Chapter 8

"Welcome to the Nekohanten." Today's special is 'shrimp tanmen'.
We also have a very nice 'siu mai' with . . ."
"You didn't cook it did you, imouta?"
"Nabiki!" Akane tried to hug her sister, forgetting that she had
been carrying two orders to another table. Death, disaster and soup
stains were adverted when Moshu snagged one falling tray with a loop of
chain, while Shan Pu snatched the other with a sliding catch that would
have earned her a start on any big league ball team in the U.S.or Japan.
"Oh I'm so glad to see you . How is everyone? Where is Kasumi? Is
Papa OK?. How is Auntie Saotome? And Ryouga? And . .."
"If Nabiki no can breathe, she no can answer you." Shan Pu
observed from her position on the floor.
"I'm so sorry." Akane was almost in tears.
"It's alright Akane. Kasumi's out shopping." Nabiki wheezed. Her
life had flashed before her eyes. And sadly, there hadn't been any
naughty bits! "Just be a little more careful in the future. Papa. . .
well Papa is just staying in his room." Nabiki looked sad for a minute,
then grinned.
"I notice you didn't ask about one person."
"Who?"
"Ranma."
"That baka, he didn't come by once."
"That's because Mom took me off to see relatives I didn't even
know we had." the baka in question said from the doorway.
Akane spun around as if she were on ball bearings and a megawatt
smile bloomed, to be instantly covered with a mask of studied
indifference.
"Relatives huh? And you couldn't stop by once? Where do they
live, the far side of the moon?"
"Worse, Kyoto." Ranma said in the tone of voice one would
announce an iminent trip to hell, or New Jersey.
Nabiki giggled. "He'd still be there if he hadn't tried to book a
table at the Doi for his mother and aunt. They thought he and his mother
were 'ichigen'. . ."
"They were rude to Mom." Ranma muttered darkly.
". . . And 'suggested' they go elsewhere."
"They made fun of me!"
"Well, I'm sure the rude man will apologize as soon as they un-
wire his jaw." Nabiki giggled again. "It was priceless. Auntie Saotome's
sister has got some pull with the local authorities, so no charges were
filed, but she thought it best if Ranma went back to Nermia for a while."
". . . was only a little fire. Why'd they make such a big. . ."
"Ranma! Earth to Ranma! What are you muttering about?"
Ranma jerked back to reality. "Nothin'. Just glad to be back. I
missed you Akane."
"Really?!."
Nabiki watched her tough tomboy sister start to melt into a
puddle of infatuated goo. A thoughtful man, a sensitive man at this
moment with one word, one caress could have tamed a raging virago,
turning her into his adoring slave for life. Unfortunately that man was
not present and Saotome Ranma, having all the sensitivity of a stone
Buddha, without having the same capacity for thought; let the moment
pass.
"Yeah Akane, I wanted to talk to you about the 'sakkiken'."
". . . . ."
"Sorry about that Shan Pu."
"No worry Nabiki. Tray is stainless steel. Moshu can hammer out
dent very fast. Almost invisible when he finish. How about I set up table
out back. Bring food. That way we can talk, no interruption. No worry
about innocent bystander."
Kasumi went upstairs to fetch Akane, while Shan Pu, with Nabiki
kibitzing, dragged a semi-conscious Ranma out back. Moshu was left with
the remnants of the dinner crowd.

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"Hey Ranma, I heard you were in Kyoto. That's rough."
"Thanks Ryouga. But it wasn't all bad. Kyoto's got a lot of
museums, and antique stores and stuff. I found this old guy that could
translate . . . this." Ranma pulled a small leather book out of his
pocket.
Ranma had a lifetime of martial training. His mind and body were
honed from a thousand battles with enemies both mortal and preternatural.
"Danger!" His battle senses screamed "Danger!" But where? Where was the
danger? The sky? The rooftops? The demon with fiery eyes and short black
hair? Was it . . . "eeeeep!"
"A. . .akane?" Ranma followed her gaze to his hand . . .
"........"
"MY BOOK!!"
"Ooops. Busted!" Ryoga snickered.
"Shut up P-chan. You're not helping. Uh, I can explain Akane."
"Explain? What can you explain? Explain sneaking into my room?
Explain going through my things? Explain STEALING!!!" Akane grabbed her
book from Ranma's hand.
