Soun Tendo loved a Mai Tai. Sure, he was a tough man, he could shatter concrete and bend steel with his bare hands after all, but that didn't mean that he couldn't enjoy a fruity drink. There was something about the rum and orange Curacao that blended so nicely with the lime and the sweet almond of the orgeat syrup. The mint sprig and the tiny umbrella were merely icing on the cake, so to speak. Just as Soun began his first cup of the day, he looked up from his beach chair and saw Kimiko stepping out of the ocean's froth. She wasn't a young woman anymore, he noticed, but the years had done nothing to diminish her beauty. Kimiko had kept in shape and she still had more than her fair share of curves. The bikini that had been purchased at the hotel gift shop certainly helped matters along, as well. There just nothing as fine, Soun thought to himself, as sitting out on a white sand beach, Mai tai in hand, watching his wife towel off in the morning light. Of course, the piece of lingerie Kimiko had packed along on the trip was running a close second, but why quibble? Soun sighed contentedly and slid back down onto his beach chair, closing his eyes.

A shadow fell across Soun's face. "Phone for you sir. It's one of your daughters. You can take it in the lobby."

*********

Bill presents:

Ranma ½, A Man's Woman

Part Twelve: Let's go to the mall

*********

"Slow down, slow down Nabiki."

"Fine, but Daddy, this is serious," Nabiki said, trying to sound calm, but there was a still a sliver of fear in her voice.

"Just start over. Someone is robbing the house?"

"No, not someone: a giant, easily two and a half meters tall. He had on armor and, oh god, his eyes. Daddy, his eyes were so black."

Soun's blood ran cold. "Are you sure?"

"No Daddy, I think maybe he could have been a green-eyed midget in a tutu. Of course I'm sure!"

"Listen to me right now, Nabiki, I want you to get everyone out of the house and run!" Soun rubbed his temples and his hand came away soaked in cold sweat.

"No can do Daddy. The others are fighting this kind of…hyena thing. It came out of a scroll that the giant guy threw right before he left."

"Let me see if I have this straight: Antares is gone but he set a carrion demon on the loose?"

"I don't know about Antares or a carrion demon, but yeah, the giant ran away and Akane, Ranma and that guy Ryoga are beating up on some sort of dog-bird-monster."

"Nabiki, grab them and just go. Run away as fast as you can." Soun's stomach was twisting itself into knots.

"I…I don't think they'll go. Ranma is really kicking the crap out of this thing. Oh, nice shot Akane!" Nabiki yelled out.

"They might just win," Soun said away from the receiver. Could they kill the carrion demon? If Akane and Ranma fought together, they were very good. They just might, Soun thought, daring himself to believe. "Nabiki, if they kill the demon then there's something that you will have to do. You will have to bind it, Nabiki. Go into the dojo and get one of my scrolls. The one you want is in my private vault in the case on the left, third row down. It will be blank."

"Daddy, I can't. The dojo is on fire. Those scrolls are gone"

Soun could feel his daughter's fear through the phone. But he also knew that he had trained her well and she was a brave young woman in her own right. He could count on her. "Nabiki, listen to me. My vault is warded against fire, it won't be burning. The demon will keep coming back again and again until it's bound. You have to be brave."

There was a long pause at the end of the line as Nabiki considered what her father had said. "Ok, Daddy, I'll go. Tell me what to do."

"Once Akane and Ranma have killed the monster, you have to place the scroll on the fatal wound. It won't do any good unless you put it on the exact spot where the demon was killed."

"Fine. Listen Daddy, stay on the line. You've got some questions to answer after this is done.

*********

Soun paced the rich Oriental rug in the hotel lobby as far as the telephone cord would let him. The staff were polite enough to give him ample space and tactful enough not to whisper behind his back. Nary a day went by that they didn't get to see an irate Japanese businessman in Bermuda shorts speaking harshly into the phone. Besides, most of the workers only spoke enough Japanese to understand a request for clean towels. The concierge, who was fluent, was listening with half an ear, but just assumed that Soun was some sort of movie executive and she made a mental note to get one of his films for the hotel library. They sounded exciting.

