Memories of Home...
written: 7/9/2001
All characters mentioned from Ranma 1/2 and Ghost In The
Shell are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Masamune Shirow
respectively. I will also take this moment to publicly thank
my friend Rurouni, who's C&C greatly improved this fic.
--- Tabyk (tabyk@qwest.net) (http://home.dal.net/tabyk)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"...Hey Rookie, you there?"
Blinking his eyes a couple times he looked up to the man
addressing him. "I'm listening Batou, what's happening?"
"Section 3 has finally gotten a lead on those damn Syndicate
yahoos who've been putting the pressure on in Old Town. Section
9 has been formally asked by the government to bring them in,
alive. Feel up to the task?"
Looking back towards the wall he said, "Sure. When are we
moving?"
There was an odd silence and he felt a heavy hand come to
rest on his shoulder. "You okay, Rookie? You've been acting
zoned all morning..."
* * * * * * * * * *
Stepping over the unconscious body of his father, he hoisted
his backpack and walked away from the Tendo household.
"I've had enough."
* * * * * * * * * *
"...Ya, I'm fine. Just thinking about some old stuff."
"Okay, whatever. Anyhow, let's go. The Major and Togusa
are already on-route, she wants to get this over with quick."
Climbing into the passenger seat of the car he asked, "Where
are they working out of?"
"The Syndicate group? They have an old warehouse near the
Waterfront district that they're using. No residential or
commercial types near it. Perfect as far as I'm concerned.
Ishikawa has been diving the nets and tags the group at an even
dozen with ninety percent probability."
"Works for me."
* * * * * * * * * *
He wandered through the back streets of Hong Kong, tired and
hungry. Need to get some money, he though, maybe a short-term
job or something...
* * * * * * * * * *
"There's the place now."
"Okay." Mentally throwing a couple of switches he turned on
his Tac-Comm-Net and started an internal system diagnostic.
Everything checked green.
<Major here. System check. Sound off.>
<Togusa here.>
<Batou here.>
<Saotome here.>
At that moment Aramaki's voice, director of Section 9, cut
into the channel. <Now remember everyone, we want these people
alive. Get to it.>
Slowly Batou drove around the block as they both scoped out
the place. Two story building, vehicle doors at the rear, a
single lobby entrance, and two fire escapes.
<Saotome?>
<Yes Major?>
<Set an ambush. Disablement is your specialty, pick a
place.>
Taking another quick look at his options he replied, <The
vehicle bay doors were left open. I'll take them there.>
<You heard him everyone. I'm taking the lobby, Batou and
Togusa take the fire escapes. We want lots of noise, but nothing
stupid. Move it.>
Batou pulled to a stop half a block away and he climbed out
of the car, starting towards the spot he picked.
"Hey, Rookie."
Stopping, he asked, "Ya?"
"Keep your head out of the clouds, okay? Time enough for
day dreaming tonight at the party."
Still looking away he nodded saying, "Sure," and then he was
walking. A quick jerk on the chain that held the gate doors shut
broke the lock. Slipping inside he didn't see anyone, but paused
anyhow to up the audio feed and verify it.
Dropping his armored jacket to the ground he approached the
back bay doors while taking a close look. Spotting a ceiling
girder just inside he nodded to himself and headed in.
* * * * * * * * * *
She'd been headed towards the boarding house from the diner,
a sigh on her lips at the irony of using the curse once again to
get a job, when she'd heard the scream. Recognizing it as a
woman's from an apartment building across the street, she cursed
to herself as she ran towards it.
* * * * * * * * * *
<Ready Saotome?>
Shaking his head he answered, <Fifteen seconds.>
Slipping his shoes off in favor of more traction he stopped
just inside the bay doors. Arming an anti-IR smoke grenade he
tossed it halfway between himself and the inside entrance.
Taking a moment to admire the selection of plush cars he
then pulled his silenced 14mm and proceeded to put a bullet into
all the front tires. That done he reloaded and then tossed the
other smoke grenade he carried. Just before the smoke cut even
his vision, he set himself and jumped straight up twenty-five
feet, grabbing the girder.
<I'm set, reel 'em in.>
* * * * * * * * * *
Taking a quick half-second to focus her ki, she took a
running jump and hauled herself over the third-story railing of
the apartment that the screaming had come from. Pausing just
long enough to kick in the glass patio door and she jumped
inside, where a dozen masked men turned towards her, guns raised.
* * * * * * * * * *
The sound of yelling and short bursts of automatic gunfire
came to him, and he activated the experimental global radar
system, his vision suddenly plunged into a digital virtual-
reality. While only having an effective range of about 10
meters, it was almost hyper-accurate at half that, which is all
he needed.
He heard the entrance doors open. Automatic gunfire ripped
through the space below him as the Syndicate thugs laid down a
suppressive fire. Getting no return fire, they stumbled down the
stairs and by feel tried to find their way to the cars.
