To reply, post publically or e-mail the author at <rheins@pmt.org>
Enjoy!

The FFML Refugee List

    Well, you need to read the Prologue or you 
won't get a thing here. 

Find it on my homepage:
http://www.angelfire.com/anime/Slacker

The Disclaimer:  Ranma 1/2?  Not mine.  It's 
Rumiko Takahashi's. Vampire Hunter D?  Not mine 
either.  It's...um, I forget.  Any OTHER 
characters that aren't original to me?  They 
belong to other people, too.

**************************
"The Darkness Within-Chapter 1"

A Ranma 1/2 X-over.

By: Slacker (rheins@pmt.org) 
**************************

    Nabiki hung up the phone and sighed. She was 
beginning to despair.

    Ranma had disappeared over six months ago. 
Six months! 

    It was beginning to really annoy her, too. 
Wherever Ranma was, he was hidden well. She 
couldn't find any trace of him anywhere. No exit 
records from Japan, no entrance records anywhere 
else. Of course, Ranma claimed to be able to 
swim from China to Japan, so that didn't mean 
anything. 

    She had every one of her operatives looking 
out for anyone who resembled either of his forms 
in the least little bit, but so far had found 
absolutely nothing. The only conclusion she 
could draw was that he was deliberately hiding. 

    And doing a damn fine job, too. 

    Personally, Nabiki didn't care if Ranma 
disappeared. She liked him well enough, but it 
meant a lot less headache for her. Sure, it cut 
into her profits a little, but she made that up 
in repair costs. 

    But, since he had disappeared, Akane had 
been at first depressed, than quickly slipped 
back into her old behavior. Nabiki knew her 
sister well enough to know that she was just 
trying to cope with Ranma's disappearance. Which 
meant that Akane was hurting.

    And no one hurt her family. No one. Ever.

    She was going to find Ranma for Akane even 
if it was just so Akane could beat him into a 
bloody pulp.

    Nabiki leaned back in her chair and rubbed 
her eyes. She looked at the clock.

    <Oh, man. One in the morning? I've got to 
get to bed. I'll continue this tomorrow.>

    Nabiki got up and went over to her bed. As 
she started to drift off to sleep, a final 
thought went through her head. 

    <Where in the hell could he be?>

****************************
3 AM, the bad part of Nerima.

     
    The girl had made a mistake. She was walking 
by herself in the wrong part of town way too 
late. Added to the fact that her body left no 
doubt as to her femininity, especially dressed 
in her tight blue jeans and T-shirt, this was a 
VERY serious mistake.

    Which explained why she was now backed into 
an alley with three men blocking the exit.

    "Well, well. What do we have here?" The 
leader, a large, green-haired man with a 
clothespin through his nose, asked with a lewd 
grin.

    "I don't know, boss. Maybe she needs some 
directions?" The bald, lanky punk to his left 
responded as he played with a length of chain.

    "Maybe we need to help her out?" The short, 
brown-haired punk to his right asked. He was 
shirtless and body-pierced to the point of 
chain mail.

    "Good idea. Miss, do you need us to help you 
out? Of those clothes, maybe?" The leader leaned 
forward, his grin getting much larger at the 
look on the girls face. <I wonder if she's a 
natural redhead? Well, I'll know in a few 
minutes, won't I?>

    "I love to see the terror on their faces 
when they realize they just made the biggest 
mistake of their life." The bald punk commented 
as the leader reached for the girl's chest. 

    "Funny. I was about to say the same thing." 
The girl said in a calm tone. The leader 
hesitated for a few seconds, then continued to 
reach for her chest.  She smiled calmly as she 
grabbed his wrist and proceeded to squeeze. The 
leader hit the ground from the pain she was 
causing. 

    "Did I mention that I really, REALLY dislike 
rapists?" The woman politely asked as she 
casually crushed his wrist. He screamed in agony 
and fell to the ground. The other two looked at 
each other and ran for the street. They didn't 
make it. Screams of agony rang out across the 
street. 

    Thirty seconds later, the girl walked out of 
the alley, brushing dust off her T-shirt as she 
went. She smiled as she patted the new addition 
to her petty cash fund resting in her pocket. 
<Well, that was useful, in a way. Nerima seems 
to have slipped a bit. Those morons never would 
have tried that a few months ago. Oh, well. They 
won't be trying it again.>

    She brushed some hair out of her blue eyes 
as she put her sunglasses on and grinned. <I'm 
gonna have some fun here. Ooooh, yes. A lot of 
fun.>

    Ranma Saotome was back in Nerima. Let the 
chaos begin anew.

