Ranma 1/2 is used without permission

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

        Find my other works at: http://web.infoave.net/~jedediah

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        //Oh man, what've I done?\\ The thought played itself in Ranma's
mind again and again as the memory of killing Echi Goya came to him in vivid
clarity. The feel of his hands around Goya's throat, the sound of his
vertebrea cracking..., the gurgle that escaped his throat... Ranma shoved
the memories out of his head violently.
        Ranma sat alone in the dojo, legs crossed in the Lotus position. His
heavy-lidded eyes closed as he attempted to shut everything out. Since he
had come home, he had been unable to sleep. Ranma still found it difficult
to reconcile the fact that he had taken a man's life with his own two hands.
        He had tried to reason that it was for Akane, which was the truth.
After all, that old geezer demonstrated his ability to hurt her quite well
the night before. He was left with no choice, though that didn't make him
feel any better.
        Akane couldn't find out about it, that was for sure. She'd been
through enough already, he couldn't bear for her to find out that her life
had been bought with another. Last night weighed heavily on his heart, but
it was a burden that he'd carry alone for the rest of his life.
        If there was one bright spot to all of it, it had to be that the
deal was now done. Akane would be okay, and Ranma's end of the bargain was
fulfilled. Rising to his feet, his legs tingling from the lack of blood flow
for so long, Ranma set about to putting the old man and his deal out of his
mind. It was over.

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

        The people of Nerima moved along on their daily routines, as they
did more or less every day. The golden sun sat at its apogee in the
seemingly endless expanse of blue sky, staring down upon the earth and the
miniscule mayfly creatures called humans going about their daily lives. 
        Among them walked an old man in a long brown trenchcoat, a fedora of
the same shade atop his bald and weathered head. Sunglasses covered his
eyes, the light of the sun reflecting off their mirrored lenses. Stopping at
a fruit stand, the old man picked an apple off of the pile, paying the owner
the somewhat inflated price for the red fruit.
        Taking a bite, he thought of his new lieutenant. The pig-tailed boy
was as good a fighter as he'd been led to believe, but was too
strong-willed. Of course, while Akane's life was on the line, the boy would
probably jump through hoops like a good little dog, but how long would it
last? Eventually, Ranma would find a way out. Given the boy's track record,
winning against long odds was his specialty.
        The old man finished the sweet red apple, sending the core into a
nearby trash bin with a deft no-look toss. Fortunately, he had taken this
into consideration. Ranma Saotome would pose no problems.
        His gaze fell upon three teenagers leaning against the wall of a
nearby grocer. They were dressed in western clothes, baggy blue jeans, black
sneakers, and white muscle shirts that showed off their rather toned biceps
and pectorals.  Each had little more than stubble on their heads, one with
an earring adorning his left ear. From the rather coarse language they used,
they were probably imitating a gaijin subculture called Gangstas. A small
smile spread on the old man's face. This was perfect.

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

        Humming a jaunty tune, Kasumi bustled about the kitchen as she
prepared lunch for the residents of the Tendo Dojo. It was part of a routine
that she had come to enjoy after a time. At first it was rather monotonous,
cooking and cleaning every single day. However, it was a labor of love. If
she didn't love her family as much as she did, she wouldn't be there.
        Since Akane's surprising recovery, things seemed to be running more
smoothly around the dojo. Fights were less and less frequent between Ranma
and Akane, and the physical damage had dropped off to nearly nothing. In an
odd sort of way, the boredom was refreshing.
        "Oh, dear," she muttered as she opened the pantry. "I had no idea we
were out of soy sauce." Picking up the empty bottle, she frowned slightly at
the clear plastic. She could have sworn she had enough to get through today.
Closing the pantry, she threw the empty bottle away as she made for her
purse. A quick trip to the market wouldn't delay lunch for very long.

