The Three Saotomes
Part
My Friend Pantyhose
+++++++++
Ranma sat back and sipped at his tea as the Tendo girls stared at him
with mixed emotions. Kasumi had already heard the story he had just told
them, but Nabiki and Akane were simply sitting in silence.
"Disappointed?" said the boy cheerfully. It was obvious that his mood
was a front.
"I-it makes more sense now," replied Nabiki after a long silence around
the table.
"That's what really happened," agreed Genryu quietly. His head was hung
low and he avoided Akane's quick stare. It was obvious the youngest girl
did not want to believe the story.
"If he says it's true," muttered the girl, more to herself than the rest
of the table. Unlike Ranma, Genryu had never lied to her. He kept to
himself, and almost seemed to avoid her at times. She also noted that the
boy often neglected to tell her things. This was a good example.
"Good. I'm glad we're all on the same level here now. I won't tell that
story again," replied Ranma. His voice was slightly strained for a
moment, but he regained control before Soun or Genma noticed.
"You said there's more. Like that Hakama guy, and the Chinese man who
seemed to be with you," said Nabiki carefully. She didn't want Ranma to
stop talking; it could be a long time before they got him going again if
he did.
"You're right. After the temple, I moved across China with Genryu and
Pop here. We spent most of that time dodging Wai Mei Kai, or Xianghua,"
said the boy with a small nod.
"But never both," pried Nabiki.
"No, they have never met," said Genryu, before his brother could answer.
"Anyway, we had just left a village called Joketsuko. Genryu had a fight
with some village champion there. Her name was Shampoo..."
++++++++++
Ranma stepped between the girl and his brother, who was also in his
female form. Unfortunately, he was in his cursed form at the time.
Shampoo had risen from the ground and started to move towards Genryu.
Ranma reacted quickly and stood between them suddenly.
"What the heck are you doin?" snapped the redhead as she looked at her
brother in confusion.
The panda was still indulging himself at the table with 'First Prize'
marked on it. Ranma had tried his best to hold his relatives away when
they arrived, but without the use of opposable thumbs, or vocal chords,
he hadn't been able to prevent fate. Now he merely wanted to get away,
before Shampoo could give Genryu the lethal kiss. They had enough
problems.
"You is moving! Stupid horse!" snapped the Amazon as she glared at the
animal.
Genryu seemed to understand something was up. "What's goin on?"
"Seize her!" snapped an aged voice from within the crowd.
Genryu and Genma both understood that. They reacted quickly and started
to run away from the crowd of angry women. Ranma was still standing
between his family and the mob, after they managed to put a small amount
of distance between themselves and the crowd, Ranma broke into a fast
gallop and rushed along side his father and brother. Both of them took
the hint and jumped onto his back. He started to speed up, when something
horrible happened.
It had found them.
"You who must become a part of my life force! Come into my embrace!"
cried the deep voice, as it seemed to melt out of the shadows of the
forest.
Ranma turned quickly and bolted down a different path, the Amazons could
still be seen on the road behind them, and now the thing stood in the
only clear path ahead. He was forced to take a much rougher route as he
fled away from both the demon and the women.
"Ranma! He's still behind us!"
The horse's nostrils flared as he ran. He could smell the death in the
air much better as an animal. That didn't help his desperation. As far as
he was concerned, he would run until his heart exploded if he had to.
"You will not escape! It is inevitable!" roared the slowly shrinking
spot of darkness in the path behind them.
Thunder rumbled in the sky above them, as the storm they had beaten into
the village grew stronger in the path ahead. A light rain began to fall
as they rushed headlong into it.
Ranma just ran, there was no method to where he was heading, he simply
pushed forward as fast as he could. For almost a half-hour, he simply
pushed himself further and further down the rocky path the demon had
forced them down. He felt one of his hooves crack over a rock as he
rushed away. Finally a screaming voice seemed to fill his ears.
"Ranma! Stop! He's gone! Come on, slow down already!" said his brother
from his back. He could feel Genma's claws digging into his back suddenly
as the animal held on for dear life with his younger brother sitting in
front of them.
