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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters here that belong to Ranma 1/2. The Ranma 1/2 cast belongs to Rumiko Takashi. Nor do I own Suikoden 3 or any other characters that I put into this story. Neither do I own any of the character in any of the crossovers I do. I'm just using them in this fan fiction and I have no money so don't bother suing me.
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Chapter 13 - The Coming Before the Strom.
The city of Nerima had seen better days. The streets are empty and few people are seen outside of their homes. Ever since the pigtailed fighter known as Ranma left the district nothing has been the same. Like a dam that had sprouted a single tiny hole at its base the area felt as if it's life is slowly draining out of the city and its inhabitants.
The worse that happened with Ranma's disappearance is that there was no one around to stop the underwear thief. He's been going nuts with the women of Nerima. It has gotten so bad that most women and their families left the district for other places to live. The ones who couldn't afford to leave feared for their panties and bras, and also their virginity. Happosai without a leash has become a terror for all of women-kind. He's gotten more and more bolder as time passed. Lately it looked as if he's getting tired of stealing panties and bras and seems to be contemplating other, more pleasurable (for him) acts. Only the various martial artists that are left in the city have been keeping him from taking advantage of the women of Nerima, and even they are not much of a match against him if he ever went all out.
The resident doctor that everyone went to is also gone. Gone with him was the most gentle, kind and caring girl that anyone who knew her had never seen her without a smile. It's for the best since Happosai did live in her house and no one wanted to see her hurt.
The high school had also seen much better days. As Ranma was the one that took care of the bullies and gang members they now run amok in the school. The teacher that could have taken over the protection of the school is gone as well. Kuno's father left for Hawaii after Ranma and Ms. Hinako left the school. He tried to control the school himself, but could not hold out against the various gangs and bullies that plagued the school. Most of the school's students ARE bullies and gang members. Thefts and beatings are a common thing now. All the parents have also taken their daughters out of the school to save them from a fate worse than death. Now the only females in the school are members of the various gangs or high-caliber martial artists. Only the most hardcore of teachers are working there now.
In fact, no girl under the age of twenty-five, especially those without martial arts training, is seen outside of their homes without being in a large group and always in daytime. Even then side streets and alleys are out of the question for them. If they can avoid it even middle-aged women and those who have training keep out of the streets. Happosai is not the only one they have to fear. The gangs have also spread out from the school and they prowled the streets at night.
Everyone was now sorely missing the four who left Nerima. They had never realized how much the city would change once they left for good. They especially miss Ranma. The heart of the city is gone now and no one even knew what they lost till it was too late. The ones who followed in his footsteps could have helped keep the city safe, but they too are gone. Only the Amazons, the Okonomiyaki Chef and her ninja and other cross-dressing admirer, and Akane are still around to keep order, and they are failing badly. No one could believe that four people, especially Ranma, were so integral for the city. The Nerima Wrecking Crew are now both hated and loved by the residents. They hated because they're the ones who drove Ranma away in the first place, and loved them because they are trying their best to keep everyone safe.
The police are not much help either. During Ranma's stay crime was nonexistent. Cops were actually sent to the district as a form of reward for them. Ranma's sudden disappearance is like the bell of doom for them. Every day more and more of them end up in the hospital as crime soared. In fact, gangs LIKE to make raids on the police stations. They take weapons and anything that isn't bolted down. Anyone who resisted ended up in the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital.
The city government has tried to have the Japanese Defense Forces brought in, but another faction has also entered the district and stopped them, the Yakuza. In the first month of Ranma's stay in Nerima he chased out all the Yakuza influence in the city, often making examples. He never killed, but he beat those who were working the city so badly that they got the hint and stayed out. Upon hearing of his disappearance they set up their operations again, much to the dismay of Nabiki. They keep what is happening in the city from the prying eyes and ears of the surrounding districts. Only they are more feared than the gangs and the only one the Yakuza fears is Happosai. They were doing a transaction once and he groped one of their female agents. He didn't take kindly to them interfering and now fifty of their best goons are now in a hospital. They feared that he would try to stop them, but he doesn't care since there are still a few women left in the city. In fact, the Yakuza keeps him supplied with fresh and not so fresh bras and panties. They even bring in women for him to grope and such. As long as they keep bringing in the female undergarment and women Happosai lets them do whatever they want.
The other members of the Nerima Wrecking Crew went out and tried to stop them as much as they can. However, they have homes and businesses to take care of so they cannot do much against the Yakuza or they can kiss their homes and lives goodbye. They have more success against the various gangs now inhabiting the city, but the more they push out the more come to take their place.
The house where Ranma used to live can better be described as a dump rather than a home and dojo. There are patches all over the roof. A huge section over the living room isn't even shingled anymore. One of the swinging gates had been knocked from its hinges and re-hung with wire. There is garbage in the rain gutters and waste paper had blown up into the branches of the trees. The koi pond contains no more koi as they were used for food and the pond itself is a murky brown. The one that kept the house the envy of the women of Nerima with how clean it was kept as was now gone. She left behind a house that should have been forgotten long ago.
Inside one of the rooms that was a semi-clean is a young girl with a pageboy haircut looking over the bills, Nabiki Tendo. Long ago she was known as the Ice Queen of Nerima. But now she has lost the title. She may be a good manipulator, but she found out, thankfully NOT the hard way, that she's nothing compared to the Yakuza. They had shut down any operations that she tries to start up. The only reason they let her live is because Happosai lives in her home and they know he would not react well to losing one of the few women left in the Nerima area. She lost her main income when Ranma left them. Then before Kasumi left with Tofu she broke into all of her files and tapes destroying everything that Nabiki worked for. That spelled the end of her blackmailing ring and making sure she wouldn't be able to find Ranma as quickly as she wanted to. Her older sister wanted to teach her a lesson, and unfortunately she hasn't learned it yet. Nabiki is still set on getting Ranma back to Nerima to get the city back under control AND so that she can have her moneymaker back. She now has great respect for the amount of control the pigtailed martial artist had over the chaos of the city. She never knew his presence was the only thing keeping the city together. Now, however, what is important is to get him back, kicking and screaming if she had to. His feelings about it do not matter, her money does. The city needs him as well.
Nabiki hasn't really changed much over the year of Ranma's absence. She still looks the same, but she's a lot thinner than before and there are bags in her eyes. This is the cause of a diet since there's very little money left to buy takeout since Akane decided to take over for Kasumi. She also hasn't been sleeping well since she spends most of her time searching for Ranma. All of their hope lies in her finding the errant fighter. He just HAS to come back! He just HAS to get this city back under control, no matter how much it hurts him! Besides, Ranma never looses so they don't have to worry about him getting hurt or anything. And if he does, well, he does heals fast.
Her underlings had either stopped working for her or left Nerima when Happosai had gotten out of control. Her network wasn't as good as it was before Ranma left and the family's income is now deep in the red. Right now the only way they could make money is by selling pictures and items of Akane's to Kuno (At very inflated prices, and the pictures are a lot more revealing than before) and a few admirers, but it's not enough. The only reason the Yakuza doesn't stop this is because they consider it chump change. If something didn't happen soon then...
As she looked over the bills she couldn't help but ask the heavens, "Ranma, where are you?" Her father and the fat panda didn't do anything around the house but moaned about losing their heir and the schools would never be joined. She couldn't believe that her father was still letting him stay at their home. He was eating them to poverty. She tried to kick him out herself, but her father screamed at her and threatened her to let him stay. She would have gotten him back for it, but her father actually used his demon head on her. It looked like Ranma's disappearance has made him totally snap. The best she could do is feed them very little and gave them no money for sake. They tried to make her give them more food and money for sake, but she told them that they would have to get jobs if they wanted to eat more. That quieted the two down very quickly. They haven't change at all.
Akane's anger is also getting worse as the horde of hentai's are back and the Blue Thunder is stronger thanks to the beatings that Ranma gave him. She's getting hit more and more and just getting madder and madder with each passing day. She also has to fight off the various gang members who have tried to cop a feel on her. The only reason she even goes to school now is because it's the only high school left open in the district. Even the private school Kodachi went to has closed down as it became a favorite place for Happosai to go hunting in. As for Mrs. Saotome, she rarely leaves her house anymore. They have hardly heard from her since Ranma left. When they do hear from her she's always going on about Ranma being an unmanly 'girl' who stained the family name, usually being joined by her husband, Soun and Akane. They always talk about him as if he were a plague, and yet they want him to return so that 'he can marry Akane and continue the schools', or in other words so they can abuse him some more. They needed him back for the honor for the Saotome name and to make grandkids for her/to be his meal-ticket/to be Akane's husband/to be her punching bag that never breaks. Nabiki knows this since one time all four of them got drunk (where they got the sake or why they let Akane drink she doesn't know) and said so themselves.
The fights that happen around the house, Akane versus Happosai to protect the two remaining sisters from him, is also taking a toll on the repair bill. Thankfully the gangs and Yakuza keep away from the house since this is Happosai's territory. The various rivals and fiancées of Ranma also haven't been by in a long time. However, no one is around to clean except for Akane, and she was just makes things worse. Without Kasumi around to do the maid work the house is just getting dirtier with each passing day.
Nabiki shook her head and looked at the article in front of her. 'Everything just went to hell after he left. I hope my informant is right about this.' In front of her is a newspaper with an article on Ranma Wild, the new talk of the town of Shibuya. He does look a lot like the Ranma she knew, but his face and eyes weren't the ones she knew. The same went with the twin sister. She looks a lot like Ranma's cursed form, but is too curvy and the face and eyes are also different. Both forms have the same blue eyes, but there's just...something...in them that wasn't in Ranma's eyes before. She can't tell what it is though. The younger sister also looks too much like the older siblings to be a fake. Still, her informant had insisted that he's the right one, and frankly she has no other leads to go on.
'Well, I already sold the information to the others already so there's no turning back now,' Nabiki thought to herself. 'I just hope that he is the Ranma we know or this will turn real ugly.' She just hoped that no one would attack him before making sure if he's Ranma or not. She has no desire to mess with the American government.
