I'm guessing he knows because he's SRT. But it doesn't make much sense in a military for them to tell low-mid level clearance people any more than they "need" to know. Military is notorious for giving you the bare minimum beyond situational data, unless your objective deals with the info specifically. And even then, it's likely that they'll leave out parts they deem "unnecessary"
Ranma ½ Frozen Flame
- Thread starter Dreamingfox
- Start date
I dont know where you got the Idea that he's chatty I can believe that he's trusting altough you are streching it quite a bit here.
I dont remember him going arounhg telling people about secret techniquest and personal stuff all the time and to people whom he barely knows oor has little to none reasons to trust.
This seems like an effort to dumb him down for the sake of the plot.
I dont remember him going arounhg telling people about secret techniquest and personal stuff all the time and to people whom he barely knows oor has little to none reasons to trust.
This seems like an effort to dumb him down for the sake of the plot.
Author's Notes û
No, I do not own the rights to Tokyo Underground, Ranma ¢, Full Metal Panic, Love Hina, or Negima.
I'm sure you've seen the polls on my profile, though the first one was pretty obvious û Motoko Aoyama easily defeats Akane Tendo.
New poll û Who would win û Ryoko Mitsurugi vs. Shampoo?
X X X X X
Keitaro Urashima was not your typical Todai student. First of all was the fact that he was considered a master martial artist, something of a rarity in Japan ever since the fiasco with Genma Saotome some ten years ago. Secondà wait, there wasn't a second, just a first and only point against him being normal, unless of course you counted the fact that he'd killed more people than he cared to keep track of. Having hones his skills in the labyrinth far beneath the subway tunnels of Metro Tokyo against unspeakable horrors and amazingly skilled, masked fighters the young Urashima heir knew better than to leave his enemies alive if he had the chance to completely remove them from the equation.
With his trusty combat knifes in hand he cut a bloody swath through the faceless attackers. It didn't bother him that this Kanako, the one from a more peaceful Japan, was watching him in action. Though this Kanako was much more skilled that his Kanako; she lacked the killer instinct that he had developed from years of traveling through the hidden underground passages.
The masked men wore all black, helping them blend into the deep shadows, and each wore a pair of vicious tiger claws, giving them extra reach and range against the unarmed girls. Fortunately Keitaro's combat knifes more than made up for that advantage as he cut the arm off one assailant then stabbed the same man through the gut. Twisting the blade he viciously yanked it out before kicking the man into one of his companions.
Though she lacked Keitaro's killer instinct Kanako was able to hold her own as the trio of fighters made their way through the underground. Blocking a strike she countered with a powerful punch to the face, knocking her attacker unconscious. A swift middle kick to the stomach of another attacker knocked the air out of his lungs, stunning him long enough for her to kick him in the head and send him into unconsciousness.
Even Ukyo was getting into the fight as she pummeled the fighters mercilessly. Having spent part of the past ten years living with the inhabitants of the underground she was used to fighting the shadowy guardians. Though she lacked her late lover's power she was still able to use the attacks he'd taught her effectively against the masked men. Grabbing hold of their forearms she broke ribs as she forcefully kicked them in the chest. Her powerful fingers ripped into their flesh as she stabbed them with her extended fingers.
Decapitating the last of the six man squad, Keitaro looked at the girls, "We're halfway there û we just need to take this turn, which leads to a straight passage that runs for a kilometer then take a passage up to another tunnel. Once we reach that tunnel they shouldn't pursue us any further."
* * * * *
"Mithril was initially founded to deal with rogue magic and to hide its presence from the world," Granny Hina stated as she looked at the growing crowd. "Rather than relying on the Magi to police themselves," she nodded at Eishin and the Mahora contingent, "we were created to deal with magical communities on an international scale to secretly deal with magical attacks against the non-magical populace as well as to hide the existence of magic from the non-magical. Sometimes that's harder than it appears and we've had to step in to cover things up for the magi, and sometimes we've been asked by the magi to help deal with rogue magi.
"I was one of the handful of people who worked for Mithril; in my time with Mithril I helped find the cursed Hina Blade and hid it away," she glanced at the black katana that she'd given to Ranma. "I also did a great number of other missions, but ten years ago I did my last mission for Mithril.
"Rogue magi had begun working for the Russian government to combine magic and technology, something that violated the treaty between Mithril and the various magi associations. On Christmas Eve of 1982, the rogue magi tested their device. The device created a portal to the demonic realm, but since it was a technological one and not a magical one the portal was incomplete. Some two dozen demonic spirits were released, but they didn't have their natural bodies. Instead they inhabited the bodies of still born babies.
"Then ten years ago Mithril was called in to deal with the rogues. We didn't have all the information at the time. All we knew was that the Russian magi were attempting to awaken the demonic children. My team went in and destroyed the device û a machine they called the Omni Sphere.
"It wasn't until I returned to Japan on leave that I discovered the consequences of our actions."
Glancing at Ranma the old woman had a great sadness in her eyes. "What's your birthday?"
Ranma held the woman's gaze for a moment before turning to look at his father and mother.
"December 24th, 1982," Nodoka replied, her voice trembling. "You were a sickly boy; the mid-wife didn't think you'd survive the night."
An odd feeling of dread filled Ranma.
"And the day that you were thrown into the pit of cats?" Hinata Urashima asked as she focused her eyes on Ranma. "It was exactly ten years ago from when you jumped between dimensions, wasn't it?"
Ranma looked at his father.
Genma nodded.
"That was the same day that my team destroyed the Omni Sphere," Hinata stated. "It's possible that in the other world my team didn't succeed in destroying it before it was used again. Your inner demon probably woke up and combined with the Neko-ken training broke your young mind."
"B-but when Ranma has gone cat he's never killed anyone," Genma snapped.
"In this world," Ranma replied. "But ever since I came back from China after the Saffron incidentà well, I've had these dark urgesà and since jumping to the other worldà I really wanted to kill the other Kuno, and nearly killed Tatewaki in this world. Hell, I probably would have killed Mousse and Ryoga if Motoko hadn't stopped me."
The realization that he'd been willing to kill them even though they hadn't presented themselves as that much of a threat chilled his blood. "Since jumping I've been hearing this voice whenever I fight, telling me to kill everyone, friend or foeà and since using the blade that voice has gotten stronger. Whenever I look at it the voice calls out to me."
Clenching his fists Ranma trembled as he confessed his weakness. He was supposed to be a man amongst men û he was supposed to be able to suppress such urges easily. Yet now he couldn't even bring himself to look at the blade.
"The answer's simple," a new voice interjected, breaking the odd atmosphere that hung over the Hinata Sou.
"Seta!" several residents of the Hinata Sou exclaimed.
"Urzu-2," Granny Hina nodded at the tall man in the lab coat.
Naru, Kitsune, and Haruka glanced at the old dorm manager then at the young Todai professor.
"Urzu-2?" the bound Sousuke Sagara blinked.
"What's your solution?" Hina asked.
"It's simple," the man said as he strode into the lounge, "you exorcise the demon inside of him."
"That would kill him," Hina's eyes narrowed.
"Possibly," Seta replied, "well, most likely. But it would solve the problem of him jumping through dimensions."
"Would you stop being an ass just for a second?" Haruka grumbled as she hit the tall man with a vicious straight punch to the side of his face that sent him flying.
Pulling himself out of the wreckage that was the wall Seta brushed himself off. "Actually, from what I've been briefed, Ranma survived when all the other children died. He was a sickly boy, not stillborn, and he survived when you destroyed the Omni Sphere when all the other children perished. I think that Ranma has a soul of his own but was weak enough that the demonic spirit thought it could possess him. If we can extract that demon from him he should be able to survive without its influence though it would weaken him greatly."
Unfortunately the only things that Ranma seemed to focus on were the words 'extract' and 'weaken'. Being the proud martial artist that he was, Ranma did not like those options. He'd had enough of being weak when Happosai had got him with the moxibustion; there was no way in hell he'd go back to being a weakling.
Glancing at his watch, he decided to employ the Saotome's Ultimate Technique. Rather than announcing his intentions, he simply sprang to his feet, grabbing the Hina Blade and Sousuke as he made a mad dash for the stairs.
Startled by the suddenness of his actions, only Granny Hina seemed to catch on to what was going on. "He's going for Motoko's room."
The assembled magi and martial artists rushed to pursue him, only to be stopped by a sudden explosion. "Make sure you bring me back some of their tech!" Su shouted as she reloaded her rocket launcher.
"Su!" Granny Hina shouted. "What are you doing?!"
"Helping Ranma of course," the bubbly blond smirked. "That should buy him just enough time to get away."
"Titanium mesh," Eishin grumbled as he looked at the large net that covered the doorway.
"Outside," Takahata stated as he rushed out of the lounge.
Tsuruko stood by the door, her sword drawn, "No."
"Out of the way sister," Eishin said coolly as he fingered the hilt of his own blade.
"Exorcising the demon spirit in him, if it exists, is not the way," the elegant swordswoman stated.
The two former heirs of the Shinmeiryu locked eyes.
Suddenly Tsuruko's blade flashed, deflecting a blast of ki as Takahata fired off his iaido. Taking advantage of the distraction Eishin moved to engage his sibling, drawing his blade as he did so. The clash of steel rang through the Hinata Sou as the elder Aoyama forced his sibling through the entrance, allowing Akashi, Takahata and Seta to pursue Ranma.
"We're trying to help him," Eishin stated as he slashed at his sister.
"So am I," Tsuruko retorted as she deflected his blade, making sure to stand between him and Motoko's room.
The giant metal monster charged at the three men.
"I'll take care of that," Takahata stated as he moved to intercept the strange mecha. Slipping his hands into his pockets he fired off three quick blasts, knocking the metal beast out of the sky. "Huh, it's tougher than it looks."
The mecha forced itself to its feet even as it launched a barrage of missiles at the trio.
Ranma ran, heedless of the chaos behind him, his mind set on him returning to the other dimension.
Sagara simply flew behind Ranma as the scarred boy was still bound and being dragged/carried by the master martial artist. Everything he'd heard was, well, impossible. Having been raised in a world where technology ruled and fantastic technology existed, it was hard for him to fathom that magic existed. And the Whispered û they were supposed to have been still born children with demonic spirits? If Hinata Urashima was to be believed then Tess and Kaname were both possessed by demonic spirits. But demons didn't existà did they?
And what was this about parallel worlds and Ranma somehow being able to travel between them? It was, well, unbelievable. It just didn't make any sense at all.
X X X X X
Things were going well, almost too well, but Leonard Testarossa had planned for everything, thus the reason why he wasn't concerned at all. Yes he had not had his dramatic confrontation with Sousuke Sagara and the Arbalest, and technically Casper hadn't killed the Arm Slave genius, and things hadn't gone according to his plan, but Mithril's SRT 2 had been distracted and pulled away from Kaname Chidori, allowing him free reign to capture the promising Whispered. Still, with Sagara and the Arbalest not out of the picture yet he knew that he'd eventually have to face them û giving him the perfect opportunity to show the remains of Mithril and Amalgam just how powerful the Belial type AS was as well as the Eligor series that were based off of its design.
Pushing the urge to smile aside, the silver-grey haired youth ordered his forces to scramble. The expendable Bonta-kun Arm Slaves would provide enough of a distraction for the local police, allowing him to escape with the now unconscious Kaname Chidori.
X X X X X
Things were not going well. Though the two dozen Bonta-kun Arm Slaves had surrounded the apartment building it had been the untraceable call from Leonard Testarossa that had convinced Kaname Chidori to surrender. Clearly the rogue Whispered boy had anticipated the fact that the teal haired girl's apartment was bugged as Wraith had not been able to hear any of the short conversation that the two Whispered had had before Kaname had surrendered herself to the mysterious Arm Slave.
It didn't help that the Tuatha De Danaan had apparently been sunk and then self destructed in Tokyo bay.
With no back up and none of the senior officers answering her calls, Wraith was effectively alone.
It didn't help that several Bonta-kuns were effectively trying to weed her out.
Yes, Leonard Testarossa had apparently thought of everything. Even if he couldn't catch her again, his forces were forcing her to break her surveillance of the teal haired Whispered girl. More than likely he would use that time to examine her for any weapons and tracking devices, thus effectively keeping Mithril from pursuing him.
Stripping out of her bulky costume, the lithe Korean born agent threw the remains of the outfit into a nearby trash bin. Disassembling her rifle she quickly packed it away. Grabbing a makeup kit she worked at a furious pace to try and hide some of her more distinct features. True, she would not be able to hide her Korean features from anyone who really looked at her, but it would be enough to let her slip away without being recognized. They were after all expecting a man. Even her previous encounter with Leonard had left him believing that she was male. Next time, if there was a next time, he would not make that mistake again.
X X X X X
"I know that apartment building," the busty kendoka exclaimed as she watched the news coverage on the large flat-screen television. "That's where some of the girls from Jindai live."
"It's an all female dormitory," the slender kendoka added. "Some of the girls at St. Bacchus stay there as well. Turn up the volume."
Eishin held up the remote, pressing down on the volume button.
"-it appears as though the horde of Bonta-kuns has dispersed!" the newswoman in the helicopter explained. "They've released several smoke grenades."
"Isn't this sort of like what happened in Hinata?" the voice of the anchorman at the station cut in.
"Now that you mention it, yes, it is like that. The larger AS looks similar to the one that was at Hinata as well," the newswoman replied.
"We are now taking you to Asuna Mitsugane who is flying over Tokyo bay," the anchorman cut in again. "We've received reports of a submarine accident in the bay."
"Thank you Saotome-san," the second newswoman said as a photo of the woman appeared in the lower left corner as the screen changed to show the dark waters of the bay and several rescue boats. "We have yet to confirm if the submarine is American, Japanese, or Canadian as no government or military has verified that they have a submarine in the area. We do know that the American base in Nerima recently had two submarines in port but both of those were still in port and were dispatched to help assist in rescue efforts.
"We're being flagged down by the JDF û they've temporarily created a no-fly zone over all of Tokyo bay."
"Thank you Mitsugane-san," the anchorman said as they cut off the feed from the helicopter and returned to the television station. "In earlier breaking news û reports of gunfire in Nerima have the police in the district combing the ward. No casualties have been reported yet though witnesses appear to think that this may have something to do with the recent assassination of the Kuno Zabatsu heir."
* * * * *
Though he was loathed to use it, Ranma unsheathed the cursed black blade. Hands trembling, he gingerly cut the steel cords that bound Sousuke Sagara before sheathing the blade.
"If you want to get home to Kaname, we have to go through them," Ranma stated. "But no killing û promise me."
Straining against the loosened bindings, the scarred warrior nodded, "I promise û no killing this time."
Ranma nodded, ripping the last of the bindings before helping the other boy to his feet. For two old guys the mage and the secret agent were pretty fast. Then again, they had taken the most direct route to Motoko's room running along the side of the Hinata Sou rather than through the hallways and stairs. Well, Happosai and Cologne were pretty fast too, and they were much older than these two.
"We won't let you through," Akashi stated as he stood before the door to Motoko's room.
"Ranma, I'm here to help," Seta stated as he adopted a rough Jeet Kun Do stance.
"Then let me go back to that other world," Ranma said, his hand still on the hilt of the cursed blade. "Granny Hinata and Haruka know pretty much everything that I know. They'll tell you that I'm being compelled to return to the other world. Besides - if I don't go back there, than I can't bring Kanako back."
"Kanako's from this world?" Sagara asked as he eyed the two men before him.
"The one you met is," the sword welding boy stated. "The Kanako from the other world died in my arms. Apparently only people who have died in one world can travel between worlds. I died in that world nearly ten years ago. Apparently you died in this world which allowed you to come here. But you can't go back there unless I open the doorway, and the only way for me to do that is for me to get close enough to it to be pulled through. Of course you have to be with me or else you'll get stuck here just like Kanako is stuck in your world."
Sagara nodded. Reaching behind him he quickly pulled out a Beretta 92FS. Taking aim he shot at the two men, "Move!"
Forced to dodge, Akashi jumped to the side while Seta simply sidestepped.
The minor movement was enough for Ranma to take action, charging ahead at the slight opening provided by Sagara.
Not one to be left behind, the scarred soldier followed, shooting another pair of shots that forced Seta off to the side.
With each step that Ranma came closer to Motoko's room the table inside began to glow brighter and brighter.
Intent on stopping Ranma from triggering the portal, Seta charged at the boys. Akashi did the same from the other side.
Unfortunately the ever elusive martial artist slipped past the mage, leaping over his out-stretched hands and through the thin door. Sagara was not so fortunate as Seta tackled him into the room, expertly knocking aside the gun in his hand as they crashed through the thin, sliding door.
Blinding light filled the hallway through the tattered remains of the door.
Forced to shield his eyes Akashi waited for the light to fade, signaling that the doorway was closed. "Damn," he exclaimed, "this is not going to go well."
X X X X X
"It appears that there's no news of any one jumping from roof top to roof top at least," the slender kendoka stated as she turned down the volume of the television as the station resumed their regularly scheduled programming.
"Do you think that they were involved in the shooting?" Ryoko asked.
Pulling out his pipe Happosai put it to his lips as he considered what little he knew. "I'm sure that if they were involved then they wouldn't have gotten shot," the old grandmaster stated. "But that was the spot where the initial marker was, right?"
The raven haired beauty nodded, "It appears to be close to it."
"Perhaps Ranma and Kanako went back to the other world?" Ryoko suggested.
"If so then why hasn't Keitaro contacted us?" the sagely master asked. "He would have called unless something happened. Not to mention that they had gone to the Tendos to deal with an imposter that claimed to be Ranma. It's been over eight hour since they left."
"An hour to get to Nerima on the train," Eishin stated, "and then the shooting was about an hour later. That's around the time that we've estimated the portal to open."
"Which means that the other portal would be opening upà"
Three shots rang out, startling everyone.
Ryoko didn't bother to finish her thought as she turned around and headed up the stairs towards Motoko's room. The slender kendoka quickly gave chase, followed by her brother and the other magi.
Happosai sighed, "I'm much too young for this."
* * * * *
Though it had been a number of years since she'd seen her childhood friend, Ryoko knew that the slender kendoka before her was flustered. Actually, Motoko had spent much of the evening since the encounter at the canal pretty much flustered. Clearly there was something between her and the boy û Ranma, but what?
Staring up at the ceiling, Ryoko couldn't help but wonder about her old friend.
X X X X X
"We're here," Ranma stated as he wrestled the gun out of the scarred soldier's hand. "So you can knock it off!"
With the situation clearly under control, Seta stood up. Extracting a cigarette he contemplated lighting it. "So who runs this Hinata Sou?"
"Technically?" Ranma asked. "No idea, never asked."
"So apparently I died in this world," the lab coat wearing man grumbled as he stuck the cigarette into his mouth. "Is there a Haruka in this world?"
Seeing that Sagara wasn't about to pull another gun out, Ranma relaxed. "No idea, never asked."
"Ten years agoà I was still in Todai," he sighed. "I wonder what this me did to get me killed."
"I need to report in," Sagara stated as he pulled himself up to his feet. "It's been six hours since I vanished and"
"Kurz is dead," Ranma stated. "I'm sorry about your friend."
"Mithril needs to know that I'm still alive," the soldier stated. Glancing at Seta he locked eyes with the other world's Urzu-2. "You're part of Mithril, you should know."
Seta nodded. "You're right," he replied. "But you can't mention me or Ranma. You know he can take you down if he needs to û especially in the position that you're in."
Ranma glared down at the boy pinned beneath him.
"Mithril might focus on saving the world now, but we were once doing what he's doing now," Sagara said as he glared at Seta. "We can help."
* * * * *
A/N
I think I'll leave it at that.
Dreamingfox
No, I do not own the rights to Tokyo Underground, Ranma ¢, Full Metal Panic, Love Hina, or Negima.
I'm sure you've seen the polls on my profile, though the first one was pretty obvious û Motoko Aoyama easily defeats Akane Tendo.
New poll û Who would win û Ryoko Mitsurugi vs. Shampoo?
X X X X X
Keitaro Urashima was not your typical Todai student. First of all was the fact that he was considered a master martial artist, something of a rarity in Japan ever since the fiasco with Genma Saotome some ten years ago. Secondà wait, there wasn't a second, just a first and only point against him being normal, unless of course you counted the fact that he'd killed more people than he cared to keep track of. Having hones his skills in the labyrinth far beneath the subway tunnels of Metro Tokyo against unspeakable horrors and amazingly skilled, masked fighters the young Urashima heir knew better than to leave his enemies alive if he had the chance to completely remove them from the equation.
With his trusty combat knifes in hand he cut a bloody swath through the faceless attackers. It didn't bother him that this Kanako, the one from a more peaceful Japan, was watching him in action. Though this Kanako was much more skilled that his Kanako; she lacked the killer instinct that he had developed from years of traveling through the hidden underground passages.
The masked men wore all black, helping them blend into the deep shadows, and each wore a pair of vicious tiger claws, giving them extra reach and range against the unarmed girls. Fortunately Keitaro's combat knifes more than made up for that advantage as he cut the arm off one assailant then stabbed the same man through the gut. Twisting the blade he viciously yanked it out before kicking the man into one of his companions.
Though she lacked Keitaro's killer instinct Kanako was able to hold her own as the trio of fighters made their way through the underground. Blocking a strike she countered with a powerful punch to the face, knocking her attacker unconscious. A swift middle kick to the stomach of another attacker knocked the air out of his lungs, stunning him long enough for her to kick him in the head and send him into unconsciousness.
Even Ukyo was getting into the fight as she pummeled the fighters mercilessly. Having spent part of the past ten years living with the inhabitants of the underground she was used to fighting the shadowy guardians. Though she lacked her late lover's power she was still able to use the attacks he'd taught her effectively against the masked men. Grabbing hold of their forearms she broke ribs as she forcefully kicked them in the chest. Her powerful fingers ripped into their flesh as she stabbed them with her extended fingers.
Decapitating the last of the six man squad, Keitaro looked at the girls, "We're halfway there û we just need to take this turn, which leads to a straight passage that runs for a kilometer then take a passage up to another tunnel. Once we reach that tunnel they shouldn't pursue us any further."
* * * * *
"Mithril was initially founded to deal with rogue magic and to hide its presence from the world," Granny Hina stated as she looked at the growing crowd. "Rather than relying on the Magi to police themselves," she nodded at Eishin and the Mahora contingent, "we were created to deal with magical communities on an international scale to secretly deal with magical attacks against the non-magical populace as well as to hide the existence of magic from the non-magical. Sometimes that's harder than it appears and we've had to step in to cover things up for the magi, and sometimes we've been asked by the magi to help deal with rogue magi.
"I was one of the handful of people who worked for Mithril; in my time with Mithril I helped find the cursed Hina Blade and hid it away," she glanced at the black katana that she'd given to Ranma. "I also did a great number of other missions, but ten years ago I did my last mission for Mithril.
"Rogue magi had begun working for the Russian government to combine magic and technology, something that violated the treaty between Mithril and the various magi associations. On Christmas Eve of 1982, the rogue magi tested their device. The device created a portal to the demonic realm, but since it was a technological one and not a magical one the portal was incomplete. Some two dozen demonic spirits were released, but they didn't have their natural bodies. Instead they inhabited the bodies of still born babies.
"Then ten years ago Mithril was called in to deal with the rogues. We didn't have all the information at the time. All we knew was that the Russian magi were attempting to awaken the demonic children. My team went in and destroyed the device û a machine they called the Omni Sphere.
"It wasn't until I returned to Japan on leave that I discovered the consequences of our actions."
Glancing at Ranma the old woman had a great sadness in her eyes. "What's your birthday?"
Ranma held the woman's gaze for a moment before turning to look at his father and mother.
"December 24th, 1982," Nodoka replied, her voice trembling. "You were a sickly boy; the mid-wife didn't think you'd survive the night."
An odd feeling of dread filled Ranma.
"And the day that you were thrown into the pit of cats?" Hinata Urashima asked as she focused her eyes on Ranma. "It was exactly ten years ago from when you jumped between dimensions, wasn't it?"
Ranma looked at his father.
Genma nodded.
"That was the same day that my team destroyed the Omni Sphere," Hinata stated. "It's possible that in the other world my team didn't succeed in destroying it before it was used again. Your inner demon probably woke up and combined with the Neko-ken training broke your young mind."
"B-but when Ranma has gone cat he's never killed anyone," Genma snapped.
"In this world," Ranma replied. "But ever since I came back from China after the Saffron incidentà well, I've had these dark urgesà and since jumping to the other worldà I really wanted to kill the other Kuno, and nearly killed Tatewaki in this world. Hell, I probably would have killed Mousse and Ryoga if Motoko hadn't stopped me."
The realization that he'd been willing to kill them even though they hadn't presented themselves as that much of a threat chilled his blood. "Since jumping I've been hearing this voice whenever I fight, telling me to kill everyone, friend or foeà and since using the blade that voice has gotten stronger. Whenever I look at it the voice calls out to me."
Clenching his fists Ranma trembled as he confessed his weakness. He was supposed to be a man amongst men û he was supposed to be able to suppress such urges easily. Yet now he couldn't even bring himself to look at the blade.
"The answer's simple," a new voice interjected, breaking the odd atmosphere that hung over the Hinata Sou.
"Seta!" several residents of the Hinata Sou exclaimed.
"Urzu-2," Granny Hina nodded at the tall man in the lab coat.
Naru, Kitsune, and Haruka glanced at the old dorm manager then at the young Todai professor.
"Urzu-2?" the bound Sousuke Sagara blinked.
"What's your solution?" Hina asked.
"It's simple," the man said as he strode into the lounge, "you exorcise the demon inside of him."
"That would kill him," Hina's eyes narrowed.
"Possibly," Seta replied, "well, most likely. But it would solve the problem of him jumping through dimensions."
"Would you stop being an ass just for a second?" Haruka grumbled as she hit the tall man with a vicious straight punch to the side of his face that sent him flying.
Pulling himself out of the wreckage that was the wall Seta brushed himself off. "Actually, from what I've been briefed, Ranma survived when all the other children died. He was a sickly boy, not stillborn, and he survived when you destroyed the Omni Sphere when all the other children perished. I think that Ranma has a soul of his own but was weak enough that the demonic spirit thought it could possess him. If we can extract that demon from him he should be able to survive without its influence though it would weaken him greatly."
Unfortunately the only things that Ranma seemed to focus on were the words 'extract' and 'weaken'. Being the proud martial artist that he was, Ranma did not like those options. He'd had enough of being weak when Happosai had got him with the moxibustion; there was no way in hell he'd go back to being a weakling.
Glancing at his watch, he decided to employ the Saotome's Ultimate Technique. Rather than announcing his intentions, he simply sprang to his feet, grabbing the Hina Blade and Sousuke as he made a mad dash for the stairs.
Startled by the suddenness of his actions, only Granny Hina seemed to catch on to what was going on. "He's going for Motoko's room."
