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 38

‘Oh man that was good, I’m so full, I think I ate it all. Or at least most of it.’

Ranma went back to his room and hooked up his lap top. He’d made Doris promise to have all the reports he was supposed to read transferred to a file on his computer, so he could get caught up on them.

As he read, he wondered what he was missing. He felt like something was just out of his reach, something was tantalizingly right at the edge of consciousness. Ranma knew better than to try to force it. It would come to him in it’s own good time, when it was supposed to.

He spent the rest of the late afternoon reading reports.

He spent the next five days lazing around in his room, wandering around the quaint old village, reading reports, calling all his friends, talking to Ryouga and cruising the local strip in the pickup. Things that a normal seventeen year old took for granted but that Ranma had never done.

~ * ~

Day eight

“Hey Gradma, I’m leavin’. Had a nice time here.”

“Sad to see you go, Boy. Never thought I’d say that about an unaccompanied teenager but there you are. Never say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Depends on the dog, you know.”

“Who’s a dog? You’re much too pretty to be callin’ yourself a dog. Come on, Old Woman, here’s my key. Gimme a hug and send me on my way with a smile. Thanks.”

Ranma had formed a good relationship with the old lady and was a little sad to leave but something was telling him to get back on the road. So, he was headed out this morning, much to the old lady’s vocal exasperation.

“I don’t know why you have to go so soon. Why don’t you stay around a few more days? I’ll even cut you some slack on the rent.”

“I’d really like to but something’s tellin’ me to move on. So I guess I’d better. You know what happened the last time I ignored a feeling. I’ll be keepin’ in touch, though. And I’ll be back someday, I promise.”

Ranma turned in his key and gave her a hug then climbed into his truck and headed for the mountains farther north.

~ * ~

Ranma finally climbed out of the truck, which he’d parked on the scenic pullout, and started walking toward the head of the line. As he passed knots of people, he asked the same question.

“Hey, what’s the hold up? Have any idea? No? Ok, thanks.”

Finally he found a group who seemed to know something. There had been a rock slide and the road was blocked. But that was all they knew.

(What to do, what to do. I’ll go back to the village and get tea.)

Ranma sat in the old-fashioned tea house and drank tea and listened to the conversations around him. Everyone seemed to think that someone should do something about the rock slide but no one could decide what. Some wanted the highway department to take the initiative, others thought the prefecture should do something; still others were sure that it was the city’s domain. As he listened Ranma could only thank his lucky stars that he wasn’t in this mess.

He realized that he had it relatively easy in the compound, if Steven didn’t tell him what he should do, it was up to him to make up his own mind and he was his own worst critic.

“. . . Bakusai Tenketsu! That’s what!”

Ranma blinked back into the world.

“The old guy was a master of that technique. It’s been used around here for years to clear the roads and make gravel and such. But he died last winter and the young snots around here don’t care for that kind of thing; all dynamite and blasting powders and fertilizer diesel messes. No interest in traditional methods; just blow stuff up--bang--and rocks flyin’ everywhere instead of controllin’ stuff so it don’t break every window around.”

The other old men all nodded wisely and sipped tea, shuddering at the carelessness of the younger generation.

“Excuse me, sirs. I heard what you were saying. Could you fill me in on some more of the details? I’m interested.”

“Ha! Told ya, Miroku. Some of the younger generation are interested.”

“Yeah, yeah, like that nevvy of yours. The minute he found out that it’s not fighting; he quit it cold as a blizzard. All they want to do is fight and tear up stuff.”

Ranma patiently waited until attention was turned back to him. (I can’t spend my life running from one thing to another. I’ll just wait. They’ll run down in a while. Besides, it’s kind of interestin)

“Sorry boy. We’re all old farts and our minds tend to wander. What was it you were asking?”

“Just wondered why you were talking about the Bakusai Tenketsu.”

“Well, that road up yonder is blocked and, if someone around here knew Bakusai Tenketsu, we’d have it cleared in no time, but since old Saito died we have to wait for a blaster to come from the mines down Osaka way. It’ll take a day just for him to get here, then he has to figure out how much blasting compound he’ll need. That stuff is pretty strictly controlled, ya know. Then wait again for the stuff to come, then . . . well, you see. It’ll be day after tomorrow before it’s all cleared out and a mess to get people to come down off the mountain and get rooms, some of those idiots will want to stay right there but it’s too cold in these mountains for that and they’ll argue a donkey into the ground . . . oh, I’ll stop blabbering some time soon.”

