IMPORTANT!!!!!!!  If this is the first time you're reading this
fic, you must read starting from Chapter 1 completely first!
This story will seem very ridiculous and out of place if you
don't.

This fic is a crossover with Ranma and the Tenchi OAV/Universe
series. Hopefully you readers know some basic knowledge about
both Ranma and Tenchi:) Compared to movies, I would rate this as
a "R" fanfic, because of some of the harsh language used.

Here are a few things you must know while reading this:

-For all of you readers, PLEASE read the notes at the end of the
fic before you start flaming me for things that you don't
understand or think is bogus, my notes just might answer all your
questions. If that doesn't do it, feel free to pound away at my
mailbox.

-The Ranma aspect of the story takes place after manga 38 and the
Tenchi aspect takes place after the TV show/OVA.

-At the end of manga 38 Ranma was at the end of his sophomore
year in Furinkan High School and the year is set to 1992. Don't
ask why, I chose that particular date out of convenience. This is
to set a timeframe where Akane and Ranma met during their lives.

-Also Ranma still has his curse, but his female form has black
hair (like the manga) and is now just as tall as his male form.

-Ranma will seem very out of character, but you have to
completely read from the first chapter to understand why. I guess
that's what you call character development?

    -SgtRanma

Please visit my website at http://www.myspace.com/sgtranma or
email me at sgtranma@yahoo.com

------------------------


Chapter 7: Sins of the Sisterhood

April 24th, 2001.
Nagoya Port, Docking Station #02XX - Nagoya, Japan.  11:32 PM.

    Ranma clutched his head. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't
see. He tried to scrape the crackling, pulsating scream of
electricity that was scrambling his brains through his ears.

    Then he felt the back of his head. His fingers prodded for a
hole. His eyes lit up but all he could see were rings of white
light panning out into obscurity. His entire jaw ticked and his
lips trembled as he could make out a black foot in front of him.
A boot.

    Ranma's shell shocked reverie didn't last more than a few
split seconds. He saw a hand extended out to him.

    "Captain Ranma Saotome? Major Chris Hideo Kurosawa, United
States Marine Corps. At your service."

    Ranma yelped. He screamed a burst of primal fury as he tried
to reorient his arms from his legs. The man in front of him
tugged and pulled him upright as he held his M4 carbine with his
other hand.

    "You stay right here and cover these corners. I'll mop out
the rest of this compound."

    Ranma wobbled like a gyroscope knocked out of harmony when
Kurosawa let him go. He propped himself with his rifle as an
improvised crutch.

    "Who-" Ranma gasped.

    "The corners! Watch my fucking six!" Kurosawa yelled as he
slipped around a huge shipping container.

    "Who are you?" Ranma asked again. He felt like clutching his
tightening chest. The ground still felt wobbly, but his composure
was slowly coming back. He looked around, and saw the man who had
just helped him up was nowhere to be found. His nocturnal vision
was completely ruined, and his eyes had to readjust in the dark.

    The explosive flash of a muzzle, far too close to his head,
had left him like a lost lamb in the steel wilderness.

    His foot lost grip as it stepped on something that felt like
it was lubricated. It was difficult to make out, but his irises
narrowed quickly to pierce through the veil of night. He could
make out some glistening hair that was flapping on something, and
he knew enough from there that it was blown scalp from a close
range head shot.

    Ranma held his breath as he finally walked over to the corner
where Kurosawa had dashed off to. The rows of containers looked
identical to the ones on the other side of the dock, where he had
escaped from moments before. Everything was eerily quiet, a stark
contrast to the explosions of gunfire that were still ringing in
his ears.

    "Ranma!"

    He immediately recognized the voice. "Jackson!? Where the
hell are you?!"

    A concentrated beam of light danced around in midair, running
towards Ranma. In another head rush of panic, Ranma raised his
rifle.

    "Don't fucking shoot! It's me!"

    Jackson took off his balaclava and unmasked himself from the
darkness. The light was from his MP5SD's Surefire light
attachment.

    Ranma's knees felt weak from relief when he saw his partner's
face. He slung his rifle down and engaged the safety. The bright
beam from the light stunned him. His gut clenched as he wondered
if he would've been capable of pulling the trigger anyway.

    "Jesus, Jackson. What the fuck happened?"

    Jackson's eyes jumped from one side to the other as he was
nervously checking around to see if there were any more surprises
left. "I think they got away in the middle of all that mayhem.
All I could do was shoot at moving trucks as I tried to find you.
There was a guy hiding on top of a container, but I made him and
tried to counter-snipe. He wasn't a sniper, and he bolted as soon
as I entered the gates."

    An icy tingle gripped his fear in place and Ranma's eyes
darted at the top edges of the surrounding containers. "I don't
think I noticed him either. What the fuck is wrong with me
tonight?"

    "Shell shock," Jackson said. "You're damn lucky those guns on
that PT Boat didn't cut you in half."

       Ranma shook his head in disbelief. "Everyone got away?" He
found it hard to keep his voice from cracking.

    "I'd say he's right," Kurosawa's voice popped up.

    The unfamiliar voice jolted Ranma back into rigor mortis. He
saw the tiger-striped soldier walking towards them from the open
median of the dock.

    "They dropped a few crates of cargo and only lost a few men.
That fucking boat helped them get away nearly scot-free,"
Kurosawa said. "And yeah, that was no firefight. That PT Boat
could've finished us off if it stayed."

    "Thanks for helping us out, Major. Don't know where the hell
you came from, but thanks," Jackson said. He saluted Kurosawa and
then shook his hand as he came to join them.

    "Thanks for saving my life," Ranma said, panting a little now
that all the excitement seemed to be over. "I owe you one."

    "Not a problem, boss. Wish I got here sooner, but I couldn't
get a hold of you sons of bitches since you didn't return my
fucking phone calls." Kurosawa's eyes rotated slowly to match
Jackson's.

    Jackson's jaw tightened for a moment. "We were busy tracking.
I had my hands full."

    Ranma clutched his head. "I knocked out a guy by a container
on the other side. You guys get him?"

    Jackson shook his head. "I saw them drag him into one of the
trucks. Shit, they even took the bodies in the middle of the yard
too."

    "It's their own, after all." Ranma tried hard not to gawk as
he looked between his partner and Kurosawa, who was quite a sight
with his full battle dress and camouflage. "I'm sorry, but who
the fuck are you?"

    "I'll tell you everything you need to know, but we need to
police this area first. I assume Jackson jammed the airwaves for
our own protection, yes?"

    Jackson nodded. "I'll contact MaxFor."

    Ranma went along with it. For now, he just nodded as he
walked over to a spot that wasn't splattered wet with blood so
that he could clutch his head.

-------------------------

    "That sub-vocal saved your left ear from being completely
deaf. I wish I had a suppressor on me, but I was forced to use a
gun that isn't from the MaxFor armory."

    Ranma's ears didn't feel like they were splitting his head
apart anymore, but it was apparent that his right ear would be
partially deaf for a while.

    Jackson ran his hands over Ranma's back and chest. "Alright,
just one last check. You didn't get any holes in you. Your vitals
are fine, and I don't think you have any internal bleeding. All
in all, I'd say we were all lucky."

    Kurosawa ran his hands over Ranma's head the same way. "No
muzzle burns, no ricochet shrapnel on your noggin'."

    Ranma nodded his head and gave Kurosawa a deferential smile.
It was funny how both men were highly trained medics. It seemed
natural that Jackson's knew first-aid since he specialized in
hostage rescue. But Ranma wondered for a fleeting moment whether
the US Marines were taught first aid as extensively.

    "I don't think you'll need it, but I'll ask anyway. Do you
want to go to the hospital? Get a full checkout?" Jackson asked.

    "How about my ear?" Ranma asked.

    "They're not blown out, so it can't be catastrophic,"
Kurosawa said. He paced around Ranma's sitting form. "You're in
no condition to drive but you should get back to Tokyo and get it
checked out there if you must. I don't think there will be a
difference from now and a few hours later."

       This wasn't the first time Ranma dealt with his ears
hurting from gunshots or even from explosive ki-blasts. But this
was leagues worse than a case of sonic ringing. He tried to poke
his finger inside his right ear canal to settle the sensation of
a phantom blockage that swelled like an air bladder. It sounded
like someone shot a spool of cotton into his ear and made
everything sound filtered through a walkie-talkie.

    "We made a hell of a ruckus out here," Ranma said. He stood
up and brushed himself off. He grabbed his rifle from the ground
and slung it over his shoulder. "Think anyone heard it?"

    "I'm sure someone heard that boat burping out those fifties,"
Jackson said. "I called MaxFor, there's a team that's going to
police this area and lock it down. Takayama said he'll have
everything covered."

    "Really?" Ranma's eyes narrowed. "I want to check the place
for anything we missed."

    Kurosawa shook his head. "It's almost pitch black out here.
We need this place sealed off and the clean-up crew will search
every nook and cranny and police the dead bodies better and
faster than we can."

    Ranma nodded. "Jackson, you get all our surveillance
equipment?"

    "I need to get it back to the JNSA to get the laser-mic feed
filtered. I still need to pack everything from the tower. I'm
going to send the data digitally so our techs can work on it
right away."

    "How far away are our guys?"

    "I'd say an hour, at least. They're coming from our JNSA
satellite-facility in Osaka." Jackson pulled out a candy bar from
a vest pocket. "I'll wait for them, and you two head back to
Tokyo. I'll load up everything in your car, Major."

    Kurosawa looked over at Ranma. "You don't mind me taking you
back, do you sir?"

    "Not at all," Ranma said. "Why are you calling me sir? You're
a Major and at least a decade older than me."

    "Hey," Kurosawa chuckled. He slid his hand through his hair.
"You're the JNSA Cap'n. I'm a Major in the Corps. My rank doesn't
apply to you, but yours applies to me."

    Ranma shrugged. "You can just call me, Ranma."

    "Sure thing. Don't worry. If Akira chose you himself I have
no qualms calling you 'sir'. I heard some interesting things
about you, Ranma."

-------------

    Kurosawa's choice of transportation was a small and chunky
two-door Suzuki SUV. Its electronics complex jungle of an
interior was a shocking contrast to its plain and forgettable
exterior. All the added gizmos and LCD screens made it look like
an aircraft cockpit.

    Ranma dozed in and out of sleep as soon as he got in, his
body and psyche shell shocked from the unexpected combat against
an opponent he had no chance against. He blossomed awake to the
sound of Kurosawa conversing on a radio mike with one hand on the
steering wheel. He was groggy and unable to sleep any more.

    "How far away are we?" Ranma mumbled.

    Kurosawa briefly put down his mike. "About 50 clicks
southwest of Tokyo. You've been asleep for about an hour and a
half."

    "Holy shit, sorry about that," Ranma said. He straightened up
in his seat. There wasn't much room to twist and turn, the seats
were aggressively bolstered Recaros.

    Kurosawa finished his conversation on his radio and set the
mike on the receiver. "Not a problem," he said. "I just got off
the sat-radio with Jackson, HQ, and the Maritime Defense Forces."

    "Oh?"

    "That PT boat you guys ran into managed to slip out of
Japanese waters without a hitch. Jackson said the satellites are
still tracking their location visually, and they're headed
towards the Korean peninsula. JSDF refuses to pursue them."

    "No one came close?" Ranma gripped his seat belt.

    Kurosawa whistled. "They're pros. They surveyed and
researched their point of entry, docking, and exit strategy.
Everything was timed to miss their passing. The Maritime guys are
fucking hacks, and I'm sure there isn't really anyone who can
interpret all the data to see exactly how they set everything up.
I'm interested to see it myself."

    "Your field of expertise?" Ranma asked.

    "Somewhat."

    "You still in the Marine Corps? Are you a dedicated JNSA
agent?"

    "I'm doing liaison work as an attache, so I'm technically not
really under the JNSA payroll. But I'm with you guys step-by-step
for anything and everything you need me for."

    "What?" Ranma felt his employer had more smoke and mirrors
than he bargained for. "So you're still working for America?"

    "Something like that."

    "Who recruited you?"

    "I've known Commander Takayama for a long time. I wasn't
really recruited, I'm just here for support work."

    Ranma decided not to press. "So what'd you do as a Marine?"

    "I'm a senior Major. I spent a little over twenty years in
the Marine Corps. Seven of those as an enlisted."

    "Wow, a lifer, huh? How old were you when you started?"

    "Since Christ was a cook and Moby Dick was a minnow. I was 19
and dropped out of college after my freshman year. Took me years
later to finish my degree, part time."

    "Mind sharing your pedigree?" Ranma asked, curious.

    "Sure. I enlisted as an infantry grunt and I qualified for
Recon first chance I got. Back then I got a little bit of
preference for INDOC selection since I was bilingual. But I
served my first billet as a recon Marine, and by the time I was a
Staff Sergeant I passed selection for Force Recon."

    This time Ranma whistled. "Cream of the crop, like Jackson
huh?"

    "Jackson and I have a lot in common with each other. But he's
your age, and a little bit green. But again, on paper he's much
more impressive than I was at that age."

    Ranma nodded. "So what'd you do after?"

    Kurosawa rubbed his chin. "I served with 1st Force Recon for
two years. That's your max tour for a company, and then they boot
you back to a Recon battalion. It pisses a lot of guys off, and I
was no different. I was a Gunny at the time. So I decided I'd
move up and become an officer since I was thinking about getting
married and raising a family. Did the Officer Candidate thing,
blazed my way to 3rd Recon in Okinawa by the time I was a First
Lieutenant. Got to be platoon officer in Force Recon for 18
months. Got booted out, worked intel and as a foreign area
officer. I was lucky enough to be a Force Recon XO* when I was
promoted to Major. Now I'm just an attache, and my active days in
Recon are pretty much finished."
*XO - Executive Officer.

    A wave of deja-vu washed over Ranma. It was like when he had
trained with Jackson, Sagara, and Hanako. They were three
operators from different parts of the world, and they
intimidating proficient at what they did. His new colleague next
to him was a veteran, older version of that.

    He took a look at Kurosawa. He could now see some of his face
after the Major had wiped off the camo-paint with some baby
wipes. Ranma saw the bulging arc of his trapezius muscles
stretching his shirt collar high enough to reach his ears. His
cheekbones and jaw line were tight and pronounced because he was
fit and lean, but his eyes were set comfortably and his lips
relaxed.

    "Ever find a chance to get married and raise those kids?"

    "Oh, yes." Kurosawa reached across the dashboard and pressed
his thumb on a biometric scanner above the glovebox. A heavy
vault-like clunk rotated open a compartment with a suppressed
1911, a Leatherman multi-tool, and a wallet. He grabbed the
wallet and flipped it open to a photo.  "My wife is an elementary
school teacher in Camp Zama and my son and daughter are in middle
school. They've lived in Japan with me and didn't move much."

    "Were you born here?" Ranma's eyes wandered towards the
suppressed .45 in the glovebox. It looked similar to his, but was
flat black.

    Kurosawa shook his head. "No. I'm a second generation
Japanese-American. Wife's the same. My kids are pretty much
American military brats."

    "They know what you do?" Ranma asked. He felt an unreasonable
pang of jealousy. He wondered if he would've had kids by now.

    "Oh yeah, but they keep their mouths shut. I'm home at least
every other day if I'm not deployed. And I always take my
vacation time. I gave what I could, and it worked out."

    "Hey, glad to be working with you," Ranma said. He stuck out
his hand. "Thanks for saving my life again, Major."

    Kurosawa shook his hand firmly. "Call me Chris. Or Hideo."

    "Thanks, Chris."

    "So, Ranma. Mind telling me your background? Your file said a
couple of things that I find fascinatingly difficult to believe."

    Ranma smiled. He took a breath before he started his tale.

       *    *   *

April 25th, 2001.
46th floor, JNSA Headquarters - Tokyo, Japan.  4:36 PM.

    A separate elevator across the corridor from the one Ranma
rode up in chimed and the light above the doors blinked green.
There was no call button for the elevator. Instead it was a
biometric scanner that Ranma didn't have access to. He remembered
Takayama had pointed out everything above the 46th floor was off
limits to him, the intelligence wing.

    So it irked him to see Takayama and Kurosawa walk out
together with Jackson behind them. He knew they were at least
honest with what he wasn't allowed to have his eyes and ears on,
but it grated him for the first time that perhaps he was an
outsider amongst them.

    "Come with us to the media room, Ranma," Takayama said, still
walking.

    Ranma walked alongside Jackson and right behind Kurosawa.
Kurosawa looked like an average Joe, with his hair brushed and
face cleaned up to compliment his clean dress shirt and dark blue
slacks. He looked far more convincing as a stockbroker.

    "You get any sleep, Jackson?" Ranma asked.

    "Not really." Jackson yawned. "I was driving like a banshee
to get here from Nagoya. That kept me awake. I took a catnap
while waiting for the techs to disseminate all our surveillance
data."

    "I slept in the car. I'm good to go with coffee, it was just
enough to keep me going in school today," Ranma said. He jiggled
his white mug of brew from the coffeepot in the lounge.

