Another chapter for your reading pleasure. As always
C&C is highly valued.

______________________________________________________





Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma 1/2. It is the sole
property of its respective owners and creators.

Mini-Note: *** designates a change in POV or a change
in scenery. 

IMPORTANT: Read Author's Notes at the end for
information regarding any questions or comments you
might possibly have about this chapter









File 02: Variable


In a darkened room located on the lower
near-subterranean levels of Heaven's Star H.Q.,
numerous system technicians manned rows upon rows of
computer terminals. The only illumination that was
provided was the glow from the multitude of monitors
and the only real sound, save for their voices, came
from the incessant tapping of keyboards. As bizarre as
this setup sounded, it was just the way they liked it.

"So far all critical files in regards to our current
overseas operations are completely intact." The
network administrator reported on the current state of
the mainframe. The computer tech and a girl in white
long-sleeved shirt and beige pants both hovered the
computer screen.

"Hmmmm, what about shipping schedules? Or account
numbers?" Kasumi pulled yet another possibility out of
the air. So far all other attempts had yet to glean
any useful insight.

"Those were untouched as well. I can't explain this,
whoever they were they didn't come here for anything
valuable. At least that's my assumption since we can't
seem to find out what she accessed." The admin leaned
back in his chair and rubbed his eyes from staring at
the monitor screen for so long.

It had been three days removed since the unwanted
intrusion within the nerve center and intranetwork of
Heaven's Star Inc. The daunting task of trying to
discover the motive behind the invasion was not going
as smoothly as everyone had expected.

"Why would they go through all that trouble? It seems
like such a waste." The admin whispered to himself.
The hacker had unlimited access to all company
electronic resources, yet she did not seem to take
advantage of that fact.

After the incursion the entire network maintenance and
security division was sent into an immediate frenzy.
The hacker was able to pass through the corporate
firewall without any trouble whatsoever. After which
she injected a worm whose purpose was to wipe out any
and all trace of the hacker's presence, when it's task
was completed it self-destructed.

"Have you been able to get a positive I.D. on her?"
Kasumi crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes in
thought.

"From the make Nabiki gave us, we haven't been able to
find any trace of this woman anywhere. For all intents
and purposes, she doesn't exist." The admin's and also
head of the department's name is Kinnosuke Kashuoh, a
Japanese male at the young age of 23 and the perfect
example of the new way corporations and governments
find their specialists. He used to be a con man,
hacker, and phreaker, a person who specializes in
voice and data taps, for hire. He was quite a
successful cyber criminal that is until he attempted a
denial-of-service attack against Heaven's Star. He was
tracked down and caught, but instead of throwing such
a talented mind in prison, a deal was made. He
originally signed a two year contract, but he's been
with them ever since.

"I just can't seem to follow their mode of thinking.
Nothing was damaged, nothing of importance was taken,
and they didn't take steps to disrupt our operations.
They are either very skilled and they just covered
there tracks so well that I can't see them, or very
foolish and I'm simply giving them too much credit."
Kasumi sighed. Either scenario made sense but they
wouldn't answer any relevant questions.

"You said 'they' just now. If I recall, you did
mention that you spotted a second individual whom you
think was watching you, correct?" Kinnosuke turned
slightly in his chair to face her.

"Yes, it seems she was stationed on top of the
Arclight Web Solutions building. I couldn't make out
anything specific, but I think she might be female as
well." She recalled that night vividly.

"Well, that building is more than a mile away. Was she
using binoculars or anything of that type?" Kinnosuke
was slowly formulating a plan inside his head.

"No, she wasn't moving like she had one on her let
alone actually using it." When she had made definitive
eye contact with the voyeur she had made some sort of
gesture to her and then disappeared out of sight.
Kasumi could almost swear she was waving goodbye. 

"Well then, the only way she could be scoping you out
is if she had a Cyke. An implant like that isn't
totally uncommon, especially if that girl is into
reconnaissance, but it would definitely narrow the
search." The admin turned back to his screen hoping
that new bit for information would be enough to find a
bone. 

"And if she has a Cyclops implant...she must have at
least a Model 2 plug...." She leaned over his shoulder
as realization hit her in the face.

"Your learning. All we have to do is look up any
visitors of Tokyo who have high to mid-level coms.
Nabiki said that other girl had a P.D. for an arm, so
the same will go for her." Kinno grinned as he felt
the stares of over dozen other techies who were more
than envious that the girl of their collective dreams
was leaning so close to him. "You know, you said you
could see the way she was moving. From a distance like
that, its pretty amazing you saw anything."

"...I've always had good eyes." Kasumi answered
somewhat quickly.

The entrance to the lab opened and a stream of light
came pouring in, the vampiric hissing and screams of
agony amongst the technophiles caused the newcomer to
snicker slightly. She was in jean shorts and a black
t-shirt and she seemed to have no trouble maneuvering
in the dark.

"Nabiki? What are you doing here?" Kinnosuke whirled
around in his chair while Kasumi continued to mull
over the brainplug angle they had just uncovered.

"Just checkin up on your progress. Have you found
anything on our unwanted guests?" Nabiki asked as she
watched the throng of techs stare aimlessly into their
screens.

"Nothing so far, these two intruders, they definitely
aren't your typical thieves. Their tracks are too well
covered and there identities are near impossible to
put down. We've uncovered something that may help
though..." Kasumi answered. "Did you come straight
from school?"

"Well I did stop to change first, I didn't think it
would be appropriate to come in my school uniform.
What's so important that I had to come directly here?"
Nabiki asked. She didn't mind, but she usually got
some warning and not just a short call three minutes
before school ended.

"Father wanted to speak with the both of us, he didn't
specify the subject though." Kasumi turned to her
sister. "How's Akane?" 

"She's safe and Sayuri is with her. Heh, you know with
us being gone till ungodly hours at night she's going
to start suspecting something." Nabiki grinned. 

"Yeah, I don't enjoy leaving her alone like that. But
at least she has someone keeping her company." Kasumi
knew that her younger sister didn't enjoy being by
herself.

"Nabiki, I was thinking. Perhaps we would have better
luck if you dived in there. Your M-3 might be able to
uncover something that slipped by us." Kinnosuke broke
into their conversation with the suggestion.

"Or maybe you just want an excuse to see it in
action." Nabiki smiled.

"Oh it's strictly for business purposes, but if I just
so happen to be here while you do it, well that can't
be helped." He chuckled.

"Alright alright, gimme some room." She cracked her
knuckles. 

"Since when is the mainframe compatible for diving?"
Kasumi asked.

"It isn't, but M-3s are top of line with near instant
adaptability. She'll be able to dive in whether or not
the frame is made for it or not, a lot like what you
can do." Kinnosuke pointed out.

"Sorry Kinno, she only dives when it's absolutely
necessary. Even then, that's an entirely new set rules
all together, nothing like what you've seen." Nabiki
explained as he fitted a fiber-op line into one of the
four plugs at the back of her neck.

Kinnosuke only stared at the oldest Tendo sister. He
had only heard rumors that she had received some new
prototype implant but no one knew what, and that they
way she dived also wasn't the norm. The strange thing
for him was the fact that he didn't see any indication
of a brainplug; in fact he couldn't uncover any
evidence of an implant anywhere on her body.

"Okay, I'm goin in. What exactly am I looking for?"
Nabiki broke his gaze.

"Anything, an imprint, a trace, any kind of marker or
clue that the worm may have missed. If this doesn't
work we'll have to fall back on the brainplug angle.
I'll monitor you from this side but try not to dive
too deep." Kinno prepped his workstation.