Ranma suddenly found his fingernails very interesting. He didn’t know if they would believe him or not and he didn’t want to be laughed at. That made him angry just because.

“What is it boy, spit it out before it chokes you . . . never mind! You’ll talk when you’re ready. I’ll just pour you some tea and keep yakking until you work up the nerve. Never saw such a shy boy.”

The old man suited actions to words and poured Ranma a fresh cup of tea and pushed the plate of snacks closer.

“Here, eat! Never saw a boy your age that wasn’t half starved all the time. But back to the conversation. There’s only a few practitioners left, there’s that pervert Happosai; I wouldn’t let that old goat near my wife and she’s two days younger than dirt. Some old Chinese woman, but she went back to China and two young fools that probably learned it thinking it was a combat technique, bet they were disappointed. But that still leaves us up a creek. I know of two middle-aged men who have the capacity to learn but Saito wasn’t ready to hand the technique down and then he was dead. Old fool.”

“I can do it.”

“What ya say boy. Speak up. We’re all old and half deaf.”

“I said. ‘I can do it’ I know the Bakusai Tenketsu.”

“Well, I never in all my born days. I’d tease ya and call ya a liar but by the look on your face that’s what you’re expecting . . . here, Ishigaka-kun, call the mayor. And tell him that it’s either Hibiki or Saotome here in the tea house. Come talk to him.”

Ranma stared at the old man like he’d never seen him before that very second. They were going to believe him just like that. He’d never had anything like that happen to him before. He was used to having to prove himself over and over before anyone would take him at his word.

“You’re going to just believe me? Just like that? Why?”

The old man looked at his cronies and shrugged, they all either shrugged or shook their heads.

“Well, what reason would you have to lie about something that important and all we have to do is take you up the mountain and let you make a fool of yourself. Don’t seen smart to me but I’m just an old fool. Where the hell did you learn it?”

“From Cologne, the old Chinese lady you were talking about and Happosai is--was--my father’s teacher. By the way, you’re right about that ol’ pervert. And I can whip his ass anytime. Frankly I hate to admit I even know the old panty thief. I have managed to avoid even thinking about him for almost a year and I’d like to keep it that way. Old freak.”

Ranma had in fact almost forgotten about Happosai and was glad he had. The embarrassment of having that pervert trying to get him to turn girl and wear lingerie was better left in the past. He couldn’t understand why he’d put up with half what he had. But that was the past and good riddance to it.

“Look, if things are going to be as bad as you say, I think I need to find a room as soon as possible. I’ll call Steven, my boss, and see what he says. I don’t know if I should use the Bakusai Tenketsu I . . . well, I never used it for much except gettin’ myself out of a collapsed building. I’m not sure . . . “

“Boy, if you can break a rock, you can control the break, it’s all or nothing with the Bakusai. Don’t ya know your own techniques?”

“Like I said . . . I don’t use it much . . . I’m a fighter. If it don’t involve combat, I don’t use it. But I’m willing to give it a try if you all want me too. I’m going to see about a room across the street, before they’re all taken. I don’t fancy camping out this high up in the mountains here in the north if I don’t have to.”

Ranma was rather proud of himself. He’d managed to get through two fairly upsetting conversations without sounding like a rice farmer. (Someone pat me on the back.)

After getting a room and parking his truck, Ranma went back to the tea house to see if the mayor had shown up yet. He was just arriving and, of course, sat Ranma down with tea and snacks. Not that he minded.

“So you know the Bakusai Tenketsu, do you? We could use your help, if you do. I understand that you need to call someone for permission.”

“Not permission exactly. But I respect Steven’s opinion and I’m not sure whether I should even do this or not, so I’m gonna call him and discuss it, after I find out exactly what you want me to do. So why don’t you just tell me what it is, exactly, you want from me.”

Ranma watched as the mayor settled himself more comfortably on the zafu and sipped his tea as he considered what to say. His kind was always careful to know exactly what he was going to say before he even started. Ranma possessed himself of all the patience he had at his command and waited until the man was ready to talk, even though he was ready to shake the man til his teeth rattled.

