Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Balance of Power ❯ Journey Getting Closer ( Chapter 17 )

Journey

Chapter 11

Getting Closer

Ryoga yawned; sleeping on a fold out couch with a very large muscular black man beside you was not the best way to sleep. It was probably one A.M. He rolled over and checked the clock that was situated on the wall. Six A.M, great. They would be getting up in about an hour. Ryoga silently left the make shift bed and slipped out of the room. He was surprised when he was faced with two guards holding guns.

"Can we help you?" one of the guards asked.

"Uh, I was just planning on taking a walk around the place," Ryoga told them truthfully.

"Alright, but stay on this floor and make sure you don't leave."

Ryoga left the corridor and started to look around. He had never seen a building like this. As well traveled as Ryoga was, he didn't get involved with the government of any country, except when he needed a visa to get in their country.

Damn that stupid Ranma, Ryoga thought. The moron's made everyone believe his moronic plan.

Before they had retired for the evening, Ranma had regaled them with his plan on how to get them on another airplane without any of the Chinese knowing that it was them. His plan consisted of using his and Ranma's curse, and making Akane bind her breasts in an attempt to make her look like a man. For Akari, Ranma had suggested that they dress her up like an American and make use of her English skills.

While Ryoga had to admit that he could not think of another way for them to get on the plane without being arrested, which still did not mean he had to like it.

Ryoga checked his surroundings; he was in a very large room with an equally large table. There was a man sitting down at the far end of the table so Ryoga decided to ask for directions.

"Hi," Ryoga greeted. The man looked up. "Uh, do you think you could give me directions?"

The man shook his head and said something in English.

"Oh, you don't speak Japanese," Ryoga said. He frowned and sat down at the table. "I'd better just sit here and wait for my friends then."

The man called out to someone in another room, he turned back to Ryoga and held out his hand. "Basil."

"Ryoga," he took the extended hand and shook it.

A man walked through a swinging door carrying a plate and mug; he set the plate and mug down in front of Ryoga.

"Thank you," Ryoga said, bowing his head. The man smiled and went back to his plate and started to read some documents that were sitting beside his plate. Ryoga looked down at his own plate, eggs, bacon, and sausages. He smiled to himself.

"Well, this is one way to say goodbye to my pig side," Ryoga thought to himself.

===============

Defense Minister Mai Zhisheng was responsible for the defense of his entire country. China was a very large country, but because China had even more money invested in its military than America, the borders could easily be protected. Zhisheng was nearing seventy years of age, and his body showed that clearly. With a life spent on the political end of life, he had never been a very large practitioner of exercise. His face was shallow, and he was losing most of his hair.

He was heading to a meeting with the other Politburo members. The meeting had been called because they were to discuss their recent agreement to return the renegade province to the mainland. It had been too long that Taiwan had been on its own and it was time for them to act.

His driver stopped and quickly got out of the car to hold the door open for Zhisheng. Zhisheng stepped out and walked into the building. His secretary, Bi Zhao, walked along side him as they entered the room. She took her seat at a chair located at the wall, behind her boss. She extracted a note pad; Zhao would be taking notes of this meeting. Zhisheng had told her that this meeting would holds great importance and he would need to ensure that all the other members would be quoted directly in what they were saying.

Everyone looked to the door when Premier Renyang entered. He took his seat at the front of the table.

"Let us get this meeting underway," Renyang said, taking the time to make sure he was comfortable.

Zhisheng cleared his throat, "Comrades, the last time we met we discussed and decided upon the reclaiming of Taiwan. Now I would like us to start planning the steps we will need to take to ensure victory."

Everyone at the table nodded; a sign for him to continue.

"Now, as I told everyone at the last meeting, Taiwan does not have a strong military presence. The few weapons they have are the ones that have been supplied to them by the Americans. If we can carry out this operation without anyone finding out beforehand, we should be able to take Taiwan back without even firing a shot."

That was a lie, but only Zhisheng knew that. The Taiwanese government would fight the invading forces until there last breath. But if Zhisheng could get the approval from Renyang for what he was about to propose, then the province could be claimed without any major resistance.