In Nabiki's eyes the world seemed to shift from the
solid physical, to the transparent electronic. 
Everything warped to a translucent world of grids and
neon light; she sped at amazing speed through a
seemingly endless tunnel comprising the massive WAN.
The marker that the tunnel was cleared came in the
form of a wave of static that blasted her ears, she
then found herself in an entire universe created from
billions of bytes of constantly moving information.

"I'm searching...this might take a few minutes." Her
voice was low and her eyes were half lidded.

"Wow, look at that. She's flying; I've never seen
anything move that fast through the network." He
murmured as he monitored her progress. Her form was
being represented as an anonymous administrative
entity; the directories being accessed was used track
her progress. However considering the speed of her
movement there was a slight delay in this.

"I may have found something... " Nabiki whispered.
Kasumi's watched warily, if anything were to go wrong
she would dive in after her.

"What is it? What have you found?" Kinno moved closer
to the screen.

"The program she used to punch through the firewall
wasn't anything commercial. She must have made it
herself and she did good job. Only, I think it was
pure luck we got there when we did..." Nabiki trailed
off as her movement ceased and she began her
inspection of the firewall port settings.

"Did you interrupt something when you arrived?" Kasumi
asked before she noticed a buzzing in her pocket.

"Yeah, she penetrated the firewall through an
invisible port...but in her haste to get out she
neglected to seal it as she was leaving. I wonder why
the worm didn't pick it up." Nabiki's suspicions were
growing. Such an obvious mistake should have been
picked up, especially by someone who could penetrate
the system as far as the intruder did. 

"An invisible port? That's all? Our firewall was
created with that as well as many other possibilities
in mind. Simply opening an illegal port shouldn't have
given her such access." Kinno wondered at this new
discovery. He was one of many individual programmers
who were instrumental in the creation of firewall
program so he exactly what it was capable of defending
against.

"Nabiki, that was father, he's ready for us." Kasumi
closed up the cell phone she was just talking into.

"I'm comin out." Nabiki responded. The world of
electrons she was flying in slowly began to
disintegrate back into the world of reality. Slowly
her vision switched to that of light and electricity
to the solidity of the darkened room she was sitting
in. She rubbed her eyes slightly before removing the
line from her neck. 

"Man, whoever installed your comm. is an expert,
there's not even a hint of a sign of scarring. Who did
it?" Kinno noticed the cleanliness of the surgery.

"It was Dr. Tofu, he doesn't install these things for
just anyone, mine is a test type the S.D.F sent for
evaluation purposes. They didn't want to take risks so
they had him install it." Nabiki explained. Dr. Tofu
was quite a well-known surgeon and neurologist; his
services with Heaven's Stars' Bio-Technology division
were quite sought after and very much appreciated.

"So there's no chance he'll put in one for me?" Kinno
smiled.

"Maybe, if Kas asks him nice enough." Nabiki nodded to
her sister.

"Why would he do it for my sake?" Kasumi asked looking
genuinely curious.

"...Never mind Kas..." Nabiki groaned.


***


"I'll think you'll find this to be worthwhile. The
best way to understand what there capable of is to
seem them in the field for yourselves. I'm sure you'll
be quite impressed." Soun spoke to the two individuals
seated in front of his desk. The meeting had begun
several minutes ago and they were currently engaged in
idle chat until his daughters arrived.

"I've heard a few things here and there about your
daughters. You'd be surprised how much there
reputation precedes them." One of them commented.
"Given their success rate I'm surprised they never
went freelance themselves."

Soun chuckled in response. "Those two are the greatest
asset this company could ever have. Though I suppose I
should tell them that in person one day." Soun's
attention was diverted by the sound of his office door
opening. The two Tendo sisters immediately took notice
of the newcomers in their father's office but made no
outward appearance of it. "Ah, Kasumi, Nabiki. I'm
glad you made it so promptly."

"Well you did make it sound pretty urgent dad." Nabiki
shrugged.

"Yes of course, before we begin I'd like you to meet
two acquaintances of mine. Ranma Saotome and Ryoga
Hibiki." Soun inidicated the two persons he was
speaking to just before they arrived.

The two rose from their chairs. They were both dressed
in black slacks and dress shirts. One had a pigtail
and was wearing sunglasses, the other was only
slightly taller, they both looked somewhat similar and
they both looked to be around Kasumi and Nabiki's age.

"These two gentlemen have been on extended leave and
have just recently returned to Japan. They are the
relation of a very close friend of mine." Soun
explained.

"Welcome back to Japan. I hope your trip was
worthwhile." Kasumi bowed politely, Nabiki reluctantly
followed her lead.

"Very good, now that that's taken care of. I have some
important business for the both of you." He turned his
attention to his daughters. "First off, Kasumi, I want
to pay to a visit to Akira Odagirii. Do you remember
him?"

"Yes, of course I remember him. The last time we met
it was three years ago." Kasumi recalled the man whom
had grown to be quite a close friend of the family.

"Indeed, as you know he and I have been long time
friends. Unfortunately something has gone awry.  His
R&D firm is going to be essential if we succeed in
winning the contract with the military, and he knows
this. However, for some reason he recently began to
break all ties with us, and his latest move to was to
terminate any and all contracts and projects that have
any relation to Heaven's Star." Soun sat back in his
chair as he explained the situation.

"Why...would he do that?" Kasumi raised an eyebrow in
confusion.

"I do not know, I've tried getting into contact with
him but he refuses my calls. I would like you to go
down to his estate in person and try and talk some
sense into the man or at very least find some answers
to his erratic behavior. He was always fond of you so
perhaps you can succeed where I have failed." Soun
sighed in resignation over that particular subject.

"I'll see what I can do..." She wondered why a person
she had grown to have so much respect for would so
something so deceitful.

"As for you Nabiki, your assignment will be slightly
less involved," Soun brought his attention to the
second Tendo sister. "The port authorities and the
M.S.A have brought it to my attention that certain
individuals have been transporting heroin from
Thailand and Malaysia along our shipping lanes. The
next load supposedly comes this afternoon and the
police are in the process of setting up a sting
operation... I want you there before them."

"Why? Don't you think this is something they're
capable of handling?" Nabiki crossed her arms and
narrowed her eyes.

"Yes, however I want to send a message to all those
involved that I and this company will not tolerate
such insult." Soun's voice dropped several degrees to
represent his irritation. "I want to make it perfectly
clear that our overseas interests will not be used to
transport drugs." 

"Ah, I got ya." Nabiki grinned.

"Excellent. Oh, and before I forget, these two will be
accompanying you." Soun added quickly and nodded to
Ranma and Ryoga.

"What?" Nabiki asked flatly.

"Are you sure that's wise father?" Kasumi asked
sounding very concerned.

"Yes I am. Ranma will accompany Kasumi, and Ryoga
shall pair with Nabiki. Any objections?" He already
knew the answer...

"Uhhh...n...no of course not father." Kasumi blinked.

"I do not like this idea at all..." Nabiki muttered to
herself. The teenagers in question had been silent
despite that their ability was being brought to
question.

"Report back as soon as possible, and do try to
'involve' our guests as much as possible." Soun
smiled. The two newcomers seemed oblivious to it all
on the outside.

Kasumi looked over the both of them, she had learned
long ago that looks can be deceiving, so she was
unsure as to exactly what they were capable of. She
did know this; she was getting an odd...feeling...from
the both of them. It was nothing threatening or
disturbing, just...odd.

"He had better not get in my way, that's all I have to
say..." Nabiki muttered again. Kasumi simply giggled.


