Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Balance of Power ❯ Ascension ( Prologue )

Volume 1

Chapter 1

Ascension

The Japanese Yakuza has long been thought of as the Japanese version of the Italian Mafia. This belief is not accurate, in the fact that the Yakuza is mostly centered towards illegal gambling. Ninety percent of the time when a shop or store will have a back room for some simple gambling, it will be controlled by some faction of the Yakuza. While the Mafia is generally thought of as the supplier of drugs and booze in times of prohibition, the Yakuza is mostly concerned with illegal gambling and petty crimes.

But there are also many things that connect the Yakuza with the Italian Mafia, some of which date back to the things Al Capone would do when he was still alive.

There have been many instances where the children of men or women that owe the Yakuza money or have betrayed them in some way, will have acid thrown at their faces by members of the Yakuza. This does not happen very often, but it is nevertheless an example of the ruthlessness of the Yakuza.

Other such examples are when almost an entire city block was in an uproar because there were over seventy-five shootings there in one night. This was during one of the worst gang wars Japan had ever faced. Fire-arms, of course, are banned in Japan, and the penalty for owning one, let alone actually carrying one, will almost certainly lead to long jail sentences, and large fines. This has not stopped the Yakuza thugs from carrying such weapons, and the shootings continue to happen.

Going to jail is nothing to a Yakuza member. To climb up the ladder of success in the Yakuza, it is most likely that most of the higher-up members will have spent long periods of time. That is an indication to one's devotion to the gang.

The Yakuza is hardly the powerhouse that they would like to think. American occupation of Japan has deterred many criminals from joining the Yakuza, as America has the best resources for crime-solving. But it does carry enough power to be able to change the country.

Some of the latest reports have stated that the Yakuza has increased their attempts to get drugs flowing through Japan and that they have even began dealing with gangs over in China's black market.

It was also believed that the Yakuza was trying to increase the amount of occupation they have in some of the smaller residential areas inside Tokyo, but they have not yet been proven.

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Ranma situated himself in underneath a bridge. He took note of the passing ships as he let himself focus on the things floating around in his mind.

It almost happened. I almost lost her forever. She almost died. Damn the Phoenix people, they nearly took her away from me. Damn pop and Mr. Tendo too, those jerks tried to force Akane into marrying me. There's no way she would have gone along with it.

Ranma was pulled from his thoughts when he sensed someone cautiously approaching him.

"Hello, Ukyo," Ranma greeted coldly as he sat up. "What do you want?"

"I think we need to talk," Ukyo said, attempting to hide her nervousness beneath a look of anger.

"Yeah I suppose we do," Ranma said, not facing Ukyo. He almost turned around when Ukyo stepped around him so she was facing him.

"I'm sorry for what I did yesterday, but I was only trying to help," she said calmly.

"Help!?" Ranma yelled, all his anger returning quickly. He leaned in towards Ukyo. "You call blowin' me up, helping!"

Ukyo took a step back but still kept her composure.

"That was your own fault," Ukyo pointed out. "How do you think I felt when I received the invitation from Nabiki, telling me that my fiancée was about to get married and would I like to come."

Ranma turned his back to Ukyo.

"Didn't it occur to you that I didn't need or want your help?"

"But-,"

"No buts Ukyo! You messed up. I'm getting sick and tired of you and the others, always thinking you know what's best for me. Well, I certainly don't want anything more to do with any of you!"

Ukyo turned away from Ranma, the jerk wasn't going to give her one second to explain herself.

Ranma sighed and turned to watch the passing ships.

"I ain't ready to forgive you Ukyo, so you'd better just leave, okay?"

"All right Ranma," Ukyo turned and walked away holding back her tears.

Ranma quickly sank back down to his knees, hoping that he could return his concentration to the problems on his mind.

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Akane tried not to let her mind wander as she went through her kata. As her kicks and punches flowed her mind disobeyed her commands and let itself move onto the problems that she had tried very hard to ignore the past day.

I can't believe we almost got married. Goddamned Nabiki had to invite every single crazy in the entire neighborhood to our wedding. If they hadn't of shown up we may have…

Blushing as her mind teased her with the thoughts of her honeymoon-that-never-was; Akane put more emotion into her maneuvers. Despite her deep concentration, she had the thought of pressing up against Ranma's hard flat stomach and feeling his powerful arms wrap around her.

Akane finished her exercises and moved into the main house. She found the rest of her family sitting around the dining room. Soun and Genma were playing shoji and neither seemed like they were paying any real attention to the game. Kasumi was wiping down the table; she didn't look very cheerful either. Nabiki was watching television, acting as if there was nothing wrong with the world. Akane toyed with the idea of showing how much she appreciated what her sister had done at her wedding, but decided that it would solve nothing.

Akane threw an angry glare at her sister instead. After all, it was only fare that Nabiki know just how much Akane felt like hurting her dear sister.

She walked past them and climbed the stairs to her room. Akane removed her training gi, Akane threw on a halter and a pair of shorts. She lay back on her bed and stared at the ceiling.

I wish the wedding hadn't of been ruined the way it had. Ranma and I could have figured it all out on our own, Akane thought.

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It was approaching nightfall and Ryoga had yet to find a place to set up camp. He had been walking most of the day and he was beginning to tire. Spotting a good spot, he crossed the street to the other sided and entered a vacant lot. He set his pack down and turned when he sensed two guys approaching him.

A quick evaluation of the two men led Ryoga to conclude that they were both drunk and had little to no fighting experience.

"Hey man this is our lot," the taller one said.

"And you better get your ass out of here, before I gotta hurt ya," the shorter guy said as he pulled out a knife.

"You can't hurt me," Ryoga told them smugly. They were armed, his instincts told him that he may have to be careful, in case they might be carrying anything more deadly than a simple switchblade.

"Is that so, well how `bout this!" the smaller one shouted as he lunged at Ryoga with his knife.

Ryoga grasped the extended arm and stepped around the attacker, bringing the arm with him. As Ryoga twisted the arm he heard the cracking of the man's shoulder. Ryoga dropped the man's arm and the guy fell to the ground.

Ryoga turned to face the other attacker. He struck at Ryoga with a series of punches. Ryoga dodged the pitiful attacks and grabbed the attacker's head and brought it down to meet his knee. The move broke his nose and rendered him unconscious.

Ryoga looked at the two men lying on the ground and sighed.

"Guess I can't stay here tonight," Ryoga told the unmoving bodies as he picked up his pack and left.

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Akari Unryuu stepped off the city bus and started down the street. She shivered as the night wind cut through the simple sweater vest she was wearing.

Akari's large sumo pig, Katsunishiki, had caught a cold during her last attempts to track down her directionally challenged boyfriend, Ryoga Hibiki, and she had been forced to leave her farm without her faithful companion.

She didn't notice the young men following her as she turned down the alley, nor did she notice when they sped up.

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It had been nearly an hour since Ryoga's run-in with the two drunks when he heard a loud feminine scream. It took Ryoga's mind but a moment to recognize the scream.

"Akari?" Ryoga said softly. Hearing another scream, Ryoga took off at a full sprint, running down the streets of Nerima.

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Akari was thrown roughly against the alley wall. She let out a squeak of pain as her shoulder seemed to almost shift from the impact.

She looked up at the four young men that now surrounded her. Terror crept over her as they began to approach her.

Letting out a scream, Akari clenched her eyes shut as the four men closed the distance between them.

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Ryoga rounded a corner when he heard a cry of pain. He turned left down an alleyway. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw them. Grabbing his umbrella from atop his backpack, Ryoga hurled it like a javelin with as much force as he could muster.

The umbrella struck the small man that had had his hands on Akari's chest. It hit him in the side and nearly tore the man in half as it hurled him to the ground, breaking four of his ribs.

Ryoga charged at the remaining attackers. He was much faster than any of the men, and closed the distance between them very quickly. He reached out, tossing his pack aside, and grasped the closest man's head. Putting as much strength into it as he could, he slammed the man's head into the brick wall, creating a crater at least seven inches thick. He dropped the limp body of the man and was about to grab the other man holding Akari when he saw an attack coming from his left.

Turning his attention to the new threat, Ryoga quickly dodged the punch the man threw at him. As the man overreached himself, Ryoga kneed him in the stomach. Moving quickly, he hit him twice in the solar plexus, an area that would make a professional boxer fall to his knees, and dropped a powerful elbow onto the neck of his hapless victim.

The last man, seeing what Ryoga did to his three companions, decided that he didn't want to spend his life in a body cast and took off in a sprint down the alley and away from the enraged Ryoga.

Ryoga surveyed his damage to each of the men. He noticed something odd about the man he had hit with his umbrella. The man's pants were undone. That was when Ryoga remembered how they had been holding Akari.

Ryoga picked the man up and lifted him off the ground by his throat.

"Gonna rape her, eh boy?" Ryoga snarled at the boy.

