* * * * * * * * *
The troop slowed to a stop in front of a rather plain looking house, but one
can feel the history and the honor of the one that still resides here. Well kept
during the long absence of the only two males that once lived here. Hawk gazed
at the house in wonder, �Well�I think I should go up to the door and knock
first�� pointing to both Ranko, whom he just set down, and Ranma, ��and you
Ranko should come with me� � she nodded, ��and you Ranma will surprise her when
the intial introductions are done.� Ranma also nodded. Hawk crossed his arms,
�That�s the plan, well�� he held out his hand to Ranko, who promptly grasped it,
�Let�s get to it!�
* * * * * * * * *
Nodka was just finishing her preperations and heading to the door when she
heard someone knocking on it, �Now, who could that be?� she wondered. Opening
the door a moment later, �Welcome�� she started when a blur of red hugged her
tightly, almost making her lose her balance. Quickly recovering from her shock,
she shifted her gaze down to Ranko�s clear blue eyes, which is starting to water
now. First to speak, �Ookasan!! [Mother]� Ranko cried out. Nadoka blinked and
looked up again. Noticed that she is now looking at him, Hawk bowed formally,
�Mrs. Nadoka Soatome, I presume?� he said coming up from his bow.
Nadoka blinked again in surprise, �Yes?� she said unsuringly, �May I help you?�
Hawk took this cue, talking in his most gameshow host like type of voice, �Yes
you can, and may I introduce to you your long lost DAUGHTER,� he emphisized,
gesturing to the red-head clutching to her, �Ranko Saotome!� Ranko let go of
Nadoka when she fell to her knees, hand to her mouth, �But�I didn�t have a
daughter, even though I really wanted to have another child�� she trailed off
when a rather large man tromped up to the door, wearing a chinese style red
shirt with no sleeves and loose black pants and he tapped Hawk on the shoulder.
Taking his last cue, �Also your SON,� gesturing to the man off of his side,
�Ranma Saotome!!� he said with a lot of flair.
Nodoka�s eye�s widened at the size of him, and his musculature, then they
started tearing up. She quickly got up, as Hawk moved off to the side, she
almost ran to Ranma and hugged him ever so tightly, Ranma responded in kind.
Hawk felt an arm curl around his, he looked down to see Ranko watching this
scene with tears of her own, he removed his arm from her grip and wrapped it
around her shoulders. She wrapped her own arm around his waist and snuggled
warmly to him.
Nadoka reluctantly let go of Ranma, as if not wanting to lose him again. �You
won�t lose me again, Ookasan�Not if I have something to say about it.� Ranma
said softly in her ear, wiping the tears off her face. She started, �How�?� was
all that she managed to get out, not trusting what she might say. �This may take
some time to explain�� Hawk chimed in, then gesturing with his hand toward the
inside. She nodded in affirmative, now having full control over her voice again,
�Yes, let�s talk. We have A LOT of catching up to do!� she beamed as she closed
the door, then darting off into the house. The threesome looked at each other,
shrugged and followed.
They arrived at the dinner table, all quietly sat down Ranma on one side while
Hawk and Ranko took the other, but Nadoka is not yet there.
A moment later, she arrived with a tray, filled with light snacks and the
customary tea set, she set it down in the middle of the table and gave everyone,
including herself a tea-cup and filled them one by one. Nadoka sat down at the
end of the table. She looked over to Ranma, �My�how much you have grown in the
past ten years.� Hawk shrugged inwardly and is the first to speak, he coughed to
get attention, �Well�first off. Ranma, why don�t you explain life on the road
with your dad early on?� Ranma looked thankfully to Hawk for breaking the silent
tension around the table. �Ok�� he started off in explaining how many times that
Genma has sold him off for food, in getting the mother-load of iinazuke�s, the
Neko-ken training,  which dripped with rancor when he explained those particular
traumatizing sessions, which he and Ranko finally mastered that incredible fear
to their advantage, of his current iinazuke troubles and how that he couldn�t
choose one for fear of hurting them, lastly the sisters that challenged his past
girl side and Akane.
�That was when I was given the choice that changed my life and outlook
forever..� he finished lastly, a few hours later, and took a few deep breathes
for getting that pressure off of his chest. Nadoka first looked flabbergasted at
the harsh life he lived, then curious, �What was that choice, dear?� she
inquired. Ranma took in another deep breath, �Just to let you know right now,
Mom�that was the first choice that I was EVER given any say in whatsoever�that
choice was to travel with Mai Nakajiima to another world to train in the long
lost art of �The Four Dragons Elementals� style. At the time, I have only heard
of the LEGENDS and MYTH pertaining to that art, so of course I have agreed and
eventually became a master of the Earth Element.� He finished with a bright
smile.
