Lagoon Company, Meet Ranma

By:

SovetskyCapitalist

Disclaimer: I don't own nothin' and it'll probably stay that way for a loooong time

Guide:

/Sound or action/

"Talking" predominantly English

'Thinking'

-"Other Language"-

Chapter 1: A New Shipmate

/Ring/

/Ring/

Rock groaned, throwing a pillow over his head in hopes of making the infernal noise go away. Sadly, It barely muffled the phone as it continued to merrily ring completely ignorant of the of the disgruntled man it had awoken. After a few more rings, the former businessman reached over and yanked the phone to his ear.

"Uhn...Hello?"

"Hey Rock. Be at the office at ten, we got business." replied the deep baritone of Lagoon Company's captain, a man less formally known as Dutch.

"Alright, I'll be there." Rock muttered in return, before stumbling out of his bed. Parting his curtains, the Japanese man let the streaming sunlight of Roanapur into his small room and reveled in its simple beauty. The city always had a new face for him, be it an ugly cesspool or a stunning daybreak, and frankly, he wouldn't have it any other way. Pants already on, he pulled a clean white business shirt on and tied his tie. Briefly, he had debated wearing the -in his humble opinion- hideous Hawaiian shirt that Revy had gotten for him when he first joined the company, but decided that the psychopathic young woman's "I told ya so"s weren't worth it. Now done dressing, he lit up a cigarette as he stepped out the door and set off to see what crazy adventure Dutch had gotten him into this time


The office of the Lagoon Company was a rather comfortable place. Located on the waterfront, directly above the dock which housed their ship, it was also in rather close proximity to all the important locations of the city. Namely, the Yellow Flag and... well the bar was about it, but it was still a nice place nonetheless. It also posed as a combined meeting hall/hangout for the company's members, and in the event that some business was going to happen it was here that the four 'transporters' met. Today was no exception.

Dutch, Benny, Revy, and Rock. The four were all gathering to what the foremost had arranged as their next order of business. Benny was seated in a chair near the door, alternating between looking questioningly at Dutch and staring at the door. The large African American was leaning against the free wall that had a window facing the ocean looking expressionlessly at a bookshelf while waiting for something. Rock was sitting nervously on the couch, unsure of what to expect in the upcoming moments. Revy...she burst through the door at that moment huffing as if she had just run a marathon.

"You guys will not believe this!" She exclaimed having caught her breath, " Another dojo opened up today and the head guy was offerin' an open challenge to anyone who wanted to try and beat his ass!"

The others looked at her surprised. There had been a large increase in the martial arts training halls, all run by a fairly recent crime syndicate. No one knew where they had come from, just that it was a large conflagration of smaller crime families that had been dabbling in the local crimes. But now, the group was infamous for assassinations. In the few years, if you wanted them dead, no mistakes, you went to them. And boy oh boy were they effective. So much so, that it was even rumored that government agencies went to them in order to get their assassins. Unfortunately for the rumor mills, the group was an impenetrable fortress when it came to information. Next to nothing was known about them with exception of what they told you. And that was simply that they had a change of leadership at their start, from an ironfisted loon to a young man with some big ideas. It became assumed that it was because of this new kid on the block that the group had lately become involved in the local martial arts business, yet no conformation or denial came from the group regarding this. Hardly surprising. Nonetheless, the Shinigami name had become renowned enough that it was known to any resident of Roanapur.

"Yeah! And you won't believe who stepped to accept!" continued Revy in rather obvious excitement.

"Who?" asked Benny, intrigued by the latest Shinigami stunt.

"The glasses wearing bitch!" she exclaimed causing the other three members to look at her in surprise.

"Roberta, really?" questioned Rock giving her a shocked look

"Uh huh." Revy replied with a nod.

"So what happened? How bad was the guy hurt?" came the concerned question from Benny, who naturally worried for the health of anyone who had to face an individual who could run down his car while he was putting the pedal to the metal in an attempt to escape them.

"She got her ass kicked from her to Japan." stated Revy, obviously showing that she still had problems believing it.

Jaws dropped around the room. Everyone remembered the incident with the Lovelace family 'maid', and to hear that the unstoppable juggernaut that they perceived her to be was beaten easily. It seemed frankly impossible. Even the unflappable Dutch had his sunglasses askew, and muttered something that sounded a lot like, "...so that's where the kid is from." under his breath.

