One Week Later: Three men stopped in front of the Tendo front gate, the smallest holding a metal suitcase. “This is the place?” The largest muttered. “What a dump. Looks like it’s about to collapse.” “Yup, this is the place. I followed him here.” “Well then . . . lets try out the ‘Akane’, shall we?” the one of medium stature stated while opening the front gate, the other two following close behind him. Disclaimer: I own neither Ranma ½ or Tenchi Muyo, their respective owners, Rumiko Takahashi and Masaki Kajishima do. If I owned either of them, I wouldn’t be writing this fic, that’s for sure! The author would like to thank both Corwin and Iron Dragoon, and to a lesser extent Kwok, for prereading this fic and making it a hell of a lot better than it was before. Thanks guys! “At times the world can seem like an unfriendly and sinister place, but believe us when we say that there is much more good in it than bad... and what might seem like a series of unfortunate events might, in fact, be the first steps of a journey.” - Lemon Snickets A Series of Unfortunate Events. Juraian Knight A Ranma ½/ Tenchi Muyo Crossover By Hawk Chapter 1 - The Cruel Thanks “Raaanmaaaaa!” There was a loud ‘thud’ from the upstairs before Akane came storming down and took a seat on the living room couch. She crossed her arms and huffed. Nabiki was out for the night, Kasumi was cooking dinner, while Genma and Soun were cheating at Shogi. Ranma was freshly pounded into his bedroom floor. Soun raised his head as the doorbell rang and Genma swiftly rearranged the Shogi board pieces. When he looked down at the board, he slapped his forehead, realizing that he had cheated in Soun’s favor. “Kasumi, can you get that please?” Soun asked before looking down at the shogi board and grinned. “I’ve got you now, Saotome!” Genma frowned as Kasumi opened the door. The man at the door bowed, asking, “Is Ranma Saotome in?” “Oh my, yes he is!” Kasumi bowed back to the man. “Please come in, is he expecting you?” Musou shook his head, saying, “No,” as he, Kahji and Takenda entered the house, Kahji carrying a suitcase. “Who’s at the door, Kasumi-chan?” Soun asked from where he sat, wondering how he got such an advantage in the game. He couldn’t remember cheating, moving the pieces into the positions they were in. “Someone for Ranma-kun,” she replied, and glanced at Takenda. “Are you here to challenge the dojo?” Akane stood up and moved to get a better look at the visitors. “Feh, knowing Ranma this is only going to lead to a whole mess of problems.” “You have no idea. . .” Kahji muttered. Akane looked at Kahji suspiciously, having overheard the comment. She opened her mouth and was about to speak when someone butted in. “What’s goin’ on?” Ranma asked from the top of the stairs. “Hey! You’re . . uh . . .” “Musou.” “Yeah! Musou! And Kahji and Takada!” Ranma exclaimed as he trotted down the stairs. “Takenda.” “Uh, yeah. What’re you guys doing here? How’d you know where I live?” Ranma asked, shoving his hands into his pockets, and standing beside Akane. “We have our ways,” Musou replied, as Kahji set down the suitcase. “So, uh, what’re you guys up to?” Ranma asked again. “Who are these guys, Ranma?” Akane asked, eyeing them all suspiciously. “This is Musou, Kahji and Takenda.” Ranma pointed to each as he said their names. The three bowed. Kahji knelt down and opened the suitcase. “We’ve come to show you the ‘Akane’, which you helped save,” Musou explained cooly. Everyone blinked and looked at Ranma. He had been telling the truth about, as he put it, ‘saving some science guys and their invention and got it named after Akane’. Because Ranma had been so late in returning with the groceries, Akane had taken it upon herself to try and make something from scratch. The kitchen still had burns on the walls and still smelled like dry dog food. Kasumi had taken the liberty to wash the kitchen five times and still couldn’t get rid of the smell. “You mean you weren’t making that up?” Akane asked, feeling slightly put off. She had hit him when he had returned that night and told the story. “I told you I wasn’t!” Ranma retorted smugly, crossing his arms over his chest. “Hmm. . . is something cooking? It smells great!” Kahji exclaimed as he sniffed in the direction of the kitchen. The residents of the Tendo home gave him an odd look. Akane grinned. “At least someone can appreciate good cooking,” she said. Ranma made a face and a