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Insertion 

Part 39

Eternity and Beyond...

+++++++++++++

"Well Ranma, I hope you're proud of yourself. You've managed to piss
everyone off, even the gods hate us now," said Nephrite as he sat across
from the boy with a small frown on his face.

"Well, I think that one is just me," said Ranma sheepishly in reply.

The man sighed and shook his head. "Our operations are going well
otherwise, no real problems so far. We've still got that Masked character
running around, we have the youma still hanging over our head, although
that problem seems to be clearing up on it's own from what you've told
me. Beryl is still out there. To put it simply, we're pretty busy these
days, and it doesn't look like it's going to let up. If anything, it'll
get worse once those youma start tearing Tokyo up again."

"We're keeping an eye on things, having the senshi with us has lightened
up our load a bit, plus we don't have to worry about that invading army
any longer either," pointed out Ranma. "We've been pretty successful so
far."

"What about Nabiki?" asked Nephrite.

"Well, I'm having fun with that at the moment. She thinks I'm some sort
of psychopath, I'm going to enjoy myself until she meets with Mercury
next week," said Ranma with a smirk on his face.

"Is she wrong?" joked Nephrite as he looked at the boy in amusement.

"Not by much," said Ranma with a slight frown. "In any case, I've got
plenty of problems as it is."

"That's something of an understatement," commented Jadeite as he entered
the room.

"Hey, what's up?" asked Ranma as he turned and smiled at the man.

"Nothing much, have you heard the news?" asked Jadeite.

"News?" asked Ranma in confusion.

"Akane's asked for a few days off. It seems that she's entering some sort
of competition for school," said Jadite.

"Oh? When did this happen?" said Ranma as he looked at them. "What
competition? It's the first I've heard of it."

"Seems the Rythmic Gymnastics team begged her for help. Some rival school
sent an assassin of sorts to take them out before the match. They want
our lovely lady to compete in their place."

"And naturally, Akane thinks it's some sort of duty to agree," said Ranma
with a small sigh.

"Something like that," said Jadeite with a light smirk.

"When did this happen?" asked the pigtailed boy.

"Over the weekend, while you were busy running around with those
goddesses," said Nephrite.

"I've heard about this school. It's St. Hebereke isn't it?" said Ranma as
he sat down in one of the chairs around the desk.

"Yes, seems they have something of a record for this sort of thing.
Apparently, money has changed hands and allowed the right people to look
the other way," said Nephrite as he flipped through a few pages.

"Well, I smell an opportunity for a little publicity," said Ranma with a
smirk on his face. "The champion at that school is one Kodachi Kuno."

"You seem to know a bit about this," said Jadeite as he sat down next to
Ranma.

"I know her brother, he's a delusional idiot. I imagine it runs in the
family," said Ranma with a rough snort. "I want a guard placed with
Akane, if she doesn't like it, have her come talk to me about it."

"What are you planning?" said Nephrite with a small frown. "This isn't
like you. Sticking your nose in something like this is usually beneath
you."

Ranma pulled the folder out of Nephrites hands and flipped around. "Let's
see. Seems there's quite a few pretty important people involved in this
little scam that school has going. We've got an extensive file on this. I
wonder why that is? Number or suspected injuries caused by the little
game, names of people thought to be involved. Oh! Incriminating evidence
even, photos." Ranma smiled at the men and looked between them. "Why
would we be taking such an interest in this?"

"Actually, that's a compilation of evidence we've stumbled upon over
time. Many of the people who go to this school are pretty important. It's
a rather pricey private place. Girls only, highly exclusive, you know the
sort of place."

Ranma nodded and looked relatively interested. "So, I take it a lot of
these families have hired us."

"That's right, I figured we'd ignore it mostly," said Nephrite with a
shrug. "It's just something we've managed to scrape together over time.
Disclosing it would hurt our reputation. It's somewhat beneath us as
well."

"Interesting," said Ranma with a smirk as he flipped through the pages.
"I think I may be able to use this."

"What are you planning?" asked Nephrite.

