Until the End
Chapter 29
Emotion
Brigadier General Phillip Sheridan Parker IV stood solemnly in front of the desk of the President of the United States. He was in his dress green uniform and carried his cap underneath his right arm, his left arm lifted in a salute. President Winnfield returned the gesture and motioned Parker into a chair. Parker complied and took a seat.
"I trust your wounds have had time to heal?" President Winnfield asked.
At the mention of his wounds, Parker immediately had a clear image of the jagged twisted metal that doctors had removed from his lower back only days ago. It had damaged his spine, but he had been lucky, the temporary loss of control over his legs had been regained, and the damage was slowly being repaired.
"I'm feeling quite well sir," Parker replied. "The doctors were very good."
The President nodded. "That's good, for I feel I have many things I wish to explain to you General." He made eye contact with Parker. "A matter has arisen that we feel must be dealt with most quickly. We now have possession of fifty-seven Japanese POW's, and the State department wants us to turn them back over to the Japanese as a sign of good faith."
Parker felt a cold sweat break out along his body. 'Give Ranma and Ryoga back to the Japanese, like hell!'
"I don't believe I am qualified to offer an opinion on this matter Mr. President," Parker said carefully. Seeing the dull look he received from the President, he continued. "But in my opinion, giving the POW's back to Japan would only serve to cause more problems than it would solve."
"Explain," the President said simply.
Parker froze for a moment as he tried to think of a way to form his words.
"I believe the Prime Minister of Japan to be insane sir."
The words had left his mouth before he could seriously consider what it was that he was saying, and a hand flew up to his mouth. Instead of an angry look he expected, a smile lit up President Winnfield's face.
"Now that is an answer I can seriously consider General," he said with a laugh. "Prime Minister Shizuko is most assuredly without his mental capabilities, we've already discerned that. But that is of little consequence now, since he is no longer in power."
"He isn't?" Parker asked, shocked. 'Had Ishii already acted?'
The President shook his head. "Twelve hours ago, we received a call from the office of the Prime Minister, explaining that the government of Japan would welcome the United Stated back with open arms."
"May I ask who made the call?" Parker asked urgently.
"A man by the name of Isamu Kimura," the President offered. "Our information apparently had him labeled as a simple Public Relations Minister; it would appear we were very wrong."
"What happened to Shizuko?"
"He is currently under arrest for treason, along with a long list of other charges, which include murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and forging government documents. Needless to say, he's going to be put away for a long time. I suppose you remember when the Japanese Emperor was assassinated?" Parker nodded. "Well, the assassination was ordered by Shizuko, with the agreement from the rest of his government. At the moment there is a very large investigation going on in Japan by the few remaining Japanese government officials in order to purge the government of all those involved. The war with Japan is now over."
Parker felt all his breath leave his body as he slumped down in the chair and heaved a large sigh.
"How have the Japanese people taken the news?" Parker asked.
"Well, apparently," the President said. "Some of my aides believed a few riots would break out, but that has yet to occur. The police have been keeping order, and the people seem to welcome the removal of Shizuko, especially considering that it means an end to Japan's role in the war."
"How did the public learn of Shizuko's removal?" Parker questioned. Winnfield's smile grew larger.
"It seems that this Kimura fellow tricked Shizuko into believing that he needed to be interviewed by a news agency to help quell the feeling that Japan was losing the war, and he agreed. During the interview, the police staged a riot outside Shizuko's residence, and his bodyguards went to intervene, leaving him alone with the interviewers. At that point, they began to question him on his war policy, as well as the assassination of the Emperor. Shizuko is not a good liar, and apparently the people saw right through him. But that didn't even begin to mount up to when the interviewer asked him about the nuclear weapons he'd secretly developed."
"Nuclear weapons?" Parker asked in horror.
"Yes," President Winnfield nodded gravely. "We discovered the fact shortly before the war, and tried to get Shizuko to dismantle them. It didn't work, but now it doesn't matter, as this Kimura fellow has asked us to send in a nuke team to dismantle them."
"So does this mean were going to return all the troops in Siberia? Or does Russia not want to return them?"
"Russia has agreed to send all the Japanese soldiers captured in Siberia back to Japan, in exchange for a signed treaty. I informed Mr. Kimura of the fact, and he had no problem with it."
"Then its over," Parker said excitedly.
The President raised his hand to quell Parker's elation. "Not exactly General. At oh-five hundred hours this morning Chinese tank and air regiments were reinforced and are now attempting a second push into Siberia. With the current forces available in Russia, the defensive positions will not survive. The Chinese are going to run right through what we have left, and there are no additional troops capable of being sent."
Parker cursed himself for his stupidity. The Chinese weren't going to give up their war simply because Japan was now withdrawing from the war.
