Chap 1: Stuck To You

Hagemoto was staying in a small cheap hotel room. He thought his stay would be short so he didn't think of any sort of long term lodgings.

His boss had given him two choices: Come back with the belt or don't come back at all. It was a direct order and may have seemed harsh but he was relieved to still have his job back.

He had found the briefcase on sale at the side of the road by, who he suspected, was the thief. He didn't go to the police because he didn't want to get the local law enforcement authorities to get involved and this might just prove his incompetence to the corporation. He wasn't interested in the briefcase but what had been inside. The thief had only said, "Hey, it didn't look too valuable so I threw it away."

Hagemoto, not caring about the thief anymore panicked and planned on what to do. He wasn't on a time limit or anything but the sooner he got out of this town the better. He had heard rumors and this place, Nerima, was considered one of the many magnets of weirdness in the region. He didn't want to experience it for himself so he decided for himself that the quicker he found the belt the better.

He just had to use his brain and seek out whoever had the belt since he was told that something would be following the one holding the belt. Find that 'something' and you find the person and ultimately the belt.

But where to start?

Ranma returned to the Tendo home and was greeted by his mother and Kasumi. They didn't seem to notice the belt on his shoulder but he disregarded it thinking that they must've been tired with the chores they did all day. He walked by and saw Nabiki snacking and watching TV and his father (as a panda) and Soun playing Shogi. He heard something that sounded like cinderblocks breaking and a loud feminine battle cry and deduced that Akane was in the dojo and venting out her frustration. At least she found an outlet aside from himself.

He went into the room he shared with his parents and looked at the belt closely. 'Just what is this thing?' he questioned mentally. 'Doesn't look too stylish though it does look cool.' He inspected it closely and touched the ridges around the edges of the buckle. 'Just what does this thing do?'

He decided to stop thinking about the belt and put it into his backpack. He would try to find someone tech-savvy enough to help him out tomorrow at school. He had helped the school a lot lately so he had people he could turn to. Just who it was it going to be was another question.

He carried some replacement clothes and a towel and decided to take a relaxing bath before dinner.

While this was all happening, nobody notice a golden beetle enter through the door and follow Ranma in secret. It slipped into his room and looked around. It then got onto the cabinet while it looked at the backpack. It then flew out of the room and disappeared.

The very next day, wearing a new and clean black suit, neatly combing his brown hair and wearing a pair of sunglasses (to hide the dark rings around his eyes due to the lack of sleep), Hagemoto continued his search. Just where was the belt anyway.

He passed by Furinkan High, another place he had been warned about, and watched as the students rushed in as the school bell rang. He smiled a bit. These kids had nothing to worry about except for exams and parents, not like him who had his job and 5 digit salary at stake.

He then noticed one student dressed differently from the others. He was wearing a red Chinese shirt and black pants with black sandals. 'That can't be a standard uniform,' Hagemoto thought to himself. The boy had short black hair with a short braid near his neck. Hagemoto thought, 'Interesting…' suddenly his eyes widened as he saw something hanging out of the kid's backpack. It was a metal belt strap. 'Can't be!'

Hagemoto didn't know whether to be thrilled or horrified. On the plus side he was closer to his target. On the negative side he had to walk into weirdness central to do it. He had heard about some of the students, the principal (who looked to belong in a mental institution) and some of the students who weren't so normal themselves. They weren't mutants like the ones in that school in New York but one did not need an X-Gene to be weird.

Taking in a deep breath of fresh air, he decided to just walk in, find the guy, talk to him and get the belt back. Easy as pie.

Someone obviously didn't tell him that pie could go bad and some pies tasted horrible, like his luck.

He spied on Ranma from afar, using what he had learnt when he joined SB. He made sure not to be seen and was able to see Ranma. The kid didn't seem to have a clue of his presence. He was holding a pair of electronic binoculars and set them on the highest setting to lock onto Ranma. He was hidden in the bushes waiting for his chance to confront the boy about the belt and most possibly get his job back. The golden beetle that had been seen before was perched upon a tree branch above Hagemoto.

Hagemoto waited for hours and finally his waiting paid off. He could see Ranma exiting the building to eat his lunch in peace. Following him was…a boy? No, it was girl with long brown hair and wearing what looked like a blue boys' uniform. With them was the girl that had been with Ranma before. 'Probably friends,' Hagemoto thought.

"Ranma, would you try the lunch I made you?" Akane asked sweetly. She had taken a lot of cooking lessons from Nodoka, Ranma's mom, and Kasumi, her sister, and had steadily improved. Her food was now tolerable compared to when she first attempted. They weren't up to par to Kasumi or Nodoka's cooking but they weren't bad either.

