Ki Cutters: 14

The Participants

"Ranma?" Nodoka popped her head around the corner from the kitchen. "Ranma, where are you going?"

"Hi, Mom. I'm going Christmas shopping with Akane." Ranma knew what was ahead. This was going to be torture. Women and men had entirely different ideas about what shopping was. All hopes of getting shopping done in a reasonable amount of time had gone out the window. Still, he would be with Akane…

"How nice, dear. Will you take Soun with you?"

"Excuse me?" Akane stuck her own head in from the entry. She had been impatiently waiting for Ranma to get ready, suspecting he was stalling until they'd be rushed for time. The addition of her father was an unexpected and unpleasant surprise. He normally went shopping on his own. "Why do we…"

"Your father is being silly, Akane dear. He's afraid he'll run into Miss Hinako and do or say something stupid. While I agree that if he did, he might; I hope you two can keep him out of trouble."

"Us?"

oOo

Ranma trudged alongside Akane, lugging packages through the huge mall. Soun followed unhappily. He preferred to shop by himself, and he could swear the children were deliberately drawing this out to punish him. He had gotten nice gifts for Kasumi, Nabiki, Genma and Nodoka, and had gotten small things for Ranma's sisters. He wasn't good at this, but…

Ranma sighed. Soun-baka was a wuss when it came to selecting presents. He'd pick something and ask your opinion about it. If you hesitated to offer a positive opinion, or even looked slightly cross-eyed at it, it had to be a horrible mistake and the person would hate it. In fact, according to Soun, everyone would hate it, and he'd be exposed as an incompetent wretch. In fact, Kamisama would probably hate it and blast Soun on the spot for daring to offer said recipient the article in question.

Soun's shopping was almost done because Ranma and Akane had finally fixed smiles on their faces no matter what he offered for inspection. They weren't certain about the quality of the presents, but anything was better than the scenes over his first two choices. Yep! Soun was a wuss.

"What did you get for Akane, son?" Soun asked unaware of Ranma's musings. He was just hoping to hurry them up. There was a good wrestling match on TV and his shopping was almost done.

"Umm… I… er…" Ranma blushed, stammered and tried to find a hole to hide in. He was exceptionally bad at choosing gifts for people. Akane had offered him her help, and he had offered his arms… as hangers for the packages they accumulated. Akane was fine at finding things for herself, of course. "Hey! I can't very well buy it in front of her, can I?"

Soun ignored him. "And you, Akane. Have you gotten your fiancé his gift?"

"Gift? Ah, ha-ha-ha-ha!" she laughed nervously. "Not yet."

"That should have been first on your list of priorities," Soun said with true martial artist panache and a father's teasing voice.

"What did you get Miss Hinako?" Ranma asked defensively.

Soun burst into tears, all thought of the wrestling match on TV forgotten.

"Honestly, Ranma!" Akane scolded. She patted her father's shoulder. "Come on, Father," she said, glaring at Ranma. "I'll help you with Miss Hinako and…" She colored a little. "…you can help me with Ranma's." She noticed Ranma's wild look and apologetic shoulder shrug. 'You're gonna pay later,' her eyes told him. "Why don't you use Mousse's hidden weapons techniques to carry the packages?" she asked him directly.

"Ya want busted presents?" he asked, aggrieved. "I'm okay with hard solid things or soft bendable things, but fragile or electronic is a problem."

"Oh." In that case, Kasumi's new portable radio/CD player wouldn't make it. "Well, do what you can then."

He sighed then grinned. "Don't you dare get anything for my girl-side, okay?"

Akane blushed. "Don't be a pervert."

"What's perverted about that?" he asked curiously.

Akane didn't answer. She was remembering waking up between two warm globes of flesh, looking up into hot blue eyes, and knowing that this, too, was the man she loved.

oOo

Akane stopped as she passed one shop carrying gourmet candies in beautiful hand-blown glass containers. Gorgeous! And perfect for a grown woman who still had a sweet tooth. She nudged her father. "What about that?" she pointed.

Soun glanced at the container. He made odd faces; he hedged. He walked around in circles till Akane was beginning to emit battle aura in sheer frustration. "Well, come on," she yelled, "Make up your mind!"

She winced as Soun looked shocked and blubbered faintly. Her hand rubbed her forehead. 'Ranma, I can't believe you did this to me,' she complained to herself. Old habits do die hard; it was Ranma's fault, of course. She dragged Soun into the shop to get a better look.

It was crowded as hell inside. It was a popular store and centrally located on the mall's uppermost level. There was also a maintenance crew in the middle of the mess, making movement even more of a problem. Akane squeezed through the press to another display. The artist who made these was talented. She was so absorbed, she didn't notice anything was wrong until gunfire shattered the holiday sounds and her father threw her to the floor, covering her body with his.

oOo

Ranma searched with quiet intensity for that special gift for Akane, something that would say to her what was in his heart. He had about 10,000 yen left. He should be able to get something special. He glided through the jewelry stores in the mall.

