A Circle Closed
written: 10/10/2001
This fanfic is meant as a continuation, a side story, of the
world established with my story "Memories of Home..."
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
both Keil and Skuld, who's C&C were much appreciated.
--- Tabyk (tabyk@yahoo.com) (http://home.dal.net/tabyk)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
As he stepped into the near vacant lot he spotted his
opponent. The man was tall, near seven foot, and his arms and
legs were near tree trunk in size. In contradiction of most
cultures he sported lots of visible augmentation, a sign of
either cheap work or someone wanting to intimidate his opponents.
Only Kami himself knew what the man was packing in addition to it.
Centering himself, Ranma stopped about twenty feet from the
man. There were many reasons why he was here, fighting this
fight, but right now one prevailed over all others.
He had been challenged.
Taking a quick glance around to map the lay of the grounds,
he finally settled his gaze upon the man across from him and said,
"I'm here Chandler, let's do it."
Less then five seconds later he was fighting for his
school... his honor...
...and less then a minute after that, his life.
* * * * * * * * * *
Tosuga paused just long enough to grab a package as he
stepped out of the car. Having followed Saotome from his flat,
he then jogged the thirty feet to the end of the block and peaked
around the corner.
The guy was huge, and so obviously chromed out Tosuga would
have been surprised if he didn't qualify as a complete shell
conversion. When Saotome and the guy rushed each other he swore
while he tried to ready the insurance he had brought, but then
paused as both men delivered a fury of punches before Ranma
leaped backward.
Shaking his head in amazement Tosuga decided to wait, hoping
that his fellow officer knew what he was doing...
* * * * * * * * * *
He silently cursed his own stupidity while bouncing back a
few steps to gain some maneuvering room as combat diagnostics ran
the edge of his vision, telling him of the damage.
He hadn't noticed the mini-explosives that ran the length of
Chandler's knuckle ridge, and the first hit not only ripped the
synthetic skin and muscle sheath of his side all to hell, but
also created no less then four stress cracks along the rib guards.
'Okay Ranma,' he thought to himself, 'you now know who he is.
Time to take this seriously.'
Centering himself once again, he began to draw upon the tiny
amount of ki still within him, and then launched another attack.
As he moved in he watched as Chandler used the massive muscle
augmentations he had to try and once again match Ranma's speed.
This time, however, Chandler just wasn't fast enough.
Careful to avoid the massive knuckles headed for his body,
Ranma twisted inside of them and delivered a couple of punishing
blows to the large man's chest and groin areas. Then ducking
under a retaliatory strike he spun, ending up behind the man to
deliver further punishing blows, this time focusing more on
damage then speed.
Funny thing about his ki. With almost no 'life-energy' any
longer Ranma had found himself with an almost non-existent ki to
draw upon. Many things, like the Tenshin Amaguri-ken and the
Mouko Takabisha, were no longer within his ability. Over the
last couple of years, however, he'd learned how to manipulate the
environment around him in tiny ways, giving him that extra edge
when he needed it.
Like reducing wind resistance.
Or an extremely limited Bakusai-ten-ketsu.
Focusing down to a single point he jabbed his finger into
Chandler's back to see a chunk of the cyborg's plate armor half
crumble half explode under the impact, then jumped backward to
avoid the mule kick that was thrown at him.
Spinning in place Chandler screamed in anger, and Ranma
watched as a gun port snapped open on the man's chest. Again
swearing at himself for making stupid assumptions he moved,
trying to evade the twenty-five millimeter cannon rounds that
sought him out.
* * * * * * * * * *
With a mutter of "School of Flying Stone Fist my ass,"
Tosuga readied the anti-personnel rocket and began to take aim.
His surprise was complete when he felt the weapon almost
literally ripped out of his hands before he could fire.
Stumbling aside he frantically reached for his gun before
the sight of the Major registered on him.
Stuttering a "Wha-" he then noticed Batou, Ishikawa, and a
half dozen others standing around. Totally confused at this
point he looked back to the Major for an explanation, only to
find her attention locked on the battle happening across the
street.
