Ranma 1/2 is used without permission and belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.
Jet Moto is used without permission and belongs to 989 Studios.
============================================================================
"What's with that diesel dyke?" Ranma asked himself as he gazed
at his reflection.
The room was small, and exceptionally tidy. The furniture
consisted of a bed, a chair, and a chest of drawers with a mirror
atop it. The walls were peach colored, with a hardwood floor and
western-style door. The whole room, in fact, was done in western
style.
All things considered, it was MUCH better than the sleazy dives
he'd been in before. Ranma lightly traced the prize-winning
shiner that adorned his left eye. He had to admit, that girl had a
mean right. The eye was swollen nearly shut, and still dully throbbed
with his heartbeat.
"And I've gotta race with her?" he asked his reflection.
Heaving an irratible sigh, Ranma shrugged out of his pilot suit. He
wasn't in the mood for a bath at the moment, preferring to take one
in the morning. In his boxers, he strode over to a nearby wall. On
the wall was a twenty-by-twenty centimeter panel, which slid open
when Ranma pressed a white button above it. Dumping his suit, gloves,
and boots, he pressed the button again, closing the panel. The suit
would be taken to the laundry room, where it would be clean and
pressed by the next morning. On his way to the bed he stopped by the
chest, picking up his wallet.
It was rather thin, having little to no money in it at
any given time. All he ever had was his ID, which doubled as his
pilot's license, and a picture.
Collapsing on the bed, Ranma opened the wallet, taking out the
one thing in it that held any significance for him.
Her mop of red hair was tied back in a tail, a style she had
adopted from him. The pilot suit she wore as also the same design
as his own, as if she were trying to imitate him. He looked into the
image's deep blue eyes, and could almost feel them looking back at
him, as if he had failed. In many ways, he had.
A lone tear ran down his cheek as the memories flooded his mind.
She was so healthy, so vibrant. A few hours later, she was dead. It
all came back so vivdly... The flames, the scream.... Ranma violently
pushed the memories out of his head. That was in the past. Ranko was
dead, and nothing could change it.
Still clutching the picture, Ranma drifted off to sleep.
========================================================================
"So he's pretty good, huh?" Nabiki asked. She was seated behind
her desk, Akane on the other side.
Nabiki was dressed in one of her more flattering skirt suits.
The charcoal gray skirt and double-breasted jacket hugged her hips
and enhanced her shoulders nicely. Akane, dressed in simply a jogging
suit, glared at her sister.
"He cheated!" Akane barked. "Letting me do all the hard work,
then STEALING the win!"
Nabiki supressed a chuckle, and replied, "Tactics
nonwithstanding, he DID take first place. Just how many people have
beaten you on the track in the past six months, Hmmm?" Akane's hot
glare met with Nabiki's cool gaze. Finally, Akane broke the stare.
"Ok, so he's not quite so bad a racer..." she conceded, "but
he's still a jerk!"
Nabiki chalked up another victory. The whole purpose of calling
her younger sister in had been to get across the point that she had
to at least be civil to Ranma. "Akane, you can hate his damn guts for
all I care, just try to refrain from sending him to the infirmary."
Nabiki said. "Kasumi may be a paramedic as well as a mechanic,
but we really can't have her tending to Ranma every time you get
pissed off at him."
Akane looked on the verge of saying something, but thought
better of it. Nabiki smiled inwardly. It looked as though she had
been successful.
"Why haven't you gotten on dad's case about going over your head
on Ranma?" asked Akane.
Oh-HO! Nabiki thought. Akane was learning something after all.
She knew that was a sensitive subject, and was going for it.
Supressing a smile, Nabiki answered, "For starters, he's a good
racer..." Akane's face darkened a little at that. "..and Daddy got
his contract for next to nothing."
"So, you're not going to say anything?" Akane asked.
"I didn't say that..." Nabiki trailed off as she cast a glance
at her watch. "Oops, gotta go." She rose from her chair, circled
the desk, and stopped outside the door awaiting Akane. Once her
younger sister was clear, Nabiki shut the door. "See ya tonight."
Akane watched her sister retreat down the hall and disappear around
a corner.
========================================================================
"Ranma, who designed this Moto?"
Kasumi had his Moto on the stand, access port open. She wore her
standard mechanic's garb, blue coveralls with the team logo on the
back. Kasumi was on her knees, peering into the guts of the machine.
