A large number of you probably knew this was coming. Mostly those I
emailed with a plea for help, but...
Pain is my name, right now. I hurt all over. Warning to people. When
you're a green belt, and the only other green belt in the class is
faster than you, don't go full power. It hurts for a few days
afterwards. I haven't been able to practise without feeling something
hurt. At least I can type without my wrists screaming, ne?
_Krypt_ - Our Fuku'd friends won't be showing up... at least not for
a long while, yet.
False Identity
Chapter Fourteen: Dojo
Li Xiang
"I wanna get some of my stuff."
Jei paused in mid-motion. He set the cup back down on the counter.
The two of them had muscled their way into the bar-- really, all
Ranma had to do was flare is battle aura, and they were in.
"What do you mean, Kitty?"
The first person in the bar who had made a snide comment about the
Kitty/Jei-sama "thing" had to be taken to the hospital. Those who
have seen the so-called "fight" happen, did not tried to (a) do the
same, or (b) kick Jei and Ranma out. Those who weren't completely and
totally plastered, warned new arrivals off.
"I mean, I want to go back to the dojo, and get my stuff, and leave.
For good."
Jei's face broke out into something attempting to mimic an ecstatic
grin. Any of the patrons who looked at him in that moment turned away
in fright. Farfello was scary, any way you put it, "You'll be moving
in with Schwartz? With me?"
Ranma shook his head, "I'm staying at the Koneko until the base is
completed. I _still_ haven't figured out Abyssian. Balinese is a
perv, Bombay an idiot, Siberian's smart; he stays out of my way...
but Abyssian... I don't get him."
Farfello shrugged, "I don't either, and I've known him longer than
you."
"I think he's got a crush on 'Ranko'," Ranma declared after a moment.
Jei stiffened, eye slitting dangerously; Ranma didn't notice, and
continued blithely, "From everything I've overheard, he's been acting
seriously out of character."
"I hadn't noticed," Jei growled. Kitty was _his_-- male _and_ female
forms-- and he wasn't about to share his pet with anyone. Especially
not someone from Weiss!
"You don't live with him. Any ways, if we go to the dojo now, maybe
we'll miss the Tendous. That'll be nice. Unlikely, but nice."
Ranma bounded to his feet, dropping some of the money he'd earned as
Xue Shi on the table. Jei shook his head, downing his alcohol--
Guinness; he'd never gotten used to the taste of sake-- and stood to
follow his pet.
Unlike Ranma, he _hoped_ to run into the Tendous. Specifically Akane.
For what _should_ be obvious reasons.
---
Two shadows-- one a bit taller than the other-- drifted through the
darkness, to alight on the wall around the Tendou-ke. Neither made a
sound as they paced the wall, searching to see if those within were
awake.
Through the windows, the forms of three teenaged girls, and a panda,
could be seen slumbering.
The first of the shadows dropped lightly onto all fours, outside the
porch doors. It stood, the pale light of the moon obscured by clouds,
leaving the form in shadows. Silence surrounded it as it slipped into
the home. The second shadow didn't move.
Instinct took over, and the shadow moved at a quick pace, easily
moving around furniture, suggesting familiarity with the place. After
a second, the shadow darted up the stairs, and entered the room of
one of the teenagers. It was barely within two feet of the door
before a flashlight clicked on.
"Omittchi? The hell..."
"Shh!" the seventeen-year-old glanced around nervously, "Do you want
to wake your family up?"
"The only one we have to worry about is Kasumi," Nabiki grumbled,
sitting up, "Daddy and Ran...ko's father drank themselves silly, and
Akane worked herself to exhaustion. Now... what are you doing in my
home at," she glanced at her clock, "One in the morning?"
The assassin settled onto her bed beside her, "Business; Kritiker
needs their best info-hacker to crack this disk," he held out a CD,
"Weiss retrieved it a few days ago on a mission. I took a look at it,
and couldn't figure it out; so I give it to Manx. She said to try you
after failing to crack it."
"How much?"
"Normal rate, plus two percent," Omi grinned, "So you'll do it?"
"You'll keep Ranko and Ranma out of trouble?"
Omi sighed, "We'll _try_ to keep Ranko out, but we haven't seen, let
alone met, Ranma yet."