'Japan.' thought Parker as something clicked in his mind.
"The Japanese POW's," Parker said to the President.
"I beg your pardon?"
"The POW's in Siberia, at last count our forces had captured almost fifty-thousand troops and tanks in the Battle of Alden. Now that Japan isn't under Shizuko's heel, we can get them to help us in Siberia."
The President looked in surprise as Phil explained the extent on which they would be able to repulse the Chinese thrust into Siberia.
"But would the Japanese support this?" President Winnfield asked. "They just now got out of the war, how are they going to respond when we ask them to head right back into it?"
"While they may not have wanted to get involved in this war, Japan has a responsibility for what their country helped start. Kimura may not want to tell his people that they're needed to fight the same war, only this time on the other side, but he must. It's the only way we can keep Siberia out of Chinese hands."
The President stared down at his desk for a moment, considering what Parker was proposing. It was an amazing idea, especially when considering that Japan had fought alongside the Chinese not even a month ago. The only question remaining was, would Japan agree.
"Alright," Winnfield said. "I need to talk to Kimura, and find out just how much control he has over the country, because I'm sure there's going to be hell to pay when the Japanese people find out."
===============
Akane, followed by Akari, walked down the corridor and into the office of the Prime Minister. The room wasn't that large, and it seemed even less when there were nearly thirty police officers searching through the room. The investigation into the Emperor's assassination had sprung one of the biggest detainments in Japan's history. Already one hundred and seventy government officials had been arrested and more were being hunted down every day. Surprisingly, the Japanese people had welcomed the arresting of the government, and were praising Kimura for his diplomatic appeals to the United States and Russia.
Kimura was being heralded as the savior of Japan, or at least that's what the newspapers were calling him. He had been less than amused when he realized that he was being made out to look like a national hero.
Ishii spotted Akane and Akari come in and walked over to greet them.
"Well, if it isn't my two lovely stars," he said with a grin. "And what brings you two here?"
"We were just wondering if we could speak to Kimura," Akari said.
Ishii laughed. "Get in line, the poor bastard has had nearly non-stop meetings with news agencies and government offices for the past twenty-four hours. I doubt he's even gotten any sleep."
"Has it really been that bad?" Akane asked, slightly surprised. "I didn't even think Kimura wanted to be made out as the leader of Japan now."
"He doesn't" Ishii responded. "The problem is, now that the public has made their decision that he's a national hero, they want him to be the new leader of the country."
"The Prime Minister?" Akane and Akari cried.
Ishii nodded gravely. "He got suckered into it. If he hadn't been the first one to address the media then I think he would've been okay, but not now. Now that I think of it, you two are also being made into heroes as well."
Akane and Akari both looked shocked. Ishii laughed at the look on their faces.
"Don't worry, nobody wants you two to become government officials too, but the media is showing you guys off. There were a couple articles this morning exposing who both of you are, I'm surprised you haven't been swamped by the media yet."
"We didn't go back to the Dojo last night," Akane answered. "Nodoka asked us to spend the night with the kids, and we could only happily comply."
"And how are the two little tykes doing?" Ishii asked.
"Alright, though both are wondering why we were on television the other day, and why I beat up a man that was the leader of the country," Akane said with a contented smile.
Ishii shook his head ruefully. "I'm wondering about that last part too Akane, the bastard may have deserved it, but hell, he's lucky to be alive right now."
Akane's look of content was replaced momentarily with one of anger. "If he had died by my hand then it was because I was simply carrying out the hand of justice that failed to catch him before he was able to do everyone so much harm."
"No one person can determine the law Akane. Shizuko may deserve to have his life ended, but not without a fair trial and conviction. As it is, no one's putting the death penalty on the board anyways. Right now Shizuko has realized the error that he made, and wants to commit suicide, but there's no way were going to let him do that, so we've got him under suicide watch. He's going to spend the rest of his natural life rotting in prison, and that's good enough for me."
The angry look deflated and Akane looked ashamed. "I really hadn't intended to attack him Ishii, I just got carried away."
Ishii smiled. "I understand Akane-chan, but as Ranma is found of saying, let's try and keep that tomboyish temper to a minimum."
Before Akane had the chance to respond to Ishii's slight, Kimura walked into the room, looking very exhausted.
"Speaking of Ranma, I just got a call from the President of the United States," he announced.
The others looked confused. "And what does President Winnfield have to do with Ranma?" Ishii asked.
Kimura smiled a mischievous smile and responded. "It seems a General Phillip Parker met Ranma a few times on the battlefield."
Akane nearly feinted. For the past five months she hadn't had a single word on Ranma.
Kimura saw the look on Akane's face and set a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"He's alive Akane, seems he ran afoul of some Chinese troops and was sent to a prison camp," Kimura explained.
