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Ranma 1/2: The Wraith
Double Life
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Every inch of Ranma seemed to throb as she dumped a fourth bucket of
cold water over herself and began to wash again. The harsh smell of that...
whatever it was... still seemed to linger in her nostrils. Rei called it...
meth... something.
The muscles in her back were sore from the blast in that lab, a few
new bruises discoloring her flesh. At least the clothes would hide them,
thus elminating the need for an explanation. But still, it wasn't fair that
all the abuse Rei suffered went to her in the morning, or whenever he went
back to whatever dark corner of her mind he called home.
As she scrubbed at grime that wasn't there, Ranma tried to push the
thoughts of him out of her mind. The things Rei did were almost deplorable,
dishonorable in an extreme. He didn't care about fair combat, just killing
his enemies as quickly and as brutally as he could. Despite all that,
however, Ranma couldn't bring herself to hate him. She didn't know why, but
she just couldn't.
She stepped into the hot bathwater, the tension easing as her body
regained its true proportions. Ranma leaned his head back, the first
birdsongs of the morning filtering in through the open window as he did what
he always did after one of Rei's jaunts, try to believe that it didn't
happen. His mind felt rested and strong, even if his body felt tired and
worn. Training was going to be difficult later, that was for sure.
"Get up, boy!" Ranma stirred at the shout, opening his eyes to see
his father glaring down at him from the edge of the furo. "A true martial
artist does not sleep in!" Sleep in? He had fallen asleep again?
"Sure, pop." He rose from the bathwater, his back twinging slightly
as the liquid ran off his body in small rivulets. "Sorry, didn't get much
sleep last night."
"Oh." The indignation seemed to leave Genma in a rush, his face
becoming impassive. "I'll be waiting outside." Genma turned and left as
Ranma began to dry himself.
Did Genma approve of Rei's actions? Ranma could never tell for sure,
and didn't really want to know. All he could really ascertain was that Genma
seemed to get rather fearful when evidence of Rei's actions hit the
newspapers, or when Ranma said something about losing sleep. Putting on his
clothes, Ranma left the bathroom for the morning excercises. This was gonna
be fun....
======================================
"Tell me, Belle, what do you see?" She sat alone in the cramped
room, a worn table and chair the only furniture to be found. The smell of
old sweat assaulted his senses as he stood before her.
Her hair, once almost platinum blonde, was dingy and limp from years
of neglect. It hung over her sallow cheeks like flaxen strands of thread,
lifeless and dull. A filthy strip of cloth covered the space where her eyes
once were, the same dull grey as the rest of her clothing.
"The visions don't make sense," she said in a weary, fearful voice.
"Tell me."
"I see a dragon with two heads," she began, "raining fire on Tokyo.
It's looking for someone, and does not know it."
"Is that person me?"
"I don't know." His hand lashed out like a snake, striking her
across the face. A resounding smack rebounded off the close walls as she hit
the floor in a crumpled heap.
"TELL ME!"
"I do not know," she replied again, her voice resigned. "It does not
make sense."
He considered striking her again, but thought better of it. He could
tell from her words that she truly did not know what the vision meant.
Hitting her again, while satisfying, would solve nothing in the end.
"Very well," he said, "Until you can tell me what this means, your
food and water will be half."
"Yes."
He closed and locked the door behind him, a headache trying to force
its way to his forehead. He stalked down the empty corridor toward his
office beyond, her words still buzzing in his brain.
A dragon with two heads. It was looking for someone, yet knew
nothing of it. What could that possibly mean? Maybe it had nothing to do
with him, she had visions like that at times. No, something kept whispering
that this did indeed involve him.
His office greeted him as he stepped in. The bookshelf slid closed
behind him, moving silently back into place. Dark oak walls surrounded him
on all sides, a pitch black desk resting by the back wall. A tray had been
set on its surface, steam rising from the small kettle in the center. A deep
velvet curtain blocked off the lone window, the soft lamps above providing
the only illumination.
Ten years, he thought as he took his seat and poured a cup of tea,
this has taken me too long. I can't allow anything to endager what I have
created. I'm too close to finishing.
Some would call it mad, impossible even. They would be wrong. When
he was done, the world of organized crime would be forever changed. The
Yakuza, the Triads, Tongs, all of them would soon come to realize that the
only way to the future was with him.
