Four Queens and an Ace

By Archaon

Disclaimer: I am all, I own all. Or not...

Chapter 1: Two of a kind

- - -

Focus! She ignored the catcalls of the crowd, deeming them inconsequential. Instead, she eyed her opponent neutrally while using less mundane senses to assess his prowess. Some basic chi control; Fairly fast and strong; The hints of an ugly mug peeking from the ridiculous demon mask he wore to hide his upper face; A long, slender sword on his back and a pair of nunchucks strapped on his belt.

She smiled, then scolded herself for being overconfident.

Focus! She smoothed the invisible wrinkles on her gi, tensed her gloved fists for a second, then relaxed in a deceptively mild battle stance.

"This is no place for you, little girl" he taunted, frowning when she failed to stiffen. His eyes brushed her form, although he wasn't exactly assessing her as a fighter. His face assumed a lecherous smirk. "Still it would be a shame to waste a hot body like that," he added licking his lips. "I'll make sure to take full advantage before I carve you up. The audience will love it, too."

She felt insecure for a moment, then mentally slapped herself for letting him get to her. She did as she had recently been taught and channeled all the anger and indignation she felt through her body and away from her mind. She debated whether to offer a retort, but it became a moot point seconds later.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the Pit! Tonight we have a match that will surely get burned to your memory" declared the enthusiastic announcer, his voice blaring through heavy-duty speakers. "On the blue corner, the fearsome Crimson Ripper, a veteran fighter and seventh in our ranking. And on the red corner, the alluring Midnight Artist, a lady that has been rising up the ranking ladder like a wildcat. Only one will come out of the cage standing!"

"Ready... FIGHT!!"

- - -

Ranma frowned at the special cell phone Nabiki had lent him. It had only taken him a few minutes to decipher its GPS function and he was now hot on the trail. The unsavory and familiar neighborhood around him, so close to Nerima and yet so unlike, did nothing to alleviate his worry.

When Akane had started disappearing every Friday night, he had initially thought nothing of it. Two months later, he decided he had to know. Nabiki, also anxious about her baby sister but not about to declare it to the world, had planted a GPS tracker on her clothes.

Ranma sighed. It was half a year after their return from China and the postponed wedding and things were more unsettling than ever. The pig-tailed martial artist knew Akane must have at least some feelings for him and he knew she knew they were mutual. However, they had both remained true to their stubborn nature. They had stopped their serious arguments but still bickered senselessly. Instead of really talking like normal people, they also trained senselessly. Akane had stopped being top of her class, now only achieving barely above average grades and Ranma had stopped being lazy half of the day. When people would ask them, they would both clamp up and pretend nothing had changed, of course.

Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, Ranma reached the signal and eyed the rundown building before him as if it was a termite lair. He knew very well it was not as rundown from the inside. Slipping into the Umisenken, he entered through the main doors, passing by the unsuspecting guard that was disguised as a beggar and the hidden security camera above him. He was soon running along a couple dusty corridors, reaching a door and opening it rapidly. He knew beforehand there was no one inside, but a guy could hope. He sighed again in resignation at the spectacle. A private changing room and Akane's clothes neatly folded on a chair.

"Akane, you big idiot. If you hurt yourself, I'm going to seal you in a bottle" he muttered exasperated, running out of the room and towards the building's basement. His senses revealed at least two hundred life signs there, making it impossible to decipher individuals.

- - -

The Crimson Ripper, true to his reputation, rushed for a quick victory intending to grapple his smaller opponent to the floor and teach her a couple lessons of a different nature. "Come to daddy!" he bellowed, his hands extended. Years of combat and occasional defeat warned him at the last moment and he tried to dodge and roll with an incoming punch. The Midnight Artist merely clipped his shoulder but it was still enough to launch him off his feet and send him on the steel-wired cage wall. He tried to defend against the next hit that should be coming, but he soon realized she had not pressed her advantage.

She was too busy displaying a wicked smirk instead.

