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Chapter Nine: Ranko Nibunnoichi
All was chaos.
All was an insensate, inordinate maelstrom of emotion and sensation, lust and desire, loving and tenderness. Of a love of self, and of another. Of a sexual need, and of something, somehow, more....
From deep in wherever, this was all felt, this uncertainty of the surrounding primordial consciousness, this primal scream brought to tangibility. Unsure of life, of hope, of fear, of everything. Things were a mess, the Chaos Theory brought to life. Shakti danced the blaze of apocalypse on the globe of the mind, and it grew worse; dance, Devila, dance.... Thoughts and memories swam in a jungle of metal translucency, slowly taking shape, slowly becoming the clouds of coherence....
The chaotic kaleidoscope of light and prismatic feelings began to clear. The need for a physical coupling with something,--no, some*one* familiar washed away, replaced by loneliness and terror. The love of self was enhanced by the love of another, and a faint hint of black hair settled in front of the mind's eye. All need and desire of an animalistic coupling were now gone, replaced by a need for something more, an emotion stronger than something that had ever been needed before.
The psychedelic river of surreality phased out, to be replaced by something far more *there.* The man, laying on the ground.
The view called, beckoned. The man's very presence was the yang to the yin; the male to the female; Dragon to the Phoenix.
A word formed in thought, an emotion saw from the blackest, deepest depths to surface itself on lucidity and sanity. And with that, a life was born.
The man slept, a statue of clarity. This was the answer to it all; he would be the key to the solution, the resource that would complete and sate the need that was on the edge of speech....
"Love," the voice spoke, as the image of the man burned into the mind once and forever; imprinted upon the retina and in the life of this being for all eternity. Of course, this wasn't needed, as the man was already there, and would always be.
"He will love me."
* * *
"Hey, are you okay?" The face spoke to him.
He hadn't moved his lips. The face looked too clear to be a mirror. Plus, he could feel the sweet breath of the other person surrounding him as he looked at her.
Her.
Ranma-chan.
She was naked.
He was naked.
She was an incestuous clone, remembering the last time he dealt with her....
He was naked, prone, and she was standing over him.
Only one thing to do.
Panic.
With a startled cry, he rolled out of the way, leapt back, and upon landing on his feet, charged up his ki for a Moko Takabishiya attack. As the familiar red nimbus began to eddy and cascade around him, something at the back of his mind tugged at the edges of his consciousness, telling him that something was very wrong about this.
Ranma-chan continued to stare at him, with a look of concern. "Ranma, I'm glad to see you're okay, but...."
Holding that orb of energy in his hands, the martial artist intoned darkly, "Stay away from me, Ranma-chan. I mean it...." Ranma snarled at the simulacrum in front of him; he meant no physical malice against her, but he was hoping she thought differently.
Again, something from within told him that all was not what it seemed; that there was far more here than met the optics. This was confirmed by the girl's actions. She just stood there. She wasn't quivering with the, um, need, that she did last time. She just stood there, waiting for his move.
Ranma, with absolute distaste, brought the memories of their last encounter back to the surface. It had to have been some of the worst few days of his life. The girl made Shampoo's antics seem somehow pale, by comparison. In retrospect, though, he did learn a few things about himself that he never knew, and a few things that he'd be prepared for...should she ever return. Like now.
He decided he was going to give her one more chance. "Back away, Ranma-chan, I'm warning you," he growled menacingly.
To his surprise, she just stood there, watching him, as if half-formed thoughts were coming to her little one-track mind. That was bad enough. But what she did next was even stranger for the girl.
She looked at him, crossed her arms over her pert breasts, and said, with a questioning tone, "What on earth are you talking about, Ranma? And why are you calling me Ranma-*chan?* Unless you think I'm--" Her eyes grew so wide, Ranma absently thought she looked reminiscent of an anime character on TV. Her brows furrowed as she grew annoyed. "You don't actually think I'd..." Then she got pissed. *"How can you even think that? I'm YOU, in case you haven't figured it out, so you should know how shy I am when it comes to sex! Furthermore, while the idea of self-intercourse at this stage would probably get us into the _Guinness Book_--more likely, _Ripley's Believe It Or Not!_--that idea IS NOT too high on my list of priorities at the moment! In fact it's near fucking--no pun intended--zero, SO GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER, WILLYA?!?!??!?!"*
Ranma leaned back in shock, his fingers automatically splaying into the oyuzaku posu, while the ki sphere burst apart like a firework at a festival. "Wha-wha-what did you just say?!?!"
A small smile darted onto her lips. "Silly," she said, back to a more playful tone, "don't you know yourself when you see her?"
Ranma stared, his face a visage of incomprehension. He looked at the girl, playing her words through his mind, and still not being able to grasp the full weight of what she had said: "Silly, don't you know yourself when you see her?"
She walked up to him. Being unable to move, she gently pushed his jaw shut. "Your mouth was open. Kinda embarrassing. I know how it feels."
He finally came to. She was staring at him. Impassively. Not as a lover would, or as a rival, but as one person to another...or if she was correct, as one would glance at oneself through a mirror. She looked at him with a look of hope, fear, love, and concern. He thought it was vaguely similar to the way that Kurumi looked at Akane or how Shiva looked at hi--
{Shiva!}
Somehow, Ranma-chan caught this and grabbed his hands, taking them in her own. "It's Shiva, isn't it. You're worried about her."
Having his mind off the current problem, even though a for only a second, he sighed. "Yes. You should've seen the look on her face when that blade slid into my side."
She turned her face from him, staring at the ground. "I did see. It broke her heart to see the blade run right though my torso. The look of despair on her face hurt worse than the katana did."
"Hey, you're alive, aren't you?" {She knows...the look on Shiva's face was pure torture to me. Can what she said really be true? Is she me?}
She suddenly hugged him. Not Shampoo's lusty glomp, or even the tender, loving hold of Akane, but the kind that said she needed to be held, just that and that alone. Ranma took a chance, and returned the hug, and for some reason, he felt as if he were whole once more. Not totally sure why, he reached over and lifted her chin, raising her face to meet his own. What he saw brought him to the brink of epiphany. What he realized tossed him over.
It was true. She *was* he.
It was impossible, it seemed. But then, nothing's impossible for a Saotome....
This was a Saotome Ranma-chan, but not the one of infamy. She looked almost precisely like he did in his "girl-type" form, but there were differences. For one, her hair was a slightly darker shade of red than his was; while his was exotic for its mystical ruby color (in a world where violet, pink, blue, and green were natural hairshades, true red was extremely rare), hers looked more natural, as though she'd just stepped off the highlands of Scotland. While his eyes were baby blue in either form, hers was a much deeper shade, closer to cobalt or navy. Her voice, from what he'd heard, wasn't the same, either. Although the speech pattern was the same, hers was a bit grainier and rusty, but much more natural than the one that he used--to him, it always sounded phony.
The Ranma-chan clone was a duplicate of him, but still magical. His own female form was magical in nature; the brighter shade of red was the smallest reflection of that. This girl, this Ranma, was female, unmistakably. Nabiki once surmised that girl-type Ranma was what Ranma would've been if he were born female. Ranma realized that that was not true. He would look like the girl he was holding.
He spoke. "C'mon, Ranma. We'd better find a way out of here. We've gotta save Shiva--"
"--and get back to Akane! She's gotta be worried sick about me...us." she amended.
He let her go and looked around, running his hands against the walls of the pit.. "Hmmm...there's gotta be some way outta this place. Maybe a hidden door or one of those magic portal things you read about in manga." The walls were smooth and flat, with absolutely no sign of crevices or niches...and no sign of any secret door. Or ways to crawl out, either. He willed another ki ball to use as a light, and noticed that unlike the rest of the temple,. The surface was a silky smooth granite, but looked like it was natural, rather than polished. The floor, except for some wood and rocks, also felt smooth to his feet. He kicked some of the sticks out of his way as he continued to check the walls. If he'd bothered to check the floor with his ki light, he would've discovered that the debris in question were actually skeletal remains of bodies.
Without a signal of any kind, there was a flash of light behind him, and as he turned around, any remaining doubts that she wasn't him disappeared forever. She stood in a battle stance, body awash in a glowing field of red ki, holding a familiar ball of energy in her hands. She smiled coyly at him, then said, "Ranma, let's get out of here the easier way. We came in one direction, we should go out the same way." She thrust her hands towards the ceiling and cried, "Moko Takabishiya!" The ruby beam of energy ripped away from her hands, lancing forward, and impacting somewhere against the ceiling, way, way above.
* * INTERMISSION * *
"Thinking back on that, it was probably one of my more stupidly impulsive decisions," Ranko said. "But at the time, I didn't care. I was alive, and I'd found somebody that would love me."
"But he said he wasn't interested in you," Shampoo teased.
"Yeah, but at the time, he, like everyone else, turned a blind eye towards carbon copies of himself. He--actually, we--had no idea of the ramifications of my "birth", and how our relationship would evolve. It was very touchy at that time. Maybe even tougher for me than the last six years."
Libby and Tyler were perplexed, but Maria beat both to the query. "How so?"
"Well, if you were dying, and then went unconscious, only to wake up to see the person that would become your younger sister, wouldn't you be a bit disconcerted?"
"So," Gil tried grasping at straws, "You're saying that you're not Ranma's little sister. That you are in truth, his clone, and that everything we know about you is false."
"No, everything you know about me, despite what I said earlier, is real." She noted his facefault, and tried to clarify. "it's real and it's not. I know that sounds strange, but you'll have to trust me. I'll explain later on in the story."
* * STORY * *
The blast was heard, impacting on something far above, as far as the two Ranmas were concerned. Unusually, it didn't make so much of the sound of an explosion or a shatter, but that of a liquid splat against something fleshy.
"Damn," the redhead spat, a bit disappointed.
"I swore that whatever I came through wasn't solid," the male Ranma mused. "Maybe we should both cut loose."
The two warriors summoned the power of their battle auras, and drawing from them, unleashed twin ki blasts. The beams raced towards the ceiling, where they impacted again with another splat that was much louder than the first.
Their reward for this second attempt was a sizable tremor that dropped the pair to their knees.