Nadoka put her hand to her mouth in awe that her son has acclomplished to what
many would consider impossible, but something was nagging at her being that he
didn�t tell everything, �But for how long did you train in that style, Ranma
dear?� His smile fell , gulped heavily, �Almost one hundred years, both me,
Ranko and�� he started when he heard a tea-cup clatter onto the table. He looked
up to seeing his mother backing away from them, absolute fear in her eyes. Both
Ranko and Hawk stopped her, trying to pull her back to the table. �I believe I
can better explain the reasons why he, correction, WE have lived for so long��
Hawk said, while trying to reassure the Saotome family matriarch, whom nodded
numbly. He took in a breath and started, �First�� He explained in detail, but in
laymen�s terms the Aristanian Conversion process, that GREATLY increases the
lifespan of the recipient, also enhancing the mental and phyical capabilities of
that recipient, with a few added bonuses along the way.
Hawk also explained the world that they trained on, the people they have met,
the places and things that they have seen on that decimated planet. Hawk choked
when he gotten to the point where the troop have met, stopping there for the
memory was horrid. He felt a soft, firm hand clasp his, looking up to Ranko, who
nodded for him to continue. He was about to open his mouth, �What is it dear?�
It was Nadoka, trying also to reassure him with her own hand on
white-knuckle-clentched fist, �Is it something that is�unpleasant?�
He nodded, �Yes. Yes it is, quite even�I wish that we could have met under
better cercumstances, But I�m babbling a bit here�� he half-heartedly chuckled
and looked up, �When I was walking through a stretch of  forest, I heard the
most chilling scream you could ever hear�.It was Ranko�s�I ran there as quickly
as I could, rifle in hand and saw her�.her clothes were being ripped off, a
bunch of Juicers holding her down�� he choked again at the memory, tears coming
out of his closed eyes and his hand covering them. He felt someone snugly
hugging and rocking him, opening his eyes, he saw Ranko�s loving blue eyes. She
kissed him on the forehead, �It�s ok now�go on..� she said softly in his ear.
Nodding again, he straightened himself out.
Wiping his eyes, he sniffed, �Sorry about that�� he chuckled again, �Like I was
saying�a bunch of Juicers held her down, one was taking his pants off to� to
rape her�another, a BIG titan Juicer held Ranma face down into the ground�I was
so enraged at the sight, I cannot even begin to tell how I felt at the time�I
cranked my rifle to beyond full power, took aim at the one that was taking his
pants off�and blew him apart, and some of the others as well�I also took a
pot-shot at the titan, only managing to take his arm off�but that was more than
enough for Ranma when the guy fell onto his back�I threw my rifle to the ground
and helped Ranma here beat the living tar out of the remaining stragglers.� He
took a relieved breath of air, wiped his eyes again, he laughed half-heartedly
for a few minutes.
He looked up to Nadoka, whom is also wiping her eyes, �And the rest is
History!!�, he laughed again, this time with a lot more happiness when he waved
his hand through the air while holding Ranko close. Nadoka and the others joined
in his laughter, lasted for many a minute.
Now calming herself down, she looked to Ranko curiously, �But that still doesn�t
explain how Ranko here is my daughter�� Both Ranma and Ranko put their heads
into their hands, Ranma is the first to speak, �Ummm�Are you familiar with the
legends of Jusenkyo?� At Nadoka�s nod, he continued, �Well�that was the last
stop before we headed here to Japan�the Legandary CURSED Springs in Mainland
China, it was there that I originally picked up the curse of Nyannuchuan�Spring
of Drowned�girl�� Nadoka gasped at this, �It was because of the curse that Genma
decided to cowardly hide Ranma here behind a curtain of subterfuge and lies,
also scaring him to half to death about the nill possibilty of Seppuku, ordered
from you�� Hawk said, gesturing to Nadoka, who nodded at the insight about the
seppuku and signed him to continue, �About where Ranko came from is quite a
mystery�from what I was told, these two,� jutting his head to both Ranma and
Ranko, ��seperated from the same body when Ranma it was the massive energy flow
coming out of Mai�s prototype Rift Jump Drive, it was that massive flow of
energy that forced the two bodies to separate�it would seem that same energy
might have overloaded the curse at the time�� he trailed off, scratching his
head, not really knowing what else to say and holding his arms up.
