Saotome Ranma was, at his core, a simple man with simple desires. He enjoyed good food, a good fight, and (ever since his fiancée issues had resolved themselves) the company of a good woman.
As he ate his third order of fish and chips while waiting for his new subordinates to arrive, the twenty-five year old warrior thought back to the crazy (even for him) chain of events that had led him to his prominent position in the Council of Venice.
Shortly before he turned eighteen some insane mage in the Juuban district of Tokyo had managed to summon some sort of greater demon lord. Ranma and his entourage were on a class trip in the area at the time and ended up getting involved. Though whoever had the bright idea of putting members of the Nerima Wrecking Crew in the same district as the Sailor Senshi was a goddamn moron, in Ranma's opinion. He promptly put his money on Principal Kuno being said moron.
Ranma, Ryoga, Ukyo, Shampoo, Mousse and Akane had all joined the fight against the waves of monsters that had flooded from the epicenter of the catastrophe, soon linking up with the Senshi themselves and a group led by a guy Ranma's age named Tenchi. The battle dragged on for hours, long enough for even the JSDF to get involved, fighting demons and monsters with heavy weapons and high caliber bullets and making decent headway despite a fair amount of losses.
In the end Sailor Moon, Tenchi and Ranma had fought their way to the demon that had begun the entire event. As Juuban burned around them the three fought the being and its pet mage for nearly an hour, not stopping despite their reserves getting dangerously low. It was after they finally managed to kill the mage, growing low on stamina and power, that they tried a final gambit. Ranma drew the demon's attention, launching Moko Takabisha and Hiryu Shoten Ha variations like candy, exhausting himself greatly, while Moon and Tenchi pooled their powers, both either Divine or at the least Light aligned, in order to try to seal the demon once again.
Ranma was close to falling, beyond exhausted, when the two finally launched the attack. An orb of white energy hit the demon dragging it into itself as it roared in rage, its great form disappearing quickly. Ranma had tried to move away, but due to exhaustion wasn't fast enough and the demon ended up grabbing his leg, determined to drag at least one of its enemies down with it.
Moon and Tenchi, despite their own fatigue, launched attacks at the monster to try to get it to leave Ranma alone. They managed to get it to let go, but Ranma was already being dragged into the event horizon. In desperation both Moon and Tenchi tried use their powers to drag him back, but all that did, as far as Ranma could tell, at least, was do something to change the magic's properties just as the demon lord fully disappeared. Ranma was still sucked in, but didn't end up in the same place the demon had gone, which was a blessing as far as he was concerned.
He could still remember the two's distraught faces as he disappeared, though. They hadn't known each other long, but they'd become comrades in arms in a short amount of time. He'd have liked to find out if they could have become friends
Though knowing his luck, Moon would end up being another fiancée.
He'd woken up to find himself in front of what he now knew to be an entrance to Agartha, barely able to move his body. What came next he only really knew due to speculation and 'talks' with Gaia (something any Bee was capable of, though most only got snippets of information).
Gaia was not amused when an extra dimensional intruder suddenly appeared on her plane. She had enough trouble when it came to the damn Sleepers as it was. So she'd immediately gone on the attack. Before Ranma could really react one of her golden bees had approached and entered his mouth, forcing itself down his throat like it would whenever Gaia chose somebody to be a Bee. It had a darker purpose this time, however. Its mission was to get all the information it could about Ranma for Gaia before burning him up from the inside, incinerating his very soul so that the threat to Gaia was eliminated completely.
Ranma'd felt agonizing pain, the kind he'd never thought existed, convulsing and writhing on the ground, unable to even scream as the bee went through everything that made him who he was. At the time, he'd almost prayed for death. It would have been beyond merciful compared to what he was enduring. However, the time that the bee, that Gaia, took to study him rather than destroy him out of hand saved his existence.
Gaia had gone through his history and found his ability to contend with demigods and demons despite being a pure human intriguing, so she'd dug deeper, finding his core personality and motivations. While there was some she obviously didn't like (his arrogance and tendency to screw others over if it served him), she also found things to prize (his willingness to put himself on the line if needed, his determination to improve himself). In the end, considering that he was able to fight someone of Saffron's level without any enhancement or tools beyond a (relatively) minor magical weapon made him too useful to discard. So rather than burn his soul to metaphorical ash, Gaia granted him her blessing, turning him into one of her Bees, though with the knowledge imprinted in his mind that she'd end him if he proved himself not worth the investment.
