Aerial Ranma
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Ranma or any of the series shown here. This is simply fanfiction.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: For the purposes of this fanfic, Ranma is eighteen years old instead of sixteen. Kasumi is eighteen instead of nineteen.
!SOUND EFFECTS! "THOUGHTS"
Chapter Four
Kasumi leaped into the air with such grace and finesse as Ryoko attacked her with a ribbon she seemed as if she was flying. She was in fact gliding as she countered Ryoko with her own ribbon. Floating by her opponent, she did several complex, aerial acrobatic maneuvers easily avoided Ryoko's attacks.
"That's it, Kasumi! You're good! Now just a little more wrist action. Use your whole body and channel it's energy into your wrists just like when you fight with martial arts, but be more graceful," Ryoko instructed.
"Kasumi moves with so much agility. Her skill would give some top amazons a run for their money. She's pretty much mastered the mechanics of rhythmic gymnastics as much as possible in so short a time, so she's ready."
"I appreciate the fact you've trained me, Ryoko, but we've been at it for eight hours. And I have to cook breakfast soon. "It's a good thing I've mastered the ability to get eight hours of sleep out of one hour or I'd be exhausted."
"All right. It's five minutes after six a.m. You'll do just fine, Kasumi. At this rate you're sure to beat that Black Rose chick."
"Thanks, Ryoko. Now I need to clean up and get a little bit of sleep. Then I'll make breakfast," Kasumi said as she ran out of there.
"My, she's good! Kasumi's a whole lot better than Akane. I'm surprised Akane hasn't figured out how powerful Kasumi is. Come to think of it. Kasumi could probably give me a good fight."
Without either Ryoko or Kasumi knowing, a stealthy figure had been watching them. Sasuke teleported out of the Tendo home then leaped from rooftop to rooftop until he had made it to the Kuno Estate. Then he arrived in the room in which Kodachi was training..
"It's about time you've finished spying on them. You've been there for hours. Why did it take you so long? So what did you find out, fool? Out with it, quickly!" Kodachi demanded.
"Yes, Mistress! Ranma Saotome has a pair of prehensile wings with which he can fly at speeds of 200 miles per hour. His wingspan is about twelve and a half feet. He also has a great deal of aerial acrobatics and combat ability. His strength and speed are superhuman as well. He's a handsome and muscular martial artist, very skilled, even better than Master Kuno. He can make a pure ki staff appear and disappear at will, and he works for the government as a delivery man."
"Mmmm!" Kodachi swooned as she imagined Ranma with his shirt off and wings out. "Oh, my! Wow!" "Oh! Um, Go on ahead. Continue!"
"Ranma Saotome is engaged to Kasumi Tendo. It seems their fathers engaged them to marry before either one of them was born. It's obvious they like each other a great deal. However, as it is now they're taking things slowly. Ranma is greatly attracted to Kasumi and with good reason."
"Why is that?" Kodachi said coldly.
"Despite the fact she dresses down and covers herself up most of the time, she's very beautiful. Not only is she beautiful, she's sexy! As I watched her undress and bathe I saw that she was slender, curvaceous and fit. Her somewhat, large and well formed breasts stood out against her slender, fit figure. Her arms were muscular and lean with legs that were also muscular but shapely. Her ass was cute, round and firm. There was not an ounce of excess fat or flabbiness on her rock hard body. The way her bodily dimensions moved and shifted against her underwear as she undressed was poetry in motion. And the rest of her was so, so oooh."
!SLAP! "Enough of your perversions! What else did you find out?"
"Yes, of course, Mistress," the ninja said as he got up from the ground and back into his kneeling position.
"Kasumi's fighting skills are enormous. She is as graceful as a ballerina and as strong as a great warrior. She also has the ability to project her ki into energy and use it as an attack. The girl called Ryoko has trained her in Rhythmic Gymnastics all night and trained her well. She is a whole lot more competent than Akane who got injured after you left the Tendo home. She's even as good as you are, maybe better. She..."
!SMACK! Kodachi angrily struck the ninja servant slamming him into the wall. "No one is as good as me and don't you forget it! Now, be gone!" "I'm going to have to think of something quickly. This girl's good; I realize that now. I would have been better off not attacking Akane who was no where near as good her sister, Kasumi."
XXX
After Ranma landed in a dark alley where he wouldn't be seen, he folded his wings into himself. "This uniform they gave me is very convenient; it allows me to bring in my wings and hide them when I need to and spread them out when I need to fly away."