Tears filled Akane's eyes and she received a comforting hug from Akari, who in turn was crying as well. Kimura and Ishii exchanged knowing looks and they both gave each other a hug.
Once the two were finished, Kimura continued.
"As I'm sure you know, Ranma Saotome is not one to remain captive to anyone, and shortly after being incarcerated, he attempted an escape." Everyone had a good chuckle at that. "Luckily for him, it seems the United States and Russia found out about the prison camp, and decided to spring the Japanese soldiers before the Chinese could execute them, and they took out a nearby troop barracks. In the ensuing escape, Ranma and Parker were both wounded seriously, but a Navy copter picked them up and put Ranma and the other Japanese POW's on a hospital ship."
Akane released a long breath. "Well, at least the idiot is okay."
Kimura smiled and turned to Akari. "The President said there was another message from Phil. Something to do with picking up some excess baggage. He couldn't go into specifics because I needed to get to a press conference but he said that Phil said you would know what he was talking about."
Akari was unable to respond to Kimura, as she had feinted. Akane caught her numbly and stared at Kimura.
"D-did the President explain where the prison camp was?" she asked.
"Somewhere near Beijing I believe," Kimura said. "What's wrong with Akari?"
Tears once again found their way to Akane's face and she grasped the unconscious Akari into an embrace. Kimura turned to look at Ishii, who was standing in stunned silence. He didn't respond to Kimura's questions.
"Well," Kimura said, confused. "Glad I could be of help." With that he walked out of the room and down the hallway, wondering just what was so special about picking up some excess baggage.
===============
Gogol looked crossly over the ridge as the Chinese forces slowly advanced through the thick snow. Russian defensive positions had been falling one after another for the past week, and the Chinese were almost upon Alden again, which was where they had received such a brutal beating a month ago. Despite the amazing effort that had been put forth by the Americans and Russians, the Chinese forces were too vast in numbers, and superior fighting ability wouldn't make a difference when you were outnumbered ten to one.
Slipping underneath cover, Gogol cautiously made his way back to the jeep he had left running just outside the field of vision of the Chinese forces.
'I wish General Parker were still here,' Gogol thought to himself as he pulled down the unbeaten path and started the tough job of navigating through the thick forestry that occupied Siberia.
Thinking of Parker made his hand slowly come up to his lapels where the railroad tracks of a captain now sat. They had been pinned on him in a very short and small ceremony by a Russian Major. It would seem that he was being recognized for his roles in the Battle of Alden and the rescue operation in China. As modest as Gogol was, he was able to admit that he was a good soldier, and the new rank suited him.
Captain Gogol had a certain ring to it he admitted. Maybe not as alluring as Major Gogol, but it would do.
The trip back to the nearest defensive position was short, a telling sign of how close the Chinese were to overtaking one of the last defensives before they would be upon Alden again. An American Green Beret was waiting for him when he arrived, and Gogol wondered slightly as to what was wrong. The Green Berets had been a tremendous help to the Russians, but they tended to avoid speaking to higher-ranking Russians.
Gogol approached the soldier and received a salute, which he returned. Without a word, the Green Beret handed him a slip of paper, saluted, and left. Gogol stared confusedly after the soldier, but shook it off and instead glanced down at the paper and began reading.
The message had Parker written all over it, both from the way it was worded, and by the absolute crazy idea that it detailed.
'Have the Japanese POW's fight against the Chinese?' The thought was absurd, but as Gogol read, he realized just how brilliant the idea was. Almost fifty-thousand troops and tanks were in their possession, and with those numbers added to the existing Russian and American forces, it would be possible to push the Chinese away from Alden, maybe out of Siberia altogether.
"Parker you genius," Gogol muttered as he shook his head.
===============
With the assistance of a few nurses, Ryoga was able to get himself transferred to Ranma's room. The room was a little crowded with two medical beds, but it wasn't like they would be doing much of anything aside from lying down.
The scant few days that Ryoga had been on the ship, he had finally begun to eat at a normal human pace. A doctor and a few nurses monitored his food intake each day, and adjusted what he would eat the next day. Already the color had begun to return to Ryoga's skin, and his ribcage was less pronounced. Ranma too had begun his healing process, his bruises fading, and his broken bones and fractures resetting. He was already capable of moving around, if not for more than a few moments at a time.
Already rumors were being spread about the ship about the incident in Japan. A few reports had apparently explained that a revolution had taken place in Japan, and the Prime Minister had been arrested, along with most of the Japanese government. The rumors weren't having much credit applied to them, but Ranma and Ryoga knew better.
It had been Akane and Akari on the television after all, and both had witnessed Akane beat the Prime Minister senselessly. While both doubted that the Prime Minister was dead, he would certainly remember the beating for a long time.
Despite the concern both held over what exactly was happening in Japan, they were able to catch up on the past four years of their lives.