It went without saying that Ranma was more than determined to make sure she didn't regret her decision. And when he learned of a certain benefit of becoming a Bee, he practically got down on his knees to worship her.
After he'd sufficiently recovered from his ordeal he'd made his way into the city he'd woken in, finding out he'd wound up in this world's Kyoto. Thankful that he hadn't ended up in some place he wasn't equipped for, like Russia, he'd gone to the nearest internet café to get some information, happy that he'd been convinced to learn how to use a computer by Kasumi and Nabiki, considering how necessary they were to daily life. He'd quickly gotten online and taken in everything he could find about where he was. Then, knowing he wouldn't be able to get much information on the magical side of the world online without knowing where to look, he'd gone hunting for the nearest center of occult activity. It being Kyoto, one of the more traditionalist areas of the country, it hadn't taken him long to find it.
He'd stayed in the area for a week, participating in pit fights for cash and getting as much information on what was known as The Secret World as possible. There he'd learned of the various factions, and the fact that nearly every Bee was a member of one of them. He'd then studied the factions to see which one would fit him best, knowing despite his inherent arrogance that having a support system in an unknown new world was the smart option.
He'd dismissed the Illuminati almost immediately. Their manipulations and double dealing weren't his style, though he'd admit the perks were nice.
The Dragon struck him as too conniving and secretive. He'd rather know what his goals were supposed to be. Besides, he'd had more than enough chaos in his life so far, though he wasn't naïve enough to think he'd escaped it completely.
The Templars actually seemed to fit him best. Blunt and straightforward, using martial might to make things go their way. However, they had downsides too. They were no doubt heavily hidebound and traditionalist, which Ranma definitely wasn't. Plus, their policy of burning down a village to eliminate a single monster didn't sit well with him. He'd prefer something less heavy handed.
The Phoenicians were ruled out about as quickly as the Illuminati were. Backstabbing assholes that were entirely focused on profit and would stab their own grandmothers in the back for a bit of coin didn't interest him in any way, shape or form.
Then, in his research, he'd learned of the Council of Venice. The regulatory body that tried to keep the occult contained, and the factions from blowing the world up. Generally outgunned and outmanned, with very few Bees to their name, they were seen more and more as a useless relic.
However, Ranma saw an opportunity in the Council. They tended to send agents into occult disasters to try to keep things from spiraling out of control. If he became a field agent it would allow him to stretch his legs and test his skills without giving him annoying moral dilemmas. Of more minor importance (to him, at least) were their connections and influence, which were still decently significant despite waning. And the factions would be less likely to try to screw him over if he was under the Council's banner.
There were, of course, downsides. He couldn't imagine the Council would just let him do as he wished. Not until he'd gotten himself a decent reputation, at least. But of all his options, it was the one with the least amount of issues to its name, at least as far as he could find.
He would, of course, find himself learning of further issues in the future. For the moment, though, it was his best option.
It had taken some doing to get the Council's attention in a way that wouldn't piss them off immediately, but once they found out he was an unaffiliated Bee they jumped to recruit him, agreeing to make him a probationary field agent.
From there he'd gone on to build a name for himself through various victories. Bogota, Sochi, Capetown, Honolulu (he'd really enjoyed that assignment), Las Vegas… His name had grown and grown at an incredible rate, to the point where even faction agents treated him with respect.
It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, of course. He got reprimanded more often than not for going beyond his remit and assignment. But he brought in results, so there was not much they could do beyond scolding him and giving him a few crap assignments, though even those ended up adding to his reputation. That one in that old haunted Siberian gulag hadn't been fun though… Still, after seven years as an agent of the Council, he was in a good place, and the Council's own position had strengthened due to his actions. Things were going well.
Then Tokyo happened, and everything went to shit.
The event had sent a shockwave of occult activity throughout the world. Crises and catastrophes were popping up everywhere constantly. Every supernatural group was scrambling to deal with the increased workload, the three main factions ramping up their recruiting to the point they accelerated the process, giving some people less than a day to acclimate before being sent on assignment. From what he'd heard, even the Dragon's vaunted models were struggling to keep up.
It was the biggest mess the supernatural world, if not the world itself, had seen since the Battle of Armageddon. And it was Ranma's job to help clean it up.