strangled sound, before being smacked upside the head by Akane, Genma and Soun. Kahji in the mean time was hurriedly piecing together the invention, as if it were made of building blocks. Pieces locked into place, forming the ‘Akane’. It was then picked up and pointed at Ranma. “Is that a gun?” a couple voices asked at once. “Yes,” Musou replied as he and Takenda pulled out two smaller looking guns. Genma and Soun started to move but a spray of green spewed from the tips of the guns. Genma and Soun both collapsed, Genma dying instantly and Soun left laying on the floor, bleeding to death. “Oh my God!” “What the hell are you doing!” Ranma screamed in panic. The ‘Akane’ remained pointed at Ranma, who didn’t move. Akane and Kasumi dropped to their knees and crawled over to Soun. Musou and Takenda trained their guns to the two girls. “I'm sorry, Ranma, I really, really am,” Masou said with a condescending smirk. “But, we needed a test subject to make sure our 'product' works. To get our potential buyers interested, you know?” “Why me?” “What better person to test a weapon on than the person who beat five Galaxy Police officers by himself?” Ranma mouthed the words, ‘Galaxy Police’ with a look of confusion and apprehension on his face. “But why? I helped you! I saved you!” “And we're grateful for that, we really are,” he replied with a smug grin. “But we're even more grateful that you've been kind enough to 'volunteer' to be our test subject,” Masou continued, the grin becoming a viciously gleeful smirk. A low humming noise began emitting from the ‘Akane’, letting everyone know that it was powering up. “Damn you!” Ranma growled, clenching his fists. “You move . . . “ Musou left the threat hanging, keeping his gun trained on Akane. Soun was dead, and Kasumi was crying, cradling his head gently in her arms. Blood continued to pour from his lifeless body. “You bastards!” Ranma spat. “Thanks for the help, Ranma Saotome,” Musou said with a smile. There was a bright flash, a crackle of electricity. Ranma yelled out in pain as he felt his side torn open. The world was a blinding white and he could vaguely hear Akane and Kasumi shouting. He clutched blindly at his side, where the pain seared, and felt a thick liquid rush over his hand. Had Ranma not been in such excruciating anguish, he would’ve found it ironic that a gun named ‘Akane’ had hurt him so badly. Instead he blacked out, hearing Akane scream one last time and the sound of Kahji laughing hoarsely. ********* With a weak groan, Ranma’s eyes fluttered open. They slammed shut as the intense light filtered through his pupils. His fingers were sticky, soaked in something wet and dry. ‘Blood,’ his mind told him. He licked his dry lips and winced in pain. Opening his eyes again, slowly this time, Ranma’s eyes looked at everything they could as he lay on his back. His father and Mr. Tendo were dead, he knew that, but he wasn’t sure about Akane and Kasumi. ‘How long have I been out,’ he wondered. How long had the three stayed in the house? Had Nabiki returned while they were still there? Maybe Nabiki had returned, saw everyone and ran out of the house. “Akane?” he called out weakly. “Kasumi? Akane? Are you alright?” Rolling his head to look to his left, Ranma’s eyes met with Kasumi’s lifeless stare. Her eyes never wavered as they looked into his and breath never escaped her bloody lips. He closed his eyes and swore profusely in his head, tears escaping from his shut eyelids. His brain began pounding loudly in his head and he tried not to think about looking for Akane. “Akane? Where are you, you stupid tomboy?” He chuckled without humor, his eyes welling up with tears. “Akane?” He heard the front door open and prayed it wasn’t Musou again; prayed that it was Akane, the police, someone. “I’m ho-oh my go-wh-wh-what-I,” he heard Nabiki mutter senselessly. She couldn’t seem to form an entire sentence, let alone a word. “Nabiki?” he tried to shout, but instead it came out as a whisper. “Nabiki! Help me!” There was no immediate response from Nabiki and Ranma was worried that she would be of no help. “Ra-Ranma?” His eyes opened again and he tried to find Nabiki. “Akane? Is she. . .?” Once again, Nabiki didn’t respond and he took that as her answer. Ranma was split in two: One half wanted to just give up and die. The other told him to live. He had to live, for Nabiki, for his mom. The anger built up in him and he felt fresh blood