"But there is a problem," Zhisheng told them. "The Taiwanese president, Lee, will not allow for the mainland to claim his country. In a report that I received this morning, he openly said to his staff and I quote `Mainland China can make as many threats as they want, but they will not take this country back with petty threats or by staging war games off the coast. They will never live to see Taiwan back under their red flag'."

"And where did you get this information?" That was the Transportation Minister, Ma Jingshu.

"I have a few sources inside President Lee's staff," Zhisheng said casually. "But were going to have to put that aside for now. The reason I had asked Premier Renyang to call this meeting is so that we can discuss another operation that we are trying to stage before we reclaim Taiwan."

They waited for him to continue.

"We all know that President Lee has a meeting planned to visit America next month, and Lee has been proclaiming that this visit is nothing more than a simple trip to visit his old graduating school. But I'm sure you all know that the real reason for Lee's visit is so he can promote Taiwan's independence, which he will do and play off of the American's sense of friendship for democratic nations."

"Does this really pose that big of a threat?" Jingshu asked.

"Yes," Zhisheng nodded, "If Lee is going to make the Americans start to feel sympathy towards Taiwanese independence than were going to be facing a large problem dealing with them. I would expect that they would rise to the defense of Taiwan if we were to invade."

"But America has officially stated that there is one, and only one China," the Premier said.

"That's true," Zhisheng nodded. "But what do you think the Americans will do once they find out we've taken Taiwan back by force when Lee has been passing themselves off as a democratic nation?" He didn't wait for them to answer. "I think we would find ourselves backed into a corner facing a very dangerous enemy. America has been supplying Taiwan with defensive weapons for over a decade. And why are they doing it? So they can keep up their good relations."

"So what are you proposing we do Zhisheng?" Renyang asked.

Zhisheng took a moment to study the faces of all the Politburo members. He saw that they were all waiting intently for him to continue.

"I believe it is in the best interest of the state if this board were to eliminate President Lee."

"You mean assassinate him?" Jingshu asked incredulously.

"If we don't do it than how can we expect to take Taiwan back without getting attacked by the Americans?" another member asked.

"But this is an act of war!" someone protested.

"We were already committed to invade Taiwan, so in that we've already decided to carry out one act of war."

Zhisheng turned and looked at the Premier. Renyang was watching the others bicker. He raised his hands and silenced the room.

"Zhisheng, if we were to assassinate Lee, wouldn't the Americans find out and put us in the same position as before?"

Always were the smart one Renyang, Zhisheng thought.

"Yes it would, but only if we used a Chinese soldier," he told them.

"So were going to use some other country to do this; that would simply allow us to be at the knees of some other country," Jingshu said.

"Did I say I was going to use another country?" Zhisheng asked quietly. The room silenced again. "I have contacted a man in Japan that is willing to do the job for a fair sum. He has agreed to the terms I put in and I have faith that he will carry the operation out."

"So you have gone behind the back of the Politburo and already committed your actions?" the head of the PLA asked angrily.

"No comrade," Zhisheng said, "I have merely found a man to carry out this plan, but I have neither given him conformation nor details upon when he will have to do this."

"And who is this man?" Wei Liang, the head of the PLA asked.

"He is a member of the Japanese Yakuza," Zhisheng told them simply.

"So we are going to do business with petty criminals," Jingshu said, it was a statement, not a question.

"This man is not a real member of the Yakuza; he just does jobs for them on a frequent rate. He has already asked the head Yakuza member and gotten confirmation for him to do this."

"What is his name?" Renyang asked.

"Bai Pinghan."

"He is Chinese?"

"Yes, and a very dedicated Maoist," Zhisheng told them.

"So how is he supposed to assassinate Lee?"

"He is going to travel to Taipei a week before the assassination and map out the area where Lee is going to travel to get to the airport to travel to America. He is going to take a few other Yakuza and wait in some of the buildings that outline the street and when Lee's car comes down the street, they will fire RPG's at the car and the following cars that will be carrying Lee's protective detail. During the ensuing chaos they will escape."

