Ranma and Jet Moto are used without permission
Text between // \\ indicates thoughts
Text between [ ] indicates speech over comm-link.

Earlier chapters (and my other works) can be found at:

http:///web.infoave.net/~jedediah

C&C is, as always, welcome and appreciated.

=====================================================================

Jet Moto
Chaper 5

	The midday sun poured its golden light through the plate glass window that
adorned the outer wall of his office. The light fell on the back of the man
standing behind the mahogany desk, shadowing him from behind and providing
some of the illumination that the artificial lights failed to give. 
	The Japanese-American man was rather tall. His athletic frame was somewhat
muted by the white three-piece he wore. His face carried its usual serious
expression; the thin lips, strong chin, and eyes like chips of obsidian
conspiring to give him a grim appearance. His strawberry hair was kept short
and neat, horn-rimmed glasses perched on his sharp nose.
	The office was decorated tastefully in dark tones similar to the desk
behind which he stood. Bookshelves lined the walls, filled with volumes of
legal wisdom, as well as classics of literature. 
	The small vidphone on his desk chimed for attention. He looked across the
desk to his guest, who nodded. Taking a seat in the plush, padded chair, he
turned the vidphone so the two of them could see it. He touched a button on
the device, acknowledging the call.
	The screen flashed to life, showing the image of a man in his early
twenties, almost neon blue hair pulled back in a ponytail. His deep brown
eyes stared out of the vidphone's screen, his face calm as the surface of a
lake.
	"What news, Kleist?" the man behind the desk asked. He spoke almost
flawless Japanese, but with a slight American accent, reflecting his
stateside upbringing.
	"It's done, Silas," Kleist replied. He spoke Japanese as well, but with a
German accent. "As of this moment, Toju Ishikawa is finished with the Kyoto
Police Force." There was an almost inaudible sigh of relief from the person
across from Silas.
	"Thank you, Joachim," he replied. "You'll receive your usual fee." With
that, he cut the connection and looked over at his guest. "Well, that's
that," he said.
	"Six months," the person said. The feminine voice had a distinct Kansai
accent, filled with a mixture of joy and relief, but with an undertone of
anger. "I can't believe it's finally happened."
	"I'm sorry it took so long," Silas said, "but he was no easy target." Silas
steepled his fingers on the desk before continuing. "At any rate, it's over
now. I just thought you'd like to see the final results of your bravery. I
know this whole affair hasn't been easy for you."
	"Thank you, Mr. Hawkes," she said. "I appreciate what you've done for me."
	"My pleasure, Ms. Kuonji."

============================================================================

	Nabiki stared at her terminal, reading again the harsh green text. She had
researched public records on the Saotomes since morning, such as they were,
and was getting a slight headache.
	Background information on the Saotomes was rather sparse, aside from names
and dates of birth. It seemed that they liked to keep a rather low profile.
Nabiki grinned at her terminal, a mere case of shyness/paranoia wouldn't
keep her from getting the whole picture.
	Nabiki decided to work backwards, starting with any files on Ranko. The
records came up in seconds, D.O.B. Feb-07-2005, Died Feb-15-2020. Nabiki
winced a little at the death date, the poor girl had just turned fifteen.
According to Akane's account of Ryoga's story, Ranko died in an accident
during a backstreet Moto race. That much was kosher, but told her little
else. All the file did was give a date to the event.
	Ranma's past was pretty much as bare as Ranko's. The usual information was
present, but no record of anything even remotely useful. Frowning, she
clicked on the link to the next Saotome name in the records, Nodoka.
	According to the public records she was born Nodoka Sachahiko, daughter to
Fumio and Reiko Sachahiko. Born in 1980, she married Genma Saotome in 1997
at the age of sixteen. Eight years later, she gave birth to twins, Ranma and
Ranko. Nabiki groaned inwardly, obviously baby names weren't the Saotome's
strong suit. Nodoka died December fifteenth, 2008 at the age of twenty-nine.
	//Strangulation?\\ Nabiki looked at the word underneath the Cause Of Death
header. A note beneath related that the murder was, as yet, unsolved.
beneath the note was GIF image of the PUSIO logo. Obviously, the PUblic
Safety Investigations Office was in on it, leaving the question, why? A
simple murder would have been under the jurisdiction of whatever local
authorities her body turned up in, not the Japanese equivalent to the
American FBI. Something was definitely wrong with this.
	She felt as thoguh she was assembling a jigsaw puzzle without the picture
of the finished puzzle. Pieces were coming together, but the picture refused
to appear. All she needed was the one crucial piece that would cause the
others to fall into place. Perhaps one was right in very own home.