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

        "Where's lunch?" Genma asked as he knelt at the shogi board across
from Soun. It was past three o'clock, and Kasumi usually had lunch ready by
one at the latest.
        "Hmmm... it is rather odd for Kasumi to be so late with lunch," Soun
agreed. "Perhaps I should ask her what's wrong."
        "Has Kasumi gotten back yet?" asked Nabiki as she walked into the room.
        "Where did she go?" Soun asked with a note of worry in his voice.
        "She said the market, " Nabiki replied, "but she's been gone since
noon."
        "KASUMI!" Soun shouted as he started running about the room, pulling
his hair by the fistful. "KASUMI!"
        Nabiki inwardly groaned at her father's idiotic display of emotion.
Kasumi was a big girl, she could take care of herself.
        "What's all the fuss?" Ranma asked as he walked into the room.
        "Kasumi went to the market, and hasn't come back yet," Nabiki
replied as Soun continued to rave.
        "So?" Ranma asked. "It's just the market. What's the big deal?"
        "She's been gone for over three hours," Genma replied, "And there's
nothing in the fridge." Ranma frowned at the news. A trip to the market
rarely took her more than an hour, and that was on days when she did the
shopping for the rest of the month. 
        "It's not like her to just vanish and not even call," Akane said as
she walked in. Soun's panicked state captured her attention, and the
conversation filled in the rest. "Do you think something's wrong?"
        "Come on," Nabiki said in an exasperated tone, "Just because Kasumi
decides to stop and talk to someone at the market for a while doesn't mean
we should get up in arms. She'll probably be back any minute now."

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

        The sun had nearly set in the Nerima sky, another day drawing to a
close. Streetlamps clicked on and off in an attempt to hold off the rapidly
encroaching night. Shadows stretched across the streets, held back in places
by lights from inside the windows of houses and businesses alike.
        The shadows were especially dark in the alleys, the lights from the
streets doing nothing to dispell the blackness that seemed exist in defiance
of the light. The old man stared into those shadows, counting the seconds as
the form inside crawled painfully to the mouth of the alley.
        Despite the absence of light, his eyes made out the details easily.
The clothing was in tattered ruins, stained with blood and sundry other
substances. The movements were slow and agonizing, as though even the
thought of motion brought unbearable pain.
        The breath came in ragged gasps, interspersed with coughs and low
moans of confusion and pain. Without warning, an almost whooping cough
blasting forth from the chest, sending a glob of blood onto the pavement..
It was time.
        The old man casually made his way to the almost cavernous mouth of
the alley. None of the people on the streets seemed to notice him as he
strode to the alley, a slight smile on his lined face. As he strode by, his
head whipped around at a particularly loud moan. Moving cautiously, he saw
the prone form of Kasumi Tendo. Squelching his smile, he pasted a convincing
look of horror on his features.
        "HELP!" he screamed, the pedestrians finally noticing him, "THIS
WOMAN NEEDS HELP!"

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

        "Where'd she go?" Ranma muttered to himself as he cleared the wall
of the dojo, coming to a perfect landing beside the koi pond. Seeing most of
the lights off in the house instantly set off warning bells in his head. It
was nine o'clock, the time when everyone was supposed to check in.
        Everyone had decided to split up and look for Kasumi, all except
Nabiki, citing that someone needed to stay with the hysterical Soun. Ranma
had searched most of Nerima, including the Ucchan and the Nekohanten. Nobody
in either place had seen or heard from Kasumi all day.
        Now, coming home at the designated time to meet, he found the house
deserted. Nothing was put up, the shogi board still had all the pieces, as
though they had simply paused the game and went out for a walk. Coming to the
shogi table, he saw a piece of paper with Nabiki's immaculate penmanship
covering it.
        "Kasumi... Tokyo General... Went to see her..." Ranma skimmed the
message, his heart lodging in his throat. Kasumi was in a hospital? On the
table next to where the note had been lay enough yen for a train pass. Ranma
knew the route well; they had taken Akane to Tokyo General enough times when
she had been sick. Grabbing the money, Ranma bolted out the door, bound for
the train station.