    The four gathered in a board room with rows of chairs and
desks, reminiscent of a classroom. Several screens were lit up
with projectors attached to the ceiling.

    Jackson went to the front of the room in front of a laptop
that was already setup next to a couple of black boxes with
blinking lights and tiny knobs and switches. Ranma squinted his
eyes. One of the boxes had a green screen that resembled an
oscilloscope.

       Several other men and women who had been waiting outside
filed in and sat behind the four MaxFor agents occupying the
front row. Takayama was seated next to Ranma.

       "These people are from the intelligence wing and select
guests from different bureaus of the JNSA," Takayama whispered in
Ranma's ears.

    "I thought what we did was in the shadows?" Ranma responded
with his hand covered over his mouth.

    "Yes, but there's still bureaucracy. These are the people who
fund us, the people who make sure those we manipulate stay under
control, and they are the same people we work hard to get our
jobs done." Takayama pointed to a skinny man in his mid forties
with coke bottle glasses and a notepad in his hand. "That man
calibrated and set up satellite photo recon of your PT boat. A
request can be an operation all its own and he disseminates it
back for you guys into something simple to read and understand.
He's here to make sure what he worked on is presented correctly
and if pressed answer any further questions. Everyone else in the
room is here for something supportive."

    Ranma nodded. "Gotcha."

    The lights in the room dimmed and everyone looked forward.
Jackson tapped a few keys on the laptop and the projector screens
behind him projected a satellite map of Honshu and the
surrounding sea.

    "Thank you for waiting," Jackson announced to everyone. "Our
investigation has quickly transformed into a multi-agency
operation that has become this unit's first major challenge since
its conception. As of last night, Captain Saotome and I have
found concrete evidence that the recent influx of firearms fueled
with a burgeoning cocaine trade is linked together and smuggled
in by water."

    A man with a jet black suit and a gold lapel on his jacket
coughed. "Drug and weapons trade is done most commonly on the
water. What made this one different?"

       Jackson nodded. "The sheer quantity of goods exchanged and
the amount of intel the courier and receivers had in evading
virtually every form of security detection was remarkable. A
similar operation that we now believe may be linked to ours
occurred earlier this week when one of our agents in Hokkaido
came across the remnants of another transaction that had already
taken place."

       Commander Takayama stood up from his seat to face
everyone. "Just to let you know, our men tracked these leads down
the old fashioned way."

       "Thank you, sir," Jackson said. "We caught a lucky break
when we scouted for abandoned port locations.

    Jackson went on to explaining the connection between the
drugs and the firearms and the economy in which they were
peddled. After he was finished emphasizing just how bad the
recent surge of smuggling was in comparison to the normal traffic
of drug trade, most of the guests in the room exited. Only the
four MaxFor men, the wiry satellite technician, and another man
who had remained quiet stayed. They were all motioned to stand
up.

    Takayama grabbed Ranma's shoulder and brought him over to the
other two men in the room.

    "Ranma, this is the electronics intelligence technician up in
the Intel wing. His name is Brian Nakagawa," Takayama said.

    Ranma shook his hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

    "And this is JNSA Director of Counter-Intelligence, Colonel
Tanaka," Takayama said. "One of the very few people we report to,
Saotome."

    "An honor to meet you," Ranma said, bowing. He looked at the
colonel, wondering when the last time the man must have gone
outdoors was. He was a pale and balding, thin man. But he stood
confidently and had a firm jaw line.

    "Likewise," Tanaka responded.

    "I'm sure you were all waiting for this," Nakagawa said as he
made his way to the laptop. He produced a live uplink of the
previous static satellite photo that had been on the screen.
"Here's your boat, gentlemen. It's been visually tagged and we've
followed it the whole time."

    Jackson walked over to Ranma. "They're at a port in Busan,
off the Korean peninsula. They've made a steady and quick escape
since last night."

    "Can we nab 'em?" Ranma asked.

    "Your call," Takayama said.

    Ranma looked at Jackson and Kurosawa. Both were nodding. "I
say we go get them."

    "Leave that up to me," Takayama said. He looked at Tanaka,
who also nodded in approval.

    Nakagawa cleared his throat. "Next is the real sensitive bit.
I've decoded Sergeant Samamoto's laser-mic feed."

       Ranma watched as Nakagawa stood still and looked at
everyone but him. His eyes wandered, as if he were awaiting
further instructions. "Well, what did it say?"

    Takayama opened his mouth to speak but then clamped it shut.
He saw Colonel Tanaka walk over and grab his shoulder.

    "It's fine. I'll tell him," Tanaka said.

    Takayama shrugged his shoulder and took a step back. Tanaka
had a flat smile on his face.

    Ranma grit his teeth, feeling alienated again.

    "I know you're new here, and no doubt by now you must have
sensed that you're being kept out of a lot of things that the
rest of us are privy to," Tanaka explained. "But understand,
coming from your background there are a lot of things that you
simply don't need to know immediately because you wouldn't know
what to do with it. This agency isn't hiding things from you,
think of it more as you being placed on a need to know basis. I
believe you were told that before you came aboard."

    "I understand," Ranma responded flatly.

    "It's unfortunate you got stuck in a mess like this your
first job here. This case of yours has bumbled its way up into
something far more complex than law enforcement. But I'll tell
you what you need to know." Tanaka motioned with his hand.
"Nakagawa?"

    "I'll give you the brief version. After listening to all the
chatter on the feed we discovered a few things and have made some
safe assumptions based on what you guys have uncovered so far.
The men in the port were Yakuza soldiers, that much the National
Police has helped us out with. We've caught snippets of their
conversation on the dock that night, and they referred to a woman
who was handling everything."

    "The ringleader of that PT Boat was a woman," Ranma said.
"Are they talking about her?"

    "No," Nakagawa responded. "She was mentioned separately
amidst the conversations that took place. Someone specifically
mentioned a woman that the bosses dealt with and that she
arranged for that night's pickup."

    "And if that's true, it means that woman is responsible in
some way for knowing where and how to make that transaction,"
Jackson piped in. "Deductively, that means at least some mention
of all the security bypasses we discussed earlier must have been
channeled through this person."

    Tanaka grunted. "And because the evidence suggests the
plausibility of this, we have to also look at the possibility
that this woman is someone who has access to highly sensitive
information within the government. That's why I'm here to discuss
with you where and how this is going to be headed."

    "This sounds like something I shouldn't have stepped in,"
Ranma said.

    Tanaka looked at him. "I'm not shutting you down or taking
the reins. Understand, this isn't a spy we're catching. It's an
individual. A woman, it seems, who is in a position to make lots
of money. JNSA Intel handles all internal affairs because it's
obvious that a leak like this is our priority."

    "And you're wrong, Saotome," Takayama said. "Tanaka and I
will take care of this end, but out there on the streets is a
different story. You're the only one here who's a real
investigator. We need to find this leak from both sides."

    Ranma nodded. "I got it. Just had to clarify where I stand in
all this," he said.

    "You continue to do your investigation. That stays the way it
is. We're going to do our homework and fill you in on whatever
you need. I'm also going to nab that boat crew, and extradite
them back here if we can. You'll get your pick at them too,"
Takayama said. "You also have Chris' complete cooperation and
support. He's here to assist you in any way he can."

    "That's right," Kurosawa said.

    "You three are dismissed," Takayama said. "Get some rest."

    "Easier said than done," Ranma said. He sighed as he left the
room, along with Jackson and Kurosawa. "We need to ID the
deceased from last night and I have to go visit Kiyone."

    "You don't need to worry about that today, the forensics at
the National Police HQ wanted to do a thorough autopsy," Jackson
said.

    Kurosawa looked skeptical. "What the fuck for? The bullet
holes didn't give it away?"

    "Probably a full shakedown. Dental, DNA, blood work, bone,
peculiar latents, the works," Ranma said. "We call it
interrogating a dead man in this business."

    "So what next?" Jackson asked.

    Ranma put a finger to his lip. "It's a damn shame those
bastards got away with almost all of their armaments last night,
but we're lucky that one of the crates was filled with drugs.
That's going to cause a rift somewhere in the supply pipeline. We
track that, and I'll continue to work on my end to see where it's
funneling out undercover."

    "Shit's getting complicated," Jackson mumbled.

    "Why not raid the Yakuza faction you guys originally stumbled
upon?" Kurosawa asked.

    "We have to find out how they work first. If we rain on their
parade that blatantly they'll change up how they work so quickly
we'll be starting back at zero," Ranma replied.

    Kurosawa looked skeptical. "Like they haven't already been
tipped off from you two working around here?"

    Ranma's shoulders slumped. "It's a SNAFU. Gotta work around
it."

    Jackson was still unsure. "But we can round them all up and
at least shake them down. That works, doesn't it?"

    "In theory, it would," Ranma replied. "But our situation is a
bit different. Either of you study up on syndicates and organized
crime?"

    "Only popular knowledge, I guess. But go ahead and shoot,"
Kurosawa said.

    "Only what I've been able to observe here," Jackson said.

    "Among the yakuza in this country, there's nearly 40,000
members of the Yamaguchi-gumi alone. Although there's a whole lot
less who are actually formal members of the top. And that's just
one, albeit the biggest, yakuza faction," Ranma said. "And
there's more to it than that. 40,000 people know a whole lot more
people to work with on top of that, so who knows who works for
what. There's just too much to sift through."

    "Is this something you've had to work with before?" Kurosawa
asked.

    Ranma nodded. "Similar. In the LAPD I had to tip toe around
guys from the Mexican Mafia and MS-13. Both have tens of
thousands of members in each. It's not one big single entity, and
they have rifts and rivalries amongst themselves from the inside
out. It can apply here too, and I think that's what we need to
work on. We've been targeting with potshots until now."

    "This whole thing's been bugging me since we started," Ranma
said. "Yakuza care about money more than anything else. And to
keep making money, your best bet is to do something that won't
get you caught. These guys we're trying to catch are different.
Someone's doing something big and in a hurry. I smell a turf war
or a power struggle."

    "Which you've already manufactured on smoke and mirrors,"
Kurosawa said. "That's some impressive handiwork."




    "It can do more harm than good for all we know," Ranma said.
"Right now I'm just hoping we managed to rock someone's nest egg
and things start cracking."

       *    *   *

April 25th, 2001.
Nerima Riverbank - Tokyo, Japan - 4:40 PM.

    It was a dirty habit, and she'd done so well without touching
them for the past six months. But Nabiki flicked the disposable
lighter in her hand repeatedly to the Mild Seven in her mouth. It
sparked several times before she got a flame.

    "I don't know what the hell to tell you!" Nabiki growled into
her cell phone. "No one, and I mean no one could've possibly
known about that drop off. Even with what you assholes have told
me, the ship got away without a hitch, you didn't have a whole
army stopping you."

    Nabiki stomped her heels as she walked alongside the familiar
chain link fence on the Nerima riverbank. She slowed down and
looked around to make sure no one could listen in on her.

    "Listen to me. I'm telling you right now, as far as I know
it's not the cops who are pulling this off. I've got a friend
who's been monitoring all the police activity in the National
Police, and they haven't done a thing other than that fluke that
happened up North. Everything is being speculated as rival Yakuza
activity. Now I don't anything about that. That's on you guys."

    She continued walking and resumed a fast pace, taking puffs
from her cigarette as she listened in on her phone.

    "Listen, all I can tell you guys is keep quiet and be
patient. These things just need to be sorted out with time as we
figure out each step. You have more weapons in your hands than
some JSDF armories in the country. I delivered that much, and all
you have to do is pick up the scraps."

    As she neared the end of her path Nabiki came across a
familiar turn and flicked the cigarette away into the riverbank.

    "Don't hassle me on what I can't do or know. I appreciate the
payoff, and we'll keep in touch." Nabiki ended her call.

    For a moment, she wanted to pause and claw away at her chest.
The pent up stress from work and her dealings felt like a vice,
and she didn't like her well laid plans unraveling. Nabiki
Tendo's made plans that were airtight.

    She followed a group of teenagers to the front of her family
home, and the Tendo Dojo. They were Akane and Ryoga's students
for the afternoon Kenpo class.

    Nabiki navigated her way to the veranda to the residential
entrance while the students made their way to the other side of
the compound to enter the training hall. She rang the doorbell
just as someone walked past the genkan.

    Akane opened the door in her yellow gi. "Oneechan! What a
surprise! Come on in."

    "Wanted to have a meal cooked by my baby sister," Nabiki
said. She reached over and gave her a hug.

    "Oh is that right?" Akane embraced her and sniffed her hair.
"You smell like smoke?"

    Nabiki winced. "Oh, that's just from having lunch with some
of my coworkers. All chain smokers. You know how men are."

    "Well come on in," Akane said. "We're teaching till 6:30, and
I'll have dinner ready around 7:30, that fine?"

    "Yeah, sure." Nabiki opened the sliding door to the tea room.
"Hey Akane, I'm going to rest for a bit. I'll be over in the
living room."

    "Sure, sure." Akane walked towards the dojo. "Dad's in their
teaching the youth group, I'll tell him you're here."

    "Thanks." Nabiki slid under the table and laid her head on a
cushion. She closed her eyes and set her mind adrift.

    Heavy footsteps from the stairs made their way down and
paused at the bottom.

    "Damnit, where did I leave that thing? How the heck am I
going to find my way?"

    Nabiki's eyes slowly opened and she smiled at the voice. She
looked up on the table and saw a GPS handset, next to an empty
package that had held batteries. She whistled in the direction of
the stairwell. "Hey, lost boy. Over here!"

    After a few moments, Ryoga peeked his head into the room.
"Nabiki?"

    She picked up his treasured navigator. "You were looking for
this, I presume?"

    Ryoga breathed a sigh of relief and sat down next to her. "I
forgot I left it here, the batteries died earlier and I changed
them."

    "Yeah, and the dojo would've lost its head instructor for the
next few weeks."

    "When did you get here?" Ryoga clipped his GPS set to his
waist and loosened his shoulders.

    "Just now. Wanted to have dinner with my family."

    "Ah. And did you pick up smoking again since the last time we
met?" Ryoga asked.

    Nabiki's expression didn't change. "No, it's from coworkers
smoking around me."

    Ryoga rolled his eyes. "Don't lie to me. Akane may fall for
that, but I know fresh smoke when I smell it. A couple of my
students tried to pull the same thing."

    "Alright, you got me. Now let's drop it," Nabiki curtly
replied.

    "Must be something pretty stressful? I can't imagine it's
anything you can't handle."

    "Yeah, something like that," Nabiki said. She turned on the
TV with the remote that was on the table. It was a big and
expensive plasma screen that she had bought as a Christmas gift
this past winter. It set her back a hefty 2 million yen. "Once in
a while I'm in a position where I have to take huge risks that
can either make or break me. And they take their toll."

    Ryoga nodded his head. "Want to hear something interesting?
Ranma dropped in a few days ago. He was snooping around in the
dojo, and came to visit me and Akane."

    Nabiki's ears perked. "Snooping around? Snooping around for
what?"

    "I meant she was just poking around, seeing what our students
were up to." He got up and slid the door open to get out. "Want
some tea and crackers by the way? I can go get you some."

    "No, no, sit down." Nabiki waved her hands and motioned him
to his seat. "Tell me more about what happened."

    "Well, it was awkward. He and I sparred a little. We later
went out to dinner at the Nekohanten of all places. Ranma
apologized to us and Shampoo and her grandmother." Ryoga
shrugged. "It was like he was trying to start on a clean slate."

    "So you're all on good terms with him, then?" Nabiki asked.

    Ryoga looked skeptical. "I guess. Doesn't mean I like him,
still. But he's not out looking for trouble."

    The gears inside Nabiki's head were starting to turn. Maybe
she could get on good terms with him as well. "In that case why
don't you invite him over this Friday? We can have Kasumi and
Tofu come by too."

    "What?" Ryoga looked hesitant. "You're the one who's telling
us to be careful around him. What's with the change of heart?"

    "We all have to start somewhere," Nabiki said. She bit the
inside of her cheek. Ranma worked for the NSA, something she was
completely off limits to.

    Ryoga huffed and got up from his seat again. "You tell Akane
and set it up. I'm gonna go teach my class."

    "Don't get lost now," Nabiki teased. She slipped back under
the table and laid her head down. Her eyes dimmed, wondering if
there was a glimmer of hope.

       *    *   *

April 25th, 2001.
McDonalds, Shibuya Branch. - Tokyo, Japan.  7:32 PM.

    "I used to work at one of these. Did I ever tell you that?"

    Ranma turned to look wearily at Kiyone. He received his
change from the counter girl and took his tray of food and sipped
his fresh hot coffee. "No, you didn't. To tell you the truth, I
hate this place."

    Kiyone ordered a McFlurry and sat down with Ranma at one of
the tables. "Who hates McDonalds? You're from America, you
must've had tons of these around everyday."

    Ranma scoffed, chomping into his Big Mac. "Yeah, exactly," he
mumbled in between chews. "I felt like having a burger with my
coffee. I already miss the burger stands out in LA over this
shit."