"Just a little blackmail, nothing important," said Ranma with a shrug.

"Pardon?" said Jadeite with a surprised frown. "Blackmailing who? And
why?"

"No one of any in particular importance. I'm going to make sure Akane has
a fair fight, that's all," said Ranma as he glanced up at them. "It seems
most of this centers around the sister of the man I told you about, one
Kodachi Kuno. She's probably the ringleader of the operation, and
something of a social figure. 

"Why are you going to do that?" asked Nephrite.

"Ego boost. Akane is still green, something like this will help boost her
confidence a bit, especially if she wins fairly."

"And if she loses?" asked Nephrite.

"She'll have lost in a fair fight," replied Ranma with a small shrug.
"Nothing of any particular importance either."

++++++++++++++

Ranma stood at the entrance of the Kuno mansion. His shades were in place
on his face and he had a serious expression on his face. A surprised
looking servant greeted him at the door; "Can I help you?"

"I'm here to speak with Kodachi Kuno," said the boy as he looked down at
the small man.

"Just a moment, I shall summon her," said the man with a short bow.

Ranma stood in the doorway patiently, after a moment Kodachi greeted him.
She was dressed in a formal Kimono and looked at him for a moment. "Who
might you be?"

"My name is R, I've come to speak with you about a private matter," he
replied coldly.

"Very well, I shall speak with you then," she replied formally.

++++++++++++

A few moments later she was sitting in the back yard at a small table
with tea set out between them. "Tea?" she asked him.

"I'm afraid I'll pass," he replied. "I hope you understand, but you have
a rather unusual reputation."

Kodachi arched her eyebrow at this and smirked. "I understand." The tea
was spiked with a mild paralysis potion. She had developed an immunity to
it, and actually enjoyed the flavor it added to the drink.

"If you don't mind, I'll get down to business," said Ranma as he pulled
an envelope out of his jacket. It wasn't thick enough to be a bribe of
any kind.

"What is this?" asked Kodachi. 

"Evidence," said Ranma with a smirk on his face.

"Evidence?" asked the girl with a sharp inhalation. 

"Yes, proof that your title as Rythmic Gymnastics champion was garnered
through unethical means," said the boy calmly.

"What? Are you accusing me of..." started Kodachi angrily as she stood
up.

"Sit down," said the boy calmly. "I'm not making accusations. I'm telling
you that I know. I have proof to back this up, evidence that will stand
up in court."

Kodachi glared at him and said nothing. "What is it that you want?
Money?"

"Hardly," replied Ranma with a small chuckle. "What I want is simple. A
fair fight."

"Fair?" sputtered Kodachi in disgust.

"I'm not asking you to throw the fight, but you'll do it right this time.
No doctored tools, no ambushes, no visiting your opponent before the
match, or any other little tricks. Your team will also be visible at
ringside for the entire match," said the boy calmly. "It's fairly
simple."

"Oh?" said Kodachi with a slight smirk on her face. 

"Don't think that you can sneak around without me finding out about it
either," said Ranma calmly. "I'm sure you've heard of us, if not by
reputation. Your house had hired our services before."

Kodachi blinked as the man offered her a business card. "What is this?"
she stammered.

"I'm afraid that we are working with another party in this case. You
understand of course," said Ranma as he smirked at her.

"So, this wretch has hired security to ensure that the match is not..."

"Something like that," said Ranma with a small nod. "I doubt if you'll
try anything, but if you do. I want you aware that we are prepared to
back up our claims. You will be prosecuted in court for the assault and
battery of a great many young girls."

"Those peasants! They are beneath my..."

"A court will not see it that way," replied Ranma with a small shrug. "I
promise you that. The cases we have selected are some of the more, well
known daughters. Your little scam has involved the families of some
pretty powerful families. On their own you were able to bribe your way
out of it. However, not even the Kuno fortune is enough to out bribe them
combined."

Kodachi worked her mouth and stared at him.

"We'll be watching you," said Ranma as he stood up and dusted off his
coat. "Just behave yourself this one time, and you won't have any
problems." He left her sitting there and made his way towards the door.