The larger fighter regained his footing, eyeing his opponent under a different light. He cautiously rolled his shoulder, still not believing his pain centers. If he hadn't dodged, the bitch would have dislocated his arm. Much more cautiously, he retrieved the sword from his back, clutching the hilt expertly.

"You are mine" he snarled, rotating his blade once to intone his words and going for a basic stabbing thrust. The shorthaired girl narrowed her eyes, concentrating and remaining still until the last moment. Moving rapidly, she used the back of her palm to parry the sword harmlessly to her side, then twisted her whole body, rolling beside the flat of the blade, delivering a backhand above her shoulder and right at her opponent's nose, then rolling back out of his range. Although she lacked the leverage to deliver a decisive hit, the Crimson Ripper found his nose sharing the first part of his nickname.

More insulted than injured, he wiped the blood off his face and started slashing as fast as he could with his right hand while he kept his left hand ready to defend. The Midnight Artist knew she would be hard-pressed to repeat her last stunt. Dodging the many horizontal and diagonal swipes, she carefully searched for a pattern and an opening. As soon as her back collided with the steel wire wall, however, she decided that going defensive had not been exactly smart.

Her opponent smirked openly. The girl had played right into his hands, trapped between his blade and a hard place and unable to fully utilize her superior speed. He had to blink dumbly, however, when a plain bokken appeared out of thin air and soundly blocked his weapon. While the crowd around the cage had not been exactly silent, it erupted at cheers at the spectacle, leaving him to wonder were she had been hiding the training weapon. He soon decided the lewd joke that came to his mind would only distract him and he concentrated at figuring out why he couldn't cut through the flimsy training aid instead.

His opponent would have none of that, though. As soon as she countered the immediate danger with her bokken, she used the wall behind her as leverage and pushed with all the strength she could muster. The Crimson Ripper was sent flying once more.

Recovering fast, he leaped on his feet just in time to block an intricate pattern of slashes and jabs, still flabbergasted an apparently wooden weapon could veer away his tempered steel. He missed the look of concentration and slight worry on his opponent's face, however. The Midnight Artist had not expected to have to use her bokken for so long and despite the fact she was pouring a steady stream of life energy to it, the wooden sword would not last much longer. Tiny chunks had already started flying around the ring and each block and parry took its toll.

"You are a spunky little thing, ain't you?" mused the Crimson Ripper as their swords clashed together once more and their faces came inches apart.

"You talk too much" she spat back as they both leaped backwards. Her opponent smiled a dirty smile, then tried an overhead slash. She saw an opening and went to take advantage.

Both thought they had a chance to fool their opponent. Both were right.

The Midnight Artist's bokken slashed towards her opponent's abdomen and he decided at the last moment that wooden sword or not, it would be prudent to dodge out of the way. At the same time, he pressed a hidden trigger on the hilt of his own blade and she saw the sword's tip speeding towards her head.

They both leaped back, as far from each other as possible, and assessed their wounds. The Crimson Ripper clasped the side of his waist in disbelief. If he hadn't dodged to the left, his foe's bokken would have spilled his guts on the floor. She, on the other hand, was busy gawking at her opponent's weapon. The previously sturdy sword had proven to be segmented instead, tiny and sharp pieces of metal with a wire passing through their core. The Midnight Artist had never seen a whip-sword before and she was glad she had tilted her head to the side. Instead of a slit throat, she had only suffered a superficial wound at her jaw line.

Growling like an animal, the Crimson Ripper snapped his weapon forward and she inwardly cursed as she once again found herself on the defensive. The exotic weapon she had to face did not help her case in the least, giving her enemy a vastly superior reach. She quickly decided she had to risk leaving an opening. The whip-sword slashed forward twice, not unlike a serpent and the crowd gasped holding their breaths. The first attack severed the already frail bokken in half while the second caused the weapon to coil around Midnight Artist's arm.

"What will you do now?" he taunted, fully prepared to rip the appendage off. Ignoring both him and the pain all along her arm, she sighed in relief. She had used enough of her chi to shield her arm and avoid any deliberating wound. Now that the whip-sword was in her grasp, she could retaliate.

