Author's Notes –
The water that Ranma threatened the bandits with was the one use water (similar to the one use Instant Water from the Spring of Drowned Man that Shampoo had used to trick Ranma and Genma into getting a date with Ranma), while the water he had in the canteen was the water from the Spring of Drowned Girl that he'd fallen into – two very different waters.
The water that he has with him was given to him by the first lieutenant Yanagida who does not have Ranma's moral compass.
Again, this Ranma is older. He might only be 18, but he's more mature at 18 then he was at 16, but only by a little.
The short fight with the minotaur turned girl had not been too long, but he'd spent the past thirty hours awake and traveling. After securing the camp, claiming some of the discarded weapons, abandoned horses, and setting up a proper defensive perimeter, he took a well deserved nap.
The trip back to Italica would have been faster had he not had to deal with the mage turned merchant Marcus' constant questions. As a follower of Elange he too was interested in acquiring knowledge though he was a broker of information. The shrewd old man was not one to let things slip casually though he hoped to wheedle information out of Ranma as they rushed back to Italica.
"I find it curious that you bring her along," Marcus finally remarked as he realized that Ranma was not willing to talk about Japan and the other side of the Gate. So long as Ranma was not interested in sharing such information, then he too would not be interested in sharing information about the Special Region. That left them with only their current circumstances to talk about.
Having found no spare clothes about the camp, he'd been forced to give the minotaur turned girl his traveling clothes. He was reluctant to talk about her, er, it. "It admitted defeat; I won't kill something that has surrendered to me."
He glanced at the cursed girl who lowered her head as he did so. There was no rage or anger in her eyes. That was why he'd allowed her to go unbound.
"Is naiveté a common trait in your world?" Marcus asked.
Ranma scowled. He was about to spout off how he had faith in people but he could not help but think of how Kuno, Mousse, and Ryoga had always been willing to betray him whenever the opportunity presented itself.
Their return to Italica went much faster thanks to the horses that he'd captured as it allowed the elderly mage to travel at a faster pace. It was clear that more of the bandits had banded together to assault Italica, but they were again repelled though from the looks of things just barely.
"We have returned from our failed attempt to reign in the bandits," Marcus stated, rubbing the salt into Ranma's pride.
Pina eyed Ranma, taking in his battered uniform.
"He is one of the men in green," the mage stated. "I would guess that he is one of their advanced scouts."
The redhead fought the urge to draw her weapon.
"It is true," Arpeggio stated. "Perhaps that is why Elange finds him intriguing."
"Who is the girl?" Pina asked finally.
Waiting for the horses to be lead away, Ranma pulled off the girl's cloak, startling the others by revealing the girl's naked form before dousing her with warm water and triggering the transformation back to its original form. The towering minotaur did not lash out, though it eyed Pina and her group. Splashing it with some cold water, he handed the cloak back to the minotaur.
"While Ranma was battling the bandits a minotaur came crashing down upon the camp," Marcus explained.
Arpeggio shook her head as she rubbed at her temples.
"You know of this minotaur?" the observant Gray asked.
"It is the minotaur that I fought when we were searching the ruins outside of Crety," Ranma stated.
"He conjured a mighty cyclone that carried the beast away," Arpeggio added. "We destroyed the garden that it was protecting, but it seems as though Ranma was fated to face the beast again. Still, it seems the creature thinks of you as its master now that you've defeated it twice and destroyed what it was tasked with guarding."
That seemed to make Pina and her knights flinch. "You may join the other men in green in defending the southern gate tonight."
Ranma seemed to perk up at that. As he headed towards the gate, he allowed Arpeggio and Marcus to discuss the encounter with the bandits and the sudden arrival of the minotaur. He was surprised by his own excitement, though he wasn't exactly sure why. A squad of twelve soldiers with a Humvee, Toyota high mobility vehicle, and a light truck guarded the battered Southern Gate – two per vehicle, with the rest along the wall. With them were two non-combatants, a young girl with light blue hair and a youngish elf with long blond locks, and there was the odd girl sporting a gothic Lolita outfit and a giant ax/halberd. Spotting the ranking officer he approached the man and saluted, "Sir, Second Lieutenant Ranma Saotome, reporting, sir."