Ranma winced as Akane's voice passed trans-sonic. Dogs howled in
the distance.
"Look Akane, you and the old mummy. . ." he paused to rub a spot
on his head that had just gotten in the way of a gnarled staff. Glaring
he continued. "You and the OLD MUMMY, weren't going to help me learn this
technique, so I had to do it on my own."
"The book's no good with out the 'soma', and you don't have any."
"No, but I know where to get some."
A snowflake hitting goose down would have sounded like an
explosion in a ball bearing plant.
"Where?" Akane whispered.
"I'm gonna go to one of these 'family' meetings, like you went
to. The guy's fighting there have got to have some or know where to get
it." Ranma grinned at his own cleverness.
CRACK!!. Akane put a little English on her backhand, and it
almost took Ranma's head off.
"Idiot. Fool. How stupid can one person be?"
"Jeez Akane, whaja do that for?"
"You are not going to a 'family' meeting. You are NOT learning
the 'sakkiken'."
Ranma casually plucked The Book out of Akane's hand and
cavalierly danced away.
"Aw, don't worry so much Akane. It's no big deal. I can
handle. . ."
"Uh oh." Shan Pu gulped and moved back, pulling Ukyou with her.
Nabiki, who'd been videotaping the proceedings for future use paled, but
went on filming as Akane's 'dragon' flared into life.
"Baka, baka ,baka, baka, baka, baka." The words tolled through
her head like a mantra. She'd never been so angry in her life, which
paradoxically saved Ranma's life, for Akane used her anger to subdue her
Dragon. This and the universal ability of Saotome men to charm females,
even Dragon females, combined to keep his head on his shoulders.

As her 'Dragon' came partially awake, her overmind flared, and
she saw. . . everything every move he was going to make, every strike,
every block. She knew what Ranma was going to do even before he thought
about it.
Ranma's first inkling that something was wrong came when Akane
launched a straight punch at him. As per usual he flipped over her head.
Not so usually, he ran into a iron-palm strike on the way down. Akane
seemed to barely touch him, but his chest exploded in pain. Tears blinded
his eyes, and he barely felt Akane pull The Book out of his suddenly
slack fingers. He landed heavily and cursed himself He hadn't been caught
like that since he was eight. It was time to get serious. Well, not too
serious--he wasn't going to hurt Akane, just get his book back. It was
his book, he'd stolen it fair and square, after all.
He might get serious, but he couldn't get the book, and he
couldn't touch Akane. She always seemed to step just outside of his
strikes, and he always seemed to step into hers.
Ranma stood in front of Akane, shoulders heaving, chest on fire
and left arm hanging numb and useless.
"OK, Akane, You're gonna get hurt if you don't stop."
"AHHHH. You, you, you, you. . .YOU!!!"
"That's telling 'em, sis."
Ranma suddenly snapped his fingers. "Hey, I just remembered. . .
I made copies of the book, at the library, on their photo-copier." He
laughed self-consciously.
"And you just NOW remember?" Ukyou had a sudden insight into
Akane's personality. The sudden urge to apply a spatula to a certain
thick, black haired skull made her palm's itch.
"ALL RIGHT!" Akane's snarl startled every one.
"You want to know about the 'sakkiken' I'll tell you. I'll tell
everything." Akane and Cu Lon exchanged a private look.
"Sit." Everyone sat.
"This. . ." Akane held up her left hand, a dark stain like fresh
ink seemed to run from wrist to elbow.". . .is the 'first'. I got it when
I took the 'soma'. I went into convulsions. I almost died. Sixty percent
of everyone who takes the 'soma' dies. I didn't die. I got stronger,
faster. I could see and hear things that no one else could."
"That's what I. . ."
Akane shut Ranma up with a glare and went on. "It's not all good.
I had to learn to control it. If I got angry, I got REALLY angry. If I
was sad I wanted to kill myself. And I couldn't smell anything any more,
or taste, not unless I used the 'other'. Otherwise I went around like I
had a bag over my head, both feet in a bucket and wearing mittens. I was
always falling over my own feet."
"Oh my, that must have been when you started seeing Dr. Tofu all
the time."
Akane nodded and went on. "It get's 'better'. The 'other' is
unstable at this point. The only way to get a stable 'first' is to fight.
In order to 'confirm' your 'first', make it stable, you have to fight.