"What the...?"
"How should I know?"
An ethereal howl echoed in the pit the pair were in, emanating from above. It boomed down to the Ranmas, soft enough to cut through to their souls; simply covering their ears to shut out the noise was helping, as the siren's call was too pervasive. Ranma gritted his teeth and grunted in an indication of agony; Ranma-chan apparently had a lesser threshold of pain than he did and whimpered slightly.
The banshee wail immediately stopped, only to be replaced by a half-bark, half-grind from above. Both combatants looked up and stared at a trio of shimmering, prismatic eyes. Said eyes were filled with an unholy malice. The malice was directed at them. The eyes blinked once, then fired a beam of rainbow-hued energy at the pair.
Male and female Ranma leapt out of the path of the beam, the contact point erupting with smoke and flame, scattering debris and bone fragments all over the interior of the pit.
Both wasted no time in returning fire. Another duo of red-toned bioenergy beams leapt up from below and careened into the eyes, hitting it dead center. An extremely high pitched scream emanated from the thing's mouth--as it had opened, it had become visible.
Then there was blackness...
...followed by light. The psychedelic paisley glow of the entry gate to this pit. Or rather, the entry portal to this pocket dimension. There was no sign of the pit being on the deck below, Ranma-chan reasoned. As weird as it was, that had to be the answer. Then again, at the rate that things were occurring, pocket-dimension zoos for "pets" like this were about as strange to her life as a boy falling into a cursed Chinese spring...or said boy splitting into two people.
"Heads up, red," Ranma said, his voice steady and at slow burn. "We have company." He was staring at the creature. It definitely looked like something out of a Chinese tale of hell, or a Hollywood creature shop. From the waist up, the thing was of basic human design. There were two arms coming out the shoulders, which was normal. It was the eight tentacles that also extended, four each, from the shoulders. The body below seemed to be that of a scorpion, complete with the barbed, likely venomous tail. The thing was a bronze color from head to "toe", with flecks of gold and lavender.
But the worst thing about this thing was the head. The head almost looked human; in fact, almost like that of a toddler's. The difference of course, was the three multifaceted eyes that were where normal eyes were, the truncated, sunken nostrils, and the mandibles, which were four fangs, arranged in a Predator's ({as in the movie,} Ranma thought--{I knew I shouldn't have taken Nabiki to go see it}) grimace. The fangs dripped with a pale yet viscous amber fluid, and the glowing eyes reflected nothing but hatred and malice.
The light also had the effect of illuminating the whole pit, allowing the humans to see the remains of their own kind. From what it appeared to be, there where thousands of bodies thrown down here at one time or another. The bones were of various ages, not only in relation to the people's lives but also to how long the corpses had been down there. From what it did seem, however, it appeared that they were tossed in here to feed whatever this abomination was.
{Abomination. I've been called that once or twice by Kuno. I've even used that reference to the old lech and the ghoul. But I don't think I ever really had t' learn what an abomination *truly* was...until now.} Ranma steeled himself. He wasn't about to let himself--either version--be lunch for tri-eyes over there.
The other half agreed without telling him, somehow sensing that his agreement. {This monster feeds on people. How many people were killed to stuff this demon? I hafta get outta here and save Shiva, then get back to my fianc�e. I'm making it outta here alive...me and my male half. Can't say the same about ol' Mr. Seriously-In-Need-Of-Plastic-Surgery.}
All three combatants tensed, ready to pounce at a moment's notice. The look in the eyes of the "Araknyd", as Ranma had begun to think of it as, reflected a hatred in being denied its meal. The eyes of the Saotomes reflected martial strength and barely bridled anger for being placed in this situation.
A brown blur of speed. The Araknyd torpedoed towards its victims
A scream in Japanese: "Kacchu Tenshin Amaguriken!", the voice masculine and strong. A blur of peach flew out to meet its quarry.
A second cry, simultaneous with the first: "Hino no Zankyaku!", this voice female, but not at all feminine. A second peach blur, outlined in red, rushed towards the target.
When the three forces met, needless to say, it wasn't pretty. The force of the velocity at which the three traveled, combined with the ki-charge that Ranma-chan was using, created a vacuum explosion on collision, flinging the three combatants back as easily as the bones and fragments that were also tossed by the blast. The Araknyd, having to deal with two attacks, was embedded for a split-second into the side of the pit, cratering it, while the other two were flung in opposite directions. Ranma, landing first, recovered fast enough to bound over and catch his red-headed companion before she left an indentation of her own in the wall.
"You okay?" he asked between breaths.
She gave him a knowing wink. "Yeah...although I do have to say it's nice being carried for a change. Man, you won't believe how heavy Akane is! She needs to lose a coupla kilos."
Male Ranma laughed. "Don't I just know that! I've been trying to tell her, but all I ever get is 'Ranma no baka!', followed by her Mallet-sama upside my brainpan."
Both laughed freely at this, then suddenly stopped and looked at each other nervously. The pair then instinctively winced from the ever-impending attack. When it didn't happen, they both knew why. This made them even more pissed.
"Time to teach Ugly here a lesson," Ranma said as he set the girl down.
"No kidding. With a vengeance." The redhead slammed her fist into her palm, a move that eventually would become a habit for her.
Just in time, too. The Araknyd had peeled itself off the wall, and was blazing with dark fury. It no longer intended to kill then devour its prey. It now intended to kill and maim its prey. These two weren't food. They were mates. From what the creature vaguely remembered in its ancient brain, the taller one was called a "man", the shorter, a "woman". A man and a woman, separately, were easy kills. But a man and a woman together, well....
If the creature would know fear, it would have at that moment. This man and woman reminded it of a pair from a long time ago. So long ago. The man had long black hair, and carried a short sword. The woman was smaller, but was faster and stronger. They nearly spelled the end of its life, such as it was. A creature that lived only to slay and feed couldn't live much of a life, anyway.
If the man and woman of the past knew what would occur years later, they would probably have made sure that the creature never saw another day.
It was probably one of Happosai and Cologne's worse errors.
The creature shrieked, and a huge blast of energy rocketed out of its maw, streaking its way towards the opponents, who stood there. The energy beam moved at an impossible speed, not giving any warning time to any person who would be able to react in any sort of time.
The bolt splashed against the face of the pit, causing a powerful enough blast to crack open the face itself, creating a sizable fissure. Rock sprayed everywhere, and gravel fogged the immediate area as it flew outward from the explosion like a sawed-off shotgun.
It would have been extremely painful if it had it either Saotome. As it was, they weren't there when the ray had struck. Instead, each one had run to the side of the creature, then cut loose with tandem Chestnut Punches. As the two played samba drum with the monster's body parts, it was rocked by a pain that it hadn't known in years. It countered by swinging its scorpion tail towards the one with the blood-colored hair, but that entity simply grabbed the tail and slammed it into the wall, effectively trapping it. The one with the dark hair threw a closed fist into the Araknyd's face, breaking off a fang and broke the nose of the creature, spraying bluish-colored ichor everywhere.
The beast screeched louder in pain and began to thrash about wildly in an attempt to nail its two assailants. But to no avail; they were bouncing around at high speeds, unable to be touched and landing painful blows all over the its body. The previous man and woman were nowhere near as dangerous as these two. If it weren't for the fact that it had a trick up its sleeve, it would try to run away. But the Araknyd was older than time itself, and would not give up so easily. So it launched out its final attack: a space of mother-of-pearl-hued webbing, designed to fasten its opponents to the cave, rendering them harmless and vulnerable.
The strong webbing completely missed the redhead, but nailed the leg of the woman's slightly slower opponent. Ranma-chan in turn responded by delivering another flying kick to the Araknyd's head, but a well-placed swipe of a claw by the monster slammed the young woman into the wall. The Araknyd managed to break its tail free of the wall, but as it swung to attack either of its opponents, it found that neither was within striking range. The creature roared a metallic howl of anger and pain, and knew that its foes must be nearby...and that they would not survive the day.
Just out of sight of the fiend, female Ranma was using a small ki burst to clear the remaining webbing off of her male half. "That should be the last of that stuff. Good thing he didn't get you any worse, or you might've been a goner, for sure."
He smiled grimly. "Yeah. Thanks." His blue eyes scanned into the distance, searching for a sign of the freak and attempting to predict its approach. He could certainly hear the damn thing, as well as smell the rotting carcass it called a body.
As if reading his thoughts, Ranma-chan agreed. "I don't think that deodorant would help ugly boy the--"
The keening sounds got louder, and the skittering sounds of the Araknyd got closer.
"That thing's intending to kill us...but I don't think I'm ready to bite the big one just yet," the redhead replied, coyly. "In any event, fighting this thing to a standstill's gettin' to be a drag. An' it ain't gonna--"
"'Dragon?' *That's it!* That's brilliant!" he grinned, and a mischievous gleam sparkled momentarily in his eyes. "I gotta hand it to you, you're definitely as smart as I am."
"Um, you definitely lost me on that one." She looked up at him. "What did you have in mind?"
He leaned down and whispered into her ear. "Well, here's the general idea...."
The Araknyd finally crawled to the spot where both combatants were. They were backed up against the lair of its home with no escape possible.
That should have told this primal being that something was wrong. Even the fiercest predator knows that a cornered animal will fight to the death with the thought of escape.
The Saotomes were worse. They would fight not to escape, but to walk out unhindered....
"Are you ready, Ranma?" male asked female.
Female nodded, not taking her eyes of the nightmare advancing on them. "We got only one shot at this. Let's do it."
With the creature only mere feet away, Ranma punched into the air, screaming, *"Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts Highly Ad-Libbed Instant Tandem Special Attack, Step One! Hiryu Shoten Ha!"* With that, the vortex launched the redhead high into the air, way out of reach of the Araknyd...
...The creature grinned as much as it was able to. The man sent its mate skyward to safety, but in doing so, sealed its fate. The man looked like it was ready to meet its death...which the Araknyd would soon provide...
...As the girl raced up, you could hear a buzzsaw effect of the several punches and kicks being thrust into the very cliff face as she continued her Michael Jordanesque trip into the heights of the Pit of Fu Ta Tsu...
