Juriaian Knight Prologue

[Hawk]

A lone figure stood on top of a low rise building near the
outskirts of Okayama's city limits. His raven hair was tied into a
pigtail which was whipping around from the nights strong wind.
The teen, no more than 16 years old, stood watching cars drive to
and fro on the busy road below him.

   People heading home. Something he didn't have at the
moment.

   In the distance a siren wailed and the young man hung
his head. A quiet sigh escaped his lips. It had been nearly five
months since the incident.

    It appeared that he would have another busy night ahead
of him. But he could quit, but he couldn't. He couldn't stop now.
If he did, all the deaths... all the lost friendships, all the pain he had
suffered. . . it would have all been for nothing. And he couldn't let
that happen.  

   He jumped from the roof and landed easily on the top
of a car driving in the direction of the sirens. Kneeling to steady
himself for the ride, Ranma Saotome, known to some as Ranko
Sakada, thousands others as the Juraian Knight, let himself be
carried into the inner city of Okayama.  

   This is how he got there.


Disclaimer: I own neither Ranma ½ or Tenchi Muyo, their
respective owners, Rumiko Takahashi and Masaki Kajishima
do. If I owned either of them, I wouldn't be writing this fic,
that's for sure!

The author would like to thank both Corwin and Iron Dragoon,
and to a lesser extent Kwok, for prereading this fic and making it a
hell of a lot better than it was before. Thanks guys!

   "A hero cannot be a hero unless in an heroic world."
Hawthorne, Journals

Juraian Knight
A Ranma ½/ Tenchi Muyo Crossover
By Hawk

Note: Here we go again. . .

Prologue - The Stage Is Set


   Ranma Saotome was your typical high school student.
Multiple fiancees. Incredible martial arts prowess. Rivals out
for his blood. The ability to leap from the roof of one building to
another. Yup, just your typical high school student.
   
   What brought about Ranma Saotome's ruin, you ask?
Most would think it was one of his errant rivals, bent on
destroying him. Some would think it would be a jealous
fiancees fault, her anger erupting at Ranma's lack of
attention.


   Unfortunately for Ranma, a single act of his own doing,
something that he believed to be the right thing, would cause him
more pain than any rival or fiancee had ever caused him before.

*********


   Carrying a bag of groceries home for Kasumi, the
main protagonist wasn't in the best of moods.

    "Man, Akane better have cooled down by now. Who
cares if I said a gorilla's butt was better looking than hers!"
He blushed as he remembered being caught staring
momentarily at Akane's posterior. "Feh, stupid tomboy."

   Kasumi had sent him out to pick up some things for
her, giving him a reason to avoid Akane's wrath and let her
calm down. Sighing to himself, he thanked Kasumi in his
head for saving him from an eventual beat down.

   Swinging the bag of groceries at his side, Ranma
whistled random notes, as if making up his own  song. He stopped
in the middle of a high note and blinked, looking about.

   The sound of a small scuffle had caught his ears.  

   Taking off in a sprint, Ranma came upon a scene of
violence and took it all in. Five men in strange uniforms, maybe an
organized crime syndicate of some sort, seemed to be assaulting
three other men.

   But who to help? Ranma growled in his throat at the
scene but wasn't sure who was attacking who. He assumed it was
the five men in uniforms because they outnumbered the others.
No group of thugs, especially organized, would attack a group larger
than theirs.

    'So that would mean the men in the uniforms are the
muggers, right?' Ranma thought to himself. 'But what type of thug
wears a uniform?' he reasoned.

   "What's going on here?" Ranma yelled, hoping for some clarity.

   The answer to who he should help and who he should
beat down was answered when one of the men in uniform pulled
out a gun shaped object, and started to turn towards him. Anyone
carrying a gun was bad news.

   In the blink of an eye, Ranma was on the gun wielder. He
landed in front of the man, grabbing his hand and slamming it into
the ground. The gun smashed on impact, as well as that mans
hand.