**********************************
Tendo Dojo, the next morning.

    Kasumi winced as the door slammed after 
Akane's exit. Akane had been growing less 
depressed and more angry over Ranma's 
disappearance recently. She had reverted to 
destroying large amounts of bricks in order to 
work off her anger. So far, Kasumi was unable to 
see any positive results.

    "So, she left already." Nabiki stated from 
the kitchen doorway.

    "Yes. And she seemed rather...." Kasumi's 
voice trailed off as she tried to find a polite 
way to describe Akane's attitude.

    "Try 'Bitchy.'" Nabiki suggested with a 
smirk.

    "Nabiki! Language!" 

    "Sorry. Just being truthful." Nabiki took 
the bowl of miso that Kasumi handed her as they 
both sat at the table. After she had eaten a few 
mouthfuls, she spoke again. "I can't really 
blame her. Between Ranma's little vanishing act, 
Shampoo's and Ukyo's harassment, and the fact 
that there's currently 20 to 1 odds on Kuno re-
issuing the `Beat her to date her' challenge, 
she's got a right to be a bit...angry."

    "Yes, you're probably right. I hope she 
feels better after today." Kasumi said with a 
sigh.

    <Fat chance.> "Oh, I'm sure she will." 
Nabiki said with sarcasm that Kasumi completely 
missed.

    "Oh, that's good."

    Nabiki shook her head as she got up and went 
out the door. <I still can't tell if she's truly 
that oblivious or just ignores the 
unpleasantness.>

    She quickly put the thought out of her head 
and began to mentally get in gear for school.

*******************
Furinkan high.

    "Sakura, what are all those boys doing?" Jun 
asked her friend, pointing at the large group of 
boys gathering in front of the school. They were 
both new to Furinkan, having transferred from 
Juban. Their parents had said something about 
'getting away from the chaos.' 

    "I...don't know, Jun." Sakura was beginning 
to think that Furinkan might not have been the 
best place her parents could have sent her. So 
far, she had seen a boy who couldn't seem to 
walk five feet without getting lost, a boy with 
a bokken declaring his devotion to his 'two true 
loves', and a girl who had a weird fetish with 
pigs. Sakura had gone into a mild case of shock 
when she saw the size of the pig following the 
girl. Now she was at the 'comfortably numb' 
stage. "And I don't think I want to know."

    "You must be new to Furinkan." 

    Both of the girls jumped at the deep voice. 
They spun around to see who had spoken. The 
first thing they noticed were his clothes. 

    Dark blue Chinese shirt, black pants, black 
shoes. Then they noticed other details. Black 
hair. Wrap-around sunglasses with mirrored 
lenses. Black leather gloves. His head was 
turned to look down the street, so they could 
see that he had a braid. The braid was long, 
thin, and reached the middle of his thighs. As 
he turned his head back to regard them, he 
removed his sunglasses. 

    Sakura and Jun both tried to keep from 
drooling. He was absolutely GORGEOUS! His most 
striking feature was his eyes. They were an 
incredible shade of blue.

    Sakura turned to her friend. "Dibs!"

    As Jun stared at her in disbelief, Sakura 
began to edge closer to her new one true love. 
Right before she latched herself onto his arm, 
he spoke.

    "Do you know martial arts?"

    "Um, no. Why?" Sakura responded.

    "Magic?"

    "Noooo. Why?" Sakura was a bit puzzled at 
the line of questioning.

    "Are you a psi?"

    "Nuh-uh. Why?!" <And what's a 'psi'?>

    "How about just plain insanely tough or 
fast?"

    Sakura mutely shook her head.

    "Well, then. You don't want to be my 
significant other. Trust me."

    "Why not?" Sakura asked in an indignant 
tone.

    "You wouldn't survive it."

    "Excuse me?" Jun said in an incredulous 
tone.
    
    "I said she wouldn't survive it. Simple 
fact."

    As Sakura and Jun tried to figure out what 
he meant by that remark, he turned his head and 
grinned.

    "Here she comes. Time for the show to 
begin."

    "What show?" Jun shook herself out of her 
bemusement enough to ask. <He has the NICEST 
smile.>

    "That one." He said as he pointed towards 
the gate just as shorthaired girl ran through 
screaming. In short order she had rendered the 
mob of boys unable to move, much less fight. She 
was about to go into the school when the bokken-
wielding boy stopped her.

     "Ah, Akane Tendo, my beauteous tigress, how 
the heavens rejoice at the rejoining of our 
love! Behold do the...."

    Behind them, the boy smiled as he announced 
"Kuno looks to have gotten better. Must have 
been training. Might take Akane a few more 
seconds to nail him than usual."