Finally, the stallion halted and glanced around nervously. The horrible
smell was gone. He took in his surroundings as his brother and father
jumped down off of his back. He appeared to be on a mountain path, a wall
of rock climbed high into the sky on his right, and a sheer cliff was too
his left. The path went on quite a ways into the distance, twisting and
turning along the sides of the mountains, occasionally dipping out of
sight into a valley or two along the way. Ranma shook his mane and
attempted to calm himself down, it was difficult to do in his current
form.
++++++++
A short time later, the group found themselves in a cave along the path,
a short distance from where they had stopped.
"Man, what was with those crazy chicks? I won that fair and square!"
snapped the pigtailed boy angrily as he shook the hot water they had made
out of his hair.
"Hmm, they seemed quite upset indeed," agreed Genma.
"You idiots! Those were Amazons! I heard about them while I was staying
at the farm. You're just lucky you were a girl!" snapped Ranma angrily as
he glared at his family. He was currently wrapping a long cut on the palm
of his right hand with a bandage.
"Huh? Amazons?" said Genryu in confusion.
"That's right. That girl was going to kill you! If a woman from outside
the village beats her, she has to kill her. If you had been a boy, it
would have been worse," snapped the older boy.
Genma swallowed. "Worse?"
"That's right, you would have been forced to marry her," replied Ranma
with a nod.
"That ain't so bad," replied the younger boy cheerfully.
"Trust me, you'd rather die. Amazon men are no better than slaves, lower
class human beings. They would have broken you into submission, or killed
you trying," replied the older boy as he stood up and flexed his hand. He
winced in pain, but seemed satisfied with his work.
"Oh," said Genryu as he went slightly pale.
"You did well son," agreed Genma as he nodded towards his oldest son.
"You shut up! It's your fault we're in this mess!" snapped the boy in
retort. "You and your damn stomach are going to get us killed!"
"A man must eat where he find..." started Genma with his sagely nod.
Ranma promptly cut him off as he slammed his fist into the wall of the
cave behind the man. It promptly shattered, covering Genma in dust.
"It's stealing, plain and simple. We don't need to steal to survive.
There are plenty of animals to hunt in the woods. Besides, I'm starting
to think that you try to be an idiot sometimes."
"Boy. Show some respect to your father!" snarled the man as he put his
face up to his eldest son's.
"Give me a reason," replied Ranma coldly.
"You want to take this outside, son?" snapped the older man angrily.
"That's not a reason to respect you old man. Your skills don't say
anything for your character," snapped the boy as he turned his back to
his father and sat down in the dust. "Besides, it's raining. If you
really want to go outside and fight a fifteen hundred pound horse, as a
five hundred pound panda..."
"We'll discuss this later," snapped Genma as he gave up the argument for
the time being.
Genryu rolled his eyes and rested against the wall. "Why do they always
have to act like this when we're together?" Ranma had been at odds with
his father on most things since he was a child. It had only gotten worse
since the incident with the demon.
++++++++++
Shampoo stalked down the path, following the horse tracks through the
mud. Her honor would not go unsatisfied. She slowly made her way along
the mountainside looking for signs of the trio's passing other than the
tracks as well. She knew the horse had injured itself running away, and
that they were somewhere along this path. It did not branch for a long
way ahead, and she was hoping they had sought shelter from the storm that
had just passed. It would have at least slowed them.
She swore under her breath as she resumed walking. Hunting through a
raging storm sucked, she was drenched, cold, and angry. That girl would
pay once she found her. Maybe she would cook that damn horse and panda to
replace her feast, while making her watch.
A cold metallic sound started just behind her. "What? Armor of some
kind?" she recognized the sound immediately. It was similar to the sounds
that the Amazon battle dress made, but slightly different. She quickly
moved behind a large stone and waited.
It passed by her and she felt every bone in her body shiver violently.
It was very foreign to her, a golden set of samurai armor from the
islands of Japan. The black aura and absence of any inhabitant inside the
armor was enough to tell her all she needed to know.
"A demon!" she gasped. It turned its head towards her as it walked by,
seeming to stare her down directly. She knew she had been seen and tensed
herself to run. It merely continued down the path, not paying any
attention to her at all after that though. Apparently, it was seeking
something, or someone. As long as she remained out of its path, she would
be safe.
Cautiously, she followed behind it.
