Enemies of the Crystal State 
                                         
           A Ranma/Trigun/Sailor Moon/Scryed
                        Fanfic
                           
                       By Kpjam


Disclaimer: I don't own any of these series.  I'm not clever enough to actually create
anything.  I just play.







Chapter 2: Hakuta

==========


The three travelers walked along the long abandoned mountainside road; which was
in severe disrepair, composed of cracks and crevices with small patches of
uneven-road in-between.  Their path was bounded on the right by a guardrail,
heavily twisted and missing several long sections, overlooking a deep valley. 

They were traveling at a retarded pace, while traversing an unstable route.  Ranma,
on more than one occasion, considered traveling through the remnants of the forest
that was the other boundary of their path.  He dismissed the idea after considering
the state of the ruin the mountainside was in.  The regions that he used to love as a
child had been replaced by this ecological landfill, a constant reminder to the folly
of men.

Dead and decomposing trees where the norm, brittle and covered with moss.  A few
wisps of grass or weeds stretched out defiantly from in-between the mess.  The short
war had accomplished what decades of deforestation had failed to do.  Destroy the
forests.

He remembered the endless games of "Hide and Seek" he had played with the others
while traveling, always running amidst the trees, and in the branches when they were
older.  He remembered stumbling onto the various animals that inhabited the forest;
but, now he was much more likely to find a skeleton instead.

He sighed, depressed from how simply walking reminded him of all that was lost
from the war, the forest above the ground, his innocence below it.

"You okay, Ranma?"

He turned to regard Minako and her small tentative smile. 

"We should find a place to camp.  We won't make it to Hakuta before midnight at
this pace."

Hakuta was the next town, still a good sixty kilometers from the last road sign they
had past by. 

"Alright."

Ranma nodded and led them off the road, picking his way over the timber, looking
for the most level path he could find to travel over.

He had spoken little to the two women, saying nothing really except to share the
identity of the next town.  They, on the other hand, had spoken incessantly, chatting
away to the point that Ranma had yelled at them to shut-up.

He had been forced to endure Rei's wrath for a few minutes before they had all
fallen silent; a worthwhile exchange, in his opinion.

"I would have thought more trees and foliage would have survived," Minako said
from behind him.

"Geez, you're as bad as Usagi.  Things won't grow until this place is cleaned up a
little.  Also, the crystal doesn't seem to work far from Crystal Tokyo."

"_I_ am not as bad as Usagi.  I got decent grades in school, just because I didn't do
as well as you did, doesn't mean I'm stupid. And besides, I had fun dating in college,
unlike some girls."

Ranma twitched as he listened to the girls argue.  "So much for peace and quiet," he
muttered under his breath.

"I still think there should be more growth around here. The trees around Crystal
Tokyo are pretty and the hills very green, I don't see why this place isn't a _little_
better off?"

"What are you girls talking about?  Trees?  Grass?  Where?"

They exchanged a nervous glance with each other, worried that maybe they had said
too much.

"Neo-Queen Serenity healed the world after the nuclear war, cleansing the land of
radiation and other impurities in the air and in the people," Rei lectured.

"Huh?  So...  I remember that day, the cleansing thingy I guess... But what does that
got to do with how you could create trees?  Don't they take years and years to
grow?"

"Neo-Queen Serenity used the Silver Imperial Crystal to do this.  She had to clear
the air first and then she healed the trees.  It made everything healthy, even spurring
the trees to grow to adult status quickly. " Ranma ignored the note of annoyance, or
impatience evident in the woman's voice, curious about what she was talking about.

"That.. That doesn't make sense."

"It's the magic of the Silver Imperium Crystal."

"Magic, huh...  Well... I guess I'll have to see those tree someday."

"Yes, you should.  There are some beautiful forests around the city.  For some
reason the crystal didn't work that far from Crystal Tokyo.  Once you get past the
Osaka area, everything is dead and all," Minako sighed, apparently distressed that
the rest of Japan wasn't beautiful.

"It's because the land farther out wasn't properly cleared," Rei explained with a
sigh.

"I still think it shouldn't be this bad.  Grass should be growing at least.  It shouldn't
matter that the dead trees weren't removed, _something_ should be growing,"
Minako argued.

Ranma was busy trying to drown them out, holding in his verbal assault as he
scanned the area for a suitable place to camp.

"Alright," he said, as he stopped at a place that seemed suitable.  "We need to clear
this area so we can setup a campsite."  He indicated a small patch of dirt,
surrounded by debris and a few scattered tree parts.

He bent down to begin removing the larger pieces of wood, tossing some into the
center of the area.

"Why are you doing that?"  Minako inquired.

"I told ya already.  We need to clear a campsite.  What, you want to sleep on
branches and rocks?" he asked, exasperated.

"No!  Of course not, silly," she giggled.  "Why are you tossing some of the pieces
there?"

"Oh, that.  We can use them for firewood to cook dinner with," he explained, a little
sheepish at his misunderstanding.

"Dinner.  What's for dinner?"  The excitement and relief in the blonde's voice was
evident.

"Whatever you brought."  He glanced at the small backpacks they were carrying and 
realized he should have paid more attention earlier.  He guessed, now that he thought
about it, that the bags probably only contained clothing and make-up, nothing
suitable for living on the road.

"Ahh.  Hehe.  Ha."

"What?"  He knew whatever she had to say wasn't going to entertain him the way it
appeared to be entertaining her.

"Come on.  Say it."  His patience was again thinning.

"Ah... Ranma.  We don't have any a--"

"Food," he supplied for her, releasing her from her distress, and him from his
waiting.

"That is... we forgot. Can you please share your food?  Please?"  Minako pleaded,
sputtering the last part out without a hint of embarrassment.

Ranma grumbled and looked at Minako's pleading face.  He always had trouble
resisting the pleas of those in need, especially when they were sincere.

"We can pay," she offered brightly.

"Don..."  He was about to tell her not to worry about it when he remembered Nabiki. 
She had drilled into him the importance of money, and these girls didn't look like
they were hard up, in the money department at least. 

"Don't worry, you won't starve.  We can talk about payment later."

"Thanks!"  She gushed.

He quickly turned away, intent on returning to the job of setting up their small camp,
lest he notice how attractive Minako was when she smiled.  He immediately caught
sight of Rei regarding him with a smirk, definitely an amused smirk.  He bristled
under her gaze and snapped, "What!?!"

Rei's smiled.  "Nothing," she responded and failed to remove her gaze from him.

He regarded her for a second.  "Women," he muttered as he returned to his
preparations for dinner.


--------------------------------


Minako watched as Ranma ate quickly, sustaining a pace that Usagi would be
envious of.  She, on the other hand, had only taken a single bite of the stew like
substance.  Her hunger was overshadowing her dislike of the food, but it was a
close call.  Forcing herself, she placed another spoon-full into her mouth.

She blanched and began to slowly chew the substance.  A glance to her right
confirmed that Rei was suffering through her meal as well.

"What is this slop?" Rei exploded.

"Simulated beef with carrots," Ranma muttered harshly.  He didn't look at Rei as he
stood and placed his bowl down.  When he looked up and faced Rei, Minako could
see the annoyance in his face.

"It's nutritious and non-perishable.  It's about the best food for traveling, and it's
more than the two of you brought!" he said abrasively.

Rei drew herself up to retort when Minako beat her to the punch.  "Thank you again
for the food, Ranma."  Minako placed a calming hand onto Rei's shoulder and
flashed Ranma her winning smile.  She watched as her attack worked its magic,
Ranma deflated and became obviously uncomfortable.

"Ah.  No problem.  I'll be back in a bit," he said, obviously off-guard.

"Where are you going?"  Minako asked.

"Going to scout the area a little."

"Oh.  Okay.  See you later."  Minako continued to hold onto her friend's shoulder as
she watched Ranma walk away.

"Why'd you do that?  This food is horrible!"  Rei exploded when Ranma was out of
sight.

"Because he's helping us.  There's no reason to get him mad."

"Did you taste this food!?!"

Minako looked down at her bowl and gulped.  "Yes. But there's no reason to get
mad at him.  It's not like we had anything to contribute."

"I'm not mad," Rei huffed.

"Then you're irritable."

"I am not irritable."

"Whatever."

Minako contemplated something, looking at her friends. "Doesn't he have a cute
butt?"  She finally asked vacuously, hoping to draw her friend out of her sour mood.

Rei returned the question with a small glare before returning to her food.  Minako
giggled softly and returned to the chore at hand.


-----------------------


Rei finally finished eating, or rather finished stuffing her nourishment down her
throat.  There were a few instances throughout the meal that she had felt like
weeping.  The contrast between this and the offering she had received from Makoto
a few days ago was almost too much to bear.

She also bristled under the fact that Minako was right, they shouldn't antagonize
Ranma.  After all, he was helping them out.  Although she suspected that Minako had
other reasons for being nice to the young man, she had no proof and therefore was
forced to endure Minako's excessive cuteness.

"I'm going to call in before he returns," she informed her friend, the instant her bowl
was mostly finished.

"Good idea."

She nodded and turned on her communicator, calling Usagi.

Usagi suddenly appeared on her small screen, a huge smile forming on her face.