"Almost a year after I came back from China Akane and I had a baby," Ranma explained. "It was a girl, and we named her Kagome."
"Kagome," Ryoga echoed. "I bet she's a real hell-raiser," he added with a sly grin.
"Oh you don't know the half of it," Ranma said with a laugh. "Somehow she got Akane's stubbornness and tomboyish attitude and my restlessness. She's got more endurance than you."
Ryoga smiled at the image in his head. "So that would make her about four years old then."
Ranma nodded. "Yeah, I missed her last birthday though." The tone of his voice changed to one of anger. "All because of this damn war."
Ryoga noticed the change in tone and decided to change the subject, one that had been on his mind for a very long time.
"What about Akari? D-did she find someone else?" Ryoga closed his eyes to keep himself from crying and made a visible effort to keep himself in control. A hand fell on his shoulder and he opened his eyes to see Ranma's face looking into his.
"She wasn't able to do it Ryoga," Ranma said. "You meant way too much to her for her to do that." 'Not to mention she had your kid' Ranma didn't add.
"B-but in my letter I told her to find someone else," Ryoga protested as he began to sob. "I told her not to waste her life away because of me."
Ranma watched as Ryoga slowly curled into a ball and began sobbing. While his initial thoughts had been that the four year imprisonment hadn't had much affect, he realized that he had been naïve in believing that any man could go through that much pain and torture and remain the man he used to be.
"She couldn't move on because she didn't need to Ryoga," Ranma explained. "Because about four months after the war, she had your son."
Ryoga's sobs ended quickly and his entire body froze. Ranma noticed the aura of depression that had surrounded him had disappeared.
"M-my son?" Ryoga questioned softly as he slowly raised himself up to meet Ranma's gaze.
A smile lit up Ranma's face. "You bet buddy, she had a little boy, seems you made her pregnant while we were in China with Seiji and Ishii."
Ryoga's look of confusion didn't fade. "I have a son? W-what does he look like?"
Ranma smirked. "Remember that time you ate those age-altering mushrooms, well, he looks about like how you did when you ate the 3cm one, only he's a bit older than that now, and without the bandanna."
"So the reason Akari didn't find someone else is because she wanted to take care of my son?" Ryoga asked. "She didn't need another man because she had my son."
"Yep, Ryoga Jr." Ranma said. "She named him after you by the way."
Ryoga missed the joke and instead attempted to wrap his mind around the thought that he had a son. Once he was able to, another depressing thought came to mind.
"I missed out on four years of his life. I missed his birth."
Ranma recognized the feeling of depression Ryoga was emitting and attempted to remove it.
"It's not like he didn't a have a father for all those years Ryoga, I did my best to be everything that I knew you would be to the little guy. Akane and I did everything we could to make him feel like family, Akari too. We invited them into are home, much like how we did for you and her."
Ryoga felt his depression lightened by Ranma's words, but one thought persisted.
"Does he know who I am?" Ryoga asked, and the absurdity of it hit him after he asked.
"We made sure to show him pictures of you, and explain what you were like and all the other stuff, like how you saved our lives countless times, stuff like that," Ranma said with an indifferent look.
Ryoga smiled. Ranma's praise was not something he gave out freely. "Thank you Ranma, for everything that you've ever done for me. I may not have been the best friend at times, but I'm proud to say that you are my very best friend."
Ranma smiled back. "Right back at you pal."
The two shared a look before looking down and coughing distantly to hide the discomfort.
"I suppose all that's left now is to get back to Japan and find out what the hells going on there," Ranma said. "But I bet the girls are alright. Right now there probably at home with the kids, waiting for us to get back."
"Us?" Ryoga asked. "You mean they know I'm coming?"
Ranma nodded. "Phil said he would send word somehow to Japan that he got us both out of the prison camp."
Ryoga sighed. He was going home. Words that he had dreamed about for four years but never truly thought would come to fruition.
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Author's Notes: Well now, look at this, I'm updating so early. I told you I wasn't keeping this story on the backburner, and now you can come away with a feeling of trust that I may have lost awhile ago.
Finally! I'm sure that's what most of you are thinking right now. Akari and the others in Japan now have proof that Ryoga's alive, and Ryoga knows about his son. All that's left now is to reunite them. I'm not making any guarantees though; I'm sure your all familiar with how I like to throw a wrench in any plan that will help those two get back to Japan.
On an entirely unrelated topic. I have a recommendation of a story to read. It's not based on any anime or manga, so this is only for those that enjoy other stories than ones based off of your favorite series.
It's called Quaternion, a story of some pretty epic proportions. It's on fictionpress.com, fan fiction's alternate site for original works. It's by Cooper Russell or at least that's his pen name. Make sure you check it out, it's pretty good.
