Yes, I'm still writing this. Only half a chapter this time, but better
than nothing, no? :)
HEARTS AND MINDS
PART FOUR (first half)
Ranma 1/2 manga fanfiction
by Gary Kleppe
The characters of Ranma 1/2 are the creation of and rightful
property of Rumiko Takahashi. They are used here without permission.
This story may be freely redistributed, but it should not be altered
substantially or used for profit in any way.
As always, feedback will be greatly appreciated, and public
response is preferred. Preludes and previous parts can be found at
<http://www.execpc.com/~kleppe/comics.html#ham>.
Many thanks to the HaM prereader team: DRMP, Krista, Kichaha,
Yoiko, Lara, and a big welcome to Bob Macfie.
For those who haven't read any of this series before -- or who
have but need a refresher -- here's a very quick and partial summary:
* An army of Mongols has invaded the Amazon village, at the order of
some mysterious leader known as "The General," aided by a renegade
Amazon elder named Zhen Biaozi. The Amazons have been ostensibly
cooperating but sabotaging the Mongols behind their backs.
* Ranma and friends, seven years after the end of the manga, have
reunited and traveled to China to help the Amazons. Kodachi, for reasons
as yet unrevealed, is now much more powerful than before, and has been
picking fights with everyone (but mostly Ranma.) Gosunkugi now knows the
Happodaikarin (which Happosai described as a "horniness-based ki
attack") and a "How Not To Be Seen" technique that causes people not to
notice him.
* Kasumi, now an apprentice priestess, gave (most of) the cursed
characters a way to change forms at will.
* Ranma took a Mongol officer prisoner in order to get information. He
reprimanded Kodachi for accidentally putting another officer into a
coma, and Shan Pu was angry with him for defending the invaders of her
village.
For those who *have* been following this series, a couple of
notes:
* The character called "Sarlag" in previous chapters has been renamed to
"Sauchuk," in response to numerous complaints about the former name.
* The village referred to as "Zhiwu" previously is now called
"Yaocaicun," as this appears to be a canon name for it. Doing
translations for the Ranma project at <ranmascan.dhs.org> has paid off.
:)
And now....
"Greetings, 'General.' Or should I call you...."
"General will suffice, Zhen Biaozi. I do not fully trust this
mode of communication."
"Don't worry, no one else will be able to pick up our little
chat. I have learned a thing or two in my ninety years, you know."
"Let us attend to business. What is your assessment of the
current situation?"
"The situation is rather precarious for your troops. I'm afraid
that major of yours might be in a little over his head."
"Yes, he's reported a number of incidents of sabotage by the
villagers. As yet, he is unable to determine which of them are
responsible."
"Trust me, it'd be quicker for him to find the ones who *aren't*
responsible. What did you expect, 'General?' You surely know the Amazons
quite well. Did you really think that they would lay down and surrender
themselves to you simply because you've killed a few of them?"
"What of the group that recently arrived from Japan? Will the
major be able to deal with their interference?"
"I don't know. They're a clever bunch, as children go. On the
other hand, there are only a handful of them. Your major does have the
advantage of vastly superior force, which might compensate for his
ignorance."
"What plans do you have to assist the major, should he be unable
to cope?"
"I? I agreed to rule the Amazons on your behalf. Nowhere was it
said that it was my job to nursemaid incompetent male underlings."
"Your insolence amuses me not at all, Zhen Biaozi. If you refuse
to be of use to me, I see no reason to continue with our arrangement."
"Oh, I'll be of use, all right. I just intend to let your major
try first, to see what he can do. If he fails, we'll try things my way.
Never fear, I'll capture both the village and Shan Pu's group for you if
it comes to that."
"A bold promise. Are you certain you have the necessary power to
fulfill it?"
"Don't underestimate me, 'General.' I may be one mere human
being, but I'm an elder Amazon warrior. And unlike your major, I know my
opponents. He might fail, but I won't."
______
"Turn left."
Lieutenant Batachikhan did as he was told. No doubt the Amazon
behind him -- Shan Pu was the name he'd heard for her -- would kill him
in an instant if he didn't follow instructions. He had no idea why they
hadn't done away with him already. They were all crazy, these 'Amazons,'
every last one of them. Nothing but cold-blooded killers. Command
should've just dropped a bomb on the whole damn village and been done
with it.
He could hear no noise in the background, save for the endless,
rhythmic chirping of cicadas and the occasional howl of a wild animal.
He could see nothing; even though it was still dark, they had covered
his eyes with a blindfold. Evidently, they didn't want to take any
chances chance that he might be able to locate their camp, or whatever
out-of-the-way place to which he was being moved.
Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Move forward, and don't make a
sound." Sharply-edged, her words were a knife held against his throat.
Trying to escape now would be fatal. His chance would come later.
He trudged forward, one step, then another, then another. His
body ached from lack of sleep. They'd kept him awake all night,
questioning him about the layout of the occupation forces, feeding him
drugs to make him answer. It would all amount to nothing, of course; as
soon as someone reported that an officer was missing, the major would
assume that the enemy had taken him prisoner, and that he had told them
everything he knew. Then the camp would be reorganized, its defenses
changed so that their information wouldn't do them any good.
"Stop."
Batachikhan halted. The blindfold tore away from his eyes.
Around him, dim pre-dawn light illuminated old-style houses; it looked
exactly like the Amazon village. A second glance confirmed that it WAS
the Amazon village. He recognized the building right in front of him as
the one he'd been assigned as his residence. Why had she--
"We're letting you go because you told us what we needed to
know." Shan Pu tore the ropes that had held his arms tied behind his
back. He turned to face her, and her voice lowered, becoming the hiss of
a venomous snake. "It wasn't my decision. If it had been, I'd have
killed you. If I get a chance, I still will."
He thought about yelling for help, then decided not to. Let her
get away. He'd tell the major how he'd been taken prisoner and forced to
reveal everything he knew. Only he wouldn't tell them that a prostitute
who was really a man had captured him; he'd make up a story involving a
whole platoon of attackers, and berate security for letting them get in
and out unspotted.
"Right, then." He began slowly backing away, watching her with a
wary eye. "Be seeing you." *Next time we meet,* he thought, *I'll have a
gun in my hand. And I'll remember this.*
She grabbed him by the shoulder, restraining him. "Turn around."
"What?"
Grunting impatiently, she spun him to face the other direction.
______
"Whatcha got there, kid?"
Corporal Sauchuk folded up the piece of paper and slipped it
back into his pocket, away from the eyes of his new partner on guard
duty. "Just a letter." He still wasn't comfortable working with a
mercenary. He'd joined up to fight for his country, for what he believed
in. But this guy wasn't even Asian. He was only with them because he was
getting paid. That was hard for Sauchuk to understand.
"The little wife back home, huh?"
"Fiancee," Sauchuk answered curtly. "We're getting married as
soon as my hitch is up."
The mercenary grinned, his smile accented by his thin moustache.
"I bet you've already done your husbandly duties with her, right?"
"I've taken out her garbage, yeah." That wasn't what he'd meant,
of course, but what business was it of his anyway?
"Heh. It's been so long for me, I'll tell ya, pal...." He
pointed behind Sauchuk. "That little thing over there's looking pretty
good to me right about now."
Sauchuk turned in time to catch a glimpse of white fur before it
slipped away into the underbrush. "A cat? You're one sick, er... puppy,
Martinez."
The mercenary laughed, a sharp, staccato sound halfway between a
chuckle and a giggle. Then the two of them abruptly straightened and
saluted as they saw Lieutenant Batachikhan walking over to them.
"Morning, sir," Sauchuk said, his tone carefully neutral. Like
most of the enlisted men, he felt a growing resentment towards the
officers. Rou may have been an idiot, but he was a friend -- until the
'Amazons' had knifed him to death. When the men had heard, some of them
even wanted to go out shooting villagers until the killers were found.
But orders came down that no reprisals were to be taken, and that
Command would handle the situation. Morale dropped, sinking lower and
lower as the men waited to see which of them would have to die next
before the officers did something about it.
"Morning, corporal. Anything to report?"
"No, sir. It's been quiet." So far. It wouldn't stay like that
for very long.
"Sir," Martinez the mercenary said, "I heard you had a girl here
last night. Is that true?"
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that, Private," the Lieutenant
snapped back. "Otherwise, I'd have to put you on report. Carry on!"
"Yes, sir!" Martinez saluted, then broke into laughter as soon
as the Lieutenant was far away enough that he wouldn't hear.
"You think he really did?" Sauchuk asked. The Lieutenant paused,
staring into space as if trying to remember something, then shrugged and
walked out of sight.
"Yeah. He did."
"How do you know?"
"His hair. I smelled some kind of 'essence of flowers' stuff on
it. A guy wouldn't use that junk unless he was trying to impress a
babe."
______
"Right, then," Ranma said. "Anyone got anything more to say, or
are we done?"
Akane looked over the circle of friends sitting on the ground in
the middle of the camp. Kasumi had dubbed the area the "family room," in
an attempt to give it a homey feel. With a little imagination, it almost
looked the part, with a floor of hard clay, irregular clumps of weeds
for furniture, and sharply sloped mountainsides for walls. Okay, a *lot*
of imagination.