    "Something you indulge in after a rough night," Kiyone said
with a wink.

    "Yeah, something like that." He rubbed his eyes and yawned.

    "Mihoshi and I are the same way. She likes Chinese takeout.
I'm more of a potato chips and beer kind of person."

    "Is that right?" Ranma smiled. "I had a girlfriend who ate an
entire carton of ice cream by herself nearly every day. Her
escape at the end of the day, she said. On those really bad days,
I'd see her gorging through that and then a massive pile of junk
food."

    Kiyone winced. "That's kind of like Mihoshi, except not as
gross I don't think."

    Ranma set his burger down. "Yeah, I guess you could say that
was so." He looked out the window and paused. "Holy shit."

    Kiyone froze as well. "What, did you see someone from
Furinkan?"


    "No, no. Stay right here, I'll be right back," he said.

    Confused, Kiyone looked out the window again. All she saw
were people walking by in the crowded Shibuya streets. She saw
Ranma get up and run out the door.

    Ranma sidestepped his way out into the sidewalk and squirmed
to avoid the crowds of people walking in all directions. He
caught up to the back of a delicate indigo haired woman in a
white sundress. He tapped her on the shoulder.

    She shuddered at the touch and slowly turned around. "Yes?"

    "I thought it was you!" Ranma ran a hand through his hair.
"Akari Unryuu? Do you remember me?"

    "What? Who-" She paused and looked at his face and then his
pigtail. Her hand went up to cover her mouth. "Saotome? Ranma?"

    "You do remember! It must be about seven years since I last
saw you."

    Akari's hands trembled as she chuckled. "Yes...yes it has
been. I heard you went away to America and never came back."

    Ranma's face fell, but he managed to keep a smile. "Long
story about that. But let's say my life fell apart and I'm sort
of putting it back together. Moved back to Japan a month ago."

    "Is that so?" Akari managed a half hearted smile herself.
"I'm sorry, this is almost surreal. Last time we talked to each
other we were practically kids."

    Ranma felt inexplicably shy at the moment. "You're right.
Hey, how about you come in to McDonalds here? Maybe catch up on
things?"

    Akari's head bowed slightly. "Um... I was on my way to work
and you just caught me-"

    Starting work this late, Ranma wondered. "Well, where do you
work and when do you get off?"

    "I-" Akari's voice choked up. She took a step back. "I'm
sorry, I-"

    "Hey, hey, what's wrong?" He grabbed her shoulders gently.
"You look worried."

    "I'm fine, I'm sorry," Akari said, recomposing herself. "I'm
real sorry, Ranma. Maybe we'll bump into each other later."

    Ranma's hands slipped as she took off running in the
direction she was walking earlier. He saw her slip around a
corner and walked over to see where she was going. He leapt up
and grabbed a ledge of an awning on the sidewalk to get a better
view.

    Kiyone was right below him, running out after him after she
observed the commotion from inside. "What is it? What happened?"

    Ranma kept silent as he saw Akari navigating through the
packed crowds of pedestrians and into a neon lit entryway. It
looked like a cabaret club.

    Ranma dropped down and dusted his hands. "Nothing. She was an
old friend, and she got startled. Ran off."

    "Old friend?" A side of Kiyone's brow arched tenaciously.
"The way she took off you could swear that she was an ex."

    A side of Ranma's cheek twitched, and he lightly bit his
tongue. "No, it's nothing like that. Let's go back inside."

    Kiyone sat herself down inside the restaurant and prodded her
ice cream snack with a spoon. "So, who was she?"

    "She's actually the ex-girlfriend of the guy who married my
ex-fiancee," Ranma replied, sighing.

    Kiyone's face softened and she tried to hide her
embarrassment with a delicate spoonful of McFlurry. "Oh."

    "Yeah."

    "That's kind of awkward, isn't it?" she asked.

    "Not really. We were good friends when we were teenagers.
It's awkward how she just took off like that," he said. "I
haven't seen her in almost seven years and that was her
reaction."

    "Maybe you have that effect on women," Kiyone quipped.

    The expression on Ranma's face was still pensive from Akari's
actions. "Yeah, maybe."

    "Now, don't be like that," Kiyone said. She cursed herself
mentally for putting her foot in her mouth earlier.

    "No, it's just I've always wondered what happened to her
years ago. She's like the other end of the equation that got
snubbed out like me."

    "If you guys were good friends when you were younger, why'd
she run off like that though?" Kiyone asked. "She looked upset."

    "I don't have the slightest idea. Like I said, it's been
years. Who knows what's going through her head," Ranma said. He
grit his teeth. His gut told him he had to find out.

    Ranma grabbed his burger and then set it down again. He drank
the rest of his coffee in one swig. "I'm not in the mood for this
anymore." He got up from his seat. "Want to go out for a drink?
Maybe some sushi?"

    Kiyone blinked. She looked down at the dessert she had been
eating and back at Ranma. "Sushi? That came out of nowhere?"

    "What's wrong, it's not like you ate dinner yet?"

    "Well," Kiyone said, thinking. She ate rice ball after her
afternoon pretending to be a teacher ended. "No."

    "Come on, my treat. There's got to be a nice place around
here close by."

    Kiyone grabbed her purse and got up from her seat. "Why not."

       *    *   *

April 25th, 2001.
Tofu Clinic - Nerima, Tokyo. 7:45 PM.

    "Thank you, Akane. We'll try to be there."

    Kasumi Tendo slowly set down the telephone and gently let out
a breath.

    "Try to be where?"

    She turned around to her husband's voice. She refrained from
biting her lip. "Oh, that was Akane-chan. She said she'd like us
over this week but I told her you may be busy and-"

    Tofu pushed back his spectacles and laughed. "Nonsense! I'll
make time to visit, so don't you worry about that. When did they
want us to come by?"

    "Friday evening," Kasumi said softly.

    "Well that's great," he said. His hands were hanging around a
towel that was draping off his neck. He walked over to give his
wife a kiss on the cheek.

    Kasumi stood absolutely still. "Dinner will be ready as soon
as you're done with your bath."

    "Fantastic." Tofu pointed to the stairs that led to his
clinic downstairs, separated from the residence on the second
floor. "Could you clean up the waiting area? I was in a hurry to
close up earlier with a last minute patient. Oh, and did you get
my lab suit cleaned and dry clean mother's old dresses?"

    A necklace with a large silver cross hung at Kasumi's neck,
and she held on to it. "Yes, dear. I had it all done." It had
taken up most of her day. "I'll clean up the clinic too."

    "Thanks, you're the best."

    Kasumi smiled for her husband and walked back to the kitchen
when Tofu stepped into the bathroom. Her smile melted away as she
got to the stove, her miso soup simmering away. She had a block
of tofu waiting to be chopped on the cutting board, and then she
had to prepare some other side dishes that she had learned to
expect her husband to request.

    "Kasumi-san, can you come wash my back?" Tofu yelled from
inside the bathroom.

    And cook and tend to the kitchen at the same time? "I'm
sorry, dear. I can't leave the stove otherwise this will burn,"
Kasumi lied. She started chopping monotonously away at the tofu
and the scallions.

    A jingle from behind startled Kasumi. It was her cell phone
on the coffee table. "Ara? What's this?" she said, wiping her
hands on her apron.

    She flipped her phone open. It was an SMS message from Akane.
"Ranma is going to be there too this Friday. Do you remember his
favorite dishes?" Kasumi read aloud. Ranma was going to be there?



    Kasumi's visage eased up. A smile crept on her face. As a
matter of fact, she did remember.

       *    *   *

April 25th, 2001.
Midori-Zushi - Shibuya, Tokyo. 9:57 PM.

    "Still not full? You eat as much as I do."

    Kiyone took a piece of sashimi into her mouth from Ranma's
chopsticks. He gently held her chin as she bit. She tried to chew
without blushing, but the "Demon Slayer" onikoroshi and beer had
already turned her cheeks red.


    "Hey, don't tease me like that. I mean we've only been here
what-" Kiyone paused mid-sentence to look down at her watch.
"Almost two hours?"

    "Two hours?" Ranma said. Both his beer glass and sake cup had
been refilled repeatedly throughout the night.

    "Yeah, can you believe that? Where did the time go?" Kiyone
cleansed her palate with another sip of onikoroshi, chilled ice
cold.

    "Talking does that," Ranma replied. He took a long, generous
sip of his own sake. He eyed the near empty bottle of premium
onikoroshi sake that he had ordered midway through dinner, a 20k
yen bottle dusted. The room was already glowing with energy
through his inebriated eyes.


    The itamae* politely leaned over from behind the sushi bar.
"Excuse me, sir. We're going to be closing up, are there any last
orders you would like?"
*Sushi chef.


    Ranma and Kiyone both looked at each other and shook their
heads.

    "I think that'll be fine," Kiyone said.

    "We're good," Ranma replied.

    Kiyone poured the rest of her bottle of beer into her glass
and did the same with Ranma's own bottle into his glass. She lost
track of how many beers they had ordered, and she barely
remembered that Ranma was greedier with the sake. "Here, bottoms
up hot-shot!"

    "Kanpai!" Ranma sloppily clanked his glass with hers and
inhaled his beer. It tingled all the way down his throat. "We
still need to finish this," he said, grabbing the bottle of
onikoroshi. He poured an equal amount into both their cups and
then trickled a little more into his.

    "I saw that, you cheater," Kiyone slurred. She grabbed one
last piece of sashimi from their wooden serving block and dipped
it in soy sauce. She lifted it up to Ranma's mouth. "Say, 'Ah'
for me."

    Ranma opened his mouth and closed it over the chopsticks. She
slowly pulled it out placed them in her own mouth.

    The bill for the meal was discreetly placed next to Ranma's
elbow and he picked it up as he chewed. It came out to a whopping
sixty thousand yen, mostly alcohol.

    "How much was it?" Kiyone said, offering to pull out her
wallet.

    "Don't even worry about it," Ranma replied. He placed his
credit card and gave it to a waitress who was walking by. He
picked up his sake cup. "Worry about this instead."

    "Well." Kiyone dabbed the corners of her mouth with a napkin
and picked up her cup. "Only thing we have to worry about is you
keeling over and making a move on me again, like last time?"

    Ranma's head rolled over to the side as he laughed. "Me,
attack you? Please." He clicked her glass. "Cheers."

    Kiyone tried to cover her laugh with a hand over her mouth.
She sipped the rest of her sake away, savoring the intricate and
velvety sweet taste of the rice.

    A waitress returned with the check and Ranma pocketed his
card. "Let's get going, shall we?" He turned to the itamae who
had served them a great dinner. "Thanks for the meal."

    In a near disastrous juggle of balance Kiyone staggered as
she got up. Ranma seamlessly grabbed her by the waist and had her
standing straight. Kiyone giggled, embarrassed by the slip up and
also thanked the people who had served them as she tried her best
to walk out the door as straight as she could with Ranma
alongside her.

    Both of them made it out into the busy Shibuya night and felt
their legs softly wobble as the cool air splashed their hot
faces.

    "So, where to?" Kiyone asked, her head resting against
Ranma's shoulder.

    "That's a good question," he replied, leaning on her as well.
His arms were still around her waist.

    "Let's just start walking," she said. She held his hand with
fingers interlaced and dragged him along.

    Ranma followed along, his eyes finding the neon lights
flooding the Shibuya skyline overwhelming. "Not so fast, I think
I'm having an adventure just trying to stand up straight."

    Kiyone's teal hair shimmered in the bright lights, and she
stumbled as she stopped to turn and face him. "What's wrong, too
much to drink?"

    "I know you can't be any better," Ranma said, his eyes leery.

    "Yeah," she admitted. She resumed walking at leisure. "You're
right."

    They walked past a cabaret club that caught Ranma's eye. He
craned his neck; it was the same one that Akari had run into
earlier. Kiyone jerked him back.

    "Hey now," she said with a tsk. "What do you think you're
looking at mister?"

    "Ah, sorry," he quickly replied. "The shiny sign distracted
me."

    Kiyone poked him in the arm with her free hand. "You got
other women in your mind?"

    "Nooo..." He shook his head. "Nothing like that."

    "It's kind of funny though," Kiyone said. She had a finger on
her chin and she gave him a sly, suspicious smile with a tilt of
her head. "You're popular with women, it seems? There was that
girl you knew from outside McDonalds..."

    "My ex's husband's ex," Ranma said, chuckling. "Which doesn't
really count."

    "And then there's your pretty friend Ukyou, who I met. She
seemed like a real charmer, ne?"

    Ranma felt a tingle reverberate up his spine. "A childhood
friend. And my best friend at that. So what?"

    They both walked aimlessly through the traffic of
pedestrians, strolling long amidst the busy sidewalk.

    "So what?" Kiyone shrugged. "I can see it in her eyes. I'm a
woman too. She wants you, or wanted you."

    Ranma continued walking. He felt Kiyone's grip on his hand
subtly loosen up, but her thumb was rubbing circles on the back
of his palm.

    "Am I right?" Kiyone asked again. She had a small, but
confident smile on her face.

    "Yeah, you're right," Ranma said. He saw Kiyone nod her head
softly. He let out a sigh he didn't realize he'd been holding.
"She thought we were going to get married when we were kids."

    "Oh, that's so cute!" she beamed. "So that's how it was, wow.
And she wouldn't have been half bad, either."

    Ranma lifted both his arms up in exasperation. "Oh please,
don't start. I wasn't hers to begin with."

    "Well, can this be yours?"

    Ranma got dragged into a darkened alley and nearly fell as
Kiyone pulled him away from the street. When he regained his
balance he felt a warm tongue in his mouth and the breath of
sweet beer and wine.

    Both stepped over to lean against the wall as their lips
stayed locked, Kiyone wrapped her arms around Ranma's neck and
she snaked her leg up his, leaning against him as he rested his
back on the wall.

    Kiyone moaned as she continued to make out with him, pausing
for moments to plant kisses on his neck and lick a side of his
face. Ranma enjoyed her breath on his more than anything,
intoxicated by the fumes of alcohol that he could smell off her
lips.

    He finally pulled his head back to take a look at her, his
eyes adjust to the dark alley. Her eyes looked straight into his,
wide and inviting. She was breathing hard right on his chest. He
tilted back down and dove his tongue back into her mouth, tasting
her once more. He pulled her closer and then bowed down to kiss
and lick behind her ears and her neck.

    "This was so much better the second time around," Kiyone
softly mumbled, in between gasps.

    "Good sake and good whiskey, right?" he said, laughing.

    She cut him off by kissing him again. "It's not just that."

    They continued on for another minute, until Kiyone's arms
pulled Ranma's head closer to hers. She whispered into his left
ear.

    He was drunk as a skunk, but remembered he couldn't hear a
damn thing out of that ear. "I'm sorry, I can't hear out of that
ear very well. I blew it out."

    Kiyone leaned back and looked at him with a puzzled face. She
leaned over to his other ear this time. "I want to go back to a
room, and I want you to fuck me. Right now."

    Ranma's chest tightened. He felt a swirl of nervous
excitement. "You want to what?"

    "I want to have sex." She leaned back again and showed her
face, looking bemused. "We're both adults. And I like you."

    "And you're not too drunk and going to regret this?" he asked
warily.

    Kiyone got close enough to Ranma's face to brush his nose and
his lips with her own. Their eyes were locked. "Yes. I'm saying I
want you to fuck my brains out right now and do it well."

    "Well, damn."

---------------

    Ranma nearly tripped again for the umpteenth time tonight,
except this time it was on his own pants as he tried to get them
off while shuffling his feet from the doorway.

    Kiyone was already halfway across the room, twirling as she
made her way across the bed. She tossed the hotel key aimlessly
on the floor as she landed on the bed. She was also busy trying
to take off her clothes.

    With his brain bombarded by the rush of blood he had
mindlessly carried Kiyone with him into a love hotel conveniently
located right across the street for an overnight stay. The room
wasn't themed and nothing fancy, just a straightforward place for
rest or triple-X.


    Ranma pounced on top of the bed, landing right on top of her
to give her another kiss as he slowly lay on top of her. He had
his shirt and boxers on and Kiyone had already shed her pants and
was unbuttoning her blouse.

    He ran a hand through her teal hair and fingered her
bandanna. "You going to keep this on?"

    "I rarely take it off," she purred. "Want me to take it off
for you?"

    Her breathing was labored and her eyes were barely open.
Ranma reached down into her opened blouse and caressed her
breasts through her bra. She moaned softly and he kissed her on
the forehead and on her collarbone.

    "So was it your plan to seduce me tonight?" Ranma asked,
continuing to plant kisses across her neck.

    "Mmmmm." Kiyone's eyes were completely closed and her mouth
barely moved.

    "What was that?" Ranma said, continuing on with his foreplay.

    He slowly stopped, and took a look at Kiyone's face. He took
his hands off her body. "Kiyone?"

    She elicited a quiet moan and kept her eyes shut, her head
lolled to the side. Her chest softly heaved as she breathed.