The first lieutenant turned around, "Saotome?" It took a moment for Itami to return the salute, "At ease."
"What are you doing here?" both asked.
"Sir, you know each other?" even in her uniform it was clear that the sergeant first class was a woman as her ample assets combined with her pony tail would not be found on any of the man in the JSDF. Leave it to Itami to loosen the standards for his squad.
"Yeah," Ranma grinned, "Shikamaru here was the toughest guy for me to find back in ranger training."
"'Shikamaru'?" the young woman asked. "Wait, what? Ranger training?!"
"That was the nickname he earned for being the lazy genius of the group," Ranma smirked as he playfully punched the other second lieutenant's arm.
"What was your nick name?" the woman asked.
"'Lockhart'," Itami sneered. "Saotome was the best fighter of the batch."
"Best at almost everything," Ranma said as he puffed out his chest."
"Except sniping and team work," Itami added, deflating Ranma's ego slightly. "Anyways, this is my squad – Sergeant Major Souichiro Kuwahara; my second in command, Master Sergeant Tetsuya Nishina, Sergeant First Class Shino Kuribayashi, Sergeant First Class Akira Tomita, Sergeant First Class Mari Kurokawa, Sergeant Azuma, Private Daisuke Tozu, Private Wataru Katsumoto, Private Hitoshi Furuta, and Private Hayato Sasagawa. Takeo's in the LMV."
"Why 'Lockhart'?" Shino asked.
"From Final Fantasy 7 – the buxom bartender," Itami smirked.
"Saotome," the grizzled old man of the squad said as he stepped forward, "as in Ranma Saotome – the Legion Slayer?"
Ranma blinked. He'd heard that nickname in the days after the Ginza incident, but he did not relish it. "Yeah."
"I thought that was just a joke," Shino remarked as she looked at Ranma again. "Just the ammo alone needed for five thousand kills – you'd have to have had at least an HMG."
"Actually, he did it all without any formal weapon," Itami sighed. "Shino here is our resident hand-to-hand expert, but Saotome, well, he'd put you to shame. I was with him when the Ginza Incident started. While I rushed to evacuate the civilians and organize the defense at the Imperial Palace, Saotome rushed towards the Gate alone and slowed the progress of the invaders. The civilians that he sheltered credited him with over five thousand kills and another six thousand captures – without the use of a firearm."
"Two full days of fighting," the Sergeant Major stated, "and not a single scratch on him after engaging the enemy in close combat – without any body armor. Had he not chosen to fortify a store that allowed civilians to escape the chaos he might have even gotten to the Gate.
"Sir, it is an honor to meet you."
Ranma took his hand. "Your words are too kind. There were still too many casualties and I couldn't stop the invaders who managed to capture civilians from passing through the Gate."
"You killed over five thousand men?" the girl with the halberd remarked. "In a single day? Are you an Apostle?"
Ranma turned to look at the girl. She had an aura that suggested death and battle, but not the kind that an experienced veteran gave off. No, she was something different.
"There are no Apostles in their world," Arpeggio stated, "though I have not heard much about the world on the other side of the Gate."
"Who is she?" Itami finally asked.
"She's my Chronicler, Sir," he replied.
Itami gave him an odd look. "'Chronicler'?"
"I am tasked by the Goddess Elange with accompanying Ranma while he attempts to accomplish a feat in exchange for answering any question that he presents to her," the scholar stated.
"Arpeggio?" the blue haired girl asked, tensing as she did so.
"It must be the work of the Gods," Arpeggio said as she glanced at the blue haired girl. There was just something chilly in her tone that made Ranma want to back away. "Why else would Elange choose me to be Ranma's Chronicler if she had not intended for me to meet my little sister."
"She's your sister?" one of the privates asked.
"Step-sister," the blue haired girl replied.
Ranma glanced at Itami, then at the girls in his company.
"This is Second Lieutenant Ranma Saotome, we train together occasionally," the ranking officer stated. "This is Rory Mercury – Apostle to the God Emroy, Tuka Luna Marceau, and Lelei La Lalena. They're part of the group of refugees that are living near the base at Alnus Hill."