The boy looked into Ryoga's eyes and saw neither hate nor anger, he saw pure killing rage.

"Weren't you!?" Ryoga yelled, spittle flying from his lips.

The boy began to whimper, making warding gestures with his hands.

"Don't kill me," he pleaded.

"I'm not going to kill you. But if I ever find out that you have ever come near her again, I am going to hunt you down and make sure you aren't able to touch another person in your life!" Ryoga tossed the boy to the ground and walked over to Akari.

His anger left him when he saw Akari slumped against the alley wall, her body shook as she cried.

"Are you okay?" Ryoga asked.

"Oh Ryoga, they were going to…," Akari trailed off as she collapsed in Ryoga's arms crying.

Ryoga lifted her off the ground and cradled her in his arms. Ryoga knew she needed some medical aid. He decided it would be best if he took her to Dr. Tofu's clinic. Ryoga carried her in his arms as he began his search for Dr. Tofu's clinic.

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After 10 minutes of walking, Ryoga had yet to find Dr. Tofu's clinic, what he found instead was the Tendo household. Akari had fallen asleep in his arms shortly after Ryoga had exited the alleyway.

"If I keep looking for Dr. Tofu's it will take days," Ryoga said to himself.

Ryoga entered the gates and walked up to the front door, shifting Akari in his arms he knocked twice on the door.

"Is anyone home?" Ryoga called when no one opened the door.

The door opened and someone stepped out.

"Ryoga, how have you been?" Kasumi asked as she appeared at the doorway.

"Akari needs help Kasumi," Ryoga said as he entered the house.

"Oh my, what happened?" Kasumi asked, concerned.

"She was attacke…, never mind, I'll explain later," Ryoga told her as he followed Kasumi to an empty room. Kasumi disappeared and returned, holding a spare futon.

"Thanks Kasumi," Ryoga said as he took the offered futon.

Ryoga laid Akari on the futon. She was still sleeping peacefully. Ryoga sat himself down on a nearby pillow and continued to look at Akari's sleeping body.

Kasumi had obviously called Akane and Ranma, for they appeared at the doorway to the room in less than a minute after she had left.

Without saying anything, Akane and Ranma sat down on the other side of Akari, facing Ryoga.

"What happened?" Ranma asked.

Ryoga sighed and closed his eyes and recounted the events that had occurred less than half an hour ago.

"I was looking for a place to set up camp when I heard a scream. I recognized it and I raced to where the scream came from. Right before I got there I heard a cry. When I turned down the alley I saw four little pricks attacking Akari. Three of them were holding her up against the wall while the fourth one was…. was undoing his pants. I-I snapped, I threw my umbrella the guy who had been undoing his pants. I think it broke some of his ribs when it connected. I beat up two others but the third ran away. That was when Akari collapsed in my arms crying," Ryoga's voice cracked on the last few words.

Ranma tried to keep his face impassive through the whole thing and almost succeeded. His face changed to a look of anger but it quickly changed when he glanced up and say the devastated look on Ryoga's face.

Ranma leaned forward and placed a hand on Ryoga's shoulder.

"You did good Ryoga. You saved her," Ranma said seriously.

"Yeah," Ryoga's voice sounded very tired.

Ranma faked a yawn, and shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, I'd best be going to bed. Ryoga, we can talk some more tomorrow," Ranma told, as he got up and left.

"If there's anything I can do to help Ryoga, just let me know, `kay?" Akane asked.

"Thank you Akane," Ryoga nodded.

Akane gave him a quick smile and got up to leave. She exited the room and slid the door closed behind her. She nearly stepped into Ranma as she turned to go down the hallway.

"I can't believe this happened, poor Akari," Akane muttered.

"Yeah I know. It's gonna be hard on Ryoga. I'm surprised he didn't he didn't kill any of them," Ranma said.

"He might have," Akane said her voice serious. "For all the time I've known Ryoga, he has always let himself be led around by his emotions."

"Yeah well, we can talk to Akari tomorrow. I guess we should just go to bed Akane," Ranma said.

"Alright," Akane said.

Ranma followed Akane up the stairs and turned to go to his room.

"Good night Ranma," Akane said softly.

"Good night Akane," Ranma replied.

They both entered their rooms and soon fell asleep.

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For Ryoga, sleep would not come.

He lay on the floor of the spare room with a pillow under his head. His mind taunted him with the images of Akari being held up against the alley wall as the men that surrounded her put their hands on her body. All he could do was relive every second as he stared at Akari's sleeping body.

Ryoga noticed something odd about Akari. He shuffled closer to her and saw that she was trembling, almost as if she was cold. He moved even closer and he could hear her begin to mumble.

"N…no…….do….stop!"

Ryoga's blood chilled upon hearing this, his powerful arms flexed and he felt like ripping something into pieces.

Even in her dreams she can't escape it, Ryoga thought. Never again Akari, I will never allow this to happen again.

Ryoga moved as close as he dared and put his arm around Akari. His touch seemed to calm her as she stopped trembling.

Ryoga fought the urge to blush and lay down beside her, his arm still around her. He listened to Akari's breathing until he soon drifted off to sleep.

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Ranma awoke from his sleep, sweat dripping down his face.

Nightmares had plagued him all night long, though they had nothing to do with what happened to Akari. In his nightmare he had been fighting Saffron again, and he had shattered the demi-gods body like a Ming vase, like he had done not even three days ago. But instead of Ranma retrieving Akane and getting the Jusenkyo water to wash over her body, he had been unable to find her after the fight. As he tumbled through the hot air from the fight, Ranma had searched frantically for Akane's small doll body, but he had couldn't find it. Saffron's deep adult voice had taunted him while he searched.

He silently left the room, so as to not wake up his father and get a smack on the head with one of his signs. He went downstairs and stopped outside the room Ryoga and Akari were in.

Wonder how Ryoga slept, Ranma wondered as he slid the door open.

Ranma peeked his head into the room. He nearly burst out laughing when he saw the two sleeping.

Akari had rolled over in her sleep and was now pressed tightly up against Ryoga's chest.

Ranma crept into the room as quietly as possible and knelt beside Ryoga. He reached out and gently shook his shoulder.

Ryoga slowly opened his eyes and nearly yelled in surprise because he was face to face with Ranma.

"Mornin`," Ranma greeted with a huge smile.

"Huh?" Ryoga didn't understand what Ranma was grinning about.

"Shh!" Ranma gestured to Akari's sleeping form.

Ryoga looked down at the person that clung to him. His face turned a deep crimson red and he looked away from Akari. Ryoga quickly regained control of himself and gently slid away from Akari before rising.

Ranma motioned for Ryoga to follow him and led him to the Dojo.

Once they were inside Ranma pointed to Ryoga's nose.

"No blood Ryoga. Are we gaining a little more confidence?"

Ryoga shook his head spoke.

"No Ranma, I have vowed to protect Akari from now on. Meaning that I have given up on trying to win Akane's love," Ryoga grasped Ranma's shoulders and looked straight in his eyes. "Take care of her Ranma. You two belong together."

Ranma, never expecting to hear something like this from Ryoga, could only stand with his mouth open and stare dumbly at him.

"I know you two hate being forced into doing anything. But seriously Ranma, build your relationship from here. I don't know how much more proof everyone needs of your love for her. I mean you killed Saffron to save her, and I'm sure that you would fight and beat just about anyone if it meant saving Akane's life. All I'm saying is, just don't try to deny the feelings you feel for her. It will only make things more difficult when you two finally decide to get married."

Ranma and Ryoga stood in silence until Ranma finally spoke.

"How long have long have you been practicing that speech?"

"Since after China actually," Ryoga admitted.

Ranma began laughing and Ryoga joined him.

"How about we have a little match?" Ranma asked once he stopped laughing.

"All right but, lets keep it low key. I don't think Mr. Tendo would appreciate us destroying the Dojo," Ryoga laughed.

They did a few stretches to get the kinks out of them and then immediately jumped into their tuned down match. To the casual observer their match would not seem very safe, in fact it looked like the two were trying to kill each other.

But Ranma and Ryoga had fought so many times they each knew that what they were doing would not hurt the other one if a blow was connected.

"So what are you going to do about what happened to Akari?" Ranma asked as he leapt over Ryoga's kick.

"For starters I'm going to get a description of the guy that ran away from Akari," Ryoga responded as he intercepted Ranma's punch and kicked him in the gut. "I couldn't get a good look at him when I was fighting the other three."

"Give it to the police?" Ranma asked while getting to his feet.

"No," Ryoga shook his head. "I want to personally find him. But I need a favor though."

"What?"

"Will you help me find him," Ryoga asked.

Ranma didn't even stop to think about it.

"Sure," Ranma smiled. "I'll do anything to help you get that bastard."

"Thanks," Ryoga smiled back. "And lets keep this from Akari and Akane, I don't think they would approve of what were doing."