“Well . . . if we wait for the blaster to come, it’ll be two or three days before the road is clear and that’ll work a real hardship on some of the people trapped. They don’t have the resources to stay in a hotel for that long, even if we had enough rooms around here for them and I don’t like having the locals host them . . . that has its own set of problems. But enough of that, you’re too young to want to listen to that kind of old man worrying.”

Ranma was actually interested in that. It was an insight into emergency management that he wanted to pursue, but he let the mayor get on with his rambling speech

“So . . . we need you to use the Bakusai Tenketsu to clear the road. We can haul away the stones if they are small enough. We have back hoes, trucks and front end loaders enough for that, it’s just that most of the rocks are fairly big; several the size of a house, and most too big to fit into the bed. So if you could just blast them into manageable sizes we can handle removal. Soo . . . will you do it?”

“I’ll call Steven and get right back to you. I’ll even just sit here, if you don’t mind. I’m not going to say anything that you can’t over hear.”

The mayor nodded. So Ranma flipped his phone open and speed dialed Steven.

“Hey, Steven, what’s up?”

“Not much. What’s up with you? When you coming back?”

Ranma laughed easily. Every time he called anyone, that was the first thing they wanted to know.

“Soon, I think. Look, I got a situation and I need your advice.”

“Bad?”

“Naw. Not for me anyway. There’s a rock slide blocking the road and the locals want me to use Bakusai Tenketsu to open the road. I can do it but I don’t use the technique and I’m a little doubtful of complete control. I’m not gonna blow up anything but I could break some windows or something.”

“Ranma, all you have to do is hook up your lap top. I’ll send you a release form, have the Mayor or Director of Public Works sign it and then blast away.”

“Ok, that’ll work fine.”

“Come home soon, Ranma. We miss you.”

“I’m coming home in a few more days. I miss you too, ya old fart.”

“Brat.”

Ranma shut his phone and told the mayor what Steven had said; the mayor agreed to sign the release if it was all right for a lawyer to go over it. Ranma agreed to that and hooked up the laptop and printed out the form.

While they were waiting for the Lawyer to get through with the release, Ranma went up to the slide and started looking around. Most of the rocks were about the size of a small car but there were several that were huge. After eye balling the mess, Ranma slid and slithered his way to the command post.

“Here you shouldn’t be wandering around on that slide. You could get hurt. Where’s your head?”

Ranma eyed the man for a moment then decided he wasn’t trying to be hateful, he was just frazzled and cranky.

“My head’s on my shoulders. Where’s yours?” Ranma smiled and the man smiled back. “I wasn’t just wandering around for the fun of it. I’m Saotome.”

“And that’s important because?”

Ranma eyed the man with some disfavor, this wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d thought.

“Saotome Ranma. The . . .”

“Oh hell, where’s my head? I’m sorry Saotome-san, it’s just that you’re so young the name didn’t ring a bell at first. Please, have some tea and I’ll get the maps and charts.”

Ranma grimaced, he didn’t want any more tea, his kidneys were floating as it was.

But he wound up drinking more tea as the engineer showed him the map of the road way and the charts that outlined what kind of rock he would be dealing with. As he listened to the engineer, he suddenly realized that he was going to use geometry to do this right. (I’ll be dammed! It really is handy.)

“Look, I need to understand the crystalline structure of the rock. If I don’t, I’ll wind up blasting the rocks into sharp shards and having them flying all over. If I blast across the grain, it’ll fly everywhere. If I go with, it’ll split into nice slabs that I can break down farther without a bunch of debris flying around like kunai. So if the structure is too fragmented, we’ll have to use blasting drapes.

“What?! I’m not just some dumb jock. I thought about this a long time ago, when I first learned the technique from Cologne. I master every technique I learn, even if I don’t think I’ll ever actually use it. I’m just wary because I haven’t practiced the Bakusai Tenketsu like I do combat techniques.”

“I see . . . hmmm. Most of the rock around here is schist and the rest is volcanic. Granite and that. So you’ve got a pure crystalline structure to work with in most of the rocks. The fall is almost all granite. And the schist is very shale like in its structure. However most of the schist is on the other side of the fall and you won’t get to that until tomorrow.”

Ranma eyed the map and had the man show him the area of the fall. It was fairly long, covering almost a quarter mile. The real problem was that the largest rocks had acted like dams and held quite a bit of rock on the road bed, instead of letting it fall farther down the mountain. He’d see how much he could get done in an hour of easy work and then give them an estimate of how long it would take to do the whole job. He said as much to the engineer and watched as the man smiled at him in an easy manner.