The assembled magi and martial artists rushed to pursue him, only to be stopped by a sudden explosion. "Make sure you bring me back some of their tech!" Su shouted as she reloaded her rocket launcher.
"Su!" Granny Hina shouted. "What are you doing?!"
"Helping Ranma of course," the bubbly blond smirked. "That should buy him just enough time to get away."
"Titanium mesh," Eishin grumbled as he looked at the large net that covered the doorway.
"Outside," Takahata stated as he rushed out of the lounge.
Tsuruko stood by the door, her sword drawn, "No."
"Out of the way sister," Eishin said coolly as he fingered the hilt of his own blade.
"Exorcising the demon spirit in him, if it exists, is not the way," the elegant swordswoman stated.
The two former heirs of the Shinmeiryu locked eyes.
Suddenly Tsuruko's blade flashed, deflecting a blast of ki as Takahata fired off his iaido. Taking advantage of the distraction Eishin moved to engage his sibling, drawing his blade as he did so. The clash of steel rang through the Hinata Sou as the elder Aoyama forced his sibling through the entrance, allowing Akashi, Takahata and Seta to pursue Ranma.
"We're trying to help him," Eishin stated as he slashed at his sister.
"So am I," Tsuruko retorted as she deflected his blade, making sure to stand between him and Motoko's room.
The giant metal monster charged at the three men.
"I'll take care of that," Takahata stated as he moved to intercept the strange mecha. Slipping his hands into his pockets he fired off three quick blasts, knocking the metal beast out of the sky. "Huh, it's tougher than it looks."
The mecha forced itself to its feet even as it launched a barrage of missiles at the trio.
Ranma ran, heedless of the chaos behind him, his mind set on him returning to the other dimension.
Sagara simply flew behind Ranma as the scarred boy was still bound and being dragged/carried by the master martial artist. Everything he'd heard was, well, impossible. Having been raised in a world where technology ruled and fantastic technology existed, it was hard for him to fathom that magic existed. And the Whispered û they were supposed to have been still born children with demonic spirits? If Hinata Urashima was to be believed then Tess and Kaname were both possessed by demonic spirits. But demons didn't existà did they?
And what was this about parallel worlds and Ranma somehow being able to travel between them? It was, well, unbelievable. It just didn't make any sense at all.
X X X X X
Things were going well, almost too well, but Leonard Testarossa had planned for everything, thus the reason why he wasn't concerned at all. Yes he had not had his dramatic confrontation with Sousuke Sagara and the Arbalest, and technically Casper hadn't killed the Arm Slave genius, and things hadn't gone according to his plan, but Mithril's SRT 2 had been distracted and pulled away from Kaname Chidori, allowing him free reign to capture the promising Whispered. Still, with Sagara and the Arbalest not out of the picture yet he knew that he'd eventually have to face them û giving him the perfect opportunity to show the remains of Mithril and Amalgam just how powerful the Belial type AS was as well as the Eligor series that were based off of its design.
Pushing the urge to smile aside, the silver-grey haired youth ordered his forces to scramble. The expendable Bonta-kun Arm Slaves would provide enough of a distraction for the local police, allowing him to escape with the now unconscious Kaname Chidori.
X X X X X
Things were not going well. Though the two dozen Bonta-kun Arm Slaves had surrounded the apartment building it had been the untraceable call from Leonard Testarossa that had convinced Kaname Chidori to surrender. Clearly the rogue Whispered boy had anticipated the fact that the teal haired girl's apartment was bugged as Wraith had not been able to hear any of the short conversation that the two Whispered had had before Kaname had surrendered herself to the mysterious Arm Slave.
It didn't help that the Tuatha De Danaan had apparently been sunk and then self destructed in Tokyo bay.
With no back up and none of the senior officers answering her calls, Wraith was effectively alone.
It didn't help that several Bonta-kuns were effectively trying to weed her out.
Yes, Leonard Testarossa had apparently thought of everything. Even if he couldn't catch her again, his forces were forcing her to break her surveillance of the teal haired Whispered girl. More than likely he would use that time to examine her for any weapons and tracking devices, thus effectively keeping Mithril from pursuing him.
Stripping out of her bulky costume, the lithe Korean born agent threw the remains of the outfit into a nearby trash bin. Disassembling her rifle she quickly packed it away. Grabbing a makeup kit she worked at a furious pace to try and hide some of her more distinct features. True, she would not be able to hide her Korean features from anyone who really looked at her, but it would be enough to let her slip away without being recognized. They were after all expecting a man. Even her previous encounter with Leonard had left him believing that she was male. Next time, if there was a next time, he would not make that mistake again.
X X X X X
"I know that apartment building," the busty kendoka exclaimed as she watched the news coverage on the large flat-screen television. "That's where some of the girls from Jindai live."
"It's an all female dormitory," the slender kendoka added. "Some of the girls at St. Bacchus stay there as well. Turn up the volume."
Eishin held up the remote, pressing down on the volume button.
"-it appears as though the horde of Bonta-kuns has dispersed!" the newswoman in the helicopter explained. "They've released several smoke grenades."
"Isn't this sort of like what happened in Hinata?" the voice of the anchorman at the station cut in.
"Now that you mention it, yes, it is like that. The larger AS looks similar to the one that was at Hinata as well," the newswoman replied.
"We are now taking you to Asuna Mitsugane who is flying over Tokyo bay," the anchorman cut in again. "We've received reports of a submarine accident in the bay."
"Thank you Saotome-san," the second newswoman said as a photo of the woman appeared in the lower left corner as the screen changed to show the dark waters of the bay and several rescue boats. "We have yet to confirm if the submarine is American, Japanese, or Canadian as no government or military has verified that they have a submarine in the area. We do know that the American base in Nerima recently had two submarines in port but both of those were still in port and were dispatched to help assist in rescue efforts.
"We're being flagged down by the JDF û they've temporarily created a no-fly zone over all of Tokyo bay."
"Thank you Mitsugane-san," the anchorman said as they cut off the feed from the helicopter and returned to the television station. "In earlier breaking news û reports of gunfire in Nerima have the police in the district combing the ward. No casualties have been reported yet though witnesses appear to think that this may have something to do with the recent assassination of the Kuno Zabatsu heir."
* * * * *
Though he was loathed to use it, Ranma unsheathed the cursed black blade. Hands trembling, he gingerly cut the steel cords that bound Sousuke Sagara before sheathing the blade.
"If you want to get home to Kaname, we have to go through them," Ranma stated. "But no killing û promise me."
Straining against the loosened bindings, the scarred warrior nodded, "I promise û no killing this time."
Ranma nodded, ripping the last of the bindings before helping the other boy to his feet. For two old guys the mage and the secret agent were pretty fast. Then again, they had taken the most direct route to Motoko's room running along the side of the Hinata Sou rather than through the hallways and stairs. Well, Happosai and Cologne were pretty fast too, and they were much older than these two.
"We won't let you through," Akashi stated as he stood before the door to Motoko's room.
"Ranma, I'm here to help," Seta stated as he adopted a rough Jeet Kun Do stance.
"Then let me go back to that other world," Ranma said, his hand still on the hilt of the cursed blade. "Granny Hinata and Haruka know pretty much everything that I know. They'll tell you that I'm being compelled to return to the other world. Besides - if I don't go back there, than I can't bring Kanako back."
"Kanako's from this world?" Sagara asked as he eyed the two men before him.
"The one you met is," the sword welding boy stated. "The Kanako from the other world died in my arms. Apparently only people who have died in one world can travel between worlds. I died in that world nearly ten years ago. Apparently you died in this world which allowed you to come here. But you can't go back there unless I open the doorway, and the only way for me to do that is for me to get close enough to it to be pulled through. Of course you have to be with me or else you'll get stuck here just like Kanako is stuck in your world."
Sagara nodded. Reaching behind him he quickly pulled out a Beretta 92FS. Taking aim he shot at the two men, "Move!"
Forced to dodge, Akashi jumped to the side while Seta simply sidestepped.
The minor movement was enough for Ranma to take action, charging ahead at the slight opening provided by Sagara.
Not one to be left behind, the scarred soldier followed, shooting another pair of shots that forced Seta off to the side.
With each step that Ranma came closer to Motoko's room the table inside began to glow brighter and brighter.
Intent on stopping Ranma from triggering the portal, Seta charged at the boys. Akashi did the same from the other side.
Unfortunately the ever elusive martial artist slipped past the mage, leaping over his out-stretched hands and through the thin door. Sagara was not so fortunate as Seta tackled him into the room, expertly knocking aside the gun in his hand as they crashed through the thin, sliding door.
Blinding light filled the hallway through the tattered remains of the door.
Forced to shield his eyes Akashi waited for the light to fade, signaling that the doorway was closed. "Damn," he exclaimed, "this is not going to go well."
X X X X X
"It appears that there's no news of any one jumping from roof top to roof top at least," the slender kendoka stated as she turned down the volume of the television as the station resumed their regularly scheduled programming.
"Do you think that they were involved in the shooting?" Ryoko asked.
Pulling out his pipe Happosai put it to his lips as he considered what little he knew. "I'm sure that if they were involved then they wouldn't have gotten shot," the old grandmaster stated. "But that was the spot where the initial marker was, right?"
The raven haired beauty nodded, "It appears to be close to it."
"Perhaps Ranma and Kanako went back to the other world?" Ryoko suggested.
"If so then why hasn't Keitaro contacted us?" the sagely master asked. "He would have called unless something happened. Not to mention that they had gone to the Tendos to deal with an imposter that claimed to be Ranma. It's been over eight hour since they left."
"An hour to get to Nerima on the train," Eishin stated, "and then the shooting was about an hour later. That's around the time that we've estimated the portal to open."
"Which means that the other portal would be opening upà"
Three shots rang out, startling everyone.
Ryoko didn't bother to finish her thought as she turned around and headed up the stairs towards Motoko's room. The slender kendoka quickly gave chase, followed by her brother and the other magi.
Happosai sighed, "I'm much too young for this."
* * * * *
Though it had been a number of years since she'd seen her childhood friend, Ryoko knew that the slender kendoka before her was flustered. Actually, Motoko had spent much of the evening since the encounter at the canal pretty much flustered. Clearly there was something between her and the boy û Ranma, but what?
Staring up at the ceiling, Ryoko couldn't help but wonder about her old friend.
X X X X X
"We're here," Ranma stated as he wrestled the gun out of the scarred soldier's hand. "So you can knock it off!"
With the situation clearly under control, Seta stood up. Extracting a cigarette he contemplated lighting it. "So who runs this Hinata Sou?"
"Technically?" Ranma asked. "No idea, never asked."
"So apparently I died in this world," the lab coat wearing man grumbled as he stuck the cigarette into his mouth. "Is there a Haruka in this world?"
Seeing that Sagara wasn't about to pull another gun out, Ranma relaxed. "No idea, never asked."
"Ten years agoà I was still in Todai," he sighed. "I wonder what this me did to get me killed."
"I need to report in," Sagara stated as he pulled himself up to his feet. "It's been six hours since I vanished and"
"Kurz is dead," Ranma stated. "I'm sorry about your friend."
"Mithril needs to know that I'm still alive," the soldier stated. Glancing at Seta he locked eyes with the other world's Urzu-2. "You're part of Mithril, you should know."
Seta nodded. "You're right," he replied. "But you can't mention me or Ranma. You know he can take you down if he needs to û especially in the position that you're in."
Ranma glared down at the boy pinned beneath him.
"Mithril might focus on saving the world now, but we were once doing what he's doing now," Sagara said as he glared at Seta. "We can help."
* * * * *
A/N
I think I'll leave it at that.
Dreamingfox
Hm. Ryoko, I think, but only the first time or two. Shampoo's not nearly as clever as her grandmother and usually fairly straightforward... showing up at the Tendo house as a cat aside. I've never really been convinced that was her idea, though. She seems to get overconfident. A lot like Ranma that way, really.
Author's Notes û
I'm kinda sad to say that this fic is slowly winding down. I'm pretty sure I'm now in the back end of this fic, though I was hoping for 30 chapters like Ranma is Legend or Ranma's White Wings.
X X X X X
"Sagara!"
The scarred boy ignored the relieved greetings that the other surviving crewmembers of the Tuatha De Danaan made as they spotted him. The gathered soldiers weren't surprised though as Sousuke Sagara had tended to head straight for the highest ranking officer to be debriefed, even if he was just a part-timer now.
"Commander Mardukas!" he called out as he strode over to the former British Royal Navy commander.
Soldiers quickly parted, giving Sousuke and his companion room to move as they sought out the acting commander.
"Sergeant Sagara," the Brit said as he stood at attention.
"Sir," the scarred soldier said as he returned the salute, "I have with me Ranma Saotome û the man who fought the mysterious Arm Slave and pushed it back."
All around them the gathered soldiers stopped talking as they focused their attention on the busty redheaded girl that had followed Sagara to the Executive Officer.
"Medic!" Commander Mardukas called out.
"Sir," Sagara said with deadly earnest, "I know this looks strange, and really, it is unbelievable but I saw it with my own eyes. This is Ranma Saotome and he, well, he looks like a girl right now, but he is definitely a guy û sometimes. If you would just get me some hot water I could explain things to you."
"Medic!"
Swarms of military men and women quickly moved to subdue the clearly insane or at least mentally confused Arm Slave pilot. But the busty redhead would have none of that. Grabbing a hand he flipped the owner over even as he tripped another soldier. A gentle push knocked two men into the half dozen men behind them.
"Sir," Sagara continued, a slightly dangerous edge to his voice, "you have to listen to me."
"I would advise listening to him," a new voice cut in over the sounds made by the soldiers that had been knocked off their feet by the busty girl. "Clearly things aren't as they appear."
The Executive Officer nodded at the petite woman in the heavy trench coat. "Wraith."
"Wraith?" Sagara blinked as he looked at the Korean woman. Clearly she was not what he'd expected.
"Get some hot water," Mardukas ordered. Several soldiers who were still on their feet moved to comply.
Once the first of them was back Ranma quickly unbuttoned his silk shirt, exposing the breasts that his cursed form was blessed with, drawing some leers but no whistles of appreciation.
Taking the cup of water Sagara locked eyes with Ranma before quickly splashing him with the contents of the cup, instantly triggering the transformation.
Shaking off the access water Ranma noted how the soldiers around him moved to avoid getting wet. "I am Ranma Saotome, and I'm not from this world."
X X X X X
Patience was supposed to be a virtue. Despite his age Sousuke Sagara was a seasoned soldier with plenty of patience. Yet as he watched the seasoned interrogation squad tried to verify Ranma's story he knew that he had little patience for proper procedure.
"So you were in this other dimension, this world where your other self apparently died?" Mardukas asked as he paced behind Sagara.
"That's correct."
"Why you?"
"Because only those who one version of themselves in this world and the other can travel between the two worlds, though only if they are with Ranma Saotome."
"How did you come to that conclusion?"
"Ranma traveled back to his world, but managed to bring someone here. That same person had just died in this world, but when he came back here he brought her with him."
"Her?"
"Yes."
"What is 'her' name?"
"I'm not at liberty to say."
"And that makes you think that is the only key?"
"Well, Ranma Saotome in this world died over ten years ago, and apparently I'm dead in that world, and the others are apparently dead in this world."
"Others?"
Suddenly an alarm went off.
"That would be Urzu-2, or the man who became Urzu-2 in the other world."
"Mithril exists there too?" With his back to the monitor the Executive Officer failed to notice that Ranma had broken out of his shackles, swiftly knocked down Melissa Mao, and then broken out of the room.
"It was created over ten years ago," Sagara stated, "but there they continue to focus on what Mithril was originally founded to do û deal with rogue magic users and helping to keep magic and their users hidden from the rest of the world.
"You saw it too û the way that girl turned into a boy. That girl is Ranma Saotome. You saw him in his cursed form and how hot water turns him back to his true form, but cold water turns him back. Magic does exist."
The Executive Officer froze. There was that bit of evidence that he just couldn't disprove. He and much of the surviving crew had seen that mysterious display and none of them could explain it.
"Just over ten years ago, Hinata Urashima, AKA Urzu-1, was in charge of SRT 1. And then she took one final mission for Mithril where she went rogue. But in the other world she went on that mission then retired. This Urzu-2 was her replacement.
"It must be just after 0700, the time we had set for extraction."
"Actually it is 0640," Mardukas stated as he looked at his watch. As one of the old guard he preferred to use a watch rather than rely on cell phones or the digital clocks that were currently dead due to the facility running on their reserve generators.
"Sir!" Warrant Officer Helms shouted as he opened the door to the room. "It's the captain. She's woken up û but she's on a rampage! And the Prisoner has escaped!"
As if on cue Ranma suddenly appeared, breaking through the bulletproof glass as though it were candy glass.
"Ranma stop!" Sagara shouted, stopping the martial artist from effortlessly knocking out Mardukas. "It's only 0640, twenty minutes before Seta's supposed to be here."
Realization hit the martial artist.
"It's the captain. She's a Whispered."
The martial artist blinked, trying to connect the dots. "Where is she?"
"Where is she?" Mardukas repeated as he turned to the Warrant Officer.
"The infirmary, but she's been making her way towards the barracks."
"I'll order everyone to back off and not engage the Captain," Mardukas stated. "Helms û take them to the Captain."
Helms nodded, snapping a sharp salute before turning around to lead the two young men out the door.
The scene before them was, well, not what they expected. Soldiers lay scattered through the barracks. Though many had put in several years in the armed forces of their home nations, none could stand to lift a hand against their former captain. The cute and adorable silver-grey haired girl had been the crewmen's idol for the longest time, though Kaname Chidori was starting to gain more fans, the majority of the crew still favored the young captain. Seeing her rush them they couldn't find it in themselves to fight back. Then seeing her kissing them and draining their life energy, well, that was the last straw as the men simply stood their waiting their turn to be kissed.
Only the older, married men seemed to be able to resist temptation, though they clearly couldn't pull their friends and comrades out of harm's way û not when it was a naked and nubile Tessa Testarossa that was approaching them.
"What's going on here?" Sagara shouted, immediately drawing the ire of most of his fellow crewmen. Trapped behind the hordes of taller soldiers he only glimpsed the sight of a few bodies on the ground.
All of them knew that the captain had something for the scarred AS pilot, and with him there she'd definitely be gunning for him, thus ruining their chances at getting kissed.
"Sagara!" one of the men shouted as he tried to tackle the scarred soldier.
Ignoring the men, Ranma leapt over the group. The sight of the fair skinned girl standing completely naked as she dropped another victim to the ground sent mental alarms ringing in the martial artist's mind. He could feel the demonic energy inside of her, another clue that she was the source of the problems.
"So," the young beauty said in a fairly husky voice as she turned to face the martial artist, "you are Ranma Saotome - the first Whispered."
"Than it's true," he said as he confronted the demonically possessed girl, "the Whispered are simply hosts for demon spirits."
"HAHAHAHA!" the silver-grey haired container laughed. "I'm not one of those demons boy! I am the demon that was contained in the cursed blade. But being so close to such a receptive body, well, I couldn't resist myself û yes, these bodies were meant to contain demon spirits like myself, but whatever created them did something else. The demons chosen to be hosted all possessed special information.
"I knew these demons when I resided in the other side. They were radicals, weak in body but very cunning and creative. One of them though led the others, though she appears to have sold the others off to the humans û giving them weak demons with information so that she could be brought to this world."
"'Sufficiently Advanced Technology'," Ranma mumbled, "could be seen as magic or explain supposedly mystical or magical techniques."
"But they didn't account for the demons that already reside on this side taking control of the bodies!"
The host known as Tessa Testarossa leapt at Ranma wrapping her arms around his neck as she sought to pull him in for a kiss.
Months of mixed signals and bad experiences instinctively made Ranma panic as he backpedalled. But it was too late. Tessa's soft, gentle lips pressed against his, pushing him back and off balance as he sought to flee from her hungry lips. Demonic energies collided as one being tried to feed off the powerful soul of the other and the other simply fought for control.
A blinding flash of light kept the others from interfering, though in truth no one seemed to know what was going on thus no one knew what to do.
Suddenly it was over.
'NO!' a voice screamed in his head.
The feel of a solid hilt in his hands registered in the young martial artist's mind, as did the soft flesh pressed against his chest and the full, firm lips still locked to his own lips.
Killer intent seemed to fill the barracks as dozens of eyes locked on him and the very naked girl straddling him.
Stabbing the sword into the ground Ranma quickly tried to dislodge himself for the petit girl on top of him. "It's not what it looks like!"
"Get him!" someone shouted.
"Avenge the Captain's honor!" another shouted.
"It's not what it looks like!"
* * * * *
Mornings in the Hinata Sou could be called anything but boring. True, things were never boring with the new dorm manager around, but things had really taken a turn for the weird when said manager's cousin had shown up.
Now there were magi, secret organizations, gender cursed martial artists that traveled between parallel dimensions, cursed weapons, and secret lovers from the past showing up wrecking havoc through the Hinata Sou, making things all the more exciting for one particular resident.
Normally Su would have had a hard time waking up, especially since this was a Sunday. And there was the fact that Motoko was away for a special invitation only kendo tournament. But today was different for other reasons.
Having spent the night examining and decrypting the odd flash drive that one dimension jumping traveler had dropped (probably when he was tackled by Haruka's former lover) the inventive young princess was looking forward to seeing just what was on that little device.
X X X X X
Despite proof to the contrary, Keitaro Urashima was having a hard time accepting magic. It wasn't that he didn't know it existed, just that it could do so much. It really was like the Harry Potter books in that it could be used for almost anything, but for it to be broken down and equated to advanced technologyà it was amazing really to think of it in those oddly simple terms.
"So you're Keitaro Urashima," Mardukas said as he looked over the young man. "We would have recruited you if not for the fact that your grandmother had defected from our organization."
Absently the master martial artist nodded. He was still trying to wrap his brain around the idea that demons had made a deal with the Russians but had apparently betrayed the Russians. It was like a plot from a bad Sci-fi movie or manga really.
Having returned to the Hinata Sou after Ranma and Sousuke had left only to be recruited by the man that was his cousin/aunt's lover in the other world (and was obviously dead in this world along with Haruka) to help possibly spring Ranma and Sousuke out of some secret militaristic organization's safe house in Tokyo. It was an overwhelming night, especially considering that he'd gone to Nerima to deal with a martial artist that claimed to be Ranma Saotome but ended up being a girl that had been engaged to him instead, then fled her family and took up residence with another young martial artist who's father had once received a secret martial arts technique only to kill himself as he destroyed the building around himself.
It also didn't help that they'd been confronted by Sousuke Sagara's military buddies or that they all had been shot at, resulting in the death of the German boy. The fact that he'd been forced to take Ukyo and Kanako through the Underground just so that they could get back to the Hinata Sou didn't even factor into things, nor did the fact that he was bloody and exhausted.
Fortunately things had worked out and they didn't have to break into the facility.
Still, it was an exhausting night/morning and the young man's tired mind just couldn't keep up with everything that was going on.
X X X X X
There were certain truths that the young Captain of the Tuatha De Danaan had yet to fully grasp despite her relative intelligence. Despite her status as a Whispered, or perhaps because of it, she lacked the decisiveness that Mardukas and even Sagara had. Both were willing to take a life when needed and knew first hand the loss of their comrades on the battlefield. As the Captain she had been told that the unfortunate crewmen who had died when Gauron had captured the ship were merely on guard duty even though she knew that they'd died. But knowing and accepting were two different things.
Knowing that nearly a third of her crew had lost their lives as a result of this most recent betrayal was very hard for the young captain to accept. It didn't help that they had also lost communications with other divisions of Mithril as well.
Clearly this was not like the Gauron incident. No, this was not that simple.
But there was more, oh so much more, that she didn't understand. Having spent the past ten years as a Whispered she knew, no, she believed in technology even though she didn't understand it. But seeing this boy, this martial artist performing unbelievable feats made her doubt what little she knew about the 'Black Technology' that all the Whispered supposedly knew.
Not only could she not explain how this Ranma Saotome could go from being a boy one minute to being a girl the next and back just by being splashed by either hot or cold water, she couldn't explain how he was able to generate the same energy that a Lambda Driver created. And then there was the fact that he could rip through hardened steel as though it were rice paper or could stop an Arm Slave with his bare hands.
In truth everything about Ranma Saotome was unbelievable û and that didn't even factor in the part of his story that involved he, and Sagara, being able to travel to a parallel dimension. If not for the fact that both boys (and the girl and the other Urzu-2) had all passed a polygraph test (tests that had verified virtually everything they had said) Tessa would have thought that their collaborating stories were nothing more than an elaborate trap.
But there were many truths that seemed to add up, secrets that no SRT would know. Yes, Mithril had once been created to deal with what were considered magical threats but were later written off as 'Black Technology' incidents. But it was after the Russian incident that things had changed. The mission had failed because Hinata Urashima, AKA Urzu-1, had betrayed her team, stopping them from preventing the Russians from activating the Omni Sphere a second time and thus, allegedly, activating the Whispered that had survived.
"Though I understand the situation that you are in," the silver-grey haired Captain said as she tried to look Ranma in the face without blushing, "Mithril is not currently in any position to assist you. Our entire organization has been betrayed and currently we have lost communications with other divisions of Mithril."
Ranma nodded. "Fine û but I don't need your people to actually assist me with this. I just need a few items that Mithril collected as well as some of your 'Black Technology'."
"What in particular are you looking for?" Mardukas asked as he stepped up to face the martial artist.
Ranma pulled out the still sheathed cursed blade. Though he was loathed to have to rely on such a tainted weapon, he knew that with it he could find the other Whispered much easier than simply relying on Mithril's broken database. "You know that there is a demonic spirit bound to this blade," he locked eyes with Tessa. Though she had not been in control of her own body she still recalled all that the demon had her do and all the men she'd kissed (all of whom were still in the infirmary). "I'm sure that you have other items that contain bound demons. I believe that with them I might be able to locate Chidori and your brother since they are Whispered and they are suitable hosts for the spirits residing in the cursed items."
It was a stretch, but it was possible given the reaction that Hina had with Tessa.
"I can't help you with that," the young captain replied. "I am not authorized to even mention that we have any facility that is like that or that it is in Okinawa."
Seta nodded. "Of course."
"Of course, we can't have you go off unsupervised either," Tessa added. "That's why I'm going to have Sagara accompany you for your own safety."
Ranma nodded. Though he was unschooled in the subtle double talk he knew enough to know that he was getting help in one form or another.
X X X X X
The short flight to Okinawa wasn't long enough for the three exhausted travelers. After a full night and long morning the few hours of sleep they caught on the flight was clearly not enough for the strapping young men. Still, it was much better than nothing.
The further away he was from Tessa the safer Ranma felt as the cursed blade once again trying to wear away at him.
"I've never possessed a woman's body before," the demonic blade stated as it assumed Tessa's petit form.
It didn't help that once again 'Tessa' was nude just as she was when Ranma had first encountered the possessed girl.