"This is Arpeggio El Lalena – my chronicler, and" he eyed the redhead behind him "do you have a name?"
Everyone turned to the redhead who shook her head.
"I guess I'll call you Ford," he said. He'd debated just going with 'Taurus' but that was too straightforward and didn't seem as androgynous as Ford. "Does that suit you?"
The girl nodded.
"Where'd you pick her up?" one of the other sergeants asked.
The girl huffed.
"I'm not really sure you should be referring to him as a girl," Ranma stated. "He may look like a girl now, but his" he glanced at Arpeggio who nodded "true form is that of a thirty foot tall minotaur."
At that Rory let out a mighty laugh.
"Hot water please," the squad commander turned to his second in command.
In a flash the man dashed to the light truck then rushed back with two steaming cups of water. Itami took one cup and handed it to Ranma as Ford pulled off the cloak and traveling robe. The hot water did the trick, transforming the minotaur back into its true form. Even the Apostle was surprised by the transformation. Taking water from his canteen, Itami splashed the beast, triggering the curse yet again.
"That's why he was called 'Lockhart'," Itami said as he realized that he'd splashed Ranma as well. Now two redheads stood side by side; one slightly older than the other, though a case could be made that they were identical.
"Yeah, thanks for that," Ranma muttered as he took the second cup from the sergeant major and up-ended it over his head.
"What kind of magic is that?" Rory asked as she stood behind Itami.
"Old magic from our world," Ranma stated. "A valley full of cursed springs where those who fall into a spring take on the form of whatever it was that drowned in the spring. Just being splashed with the water from that spring is enough to curse you. The valley no longer exists because I destroyed it."
"That's what you did to the minotaur," Arpeggio said as she looked from master to servant.
"Not intentionally," Ranma muttered. "I had some of the water from that spring with me."
"We can catch up while set up our defenses," Itami suggested. It was odd hearing him actually bark out orders, but his laid back squad snapped to attention.
As the highest ranking officers, Itami and Saotome along with the Sergeant Major, and the civilians, stationed themselves along the wall over the South Gate.
"How long have you had those girls with you?" Ranma whispered in Japanese.
Itami shrugged, "We came upon their village after witnessing the fire dragon destroying Tuka's village, so three days on the road so far."
"Did you spend any nights with them in the same room?" Ranma added.
Youji shook his head. "Why?"
"There's a marriage ritual or custom," the cursed lieutenant stated. "If you spend three nights with a woman in the same room, you're considered married. Peggy says that that's why men here will make sure that the prostitutes they sleep with don't spend an entire night with them."
"You seem to know a bit about this world," the gruff second in command stated.
"How long have you been here?" the first lieutenant asked.
"Three months by my count," Ranma replied.
"Off book?" Youji added.
Ranma nodded.
Despite his propensity to slack off, Youji Itami had a keen mind, thus his similarity to the fictional ninja. With just a few things said in their exchange he had already deduced Ranma's mission and perhaps even who had sent him.
"What is your opinion of our defenses?" the first lieutenant asked.
"The South Gate has taken the brunt of the abuse the last few days and appears to be the most likely to be breached," he replied. "The bandits will know this and expect that strongest opposition here." He glanced around at the meager defense force. "We've been set up on either a suicide mission or as a test of our strength.
"I counted seven thousand when I breached the enemy camp. If they choose to attack as a whole we'd be overrun, but thus far they've only attacked in battalions and not worked together. It seems that each of the neighboring kingdoms sent a corps and now there are only a few divisions left from each of them."
Itami nodded. "The first two times that they attacked they had a field army over a hundred thousand strong and just a division during the night attack. It's most likely that these are the reserves that survived."
"Hey, I am the Legion-slayer," Ranma shrugged. "I'm sure that they won't be as much of a problem this time around since I don't have to face an entire field army by myself."
The otaku turned lieutenant grinned. He'd clearly surmised as much as well. Were it just his squad they would have been overwhelmed, but with Ranma, the Apostle, and the minotaur things were definitely in their favor. "What do we do to draw their attention?"
