Ranma 1/2

Disclaimer: I don’t own Ranma, Rumiko Takahashi does. I just borrowed some of the characters. Rated: NC-17

Shades of Home

Chapter 23

The George team was sitting around a meeting table listening to Steven read a laundry list of disasters, big and small. It was kind of depressing although it could have been much worse as Steven was quick to point out. The list included: Ryouga is lost, Ranma got drunk and changed right out in public

“At least no one died. Shuba will be missing from our group until Ryouga is found. He’s set up his quarters over at Cen. Ops until further notice. It’s a good time for him to get more experience with that end of his job. And tracing Ryouga is going to take him and one of our better operatives some time”

At this statement Leela let out a soft sob, but managed not to break down. She still cried sometimes; although she tried not to.

The last week had been hard on everyone; Ranma getting hurt and almost bleeding to death and Ryouga getting lost; then, trying for a happy time brought Ranma to get drunk and change into Ranko in public. What a mess.

Kuno got pompous, “Ryouga being lost is unfortunate but not unexpected, that is not the disaster it could be. However, as to the other. Ranma, one would think that you of all people would not drink to excess. Your well known dislike of being out of control . . . ”

“Piss off, Kuno! Steven’s already had a piece a’ my ass. You can’t have another. I screwed up. We can’t fix it. Move on!”

Since everyone had already had a jab at Ranma he wasn’t putting up with any more, he could only apologize so many times before his patience gave out.

“So I got drunk and changed in public. It’s not that bad, I said.”

Danny stuck his two cents’ in. “No, not that bad. But I’d have given anything to have seen ya strippin’. Ranko has quite a rack after all, and I heard one a’ the guys had t’ wrap ya in a jacket and throw ya over his shoulder.”

Ranma’s head came up and his eyes widened. “I what? I was . . . s-s-s-strippin’ . . . Danny, “ Ranma gulped and turned white as a sheet. “How far . . . I . . . well its not as if . . . “ Ranma wasn’t too worried about being naked, he’d never been able to convince himself that it was different when he was in his girl form. He was a guy, period. But somehow stripping was different, he couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but it was. Ranma thumped his head on the table. He’d thought he’d only changed, but with the stripping no wonder he’d attracted more attention than Steven liked.

“Yes, stripping. And attracting quite a bit of unwelcome attention.” Steven looked grim for a minute, then shrugged. “I’ll admit I’m sorry I missed it. However, it’s the attention I’m worried about. It’s your body and you can do what you want with it; within reason that is.”

Steven cleared his throat. “If I could continue. We have several sightings of Ryouga. He’s deep in Central China. I knew letting him leave Japan was a mistake but he went with his team and that’s where their insertion point was.” Steven mumbled, “If only he hadn’t lost his gear.”

Ranma interrupted. “If only I had been born rich and handsome. We can ‘if only’ till doomsday and it won’t fix this. We need to figure out a way t’ stop this happening again. And not just to Ryu. Didn’t ya say we lost a guy because Med. Evac didn’t find him in time?”

Steven nodded and went on with his briefing.

“Ryouga’s headed for Nepal near as we can tell. That’s where Dorie is. She has gone after him She’s at least four days behind him but she has to ask around so it’s hard to keep up. He travels fast.”

“If only he hadn’t lost his GPS and phone at once. We can’t track him electronically.”

Ranma took his cell phone out of his pocket and put it on the table.

“Ya can find that phone fine, but if it’s not in my hand ya can’t find me. We need a way t’ find our people, not just their gear. That’s the problem, we need something that’s harder to lose.”

Steven rubbed his face; he looked tired and worried.

“What do you suggest? I’m out of ideas. You’re right, we lost a good man because we couldn’t find him, both he and Ryu lost their phones. It’s a real problem.”

Ranma wandered around the room. First perched on the end of the table, then in a corner, back to his chair, around and around.

All the others thought too. Finally Kuno snarled, “Ranma! Sit still! I almost had something but you distracted me . . . again.”

“Sorry . . . Sorry . . . but I can’t think and be still like you. I’ve got something, but I can’t make sense of it . . . Danny you were telling me about something the other day. About a car. But for the life a’ me I can’t think why that would stick in my head.”