!KNOCK!KNOCK!KNOCK! "Yes?" a man dressed in as a butler said as he opened the door. Despite the way he was dressed, it was obvious he was a competent martial artist. He was tall at six feet four inches weighing 240 pounds, all of it muscle.
"I have a package for Secretary of State Genjuro Matsuda. It's very important he gets this. Here are my credentials."
"All right," the man said as he confirmed that Ranma's credentials were legit. "Leave the package with me. I'll see that he gets it."
"This is a high security package; I have to give it to him personally," Ranma answered firmly.
The large man regarded Ranma dubiously. "Wait here." The doorman closed the door behind him. A few minutes later the doorman re-opened the door. "Mr. Matsuda will see you now."
As he escorted Ranma into the main office of The Secretary of State the pigtailed youth admired the spacious home that had exotic art fixtures and samurai relics like blades and armor hanging on the wall. The unusually immaculate place had an aroma that reminded Ranma of cherry blossoms.
When the doorman walked Ranma into the Secretary's office, a small, respectable middle aged man greeted Ranma. He was chunky but somewhat muscular. And the glasses he wore made him look more distinguished. "Greetings, Ranma Saotome. Is that the package?" the Secretary asked.
"Yes, Mr. Secretary," Ranma presented it with a bow. The Secretary took the package and signed for it. Once Ranma had verified the signature he took the signed paperwork and put it away in his dossier.
"Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Now that our business is concluded I'll take my leave."
"Wait a minute, Ranma. There's something I wanted to talk to you about. I'm impressed at how you fast you got here. How did you get here so quickly? The super express trains aren't that fast and they're crowded to boot."
"I have my ways, Mr. Secretary. Now I really have to leave. I have other deliveries to make."
"Pardon me, Ranma, but my wife has been kidnapped. If I don't advance the agenda of a certain group which isn't good for Japan, they'll kill her." He showed Ranma a picture of his young, drop dead gorgeous, trophy wife. She had long, full hair and a curvaceous but petite figure."
"Why are you telling me all this? I'm just an errand boy. I'm sure the authorities can figure out what to do."
"I know of your 'abilities'. I'm a high ranking government official. So I know your job as a courier is a cover and that you really are a National Security agent which means you work for me. The people who kidnapped my wife will see any government law enforcement official coming from a mile away. They have spies in the government. I read how you found bugs even in the Street Fighter headquarters. I also know how you stopped the Aum Shinri Kyo. It's very imperative you find my wife and soon. Even if I give in to these people they'll surely abuse my wife and eventually kill her."
"I can't guarantee that I'll be able to find your wife. Do you know who kidnapped her?"
"Some Yazuka thugs hired by Shadowlaw might have taken her, but read and memorize this file. This is a list of enemies I have. Do your rounds as you usually do. Once you've finished your delivery duties you can start searching for my wife then. Do not tell anyone else what you're doing, not even Chun Li or Guile. I believe even they are being monitored. The bugs in their headquarters will be found sooner or later, but I want you to do this alone. Do whatever you have to do to get my wife back," the Secretary ordered.
Ranma looked at the Secretary seriously as he took the files. "Yes, Mr. Secretary. You can count on me."
XXX
"Oh, I don't know about this," Kasumi said as she regarded herself in the full length mirror. (1)She was wearing a barebacked two strapped leotard which displayed a great deal of her midriff from her neck to her navel giving her the appearance of having a larger bosom than she actually had. The long cape she wore was attached to the straps of leotard. She also wore sexy, thigh high boots and gloves which almost made her out to be a dominatrix. Her long hair had been combed out and and let loose in such way as to make her look even hotter and sexier. Everything she wore was a beautiful brown, matching her hair.
"You look great, Kasumi!" Nabiki said after helping her with her hair. "I'll make a fortune when I sell pictures of Kasumi! She has a body that would make a bikini model green with envy; I'd be jealous, too, if I wasn't making so much money."
"I'm not going to walk the streets looking like this. I'll wear a coat that covers me up until I get there."
"Don't forget your weapons." Ryoko said carrying her weapons in tow. "After being around other women in various stages of undress I no longer feel affected by what I see. Since the amazons saw me as a woman and men were viewed differently, I had to get used to women and being one. I hope my immunity to women doesn't stay with me when I get my cure, assuming I get my cure."
"Thanks, Ryoko. Well, we better get going, we don't want to be late."
When the three left the home a shadowy figure watched them. "I got some business to take care of. You two go on ahead. I'll get there later," Nabiki said as she ran off.
"I wonder why Nabiki is so happy," both of the girls wondered. Then they both left the house, making their way to the high school where the contest was going to take place.