Shaking his head slightly and placing his sunglasses back to their proper positions, Dutch turned back to the group and spoke.

"Well then, back to business. We have a new member joining us today."

Once again the room was in shock. Revy was the first to come to her senses and shouted, "What! We already got this useless guy, what do we need another one for?" pointing at Rock.

"Hey!" exclaimed the man in question indignantly.

Benny just rolled his eyes at their antics and turned to Dutch.

"So just who is this new guy you decided hire?" asked the tech expert.

Dutch paused for a moment, as if considering Benny's question, before responding, "I don't know, I've never met him."

"What do you mean, you haven't met him?" growled out Revy.

"Well I talked to him on the phone, and he had a damn nice resume. So I hired him." intoned Dutch as he walked to another open chair and plopped himself down. "Besides I told him to come today" the man said before glancing at the clock and continuing. "He'll be here soon anyway, you can all judge him then."

The others grumbled a bit at the surprise, but figured that it would be easier to decide what to do when this new guy showed up. Even Rock wasn't sure about the whole situation. To him, another person meant only two things. They are either splitting the cash more or taking better paying, and thereby more dangerous or difficult, jobs. Neither option appealed to him. But the only chance he had at avoiding this was after the guy showed up. Similar thoughts had floated around all but Dutch's minds.

After several minutes of brooding there came a sharp rap on the door. Immediately everyone in the room leaped to their feet and stared at the door, with the exception of Dutch. He merely shook his head at the others actions and calmly walked to the door. Casually opening it revealed a handsome young man with humor filled blue eyes and a ponytail dressed in a cobalt, silk chinese shirt and long silk pants tied off at the ankles. The look was completed with a pair of Kung Fu slippers that adorned his feet. After he entered, he took a quick look around before introducing himself.

"Hey there, I'm Ranma. Nice ta meet all of ya!"

Dutch looked at the newest addition before inviting him to come in. Silence reigned inside the office as everyone stared at the young man who entered and stood looking lost in the center of the room. Benny, deciding to be at least a little friendly, asked him, "So, umm tell us about yourself Ranma."

The young man in question turned to the questioner, slightly relieved at an end to the awkward silence that had permeated the room and answered, "Well like I said, name's Ranma. Umm, I'm an amnesiac who woke up in this shit hole city 'bout ten years ago, I knew was my name and that I'm from japan originally. I'm a bit of a gear head and I like eatin' and I'm a martial artist who's been practicin' for..." Ranma stopped when he suddenly noticed Revy in the room. "Hey I know you! You were at the demonstration at Hiashi's place!" he exclaimed.

The others looked at said individual and it was revealed why she had been so quiet since Ranma had entered. Her mouth was opening and closing while she stared at him. Sputtering after snapping out of her daze, she suddenly yelped out, "YOU!" while pointing at Ranma, "You were the guy at that new martial arts place!" He just nodded, thinking that this fact had already been understood. "You beat the crap outta that crazy Colombian bitch!" this caused Ranma to pause for a moment before he realized who she had been referring to before responding, "Roberta? Yeah, she was pretty good." putting his index finger to his lips and looking to the ceiling and continuing, "Much better than the other crappy fighters I've seen so far!"

Deciding to clarify things for himself, Rock stuttered out, "So you were the one who beat the stuffing out of Roberta?" at Ranma's nod he immediately rethought his opinion on the decision to hire this Ranma guy. If anything, he could be useful in a fight, something that tended to happen often with the Lagoon Company.

Taking hold of the conversation once more, Dutch introduced the rest of the company. He began by pointing to himself.

"Alright Ranma, I'm Dutch. We talked earlier." at Ranma's nod the man continued, "The guy with the glasses is Benny, our tech expert." Said 'guy' smiled and shook hands with Ranma.

"On the couch staring at you is Rock, accountant and apparently negotiator extrordinaire." Rock shook himself quickly before jumpily standing up and shaking Ranma's hand as well.

"Your new fangirl leaning against the wall over there is Revy." concluded the tall African American with a slight smile at the young woman's indignant squawk. Recovering quickly, Revy gave a two fingered salute and looked seemingly disinterested at the ceiling though shooting a casual glance at Ranma every once in a while.