"Sure, Akane," Ranma said, giving her a smile. Since he had admitted to himself that he loved Akane, he decided to treat her nicely. It wasn't that easy seeing that her attitude sometimes made her a little unlovable, but Ranma was able to look past all that and find the girl that was for him.

The girl dressed as a boy was named Ukyo Kuonji. She was one of Ranma's many fiancées and wanted to marry him. However, she realized that Ranma only saw her as a good friend and nothing more. She was heartbroken, a little, but soon got over it seeing that all she wanted was Ranma to be happy. It still depressed her though to see Ranma and Akane together like this since the feelings of love she had for Ranma still lingered.

"I have found you, foul villain!" yelled out a new voice and Hagemoto moved his attention to a Senior student dressed in a dark blue yukata and black hakama (samurai robe) and holding a bokken (wooden sword). He had short brown hair and was handsome. Unfortunately his personality was less than desired not to mention his ego and delusional attitude.

"Kuno, we've been over this," Ranma said, feeling bored. This guy just couldn't get the hint.

"Silence evil wizard!" Kuno shouted back, "I, Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan, will finally defeat you Saotome and free the beautiful Akane Tendo and the lovely pig-tailed goddess from your thrall!" He gripped his wooden sword in an offensive stance, "This I promise you!"

Hagemoto looked at the guy, 'Geez, this guy needs a reality check!'

Kuno charged…only to be smacked into the air by Akane's giant mallet, Ranma's foot and Ukyo's spatula. Hagemoto blinked at the girls' weapons, 'Where did they pull those out?' As far as his experience had told him, unless someone was in possession of hi-tech implements they could not summon items like that from thin air. However, he reminded himself that he was in Nerima and based on its reputation the same rules of physics probably did not apply so much.

Hagemoto continued to watch. He had to be careful. These kids, especially the kid in Chinese clothes, were more than they seemed. He would have to do a background check, but not before finding the belt. Spying on Ranma earlier, he knew where Ranma's classroom and seat was. He quietly slipped out of his hiding place without drawing attention to himself and went to Ranma's class. The golden beetle followed after him.

Hagemoto evaded detection. He was so close to his goal. Just a few more steps and…

"Hey, you!"

Hagemoto nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned around to see one of the teachers of the school. He had been caught.

The teacher asked, "Are you the new guy?

Hagemoto responded, "W-What?"

"If you are then the principal's office is that way," the male teacher pointed over his own shoulder. "You came just in time too. We need all the help we can get."

"Y-yeah," Hagemoto nodded. The teacher walked away. He sighed to himself. 'That was too close!' He walked over to the classroom. It was empty. Perfect. He was about to slide the door open when he heard something that sounded like a stampede. Despite common sense he turned to look. Much to his surprise he saw a midget running away from an entire herd of female students out for its blood. Hagemoto was unable to react fast enough and got trampled by said stampede.

"This is so not my day…" he groaned as he recovered. 'The belt was not worth this kind of effort. They could make another one, right?' he reasoned. Remembering his boss boring down on him and shouting, "YOU'RE FIRED!" quickly motivated him. Okay, just a little closer and…

The bell rang.

"DAMMIT!"

The beetle buzzed and looked to be chuckling.

Now Hagemoto was hiding out where he was before, waiting for the end of school. He was nursing his wounds from the trampling he had endured before. He had a band-aid on his cheek and a bandage around his forehead. His clothes were slightly disheveled but he was able to rub out the wrinkles and dust himself off.

"Okay," he said to himself. "Just try the direct approach. Just go up to him and ask for the belt politely." That was a sound plan. He had learnt that using aggressing was not a good idea as he had seen Ranma dispatch a few people who had challenged him to a fight. Hagemoto had some hand-to-hand training but nothing of that caliber.

Soon, the end of school bell rang. Ranma walked out of the school building with Akane. He said goodbye to his friends and yawned. He had been bored at school. Kuno had not returned from his 'flight' to challenge him as of yet.

Hagemoto grinned. He removed the band-aid and bandage and got out of the bushes. Placing his hands in his pockets, he casually walked towards Ranma.

"Hey, kid!" he called out. Ranma and Akane turned. "You, the kid with the braid!" he pointed, "You have something of mine."

Ranma sighed, "Look, if you want satisfaction go to my father. If he promised you anything…"

"I'm talking about that belt in your bag!" Hagemoto shouted, his patience thinning. After all the craziness he had to endure for the day he was hoping to get out of this town soon. There was just something about this place that invited trouble.