"Rei!" Usagi cried.

"Shh.  Not so loud," she admonished her Queen.

"Geez, what got into you?"

"Nothing.  We're fine, and thanks for asking."

"You really are grumpy."

"I am not!" she protested, ignoring the flame to her cheeks.  "How are Ami and
Makoto?" she asked, trying to regain her composure.

"Fine.  The surgeon removed the bullets, and then Hotaru healed them.   They're
sleeping now, but should be up and about tomorrow."

"When are they coming back?"

"Ummm.  Well..."

"What?" Rei interrupted, annoyed at the obvious stall for time.

"Well, they have other duties to attend to right now.  You guys will be fine.  So,
where are you?"

"Camping," she sighed.

"Hey.  That sounds like fun! You think we could do that sometime later?" chirped
Usagi in her ever-happy tone.

"Yeah.  Whole lot of fun.  Whoopie..." Rei dead panned.

"Geez...  At least you didn't have to spend all day with arrogant ambassadors."

"Well.  You didn't have to see your friends get shot, and then travel with a boorish,
obnoxious jerk."

"You're traveling with someone?"

"Yeah.  A guy named Ranma.  He knows the area and he knows how to get to the
town Vash was headed to."

"Oh.  Is he cute?"

"That doesn't--"

The screen Rei was looking into split, as Minako's appeared in half of the display. 
"He's gorgeous!" she exclaimed.

"Minako!" Rei yelled at the screen.

"How old is he?"  Usagi asked. 

"Usagi!" Rei yelled at the other half of her display.

"I'm not sure.  He appears to be a little younger than us."

Rei started growling, frustrated, and not for the first time, because these two could
never be serious unless someone's life was on the line.

"Is he single?"

"I think so... he must be... traveling alone like he his.  He must not have a wonderful
wife to go home to," she said dreamily.  

"Guys!  He's trying to kill someone!" Rei yelled into her communicator.

Both girls shut up instantly, and stared at their friend in silence.  

"I forgot," Minako said shamefully.

"Oh," Usagi said.

"So what are Ami and Makoto doing that they can't join us?"  Rei asked, trying to
steer the conversation towards something of consequence.

"Oh. Nothing important," Usagi said.  It was obvious to Rei it was something
important, and probably something big.

"Come on, Usagi.  Spill it."  Rei wasn't in the mood for Usagi's playfulness.  She
wanted to go to bed soon, get-up early, and get to a town where they could get a
decent meal.

"They're going to an omiai," Usagi answered.  The corners of her mouth were
creeping up forming a huge grin.

"What?!?!?"  Rei and Minako shouted into their communicators.

"Yeah.  One of the provincial rulers is searching for a bride.  And over the course of
the discussions he mentioned how attractive he thought you guys were.  Well one
thing led to another and he wants to meet you all and see if any fo you are suitable to
be his bride," she finished excitedly.

Rei sat stunned.  Trying to gather all the information that had just been laid out to
her.  Married.  One of them.  Well Usagi and Mamoru had been wed right after they
took over Tokyo.  Haruka and Michiru were as good as married.  But this concerned
her friends...  One of her best friends could...  To someone they didn't even know.

"What if none of us like this guy?"  Minako asked.

"Well.  I hope one of you will,"  Usagi responded quickly.  A little too quickly for
Rei's comfort.

"Why?" Rei asked.  Her suspicious nature leaking into her honest question.

"Why?  Don't you want to meet dashing men?  I thought you'd be happy.  Maybe you
can get married and be happy, like Mamoru and I are,"  Usagi answered seriously
after sighing, a sad, if somewhat nervous look adorning her face.

Rei considered her answer, unconvinced for some reason.  Something didn't feel
right to her about the situation, and the way Usagi was handling the explaining of it.

"Well, tell us something about him!  What's his name?  What does he look like? How
old is he?" Rei was also curious to the answers of Minako's quick questioning.

Usagi appeared to rear up, taking on a regal pose, as if she was about to impart
some world shaking news.  "I've never met him," she said, slumping her shoulders
and smiling apologetically.

"What are you girls doing?"  Rei whipped her head up, searching for the masculine
source of the interruption.  She spotted Ranma standing at the edge of the clearing,
looking curious.

Quickly hitting the disconnect button, and hoping Usagi would understand the
rudeness, she stared at Ranma, wondering what, if anything he had observed or
overheard.

"Ah, we were just talking," Minako replied quickly.  The lie sounded like a lie to
Rei's ears because the lie was a lie after all so it was obviously the lie that it was,
and that's no lie.  Rei stopped and wondered momentarily if all the time she had
spent with Minako had finally warped her thinking process irrevocably.

"Oh, okay," Ranma responded.  Rei heaved a small sigh of relief, hoping it would be
obscured by the fading light.

He walked briskly, strode actually, to a space across the fire from them.  Rei only
noticed then how dark it had become, the firelight danced across his face, making
him appear more dashing than before.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I don't suppose you have sleeping bags, do you?" Ranma asked, in a tone of voice
that said that he wasn't expecting them to have answered in the affirmative.

"..."  She had forgotten all about outdoor bedding and sleeping attire; apparently
Minako had also.

"I thought so.  Where were you planning on sleeping?" he asked pointedly.

"We never thought of that."

Hearing the words from Minako made Rei feel stupid again, further deepening her
resentment of this trip and of that man.

"How the hell did you girls get here from Tokyo with no gear?" Ranma asked, 
exasperated.

After taking a moment to think, Rei replied quickly, "Helicopter "

"Plane," Minako said simultaneously.

She looked over at Minako when she answered differently, before they both turned
back to Ranma.

"Plane--" Rei announced.

"Helicopter," Minako chimed in.

A shiver of annoyance danced up her spine when she heard Minako contradict her
again.  Before they were forced to appeared anymore foolish, she elbowed her
friend, hoping it would silence her.

"We took a plane to Kyoto and then had a helicopter drop us off here," she
explained, hoping it would get them through.  She couldn't admit to teleporting, it
would open themselves up to too many other questions.

She watched as Ranma blinked, apparently mulling over the information.  She held
her breath while she hoped if he would buy that answer as well.

"That doesn't make sense," he finally replied.

Rei was stumped, not sure what to say, when Minako spoke up again.

"It's a long story, but we work for this paper, right?"  She waited for his assent
before continuing.  "Well, the owner knows this really eccentric guy, who got lucky
and still had a lot of valuable stuff with him after the war.   I think he was some
military type or something...  Anyways, that's not important, he wanted to go see the
rest of the country, he heard it was wild out here and he wanted to test his skill, or
something... so he planned a trip out this way.  When he decided to come and he
finished his plans, he told our boss, whom he was trying to impress and get written
about.  Well one thing let to another... and here we are.   So does that make sense?" 

Rei was stunned and impressed at the same time.  Minako had given a credible lie,
hopefully Ranma would let it slide, if he didn't believe it outright..  

"Well... does that make sense, or do I need to explain some more?"  Minako asked
when Ranma had failed to respond after a few moments.

Quickly raising his hands, he shook his head, like he was admitting defeat.  "I got ya. 
You're pretty lucky that worked out."

"Well, we get lucky a lot," Minako replied, earnestly.  Rei wondered for a second if
her reply sounded to Ranma, how it sounded to her.

"Well...  I don't got much in the way of spare bags or anything.  But I got some extra
clothes and an extra blanket.  You girls can make due with that.  I'd suggest getting
some real stuff in town, if you're planning on actually traveling on foot for a while."

"Thanks, Ranma," both girls replied sincerely.



********************


Usagi looked into the blank screen, wondering if she should call them back.  She
wanted to, but she didn't want to talk to them anymore about the omiai.  If the first
two failed, then those two would meet him next.

She hoped it worked out, she wanted all her friends to be happy...  She wanted all of
Japan to be happy.  The delegate had even hinted at that, but first and foremost,
Usagi wanted her friends to enjoy the wedded bliss she shared with her Mamoru. 
Setsuna and Mamoru agreed a union with one of the other Lords would go a long
way.  Although Setsuna seemed less than fully supportive in her endorsement of the
idea, merely deferring to Mamoru's lead. 

"Hmm.  Maybe I should talk to Setsuna some more," she thought to herself.  

The fact that the potential bride-groom was a serious looker, if the picture she had
seen could be believed, didn't hurt matters even.  He was also a self-made man, that
spoke to his abilities, and he had such an interesting name, Knives.


************************************************


The three travelers walked up to the town gates.  The less than impressive structure
was made up of a few steel girders that had been stripped from some building.  They
were currently up, but appeared to lay crossways across the gap in the wall that
surrounded the town.  The wall was a series of posts, mostly logs, apparent dead
falls, with an occasional steel girder thrown in for variety.

The couple guards at the gate paid them a cursory glance, apparently satisfied that
the he and his companions looked harmless enough they were let through with little
trouble.

Posted in unevenly spaced watch-towers, were the town sentries and look-outs,
displayed more overtly than Ranma had encountered in other towns.  He wondered
if they had faced an inordinate amount of trouble lately had precipitated this action.