They continued their sparring in silence. When they finished they went into the house and found Kasumi waiting for them.

"Good morning," Kasumi greeted. "You two can go and have a bath now and when you get out I'll have breakfast waiting."

They thanked her and walked upstairs to the bath.

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Akari awakened suddenly. Her body was covered with a cold sheen of sweat. She could hear footsteps approaching the door. She looked frantically around the room for Ryoga but he wasn't there.

She let out a sigh of relief when Akane slid the door open.

"How are you doing?" Akane asked.

"Ok, I guess."

Akane smiled and sat down.

"Did I wake you up?" Akane asked.

"No, I woke up about ten seconds before you opened the door," Akari said.

Akane's face lost it's smile and she moved to sit in front of Akari. "Do you want to talk about what happened last night?"

Akari nodded her head.

She explained about the events of the past evening to Akane. She fought back tears that were welling up inside her. As she got to the point where Ryoga rescued her she began to shake and her voice cracked.

"It's okay Akari. They weren't able to do anything, Ryoga stopped them, they didn't escape," Akane reassured her friend. "You're going to be okay."

"You think so?" Akari squeaked out before breaking down and crying into Akane's shoulder.

Akane held Akari close as the girl cried and was surprised to find that she was crying as well.

Akari's sobs soon subsided and she looked up at Akane.

"Thank you, it's really helpful to have a friend at a time like this," Akari smiled as she wiped the tears from her face.

"Your welcome, how about we get out of here and get some breakfast?" Akane asked.

"Sounds good," Akari replied as she got to her feet.

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Breakfast was eaten in relative silence, except for a minor scuffle between Genma and Ranma over food, which ended quickly as Nodoka asked them if fighting over food was very manly.

Akari finished her breakfast and thanked Kasumi and Soun.

"Why it's no trouble at all," Soun smiled. "Especially after what you went through last night, we will be happy to have you stay here with us."

"Thank you," Akari bowed.

Even though Akari knew the house was perfectly safe she found it was hard to leave Ryoga's side for even a few seconds during the morning.

While she watched Akane do some practicing, she felt a familiar rumble in the ground. Suddenly the wall exploded and in the rubble stood Katsunishiki.

Akari rushed over to his side and grabbed what she could of him in a fierce hug, while Soun began to cry over his broken wall.

"Katsunishiki! Oh, I'm so glad you're here," Akari cried as she climbed onto the monstrous pig's back.

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"Good thing Katsunishiki is here," Ranma observed while watching Akari happily laugh as Katsunishiki raced around the house.

"Yeah," Ryoga agreed. "He'll help get her mind off of what happened."

"But, we still need to get that description of that guy from her," Ranma pointed out.

"Might as well get it from her now. It would be better if we had more time to try and find him," Ryoga walked around the house to find Akari.

"I got a better idea," Ranma said to himself as he walked into the house.

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Ranma walked down the hall and found Happosai's room. Ranma slid the door open and fount the perverted old master ironing his newest additions to his collection.

"Hey freak, I got a proposition for you," Ranma said. Happosai turned his attention from ironing his underwear over to Ranma.

"And what might it be?" Happosai asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I need you to look for someone on your next panty raid."

"Uh huh, and what's in this proposition for me?" Happosai asked snidely.

Ranma closed his eyes and bit off the reply he disserved. How about I don't kill you for drinking my last chance to be a man.

"I'll give you some more photos of me in lingerie," Ranma said with his eyes still closed.

Happosai leapt from where he was sitting and grasped onto Ranma's chest.

"Oh Ranma! You can be so kind to me sometimes!" Happosai cried into Ranma's chest.

"Auggh! Get off me you freak!" Ranma yelled as he punched the old pervert to the ground.

"So what does this person look like?" Happosai asked as he added some tobacco too his pipe.

"I don't know what he looks like yet," Ranma told him. "But, I'll get you the description before you go out on your next raid, so don't leave until I do, okay?"

"You got it. Just as long as I get those photos," Happosai said with an evil grin.

"Yeah, yeah," Ranma said, and added underneath his breath, "Ryoga owes me big for this."

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"Okay freak, you're looking for a guy about my height when I'm a girl only older. He should be wearing some kind of Japanese wrestling t-shirt. He's got bleached hair. If you find him, you get your photos," Ranma explained.

"I'll search high and low," Happosai saluted and leapt off into the darkness.

Ranma walked back into the house and into the bathroom, he smiled a little when he saw Ryoga bent over the sink.

"I still don't see why I had to take those pictures of you," Ryoga said as he wiped the last of the blood from his nose.

"Oh quit complaining, at least we have a better chance of finding this guy, Happosai can look instead of us hopping from rooftop to rooftop. Besides, I was the one doing the posing," Ranma said with a smirk.

"Yeah well, were just lucky Akane or Akari didn't see us, otherwise I would have died of embarrassment," Ryoga shuddered.

"Don't worry, they went over to Dr. Tofu's a while ago," Ranma reassured him. "C'mon, let's go spar for awhile."

Ryoga gave his face a final wash and followed Ranma to the Dojo.

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"I wonder why Ryoga wanted a description of that guy that ran off." Akari said as they walked back from Dr. Tofu's clinic. The question had been sitting in the front of her mind almost all day.

"Probably going to give it to the police," Akane suggested.

"I hope that's what he'll do, the only other explanation is he's going to try and find the guy himself and beat the hell out of him on his own."

"Don't worry, Ryoga knows that it would take him weeks to find this guy if he were to go off on his own. Besides," Akane smiled, "he wants to stay with you." She thought to herself, But then again, if he did get the description so he can track the guy down himself, then Ranma will help him.

"Yeah I guess your right," Akari smiled.

"Of course I'm right," Akane said smugly. "He is in love with you Akari; I can see it in his eyes."

Akari looked at Akane and smiled warmly, she patted Akane affectionately on the arm.

"Yeah, I see the same look in your eyes whenever you just happen to be looking at Ranma when you think no ones looking," Akari said.

Akane looked away and quickly found a very interesting piece of road to stare at.

"It's okay Akane, you can tell me anything, I wont even sell the information to Nabiki, promise," Akari said an attempt to lighten the moment.

Akane laughed. "Okay, you made your point."

"So, how are things going between you and Ranma?" Akari asked.

"Pretty good, I mean, we haven't fought or anything in quite awhile.

Akari knew what Akane really meant. Her and Ranma hadn't fought since their failed wedding.

"Do you have anything planned for the rest of the school year?" Akari asked, changing the subject.

"Well, with Ranma being around and now that Ryoga seems to be staying here at least for as long as you are, I'm sure something is going to come up. So I'm pretty sure I'll have something to do," Akane said.

They walked the rest of the way in silence and as soon as they reached the house they quickly entered. It was a little after ten o'clock and it was getting pretty dark out.

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Ranma heard Happosai's cry of happiness as the perverted old man came bounding across the nearby rooftops. He raced outside to go and meet up with him.

"Did you find him freak?" Ranma asked.

"Find who?" Happosai said, scratching his head.

"The guy I asked you to find!" Ranma snarled.

"Calm down, I remember, I think he was walking down Yukosaka Street with a couple other guys. He turned down some alleyway and went into one of the side doors. He might still be there," Happosai shrugged, and then his expression changed. "Now where are my photos?"

"Here," Ranma handed them to him and rushed into the house to find Ryoga. Happosai didn't notice as he was dancing for joy all the way into his room.

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"So you're sure he found him?" Ryoga asked as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop, following Ranma.

"We won't know unless we find him," Ranma said. "Now pick up the pace, we want to find this guy today don't we?"

Ryoga replied with an angry look that Ranma just ignored.

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"There's the alleyway," Ranma pointed and jumped down from the rooftop, landing on the other side of the street. They approached cautiously and entered the alley.

"Damn it's empty," Ryoga muttered. They continued down the alley anyway, hoping to find some sign of the man. They began checking doors to see if there open.

Ranma found a door that wasn't closed properly. He pushed it open and glanced inside.

"Hey! Ryoga!" Ranma whispered sharply. He walked into the building and found a narrow hallway that led to a stairway.

They began to climb the stairs quickly, but stopped when they heard voices. Ryoga recognized one of the voices. It was the guy that escaped him that night.

Ranma heard Ryoga's breathing stop and when he looked back, saw the lost boy tense up.

Ryoga charged up the stairs and ran into the room where the voices were coming from.

"Damnit Ryoga!" Ranma shouted as he raced up the stairs and ran into the room. Ryoga was holding up a guy in the air by his neck as he began to strangle the life out of him.

There were two other people in the room and Ranma could see that Ryoga wasn't acknowledging their presence. One of them pulled out a knife and was about to charge Ryoga before Ranma slammed a fist into his side and delivered another blow to the man's head.

Ranma turned to face the other man, and saw the guy had his hands in the air. He quickly noticed that whatever the three men had been doing, it had been spilled out across the table.