The hot tea poured down his throat, soothing his nerves as he
shifted Belle's vision to the back of his mind. Whatever it meant, he would
soon learn and would be ready.
===============================================
"Ranma?" Akane asked, "what's wrong? You look terrible."
"Nothin'," he replied with a yawn, "didn't sleep too good."
"No kidding. I hate baggy-eyed guys."
"And I hate tomboys, so there!" he said, turning to stick out his
tongue.
"Same to you, nyaah!" Akane stuck her own tongue out in reply,
pulling down the lower lid of her left eye.
"Hey, that's pretty good! Can ya do it again?"
"Oh, your face is MUCH funnier!" Ranma leapt up in time to avoid the
bookbag swipe aimed at his legs. He landed with his hands on the top of the
fence, legs held straight out. Arguing with Akane took his mind off Rei, one
of the main reasons why he fought with her. She wasn't that bad a person,
after all.
"So, the tomboy rears her ugly head at last!"
"You're such a jerk!" Akane exclaimed as she turned her back. Ranma
twisted his feet up to his head, sticking his tongue out once more. "Oh,
great, we're late again!"
Ranma charged off behind his new fiancee, man he hated that word, as
she ran toward Furinkan's waiting gates. The courtyard beyond appeared
empty, almost desolate, as they approached. Maybe...
The space was filled with Furinkan's hormone-drunk male populace in
the space of a second, surprising even Ranma as he leapt down off the fence.
The shouting mob closed the distance with astounding speed, and fell to
Akane's violent onslaught just as fast. Ranma joined in, knocking away the
babbling stragglers who came up from his side.
"AKANE TENDO I CHALLENGE YOU!" Ranma glowered at the sound of Kuno's
voice, leaping up alongside Akane in a double jump kick that put Kuno out
like a light. One day, he would have to do something about that wannabe samurai.
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"Damn..." Homicide Detective Yoshiro Takaguchi was not a man prone
to swearing, but such a case had him doing it anyway. He read the
preliminary forensics reports on the meth lab fire the previous night, his
mind already pulling together its own conclusions. Whatever really happened,
it had been no accident.
"Looks like you just got the file," a voice from across his desk
stated. Yoshiro merely grunted as he kept reading. The report was sparse, as
was expected for such an early stage in the investigation, but told him most
of what he needed to know. "Mind clueing me in?"
"Read it yourself," he replied, tossing the file to his partner.
Detective Ichiro Godai picked up the paper, scanning it with his pale brown
eyes. The man was tall and fit, nearing six feet with an athletic build and
close cropped black hair. Yoshiro, however, was getting on in years and had
the build to prove it. His waist had begun to expand as he neared fifty, his
hair seeming to get thinner by the day. He ws still in decent shape for a
man his age, but the whiskey and cigars weren't helping matters. His mind,
on the other hand, was as sharp as the day he had joined the force. Ichiro
had a solid block on his shoulders, and would make a fine investigator with
a little time and experience.
"This wasn't an accident."
"Good call," Yoshiro said, "what gave it away?"
"The guy found in back. His neck was snapped clean in two, second
vertebrae. Then there's the people found in the lab. Unless they all decided
to stab themselves with poisoned throwing knives, I'd say someone got the
drop on them."
"Someone sneaks in, breaking a doorman's neck in the process, and
blows a meth lab right to hell. Any thoughts?" Yoshiro already had a good
idea of what happened, but wanted his young partner's take on it. If the kid
was going to learn, he had to be tested constantly. It was the same with any
good detective.
"Forensics found some melted brass on the floor. Probably a bullet
casing from the looks of it. Our guy busts in, offs five people, and the one
he missed takes a pot shot at him."
"In a meth lab, too. Not very bright."
"This was an amateur lab," Ichiro said, "The doorman had enough meth
in his system to keep an army awake for days. If it had been a professional
lab, this guy wouldn't have seen another sunrise."
"If this had been a professional setup, it wouldn't have been
anywhere near a populated area, even if it was close to Shinjuku," Yoshiro
said, lighting one of his cigars. "Yaks don't work like that."