There was the sound of a body slamming into a wall, and the house
shook. Omi and Nabiki bounded to their feet-- Nabiki grabbed a robe--
and ran out of the room. As they flew down the stairs, Nabiki
muttered, "I think you'll meet him soon enough."
---
Outside, Yohji shook his head out, climbing to his feet from where
he'd been slammed into the wall. Across from him, stood a pair of
shadows; or rather, one stood, and one was getting up from a crouch.
The porch lights flicked on, flooding the backyard with light.
Farfello's silver-haired, gold-eyed form was familiar. The other man,
however, was not. Black silk clung to his legs, while a red silk
embroidered with a black dragon wrapped around his torso and upper
arms. Black leather gloves encased his hands, and Ranko's familiar
leather collar was tight around his throat.
His stormy blue eyes were identical to Ranko's, but where he hair was
brilliant, the red of freshly spilled blood, his was darker than the
darkest shadows of the night. He, like Ranko, had hair tied back in a
braid.
"Ranma!"
"Hey Nabiki," the man-- Ranma-- greeted with a smirk, "How's
business...?"
"Get away form that man!" she called from the porch door behind Omi,
"He's dangerous!"
Ranma lifted his hands into the air, with an expression of
exasperation, "How many times do I have to hear that? It's annoying!
You know damn well I'm just as dangerous..."
"You've never killed before," Omi was making an assumption here. From
what Nabiki had told him, this was true. How could it have changed in
less than a week?
"Saffron," Ranma's voice was cool, as he declared the demi-god's
name, "I pierced his heart with an icicle, as we fought. He died.
Sure, he was reborn, but that's the way of the Phoenix. I still
killed him."
"That was for self-defense," Nabiki pointed out with a growl-- why
was Ranma trying to defend a known murder? "You've never killed in
cold blood!"
"We prefer to call it hunting." Farfello's gaze was bone chilling as
it settled on her, "My Kitty is a magnificent hunter, drenched in
blood, proclaiming his victory over God and man, screaming with
bloodlust..."
"I thought Ranko was 'Kitty'," Yohji muttered, fingering his watch.
He was itching to loop his wire around the Irishman's neck, to
finally be rid of him. Ranma shot the older man a look of disdain.
Jei smirked, and Nabiki dropped her head.
"Oh my, we have guests!"
The tableau was broken, as Kasumi stepped up behind her sister, "Oh!
Ranma, you're back!"
"Hey Kasumi," Ranma shrugged, "Just grabbing me and _Ranko's_ stuff."
"Hi Kasumi-neechan."
"Hello Omi-kun. Won't you come in? I can make some snacks..." the
keeper of the Tendou-ke drifted back into her kitchen; Ranma
followed, darting around Omi and Nabiki with a cheerful chant of
"Food!"
Jei snickered, following closely behind his pet. Omi and Yohji
snapped out of their dazes in time to go in after the middle Tendou
sister. The sight that greeted them was not what they expected.
Ranma, Jei and Nabiki were seated at the table-- Ranma and Jei at one
end, Nabiki at the other. Ranma was leaning against the Schwartz
assassin with a faintly amused smirk. The assassin's left hand had
woven itself into his Kitty's hair, as his gold eye held Nabiki's
gaze.
Nervously, Omi and Yohji settled themselves on either side of the
Tendou girl.
Ranma spoke, "So, what are the twit twins doing here?"
"Ranma," Nabiki growled, eyes darkening in anger, "First, don't call
Omittchi a twist. Second, what business is it of yours?"
The ebony-haired boy shrugged, "Whatever. I just want to get my stuff
and leave."
"And how do you think you'll support yourself?" Nabiki knew she had
him cornered. He didn't have a job, and to mention the Koneko would
merely make Yohji and Omi suspicious. After all, they had never met
Ranma before.
"What business of it is yours?" Ranma mimicked, and Farfello
snickered. Nabiki's glare prompted Ranma-- trained for the past two
years he'd lived with her-- to speak, "I've got a good job; pays
pretty nicely, too. Probably more than the twin morons get."
"Ranma!"
"What? You said not to call Tsukiyono a twit, not a moron."
Nabiki's glare intensified, "Let's put it this way, Ranma, don't
insult them, in _any_ way."
Ranma snorted, "So Ranko's allowed to tease them, but I'm not? How
unfair is that?" Again, Farfello chuckled, drawing his Kitty closer.