Chapter 29
Emotion
Brigadier General Phillip Sheridan Parker IV stood solemnly in front of the desk of the President of the United States. He was in his dress green uniform and carried his cap underneath his right arm, his left arm lifted in a salute. President Winnfield returned the gesture and motioned Parker into a chair. Parker complied and took a seat.
"I trust your wounds have had time to heal?" President Winnfield asked.
At the mention of his wounds, Parker immediately had a clear image of the jagged twisted metal that doctors had removed from his lower back only days ago. It had damaged his spine, but he had been lucky, the temporary loss of control over his legs had been regained, and the damage was slowly being repaired.
"I'm feeling quite well sir," Parker replied. "The doctors were very good."
The President nodded. "That's good, for I feel I have many things I wish to explain to you General." He made eye contact with Parker. "A matter has arisen that we feel must be dealt with most quickly. We now have possession of fifty-seven Japanese POW's, and the State department wants us to turn them back over to the Japanese as a sign of good faith."
Parker felt a cold sweat break out along his body. 'Give Ranma and Ryoga back to the Japanese, like hell!'
"I don't believe I am qualified to offer an opinion on this matter Mr. President," Parker said carefully. Seeing the dull look he received from the President, he continued. "But in my opinion, giving the POW's back to Japan would only serve to cause more problems than it would solve."
"Explain," the President said simply.
Parker froze for a moment as he tried to think of a way to form his words.
"I believe the Prime Minister of Japan to be insane sir."
The words had left his mouth before he could seriously consider what it was that he was saying, and a hand flew up to his mouth. Instead of an angry look he expected, a smile lit up President Winnfield's face.
"Now that is an answer I can seriously consider General," he said with a laugh. "Prime Minister Shizuko is most assuredly without his mental capabilities, we've already discerned that. But that is of little consequence now, since he is no longer in power."
"He isn't?" Parker asked, shocked. 'Had Ishii already acted?'
The President shook his head. "Twelve hours ago, we received a call from the office of the Prime Minister, explaining that the government of Japan would welcome the United Stated back with open arms."
"May I ask who made the call?" Parker asked urgently.
"A man by the name of Isamu Kimura," the President offered. "Our information apparently had him labeled as a simple Public Relations Minister; it would appear we were very wrong."
"What happened to Shizuko?"
"He is currently under arrest for treason, along with a long list of other charges, which include murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and forging government documents. Needless to say, he's going to be put away for a long time. I suppose you remember when the Japanese Emperor was assassinated?" Parker nodded. "Well, the assassination was ordered by Shizuko, with the agreement from the rest of his government. At the moment there is a very large investigation going on in Japan by the few remaining Japanese government officials in order to purge the government of all those involved. The war with Japan is now over."
Parker felt all his breath leave his body as he slumped down in the chair and heaved a large sigh.
"How have the Japanese people taken the news?" Parker asked.
"Well, apparently," the President said. "Some of my aides believed a few riots would break out, but that has yet to occur. The police have been keeping order, and the people seem to welcome the removal of Shizuko, especially considering that it means an end to Japan's role in the war."
"How did the public learn of Shizuko's removal?" Parker questioned. Winnfield's smile grew larger.
"It seems that this Kimura fellow tricked Shizuko into believing that he needed to be interviewed by a news agency to help quell the feeling that Japan was losing the war, and he agreed. During the interview, the police staged a riot outside Shizuko's residence, and his bodyguards went to intervene, leaving him alone with the interviewers. At that point, they began to question him on his war policy, as well as the assassination of the Emperor. Shizuko is not a good liar, and apparently the people saw right through him. But that didn't even begin to mount up to when the interviewer asked him about the nuclear weapons he'd secretly developed."
"Nuclear weapons?" Parker asked in horror.
"Yes," President Winnfield nodded gravely. "We discovered the fact shortly before the war, and tried to get Shizuko to dismantle them. It didn't work, but now it doesn't matter, as this Kimura fellow has asked us to send in a nuke team to dismantle them."
"So does this mean were going to return all the troops in Siberia? Or does Russia not want to return them?"
"Russia has agreed to send all the Japanese soldiers captured in Siberia back to Japan, in exchange for a signed treaty. I informed Mr. Kimura of the fact, and he had no problem with it."
"Then its over," Parker said excitedly.
The President raised his hand to quell Parker's elation. "Not exactly General. At oh-five hundred hours this morning Chinese tank and air regiments were reinforced and are now attempting a second push into Siberia. With the current forces available in Russia, the defensive positions will not survive. The Chinese are going to run right through what we have left, and there are no additional troops capable of being sent."
Parker cursed himself for his stupidity. The Chinese weren't going to give up their war simply because Japan was now withdrawing from the war.
