Ranma and Xian Pu were laying prone on the closest roof away from the old abandoned manufacturing plant. Both of them in black, they blended into the tar thatched roof of the old office building. Ranma had a set of binoculars out and was scanning the area. Xian Pu just watched intently, trying to find any of their would-be attackers.
“I don’t see anything.” Ranma pulled down the binoculars and then lowered his dark wrap-around sunglasses. “But my danger sense is telling me there has got to be a ton of people in there.”
The lavender haired Amazon nodded. “I sense a lot of life for an abandoned factory.”
Ranma backed away from the side of the roof and stood up. “Okay, Shampoo, the plan is simple: I’m going in the front like I’m expecting another job. You sneak in through one of the vents of the roof and stay in the shadows. I’ll probably be able to handle these mooks, so don’t just jump out and attack at the first sign of trouble. In fact, I’ll probably let them get a couple hits in so they get overconfident and start letting information leak. You understand all of that?” She nodded. “Good. Don’t get yourself killed.” He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and turned to leave.
She grabbed his shoulder and turned him back around. “You’re not getting away that easily.” She hauled him in for a long passionate kiss. “You don’t go into a life and death battle and not even have a decent kiss to say good-bye.”
He smirked. “I told you. I fully intend to come out of there in one piece, and if you do what I say, you will to. Now, enough horseplay, it’s time to go to work.”
She smiled. “I was thinking ‘wild-horseplay’ myself.”
Ranma shook his head. “Just get going!”
Xian Pu nodded and walked toward the back of the old administrative office building and looked over the west side. It was still before noon, so the side was still shaded. She saw no one around so she jumped down and landed silently in a crouch. She peaked around and looked for more shadows to cover her trip to the cat food factory.
Ranma, on the other hand, jumped off the front of the building, his open trench coat opening up as he fell. He landed in a slightly bent crouch and then proceeded to walk casually to the building.
He reached the building and an armed guard opened the door for him. “They’re expecting you Mr. Masaki.”
Ranma nodded and walked in. After the door closed, he looked around to see if anyone was looking. Not seeing any, he placed a small object in a hiding place behind a loose wall panel. He continued to walk around the building, finding the most round about way possible, leaving little devices everywhere.
Finally he made it to the center of the old factory. He looked around and saw that most of the large equipment had been taken away, but along the walls, some of the larger vats still resided. He smoothed out his hair and stood in a relaxed stance, straight up with his hands to his sides, but still at the ready. “Anybody here?! It’s me, Tenchi!”
“Then I’d say you were mistaken.” A deep, but somehow familiar voice said from one of the shadows.
Ranma spun around to face the voice, activating the night vision built into his sunglasses at the same time. He made out a large muscular figure standing against one of the support frames of the warehouse. “How so?”
The figure steeped out of the shadows and chuckled. “Masaki Tenchi indeed. Using fictitious characters instead of your real name, Saotome?”
“Who you calling, Saotome?” He toggled off his night vision and took a good look at the figure. He was as tall as Ranma, but had more tone and had a wild mane of hair kept in place by a white bandanna.
The figure started pacing around him. “Hmm…about the right build and height. I’d say you must be him.” He stopped with a vicious grin on his face. “You can’t fool me by wearing sunglasses and your hair down. You’re the same man I fought nine years ago.”
Ranma turned and took a good look at him. “Ryu?” He thought. “It is! Kumon Ryu! What the hell is he doing here leading the Yakuza?” He didn’t let any of these thoughts apparent on his face. “What makes you think I’m him? I could just look like him.”
“I’ve been watching you for some time now,” the larger man began. “I watched you take on the ninjas after the Triad assault. I lost track of you after the explosion, but you are the only man to ever use the Hiryu Shoten Ha. There’s no use denying it anymore.”
“So what if I am? Was all these murders and plotting attempts by you and Tarou to get revenge on me?” Ranma had pretty much figured out his game was up. The only thing he could really do now was try to pump as much info out of Ryu as he could before beating the living hell out of him.