Where the hell was that girl? Soun wondered to himself. It was taking too long. The demon must have been too strong for the children. Maybe Antares had returned? Oh god, they would be killed!

Just as Soun was about to set down the receiver and dash to the airport, he heard a voice on the receiver, "Daddy?"

"Akane, is the demon gone?" Soun asked anxiously, willing it to be so.

"Yeah, that scroll Nabiki had did the trick. What the hell was that thing?" Akane sounded out of breath, but strangely thrilled.

"That was a carrion demon; really more of a foot soldier than a true demon. It's gone now, but you and Nabiki, Ranma and your friend need to leave the house."

"Why? I mean if it's gone…"

Now that the crisis had past, Soun felt his paternal sternness reemerging. "Listen to me, young lady. The man who was just there, Antares, is a killer. He would slaughter the four of you and laugh like a child while he was doing it. You have to go somewhere safe right now."

"Alright, we will Daddy, but who was he?"

Soun held his breath for a moment. His mind reeled back to his younger days, to scenes of horror and desecration too brutal to talk about. There were so many things to say, so much blood and anger to explain. Akane wasn't ready for that yet. "He is an old enemy of mine. I thought he was dead."

"He looked pretty alive to me. What made you think he was dead?"

"Because I killed him." Soun paused and listened to his daughter breathing on the other end of the line. "Akane, listen to me, I promise that I'll explain everything when I get back. Now, grab a few things from the house and go to the abandoned strip mall. You know, the one a mile or so north of our house."

Akane's voice sounded small when she spoke again, "Sure, sure thing Daddy. What's at the mall?"

When Soun answered, it sounded like a curse, "Genma Saotome."

*********

Genma Saotome didn't understand the world. People made nonsense decisions constantly. They cared about things that really didn't matter. Take this mall, for example: it was built for the express purpose of selling trash to morons. Then, when the morons didn't buy enough worthless trash, they closed the place down. And now this mall, with its empty shoe stores and its barren food court, was a vacant husk. But still, people cared about whether or not a single man slept among the world's garbage. There were real problems out there. Why stress over one martial artist sleeping in a building that no one else even wanted? Didn't the cops have anything better to do? They had come a few days ago and now they were apparently back again. But that was how the world worked, Genma thought to himself bitterly as he hid up in the rafters, out of sight.

"Pops is not going to be creeping around the Dress Barn. He's got more honor than that," a young girl said. Genma knew that voice. It was slightly higher than the voice he had come to know over a decade and a half, but even after the curse, it was unmistakable. Ranma had come to find him! Still, Genma reminded himself, the boy had chosen to stay with the Tendos. Moreover, he was obviously talking to someone else. Better to stay concealed and see how things played out.

"Look, my Dad said he was here. We just need to keep searching."

That would be Akane, Genma thought.

"I don't have to put up with this! I demand my revenge," an unfamiliar young male voice added.

"Ryoga, if you say that one more time, I am going to let go of your hand and then we'll see exactly who has what sort of revenge."

Ah, the middle daughter. This was quite a crew, Genma said silently to himself while maneuvering around the darkened ceiling for a better view. They would be passing directly beneath him any second now. Unfortunately, as Genma looked down, he could plainly see his own worn out pack laying in the center of the abandoned department store. In his haste to dodge the cops, he had forgotten to stash everything in a safe place. The teens would obviously know he was here. Better make this look good, then.

Ranma arrived at the pack just a moment later and bent down to check it. "This is his. He was here, that's for sure. We should probably look for that tub of lard."

Genma dropped like a ghost behind all four teenagers and laughed noiselessly to himself. If this was how good Soun's training was, then Ranma was going to need some additional practice. "You're getting slopp…"

Genma's planned speech was cut short as three fists and one umbrella smashed into his body, sending him tumbling head over heels into a stack of discarded mannequin parts.

"What the hell are you doing Pops? Don't sneak up on us like that!" Ranma shouted once he recognized his father.

"You need to learn some respect for your elders," was the only reply from the pile of limbs and torsos.

"Pops, we ain't got time for this nonsense," said Ranma as he laid down his own pack next to his father's. The other three teens stood around looking vaguely uncomfortable as Ranma went to rescue his father, who was obviously stuck.