Ranma grinned, "Leave that to me."
"We must have killed off all their men," the rugged bandit stated as he eyed the buxom beauties that manned the South Gate. "There's no one at the Gate but a handful of women."
"Even from here I can tell that either one of those redheads is more than you can handle alone," joked the man next to him.
"Whomever captures either one gets first crack at her," the unit commander stated. "I'm second."
"But"
"The South Gate is unmanned," the commander added. "Even if they have some trap set up our mage should be able to detect whatever spell they've prepared. Order a full charge!"
"I can't believe this is working," Shino muttered as she spied the advancing army. "One regiment afoot, one mounted – I count three thousand in all."
"Three thousand - so maybe another two thousand in reserve?" the first lieutenant's voice came in clearly over the radio.
"I counted nearly eight thousand when I saw their camp," the second lieutenant stated. "They might have split their forces."
Ranma could tell that he was making Shino uncomfortable. He wasn't sure if it was because of his curse or because of his reputation but he knew she wanted to see if he was really all that and a bag of chips. "This isn't a competition Major," he said as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "People are going to die, and I'd prefer that none of us do the dying."
He knew that they were being watched. The youngest of the Rose Knights, Hamilton, and a small contingent of fifty were armed with bows and slings, their orders were to remain behind the bulwark at all costs and to retreat if the bulwark was breached.
"Did you really kill five thousand men?" Shino asked.
"Yeah," Ranma replied. "And that was just the men. When you figure in the kobolds, gobins, orcs, and dragons, not to mention the horses, my kill total was eight thousand, nine hundred and fifty seven." His hand shook as he remembered the Ginza Incident. "Those were the ones I dealt a killing blow with, there were probably more that died from injuries I gave them."
"You could be the god of war or battle," Rory sighed. "To become an Apostle of Emroy I had to kill a thousand deserving men – bandits, marauders, rapists – it took me two years. I would take on maybe a dozen at a time, maybe a score, but towards the end I was able to handle two score."
"I do not enjoy killing," Ranma stated.
"That's why you managed all those captures," Arpeggio finished.
He nodded. "Many of those if fought were doing what they were commanded to. They had orders, just as we do, but who decides what is right or wrong? I try not to kill if I can, but it is usually a last resort."
"Yet you wield blades for this encounter," Rory said with a grin. The anticipation of battle was getting to her.
"Because I've seen these men – they want battle and death," the martial artist turned soldier stated. "They could have chosen to return home or to settle down somewhere and live a peaceful life, but instead they chose to lay waste to the surrounding villages and cities rather than facing the enemy that they had been brought here to fight. Well, they've found their enemy, and I'm not going to let lay waste to Italica."
"Stick to the plan," the first lieutenant said as the first volley of arrows soared over head.
"The armory is going to kill us," Shino muttered as she noted that the arrows that had reached the vehicles were scratching up the paint job.
Beneath them the first of the invaders had passed through the gate. Cautiously they remained behind their shields while advancing, eying the defenders.
"Well there are some boys and old men among them," one of the brutes snorted. "Kill them first and then we can ravage the women!"
The invaders let out a rousing cheer.
"NOW! Open fire!"
The invaders instinctively hid behind their shields. The bronze and crude iron could repel stone and arrows, but not the lead that came from the machine gun was mounted on the smallest of the vehicles. Nearly a five hundred men were cut down in the blink of an eye.
Before the commander could even question what was going on one of the privates had him in his sights. The guns' discharge frightened the horsemen but before they could flee the towering minotaur appeared behind them. The warhorses panicked, unseating their riders before running into the fields.
Itami lead a fire team on the wall, picking off the startled soldiers on the crude ladders.
Ranma leapt off the wall and into the fray. He targeted the biggest and imposing figures, cutting them down with the twin swords. The more experienced soldiers kept to their formations but they had no way to counter Ranma. He danced around them like a leaf on the wind, slipping past their defenses with ease before cutting the soldiers down by the dozens.
From the corner of his eye he noticed Rory and Shino working in tandem while Itami and his fire team picked off any enemies that between the lethal pair.