"There she is. Why is she wearing a raincoat? She's probably naked under all that, the harlot! I really don't care what she does in her private life but I have a winning streak that I must keep up," Kodachi thought to herself as she threw knockout bomb that covered the whole area Kasumi and Ryoko were in. !BOOM!
"My danger sense is acting up. What's going on?" Kasumi said out loud as she took a wiff of the knockout gas too late to do anything but shut down her ability to be receptive to the drug making the paralysis less effective but still falling to the ground unconscious along with Ryoko.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Now my winning streak is secure. I'll just take my leave and show up at the competition. When Kasumi proves to be a no show I'll be declared the winner by default. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha !" With that, Kodachi leaped away.
XXX
After work was officially over, Ranma had spent an hour memorizing the files. Once he had committed everything to memory he put the files away in his cabinet and walked out. As he was on his way out Chun Li approached him. "Ranma! Where are you going? You look so determined. Is there something serious going on? If there is I could give you a hand."
"Oh, there's nothing. It was just a hard day of work; that's all. I don't want to be late for my fiancee's gymnastics' competition, so I have to get going. See ya around," Ranma said as he rushed out.
"Why did he give me the brush off like that? Something is going on. His daily activity report said he visited the Secretary of State earlier. I heard the Secretary's wife is missing. Is that it? Ranma should have come to me. I would have helped him. I'll just follow him and see what happens."
XXX
"We're here for the Rhythmic Gymnastic Competition!" one of announcers said through the loudspeakers. Everyone was inside a huge, domed arena that sometimes doubled as a basketball court and a hockey rink. For the competition there was a squared boxing ring that was set up five feet from the ground.
"Where's Kasumi and Ryoko? If they're not here in ten minutes Kodachi will win by forfeit," Yuka said with a sense of anxiety.
"You don't think Kodachi managed to ambush her and take her out of the competition, do you?" Sayuri asked.
"I don't think she could have taken out both Kasumi and Ryoko. Ryoko's way too powerful; she's even tougher and stronger than most boys," Yuka answered.
"It's very obvious what's going on here! This Kasumi Tendo is too scared and frightened to deal with me! I, the Black Rose, am too invincible. No one can beat me!" Kodachi said out loud to everyone who was there as she strutted her stuff.
"I'm going to go look for her. Kodachi probably did ambush Kasumi. Kasumi's too nice for her own good. You guys shouldn't have talked her into doing this. She's no match for a snake like Kodachi," Akane said as she tried to get up. Despite the fact that Kasumi had wanted to keep her participation a secret from Akane, Akane had found out anyway because this was such a big event.
"We'll look for her, Akane. You just relax."
Then Nabiki arrived. "Hey, everybody. Where's Ryoko and Kasumi?" she asked looking around for them not seeing hide or hair of them.
"We think Kodachi must have ambushed them. We going to look for them. Where can they be? The pride of the school and the town is at stake. Several alumni have arrived to see the event. If Kasumi doesn't show up it will be a disaster!" Sayuri said with worry.
"Blast it! This won't do at all. I already promised some people pictures of Kasumi wearing that hot, sexy outfit I got for her. The buyers promised me a fortune!" "I'll have to go look for her. Er, the pride of the school and town is too important."
XXX
Deep inside Kasumi's subconscious mind she was in a lotus position meditating as her body lay unmoving on the ground. "In a couple of minutes I'll recover and get up. It's not so bad."
Then Kasumi arose and clapped her hands together creating a small shockwave that disseminated the drug powder that was still in the air. "Come on, Ryoko. We have a date with the Black Rose! I won't soon forgive her for what she's done," Kasumi said with a sense of purpose as she picked up Ryoko and the tools for the Rhythmic Competition and leaped into the air, following the trail of black roses.
XXX
Nabiki ran out the doors of the gym with Sayuri and Yuka right behind her looking to the right and to the left. Then she saw a sight that gave her a great deal of relief.
"What took you? Get in here! You don't have a lot of time!" Nabiki shouted with a sense of urgency that was not characteristic of her as she saw Kasumi running towards them with Ryoko and her equipment in tow.
"All right, Nabiki. I'm here. Kodachi ambushed Ryoko and me but I've recovered from what she has done. I will deal with her!"
"That's the spirit!" the girls said in unison.
"You made it!" a couple of boys who were Furinkan students said, coming out of the auditorium. "Here. Let us help you. You got to get in here quick."
"All right!" Nabiki stated. "But don't let on that Kasumi's here. Kasumi, enter in the back way. I want Kodachi to be totally surprised when you show up and kick her ass!"