Ignoring the pain as metal dug into her sleeved arm, she grasped the wire between two of the segments with her hand and tugged with all her might while leaping off the ground. Being lighter than her opponent, she went flying towards him, extended and braced leg leading the way. The next thing he knew was extreme pain at his chest as three ribs broke under the flying kick. Instead of waiting for him to recover, she became a flurry of limbs. One of her palms knifed at his wrist, sending the hilt of his weapon flying, while her other hand confiscated the two section staff from his belt. A knee at his injured side and a lightning-fast uppercut that cracked his jaw followed and he slumped to the floor unconscious.

"And the winner is, the alluring Midnight Artist!!!" declared the announcer after a while causing the crowd to go wild.

She blushed prettily under her mask, receiving her prize money and bowing to the audience. Three minutes later she was out of the cage and heading towards her changing room. She wearily removed her gi, wincing a bit as the sleeve brushed against her arm. Standing in her underwear, she expertly treated most of the swallow gushes along her skin, then quickly dressed in casual clothes, removing her mask almost as an afterthought. She ran a hand through her short, midnight-blue bangs and she sighed in relief, smiling proudly to herself. Shaking her head at her antics, she quickly recovered her bag, anxious to return home for some well-deserved rest. Exiting the room, she walked along a dusty corridor and left through the back door, casually hailing another disguised security guard.

Two alleys later she stopped walking and frowned. "I know someone is there. Come out and you'll get what's coming to you!" she demanded, drawing a chuckle from the shadows.

A figure walked into her line of vision as her eyes went wide. "Oh, please spare me, Akane. Or should I say, Midnight Artist?"

"Ra... Ranma?"

- - -

Ukyo glared at the infernal item in her hands with all the hatred and spite she could muster.

The Kuonji chef decided this was not a nice year for her at all. After Ranma's postponed wedding she had toiled very hard trying to make him talk to her again and was very relieved when he finally decided to forgive. That did not mean he neglected chewing her for all she was worth, despite her apologies. In an unbecoming fit of courage and determination he had made it very clear he did not consider her as anything more than a friend, something that had almost been compromised after her sanity decided to temporarily depart and be replaced by exploding okonomiyaki recipes.

She had collapsed for some time after that talk. Guilt and depression, denial and regret all raked her mind leaving her a shell of her normal self. After some time, she considered leaving Nerima and disappearing from Ranma's life.

She had dismissed the notion seconds later. Her mother was dead and her father was a bastard even beyond Genma's caliber that had wanted nothing more than to get rid of her. In Nerima she had a home, a business and people she could call friends. She decided that after ten years of loneliness followed by two years of fraternizing with the woes and wonders of Nerima, she could not bare to be alone again. Even if she could not have Ranma as a husband, she could keep him as a friend. Not that she would completely give up, she decided. She would just keep being his friend unless HE decided to pursue her romantically.

The infernal device failed to be intimidated by her glare.

Ukyo decided cell phones were not her thing. She had learned about Akane's disappearances and that Ranma had decided to investigate and had contacted Nabiki. The mercenary Tendo had given her a cell phone that could presumably home on the cell phone Ranma was using. While Ukyo considered Akane a friendly rival in general and was quite worried about her, a part of her mind still wished the Tendo girl was absent because of a secret affair. She would definitely take the chance to console a heartbroken Ranma and let things take their natural course if that would be the case.

Now, if only she could figure out how to operate the mobile...

- - -

While Ryouga Hibiki had spent most of his life camping, he was rarely what people would call a 'happy camper'. The conglomeration of curses attached to his body was of course the primary reason.

"Damn it, it's not enough that giant Balamb hovercraft thing almost squashed me, I have to deal will freaking dinosaurs now" he bellowed, running through the luscious vegetation and being pursued by a herd of particularly carnivorous reptiles.

He kept thinking whether he could pin this new misfortune on Ranma. Sure, his pigtailed rival was the one that had told him to go that way, but that was two weeks ago. Ryouga knew he might have deviated from the original direction a bit, so it was not all Ranma's fault this time. He nodded in satisfaction, knowing that this time nobody could blame him of being irrational and irresponsible.