He sighed and took a drink of his beer. That led him to the reason he was sitting in The Horned God.
He'd had the idea, after studying the alliances of convenience faction agents often got into out in the field, of setting up a more formal version of those fireteams. A team of agents, one from each of the three major factions, under the command of a Council agent, namely Ranma himself. The group could pool their abilities and experience to deal with issues around the world.
The main problem he saw arising with such an endeavor was the inevitable infighting between the members due to their primary loyalties. He only hoped that the fact that each faction had a stake in his project succeeding would keep them from actively sabotaging each other.
The Council fought him on it. The criticisms and mockery the factions heaped on it weren't actually wrong. The Council was a good idea that unraveled into too much bureaucracy and infighting, with consensus and decisions rarely achieved. They were slow to change, and those that could affect things in a positive manner looked at it dismissively.
Ranma agreed with Gaia's whispers. The likelihood of the Council of Venice finding its feet again depended on another near disaster like Armageddon to embolden them and give them purpose again, much as he'd rather it not come to that. Still, he'd thrown in his lot with them, and they were essentially the lesser evil of The Secret World. So he'd continue applying band-aids to the broken body till he found some way to actually properly fix things.
In the end, after much debate (ie arguing and shouting), the Council agreed to back his experiment. Arturo Castiglione was set to help oversee, though he'd promptly given Ranma almost total control, only asking for reports he could show the rest of the Council. Ranma could live with that.
Now he was waiting for the agents assigned to his team by the Dragon, the Illuminati, and the Templars. He only hoped they wouldn't be too much of a pain.
He'd just taken another bite of his fish when someone knocked on the doorframe of the booth, making him look up to find three girls standing there, weapons on their backs, letting him know they were likely the ones he was waiting for, prompting him to study them carefully.
The first was a beautiful blond girl looking at him curiously. Her hair reached he shoulders, and she had blue eyes and a light dusting of freckles across her nose and cheeks. Her figure was nice and well proportioned, with decently sized breasts and a flat belly atop a slim waist. She was dressed in jeans and a grey top that left part of her stomach bare, covered by a small leather coat meant more for fashion than as actual protection from the cold.
The next girl was the one of the darkest skinned people Ranma had ever met. She was grinning excitedly, revealing pearly white teeth, her brown eyes practically sparkling like an anime character's in a pretty face that would attract more than one man. Her chocolate brown hair was long, reaching between her shoulder blades, though it was likely longer when straight rather than curly as it was now. She was dressed in white short shorts and a blue top with the Superman symbol on it. She had the largest breasts of the three girls, and her arms and legs were well muscled, showing she exercised extensively.
The last, and most nervous looking, of the girls was Asian. Ranma was pretty sure she was Korean, and considering she looked healthy and well fed, he guessed South Korean. She was very attractive as well, will large green eyes and pale skin. Combined with the lustrous, waist length black hair, she fit what the Japanese called a yamato nadeshiko. She was the least busty of the three at a high A-cup at most, and the rest of her body was just as slim. She clothes were slightly tattered, a white cropped top and short skirt, and she was quite obviously not wearing a bra. From looking at her clothes he thought she might be from a lower income home, but he couldn't be sure.
"So, you're the ones the three factions assigned to my team, huh?" He said after his analysis was done and he'd swallowed his food. He motioned them into the seat across from him. "Take a seat. Name's Ranma Saotome. Sorry 'bout this."
The three slid onto the seat, the black girl sitting against the wall, the blonde in the middle, and the Korean at the end. He motioned over for the waitress to come over. "Order yourself a drink and some food." He said as menus were handed out. "This is probably going to be a long conversation. No reason we can't be comfortable while having it."
The girls looked at the options as the waitress moved away to attend another table while they decided, the blond looking slightly forlorn. "I don't think I can eat any of this. I need to watch my figure." She said in an American accent.
Ranma looked at her incredulously. How long had this girl been a Bee? This was one of those basic things all Bees knew, especially the women. "You do know you can have whatever you want and not worry about gaining weight, right?" All three girls suddenly looked at him intently, making Ranma sweatdrop. "Once you become a Bee, your abilities will keep you in good shape. You'll need to actually exercise for muscle mass, but you won't become overweight. Any excess is converted directly into anima for you to use."