'Japan.' thought Parker as something clicked in his mind.
"The Japanese POW's," Parker said to the President.
"I beg your pardon?"
"The POW's in Siberia, at last count our forces had captured almost fifty-thousand troops and tanks in the Battle of Alden. Now that Japan isn't under Shizuko's heel, we can get them to help us in Siberia."
The President looked in surprise as Phil explained the extent on which they would be able to repulse the Chinese thrust into Siberia.
"But would the Japanese support this?" President Winnfield asked. "They just now got out of the war, how are they going to respond when we ask them to head right back into it?"
"While they may not have wanted to get involved in this war, Japan has a responsibility for what their country helped start. Kimura may not want to tell his people that they're needed to fight the same war, only this time on the other side, but he must. It's the only way we can keep Siberia out of Chinese hands."
The President stared down at his desk for a moment, considering what Parker was proposing. It was an amazing idea, especially when considering that Japan had fought alongside the Chinese not even a month ago. The only question remaining was, would Japan agree.
"Alright," Winnfield said. "I need to talk to Kimura, and find out just how much control he has over the country, because I'm sure there's going to be hell to pay when the Japanese people find out."
===============
Akane, followed by Akari, walked down the corridor and into the office of the Prime Minister. The room wasn't that large, and it seemed even less when there were nearly thirty police officers searching through the room. The investigation into the Emperor's assassination had sprung one of the biggest detainments in Japan's history. Already one hundred and seventy government officials had been arrested and more were being hunted down every day. Surprisingly, the Japanese people had welcomed the arresting of the government, and were praising Kimura for his diplomatic appeals to the United States and Russia.
Kimura was being heralded as the savior of Japan, or at least that's what the newspapers were calling him. He had been less than amused when he realized that he was being made out to look like a national hero.
Ishii spotted Akane and Akari come in and walked over to greet them.
"Well, if it isn't my two lovely stars," he said with a grin. "And what brings you two here?"
"We were just wondering if we could speak to Kimura," Akari said.
Ishii laughed. "Get in line, the poor bastard has had nearly non-stop meetings with news agencies and government offices for the past twenty-four hours. I doubt he's even gotten any sleep."
"Has it really been that bad?" Akane asked, slightly surprised. "I didn't even think Kimura wanted to be made out as the leader of Japan now."
"He doesn't" Ishii responded. "The problem is, now that the public has made their decision that he's a national hero, they want him to be the new leader of the country."
"The Prime Minister?" Akane and Akari cried.
Ishii nodded gravely. "He got suckered into it. If he hadn't been the first one to address the media then I think he would've been okay, but not now. Now that I think of it, you two are also being made into heroes as well."
Akane and Akari both looked shocked. Ishii laughed at the look on their faces.
"Don't worry, nobody wants you two to become government officials too, but the media is showing you guys off. There were a couple articles this morning exposing who both of you are, I'm surprised you haven't been swamped by the media yet."
"We didn't go back to the Dojo last night," Akane answered. "Nodoka asked us to spend the night with the kids, and we could only happily comply."
"And how are the two little tykes doing?" Ishii asked.
"Alright, though both are wondering why we were on television the other day, and why I beat up a man that was the leader of the country," Akane said with a contented smile.
Ishii shook his head ruefully. "I'm wondering about that last part too Akane, the bastard may have deserved it, but hell, he's lucky to be alive right now."
Akane's look of content was replaced momentarily with one of anger. "If he had died by my hand then it was because I was simply carrying out the hand of justice that failed to catch him before he was able to do everyone so much harm."
"No one person can determine the law Akane. Shizuko may deserve to have his life ended, but not without a fair trial and conviction. As it is, no one's putting the death penalty on the board anyways. Right now Shizuko has realized the error that he made, and wants to commit suicide, but there's no way were going to let him do that, so we've got him under suicide watch. He's going to spend the rest of his natural life rotting in prison, and that's good enough for me."
The angry look deflated and Akane looked ashamed. "I really hadn't intended to attack him Ishii, I just got carried away."
Ishii smiled. "I understand Akane-chan, but as Ranma is found of saying, let's try and keep that tomboyish temper to a minimum."
Before Akane had the chance to respond to Ishii's slight, Kimura walked into the room, looking very exhausted.
"Speaking of Ranma, I just got a call from the President of the United States," he announced.
The others looked confused. "And what does President Winnfield have to do with Ranma?" Ishii asked.
Kimura smiled a mischievous smile and responded. "It seems a General Phillip Parker met Ranma a few times on the battlefield."
Akane nearly feinted. For the past five months she hadn't had a single word on Ranma.
Kimura saw the look on Akane's face and set a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"He's alive Akane, seems he ran afoul of some Chinese troops and was sent to a prison camp," Kimura explained.