============================================================================

	The sun streamed down into the open stadium, falling on the pilots gathered
in the center of the oval track. The air was warm, though it carried the
scent of automobile exhaust with a faint whiff of industrial pollution.
	Prepping her Moto, Akane Tendo knelt by one of the panels in the side of
the hovering machine. The field generator had been fluctuating recently, and
was cause for concern. The field generator was the machine responsible for
establishing the magnetic field that kept the Moto aloft. A fluxuation could
seriously affect the field strength, possibly even cutting it off completely.
	"Lemme take a look at that, Akane," Ranma said. Akane started, not knowing
he was behind her.
	"I can handle it, Ranma," she said. "I don't need your help."
	"Okay, whatever," he replied with a shrug. //You try to lend someone a
hand...\\
	Dismissing the thought, he went around to the front of the truck. If she
wanted to go it alone, that was fine by him. He opened the passenger door of
the truck, and reached in to retrieve his helmet. No sense in waiting on
Akane to get her Moto up and running, after all. Closing the door, he heard
a strange voice.
	"Akane Tendo! Long have I yearned to see thy lovely features!"
	//What the...?\\ Ranma walked toward the back of the truck, and stopped at
the edge. He saw a man in a blue and black pilot suit stand over Akane, who
was still kneeling.
	"Shove off, Kuno," Akane said, irritated. Seemingly undaunted by Akane's
obvious dislike for him, he cast his gaze on Ranma's Moto, which hovered
parallel to Akane's.
	"How, now! What's this? Dost another race with thee on the track?" He
chuckled at the thought for a few moments before continuing his tirade. "How
it must hurt thee, dear Akane, that thy partner competes with thee for mine
affections." Akane simply sputtered in disbelief, words seeming to have
escaped her for the moment. Ranma was rather stunned himself.
	"Hey, Akane, who's this?" Ranma asked as he stepped out into the open.
	"Knave!" Kuno shouted. "Show respect, for thou standst in the presence of
nobility!"
	"...WHAT?!" Ranma managed after a few seconds
	"That's..." Akane began.
	"Do not trouble thyself, dear Akane," Kuno said with a flourish, "I shall
handle this." Ignoring the angry look that crossed Akane's face, Kuno turned
once more to Ranma.
	"Listen closely, cur, for I shall say this naught but once! I am the rising
young star of the sport of Jet Moto! The noble samurai who rides his
mechanical steed to victory above the common rabble! Worthy suitor of the
beauteous Akane Tendo! I am... Tatewaki Kuno!" Thunder rumbled in the
distance as he finished his speech, though the sky was completely cloudless.
	Ranma stood there for a few moments, absolutely stunned. Finally, he
recovered his voice.
	"What the HELL is wrong with you?" he asked after a few seconds.
	"Where art thy manners!" Kuno exclaimed. The trio had drawn a sizeable
crowd. Racers, mechanics, and other assorted spectators had gathered about
the three, a low murmur passing amongst them.
	"Hey, who's the new guy?"
	"He's gonna take on Kuno!"
	"Boy, does HE have balls..."
	"I demand thy name, knave!" Kuno shouted.
	"Ranma. Ranma Saotome," Ranma repied. Kuno did a double-take when he
finally noticed the small logo emblazoned on the right breast of Ranma's suit.
	"What...," he whispered as he stared intently at the design, "is this?"
	"Uh... a logo?"
	"You mean to tell this noble warrior that thou racest alongside his one
true love?!"
	"Yeah...," Ranma said slowly, not believing what he was hearing. Was this
guy a retard, or what? "I've been bunkin' at the Complex for a couple a'
weeks, now."
	"Dost mine ears deceive me? Thou did just claim to have carnal knowledge of
she who is so fair!"
	Ranma blinked in surprise. "What kinda knowledge?"
	"Deny it not! Thou dost cleave to the fair Akane!"
	"Don't be a dork. Sure she gets on my nerves sometimes, but that don't mean
I wanna chop her up or nothin'."
	"Do not play the fool with me! The beast with two backs writhes at night in
the bedroom of Akane Tendo!"
	Ranma gave Akane a confused look. "Do you got some sorta weird pet
or somethin'?"
	Kuno's face turned face purple with rage. "I'M SAYING YOU'RE SHACKING UP
WITH HER, YOU IGNORANT PEASANT!" he raved.
	"WHAT?"	
	"You heard me!"
	"You asked for it, pal," Ranma snarled, raising his fists in a classic
boxer's stance.
	"So thou wish to challenge me?" Kuno asked incredulously. "Very well, we
shall settle this like men. On the track!"
	"All right, asshole," Ranma growled, "I got time to take you to school."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Ranma and Kuno guided their Motos to the starting line, awaiting the signal
to begin. Gunning the engine, Ranma glared over at Kuno, astride his blue
and black Moto.
	The Moto was a Suzuki model, as was evidenced by the aerodynamic partition
that covered the steering and instrument panel. Leaning over would place
Kuno beneath the top of the partition, allowing the wind to pass over pilot
and Moto alike.
	The other racers and spectators groaned in dismay at the sight of the Moto.
It was a brand new, top of the line pro circuit racer. Motos that nice were
almost never seen on backwater tracks like the one at Nerima. THe crowd
looked at Kuno's state of the art racer, and Ranma's ten year old machine,
they more or less gave the race to Kuno.