"Are we sure we can afford to wait?" Ryoga asked. "We have no
way of knowing what those people are doing to the Amazons, even now.
Shouldn't we attack right away with all we've got, before it's too
late?"
"We aren't gonna help the Amazons by running in and getting
ourselves killed," Ranma answered. "If we're gonna do this, we need to
take the time to get it right the first time, or there might not be a
second time, y'know?"
Genma nodded sagely at Ryoga. "Patience, boy. The acts of
sabotage we'll be carrying out will serve two purposes: First, to weaken
our opponents, but more importantly, to enrage them -- to the point that
when the time comes, they'll rush into a confrontation that we've set up
on our own terms."
Akane smiled thinly to herself. It was funny to see Ranma argue
so convincingly for that position when just yesterday he'd been on the
opposite side himself. Of course, it probably helped that he liked to
disagree with Ryoga.
"Remember, Ti Pi over there, since she knows the village, is
gonna be coordinating everything." Ranma pointed across the circle
towards the young Amazon. "When you guys finish something, let her know,
and she'll tell you what to do next."
"Excuse me, Ranma-sama." Kodachi raised a hand. "I have a
question."
"Yeah?" Ranma said with reluctance. Akane's stomach twisted. She
did NOT want to hear whatever this would be.
"Exactly what level of injury to the Mongols do you deem
acceptable? You've already specified no killing. Would severe bruises be
acceptable?"
Ranma's face reddened. "Shaddup, Kodachi."
She smirked. "My dear Ranma, how can I carry out my assigned
tasks if you refuse to clarify your instructions? I do wish so much to
avoid committing another faux pas."
Shan Pu's face twisted angrily. The others rolled their eyes and
looked away.
"Damn it," Ranma said, "just... just do what you have to. But
not what you don't have to."
"Thank you, Ranma-sama. That makes everything quite clear."
Kodachi turned away, a self-satisfied smile on her face.
The circle began to buzz with conversation. Ranma stared sulkily
at the ground.
"Um... the meeting is over, I guess," Akane offered. "Let's all
get busy with what we need to do." Inside, she seethed with the almost
irresistible urge to walk over and slug Kodachi -- even though she knew
Kodachi would at best laugh it off, and at worst deliver her a beating
in return.
"Um...." Hikaru Gosunkugi tapped Ranma lightly on the shoulder.
"Excuse me?"
Ranma didn't notice, until Akane elbowed him. "Huh? Oh, hey,
Gosunkugi. What's up?"
"Er, well, I was just wondering what my job was. That is, if
there is one that I can do. I mean...."
"Um... sure, I've got something really important for you to do."
Ranma paused, his eyes rapidly scanning the area. "Oh yeah! You're gonna
be Ti Pi's assistant."
Gosunkugi boggled. "Assistant?"
"Sure, man." Ranma put a hand to Gosunkugi's shoulder. "She's
supposed to coordinate who does what, but she's only really familiar
with a couple of us. You know what most of us are good at, so you can
help make sure the right person gets the right job."
Nodding, Gosunkugi walked over to where Ti Pi stood. Kuno was
speaking with her; Gosunkugi stood quietly by and waited. Kodachi said
something to him that Akane couldn't hear, and he flinched noticeably.
*Enough is enough,* Akane thought. It was bad enough when
Kodachi had picked on Ranma, who at least had a big enough ego to
recover from it. But this was just going too far.
On the other hand, as the old saying went, turnabout was fair
play. Sure, Kodachi could beat her in physical combat with one ribbon
tied behind her back. But when it came to verbal sparring, there were
some pretty obvious holes in her defenses.
"Ranma." She took her husband's hand, speaking loudly enough for
everyone to hear. "Please try to be nice to Kodachi."
"Huh?"
"I know how she acts, but she simply can't help it. She's been
through some difficult times." Akane tried to duplicate the haughty,
condescending tone that Kodachi used. "Just think of how badly she
wanted to marry you, while all the while she was your *last* choice."
Ranma blinked, glancing over at Kodachi, and back at Akane.
"And I do mean *last,*" Akane continued. "I mean, you'd probably
have married the neighbors' dog sooner than her."
Akane smiled, as Ranma gazed back at her nervously. Okay, so
maybe it was a stupid thing to do -- making a bad situation worse. But
it felt good, like finally landing a punch against an opponent who'd
been untouchable until now.