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Meanwhile at a café run by Amazons -
"So great-grandmother finally found Airen?"
Shampoo has changed since Ranma's disappearance. She's no longer the same bubbly person that she was when Ranma was still around. She looks and acts more like a zombie than a human. There's also a deep sadness in her eyes. One who looks at them would think that it's because the one she loves is gone, but really it's because her dreams of a trophy husband is practically nonexistent now. To be the one who brings the all-powerful Ranma back to the village is a great honor and would make her fame soar. Deep inside she really does love Ranma, but her greed for popularity supercedes it. Fame and honor must come first, and Ranma's feelings on the matter last. Besides, she would just use a potion or spell to make him love her. The strong children he would give her and the respect on getting such a strong husband is what counts. Of course they would have to be all girls. She has no use for male children. Nabiki's news is like a lifeline for her and her bubbly personality is making a comeback.
Cologne nodded as she looked over an article in newspaper Nabiki had given her, for a large fee of course. "Yes, if Nabiki's information is right then this Ranma Wild could be our Ranma." Cologne hasn't changed much. She still looks the same as before, but she moves about more as an old lady would than ever before. She has been going out a lot to keep the city under control, but even with all her vast experience she knew this city is practically lost. The gangs and Yakuza still keep away from the Nekohanten, same as the Ucchans and the Tendos, but she knew sooner or later they will get bold and even with all their martial arts skills they cannot stand up to their large numbers and modern weaponry. She too wants to leave the district, but she does not want to doom the city more than it has to. They would leave as soon as they have Ranma in their hands. She would not even permit Shampoo to leave the shop as even with her skills they can still take her down using guns or worse. Instead she has Shampoo stay and has the restaurant be a safe haven for people to come to, especially if they are caught outside at night.
She still curses the day that Ranma left. It was a great time to get him to come to the village, but the information did not reach them fast enough for it to be of any use for them. Both her and Shampoo did not know whether to be thankful for the Tendos and Saotomes for finally pushing Ranma to the edge or to be hateful of them for it. Of course they never though that their actions had contributed to Ranma's decision to leave.
Shampoo looks over her great-grandmother's shoulder to look at the picture of Ranma Wild in the paper. It's not a very good one as one of his bodyguards was in the way of the shot. Only a sideways snapshot of his face can be seen. However, from what they could see it might be him.
Shampoo smiled as hope came back to her heart in a shuddering blast. "So we'll go over to his house and see if he's the one right?" Her Japanese has improved vastly as well. During times of great stress she still reverts to her old ways of speaking, but most of the time she can speak fluent Japanese.
Cologne just shook her head as she looked over her shoulder at Shampoo. She can see it in her eyes. Her great-granddaughter REALLY wants to go over to Shibuya and charge into their home, no matter what damage it causes, and take the young man back to the restaurant before even asking him any questions. "No Shampoo. We can not just go breaking into his house like we do here. If he isn't son-in-law then it will look very bad for us. We amazons have been in hiding from the world for thousands of years now. Only a few westerners even know about us or even heard about us. If Nabiki's information is wrong and we just go breaking in he has ways of getting back at us. He is half-American and would go to the embassy here and our village would be placed in the public eye. Our people may be strong, but we are nothing against modern machinery."
Shampoo pouted cutely at her great-grandmother. She truly wanted to go ever there and claim back her airen. She just knew in her heart it is really him. She has spent close to a year searching for him, for any clues that could lead to where he is. She cries herself to sleep every night thinking of her reluctant husband. She has seen what she has done wrong, but cannot change how she acts. She has been taught by her people that using spells and potions are the way to get a male under her thumb and that is how she is going to do things! Besides, Ranma is just a stupid male and he should be under her rule, not the spatula girl or kitchen destroyer! "So we'll just go there and see if he is my airen right? No Breaking Points or anything?"
Cologne nodded as she saw that Shampoo would control herself this time. She had charged into a situation before during the search for Ranma and the results were to say the least unpleasant. They had to erase a lot of people's memories or face charges they were not prepared to go against. "Yes, but we must be careful. No breaking down their homes or anything. We will CALMLY go over there and check if he is son-in-law." She turned towards the near-sighted duck in his cage. As soon as he saw the headline and Ranma's name he tried to leave the restaurant and go to Shibuya to kill Ranma Wild. Too many situations made been made worse by the duck-cursed individual and the two female amazons cannot afford for him to mess this up. "Mousse, don't you dare attack this Ranma Wild or you are going to have to face the American legal process." The duck paid no head to the warning and kept trying to free himself.
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Inside the Ucchans-
Ukyo looked at the ninja and mailbox in front of her. She hasn't changed much since Ranma's disappearance. The only change that is detectable is the weariness in her movements. This is a combination of working on the restaurant during the day and going out to keep order in the city at night, often with said ninja and mailbox in front of her. She knew it's dangerous with her being a girl, but she's one of the Nerima's last hopes and could not leave them to their horrible fate. She doesn't bother with school anymore since it's too dangerous to be a former fiancee of Ranma's and to be around Akane. It's surprising no one had died from her poundings yet.
However, all three of them knew the city was dead. As soon as they find Ranma they are leaving the city for good. Even if Ranma did not want to come with them she would just tie him up or something and then drag him to the altar.
"So Tsubasa, Konatsu. You two will help me?"
A 'female' head popped out of the mailbox's slot and nodded 'her' head. "Of course Ukyo-sama! I can hide anywhere I want and I'll find out if Ranma Wild is Ranma-san!
The ninja also nodded 'her' head. "I will put my skills to good use Ukyo- sama."
Ukyo smiled at the two 'girls' in front of her. "Good. I have got to see if this Ranma is my Ranchan." She knows that the only way to regain her honor is for her to marry Ranma, with or without his last name (she doesn't know or is ignoring the fact that by giving up his last name Ranma has effectively freed her from the engagement). She's the same as Shampoo. She really does love Ranma deep down inside, but her honor comes first. His feelings on the matter don't count as her honor is involved. She's also armed with a potion that she stole from Shampoo to make him love her. 'Ranchan, why did you leave me you jackass? If I don't marry you I can never regain my family's honor!'
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Inside the house of Kuno-
The insane kendoist looked over the article that Nabiki has sent him. He can see the resemblance this gaijin has to the pigtailed demon. "So this half-born American could be the foul sorcerer?" Unfortunately Kuno only got worse as time passed.
Sasuke bowed his head low and nodded. "Yes. If Tendo-san's information is right then this Ranma Wild is Ranma under a fake name and history."
Kuno nodded as fury ignited on his face. "So the vile villain Ranma has my pigtailed goddess? I will free you from his vile clutches and smite him!" His fury changes to lust as he though about Ranma's cursed form. Nabiki has run out of pictures of her months ago and he has been getting hungry for his goddess. Many times he has tried to rap...date his fierce tigress Akane Tendo, but she always beats him before anything could happen. All of course due to the enchantment the sorcerer has put on her. Now that there is a chance that his pigtailed goddess has returned he will kill the foul sorcerer and take her back to his home and his bed.
His fury and lust addled mind made him order Sasuke to get his steel katana and drive him to Shibuya right away. However, during the year that Ranma was away Sasuke was able to find a way to partially control his stupid master. "Sir, we shouldn't just jump in front of them and start killing someone we don't know for sure is Ranma. Nabiki Tendo has lied many times before and she could also be wrong. If the information isn't right then the family name would be dishonored by YOUR actions." The ninja has figured out that by mentioning that he could dishonor the family name Kuno would think twice before doing anything. Of course Kuno usually made up some sort of excuse that his insane mind came up with, but this time it looks like it worked.
"True. We will go to Shibuya first and see if they are the ones that I seek. Bring my ancestral sword just in case." Sasuke sighed in relief. At least this time he was going to confirm the identity first before attacking Ranma Wild. The last couple of times they went after someone who they though was Ranma he hospitalized quite a number of people and killed one. Of course Kuno said that it was because 'the foul sorcerer used magic to make this one seem like himself so that he could frame the noble Blue Thunder, so therefore this murder should be blamed on the cur!' It took a lot of money to cover that one up. Fortunately the look-alike was nothing more than a vagrant who was very unlucky. However, the ninja knew his master is getting worse. He would have to stop him if he tried to even injure this one.
Upstairs in one of the many rooms a dark haired girl is looking over the information that she bought from Nabiki. In front of her are two pictures of a pigtailed youth. One is of the Ranma she knew before he left. The other is the half-American born Ranma Wild who moved into a temple in the Shibuya area.
Kodachi looked back and forth between the two pictures as she compared their features. The two did look amazingly alike. However, she cannot be too careful. Already there had been numerous dead ends and look-alikes. "So can this be my Ranma-sama who left me?" Not a day went by that she didn't think about her darling who left everything to start a new life on his own. Thinking back to when he was around she couldn't help but see that he didn't had a choice but to leave.
"Because of people like how I used to be," Kodachi said to herself. She was just as crazy as her brother was and is now. That all changed when she visited Doctor Tofu's office before he and Kasumi Tendo could leave for the states. She stopped over to ask why Ranma left and instead got a dose of reality. Boy was she ever force-fed the truth that day. Tofu gave her something that for the first time made her think clearly. She spent many hours just throwing up all the chemicals that were in her body. The good doctor then used a few pressure points to relieve her of her headache that surface after emptying her stomach. The two cures miraculously made all the madness leave her mind.
Then Tofu and the Tendo sister talked to her, REALLY talked to her. They made her realized that she has been acting like a demented noblewoman who used chemicals to torture people and make them do as she says. She also used violence to control people just like one of the women she truly hated, Akane Tendo. It was a hard lesson for her, but she had to admit that she had it coming to her. Ever since her mother died her family just broke apart. Her brother went to his own fantasy world, her father left to go to Hawaii for years at a time and she had gotten lost in her own world too. The chemicals that she used only made the effects worse. Tofu would have used the serum he gave her long ago, but was only then able to get the exotic ingredients needed. By then it was too late. Ranma had already left the city, and more importantly her.