He eyed a necklace that was obviously several steps outside his price range and sighed. He just wished he knew what she would like. Then he saw a diamond ring flanked by sapphires. His heart thumped. He could see that piece on Akane's finger! Then he saw the price tag and winced. Oh, well! Across the aisle, a lingerie store exhibited some sexy pieces in the windows. Happosai would have a field day over that stuff. In fact, that one piece would look awfully good on Akane… 'Gaah!' He shook himself. He wasn't decent to go out in public anymore! He staggered a little sidewise as a man wearing the uniform of a mall-maintenance worker, bumped into him and shoved by without apology.

"Hey, buddy! Watch where you're goin'!"

The worker turned, his face hard and his hand dipping into the top of his coveralls, his aura screaming lethal hostility. Ranma slid in close as a pistol came out. Almost nonchalantly, he punched once. As the man slumped from the precise blow, the martial artist sensed the disturbed flow of the crowd. He turned, throwing his ki-sense on full alert.

Shots were fired in the air. He cringed a little. Guns were nearly obscene to him. Firing them near crowds like this, unconscionable. He spotted two more men in coveralls, short rifles or machine guns in their hands. Improved Umisen snapped on. Seconds later, the nearest was down like the first. He was almost to the third when the man slumped, wilting like a rainforest plant in a desert. He stopped and eyed the fallen man warily.

Elsewhere, more shots were going off. Whatever was going on, it covered the whole mall. Seeing no further threat close at hand and suspecting the identity of the third gunman's attacker, he dropped Umisen to conserve energy.

"Ranma?" Miss Hinako scrambled to her feet, looking young and ridiculous in her adult clothes. "You took out the other one?" she asked.

"Other two," he corrected her. He looked for an employee. "You! Is there a back way out? Get these people out of here! Move!"

"What's going on?" Hinako demanded scanning for battle aura, as people began to stream out.

"I don't know, but Akane and Mr. Tendo are in here somewhere. I gotta get 'em outa here. But first…" He walked over to the gunmen. He broke their weapons then touched them with sharp jabs. "They'll be out for a while, unless they have very unusual abilities," he said with deadly intensity.

"A-a-attention…" came a voice over the mall audio system, "All customers are asked to remain calm…"

There was a fumbling and a new voice came across the speakers. "We are the 'Crimson Wave'. We are the purity of purpose, the warriors of a new Japan. Too long has our blessed realm bowed to the foreign devils. We will return the Emperor to his proper place in the Seat of Heaven. We will cleanse Japan of gaijin and become pure once more. We have taken over this vain, capitalist shrine to show our contempt for the new ways that have perverted and weakened our people." There was a pause. Ranma's lips tightened. He could almost see the man posing and preening before the microphone. "The disobedient show their weakness and impurity. Obey our warriors and live. Disobey, and die. We are the Crimson Wave that will wash away the rot and weakness of Japan and return our country to the holy power of our great past!"

"Twice as stuffy as Tatewaki and half as smart," muttered Ranma. He glanced at Hinako. "What are you still doin' here? Get out while ya can."

"I'm going with you," Hinako insisted. She shuddered and swelled to adult size once more. "I'm going to be a part of this family, so don't argue with me about it."

Ranma shrugged. His eyes went blank for a moment. "There's a group above us and one at the near entrance. If we take 'em out, we can clear half the mall."

"Are Akane and Soun in this part of the mall?" she asked.

"No… That's when things start getting dicey." Ranma quickly unloaded his packages in a safe place; including those he was carrying 'hidden-weapons' style.

As he started to move out of the store, Hinako grabbed his arm. "Can you hide me with that invisibility technique of yours?" she demanded.

He grinned. "Just so ya understand. It ain't invisibility. Cameras can see us."

"If they've taken the security center, they can track us?"

"Yup." Ranma nodded. "We'll have to move fast, use somethin' once then think of somethin' else. I'll have to carry you..."

"Let's do it."

Ranma nodded. He jerked a tablecloth out from under a display without disturbing the goods thereon. With a flourish he showed Hinako both sides of the cloth like a magician about to perform. With a sweep of the cloth, he enveloped them both in the sheet. Strong arms cradled Hinako, who kept an arm free with five and fifty-yen coins firmly grasped in her hand. Ranma boosted them up to the next level.

Two of the fanatics were covering the third, picking among the shoppers lying sprawled on the floor. The third had kicked a man over on his back and was shouting at him.

"You are Korean! Admit it!" The man brandished his weapon in the terrified man's face.

"No! No!" the man screamed, trying to cover his head. Ranma saw the body language of the fanatic. His victim was doomed, unless they acted now. He dropped Hinako and launched himself at the gunman.

The gunman sneered as he cocked his weapon. Then he gaped as it disappeared, leaving him with an empty hand of fingers twisted out of joint. Shock kept the pain from reaching his head. "What?"

"Happo-go-en-satsu!" shouted a sexy voice. He turned. It felt like slow motion. A little girl stood, her hand raised toward one of his men. Did she have a weapon? His eyes turned toward his other man, but all he saw was a hole in the wall and a gun spinning lazily in midair.

Ranma seemed to materialize. He caught the gun and smirked. "Do it, Miss H."

"Coin return!" (BWAM!)