    His prediction was rendered moot when a 
bandanna-clad boy slammed a fist into the back 
of Kuno's head. Kuno dropped like a brick. Akane 
promptly began to yell at her helper.

    "Same Akane, I see. 'Appreciation? What's 
that?' Sheesh, and they wanted me to marry her."

    Sakura and Jun looked at each other. The 
same thought was running through both of their 
heads. <Marry?>

    Seeing their looks, the boy quickly 
explained. "Our dads got drunk off their asses 
before we were even born and had this GREAT 
idea."

    "Oooooh." They said in comprehension.

    "Yeah, neither of us were happy about the 
idea."  He responded.

    "Happo Five-Yen Yatsu!" The girls turned in 
time to see a extremely beautiful woman tuck 
something into the pocket of her very tight 
dress. Everyone in the yard was on the ground, 
moaning.

    "And Miss Hinako's still around, too. 
Perfect." The boy sighed as he shook his head. 
He turned to look at them and cocked an eyebrow. 
"You'd better hurry, or you'll be late."

    Sakura shot a glance at the clock tower. She 
blinked. "Oh, crap!" 

    Jun was nearly given whiplash as her friend 
grabbed her hand and dashed into the school.

    Ranma chuckled as he watched the pair dash 
into the school. He glanced up to the windows he 
had spent so much time staring out of during 
classes. <Maybe I should drop in? Naw, the looks 
on their faces wouldn't be worth the trouble 
it'd cause.>

    Ranma walked over to some bushes and grabbed 
a duffel bag, then walked out to the gate. As he 
strode out, he started to talk.

    "Oh, don't be like that. This is Tokyo. I 
can't just carry you strapped to my back like I 
could in China."

    He paused, then snickered.

    "Well, yeah. That's a good point. Still, 
best if you stay out of sight. Cologne would 
recognize you on sight, if not by aura."

    He continued walking, maintaining a one-way 
conversation. He received few looks. This WAS 
Nerima, after all.

******************

    Nodoka hummed a little tune as she pulled 
the tray of cookies out of the oven. She loved 
to bake. It was one of the few things other than 
practicing her sword katas that could get her 
mind off her son's disappearance. 

    She forced her mind away from her son's 
continued absence. She endured his ten-year 
absence by continuously telling herself he'd be 
coming home soon. A lie, but one that made her 
feel better.

    But now, she had to admit that she had no 
idea when or even if he'd return. He had just 
upped and vanished. She feared that maybe he had 
decided to just give up on Nerima and all it's 
inhabitants.

    She placed the cookies on a rack to cool, 
then turned to place the tray by the sink. She 
turned back and frowned a little. Roughly half 
the tray was missing. She narrowed her eyes. 
<Genma. When did he return from Soun's? And how 
many times do I have to tell him to stay away 
from my baking?>

    She turned and grabbed a wooden spoon. 
Keeping her back turned to the tray, she started 
to mentally count down. <3...2...1...NOW!>

    *THWA-CRACK*

    "Ow! Damn it! That stings like a sonuva... 
Um, it stings." A familiar voice exclaimed.

    The spoon hit the floor. Nodoka slowly 
turned around, praying that she wasn't 
hallucinating. She wasn't. Her son was standing 
behind her, rubbing the back of his right hand 
and grinning at her.

    "Hi, mom. What's u-OOOF!" Ranma's breath was 
driven out of his lungs as his mother wrapped 
her arms around his waist and attempted to drop 
his pants size by at least six inches.

    "Mom...can't...breathe." he managed to gasp 
out. Nodoka quickly let go of him, blushing 
faintly. Then she blinked a few times, and 
started a classic "mother rant", which then 
devolved into a "Nodoka rant".

    "Where have you been? Do you know how 
worried we've been? Why did you up and disappear 
for HALF A YEAR? Do you have any idea what that 
did to me? Don't you EVER do that again! Well, 
unless you take a couple of your fiancees with 
you next time. I DO want grandchildren, you 
know. Speaking of which, have you met any nice 
girls while you've been gone?" she asked the 
last in a tone of voice that suggested 'nice' 
had an entirely different context than most 
people were familiar with.

    "No, mom. I didn't meet any 'nice' girls. 
Met several who are now trying to kill me, 
though." Ranma's voice was resigned. 

    Nodoka sighed disappointedly. She unwrapped 
herself from her son's waist, grabbed his wrist, 
and started to pull him towards the stairs, 
chattering all the while. It was like she was 
afraid to let the air grow silent.