Eventually she raised her voice and spoke.
"Okay people, this is it. I want you all to watch this
close, DAMN close, cause you're about to see a redefinition of
the word 'Good'."
* * * * * * * * * *
Wincing at the tenth cannon round exploded across his back,
tossing him to the ground, he scrambled back to his feet only to
hear a snarl. Turning towards Chandler, even as details of the
bloody hole in his back scrolled past, he watched as the gun port
snapped shut. Muttering "Anything goes damn it," he then moved
in.
Once again concentrating on speed he snaked his body in past
the striking hands and feet to deliver a double kick to
Chandler's chest, rocking the cyborg backward, while he dropped
his anti-IR smoke grenade. Moving to his left as the smoke
enveloped the both of them he threw a couple of mental circuits
and activated the global radar system, then suddenly changed
direction.
Watching the virtual image of Chandler smash the concrete of
the spot he SHOULD have been standing in he set himself before
delivering a devastating front kick into the side of the man's
knee joint, causing the metal reinforcements there to screech and
pop as the stress being put on them proved to be more then they
could handle.
Jumping even as Chandler fell Ranma landed on the other's
shoulders and immediately drove a fist right into the top of his
head. The slight dent he caused wasn't worth the vicious body
shot that launched him into the wall of an abandoned building.
Pulling himself from the rubble he deactivated the GRS and
stood to the sight of Chandler limping out of the dissipating
smoke cloud, an insane look of pure hatred twisting what little
facial features the man had left. Uncaring, Ranma fell into his
classic offensive stance, and waited.
Hearing Chandler whisper, "Going to fuck you up good," he
watched as the man's immense arms suddenly split along a
previously invisible seam line resulting in two sets of arms.
Noting that only the upper arms maintained possession of his
hands, he nodded to himself in acceptance as the six-inch saw
blades attached to the lower arms started to scream.
Time to up the ante.
* * * * * * * * * *
Now only able to witness, Tosuga did just that as the insane
fight between Saotome and that... that MONSTER continued. He
watched as Saotome dropped the previously concealed grenade, a
neat trick considering the fact that he was wearing black kung-fu
pants and matching short-sleeved shirt, and disappeared into the
smoke. Seconds later he watched as Saotome shot out of the cloud
to crash into the wall, and that damned THING come out after him.
He almost sighed in relief when he heard Batou say, "Um...
Major?"
"Batou, Ishikawa, did either of you ever dig a little when
we were given Saotome's profile early last year?"
"No." "No Major."
"Let me tell you then. Saotome Ranma, age 21, born March 3rd
2001, MALE. Was tagged for observation at age 16 due to
supremacy of hand-to-hand martial combat. Some of the things
they claim to have seen... well... I'll believe it when I see it.
Other crap... let's just say the Japanese have wonderful
imaginations. One thing, however, was made painfully clear."
Glancing at Tosuga she said, "Saotome NEVER gives up."
Then glancing back to the fight she added, "And he DOESN'T
loose."
* * * * * * * * * *
Rushing the limping form before him, he flexed his fingers
in preparation, and then dived into the hydra of steel arms.
Twisting and wrenching his body in ways it wasn't designed to
Ranma climbed his way up and over his opponent before using his
back as a springboard to put some distance between them once
again.
Rolling to his feet he turned just in time to see the six
coin-sized magnetic grenades that he'd just placed on Chandler
blow. Fist size holes were blown in the man's chest, back, and
shoulder, while one of the buzz saw arms skidded across the
pavement. Unable to help himself he then grinned at the injured
behemoth and with a gesture taunted him to come forward.
With a howl Chandler charged him, the three remaining arms
working in perfect unison in an effort to tear the person who'd
caused him pain into pieces. Pushing for speed once more Ranma
ducked, blocked, and wove his way around the attack while looking
for a good opportunity.
Unfortunately, Ranma has never been known for his luck.
Stumbling for a split second as he landed on an uneven piece
of concrete he failed to completely dodge the downward slash of
the saw blade, and found himself with critical warnings flashing
in his retina as he was opened from waist to calf along one leg.