start to ooze from his wound again. He was mad at Musou, Kahji, and Takenda. They had betrayed him and his trust, murdered his father, his fiancee and those he considered family. But he was also mad at himself. He had helped them escape. He had helped them, and in a sense, helped them kill the ones he loved. He was partially to blame. He wanted to scream. He wanted to cry. Wanted to die. Wanted revenge! “Nabiki! God damnit, snap outta it!” Ranma screamed then groaned in pain, hand pressing against his open wound. “But, I just-” Nabiki stuttered before Ranma cut in. “Call Dr. Tofu! Call him now!” He heard Nabiki push herself to her feet. “Police,” she muttered, “I’m gonna call the police.” “NO!” Ranma exclaimed, he throat sore and burning. “Dr. Tofu! Only Dr. Tofu! If the- if the police get involved, we’ll be . . . we won’t be safe . . . .” “But . . .?” he could hear the apprehension in her voice. “Nabiki, please! Trust me!” Ranma began coughing. “Please, I’ll explain . . . explain late . . . later.” And once again, the world around him went dark. ********* Ranma grinned as Akane smiled at him. It had been a good day so far. Akane had cooked them a delicious breakfast and then the two had gone on a morning jog. The sun, newly risen, greeted them warmly as they jogged to the park. They had sat down and watched as moms and dads brought their children to run around. The two glanced at one another through the corners of their eyes and blushed. Snaking his hand out, Ranma grabbed Akane’s and gave it a squeeze. He turned to look at her again and watched in horror as Akane’s body began crumpling, turning into dust. He screamed and grabbed at Akane’s falling pieces. He wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace and felt her body explode, the ashes being blown away. Ranma opened his hands and watched as the dust in them was swept away by the wind. “Your fault . . .” Akane’s voice whispered and he screamed again. ********* He screamed and grabbed for his side but was stopped. Hands grabbed his wrists and pinned them down. “Don’t move! Don’t touch it! I just finished sewing it up!” “Dr. Tofu?” Ranma muttered tiredly. “Yes, it’s me, Ranma,” Dr. Tofu replied, releasing his hold on Ranma’s wrists. “What happened here?” “What time is it?” Ranma asked, swallowing a feeling the dryness in his throat. A glass was pressed against his lips and water slid down his throat. He breathed a sigh of relief. “What happened here, Ranma?” Dr. Tofu asked again. “Three guys . . . Musou, Kahji and Takenda . . . killed everyone . . .” Ranma explained. “Shot with weird . . . guns . . . something outta a scfi-anime or something.” He forced himself to sit up. “Said they wanted to test their ‘product’.” “Don’t rush yourself, Ranma,” Dr. Tofu stated, trying to push him back down. “I’m fine,” Ranma replied, waving off the concern. He opened his eyes wide and then shut them. “I’ll be fine once the world stops spinning.” “Explain, Ranma . . .” he heard Nabiki say. “Why can’t I call the police?” “Because I want to face them by myself . . . I don’t want the police stopping me . . .” “And you’re in no shape to be fighting anyone,” Dr. Tofu added. “Not only that,” Nabiki sighed, acknowledging Dr. Tofu had a point, “but you don’t even know where to start looking. You don’t know anything about these guys, besides their names. . . .” Nabiki narrowed her eyes, ‘How does Ranma know their names,’ she thought suspiciously. “But that still doesn’t explain why I you told Nabiki not to call the police,” Dr. Tofu said. “The police won’t be any help! Have they ever stopped to try and help out when some psycho like Taro or Happosai are running around? No! They just sit on their asses doing nothing! They’d only manage to,” Ranma started coughing, covering his side with one hand, and shielding his mouth with the other. He looked at the palm of his hand, noticing a few specks of blood, and took a breath. “They’re only manage to get in the way. Make things worse.” Nabiki and Dr. Tofu looked at one another, silently acknowledging that the cops would be of little, to no use in this instance. If these three had managed to take down Ranma, the cops would have pretty much no chance. “What time is it?” Ranma asked again. “It’s 2 A.M.” Nabiki replied sullenly. Ranma swallowed. “We need to get out of here. I have to find them . . . make them pay.” “I don’t know, Ranma, I still think you should go to the police. I’m