The men before him scattered, throwing down their weapons before running off. Ranma reached to his back and pulled out a riot control weapon. Firing the net at the retreating soldiers he ensured that they would not get. In a matter of moments it was over as the remaining bandits surrendered.
Yet the fight had not ended, not for Rory.
"I will show you the mercy that you would have shown the citizens of Italica!" the demi-goddess stated as she brought her mighty weapon down, cleaving clean through an armored man.
"What are you doing?" Ranma shouted as he watched her cut a pair of fleeing men in two.
"What does it look like? I'm passing judgement!" a sadistic glint in her eyes matched her crazed grin. She leapt towards another group of entangled men only to have her powerful weapon stopped by Ranma's twin blades. He countered with a swift kick to her stomach, sending her flying into the city wall.
"Stop!" Itami shouted as he shot the ground between the two warriors. "Save your fighting for the East Gate. Saotome, secure your prisoners, I'll take a fire team to provide support to the East Gate."
The arrival of the 4th Division ended the siege of Italica, claiming thousands of lives and impressing upon the citizens of the city and the knights present just how futile any resistance would be had the JDSF actually come to the Special Region with more than a handful of divisions. Arpeggio though could only think of the man that she had been tasked with chronicling. By all accounts it was a resounding victory for the soldiers from beyond the Gate. They could extort a high ransom for their role in the overwhelming victory and they had not suffered a single loss. Yet Ranma Saotome was not happy.
"Was the victory not glorious?" Arpeggio asked him as she watched what Ranma had said were the soldiers from the 4th Division process the prisoners. From her position atop the East Gate the destruction that the attach helicopters had unleashed upon the legion of marauders was evident. Bullet holes riddled the wall while blood soaked the ground turning it into a deep, slimy red. Perhaps he was dissatisfied with the fact that a different Division had secured the victory as he was said to be part of the 5th Division. Sometimes there were rivalries between the different companies and divisions in an army.
"In my world, war has not been glorious in generations," he remarked.
Over eight thousand had attacked Italica, and only two thousand had been captured. Half of those who had assaulted the East Gate had fled after the 4th Division's initial attack, but even those had been hunted down with extreme prejudice. A good majority of those captured had been the ones who had assaulted the South Gate whom Ranma had convinced to surrender.
"They credit you with the victory at the South Gate," she stated.
Again he shrugged, "That's nice, but what of all the lives lost? Does that not bother you?"
She nodded. He had a point. Many had died, but that was their choice as soldiers to either follow orders until death or to cast aside their warrior's pride. She'd never seen a warrior like him, then again, she had never actually made time to get to know any of the warriors in Rondel. She'd always imagined that they were fascinated in fighting and only occasionally thought about tactics beyond when to charge, switch formation, and when to retreat. Yet here was the mightiest warrior she'd ever seen much less heard of, showing consideration for his defeated enemies. He was like nothing she'd ever read about.
Before she could say anything she felt strong hands giving her a gentle yet firm shove. Startled she could not help but fall into Ranma, her ample bosom pressing against his breasts even as her soft lips tasted his.
To say that the pair had been startled would be an understatement.
"It wasn't my fault!" Ranma protested as he pulled away from Arpeggio, his face as red as his female form's hair.
'What a strange reaction,' she thought even as she realized that her own face was perhaps a shade or two from matching his.
"Dammit Ford!"
The minotaur turned girl let out a rough, bellowing laugh.
When he had initially taken the off the book assignment, Ranma had expected to be able to get away with not leaving a paper trail because the mission was off book, but the reality was far worse than he'd imagined. Because he needed a paper trail 1st Lieutenant Yanagida had to list incorporate the information that Ranma had gathered an incorporate it into the reports that the other recon teams had already filed, listing the maps and other information under the other teams so as not to draw too much information. What could not be passed off to the other teams was pushed onto Ranma who had been listed as the seventh recon team sent deep into enemy territory to investigate the political structure of the Special Region.
Once the paperwork passed the 1st Lieutenant's inspection, Ranma had to commit his new story to memory before being personally debriefed by Lt. General Hazama, though the 1st Lieutenant's presence helped. Still, the debriefing had lasted over half an hour, a considerable amount of time considering that it was the Lt. General.