"All the energy that I gained from all those soldiers û it could be yours," the nubile girl taunted Ranma. "You know that you were created to be a host as well, but it's just a matter of time before Sophia takes control of you."
"'Sophia'," the raven haired boy replied, "I'd think a demon would be called something more menacing like 'Akroma', 'Acranis', 'Ishan', 'Sengir' or something like that."
"I told you that I once knew the demon spirits that are now contained by your precious 'Whispered', did I not? They were all half-demons, not true demons. They lived nearly human lives, and learned your ways, but eventually their half-human bodies died. When they did their half-demon souls continued to thrive, but without a body they were useless. Still, as half-humans they are able to travel through the barrier that separates the Maki realm from the human realm much easier, even disembodied as they were.
"Even with their weak bodies they will be threats to the human world if they are all united. At least in this world as there are no worthy humans who can stop them without the aid of technology, and they have the best 'technology'."
"Power without skill is useless," Ranma stated. "I'm still the best. I managed to get you out of Tessa by just putting my hands on the sword after all."
"I am still weak from being bound," the spirit stated as it groped itself. "None of the soldiers was even a fraction of your power or skill, but in this world I have to take what I can get. This is a world where most seem to lack any spirit."
"Yeah," Ranma said.
"You could be a king here," the spirit taunted. "With your power, skill, and spirit, combined with the black technology you could rule this world. No one would dare oppose you."
"Ranma," Seta said as he gently shook the sleeping boy, "we're here."
Blinking, Ranma nodded as he regained his bearings. All around him the other passengers were gathering their carryon luggage.
"Ranma," Sousuke said as the scarred soldier glanced at the martial artist, "did you dye your hair?"
Shaking his head the martial artist stood up. "Why?"
"Your hair," Keitaro said, "it's completely black again."
* * * * *
A/N
I think I'll just leave things where they're at for now.
Please Read and Review.
Dreamingfox
I'm kinda sad to say that this fic is slowly winding down. I'm pretty sure I'm now in the back end of this fic, though I was hoping for 30 chapters like Ranma is Legend or Ranma's White Wings.
X X X X X
"Sagara!"
The scarred boy ignored the relieved greetings that the other surviving crewmembers of the Tuatha De Danaan made as they spotted him. The gathered soldiers weren't surprised though as Sousuke Sagara had tended to head straight for the highest ranking officer to be debriefed, even if he was just a part-timer now.
"Commander Mardukas!" he called out as he strode over to the former British Royal Navy commander.
Soldiers quickly parted, giving Sousuke and his companion room to move as they sought out the acting commander.
"Sergeant Sagara," the Brit said as he stood at attention.
"Sir," the scarred soldier said as he returned the salute, "I have with me Ranma Saotome û the man who fought the mysterious Arm Slave and pushed it back."
All around them the gathered soldiers stopped talking as they focused their attention on the busty redheaded girl that had followed Sagara to the Executive Officer.
"Medic!" Commander Mardukas called out.
"Sir," Sagara said with deadly earnest, "I know this looks strange, and really, it is unbelievable but I saw it with my own eyes. This is Ranma Saotome and he, well, he looks like a girl right now, but he is definitely a guy û sometimes. If you would just get me some hot water I could explain things to you."
"Medic!"
Swarms of military men and women quickly moved to subdue the clearly insane or at least mentally confused Arm Slave pilot. But the busty redhead would have none of that. Grabbing a hand he flipped the owner over even as he tripped another soldier. A gentle push knocked two men into the half dozen men behind them.
"Sir," Sagara continued, a slightly dangerous edge to his voice, "you have to listen to me."
"I would advise listening to him," a new voice cut in over the sounds made by the soldiers that had been knocked off their feet by the busty girl. "Clearly things aren't as they appear."
The Executive Officer nodded at the petite woman in the heavy trench coat. "Wraith."
"Wraith?" Sagara blinked as he looked at the Korean woman. Clearly she was not what he'd expected.
"Get some hot water," Mardukas ordered. Several soldiers who were still on their feet moved to comply.
Once the first of them was back Ranma quickly unbuttoned his silk shirt, exposing the breasts that his cursed form was blessed with, drawing some leers but no whistles of appreciation.
Taking the cup of water Sagara locked eyes with Ranma before quickly splashing him with the contents of the cup, instantly triggering the transformation.
Shaking off the access water Ranma noted how the soldiers around him moved to avoid getting wet. "I am Ranma Saotome, and I'm not from this world."
X X X X X
Patience was supposed to be a virtue. Despite his age Sousuke Sagara was a seasoned soldier with plenty of patience. Yet as he watched the seasoned interrogation squad tried to verify Ranma's story he knew that he had little patience for proper procedure.
"So you were in this other dimension, this world where your other self apparently died?" Mardukas asked as he paced behind Sagara.
"That's correct."
"Why you?"
"Because only those who one version of themselves in this world and the other can travel between the two worlds, though only if they are with Ranma Saotome."
"How did you come to that conclusion?"
"Ranma traveled back to his world, but managed to bring someone here. That same person had just died in this world, but when he came back here he brought her with him."
"Her?"
"Yes."
"What is 'her' name?"
"I'm not at liberty to say."
"And that makes you think that is the only key?"
"Well, Ranma Saotome in this world died over ten years ago, and apparently I'm dead in that world, and the others are apparently dead in this world."
"Others?"
Suddenly an alarm went off.
"That would be Urzu-2, or the man who became Urzu-2 in the other world."
"Mithril exists there too?" With his back to the monitor the Executive Officer failed to notice that Ranma had broken out of his shackles, swiftly knocked down Melissa Mao, and then broken out of the room.
"It was created over ten years ago," Sagara stated, "but there they continue to focus on what Mithril was originally founded to do û deal with rogue magic users and helping to keep magic and their users hidden from the rest of the world.
"You saw it too û the way that girl turned into a boy. That girl is Ranma Saotome. You saw him in his cursed form and how hot water turns him back to his true form, but cold water turns him back. Magic does exist."
The Executive Officer froze. There was that bit of evidence that he just couldn't disprove. He and much of the surviving crew had seen that mysterious display and none of them could explain it.
"Just over ten years ago, Hinata Urashima, AKA Urzu-1, was in charge of SRT 1. And then she took one final mission for Mithril where she went rogue. But in the other world she went on that mission then retired. This Urzu-2 was her replacement.
"It must be just after 0700, the time we had set for extraction."
"Actually it is 0640," Mardukas stated as he looked at his watch. As one of the old guard he preferred to use a watch rather than rely on cell phones or the digital clocks that were currently dead due to the facility running on their reserve generators.
"Sir!" Warrant Officer Helms shouted as he opened the door to the room. "It's the captain. She's woken up û but she's on a rampage! And the Prisoner has escaped!"
As if on cue Ranma suddenly appeared, breaking through the bulletproof glass as though it were candy glass.
"Ranma stop!" Sagara shouted, stopping the martial artist from effortlessly knocking out Mardukas. "It's only 0640, twenty minutes before Seta's supposed to be here."
Realization hit the martial artist.
"It's the captain. She's a Whispered."
The martial artist blinked, trying to connect the dots. "Where is she?"
"Where is she?" Mardukas repeated as he turned to the Warrant Officer.
"The infirmary, but she's been making her way towards the barracks."
"I'll order everyone to back off and not engage the Captain," Mardukas stated. "Helms û take them to the Captain."
Helms nodded, snapping a sharp salute before turning around to lead the two young men out the door.
The scene before them was, well, not what they expected. Soldiers lay scattered through the barracks. Though many had put in several years in the armed forces of their home nations, none could stand to lift a hand against their former captain. The cute and adorable silver-grey haired girl had been the crewmen's idol for the longest time, though Kaname Chidori was starting to gain more fans, the majority of the crew still favored the young captain. Seeing her rush them they couldn't find it in themselves to fight back. Then seeing her kissing them and draining their life energy, well, that was the last straw as the men simply stood their waiting their turn to be kissed.
Only the older, married men seemed to be able to resist temptation, though they clearly couldn't pull their friends and comrades out of harm's way û not when it was a naked and nubile Tessa Testarossa that was approaching them.
"What's going on here?" Sagara shouted, immediately drawing the ire of most of his fellow crewmen. Trapped behind the hordes of taller soldiers he only glimpsed the sight of a few bodies on the ground.
All of them knew that the captain had something for the scarred AS pilot, and with him there she'd definitely be gunning for him, thus ruining their chances at getting kissed.
"Sagara!" one of the men shouted as he tried to tackle the scarred soldier.
Ignoring the men, Ranma leapt over the group. The sight of the fair skinned girl standing completely naked as she dropped another victim to the ground sent mental alarms ringing in the martial artist's mind. He could feel the demonic energy inside of her, another clue that she was the source of the problems.
"So," the young beauty said in a fairly husky voice as she turned to face the martial artist, "you are Ranma Saotome - the first Whispered."
"Than it's true," he said as he confronted the demonically possessed girl, "the Whispered are simply hosts for demon spirits."
"HAHAHAHA!" the silver-grey haired container laughed. "I'm not one of those demons boy! I am the demon that was contained in the cursed blade. But being so close to such a receptive body, well, I couldn't resist myself û yes, these bodies were meant to contain demon spirits like myself, but whatever created them did something else. The demons chosen to be hosted all possessed special information.
"I knew these demons when I resided in the other side. They were radicals, weak in body but very cunning and creative. One of them though led the others, though she appears to have sold the others off to the humans û giving them weak demons with information so that she could be brought to this world."
"'Sufficiently Advanced Technology'," Ranma mumbled, "could be seen as magic or explain supposedly mystical or magical techniques."
"But they didn't account for the demons that already reside on this side taking control of the bodies!"
The host known as Tessa Testarossa leapt at Ranma wrapping her arms around his neck as she sought to pull him in for a kiss.
Months of mixed signals and bad experiences instinctively made Ranma panic as he backpedalled. But it was too late. Tessa's soft, gentle lips pressed against his, pushing him back and off balance as he sought to flee from her hungry lips. Demonic energies collided as one being tried to feed off the powerful soul of the other and the other simply fought for control.
A blinding flash of light kept the others from interfering, though in truth no one seemed to know what was going on thus no one knew what to do.
Suddenly it was over.
'NO!' a voice screamed in his head.
The feel of a solid hilt in his hands registered in the young martial artist's mind, as did the soft flesh pressed against his chest and the full, firm lips still locked to his own lips.
Killer intent seemed to fill the barracks as dozens of eyes locked on him and the very naked girl straddling him.
Stabbing the sword into the ground Ranma quickly tried to dislodge himself for the petit girl on top of him. "It's not what it looks like!"
"Get him!" someone shouted.
"Avenge the Captain's honor!" another shouted.
"It's not what it looks like!"
* * * * *
Mornings in the Hinata Sou could be called anything but boring. True, things were never boring with the new dorm manager around, but things had really taken a turn for the weird when said manager's cousin had shown up.
Now there were magi, secret organizations, gender cursed martial artists that traveled between parallel dimensions, cursed weapons, and secret lovers from the past showing up wrecking havoc through the Hinata Sou, making things all the more exciting for one particular resident.
Normally Su would have had a hard time waking up, especially since this was a Sunday. And there was the fact that Motoko was away for a special invitation only kendo tournament. But today was different for other reasons.
Having spent the night examining and decrypting the odd flash drive that one dimension jumping traveler had dropped (probably when he was tackled by Haruka's former lover) the inventive young princess was looking forward to seeing just what was on that little device.
X X X X X
Despite proof to the contrary, Keitaro Urashima was having a hard time accepting magic. It wasn't that he didn't know it existed, just that it could do so much. It really was like the Harry Potter books in that it could be used for almost anything, but for it to be broken down and equated to advanced technologyà it was amazing really to think of it in those oddly simple terms.
"So you're Keitaro Urashima," Mardukas said as he looked over the young man. "We would have recruited you if not for the fact that your grandmother had defected from our organization."
Absently the master martial artist nodded. He was still trying to wrap his brain around the idea that demons had made a deal with the Russians but had apparently betrayed the Russians. It was like a plot from a bad Sci-fi movie or manga really.
Having returned to the Hinata Sou after Ranma and Sousuke had left only to be recruited by the man that was his cousin/aunt's lover in the other world (and was obviously dead in this world along with Haruka) to help possibly spring Ranma and Sousuke out of some secret militaristic organization's safe house in Tokyo. It was an overwhelming night, especially considering that he'd gone to Nerima to deal with a martial artist that claimed to be Ranma Saotome but ended up being a girl that had been engaged to him instead, then fled her family and took up residence with another young martial artist who's father had once received a secret martial arts technique only to kill himself as he destroyed the building around himself.
It also didn't help that they'd been confronted by Sousuke Sagara's military buddies or that they all had been shot at, resulting in the death of the German boy. The fact that he'd been forced to take Ukyo and Kanako through the Underground just so that they could get back to the Hinata Sou didn't even factor into things, nor did the fact that he was bloody and exhausted.
Fortunately things had worked out and they didn't have to break into the facility.
Still, it was an exhausting night/morning and the young man's tired mind just couldn't keep up with everything that was going on.
X X X X X
There were certain truths that the young Captain of the Tuatha De Danaan had yet to fully grasp despite her relative intelligence. Despite her status as a Whispered, or perhaps because of it, she lacked the decisiveness that Mardukas and even Sagara had. Both were willing to take a life when needed and knew first hand the loss of their comrades on the battlefield. As the Captain she had been told that the unfortunate crewmen who had died when Gauron had captured the ship were merely on guard duty even though she knew that they'd died. But knowing and accepting were two different things.
Knowing that nearly a third of her crew had lost their lives as a result of this most recent betrayal was very hard for the young captain to accept. It didn't help that they had also lost communications with other divisions of Mithril as well.
Clearly this was not like the Gauron incident. No, this was not that simple.
But there was more, oh so much more, that she didn't understand. Having spent the past ten years as a Whispered she knew, no, she believed in technology even though she didn't understand it. But seeing this boy, this martial artist performing unbelievable feats made her doubt what little she knew about the 'Black Technology' that all the Whispered supposedly knew.
Not only could she not explain how this Ranma Saotome could go from being a boy one minute to being a girl the next and back just by being splashed by either hot or cold water, she couldn't explain how he was able to generate the same energy that a Lambda Driver created. And then there was the fact that he could rip through hardened steel as though it were rice paper or could stop an Arm Slave with his bare hands.
In truth everything about Ranma Saotome was unbelievable û and that didn't even factor in the part of his story that involved he, and Sagara, being able to travel to a parallel dimension. If not for the fact that both boys (and the girl and the other Urzu-2) had all passed a polygraph test (tests that had verified virtually everything they had said) Tessa would have thought that their collaborating stories were nothing more than an elaborate trap.
But there were many truths that seemed to add up, secrets that no SRT would know. Yes, Mithril had once been created to deal with what were considered magical threats but were later written off as 'Black Technology' incidents. But it was after the Russian incident that things had changed. The mission had failed because Hinata Urashima, AKA Urzu-1, had betrayed her team, stopping them from preventing the Russians from activating the Omni Sphere a second time and thus, allegedly, activating the Whispered that had survived.
"Though I understand the situation that you are in," the silver-grey haired Captain said as she tried to look Ranma in the face without blushing, "Mithril is not currently in any position to assist you. Our entire organization has been betrayed and currently we have lost communications with other divisions of Mithril."
Ranma nodded. "Fine û but I don't need your people to actually assist me with this. I just need a few items that Mithril collected as well as some of your 'Black Technology'."
"What in particular are you looking for?" Mardukas asked as he stepped up to face the martial artist.
Ranma pulled out the still sheathed cursed blade. Though he was loathed to have to rely on such a tainted weapon, he knew that with it he could find the other Whispered much easier than simply relying on Mithril's broken database. "You know that there is a demonic spirit bound to this blade," he locked eyes with Tessa. Though she had not been in control of her own body she still recalled all that the demon had her do and all the men she'd kissed (all of whom were still in the infirmary). "I'm sure that you have other items that contain bound demons. I believe that with them I might be able to locate Chidori and your brother since they are Whispered and they are suitable hosts for the spirits residing in the cursed items."
It was a stretch, but it was possible given the reaction that Hina had with Tessa.
"I can't help you with that," the young captain replied. "I am not authorized to even mention that we have any facility that is like that or that it is in Okinawa."
Seta nodded. "Of course."
"Of course, we can't have you go off unsupervised either," Tessa added. "That's why I'm going to have Sagara accompany you for your own safety."
Ranma nodded. Though he was unschooled in the subtle double talk he knew enough to know that he was getting help in one form or another.
X X X X X
The short flight to Okinawa wasn't long enough for the three exhausted travelers. After a full night and long morning the few hours of sleep they caught on the flight was clearly not enough for the strapping young men. Still, it was much better than nothing.
The further away he was from Tessa the safer Ranma felt as the cursed blade once again trying to wear away at him.
"I've never possessed a woman's body before," the demonic blade stated as it assumed Tessa's petit form.
It didn't help that once again 'Tessa' was nude just as she was when Ranma had first encountered the possessed girl.
"All the energy that I gained from all those soldiers û it could be yours," the nubile girl taunted Ranma. "You know that you were created to be a host as well, but it's just a matter of time before Sophia takes control of you."
"'Sophia'," the raven haired boy replied, "I'd think a demon would be called something more menacing like 'Akroma', 'Acranis', 'Ishan', 'Sengir' or something like that."
"I told you that I once knew the demon spirits that are now contained by your precious 'Whispered', did I not? They were all half-demons, not true demons. They lived nearly human lives, and learned your ways, but eventually their half-human bodies died. When they did their half-demon souls continued to thrive, but without a body they were useless. Still, as half-humans they are able to travel through the barrier that separates the Maki realm from the human realm much easier, even disembodied as they were.
"Even with their weak bodies they will be threats to the human world if they are all united. At least in this world as there are no worthy humans who can stop them without the aid of technology, and they have the best 'technology'."
"Power without skill is useless," Ranma stated. "I'm still the best. I managed to get you out of Tessa by just putting my hands on the sword after all."
"I am still weak from being bound," the spirit stated as it groped itself. "None of the soldiers was even a fraction of your power or skill, but in this world I have to take what I can get. This is a world where most seem to lack any spirit."
"Yeah," Ranma said.
"You could be a king here," the spirit taunted. "With your power, skill, and spirit, combined with the black technology you could rule this world. No one would dare oppose you."
"Ranma," Seta said as he gently shook the sleeping boy, "we're here."
Blinking, Ranma nodded as he regained his bearings. All around him the other passengers were gathering their carryon luggage.
"Ranma," Sousuke said as the scarred soldier glanced at the martial artist, "did you dye your hair?"
Shaking his head the martial artist stood up. "Why?"
"Your hair," Keitaro said, "it's completely black again."
* * * * *
A/N
I think I'll just leave things where they're at for now.
Please Read and Review.
Dreamingfox
Author's Notes û
Sighà Things have gone slowly on the writing front as those of you who follow any of my fics know. There is a lot of house work, yard work, and family stuff to do and deal with. I've yet to start my garden though I have started dealing with the lawn, too bad I just got a lawn mowerà
So, expect more delays between my updates as I actually do have a life outside of writing and writing is only a hobby, not a job/career.
Oh, if you've checked my profile the past few weeks you might have noticed some polls I posted. I've posted the results of the first few 'bouts' and will be adding more polls and results as they happen.
X X X X X
Few of the people who truly knew the muscled martial artist would ever dare to call him stupid. True, he often came up with insane ideas and plans, but they usually worked û usually.
His greatest failure had been the Neko-ken training, the one that had broken his frail son and made the boy lose control. That one failure had lead to his downfall, and the eventual downfall of all the martial artists in Japan.
He hadn't expected the Tendo's to do well against someone highly trained in the Yamasenken, but to see that strange boy, the one who also claimed to be Ranma Saotome defeat the other Ranma Saotome with variations of the Umisenken surprised him.
Following them had been harder than he'd expected as the boy clearly knew the flaws of the basic Umisenken and Yamasenken, yet years of hard work had helped Genma develop new moves for both of those schools and styles û moves that made it impossible for even this Ranma Saotome to sense him.
But it was the unexpected attack on the group as they encountered another group that interested Genma. Why was Mithril interested in this boy? And why was Amalgam interested in the SRT squad that was assigned to tail this boy?
Then suddenly the boy vanished in a cloud of tear gas.
Still, if his hunch was right, following the less skilled Urashima brats would lead him back to the boy. And it would get him inside the Hinata Sou as well. Yes, following the three martial artists was clearly the right path.
As he suspected the brats had lead him to the Hinata Sou, and through a path that even he didn't know about.
Hiding in the shadows he'd listened as the brats spoke with his former master and the returned Ranma Saotome. Not his Ranma, but a Ranma who had survived the Neko-ken training. It was what his son would have been had he succeeded.
Though he could not approach the boy, Genma knew that he would have to help, and hopefully fight the boy. If this really was the boy who lived, then he should be strong û he should be the best martial artist that lived.
Yes, Genma would have to test the boy, but not yet.
He had to make sure that the boy was going to come looking for him. But what bait could he use? The girl, Kanako, and her brother had gone with him. But the other girls û Ryoko and Motoko, they remained behind. Yes, he would use them to get to the boy.
X X X X X
The light autumn rain in Okinawa quickly dispelled any illusions that Ranma had of the region. Having always thought that the southernmost part of Japan was always warm and sunny, the fairly gloomy weather instead reminded the cursed martial artist that he was not in the popular tourist destination to enjoy himself.
But at least the rain helped him, now in his cursed form, not to think about why his hair had returned to its original lustrous black despite the fact that he'd just bleached it a few days ago. Though he couldn't completely explain it, he did have a sneaking suspicion about why his hair (and his recent injuries) had healed over so quickly. True, he'd always healed fast, but this was something else altogether.
Though the cursed Hina blade was hidden in stuff-space he knew that the bond he shared with the demonic blade had strengthened, allowing the blade to speak to his mind directly and to invade his dreams. While the blade could only tempt him with offers of power (offers of conquering women just didn't work for Ranma as the blade quickly discovered), Ranma was not the type to just take power freely. Sure, he would accept new powerful techniques, but not raw power. After all, what good was power without the skill and knowledge to control it?
Still, it was tempting. Unfortunately the one thing that Ranma desired right now was something that the sword could not offer him û a way to resolve his current problems.
"This is it," the mercenary proclaimed as he stood before a deserted restaurant.
"This is the 'Shrine'?" Seta asked skeptically.
Sagara nodded.
This was the 'technological' dimension after all. Given the heavy reliance on technology it shouldn't have surprised the quintet of travelers that the place looked to be run down and decrepit. Well, it probably was pretty run down to begin with (all the better to make people overlook it) but after nearly a decade of neglect it looked even worse. And yet it was clear to the keen eyes of the four fighters that despite how neglected the place appeared to be it was still very well maintained. The barb wired fence was solid and not even rusted despite the humid, salty sea air, signifying that someone was around to take care of the place.
A flicker of movement alerted the party of dimension traveling fighters, instantly putting them on the alert as they scanned the area. After a few heart pumping moments of not seeing any signs of anyone being present the quartet advanced. Only one of them couldn't scale the barb wire obstruction resulting in Sagara being thrown over the fence by Ranma but landing in a crouched roll. The other four travelers quickly leapt over the three meter tall fence, instantly adopting an alert stance as they once again sensed the presence of another person.
"We're from the Tuatha de Danaan," Sagara proclaimed. Having not seen anyone for several blocks the scarred mercenary knew that there were no prying ears, or at least he hoped so. Though Hinata Urashima had been a founding member of Mithril and she had defected to Amalgam, she had not known about this facility as she had not had access to that information. Still, it was possible that she had an idea.
"Name and rank?" a female voice demanded from the shadows.
"Sergeant Sousuke Sagara," the soldier stated, "call sign Urzu-7."
The sound of rain drops falling against the beaten aluminum roof and siding was all that the group got as Sagara identified himself.
"The others are consultants," Sousuke lied.
Without even glancing at the others Ranma slipped into the Umisenken, hiding his presence from the hidden woman and his companions. Like a skilled thief he sought out the hidden soldier's position in the sandy dune, taking great care to not trip the laser trip-wires that were set up around her as Sagara and the others kept her attention.
"I received no word that anyone was coming here," the soldier stated.
"I'm sure you know that command is in chaos," Sagara replied. "Amalgam has activated its sleeper agents inside of Mithril. We're here to make sure that they haven't sent anyone to capture the items at this facility."
"That's a lie," the woman stated, calling the Sergeant's bluff.
Springing over the trip-wires, Ranma landed on the woman, digging his hands through the sand covering the woman and the cloth that kept her from being completely buried. Though he didn't try to, his purposeful hands grasped hold of the woman's very ample breasts as he wrestled with her. After only a moment of squirming he'd managed to pin her arms to her body even as he locked his hands over her wrists.
"What are you doing?" Sousuke exclaimed.
"Tessa told us that this is unsanctioned, right?" the raven haired boy turned redheaded girl replied as he pulled the woman out of the ground.
The clearly busty woman didn't make it easy for Ranma as she continued to squirm, even managing to kick him in the head. It didn't help that she was positioned that her curvy and firm buttocks were pressed to his neck and breasts û not to mention that she was significantly taller than his current form. Yes, clearly he'd misjudged her positioning when he'd jumped on top of her.
Standing tall, and ignoring the struggling woman, he shifted his weight to his right then quickly shifted it to the left as he released his hold on her. Suddenly he had her upright and her firm buttock was pressed against his groin. It was a mistake he'd never make again as the busty woman lifted her right leg and then bent it back at the knee, her heel swiftly connecting with his groin. At least he was in his female form or else that would have really hurt.
"Would you just knock her out?" Kanako sighed, as she took a step towards the pair of wrestling girls.
"Laser wire!" Ranma pointed out, glad that the difference in their height kept her from head-butting him.
'Crush her! Show her your power!'
Ranma squeezed her, crushing the air out of her lungs even as she fought him. His currently smaller size gave him considerable leverage as he squeezed her.
"Ranma," Sagara growled as he placed his hand on the raven haired boy's wrist, trying to pull Ranma's wrists apart.
"Ranma," Seta said as he reached for Ranma's other wrist, "she's out cold."
The raven haired martial artists blinked.
"You've transformed," Kanako stated.
Ranma continued to blink as he processed all that was going on. The light rain had stopped, but that didn't explain why he was in his true form rather than his cursed form.
'I can give you power.'
Slowly he released his hold on the barely moving woman, ignoring the scornful look that Sagara was giving him as the scarred warrior lowered the woman to the damp sand.
'I can give you control over your curse.'
"Wha-what are you doing here?" the brunette woman asked.
Ranma turned his back to the woman as he scanned the area, "We're here for the items that are housed here."
Had he blacked out? Had the sword tried to control him?
Shaking his head, Ranma searched for the entrance to the hidden warehouse.
"Why are you helping them?" the woman asked Sagara as she took in deep breaths and filled her lungs of much needed air.