“Oh, getting our revenge was just a signing bonus. We’re actually working for someone else who has their goals set a little higher than just petty revenge.” Ryu smirked at the JCIA agent.
Ranma scowled. “If they’re not in charge then who is?” He questioned himself. He ran his hand through his hair and then dropped his foot back into a loose stance. “So you want your revenge. Aren’t you going to tell me who’s behind this?”
The larger man chuckled. “Not on your life. I’m not falling for the same trap that every other person has fallen for in this line of work, and I’m also not going to fight you. At least not directly.” He leapt back and flipped up onto a catwalk above the floor. “I’ve decided that even you have your limits. Come on out, boys!”
Sounds started erupting from all around Ranma as various Triad and Yakuza gang members came out of hiding. He did a quick search of the crowd and couldn’t find any of the Musk warriors that he had seen at the docks, but they were still dangerous with their various fully automatic firearms. The room filled with the sounds of several rounds being chambered. He stood back up straight and shook a small capsule out of his sleeve into the palm of his hand. “So you’re too cowardly to face me by yourself, eh Ryu?”
“I’m not falling for that one either Saotome.” He leaned back against one of the suspension wires. “You and I both know that I can’t take you in a fair fight. My honor might take a small blow, but you’ll be dead. I figure that’s consolation enough.”
“Pussy.” Ranma sneered.
“Enough stalling.” Ryu stood to his full height. “Kill him!”
As the crowd around him brought their arms to bear, Ranma threw the capsule to the ground. The Minnie May Special magnesium flare went off and the crowd started firing where Ranma had stood before, but at the same moment he had dropped the flare, Ranma had dove to the ground and rolled away toward the side of the warehouse. He rolled up to his feet and drew two semiautomatic pistols. He turned around and fired four shots into the crowd, killing three of the men. The flare was still going strong and the flare compensation built into Ranma’s shades help him hit his targets with unerring accuracy.
He leapt into the air as a hail of bullets came toward his position. He jumped up on a catwalk opposite Ryu and then plunged into the crowd. He landed feet first on top of a Yak holding an AK-47. The man was knocked unconscious. Ranma started going through the crowd knocking them out with the grips of his pistols. About the time he got back to the edge of the first crowd, the flare died down.
“There he is!” One of the Triad groups from the far side opened fire on him. He pulled a man that was still left standing around in between him and the incoming bullets. The body convulsed as it filled with lead. The bullets still went through the corpse of the Yakuza, but enough momentum was taken out that they had no effect on Ranma’s clothing.
A crash of metal alerted Ranma of two groups that were trying to out flank him. He unloaded the remaining eight rounds in his pistols at them to buy him time to leap away from the first Yakuza crowd. Most of whom were now dead from the Triad assault.
Ranma ducked around one of the large vats as bullets started to ricochet around him. He ejected the clips from his twin .45’s and slammed home two fresh ones. He ducked around to try and get a good look at where Ryu had gone.
“Kijin Raishuu Dan!”
With an urgency he hadn’t felt in a while, Ranma dove for cover. The large vat he had been using as shelter was quickly turned to confetti. Ranma rolled up into a three-point stance and then took to the air again. He took aim and unleashed his own rain of shells. The bullets found homes in several of the gangbangers.
The chambers on the guns locked in the open position as they ran out of ammo. While still in midair, Ranma threw them at two Triads that were taking aim at him. The empty pistols struck the gang members in the head, knocking them out instantly. He landed with his next weapon drawn. It was a fully automatic assault shotgun. He started circling a large group of Triads as he unloaded the weapon at them. He whipped the gun behind his back and shot a Yakuza that was approaching from outside his circle of death. He slung it back around to finish where he left off. The last empty shotgun shell ejected as the last of the first group of Triad fell.