    "I hope you like your room. I tried to get 
it as close as I could to how it used to look. 
It's amazing how fast the construction crews 
fixed the house." Nodoka was suddenly stopped in 
her chatter when Ranma grabbed her wrist and 
stopped. She turned to look at him. He had a 
very serious look in his eyes.

    "Mom, we need to talk about my father." His 
voice was quiet.

    "What did Genma do this time?" Nodoka 
sighed.

    "Mom, I KNOW." Ranma stated emphatically. "I 
met him."

    Nodoka stared at him a few seconds, then 
made her way over to a couch and collapsed into 
it. She seemed to in shock. "You...know?"

    Ranma nodded silently, then added, "Like I 
said, I met him."

    Nodoka swallowed. Ranma continued, in a 
voice full of satisfaction, "Then I helped kill 
him."

    Nodoka snapped her eyes up to meet his. He 
grinned. 

    "And it was fun, too." He added. Nodoka 
stared at him incredulously, then started to 
giggle (although a bit hysterically), then broke 
out in a full-blown laugh. Ranma soon joined 
her.

*******************

"More tea?"

"Yes, thanks." Ranma held up his teacup so 
his mom could refill it, then settled back into 
his chair.

"Soooo...what will you tell the Tendo's 
when you go see them?" Nodoka asked as she 
refilled her own cup.

"Nothing. Ain't a chance in hell I'm gonna 
go see them." Ranma calmly replied, sipping at 
his tea.

"What? Why not?" Nodoka froze as she was 
putting the teapot down.

"I'm in town for specific reasons. And 
dealing with them doesn't even come close to 
appearing on that list. And I DON'T want to get 
them involved in my current set of problems. 
I've got people after me who'd blow up the 
entire block if they even thought I'd be injured 
slightly." Ranma set his cup down, then stood.

"I need to be going. I have a job to do." 
He sighed. "Time to look death in the eye and 
laugh. Again." 

"Wait! You're just going to leave?" Nodoka 
asked desperately. <I can't let him go! I've 
already lost ten years with him!>

"I'll be back. But I have a job to do. And 
I have to do it soon." Ranma shrugged off her 
hand from his arm. "Don't worry. If I have to 
leave suddenly, I'll make sure YOU get an 
address this time. Or at least an explanation. I 
promise you that." Ranma's voice was firm.

Nodoka looked into her son's eyes. There 
was something there that hadn't been there the 
last time she had seen him. It was hard to pin 
down, but there was a definitely a change. A 
look of understanding that can only be won 
through long, hard fighting. It announced that 
her boy was gone, replaced by the man now 
standing in front of her.

Nodoka lifted her hands and cradled her 
son's cheeks. Her eyes glistened with unshed 
tears as she whispered, "What has happened to 
you?"

Ranma reached up and took her hands. "I
was forced to grow up. Maybe I lost something in 
it. But at least I'm not as moody as D."

"Who?" As Nodoka asked her question, she 
subtly tried to steer her son back to his seat. 
Ranma went, but his face revealed that he knew 
what she was doing.

"D. Vampire hunter. Damn good, too. He's 
probably the best in the world. Vampyr. Been 
REAL moody lately. I guess having a pseudo-
demonic alchemical experiment gone wrong bond 
itself to your hand does that." Ranma snickered. 
"I told him not to touch the damn thing."

Nodoka stared at him.

"Don't ask. Very long, and VERY weird, 
story. I was there and I'm still not sure what 
the hell happened." Ranma informed her. "If 
Alucard hadn't been there, we probably would 
have died. Painfully, too."

"Alucard? Who's that? Another enemy? You 
just seem to stack them up." Nodoka commented as 
she refilled Ranma's cup and placed it in his 
hand.

"Another vampyr. We accidentally pulled 
him out of a two century-long nap. He went back 
to sleep after he helped us take down you-know-
who." Ranma saluted Nodoka with his cup.

"How DID you do that? Kill him, I mean? 
I've researched it. He's been reported as dead 
at least six times that I can find." Nodoka 
inquired.

"Carefully. D spent a LONG time planning 
it. D systematically destroyed all of his safe 
houses, then waited for the right time. We 
finally dropped the old bastard by staking him, 
beheading him, gutting him, and cutting him into 
four sections.

      "Then, we burned the guts and body 
sections separately, sowed the ashes with holy 
water, had them blessed by a priest, then 
scattered them over Europe, Australia, Africa, 
Antarctica, and the Artic Circle. We hid the 
ashes of his heart and brain on the American 
deep-space probe that launched last month. 