    "Hey," Ranma said. He tapped the side of her face a few
times. "Don't tell me you fell asleep."

    It became apparent that her lack of interaction was a sign of
her deep slumber. Ranma deflated into the bed as he rolled back,
in disappointment. He nearly fell off the bed.

    "You've gotta be kidding me." He got up and looked at her.
He'd already unhooked her bra and had her panties to her knees.
"You became your own cock blocker," he mumbled to himself.

    He didn't feel right touching her body to get her clothes
back on, so he pulled a blanket over her instead. She snored
lightly as she was tucked in the covers.

    Ranma sat down on a seat near the window. He pulled the
curtain and saw a great view of the streets below him, still
bustling with people.

    "Hey, the view's real nice from here," he said to Kiyone's
motionless body. "You're missing out."

    He scratched his head and went to a mini fridge in the room
and pulled out a bottle of water to drink. He was drunk and
exhausted but after what had just happened he wasn't quite sleepy
just yet.

       It suddenly occurred to him that he now had a chance to
look something up. He decided to hop in the shower to freshen up.

------------------

    "Welcome, honey! You here by yourself?"

    Ranma was thankful for the dark interior of the cabaret club.
He thought his head was about to spin off his shoulders when he
walked back out into the neon lit extravaganza of Shibuya.

    "Yeah, I'm by myself," Ranma replied. He took a look around.
There were sofa seats in sections, and a bar. The place wasn't
packed, but it was lively. "Can I sit at that bar?"

    The hostess directed him to a seat with her arms around his.
"Sure, whatever you like."


    He thanked her and took a seat on a bar stool. The bartender
was a young guy, a bit older than Ranma and of a portly build.
One of his pinkies were missing.

    The bartender came up to him. "What can I get for you?"

    Ranma took a look at the shelves and saw nothing but liquor.
"What's the lightest beer you have?"

    "American. Coors fine with you?"*
*Personal Rant: I keep Coors in my fridge because I'm a
cheapskate. But American beer SUUUCKS.

    "Perfect," Ranma said. He gulped, he wanted something easy to
drink without looking out of place. He didn't think he could
handle any more liquor or spirits.

    A couple of girls sat on each side of him and they went right
to work.

    The girl to his right immediately latched on. "How are you
doing tonight, handsome?"

    "The other one grabbed from the opposite side. "Sometime we
say that to make the customer feel good, but tonight we really do
get a handsome guy?"

    Ranma felt an odd guilty pang for being here when he was with
Kiyone not less than half an hour ago, but he wasn't here for
pleasure. "I'm here to have a good time, with the right girl."

    "Well we can be the right girls for you or any kind of girl
you want. I'm Akemi," the one on the right said.

    "And I'm Sora," the one on the left said.

    Ranma looked amused. "Well I was wondering if you girls can
help me out. Is there a girl with dark blue hair here, kind of
quiet?"

    "Why, she your girlfriend?" Akemi asked.


    "No, it's just that she caught my eye earlier and I saw her
walking in her," Ranma replied.

    "Oh, I get it," Sora said. "He's talking about little Ms.
Piggy."

    Ranma's eyes lit up. "Oh?"

    "Yeah, that's her nickname," Akemi said. "You're talking
about Akane-chan, right?"

    Ranma shifted and nearly fell off his seat. Akane? Was that
the nickname she chose?

    "The girl has this things for pigs, it's like her weird
fetish," Sora said.

    Ranma knew it had to be her. "Do you guys have a private
room? Can you get her?"

    "Oh sure," Akemi said. She got up from her seat and walked
towards the middle of the room. "I'll get her for you. Sora here
will take you guys to a room."

    "Thanks!" Ranma wondered if cabaret girls were usually this
friendly. But then again, this was the first time he'd been to
one.

    Sora led him to a private room that looked a lot like a cushy
karaoke room. "No problem, sugar. Just remember us when you leave
a tip, yeah?" She winked.

    Ranma made himself comfortable on the couch and took a look
around. A disco ball hung from the ceiling and the TV for the
karaoke flickered in the back. There was a border of tiled
mirrors on the wall right above each of the sofas, making the
room glimmer and look larger than it seemed.

    The bartender from before came in with a bucket of ice and
some cups. Behind him was a slender girl with her hair covering
her eyes, dressed in a very short satin ivory dress and fuzzy
pink pump heels. She gently sat down on the other side from
Ranma, and had her head lowered.

    The bartender had a bottle in his hand. "Is Suntory Whiskey
alright for you, sir?"

    Ranma cringed. "Eh? No, I didn't order that."

    "Private rooms all come with bottle service included sir.
You're paying for it either way."

    "Oh, shit." Ranma could almost feel the sushi coming up. "How
about sake then? A comparable bottle of cold sake?"

    "We can do that," the bartender replied. He left the room and
closed the door behind him.

    The private room blocked out any music and conversation from
the main lounge, leaving a muffled silence between Ranma and his
guest.

    She looked up and cleared her bangs with her hands. "How are
you tonight, sir? My name is Akane Hoshino."

    Ranma shivered. There it was again, with the name.

    She got up to lean over the table towards him and reach for
his hand. "What's your name-"

    He grabbed her hand first. "It's Ranma, Akari."


    She froze in place and her eyes looked like a deer's caught
in headlights. She recoiled back and nearly fell.


    "Wait, wait!" Ranma got up to block the door. "I just want to
talk to you. Don't be afraid."

    She struggled for a few more minutes and then finally flailed
her arms in defeat. She sank back into her seat and had her head
low again. Ranma sat at his place and looked at her somberly.
When she lifted her head, he could see her eyes brimming with
tears. It was hard to believe this was the same cute Akari with
her prized pig Katsunishiki barreling down the streets with glee
about how happy she was to be with Ryoga. The girl in front of
him was an obscenity with her getup. But she didn't look afraid.

    The bartender came back with a bottle and placed it on the
table. "A bottle of onikoroshi, special service at no extra
charge. Enjoy." He left as quick as he entered.

    Akari brushed her bangs aside, and she tried to wipe her
eyes. "Mind if I have a drink?"

    Ranma looked at her again, and kept himself from wincing. "Go
right ahead."

    It wasn't fear that was in her eyes. It was shame.

    Akari poured herself a large glass and took nearly half it
down in one gulp. "Where do I start?"

------------------

    "At first I couldn't drink well so I threw up easily in the
bathroom when no one was looking. But my tolerance built up. In
this place everyone's tolerance goes up. Soon I didn't even have
to hide it anymore by crying at home. I could just drown it out
every night drinking with the men who came in and wanted my
company.

    "I mean, look at me." Akari grabbed the half emptied bottle
from the table, and smacked it back down. "I can take this much
easily without passing out."

    "That's what we all say to ourselves one day, Akari," Ranma
told her. He was the one having trouble looking into her eyes
this time, because he was ashamed of showing her pity. But after
hearing how her life turned out, he couldn't help but feel pity.

    Ranma nodded, and refilled his cup and Akari's too. He
absorbed her tale in between sips of sake, hearing out how her
life had plunged to where they were sitting currently. He found
it hard to believe, because Akari had been a person who had
stayed unchanged in his mind for all these years and she was a
reflection of what was once good and peaceful in Nerima. What she
had told him was sobering.

    "Grandfather had died peacefully thinking I was going to be
married to the right man and my future had been set," she said.
"I had no other family and my grandpa raised me by himself. I was
an orphan, and it was only me and Katsunishiki left."

    And she had made a decent living for herself, mostly on her
own. Akari ran a pig ranch in Kanagawa and enjoyed good times
whenever Ryoga managed to get himself lost and find her every few
weeks or so.

    "We had a good thing going," she said. "We decided to get
married. It was a decision by both of us, and I thought we had
something special. I couldn't afford a nice wedding, so I went to
Nabiki since she had helped me get a loan for my ranch."

    With wedding plans set and a future promised, Akari sorted
things out and waited. And with Ryoga in the picture, Akari knew
very well that it might have to wait even longer than that.

    "Oh, he gets lost so easily. You remember, don't you Ranma-
kun?" she asked him. "But even the patient girl slowly becomes
impatient. When I hadn't seen him for nearly three months, I went
to go find him."

    She found him staying at the Tendos, not a surprise as he was
a regular and frequent guest there. The Tendo family had always
treated her with welcome and open hearts.

    "I was shocked when I found out that Ryoga had protected
Akane from a bunch of thugs when she was all alone, and that she
was still shaken up about it," Akari said. "I was genuinely
worried for Akane, and I thought Ryoga was being a good friend by
being at her side when she was still traumatized."

    Akari's face had darkened, at this part of her tale. "What a
dumb country bitch I am to have believed that, right?" she had
asked.

    And so the excuses had started to delay the wedding, Akari
explained. It wasn't brought up around the Tendos as Akari didn't
even know when a date would be set and thought it prudent to let
people know. But the excuses dragged further and further, and it
was apparent soon to even her naive heart that something was out
of place.

    "Things turned ugly real quick," Akari said. "I can imagine
it was a hell of a shock for you too, right?"

    Ranma's response was that of stone.

    "When I found out about everything I was devastated. I was
crushed and hurt and everything else that goes along with this
sort of thing," she said. "I didn't know how to handle it. I
didn't have anyone next to me to help. I was all alone."

    The despair had caused Akari to be catatonic, unable to
function in her daily life. The welfare of her ranch suffered and
went under faster than she dreamt it could have gone, and on top
of that she had a loan for a wedding that was never going to
happen.

    "I paid back most of the wedding loan, but I was stuck with a
huge default on the ranch," Akari said bitterly. "I contacted
Nabiki on my own, begged her and pleaded with her for help. I had
gotten a huge loan to run my own business without any collateral
or built credit, and Nabiki was the connection. It wasn't like I
was the only one she did this for, either. But she wasn't the
bank, and wasn't the lender. She said she couldn't do a thing for
me."

    Akari broke into tears soon after this, as she had plunged
into how she had resorted to selling off everything she had, gave
up her pigs, was torn away from Katsunishiki through screaming
tears, and took on a job that loan sharks could keep tabs on her
with.

    And back to the present, Akari spewed the transformation of
her ugly and cataclysmic fall of her once happy self to the
struggling cabaret girl that sat in front of Ranma.

    "I should've known better, even then. Nabiki could have done
something. I know she could have. But she didn't," Akari spat. "I
always wondered if it was a ploy to keep me away from Ryoga and
Akane, to keep me from interfering with their happy lives."

    "......" Ranma stared at her for a moment. He was lost in
confusion by his own conflicted past. Akari's life hadn't been a
picnic either, and they both shared a similar suffering fate.

    "I don't care about him anymore, or her." Akari chuckled as a
couple of tears rolled down her face. "I don't care about how I
turned out either. I just want to work things back to what I had
on my own, and start over."

    Akari stood up, and slowly made her way next to Ranma. She
shed her stripper heels and sat next to him. Her glossy, brown
eyes looked at his. "Can I sit by you, and hold you for a while?
Please?"

    Ranma shook his head and wrapped his arm around her. "Not at
all, Akari." He gently stroked her hair and felt her sob softly
on his lap. "Not at all."

---------------

    "I got the manager to have you pay for the drinks and part of
the room only," Akari said. She sat with her legs close together,
trying to hide as much as possible. She didn't wear her heels in
front of Ranma again.

    "Thanks, I was actually afraid how much money this place was
going to suck out of me," Ranma said in relief. The standard
going rate was at least 50k for a room, half of which went to the
girl as a designated tip. Although another 25k yen was no small
change either. He'd spent close to a thousand dollars for the
night on expenses.


    "I'm glad I had someone to talk to other than the girls
here," Akari said, her voice filled with some sparkle. "I felt
like no one from back home gave two licks about what happened to
me until you showed up tonight."

    Ranma nodded. Despite the sleazy atmosphere Akari had grown
to confide in the other women who worked here, all of whom had
problems of their own to share and support. It was ironic that
Akari's workplace was also the same place that kept her from
losing it again.

    When pressed about her stage name, Ranma was surprised at
Akari's reaction. She was far less vengeful than what most normal
people could tolerate in the given situation.

    "I didn't mean to choose Akane-san's name on purpose, but it
was the first thing that popped into my head when I had to
choose. Maybe it was subconscious." Akari had laughed. "I hate
her, you know? I thought we were friends. I thought we were all
friends. And look what she did to you too. But I'm not going to
confront them or go back there."

    "How-" Ranma stopped, realizing how angry he was for her. And
himself. "How do you let it go?"

    "I work at a place like this, but I think I'm more of an
honest person than those trash," she said confidently.
"Manipulative, evil, trash."

    "I don't think it's a Tendo thing," Ranma said, remembering
that Nabiki had been the most interesting topic Akari had spilled
about earlier in the night. She was always business savvy, and
this didn't surprise her. But she was making business
partnerships and loans to people all around Nerima? Including
Ucchan?

    Akari had babbled that was how Ukyou expanded her restaurant
and made enough to open her second restaurant, yet Nabiki was
unable to offer her a forbearance on her pigs.

    It was a lot of information and a lot of dug up skeletons to
absorb, and Ranma felt the weight of his exhaustion catch up to
him.

    "I'm going to take off now, Akari." Ranma stood up to give
her a hug goodbye.

    "Can we keep in touch?" she asked, a hint of shyness
softening her voice. She snaked her hands into his pants pocket
and grabbed his cell phone.

    "Wha-" He froze at the very inappropriate close contact.

    Akari froze and bowed apologetically. "I'm sorry! I'm so used
to doing that, I just did it automatically."

    Ranma didn't want to push her, she was already squirming in
humiliation. "I understand," he said, chuckling. It made a funny
sort of sense that she would do something like that, he thought.

    Akari finished inputting her personal phone number and called
herself, then handed it back to Ranma. "Do you live in Tokyo,
now?"

    "Actually I settled down in Okayama, but I'm in Tokyo
temporarily." He looked at his phone, and saw a heart along with
a (^(oo)^) next to Akari's name in the contact list. "Still love
pigs just as ever, I see."

    When he looked up and saw Akari standing in front of him with
her hands in front of her and a soft smile on her face, he
completely forgot about the slinky dress she was wearing. She
looked like cute and sweet Akari Unryuu, champion sumo pig
handler.

    "You take care, Ranma. It was good seeing you," Akari said.

    Ranma nodded. He walked out, drunker than when he had came in
and hot with shame. When he got outside he made a straight bee
line back to his hotel room, clutching his face with his hands.
The sight of Akari and her plight left him with a familiar
heartbroken pang of despair, one he thought he had gotten over
years ago.  He wiped his eyes away.

-----------------

    Ranma's first instinct was to vomit when he woke up, and he
stifled it at the last moment as he felt the upchuck surging in
his esophagus. He reached for his phone in his pocket to check
the time. 5:06 AM.

    He got up from the sofa and looked around. The lights to the
bathroom were on. He looked around in the unfamiliar room and saw
the wrinkled sheets on the bed. There was a pair of white panties
strewn on the floor between the bed and the door to the toilet.
Loud heaves came from inside.

    "Kiyone must be paying the piper," Ranma groaned. He sat up
and felt miraculously well rested despite the nausea of the
lingering alcohol in his belly. He walked towards the mini fridge
to grab some water.

    "Ughh..." Kiyone's throat rattled as she walked out. She
still had the taste of stomach acid on the roof of her mouth.

    "Yeah, I'm not feeling too good either," Ranma said to her.

    Kiyone looked up at him with bloodshot eyes. He was staring
at her. And then she looked down and remembered.

    "Eeeek!" She pulled her blouse down and scrambled for her
panties.

    "Sorry," Ranma said. So she's teal down there too, he
thought.

    "Goddamnit!" Kiyone was more frustrated than embarrassed as
she pulled her panties up and searched for her pants. She started
to remember exactly what happened before she passed out.

    "I'm not going to say anything dumb like you drank too much,
because I did too," Ranma said. He got up and sat down on the
bed. "How are you feeling?"

    "Much better than when I woke up," Kiyone grumbled. "When I
woke up I thought we'd already fucked. And then I looked down,
and saw that you didn't."

    Ranma raised a brow. "I didn't think you'd want me touching
you when you're passed out."

       "You have permission to dress me up at least." She sat
down next to him and started buttoning up her blouse. "What time
is it?"

    "A bit past five."

    Kiyone sighed. "We need to get ready for work. We couldn't
have made this any worse."

    Ranma collapsed back on the bed and had his hands behind his
head. "We still have this room till morning checkout."


    Kiyone fluffed her hair and turned around to straddle Ranma
while facing him. "Why, you think you're still up for it?"

    Ranma looked down at his crotch and nothing happened. "Damn
it."

    "You sure about that?" She had her face close to his, almost
ready to kiss him.

       He gave her a sour look and gulped as he pushed Kiyone to
the side and ran for the bathroom. This one wasn't going away.

       Kiyone realized she hadn't rinsed her mouth yet. "Oh my
god," she squealed. "I'm so sorry!"

    *   *   *


April 26th, 2001.
Furinkan High School, Classroom 2S - Nerima, Tokyo. 12:01 PM.