Neither young man moved as Kasumi entered the room, bearing a plate
of mochi.
"Try not to stay up to late, Nabiki, Ranma. You have school in the
morning?"
Ranma rolled his eyes, turned to Jei, and whined, "Do I _hafta_?"
"No," Jei gave the martial artist a grin, "You're coming home with
me."
"Where's Ranko?" Everyone turned to Yohji. He was frowning, "You said
she was with you. Where is she?"
"Not here, Playboy," Ranma gave him a nasty smile, ignoring Nabiki's
sharp look, "Why? You got a crush on her, or something?"
"He better not," Jei growled into Ranma's hair. Yohji snorted.
"Doubtful. I just want to know what you did to her!"
Jei, finally, spoke aloud, "She's gone. Non-existent, but not dead.
Hidden beneath another face, the blood washed form her hair..." he
snickered at that. He could understand why Schuldich thought mind
games were fun to play.
Nabiki's face paled, "He knows?!"
"Jei-sama knows everything," Ranma's grin was terrifying in it's
malevolence. Both Yohji and Omi missed the exchange, as the oldest of
Weiss lunged across the table, knocking Ranma away to tackle
Farfello.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER, BASTARD?!"
Jei thrashed, throwing Yohji off, climbing to his feet with a feral
growl. Blood dripped from where the madman had bit his tongue upon
receiving Yohji's tackle.
Ranma, too, snarled. A feline hiss escaped his lips, eyes narrowing
into thing slits. His fingers curled into claws, sparks of raw ki
flickering over his hands. He bound to his feet, from where he'd been
thrown.
"We did nothing," Ranma snarled, "She did it herself... and _NO_ONE_
attacks Jei-sama!"
This time, it was Ranma who lunged at his target. Yohji dodged out of
the way, placing himself in front of the door to the kitchen. Ranma
landed on one foot, bracing himself for a second with a hand-- and
leaving gouges in the floor boards from the ki claws that had
extended from his finger tips-- before twisting and leaping once
again. He shot forwards, ramming Yohji through the door with one
shoulders, and one hand. Blood pooled around the ki claws for a
moment, when they actually touched the White Hunter's skin, they it
was spraying into the air as the claws tore free, taking a rather
large piece of skin, and some muscle with it. Yohji had been hit with
enough force to drive him across the kitchen, through the wall, and
out into the middle of the backyard.
Ranma followed through Yohji's newly made exit, Jei, Nabiki, Kasumi,
and Omi racing after.
The Saotome boy lazily dodged a punch from the retaliating Yohji-- it
had to have been painful, for the assassin was using his torn arm.
Again, and again, the assassin lashed out as Ranma tagged him. Each
"tag" left a new wound, with more blood dripping from them. Drawing
back, Yohji looped his wire around his fingers. He'd finish this
fight.
Ranma's eyes narrowed as he caught a glimpse at the wire on his
opponent's hands. They flew at one another, once more.
The ebony-haired teenager lead off with a sharp kick to Yohji's gut.
The assassin dodged, loosing his wire in an attempt to ensnare
Saotome's head. Ranma ducked, dropping his shoulder to body check the
older male into the air. He followed up by launching himself after
his opponent, twisting in mid-air, and slamming Yohji with another
kick.
As Ranma dropped lightly to the ground, Yohji crashed into the koi
pond-- and sent a wave of water in Ranma's direction. The martial
artist scrambled backwards, but, as usual, could not avoid the wave.
Ranko stood, sopping wet, in Ranma's place. She growled, wringing out
her hair, muttering obscenities at the world.
Omi and Yohji gaped at the familiar flame haired form where Ranma had
stood. Jei snorted, moving forwards to wrap his arms around her
waist, "Looks like the 'secret' is out."
"Yeah," Ranma crossed her arms a bit miffed, "I was really hoping it
would stay a secret a bit longer."
"You're a water magnet, Saotome," Nabiki grumbled, "You had to know
this would happen sooner, rather than later."
"Wha... Bu... no way... HOW?!" Omi's shout snapped Yohji out of his
daze and the twenty-one-year-old pulled himself free of the koi pond.
"Ranko?" he muttered, "Ranko is Ranma?"