"Mithril's been attacked," Sagara stated. "We're trying to get to the person who's responsible, but to do that we might need the things stored here."
"What's your name?" the older man asked as he approached the pair of Mithril agents.
"Mutsumi Otohime," the busty brunette replied. "I haven't heard from command in over a year, and that was to inform me that they were cutting back on my budget."
The scarred soldier blinked, "You're the only one stationed here?"
Mutsumi nodded. "They've been cutting back on our budget every year for the past seven years. Now I'm the only agent left.
"Will these mystical treasures really help you?"
Sagara shrugged, "I don't know."
"I found the entrance," Ranma shouted.
Everyone turned to the raven haired boy, watching as a golden glow encompassed him. Slowly the glowing energy migrated to his right hand, forming into a ball. A moment later and the ball was gone, crashing into the sand beneath where Mutsumi had been hiding.
"H-how?" the astonished soldier exclaimed.
"Long story," Seta replied. "But we believe that he might be able to use the items because he possesses mystical abilities."
Ignoring the others, Ranma examined the glassy remains of the dune as the smoke and dust settled. The spiraling stairs went down at least several meters from what he could tell. Taking the steps three at a time he quickly made his way down through the oppressive darkness. By the time he reached the first landing his eyes had adjusted to the darkness.
Above him, he could hear the sounds of his companions taking the first few steps down from the sand.
Two more landings down and the stairwell ended leading to a titanium door. Rapping his knuckles against the metal door he could tell that it was thick and solid. Taking a step back he forced ki into his muscles, bone, tendons, and skin as he prepared to hit the door.
"Wait!" Seta shouted. "If this Avalon is anything like the one I know than the doors are re-enforced with a seal that will redirect the force of your punch against you."
Ranma blinked, taking in the information.
"The only way through would be to use the access code," Mutsumi explained as she followed the agent from the other dimension.
Patiently (for Ranma at least) the raven haired boy waited for the others to descend the few flights of stairs.
"Don't I know you?" Keitaro asked as he walked behind the busty young woman.
Kanako silently fumed. "Mutsumi Otohime," she said, "her mother once worked for grandmother. It appears that she was also part of Mithril."
The busty woman paused as she stood before the controls to the door. "You're Keitaro Urashima, the heir to the Urashima clan and grandson to Hinata Urashima."
Keitaro blinked, a shred of memory coming back to him. "We used to play together at the Hinata Sou."
Turning back to the control panel, Mutsumi pressed her palm against the scanner then pressed several buttons. The sounds of hidden hydraulics and shifting gears filled the tiny passageway. Suddenly the floor beneath Mutsumi vanished beneath her, swallowing the busty agent even as a titanium wall fell into place behind them. The hole in the floor quickly was replaced with a metal, leaving the four travelers trapped.
"You should have just let me break down the door," Ranma growled as the little lighting that had existed was now shut off completely.
Ever resourceful, Keitaro pulled out a flash light.
Mimicking the young Todai student, the professor did the same, "Sorry bout that. Clearly she has issues with your grandmother."
"Yeah," Keitaro grumbled.
Ranma nodded as he pulled out his own flashlight. "Yeah, this one betrayed Mithril after all."
Having been raised as a proud Amazon warrior the violet haired young woman was supposed to be fearless. As the junior champion of the tribes she was officially recognized as the best fighter of her generation û and yet Shampoo knew the sad truth û she was a distant second. Yes, she had defeated Mouse several times with her feminine charms, but in a test of martial arts skill she was far behind him. Not only was he a master of hidden weapons, but he was a master of all the weapons that he used while she had only mastered the chui and was only learning advanced techniques with the twin long swords.
Then there was the fact that she really couldn't claim to have a true victory over her rivals û the tomboy girl or the crazy gymnast. Yes, she had defeated Akane Tendo convincingly, but she hadn't crushed her as she had wanted to after Ranma had restored the youngest Tendo's memory.
Still, she should have focused on crushing the other girls or at least improving her skills so that she could crush them and possibly bring Ranma back so that she could restore her honor. Having foolishly focused on the multitude of tricks and plots to win/convince Ranma to come back to China with her had not been rewarding despite how much 'fun' she supposedly had. No, it would have been more fun to bring her husband back and restore her honor rather than having all that chaos erupt around her.
Had she forcibly brought him back she wouldn't have been placed in her current predicament. Yes, she'd previously faced the Phoenix warriors, but that was like a light skirmish against the true elites that guarded this sacred weapon. The long clear crystalline blade was longer than a traditional long sword but had an inner fire that would have seared the flesh off of any who faced it. Only the cross-guard kept the welder from burning oneself, though just barely, and the mysterious handle was unexpectedly cool to the touch. Clearly there had been great magic at work inside the blade, but why her honored grandmother had requested this item was still beyond her comprehension. Hopefully the acquisition of this blade would further endear her to the flighty Ranma, hopefully.
X X X X X
Taking the hilt of his combat knife, Keitaro tapped it against the metal door. "Sounds like its steel with titanium re-enforcing it," he stated as he listened to the sound of the metal on metal impact. "Spider-man could get us out. I think it's only ten centimeters thick. He'd definitely be able to get through the door."
"Spider-man?" Ranma scoffed, "Really?"
"He's supposed to be able to lift 65 metric tons easily and goes up to 75 metric tons," Seta stated, surprising the others at just how much he knew about American comic book heroes.
"Can you talk about something other than superheroes and archeology?!" the lone female of the group exclaimed. After hours of listening to them try and talk about common elements in both worlds the group had discovered that manga and anime, as well as TV shows were pretty much limited to one dimension or the other while older things like classic anime and manga (or comics) existed in both worlds. Unfortunately those things failed to capture Kanako's interest.
"Where do you think she's gone to?" Keitaro mused.
This subject was also a sore one for the gothic Urashima. "She's probably looted the place."
"She wouldn't loot it," Sagara interjected. "As the guardian agent stationed here she probably is relocating the items to a more secure location."
"Why don't you guys just let me use the sword?" Ranma asked.
"No!" the others shouted in unison. Though they all respected Ranma's martial arts prowess, they feared the influence of the cursed blade had on him. In a crowded space there was no room for any of them to properly dodge and none of them believed for a second that they could restrain him if he did lose control of himself. The thought of Ranma (who was in his male form) kissing them so that he could steal their ki also didn't help matters.
"Is it me," Keitaro said finally, breaking up the silence, "or is it getting hot in here?"
The sound of something heavy impacting the other side of the door caused the companions to scramble to the opposite end of the tiny enclosed hallway as loose sand fell from the ceiling. The sound of metal straining as it was bent by mighty arms greeted the trapped companions' ears. Agonizingly long minutes later and fresh air finally slipped past the tiny gap between the door and the wall.
Gouts of flame seemed to barrage the titanium door, weakening it just enough for the titanic might of their savior to bend the door back. But the sound of hydraulics and the sight of several giant fingers pulling back the edge of the door made the group uneasy.
"Ranma," Seta said as he pulled out his gun, "cut down that other door."
Pulling the cursed blade out of its sheath he turned his attention to the unmarred titanium. Recalling what he'd seen of the Yamasenken's Vacuum Blade technique Ranma hoped that he erased any doubt from his mind. Focusing his energy ki into the blade, Ranma slashed at it. Though the blade never touched the titanium door the energy he had poured into the blade cut the hard surface. Three more precise cuts later and rectangle fell off.
"That's not one of ours," Sagara stated from behind him.
Looking at the hand Ranma sheathed the sword. Glancing at the fingers that slowly pulled back the titanium he indicated the portal he'd just cut out. "I've seen it before," he stated. "In Hinata."
"Go!" Sagara urged Kanako.
The lithe girl didn't need to be told twice as she leapt through the hole. Keitaro quickly followed suit, then Seta, Ranma, and finally Sagara.
"I told you I should have just cut it before," the pigtailed martial artist stated as he eyed the next door.
Seta simply ignored him. "If this Avalon is like the one I know then the corridor takes a 90 degree turn to the left before slowly sloping down. There will be a fifteen meter vertical drop then a heavy security vault door.
"I can set up an electrical barrier there and other traps to slow them down but that's about it. I don't know if it'll stop an Arm Slave, but it should stop any troops that come through."
"I'm pretty sure that an Arm Slave wouldn't fit in here," Sagara stated. Glancing behind him he spotted the slightly furry outline of one of the miniature arm slaves that he had designed. "Never mind."
Pulling out a pack of C-4 he slammed it against the wall.
"How the hell did you get that past airport security?!" Kanako shouted even as the scarred soldier threw her a rifle.
"I have my ways," he replied as he pulled out a shot gun for Keitaro.
"Ooh, a rocket propelled grenade launcher," Seta smirked as he accepted the weapon. "Let me finish setting this trap and I'll catch up."
"Watch out for the land mines," Sagara advised.
The four youngsters rushed ahead.
"Wait," Kanako exclaimed as she glanced back at Seta, "how do we get out?"
"Through them," Seta smirked as he loaded the grenade launcher.
"I had a feeling he was going to say that," Kanako grumbled as she rounded the corner.
Ranma lead the way down, slashing at the various doors so that they could get through the passageway. The Urashimas followed quickly behind while the scarred soldier began setting mines and other explosives behind the remains of the doors.
The sound of a booming explosion told them that Seta had begun to engage the unknown assailants. It didn't take long for the lab coat wearing man to appear at the end of the corridor, stopping to turn around and fire off another shot at the unseen pursuers. Jumping around the corner, he avoided a barrage of bullets. Pulling the pin from a grenade he threw it around the corner before jumping over the landmine that Sagara had set beneath the remains of one of the doors that Ranma had cut down.
"Only two shots?" he teased as he crouched behind the remains of another door.
Sagara shrugged, "It's all I could fit on the bandolier." Pulling out another shot gun he set it beside the pack of C-4 he set. Pulling out a detonator he triggered the first explosion at the entrance.
The corridor trembled at the force of the explosion.
"Aim for the sensor on the nose," he advised. "It's not a kill shot, but it will disable them. Even a shot from the shot gun should disable their sensor array."
Further ahead Ranma had reached the vertical shaft. The gently glowing light from his watch was not enough to illuminate the drop, but it had given him just enough light to see the ledge. "Fifteen meters," he mumbled, hoping that he'd heard Seta correctly. Reaching into stuff-space he pulled out a grappling hook and line. Slamming the end into the concrete wall he leapt over the ledge at the closest wall. Having already endured further drops, Ranma knew that he could handle the drop, but the others might not be able to.
In a flash he was at the bottom of the shaft. "Clear," he proclaimed as he approached the giant fortified door. Pulling out the cursed blade he set his feet before slashing at the door again.
The sudden blow back from his attack being redirected at him nearly caught him off guard. If not for the warning that Seta had given him before Ranma would have been completely caught off guard, as it was he would have to pick up a new pair of pants or at least stitch the large tare along his right calf.
Rushing back to the shaft Ranma hoped that Sousuke was close by. "Hey, get me the rocket launcher or some explosives."
"Got it," Keitaro replied. "We're going to need something to shield us from the blast û get one of the doors."
Nodding, Ranma leapt at the wall then kicked off towards the other wall. After a few leaps he was back at the top of the shaft even as Keitaro was now descending the rope. The sound of gunfire and explosions greeted him even as he took the remains of the closest door and headed back towards the shaft.
"I really hate this world," Ranma grumbled as he leapt down the shaft with the remains of the door in tow.
Holding up the door, he waited for Keitaro to finish setting the charges.
"Ready," the Urashima heir stated as he rushed Ranma. Leaping behind the makeshift barrier he helped brace the steel door that stood between them and the explosives. Pinned between the door and the wall they nodded at each other.
The explosion nearly deafened Ranma and Keitaro. Still, it proved to be just enough as the giant re-enforced door appeared to be straining against the hinges that remained.
Even as Keitaro examined the door, Ranma simply focused on the remaining hinges. Several quick slashes of the powerful demonic blade cut through the steel hinges. Pulling the door out of the threshold, Ranma smirked. "That wasn't too hard."
"Yeah, sure," Keitaro returned over the sound of increasing gun fire. "Better hurry."
*****
A/N
I think I'll just leave things where they're at for now.
Please Read and Review.
Dreamingfox
Sighà Things have gone slowly on the writing front as those of you who follow any of my fics know. There is a lot of house work, yard work, and family stuff to do and deal with. I've yet to start my garden though I have started dealing with the lawn, too bad I just got a lawn mowerà
So, expect more delays between my updates as I actually do have a life outside of writing and writing is only a hobby, not a job/career.
Oh, if you've checked my profile the past few weeks you might have noticed some polls I posted. I've posted the results of the first few 'bouts' and will be adding more polls and results as they happen.
X X X X X
Few of the people who truly knew the muscled martial artist would ever dare to call him stupid. True, he often came up with insane ideas and plans, but they usually worked û usually.
His greatest failure had been the Neko-ken training, the one that had broken his frail son and made the boy lose control. That one failure had lead to his downfall, and the eventual downfall of all the martial artists in Japan.
He hadn't expected the Tendo's to do well against someone highly trained in the Yamasenken, but to see that strange boy, the one who also claimed to be Ranma Saotome defeat the other Ranma Saotome with variations of the Umisenken surprised him.
Following them had been harder than he'd expected as the boy clearly knew the flaws of the basic Umisenken and Yamasenken, yet years of hard work had helped Genma develop new moves for both of those schools and styles û moves that made it impossible for even this Ranma Saotome to sense him.
But it was the unexpected attack on the group as they encountered another group that interested Genma. Why was Mithril interested in this boy? And why was Amalgam interested in the SRT squad that was assigned to tail this boy?
Then suddenly the boy vanished in a cloud of tear gas.
Still, if his hunch was right, following the less skilled Urashima brats would lead him back to the boy. And it would get him inside the Hinata Sou as well. Yes, following the three martial artists was clearly the right path.
As he suspected the brats had lead him to the Hinata Sou, and through a path that even he didn't know about.
Hiding in the shadows he'd listened as the brats spoke with his former master and the returned Ranma Saotome. Not his Ranma, but a Ranma who had survived the Neko-ken training. It was what his son would have been had he succeeded.
Though he could not approach the boy, Genma knew that he would have to help, and hopefully fight the boy. If this really was the boy who lived, then he should be strong û he should be the best martial artist that lived.
Yes, Genma would have to test the boy, but not yet.
He had to make sure that the boy was going to come looking for him. But what bait could he use? The girl, Kanako, and her brother had gone with him. But the other girls û Ryoko and Motoko, they remained behind. Yes, he would use them to get to the boy.
X X X X X
The light autumn rain in Okinawa quickly dispelled any illusions that Ranma had of the region. Having always thought that the southernmost part of Japan was always warm and sunny, the fairly gloomy weather instead reminded the cursed martial artist that he was not in the popular tourist destination to enjoy himself.
But at least the rain helped him, now in his cursed form, not to think about why his hair had returned to its original lustrous black despite the fact that he'd just bleached it a few days ago. Though he couldn't completely explain it, he did have a sneaking suspicion about why his hair (and his recent injuries) had healed over so quickly. True, he'd always healed fast, but this was something else altogether.
Though the cursed Hina blade was hidden in stuff-space he knew that the bond he shared with the demonic blade had strengthened, allowing the blade to speak to his mind directly and to invade his dreams. While the blade could only tempt him with offers of power (offers of conquering women just didn't work for Ranma as the blade quickly discovered), Ranma was not the type to just take power freely. Sure, he would accept new powerful techniques, but not raw power. After all, what good was power without the skill and knowledge to control it?
Still, it was tempting. Unfortunately the one thing that Ranma desired right now was something that the sword could not offer him û a way to resolve his current problems.
"This is it," the mercenary proclaimed as he stood before a deserted restaurant.
"This is the 'Shrine'?" Seta asked skeptically.
Sagara nodded.
This was the 'technological' dimension after all. Given the heavy reliance on technology it shouldn't have surprised the quintet of travelers that the place looked to be run down and decrepit. Well, it probably was pretty run down to begin with (all the better to make people overlook it) but after nearly a decade of neglect it looked even worse. And yet it was clear to the keen eyes of the four fighters that despite how neglected the place appeared to be it was still very well maintained. The barb wired fence was solid and not even rusted despite the humid, salty sea air, signifying that someone was around to take care of the place.
A flicker of movement alerted the party of dimension traveling fighters, instantly putting them on the alert as they scanned the area. After a few heart pumping moments of not seeing any signs of anyone being present the quartet advanced. Only one of them couldn't scale the barb wire obstruction resulting in Sagara being thrown over the fence by Ranma but landing in a crouched roll. The other four travelers quickly leapt over the three meter tall fence, instantly adopting an alert stance as they once again sensed the presence of another person.
"We're from the Tuatha de Danaan," Sagara proclaimed. Having not seen anyone for several blocks the scarred mercenary knew that there were no prying ears, or at least he hoped so. Though Hinata Urashima had been a founding member of Mithril and she had defected to Amalgam, she had not known about this facility as she had not had access to that information. Still, it was possible that she had an idea.
"Name and rank?" a female voice demanded from the shadows.
"Sergeant Sousuke Sagara," the soldier stated, "call sign Urzu-7."
The sound of rain drops falling against the beaten aluminum roof and siding was all that the group got as Sagara identified himself.
"The others are consultants," Sousuke lied.
Without even glancing at the others Ranma slipped into the Umisenken, hiding his presence from the hidden woman and his companions. Like a skilled thief he sought out the hidden soldier's position in the sandy dune, taking great care to not trip the laser trip-wires that were set up around her as Sagara and the others kept her attention.
"I received no word that anyone was coming here," the soldier stated.
"I'm sure you know that command is in chaos," Sagara replied. "Amalgam has activated its sleeper agents inside of Mithril. We're here to make sure that they haven't sent anyone to capture the items at this facility."
"That's a lie," the woman stated, calling the Sergeant's bluff.
Springing over the trip-wires, Ranma landed on the woman, digging his hands through the sand covering the woman and the cloth that kept her from being completely buried. Though he didn't try to, his purposeful hands grasped hold of the woman's very ample breasts as he wrestled with her. After only a moment of squirming he'd managed to pin her arms to her body even as he locked his hands over her wrists.
"What are you doing?" Sousuke exclaimed.
"Tessa told us that this is unsanctioned, right?" the raven haired boy turned redheaded girl replied as he pulled the woman out of the ground.
The clearly busty woman didn't make it easy for Ranma as she continued to squirm, even managing to kick him in the head. It didn't help that she was positioned that her curvy and firm buttocks were pressed to his neck and breasts û not to mention that she was significantly taller than his current form. Yes, clearly he'd misjudged her positioning when he'd jumped on top of her.
Standing tall, and ignoring the struggling woman, he shifted his weight to his right then quickly shifted it to the left as he released his hold on her. Suddenly he had her upright and her firm buttock was pressed against his groin. It was a mistake he'd never make again as the busty woman lifted her right leg and then bent it back at the knee, her heel swiftly connecting with his groin. At least he was in his female form or else that would have really hurt.
"Would you just knock her out?" Kanako sighed, as she took a step towards the pair of wrestling girls.
"Laser wire!" Ranma pointed out, glad that the difference in their height kept her from head-butting him.
'Crush her! Show her your power!'
Ranma squeezed her, crushing the air out of her lungs even as she fought him. His currently smaller size gave him considerable leverage as he squeezed her.
"Ranma," Sagara growled as he placed his hand on the raven haired boy's wrist, trying to pull Ranma's wrists apart.
"Ranma," Seta said as he reached for Ranma's other wrist, "she's out cold."
The raven haired martial artists blinked.
"You've transformed," Kanako stated.
Ranma continued to blink as he processed all that was going on. The light rain had stopped, but that didn't explain why he was in his true form rather than his cursed form.
'I can give you power.'
Slowly he released his hold on the barely moving woman, ignoring the scornful look that Sagara was giving him as the scarred warrior lowered the woman to the damp sand.
'I can give you control over your curse.'
"Wha-what are you doing here?" the brunette woman asked.
Ranma turned his back to the woman as he scanned the area, "We're here for the items that are housed here."
Had he blacked out? Had the sword tried to control him?
Shaking his head, Ranma searched for the entrance to the hidden warehouse.
"Why are you helping them?" the woman asked Sagara as she took in deep breaths and filled her lungs of much needed air.
"Mithril's been attacked," Sagara stated. "We're trying to get to the person who's responsible, but to do that we might need the things stored here."
"What's your name?" the older man asked as he approached the pair of Mithril agents.
"Mutsumi Otohime," the busty brunette replied. "I haven't heard from command in over a year, and that was to inform me that they were cutting back on my budget."
The scarred soldier blinked, "You're the only one stationed here?"
Mutsumi nodded. "They've been cutting back on our budget every year for the past seven years. Now I'm the only agent left.
"Will these mystical treasures really help you?"
Sagara shrugged, "I don't know."
"I found the entrance," Ranma shouted.
Everyone turned to the raven haired boy, watching as a golden glow encompassed him. Slowly the glowing energy migrated to his right hand, forming into a ball. A moment later and the ball was gone, crashing into the sand beneath where Mutsumi had been hiding.
"H-how?" the astonished soldier exclaimed.
"Long story," Seta replied. "But we believe that he might be able to use the items because he possesses mystical abilities."
Ignoring the others, Ranma examined the glassy remains of the dune as the smoke and dust settled. The spiraling stairs went down at least several meters from what he could tell. Taking the steps three at a time he quickly made his way down through the oppressive darkness. By the time he reached the first landing his eyes had adjusted to the darkness.
Above him, he could hear the sounds of his companions taking the first few steps down from the sand.
Two more landings down and the stairwell ended leading to a titanium door. Rapping his knuckles against the metal door he could tell that it was thick and solid. Taking a step back he forced ki into his muscles, bone, tendons, and skin as he prepared to hit the door.
"Wait!" Seta shouted. "If this Avalon is anything like the one I know than the doors are re-enforced with a seal that will redirect the force of your punch against you."
Ranma blinked, taking in the information.
"The only way through would be to use the access code," Mutsumi explained as she followed the agent from the other dimension.
Patiently (for Ranma at least) the raven haired boy waited for the others to descend the few flights of stairs.
"Don't I know you?" Keitaro asked as he walked behind the busty young woman.
Kanako silently fumed. "Mutsumi Otohime," she said, "her mother once worked for grandmother. It appears that she was also part of Mithril."
The busty woman paused as she stood before the controls to the door. "You're Keitaro Urashima, the heir to the Urashima clan and grandson to Hinata Urashima."
Keitaro blinked, a shred of memory coming back to him. "We used to play together at the Hinata Sou."
Turning back to the control panel, Mutsumi pressed her palm against the scanner then pressed several buttons. The sounds of hidden hydraulics and shifting gears filled the tiny passageway. Suddenly the floor beneath Mutsumi vanished beneath her, swallowing the busty agent even as a titanium wall fell into place behind them. The hole in the floor quickly was replaced with a metal, leaving the four travelers trapped.
"You should have just let me break down the door," Ranma growled as the little lighting that had existed was now shut off completely.
Ever resourceful, Keitaro pulled out a flash light.
Mimicking the young Todai student, the professor did the same, "Sorry bout that. Clearly she has issues with your grandmother."
"Yeah," Keitaro grumbled.
Ranma nodded as he pulled out his own flashlight. "Yeah, this one betrayed Mithril after all."
Having been raised as a proud Amazon warrior the violet haired young woman was supposed to be fearless. As the junior champion of the tribes she was officially recognized as the best fighter of her generation û and yet Shampoo knew the sad truth û she was a distant second. Yes, she had defeated Mouse several times with her feminine charms, but in a test of martial arts skill she was far behind him. Not only was he a master of hidden weapons, but he was a master of all the weapons that he used while she had only mastered the chui and was only learning advanced techniques with the twin long swords.
Then there was the fact that she really couldn't claim to have a true victory over her rivals û the tomboy girl or the crazy gymnast. Yes, she had defeated Akane Tendo convincingly, but she hadn't crushed her as she had wanted to after Ranma had restored the youngest Tendo's memory.
Still, she should have focused on crushing the other girls or at least improving her skills so that she could crush them and possibly bring Ranma back so that she could restore her honor. Having foolishly focused on the multitude of tricks and plots to win/convince Ranma to come back to China with her had not been rewarding despite how much 'fun' she supposedly had. No, it would have been more fun to bring her husband back and restore her honor rather than having all that chaos erupt around her.
Had she forcibly brought him back she wouldn't have been placed in her current predicament. Yes, she'd previously faced the Phoenix warriors, but that was like a light skirmish against the true elites that guarded this sacred weapon. The long clear crystalline blade was longer than a traditional long sword but had an inner fire that would have seared the flesh off of any who faced it. Only the cross-guard kept the welder from burning oneself, though just barely, and the mysterious handle was unexpectedly cool to the touch. Clearly there had been great magic at work inside the blade, but why her honored grandmother had requested this item was still beyond her comprehension. Hopefully the acquisition of this blade would further endear her to the flighty Ranma, hopefully.
X X X X X
Taking the hilt of his combat knife, Keitaro tapped it against the metal door. "Sounds like its steel with titanium re-enforcing it," he stated as he listened to the sound of the metal on metal impact. "Spider-man could get us out. I think it's only ten centimeters thick. He'd definitely be able to get through the door."
"Spider-man?" Ranma scoffed, "Really?"
"He's supposed to be able to lift 65 metric tons easily and goes up to 75 metric tons," Seta stated, surprising the others at just how much he knew about American comic book heroes.
"Can you talk about something other than superheroes and archeology?!" the lone female of the group exclaimed. After hours of listening to them try and talk about common elements in both worlds the group had discovered that manga and anime, as well as TV shows were pretty much limited to one dimension or the other while older things like classic anime and manga (or comics) existed in both worlds. Unfortunately those things failed to capture Kanako's interest.
"Where do you think she's gone to?" Keitaro mused.
This subject was also a sore one for the gothic Urashima. "She's probably looted the place."
"She wouldn't loot it," Sagara interjected. "As the guardian agent stationed here she probably is relocating the items to a more secure location."
"Why don't you guys just let me use the sword?" Ranma asked.
"No!" the others shouted in unison. Though they all respected Ranma's martial arts prowess, they feared the influence of the cursed blade had on him. In a crowded space there was no room for any of them to properly dodge and none of them believed for a second that they could restrain him if he did lose control of himself. The thought of Ranma (who was in his male form) kissing them so that he could steal their ki also didn't help matters.
"Is it me," Keitaro said finally, breaking up the silence, "or is it getting hot in here?"
The sound of something heavy impacting the other side of the door caused the companions to scramble to the opposite end of the tiny enclosed hallway as loose sand fell from the ceiling. The sound of metal straining as it was bent by mighty arms greeted the trapped companions' ears. Agonizingly long minutes later and fresh air finally slipped past the tiny gap between the door and the wall.
