"Nice party." Rugal Bernstein, the modern age pirate, shook Geese Howard's hand. The hand of his new associate.
Geese smirked. "A party worthy of the occasion." The lord of South Town couldn't be happier right now. He had just become a father, barely three months after the tournament took place, and his business had become a lot stronger thanks to the true purpose behind this year's tournament.
"How're the kid and my former employee?" Rugal asked taking a drink from a waitress. The room in Geese Tower was filled with people, most of them criminals, dressed for the occasion.
The blond fighter chuckled. "Mature should be joining us shortly. Rock, however, won't be making any public appearances."
Rugal gave his associate a knowing look. "Don't want to risk it, huh?"
"Precisely." The fighters of the Boss Team had come to an understanding months before the tournament. On their own they were powerful, yet still beatable as proved by either Bogard or Kusanagi, but together they would become untouchable. Fighting amongst them was not an option, though for warriors of their caliber their mutual respect and fear would keep them in line. Or at least that was the plan. It also helped that they held together an amazing array of fighters in their resulting organization. Fighters that would disperse and be wasted if the three of them didn't work together. The gain for being civil to each other was too much to waste.
Rugal looked around with a smirk, searching through the crowd of people. Sitting alone by a corner he caught sight of Krauser, who nodded to him in greeting, and by the bar he could see Billy Kane and Vice engaged in a heated argument. I wonder... Since they met they'd done nothing but fight, mostly because they were in charge of security for Geese and Mature. The modern age pirate's smirk widened when he noticed someone was missing in the room. "Where's your heir, Geese?"
Geese chuckled since Rugal still didn't know about Ranma's curse. In fact very few people knew, partly because of Ranma's own reluctance and partly because of a plan the crime lord had for Ranma's male form. "She'll arrive with Mature." At Rugal's lecherous smirk he chuckled again. "And yes, she finally accepted to wear whatever dress I picked for her."
Rugal raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You really did accept the draw then? Has she told you what she wants?" After the tournament Geese and Ranko got into an argument over the result of the fight, with the redhead defending that she managed to get a draw out of Geese. He finally relented and told her either they both abided by the terms of the bet or neither would. As it turned out Ranko accepted wearing the dress shortly before this party.
Geese nodded seriously. "Did you hear about Yagami?"
"That he got beaten to within an inch of his life three weeks ago? What about it?" Rugal was surprised when he heard the rumor, but then shrugged it off. No one witnessed the fight and Iori wasn't talking.
"She asked to go after the fighter that beat Yagami."
Rugal nodded in understanding. "That's a pretty big favor she asked for." And it was indeed. The fight took place in Japan, on the other side of the Earth, and Ranko would have to travel around seeking for this particular fighter. It could very well take years for her to find him.
"She earned it." The lord of South Town was very impressed with his heir. In only three years of training he'd been able to fight him to a draw. Granted, Geese would've survived that fight while Ranma wouldn't have, but still...
Further thoughts on the matter were interrupted when Geese caught sight of his wife and 'daughter' entering the room. He was very careful to study Rugal's expression when he caught sight of Ranko, the expression of disappointment.
On the other side of the room Ranko entered the room together with Mature and feeling very embarrassed. It wasn't that the dress she was wearing was indecent, far from it. Contrary to what she expected, that being Geese selecting a piece of clothing worthy of Happosai, the crime lord had her finely clad in a black dress that reached her ankles. Sure, the dress hugged her figure rather well, accentuating her womanly curves, yet it was nothing uncomfortable. Mature's dress was a lot more revealing in fact, with a very low collar line and a slit on one side of the dress nearly all the way up to her waist.
No, Ranko wasn't annoyed about the dress. She was annoyed at her current gender. So far her only public appearances had been as a girl. While she could accept the curse that didn't mean she liked it.
Mature, standing by Ranko's side, smiled in amusement at the open book that was the smaller redhead. "Do not worry. Once this party is over we can have you back in proper form." The blonde's smile widened when she saw some of the tension leave her companion's body.