"And, just to top it all off, we immersed 
his skull in a vat of holy water lined with pure 
silver and buried it under the alter of the 
Vatican." Ranma finished his tea. "If he comes 
back from THAT, it'll require an act of God. D 
planned for every eventuality that he could 
think of."

"It certainly was...thorough." Nodoka 
commented, a little taken back.

"D decided that if he was going to try it, 
he was going do it RIGHT. Good philosophy." 
Ranma stood. "I really do have to go now, Mom. I 
have to make sure things are ready."

"Ready? For what?" 

"I've got a job to do tomorrow. And I'll 
need plenty of time to prepare. I'll talk with 
you after I finish the job." Ranma hugged his 
mother, than smiled down at her. "So I really do 
have to go."

Ranma disengaged from his mother and 
walked to the door. He was about to open it when 
his mother's voice stopped him.

"Wait. I...I have something for you." 
Nodoka nervously announced.

Ranma watched in puzzlement as she quickly 
exited the room and climbed the stairs. He could 
hear her rustling around in her room, then 
hastily coming back down the stairs. In her 
arms, she carried a familiar bundle. A bundle 
Ranma had lived in fear of for almost a year.

Nodoka unwrapped the silk covering her 
family's clan blade and held the sword in her 
hands. She sighed. "Normally, there would be a 
long, formal ceremony in the presence of several 
witnesses to do this, but since when has 
anything involving you been normal? Here. The 
clan sword is yours now. Be careful with it. 
According to legend, it was forged by a 
descended god named Yosho."

Ranma nearly dropped the sword when she 
placed it in his hands, but quickly recovered. 
He stared at the blade, then lifted his eyes to 
his mother and said a single word.

"Why?"

Nodoka's eyes were clear as she met his 
gaze. "Fixing past mistakes. I should have given 
it to you before the 'Wedding Incident.'"

Ranma nodded. He picked up the silk 
covering and re-wrapped the sword, then quickly 
made a sling from his belt and strapped it 
across his back.

"I also changed the family register. 
You're clan head, now." Nodoka continued. Ranma 
nodded again as he opened the front door and 
stepped out.

"Are you sure you won't go see the 
Tendos?" Nodoka asked in an almost pleading 
voice.

Ranma's voice was sad as he answered. "I 
am my father's son. I've had to accept that. Do 
you think they could?"

Nodoka was silent. Ranma smiled tightly.

"Neither do I. A clean break is best. If 
you have to, tell them whatever you need to."

"What about your fiancees?" Nodoka asked.

"When it comes right down to it, I have 
none. All of the agreements were to engage 
'Genma Saotome's son.' The only one that wasn't 
is Shampoo, who can't marry me because of the 
laws of her tribe. I'm an outcast to them 
because of what I am." Ranma shrugged. "Not a 
very elegant solution, but it works."

"Not very honorable, either." Nodoka's 
voice was disapproving. 

Ranma glanced at her, then turned and 
started to walk out of the yard. As he walked, 
he calmly called over his shoulder, "Honor's 
over-rated. More trouble than it's worth most 
times. I'd rather be moral than honorable. 
'Honor' just gets in the way in a serious 
fight."

Nodoka just stared at her son's back as he 
walked away. 

      "My son, my son, what has happened to 
you?" she whispered in a soft, sad tone.

***********************
The Neko-hanten.

"Welcome to Neko-hanten! How can Shampoo 
serve you?" Shampoo cheerfully asked as the door 
opened. Her customer, a middle-aged woman with 
brown hair and green eyes dressed in jeans and a 
white T-shirt, turned to her and raised an 
eyebrow.

"You can serve me by getting Cologne. I 
was told she was here." The woman calmly stated 
as she crossed her arms and waited by the door.

"Great-grandmother very busy. Maybe you 
want some lo mein? Is special today!" Shampoo 
replied chirpily. 

The customer's hand shot out and grabbed 
the menu from Shampoo's hand, then imbedded it a 
nearby table. Her voice was polite as she 
informed Shampoo "Tell Cologne that Lotion is 
here and wants to see her. She'll see me."

Shampoo nodded quickly, then hurried into 
the back. It only took a few seconds for Cologne 
to emerge. Her voice was cautious as she greeted 
her visitor.

"Lotion. Seeing you here is...unexpected."

Lotion snorted. "Don't try to pull the 
'Wise Old Elder' with me, Cologne. I was there 
when you were born. I was there when your mom 
caught you and Silk in the woodshed. I carried 
you home after you found out just how strong 
sake is. So don't even try it with me."

Cologne looked a little uncomfortable. She 
quickly asked, "So why are you here?"