Kodachi hugged the two pictures to her chest and silent tears made its way down her cheeks. "Ranma Wild, please be the one I'm looking for. Please be my beloved." Even after the madness left her she's still in love with him. She found that despite everything her love for him is actually genuine. With the madness gone she was able to objectively look at everything that happened between the two of them. He may have treated her a little harshly, but it's more along the lines that he didn't know how to handle her than actual hatred of her. He was the only one that had not hated her for being insane. There were even a few times where he tried to get rid of the insanity in her mind as he had done for Doctor Tofu and Ms. Hinako's aging problem, although he wasn't successful with her. She just hoped that now that she is cured the two of them could start over. He may have a few rough edges, but she's not perfect either. She hoped and prayed with all her heart that Ranma Wild is really the one formally known as Ranma Saotome. Then she can show him that she has changed and the two of them could start going down the road of a true and meaningful relationship. The way it should have always had been. And if he does not want to start over with her or she doesn't find him, well, she just hopes he's happy wherever he was. She now knows that if you love someone the best you can do is make sure they are happy. Doctor Tofu, Kasumi Tendo and Ranma's absence made her realize that.
She wiped the tears out of her eyes with a handkerchief and prepared for a trip to Shibuya. She will do her best to find him and to fix their relationship, the right way. Because he was the only one that ever saw her for anything else but a mad woman.
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Elsewhere-
At the same moment that the Nerima Wrecking Crew were looking over the information they bought from Nabiki a certain pigtailed fighter was being driven home by an old friend of his. Also with them is the younger sister of his fiancée. She calls herself Mind Hat and the three of them are currently talking about her and Fight's family. He is sitting in the front with Ms. Hinako and Mind is in the back. Mind wanted him to stay with her in the back, but the glint in her eyes as she eyed him and his Chimera Rune creeped him out and he sat up front with Hinako.
Hinako looked at the reflection of Mind Hat in her rearview mirror as she stopped at a red light. "So your whole family is made up of great fighters correct?"
Mind smirk the smirk that sent chills up Ranma and Hinako's spines. "Yup! We're the best! Each of us has are own field of skill. I, of course, am the smartest of my family!" She laughed maniacally again as her ego got even bigger.
Ranma got his shivers under control first and listed the Hats that he already knew. "So let me get this straight. Fight is the best at hand to hand fighting, Magic is the magic user, Brute is the strongest and best at making armor, and you are the genius of the family right?"
Mind nodded. "Yup, and you beat all four of us and got my sister as your intended, you lucky dog you!" She made a few catcalls that got Ranma blushing like a tomato.
Hinako drove the car forward as the light changed as she too chuckled at the blushing wild horse. "My, my Ranma. Quite the ladies man aren't you." She laughed out loud as Ranma is somehow able to turn even more red. She stopped the car at another red light as the two females continued to relentlessly tease him.
Mind got her mirth down to a few chuckles. She saw that Ranma is starting to recover and made one last teasing remark. "Yup, from what I've seen my brother-in-law is quite the charmer. I bet he just LOVES spending 'quality time' with my sister!" Ranma was confused for a moment before getting her comment and would now make Mars seem pink against the redness of his full body blush. If they only knew what goes on when Tina and Chris bring him to go bra and panties shopping or when it's just him and the two girls in the temple. He thanked Kami-sama for small favors. "He fought my sister and got her to tell him her name and beat her. Then he beats me, Brute and Magic to pass our tests. Now the easy part is done." She smiled innocently as she said the last sentence. Anyone could tell, however, that she's enjoying this.
Ranma's eyes bulged and he quickly turned around in his seat. "Say WHAT! That's the EASY part!"
Mind nodded with 'the smirk'. However, Ranma is too shocked to be affected and Hinako continued driving down the road to the next red light as her left eyebrow twitched. "Yup! You see Brute, Magic and myself are the youngest of the family with Fight right in the middle. Remember that there are seven of us, so now you have three left to face. Now you have to face against the oldest of our family! They are WAY stronger than the four of us!" She grinned is ear to ear as Ranma's face turned white.
The light turned blue so Hinako moved the car down the last block to Ranma's new home. (A) "So what are their skills and how good are they?"
Mind looked at the rearview mirror where Hinako's face is reflected. "Well, the one right before Fight is my older brother the tricksters. Then there's my older sister, the great battle strategist. Then there's the oldest, Dark Hat, the most powerful of all of us."
Ranma's face paled even more as he remembered the terror he felt when Tina's older brother appeared to them long ago. He could feel the waves of power coming off of him and knew he wouldn't even have a chance against him if he didn't have the True Chaos Rune. And that's was only when he was just standing there talking to them. Hinako did not know how powerful Dark Hat is and continued with the questioning. "So what's his skill?"
Mind turned towards the white as snow Ranma and spoke as she observed him turn paler with each word she says. "He's the most powerful of all of us like I said. He has all of our skills, but they're all balance out and making him unstoppable." By now the car has reached the temple, but none of the occupants were leaving anytime soon.
Ranma is still white as a ghost and asked another question. "So he has all of your skills and the other siblings, but he's all balance out therefore making him practically unbeatable right?" Mind Hat nodded and Ranma's brain stopped functioning at that point. He remembered his fight with Brute and Tina and he just barely won those battles. As for Mind and Magic those were more of a game then a fight. And now here's one of them telling him that those were the EASY matches!
Hinako grabbed Ranma's hand to calm him down. "Don't worry Ranma, you've beaten the unbeatable before remember?" Mind raised an eyebrow at the contact, but then correctly deduced that the two are good friends and the contact is more to calm her brother-in-law down than anything romantic.
Some of Ranma's ego returns at hearing the teacher's comment. "Well, I have beaten the unbeatable before." He latches onto that as a lifeline. Then he remembers just WHY he's fighting them, for Tina. He's gotten to know her after all this time and he's grown attached to her. She's a lot nicer (and better looking) than all of his old fiancees. She is one of the women who he wouldn't mind spending the rest of his life with. This reinforces his determination to defeat Tina's siblings.
However, Mind is not finished. "Also the reason why he calls himself Dark Hat besides that he's the oldest is that he's everything that is dark and scary. I mean he's the kind of guy who breaks people for speaking badly about our family. The only one that can talk to him without being scared by him is Magic. He's not going to be easy to defeat."
Ranma almost had his resolve melt at that, but he started to think of all the wonderful times he and Tina has had and does not falter. "So that means that I'm going to have my hands full fighting him right?"
Mind looked a little thoughtful for some reason. "Well, to tell you the truth no one besides us Hats and our parents had ever fought him and is still be in one piece. I mean Dark took a solid blow from Brute's club and just shook it off like it was nothing."
Hinako looked at him with pity. "Well Ranma, looks like you're going to have to do some major training to reach his level."
He leaned forward and put his arms on the dashboard, then put his forehead on his arms. "Great. Juuuuuust great." He felt a really big headache coming.
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Meanwhile in the main Shibuya police station uptown-
A debriefing is taking place on what happened two hours ago in downtown Shibuya.
In a meeting hall Captain Kotobuki is briefing the top brass along with members of the other police forces about what happened in the downtown Shibuya area. With him are Ryo and Kaori who were there to help with the investigation. His son is at home taking care of his wife and daughters. They're pretty shook up about the whole situation and not fit to talk about it right now. The lab results were delivered to them about ten minutes ago. He had Jack-O put in the morgue and had the lab analyze what he was made of ASAP.
"Alright boys and girls the lab test results are here now so we can start with the briefing." Copies of the results were being passed to all the members at the table.
One of the members briefly scanned the papers and looked up at the captain. "So two supernatural looking creatures had a fight in the downtown Shibuya area. One of them is the bat-creature we've been looking for and the other is some monster we now have at the morgue right?"
Kotobuki nodded. "Yes. Before the two creatures fought each other my youngest daughter and her friend managed to catch the bat-creature using an old rabbit trap with a manga for bait and a spirit ward on the basket. We would have had him in jail now, but he was freed when my older daughter ripped the ward off the basket. Later I'm having my daughter make us a few wards in case we want to catch him again. The bat-creature is human like, but has clawed feet and bat-like wings and is missing its left eye. According to what my kids and their friends say along with eyewitness statements the bat-creature has supernatural powers. It can make a huge scythe appear in its hands out of nowhere and can use lighting attacks as well." Everyone nodded at this information.
One piece of information seeps into some of the member's minds. "The bat- creature has magical attacks?"
Again Kotobuki nodded. "Yes. It has lighting attacks as you can see from the damage that's detailed in the report and from my own children's statements. However, I don't think it's dangerous. The bat-creature seems to be more into stealing mangas, game cards and scaring people than hurting them. Also when my youngest daughter was being attacked by the other creature it came to help her. We were able to get my daughter to say that he told her that his name is Landis. Also my daughter also insisting that he's 'a good guy'.
One of the Brass spoke up. "So what about this other creature?"
"I'm getting to that." The lights dimmed and the slider is turned on. A slide of the pumpkin headed creature is on the view screen. "This creature calls itself Jack-O. It killed Mr. Yuu, a small time dealer and some of his hired thugs before it went after my daughter." Slides of the bodies were shown to them. "He also killed some random man we have yet to identify to get to my daughter. The damage that they received are just like the ones that were seen at the warehouse when Hanze along with his men were killed. This indicates that he's probably one of the new crime boss' men. Jack-O was armed with a crude but deadly ax when he killed everyone. He has super strength that we determined judging from the wounds on the bodies and his battle with Landis and he can spit out a cloud of green acid that can melt just about anything. Its body is something that the lab boys had never seen before. It's a mix between plant and human."
"So you're saying someone MADE this thing?"
Kotobuki nodded. "It's very likely someone could have made this creature in a lab. The one that took the creature down was Ryo here. He's the City Hunter who was sent here by Sakeo to help us with the new crime lord that shown up here. Like I said before the creature Jack-O seems to be working for the new crime lord from what my daughter overheard. He was trying to recruit Mr. Yuu for its boss and when he refused he killed him."
