Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Balance of Power ❯ Journey But Not Close Enough ( Chapter 18 )

Journey

Chapter 12

But Not Close Enough

"What a cute little pig you have," the stewardess said, handing Ranma a spare pillow for the flight.

"Why thank you," Ranma replied. In her arms she held a very annoyed looking pig.

Ranma plopped down in a seat beside Akane and Akari. Akane looked a little uncomfortable, while Akari looked quite happy dressed in her American clothes.

"Jeez Akane, you could have tried deepening your voice a little, that stewardess thought you were some kind of freak," Ranma said as she readjusted the skirt she was wearing.

"And don't you look pretty in your dress Ranma," Akane said snidely.

"Well, when you've got what I've got, you just have to flaunt it," Ranma said laughing.

Akane debated the pros and cons of pounding Ranma but, she instead decided to flip through some magazines.

"Here, let me take Ryoga from you," Akari said as she removed the pig from Ranma's lap. She put Ryoga on her lap and whispered to him. "I know you don't like being like this Ryoga, but we've got no choice."

"That's right Mr. P," Ranma said, "so just sit there and keep your pork hole closed."

Akari looked over at Ranma and saw that she was smiling at the enraged pig in Akari's lap. She held Ryoga closer, lest he actually attack Ranma on the airplane and create an incident.

"Stop it the both of you," Akari said sharply, "I don't want to have to explain to the people on this plane why there was a girl and a pig fighting and I'm sure Akane doesn't either."

Ranma and Ryoga looked a little ashamed; they stole one quick glance at each other before turning away.

Ranma leaned across the isle and tapped Parker on his massive shoulder.

"What is it Ranma?" Phillip asked as he turned around in his seat.

"I was just wondering how you got us on board this plane without us having to use any passports or visas."

Phil smiled at Ranma, "Don't let anyone tell you that bribery is a bad thing Ranma. American money can obviously go a long way in this country."

Beside Phil, Seiji shook his head. "You are absolutely corrupting the boy Phillip."

"What?" Parker asked as he turned to face Seiji. "All I'm doing is showing him how to be more like me."

"Great, just what the world needs, two Parkers that are still in the prime of their youth."

Ranma leaned back into her seat as Seiji and Phil continued their little bickering match. She readjusted her skirt again. The damn thing kept riding up, how the hell could girls actually wear these things all the time? Ranma asked herself.

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Ishii kept his cloak pulled tightly around his head, as he walked through the airplane terminal. He needed to keep the cloak to help disfigure his face from any sort of monitoring equipment the Chinese might have installed. He had no doubts that he was obviously being followed, he just wasn't sure to what extent.

Where the hell is Gate 67? He asked himself, finding something in an airport was like trying to find the lost city of Atlantis.

He wandered by the man that had been shadowing him earlier. Once he saw where Ishii was heading, the man quickly left.

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As the plane taxied down the runway Ranma attempted to stretch her legs. But doing so caused the skirt to rise up to a dangerous height and Akari quickly grabbed the edge of the skirt before Ranma gave the other passengers an eyeful.

"Ranma, I think I'm beginning to understand what Akane means when she says you have no feminine modesty," lightly shaking her head.

"Hey! I don't need feminine modesty," Ranma protested. "I'm a guy."

Down on Akari's lap, Ryoga started chuckling.

"Shut up pig," Ranma said angrily. "I'm more man than you are right now. And I'm definitely going to be the first one getting his cure."

The small pig in Akari's arms looked angrily at Ranma and lunged, but was caught by Akari and held tightly against her chest.

"I thought I explained at the beginning of flight about how I don't want you two fighting," Akari said to the pig. Unfortunately the pig happened to be pressed against her chest and was experiencing temporary brain lock.

Ranma shook her head resignedly and looked away from the scene.

The pilot came over the intercom. *We've reached our destination, thank you for flying Nippon Airways*

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Ishii nearly cried out with joy when he saw everyone walk out of the gate. He walked quickly to them and told Seiji everything that he had heard while trailing Minoru, Kimura, and Koga.

"Are you certain of this?" Seiji asked.

"Yes!" Ishii said almost hysterically.

"Let's get the hell out of here before we do anything," Seiji said. He let Ishii lead them to a waiting car outside the airport.

"You four get into this car," Seiji ordered, pointing to the young Japanese. "It will take you to a hotel. We will get a cab."

Ranma and the others climbed into the car and it quickly sped away.

"Once they get to the hotel, what are they going to do?" Parker asked.

The question caught Ishii and Seiji off guard and it showed.

"I didn't think of that," Ishii admitted. "Oh well, how hard will it be to get a cab here?"

"Shouldn't be that hard," Seiji said as he scanned the drop-off area of the airport. They spotted a cab and quickly waved it down. Seiji instructed the driver to take them to the Qinghai Hotel Xining.