"All right, Nabiki. We'll do it your way," Kasumi complied.
XXX
"There are only 30 seconds left. If Kasumi Tendo does not show up soon, the match will be forfeited to Kodachi Kuno of St. Herebeke school!" one of the announcers, Jenny Ventura screamed.
Jenny was an American whose parents did business in Japan. She went to the same school as Kodachi did, dressing in a very flamboyant style sometimes like a biker chick. She was a fairly good looking girl with a striking, muscular and sexy figure. Rumor had it that her long hair had extensions in it. Some people even thought she was taking steroids. On the whole she was a hot, tough chick.
"I'm sure she'll get here," the other announcer, Vera Mcmahon, said, sounding not too convinced. Like Jenny, Vera's parents also worked in Japan. She went to Furinkan High dressing very properly for the announcing she was doing. She had trained in some martial arts but she was not in Akane's class. But she was pretty, well conditioned and somewhat muscular.
"Wait a minute! There's someone coming!" Vera announced as she saw Kasumi walking down the aisle with a wearing a cape.
"You don't have a minute. You have only twenty seconds!" Jenny snapped.
Then some loud music started playing. "It's the Eye of the Tiger, it's the thrill of the fight. Rising up to the terror of our rival! And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night, and he's watching us all with the Eye of the Tiger!"
"There is someone coming. It's Kasumi Tendo! She's on her way to the ring with a look of determination! She's arrived here just in the nick of time. Kodachi has a look of sheer shock and surprise on her face. It's as if she's seen a ghost! If I didn't know better I'd say she was certain Kasumi wasn't coming!"
"This is the first time anyone has actually showed up to face her. But that's not a problem for Kodachi. She'll face this opponent and do what she has to do! And why is Kasumi dressed up in that tacky get up with a cape and all? What does she think this is, a strip bar? How's she supposed to stay in that thing?" Jenny said in response.
"It's obvious from all the appreciative looks she's getting from the boys and men in attendance that your opinion is in the minority. Kasumi has made a big entrance as she enters the ring and faces off with the Black Rose!"
"What are you doing here? The drug I hit you with should have kept you unconscious for a week!" Kodachi exclaimed in surprise.
"Is that how long it will take for poor Ryoko to wake up? What you've done is atrocious and dangerous! The potency of the drug you hit me with would might have killed someone or caused permanent damage! I was willing to just go through the motions but now, I'm going all out!"
"Oh, really? You think you can defeat me? You must be insane. I'm the Black Rose! No one defeats me. Anyway, I know all about your engagement to my beloved Ranma. He's mine! I won't let you have him."
"Yours? You listen, missy. I don't know exactly how far I'll go with Ranma, but I'm not losing him to the likes of you!" Kasumi responded as she tried to throw off the cape but found she couldn't get it off. While the cape billowed against the wind of the air conditioner she unabashedly faced off against her opponent to the sighs and wows of the boys and men in the crowd who admired her displayed physique.
"Hmm. Who is this Ranma? It's strange that he has the heart of the lovely Kasumi Tendo, who come to think of it, is as beautiful as the lovely Akane. Which one should I choose? Hmmm? I shall have them both!" Kuno said out loud with a huge smile on his face.
"What's wrong with the guy in the samurai outfit?"
"I don't know, dude. He's some crazy nutbar from Nerima."
Then the referee stepped up. "Now, you both know the rules. The first person out of the ring loses. Let's get ready to rrruuumbllle!"
"Kodachi has immediately attacked with her deadly ribbon grabbing Kasumi by the neck and choking her! Kasumi's big entrance doesn't mean a whole lot now!" Jenny exclaimed.
"Maybe not, but Kasumi has just moved her neck back in such a way as to cause Kodachi to lurch forward. Now Kasumi's using her own ribbon to grab Kodachi and throw her out the ring!" Vera said excitedly. "It's gonna be over before it's started!"
!FWEEET! "What is this? The ring has moved of it's own volition right after Kodachi whistled keeping her from being disqualified," Vera exclaimed as Kodachi landed in the ring.
"That doesn't matter. What matters is the fact that Kodachi has not been thrown out of the ring. It's still on! Now Kodachi has whipped out her clubs. She's striking with the blow of a thousand clubs. It's as if she has countless clubs in her hands!" Jenny screamed.
!WOOSH! "What's Kasumi doing? She's spinning around. Is she creating some kind of small hurricane?" Vera asked out loud.
All of a sudden Kasumi screamed, "Tatsumakiiii!" !TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP!