�When we did separate, rather painfully at the time�I�I had a hard time
adjusting�afterwards�� chimed in Ranko, who was looking sheepishly around the
table. Everyone laughed at the look on her face, she slapped Hawk on the
shoulder, �Hey! I don�t find that funny!!� she pouted. Hawk wrapped his  right
arm across her back, �That wasn�t that, Ranko-chan�� Ranko looked up, �It was
the look on your face after you said that.� He said as he �beeped� her nose.
Before things can degenerate any furthur, �Ranko-chan?� asked Nadoka, �I haven�
t seen you with your hair down since you got here�� she continued when the
red-head looked up, changing the subject and with Ranko�s 4� foot braid in her
hand. Ranko started, then nodded. She stood up, took a few steps backwards,the
end of her braid in hand. She took the tie off, unraveling some of the hair.
Letting it go, she flipped her head forward to loosen it all.
Hawk was watching this with interest, with his elbow on the table and his head
resting on his fist. When Ranko came back up and fluffed the hair out a little.
To say �Sudden Change� is putting it mildly, Hawk�s elbow slipped, hitting his
head on the table, Ranma�s jaw his the table as well and his eyes bulged out
quite a bit. Ranko�s flaming red hair cascaded over her shoulders, framing her
delicate face incredibly, and it *flowed* down to the back of her knees.
Nadoka gasped at the sudden change from Ranko, her hand to her mouth,
�Absolutely STUNNING , dear!� she cried grasping her hands to Ranko�s shoulders.
�HERE, HERE! I do so agree!!� Hawk laughed when he came to his senses, rubbing
the part of his head that he smacked the table with. Placing her finger to her
chin, looking Ranko over inquisitively, �Definitely got to do something about
those clothes though�� she started when Ranko quickly hugged her, �REALLY?!?!?�
she cried as she hugged her mother tightly. Nadoka laughed lightly, �We are
definitely going to have to go shopping soon�� Hawk perked up and stood beside
them, �I�ll buy�or at least pay..� he said sheepishly, with his hand behind his
head.
Nadoka turned to him, �Your generosity is admirable�� she looked at him and put
her finger to her lips, �I�m Sorry�I never did get your name�� He perked up
condiderably, �KnightHawke�David KnightHawke, that�s with a �K�! You can call me
Hawk if you want to�� he said as he extended his hand, Nadoka grasped it and
Hawk kissed the top of it. Nadoka gasped, �M�Lady is kind as she is
beautiful�and I have need to speak to you� �, looking at both Ranma and Ranko,
who rolled their eyes at his previous statement, ��in private.� Hawk finished.
She nodded, then walked out into the yard gardens. Hawk turned to his friends,
�I need you guys to stay here for a bit,� clicking his fingers, �OH yeah! And
turn off your hearing amplification okay�this is something that I really do need
to talk to her about privately.� Ranko was about to say something, but stopped
short when she met his pleading eyes, then waved him off. Hawk quickly turned
and followed Nadoka out into the back yard. Ranko looked to Ranma, �What is that
all about?� she asked him, who just shrugged unknowingly, even though he does
have a GOOD idea as to what Hawk is going to ask her.
Nadoka reached the furthest most garden, stopped and turned around, �What is it
that is so important that you have to ask me in private, Hawk?� she asked. Hawk
gestured for one moment and spun her around so that her back is to the porch,
checking to make sure that he wasn�t being watched, he dug into his pocket and
pulled out the ring-case, �This is the reason��, he paused before opening it,
gesturing to Nadoka for her to keep quiet, then open the case and shown her the
contents. She would have squealed herself, if not for the knowledge that Hawk
wants her to keep quiet, �This is for Ranko�� he stated with a wide smile.
Nadoka came closer to him, eyes VERY wide, �That ring is incredibly superb�.and
I believe I know the question that you are asking�� she paused for a moment,
stepping back and deep in thought, also looking him one over, �Yes�I approve��
she started when she saw the barely restrained glee in Hawk erupt from him, �But
who else knows about this?� pointing to the ringcase, which is now closed.