{...C'mon, come out of the apex and begin your descent,} Ranma thought, hoping that his female half would soon do so. {I'm not sure that I can defeat this thing alone.} Nevertheless, he charged up enough ki for a Hiryu Shoten Ha Horizontal, in the event it was needed...
It wasn't necessary. Far above, the girl reached zenith, and as she began her descent, she began to charge up a huge amount of ki, drawing it into a huge field in front of her hands. As she got within visual distance of Ranma and the creature, she roared, "Okay ugly, take this! *Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts Highly Ad-Libbed Instant Tandem Special Attack, Step Two! Hiryu Shoten Ha revised, HIRYU KORIN DAN!"* At point blank range, she hit the creature with the full force of both the velocity of descent, and the awesome power of the Descending Dragon Blast.
Ranma timed it perfectly, leaping forward and catching her in his arms once more, then began bounding up the niches that she'd made in the cliff face as she went up. It was going to take all of his skill and speed to outrun the blast. The last time he used it, he'd completely destroyed Jusenkyo. It was no longer his most powerful move, but it was still potent enough to really hurt. And if she was as powerful as he....
The blast was as powerful. Between the speed of Ranma-chan's descent and the energy collected, the blast cleanly snapped the spine of the great Araknyd. It shut down neural paths, boiled the ichor within, and fried the brain. The creature that lived as nothing but an embodiment of death and gluttony, lived no more. That was the good news.
The bad news was the quite simply the Third Law of Physics, revised by the magic of the Pit: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, depending on whatever the ambient power of the pit chooses to reveal. To wit: the Blast's power, once it hit rock bottom, inexplicably exponated in power, then reversed course. In short, the two martial artists were now having to race their way out of a magical volcano.
Ranma-chan, a bit disoriented from the momentary power drain and Ranma's high-speed maneuvers, looked down and was the first to notice the huge wave of red energy hot on their collective tails. "Move it! Faster! Faster!"
"I'm moving as fast as I can! You didn't give me even steps, and I gotta be careful! We'll be out soon!" he retorted. Daring to take his eyes away for a split second to look at her. What he saw instead, was the immense wall of power spurting just behind his footfalls. He put more strength into a last-ditch effort to save them.
"We're not gonna make it, Ranma," she said, as she became engulfed in the energy.
"Che," he cursed as he was swallowed up by the carmine nimbus, only five meters from the chromatic, glowing gateway.
As both Ranmas were lost in the sea of magic and bioenergy, thinking what they thought were their last opinions, it was interesting to note that their minds thought in unison, of a young Japanese female and the strong emotions she brought out in Ranma(s) Saotome:
{I'm sorry I failed you, Akane. I love you.}
* * *
Ranma dragged himself to his feet, shaking his head to clear the ringing in his ears. { Oh, did anyone get the license plate number on that volcano? My head hurts like....} Like the last time he sidestepped death, he realized. And at that time, he'd met his doppelganger...
He leapt to his feet, and began looking for her. Fortunately, there she was, still very much as nude as he (except for the glowing pendant...and why was she the one wearing it?) and very much unconscious. He ran over to her, and checked her vital signs and breathing (after that incident at Jusenkyo, where he almost lost Akane, he made himself memorize all the first aid that Tofu could teach him). Once he realized that she was okay, he breathed a sigh of relief, then sat down beside her until she came to.
After a minute or two more, she did. "Ooouuuchie," she said, in what he guessed was her doing her kawaii routine. "That hurt."
He smiled. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Isn't that my line?" She smiled softly, then gave him a clap on the back. "We did it."
"Yeah, we did, with a bit of an overkill, too." He stood up and surveyed the damage. They were back in the Crystal Temple. They were currently on what was once the entry portal to the Pit; the only remnant of it was a round tile of shimmering diamond that sealed the gateway forever. The surrounding area from the bast looked a bit carbon-scored from the expulsion of so much raw force, but it didn't matter; they were alive, and that's all that counted.
"So, what next?" she asked him, raising her arm for a helping hand up.
He grasped it and pulled her to her feet. "Clothing, for one. Then food, if we have time--" she nodded eagerly, "--then we save Shiva. After all that is done, we get outta here."
"You're not gonna get any arguments from me," she agreed. "But how are we gonna get some clothes?"
"Not sure." He shrugged. "Maybe we'll have to sneak back down to the garden where you stashed that dress and Shiva hid hers too."
"That's assuming if they're still there, an' you changing back to girl form," she said. "But those dresses aren't the best way to move around. Besides, I've got a better idea."
* * *
Five minutes later:
The two patrolmen moved with a cautious step or two. They'd been detailed to investigate the weird shock that had arisen throughout the building. The best estimate that they could come up with was that the mysterious "pit" on the thirteenth deck was acting weird. It wasn't the first time that this kind of event had been reported, it was certainly not the last. But Lady Mango always wanted these types of disturbances checked out, regardless of how boring or mundane they were, so....
As they rounded the corner, they saw what had to be the most interesting thing they'd seen yet since they'd come to work for Nguyen. In the center of the room (say, when did this room have a center?), was a young woman practicing the most graceful, artistic kata that they'd ever seen; it was of a style that they couldn't (nor cared to) identify. She was quick. She was strong. She was agile.
More importantly, she wuz nekkid.
As the pair approached the young woman, they were so awestruck that all were removed from their minds. Watching her bouncing, perky, bre...athless activity, the two leeches stood stupefied, admiring her form, their mental puns and double entrendres definitely intended. They looked at each other as though they were dreaming and absolutely were in no danger of waking up.
Finally, she stopped in another bouncy flourish. She addressed the two "gentlemen" in an extremely cute manner, and in English, "Why hello there, guys. What can I do for you?"
In their testosterone-laden minds, they had just one idea. It began with an "R", and ended in an "E". After a few minutes of hard thought, they also remembered to add the "AP" in the middle. This was a chance of a lifetime. No one else up here, a mysterious girl showed up, and no one would bother them as they took turns. It would be a great plan.
The nudie girl looked down, demurely, then smiled coyly. "Now, I'm sure that two big, strong, handsome men such as you find me attractive, no doubt. Well, I'm truly honored." Her eyes glistened in such a kawaii way, as she continued, "And I'm sure that you are both thinking, 'Pigtailed girl, I would date with you.' Well, I have one word to say. Would you care to know what it is?"
Both men nodded, letting her talk. What they would be doing to her in a second wouldn't give her the ability to speak--not while her mouth was filled, anyway. Of course, if they had been using their (upper) heads, they would've realized that they had just marched into a trap.
She smiled sweetly, and one of her fingers ran the trace of her (upper) lips. "Well, gentlemen," she said, looking oh so adorable, "that word is...'Chestnut.'"
"'Chestnut?" both men said, not the least bit able to understand what the hell the bimbo meant.
"Chestnut" a male voice behind them said. "As in Kacchu Tenshin Amaguriken." The pair turned around just to see a man that looked very similar to the girl let loose with a some kind of nunchaku attack that knocked them flat on their backs. Of course, both men being martial artists, they realized that there was no way that anyone could punch that fast. No way at all.
But as the two men passed from the veil of wakefulness, they realized that the man was holding no weapons at all.
"Did you see the way those two were looking at me?" Ranma-chan groaned as she began to remove the bodysuit from the smaller of the two. It was still a bit large, but would fit her, even if a bit on the loose side. She did like the swirling black and blue of the costume, though. Nguyen's goons may be scum and lousy fighters, but at least their tailor was decent.
"Yeah, I can't believe those guys thought they were gonna get away with it," he replied, as he tied up the second one with twine taken from his utility belt. He'd already taken the time to liberate the pants from this man, who was a perfect fit for his size, and Both men were already gagged, and as soon as she stripped the other one, they'd take them to the alcove that Shiva had revealed earlier, and try to obtain a little useful information from them.
"Ooooh, I tell you, if they'd gotten one step closer...*POW! Right in the sensitive spot!"* she growled, slipping the pants on.
"Don't worry," Ranma said, putting the final touches on the bonds of the first guy "I wouldn't let him get to you."
"You really mean that, don't you?" she said, smiling. This was really weird, but she liked this guy a lot. She wasn't sure which one of them was the real Saotome Ranma, but right now it didn't matter.
"Yeah, I do." Ranma had to admit to himself that he was wrong about this Ranma-chan. She wasn't at all like the last one. This girl was more like him than he expected, and was definitely more inclined to be female, if not feminine. As he slipped on his red-and-black tunic, he noticed both he and she were looking at each other. Just like a pair who'd known each other forever--which was certainly true enough, since they both were the same person.
She looked as though she was trying to decide if she was going to say something. "Spill it," he finally commented. "I know that look well; Akane's certainly nailed me with it enough times."
She was about to answer, when one of them groaned. "C'mon. Let's get them to the alcove so we can have a friendly little chat with them."
He was about to tell her to make her statement, anyway, but decided to let it drop. He scooped up the unconscious one and threw him over his shoulder.
As for his female counter part, she looked at the other one in his face. She smirked angrily and said in a cold voice, "You disgust me. I should kill you now, but I'm more interested in saving the little girl you Gestapos are ruining."
{Definitely different,} he surmised, as a chill raced down his spine. I wouldn't even think of *killing* someone!} To his relief, she then looked at him and winked. {So she wasn't serious. Good. I'd hate to think that she--I--was a killer. I can't even think of ever thinking that unless my loved ones were in danger.}
* * *
A couple of hours later, the two slid out of the kitchen, moving towards their next location, the basement of the Crystal Temple.. According to the layout of the map, the basement of the greater place hosted both a giant pool of fresh water and, after a quick stop by the supply room--where they could easily liberate a couple of field bags--they'd have sleeping arrangements for the night. It would be an overnight hideout, and they still had no idea where Shiva was, but they'd have to worry about that tomorrow. They could only hope that she wasn't dead. That wouldn't be a problem; as resourceful as the girl was, she probably found a way to overcome her captors and escape. If not, it would mean that she was most likely in the dungeon, wherever they were in this place. And if she was dead...
...Ranma realized that there was somebody new on the list of people he'd kill for.