   As the man screamed, clutching his broken hand, Ranma
turned and faced another man, who was yelling in a foreign
language. The man started to draw his own gun but Ranma
swatted his hand aside. The gun went off, emitting a strange red
beam which scorched the cement ground.

   'What the hell was that?,' Ranma thought frantically as he
punched the man across the face. 'I've never heard of a gun that
fires lasers before!'

   The man dropped to his knees and covered his nose.
Ranma swiftly dodged around a staff, the end of which crackled
with electricity.

   Ranma had no doubt in his mind that the men in uniforms
were the criminals now. 'What kinda weapons are these! It's like
they're from the future or something,' he figured, as he ducked
under a swing of the staff.

   Grabbing the staff, Ranma pulled it out of the mans hands.
He flipped it over so the electric end pointed at the man who had
just been holding it and jammed it into his chest. The man quickly
dropped to his knees, then side, and clutched at his burnt chest.

   Twirling the staff around, Ranma brought it down on the
fourth uniformed mans hand. The man dropped his gun, and pulled
his hand toward his body, cradling it for a second.

   At the same time, the fifth uniformed man was grappling
with one of the three people Ranma was trying to protect.
Fortunately for Ranma, the man fighting on his side was massive in
size and could apparently hold his own.

   Spinning the staff around more, Ranma smacked the
outside of the fourth man's knee. He brought the staff up and hit
the man across the side of his face. The fourth man spun around,
and Ranma jammed the electric end of the staff into his back. The
man slammed face first into a nearby wall, knocked unconscious.

   Turning to the last man, Ranma flinched as a red beam
stuck the staff, breaking it in two. Cursing angrily under his breath,
he raised his hands in surrender as the last man pointed his gun at
him. Ranma looked at the three men he had been defending, noting
they had their hands up as well.

   "Alright, what do you want? You want our money or
something?" Ranma asked.

    The man jabbed his gun toward Ranma and began
rambling off in a language Ranma had never heard before. The
man continued to yell, gesturing toward the three men with his gun
for a brief second, but not long enough for Ranma to make a
move.

   "I don't understand what you're saying!" Ranma
exclaimed, annoyed.

   Ranma sensed one of the three men start to move. The
fifth uniformed man turned his aim toward the three men and the largest
of the three men jumped at him. The larger man grabbed the other mans
wrist, lifting his arm upward, a shot of red flying skyward.
   
   Ranma struck. His foot lashed out in a quick snap kick,
hitting the mans hand. The gun flew out of the mans hand a
moment before Ranma's other foot slammed into his jaw. The man
fell onto his back, out cold.

   "You guys ok?" Ranma asked, turning to the men. "You
know what's up with these guys? Where they're from, or what's
up with these guns?" He punctuated his hatred of guns by stepping
on one of the discarded guns, crushing it.

   "We're not so sure ourselves who these men are, but
thank you very much," the man of average height said with a bow.
"My comrades and I are scientists on our way to a nearby
convention to display our newest invention. I believe these men
were trying to steal it from us." The man patted a metal suitcase.

   "Eh, it was no problem. I'm just glad I could help," Ranma
said with a dismissive wave of the hand.

   "What's your name?" the man asked.
   
   "Ranma Saotome of the Anything Goes School of Martial
Arts," he announced proudly.

   "Musou Kibagabi." They shook hands. "These are my
partners, Kahji Maeda," Musou indicated toward the short portly
man, "and this is our bodyguard Takenda Shido," he concluded,
pointing at the massive man behind him.

   "Yeah, apparently," Ranma said eyeing Takenda with a
little more caution.

   They both bowed to Ranma. "Pleased to meet you."

   "Because you saved us, the only way I can think of
repaying you is to name our invention after you. Does that sound
like a good reward?" Musou asked while holding the metal
suitcase against his chest.

   "Uh. . . you don't have to do that," Ranma said slowly.

   "I insist!"

   "Err. . . name it Akane! Yeah!" Ranma exclaimed with a
grin.

