One Piece Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Wild Blue ❯ Ungerdog ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: The characters and setting herein are the creations of Rumiko Takahashi and Eiichiro Oda. I'm just borrowing them for fun for a little while.

Wild Blue

By Kyle
based on Ranma ½ by Rumiko Takahashi,
and One Piece by Eiichiro Oda

Chapter 3

Note: Some complex Japanese words are used. Please Refer to the glossary at the bottom of the chapter for their translations.

“Nerima's destruction was, fortunately, not as thorough as we first believed. We discovered this truth during one of the earlier raids, in which a list of five names was uncovered. Not a list of persons, but of ships. Most of the names meant nothing to us, though one name stuck out to me. The `Bello Amora.' A restaurant ship that was serving as an evacuation ship during the attack. I had almost boarded it with Kasumi, before turning around to find the others.

After interrogating the crew, we found out that these five ships were the only ones who had slipped past the Buster Call Armada and had escaped the destruction of the entire island, including ourselves. Their mission was to find these five ships, and destroy every last one, and one had already met its end by their hands.

It is my hope to find the remaining ships, and hopefully, by proxy, my older sister, before it becomes too late to do so. Perhaps after that, we can understand why this destruction had to occur.”

- An excerpt from the journal of Tendo Nabiki

Kuno took a swig of water from his canteen, before turning back to his work. The sun was scorching, bombarding the entire ship with its hot rays. Still, despite that, a favorable tailwind was blowing, and the sails had to be adjusted to take advantage of that. He finished the rope he was working on, and turned to tie the rest. He was surprised to find Nabiki already tying them, albeit a bit clumsily.

She caught his gaze, and gave him a teasing smile. “You look like you needed a hand, Kuno-chan.” She was wearing some very short shorts and a small halter top. To his annoyance, she had a habit of shedding clothes the higher the temperature got. He couldn't really fault her for it (he wasn't wearing much himself), but it was distracting.

“I am perfectly capable of doing it myself,” he said, trying his best to look annoyed. “I require no help, Tendo Nabiki.”

She matched his scowl with of one of her own. “Typical Kuno-chan. You're not the big, bad samurai you think you are. You need help, and I need something to do, and I'm certainly not helping Konatsu in the kitchen.”

He showed no response to her scathing, but inwardly he winced. “Apologies, but I have it well in hand. You can inform your sister that I require no help.”

She raised her eyebrow at him as she finished tying the last knot. “Akane didn't tell me to do anything. I thought you could use some help.”

“Indeed? So you have finally achieved the perfect tan and decided to lend assistance?” he responded. Her thoughtfulness had touched him, making him feel uncharacteristically playful. He leaned against the mast, taking another swig of water from the canteen.

Nabiki laughed, leaning against the rails of the ship. Inwardly, she felt a little hurt. Aside from some attempts at navigation, she did very little on the ship. While she managed some of their resources and all of the finances, Nabiki had few responsibilities to occupy her time.

He passed the canteen to her and she took her own swig, sitting in silence as they often did. The quiet was broken a few moments later with a loud battle cry. The white blur that was Genma spiraled into the air from the lower deck, and lanced downward again in a kick. He and Akane were sparring again.

Kuno and Nabiki watched the display from above, as the two relentlessly traded blows below. Kuno watched Genma restlessly, feeling very uncomfortable. A man should not be so brutal when fighting a woman. The girl was barely holding her own against him, though she did not appear to be distressed about it. Her skills had come far in the last few months.

“Hmmm, little sister…” Nabiki murmured thoughtfully. “She's a good leader, y'know?”

That shocked Kuno out of his reverie. He had never known Nabiki to praise anyone.

“She's a good leader,” Nabiki repeated. She meant it. She knew her sister better then anyone, and while Akane could often be rash and temperamental, she trained and worked the hardest of anyone on the crew in the last few months. She knew what needed to be done, and what she was fighting for. Most of all, she knew she didn't have everyone's confidence, and she fought for that approval too. No, Akane didn't have it all as a leader, but Nabiki respected her for what she did have.

“I suppose.” Kuno was not quite as convinced as the brunette was. Akane was certainly an adequate leader, and was quite determined. But she was also a woman. A crew should be led by a man, shouldn't it?

She was also temperamental and sometimes rash. But wasn't it for that same fierceness that he admired Akane for, and sometimes, lusted after her for? Besides, if their captain must be a woman, why not… A strange thought bubbled to his head, and he decided to voice it.

“Why do you not lead? You are clever enough.” She quirked her eyebrow at him, and he immediately regretted asking. Still, it was puzzling. Why did she not lead? She was always the one out for control and power. It would suit her ambitions, and she was intelligent enough to do the job.