***


The world flew by at a dizzying pace as they sped down
the highway in a Ferrari 360. Kasumi, who was at the
wheel, would ever so often move her eyes to her
impromptu partner. He seemed rather reserved at the
moment, having not said a word since they left
Heaven's Star, this suited Kasumi just fine, as she
wasn't much of an idle talker herself. 

"Odagirii is a very traditional man, his entire estate
resembles that of an old-style samurai lord. It is
very important that you be as polite and as courteous
as possible while in his presence. He does not take
etiquette lightly." She explained. He turned his head
slightly as she began.

She had to admit, he was handsome. She couldn't see
into his eyes so his thoughts at the moment were
unknown to her. She wondered how old he was...

"I'm not sure how much experience you have in this,
but if need be all you have to do is follow my lead.
Okay?" Kasumi knew first hand how strict Odagirii
could be when it came to matters of decorum, it was
one of the reasons she was the way she is.

He nodded in acknowledgement as they veered off the
highway. The residence of Akira Odagirii was located
in what would be called the typical rich side of town.
Many of the monetary elite chose to reside themselves
here amongst there peers. If there were any example of
blatant overindulgence, it would be found in this
place of Mansions that could be made into there own
countries, pools that could be mistaken for lakes, and
private golf courses that could be used for national
tournaments.

They pulled up to exactly what Kasumi had described,
an old-world estate that seemed ripped straight from
the feudal era. A multitude of koi ponds and sakura
trees dotted the landscape and the sound of rushing
water from small manmade waterfalls gave a very calm
and serene feeling.

"Does he always keep his gate open like that?" Ranma
uttered his first words as they passed through the
entrance.

"Yes he does. He his also the sensei of a dojo that
specializes in kendo and aikido, he is always
accepting students." Kasumi led them through the
twisting paths toward the western end of the estate.

"Kendo and Aikido...both samurai arts. Guess he's
trying to bring the past to the present." His
expression did not give an indication of whether he
meant that as an insult or a compliment.

"He is eccentric in that way, but he's a good man.
I've known since I was a child." She smiled. One of
the reasons she looked up to him so much was the fact
that even in the day and age the lived in, dominated
by science and industry, he was still able to live by
the old codes and ideals of ages past.

They made their way to the dojo, at this time of day
Kasumi deduced that was where he would most likely be.
The large sized training hall was located on the west
side of the estate, when they arrived they found two
men in aikido gis standing at the entrance.

"Kasumi, sensei has been expecting you." A
blonde-haired student acknowledged her. However when
Ranma took a step forward the second student, a man
with long black hair in a tail, moved to block his
path.

"Your are welcome, he is not." He said flatly. Once
again his shades prevented her from determining his
current state of emotion, but on the outside he looked
calm enough.

"Don't worry he's with me, I trust him." She reassured
the both of them. They reluctantly allowed him to
pass, but never did they take their eyes off him.

When they entered they found a middle-aged man,
possibly in his mid to late forties, seemingly in deep
meditation with a katana in its scabbard at his side.
They both bowed formally before sitting on there
heels. 

"Sensei. I've come on behalf of my father." 

"Ah, Kasumi, it has been quite sometime hasn't it?"
The distinguished master opened his eyes. They were
filled fatherly warmth and wisdom that reminded her so
much of Soun.

"Yes it has." She kept her eyes level with his. Ranma
once again shifted back to silent mode, opting to
simply sit back and observe.

"The last time I saw you were sixteen. I'm glad to see
you're still as beautiful as ever." The master smiled.

"Thank you," She blushed slightly. "But...I'm sure you
know why I'm here..."

"Yes...unfortunately...we have nothing to talk about."
He eyes and tone became deadly serious.

"Why? What's happened? You and my father have been
such good friends since college, why would you betray
him now?" Kasumi was slightly surprised by this sudden
shift in his personality.

"Certain events have occurred that have forced me to
question my allegiance with Soun. The current state of
affairs is becoming far too tenuous, and I found it
best for myself and my firm if we broke all ties with
your father." He explained.

"With all due respect sensei, you don't expect me to
believe that do you?" Kasumi's eyes turned stern, she
never enjoyed being lied to.

"Of course not," Akira sighed. "But I have never found
it easy to be distrustful in your company. I cannot
tell why I have done what I have done. Please, tell
Soun that what has happened is only for the good of
both of us."

"What good can come of this? He has placed so much of
his trust in you; without you the bid with the S.D.F
will mean nothing. You out of all people should know
how hard he has been working to secure that." She
deeply did not want to have to change her opinion of a
man she had so much admiration for.

"Don't you think I know that? I never wanted this, I
never wanted to betray his trust, but I have no
choice. I cannot, I will not, tell you any more than
that..." He was adamant in his decision and he showed
it.

"What's happened to you? I've always known you to be a
man of honor and tradition. What has happened to
change you so much?" Her tone grew softer and her gaze
showed only concern for his welfare

"Leave...now." His hand moved to the blade at his
side.

Kasumi rose to her feet, as did Ranma. 

"I am not leaving. Not until you tell me what could
possibly has you so.... scared." She held her ground
firmly.

"Then...you leave me no choice." He tapped the end of
the sheathed blade against the ground. All of a sudden
a wall slid open and seven of his students poured out,
additional more came in from the outside through the
entrance. Each was armed with a sword and each one
knew how use them.

"Submit now, Kasumi. We do not wish to bring harm to
you." The blonde from the outside declared.

Her eyes went over each and every one of them. There
had to be around twelve in all, and they were
surrounded.

"Kind of overkill don't you think..." Ranma whispered
just loud enough for her to hear.

"You don't have to do this..." Her statement was
directed at Odagirii himself.

"ANY threat to the sensei is a threat to all of us.
You WILL stand down...or face the consequences." The
blonde once again affirmed.

"You have known me since I was ten. You've known my
father since you were both in college. Do you honestly
believe we would want to bring harm to you or your
family?" Again it was directed toward the sensei who
was gravely contemplating those words.

"Please forgive me...but I have no choice. Restrain
them, but do not harm them." He ordered finally.

"That...was a mistake." She whispered. Ranma noticed
her words turn to ice; he had recognized this in many
others as well, the way they suddenly shift from one
mode to another when the time called for it. Therefore
it was a wonder to everyone but himself that when one
of the students moved forward, his hand came within
inches of her shoulder, her hand shot out to grab his
wrist. Before he realized what was going to happen he
was sent flying through air, courtesy of a shoulder
throw, he crashed into and toppled two other students
on the way down.

"GET THEM!!" The blonde, who was the apparent leader
of the group, yelled. The all unsheathed their blades,
almost simultaneously, and charged the two.

As she recovered her bearings from the throw her right
leg shot out and slammed into the stomach of an
approaching assailant. He keeled over and using his
head as leverage she delivered a flying sidekick to
the face of another attacker. While this was occurring
Ranma was busying himself with three of the students
who saw him as an equal threat to there dojo, after
slipping by a thrust he rammed his elbow into the nose
of one and finished him with a spinning roundhouse to
his temple which knocked him straight off his feet.
With the way now cleared he dashed out of the dojo
through the entrance, a good portion of the remaining
students followed him out which took some pressure off
his partner.

"You've improved. I admit I didn't expect you to last
this long." The leader and several others were
advancing upon Kasumi. Even after all the activity
thus far she wasn't showing any signs of fatigue, she
simply stared at them all wordlessly as they tried to
flank her.

"This isn't proving anything Kensuke." Her eyes kept
on the two swordsmen advancing on her from either
side.