"And what if they are captured, will they not finger us as the real perpetrators of the crime?" Renyang asked.

"They are the Yakuza, they are hated and despised, and everyone will be waiting for the chance to hang them for once and for all," Zhisheng told him. "We should have no worries on that respect."

"Alright," Renyang said as he sat up fully in his chair, "I think this is the right course of action and we will hold a vote of no confidence."

And that was that, no one would dare go against the Premier. Around the table it went and everyone's vote was the same, even Jingshu.

"We will reconvene tomorrow and discuss the finer details," Renyang said, ending the meeting.

===============

Hitomi Yumi had been a Yakuza member for most of his life. He ran away from his home when he was twelve and joined a gang but was soon lured to the Yakuza. After nearly twenty years with the organization he had become a well respected member, arrested over seventeen times. And now he was given the duty to observe a bunch of people involved with Maruyama's death. He had done stuff like this before but he felt that he was above it.

He was assigned to watch whatever ones were at this Tendo Dojo place. It seemed that it was just a bunch of old people and one young couple. The young girl there was very pretty and so was the older woman. It was a shame that they were going to have to kill them, but maybe he could convince the others that it would be far more useful if they kept at least the woman alive.

This group of people would be the easiest to eliminate. All they needed to do was round them up into their Dojo and set the place on fire. It would be a terrible way to die but, once you cross the Yakuza you forfeit your life.

He watched as the young girl walked out of the house with the younger man in tow. You could tell the two liked each other. They joined hands and walked down the street towards downtown.

Yumi decided to follow them; he started his car and drove down the same street they were on. He drove past the couple and parked his car around the corner; he got out and walked down into the market. He walked by a few vendors and then turned around. The man and woman were checking each vendor as they passed, offering a friendly greeting as they did so. Finally the two stopped and picked up what looked to be some fish. They thanked the vendor and started back the way they came.

Yumi didn't bother following them but instead decided to approach the vendor that they had been at.

"Do you know who that couple was?" he asked the vendor.

"That's Kasumi Tendo and Dr. Ono Tofu," the vendor said. "I'm surprised Dr. Tofu could even be near Kasumi let alone hold hands."

Yumi didn't bother listening to the rest; he walked off and got into his car. He started it up and drove away.

`So, Kasumi Tendo and Ono Tofu, your lives are not long for this world.'

===============

Ukyo was tired. She had spent the past five hours calling places for Nabiki. When Cologne had stopped by and told them that they were going to need a way for everyone to communicate, even when they were on the streets, Nabiki had suggested that Ukyo call up some electronic places and see if she could find some really good cell phones for everyone. Ukyo did just that, and now she was waiting for the manager at the National Mitsubishi store in downtown Tokyo. The moron that answered the phone couldn't understand why she would need ten of their most expensive cell phones.

She glanced over at Konatsu, who was staring outside a window. The Kunoichi was never very good with talking to people over the phone so she couldn't really get him to help.

Konatsu felt Ukyo's eyes on him but didn't bother turning. He needed to think right now and he didn't really want to have to face Ukyo. After he had comforted Ukyo when she had broken down and cried, Konatsu realized that he didn't really know how to approach Ukyo and tell her that he was in love with her. As far as Konatsu knew, Ukyo was still hung up on Ranma and wouldn't even care when he told her.

He sighed and leaned his head against his hand.

===============

Nabiki looked at Kuno incredulously. "Are you insane Kuno?"

"I believe I have control over all my mental abilities Nabiki Tendo."

"But why would you want to go to China?"

"I must find out for myself if Ranma Saotome is truly the man you think him to be and not the ravenous cretin that I think he is," Kuno said.

"Listen to me Kuno, you can't go to China, and you don't even know where Ranma and the others are."

"I must find this out myself Nabiki Tendo, if Ranma Saotome is actually an honorable man than I must find him and offer my apologies. I can't have this resting upon my head until he returns; this is something that needs to be done."