The gunman made his own hole in the back wall of the store.

oOo

"He broke my potty seat!"

"He unconscious…"

"But he broke my potty seat!"

Mousse stomped on the mangled Crimson Wave fanatic in a fury of righteous anger. Behind them, shoppers poured out a back door, urged on by frightened employees. Shampoo sighed and punched him in the arm.

"That enough, Mousse. No need get in trouble if kill stupid gunman."

"But…"

"Mousse, be glad old memento stop new bullet, yes?" she pointed out. She looked to where another man, writhed, wrapped in chains and a third's legs stuck out of the wall where he had been implanted by her bonbori. "And thank you for stopping man from shooting Shampoo," she added softly.

Mousse stopped kicking the downed man. "Shampoo?"

"Thank you, Mousse," she repeated. She looked up into his eyes and her features hardened. "Is not over, though. You hear what say on speakers?"

He nodded. "Shouldn't we leave this to the Japanese authorities?" he suggested.

"Akane say she shop in mall today with Ranma. You look and see?"

Mousse nodded and searched for specific aura patterns. "Yes. They're both here," he informed her.

"You think Akane or Ranma run from this?" she asked. "Maybe we help."

oOo

"Akane, are you alright?" Soun whispered.

"I'm fine, Daddy, now get off me," Akane demanded. She eyed the half-dozen men who yelled and intimidated the customers in the store. Three more struggled with a cart, kicking people out of the way as they moved toward a metal door at the back of the store. Her lips thinned. There were too many of them and too many innocent people around. Soun caught her look and shivered. He did not want Akane going up against guns.

"Don't do it…"

"Shut up!" screamed a man, kicking Soun savagely in the head. He seemed to notice the gi. "So, a martial artist? Maybe I should just…"

"No, please!" Akane shouted, throwing herself across Soun. She threw up her shields. She wasn't sure if they could stop a bullet, but it was the best she could do at the moment.

"Hold, Daitoro!" A charismatic voice overrode the noise made by dozens of frightened shoppers. "Let us not be hasty. A martial artist is likely to hold to the traditional ways. Let us not antagonize where our allies may be found."

He strode over. He seemed a big man, similar to Kuno in build but tall as Ryoga. He carried an air of deadly purpose about him that Akane found charming, in the fashion a snake charms its prey. He wore a cloak, which Akane was certain he felt gave him a dramatic flare. Seeing him with eyes and ki-vision was daunting. He obviously had very good control of his ki — at least as much control as Ranma had before he and Barry developed ki-vision. For some odd reason, Akane felt she had met him before.

"Your aura is strong," he murmured. He reached down and drew her to her feet. He looked her over carefully. "If you are as true of purpose as you are strong, you could breed a new generation of warriors that could make Japan supreme in the world," he whispered.

It took everything Akane had to avoid pulling away from this monster with a scream of disgust. He was too dangerous, and there were too many others around. All she could hope for was that Ranma was somehow coming. Between them, she felt, they could take on this wacko and his entire gang.

"What is your name, lovely one?" he asked. "I feel a sense of familiarity. Do you? Perhaps this was destined…"

"A-akane…" she stammered. There was something really horrific about this person. She felt that, standing there beside him, she could see the dying people and hear their cries shouting from his mind.

"Yes-ss-ss…" He licked his lips. "As in my vision. A crimson cloud of blood will rise from the midst of our enemies, promising power…" His eyes glazed briefly. "You may call me Akanami."

Akane shivered, really creeped out. This guy called himself 'Crimson Wave'? As she plastered a tremulous smile on her face she thought, 'Ranma, hurry up and rescue me, baka!' She prayed she could maintain her calm long enough…

oOo

Ranma and Hinako looked down on the six men at the mall's main entrance.

"I thought you said there were three," Hinako said accusingly.

"I saw three. Maybe they sent reinforcements?"

"We can't do this," she said. "Three, yes. You take one, I take one and then whoever gets seen first is a distraction so the other takes the third, but this won't work."

"What if ya just drained 'em all?"

"Who's going to carry them out?" Hinako asked exasperated. "There's got to be eighty or ninety people down there."

"Point taken." Ranma considered. The six were just too far apart to take out more than one at a time, even by quick shots of ki. He wished Akane or Shampoo were here.

"Want some help, Ranma?"

He spun in shock to stare at six slender, lethal women in well-tailored slacks and blouse combinations. He didn't recognize them. Wait, the one who had spoken was tall and had a lock of white hair…

"Kodama?" Ranma hazarded.

"Very good, Ranma," she husked. "Got it in one. Could you step back from the edge? We've already taken care of the camera." She pointed to the ball in the ceiling with a hole shot through it. "Tek's got a tap on their security monitors. She confirmed with us."

"Think ya can take 'em?"

"We are ninja," was her reply. Kodama eyed Hinako. "Who's she?"

"Ninomiya Hinako…"

"Ah, Baradandya's colleague from Furinkan. We have heard of you."

"These ladies are friends of Mrs. Morisato and Ms. Kamiko," Ranma said quickly to Hinako.

"Ah!" Hinako eyed them for a moment.