"I told you already, my father sees you as a threat,
and as much as it pains me to do so I must remove that
threat...." Kensuke Odagirii, the son of Akira, voice
trailed off as Kasumi suddenly took an
uncharacteristic stance, her eyes were closed and her
breathing became more controlled. This would've been a
perfect opportunity to attack, but everyone was
suddenly overly interested in what she was doing, the
exact effect she was going for. A scarce few seemed to
take notice in the slight shift in the air as she
slowly pulled her fist back. Then in a move that was
so fast it could barely be made out, her fist shot
forward at incredible speed, in that same instant a
loud grunt escaped the lips of one of the students. He
clutched his stomach and bent over; he looked as if
something hard had slammed into him, he was also close
to losing his lunch.

"What did she..." One of the attackers to her side had
his attention elsewhere much like everyone else at the
moment. This was quite the fatal mistake as Kasumi
grabbed the wrist of his sword hand and sent the ball
of her palm crashing into his chin. After liberating
the blade from the now unconscious assailant she
charged straight toward the group. If it weren't for
the relatively high ceiling this move would've been
impossible, she leaped into the air and came crashing
down feet first into the centermost student, which
just happened to be Kensuke.

The suddenness and aggressiveness of the attack threw
them all into disarray. Kasumi moved like a maelstrom,
taking down every student that came into her field of
vision. Her speed was too much for them to compensate
and her strength was definitely not proportionate to
her mass. She wasn't totally lacking, it was apparent
to some of them when they saw her that she had been
training since they last met, but even then it was
almost inhuman how hard her blows were landing.

"What happened...?" Kensuke groaned as he picked
himself up on the ground, only to face the tip of a
katana just millimeters from his throat.

"If I was anyone else...you be dead." Her voice was
almost seething, and her eyes bore into him like a
diamond tipped drill. 

"Enough." Akira rose, his sword at his side.

"Is this what you wanted? Needless violence?"  She
indicated the comatose bodies of his apprentices
scattered around the dojo. None of them would have
permanent injuries, just terrible headaches when they
woke up eventually.

"I never wanted this, but I have the safety of my
family and this dojo to think about." His hand gripped
the sword handle.

"Has someone been threatening you? You know that we
can protect them, I can protect them." Kasumi tried
reasoning with him yet again, hoping she could get
through to him.

"I know that, but it is a risk I will not take. I was
told that if I did not cease dealings with Heaven's
Star, that my family would be first to feel there
wrath. I have seen what these people are capable of,
and while you may be able to deal with any threat they
present, you cannot be everywhere at once. Eventually
they will find a way, and I could not bear anything
happening to to you, my wife, or my son." He nodded to
Kensuke who was hanging his head in defeat. "Now I
suggest you take your sword." He drew his blade, a
sword that had been in his line for many generations,
and had been the victor of many duels.

"So you won't listen? Is defeating you the only way
I'm going to get through to you?" She was fighting to
keep her anger in check. Having to cross swords with a
role model like him was not helping her much in that
vein and it looked like he had no intention of backing
down unless he was forced to.
 
"As long as my family is in danger, there is nothing
you can say."  He set into a stance and the gripped
the sword tightly. He was the national kendo champion
back in his day, his skills were quite well known and
he had yet to lose in a match to anyone.

"Fine, but know that I don't take any joy in this."
She brought her sword up; her stance mirrored her
opponents much to his surprise. He really didn't know
exactly what her skill level with a katana was, which
meant he had to be all the more careful.

His eyes went wide as she charged at amazing speed.
Their swords collided with enough force to cause tiny
sparks to fly; he was beyond shocked at how much force
was behind her. In the initial clash and following
struggle he saw her face, he could see she was hating
every second of it and he began to question this
entire course of action. He didn't have time to think
about that however because he was too busy defending
against the hail of strikes, thrusts, and slashes from
his opponent. The celerity and ferocity of her attack
was slowly forcing him backward, he tried numerous
times to gain an offensive but it continuously came to
failure and he was forced back into the defensive.
Everything seemed to freeze as his back touched the
wall, the next thing he knew the blade of her katana
was now pressed against his throat.

"I...sincerely hope you're satisfied. I would've
anything I could to make sure you were safe, and I
hope one day you realize that." Her eyes burning with
quiet fury and Akira was contemplating what he had
almost unleashed upon himself. She backed off and
dropped the sword to the ground unceremoniously. She
stepped over several groaning students on her way out;
all the while Kensuke was wide-eyed and could hardly
believe what he had just seen.

Akira looked much the same, as he hung his head in
shame. Perhaps there could've been another way,
perhaps his family would've been safe under their
protection, but that was all after the fact now. Now
all he could do was live with his decision and hope it
was right one...

"What have I done...?"



As Kasumi walked out she realized she had totally lost
track of Ranma during the fight. She was relieved to
see him in one peace some distance from the dojo, the
scene was much like the dojo, he held a sword in each
hand and the unconscious students were lying in
unorderly heaps all over the place. 

"Thank you...for not hurting them." She thanked him as
he went to retrieve his footwear from the front of the
dojo.

"By the way those two were talking to you as we were
coming in, I figured you must have known some of them.
Seems I guessed right." He shrugged.

"Whenever Mr. Odagirii came to visit our dojo he would
bring some of his students along, for exhibition and
things like that. His son, Kensuke, was usually one of
them. He was the blonde you met." Ranma noticed the
slight slump in her shoulders and the melancholy tone
of her voice.

"Are you okay?"

"...Yeah I'll be fine." She wiped a single solitary
bead of sweat, the only indication of the long drawn
out battle she had just been in, off her brow.

"Don't worry, he just wants what's best for his
family, it'll be fine." He reassured her and placed
his hand on her shoulder.

She didn't know Ranma well at all, and usually a touch
from someone like that would cause to her to flinch,
but this time it was oddly comforting. The smile she
gave was genuine, and for the first time since they
met he showed some form of emotion as half of one
appeared on his face.


***


Two Kawasaki sport bikes screeched to a halt some
distance from the currently deserted seaport. A
massive storage vessel was in harbor behind a large
warehouse. Three luxury cars were parked outside and
two guards stood watch over the entrance of the depot.
Ryoga and Nabiki disembarked from their vehicles, one
of them was Nabiki's personal ride while the other was
on loan from the company pool.

"Okay, well it looks the gang is all here." Nabiki
cracked her neck.

"Do you usually get assignments like this?" Ryoga
asked while surveying their surroundings.

"Well, Kas has bit of a better grasp of the political
end of this kind of work, so she gets most of the more
delicate assignments. Dad says I'm still too
aggressive in business for that," Nabiki shrugged
while she explained. "I just believe if you want
something, you gotta get it at all costs. He says
there's more to it than that but he has yet to tell me
otherwise."

"I suppose you have a point." He admitted. He suddenly
caught a pair of black gloves thrown at him.

"Put those on. As appreciative as the cops are its
best for both sides if no one knew who was responsible
for today's festivities. Besides, it makes it easier
for the police to look the other way." She explained
as she slipped hers on.

"I got it." Ryoga did as told.

"Alright then, now that the chit-chat is over, let's
pay a small visit to our resident wannabe drug lords
shall we?" Nabiki snickered at how utterly clich� this
was beginning to be.




A glasses wearing man in a white business suit picked
up a foil wrapped brick from a large stack. He
unwrapped and carefully inspected the brown contents
with a wary eye.