"Alright now there's another reason why I called all of you today." stated Dutch after Ranma's smile and nod in acknowledgment to Revy's greeting. At everybody's questioning look he continued.

"The Shinigami Group needs us to transport some stuff to Japan for them. After that we need to go visit some old guy named Yusuke Kagura to get the second half of the job." replied the Black Lagoon's captain before cutting off Revy, who had opened her mouth to ask a question, "And yes we're gonna be paid big for this one. So we better get going."

Having finished his piece, Dutch turned and talked out the door that led too the docks. As he was leaving, Rock suddenly wondered 'What is this stuff that we are supposed to taking for them?' before shrugging figuring that, whatever it was, he'd find out once he got onto the ship. Halfway down the steps, he noticed Ranma once again looking rather lost. Rock felt a small kinship with him. They both were removed from their homelands and were about the same age. He was about to go talk to Ranma but the newest addition to the group had already walked up to Revy and asked her something. It was apparently something rather obvious, judging by how the gunslinger shook her head before gesturing for Ranma to follow her. Rock shrugged, if they were going to be team mates then he would have plenty of time to talk. At that he hurried a bit to reach the ship so that the others – more specifically Revy- wouldn't gripe about how they had to wait for him before they could go.


Seating on the Black Lagoon took a bit of time to figure out with an extra crew-member, but eventually everyone settled down with Ranma seated in between Rock and Revy in the cabin behind control room. The last of the three had her 'cutlasses' out with a cleaning kit meticulously going over their every nook and cranny. After a few moments of silence, Revy turned to Ranma. "So can ya only use your fists or do ya know how to use one of these huh?" she asked him gesturing with the gun in her right hand.

The martial artist smirked before pulling a massive hand gun out of seemingly nowhere. "This here is Greta." he said, proudly patting the barrel. "She used ta belong to an old German gun collector who had her custom made, converted from a fifty cal. inta a nineteen inch handgun. Unfortunately for him, she kicked way too bad for him ta use. So I offered to buy her offa him." he said, smirking when he saw how Revy was drooling all over herself at the sight of his 'Greta' but put it back to wherever he pulled it from. Staring out at the ocean, he smiled lightly, before turning back to Revy and saying, "Even with my baby, I still prefer my good old two fists." before he raised both in a boxing position, "Cuz, Greta might break or not work when I need her. But these, they haven't failed me yet." He then pulled out a kunai and casually balanced it on a finger.

"These work too though, and the best part is...that they're reusable!" he exclaimed while balancing another kunai on the first. Revy and Rock just stared at the display for a second and then shrugged. They'd seen stranger things. Nonetheless, neither one nor the other was any closer to understanding the enigma that was their new teammate. Both, though Revy to a lesser extent, could only wonder why Ranma stayed in Roanapur or didn't at least try to find his old family. These thoughts were interrupted as the new crew member stood up and walked out onto the deck.


Several days had passed since they left port, and only a few more left before they reached the small village near Tokyo where they would drop off their cargo. 'Then it's off to find the old Kagura guy,' Thought Revy as she walked down the ship's narrow corridors. It had been a surprise to find that their expensive cargo was a bunch of dojo equipment. Sure somethings could be costly, like the practice weapons, but none of it was really contraband. In fact, the stuff probably would have reached the destination far faster by conventional transportation. 'Two Hands' merely shrugged. If they could afford it, then the gun totting femme fatale couldn't care less about what they wanted shipped.

With a sigh she opened a hatch and clambered out onto the deck. With the moonlight shining a silver path across the midnight sea, and the reflections of stars pocket-marking the dark expanse with jovial light it truly was a sight to see. It was Revy's favorite time of the twenty four hours in a day. A time where she could be alone, a time where her memories didn't matter, a time where her past had never occurred. The sound of breathing and light steps shook her out of her revery. Quickly she leaped to her feet, pistols in hand to find...Ranma. There, upon the roof of the cabin, the martial artist was doing a slow and graceful dance of death. Each movement was precise and accurate, as if there was mold that he had fill exactly. The young woman could only watch the kata in awe as Ranma silently practiced an art-form with the grace that very few on this earth could achieve.

"You come up here often?" he asked, startling Revy at the suddenness of the question.

"Yeah, every night..." she replied, still watching as he continued the kata without faltering.