   "Uh. . . ok. . . if you want," Musou said and smiled.

   "You guys should tie these guys up or something. Call
the police too, cause I gotta get going! I'm running way late!
Cya!" With a simple wave, Ranma leapt to the roof of one of the
buildings he was between and took off running toward the Tendo
household. 'Man, Akane can't be mad at me after I tell her I got
something named after her!' he thought as he roof jumped.
                        
   Back in the alley, Musou stared at where Ranma had
disappeared over the roof. "You know how we've been looking
for a test subject?" he stated coldly.

   "Yeah?"

   "I think we may have just found it. Kahji, follow this
Ranma and find out where he lives. Takenda and I will clean up
this mess."

   With a nod, Kahji made a simple leap into the air and onto
the same roof Ranma had jumped to. He immediately took off
running.

   Musou reached down and picked up one of the fallen
guns. He looked at it briefly and pointed it at one of the conscious,
yet defeated men.


Next Time: Chapter 1 - A Cruel Thanks
Muso, Takenda and Kahji make a visit to the Tendo household.

   
A/N: Once more into the breach! All comments, flames, what not
please send to hawk49er@comcast.net and if you're going to
flame me, at least write a review that isn't just insulting, but gives
critical information on what's wrong with the fic.

http://www.geocities.com/furikuri83/index.html

[Hawk]

One Week Later:

   Three men stopped in front of the Tendo front gate, the
smallest holding a metal suitcase.

   "This is the place?" The largest muttered. "What a dump.
Looks like it's about to collapse."

   "Yup, this is the place. I followed him here."

   "Well then . . . lets try out the 'Akane', shall we?" the one
of medium stature stated while opening the front gate, the other
two following close behind him.



Disclaimer: I own neither Ranma ½ or Tenchi Muyo, their
respective owners, Rumiko Takahashi and Masaki Kajishima
do. If I owned either of them, I wouldn't be writing this fic,
that's for sure!

The author would like to thank both Corwin and Iron Dragoon,
and to a lesser extent Kwok, for prereading this fic and making it a
hell of a lot better than it was before. Thanks guys!

   "At times the world can seem like an unfriendly and
sinister place, but believe us when we say that there is much more
good in it than bad... and what might seem like a series of
unfortunate events might, in fact, be the first steps of a journey."
- Lemon Snickets A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Juraian Knight
A Ranma ½/ Tenchi Muyo Crossover
By Hawk

Chapter 1 - The Cruel Thanks


   "Raaanmaaaaa!" There was a loud 'thud' from the
upstairs before Akane came storming down and took a seat on
the living room couch. She crossed her arms and huffed.

   Nabiki was out for the night, Kasumi was cooking dinner,
while Genma and Soun were cheating at Shogi. Ranma was freshly
pounded into his bedroom floor.

   Soun raised his head as the doorbell rang and Genma
swiftly rearranged the Shogi board pieces. When he looked down
at the board, he slapped his forehead, realizing that he had cheated
in Soun's favor.

   "Kasumi, can you get that please?" Soun asked before
looking down at the shogi board and grinned. "I've got you now,
Saotome!"

   Genma frowned as Kasumi opened the door.

   The man at the door bowed, asking, "Is Ranma Saotome
in?"

   "Oh my, yes he is!" Kasumi bowed back to the man.
"Please come in, is he expecting you?"

   Musou shook his head, saying, "No," as he, Kahji and
Takenda entered the house, Kahji carrying a suitcase.

   "Who's at the door, Kasumi-chan?" Soun asked from
where he sat, wondering how he got such an advantage in the
game. He couldn't remember cheating, moving the pieces into the
positions they were in.

   "Someone for Ranma-kun," she replied, and glanced at
Takenda. "Are you here to challenge the dojo?"

   Akane stood up and moved to get a better look at the
visitors. "Feh, knowing Ranma this is only going to lead to a whole
mess of problems."

   "You have no idea. . ." Kahji muttered.