Something struck Akane from behind in the back of her knees,
sweeping her legs out from under her. Her arms flailed uncontrollably
for balance for a second as the world tumbled around her, and she landed
painfully on her rear end. "Yowtch!"
Ranma crouched into a combat stance, his eyes darting back and
forth as if looking for some invisible attacker. Reaching a hand to the
ground, Akane braced herself and cautiously stood, then looked down and
picked up the object that lay beneath her. A club.
"Ah, I'd wondered where this one had gotten to." Kodachi came
walking over. "I do apologize for leaving it where you could trip over
it, my dear."
"Trip?!" Akane stood close to Ranma. "I was *standing still!*
You obviously--"
"I obviously what, dear?" Kodachi's eyebrows raised in affected
curiosity.
Obviously threw it, Akane was going to say -- but that wasn't
possible. From where Kodachi had stood, it would've hit her in the
front. There'd been nothing behind her but craggy mountain peaks and
ridges. Even if Kodachi had somehow managed to bounce it off something
and still hit with such accuracy, it should've made some sort of noise.
"You ought to be more careful, dear," Kodachi lectured, picking
up the club and cradling it in the crook of her elbow. "A place like
this can be very dangerous to one without the necessary skills to
survive."
Akane felt her temper about to boil over. One of them was about
to do something they'd both regret.
"Stop it!"
Kodachi spun around to see Shan Pu standing behind her. "I'm
sorry, my dear," she said innocently. "To what are you referring?"
"I ask friends come here to help Amazon village against
killers." Shan Pu glared at Kodachi with a shocking hostility. "You not
want to help, I no can force you. But you want to cause trouble, then GO
BACK TO JAPAN!"
"My dear girl, there has obviously been some sort of
misunderstanding," Kodachi said patronizingly.
"Hmph!" Shan Pu turned and stormed away.
Akane ran after. "Shan Pu, I'm sorry." It was her fault as much
as Kodachi's; she had deliberately thrown oil on the fire.
Shan Pu looked back at Akane, and smiled weakly. "That all
right," she said, nodding. Akane could tell that she was angry, and not
only at Kodachi.
For a second, hate flashed in Kodachi's eyes, a fire so intense
that Akane and Shan Pu should've been instantly burnt to cinders. Then
her usual condescending smirk returned, as if none of this were
particularly important.
*This is your fault, Tendo Akane. You could've ignored Kodachi's
baiting. You let her anger get the better of you, and now gods only know
what the consequences will be. After being married for six years, are
you still so insecure that the thought of your husband paying attention
to another woman shuts down your brain?*
Why, she wondered, were things like this so painfully obvious,
but not until *after* it was too late to stop herself? Enough was
enough. Okay, maybe she couldn't stop herself from being jealous. But
she could lock her jealousy away deep inside herself where it wouldn't
cause harm to anyone. After all, it wasn't as if those feelings ever did
any good for her.
Akane stepped across the dirt and grass towards Ti Pi. She felt
pretty rotten, and the Mongol soldiers would be the perfect people for
her to take it out on.
______
Ranma crawled quickly and quietly from vehicle top to vehicle
top. They were parked bumper to bumper in neatly arranged rows. There
were trucks, jeeps, and a few armored tanks; about thirty total. Ranma
wondered why the tanks were here; from what he'd been able to find out,
they hadn't been used against the Amazons. Maybe they'd been brought
along just in case.
This must have been the place where he'd fought Shan Pu ten
years ago. He scanned over the surroundings, trying to jog his memory.
It had been too long ago for him to remember any of the buildings or
scenery, but the big open space was unmistakable. Yeah, he decided, this
was it. The official Amazon tournament arena, now doing business as a
parking lot for Mongol invaders.
Down below, soldiers paced in regular circles around the
perimeter of the area, guns held at the ready. As long as Ranma stayed
on top of the trucks, they wouldn't spot him. Their long-range aerial
scout people could, but he knew where they were and how to easily avoid
them, thanks to the information from that captured officer guy. Ranma
knew he could stay hidden for hours, if he wanted.
But that wasn't what he'd come for.
Time to get down to business. Ranma hopped gracefully off the
roof of a truck, landing directly in front of a soldier.
"Hey there. Couldja help me out? I'm a terrorist, y'see, and I'm
supposed to blow something up." He grinned. "Y'know, something really
important that would totally screw you guys over if it got wrecked. Got
anything like that around?"
The soldier pointed his gun toward Ranma. "Bie yidong!" he
shouted, his voice quavering with a touch of nervousness. Running
footsteps approached the area.