"Do you have a preference of target, Ranma?" Kodama asked.

Ranma scanned the half dozen men and nodded. "The guy in the center is rigged with explosives. I'll take him. I think I can contain him, if I can't stop him from setting it off."

Kodama nodded, gestured to her fellow ninja and they dove over the ledge in a wave. Ranma was startled, but followed quickly. His quarry was reaching for a rip-cord like handle under his coat. Ranma's left hand arrested the trigger hand from its destination, then his other made a short arc. His target went to sleep.

"I need somingthing to tie him up with," he shouted over the belated screams. Ninja Nabiki threw a roll of duct tape. He balled the man's fist so that he couldn't hope to grasp the trigger then wrapped him firmly to a pillar. "Let's get these people outta here."

The shoppers didn't wait, but streamed quickly away. Ranma huffed and noted his 'team' was now up by seven lethal martial artists. He was a bit shocked when Tek arrived. Among the shortest of the ninja in chibi-doll form, she was 180 centimeters if she was a hair.

She noticed his stare. "Hey! I was big for a mouse," she said, as if that explained it all. "By the way, Shampoo and some guy that uses chains and stuff cleaned out the rest of the lower level while we were busy here," she informed them.

"Did you see Akane?" Ranma demanded.

"She's being held with her father and about a hundred other people at a candy store in the middle of the upper level," Tec said. "I counted a dozen armed men in the store and at least six more with some big container they manhandled up the stairs to the roof."

"Let's find Shampoo and Mousse and get some strategy going."

oOo

Akane noticed the leader of the Crimson Wave was getting tense. Because of his 'unique' observation about her, she had been encouraged to sit in a comfortable chair rather than lay prone on the floor with everyone else. "What's wrong?" she asked meekly. He glanced her way but said nothing. He flipped open a cell phone and punched speed-dial calls, one after another. He only seemed to get a response from one of them.

"Jaku! We are advancing to stage four immediately," he said at the one response. "Make it so." He snapped the phone shut and nodded. "Daitoro, Shikami, Hikaru, you will wait here and guard the prisoners. We are going to the roof for the final stage."

"The final…" Hikaru seemed shaken by this revelation.

"Final stage?" Akane cut in curiously. She felt her guard shift slightly behind her. This was important.

"Tokyo is full of teaming masses of the weak. It is time to let the strong outshine them." He smiled unpleasantly.

Suddenly Akanami reached out and pulled her to her feet. "Come, my dear! Let me show you the ultimate process that will cleanse the world of its weakness, that Japan may rule supreme as is its destiny." He dragged her toward the stairs.

Soun started to come to his feet but froze when a shot tore past his ear to ricochet into the ceiling. "We cut you some slack because you are the favored one's father, but do not interfere." He glanced back at Daitoro who had kicked him earlier. His look promised much. The gunman continued with a sneer, "Martial artists can't beat bullets, old man."

Soun glanced about at the other two, but they were too far away for him to do what he had in mind. 'Ranma, where are you, son? Akane's in danger!'

oOo

Ranma smirked grimly at the 'bullets' comment. Tek had tapped back into the camera system of the mall and set up a recycling of images to temporarily fool their opponents. Without the cameras to warn them, Umisen and the only slightly less effective Intonjutsu of the ninja allowed them to invade the store without detection. Seconds later, three unconscious gunmen sagged to the floor.

"Ranma!" Soun surged to his feet. "Akane's been taken to the roof! We must save her!"

"Take it easy, Papa Tendo! Ain't nobody gonna make the tomboy do nothin' she don't wanna do. If Akane went with them, it was because she thought she could keep closer tabs on things." Ranma glanced over briefly as Hinako threaded her way past the escaping shoppers to gaze up at Soun. He smiled warmly as Mousse and Shampoo made their appearance.

"Nihau, Ranma!" exclaimed Shampoo. "No more gunmen below. We meet Hikari from Temple on way here. Togenkyo work good, ne?" Hikari showed a thumbs-up to Kodama. The ninja chonin had an additional hand of girls with her. Ranma grinned. The terrorists might as well give up. In numbers their groups were evenly matched, which meant, by his estimates, that his team had six times the number of people needed to take them.

A ninja named Shiku, as he recalled, brought over a heavy rifle and a plastic card. "Kodama, this one seems to have an authentic identity card as a worker here. Perhaps he can tell us a few things?"

Kodama nodded and took the gun, checking it's magazine. "A Browning Automatic Rifle." she commented. "Where's Choochoo?" She tossed it to the little girl who looked overwhelmed by the huge weapon. "Keep this. We'll try to set you up where you can use it. She's our best marksman," Kodama explained to Ranma.

"I don't like guns," he grumbled.

"You don't like weapons period!" observed Kodama. "Ninja are all about weapons and improvisation. This is a perfectly good weapon and almost qualifies as a light anti-tank gun. If we don't use it, fine, but we will be prepared to use it, if necessary."

Ranma shrugged. He grabbed their prisoner and woke him with a surge of ki. "What's goin' on?" he hissed at the startled man.

"We are the 'Crimson Wave'! We will— (SLAP!)"

