Scarlet Phoenix, Blue Dragon
Chapter 2, The Most Dangerous Temptation

Author's Notes: Not really much to say about this chapter so just send all comments and criticism to silverflame_maiden@hotmail.com.

Disclaimers: Rumiko Takahashi owns Ranma 1/2. Queen of the Night belongs to Whitney Houston.
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Akane and Ukyo walked into the large ballroom and scanned the area. Scattered around the large crowded room were their men, blending in with the crowd of sophisticated highlifes perfectly. Akane strightened her red, feathered phoenix eyemask and watched as a crowd of gentlemen approached her.
"Looks like you attracted a crowd again, Scarlet Phoenix. I'll search the area for the Blue Dragon, you...um...entertain your admirers," Ujyo said and she moved away before Akane could protest. Akane turned her attention towards the group of approaching gentlemen all giving her the confident I-am-rich-so-every-girl-loves-me smile. Akane inwardly groaned and said into the tiny microphone in attached to a tooth in the back, "Ucchan, you owe me."
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The music stopped and Akane smiled politely and left the arms of the guy who was dancing with her. Before another person could approach her, she walked swiftly to the large balcony on the far side of the room and closed the glass curtained doors behind her. Akane walked towards the railing and looked up at the moon as she breathed in the fresh air. She frowned at her failure to find the Blue Dragon, but maybe he didn't come. Ah, well, it didn't matter, another party, another crowd of people of the high class to meet. Unwanted, a memory came to mind, of a party in a dojo surrounded by friends and family and actually having fun. Akane abruptly cut off the thought, no more chances of that happening, she had made her choice and now she live with it.

Akane's train of though was interrupted when she sensed someone beside her. *I didn't even hear or notice...* her mind thought. The person just continued to lean on the balcony and look at the stars a minute before speaking to her, "The stars are beautiful, aren't they?" *Wow, what a cliche line from the movies...* Akane's mind scoffed, but she said, "I don't find anything beautiful about burning balls of gas."
The person gave a dry amused laugh, "True."

Akane looked up then and gasped. There stood a man in a dark velvet blue suit, his black and blue pigtail behind him. Those weren't the things that surprised Akane, however, it was the dragon blue mask covering half his face.
"Who are you?" she asked, not very original, but effective none-th-less.
The man turned to her and Akane found herself looking into a pair of crystal-clear blue eyes, clearly contacts.
"The name is Blue Dragon, but you already know that," Ranma said giving her his confident suave smile that made so many other women give in. Somehow he didn't expect to see this beauty when he saw the Scarlet Phoenix on the balcony, alone for once. Half of her face was covered by her mask and her eyes were clearly contacts with their blazing red, but he felt drawn to her. Ranma didn't know why, but their was something about her that was so familiar,...so tempting...so dangerous. The girl's blue hair that had streaks of red at the tips curled around her face and top body as if saying: See, but not touch. That, however, made it all the more tempting.

Akane saw the Blue Dragon give her a look so obvious in it's meaning and her ming inwardly laughed at how predictable men can be. Yet, something else inside her also whispered that this wasn't any man and she shouldn't toy with him. Akane, skillfully silently moved her tongue and whispered in her mouth so that he could not see or notice...but the microphone could detect, "Ucchan, guys, I have him, he's at the balcony, come now."

"Got it," a chorus of male and female voices echoed into the small speaker in her ear. Akane smiled brillantly, not so intimidateed so more by the dangerous look in her opponent's eyes. Suddenly a voice came through Akane's ear through the speaker that made her blood freeze.
"Wait, everyone stop! I see them, the Blue Dragon's men are here too!" Ukyo's voice sounded, obviously alarmed.
"How many are there?" Akane asked urgently, rethinking her options like an experienced chess player.
"I don't know, but we can't risk it, Scarlet Phoenix. Out of there and now! We'll have men at the door to escort you," Ukyo stated calmly.