sure they could help somehow. . . .” Dr. Tofu said, though he clearly didn’t sound too confident in his argument. “No . . . I want to do this on my own.” “I don’t get this. . . why would they do this? Who were they? How do you know their names?” Dr. Tofu asked, feeling utterly lost and powerless. Ranma swallowed, opening his eyes and stared at the ceiling. “They. . .” he stopped, and to Nabiki and Dr. Tofu it looked as if he were trying to remember. This was not true, Ranma new clearly why everything happened the way it did, but he didn’t want them to know, so he was, in his mind, asking for forgiveness. “They knew my dad and yours. . . .,” he lied. “They were old friends, apparently.” “Our fathers. . . ?” Nabiki muttered, wide eyed in disbelief. “Our fathers fault?” They all went silent, lost in their own thoughts. “I’m still not so sure you should run away from this, Ranma,” Dr. Tofu said, “The cops-” “I’M NOT RUNNING AWAY! THEY KILLED AKANE!” he screamed, eyes slamming shut. As Nabiki watched Ranma, her insides twisted. She almost wanted to lash out and blame him for everything, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t bring herself to blame her father or his for what happened. She could only blame the men who had killed her family. It was clear by how much Ranma was hurting that he wasn’t to blame. No, the only ones who she could lash out at were the three: Musou, Kahji, and Takenda. “I know they did, Ranma but-” Dr. Tofu started. “They KILLED Kasumi!” Ranma stated forcefully. Dr. Tofu hung his head. “And they woulda killed Nabiki had she been here. And then I would have died as well.” Dr. Tofu and Nabiki were silent, so Ranma continued. “I’ve been given a chance . . . to get back at them for doing this . . . I can’t just sit back and do nothing!” he explained angrily and thought, ‘And a chance to redeem myself, for playing a part in causing Akane’s death.’ He clenched his fists and forced himself not to cry or look at where Akane lay. It took all of his willpower not to. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “How do you intend to find them?” Dr. Tofu asked. “I don’t know,” Ranma replied tiredly. There was a moment of silence. “There’s . . . um . . . there’s something in . . . Akane’s . . . hand,” Nabiki muttered, staring at Akane’s outstretched hand, from where she sat on the floor, cradling her fathers head on her lap. Ranma and Dr. Tofu turned to look, the former realizing his mistake too late. He felt the bile in his stomach rise into his throat, like a massive wad of anger, depression, and sorrow. He bent over and threw up. The sight of Akane’s lifeless, bloodied, corpse made him feel ill. He clutched at his stomach, bending over and throwing up again. He felt Dr. Tofu pat him on the back before rubbing the back of his neck. His blood ran cold and his head felt hot. The world around him spun and he felt dizzy. He began dry heaving, his breath scraping over his parched throat. He was handed a cup and downed its contents in one quick gulp. Clutching at Dr. Tofu’s collar, he tried to steady himself. His body pitched forward and the world around him went black. ********* Voices faded in through the cloudy dark veil of his mind, blurred and soft. “Should we tell Ranma . . . wallet?” “I don’t know if we . . . ell him.” “If we tell him, he’ll want . . . after them.” “I’d shed no tears.” And then the veil closed and his consciousness was lost again. ********* Ranma awoke on a hard cold table. His eyes warily opened, drained of strength. Yawning, he stretched and closed his eyes. Akane’s lifeless face stared back at him. His eyes snapped open and he stared blankly at the ceiling above him. He took a deep, ragged, breath. She was dead; gone forever and it was his fault. Everyone was dead because of him. It felt like Ryouga had drop all of his depression on his shoulders, weighing him down like a truck load of bricks. He felt like his insides were falling out of his back. “My fault . . .” Ranma mumbled to himself, eyes beginning to water. “All my fault, and I told them it wasn’t. . .” Ranma rolled off the table, slowly lowering his feet to the floor, feeling the cold of the tiles seep through his body. His feet made a smacking noise as he walked out of Dr. Tofu’s examination room. He entered the waiting room where Nabiki and Dr. Tofu sat in silence, cups of tea in their hands. They glanced up for a moment, Dr. Tofu rising from his