"The master is obviously enjoying this." Ranko didn't miss the grin on Geese's face upon entering, a grin she'd come to relate with having the crime lord having fun at someone's expense.
Mature raised an eyebrow. "Look at the person standing by his side."
When Ranma did so she couldn't help but smirk herself. Rugal's look of obvious disappointment was priceless.
"Shall we join my husband?" With that the blonde and redhead made their way towards Geese and Rugal. On the way they were greeted by several people and introductions were made, namely introducing Ranko as Geese's daughter. No one dared ask about her origins. They were not stupid enough to question Geese Howard.
Geese smirked when Mature reached him and gave him a soft kiss on the lips, then took his arm and stood by his side. "Took you long enough."
"I had to put Rock to sleep."
Rugal ignored the husband-wife interaction and turned down to regard Ranko. She looked right back at him. It still impressed the blonde fighter that such a small girl, because she was tiny compared to him, could stare him up without an ounce of fear or at least nervousness. Then again... The image of a bleeding Ranko fighting savagely with Geese came to his mind again.
"You're still alive. Too bad."
Geese and Mature turned to stare at the smirking redhead while Rugal chuckled in amusement. "You're one to talk."
"I see you are exchanging pleasantries." Wolfgang Krauser intervened. Upon noticing Ranko was in the room the tall German noble walked to meet with his half-brother's heir. The last time he saw her she was bleeding in the platform of the tournament. Krauser was a noble and a gentleman, as well as ruthless man of power, but above all he was a warrior. A warrior that found in the girl a spirit to be respected.
"Tired of drinking alone?"
Krauser smiled graciously at Rugal's jab at him. "Not at all. I simply found the company in the room rather displeasing until the ladies arrived." And in so saying Geese's half-brother nodded in deference to Mature and Ranko.
Rugal frowned at the insult while Geese simply chuckled. Mature returned the nod with a smile and Ranko smirked at the upset Rugal.
"Enough with the games." Geese said before the situation could degenerate further. The animosity between Ranko and Rugal seemed to trigger Rugal and Krauser's own. He'd have to be careful then, considering the plans he had for his heir.
"Indeed." Krauser agreed and turned to Ranko. "I heard you leave in two days."
Ranko nodded. "Yeah. I'm going after the fighter that beat Iori."
They had all heard of Yagami's defeat. It came as a surprise that the cursed magatama wielder was almost killed in a fight. It had been one month already since it happened and even with his accelerated healing Iori was still in a hospital in Japan. The redhead wasn't talking, obviously too prideful to divulge information about who defeated him, but Ranko didn't care. She was going to Japan to look for this fighter. It had to be someone incredibly strong to defeat Iori so thoroughly. Besides, even if I don't find him it should be fun. It's been a while since I was on the road.
The group headed to a table and sat down to talk, mostly about business. Billy and Vice joined them shortly after. As the conversation continued Ranko felt more and more left out, mainly because she had no interest whatsoever on the business being discussed. While she didn't object to her master's ways of doing business it just wasn't her style to do things that way.
Upon noticing this Mature smiled and leaned close to her. "Get out of here. I'll make something up to cover you." The relief on the redhead's face made her smile soften and soon after she was excusing Ranko for leaving so abruptly, claiming that she asked the redhead to go see if Rock needed anything.
Geese and Mature exchanged a glance and the crime lord was further convinced that the path he'd chosen for his heir was the right one. One that would satisfy them both.
Rugal smirked when he saw the small redhead leaving the room. When asked about it he just answered that one of his plans was about to bare fruit.
The conversation continued. Minutes turned into hours as they all shared a good moment of peace. Little did they know that trouble was brewing.
---
Ranko sighed in relief when she was finally away from the party, and away from the many hypocritical men wanting to get on her good graces. As the 'daughter' of Geese Howard many saw a chance to improve their dealings with the crime lord through her. The act of walking out of the room without being rude to anyone took nearly twenty minutes. "I'm definitely not made for this." She grumbled and grimaced. She reached down to take off her high-heeled shoes, blasted things, and continued to walk bare-footed.