"It's pure." He handed the brick to a seated associate
who was dressed the same way. The two of them as well
as three less well-dressed individuals, dockworkers,
sat a table near the center of the storehouse. 
Several other suited henchmen surrounded them, serving
as bodyguards for the whole preceding.

"Hehe, I told you. It's right from the source." The
leader of the three workers snickered.

"Hmmm, and how exactly did you manage this?" The
seated gentlemen wondered. He was a bald man with a
long scar running across his cranium

"We have a little deal with the shipping inspector, we
give him a percentage and he looks the other way. We
bring them in along with the motherboard shipments.
Easy as hell." The head of the three explained while
sitting backwards in a chair.

"Good. I don't want the cops to get any wind of this."
The negotiator reached to his side and placed a silver
suitcase on the table. He snapped the locks and
revealed its contents to the almost drooling workers.
"30 million in American. You can count it if you like,
but I assure you it's all there."

"YES! I mean...of course we believe you. I mean trust
is so scarce these days you know..." He blabbered as
the three of them stared at their new fortune. 

"Heh, morons, once we get this stuff sold we'll make
three times as much." The bald man's partner chuckled
silently.

"Ignorance is bliss my friend, and in there case
they're in heaven." He rose from his chair and
straightened his tie. "We're leaving." He signaled for
his men to retrieve their newest cargo.

They were about to proceed when all a sudden a loud
slam echoed through the warehouse. It sounded like
something just hit the west side garage door.

"What the hell was that?" One of the henchman
wondered. There was nothing but pitch silence again.

"That was odd." The glasses wearing second said. He
then shrugged his shoulders and signaled for his men
to keep going. "Probably just some seagull that can't
see straight."

Then finally a second loud impact rang through the
place. Then a third came much more quickly. Before the
men could finally move to investigate a fourth and
final impact came which resulted in one of the guards
outside to exploding through the door at amazing
speed. He sailed clear through the storehouse and
slammed into one of his comrades, taking him with him
as they were sent crashing into a massive stack of
cargo.

Everyone was frozen in shock at the suddenness of what
had just happened. They all turned their attention to
the newly created hole and the two individuals who
stepped through.

"Huh, never thought to use a human as a battering ram.
Very creative..." Nabiki complimented Ryoga's
resourcefulness.

"Who the hell are you?!" The scarred leader demanded.

"Well you're a rude bastard aren't you? I'm more than
positive you know who we are. You've pissed off all
the wrong people pal." She crossed her arms.

"Oh have I now? I'm so sorry that I've hurt your
feelings but I don't have time to play with little
girls who can't do shit about it. NOW GET THE HELL
OUTTA HERE BEFORE I HAVE YOU BEATEN TO DEATH!!!" He
screamed as his rage began to build.

"Temper, temper my friend. Busting a vein isn't going
save you anyway," Nabiki glanced over at the large
amount of cash that was out in the open. "Though if
you were to pass that 30 mil my way I may consider
only sending you into a temporary coma." A simple
glimpse was all she needed to determine the exact
amount present. 

"You are quite full of yourself aren't you? What makes
you think you can walk in here and start giving
demands? Or are you so suicidal that you don't care
how painful your death is?" The second-in-command
finally stepped in.

"If any these morons come close to hitting me, let
alone killing me, I'll be more than happy to let you
go."  Nabiki nodded to the hired muscle the two men
had brought with them.

"As if you had us in the first place. Kill them, and
make it slow, I want to hear them scream." The second
in command signaled for his men to do the deed. They
all pulled nightsticks and grinned at the future
beating they were about to give.

"You know I really hate it when people underestimate
me. I guess I'll have to give a demonstration of what
you just sent your men into." She sighed before
vanishing from there sight. 

"Where did she go?!!" The second looked around
frantically along with everyone else. All eyes
suddenly fell upon her partner who casually pointed in
the direction of the nearest henchman. Everyone
finally brought his attention back to her just in time
to see her remove her elbow from the stunned guy's
stomach. The man fell to his knees and then on to his
face, after which everyone stared wide-eyed at a
smiling Nabiki.

"Now, shall we get started?" Nabiki cracked her
knuckles as the goons were slowly backing off.

"What are you doing?! They're only two people for
God's sake!!! GET THEM!!!" The leader screamed to them
all.

"Jeez, what is it with me henchmen in suits? This is
the second time this week." She mumbled as the mob
rushed toward her.

Ryoga snickered a bit at the last comment before
grabbing the face of an incoming attacker and using
him as a projectile weapon. He hurled him effortlessly
into two of his comrades, after which he back fisted
another that sent him flying countless feet until he
slammed into a stack of cargo. While not showing such
displays of Herculean force, Nabiki was still
dispatching her share of the human targets with just
as much speed. She always found it amazing how cocky
people could get when they have a weapon; all she had
to do was wait for the idiots to come at her. They
would then run into a fist, a foot, both, and/or be
thrown into parts unknown. 

"W...what the hell is goin on here? They're tearin
them apart!" The leader was slowly becoming frantic at
the sight of his men being plastered.

"Don't worry, I anticipated this." His second calmed
him and pulled out a two-way radio.

"Say what? You know who sent these guys?" He turned to
his partner who was being unusually collected despite
what was happening.

"Of course I do, but then you know I always prepare
for anything. We got company, pull out the big guns,"
He spoke into the radio. He had better control of the
situation than the actual leader did, something that
said leader did take notice of. "Now I suggest you
step back, this will get messy." He grinned.

The dockworkers had no idea what was happening and
could only stand there frozen in fear. They were just
hoping that they wouldn't get blamed for this.

"Well now, that was easy enough." Nabiki cracked her
neck as the last man hit the floor hard.  Ryoga had
just finished his share and she took notice of the
fact that all of his victims were scattered to the far
sides of building, she wondered exactly how strong he
was. 

"Don't think your both hot shit! You haven't seen
anything yet!" The one in the glasses yelled to the
both of them. 

"What now? Aren't you tired of us sending these poor
guys into dreamland against their will?" She kicked an
unconscious body to emphasize the point. Ryoga's brow
furrowed, he seemed to sense something was amiss.

Suddenly an engine revving could be heard emanating
from the outside. Nabiki cocked an ear only to hear
the sound becoming increasingly louder. Before anyone
knew it one of the luxury cars that was parked outside
came plowing through the very same entrance Ryoga and
Nabiki had made. The car ripped an even larger hole
and plowed over and through several dozen boxes of
cargo before coming to a screeching halt.

"I'd like you to meet two friends of mine!" The
bifocaled man laughed as two men, dressed the same as
the other unconscious hooligans, exited the mangled
vehicle. Neither of them looked special, both were of
medium size and build, one of them had black hair down
to the middle of his back and the other had his hair
white and it was spiked all over the place. "Their
names are Sodom and Gamorra. I admit they sound tacky,
but I think it suits there charming personalities." He
indicated the longhaired thug and then the spiked punk
respectively.

Nabiki squinted her eyes as she took notice of how the
two moved. Ryoga looked much the same way and it was
assured that they both knew what made this these two
that much higher than the rest.

"The reason why these two are gonna pound you into the
ground, is because there both full-body cybers!" He
laughed arrogantly; his had to be assured now. The
leader now knew why his partner was so confident; of
course he still wondered how he was able to get his
hands on two full cyborgs. 

"Well, well there actually trying aren't they?" Nabiki
grinned. Ryoga raised an eyebrow but didn't show any
other outward signs of caring about this new
development.

Sodom and Gamorra were also straight-faced as they
cleared away from the rubble and cracked their
knuckles. They movements were rigid and perfect, a
clear indication that they were not totally organic.