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

        Akane Tendo had rarely felt such a maelstrom of emotions. Depression
and rage swirled about inside her, sparking a storm of other emotions as she
remembered all the times she and Kasumi had together.
        The power of the emotional upheaval within her almost made her ill.
The world itself seemed unreal somehow, as though she were just a spectator
watching these people play out their strange parts in fate's own drama.
        Kasumi had been in surgery for hours, and still no word from any
doctor on her condition. The waiting was the absolute worst, though. Not
knowing if her sister was okay, not knowing what happened, it gave her a
feeling of helplessness she despised. Kasumi had been Akane's rock of
support when she had been dying those months back. Through all the fear,
pain, and humiliation of having her own body turn against her, Kasumi was
there. Now, Kasumi needed Akane, and there was nothing she could do.
        Genma sat with Soun on one of the several hard benches in the
waiting area of the ER. She had never seen her father so calm in the face of
such an incident, but there was something else there, a fire in his eyes
that she'd never seen before. Nabiki tried to hide it, but the tears came
anyway no matter how she tried to stop them.
        "Akane!" She turned when Ranma caled her name. He charged toward
her, a frightened expression on his face. Spreading her arms, she ran to
him, the two meeting in an almost crushing embrace. "What happened?"
        "Ka...Kasumi was..." Akane finally broke down, sobbing into Ranma's
shoulder. Her arms circled around his waist, gripping for dear life. Ranma
returned the gesture, a cold lump of fear settling in his stomach. Had
Kasumi been in an accident? How bad was it? Akane's sobs finally subsided,
and she gazed into his face. Ranma could see the tracks left by her tears,
and could feel the spot where they had soaked through the silk of his shirt.
        "What happened?" Ranma asked, his heart nearly in his throat. Akane
looked down, taking in deep, calming breaths. Finally, she gathered the
strength to speak in a somewhat steady voice.
        "Kasumi was... attacked... earlier." Ranma's face went pale at the
news. Someone attacked Kasumi?
        "Who attacked her?" Ranma asked as the anger set in.
        "We don't know," Akane replied. "They... how could they do that...
to Kasumi?" Tears began to flow from her deep brown eyes again at the
thought of someone cruel and sadistic enough to harm someone as sweet and
unassuming as Kasumi.
        Nabiki walked up to the two, announcing that the doctor wished to
speak with them. Her eyes were red and puffy, showing that she too had been
crying. On arrival in the waiting room, the three joined Soun and Genma, who
were seated on the long bench across from a doctor whose tag identified him
as Pierce.
        The doctor was an almost gaunt man. Intense dark eyes stared out
from beneath a mop of black hair. A sharp nose and chin gave him an almost
hawk-like visage. His green surgical scrubs were stained with blood in
several places. Akane could hardly believe that it was Kasumi's blood, even
though the thin man was probably the surgeon on call. He was probably on an
exchange program from the States.
        "Mr. Tendo," he said, giving a short bow of his head and
shoulders, "I'm Ben Pierce, I..."
        "How is she?" Soun asked in a cold, dangerous voice. Everyone's
heads swiveled to look at him. None of them had heard such an icy voice from
him.
        "Well, you have to understand, she had been beaten severely and
stabbed four times," Soya continued. "She'd also been raped repeatedly,
and didn't receive medical attention for quite some..."
        "How is she?" Soun repeated in the same cold voice. Pierce gulped in
fear at the statue of a man seated before him.
        "Not good, I'm afraid," he replied. "Her injuries were severe, and
she lost a lot of blood. We have her stabilized, but we're not sure if
she'll recover fully, if at all. We just have to wait and see." They sat
there, heads hung low and tears in their eyes as the doctor bowed again and
walked away. He hadn't apologized at least.