Hawk stuffed the case back into his pocket, �Just myself and Ranma�who also has

another ring just like this�for that special girl that he may someday find�� he
trailed off as he started laughing softly, ��and before you ask�No, I do not
know who he is going to eventually marry, nor is it my business to say who he
does and I gave him that ring since he is one of my best friends and also is my
Sensei�� he completed with his finger in the air. She nodded, �When are you
going to present this to her, hmmm?� she said with her apparent maturity
dropping off like a rock. A little stunned, �Well�I will when the time is
right�and for the most dramatic effect��, he looked off to the sky, �I was
thinking of throwing together somekind of lavish party somewhere here in
Tokyo�with a fairly large crowd of friends and family or maybe at a nice, quiet,
EXPENSIVE resteraunt, then I will propose.� He said, shifting his gaze back to
her.
She nodded again, very approvingly, �But I just don�t want to many people to
find out how much I am worth until then�Hell, not even Ranko and Ranma know for
sure, and I CERTAINLY don�t want Genma to find out��, her curiousity piqued, she
prodded him on, �Why wouldn�t you want HIM to find out?� she asked warily.
�Mostly because he�ll be trying to take me for all that I am and run �not like
he hasn�t done something like it before, he can be one of the worst thieves that
I have heard of most of the time and he does it without any thought to whom it
may hurt�even his own son, quite possibly his own daughter as well.�, Hawk shook
his head disgustedly and sighed.
He looked up to see Nadoka almost shake in pure anger, one fist cletched
white-knuckled tight in front of her chest, eyes clamped shut, her head shaking
to either side in denial. She felt a strong hand clasp her shoulder, she open
her eyes to meet with Hawk�s concerned ones, �He will get his also when the time
is right, let�s just scare him a bit before you anything�rather rash.�, his eyes
glittered of mischief, �And just so that you know�he also drowned in one of the
springs,� he paused at her startled expression, �He transforms into a BIG
panda�whom I believe you are familiar with?� She smiled a feral smile as she
nodded, �Very well..� she said as she turned back to the house, �She sure knows
how to pick them��she thought to herself, watching Hawk�s form retreat back into
the house.
Hawk walked into the house, very quietly, Ranko�s back to him. He noticed that
Ranma saw him creep in, motioned to keep silent. He moved his own head close to
the side and back of Ranko�s and waited. Eventually, she turned a bit, did a
slight double-take, jumped to the side with a sharp gasp, eyes VERY wide. Hawk
just stood there with a smile on his face. She bapped him on the shoulder as he
sat, �DON�T DO THAT!!� she exclaimed, as she tried to get her rabbit-paced heart
back under control. Chuckling audibly, �Gomen�Couldn�t resist such an open
oportunity.� He sat down behind behind her and gather her up into his arms, she
didn�t resist.
He looked up quickly, �OH! Before I forget��, Ranko and Ranma chorused �Again!�
, �HEY!! I object to that slander! ANYway��, pausing for a moment, watching
Nadoka also sit down, �You guys remember that one vacant lot that you guys
always got challenged on?� The twins nodded, not knowing where this is going,
�Well�I just bought it!� he was postively beaming now, �And I am going to build
a house there�in fact contruction should be commensing in about a week from now!
Should be a fairly large house, but still on the sensible side.�
Ranma�s jaw dropped.
Nadoka looked stunned beyond words.
Ranko�well..she just squealed and hugged him very tightly. A little too
tightly.
Nadoka regained her composure first, �Ranko,dear?�, the red-head turned, still
not letting go of Hawk, �HAI!! OkaaSan??� Ranko squeaked, turning to her mother.
Nadoka didn�t say anything, just pointed to Hawk�s unconsious and VERY purple
face. Ranko quickly let go, hands to her lips and eyes wide in shock. As soon as
she let go, Hawk hit the floor, took in a long, pained breath, color now coming
back to his face. His eyes opened slowly, then he coughed fitfully as he tried
to breath in again. He rubbed his head, nursing a headache and he sat up,
�Itetetetetetetetetete [owowowowowowow], I DEFINITELY gotta be more careful with
big news around you, Ranko-chan.� He chuckled a bit and then saw her pained
expression, �No need to worry�I�ve taken MUCH worse�believe me on this, I�ll
survive�� He couldn�t say anymore as Ranko hugged him again, much more carefully
this time and kissed him, �Gomen�� she said as she backed off a little bit,
reluctantly letting him go.