One of the Brass raised an eyebrow. "The new crime lord is using monsters to do his dirty work?"
"Yes. That's why the warehouse massacre was strange to begin with. The way the men were killed weren't the usually way that people are killed. It seems that more of these creatures are running around since there were various ways Hanze's men were killed. Jack-O is in the morgue waiting for transport to a secured area."
Mr. Zen is a top Brass, but also a close friend of Mr. Kotobuki. "So how's your daughter doing?"
Kotobuki nodded his thanks to him. "With everything that happened to her today she's holding up pretty well. She's just a little shook up and is at home resting."
"So any leads on who's the new crime lord?"
Kotobuki massaged his temples as he felt a headache coming. Ever since the massacre that question has been asked about a hundred times already. He's getting tired of giving answers. "No. We're still looking for clues to who it is. When we took one of Hanze's men in for question about the killings all he knew was that the new crime lord never shows him or herself. It wasn't until a letter was sent to Hanze that he or she ever contacted anyone. That was the only time anybody ever heard directly from him or her. We don't even know if the new crime lord is a guy or girl dang-it!" At the end the headache became a migraine as frustration over the case got the better of him and he lost control for a second. The others understood however. Whenever a new crime lord appears at least one person snaps.
One of the heads of the police task forced asked about the new guy in town. "Aren't you investigating on this Ranma Wild? He could be connected to all this."
After swallowing some home headache medicine Kotobuki replied. "Yes, but without any solid poof we can't touch him without looking bad with the U.S. I'm leaving the investigation to Ryo and his partner to see into the manner." He gestured towards the City Hunter and Kaori.
Before any of them could ask anything else a young cop burst the room. "The pumpkin creature has escape from the morgue and is tearing the station apart!"
"WHAT!" Kotobuki shouted as Ryo and Kaori ran out of the room.
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Outside the meeting room-
The morgue as well as most of the hallways are filled with the bodies of the officers that tried to stop Jack-O. The hallways look more like a slaughterhouse the walls decorated with great smears of blood from the victims. The morgue workers who were in the room at the time are all dead. The room had been trashed. Tables and chairs are splintered and overturned everywhere the two looked. Smears of wet blood decorated the walls. Splashes of it in tacky, trailing puddles are on the floors and walls. The four workers that were working in the room when Jack-O got up are now all over the room in various pieces. Jack-O had taken them apart and threw what's left around the room.
The evidence room where the creature's ax was kept was broken into. There were two cops who were guarding the room at the time. One had his head twisted right off. The other is sitting against the lockers to their left, his legs splayed, half-hidden by a smashed table. His midsection is awash with oozing blood, his features contorted with pain.
Ryo kneeled next to him. "Where did the creature go?"
The injured cop had a little trouble talking, but was able to tell them where Jack-O went. "He headed to the basement."
Turning to the door Ryo saw a cop looking in. "Hey you! Take care of him. We're going after the creature." The cop nodded as Ryo and Kaori left after Jack-O.
The two followed the bloody path to the basement. Bodies of cops decorated the hallways that Jack-O went threw. A body of a young cop was hanging from the hole in a door where his head was force through. A large group of cops were all melted into ooze. What's left of them hardly looks human. The only indication that it was even once were men are the mostly melted uniforms and badges. When Ryo and Kaori reached the basement the metal door was smashed down. Inside all they found is a hole in the wall leading into the sewers. The gaping hole that the creature used looks like it was melted using its acid breath.
Ryo angrily looked into the hole. "I fired all six rounds of my Magnum into that thing! How could it be still alive after that?" He backed away from the gasping hole knowing that following the creature into the sewers would be useless now.
Kaori was about to step through the hole when Ryo backed away. "Why aren't we following it then?"
Ryo shook his head at his partner. Didn't she ever watch horror movies! "Hello! Don't you watch horror movies! You NEVER EVER go after a monster after it goes into the sewers because every time that happened the people who follow the monster are always killed by it!" He looked around and it finally clicked what they were doing. "In fact, we shouldn't even be in this basement right now seeing that the monster could just be hiding somewhere around here waiting to kill us!"
Kaori's eyes widen as she frantically looked around. "Let's get out of here!" She ran back up the stairs with Ryo close behind her.
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At the temple-
"You attacked a monster downtown?"
Chris and Tina just arrived home a few minutes ago. Both women did not hear any of the fighting since it happened on one side of downtown Shibuya while they were shopping on the other side. After the alterations were made Tina bought the dress that Chris picked out (Chris is still beating herself for it. The only silver lining she has are the 'secret' undergarments she bought that she intends to show off to Ranma later.) And the two headed back to the temple not knowing what happened just a few dozen blocks from them. After the two women dropped off their purchases in their rooms they headed down to where Fred and the others were watching the news just in time for the report on Landis' fight. Even the two ninja's eyes twitched, once. Landis himself arrived in the middle of the broadcast.
Landis shrugged at the group's question. "Yup, I had to or the girl would have been dead if I didn't step in to help."
Fred threw up his hands in the air in exasperating. "Great, just great! Now everyone knows that there really is a bat-creature flying around. If we're unlucky they'll follow you here!"
Yun came to Landis' defense. Masato had called earlier and told her everything. "Well, Landis did save my friend Sayo. He had no choice or that monster would have kept on killing everybody."
Edge nodded at the logic, but he and the Zodiac Sword scowled as another fact came to mind. "This means Neclord and the monsters he had with him at the Alma Kinan Village are still alive then."
Piccolo nodded solemnly. "Yes. And since this world doesn't use magic or believe in monsters anymore he's unstoppable in this world."
Everyone, even Landis, turned silent at that until Fight suddenly brightened. "Guys! Ranma is here along with two other people!" She could feel Ranma's energy along with two others. One of them she knows too well.
The front door opened and a ten year old girl or so with short purple hair stepped inside. She wore a pair of violet color spectacles and an odd conical shaped top hat of pale colored leather and bits of metal that appeared to be electronic devices of some kind. She had a cannon strapped to her back along with a metal disk underneath her huge backpack. And a large side bag hanging on her left side. She looked around the assembled people until she spotted Fight and then ran over to hug her. "Hi sis!"
Fight automatically put her arms around her sister as she and everyone else looked on in astonishment at her. "Mind? What are you doing here? How did you get here?"
Mind let go of her and stepped back to look her sister in the face. "Oh, I was watching you guys when the blast hit and was sent to this world along with you guys. I got sent to another location though and have been looking for you ever since. I ended up someplace called Kyoto near where a guy with a bandana was walking around. My scanner told me he had a directional curse that allowed mid-distance teleporting without him knowing. I followed him so I could be teleported around with him until my scanners could sense you. I pinpointed that you were around here, but couldn't get a good reading so I just kept asking people for you until I ran into Ranma over at the school. I gave him his test and he passed!" Fight's face lit up at this news. She was worried that Mind would get carried away and just blast Ranma to pieces. If he won that that means three down and three to go!
Chris looked towards the door where Ranma has yet to come through. "So where's Ranma? We need to tell him something."
Mind replied in an offhanded manner before she could stop herself. "He's right behind me with his lady friend." As soon as she finished her sentence she slapped a hand on her forehead. Everyone would interpret that wrong. Sure enough her sister and Chris went berserk.
Everyone in the room took three to five steps away from Ranma's fiancee and the silver maiden when an intense heat suddenly radiated from the two girls. Their battle auras would have made Akane and even Herb green with envy. The two of them shouted two words that contained more hatred and rage than Ryoga could ever muster up.
"LADY FRIEND!"
Even Mind got scared of her sister and hid behind a chair, shivering.
After getting the ringing out of her ears Ayame smiled a not so nice smile. "This is going to be soooo good."
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Just outside the door Ranma and Hinako heard, and felt, the two girls shout. Ranma gulped as he started to shake. It's starting to feel as if he's in Nerima again and a new fiancee has shown up. It only stopped when Hinako put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry. You did explain to them that I was your teacher and friend right?"
He nodded as hope flared in him. Maybe they won't kill him this time. Tina and Chris are very different from his old fiancees and that made him breath easier. Mind probably just told them the wrong thing and it set them off.
Ranma steeled himself and put his hand on Hinako's and gave it a squeeze in thanks. She nodded and put her hand down as the two entered the lion's den.
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Inside the temple-
Just as the two women in Ranma's life were about to go outside to teach Ranma a lesson about bringing home unknown women two figures stepped through the door.
Ranma stepped in with a tall, busty, brown haired twenty something year old woman. The yellow dress she wore is skintight and just barely cleared her fanny. Her ample chest almost seemed to burst out from her front. Her long brown hair hanged loosely down her back and she has a flawless face. She practically screamed sex.
Both women took one look at her then stomped over to where Ranma was standing next to her. "RANMA! WHO IS THIS?" Both women unconsciously used their magic and ki to make their voices extremely loud. It scared off all the birds in a two-mile radius, broke a few windows, and made everyone in the area look towards where the shout came from. They all knew the tone of voice the two women used. Whoever this Ranma was is in a lot of trouble. The women who heard the shout prayed for his lost soul while the men shivered in fear for one of their own.
Ranma gulped as Tina and Chris' battle auras flared. He would have bolted as soon as the two of them stomped over to him, but he knows he did nothing wrong this time. Still, they're SCARY! "Well, um, you see, err..." He gulped again as their auras got bigger at his stuttering.
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It had taken an hour to calm the two enraged and jealous girls. It took him a quick explanation at sword point and the promise of dinner and a romantic date for each of them when things are a little less hectic for the two to calm down while everyone enjoyed his squirming, especially Hinako, Ayame and Mind.
Everyone had gathered at the dinner table to hear a more detailed explanation from Ranma while eating the takeout Ranma, Hinako and Mind purchased on the way to the temple. Of course Tina and Chris are sitting VERY close to Ranma. He could tell they were itching to grab one of his arms and declare 'MINE!' He knew the indications of it from watching his old fiancees.
The two women eyed Hinako carefully the whole time. They may now know about Ranma and Hinako's friendship, but that didn't mean they couldn't stake their claim just in case.
