. I had just come from some mountain from somewhere, I don't know where. Unsurprisingly. But anyway, I was training my body to defeat Ranma once more. Maybe it was an exercise in futility...he did beat a god afterall. But I guess that was part of why I wanted to fight him again...or maybe it was because Akari herself told me it would be impossible to beat Ranma, which she said to me after I told her my ountlandish story of my trip to Phoenix Mountain. Whatever it was, I still wanted to beat him."

He paused in his story as Tofu settled him onto one of the examination tables. The doctor nodded at him to continue as he checked his body for any serious injuries. Ryoga took another breath, then continued, "So, a few hours ago, I made my way to the Tendo Dojo. Later I had heard that Shampoo was there earlier, and they got into another 'passion spice' episode. I heard Shampoo can't visit them anymore, heh. Well anyway, I didn't know this at the time. The only thing on my mind was defeating Ranma. So, with my usual borish yell, pun intended, I jumped over the Tendo wall, and yelled 'Today you Die, Ranma Saotome!' as I was wont to do, and unsurprisingly, he was there as if he was waiting for me."

He paused and gave Tofu a somber look, "It wasn't like usual though. I guess he was fed up with all the crap he had to deal with, me included." Ryoga gazed at the ground, and continued his story in a soft tone. "Before I touched the ground, Ranma had swung his leg out, and kicked me in the side of the head. The force dazed me slightly, and I didn't know he had aimed me toward the pool, until I saw the suns rays reflecting off the shimmering water. Akane chose that moment to come out, and then I knew it was too late for me."

The doctor had stopped examining his body a while ago, so Ryoga leaned back on his hands, "I kinda gave up on Akane long before. I still loved her, and wanted her to stay a friend, but now I know such a thing is impossible. She saw my transformation, and she knows. Dammit, she knows!"

Tofu sighed, and pushed up his glasses, "That's terrible Ryoga. But you reap what you sow, as the old proverb goes."

Ryoga laughed a laugh that was partially bitter and partially in amusement. "Yeah! It's true. I always believed everything in my life was due to fate or Ranma. Both my cruses are a product of both, but now I can truly say I brought this down on myself, as the saying goes." He said smirking at the doctor.

Tofu smiled, and pushed up his glasses, "So, what are you going to do? Apologize to Akane?"

Ryoga sighed, and rested on the examination table, "Well first I'm going to rest here and wait until morning. Umm...I hope you won't mind..." He said gaving the doctor a pleading look.

"I was going to advise it anyway," laughed the professor.

Ryoga smiled back. "Thanks. After that, I think I'll be leaving Nerima, and I don't think I will be back for a long time."

Tofu studied the young man before him, "Are you sure about that?" He asked.

Ryoga folded his hands in front of his face, and covered his mouth, "Yeah, I think I am."

Tofu thought back on some of the stories her had heard about the Nerima gang, and remembered Ryoga had a girlfriend...what was her name...ah, "So," Asked Tofu, "I take it you'll be staying with Akari then?"

Ryoga blinked, then chuckled, "I don't think that's possible." Answering Tofu's questioning look, he replied, "She went to NY last month."

"In America? What for?"

"Simply put, she has family there. A few months ago her grandfather passed away, leaving her to fend for herself. I tried to stay with her as much as I could, but because of my damned sense of direction, she was by herself most of the time. Her aunt and uncle heard the news about her grandfather, and offered to let her stay with them. She refused, of course, but she said she would visit just to see how they were doing. She tried to convince me to come with her, but I declined, saying someone had to watch out for those crazy kids Ranma and Akane. So she left, and left the care of her farm to some neighboring pig farmers, because she knew I couldn't be there all the time to take care of them. I sent her letters frequently, but I never got replies, mostly because I can't find my mailbox. I would love to go over to America now and stay with her, but I don't think I want to leave Japan." He paused to give Tofu a surly look, "I guess I'm stuck being the lonely boyfriend who waits for his love to return huh?"

"So what are you going to do, now?"

"Leave Nerima," Ryoga told the doctor in a hard voice, "And find a purpose in my life. Now that I'm leaving Ranma and Akane to their own mercies, I have to find something else for me to do."

Tofu sighed, then stood up, brushing his hands on his coat, "Then that is your decision." He gave Ryoga a warm smile, then added, "Just make sure when you go out into the world, you only make the right decisions."

Ryoga smiled back at the doctor, "Sure."