He wasn't the only one. Ranma-chan had added two people to that very similar list of people: she'd added Shiva...and the male Ranma. She began to realize that the first thoughts she had were true in reverse: she was found herself loving this man who was beside her. Not like the Ranma-chan he expected, but quite differently; something he'd appreciate a little more. She'd begun to think of him not only as her other half, but the half that made her somewhat even more whole than she'd ever felt. It was a feeling that she felt every time they touched. It was peaceful, and comfortable. He didn't say it, but she knew instinctively that he felt the same way.
Of course, it felt nothing like the love that both of them had for Akane, that love, she knew, was just as compelling, strong, and unconditional. But calling someone "your other half" was not something that Akane--or anyone else--would easily understand in the context that she meant. Fortunately, there was an applicable word that she hoped that she would be able to use someday:
Oniichan. Brother....
* * *
It was fairly hard to see in this darkened area. The chemlights that they were using weren't helping much either, but at least they dispelled a small portion of the teeming darkness that loomed behind both Saotomes. It was decided between the two of them that using their ki for light would not be a good idea since it was brighter than the lights, which might cause attention. Additionally, they might need to conserve their strength in case this place had an inhabitant similar to the last dark place they were in.
As they were splitting the spoils between them--they weren't too surprised to discover that they both had the infamous Saotome appetites--a disturbing silence descended on the pair. It was uncomfortable for the both of them, and a bit eerie, watching their faces glowing green from the amount of chemlights they'd used for a pseudo-bonfire. They sat like this for hours, until the male Ranma broke the silence. "Uh, Ranma?"
"Yes?" the girl said, sounding a bit sorrowful.
"You were going to say something earlier, in the hall. Do you want to talk about it?"
She sighed, the melancholy note not lost on the young man. "What do you plan to do when this is all over? When we're all safe?"
"What do you mean? I'm gonna tell Akane I love her. I'm gonna find a home for Shiva. I'm gonna make sure that Nguyen guy never terrorizes another person again--him or his thugs."
She smiled wistfully. "I'm happy for you. I love Akane as much as you do, the same way as you do, and I hope she'll be happy with you. I'm a girl--I can't make her happy, and though it breaks my heart, I'll know that she loves me in her own way."
Ranma didn't like the way the conversation was going. Harsher than he ever intended it to sound, he said, "What are you trying to get at, Ranma?"
She shivered with the realization she had to make. There was anger in his voice. She was wrong. She didn't find someone that loved her. "After we save Shiva, I'm...leaving."
"Why?"
Her eyes began to mist. "Because I'm not like you, Ranma. By that, I mean, I have no one. You have Akane and Shiva, Mom and Pop-" she didn't catch the terms she used for Nodoka and Genma; Ranma, however, did, "--the Tendos, Uc-chan, Ryoga, Azusa, and all the rest. I'm alone. All alone in this world."
"What do you mean by that?" He put her hands on her shoulders, feeling the surge of joy he did whenever he touched her. He couldn't quite describe it. It felt kinda like whenever he held Akane, that familiar jolt. It had to be love, he realized, but not the same as he felt for Akane. {Waitaminit... how can I love a girl I just met? No--I didn't just meet her. I've known her all my life, especially these last two years. I know her because she's me. There's a term that I'm searching for, but I don't know what it is. It's on the tip of my tongue....} Ranma moved between certainty and trepidation, but he knew one thing: this girl, this Ranma, was not going to be alone if he had anything to say about it.
She felt the rush of peace as she touched him. Without thinking about it, she took the plunge. She tackled him in a hug and cried incoherently, "RanmaI'msorrybutIloveyouIdon'twanttoleaveyoursideIdon'tloveyouliketheotherRanmachandidbutIneedsomeoneinmylifeanditcanonlybeyou--"
He held her, stroking her hair and feeling the wetness of tears. {Is she really afraid I'd desert my own sister?} He did a mental double take. One of his lifelong dreams had just become reality; all his life, that of being an only child--it was over. Sure, the four other Tendo daughters were *like* sisters to him, but it wasn't the same. His mother may have given birth to a boy or a girl as he held the redhead, but that child, though a younger sibling, wasn't as tangible right now as the young woman in his arms. {I have a sister! *I HAVE A SISTER!!!!!!*} Tears of joy ran down the sides of his face, unhindered. He didn't care. "You're not alone, sis," he said, holding Ranma-chan. "I'm here for you."
She lifted a tear-tracked face to look at him, her cobalt eyes unsure of what she just heard. "Wha...what did you say?"
He looked back at her, tears on his own face. "You heard me. You're not alone. What kind of brother would I be if I abandoned my only sister?"
That did it. *"ONIICHAN!!!"* she cried happily, grabbing onto Ranma tighter, tears of joy running down her cheeks and feeling that intense peace that she felt just holding him.
Ranma returned the hug. He was at peace, at one. He'd been restored to himself in the form of a younger sister. He told her as they held one another, "You have a life, a home, Ranma. You have parents, and Akane. You have a family. You're not alone. You'll never be alone."
"But Mom and Pop are having another baby! They don't have time for another kid!" she said.
"Then you'll live at the dojo with me an' the Tendos. We'll work it out, sis, I promise. We'll work it out just like--"
"Shiva," they said simultaneously. They realized what they said, and the truth of what they said dawned on them like a super mallet strike.
"Shiva has to come home with us," female Ranma said. "Not just to Nerima, but home with *us."*
"One of Mom's wishes was to have a real family," Ranma mused. "She has that chance with you, the baby, and Shiva. I'll make Oyaji accept it, if I have to put him through a wall. If Mom doesn't first." He wiped the tears from her face, reluctantly letting her go. "You know, you're not like me at all," he joked. "I would never cry in a situation like this."
"Sure you wouldn't," she teased, wiping *his* tears away. "Besides, you always said it was acceptable to cry as a girl." She then faked a scandalous look. Besides, what would Akane say if she saw you willingly holding Ranma-chan?"
"Easy. I'd tell her that I wasn't holding the psycho. I was holding my sister."
They looked at each other, fondly. Unfortunately, Ranma-chan yawned, ruining the serenity of the scene. "Gotta get some sleep. Long day tomorrow."
Yeah, he said, unfurling his sleeping bag, then crawling in. "Goodnight, sis," he yawned, the caring in his tone readily obvious.
She said nothing, but didn't unfurl her bag. Instead, she crawled into his. "Room for one more?"
"Akane'd kill me, but...yeah." He scooted over, making room for the girl, then tried to sleep.
A couple of minutes later:
"Ranma, I'm a little bit embarrassed to say this..."
"You want me to hold you, right?"
"How-how did you know?" She expected this, but was still surprised to have him bring it out so openly. In response, a bead of sweat formed on her brow.
Ranma saw her surprise and laughed softly. "Something magical has happened to us, to create two of us from one. You and I are yin and yang to each other, two halves of the same whole. When we come into contact with each other, we're united as one; get a feeling of absolute peace, somehow. It really sounds odd, but it makes sense somehow."
She planted a chaste peck on his cheek. "Yeah, I think it is."
The two slept in each other's arms that night, peaceful and in bliss. Within female Ranma's mind, however, was a thought: {I wish that I could communicate to him exactly how I feel, to always be able to tell him how I feel.} With that, she drifted off to sleep.
On cue, the gem around her neck began to glow, processing the next of its mistress' wishes.
* * *
The next morning, the first thing to do was take a bath. Ranma stripped down to nothing, reaching into the field pack to grab some soap and a towel. Female Ranma was still asleep in the bag, snoring softly. Ranma looked at her, very much at peace. She may be his clone, but she was definitely in some ways her own person. He abruptly realized that something in the plans that they had made were wrong. Very, very, wrong.
Ranma began to formulate an idea of his own. He'd have to be very careful that she didn't find out. He just gained a sister and wasn't ready to lose her just yet...or ever.
Taking a new chemlight, he walked down to the basin of the water, placing the towel on his head--there was a natural rock formation in the center of the pool, and he could leave his towel there. He slid into the pool, feeling the slight chill of the water, and expecting the transformation to envelop him.
1...
2...
3...
He was still male. He smiled wistfully, and thought of the irony of being permanently male again just as he had adjusted to the curse. His sister was not only the other half of him, she was the cure, as well; the living embodiment of the Curse of Chochuanshan. Even if she wasn't aware of it, she'd given Ranma another reason to love her. She was going to be a part of his life, now.
He swam all the way to the rock formation, about fifteen meters away from the edge of the pool, which was another ten meters from where female Ranma slept. Placing the towel on the rock, he took a few minutes to swim some laps around the distance of the pool. When that was done, he soaped and rinsed, taking the time to enjoy the fact that he was male in cold water, and would be male again for the rest of his life. He pondered on this as the light flickered in his direction.
Light?
Immediately he swam behind the rock formation, hearing voices: "Report said something about lights down here...." "Just probably Kazuma and Smitty getting drunk down here again...." "Maybe they saved a li'l sake for us, right?" He saw the trio entering in from the same place he'd originally entered through. From what he could see in the dim light, these weren't the martial artist types that he took on earlier, but gun-happy thugs. People who would easy use an M-16 on him with no problem. Men with no honor whatsoever.
He then took notice of the lying form in the sleeping bag. {Che! She's still asleep! Wake up, will ya?} He was too far to feasibly make it to her in time. If he swam fast, the splashing would make him a sitting duck for the guns of the patrolmen. The rock was too slippery to climb, so leaping to her side wasn't an option. All parties concerned were out of ki projectile range, and a bright red beam would give away his position, assuming they didn't see the corona of his battle aura first. Yelling also would be a problem. Her only hope was if she awoke in time.
{Wake up!} he screamed mentally.
The guards picked up something. From where Ranma was, it looked like a dead chemlight.
{*Wake up!*} The thought was louder, as if he thought hard enough, she'd hear him. No such luck, though.
The guards inspected it, and moved their guns off their shoulders and into ready position. They were hunting, and ready to fight. She had only minutes to move, if she was going to make it to safety with his clothing.
<*WAKE UP, DUMMY!*> He thought hard enough that he feared for a second that he actually yelled.