As they passed the gates and got a their first good look at the town, Ranma shook his
head in pity.  The town looked seedy and run down, an announcement of its
impoverishment.  Numerous buildings were visibly patched together, obviously
reconstructed from parts of buildings that were no longer standing.

Ranma stopped to survey the area.  It was his first trip to Hakuta, but he had seen
other towns like this.

"Geez...  What a dump," he heard Rei announce.  He held his reply in check, wanting
to end his attachment to the girls without further incident.

He had finished his visual sweep of the area, when he noticed a young woman
walking towards them and waving.  She was approximately his age, with long
purple hair, and stunningly beautiful.  She was his height, slim with long legs, and
possessed a radiant smile.  

She waved at him, stopping him dead in his tracks.  He felt awkward, staring at her
while he tried to place her face.

"Rei! Minako!" she called.  Ranma's held his breath until he realized his mistake and
felt the air flow out of him as he deflated, from disappointment or relief, he didn't
know.

"Hotaru!"  He flinched from the twin yells behind him and watched as both his
traveling companions raced past him.  They all met in one giant hug, Ranma took a
moment to further observe the new girl, Hotaru.  He noticed she was dressed
similarly to Minako and Rei, adorned in nice complimentary clothing, in good
condition, and kept her hair long.  She looked like she had been living well, like the
two other girls.  From these clues he quickly assumed she was also from Tokyo.

"What are you doing here?"  Minako asked, when the reunion had been made.

"Didn't Usagi tell you?  I'm working with you."  Hotaru glanced at Ranma when she
recited the second sentence.

"No.  She didn't mention it to me.  Rei?"

"No. She only mentioned that Ami and Makoto wouldn't be with us," Rei replied.

"Oh.  Well I'm here," Hotaru beamed.  "Ready to help out.  So how was your trip?"

"It sucked!" Rei exclaimed.  "It was ghastly!"

"Well.  I've seen you ladies here,"  Ranma chimed in, interrupting Hotaru as she was
about to speak, "...so I'll get going now," he finished.

"Ranma, wait."  Minako called.  He stopped the footsteps he was about to take, as
he turned to regard the woman, who now appeared flushed.  He wondered if she
was ill.  "Maybe she needed him to find a doctor for her?" he surmised to himself,
becoming increasingly alarmed from all the possible illnesses that she could have
caught on their short trip.

"Yes?"  He asked worried, and a little upset that he hadn't noticed anything wrong
with her before.

"Ah... that was rude of us, I'm sorry, we were really excited.  This is Hotaru," she
said almost meekly, introducing the purple-haired beauty.

"Err... okay," he responded, realizing that Minako apparently wasn't ill, annoyed at
the delay and his misconception.  He wanted to be on his way and fast! Vash was not
known to be in a single place for too long.

His annoyance and impatience wavered, when he turned to great the girl and was hit
with her bright smile.  "Nice to meet you and all. Hmm..."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ranma.  Thank you for helping out my friends," Hotaru
said sweetly.

"Yeah... hmm... by the way, thanks, for escorting us and everything. It was very kind
of you," Minako added before he could respond to the other girl.

"Sure, no problem," he said, trying to be polite.  Having little idea what else to say,
he added, "Maybe you guys should find a store or something.  You know... so you
can get some real gear.  You might need it, if you keep traveling away from Tokyo." 
He said, scratching the back of his neck.

"Okay," Minako replied gratefully.

"Oh, and definitely a tent.  If it had rained last night, you wouldn't have been able to
sleep."

"Definitely," agreed Minako with her sunny smile.

"Alright then.  Good luck to you," he said in parting.  He turned and began to walk
away, relief at being free of feeling responsible for those girls.  

"Ranma," he heard Minako call him, freezing him again in his tracks.

"Yeah?" he responded, hoping he had kept from growling, as he turned to face the
girls.   Minako looked nervous, but a little happy.  Rei was looking at Minako, an
annoyed expression on her face, while Hotaru looked speculative.  Hotaru's look
made him the most nervous, as she didn't hide the fact on what she was speculating
about.

"I was hoping, maybe you would go shopping with us.  You know... help us pick out
the stuff we need."

Ranma considered, knowing that they probably really needed the help, as clueless as
they seemed. "Maybe the new girl was more together," he wondered to himself.

Glancing at her, he noticed her smile in return, bright faced and... hungry looking. 
"No. No better there," he told himself.  Surveying the angry look on Rei's face he
thought maybe he'd help them, just to spite her.

"Yeah.  Sure," he finally responded.  "You could use the help," he said derisively.

"Great!  Let's go find a place to shop," Minako said gleefully.


***************************


Rei watched as Ranma looked into another shop.  She was wondering what was so
difficult about finding equipment.   She poked her head in, and surveyed the
surroundings.  This place seemed to be no different than the other two, but Ranma
walked into this one, a small smile on his face. 

"So, can we buy the stuff here?" she asked irritably.

"This place seems to be okay," he responded.

"I don't see, why didn't we just buy the supplies at the first shop?  It all looks like the
same stuff!"

She looked at her companions for support, disappointed at the indifferent
expressions she received in response.   She assumed Minako was indifferent,
because she was making use of the time by engaging Ranma in small talk.  Hotaru
seemed to deem that activity acceptable, throwing in the occasional comment to
move the conversation along.  

Rei wondered about Ranma's answers.  Yesterday, they hadn't talked at all until
camp, and there they had said little.  This morning and afternoon he had opened up a
little under Minako's constant pressure, engaging in conversation with the blonde
until they had arrived at town.

In town she had begun to notice a pattern, whenever the question was about
something that didn't involve him directly, he was a wellspring of information, and
quite smug about his knowledge.  When the questions hinted at something personal,
he would deflect it, or just ignore it.  She was growing suspicious, and wishing that
her friend would start thinking with her head, and not her...

Ranma had quickly proceeded to collect a surprisingly large amount of material,
although the total space they took up was small.  A few backpacks, sleeping bags,
and other accessories that Rei failed to recognize.

She walked up to the storekeeper, joined by the other two girls, as they all looked
over Ranma's shoulder.

"So that will be one hundred-thousand yen," the clerk said.

Rei watched as Minako reached for her wallet, but was stopped by Ranma.  

"Wait a second, Minako."  He reached into a pocket, and retrieved a small
notebook.  The small book was flipped open and Ranma scanned through it,
apparently finding what he was looking for.

"Well," she said impatiently.  

Ranma raised a hand, which quieted her, as he continued to stand in place,
examining the book.

"Well," the store owner said.

"Forty-thousand," Ranma replied.

"That's an outrage," the store owner gasped.

Ranma looked a little nervous, but shrugged.  "That's what this is worth," he replied
defensively.

"Ranma, that's okay.  We can--"  Minako was reaching for her purse when Ranma
interrupted her.

"No.  We can go get this stuff at one of the other stores."

"Well, I got the best gear," the owner said, his voice a little pleading.

Ranma was silent for a moment.  "Yeah.  That's true, but it's not worth being ripped
off for," he responded.

"Well.  How 'bout eighty-thousand then."

"Hmm.  I think they could be worth fifty-thousand.  It is pretty good stuff.  But not
really that great."

"Seventy-five.  And that's a deal for all this gear."

Rei watched as Ranma mulled the offer over.  "Ranma," she growled.  The extra
savings wasn't that important.

"Naw.  That's okay.  Come on guys, the first shop will get you a better deal," he said
as he turned around.

Rei looked at the other two girls, both uncertain about his manner and unsure of what
actions they should take.  The owner was glancing between Ranma's retreating back
and the girls.  Rei had no idea what he was thinking.

Minako finally shrugged and began walking after Ranma.  "Sixty-five," the owner
yelled.

Ranma stopped and turned to Minako.  "That's a decent price, a little too expensive,
but..."

Minako took his meaning and produced her wallet again.  "We'll take it," she said
cheerfully, as she began counting out the money.

Rei looked at Ranma, confused at and surprised by his actions, not expecting him to
be so effective at haggling.

Minako had paid, and called for the other two girls to help her with the stuff.   Rei
quickly took a third of the material, picking out a nice red backpack, and wondering
at the coincidence of the color choices, red, orange, and purple.  She didn't mention
it, but wondered if maybe she was being a little too suspicious.

Hefting her gear, she was pleasantly surprised at how light it was, before she
following the others out of the store.

"That was fantastic, Ranma," Minako gushed, when they had exited the shop.

"No.  You could have maybe gotten it for fifty-five, maybe fifty thousand if you
hadn't seemed so anxious." 

"Well, thank you anyway," Minako said, ignoring the slight dig.

"What was on that notepad?"  Rei asked.

Ranma shrugged and pulled out the notepad.  He flipped a few pages and showed it
to the girls.  Rei leaned in close with the other.


"Martial arts haggling?" Hotaru said, confusion evident in her voice.

"And a price list," Minako added.

"It helps me to not waste money," he said defensively, as he closed the book and
returned it to his pocket.

Rei wondered if it was a sore spot for him, needing to use a price list and notes for
shopping.

"Well, ladies.  I guess this is it," he said, when they reached an intersection.

"Yup," Rei responded.  Hoping to get back to their mission.

