---Tokyo, Japan. Unknown location---
"Hello Nabiki." The voice was even, neutral.
She sat at a red marble desk across from a shadowed man. The reflections of her own shocked visage disturbed her. The echoing chamber was dark save for the light streaming in from a picture window that stretched behind her captor. The light kept the man's identity a secret. He was sitting behind the desk dressed in an immaculate white suit and blue-striped white shirt. His gold lapel pin cast a blinding light through the room.
"You didn't need to send the goon squad after me if you just wanted to talk." She said in a dismissive tone. Nabiki sat in an armless red velvet embroidered chair. This had been her greatest fear since starting her gambling operations, a confrontation with the yakuza syndicate.
"Ah! The "Ice Bitch" routine hmm? I don't want to talk, I want an explanation of your illegal activities." The man's features were hidden by the back-light. He had a ragged mop of black hair with a short pigtail. He seemed tall as the mountains and strong as a God to Nabiki who cringed somewhat in her seat.
"Oh? 'Illegal activities?' How are they any more illegal than yours?" She withdrew back into her emotionless shell. She was facing the right-hand man of the entire Nerima district, 'The Wild Stallion,' it soon became hard for her to remain emotionless, as she began to whimper. Death was hanging over her head like the sword of Damocles. If the Don so wished it, the Wild Stallion would carry out his murderous commands.
"Touch?! Excellent argument! I find the company of an intelligent woman...stimulating, but your logic is flawed in one simple respect: it _is_ illegal because you didn't clear it with us." He rose from his chair with the distinct crinkle of starched fabric and slid a porcelain dish across the table's glittering surface. "Orange?" On the dish were five imported oranges. She reached out and took one.
"Th-thank you." The situation had gone from bad to worse, at first she was frightened but could stand up to the man, now she had lost all control over the situation. The business savvy Tendo sister was taken aback by the gentle, conversational tone he used.
Across from the perplexed girl, the 'Wild Stallion' withdrew a glinting piece of metal. Nabiki drew in a breath, <A gun!> He then withdrew a cigarette from the polished gold case. <Settle down, Nabiki, you can handle this.> However long Nabiki talked to herself it didn't erase the fact that she was getting aroused from the sheer power this man stood for. He lit the cig then took a good look at his prisoner.
His smoky blue eyes danced in the smoke, their very color blending in with the gray haze surrounding him. These selfsame eyes watched her eat the orange like a prisoner given his last meal, like it was a cherished thing.
"My schedule is quite full Miss Tendo so allow me to be blunt, we require a monthly payment of 40 percent of all profits made by your operation." He knew she'd accept it, the deal was too good, and once she did the trap would be sprung. He took a last drag from the cigarette and put it out in a crystal ashtray beside him. Rising to his full height of 6.1 feet, he extended a business card to his guest. "My superior asked for far more but I simply insisted that for such a small operation 40 percent was enough."
"I...I accept." Her hands were numb, the deal was too good! She'd heard of other Dons charging 60-80 percent a week let alone month. "Wait a sec here, this isn't some kind of-"
"Don't worry Miss Tendo, this is not some kind of ploy for your...favors...merely a heartfelt gesture of kindness. I am known for my lenience on new operations but don't take this as a free pass, you _will_ clear any new operation with me first, alright?" His perfect teeth glinted in the light.
"Thhaaannkks...whoa! Wha-what d-did you d-do?!?" The world spun around her and darkness whirled before her eyes before she succumbed to the void and passed out in her chair. The remains of her orange bounced twice on the rug before lying still at his feet.
"Ah. I see the drug has taken effect." He whisked a bit of orange rind off his desk with a finger. He glanced at the unconscious girl lying before him and smiled warmly. "I'll see you in a month Miss Tendo."
---Japan, Nerima Ward. Tendo Dojo---
A familiar room, her room, whirled into being as she awoke. Rising slowly, the nausea in her stomach advised her that was not a prudent action. Feeling the soft sheets under her palms she was in her bed, nothing was out of place, nothing was missing, she was still in her school uniform as she had been when they took her. It was dark outside, a street lamp flickered feebly outside her window, and she estimated the time she slept to be around four hours. One glance at the digital clock on her desk confirmed her suspicions.