"Shut up about yer stupid 'Crimson Wave'. What are they doin' on the roof?"

The man was silent.

Ranma pulled him close and whispered fiercely at him. "Listen, baka. That's my fiancée up there. I've killed before to protect her, and I'm this close…" He held his index finger and thumb just pressing together. "…to killin' again." He fixed his eyes on the man and his prisoner could have sworn the deep blue began to turn red. "Tell me…"

Soun sucked in his breath. Ranma was visibly projecting his aura over the man. He felt Hinako's hand clench tight on his arm. Soun decided his demon-head aura didn't seem particularly impressive anymore.

The terrorist told them. Totally broken, he explained their intent and timetable. Then he sat in shock and stared at the floor.

"They're plannin' on dumpin' some sorta plague on Tokyo during the Christmas shopping rush?" Ranma was appalled.

Kodama shook the man. "Are there any other ways to the roof?" she demanded. He simply whimpered, lost in Ranma-induced terrors.

"Never mind, Kodama," Ranma growled. He pointed. "This air-duct, here, leads directly to the air conditioning on the roof. There's a freight elevator down the hall, there. I think it needs a key to go up higher, though."

"They'll be watching that."

"There are stairs at the end of the mall we were at, probably at the other end, as well."

"They'll be covered. They have the manpower."

"Then… there's this." Ranma concentrated, his aura flaring. After a moment, he moved his hand past a glass elephant filled with candy. He lifted cleanly sliced sections of the container off, letting the candy, including neatly sectioned ones, clatter to the floor.

"You've regained some control of the Nekoken," Kodama observed with a feral smile, "We make our own door."

oOo

Akane watched the approaching rescue party with some concern. Akanami was directing his men to attach the containers they had carried up here to the air conditioning of the mall.

"You never explained what you were doing." Akane felt the frigid wind snap at her short hair.

Akanami shrugged. "You needn't concern yourself my dear," he said. "It will all be over soon."

She looked at the containers and saw a strange emblem there, one she didn't recognize but which superficially resembled the nuclear warning labels she so often saw on late-night science fiction and horror movies. "Are those bombs or something?" she asked. She pushed her ki-vision at them, they seemed filled with a homogenous and faintly active liquid.

"They are life; life that will test the strength of our people. The survivors will be strong. And with the survivors we will build a new nation, supreme in all the world." He tried to pull her close.

She punched. Ranma was close enough, almost ready to break through the roof from behind the air conditioning unit. She would distract the terrorist's attention long enough to give him. Besides, he creeped her out!

Akanami blocked. She struck again, quick combinations even Ranma would have difficulty with. Though forced back, he continued to block in a familiar style: Mutsabetsu Kakuto. She went to Amiguriken even as his men began to run forward. She needed to stay close to him. They couldn't shoot if…

He blocked most of her Amiguriken and kicked. Her conditioning and ki kept the blow from being dangerous, but she had been driven back. She pelted for cover as slugs whined across the roof. She felt the transfer of energy as the pellets glanced off her shields. Good. If there weren't too many, and if they didn't strike squarely, she could handle it. She reversed and sent out a cloud of ki-grenades. The gunmen took cover after the first one nearly blew a man off the roof.

Akanami stood where she had left him and scowled. "Betrayer!" he bellowed. "False bitch!" His hands came up. She saw a huge bubble of ki form and shoot at her. As it came, it rapidly diminished in size, building energy as it approached.

She gaped. He knew ki-grenade?

(BOOM!)

Her shields continued to protect her as the blast bounced her across the roof.

Ranma and Kodama heard the commotion. His ki-senses agreed. Akane was in trouble up there. He sliced through the ceiling and through the materials of the roof proper. Not waiting he blew the disc skyward following it in a rush. The ninja and Amazons were right on his heels. Hinako began to scramble up, but Soun tried to disuade her. "Stay under cover, Miya! This is too dangerous."

"You're going to need me, Soun." Hinako glared at him. "Don't you want to give your daughter every chance?"

"I don't have time to argue! Stay down!" He heaved himself upand through the opening. There was a lull in the fighting then new gunfire erupted.

Half the terrorists were down before they were aware of the threat. Kodama and her ninja were hardly armed in traditional fashion, but it was amazing what they could do with heavy frying pans, clothesline and pepper shakers. The makeshift kusarigama whirled and sent several gunmen to dreamland while others were choked on the clouds of pepper that blinded and confused them.

Near the unused elevator, the bark of a heavy weapon, another B.A.R. tore across the roof. The ninja scattered. Choochoo, from her cover, fired once and the weapon fell silent.

As his men fell, Akanami surged into the fight. His movements were fluid and efficient. He struck left and right without pause, knocking the ninja aside on his way to the air conditioning unit. Shampoo attacked but retreated seconds later, rolling desperately away from an axe strike aimed at her head and deflected by her forearm. Mousse attacked and was hurled over the edge of the roof by his chains. Akane and Ranma converged on Akanami while Shampoo cursed her injured arm and hurried to anchor Mousse's chains on the roof edge long enough for him to climb back up. She flinched as more gunfire kicked up dirt and gravel from the roof around her. Then Choochoo's B.A.R. barked again and the gun fell silent.

