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 32

Once the oath was taken care of Ranma waited for the questioning to begin. But there seemed to be some problem with who was going to ask questions first. He was a prosecution witness, so the prosecution should go first but Downs seemed to think that the Defense should go instead.

Ranma sat on the stand for fifteen minutes while the two attorneys stood at the Bench consulting with the three Judges, bored, he started nipping off links of the broken chain and lining them up on the railing in front of him.

“Mr. Ranma, we would like for . . . “

Ranma interrupted Mr. Clark, “I know I’m gonna come off as a smart ass kid, but I’m tired of this. My name is Saotome Ranma, in American it’s Ranma Saotome. You will address me as Saotome-san or Mr. Saotome. I’m not answering anything until you get my name right. It’s disrespectful.”

“Oh, I see. Well, Mr. Saotome, we would like you to understand that due to your age we have decided that only one of us will question you. Instead of subjecting you to direct, cross, redirect and so on; we have submitted all our questions to the judges in writing and they will be questioning you themselves. Do you understand?”

Ranma frowned, he didn’t understand anything and said so. He also said that it didn’t make a particle of difference to him, as he’d given his word and meant to keep it, no mater what. He looked at the judges and told them to ask their questions.

They started out with questions about his training with Pop. He told them the truth about it, how he’d always been the one to do without; food, clothing, shelter, and also about how he’d worked to make money since he was small.

“I don’t mind plantin’ rice; that’s just stoop labor, but I really hate building stone walls and digging irrigation ditches, and cleaning chicken coops. I have nightmares about that and other stuff.. But if I wanted to eat, I had to work. So Pop saying I never made any money was just him feeling sorry for himself. As usual.”

Ranma added a broken cuff to the line of broken links.

The judge in charge of questioning frowned at the line of links and sighed.

“Well, next question. We’d like you to tell us your side of the Chain Child Agency incident.”

Ranma fiddled with the line of links and then tugged his pigtail. He didn’t want to talk about this at all. He only really talked about it when he was angry or feeling especially safe. “ . . . So he was going to steal me back but they sent me to another dimension and he lost me. I don’t think it would have done any good anyway. That collar would probably have forced me to go back.”

The judges were looking especially disgusted. None of them could reconcile what Downs had written about the incident with what Ranma had just told them. {Where did this idiot get his information?}

Ranma picked at the chain belt and it broke, so he dropped it over the railing

“Young man, you realize that you’re supposed to be restrained while in the court room?”

“Fuck if I care. I’m tired of this. I put my life on the line for you and all you want to do is tie me up, physically and mentally. I’m not your slave, but you treat me like I haven’t got sense enough to come in out of the rain. I may only be sixteen but I’ve got more battle experience than most of the guys you seem to think have the right to command me. Steven can tell me what to do and I’ll do it, almost without question, but most of the rest of the guys around haven’t got battle sense enough to fight their way out of a paper bag. All they’re interested in is results, no matter who has to get killed to get them.”

Ranma scowled at the judge and sulked.

Looking at him, the three judges put their heads together, muttering. Then the lead judge sighed and looked at the paper in front of him. The altered paper said twenty-six and they had been hoping that Ranma was older than the birth certificate indicated but looking at him and listening to him had banished that hope. He was much more mature than many sixteen year olds but he also showed his age in the way he handled other things. They let the matter drop, even though part of the briefs said plainly that he was dangerous.

Ranma watched as Rio popped his cell phone open and looked at the screen: text messaging was allowed in the court room as long as the phone didn’t ring. Rio nodded to him and left, taking Pete and Doug with him. Ranma wondered vaguely what that was about.

~ * ~

Vignette

“We’re getting an incursion right over our heads. It’s incredible.”

“Shuba, we need Shuba! Get every one on line now.”

“Damnit we need Ranma.”

“Can’t get him, he’s in court testifying. If he finds out about this he’ll run out and be in even more trouble.”

~ * ~

“We really need to get this cleared up. We have several different documents with a different age on each one. Is your birth certificate correct?”

“I’m not sure if the one you have is the original or a true copy, there are several doctored ones around. May I see it?”

Ranma held out his hand for the paper, noticing that he was still wearing a cuff on that wrist, he broke it off and dropped it on the floor. He seemed to be littering the court room with bits of chain.

“Yeah, that’s the correct date.”

Ranma handed the paper back to the bailiff, who returned it to the judge. The judge rubbed his forehead and leaned to the left.

“I’d like to know how anyone justified sending a sixteen-year-old to a stockade filled with adult men. “

While they were consulting, Ranma used a Neko-ken claw to cut the rings of metal from his ankles, he held the cut rings in front of his face and smirked at Downs over them then dropped them on the floor at his feet.

“Will you look at that? I’d like to know how they managed to keep him chained up if he can do that. . . . Ahem! . . . Mr. Saotome, two questions just for my own curiosity.” Ranma nodded. “I’ve looked at the translation of your name and it doesn’t make sense. And two: how did they keep you in shackles if you can just break those like that?”

Ranma eyed the judge and, deciding that he really did want to know and wasn’t making fun of him, shrugged.