"I'm a Demon Hunter. Why do you THINK I'm 
here? Use your head." Lotion pulled out a chair 
and dropped into it. "I'm following a former 
student of mine. I think he's going to make a 
try for the Hunter's Holy Grail."

"The what?"

"Not what. Who." Lotion grinned. "Short, 
perverted, and exceptionally hard to kill. Sound 
like anybody you know?"

Cologne just nodded silently.

"Thought so. I need a room to meditate and 
a steady supply of food. I'm commandeering this 
one." Lotion gestured towards the front room. 
"Don't disturb me unless it's vital."

"And what counts as vital?"

"If the restaurant catches on fire...." 
Lotion's voice trailed off.

"Yes?"

"It's NOT vital. Get the idea?" Lotion 
moved to the center of the room and began to 
clear it of tables and chairs. "And I want all 
of the Amazons in the area to stay close by. 
When it goes down, I won't have time to hunt for 
you."

"Why do you need us? I've seen you fight." 
Cologne stated.

"Because when you go up against someone 
like Happosai, it's best to stack the deck. My 
student is good, but isn't nearly tough enough 
to do it. So, after he wears the pervert down, 
I'm going to finish him off. Simple as that."

*********************

Later that night, in a dimly lit hotel 
room on the other side of Nerima, a figure was 
carefully checking over its gear. The list was 
large.

The clothing was first. Hand-made 
undergarments made of silk and cotton. After 
them came leather, skin-tight and black as the 
void of space. Buckles were tightened over the 
arms, legs, and chest, ensuring that there would 
be no loose edges to snag on something during a 
fight.

Over all of that came light, flexible body 
armor to cover the torso, thighs, calves, and 
arms. A bit restrictive, but his life had been 
saved by the armor more than once.

A pair of leather gloves, black as the 
rest of the outfit, secured by straps wrapped 
around the wrists. Thin, so as to not impede his 
sense of touch, and with reinforced backs and 
palms. Sixteen ounces of powdered lead across 
the knuckles added a little extra hit to each 
punch.

Calf-high boots. Steel-toed, reinforced 
soles, special treads. Again, a bit restrictive, 
but they had kept him from broken ankles many 
times.

After the clothing came the weapons:

Wards. Shinto mostly, with some other 
religions tossed in. Secured in a specially 
designed pocket.

A whole plethora of silver or silver-
plated weapons. Knives, garrotes, and throwing 
blades of every description. Secreted in various 
places on the body.

A single gun. A custom-modified Desert 
Eagle .50 AE. Slipped into a holster on the 
right hip. He'd usually carry others, but they'd 
just be useless weight for this fight.

Clips for the Desert Eagle. Loaded with 
custom-made ammo. Silver mostly, with a few 
nasty surprises mixed in. Secured in pouches 
made for that purpose.

Several bags of rather unusual items. Rose 
petals, sand, various herbs, and one bag 
containing chocolate chips. Put inside a series 
of pouches at the waist.

Several insulated flasks of a crimson 
liquid. Secured in various pockets. Thigh, 
chest, and back.

Several explosive devices, both improvised 
and military. Hidden where they weren't obvious.

A nylon harness is slipped over all of 
this and secured. The harness is to hold two 
scabbards securely on his back. It only used 
to hold one, but a few hours with needle and 
thread fixed that.

A quick check of all the buckles, snaps, 
Velcro tabs, and buttons. Then comes the next 
layer: an ankle-length leather trenchcoat. 
Black, of course.

The trenchcoat was loose and supple. It 
would take a careful eye to notice that 
something was wrong with the way it draped over 
his body. It would require an actual physical 
examination to determine why it did that: Kevlar 
was woven into it at several key places. The 
elbows, hem, and all seams were triply 
reinforced with the strongest material money 
could buy, ensuring that they would hold no 
matter what was done to them.

A quick adjustment to the coat and he was 
ready to slide the swords home into their 
sheaths. One, ancient beyond recorded time, 
shining with an internal silver light, shaped 
like a standard straight-edged katana. The 
other, not nearly as old but carrying a much 
greater emotional significance, forged by a 
master of the craft, also a straight-edged 
katana.

Both carrying a long and honorable past. 
Both had seen much fighting. Both had spilled 
blood. Both were now his, inasmuch as anyone 
could be said to own a sword.

He sighed and slid them into their sheaths 
through a pair of holes in the trenchcoat put 
there for just that reason. Both blades ran 
parallel to his spine and one hilt was visible 
over each shoulder.

Then came the finally step, just as the 
horizon started to lighten with the rising of 
the sun: a pair of black, wrap-around mirror-
shaded Oakleys. Far from the cheapest of 
sunglasses, but worth every penny.