They chatted a bit more, mostly about life and other such things. It was
dark,and they had to leave. Ranko and Hawk were the first out of the door, hand
in hand as usual, with Ranma going solo as usual. They were a bit delayed when
both Ranko and Ranma extended their goodbyes with their Mother, Nadoka Saotome.
A bit more down the street, Hawk broke the happy silence, �I�d say that went
pretty well! Don�t you think so?� he said, looking at both of the twins. Ranko
gripped his hand a little tighter and snuggled up to him a bit more, �Hai�� was
all that she trusted herself to say, reliving the memories of the encounter in
her mind. Ranma looked to Ranko and chuckled a bit, his hands behind his head,
�Yeah�it was great meeting Mom after so damned long�mostly without Pop trying to
ruin it�� he trailed off into thought for a moment then clicked his fingers,
�OH,Yeah! What was it that you needed to talk to Mom about so for?�
Hawk GLARED at him, �It was mostly about your Dad�she was none to happy to find
out what he truly is�dishonorable.� Ranma got what the glare ment, then howled
at what he said, �Gee�I wonder she�s goin� to do to the old fart anyway??�
Grinning,�Well..� he stopped when he heard a ancient cackle ring through the
crisp night air. All three turned to the sound and saw a little old man bouncing
house to house, carrying a satchle behind him that is many times his own size.
Both Ranma and Ranko groaned, �Happosai�� Hawk looked confused for a moment,
then it dawned on him.
It dawned on him just a little too late. Happosai quickly bounded over to the
troop, dropping the sack in the street, he quickly glopped onto Ranko�s amble
bosom. He looked at her as he snuggled and beamed,  �You came back!! For me??�
What he failed to notice was the flaming red aura directly next to him that
ignited exactly when he latched onto her.
Happosai looked over to the young man with the Rabbit-Ears Hat, �Let an old
man�� he never could finish when the aura flared to an impossible magnitude,
that wasn�t what silenced him. It was the man�s eyes. They are no longer there.
They were replaced by a pair of pure flaming red globes. His long, brown hair
also flamed upwards while Happy held on and snuggled fearfuly into her.
The eyes bore into Happy, �LET. HER. GO. *NOW*!!!� his words echoed throughout
and felt of pure heat, fire and almost unreasoning RAGE. Happy slowly complied,
still reluctant to let go of Ranko ample breasts.
Ranma looked to his friend�s drastic change, to the slowly moving Happosai and
backed away, slowly, �What in the hell came over him?�.
But not quickly enough. Hawk snatched Happy�s head with speed that the aging
master couldn�t possibly match and brought him nose to nose. Happy�s face glowed
from light of Hawk�s eyes. He stopped struggling in Hawk�s almost skull crushing
grip and just stared into those eyes, unable to draw away from them.
When Hawk open his mouth, a tongue of flame lashed at Happy face, scorching the
one side, �YOU EVEN LAY A FINGER ON HER AGAIN�YOU DIE!!� he drew him away from
his face and tossed him into the air, straight up. He continued on his trip WAY
up for a few moments.
Hawk cupped his hands together to form a ball of raging Ki and grew to an
almost frightning level until Happosai�s decent. When Happy was about in the
angle of fire, Hawk snapped his arms up and let the blast fly, �MEGA-BUSTER
SHISHIHOUKODAN!!� he bellowed, the cry echoing througout.
The resulting firey blast, as it went up, lit the city for many miles around
,destoying the walls on either side and incinerated the ground to melted slag,
and Happosai was caught in the very middle and was launched in High Earth Orbit.
On the acent the clouds cleaved apart, giving a wide bearth to the rage
incarnate.
Many city blocks away. Ryouga, looking up from his upside down map of Berlin,
turned to the echoing battle-cry. He watched the blast reach upwards to the sky.
Remembering the words and the color of the blast itself, �Kami-sama�� was all
that he managed to mutter as the map of Berlin fluttered to the ground.
Now all the enraged energy released, Hawk�s eyes went back to their normal
hazel-green, the flaming aura stopped altogether and collapse into a smoking
heap on the ground with a long, pained groan. Ranko, the first to snap out out
of seeing the awesome display of power, ran over to him, �Hawk-chan!!�, she
flipped him over to his back, she breath a sigh of relief as she saw his chest
rise and fall. She spun over to Ranma, �We need to get him to a Doctor!!� she
cried out to him, he nodded as he ran over to them.