“Just take your time. I don’t want you to over-tire yourself. Better to take it easy and get the whole job done, rather than wear yourself out and have to rest before you can finish it. We had old Saito wear himself out once and have to rest for three days before he could finish the job. Left us with only one lane for all that time.”

So Ranma started out easy, breaking along the edge of the fall, turning seven and eight ton boulders into gravel. It was actually easier to break it small. He didn’t have to worry so much about large pieces flying around.

As he worked Ranma controlled the Bakusai Tenketsu. It was much easier than he’d thought it would be. All he had to do was break the rock into gravel. The road crews took care of the removal.

Ranma approached the crew boss. “Hey. While you’re cleaning up this gravel. I’m gonna take a rest over there under that tree.”

The boss just nodded absently and flagged the next truck into place.

~ * ~

Ranma looked up from a light doze to see a police officer walking his way.

“Hey! You can’t be here. You could get hurt.”

“Huh. I’m just here until they need me again. I’m . . .”

The officer shook his head. “They don’t need some kid hanging around. Come on, I’ll get you out of the construction site and we’ll get a soda. I need to talk to you about putting yourself in danger. You kids don’t have sense sometimes. I know it seems like a big adventure. But only the most careless of parents would let a child hang around a place like this. I’m sure you don’t consider yourself a child at what . . . fourteen or thereabouts?”

“I’m seventeen.”

Ranma decided it would be easier if he just went along with the Officer until they got to the site trailer, then he could have the Site Boss explain things.

“Even at seventeen, you have no business hanging around heavy machinery. You could get run over. Then how would your parents feel.”

The officer reached over and gave Ranma a slight shake by the shoulder.

Ranma bit his lip, then decided he was through being ashamed of his pop and hiding the truth. He’d faced up to things fairly well. In the Compound everyone knew, more or less, what his early child hood had been like, but he’d always tried to hide it from the common public. No more.

“I don’t think they would care much one way or the other. My pop is in prison and my mom was never around much. But . . .”

“Hey, Saotome. We need you now. Where are you going?” The Site Boss came hurrying up with a handful of papers. “Here . . . I signed. Now you sign and we’ll each have a copy. How much longer do you think it will take you to get through?”

The Site Boss turned to the Policeman and snapped. “I told you to keep people out of the site, not harass the workers. I got a mess on the road still and he’s got plenty to do besides gossip with you. Come on, Saotome. I know you got rested . . . “ The Boss rubbed the back of his neck. “Damn it, hey officer, I’m sorry. This mess has me all on edge. I don’t like it that Saotome is so young. I know he’s good but I don’t like a kid being in a construction zone, so I bit your head off.” The boss turned to Ranma. “My son is older than you and I wouldn’t let him do this job, so I’m on edge about that, too.” He held up his hands to stop Ranma’s anticipated protests. “ I’m sure you’re very good, I saw how you did the preliminary blasts. But it just goes against the grain. You should be safe on the sidelines bettin’ with your friends about how long it’ll take, not slaving away with us.”

Ranma got ‘warm fuzzes’ as Sunny would say. This man was upset because he thought Ranma should be drinking soda and betting on time frames, not blasting rock. It felt good.

“Well, thanks. But I am rested now, so let’s get going on this. I don’t think I’ll get done today, it’s too late a start but, with lighting, I can work late into the night. I’ll stop when I get tired, too much a chance of making a mistake when I’m tired. And since this isn’t life or death, I’m taking it easy on myself.”

Ranma folded his copy of the release and stuffed it into a pocket of his pants.

Ranma did take it easy on himself. He worked up enough rock to keep the trucks busy and then rested. He also made sure that he wasn’t in the way of the equipment. It was working out well, he spent time with the engineer and made sure that he was breaking the rock into useful gravel, saying he didn’t see any need to waste the materials.

At seven P.M. he called a rest stop and told the Boss he was getting hungry. Ranma was startled when the Boss looked at him and threw a fit. He told Ranma to go down to the site trailer and sit down.

Ranma plopped down at the empty desk in the trailer and started when he got a good look at himself in the mirrored wall. He was filthy, covered with rock dust and sand. He was so dirty that his hair was almost white.

Deciding that he needed to do something rather than sit and fidget, Ranma went to his truck and got his backpack. He could read a few reports and try again to figure out what was bothering him.