On the shore, Ranma-chan dozed silently, dreaming about home and her loving fianc�e...{oh, wait. That's *his* fianc�e.}
She rolled over and sighed. This was obviously one of the problems that she'd have to face, having his memories and emotions as the groundwork for what she'd have to feel and experience as a woman. She was probably permanently female (have to get some hot water to test that theory), so she'd have to live life as a female. That didn't, however, mean that she had to be feminine. Or that she had to have men as a preference.
{I'm sitting here, very much in love with the girl who's gonna be my sister-in-law. Of course, that love is "residue", of sorts, from Ranma's mind. But I wonder, what will my next relationship be like? Lesbianism is tolerated in Japan, if homosexuality isn't; however, once Mom and Pop get wind of my existence, they'll probably be arranging marriages for me, as well. Or maybe they'll do that with Shiva and leave me to my own life. And am I even a lesbian, anyway? Those are memories and emotions of someone else, even if he's my other half; attraction is a *physical* thing, even if love is psychological.
{It's too early to worry about such things, anyway. First thing is to get out of here and get home. Once I'm settled in, then I can date a few of the guys who want the Pigtailed girl, and make up my own mind. Maybe I'll even let Kuno take me out. That should decide my orientation.
{Or,} she laughed mentally, {I can always experiment with Nabiki. Sometimes I suspect that she's--}
<*WAKE UP, DUMMY!*>
The young woman immediately snapped to at the sound of her brother's voice. She immediately looked around and saw the lights of people coming towards her. Moving as fast and as quietly as possible, she grabbed all of their items and began to hightail it deeper into the underground complex, moving farther and farther away from the light, not daring to make a sound. The lights continued to move closer and closer, until they were where the two had made their campsite.
She strained to hear the voices: "Hmm...looks like a strand of red hair." "Red hair, huh? Must be Vasquez. He usually uses this place for his sexual conquests." "Guy's a fuckin' sicko, fer sure. Sleeps with men and women. I think I'm gonna be sick." "Okay, it looks like Smitty and Kaz aren't down here. Probably found a new place to drink. C'mon, let's leave." "Why, ya scared or somethin'?" "I dunno. It just seems like sometimes I feel that the walls have ears in here."
{Buddy, ya don't know the half of it,} Ranma-chan thought. She silently reached in her bag for the utility shovel. She could use it as an impromptu tonfa if need be, but she didn't want to risk causing a commotion, especially since she didn't know which direction Ranma ran off to.
From his hiding point, Ranma breathed a sigh of relief as he saw her leap to her feet, then shoved everything in the sleeping bag and drag it all deeper into the cavern. He was standing stock still, waiting for them to leave. They bent down and picked something up. Having no idea what it was, Ranma severely hoped that they didn't get the idea that anyone else was in here. He'd hate to have to injure someone just so soon after taking a bath....
They turned around and began to go back the way they came, the redhead noted, a total sense of comfort washing over her. She watched as they turned around, shouldered their weapons and slogged their way out of the chamber. Ranma-chan slumped down at where she was and exhaled.
A minute or so, later, she saw the form of her brother walking up in a towel. Pass me the field bag, wouldja?"
She upended the sleeping bag, letting their supplies fall out. Handing him the men's field bag, he threw on the boxers, tank top, and socks. As he slipped on the black and red ninja clothing he had "borrowed", he asked her if she was okay.
"Yeah," came the simple reply. "Thanks for the wake up. If you hadn't yelled, I woulda been a goner. It's a good thing they didn't catch you, either."
He slipped on the pants, saying, "Um, I didn't yell."
"Whaddya mean you didn't yell! I heard you clear as day, Ranma!"
"I'm tellin' ya, I didn't yell--" he stopped, both in mid-sentence and the middle of slipping on the tunic. {But I thought I did...could it be that? Uh uh. No way.} He looked at her. {Then again....}
She returned his gaze, adding the question of "What's up?"
"Er, you're not gonna believe this..."
"Oniichan, we're the living embodiment of 'you're not gonna believe this.' It makes us very open to new options, ne?"
"...but I didn't *yell* it. I *thought* it."
"You couldn't've! I heard you as if you were right next to me!"
"I was in the pool. Too far away to get to you, without giving out our position and getting us both in hot water!"
"You were in the pool?" She felt the damp towel. "Wait... that water's *cold!"*
He grinned. "Yep. Which means that..."
"...you're cured!" She clapped, giddy with joy. "Oh, Ranma, I'm so happy for you!" She tackled him again in another expressive hug, then stopped with the next realization. "That means...I'm the one who's cursed. No, I am the curse!"
He hugged her back. "No, sis. I was cursed, then freed by you. You're no curse. In fact, you're a blessing."
* * *
Within a few moments, the pair was up and at it once again. They shelved the concept of a psychic link between the two, deciding to worry about that later; there were far more important matters at hand. Moving through the halls--after a quick stop at the supply room and a daring raid on the kitchen--they were set on their next task: rescuing Shiva. The problem was, they had no information on the whereabouts or health of the girl, which made both concerned. This concern translated as making both Saotomes agitated.
An agitated Saotome is not the safest person to be near. Fortunately, they had enough sense of mind to concoct a plan. Rule number two: when Ranma starts hatching plans, it is best to be out of the general vicinity of *anything.*
The pair pulled out their map and raced towards their next destination, hoping that no one had bothered to secure the room where she was, as of late...
* * *
An hour later:
Parading through the halls came a young woman. She was of Japanese descent, with flowing red hair and deep blue eyes. She had a wicked gleam in her eyes, and wore an expensive dress. Where she went, she had a haughty, almost imperial manner around her. Knowing exactly who she was, and what that meant, people gave her the widest of berths.
After all, it was not nice--or conducive to good health--to anger the Lady Saotome Ranma. Especially since she was the intended of Lord Nguyen, many thought.
She strolled down the hall, looking extremely pissed. With her was a class I shinobi ninja, fully armed, and more than capable of ki projecting, almost as strong as Nguyen's elite fighters. However, even through the mask that concealed all but his eyes, those eyes told volumes that the man was nervous as hell to be there. The second question that came to others, was why was such a high powered shinobi assigned to the menial task of guarding the intended of Lord Nguyen? Such a woman needed no protection, and from what the rumormongers were saying, she was almost as powerful as Nguyen himself!
So why the guard?
Unfortunately for a group of guardsmen sitting around talking, they were about to find out.
The first things the guard noticed was the small woman coming up to the current speaker, a huge, bulky man in the black and gray of a team leader. Slapping him hard on the back, she snapped, *"You! You have some questions to answer, now!"*
The man looked at her with amusement. "Woman, go back to your bed and lay for your lord."
His response was met with the crushing grip of the young woman who he just insulted. As he was trying desperately to breathe, she growled at the rest. "Does anyone else care to cross me?" Noting the fearful shakes of the head, she tossed the offending thug over towards one of his troops who immediately caught him, as he rapidly gasped for air.
*"Now then!"* the shrew continued, in a commanding tone that stated she would accept no further disobedience. *"Who would like to answer my question?!?"* She pointed at the one trying very hard to crawl into the woodwork. *"You have some questions to answer. Get over here!"* The woman's voice was harder than steel as she tapped her foot impatiently, giving the man exactly one second to come over. When that didn't happen, she went over to him, grabbed him by the ear, and dragged him to that spot, roaring, *"When I say 'move', baka, you MOVE! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!?!?!?!?!"*
One of the troops, a tall woman with long green hair (bound in a side ponytail), brown eyes, and wearing a ninja gi that left nothing to the imagination approached the shinobi in the mask. "Say, friend," she said, looking at him, "why are you wearing that mask indoors? You know that Lady Mango doesn't like it."
The man turned to her. "Look, if she gets a wind of what I look like, she may want to have me as her permanent assistant," he groaned. "The only reason I'm stuck with this is because they couldn't find Kazuma or Smitty."
"Yeah, I heard," she said, understanding in her voice. Whispering into his ear, she said, "Is she that bad?"
When the person in question couldn't successfully answer the question put before him by the Lady Saotome, she pulled a huge mallet out of nowhere and used it to bash him through a crystalline wall. She turned around, wielding the impromptu warhammer and snarled, *"Okay. Who's next?"*
"Nevermind," the girl replied. "I can see why you don't want to deal with her. She is a royal bitch, isn't she?" She laughed softly, and the mystery man laughed with her.
*"HIBIKI!"* The red-haired attitude problem spun and shouted at her attendant. *"Flirt with whoever you want ON YOUR OWN TIME! Right now, you're on MY TIME!"* She looked at him with a glare that would melt steel.
"My apologies, Lady Saotome," he said, bowing. "I was merely asking my associate for information that may be beneficial to your search."
*"All right; it's about time you do something useful,"* she muttered. *"Just remember that your sexual drive will have to wait until tonight. Then you can nail the skinny flat chick all you want."* She turned back to her own interrogation.
"'Skinny flat chick'?!?" the woman seethed, reaching in her pouch for what look like a throwing fan.
Her arm was intercepted by the man called Hibiki. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Last time someone threw something her way, she caught it and used it against them in a really uncomfortable manner." His eyes lit in what looked like a smile. "Besides, you're too attractive to be hospitalized."
She smiled back. "Thanks. Hibiki, isn't it?"
"Um, yeah. Hibiki Ukyo," he said smoothly, taking her hand in his. "And you are?"
She blushed, girlishly. "Satsuma Tomoko." Tomoko brushed her throwing fan against his mask in a flirtatious manner. "So, Ukyo-san, what is her Royal Painness so worked up about?" She said this as she glanced at the violent redhead, who was busy pounding a second person into the ground. "It must be something truly important if she's this pissy about it."
"Yeah, and I hope she finds it, too; I'm getting sick of being her gofer. Anyway, she's looking for her maid, a girl named Sheeba, or something similar."
"Oh. Well, they just imprisoned one of the elites--for treason, or something like that. Her name's Shiva; she's supposed to be executed tomorrow or the day after. Could that be her?"
{Che! Shiva!} "Ukyo" thought. Showing no signs of his concern, however, he replied, "Perhaps. I'll have to find the best way to phrase this so she doesn't have me assassinated. However, thank you for the information, Tomoko-san. What can I do to repay you?"
