Thank god for caffeine!
Without it, I would never have gotten this done!

(C&C welcome)

----------------------
THE GAME
By: Angela Jewell
----------------------

Based on the trilogy, The Forbidden Game by L.J. Smith

    Ranma 1/2 is the property and creation of Rumiko Takahashi, and whoever else owns it. I'm not making any money off of this so don't sue me. Besides, good luck if you tried. I'm broke.

***
Volume 1:
Spellbound
***

 What are you running from,
 when you know that you
 can't hide?
 who are you running to,
 when you know that everything
 is just a lie?
 Why are you trying to run away?
 Why don't you just give up?
 What is there to live for,
 if you have no one to love?
 Why are you so confused,
 your mind racing
 through possibilities
 you have?
 It is just so simple,
 it is over everywhere you are at.
 Nothing will change,
 what has happened is in the past.
 You can change the future,
 but what is the use for that?
 You are running from the pain,
 only to find greater pain
 everywhere you turn.
 There is no way out,
 Don't you ever learn?
    - Ivanna K

***
Chapter 5
***
    Ranma strained at the ropes, trying to free his arms that were
tied tightly behind his back. This whole situation was strange. He couldn't even remember being tied up-- let alone giving someone the opportunity to constrain his arms and legs-- and there was something *weird* about the ropes. For one thing he couldn't seem to get out of them. Every time he tried, they just seemed to get tighter and tighter. It was as if someone were personally holding the ropes in place.

    Ranma sighed in frustration and leaned back against the table behind him. He wasn't sure what was happening. The last thing he remembered was talking to that Gabriel guy, the one who called himself 'The Shadow Man.' The next thing he knew he was surrounded by an army of cats and was fighting for his life! He had no idea where he was now...

    Once his eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, Ranma glanced around the room, taking in his surroundings. All around him were small tables and racks, filled with rare and unusual items. They almost seemed to fill the room, making it appear crowded and smaller than it actually was.

    He wasn't sure, but it looked like some kind of a store. Although if it was, it didn't look like any store _he'd_ ever seen.

    An old antique register sat on a counter, covered with dust and cobwebs, and many long, rectangular shelves filled with games, lined the walls. Or at least... he _thought_ they were games. He recognized a few of the box covers, but most of the others had weird symbols on them that he had never seen before.

        A loud chime rang out, and Ranma turned his head in the direction the sound had come from. There, in a darkly lit corner of the room, a grandfather clock stood tall, half hidden in and out of the surrounding shadows. The mouth of the clock stood out against the darkness, it's big and little hands moving swiftly around the face. Ranma silently counted the loud chimes, silently praying that it was still keeping the correct time.

    If it was, then it should be around 10:00...

    "Where the hell am I?" Ranma complained as he glanced around the room in frustration, a little unnerved by his surroundings. "And where the hell's the door?!"

    Ranma tried once again to break free of the ropes, pulling and straining as hard as he could. Still, they wouldn't budge. Frustrated, and, even though he hated to admit it, a little tired, Ranma leaned against the table and did the only thing left to do.

    He waited.

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    Akane crossed her arms against her chest and glanced around the room. No matter how hard she tried, she still couldn't believe this was happening. None of it seemed real... not to mention fair. And yet... she still couldn't help feeling a small pang of guilt. From now on, everything that happened would be _her_ fault. If Kasumi or Nabiki or any of the others got hurt, she would be the one to blame. She was the one that bought that stupid game even though her gut instincts had been screaming at her not too. And although she couldn't explain why, she *was* the one Gabriel wanted.

    Akane angrily pushed that thought to the back of her mind, along with the feelings of guilt and self pity. It didn't really matter whose fault it was... the fact that this was happening at all was ludicrous...

    ... Not to mention a little frightening.

    And even the fact that this could all be some kind of bad dream wasn't a comfort. Because even if it was, she knew it was one nightmare she'd never wake up from.

    There was only one thing left for her to do: try her best to deal with everything that was happening. Besides, there was no *way* she was going to let that-- that pervert-- *win* her. She was tired of boys treating her like some kind of prize. It was about time she put a stop to it. Every time she was kidnapped it was always Ranma that rescued her. But not this time. This time, she'd do it herself, without his help. If Gabriel wanted her to play this stupid game... well... she'd play it all right. And no matter what, she didn't intend to lose.