“I was telling you about how they low jack cars so when they get stolen . . . ”

Kuno interrupted; “You can’t low jack a person. Not like a car, but there is a thing they put on criminals to put them on house arrest . . . ”

Leela burst out, “Ryu isn’t a criminal! What are you all babbling about?”

Everyone else started to talk at once.

Ranma shouted then all down. “Shut up! Shut up! That’s it . . . sorta’ . . . We need Perkins in here.”

Steven pressed the buzzer on the table and a strange woman came in the door. Everybody looked at her but Ranma reacted oddly.

“Who’s that?” He looked almost fierce.

“That’s Stella. She’s Dorris’s fill-in. She’ll be here until Dorie finds Ryouga. She’s ok.”

Steven didn’t seem bothered by Ranma’s reaction, but everyone else wondered what was going on.

“Please tell Mr. Perkins that he is wanted in the meeting room. Oh, Stella, bring tea will you?”

Mr. Perkins brought the tea in himself. He looked around the room, served tea and finally just sat down and waited.

Ranma took over the whole thing without thinking and Steven didn’t try to stop him. He was proudly watching a future commander take care of his people.

“Mr. Perkins, we need a way t’ keep track a’ our people. We’ve lost Ryouga,” At Mr. Perkins’ distressed look he hurried to say. “He’s not dead! He’s lost lost. Headed for Nepal or Tebet, last we heard. He’s not called The Eternal Lost Boy for nothing. He did fairly well, staying here at the compound, with his GPS and Phone, even found his way around Nerima, but he lost them both and now he’s gone.”

“We need something smaller that we can wear. Danny you tell him.” So Danny told Perkins about low jacking a car and then Kuno explained his idea with the house arrest tracker. Perkins sat so still while they talked that Ranma was just getting ready to get sharp with him for not paying attention when he nodded

“I see. Low-jack a person. Hhhmmm! It can be done. The tracking device used in the ankle bracelets for house arrest are bulky and low powered but they use repeater stations connected to phones. Low jacks work off the battery in the vehicle we’d . . . but you aren’t interested in the detail’s just results. We need to keep it small.” Mr. Perkins mumbled off staring into space.

Leela spoke up, Miss Fashion Conscious; “It can’t be some ugly plastic thingy. It’s got to be nice, or no one will use it. They’ll forget it, or just refuse to wear it. Maybe we could have a bracelet or a watch or something like that. Something that people will want to wear, or wear because it has another function.”

“Yeah, I need a watch. Somethin’ really sturdy, maybe machined out a’ one block of steel or titanium. I break every watch I get hold of. Training like we do, whatever it is had better be able to withstand a pretty heavy impact.” Ranma looked around “Well, anyone have a better idea! I already have a bracelet and don’t need another. Girls could wear a bracelet.”

Kuno pulled his watch off, tossed it to Mr. Perkins and let him look it over. It was one of a kind machined out of solid titanium with a four-segment band and heavy fastener a tri-fold clip style. It was huge with three different stems and a face plate that covered the face with piercing for the dials. It was an old-fashioned winder. “It was grandfathers’. You can use it as a model; take the works out and put in all digital with a digital light up face and it’s got plenty of room for a big battery and the other components. At least I think so”

“I’d hate to ruin a family heirloom by gutting it but I can use it for a model all right. It’s fancy enough to wear to a party but it’ll stand up to lots of abuse. I can have them done by next week. You can beta them, then we can go into production.”

Ranma took some questions, mostly about what the girls would get, and told Leela since she was worried she should go with Mr. Perkins and design something herself. She left with Mr. Perkins and the rest wandered out or stayed to drink tea and gossip.

Ranma left, headed for the exercise field in search of some of his secondary team just to check up on them. He didn’t make it. He ran into Tendo Nabiki.

“Hey Saotome-san! Wait up! I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” Nabiki ran to catch up with Ranma who was going in the opposite direction.

Ranma turned around and waited for her to catch him up. “Hey yourself, whacha doin’ here? Lost? I can help ya find where ya need t’ go.”