She rubbed herself against him, clearly signaling her intent. "Oh, Ukyo-kun, we can come up with something, can't we?" she purred. "Maybe you can judge for yourself if I'm a 'skinny flat chick.'"
{Man, Shampoo ain't even this bad, an' that's sayin' a lot! Someone needs to turn a firehose on you *now,* miss!} "Of course, Tomo-chan." He made no move to return even a feigned interest in her; fortunately she chose to interpret this as not wanting to push luck with the violent redhead. "Whatever you desire."
"You'll see what I desire soon enough," she breathed. "Tonight, say about 10:00, in my chambers?" She gave him the room number.
"I shall be there, ready for your wishes," he said in a voice that he hoped sounded just as sexy. "But for now," he sighed, "duty calls, Tomo-chan. I shall see you, anon."
"Until tonight, Ukyo-kun." She blew him a kiss, then walked away, swinging her hips to entertain him as she walked off. If she had turned around, she would've seen that Ukyo wasn't paying the least bit of attention to her, but instead, headed towards his fate.
"Um, Lady Saotome?"
*"What?!?"* she snapped, as she turned from her interrogation. Behind her, several ninjas breathed a sigh of relief, as they began to check each other for multiple contusions and lacerations. One even mouthed a silent "Thanks" to their savior.
"Lady, I wanted to inform you that I have the information regarding your assistant, Sheeba--"
*"THAT'S 'SHIVA', YOU NITWIT!!!! AND WHAT TOOK SO LONG FOR YOU TO TELL ME?!?!?"* she roared. She then grabbed his hand and dragged him off. *"C'mon, you've wasted enough of my time, Hibiki! Make yourself useful and lead the way, damn you!"* As they walked off, she turned to her other victims and shouted, *"You men, get back to your posts! Stop screwing around, or I'll have my Nguyen-chan take care of you!"* She then disappeared around the corner.
Out of sight, out of mind. The minute she was gone, they all slumped to the floor in a collective facefault.
* * *
"'Nguyen-chan?' Weren't you laying it a bit thick?" commented "Ukyo" as he pulled off his mask.
Meanwhile, the "Lady" Saotome was stripping out of her gown, revealing her own borrowed ninja togs underneath. "Hey, whatever works, right? Besides, I'm still trying to figured out how you kept a straight face with your newest fianc�e, over there," she joked.
"I'll tell you, sis," Ranma replied. "I'd rather deal with Kodachi than with that girl! She's got Shampoo beat!"
"Oniichan, I'd rather see you *married* to Kodachi than have to spend five more seconds with that...that...."
"Skinny flat chick?" Ranma used her own words.
"Yeah, that sounds about right," she chuckled. "But you said she had some semi-useful information on Shiva?"
Ranma immediately passed along the details of his conversation with Tomoko, including the execution date, and the fact that they were working against a deadline. Both Saotomes moved to an available seating area on the next deck, then pulled out the map and began to peruse it for any and every detail available for their liberation operation.
Ranma-chan pointed to a part on the paper. "If I'm reading this right, behind the cell where Shiva is, is one of their treasure rooms. If we can get into the treasure chamber, we can blow a hole through the wall and rescue her!"
"What about alarms?"
"This is a magical stronghold that is home to some nutso fruitcake that wants to rule the world, not some Hollywood fantasy. Do you really think they'd actually think of anyone breaking *into* a dungeon? Especially by going through a treasure trove?"
"You thought of it," he pointed out.
"True, but we're not the most normal people in the world are we? I mean, being a rehabilitated aquatranssexual and a teenager with a total life span of less than 48 hours is not what normal people think like."
Ranma was about to make another comment, when a voice filtered throughout the air:
"ATTENTION, ALL TROOPS OF THE CRYSTAL TEMPLE. REPORT TO THE MAIN HALL FOR BRIEFING BY LORD NGUYEN AND LADY MANGO. THIS IS A CLASS ONE BRIEFING, SO ALL FORCES ON DUTY SHALL REPORT TO THE MAIN HALL. ONLY OPERATIONS AND PATROL PERSONNEL CURRENTLY ON WATCH WILL BE EXEMPTED. WATCHSTANDERS SHALL REPORT TO THE SECOND BRIEFING BY MISTRESS RAIN AND LORD NOVA AT 2000. THAT IS ALL."
Brother looked to sister. "I believe we're on patrol, ne?"
"Can't let evil doers bypass our rounds," she replied.
"I wonder exactly how to patrol around here."
"Um, remember the Stormtroopers in _Star Wars_? I guess kinda like that."
The pair continued down the hall, in their never ending ability to stir up trouble for someone else.
* * *
It was fairly easy to subdue the guards. They were both female, and the sight of Ranma, as expected, set their hearts aflutter. One girl got close enough to the Japanese Adonis to swoon unconscious in his arms (thanks to a well-placed nerve pinch). The other girl just stared at him, kawaii mode at max, to which Ranma-chan decided she needed a little more work and promptly Amagurikened her to snoozeland.
After propping the pair up to look somewhat still conscious and intact, the pair approached what appeared to be the door to the treasure vault. It was a huge silver and golden door set into a large diamond wall. It looked very impregnable, and the Saotomes had no doubt that there were enough tricks and traps set on the door to prevent easily forcible entry. Unfortunately, there were no keypads locks, dials, card slots, or anything at all that would signal the entry by a conventional manner.
Ranma went back and searched the ladies for some kind of key or wand or some/anything that would be the clue to opening the huge door that blocked their only chance to save a loved one.
"Hmmm....how would anyone open this door if there was no normal way to open it? It has to be a magical door, so...."
"I dunno, oniichan. I'm stumped, personally."
They continued to look at the door for a few more minutes, until the answer came to male Ranma. Snapping his fingers, he cried, "That's it!"
"What's it?" Ranma-chan asked.
"It's a magic door! Remember that book I read about a month or two ago?"
"_A Thousand and One Arabian Nights_? Yeah, I remember I had to read it just so I could help Natsumi on her English book report," she deadpanned. "Not a bad book--" Then it dawned on her. "That's brilliant!"
"Hai, domo," he responded. Turning to the door, he said in his best English, "Open, sesame!"
No response.
"Alakazam!"
Still no response, nor was there any for the fifty or sixty other phrases he tried in English, Chinese, or Japanese. Finally, he sat down, disheartened.
"I'm sure it's just on the tip of your tongue, Ranma," his sister said in soothing tones. She wasn't too happy about it either. "Look at it this way: it's not like the spellcaster set it to something like 'All Is Not Gold That Glitters' or 'Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend--"
The massive door began to sparkle and shimmer, then pulsate with a white light that split into a rainbow effect. This continued for a few more seconds until the door disappeared, leaving the entry open and free.
The pair stared at the empty doorway, then each other. Huge beads of perspiration were clearly sitting on their brows, showing their bemused expressions.
"Ranma?"
"Yes, sis?"
"Take this note down: need to watch more Marilyn Monroe films."
"I'll get us memberships to the fan club when we get back home."
* * *
The treasure room, in a word, was stunning.
As far as the eye could see, the massive chamber was filled with piles upon piles of gems, gold, silver, and other priceless valuables. Bright and shiny, these precious objects sparkled with a beauty that was not totally lost on the two. Ranma noted that their father and Nabiki would be hatching up outrageous money schemes using this stuff as collateral. Ranma-chan suggested that they take some; it would set off some of the financial hardships the Tendos had been having over the years, to which Ranma countered that they would need to consult with Shiva first, to see if any of it was cursed--both shivered at the thought of not only the infamous Contrary Jewel, but of the gem Ranma-chan wore around her neck.
She pulled it out, noting that the gem was pulsing at a steady interval. It took a second more to realize that the gem was acting as an indicator of her own heartbeat.
Ranma looked at the gem that had somehow been at the center of all this. It had started out about some...two weeks ago? Ranma wasn't sure...when Shampoo tried to use the gem to make him fall in love with her. It then glowed moments before he was captured, and possibly when he made what he thought was his dying wish. So it stood to reason that there was something odd about the way that the gem worked and its relation to all that had occurred here.
In other words...
...nothing new here.
Ranma-chan put it away, and said, "Yeah, I know what you're thinking. It's another one of those Amazon pieces of junk. Well, blame the old ghoul. Somehow, I bet she talked Shampoo into it, you know."
"I can't believe you're backing her up, Ranma!" he said, shocked at the girl. "What about my side?"
"Who do you think you're talking to, Akane? I know your side as well as you. You just admit to refuse the facts. Shampoo isn't after you because of tribal law, oniichan, she's after you because she loves you. The old troll just thinks of it as convenient; she would have Shampoo after you even if Shampoo was married to someone else! You're too hard on her. She needs a friend. I'll see to that once we're back."
"Haven't you forgotten something? Now that we're separated, the kiss of death still stands. She'll try to kill you."
"She can't. I'm better than her. More important, doing so will cause her to lose you forever, if not worse. Most importantly, she considers Akane and Uc-chan rivals and enemies; thus, she has no real friends. I'm willing to bet that she needs a friend more than she needs revenge."
Ranma looked at her somberly. "Are you willing to bet your life on it, sis?"
"Weren't you willing to risk your own life to save Akane, even though it looked like she chose Shinnosuke over you?"
His face held a thoughtful look as he stared at his female image brought to life. "Yeah," he finally sighed, "Touch�. You're right. But it's difficult to tell her that I like her as a friend. Uc-chan understood, why can't she?"
"Ranma, Uc-chan doesn't understand. She accepts it; she doesn't understand. You are the only one for her. Sure, she loves Konatsu, and will have a peaceful rest of her life with him, but he's not you. There's always gonna be that little part of her that forever rails against that fact. She's going to be a part of your life forever, Ranma, and not just because she's your best friend."
He nodded appreciatively at her words. "Since when did you get so wise?"
"Common sense, bro," she said, nonchalantly. "As a girl, I see things a little differently than I did as a guy. It's reverse for you. It was never this pronounced until now, though. Maybe it's nature's way of accepting my life."
She flashed him a smile. "C'mon. We have a family member to save. We can talk about this later."