After walking a good distance she frowned as she realized that there was
the familiar sounds of battle ahead of her. The rain had long since
stopped, but the haze and humidity still hung in the air, muffling the
shouts and sounds. She rushed forward and stopped cold.
It was her. The girl from the village was running desperately with a
large man in a white dogi, and a boy a little older than she was. The boy
was also dressed in a dogi, but it was dirtier, and torn.
The dark clouds rumbled angrily above as the battle unfolded before her.
It was more like a desperate chase. There was only one direction to move,
and the three were trapped by the monster.
She tensed herself up and started to rush forward, towards them.
Defeating her in combat was one thing, but this situation changed
everything. Suddenly a flash of blue light filled the path before her. It
flashed off of her face, seeming to reflect off her pale skin. She gasped
in shock and fell to her knees at the sight before her.
"This is... impossible!" she muttered in Mandarin.
+++++++++++
"So, after you left Joketsuko, you escaped the demon and the Amazons?"
said Nabiki.
"Yes," replied Ranma coolly.
"How?"
"We just did," said Ranma coolly. He hadn't elaborated much on the story
of Joketsuko. "It was about three days later, when we met Taro."
"Pantyhose," said Genryu with a small smirk on his face.
"Shut up Genryu," snarled Ranma angrily.
"Hey! It's his name!" replied the boy with a look of mock anger on his
face. "If we're going to tell, we might as well tell the whole thing."
Ranma glared at him for a moment and finally hung his head. "All right,
since my brother blurted it out. His name is Pantyhose Taro if you ever
call him that too his face, he'll kill you. I won't stop him either."
"Pardon?" said Nabiki with a completely straight face.
"He's looking for the man who named him. When he was born, some guy
claiming to be a great Buddha, baptized him in one of the pools at
Jusenkyo. He also gave him his name. He can't change it because of some
weird tribal law. Only the man who gave it to him can do that. So, he's
looking for him."
"Let me get this straight, he's got some sort of curse, and he's angry
because some guy gave him a stupid name?" said Nabiki in disbelief.
"He likes his curse. It makes him stronger," replied Ranma with a small
shrug.
"Just get back to the story already," said Akane impatiently.
"All right, fine," said Ranma with a sigh.
++++++++++
Three days later...
"So, now what?" said Genryu as he looked down two separate paths that
branched away from the one they were traveling.
"We put as much distance between us and that thing as we can," snapped
Ranma angrily. He was leaning against a long staff and breathing heavily.
"Such a weak son," said Genma shamefully.
"I'll show you just how weak I am if you don't shut up old man," replied
Ranma coolly.
"This way," said his father as he quickly changed the subject.
Ranma nodded and immediately went down the opposite path. Genryu
shrugged and followed his brother.
"Ingrates," muttered Genma angrily as he followed.
++++++++++++
"Hey, there's someone on the path ahead," said Genryu as he noticed the
figure appear just over the horizon. He was walking towards him.
Ranma stepped ahead of them and nodded. Because of the hilly terrain,
the horizon was pretty close, and the figure was only about two hundred
yards ahead of them. "Martial artist by the look of him."
Genryu nodded in agreement. "Looks pretty good. I don't think he'll
bother us."
"Come on," said Ranma as he motioned for them to continue forward.
They met halfway in the middle of the road. Both parties stopped and
glared at each other for a moment.
"Who are you?" said the boy in excellent Japanese. He was dressed in a
long cloak that hid his body and face from view.
"I'm Ranma Saotome, who wants to know?"
"You have business with me?" said the stranger as he glared at them for
a moment.
"No, just travelers, like yourself. You didn't tell me who you were,"
said Ranma carefully.
"That's because it's none of your business," replied the stranger calmly
as he started walking again.
"Why you!" started Genryu as he stepped forward.
Ranma put his arm out and stopped him. He shook his head from side to
side slowly.
"He can't talk to us that way!" snapped the boy angrily.
"Ranma! Why do you stop Genryu from upholding our honor?" snapped Genma.
"Because, we don't know him. He may have a very good reason for not
telling us his name," replied the elder boy calmly.
"You're a smart man," commented the stranger. He had stopped a few yards
behind them and was watching them from the corner of his eye carefully.
"I don't give my name to anyone. It is my curse."
