Akane Tendou was not someone to mess with. True she had the looks, the body and everything anyone guy could ever ask for…but she was a Martial Artist which made her dangerous. But deep inside her was also a very sweet girl. That part will not be seen for awhile though.
"You JERK ...What the hell were you trying to do? Didn't you know nobody messes with me? ", Akane shouted
"Ahh…clearly I didn't notice. I thought you were in a good mood today Akane my love", said Kuno
"Good mood or not just remember one thing I'll never date you Kuno NEVER. So don't even dream about it", Akane fumed and with that she stomped away, shoving her shoulder length hair behind her ear.
Argh, she hated them .Always stalking her wherever she went…when will they ever learn. She was on her way to the Airport to receive some stupid friend of her fathers and then suddenly out of nowhere Kuno pops up. He was right to say that she was in a good mood. But that was in the past before she saw his face.
She didn't behave like this usually, it was only with Kuno.He has been her Stalker since god knows when. She remembered it was when he first met her in the College. He was invited for a function along with his father as the chief guest. His father was well behaved alright but not Kuno. Oh no, he couldn't resist mingling with the students and that's how he had found her. She was minding her own business talking with her friends and all of a sudden Kuno comes up to her and starts to recite love songs. That was about three years back. Now, she was 24 and had steady job as a Lawyer.
She had reached the Airport. Now all she had to do was look out for a certain Mr. Ranma Soutome. No problem , she would recognize him she thought as she held up a board with his name written on it- lets see he is dads friend so he must be old with white hair or maybe no hair at all and a huge belly and … ……..
"Hello, are you here to pick me up?" came a voice from behind her. She turned around and her eyes met a young mans who looked about 27. He was attractive and had a nice messy black hair.
"Are you Mr. Ranma Soutome?" she asked confused that this man certainly didn't match the old man in her thoughts.
"Yes, I am"
"Then I am here to pick you up" stating the obvious. "Shall we"
"You are?" he asked as they walked towards the entrance.
"Sorry, I didn't introduce myself. I am Akane Tendou, the third daughter of Soun Tendou. How do you know my father?" she asked.
"Actually I don't personally know him. It's my father who's his friend. I've been invited to stay at your place during my visit here as it's going to take quite a long time." he replied.
"I see. Are you here on business? What do you do?"
"Your right. I am actually an Archeologist."
"Wow, found some fossil here?"
"Sort of. How about you? What do you do?"
"I am a lawyer"
"I'll never mess with you then"
"It would be nice if everyone saw it your way"
"What do you me…?" Ranma's question had been answered. At that very moment Kuno had come out of nowhere.
"Akane sweetie what are you doing with another man? Why are you cheating on me?"
"Oh PLEASE! We aren't even dating. If I have a choice between a skunk and you. I would definitely choose the skunk. "
Ranma had been watching all this with extreme amusement. This girl sure can be angry and grumpy when she wanted to. He was glad that he was not this Kuno person at the moment. He could feel the heat and anger that radiated from her.
"……I will go out with any man I like ...Who are you to tell me what to do, huh? Even my father wouldn't dare…"
"Leave her now or do you want me to beat you up?" Ranma suddenly spoke up.
With that Kuno just grunted something about taking care of him later and left.
"You shouldn't have done that. I was perfectly capable of handling the situation"
"I don't think so. So how many people do this to you?"
"It's only Kuno who stalks me. The others are not so obsessed"
They made their way back home and as soon as they reached home Akane shouted
"We're home. Kasumi, can you bring some thing to eat for Mr.Soutome?"As Kasumi came out of the kitchen.
"Sure thing .Hello Mr.Soutome I am Kasumi Tendou, the 1st daughter."
The rest of the family walked out of the hall to meet the new guest and introduced themselves.Ranma was shown his room by Kasumi and was told to come down to eat dinner.Ranma had loved the dinner and started looking forward to the meal times. That was one of the main highlights in the Tendou house, that and Akane. He had taken an interest in the girl as she reminded him of Megumi. Though he still couldn't forget her. But he had known that his stay here would put everyone around him in danger.
Akane was pretty amused by Ranma's work. She had always had a liking for antiques and fossils. Ranma left home before everyone woke up and returned only after everyone went to bed. He would get very jumpy if anyone tapped him on the back or called his name. Recently he had been looking for a new apartment to move to. He also seemed worn out and stressed. This really confused Akane. Maybe this man was doing something illegal. But he didn't seem the kind to go against the law that to staying in the same house as a Lawyer…
She didn't know that her questions will be answered soon…..
Akane thanked God that the day was finally over and she could return home. There had been a really irritating man who had been begging her to take up his case. She had refused and was glad that she got rid of him when Mr. Lover boy (Kuno) came to torture her. Then she had been called by the head about some new case she was to work on. That reminded her that she still had to work on that case. She just knew that she was going to win it. She returned home and went directly into the kitchen, took some thing to eat and went straight to bed. On her way to her room she was surprised to see that Ranma had already returned home.
"Now that's a surprise. Your home this early?" she asked.
He looked at her awkwardly and just smiled. "How was your day, Akane?"