As she walked she nodded to several of the Tower's guards. While most of them were currently at the party a minimum of security was left for the rest of the place. All of them knew Ranko and Ranma as separate people, all except a select few, so they let the redhead pass without trouble.
The redhead sighed and decided to go get changed. She was at the party as she promised she'd be; now she could worry about more important matters. Namely preparing for her trip to Japan. She realized with some wonder that outside of seeking out Iori and the tournament, plus some rather bothersome activities she'd rather forget, she hadn't left the Tower in her stay on this world.
The rooms she was walking through were now deserted, few people ever entered them and even fewer left them. This was the part of the Tower where the living quarters were located. Ranko moved through the darkness, knowing her way by heart, immersed in thoughts of what she would do once 'he' was in Japan. It would also be nice to be the right gender for a while. The master was adamant on Ranko being by his side, Ranma was never seen in public.
In a kind of way she was grateful. Geese was doing a much better job of keeping the curse a secret than she'd ever done.
"Where to go first?" She muttered. Iori wasn't giving her any useful information, probably because he wanted a rematch, so it was up to her to find this fighter. The logical choice was to look around the town where Iori was found. Maybe he wouldn't be there anymore, but it would be a start.
She opened the door to her room and stepped in, wanting nothing more than to get out of this stupid dress. She turned the lights on, closed the door and turned around to...
"AAAHHHHHHH!!!"
-----
The attendants to the party were startled by the feminine cry of sheer terror. There was much confusion around, except at a certain table where Rugal Bernstein started to chuckle in amusement.
Geese frowned and looked at the modern pirate seriously. "Just what did you do?" He'd never heard or seen Ranko scared enough to scream. The blond crime lord had a sinking feeling he knew what was going on, but hoped he was wrong.
Rugal continued to chuckle even as he spoke. "Nothing much, Geese. Just arranged things so little red would run across my pet in her room." He didn't think the girl would scream so loud, though.
Krauser raised an eyebrow when he saw his half-brother curse rather colorfully before turning to Billy. The seriousness in his voice was another surprise, coupled with Mature's pale and worried face. "Billy, get everyone out of here. Have Ripper and Hopper close all entries to the living quarters."
Billy didn't even answer as he rushed from the table to follow his orders. He knew better than to question his boss when he was this serious.
The British man's departure served as a trigger for Mature, who was still frozen in shock, to stand up and rush out of the room as well. On her way she swatted aside several people, uncaring of the fact she broke several bones as she ran.
Vice and Geese shot to their feet and started after the blonde woman, though both had different reasons to do so. The redhead did manage to follow her partner while Geese was stopped by an iron grip on his forearm. He turned with a glare to meet with his half-brother's stoic face. "Geese, what is going on?" Wolfgang Krauser was intrigued and even a little worried at seeing such strong a reaction coming from people that could stare death in the face without blinking.
As this all happened Rugal could only stare in confusion. His confusion only grew when he heard Geese's answer to his half-brother. "I have to go save my son."
Krauser raised an eyebrow. "From the panther?"
"From my heir." Came the somber answer.
When Geese ran after his wife Krauser and Rugal were left trying to decipher the meaning behind the crime lord's words.
-----
As she ran Mature ignored the cries from her partner to wait for her. She ignored the guard looking at her oddly. She ignored everything. In her mind she had to reach Ranma's room. Hopefully the boy-turned-girl wouldn't be in the Nekoken. Oh please. Not again. While the first time Ranma got into the cat-state the Tower was deserted, save for the regular guards, when everyone returned they were treated to a sight that reminded the blonde woman of Iori in the Riot of Blood. Dismembered bodies lay everywhere, with blood splattered on the walls together with crushed bone and torn muscle.
The security cameras recorded the massacre for posterity. Every single and gory detail was caught on film. Thankfully Ranma was asleep when they all returned. After he explained everything about the Nekoken Geese ordered to have every cat within a three-mile radius hunted down and killed. "And now that fucking idiot screws up!" Mature raged as she turned around the corner leading to Ranma's room. She stopped on her tracks when the sight registered in her brain.