"But, Ucchan, I can't just run away!" Akane whined.
"Frankly, Scarlet Phoenix, you do not have an option. By the count, he has more people here then us and there could be more," the other girl stated matter-a-factly.
Akane gave a low growl and she heard the Blue Dragon ask huskily, "Something wrong?" She pasted on a fake smile, the one that usually got her out of t6rouble and said, "Yes, seems that I am needed elsewhere." Akane started to move, but Ranma grabbed her elbow.

Fear ran through her, but she said cooly, "I suggest you remove your hand, sir."
"I don't take suggestions," Ranma said before pulling her towards him to kiss her. Akane remained frozen for a minute through her surprise before she snapped out of it...and fought back. Akane raised her knee to jab him in the somach, but Ranma easily swiped his hand to dodge it from his stomach. Akane's fist pulled back to punch hhim, but he blocked it. She gave a growl of frustration before she heard the click of a safety by the Blue Dragon's temple.

Ranma let the girl go as soon as he felt cold metal on his temple and a thick low voice say, "Let her go, or get your brains scattered across the floor." The message was clear enough. Akane staggered a moment looking up to smile at the person who was quick enough to get there before her blood frozed at seeing another man pull a gun to the temple of the one holding a gun to the Blue Dragon's head. Like a pattern, others came from both sides and soon on that balcony held a group of people each with a gun pointed to their head and a gun in their hands...except her.

Akane looked back the the Blue Dragon and noted his smug look as if saying, "What are you going to do now?" How she loved at that moment to pull out her oen small handgun and blast his brains out...but she was smarter then that. Akane knew if one person pulled the trigger, like a chain of dominoes, the others will too and soon everyone there will eith be dead or injured. Besides, a crowd was beginning to form. So, calmly she evaluated the situation, gave an obviously fake laugh and say as she lowered the gun holding the Blue Dragon's head, "Come now, people, the Blue Dragon here was just giving me a good-bye kiss. Let's try not to make a big deal out of something as trifle as that shall we."

Slowly, the others noted the crowd of observers and pocketed their weapon. The people on the balcony were beginning to leave, but before she did Akane said to Ranma, "Well, Blue Dragon, I would have to say this meeting of ours was...interesting and as much as I enjoy your company and sense of humor, I advise you not to be so...friendly next time."
"I don't take people's advice," Ranma said with a half smirk. He saw the Scarlet Phoenix's eyes blaze in rage, but her face remained neutral as she whispered one word before leaving, "Kantacharra." Ranma knew what it was...it was the Scarlet Phoenix's equivilent of saying, "This means war."

After he was sure that all members of the Scarlet Phoenix were gone, Ryoga smacked Ranma upside the head and said, "You idiot!! How stupid were you?! Did you know how dangerous that kiss was? Do you know how much trouble you have caused us by doing that? Instead of following the plan, you...you...why did you do it?"
Ranma wondered that himself. *Why did I do it...?* he wondered. It was just at that exact moment, under the moonlight, with her lips partly opened, the Scarlet Phoenix lookeed so familar, so much like... *No! Stop it!* Ranma commanded himself. Where had his control gone those couple of blissful minutes? *She's not her, they are all not her, and nomatter how hard you try, you won't find one that is...* his rationality screamed at him.

"Listen, P-chan, I know what I'm doing. Even if I didn't do that, we still have a feud on our hands so I did what the old saying says: Know thy enemy. I got to know her," Ranma joked as Ryoga scowled.
"Yeah well, just keep your hormones in check, Mr. Casanova. I shouldn't tell you this, after what you did, you don't deserve this little tidbit of information I am going to reward you with," at seeing Ranma's curious look, Ryoga sighed heavily and said, "Yari just called me and said that one Akane Tendo just checked into a cheap apartment downtown. There are also some dance clubs and theaters that say that someone paid them to hire an Akane Tendo to work temporairly there. Don't get your hopes up though, Blue Dragon."

"Aw, Ryoga, after all those failures, I wouldn't set myself up to be broken," Ranma said although the big grin spreading across his face gave away any truth to his words. Ryoga just gave a frustrated sigh before leading his best friend and boss off of the balcony, a trail of henchmen behind them.
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Author's Notes: Send all comments and criticism to silverflame_maiden@hotmail.com.