“No. I found what I need. I need to talk to you. Steven Campbell sent word for me to keep my ear to the ground for word of anyone buying Magical objects. Better yet, anyone stealing them. I’ve dropped my report off at his office and his aid said to give you a copy. So here it is.”

Ranma took the folder, looked at it, then led Nabiki to the Mess Hall, where he got her some coffee and a pastry. He sat down by her; careful to put his back to a wall and stuck his nose in the report.

It wasn’t good. Someone was looking for a magical bracelet/necklace which turned a man into a woman or vice versa. The buyer wasn’t sure. A description of the happenings at the bar followed. The buyer wanted any information pertaining to the question of magical jewelry described above. The price made Ranma blink.

“Ya haven’t taken him up on this? Why not?”

Nabiki looked at Ranma for a minute, then said, “I don’t do business with that sort of person, no matter how broke we are. I’ll admit that it’s really tempting, but I’d rather not take the chance of being turned into a toad, or something even nastier. All I know about the buyer is, it’s a witch of some sort.”

“What do ya mean, no matter how broke . . . what’s wrong? Nabiki talk t’ me.” Ranma felt guilty, he knew he and Genma had cost the Tendo’s a lot of money. Their habit of destroying the house and dojo had to have been expensive, but surely they had insurance. He said as much.

“They cancelled it after the eight or ninth time you or one of your crazy opponents destroyed half the place. We have a third mortgage and I can’t earn enough to pay the payments, and keep up everything else, and buy groceries. Akane still needs money for school and so do I. When it comes to grocery shopping, Kasumi can squeeze a yen til it screams for mercy, but it’s still not enough. If Daddy would only get himself together and teach. But all he does anymore is sit around and cry. He misses your Pop. Oh, by the way, here . . . I found it in his room under the floor boards after he left that last time. It’s all there. No matter how tempting it is, I don’t steal.” She handed Ranma an envelope with a wad of cash in it.

Ranma took the envelope, opened it and found twenty thousand dollars American and his contract in it.

“Ya look in this? Read the papers?”

“No I didn’t! I have a suspicion what’s in there and I’m scared to look. I know I’m greedy as hell. It’s the only way to keep the family going but I draw the line at that sort of thing. Why?”

Nabiki knew everyone thought she was just a mercenary bitch, but how else was she to keep the family home out of foreclosure? She was too young to have a regular job, this information business was lucrative without taking away from school, so she stuck it out as best she could and hoped that the Department 13 people would throw more her way as she got older.

“Read it! I’m reading this report; which is very informative by the way.” Ranma knew that the Tendo’s had never been told anything more than the bare bones of what happened.

Nabiki started to read, but they were both interrupted by a newbie who thought he would prove how tough he was by picking on the ‘little George’.

“Hey! I like the jewelry. Sissy guys wear jewelry. Why don’t you come outside and give me a go?” The man took hold of Ranma’s wrist and started handling the bracelet

“Don’t touche me.” Ranma pulled his wrist out of the man’s grasp and turned back to his report.

“Damn, don’t be so stuck up, ya little chicken shit.” The moron grabbed Ranma again.

Nabiki got cold chills; Ranma looked at the man like a shark looks at dinner, all blank, cold eyes.

“Don’t . . . touch . . . me.” Ranma took the man’s hand and squeezed it til the man dropped to his knees whimpering. “I don’t like it.” Ranma sounded as calm as if he was talking about the weather.

“Sorry . . . Sorry, I made a mistake. Let me go!” He whimpered like a kicked pup and tried to retrieve his hand.

Ranma opened his hand as if he had forgotten he had closed it. “Go away! You’ll frighten my friend. She’ll think you’re all stupid.”

Nabiki stared at Ranma and gulped. Ranma had changed, he was harder and colder than she remembered.

“What!? Read the damn papers. I’m sorry if I scared ya, but I can’t let that type a’ thing slide. Sooner or later one a’ those idiots will jump me from behind, and then I might kill whoever, before I realize they’re just stupid. Bein’ a slave-gladiator, then a. . . . for want of a better word . . . daemon hunter will change a man, and not always for the better . . . Read damnit, I gotta finish this, then I’ve got some questions.”