You have to fight and win against another 'confirmed' first or
unconfirmed 'second'. You do the same with your 'second'. A 'second', a
'confirmed second', compares to a 'first' the way butter knife compares
to a battleship. You're stronger, faster, smarter than anyone else in the
world. You're ALIVE!" Akane looked off in the distance, looked at
something the rest couldn't see. "You're alive" she continued quietly "in
a way you never were before. Now for the final step. The 'third', or
'Mu'. Up until this point you can turn back. If you stop, the 'other'
will wither and die and you'll be normal again. Of course you won't stop,
can't stop. The 'other' is like a drug, like all the drugs that ever were
and ever will be. Like your best friend, lover, mother, father all in
one." Her shaking voice dropped to a whisper. "And nothing, nothing,
matters more." She stared Ranma in the eye. "And now you've gotten your
'third', you're complete. A 'sakkiken'. Never mind that your family
disowns you, that you have to give up 'Musabetsu Kakuton '. . ."
"Waita minute. Why do I hav'ta give up 'Musabetsu Kakuton'?"
"Because, when the 'other's' not with you, you're crippled and
half blind. What you gain by having the other, you lose as a 'normal'."
"Well, I'll just do 'Musabetsu Kakuton'. . ."
"When the 'other' is with you," Akane finished, shaking her head
slowly. "The 'sakkiken' has a hand full of moves, almost none compared to
'Musabetsu Kakuton '.Very simple, direct moves. The 'other' provides
everything you need. Other techniques just get in the way."
Ranma looked stunned. The art was his life. Learning new
techniques, constantly challenging himself. To give that all up, to lose
the skills he spent a lifetime learning. . .
Akane could see he was wavering and decided to push him over the
edge "And one other thing. . ."
Ranma looked up
"The fights are to the death. To 'confirm' your 'first', to get
and confirm your 'second' and 'third' you have to kill your opponent."
"KILL!" Ryouga came half out of his seat. "But that means. . you
didn't. . . did you. . .?" Ryouga stuttered to a horrified halt. "But
why?"
"Because." Akane said almost gently "the next stage is found in
your opponent's blood. Some 'sakkiken' like to eat the liver or brain."
She gave her horrified audience a wry grin. "I've always been more of a
traditionalist myself. I prefer the heart."

The ringing telephone cracked the silence, like a brick through a
church window. Shan Pu, glad for any excuse to escape, hurried into the
Nekohanten. Almost immediately she popped back out.
"Telephone is from Ranma mother. She ask if we see Kasumi."
"What?"
"Ranma mother, she say Kasumi go shopping, not come back. She ask
if Kasumi here. Shan Pu say 'Kasumi no here'. Ranma mother very worried.
She ask if we go look. I say we do."
"ZAKENNAYO!!"
Every one flinched at Akane's savage tone.
"Jiro, that bastard."
"Akane, what. . ."
"It's Jiro. It's got to be."
"Now wait, Akane. We don't know. . ." Ukyou began.
"No we don't know. And I'm not waiting to around. Nabiki, you
call the police and the hospitals. Ranma," Akane shot orders rapid fire.
"you and Ryouga start trying to backtrack from the market." With that
said, Akane's dragon flared fully to life, and she soared over the
Nekohanten's back wall.
"Akaneeee, wait." Ranma looked frustrated for a second, then
jumped over the wall in pursuit.
"Ryouga!" Nabiki snagged the lost boy as he tensed to follow.
"Wha. . .?"
Nabiki held out her arms. "I'm coming with you."
"But aren't you going to phone?"
Nabiki pulled a cell phone out of her pocket. "Miracle of modern
technology. You run, I'll call. And navigate." She added to Ryouga's
blushing face. He didn't deny his malapropos maneuvering ability. He
scooped Nabiki into his arms and followed Ranma over the wall.
"Wait for me sugar."
"Shan Pu go too"
Long hair fluttered briefly and disappeared.
"Wait 'Mr. Part Time', where do you think you're going?"
"After Shan Pu." Moshu stated defiantly. "She may need me."
"Well then, be careful."
Moshu goggled at the wizened elder. He'd always thought that
gaijin movie about pod people was fiction, but now. . ."
Cu Lon cackled. "You may be a half blind miserable bumbling. . ."
Moshu's ego vanished like virtue at a judge's convention.
". . .but you'll protect Shan Pu with your life."