"Well I'll be damned." Vice said conversationally as she stood next to Mature, staring at the demolished door and blood-covered floor. "Guess Rugal's panther attacked Ranko after all." She didn't sound overly concerned for the redhead's welfare. There was something about the girl that rubbed her the wrong way.
Mature didn't even answer as she resolutely walked towards the room. While she had no desire to confront whatever it was Ranma turned into she had to see if the redhead was alright. She stopped before entering the room to peak inside.
Vice shrugged when Mature ignored her, wondering how her cold-hearted partner could care for Geese's bastard child, and followed the blonde. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of the destruction inside the room, and what appeared to be the remains of Rugal's panther. "What the...?"
If Mature wasn't convinced before now she was. Ranma was in the Nekoken. The deep trenches on the ground could only be her doing, as well as the rather colorful fate of the panther. Her left hand instinctively went to her midsection, to the scar left by Iori's fingers that almost killed her. The image of Ranma coming after her with that very same viciousness was not a pleasant one. But... She couldn't run away.
Vice blinked when her blonde companion turned on her heels and walked down the hall. "Where the hell are you going now?"
Mature didn't even alter her stride as she answered, steel in her voice. "I'm going to my son."
-----
"Surely you exaggerate matters." Krauser said in disbelief as he, Billy and Geese carefully sneaked their way through the empty halls of this part of the Tower. The pole master joined them by one of the entrances, the only one that was still open, and they closed the access behind them.
"I wish I was." Geese answered somberly as he looked around a corner, only to frown as they still didn't run into either his heir or his wife. If it wasn't bad enough already. Now I have to worry about that stupid bitch. He could understand from a logical point of view that Mature's motherly instincts would push her to do stupid things, but right now he didn't care about logic. The situation was bad enough without Mature rushing in recklessly.
Sensing Geese wasn't in the mood to talk anymore Krauser leaned down to whisper for Billy to hear. "So what is so dangerous about this Nekoken? If Ranko acts like a cat..."
Billy frowned. "In the video she acted like a cornered cat. You have to know how dangerous those can be." He lowered the sound of his voice when Geese gave them both a warning glare and continued. "If we do run into her be careful with her hands. We saw her easily cut an entire wall down with them."
Krauser nodded seriously. He was not going to dismiss what Billy was saying just because of how insane it sounded. If it turned out to be true then paying attention now could save his life.
Geese resumed walking once he made sure the hall was empty, his eyes scanning every single dark corner for a possible attack.
The trio continued moving through the halls silently and were about to reach Rock's room when a scream of pain resounded through the halls. "Damn it!" Geese cursed and threw caution to the wind. He started running.
-----
Mature took a step back, her eyes wide with shock, at the looming presence before her. Ranko's body was small, seemingly smaller with the ripped dress on and her skin showing a lack of developed muscles, yet that was the least of her concerns. And if it was any indication the way Vice was swatted aside spoke of just how dangerous the small redhead was. The other Orochi-blooded woman was slumped on the floor, blood flowing from four deep gashes on her side and probably a couple of bones broken.
The worst part, however, was the feeling of menace that emanated from Ranko. The physical posture in all fours, the way her inhuman eyes glared at everything in insane rage and the aura being emanated all spoke of a dangerous beast. A dangerous beast thirsty for blood.
The blonde woman started to assume her fighting stance, her entire body tensed to the limit, when Ranko was grabbed from behind and smashed against and through a wall. "Vice! What the hell do...?"
Vice clutched at her side, which was bleeding freely, and snarled. "Get off your ass and fucking... AHHH!!!" She screamed when Ranko burst back through the wall and slammed with her feet forward against the wounded woman's back.
Before Mature could react Ranko was already on top of the downed Vice, her right hand going down for the killing blow. Before it could land though, something smashed with the side of the pigtailed girl's head and sent her flying a few feet away. She landed on all fours and hissed angrily at the new arrivals.