“I don’t understand this need to translate names, I mean “a rose by any other name’.” The judge looked puzzled. “Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet: act 2, scene 2, line 2. What? I’m not a complete dummy! Hang around Kuno-kun and you’ll learn something. Anyway . . . It’s translated ‘Rice planting girl wild horse’. That’s why they call me the Wild Horse of Nerima.

“And you can’t keep me chained, if I don’t wanna be. I just put up with it because I wanted to prove that I’m trying to be cooperative and it kept me out of fights. Most of the guys in the stockade took me up and watched out for me. But there’s always one or two that just can’t resist the urge to make a big reputation by beating up the little George. Only I’m the strongest of us all and my reflexes get the better of me if I’m not careful. I’d sure hate to kill some baka by mistake.”

All the Judges looked skeptical, he couldn’t be that fast. Could he? Then there was a soft whish of displaced air and a link of chain appeared in front of each of them. They never saw him move, when they turned their heads to look for him, he was sitting exactly where he’d been, looking for all the world as if he had no idea what had happened. Except for the feral grin he turned to Downs.

“Well, on to more important things. The question of Tendo Akane. You’ve been accused of beating her up.”

Ranma closed his eyes, he wasn’t going to lose his famous temper, he really wasn’t. After a deep breath and a sigh almost as deep, Ranma got his anger under control.

“I never hit Akane, not even in practice. I wouldn’t spar with her even. I was too afraid of making a mistake and hurting her. But that never stopped her from smackin’ me around. The last time I saw her, she nearly beat me unconscious with a bokken. I broke off our engagement and came home. Sunny fixed me up. I’d like to find out how anyone got the idea I’d hit a girl for any reason. I’ve never been outta control enough to even think of doin’ somethin’ like that.”

“I see . . . what’s a brokk’n? I’ve never heard of such a thing.” The judge made a note and looked at Ranma waiting for an answer. He frowned as several men got up and left at the same time distracting him.

“A bokken. It’s a practice sword made of bamboo. Hurts like hell.”

“I see. And what did you do about it?”

“What I always did. I just took it until I couldn’t stand it anymore. Then I begged her to stop. Whatm’ I supposed to do? Smack her? I’d kill her.”

“Well that’s certainly a different answer than we have here. And Mis Tendo’s testimony supports yours . . . breaking? She’s a breaker of some talent I see.”

“Yeah, she’s got a fist like a hammer.”

“Let’s see. Oh yeah. . . here’s one on your character. You had a problem with some locals and begged them not to hurt you? Seems a little far fetched, what was that about?”

“Oh! These guys kidnaped Sunny and Leela. I had to distract them while Kuno and Ryouga got into position. So I did what I had to do. It got me closer to the guy and kept them all distracted until we could bust them. Whatever works. Any more foolish questions?”

“I don’t think so. We seem to have gotten to the end of the less serious ones.”

Ranma watched as more men and women left the court room, it was half empty by now and Ranma knew, ego aside, everyone in the Compound who knew anything was watching the trial like a hawk. More rested on this trial than whether Downs was guilty or not. The real point of the trial was whether Department 13 was obligated to lend its people and how they could be treated when lent. So what was going on?

“Fuck! Shimatta! K’so! Son of a bitch! Look at the sky. There’s an incursion right under my nose. Who the hell is keeping secrets?”

The Judges looked out the same window Ranma had and saw a strange wavering in the sky, like heat waves only stronger. Then something fell out of it and disappeared into the woods. Suddenly they were getting a much more personal demonstration of Department 13's responsibilities than they had expected.

Ranma made a decision. He got up and snarled, “I’m not escaping. I gotta be there. Just go on without me, you don’t need me and they do.”

He turned to the Judges and put his right fist on his left shoulder.

“Ave Cesar, I morituri salutatum”

With that he jumped out the window and took off for the incursion site at a dead run. And when Ranma runs full out he just plain disappears.

~ * ~

Vignette

“Well I never. Finds out there’s an incursion and heads for it so fast he just disappears.”

“Kids a coward. Yeah right. I’m going over Downs’ briefs and pink-lining everything I don’t believe.”

“Me too. How about you?”

The third judge just nodded his head.

After thirty minutes they compared notes. Between them they’d pink-lined most of the briefs.

“ I call for a vote of confidence on Saotome. I vote yes.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“Personal opinion–and if anyone says I had one, I’ll deny it-- Downs is a fuck wad.”

~ * ~

When Ranma arrived at the scene, he grabbed the nearest man and demanded to know where the fighting was.

“Look Mister. You can’t go up there without armor. Come on. You’re Saotome, ain’t ya. I’ll get you some gear. You need a side-arm?”

Ranma didn’t want to delay this long but he wasn’t about to go into a fire fight without armor. And he wanted an AK-47 in the worst way.

“I need a long gun. I don’t do to well with side-arms; by the time it gets that close, all I want to do is punch it. Hurry up.”

Ranma turned his head to look around and saw something he didn’t want to. Body bags lined up outside a first aid tent.

“How many have we lost already?”

“Not too many: only six. But that’s still six too many. They were on a training run and the sky just opened up and dumped gods only know what right on their heads. Took them completely by surprise.”

Ranma got geared up and headed up country as fast as he could run.