Nabiki read the contract and just about cried. What had Genma done? Why would that stupid man be so careless?

“I can see you have a real reason to be mad at your Pop. I mean selling you . . . that’s just incredible. But you were only gone two or three days. No one ever told us much. When you broke up with Akane you told her some, but she won’t even talk about it. Just says you have delusions of grander. She’s really mad and won’t even mention your name anymore.”

Ranma looked up and realized that Steven, in respecting his privacy, had left him to tell what he wanted to. So now he had to go through the whole sorry tale with Nabiki. He waved at one of the cooks helpers and asked him to bring more coffee and some snacks. The cook was happy to oblige and brought a thermal pot and a plate of cookies

“Here ya go. Any thing else ya want, just ask. Uh, can I have your autograph?”

Ranma looked at the man like he’d lost his mind but signed the book.

“Ran-chan, I don’t believe that man just asked for your autograph. What’s going on? I think Akane dismissed what you told her a little too readily. Come on, tell all. I won’t put it in the data base if you say not to.”

So Ranma told Nabiki everything, he didn’t spare himself, Genma or Akane. He ended up with, “And I’m not comin’ back. Akane hit me for the last time and I have stuff t’ do here, so I’m not taking over the Dojo either.”

“Well, what the hell are we supposed to do. Daddy won’t run the Dojo, and he won’t let us girls. If we don’t get a steady flow of cash soon, we’ll lose the property. If you could only come back once a week to teach a few classes.”

Ranma shook his head. He wasn’t about to try to travel back and forth from the Compound to the other side of Nerima, almost two hours one way. “Nah! Ain’t gonna happen. Why the hell don’t ya just let Akane teach. She’s capable. She’s not up t’ my weight, never will be, but she’s good, real good. She’d make a good teacher. I know your Daddy don’t want . . . ” Ranma got a funny look on his face, he sat for a while sipping coffee and eating cookies.

Nabiki started to speak, but at Ranma’s palm stuck almost into her face, she decided to keep quiet until Ranma spoke.

“Look. I’m never gonna teach at the dojo, but I got an idea. Soun won’t like it, but what the hell does he expect ya t’ do; go broke and live in the streets. Just put a damn ad in the paper and start up classes; change the name of the dojo to Any Thing Goes Martial Arts for Women. That’ll attract a bunch a’ girls who don’t want t’ attend a co-ed dojo with a bunch a’ guys learin’ and laughn’ at them. Just do it. Soun’ll either accept it or he won’t, so he spends some time cryin’, he’d do that anyway and Akane . . . I think one a’ the reasons she’s so mad all the time is that she knows she’s good enough t’ run the dojo and she feels humiliated because Soun won’t see her as a real Martial Artist instead a’ just a girl fooling around. Which she doesn’t do. I mean, I’ve seen her. She’s a hell of a breaker. Every day after school she spends two hours workin’ out. Ya know she does! Go watch her sometime instead a just interruption’ her for somethin’“

Nabiki just stared at Ranma for a moment, then wrote something on a piece of paper and handed it to him. He read the ad and shoved it back across the table with a nod.

“I’ll see ya t’ the gate if ya’d like.”

Nabiki watched Ranma while they were walking back to the gate to meet the van. He was different from the boy she remembered. He wasn’t so cocky or brash. He didn’t seem quite so, the only thing she could think of was defensive, of his manhood. It was like he couldn’t care less, any more, what strangers thought of him. As they walked, he waived to several men and laughed at some guy clowning around.

“Hey, Yaru Ka?” The man looked so hopeful that Ranma laughed.

“Omae aho ya de yo!”

“Uh . . . didn’t I just say ‘hello, how are you’?”

“Na! Ya just asked me t’ fight an’ I said ‘Man you’re a moron’. Don’t let your friends get ya into trouble. Look stuff up first.” Ranma shook the man’s hand and slapped him on the shoulder

Nabiki nearly fell over; before, Ranma would just have socked the man into next week.