	Kuno gunned his Moto in response to Ranma, letting his machine lurch
forward a little.
	"You shall not defeat me, foul cur," Kuno snarled, his face popping up in a
small window of Ranma's HUD. "I shall make you pay for forcing yourself on
fair Akane."
	"I AM NOT SLEEPING WITH THAT DYKE!" Ranma shouted in response. "What's your
problem!?"
	"Who are you calling a dyke?!" Akane's voice shouted in his ear. Ranma
winced at the sudden sound. He had forgotten she was with Kasumi in the van,
and was monitoring his Moto with her. The signal sounded, sparing Ranma from
having to answer.
	The two Motos launched off of the starting line, gaining speed at a rate
that some would find almost alarming. The G-forces increased steadily as
they accellerated down the track toward the first curve.
	Ranma took the curve close on the inside, his speed upwards of 150 KpH. In
the top left corner of his HUD, his proximity sensor blinked for attention,
telling him that Kuno was less than a meter away from him on the side, just
out of his field of vision. The two rocketed out of the curve, still almost
neck-and-neck.
	Ranma pushed his Moto harder, redlining the power plant in an effort to
squeeze more speed from the machine. Kuno hung with him, not gaining but not
retreating, either. Ranma knew Kuno's Moto was most likely faster than his,
and probably handled better as well. He had his work cut out for him if he
wanted to win this little grudge match.
	Without warning, Kuno started inching ahead of Ranma, coming around on the
inside. Ranma swore, sending the power plant past the redline. He knew it
was a dangerous tactic, but he had no choice.
	Kuno and Ranma began jockeying for position, each only temporarily gaining
ground on the other. Without warning, Kuno jerked his Moto to the right,
slamming into Ranma's Moto.
	"Son of a bitch!" he cursed as he fought to bring his machine back under
control. Kuno began moving out ahead, though the Moto swerved a bit
unsteadily, as though Kuno was overcompensating. It then hit him, Kuno
wasn't used to handling the Moto. 
	"You okay, Ranma?" aksed Akane over the comm-link.
	"Yeah, just fine," he said. Then to Kuno, "It's gonna take a lot more than
that to get rid of me!"
	"Then come," Kuno replied, "if, that is, thou can catch me!" The twin
afterburners on Kuno's Moto flared, sending it hurtling down the track at
breack-neck speed and into another curve. Growling, Ranma activated a boost
and launched himself after his opponent.
	The second lap ended with both Motos suffering damage from impacts, but
neither gaining a definite advantage over the other. Ranma re-evaulated his
opinion of this Kuno guy. While he had a big mouth and serious mental
problems, he was a damn good racer.
	The first and second turns went without a hitch, but Kuno got brave on the
thrid. He engaged a boost, slamming his Moto into the right rear side of
Ranma's. Ranma was sent around in a vicious spin as Kuno shot out ahead, his
laughter bursting forth from the commlink. Ranma cut the throttle, then the
strength of the field generator. The Moto instantly lowered enough so that
the bottom edge of the Moto dug into the track when he leaned. The Moto left
a shallow gouge in the track surface as it slowed, not enough of it hitting
the track to flip it.
	"That's it, dickhead," Ranma snarled, "YOU'RE TOAST!"
	Bringing the generator back up to full, he gunned the throttle. Obediently,
the Moto rocketed after Kuno, who had gotten a sizeable lead. He noticed,
however, that Kuno's lead wasn't as great as it should have been. Kuno had
lost a good deal of his boost when he had rammed Ranma. Knowing he had no
choice, he engaged his last boost.
	He approached Kuno's Moto rapidly, bearing down on him like a charging
tiger. By the second leg of the fourth and final lap, the two were running
neck and neck once again. Ranma took the third turn low on the inside, with
Kuno bearing down on him yet again. Ranma decided he'd had enough, and it
was time to stop playing nice.
	Cutting the throttle, he allowed Kuno to catch up to him at the end of the
turn. Kuno attacked yet again, moving to ram Ranma. Before the machines made
contact, though, Ranma launched his foot toward Kuno's chest.
	Kuno throttled back before Ranma's boot could make contact. It wasn't much,
but it was enough for Ranma to cement his lead. Ranma sailed across the
finish line, a length before Kuno.
	Ranma guided his Moto off the track, the cheering crowd parting for him.
Ranma had no idea what they were so excited about, he just gave some jerk
what he deserved.
	"Hey, you took Kuno!"
	"Here I thought only Akane could beat him!"
	"You kick ass, man!" The crowd closed as he passed, guiding the dented Moto
over to the truck where Akane and Kasumi waited for him. Killing the power
plant, the Moto settled on the permacrete surface of the island. Ranma
dismounted and removed his helmet, the sunlight causing him to squint a little.
	"Just what the hell were you trying to prove?" Akane said in an angry
voice. "You could have been killed!"
	"Nah," he said in a confident voice, "he wasn't that tough."
	"Whatever," Akane said dismissively. Before Ranma could leave, though, she
stopped him. As Ranma turned, his temple met her fist going the opposite
direction. Ranma spun once before colliding with the back of the truck, then
slumping to the ground in an unconscious heap. "And THAT," she said, "was
for calling me a DYKE!"