Throwing up his arms in a cross-block Chandlers fist powered into
his, the knuckle explosives damaging his arms while blasting him
a dozen feet or more backward.
Overriding internal damage controls he pushed himself back
to his feet only to be grabbed by one arm and hoisted into the
air. Fumbling for a second he twisted as Chandler screamed, "Die
you little shit!" and then shot the man in the elbow joint with a
6 gauge zip gun, locking the joint and destroying the circuits
and wiring that ran through it.
More damage and joint stress warnings flashed as he back
flipped several times for some maneuvering room, and then paused
as Chandler suddenly stopped screaming. Watching closely he
wasn't disappointed as another gun port opened up in the man's
damaged chest. Instead of another autocannon, however, he found
himself facing a fast approaching rocket-propelled grenade.
Time slowed as the grenade sped towards him, and he found
himself gathering every bit of ki left to him in one desperate
attempt. Reaching outward with his left hand he focused
everything into a cushion, soft yet undeniable, millimeters
beyond his fingertips. Ever so gently, in the space of less then
a single second, he nudged the incoming explosive 45 degrees off
course.
The concussive force as the RPG hit a dumpster behind him,
coupled with the sudden and intense mental fatigue of his efforts,
almost dropped him right there. Taking a few precious seconds to
steady himself he looked up to see Chandler just standing there,
staring at him.
Straightening up he began a slow walk towards the man while
saying, "Now we end this."
* * * * * * * * * *
Tosuga continued to just stand there, mouth agape in shock,
at what he'd just seen. There was no way, NO WAY, a person could
just swat aside an incoming rocket. It just wasn't possible.
And yet...
Hearing a quiet chuckle he turned to see Batou say, "Well
Budda's left nut." A sudden grin on his face the big man then
asked, "Hey Major, haven't you tangoed with Saotome?"
Before any comment could be made, however, Ishikawa suddenly
said, "Uh... Batou? Aren't you doing hand-to-hand qualifications
with Saotome this Friday?"
Everyone turned for a moment and watched as the blood
drained from Batou's face.
"Fuck that... I'm calling in sick."
* * * * * * * * * *
Redlining half of his remaining movement systems Ranma
charged. Just outside of Chandler's reach he suddenly crouched
while dropping an anchor, then from all fours jumped to the man's
left. Ducking under the saw blade he continued to circle his
opponent, an insufferable smirk on his face that he used to taunt
his opponent into a frenzy of action.
After playing for near two minutes, and circling the now
mindlessly enraged person in front of him three times, he found
himself wanting to attempt the Hiryuu Shouten-ha. Resisting the
impulse, and knowing what little effect it would have, he instead
drew an auto-reel from somewhere on his person and attached the
monofilament line that he'd been laying down to it. Hitting a
button he watched at the lines snapped taunt around Chandler's
legs, causing the man to fall.
Jumping on top of the man he scrambled about before leaping
off, again just in time as four more magnetic grenades, his last,
went off.
And it was over.
Casually walking up to the now three quarter amputee he
crouched down next to the man face.
"You know Chandler, I've been wanting to meet you for some
time now. You've this nasty little habit of killing off the
people you challenge."
Leaning closer he then whispered, "One of those people was a
friend of mine."
Rising to his feet he snapped his arm, and a solid eighteen-
inch iron spike appeared in it. A grim expression now on his
face, he raised him arm and-
"You can stop right there, Saotome."
Blinking, he looked up to see the approaching group of
people.
"It's finished, Saotome." Stopping a dozen feet away from
him the Major then added, "Chandler's finished. He will be
arrested, convicted for the murder of the martial artists that
he's killed, and sentenced."
Glaring at her as fury, anger, and hate warred across his
face, he once again raised his arm.
"Hara Toshio, Noda Masayuki, Okada Yoji-"
Thrusting downward the iron spike penetrated Chandler's
chest, ripping through the steel rib bands and tearing through
the organic storage cavity... and just missing the spinal column.
"-and Kuno Tatewaki, may you rest in peace."
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