"Look boy, oof, watch that arm. No not mine! Gah, help me get this leg out of my jacket. I meant my own leg!"

As Ranma finally freed his father and pulled him to his feet, the two stood apart among the derelict makeup counters and trash, unsure of precisely what to do. The Saotome men weren't exactly huggers and a handshake seemed far too formal for this reunion. A high five was right out, let alone a fist bump. Then, by some strange coincidence, they arrived at exactly the same thought. Two exceptionally manly head nods were exchanged and they were back together again, father and son.

"What brings the heirs to the Anything Goes School here to the mall?" Genma asked, gesturing around.

"We're in big trouble Pops," Ranma began and then motioned everyone to sit down, "See, a giant guy came and he threw down this scroll. Like, this big demon came out of the paper and started attacking us and we killed it. So now we're here."

Genma crossed his arms over his chest and nodded sagely , "I understand."

Akane looked across the circle of people, between Ranma and his father. Was Mr. Saotome really going to just accept that two-sentence anecdote at face value, she thought to herself incredulously. "It didn't happen exactly like that…"

Akane began the story in earnest and, with a bit of help from Nabiki, was able to get most of the tale told in a few minutes. In the flickering fluorescent lights, the story seemed fantastic, even slightly ludicrous, but the girls barreled through. It had happened and Mr. Saotome needed to know what they were all facing. Genma, for his part as listener, simply sat with his arms folded. He asked no question, needed no clarification and barely reacted to the teens nearly being killed. Only the fact that Genma had his eyes open indicated in any way that he was awake.

"…after we hung up the telephone, we came straight here," Akane finished.

"Hmmm, just as Ranma said." Genma rumbled.

Nabiki rubbed her forehead with her knuckles. This whole conversation was going nowhere fast. Someone had to take the reins. "Yes, but do you actually know anything about this? Who is the giant, Antares? He called Akane and I the heirs, do you know what that means? Anything about demons would be helpful, anything at all."

"I've never heard of anyone by that name and you are the heirs to the Tendo School of Indiscriminate Grappling as far as I know." Genma scratched his chin and cast his mind back, searching for other clues. "This might be unrelated, but your Grandfather used to practice an art called Yao Mo Jiao. Demon wrestling. He was a stubborn old codger. Soun was always trying to get him to teach the both of us, but he refused. He said we lacked… what was the phrase? Moral rectitude. But after you girls were born, it seems that your grandfather relented and trained Soun. He was always writing me letters about what amazing techniques the old man had, but he would never say exactly what."

"Wow, I thought Grandpa only practiced Anything Goes," Akane said.

"Your father's father did. I was talking about Hayato Ito, your mother's father."

*********

"What do we do now?" Akane asked, looking back at Ranma as they both walked around the department store. She strolled past empty shelves and counter tops, all devoid of wares. This place must have done quite a brisk business when it was open, Akane remarked out loud. Even though years had gone by, she could still smell the lingering perfume that had been layered into the walls and carpets, sweet and musky.

"What can we do until your Dad gets back?" Ranma offered, catching up and walking on the opposite side of the counter from Akane. They had been gone for a few minutes and they couldn't see the others anymore.

"I don't know. I just feel like we've been sitting in this stupid mall forever."

"Yeah, Pops wasn't really any help. I think Nabiki was right. We need more info before we go charging off."

"You're advising me to be prudent?" Akane said, turning back to face Ranma, who had stopped to fish around in one of the display cabinets. "Things are really bad, aren't there?"

"Har har," Ranma deadpanned as his fingers closed around the prize he had been searching for. "Check this out."

Ranma held up a thin golden chain, a remnant of the mall's halcyon days. Dangling from the bottom Akane could see a pair of dolphins, caught in mid-leap, wrought in silver. Looking more closely, she noticed that each of the dolphins still had a chip of blue topaz for an eye. This wasn't just another piece of forgotten refuse; it was meant to be a gift, something to share joy. Akane placed her hand under the necklace and let the chain pool in her palm.

"It's pretty."

Ranma quickly let go of the chain as his fingertips brushed against Akane's hand. "You should, like, try it on."