"Damn it, Ranma! This is partly your fault!" he exclaimed, crashing through a stone wall as if it were made of rice paper. Of course, the lost boy never stopped to consider what exactly a stone wall was doing in the middle of a jungle filled with dinosaurs and giant caterpillars, but then again Ryouga rarely considered the obstacles he trampled.

The reptiles behind him blinked in disbelief as the lost boy turned right behind a tree then vanished.

- - -

Exalted grandmother Khu Lhon, retired matriarch of the 'tribe of female heroes', commonly known as amazons was busy meditating inside her Neko-Cave. The large chamber, carved below the Nekohanten's third basement by means of the braking point technique was large enough to store an abundant amount of secret books and scrolls, amazon artifacts and illegal modern weaponry. Especially Cologne's tactical warhead collection was her pride and joy, only second to Merlin's spellbook in her eyes.

The amazon elder was restless, though. At first she could hardly believe Ranma had been able to single-handedly slay God-king Saffron. Such a feat was the stuff legends were made of and she knew she would have been hard-pressed herself to produce such a victory. After contacting her village and confirming the information, she had spent a long time thinking. While Cologne had stopped trying to actively acquire Ranma after facing the neko-ken, her heir had used a very incriminating amount of tricks and deception to marry the cursed martial artist. The elder did not want to make an enemy out of the young Saotome. It was bad enough his mother's family was far more formidable than his father's. Having a phoenix slayer as a foe to the amazons would be grave indeed.

Cologne sighed, manifesting her aura into the visible spectrum and concentrating. She managed to pinpoint Ranma despite the youth's habit of hiding his powers. She extended her search a bit more, then gasped. Not caring about her shattered concentration, she leaped on her staff and hurried back to her restaurant as fast as she could, which was extremely fast indeed. Fortunately, Mousse and Shampoo were busy renovating the place and so no customers needed to be ousted. Never offering an explanation, the elder grabbed both other amazons by their collars and proceeded to drag them along at speeds none of them could otherwise accomplish.

"What the..? What are you doing, old ghoul?" demanded the bespectacled hidden weapons master, trying very hard to avoid feeling sick. Shampoo only fared a bit better, but was wise enough to realize the gravity of the situation and remain mute. Few things could unsettle Cologne and the elder's face was particularly unsettled.

The elder amazon sighed. "Be ready for battle, both of you. Even if you won't be able to harm the enemy, you might buy some time for those that can" she advised cryptically, never slowing down as she kept leaping from rooftop to rooftop.

- - -

Kodachi Kuno was engrossed in one of her favorite pastimes. She loved leaping from rooftop to rooftop like a lunatic, laughing and causing mischief while testing her newest herbal concoctions. It's not that the gymnast considered such a behavior to be normal. No, Kodachi was very aware what she was doing was insane. In fact, she prided herself for having the sanity to act as insanely as possible.

The Kuno girl had realized since pre-school that being ludicrously rich, having no mother and an insane father and being gifted in martial arts were not exactly assets that could stop her from being lonely. In fact, Ranma had been the first one outside her family to treat her as an individual. The fact he was far superior to her in the art and yet he had endured all of her not-so-harmless pranks without breaking every bone in her body had made him particularly appealing to her.

Yes, Kodachi had been in love, but was also rational enough to know it would never work between them, even though she would have been ready to accept the younger Saotome despite his curse.

Kodachi couldn't help but giggle at that. Unlike her idiotic brother, she had realized Ranma's dual nature soon after their martial arts gymnastics match. She refrained from mentioning that particular detail mainly because she could harass Ranma in two very different ways depending on form. All in good humor, of course. For Kodachi, Ranma and the Wrecking Crew by extension, was the closest thing she had to friends.

Her pondering halted when she sensed something was amiss. While her chi-senses were very underdeveloped compared to some other martial artists residing in Nerima, her family possessed a different kind of sight, allowing her to frequently see the unseen and track traces of magic. That was how she would usually locate Ranma, after all. His girl curse reeked of magic and stood like a beacon to her eyes.