Akanami glared maniacally as they forced him back. He was taking a pounding when forced to fight them both. He laughed suddenly then swept his cloak between them.

Ranma reached out and ripped it away, concerned he would do some sort of ninjitsu escape trick. But instead, the man barreled into him in a tackle, sending them rolling across the ground.

When they rose, Ranma faced Ranma.

"What the hell?" yelled one Ranma. "Wadja think you're doing?"

"What the hell?" yelled the other. "Ya look like me! What's goin' on?"

Akane boggled then screamed in rage. "Copycat Ken! I can't believe it!"

"Copycat Ken?" asked one Ranma, "Ya think?"

"Of course! No wonder yer so fast to duplicate any move or technique ya see!" accused the other Ranma.

"You sonofabitch! You goons were gonna kill people!"

"Bastard!" the second screamed back, pointing to the containers, "If ya do it, how many innocent people - even kids are gonna die?"

They clashed. Akane blinked. She wasn't been able to tell them apart, even with ki-vision. Copycat Ken's technique camoflagued his ki as well as physical appearance. No wonder he could imitate others so quickly and precisely. She wondered what a camera would reveal.

As she dithered, one Ranma was launched by a strong kick toward the air conditioning unit and the plague containers. He hit the roof, rolled and kept running. "Suckers!" he yelled. "WoooF!"

Soun's fist stopped him cold and sent him back a body length. "Not this time."

"Old man," the terrorist hissed. "I'm gonna kill you." He surged to his feet.

"Happo-go-ju-en-satsu!" Hinako knelt beside the hole in the roof, coin in hand.

Akanami, or Copycat Ken, staggered and wilted like a balloon losing air. He tried to stagger forward. "No! No! I won't let it end this way!" he screamed with increasing weakness as his battle aura was ripped away.

Then the teargas canisters dropped from the helicopters everyone had been too busy to notice, and the commandos dropped to the roof.

oOo

"Welcome home, everyone!" caroled Kasumi. She was busy hanging mistletoe from the arch of a doorway. "You're so late! Did you get some dinner?"

"Sort of," mumbled Ranma. Akane nodded. Soun allowed Hinako to enter first as he stamped some snow off his shoes.

"Christmas shopping can be so exciting. Did you get everything you wanted?" she asked, helping them put their coats away.

"Oh, it was exciting, all right. Wasn't it, Daddy?" asked Akane.

"You could say that," he agreed.

"Is your shopping done, then?" Kasumi repeated.

"Not quite," Hinako admitted. The others all nodded in agreement. They had not been able to recover their various packages after the Special Forces team had landed and taken everyone into custody.

"We'll be going again tomorrow, Kasumi," Soun said in a pleased voice. "You might say we won a peculiar sort of lottery and have a shopping spree to go to. One hour to pick anything and everything we want."

"How wonderful!" Kasumi said.

"Did I hear shopping spree?" Nabiki poked her head around the corner.

Soun gasped and hugged her. "Na-bi-ki! My little girl! I'm so proud! You did well on your finals. You did do well on your finals?" He looked tearful, ready for the worst.

"Almost the top of my class," she smirked. "I thought I'd come home and get some Christmas cheer." She lunged and nailed Ranma under the mistletoe, giving him a kiss. Ranma staggered and protested, while keeping a wild eye on Akane.

"Nabiki!" protested Akane.

"Hey! Gotta keep on your toes, little sis. Now what's this about a shopping spree and why do I feel it has to do with the terrorists the police just happened to round up at the mall Auntie Saotome said you were going to?"

The shoppers exchanged glances and sighed. "Let's get this over with."

"Wow!" Nabiki said as the family gathered about the table. "So Copycat is now part of this stupid Crimson Wave group and a terrorist and wanted man? He was going to spread a plague all over Tokyo, using the crowds in the mall as a starting point?" She shivered.

"He called himself Akanami at the mall," Akane pointed out. "God, he was scary." She accepted Ranma's snuggle. "I think he's able to copy martial artists with that disguise technique Barry used back at the martial arts competition. That's why he seems to learn all your techniques, all at once."

"He's really dangerous then, and out for revenge?" Nabiki asked.

"I don't know about revenge, but he wasn't happy. When the military arrived — and they were military, make no mistake — they dropped tear-gas on us all, and he managed to get away." Akane looked disgusted.

"That's not all," Ranma added. "Remember the hot Ranma-iichuan? The swimming pool was already drained when Cologne went back after the fight with Taro. We now know who took the water and why. Every one of the commandos had my face."

"You're joking!" Nabiki exclaimed, choking back laughter.

"Absolutely the truth! I guess they like the advantage. They were a little annoyed that we beat them to Akanami's crew. That's why we're late." He hugged Akane. "Now, the bunch of us have shopping sprees."

"Bunch?" Nabiki inquired.