Billy retracted his pole from the striking position and stared at Ranko with no small amount of fear coursing through his veins. As strong as he was he could do nothing but feel fear's cold fingers take a hold of him. Even mighty Krauser felt a shiver go down his spine at the sight and feeling of the murderous beast hissing at them in rage, her pigtail standing on end as her fingers dug deep trenches on the floor.
Geese's features were hard as he stared at the scene. Vice was out of the fight, the bleeding gashes on both her side and back needing attention. With Mature on their side they were four, yet Ranko took care of Vice as if she was nothing and the hall didn't allow for more than a couple of people ganging up on the small redhead. He narrowed his eyes when the sound of a baby wailing was heard, specially when Ranko's ears twitched and her eyes turned to regard the room where said sound was coming from. "Mature!"
The blonde was snapped out of her trance with her husband's voice and upon exchanging a glace with him nodded her head. She turned on her heels and ran for Rock's room.
"REPPUU KEN!!!" Geese let loose with the violent wave technique when Ranko turned to follow Mature, hitting the redhead and sending her flying back only to have her fall on all fours again, a snarl on her face.
"BLITZ BALL!!!" Krauser threw his own chi blast, following his half-brother's example in attempting to fight the dangerous girl at a distance. If Vice was any indication close quarters wasn't safe. While he would enjoy facing an opponent as imposing as this one he couldn't help himself from wanting to avoid a physical confrontation.
Ranko, now paying attention to the male trio, swerved to the side and casually avoided the chi blast. She jumped powerfully forward, her intent clear on engaging her three attackers. As she flew through the air the heavy chi of her aura concentrated in her hands, increasing the size of her energy claws.
Billy lashed out with his pole, twirling it around for added momentum and smashing it against the still airborne redhead. His eyes widened when, unlike the first blow when he threw her away, his own weapon gave way and snapped in two. As she passed by Billy's side Ranko extended her hand and swatted lightly at him. The British man was thrown against a wall, his blood splattering against both it and the floor, and slumped to the ground as a pool of his crimson life liquid formed under him.
Krauser took advantage of Ranko's distraction to meet her as she recovered in midair. He took a hold of her wrist and lashed out with a kick against her midsection before smashing her against the ground, cracking it on impact. His eyes widened when the sound of breaking, or at the very least cracking, bones didn't greet his ears. In exchange of that he heard a hiss just before his arm flared in pain, Ranko's hand turning and giving his forearm a slight squeeze which resulted in bone-depth cuts. He was thankful for Geese's quick reaction in kicking the redhead away. "What in creation is this?!" He asked in disbelief as the situation sunk in.
Geese narrowed his eyes as he assumed a highly defensive stance. "The Nekoken." Though the video he saw was nothing compared to this fight. If he was right in his assumptions, he sure wished he wasn't, Ranko's power while in the Nekoken depended on how much chi she had access to. Her behavior on the kind of chi. Considering she was almost as strong as he was, only a lot less disciplined, and the fact she drew in chi using her darkest feelings the crime lord was frankly trying to figure out what to do.
Krauser closed his hand into a fist and grimaced in pain. While he could still use his injured arm it would be quite difficult to do so. "Any suggestions?" He asked as he assumed his own stance. For him the situation was only worse because of Ranko's style of fighting. While it was like so many other cat-like styles he'd faced over the years this one was a lot more dangerous. She was faster, stronger and generally more agile than she usually was at least by a factor of six. Adding to that her style running completely on feline instinct and those wicked chi claws of hers the Lord of Darkness really wished he wasn't facing such an opponent. For the first time in memory he felt his adrenaline pumping high because of fear instead of battle lust.
Ranko continued to stare angrily at the couple in front of her. She hissed angrily, causing her claws to crackle with dark energy, before lunging at Krauser again.