"Alright, lets get this started. Unless you want to
have a staring contest all day long?" Nabiki continued
smirking.

Gamorra took the challenge and charged at inhuman
speed. Reinforced muscle fibers and biosynthetic
adrenal glands pushed his acceleration and strength
far beyond human limits. Unfortunately for him his
opponent was in no way normal. His fists became blurs
as he fired off a bombardment of punches. His human
opponent seemed to be able to match him move for move,
slipping by or intercepting all of his attacks. He
knew that no organic could possibly equal him but he
still pulled back to reassess his situation.

"Do you think you can last five minutes against me?
Your looking at the latest in M2 technology, no way
some woman is gonna get past me..." He sneered. M2
technology meant that most of his cybernetics were of
higher precision that typical open-market parts. Most
likely the bulk of his internals were obtained
illegally, but the results were nothing to be laughed
at.

"Well I still seem to be in one piece. Why don't we
try that again and this time I'll actually do
something." Nabiki backed up slightly.

"Gladly." With his movements a blur he sent his foot
rocketing toward her face. His surprise was apparent
when she seized his foot and ankle easily. His terror
was more obvious when she suddenly and violently
twisted his ankle in an extremely awkward angle. She
let go of his mangled joint and let gape wide eyed at
the damage she had just so easily inflicted. By the
time his eyes moved back to her, her own foot was
crashing into his nose causing to stumble backward.

"Huh, it hasn't even been five minutes yet." She
shrugged.

Sodom and Ryoga were currently standing face to face,
eyeing each other down. The cyborg had a smug,
superior look on his face, Ryoga just looked passive
to it all.

"Have you ever been hit by a sledgehammer little man?"
Sodom asked.

"I've been hit harder than anything you can dish out."
Ryoga insulted casually.

"Let's test that theory." In that same instant a fist
backed by superhuman force slammed into Ryoga's face.
One could hear the impact all across the warehouse,
all action stopped briefly at this new development.

"Damnit, I better not have to save his butt." Nabiki
was currently in the process of ramming her knee into
her opponent's ribcage when her attention shifted to
her partner. She had never liked the idea of someone
tagging along with her in the first place. "Ohhhh
wait...I take that back."

She was referring to the fact that Ryoga had since
righted himself as the shock of the blow had caused
him to bend to one side. There wasn't even a bruise
anywhere on his face.

"W...what the..." The cyborg stammered.

"Now, allow me to show you what a real punch feels
like." Ryoga pulled back dramatically. The explosive
shockwave that shattered the windows of the warehouse
served as the marker of a blow thrown by Ryoga. The
man-machine was sent flying into the hood of the car
they crashed in from. He slowly struggled to stand
back up; when his face came back into view his jaw was
badly misaligned and sparking in some areas. 

"What the hell are you freaks?" Gamorra tried
desperately to bring up somekind of offensive but all
of his blows were missing their mark. He could not
understand what was happening, he was faster and
stronger than any normal human, so he could not fathom
why he was losing so badly.

"Being called a freak from as ugly as you is quite
hilarious." Nabiki laughed out loud. He suddenly
sprang forward and threw a right toward her face, she
turned to one side and immediately countered by firing
off a straight jab which landed hard into his mouth.
She then took hold of his extended arm and rammed her
elbow into his, completely inverting its angle. If he
were still able to feel pain he would have gone into
shock.

He stumbled back in complete horror at the magnitude
with which he was taken apart limb by limb.
Fortunately he was sent into the cyber version of
nirvana via a flying crescent kick into his chin
courtesy of the woman who just recently insulted. The
sound of his teeth clattering against the ground
affirmed that he wouldn't be standing up anytime soon.

"It feels nice to work off some frustration every now
and then." She searched the area briefly; the
dockworkers and the two drug runners had since taken
off. The police would be here for the raid anytime now
so they wouldn't get far. "Hey Ryoga! We gotta split
soon, so finish up whatever your doing!"

"This won't take long." He murmured as the last
remaining of the duo stalked closer to him.

"You little bastard. You think some steroid freak is
gonna get outta here alive!!" Sodom managed to say
through his all but destroyed mouth.

"Insults, the last bastion of the defeated." Ryoga
shook his head in pity for the man who couldn't a
thing to him.

"YOU'RE NOT GONNA BEAT ME!!!!" He swung wide with a
knife-edge chop, probably attempting to break his
enemy's neck. 

Ryoga extended one arm and easily stopped the strike
from coming anywhere near him, he then firmly held
onto his wrist which prevented him from going
anywhere.

"Let...go...of...me," Sodom struggled against the iron
grip. "How the hell...can some straight meat be
stronger than me?!!" He screamed.

"Watch and learn. Metal doesn't make the man." What
only could be described as a thunderclap echoed
throughout the area as Ryoga's foot slammed full force
into the Sodom's stomach. He was sent flying off his
feet and was shot straight out of the storehouse where
he skidded to a halt on the pavement outside.

"Bravo," Nabiki clapped. "Souvenir?" Nabiki indicated
the now severed, and leaking, arm that was dangling in
Ryoga's hand.

"Naah. I need a right arm to complete the set." He
threw the useless limb away. The sound of sirens
approaching could be heard in the distance.

"Our work is done. Hopefully we were thorough enough."
Nabiki surveyed the destruction in their wake.

"I think the authorities will be quite pleased with
our attention to detail." Ryoga grinned.

"He cracks a joke. There's hope for you yet." Nabiki
patted him on the shoulder.


***


"We'll start with you Kasumi. Were you able to make
any progress with Akira?" Soun laced his fingers
together and listened attentively.

Both parties had since returned to Heaven's Star.
Soun's daughters were currently in his office being
debriefed, there two partners of the day were politely
asked to wait outside. Kasumi took a deep breath
before beginning her recant of the day's events.

"From what little he disclosed to me, someone has been
threatening his family. He wouldn't say who it was so
all I know is that the reason he broke away from you
is because they swore they would take action against
them if he didn't." 

Soun massaged the bridge of his nose and muttered
something under his breath.

"Would he accept our protection?" Soun asked while
still weighing the options.

"I tried, but he doesn't want to take that risk. He's
afraid...and he won't do anything that will put his
family in any possible danger." Kasumi understood that
fact, and she knew he was justified in try to defend
his home but there was really no reason for him to
order his students to attack them. She was beginning
to suspect if the same individuals that were
threatening him also ordered him to attack Ranma and
herself.

"Perfect...and what about you Nabiki? Hopefully your
situation did not turn out to be so convoluted." Soun
chuckled morosely.

"Yes...and no. These guys were definitely not
professionals, they got the stuff through a couple of
dock workers who decided that the get rich quick
scheme would be perfect for them." Nabiki thoughts
raced back to the site of the trio who were frozen in
fear when everything starting hitting the fan for
them.

"Yes, they and all those involved are being dealt with
as we speak." Soun assured. "The authorities were very
pleased with the state of the offenders when they
arrived. They are, of course, are stating that they
attempted to resist and they had to be subdued."

"Let's hope they don't sue for police brutality,"
Nabiki laughed "But here's where its gets interesting.
They didn't have firearms, so they weren't directly
connected with anyone big. They did, however, have two
full cybers."

"Two?" Soun asked in sudden interest.

"Yeah, as you know full cyborgization surgery and the
parts required for it are in no way cheap, and these
guys were both black market on top of it. Meaning
whomever those two were working for have some SERIOUS
financial backing. From where, I have no idea." Nabiki
had figured, by the abilities Sodom and Gamorra had
shown however limited, the both of them together had
to be in the range of over 20 to 50 million. Simple
drug runners couldn't have supplied such a hefty
amount; it had to be a legal organization.