Within minutes, they'd located the wall adjacent to Shiva's cell. It was buried behind a mountain of emeralds, opals, and other such. This presented a new challenge for the pair, one that would probably not be solved easily. They couldn't simply blast their way through it because the ki would refract through that many crystalline structures; despite it being bioenergy, it transmits as a light beam, and thus susceptible to diffusion. Throwing an Ascending Dragon would send the stuff all over, and posed the risk of burying them under all that crushing weight, assuming the gems flying to the four winds crashing against the walls didn't set off alarms. Plucking them using the speed of the Amaguriken would take the better half of forever, which they didn't have.
Then, there was also the problem of exactly how thick the crystal wall was. Assuming it was a prison, it would have to be pretty dense. Additionally, since this was a mystical structure, there was no way of telling whether or not the place was booby trapped.
Of course, none of that mattered. What *did* matter was that there was a little girl in there on the verge of being executed, and that she needed her loved ones. Those two loved ones looked at each other and nodded, silently; another possible attempt at understanding the psychic bond between the two. The two Saotomes focused, becoming enveloped within the ruby coronas of their battle auras.
Love can be a powerful emotion. It can make a relationship stronger. It can cause enemies and rivals to unite together in a rescue mission. It can cause a young woman, unsure of herself, to become a general of her own guerrilla war. It can cause two individuals, despite past fears, to toss aside that problem and become family. It can cause a girl who has never known the feeling to dedicate her life to living in a new manner. In this case, it gave a pair of siblings the strength and willpower to open their hearts for another.
The young woman punched forward. *"Hiryu Shoten Ha, Horizontal!"*
The man thrust his hands forward as well. *"Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts Super Art! Shinkyuu Moko Takabishiya!"*
* * *
Within the dark confines of her cell, as she lay bound to the table, Shiva made one wish--one impossible wish--that she would hope would be some how fulfilled. She wished that she could tell Ranma that she loved him. He was all that she had of happiness, of joy. He was all that she had of a real life.
{Ranma. I wish I could've told you. In the few days I knew you, you showed me so much. You died because of me. I only wish that I can be with you when I die. Then we can be together. A real family.}
In the dark, tears began to stream down her cheeks. Though he'd never hear it, she would at least say the words that she meant with every inch of her heart and soul:
"I love you, Ranma."
The room began to glow the faintest of red. Just a minor hint, a bare glow, as though a Christmas-tree light was flashing from the wall. Then that small light became brighter, and stronger; the Christmas light becoming an incandescent bulb. The power of that bulb magnified its brightness stronger and stronger, even more so; becoming a powerful light, a miniature sun.
There was heat seeping in, an energy discharge of power becoming more and more intense.
Shiva noticed this and wrote it off as the hell she deserved for causing the death of the one person she loved most in the world. {At least, when the pain's over, I'll get to be with him again. I'll be there soon, my friend.}
Finally the wall turned into molten slag, and a blast of hot energy ripped through the very air above her, no more than a foot above where she was. The beam continued, to splash against the other door, where it darkened it from the blast. Shiva closed her eyes from the blast, letting the tears flow. When she opened them again, she would be in the afterlife, and with Ranma.
There was a sensation of her bonds snapping away, then of being lifted in strong, comforting arms.
But most important to the young girl was the cheerful voice that assured her, "I came to get you, Shiva. Let's go home."
The voice spoke with kindness and love. {Let's go home,} it said. Only once voice would say that. One sweet, caring, tender, voice. She opened her eyes, and looked at two faces, that of a man and a woman years older than she. But she knew those faces, and the person it represented.
*"RANMA!!!!!!!!"* She reached up and hugged his neck, machine-gunning kisses all over his cheeks.
Ranma looked at the girl in his arms, as she just cuddled against his chest, just so happy to be there. He looked at the redhead. "I think she's happy to see us."
She looked back at him. "I think so, too."
She heard that voice, spun and dived at the girl, repeating her earlier actions. Shiva then immediately stopped and stared in shock, the reality of what she was seeing at the girl. "Ranma?" Then she turned around and looked at the man. "Ranma...? Is...?"
"No, Shiva," he said. "It's me. In both spots at once. Something, um, 'interesting' happened when I was tossed into the pit--"
"--and as a result, we're two people, now," she completed, kneeling down to look at the younger girl. "But think of it as this, Shiva. Now you have two people who love you as much as you love them."
Shiva's eyes grew afraid. Was this one of Mango's tricks? Or had she been drugged? Was she just dreaming it all? Was she in the afterlife? It made no sense.
But then, Ranma came over and hugged her. "I know it doesn't make sense, Shiva. I know you're confused; believe me, so am I. So is she. But we'll work it out together. You, me, her, Akane, and Mom and Pop."
"Ranma?" she said, her voice catching in her throat. What did he mean?
He continued. "Shiva, Ranma--" he gestured to the girl, "--and I are going to ask our parents to adopt you. We want you to come home with us to be our sister."
"No," the girl suddenly said, her tone sounding odd.
"Huh?" Ranma replied, looking at his younger clone with a gaze that demanded an answer.
"Oh!--I didn't mean *that...."* she clarified. "I love you too, Shiva, and would be more than joyed for you to come home with us."
"What did you mean, then?" Shiva asked.
Ranma-chan addressed her brother. "I've been thinking, oniichan. We're the same person, and we'll always think of each other like that. To be honest, I think the terms 'brother' and 'sister' are nothing but labels of convenience for others to use in regards to us. We're yin and yang. We'll always be that way. But we're also different.
"I'm not Ranma. I am, but I can't have that name. That is you; who you've been since the day you were born. I can't, and I won't take that from you. Likewise, I won't be called Ranma-chan. I'm not her, and I hope I never will be."
"You're not, sis," he said, albeit a bit confused. "You've proven it to me. You're no Ranma-chan. But if not that, what will your name be?"
"That's easy. The only name ever meant for me." She smiled sweetly.
"In that case...." He smiled along with her. "Shiva, I'd like to introduce you to my younger sister, your older one....
...Saotome *Ranko."*
* * *
That said and done, the two Saotomes grabbed their young charge and raced into the treasure room. After they took a second to "restock" Ranko's bag with the needed items, they raced back out. Shiva asked why the jewels were need, to which Ranko calmly explained the ever-perilous financial health of the dojo, as well as the equally-ailing Saotome home in Osaka. She explained that they wouldn't do this normally unless the situation was very dire, to which Shiva replied if it was for those who would become her family, then there was no need to be explained.
They also emptied Ranma's bag, and with Shiva taking it, the three raced out of the treasure room, and began their break for freedom.
However, there would be the expected opposition, and a couple of other items. The women from earlier stood in the doorway, having come to while the Saotomes made a withdrawal at the Bank of Nguyen. Their bodies were tense and ready to slay the foes that had tricked them, and there would be no deception this time. They had to fight their way through the door, and it was not going to be simple.
"Ranma, I know you won't fight girls...." Her eyes flashed with determination. She had family to protect, and family to meet. No one was going to prevent that, especially not the two prissies ahead of her.
"All yours, Ranko," he said, grabbing her bag and thus unleashing her fury.
"I'll make you proud, oniichan," Ranko snarled, and with that, the Wild Mare galloped into battle.
The redhead raced forwards to meet her foes, as both readied their weapons for the fight. One of them shouted, "Death to the enemies of Lord Nguyen! Die!" She threw a volley of shuriken forward, an obvious killing intent.
"Not impressed," Ranko shouted back. "Your Lord Nguyen chose me to be his mate because I am the best female martial artist in the world! Do you honestly think you can stop me?" She raced into the storm of shuriken.
The two women began to ready their assault on Ranma and Shiva.
Big mistake.
"Kacchu Tenshin Amaguriken" called Ranko as she began to pluck each deadly projectile from the air and drop them harmlessly. As the girls realized their mistake and readjusted their attack for a counteroffensive on Ranko, she pounced on them. Leaping between them, she hit the deck, spun, and leapt back to her feet, calling out "Shoken no Tendo!" and executing a variation of Akane's flying uppercut. However, as both the puncher and the punchee reached the zenith, Ranko rapidly spun and nailed her with a snap kick, slamming her into a wall. As she plunged to earth to reach her second opponent, she was nearly sliced by an energy slash.
The woman leapt back, swinging her sword in another blade attack. The energy shadow caused by the ki this time nearly severed Ranko's pigtail. "Hey watch it! Do you know how long it took to grow that?"
"It won't matter. You should be more worried on how you'll survive me, wench," she taunted. She raced in, and called out "Lighting Sword!"
This was an unknown, yet costly miscalculation. Ranma had dodged Kuno's Lighting Sword attack millions of times; Ranko, with her brother's memories, had no problem with this slower speed. She flawlessly dodged each attack, charging up her ki so she could counter. As soon as the woman began to withdraw her attack, Ranko lunged forward, ripped the katana from her hands (by the guard; she was paying attention), then threw a hard left into the woman's face, sending her back even as she heard the woman's nose go *crunch.* As soon as the woman was tossed back far enough, Ranko completed her combo by slamming her into the wall courtesy of a Moko Takabishiya.
Ranko punched her fist into her palm, chirping, *"YES!* I love it when a plan goes my way!"
Walking up to meet her, Ranma whistled appreciatively. "Wow, sis. Almost as good as I could've."
"Of course! Saotome AGMA rules, right?" A pause, followed by the retort, "Whaddya mean 'almost?'"
* * *
Nighttime was spent once again in the underground cavern. This time, each took a bath, while the others tended to the food. Due to a third raid on the supply closet (this time, Ranma had to subdue an opponent--they were beginning to get wind of a thief in their midst), and yet another raid on the kitchen, they would have enough supplies to make their great escape tomorrow. Admittedly, between the two bags of gems and the supplies, they'd be weighted down, but all three of them could fight, and would do so to protect each other.
It was also on the way to the kitchen that Ranma heard the rumors. As "Hibiki Ukyo" talked to another group of troops, Ranma discovered that a band of American Special Forces were on the way to destroy this place. Upon returning to the cavern, Ranma immediately passed this information on to the ladies, and the three began to formulate a plan to escape. The attack was rumored to take place at dawn, and with that distraction, they could easily make their flight to freedom. Once they were free, Shiva explained that they were close to Nekonron, and with a little luck (and that fact that Ranma knew the prince of the land), they would be safely returned to Japan.