"Well, I can accept that. I must warn you, there are bad things
following close behind us. You'd best choose another path."
The stranger smirked at this. "I am a bad thing. Don't worry about me."
Ranma suddenly grew rigid as a familiar feeling swept over him.
"Everybody! Run!"
The stranger turned around back towards the road and paused at the thing
stalking towards him. Wai Mei Kai was standing directly in front of him
with his sword drawn. The aura around the man was almost hypnotizing, he
could not bring himself to move. He simply stared forward as it raised
the blade over its head.
"Move it!" screamed Ranma as he tackled him aside just as the blade came
down. They rolled across the dust for a short distance and Ranma managed
to get to his feet, pulling the confused stranger along as he jumped
along the side of the road. Wai Mei Kai swiped at them, missing by less
than an inch each time.
"Come on, Son!" cried Genma ahead of him on the road Genryu was still
running away in front of his father.
"Damn, damn, Damn!" muttered Ranma as he pulled away from the slow
moving demon as it walked calmly after them. The stranger finally got
enough of his senses back to run on his own and kept up with him easily.
"I could have taken that jerk!" he cried angrily.
"Don't kid yourself! That's not human!" snapped Ranma angrily.
"Neither am I!" retorted the stranger as he stopped suddenly and pulled
a flask of water off of his belt. He threw the cloak away and snarled
viciously at the black and gold thing behind them.
"No! You'll be killed you idiot!" screamed Ranma in protest as he
stopped running and watched in horror.
Taro turned to face them and chuckled in his cursed form. It was easily
more than ten feet in height, and almost as wide. The beast cracked its
knuckled and stalked slowly towards the monster.
"He's going to get himself killed," muttered Ranma angrily as he slowly
followed the beast.
Taro charged forward and thrust his fist into the thing at full force.
The demon didn't appear to be paying any attention to his opponent, as
the strike was blocked by the aura that surrounded him. The beast's eyes
went wide as the thing merely raised its hand at him. He was thrown into
the side of a boulder and shattered it on impact.
"Bu fu," chuckled Taro as he wiped his chin and glared at the thing's
back.
Ranma appeared in front of him and shook his head. "I don't care how
strong you think you are. You can't hurt him. Physical damage has no
effect on him at all, if you attack again, he'll cut you in half."
Taro paused and looked at the boy for a moment. He snorted in disgust,
but noticed the thing was turning towards them. Its gaze was directed on
the boy next to him for some reason.
"Give me your power boy! Give me your life!" it said coldly as the sword
was slowly drawn from its scabbard.
"Don't come after us, it's after me. If you just leave now, it won't
bother you again," snapped Ranma as he charged toward the thing.
He was halted by a massive hand that grabbed his waist and lifted him up
into the air.
He glanced back over his shoulder and saw the beast spreading its wings.
+++++++++++
"I've heard stories about a beast named Taro, who roams the countryside
in search of something," said Ranma as the boy sat with him and his
family.
"I thought it was called Garter Belt or something," commented Genryu.
"No boy, Panty Liner," said Genma sagely.
Ranma and Taro looked at each other and then back at one another again.
"You heard about that thing too?" said Ranma in confusion.
"Shut up!" snapped Taro with a huge blush crossing his face. "Don't ever
call me that again! I'll make you regret it if you do!"
"Heh, fat chance," said Genryu confidently.
"Shut the hell up little brother," said Ranma coldly. "He didn't have to
help us you know."
"I guess that makes us even," said Taro as he stood up. "By the way, my
name is Pantyhose Taro, not Panty Liner." He leveled a cool gaze at Genma
as he said this.
"Well, are you leaving now Taro?" said Ranma cheerfully.
"I've got things to do," said the boy calmly.
"So I've heard, are you looking for something really?" said Ranma as he
gazed into the fire.
"Jusenkyo," said the boy with a small glare back at the family.
"So, you wish to get rid of your curse. Most understandable," said Genma
with a sagely nod.
"Whatever, I'll see you around," said the Chinese boy as he walked away
from them into the night.
"Taro wait," Ranma rummaged around in his bag for a moment.
"What is it?" snapped the boy in irritation.
"Here, take this," said Ranma as he handed a worn looking brochure over
to the boy.