"It was nice meeting you, Ranma," Hotaru added sweetly, as she extended her hand
to the young man.

"Yeah, you too," he replied nervously, as he took the offered hand and shook it
roughly.

"Ranma..."  Minako started and then stopped speaking.  Ranma turned to her, looking
confused.  Minako blushed, before darting in and planting a kiss on his cheek. 
Ranma recoiled quickly, almost as if he had been slapped, resulting in a hurt
expression on the girl's face.

"Thanks for helping us out and I'm glad I met you," she said, obviously trying to
recover from her disappointment.

He looked lost for a second, before recovering his wits and responding, "Ah, yeah.
Same here."

He continued to stare at her, a puzzled look upon his face, as if he had no idea what
to make of the girl.  Rei would loathe to admit this out loud, but he looked very cute
that way.  She was beginning to see some of the things Minako found attractive in the
man.

"What are you going to do if Vash isn't here?" she suddenly asked.

"Don't care about Vash," he replied.  An untruth Rei was sure even Minako could
spot by the defensive tone he used.

"But... aren't you trying to kill him?"  Minako stammered confused.

"Who said that?"  The dangerous tone in his voice set Rei on edge and fumbling in
her pocket for her henshin stick.


"You did.  Yesterday in the fight," Minako countered, ignoring the warning gesture
Rei tried to make with her free hand.

"What do you know about the fight?"  

Minako looked at him strangely, before turning to Rei, looking confused.

"We followed you to the cliff.  We saw the fight with the Senshi and what you said
about Vash," Rei supplied.  She was ready to say some very unkind words to
Minako about her memory and the definition of discretion.

"Oh...  Yeah..."  Ranma took an audible breath.  "Vash needs to pay for his actions,"
he finished solemnly before turning and walking away.

"You shouldn't kill," Minako said to his back.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Ranma responded, devoid of any
emotion and without breaking his stride.

"But...  But...  You're not a killer."

"I have to do this."

"Just...  Just reconsider," she yelled after him.

The three of them stood there watching his retreating form.  Rei cast a glance at
Minako, noticing the worry on the girl's face.  A sight that induced trepidation in
Rei, it was unlike Minako to form a bond with a random guy like this.  Sure, she had
been prone to becoming infatuated quickly, but this appeared to border on real
caring.

"Why do you care so much about what that jerk does?"  Rei finally asked, honestly
curious.

Minako sighed and turned to face her friend.  "I can't say.  I just... There's something
about him.  I can tell, he's really a good guy.  Look at the way he helped us."

Minako's hand whipped up silencing Rei, before she could respond.

"I know he's a little rough, but he was helpful when no one else was.  He's also a
fighter, but I don't think he's a killer.  I hope he doesn't take that step, I hope no one
else ever has to."

"Minako, I believe in your heart, so should you."  Rei was astounded at Hotaru's
words.  Words that sounded suspiciously like something Usagi would say, full of
love, support and hope.

Not willing to say anything further on the subject of Ranma, Rei threw out the next
question.  "What next?"

"We find Vash... and keep Ranma from killing him," Hotaru responded, offering
Minako a hopeful smile.

"Sounds good to me," Rei replied, not so much from feelings about Ranma, but from
a distaste concerning violence and killing in general.


**************************************


Unnoticed by the three women, a small boy had been listening in on the
conversation.  "Vash the Stampede is in town," he said to himself and whistled.

Turning a corner, he ran to tell his pops, thinking about the new stuff he could buy if
they managed to capture Vash.



*******************************


Kanami silently bussed the table in the small cafe she worked at.  She looked
towards the front door when she wiped the sweat from her brow.  A small frown
forming at her brow when she witnessed Menchi run into the restaurant.

Menchi was a perverted little kid around her age, twelve, who took delight in
talking 'dirty' to her and occasionally groping her.  She had complained about his
actions, but was told to endure it, in a hope that he would eventually grow out of this
stage.

She had considered telling Kazuma or Kimishima, but the two hot-heads would
probably only exacerbate the situation by beating on the boy, therefore incurring the
wrath of the Mayor, Menchi's father.

Menchi ran swiftly to Natsumi, the owner.  She exchanged greetings with him before
bending down to listen to his whispers.   Menchi proceeded to nod in confirmation
of his news before running out of the caf‚.

Exhaling in relief, Kanami was thankful the little rodent either didn't see her or he
didn't have the time to bother her.  Either reason was fine with her.

Curiously, Natsumi started walking around the small establishment, talking to the
waitresses.  Natsumi wasn't prone to any discussion with the help, with the
exception of the occasionally barked out order.

An attractive woman in her mid-thirties, Natsumi was a bitter woman.  Kanami had
heard she was quite the socialite before the war, being reduced to running this place
when she lost her husband and most of her possessions during it.  She wasn't mean
per se, just frustrated.  Frustrated at being reduced in station and having to work for
a living in the sole building remaining that her late husband had owned.

She apparently finished her business with the waitresses, apparently deeming the
information not worth imparting on the small girl, she headed back to the kitchen. 
As soon as she left the room, a tall man walked in.  He was wearing yellow tinted
sunglasses, a big red coat and had platinum-blonde spiky hair.  All told, Kanami
found him extremely attractive for a stranger.  He had an imposing presence, not
threatening, like some of the outsiders that found there way into town, but someone
who should be treated carefully.

She went to greet him, dutifully fulfilling one of her assigned tasks and trusting that
he meant no trouble..

"Hi, welcome to Natsumi's," she greeted him politely.

"Ah... Hi.  Do you by any chance have donuts?" he asked and frowned, apparently
worried that she would answer in the negative.  He looked cute that way, almost
begging for a donut, as his mannerisms calmed her.  She fought her desire to have
some fun with him.

"Freshly made this morning," she responded with a small smile.  She was answered
by his face lighting up like a skyscraper, reminiscent of the pictures she had seen of
the cities before the war.  A time she had been too small to remember.

"Would you like a table?  Or would you prefer to sit at the counter?" she asked by
rote.

"The counter would be just fine."  He smiled at her, a very pleasant one.  It made her
feel like he had really paid attention to her, not ignoring her as so many other adults
did.

She returned his smile, hoping to show her gratitude for his attention.  "This way." 
They made their way past the two tables populated by families and arrived at the
counter.

"Tell him about the donuts," she quipped to Miyuki, the waitress behind the counter,
who in turn giggled nervously and grabbed a menu.

"Enjoy."  She smiled brightly and returned to her other duties.

On her way back to cleaning tables she heard a small crash, the sound of dishes
breaking upon the wooden floor.

In the kitchen doorway stood Natsumi, staring at the man she just seated.  After a
minute of slack jawed staring, she finally seemed to noticed the whole restaurant
was in turn staring at her.  "Kanami, come clean this up," she called to the young girl
and then proceeded to turn around and return to the kitchen.

Kanami jumped at the mention of her name.   Grabbing her cleaning bin, she made
her way over to the mess her boss had made and began to clean up the broken bits of
plates, and food.

She glanced at the newcomer.  Who waved a donut filled hand towards her, before
taking a huge bite out of it.  A smile came unbidden to her lips, a manifestation of the
silliness he displayed. 

Curious about the owner's reaction to him and needing to empty her load, she
headed towards the kitchen hoping to get some answers.

The object of her search had busied herself in her office, rifling through papers in a
frantic search for something and moving at a speed that made her hands appear to
blur.  

"Yes!  It's him!"  she cried out, apparently finding what she had been looking for. 
She clutched the paper to her heart for a second as she again called out, "Yes!"

"Who's him?" Kanami asked, her curiosity winning out against the trepidation she
felt confronting her currently crazed boss.

"Oh, it's you," she said, obviously recognizing the other girl's presence for the first
time.  "Vash the Stampede!  We're going to be rich!" she shouted triumphantly and
shoved the paper into Kanami's chest.

Kanami's hand flew to her chest reflexively, securing it before she had a chance to
examine its contents.  A wanted poster met her gaze.  A brief description of the man
she had recently seated was displayed front and center, with the caption, "Wanted
for, Murder! Destruction of Property! Public Nuisance! 60,000,000,000,000 Yen
reward for capture! Is Armed and Dangerous.  He is also a pacifist." prominently
displayed at the bottom.

Her eyes widened as she looked at the description in shock, trying to associate the
man she had met with the man described here.  That they were one and same, was
most likely true, but he seemed as harmless as a newborn babe in person. 

"Go make sure he doesn't leave before I get back out there," her boss called from 
the bureau that stood in the corner.  She had begun frantically searching again, for
what, Kanami couldn't tell.

"Well, get going!"

The second call broke Kanami of her paralysis, sending the girl stumbling out the
door, with her head spinning from surprise, and the little shaft of hope that began to
circulate in her heart.

She walked swiftly through the kitchen, trying to concentrate on her task, instead of
her hopes and dreams for a better town.  She took a look at the man, Vash as she
now knew his name to be, as he quickly finished another donut.

"Mmm these are great," he spoke between bites, a silly grin adorning his face.  "Can
I have some more?" he pleaded.  A boyish smile of gratitude exploded onto his face
when Miyuki nodded yes and brought the man another half-dozen.