Piccolo nodded as Ranma finished his explanation. "So you're his old teacher who gave him all of those educational books of his. I must say thank you on behalf of myself and our friends in Lake Castle. Those books have been really helpful." He gave the beautiful teacher a slight bow from his sitting position.
Hinako smiled at him and nodded. "I knew those books would come in handy." She turned her friendly gaze back to Ranma. Tina and Chris saw this of course and narrowed their eyes at her. "The books were nothing. It's the least I can do to repay him for helping me stay as an adult indefinitely." She saw a prime opportunity to tease her friend and leaned slightly forward so that Ranma would have a clear view of her cleavage. Chris and Fight growled at her while Ranma tried not to look. He knew she loved teasing him and would not fall for her trap.
Fight growled as she glared at the busty teacher. 'She has the same build and personality Jeane has! That tramp! Stop playing with my Ranma hussy!'
Chris is also cursing over Hinako's personality and figure that was better then hers. Her language was a lot more colorful though. Her days as a knight gave her a rather large vocabulary.
Ranm just tried to ignore the three women's animosity and turned towards Landis. "So you went downtown and showed yourself off to everyone one there right?" His eyes narrowed at him. He had told Landis and the others to keep a low profile and now Landis does this. However, Landis just shrugged and smirked. This made Ranma mad and would have stood up and grabbed his throat and shook him around if Yun hadn't quickly stood up from her chair and jumped onto Ranma's lap and hugged him to stop him.
"It's okay big brother. No one followed him and he did save my friend from that monster. Don't be mad." This served to calm him down and he put his arms around his sister in thanks for stopping him. Everyone stopped what they were doing to go 'Awww', which the two sibling did not hear. The heart- warming scene even made Chris and Tina stop glaring at Ms. Hinako. Whenever they see how Ranma and Yun are so close to each other the two couldn't stop staring. It made them fantasize how Ranma would be holding THEIR child with him so lovingly like that. This is especially prominent for Tina since she had seen Arthur's article on how Ranma promises to give his children the childhood he never had. She had even told Chris of this as well and the two just couldn't stop sighing as they looked at the siblings.
Landis is, of course, disgusted by anything mushy heart-warming as this was. Still, he owes Yun one for saving him. Ranma did NOT look happy when he was about to throttle him. He took Yun's plate and put it besides Ranma's as Yun turned in Ranma's lap towards the table. The two siblings did not mind if she ate dinner while sitting on his lap. "Yup, I did end up in a fight downtown. I also found out that Neclord is still alive since he's the only one that could have created something like that."
Hinako is still smiling at how happy Ranma looked as he hugged his little sister. The kind of smile he has now has never been seen before when he was in Nerima. Speaking of Nerima... "You know Ranma, last I heard Nerima has been going downhill ever since you left. You might want to go by sometime and see how bad things have gotten."
Ranma looked over at her. "Yeah, I've heard. Me, Ayame and Watari were by the outskirts when we checked around the store where I used the Mirror of Chaos. I talked with one of the passersby and he told me that Nerima has really gone down the dumps since you, me, the Doc and Kasumi left. I can't do anything about it right now though. I still have to figure out how to get us back to Yun's world. By the way, you want to come with us?"
Hinako looked thoughtful at that. It didn't sound too bad. It seems like the world where Ranma's new friends and family came from is still very primitive compared to her and Ranma's world. Her knowledge would be very useful there. "Maybe Ranma. I still have a delinquent to straighten out anyway. You know Ran Kotobuki don't you?"
Ranma smiled in a not so nice way, making the others shiver a little. That girl is way too nosy for his taste. "Oh yes, I remember her. If you need help 'disciplining' her just let me know. Hehehe." Mind looked enviously at him. His evil voice is better than hers!
Piccolo got over the willies the Ranma' voice caused then asked a question that has plagued him and all the others here and in Lake Castle for a long time. "Ranma, you never did tell us the complete story on why you left Nerima. Could you please tell us why you left your old life and how you ended up in our world?"
Ranma shrugged. He had been expecting someone to ask that question anytime now. "Well, I guess you guys should learn more about me," Ranma began. "You see it all began in this world almost a year ago..."
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One year ago-
It looked like any other 'normal' day in the city of Nerima. It was after school and Ranma was heading back to the Tendo place when he heard a ringing bell from a bike he knows well too well. As this happens to him almost every single day since he came here.
"Airen!" Ranma tried to dodge the flying figure of Shampoo who jumped from her bike, he really did, but she was already on top of him. He only had a moment to tense himself for the impact before his and Shampoo's bodies collided. "Wo ai ni!" She held him tenderly, but tight enough that he couldn't get away. She snuggled up next to him, slowly moving closer to his face. Ranma felt sick as she continued to rub her body against his. It's not that he's gay or that he did not enjoy such a lush body rubbed against his, but the invasion of personal space still gets to him. It's always the same thing whenever the two of them meet! He felt like he was being taken advantage of, and in male form at that!
"C'mon Shampoo! Get off of me!" She responded to his protests by trying to plant a kiss on his lips. He managed to turn his head enough so that she only caught his cheek. "I said knock it off!" He forced her arms from around him and held her at arm's length. He was about to yell at her about people's need for space when he heard a shout to his right.
"Ranma Saotome! How dare you take advantage of my Shampoo!" He looked from Shampoo to Mousse and back again, and realized that the hold he had on her wrists made it look like he was forcing her into something she didn't want, or more like DID want.
He immediately let go of her and dodged a dozen throwing stars from Mousse. "Oh c'mon! It's not what it looks like!"
"Silence user of women!" Mousse sent a volley of sharp pointy knives flying at the pigtailed martial artist. He dodged the weapon master's attack and used it as a barrier to distance himself from Shampoo as well.
"Will you stop already! I told you nothing happened!" Something large and hard came out of nowhere and slammed into the side of Ranma's head. He was sent staggering back and bright spots of color danced across his eyes. When his vision cleared he found himself on his knees staring at Ryoga's feet.
"How dare you cheat on Akane, Ranma!"
He looked up at the fuming pig-cursed individual. "What the hell are you talking about! I wasn't doing anything!"
Ryoga just looked more enraged, if it were possible, as he stared at something on Ranma's cheek. "So you say, but the mark of another woman's lips upon your cheek says otherwise you bastard!" Ranma suddenly remembered Shampoo's kiss. 'Damn! She must have been wearing lipstick!' Before he could explain what had happened, though, Ryoga's foot connected with his face.
Ranma slammed into a wall leaving a rather large impression in it as he slid to the ground. He was getting sick and tired of this! Not just this fight, but all of the fights! It's like this every day! He would do something completely unintentional and end up fighting half of Nerima! He didn't mind fighting occasionally and a daily sparring match between someone could be fun, but this was ridiculous! The only thing that could make today worse would be the arrival of Ukyou or Akane.
As if his thoughts had summoned her, several of the okonomiyaki chef's spatulas imbedded themselves into the stone next to his head. This day just kept getting better and better.
"I see you've taken to cavorting with Shampoo now Ranma honey. Looks like I'm going to have to make sure you remember who your real fiancée is!" Ukyou ran up to him intending to bash his head in a couple of times with her giant spatula.
Shampoo slid to a halt if front of Ranma. "You no is Ranma fiancée! Shampoo is only woman for Ranma! Ranma is Shampoo's Airen!"
Ukyou shot Shampoo a fiery glare. "We'll just see about that sugar!" Ukyou jumped towards Shampoo as she pulled out her maces.
The two girls began fighting each other, but Ranma wasn't able to take advantage of the situation because now Mousse and Ryoga were splitting up to try and catch him in a pincer attack. Realizing that this was going to be a very long day, Ranma jumped to his feet and prepared to defend himself. Then he heard someone shouting at him, again.
"You foul villain prepare to die!" Kuno joined the fight.
"Well, the gangs all here," Ranma said as he fought off the three very stupid and very enraged men.
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Sometime later-
Late that night a very tired and very hurt Ranma arrived at the Tendou dojo. His fight with Ryoga, Kuno, and Mousse hadn't gone very well. They seemed to be getting better and better and he seemed to be losing his edge. He knew the real reason he was losing his fighting instinct was because he was tired of it all. Tired of the never-ending battles, tired of the challenges he was constantly receiving from people who wanting to fight the best, tired of all the women who seemed to think he belonged to them. Not caring what he feels about it. He just wanted to get away from everything.
He stumbled through the door and the first thing he got was a mad Akane in his face. "Where have you been Ranma?" she demanded.
"Ryoga, Kuno, and Mousse jumped me," he explained. "I had to dunk them in a stream before they finally gave up." Feeling he had fully explained his tardiness, Ranma moved to go around Akane. He stopped when he noticed she had the 'I'm going to hit Ranma' look in her eyes. He wondered what he had done this time.
"So you were out fighting huh? Then what's that on your cheek Ranma?"
Ranma groaned. He had completely forgotten about Shampoo's kiss and apparently the lipstick hadn't come off during the fight. "I can explain that. You see Shampoo—"
"So it was Shampoo huh!" shouted Akane, cutting him off. "One of your cute fiancées! Why didn't you go to her with your injuries and story of being picked on by big bad Ryoga, Kuno, and Mousse you hentai?"
Normally Ranma would have hit back with something sarcastic and rude, but tonight he just wasn't in the mood for the bickering he and Akane were constantly engaged in. Looking down at her, he wondered if she truly thought so little of him. It wasn't like he had gone out of his way to attract fiancées and enemies, and he certainly hadn't encouraged any of them once they had shown up. Without saying a word, Ranma simply limped past Akane.
"Where are you going now?" Akane's tone had lost a bit of its edge and was now tinged with confusion. It wasn't like Ranma to simply ignore her barbs.
"To take a bath," he responded in a weary tone. "I'm tired and I hurt, so I'm going to take a bath and go to bed. Good night."
He was heading to the bath when he heard Nabiki talking to his mom who came to visit. He followed the voices to Nabiki's room and stood outside the door as they continued to talk.