"Yes," the redhead former male sneered, "Ranko is Ranma. Ranma is
Ranko. We're the same person."
"How...?" Omi repeated plaintively, "Ranko's definitely female--" for
some reason, he blushed here, "-- and Ranma's definitely male.
Breasts that big can't possibly be bound that flat!"
Ranma gave the youngest of Weiss a strange look, "You've been staring
at my chest, Tsukiyono?"
"Uh..." with the look he was getting from Farfello-- who was still
wrapped around Ranma-- he didn't know how to answer. To say yes, was
to die by Ranma and Farfello's hands. To say no, meant that Farfello
would kill him for the thought that Ranma-onna wasn't good enough to
be stared at.
Omi figured Farfello would just use any excuse to kill him, in front
of Ranma. Normally, he'd have attacked by now.
"That doesn't matter!" Yohji snapped, stepping close enough to the
redhead that Jei growled at him. Yohji ignored the madman in favour
of glaring at Saotome, "How the hell did this happen?! One moment
you're Ranma, the next, Ranko!"
Ranma smirked haughtily, in Yohji's direction, before turning back to
the Tendou home, "Figure it out, Play boy. Or you could ask Nabiki
here. I've got bags to pack."
Pulling free of her master's arms, Ranma sauntered back into the
home. Jei paused long enough to pull his knife out, and finger it,
staring at Weiss. Then he, too, entered the building.
---
A spark of red in the darkness caught the driver's attention. After a
moment, the form of a young woman exited the building he was parked
in front of. She looked to be about eighteen.
Shinji rolled the window down, as she stepped up to the cab, "You the
lady who ordered this junk?"
"It's not junk," the redhead stated coolly, "But yeah, I ordered it."
"Good. I was starting to think I'd got the wrong address," Shinji
rubbed her forehead, "this area isn't the safest place to be at
night, you know."
"I'm aware of it," her voice was calm as he exited the cab. The pair
walked in silence as they moved to the back. Shinji's partner, Seito,
had already unlocked and pulled the doors open. The woman smiled at
what was inside.
"If you don't mind me askin'," Seito started, "What in the world do
you need _sixteen_ computers for?"
Green eyes danced, and she smiled a bit whimsically, "Well, there
_are_ going to be ten people-- possibly more, we're not positive on
whether Xue Shi wants to move her band here, yet-- living here."
"Sushi?" Shinji hiked an eyebrow, as he hefted a cardboard box into
his arms, "Isn't she one of those idol singers?"
The woman smirked again, "She hates being called 'Sushi', but yes,
she is." She directed Shinji and Seito into the building, and pointed
to the large office to the right of the small one where Ken had been
held two days prior, "You can put them in there. I have things to do,
so when you're done, you can find me in the room beside the office."
---
"Well, that's about it," Ranma muttered, shouldering his pack, having
changed back before coming up to pack his bags. It hadn't taken much
more than ten minutes to pack his things. Two years living in a home
didn't break the decade old habit of not unpacking his bag, for fear
that he'd have to leave suddenly. It helped that Ranma didn't have
much in the way of worldly possessions. The Saotome Katana-- he
_still_ didn't know its name--, his tanto, and his collar were really
all he owned, that he really cared about. And they were always,
_always_, on him.
He had packed more than that, of course. His clothing, sleeping bag,
and futon, went into his pack. Various trinkets he'd picked up over
his stay went in, as well. The few manga he'd found himself
religiously following, and hiding from prying eyes, went too. Jei's
comment on his tastes in "comics" had him beet red for several
minutes.
"About time," the Irishman grumbled, "I want to kill something."
"Hurt Yohji," Ranma muttered, a bit distracted. This had gone better
than he had hoped. In fact, he thought it had gone _too_ well. Luck
was _never_ on his side. The shit was about to hit the fan, seeing as
it had been building up over the past few days. It felt like things
were about to go critical. Soon.
Farfello grinned widely, and bounded down the stairs. Ranma followed
at a more sedate pace, at least, until a familiar, female shriek of
pain, split the air. Ranma bounded down the stairs, growling to
himself.
Couldn't this have waited, oh I don't know... a few _YEARS_?!
For, standing there, dressed in pajamas with an expression of pure
terror on her face, was Akane. And she had a knife jammed through the
back of her left shoulder.