~ * ~

Excerpt from Report submitted by Agent Downs:

Has no courage, avoids combat at all costs. Can’t be trusted to take initiative.

~ * ~

"Hey! You got a coordinator here? I need to talk to him. Now! Move it, mister! Where’s control?”

Ranma ran up to a tent that looked like a control center. He had his com gear but he didn’t know what frequency to set it to. The one it was set on now was full of garbage.

“We just got a coordinator, some kid named Shuba. I don’t know who you are and you can’t go in . . . Hey!”

Ranma shrugged the Sargent’s hand off and ducked under the tent flap. Glancing around he saw that everybody in the tent was looking at Shuba as he examined a map with marks all over it.

“Ranma, am I glad to see you. We got all kinds of shit just falling out of the sky right in our laps. I need to get organized but I can’t get anyone to adjust frequencies. Different groups are walking on each other and no one can understand anyone. Go over to the communications trailer and make them do something.”

Ranma nodded, this was always a problem, gear was issued set on a standard frequency and everybody thought it was ‘theirs’. Shuba sorted, quickly telling Ranma to have the frequencies set so that the grunts who were running interference for Georges were on one, the ground grunts who were cleaning up vermin on another, and medical on their own.

Ranma opened the trailer door and grabbed the Captain in charge of the thing. Giving him a shake that rattled his teeth he got to the bottom of the problem real quick.

“I don’t care if he’s three. He’s in charge as coordinator. Now do what I told you to or you’re relieved of command and, if you don’t go quietly, I’ll throw your ass over the hill and you can get up close and personnel with the problem. Stupid Fucker.”

The Captain issued orders and got the frequencies straightened out real quick. It’s amazing what a glaring Ranma can get done.

~ * ~

“Damnit! There’s so much vermin around and they’re way to close to the command center. Gimme that thing and keep it fed.”

Ranma snatched up an unmounted .50 caliber machine gun. The kind that is mounted on a Hummer or a helicopter. No one should be able to hand fire it.

Ranma hosed the area with fire, tracers flaring into the distance. As he cut the vermin down, he wondered where all the different kinds had come from; there were worm like things and something the looked like a cross between and wolf and a snake.

“Look buster, keep those belts linked, I don’t want to have to stop to rebelt this thing. Come on! Keep them linked!”

Ranma moved at a slow walk with three men following him, one keeping the belts linked up so that he didn’t run out of ammo, one guarding his back and one running back and forth on an ATV to bring him ammo. As he walked, he kept up a withering line of fire that chopped everything in his way into bits. The vermin thinned at an alarming rate; they kept coming but there were fewer and fewer.

“Hey! I said keep the belts linked. I’m gonna be out in about three seconds. What’s the matter with you?”

Ranma eyed the short length of belt left and reached for a belt himself. That was when he realized that the man had a grip on the belt and wasn’t letting go.

“Gimme! I need to keep . . . “

Giving the belt a jerk, the Corporal got Ranma’s attention. The barrel of the .50 was so hot it was glowing, any more firing and it was liable to explode, as the barrel was so hot it was starting to warp.

“If you intend to keep up this rate of fire for much longer you need a water cooled. Come on man, let the grunts mop up. You’re about to drop! You’ve been at this for over four hours and that‘s the second .50. You didn’t even notice when I changed them out.”

Ranma grunted, he vaguely remembered having the hot gun exchanged.

He was getting tired and he wanted a drink. He looked around, the ranks of vermin had thinned enough that he thought the grunts could handle them, but it was so important to keep them away from the command center. That was where all the wounded were and where Shuba and Sunny were.

Ranma got on the ATV with the one man and the two others got on another. They headed back to the command center for some rest.

On the way in Ranma realized that he was wounded, he had a long shallow gash on the back of his right upper arm and something had bitten him on the left thigh. Neither wound was bad, they were just annoying and would sap his strength if he didn’t get them stopped bleeding. After the Imp clawing he had gotten more careful about bleeding.

The triage medic took one look at Ranma and called for a stretcher. Ranma declined it but was scooped up and dumped on it anyway. He relaxed and went with the medic, he didn’t feel like arguing with him and so he ended up on an examination table waiting for attention. It was nice just to be horizontal for a while. He must have fallen in to a doze because he woke up to Sunny kissing him, to some snickers from men standing around watching

“What? A guy can’t kiss his girl? Go away, you perverts.” Ranma sighed. Sunny was going to be really mad at him and would probably give him a lecture.

“Ranma. I’m glad you came in so fast, you’ve hardly bleed at all. Kiss, kiss. Then let me take care of you and get you out of here, so you can get some rest.”

Sunny was all business after another kiss. She tore the sleeve of his shirt from cuff to shoulder and use antiseptic to wipe off all the blood. When she saw the wound she made a face and healed it quickly. Ranma nearly groaned; it felt so good and the warm golden feeling of Sunny healing him was indescribable. He almost, almost felt like getting hurt more often so he could have that wonderful feeling.

“Ranma? Are you listening to me? You haven’t fainted, so I’d like to know what you’re thinking.”