"It doesn't really go with this outfit." Akane said, looking down at herself. In the rush to leave the house, she had only been able to find a ratty t-shirt and a pair of sweat pants to replace her night gown. Hardly an outfit that required jewelry.

"Don't be like that," Ranma said, looking expectantly at Akane.

"Like what?" Akane shot back, suddenly defensive, "If I don't want to wear it, I don't have to."

Ranma stuck out his hand. "Fine, then give it back."

"No. You gave it to me."

"But you don't want to wear it," Ranma said, his frustration evident in his voice. Why did she have to be so unreasonable? As Ranma stared at angrily at Akane, his vision began to shift almost involuntarily. Without warning, the thin strands of chi that were stretching between the two of them stood out in sharp relief. Akane was leaving so many openings, Ranma thought to himself. Slowly, like a cat sighting a particularly dim-witted mouse, a predatory gleam began to shine in Ranma's eyes, "I'll tell you what, we've got some time. Why don't we spar for it?"

"You want to wear it?"

"No, tomboy. If you win, you can do whatever you want with it. But if I win, you have to wear it."

"What about your ribs?" Akane said, now unsure."And we are still being hunted by demons, right?"

Ranma stepped forward so that he was inches away from Akane. "Scared?"

Akane's face flushed at the challenge and the unexpected closeness. She brought up her hand and pushed Ranma back, "Yeah right. What are the rules, tough guy?"

Ranma looked around the derelict store, "Anything Goes. No one is going to miss this junk."

"Fine." Akane said and tucked the necklace protectively in her sweats.

*********

Ranma glanced at Akane. She was standing on the opposite side of the mall's main atrium, almost cocky in her Kempo stance. Layered over that, over the girl, the derelict couches and moldering carpets, was a sea of shifting colors. Ranma twitched in anticipation. This had to work or else he was sunk. Come on, Apian fist, Ranma chanted to himself, don't fail me now. As he concentrated, the Fung shui of the mall began to ripple to life. Electric blues and deep crimsons wove in and out of the sitting area. The stores were a riot of colors flowing one way or the other, but none of them seemed to harmonize in any meaningful way. Ranma turned his gaze back to Akane and some of the threads that connected the two of them began to stand out, growing brighter and more interesting. Ranma felt an urge to chase down those bits of nothing, to bat at them with his claws, but he restrained himself. Akane had gotten even faster and it wouldn't pay to be anything less than perfect. This was it, a moment of truth: did he have the guts to trust some technique that he didn't even understand fully or should he just go for broke with what he had?

Akane watched with no small amount of amusement as Ranma bent forward and placed his hands on the ground. For someone of Ranma's flexibility, it was a fair impersonation, but what was he hoping to accomplish with that stance? Cats really weren't that intimidating. Just as Akane was ready to ask Ranma what he was playing at, he pounced. Akane's eyes grew wide and she threw herself to the side, out of the way of a vicious claw swipe. Ranma, though, was terribly fast. His fingers tore into the carpet as he passed, scrambling for purchase, and he was after her again. As Akane backpedaled, she threw dozens of punches, but Ranma leapt into the air over the strikes. Akane screamed as blue claws flashed downwards into her shoulders and the sleeves of her t-shirt tore away.

Ranma brought himself up short as Akane leapt up onto an empty cell phone display case and out of range. She looked down at him with genuine surprise as she tore the remnants of her sleeves away. Ranma swallowed and began to stand up from all fours, but then admonished himself. If this was how the threads of chi flowed, then by god, he would follow them. Besides, it was exhilarating. He had never been this fast, like his reflexes were running on oiled casters. Ranma had a feeling he was just getting warmed up.

Without anything in the way of acknowledgment, both combatants smashed back together, fighting tooth and nail. Beneath the giant overhead skylight, they tore at one another like savages. All injuries were forgotten, all bets aside. Their only thoughts were of the fight. In between one ragged breath and another they clashed, almost faster than the eye could follow, again and again.