End
Aren't I evil?
emailed with a plea for help, but...
Pain is my name, right now. I hurt all over. Warning to people. When
you're a green belt, and the only other green belt in the class is
faster than you, don't go full power. It hurts for a few days
afterwards. I haven't been able to practise without feeling something
hurt. At least I can type without my wrists screaming, ne?
_Krypt_ - Our Fuku'd friends won't be showing up... at least not for
a long while, yet.
False Identity
Chapter Fourteen: Dojo
Li Xiang
"I wanna get some of my stuff."
Jei paused in mid-motion. He set the cup back down on the counter.
The two of them had muscled their way into the bar-- really, all
Ranma had to do was flare is battle aura, and they were in.
"What do you mean, Kitty?"
The first person in the bar who had made a snide comment about the
Kitty/Jei-sama "thing" had to be taken to the hospital. Those who
have seen the so-called "fight" happen, did not tried to (a) do the
same, or (b) kick Jei and Ranma out. Those who weren't completely and
totally plastered, warned new arrivals off.
"I mean, I want to go back to the dojo, and get my stuff, and leave.
For good."
Jei's face broke out into something attempting to mimic an ecstatic
grin. Any of the patrons who looked at him in that moment turned away
in fright. Farfello was scary, any way you put it, "You'll be moving
in with Schwartz? With me?"
Ranma shook his head, "I'm staying at the Koneko until the base is
completed. I _still_ haven't figured out Abyssian. Balinese is a
perv, Bombay an idiot, Siberian's smart; he stays out of my way...
but Abyssian... I don't get him."
Farfello shrugged, "I don't either, and I've known him longer than
you."
"I think he's got a crush on 'Ranko'," Ranma declared after a moment.
Jei stiffened, eye slitting dangerously; Ranma didn't notice, and
continued blithely, "From everything I've overheard, he's been acting
seriously out of character."
"I hadn't noticed," Jei growled. Kitty was _his_-- male _and_ female
forms-- and he wasn't about to share his pet with anyone. Especially
not someone from Weiss!
"You don't live with him. Any ways, if we go to the dojo now, maybe
we'll miss the Tendous. That'll be nice. Unlikely, but nice."
Ranma bounded to his feet, dropping some of the money he'd earned as
Xue Shi on the table. Jei shook his head, downing his alcohol--
Guinness; he'd never gotten used to the taste of sake-- and stood to
follow his pet.
Unlike Ranma, he _hoped_ to run into the Tendous. Specifically Akane.
For what _should_ be obvious reasons.
---
Two shadows-- one a bit taller than the other-- drifted through the
darkness, to alight on the wall around the Tendou-ke. Neither made a
sound as they paced the wall, searching to see if those within were
awake.
Through the windows, the forms of three teenaged girls, and a panda,
could be seen slumbering.
The first of the shadows dropped lightly onto all fours, outside the
porch doors. It stood, the pale light of the moon obscured by clouds,
leaving the form in shadows. Silence surrounded it as it slipped into
the home. The second shadow didn't move.
Instinct took over, and the shadow moved at a quick pace, easily
moving around furniture, suggesting familiarity with the place. After
a second, the shadow darted up the stairs, and entered the room of
one of the teenagers. It was barely within two feet of the door
before a flashlight clicked on.
"Omittchi? The hell..."
"Shh!" the seventeen-year-old glanced around nervously, "Do you want
to wake your family up?"
"The only one we have to worry about is Kasumi," Nabiki grumbled,
sitting up, "Daddy and Ran...ko's father drank themselves silly, and
Akane worked herself to exhaustion. Now... what are you doing in my
home at," she glanced at her clock, "One in the morning?"
The assassin settled onto her bed beside her, "Business; Kritiker
needs their best info-hacker to crack this disk," he held out a CD,
"Weiss retrieved it a few days ago on a mission. I took a look at it,
and couldn't figure it out; so I give it to Manx. She said to try you
after failing to crack it."
"How much?"
"Normal rate, plus two percent," Omi grinned, "So you'll do it?"
"You'll keep Ranko and Ranma out of trouble?"
Omi sighed, "We'll _try_ to keep Ranko out, but we haven't seen, let
alone met, Ranma yet."