    Akane glanced around the room, looking for a way out. If she could just find a door or a window then maybe she could go for help...

    "There!" Akane's eyes focused on a curtained window that stood opposite to where she was standing. Quickly, she began to walk towards it, to the point where she was actually running.

    And then, pulling the heavy curtain aside...

    She froze.

    Everywhere she looked was ice. A blizzard of snow and what looked like fire shot across the sky, illuminating strange, irregular shapes that seemed to loom over the earth. Bright flashes of light revealed strange, alien like creatures, crawling along on the icy ground, their sharp teeth gleaming in the darkness. But not only that...  the ground was _red_-- _blood_ red-- not white like snow was _suppose_ to be.

    And Akane stood motionless, staring out at the icy hell before her with a mixture of amazement, fear and disgust. She knew with a sick certainty that she'd never last a moment out there.

    It was like all those horror movies she was always watching, the ones where Ranma would sneak up behind her and then scream, causing her to jump up in alarm...

    Except that this time... the horror movie was real...

    Akane quickly drew the curtain shut and started backing unsteadily away from the window, quiet sobs forming in her throat... and the panic-- everything she'd held carefully in check since this whole incident began-- started to rise...

    This can't be happening! This *can't* be happening!

    I mean, sure, she'd seen monsters or ghosts before-- even been possessed by them a couple of times-- but those had been *mostly* harmless. But these-- those *things* outside-- God... she could still see their razor sharp teeth...

    And there had been blood and fire everywhere she looked! The fire... shooting across the sky, revealing those horrible creatures on the ground...

      But it had been the blood that had frightened her the most. The blood... soaking into the snow, leaving long, dark, reddish trails...

    And yet, another frightening thought had entered her mind,  focusing above all else: She was all alone, in a dark, possibly haunted house, and those things... they were just outside...

    Akane choked back a sob, trying hard not to scream. She had to stay in control; stay focused. Everyone was depending on her. She couldn't fall apart at the seams *now* of all times!

    Akane took a deep breath and continued walking, trying hard to push the horrible scene from her mind she had just witnessed... to gather her scattered thoughts so that she could remember the configuration of the paper house. She paused for a moment; concentrating. The parlor had been off a long central hallway on the first floor, and at the end of that hallway had been a staircase.

    Gabriel had said they'd be scattered around the house somewhere. Since the parlor was the only room on this floor that had to mean they were upstairs some place.

    Akane walked through the candle-lit hallway, heading towards the stairwell. The movements were automatic, no real destination behind them. If she even tried to think about what she was doing, she knew she'd stop walking and freeze.

    For some reason, she had always hated being in a dark room by herself. There was something frightening about not knowing what was lurking around the corner or what might be sneaking up behind her that always made her want to crawl into a corner and hide. But unfortunately, that wasn't an option. She couldn't. Everyone was counting on her. Kasumi, Nabiki, Ukyo... they must be terrified.

    And after what she'd just seen outside...

      Well, she just wanted to get everyone to the attic door safe and sound and go home and put this nightmare behind her.

    Gathering her courage, she cautiously placed a foot on the stairway. Luckily, the step didn't crumble beneath her. Thankfully, it was solid. Akane sighed in relief and began climbing, heading towards the darkness at the top.

    She knew the game was going to be anything but easy, but there was no way she was going to just give up and surrender to Gabriel. Besides, if Gabriel *had* been watching her for so long, like he said he has, then he must know by now that she never backs down from a challenge.

    "Don't worry you guys." Akane whispered, her face set with determination. "This is one game I'm not going to lose."

    And with that said, Akane continued climbing.

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    Ranma was angry to say the least. It had already been a half-hour and still "his captor" hadn't come to see him or to gloat. Not that he didn't already know who was behind all of this.

    "So... how's my little captive doing?" a voice spoke up from behind him.

    Ranma didn't have to turn around to know who the voice belonged too. He knew instantly. "What the hell did ya tie me up for?" he demanded, turning his head slightly so that he faced Gabriel.

    "Well... I couldn't have you escaping now could I?"