After setting up his laptop, he connected to the net and downloaded a new batch of files. He started reading the first one and was soon engrossed in the report.

“Hello? Someone order Ramen? Good noodles here.”

Ranma nearly jumped out of his skin. Shampoo? What the hell??

“In here. Shampoo? That you?”

“Nihao, Ranma. Shampoo happy to see Ex-Arien. You hungry?”

Ranma eyed Shampoo warily. He was waiting for her to glomp him or raise hell or something. But all she did was smile at him.

“Shampoo! Where are you? Is the customer in here? The Site Boss said he would be.”

Mousse stuck his head in the door and Ranma was startled to see that Mousse had jade green eyes.

“Hey, Mousse, what the hell?”

“Saotome, you the customer? If you are, I’ll have to call for more, we only brought two bowls of noodles.”

“Husband, you not fight with Ranma. We talk about before. No jealous.”

“Shampoo. I promised you not to fight with him and I meant it.”

Ranma was getting more confused by the second. He had thought that Shampoo wouldn’t give up on him no matter what Cologne said and Mousse was blind. “OK, OK . . . time out. What the hell is going on here? I need intel. Speak to me.”

Mousse plopped a bowl of noodles in front of Ranma and started talking.

When Cologne had had enough of Shampoo sulking and whining, she had taken both teens back to China and spent three days haranguing the Council until they’d agreed to nullify Shampoo’s engagement to Ranma. Then she’d gotten Mousse an eye operation called Lasic Laser Surgery, which had fixed his sight. “That’s great. It was always sad that you were so blind, but funny too.” Then he’d been told to get himself together and beat Shampoo, which he’d done, and now they were married and, Shampoo admitted, very happy.

“Husband very good to Shampoo. We work out every day. He very good, teach Shampoo hidden weapon techniques. Not like Ranma tell Shampoo girl not fight. Stupid Ranma! Shampoo sorry ever waste time on rock head. You marry kitchen destroyer yet?”

“No, Akane and I, well . . when I broke it off with you, I broke it off with all my fiancees. Akane and I just can’t get along. Changing the subject, I’m glad you’re happy. You deserve to be. But where’s Cologne?”

Mousse was doing all the talking as his Japanese was better than Shampoo’s. He told Ranma that Cologne had stayed in China at the Council’s request.

“Something is going on but no one will tell us what it is. I’ve asked Cologne and Happosai to tell me what the trouble is but not a peep.”

Ranma choked on a mouthful of noodles, when he got his throat cleared he managed in a strangled tone, “The ol’ Freak and the ol’ Ghoul together . . . that’s downright frightening.”

“Shampoo not know how they not kill each other. All they do argue, argue. Yell lots. Shampoo glad here in Japan. Too, too much stupid.”

Ranma got a sudden cold chill. Something was still eating at him and it had something to do with not only Cologne but Happosai being in China. (What . . . what . . .)

“Happosai very bad man, glomp Shampoo all time. Shampoo no like. Feel bad make Ranma feel bad glomp all time. He tell Shampoo she foolish girl. See big bird, no bird like that in China. Say not see. Shampoo silly sometime but not stupid, know what see.”

“Honey, you know they all said you saw a big crane. I’m not arguing with you because I didn’t see it. But why would they . . .”

Shampoo interrupted angrily, “They all say save face. Shampoo say it big bad bird. Shampoo not know name for what see. Snake bird thing. Very bad. Hear Head of Council argue with Grandmother. Say call in unlucky department, Council say not. Shampoo think Grandmother send Shampoo and Mousse to Japan keep away from bad thing.”

Ranma’s battle aura flared almost out of control as he got a very bad feeling about the whole China thing. He needed to find out what was going on and fast, but he didn’t know how.

Mousse started, he had felt Ranma’s aura before, but it hadn’t been anything like this.

“Ranma, I need to ask you something, it’s important at least to me” At Ranma’s distracted nod, he reached out a hand and asked. “May I touch you? Please, it’s really important.”

Ranma clicked back to the present. “Huh? Touch me? I don’t understand. You’ve touched me before, why now. What do you want?’

“Ranma I need to touch your battle aura. I need to know . . . did you hold back when you fought me?”

“Sure I held back, if I hadn’t, I’d have probably killed you. If you want to see my aura . . .” Ranma allowed his aura to flare to its full power. “There, satisfied?”