*Oh, good one, ya bonehead,* Ranma thought to himself. *You
spend half an hour coming up with that really cool speech, and never
once does it cross your mind that the guards aren't going to understand
Japanese.* Oh well, no big deal. He could still do what he'd come for.
"Bie yidong!" the soldier repeated; it meant, Ranma guessed,
something like 'stop or I'll shoot.'
*Go ahead, you moron. That's what I'm waiting for you to do.*
Ranma jerked forward, as if about to pounce, a move even an idiot should
have been able to read.
The soldier cocked his rifle; it made a loud ka-chunk sound,
like a railroad switch being thrown. A bullet whizzed through the air.
Ranma leapt out of its way easily. The bullet crashed into the front
grille of a truck, from which water sprayed out.
"Your aim ain't the greatest, is it, pal. Try again?" Okay, the
guy couldn't understand the words, but the meaning had to be pretty
obvious anyway.
Three other Mongols came running around a corner, yelling
something incomprehensible as they aimed their guns and fired. Ranma
again avoided the shots without much effort. One bullet zinged as it
ricocheted off a tank, leaving no visible mark. Another struck the back
of a truck, crumpling the metal, and a puddle of liquid began to collect
on the ground below it. Gasoline, from the smell of it. Ranma wondered
why hitting the tank hadn't made it explode, the way it always seemed to
in the movies.
More shots flew past, and again impacted into vehicles as Ranma
dodged. He'd keep jumping around, letting the soldiers blow away their
own trucks, until they ran out of bullets; then it would be time to say
good night. After so many butt-kickings by Kodachi, it felt good to be
in an easy fight for a change.
______
Corporal Yuan recovered consciousness in time to see Sergeant Li
staring down at him.
"What happened here, Corporal?"
"We-- we caught someone trying to sabotage the motor pool,
Sarge," Yuan said.
"Where?"
"He got... we chased him off." Yuan glanced past the rows of
wrecked radiators and punctured tires. "But at least we stopped him
before he could damage anything!"
______
The Mongol soldiers were running around like the proverbial
decapitated chicken, guns clutched securely in hand as voices blared
from the walkie-talkies they carried. It was easy for Akane to slip out
of the kitchens, then away from the village entirely, without being
noticed. When they looked, the Mongols would find the small
Japanese-made bottle that she'd left behind and know that her group, not
the Amazons, were to blame; but that wouldn't be until later.
The poison she'd added would take effect about half an hour
after the victims ate the stew. Doctor Tofu had mixed it up from some of
the herbs Mu Si had brought back from Yaocaicun. From what the doctor
said, it would cause severe diarrhea, along with virulent stomach cramps
in some cases. Just the thing to soften them up for the impending
battles, Akane thought, and she winced at her choice of words.
Of course, there was no way to be sure what the effects of the
poison would be. These were, after all, some of the same herbs with
which Pin Ke and Lin Ke had subjugated Ranma and Shan Pu, and
determining drug dosages wasn't exactly part of Tofu's specialty. Maybe
the soldiers would experience a momentary discomfort, and then get back
to what they were doing; or maybe they'd develop fatal infections. And
the Amazons would be eating the same food as the Mongols. Most likely,
they'd have a higher tolerance to local toxins than the invaders, but on
the other hand some of them were elderly, and not all as tough as Ke
Lun.
It was a good thing that Ranma didn't know the details of this
particular assignment. She could just imagine the jokes he'd make. *Why
didn't we think of this before, Akane? All we need to do is feed the
enemy your cooking. They'll surrender for sure -- if there's any of 'em
left, that is.*
She sighed. Yesterday, when Kodachi had carelessly drugged a
Mongol captain into a coma, Ranma had chewed her out, and Akane had
agreed with him. But now, she might have done the same -- not to one
man, but to the entire village that they were supposed to be rescuing.
Do as I say, not as I do was Akane Tendo's motto.
The sad truth was, this was a different kind of fight from any
that she and her friends had been in before -- fights where all they'd
needed to do was pummel their opponents into submission. Akane was only
beginning to realize -- in her head, if not her heart -- how different
it was. The stakes had been raised, and they had to either call or fold.
She had to make Ranma understand that, for his own sake as well as
everyone else's, even though she didn't want to believe it herself.
Oh well. Time to go and look for some of the Mongols' remote
patrols, she decided. Beating them up would make her feel better.
She paused for a moment to get her bearings. She stood against
the wall of an old wooden cabin, probably abandoned from the looks of
it. To the east, the sky was a vibrant blue, while on the other side a
gray haze filled the air. The contrast was striking, like two pieces of
a jigsaw puzzle that couldn't possibly fit together.