Kodachi growled and stared at the tea set for a moment. She stood up and
kicked the table over in frustration. 

++++++++++++++++

Ranma chuckled as he pulled his glasses off and stepped into the back
door of the home. The servants were all looking at him oddly as he
strolled through the building.

"Hold!" cried a familiar voice from above.

Ranma paused and turned to see Kuno looking down at him from the top of
the stairwell.

"Villain! You dare defile the house of Kuno? For what purpose have you
darkened the sanctity of my home!?"

Ranma sighed. "I'm here on business, in fact I've just finished. I was on
my way out."

Kuno frowned. "Business?"

"It involves your sister, and a client. None of your concern," said Ranma
as he turned away and started walking again.

Kuno snorted and walked down the stairs. "What sort of foolishness has my
sister become involved in?" 

"If she wants to tell you, it's her business. I can't disclose it," said
Ranma as he turned to look at the boy. "We do have something of a
reputation to keep after all."

"I see, very well! I shall allow this transgression for now," said Kuno
as he turned away.

"Allow my ass," grumbled Ranma as he walked out the door.

++++++++++++++

Nabiki turned away as Ranma walked into the home. She frowned and
promptly walked up to her room again. 

"Man, you sure have been spending a lot of time in there. I wonder if
you're plotting against me!?" said Ranma out loud as he tried his best to
look nervous and somewhat angry.

Nabiki stared at him.

"We hate it when people plot against us," muttered Ranma to himself. He
paused and looked up to see the girl still standing and staring at him.
"Er...I mean I hate that..."

"I've got a lot of homework, call me for dinner," said Nabiki to Kasumi a
little louder than she needed to. With that said, she promptly closed the
door. Ranma smirked as he heard the sound of something being moved in
front of the door.

"Where the hell have you been?" snapped Chibi-Usa angrily as she walked
up and stared at her father.

"What the hell happened to you?" said Ranma as he looked down at the girl
dumbly. She was wearing a frilly pink dress with a large bow in her hair.
She was also blushing angrily. Ranma burst into laughter.

"Oh! Hello Ranma!" said Kasumi as she entered the room from the kitchen. 

"Asshole!" snarled the little girl as she glared up at him.

"What...what happened?" said Ranma between chuckles as he slowly calmed.

"Mom did," said the little girl as she glared at him. "I'd kick your ass,
but Mom says she'll kill me if I get this dirty."

This response caused another fit of full-blown laughter.

Chibi-Usa's aura flared, but she managed to contain her rage and stomped
up the stairs.

"Wow. I hate to admit it, but she looks good that way," said Ranma as he
continued to chuckle and watched the little girl stomp away. "Jeez, how
could Usagi do something like that to her?"

"I think she looks pretty," said Kasumi sweetly.

"She does, too pretty. Can you imagine Akane wearing something like
that?"

Kasumi blinked, and shook her head negative.

"Well, that kid is more of a tomboy than Akane will ever be," snorted the
boy. "I'm gonna have to talk with her mother about that later."

Chibi-Usa was down the stairs in an instant and latched onto his leg.
"Really? You'd do that for me?" she cried.

Ranma sighed. "Sure. I guess."

"You're the best, Pop!" cried the girl. She let him go and rushed up the
stairs to change clothes.

Kasumi smiled at him. "That was very nice, Ranma."

"What? She's a good kid, even if she is a little rough," replied the boy.
"The Spore isn't as bad as I thought she'd be."

"Spore?" asked Kasumi in confusion.

"It's complicated," said Ranma cheerfully.

"Oh," said the girl as she smiled at him. "That girl called again, she
said she wanted to meet you," said Kasumi with a small frown.

"You mean Usagi?" said Ranma as he looked at the girl for a moment.

"Yes," said Kasumi. "Is there something going on? I don't want Akane to
be upset."

"I'll tell you a secret Kasumi, but you have to promise not to tell
anyone else, not your father, not Nabiki, and certainly not my parents.
Not yet anyway."