"Well, Shampoo and Mousse were there. And some of the little ninja from the Morisato's…"

oOo

Ranma, Akane, Shampoo, Mousse, Soun, Hinako and twelve shinobi girls lined up two hours before the opening of the mall. They would have one hour to acquire anything they wanted that was in the complex. They had their lists. They had their carts. They each had a map of the mall color-coded for what they were looking for… courtesy of Nabiki.

Nabiki had planned the assault with the finesse of a master thief and a combat general. All of those involved had given her a list of what they individually wanted. Nabiki had modified those lists with her own personal wish list, and then added a list of items she knew would be small, portable and very valuable. She located every item in the mall environs and then broke the mall down into areas. Each person was assigned an area, confident that others would look to their interests. When they were done they would divide up the loot.

"Go!" yelled the manager. They sped away.

Ranma bypassed several of his marked stores, zeroing in on one special one. On the second floor was the jewelry store and in the front display case was a beautiful diamond and sapphire ring. He thought it would look even nicer on Akane's finger. He remembered how she reacted the time she thought he was giving her a ring. This time, he vowed, she would not be disappointed. Seconds later, he held a particular ring in his hand. He charged on.

The store manager stood inside the security center with the Mayor of Tokyo and several members of the Diet and the press. Another man with the bearing of an intensely trained warrior also watched the cameras. "Do you see that?" The store manager pointed to the maps the running people consulted. "They're well organized. I hope the government doesn't mind the tab."

One of the bureaucrats laughed. "If they managed to clean out the entire mall, I don't think anyone would mind. They did an incredible service to our city and the nation."

"Look at those girls! Why are they wearing masks?"

"They're a members of a new Tokyo-based office staffing company specializing in services for high-profile executives and public officials," commented the man with military bearing. "Offensive Office Ladies. They're personal secretaries and bodyguards trained in ninjitsu. This will be excellent publicity for them."

"Those girls aren't wearing masks." Images of Akane and Miss Hinako came on the screen.

"Miss Hinako is acting principal of Furinkan High. Akane Tendo, the short-haired girl there, is a student at that school, an excellent martial artist and heir to the Tendo dojo." Suddenly, an image of Shampoo flicked onto the screen. "Shampoo is a visiting martial artist from China. She's one of those Amazons we ran a documentary on a few years ago." The image flickered again to a longhaired young man with glasses. "That's a compatriot of hers, Mousse." He grimaced. "Actually their names are Xian Pu and Mu Tsu."

The images flicked again. "That is Akane's fiancée, Ranma Saotome. He and Akane actually fought the Crimson Wave leader to a standstill." He chuckled. "Those two are beginning to become celebrities. Like many traditional families, their parents arranged the betrothal when they were still infants. They've fought each other tooth and nail for two years, when they weren't saving each other from one disaster or another. They also led the Team Nerima group that dominated the university martial arts scholarship tournament."

"It's understandable how they were able to take down their opponents so quickly," one of the reporters deduced.

The military man scowled at him. "I suppose you could say that," he seemed to concede.

The speed at which the martial artists moved was little short of phenomenal, but Mousse felt hindered. Nabiki had warned him not to use his Art to carry his stuff. People would start wondering if he were some kind of super-pickpocket if he did. He waved as he 'saw' Shampoo. He hoped she liked what he was getting her.

Hinako didn't move at superhuman speed, but with the efficient competence of a practiced shopper. It was almost as effective.

Soun wept for joy, but also in nervousness. He was getting much better quality gifts for everyone than he could have afforded before. His problem was to avoid becoming distracted. Nabiki had spoken to him quite forcefully. He didn't dare browse until he completely filled her list first. It was so unfair!

Shampoo may have grown up in the backwoods of China, but she knew how to forage. That was how she looked at this mission. She sped through the stores with a quiet intensity and a cute sexy smile on her face that caused many clerks to melt. They would have been shocked to know that she wore the same expression in the heat of battle. It didn't hurt that she was wearing one of her short silk dresses, either.

Akane vaulted a planter carrying her cart with her. It was astonishingly graceful. She was almost done with Nabiki's list and still had ten minutes left. She could browse soon.

Ranma charged past a storefront, skidded to a stop and backed up. The clock was ticking. It was a good jewelry store with numerous bracelets. He had specifically seen one with dancing cats engraved in gold and enhanced by diamond chips. Perfect for Shampoo. Did he dare? He browsed hurriedly, sweating. He picked up that bit of jewelry, a similar bracelet with sand dollars which reminded him of okonomiyaki and, for some reason he couldn't explain to himself, a bracelet with good luck charms and baby-related imagery. He looked at his watch and poured on the speed. Nabiki would kill him if he didn't complete his list!

Finally the siren sounded and the shoppers made their way back for the photo shoot.

Nabiki helped everyone sort their goodies according to the submitted lists and the party began to break up. Kodama wandered over and accosted Ranma and Akane. The ninja moved with a quiet satisfied contentment. They had done well for their sisters. "How you kids doing?"

"Pretty well, Kodama," Akane replied. "Did you get everything you needed?"

"And then some." Kodama glanced across the open space at Akane's sister. "I'll have to thank Sakurida. Your sister, Nabiki, is a great strategist and devious enough to be a ninja."

Ranma grinned. "Just watch out for the photo shoots," he commented. Akane elbowed him.