"What? What the hell is this? I'm not going on vacation there," snapped
Taro in irritation.
"There's a map on the back. It tells you how to get there," said Ranma
with a small smirk on his face.
"Oh, thanks," muttered Taro with a slightly embarrassed blush as he
wandered away.
"What a jerk," commented Genryu. "See you around Pantyhose."
Ranma sighed and hung his head as he glanced back at his little brother.
++++++++++++
"So, that's how you met that guy?" said Akane. Her face told everyone
that she didn't believe the story for a minute. Genryu was acting like a
jerk, and Ranma being nice to someone? It didn't sit well with her.
"That sounds right to me," commented Genryu as he scratched his head.
"You have got to be kidding," snorted Nabiki lazily.
"Hey, what the hell do you want? I liked the guy for some reason. We met
a few times after that in China. He's an okay guy once you get past all
the rough stuff. We had a few drinks and stuff in Hong Kong just before
we came back home." Ranma shrugged his shoulders and nodded to himself.
"I don't see what the big deal is. Even I can't make an enemy out of
everyone I meet."
"No, but you sure do try," commented Nabiki lazily as she sipped at her
drink.
"Not funny," commented Ranma.
"What about that Hakama guy?" interrupted Akane impatiently.
"Oh, him." Ranma's face fell into an angry scowl. "I met Hakama after we
returned to Japan, about two months or so before we came here."
"I thought you came directly here from China," commented Soun.
"This wasn't a planned sidetrack," said Ranma firmly. "It's rather
unpleasant for me to remember. I was in my cursed form, somewhere in the
mountains..."
++++++++++++
"Master Hakama, we have...found something," said the helicopter pilot as
he pointed into a small valley.
"Excellent," said the boy as he removed his glasses and pulled a pair of
binoculars up to his eyes. "A perfect specimen! How a wild horse, could
be so magnificent is beyond me!" He paused as the animal turned and
looked up at him. It was standing proudly in the middle of the field, and
showed no fear at the sound of the approaching aircraft.
It hovered down right next to the animal and it simply stood watching.
"Bring up the dart gun," said Hakama coldly as he moved into the back
seat.
One of the men sitting there opened the door and pulled out a small
rifle. He aimed and noticed something strange. The animal was backing
away carefully. "He knows what this is?" he thought just before pulling
the trigger.
The horse moved with an impossible speed, the dart sailed past it and
embedded itself into the ground a few hundred yards behind it.
"What the hell? That's not possible!" screamed the man as he adjusted
his aim. The horse repeated the dodge again, sending the dart flying away
behind it.
"What kind of marksman are you?" snapped Hakama angrily as he pushed the
man out of the hovering aircraft and took the rifle away forcefully.
"I'll take care of this."
The dart missed. Hakama screamed in rage as he shot again and again.
Each time with the same result. "Give me another dart!" he screamed
angrily.
"We're out!" cried one of the men in a panic.
"What?" snarled the boy as he glared at the beast in front of him. "I
won't let that thing get away! I must have it!"
"But, we're out of tranquilizer!" said one of the men.
"We can't stay out here much longer sir! We've got about half an hour
before we have to go back!" said the pilot.
"Fine! Damn it! Activate the nets, we'll do this the hard way," snapped
the boy as he watched the horse turn away from them.
"That could kill him sir!" warned one of the men.
"If I can't have him, no one can!" snapped the boy angrily.
+++++++++
Ranma turned away and rushed towards the edge of the clearing, it seemed
they were finally out of darts. He knew if he had run away, they would
have chased him and probably tagged him from behind. Still, he had to be
careful, it wouldn't do much good to take chances. He glanced over his
shoulder, just in time to see a rocket of some kind blast forward from
the front of the helicopter.
"Shit!" screamed his mind as he swerved aside to avoid the projectile.
Unfortunately, it exploded into a large net. There wasn't enough time for
him to escape and he was thrown to the ground from the impact of the
cords from above.
++++++++++++
"Excellent shot sir!" congratulated one of the men who had been with him
when he captured the horse two days ago. Now, Hakama was standing in a
field with various guests at a small party to commemorate the event. A
large chain link fence surrounded the animal as it paced back and fourth
inside a small field, making angry noises and glaring at the expensive
clothing and food that sat under a large canopy just outside of his
confinement.