    Ranma smirked. "Oh, an I suppose ya thought a few lousy ropes could keep me here?"

    Gabriel smiled in amusement. "Well... it appears to be working so far..."

    Ranma ignored the comment. "Where are the others?" he demanded, his superior expression wavering slightly. "What have you done with them?"

    "How many times do I have to repeat this?" Gabriel muttered in frustration. "They're all playing the game, of course."

    "And I'm not because..."

    "Well, I figured it would be much more *interesting* this way." Gabriel shrugged. "Besides, I can't have you helping Akane through the game now, can I?" he laughed. "That would be cheating. And cheating is wrong."

    "Cheating, huh?" Ranma asked dryly. "You sure you even know what that means?"

    Gabriel shook his head in disdain.  "I suppose you're interested in what the rules are," he replied, moving slowly as he circled Ranma. "Well, let's see," Gabriel glanced around the room, as if looking for inspiration. "Actually, the rules are simple. I'll untie you; you'll wait here. Try to escape and one of your friends get hurt."

    "What kind of rules are those?" Ranma demanded, his eyes narrowed in anger. "That's not even fair!"

    "Who said anything about it being fair?" Gabriel asked impatiently. "This is *my* Game and *my* world. *I* make up the rules, not you. All _you_ have to do is obey them. If not..." Gabriel shrugged, a slight smile on his face. "Well, let's just say you *won't* like the consequences."

    Ranma's jaw clenched and his fists curled up convulsively at his sides. *Damn it,* he thought, a feeling of helplessness overcoming him. He couldn't stand the thought of sitting still while his friends were in trouble, but what else could he do? Gabriel didn't look like the type of guy who'd make empty threats. In fact, he knew he wasn't. He didn't suck them all into another world just to play some stupid game. They were there for one reason and one reason only: Akane.

    "Alright, you've made your point." Ranma turned his head so he wouldn't have to see the look of satisfaction on Gabriel's face. "Since I don't have much of a choice, I won't try to escape. Now, will ya hurry up an untie me?"

    Gabriel lifted his hand and extended it towards Ranma, his palm facedown. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the ropes around Ranma's arms and legs came undone, falling to the floor at his feet.

    "Done." Gabriel replied smugly, smiling slightly as he headed towards the door and away from Ranma; but not before he turned around once more to meet Ranma's gaze. "And remember," he added seriously, all traces of amusement gone from his voice. "If you try to escape, somebody gets hurt. Understood?"

    Ranma sighed and nodded, only half listening to what Gabriel was saying. His mind was focused on more important things; like how he was gonna help Akane-- or any of the others-- without breaking his promise to Gabriel.

    "Oh, I almost forgot," Gabriel turned around and sketched a backwards S in the air with his finger, then in his hypnotic voice, Ranma heard him utter something that sounded like Sianto. Ranma raised an eyebrow in confusion, unsure of what was going on. Sianto? He'd never heard that word before. Unless of course, it was another one of those stupid runes Gabriel was talking about earlier.

    Unfortunately, the only rune Ranma could remember was the one called Uruz-- something or other, the rune used to pierce the veil between worlds. That damn rune was the reason they were stuck here in the first place.

    A brilliant flash of light filled the room, forcing Ranma to shield his eyes from the blinding glow. When the light finally receded, Ranma opened his eyes to see Gabriel standing there, holding a small mirror in his hands.

    Ranma stared in amazement at the mirror. "I-- it just appeared out of nowhere!" he stuttered. Gabriel just stood indifferently, his expression cool and uncaring.

    "Well, what did you expect?" Gabriel replied dryly, glancing down at the mirror in his hands.

    "Well.... Um... what is it? I mean... it's not just some cruddy ol' mirror, right?"

    "That symbol I made was the rune of sight." Gabriel explained, his tone tinged with scorn. "With this mirror you'll be able to see what's happening with your friends. All you have to do is concentrate on the person you want to see and the mirror will show you what that person's doing at that exact moment."

    Gabriel handed the mirror to Ranma, who looked at it in confusion, turning it around in his hands. "So, all I gotta do is think of the person I want to see and then they'll appear in this mirror?"

    Gabriel rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Isn't that what I just said?"