"Okay," said Kasumi nervously.

"Chibi-Usa isn't Akane's, and she already knows it," said Ranma.

"What?" gasped the girl in shock.

"Akane and I are never getting married, we decided that a long time ago.
I don't see myself with any of you either," said the boy with a shrug.
"You're very nice girls, but I met Chibi-Usa's mother a month or so ago.
We aren't sure what's going on with her just yet, or how she got here
from the past."

"Oh my. Father will be so disappointed," muttered Kasumi.

"Not as much as you might think," said Ranma as he smirked at her.

"So, the mother is..."

"Usagi," said Ranma with a short nod. 

Kasumi blinked, she got an uncertain frown on her face as she looked up
at the door where Chibi-Usa had disappeared. "She seemed like such a nice
girl too..."

"Yeah. I don't get it either," he said with a small shrug. "I sure ain't
in love with that ditz. It must be something that happens later."

"I suppose," muttered Kasumi. "She said she wanted to speak with you."

"Okay, I'll call her," said Ranma.

++++++++++++

"What's up?" asked Ranma as he talked on his cell phone. Chibi-Usa was in
the back of his car with her arms crossed.

"I need to speak with you about her," said Usagi.

"Well, I could be there in a few minutes," said the boy. "In fact, I was
already on my way to Juban. She's with me."

"Oh dear," grumbled Usagi.

"What? I could send her home if you want," he said as he glanced back and
saw the girl stick her tongue out at him in the mirror. She continued to
make rude faces and he rolled his eyes.

"No, it's all right," she said with a sigh. "We'll just make other
arrangements."

"Oh, okay," said Ranma as he turned. "Where do you want to meet?"

+++++++++++++++

"Why am I here?" snored Mamoru as he looked at Ranma and the little girl.

"Well, I have to talk with Ranma about her," said Usagi as she looked
down at the girl. "I was hoping you'd keep an eye on her for us..."

"Me?!!" gasped the boy angrily. "Why not one of your friends? Do you
realize what she represents to us?"

"I'm sorry Mamo-chan! I tried everyone else, you're the only one who
wasn't busy! I really did!"

Mamoru frowned and then sighed. "Fine, you two go do what you need to."
He glared at Ranma hatefully for a moment and turned away. "Come on kid."

"Okay," said the little girl as she looked up at him. 

++++++++++++++++

Usagi was riding with Ranma in his car. They pulled up to a small quiet
restaurant with a somewhat formal and business atmosphere.

"So. How are things going with 'Mamo-chan'? " asked Ranma. 

"Fine, I don't see what happened," said Usagi guiltily. "This bothers
me."

"You're not the only one," replied Ranma with a rough snort. "I think it
bugs me and Mamoru just as much, if not more."

They were silent while they were seated. It was a Traditional Japanese
place, but they were at a small private table.

Usagi sighed. "I wanted to talk with you about our daughter," she said
with a small frown on her face. "She's acting...like...like..."

"She's acting like she was trained to fight," said Ranma. "She's a
tomboy, and that bothers you."

"Yes," said Usagi. "I think it was your doing."

"Probably, I'm not one to coddle a child. My father had a lot to do with
that."

"Oh?" said the girl with a small frown.

"When I as six, my father took me on a voyage of training across Japan
and China. We were gone for ten years. About two months ago was the first
time I had seen my mother in ten years."

Usagi gasped.

"Don't look at me like that. I wish I had known her better of course, but
it's not something I dwell on."

"How can you say that?" gasped the girl in shock.

"I'm not much for being sentimental about things I can't change," he
replied with a small shrug. "Just the way I am."

"But what about her? You didn't..." Usagi looked at him in horror.

"I wouldn't do that to her. I'd never take her away from her mother," he
said with a shake of his head. "I think it's just the way she wants to
be. She's a tough kid, and she knows how strong she is. That's
confidence, and she doesn't see any reason to act more feminine. It'll
change when she's a little older. She'll start liking boys."

"If she doesn't?" asked Usagi with a small frown.