Geese and Krauser jumped to either side of the lunging redhead, just barely avoiding her claws, and the blond fighter smirked. "Don't get hit." It wasn't everyday he was treated to the sight of an afraid Wolfgang Krauser. As desperate as the situation was he felt some satisfaction at seeing his unflappable half-brother show his weakness.
Krauser growled at the response and let loose with another chi blast. "BLITZ BALL!!!" The fact that it would hit Geese if Ranko managed to dodge was purely 'coincidence.'
The redhead did dodge, jumping towards the roof in an attempt to jump down from it towards the German noble. Geese, however, had other plans. The crime lord jumped as well, the explosion of the missed Blitz Ball further propelling him towards Ranko, and rammed his shoulder against the girl's back just as she was preparing to lunge at his half-brother. The resulting blow was so hard he was rewarded with Ranko's yowl of pain, which was joined by his own agony at having his shoulder almost dislocated.
As he started to fall his eyes widened when Ranko's left foot started to crackle with energy. "Oh shit..." In the video he saw Ranko never used her feet to fight. But all cats have four claws, you idiot. He berated himself just before feeling his chest sliced open. Thankfully the girl didn't have the right leverage. Even then Geese was certain he had to finish the fight as soon as possible. The loss of blood from such deep wounds, which would be fatal for a normal person, would weaken him in a matter of minutes.
Ranko landed on all fours again away from the still standing Krauser and yowled in pain again when her back sent waves of agony through her entire being.
The German man raised his hands to his sides and charged for his greatest technique, ignoring Geese's protests that the hall was too small for that. If they didn't take the redhead down she would finish them off regardless of her injuries.
"KAISER WAVE!!!"
-----
Mature was shocked to see the door explode inwards as the familiar figure of a small redheaded girl fell in the middle of the room, completely motionless. She placed her son, now once again quiet, in the crib and stepped closer to Ranko. Geese's wife breathed out in relief when she saw the redhead was still breathing, as evidenced by the raise and fall of her barely covered chest.
She took a step towards the redhead, about to check on her injuries since the fight she heard had been brutal, only to freeze in place when Ranko opened her still inhuman eyes and quickly got back on all fours.
The fact that Ranko was obviously hurting from supporting her weight with her legs meant nothing for the blonde. All that mattered to her in that instant was the fact that she was the only thing standing between Ranko and her son. She tensed when Ranko's eyes focused on her and fell into her fighting stance, casual as it may seem, when the redhead turned to fully regard her.
Ranko jumped forward, her claws leading the way, and Mature braced herself for impact. The latter had to hold her ground till the others came to her help; hopefully they would, since Rock was just two feet behind her.
Mature felt the smaller girl smash into her and both fell to the ground with her on the bottom. As much as she attempted otherwise she failed to throw the redhead off. For an instant she cursed at her lack of skills in grappling, unlike Vice since it was her specialty, and she winced in pain when Ranko's claws sank into her skin.
Only that the pain seemed...
"What?" Mature opened her eyes wide and looked at Ranko, who was scratching her midsection with her hands and looking down lazily. An incredible contrast to the wild look in her eyes just minutes ago. The pain the blonde woman felt was no greater than the one you'd be under if someone scratched your skin hard enough to draw blood. While it was annoying for a fighter of Mature's caliber and experience it was easily negligible.
A few seconds of the treatment later Ranko seemed satisfied, plopped down on top of Mature and, if the latter was right, started to purr lightly.
"... Okay..." Mature whispered in disbelief at what just happened and turned up to see the bloodied forms of both Geese and Krauser staring at the scene in shock from the hall. If the situation hadn't been so emotionally draining the woman would find the sight of both powerful men looking baffled quite comical.
END PART 6
Author's notes: Not much to say really. Real life sucking in most of my time since I'm starting to impart more classes than before and I got a new job. Don't have to worry about me quitting, though.
This chapter is mostly a setup for the trip to Japan, which should be interesting, and explains the behavior everyone had in DPNR when dealing with the Nekoken. Next chapter will deal with the trip and a meeting with a certain redheaded fighter, as well as the start of the search for the mysterious fighter.