With a final motion, Ranma stopped and turned to Revy. "Hmm, it really is beautiful isn't it?" he said with a grin. She just nodded and looked at the silver trail across the water. A light jump brought him down right beside her as he too looked out at the liquid expanse. Both sat down quietly, neither really wanting to break the peaceful silence of the night. After an hour, it was Revy who curiously asked, "So what was that you were doin'?"

Ranma turned to her a replied, "A kata, or a form. Its basically practicing my art."

"Does it have a name?"

"Shi...or in English, Death."

"Oh..."

Once again both became silent.

"So when did ya join up with the company?" asked Ranma.

"Right from the start. I got outta prison, met Dutch. That guy had a crazy idea for a delivery business. Looks like it worked out. After while we met up with Benny, and voila Lagoon company was officially in business. Then, we took Rock as a hostage for a job we had to do. His company left his ass for dead, asked to join us." she replied, knowing that her answer wasn't quite to his question. Ranma just looked back out at the water.

"So do you really not remember anything of your old life?" Revy inquired.

Ranma chuckled before answering. "Nah, after a while most of it came back ta me." the response caused her looked sharply at him, eyebrow raised, prompting another chuckle out of him.

"I know, I know. Why didn't I go back?" he asked looking back at her. "It's simple really. As hard as it may be ta believe, my old life sucked more in one day than the whole time I spent in Roanapur. An' before ya ask, no life wasn't peachy for me when I woke up and had ta start my life from scratch with only the knowledge of how ta kill you faster than ya can blink and my name, but it was still better."

Revy just stared incredulously at him. "How?" she asked.

"Imagine this. From the moment ya can walk your put through the most dangerous trainin' methods your pops can find, for the sake of a martial artist. This trainin' goes on for 'bout ten years. Then next thing ya know, ya got four known fiancees, rivals crawling out of the woodwork out ta kill ya, and your mom will make ya kill yourself if ya don' prove ta be a 'man amongst men' which is an indecent, perverted, womanizer. Add to it that your pops wants ya to marry his best friend's daughter, with whom ya gotta live. She beats ya every day for thinkin' your cheatin' or bein' a pervert, and her older sister is extortin' money from ya while selling indecent pics around to anyone who'll pay 'er. In the end, you get knocked out, dragged to your wedding, only to have the others show up with explosives and live steel in an attempt to kill you and your fiancee. That was pretty much my life." the martial artist remarked as he stared at his feet. "I dunno how or why, but whatever got me laying out cold on the shores of Roanapur solved every problem I can or can't remember. Though I still dunno who ta thank, I'd probably give 'em everything I own as thanks."

The young woman couldn't quite respond to Ranma's explanation, and so settled for gaping at him in shock. Sure living as a sewer rat was bad, but it a least had its ups and downs. From what he said, there wasn't a moment's reprieve from his hellish life. Of course, he could be exaggerating. But even toned down, she could see why he wouldn't want to go back to that sort of life. Seeing no more information forthcoming, she turned to the slowly illuminating sky and watched the sun slowly peek over the now easily visible land of the rising sun.


Author's Notes

Alrighty, another idea out of my brain. I've seen few crossovers between Black Lagoon and Ranma, and so I figured I might as well try. To say few things early on: Ranma's curse is cured. Yes there was no scene with water falling on him and he didn't change, but I figured that it would be far too over done to try. Besides, logically, lots of the stuff in Ranma ½ is not compatible with Black Lagoon, magical curses being one example. This is also why Ranma doesn't mention it too Revy, along with a lot of other stuff. Ranma will be a powerful martial artist, but won't be using the majority of those skills in this fic. I'm tempted to say that I'll write a prequel, that will cover the 10 years in Roanapur and some crazy awesome martial arts, but I'd have to finish this one first. Also, I noticed that the majority of this chapter was dialogue. This will probably be less often as more action starts happening, but due to the fact that I'm sticking Ranma into the Black Lagoonverse (which has quite a bit of dialogue, internal and oral). Expect some corrections next week as I'm most likely going to be unhappy with some part or another (see my other fic, which I revised the 1st chapter probably 3 or more times before even starting the second...which I'm still working on), and that'll be it!

Thanks for reading, please review...I mean really review. You got 10k words, please take the time to tell me what you liked, didn't like, want to see, don't want to see, etc. I would do the same for you.