There was the sound of a body slamming into a wall, and the house
shook. Omi and Nabiki bounded to their feet-- Nabiki grabbed a robe--
and ran out of the room. As they flew down the stairs, Nabiki
muttered, "I think you'll meet him soon enough."
---
Outside, Yohji shook his head out, climbing to his feet from where
he'd been slammed into the wall. Across from him, stood a pair of
shadows; or rather, one stood, and one was getting up from a crouch.
The porch lights flicked on, flooding the backyard with light.
Farfello's silver-haired, gold-eyed form was familiar. The other man,
however, was not. Black silk clung to his legs, while a red silk
embroidered with a black dragon wrapped around his torso and upper
arms. Black leather gloves encased his hands, and Ranko's familiar
leather collar was tight around his throat.
His stormy blue eyes were identical to Ranko's, but where he hair was
brilliant, the red of freshly spilled blood, his was darker than the
darkest shadows of the night. He, like Ranko, had hair tied back in a
braid.
"Ranma!"
"Hey Nabiki," the man-- Ranma-- greeted with a smirk, "How's
business...?"
"Get away form that man!" she called from the porch door behind Omi,
"He's dangerous!"
Ranma lifted his hands into the air, with an expression of
exasperation, "How many times do I have to hear that? It's annoying!
You know damn well I'm just as dangerous..."
"You've never killed before," Omi was making an assumption here. From
what Nabiki had told him, this was true. How could it have changed in
less than a week?
"Saffron," Ranma's voice was cool, as he declared the demi-god's
name, "I pierced his heart with an icicle, as we fought. He died.
Sure, he was reborn, but that's the way of the Phoenix. I still
killed him."
"That was for self-defense," Nabiki pointed out with a growl-- why
was Ranma trying to defend a known murder? "You've never killed in
cold blood!"
"We prefer to call it hunting." Farfello's gaze was bone chilling as
it settled on her, "My Kitty is a magnificent hunter, drenched in
blood, proclaiming his victory over God and man, screaming with
bloodlust..."
"I thought Ranko was 'Kitty'," Yohji muttered, fingering his watch.
He was itching to loop his wire around the Irishman's neck, to
finally be rid of him. Ranma shot the older man a look of disdain.
Jei smirked, and Nabiki dropped her head.
"Oh my, we have guests!"
The tableau was broken, as Kasumi stepped up behind her sister, "Oh!
Ranma, you're back!"
"Hey Kasumi," Ranma shrugged, "Just grabbing me and _Ranko's_ stuff."
"Hi Kasumi-neechan."
"Hello Omi-kun. Won't you come in? I can make some snacks..." the
keeper of the Tendou-ke drifted back into her kitchen; Ranma
followed, darting around Omi and Nabiki with a cheerful chant of
"Food!"
Jei snickered, following closely behind his pet. Omi and Yohji
snapped out of their dazes in time to go in after the middle Tendou
sister. The sight that greeted them was not what they expected.
Ranma, Jei and Nabiki were seated at the table-- Ranma and Jei at one
end, Nabiki at the other. Ranma was leaning against the Schwartz
assassin with a faintly amused smirk. The assassin's left hand had
woven itself into his Kitty's hair, as his gold eye held Nabiki's
gaze.
Nervously, Omi and Yohji settled themselves on either side of the
Tendou girl.
Ranma spoke, "So, what are the twit twins doing here?"
"Ranma," Nabiki growled, eyes darkening in anger, "First, don't call
Omittchi a twist. Second, what business is it of yours?"
The ebony-haired boy shrugged, "Whatever. I just want to get my stuff
and leave."
"And how do you think you'll support yourself?" Nabiki knew she had
him cornered. He didn't have a job, and to mention the Koneko would
merely make Yohji and Omi suspicious. After all, they had never met
Ranma before.
"What business of it is yours?" Ranma mimicked, and Farfello
snickered. Nabiki's glare prompted Ranma-- trained for the past two
years he'd lived with her-- to speak, "I've got a good job; pays
pretty nicely, too. Probably more than the twin morons get."
"Ranma!"
"What? You said not to call Tsukiyono a twit, not a moron."
Nabiki's glare intensified, "Let's put it this way, Ranma, don't
insult them, in _any_ way."
Ranma snorted, "So Ranko's allowed to tease them, but I'm not? How
unfair is that?" Again, Farfello chuckled, drawing his Kitty closer.