“What? I learned a little restraint. I can’t learn? I’m just some dumb bimbo jock?” Ranma was still a little defensive, he discovered, with some people he had known before.

“No, I’m sorry Ranma, but . . . I don’t know . . . You’re just so different. I mean with everything you’ve gone through.” Nabiki sighed, she knew she’d better shut up before she really put her foot in her mouth.

Ranma just started walking, motioning for Nabiki to follow.

As they crossed the Quad Ranma’s hair came down with a soft whoosh.

“Damnit, this bites. I can’t seem t’ keep any elastics. All I had was a piece a’ thread. Do you have an elastic in your . . . no. You wouldn’t . . . hair’s too short.” Ranma made another exasperated sound and looked around.

Just then Sunny saw Ranma from across the way. Ranma waved to her and she came running across to them.

“I . . . Ran-chan why is your hair down do you want an elastic I can braid it for you real quick who is this is that Akane why is she here what does she want Do not put your hand mmmmmm!” As usual Ranma had to put his hand over her mouth to get in a word edge ways.

“This is Nabiki. She’s Akane’s sister. She brought me a report and, yes; I’d love it if you would braid my hair, Koi.” The expression of affection on Ranma’s face as he looked at Sunny dashed Nabiki’s hopes of Akane and Ranma making it up. She followed as Ranma walked over to a bench and sat down between Sunny’s feet.

Nabiki watched as Sunny braided Ranma’s hair, she pulled it tight and braided it into a firm braid then twisted an elastic around the end. Kissing him on top of the head she then bopped him and tried to step over him. Ranma waited until she had one leg over his shoulder and stood up, making her shriek and grab the short hair on top of his head.

“Noooo! Don’t! Raaanmaaa! You’ll drop me.” Sunny giggled and clutched at Ranma as he rolled her over his shoulder and caught her in his arms.

“I won’t drop ya, Goofy. I’d rather die that hurt ya, stooopid.” Ranma juggled Sunny, slinging her over one shoulder feet first, then wrapping her around his waist and back into his arms. Of course she had to cooperate. But they’d been learning swing dancing in some of their very sparse spare time so they just looked cute. A little dangerous but definitely cute.

Nabiki walked off mumbling. “I don’t care what Akane says, she really lost out. He’s just too cute and that Sunny’s got her hooks into him good. I hope she’s nice to him”

“Hey, wait up. I said I’d walk ya t’ the van. Besides I still didn’t get t’ ask my questions.”

“Do ya know who the witch is and how she plans t’ use my . . . whatever ya call it . . . Can ya find out where the jerk lives? Anything about the building? Schematics a’ the security system, floor plans? Stuff like that . . . and how much is this gonna cost me?”

Nabiki blinked at Ranma then sighed. “It won’t cost you anything Ranma. Steven has already asked the same questions and he’ll pay me. Don’t worry. He pays well and told me not to take any chances. I can tell you the witch isn’t really powerful and is collecting magical items. I think, just off the top of my head, the idiot is just a collector. Doesn’t do anything with any of the objects, just . . . well . . . displays them at cocktail parties or whatever. Some people are like that. Just have to have the best, most, whatever, you know.”

“No, I don’t. I think this jerk’s a lot more dangerous than you all think. I got belly rumblin’s and if I’ve learned anything in the last few months, it’s t’ listen t’ my gut. The last two times I didn’t, I got in real trouble.”

Ranma rubbed his shoulder. It was completely healed but it still bothered him on some level.

“What is it? You said you got hurt in the . . . What did you call that attack?” Nabiki knew Ranma had glossed over some of the things that had happened. Mostly anything that made him look stupid or careless.

“It’s just where the Imp scratched me. It itches or somethin’ . . . bothers me. It’s healed but it left a scar. I think . . . it’s a change in my body and I’m not used to it yet. It’s nothing.”

“May I see? I think if I could tell Akane something concrete she’d be happier about this whole thing.”