Nabiki was known as 'The Ice Bitch' at school and most of the student body detested her due to her mercenary ways. Anything could be bought from Nabiki, and everything was for sale. She changed allegiances faster than France changes political systems, and many distrusted her. Her belief that money could solve all her problems stemmed from her mother's death. After their mother died the three Tendo sisters developed odd quirks, Kasumi for cleaning and housework; Akane for martial arts and fighting; and Nabiki for money. As her father remained an emotional wreak after their mother's death, he no longer taught classes at the dojo resulting in no regular income. She had long since established her operations to keep her family in the black and until today it had worked.
The development of the yakuza meant she'd have to work harder as almost half her profits would be gone. As she mulled this over Kasumi called up.
"Nabiki! Nabiki are you up there?"
"Yeah! What is it?" <Was it a dream? No, it was too real.> Checking her pockets she found nothing missing save a small bit of her sanity.
"Nothing, I just didn't see you come in. Dinner will be ready in an hour!"
"Thanks!" Apparently they had pulled her in through the window. She sat up with a start and shook her spinning head; <Perhaps a bath'll help clear it. > A white card fluttered to her feet as she rose.
It was an art deco rendition of a knight chess piece, its mane blowing in a breeze, with the words 'WILD STALLION, Kanto Sagara-Takeyama Alliance' emblazoned beneath. The card itself was an off white, the color of resume paper, and printed on thick stock with a slight marble finish. <Who ever this guy is, he sure knows how to make an impression. > Nabiki twirled the card in her left hand. <Who is he? Why was I picked up now? Too many questions, I'll find out if it kills me! Nabiki Tendo is never left in the dark!>
---Four weeks later---
It was Sunday and Nabiki was currently working out the odds for Akane's matches with Kuno for the week. Odds for Akane were in the left column, against in the right. She brushed a stray lock of her chestnut brown hair away from her eyes. <Her fights have gotten longer and longer, I'm losing money! Maybe I should start betting on Kuno...> Thoughts of betting and fights left her mind as she heard the distant ring of the telephone.
*/Hello?/* Kasumi answered with her customary cheerful voice.
A pause.
*/Yes!! I'll get her right away! Hold the line please/* Her voice rang with a different tone , an overjoyed expression in her face when she knocked on Nabiki's door.
"Nabiki? There's a _man_ on the phone for you." She just knew Nabiki would find someone, sooner of later. <Daddy was so worried she wasn't interested in men. > Her vacuous smile gave Nabiki cavities as she locked her desk drawer and sauntered down the stairs, already knowing who was on the line. Him...her mysterious benefactor, although he made it crystal clear that he would not ask for any sexual favors from her as reimbursement for her payments, she still didn't fully trust him. Here she was an attractive young girl at the tender mercies of a yakuza underling and he didn't want anything? There was just something a little off with the situation.
"Hello?"
"Miss Tendo, a limousine is waiting a block to the right of your house. Take it." The line was disconnected. Again she was kept in the dark but then that was natural when dealing with organized crime. With nothing else to do, she gathered the money in a black valise and sat in the tearoom.
Her mind whirled through possible scenarios as she munched absently on a rice cracker. <I should go. I wonder whether I should trust him now, he may pull the same trick like the orange again. No matter the cost, I gotta take control of the situation. > "Kasumi I'm going out! I'll be back in time for dinner!" She slipped on her shoes.
"Alright Nabiki! Have a nice time with your boyfriend!"
<Boyfriend? Where does she get these ideas?> "Alright!" Kasumi obviously didn't catch the snide tone in her voice.
Nabiki looked over her shoulder for the third time, sure it was only a block, but she wanted no witnesses to her meeting. It was drizzling out and the rain collected in the gutters and pooled in the streets, Nabiki always found rain to be comforting, a slow rhythm of nature. Sure enough as she passed the Yamada's house a black limousine was waiting, it's motor idling.
She heard a distinct click followed by the rear door opening. She stepped into the car cum office and saw her boss sitting across from her, his cigarette smoke curling around him like snakes. She shut the door and sank into the black leather seat across from him.