"That's her choice," he said with another shrug. "Either way, I doubt if
we'll have much to worry about."

Usagi turned her head away. "I don't agree."

"Well, trying to put her into frilly dresses and forcing her to act like
your view of how a girl her age should act will only push her away. She
was pretty upset about that dress."

"It was cute!" snapped Usagi.

"Maybe she doesn't want to be cute," he said calmly.

"But..."

"You're trying to be nice to her, but she's not you, and she's certainly
not a cute little girl. She's a Saiyan child. Maybe that has something to
do with it?"

Usagi blinked at this. "A what?"

"Huh?" Ranma had been thinking out loud more than anything else, and
hadn't quite realized what he'd just told her.

"You just called her a Saiyan!" snapped Usagi. "What do you mean Saiyan?"

Ranma looked around nervously as the girl screamed at her. "Wait a
minute!" He stood up and tried to quiet her down.

Usagi stood up and grabbed him by his shirt pulling him towards her by
his collar. "You'd better start explaining things a little more."

"Why are you mad?" he stammered in confusion. 

Usagi wasn't looking at him any more, she was looking down at his waist.
The tail coiled there twitched. She let him go and screamed as she backed
into the wall.

"Is there a problem?" asked the manager of the restaurant as he rushed
over to them.

"No, everything is fine, sorry for the commotion," said Ranma as he
gently turned the man around. "She just got a little excited."

The man turned away, glancing back at them nervously.

"Now, if you're finished embarrassing me," said Ranma as he sat down and
tucked his shirt in again.

"You've got a tail!" she muttered. "This is..."

"What are you so surprised for?" he said angrily. "You were there when I
transformed! Our daughter can transform. I outright said I was a saiyan!"

"I thought you were just joking around!" she said in horror.

"Well, I'm not damn it!" he replied.

"Have you come to destroy the world? Or are others coming to destroy the
planet that we have to fight?" Her frightened look slowly faded. "Do you
fight Piccolo a lot? How about those dragon balls? Can I get a wish?!"

"You've been reading too much manga," he replied sourly.

"This is so cool! So, you're really an alien then?"

"You were born on the moon. Who are you to talk?" he snapped.

"Actually, I was born in Tokyo General," she pointed out.

"Not the first time," he said as he glared at her.

"No I wasn't, I was born on Mercury. All royal births happen there. They
had the best medical facilities," said Usagi.

"Well, still. My point doesn't change," he said with a shrug.

"Oh," she replied, obviously still not getting it.

"Sir, your drinks..." said the waiter nervously as he approached. He was
still looking worried, they had appeared to be having a rather physical
argument only a few minutes before.

"Huh?" said Ranma as he turned. Naturally, his arm struck the man's leg,
and a glass of water fell onto his head. "Great," grumbled the redhead as
she glared up at the man.

"I'm sorry sir..." his voice trailed off as he noticed the young girl
sitting and glaring up at him. 

Ranma calmly pulled a sleek silver object out of his pocket and put on
her shades. He reached across the table and covered the confused looking
Usagi's eyes and flashed the man in his face.

The waiter was staring foreword dumbly.

"You've been serving two women all this time. They've been having a
rather private, but pleasant conversation the whole time," said Ranma.

The waiter nodded and wandered off. "I'll get you a towel miss..."

"What..." said Usagi as she stared at the girl sitting across from her.

"Well, I guess I'd better explain this," muttered Ranma sourly.

"I...I know you..." said Usagi.

"Huh?" said the redhead.

"What is this? It's a memory!" said Usagi as she clutched her head and
leaned foreword. "You were...in the past! I remember a ship! You were
there!"

"Oh, you're remembering that," said the redhead with a slight smirk. 

"What?" gasped Usagi. "You already know?"

"Well, yeah," said Ranma. "Where did you think I as when I vanished while
that monster was running around?"

"You were...in the past?" said Usagi in shock.

"That's right," said Ranma with a small nod. "I met you, your mother,
Tux-boy, I beat up most of the Senshi..."

Usagi frowned, she could only remember a few bits and pieces. Most of it
centered around the redhead in front of her. "You were a girl then?"