Tears filled Akane's eyes and she received a comforting hug from Akari, who in turn was crying as well. Kimura and Ishii exchanged knowing looks and they both gave each other a hug.
Once the two were finished, Kimura continued.
"As I'm sure you know, Ranma Saotome is not one to remain captive to anyone, and shortly after being incarcerated, he attempted an escape." Everyone had a good chuckle at that. "Luckily for him, it seems the United States and Russia found out about the prison camp, and decided to spring the Japanese soldiers before the Chinese could execute them, and they took out a nearby troop barracks. In the ensuing escape, Ranma and Parker were both wounded seriously, but a Navy copter picked them up and put Ranma and the other Japanese POW's on a hospital ship."
Akane released a long breath. "Well, at least the idiot is okay."
Kimura smiled and turned to Akari. "The President said there was another message from Phil. Something to do with picking up some excess baggage. He couldn't go into specifics because I needed to get to a press conference but he said that Phil said you would know what he was talking about."
Akari was unable to respond to Kimura, as she had feinted. Akane caught her numbly and stared at Kimura.
"D-did the President explain where the prison camp was?" she asked.
"Somewhere near Beijing I believe," Kimura said. "What's wrong with Akari?"
Tears once again found their way to Akane's face and she grasped the unconscious Akari into an embrace. Kimura turned to look at Ishii, who was standing in stunned silence. He didn't respond to Kimura's questions.
"Well," Kimura said, confused. "Glad I could be of help." With that he walked out of the room and down the hallway, wondering just what was so special about picking up some excess baggage.
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Gogol looked crossly over the ridge as the Chinese forces slowly advanced through the thick snow. Russian defensive positions had been falling one after another for the past week, and the Chinese were almost upon Alden again, which was where they had received such a brutal beating a month ago. Despite the amazing effort that had been put forth by the Americans and Russians, the Chinese forces were too vast in numbers, and superior fighting ability wouldn't make a difference when you were outnumbered ten to one.
Slipping underneath cover, Gogol cautiously made his way back to the jeep he had left running just outside the field of vision of the Chinese forces.
'I wish General Parker were still here,' Gogol thought to himself as he pulled down the unbeaten path and started the tough job of navigating through the thick forestry that occupied Siberia.
Thinking of Parker made his hand slowly come up to his lapels where the railroad tracks of a captain now sat. They had been pinned on him in a very short and small ceremony by a Russian Major. It would seem that he was being recognized for his roles in the Battle of Alden and the rescue operation in China. As modest as Gogol was, he was able to admit that he was a good soldier, and the new rank suited him.
Captain Gogol had a certain ring to it he admitted. Maybe not as alluring as Major Gogol, but it would do.
The trip back to the nearest defensive position was short, a telling sign of how close the Chinese were to overtaking one of the last defensives before they would be upon Alden again. An American Green Beret was waiting for him when he arrived, and Gogol wondered slightly as to what was wrong. The Green Berets had been a tremendous help to the Russians, but they tended to avoid speaking to higher-ranking Russians.
Gogol approached the soldier and received a salute, which he returned. Without a word, the Green Beret handed him a slip of paper, saluted, and left. Gogol stared confusedly after the soldier, but shook it off and instead glanced down at the paper and began reading.
The message had Parker written all over it, both from the way it was worded, and by the absolute crazy idea that it detailed.
'Have the Japanese POW's fight against the Chinese?' The thought was absurd, but as Gogol read, he realized just how brilliant the idea was. Almost fifty-thousand troops and tanks were in their possession, and with those numbers added to the existing Russian and American forces, it would be possible to push the Chinese away from Alden, maybe out of Siberia altogether.
"Parker you genius," Gogol muttered as he shook his head.
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With the assistance of a few nurses, Ryoga was able to get himself transferred to Ranma's room. The room was a little crowded with two medical beds, but it wasn't like they would be doing much of anything aside from lying down.
The scant few days that Ryoga had been on the ship, he had finally begun to eat at a normal human pace. A doctor and a few nurses monitored his food intake each day, and adjusted what he would eat the next day. Already the color had begun to return to Ryoga's skin, and his ribcage was less pronounced. Ranma too had begun his healing process, his bruises fading, and his broken bones and fractures resetting. He was already capable of moving around, if not for more than a few moments at a time.
Already rumors were being spread about the ship about the incident in Japan. A few reports had apparently explained that a revolution had taken place in Japan, and the Prime Minister had been arrested, along with most of the Japanese government. The rumors weren't having much credit applied to them, but Ranma and Ryoga knew better.
It had been Akane and Akari on the television after all, and both had witnessed Akane beat the Prime Minister senselessly. While both doubted that the Prime Minister was dead, he would certainly remember the beating for a long time.
Despite the concern both held over what exactly was happening in Japan, they were able to catch up on the past four years of their lives.