Kanami caught Miyuki's eye, furrowing her brow, and mouthing a question
concerning the quantity of donuts ordered.  After a second of contemplation, Miyuki
flashed her hands nine times, the final time, she only held up two fingers.

"No way," she said out loud.  Hands flying to her mouth, as if to stop the words from
coming out.  She looked at Vash again, his plate reduced to two donuts, in the space
of a few seconds.  She was forced to considered the possibility that he really had
eaten forty-two donuts since he sat down, forty-eight now.

Vash finished the last of his food and wiped his mouth clean of the donut crumbs. 
He leaned back in his stool and rubbed his stomach affectionately. "Mmmmm, That
was great!" he exclaimed.

"Glad you liked it, sir," Natsumi called from the kitchen doorway.

"Oh, Ya.  Donuts are one of my favorite foods.  Yours are the best I've had in years."

"Great," Natsumi answered in a voice that sounded more sinister than pleased.

"Can I have some more?"

"Sure." An evil smile appeared at her lips when she spoke.

Miyuki was well ahead of her boss, as another plate appeared in front of him.  He
began eating as if he was eating his first food in days, not as a man attempting to eat
his weight in donuts.

After his attention was focused completely on his food, Natsumi headed around the
counter, going straight for Vash and walking strangely.  A shuffle more than a stride,
as she kept her left arm at her side, slightly behind her body, either injured in the
few minutes since Kanami had last seen her, or concealing something. 

The serious and determined look in her eyes scared Kanami, almost as much as the
metallic glint that came off of the object that the other woman was carrying at her
side.

Kanami, apparently wasn't alone in her sense of trepidation; the other workers, and
even the customers must have felt something in the air, the tension in the room had
become a tactile property.  A small bead of water had formed and was currently
trekking down her neck, behind her ear, and was moving forward, heading towards
her chin, all in response to the baleful quiet that had descended.

This had all occurred in the few seconds that passed since Natsumi had last spoken,
which in turn had seemed like hours to young Kanami, as she watched the woman
walk.

Kanami leaped at the sound of the front door banging open, followed instantaneously
by children's squeals as a boy came running into the diner carrying a toy gun, trailed
closely by another with a similar object in hand.

Kanami grasped her chest, trying to restrain her quickly beating heart as the boys
sped through the small establishment, shouting and firing at each other, loud bangs
ringing throughout the small room with the firing of the prop guns.

"Oww.  You got me," the first boy said theatrically, while clutching his shirt tightly
and pretending to stumble.

The spectacle had enraptured the entire room.  All eyes were on the staggering boy
as he headed towards the counter, and Natsumi.

The woman in question realized her imminent meeting with the youngster a little too
late.  Attempting a small hop to remove herself from the path of the small boy, she
ended up spinning; the inept movement was most likely derived from the fact that
while she had turned to face the playful kids, she hadn't moved her feet, leaving
them planted and pointed towards Vash.

She ended up losing her balance and stumbling forward before crashing into Vash,
who had quickly and deftly vaulted from his stool to catch her, preventing her from
hitting the ground.

A thud was heard followed by a short skid.  Kanami turned to locate the source of
the sound.  Her suspicions proved correct, when she spotted the gun laying bare
upon the floor, obviously lost from her boss's grasp when her fall was broken.

The room became silent again, as the two boys realized they stumbled into
something.  Unsure as to what the situation was, they looked around with puzzled
expressions on their faces. 

"You okay, miss?"  Vash asked as he helped Natsumi to straighten up and stand
under her own power.

"Y... yes,"  She said a little hesitantly, looking over his shoulder at her gun, laying a
few feet away.

He must have caught the look she was giving, along with the nervousness in her eyes
and voice, because he turned around quickly, a perplexed look upon his face.  He
smiled, as if in understanding, and moved quickly to retrieve the gun.

Disappointment flooded Kanami as she watched the gun go into the criminal's hand,
while he smiled proudly and turned it over in his hand to examining it.  Fear began
to take over when she began to wonder if he would hurt anyone, the poster had
mentioned murder and destruction, if she remembered correctly.

No sound was forthcoming from anyone in the room, the children had followed the
example of the adults, all staring at the strange man.

Her muscles became taut when Vash frowned, and her heart seized up when he
looked at Natsumi and began speaking.

"You should be more careful, Ma'am.  Guns can be dangerous," he said as if he
were a child, scolding an adult.

The entire room went into shock as he took Natsumi's hand and proceeded to place
the gun into it, curling her fingers closed around it while covering it with his hand. 
Kanami sat down, something she never did while she worked, lightheaded from the
scare and unable to control her racing heart.

"It would be a shame for such a lovely woman as you to be hurt."  A caring smile
adorned his face, while the rest of the room continued to look on stunned, unable to
fathom what they had just witnessed.

"Ah... sure, Mister.  I'll be more careful."  Natsumi finally uttered.

"Great!" he enthused and then jumped back onto his stool to continue his meal of
donuts.

Natsumi aimed the gun at the back of his head.  "All right, Mr. Vash the Stampede. 
You're captured."  She turned to Kanami and yelled, "Kanami, run and tell the
Mayor, we've captured him!"

Excitement flooded her as she bolted out of the room, her hope had been restored,
and joy fueled her steps.


*******************


"Damn," Vash said.  "You're too pretty to be a bounty hunter," he whined, hoping to
catch some sympathy and maybe get her to see things his way.  He couldn't believe
such a flower of loveliness could do something so underhanded like arrest him.

"Looks can be deceiving," she replied.

"Yeah, I guess.  But it's not such a nice thing to do," he whined.

"Heh.  Well, nice is nice, but I have to live.  And this run down town desperately
needs the infusion of cash."

Vash turned around in his chair to face her.  Looking deeply into her eyes, he
frowned sadly, thinking about what a lovely lady she was and how harmless she
must be. 

"What?" she asked.

"You won't hurt me.  You're too kind a person," he said softly, a sad smile
decorated his face.

"Don't test me," she threatened, placing her finger on the trigger.

"I haven't done anything.  You should let me go."

"I can't.  The town needs this.  There are people starving here.  Reestablishing the
industry would create jobs and trade.  We might even be able to make this dump into
a respectable city, close if not better than before the war," she said emphatically as
she gestured to the run down caf‚.

"I know.  But I have things I have to do.  Maybe... maybe after I'm done...  I can help
you," he whispered sincerely, wishing he could help everyone.

"Ha.  Don't make me laugh.  I ain't falling for something so stupid."

Vash stood up slowly, seeking to appear non-threatening, he held up his hands. 

"No, it's the truth.  If you let me go, I promise you can capture me after I'm done." 
He looked into her eyes, offering all the sympathy he could muster.  "On my honor,"
he added, hoping to get through to her and avoid a confrontation.  He hated people
getting hurt, but it seemed to happen wherever he went, with growing frequency of
late as those bounties kept popping up.

"Sit down!" she ordered.

"I can't do that."

"Don't make me... cause I will!" she growled, as her hand started to wobble.

"Well, I'm really sorry, but I've gotta go.  Thanks for the donuts.  They were great,"
he gushed again before he started to edge around her.

His eyes watched her finger on the trigger, as they had been since he turned around. 
He had just taken his third little step when he saw the almost imperceptible
movement of the trigger.  Taking that as his cue, he bent over sideways, hearing the
sound of the hammer hitting the bullet, and the bullet traveling through the space his
head had just vacated.

"Oops," he said, shocked that she had actually fired. A quick shuffle of his feet and
he bolted towards the door, head bent low to help increase his speed.

"Stop!"  He heard her yell from behind him as his senses kicked in and he shifted his
body to the left, dodging the bullet.  A second later he was out the door and running
down the street, headed in the direction of the town gates.

He made a right at the next intersection, hoping to avoid running into people, and a
sad recap to the last time he was chased through a town, that had been Tokyo.   That
had proven embarrassing, he hadn't realized the people chasing him were guards of
the Queen, or that wall he had gone through would lead to her bedchambers.  The
activities he had seen in that room still caused him to blush when he recalled them.

"That's him!" someone shouted from behind.

Vash turned around, and witnessed a pair of men wielding swords, take up the
chase.

An alley conveniently presented itself and he ducked down it, hoping it would
provide cover for his eventual escape.  He bent backwards under an extremely low
hanging fire escape, arms flailing wildly as he made the maneuver off-balance. 
Righting himself, he headed down the alley, only to slide to a stop when a small
group of people came into view at the exit of the alley, carrying rifles and pitchforks
while singing.  The words were clear enough to cause a deep seeded feeling of
dread, as he made out a few phrases, "We chop of their heads and boil them in oil...
They come over here and we take of their hands."

He filed the information away, along with a mental picture of people he definitely
had to avoid.  Turning to head back whence he came, he stopped abruptly and
swore.  The pair of men, that had originally chased him, had spotted him and were
headed down the alley.

The people singing the lynching song also spotted him, and headed down the alley
after him, effectively trapping him in the area.  The situation reminding him of too
many others, as he jerked his head around looking for an escape, when it hit him,
literally.

He grasped his head in pain, giving the fire escape a withering glare, before
grabbing a hold of it and pulling himself upwards.