   Akane looked at Kahji suspiciously, having overheard the
comment. She opened her mouth and was about to speak when
someone butted in.

   "What's goin' on?" Ranma asked from the top of the
stairs. "Hey! You're . . uh . . ."

   "Musou."

   "Yeah! Musou! And Kahji and Takada!" Ranma
exclaimed as he trotted down the stairs.

   "Takenda."

   "Uh, yeah. What're you guys doing here? How'd you
know where I live?" Ranma asked, shoving his hands into his
pockets, and standing beside Akane.

   "We have our ways," Musou replied, as Kahji set down
the suitcase.

   "So, uh, what're you guys up to?" Ranma asked again.

   "Who are these guys, Ranma?" Akane asked, eyeing them
all suspiciously.

   "This is Musou, Kahji and Takenda." Ranma pointed to
each as he said their names.

   The three bowed.

   Kahji knelt down and opened the suitcase.

   "We've come to show you the 'Akane', which you helped
save," Musou explained cooly.

   Everyone blinked and looked at Ranma. He had been
telling the truth about, as he put it, 'saving some science guys and
their invention and got it named after Akane'. Because Ranma had
been so late in returning with the groceries, Akane had taken it
upon herself to try and make something from scratch. The kitchen
still had burns on the walls and still smelled like dry dog food.
Kasumi had taken the liberty to wash the kitchen five times and
still couldn't get rid of the smell.

   "You mean you weren't making that up?" Akane asked,
feeling slightly put off. She had hit him when he had returned that
night and told the story.

   "I told you I wasn't!" Ranma retorted smugly, crossing his
arms over his chest.

   "Hmm. . . is something cooking? It smells great!" Kahji
exclaimed as he sniffed in the direction of the kitchen.

   The residents of the Tendo home gave him an odd look.
Akane grinned.

   "At least someone can appreciate good cooking," she
said.

   Ranma made a face and a strangled sound, before being
smacked upside the head by Akane, Genma and Soun.

   Kahji in the mean time was hurriedly piecing together the
invention, as if it were made of building blocks. Pieces locked into
place, forming the 'Akane'. It was then picked up and pointed at
Ranma.

   "Is that a gun?" a couple voices asked at once.

   "Yes," Musou replied as he and Takenda pulled out two
smaller looking guns.

   Genma and Soun started to move but a spray of green
spewed from the tips of the guns. Genma and Soun both
collapsed, Genma dying instantly and Soun left laying on the floor,
bleeding to death.

   "Oh my God!"

   "What the hell are you doing!" Ranma screamed in panic.

   The 'Akane' remained pointed at Ranma, who didn't
move. Akane and Kasumi dropped to their knees and crawled
over to Soun.

   Musou and Takenda trained their guns to the two girls.

   "I'm sorry, Ranma, I really, really am," Masou said with a
condescending smirk. "But, we needed a test subject to make sure
our 'product' works. To get our potential buyers interested, you
know?"
   
      "Why me?"

   "What better person to test a weapon on than the person
who beat five Galaxy Police officers by himself?"

   Ranma mouthed the words, 'Galaxy Police' with a look of
confusion and apprehension on his face. "But why? I helped you! I
saved you!"

   "And we're grateful for that, we really are," he replied with
a smug grin. "But we're even more grateful that you've been kind
enough to 'volunteer' to be our test subject," Masou continued, the
grin becoming a viciously gleeful smirk.

   A low humming noise began emitting from the 'Akane',
letting everyone know that it was powering up.

   "Damn you!" Ranma growled, clenching his fists.
               
   "You move . . . " Musou left the threat hanging, keeping
his gun trained on Akane.

   Soun was dead, and Kasumi was crying, cradling his
head gently in her arms. Blood continued to pour from his lifeless
body.

   "You bastards!" Ranma spat.

   "Thanks for the help, Ranma Saotome," Musou said with
a smile.