    "Class, dismissed."

    Ranma laid his head down on the table. "Finally, some time to
rest."

    Most of the students around him looked at him curiously and
kept their distance. Ranma pulled out some rice balls he bought
from a convenience store before he came to school.

    Getting ready for school in the morning with Kiyone nearly
turned disastrous. Both were still reeling from the night before
and had come to class reeking of alcohol. He was accosted by a
different teacher every hour, while Kiyone had ducked out earlier
over an emergency. He was left alone to fend for himself.

    But most of the morning was spent worrying over what he had
discovered last night of Akari. He couldn't get her crying image
and her ruined life out of his head.

    "Hey, Ohata*. You sure have guts coming to school smelling
like a lousy bum."
*Keisuke Ohata - Ranma's undercover alias from chp 6.

    Ranma looked up. "Please, Okuno. Not today."

    "Oh I haven't even started, punk." Okuna pulled up a chair
next to him along with his goons. They surrounded Ranma at his
desk.

    "So where'd you go drinking at? You sneak your parents' booze
from the cabinet?" Okuna asked.

    Ranma tried to wave them off. "I have an ID."

    "What?" they all responded in unison.

    Okuna tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey. We'll stop bugging
you if you can buy us some alcohol with that ID of yours."

    Ranma snorted. "You've got to be kidding me. You guys don't
have older friends who do that for you?"

    "Hey." Okuno smacked the back of Ranma's head. "Watch who
you're talking to, Keisuke."

    Ranma slowly counted backwards as he tried to filter out
Okuna and his friends laughing at his face. "Alright, alright. I
will."

    "See? You're not such a twerp after all," Okuno said. "Come
hang out with us tomorrow, after school. We're gonna set up a
party and try to get some girls."

    "Really?" Ranma nearly gagged in surprise. He was finally
getting somewhere with these jerks. "I'll be there."

-------------------

    It took a couple of tries, but Kiyone finally picked up her
phone.

    "Hey, Kiyone? What happened, I've been trying to call you
since noon?" Ranma tossed his backpack on the ground as he sat on
the couch.

    "I'm sorry," Kiyone replied. "I'm on my way to Okayama right
now. Are you back at your safe house?"

    "Yeah, I am." Ranma frowned, her voice sounded shaky. "What's
wrong?"

    Kiyone trembled on the other line. "Something bad. Sergeant
Kanemaki committed suicide. His body was found this morning."

    "Aw, hell." Ranma covered his face with his hands. "I thought
he was on psyche watch?"

    "I know." Kiyone blew a frustrated breath. "I'm trying to
figure it out. Mihoshi told me he somehow snuck a rope in to make
a noose and one of his hands were crushed and broken."

    Ranma's blood ran cold. "What?"

    Kiyone fought back tears. "I don't understand. Kanemaki-san
was distraught but he said he wasn't going to rest until his
family's murderers were caught. I can't understand why he'd do
that."

    "Where was he?"

    "A private therapy clinic."

    Ranma grimaced.

    "Listen," Kiyone said. "I don't think I'll be back until
Sunday at least. There's a lot of things I need to take care of.
Can you take care of things for me on that end?"

    "That's not a problem. But I want you to listen to me very
carefully, Kiyone." Ranma searched for a notepad and a pen. "I
want you to check out a couple of things while you're there.
Don't go through your police channels."

    Ranma gave her a detailed list and explained what to do. He
ended the call and went to the fridge for a beer. His cell phone
rang and he looked at the caller ID.

    "Jackson, what's up."

    "I got a hit on one of the things you told us to investigate,
Ranma. We managed an odd trace to the John Doe we had in autopsy.
He was a nobody with a couple of marks in his record for assault
and petty robbery and that was no help. But his driver's license
said he was a completely different person than what his finger
print records showed."

    Ranma shrugged. "So the guy had a fake ID. What's new?"

    "No, here's where it gets interesting. It wasn't fake. It was
registered new late last year by the Department of
Transportation."

    "Go on."

    "Remember Kurosawa remembered one of the license plates for
the trucks that escaped us that night?"

    "Yeah, it registered to a phony address and a phony owner.
Both untraceable." Ranma sighed. "So what?'

    "Both the truck and driver's license were registered by the
same DoT employee."

    Ranma frowned. "That's impossible to know. How would you
figure something like that out? There has to be hundreds of
workers you need to keep track of for something like that."

    "That's what I thought too! I didn't believe them at first,"
Jackson said. "But in Japan, each transaction by an employee is
logged and recorded for work efficiency ratings. One of our techs
is a huge snoop and loves making connections out of random data
between subjects, and he's usually always wrong and never finds
anything. But this one did match, and I don't think it's a
coincidence."

    "These coincidences are starting to look thin. A cop was
found dead in an apparent suicide in the same way I took out that
perp at Bokutou Station. The guy was investigating a man I
arrested in Okayama, and his wife and unborn child were murdered
because of it. It's the reason this whole case was started."

    "Do you think the suicide was a message?" Jackson asked.

    "Can you cross reference all affiliations with the man I
killed? And comb over your own leads too. Look it over."

    "What?" Jackson paused. "Oh no, I'm not good with
investigative work. This is your turf."

    "For christ's sake, Jackson. Weren't you in the French
National Police? You can just pretend and try."

    "I was recruited through the Army, and I was an operator. Not
a cop." Jackson sighed. "I'll do it."

    "Good man. Tell me how it turns up." Ranma ended the call.

    "Busy day," Ranma said to himself. He managed to guzzle his
beer before another call interrupted again.

    "Who is it now?" Ranma answered the call. "Hello?"

    "Ranma? It's Akane."

    An image of Akari flashed through his head. "I'm here."

    "I just wanted to call you to ask if you were available
tomorrow evening?"

    Ranma went to grab another beer from the fridge. "What's the
occasion?"

    "We're having a family dinner," Akane said.

    And since when did you consider me part of the family again,
Ranma imagined saying. "I might have time, I might not."

    "I hope you can make it. Kasumi-neechan is making dinner for
us."

    A home cooked meal from Kasumi-san did sound tempting.
"Alright. What time?"

    "Great." Akane felt relieved. "Get here by seven, and we'll
eat soon after. How's that sound?"

    "I'll be there."

    "See you then."

    Ranma tossed his phone on the couch. He went to his room for
some well deserved rest.

       *    *   *

April 26th, 2001.
36th floor, JNSA Headquarters - Tokyo, Japan.  5:01 PM.

    "Thanks, I owe you one," Jackson said.

    "Not a problem, sir. You mind taking me to a shooting range
with you guys? I've always wanted to shoot a real gun."

    "Any time you want. Just give me a ring upstairs."

    Jackson took a stack of printouts from the data technician in
front of him and went back to his floor. Kurosawa was already
waiting for him in his office.

    "Thank god for these whiz kids who work for us," Jackson
said. He dropped his printouts on his desk.

    Kurosawa sifted through them. "Find something interesting?"

    "They did." Jackson looked for a certain set of printouts
from the middle of the stack. It was marked with pens. "Nobody
would have ever found these by accident. And even looking for it
was like looking for a needle in a stack of needles."

    "On with it, man." Kurosawa was growing impatient.

    Jackson pointed to some figures on the sheets. "The truck you
identified was registered by a DoT worker in the Sumida
prefecture. That truck, along with about a dozen other similar
vehicles were reregistered by the same person. An identical
number of matching vehicles of the same make, model, and year
were reported stolen in the area in the same timeframe. The
trucks are common place and the records don't account for the
fact that they're made by a particular person, so it's a detail
that would slip by just about anyone."

    Kurosawa whistled, impressed. "Now that's a hell of a
loophole. I would have never made that connection without knowing
what's what. What are you planning to do?"

    "Captain told me to look into a couple of other things, So I
have to stay here. There's more to this, and he should check it
out himself. I have everything you need to give him right here.
Mind going to pick him up?"

    Kurosawa took the printouts with him. "On my way."

    Takashi came into the office as Kurosawa left. "Find
something good?"

    "Yes, sir," Jackson replied. He explained the car thefts and
registries.

    "Fuck me, now that's a hell of a thin connection," Takayama
admitted. "Glad we employ some smart people."

    "Any updates on the mole, sir?"

    "The list of people who could have arranged this is too big,
and we can't possibly monitor who did exactly how much for what.
It could be some OL banging or bribing her boss for information
for all we know. The CIA are trying to track any missing American
weapons stockpiles of their own."

    Jackson huffed. "Impossible."

    "It's worth a try." Takayama had a printout in his pocket and
unfolded it. "We did find this though, it was interesting."

    Jackson tried to take a look. "What is it?"

    "Intel did the scan and turned it up while doing a cross
reference top-secret level background check on two of our assets.
It was almost an accident that we found it, and I never knew it
before when I did Ranma's background check before we hired him."

    "The Captain?" Jackson looked confused. "What is it?"

    "Well, it's nothing suspicious. But apparently someone from
his past residence is a GS-10 level employee of the JDA*. It's
the Director of Finances, Nabiki Tendo. GS-10, but she has a TS*
clearance and she's an important woman. They lived together under
the same roof when Ranma was a teenager. We never knew about it
because crossing a top-secret file against another one is
purposefully omitted in normal searches unless you specifically
specify for security purposes."

    "Wow, that sure is something. Does Ranma know?"

    Takayama shook his head. "I don't think so. We did a very
thorough check on his history. He rarely if ever talked to his
ex-fiancee's family. Nabiki Tendo interned for the JDA in college
and has been working for them since. She's a high priority
asset."

    "I think we'll be able to get a better grasp of what we're
dealing with once Ranma goes through with all of our leads. I'm
sure we'll get a hit," Jackson said.


----------------

    Ranma yawned again and belched out loud as he skimmed through
the pile of papers Kurosawa gave him.

    "Shit," Kurosawa said in disdain. He opened a window in his
SUV. "You drink this early in the day?"

    "I was taking a nap, no big deal," Ranma replied, waving it
off.

    "Why wouldn't these guys just buy the trucks themselves
legitimately? They could've gotten them with cash."

    "Because they would have to go through a channel where
someone actually witnessed them buying it and that leaves a paper
trail somewhere, regardless," Ranma replied. "Stealing cars is a
dumb idea, but if you have the right connections it doesn't
become as much of a hassle and you have a car you can toss at a
moment's notice. It's a classic technique for professionals
getting getaway cars."


    "So what do you think? We on to something here?" Kurosawa
asked.

    "Definitely. But I'm feeling kind of funny about going back
here. Of all the luck..."

    "And what about our little pirates?" Kurosawa gave him a
black and white photo print out of four people being arrested off
a boat dock.

    "I'd like you to grill them about the shipping routes and the
intel. I'll be right next to you," Ranma said. "How'd you guys
get them, anyway?"

    "ROK* Navy UDT/SEAL team raided them in the middle of the
night. They didn't stand a chance," Kurosawa said. "They had one
injured, the one you drilled I believe. She was their main
gunner."
*Republic of Korea.


    Kurosawa's car made its way inside the gates of the Bokutou-
sho Police Precinct and parked in a visitor's spot. Both men
climbed out.

    "I'm not a cop, and I can do my best to pretend to be one.
But I'll be following your lead," Kurosawa said. "You don't need
a fake ID and badge? We can make genuine ones for just about any
agency back at HQ."

    Ranma shook his head. "No need. I screwed up already with
those kinds of fairy tales last time I was here. If I need to
work with some of these people, the simplest and direct way is
the best."

    "And OPSEC*?"
*OPerational SECurity.

    "Leave that to me. We're not going to advertise to every
dickhead in here that we're feds."

    They walked into the lobby together and waited in a line
behind several other people for the receptionist.

    "You packing any heat?" Ranma asked.

    "Sure am. I'm in the ol' gun club* after all," Kurosawa
replied.
*Not common, but a known nickname for the USMC.

    "What's your piece?"

    "A .45, good old 1911. My own custom." Kurosawa discreetly
tapped on an IWB holster on his hip, completely concealed out of
view. "I have another one in my car, I think you've seen that
one. How about you?"

    "I have one too, but it's a .357 Sig. Our own, in-house,
custom."

    Kurosawa made a face. "A 9mm in a 1911? What the hell's the
matter with you?"

    The receptionist called out for them. "Next in line please!"

    Ranma tried to hide his scowl as he walked up to the front
desk. "We're here to see your chief of detectives. May we go
speak to him?"

    "Do you have an appointment with Tokuno-san, sir?" The
receptionist flipped through a notepad and she searched for a
listing.

    "Absolutely," Ranma replied crisply. "I know the way. I can
just take myself there."

    "Sure," she said. She shrugged and pointed him to some doors.
"Next in line, please!"

    Ranma bowed slightly in gratitude and made his way through
some double doors. Kurosawa was right behind him.

    "Pulled this before, have you?" Kurosawa said.

    "Like I own the place," Ranma said.

    "So why the 9mm 1911 again? Why would you taint a classic?"
Kurosawa accused.

    "I have these hush puppies* in 9mm that work fantastic,
didn't want to get rid of them. So Jackson got me the .357 Sig."
*Hush puppies - Sound suppressor.

    Kurosawa growled. "That French faggot."

    They found their way into the detectives' bureau and were
surprised to find it empty. They walked around the desks.

    "They must all be in the field," Kurosawa said.

    Ranma looked at some scattered memos and photos on the desks.
"They're investigating the three guys I took out last week in
Juuban."

    "Excuse me, can we help you gentlemen?"

    Kurosawa turned to face two women at the door in uniform.
Ranma recognized the voice before he turned around.

    "You!" Natsumi Tsujimoto walked up to the pigtailed man and
had her arms crossed. "What are you doing here?"

    Miyuki was behind her and held her elbow. She was trying to
avoid eye contact with Ranma.

    "Is that any way to talk to someone who saved your life?"
Ranma responded. He looked over at Miyuki, who was still trying
to avoid him. "How are you officers."

    Natsumi looked at Kurosawa, who was standing confidently with
his arms crossed. "Who's this? Another star detective from the
National Police we've never heard of?"

    Miyuki went to grab Natsumi's shoulder. "Now wait a minute,
Natsumi."

    Ranma took a seat on one of the desk chairs. "Now, now. We're
on your side. We just came here to ask some questions."

    "What can we help you with, Detective Sakamichi?" Miyuki
asked.

    "If that's even his real name," Natsumi spat. "Come here to
kill someone else?"

    Kurosawa rapped a desk with his knuckles. "Hey. Your prisoner
committed suicide so he wouldn't have to answer to his higher ups
or give them away. Makes perfect sense, and happens all the
time."

    "And who are you, mister?" Natsumi narrowed her eyes. "Can I
see some ID? What are you, JNSA?"

    Miyuki gulped and tugged at Natsumi's shirt. Kurosawa looked
at both of them without falter. Ranma sighed.

    "It's not what you think," Ranma said.

------------------

    The four of them stood around on the rooftop of the station.
Miyuki had made coffee for all of them.

    "How can you trust us so easily?" Miyuki asked. She looked at
Ranma apprehensively.

    "If you were on their payroll they wouldn't have tried to
kill you. They would've known who you were," Ranma said.

    "And you really didn't kill that guy in the interrogation
room?" Natsumi asked.

    "You saw me leave, I didn't go anywhere near him," Ranma
said.

    "Tokuno-san said his hand was broken," Miyuki said.

    "He probably fell and broke it while trying to get the noose
right," Kurosawa said.

    Miyuki kept silent, and Natsumi tried not to lash out at
them.

    Ranma raised his hands for a truce. "I'm the agent in charge
of another operation that might be related to the car theft ring
you guys are investigating. I need to know everything about what
you guys are working on. Your discreet cooperation with us would
be greatly appreciated."

    "What do you want us to do?" Natsumi said. She tapped her
feet with her arms crossed.

    "Just observe and report. Try not to arrest them if you find
them. Send what you can to us," Ranma said.

    "What is this all for?" Miyuki asked. She steeled herself and
looked at him straight.

    "I was a street cop before," Ranma said. "I'm trying to catch
a cop killer. And I'm going to find them and destroy them."

    Miyuki's heart pounded, and she nodded. "You going to kill
them too?"

    Ranma grit his teeth and mashed his fists. "How many times
are you going to ask me that? I'm here to do a job. I do the
things you guy's can't handle."

    Natsumi looked away this time, and she stared at the ground.
Miyuki hung her head.

    "I'm sorry," Miyuki apologized.

    Ranma pat her shoulder. "It's alright. If you don't mind I'd
like another cup of coffee. We'll also leave our contact info for
you."

    "We leaving?" Kurosawa asked.

    Ranma nodded. Kurosawa went back inside and Natsumi followed
him with Ranma and Miyuki in tow.

    As Ranma got to the staircase Miyuki gently grabbed onto his
arm. Kurosawa and Nabiki were already down the next floor and
exiting the stairway.

    "So, you still haven't told me your real name."

    Ranma looked up at her. She had her shoulders withdrawn and
was biting her finger. "Didn't fall for it, huh? It's Ranma.
Ranma Saotome." He started walking back down.