"She is spinning like a hurricane and using her clubs to strike Kodachi more times than Kodachi hit her before!PLOPPLE!POLOPPLE!PLOPPLE! Kodachi did have countless clubs! She's dropped her clubs and is stunned! She's stumbling. She's falling out of the ring!" Vera yelled.
!FWEEET! "It's not over yet, Mcmahon! Look! Kodachi has just fell forward and is now standing in the ring. It looks like there's no way she's getting thrown out of that ring! Anyone can see that!" Vera responded.
"You got too much fake hair covering your eyes to see anything! It's obvious Kodachi's been cheating all along!" Vera snapped.
"You should give up now, Kasumi Tendo. You can never defeat me. After I have destroyed you, Ranma will be mine."
"I'm engaged to Ranma; he's mine!" "Did I just say that? Oh, my!"
"Kodachi's attacking again. What's this, daggers? She's throwing daggers at her! What does she think this is?" Vera announced.
"Anything to win, Mcmahon. It's called by any means necessary. But Kasumi has just leaped into the air avoiding the flying blades; she's using her cape to practically fly through the air, but Kodachi still hasn't run out of blades!"
"As Kasumi's gliding in the air she's using her ribbon like a grappling hook attaching it to one of the circular beams overhead. Now she's swinging and maneuvering away from the unending blade barrage coming from Kodachi! The way she's using her ribbon to swing around with her cape billowing in the air reminds me Batman swinging through Gotham City!" Vera announced.
!POP!RIP!TEAR! "Yes, but Kasumi's been hit. Several of those blades have struck home, slicing off her cape. Her top's coming off too!" Jenny announced.
"But Kasumi's undeterred. It's as if she's all together unaware of the cape and the straps she was wearing coming off!" Vera announced.
"Oh!" Sayuri and Yuka blushed as they noticed Kasumi's wardrobe malfunction which left her topless.
"Wow!" the boys and men in the arena said some covering their noses trying to keep them from bleeding.
"Now Kasumi's on top of one of the ring posts. What's she trying to do now? What does she think she's doing?" Jenny asked as Kasumi reached for the mat.
!RIIIIIP!SNAP!CRACK! "Kasumi has just torn away the mat! She's torn away the mat revealing a virtual army of leotard clad girls. They're St. Bacchus girls rhythmic gymnastic team! They're leaving the scene of the crime! They've been there all along! They were the ones moving the ring so Kodachi could stay in the match!" Vera announced.
"That's all water under the bridge, Mcmahon! But Kodachi has not been idle all this time. She's just thrown some chains at her opponent tying her legs up. There's no way Kasumi can move. She's just sealed her own fate. If she stumbles and falls, she's through!"
"But she's not through! She's reaching for her ribbon which is still swinging from the ceiling! She's got it! Now she's swinging towards Kodachi!" Vera announced.
"She's going for a suicide attack! More likely than not she won't be able to knock Kodachi off the ring post she's on and the fight will be over," Jenny announced.
"Kasumi's let go of her ribbon. She's falling! NO! NO! NOO!" Vera screamed as Kasumi flew towards the trunk of the ring post Kodachi was standing on and !CRACK!
"It's over! Kodachi has won this for sure!" Jenny celebrated.
As Kodachi prepared for the attack she thought was coming she found out too late it was a feint as she stumbled and fell off the broken post and hit the ground.
"Kasumi is still balanced on the broken part of the ring post as the chains have fallen off of her. She was never entangled in the chains! She has outwitted Kodachi and won this match! The crowd's going wild! This match will be remembered for years to come!" Vera announced happily.
"I don't believe it, Mcmahon! It's obvious Kasumi has used treachery to win this match! It's also obvious it's better to be lucky than good."
"There was no luck involved here! Kasumi Tendo has won this match by her own blood, sweat and tears! She has proven the superiority of Furinkan High! She has..."
"Superiority? What are you talking about? It was luck and treachery on Kasumi Tendo's part! There's no way she could have won the match otherwise!"
"That's not true! She won the match despite Kodachi's dirty tricks. Every victory Kodachi's has had has been by hook or crook. And I use those words strongly!"
"I tell it like it is, Mcmahon! And I'm saying Kasumi Tendo used guile and treachery to win this match. She pretended to be miss sweet and innocent, a June Cleaver housewife type, but noo! We're seeing how she really is with the way she's undressed now parading herself for the world to see! She had everybody fooled!"
"Her top coming off wasn't her fault! It was Kodachi who threw the daggers at her. Kasumi could have been killed! But she has won this match! She has every reason to feel good about herself. She has done the ward of Nerima proud!"
"This isn't over, Mcmahon! I'm sure Kodachi's already planning her revenge on Kasumi Tendo!"