Gouts of flame seemed to barrage the titanium door, weakening it just enough for the titanic might of their savior to bend the door back. But the sound of hydraulics and the sight of several giant fingers pulling back the edge of the door made the group uneasy.
"Ranma," Seta said as he pulled out his gun, "cut down that other door."
Pulling the cursed blade out of its sheath he turned his attention to the unmarred titanium. Recalling what he'd seen of the Yamasenken's Vacuum Blade technique Ranma hoped that he erased any doubt from his mind. Focusing his energy ki into the blade, Ranma slashed at it. Though the blade never touched the titanium door the energy he had poured into the blade cut the hard surface. Three more precise cuts later and rectangle fell off.
"That's not one of ours," Sagara stated from behind him.
Looking at the hand Ranma sheathed the sword. Glancing at the fingers that slowly pulled back the titanium he indicated the portal he'd just cut out. "I've seen it before," he stated. "In Hinata."
"Go!" Sagara urged Kanako.
The lithe girl didn't need to be told twice as she leapt through the hole. Keitaro quickly followed suit, then Seta, Ranma, and finally Sagara.
"I told you I should have just cut it before," the pigtailed martial artist stated as he eyed the next door.
Seta simply ignored him. "If this Avalon is like the one I know then the corridor takes a 90 degree turn to the left before slowly sloping down. There will be a fifteen meter vertical drop then a heavy security vault door.
"I can set up an electrical barrier there and other traps to slow them down but that's about it. I don't know if it'll stop an Arm Slave, but it should stop any troops that come through."
"I'm pretty sure that an Arm Slave wouldn't fit in here," Sagara stated. Glancing behind him he spotted the slightly furry outline of one of the miniature arm slaves that he had designed. "Never mind."
Pulling out a pack of C-4 he slammed it against the wall.
"How the hell did you get that past airport security?!" Kanako shouted even as the scarred soldier threw her a rifle.
"I have my ways," he replied as he pulled out a shot gun for Keitaro.
"Ooh, a rocket propelled grenade launcher," Seta smirked as he accepted the weapon. "Let me finish setting this trap and I'll catch up."
"Watch out for the land mines," Sagara advised.
The four youngsters rushed ahead.
"Wait," Kanako exclaimed as she glanced back at Seta, "how do we get out?"
"Through them," Seta smirked as he loaded the grenade launcher.
"I had a feeling he was going to say that," Kanako grumbled as she rounded the corner.
Ranma lead the way down, slashing at the various doors so that they could get through the passageway. The Urashimas followed quickly behind while the scarred soldier began setting mines and other explosives behind the remains of the doors.
The sound of a booming explosion told them that Seta had begun to engage the unknown assailants. It didn't take long for the lab coat wearing man to appear at the end of the corridor, stopping to turn around and fire off another shot at the unseen pursuers. Jumping around the corner, he avoided a barrage of bullets. Pulling the pin from a grenade he threw it around the corner before jumping over the landmine that Sagara had set beneath the remains of one of the doors that Ranma had cut down.
"Only two shots?" he teased as he crouched behind the remains of another door.
Sagara shrugged, "It's all I could fit on the bandolier." Pulling out another shot gun he set it beside the pack of C-4 he set. Pulling out a detonator he triggered the first explosion at the entrance.
The corridor trembled at the force of the explosion.
"Aim for the sensor on the nose," he advised. "It's not a kill shot, but it will disable them. Even a shot from the shot gun should disable their sensor array."
Further ahead Ranma had reached the vertical shaft. The gently glowing light from his watch was not enough to illuminate the drop, but it had given him just enough light to see the ledge. "Fifteen meters," he mumbled, hoping that he'd heard Seta correctly. Reaching into stuff-space he pulled out a grappling hook and line. Slamming the end into the concrete wall he leapt over the ledge at the closest wall. Having already endured further drops, Ranma knew that he could handle the drop, but the others might not be able to.
In a flash he was at the bottom of the shaft. "Clear," he proclaimed as he approached the giant fortified door. Pulling out the cursed blade he set his feet before slashing at the door again.
The sudden blow back from his attack being redirected at him nearly caught him off guard. If not for the warning that Seta had given him before Ranma would have been completely caught off guard, as it was he would have to pick up a new pair of pants or at least stitch the large tare along his right calf.
Rushing back to the shaft Ranma hoped that Sousuke was close by. "Hey, get me the rocket launcher or some explosives."
"Got it," Keitaro replied. "We're going to need something to shield us from the blast û get one of the doors."
Nodding, Ranma leapt at the wall then kicked off towards the other wall. After a few leaps he was back at the top of the shaft even as Keitaro was now descending the rope. The sound of gunfire and explosions greeted him even as he took the remains of the closest door and headed back towards the shaft.
"I really hate this world," Ranma grumbled as he leapt down the shaft with the remains of the door in tow.
Holding up the door, he waited for Keitaro to finish setting the charges.
"Ready," the Urashima heir stated as he rushed Ranma. Leaping behind the makeshift barrier he helped brace the steel door that stood between them and the explosives. Pinned between the door and the wall they nodded at each other.
The explosion nearly deafened Ranma and Keitaro. Still, it proved to be just enough as the giant re-enforced door appeared to be straining against the hinges that remained.
Even as Keitaro examined the door, Ranma simply focused on the remaining hinges. Several quick slashes of the powerful demonic blade cut through the steel hinges. Pulling the door out of the threshold, Ranma smirked. "That wasn't too hard."
"Yeah, sure," Keitaro returned over the sound of increasing gun fire. "Better hurry."
*****
A/N
I think I'll just leave things where they're at for now.
Please Read and Review.
Dreamingfox
Author's Notes û
I've had to make some changes due to issues with uploading the files to which made my old form of breaking scenes appear, or rather disappear, thus making things seem jumbled. # # # # # before a scene denotes something happening in the home world/dimension, and X X X X X denotes scenes in the alternate world.
Yes, I'm using elements of the anime, manga, and in some cases the light novel for each of the sources for this crossover fic. No, I do not own Ranma ¢, Love Hina, Negima, Full Metal Panic, Bio-booster Guyver, Witchblade, or Kurohime.
Other than that, well, I've been busy with yard work for the new house, so yeah, I haven't been updating as much as I did over winter when it was cold outside. Yes, go outside and enjoy the weather û especially with House done for the season.
# # # # #
While most people would have enjoyed a relaxing trip down to Okinawa, Hinata Urashima dreaded going there. In the ten years that she'd been retired from Mithril the former adventurer never once considered her former subordinates or what they were up to. Urzu-2 was the exception as she'd personally recruited him û not to mention that he'd also had that kind of relationship with her granddaughter/adopted daughter.
Despite her personal connection to Urzu-7, Hinata had not visited her former subordinate, not since she'd retired. Though Natsumi had worked at the Hinata Sou back when she first had her oldest daughter, but things had changed after Mutsumi had fallen ill. Being recalled to Okinawa and taken off of the active roster so that she could take care of her ill daughter and raise her family, Natsumi Otohime had her own life to live.
Only the unfortunate passing of Natsumi's husband just over three years ago had allowed the two women to catch up. Though Natsumi was busy raising her family, she still maintained her position within Mithril as the head of the secret facility that housed all of the magical items that the Pacific branch of Mithril had acquired.
Armed with that knowledge, Hinata Urashima made her way to Okinawa. Though she had not been part of Project Avalon, she knew enough about how Mithril operated to deduce just where the secret facility was in Okinawa. Even without Seta and Natsumi's help the former leader of SRT 1 managed to slip into the facility. Now all she had to do was plant the tag once it started to glow.
X X X X X
"Captain!" Melissa shouted as she rushed into the makeshift command room.
"Yes?" the still recovering silver haired girl exclaimed as she looked up from the map of the Pacific fleet.
"We've received word from Avalon," the busty half-Chinese woman stated.
"They're under attack," Tessa stated as she glanced down at a map of Japan.
Melissa Mao blinked, slightly startled by the captain's cool demeanor, "Yes, but not by Sagara and his friends. It looks like Amalgam's rogue forces û there is a squad of the Bonta-kun Arm Slaves assaulting Avalon."
"It'll be three hours before any of our forces can arrive to back them up," the young captain stated as she grabbed the end of her long braid. "Have any available satellites brought up û I want to see what's going on. Deploy SRT 3 and Support Team 6 and 7. I want the rebuilt support teams 3 and 4 on stand-by."
X X X X X
The empty darkness of the storage room was clearly not what Ranma was expecting as he stepped into the 'Shrine'. Having spent what seemed like years fighting the various magical beings or those tainted by magic, the raven haired boy had expected, well, something more. Considering all the stuff that the Cologne, Shampoo, and Mousse had thrown at him, not to mention what Happosai and Ryoga used against him, Ranma had expected this secret organization that was supposed to be collecting magical artifacts and cursed items to have acquired more things. But the nearly empty room was clearly underwhelming.
At first he thought it was the overwhelming darkness that hid everything from him, but after allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness he knew that he was right û Mithril just hadn't acquired that many magical artifacts. The fact that Mutsumi Otohime was huddling in the back corner seemed to further that argument as it was clear that the sole guardian of Avalon had not taken a majority of the items stored in there.
"So, you finally made it?" the busty brunette asked as she leveled a gun at Ranma.
"We're not your enemies," Ranma declared.
'Ranma?' a voice called out, piercing him mind.
"Moe?" Mutsumi exclaimed.
"Who's 'Moe'?" the martial artist asked. "I thought you said you were the only one stationed here."
'Ranma?' the voice once again spoke directly into the pair's minds. 'I thought you said he had died Mutsumi.'
"You can't really be Ranma," the brunette gasped as she lowered her gun. "Ranma diedà"
"Nearly ten years ago," he finished. "The Ranma Saotome of this world died nearly ten years ago û but I'm not that Ranma. In my world I survived that training."
'The Frozen Flame,' the young girl's voice projected into Ranma and Mutsumi's minds.
Suddenly Ranma and Mutsumi found themselves standing before a young girl in an old fashioned dress. But she wasn't really a girl; just made to resemble one û she was a marionette of sorts. Her styled dishwater blond hair and blue eyes were artificial, and her joints, the ones he saw, were clear indications that she was not a real human.
"It's really you," Moe stated as she walked over to hold Ranma's hand.
"Moe?" he exclaimed as an elusive childhood memory surfaced inside of his mind.
Around them the white void was replaced with a hazy scene as two young boys stood before the marionette.
"We promised to fix your legs," Ranma stated as he glanced down at the artificial girl's legs.
"Is Kei here too?"
Ranma nodded, realizing that her lips were actually moving, something that she appeared to be able to actually do in this dreamscape. That and stand up.
"Yes, but we don't have time, the facility's under attack," Ranma explained.
Moe pointed to a large shot-gun appearing weapon, "That's witch-gun. It's supposed to allow the user to shoot magic bullets with varying affects."
Ranma rushed to the big gun. "It's empty."
"It can use regular bullets, but a master of the witch-gun will be able to create magic bullets for the gun,"Moe explained.
"How do you know so much about the gun?"
"There's only so much for her to do in nearly twelve years of being here," Mutsumi explained. "Moe seems to be able to understand the handful of items that Mithril collected, unfortunately she can't tell us how to recreate them or control them."
The marionette's childlike voice seemed to ease Ranma's mind even as she explained the qualities of the witch-gun. "And this is the Witchblade," she said as she pointed out a silver and golden bracelet with a perfectly round red jewel.
"What's it do?" Ranma asked as he eyed the mysterious artifact.
"It's a weapon of immense power from ancient times," the tiny marionette replied. "Only a woman with a pure heart and intent can use it. It chooses the wearer."
"Good to know," the sex-changing martial artist grumbled. "And the ring?"
"The Glacier Stone," Moe answered. "It has the power to freeze virtually anything."
The young martial artist nodded as he contemplated the usefulness of the item.
"That is the demonic armor û Hannya," Moe stated, "and the blood-thirsty Kien. If you've become the warrior that your father wanted you to become I know that you can use them."
Ranma bristled at the mention of his father. Still, the young martial artist walked over to the demonic armor and blade.
"And that sword?" he asked as he pointed to the sheathed blade.
"The Kusanagi," Moe said as she nodded her head.
"You mean the Kusanagi?"
Moe and Mutsumi nodded.
"So it really exists?" he asked.
"As does the Ruyi Jingu Bang."
Ranma blinked. "What?"
"Did you ever read Journey to the West?" Mutsumi asked.
Ranma shook his head. Though he was slightly intelligent, he rarely read anything other than manga or scrolls on various techniques û and forget about school assignments.
Mutsumi shook her head. "Think Goku from Dragon Ball Z," she suggested as she pointed out the black iron staff that hung from the wall.
"But his power pole was red," Ranma said as he eyed the staff. Setting aside Hina he willed himself to move towards the staff to no result.
"You possess the Hina Blade?" Moe exclaimed as she noted the demonic blade beside Ranma.
"Yeah, why?" he replied as he eyed the girl, momentarily forgetting the magical weapons before him.
"That was the only weapon that Hinata Urashima took with her when she betrayed Mithril for Amalgam," Mutsumi stated. "She used the cursed weapon to kill my father."
Ranma blinked. Clearly there were some issues between Hinata Urashima and Mithril.
"If you are able to unite the items in this world with their counterparts in the other world you can make them stronger," Moe suggested.
"What about that?" the pigtailed boy pointed to the cylindrical metal case in the shadows of the dreamscape. He really hoped that this wasn't just a silly dream caused by him getting knocked out.
"That I don't know," Moe replied in her very childlike voice. "It's old, very old, and grants terrifying power."
"Cool," he smirked, "so how do we use it?"
"I don't know," the marionette replied. "It doesn't talk to me like the others û but even the Witchblade and Ruyi Jingu, which are the oldest of the others, are young compared to that."
"They talk to you?"
"Yes, we do," a redheaded woman answered.
Ranma looked up from the tiny marionette at the busty woman in barely there gold and silver armor that clung to her curvy body that had replaced the Witchblade. But it wasn't just the bracelet that had taken on a human appearance û the demonic armor was replaced with a menacing samurai that wielded the demonic sword and the witch-gun was replaced with a busty woman with silvery-blond hair and a skimpy leather outfit. Ranma spun around to look at the mysterious alien artifact and the vaguely human monstrosity that appeared in its place. Only the Kusanagi and Ruyi Jingu Bang failed to produce avatars.
"We can make you and your friends stronger," a familiar voice proclaimed.
The young martial artists didn't need to turn around to see a naked Tessa. Like the others, the cursed sword was using its previous owner as its template for their avatars.
"But there is a cost of course," the facsimile of the young Mithril Captain smirked.
Ranma glanced at the avatar of the cursed blade.
Tessa's face smirked in a cruel smile that the real girl would never have had on her innocent face. "Will you pay the price?"
X X X X X
"What the hell is he up to?" Sagara shouted as he blasted the head off of one of his miniature Arm Slaves.
"Why the hell did you make those again?" Kanako countered as she reloaded her rifle. "Shit! I'm only got six shots left!"
"I'm down to my last clip!" Seta shouted as he pulled the pin of a grenade before lobbing it over the remains of the steel door Ranma had cut through.
"Save them," Keitaro declared as he threw a large gun and ammo to the scarred soldier.
The other fighters looked up at the Todai student then to the young girl clad in blood red samurai armor as he calmly walked into the breech.
"Moe will explain how to use those," Ranma stated. With an almost casual swipe he cut down a barrage of bullets. With his free hand he tossed a metal, cylindrical case at Seta.
"Who's Moe?" Sagara asked as he eyed the unusual gun.
'I can't speak to them like I speak to you, Keitaro, and Mutsumi,' the marionette interjected.
"I forgot about that," Ranma grumbled as he pulled out the gold and silver bracelet, tossing it to Kanako. With the Witchblade no longer in his possession he transformed back into his true form. "Sagara, that weapon is known as theà"
'Witch-gun.'
"Witch-gun û it's possible of performing magic, though you have to imbue the bullets with magic. You've got three magical bullets so use them wisely. Think of the Lambda Driver û imbue the bullets with your intent and then shoot. You've can also use regular bullets but the gun will still shoot them much harder and faster than anything you've got.
"Seta; that's Ryu Jing Bang."
The bespectacled man looked questioningly at Ranma.
'Ruyi Jingu Bang,' Moe corrected.
"Oh, the Ruyi Jingu Bang," Ranma shrugged.
"The Ruyi Jingu Bang?" Seta exclaimed as he eyed the legendary weapon. As an archeologist he'd heard of the mythical weapon but never thought he'd actually see it much less that Mithril had somehow acquired it.
"Kanako; that's the Glacier stone," he said as he tossed her a platinum ring with a snowy blue stone. "You can freeze stuff with it."
The others looked at the items Ranma had given them as they considered what the now pigtailed boy had told them.
Though he was the most skeptical about magic, Sagara gripped the unusual gun. Though it appeared to be similar to an old fashioned rifle, the gun had a triangular revolving barrel that seemed to adapt to suit the bullets that he had. Loading the unique weapon, he caressed odd patterns on the silver and black mahogany handle. Standing tall he spun around, quickly acquiring his targets before pulling the trigger.
A giant, flaming serpent erupted from the barrel of the gun. Twisting like an airborne snake, the bright orange flame lit up the dark passage before it finally enveloping the Bonta-kun Arm Slave. Not content to claim just the first AT, the flame serpent moved onto the second, leaving the first a smoldering pile of melted slag and burnt flesh and plastic.
"Wow!" Seta exclaimed as he eyed the now blazing pair of Arm Slaves. Gripping the heavy black iron rod he sighed as he felt the power radiate from the weapon.
Taking advantage of cover fire provided by Sousuke, Ranma leapt over the door. Running low to the ground he quickly rushed past the smoldering remains of the two AS consumed by Sagara's first shot. The deal he'd struck with the avatars of the weapons would allow the others to master their weapons quickly without any consequence to themselves. Still, he didn't want to think of the price that he'd agreed to for the weapons' allegiance. With the blood thirsty Kien in one hand and the Hina in his other he cut a bloody swath through the Arm Slaves and their support. With each kill he û no, Hannya, became stronger, thus boosting his own ki reserves and power as well as the blades absorbed the souls of the unfortunate soldiers and channeled them into the demonic armor.
Yes, Hannya and Kien had been sealed away for a reason, but he needed the demonic weapons to find his way home.
Stabbing into the armored stomach of one of the Bonta-kun Arm Slaves, Ranma slashed down, eviscerating the soldier inside before withdrawing Kien. In his right he lopped off the leg of another AS, cutting the soldier inside and leaving him with out his lower leg. A quick stab with Kien silenced the man inside. Taking care to not cut any of the weapons, the blood soaked martial artist knew that Sagara and the others would need the extra ammo, Ranma moved to the next advancing squad.
Two shots rang out behind him, forcing Ranma to instinctively leap to the side to avoid being hit with friendly fire. Suddenly a wave of immense ki filled the passage as it brushed by him. Glancing back, Ranma watched Seta rushed past him. With precise strikes the older man disarmed the soldiers before powerful kicks knocked them down.
A steel bodied Keitaro armed with the Kusanagi followed, cutting down the remaining support soldiers before even Ranma could move in to claim their souls. Stray blasts of freezing energy lanced out, freezing the once hot barrels of the enemies' guns and immobilizing the Arm Slaves in blocks of crushing ice. Behind him Sagara began to inspect the discarded weapons, keeping those that were still working and ammo while Mutsumi and the now human Moe walked towards the exit.
"We'll secure the exit," Ranma stated as he stepped away from the wall.
"Tell Keitaro and Kanako that the spell won't last long," Sagara stated as he examined a Gatling gun.
The pigtailed boy nodded as he slipped into the darkness. Hearing the painful groan of one of the still alive though unconscious soldiers, Ranma fought the urge to swiftly cut the man's throat with the Kien. With Hina in hand he was able to sense the life energies of the handful of men that the Urashima siblings and Seta had not killed. The magical ice and the armor of the AS unit would not be enough to keep Ranma from claiming their lives had he really wanted to, but taking a life in cold blood even though they were still on the battle field was one thing û taking the life of an active combatant who could defend or fight for themselves was another altogether. Though his hands shook as they restrained the demonic blades Ranma managed to control them and himself, preventing any unnecessary bloodshed.
A sudden warm sensation from his pocket though changed his mind. Pulling out the slip of paper he eyed the glowing ruin. 'Granny's in place. I just hope they can make it to the beach.'
X X X X X
"SRT 3 reports that they have picked up the Shrine Maiden," the officer manning the radio stated.
Tessa nodded her head. "Any casualties?"
"None ma'am," he replied. "All fighting had ceased before SRT 3 and their support team arrived. They've taken the rest of the items from the Shrine and are relocating them to another Shrine."
The silver-grey haired girl nodded.
"They report that none of the Amalgam assault team survived," he added.
"Do we still have the Relic and the Jewel in our possession?"
The officer checked the radio, repeating the captain's question. "Yes, the Maiden has secured the Relic and the Jewel, but she says that they took the Doll."
Despite her best efforts, Tessa couldn't help but tremble at the news. If Ranma and his team were capable of taking out two squads of the Bonta-kun Arm Slaves and their supporting squads with just a handful of items what could they do with the more powerful and destructive items? Did Ranma know just how powerful those items were or had he simply overlooked them? "Get the Shrine Maiden here ASAP û I need to debrief her."
# # # # #
"Sir!" the young officer exclaimed as he saluted the grey haired commander.
Returning the salute, the grizzled Russian eyed the youngster.
"Avalon is reporting that they were breeched," the bald officer stated.
"What? When, did it happen and how?"
"There were five individuals, we don't know how, but they breeched Avalon at approximately 0230," the officer reported.
"Casualties?"
"None."
"Loses?"
"The Shrine Maiden's report says that the Triple Barrel, Lightning Bolt, Glacier, and Samurai are missing."
"What of the Jewel?"
"It's still secure."
Kalinin nodded. Just who would have the balls to force their way into Avalon? And who knew about Avalon outside of Mithril agents? 'Hinata.'
X X X X X
Despite the commotion around Okinawa, Keitaro found that slipping out of the Shrine had been relatively easy. With all the chaos caused by Amalgam's assault on the facility the five fighters had quickly and easily escaped. Yes, their new weapons helped as well, but they also made them stand out all the more.
Still, the authorities and anyone else looking for information about them would be looking for a group of four men and one girl, not one lone swordsman. Though he had quickly grown accustomed to using the mythical blade, he knew that it was easier for Ranma to hide the weapon away with his weapon-space technique. That and the fact that Ranma was supposed to unite the weapon with its other world counterpart, thus making the Kusanagi even more formidable. Not that the blade wasn't terrifying û the way it cut through the fortified steel of the Arm Slaves û why, cold butter put up more resistance against a hot knife. Even the Hina and Kien couldn't cut through steel like that. Still, if he had kept it he probably would have drawn more attention to himself. Considering that the military had increased the number of patrols, set up a mandatory curfew/lockdown, and was on the look out for any one wandering the streets, Keitaro knew that getting back to the Hinata Sou would not be easy.
'Kei?' the marionette said, her childlike voice speaking directly to his mind. With Sagara gone the spell that he'd used to turn her into an actual girl had faded, leaving her once again as a Tsukumogami marionette without the use of her legs.
"Yes?" he whispered.
'Where are we going?'
"To the beach," he replied. "Someone from Mahora is going to meet us there."
Carrying the marionette on his back he was reminded of the fact that she wasn't human as her hard wooden legs hung limply against his side even as her hard arms wrapped themselves around his neck and shoulders. Though she was clearly trying to be as gentle as possible, it was clear that she was not used to being carried around like that. Still, Keitaro had to admit that she was deceptively light.
Waiting for the light of an overhead helicopter to move to the next street, Keitaro peeked around the corner. Seeing that no one was around he dashed to the other alley just as a light began to shine at the far end of the alley he'd been hiding in.
Running from shadow to long shadow in the middle of the night, he slowly made his way towards the nearly vacant beach. It didn't surprise him to find two figures standing in the darkness, waiting for his arrival.
"You must be Keitaro Urashima," the larger of the two figures said as Keitaro cautiously approached them. "I am Jurika Jinno," he offered a polite bow before turning to the second figure "and this is my partner Mana Tatsumiya."
The man was tall and lean, much like Eishin and Takahata, but appeared to be less muscular than the other magi from Mahora that Keitaro had met, possibly because he was less combat oriented than the others. The woman was a positively dark compared to the mage as her deeply tanned skin and astounding beauty made her stand out; a stark contrast to Jurika's ordinary and unremarkable features.
"Keitaro Urashima," he mumbled as he forced himself to look away from the woman and at the mage. "This is Moe û she can only use telepathy to speak to me and Ranma, but of course he's not here."
Jurika nodded, "A Tsukumogami û how interesting. But we must be off before the patrols return."
Keitaro nodded his agreement even as he heard the sound of a helicopter's blades in the distance. "Where are we going?"
The mage smiled coolly, "Why, Mahora of course."
# # # # #
"There's no way you're going to just send me home now," Kanako snapped as she glared at Granny Hina.
The other dimension jumping travelers knew better than to involve themselves with the women's argument, pulling themselves away from the conversation as they took inventory of their weapons as tried to plot their next course of action.
"Don't be such an obstinate little girl," Hinata chided. "You know as well as I do that you are not close to being in the same league as Ranma as a fighter and martial artist and even you admit that the other Keitaro is a better fighter than you are."
"I have to see this through grandmother," the lithe girl shouted, standing firm.
"The other you already died trying to help Ranma," the older woman stated, "Ià How do you think this Keitaro and I would feel if you were to die as well? Why do you think that I insisted that this Mithril send Seta to assist Ranma û because I don't want you to die."
Though he desperately wanted to stay out of the conversation, he couldn't help but interject once he'd been mentioned. "So you want me to die?" he teased as he lit his cigarette.
The elderly woman turned and eyed her adopted daughter's former lover, "No, but you're trained to deal with this kind of stuff û Kanako's still wet behind the ears."
"Actually, we all are," Ranma said, injecting himself into the conversation. "I know that I'm the one who dragged everyone into this, but I know that if I was one of them, I'd want to see things through to the end as well. This is bigger than just me or any one of us now." He turned to look at the others. "Even the other Keitaro knows this, and even though I don't want either Keitaro to stick their necks out for me, I know that I can't do this alone. I know that there are plenty of fighters that might be willing to help, but not everyone can cross over like we" he gestured at the others "can. I used to think that I could handle any situation myself, but I've come to realized that even I need help."
It was odd for Ranma to say to much. As a man of action he wasn't used to trying to get his point across with anything other than his fists (and feet). Yet he knew that he needed to rely on words rather than his fists and actions û especially with his family involved.
Just a few short days ago he wouldn't have thought anything about the woman before him, but she was his grandmother. Though he knew so little about her he understood that she was trying to help all of her grandchildren and keep them all out of harms way.
"I'm sorry I got Kanako and Keitaro involved, but we need to find out why the other you chose the path that she's on," he said, breaking the awkward silence. "The decision that she made that differed from yours might be why we're all in this situation right now."