As soon as he heard the shuffling sound below him he let go,
and with only a slight twist in the air managed to land his 400
plus pound frame on the gunman below him, squashing the man flat
and effectively taking him out of the fight.
Using his amplified hearing and global radar he moved in the
direction of the main group, eating up 10 meters of distance in
just over a second.
He used a simple hand-strike breaking someone's shoulder
followed by a foot-sweep to lay them down. A mule kick from the
squatted position crushed another man's pelvic region. Pausing
for a second and then jumping ten feet forward to land feet-first
on another person he flashed through a quick hand sequence
dropping a fourth person.
Again he moved towards a third group, this time leading with
a jump kick. As that person dropped he turned towards another
only to be flung backwards as automatic gunfire slammed into him.
* * * * * * * * * *
Dodging to her left she plowed into the men in the room,
fists and feet lashing out furiously. She knew that as long as
she mixed herself within the group they probably wouldn't shoot,
but then she heard another scream.
Looking towards the front of the room she spotted a woman
trying to shield two girls as one of the masked men took aim at
them. Throwing herself across the room she landed on top of the
woman, and the sound of gunshots as pain exploded across her back
was the last thing heard...
* * * * * * * * * *
Rolling with the impacts he deactivated the global radar to
find out that the smoke was quickly dissipating. Pulling his
pistol he rose to one knee and took aim. A quick squeeze of the
trigger and the man dropped, screaming as his kneecap was blown
off.
Pushing himself off the ground he turned to cover the last
few people while yelling, "You're surrounded! Drop your
weapons!"
A couple light caliber rounds struck his chest and he turned
putting a single round into someone's shoulder, dropping them.
Turning to cover the last two, they slowly dropped their weapons.
<This is Saotome. I've got a wrap here, but need some
support.>
<You okay, Rookie?>
<I'm a mess, but I'm still standing.>
A few moments later both the Major and Togusa entered the
vehicle bay, weapons drawn. After taking a quick stock of the
situation they slowly approached him.
"How many we need medical for?"
Turning towards the Major he answered, "Four. Two for gun
wounds, and two with major bone breakage. The rest can just be
patched for now."
Nodding she walked towards the open bay doors, probably
talking with someone else on a channel he didn't have access to.
Sitting down he ran another internal diagnostic, getting an
inventory of everything damaged. It was an extensive list.
"Hey, Saotome."
Turning towards Togusa, he glanced up to look at the man.
"You okay? Nothing broken?"
Glancing at himself, at the synthetic blood from various
bullet wounds as it soaked his shirt, he finally said, "The smoke
dissipated faster then I'd thought, and I don't have the fancy
thermotic camouflage that the Major does. No serious damage
though."
Shrugging Togusa said, "Hey, Megatech has their fancy
thermoptics, and Arasaka has their new sonar interface. Keeps
everything balanced." Glancing around a moment, Togusa then
added in a lower voice, "You sure you're okay? Everyone's kind
of noticed you haven't been your usual today."
Taking a good long look at the man, he decided that the
concern appeared to be sincere. Shrugging his shoulders he then
looked away.
Again Togusa's soft voice spoke, asking, "You want to talk
about it?"
He shook his head.
Three years since he's seen her...
* * * * * * * * * *
He opened the door to find his father standing there. With
a growl he asked, "What do you want Pop?"
"It's taken almost two years to find you, boy. I'm taking
you back."
"I don't have time for this, old man. I've a job to do,
something important now." Shoving past the man he slammed the
door behind him and stepped out into the street, the rain pouring
down on him. And then froze.
Turning back to the wide eye expression of his father,
hiding under a large umbrella. Hearing the man suddenly exclaim,
"A cure..."
"No it's not. I'm not cured, what happened was... I can't
say. You DON'T want this, Pop, believe me."
Stepping forward the man grabbed his shoulder and started
shaking him. "Tell me, damn it! Tell me how, or so help me..."
The fight started out ugly...
* * * * * * * * * *
He woke lying on his bed, his clothing laid out next to him,
just like every other time he underwent class one maintenance.
Dressing himself he glanced at the time. Nine in the
evening, Batou's party was probably in full swing now. He
splashed some water on his face and was headed for the kitchen
when he noticed the message light flashing on his phone.
"Hey Saotome, it's Togusa. I'm passing on the party myself,
but thought I'd invite you over to talk if you're interested.
Here's my address."
It took a long to come to a decision.
* * * * * * * * * *
It was eleven when he finally knocked on the door, and it
took over a minute for Togusa to answer it, dressed in shorts and
a sleeveless shirt. Wiping the sleep from his eyes he said, "Hey
Saotome, wasn't expecting you this late. Come on in."
Stepping inside he heard a woman's voice softly call down
from upstairs. Turning towards the stairs Togusa said, "It's
okay hun, just a friend. Go on to bed, I'll be up later."