"I hope we get there before those kids can start any trouble," Parker said. "I've noticed that Akari is the only one that has an average amount of patience."

"Don't worry Phillip, I doubt that any of them would try and cause some trouble down there."

Parker nodded but that didn't help dispel the feeling of dread that he was feeling. As a soldier he possessed a sixth sense about situations, and at the moment the hairs on the back of his neck were standing.

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They arrived at the hotel and quickly ran inside. Once entering the front foyer, they noticed that something was wrong. There was no one there. The entire place looked deserted.

Ishii withdrew a Beretta nine-millimeter and held it in the Weaver stance.

"Damn," Parker cursed, "I left my goddamned gun at the embassy back in Beijing."

"What room did you have reserved Ishii?" Seiji asked quietly.

"Room 117," Ishii responded as he checked behind the front desk.

They made their way to the elevator and just as they were about to enter, a voice from behind made them spin around.

"Hello Seiji, it's been awhile."

Coming through the front doors of the hotel were Koga, Minoru, and Kimura.

"You fucking traitor!" Ishii screamed, raising the Beretta to eye level so he would have a better shot at Minoru.

"I would not advise you to take such actions," Koga said. "If you value the lives of your friends I would suggest that you lower the gun and slide it over here."

Minoru called to someone they could not see. Ranma, Ryoga, Akane, and Akari stepped into view. They were handcuffed and had bounds across their mouths. Ranma and Ryoga were bound with an extra chain as well. Standing behind them were four men holding Ak-47's with the bayonet attached. The bayonets were used to lead the captives when they did not immediately respond to commands.

Ishii, seeing them, lowered his gun and slid it across the floor. Minoru smirked and picked up the weapon.

"Nice to see you finally put in your place Ishii."

Koga signaled for the three men to follow them, which they did. They walked out of the hotel and led into some waiting cars. They were driven to a very remote area which was surrounded by trees.

Minoru and Kimura led them to a cabin that was situated in the woods and Koga soon joined them.

"Now, maybe you would all be so kind as to tell me just what you have learned in these past weeks. Especially whatever you have learned about certain Chinese activities."

When no one answered he motioned for one of the guards to step forward.

"Remove the bayonet," Koga ordered. The guard complied. "Now hand it to me."

Koga walked slowly but purposely toward Seiji. "Now, tell me what you know."

Seiji did the first thing that popped into his mind; he head butted Koga and delivered a kick to his midsection as he fell backwards.

Ranma rushed at the other guards and Ryoga was close behind. He snap kicked the nearest guard across the face and was about to get the other one when he stopped.

Minoru had placed the Ak-47's barrel against Akane's head.

"If you move one more step I'm going to send this girl to the next life."

Ryoga and Ranma stopped and dropped their stances. Minoru didn't remove the gun but he did remove his finger from the trigger and place it in the trigger guard.

Koga had staggered to his feet and the guard Ranma had hit was still sprawled out on the ground. He glared at Seiji and this time he punched him directly in the stomach. Seiji apparently didn't expect this and the air rushed out of his lungs as he keeled over. Two guards immediately hauled him back to his feet.

"Go get some of the others and bring them here," Koga ordered. One of the guards left the cabin quickly. He returned a few minutes later with seven others, all armed with AK-47's.

"Do you think that the American government is simply going to stand by while you do this?" Parker asked. "And I would like to remind you of what would happen if anything happened to me."

Koga turned and regarded Parker with genuine amusement. "The American government has already acknowledged China as the only China. They will not be able to assist Taiwan when we invade without losing much face throughout the world. And as far as your concerned my friend, you will be turned over to the Politburo with the story that you are a spy that has been trying to steal information from the state."

Parker visibly blanched. The prospect of being turned over to the Politburo was frightening in itself. But he did not want to think about what would happen to his career once the Chinese say that he was a spy that they caught themselves.

Koga turned towards the others. "And you all guilty of entering a foreign land with false documents and the intent to do damage the state, which, because you are all guilty, cause you to be executed. Starting with this old fool," he said, indicating Seiji. He took the bayonet in his hand and drew it across Seiji's cheek, drawing blood.

Ranma growled deep in his throat. He was back as a he, after returning to his original form at the airport. He glared heatedly at Koga and would have been content to rush at him if Minoru hadn't been standing beside Akane, his finger an inch away from ending her life. He was confident that he and the other guys could deal with these jerks, but he wasn't quite as confident that Akane and Akari would survive the ensuing gun fight.

Koga looked at him in surprise and slowly walked over to him. "Well well, aren't we the brave one. I have always believed that the brave should always be the first to go, as they are usually the one's that are the most useless." Koga took a rifle from one of the guards and held it up to Ranma's chest. He chambered a round.

"No!" Akane shouted trying to rush forward, but Minoru was holding her back.