“No you don’t, you’ll smack me into next week. Love. . . Koi, we better get on with it. There are other guys who need you. “

“Damnit I haven’t gotten to really see you in almost a month and this is the way I get to see you in all that time. I hate seeing you all bloody and what else do you have on you? Never mind, I don’t really want to know. I told you to lay on your side so I can see your leg.”

“Pervert.”

“Who? Me? You betcha! Nice legs, boy.”

Sunny smiled as Ranma relaxed, stretched out on his side and let her see his thigh. She had to tear a big hole in his pants leg. He wondered if he’d ever make it through a mission without losing most of his clothes

Finally getting everything cleaned up and healed,Sunny gave Ranma one more kiss and let him go, after telling him that she didn’t want to see him back in the M.A.S.H. tent again.

~ * ~

Excerpt from Report submitted by Agent Downs.

Can’t be trusted to take proper care of himself or others, allows egotistical needs to supercede mission realities.

Can’t be trusted to be where he is needed.

~ * ~

Ranma flopped down under a tree and curled up; thinking he could get some sleep and after that maybe some food. Then he’d head back to the fight, unless Shuba called him on his radio. Shuba had been in touch with him several times while he was clearing out the vermin, mostly to tell him where he needed to go. But Ranma had usually already been where he was needed.

“You wake him! I ain’t messin’ with nobody from that group. You wake them the wrong way and you’re dead.”

Ranma felt a poke in his side. Someone was poking him with a stick.

He rolled onto his back and yawned. He didn’t know how long he’d been out but a glance at the sky said more than three hours. He took his time about getting really awake. He could hear combat in the distance but he couldn’t do any good if he was worn out. He’d been listening to the radio, even in his sleep, and knew that Ryouga was keeping things in control.

“What’s up? I was about to wake on my own. I sure coulda used a few more winks.”

The man who hadn’t poked him, handed him a plate filled with something that suddenly had his mouth watering.

“You need that more than you need a few more winks, as you called them. It’s stew, canned, but not that bad and it’s filling. Eat tha,t and if you want more, get in line. There’s showers and clean clothes available.”

Ranma sat down where he was and shoveled the stew into his mouth as fast as he could. As he was getting up to join the line for another serving, he was stopped by an MP, who pointed to another group of men, all in prison slops

“You’re supposed to be over there. Get with your group and stay there.”

“Hand’s off. I’m not with them, slops or not. I got other things to do than mop up after vermin, now that they’re under control, more or less. I’m still hungry and I want some more of that stew.“

Ranma just walked away from the Sargent who reached out to take hold of him; his partner kept him from getting his head jerked off by pulling him away by one arm while he explained quickly.

“Don’t fuck with Saotome. He’s a George and at this point he’s needed somewhere else, let’s go.”

~ * ~

Vignette

“What’s this?”

“Official protest, says Campbell is protesting the pressing of charges against Saotome.”

“Huh? Campbell protesting charges against . . . yeah, well, I wouldn’t want it known a sixteen year old smacked my ass either.”

“If he protests the charges, we can dismiss them under our authority and I vote yes.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“That dismisses sixty days of the sentence . . . leaves thirty days. He’s served twenty-five, give him five for good behavior and all he has to do is go back to the stockade and sign off on completion of sentence and go home. Any objections?”

“No”

“No”

“Downs is a moron.”

“No shit.”

~ * ~

There was a line for the showers and another for clean clothes, but every man in the shower line tried to let Ranma cut in front of him. Ranma wouldn’t let them, he wanted a shower in the worst way, but all the men in the line had obviously been in the fighting. Some were just dirty but some of them had ichor, blood, or some other even less identifiable substance smeared on them.

“I’ll take my turn like everyone else. I’m not that special, and I haven’t gotten a call from Shuba, so I’ll wait.”

~ * ~

Excerpt from Report Submitted by Agent Downs.

Insists on special treatment at every level. Uses position to obtain every perk available. Shameless exploitation of strength and abilities makes him a danger to every mission.

~ * ~

After a shower and clean clothes, Ranma felt good. He fired up the radio and asked Shuba where he was needed next.

“Kuno’s coming in, he’s worn out and Ryouga hasn’t answered the radio in a few. He’s at these coordinates: go find him and see what’s up.”

Ranma headed for the coordinates and found Ryouga surrounded by Critters. He was just about exhausted, he was on one knee shooting the Critters using a Shi Shi Hokodan that was rapidly running out. He was saving his ‘shots’ until the Critters were almost on top of him.

Ranma started on the outside of the ring and took out as many of the Critters as he could, using a fairly high powered attack, it took him several shots to thin the ranks of attacking Critters enough so that he had to start fine-tuning his attacks so he wouldn’t get Ryouga or any of the men with him.

Ranma felt sad, several of the men in Ryouga’s secondary team were down and one was dead for sure. He shouldn’t have stopped to take a shower. {I’m so lazy. Shit, if I’d only gone out sooner.}

Keeping his attacks small, so he didn’t get any side wash to hurt the men he was trying to save, Ranma cleared out the Critters as fast as he could.

“Ryouga, hey, come on, I need you to hold up just a little longer. I got most of them but you’ve got to watch my back. Up! Get your people moving.”

