Ranmapapa, Shampoomama

AN: I own NOTHING! NOTHING! Well, except like… all the original characters in here… but you can use them. I don't mind.

Chapter 23

Ranma watched as the last ninja fell, wrapped in enough chains to tie a super-tanker to a dock. "You've gotten better." He observed.

"Thanks, I've been working out." Mouse replied, kicking the ninja in the head. "So, do you figure the evil wizard cabal is on the roof, or in the basement."

Ryoga chimed in, tossing the unconscious Ninja he'd forgotten he was still shaking over his shoulder. "Basement. Has to be the basement, right?"

Ranma and Mouse considered the fanged boy for a moment, before turning to look at eachother. "Definitely the roof." The Chinese boy commented.

"Oh yeah." Ranma agreed.

"Hey! It could totally be the basement."

"P-Chan… that'd mean you knew where something was!"

"Don't Call Me P-chan!"

The ding of an arriving elevator car stopped the impending argument. All three boys turned to look as Troika, wearing jeans and pulling off his buttoned up shirt, stepped out of the car. Ranma chuckled, causing the Russian to pause. "What, might I ask, is so funny."

Ranma basically ignored him. "See, it's even marked Express to the Penthouse!"

"OH shut the hell up." Ryoga grumbled.

Troika took a moment to consider the statement, but quickly determined it wasn't important. "My masters would very much appreciate it if you would end this madness now. You're interfering in matters you can't understand."

"So what?" Ranma demanded.

"We do it all the time." Ryoga observed.

"I was pretty sure it was Saotome's hobby, actually." Mouse admitted, receiving a nod from Ryoga and, reluctantly, Ranma.

Troika sighed. "So I take it you will not stop. That violence is neccissary."

Mouse… blind as he was… still took the time to look around the room. "Um… It looks like the aftermath of the Matrix rescue fight in here. Do you really think we are going to shy away from a fight?"

"No… but I am a civilized man. I wanted to give you a chance."

Mouse and Ranma surged forward, ready for the fight, only to come against the iron rods of Ryoga's arms. "No. I'll handle him. You go on ahead."

"What? No way, man. We ain't gonna abandon you. This guys not as weak as he looks." Ranma said.

Ryoga ignored the indignant "Weak." From Troika, instead speaking to the other two. "You're going to have to deal with wizards, so you don't need any more fighting than you'll get up there Ranma. Healed up or not. And Mouse can wipe the floor with these pathetic Ninja's. Let me deal with the hired help." Ryoga smirked. "Besides, I'm heading for the basement when this is done. Then I'LL rescue the girls and you'll be on the roof all pissed off."

"Dude. They're not in the basement."

"Just go. The stairs are over there." Ryoga pointed.

Both boys frowned, but nodded and ran the opposite direction from what Ryoga directed, straight towards the stairs. Troika flickered, moving to intercept at inhuman speeds.

He got an umbrella in the gut for his troubles. "Please… you're no where near as fast as Ranma." The lost boy observed, watching the Russian stagger back. "Tougher than you look, though. Most people would have gone down from that."

"I've been reinforced by the mystic powers of my Masters." Troika stated, ignoring the other boys for the surprisingly powerful one in front of him. He opened his senses and frowned, sensing the same flexibility of aura he'd seen in Ranma and the Akane girl, if less developed. "I have skin like granite and muscles of bundled steel. I'm a former Russian Special Forces officer, and I won't hesitate to kill you. What, little boy, do you think you have to challenge me."

Ryoga shrugged, and slipped his arms out of his backpacks straps, dropping it on the ground. Troika took a step back when the marble flooring gave way, leaving a inch deep crater around the heavy pack. "Actually, I just didn't want to run up all the stairs. Just between you and me, I'd probably have ended up in the girls bathroom or something. Family curse…" He slid into a battle stance, umbrella gripped tightly. "Now, Troika… yeah, Ranma told me your name… I have only one more thing to say to you."

"What's that, whelp."

"Prepare to die!"

Mouse froze as the sound of an explosion, most likely the first real blow thrown in the fight between Ryoga and Troika, blew the door in several stories beneath Ranma and himself. "Are you sure…"

"Ryoga will be fine. He knows better than to fight a loosing battle if he gets into trouble and, honestly, I think he can take Ruskie down there." Ranma said, grabbing his arm and pulling him along. "Even if he can't win, P-chan can take a beating long enough for us to get back down here to him. Now come on."

Both elder Wrecking Crew boys bounced up the stairs, taking entire flights the way a hurrying secretary might take one. Groups of Ninja's, hurrying to stop them, were barely noticed in passing (Except for receiving savage beatings).

Finally they came to the top flight, a full story below the penthouse. "What the hell!" Ranma yelled.

"This is common, Saotome." Mouse sighed. "The Great and Good… also known as Rich and Wasteful… don't want to be bothered. There's probably a private flight of stairs somewhere."

"Well how the hell do we get in?"