============================================================================

	Nabiki leaned back in her chair, taking a sip of ice water as she closed
the accouting program. The program was top of the line, she would trust the
team's finances to nothing less, especially not Microsoft.
	The bills were paid, and the jackals she laughingly called creditors would
be held at bay for another month. Heaving a contented sigh, she re-opened
her web browser, pulling up one of her favorite search engines. The engine
loaded, a dialog box appearing that politely asked what she wanted to search
for today.
	Cracking her knuckles, she typed in the name Nodoka Saotome, adding a
hyphen between the two words to indicated that the two were to be shown
together in all results. After a few seconds of processing, a new page
loaded with the title "Results! 1 of 1" in the title bar.
	An article from the Kansai Sun Times was all it found, a short description
of the article beneath the blue hyperlink. Nodoka Saotome's name was in
bold, with a few lines from the article. Nabiki clicked on the link, and the
browser obediently jumped to the Kansai Sun Time's website and the article
Nabiki wanted to read.

	December 20, 2008, Kansai Sun Times
	Article By: Kyosuke Kagami

	A body was discovered today in one of the drainage ditches in the lower
portion of Kansai early this morning. At 7:00 a.m. a local garbageman
discovered the body of Nodoka Saotome floating face-down in a shallow
drainage ditch on the south end of Lower Kansai. 
	Judging from the amount of decomposition, police forensics estimate her to
have been dead at least four days prior to discovery. Preliminary reports
suggest that she was strangled, then dumped in the canal. Police have no
leads at this time, nor any suspects.
	Lower Kansai, an area extremely hard-hit by the quakes of 2002, has become
known as the Japanese Hell's Kitchen and is also well-known for it's high
rate of violent crime. It is unknown why she was in the area, though police
are investigating at this time.
	Homicide Detective Hanzo Hattori refused comment when asked for his
thoughts on the murder.

	Nabiki read the article again, noting that the article appeared somewhere
around page ten of the paper when it was printed. According to public
records, the Saotome's had a Kansai address prior to Nodoka's death.
Afterward, Genma picked up his roots and began a life on the road with the
two children. Was it coincidence?
	//Probably so,\\ Nabiki thought, though that answer didn't sate her.
Something wasn't right. Recalling her search engine, Nabiki typed in the
names of Nodoka's biological parents. Moments later, she was back at the
public records archive, staring at information on Fumio and Reiko Sachahiko.
	//NOW we're getting somewhere,\\ she thought as she read.

============================================================================

	Sorry this took so long! I'd like to thank my pre-readers, and all those
who read and enjoy these works.

	The soundtrack:

	Not much this time. the race scene was written to three songs, listed below:

	"The Kids Aren't Alright" by The Offspring. The song is on the Americana album.

	"Out On The Tiles". The song was originally recorded by Led Zeppelin,
though the version I used was a cover by Blind Melon for the Encomium CD.

	"Good Times Bad Times". This song was also recorded originally by Led
Zeppelin. Again, the version I used was a cover. This was covered by the
band Cracker for the Encomium CD.

	Hope you enjoyed it!

	Also, if the chapters seem a bit short, I'm trying to keep them a bit short
to cut down on the  time between releases. Thanks!

Jed