He heard the cries from the street as he made it to the second floor, and found a
convenient window in front of him.  Annoyed when it didn't open, he tried again,
putting his strength into budging the obstinate window, when the first shotgun blast
was fired.  The dings he heard when some of the buck-shot ricocheted off of the iron
structure forced Vash into a quick decision.  He braced himself for impact as he
threw himself thorough the glass and was followed closely by another shot, right
before the symphony of destruction began in full force.

Rolling amidst the glass he stopped to look back at the window, stunned to see a
good portion of the frame gone, removed by the gunfire that was still blazing, intent
on turning the window into a full-sized door.

A second later found Vash through the door on the other side of the room, and into
another room.  "Oops!" he yelled, startled by the scene in front of him.

A young couple turned to look at him from under the covers, that were partially
masking their endeavors, but only partially.  He caught ample sight of ripe melons
and a flash of sausage when they turned to face him, to confirm their actions during
this compromising situation.

"Sorry.  Ignore me and continue on," he said seriously, forcing down his feeling of
deja vu and racing for the other door in the room.

Once he was past that obstacle, he heard an earth-shattering shriek from the room he
had just exited.  Ignoring the sound, he concentrated on his escape and found himself
in a living room.  Scanning the area as quickly as he could, he ran to a door on the
far-side, believing it to be the exit, from the assortment of locks fastened to it.

After an extraordinarily long five seconds he found himself in a hallway, inside a
small apartment building he presumed from the appearance.  After a quick check of
his bearings he headed towards the door, marked with a dimly lit exit sign, only to
jump back in shock as people burst through that door.

Taking the clue, he turned and ran through the nearest doorway, down the hall and
through another door.

"Pervert!" Greeted him right after the doorway gave way to his body mass.  He
turned and spied an attractive looking girl with an arm partially covering her assets,
and the other in a follow through motion.

"Clang!" he heard the wash tub impact against his head, as his eyes shut from the
shock it produced.  

"Sorry.  Accident!"  He yelled out.  "I didn't see any breasts here."

"Degenerate!" she shrieked.

He tried to open his eyes to get his bearings as a barrage of items bounced of his
head.  No matter how he tried to move, they seemed to hit him square on the
forehead, right above his eyes.

He stumbled as another item tagged him, causing him too finally loose his balance
and fall backward.  He flailed his arms, muttering about stupid tomboys, and trying
to find a grip to steady himself.  A shattered window was all that came of his
attempts, as he fell backwards over the ledge, and out of the bathroom.

"Crap!"  Were his last words before gravity took over...


**********************************


Ranma walked slowly through the town, heading towards a diner he had been told
about.  He had completed his reconnaissance of the town, committing the layout and
main features to memory.  He had talked with a few of the townspeople, trying to get
a feel for the place.  Unfortunately, the few that hadn't bolted at the sight of a
stranger didn't mentioned seeing any other strangers in the past few days.  It was a
long shot that a local would talk, but sometimes he got lucky right of the bat,
especially when the person he was looking for had made a nuisance of themselves in
town, as those he would track generally did.

He was trying not to think about that girl's plea when he had parted from her earlier. 
Maybe it wasn't a plea, but it felt like one, and for some reason he was having
trouble removing her request from his memory.

Maybe it wasn't her at all, maybe it was his recent sighting of Vash, and the
realization that part of his quest might be completed.  The first year had been a
struggle just to survive, and then piecing together a trail for the two brothers had
proven more difficult than imagined at first.  It was almost like Knives had fallen of
the planet, or died.   That thought also presented conflicting emotions, he wanted to
be the one to take their lives, not some random happening, or illness.

Vash, on the other hand, had been spotted.  Seen with his own eyes.  And his heart
skipped a beat when he thought about it.  Finally.  Vengeance for the fallen.

He kicked himself for letting those girls distract him.  One goal.  Two targets.  That
had been what he'd striven for while moving about this wasteland of a country.  And
it was close, one of the targets was so close he could feel it.

"Ouch!" he exclaimed, when he felt something sharp bite into his hip, followed
closely by the a small thud.  He looked down to see a small girl sitting on her rear,
panting lightly and looking slightly dazed.

"Hey, Watch where you're going!"   The instant he saw the young girl's cringe, he
regretted uttering those words, or at least using that tone.  He had yelled more from
annoyance at not sensing her, than any real trouble the collision had caused him.

"Um... Sorry.  I didn't mean to yell," he said, trying to bite down his irritation.  
"You, okay?"  He extended a hand to the young girl and felt a little better about
himself when she grasped it with a wan smile.

Hefting her up a little too quickly for her unsteady legs, she stumbled and fell into
him.  She grasped his waist tightly to preventing herself from falling again.

After a moment for her to capture her bearings, he moved away a step, keeping a
hand on her shoulder to make sure she could stand on her own.   He looked at her
fully, for the first time, noting how cute she was for a young girl, beautiful green
eyes, long brown hair, and red bow...  His mind flashed a picture of the Minako, her
bow flashing when she turned her head. 

Annoyed at himself, he quickly blinked his eyes, clearing his mind of the unwanted
thoughts.

"I'm sorry about that.  I didn't see you."

"Hey, no trouble.  It's not like you could hurt me, or anything," he said, trying to
make her feel better.

 She smiled, looking embarrassed before her eyes widened and she suddenly yelled,
"Mayor Lukkosai!"

Ranma turned swiftly, seeing a shriveled man, wearing a top hat and tails standing in
the street, apparently trying to locate the source of the call.  He froze when he caught
a glimpse of the man's the face, not-believing it could be who it appeared to be.

"Hap... Hap.. Happosai," he stammered out.

The man in question finally located the source of the summons, smiling to the young
girl and revealing Ranma's misconception.  This wasn't his father's perverted
master, just another shriveled up old man.

"Kanami, my dear.  What can I do for you?  This isn't about Menchi again? Is it? 
He's supposed to be running errands that are more important than his training." the
man said patronizingly.

The young girl frowned at the mention of Menchi and Ranma wondered why the
name caused the girl discomfort, or why the Mayor would mention him instantly.

"No.  Natsumi caught Vash at the caf‚!"

"What?!?" Ranma and Lukkosai shouted in tandem.

"Where's this caf‚?!?"  Ranma confronted the girl, grabbing onto her shoulders.

She looked fearful, staring into his face, as she turned and pointed.   Ranma looked
in the direction she pointed, the fading image of Lukkosai marked his course.

An explosion rocked the small town, knocking Ranma and the girl off their feet. 
Twisting his body slightly, Ranma ensured that he would provide a cushion for the
girl, while he landing on his rear.

As soon as he was able, he looked towards the source of the explosion, a tower of
some kind was ablaze in the distance, not more than five kilometers from where they
sat.  As quickly and gently as he could, he stood, bringing his passenger up with him.

"I don't think he's caught anymore," he said, more to himself than to her.

"Go someplace safe, this could get messy," he instructed her and then waited for her
nod of agreement before he ran off in the direction of the now collapsing tower.


**********************************


Ranma had been running for a good ten minutes, following the destruction that had
besieged the town, but always too late to catch the fleet footed Vash.  On a hunch, he
changed tactics, running for one of the sections of town that was still stable.  He
vaulted atop a row of houses, heading swiftly for a presently quiet area.

He scanned the area as he ran, impressed with and saddened by the amount of
damage the small town had sustained already.  The destruction here put anything that
had happened in Nerima to shame.   Houses and buildings were missing windows,
doors, walls, and those were the lucky ones.  A few had caught on fire, and were
being ignored by the townspeople other than the owners or some of the residents of
the buildings, threatening to spread the disaster to the rest of the town.  There were
other buildings that were now just rubble, they had most likely imploded from lack
of structural support as they had been dismembered by the rampaging mob and its
elusive prey.

A flash of red in a nearby section caught his attention.  Hopeful that it was the
correct target, he headed towards some nearby buildings attempting to cut-off Vash.

A few leaps later he was perched on the edge of a building, trying to keep his heart
rate under control as he awaited the first step of his redemption.

Moments later, Vash rounded the corner, moving swifter than Ranma remembered
the boy capable of.  A short breath, and a quick leap, found him descending towards
the ground, with his legs tucked and tense, ready to strike.  He watched the distance
between close as he readied himself, foregoing the warning cry he would normally
shout, feeling that Vash had foregone that consideration.  Timing his impact to a
perfection that he had decades hard for, he took back his movements from gravity
and whipped his leg forward.

"Gottcha!" he shouted, when his heel connected with the back of Vash's head. 
Instead of changing his momentum to leap away, he followed through with force,
collapsing the other man head first into the ground and driving himself on top of him.

The force was a little too much for him to sustain his balance.  His leg shook with
the weight of his body crashing down on top of him.   His knee buckled, causing him
to collapse over the boy and roll clumsily forward.

He felt a slight twinge in his knee, and ignored it as he stood, upset at himself for not
bracing for impact as he should have.

"Bastard!" he yelled, as he watched Vash moan and unsteadily climbed to his feet.

"Why?"  Vash asked when he had arisen.  His eyes sad, showing pain and hurt.