Ranma dove for cover as more bullets came at him. He found shelter behind an old packaging machine. He turned and saw one of the service doors was open and more support troops were filing in. “Shampoo stay hidden for God’s sake!” He prayed to himself. He reloaded his shotgun once more and jumped away as another Demon God Assault Bomb destroyed his cover.
He fired wildly at the incoming mob as he tried to lock down Ryu’s position. He couldn’t find the false Ranma anywhere. He dove and rolled away as the floor around him exploded into several pieces from the barrage of bullets ripping it to shreds. The rifle clicked as the shells in the chamber were exhausted.
He finally decided that they all probably already were certain who he was, so it was time to start doing things the old fashioned way. Of course there was the fact that he wasn’t expecting this many people and he had run out of ammunition.
“Kijin Raishuu Dan!” He unleashed his own forbidden attack. He ran after the vacuum blade as he drew his sword. He dropped the tip to where it was only inches from the ground behind him to his right. The assault bomb cut a large swath in the crowd. Ranma followed up with forty-five degree slashes of his katana. Anyone his vacuum blade missed, his real blade took care of. He knew they wouldn’t open fire on him while he was in their midst so he commenced to bloody crowd control.
Up above, someone was watching that had no qualms about firing into a crowd. Ryu poised to deliver another assault on the blur of death that was his arch nemesis. “Looks like I’ll get to finish you myself; looks like my honor will be satisfied.”
“I don’t think so.”
A dual flash of stainless steel and the large man was knocked out. Xian Pu retracted her two asps. “Hmm…it doesn’t have the weight of my bonbari, but they do have a certain charm. Now to help my husband out of a jam.” She turned and prepared to launch herself off the platform.
“I don’t think so.”
Xian Pu turned in time receive of puff of gas in the face. She fell to the ground as she lost all motor control. As her vision started to fade, she could barely make out a woman dressed all in black.
Ranma finished another cross cut and brought his sword around for an overhead strike. His blade was poised straight up in the air when he heard a whizzing sound from over his shoulder. He ducked in time to see a disk fly over his head and sever his blade in half. The disk bounced off a couple more objects in the room before returning back over his shoulder. “Chakran?” He thought. “Oh crap.” He muttered as he looked at the broken blade in his hand.
The crowd soon realized that he was unarmed and out numbered. They mobbed him immediately. He fought them as much as he could, but he soon got swallowed in the sea of humanity.
“Hold him!” Came a feminine voice from the catwalk above.
After giving Ranma a few more kicks to the face they three of the gang members held him fast while turning him to face the voice. He looked up through one swollen eye and saw a woman wearing a skin-tight black business skirt suit. Her black hair fell loosely behind her back. She stood there holding the bladed disk in one of her hands. “Kodachi?”
The woman smiled. “Good to see you again up close, Ranma-Sama. Too bad you had to be on the opposite side of the fence.”
Ranma chuckled. “Please don’t tell me all this is about me not dating you.” One of the Yaks nearest him kneed him in the stomach. He grunted in pain.
The Black Rose snorted derisively. “You think way too much of yourself. This is all about taking over Japan and China. I just started at the streets and am currently working my way up; with a little help from Ryu and Tarou. You just got in the way; you and that organization of yours. The JCIA has been a thorn in my side for some time now. No pun intended.”
“None taken.” Another knee went into his chest.
“Do not disrespect the mistress.” One of the thugs around him grunted, the same one that had kneed him twice already.
Ranma narrowed his eyes at the thug. “You’ll get yours, bubba.” For that, he got a punch to the face.
“That’s quite enough.” Kodachi stated evenly. She continued on her speech. “Of course now that you’re out of the way, taking out the JCIA won’t be that hard. I’ve even decided to let you watch.”