A sudden feeling shook through her head like a jolt of
electricity. *DANGER!*
Without thinking, Akane darted to the side. Instantly, something
came pouring down on the spot where she'd just been. Liquid splashed
onto the dirt. Mud splattered, leaving brown speckles on Akane's pants.
She looked up. A figure on the roof, shadowed by the sun's
glare, was visible for the briefest second before he/she/it faded back.
Akane sprang into the air, and landed on the roof, causing the
whole hut to shake. It was empty. The attacker was already gone. How
could anyone have gotten away so fast?
A small, clear plastic bottle lay in front of her. The rickety
roof strained and groaned as she shifted her weight and picked it up.
Only a thin film of liquid at the bottom remained inside. She shook it,
and a couple of drops plopped out onto her hands. The bottle's label
identified it as a dime-store fragrance for men, but it had no smell at
all. Just water, as far as she could tell. But that made no sense.
*Why would someone want to splash me? It's not as if I've got
one of those....*
Sunlight glinted off a droplet of water, stabbing into Akane's
eye like a dagger. Slipping from her fingers, the bottle bounced off the
roof and tumbled to the ground below.
*... one of those curses....*
Akane leapt from the roof. She felt helpless, so very
vulnerable. If she hadn't moved at that instant, she'd have been turned
into... what? A mouse? An ant, to be squashed under her unknown
attacker's foot? Something even worse?
She'd been worried about fighting Mongol soldiers -- but this
was a whole new level of danger. The invaders had superior numbers and
firepower, but they were ignorant when it came to curses and
super-martial arts. Or so she'd thought. But now it seemed that someone
on their side wasn't. Without that advantage, how could they possibly
win?
______
At the camp in the mountains, Hikaru Gosunkugi sat with Ti Pi
atop a flat boulder. About a meter high and twice as long, the rock
would've (and, for all Hikaru knew, had) made a good picnic table during
better times. Now, it served as the "conference room" in which the two
of them arranged ways to provoke the Mongols.
He scanned down the paper on his clipboard to find the line he
wanted, and put a check mark by it. "Ranma, motor pool, back
successfully," he said, mostly to himself.
Ti Pi's brows narrowed. "It's too bad that he couldn't damage
the heavily armored vehicles, though. I wonder if someone else could."
Hikaru considered for a moment. "Ryoga. He's the strongest of
the group, and besides, Ke Lun taught him that attack that makes rocks
blow up by touching them."
"The Breaking Point? You think he could adapt it against armor?"
"Maybe." And he could call it the Bakusai Tank-ketsu, Hikaru
thought, and quickly decided it wasn't worth saying out loud. "Er... but
he'll need someone to go with him. On his own, he gets lost, even if
he's only trying to go a few blocks."
"Really?" Her eyes widened as she leaned toward him. "I've never
heard of anyone like that."
"Er, it's a family curse. At least that's what I heard Ranma
say." Hikaru felt disgusted with himself for not being able to give a
better answer. This wasn't anything new for him, of course. Inadequacy
was practically his middle name. He was fully used to not having what
women were looking for -- whether it be looks, social status, or
whatever intangible thing it was that guys like Ranma had and he didn't.
But he'd thought, just for a moment, that it might be different with Ti
Pi.
It was obvious that knowledge was her thing, the way some women
were interested in money, others in fighting. He could tell by the way
her eyes lit up whenever he talked about something she didn't know yet.
Even computers. Where most any other woman he could think of would've
been bored to tears, she had listened intently, and even asked him to
write out a sample program.
Hikaru was a knowledge collector too, of course, but not for its
own sake. For him, learning things was a means to whatever end he wanted
to accomplish -- even if he more often than not chickened out on putting
his knowledge to any actual use. He could spend hours telling Ti Pi
about Akane, or Ranma, but he'd never really bothered to learn much
about Ryoga or some of the others.
"Hello?"
"Huh?" Hikaru's head jerked at the sound of the voice behind
him. "Oh, uh, hello, Kasumi."
"I switched that powder with their laundry soap, like you
asked."
"Did you run into any trouble?"
"Oh, no," she said. "I know how not to be seen when I don't want
to be." Did she wink at him? Or was it just his imagination?
Hikaru's mouth fell open, but no words came out. "Ah, heh heh."
Sweat trickled down his forehead. Did she know? It made sense that a
priestess would be able to see him despite his technique, and maybe even
know a similar one. Did she know about his training under Happosai? Had
she been watching him and the others secretly?
Kasumi smiled impishly. "It was fun, actually. I've never really
done a practical joke on someone like this before."