The middle aged man was surprisingly sharp though it was to be expected of a man who had actually been accepted into Todai before enlisting. While many soldiers like to compare themselves with their peers and keep track of how they were better than their peers in various areas, the Lt. General did not seem to do that with Ranma. Then again, many of the soldiers had better grades in school or had attended university and thus, on paper, were considered smarter than Ranma, but none of them could compare to him physically. Yet for physical prowess he was not just a meat shield. His kill total for the Ginza Incident had been higher than entire Divisions, and that had been without the use of any firearms.
He was an asset and the Lt. General knew that. The problem was balancing the use of said asset, how and when to use the asset, and how much they were going actually going to depend on him.
"You've earned some R&R," the Lt. General finally stated. "It will take a day or two for us to check out what you've brought for us, but it is likely that we'll need your assistance in starting up the language classes for the refugees and the military. Dismissed."
Ranma saluted the pair before departing the room. It was clear that the Lt. General wanted him to complete his search for answers and information but neither of them could think of a way to impress the Goddess Elange. By allowing him access to the refugees he might be able to pick up some type of useful information that might point him in the right direction.
With no official unit or squad designation, Ranma's assigned room was little more than single wall with a hammock and curtains. That it was near to the gate closest to the refugee camp was a bonus as it allowed him easily access Arpeggio and Ford. Leaving the intelligent minotaur with his chronicler had been a questionable decision, but he was sure that they'd be able to put up with each other.
The other benefit of not belonging to a unit or squad was that he did not have to engage in the usual regimental or squad training, though he was called upon to help the 5th Division squads by advising them on the tactics used by the Empire's soldiers and by helping draw up scenarios for the teams to practice and prepare for. For his own training Ranma continued his usual martial arts but also began working out with Ford in both forms. The sight of the minotaur had initially caused a disturbance with the guards along the wall, but after a week Ford was now a common sight.
The minotaur had drawn many odd looks at first. It did not help that there was such a size disparity between his two forms as the issue of clothing reared its head each time it transformed. Because of the fact that someone might accidentally spill hot water on him the refugee village opted to keep larger roadways and the newly built tavern opted to have a large section of outdoor seating.
"Eat," Ford said as he pointed to his mouth. While he was still learning the basics of both Japanese and the derivative of Gregorian Greek that the inhabitants of the Special Region used, the minotaur was surprisingly intelligent and could understand both the written and spoken language used in the Special Region but was only just learning to understand Japanese. Learning to speak in his cursed form was harder as his original body did not have the same vocal cords as humans or other demi-humans.
While Ford had lived in the Arun ruins for much of its life it had not always been so. He had been sold into slavery centuries ago to the Arun noblewoman who had sought immortality. Minotaurs could live to see five centuries but had nearly been hunted into extinction centuries ago though there were tales that minotaurs still thrived on other continents.
Arpeggio's vast knowledge had been useful in helping to set up the language classes for the refugees and the JSDF, but her real interest was in the minerals and materials that the members of the JSDF had brought with them to the Special Region. When not tailing Ranma she was often found working with the few scientists to break down the dragon scales, wyvern scales, testing the metals salvaged from the two battles for Alnus Hill, and helping to examine the arm of the flame dragon that Recon Team 3 had managed to sever but was recovered by members of the 4th Division.
With little to do since he had no squad, Ranma spent much of his time in the growing village. Initially the engineering crew had been able to keep up with the demands but with soldiers still needing their own barracks and housing the engineers were only able to assist the village sparingly. Off duty volunteers were in short supply, and people who could clear sections of forest easily were even in shorter supply. Fortunately Ranma met both of those conditions.
"You can volunteer to die for your country but you can't get a drink," Takeo joked as he accepted another mug of beer.
Ranma shrugged. "It's not as though I want to drink anyways."
"Liar," Ford belched.
"You know, for someone who can only speak a few words, you're pretty talkative," Ranma groused as he drank the non-alcoholic cider he'd ordered.
The minotaur smirked.