"How do you know about the belt?" Ranma asked.

"Because it's mine!"

"Ranma, what is he talking about?" Akane asked.

"Just this thing," Ranma said as he took the belt out of his backpack. "I found it in the middle of the road and decided to take it home."

"That's mine, thank you," Hagemoto said, walking forward to snatch the belt but Ranma held it away. "Hey!"

"What's so special about this belt anyway?" Akane asked curiously. "It looks like a metal belt, only a little weird looking and more hi-tech."

"That's classified information," Hagemoto said, losing his patience. His teeth were gritted and he gripped his fist.

"Look, until we can sort this out, let's go back to the Tendo house to talk, kay?" Ranma suggested. "I can't just give it to you until I know it's really yours to begin with. That would be wrong."

"Listen, boy! I-" Hagemoto started.

"My name is Ranma Saotome," Ranma said, eyes narrowed.

"Now, Ranma," Hagemoto said. "Just give me the belt, kay? I'll even pay you for it, how about that?"

If he was his father, he would've jumped to the chance. Thankfully he wasn't greedy like that old panda.

"No."

Hagemoto's left eye twitched and then his right, alternating. The vein on his brow throbbed. He was going to have to take it by force.

That is, until they heard screaming.

Ranma responded to the scream, same as Akane, leaving Hagemoto behind. Hagemoto ran after them, "HEY, WAIT!"

When Ranma and Akane reached the gate, they were surprised at what they were seeing. There was a large monster that looked like a giant spider and it was shooting its silk around fleeing students to form cocoons which it then stuck to a web on the building. Neither Ranma nor Akane had seen anything like this and they'd seen a lot of weird things. Ranma, seeing his friend Ukyo flailing around as the silk spun around her went on the offence and charged, dropping the belt and his backpack on the ground. Akane yelled, "Ranma!"

Hagemoto arrived and saw the monster and Ranma charging at it. Hagemoto thought, 'The kid doesn't stand a chance.' He picked up the discarded belt that was near Akane who had also run to assist Ranma.

Ranma first used his, "MOUKO TAKABISHA!". It was a red blast of ki energy. It flew towards the monster and it dropped Ukyo as it screamed in pain. Hagemoto was impressed. Akane tried to tear away the silk covering Ukyo but it was too strong even for her above average strength. Ranma said, "Get Ukyo out of here!"

Akane said, "What about you?"

The monster charged again and Ranma tried his, "KACHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!" His fists went flying and were moving so fast that they appeared to be blurs. Hagemoto saw the skill and courage this youth showed and decided to help. The giant spider swatted Ranma away. Hagemoto helped him up, the metal belt now around his own waist.

"Need help?" Hagemoto offered.

"I'll be fine," Ranma said.

"No you don't!" Akane shouted, "You need help, baka!"

"Didn't I tell you to run with Ukyo?" Ranma reminded her. "I'll be fine."

"But, Ranma…" Akane started.

"He'll have help, Akane," Hagemoto said. He then smiled as he heard a loud buzzing noise. "And here it comes."

A golden and black beetle came buzzing in. It had three golden horns and looked like a Caucasus beetle. The thing was that the beetle was completely robotic.

"What is that?" Akane asked.

Hagemoto smiled. "Help." He raised his hand, having read the instructions, "COME TO ME, CAUCASUS INZECTER!"

"Inzecter?" Akane and Ranma spoke in confusion.

The Caucasus Inzecter flew towards Hagemoto and…flew past his hand as he tried to grab it. "What?" Hagemoto questioned as the Inzecter landed…In Ranma's hand. "Oh, you got to be kidding me!"

The spider monster recovered from the assault it had endured from Ranma's rapid fists and charged towards them. Hagemoto quickly removed the belt from around his waist and put it on Ranma instead.

"What?" Ranma began to ask.

"Just trust me!" Hagemoto said. "Now, put the Inzecter, that beetle in your hand, into the centre of the belt."

"But…" Ranma began to ask.

"JUST DO WHAT HE SAYS, RANMA!" Akane screeched as the monster came for them. It shot webbing at Akane and she was being dragged towards it. "LET ME GO! LET ME GO!"

"AKANE!" Ranma yelled in horror. Hagemoto dashed forward and grabbed Akane's arms and pulled.

"Just trust me, kid!" he shouted to Ranma. "The Inzecter has chosen you! Just do it!"

Ranma nodded and slid the Inzecter into the centre of the belt.

"HENSHIN!" the Inzecter announced.