Mousse and Shampoo both paled, Ranma’s aura at full power was overwhelming and Shampoo nearly fainted.

“Why you do that? Why you not use full strength, you make fool of Mousse?”

“Better to make a fool of him than hamburger. Besides, Pop would have flattened me. He never allowed me to use my full aura. He’d beaten the controls into me before I even knew what he was doing. But getting sold to a gladiator stable taught me to use everything I had and dig down for more.”

“You disrespect Mousse, Shampoo not like . . .”

“Shut up, Honey. This is a lot more important than you protecting my non-existent pride.” Mousse put his arm around Shampoo and turned to Ranma. “Ranma, what did you just say?”

“About what, not using all my strength or gettin’ sold?”

“Getting sold. I heard something abut that when I overheard Cologne and Happosai talking but I discounted it. It’s barbaric.”

Ranma filled Shampoo and Mousse in on what had happened finishing up “. . . .I have a good home now, even if they sometimes mess up. And I’m actually a, what we call a ‘George’. I spend my time ‘removing’ threats to the populace. In other words I’m a deamon hunter.”

“NO, you not be such thing only for Amazon Warrior of highest class to do this. Is not for . . . .is for. . .” Shampoo turned to Mousse suddenly. “You not tell. . . this very, very bad. I see big snake-bird thing. Cologne . . . She lie to me. She say not to worry. Is not for us to do. We go back China now.”

Ranma bit his lip, this was, as Shampoo said, very, very bad. If what was happening was what he thought they, could be in very deep shit.

“Look, I got a real bad feeling about this. I got to get that road cleared, I promised. So, I got to do that, then I need to get in touch with. . . hmm. I’m running out of options real quick. Damnit!”

Shampoo snarled and turned, running out the door before Mousse could stop her, not that he tried very hard. They could hear her yelling at the Site boss.

“You, hard hat man! You stupid man. Shampoo know Break Rock technique. Grandmother teach. You bother Ranma when he resting, instead of call Shampoo, that why he all dirty, yes? Shampoo do rest of job. No, you not argue, stupid hard hat man. Use Ranma clear road like use cannon swat fly. Stupid man, stupid Ranma, stupid Grandmother, you not argue, Shampoo not in mood to put up with man.”

“Well I guess she told him. Poor sap. How’s it really going with her?”

Mousse grinned at Ranma. “Well, since I’ve loved her as long as I can remember, I would have made do with anything; but since I whipped her fair and square, in a no holds barred all out battle, she’s really come to at least tolerate me. I think it’s turning into love. Mostly because I don’t put up with any foolishness from her. I used to let her do whatever she wanted and I hoped it would make her love me but Cologne finally told me there is no love without respect, so I made her respect me. We don’t have a normal Amazonian marriage. I won’t put up with most of that stuff. I told her she’d have to have a second husband if she wanted that and he’d better be able to beat me. She’s really a nice girl when you know how to manage her.”

Ranma shut his mouth, his jaw had dropped--this wasn’t the Mousse he remembered. But it had been almost two years now. More like three for him.

“Well, I’m glad. You both deserve to be happy. I’m just sorry I took so long to get my shit together. But all’s well that ends well. Now I really need to get on my computer and get in touch with my people. If you could look in this . . . no. . . you said you didn’t see it. So . . .”

Ranma swiveled the chair back and forth. Then he took out his Deamondex and opened the files; turning to the laptop he started a file search. The parameters were for any bird/reptile cross or anything that could be called a snake bird, he didn’t have much hope but he started with what he had.

Mousse waited patiently until Ranma stopped pecking at the keyboard. Then he looked at the screen and sighed. “Snake Bird thing. Not very helpful. I tried to find out more myself but you know Shampoo; once she gets upset she’s not very good at explaining herself. The only thing I can think of that meets her description is a well. . . you’ll think I’m crazy . . . but either a gryphon or a dragon.”

Ranma stiffened. “Oh, man, please tell me you didn’t just say what I think you said. If it’s a dragon, we’re in such deep shit you won’t believe it.”

“Ranma, you’re talking crazy. There’s no such thing as a dragon. It’s mythological.”

“Damnit Mousse, I just killed a wyvern and caught another nestling just two weeks ago. They are real. Here, look at this and tell me you know of anything that could make a scar like that, especially on me.”