    "Ranma?" Miyuki whispered. She stopped biting her finger.
"Hmmm," she sighed.

------------------

    "Yeah, glad to hear that Kiyone. Can you give the family my
condolences? And tell Mihoshi I said hi." Ranma ended the call on
his cell phone.

    "This is a nice place you grew up in," Kurosawa said. He was
driving them back to Nerima to drop Ranma back off. "Wouldn't
mind hanging out here."

    "As soon as we clean it up," Ranma said. He leaned back in
his seat and looked out the window as they passed one narrow
street after another. They had to drive slowly in these
neighborhood streets.

    Ranma's eyes caught a group of teenagers huddled around a car
in an alley. "Hey, stop the car real quick."

    Kurosawa parked the car against a wall past the alley and
Ranma hopped out. He went behind Ranma who was peering around the
corner. "What is it?"

    "Local kids," Ranma whispered. "I saw them handing off little
plastic bags. Could be a drug deal."

    "In broad daylight?" Kurosawa whispered back.

    "It doesn't look suspicious in a country that isn't used to
street peddling," Ranma replied. He got a good look at them.

       There was an adult in the car, and he was apparently the
client. There were three teenagers, one was collecting the money
while the other was right behind him keeping a lookout. The third
boy was standing and watching over all of them. He had styled,
spiky brown hair.

    Ranma poked Kurosawa back with his elbow. "Let's get out of
here."

    They hopped back in the car and drove away. The safe house
was actually already on the next block.

    "Not going to do anything about it?" Kurosawa asked.

    "I don't know," Ranma said. He rubbed his chin. "He probably
goes to Furinkan, but I don't think I've seen him before. I'll
find out on my own."

    *   *   *

April 27th, 2001.
Furinkan High School - Nerima, Tokyo. 4:02 PM.

    Ranma ran out to the front of the school gates with Okuno and
his friends Toshi and Kenichi.

    "C'mon, don't stop! If Ninomiya-sensei catches us ditching
cleaning duty we'll be sucked like vampires!" Okuno said while
sprinting.

    The four of them made their way to a local market street full
of vendors. The three other boys handed Ranma crumpled wads of
money.

    "Now go get the good shit, alright? I want to impress the
girls from St. Hebereke tonight," Okuno said. He patted his
pocket. "You do this right, maybe we'll let you party with us.
And I got something to guarantee the night goes well!"

    The other two nodded in agreement as Ranma straightened out
the bills.

    "Since when did St. Hebereke have girls who liked to party? I
remem- I mean I heard they're all a bunch of prudes," Ranma said.

    "Oh man, are you kidding me?" Toshi said.

    "Ever since they've had that crazy assistant principal of
theirs there, I heard some of the girls liked to rebel by
partying," Kenichi said.

    "What? Who's their assistant principal?" Ranma asked.

    Okuno shrugged. "Some hot girl named Kodachi Kuno. I heard
her dad used to be the principal at Furinkan. Principal Kuno left
long before I was even here, but apparently his kids bought St.
Hebereke and also have a hand in running it."

    Ranma's jaw dropped. "You don't say."

-------------

    "Can I get my clothes back?" Ranma traded the bags of
expensive liquor for his school uniform shirt. He had to take it
off and pull his shirt out so that he wouldn't look like a
teenager buying alcohol.

    Okuna looked through the goods as they walked off to another
alley to check out their stash. Toshi and Kenichi also took a
look.

    "Wow, you must know your stuff," Okuno said. He held out a
bottle of Johnnie Black. "I've seen adults drink this stuff."

    The other two were impressed as well. They both punched him
in the arms with smiles. Okuno gave him a playful slug to the
stomach.

    "Not bad. Maybe you're not such a punk bitch," Okuno said.
"Shit, maybe we'll let you hang out with us."

    "Yeah, maybe he can help you start paying me faster for all
the shit I've done for you," said a voice from behind them.

    Ranma and Okuno turned around to face three other boys
wearing the same school uniforms as them. Ranma recognized the
guy in front. He was the spiky haired kid from yesterday.

    Okuno froze in place. "Hey, Shiro. We were going to party
with some chicks later tonight. You guys want to come with us?"

    Ranma stood behind Toshi and Kenichi who were both
backpedaling slowly.

    "Who is he," Ranma whispered in Toshi's ear.

    "That's Shiro Yukado," Toshi whispered back, his voice
trembling. "He's top kick at our school."

    Yukado rummaged through the plastic bags of liquor.
"Motherfucker, if you have the money to buy expensive fucking
booze then why can't you be quicker with paying me back?"

    Okuno pulled out a thick wad of ten thousand yen bills and
raised his hands. "I've got this on me, I'll get you the rest at
the end of this weekend."

    "Is that right?" Yukado snatched the money and pocketed it.
He got in Okuno's face. "And the package?"

    "I already had it dropped off in your backyard early this
morning," Okuno whimpered.

    "Good." Yukado rolled up his sleeves. "But you still can't
get your priorities straight sometimes. You know that, you
degenerate son of a bitch?"

    They all watched as Yukado back handed Okuno in the face and
onto the ground. "I gave you a nice fat advance, and always gave
you what you asked. Don't take me lightly." He looked up at
Ranma, Toshi, and Kenichi. "You three, stay right where you are."

    Okuno rubbed his face as he got up from the ground. Yukado
pointed to one of his friends and he stepped up to Okuno.

    Yukado tapped his friend on the shoulder. "Teach him a
lesson, Taki. We'll meet up later."

    Taki had a clean look about him with his crew cut hair. "See
ya."

    Okuno groaned. "Man..."

    Ranma recognized Taki. He was one of Akane and Ryoga's
advanced class students. He put his head down and ignored Okuno's
muffled moans as he was pummeled back to the ground. He was in
disguise, but didn't want to be recognized.

    Okuno's friends were shaky from watching their buddy get beat
up. Okuno was helpless to a trained martial artist like Taki.

    "Come on, Taki! He's had enough!" Kenichi yelled.

    "Let him go!" Toshi yelled with him.

    Taki had lifted Okuno by his shirt and was about to punch him
on his bruised face. "What was that?" He tossed Okuno down.

    Ranma was off to the side and watched as Taki walked over to
Toshi and Kenichi. Both of them had their fists up against Taki.

    Taki shoved them both with his hands on their chests. "Who
the hell do you assholes think you're talking to, huh?"

    Kenichi yelled and tried to throw a sloppy haymaker with his
left. Taki dodged and kneed him in the stomach, crumpling him to
the ground.

    Toshi jumped back, he knew he was no match against him.

    "You punks think you can take on a guy like me? I'm a black
belt in Musabetsu Kakuto Ryuu. Don't even try to step to this,"
Taki said, preparing a front push kick.

    Without warning Taki was kicked under the knee by Ranma as
his foot was about to reach Toshi. Taki yelped and pulled his leg
back in, hopping on one foot in pain.

    "What the fuck was that!" Taki screamed.

    Ranma walked in front of Toshi and shoved him aside. His face
was set stern. "You like to pick on people who can't defend
themselves with your skills?"

    Okuno was still on the ground from his own beating, but he
gasped as he saw Taki getting angry. "What the hell are you doing
Keisuke! He'll kill you! Apologize now!"

    "Too late!" Taki snarled. "You fucked up big time. You're
going to get some now."

    Taki assaulted Ranma with a barrage of Kenpo punches and
kicks in an offensive rush. Ranma dodged them with minimal
movement, letting his punches and kicks slide over his clothes.
Ranma blocked a few kicks and punches with his feet, his arms at
his side the whole time.

    "Not bad, punk." Taki spat on the ground. "But I haven't even
started yet."

    Ranma laughed. "I don't even have to start anything to take
down the likes of you."

    Taki smirked and let out a battle cry. He popped forward with
a punch and roundhouse kick combo. Ranma stepped forward and
clotheslined him to the ground with an extended arm as Taki was
transitioning into his kick. Taki landed on the back of his head
and grunted. Ranma knocked him out with jab across the chin.

    "Jerk," Ranma said.

       He dusted off his hands and saw Okuno being helped up by
Toshi and Kenichi. They were staring at him with wide open eyes.

---------------

    Okuno took another swig of his paper cup full of whiskey. He
picked up a bottle with both hands and poured another shot for
Ranma, his head slightly lowered. They were sitting by the hilly
grass near Ranma's favorite bridge.

    "When you miserable bastards get a little older, you'll
understand," Ranma said. He sipped his drink and blew his breath
to cool the burn. "Don't be jerks and act like gangsters when
you're students. These are the best times in your life."

    "Where'd you learn to fight like that?" Okuno asked. He
rubbed his jaw. His face was hurting all over.

    "That ain't important. I just don't like bullies," Ranma
said.

    Okuno immediately dropped down in front of Ranma and bowed to
him repeatedly. "I'm so sorry I bullied you! I'll never do it
again!"

    Ranma smacked him upside the head. "Get up you fool. Just
relax and have a drink."

    Okuno obliged by gulping down several shots worth of liquor
at once.. They were alone, and Toshi and Kenichi had gone off to
get their friends from St. Hebereke.

    "I was angry when that kid talked about his school's martial
arts so proudly when he was beating you up. What kind of honor is
that?" Ranma asked. "What kind of respect is that to your master?
Your teacher who taught you the art? There's an old proverb, have
you heard it? The student behaves with such humility that he
doesn't dare to step on his teacher's shadow."

    "As long as I get Shiro his money, I know he'll be fine with
that happened," Okuno said. He looked up at Ranma hopefully. "As
long as you're next to me, I know Taki won't cause trouble. Even
if he did you can take him, right?"

    Ranma stared at the river. "What do you give him money for?"

    Okuno looked over his shoulders. No one was around. He pulled
out a plastic bag from his pocket. "You saved my ass, man. I can
trust you. I'll make it your worthwhile, you can be rich as fuck
with this."

    Ranma looked down. The bag was filled with crumbled bits of
white rocks and powder. Okuno opened it up and dug his house keys
in, getting a bit on the top. He snorted the bump through one of
his nostrils.

    Okuno sniffled and sucked it back with deep breaths. "This
shit's the best when you're drunk. Grade-A Columbian man. And I
got the hook."

    "You're serious?" Ranma looked at the powder. It was an off
color white. "Mind if I try some?"

    "Be my guest, man!" Okuno kept sniffling. He took another
bump through the other nostril. "Shiro gives me the good shit
before he cuts it down."

    Ranma licked the tip of his index finger and pressed it into
the bag for some of the finer bits of powder. He put it on his
tongue and rubbed the rest of it on top of his gums. It dissolved
silky smooth and had an intensely chemically tang to it. He
underestimated the quality of it as the miniscule amount
dissolved into the back of his throat.

    "Man, you definitely aren't a pussy. I would have never
guessed coming from the way you acted when I first met you,"
Okuno said. "You tried it without a second thought. You ever do
coke before?"

    Ranma blinked and realized his slip. "No, this is my first
time." He smacked his lips, the taste of the coke still strong.
"I've always wanted to try it like in the movies, you know?"

    They sat there for a few minutes being drunk and enjoying the
quiet riverbank. Okuno gave himself another set of bumps, bigger
ones this time. Ranma felt his throat go numb along with the rest
of his mouth and felt his senses getting sharper. He
uncomfortably scratched at his throat.

    "Feels like a tennis ball in there, huh?" Okuno said. His
eyes were wide open and pupils dilated. "That's how you know it's
kicked in."

    Ranma suppressed the urge to panic. He had learned how to
taste drugs before, but this was the first time he had gotten too
sloppy and given himself too much. Each breath once it passed
through his esophagus felt like a crisp winter breeze down his
throat. His mood was elevated, and he felt the comfortable drunk
warmth of his whiskey melting away.

    "So," Ranma said, coughing. "How do you get this stuff? I
mean what the hell do you do with it?"

    "You want some more?" Okuno saw Ranma shake his head and then
pocketed his drugs. He laid back on the grass and looked up at
the sky. "I'm not the one who orders it and stuff. Shiro's the
one who knows where it comes from. He gets a guy to give it to me
and I accept delivery. I then drop it off at Shiro's or give it
to him directly. We get it in these big old bricks wrapped up in
plastic."

    Ranma felt speechless. "Do you make a lot of money, like in
the movies?"

    Okuno inhaled deeply to get another trickle of nose candy
slipping down his throat. "Oh man, you don't even know! On a good
day sometimes I make two million yen a day! But only a tiny bit
of that goes to me since I'm using it too." The coke made his
lips loose. "I have to give almost everything to Shiro, but I get
all the free coke I want. Shiro can't keep that money either. I
don't know where it goes from there."

    There's the Furinkan pipeline, Ranma thought. Or at least
part of it. "Who do you sell to?"

    "Anyone who wants it, man." Okuno scratches his own throat.
"Salarymen, teenagers, college students. Some schoolmates with
rich ass pockets, but those are few and they keep their mouths
shut tight. "Even housewives, man. Fed up housewives with money
making husbands who are bored out of their minds. I can tell."

    "Wow," Ranma said. He felt the ball in his mouth going away
almost as quick as it had come. He felt the guilty urge to ask
for some more. "How long have you been doing this for?"

    "Like this past year," Okuno said. "I just follow orders and
do what I'm told and sell it in my free time to whoever. I have
to make drop offs sometimes to some places across the city when
Shiro gives me an address or something. Big bricks too, like tens
of millions worth. I don't pick up money from those. I guess they
already pay someone."

    "I need to make some money too man, count me in." Ranma pat
Okuno on the shoulder.

    Okuno wrapped his arms around Ranma's shoulder. "You got it,
brother. We can expand our business and go places where I
would've been afraid to get my ass kicked without you around."

    Toshi and Kenichi yelled from the street with a couple of
cute girls behind them. Ranma and Okuno got up from the grass
hill.

    "I need to take off, gotta go home early," Ranma said.

    "You sure?" Okuno said, wiping his nose. "The girls are here
man, lets have some fun."

    "It's alright. You guys enjoy. I'm off," Ranma said. He waved
them a goodbye and jogged away.

    *   *   *

April 26th, 2001.
Silver Lining Pachinko - Roppongi, Tokyo. 6:40 PM.

    The loud and constant footsteps above did a good job in
hiding the noisy sound of boxes being ripped open and guns being
carelessly sorted on several large folding tables. Men in black
suits and flamboyant silk shirts gathered around. Others were
gathered around a large glass coffee table that was in the middle
of the basement. Clumped up ant hills of cocaine and racked up
pinky sized lines awaited several eager nostrils.

    Twenty-three year old Masa Hirotaki gathered around his small
group of loyal brothers, the very bottom barrel of underlings of
the Oroshii clan. "Boys, this is our chance to prove to Aniki*
that we can take on Tokyo," he announced.
*Big Brother.



    Masa's best friend was the only sober one in the room.
Everyone called him Leo, after Leonardo DiCaprio for his pretty
boy looks and his overly cool demeanor with women. He watched his
friend sniffling back a fresh line he had snorted a few minutes
ago.

    "Masa, think it over," Leo warned him. "Aniki and Mr. Joshua
told us we need to stay cool. Now more than ever."

    "Fuck it, Leo. With these in our hands, we're the most
powerful group in Japan. No one can stop us. We're not going to
get robbed of our own since we're prepared."

    All the men in the room shouted in agreement. "Yeah!"

    Leo sighed. "The boss hired that foreigner to advise us about
how and when to use these. What's the point if we just disobey
him?"

    "I just need five other guys with me, including the driver,"
Masa said. "You in or you out?"

    Leo couldn't say no to a brother. "I'm with you all the way
man. I always have." He looked at the impressive stacks of
weaponry and the crates of ammo that came with them. They were
definitely confidence inspiring. He really hoped there was no in
Tokyo who could take them on.

       *    *   *

April 26th, 2001.
Tendo Residence - Nerima, Tokyo. 7:04 PM.

    Ranma sneezed as he took off his shoes to enter the Tendo
home.

    "What's the matter, you catch a cold?" Akane said.

    "I don't think so," Ranma said. "My parents couldn't make it
by the way. They're visiting the family grave this weekend. I
brought a gift though."

    Akane took the fancy box from his hands. "Cake? What kind?"

    "Tiramisu," Ranma replied. He had something else in his other
hand. "And I bought a bottle of white wine."

    Akane led him to the tea room, where everyone was gathered.
Ryoga was sitting next to Nabiki chatting, and they both paused
to look at him while Akane took her seat next to Ryoga. Ranma
bowed to Soun, who looked happy to see him. He saw Tofu in the
room as well, and awkwardly stuck out his hand for a handshake.

    Tofu stood up to grab his hand. His face was neutral. "How
are you, Ranma-kun?"

       "I never got around to apologizing for what I did to you,
Tofu-sensei," Ranma said.

       Tofu cracked a wry smile. "That's fine. I'll consider your
seven year absence as a slip."

       "You know, when that comes out of someone else's mouth it
sounds so much worse," Ranma said, chuckling. "I'm sorry I never
even congratulated you for getting married."