Ranma's eyes finally met Hakama's as he stood drinking champagne while
watching his prize. No one around him seemed to notice the small exchange
of wills. Ranma knew the gaze though, it was a promise to break him. His
own glare was of equal intensity, "Fat chance."
"What shall we name him?" said the elderly man standing next to Hakama,
obviously his father.
"I'm not sure just yet. I'll think of something," said the boy without
paying much attention to those around him.
+++++++++++
One month later...
Hakama stood in front of a large iron cage, several men dressed in black
suits stood around him brandishing tazer devices designed to bring down
large animals. Ranma Saotome stood before him in the nude, glaring
hatefully. His back was covered in long scars from the whip, and tiny
scratches along his side from the boy's spurs.
"Well, when I ordered them to clean you up. I certainly wasn't expecting
this. It was the first time you willingly did anything for me." Hakama
recalled several incidents involving the animal. Several branches that
hung too low, countless narrowly escaped tramplings, even attempted
bites. He had assumed that it was just a bad tempered animal, and had
resisted his father's requests that the animal be destroyed. After all,
there was no horse he could not tame.
"Let me go," snarled Ranma. "Do it now, and I won't hurt you."
"Why would I do that?" said the boy with a vicious smirk crossing his
face. "You are an exceptional creature indeed. A rare horse, made even
more so, by the fact that you are not a horse at all."
"I am not a horse! I am a citizen of Japan, release me at once!" snarled
Ranma as he threw himself at the bars.
The men responded by using the tazer guns on him again, throwing him
back to the ground roughly.
"You say the warm water you bathed him in caused this?" Hakama turned
towards a frightened looking young servant girl who stood behind him.
She looked at him in horror and nodded her head slowly. She was
obviously in too much shock to speak. She was a pretty, young, blond girl
in her late teens. He smiled at her gently and nodded. "Very well. Cold
water should reverse it then. A Jusenkyo curse." He turned and saw the
shocked look on Ranma's face and smirked. "Don't look so surprised,
father and I went hunting a few years ago in China. It was exceptional,
and we attempted to capture a rather elusive mythical beast. It wasn't
until some time later, when a villager informed us on why he was so
elusive. He spent half of his time as a human."
Ranma looked away in disgust. "I'll get you for this."
"I don't think so. You'll never see another drop of hot water as long as
you live," replied the boy with a vicious snarl on his face. "I'll break
you, there is no horse alive I cannot tame."
"I'm no horse," warned Ranma as he stood up, despite the pain from the
shocks he had been given. "I'm much, much more dangerous."
"We'll see," snapped the boy in retort. "The girl." He turned towards
his servants. "Make sure she doesn't talk."
The men chuckled to themselves as they grabbed onto her arms and pulled
her into one of the stalls.
Ranma chuckled with a slight delirium. "One more thing Hakama."
"Oh what is it?"
"Using electric tazers against me, was a bad idea."
Hakama slowly turned on his heels with a cold smirk to reply, but it
quickly faded away at what he saw.
Ranma was standing upright inside the bars, his hair was standing almost
straight up and power crackled across the bars in front of him. The boy
reached out and began to bend the steel away from himself.
"I gave you the chance to get out of this. Now I'm going to kill you."
Ranma cupped his hands at his sides and snarled viciously as the men
rounded the corner with shocked looks on their faces as they saw the nude
boy standing outside his cage.
"Master!" cried one of the men in alarm. Unfortunately, that drew the
enraged Ranma's attention to him.
"Eat this!" screamed the boy as he thrust his hands forward and sent a
blue ball of electric energy into the crowd of men. They began to shake
violently and fell too the ground as the energy coursed through them.
"What are you?" screamed Hakama in shock as he backpedaled away from the
scene.
"You bastard! I'll kill you!" screamed Ranma angrily as he jumped
towards him.
The boy managed to perform a back flip and kicked Ranma in the chin as
he did so, sending the angry martial artists head back slightly.
"Heh, I didn't even feel that you weakling!" screamed Ranma as he
grabbed onto the leg.