Ryoga continued to hold the boy in the air until he passed out from lack of oxygen and he dropped to the ground.

"I think these guys are making drugs or something Ryoga," Ranma told him, his voice a little shaken.

Ryoga turned and saw Ranma holding a knife to someone's throat. Ranma was pointing to a table which contained about twenty bags of a powdery substance.

Ryoga picked up the man that Ranma was holding at bay. "Tell me where you got the drugs."

"I ain't tellin' you asshole," the man said and spat in Ryoga's face.

Ryoga grabbed the guy's leg and twisted it painfully.

"Talk!" Ryoga ordered.

"You don't have the balls to hurt me you piece of shit," the guy said mockingly. Ryoga moved his hand to the kneecap and put his other hand on the heel of his foot. Ryoga pushed in opposite directions and the man's knee snapped. He howled in pain as his leg was now pointing in the opposite direction as it had just previously been.

"Shit Ryoga!" Ranma yelled, seeing that Ryoga was manipulating the man's damaged knee in a way that would cause him pain to no end. The man Ranma was holding began to cry.

"Tell me where you got these drugs," Ryoga said again. The man didn't answer so Ryoga placed his hand on the man's other knee and began to put a little pressure on it.

"Okay, okay! I'll tell you," he said. He let out a breath as Ryoga released his hold on the boy.

"Our supplier is a guy named Seiji Inafune. He runs a restaurant downtown, Ow!" the man yelled as Ryoga began to set the knee back in place.

"I-I don't know the name of it, but I'm pretty sure his last name is in the title. He runs this side of Tokyo's black market."

"What does he look like?" Ranma asked.

"About 60 years old. Thinning hair, he runs his drug operations from his restaurant."

"Well, then what are you doing here?"

"Mixing the drugs, and preparing them for distribution in the market," the guy answered.

"Is that so," Ranma said as he walked towards the first man he had beaten up. He fished through his pocket and extracted a lighter. Ranma approached the table and bent down in front of the bags of drugs. He lit the first bag on fire and watched the fire quickly spread and turned to Ryoga.

"Time to leave," Ranma said as he exited the room.

Ryoga flipped the knife at the guy he had strangled to subconscious.

"See you guys around," Ryoga said as he dashed out of the room and followed Ranma.

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

"I didn't think the drug problem had gotten this bad," Ryoga said, sitting under a tree. Ranma was above him on a branch. "Man, it sure felt good to see the fear in that little bastard's eye."

"It shouldn't be like this Ryoga. People shouldn't be thrown their lives away for crap like that," Ranma said.

"It's been more of a western problem," Ryoga said. "But it seems the market has expanded again," he snorted in disgust.

"We got to stop this," Ranma said, his tone serious.

"Do you propose that we pay Mr. Inafune a visit?" Ryoga asked with an evil grin. Ranma jumped down from the branch so he could face Ryoga.

"And I got a perfect idea for how we'll do it too," Ranma replied with a grin of his own.

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

"You what?!" Akane shrieked. Ranma cleared his throat before answering.

"I asked if you would like to go on a date with me. Ryoga and Akari are coming also," Ranma said, trying to keep himself from blushing.

"Why are we going?" Akane asked.

"It's to help Akari get over what happened," Ranma smiled.

Akane smiled too, but for a different reason. She could tell that Ranma was very anxious to go on the date.

"Where are we going?" Akane asked, breaking the silence.

Ranma smiled at her again.

"A little restaurant I know downtown."

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

"Nice idea about asking the girls on a date," Ryoga said. "But aren't you worried somebody will find out?"

"If somebody does ask about it, I'll just say that were going on the date for Akari to get her mind off of what happened," Ranma explained.

"That should work," Ryoga agreed.

They finished adjusting their tuxes and observed themselves in the mirror.

"You know Ryoga, some guys just aren't meant to wear tuxes," Ranma joked.

"I hear ya," Ryoga laughed.

"Come on you two! Were going to be late!" Akane yelled from the bottom of the stairs. She returned her attention to Akari, and made a small comment about the false myth that girls take longer to prepare for dates than guys.

Ranma and Ryoga exited the room and began their descent down the stairs when they stopped. Their eyes almost popped out of their heads when they looked at their dates.

"What's wrong?" Akari asked. Akari and Akane were wearing identical dresses except for colour, each dress was a little low cut at the chest and the dresses seemed to elevate each girls more feminine features.

Akane giggled at the sight of Ranma so obviously perplexed at her. She put a little bounce into her giggle, just to see what kind of reaction she could get out of him.

"Uh, nothing," Ranma uttered lamely as he attempted to regain control of himself. "Let's get going or we'll be late."

Ranma grabbed Ryoga by the collar and dragged him down the stairs. Ryoga had gone into a daze from staring at Akari.

"Oh son! I knew you couldn't hide your feelings for Akane!" Soun cried. Ranma jumped back in surprise as Soun leapt in front of him.

Genma appeared behind Ranma and clapped him on the back, hard.

"That's my boy! You'll make sure you and Akane have a good time, right?" Genma nudged Ranma in the ribs.

Ryoga could see where this conversation was turning and decided to intervene.

"Don't worry," Ryoga said, putting a hand on Ranma's shoulder. "They will both have an excellent time. But I'm afraid we will lose our reservations if we do not leave now," Ryoga led Ranma away from the ecstatic Soun and beaming Genma.

"Have fun!" Kasumi called.

"We will!" Ryoga yelled back.

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

"Nice save Ryoga," Ranma said.

"Yeah well, were lucky we got out when we did. Who knows what would've happened if Shampoo or Ukyo showed up?" Ryoga said, not really asking a question.

"Pure hell," Ranma replied, his tone showed that he was serious.

They arrived at the restaurant shortly and were taken to their seats upon their entering the restaurant.

"Why are we so close to the door?" Akane asked.

"It was the only seats we could reserve," Ranma lied. They had a good vantage point over the restaurant and could see and hear whoever would enter.

"So, where'd you girls get those dresses?" Ryoga asked, attempting to get their minds off of what he and Ranma had planned.

"Well," Akari began, "after you boys asked us out, Akane suggested we go do some shopping. These dresses looked the best so we got them."

"You look beautiful," Ryoga complimented, he cast a glance Ranma's way and saw that he wasn't even paying attention.

Ranma was looking at the menu when Ryoga kicked him from underneath the table. Ranma glanced up from his menu and saw that Ryoga was staring at him.

Ranma nearly slapped himself for forgetting. The date was supposed to go well and that meant complimenting your date.

"Uh, yeah, Akane," Ranma began slowly. Akane turned to face him. "You look beautiful in that dress," Ryoga kicked him again. "Not that you don't look beautiful all the time," Ranma finished quickly. He spared a glance at Akane and could see that her mind was trying to determine if what he said had been a joke or he meant it.

"Thank you Ranma," Akane smiled. "You look very handsome in your tux."

Akari stifled a giggle at the sight of Ranma and Akane blushing and staring away from each other.

The waitress arrived and she took their orders and left. The conversation soon turned to domestic matters.

"Akari?" Akane asked. "Don't you worry about leaving your farm unattended for so long?"

"Well, ever since I met Ryoga, I have found that he will wander off or just get completely lost and I will go looking for him. Since finding Ryoga proves to be quite a hard task, I will arrange for some hired help to look after the farm until my return," Akari explained.

The food arrived and the conversation pretty much stopped.

"Ah! That was delicious," Ranma said after the empty plates had been removed.

"I wish I could cook something like that," Akane said.

Ranma opened his mouth to make a comment but he was cut off by a vicious kick from Ryoga, under the table.

Ranma scowled at Ryoga and decided that this place might not be a good place to fight so he just took a last pull on his drink.

As he leaned back he picked up a conversation at the entrance.

"-ight this way Mr. Inafune. Your guest is upstairs," the greeter at the door said.

"Lead the way," came the grumbled reply.

Ranma spun around and stared at the man that just walked in. He tried to take to memorize the man's features. Elderly, between 55 and 60. Ranma wasn't very impressed until he noticed the man's eyes. They burned with intelligence. He may not appear very physically strong, but he obviously was quite intelligent.

"What's wrong Ranma?" Akane asked. Ranma turned back around and made a slight gesture with his head as a signal to Ryoga.

"Nothing Akane. Just thought I heard someone call me," Ranma replied.

They called for the bill and Ranma and Ryoga split the cost.

"Where are we going now?" Akari asked as they exited the restaurant.

"It's only nine. We'll go for a stroll through the park," Ranma answered.

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

"How did this happen Raizo?" Seiji asked.

"We were packaging the drugs as you instructed us to, when two guys busted in. I tried to get one of them with my knife but I got knocked unconscious. Then one of them snapped Kozo's knee because he wouldn't give them any information. Then they torched the drugs and left. The only good thing is they didn't get the gun I had in my coat," Raizo told him.