". . . ."
"Close your mouth boy. These Yakuza, they have no honor. Shan Pu
does have honor, perhaps too much for the real world. I count on you to
see that her honor does not earn her a Yakuza knife in the back. Go now.
I have some calls to make."
Moshu's face glowed with pride, then he bounded over the wall and
after the others.

It's fifteen kilometers from Nerima-ku to Meguro-ku where the
Kobayashi have their 'corporate' headquarters, near the heart of the
'High City'. Fifteen kilometers as the crow flies, but there weren't any
crows flying that day. Akane swung aboard the roof of a south-bound
express train as it was pulling out of Wakou-shi station, Ranma was right
behind, but Moshu only made it by the last quarter inch of a twelve foot
chain. As the train swung past the Hikawadi station on its way east,
Akane jumped off the train and onto a crosstown bus. There followed a mad
scramble as the rest of the Nerima crowd tried to keep up. Out of the
corner of his eye, Ranma could occasionally see Ryouga, Nabiki clutched
in his arms, Shan Pu, Ukyou or Moshu, like a mad army of grasshoppers,
leaping and jumping from car, to bus, to truck and back again. Still
heading south they followed Akane onto another train at Yoyogi station.
They stayed on this one long enough to discover from Akane where they
were headed. At Yotsuya they again left the train, this time for a mere
5k dash through Tokyo Rush hour.

Ranma was pale and sweating by the time the insane dash across
Tokyo came to an end. Ryouga was in the worst shape, having carried
Nabiki the entire way. Nabiki's condition was unknown since she'd buried
her face in Ryouga's shirt somewhere in Nakano-ku and hadn't looked up
since. The rest straggled in as Akane waited impatiently. That she waited
at all was due solely to Ranma's arms locked tightly around her waist,
and his softly chanted "wait, wait, wait, wait". Akane wasn't prepared to
break his arms to get free, yet.
"Ok, what's the plan?" Ukyou puffed out.
"We go in, get Kasumi-O-neesama and leave."
Ranma flinched at Akane's tone, and tightened his hold.
"Great plan, imouta. Ever hear of a thing called subtlety?"
Nabiki groaned to herself at the look on Akane's face. Her little
sister's idea of subtlety was a punch in the nose as opposed to a kick in
the. . . Nabiki sighed. What should she expect? The rest of this bunch
wasn't much better.
"OK, this is what we do. . ."

Heiro and Aki were bored. Nothing ever happened at the High City
offices. Koto-ku in the low city, now that was different.
"Ni hao. Shan Pu here to deliver too too delicious ramen."
Heiro's head swung around at the sound. His eyes bulged, along
with another part of his anatomy, somewhat below eye level. He could hear
choking noises from Aki..
She was tall, with a thick luxurious fall of hair that flowed
down past the curve of her buttocks. A tiny pair of emerald green silk
briefs, that she'd obviously outgrown in the twelfth grade, lovingly
clasped her derriere and clearly outlined her femininity. Carefully eye-
frisking this potentially dangerous suspect, the two guards wound their
way up, up past an adorable belly-button, surrounded by taut, tan girl-
flesh to a tiny scrap of polka-dotted cloth knotted with more hope than
expectation between two . . . Heiro gulped. . . .knotted between two
magnificent not to say majestic examples of secondary sex
characteristics. The young Chinese girl's arms were above her head,
balancing a box from which wafted the smell of ramen. This position
thrust her 'personality' forward in a very friendly manner, but one which
also put an unwarranted strain on the poor scrap of polka-dotted cloth.
This cloth, which was not suitable to the task of supporting such a noble
character, abruptly surrendered to forces, both gravatic and pneumatic.
Heiro distantly heard Aki gurgling behind him. He thought perhaps
Aki was having a heart attack and hoped he'd have the decency to go off
someplace distant to die and not frighten this poor girl.
"Oh no!. Shan Pu top come off."
As the girl approached, Heiro's eyes feasted on a vision, all
peach and pink and dusky red. As a child he'd dreamed of running barefoot
through a field of clover. Now he was a man and cast aside such childish
dreams.
"Shan Pu lose top, and hands full." A warm musky smell filled his
nostrils as she stepped up to him, violet eyes wide with childish
confusion.
"Shan Pu hands full. Can you put top back on?"