Since Ranma suggested that they get up early, they also turned in early. Ranma slept in his bag, while Ranko and Shiva shared one; the sleeping bags were too large to carry three and they'd have to make do. Ranma set the alarm for 7:00 in the morning, so while the battle was fully underway, most of the troops would be preoccupied on involved in the fighting, thus allowing them to escape unhindered.
Ranma crawled into his bag, uncomfortable about what he was about to do. He also felt a tingling at the back of his mind, similar to the ones he did whenever he used to transform.
Ranko came over and kissed him goodnight. "Ranma? What's wrong, oniichan? You seem so sad."
He did a double take. His expression was neutral, and even if it wasn't it shouldn't be that easy to read in the dark. {Of course...Ranko is a part of me. That's why she can read my mind.} "Nothing, Ranko. I'm just anxious to be with Akane, and get back to our family and friends. Trust me."
The look in her eyes said that she knew he was lying. "Okay, Ranma. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, sis." He turned over in his sleep, only to be hugged and kissed again.
"Oniisama?" It was Shiva. She'd apparently taken the Saotomes' promises of home to heart, eagerly calling them her older siblings. "Onnesama said that you were sad about something. Is there something I can do?"
"No, Shi-chan," he said. "I'm just ready to go home, to get all of us home."
"Okay, if you say so," Shiva sounded as unsure of his mood as Ranko did. "Goodnight, oniisama."
"Osayumi nasai, sis," Ranma said. He allowed a grin to smile his face. When this whole mess started, he was alone. Now, it was near the end, and he had family. The curse of Jusenkyo was over for him, only to be replaced by the blessing of the Crystal Temple. Now, one last obstacle stood between him and home; the final challenge between him and Akane. He'd be damned if that obstacle stopped him.
* * *
The alarm's soft chimes went off at 7:00, just as expected. Ranko crawled free of the bag, carefully waking up Shiva. She didn't hear her brother wake up, so she moved over to his bag. In the distance, she could hear the muffled sounds of shouts and yells: the battle outdoors had apparently begun and had moved into the palace itself.
She went over to where he slept, bending down to whisper a good morning in his ear.
He wasn't there. In a second's panic, she opened the bag all the way, hoping he'd crawled deeper into it, a fetal position, maybe. But she knew the answer from the moment she first saw the empty sleeper.
She stood up, completely confused. Why would he...? Then something white caught the corner of her eye. She grabbed what turned out to be a sheet of paper. Reaching into her pocket she snatched a chemlight, snapping it active. Her eyes began to skim the missive written on the sheet; a second later, "Damn you, Ranma! You didn't have to--!"
Shiva immediately rushed to her mentor's side. "What is it, onnesama?"
The look on her face was that of blanched fear. Handing her the note, she said, "Read it and let's go! We don't have much time!" She reached in the bag and pulled out a couple of things, shoving them into her pocket. "Ranma," she muttered, her voice a mixture of worry and indignation.
"What about the stuff?"
"We'll get it on the way back. If not, we can do without. However, I won't do without Ranma. Let's go!" She began to race for the cavern door.
Shiva bolted after her, shouting, "Ranko! Wait up, will ya?" At the same time, the young girl tried to read the letter. When she finally did, and the message sunk in, she began to rush ahead of Ranko, shouting, "Come on! He's gonna get himself killed if we don't get there in time!" She dropped the letter, which had a plain, handwritten message:
Ranko and Shiva,
I'm truly sorry about leaving you behind, but this had to be done. I didn't want you two to follow me--I don't want you to follow me.
I realized that with the split, and the rescue, we've placed ourselves under a spotlight. Nguyen will no longer be after me, Ranko...he'll be after you. Shiva will be hunted down for joining us. I can't let them harm my sisters. I can't let Akane, or any of the others fall into the trap because I didn't pay attention. So, I have to do something about it.
I'm going to take him head on and take him down. It's the only way to ensure that I can save you, the only way to make sure that he never hurts another soul again. I'm going to go all the way--under the circumstances, I feel it's justified.
Get out of here and to safety, Ranko. Protect our little sister. If I make it back, we'll go home together. If I don't, tell Akane I love her and hope she'll forgive me. I want you to take care of her too, Ranko--she'll need you more than ever.
We'll see each other again--one way or the other.
Love you both,
--Ranma
The two continued to race towards the only place that Nguyen would be at this time of day, combat or not: his private quarters. They did meet a minimum of resistance, but they were easily taken out of the picture thanks to the blinding speed of the two ladies. Ranko had to admit that Shiva was a highly skilled fighter, although her style wasn't even remotely identifiable; when they got back home, her...their...father would surely have another child to train in the Saotome style. Plus, at age 13, Shiva showed a ki mastery close to Ranma and Ranko at their current ages--{Just how old am I supposed to be, anyway? Am I Ranma's twin, or his younger sister?}--which meant that potentially, she could grow up to be more powerful. That could pose a problem, due to the fact that at age 17, Ranma had already carved the tops off of mountains.
After a few more minutes of fighting the sparse guard within the upper confines of the garrison, they approached the area near the private area. She could hear shouting inside. Therefore, it was time for her to make her entrance. Walking to the door, she said, "Shiva, stay here."
"No! I'm not leaving you!" The young girl's tone was resolute. "I nearly lost Ranma--both of you--once, 'cause I wasn't careful. I'll never let that happen again!" The girl wouldn't leave her side, her eyes pleading.
"Shiva," Ranko said, staring into the emerald eyes of the smaller individual. She tried to come up with some excuse as to why she couldn't come. "I want you to stay here to cover our backs. Fighting Nguyen will be hard enough. If he gets reinforcements, we'll be done for. With you standing guard here, we have a better chance. Do you understand?"
The girl nodded. She didn't like it, but she understood Ranko's reasoning. "Just...be careful, onnesama." She hugged Ranko.
Ranko returned the embrace, vowing, "We'll be okay. Just remember one thing, Shiva, something that will be a part of your life: Nothing's impossible for a Saotome." As a final precaution, Ranko whipped out two objects--a pen and a piece of paper, then began to hastily jot down something on the sheet. She shoved it into Shiva's hands, instructing her, "If we're not out of here in one hour, *get out of here.* Get to Japan, find the Tendo dojo--it's in Tokyo. Give this to one of the Tendos or my parents. They'll see that you're taken care of."
Shiva grew frightened at the thought of leaving Ranma and Ranko. "Onnesama...."
"Please, Shiva...don't make this any harder. Just do it. We want you to have a happy life, even if we're not there. Please. If nothing else, do it for Ranma an' me."
The little girl nodded solemnly.
With that, she snuck inside the door, leaving Shiva to protect her back. Shiva went into her fighting pose, and there was never a more determined look on the child's face. She had, finally, something worth fighting for. She had a family now, and anyone who would try and take that from her would meet with very serious opposition.
Very serious opposition, indeed.
* * *
Ranma raced through the boundless accommodations, shouting, *"NGUYEN!!! WHERE ARE YOU?!?! COME ON OUT, YOU COWARDLY BASTARD!!!!!"*
His response was a powerful beam of purple that tore the air above him. Ranma hit the deck, rolling, and leapt back to his feet. He had just enough time to charge up his ki, when a deep voice replied, "Don't bother. You're already dead."
Ranma called out, *"Show yourself, damn you! Are you afraid to face me?"*
The voice answered, "My, my, my, you are a brave one. Or a reckless fool. It matters not. You will die."
Nguyen stepped out from the shadows, dressed in a black and gold military-styled suit, with a matching cloak. His eyes blazed the color of deep orchid, his battle aura arcing and sparking with a similar shade. He floated a few inches off the floor, and stood, arms crossed over his massive barrel of a chest. He laughed, then said, "Boy, you have a lot to learn about challenging your betters. Not that you will have any time to learn from your mistake."
Ranma let his battle aura begin to build, the red cloud of energy enshrouding him, and he felt the familiar tingle. He knew what that tingling meant, now. Once, it meant that he was about to change into his cursed form. Now, it was the beginnings of a psychic link with his cursed form--his sister. Nevertheless, he steeled himself for battle. "Nguyen," he spat, closing his hand into a fist, then dropping into an offensive stance, "I'm gonna end your rotten schemes, once and for all."
Nguyen stood there, looking rather bored. "You amuse me, boy; if you think you can actually beat me, you will learn the hard way that is an impossibility."
Ranma bared his teeth menacingly. *"Nothing's* impossible for a Saotome!"
"Saotome?" The warlord rubbed his chin in thought. "Now that you mention it, you do look familiar....ah, yes. You must be related to my dear deceased bride."
Unfortunately, Ranma opened his mouth, inserting the infamous foot. "She's very much alive. And I'll be damned if I'm letting you near my sister again!"
"Your sister, eh?" Nguyen said. "And alive, too. Thank you for the information. I had thought her dead, but now that she is alive...."
{Me an' my big mouth,} Ranma lamented. "No way, man! I'm not letting you anywhere *near* Ranko!" Strike two.
"Ranko? I thought her name was Ranma! My dear fellow, is there anything else you care to tell me about her before I kill you?"
{Che! Okay then, you're trying to sleep with my clone!} "Stay the hell away from her, Nguyen. I'm warning you...."
"As though I actually fear you, boy!" Nguyen laughed darkly, then uncrossed his arms and formed a fairly large violet fireball in his right hand. Running the fingers of his other hand through his hair, he commented, "you have at least earned the rare honor of giving me your name before I kill you, child."
Ranma cocked his fist back, the fist glowing with bright red energies. His voice was calm and even, yet one could easily tell the young man was determined and boiling with determination to carry this fight to its destined conclusion. "I'm Saotome Ranma, of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. And I challenge you!"
Nguyen smiled and waved his hand, propelling the huge fireball towards the Japanese martial artist.
Ranma was also prepared. He rammed his outstretched palms towards his foe, screaming, *"Moko Takabishiya!"*