All told, he was currently wearing well 
over a million dollars in equipment and weapons. 
Almost a full two million, if you counted the 
bribes to get them in, and possible fines if he 
was caught with them. 

A quick kata to ensure that everything was 
settled in its correct place, and then Ranma 
flipped his pigtail over his shoulder.  He made    
sure it didn't get hung up on the sword hilts, 
then clapped his hands together and grinned.

"Time to go to work."

**********************
Furinkan High School.

The girls piled into the locker room, 
chattering as they went. School had only been in 
session for a week now, and everyone was still 
anxiously catching up on each other's summers.

It wasn't until the first few girls 
emerged from the showers that trouble reared its 
ugly head. It started with a seemingly simple 
question from one of the new girls.

"Hey! Where's my bra?"

All the Furinkan veterans froze. There was 
a mass exodus from the showers and a quick 
grabbing of towels. It only took a few seconds 
to determine that ALL their bras and panties 
were gone. The veterans grabbed whatever weapons 
were at hand, while a few newbies stared from 
the showers.

"Jun? What's going on now?" Sakura's day 
had been fairly weird already. The Principal was 
a nut, her class had at least two cross-dressers 
in it (no one was sure about that 
Konatsu...person, but Tsubasa and Ukyo were for 
certain), and now she was watching a group of 
girls get ready for war.

"I have no idea." Jun asked, staring in 
perplexed fascination. <Is that a katana? Where 
did she get that rake? And where do you even 
FIND a torch these days?>

Suddenly, they found out why everyone was 
preparing for a fight. A two foot-tall...thing 
leaped in through a window and cried it's 
horrifying battle cry.

"SWEETO!" *glomp* Screams of rage rang 
out.

Sakura and Jun stared in shock as the 
troll proceeded to molest several of their 
classmates. It seemed to be upset about 
something.

"Happosai! Get the hell out of here!" 
Screamed a shorthaired girl. Sakura thought her 
name was Akane.

"Where are they? Where are my silky 
darlings? Why have you hidden them?" The troll 
seemed greatly distressed.

"Hidden them! You STOLE them!" Akane swung 
her mallet, but missed by a country mile. 
Happosai ignored her and bounced around the 
room, looking for something. He suddenly 
grinned.

"Ah, there they are! Bad girls, trying to 
keep them from me!" He bounded over to a locker 
and ripped it open. A huge mass of lingerie 
spilled out.

"Sakura, isn't that your locker?" Jun 
asked in a too-calm voice. She began to edge 
away from her friend slightly.

Sakura gaped a few times, then finally 
found her voice and screeched, "WHY THE HELL ARE 
THOSE IN *MY* LOCKER?!?!" 

A calm, MALE voice answered. "Bait."

Happosai's eyes opened wide from his 
position just in front of the locker. He started 
to jump back just a gloved fist emerged from the 
locker and connected with his nose. Everyone 
winced slightly at the sound of bone breaking. 
Happosai was launched across the room and 
imbedded in some lockers at the other side from 
the force of the blow.

Sakura stared at the fist that had 
unclenched and grasped the side of the locker. 
Another hand joined it and slowly, impossibly, a 
body emerged from the locker. 

"That's not possible." Jun whispered. The 
lockers were just large enough to store their 
clothes and books, barely three feet tall, two 
feet deep, and about a foot wide. There was NO 
way someone could have fit in them. But, someone 
had.

The figure dropped to the ground, and 
straightened up, allowing them to make out 
features, including the black trenchcoat, 
sunglasses, and skin-tight leather. A voice 
named the figure.

"RANMA! YOU PERVERT!" Akane swung her 
mallet, only to have it effortlessly deflected 
and a quick snap-kick planted in her stomach.

"Not now. I'm busy." Ranma didn't even 
look at her as he spoke. He grinned. "Well, 
'Happi', let's dance!"

Happosai pulled himself out of the lockers 
and started to growl. "That wasn't very nice, 
boy."

"Neither is this." Ranma snapped his coat 
off of his right hip, revealing the pistol. He 
drew it in a flash and started firing. 

The girls started to scream and cower as 
Ranma pulled the trigger at an insanely fast 
rate, burning clips like there was no tomorrow. 
Happosai was moving so fast he was just a blur. 
Somehow, Ranma managed track him, missing all 
the bystanders with his shots, but blowing huge 
holes in the walls and lockers.

Happosai bellowed in pain as a spray of 
red stained the wall. He stumbled in his jump 
and Ranma slammed three more bullets into his 
chest. The slide of the gun locked open on the 
last shot.