"You had a gun?" Seiji asked.

"Yes Mr. Inafune, but they never got-"

"Why the hell did you take a gun?!" Seiji bellowed, coming out of his chair.

"I thought we might need it," Raizo said quietly, his demeanor had changed quite quickly to that of a frightened little boy.

"Do you still have it?" Seiji asked, fuming.

"Yes."

"Then get rid of it!" Seiji ordered, his voice carrying throughout the room.

"Where?" Raizo asked.

"I don't care, just make sure it is gone by tomorrow. Also, make sure you wear gloves and wipe the gun down, the last thing I need right now is the police to come knocking on my door."

"Yes sir," Raizo bowed politely and dashed out of the room.

A door opened behind Seiji, a man of moderate size with powerful shoulders walked into the room.

"Should I follow him?" he asked.

"Yes, and take Minoru as well."

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

As the Cat Café closed down for the evening, the head waitress found herself brooding at one of the tables. Her heart had not been dedicated to her work today, as her mind had been running over thoughts of the almost wedding of her fiancée.

"Wonder where Ranma has gone?" Shampoo asked herself.

"I believe that he is still here Shampoo," Cologne answered, appearing beside Shampoo.

"Then why he no visit Shampoo?" she asked, generally confused.

"I think he is quite mad at you," Cologne told her.

"Then Shampoo go visit him," Shampoo said. She got out of her chair but was stopped by Cologne.

"He is mad at you for a reason Shampoo, and I think going to see him will only make the situation worse. It is best if you just leave him alone for awhile."

"Is right," Shampoo said deflated and returned to wiping the table mindlessly

Cologne walked into the kitchen, shaking her head, her granddaughter was going to be crushed when she finally understood that if none of the wedding crashers had shown up, Akane and Ranma would have gone through with the wedding.

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

"Stupid old fool," Raizo cursed as he trudged through the park. "It's not my fault those bastards attacked us." He tripped over a root in the ground and hit the hard, cold earth. The gun he had been carrying slipped loose and rolled into a nearby bush.

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

"Such a beautiful night out," Akari said softly as she gazed at the cloudless sky from the bench she was sitting on with Ryoga.

"What a perfect way to end the day," Akane said from the bench she was sitting on with Ranma. "It was so nice of you guys to take us out."

"It was Ranma's idea," Ryoga said as Akari snuggled up close to him.

Ranma nervously glanced at Akane and saw she was smiling.

"Don't worry Ranma, I know this was for Akari," she whispered.

"Actually Akane, I had another reason to ask you out," Ranma admitted before he realized what he was doing.

"R-really?" Akane asked, blushing as she did so.

"Uh-I mean no, there wasn't another reason" Ranma stammered. In an attempt to keep Akane from asking any questions, he quickly put his arm around her.

"Oh, okay," Akane smiled at him. I knew it.

A figure emerged from the bushes and the evening suddenly took an odd turn.

"It's you!" Raizo yelled. He had just dumped the gun under some heavy brush and was coming out when he had heard voices that sounded distinctly like the men that had attacked him the other night.

"You must be mistaken," Ryoga said quickly as he took Akari's hand and led her away. He stopped when two more people emerged from the bushes in front of him.

"Raizo, do you know these people?" Ishii asked.

"Ishii, Minoru, what are you doing here?" Raizo asked, surprised to see the two men.

"Never mind that, do you know them or not?!" Ishii asked again.

"Yeah, these guys were the ones who destroyed our shipments, and they crushed Kozo's knee," Raizo said.

"You're thinking of someone else," Ranma said. He began to lead Akane away.

"Stop!" Minoru ordered. "You are going to come with us." To emphasize his point, he stepped closer to the group withdrew a small switchblade.

"Shit," Ranma cursed. "Akane, you take Akari and get the hell out of here."

Akane nodded and ran towards Akari. She grabbed her arm and they took off.

"Raizo, follow them," Ishii commanded. Raizo nodded and took off after Akane and Akari.

"Hey stop!" Ryoga yelled, but was silenced when Ishii kicked him in the face.

"You will come with us, one way or another."

Ryoga leapt to his feet and charged Ishii. Ranma did the same to Minoru.

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

Akane and Akari ran as fast as they could, but the dresses they were wearing severely limited the length of their strides. Raizo quickly caught up with them and was able to get in front of them, stopping their escape.

"You must be the girl Shigeru was talking about," Raizo said to Akari. "You're really cute," he said mockingly.

Akane was fumed upon hearing Raizo's taunting comments. To see a jerk like him taunting her friend and making fun of her pushed her passed the breaking point.

Akane took off on one foot and kneed the unsuspecting Raizo in the groin with as much strength she could muster.

Raizo was about to scream but he couldn't find the strength to do it and collapsed onto the ground with a moan.

"You little bastard," Akari said to the fallen Raizo as Akane took her hand and began to lead her away.

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

Ranma and Ryoga weren't fairing as well. The men they were fighting had proved to be at least average skill and refused to go down. Thinking that there might be more people after Akane and Akari, they decided to end the fight quickly.

"These guys are pretty good," Ranma whispered.

"I think its time we showed these guys how to really fight," Ryoga said evenly.

"Yeah you're right," Ranma agreed.

Ranma and Ryoga took a few running strides away from each other and took up their battle stances.

Ishii and Minoru turned to look at their opponents before charging in. They had gone about four strides when they were stopped.

"Shi Shi Hokodan!"

"Moko Takabisha!"

Ishii and Minoru were thrown back as the two ki blasts sent them crashing into the brush.

Ryoga slowly regained himself and walked over to their defeated opponents. Ranma slowly approached as well.

Ranma picked up Ishii and flung him onto his shoulder. Ryoga did the same with Minoru.

"Guess we should take them to the Dojo," Ranma said.

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

On their way out of the park they met up with Akane and Akari, both seemed a little surprised to see them carrying the two men that they had been fighting.

"What happened to them?" Akari asked. Ishii and Minoru looked to be in rather bad shape.

"Bit off more than they could chew," Ranma smiled. Akane smacked him on the head. "What was that for?!"

"Don't be so cocky," Akane said. "Where are you taking them?"

"To the Dojo," Ranma answered. "Might as well try and talk to them. Didn't get much of a chance back there."

"Any idea why they attacked us?" Akane questioned.

"Not really," Ranma replied. It wasn't much of a lie.

"What happened to the guy who was chasing you two?" Ryoga asked.

"Akane took care of him," Akari answered.

"Yeah well, that jerk had it coming," Akane said smugly.

"Now who's being cocky?" Ranma asked, shaking his head.

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

When they arrived at the house, they were greeted by two half-in-the-bag fathers that made a drunken uproar when Ranma and Ryoga walked in with two unconscious people on their shoulders.

After explaining what happened to the entire household, Ranma and Ryoga took Ishii and Minoru to the Dojo. Soun and Genma were too drunk from their celebration over their children's realization of the love they felt for each other so they retired for the evening to go and sleep.

Ranma told Akane and Akari to go get some sleep and he wouldn't allow them in the Dojo, despite their protests. Of course that didn't stop them from sneaking around the Dojo and trying to pick up snippets of the conversation.

"-id Inafune send you?" they heard Ranma ask.

"No. We were being ordered to follow-," at that point the wind picked up and they were unable to hear the rest of the reply.

"Does he wish to meet us?" Ryoga asked.

"We must consult him, and then we will contact you," Minoru said.

"I am attending Furinkan High School so you can contact me there during lunch. I do not want my family to find out about this."

Akane and Akari decided that they should leave, less their sneaking around be discovered. They went to Akane's room and took a seat on Akane's bed, they both suddenly felt very tired.

"I knew it," Akari said.

"I can't believe those two!" Akane nearly shouted.

"It's not that unexpected Akane," Akari said reasonably.

"I know, it's just that they would keep it from us. If what those other guys said was true, then it means they attacked some drug dealers or something," Akane said.

"Look, it can't be the way it sounds. I haven't even seen anything in the news about a bunch of people being beaten up, or about any kind of drug bust" Akari said.

"Do you think we should just confront them about this?" Akane asked.

"Yes, it would probably be for the best," Akari agreed.

"All right, I'll talk to Ranma and you'll do Ryoga," Akane said.

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

Ryoga went to the room he and Akari were staying in after he and Ranma had talked for a little longer. Akari was waiting for him inside.

"Ryoga, we need to talk."

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

Ranma was heading to his room when Akane stopped him and took him by the arm into her room.

"What is it Akane?" Ranma asked, rather nervously.

"We need to talk Ranma," Akane stated.

"Look, if this is about what happened in the park-,"

"No Ranma," Akane interrupted. "It's about what you were talking about with those guys in the Dojo."

"You were eavesdropping?" Ranma asked, shocked.

"Yes," Akane nodded.

"Did you hear everything?"