"This...gets better by the minute," Soun sighed.
"Also...what is your assessment of Ranma and Ryoga?"

They were both silent for several seconds while trying
to find the words to answer.

"While...I did not actually see him fight, given the
number of attackers and their level of skill, I would
have to say that Ranma performed quite admirably."
Kasumi nodded her approval. Then both hers and Soun's
eyes turned to Nabiki, who shifted uncomfortably.

"I...may...have been quick to judge at the
beginning...," Nabiki now had to swallow her pride, at
least for the moment. "He took care himself well
enough. He's a strong boy, out powered a full cyber
like nothing, he must take his vitamins religiously. I
was MARGINALLY impressed. Only a little." She made
sure to emphasize that point.

"Excellent." Soun pressed a button that opened a
comlink. "Enter." The two teenagers entered and stood
at attention. "I'm glad you rate their skills so
highly."

Kasumi and Nabiki wondered exactly what he was getting
at.

"Because these two are going to be your future
husbands."


***


Location: Silver Sword Enterprises, LTD. Tokyo, Japan.
Meeting of the Board of Directors.
Begin Recording...

"Please begin your report Mr. Gosunkugi." Hideo Kuno,
owner and creator of Silver Sword, sat at the head of
a table occupied the by the department heads of his
company.

A somewhat scrawny and pale man in glasses stood and
then set down and opened a file folder that was in his
hand.

"How to begin...," Tetsuo Gosunkugi murmured. "Many of
you are aware that, as of late, a number of our
operations have been foiled by the efforts of the
enforcers of Heaven's Star. To this date our own
forces, though superior in number, have been unable to
compete with them."

Many of the board members nodded in affirmation. A
familiar silver haired individual at Kuno's right
frowned in admission.

"Therefore, utilizing our most elite spies and recon
teams, we have begun building an extensive dossier of
Heaven's Star's agents and there capabilities." He
picked up a remote from the table and clicked a
button. A small translucent screen appeared in mid-air
in front of each board member. "We shall begin with
the events that occurred three days ago. We attempted
to eliminate two of their most skilled operatives...it
did not go as planned."

The footage began with a typical negotiation at a
well-known club. It of course then degenerated into a
violent altercation, an extremely one-sided
altercation. The depictions of there men being
destroyed one by one was made quite clear to everyone.

"As you can clearly see our men were totally
overpowered. Despite the fact that they were armed and
armored they stood no chance against the two females,
who were completely unarmed." Gosunkugi made sure he
iterated the fact that the targets possessed no
weapons or form of protection save themselves.

Everyone watching murmured comments that couldn't be
made out, eventually one of them asked a question that
was on everyone's mind.

"Why are the bullets having no effect?" A green haired
female board member asked. She was referring to the
gunfire being sent toward a longhaired woman who
seemed to be walking straight through the hail of
bullets.

"That concerned us as well. Allow me to replay the
same scene in slow motion." As such the action rewound
itself and then repeated again at a snail's pace.
"Watch her movements very closely." 

The shifts in her position were so fast and so slight,
that even at slow motion it seemed she was standing
still. A single step to the left or right, a tilt of
her head, or simply nothing at all was enough to bring
her clear out of a bullet's path.

"Amazing. How is that possible?" The same member
asked.

"More than once, as you will see, they have displayed
strength, speed, and reflexes that far exceed normal
human capacity." Gosunkugi pressed a button on the
remote and the scene switched to that of the estate of
Akira Odagirii. "This footage was taken today. It is
from the mansion of Akira Odagirii owner of Starline
Reasearch and Development, they were once heavily tied
with Heaven's Star, but steps have recently been taken
to change that." He half-smiled, as did certain other
members.

The scene showed the beginning of what would be a
lengthly confrontation between nearly all of Akira's
students and two individuals, a teenage boy and girl.

"You most likely recognize the girl. She was also
present at the Edge incident." Gosunkugi pointed. 

The battle was joined. After a few minutes the boy had
decided that he required more space and made a break
for the exit. The girl remained behind to dispatch the
students that were left.

"The number was overwhelming. Yet she effectively
incapacitated every assailant without taxing her
physical exertion." The scene then showed her use of
an unusual technique that seemed to involve air
pressure.

"What is she doing?" A member asked just before the
moment passed. The scene was immediately paused at the
moment her fist came forward and the target keeled
over.

"That, from what we have been able to deduce, is a
fighting technique that utilizes the manipulation of
the surrounding air currents. At that moment, her fist
was moving at an estimated rate of 110 M.P.H"
Gosunkugi explained as he pushed his glasses up.
Several of the members gasped in amazement. "A direct
blow from such an attack would instantly kill any
human as you can likely presume."

The scene switched from the inside to the outside. The
boy who accompanied her was engaging six other
individuals.

"This man presents a problem. Some of you may
recognize him." Murmurs of recognition filled the room
briefly. "He is one of a two man team that is quite
well known within the operative-for-hire trade. Ranma
Saotome." 

The video showed Ranma engaging the enemy force, he
seemed to effortlessly disarm and dispatch any and all
who challenged him. This rate of success increased as
he liberated two blades from fallen students. 

"It is unknown whether this team has taken a contract
with Heaven's Star. They entered Tokyo three days ago
under false names, dropped off the radar and only
today have they revealed themselves since then."  
Tetsuo passed a security file of Ranma around the
table.

Another button press showed a split screen of two
battles occurring at once. Ranma with the swords, and
Kasumi engaged with one as well.

"There combat skill with katanas is superb. One would
think that such talent would be derived from years of
training, however, from what my informants have
gathered there training with bladed weapons is
limited." Gosunkugi once again switched scenes, this
one being the match between Akira and Kasumi. "Akira
Odagirii is a world champion in kendo and a
grandmaster of aikido. In theory he should have the
advantage in experience and skill." 

This obviously wasn't so as the battle was totally in
favor of Kasumi was on the offensive the entire bout.
Eventually she completely overwhelmed her opponent who
was forced to submit.

"Whatever advantage Odagirii would've possessed was
nullified by the sheer speed and strength of his
opponent. She was too fast and too strong for him to
cope with, as such he was easily defeated." 

A button click and the battle at the port was shown. 

"The footage you are seeing is also from today, it
involved the exchange of narcotics that, while
indirectly, would have been of great interest to us."

The scene was shown of the outside. Two individuals
appeared from the bottom of the screen to engage two
guards in an extremely brief exchange.

"The male is the second part of the two man team, his
name is Ryoga Hibiki. Both are Black-1 Elite ranked
operatives and are notorious as being two of the most
highly sought after and highly paid mercenaries in the
world. They have been blacklisted by several
government agencies including the C.I.A, S.A.S, and
the Mossad."

One of the guards was used a battering ram of sorts as
he was sent crashing through the door and into the
storehouse courtesy of Mr. Hibiki. The scene
immediately switched to the inside. There seemed to be
an exchange of banter before the first blow was
struck.

"You seemed to have skipped a frame." One of the
members indicated Nabiki's sudden disappearance. The
camera then seemed to be searching anxiously for the
target.

"That was no frame skip. What you just witnessed was a
burst of speed so sudden and extreme, that she quite
literally vanished from sight for a brief second."
Gosunkugi scanned over the papers in front of him for
a brief moment. "It appears we were unable to
determine her exact rate of movement, all attempts to
do so resulted in a partial overload of the system."