"Out of clips. Damn. Knew I should have 
packed more. Girls? I'd run if I were you. This 
is about to get nasty." Ranma calmly announced 
as he re-holstered the gun. Underneath his 
sunglasses, his eyes briefly flared red.

The girls rapidly followed his advice.

Happosai rose to his feet, seeming not to 
notice the three holes in his chest. "You've 
made me angry."

"Too bad. I'm gonna make you more than 
angry by the time I'm done." Ranma smiled as he 
dropped into a ready stance. Happosai responded 
with a ki blast of deepest crimson.

Ranma intercepted the projectile with his 
own ki blast of gold shot through with the 
deepest black.

Happosai froze for a second. "So, like 
THAT, is it?"

Ranma's grin grew larger. "Yup."

**********************

Lotion's eyes shot open. Shock was evident 
on her face. "I hadn't expected it THAT quickly! 
Does that boy know no patience?"

Lotion rose out of her lotus position, 
calling as she did so. 

"Cologne! Shampoo! Mousse! It's time! Come 
along! NOW!"

The trio barely managed to keep up as 
Lotion ran into Nerima, guided by instincts 
honed by long use.

*********************

A crowd was rapidly gathering outside of 
the girl's locker room. First had been the 
screams of outrage, then what sounded like 
gunshots, then all the girls running out (most 
only clutching towels, some without even that), 
and now it sounded like a war was going on in 
there. No one had managed to get any information 
out of the near-hysterical girls.

"Oh, my. It certainly sounds 
rather...lively in there, doesn't it?" Kasumi 
remarked to her father. Akane had forgotten her 
bento in her rush to school, so Kasumi had 
decided to bring it to her. Her father and Genma 
had accompanied her. (Actually, they were 
planning on hitting a bar, but when Kasumi asks 
you to do something....)

Lotion landed not far from her, staring at 
the locker room. 

"Both of them are in there. And they're 
powering up."

"What does that mean?" Cologne asked 
between gasps to recover her breath.

"Simple. Duck." Lotion hit the ground just 
as the locker room was consumed in a fireball. 

The explosion threw the bystanders to the 
ground, a wash of heat flowing over them. 
Happosai sprang out of the smoke, cackling like 
mad.

Ranma emerged shortly after, staggering 
slightly. His coat was ruined, hanging in 
tatters around him. He shrugged it off, casually 
commenting, "I lose more coats that way."

He lifted his right hand to his forehead, 
where a large cut was bleeding. He turned his 
head and spat out some blood, probably because 
of his split lip. Then he reached over to his 
left shoulder. Grabbing it, he pulled on it 
sharply, causing a loud *POP*.

"That's better. You know, now...you've 
gotten me pissed."

Happosai just sank into a ready stance and 
cackled some more. "Whenever you're ready, boy. 
I've taken better than you."

Ranma grinned and reached over his  
shoulders, drawing both swords in one easy 
motion, then sinking into a two-sword ready 
stance. "I was trained by some of the best 
hunters ever born. D taught me strength while 
keeping speed. Alucard honed my skills to 
perfection and taught me ALL the cheap moves he 
knew. Lotion taught me all the lore she had 
acquired in four hundred years of Hunting. So, 
yeah. You've probably faced better than me. But 
you've never faced anyone WORSE than me."

"We'll see, won't we?" Happosai's voice 
was calm.

"Yeah, we will." Ranma replied.

Then, both charged.

TBC...
***************
Author's notes:

And that's it for now. I finally got a 
definite idea of where I wanted to go with this 
and now I'm gonna go there. (Maybe slowly.  
After all, I place AtST first in writing 
efforts.)

Ranma OOC? Hey, the Tendos only knew him 
for a year. He's been gone for six months. 
People can change a LOT in six months. 
Especially with how crazy Ranma's life can be.

Of course, any C&C is greatly appreciated. 
My e-mail address is at the top and bottom of the 
fic.  (Just look down about three lines.)

Ja Ne!
Slacker (rheins@pmt.org)

First draft 05/22/01
Released to MLs 06/14/01
-- 

***********************************************

STUDENT: Master, what is the secret of a popular fanfic?
MASTER: Child, the secret is simply this: You must serve the fans.
STUDENT: So the secret is fanservice?
MASTER: You begin to learn, grasshopper.


After finishing a story: 
If you liked the story, drink a bottle to celebrate. 
If you disliked the story, drink two bottles to cheer you up. 
If you're apathetic, then drink till you care, dammit!
(From a Slayers drinking game.)

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Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee           
              anime  fanfics available at 
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