The Moto had been re-painted in the team's colors, with the logo
on the front. A logo had also been emblazoned on the back of Ranma's
suit, which he now wore.
"If I'm not mistaken," Kasumi said, "this is a Sakae Mark VI
power plant with triple-thruster output." Her voice was thick with
wonder, it was obvious what her passion was.
The Moto was small, only two meters long and weighing in at 170
kilograms. The front swept back in the standard aerodynamic
design employed by Mitsubishi, but the body was reminiscent
of the mid-sized Kawasaki models.
"Isn't this engine a little too big for a Moto this light?"
Kasumi asked.
"Nah." Ranma replied. "It just takes more skill to handle."
"It's not that, Ranma." Kasumi replied. "This type of engine
is meant for larger Motos. It's barely within regulations."
"Don't worry about it." Ranma said, full of confidence.
"This old Moto's never let me down before." He patted the front
partition fondly.
"In any event, let's get the Motos loaded up." Kasumi said. "We
want to get to the track before noon."
========================================================================
The Mitsubishi Fuso roared through the ruined ward on its way to
the stadium. Unlike the buildings and streets, the large truck was in
excellent shape. It was painted black, a wide purple stripe running
around its midsection. Inside the snub-nosed cab sat three members
of Team Ryu-Ken.
Kasumi sat behind the large steering wheel, guiding the speeding
truck through the streets. She took a turn a little too fast,
flinging Akane into Ranma, who was seated by the passenger door. Once
the truck had levelled off, Akane pulled herself off Ranma and faced
straight ahead, her face unreadable.
"You ever consider a career on the track?" Ranma asked as Kasumi
rounded yet another turn at nearly 90 KpH.
"Not really." Kasumi replied as she downshifted, causing the
engine to howl in protest. The truck lurched ahead, rapidly picking
up speed. After a few moments, Kasumi shifted the transmission
back into top gear. "I really don't like to race." Ranma gaped at
her, while Akane rolled her eyes and grinned. Ranma reached up to
grab the hell-handle above his door as Kasumi swerved to dodge a
squatter with an old shopping cart.
This is gonna be a long ride... Ranma thought.
========================================================================
Kasumi swerved through the parking garage, dodging what
few cars were there as they approached a large roll-up door. The
three were thrown forward as she slammed on the brakes, leaving
black tire marks on the cracked concrete and causing the wheels to
scream in protest. The door slowly rolled upward toward the ceiling,
allowing the lights from the stadium proper to spill into the dimly
lit garage. Once the door was above the truck, Kasumi threw the truck
into first and stomped the gas. The rear tires screamed once more as
she mercilessly peeled the rubber from them in clouds of smoke.
The truck shot out into the light like a bat out of hell,
hurtling across the track to the concrete island in the center of the
oval. Aiming for a vacant space, Kasumi hit the brakes and cranked
the wheel. The truck's rear end swung around, the cab facing the door
they just entered from.
"Ranma? Are you OK?" Ranma held the hell-handle in a
white-knuckled grip, his teeth tightly clenched and his face slightly
pale. Akane grinned at him, and said, "I thought you liked moving
at insane speeds."
Ranma simply gave Akane a dirty look, and said, "Yeah, but only
when I'm doin' the drivin'."
Akane looked at the fading purple bruise over Ranma's left eye,
and felt a twinge of conscience. "C'mon, fraidy cat." Akane teased.
"Let's go." Without waiting for Ranma's retort, she slid across the
seat and out the driver's door. Ranma un-fastened his seatbelt
and followed thorugh his door.
Kasumi already had the back of the truck opened and the ramp
down when Ranma reached the back. Akane had climbed into the back,
and after a few moments, Ranma heard the sound of a Moto's engine
cycling up.
It was a sort of deep whine that increased only slightly in
pitch but dramatically in intensity. The sound grew closer as Akane
slowly guided her large Moto backward toward the ramp. Lifting her
feet, the Moto quickly slid down the ramp, and glided backward
a couple of meters before Akane stopped it. The Moto looked
ponderously large beneath her, and for a moment Ranma wondered
why she didn't opt for a Moto meant for someone more her size.
He dismissed the thought as he walked up the ramp to his Moto.