   There was a bright flash, a crackle of electricity. Ranma
yelled out in pain as he felt his side torn open. The world was a
blinding white and he could vaguely hear Akane and Kasumi
shouting. He clutched blindly at his side, where the pain seared,
and felt a thick liquid rush over his hand.

   Had Ranma not been in such excruciating anguish, he
would've found it ironic that a gun named 'Akane' had hurt him so
badly. Instead he blacked out, hearing Akane scream one last time
and the sound of Kahji laughing hoarsely.

*********

   With a weak groan, Ranma's eyes fluttered open. They
slammed shut as the intense light filtered through his pupils. His

fingers were sticky, soaked in something wet and dry. 'Blood,' his
mind told him. He licked his dry lips and winced in pain. Opening
his eyes again, slowly this time, Ranma's eyes looked at everything
they could as he lay on his back.

   His father and Mr. Tendo were dead, he knew that, but he
wasn't sure about Akane and Kasumi. 'How long have I been
out,' he wondered. How long had the three stayed in the house?
Had Nabiki returned while they were still there? Maybe Nabiki
had returned, saw everyone and ran out of the house.
   
   "Akane?" he called out weakly. "Kasumi? Akane? Are
you alright?"

   Rolling his head to look to his left, Ranma's eyes met with
Kasumi's lifeless stare. Her eyes never wavered as they looked
into his and breath never escaped her bloody lips.

   He closed his eyes and swore profusely in his head, tears
escaping from his shut eyelids. His brain began pounding loudly in
his head and he tried not to think about looking for Akane.

   "Akane? Where are you, you stupid tomboy?" He
chuckled without humor, his eyes welling up with tears. "Akane?"

   He heard the front door open and prayed it wasn't Musou
again; prayed that it was Akane, the police, someone.

   "I'm ho-oh my go-wh-wh-what-I," he heard Nabiki
mutter senselessly. She couldn't seem to form an entire sentence,
let alone a word.

   "Nabiki?" he tried to shout, but instead it came out as a
whisper. "Nabiki! Help me!"

   There was no immediate response from Nabiki and
Ranma was worried that she would be of no help.

   "Ra-Ranma?"

   His eyes opened again and he tried to find Nabiki.
"Akane? Is she. . .?"

   Once again, Nabiki didn't respond and he took that as her
answer. Ranma was split in two: One half wanted to just give up
and die.  The other told him to live. He had to live, for Nabiki, for
his mom.  The anger built up in him and he felt fresh blood start to
ooze from his wound again. He was mad at Musou, Kahji, and
Takenda. They had betrayed him and his trust, murdered his
father, his fiancee and those he considered family.

   But he was also mad at himself. He had helped them
escape. He had helped them, and in a sense, helped them kill the
ones he loved. He was partially to blame. He wanted to scream.
He wanted to cry. Wanted to die. Wanted revenge!

   "Nabiki! God damnit, snap outta it!" Ranma screamed
then groaned in pain, hand pressing against his open wound.

   "But, I just-" Nabiki stuttered before Ranma cut in.

   "Call Dr. Tofu! Call him now!"

   He heard Nabiki push herself to her feet. "Police," she
muttered, "I'm gonna call the police."

   "NO!" Ranma exclaimed, he throat sore and burning. "Dr.
Tofu! Only Dr. Tofu! If the- if the police get involved, we'll be . . .
we won't be safe . . . ."

   "But . . .?" he could hear the apprehension in her voice.

   "Nabiki, please! Trust me!" Ranma began coughing.
"Please, I'll explain . . . explain late . . . later." And once again,
the world around him went dark.

*********

   Ranma grinned as Akane smiled at him. It had been a
good day so far. Akane had cooked them a delicious breakfast
and then the two had gone on a morning jog. The sun, newly risen,
greeted them warmly as they jogged to the park. They had sat
down and watched as moms and dads brought their children to
run around. The two glanced at one another through the corners of
their eyes and blushed.