    Ranma's eyes narrowed in suspicion, a familiar doubt creeping into his mind. "Okay, what's the catch?" he asked, meeting Gabriel's gaze. After all, he hadn't lived with Nabiki all those years for nothing.

    Gabriel smiled in reply. "No catch," he shrugged. "I just thought you'd like to check up on your friends, or should I say fianc�s, every now and then. Just to see how they're doing..." Ranma's suspicions increased. "And of course to check on Akane." He added nonchalantly. "I'm sure you'll want to see how she's doing as she goes through the game. I mean, she *is* the main player after all..."

    "What do you mean the main player?" Ranma asked angrily, his voice accusing. "That stupid tomboy doesn't know the first thing about--"

    Gabriel cut him off abruptly with a wave of his hand... and Ranma stood in shock, confused, and a little frightened... because... all of a sudden... he realized he couldn't speak. His mouth was open and moving... but... _nothing_ was coming out...

    "What is it with you anyway?" Gabriel demanded in annoyance, lowering his hand and releasing Ranma from his spell in the process. "You *constantly* insist that she means *nothing* too you and yet you become a jealous, irrational, rude, possessive, *idiot* whenever she's kidnapped, or in trouble!" Gabriel ran his hands through his pure white hair in frustration, and met Ranma's gaze angrily, his surreal eyes meeting his. "I mean, Damn it! You have an *amazing* girl that I would do anything for-- and you treat her like *shit*! If you really don't want her why not save everyone the trouble and just give her to me."

    "What?!" Ranma shouted, startled out of silence by a blinding anger so powerful, that he almost instantly forgot what Gabriel had done to him only moments before. "What the hell are you talkin about?! *I* treat *her* like shit?! What about how *she* treats *me,* huh? I don't know *what* planet or dimension you're from. You obviously know nothing about what you're talkin about. Akane is *far* from perfect and innocent. I treat her the same way she treats me!"

    "Yeah, sure you do." Gabriel muttered. "If you really feel that way about her then why don't you just go off with Ukyo, Shampoo, or that psychotic little bitch that's obsessed with you and leave Akane to me."

    "Look, you jerk," Ranma said slowly, trying to hold his anger in check. "Me an Akane may not get along all that well, but she's *still* my fianc�, got it? There's no _way_ I'm going to lose her to some-- some space freak like you-- so you might as well let the others go and we'll settle this right here and now."

    "Oh, please," Gabriel muttered. "Do you *honestly* think you can beat me in a fight?"

    Ranma met his eyes without flinching. "You're damn straight." He replied. "And I don't care *what* planet or dimention or where ever the hell you're from. Either way, you're going down."

    Gabriel nodded his head and smiled.

    "Alright," he shrugged. "Then let's finish this." And before the words had left his mouth, Ranma launched himself at Gabriel.

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    "Stupid door," Shampoo muttered, trying once again to kick the door open that seemed to be glued shut. "Door open *NOW*!" Shampoo began to tug furiously at the doorknob, but still to no avail. Frustrated and annoyed, she gave a loud battle cry as she began to kick the door angrily, leaving small dents in the hard wood. Unfortunately, the door remained closed.

    "Shampoo?" a small voice spoke up, startling her out of her futile struggle with the door. "Is that you?"

    Shampoo turned around and glanced into the darkness. "Akane?" she asked, instantly recognizing the voice and the outline of the figure it belonged to. "What you doing here? Where Ranma?"

    Akane stepped out of the surrounding shadows, relief clear on her face. 'Finally I found someone!' At this point  she didn't really care if it *was* Shampoo.

    "Um... so, what were you trying to do?" Akane asked lightly, moving to stand beside her. "I mean, it looked like you were, um..." she cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Trying to beat up the door."

    "No be stupid," Shampoo said, frowning. "Shampoo no could open door, is all. Door is stuck."

    "Oh, is that all?" Akane asked slowly. "Well, maybe if we both try it'll open."

    Shampoo shrugged noncommittally. This was the only door she'd come across since she'd been separated from the group so what other choice did they have? She didn't think the chances of finding another door were very great anyway...  not to mention the fact that she didn't want to leave this particular one. She'd already wasted five minutes just trying to get the stupid thing open...

