A lone figure stood on top of a low rise building near the outskirts of Okayama’s city limits. His raven hair was tied into a pigtail which was whipping around from the nights strong wind. The teen, no more than 16 years old, stood watching cars drive to and fro on the busy road below him. People heading home. Something he didn’t have at the moment. In the distance a siren wailed and the young man hung his head. A quiet sigh escaped his lips. It had been nearly five months since the incident. It appeared that he would have another busy night ahead of him. But he could quit, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t stop now. If he did, all the deaths... all the lost friendships, all the pain he had suffered. . . it would have all been for nothing. And he couldn’t let that happen. He jumped from the roof and landed easily on the top of a car driving in the direction of the sirens. Kneeling to steady himself for the ride, Ranma Saotome, known to some as Ranko Sakada thousands others as the Juraian Knight, let himself be carried into the inner city of Okayama. This is how he got there. Disclaimer: I own neither Ranma ½ or Tenchi Muyo, their respective owners, Rumiko Takahashi and Masaki Kajishima do. If I owned either of them, I wouldn’t be writing this fic, that’s for sure! The author would like to thank both Corwin and Iron Dragoon, and to a lesser extent Kwok, for prereading this fic and making it a hell of a lot better than it was before. Thanks guys! “When the Gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers.” - Oscar Wilde Juraian Knight A Ranma ½/ Tenchi Muyo Crossover By Hawk Note: Here we go again. . . Prologue - The Stage Is Set Ranma Saotome was your typical high school student. Multiple fiancees. Incredible martial arts prowess. Rivals out for his blood. The ability to leap from the roof of one building to another. Yup, just your typical high school student. What brought about Ranma Saotome’s ruin, you ask? Most would think it was one of his errant rivals, bent on destroying him. Some would think it would be a jealous fiancees fault, her anger erupting at Ranma’s lack of attention. Unfortunately for Ranma, a single act of his own doing, something that he believed to be the right thing, would cause him more pain than any rival or fiancee had ever caused him before. ********* Carrying a bag of groceries home for Kasumi, the main protagonist wasn’t in the best of moods. “Man, Akane better have cooled down by now. Who cares if I said a gorilla’s butt was better looking than hers!” He blushed as he remembered being caught staring momentarily at Akane’s posterior. “Feh, stupid tomboy.” Kasumi had sent him out to pick up some things for her, giving him a reason to avoid Akane’s wrath and let her calm down. Sighing to himself, he thanked Kasumi in his head for saving him from an eventual beat down. Swinging the bag of groceries at his side, Ranma whistled random notes, as if making up his own song. He stopped in the middle of a high note and blinked, looking about. The sound of a small scuffle had caught his ears. Taking off in a sprint, Ranma came upon a scene of violence and took it all in. Five men in strange uniforms, maybe an organized crime syndicate of some sort, seemed to be assaulting three other men. But who to help? Ranma growled in his throat at the scene but wasn’t sure who was attacking who. He assumed it was the five men in uniforms because they outnumbered the others. No group of thugs, especially organized, would attack a group larger than theirs. ‘So that would mean the men in the uniforms are the muggers, right?’ Ranma thought to himself. ‘But what type of thug wears a uniform?’ he reasoned. “What’s going on here?” Ranma yelled, hoping for some clarity. The answer to who he should help and who he should beat down was answered when one of the men in uniform pulled out a gun shaped object, and started to turn towards him. Anyone carrying a gun was bad news. In the blink of an eye, Ranma was on the gun wielder. He landed in front of the man, grabbing his hand and slamming it into the ground. The gun smashed on impact, as well as that mans hand. As the man screamed, clutching his broken hand, Ranma turned and faced another man, who was yelling in a foreign language. The man started to draw his own gun but Ranma swatted his hand aside. The gun went off, emitting a strange red beam which scorched the cement ground. ‘What the hell was that?,’ Ranma thought frantically as he punched the man across the face. ‘I’ve never heard of a gun that fires lasers before!’ The man dropped to his knees and covered his nose. Ranma swiftly dodged around a staff, the end of which crackled with electricity. Ranma had no doubt in his mind that the men in uniforms were the criminals now. ‘What kinda weapons are these! It’s like they’re from the future or something,’ he figured, as he ducked under a swing of the staff. Grabbing the staff, Ranma pulled it out of the mans hands. He flipped it over so the electric end pointed at the man who had just been holding it and jammed it into his chest. The man quickly dropped to his knees, then side, and clutched at his burnt chest. Twirling the staff around, Ranma brought it down on the fourth uniformed mans hand. The man dropped his gun, and pulled his hand toward his body, cradling it for a second. At the same time, the fifth uniformed man was grappling with one of the three people Ranma was trying to protect. Fortunately for Ranma, the man fighting on his side was massive in size and could apparently hold his own. Spinning the staff around more, Ranma smacked the outside of the fourth man’s knee. He brought the staff up and hit the man across the side of his face. The fourth man spun around, and Ranma jammed the electric end of the staff into his back. The man slammed face first into a nearby wall, knocked unconscious. Turning to the last man, Ranma flinched as a red beam stuck the staff, breaking it in two. Cursing angrily under his breath, he raised his hands in surrender as the last man pointed his gun at him. Ranma looked at the three men he had been defending, noting they had their hands up as well. “Alright, what do you want? You want our money or something?” Ranma asked. The man jabbed his gun toward Ranma and began rambling off in a language Ranma had never heard before. The man continued to yell, gesturing toward the three men with his gun for a brief second, but not long enough for Ranma to make a move. “I don’t understand what you’re saying!” Ranma exclaimed, annoyed. Ranma sensed one of the three men start to move. The fifth uniformed man turned his aim toward the three men and the largest of the three men jumped at him. The larger man grabbed the other mans wrist, lifting his arm upward, a shot of red flying skyward. Ranma struck. His foot lashed out in a quick snap kick, hitting the mans hand. The gun flew out of the mans hand a moment before Ranma’s other foot slammed into his jaw. The man fell onto his back, out cold. “You guys ok?” Ranma asked, turning to the men. “You know what’s up with these guys? Where they’re from, or what’s up with these guns?” He punctuated his hatred of guns by stepping on one of the discarded guns, crushing it. “We’re not so sure ourselves who these men are, but thank you very much,” the man of average height said with a bow. “My comrades and I are scientists on our way to a nearby convention to display our newest invention. I believe these men were trying to steal it from us.” The man patted a metal suitcase. “Eh, it was no problem. I’m just glad I could help,” Ranma said with a dismissive wave of the hand. “What’s your name?” the man asked. “Ranma Saotome of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts,” he announced proudly. “Musou Kibagabi.” They shook hands. “These are my partners, Kahji Maeda,” Musou indicated toward the short portly man, “and this is our bodyguard Takenda Shido,” he concluded, pointing at the massive man behind him. “Yeah, apparently,” Ranma said eyeing Takenda with a little more caution. They both bowed to Ranma. “Pleased to meet you.” “Because you saved us, the only way I can think of repaying you is to name our invention after you. Does that sound like a good reward?” Musou asked while holding the metal suitcase against his chest. “Uh. . . you don’t have to do that,” Ranma said slowly. “I insist!” “Err. . . name it Akane! Yeah!” Ranma exclaimed with a grin. “Uh. . . ok. . . if you want,” Musou said and smiled. “You guys should tie these guys up or something. Call the police too, cause I gotta get going! I’m running way late! Cya!” With a simple wave, Ranma leapt to the roof of one of the buildings he was between and took off running toward the Tendo household. ‘Man, Akane can’t be mad at me after I tell her I got something named after her!’ he thought as he roof jumped. Back in the alley, Musou stared at where Ranma had disappeared over the roof. “You know how we’ve been looking for a test subject?” he stated coldly. “Yeah?” “I think we may have just found it. Kahji, follow this Ranma and find out where he lives. Takenda and I will clean up this mess.” With a nod, Kahji made a simple leap into the air and onto the same roof Ranma had jumped to. He immediately took off running. Musou reached down and picked up one of the fallen guns. He looked at it briefly and pointed it at one of the conscious, yet defeated men. Next Time: Chapter 1 - A Cruel Thanks Muso, Takenda and Kahji make a visit to the Tendo household. A/N: Once more into the breach! All comments, flames, what not please send to hawk49er@comcast.net and if you’re going to flame me, at least write a review that isn’t just insulting, but gives critical information on what’s wrong with the fic.