    Didn't do that for us either, Ryoga and Akane thought
simultaneously.

    "Is that liquor I smell on you?" Tofu asked, sniffing around
Ranma.

    Ranma waved it off. "I had a drink earlier in the afternoon.
It's nothing."

    "Nothing wrong with that," Tofu said. "It's just I always
thought you didn't like it."

    "Kind of early in the day, isn't it?" Akane asked. She still
couldn't get over the beers Ranma had for dinner the other night.

    Ranma took a seat from where he was standing and pulled his
legs into the table. "There's a bottle of sake over there," Ranma
pointed in the corner. It looked like an expensive one too.

    "Ah, that's for later," Nabiki said.

    Ranma turned to his left. He had sat down next to Nabiki
without looking. "How are you Nabiki."

    Nabiki had her head propped on the table with her arm.
"Nothing much, Saotome." She nibbled on a rice cracker. "You?"

    Ranma mentally cursed. "I never apologized to you either,
Nabs. I'm sorry."

    "In nearly ten years I'd never think I'd actually hear you
say that on your own," Nabiki said. "I must be getting old."

    Ranma shifted the corner of his mouth. "Good to know you
still have your sense of humor, I guess." He looked at Ryoga.
"Hey Ryoga, the dojo lights were still on when I came here. Is
there still a class?"

    Ryoga shook his head. "No, one of my special students came
late to class today. I'm punishing him by cleaning the dojo floor
by himself. He's a good kid but causes trouble like this once in
a while. He really screwed up this time."

    "Oh, that's what it is." Ranma smirked. "Any of your students
bully other kids with their skills?"

    Ryoga frowned. "I hope not."

    "And how's your work been?" Nabiki asked.

    "Busy," Ranma quickly replied. "Where's Kasumi?" he asked
aloud.

    Tofu stuck his thumb towards the kitchen. "She's cooking, as
always. Been a while since you've had a meal from her, hasn't
it?"

    Nabiki rolled her eyes at Tofu.

       Ranma got up with the bottle of wine in his hand. "I need
to go put this in the fridge. I'll go say hi to her."

----------------

    Kasumi's hands nearly slipped as she unplugged the jumbo
sized rice cooker and set it down on the ground to carry it in to
the dining table in the tea room. It was only used for big
parties and was used on a daily basis when the Saotomes had lived
here under the same roof. She set up several trays on the empty
space on the counter to lay out the side dishes for everyone.

    It was a heavy amount of work, because she remembered that
Ranma never had a particular favorite food that he liked. He
liked food, and having lots of it. She sipped on a glass of dark
plum wine before she resumed chopping up some fresh scallions to
mix into the miso soup and garnish the other dishes with.

    "What you drinking , Kasumi-san?"

    "Ara!" Kasumi nearly dropped her knife. She set it on the
cutting board and turned around, her cheeks turning red. "Just
some plum wine. I'm sorry, I didn't think anyone would be coming
back here."

    "Don't worry about it," Ranma said. "I won't tell anyone you
were sneaking a bit for yourself while you were cooking. I
brought some nice white wine too, I'm going to put it in the
fridge. We can all have some later."

    Kasumi put a hand on her face. "That sounds great."

    Ranma stored the wine away and looked at Kasumi standing in
the kitchen with her old apron. She looked tired and looked like
she aged older than either of her sisters. "I'm sorry about what
happened the last time you saw me. I didn't mean to cause trouble
like that, not after all these years."

    "Don't worry," Kasumi said, covering a smile over her closed
hand. "It's been such a long time since we saw you, I think you
being there was just a shock anyway. We missed you around here."

    Ranma scratched the back of his head. Kasumi was one of the
few benevolent souls he card about and had left behind without
ill will. "I missed you, Kasumi."

    "I missed you too, Ranma." She came up to him and gave him a
great big hug.

    After his embrace, Ranma took a look at all the food being
made. "Wow, you're making all this by yourself? You have two
sisters in the house, you know. I heard even Akane's cooking is
normal now."

    Kasumi's eyes shifted uncomfortably. "Oh, it's fine. I always
take care of this stuff. You go back in the room and join
everyone else."

    "Nonsense." Ranma looked through the cupboards and found
everything was still exactly as he remembered. "I'll carry the
rice cooker and all the bowls and utensils."

    He stacked several bowls and dishes on top of each other
along with chopsticks and spoons. They balanced in one long tower
in his hand. He easily hefted the heavy rice cooker in the other.

    "Thanks, Ranma." Kasumi felt grateful she didn't have to
carry that huge rice cooker on her own.

    "Not a problem," he replied. Ranma went back to the tea room.

    Kasumi watched him leave and went back to work. Her eyes
turned weary as she quietly sipped her plum wine.

------------------

    Ranma refused a slice of cake as Akane gave everyone a piece.
He swirled his sake in a cup. He was satisfied from the feast
that Kasumi had prepared. Ryoga and Akane refrained from
drinking, with Ryoga taking one small shot glass of sake from
Soun out of respect. Soun and Tofu were engrossed in conversation
over their own cups of alcohol, with Akane and Ryogo chiming in.
They were talking about the affairs of the dojo. Kasumi was
clearing the table and carefully separating empty dishes from the
leftovers. Ranma and Nabiki were the only ones who offered help.

    Ranma offered Kasumi a cup. "Would you like some, Kasumi-
san?"

    Tofu laughed from his seat. "Oh, that's fine Ranma. Kasumi
won't drink, especially when she's got work to do."

    Ranma raised a brow and Nabiki covered her face with her
hands behind Ranma, out of Tofu's view. No one noticed Kasumi's
expressionless face.

    "It's been so long since I've seen Ranma, dear," Kasumi said
sweetly. "I'm sure one drink will be fine."

    Ranma poured into her cup without waiting for a response from
Tofu.

    "Oh, that's fine then. Just be careful, we don't want you to
get too tipsy now," Tofu said. He tapped his wife's nose and
winked.

    Kasumi took a careful, but deep sip with both her hands. She
elegantly covered her gulping. "Of course not, dear." She grabbed
Ranma's cup. "Do you mind finishing the rest of mine, Ranma-kun?
I don't think I can finish this."

    Ranma watched as Kasumi poured, but only saw a few droplets
land into his cup. He looked at her with eyes slightly raised.
She then went back to carrying her trays into the kitchen.

    The room had gotten stuffy, so the sliding doors were all
opened to show the koi pond. Ranma slugged down his cup and went
to take a seat by the edge on the veranda. Nabiki came by and sat
next to him with a different bottle of sake and topped off
Ranma's sake cup and then refilled her own. "So how goes your
life?"

    "Busy." Ranma took a sip.

    "Heard that already." Nabiki swirled her cup. "You enjoying
work in the JNSA?"

    Ranma didn't answer as he drank from his cup. He looked over
at Nabiki, who was looking at him pensively. She refilled his cup
again as soon as he let it down. He wanted to stay angry and
apprehensive at her, but her passive gesture made him feel
guilty. He loosened up his shoulders and slumped a little.

    "It wasn't the cakewalk I was hoping it'd be," Ranma replied.
"Some of the things I'd left LA for were waiting for me here in
Japan. Like it was just begging my return."

    "Streets of crime?"

    "Drugs and gangs," Ranma said. He sighed and continued
sipping his drink. He refilled it on his own, and returned the
courtesy to Nabiki.

    "This is Japan, we have plenty of gangs. But drugs?" Nabiki
gently swung her legs they hung off the ledge.

    "And guns too." Ranma didn't notice Nabiki stiffening up.
"Lots of them. I'm putting in some serious work around here cause
there's way too many bad guys with all sorts of guns around
here."

    Nabiki licked her lips. "Sounds interesting."

    "Nah," Ranma said. "It's a lot of heavy handed mumbo jumbo."

    "Think it's too smart for me or something?" Nabiki smiled.
"Amuse me," she goaded.

    "Someone's stockpiling weapons across Japan and they're
paying for it with drug money. There's already been some
incidents."

    Nabiki felt her veins freeze, and she quickly took down her
cup in one shot. "Really? I didn't hear anything like that in the
news."

    "It's cause we had a media blackout. Didn't want a panic." He
topped off Nabiki's cup.

    Nabiki took a long drag of her cup and emptied it again. Her
head swarmed with revelation and cursing. It had been the JNSA
after all, not the police. No wonder she couldn't find out a
thing.

    "You can really take them down, Nabs. Here's another."

       "So you going to put on a cape and save the country,
Captain?"

    Ranma chuckled. "No, Nabs."

    "So what you planning to do?"

    "Catch 'em."

    "Catch? Catch who? Do you know who to look for?"

    Ranma gave a lazy shrug. "Gotta catch 'em all."

    Nabiki felt her head getting cloudy. She started growing
impatient. "I mean do you have a plan? Know who to go after to
catch?"

    "I'm doing something." Ranma shook his head and leaned it to
the side, his eyes matching hers. "What's up? Why're you so
curious?"

    Nabiki's expression stayed perfectly neutral. "Hey, sounds
excited. Just wondering."

    "And what have you been up to?"

    "Moi?"

    "Yeah, you. Where have you been working? And how much money
you've been making?"

    Nabiki shook her head with a dignified sweep. "I'm a finance
officer, handling money and lending it out," she said, with her
hand on her chest. "I make plenty enough. I helped pay remodeling
the whole house."

    "That sounds like you." Ranma nodded. "Making money in the
money business, huh? Heard about that. I hear you lend money to
friends we know?"

       Nabiki looked at him from the corner of her eye. "Who told
you?"

       "I heard from people. Heard about Ukyou's restaurant
expansions."

       "I like to help people out, didn't you know?"

       "Yeah, sure." Ranma drank the rest of his cup and held it
in his hands, covered.

       They sat together in silence and watched the koi fish in
the pound jumping over the water. Neither had sat together like
this and shared a conversation in years.

       Ranma got up. "I'm going to check on Kasumi. She's
cleaning everything all by herself."

       Nabiki nodded and raised the bottle to her lips and drank
it straight. Ranma looked at her with a puzzled face.

       "What?" Nabiki wiped her mouth. "I bought it."

---------------

    Ranma heard a rhythmic cacophony of pots and pans being
scrubbed and cleaned as he entered the kitchen. He saw Kasumi
slightly hunched over the sink, engrossed in her work. He pulled
out a chair next to the small coffee table inside. He rustled a
waste basket and knocked it over and saw an empty bottle of plum
wine that was covered over some discarded paper towels. He swept
it back in with his hands.

    "Would you like any help?" Ranma asked out loud.

    Kasumi's head switched back and she wiped her hands dry on a
dish towel. "No thank you, Ranma. I appreciate it thought."

    Ranma walked up to the fridge. "How about some white wine
then?"

    Before Kasumi could protest Ranma grabbed the bottle from the
spot he'd left it on the fridge and saw that it was already
opened. He looked over at Kasumi who was staring straight down at
the sink, trying to avoid eye contact with him. There was a
coffee mug right next to her on the counter, and it wasn't in the
sink to get washed.

    "I won't tell anyone if you won't," Ranma said. He grabbed a
similar mug from the cupboard right next to Kasumi and she turned
her head slightly away. He poured himself some wine and some more
into Kasumi's cup too. "Kasumi-san. Me of all people won't think
less of you for having a little drink. You're an adult. I want to
enjoy a drink with you."

    Kasumi sniffled and grabbed her cup and turned to face him.
"Thank you."

    Ranma smiled and went back to his chair. He sipped the wine
and felt his stomach gurgle, protesting at the mix of different
alcohols. He watched Kasumi continue to wash the large pile of
dishes and kitchenware at a slower pace than before.

    "So," Ranma spoke slowly. "When did things start going sour
between you and Tofu?"

    Kasumi continued with her chore and took a sip of her mug.
"What do you mean?"

    "You heard what I said."

    "I don't know what you're talking about." She made it look
like she was taking another sip, but she poured it down her
gullet.

    It didn't go unnoticed. Ranma swiftly got back up and filled
her cup to the brim with more wine. He turned his back to her.

       "I can tell by just looking at how he treats you and the
way you react," Ranma said. "I think Nabiki notices too. You hide
it well, Kasumi. But it's written all over your body."

    "I've always thought you were a good boy when you lived with
us, Ranma-kun. And I thought you were a gentleman the way you
apologized to me and helped me set up the dinner table," she
replied. She coughed and took a deep breath. "But right now, I
hope you can watch your tongue."

    Ranma paced back and forth across the kitchen. "Well the
question is still out there and you haven't answered. What's up
with Tofu?"

    Kasumi flicked her fingers free of excess water and dried her
hands again. She took her mug and knocked back a quick slug of
wine and took another deep breath, her back still facing Ranma.
"I married a dependable man with a respectable job. He provides
for me, he supports me, and doesn't mistreat me."

    Ranma threw his hands up in exasperation and sat back down.
"The man doesn't have to be a deadbeat who beats you up at home
to be a bad husband, Kasumi. Don't pull this older than thou
motherly crap on me. I'm not a kid anymore and I know what it's
like to be in an adult relationship."

    Kasumi sniffled again and turned on her heel. Her eyes
narrowed just slightly, with more consternation than Ranma had
ever seen from her.

    "And my marriage is of no business to anyone, but me and my
husband. Not from my sisters and not from you." Kasumi gulped and
took another deep breath.

    Ranma was taken aback, but he stared at her like he had just
seen a ghost. "Why do you keep doing that?"

    Kasumi shook her head in mild disgust and looked at him.
"What?"

    "That. You just did it again." He slowly got up from his
seat. "Why do you keep doing that?"

    "Doing what?" Kasumi said. She watched as Ranma slowly got
closer to her and subconsciously back pedaled.

    "Sniffling, gulping, breathing heavily. You've been doing it
for a while now."

    Kasumi's paranoia started flaring, and she did exactly as he
described more evidently. "So what if I am, I'm just a little
upset-"

    Ranma grabbed her suddenly by the neck and held her still.
Kasumi lost her strength and leaned back on the kitchen counter,
looking up at Ranma. His grip wasn't strong and his hands were
just gently wrapped around her. He felt her smooth skin and it
was clammy, and stickled with a very fine mist of perspiration.
He got up close to her face, close enough to feel her breathing
on his lips.

    "Your eyes are dilated," he said.

    Kasumi kept absolutely silent and her lips quivered as he
kept looking at her uncomfortably close.

    "Your skin's all cold," he continued.

    Kasumi's eyes watered, and she finally let out a soft
whimper.

    He finally let her go. "And your heartbeat is so jacked up
beyond excitement that you're ready to have a heart attack."

    Kasumi stood straight again, and hugged herself. She looked
up at Ranma, who looked just as terrified as she felt. A tear
rolled down her cheek.

    "When did you start using cocaine?" Ranma asked.

    "How'd you know?" Kasumi asked.

    "I just do," he said. He pointed a shaky finger at her left
forearm. "I saw some bits of white residue on your arm. That's
where you snorted it from, right? And your cross pendant."

    Kasumi's eyes grew wide as she grabbed it from her neck.

    "I've seen those before. The lengthwise part of the cross is
a hollow tube and unscrews from the top, right? That's where you
hide it." Ranma covered his face. He felt his own lips quivering.

    "I've been doing this my whole life," Kasumi said, trying not
to choke up and cry. "Ever since my mom died, I took care of my
family. I took care of you, your father."

    Ranma stared at the hard floor. Kasumi walked up right in
front of him.

    "It was only when your mom started living with us that I
finally had a break. Lived out a normal life for a few years
until you went to college," she continued.

    "And my life went back to the way it was. Taking care of
everyone else, before myself. It dragged on and on, and I never
had a chance to be a girl like Nabiki and Akane.

    "And then Tofu came along, and finally confessed he loved me
and insisted we get married without us ever spending any time
together to get to know each other on our own. I went along with
it, thinking this was the happiest thing that had ever happened
to me. But I was wrong.

    "It started over again. I was appreciated, and I was loved.
But I was set aside and expected to do things as people have
always expected me. No suggestions on whether I'd like to go
college again. Assumptions that I would be my husband's assistant
in his practice, not even as a nurse. Cleaning, cooking, taking
care of the house. Making the rounds in the neighborhood. I've
been doing this for almost twenty years, Ranma."

    Ranma was afraid to look up, but summoned the courage to do
so. Kasumi wasn't crying, and hadn't been dripping tears. She was
still gulping and sniffling what she had snorted in private.

    "And the drugs, Kasumi? How'd that start?" Ranma felt his
eyes water instead.

    "By accident," she said, smiling ruefully. "One of the shop
owners blabbed about it and how he kept up all night to do work.
I was curious, and sometimes home alone a lot because Tofu makes
lots of outcalls. I found a kid on the street who sold it.

    "I was lonely and spent a lot of time by myself doing easy,
menial tasks. This stuff made me feel so alive, you know? I
didn't feel bad about myself for a while and thought passing time
was fun. And I never have any fun.

    "Before I knew it I was doing it regularly behind everyone's
back. Not a lot, just enough for me," she said. "Not enough to
hurt me. Just enough."