Hinata glanced at Ranma, then at her adopted granddaughter. "Promise me," she finally said, "promise me that you'll keep her, no, keep them safe, even from the other me."
"I swear," Ranma said as he knelt so that he could look her in the eye, "that I will do everything in my power to keep them all safe."
# # # # #
For the first time in a long time, Akane Tendo had decided to skip school. Though she had long established herself as one of the best martial artists at Furinkan, the past week had proven to her and everyone else that she clearly was a second tier martial artist. Only Nabiki knew of her loss to the Aoyama girl, but after her devastating and very public loss to both Motoko Aoyama and Ryoko Mitsurugi at the Kuno Invitational in the second and fourth rounds of the round robin stage of the tournamentà well, she just couldn't face her friends and schoolmates.
It was humbling, worse than her inability to hit Ranma the first and only time that they had sparred.
Sitting by the canal, she spent the day watching the river as she tried to collect herself.
While no one blamed her for the poor showing of the Furinkan squad, she knew that she should have set a better example for the others. True, the team was usually led by Kuno, but in his (and Ranma's) absence they had turned to her û and she had failed them. But it wasn't that she had failed them û it was that she'd lost. Facing off against Motoko Aoyama at the tournament was supposed to be her chance to avenge her previous loss to the slender girl û but the humbling loss was hers, not Aoyama's. And then to lose to Ryoko Mitsurugi as well, a mere vice-captain of her school's teamà Those two losses had kept her from advancing past the first stage. And now they were part of her record û a shame that she could never overcomeà.
"Akane?" Ryoga's soft voice called out to her. "You alright?"
The short haired girl simply shrugged.
Ryoga couldn't help but spend the past few days thinking. Though he'd been the least seriously injured of the 'rivals', he had still been forced to spend the entire weekend recovering from the humbling beating that Ranma had dished out to him (and the other rivals). That had given him time to think about, well, everything.
Yes, the beating had been humbling, but it had also been eye opening. Having fought, and lost, Ranma so many times, Ryoga had always thought that he was just one move away from winning, but losing like that had proven that Ranma really was just that much better. If Ranma were truly serious like he had been that day, than none of them had a chance in a serious fight. He, and the others, had taken Ranma for granted, overlooking the fact that the arrogant pigtailed boy often held back on his blows just to punish them further û just as Ranma had done against that figure-skater when he'd declared that just one punch wasn't enough. But in truth, one punch could have been enough had he wanted the fight to end with one blow.
Rubbing his still bruised throat, Ryoga shook his head. Ranma always gave them a chance to win as he held back on his blows, refusing to put them down with a single blow unless they conceded. But that day, that day Ranma had been serious. His blows had left the rivals seriously injured. That day Ranma wasn't holding back. Had that girl not intervened Ryoga was sure that Ranma wouldn't have stopped at just injuring the rivals.
"I heard about the tournament," he said. And he'd heard about the girl who had defeated Akane, the same girl that had kept Ranma from further injuring his primary rivals. "We all lose sometime û hell, even Ranma loses."
She couldn't help but smile, even if it was a weak smile, at the idea of Ranma losing. In the months that she'd known him she had seen him lose several times.
"The thing that makes Ranma so blasted annoying is that he never gives up," the bandana wearing martial artist stated. "Yeah, he gets beat every once in a while, but he always comes back to avenge those losses."
"Yeah," Akane shrugged, "I guess you're right."
"This looks familiar," a voice proclaimed, interrupting the pair as they tried to share a moment.
"You're really a moron Sousuke," a familiar voice added.
'Ranma?'
"This is where we appeared after we were ambushed the other night," Ranma stated as he lead the others.
Akane stood up, glancing at the odd quartet that was approaching her position.
"So if we jump here then we'll appear where Kurz was murdered?" the scarred boy asked grimly.
Both Akane and Ryoga froze. Though they both had seen Ranma fight before, they never once thought that anyone would die as a result of that fighting.
"Yeah," Ranma replied, oblivious to the pair ahead of them.
"Looks like we're not alone," Seta stated, nodding at the pair of youths standing beside the magical marker.
"Ryogaà" Ranma said as he faced his long-time rival, images of him trying to crush the other boy's throat flashing through his mind.
"Ranma," the bandana wearing boy returned.
"If you wanna fight for Akane's affection and love, you're gonna lose," the pigtailed boy declared. Walking calmly up to the one person whom he saw as friend and rival, he looked Ryoga in the eye. "You aren't gonna win Akane's heart by proving that you're the better fighter û you gotta prove that you're the better man. No, prove that you're the better man for her."
Despite herself, Akane couldn't help but blush. 'Ryoga likes me?'
Steeling his resolve, Ranma nodded then walked past Ryoga as his watch began to glow brightly in the fading light of the day.
Seeing the confused look on Ryoga's face, Seta walked by the bandana wearing boy. "What Ranma is saying is that girls might like to see guys fighting for them, but the real way to win a girl's heart isn't with your fists."
"So he's your rival?" Sagara asked the pigtailed boy as he walked past Seta and the other teens.
Ranma simply nodded.
"Why keep a rival around?" the scarred mercenary asked. "If it was me I'd have just put a gun to his head. In my line of work I can't afford to have rivals û it's best to simply kill them before they kill you."
Kanako simply buried her face in her palm. "Kami, you're such an idiot!"
Seta smirked. "You forget that he's from another world Kanako. Though our worlds might appear to be the similar they are both very different culturally and technologically."
A flash of blinding light silenced the discussion, or at least what Ryoga and Akane could hear as they both stared at the ground, unwilling to look at each other.
'How dare he tell Akane how I feel about her! I'll prove to him that I am the better man!'
'Ryoga likes me? He likes me?'
X X X X X
A/N
I think I'll end this snippet here.
Not sure if I should keep that last scene or cut it... What do you think?
Please go to my FF.net profile and vote on who you think would win in a fight û Maya Natsume vs Setsuna Sakurazaki.
Dreamingfox
I've had to make some changes due to issues with uploading the files to which made my old form of breaking scenes appear, or rather disappear, thus making things seem jumbled. # # # # # before a scene denotes something happening in the home world/dimension, and X X X X X denotes scenes in the alternate world.
Yes, I'm using elements of the anime, manga, and in some cases the light novel for each of the sources for this crossover fic. No, I do not own Ranma ¢, Love Hina, Negima, Full Metal Panic, Bio-booster Guyver, Witchblade, or Kurohime.
Other than that, well, I've been busy with yard work for the new house, so yeah, I haven't been updating as much as I did over winter when it was cold outside. Yes, go outside and enjoy the weather û especially with House done for the season.
# # # # #
While most people would have enjoyed a relaxing trip down to Okinawa, Hinata Urashima dreaded going there. In the ten years that she'd been retired from Mithril the former adventurer never once considered her former subordinates or what they were up to. Urzu-2 was the exception as she'd personally recruited him û not to mention that he'd also had that kind of relationship with her granddaughter/adopted daughter.
Despite her personal connection to Urzu-7, Hinata had not visited her former subordinate, not since she'd retired. Though Natsumi had worked at the Hinata Sou back when she first had her oldest daughter, but things had changed after Mutsumi had fallen ill. Being recalled to Okinawa and taken off of the active roster so that she could take care of her ill daughter and raise her family, Natsumi Otohime had her own life to live.
Only the unfortunate passing of Natsumi's husband just over three years ago had allowed the two women to catch up. Though Natsumi was busy raising her family, she still maintained her position within Mithril as the head of the secret facility that housed all of the magical items that the Pacific branch of Mithril had acquired.
Armed with that knowledge, Hinata Urashima made her way to Okinawa. Though she had not been part of Project Avalon, she knew enough about how Mithril operated to deduce just where the secret facility was in Okinawa. Even without Seta and Natsumi's help the former leader of SRT 1 managed to slip into the facility. Now all she had to do was plant the tag once it started to glow.
X X X X X
"Captain!" Melissa shouted as she rushed into the makeshift command room.
"Yes?" the still recovering silver haired girl exclaimed as she looked up from the map of the Pacific fleet.
"We've received word from Avalon," the busty half-Chinese woman stated.
"They're under attack," Tessa stated as she glanced down at a map of Japan.
Melissa Mao blinked, slightly startled by the captain's cool demeanor, "Yes, but not by Sagara and his friends. It looks like Amalgam's rogue forces û there is a squad of the Bonta-kun Arm Slaves assaulting Avalon."
"It'll be three hours before any of our forces can arrive to back them up," the young captain stated as she grabbed the end of her long braid. "Have any available satellites brought up û I want to see what's going on. Deploy SRT 3 and Support Team 6 and 7. I want the rebuilt support teams 3 and 4 on stand-by."
X X X X X
The empty darkness of the storage room was clearly not what Ranma was expecting as he stepped into the 'Shrine'. Having spent what seemed like years fighting the various magical beings or those tainted by magic, the raven haired boy had expected, well, something more. Considering all the stuff that the Cologne, Shampoo, and Mousse had thrown at him, not to mention what Happosai and Ryoga used against him, Ranma had expected this secret organization that was supposed to be collecting magical artifacts and cursed items to have acquired more things. But the nearly empty room was clearly underwhelming.
At first he thought it was the overwhelming darkness that hid everything from him, but after allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness he knew that he was right û Mithril just hadn't acquired that many magical artifacts. The fact that Mutsumi Otohime was huddling in the back corner seemed to further that argument as it was clear that the sole guardian of Avalon had not taken a majority of the items stored in there.
"So, you finally made it?" the busty brunette asked as she leveled a gun at Ranma.
"We're not your enemies," Ranma declared.
'Ranma?' a voice called out, piercing him mind.
"Moe?" Mutsumi exclaimed.
"Who's 'Moe'?" the martial artist asked. "I thought you said you were the only one stationed here."
'Ranma?' the voice once again spoke directly into the pair's minds. 'I thought you said he had died Mutsumi.'
"You can't really be Ranma," the brunette gasped as she lowered her gun. "Ranma diedà"
"Nearly ten years ago," he finished. "The Ranma Saotome of this world died nearly ten years ago û but I'm not that Ranma. In my world I survived that training."
'The Frozen Flame,' the young girl's voice projected into Ranma and Mutsumi's minds.
Suddenly Ranma and Mutsumi found themselves standing before a young girl in an old fashioned dress. But she wasn't really a girl; just made to resemble one û she was a marionette of sorts. Her styled dishwater blond hair and blue eyes were artificial, and her joints, the ones he saw, were clear indications that she was not a real human.
"It's really you," Moe stated as she walked over to hold Ranma's hand.
"Moe?" he exclaimed as an elusive childhood memory surfaced inside of his mind.
Around them the white void was replaced with a hazy scene as two young boys stood before the marionette.
"We promised to fix your legs," Ranma stated as he glanced down at the artificial girl's legs.
"Is Kei here too?"
Ranma nodded, realizing that her lips were actually moving, something that she appeared to be able to actually do in this dreamscape. That and stand up.
"Yes, but we don't have time, the facility's under attack," Ranma explained.
Moe pointed to a large shot-gun appearing weapon, "That's witch-gun. It's supposed to allow the user to shoot magic bullets with varying affects."
Ranma rushed to the big gun. "It's empty."
"It can use regular bullets, but a master of the witch-gun will be able to create magic bullets for the gun,"Moe explained.
"How do you know so much about the gun?"
"There's only so much for her to do in nearly twelve years of being here," Mutsumi explained. "Moe seems to be able to understand the handful of items that Mithril collected, unfortunately she can't tell us how to recreate them or control them."
The marionette's childlike voice seemed to ease Ranma's mind even as she explained the qualities of the witch-gun. "And this is the Witchblade," she said as she pointed out a silver and golden bracelet with a perfectly round red jewel.
"What's it do?" Ranma asked as he eyed the mysterious artifact.
"It's a weapon of immense power from ancient times," the tiny marionette replied. "Only a woman with a pure heart and intent can use it. It chooses the wearer."
"Good to know," the sex-changing martial artist grumbled. "And the ring?"
"The Glacier Stone," Moe answered. "It has the power to freeze virtually anything."
The young martial artist nodded as he contemplated the usefulness of the item.
"That is the demonic armor û Hannya," Moe stated, "and the blood-thirsty Kien. If you've become the warrior that your father wanted you to become I know that you can use them."
Ranma bristled at the mention of his father. Still, the young martial artist walked over to the demonic armor and blade.
"And that sword?" he asked as he pointed to the sheathed blade.
"The Kusanagi," Moe said as she nodded her head.
"You mean the Kusanagi?"
Moe and Mutsumi nodded.
"So it really exists?" he asked.
"As does the Ruyi Jingu Bang."
Ranma blinked. "What?"
"Did you ever read Journey to the West?" Mutsumi asked.
Ranma shook his head. Though he was slightly intelligent, he rarely read anything other than manga or scrolls on various techniques û and forget about school assignments.
Mutsumi shook her head. "Think Goku from Dragon Ball Z," she suggested as she pointed out the black iron staff that hung from the wall.
"But his power pole was red," Ranma said as he eyed the staff. Setting aside Hina he willed himself to move towards the staff to no result.
"You possess the Hina Blade?" Moe exclaimed as she noted the demonic blade beside Ranma.
"Yeah, why?" he replied as he eyed the girl, momentarily forgetting the magical weapons before him.
"That was the only weapon that Hinata Urashima took with her when she betrayed Mithril for Amalgam," Mutsumi stated. "She used the cursed weapon to kill my father."
Ranma blinked. Clearly there were some issues between Hinata Urashima and Mithril.
"If you are able to unite the items in this world with their counterparts in the other world you can make them stronger," Moe suggested.
"What about that?" the pigtailed boy pointed to the cylindrical metal case in the shadows of the dreamscape. He really hoped that this wasn't just a silly dream caused by him getting knocked out.
"That I don't know," Moe replied in her very childlike voice. "It's old, very old, and grants terrifying power."
"Cool," he smirked, "so how do we use it?"
"I don't know," the marionette replied. "It doesn't talk to me like the others û but even the Witchblade and Ruyi Jingu, which are the oldest of the others, are young compared to that."
"They talk to you?"
"Yes, we do," a redheaded woman answered.
Ranma looked up from the tiny marionette at the busty woman in barely there gold and silver armor that clung to her curvy body that had replaced the Witchblade. But it wasn't just the bracelet that had taken on a human appearance û the demonic armor was replaced with a menacing samurai that wielded the demonic sword and the witch-gun was replaced with a busty woman with silvery-blond hair and a skimpy leather outfit. Ranma spun around to look at the mysterious alien artifact and the vaguely human monstrosity that appeared in its place. Only the Kusanagi and Ruyi Jingu Bang failed to produce avatars.
"We can make you and your friends stronger," a familiar voice proclaimed.
The young martial artists didn't need to turn around to see a naked Tessa. Like the others, the cursed sword was using its previous owner as its template for their avatars.
"But there is a cost of course," the facsimile of the young Mithril Captain smirked.
Ranma glanced at the avatar of the cursed blade.
Tessa's face smirked in a cruel smile that the real girl would never have had on her innocent face. "Will you pay the price?"
X X X X X
"What the hell is he up to?" Sagara shouted as he blasted the head off of one of his miniature Arm Slaves.
"Why the hell did you make those again?" Kanako countered as she reloaded her rifle. "Shit! I'm only got six shots left!"
"I'm down to my last clip!" Seta shouted as he pulled the pin of a grenade before lobbing it over the remains of the steel door Ranma had cut through.
"Save them," Keitaro declared as he threw a large gun and ammo to the scarred soldier.
The other fighters looked up at the Todai student then to the young girl clad in blood red samurai armor as he calmly walked into the breech.
"Moe will explain how to use those," Ranma stated. With an almost casual swipe he cut down a barrage of bullets. With his free hand he tossed a metal, cylindrical case at Seta.
"Who's Moe?" Sagara asked as he eyed the unusual gun.
'I can't speak to them like I speak to you, Keitaro, and Mutsumi,' the marionette interjected.
"I forgot about that," Ranma grumbled as he pulled out the gold and silver bracelet, tossing it to Kanako. With the Witchblade no longer in his possession he transformed back into his true form. "Sagara, that weapon is known as theà"
'Witch-gun.'
"Witch-gun û it's possible of performing magic, though you have to imbue the bullets with magic. You've got three magical bullets so use them wisely. Think of the Lambda Driver û imbue the bullets with your intent and then shoot. You've can also use regular bullets but the gun will still shoot them much harder and faster than anything you've got.
"Seta; that's Ryu Jing Bang."
The bespectacled man looked questioningly at Ranma.
'Ruyi Jingu Bang,' Moe corrected.
"Oh, the Ruyi Jingu Bang," Ranma shrugged.
"The Ruyi Jingu Bang?" Seta exclaimed as he eyed the legendary weapon. As an archeologist he'd heard of the mythical weapon but never thought he'd actually see it much less that Mithril had somehow acquired it.
"Kanako; that's the Glacier stone," he said as he tossed her a platinum ring with a snowy blue stone. "You can freeze stuff with it."
The others looked at the items Ranma had given them as they considered what the now pigtailed boy had told them.
Though he was the most skeptical about magic, Sagara gripped the unusual gun. Though it appeared to be similar to an old fashioned rifle, the gun had a triangular revolving barrel that seemed to adapt to suit the bullets that he had. Loading the unique weapon, he caressed odd patterns on the silver and black mahogany handle. Standing tall he spun around, quickly acquiring his targets before pulling the trigger.
A giant, flaming serpent erupted from the barrel of the gun. Twisting like an airborne snake, the bright orange flame lit up the dark passage before it finally enveloping the Bonta-kun Arm Slave. Not content to claim just the first AT, the flame serpent moved onto the second, leaving the first a smoldering pile of melted slag and burnt flesh and plastic.
"Wow!" Seta exclaimed as he eyed the now blazing pair of Arm Slaves. Gripping the heavy black iron rod he sighed as he felt the power radiate from the weapon.
Taking advantage of cover fire provided by Sousuke, Ranma leapt over the door. Running low to the ground he quickly rushed past the smoldering remains of the two AS consumed by Sagara's first shot. The deal he'd struck with the avatars of the weapons would allow the others to master their weapons quickly without any consequence to themselves. Still, he didn't want to think of the price that he'd agreed to for the weapons' allegiance. With the blood thirsty Kien in one hand and the Hina in his other he cut a bloody swath through the Arm Slaves and their support. With each kill he û no, Hannya, became stronger, thus boosting his own ki reserves and power as well as the blades absorbed the souls of the unfortunate soldiers and channeled them into the demonic armor.
Yes, Hannya and Kien had been sealed away for a reason, but he needed the demonic weapons to find his way home.
Stabbing into the armored stomach of one of the Bonta-kun Arm Slaves, Ranma slashed down, eviscerating the soldier inside before withdrawing Kien. In his right he lopped off the leg of another AS, cutting the soldier inside and leaving him with out his lower leg. A quick stab with Kien silenced the man inside. Taking care to not cut any of the weapons, the blood soaked martial artist knew that Sagara and the others would need the extra ammo, Ranma moved to the next advancing squad.
Two shots rang out behind him, forcing Ranma to instinctively leap to the side to avoid being hit with friendly fire. Suddenly a wave of immense ki filled the passage as it brushed by him. Glancing back, Ranma watched Seta rushed past him. With precise strikes the older man disarmed the soldiers before powerful kicks knocked them down.
A steel bodied Keitaro armed with the Kusanagi followed, cutting down the remaining support soldiers before even Ranma could move in to claim their souls. Stray blasts of freezing energy lanced out, freezing the once hot barrels of the enemies' guns and immobilizing the Arm Slaves in blocks of crushing ice. Behind him Sagara began to inspect the discarded weapons, keeping those that were still working and ammo while Mutsumi and the now human Moe walked towards the exit.
"We'll secure the exit," Ranma stated as he stepped away from the wall.
"Tell Keitaro and Kanako that the spell won't last long," Sagara stated as he examined a Gatling gun.
The pigtailed boy nodded as he slipped into the darkness. Hearing the painful groan of one of the still alive though unconscious soldiers, Ranma fought the urge to swiftly cut the man's throat with the Kien. With Hina in hand he was able to sense the life energies of the handful of men that the Urashima siblings and Seta had not killed. The magical ice and the armor of the AS unit would not be enough to keep Ranma from claiming their lives had he really wanted to, but taking a life in cold blood even though they were still on the battle field was one thing û taking the life of an active combatant who could defend or fight for themselves was another altogether. Though his hands shook as they restrained the demonic blades Ranma managed to control them and himself, preventing any unnecessary bloodshed.
A sudden warm sensation from his pocket though changed his mind. Pulling out the slip of paper he eyed the glowing ruin. 'Granny's in place. I just hope they can make it to the beach.'
X X X X X
"SRT 3 reports that they have picked up the Shrine Maiden," the officer manning the radio stated.
Tessa nodded her head. "Any casualties?"
"None ma'am," he replied. "All fighting had ceased before SRT 3 and their support team arrived. They've taken the rest of the items from the Shrine and are relocating them to another Shrine."
The silver-grey haired girl nodded.
"They report that none of the Amalgam assault team survived," he added.
"Do we still have the Relic and the Jewel in our possession?"
The officer checked the radio, repeating the captain's question. "Yes, the Maiden has secured the Relic and the Jewel, but she says that they took the Doll."
Despite her best efforts, Tessa couldn't help but tremble at the news. If Ranma and his team were capable of taking out two squads of the Bonta-kun Arm Slaves and their supporting squads with just a handful of items what could they do with the more powerful and destructive items? Did Ranma know just how powerful those items were or had he simply overlooked them? "Get the Shrine Maiden here ASAP û I need to debrief her."
# # # # #
"Sir!" the young officer exclaimed as he saluted the grey haired commander.
Returning the salute, the grizzled Russian eyed the youngster.
"Avalon is reporting that they were breeched," the bald officer stated.
"What? When, did it happen and how?"
"There were five individuals, we don't know how, but they breeched Avalon at approximately 0230," the officer reported.
"Casualties?"
"None."
"Loses?"
"The Shrine Maiden's report says that the Triple Barrel, Lightning Bolt, Glacier, and Samurai are missing."
"What of the Jewel?"
"It's still secure."
Kalinin nodded. Just who would have the balls to force their way into Avalon? And who knew about Avalon outside of Mithril agents? 'Hinata.'
X X X X X
Despite the commotion around Okinawa, Keitaro found that slipping out of the Shrine had been relatively easy. With all the chaos caused by Amalgam's assault on the facility the five fighters had quickly and easily escaped. Yes, their new weapons helped as well, but they also made them stand out all the more.
Still, the authorities and anyone else looking for information about them would be looking for a group of four men and one girl, not one lone swordsman. Though he had quickly grown accustomed to using the mythical blade, he knew that it was easier for Ranma to hide the weapon away with his weapon-space technique. That and the fact that Ranma was supposed to unite the weapon with its other world counterpart, thus making the Kusanagi even more formidable. Not that the blade wasn't terrifying û the way it cut through the fortified steel of the Arm Slaves û why, cold butter put up more resistance against a hot knife. Even the Hina and Kien couldn't cut through steel like that. Still, if he had kept it he probably would have drawn more attention to himself. Considering that the military had increased the number of patrols, set up a mandatory curfew/lockdown, and was on the look out for any one wandering the streets, Keitaro knew that getting back to the Hinata Sou would not be easy.
'Kei?' the marionette said, her childlike voice speaking directly to his mind. With Sagara gone the spell that he'd used to turn her into an actual girl had faded, leaving her once again as a Tsukumogami marionette without the use of her legs.
"Yes?" he whispered.
'Where are we going?'
"To the beach," he replied. "Someone from Mahora is going to meet us there."
Carrying the marionette on his back he was reminded of the fact that she wasn't human as her hard wooden legs hung limply against his side even as her hard arms wrapped themselves around his neck and shoulders. Though she was clearly trying to be as gentle as possible, it was clear that she was not used to being carried around like that. Still, Keitaro had to admit that she was deceptively light.
Waiting for the light of an overhead helicopter to move to the next street, Keitaro peeked around the corner. Seeing that no one was around he dashed to the other alley just as a light began to shine at the far end of the alley he'd been hiding in.
Running from shadow to long shadow in the middle of the night, he slowly made his way towards the nearly vacant beach. It didn't surprise him to find two figures standing in the darkness, waiting for his arrival.
"You must be Keitaro Urashima," the larger of the two figures said as Keitaro cautiously approached them. "I am Jurika Jinno," he offered a polite bow before turning to the second figure "and this is my partner Mana Tatsumiya."
The man was tall and lean, much like Eishin and Takahata, but appeared to be less muscular than the other magi from Mahora that Keitaro had met, possibly because he was less combat oriented than the others. The woman was a positively dark compared to the mage as her deeply tanned skin and astounding beauty made her stand out; a stark contrast to Jurika's ordinary and unremarkable features.
"Keitaro Urashima," he mumbled as he forced himself to look away from the woman and at the mage. "This is Moe û she can only use telepathy to speak to me and Ranma, but of course he's not here."
Jurika nodded, "A Tsukumogami û how interesting. But we must be off before the patrols return."
Keitaro nodded his agreement even as he heard the sound of a helicopter's blades in the distance. "Where are we going?"
The mage smiled coolly, "Why, Mahora of course."
# # # # #
"There's no way you're going to just send me home now," Kanako snapped as she glared at Granny Hina.
The other dimension jumping travelers knew better than to involve themselves with the women's argument, pulling themselves away from the conversation as they took inventory of their weapons as tried to plot their next course of action.
"Don't be such an obstinate little girl," Hinata chided. "You know as well as I do that you are not close to being in the same league as Ranma as a fighter and martial artist and even you admit that the other Keitaro is a better fighter than you are."
"I have to see this through grandmother," the lithe girl shouted, standing firm.
"The other you already died trying to help Ranma," the older woman stated, "Ià How do you think this Keitaro and I would feel if you were to die as well? Why do you think that I insisted that this Mithril send Seta to assist Ranma û because I don't want you to die."
Though he desperately wanted to stay out of the conversation, he couldn't help but interject once he'd been mentioned. "So you want me to die?" he teased as he lit his cigarette.
The elderly woman turned and eyed her adopted daughter's former lover, "No, but you're trained to deal with this kind of stuff û Kanako's still wet behind the ears."
"Actually, we all are," Ranma said, injecting himself into the conversation. "I know that I'm the one who dragged everyone into this, but I know that if I was one of them, I'd want to see things through to the end as well. This is bigger than just me or any one of us now." He turned to look at the others. "Even the other Keitaro knows this, and even though I don't want either Keitaro to stick their necks out for me, I know that I can't do this alone. I know that there are plenty of fighters that might be willing to help, but not everyone can cross over like we" he gestured at the others "can. I used to think that I could handle any situation myself, but I've come to realized that even I need help."