Neither young man moved as Kasumi entered the room, bearing a plate
of mochi.
"Try not to stay up to late, Nabiki, Ranma. You have school in the
morning?"
Ranma rolled his eyes, turned to Jei, and whined, "Do I _hafta_?"
"No," Jei gave the martial artist a grin, "You're coming home with
me."
"Where's Ranko?" Everyone turned to Yohji. He was frowning, "You said
she was with you. Where is she?"
"Not here, Playboy," Ranma gave him a nasty smile, ignoring Nabiki's
sharp look, "Why? You got a crush on her, or something?"
"He better not," Jei growled into Ranma's hair. Yohji snorted.
"Doubtful. I just want to know what you did to her!"
Jei, finally, spoke aloud, "She's gone. Non-existent, but not dead.
Hidden beneath another face, the blood washed form her hair..." he
snickered at that. He could understand why Schuldich thought mind
games were fun to play.
Nabiki's face paled, "He knows?!"
"Jei-sama knows everything," Ranma's grin was terrifying in it's
malevolence. Both Yohji and Omi missed the exchange, as the oldest of
Weiss lunged across the table, knocking Ranma away to tackle
Farfello.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER, BASTARD?!"
Jei thrashed, throwing Yohji off, climbing to his feet with a feral
growl. Blood dripped from where the madman had bit his tongue upon
receiving Yohji's tackle.
Ranma, too, snarled. A feline hiss escaped his lips, eyes narrowing
into thing slits. His fingers curled into claws, sparks of raw ki
flickering over his hands. He bound to his feet, from where he'd been
thrown.
"We did nothing," Ranma snarled, "She did it herself... and _NO_ONE_
attacks Jei-sama!"
This time, it was Ranma who lunged at his target. Yohji dodged out of
the way, placing himself in front of the door to the kitchen. Ranma
landed on one foot, bracing himself for a second with a hand-- and
leaving gouges in the floor boards from the ki claws that had
extended from his finger tips-- before twisting and leaping once
again. He shot forwards, ramming Yohji through the door with one
shoulders, and one hand. Blood pooled around the ki claws for a
moment, when they actually touched the White Hunter's skin, they it
was spraying into the air as the claws tore free, taking a rather
large piece of skin, and some muscle with it. Yohji had been hit with
enough force to drive him across the kitchen, through the wall, and
out into the middle of the backyard.
Ranma followed through Yohji's newly made exit, Jei, Nabiki, Kasumi,
and Omi racing after.
The Saotome boy lazily dodged a punch from the retaliating Yohji-- it
had to have been painful, for the assassin was using his torn arm.
Again, and again, the assassin lashed out as Ranma tagged him. Each
"tag" left a new wound, with more blood dripping from them. Drawing
back, Yohji looped his wire around his fingers. He'd finish this
fight.
Ranma's eyes narrowed as he caught a glimpse at the wire on his
opponent's hands. They flew at one another, once more.
The ebony-haired teenager lead off with a sharp kick to Yohji's gut.
The assassin dodged, loosing his wire in an attempt to ensnare
Saotome's head. Ranma ducked, dropping his shoulder to body check the
older male into the air. He followed up by launching himself after
his opponent, twisting in mid-air, and slamming Yohji with another
kick.
As Ranma dropped lightly to the ground, Yohji crashed into the koi
pond-- and sent a wave of water in Ranma's direction. The martial
artist scrambled backwards, but, as usual, could not avoid the wave.
Ranko stood, sopping wet, in Ranma's place. She growled, wringing out
her hair, muttering obscenities at the world.
Omi and Yohji gaped at the familiar flame haired form where Ranma had
stood. Jei snorted, moving forwards to wrap his arms around her
waist, "Looks like the 'secret' is out."
"Yeah," Ranma crossed her arms a bit miffed, "I was really hoping it
would stay a secret a bit longer."
"You're a water magnet, Saotome," Nabiki grumbled, "You had to know
this would happen sooner, rather than later."
"Wha... Bu... no way... HOW?!" Omi's shout snapped Yohji out of his
daze and the twenty-one-year-old pulled himself free of the koi pond.
"Ranko?" he muttered, "Ranko is Ranma?"