"Good evening Nabiki." The voice was cold. "I trust you brought the money?" He was once again hidden in the shadows, making identification impossible. His legs were crossed and his arms lay on control switches. He pressed one and a shelf next to her opened. "Champagne?"
She took up the glass and looked intently at the fluid. She gave him a weary glance. "I don't trust you. Not after the last time." To her surprise he chuckled and took the glass from her. After taking a long drink of it and refilling it to its original volume, he handed it back to her.
"Here, don't worry I won't drug you again. Think of this as an indirect kiss, hmm?" He laughed again as she blushed deeply. "Sorry about that, I tend to have an effect on women." He took up his own glass.
"D-don't you want the money? I have it right here." She drank delicately at the glass and wondered if what she tasted was the champagne or his lips, and patted the case next to her. In it was about 350, 000 yen, the forty percent of her monthly profits. She finished her glass with a pleasant buzz starting.
"You may keep it. I know what your family's financial situation is. Believe me, I take in enough money that your petty change isn't worth much to me." He fixed her with a cold glare.
"Y-you don't want the money? T-then why call upon me at all?"
"You see, this proves to me how loyal you are. I am fully aware that money is not your forte, information is."
In a flash of eye Nabiki understood the true motives behind this meeting, and complimented her benefactor on his shrewd thinking. Just like something she herself would pull, and had pulled on her business associates to test their own loyalties. <Using my own methods against me? How devilishly cleaver! I've underestimated you, I thought of you as just another yakuza, but beneath it you're a cold calculator...I like that.> "S-so what is my assignment?"
He shrugged off his jacket and lay it beside him on the seat. The shirt underneath was white with blue stripes, and her eye caught on his tie, a navy blue tied in a half-Windsor knot. His tie was held together by a silver clip in the same art-deco design as his business card; it twinkled softly in the light. "Your assignment is a man named Ranma Saotome, born of Genma and Nodoka Saotome. All we know is that he was born in Juuban and he is eighteen years old." He leaned over to refill her glass. "I want to know everything: likes, dislikes, feuds, physical characteristics, the whole nine yards. Is that clear?"
"Yes. Is that all?"
"No." Smokey blue orbs bared down on her with a glistening intensity.
"No?" She had lost any probable sway in the conversation, sweat began to bead her brow.
"No. Drink your champagne."
---
The selfsame black limousine languidly pulled into the drive of an ostentatious compound on the 'Palatine Hill of Nerima,' where all the wealthy noble families dwelled. The main house was divided in two with a two story dormitory overlooking a placid koi pond in the courtyard, a bath house off to the side and three dojos spaced sporadically around the perimeter. This was an academy of martial arts, a self contained Shangri-La for it's students and training school for yakuza assassins. This was the Saotome School of Indiscriminant Grappling.
Well-dressed chauffeurs opened the car doors and ushered the young heir into the compound proper, the student's curfew already in effect. Ranma Saotome was a well educated man of eighteen with grand master status in several martial arts including kempo, kendo, judo, and Chinese Amazon whu-shu; and master status in countless others. A true protegee, Ranma was endowed with a cunning mind, one that he put to good use through his criminal enterprises. As of this night, he had finally met the woman of his dreams.
That was not to say, however, that he didn't already have two wives according to Chinese Amazon custom. On an ill fated training trip with his father, Genma Saotome, young Ranma defeated four of the tribe's strongest warriors.
---Flashback---
"We're finally here Ranma, just like I told you hmm?" His rather portly father nudged him in the chest.
"Quiet Pops! Where are these secret techniques you keep blabbing about?" A seventeen-year old Ranma shot an evil eye at the rapidly retreating shadow of his father. <Humph! And this guy was personally chosen by the Don of Kansai? All he can ever think about is food; it's a wonder we haven't spent all our money on his stomach! >
"Never mind Ranma, I think I'll just sit my weary bones here awhile and partake of this feast." Genma began to inhale the banquet table, napkins, and all.