He quit trying to understand women a long time ago. He mounted his
machine, which was a good deal smaller and lighter than his new
partner's. Activating the engine, he gazed at the displays as the
engine cycled to full capacity.
A luminous blue bar stretched from one end of the central
display to the other, bending down sharply at the left end and
stopping near the middle of the display. Several numbers appeared
on the central and secondary displays as well, telling him the
condition of the power plant and various sub-systems in the complex
machine. The Moto rose as the magnetic field increased in strength.
Finally satisfied that everything was in working order, Ranma
began walking it to the ramp. On the ground, Ranma looked around
for Akane, who had disappeared. He quickly found her, though.
Apparently not willing to wait for him, She had donned her helmet
and started taking her practice laps. Gunning the engine, Ranma took
off in pursuit.
========================================================================
The stadium walls shot past in a blur as Akane guided the Moto
around the track. So far, everything was running smoothly. The Suzuki
1500 Series power plant was cycling nicely, the Magnetic field and
stabilizers functioning well within normal parameters.
Consulting her HUD, she saw Ranma behind her, right where he
should be. She turned her gaze back to the track, taking a curve a
little too wide for her liking. The next curve of the oval came up
quickly, which she shot through much closer to the inside. She spared
another glance at the rear-view image.
Huh? Ranma had completely disappeared. He hadn't gotten ahead
of her, and her proximity sensors didn't register him to either side.
Where the hell is he?
A window opened in Akane's HUD, revealing Kasumi's smiling
face.
"Akane, I just found out that there's going to be a stunt race
later today on this track, and configurations are being made." Kasumi
said.
"What's this got to do with me?" Akane asked.
"The stadium owners may be testing the ramps while you're on the
track. You may want to get off and go to the Holotrainer back home."
"No way, sis," Akane replied. "A few random jumps here and there
isn't much to worry about."
"Ok, Akane. Just be careful." The window closed, Kasumi
severingthe connection. Another quick check of the rearview and
proximity sensors still revealed no trace of Ranma. Had she left him
THAT far beihnd? Was he having trouble? Or was he just goofing off
somewhere?
Akane's train of thought was shattered when a ramp suddenly
popped up ahead of her and to the left. Akane easily dodged the ramp
and went into the first turn of the oval again. So far, this was...
WHAT THE...?
From out of the blue, Ranma appeared before her, streaking
around the turn on the inside, close enough to cause the track
barrier to glow pink. His Moto was turned almost completely sideways,
his three thrusters glowing with a turbo-boost. In an instant,
Akane realized where he had been all this time.
Her rearview image is pitifuly small, showing usually only those
directly behind her. She depended more on her proximity sensors
to register those to the side and behind at odd angles. The sensors,
however, only had a range of about four meters. He was hanging back
out of range of the sensors and out of the rearview, waiting for his
chance to blow past her. The ramp had appeared, and Ranma had engaged
a turbo-boost, gaining air and distance while not setting off her
sensors.
"You dirty little sneak," Akane growled. Ranma whipped around
turn two at an insane speed, and a voice sounded in her helmet.
"Racing ain't just about who goes the fastest," he said
arrogantly. "It's also about knowing how your opponent handles his
ride."
"Spare me the lessons, Ranma," Akane snarled. "I've been racing
for this team a lot longer than you have, and I know what I'm doing."
"Just trying to help."
"I don't need your help!" The communication line went dead,
Ranma still out in front. He was no longer gaining ground, but he
wasn't losing any, either. Once in the straightaway, Akane engaged
her first turbo-boost, the G-forces instantly doubling, slamming
into her like a battering ram. She began gaining ground on Ranma,
and would overtake him in a matter of seconds.
Without warning a ramp popped up, and at the worst possible
time. The rising ramp caught the rear end of Ranma's Moto, flinging
it up in the air in an end-over-end tumble. Akane's heart caught
in her throat as Ranma tumbled helplessly in the air. It would take
a miracle for him to even survive, much less escape injury!
"RANMA!" His Moto continued its end-over-end spiral, coming
down to the pavment at an almost sickening speed. Akane cut the
throttle, applying the braking systems as her eyes remained locked
on Ranmna's out of control fall.
Before the Moto hit the ground, Ranma managed to pull it out of
the spiral. The Moto landed rightside up, with Ranma still astride
it. The bottom scraped the track, the magnetic field generators
straining to generate the power needed to keep the Moto off the
ground. Sparks flew from the bottom as it hit once, twice, three
times before keeping the Moto aloft.