A pair of thugs wheeled a good size monitor out in front of Ranma. He didn’t know how it had survived the firefight, but he looked on anyway. On the screen was the Japanese House of Pancakes. “What?” Ranma thought before the building went up in a giant explosion. “NOOOOOOOO!!!” He shouted. All his friends…
From her catwalk the Black Rose laughed her infamous laugh. “Oh ho ho ho ho! I do so enjoy this part, and do you know what the best part is?” Ranma numbly shook his head. “I had help from the inside. Someone you know very well. Come on out. Don’t be shy.”
Off to the side, a very shaking and sullen Gosunkugi stepped out. “G-Gos? How could you?” Ranma asked in disbelief.
The skeleton of a man’s head dropped. “They have my sister, Ranma. They told me I’d never see her again until they had destroyed the JCIA. I-I’m sorry.”
The martial artist shook his head. “I understand Gos, but you should have said something sooner. We could have helped you.”
“I’m sorry.” Was all Gosunkugi could say. He looked up toward Kodachi. “I’ve fulfilled my end of the bargain. Now show me my sister!”
“What are you waiting for boys? Show the man his sister.” She smiled evilly.
The ganger behind Gosunkugi pulled his rifle around and pumped a round through his chest. Kodachi laughed again. “Now you’ll see your sister, foolish boy. You’ll get to see each other in hell!”
Seething with anger, Ranma pulled hard against his captors. “YOU MURDERING BITCH!!! I’LL KILL YOU!!!”
“Sticks and stones, Ranma. Stick and stones.” She pulled a groggy Xian Pu to her feet. “And now for the final act. I’ll finally rid myself of this purple haired Amazon bimbo.”
Ranma’s nerves went to cold steel. “I wouldn’t. Her proximity to you is the only thing keeping you alive.”
“And I had this special surprise all whipped up for her and everything.” The Black Rose pulled a syringe out of her suit jacket. “A new strain from the late Gosunkugi. This will lock her permanently in one form, but it limits her life to mere seconds. The cure at last!” She brought the needle to Xian Pu’s neck.
“THWIPP!!” A whistling sound was heard as a leather whip wrapped around Kodachi’s hand. The bullwhip pulled taught and she went flying backwards. She landed on her butt and rolled back to her feet. “Who?”
“Meet my superiors.” Ranma smirked.
Kodachi turned to see a man with a bullwhip wearing a loose tan shirt and brown pants. A dog at his feet was growling at her. “All of the JCIA should be dead!” She shouted.
“Gomi Tamuro, at your service, or should I say putting you out of
service?” He smiled. The dog at his feet barked to back him up.
“How could you survive that blast?!”
She was really starting to lose her cool.
“It’s hard to kill a guy who teleports between trash piles. You blew up the place and turned it into a
giant trash pile. I managed to get
everyone to safety, and then teleport my wife and I to Ranma’s aide.”
“Your wife?”
Y a.k.a. Enjoji Yura tapped Kodachi on the shoulder. She had on a short white dress. “This is for my new desk!” She threw a haymaker that sent Kodachi
flying. The airborne Black Rose punched
through the side of one of the holding vats.
“Get them!” One of the thugs on
the floor shouted. The stream of
humanity started flowing up toward the other JCIA agents.
The ones holding Ranma loosened their grip in the chaos. He immediately faded from sight. All of the sudden, the gang members started
falling from the backs of their ranks.
Their clothes would shred and then they would slump over.
At the top of the stairs, Yura was tearing through them like they were
nothing. Of course when you have the
strength of a gorilla you tend to do things like that. Her husband and his dog were taking care of
any she failed to knock out.
In the midst of this chaos Xian Pu awoke. She saw Yura and a man she hadn’t seen before apparently
defending her and gangers clothes shredding on the floor. She realized quickly that Ranma was using
the Uma-Sen-Ken techniques to lay them low.
Half the crowed turned back and opened fire. The bullets made hundreds of divots in the concrete but struck no
blood. Xian Pu got unsteadily back to
her feet. She looked around and found
where she dropped the asps when she was gassed. The mob had almost beaten the two JCIA agents to her
position. She shook out the dizziness
and jumped into the fray. Flashes of
steel flared as she started laying waste to the sea of gangsters.