The blonde's eyes lit up with glee and she eagerly went back to her menu, scouring it intently. In the meantime the Korean girl spoke up next, her voice timid and lightly accented, reinforcing Ranma's assumptions about her. "What did you mean, when we become a Bee? What does that mean?"
Ranma stared at her before glancing at the other girls, who also looked curious. "How long ago did you get your powers and join your societies…?" He asked slowly.
The black girl spoke now with a London accent. "I got my superpowers a week ago, and joined the Templars today. Just got my weapon an hour ago and everything."
As Ranma gawked at her the blonde turned to her with surprise. "Really? Same thing with me. I woke up and incinerated my favorite robe a week ago, and I ended up with the Illuminati today. This is my first assignment."
"Um, the same is true for me. I only just met my superiors about an hour ago." Korean girl said softly.
Ranma pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. "So you're telling me that all three of you are utter and complete newbies to The Secret World?" He let out a breath after all three nodded. "Alright, guess this talk is going to be longer than I thought…" He said as the waitress returned to take their orders.
As the girls ordered their food Ranma sat back in thought. On the one hand, this gave him a few problems. He was now responsible for complete amateurs who probably didn't know how to even use their weapons, not to mention anything else about their abilities or the Secret World itself. He'd need to keep a closer eye on them to make sure one of them didn't die due to their inexperience.
On the other hand, this eliminated one of his biggest worries about this new venture of his. If this was the first day they'd been part of their respective factions, then that meant that they didn't have any of the acquired biases and grudges more experienced agents would have. He had a chance to turn this into a well-functioning unit without any worries about backstabbing and inter-faction politics getting in the way. It was perfect.
He smiled and sipped his beer as the waitress left with their orders, the girls turning back to him. "Alright, first of all, let's start introductions. Name, age, likes, dislikes, and what you were doing and hoping to do with your lives before this all happened to you. After that I'll explain what we're doing, and then I'll answer any questions you might have regarding your powers and The Secret World in general. Sound good?" The girls nodded, so he took another sip. "Good, I'll go first then."
"As I said, the name's Ranma Saotome. I'm twenty-five. I enjoy pretty much anything dealing with martial arts, from movies to manga, seeing as I've studied the Art since I was a toddler. I dislike assholes that can't take a hint and people bent on world domination. You'll meet more than one throughout your careers, trust me." He grinned at the looks on their faces. "Before I became a Bee I was going to high-school while studying martial arts, aiming to become a grandmaster by the time I reached thirty. Beyond that I didn't really have much of an ambition. Since I became a Bee I joined the Council of Venice as a field agent, rising through the ranks till I could use my influence to set up this little team of ours." He shrugged then. "That's the basics about me. Now, who wants to go next?"
The black girl raised her hand eagerly. "Ooh, ooh, I'll go next!" At Ranma's nod she started talking with a grin. He could already tell she was very much a genki girl. "My name's Amanda Hall. I'll be eighteen in two weeks. I love computers, comics, and video games. I don't like avocados and really don't like way too serious people. You should try to enjoy your life, y'know?" She paused as the waitress came back with their food and another beer for Ranma, nodding her thanks. Then she continued. "I'm a professional white hat hacker. That means I work for companies by testing their defenses and reporting any vulnerabilities so they can fix them. I've done work for everyone from Google to Orochi." She looked supremely proud of that fact, and Ranma couldn't help the impressed eyebrow that rose. "As for what I wanted to do, I dunno, really. I already had a good paying job, and had everything I needed. Now that I've got superpowers though…" She bounced happily, which did interesting things to her chest. "I'm looking forward to helping people."
Ranma chuckled and nodded. "Sounds like you've got a very useful skillset. I've learned some computer basics, but nothing in depth, so someone that can hack systems and the like will be very helpful to the group. Glad to have you, Amanda." Amanda nodded happily and began to tuck into her food when she saw her part was over. Ranma then turned to the blonde. "Alright, how about you next?"
The girl nodded and set her fork down, taking a quick sip of her Bingo cola. "Alright. My name is Elizabeth McClane. You can all call me Liz though, since it looks like we're going to be working together for a while. I just turned twenty. I like movies, mostly adventure ones. I don't like guys that just try to get in my pants, or being ordered around." Ranma almost chuckled. He really couldn't see her enjoying being a grunt in the Illuminati then. Liz continued. "I've been working as an amateur model and doing well enough. I've been trying to break through to go pro, and I think I was making progress but then…" She shrugged with a sigh. "Well, you know."