Nabiki just gulped as Ranma opened his shirt. His chest had developed even more and his abs were so cut that she felt a bit faint. She knew what it took to maintain a body like that, and the work Ranma was putting into training was incredible. Then she saw the scars. Three ragged looking marks that ran from the middle of his pectoral muscle straight across to the hollow of his shoulder. They were still pink and looked like they weren’t fading away anytime soon. She felt tears filling her eyes.

“Ranma, Oh Geeze, that really had to hurt . . . a lot. But the attack was only what two, three days ago?”

“Yeah, Sunny’s a healer. She took care of it. I was stupid, I didn’t close my vest like I shoulda’ so I got clawed. Nearly bled t’ death, but ya know . . . it really didn’t hurt at the time. Felt like a bitch in the chopper though.”

Nabiki opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again. She finally closed it and gave up, she couldn’t think of a single thing to say.

As they walked to the gate, Nabiki studied Ranma. She couldn’t see much difference in the way he looked, maybe a little older; a lot harder {How much time does he spend training}

“Ya know you need to see your Dad. He’s been asking to speak to you for weeks. You should see him, if only for your own peace of mind.”

Nabiki wasn’t prepared for Ranma’s cold glare. She felt chilled to the bone and backed up a few steps.

“I ain’t gonna go see th’ old prick. I don’t ever wanna see his face again. Nabiki, ya know how he was at your place? Well, he was six times worse in the field. I never got enough of anything. I was always cold or hot; hungry, thirsty, tired. I went with him because I didn’t know better. I’d rather go through Hell Week every month for a year than go see him. I don’t have a father. I never did.”

Ranma clenched his hands into fists and shook his head furiously; bangs and pigtail flying.

“After that explosion, I think you need to see him more than ever before. You need to make peace with him and yourself. You need to tell him how you feel. Get it off your chest, or back, as the case may be . . . No! Don’t flip out again. Just think about it. I won’t ever mention it again. You’ll do whatever you want. You always do.”

Nabiki turned around and started walking again. Ranma got himself under control and found that he was seriously considering what she’d said. {Damnit. I just want t’ hate the old . . .}

“Ok. I’ll think about it, I promise. Come on . . . ”

Just then Ranma looked over Nabiki’s shoulder and started swearing. He grabbed her hand and started for a group of men who were standing around in a circle. Inside the circle was a guy swinging a rope around in messy loops.

“Hey watch out. You’re gonna hit . . . Shit!” Ranma had caught the rope in one hand and blocked the flying weight with the other, just in time to keep it from hitting the boy in the eye.

“Ya wanna lose an eye? Ya dope! That’s way too heavy a weight for a beginner. How the hell did ya get . . . Oh, I see, made it yourself did ja’. Baka ja nai no ka zo! Urusai! I mean, Shut up! Listen t’ me. I know what I’m talkin’ about. Ya got no business with this. You’ll put out an eye or crush your stupid skull. Gimme that!”

Ranma took the rope dart from the kid and examined it. I was made from some kind of pendulum weight and a piece of clothes line. The rope was too long and the weight too heavy. Ranma knew he was the only one with the skill to handle such a weapon and he started to coil the cord intending to give it to the owners commanding officer.

“Hey that’s mine! You can’t take it. You ain’t the boss a’ me. Give it back!”

Ranma pinned the guy with a cold flat stare. “What’s your name solder? Tompkins? Well, My name’s Saotome Ranma and I know I’m not the boss a’ you, but I’ll find out who is and I’ll have ya on report before ya can say baka. I’m the only one on this base with skills enough t’ handle this dart. The rope’s too long and the weight’s too heavy for anyone but me. Ya almost lost an eye just now and I don’t think ya wanna wash out because you’re a careless jack ass”

Then Thompkins made two mistakes; one, he pushed Ranma; two, he tried to take something from him.
Pushing Ranma was like pushing a brick wall, nothing much happened, except Tompkins knocked himself off balance.

Trying to take anything from Ranma seemed to activate something deep inside him. It was always like trying to take prey from a cat {Can anyone say Neko-kun} But Ranma didn’t hurt Thompkins, he took hold of the wrist of his reaching hand and just pulled up on it, then he kicked his feet out from under him, dumping him on his back in the dirt and put his foot on the boys’ chest.