Ranma used his Moku Takabisha carefully. He’d learned through intensive training exactly how much power to use to get results, there was no sense in using more ki than he had to. Even he would run out eventually.

Ryouga moved his men out and got to a clearing large enough for a Jolly Green to land. They all loaded up and got out of the path of one of the biggest waves of assorted demons yet.

“Shuba! What the hell is goin’ on? We can’t keep this up forever. I thought the Magicians were gonna close that rift. What’s the hold up?”

“Ranma, they’re closing it as fast as they can. They can’t do anything with it while it’s unloading on us. But they’ve closed it almost eight feet. Come back here! You need to rest again. Right now all that’s out there are vermin.”

Ranma looked at the men in the helicopter, they needed to get back to the command so they could be taken care of. Ryouga looked like hell. He was so tired he was literally staggering. When he finally flopped down on the floor of the chopper, he sagged side ways and tears started leaking down his cheeks.

“Here pal, did that guy die? “ Ranma put his arm around Ryouga who nodded

“Yeah, he’s been dead a while. I’ve got to get the rest of my guys back and get them taken care of. You need to use this chopper to get you where you need to be, no sense wasting your strength running from place to place. That’s what I did wrong. Wore me and my men out. God, I’ve missed you so much. I wish Downs had to deal with this sort of shit, instead of us.”

“Well, I wish I was rich and handsome. Wish in one hand, shit in the other and see which one fills up first, ya know. When you get back, let them know I’ve requisitioned this chopper. If they need it to evacuate wounded, they can have it back, otherwise I’m usin’ it.”

When they landed, Ranma got back in touch with Shuba, it was getting hard to get him because he was spending every second organizing clean up while the demons just kept coming, the rift dropping vermin and critters in waves. Before they could get completely cleaned up from one wave, another began. Shuba told him to keep the chopper, he’d keep in radio contact and send him where he should be going.

~ * ~

Excerpt from Report Submitted by Agent Downs

Refuses to do more than the minimum needed to fulfill obligations to Department 13.
Has no concept of exerting himself above and beyond.

~ * ~

Ranma spent the next few hours flitting from one site to another, killing whatever he was told to kill. It didn’t look like it was going to stop anytime soon and Ranma wondered how he was going to keep up. Ryouga and Kuno both were worn out. Shuba had told him on the radio that he was on his own for at least six hours while they rested up.

Ranma was flagging fast and still trying to be a one man wreaking crew--his secondary team was having fits. They couldn’t catch up with him and were delegated to cleaning up after him instead. Every time they thought they would get to him, they were informed that he’d just left for a new location. Critters and vermin were all over still, not hordes of them but enough that it was taking all everyone had to keep them contained in the mountains. They couldn’t be allowed to get to Nerima or, especially, Tokyo.

Finally Ranma was called in. Shuba told him that the rift was closed and he could rest because there wouldn’t be anymore waves of heaven only knew what coming. Ryouga and Kuno were both rested up and they would take over.

“Come back to command and get rested up, we may need you again.”

Ranma made it back to the command post by the simplest means possible, he had the helicopter hover over the area and jumped. Steven saw him and gave him a cussing because he didn’t use a rope or anything, he just jumped out at about two hundred feet

“Look Steven, I’m tired, there’s no more rope and you can cuss me all you want. That’s one of the things that’s gonna change. I’m tired of all these restrictions on me. I’ll do it my way or not at all. Now leave me in peace, I want to find my guys and get some sleep. I don’t believe for a minute that it’s all over, my gut says otherwise and I’m listening to it from now on. Every time I don’t, there’s a disaster.”

Ranma looked around, then called Shuba, asking where his team mates were. He wanted to see them in the worst way. He’d been asking Shuba for them but every time he asked for them, Shuba told him that they were only a few minutes behind him. They never caught up and he was getting pissed.

Shuba gave him directions to find his friends saying, “They’re really tired, they’ve been chasing you all over. You’ve just missed them, or them you, half a dozen times.”

“Hey Ran-chan, you look like hell on a mop stick. Come here and sit down. Where ya been? We been chasin’ ya all over the prefecture.“

Rio made room for Ranma on a tarp they’d thrown on the ground. They all looked tired and worn, their clothing torn and dirty, but they also looked satisfied. Ranma sighed; he hated to disillusion them.

“Guys, I got rumblin’s in my belly, so don’t get too happy yet. We need to rest up and be ready. I may be wrong but I don’t think so. There’s still something bad out there somewhere.”

“Damn, Saotome, you’re a real bundle of joy. I was hoping that we’d get to go back to the Compound and see the end of that trial, get some food and sleep in. No chance, huh?”

Ranma flopped onto his back and rolled his head from side to side, “Don’t think so. Just rest here. We’ll find someplace to sleep and maybe get something to eat after we wake up. I don’t think I could eat just now, I’ve been using too much ki.”

Ten minutes later Conroy came back with bad news: there was no place for them to sleep. All the available room was taken up by the injured or by big wigs from various contributing forces.

Ranma was already asleep, curled up on the tarp with his head pillowed on his hands. He was shivering slightly. In his exhausted state he was having trouble regulating his body heat, so he was getting cold. He had snuggled up to Rio as the warmest body near him, so Rio just rolled onto his side and backed up to Ranma, giving his body warmth to him.