"Almost a year after I came back from China Akane and I had a baby," Ranma explained. "It was a girl, and we named her Kagome."
"Kagome," Ryoga echoed. "I bet she's a real hell-raiser," he added with a sly grin.
"Oh you don't know the half of it," Ranma said with a laugh. "Somehow she got Akane's stubbornness and tomboyish attitude and my restlessness. She's got more endurance than you."
Ryoga smiled at the image in his head. "So that would make her about four years old then."
Ranma nodded. "Yeah, I missed her last birthday though." The tone of his voice changed to one of anger. "All because of this damn war."
Ryoga noticed the change in tone and decided to change the subject, one that had been on his mind for a very long time.
"What about Akari? D-did she find someone else?" Ryoga closed his eyes to keep himself from crying and made a visible effort to keep himself in control. A hand fell on his shoulder and he opened his eyes to see Ranma's face looking into his.
"She wasn't able to do it Ryoga," Ranma said. "You meant way too much to her for her to do that." 'Not to mention she had your kid' Ranma didn't add.
"B-but in my letter I told her to find someone else," Ryoga protested as he began to sob. "I told her not to waste her life away because of me."
Ranma watched as Ryoga slowly curled into a ball and began sobbing. While his initial thoughts had been that the four year imprisonment hadn't had much affect, he realized that he had been naïve in believing that any man could go through that much pain and torture and remain the man he used to be.
"She couldn't move on because she didn't need to Ryoga," Ranma explained. "Because about four months after the war, she had your son."
Ryoga's sobs ended quickly and his entire body froze. Ranma noticed the aura of depression that had surrounded him had disappeared.
"M-my son?" Ryoga questioned softly as he slowly raised himself up to meet Ranma's gaze.
A smile lit up Ranma's face. "You bet buddy, she had a little boy, seems you made her pregnant while we were in China with Seiji and Ishii."
Ryoga's look of confusion didn't fade. "I have a son? W-what does he look like?"
Ranma smirked. "Remember that time you ate those age-altering mushrooms, well, he looks about like how you did when you ate the 3cm one, only he's a bit older than that now, and without the bandanna."
"So the reason Akari didn't find someone else is because she wanted to take care of my son?" Ryoga asked. "She didn't need another man because she had my son."
"Yep, Ryoga Jr." Ranma said. "She named him after you by the way."
Ryoga missed the joke and instead attempted to wrap his mind around the thought that he had a son. Once he was able to, another depressing thought came to mind.
"I missed out on four years of his life. I missed his birth."
Ranma recognized the feeling of depression Ryoga was emitting and attempted to remove it.
"It's not like he didn't a have a father for all those years Ryoga, I did my best to be everything that I knew you would be to the little guy. Akane and I did everything we could to make him feel like family, Akari too. We invited them into are home, much like how we did for you and her."
Ryoga felt his depression lightened by Ranma's words, but one thought persisted.
"Does he know who I am?" Ryoga asked, and the absurdity of it hit him after he asked.
"We made sure to show him pictures of you, and explain what you were like and all the other stuff, like how you saved our lives countless times, stuff like that," Ranma said with an indifferent look.
Ryoga smiled. Ranma's praise was not something he gave out freely. "Thank you Ranma, for everything that you've ever done for me. I may not have been the best friend at times, but I'm proud to say that you are my very best friend."
Ranma smiled back. "Right back at you pal."
The two shared a look before looking down and coughing distantly to hide the discomfort.
"I suppose all that's left now is to get back to Japan and find out what the hells going on there," Ranma said. "But I bet the girls are alright. Right now there probably at home with the kids, waiting for us to get back."
"Us?" Ryoga asked. "You mean they know I'm coming?"
Ranma nodded. "Phil said he would send word somehow to Japan that he got us both out of the prison camp."
Ryoga sighed. He was going home. Words that he had dreamed about for four years but never truly thought would come to fruition.
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Author's Notes: Well now, look at this, I'm updating so early. I told you I wasn't keeping this story on the backburner, and now you can come away with a feeling of trust that I may have lost awhile ago.
Finally! I'm sure that's what most of you are thinking right now. Akari and the others in Japan now have proof that Ryoga's alive, and Ryoga knows about his son. All that's left now is to reunite them. I'm not making any guarantees though; I'm sure your all familiar with how I like to throw a wrench in any plan that will help those two get back to Japan.
On an entirely unrelated topic. I have a recommendation of a story to read. It's not based on any anime or manga, so this is only for those that enjoy other stories than ones based off of your favorite series.
It's called Quaternion, a story of some pretty epic proportions. It's on fictionpress.com, fan fiction's alternate site for original works. It's by Cooper Russell or at least that's his pen name. Make sure you check it out, it's pretty good.