Ranma nodded. Not every Bee was initially happy to be one like Amanda was, after all. He imagined some perks of the status would help change her mind though. "I understand. You're Illuminati, right?" Liz nodded. "You'll probably still end up doing modeling work then."
Liz looked curious. "What? Why?"
"The Illuminati have agents in every industry." He explained. "I can see them having you do some work as a model in between your duties to this squad. You'll probably get better jobs off the bat thanks to them too."
Liz looked interested at that. "Really? Well, that sleazy talent shark that recruited me did say I could have a chance to be big… I just figured it was a line."
Ranma shook his head. "No, he probably wasn't lying. Just keep in mind that they'll use you to serve their purposes, not the other way around." Liz nodded thoughtfully and went back to her food as Ranma turned to the last of his new subordinates. "Alright, one more. How about it?"
The Korean girl nodded hesitantly as she nibbled on her grilled fish. "U-um, my name is Cheon Chun Hei. I am twenty-one. I enjoy painting, novels, and K-dramas. I dislike it when stories make sudden changes that make no sense. I was in university studying art. I wanted to find a good man to marry and be a housewife to while painting as well."
"What, really?" Liz asked Chun Hei, an eyebrow raised. "That's it? Be a housewife and paint?"
Chun Hei frowned, though she shrunk a bit in her seat. "I don't think simple dreams are bad…" She murmured.
"I agree." Ranma said, smiling kindly at Chun Hei. "If it's what makes you happy and it doesn't hurt anybody else, then I don't see what's wrong with it." Chun Hei blushed prettily at Ranma's words, averting her gaze with a murmured "Thank you".
Liz sighed before shrugging. "Yeah, I guess." Then she turned back to Ranma. "So, what now?"
"Alright, I don't know how much your superiors have told you of what we're doing, so I'll explain." He took another sip of his beer. "Ever since the Tokyo disaster, occult activity has been on the rise. There have been a lot of supernatural events that have gotten close to being huge disasters. I decided to create a mixed faction team to help deal with these issues. It's not like it's the first time it's been done, it's just the first time it's official instead of just a bunch of Bee's getting together to deal with a greater threat in the field before disbanding again. Our job is to go into hotspots and deal with whatever crisis is happening, trying to at least keep it from getting worse. I'm hoping to eventually get us access to Tokyo so we can find out exactly what's happening, but nobody is going in now. It's under a complete lockdown. Understand?" At the girls' nods he continued. "Alright, I promised to answer your questions, and as newbies I imagine you have a lot, so lay em on me."
"You keep calling us 'Bees'." Liz said, jumping in immediately. "Why?"
"That's what we're commonly known as." Ranma said. "We got our power when Gaia sent one of her bee constructs into our bodies to empower us. You probably remember waking up the day you got your powers with the taste of honey in your mouth."
Liz was gaping at him, so Amanda was the one to ask the next question. "So wait, I got superpowers because I swallowed a magical bee?"
Ranma shrugged. "Basically. But anyway, that's why various groups call Gaia empowered people 'Bees'. It's even an official term used by some governments."
The girls glanced at each other, taking that in, before turning back to him. Amanda once again asked the next question. "Alright, what's the Council of Venice you work for?"
Ranma set his drink down. "Well, I'm not really an expert. Never really cared too much. But I know the basics." He crossed his arms. "The secret societies that you belong to, as well as other, more minor ones, have been fighting for ages. I mean that literally. We're talking thousands of years." The girls leaned forward, interested. "A couple thousand years ago they got into a huge fight, known as the Battle of Armageddon. It was such a huge clusterfuck that they almost woke something up."
"What was it?" Chun Hei asked quietly, enraptured.
Ranma shrugged. "I'm not sure. Details are vague, and I never really looked into it too deeply. But it was definitely on the 'end the world in blood and screams' end of the scale. So, seeing as they only barely avoided a huge disaster, all the factions agreed that there needed to be some sort of oversight. They all got together in Jerusalem and formed what is now called the Council of Venice." He picked up his beer and took a sip. "The Council's main job is to make sure the factions don't fight each other unless it's in an approved place and time, and making sure the Secret World stays, well, secret. They have this list of all the things that need to be kept from normal people, and they're adding to it all the time as new things are discovered."