   Snaking his hand out, Ranma grabbed Akane's and gave it
a squeeze. He turned to look at her again and watched in horror
as Akane's body began crumpling, turning into dust. He screamed
and grabbed at Akane's falling pieces.

   He wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace and
felt her body explode, the ashes being blown away. Ranma
opened his hands and watched as the dust in them was swept
away by the wind.

   "Your fault . . ." Akane's voice whispered and he
screamed again.

*********

   He screamed and grabbed for his side but was stopped.
Hands grabbed his wrists and pinned them down.

   "Don't move! Don't touch it! I just finished sewing it up!"

   "Dr. Tofu?" Ranma muttered tiredly.

   "Yes, it's me, Ranma," Dr. Tofu replied, releasing his hold
on Ranma's wrists. "What happened here?"

   "What time is it?" Ranma asked, swallowing a feeling the
dryness in his throat.

   A glass was pressed against his lips and water slid down
his throat. He breathed a sigh of relief.

   "What happened here, Ranma?" Dr. Tofu asked again.

   "Three guys . . . Musou, Kahji and Takenda . . . killed
everyone . . ." Ranma explained. "Shot with weird . . . guns . . .
something outta a scfi-anime or something." He forced himself to
sit up. "Said they wanted to test their 'product'."

   "Don't rush yourself, Ranma," Dr. Tofu stated, trying to
push him back down.

   "I'm fine," Ranma replied, waving off the concern. He
opened his eyes wide and then shut them. "I'll be fine once the
world stops spinning."

   "Explain, Ranma . . ." he heard Nabiki say. "Why can't I
call the police?"

   "Because I want to face them by myself . . . I don't
want the police stopping me . . ."

   "And you're in no shape to be fighting anyone," Dr. Tofu
added.

   "Not only that," Nabiki sighed, acknowledging Dr. Tofu
had a point,  "but you don't even know where to start looking.
You don't know anything about these guys, besides their names. .
. ." Nabiki narrowed her eyes, 'How does Ranma know their
names,' she thought suspiciously.

   "But that still doesn't explain why I you told Nabiki not to
call the police," Dr. Tofu said.

   "The police won't be any help! Have they ever stopped to
try and help out when some psycho like Taro or Happosai are
running around? No! They just sit on their asses doing nothing!
They'd only manage to," Ranma started coughing, covering his
side with one hand, and shielding his mouth with the other. He
looked at the palm of his hand, noticing a few specks of blood,
and took a breath. "They're only manage to get in the way. Make
things worse."

   Nabiki and Dr. Tofu looked at one another, silently
acknowledging that the cops would be of little, to no use in this
instance. If these three had managed to take down Ranma, the
cops would have pretty much no chance.

   "What time is it?" Ranma asked again.

   "It's 2 A.M." Nabiki replied sullenly.

   Ranma swallowed. "We need to get out of here. I have to
find them . . . make them pay."

   "I don't know, Ranma, I still think you should go to the
police. I'm sure they could help somehow. . . ." Dr. Tofu said,
though he clearly didn't sound too confident in his argument.

   "No . . . I want to do this on my own."

   "I don't get this. . . why would they do this? Who were
they? How do you know their names?" Dr. Tofu asked, feeling
utterly lost and powerless.

   Ranma swallowed, opening his eyes and stared at the
ceiling. "They. . ." he stopped, and to Nabiki and Dr. Tofu it
looked as if he were trying to remember. This was not true,
Ranma new clearly why everything happened the way it did, but
he didn't want them to know, so he was, in his mind, asking for
forgiveness. "They knew my dad and yours. . . .," he lied. "They
were old friends, apparently."

   "Our fathers. . . ?" Nabiki muttered, wide eyed in
disbelief. "Our fathers fault?"

   They all went silent, lost in their own thoughts.

   "I'm still not so sure you should run away from this,
Ranma," Dr. Tofu said, "The cops-"
   
   "I'M NOT RUNNING AWAY! THEY KILLED
AKANE!" he screamed, eyes slamming shut.  