    "Ok," Akane announced, moving to stand beside Shampoo. "On the count of three, alright?" Shampoo nodded her consent as she braced herself against the door, next to Akane.

    "Ok, here we go," Akane replied, readying herself. "One," she began slowly, "Two. Th-- HEY!" The words were cut short as Akane was rudely pulled away from the door. "Shampoo! Have you gone crazy?! *What* are you _doing_?!"

    "Akane, what Shadow Man tell you?" Shampoo asked, ignoring her barrage of questions. "Before opening door, Shampoo want know what she getting into. Is no good to go into battle unprepared. Even if fighter *is* Amazon warrior."

    Akane sighed in resignation, the anger that had been there only moments before slowly seeping out of her body. "Well, according to Gabriel-- I mean, 'The Shadow Man,'-- we're playing the game," she replied slowly, choosing her words with care.  "Except that... well, according to him... it's for real."

    "Aiyaa!" Shampoo's eyes widened. "Too bad Great Grandmother not here. She know what to do."

    "Yeah." Akane nodded sadly, disappointed that the aged matriarch wasn't with them.

    Shampoo's great grandmother's knowledge of ancient stories, myths, or legends sure would come in handy right about now. "Shampoo, do *you* remember any mention of people called Shadow Men?"

    Shampoo thought hard, a faint glimmer of a memory surfacing. "Name sure seem familiar," she mused, thinking aloud.

    Akane waited patiently, a new hope filling her. Maybe Shampoo would know something about Shadow Men... like their secret weakness or something. If she knew *that* then defeating Gabriel should be easy!

     Unfortunately, moments later, Akane's hopes fell as Shampoo sighed in resignation. "Shampoo no can think of it." she shrugged sadly. "But maybe Shampoo remember later."

    "Okay," Akane sighed, unable to hide her disappointment.

    "So," Shampoo continued, "Where husband and others?"

    "Well, he said-- you know, Gabriel-- that everyone was scattered around the house, waiting for their nightmares to come true--" Akane's words were cut short as they were suddenly drowned out by several loud chimes, echoing all around her. At that moment, Akane remembered something that had slipped her mind earlier. They were on a time limit!

    "Shampoo," she continued uneasily. "I sort of forgot to mention that there's a time limit, so I think we should probably hurry up and get this door open."

    Shampoo nodded and prepared to kick the door in.

    "Wait!" Akane shouted, stopping Shampoo before she could follow through with her kick. "Don't you think we should be prepared? I mean, we don't have any idea what could be behind there..."

    Shampoo relaxed her posture. "Akane right," she admitted as she backed slowly away from the door. "Akane open door and Shampoo kick door shut if monster try to get out, Yes?"

    "Alright," Akane agreed, preparing herself for anything. "But be ready to shut it fast. We don't know what could be in there-- or what could be trying to get out--"

    Shampoo nodded and shot her a predatory smile, her way of saying she was prepared to kick the door shut if need be. Akane put her hand on the doorknob and slowly began to turn it, waiting for Shampoo's command.

    "NOW!" Shampoo shouted, and Akane flung the door open.

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    Gabriel stood firmly in place, watching with feigned interest, as Ranma launched an angry, yet skilled, attack. The kicks and punches were strong, and would have easily hit their target... if Gabriel had remained standing where Ranma's punches and kicks were landing. Instead, Ranma stopped in the middle of his assault and began looking around in confusion.

    Because... Gabriel was gone. Not to mention, all sense of his prescence. Ranma couldn't *see* him, let alone *feel* him anywhere.

    Ranma ran a hand through his unruly black hair in frustration and sighed. _Now_ where the hell did he go? He couldn't have just disappeared?! Could he?

    Actually, now that he thought about it, that option wasn't all that unlikely.

    "Bravo!" Gabriel shouted, clapping his hands together loudly in appreciation. "Nice attack," he nodded approvingly, "But I'm afraid you're going to have to do better than that if you want to beat me."

    Ranma turned around slowly, to see Gabriel standing behind him, unscathed and unharmed. "How-- I mean, *what* did you just do? How'd you just disappear like that?" he asked in wonder.