"Soo… they're like a magical UN?" Liz asked.
"Basically, except with even more bureaucracy." He shook his head in disgust. "I may work for the Council, but I know it's got issues. It can barely get anything done nowadays. I'm trying to help change it, but I'm relatively new. It was a fight just to get this team approved. But, if this goes well, I'll have a lot more pull." He smiled. "So I hope we can all work together well."
"What sorts of abilities does being a Bee give us beyond letting us use anima and eat as much as we want?" Amanda asked, smiling eagerly.
"Well…" Ranma began. "We're basically immortal."
Chun Hei gasped as Liz's eyes grew wide. "W-wh-what!?" The blond asked.
"We can get burned to a crisp, shot, stabbed, and many other things, and just walk it off. If we, say, get our heads cut off or drown or anything else that overwhelms or bypasses our durability, we'll wind up as ghosts for a short time till we rematerialize at what's called an Anima Well, which is basically an area where Gaia's energy comes up from the ground. The only way to really kill us for good would be destroying out body into its base elements. Even Gaia can't help us then. But it's very rare for that to happen." Ranma sat back and enjoyed the looks of shock on their faces.
"Wow…" Amanda said, stunned. "So if I got my arm cut off…"
"You'd be perfectly fine after a short time and a visit to an Anima Well, yeah." Ranma said. "Because of it, Bees tend to be thrill seekers. There's lots of things you can do when you don't have to worry about dying. Some Bees develop some really weird fetishes as a result too." He looked up as he remembered some of the freakier girls he'd dated.
"And we end up as ghosts?" Chun Hei asked timidly.
Ranma nodded. "Before we reform at an Anima Well we spend some time in a spirit form. When out in the field sometimes Bees commit suicide for intelligence gathering. In spirit form you can go into areas you usually couldn't while alive, speak to actual ghosts, and see things living eyes can't. You might be called to do the same thing sometime to accomplish your goals." All three girls looked disturbed at that, which was understandable. He'd been more than unnerved himself.
"Anything else?" The girls looked at each other before turning back to him and shaking their heads. "Good. In that case we should prepare ourselves to head out on our first mission." He pulled a map from the bag he had on the seat beside him and set it on the table, showing it was of the New England area of the US. He pointed at a small island that was circled in red. "This is our destination. It's called Solomon Island. Something bad's happened there, though details are scarce. The place is under quarantine, but not by the government's doing. Something is keeping people from getting in or out. Thankfully we can get in through Agartha. There is a military presence on the island… somehow. Not to mention Orochi observers and members of your factions doing their own investigations. Our primary job is finding out what's going on and stopping it before it spreads. Secondary objective is to help the survivors of whatever's happening. Any questions?"
Amanda raised her hand. "Do we know what's going on?"
Ranma shook his head. "Only info I've gotten is that an unnatural fog came in from the sea and brought something with it. Most of the population of the island is either dead or dying." He looked at them. Liz looked worried, Chun Hei was obviously scared and trembling lightly, while Amanda was trying to hide her own nerves under a veneer of determination. He pulled the map back before turning to look at Chun Hei. "We need to talk about your clothes."
Said girl looked down at what she was wearing before blushing and hunching down. "I… this is just what I normally wear around the house. The Dragon didn't give me time to change before… bringing me in…" She said softly.
Ranma raised an eyebrow but let it go. "Well, you need something better for field work. Amanda, you too. I'd feel better if you at least had something to protect your legs. It isn't as much a matter of protection but comfort. Last thing we need is you getting distracted because your legs are scratched up from branches or bitten by insects."
Amanda looked down at her short shorts before shrugging. "Yeah, I guess. I don't suppose we have time for me to go to my flat and change?"
Ranma shook his head. "No. We'll go out and do some shopping before we head into Agartha. I'll cover it. We need to buy some other essentials anyway. Done eating?" The girls nodded, so Ranma slid out of his seat, picking up his bag and throwing it over his shoulder before heading to the waitress, pulling out his wallet. After he'd paid he led them down the street to a fancy looking clothing store. He turned towards the girls. "Alright, this isn't a shopping spree. Chun Hei, get some sturdy, protective clothes. I'd recommend a sports bra too. We'll be very active. Amanda, at least some longer pants. And a coat might be good too. I'll be waiting here." The girls nodded and headed into the store, associates quickly swooping in to assist.