A hexagonal pattern field swept from the belt and over Ranma's body. Ranma looked bewildered as some sort of armor began to cover all over his body. Hagemoto and Akane watched as Ranma was encased in the armor.

Ranma, in mid-transformation, dashed forward despite the weight of the armor and grabbed the silk string holding Akane. He snapped it easily in his hands and the monster reeled back.

Hagemoto smiled as Akane looked shocked.

The armor Ranma was wearing was thick and gold with some silver accents in it. His shoulder-guards had three spikes on each of them in a triangular formation. His head was under a golden helmet with three horns like the Caucasus Inzecter. The helmet had a silver mouthpiece and a round green visor. The armor was worn over a black bodysuit with armor plating on the sides of his legs. The armored boots he wore were also gold.

The monster screeched and swung its leg, only for Ranma to catch it in his arms. With the combined strength that he had trained to receive and the armor was giving him he lifted the creature over his head and threw it into the sky.

Ranma kneeled down and snapped more of the silk covering her broken. He asked, "Are you okay, Akane?"

"I'm fine, Ranma," she said gratefully.

"I think I now know why you wanted this belt so much, huh?" Ranma said, realizing why Hagemoto wanted the belt.

"Yeah, but it's now stuck on you," Hagemoto said. He then looked up to see something falling. "Heads up."

Ranma and Akane got the heck out of there as the monster came crashing down to the ground. The thing righted itself to its feet and ran towards Ranma. It swatted him through the wall. Even without the armor he would've survived the impact but he wasn't so sure if he would've escaped unscathed because of it. He rushed out and realized that the armor was slowing him down. The weight was no problem to Ranma it was just his agility and speed was being sacrificed for strength and defence.

For this battle he needed speed and agility to win. Hagemoto knew this and were a safe distance away from the fight. Akane wanted to help but Hagemoto restrained her.

"Kid!" Hagemoto shouted before correcting himself, "Ranma, Cast Off!"

"Cast off?" Ranma questioned as he held a leg that was about to strike him back before another one came at him. He held that one back too.

"The horns of the beetle!" Hagemoto explained. "Pull the centre top one back!"

Ranma jumped back and ducked under a swipe. He did what Hagemoto said and pulled the specific horn back over the back of the beetle. The two extra horns moved too. An electrical charge ran through his body and the armor plating covering his arms, torso, and head began to loosen up and expand outwards. The various gaps and joints released steam.

"CAST OFF!" the Caucasus Inzecter announced as the loosened body exploded off him in a 360 degrees angle. Some pieces hit the monster and pushed it back.

Hagemoto shouted, "HIT THE DIRT!" and both he and Akane were sprawled down to avoid being hit by the flying metal. They looked up to see Ranma had changed again.

Ranma's new armor, much to Akane's surprise and Hagemoto's happiness, was sleek and golden all over. The left shoulder-guard looked like the Inzecter's flesh and blood counterpart. Three horns hidden under the torso armor folded up to his helmet. The first one folded up to his faceplate to split his visor into two eyes while the two secondary ones folded onto the sides. His eyes flashed.

"CHANGE CAUCASUS BEETLE!"

"Woah!" Ranma looked impressed at himself. The monster came at him and with the discarded weight of the armor was able to dodge.

Hagemoto then gave Ranma the final piece of instructions that Ranma would need to win, "Ranma, initiate the finisher system! Press the leg buttons and reset the horns before pulling them back!"

"Okay!" Ranma nodded as he pressed the leg buttons which echoed, "1, 2, 3," as he pressed each one. He reset the horns before pulling them back.

" CAUCASUS POWER!" The Inzecter announced. The electrical energy charge raced all over Ranma's armored body and he did a jump as his eyes glowed. He shouted out, "MOUKO TAKABISHA!" and released a charged red ki blast that seemed to do more damage. He then unleashed his, "KACHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!" The fists seemed to move faster and were laced with the same energy that had raced through his body before. The monster was unable to withstand the attack. It then exploded.

Ranma jumped back and away from the explosion. He looked down at his hands in amazement and then to both Hagemoto and Akane.

"I think my life has just gotten more interesting," Ranma said. "And weirder."

A/N: Ranma has been chosen by the Caucasus Inzecter. What would this mean for him? Let's hope he doesn't take advantage of the power. This series will be short and not go on for so long but I will make it as exciting as possible.

The design of Ranma's armor is based on an original version of a Kamen Rider called Hakabuto created by Ten-Faced Paladin. Read his fic Kamen Moon Rider. It's also inspired by Kamen Rider Kabuto.

Thanks to those who read and reviewed the prologue chap. Please, any ideas are greatly appreciated.