~ * ~

Vignette

“Hey! What the hell. Why are these men sleeping on the ground without any blankets or sleeping bags.”

“They’re on the ground because you and all the other Brass got the billets: they’re just grunts and they don’t deserve to sleep warm and dry. After all, they’re just common guys. The one’s that are getting killed so you assholes can look good.”

“Excuse me! Who the hell are you?”

“Name’s Hibiki Ryouga, I’m just another smart-ass kid.”

“You’re one of those George guys, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, why don’t you go away and stay out of the theater? You’re all just useless, unless you know how to kill a demon, you’ve got no business any where near the fighting.”

“Well, you’re right, but we all needed to see exactly what you’re dealing with. The reports are all so fantastic, they’re hard to believe. I believe them now and I’ll make sure that my government gives you all the funding the budget will allow.”

“Hn. That’s good. Sorry if I was rude. We’re all tired and spread way too thin.”

“No problem. I’ll make sure they get blankets.”

~ * ~

“Excuse me. You better wake up and eat this before it gets cold.”

Ranma woke with a violent flinch. He knew it was impossible but he was sure he’d heard Akane’s voice. Rio patted him on the shoulder and that was when he realized that he and Rio were in a most compromising position. He was curled up on his side with Rio wrapped around him in what was usually called a spoon.

“Huh? Akane? I’m sure . . .”

Ranma looked up and sure enough that was Akane looking at him with a surprised and disgusted look on her face. He decided something.

“Ranma! You pervert! What are you doing? Who’s that guy wrapped around you?”

Ranma hoped Rio would play along. He sighed and stretched, when Rio didn’t let go of him Ranma poked Rio in the ribs gently.

“What’s the matter, Bishie? Who’s the girl?”

"Who, her? Oh, she’s just my ex-fiancee. She always called me a pervert so that’s . . . ."

Akane’s scream scared the birds out of the trees and made half the command post jump. “Are you crazy?”

Rio pulled Ranma into his lap and Ranma poured in on thick. He curled up against Rio’s chest and, tucking one hand under his chin, he batted his eyelashes at Rio and sighed, “Oh, Rio, you make me feel so nice. I just love waking up next to you.”

Rio cuddled Ranma like a girl and stroked his back.

Akane made a shrill squealing noise, “Ranma what are you doing? I didn’t . . . I mean. “

Akane took off like a rocket headed . . . away.

Ranma saw the rest of the guys, they all looked like they were about to explode. Every one started laughing. Ranma scrambled off Rio and just rolled on the ground.

“Oh, my! Oh. Geeze! I’m gonna die. I bet we set her therapy back a year. Thanks Rio, I owe ya one big time. The look on her face was worth . . . .I’m not sure I’m gonna ever forget.”

“Who was that girl? Is she ok? I mean what was that all about?”

Rio wanted to know exactly what Ranma had been up to, he had an idea but back story was good.

“That was Akane, my violent, tomboy, ex-fiancé. I’d like to know what she’s doing up here but it really don’t matter. The story is, she was always calling me a pervert and beating me up, so when she caught me and Rio in a spoon, I took advantage of it and now she’s gonna be havin’ fits forever and serves her right. Besides, did you see her face? I thought I was gonna pass out from laughin’ . Thanks, Rio, for keepin’ me warm and all. I really appreciate it.”

Rio grinned at Ranma. He was used to waking up cuddled up to someone male, when you were cold you were cold and any source of warmth was welcome. He’d even woken up with dogs when he was stationed in Siberia.

Ranma reached over and snagged the box Akane had been carrying. It had coffee and food in it, so he handed things around. He wound up holding two ‘somethings’ wrapped in paper. They looked like really big spring rolls. He unwrapped one and eyed it for a minute.

“Ranma! Not that end. Start at the open end or you’ll have a real mess on your hands. Here.”

Pete reached over and rewrapped the thing for him. He was now looking at an open end with the other end folded under.

“What the . . . what is this thing? I never saw anything like it before.”

“It’s a breakfast burrito. American style. It’s got scrambled eggs, bacon, mushrooms, onions, cheese and salsa in it. They’re really good and not too messy if you don’t bite the bottom out first. Just eat it.”

Ranma took a hesitant bite and decided it was better than good. He gobbled his two down and drank his coffee. Then he looked in the box to see if there was anymore.

“I’m still starving. Someone go find some more of those while I see if I can’t get Shuba on the com and find out what’s goin’ on. I hope I’m wrong but I’m sure there’s something else out there somewhere. I just don’t think we’re gonna get off that easy.”

Ranma tried to get Shuba on his radio, but no go, he got some guy who didn’t know who he was except that he was on the contact list. The man told him that he was a Com Spec and only filling in while Shuba got some sleep.

Ranma asked the Sargent if there was anything going on and was told that they were beginning to break down the post because there was nothing but mop up to do. He told Ranma that they should all get on the next available transport and go back to the Compound.

After sending Pete and Doug out to scout around and see what was going on, Ranma headed straight for the Ammo Depot and requisitioned as much ammo as he could carry. He’d never lost his AK-47 even though he’d run out of ammo for it some time during combat. He didn’t even remember using it. But he was sure he’d done plenty of damage with it because he carried three times the ammo anyone else could.