Hiero's head, hands and eyes dove at warp nine for the tiny
polka-dotted scrap that lay on the ground. He was aided in his descent by
a box of ramen, which impacting the top of his head, sounded more like a
box of concrete than a box of ramen . He never heard the dull meaty
'thwak' of his partner hitting the ground.
"Good job Shan Pu."
"Was no problem with good plan you make Nabiki. Here
Ryouga, take back bandanna."
"Urrrrrrrrr."
"Dammit Shan Pu, will you put those things away before someone
gets hurt?"
"Sorry." Shan Pu shrugged into her shirt and trousers, preventing
at least two deaths by hemorrhage.
"OK, this is the 'Kobayashi' High City office. They rent the
fourth and fifth floors. An insurance company has got the first three."
Nabiki bent down to sketch in the dust covered back street. "This is
where politicians and businessmen come to meet their yakuza bosses. It's
nicer here, and it's much easier to explain a trip to Meguro than Koto-
ku. They've got security, but not as much as in Koto-ku. The Yakuza like
to pretend they're 'legitimate' businessmen so the security is more laid
back. They like to do their beatings and assassinations away from their
own turf, so we probably won't run into any heavy hitters."
"Wait a minute." Ranma objected "If they kidnaped Kasumi, won't
they have more guards here, not less?"
Nabiki shook her head. "In the first place, they wouldn't bring
Kasumi here. In fact, she may not even be in Japan anymore. She could be
on a plane or boat headed almost anywhere. And if Jiro's smart, he'd be
halfway to Australia by now."
"Then why are we here?" Ukyou growled, frustrated.
"You mean besides keeping Akane from doing something monumentally
stupid? Even if Jiro's not here, and he probably isn't, there will be
other staff, and records. They can't have gotten rid of everything, and
we might just find a clue. If not we'll head for Koto-ku."
Nabiki was wrong. They could get rid of everything. The fourth
and fifth floors looked like they'd been sterilized. Even the light bulbs
were missing, except for one corner office on the fifth floor. There they
found a large screen TV, and Jiro sitting in an overstuffed chair with
his head in his hands. Unfortunately for Jiro, his hands were in his lap.
Nabiki had been wrong again. Jiro hadn't left, at least not for
Australia. Only a priest could tell where Jiro had gone.
"Kasumi!!"
Akane and the rest whirled around at Ukyou's cry. There on the
flickering screen was Kasumi, seated in a chair, blindfolded with arms
and legs bound with tape.
"Tendou Nabiki, you have caused us a great deal of trouble.
Tendou Akane, you should have known where your true loyalties lie." A
cultured voice oozed from a small speaker mounted on top of the TV. Next
to the speaker they noticed a small closed circuit camera.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
"You will speak only when spoken to! The Kobayashi-kai came to
you with a generous offer, an honorable offer that would have profited
all. As the Yakuza honor the katagi, so the katagi should honor the
Yakuza. Instead you rejected us, insulted us.'
"Look man, I'm sorry. I'll fight in the stupid Gakidou."
"We'll make reparations" Nabiki added, "The doujou is prime real
estate, we can. . ."
"It is too late for apologies, too late for money. You have
shamed us. Jiro has wiped out his shame. Now it is your turn. Tendou
Akane"
Akane looked toward the small camera.
"Tendou Akane, we have our own 'sakkiken'." Kasumi's picture was
replaced by that of a large man, well over six feet, muscled and covered
by bright fractal patterns that ebbed and flowed like the tide. "This is
out champion, Ketsu. YOU will fight in the Gakidou, Tendou Akane. You
will fight without using 'sakkiken'. Should you survive, you will fight
Ketsu, at which point he will beat you. He will beat you, then throw you
and your sister to the crowd to be used like the whores you are."
Akane was the first to find her voice.
"What about Kasumi?"
"What about her?"
"Will you let her go? If I . . ." Akane glanced at Nabiki, who
nodded, white-faced. ". . . if we do this, will you let her go?"
"No." The negative was calm and absolute. "She must die as well.
You must all die. You, your sisters, your father, your doujou. If you do
this she will get a quick, painless death. If you do not, you and your
sisters will die anyway. And your dear Kasumi will have a particularly
unpleasant time before she dies."
The TV flickered once, Kasumi's pathetically white-faced figure
appeared again for a moment. Then the screen went black and static hissed
from the speaker.

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