"Don't remind me about it. I am going to bed early today good night."
With that she left and walked to her room. Weird it was almost as if Ranma was hiding something. She just brushed the thought away and went to sleep.
Want was the time now? Some noises were coming from outside. Who would t be now? This late at night too. Akane checked her clock. 2:55. She couldn't go back to sleep. She got out of bed and walked towards the source of noise. It was coming from Ranma's room. Maybe the guy had got some woman to sleep with. No, that didn't sound like a woman's voice; it was a man's voice. What was Ranma doing this late at night with another man? Curiosity made Akane listen through the door.
"You know that that's not possible Ranma" said the stranger.
"It's worth a try. Besides I don't think we have much of a choice. We'll have to kill him
Anyways, we are leaving tomorrow early in the morning after I tell the Tendous that my work here is done."Ranma replied.
Akane couldn't believe want she was hearing. She had trusted Ranma and this is how he repays her family. He was a murderer. She was going to end it once and for all. She could handle two men with her fighting skills and can also file a case against them no problem. Akane prepared to give them a surprise.
"Ok then I'll talk to you later and soon we will accomplish our plan" the stranger said.
"Not so fast" Akane shouted.
"Akane?" Ranma said astonished.
"So you have been plotting behind my back all this time, you murderer. I can't believe I trusted you I should have followed my instincts"
"You have misunderstood. I was not……"but Ranma was cut off.
"I think I have heard enough and its clear that you a….. Mhpmnn..." Akane was caught off guard by the other man. She hadn't known that he was a Martial Artist and so was RANMA? She had tried to kick Ranma with her legs as they were free and he had dodged it very easily.
"You are a Martial Artist?" she asked looking at Ranma in disbelief.
"What else don't I know about you?"
"Hear me out! Please Akane. Give me one chance to explain."
"Ranma can we trust this woman? You know that if she find out she'll be in danger as well." The stranger spoke suddenly.
"Well if we don't tell her then she'll file a case against us. She is a Lawyer too and you the last thing we want is publicity. That'll only cause more mayhem."
"Ok then missy stay put if you don't want to get killed" the stranger barked while Ranma made sure that all the doors and windows were sound proof.
"Akane first I want to introduce you to Ryoga Hibiki.He works with me." Ranma said indicating to the stranger.
"Hello …Akane right?" Ryoga said grinning.
"Err….Um… Hi" Akane muttered not exactly sure about how to greet someone who had just attacked her.
"Ok then. That's done. Akane I want you to promise me that what I tell you in this room stays in this room. This secret is highly confidential and don't want anyone to know about it, not a single soul. I am telling this to you because you have already heard some things and I trust that you will not act against us when you find out."
All this time all Akane could do was gape at Ranma. So he and this Ryoga guy were up to no good and now she was caught in it. How stupid could she get? Why had she felt that she could handle two men own her own. She felt like a total ditz.
"You know you asked me whether I had found some fossil here the first day we met." Ranma asked.
"Uh Huh. What about that?" Akane asked confused how this was related to killing someone.
"A man named Hiro is the one who accidentally found them. At least that's the name he goes under. We don't know his true identity and he always makes his cronies do the dirty work for him. He had hired us to find out something about the fossil."Ranma said.
"Then we made a great discovery about the fossil."Ryoga continued.
"What about it?" asked Akane, excited.
"We're coming to that! Have patience. So this discovery we made was only two days back. We told Hiro's messenger about it. After that we were threatened not to tell anyone about it. We know that we are going to be killed in a few days time." Ranma said.
"So we decided that we'll hunt this Hiro down and kill him before he misuses the fossil. That was what we were talking about when you barged in."Ryoga said.
"Is this fossil that important? What is it anyway?" Akane asked not having a good feeling about it.
"Yes it is very useful to mankind. It is the answer to how life began on Earth and it is an excellent fuel too. It can produce energy equitant to the nuclear reaction that caused Hiroshima and Nagasaki devastation."Ranma said.
"Then maybe this Hiro guy is going to use it for a good purpose. How…."Akane started.
"Ah! That's what we thought until he attempted to kill us tonight and his sidekick accidentally let slip that he was going to be using it against all the people. Imagine the number of people who will die if we don't do some thing about this."Ranma said.
"Oh….my…God….So that's why you've been…? How can I trust you? Show me proof that your telling the truth." Akane said still looking dazed.
"I knew you would ask. Can't blame you. You are a Lawyer after all. Here's the proof."Ranma said giving Akane a small smile. He handed her a few documents and a sample of the fossil.
"All this true then?"Akane asked carefully studying the file with big eyes. She still found it hard to believe. "That means you and my family are all in danger!" She exclaimed.
"I will have to leave tomorrow and luckily Hiro doesn't know where I stay."Ranma said.
"But you two are still in danger"Akane said. It was already six in the morning. That meant the other will be awake by now. Ranma's cell suddenly started to ring.
"Hello" Ranma said. He didn't know whom to expect this early.
"…….." Ranma didn't know what to answer and just clicked the phone off.
"Akane, you said two of us are in trouble, make it three. You will have to come with us"Ranma said looking very serious.
"WHAT?"Akane