Ranma pulled of his t-shirt and showed Mousse his scars. Mousse just blinked, reached out to touch the scar on his back and sighed.

“Damn. Well, I think we are all in it up to our chins. I can only hope you’re wrong.”

Ranma shrugged, turning back to look at the progress of his search. “You ever know me to be wrong when I predict a disaster of some sort? I’m a real shit magnet, no mistake.” The search finished. “Fuck me! This is real bad. I did a search of all databases available to me and used the parameters unidentified flying object, organic, and birdlike. I’ve got a stripe of hits all across the borders of your province and some sightings here in the north. Damn it. What the hell is going on, why do adults do that?”

Mousse looked at the map and the clusters of dots on it. All of them were grouped around the southern borders of his province and across the northern borders of Japan.

“Shitshitshit, I gotta call Steven. Toss me my cell, it’s over on the counter, and call Shampoo to come in. I need to question her--can you do the Bakusai Tenketsu? Never mind, if Shampoo knows it, you do. Go take care of that road for me. . .damnit! I’m sorry, Mousse, I didn’t mean to order you around like a Grunt.”

“That’s okay, this is too important to let personalities get in the way. Besides, I’m sure you’re used to giving orders and having them obeyed. What is your rank?”

“I don’t have one, I’m a civilian advisor. I’m too young to be enlisted. You have to be twenty.”

“You’re not enlisted? I’d think they’d make an exception in your case. You need the authority of some kind of rank. You won’t get any respect without it.”

Mousse left shaking his head to get Shampoo for Ranma. Ranma stared at the door for a minute then made up his mind about something that had been bothering in on the periphery of his mind for some time.

“Steven, I need some stuff. We got a real problem. I need a thorough search made for sightings of . . what? Ok then I want Shuba. But first. I need a rank. I don’t care what rank it is, just something.”

Steven scrambled to keep up with Ranma’s rapid change of direction. He hated to carry on a conversation about important things on the phone; he couldn’t see who he was talking to and he got off track.

“You need a rank. A rank…what…why? Back up a sec. Start at the beginning.”

Ranma grabbed his patience with both hands and held on.

“I need a rank like Major or something. No one respects me because I look younger than I am, so they just see a smart ass kid getting in the way. With a uniform with rank of some kind, they will think twice and maybe give me a chance to open my mouth and make sense. Ok? I don’t care if it’s honorary or I have to enlist. I should be enlisted anyway. It gives me more protection. Whatever. Now put me in touch with Shuba. When I know something for sure, I’ll be back in touch with you, until then just be ready for it to hit the fan big time. Shampoo . . I just ran into her and Mousse. She said big snake bird thing, so be ready for anything big, bad, nasty and fucking grown-up. Shuba, now.”

Steven shuddered and put Ranma in touch with Shuba.

“Shuba. Do a full search for ufo, big . . oh already got the parameters from Steven. That’s good, I’m getting tired of repeating myself. Search everything you can get your hands on, even the International Inquisitor and that kind of shit. I’m serious as a heart attack. The Chinese have been hiding something in order to save face but their cover is blown, big time. I’m going to do a search in my ‘dex and hope to show my informant some pictures that ring a bell. Call me back when you have something. I’m sending you the results of my prelim. Now.”

Ranma sent Shuba the results of his search and hung up just as Shampoo came back in the door with more noodles.

Hey, where. . . never mind, gimme.”

Shampoo took away the empty bowls and set the new ones in front of Ranma.

“You father really sell you? He very bad man, Shampoo angry. Shampoo not know what to say.”

“Then don’t say anything, it’s over. I’m not hidin’ what happened. I’m tired of trying to remember who knows what but I got better things to do than spend my time feeling sorry for myself. . . here. Look at these pictures and silhouettes and see if you see anything that looks familiar.”

Ranma brushed off Shampoo’s fussing without even thinking about it. He set the deamondex in front of her and started the slide show. While he finished his noodles, she watched the pictures flash by.

“There. . . there…No, go back two. . .yes! That what Shampoo see. Big . . . DRAGON!!. . .Not good, not good . . . very, very bad . . . oh, bad, bad!” Shampoo freaked out completely.

“Shampoo, calm down, you can’t freak out on me now. I need you to tell me stuff. Like how long ago did this thing show up and how big is it. Do you know? If not, who do I see to find out about it? Why didn’t anyone call us in? What are they thinking? Come on. I need you to get it together. Shampoo, stop that right now.”