* * * * * * * * *
Hawk awoke in a strange bed�the air smelled almost�sterile, but strangely sweet
at the same time. His eyes fluttered open to see a very organized room about
him. He heard a moan come from somewhere. Looking around a bit, found Ranko
sleep almost at the foot of the bed, head buried in her arms. Looking around a
bit more, found Ranma stretched out on a nearby couch, arms and legs splayed all
over it, lightly snoring. Going back to Ranko, she looked like she�s been crying
a bit, judging by the tear streaks on her face and her slightly puffy eyes, but
looking like she is having a rather good dream by the smile on her face. Not
wanting to disturb her, he slowly leaned back into the pillows, losing himself
in his thoughts.
He wasn�t lost for long. The doctor came into the room. A rather strange
looking man, bare footed, dressed in what looks like some sort of Gi with
circular glasses on his face. The doctor looked at him down a little bit, �AH!
Good�your awake! You really tapped out your Ki reserves there�been unconsious
for almost 24 hours�� he trailed off as he looked at Hawk curiously, �I wonder
what on earth could tap out your rather large reserves so much to make sleep for
so long..�
Hawk started, then looked down at the peaceful Ranko, �Happosai.� He said
disgustedly. The Doctor merely nodded and chuckled, �That would do it alright.�
Then he looked over to the sleeping twins, walked to each, gently nudging them
to the land of the living.
Ranko, the first one at least partly awake, shook her head to get the cobwebs
out, �What time is it?� She slowly looked over to Hawk, thinking that he was
still unconsious. She started, eyes watering quickly latched onto Hawk in a
fierce hug, �You�re finally awake!!� she cried, then as fiercely, kissed him.
When she disengaged from him, she reared back a bit and ferociously slugged him
across the face, �DON�T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!!! You nearly scared me to death!!�
she screamed into his surprised face, tears now running freely down her face.
Jarred from his sleep by Ranko�s yelling, he stretched a little then sat up
straight on the couch, �I told ya he would be fine! He was just too far tapped.�
Ranma said as he walked to the bed. Hawk rubbed the back of his neck, wincing a
bit from the pulsing red knuckle-print on his face, he looked to Ranko and
sighed, �I suppose I deserve that�but I hardly ever get that enraged, only when
something happens to someone that is VERY important to me, and I think that you
are�� he never got to finish, Ranko�s lips to his stopped that and flopped him
to the matress. When she got off him, she collapsed in a fit of giggles.
Hawk binked, blinked again, then it came to him, �Don�t tell me�the look on my
face right?� he said looking over the edge of the bed, where she has partly
collapsed, when she paused for a moment, looking at him again, nodded quickly.
She then howled in laughter, falling completely to the floor. He was about to
retort when someone slapped him on the back.
Hawk looked back over to his shoulder. A fairly dark skinned man, with long
straight black hair, thick moustache and is wearing a tattered brown Gi. He
appeared to be fairly estatic. Looking a little more behind the man, he spotted
a group of three girls.
Hawk was about to ask what is going on, but didn�t get a chance to when
moustached man spoke up and quickly grabbed his hands in front of him, �You did
a good thing my boy!!� he choked back a sob, �You rid us of the terrible
master!�, now unable to contain himself, he bawled a waterfall.
Putting his hand behind his head, �Uhhh�it was nothing?� Hawk drawled out,
completely missing everything, shrugging his shoulders.
One of the girls stepped foreward, one with short, black hair. She loooked at
the man crying on the floor and shook her head disgustedly, �Don�t mind him�he
always like that.� She then smiled, �SO, what martial arts style did you train
in that beat Happosai?� she asked, quite intrigued at meeting someone that beat
Happosai so handedly. Hawk just shrugged, �The Four Dragon Elementals style.� He
stated matter of factly, not really thinking anything of it. The crying man
instantly stopped crying,�NANI?!� yelling into Hawk�s face. He balked at the man
�s face, �What did I say?�, now regaining his composure a bit, �AND you are?�
The man straightened himself out, �Soun�.Soun Tendo and these are my
Daughters..�, gesturing to the girls behind him, �My eldest, Kasumi.� The girl,
dressed in a simple dress with an apron over it with fairly long brown hair,
turned to Hawk and nodded, �My middle daughter, Nabiki.� Another turned and
waved, wearing short shorts and t-shirt, �And you already met my youngest,
Akane.�
Hawk narrowed his eyes to Soun, �SOoooo�.You�re the one who was trying to ruin
the lives of one of your daughters just to join a pair of dojos, correct?� Soun
balked when he looked into Hawk�s eyes, �Ummm�� losing control of his vocal
cords under Hawk�s dark, scrutinizing gaze, �AND almost losing one of your
daughters to such actions as well�you probably would have if you and the
lard-ass Genma kept pushing them together to marriage just when they are just
trying to get to know each other.� Hawk now swung his legs over the bed, casting
a postively Arctic look over Soun, �Also while they were too damn young to even
think about such things�� Shaking his head disgustedly, �WHAT IN THE HELL WHERE
YOU THINKING??!!� Soun, now bawling his eyes out again from the serious guilt
trip Hawk laid onto him with Kasumi trying to comfort him.