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It was five 'o' clock in the morning, much to early for any sane people to be up and about. Even Ranma, who woke up early to train with his father, didn't wake up THIS early. But there were people who were up and about. This wasn't to say that they were less than sane, but some would debate that. Their main reasons for being up this early were surprisingly similar. Maybe it was fate who decided that, because they were about to walk the same path, that these two should run into eachother. If fate did indeed play a part in their meeting, the male half of the pair would give 'fate' a withering glare, while the female part would just look at 'fate' confused.

But such was fate.

Ryoga Hibiki stood on one side of the intersection that lead out of the Nerima ward. On the other side stood Shampoo, who was looking at him curiously.

"Eh? What buta-otoko doing up this early in the morning?"

Ryoga scratched his nose as he met Shampoo's gaze, "Hmph. I could ask you the same thing kaneko."

She shrugged. "Whatever Shampoo does is no concern of pig-boy."

"I have a name you know." He growled dangerously under his breath.

"Shampoo know." She stated arrogantly, "Name is Ryoga Hibiki. But again, this is no concern of Shampoo."

Ryoga smirked, "OK kaneko, I guess I can live with it, kaneko."

"Shampoo is not called kaneko!" Yelled Shampoo.

Ryoga chuckeled darkly. "Oh, but I guess your name is not my concern, eh?" He said mimicking Shampoo.

Shampoo frowned at him, then whipped her head away from the eternal lost boy. Ryoga studied her for a second, then turned toward the road that would send him away from Ranma and all the craziness that followed him. Including this crazy Amazon chick.

"Hey, where Ryoga going?" She asked.

Ryoga ignored her and continued on his trek down the empty sidewalk. Shampoo stared at him, and tapped her chin as if she was considering something. Then she rushed out after him, and ended up walking in step beside him.

"Hey you no answer Shampoo's question."

Ryoga stopped walking, and turned toward her. She was surprised to see that he looked a little more unhappy than usual.

"I...Need to get away from Nerima for a while." He told her morosely.

Shampoo smiled sadly at Ryoga in understanding, "Oh? Shampoo does too, get away from Nerima that is."

A smirk crossed Ryoga's features, "Yeah, I heard about how you got Ranma and Akane caught up in another 'passion spice' incident."

When he turned to look at Shampoo, he dropped his smirk. She was staring at the ground, causing her long hair to cover her face. But he could still see her eyes, and the sadness that emmanated from them.

"Sorry," Said Ryoga apologetically.

Shampoo shook her head furiously, then looked up with a bright smile masking her face, "Is OK. Shampoo understand what she did wrong, so she go out and reflect on it now!"

"Well, it looks like we both have a lot to reflect on."

Shampoo smiled at him sadly, "You went to the Tendo House?"

"Yeah," moaned Ryoga.

"Shampoo sorry then."

"What for?"

Shampoo stared at the road ahead of her as they walked into the neighboring prefecture, "Shampoo knew about Akane knowing your transformation. Most of Nerima knew Akane knows."

"How..."Dazedly asked Ryoga.

"Mercenary girl had transformation on tape. Akane found it. Beat up Ranma to explain it. Got explanation, then went to hunt you for blood."

Ryoga paled, which Shampoo noticed, "No worry. Ranma was able to calm her down, so Shampoo no think she'll be angry with you for long."

Ryoga sighed. Now he knew he couldn't come back. He sadly stared up at the rising sun, "Hmm...It looks nice..."

Shampoo looked to where he was staring and smiled, "Yes. Reminds Shampoo of home, except without all the buildings, of course."

Shampoo took a breath of the fresh morning air, then strided forward, "Let's go."

Ryoga stared at her retreating form, "Eh? Who said I was going with you?"

Shampoo looked back at him coyly, "Travel is a lonely path. Maybe it best we go together, yes?"

Ryoga considered her proposition, tilting his head in contemplation, "Hmmm...Well, it'll be different traveling with someone. But what the heck, do what you want."

Shampoo smiled, then continued her walk toward the rising sun. "So where Ryoga going?" She asked.

"Eh, I think I might stop by Sibuya. They have a train there..." He said walking off toward Shibuya.

"Isn't Shibuya in that direction?"

------[tbc]----

Author's note: I proofread the story and made some changes. If anyone has any suggestions for improvement, I'm all ears.

BTW: Thanks for reading ^_^