It was odd for Ranma to say to much. As a man of action he wasn't used to trying to get his point across with anything other than his fists (and feet). Yet he knew that he needed to rely on words rather than his fists and actions û especially with his family involved.
Just a few short days ago he wouldn't have thought anything about the woman before him, but she was his grandmother. Though he knew so little about her he understood that she was trying to help all of her grandchildren and keep them all out of harms way.
"I'm sorry I got Kanako and Keitaro involved, but we need to find out why the other you chose the path that she's on," he said, breaking the awkward silence. "The decision that she made that differed from yours might be why we're all in this situation right now."
Hinata glanced at Ranma, then at her adopted granddaughter. "Promise me," she finally said, "promise me that you'll keep her, no, keep them safe, even from the other me."
"I swear," Ranma said as he knelt so that he could look her in the eye, "that I will do everything in my power to keep them all safe."
# # # # #
For the first time in a long time, Akane Tendo had decided to skip school. Though she had long established herself as one of the best martial artists at Furinkan, the past week had proven to her and everyone else that she clearly was a second tier martial artist. Only Nabiki knew of her loss to the Aoyama girl, but after her devastating and very public loss to both Motoko Aoyama and Ryoko Mitsurugi at the Kuno Invitational in the second and fourth rounds of the round robin stage of the tournamentà well, she just couldn't face her friends and schoolmates.
It was humbling, worse than her inability to hit Ranma the first and only time that they had sparred.
Sitting by the canal, she spent the day watching the river as she tried to collect herself.
While no one blamed her for the poor showing of the Furinkan squad, she knew that she should have set a better example for the others. True, the team was usually led by Kuno, but in his (and Ranma's) absence they had turned to her û and she had failed them. But it wasn't that she had failed them û it was that she'd lost. Facing off against Motoko Aoyama at the tournament was supposed to be her chance to avenge her previous loss to the slender girl û but the humbling loss was hers, not Aoyama's. And then to lose to Ryoko Mitsurugi as well, a mere vice-captain of her school's teamà Those two losses had kept her from advancing past the first stage. And now they were part of her record û a shame that she could never overcomeà.
"Akane?" Ryoga's soft voice called out to her. "You alright?"
The short haired girl simply shrugged.
Ryoga couldn't help but spend the past few days thinking. Though he'd been the least seriously injured of the 'rivals', he had still been forced to spend the entire weekend recovering from the humbling beating that Ranma had dished out to him (and the other rivals). That had given him time to think about, well, everything.
Yes, the beating had been humbling, but it had also been eye opening. Having fought, and lost, Ranma so many times, Ryoga had always thought that he was just one move away from winning, but losing like that had proven that Ranma really was just that much better. If Ranma were truly serious like he had been that day, than none of them had a chance in a serious fight. He, and the others, had taken Ranma for granted, overlooking the fact that the arrogant pigtailed boy often held back on his blows just to punish them further û just as Ranma had done against that figure-skater when he'd declared that just one punch wasn't enough. But in truth, one punch could have been enough had he wanted the fight to end with one blow.
Rubbing his still bruised throat, Ryoga shook his head. Ranma always gave them a chance to win as he held back on his blows, refusing to put them down with a single blow unless they conceded. But that day, that day Ranma had been serious. His blows had left the rivals seriously injured. That day Ranma wasn't holding back. Had that girl not intervened Ryoga was sure that Ranma wouldn't have stopped at just injuring the rivals.
"I heard about the tournament," he said. And he'd heard about the girl who had defeated Akane, the same girl that had kept Ranma from further injuring his primary rivals. "We all lose sometime û hell, even Ranma loses."
She couldn't help but smile, even if it was a weak smile, at the idea of Ranma losing. In the months that she'd known him she had seen him lose several times.
"The thing that makes Ranma so blasted annoying is that he never gives up," the bandana wearing martial artist stated. "Yeah, he gets beat every once in a while, but he always comes back to avenge those losses."
"Yeah," Akane shrugged, "I guess you're right."
"This looks familiar," a voice proclaimed, interrupting the pair as they tried to share a moment.
"You're really a moron Sousuke," a familiar voice added.
'Ranma?'
"This is where we appeared after we were ambushed the other night," Ranma stated as he lead the others.
Akane stood up, glancing at the odd quartet that was approaching her position.
"So if we jump here then we'll appear where Kurz was murdered?" the scarred boy asked grimly.
Both Akane and Ryoga froze. Though they both had seen Ranma fight before, they never once thought that anyone would die as a result of that fighting.
"Yeah," Ranma replied, oblivious to the pair ahead of them.
"Looks like we're not alone," Seta stated, nodding at the pair of youths standing beside the magical marker.
"Ryogaà" Ranma said as he faced his long-time rival, images of him trying to crush the other boy's throat flashing through his mind.
"Ranma," the bandana wearing boy returned.
"If you wanna fight for Akane's affection and love, you're gonna lose," the pigtailed boy declared. Walking calmly up to the one person whom he saw as friend and rival, he looked Ryoga in the eye. "You aren't gonna win Akane's heart by proving that you're the better fighter û you gotta prove that you're the better man. No, prove that you're the better man for her."
Despite herself, Akane couldn't help but blush. 'Ryoga likes me?'
Steeling his resolve, Ranma nodded then walked past Ryoga as his watch began to glow brightly in the fading light of the day.
Seeing the confused look on Ryoga's face, Seta walked by the bandana wearing boy. "What Ranma is saying is that girls might like to see guys fighting for them, but the real way to win a girl's heart isn't with your fists."
"So he's your rival?" Sagara asked the pigtailed boy as he walked past Seta and the other teens.
Ranma simply nodded.
"Why keep a rival around?" the scarred mercenary asked. "If it was me I'd have just put a gun to his head. In my line of work I can't afford to have rivals û it's best to simply kill them before they kill you."
Kanako simply buried her face in her palm. "Kami, you're such an idiot!"
Seta smirked. "You forget that he's from another world Kanako. Though our worlds might appear to be the similar they are both very different culturally and technologically."
A flash of blinding light silenced the discussion, or at least what Ryoga and Akane could hear as they both stared at the ground, unwilling to look at each other.
'How dare he tell Akane how I feel about her! I'll prove to him that I am the better man!'
'Ryoga likes me? He likes me?'
X X X X X
A/N
I think I'll end this snippet here.
Not sure if I should keep that last scene or cut it... What do you think?
Please go to my FF.net profile and vote on who you think would win in a fight û Maya Natsume vs Setsuna Sakurazaki.
Dreamingfox
Author's Notes û
Summer's here and I don't plan to be on the computer as much as I was last summer. Yes, expect delays between my updates. That's how it goes.
Italics denotes thoughts, while bold italics denotes speaking in Chinese.
X X X X X
The sound of the gently crashing waves of the ocean against the sandy beach cascaded up to the tiny villa. Despite the sun and the pleasant weather Kaname Chidori just couldn't relax. It didn't help that she'd been kidnapped four days ago and found herself on the island. True, she wasn't on an abandoned island, but she couldn't help but wish that she didn't share the island with the boy who had stolen her first kiss. It was clear to her that he wanted something from her - unfortunately he wasn't saying just what he wanted from her, but the possibilities frightened her despite her refusal to admit that she was actually afraid.
Watching as the two pilotless AS units accompanied Leonard in the distance, the teal haired girl couldn't help but wonder why Sousuke Sagara hadn't been around when she'd been kidnapped. Surely he hadn't been called away on a mission as she'd just seen him hours before the swarm Bonta-kun Arm Slaves surrounded her apartment complex û or had they just been waiting for him to be away so that they could kidnap her? And if that was the case, then why the hell hadn't Sagara come to rescue her yet? Had something happened during his last mission? What about Kurz and Melissa and Tessa? Wouldn't they have tried to let her know if something had happened to Sousuke?
A sickening feeling slowly grew in the pit of her stomach as fear and worry slowly set in. After four days of seeing no one but Leonard, Kaname Chidori was slowly starting to crack as the sun slowly disappeared behind the approaching storm clouds.
X X X X X
An unusual mist filled the bay despite the warmth of the season. Yet it was that same warmth of the air and the ocean water that allowed Kanako to create a concealing mist as the five travelers sought to avoid being detected by those they pursued.
"This is so stupid," Kanako grumbled as she concentrated on the Glacier Ring, creating more chilling ice for the quintet. "Who ever heard of mist or fog on the Indian Ocean?"
"More like 'who ever heard of icebergs in the Indian Ocean?'" Seta chuckled as he used his infinitely extending wrought iron staff to propel the icy raft.
"This is perfect weather," Ranma replied coolly. Ever since his final battle with Saffron he'd never given a thought towards heat or cold unless it was about using water to trigger his curse. "Besides, it's not as if anyone's going to notice us with this storm approaching."
"So how do you know we're going the right way?" the scarred soldier asked.
The raven haired boy shrugged, "I just got a feeling."
'There were twelve of them,' Hannya purred. 'We draw closer to two of them.'
'How do we know it's the right two?' the martial artist countered. 'The last pair we ran into were Mithril agents.'
'You've already met five of them,' Kien interjected. 'That leaves only seven more.'
'Yeah, and meeting four of those five means that we're giving the two we're looking for more time to run and hide,' Ranma retorted.
'We can only do so much, boy,' the cursed blade snarled. 'Which is more than you can do by yourself. There is a reason why you came to us and made the deal that you did.'
"Why didn't Sousuke just conjure us a boat with his gun?" Kanako asked as she added more ice to their frozen raft. "Or make a magical dragon for us to ride?"
"He's still not that good at it," Keitaro answered. "Like me, he's from the technological world û magic is still very unbelievable to us despite what we've seen. The three of you at least came from a world where magic is much more prevalent and thus easily accepted û thus it's easier for you to connect to your artifacts."
"Plus a dragon probably would have been picked up on radar," Seta chimed in from the back.
"We're pretty close," the cursed martial artist stated. With the demon spirits' help he could tell that there were two definite signatures, and several dozen other presences û probably soldiers or civilians, but if it was who they were looking for than it was most-likely soldiers.
'There are two Whispered on the island ahead,' Moe stated.
Ranma nodded at Tsukumogami. "Moe says that she senses two Whispered ahead. I sense several dozen presences as well. We're getting pretty close."
# # # # #
A cool afternoon breeze somehow found its way to Damon High's crowded campus, caressing the sweat covered brow of one Ryoko Mitsurugi. Though she'd spent the previous weekend competing in the very exclusive Kuno Invitational against some of the top tier kendoka in the nation, she couldn't help but field a bit disappointed. True, the heir to the Kuno Zabatsu was had to miss the event due to serious training injury, the same event he'd won the previous two years and thus could not defend his title for the final year that he was eligible to compete in the tournament, but the fact that the Furankin team had all been eliminated by the second round showed just how poor of a team Furankin truly was. She'd gone into the event hoping to get a good match with any kendoka from Nerima hoping that they truly lived up to their reputation.
Alas, her match had proven that Nerima's fighters really weren't all that.
After a quick shower and change of clothes, the busty kendoka wondered what her erstwhile companion did to have so much energy. The energetic and bubbly girl was always smiling, something that always brightened Ryoko's day.
"I heard that you did very well in the exclusive tournament," the brown haired girl stated.
Ryoko simply smiled. Of course she did well; she was the rising star of her team and the leader of the girl's squad. Though she hadn't won the overall event, she had ranked second among all of the girls that had competed, losing only to her childhood friend Motoko Aoyama. Then again, she didn't come from a martial arts family like the slender kendoka did, so she wasn't expected to win the event. Still, losing was never fun. Though she'd only suffered two losses, both had been must wins. The first was to Motoko in the second round (the first elimination round) and then to Soichiro Arima in the third round (in the consolation or losers' bracket). Both loses had kept her from being ranked in the top twenty, though Motoko earned 11th place after losing in the third and fourth rounds while Soichiro Arima won the losers' bracket, thus earning him a spot in the fourth round, and won in three of his four remaining matches earning him 5th place.
The busty girl couldn't help but scowl as she recalled how she'd lost. True, tournament were different from real fighting as they favored more technical fighters by awarding points for hits, but it was said that those who had ranked in the top ten the previous year had each fought Tatewaki Kuno in a test of martial arts and lost. The idea of actually using her kendo skills in a fight was what both Motoko and Ryoko had desired, but their losses and the injury to Kuno had kept them both from testing themselves.
"Why are we headed into Nerima?" Hitomi asked as Ryoko stepped out of the train.
Blinking, the kendoka realized just where she was.
"I guess you must have been thinking about the tournament," the smaller girl stated.
# # # # #
"Stupid Keitaro," a busty, auburn haired girl mumbled as she exited the train. With everything that was going on at the Hinata Sou, the dorm manager had not been able to attend Cram School the past few days. It didn't help that there was a practice test coming up, but to the idiot manager family came first. Setting aside his studies, Keitaro focused on the magical portal to another parallel dimension that had somehow pulled in his perverted cursed cousin and adopted sister. As such, Naru was forced to ride the train alone.
Though she would vehemently deny that she actually enjoyed spending some time with Keitaro, deep inside of her was a spark of jealousy and rage/anger over the fact that Keitaro was missing Cram School. It didn't help that Ranma turned into a hot girl, or that Kanako could be considered as pretty in a goth-loli sort of way.
Lost in thought, Naru blinked as she tried to place herself, "This isn't Hinata."
Behind her the doors to the train closed.
Yet the station appeared fairly familiar, "Nerima."
The train sped off, leaving the cram school student stranded in Nerima.
# # # # #
Shampoo was not happy. Having rushed back to Nerima only to find out that Mousse was still in the hospital with broken ribs and a punctured lung as the result of a fight with Ranma, the violet haired girl wondered if the artifact she'd been sent to acquire was meant to deal with the sudden change in her Airen. But with the restaurant apparently closed with Mousse in the hospital and her honored grandmother missing, an exhausted Shampoo didn't know what to do.
"Must find Airen," the proud Amazon said aloud to herself. Steeling her resolve, she set off for Ranma's usual haunts.
X X X X X
"They're in the Indian Ocean," the helmsman stated as he put a map up on the main screen. The green blip that marked their agent clearly showed just how far he had managed to travel in a few days. "Do you want me to request to have one of the satellites repositioned so that we can get a visual on them?"
"No, just keep me appraised of their position," the silver-grey haired captain stated. "If they are on the trail, moving a satellite will simply tip our hands and endanger them."
"Aye Captain," the helmsman replied.
Tessa nodded as the officer turned back to monitor Sagara's position. With the chaos that had seemed to erupt in Tokyo the latest assault on the home of the Martial Arts Alliance had gone virtually unnoticed by most. But Mithril, even in its current decrepit state, noticed. Though they were powerless to do anything about it, Tessa knew that eventually they would have to inform Ranma or risk that someone from the MAA would inform him.
# # # # #
Though each of the residents in the Hinata Sou had their own thoughts and opinions as to why Kaolla Su was a resident at the Hinata Sou, none of them came close the truth. While the young, energetic princess did wish to let her cousin and sister resolve their feelings for each other while she was away, she knew that her presence in Japan was much more than to give her cousin and sister figure out their feelings. No, Japan held much more for Kaolla than time away from her family, it offered technology. Though she valued the magical, culture, and history of her native country, she knew that the world was slowly moving towards depending on the much more reliable technology instead of using magic and physical labor. Yes, technology was the future.
And Ranma had proven that point. His jaunt to a parallel dimension where technology ruled had shown her just how much humanity could advance. But it also proved just how much humanity was lost when society forgot about their roots. Without their culture and traditions to curb their darker urges, the world would turn out to be one like the one where Ranma was currently stuck in.
But the technology was truly fantastic. It was several decades beyond what was currently available in even industrial nations like Japan and the United States. It was almost like something out of an anime or manga that the Japanese so loved.
What had once been a cutting edge laboratory was now third rate as Su rushed to find or create circuit boards, chips, and other parts needed to make something that slightly resembled the blue prints that she'd acquired from the flash drive that the dimension jumping Sousuke Sagara had dropped. The information on the flash drive was serious stuff û reactive armor, electronic camouflage systems, next generation radar/sensor systems, electronic muscle packs and then there were the guns.
Though the scarred mercenary appeared to be just a meathead, he was clearly much smarter than he appeared. Aside from his intimate knowledge of guns and firearms, he knew a lot about Arm Slaves. The basic designs that he had downloaded from some Arm Slave magazine had been interesting, but it was his own designs for a miniature Arm Slave that proved he knew what the hell he was doing. True, the OS was flawed, but It was still at least five years ahead of anything mentioned in the magazines from his world and at least a generation ahead of anything that anyone in this world could come up with (aside from the mecha that were dreamed up in various anime, manga or sci-fi movies).
Looking up at her newest creation, she smirked. Now all she had to do was test it before Ranma returned.
X X X X X
"I had no idea that it was this bad beyond the fog," Kanako grumbled as she gave up on creating and maintaining the mist.
"So this is why you had us overshoot the island," Seta added as he let the fierce winds propel the icy raft.
Ranma simply scowled as he endured the cold rain. The sudden storm and the stiff winds had made it harder for Kanako to maintain the thick mist/fog around them, but it also provided them with the cover they needed. Unfortunately between the rain and crashing waves even the combined efforts of his cursed armor and swords, Ranma couldn't maintain his true form as he was repeatedly splashed by the cold salty waves or hard rain drops.
'It's so strange controlling a female's body,' the Hina blade teased.
'I've never possessed a woman's body before either,' Hannya added. 'Their bodies are soà squishy and soft.'
Ranma scowled. Though the cursed armor had shifted to fit his cursed body, it had done so reluctantly.
'I always knew that they were softà'
'Shut up!' Ranma thought. A slight snickering from the cursed weapons filled his mind. Turning his attention to his physical companions, Ranma glanced first at Moe, the Tsukumogami marionette that could also communicate with the cursed/magical weapons as she instructed Sousuke Sagara, the scarred Mithril agent from this world, in how to use the witch-gun. Unlike the cursed armor and swords that he wielded, the others could not communicate with their weapons because their weapons merely had a psychic imprint from their previous owners/wielders where as his actually contained sentient demonic spirits. But at least the others didn't have to worry about their weapons trying to take over their bodies.
But looking at the others, Ranma hoped that they mastered at least the basics of their weapons by the time they reached the island. True, Seta appeared to have the basics of his weapon down pat, but all it really did was extend to varying lengths. The Kusanagi was also very straight-forward in that it could cut through any physical material such as the armor of an AS or titanium doors but combined with Keitaro's Urashima Fist style it made the Todai student much more formidable, but as good and as quick a learner as Keitaro was, he was still unaccustomed to using a sword while fighting. That just left Kanako with the Glacier Ring that allowed her to freeze virtually anything and Sousuke with the unpredictable but powerful witch-gun. Though they had bested a squadron of AS and their supporting units, the group was far from experienced with their new weapons.
Yes, they were formidable, but they were far from peek form.
# # # # #
"Hmmmà" Naru exclaimed as she savored the last tasty bite of okonomiyaki. Though the young chef was no older than she was it was clear that she knew what she was doing. "That was great!"
"Thanks," the owner and chef replied.
The auburn haired girl leaned back, glad to still be wearing her drab attire as she allowed herself to act a bit more slovenly than she normally did. "I'm glad I stopped in here instead of the Chinese shop."
With little action in Nerima the past few days due to the recent injuries to Tatewaki Kuno, Mousse, and Ryoga, as well as Ranma's recent disappearance û probably to avenge his rivals or to prepare for the new threat if this new challenger hadn't already gotten to him first, the residents of Nerima were restless. With the Cat CafÚ closed those hoping to catch any possible action had headed to Ukyo's as that was the most-likely place (aside from the high school) for a fight to break out.
Busy with her other patrons, Ukyo Kuonji absently noticed the money that the girl with the coke bottle glasses set on the counter. Though it was the tail end of the dinner rush, there was still a solid crowd in the shop and seats at the counter were a premium. As Naru stood up two girls rushed to claim her nearly vacant seat. Though a tall girl claimed the seat, she did so at the cost of her drink as the other girl knocked it out of her hand and onto the exiting Naru.
Slightly frustrated, Naru glanced around for the bathroom. Slipping inside she quickly wiped off the access liquid. After a half minute of trying to save her outfit the auburn haired girl decided to change into her regular outfit instead. Just as she was starting to button up her blouse the door to the stall opened, revealing a very effeminate waiter.
"Pervert!"
Acting on instinct, Naru finished buttoning up even as she charged at the cross-dressing waiter/waitress. Her frustration over Keitaro's disappearance and being forced to go to cram school by herself as well as her ruined outfit needed an outlet.
Unfortunately that outlet was not willing to simply take a punch as years of kunoichi training taught Konatsu to evade such a clumsy attack. Leaping back, the gender-confused ninja deftly avoided the powerful haymaker and the spinning kick that followed.
With each missed blow Naru simply became angrier, ignoring the fact that the waiter/waitress had slipped out of the bathroom and into the restaurant. So used to attacking and not being attacked, Naru failed to notice the giant metal spatula that slammed into her shoulder.
"No one attacks Konatsu!" Ukyo shouted as she felt her battle spatula connect with the auburn haired girl. With Naru still attached to the spatula, the chef turned.
As veterans of the many Neriman battles, the spectators simply moved out of the way of the fight, some scrambling to gather their food as Ukyo slammed the girl into the ground.
Surprised, Naru simply blinked as her mind processed what was going on. Standing up she glared at the owner. "So this is the type of establishment you run û you let guys peep on the girls in the bathroom!"
The other female patrons looked at each other then at Konatsu. "But Konatsu's actually thinks he's a girl."
Blinded by her pent up rage, Naru simply charged at her attacker.
A veteran of several fights with the feisty Akane and relentless Shampoo, Ukyo simply parried with the haft of her battle spatula before countering with an elbow to the mysterious girl's stomach. A back hand to the girl's face stood the girl up and set her up for another shot from the battle spatula, this time to her ribs. Again the veteran watchers scrambled out of the way as Ukyo threw the auburn haired stranger out of the restaurant and sent the girl skidding into the street.
"Man - that was quick."
"At least we saw some action."
X X X X X
Hinata Urashima was not happy. Five days ago Leonard Testarossa had lead a revolt against Amalgam, taking much of their third generation Arm Slaves as well as all of the prototype miniature and unmanned Arm Slaves and their armaments. It was four days ago that her hand picked squad had failed to infiltrate Avalon to acquire the 'magical' items that she had once captured for Mithril. Between the loss of her units during the uprising and in the raid on Mithril's facility the former Mithril agent was not happy.
'If they were going to die it would have been better for them to die by my hands,' she though as she looked over the latest reports. "Has Mithril been able to put together any plan of attack?"
"No ma'am," the petty officer replied. "They are concentrating their efforts on trying to establish contact with the other theaters, but it appears that the Indian Ocean fleet is completely shut down. There's chatter from the Pacific fleet and Atlantic fleet but that's it."
Looking over the map, Hinata scowled. "What forces do we have in the Indian Ocean?"
"Currently none," the officer replied. "They were wiped out in the uprising."
The old mercenary nodded. "I want eyes on the Indian Ocean and two squads on standby."
# # # # #
"So who's Ranma Saotome?" Hitomi asked as she walked beside Ryoko.
The tall kendoka simply shrugged. "I'm not too sure myself, but I think Motoko knows him. We just ran into him over the weekend when we went to walk around Nerima." Recalling the look in her old friend's eyes when the boy had surprised them, the busty kendoka knew that there was something between them, but what?
Having told the smaller girl about her time in Nerima for the Kuno invitational (yet having not covered any of the actual matches), Ryoko couldn't help but think of the odd martial artist. Knowing Motoko as she did, there was no way that the slender kendoka would fall for someone who wasn't a martial artist. But clearly he wasn't a kendoka himself as he wasn't at the tournament, so who was he? Thinking back, she couldn't even recall any defining features about the guy. "All I know is this Ranma Saotome"
"You say Ranma?" violet haired girl interjected as she run towards the pair from Damon High. "You see Ranma-Airen?"
Instinctively Ryoko moved so that she was standing between this strange girl and Hitomi. "No," she replied as the girl stopped mere centimeters away from her.
"Where is Ranma-Airen?" the violet haired girl demanded.
"Look, I don't know any Ranma Airen," Ryoko replied.
"You just say Airen's name," the clearly frustrated girl said, her thick Chinese accent much more noticeable now.
"I think she might be Chinese," Hitomi stated as she peaked out from around the taller girl. "Maybe she does know this Ranma guy. I mean, that name really isn't that common."
Shampoo reacted to her airen's name, turning her attention to the smaller girl. "Where is Airen?" she demanded.
"Look," Ryoko said as she once again moved so that she was directly between her friend and this strange girl, "we already said that we don't know this Airen guy."
"You no lie to Shampoo!"
Ryoko instinctively reached for her bokken as the purple haired girl pulled out her twin bonboris.
"Obstacles is for killing!" Shampoo declared as she advanced on the two girls.
Instinctively Ryoko pushed Hitomi out of the way even as she leapt out from underneath the powerful overhead strike. Seeing the concrete street shatter under the other girl's weapon, Ryoko knew that she didn't have the power to even block any of those blows.
"Run," she ordered Hitomi as she eyed the violent violet haired girl. Adopting a standard kendo stance, she waited as the other girl launched herself into the air, gaining even more power for her attacks as she closed the distance. At the last moment she stepped under the crossing attacks, landing three quick blows to the other girl's stomach and ribs.
Dramatically, Ryoko sheathed her bokken.
"Kendo-girl is quick," Shampoo stated as she stood up, "but not strong."
Turning around Ryoko stared wide eyed as the powerful Chinese girl stood up.
All around them passers by stood still as they watched the developing fight.
"Who's the new girl?"
"I don't know but it's been a while since we saw a good girl fight."
"You've got to stop them!" Hitomi urged as she approached a group of students.
"No way!" an athletic boy replied.
"No one tries to stop one of Shampoo's fights," another boy explained.
"This new girl's good," the third boy stated. "She got a good shot on Shampoo."
"That's only going to make her madder."
"Yeah, if you can't put Shampoo down in one shot you're kinda screwed."
Again Shampoo charged, this time leading with a powerful shoulder to hip attack with her left that lead into thrust with her right.
Ryoko didn't fall for the feint as she took a step back to avoid the attacks.
"Man, even Kuno knows better than to just rely on kendo against the others," someone grumbled.
The busty kendoka scowled. So this was what Kuno faced regularly. Clearly straight kendo would not prevail against such a powerful opponent. She'd need to think outside of kendo if she wanted to win.
Ducking under another series of attacks she rolled past her opponent's guard, landing a swift blow to her opponent's knee that threw the other girl off balance.
Standing up Shampoo tentatively shook her leg. Once she was sure that she could stand on it she charged again.
This time Ryoko was in a high stance, holding the bokken over her head. Trusting in her speed and greater range, the busty kendoka stepped into the Amazon's backhanded left as she brought her weapon down. Though her fearless opponent barely moved her head out of the way, the star of Damon High's kendo squad connected with a solid blow to the girl's shoulder. Though she'd stepped into the other girl's guard and avoided the head of the bonbari, a glancing blow to her ample bosom and ribs with the shaft of the weapon forced the kendoka to abort the follow through of her attack.