When she sensed a very unsettling magic signature approaching Ranma, she decided to investigate.

- - -

"What are you doing here?" demanded Akane, trying to appear angry and hide her uneasiness.

Her fiancé failed to flinch at her tone. "What am I doing here? The question is, what the hell you have been doing here every Friday for the past two months!" he shot back more than a little annoyed.

Akane turned to the side, not wanting to face him. "For your information, I turned 18 last month. I don't have to answer to anybody and especially not to you."

Ranma frowned. "Don't give me that. I have been training you ever since we came back from Jusendo. When it comes to the art, you so do have to answer to me. And fighting in an underground battle pit does have to do with the art!"

"It's not like I lied about it" she replied weakly.

"Sure, you just avoided all questions and went on sneaking around like that." Moving far faster than she could hope to see, he proceeded to snatch away the gloves she had kept on wearing. "So tell me. Are the chestnuts sweet this season?" he asked teasingly.

Akane blushed, trying vainly to hide her hands despite the futility of the gesture. While the burns were almost healed, they were still visible under casual scrutiny. "So I'm trying to learn the Amaguriken. Are you going to try and stop me?" she replied indignantly. She had wanted to keep her extra training secret so that she might extract some praise from her fiancé after she was done. Of course, you would have to twist her arm repeatedly to make her admit as much.

Ranma sighed in resignation. While he could admit to himself he loved his tomboy, she was still one of the few people that could so casually make him lose his cool. "Look 'Kane" he started calmly, resorting to a weak version of the soul of ice to prevent himself from shouting his head off. "If you have to go around doing dangerous stuff, at least have somebody to back you up. What's next? Trying to lob chi balls in secret?" he asked, gawking as her blush became visible despite the lack of substantial light. "Oh gods, you have been trying that, haven't you?" he squeaked.

"Only a little" she admitted, her voice small. Then her mind bristled at the thought. How dare he judge her like that? He was just as viable to be doing 'dangerous stuff', perhaps even more than she was. And yet he was a coward when it came to the two of them. She knew very well what she had heard at Jusendo and could read the rest of the signs, yet she would be damned if she admitted first she liked him as much as he did. "Since when are you worried what happens to me, anyway?" she demanded. While she knew she was being unfair, she figured he deserved it.

Her fiancé decided he would have to cause some mindless act of property damage and destruction very soon if that went on. While he was no Ryouga, he could appreciate the therapeutic effects of smashing something as opposed to smashing someone. At this point, he was faintly aware of what his mouth was saying.

"Since when I am worried about you?" he repeated incredulously. "How can I not be worried about you! Every odd month you decide to go and get yourself kidnapped and then it is up to me to pull your ass off the fire. Do you think I would bother if I didn't care?" he demanded, then his face went blank as he realized what exactly he was saying. "I mean..." he tried, sounding way too unsure. "Why would I...?"

While Akane had been ecstatic when he started venting like that without thinking and finally admitting his feelings, she was now ready to start spitting fire. She wouldn't allow him to deny everything yet again even if she had to mallet him to unconsciousness.

They both stopped short when they sensed another presence with obvious hostile intent approaching. Turning as one, they shot a cold glare towards the large man that came out of the shadows.

"Sorry to interrupt your little lover's spat kids, but me and miss 'Midnight Artist' there have a bit of a score to settle" he declared, producing a submachine pistol out of his clothes and taking aim.

Akane bristled at that. "You are that Crimson Ripper loser I beat up. What the hell do you want now?" she asked, her eyes focused on his trigger finger. While she had no experience against opponents with modern weapons, she had been taught the basics. Her legs were ready to move at the merest indication he was about to shoot.

The bigger man snorted. "I don't take kindly being defeated that easily" he spat, eyeing the pair dangerously.

Ranma was not amused. "So you're saying you're going to shoot us because she won fair and square? Boy, talk about a sore loser."