"Whether or not the Black Rose can get revenge on the girl who has just beaten her, remains to be seen!" Vera Mcmahon announced happily.
"I'll make a fortune off of this. And the way the boys were struck speechless at Kasumi in her outfit, more so when she came out of it! The outfit I got for her was worth all the money I spent on it despite the fact it tore or maybe because of it," Nabiki thought as she videotaped the whole event.
"It's a good thing our parents decided to take a vacation in Japan, eh Beavis?"
"That's right, Butthead! I thought it sucked that our parents forced us to watch this so we could get culture. But the violence and destruction of this match was worth it. Huh huh, huh huh, huh huh huh, huh huh, huh huh huh!"
"And what a pair of assets! Who says Japanese girls are flat chested? Huh huh huh, huh huh, huh huh huh!"
"I won't soon forget this, Kasumi Tendo, you will pay for this defeat! I shall have my revenge on you one day. And I shall take Ranma away from you as well! And put something on. No one wants to look at you, you slut! We will meet again, soon! And I will beat you! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" With that Kodachi leaped into the air and left through a high open window.
"Kasumi! Kasumi! You did it! You won! But here's your coat; you need it. When Kodachi threw those daggers at you some of the blades struck your costume tearing it off. You were practically naked!" Sayuri said as she ran towards Kasumi with Yuka and some other girls from school right behind her.
"Hmm? Naked? What are you talking about?" Then Yuka pointed at Kasumi's topless torso.
"Oh my!" As Kasumi blushed her exposed flesh became pink with embarrassment causing the boys to look upon her even more; many fainted happily from the sight. She then quickly took the coat and covered herself with it.
"I wondered why everyone was staring at me. Well, I'm glad I won't have to do something like this again," Kasumi said, still blushing.
"Yawn! I hear you did pretty well, Kasumi. I'm proud of you. I should have faced Kodachi myself. It was selfish of everyone to put you up against someone like her," Akane said with another yawn, making it obvious she had fallen asleep during the match.
"That's okay, Akane. I know that if you had faced Kodachi at you're best you would have beaten her," Kasumi said with a smile as the other girls looked at each other with looks of disbelief but said nothing else. Then Nabiki walked up to them.
"Hey, guys! You did good, Kasumi. I'm very proud of you. You did this whole town and the school proud," Nabiki said happily, thinking about all the money she was going to make off the event.
"I'm sorry about ruining the outfit you took so much time to pick out for me, Nabiki. But I have to be honest; it was awfully tight and showy. If I didn't know how to control my breathing and keep my stomach in I might have come out of that costume sooner."
"Oh, don't worry about it, Kasumi. It's all right. Forget about the outfit. What mattered was the pride of the school and the town." As Nabiki talked Akane looked at her suspiciously.
XXX
In the evening Ranma flew on top of a high building where there was enough light so he could go look over most of Tokyo but not so much light in his direction that he would be easy to see.
"The first name on the list was Takio Matsuda. He's reputed to be a high ranking member of the Yakusa. I'll pay him a visit first. Then I'll..." "What the?" !WOOOSH!
Ranma flew intoup the air, barely avoiding the charging attack of "Hagetaka! What are you doing here?"
"So I found you, Ranma. I will finally be able to deal with you. It took a long time but now I'll put you back in your place," Hagetaka said as he doubled back and flew towards Ranma with his ki claws extended.
Ranma whipped out his ki staff but Hagetaka still got an attack in. His claws were a feint and as he quickly flew around and behind Ranma striking him in the back with a roundhouse kick that sent him flying towards an advertisement and right through it!
!CRASH! "Blast it! I don't have time for you, Hagetaka! Go home!"
"Then make time, punk! Before I take you back to Shadowloo, I plan to dish a little payback for embarrassing me in front of Master Bison."
As the vulture man zoomed into Ranma's position, Ranma nailed him with a powerful strike utilizing his ki staff, sending Hagetaka back several feet almost into a huge electrical sign displaying Coco Cola.
"Mommy! There are two winged men fighting near that Coca Cola sign!" a young boy called out as he pointed towards the sky.
"Shush, Junpei! Stop making things up!" Junpei's mother said as she dragged her son off.
Hagetaka and Ranma flew towards each other fighting each other with a great deal of superhuman speed and skill. As the two fought they were several stories high over Shinjuku street with all the lights on them causing a display that couldn't be ignored by the denizens down below.
!SLICE! "So much for your puny staff, Ranma! I always knew it was over rated!"