Ranma wasn't going to fall for his tricks again.  He had and his brother had proven
themselves to be dishonorable murderers, and they deserved to be punished as such.

"Shut up, asshole!"   Ranma surreptitiously checked then weapons he carried and
small bracers he had taken to wearing.  He wouldn't be fooled by the fact that Vash
appeared to be unarmed.  That mistake had cost him dearly before, and Ranma
Saotome never fell for the same tricks twice.

He rushed in, intent on pummeling the young man before he finished him off.   He
noticed with distaste that Vash failed to put up any defense; instead, he stood still,
looking like someone had killed his puppy.

"I won't go easy on you because you're not defending yourself!"  Ranma screamed. 
His fist impacted on the boy, hitting square in the jaw and knocking him through the
air and into the nearby wall.   Vash indented into the wall, and then hung there for a
second before sliding down onto his knees, leaving a nice Vash-shaped imprint.

Ranma walked slowly over to him, annoyed at the lack of resistance.  He wanted
more of a challenge, more of an outlet for his pain.

"If you think this act will save you," he said as he lifted the prone boy with one
hand.  "It won't!" he screamed.  Using all his pent-up rage and sorrow, he threw the
boy across the alley, watching with satisfaction as more Vash-art appeared on the
wall.

"Pathetic!" he spat.  Hoping to get a rise out the boy and make this into a real
contest.

"You're going to suffer like I have.  Like pops did.  Like Ukyou did!" he cried.  He
was letting his rage overtake him as he lifted the boy again and punched him, as hard
as he could manage in the gut.

A quick exhale of breath, was Ranma's reward.

"Do you have anything to say?"  Ranma asked.

Vash slowly lifted his head, sorrowful eyes regarded Ranma.  "I'm sorry.  I'm sorry
about what happened to them."

"You're sorry!' Ranma roared and threw the other boy back across the alley,
quickly running at him again.

"Venus Love Me Chain!"

The shout was all the warning Ranma needed to escape the attack.  He sprang into
the air and looked down to see a golden glowing chain shoot underneath him. 
Twisting to face the root of the chain, he spied three girls in skimpy schoolgirl
outfits.  Three of the five from yesterday, if he remembered correctly.

"Stop it!"  The one in orange trim yelled.  The same one that had shot that glowing 
chain at him.

"Mind your own business!" he yelled back.  "I don't want to have to hurt you."  
Landing lightly on his feet, he regarded the girls, while making sure to keep Vash in
the corner of his eye.

"You don't need to kill him," the orange trimmed one replied, a look of concern on
her face.

"Like I said, mind your own business."

"No!  Mars, let's do it!" she yelled.

Ranma tensed as she along with the Senshi in red trim rushed him, while the last
one, the one with that nasty looking pole-arm walked behind them.

The one in orange slowed, letting her companion take the lead.  Ranma didn't have
time to consider what their tactics meant as the red one leapt at him, committing
herself to her attack.

Ranma leapt away, hoping to discourage the females, without having to injure them.

"Venus Love Me Chain!"

He twisted in mid-air, deftly avoiding the chain that passed through the area he
should have been in.

"I told you.  I'm too good for you guys and I don't want to hurt you."  He did a back-
flip in the air, to further emphasize his mobility as he faced the girls again upon
landing.

"We won't let you hurt a helpless man!"  The orange-one shouted.

"He more than deserves it!"

"Let us take him.  We'll make sure that he gets reprimanded," she shot back.

"Venus!" the one in red shouted and pointed down the alley.

Ranma and the girl he had been arguing with turned to follow the direction that the
girl had pointed.

"Shit!" he yelled, watching as Vash was creeping down the alley.

Exploding into action, he sprinted down the street, unmindful of the calls behind
him.

"Saturn!"  Twin voices rang out.

"Silence Wall!"

The air appeared to shimmer in front of Ranma, and he collided with a solid force
and rebounded against it, landing on his rear.  Growling, he quickly got to his feet,
ignoring the running he heard behind him as he tried to examine the solid wall of air
in front.

"Why can't you leave him to us?"  The blonde called from behind him.

"It's my job to see that he pays."  He decided he didn't have time to try and go
through the wall, so he looked to the side, towards the ledge of the two-story
building, and leapt.

"Just let it go.  It's not worth it!"

The statement reached him as he was alighting on the edge of the roof.  He turned to
see the three women gather around.  "He killed my family," he responded.  Not
waiting for their reaction, he turned and raced after Vash, hoping to catch him, and
settle this quickly.


-----------------


Rei watched as Ranma turned and bolted away, obscured from their vision by the
roof.

"Damn," she muttered, uneasy about the prospect of someone being murdered.

"Poor guy," Saturn said, as she placed a hand upon her friend.

"We have to stop him!" Venus shouted, stealing her resolve.

"How?" Rei said.  "You saw him.  We can't take him unless we fight all out."

"We just have to make him realize that killing is bad, regardless of the reason."

"Right."  Hotaru agreed.

"Let's go.  We won't let him become a killer!"  She started running in the direction
they had headed, assuming the others would be with her.


---------------------


Vash raced ahead, his remarkable healing process quickly correcting a lot of the
damage that had been done.  He needed to find a way to talk to Ranma and find out
exactly what had happened.  Unfortunately he hadn't a clue as to how to go about it. 
He knew from experience that Ranma would only back down and listen _after_ the
fighting had been settled.  That apparently wasn't an option in this case, because
Vash really believed that if he allowed Ranma to settle this, it would be with his
death, an unacceptable proposal at this time.

He had been overjoyed that Ranma had lived, rumors abounded, but he had seen no
trace of his adoptive brother since the war.  He had assumed the boy dead, ignoring
the rumors of "Ranma the Relentless" as coincidence, and not the boyhood friend he
had grown to miss.

After running into and eluding another posse of townspeople, he found himself in a
quiet section of town, spying an open door he jumped inside, hoping to catch his
breath and try and figure out a way to stop this insanity.

He slammed the door shut, leaning against, and exhaling, while he closed his eyes in
an attempt to clear his mind.

The cocking of guns was the next thing he heard; the sounds forcing his eyes open
warily, to the sight of seven women all pointing various arms at him.  A moment
later he recognized them and looked around, discovering he was in the caf‚ that this
whole fiasco had started in.

"Hehe," he giggled.  "Did I forget to pay?" he asked as he slumped to the floor,
mentally fatigued.


----------------------


The three Senshi in town were frantically trying to catch up with either Vash or
Ranma.   They hoped if they could capture Vash, they could then take him back to
Crystal Tokyo, removing him from Ranma's vicinity, thus preventing a possible
murder.  If not, they hoped to find Ranma and either talk him out of executing said
crime and possible leading them to Vash, or just leading them to Vash so they could
capture him, returning to the capital with their mission completed and murders
avoided.

They had searched frantically for a trace of either man, finding plenty of evidence of
their passing, and run across most, if not all, of the town taking part in their own
search.

Entering a square that seemed located near the center of town they spied a makeshift
pavilion. It stood open on all sides, providing them with a clear view of a short man
sitting at a desk, apparently drawing something.  He was surrounded by other men,
standing around with binoculars and walkie talkies.

The men standing around all appeared worried, harried even, while the man in the
middle seemed calm and collected, completely engrossed in his work.  They
approached deliberately, curiosity overwhelming their desire to search blindly.

"Mayor, we lost him!" a voice yelled over the portable device on his desk.

The man dropped his brush, gripping the device he shouted into it, "I don't care
what it takes.  Capture him!  We need that reward money!"

"Yes, Sir!"

He replaced the receiver, and calmly picked up his brush, returning to his drawing. 
The exchange provided the girls a chance to see the man's face, a shriveled thing,
placing his age way past ancient.

"Ah...  Sir.,  Do you know you're destroying your own town?"  Mars asked,
wondering what kind of mayor would put his town through the destruction they had
been witnessing.

"Huh," the man said, noticing the girls for the first time.  His eyes bugged out and he
leapt into the air.  "My poor town, please console me as it's destroyed."

The three women were caught off guard as the man latched onto Rei's bosom.  "Ah,
your sympathy is overwhelming," he cried as he nuzzled in deeper.

Mars' temper exploded.  "Gah!" she cried and gripped the old lecher by his scruff
and slammed him to ground.

"You didn't have to be so violent," the old man whined as he dusted himself off. "I
was only trying to console my grief."

"Well console it somewhere else," Mars fired back.

Lukkosai hopped up onto his chair. 

"Why don't you call this off before your town is destroyed?!?" Mars shouted at the man.

"I can't. We must capture Vash, the town's survival depends on the money to reopen
the industry. Without that, my life is meaningless," he cried and rubbed at his eyes,
wiping away tears that Rei couldn't see.

"That's commendable, Mr. Mayor," Saturn said sympathetically.  Mars felt like
throttling the man. He wasn't accomplishing anything but destroying his town. At this
rate, any money the received would have to be spent rebuilding what they had an
hour ago, not adding any industry to the place. A thought crossed Mars' mind as she
wondered about this man's plans.

"What kind of industry are you trying to recreate?"

"The most important industry in the world, lingerie!" he shouted. Mars could swear
his eyes took on the appearance of cups as they glossed over.