Leading him into the living room Togusa stepped into the kitchen
briefly, coming back with two beers. Handing one to him, they
both sat down.
He looked at the drink in his hands for a long time before
setting it on the coffee table, unopened.
"While you're thinking, do you mind if I ask a couple of
questions, Saotome? There are just some things that, well, I'm
curious about. Hell, we all are. You don't have to answer them
if you don't want."
Shaking his head he said, "Call me Ranma. Sure, ask away."
Biting his bottom lip a moment Togusa finally asked, "Why do
you have a male shell?"
With a groan he flopped back into the couch. "Listen, I
don't care what my medical file says about the gender of my
brain. I was born a male, my ghost is male, and I'm one now.
What happened in between is... a long story, one which I just don't
want to go into right now. Got it?"
Waving his hands Togusa said, "Okay, okay. Was just
curious. Believe it or not there was a pool going on about
that."
"Really? Well now that I've opened my big mouth, who just
collected?"
"The Major and I."
He laughed saying, "That figures." Glancing up at his host
he then asked, "Why did you bet that way? Specially with the
medical record saying otherwise?"
This time it was Togusa who was grinning as he sipped his
beer. "I've learned to trust the Major's instincts."
He nodded, suddenly deep in thought once more.
"Which brings me to my second question since the topic
conveniently moved in that direction. How the hell did you get
the Major to cut you slack so quickly? Damn, it took almost two
years before she started treating me as anything more then an
annoyance."
Thinking for a moment he suddenly asked, "Just how old is
the Major?"
"She turned sixty-five a month ago, why?"
Closing his eyes he answered, "Well you know how old I am.
Hell, barely old enough to drink that beer in some countries."
After a moment he then added, "When I was first loaned out the
Major decided that she wanted to know how good I was. Open-hand
combat, no limiters."
Wincing Togusa said, "I've seen the Major play. How bad did
she work you over?"
He couldn't help himself, and let the old Saotome Ranma
cocky grin out just once more.
"I dropped her five out of five."
The spray of beer covered half the table separating them,
and then Togusa was beating his chest and choking. After a
moment of this he asked in a wheezy voice, "Holy shit. You're
joking, right?"
Shaking his head he said, "Ask her yourself. She's good,
very good, and has some nasty tricks that even I haven't seen
before, but I'm better." Pausing, he then added, "Oh, and don't
mention this to Batou. She told me that if she had to put up
with any razzing from that corner, next time we're using
firearms."
After taking some deep breaths all Togusa could say was,
"Damn."
Nodding his head in agreement he lapsed into silence once
again. It was several minutes before he managed to push himself
into opening his mouth once again.
"I've been thinking about home."
Not hearing any reply he added, "About a lot of things,
really. I have a lot of.. of people, that I knew back in Japan,
and I've just been wondering how they've been. I'd... I'd like
to see them again, but I don't think I'd be welcome."
"You know that for certain?"
"Well, no, but I do know that it probably wouldn't be
pretty."
"What about your family?"
With a sigh he answered, "Definitely not pretty. I had a
run-in with my father just before I was loaned out to Section 9.
My father and I both suffer from a... condition, and with me
wearing this shell now I'm inadvertently cured. When he found
out, he demanded to know how I did it. It ended real nastily."
It was another long silence before Togusa asked, "Your
mother?"
A frown on his face he answered, "I don't know." Suddenly
jumping to his feet he began pacing, violently shoving his hands
into his pockets. "Damn it, and that's the whole thing. I...
seeing the rest of them would be nice but not... I just..." with
a jerk he turned away. "I just want to see her again."
It was another minute before his host spoke.
"So why don't you just call her?"
Shooting an angry glance he said, "It's not that easy!"
Shaking his head Togusa finally said, "Listen Ranma. What's
so hard about it? Either she's going to talk to you or she's
not. If she does, great, if not, then at least you know."
Growling out loud he said, "Thanks for the beer" and left.
* * * * * * * * * *
He wandered the streets for hours, taking random alleys and
window-shopping as he past all the closed shops.
Thinking.
Was it that easy?
And then he was stopping at a phone booth, taking a deep
breath as he dialed a phone number that he'd memorized over three
years ago, and closed his eyes.
After the fourth ring the phone was answered by a woman's
sleepy voice.
"Hello?"
Feeling a growing lump in his throat the second he heard her
voice he opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
"Hello? Is someone there?"
Fighting not to choke up right there he finally said, "Mom?"
There was a long silence, so long that he almost began to
panic, when he finally heard her whisper, "Ranma?"
"Uh, ya. Mom, do you... do you have time to talk?"
It was then that he heard the sniffling over the line as she
said, "I've missed you."
Opening his eyes he glanced up as he felt the first drops of
rain.
"I've missed you too Mom."
And the skies cried with him.
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