"Most of it," Akane admitted. She sat Ranma down on her bed and moved her chair so she could sit in front of him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Akane asked.

"I didn't want you to worry," Ranma replied.

"But what your doing Ranma, isn't it dangerous?" Akane asked, moving closer to Ranma.

"No Akane, it shouldn't be, not if were careful."

Akane moved a hand to Ranma's face.

"Ranma," Akane said softly, "If anything should happen to you-,"

Ranma grabbed Akane's hand and held it against his face. "Nothing will happen Akane."

"Then let me come with you," Akane said gently.

"No Akane," Ranma shook his head.

"Why?" Akane asked quietly.

"Because I don't want you to be in danger," Ranma answered.

"I can handle myself," Akane protested.

"Akane, what if something happens to you. After what happened at Jusendo, I mean…You almost died, trying to save me. When I got free of Saffron's threads and I turned and saw you just disappear, it hurt, Akane. It hurt more than anything I've ever felt before. And I had to go through it again when I thought was too late with the Jusenkyo water. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you are never in danger again," Ranma said as he blinked a few times to clear the tears from his eyes.

Ranma turned to get up and leave but was stopped when Akane turned him around and hugged him fiercely. Akane began to cry into Ranma's chest. Ranma slowly brought up his arms and wrapped them around her.

"O-okay Ranma, I w-wont make you worry," Akane cried.

Ranma didn't reply. He just held Akane in his arms and let her cry.

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

"But what if you get hurt?" Akari protested.

"I won't, I'll be careful," Ryoga said.

"But I might lose you," Akari said as she stared at the ground.

"Hey," Ryoga moved Akari's head up to face his. "I'll be fine. Ranma will be with me the whole time."

Akari knew she was losing the argument, it was just too hard to argue with Ryoga.

"Just promise me that you'll be careful," Akari said.

"Of course," Ryoga smiled.

Akari turned away. It wasn't fair, she had finally found a man that she loved and now he could be taken away from her.

Ryoga saw Akari begin to shake with silent sobs and he realized that it was because of him. Ryoga moved closer to Akari and wrapped his arms around her.

"It'll be okay Akari, I'll come back to you, I promise," Ryoga whispered in her ear.

Akari moved her head up and pressed her lips against Ryoga's. She felt Ryoga tense and his arms drew Akari in closer. Akari moved back from Ryoga and looked at the shocked expression on his face.

"What's wrong Ryoga?" Akari asked.

"I-I'm sorry Akari. You caught me off guard."

With that said, Ryoga pulled Akari in close and kissed her.

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

Ranma met Ryoga at the front gates of Furinkan High School.

"Did you get here on your own?" Ranma asked, a little surprised to see Ryoga by himself.

"Yeah right," Ryoga smiled. "Akari walked me here."

The bell rang for the change in periods.

"How'd you get out of class?" Ryoga asked.

"I explained to Ms. Hinako that I had a previous engagement," Ranma said. "Luckily I was able to run away before she could find her coin and drain me."

They both had a good laugh at that.

After a few more minutes, a black government type car pulled up. Ishii stepped out and waved for them to come over.

"Mr. Inafune wishes to meet with you two."

"Yeah well, we'd like to meet him too," Ranma said as he and Ryoga climbed into the back.

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

Akane looked out the window of her class and saw Ranma and Ryoga get into a car. She watched it pull away and drive of. Akane tried to keep her thoughts on the class but found she couldn't get her mind off of someone that was occurring less than only a mile away.

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

Ishii led Ranma and Ryoga through the restaurant and into a room that was marked: Off Limits.

They followed Ishii up a flight of stairs and into an office.

A hidden door opened along the wall and Minoru stepped in. He motioned for them to follow him.

The room was quite ordinary except for the large oak wood desk and leather chair that was behind it. Ranma and Ryoga were seated in two chairs that were positioned in front of the desk.

Ishii and Minoru walked around the desk and stood beside the leather chair.

Another door opened and Seiji Inafune entered and sat down in the leather chair. He was an elderly man, but his body showed the signs that he had been quite athletic in his youth. His eyes burned with intelligence and when he shook their hands, it was like shaking hands with a rock.

"Greetings, I am Seiji Inafune," the elderly man said, he looked both Ranma and Ryoga over. "And what are your names?"

"Ranma Saotome."

"Ryoga Hibiki."

"Now that we've gotten the pleasantries out of the way, may I ask why you felt the need to attack my organization and destroy a shipment of opium and injure three of my workers?" Seiji asked.

"We did it to try and find someone," Ryoga answered.

"Don't tell me, was it Shigeru?"

"Who's that?" Ranma asked.

"My worker who almost had his windpipe crushed."

"Yeah that was him," Ryoga smiled.

"And why, may I ask, were you looking for him?" Seiji questioned them.

Ryoga considered it for a moment before going he told him about the attack on Akari.

"I see," Seiji nodded. "Well I had nothing to do with that."

Ranma and Ryoga looked at him for a moment but didn't reply.

Seiji looked behind him, right at Ishii and Minoru.

"You may leave now."

As the two men left, Seiji turned back to Ranma and Ryoga.

"I suppose now your going to ask why someone like me is involved in the drug trade, right?" Seiji asked but didn't let them answer. "I was forced in. Four years ago I was approached by a man who was a member of the Yakuza. He had learned of my involvement in some of the political matters in Tokyo, and also of some of my involvement with an American Special Forces unit during the Vietnam War."

"He asked me to help him with some of his clients. I asked what that help would be and he explained to me that it would be in helping his clients unload and distribute his contraband throughout the city and into the smaller residential areas. I of course told him to leave me alone and to never return to my restaurant, but after two weeks he returned."

"He did not say anything about our past meeting and instead asked me out for dinner. I accepted, but only because he seemed to be sincere and I thought he would apologize for what he had asked me the last time we met. But when we arrived at the restaurant, it took five minutes before he was asking me again. I was about to storm out when I found that I couldn't move."

"I looked over at the man and his face was blank and his eyes had glazed over. I couldn't move my body and before I knew it, I was suddenly holding my knife up to my own throat. The man told me that he would only ask me one more time before he made me slit my own throat."

Seiji looked down at his desk.

"I agreed on the spot. He released me from whatever he had done to me and smiled. He explained that he would give my name to the Yakuza members he was with and I would shortly receive the information that would help me set up the drug operations I would soon be mounting."

Seiji raised his head and looked at them. "The man's name is Toshi Maruyama, a powerful mind extortionist that is completely and utterly corrupted. He is insane, but he is nevertheless extremely dangerous."

Ranma and Ryoga looked at him in silence.

"Why are you telling us this?" Ranma asked finally.

Seiji smiled at him and got up from his desk. "I am telling you, because I need your help. From what I've heard from Ishii and Minoru, you two have exceptional skill when it comes to martial arts."

"So what do you want us to do?" Ryoga asked.

"That, I will have to show you."

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

Akane arrived home in a very foul mood. It didn't help that she was soon cornered by Nodoka in her room.

"Is there something wrong dear?" Nodoka asked.

"Oh no, I guess I'm just not feeling very well," Akane answered.

"Well, may I ask where my son is and why you did not arrive home with him?" Nodoka asked sweetly.

"Uh, you see..," Akane trailed off as she searched her mind for an answer.

"Ranma and Ryoga are planning a surprise for us. Their doing it at Ryoga's house so they will not be interrupted. Ryoga told me it might take a few days to finish it so Ranma and him were going to be staying at his house for a few days," Akari explained as she stepped into Akane's room.

"Oh, well isn't that nice of them," Nodoka said and left to go relay the news to Soun and Genma.

"Thanks Akari," Akane sighed as she sank down on her bed.

"Don't thank me, Ryoga's the one that came up with the idea," Akari shrugged.

Akane smiled at her before her depression returned and the smile faded.

"So, were they picked up?" Akari asked after closing the door.

"Yep," Akane sighed again.

"God, I hope their careful," Akari said.

"I know I know, I hope their careful too," Akane nodded her head. Please come back to me Ranma.

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

This is becoming a very interesting meeting, Ryoga thought as he sped through downtown Tokyo in Seiji's personal car.

Seiji had explained to them that he had been planning on killing Toshi Maruyama for almost two years, and he only needed a few more details worked out before he could carry the operation out.

"We have arrived," Seiji announced, as they pulled into a reserved parking space in front of a one-story building.

Seiji led them inside and walked through a large corridor before stopping in front of a large metal door. He reached into his pocket and extracted a card. He slid it through an electronic slit near the door and punched a few numbers on a keypad. There was a buzz and then the lock was removed and the door opened.

"Security is somewhat of a worry here," Seiji told them.

Ranma and Ryoga had to go through some metal detectors before being admitted to what Seiji had told them was called the "learning room".

"What is this place?" Ranma asked.