Once again a round of whispers came from the board
members.

"The result of there battle with the henchman is no
surprise. They were totally decimated without
incident. The true shock comes from this." Tetsuo
indicated the brief fight with drug runners'
mercenaries. The video was then fast-forwarded past
the car crash and into the fight that began against
the two occupants of said vehicle.

"These two particular individuals are in actuality
high performance full body combat-type cyborgs. The
monetary resource for there creation came on a loan
from us. It is a common known fact that a full-body
cyborg possesses abilities vastly superior to a human.
These two of the M2 model type." He gave the technical
specifications before continuing.

The fight between Gamorra and Nabiki showed how
backward that statement seemed to be.

"This, should be impossible; yet what you are seeing
is a full bloodied human taking down a full cyborg,
with ease. He suffered from a destroyed ankle and
elbow joint, as well as several levels of internal
organ destruction and bone breakage." Gosunkugi read
off the diagnostic print out.

"How can this be? From what you have shown us Tendo
essentially possesses super humans under him." A bald
board member commented.

"That might not be far off from the truth." He
switched to the action between Ryoga and Sodom. "The
strength depicted here by Mr. Hibiki is beyond
comprehension. In a single blow he generated enough
force to not only cause irreversible damage to the
resistant skeletal structure of his opponent, but to
also knock him several him several feet into the air.
All of this without causing injury to himself."

Gamorra was then shown being knocked unconscious in a
single blow after having his elbow severely fractured.
Sodom was put out with a vicious kick that completely
severed his artificial arm and sent him flying out of
camera.

"Are you entirely positive they are fully human? How
can a full blooded human produce such power?" Kuno's
silver haired assistant wondered.

"The women are fully human. The two operatives,
however, are not," Tetsuo began as the screen split
again, they depicted scenes that showed the best full
image of the two partners, only this time it was
infrared. "I would like to bring to your attention the
heat signatures being shown, there are areas of their
body that bring into question their totality as
organics." He indicated the areas of dark blue on
their body that should have been red. 

"Replacement implants." Kuno noticed.

"Exactly sir. They both possess Level 2 Cybercoms.
Ranma Saotome has a Cyclops implant, or Cyke as the
slang term, coupled to his brainplug. This system is
exclusive to specialists in reconnaissance and covert
operations." He pointed out the dark area that
encompassed Ranma's left temple and eye. "Ryoga Hibiki
has a customized P.D., the abbreviation for
Piledriver, in place of his right arm which also
junctioned to his Cybercom. This system is known for
its wide range of types from data manipulation to
military applications. His type appears to be a custom
model from the first category." The dark area indeed
included his entire right arm and parts of his
shoulder.

"Could that be the reason he so overpowered his
opponent?" A brown haired member spoke up.

"No, we don't believe it is." He rewound to the scene
of initial impact of Ryoga's fist to Sodom's face. "As
you can see, in this incident he was attacking with
his organic arm. There fighting ability is not the
result of their implants." Gosunkugi finally
deactivated the screen.

"Those two women we just saw, I recognize them..."
Kuno observed. "Are they not Soun Tendo's own
daughters?"

"They are sir, Kasumi and Nabiki Tendo. Each one is an
elite martial artist, their caliber is quite well
known amongst certain circles. It is rumored that his
third daughter, Akane Tendo, possesses this same
potential."

"And now they have the aid Ranma Saotome and Ryoga
Hibiki, they are also renowned for there prowess in
combat. This bodes ill for us." Kuno's assistant
admitted gravely.

"I have already sanctioned Tatewaki to deal with them.
They will pose no further threat." Hideo informed
them.

"Very good sir, which brings me to my final point."
Gosunkugi's voice became grave. "Agito was correct in
his statement. We are at a crossroads ladies and
gentlemen. In our current state we are no match for
Heaven's Star's forces. The power and ability of there
agents is far beyond anything our men are capable of
achieving."

All the board member listened to his words carefully.

"In order for us to compete with such odds, we must
find and recruit individuals of similar skill and
potential. We must also better utilize the resources
we have at hand to combat them. This brings me to the
point of your son and daughter, Tatewaki and Kodachi,
Mr. Kuno." He turned to the president himself.

"I'm listening." Hideo had an idea of what he was
getting at.

"We have observed your children for quite some time.
They have shown remarkable strides within there
respective fields, and there potential could very well
be the equal to Tendo's fighters. While I understand
you reserve their services only for the most vital
assignments, it would be in our best interest if we
utilized their abilities in more general purpose
affairs." 

"I understand. I will have to take up the subject with
the both of them as soon as possible."

"To that end I turn the remainder of this meeting to
Mr. Sentaro Daimonji." He nodded toward the
brown-haired male member. "His department has been
recently spearheading the development of the latest in
close-combat technology. If you would Mr. Daimonji."
Gosunkugi retook his seat; everyone was quite
impressed with his presentation.

The man in question rose and produced a long case from
beside his chair.

"In order to being about the full potential of your
children we have made certain strides to help enhance
their respective talents." Sentaro laid the case upon
the table, opened it, and presented its contents to
Hideo. "I'm sure your son Tatewaki will be very
pleased, consider it a gift compliments of my
division." He bowed. "Kodachi's 'project' is still in
development and should be ready for initial testing
within the month."

"Excellent. I knew that my faith in you all was not
wasted. Gosunkugi, continue your surveillance.
Daimonji, alert me immediately as to the completion of
the project. Agito," Hideo turned to his assistant.
"You will begin immediately in the rebuilding of our
forces. Gosunkugi and the Intelligence Division will
aid you in this affair. You may begin by firing every
last employee in our security and field operations
divisions, we must restructure from the ground up if
we are to once again be a credible threat to Heaven's
Star."

"Yes sir." Agito rose from his seat and bowed.

"This meeting is adjourned."




To Be Continued......... 









Author's Notes:
1). FINALLY!! Man, this chapter took some time in
doing. I must have gone through around 3-5 revisions
before I fell on something I really liked. I'm very
pleased with the results and I'm glad I just didn't
resort to turning in crap. I hope you like this
chapter as much as I did. As always Comment and
Criticism are more than welcome, whether they are
positive or negative.

2). Kinnosuke Kashuoh, is an actual character that
appears in Volume 29 of the manga. He is basically a
male version of Nabiki in that he is a cold and
calculating conartist, in fact it is speculated they
had feelings for each other. In the manga he is 16,
but for my purposes I increased his age and made him a
former cybercriminal and conartist. You most likely
will be seeing more of him later on. 

Sentaro Daimonji is also a real character. He appears
in volume 5 of the manga and he is a master of
Anything-Goes Martial Arts Tea Ceremony. 

The names Sodom and Gamorra, besides there obvious
biblical reference, were inspired by two human
punching bags for Ryu and Ken in the Street Fight 2 V
series.


3). I'd like to give my deepest thanks to the next in
line as God of Manga, the current being Osamu Tezuka,
Masamune Shirow himself. This story was spawned by one
of the greatest mangas ever made, Ghost in the Shell,
as well as his well renowned artbook, Intron Depot.
Any fans of his out there probably deduced that from
the get go. Many of my ideas were inspired (or uhhhh
ripped off, depending on your view...) by these two
works and I highly suggest them to any cyberpunk and
sci-fi fan out there. Other mangas he has so
gloriously written include Appleseed, Dominion Tank
Police, Black Magic, Black Magic M-66 (anime only),
and the fantasy themed Orion.


Home Page:
http://users.animanga.com/shadowlands

E-Mail:
Midnight_sunus@yahoo.com













 




















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