The report wasn’t good. The command post was being taken down as fast as the construction crews could comfortably do it. Which meant that Ranma and his team were going to be without any support in about four hours.

Ranma went to see Shuba at the communications center. He told Shuba that he was sure that there was something else out there but he couldn’t prove it. He just had a ‘belly rumblin’ that wouldn’t let him rest.

“Ranma, I have reports from every observer we sent out. None of them have seen a thing. I think you just don’t want to go back yet. Get over it. . . . sorry. I’m tired and I want to go home. We lost eight men, one of them from Ryouga’s team and I want to see him. He needs us now. And you want to hang around in the mountains like some kind of wild Ainu or something.“

Ranma shrugged irritably, he knew that Ryouga had lost a man and he felt really bad. He knew how he would feel if one of his guys died. But he just knew that they weren’t out of the woods yet.

“I know. I’m sorry about that guy. Go back and tell Ryouga I am. But I’m stayin’ up here for at least three more days. I don’t give a flying fuck about that stupid trial. You can tell Steven where I am and tell McIntosh that I didn’t escape, all he has to do is come up here and call me. I’ll go back with him but not for three days. And I’m still hungry, so I’m not real happy either.”

“Ranma, did you study to be so stubborn or were you born this way?“ Shuba finished putting the last of his equipment in a box and poked Ranma in the arm. ”I’ll give Steven your message and let him deal with the trial and McIntosh. I wish you’d give it up but I know that every time I try to persuade you of anything, it just makes you that much more stubborn. Knothead!”

“Yeah. But if I’m right, we’re in real trouble. If I’m wrong, “ Ranma shrugged and folded his arms. “It’s just sixty more days in the stockade for me. I don’t like the odds of me being right.”

Ranma made it to the supply tent before it was packed up and requisitioned everything they would need for six days in the mountains. Tents, sleeping bags, stoves, provisions, you name it, he took it and the Sargent added things he wouldn’t have thought of. When they were finished there was quite a pile of stuff.

“Ok, boy, where do you want this? I don’t have time to carry it very far, we just got the pack-up call and I’d like to be out of here before dark.”

Ranma eyed the pile for a second then got on his radio and tried to call Rio and Conroy to help him with it. The radio only fizzled with static. They’d packed up the radio tower and there was no signal.

“Damnit, I forgot we wouldn’t have radio contact when they packed up the porta tower. Shit.”

Ranma gathered up as much as he could carry then jumped as the supply Sargent held a pack basket out to him. “You study under Sherpas or something? Samuels told me about you, so here’s a basket I’ve never seen anyone use.”

The Sargent helped Ranma pack the basket, it held most of the supplies and what didn’t fit inside he managed to pack on top.

“You sure you can . . . Damn.” Ranma had hoisted the pack like it was a normal pack.

The normal military pack consists of about sixty pounds of supplies, depending on which branch of service and how deep in the outback the platoon is headed. A two-hundred-pound-plus man is expected to be able to carry his pack at least twenty miles. Rangers, Seals and Special Forces are expected to be able to go at least twice that or more.

Ranma was carrying almost four times that and would have carried all the tents and other camping gear as well, but the sheer size of the load thwarted him. He just couldn’t manage the bulk.

Rio offered to come back with Ranma for the next load but the expression on his face let Ranma know that he had an ulterior motive.

“Ok, Rio, unload before ya choke on it. What’s up?”

“Ran-chan, I know you don’t wanna hear this . . . Pete and Doug don’t wanna stay. They will, but Eddie, the man from Ryouga’s team? He was a friend of theirs and they’re gonna want to go to his memorial. Skeeter and Dave went down a while ago with a truck of wounded. So it’s just me and Conroy. I’ll stay as long as I can but if I’m ordered back, I’m goin’. . . don’t want a stretch in the Stockade for refusing an order. Conroy, he’ll stay no matter what, I guess. I’m sorry, Ranma, but I think as soon as mop up is done, they’ll order us back.”

Rio had the good grace to look embarrassed. He didn’t want Ranma to think he doubted anything he felt but they were careful moping up; nothing could escape their net.

“Rio, I’m not mad at ya. I know you’re all tired and don’t wanna stay here instead of goin’ back to the Compound and gettn’ clean and havin’ a good meal and sleepin’ in a real bed. But if we all go back, somethin’ really bad is gonna’ happen, I just know it. I don’t know what’s goin’ on but I got belly rumblin’s and I’m stayin’. If you’ll help me set up my camp, you can all go back, if ya want.”

Rio grumbled to himself, took the pack Ranma had made up while they were talking, and started back to where Ranma had decided to make their camp. He would stay until he was ordered back but if he got orders, he was obeying them. He felt it was a good compromise.

When they got back to the camp sight, Pete and Doug were already gone. Conroy conveyed their apology, they’d had to leave or they wouldn’t be able to go until tomorrow and they would miss the memorial services.

“I’ll stay as long as I can, but I’m like Rio, I go back if I’m ordered to. I’m not windin’ up in the stockade for refusing a legitimate order. I really feel bad, but there it is.”