"Auntie, shouldn't you just pick a girl for Ranma to marry to end all of this craziness?" Ranma's interest grew and he pressed his ear to the door.
"Yes, maybe I should. I was hoping that he would just pick a girl of his own so that I can finally have some grandkids."
"So you just want some grandkids out of him?"
"Yes. I gave up mothering Ranma so that the family name would have great honor to it after Genma trains him. But I never got to mother him the way I wanted to. So by getting grandkids I get to mother them all I want and then give them back to Ranma and his wife without really doing any work. If they act up it must be because Ranma is such a poor father. My son is useless except as a fighter and baby-maker anyway. As long as he gives me grandchildren I don't really care what happens to him anymore. Oh, if only I didn't have such a dishonorable son!" Ranma's anger grew at his moth...Genma's wife's words. This is woman that gave birth to him? "So which one do you think would mother the most kids for me?"
Ranma left for the bath to do some heavy thinking. He knows now that even his mother didn't care for him at all. All she saw in him her own son was a tool to use. It was no wonder Genma didn't want to stay with her! She's just as bad as he is! He feared this would happen, he just knew the two had to be alike! It's the only reason that made sense for the two to marry!
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In the bath Ranma could finally think to himself. He began thinking about his life and what it was leading to. Everyone wanted something from him and no one cared about him. The only ones that ever treated him like a person were Tofu, Kasumi and Ms. Hinako, even if she does drains him. They were the only ones that cared about HIM.
He helped Tofu to stop acting crazy every time Kasumi was near him a few weeks ago. It took a good while, but now Kasumi and Tofu are dating. He also helped Hinako stop turning into a little girl. He found a scroll in the old pervert's room that had a counter move to stop her from turning into a little girl. He had to disable her again since she didn't trust him, but now Hinako is now a full time adult. She has been treating him like a good friend since then. The two of them even meet in private to just talk! No fighting, no ultimatums, just the two of them talking and acting like they've been friends for years. No one has ever done that with him before.
Ranma then went back thinking about himself. Despite what many people believed about him Ranma was not stupid. He was simply ignorant of a lot of things. Since the day he was born his life had been laid out before him by his parents. He was to become a man among men, a warrior whose skills and abilities would be unrivaled by anyone. He would marry the daughter of his father's good friend Soun and carry on the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. He would bring great honor to both families. He would be everybody's escape goat. He would be everybody's punching bag. He would be the one working while everyone lazed around eating the food HE bought with his money, sitting on the couch HE paid for, watching the TV HE saved up to buy, while everyone treated him like they treat Kasumi, like a slave. They may not beat her, but she's a slave just like he is. But no one had ever bothered to ask him if this was what he wanted, or her for that matter. Nabiki would sell his pictures, and eventually his body, to make money while he never got any of it. Genma and Soun would keep on drinking sake and using up all the hard-earned money he made. His mother would mother his children while ignoring him. If they got too rough she would send them to him and probably say he's a bad father when he would barely even see them! Akane would continue to beat him until one day she kills him. Probably would beat his corpse too. And that's just if he stayed with the Tendos! The others are even worse.
An even more chilling thought came to him. They would probably do this to his children as well!
Ranma is a fighter but only because he had never been given the chance to be anything else but a fighter. Fighting and the martial arts didn't necessarily disagree with him, it was just the constant fighting that he disliked so much. Sure he likes fighting but that was only because he never had the chance to do anything else but to fight. His knowledge of things other than fighting was limited due to the nomadic lifestyle he had lived for a good ten years of his life. Being dragged from place to place and being enrolled in a ton of different schools had done very little to help his education or social skills.
And now he's here in Nerima, considered by many to be either an enemy or the love of their life. This was where he was supposed to spend the rest of his life, happily married to Akane.
Yeah, right.
This wasn't what he wanted out of his life. Because he never had any control of it to begin with. Because his life was already planned out for him before he was even born.
Then he thought about his parents. They are the cause of all of his heartaches. Genma the fat panda is why he's the way he is now. He cared more about himself than anything else. Selling him just to feed himself, not caring about what would happen later to his own son. Many of the people are after him because of something HE did. Hell, whenever Genma gets challenged he would tell the challenger to take it out on HIM! Then there was his mother, if he could call her that. She wanted the family name to have great honor to it. But couldn't she see that the Saotome name no longer had any honor to it anymore thanks to the man she married. And she always threatens him with that sword of hers. She cared more about honor to her family's name than her child. And now he knows that all she wants out of him is grandkids to mother the way she had wanted to do with him, as long as they don't act up. Then it would be his fault for raising such bad children! She was never a mother to beginning with the b!
Then Ranma remembered what he had read a day before about the magic shop where Kuno got that phoenix egg awhile back. A magic item that could give anyone one wish is there now. The shop owner sent him a letter telling him about it since he had heard of the various troubles he has. The others have already tried to use it, but it didn't work for them because the owner of the store said only those who have earned a wish could make the mirror work. If you made a wish and it didn't work for you the mirror would wipe your memory of the whole thing. Even the knowledge of the mirror's existence would be wiped out. It's one of the safeguards of the mirror so the failed wish maker wouldn't destroy the mirror in a fit of rage. According to the owner everyone from Akane to Cologne has tried their luck with the mirror, with no results except for a memory wipe.
Ranma couldn't think of anyone besides himself that has earned a wish. He could wish for a new life so that he could leave this one. It wasn't his to begin with. If nothing else it would just erase a bit of his memory anyway.
All he had to do is break all of his bonds to this life. This is it. Even if the mirror didn't work there's no turning back. 'Well, there's no reason to wait for it. I should do what I have to do. What I want to do.' He got out of the bath with a grim yet determined expression on his face.
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Downstairs the Tendo family is having dinner. Nodoka is sitting next to her husband talking about their son. They were about to dig in when Ranma walk downstairs. He looked at them until he had everyone's attention.
"I want you to all know that I'm leaving this house for good. I'm abandoning the Saotome name and all the honor debts that go with it." He's fully dressed and his things are all in a subspace pocket he learned from Mousse, the only good thing that ever came out of the stupid duck. Of course Mousse didn't know that Ranma had copied his technique.
"Now see here boy!" Genma shouted in his face pointing his finger at him. He let out a scream when Ranma grabbed his finger and snap it. A brutal kick on the face made a deep cut in its wake. Genma fell to the ground lying like a broken doll with its strings cut off. Then Ranma threw an energyball at Mr. Tendo as he was getting up. The ball of energy sent the Tendo human waterworks flying into the pond.
"RANMA YOU JERK!" Akane shouted bringing out her hammer. She was about to bash in his head, but she felt a deep pain and saw Ranma's fist punching her HARD into her gut. She spat out blood before falling to the ground unconscious.
Nabiki stood up and glared at him. "Ranma! How dare you!" She was about to slap him when Ranma grabbed her by the neck and lifted her off the ground. He squeezed as she looked into his eyes. His eyes are cold, frigid. It put to shame her own expressionless mask and it made her scared.
His voice matched his eyes. "Now you will listen to me. I will not tolerate you ruining my life. Got that." Before she could reply he slammed her to the ground. Hard. It wasn't enough to kill her, but she will be sore for weeks.
Nodoka pulled out her sword as she advanced on him. "Now see here son! How could you do this to our family name?" Looking at the sword Ranma felt anger, intense, raging 'I will kill you now!' anger. She cared more about her own honor than her child's welfare!
Grabbing her sword Ranma held it up to let her see it. "You cared nothing about me. You only saw me as a tool to use then throw away after its usefulness has run out. You were never fit to be a mother at all. I consider myself UN-lucky to have been born to you and your husband. You are just the woman who donated half of her genes to make me. I'm glad I have no siblings. They would have been ashamed as well to have you as their mother. Your ancestor would be ashamed to know you. You gave me nothing but pain, so I'm throwing everything you and your family has done to me!" In front of Nodoka's frightened eyes he snapped the blade in two. Then he drew its broken blade along his left palm, leaving a streak of his own blood from the hilt to its now jagged tip. "Take my blood as well! It has been nothing but a pain to me since your blood runs in mine!" He splashed her face with the blood dripping from the gaping wound. By doing this he has effectively declared that he refuses to acknowledge her as family. The breaking of the blade and the throwing of blood has made him a ronin. A wanderer. One with no family. Good!
Looking down at her now pale face he scowled. "You never cared for me but as a way to have honor and have grandkids to mother the way you never did for me! It YOUR fault since you were never was there for me! YOU are the one who let Genma take me away! YOU are the one to ruin this family! Genma may have been the one to make those deals and make those thefts and such, but he wouldn't have made even half of them if YOU hadn't let him take me away! You say you want grandchildren? I will NEVER let you touch my children you bi from hell!"
He turned towards the front door and walked away, leaving a gaping and frozen woman in his wake. He still held onto the broken sword as a reminder of why he left this life for good. As he got to the door separating him from the outside world he saw Kasumi waiting for him.
She smiled at him. However, this smile is different. This smile is not her usual oblivious smile, but an actual genuine one. This is a smile only he and Tofu are privileged to see. "Ranma, before you leave Nerima see Doctor Tofu about your cut. And I think Ms. Ninomiya would like to say goodbye before you leave for your new life."
Ranma smiled impishly at her. "You were expecting this, weren't you?"
Kasumi returned the smile. "Of course I was. Although you were a LITTLE bit too violent when you told everyone about your decision." Ranma blushed and apologized. Kasumi is THE mother and sister he never had! There's nothing he won't do for her. "It's okay Ranma, I understand. Here, take these cookbooks with you. I'm sure you'll have a use for them." She handed him a HUGE stack of books, which he made disappear using Hidden Weapons Technique.
The two friends hugged tightly for a long time and then both gave each other a kiss on the cheek. "Now remember Ranma, I will always be your friend. Take care of yourself and make sure to stop by Doctor Tofu and Ms. Hinako's houses before you disappear."