Ichiro pointed to the window, which Yoshiro promptly reached over to
open. The kid hated smoke. "Think they had the place taken down?"
"Not a chance. They wouldn't have sent one guy in, and they wouldn't
have blasted it like that. That's not their M.O."
"Think it was someone independent?"
"Had to have been. A fucking vigilante, that's all we need right now."
"I hear something big's going down with the Yakuza," Ichiro said,
changing the topic.
"Yeah, I caught that, too. Wonder what?"
"And if it involves our vigilante." Yoshiro paused for a moment,
trying to figure out how that could be. It didn't fit, now anyway, but who
knew? Maybe it did.
================================================
Nabiki counted the roll of yen in her hand, whistling an aimless
tune as she calculated her total earnings for the week. All in all, it
wasn't bad. Not as good as it could have been, but not too shabby nonetheless.
The sun cast it's golden glow on the open courtyard below, bathing
the students who were enjoying their lunch outdoors. Nabiki, in fact, also
preferred her lunch al fresco. The fresh air often did her good.
She glanced at Akane sitting with a group of friends, vehemently
denying her engagement to Ranma. Nabiki rolled her eyes at her little
sister, supressing a laugh as she pocketed the money. Ranma was a pretty
handsome catch, if she said so herself. So what if he turned into a girl
sometimes, that had its uses as well...
Nabiki looked around, not seeing Ranma anywhere. As she thought
about it, she tried to think about how he had been that morning while
sparring with Genma. Nabiki was far from a martial arts expert, but she had
seen something wrong with the way he fought. Akane, who had also been
watching, had commented on it. Ranma's form had been off, as if he had been
stiff and sore from something. What, she couldn't imagine.
Then there had been Genma's behaivior at breakfast. Soun had been
reading the paper, as usual, when Genma caught sight of the front page. His
beady eyes had widened slightly, and he had cast a nervous glance at Ranma
before returning to his own meal. He had even refused seconds, citing that
he was full.
Nabiki had looked at the headline before leaving for school,
something about a fire close to Shinjuku, a rather bad part of Tokyo.
According to what little she had scanned from the article, it had been a lab
for making some kind of narcotic.
Now, why would Genma react like that? The question bounced around
inside her head, an answer stubbornly refusing to take shape. Part of her
wanted to believe that it was her imagination running away with her, but
another part wanted to find out why. That incessant need to know would never
let something so... odd... get by without at least finding out what it
could. Of course, nothing about Ranma or Genma seemed particularly normal,
but that was neither here nor there. Perhaps it was time to pay more
attention to Ranma. He would give something away sooner or later.
====================================
He followed Nabiki's path from the corner of his eye, a small smile
curling his lips. She finally vanished around a corner of the building when
he returned his gaze to the book on his lap. From the wad of yen she had
been counting, she must be everything the rumors said she was. The girl
could be useful to him after all. She could help cement the Ketsume Gang's
hold on Furinkan, which would definitely please Goto-san. Still smiling, he
began to actually read the words his eyes were passing over.
====================================
It's that time again. I put on the outfit, feeling the comforting
heft of my weapons as I prepare myself for the hunt. The kid had wanted to
stay up, to keep me inside tonight, but he couldn't hold out forever. In the
end, he had fallen asleep, and the rest is history. Much as I hate to, I may
have to take tomorrow night off. The body can take only so much abuse, and
the kid's starting to feel the effects.
I check the ammo in the Sig and the Benelli. Both are locked,
cocked, and ready to fire. I hope I don't have to use them tonight, ammo can
be hard to get, but I will if I have to. I need to win this war, no matter
the cost.
I feel her eyes on my back as I close the door, but it doesn't
bother me. I'm not Ranma. I'm Reiraku, and I'm gonna be their downfall.
=====================================
Well, that's it for this one. Now, for a few notes.
The Furinkan fight scene, for those of you interested, was taken
almost directly from the fourth ep. of the anime (I think that's right,
haven't seen it an awhile). The only reason I used it was to show a few
people just how early in the series this actually is.
Lastly, I got the name Reiraku from Chris WIllmore's Ranma 2096 fic.
Yes, the name does mean downfall. I thought it was kinda fitting, myself.
Questions? Comments? Love to hear 'em!
Jed