"You're destroying your town, for a few bras!?!"

"Not just bras, but panties, and nighties, and slips and all for the comfort of the
women of the world. They can no longer be subjected to the cruel inhumanities of
wearing old, destroyed, and cotton garments next to their bodies!" He raised a fist
triumphantly as he concluded his speech.

"He just wants better material to steal." One of the men around the table said under
their breath.

"And sexier women to peep on," another of the men added.

Lukkosai jumped up, hitting both offenders over the head. "I heard that!"

Mars stood flabbergasted.

"See. A picture of my new design." Lukkosai held up a drawing of a very scantily
clad woman, wearing a very revealing and frilly bra and panty set.

"Pervert!  Die!  Mars Flame Sniper!"

Lukkosai ducked under the attack, which had been aimed directly at the painting. The
painting disintegrated instantly, unable to stand the heat, a few wisps of paper
slowly floated down around the Mayor.

"Mars! Calm down!" Minako yelled, placing a hand upon the overwrought girl.

One of the walkie talkies beeped and was picked up by one of the other men.  He
listened to what something that couldn't be discerned by the girl, his face becoming
paler as time passed.

"Mayor! At this rate, he is going to get away!" one of the subordinates standing
around shouted.

"Never fear. I have a plan."

"What?"

The ground shook, causing the Senshi to all frown and look at each other in concern. 

Lukkosai only smirked as he bent over his painting again and began to draw.

"Well, What is it?" Mars yelled as another rumble was heard, drawing closer.

Lukkosai only smiled as his hand started to go into overdrive.

"It's coming." A gleeful smile possessed his face as he continued to write.

"Grrr... If you don't tell me what's you secret plan. I'm going-"

"Done!" Another rumble shook the pavilion, causing the Senshi to turn towards its source.

After a quick scan of the area proved inconclusive Mars returned her attention and
her glares to the old man. "What already!"

His Cheshire Cat imitation belied their apprehension, causing Mars a seemingly
unlimited source of irritation and anger since they had approached him. She wanted
to just leave him, but something compelled her to stay and get answers from him, and
she hated that.

He lifted up another picture, showing it to all those gathered.

"Die!" Mars yelled when she saw the picture, a realistically rendered portrait of her
in her Senshi skirt lifted up, revealing a pair of lace panties, and nothing else.  To
add insult to injury, he had done _too_ good a job of approximating that which she
knew she had well covered up.

Mars flew over the table, unfortunately for her, Lukkosai had adroitly leapt over her,
mindful to safeguard his newest creation. What he didn't know and what Mars
discovered when she turned, was that Saturn had been so shocked her hands had
flown to her mouth, releasing her hold on the Silence Glaive.  Which was now
headed straight for the old man's head.

"Watch-out!" Saturn screamed and scrambled to regain her hold on her vicious and
most destructive weapon.

Lukkosai turned, either from the sound of Saturn's scream or the glee that showed on
Mars's face.  Leaping to the side, he lost control of his newest masterpiece. The
sharp edge of the glaive cleanly sheared the paper in two, and then the brushes, ink,
extra paper, and finally the table, which opened up like a well-cooked clam.

Smiling smugly, extremely satisfied with the disposition of the drawing, Rei walked
over to the remnants of the portable studio. Picking up the two halves of the
unauthorized portrait, she proceeded to shred them into the smallest pieces she could.

"My Masterpiece!" Lukkosai shouted.  He rushed to Mars, catching the papers as
they fell from her hands, weeping profusely.

The ground shook again, and a cowboy cry of  "Woo Hoo!" carried over the
Mayor's sobs.

The three Senshi turned to witness a behemoth of a man, slowly walking down the
street, a man sitting in what appeared to be a control booth on his shoulder.  The
monster, for no man could be that sized,  must have stood twenty feet tall, with
bulging muscles on his already oversized forearm.  His right hand and forearm were
covered with a metal gauntlet, and their seemed to be some kind of engine on his
back.  Maybe the oddest thing was his had, a metallic funnel, that looked like a small
tapered chimney had wafts of steam or smoke coming out of it.

"The Nebraskas!"  Mars couldn't tell who had shouted, as half the men ran from the
pavilion.

"Glad you could make it!"  Lukkosai yelled to the strange pair, old man and beast.

"Yee Haw!  Of course we're here.  Now where is the bastard?"  The old man yelled
back.

"Natsumi's.  You know where it is, don't you?"

"Sure do.  Sixty trillion Yen!  Let's go, Junior!"

"I can't believe you let them go?!?"  One of the sycophants said.   Mars was only
half listening, watching the lumbering monstrosity travel down the road.

"Who are they?"  Venus asked.

"Why not?  I'll just recapture them later, after they take care of Vash."  The mayor
appeared bored, indifferent to his surroundings as he whipped out a calligraphy set
and paper from his coat and started drawing.

"Ah, who are they, again?"  Rei asked the trembling man, hoping he would be more
forthcoming with answers than Lukkosai.

"They're members of the notorious Nebraska family.  We had them locked away in
an old cave outside of town.  They're so ruthless, I can't believe he let them go!"


-------------------------


Ranma spotted Vash ducking into a small restaurant, and smiled.  It had taken a
while for him to locate his little mouse again, but the cat now had the mouse
cornered, and the game would soon be over.

A satisfied smirk filled his face as he leapt down onto the road, quickly crossing the
street, and working his way swiftly down it, mindful to stay close to the side, away
from view of the murderer's hideout.

He checked his blade, intending to end it quickly, anxious to meet out his own
justice for the departed, lest someone or something interrupt him again.

Reaching the door, he took a deep breath, palming the handle on the knife.  He
blurred in motion, flinging the door wide he glided into the room.

"Damn," he thought to himself as guns were trained on him.

Vash, who was sitting in the corner with a gun to his head giggled, "Hey...  Ranma.  I
see you found me again."

Ranma took a step towards the man, only to stop when the barrels of various
weapons shoved in his face and he heard the tell-tale sounds of guns being cocked.  

He took a deep breath, unwilling to back down at this late date, after going through
so much.  He wouldn't allow himself to be deterred by anything, especially women
who thought they could handle a weapon.

"Listen, Ladies.  That man is mine!"

"Sorry, Mister.  You're a little late, the bounty is going to be ours."  A woman in the
corner spoke, apparently the leader of some sort.  

While sighing, he raised his hands, portraying an appearance of compliance. "Late
or not, I'm here.  I intend to take him."  He surveyed the room.  Seven guns, the four
trained on him were all rifles.  He concentrated, bringing in his chi.

"Like I said.  He's ours.  Now why don't you leave peacefully?"

"Ain't gunna happen."   He said, eyeing the women aiming at him.  He could see all
their eyes and hands.  "Perfect," he thought smugly, as he began his move.  Flaring
his chi first to create an afterimage of himself, he moved as fast as he was able,
trusting his small illusion to throw off the aim of the women.

The sounds of guns, along with his uninterrupted movement registered his success as
he raced around the women, easily disarming the four.  Well three, one had managed
to drop her gun on her own, unprepared for the recoil.  He picked up each of the
fallen weapons, breaking them over his thigh.  All except for the last one, which he
held at his side, pointed at the ground, but finger on the trigger.

"Now," he said, satisfied with his display.  "Are you ready to hand him over?"  He
took a step forward. 

The step seemed to force the leader out of her stupor as she pressed the end of her
gun to Vash's head.  "I'll kill him," she threatened, in a shaky voice.

"Stop it!"  A female voce was heard, a second before Ranma felt something wrap
around his waist.

His arm reacted instantly, moving to strike at his attacker, when it stopped inches
away from a red bow adorning a small girls head.   The surprise that he recognized
her along with the shock that she had snuck up on him, again, defused his anger.

"Kanami?" he asked, not sure if he remembered her name correctly.

When she looked up and nodded, he spoke again.  "Just go away and you won't get
hurt.  I promise," he finished sincerely.

A slow movement in the corner, diverted his attention, inducing him to raise his 
rifle in response.  "Don't try it."

The leader, who had been attempting to turn her gun on him, stopped, and quickly
placed the nozzle against Vash's head again.

"Just leave, Mister.  Please."  The girl at his side pleaded, voice shaking with fear.

Placing his free hand on Kanami's shoulder he pushed her away as gently as he
could, and took a step towards the corner.

"I'll kill him!" The leader said, fear in her voice and eyes,

"Don't bother.  I'll do it for you!"   He pulled the trigger on the rifle, scaring all in
the room.

Vash moved his head to the side, avoiding the bullet.  Ranma had believed he would
be capable of it, but had still hoped that the bullet would have struck true.

"I can't believe you shot at me!" Vash yelled.  His face was lit up in shock, while
the woman all looked on stunned.

Something was approaching, Ranma's intuition told him.  After learning to follow
his senses he stopped and began looking around while he strained to find the source
of his disquiet.  He heard what sounded like a rocket launch from some distance
away.

"Get Down!"  He turned and dived over Kanami, covering her with his body when
the wall caved in, and debris covered them.



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

End of Chapter


Thanks go out to Corwin, Merc, Falacy, MADS, and Lalandil for the patience, help
and support with this adventure.