The Crimson Ripper's eyes narrowed and he moved the weapon muzzle towards Ranma. "Shut up, or I'll kill you first" he spat.

The pig-tailed martial artist actually smirked. "Try it smartass" he replied in a wicked tone. "I have defeated you before anyway," he added and the armed man narrowed his eyes. "Or did you forget already."

Akane raised a brow as the larger man seemed to shrink away from her fiancé. "N...no! Not you!" he muttered shell-shocked. He then proceeded to unload his weapon on the cursed martial artist, firing a continuous string of bullets. The midnight-haired girl gasped, noticing Ranma had not bothered to dodge. As soon as the offending weapon clicked empty, she turned towards her fiancé, afraid he was hurt.

To the incredulous disbelief of everybody else, Ranma was still smirking. Slowly opening his palm, he revealed a small pile of bullets that gleamed under the faint streetlights. "I think you lost something" he stated calmly and the would-be murderer took a step back. Ranma clenched his fist closed and Akane's eyes went wide as his hand gleamed a blue glow. When he opened his fingers once more, a crude and jagged but still sharp metal blade rested there instead.

The Crimson Reaper's arm reflexively went for his sword, but Ranma was faster. Flicking his hand almost lazily, he sent the newly formed blade flying. The impromptu weapon collided with his arm, leaving a gash that almost reached the bone then continuing to lodge deeply in the wall behind him.

Ranma's aura flared brightly into the visible spectrum and he let his chi fill his vocal cords. "Run!" he commanded, his voice reverberating and causing the world around them to shudder.

The Crimson Ripper miraculously gained control of his legs and did just that, sprinting away far faster than he thought he would be able to. Unfortunately, he lost control of his bladder in the process.

Ranma sighed, letting his aura subside and finishing the light show. "And this is one of the reasons you should always have somebody with you when going to shabby places like that" he said casually.

Akane shook her head, trying to reattach to reality. Even if Ranma had not targeted her, the backlash of his fear aura had still taken its toll. "I was ready to dodge this bullets, you know" she managed after a while.

Ranma scowled. "It's not as easy as you think" he shot back. "And being a bit more thankful won't kill you either, tomboy" he added spitefully.

She ignored his last sentence. "Did you have to dodge bullets often?" she asked neutrally, always eager to learn new tidbits about his life before Nerima.

He rolled his eyes. "With the stupid panda for a father?" he snorted. "If I had a yen for every bullet. And don't think I was always able to dodge either."

Akane had said that mostly as a joke, but when Ranma seemed completely serious, she became intrigued. "You mean this kind of thing would happen to you often?"

Ranma sighed, not too eager to remember the past. "One of the things I like about Nerima is that none of the people trying to kill me use guns. Plus, up until Saffron I have never been to kill or be killed situation" he added, almost whispering.

Akane had many questions but wisely decided to keep silent. Instead she remembered something else. "When did you fight that loser before?" she asked and Ranma's mood brightened.

"A year ago I became this ring's champion. Twice in fact since I fought both as a guy and as a girl. He tried to intimidate me in the ring so I put him down fast and hard."

Her eyes went wide. "You have fought here before? And you told nobody?"

He sighed. "I didn't exactly want to let your sister know I have money. And you didn't really think pop is giving me an allowance, did you?" he asked shooting her a withering glance.

"Damn, is there anything I try to do that you haven't already done better" she spat, mostly talking to herself. She knew comparing herself to her fiancé would rarely help her, but stubbornness was not a trait she could casually dismiss.

Ranma stuck his tongue out. "You can still skate better than me. And stop whining, you got the money didn't you?"

Akane bristled at that. "I hardly care about the money" she bellowed.

Ranma stopped walking and turned to fully regard her. "So why do you fight if not for the cash?" he asked inquisitively. She mumbled something too low to be heard. "What was that?"

She almost hissed in indignation. "It's because of you! Even though you are training me, you hardly ever hit me during practice. And when you do you hold back so much, I can barely feel it!" she shouted.