chair, and Nabiki staring blankly, red-eyed, at the wall across from her. “Ranma, how’re you feeling?” Dr. Tofu asked, walking over to the teen. He placed his hand on Ranma’s shoulder. Ranma look at Dr. Tofu and blinked tiredly, his eyes blood shot. “I feel sick.” “Sit down, drink some tea,” Dr. Tofu replied, guiding Ranma over to sit beside Nabiki. He poured Ranma a cup of tea and handed it to him, before squeezing Ranma’s shoulder comfortingly. Ranma took a small sip. “What was in Akane’s,” he winced as he said her name, “hand?” Dr. Tofu and Nabiki shared a brief glance. “Was it a wallet?” Ranma asked, “I heard you talking about a wallet.” Dr. Tofu remained silent, and Ranma glanced at Nabiki. She looked at him through the corner of her eye. Her gaze turned to the coffee table in front of them and Ranma finally noticed a black leather wallet lying placidly in front of him. Ranma reached out tentatively, picking up the wallet. It flipped open on its own and Ranma began rooting through it. Upon further inspection he found there was no licence or any form of ID. Some cash, and a business card which stated ‘Okayama Cleaning’ boldly on the front, an address of 125 Yoshiokadora Street, but no phone number. Ranma glared with a fierce determination at the card in his hand. “You’re going to go after them, aren’t you,” Dr. Tofu said hesitantly. “Yeah,” Ranma said, “And if I go to this place, I’ll run into them eventually.” “It’s not going to be that easy, Ranma.” The two men turned to look at Nabiki. “What kinda cleaning place has business cards like that?” she asked coldly. “Er . . .” was Ranma’s replied. “It’s gotta be Yakuza run. You said so yourself that . . . Musou and whoever were testing their product. They’re probably planning on selling it on the black market. Who else would they sell it to? If it were to the military, they wouldn’t bother testing it on you Ranma. “It makes sense, Ranma.,” Dr. Tofu said, nodding. Ranma clenched his fists. “I don’t care. I’m going to Okayama, and finding them, Yakuza or not.” “That’s suicide, Ranma!” Dr. Tofu exclaimed, “Especially if the Yakuza are involved.” Ranma looked at Nabiki, awaiting her response. She closed her eyes and sighed. Her face hardened as she opened them and stared at Ranma, her eyes burning with hate for those responsible. “I want them dead as much as you do. I want you to hunt them down and . . . and destroy them. Kill them.” Ranma clutched the business card tighter in his fist, crumpling it accidently. He had made up his mind. He wanted the same thing Nabiki did. “I need to leave now. Get out of Nerima fast, without anyone knowing,” Ranma said, standing up slowly, his side aching. “I’m coming with you,” Nabiki stated, standing as well. “Oh no you’re not! I can’t risk having you following me around,” Ranma argued. “It’s too dangerous.” “Akane may have been your fiancee, but she was my sister! And so was Kasumi,” Dr. Tofu flinched, “And what about my dad! They’re all dead because of these men! I have every right and more to go to Okayama than you do!” Ranma and Nabiki glared at one another. “You’ll only get into trouble.” “I can help you! I’m not some weak little girl, you know! You may have muscle, Ranma, but you’re lacking in two things! Brains and money, and I’ve got both.” Nabiki crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t want you getting hurt,” Ranma replied softly. “I won’t . . . you can do all the fighting. I’ll help you from behind the scenes,” she explained, looking at Ranma with hurting eyes. Ranma was silent for a moment. “You won’t try to get involved in my fights?” Nabiki shook her head. “You need me, Ranma.” She was right; he did need her. “So what’re you going to do?” Dr. Tofu asked with obvious resignation in his voice. “We’re going to Okayama,” was the reply, the words echoing like a judgement of fate, signaling the start of what would soon be a very long journey. Next Time: Chapter 2 - The Fresh Start Ranma and Nabiki head to Okayama where at a certain shrine they’re both given a fresh start. A/N: This chapter is a lot shorter than my usual chapters which are around 40 some odd pages. This chapter is only 14. I’m fairly sure Chapter 2 will be longer than this one. All comments, flames, what not please send to hawk49er@comcast.net and if you’re going to flame me, at least write a review that isn’t just insulting, but gives critical information on what’s wrong with the fic.