"No, this is a curse. I didn't spend a lot of time like this back then."

"I can't remember much," said Usagi as she frowned.

"Don't rack your brain so much, it'll come to you," said the redhead.

Usagi grabbed the girl by her arm, and tried to stab her with her
chopsticks.

"Hey!" snapped Ranma as she pulled the arm away. "It was the other arm!"

She blinked as she held her arm against her chest protectively and glared
at her.

Usagi slowly reached across the table and poked at his left hand. "This
isn't real?"

"No, it isn't. Can't tell can you?" she said with a proud looking smirk.
"Washuu did a good job."

"Washuu? That sounds familiar, man this is weird," grumbled Usagi.

"Well, I could tell you about it, but you'd just keep getting a headache
as you remembered more. It'd be better if you let it come to you a little
at a time..." Ranma paused. "It all started when I was training in the
desert on earth..."

Usagi put her hand over the redhead's mouth with her other hand holding
the side of her head painfully. "Stop it!"

++++++++++++++

Mamoru frowned as he saw the little girl sitting next to him in his car.
"So, you're his daughter are you?"

"That's right," said the girl as she looked at him.

"Where does that leave me?" he said as he looked at her.

"Huh? I dunno, you live alone on Earth," she said with a shrug.

"Alone?" he said with a small frown.

"Yeah, Green light lonely boy," she said as she smirked at him.

"This sucks," he grumbled.

The truth was, he was married, but this was just too much fun. Chibi-Usa
grinned as she continued to tell him about his pathetic existence in the
future. He never seemed to like her much, and she was starting to realize
that this exact moment was probably why. She never liked him much in the
future either, he was such a flake sometimes.

+++++++++++++++

Several moments later, they were outside his apartment. "Well, here we
are."

"What a dump," snorted Chibi-Usa. "How can you stand living in such a
small building? There aren't even any defenses. Jeez, is that a
television antenna? No cable even? I mean, cable is behind the times for
me, but an antenna? How ancient can you get?"

Mamoru growled as he closed the door to his car. "This way princess..."

"Oh? You know about that?" she said as she looked up at him. "I'm the
Princess of the Moon, and the Princess of the Saiyans! Neat huh? As far
as I can remember, you're like the, um...the...well...you've got a nice
apartment..."

Mamoru ground his teeth together as he opened the door to his apartment.
"This is going to be a long night..."

++++++++++++

An hour later...

Chibi-Usa smirked as she jerked her game controller over. "Man, you suck
at this."

Mamoru was staring at the girl in shock. She was playing 'Tetris' and was
easily wiping the floor with him. The girl's speed was impossible. 

"How are you doing this?" he muttered dumbly as he looked at the screen.
The blocks were coming down so fast that it looked like there were two of
them on the screen at once. He had given up trying to beat her in
two-player mode and was now watching her wipe out his high score by more
than ten million points.

"I've got good reflexes. This is kinda slow really. The one I've got at
home goes twice as fast," she replied with a small shrug. She dropped the
controller and looked up at him. "This is getting boring now. I'm
hungry."

He looked on as the screen took about two seconds to fill completely.
"Um, there's food in the refrigerator...."

"Okay!" said the girl as she stood up and walked into the kitchen.

+++++++++++++++++

"So, now what?" said Usagi.

Ranma was standing just outside his car. They were parked in front of
Mamoru's home, and a familiar golden light could be seen from inside one
of the windows. "I hope he didn't piss her off somehow."

"We should go see," muttered Usagi nervously.

"Right, I'll go," said Ranma with a sigh.

He flew up to the door and rang the doorbell.

Mamoru answered the door and stared at him with a frown on his face.
"Never, ever ask me to do this again."

Chibi-Usa was standing in the middle of the room with a smirk on her
face. At her feet was a pile of broken weapons, several dead rose bushes
could be seen along the windows as well. They looked like they had been
burnt. The walls were also something of a mess. Burnt looking long
stemmed roses were stuck in various places.