Koga turned to face her and took a few steps in Akane's direction. A smirk lit up his face as he brought the rifle to Akane's face.

"No you fool!" Seiji yelled. But it was too late.

Koga turned the rifle around so the butt end of the rifle was facing Akane. The butt came across and connected with Akane's temple, sending the girl spinning to the ground where she hit hard and stayed, unmoving.

The captives held their breath as Akane fell. The only sound that could be heard was the wind rustling the leaves outside.

"Stupid girl," Koga said as he turned around. But as he did so he was blinded as Ranma's aura suddenly filled the room.

Ranma snapped the chain and the handcuffs effortlessly and turned to face the terrified men in the room.

"What the hell's the matter with him!?" Parker asked as Ranma rushed at the men.

"He was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, seeing what happened to Akane must have made him snap!" Seiji yelled. It was necessary to yell due to the fact that Ranma's aura was drawing the wind to bear down on the cabin at a full gale force.

"Shit!" Parker yelled as he watched Ranma rip the gun from a guards hands and give it back to him by striking the guard across the face in such a manner that his neck nearly twisted in a full circle. The snapping of bone was an unmistakable noise to Parker, and that guard had just received a killing blow that would have taken a man his size at least several tries to do. Ranma had done it with only one hand.

Ranma did not bother staying to watch as the guard's lifeless corpse hit the ground, he had already turned to face the other men. He bore down on them like a vengeful god, kicking and punching at a speed that indicated that Ranma was moving so fast that he would make the speed of light jealous. In a manner of 0.0071 seconds, all the guards were lying in a heap in a corner of the cabin. None looked to have survived Ranma's assault.

Minoru, Kimura and Koga all ran at full speed out of the cabin with Ranma closing the distance within moments. He sent a ki blast to the center which blew all three men into three different directions.

The noise signaled the other men Koga had brought with them; they came running to the cabin and were greeted to the sight of Ranma moving in a blur towards Minoru. They quickly brought up their guns and fired at the boy.

Ranma was aware that the bullets were moving at him and leapt into the air. As he did so, Ryoga, Akari, Seiji, and Parker (carrying the unconscious Akane) came running out of the cabin.

Ranma threw his hand forward and sent a large ki blast down at the men.

They never stood a chance. The blast bore down on them at a speed that left no opportunity for them to dodge.

Parker, a battle hardened man, was nearly overtaken by the wave of nausea that swept over him, as he watched what happened to the bodies of the men Ranma hit with the ki blast.

Ranma turned and faced Koga, who had backed up against a tree. Koga removed a pistol from his waistband and fired at Ranma. Everyone watched in surprise as Ranma's aura suddenly turned cold and Ranma simply caught the bullets as they entered arms length. He leapt into the air and drew his fist back.

This was when Ryoga remembered. Ranma was in the stance now that he had when he was about to deliver the killing blow to Saffron. Such a move was most likely to kill Koga, and Ryoga was not sure what Ranma would do after he had killed him. Ranma's voice was heard at the same moment as Ryoga yelled.

"Stop Ranma!"

"Hiryu Hyou-Toppa!!"

Ryoga's words did not reach Ranma; the blast left him and soared down at Koga. It struck him in his chest and simply ripped through him. Koga's body slipped lifelessly down the trunk. His mouth opened in remnants of a scream that didn't quite make it past his throat.

As Ranma began his descent, he seemed to go limp as well, and Ryoga was barely in time to catch him. Ranma had fainted.

Ryoga clutched Ranma in his arms, he held him in such a way that one would hold an infant. Tears rolled down his cheek as he turned back to the others.

"Is he okay?" Seiji asked as he wiped the blood from his face.

"Yeah," Ryoga said softly, "He just fainted."

Ryoga set Ranma on the ground and turned to where Akari had been standing. But she wasn't there.

"Akari?" Ryoga asked as he turned around. He couldn't see her.

"Hey!" Parker spoke. "Where are those other two guys?"

Minoru and Kimura were not in sight.

Ryoga let out a groan.

"Oh shit."

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Author's Notes: I had originally intended this chapter to be much gorier as it is now. I have seen combat, and I know what it is like to see a man die. There were far too many stories out there that did not let you truly see what war is like, as I am sure there is no one in this entire website that has been in combat. After a short consideration, I decided to leave in the less gory version, as I do not wish to turn away reader's that are the feint of heart.

Now, I did receive the question around the time of this chapter's release that asked if Ranma and company were not growing up just a little too fast. My wife, bless her soul, was as fearsomely protective of the story as I would have been. She countered that Ranma and the others were far from being mature, but that if they did seem to be more mature than in the story, than they are like that because of the situation they are in. When faced in a dilemma where you and everyone close to you is in danger of having their lives ended early, you will definitely act more mature than you would normally do.

I hope everyone has been enjoying the story so far and I hope that everyone has been reviewing.