Suddenly a harsh, dry female voice rose from the din of the village. "/Who are you! Why do you desecrate the table of the victor? What is your business here? /" A shrunken monkey-looking wizen faced old woman bounded up to Ranma on an equally gnarled staff.
"/I am Ranma Saotome and that fat pig over there is my father. We have come seeking secret Chinese Amazon martial arts techniques, honored elder. /" Sometimes it's good to know the customs of a tribe and people before conversing with them, it helps the friendly trust between people grow. Ranma spoke in fluent mandarin to the supposed matriarch of the tribe.
"Well then, child of Japan, first you must prove your worth to us in battle. We of the Joketsuzoku do not just _give_ out our secrets to any outsider, you must become one of the tribe to seek our knowledge, you must face two of our warriors in combat." The old woman pointed a gnarled finger at the challenge log in the center of the village. "That is where you must prove yourself."
Ranma looked at the woman, then at the challenge log, then to his father eating the banquet, then back to the woman. "Alright! I'll do it!"
<Heh, heh, foolish boy! You seem so confident, lets just see you defeat the result of three thousand years of Chinese Amazon history. Then we'll see who's cocky! > Cologne was thoroughly convinced that the foreign boy stood no chance against her great granddaughters.
Needless to say, it came as a complete surprise and to the befuddlement of the ruling council when the boy felled the two champions in two minutes. As the bell's tool rang out in ripples of sound the boy was in motion, faster than the wind itself he wrapped himself around the girl on his left and disarmed her. Even as the first stood wondering where her twin swords had gone he had hefted the second over his shoulder and threw her down on the dirt, knocking the poor maiden unconscious. Just as the first began her charge against her assailant her whipped a first back and caught her right in the mouth. She fell in a crumpled heap at the very feet of Cologne.
Murmurs began to spread throughout the assembled throng that perhaps he _was_ better than they had first thought. Maybe they should reevaluate their ideas on the standing of men... "/Soap! Cream! Stand up this instant! Don't give the _boy_ the satisfaction! /" Cologne screeched at the fallen warriors. "Do you not hear me?! Get up right now!" A low groan answered her demand. Sweat beaded the aged elder's brow as the two warriors were carried off to the healer, <I underestimated the boy, he's certainly good, I'll give him that. His technique seems vaguely familiar...I've seen it before...somewhere, no matter. This boy'' aura is pathetic! He doesn't have enough ki to light a match!> "Shampoo! Conditioner! Come here!"
In a house off the main thoroughfare a purple haired girl's ears perked up. The book she had been browsing was dropped to the floor and the busty girl who had been reading it shook her younger sister awake. Shampoo was the eldest great granddaughter of Cologne and was therefore privy to the mystical knowledge that common warriors of the Joketsuzoku were not. With her purple hair reaching to her waist, a hem line on her cheongsam reaching up to her pantyline, and a bust that reached five and a half inches in front of her, Shampoo was easily recognizable. "/Conditioner! Conditioner wake up! Come quickly great-grandmother's calling!/" She grabbed hold of a wrist and yanked her younger sister out of bed.
"/C'mon Shampoo! I wanna sleep our matches aren't until this afternoon!/" Rising from a heap on the floor came a short, blue haired girl around fifteen pleading to be let alone. Conditioner was one year Shampoo's junior and liked to sleep. Her world revolved around eating, sleeping, fighting, and ogling men. Her blue hair was cut to the bottom of her neck then pulled in a tight ponytail adorned with a gold chain keeping in design with her sister's own odangos. While Shampoo's features were gorgeous, Conditioner's were ultra kawaii with twin dimples. Where Shampoo had a lithe figure that made men drool, Conditioner had a trim athletic body that allowed her greater agility. Shampoo had a killer bust and shapely posterior, and Conditioner had small, pert breasts and a tight behind.