Ranma smiled at her with all the love and friendship he can muster and Kasumi did the same. This may be the last time the two of them will ever see each other. "Sure, why not. Make sure you leave too ok." She was about to say something, but he put a finger on her lips to silence her. "I mean it Kasumi. If you don't leave this madhouse soon I'll come back and drag you out! I'll even get Tofu and Hina-chan to help me! Got it!" She stood there with an unreadable expression for a few moments, then gave him a smile and nodded. The two hugged and kissed again before Ranma turned towards the door. "Goodbye, Kasumi-chan."
Kasumi symbolically opened the door for him. By walking through it he is leaving Nerima for probably the last time. "Goodbye, Ranma-kun." And with that the pigtailed warrior walked out of the Tendo home to start a new life elsewhere. The storm clouds hanging in the sky finally decided to drop their heavy loads. Rain poured down over the city, soaking the young man in seconds, changing him from male to female, and matting his long hair, changing it from black to red. She seemed to take no note of it though. She just held onto her broken sword and stared into the cloudy sky knowing that this was the ending of Ranma Saotome and the beginning of just a man named 'Ranma'. For this is the path that he has chosen to follow it will be a hard road to follow. But this is what he needed to do to follow his own path in life one without regrets or ties to the past.
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Back to the present-
"After that I said my goodbyes to Doc Tofu and Hinako and they gave me those books to take with me. The rest you already know." He had already told the others how he got the Chaos Mirror and his meeting with Thomas when they arrived on his world. "What about you Hina? What happened to you and the others when I left?" Calling her Hina-chan in front of Tina and Chris is like making a death wish.
Ms. Hinako leaned back in her chair. "Well, I don't know about the NWC. After you left I quit my job at the high school since there was no reason for me to teach there anymore. Kasumi left her family with Tofu to go study in the U.S to become a doctor there. And I told you already that the two of them are married now."
Ranma smiled. "He had to drag her out of that house didn't he?" At Hinako and everybody else's puzzled expression he chuckled. "Before I left I told Doc to drag her out of that house. If he didn't, well, I threatened to put back his insanity. You should have seen how panicked he looked!" He made a very good familial of Tofu's face when he threatened to put the madness back. Everyone laughed at the comical expression.
Fred is the first to stop laughing. "So that's why you don't believe in other people's view of honor. Your parents and everyone in your old life were hypocrites. They knew the word, but not the meaning of it."
Mind nodded at that. "After what you went through who would? I mean the way your parents treated you makes Dark look like this Kasumi woman!"
Fight smirked when she heard her sister's comparison of her brother to who Ranma tells her is like an angel. "And Dark isn't known to be Mr. Nice-guy. The only one he acts nice to is Magic."
Ranma chuckled a little at that. He remembers his time with Magic so he doesn't blame Dark for being nice to her. She just has that...something...that Kasumi also has that prevents you from not being nice to her. "Well, now you know my story. That was why I left and I never looked back since. Besides, if I didn't I wouldn't have never met all of you or found a sister." Ranma hugged the still on his lap Yun tighter making her giggle.
Hinako looked at the two. It's just CREEPY that the two of them are so alike, yet aren't really siblings. "I still can't believe that you two aren't really brother and sister. Both of you just look and act so much alike you're almost twins!"
Rico nodded fervently as well. "Yes, they do. You should have seen our expressions when we found out." She then frowns as she remembers what they were worried about before Ranma came in with Hinako and Mind Hat. "But what are we going to do now that Landis is known to be real now?"
Ranma smirked at the knight in training. "I already thought of that. Watari, Ayame, you two go to the Shibuya police station and pick up anything about Landis. Make sure to destroy it somehow."
Both ninjas nodded. "We will."
Hinako then suddenly stood up after she looked at her watch. "Well, I better get home now. I'll see you later Ranma."
Chris suddenly comes up with a wicked idea. "Hold on a sec. You've known Ranma for awhile right? Why don't you sleep over so you can tell us more about him?" Tina caught on to Chris' idea and nodded enthusiastically.
"Yeah! Give us all the details! We want to know EVERYTHING you know about Ranma! What food he likes, what he likes to do with his spare time besides training..." She directs a sultry expression to the blushing pigtailed man. "What kind of women he likes."
Yun felt the heat coming from her brother. What could Hinako possibly know that is making him so nervous?
Hinako smiled a teasing smile at him. "Sure, why not. Show me to my room and I'll tell you ALL the JUICY details about Ranma." The three giggling women headed down a hallway. As one the three women bid Ranma "Good night" and started talking animatedly to each other. Only snippets of their fading conversation can be heard. Words like "red" and "undergarments" and "acts like Tofu" and "YES! I just bought those!" were heard by the remaining group, much to the dismay of the very embarrassed Ranma.
Ayame's veil is still on her face (how she ate with it on is a mystery), but her smirk can still be seen. "Learn more about you huh? Well I'm in." She stood up and followed the three.
Ranma gulped as he watched the four women walk away. "This is bad."
Everyone shook their heads at him in sympathy. "You can say that again."
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Meanwhile at the Kotobuki house-
Sayo is sitting on her bed looking at the Lightning Sword Rune Sword on her hand wondering how it became apart of her. She's also thinking about her meeting with the bat-creature, Landis. She didn't feel any real evil in him and even after she trapped him he was there to save her from the real monster, Jack-O.
She had tried out her new power with a wooden bat and it had lit up with lighting as before with the sword. She now had the power to create lighting weapons. She hadn't told anyone about her powers yet.
Her mother had put her into bed after she was sure that she was fine and is now having a long talk with her older siblings about looking after her. She was thinking about the animes and mangas she had in her room. They were mostly about female heroes who were just normal girl until they got an item or something that gave them super powers. The one she likes the most are the demon hunter ones. She daydreamed about hunting things in the dark and facing the monsters that preyed on humans. Now she has the power. But after facing Jack-O could she really become a demon hunter?
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Inside of an underground room-
Neclord is watching the late breaking story of a massacre inside of the main Shibuya police station. "I must say, you just can't seem to leave an area without causing a scene can you."
Jack-O bowed to his master. "I couldn't leave that station without killing a few of the humans that got in my way sir."
Neclord's face remains unreadable. "Well, on the bright side the minor crime lords have all taken me as their master now after seeing this. Just one of my monsters was caught then broke out of a fully armed police station and killing a few dozen officers on the way has them really scared."
Jack-O nodded his head at the almost praise. "Master, about the girl I told you about."
Neclord waved at him in a dismissing nature. "Yes, I know. I'll keep an eye on this girl."
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Some time afterwards –
Three days had passed since Jack-O had broken out of the police station, and also Hinako's sleepover with the girls. Since then the Chris and Fight have been cooking him all of his favorite dishes. Fight's cooking is very good, but who knew under all that armor Chris is actually a master chef! Even if she can't do anything else that girls usually learn do without messing it up. She rivals Mamie's cooking and Gasp is almost as good as Kasumi! Ranma's been in heaven ever since the two have grilled Hinako on what some of his favorite foods are. He's been in such a good mood that whoever figures out that his absolute favorite in the whole wide world was ramen noodles with egg and shrimp tempura and two servings of takuyaki and shomai is going to be treated to one HELL of a night out in town! (B) Expensive five star restaurant, stretch limo, expensive suit and dress, a PRIVATE screening of a romantic film, the works! Sayuri, Akane's friend, once told him that that is every girl's dream date, so he'll do everything she outlined. It will be expensive, but having lots of gold coins (the ones from the others world) really pays. Unfortunately, or fortunately, he's not sure, Hinako did not know that (only Kasumi did, or else he would have been married to Shampoo if she knew) and so far no one has even given him even a single shomai.
Oh, and Chris showed him her...purchases two nights ago. It's best not to go over what happened. Know only that he needed to untwist Fred who was unfortunately passing by the room him and Chris were in when she did her unveiling. Oh, and there was a lot of red, or little depending on whether you are talking about the amount of blood Ranma loss from the giant nosebleed or the amount of clothing Chris wore. Point is...he would have given Tofu a run for his money. Thankfully it only happened only for the first time he saw her. After that, well, he's really glad that she's so interested in him.
Tina has yet to show him her new dress, much to Chris' relief. She's saving it for the date.
The only downside to this is that Ayame knows about...'it'. 'It' is so repulsive and so vile that he couldn't help but feel like throwing up every time he sees it. He wanted nothing more to do than take 'it' and cast a Hand of Chaos on 'it'! Every time he sees Ayame she has...'it' on.
Who knew that Hinako knew that pink fluffy bunny slippers complete with the bunny ears sticking out really disgusted him? Those things are WAY too...whatever for his taste! (C)
At least he doesn't have to suffer alone. Landis DID throw up the first time he saw Ayame wearing them. His piranhas were NOT happy at having their tank treated like a toilet.
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At the school-
Sayo had return to school on the third day. Everyone was asking her all kinds of questions about the monsters. Yun and Masato were the only ones that weren't all over her wanting to know more about the bat-creature and Jack-O.
Her older sister Ran was also questioned by her classmates when she got there. They all stopped, however, when Hinako drained one of the students. She pointed her coin at the rest of them and they understood the subtle threat.
After everyone had gotten to their seat (and the unfortunate student dumped in his) Ms. Hinako got up in front of the classroom and made an announcement. "Everyone, today we are going to have a new student joining us. She is younger than all of you, but her test scores are so high that the school had to move her up to this grade level. Give a warm welcome to Molly Fight of the Hat family." Only Tina knows if that is her real name. No one is suppose to know their real names after all unless they are part of the family or is engaged like Fight is.
To the class' amazement stepping into the classroom is a ten year old girl with short purple hair. She wasn't in a school uniform, but orange overalls over a gray shirt and an open white lab coat that almost reached the ground is what she wore. She also wore a pair of violet color spectacles and a strange metal top hat. She also had a metal disk on her back. The glass eyepiece on the hat gave out a small beep as numbers and words appeared as a read out of everyone in the class. She gave them her patented evil scientist smile, which sent shivers up everyone's spine except Ms. Hinako who has gotten use to it from hanging around Ranma's home.
"Hi. I'm Molly Fight, but you can call me Mind since I'm such a genius!" Mind broke out in a mad scientist type laugh. This time everyone sweatdropped.