"Those? Aside from this mall thing, they were the best advertisement we could have gotten… or haven't you seen this yet?" She held out a large glossy calendar. On the front were twelve girl ninja in highly modified, high-tech shinobi suits poised to leap off the page.

"Impressive," Ranma murmured. He recognized Kodama, Hikari, Choochoo and a ninja named Anji. The others he recognized but didn't know by name. He flipped open the calendar at random. He froze. His nose twitched. Akane stifled a gasp.

The ninja were modeling very skimpy lingerie while wielding the tools of their trade. They were very impressive. Kodama smirked and turned the page to Hikari who was April's photo and then December, which was herself. "Not a bad job, eh?"

"G-g-g-g…" gurgled Ranma.

Kodama snickered and winked at Akane. "Maybe you'd like a copy to give Ranma for Christmas?" Akane's cheeks flamed.

"Kodama!" they complained. Then Ranma said, "Uhhh… Not for me, but a couple of friends of mine…"

"Su-ure," Kodama drawled, and continued, "After the New Year, I was wondering if you two could give some of my ninja martial arts lessons?"

Ranma shook himself and looked away from the calendar. He had trouble looking at the woman before him without imagining her in… that. "Yer lookin' for the Umisen techniques, ain'tcha?"

"That and the ki technique variations we spoke of at the Temple," she admitted.

He eyed her, his face blank. "You guys still protectin' the Temple?"

"Oh, yes! Most of us still live there. Our hot-water forms are still the doll-sized chibi you're used to."

"Uh-huh! Tell ya what," smirked the pigtailed one. "The ki stuff I can teach you. I developed it, after all. The Umisen, though, is my dad's. If he says it's okay, I'll teach it to you."

Kodama smiled slowly. "Is he the bald man who turns into a panda?"

"Yup." Ranma borrowed a pen and a scrap of paper. "Here's the address. I suggest you all go and ask him nicely."

"Your mom will kill you!" gasped Akane.

"Naah!" Ranma shook his finger. "I don't mean do anything hentai. Just ask nicely. Pops will be overwhelmed and scared to death that she'll kill him. Heh! Besides, it's payback for how he teased me about the ninja girls when we trashed Senbei." He shrugged. "I'll give Mom a heads-up."

"You better."

Kodama chuckled. "Well, if things go as expected, then, we'll see you after Christmas."

As she walked away, Akane relaxed a little. "I can't believe they did that," she complained.

"Did what?" Ranma asked. "The calendar?" He held up the pair of shrink-wrapped calendars Kodama had given him.

"Yes!" she fumed.

"Bet if we did a calendar, we would outsell theirs." Ranma grinned.

"Ranma!" Akane glared then under his admiring gaze, began to laugh herself. "Baka." She reached out and linked her hand with his. They walked home in silence, Soun weeping and holding hands with Hinako, while Nabiki nattered happily at the success of her planning.

"Who else would you include in that photo shoot?" Akane asked after they got to the privacy of her room.

"Ya gonna pound me?"

"I'm thinking I'll pound you if you don't tell me."

Ranma winced. "Ummm… You, me…"

"You? Pervert!"

"Cut it out! I got rated best hips, right?" Ranma smirked. "Umm… Shampoo, Ukyo, Kodachi…

"That's double! Or nothing." Akane smirked.

"Hey!" Ranma growled. "Yer right though. How do they tell the difference?"

"Wait six months," Akane suggested.

"Urk?" He shuddered. "Didja hafta say that?"

"Considering the subject matter…" She looked at his face. "What's wrong now?"

"Well I sorta browsed a jewelry shop before I finished Nabiki's list. I, ah… did some… well… impulse shopping and picked up some things for the girls." He sweated.

"Girls?"

"Ya know… Now that everyone has pretty much backed off and let us have a life, they're friends. So I got 'em things. Shampoo, Ukyo, Nabiki, Kasumi and Kodachi."

Akane looked at him. "So what did you get them?"

Ranma hunted through his packages. He brought out several small boxes.

Akane gasped at the delicate bracelets of precious metal. She held the cat bracelet to the light. "Shampoo will love this. I'd better check to see what Mousse got her. He'd be crushed if you outdid him." She nodded at the sand dollar bracelet and began to silently worry about what he might have gotten her. She'd be crushed if, after these thoughtful choices, he got her something stupid or trashy. The hairclip he had gotten Kasumi was done in a Celtic style uncommon in that part of the world. The next box also held a bracelet. She held it up. "What's this?"

"ItsforKodachi," he mumbled. "It's for 'Dachi. I didn't really think about it, but I thought of her when I saw it and picked it up. It was stupid. I'm sorry."

Akane looked at the charm bracelet. It was very high quality and the design interspaced good luck and healthy pregnancy charms with baby symbols like bottles and toys. It was quite delicate for as busy as it was. She stared at her normally blunt and as sensitive-as-a-rock Ranma. "It's not stupid. I think it's sweet."

Ranma was subjected to a very thorough and inspiring kiss. As he melted and melted Akane with him, he had one thought.

He couldn't wait for Christmas.