"/You know we have to come when great grandmother calls, now get your bon-bori and put some clothes on!/" Shampoo opened the dresser across the room and removed two pairs of heavy, round iron maces. "/Here,/" She through a pair to her sister, "/Let's go!/"
Cologne stood stock still balanced on her cane wondering where her great granddaughters were. Ranma was sitting on the challenge log holding his head in one hand, tapping on his knee with the other, feeling rather bored. The matriarch's eyes narrowed as she sensed a powerful force emanating from the boy, but as soon as she noticed it was gone. <Interesting...>
Shampoo and Conditioner came to a rubber-burner stop at the square and listened to their grandmother's instructions. "/This boy has just defeated Soap and Cream in under two minutes, I want you to fight him and draw out his battle aura. Shampoo,/" a glance at Shampoo, "/Conditioner,/" a glance at Conditioner, "/the boy uses a hand based style that can parry weapons, he also likes to use the third eye method of fighting, use this to your advantage. Now go and show that male what the woman of the amazon tribe can do./" At this point Cologne was viewing the fight as an experiment, she wanted to see just how good this Ranma was. <I think we might just have our second patriarch...>
After the three combatants were in their respective corners, the bell was rung and Ranma sprang into motion, by doing nothing. He had overheard Cologne's conversation and would not give the warriors a chance to reverse his attacks, so he simply stood in the middle of the log. Conditioner just stood in a battle-ready stance and appraised the boy before her; Looks: gorgeous, body: to die for, ass: killer. A red mark declaring 'Grade A prime beefcake' was stamped all over him.
Shampoo was drooling as Ranma's breathing caused his gi to slip down a little and expose more of his chest. She was also mentally undressing him, but then again so were all the female villagers. The champion duo was reduced to quivering masses of hormones as Ranma just stood there placidly looking on.
Shampoo decided that if the male could defeat her she'd marry him without delay, which meant she had to get KOed before her sister. Not to say she didn't mind sharing either, that would be...stimulating...as well. As Ranma's back was turned she changed with bon-bori poised for a deathblow. It never came.
Ranma heard the whistle of the girl's feet and the puff of their lungs as they struck simultaneously at his chest. With a quick weave and low tornado spin kick he knocked the feet out from under them together with a double backhanded fist to the jaw, spilling his would be competition to the ground. Flicking his pigtail behind him he picked up the four fallen bon-bori, two in each hand, and threw them in the air. As they fell he struck at the base of the grip and bent the metal plates back vertical with it, resulting in four metal umbrellas falling in front of the matriarch.
"/You know,/" Ranma leapt down to speak with the dwarfish leader, "/I was getting bored standing up there but now I'm just pissed that you people can't even touch me! Where're the 'secret master techniques' of the Nichieju now? If this is the best you women can do I'm leaving!/"
"HOLD YOUNG MAN!" Cologne stabbed her stick at the boy's retreating back. "I would like an explanation for the battle aura you manifested during the fight, or lack thereof." Shampoo and Conditioner lay still on the ground, the rise and fall of their backs giving indication of the life still held within.
"You want an explanation?" Ranma's eyebrow twitched, <These people try to kill me, then they want an explanation?!?> "You want an explanation? HERE'S YOUR EXPLANATION!!!!" Ranma cut the wires holding his center and let his ki bubble to the surface in its most brilliant form...light.
"Aagggghhhh!!! Wh-what is this aura?!?!" Cologne was shoved back by the glowing ball and skidded backwards ten feet to gaze at the boy. Shampoo and Conditioner awoke with a feeling of cleanliness, of peace with the world, of the bright light swallowing up their depression and defeat. Soap and Cream awoke in the infirmary with mind headaches which were quickly forgotten as a divine burst of golden fire burst through the windows and blanketed them in well-being. All across the village illness was cured by the light and darkness was converted to light through the interaction of Ranma's ki and the surrounding chi. Miles away at the Musk citadel Prince Herb looked up from his scroll and gazed with petrified eyes at the mammoth materialization of ki looming on the horizon, no one of the Musk dynasty could control such power! <It's coming from The Nichieju village...hmm...if they have someone of that power we must consider terms of peace.>
After five minutes of blinding brilliance, the light faded and was enveloped back into the body of Ranma Saotome, who seemed none the worse for wear. After dusting off his gi and helping Shampoo and Conditioner to their feet he stood cockily in front of Cologne with a smirk on his face. "Was that enough 'explanation' for you? Now what about these secret amazon techniques?"