Miyu raised a questioning eyebrow at her. "Fight, as in Tina Fight, the bodyguard of Ranma Wild?" This got everyone's attention.
Mind smirk 'the smirk'. Everyone unconsciously trembled. "Yup, I'm the gadget wiz of my family."
Ran sneered at her. Open foot, insert mouth. "Genius? Come on! You're just a little girl for crying out loud. How much of a genius can you be?"
A metal arm came out of the metal disk on Mind's back. The end of the arm opened up like a flower pointing to Ran. A really large sweatdrop appeared on her head seeing that leg thing being aimed at her. Then a blast of sticky goop hit Ran, which sent her to the back wall of the classroom. Ran ended up trapped in a spider-like web hanging on the classroom's back wall. The class gulped and silently promised to themselves not to mess with the little genius.
Miyu would have helped her friend, but did not want to be on the receiving end of that goop as well. "You know, Miyu is starting to think that maybe that Ran shouldn't ask those types of questions anymore."
Aya also stayed in her seat. "Yeah you're right. First Ms. Hinako, now Mind. It's like she has foot-in-mouth disease or something."
Meanwhile in the back of the classroom Ran is still trying to get out of the web. "Great! Now we have a mad genius in our classroom along with an energy sucking vampire teacher. What's next? A talking hamster that has adventures with other hamsters?" Everyone's eyebrow twitched. Didn't she know that's a manga and a tv show? "Guys, help me down from here already!" No one moved to help. No way are they ending up on the classroom wall!
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At the elementary part of the school -
Yun looked at Sayo's hand as she showed her and Masato the Lightning Sword Rune. "Sayo, that's a rune on your hand." They were sitting alone under a tree having lunch.
Masato also looked at her hand. "Hey, she does! That's so cool Sayo!"
Sayo smiled and nodded at her two friends. "Yeah it is. When I was facing Jack-O the rune was absorbed into my hand. Now I can make anything I hold into a lighting weapon."
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At the other side of the street in front of the school-
Unknown to them they were being watched by two people in a building next to the school.
Kaori kept her eye on the device while speaking to Ryo. "So what are they talking about?"
Ryo put a finger on his lips as he pushed listened to the headphones. A bug had been planted on Sayo in order to listen in on the conversation. "Something about magic runes. Must be a game of some kind."
"Why are we following Yun anyways? She seems to be a normal kid. The only thing that's strange about her is that she's smart for her age group. But that does happen every now and then."
Ryo nodded as he continued to listen. "Yeah, but she's a lot easier to follow. Remember when we tried to follow Ranko around?" They had tried to follow her earlier only to lose her when she jumped over a canal. Then she turned to them and waved goodbye.
Kaori winced. Ranko knew they were there before ten seconds had passed. That's a personal worse record for them. "Yeah, she knew we were following her before we even knew she was aware of us."
"Right. So our best bet is to see if Yun says anything about her brother or sister to her friends." Then he let out a scream when a pair of eyes looked into his telescope from the other end.
"Hi again!" Mind said to them. She had climbed up the building using her metal spider legs to get to them on the fourth floor.
The City Hunter and his partner both gaped at her. "How did you...? This is the fourth floor!"
Mind ignored their question. "You two shouldn't spy on other people you know. I have to teach you two a lesson now!" The same metal arm that trapped Ran in a spider wed came out from her disk backpack. Before they could move out of the way Ryo and Kaori ended up hanging from the back wall trapped in a sticky web.
Mind looked at them with a satisfactory grin. "Don't worry! The web will break apart in an hour or so. Bye!" The spider legs came out of the metal disc on her back and she climbed down the building.
Kaori struggled to break free of the web. "Okay new plan, let's just follow the two bodyguards around. I think it'll be a lot safer."
"Yeah, good plan," Ryo said hoping that no one ever learned that the great City Hunter was trapped by a ten-year-old girl in a spider web. "You know, I kind of feel like a thug that was caught by Spiderman in that gaijin comic." He chuckled as Kaori tried to mallet him for thinking of something so stupid at a time like this.
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In the temple -
"So do you think this will work?"
Ranma looked a little nervously at Piccolo who is readying himself for the magic spell he's about to cast. They were in the old shrine room of the temple. All of the doors are locked and windows are closed.
Piccolo nodded as he continued with his preparations. "Yes. This should get rid of your curse if it all goes to plan." He placed five-high level elemental runes around Ranma who is lying flat on his back on the floor. Near his head is a Thunder Rune. To his left hand is a Rage Rune and to his left leg a Mother Earth Rune. To his right hand is a Cyclone Rune and to his right leg a Flowing Rune. At his feet is the Sever Star Dragon Sword that Piccolo had borrowed from Edge.
The Zodiac Sword's eyes looked at the old man. "So why do you need me for this?"
Piccolo looked down at the bewildered sword. "I need a very powerful rune for this spell to work. Besides the five high level elemental runes I have to complete the circle and you are the only True Rune besides Ranma's that is here. Now once I begin nothing must interfere with the spell. I'm not as good as my master when it comes to this kind of magic so here it goes!" Piccolo began to chant his spell.
The five high-level elemental runes glowed brightly as Piccolo chanted his spell. Ranma could feel something being pulled out of him to the five runes around him. It's quite painful, but nothing compared to eating Akane's cooking so he gritted his teeth and lived with it. The Zodiac Sword powered the runes as the spell went on and the pain intensified almost to Ranma's limit.
Then Murphy's law then took over. Viki, the older one, the one who was still missing when Ranma and the others had left Budehuc Castle, suddenly blinked to existence right above Piccolo and fell on top of him. Then everything just went downhill from there as the five element runes glowed even more brightly before blowing up.
When the smoke cleared Ranma saw Viki and Piccolo down on the ground knocked out from the fall and the blast. He looked around the room and saw it's totally trashed. The Zodiac Sword is still there, but the five elemental runes were missing. Instead there is a young, very female, very beautiful and nubile woman where the runes used to be. The girl's hair kept changing colors from green to blue then a rich brown then to hair as black as midnight but with silver strands in her hair like lighting then finally settled to a bright red, just like his cursed form. He could see that she had the same body built as he had in his girl form and is very naked. Taking a closer look at her face she looks just like his girl form. In fact, it is his cursed form!
As he kept staring at her (his nose is about to start bleeding) the door of the room was broken down as the others broke in to see what happened (which thankfully shocked him enough that he didn't suffer from a nosebleed). The first thing they saw is Piccolo and...Viki? Both are knocked out, but looked like they aren't hurt badly. Then they saw Ranma sitting next to a very naked woman and his clothes were all ripped up from the blast. From their position (the two are lying right next to each other) and from the state of their clothing it looked like he and the young woman were about to...
The giant aura from three days ago returned with a vengeance. "Ranma! You BETTER have a very good reason why there's a naked woman lying down next to you!" Chris and Fight looked like they were about to bash in his head if he didn't explain in the next five seconds. They were too mad to notice that the girl is Ranma's cursed form.
As everyone stared (or glared in Tina and Chris' case) at him Ranma felt a migraine coming. 'This is turning out to be one of those days again.'
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Meanwhile in the U.S-
Rally Vincent smiled politely at their new client. "So Doctor Jones, you want us to find your great-grandson correct?" She and her partner, the grenade-happy Minnie May Hopkins, ran the Gunsmith Cats store where they work on weapons of all kinds. They also do bounty work to help their incomes out. Their plucky friend Becky had set them up with a famous client and he wants to hire them to find a missing relative.
Minnie looked up in adoration at him. "Are you really the real Indiana Jones who found many of the artifacts that were thought to be lost for all time only to be found by you?"
Becky, the computer wiz of the group, nodded even though Minnie is way too busy staring at their client. "Yup, he's the one alright. The one and only Indiana Jones!"
Doctor Jones smiled at the young girl staring at him. "Yes, that would be me. Now if we could get back to the business at hand?" Minnie and the others took on serious faces. Questions and everything else can wait. Business comes first. "It seems that my great-grandson has broken his ties with my granddaughter's family about a year ago. I want you to find him." He's an old man now, already into his early one hundreds. Even he himself is not sure how old he is now without looking at his birth certificate. "I knew your grandfather and he helped me out a lot in my old adventures, so I was wondering if you would help me find my great-grandson."
Rally smiled and nodded at him. "Of course. I haven't been to Japan since me and May had to team up with that dirty pervert City Hunter."
Minnie looked a little worried. "But don't they have gun control laws there?" She can't leave behind all of her precious grenades behind! It's like taking off one of your arms and leaving it in another country!
Dr. Jones understood her worries. He too would not like to be in another country weaponless. "Do not worry about that. I still command a certain amount of respect and I will handle the paper work for you stuff."
Becky chuckled as she grabbed onto the back of Minnie's shirt to keep her from hugging the old man and possibly hurting him. "That would be great. I'll go with them as well. I can help in finding information on your great- grandson. Do you have any leads we can work on?"
"Yes, I do." He pulled out a Japanese newspaper with the picture of Ranma Wild, the rich half-born American who moved to Shibuya two weeks ago.
Rally looked over the picture. He sure is handsome! "You think that this guy could be your grandson?"
"Yes." Jones pulled out a photo of his great-grandson that he had been able to obtain from various sources. He knew the value of keeping updated, especially when it comes to family. The two young men on the photos do look alike. "Besides, when was the last time you have seen a blue-eyed Japanese." Jones' eyes are of the same color as the young man in the photo.
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Next time- The wreaking crew are moving into Shibuya looking for Ranma. And Ranma meets up with his great-grandfather along with there women who has taken a liking to him. Also meet Ranko Wild Ranmas new sister. And a showcase of his gold coins while taking one of the girls on her data. Becomes a nightmare as some monsters crash the party. Next time in- Ballroom Battle!
Prereader's notes
(A) In Japan they're light is blue, not green. Got this from Hand Maid May.
(B) I'm just guessing at his favorite food here. I don't know if that is the right one.
(C) Hehe, just making a funny. No offense to anyone who do like those types of slippers.
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