"You're insane Kuno," Nabiki said. "Can't you just take my word that Ranma's not the evil man that you have made him out to be?"

"I have learned throughout our entire friendship Nabiki Tendo, that one should note take your word for anything, unless given a proper sum."

Nabiki winced from his words. The jerks right, I haven't done anything that would make him want to trust me.

"Look Kuno-baby," Nabiki said, using the nickname she had come up with for him over ten years ago. "You may be an egotistical moron but I'm going to need you here if were going to protect everyone from those Yakuza bastards alright. Now you are not going to China and that's final!"

Kuno was taken aback by Nabiki's strong words. "If I did not know any better Nabiki Tendo, I would think that you are worried about my well-being."

"Your damn right I am!" Nabiki shouted, then immediately clamped her hand over her mouth.

Kuno's eyes widened and he stared at the girl sitting in front of him. His mind was racing a mile a minute.

`Nabiki Tendo just said she cared for me. Does this mean that she loves me? But what about Akane, and the pig-tailed girl. Am I not in love with them and them me? What am I to do?'

Nabiki was not much better.

`Oh no, what have I done? Now Kuno's going to think I like him and I don't want that. He's probably going to jump up and try and grab me and hug me.'

Kuno rose to his feet and cast a sideways glance at Nabiki before retreating from the room.

`What? He didn't even try and do anything, Nabiki thought. Wait, what am I thinking? Why the hell should I be disappointed that Kuno didn't try and grab me?'

Nabiki rose to her feet as well and left the room. She turned down the hallway and came to the room where Ukyo and Konatsu were.

"Okay, so you'll have them delivered by today? Great, thank you," Ukyo said sweetly into the phone as she hung up. She turned and faced Nabiki.

"You've got your phones."

"Great," Nabiki said without any particular enthusiasm. She walked over to the table Ukyo was at and thumped down in one of the chairs and laid her head down on the table.

"What's wrong?" Ukyo asked.

"Oh just Kuno-baby, the fool thinks that he needs to go to China in order to find out if Ranma is truly as bad he thinks he is," Nabiki said.

"Whoa, does this mean Kuno may actually figure out about Ranma and his curse?" Ukyo asked. She could see that Konatsu was no longer looking out the window, he was looking towards them.

"I don't know," Nabiki said tiredly. "All I know is, I'm confused and I need a drink."

Nabiki got to her feet and walked out of the room, she returned with a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses. She set the wine bottle on the table and popped the cork.

"Uh, Nabiki?" Ukyo asked.

"Yeah Ukyo?" Nabiki asked as she poured the wine into the glasses.

"I'm only seventeen; I'm not old enough to drink."

"Your never to young to try some fine wine my friend, it's like drinking a nice bottle of water, don't gulp it, always savor the drink. Think of it like it's your last. Here," she handed Ukyo the glass and took a sip of her own. Nabiki turned to Konatsu and extended the other glass.

Konatsu shook his head in the negative and was about to turn back to his window when Nabiki spoke.

"Konatsu, you have to drink this, think of it as a little celebratory drink."

Konatsu looked warily at the glass but gave in and took it. He sipped it and smiled, the liquid seemed to warm his insides.

"Thanks Nabiki," he said.

"You're welcome Konatsu, now, how about a toast?" Nabiki said.

"If I will have the honors?" Ukyo said. "My friends, we are in a time where things are tough. Our friends are in a foreign land with enemies after them. We are here with our lives in danger but, at this moment I don't think that any of us could ask for a better time."

"Here, here," Nabiki said, taking a drink. Everyone followed suit.

Konatsu smiled demurely and took another tiny sip of his drink. He let himself enjoy the moment.

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Author's Notes: This is one of my favorite chapters, at least where dialogue is concerned. My wife doesn't exactly enjoy writing dialogue for the other Tendo sisters and Ukyo, but I think she does a fine job. She is very talented.

I hope everyone has been enjoying the story so far, and I hope everyone has been writing reviews.