"You, you astound me son-I-law1 Truly I've not seen an aura like that in the two hundred odd years I've been on this earth. I will teach you our secrets as they can be of far more use to you than us, also I offer to train you in ki manipulation." Cologne perched on her cane and fixed the boy with a mocking glare.
"Listen up old ghoul! I don't need your ki manipulation techniques, I just want to learn the secrets." She nodded softly. "You want to see ki manipulation try this!" Ranma levitated off the dirt and sand, slowly spinning around the matriarch until he became a blur of white and black. To Cologne's astonishment, he manifested twelve separate illusions of himself spinning around her. "Behold, the revised technique of the Splitting Cat Hairs! After practicing it, I decided that six selves gave the opponent too few to keep him occupied."
As Ranma formed together and stopped the demonstration Cologne spoke up. "Son-in-law, where did you learn that technique? That is one of the closely guarded secrets of the Nichieju, passed down over three thousand years!" <To think he can generate enough ki for twelve! This boy can't leave the tribe, I'll have to marry him off to get him to stay.>
"My old master Happosai taught me that when I was ten. He said it was one of the closely guarded secrets of the Indiscriminant Grappling School. Of course he's a real thief too so it wouldn't surprise me to know he stole it." Ranma suddenly found himself weighted by four Amazon warriors snuggling in his arms. "Hey! What the hell is this! And why're you calling me son-in-law?!?" Ranma was a bit taken aback but that didn't mean he didn't enjoy having four busty, beautiful, bouncy, willing girls hanging off him.
"Oh? I didn't tell you? In this tribe's law it states that if an outsider male should defeat an amazon in combat he is automatically married to her. You should consider yourself lucky to have _four_ beautiful amazons for wives. I would imagine you're happy." Cologne laughed a laugh of triumph as she recognized a man of honor at first glance. "You _will_ bed with these girls and become a member of the tribe Ranma, your strength and ki is remarkable! If it is hereditary that is." She looked disgustedly at Genma.
"Ah don't worry about that. You see my family's kinda high up in the yakuza so my mom had plenty of lovers, I not really his son, my birth father was a man named Yosho Masaki who died a few months afterward. My mom says I got all my powers from him." Ranma was decidedly embarrassed to admit he was a bit of a bastard but then again, that Yosho guy had a noble lineage.
"A 'dragon' hmm? You don't use your martial arts to kill people do you?"
"No! I'd never sully the honor of the art by using it for murder!"
<Gotcha!> "Well, since the authorities seem to overlook your kind, I suspect it is within your bounds to have mistresses?"
"Uh...well yeah. It sorta comes with the territory." Ranma was rapidly fidgeting, he knew when he'd got himself in a real mess.
"Well then it's settled. You will take Shampoo and Conditioner back to Japan with you while Soap and Cream stay here. You will visit every year and sire strong children." Her tone made no room for refusal. "Any wife that you marry in Japan will therefore become a member of the tribe so no violent action will be taken against them."
"Ah...alright..." Shampoo and Conditioner were acquainting themselves with his gi belt as he agreed. Soap and Cream began to sensually caress his back, he was now backed into a corner by his own honor! <That old ghoul, well maybe I should call her Cologne now, she used my own nature against me! I'll get her for this...>
---End Flashback---
The darkness hid him from view as he alighted on the roof above his room, hopefully Shampoo wasn't in his room tonight. The window was designed for his quick escapes so he pushed it open and fell to the carpeted floor. His right hand snaked out to flip on his bedside lamp when two blurs, one purple, one blue darted into the darkened room and launched themselves at him.
Thrown backwards, Ranma landed on his queen size bed with his two queens begging him for attention. Shampoo was outgoing in nature, uninhibited, not willing to be on the bottom. She was a forceful creature that always wanted his attention. Conditioner was more timid and liked being taken, not doing the taking, she seemed to have more of an even temper but was also inventive when it came to ideas about coupling. With a final look at the two Ranma decided he wasn't going to get much sleep that night. He just hoped that Don Hojo worked out the truce between the Kanto and Sukigami alliances soon. He wouldn't be up for another job by the end of the week.
---Tendo Dojo---