"You might have better luck if you were in your cursed form," the young sergeant teased.
"I can't believe you two were in basic together," the usually energetic Shino muttered. "How'd you get into Ranger training so quickly?"
"I'm just that good," Ranma teased. "You gotta understand I've been training as a martial artist since I was able to walk. I went through worse at 7 then even Rangers had in their training."
He liked the members of the 3rd Recon Team. It helped that he knew Takeo from basic and that Youji had been the E&E specialist that had trained with him during his time training for the Special Forces and Rangers. That was what separated the 3rd Recon Team from most of the other enlisted otaku. Due to the magical and mystical nature of the enemy forces the higher ups had wanted those with some knowledge in magic and mystical. Unfortunately most of those with such knowledge had been otakus who could glean some information from their hobbies. A good third of the expeditionary force were otakus or at least fans of fantasy manga/anime/light novels and the rest had been forced to find alternative reading to bring them up to speed before they had been deployed into the Gate.
Ranma had to keep reminding himself that while he had been in the Special Region for over three months the rest of the JSDF had only been here a few weeks. As such, he had to avoid talking about the first two months which was actually easy as he had not done anything of note. He could pass of his speedy arrival in Rondel as him having been dropped off by one of the helicopters after the second battle and the rest was him simply traveling as fast as he could travel with a companion. Most of the men who out-ranked him but who know of him knew that Ranma's abilities were beyond the scope of normal comprehension and comparison and were likely to overlook certain details.
Even Ford in his cursed form was far from normal. Though he had the same frame and build as Shino he was far stronger and tougher than he appeared. He was nearly as strong as Ranma's cursed form, but then again, Ranma had always been ahead of the curve.
The small refugee village was flourishing under the protection of the JSDF. No bandits dared to come close to the otherworldly warriors and their strange weapons and magics. Together with the trade agreement that they had with Italica and the fact that they did not have to pay taxes to the local lord, and it was apparent that the village would prosper.
"At least you get a discount," Takeo added. "You know, for helping build this place."
"I am no paying for your drinks. Do you know how much Ford can put away? I'm just lucky he's not in his other form. Besides, your fearless leader is right over there."
"Yeah, right," Shino grumbled. "The moment Delilah has the bill in hand he's off and running."
The foursome laughed.
"Did someone call for me?" the head waitress asked as she appeared beside their table. "More drinks or are you ready to order?"
For once Ford shook his head, "DucK?" he turned to Ranma. The minotaur was a meat eater and used to eating other humanoids, but he detested beef and had a preference for fowl. Humanoids were definitely off the menu. The only other readily available meats were horse and pig. Ranma shrugged but nodded. "Duck – two."
The buxom bunny-woman frowned, "Sorry Ford, we're out of duck for the night. They're cleaning a bear that one of the hunters brought back."
"Bear," the cursed minotaur nodded as he licked his lips.
Sighing, Ranma nodded again, "Guess this is on me then – we'll take the whole thing."
"Bear it is then," the bunny-woman grinned as she rushed to service another table.
"I don't think I've ever had bear," Shino stated. "We should call the rest of the squad."
Takeo glanced at Ranma, "Doesn't your old man turn into a panda?"
"Yeah," he replied. "One of my rivals turned into a duck and another into a piglet."
"Seriously?" Shino asked in disbelief.
While they waited for their meal they exchanged stories of their lives from before they had enlisted.
"Are you the foursome that ordered the bear?" a gruff voice asked in the accented Greek tongue that some of the residents of the Special Region used. The owner of the voice was a grizzled man in his later years. He had clearly seen better days but seemed to be doing okay considering the injuries that he lived with. Beside him was Sergeant First Class Mari Kurokawa, the 3rd Recon Team's combat medic who also assisted at the clinic on her down time.
"We were just talking about calling some of the squad," Shino stated. "We thought the bear might be too much for just the four of us."
"Then you wouldn't mind sharing?" the man asked.
Ranma shrugged, "There's more than enough. Are you sure you can handle the grease sir?"
"It's too warm here for the bears to hibernate," Takeo stated. "I doubt that they'd have too much fat on them."