Shampoo was rocking and wailing softly, pulling at her hair. She was completely hysterical.

“Shampoo! Stop! I need you to pull yourself together and talk to me.”

Ranma finally resorted to shaking her ‘til her teeth rattled. She stopped with a harsh hiccup and smacked his hands away.

“Shampoo ok now. Very bad surprise. Not like. Grandmother she send Mousse with Shampoo to Japan, say need to stay here until council forget about Ranma marriage mess.” Shampoo took a cleansing breath, gathered her thoughts, and started her story.

By the time she was finished Ranma felt like banging his head, not to mention a few other heads.

The dragon had popped out of thin air about nine months ago. It had been fairly small, as dragons go. About ten feet long, with a wing span of some twenty feet but it kept growing.

“Shampoo not know more and that she only guess at. You talk to Happosai, he know everything, old snoop. But Shampoo think you have hard time get tell anything. Too too stubborn old people. Save face, loose head. Stupid. Not ask for help.”

Shampoo wiped her still teary eyes and waved her hand in a gesture of disgust. Ranma knew he was in for a hard time. The Chinese elders would be more interested in hiding the fact that they couldn’t deal with the problem than they would be in taking care of the problem before it got completely out of hand. (If it isn’t already, damn them.)

“Ok. Thanks, Shampoo. I think I need to lean on some people and go to China. No, you’re not going. I don’t need to have to argue with you and Mousse before I argue with the Amazon Council. Can’t handle it. Not gonna.”

Ranma called Steven back and gave him the bad news. Steven snarled and started moving and shaking.

“Ranma, by the time you get back here, we’ll know something. Don’t hurry. I’ll keep you posted and if we need to, I’ll fly you back from the nearest airport. Relax until I get back to you.”

Ranma closed his phone gently and put it down like it was made of glass. Shampoo had never seen Ranma like this and she was getting scared, when Ranma headed for the door she got out of his way.

Ranma went out to the roadway and walked up to a boulder the size of a large house. He set himself called his full battle aura. “BAKUSAI TENKETSU!” The boulder exploded into pea-sized gravel and flew everywhere. The force of the blast went through the boulder and gouged a hole in the cliff-side big enough to put the site trailer in.

“Damn, what the hell was that?”

The Site Boss only knew that a boulder that Mousse had said was a problem had suddenly disappeared in a cloud of dust.

“Oh shit! Ranma isn’t happy.”

“Ranma very, very mad; too too angry, not happy Ranma.”

Shampoo grabbed Mousse and in rapid Chinese explained what had happened. Mousse just shook his head saying only, “I don’t feel the least bit sorry for the Elders. They’ve made one mistake too many and I think it will be the end of the Amazon Nations as we know them. Especially if they continue to anger Ranma and he comes down on them. Hopefully, he will have mercy on them.”

Ranma sighed, the release had made him feel much better. He turned to the Site Boss and told him to get more trucks. He was going to quit fooling around and get the job done as fast as he could .

“I’m leaving in the morning. I want to go somewhere and see some people. I’ll get this cleared away.”

Ranma started in, breaking everything in sight; he climbed over piles of sand and gravel instead of waiting for it to be cleared away. Mousse followed him and at his request (very carefully worded as a request instead of an order) cleaned up smaller stuff that didn’t take Ranma’s power or control to do. Mousse didn’t mind. He was still chewing over the fact that Ranma had held back, at his father’s order, when they’d fought.

Two hours later, Mousse was panting and Shampoo was flat on her back. Every boulder too large to fit into a dump bed had been reduced to base rock and the trucks and front end loaders were so far behind that they calling in more.

“Ok, that’s that. I’m going to the hotel and taking a bath. Will you call ahead and see if they can get me a yukata? I don’t want to track through the lobby in all this dirt. They don’t need to have to clean up after it.” At the boss’ vigorous nod, Ranma waved casually and turned to his friends. “I’m tired and I know you’re worn out. I’ll see you tomorrow. Come to the hotel and I’ll buy you breakfast, fill you in on what ever Steven and Shuba find out and you can try to help me figure out a way to get the Elders to cooperate with us. Bye.”

Ranma was met at the side door by the hotel manager with a yukata and a cup of tea. He changed in the vestibule and headed for the baths.

“I’m way too young for all this shit."