Breaking apart, it was clear to the spectators that both girls had been injured in that exchange as Shampoo's left arm lung limply despite the fact that she still clung to her bonbari and the busty stranger was clutching her left side.
"Damn, that girl's hot!"
"Do you think Shampoo would give this girl the Kiss of Death too?"
"If she knows what's good for her the new girl should just throw the fight."
"What's the 'Kiss of Death'?" Hitomi asked - her attempts at trying to get someone to stop the fight long forgotten.
"Well, Shampoo's a Chinese Amazon," the boy explained. "She's came to Nerima chasing after Ranma Saotome because he'd beaten her in a fight. Amazons are very proud and they don't take losing very well. So when an Amazon loses to a woman she gives her the Kiss of Death û a vow to hunt down the person who defeated her until one of them is dead. If it's a guy they chase after him until he comes back to the village as her husband."
"I'd never run from Shampoo if she wanted me," the boy's companion muttered.
"Dude," the first boy said, shaking his head as Shampoo launched another attack, "you wouldn't survive an hour alone with her."
Hitomi watched in horror as Ryoko parried a fierce thrust then evaded a right thrust before slipping behind the Amazon and connecting with a series of quick hits to the other girl's legs that nearly brought her to her knees as each blow connected on her already injured right leg. Not willing to give up her advantage, the busty kendoka landed several more blows to her opponent's exposed backside and leg, each hit tearing through the other girl's dress.
Completing the spin, Shampoo brought up her left and threw the weapon in her hand at her opponent, forcing the kendoka to break off her attack. Unwilling to let Ryoko get away, Shampoo followed after her, taking a blow to her injured arm even as she kicked her discarded bonbari at the taller girl. Reaching out, she grabbed hold of the other girl's blouse and pulled hard, driving her head into the taller girl's jaw.
Both girls fell to the ground with Shampoo raising her bonbari up high.
"That's enough!" a stern, menacing voice called out. "The girl's defeated."
"Honored Grandmother!"
"I had not realized you were back yet," the shriveled ghoul stated as she hopped over to her granddaughter.
Standing up, Shampoo tried to not limp on her injured leg.
"Who's that?" Hitomi asked as she fought the urge to run to her friend's aid.
"That's Cologne," the boy behind her answered. "She's Shampoo's grandmother"
"Great-grandmother," another boy corrected.
"And she's an elder of their tribe."
Suddenly the old woman turned to the young girl. "You're not from Nerima," she stated. She glanced at the boys behind Hitomi. "You three, take her and her friend to Dr. Tofu's."
The boys nodded, rushing to help the defeated kendoka and her friend to the unorthodox doctor's clinic.
Finally the old ghoul turned to her descendent, "It is fortunate that this girl lacks the power of Akane Tendo or else she would have defeated you. Her technique and form are solid, and she is much faster than you, though she is also less experienced and powerful as you. If I did not have more pressing matters I would teach you the Breaking Point."
X X X X X
A/N
I think I'll just leave things where they're at for now.
Please Read and Review.
Dreamingfox
Summer's here and I don't plan to be on the computer as much as I was last summer. Yes, expect delays between my updates. That's how it goes.
Italics denotes thoughts, while bold italics denotes speaking in Chinese.
X X X X X
The sound of the gently crashing waves of the ocean against the sandy beach cascaded up to the tiny villa. Despite the sun and the pleasant weather Kaname Chidori just couldn't relax. It didn't help that she'd been kidnapped four days ago and found herself on the island. True, she wasn't on an abandoned island, but she couldn't help but wish that she didn't share the island with the boy who had stolen her first kiss. It was clear to her that he wanted something from her - unfortunately he wasn't saying just what he wanted from her, but the possibilities frightened her despite her refusal to admit that she was actually afraid.
Watching as the two pilotless AS units accompanied Leonard in the distance, the teal haired girl couldn't help but wonder why Sousuke Sagara hadn't been around when she'd been kidnapped. Surely he hadn't been called away on a mission as she'd just seen him hours before the swarm Bonta-kun Arm Slaves surrounded her apartment complex û or had they just been waiting for him to be away so that they could kidnap her? And if that was the case, then why the hell hadn't Sagara come to rescue her yet? Had something happened during his last mission? What about Kurz and Melissa and Tessa? Wouldn't they have tried to let her know if something had happened to Sousuke?
A sickening feeling slowly grew in the pit of her stomach as fear and worry slowly set in. After four days of seeing no one but Leonard, Kaname Chidori was slowly starting to crack as the sun slowly disappeared behind the approaching storm clouds.
X X X X X
An unusual mist filled the bay despite the warmth of the season. Yet it was that same warmth of the air and the ocean water that allowed Kanako to create a concealing mist as the five travelers sought to avoid being detected by those they pursued.
"This is so stupid," Kanako grumbled as she concentrated on the Glacier Ring, creating more chilling ice for the quintet. "Who ever heard of mist or fog on the Indian Ocean?"
"More like 'who ever heard of icebergs in the Indian Ocean?'" Seta chuckled as he used his infinitely extending wrought iron staff to propel the icy raft.
"This is perfect weather," Ranma replied coolly. Ever since his final battle with Saffron he'd never given a thought towards heat or cold unless it was about using water to trigger his curse. "Besides, it's not as if anyone's going to notice us with this storm approaching."
"So how do you know we're going the right way?" the scarred soldier asked.
The raven haired boy shrugged, "I just got a feeling."
'There were twelve of them,' Hannya purred. 'We draw closer to two of them.'
'How do we know it's the right two?' the martial artist countered. 'The last pair we ran into were Mithril agents.'
'You've already met five of them,' Kien interjected. 'That leaves only seven more.'
'Yeah, and meeting four of those five means that we're giving the two we're looking for more time to run and hide,' Ranma retorted.
'We can only do so much, boy,' the cursed blade snarled. 'Which is more than you can do by yourself. There is a reason why you came to us and made the deal that you did.'
"Why didn't Sousuke just conjure us a boat with his gun?" Kanako asked as she added more ice to their frozen raft. "Or make a magical dragon for us to ride?"
"He's still not that good at it," Keitaro answered. "Like me, he's from the technological world û magic is still very unbelievable to us despite what we've seen. The three of you at least came from a world where magic is much more prevalent and thus easily accepted û thus it's easier for you to connect to your artifacts."
"Plus a dragon probably would have been picked up on radar," Seta chimed in from the back.
"We're pretty close," the cursed martial artist stated. With the demon spirits' help he could tell that there were two definite signatures, and several dozen other presences û probably soldiers or civilians, but if it was who they were looking for than it was most-likely soldiers.
'There are two Whispered on the island ahead,' Moe stated.
Ranma nodded at Tsukumogami. "Moe says that she senses two Whispered ahead. I sense several dozen presences as well. We're getting pretty close."
# # # # #
A cool afternoon breeze somehow found its way to Damon High's crowded campus, caressing the sweat covered brow of one Ryoko Mitsurugi. Though she'd spent the previous weekend competing in the very exclusive Kuno Invitational against some of the top tier kendoka in the nation, she couldn't help but field a bit disappointed. True, the heir to the Kuno Zabatsu was had to miss the event due to serious training injury, the same event he'd won the previous two years and thus could not defend his title for the final year that he was eligible to compete in the tournament, but the fact that the Furankin team had all been eliminated by the second round showed just how poor of a team Furankin truly was. She'd gone into the event hoping to get a good match with any kendoka from Nerima hoping that they truly lived up to their reputation.
Alas, her match had proven that Nerima's fighters really weren't all that.
After a quick shower and change of clothes, the busty kendoka wondered what her erstwhile companion did to have so much energy. The energetic and bubbly girl was always smiling, something that always brightened Ryoko's day.
"I heard that you did very well in the exclusive tournament," the brown haired girl stated.
Ryoko simply smiled. Of course she did well; she was the rising star of her team and the leader of the girl's squad. Though she hadn't won the overall event, she had ranked second among all of the girls that had competed, losing only to her childhood friend Motoko Aoyama. Then again, she didn't come from a martial arts family like the slender kendoka did, so she wasn't expected to win the event. Still, losing was never fun. Though she'd only suffered two losses, both had been must wins. The first was to Motoko in the second round (the first elimination round) and then to Soichiro Arima in the third round (in the consolation or losers' bracket). Both loses had kept her from being ranked in the top twenty, though Motoko earned 11th place after losing in the third and fourth rounds while Soichiro Arima won the losers' bracket, thus earning him a spot in the fourth round, and won in three of his four remaining matches earning him 5th place.
The busty girl couldn't help but scowl as she recalled how she'd lost. True, tournament were different from real fighting as they favored more technical fighters by awarding points for hits, but it was said that those who had ranked in the top ten the previous year had each fought Tatewaki Kuno in a test of martial arts and lost. The idea of actually using her kendo skills in a fight was what both Motoko and Ryoko had desired, but their losses and the injury to Kuno had kept them both from testing themselves.
"Why are we headed into Nerima?" Hitomi asked as Ryoko stepped out of the train.
Blinking, the kendoka realized just where she was.
"I guess you must have been thinking about the tournament," the smaller girl stated.
# # # # #
"Stupid Keitaro," a busty, auburn haired girl mumbled as she exited the train. With everything that was going on at the Hinata Sou, the dorm manager had not been able to attend Cram School the past few days. It didn't help that there was a practice test coming up, but to the idiot manager family came first. Setting aside his studies, Keitaro focused on the magical portal to another parallel dimension that had somehow pulled in his perverted cursed cousin and adopted sister. As such, Naru was forced to ride the train alone.
Though she would vehemently deny that she actually enjoyed spending some time with Keitaro, deep inside of her was a spark of jealousy and rage/anger over the fact that Keitaro was missing Cram School. It didn't help that Ranma turned into a hot girl, or that Kanako could be considered as pretty in a goth-loli sort of way.
Lost in thought, Naru blinked as she tried to place herself, "This isn't Hinata."
Behind her the doors to the train closed.
Yet the station appeared fairly familiar, "Nerima."
The train sped off, leaving the cram school student stranded in Nerima.
# # # # #
Shampoo was not happy. Having rushed back to Nerima only to find out that Mousse was still in the hospital with broken ribs and a punctured lung as the result of a fight with Ranma, the violet haired girl wondered if the artifact she'd been sent to acquire was meant to deal with the sudden change in her Airen. But with the restaurant apparently closed with Mousse in the hospital and her honored grandmother missing, an exhausted Shampoo didn't know what to do.
"Must find Airen," the proud Amazon said aloud to herself. Steeling her resolve, she set off for Ranma's usual haunts.
X X X X X
"They're in the Indian Ocean," the helmsman stated as he put a map up on the main screen. The green blip that marked their agent clearly showed just how far he had managed to travel in a few days. "Do you want me to request to have one of the satellites repositioned so that we can get a visual on them?"
"No, just keep me appraised of their position," the silver-grey haired captain stated. "If they are on the trail, moving a satellite will simply tip our hands and endanger them."
"Aye Captain," the helmsman replied.
Tessa nodded as the officer turned back to monitor Sagara's position. With the chaos that had seemed to erupt in Tokyo the latest assault on the home of the Martial Arts Alliance had gone virtually unnoticed by most. But Mithril, even in its current decrepit state, noticed. Though they were powerless to do anything about it, Tessa knew that eventually they would have to inform Ranma or risk that someone from the MAA would inform him.
# # # # #
Though each of the residents in the Hinata Sou had their own thoughts and opinions as to why Kaolla Su was a resident at the Hinata Sou, none of them came close the truth. While the young, energetic princess did wish to let her cousin and sister resolve their feelings for each other while she was away, she knew that her presence in Japan was much more than to give her cousin and sister figure out their feelings. No, Japan held much more for Kaolla than time away from her family, it offered technology. Though she valued the magical, culture, and history of her native country, she knew that the world was slowly moving towards depending on the much more reliable technology instead of using magic and physical labor. Yes, technology was the future.
And Ranma had proven that point. His jaunt to a parallel dimension where technology ruled had shown her just how much humanity could advance. But it also proved just how much humanity was lost when society forgot about their roots. Without their culture and traditions to curb their darker urges, the world would turn out to be one like the one where Ranma was currently stuck in.
But the technology was truly fantastic. It was several decades beyond what was currently available in even industrial nations like Japan and the United States. It was almost like something out of an anime or manga that the Japanese so loved.
What had once been a cutting edge laboratory was now third rate as Su rushed to find or create circuit boards, chips, and other parts needed to make something that slightly resembled the blue prints that she'd acquired from the flash drive that the dimension jumping Sousuke Sagara had dropped. The information on the flash drive was serious stuff û reactive armor, electronic camouflage systems, next generation radar/sensor systems, electronic muscle packs and then there were the guns.
Though the scarred mercenary appeared to be just a meathead, he was clearly much smarter than he appeared. Aside from his intimate knowledge of guns and firearms, he knew a lot about Arm Slaves. The basic designs that he had downloaded from some Arm Slave magazine had been interesting, but it was his own designs for a miniature Arm Slave that proved he knew what the hell he was doing. True, the OS was flawed, but It was still at least five years ahead of anything mentioned in the magazines from his world and at least a generation ahead of anything that anyone in this world could come up with (aside from the mecha that were dreamed up in various anime, manga or sci-fi movies).
Looking up at her newest creation, she smirked. Now all she had to do was test it before Ranma returned.
X X X X X
"I had no idea that it was this bad beyond the fog," Kanako grumbled as she gave up on creating and maintaining the mist.
"So this is why you had us overshoot the island," Seta added as he let the fierce winds propel the icy raft.
Ranma simply scowled as he endured the cold rain. The sudden storm and the stiff winds had made it harder for Kanako to maintain the thick mist/fog around them, but it also provided them with the cover they needed. Unfortunately between the rain and crashing waves even the combined efforts of his cursed armor and swords, Ranma couldn't maintain his true form as he was repeatedly splashed by the cold salty waves or hard rain drops.
'It's so strange controlling a female's body,' the Hina blade teased.
'I've never possessed a woman's body before either,' Hannya added. 'Their bodies are soà squishy and soft.'
Ranma scowled. Though the cursed armor had shifted to fit his cursed body, it had done so reluctantly.
'I always knew that they were softà'
'Shut up!' Ranma thought. A slight snickering from the cursed weapons filled his mind. Turning his attention to his physical companions, Ranma glanced first at Moe, the Tsukumogami marionette that could also communicate with the cursed/magical weapons as she instructed Sousuke Sagara, the scarred Mithril agent from this world, in how to use the witch-gun. Unlike the cursed armor and swords that he wielded, the others could not communicate with their weapons because their weapons merely had a psychic imprint from their previous owners/wielders where as his actually contained sentient demonic spirits. But at least the others didn't have to worry about their weapons trying to take over their bodies.
But looking at the others, Ranma hoped that they mastered at least the basics of their weapons by the time they reached the island. True, Seta appeared to have the basics of his weapon down pat, but all it really did was extend to varying lengths. The Kusanagi was also very straight-forward in that it could cut through any physical material such as the armor of an AS or titanium doors but combined with Keitaro's Urashima Fist style it made the Todai student much more formidable, but as good and as quick a learner as Keitaro was, he was still unaccustomed to using a sword while fighting. That just left Kanako with the Glacier Ring that allowed her to freeze virtually anything and Sousuke with the unpredictable but powerful witch-gun. Though they had bested a squadron of AS and their supporting units, the group was far from experienced with their new weapons.
Yes, they were formidable, but they were far from peek form.
# # # # #
"Hmmmà" Naru exclaimed as she savored the last tasty bite of okonomiyaki. Though the young chef was no older than she was it was clear that she knew what she was doing. "That was great!"
"Thanks," the owner and chef replied.
The auburn haired girl leaned back, glad to still be wearing her drab attire as she allowed herself to act a bit more slovenly than she normally did. "I'm glad I stopped in here instead of the Chinese shop."
With little action in Nerima the past few days due to the recent injuries to Tatewaki Kuno, Mousse, and Ryoga, as well as Ranma's recent disappearance û probably to avenge his rivals or to prepare for the new threat if this new challenger hadn't already gotten to him first, the residents of Nerima were restless. With the Cat CafÚ closed those hoping to catch any possible action had headed to Ukyo's as that was the most-likely place (aside from the high school) for a fight to break out.
Busy with her other patrons, Ukyo Kuonji absently noticed the money that the girl with the coke bottle glasses set on the counter. Though it was the tail end of the dinner rush, there was still a solid crowd in the shop and seats at the counter were a premium. As Naru stood up two girls rushed to claim her nearly vacant seat. Though a tall girl claimed the seat, she did so at the cost of her drink as the other girl knocked it out of her hand and onto the exiting Naru.
Slightly frustrated, Naru glanced around for the bathroom. Slipping inside she quickly wiped off the access liquid. After a half minute of trying to save her outfit the auburn haired girl decided to change into her regular outfit instead. Just as she was starting to button up her blouse the door to the stall opened, revealing a very effeminate waiter.
"Pervert!"
Acting on instinct, Naru finished buttoning up even as she charged at the cross-dressing waiter/waitress. Her frustration over Keitaro's disappearance and being forced to go to cram school by herself as well as her ruined outfit needed an outlet.
Unfortunately that outlet was not willing to simply take a punch as years of kunoichi training taught Konatsu to evade such a clumsy attack. Leaping back, the gender-confused ninja deftly avoided the powerful haymaker and the spinning kick that followed.
With each missed blow Naru simply became angrier, ignoring the fact that the waiter/waitress had slipped out of the bathroom and into the restaurant. So used to attacking and not being attacked, Naru failed to notice the giant metal spatula that slammed into her shoulder.
"No one attacks Konatsu!" Ukyo shouted as she felt her battle spatula connect with the auburn haired girl. With Naru still attached to the spatula, the chef turned.
As veterans of the many Neriman battles, the spectators simply moved out of the way of the fight, some scrambling to gather their food as Ukyo slammed the girl into the ground.
Surprised, Naru simply blinked as her mind processed what was going on. Standing up she glared at the owner. "So this is the type of establishment you run û you let guys peep on the girls in the bathroom!"
The other female patrons looked at each other then at Konatsu. "But Konatsu's actually thinks he's a girl."
Blinded by her pent up rage, Naru simply charged at her attacker.
A veteran of several fights with the feisty Akane and relentless Shampoo, Ukyo simply parried with the haft of her battle spatula before countering with an elbow to the mysterious girl's stomach. A back hand to the girl's face stood the girl up and set her up for another shot from the battle spatula, this time to her ribs. Again the veteran watchers scrambled out of the way as Ukyo threw the auburn haired stranger out of the restaurant and sent the girl skidding into the street.
"Man - that was quick."
"At least we saw some action."
X X X X X
Hinata Urashima was not happy. Five days ago Leonard Testarossa had lead a revolt against Amalgam, taking much of their third generation Arm Slaves as well as all of the prototype miniature and unmanned Arm Slaves and their armaments. It was four days ago that her hand picked squad had failed to infiltrate Avalon to acquire the 'magical' items that she had once captured for Mithril. Between the loss of her units during the uprising and in the raid on Mithril's facility the former Mithril agent was not happy.
'If they were going to die it would have been better for them to die by my hands,' she though as she looked over the latest reports. "Has Mithril been able to put together any plan of attack?"
"No ma'am," the petty officer replied. "They are concentrating their efforts on trying to establish contact with the other theaters, but it appears that the Indian Ocean fleet is completely shut down. There's chatter from the Pacific fleet and Atlantic fleet but that's it."
Looking over the map, Hinata scowled. "What forces do we have in the Indian Ocean?"
"Currently none," the officer replied. "They were wiped out in the uprising."
The old mercenary nodded. "I want eyes on the Indian Ocean and two squads on standby."
# # # # #
"So who's Ranma Saotome?" Hitomi asked as she walked beside Ryoko.
The tall kendoka simply shrugged. "I'm not too sure myself, but I think Motoko knows him. We just ran into him over the weekend when we went to walk around Nerima." Recalling the look in her old friend's eyes when the boy had surprised them, the busty kendoka knew that there was something between them, but what?
Having told the smaller girl about her time in Nerima for the Kuno invitational (yet having not covered any of the actual matches), Ryoko couldn't help but think of the odd martial artist. Knowing Motoko as she did, there was no way that the slender kendoka would fall for someone who wasn't a martial artist. But clearly he wasn't a kendoka himself as he wasn't at the tournament, so who was he? Thinking back, she couldn't even recall any defining features about the guy. "All I know is this Ranma Saotome"
"You say Ranma?" violet haired girl interjected as she run towards the pair from Damon High. "You see Ranma-Airen?"
Instinctively Ryoko moved so that she was standing between this strange girl and Hitomi. "No," she replied as the girl stopped mere centimeters away from her.
"Where is Ranma-Airen?" the violet haired girl demanded.
"Look, I don't know any Ranma Airen," Ryoko replied.
"You just say Airen's name," the clearly frustrated girl said, her thick Chinese accent much more noticeable now.
"I think she might be Chinese," Hitomi stated as she peaked out from around the taller girl. "Maybe she does know this Ranma guy. I mean, that name really isn't that common."
Shampoo reacted to her airen's name, turning her attention to the smaller girl. "Where is Airen?" she demanded.
"Look," Ryoko said as she once again moved so that she was directly between her friend and this strange girl, "we already said that we don't know this Airen guy."
"You no lie to Shampoo!"
Ryoko instinctively reached for her bokken as the purple haired girl pulled out her twin bonboris.
"Obstacles is for killing!" Shampoo declared as she advanced on the two girls.
Instinctively Ryoko pushed Hitomi out of the way even as she leapt out from underneath the powerful overhead strike. Seeing the concrete street shatter under the other girl's weapon, Ryoko knew that she didn't have the power to even block any of those blows.
"Run," she ordered Hitomi as she eyed the violent violet haired girl. Adopting a standard kendo stance, she waited as the other girl launched herself into the air, gaining even more power for her attacks as she closed the distance. At the last moment she stepped under the crossing attacks, landing three quick blows to the other girl's stomach and ribs.
Dramatically, Ryoko sheathed her bokken.
"Kendo-girl is quick," Shampoo stated as she stood up, "but not strong."
Turning around Ryoko stared wide eyed as the powerful Chinese girl stood up.
All around them passers by stood still as they watched the developing fight.
"Who's the new girl?"
"I don't know but it's been a while since we saw a good girl fight."
"You've got to stop them!" Hitomi urged as she approached a group of students.
"No way!" an athletic boy replied.
"No one tries to stop one of Shampoo's fights," another boy explained.
"This new girl's good," the third boy stated. "She got a good shot on Shampoo."
"That's only going to make her madder."
"Yeah, if you can't put Shampoo down in one shot you're kinda screwed."
Again Shampoo charged, this time leading with a powerful shoulder to hip attack with her left that lead into thrust with her right.
Ryoko didn't fall for the feint as she took a step back to avoid the attacks.
"Man, even Kuno knows better than to just rely on kendo against the others," someone grumbled.
The busty kendoka scowled. So this was what Kuno faced regularly. Clearly straight kendo would not prevail against such a powerful opponent. She'd need to think outside of kendo if she wanted to win.
Ducking under another series of attacks she rolled past her opponent's guard, landing a swift blow to her opponent's knee that threw the other girl off balance.
Standing up Shampoo tentatively shook her leg. Once she was sure that she could stand on it she charged again.
This time Ryoko was in a high stance, holding the bokken over her head. Trusting in her speed and greater range, the busty kendoka stepped into the Amazon's backhanded left as she brought her weapon down. Though her fearless opponent barely moved her head out of the way, the star of Damon High's kendo squad connected with a solid blow to the girl's shoulder. Though she'd stepped into the other girl's guard and avoided the head of the bonbari, a glancing blow to her ample bosom and ribs with the shaft of the weapon forced the kendoka to abort the follow through of her attack.
Breaking apart, it was clear to the spectators that both girls had been injured in that exchange as Shampoo's left arm lung limply despite the fact that she still clung to her bonbari and the busty stranger was clutching her left side.
"Damn, that girl's hot!"
"Do you think Shampoo would give this girl the Kiss of Death too?"
"If she knows what's good for her the new girl should just throw the fight."
"What's the 'Kiss of Death'?" Hitomi asked - her attempts at trying to get someone to stop the fight long forgotten.
"Well, Shampoo's a Chinese Amazon," the boy explained. "She's came to Nerima chasing after Ranma Saotome because he'd beaten her in a fight. Amazons are very proud and they don't take losing very well. So when an Amazon loses to a woman she gives her the Kiss of Death û a vow to hunt down the person who defeated her until one of them is dead. If it's a guy they chase after him until he comes back to the village as her husband."
"I'd never run from Shampoo if she wanted me," the boy's companion muttered.
"Dude," the first boy said, shaking his head as Shampoo launched another attack, "you wouldn't survive an hour alone with her."
Hitomi watched in horror as Ryoko parried a fierce thrust then evaded a right thrust before slipping behind the Amazon and connecting with a series of quick hits to the other girl's legs that nearly brought her to her knees as each blow connected on her already injured right leg. Not willing to give up her advantage, the busty kendoka landed several more blows to her opponent's exposed backside and leg, each hit tearing through the other girl's dress.
Completing the spin, Shampoo brought up her left and threw the weapon in her hand at her opponent, forcing the kendoka to break off her attack. Unwilling to let Ryoko get away, Shampoo followed after her, taking a blow to her injured arm even as she kicked her discarded bonbari at the taller girl. Reaching out, she grabbed hold of the other girl's blouse and pulled hard, driving her head into the taller girl's jaw.
Both girls fell to the ground with Shampoo raising her bonbari up high.
"That's enough!" a stern, menacing voice called out. "The girl's defeated."
"Honored Grandmother!"
"I had not realized you were back yet," the shriveled ghoul stated as she hopped over to her granddaughter.
Standing up, Shampoo tried to not limp on her injured leg.
"Who's that?" Hitomi asked as she fought the urge to run to her friend's aid.
"That's Cologne," the boy behind her answered. "She's Shampoo's grandmother"
"Great-grandmother," another boy corrected.
"And she's an elder of their tribe."
Suddenly the old woman turned to the young girl. "You're not from Nerima," she stated. She glanced at the boys behind Hitomi. "You three, take her and her friend to Dr. Tofu's."
The boys nodded, rushing to help the defeated kendoka and her friend to the unorthodox doctor's clinic.
Finally the old ghoul turned to her descendent, "It is fortunate that this girl lacks the power of Akane Tendo or else she would have defeated you. Her technique and form are solid, and she is much faster than you, though she is also less experienced and powerful as you. If I did not have more pressing matters I would teach you the Breaking Point."
X X X X X
A/N
I think I'll just leave things where they're at for now.
Please Read and Review.
Dreamingfox