"Hagetaka thinks he's cut my staff in half but I've allowed him 'cut' it because the staff was too long for how close we are at the moment. It's a good thing Pop and I spent some time in the Philippines. The arnis and escrima I learned is really helping me right now."
As the two warriors were exchanging attacks a long haired, beautiful man looked up at them from a 20 story building regarding the two combatants. "It looks like Hagetaka has finally found Ranma. Ranma's beginning to get the upper hand. It looks as if he's about to win the fight. I better get up there and give buzzard face a hand," Vega thought to himself as he quickly leaped from building to building towards the two winged warriors.
Ranma stretched his wings out while they were going toe to toe and cupped both of his opponent's ears using his prehensile wings, stunning Hagetaka. !WACK! Then Ranma struck home with a powerful roundhouse kick knocking the vulture man hundreds of feet and right through a pane glass window of an office of a building that was closed at the time. !CRASH!
"Ohhh," Hagetaka groaned as he tried to get up. !POW! Ranma had already flown in into the office floor striking Hagetaka with a right cross knocking him out cold.
"You never could beat me in a fair fight, Hagetaka. As soon as I call for some back up you will be taken in custody and locked up."
As Ranma was about to reach for his cell phone he heard a disturbance in the wind and barely leaped out of the way as a long haired man dressed as a matador, wearing a face mask leaped over him ricocheting across the walls of the business office they were in right over the 36 desk cubicles, flying straight for Ranma. Even though the lights were off in the large room on the 30th floor the bright lights outside shone in.
"Vega! If Hagetaka can't beat me, you sure can't!" Ranma said as he merged his staff back into one piece and whirled it around creating a fan effect that blew Vega back. What had been neatly stacked piles of paper flew all over the place making a mess of the what had been an immaculately clean office.
"No, Senor. Vega is a lot more capable than that hideous freak. I'll be bringing you back to Shadowloo." The Spanish ninja landed on his feet with cat like agility. Then within a span of scant seconds he ricocheted up and over Ranma, seeming to be everywhere until he finally attacked Ranma from behind and knocked him into the a large desk shattering it. !CRUNCH!
"Fine, Vega. I'll give you the same thing I gave Hagetaka."
Vega flew right into Ranma or more accurately right into his ki staff, !WACK WACK WACK!CRASH! and went flying into the nearby hallway right through a plate of glass.
"My face! My face! You . You knocked my mask off and ruined my face, my beautiful face! I'll kill you!" Vega screamed even though his face had hardly been scratched.
"I'll..." !CRACK! Then he crumbled into the ground unconscious after being knocked out by a powerful kick from Chun Li.
"Ranma!" Chun Li called out.
"Chun Li. What are you doing here?"
"I followed you here. It's really difficult trailing someone who can fly, even hard for me! Why did you leave in such a rush? Is it because of the Secretary's wife?"
There was a look of dread on Ranma's face as he noticed Hagetaka stir and get up. With a surprising amount of speed the vulture man grabbed a desk and threw it at Ranma. The desk was so large that it covered the whole area Ranma was occupying. !SMASH! "Aaargh! I'll get you for that, Hagetaka!"
"You're talking about the Secretary's pretty, young thing, his wife, aren't you?" the vulture man said, ignoring the threat. "Well, you'll never find her. So that's what you were doing flying around in circles. I'll have to inform the kidnappers that you're on their trail," Hagetaka cackled as he got up and flew away.
"Blast it, Chun Li! It was supposed to be a secret! I can't afford to let him go now!" Ranma yelled as he broke out of the damaged furniture and flew off after Hagetaka.
Chun Li quickly jumped on Ranma's back and held on tight as he flew out of the hole that had been made earlier. "You better hold on tight. I was doing just fine until you showed up and messed things up!"
"Don't talk to me like I'm a rookie! I've been dealing with these people since before you were in puberty! Now, what's going on?"
"Hold up! I have to find Hagetaka. Where is he? There he is!" !ZOOM!
"I know the Secretary's wife has been kidnapped, Ranma. Sheesh, I'm a detective. It wasn't hard to put two and two together. What I want to know is why didn't the Secretary tell Japanese NSA, Guile or me? Why did he just tell you?"
"The Secretary told me not to tell anyone else and to find his wife myself. He told me there were moles in the Japanese government. You know how I found those bugs when you and Guile were unaware of them," Ranma said as he increased his speed bridging the gap between him and his quarry.
Hagetaka was still a mile away but Ranma kept on after him. After flying in between two buildings which were only separated by ten feet Hagetaka quickly flew up straight up towards the sky then he banked left and flew to the right inside the shadow of an even larger building.