"This, my friends, is where you are going to study everything I have collected on Toshi Maruyama," Seiji smiled. The room itself was quite big for what it contained. Two desks with two or three filing cabinets behind them, and two large couches positioned against the far wall, and another door that contained a bathroom.

Seiji clapped them on the shoulder and left, closing the door behind him.

Ryoga walked up to one of the filing cabinets and opened a drawer. It contained numerous files that varied in thickness.

"Looks like we've got some reading to do," Ryoga observed dryly.

"Oh yeah," Ranma agreed. They each pulled out the biggest file they could find and sat down at their desk.

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

Three hours passed without a single word between them. As the time passed, each of them would toss the empty folder into a pile and reach behind them to grab a new folder. Finally, Ranma broke the silence when he spoke.

"Jeez, this guys been everywhere," Ranma said, Ryoga looked up from his folder at him. "He was in Russia a little after the Soviet Union collapsed. It was believed that he was supplying the Russian mafia with drugs and various weapons. After helping with an assassination of a visiting diplomat he ran to Israel. In a month he was convicted of selling weapons to Palestine rebels and suicide bombers. Before they could tri him he posted bail and skipped out of the country. Next he traveled to Britain and kidnapped two American soldiers. He held them for ransom, and when he received payment he killed them and disappeared again. He emerged next in Saudi Arabia, where he was the number one suspect for an embassy bombing that occurred. There were several more bombings and then it was reported that he had disappeared somewhere in Asia and has not been seen since."

"He's some kind of terrorist right?" Ryoga asked.

"Yeah, it would appear so," Ranma nodded in agreement. He glanced up at the clock. It was one o'clock and he had to go to school tomorrow.

"I'm going to try and get some sleep now," Ranma said as he got up and flopped down on a couch.

"Yeah sure, just try not to snore too loud," Ryoga joked. Ranma was too tired to respond so he made a muffled remark before he fell asleep.

Ryoga listened to Ranma sleep for awhile before he got up and left the room. He approached a guard that was standing close to the office.

"Do you know where Mr. Inafune's office is?" Ryoga asked.

"Just go down this hall and turn left," the guard answered.

"Thank you," Ryoga bowed politely and walked down the hall.

"I said turn left!" the guard called.

"Oh right, sorry!" Ryoga yelled back. He silently cursed himself for making a fool out of himself in front of the guard.

He found the door to Seiji's office and walked in.

"Is there something I can do for you Ryoga?"

"Yeah, I just needed to ask you a question. Is there someway to counter Maruyama's mind technique. I mean, it's going to be hard to fight a guy when you can't even move your arms or anything."

"Hmm, interesting question, you see, in my case I have developed a mind block, in which he no longer can control what I do. But, unfortunately I have only recently developed this, and I am not too sure how it would work with you guys."

"I was thinking that maybe if someone had complete control over their own mind, they could ignore whatever Toshi tried to do. But I have yet to find anyone that is capable of such a thing. Awhile back, after I was researching the mind technique Toshi had developed, I discovered the small countermeasure that had been developed. It explained that in times of great emotional stress, a person can completely disregard the mind technique."

"Well, then I guess I had better be very pissed off when I meet this guy," Ryoga smiled.

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

Akane awoke feeling the same way she had when she went to sleep, depressed. She had been hoping to find dreams of her and Ranma, but instead she had dreams involving Ranma being horribly mutilated by an unknown person. Needless to say, she wasn't feeling very good at all.

She got out of bed and went downstairs for breakfast. Her family, and Ranma's, were seated at the table.

"Where's Akari?" Akane asked her family.

"She went for a walk with Katsunishiki," Kasumi answered.

"Akane, is there something wrong?" Soun asked from behind his newspaper.

"No dad, nothings wrong," Akane said, thankful her father couldn't see her face when she said it.

"Well then, come eat your breakfast. Kasumi and Nodoka have cooked us another fine meal."

Akane nodded and hurried through breakfast. She dashed out of the house and nearly crashed into Ranma when she reached the gate.

"What are you doing here?" Akane asked, shocked.

"Seiji's going to let me continue going to school while I'm doing something for him," Ranma told her.

"What about Ryoga?" Akane asked, absentmindedly running her hand over Ranma's chest.

"That's why I came here first," Ranma answered. "He wanted me to tell Akari that he's okay and he is going to remember her promise, whatever that means."

"Akari went on a walk somewhere with Katsunishiki though," Akane said.

"Damn," Ranma said dryly. "I guess I'll have to try and find her at lunch."

"Ranma?" Akane asked. "What happened when you two were picked up yesterday?"

Ranma explained everything that had happened and what he had learned in the past twelve hours, while walking to school.

"So what are you going to be doing?" Akane asked Ranma once he'd finished telling her all the details.

"I'm not quite sure but, before I left this morning Ryoga said he was going to try and get some information from Seiji," Ranma said.

"It's going to be dangerous, isn't it?" Akane asked.

"Yeah, it might be, but I'm still going to do it," Ranma stated firmly.

"But why?" Akane asked quietly.

"Akane," Ranma began. "This man has killed hundreds of people if the documents are correct. He's also helped other people kill more people by supplying them with weapons and other things to help ruin people's lives."

Ranma looked over at Akane and saw her crying. He pulled Akane to his chest and gently whispered into her ear.

"It's okay; it's alright, nothings going to happen. I won't let anything happen to anyone, okay?"

"I know," Akane spoke softly. "But I-I don't want to lose you."

"Don't worry Akane, if Seiji's plan is too crazy, or I don't think that even I could pull it off, then I won't do it," Ranma said, hoping it would make her stop crying.

Akane wiped the tears from her face and looked up at Ranma. His masculine face was clouded with concern and it made her want to reach up and kiss him.

"All better now?" Ranma asked, flashing her a smile.

"Uh huh," Akane nodded and flashed him a smile of her own. She removed herself from Ranma's chest with great reluctance.

"We'd better hurry or we'll be late for class," Ranma observed.

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

They didn't even notice her as they ran by.

Ukyo watched as the two ran off to school, their hands clasped together. She leaned against the nearby wall for support, as she was feeling that she would soon fall down. A small part of her mind was taunting her that this was all her doing, with all that had happened in the past few days.

Ranma had hugged Akane. He. Hugged. Akane.

"N-no," Ukyo buried her head in her hands and took off running down the street. She kept going even as she entered her restaurant/home and ran up the stairs to her room.

Konatsu had been sweeping the floors when Ukyo burst in.

"U-Ukyo?"

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

Konatsu approached Ukyo's room. She had not closed her door after dashing in. He tried to pick up anything Ukyo might be saying, but all he could hear were sobs. He walked into the room and tried to think of something to say.

Ukyo was face-down on her bed and she was crying into her pillow. Konatsu cleared his throat to try and acknowledge his presence. When Ukyo didn't respond, Konatsu moved closer and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"What's wrong?" Konatsu asked, tired of the silence.

Ukyo, unable to ignore Konatsu's presence, sat up and gazed at him.

"Why aren't you at school?" Konatsu asked, returning Ukyo's gaze.

"R-Ranma and A-Akane…" Ukyo stammered out before she began crying again.

Konatsu shook his head sadly. He had come to the conclusion shortly after Ranma and the others returned from their adventure in China, that Ranma and Akane were meant for each other. He had entertained the idea of talking to Ukyo about what he had been thinking of, but quickly stopped himself when he realized Ukyo would most likely become enraged with him. He would never do anything that would hurt his position with Ukyo.

Ukyo stopped crying and tried to stand up but she couldn't find the strength and would have collapsed to the ground if it were not for Konatsu catching her and laying her back down on her bed.

"You just rest now Ukyo," Konatsu said gently. "I will look after the store."

Konatsu left and Ukyo soon fell into a restless sleep.

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

As the school day drifted by, the students of Farina High welcomed the bell that signaled the end of the morning classes and the start of lunch.

Ranma and Akane sat together as they usually did, at one of the many picnic tables that were scattered around the school grounds.

"So how's Ryoga doing?" Akane asked as she handed half her lunch over to Ranma.

"Thanks," Ranma said, accepting the lunch. "Yeah Ryoga's doing fine." Ranma paused. "You know it's kind of weird," Ranma said. "We've been in close contact with each other for a whole week, and we haven't even fought or anything."

"Yeah well, you two do get rather chummy when your not trying to kill each other," Akane laughed.

"And how's Akari?" Ranma asked gently.

"She's getting by," Akane answered, then took on a more serious tone. "But I think she's being affected by this the most. If something should happen to Ryoga, she's going to be alone again. I saw her last night, just sitting out near the koi pond. She had a strange expression on her face, it was like, emptiness," Akane shook her head; she poked Ranma in the chest with her finger. "And I want you to promise me that you're going to make sure nothing happens to Ryoga."

"Aw c'mon Akane, he can take care of himself," Ranma groaned.