Mouse didn't reply, Instead firing two dagger ended chains into the walls high above their heads. Ranma watched in quiet amazement (Which he'd deny later) as Mouse ascended up the chains at a speed only slight slower than he launched them. "Been watching Batman?"

"Christina Bale should study Hidden Weapons." Mouse remarked. Before releasing one chain, and pulling out one of Shampoo's Bombori. "But for now, I'm focusing on another Amazon technique."

"Wall smashing?"

"Um…." Mouse paused, looking embarrassed.

"What?"

"Technically the technique is called… well."

"Go on…"

Mouse sighed. "HUSBAND HUNTING DOOR KNOCK!"

The wall exploded inwards, followed by Mouse. Ranma jumped up, landing behind the blind duck boy who was already staring down something like two dozen ninja's. "Tell no one Saotome. Tell no one, or I swear I'll kill you."

Ranma only grinned.

"DAMN YOU SAOTOME!" Mouse popped a sword, taking a swipe at Ranma.

"Hey, you said no attempts to kill me!"

"What… oh… sorry. Habit." Mouse turned to the now very confused Ninja's, and bowed. "I apologize for making you wait."

Then he started lobbing explosives.

Ryoga shoved himself out of the rubble of the wall, blood trickling down his chin from a busted lip. "That felt like a babies kick."

Troika, breathing hard snarled. "What! I sent you through a support column! There's no way that didn't hurt you! How are you even standing!"

"Don't know much about Amazons do you."

"I know that the purple haired one fell easily enough." Troika snarled. "Just like the others…"

"Yeah, how many of them did Akane destroy before going down. Me and Ranma, we have a bet."

"Akane, eh… not worried about the others? I thought you were interested in that Akari girl now, Hibiki."

"How do you know about her." Ryoga snarled.

Troika laughed, circling around the lost boy, taking the chance to catch his breath. "I know all about all of you, Hibiki. I know you didn't get here before your little brother got himself lost again. I know you haven't seen your parents in… was it six years? I even know about P-chan… and about what happened when Akane found out…"

"You shut up!"

Troika just laughed. Experience taught him an angry enemy was a dead one. "She threw you out in the street… several blocks away from the reports I've gotten. You and Ranma… but Saotome was allowed back in almost immediately. I took you… what… six months? And saving her sister from getting hit by a car? All Saotome had to do was apologize. How is that fair."

Troika could feel the rage radiating off of him. "But you got back in… no reason for depression… though now their married. Did you hear about that?"

Ryoga took a step forward, rage aura radiating around him.

"And Akari… you're still so unsure of her… Still not certain… Haven't proposed even though she's so willing. Because you're still hung up on the Tendo girl. Pathetic."

"You shut up."

"Make me."

Ryoga surged forward, a reckless charge. Troika easily dodged both blows, sending a knee into Ryoga's gut. Hide of Granite met Hide of granite and Ryoga bent over, the air rushing out of his lungs. A double axe handle, primitive but effect, drove the lost boy into the ground.

"And here you are, left behind because you can't even find the penthouse when there are signs everywhere." Troika mocked, driving a booted foot into the back of Ryoga's neck. "Abandoned by your friends because you're useless… and now you're going to die in a puddle of your own blood. How's it feel." He mocked, driving the foot into Ryoga's ribs.

Ryoga muttered something. "What was that? I can't hear you boy!" Troika mocked, toeing him over onto his back.

"I said… you need to work on your kicks. SHI SHI HOKODAUN!"

Troika took the vile green blast directly in the chest, flying into the ceiling before dropping back to the floor. Desperately he struggled to get back to his feet, looking up barely in time to protect himself from another depression blast, sliding back ten feet.

"You're right. I'm always getting lost." Ryoga declared, delivering a second blast, without bothering to even call out its name. "I failed Akane as a friend just by not telling her the truth." Another blast. "And Saotome seems to get everything so easily!" a fourth blast, sending Troika into a wall. Calmly Ryoga flipped open his pack. "There's a thing, though…"

Troika didn't say anything, didn't speak. He gasped for breath, desperate to be ready, to dodge the next hit. "how can he be so powerful… he should be lost.. unfocused…"

Ryoga pulled a ring case out of his pack, snapping it open. "I'm on my way to Akari… and this time I don't think I'm going to get lost. Thanks for helping me vent that, man… and for reassuring me she's willing… Now I feel very, very confident about it all!"

Ryoga's free hand came up, a bright blue sphere of light forming in his hand.

"No! You… You can't do that!" Troika screamed, trying to realign his Ki Sheild but his own terror making him slow.

Ryoga didn't respond, except to say "Mouko Takibasha."

Troika's world filled with blue light… then went dark.

AN: Okay, yeah… I admit it. Took a while. But this one is a beefier installment than some past ones. And I figured, why shouldn't Ryoga get his girl, huh… well, that's assuming he can find her. He's ALWAYS sure he'll find his way. Course this time… maybe he will.