Ranma turned to Liz, who was looking around in interest. "You know you can go and help them pick something out, right?"
Liz glanced at him before shaking her head. "No, I'm good." She pulled out her phone and began to fiddle with it as she waited. Ranma, not wanting to get bored, pulled out his portable gaming system and started playing Chrono Trigger for the tenth time. He paused when Liz spoke however. "I'm… not so sure about this. I can fire a gun, but I've never been in a fight. And I don't have any other useful skills. Not like Amanda does. I can't imagine being able to pose in lingerie is a very helpful ability against monsters."
Ranma couldn't help it. He laughed. "Oh, you'd be surprised at how helpful being sexy can be." He chuckled a bit more under Liz's slightly indignant gaze. "Look, how many Bees do you think started out with combat training? I'll tell you, not very many. I'm one of the few I've met that had even been in a serious fight before becoming a Bee. But everybody learns quickly enough. Gaia didn't just choose you for your looks. You have plenty of potential. Even I can see it. You just need to give yourself a chance. And besides…" He smiled his lady-killer smile. "I'll be here to teach you every step of the way."
Liz looked away to hide her light blush. "Thanks…"
They each busied themselves with their own things for another ten minutes before the other girls returned. Amanda now wore jeans of the same color as her shorts had been and a red coat, while Chun Hei wore some black leggings under a green skirt and a black top with a green phoenix stitched on it under a leather coat.
Ranma looked them over before smiling in approval. "That looks good on you two, and seems functional. I approve. Let me just pay and we'll go finish shopping." He made his way towards the cashier with the attendants that had helped the girls and quickly paid for the purchases before returning. "Alright, one last place to go."
Ranma led the girls down the streets of London before turning into a dark side area full of stalls with various weird odds and ends. The girls looked around, curious. "Where are we?" Amanda asked.
"We are in the Haitian Market. One of the best places to shop for all your occult needs." He said as he led them past a man that had covered himself in clothing so completely not an inch of skin could be seen, dark tinted goggles watching him. "Er, keep away from Kolyat. He's generally rather cranky, especially when he hasn't had a blood pack."
"B-blood pack?" Chun Hei asked, but Ranma didn't seem to notice, leading them to a stand behind which was a being that made all three girls tense.
It was some sort of monster, hunched over and covered in short, brown fur with black streaks. It stood on two long, spindly legs and had long, thin arms ending in clawed hands. It gazed at them with beady black eyes, its snout partly open, revealing razor sharp teeth.
Rather than be alarmed, Ranma smiled. "Dante! How's it going man?"
The beast, Dante, snarled something back with what looked like a smile.
"That's great. Listen, I want your biggest order of tacos, with extra hot sauce. I'm going on assignment with some newbies to a location that probably doesn't have a lot of options for food. Think you could help me out?" Ranma smiled happily.
Dante nodded with a chuffing sound and turned to a portable grill, quickly getting to work making tacos.
"Thanks a ton, man. I'll go finush shopping and I'll pick em up in a bit. See you soon." Ranma turned, grinned at the dumbstruck girls, and motioned for them to follow as he headed into a better lit area of the Market.
Liz hurried to walk beside him. "What… What was that?"
"That's Dante, and he makes the best tacos this side of Mexico. Don't let him being a ghoul get to you, he's a pretty nice guy." He led the way to a store with a sign reading 'House of Chalk' and walked in. "Mambo, Houngan! How are two of my favorite people?"
The black haired woman in a purple dress and scarf smiled at the sight of Ranma as the girls filed in behind him. "Hello Ranma. Your usual order?"
"Yeah. I'm going back out, so I might need some more reagents." He then turned towards the man. "Houngan, buddy, any chance you could spot me some of that King's Bone?"
Houngan hesitated. "I don't know, man. Most of it's reserved…"
That's when the girls had their next shock of the day. Ranma moved toward Houngan, and between one step and the next, he changed. He shrank down by about a foot, his hair turned blood red, and his body became curvier in a way that made it obvious that 'he' had now become a 'she'.
The large breasts on her chest hammered the point home even further.
"Houngan, my good friend…" Ranma practically purred. "Are you sure you couldn't spare one or two shards? I'm not asking for your entire stock. Promise." She leaned forward slightly, arms crossed in front of her, emphasizing her bust, which was straining the white silk shirt.