With Xian Pu’s intervention, the tide turned. The three of them managed to push back into Ranma’s line of
destruction. After half an hour, the
last man fell. The poor guy took a
punch from the gut from Ranma and Yura and an asp between the eyes from Xian
Pu. He left a nice man-shaped hole in
the wall.
“I’m going to get some police over here to pick up this mess.” Tamoru stated as he rolled up his whip and
teleported away, using all the ‘trashed’ people laying about.
“Shampoo still have business left!”
Xian Pu stalked over to where Kodachi was imbedded in the holding
tank. She pulled the Black Rose out by
her feet and then picked her up by her collar.
“Wake up! Shampoo want knock out
again!”
Ranma put a calming hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, Xian Pu.” He
said in Mandarin. “We can let the
authorities handle her from here. We’ve
got bigger fish to fry. We still need
to find Tarou and the Musk.”
Xian Pu calmed down at this.
“All right, but I still want to take a piece out of her hide for gassing
me like that.”
“Now you know how I’ve felt all those years.” He chuckled to himself.
Yura, in the meantime, had straightened out her dress and looked
around. “Hope all this doesn’t come out
of our paychecks.” She muttered.
At that point Kodachi’s head rolled to the side and she started
groaning.
Ranma smirked. “I knew it took
more than that to keep one of the NWC down for long.” He grabbed Kodachi by the neck and tilted her head up while Xian
Pu held her in place. “Okay, Miss
Eccentric, you’re going to tell me where Tarou and the Musk are, or I’m going
to get very ‘unpleasant’ on your ass.”
“I’ll be happy to tell you.”
She smiled an evil grin.
“Well that was easy.” Tamuro
commented.
“Much too easy.” Ranma
frowned. “What’s going on Kodachi? Where are they?”
She chuckled for a few seconds and then went into her full-blown
laughter. “By now it’s too late. They’re already on their way to the
conference by way of the Tendo Dojo.”
Something seemed to clench in Ranma’s chest. He grabbed Kodachi by the collar of her jacket and hauled her up
to his eye level. “What are they doing
at the dojo?” A light red aura started
surrounding him.
“Why nothing, Ranma-Sama…” She commented idly. “Just making an insurance run.”
Ranma hauled off and punched her in the face, knocking her out
instantly. “Tamuro! I need to get home fast!”
“What about the conference?”
Ranma’s superior asked.
Xian Pu thought for a second.
“The Japanese-Chinese trade conference?
Is that what you’re talking about?”
Yura nodded her head. “That
must have been their plan the whole time.
All this was just a distraction.
I bet the Musk are going to try and hold those officials and try to
force them to do whatever the Black Petunia here wanted.”
“They took out my boss to put their own ambassador in! Of course!”
A light went on in Xian Pu’s mind.
“They’ll force the officials at the trade conference to agree to
something and then have their puppet politicians agree to the demands!”
Ranma nodded his head. “That’s
all great, but I need to get to the DOJO!”
He clenched his fists as his aura leapt up, flaring red.
“Don’t worry, Ranma, we’re on our way.” Tamuro put a hand on Ranma and led him to the rubble of the
holding vat that Ranma had tried to hide behind earlier.
“I’m coming too!” Xian Pu leapt
over and took Ranma’s hand.
“The police should be here any minute.
Yura, you stay here and make sure Kodachi and Ryu don’t get away.” Tamuro commanded over his shoulder.
“What do I look like? A
babysitter? I could have sworn I was in
charge!”
“Just do it!” A flustered Tamuro shouted back.
“Okay, but hurry back! I want
to kick some ass at the conference!”
Tamuro nodded and turned to face the wreckage. In an instant, Ranma, Xian Pu, and he faded
from sight. Ranma tried to mentally
prepare himself for anything he might find at the place he used to call home.
To be concluded!