"Practical joke?" Hikaru blinked. "Kasumi, do-- do you know what
that powder *was?*"
"Yes, Mr. Saotome told me. It was glass; one of their
windshields that he, er, borrowed and ground up." She giggled.
Hikaru and Ti Pi stared at her in disbelief.
"I'm sorry. I know it's not nice to laugh at others'
misfortunes. But just think of how they'll feel when they take their
clothes out of the wash, and they're still dirty." She giggled again.
For a long moment, Ti Pi and Hikaru stared at each other. Almost
simultaneously, they shook their heads, as if to say **I'm* not going to
tell her.*
"Is there anything else for me to do?" Kasumi asked.
"Um... not right now, Kasumi," Hikaru answered. "We'll call you
when there is."
She waved cheerfully, and faded back into the "living room." Ti
Pi began to chuckle, and Hikaru laughed along with her. Then an awkward
silence stifled them.
"So..." Ti Pi said after a pause, "who should we send along with
Ryoga?"
"Um..."
He scanned down his clipboard. Shan Pu was currently prowling
the village in cat form, trying to make contact with some of the Elders.
Mu Si was also at the village; Nabiki and Mr. Saotome had, for some
reason, asked him to go there and take photographs. That had to be a
sight to see; a duck with glasses pointing a camera, pushing the button
with its wing. So who else....
"Kuno?" he offered hesitantly.
She nodded. "Good choice. He knows the area better than most of
the others."
"I'll go tell him, then," Hikaru's legs swung down as he
prepared to hop off the rock to the ground. "Him and Ryoga, I mean."
"Hikaru?"
Pausing, he glanced back at her. "Huh?"
"I never asked you. Why did you come on this trip?"
"Oh. Uh...." Briefly, he considered telling her the truth, then
decided against it. *I came because I wanted action and adventure. The
life of a computer programmer in Japan is too dull.* He wasn't sure why,
but somehow he didn't think that that would go over too well. "I, well,
um, just wanted to help out. I mean, I heard about the trouble you were
in. Your village, I mean. And I figured if I could do something to help,
I should."
She smiled warmly at him. "Thank you, Hikaru. I and my sisters
appreciate the help you and your friends are giving us."
"Uh... don't mention it." He nodded feebly, for a moment
imagining a myriad of possibilities. Then he pushed off the rock, and
his feet landed on solid ground. Why would she ever be interested in
him? And even if she normally might be, this wasn't the time. He
couldn't ask her out on a date when they were about to fight a battle to
rescue her village. And after that, he'd be gone. No matter how he
looked at it, it seemed that Hikaru Gosunkugi was going to end up alone.
______
Major Huang finally stopped writing and looked up from his desk.
"All right, Captain. What have you found out?"
"From what the locals have told my subordinates, the leader of
the saboteurs is named Shan Pu," Captain Shagdarsuren said. "Apparently
they knew that we were coming, so they sent Shan Pu off to Japan to
bring some friends of hers back here to help."
"And these friends are?"
"One who's a ringleader of sorts is Saotome Ranma. A martial
artist who runs a dojo in Japan. From the description I got, he's our
boy from the motor pool incident. Some of the locals claim that he's
Shan's ex-husband, while others say that they're just old friends, or
that she used to chase after him but he wasn't interested."
"I need something we can use to put a stop to these people,
Captain." His tone was sharp, slightly accusatory. "I'm not interested
in the details of their love lives, not unless there's something that
will give us leverage against them."
"Yes, sir. As for the rest of the group, there's an ex-local who
settled in Japan some years back. There's a Japanese who settled here at
about the same time and is Shan's current squeeze, name of Kuno. There's
Saotome's wife, also a martial artist. And some others that nobody knows
here much about."
"Is that all you've found, Captain?" the major asked. He more
than likely knew the answer already, but wanted Shagdarsuren to say so
just to keep him in his place.
Not that Huang wasn't an all right guy. Shagdarsuren had known
him for years, ever since the two of them were junior lieutenants; he'd
had an uncommon amount of good sense, and still did. It was just a fact
of life: a CO had the top brass and the bureaucrats looking over his
shoulder. If something wasn't being done the way they wanted it done,
chances were he'd get blamed, even if it wasn't his fault.
"Yes, sir," Shagdarsuren repeated. "The locals' stories were
surprisingly consistent. I think they've really told us all they know."
"These terrorist attacks need to be stopped. Not only are they
doing real damage to our manpower and equipment, but morale is dropping
like a rock."
"I'm aware of that, sir. I've already given you my
recommendation on the matter. Execution. One local, every hour on the
hour, until the attacks cease and the terrorists are in custody."