"Incredible!" She had to admit, THAT was pretty good. The Moto
hovered much lower to the ground, and wasn't as steady as before.
She knew the severe landing had damaged the magnetic plates, and the
Moto wouldn't stay aloft much longer. Slamming his fist on the panel,
Ranma pulled the Moto off the track.
Akane engaged the throttle, pulling off the track along with
him. Taking off her helmet and killing the power plant, she
dismounted and walked over to where Ranma stood catching his breath.
His face was a little pale, but otherwise he showed no signs of
injury.
"Ranma, are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied. His voice was steady and
confident, as though the accident never happened at all. Other racers
that were standing around the island stared and murmured. They'd
never seen a recovery like that, and were very impressed. Kasumi
came running up, taking Ranma's wrist in her hand and asking how he
was feeling.
"Now, THAT was classic Saotome showmanship." a voice said. "Glad
to see you haven't lost your touch." Ranma stiffened and turned to
face the speaker.
He was Ranma's height, with a little more muscle. The yellow
and black jumpsuit outlined his powerful legs, arms and chest, giving
him a cut appearance. His black hair fell over a yellow tiger-striped
bandanna, brown eyes shining with a reckless light.
"Ryoga Hibiki," Ranma said as he began to circle the other man.
Ryoga began to circle the other way, the two never taking their eyes
off each other. A crowd began to gather around the two, expecting
a fight.
Tension filled the air like a static charge, Akane and Kasumi
staring as intently as the others. Finally, the two stopped, yelled,
and charged.
The crowds collective jaws hit the ground when the two embraced,
laughing like idiots.
"How are ya, ya sonuvabitch!" Ranma shouted.
"Howzabout you, ya reckless dumbass!" Akane was thoroughly
confused. She thought those two would start throwing down, not
hugging and cursing each other like old drinking buddies.
"You two know each other?" Akane asked.
"Whoa, Ranma, where'd you get the shiner?" Ranma's face darkened
a little as he jerked a thumb at Akane.
Ryoga looked at Akane, looked at Ranma, looked at Akane again,
and started laughing.
"What's so funny?" the two asked as one. Gales of laughter
continued to burst from his mouth as they glared at him.
"S...sorry...about...that. HAHAHA!" Ryoga gasped. "It's just
that... Ranma... let himself get pasted by... a GIRL!"
"HEY!" Ranma yelled. "You know I don't hit girls!"
"Looks like they don't have a problem hitting you!"
Ranma growled, staring daggers at Ryoga. "Aw, forget it." he
spat.
"How are you, Mr. Hibiki?" Kasumi asked. Ryoga, now done
laughing, looked at Kasumi.
"I'm fine."
"Oh, good." Kasumi said, smile firmly in place. "We haven't
been properly introduced. I'm Kasumi Tendo." Kasumi gave a short
bow as she finished her greeting.
"Pleased to meet you." Ryoga replied, returning the bow.
"Hi, I'm Akane Tendo." Ryoga looked to Akane, and smiled.
"The one who decked Ranma, huh?" Ryoga asked. "Honored to meet
you." Turning to Ranma, he asked, "So, Saotome, what've you been
doing with yourself?"
Ranma grinned a little. "I'll tell ya over a beer?"
"Deal." Ryoga said. "My treat."
Ranma's eyes widened a litle. "Since when can you pay for a
round?"
"I've had a run of good luck lately." Ryoga replied.
"Hey," Akane interjected, "you two aren't old enough to drink!"
The two looked at each other, then back to Akane. "That's never
stopped him." they said in unison, pointing at each other. The two
walked over to Ranma's Moto, and pushed the ailing machine over to
the team's truck. The electro-magnetic plates were functional
enough to keep the Moto about twenty centimeters off the ground,
more than enough to get it up the ramp and into the truck. As they
exited the truck, Ranma said,
"Hey, Kasumi, don't worry about fixing the Moto. I'll take care
of it."
"Oh, it's no trouble, Ranma." she replied.
"Where are you going?" Akane asked with more than a hint of
irritation in her voice. "We're not done here, yet!"
"I am." Ranma said. "What can I do with a busted Moto?" With
that, he turned and walked out of the stadium with Ryoga. Akane just
glared at his back.