“Damnit, will you two quit apologizin’. I don’t want either of you in the stockade. Even though I could use the company. If you’re ordered down, you go. I’m staying until I’m satisfied there’s no threat. Maybe I’m just bein’ paranoid. I hope so.”

~ * ~

Excerpt from Report Submitted by Agent Downs.

Has absolutely no sympathy for anyone. Any inconvenience to self is met with extremely childish behavior

~ * ~

So that left Ranma, Conroy, and Rio, camping out in the mountains, waiting for something that might not happen.

Rio started laying out the fire pit while Conroy and Ranma started zipping tents together. Two one-man tents could be zipped together to make a two-man tent and since there were three of them and they had six tents it made sense to make themselves as comfortable as possible.

“Damnit! It won’t track. I’ve got the damn thing caught again.” Ranma couldn’t get the zipper to zip up properly. The zipper kept getting caught on the cover flap, he’d started it three times already.

“What’s the problem? Need help?” Conroy came over to see what the problem was.

“I can’t get this zipper started. It keeps getting caught in that damn weather strip thing and hanging up.”

Ranma shoved the tents into Conroy’s hands in frustration. Conroy took it and tried to show Ranma how to work it.

“You just run your finger behind the zipper and you can feel if it’s getting caught or not. Here turn the whole thing over. We taught you how to do this.”

“I can’t feel the damn thing.”

Ranma rubbed one hand with the other. It made a rather loud sandpapery sound like leather rubbing on leather.

Conroy reached out and took Ranma’s hands in his. Turning them over he felt the palms and then the tips of his fingers. Ranma’s hands were heavily calloused. The tips of his fingers had pads of callous on them, as did the first two knuckles; there was also a pad of callous that ran from the base of the palm of his hand, below the thumb, all the way across the palm and around the side to the tip of his little finger.

“Holy hell, boy, what have you done to your hands? I’ve never seen anything like it.” Conroy was astounded, he had heard of people like this, martial artists who had callouses this thick. But he’d always thought they were urban myths.

“I do a lot of breaking and hard arts. Without these callouses I’d break every bone in my hand with one punch. You all made fun of that cream I use and I didn’t say much, but without it I couldn’t make a fist or open my hand all the way. They get stiff.”

Rio walked over to see what was up and one look made him whistle

“Wow Ran-chan . . .”

“Rio, I wish you’d quit callin’ me honey. It’s weird.”

“Honey? Well hell. . . .you know you’re cripplin’ yourself?”

“Yeah, I probably won’t be able to feed myself by the time I’m seventy. If I live that long.”

Conroy choked, “What the . . . it could get that bad?”

Ranma rubbed his hand and shrugged.

“Yeah, maybe. The Old Ghoul is like three hundred and she’s still good to go. But if she don’t do her katas everyday she gets down.”

“If I take care of myself and don’t get too many stress tears, I’ll be good for years. But some guys get so crippled up they literally wind up in a chair. It’s a chance ya take when you decide to practice the arts. But the hands will go sooner than any other part of the body. That’s why I do kata every day, especially punching.”

“If I keep workin’ out, I’ll just keep gettn’ better and better. If I stop, I’ll lose ground and one day, I’ll be so stiff, it’ll hurt just to move. But that’s way in the future. I probably won’t live that long. So . . “

Rio exploded. “Damnit Ranma, don’t be such a fatalist. Find out what you have to do to live long and not get all ‘stove up’ as you call it.”

Ranma looked at Rio and Conroy, who were both looking at him like he’d said the moon was made of cheese or something equally weird.

“Well . . . one thing is not to get eaten by a dragon or somethin’. I’d like to live forever or at least die in bed with great-great-grand children beggin’ me not to go. But in this business one careless move and it’s all over. Tell me it’s not so.”

Conroy eyed Ranma, he just hoped Ranma wasn’t going pessimistic on them. That was a good way to get careless and then dead.

“Hey enough of this. It’s depressin’ an’ I ain’t Ryouga. Can we have spaghetti for supper? I like that and there’s lots in the MRE box.”

Rio looked at Conroy who shrugged, the best thing to do for Ranma at this point was to let Ryouga know about their concerns and leave it to him to deal with. In the mean time, they would be as supportive as they knew how and let Ranma know that he could depend on them.

“Ok, spaghetti it is. I personally don’t care that much for it. There’s not enough herbs in the sauce and it’s too sweet, but what the hell. We’re gonna be up here for at least three days, so tomorrow Rio and I’ll flip for choice and looser can choose next day. “

Rio zipped the tents together and Conroy started rigging the ropes; when Ranma saw how the guy ropes should be staked down he picked up the stakes and told Conroy to forget the hammer, he’d set the stakes himself. He punched the stakes into the hard, stony, mountain soil without even thinking about how unusual it was.

Conroy poked Rio, in all the time they had been working with Ranma they’d seen plenty of unusual things but he could still amaze them. That was one reason they were still up in the mountains instead of down in the Compound.

~ * ~
I wasn’t going to end this chapter until we saw the beastie but it’s getting way too long. Sorry

Latin for “Hail Cesar, we who are about to die, salute you”. Ranma is not in a good mood in case you didn’t notice.