"She talked you into sparing with her?" asked Ranma in confusion. 

"Something like that," growled Mamoru.

"Naw, he got mad and tried to kill me. We were talking about something,
and I told him that you and mom spend a lot of time in your room together
for some reason. You never did tell me why," said the little girl
obliviously. "In fact, mom gets upset whenever I ask."

"Maybe if you wait until you're older and ask again. She'll tell you,"
said Ranma as he stared at her with a rather lame expression on his face.

Usagi was standing nearby, having followed Ranma up the stairs. She was
frozen with a look of horror on her face. She was also blushing rather
badly.

"Just, go. Please," said Mamoru as he shoved her out the door and locked
it.

"I guess we should probably leave now," said Ranma.

"Mamo..." said Usagi with a slightly saddened frown. 

"Do what you want," said Ranma as he paused beside her.

"I think it would be best...if I didn't talk with him right now," said
the girl as she hung her head and walked back down with them.

++++++++++++++

Mamoru frowned as he looked at his kitchen. The place was now completely
barren. The voracious monster had spared not a single scrap of food. 

"I...hate my life..." he muttered.

+++++++++++++++

"That was boring," said Chibi-Usa as she sat behind her parents. 

"Here you go," said Ranma as he pulled up next to Usagi's house.

"Thanks," muttered the girl as she gave her daughter a passing glance.

"Later old bat!" said the child cheerfully.

"Come on," said Ranma as he drove off.

+++++++++++++++

Ranma walked back into the dojo and frowned. They had just flown back
from where he had parked the car, and Chibi-Usa was getting cranky. She
walked up to the bedroom and went to sleep without a single word as soon
as she was through the door.

Akane was glaring at him. Two men in black suits were sitting next to
her, each a fair distance away. "What the hell is this?" she snarled.

"Security," he replied with a shrug.

"What for?" snapped Akane as she continued to watch him.

"To keep you safe until the match," he said with a small shrug. "The
opposing team has a nasty habit of ambushing their competitors."

"Are you saying that you think I can't handle it?" snapped Akane.

"No, I know you can," he replied with a shrug. "Now you don't have to.
Besides, if someone attacked you in the middle of the night, you're more
likely to blow their head off then they are."

Akane blinked at this and looked at the two men who sat silently on
either side of her. "Okay, I see your point."

"I think I took care of it, you won't need them around all the time. Just
at night, while you sleep," he said calmly. "When the match is over,
everything goes back to normal."

"So, they're just here for tonight?" asked Akane.

"That's right," said Ranma.

"Fine," snorted Akane a little hotly as she turned her head away.

Soun and Genma looked on in confusion. "Boy, who are these men?" asked
Genma.

"Friends from work, doing me a favor," said Ranma as he looked at the men
and shrugged.

"Oh, that's nice," said Soun.

"Would you like some tea?" asked Kasumi as she smiled at the pair. "I
know you're not supposed to, while on the job..."

Ranma nodded towards them and smiled.

"Thank you miss," said one of the men. "We'd appreciate it."

+++++++++++++++

Ranma stepped into his room and was about to lie down to catch some
sleep. Unfortunately, his watch came to life suddenly and he groaned.
"What's up?"

"We've got problems," said Nephrite's voice. "You shut off your watch."

"Yeah, I was taking care of private business," said Ranma. "What's the
problem?"

"We've had a huge starship sitting just outside orbit for several hours
now," said the man. "Something's happening near that shrine of yours."

"How long ago did this happen?" asked Ranma.

"It still not over yet," said Nephrite.

"Understood, teleport me to the ship," said Ranma.

"Sir? Jadeite is on the site, shouldn't you go and meet up with..."

"Trust me. I've got a gut feeling this guy isn't going to hang around
very long," said Ranma. "I'm going after him."

"Right," said Nephrite. "I hope you're right about this."

"Course I am," snorted Ranma.

+++++++++++++++++

TBC...

Next Time: Ranma Muyou!

No I didn't forget about the Goddesses, or The Amazons. More on them in
the next Ch.
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