   As Nabiki watched Ranma, her insides twisted. She
almost wanted to lash out and blame him for everything, but she
couldn't. She couldn't bring herself to blame her father or his for
what happened. She could only blame the men who had killed her
family. It was clear by how much Ranma was hurting that he
wasn't to blame. No, the only ones who she could lash out at
were the three: Musou, Kahji, and Takenda.

   "I know they did, Ranma but-" Dr. Tofu started.

   "They KILLED Kasumi!" Ranma stated forcefully.

   Dr. Tofu hung his head.

   "And they woulda killed Nabiki had she been here. And
then I would have died as well."

   Dr. Tofu and Nabiki were silent, so Ranma continued.

   "I've been given a chance . . . to get back at them for
doing this . . .  I can't just sit back and do nothing!" he explained
angrily and thought, 'And a chance to redeem myself, for playing a
part in causing Akane's death.'

   He clenched his fists and forced himself not to cry or look
at where Akane lay. It took all of his willpower not to. He closed
his eyes and took a deep breath.

   "How do you intend to find them?" Dr. Tofu asked.

   "I don't know," Ranma replied tiredly.
   
   There was a moment of silence.

   "There's . . . um . . . there's something in . . . Akane's . . .
hand," Nabiki muttered, staring at Akane's outstretched hand,
from where she sat on the floor, cradling her fathers head on her
lap.

   Ranma and Dr. Tofu turned to look, the former realizing
his mistake too late. He felt the bile in his stomach rise into his
throat, like a massive wad of anger, depression, and sorrow. He
bent over and threw up.

   The sight of Akane's lifeless, bloodied, corpse made him  
feel ill. He clutched at his stomach, bending over and throwing up
again. He felt Dr. Tofu pat him on the back before rubbing the
back of his neck. His blood ran cold and his head felt hot. The
world around him spun and he felt dizzy.

   He began dry heaving, his breath scraping over his
parched throat. He was handed a cup and downed its contents in
one quick gulp. Clutching at Dr. Tofu's collar, he tried to steady
himself.

   His body pitched forward and the world around him went
black.

*********

   Voices faded in through the cloudy dark veil of his mind,
blurred and soft.

   "Should we tell Ranma . . . wallet?"

   "I don't know if we . . . ell him."

   "If we tell him, he'll want . . . after them."

   "I'd shed no tears."

   And then the veil closed and his consciousness was lost
again.

*********

   Ranma awoke on a hard cold table. His eyes warily
opened, drained of strength. Yawning, he stretched and closed his
eyes.

   Akane's lifeless face stared back at him.

   His eyes snapped open and he stared blankly at the ceiling
above him. He took a deep, ragged, breath. She was dead; gone
forever and it was his fault. Everyone was dead because of him. It
felt like Ryouga had drop all of his depression on his shoulders,
weighing him down like a truck load of bricks. He felt like his
insides were falling out of his back.
   
   "My fault . . ." Ranma mumbled to himself, eyes beginning
to water. "All my fault, and I told them it wasn't. . ."

   Ranma rolled off the table, slowly lowering his feet to the

floor, feeling the cold of the tiles seep through his body. His feet
made a smacking noise as he walked out of  Dr. Tofu's
examination room.

   He entered the waiting room where Nabiki and Dr. Tofu
sat in silence, cups of tea in their hands. They glanced up for a
moment, Dr. Tofu rising from his chair, and Nabiki staring blankly,
red-eyed, at the wall across from her.

   "Ranma, how're you feeling?" Dr. Tofu asked, walking
over to the teen. He placed his hand on Ranma's shoulder.

   Ranma look at Dr. Tofu and blinked tiredly, his eyes
blood shot. "I feel sick."

   "Sit down, drink some tea," Dr. Tofu replied, guiding
Ranma over to sit beside Nabiki. He poured Ranma a cup of tea
and handed it to him, before squeezing Ranma's shoulder
comfortingly.