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

        Ranma pulled himself out of Akane's arms, laying her sleeping form
down on the bench with gentle motions. She moaned something
incomprehensible, and drifted off again.
        Nabiki was curled up in one of the chairs, her chin on her knees and
her breath coming in a steady rhythm. Genma had snuck down to  teh cafeteria
for some food, taking Soun with him. Soun moved about like a robot, just
going through the motions of being human. His eyes carried an almost
murderous glint, however, that sent an involuntary chill up Ranma's spine.
        Moving silently, he made his way down the antiseptic halls of Tokyo
General Hospital. Various nurses and interns went about their business, not
even sparing the confused and angry martial artist a glance.
        How could anyone even think to hurt Kasumi? Why would anyone want
to? Ranma pushed the questions out of his mind, knowing that they would do
him no good. All that mattered was that someone attacked and almost killed
Kasumi, and that someone would have to pay.
        "Such a waste," came a voice from behind him, a voice that Ranma had
hoped never to hear again. Turning around, Ranma saw the old man leaning
against one of the white walls. A brown trenchcoat hung to his calves, a
fedora and sunglasses in one of his hands. The old man turned his eyes to
Ranma, an intense gaze that he found somewhat disturbing.
        "What the hell do you want?" Ranma spat, casting an almost hateful
glare at the old man.
        "To give you your next assignment, of course," the old man replied
casually.
        "WHAT!?" Ranma nearly screamed.
        "Come now, boy, there's no need to shout," the old man replied as he
left the wall.
        "I did what you wanted, ya old freak!" Ranma shouted, "Now leave
akane 'n me alone!"
        "As I recall, I said that in return for the Crimson Dawn, I would
retain your services indefinitely," the old man patiently explained. "To put
it in simpler terms, I own you."
        Ranma nearly choked on his rage as a red haze covered his vision. "I
wouldn't advise that, boy," the old man stated. "After all, guess who else
could end up in a hospital bed tonight." Ranma reluctantly backed down,
though his blood still rocketed through his veins, sending the glorious heat
of anger throughout his being.
        "That's better, boy," the old man replied as he threw an envelope to
Ranma. Snatching it deftly from the air, he opened the manilla container and
removed the contents.
        Three pictures were all the envelope held, each of three different
men. All were nearly clean headed, and carried scowls of perpetual anger.
One's dark eyes seemed almost to glow with rage, set beneath a prominent
brow. The other's face was almost emaciated, a ring piercing his lower lip.
The third was almost flat-faced, his eyes dull and dis-interested.
        "Who're these guys?' Ranma asked impatiently.
        "They are your next targets," The old man replied smoothly.
        "Listen, asshole," Ranma snarled, "I ain't your personal hitman!"
        "You are so long as you want your precious fiancee to stay healthy,"
the old man reminded him. "Besides, they aren't like Echi Goya. Would you
like to know what makes them so special?"
        "Not really," Ranma replied as he turned to leave.
        "Who do you think put that dear, sweet Kasumi in a place like this?"
Ranma froze in mid-step, the color draining from his face.
        "What?" he hissed, unable to believe his ears.
        "You heard me right, boy," the old man said, "those three
neanderthals are responsible for Kasumi's condition."
        The rage that swirled inside Ranma grew by several orders of
magnitude as the information set in. In his hands were pictures of the men
responsible for nearly killing Kasumi. He cast a hateful glare at the three
polaroids, their faces seeming to mock him for not being there to protect her.
        "How do I know you're tellin' the truth?" Ranma asked, his voice
thick with anger.
        "How do you know I'm not?" the old man replied calmly. "In any case,
I took the liberty of bringing your 'evening attire'." he continued. "It's
on the roof, along with the whereabouts of your prey. Happy hunting!" Ranma
turned to find that the old man had once again vanished without a trace.
Glaring at the pictures in his hand, Ranma left for the roof.

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

        There's chapter three! Hope you like it!
And, yes, the doctor IS none other than Benjamin Franklin Pierce himself, Me
no Taka. I believe that translates into Hawkeye, but I'm not sure. 

Jed