Akane leapt high into the air and twirling her body around. It was time to stop playing around with kitty and end this. Ranma was already at the landing spot, springing upwards, just like she was counting on. Akane let go with a lightning barrage of kicks, raining down destruction. Her foot smashed down into Ranma's head, his arm and his clavicle as he leapt upwards to meet her. Akane smile savagely and flexed her knees for the landing, but suddenly she felt Ranma's fingers digging into her leg. In mid-air, Ranma had absorbed the impact and was, even now, clawing his way up Akane's body. Ranma dug his fingers into Akane's arms and head-butted her in the face. As Akane's head snapped backwards, she barely noticed the necklace drop from her pocket onto the floor.

Ranma landed awkwardly after the impact and leapt back to all fours. He noticed, in passing, that his fingers were bleeding. This stance was going to take a while to get used to. Still, he couldn't gainsay himself one little taunt, "Tired?"

Akane was breathing hard as she prodded her nose gently with her left hand. Her right arm hung limply at her side after Ranma's chi attack. "I just need a little cat nap."

"Not even a little funny..." Ranma began, but stopped as he noticed an abrupt shift in the chi currents around the both of them. His eyes darted upwards, chasing down the errant threads. "Akane get back!"

Akane didn't have time to react as the skylight exploded, raining deadly shards of glass down into the atrium. Only Ranma's body hitting hers, and throwing the both of them clear, saved her.

"Naughty children," Antares said as he lit in the center of the room.

*********

"You know, when someone sends a demon after you, you should at least have the good grace to die screaming."

Ranma rolled off of Akane to his feet and brushed the glass off of himself. Akane was a bit stunned, but at least she was unharmed. As Ranma moved protectively in front Akane, he could see the giant, Antares, standing menacingly in the center of the atrium. After what Soun Tendo had said, Ranma didn't dare take his eyes off of him. "You ok, Akane?"

Akane gathered her feet under herself and stood up behind Ranma. She leaned forward to whisper in his ear, "Can you do something about my arm? It's paralyzed."

"Yeah sure," Ranma said as he reached back without looking and pressed his fingers into Akane's wrist. Almost immediately the sensation of electric fire shot up Akane arm, but that feeling passed quickly and in its place she felt her strength return.

Antares seemed in no particular hurry to attack as he paced leisurely around the atrium. The echoes of his steel boots crushing glass shards sounded like bones breaking. His black eyes swept across the abandoned stores and potted plastic plants. "Why on earth would your father send you here? To be safe? To hide? To get fashion footwear at affordable prices? Really, all he did was give you an incredibly tacky place to be butchered."

"We ain't gonna die." Ranma said, a little more defiantly than he actually felt. "You'd better get out of here or Akane and I are going to have to, ya know, come after you."

"Oh my, my, my, is this what happened to that cute little redhead? No, don't tell me: you're one of the Jusenkyo cursed, aren't you? No matter, I know you children bound my carrion demon but you will find that I am so much more than that." There was a scrape like nails on a chalkboard as Antares withdrew his sword. It was wickedly sharp and there were places along the blade that looked crusted with blood.

Ranma could see the weave of chi shifting around Antares, coiling into a tight black vortex of malevolence. There weren't many openings in this guy's stance. It was going to go really badly for everyone unless he, Ranma did something about it. "I don't know how they do things down at the loony bin, but we like to give our names before we fight."

Antares' face split into a horrible rictus grin. "By all means, child, begin the introductions."

Akane seized Ranma's shoulder as he began to walk forward. "For god sakes, Ranma, we need to get out of here."

"Look, you go get the others and run. I've got this freak," Ranma said over his shoulder. He hopped his voice carried more nonchalance than he actually felt. Then shrugging Akane's hand off, he turned back to Antares, "I'm Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of Indiscriminate Grappling and if you threaten Akane again, you're a dead man."

*********

Author's notes:

Hey, the triumphant return of Genma Saotome! Plus, a little romance, a little cliff hanger, what more could you want? As for the R&A fight scene, this was not the full Neko-ken, not by a long shot. There will be more evolution and some tedious exposition. But no, Akane did not hold her own against the complete Neko-ken. There is also some bad news. I am starting up my clinical duties again next week. This will definitely slow down my writing schedule and I really have no idea how fast I'm going to be able to update. I will probably be able to get one more chapter out next week at the regular time and I will post when I have some idea about a new chapter schedule. Thanks for your patience.

Remember to take it easy!

Oh, and C+C welcome. The more the better, I always say!