    Gabriel waved his hand in dismissal. "Oh, that." he laughed. "That was child's play. Anyone can learn it." he smiled, as he took a threatening step forward. "But I'd say you've had your little fun, so I guess that means it's my turn." Then, tightly closing his eyes, Gabriel put his hands together to form a small peaked triangle. Ranma looked at Gabriel with uncertainty, unsure of what he was going to do next. Then, seconds later, Ranma fell to his knees in agony, a sharp pain shooting through his chest.

    "How does that feel, Ranma?" Gabriel asked smugly, moving to stand before him. "Now," he smiled, putting a finger to his lip in concentration.  "What was that you were saying about taking me down?"

    "Damn you," Ranma muttered, clutching his chest. "W-what the hell are-- are you doing to me..."

    "Why, Ranma," Gabriel admonished. "I thought you *wanted* to fight all out."

    Ranma didn't have the strength to respond, instead, he cried out in agony again as the pain in his chest intensified, a few solitary tears escaping his clenched eyes.

    "Well," Gabriel complained. "You're no fun. You're not even fighting back." Gabriel waved his hand with dismissal, and the excruciating pain Ranma had felt only moments before disappeared, leaving only a dull pain in its absence. Ranma leaned his hands against the floor, trying hard to calm his breathing.

      Gabriel started to laugh, his voice echoing eerily around the room and Ranma stiffened, anger burning in his eyes. "What's so funny?" he demanded angrily.

    "Nothing." Gabriel smiled. "It's just that... well... I didn't even use my full strength."

    Ranma paled visibly.

    Gabriel shook his head in disgust. "You *know* you don't deserve her," he replied flatly, shrugging. "She's much too good for you."

    Ranma lifted his eyes from the ground where his gaze had been focused and met Gabriel's, his own burning with hatred and determination. "I know I don't deserve her," he replied, his voice soft and bitter. "But there's no way in hell I'm going to just hand her over to you." he spat. "Besides," he added quietly. "She's a _thousand_ times too good for *you* anyway."

    "Too true," Gabriel replied nonchalantly. "Which is exactly why I want her. And *nobody* not you and not any of your *friends* are going to stop me from getting what I want." Gabriel turned around abruptly, heading towards a door in the back of the room that had appeared out of thin air. As he reached the door, he turned back to Ranma and smiled. "Oh, and please be sure to use that mirror." he reminded him. "After all..." he continued. "I wouldn't want you to miss seeing Akane surrender to me..."

    Ranma's jaw clenched. "That'll *never* happen."

    Gabriel's smile broadened. "Of course it will." he laughed. "All in due time," he promised. "The only question remaining is whether or not she'll surrender to me willingly."

    And with that, Gabriel left the room, leaving Ranma to gape after him him in anger and frustration.

***
End of Chapter 5
***


Authors Notes
_____________

    Questions? Comments? Flames?
    Um... don't bother with the Flames though, I'll just ignore them. I'm not very good with insults.
    Special thanks go to my pre-readers, Tom Schauer and Melissa Cordez who helped me fix a lot of the mistakes I tend to make. They also gave me a lot of useful suggestions and criticism.
    Also, Thanks go to Rumiko Takahashi, (for creating the Ranmaverse and all the wonderful characters in it) and to L.J. Smith (for being one of my favorite authors and for writing so many wonderful books!)
       Finally, thanks go to everyone who e-mailed me and encouraged me to finish this chapter! I REALLY appreciated it!
       Hopefully, I'll have Chapter 4 of Turning Back Time out by New Years. If not, then sometime in January... if the world doesn't end, that is =)
       And I DO have an excuse as to why I stopped working on Learning to Let Go and Turning Back Time for such a long time. I'll add the explanation in my next update for TBT.
    Chapter 6 coming eventually, although it'll probably take me a while... partly because of school and partly because I'm lazy...

Ja!
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               A man has made at least a start on
           discovering the meaning of human life when
              he plants shade trees under which he
               knows full well he will never sit.

                             -D. Elton Trueblood
                  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _



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My email/ ICQ:
jewellangela@hotmail.com
26382915

Homepage:
http://www.angelfire.com/ak2/ranma/Game.html
http://www.angelfire.com/ak2/ranma/index.html

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