"I've had tougher," the man grinned. "I wouldn't recommend the local wolves. Haha!"
"Delilah, two more ciders," Ranma said as he held up his hand. "And some more beers for those three."
"This is Duran, he was a hunter in the region," Kurokawa said as she introduced her patient to the others. "This is Shino Kuribayashi, and Takeo Kurata, they're part of my squad. This is Ranma Saotome and his companion Ford."
"You're a civilian?" the patient asked Ford.
"He's a minotaur," Ranma stated. This was not the first time he'd had to explain things, though it was not likely to be the last. "Delilah, some water please."
"She's pretty cute for a minotaur," the man scoffed.
"I'd say something if I wasn't afraid of getting squashed," Takeo muttered.
"That's alright," Duran said as he held up his prosthetic arm. "I've heard plenty about the mighty minotaur and his master that helped end the siege of Italica. I must say, I had not expected to meet such legendary warriors."
Ranma shrugged. "I'm around a lot."
"So it seems," the man ceded as he settled comfortably into his seat with aid from the combat medic. "The refugees here seem to think highly of you in particular, especially the ones from Italica."
Again Ranma shrugged. Many of the former marauders that had attacked Italica had opted to come to the refugee village after helping to repair Italica as they and the citizens that they had attacked felt uncomfortable having them around. Most of the prisoners that had been captured were alive because of Ranma.
"They say that you fought the Apostle Rory and showed them mercy," Duran added. "And they say that you seek the favor of Elange."
Shino nodded, "Yeah, that's all true."
"Hey old man," Takeo said as he tried to insert himself into the conversation, "what's the best tasting game in the area?"
The old hunter rubbed his patchy beard, "Griffin – the meat from the front legs is tender and juicy while the hind-quarters is best in a stew with onions and greens."
As they waited they began exchanging tales – Duran of his hunts and Ranma of his days hunting and foraging while training with his old man. It only worked up their appetites as they waited for the bear to be brought out to them.
"Ranma, there you are," an exasperated voice huffed irritably. "I should have known that this was where you are."
"This must be your buxom chronicler," the old man teased. "You are indeed a fortunate young man."
"I don't know, I think our XO has Ranma beat," Takeo shook his head.
Shino shook her head, "That's a sticky situation that's going to explode in his face."
Kurokawa shrugged as she sipped at her cider.
"Hey Arpeggio," the 2nd lieutenant greeted the woman. Beside the scholar was a buxom dark skinned woman with long silvery hair. She appeared to be a darker and older version of Tuka, the elf that was usually trailing after Youji. That they were in the company of 1st Lieutenant Yanagida seemed to sour Ranma's mood. More than likely the Lt. General and his adjunct had finally decided on what to do with their asset. Ranma and the members of the 3rd Recon Team quickly stood up and saluted the 1st Lieutenant.
"At ease," Yanagida said as he returned their gesture, "we're all off duty."
The last had been needlessly added in an attempt to ease the mood back to what it had been before his arrival. But it was Delilah's arrival with a tray of hot food that did the trick. "Three more beers?"
"Yes please," Yanagida replied. He did not need to ask for more seats as the corner table always had room to spare when Ford was not in his true form.
"That's the elf that had a run in with Rory and Itami," Delilah whispered to Ranma as she set the tray down before Ranma and Ford.
The 2nd lieutenant made the connection. She was the dark elf that had come seeking the JSDF's help in driving off the flame dragon that had apparently settled into the valley that her people called home. Elves were less likely to simply uproot and settle in somewhere else and tended to stay in their forests, or so the JSDF had been lead to believe by the human refugees.
"You are Ranma Saotome, the Legion Slayer and minotaur tamer?" the dark elf asked.
Ranma nodded even as Ford huffed.
"I apologize," the woman said as she lowered herself to a knee and bowed. "I am Yao Haa Dushi. I have come seeking the assistance of the Men in Green who had previously repelled and injured the ancient flame dragon."
Ranma fought the urge to sigh.
"Ranma," Arpeggio interjected, "I believe that if you defeat the flame dragon you would finally accomplish the feat."
A/N
I'll leave things here for now.
Dreamingfox