"I thought you said the locals have told us all they know?" The
major sipped from his coffee mug.
"Yes, sir. But the terrorists are acting on behalf of the
locals. They'll surrender if it's the only way to keep the people here
from being killed."
Major Huang paused thoughtfully. "I have orders to avoid
unnecessary killing, Captain. Orders from the top."
Of course he did, Shagdarsuren thought. It was the age-old
story. As long as they'd existed, the job of bureaucrats and politicians
had been to get in the way of people who were trying to get a job done.
If they had any sense, they'd simply decide what they wanted done and
then step aside. Let the military men -- the men who had spent their
lives in combat instead of pushing papers -- have free reign to decide
*how* to achieve their goals. They were the ones who were good at it.
"I understand the need to follow orders, sir," Shagdarsuren said
evenly. "But 'unnecessary' leaves some room for judgement. It's
necessary that we stop these saboteurs, isn't it?"
He said nothing further as the major dismissed him with a nod.
He knew that Huang would come around to his way of thinking soon enough.
______
Feline paws padded stealthily across dirt and onto hard wood
floor. Shan Pu was home. To her cat eyes, the walls seemed to stretch
out to vast distances. Almost-dead memories tugged at her mind: this was
how it had looked so many years ago when she had played here as a child.
Against one wall stood the ancient blue urn that
Great-grandmother had bought nearly a hundred years ago. Across the
room, the Ke family tea set rested on the small wooden table, the gold
inlaid designs on the ceramic cups and pots highlighted by the glare of
the late afternoon sun. All non-magical -- Great-grandmother wouldn't
leave any items of power in plain sight -- but of priceless value for
the memories they held. It was very strange. All the other buildings
Shan Pu had seen had been looted and emptied; why not this one?
Following along the wall, she quickly made her way toward the
bedroom. Why they'd left her home untouched was a mystery she'd have to
think about some other time. For now, she was after something that the
Mongols couldn't have gotten to even if they did know about it.
Linghungbao. Great-grandmother, on her deathbed, had told Shan Pu how to
access its secret hiding place. With it in hand, soon these barbarian
invaders would be begging for mercy -- mercy which she would deny them.
"Hello, kitty."
The voice jarred to the bone, like the scraping of metal against
metal. Shan Pu whirled around to face an old woman in a plain, somewhat
oversized brown frock. But for her narrow eyes and hair of dark gray,
she could have passed for Great-grandmother. *I must have walked right
by her and not noticed,* Shan Pu thought. *To mask her presence like
that, she must be greatly skilled.*
"Oh, you needn't be afraid," the old woman purred. "I won't hurt
you. Old Zhen Biaozi likes kitties, yes she does."
Zhen Biaozi? Shan Pu couldn't place the name, though it seemed
vaguely familiar. She knew all of the Amazon Elders -- both by face and
by name -- and this old woman wasn't one of them. But intuition honed by
years of experience told Shan Pu that this woman was not to be taken
lightly. Someone with the skills of an elder Amazon, whether officially
recognized as such or not, would be one of the deadliest foes one could
encounter.
Pushing her cat legs to their limit, Shan Pu sprinted to the
doorway and out of the house. There was no point in trying to recover
the Linghungbao; Zhen Biaozi would surely take it from her before she
could use it. No, she knew better than to fight a battle that she could
not win.
______
"See 'em?"
Slowly, Corporal Sauchuk tilted the binoculars. In the image,
terrain zipped rapidly by. There. A flash of color amidst the brown. He
centered the view on it and adjusted the focus. There was a shapely
young woman in a glossy skin-tight costume. A pig-tailed man in an
old-style Chinese shirt. A... a panda bear?
"Surprised me when I spotted it," Private Martinez said. "I
mean, who'd've thought a traveling circus would be out here in the
middle of--"
"You idiot. Those are the saboteurs." Sauchuk handed back the
binoculars. "C'mon, let's go tell the lieutenant. He can get a map and
figure out roughly where we were looking at."
"Sounds good to me. I wouldn't mind getting a closer look at
that babe." Martinez laughed. "'Course, she can leave the bear and the
bozo home, and that'd be fine with me."
Sauchuk sighed. "It'd be fine with me if the major could track
down these saboteurs. Then maybe you wouldn't have to worry about
getting poison in your stew or a knife in your back."
The two Mongol soldiers walked off. Concealed in the shadows, a
duck watched. The camera hanging by a strap from its neck bobbed back
and forth as it lifted its head. And to the extent that a duck can
smile, this one did, knowing that everything was going according to
plan.
Gary Kleppe
http://www.execpc.com/~kleppe/comics.html