    "It's never enough. There's no such thing as a safe amount,"
Ranma said, his mouth pursed in anger.

    He completely lost his wits as Kasumi pulled up her dress and
apron and sat on top of him on the chair with her legs spread out
and her arms around his neck. Ranma looked at her face again.
This time the tears slowly started rolling down.

    "I'm 28 years old, Ranma" she spoke, her voice quaking. "And
I'm married. And I have to count the days wondering when my
husband is going to make love to me."

    Ranma's head wanted to jerk back, but it was held in place by
Kasumi's arms. He was petrified.

    "And I can't ask him out of shame, because he has this
idealized image in his head of what kind of woman I am." She
started to choke back her tears. "Do you know what that's like."

    He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head no. He opened
them again, and saw her big, reddened eyes looking straight into
his. The heady perfume of white wine wafted from her small lips.
She slowly moved her head forward, and slipped her tongue into
his mouth.

    Ranma couldn't respond, and she continued for several
moments. He gently pushed her off and wiped his mouth.

    "You need to get help for your addiction, Kasumi-san." Ranma
couldn't look her in the eye. "I'll keep this to myself. But
either you get help, or I'll do it for you."

    He walked out of the kitchen and out the door to the dojo
pathway instead of going back to the tearoom. Kasumi took another
look at the leftover white powder marks on her forearm. She
tapped out one last line in a neat pour from her hollow tube and
gently snorted it. She went back to washing the dishes and
scrubbed her arms clean in the soapy water.

----------------

    The dojo lights were off and left the yard behind it dark in
seclusion. Ranma grabbed his hair and looked up in the sky as he
walked aimlessly.

    "You look like you need another drink."

    Ranma jolted his head in the direction of the darkness. He
saw dim lit cherry dot floating in the yard. His eyes adjusted
fast. "Nabiki."

    "My dad and older sister don't know, so don't tell them,"
Nabiki said as she took another hit of her cigarette. The
darkness hid her flushed face.

    Ranma walked next to her, feeling oddly comforted to be in
her presence. "When did you start smoking?"

    She blew a puff into the clear night air. "When I found out I
could do whatever I wanted as an adult."

    He grabbed it out of her hand and took a drag. "Sounds like
you."

    Nabiki had her hand up like she was still holding her
cigarette. "And since when the hell did you start smoking?"

    Ranma blew his smoke at his feet. "When I lost something
important to me."

    "Sounds like a good enough reason," Nabiki replied. She lit
another smoke in in her mouth. "Finish that one."

    "Thanks."

    Both of them stood there quietly, glancing at each other
between puffs. They giggled each time.

    "What's so funny?" Nabiki asked.

    "Nothing," Ranma replied. "Just I can't believe I'm standing
here next to Nabiki Tendo, having a drunk smoke break."

    Nabiki cackled and covered her mouth. "Oh my god, me too!"

    "The shit we live to see," Ranma said, savoring another drag.

    "Yeah," she agreed.

    "I hope you're taking care of yourself, Nabiki."

    "Hmm?"

    "I meant your body. Your livelihood. You."

    She shrugged. "I guess."

    A loud series of beeps and whistles started ringing from
Ranma's pocket. He fished out his cell phone. It was an emergency
radio call. He took the cig out of his mouth and answered it.
"What is it?"

    Nabiki watched as Ranma's smashed face twisted in worry.

    "What? An armed robbery? Where?"

    Nabiki watched in fascination as the drama in front of her
unfolded.

    "Shinjuku? Give me coordinates, I'm on my way!" Ranma ended
the call and looked up at Nabiki. "I need to bail right now. Can
you tell everyone I said bye? Tell them it was an emergency."

    "Sure thing."

    Ranma gave her an appreciative nod and ran off. He jumped
over the wall and disappeared.

    "Wow," Nabiki said to herself. Then something slowly sank in.
"Wow. Wow. Oh, wow."

---------------

    The diminutive little Honda Jazz that the agency had given
him proved valuable in fighting through slogged traffic. This car
was nimble as it crashed through sidewalks and slalomed around
screaming pedestrians.

    Ranma wiped his forehead and looked at the navigation screen
on the center console. He was almost there.

    Jackson and Kurosawa were already en-route from the HQ
building and were going to be late to the scene. Nerima was a
much shorter drive away to the gambling parlor he was racing to.

    Gunshots rang out in the air before Ranma made it around the
last corner. This was a trendy upscale part of Shinjuku that was
stacked with night clubs, bars, and gambling parlors run by the
local syndicate.

    The little Honda's engine screeched at the top of its revving
lungs as it slid around the street. Ranma saw from the corner of
his eyes several cops who had hidden themselves behind shallow
entry ways and wall openings. His car over drifted and slammed
into the side of an abandoned police car that was riddled with
bullet holes.

    Ranma cursed out loud and drive forward. The car scraped
along the scrapped police car and Ranma found himself looking out
the side of the window with four men holding rifles. He had a
split second to recognize them. Automatic rifles.

    "Holy shit!" Ranma yelped.

    Masa Hirotaki held his banana clipped Ak-74 at the hip and
fired off at Ranma's subcompact hatchback. His men followed suit
and opened fire in full automatic burst.

    The first round whizzed by Ranma's head as he leapt out the
driver's door on the right side. He instinctively rolled to the
front of the car to get besides the engine. The car was riddled
mercilessly as he stayed crumpled and tucked like ball, using the
engine block as armor.

    All four gangsters were flying high on each of their
respective kites as they emptied out their magazines without even
aiming right. They were slow at reloading fresh magazines, as
they fumbled for the right buttons and pulling out their spares.

    Ranma popped up with his 1911 pistol squared away in his eye
line. His thumb clicked down on the safety as he drew it high and
ready. "Freeze motherfucker!"

    Masa had been the only one who had managed to reload his
rifle but had it aimed in the air. The other men still had their
magazines in their hands.

       Ranma had his gun trained at Masa's head and looked at the
other men. "Now anybody moves, he dies! Do you understand me?"

       One of Masa's underlings stepped forward, rifle still in
hand. "I don't think you can take us all, bad ass."

    A single shot popped a small mist of red from the middle of
his chest as Ranma fired on him without warning and had his gun
back to Masa's head before any of them realized what just
happened. The gangster dropped dead like a sack of potatoes. No
groans, no death rattle.

    "Yeah, but I'll get an 'A' for effort. Now the rest of you
fuckers lay down your weapons on the ground unless you want to
join him! One hand only, butt of the rifle first!" He slowly side
stepped and walked around his ruined car. "I ain't saying it
twice motherfuckers do it now!"

    The first one to lay down his gun was Masa, then the others
followed. They all looked like rabid dogs with eyes bloodshot and
their breathing out of control.

    Ranma watched them carefully as they complied. He felt his
adrenaline overpower the alcohol in his blood. "Alright. Now I
want you to spread apart, and lay down on the ground with your
hands behind your head. Interlace your fingers!"

    Just then a white Toyota Cresta sedan drove out to the street
from a side alley and popped up to Ranma's right. The driver had
a MAC-10 extended in his way and fired off a barrage of automatic
.45 lead in his direction. Ranma back flipped and went behind the
exact same spot behind the engine of his car, and aimed his
pistol while crouched. He fired four rounds through the doors to
get the driver and hit him twice in the side of his torso.

    Leo screamed at his friends as they scrambled towards the
getaway car. He felt two rounds pierce his body and saw an exit
wound pop from the right of his belly and felt the sensation of a
hot piercing rod jammed through one of his lungs. He tossed his
empty MAC-10 and grabbed another loaded one that was sitting on
the passenger seat and sprayed another barrage of covering fire
for his guys.

    Ranma picked off two more guys as they ran with three rounds
to each of them aimed at their upper torsos. After the eleventh
round his 1911 locked back in battery and Ranma depressed the
magazine lever and flicked it out forcefully with his wrist and
smoothly drew his gun up again with his weak hand ramming a fresh
magazine into the well. His hands met up in a compound grip as
his arms extended and his shoulders rocked forward in an
isosceles shooting stance.

       As soon as his thumb smacked down the slide release and a
fresh round of hollowpoint .357 Sig chucked its way home into the
chamber Ranma fired off into the escaping car as it burned rubber
and slipped out of view. Ranma got off all ten rounds and stood
in the street with an empty pistol with a smoking barrel.

       He depressed the mag release and collected his spent
magazine. He stared at the empty corner where the car made its
getaway. His teeth were audibly grinding.

    "Damn!"

-----------------

    Kurosawa surveyed the damage on Ranma's pulverized Honda and
took a look at the other police cars damaged by gunfire. Jackson
was at the scene of the robbery itself, combing the place.

    "Must've been a hell of a shootout," Kurosawa said. He stood
by as Ranma sat on the curb. "This place looks like the O.K.
Corral."

    Ranma hocked a wad of mucus on the street. "Five against one.
I took down three."

    "Yeah, one pistol versus five machine guns." Kurosawa clicked
his tongue. "All in all I'd say you did pretty good."

    Ranma stood up, and brushed away Kurosawa's hand. "What the
hell did they rob exactly anyway? Where the fuck is Jackson?"

    On cue, Jackson ran out of a damaged doorway from behind with
a notepad in his hand. "They robbed this gambling parlor right
behind us. Not much either. Maybe ten, twenty million yen tops.
The getaway driver who ambushed you from the alley had loaded up
the cash from a side door that was an employee entrance."

    Ranma shook his head. "These guys have kids who make a couple
million yen a day doing fucking coke deals on the street. Why
they hell would they risk an armed robbery in public streets?"

    Jackson flipped through his notepad. "The police told me this
area is under the control of the Nakagawa clan. These are all
legitimate businesses controlled by the local Yakuza."

    "It was a provocation then," Kurosawa said.

    "A declaration," Ranma piped in. "Someone wants to start a
turf war."

    "That clicks right on my end too," Jackson replied.

    Ranma looked around at all the chaos around him. The roads
were blocked several intersections out and the entire place was
on lock down. There were still people from inside the various
businesses being evacuated out by the police.

    "Can we leave these guys to mop up around here?" Ranma asked.

    Jackson nodded. "We have our own guys on the way and all
police activity is being channeled through the JNSA Public Safety
Commission. Leaks and mistakes and what not, at least we'll know
about them."

    "Good." Ranma pointed to the Mitsubishi Legnum station wagon,
the one Jackson had taken over. Let's get out of here, we have
work to do."

[End Chapter 7]

Disclaimer: This is fanfiction, I don't plan to make a profit out
of someone else's work, just don't sue me. All respective
trademarks, copyrights, whatever-rights, theirs and not mine.

Author's Ramble: I started this chapter at the beginning of this
year and worked on it in small chunks at a time for the first few
weeks. Then I ignored it for months. And months. And then I
finished it over the past few weeks. Crazy is the wonderful word
of writer's block and the inspirational muse.

This chapter was actually supposed to be much longer. Much much
longer. This chapter was originally envisioned as close to 200k
in .txt form, or about 200 pages in Word. But this time, I vowed
to work on my pacing and not drag shit out. To do that, I decided
this was exactly the right place to cut off.

In fact, I had planned for only one more chapter after this, and
then a formal epilogue (short) chapter. But I guess that isn't
the case, and I'm going to have ten solid chapters (including the
epilogue) to round out this story of mine which has been 8 years
in the making.

8 years, wow. Has it really been that long? For all of those who
have read my fics till now, I just want to take a moment to thank
you very much. Your wonderful comments, criticism, gripes, hates,
even flames are very much appreciated and you have no idea how
much it inspires me and influences me to write more and improve
on it. I don't write as much as I like, nor do I do it as much as
I should. That's the difference between real writers and amateur
fanfic writers, right? No deadline, and long waits in between. To
those of you who wait patiently, I hope you enjoy. To those who
have read since the beginning when I first dabbled in this hobby
turned passion, a heartfelt thanks and feeling of gratitude.
/Long ramble ^_^

Author's Notes: How did you guys like the title of this chapter?
Okay, I think most of these will be dedicated to the character
development that occurred in this chapter (I'm sure some of you
guys went WTF, I was saying the same thing as I was writing it
man). But, I gotta do the techie stuff first, HEE HEE.

Major Chris Hideo Kurosawa of the United States Marine Corps. I
just love this fucking guy, and I think he's cool as all hell. I
put a lot of effort into researching his character and his
background, like the career paths he took as well as the kind of
Marine he is. He's the laid back, salty professional variety,
kind of like how bad-ass Mark Wahlberg was as Gunny Bob Lee
Swagger in the movie Shooter (2007), minus the puss-ass left-wing
horseshit and all the ass kicking goodness. I promise you
Kurosawa isn't just another cool, throw-in character for my
amusement, he serves an important purpose in the plot later on.
I've thrown enough hints as it is in the story. If you want to
know more about Marine Corps  Force Reconnaissance and what they
do, look it up on Wikipedia. Very good, solid info on there.

Autopsies on dead people where the cause of death is already
determined is very common in homicide investigations and other
investigations pertaining certain interests. Like Ranma said,
it's literally interrogating the dead.

The ROK SEALs who capture the crew from the Black Lagoon are
actually direct brother units you could say to US Navy SEAL
teams. American SEALs were tasked to helping South Korea create
their own maritime Navy special warfare operators. The result was
a direct playbook by playbook copy of how the US does it, from
training to execution. This is where I had to have Revy injured
so that she's not as lethal, because I know there would be a
whole lot of (unfortunately canonically legitimate) bitching from
Black Lagoon fags who would say Revy's pistoleering skills are
too l33t for mere SEALs.

I'm not going to say much about Ranma and Kiyone's little ooh-la-
la moment, because honestly there's not much to say. I had fun
writing it and most of it came out pretty smoothly and in one
sitting. They're two adults, both with past ADULT relationships,
and they have an attraction for each other. And they enjoy each
other's drunk presence. I hate all these fics spouting imaginary
blueballs and all this gratuitous cock blocking occurs because
everyone is a fucking virgin. Well, I wiped out that little
barrier since these characters are grown up. But... yeah. A
little cockblocking was needed for the sake of plot advancing.

Akari. I've always intended for Akari's introduction to be an
accidental discovery by Ranma from when I first seriously started
plotting out this story years ago. After trying to dig through
Akari's brain and come up with my own interpretive version of
her, I refined this tragic state of affairs in which she's living
a bleak life for herself caused by events that were out of her
control. I wanted to have her mirror Ranma's own bleak turn of
events that can totally wreck a person's life, except Akari's
beautiful soul has managed to tough it through and make amends
with it. I really like her, and felt horribly sorry for her as I
brought her to life as some half dressed hostess worker who
hustles her body to make ends meet. Oh yes, and unless you guys
didn't get the hints, she's obviously not working there by
choice.

And I'm sure some of you are wondering why in god's name I did
what I did to Kasumi? Well, that too was actually in the outline
for years, and it is an absolutely pivotal detail in the plot
that you'll just have to wait and see. I had fun/havoc crafting
the scenario for Kasumi's described downfall, and I'm sorta glad
I didn't have to take too many liberties. To make it happen. Tofu
and his "oh my god, I'm such a happy-go-lucky fucker" attitude
made it conveniently easy for me, and I turned that around on him
to drive his wife certifiably nuts. Poor Kasumi, so ronery and
doesn't even have the courage to beg for loving.

And the end shootout with the gangstas and Ranma at the O.K.
Corral. I was originally envisioning this to be modeled after the
legendary shootout in the movie Heat (1995), and the whole tense
standoff with Ranma policing four guys at once was taken
shamelessly verbatim from a scene in Above The Law, with Steven
Seagal. If you recognize it, cool. If you don't, well I'm
admitting the scenario isn't original.

And another shamelessly copied set of events, sort of, if you
recognized it is the interaction between Ranma and his high
school bullies which he saves. Ever watch the movie Doosabu
Iilchae (2001)? It's English title is My Boss, My Hero. You can
watch is subtitled on YouTube, I believe. It was also ported as a
sub par and shitty J-Drama of the same name.

So next time guys, hopefully I won't make you wait as long, but
also I can't promise anything either. Only thing I can promise is
that I won't quit writing, no matter how lax my updates may seem.
I think I've managed to prove that with the readers who've stuck
by me through the years. I won't quit. I'll finish it through. I
currently need to finish up my chapter 3 revision as it's mocking
me like the piece of shit it is, then finally I'll at least have
the character and story bits of this story inline.

    PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE SEND ME FEEDBACK!!! I write way faster
when people give me feedback! I swear to god this is true, see
this fic? Lots of email for this one. I did it in 11 months,
baby! ^_^;;  My e-mail is SgtRanma@yahoo.com

    Although I've previous said I'd use MySpace for updates, I
can't promise it'll be as updates as I think it should. I guess
I'll try. It's just not as motivating to use as maintaining a
real website, despite the shitty and simple html editing I did
with my old anifics page. God I miss that page. Can anyone hit me
up with free webspace? I got some offers before in the past, now
I regret not taking it.


Finished November 4th, 2008.