"Ranma," Akane said sharply. "It doesn't matter if you think he can take care of himself, I want you to make sure he doesn't get lost or he doesn't go overboard like Ryoga has a tendency to do. Now I want you to promise me that you're going to keep him out of trouble."

Ranma sighed and looked straight at Akane.

"I promise."

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

Over at the Cat Café, it was business as usual. Cologne finished dishing up the last of the orders and sat down at an empty table.

Ranma had not been by in awhile. Though Cologne had been anticipating this, it was unsettling. After what had happened at the failed wedding, Cologne had been expecting Ranma to up and blow off any recognition of the laws that had engaged him to Shampoo. She was at a loss, she had absolutely no doubt in her mind that Ranma did not love Shampoo, and that he loved the Tendo girl.

Cologne was startled when Mousse set on order of fried rice and wonton in front of her.

"What are you doing?" Cologne asked. Mousse raised his glasses to his eyes and stared intently at Cologne.

"I must say sir, you've certainly shriveled up since I was last here," Mousse said.

Cologne thumped Mousse over the head with her staff.

"Take this order to the table over there!" Cologne pointed.

Mousse walked over to several more tables before he finally arrived at the proper table. On his way back to the kitchen, Cologne stopped him.

"You're not going to hit me again are you?" Mousse asked cautiously.

"No child, I merely ask you for your assistance," Cologne responded. Mousse perked up at her response and Cologne instantly regretted calling him child.

"What is it?"

"I ask that you go over to the Tendo household and ask Ranma if he could meet with me," Cologne told him.

"All right," Mousse nodded to a nearby plant and dashed out the door.

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

Ranma, in female form, stood outside of Furinkan High school.

"Damn lousy weather," Ranma muttered as the car pulled up.

Ishii unlocked the back door and Ranma climbed in. They sped away from Furinkan.

"How did you know it was me?" Ranma finally asked.

"There was an incident today at the facility," Ishii said calmly.

"Uh oh, what happened?" Ranma asked, smiling.

"I'll let Hibiki explain it."

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

Ranma walked into the room he and Ryoga were sharing, and saw Ryoga sitting at the desk, with a dark brooding look on his face.

"What happened Ryoga?" Ranma asked.

Ryoga shook his head angrily and looked at Ranma. It was quite obvious that he was more embarrassed than angry over what happened.

"You'd think that in a facility this built up they could have separate faucets for hot and cold!" Ryoga snarled.

Ranma tried to hold back but she burst out laughing.

"It's not funny Ranma," Ryoga glared at Ranma.

"I'm sorry Ryoga," Ranma laughed, wiping tears from her eyes. "So who found you?"

"Seiji walked into the bathroom and found my clothes, I was trying to move the faucet with my head but I accidentally broke it. Seiji saw me and I think he made the connection. He took me to his office and I tried to explain the situation as well as a pig can, but he didn't understand. After a few more attempts I just gave up and grabbed his tea in my teeth and dumped it over my head," Ryoga said.

"Lucky there was tea there," Ranma noted.

"That's what I thought too. But it seems Seiji had a meeting planned with one of his secretaries and she chose that moment to come in. Needless to say, she did not expect to see a naked boy sitting on Seiji's desk. To make things worse she screamed and Ishii and a bunch of guards came running in."

"Is that so," Ranma said as she turned around, suppressing the laughter that threatened to escape. "So what happened next?"

"Well, after I got my clothes back on and everyone calmed down, I explained all about Jusenkyo and all the crazy crap that's happened in the past year and a half. He found the stuff about what happened in Jusendo particularly interesting. Seems all that has just reaffirmed his belief that we are two of the strongest martial artists in the world."

Ranma smiled and poured hot water over her head from a nearby tea kettle.

"So what's Seiji's plan for the mission were supposed to be going on?" Ranma asked as he dried his hair.

"You'll love it."

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

Ryoga led Ranma down a corridor. With each step they took the sound echoed for what seemed an eternity. Ryoga stopped at one of the doors and opened it.

"It's in here," Ryoga motioned for Ranma to enter. Ranma walked through and fell down a steep incline. He would have fallen completely down the slope if it were not for Ryoga grabbing his hand.

"Sorry about that Ranma," Ryoga lifted Ranma back up the slope with one arm.

"What is this place?" Ranma asked as he readjusted his clothes.

"Seiji says this is an exact replica of some rice fields located 5 miles northeast of Tokyo." Ryoga answered as he led Ranma down a winding path. "It seems that this Maruyama fellow has been using these fields as places to store the drugs coming into the country until it's ready for distribution. According to Seiji, were going to be inserted at the fields a few days earlier than it's reported that a team will come to collect the drugs. Were supposed to call Seiji on a encrypted cell phone when we see that team come; then Seiji will send another team to intercept the drug pushers and capture them. Then we get to torch the drugs. Seiji says this could cripple the drug market for months."

"Where do we sign up?" Ranma smiled.

"We leave in two days," Ryoga said. "Were going to be practicing tonight and then we'll have a practice run tomorrow."

"Doesn't sound too hard."

"That's what I said."

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

Cologne finished putting the remaining dishes away when she heard the front door slide open. Mousse walked in and Cologne confronted him.

"Well?" Cologne asked. "Will Ranma meet with me?"

"He's not there," Mousse answered.

"Where is he?"

"Akane said Ranma and Ryoga are working on some surprise for her and Akari."

"Who?" Cologne asked, not knowing who Akari was.

"Akari, she's some pig farmer that Ryoga got engaged to somehow.

"And she said Ranma and Ryoga were working on something?"

"Yep."

"Since when could those two get along," Cologne said to no one in particular. She left the room without a word.

"You're welcome," Mousse said.

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

"Oww!" Ranma yelled as the wax bullet struck him on the shoulder.

"I told you to stay down," Ryoga said as he crept below the reeds.

"How the hell are we supposed to tell where the shooters are if we can't even stick our heads up for a second!" Ranma shot back.

"I don't know, but were supposed to find the shooters and eliminate them without taking too many hits," Ryoga stopped as reached a body of water.

"I've got an idea Ryoga."

"What?" Ryoga asked as he looked back at Ranma.

"Just head to the bottom of the ridge over there," Ranma pointed. "And try not to be seen, and when I give the word you jump."

Ranma slithered into the water and emerged silently on the other side. Ranma moved cautiously and only moved her head above the weeds at odd intervals. Ranma crept closer and closer to the hill that she believed the shooters occupied. Once she had moved behind their positions, Ranma approached them from behind.

"Hey there boys," Ranma said in her best seductive voice.

As the shooters turned to face the threat, Ryoga leapt form below the ridge and snatched the guns away from the shooters as he landed.

"We win," Ranma smiled.

The lights in the room turned on and a voice came on the intercom system.

"Well done," Seiji congratulated. "I think you guys will be ready for the practice run tomorrow. And Ranma?"

"Yeah," Ranma replied, knowing what Seiji was going to say.

"Keep your head down," Seiji laughed as he left the intercom switched off.

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

Akane entered Akari's temporary room.

"How're you doing?" Akane asked as she sat down.

"Okay," Akari answered unconvincingly.

"Look, I know its hard Akari but, you've just got to trust them."

"I do trust him, it's just that…," Akari trailed off.

"Just what?" Akane asked.

"What will I do if he doesn't come back?" Akari asked quietly.

"Akari, listen," Akane said, staring at Akari. "Ryoga is quite capable of taking care of himself. He's a great fighter and he isn't exactly stupid you know. Even if he gets in trouble Ranma's going to be there as well. And we don't have to worry about Ranma taking care of himself."

Akari looked at Akane and smiled.

"Oh, and why is that?"

Akane looked confused for a moment. Why would she think that Ranma can't take care of himself.

"Ranma's one of the greatest fighters I've ever seen. He's defeated every opponent he's ever faced, even Saffron."

"Ryoga told me about what happened with him, you guys were very lucky," Akari said sympathetically. "He also told me what happened after you had been returned to normal."

Akane blushed and looked away.

"Ranma loves you Akane," Akari told her. "And I know you love him too."

Akane glared at Akari and was about to deny it, but she realized that Akari was probably the only person she could admit this to, without having to worry about what they would do afterwards.

"Yes, I do love Ranma."

"Well it's good to hear one of you admit it," Akari smiled.

"That bit of information doesn't leave this room," Akane told her seriously.

"Okay, okay," Akari laughed. "Akane?"

"What?"

"If it's not too much trouble, can you come with me to my farm tomorrow?" Akari asked.

"Sure!" Akane answered enthusiastically. "I've never seen you're farm before."

"I have been wanting to see the pigs, and it will help to get my mind off of Ryoga."

I doubt it, Akane thought, I really doubt it.

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

Author's Notes: Well, there's the first chapter. This story is definitely not going to follow the normal path of most Ranma Fanfics.

I hope everyone that has read the first chapter enjoys it and is interested in reading the rest of the story.