Hakama screamed in pain as electricity slammed down his spine. Ranma was
grinning madly as he held the boy just above the ground and repeatedly
shocked him. Finally, he dropped him.
Ranma staggered back and coughed into his hand. "Don't want him dead
yet..."
Hakama struggled to his feet and looked at the crazed Saotome for a
moment. With a grunt of effort he jumped up and caught one of the beams
that crossed the ceiling of the stable. He pulled himself up and jumped
across onto the hayloft on the opposite side of the building.
"You won't get away!" screamed Ranma as he jumped up to follow him
easily. A small trickle of blood was flowing from his lips and he almost
fell as he landed on top of one of the beams. He tensed his body to give
chase, when he noticed something on the ground. "What?"
Inside one of the stalls, laid out on top of a pile of hay, was the girl
who had given him a warm bath. He jumped down and staggered over to her
side.
"Oh... shit."
Her clothes were torn off, and a few bruises could be seen on her face
and body. Luckily, it appeared as though they hadn't really started when
he had escaped. Unfortunately though, they decided to get rid of her
quickly when he escaped. Her eyes stared forward lifelessly, just below a
small black hole in the center of her forehead. Ranma could see the red
stain just behind her head where the bullet had exited.
"I'll kill him! That bastard! I'll hunt you down you son of a bitch!"
screamed Ranma as he jumped to his feet. He whirled around and saw the
men lying on the ground. They weren't dead, but they wouldn't be waking
up for a while. He smirked and walked over to one of the smaller men.
++++++++++
A few moments later, Ranma strolled out of the stables dressed in an ill
fitting black suit. He looked up at the night sky and snorted in disgust.
It was time to go find his father and brother again, he'd been gone too
long.
+++++++++++
"That's terrible!" exclaimed Kasumi with a horrified look on her face.
Genryu growled and turned his head away. Nabiki looked slightly sick,
and even Akane appeared to be slightly sympathetic. She glanced at him
and frowned deeply. "Well, someone worse than you after all."
"Thanks, I think," muttered Ranma lazily.
"So, he got away? What happened?" asked Nabiki.
"Simple really. I found Pop and Genryu about a week later. They had been
looking for me for the whole time. I had gone off on my own for a while,
but never returned to camp. They never knew anything had happened to me
until I got back," said Ranma with a small shrug.
"We almost thought he ran back to China," said Genryu with a small nod.
"We were just about to go back there and look for him, when he just
showed up and told us what had happened."
"Right. Why didn't you hunt this guy down?" asked Akane suddenly.
"Believe me we did," said Ranma coldly. "I could never catch up with
him. He always had a lot of men guarding him, and eventually got away.
After a while, he got police protection, so we had to back off a bit. He
also went to America for a while, so we decided to come here and forget
about it for a while."
"And now, you have the chance to get him back," said Nabiki.
"Seems almost too good to be true," agreed Akane.
"It is, he's up to something. That boy isn't an idiot, he knows damn
well that he's no match for me in a fight." Ranma clenched his fist
tightly on his leg and looked at the tabletop.
"We just have to figure out what he's up to?" said Nabiki.
"This doesn't concern you. Stay out of this Nabiki. If you start poking
around him, he'll get rid of you."
"What about Akane? She'll be fighting in this tournament right?"
retorted the girl.
"Yes," agreed Akane.
"Someone like Akane isn't as dangerous to him as someone like you. If
you find out the wrong thing, you're dead. Simple as that," replied
Ranma. "I'll handle this alone. It's personal."
"All right, fine," said Nabiki angrily. "See if I try to help you
again."
"Let's just hope we can get through this one," commented Ranma. "We've
got a lot of work to do. Let's get some sleep."
Everyone seemed to agree with that. Genryu stood back as the others
dispersed though.
"You owe me an explanation too."
"Meet me on the roof in an hour," said Ranma as he turned away from the
boy.
"This had better be good," said Genryu as he stalked away.
"Oh, it is good," said Ranma with a small smirk on his face as he
watched the boy leave.
+++++++++++
TBC...
Next Time: My not so good friend, Ucchan!
C&C to Carrotglace@juno.com
Previous parts can be found at Http://www.fanfiction.net and R&C Books
International Fanfic Company at Http://members.nbci.com/rc_books_int.html
Ja!