Nabiki looked Hawk one over, �Touche!� she lightly applauded, liking what she
see is seeing and hearing. Akane, now recovered from her shock, �How�How did you
know??� she asked Hawk. Disarmed a bit, �Well�� looking to Ranma and Ranko,
�They told me just about everything while I was training with them�� he trailed
off, not knowing what to say when a dark expression crosses her face, �A lot of
what they told was fairly good, in fact�Except for the infamous temper�� he
chuckled a bit.
Akane was perplexed, �Ranma�telling good things about me??�
Hawk snapped his fingers, �OH YEAH!!� Turning back to Ranko, �We were supposed
to go out shopping with your Mom today�or was it yesterday?� he finished off
with a lot less enthusiasm, looking around for a clock or something.
Ranko�s face dropped in shock, hands upto her face, �OH NO!! I completely forgot
about that!!!�, tears now threatening to make themselves known in her eyes.
Nabiki�s eyebrow went up, �More than meets the eyes it seems�let me see if I can
dig anything up on him�� she thought as she jotted a few notes into her ledger.
Hawk swung his gaze back to Ranko, �Welp�I guess that sinches it, we are going
out!� he got off the bed. Then he slapped his chest, looking down at, seeing
that it is bare and also noticed that his customary helm is missing, �Umm�were�s
my shirt?? AND my hat??� The almost musical giggle behind him said all,
�Ranko-chan�where�s my shirt?� he drawled out, leading to her unleashing a
flurry of more giggles. She walked over to a nearby table and tossed him his
shirt and helm, still giggling.
�Arigatou�� Hawk said as he put the shirt and helm on. Akane stood off to the
side, confused about Ranko, �Why is she acting like that? I thought she�d act
more like Ranma than anything else��, looking over to Hawk, then to Ranko, �Can
I come with you guys?� They looked at each other and shrugged and choused,
�Sure.�
Hawk shrugged again, �Kewl�� then looking over to Ranko, �Ready to go
Ranko-chan?� She nodded, �OK! We go then!� he beamed as he walked out the door,
then stopped with his hand out. Ranko strode up to him and took his hand. She
turned back, �Are you coming, Akane?� she called out, snapping Akane out of her
thoughts. �Hai!� Akane called back as she ran up to them, then noticing that
they are holding hands. �Huh? What in the world�?� she thought, also wondering
what could bring them together as she walked with them to the business distict.
Hawk looked back through the door, �RANMA! You best stay here and get
reaquaintended with the others here! And be sure to them about us!!� Then darted
back out into the street.
Taking notice of Akane�s thoughtful look, �What�s up, Akane?� asked Ranko. �OH!
Nothing�� Akane hestated a little, �Well�I was wondering what brought you two
together�� she trailed off when Hawk�s face spun in her direction, but Ranko
continued, �Well�It sorta started when he rescued me from a bunch of guys that��
she stopped as the memories flooded back, a dark, very pained expression marred
her face, a tears rolled down her cheek as she remembered the men ripping her
clothes off.
Akane gasped, �You don�t mean�?!?!?� eyes wide at the possible implication,
Ranko nodded sadly, �My GOD!� she took in a sharp breath, �I�m sorry, Ranko. I
didn�t mean�� she stopped when Ranko waved it off, �It�s alright, Akane�its in
the past, don�t think anything of it, �k?� Akane nodded, deciding to change the
subjest to something MUCH less sensitive, �So what are you planning to get?� she
beamed.
Ranko looked thoughtful for a second, �Dunno�since it is summer time already, I
was thinking of getting something for this season�� leaning over to Akane
closely, �Maybe something to knock him for a loop, ya�know?� pointing over to
her significant other. Both girls giggled heavily at the confused look that Hawk
gave them.
* * * * * * * * *

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