"Yes," the redhead former male sneered, "Ranko is Ranma. Ranma is
Ranko. We're the same person."
"How...?" Omi repeated plaintively, "Ranko's definitely female--" for
some reason, he blushed here, "-- and Ranma's definitely male.
Breasts that big can't possibly be bound that flat!"
Ranma gave the youngest of Weiss a strange look, "You've been staring
at my chest, Tsukiyono?"
"Uh..." with the look he was getting from Farfello-- who was still
wrapped around Ranma-- he didn't know how to answer. To say yes, was
to die by Ranma and Farfello's hands. To say no, meant that Farfello
would kill him for the thought that Ranma-onna wasn't good enough to
be stared at.
Omi figured Farfello would just use any excuse to kill him, in front
of Ranma. Normally, he'd have attacked by now.
"That doesn't matter!" Yohji snapped, stepping close enough to the
redhead that Jei growled at him. Yohji ignored the madman in favour
of glaring at Saotome, "How the hell did this happen?! One moment
you're Ranma, the next, Ranko!"
Ranma smirked haughtily, in Yohji's direction, before turning back to
the Tendou home, "Figure it out, Play boy. Or you could ask Nabiki
here. I've got bags to pack."
Pulling free of her master's arms, Ranma sauntered back into the
home. Jei paused long enough to pull his knife out, and finger it,
staring at Weiss. Then he, too, entered the building.
---
A spark of red in the darkness caught the driver's attention. After a
moment, the form of a young woman exited the building he was parked
in front of. She looked to be about eighteen.
Shinji rolled the window down, as she stepped up to the cab, "You the
lady who ordered this junk?"
"It's not junk," the redhead stated coolly, "But yeah, I ordered it."
"Good. I was starting to think I'd got the wrong address," Shinji
rubbed her forehead, "this area isn't the safest place to be at
night, you know."
"I'm aware of it," her voice was calm as he exited the cab. The pair
walked in silence as they moved to the back. Shinji's partner, Seito,
had already unlocked and pulled the doors open. The woman smiled at
what was inside.
"If you don't mind me askin'," Seito started, "What in the world do
you need _sixteen_ computers for?"
Green eyes danced, and she smiled a bit whimsically, "Well, there
_are_ going to be ten people-- possibly more, we're not positive on
whether Xue Shi wants to move her band here, yet-- living here."
"Sushi?" Shinji hiked an eyebrow, as he hefted a cardboard box into
his arms, "Isn't she one of those idol singers?"
The woman smirked again, "She hates being called 'Sushi', but yes,
she is." She directed Shinji and Seito into the building, and pointed
to the large office to the right of the small one where Ken had been
held two days prior, "You can put them in there. I have things to do,
so when you're done, you can find me in the room beside the office."
---
"Well, that's about it," Ranma muttered, shouldering his pack, having
changed back before coming up to pack his bags. It hadn't taken much
more than ten minutes to pack his things. Two years living in a home
didn't break the decade old habit of not unpacking his bag, for fear
that he'd have to leave suddenly. It helped that Ranma didn't have
much in the way of worldly possessions. The Saotome Katana-- he
_still_ didn't know its name--, his tanto, and his collar were really
all he owned, that he really cared about. And they were always,
_always_, on him.
He had packed more than that, of course. His clothing, sleeping bag,
and futon, went into his pack. Various trinkets he'd picked up over
his stay went in, as well. The few manga he'd found himself
religiously following, and hiding from prying eyes, went too. Jei's
comment on his tastes in "comics" had him beet red for several
minutes.
"About time," the Irishman grumbled, "I want to kill something."
"Hurt Yohji," Ranma muttered, a bit distracted. This had gone better
than he had hoped. In fact, he thought it had gone _too_ well. Luck
was _never_ on his side. The shit was about to hit the fan, seeing as
it had been building up over the past few days. It felt like things
were about to go critical. Soon.
Farfello grinned widely, and bounded down the stairs. Ranma followed
at a more sedate pace, at least, until a familiar, female shriek of
pain, split the air. Ranma bounded down the stairs, growling to
himself.
Couldn't this have waited, oh I don't know... a few _YEARS_?!
For, standing there, dressed in pajamas with an expression of pure
terror on her face, was Akane. And she had a knife jammed through the
back of her left shoulder.
End
Aren't I evil?