"You won't get away from me so easily!" Ranma said as he followed his enemy maneuvering in the same fashion except better.
"Do you know where you're going, Ranma? It's dark in this area. You might run into something if you're not careful."
"I'm been flying since the last time you shaved your legs so no more back seat driving! I know what I'm doing!"
"Ranmaaa! If we weren't sixty stories high I'd kick your ass all over the place! Didn't your mother teach you any manners?"
"I haven't seen my mother in years! Now, hold on. He's flying towards that large electrical neon Pepsi sign."
"That's an electrical sign! Fly into that and we'll be electrocuted!" Chun Li said with concern.
"He's flying right behind it. I going in!"
"Look out, Ranma! Yeow!" !WOOSH! "Whew! Did you have to cut it so close?"
"He just flew by that building. I can see the open window from here! You don't have to hold me that tight, Chun Li. I'm engaged. Remember?"
"Ranmaaa! I'm starting to get dizzy. How fast are you flying anyway? Do you even know where we are?"
"I'm flying at about 200 miles an hour. And I know where we are. I've often flew through the city memorizing all the sites as I did my deliveries." !WOOSH! "We just flew over the Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku. The Shinjuku Station is a five minute walk from the hotel. And if you get sick you're walking home. I didn't ask you to bum a ride. Now hold on. He's increasing his speed!"
Hagetaka flew right past a large 50 story building banking to his upper right trying to cover his trail but Ranma was too fast for him. "That won't work either," Ranma said as he flew past the building banking to his upper right while many people inside were glued to the windows watching both birdmen fly by.
"The brat's too fast! I can't shake him. I'll have to go to the Tokyo Tower and ditch him from there. If he thinks I'll let him use me to find the Secretary's wife he's crazy!" !BEEP BEEP!
"What is it? I'm very busy right now!" Hagetaka said as he answered his wrist watch that was also a communication device.
A man dressed in red and yellow, shining samurai armor that seemed to be on fire whenever he moved, was standing on the top of the Tokyo Tower. He was big and muscular looking like a bodybuilder yet muscularly defined like a martial artist with all his muscles developed at six feet three inches tall. His eyes were dark and scary. He had a lot of samurai weapons hidden on his person in subspace from which he could summon faster than the blink of an eye. Most powerful of all was his ki sword which helped make him the most deadly swordsman on the planet.
"This is Hitaro Takagawa! You were supposed to find Ranma and bring him back to Shadowlaw! Why are you running away from him?" the samurai asked with a cold inhuman, metallic voice.
"It's more important I get away from him right now. The Secretary has sent Ranma to find his wife. His wife should be eliminated!"
"That's not for you to decide! You shouldn't have told him you knew anything about it. I'm in charge of that. He kicked your ass, didn't he? Oh, never mind. Can your eagle eyes see me and my men on the top of the Tokyo Tower?"
"Yes, I can see you. What about it?"
"Keep flying towards me. I have a surprise for Ranma. I'm going to blast him out of the sky. I'll be generous and let you have what's left," the samurai answered.
"Why thank you," the vulture man answered sarcastically. "All right. I'll do it. But Bison wants him alive! Now, get ready!" Hagetaka then flew closer towards the Tokyo Tower with Ranma hot on his tail.
"It looks like he's headed for the Tokyo Tower. I'm calling for back up. The cat's already out of the bag. There's nothing we can do about everybody knowing about the Secretary's wife, Ranma."
"You can call them if you want but by the time they show up we'll be miles away if Hagetaka keeps going at this rate," Ranma answered as he saw Hagetaka fly towards the tower and then fly up and over it.
"We're in luck! The NSA are going to send in some super-fast, modified Apache helicopters that will be able to catch up to us," Chun Li explained.
On the top of the building, Hitaro was building up his ki as his samurai henchmen added their ki to his. "Jiiiiii!" they said in unison. Then energy filled his very large, outstretched ki sword. Once Hagetaka flew over them, Hitaro blasted Ranma who had been in rapid pursuit. !SHRACK!
"Aaargh!" Ranma and his passenger flew back several feet end over end. Even though she didn't take the brunt of the attack, the already dizzy Chun Li took enough damage so that she let go of Ranma as they both spiraled downward.
XXX
(1) You can see what Kasumi wore in this match by going to the area of my website, Images for Ranma fanfiction on the left. Once you've clicked that, what Kasumi looked like in the match will be in full view.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. I updated sooner than I had planned because I got so many reviews for it. Take another look at my website; I have a lot of pictures there I think you'll like to see. And sign my guest book! Until next time.