Ranma slapped a hand on his face. "So you're telling me that since I refuse to savagely beat you up, you go to an illegal tournament to find others to do so? Do you get off when people hurt you or something?" he asked receiving an elbow in his guts for his effort.

"Shut up! It's not like any of these idiots I've been fighting has been a challenge!" she retaliated.

Ranma smirked cruelly. "Is that so?" he asked in a condescending tone, bringing his hand to her face and running a thumb sensually along the gash on her jaw line. Akane didn't know how to react to that, the mixture of pain and pleasure his touch induced making her feel dizzy. Stepping out of his range she stifled a content sigh, angry with herself for allowing him to affect her so much.

"I have started healing much faster than before" she responded slowly. "It will be gone by tomorrow."

Ranma grinned. "And what about your arm?" he went on. "I saw a bit of your little fight, you know."

Akane frowned. "Just a few gashes and that's only because of that sword thing he had."

"Whip-sword" he stated, almost sounding bored. "Nasty things to fight against, but they have a lot of weaknesses."

His fiancée shrugged. "By next Friday I'll be as good as new."

"So you intent to keep doing this? Even after I found out and even though the fights will keep getting more and more dangerous" he spat, getting annoyed.

Akane frowned. "You are not my keeper, Ranma. And as I said, this is really your fault!"

"MY fault? You want to know what I think about that?" he roared enraged. "This must be THE MOST uncute..." he started.

"...arrogant, pigheaded..." she spat back.

"...tomboyish, idiotic..." he continued fuming.

"...insensitive, conceited..." she went on, leaning forward.

"...violent, macho..." he retaliated, copying the move.

"...perverted, irresponsible..." she continued.

"...thing you have EVER done!" he finished.

"Oh yeah?" she asked, causing their noses to touch.

They both froze at that, staring into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity and blushing accordingly, argument forgotten.

"What are you waiting for?" asked Ranma almost whispering.

Akane bit her lip. "For you to chicken out as you usually do" she replied in the same tone, almost bitterly.

Ranma's brows furred with thought at that. "Not this time" he responded and proceeded to kiss her, prompting the world around them to vanish in a haze of passion and desire.

Lost in the first kiss they ever shared that counted, they completely missed Ukyo that had at last deciphered how to use the GPS function, Ryouga that smashed through a wall close to them, Cologne carrying the other two amazons and Kodachi that chose that time to turn around the corner.

After what seemed like an eternity, their lips parted.

"Wow..." they both exclaimed, still afraid to look anywhere else in fear the other might disappear. After a while, however, Akane decided to look around. Her eyes went wide as she regarded the audience, their faces frozen in disbelief. "Um... Ranma...?" she started, not sure how to deal with what she felt would escalate to world wars three four and five.

Said martial artist had also noticed the uninvited guests, but there was something else demanding his undivided attention. "Oh shit!" he exclaimed, proceeding to throw Akane away from him as fast as he could. A blink later and before she could even touch the ground, her eyes went wide as an enormous chi blast ripped through one of the walls and engulfed Ranma, sending him through the building at the opposite side of the road.

A male figure emerged through the hole, a powerful golden aura burning around him and hiding his features. "Ranma Saotome, I presume. Do not worry, phoenix slayer. After I rip from your body whatever powers you gained when you killed Saffron, I shall finish your existence as painlessly as I can..."

- - -

16-06-07: Why a new story you will ask? Well, why not. Be warned that this will get a bit darker than my usual style, even though I expect even more insanity than the usual. In fact, the rating might change to M any time. You can expect gratuitous amounts of violence and death, as well as modern weapons along with the martial ones, both things not really encountered in canon. While talking about canon, I will consider everything in the anime that did not contradict the manga as such. Also note this story is AU when it comes to the technology used. You will see things that did not exist in the original story, like cell phones and security cameras. While the main pairing will be R/A, you can expect all four fiancées to play major roles since they will be forced to work together. While I'm not sure how often I'll be updating this, I will shamelessly admit reviews are my main driving force. And don't worry, this doesn't mean I'm abandoning anything else.