“If I was the vindictive type I’d step down hard about now and crush your chest, but I’m not, so I’ll just demonstrate this and you’ll see what I mean.”

Ranma took his foot off the boy and stepped into the center of the circle. He began to swing the dart in a circle, slowly letting out the rope until he’d opened the circle; the men moving back as the dart got too close for comfort.

“Ok. Everybody watch the expert and learn why these things are a lot more dangerous than you think.”

Ranma started a kata that made everyone, including Nabiki, drop their jaws. The dart seemed to have a life of it’s own. It flickered in and out of Ranmas hands. He let the rope wrap around his body, he swung it over his head and at the end of every swing and loop, the dart flicked out like a snake’s head striking, the rope hummed as it cut the air. Ranma was half way through the kata when Steven walked up. Not recognizing Ranma, he blew up

“Hey! Freeze right there! Coil that rope! Attention!”

Everyone braced to attention, even Ranma. He knew he wasn’t supposed to use darts or whips in a circle. It was much too dangerous. What would happen if the rope, or the links joining the segments of a whip, broke? A loose piece of a flying soft weapon was as dangerous as a bullet.

Steven walked around and took the dart from Ranma without even looking at his face. He had already recognized him by the way he stood.

“Ok Saotome. I hope you have a good reason for breaking the rules for soft weapons. You can start explaining. Now!”

“Lost my temper a little. I found this baka swingin’ that dart around in a small circle. It’s a wonder he didn’t hit someone, and the only reason he still has two eyes is, I caught the dart before it hit him. I’ll report to your office as soon as I take Nabiki t’ the van. It’s waitin’ for her. Gimme ten minutes.”

“Ok. Ten minutes. Tompkins, is it? You report now. I have a few things to say to you, and then your commanding officer gets what’s left. Move out now!” Thompkins took off running for Stevens office and Steven gave Ranma a ‘later for you’ look.

One of the older men came to Ranma’s rescue.

“Excuse me Sir. It really wasn’t Mr. Ranma’s fault. That kid got a little rough with him and he’s bigger than he is. So I guess it pissed him off .He said he’d show us he was the only one who could handle that dart and he was right. So . . . Uh . . . Well, I guess that’s all I have to say, Sir. Please, can’t you give him a pass?”

Steven looked the older man in the face. “You mean to tell me that idiot tried to fight Ranma and he’s still standing?”

“Well . . . Yeah. He dumped him on his butt. Other than that, he just cleared the circle and gave his demonstration.”

“Ok, Ranma, you can skip the visit. Your punishment for losing your temper is five hundred push ups. As soon as you get Nabiki to the van I expect to see you in the Quad.”

Ranma just nodded. Everyone else groaned or just wondered if Steven had lost his mind; five hundred push ups.

“Thanks Steven. I really appreciate ya takin’ it easy on me. I know better than t’ lose my temper but it’s just too much when some stupid kid tries t’ kill himself with a weapon he hasn’t got the skills t’ use. I’ll be back soon. By.”

Nabiki looked around, most of the men seemed to be completely staggered. “What? He does a thousand each morning. Ya think he’s weak? My sister does five hundred and she’s little”

Ranma smirked at the gathered men, grabbed Nabiki by the hand and started for the van. This time they made it.

“Look Nabiki, I’m not taking E-mail from Akane, but I’d sure like t’ hear from Kasumi. Think about what I said about Akane taking over the dojo. ‘k?”

“I don’t need to think about it. It’s a fait accompli. I’ll tell Kasumi to mail you right away. I’ll be in touch with Steven as soon as I find out anything and I’ll just send you a copy . . . Free. By.”

Ranma waved by to Nabiki and headed for the quad; he had five hundred push ups to do

{Damn, I’m too young for this shit.}

~ * ~

When I talk about Neko-ken, I’m talking about attacks. Neko-kun is when Ranma exhibits cat-like qualities like not giving up something or snarling when someone messes with his food.

Koi no baka means Silly Love. (Tone of voice means a lot.)
Yaru Ka? Want to fight!
Baka ja nai no ka zo You must be an idiot!