   Ranma took a small sip. "What was in Akane's," he
winced as he said her name, "hand?"

   Dr. Tofu and Nabiki shared a brief glance.

   "Was it a wallet?" Ranma asked, "I heard you talking
about a wallet."

   Dr. Tofu remained silent, and Ranma glanced at Nabiki.
She looked at him through the corner of her eye. Her gaze turned
to the coffee table in front of them and Ranma finally noticed a
black leather wallet lying placidly in front of him.

   Ranma reached out tentatively, picking up the wallet. It
flipped open on its own and Ranma began rooting through it.
Upon further inspection he found there was no licence or any form
of ID. Some cash, and a business card which stated 'Okayama
Cleaning' boldly on the front, an address of 125 Yoshiokadora
Street, but no phone number.

   Ranma glared with a fierce determination  at the card in his hand.

   "You're going to go after them, aren't you," Dr. Tofu said
hesitantly.

   "Yeah," Ranma said, "And if I go to this place, I'll run into
them eventually."

   "It's not going to be that easy, Ranma."

   The two men turned to look at Nabiki.

   "What kinda cleaning place has business cards like that?"
she asked coldly.

   "Er . . ." was Ranma's replied.

   "It's gotta be Yakuza run. You said so yourself that . . .
Musou and whoever were testing their product. They're probably
planning on selling it on the black market. Who else would they
sell it to? If it were to the military, they wouldn't bother testing it
on you Ranma.

   "It makes sense, Ranma.," Dr. Tofu said, nodding.

   Ranma clenched his fists. "I don't care. I'm going to
Okayama, and finding them, Yakuza or not."

   "That's suicide, Ranma!" Dr. Tofu exclaimed, "Especially
if the Yakuza are involved."
   
   Ranma looked at Nabiki, awaiting her response. She
closed her eyes and sighed. Her face hardened as she opened
them and stared at Ranma, her eyes burning with hate for those
responsible. "I want them dead as much as you do. I want you to
hunt them down and . . . and destroy them. Kill them."

   Ranma clutched the business card tighter in his fist,
crumpling it accidently. He had made up his mind. He wanted the
same thing Nabiki did.

   "I need to leave now. Get out of Nerima fast, without
anyone knowing," Ranma said, standing up slowly, his side aching.

   "I'm coming with you," Nabiki stated, standing as well.

   "Oh no you're not! I can't risk having you following me
around," Ranma argued. "It's too dangerous."

   "Akane may have been your fiancee, but she was my
sister! And so was Kasumi," Dr. Tofu flinched, "And what about
my dad! They're all dead because of these men! I have every right
and more to go to Okayama than you do!"

   Ranma and Nabiki glared at one another. "You'll only get
into trouble."

   "I can help you! I'm not some weak little girl, you know!
You may have muscle, Ranma, but you're lacking in two things!
Brains and money, and I've got both." Nabiki crossed her arms
over her chest.

   "I don't want you getting hurt," Ranma replied softly.

   "I won't . . . you can do all the fighting. I'll help you from
behind the scenes," she explained, looking at Ranma with hurting
eyes.

   Ranma was silent for a moment. "You won't try to get
involved in my fights?"

   Nabiki shook her head. "You need me, Ranma."

   She was right; he did need her.

   "So what're you going to do?" Dr. Tofu asked with
obvious resignation in his voice.

   "We're going to Okayama," was the reply, the words
echoing like a judgement of fate, signaling the start of what would
soon be a very long journey.

Next Time: Chapter 2 - A Fresh Start
Ranma and Nabiki head to Okayama where at a certain shrine
they're both given a fresh start.

   
A/N: This chapter is a lot shorter than my usual chapters which are
around 40 some odd pages. This chapter is only 14. I'm fairly sure
Chapter 2 will be longer than this one. All comments, flames, what
not please send to hawk49er@comcast.net and if you're going to
flame me, at least write a review that isn't just insulting, but gives
critical information on what's wrong with the fic.  

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