Houngan tried to look away, but finally he caved. "Gah! Dammit, fine! Two shards! No more!" He turned and made his way to a small, black lacquered box, muttering to himself.
Mambo was laughing into her hand, eyes twinkling with mirth. "You'd think he'd have learned not to fall for that anymore…"
Ranma winked at her, standing up straight now, no longer emphasizing her looks. "What can I say? I'm just too damn sexy for anyone's good."
Mambo laughed further as she handed a small bag to Ranma in exchange for several odd golden coins with a strange symbol on them. Ranma put his purchases in his bag before Houngan forced a tiny, velvet bag into her hands with a scowl. "Here. Now leave, damn you."
Ranma simply grinned. "Nice doing business with ya. See you around later, guys." She turned back to the door, walking past the girls. "C'mon ladies. We've still got shopping to do."
The girls stood staring for a few moments before rushing out after Ranma. Chun Hei was the first to reach her this time. "W-wh-wha…?"
"Chinese curse I got when I was sixteen." Ranma said nonchalantly. "Used to be an involuntary change, but when I became a Bee it became something I could control. And before you ask, I'm naturally a straight man. And my mind doesn't change with my body. So in this form you can consider me a hard lesbian. Got it?"
The girls nodded, still obviously very weirded out. Oddly enough, Chun Hei seemed to be taking it the easiest of the three now that it had been explained. The other two were still having trouble with it.
As they walked through the market for the next ten minutes they saw that the residents were well used to Ranma, who shifted forms a couple more times before finally stopping to become male again when they returned to Dante's stand, picking up a large bag full to the brim with tacos. "Thanks man. Here's a little extra for getting them ready so quickly." He handed Dante more of the gold coins.
As the ghoul waved them off and Ranma stuck the mass of tacos into his bag, much to the girls' confusion, Amanda asked a question that had been bugging her. "Ranma, what was that you were paying those people with?"
"That? That was the Secret World's currency, Pax Romana. It's been in use for a long time. Not sure if your handlers mentioned it, but as you complete assignments for your factions, you'll be paid in both regular cash and Pax. So the more work you do, the more money of both types you get. Some places only accept Pax, and otherwise it's a universal currency to those in the know."
"Wait, we get paid!?" Liz asked, surprised.
Ranma looked at her oddly. "Of course you do. You're doing work for your factions, after all. And this team gets a stipend from the Council that I'm in charge of too."
Liz blushed, realizing it should have been obvious that she'd be paid. Still, she hadn't really considered it, with everything that had been going on. As she glanced to the side she saw that she wasn't the only one that hadn't considered it. Chun Hei looked relieved, and Amanda was grinning happily.
Ranma led the team down to the Agartha portal. "Alright, everybody ready? It's time to get to work." As he saw the girls nod he grinned. "Good, let's go then." And without hesitation, he stepped into Agartha, followed quickly by the girls.
Finally, the chapter I'd been wanting to get to. Happy to have reached it.
I didn't want to use the cliché 'Kuno/Happosai/Gosunkugi banish Ranma with a random spell/scroll' for Ranma's departure from his home world. So instead I set up an epic battle against a demon lord alongside Sailor Moon and Tenchi. Hope everybody like that detail. It likely won't play a part going forward, but I might write a oneshot one day about what happened. We'll see how things go.
I actually hadn't decided on most of the girls' looks/backstories until shortly before writing this. I hope the choices I made are pleasing.
On a related not, I know jack all about fashion. I'm a man in my early thirties who wears jeans and graphic tees all the time. So if you didn't think the girls' outfits were good, sorry.
I realize Ranma might seem a bit OOC to some. Please keep in mind he's had seven years of character development with a curse he can control and a position of responsibility where's he's been forced to learn at least a little diplomacy. That and, at least at first, he was trying to make a good impression on the girls as their new boss. He still has foot in the mouth disease, though he's taking meds for that, so it probably won't be as prominent. Otherwise, he's still Ranma.
Can't think of anything else to talk about. Now that I've reached this point on this story, I'm leaving it be for a while to work on other stuff. It's not going to be a priority, honestly. I mostly wrote this because the plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone. I'll definitely get to it in the future, but it might be a while. Hope you enjoy my other stuff, though.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and please review.