“If this was a merchant ship, maybe. But,” she began, lowering her gaze to the ground, “we're pirates. A leader for this crew needs to be made of stern stuff, and I don't have the stomach for fighting.” She knew that wasn't quite true, she'd fight if she could. But she wasn't a skilled martial artist, or a ninja, or a swordsman. She felt increasingly worth less and less as time went by, as she really didn't have any skills or abilities to apply to the situation. Akane led, Genma taught, Konatsu cooked, Tofu healed, and Kuno navigated, and all of them could fight. She handled money, but until they got to port, that skill was useless.

Kuno could not swallow her lie; he had known Nabiki far too long. “No stomach? You hunger for vengeance as much as I,” he said bluntly. Yes, she was vengeful. Perhaps, too vengeful to lead, he realized. While Akane was certainly wrathful towards her enemies, he knew that was not her true goal (whatever that was). He turned his thoughts away from Akane, to Nabiki again. “You do not fight because you are weak.”

His comment struck her hard, as her face burned red with shame and anger. Her mask of ice had broken again, she realized. The façade she wore to conceal her emotions fell apart far too often in recent months. She was losing control… Vengeful, and weak…

Kuno was flabbergasted at her reaction. He didn't expect her to look so upset. He regarded her thoughtfully for a moment, before reaching his conclusion. “Is this why you offer to assist me, Nabiki? You feel that your value is less because you do not join us in battle?”

“Shut up!” she hissed. The anger in her eyes made her resemble Akane more than the cool-headed girl she normally appeared to be. She knew what he said was true, but she didn't need to be one upped by Kuno of all people… So honest, so cruel.

He flinched at her outburst. It was not his intention to offend. “I apologize. I did not mean−”

“SHUT UP! You're not in any position to be throwing things in peoples' faces!” she gripped her hands hard, her fingernails digging into the flesh of her hands. “At least I'm not living in a dreamland!”

“Dreamland?” He was confused now, and a bit cowed by her outburst. He had clearly picked at a very soft spot.

“You're a lie! You're not the best!” she spat. “And your pigtailed girl is just an illusion!”

“Nabiki?” Akane asked, climbing up from the deck below. A towel was wrapped around her shoulders, her hair sweaty and wet. She looked worried. Nabiki took one look at her, and ran off without saying a word. Akane turned to Kuno, her glare furious. “What the hell did you do to her!” The fury faded from her brown orbs, and became filled with worry. She turned away from the kenshi and hurried after Nabiki into the inner cabins.

Kuno sank to his knees, bewildered. He hadn't said anything. What had happened? Things had been so pleasant between them, and then she exploded.

Her words stung deeply, too. A lie. He wasn't a lie! The pigtailed girl wasn't a lie! She couldn't be a lie…

The secret truth that he already knew had to be locked away where he could never speak it aloud. Admitting it would mean… Would mean…

…Would mean he really did have nothing left.

“No, no, no!” Genma roared. He was quickly losing his patience. “Foolish girl!”

Akane dropped out of the strange stance she was in and glared at him. “What now? I got the stance right!” she shot back.

The large man stomped his foot and growled in frustration. “The stance is perfect! You're not controlling your ki right!”

She crossed her arms, frustrated also. “Well, what am I doing wrong?”

He sat down to the deck, and crossed his legs. That was the problem, though. She really wasn't doing anything wrong…

Training and teaching the girl was so much like training Ranma, and yet, so different. She was as fast a learner as his son, though at the same time she had different strengths and weaknesses from Ranma which made it hard to relate to her like he could with his son. Genma had many of the same qualities as a fighter, which made teaching techniques to Ranma rather simple. With Akane, he had a difficult time relating to her as a sensei. While he taught her much of what he knew, the girl had to find her own balance and happy medium with what she learnt.

The difference between the two of them was becoming more and more clear as he began taking her through advanced techniques. Specifically, the Umisenken. She had insisted on learning it, and while he was uneasy about unsealing the techniques, the situation was certainly desperate enough where they might be necessary to their survival. It was unfortunate, because the more time they spent on the techniques the more it became clear she was unsuited to learning them.

Where ki flowed like a river in the Saotome family, it burned like a bonfire in the Tendo clan. The girl had so much raw ki running through her, and before they left Nerima she just didn't have the control to be able to use it. He thought that now that she had a good handle of it, that perhaps with something like the Umisenken could come to her. Unfortunately, her aura had a distinct tendency to expand and explode outwards. While she could compress it to do minor stealth tricks, she could not tame it to the point required by the Umisenken.

In a way, he was kind of jealous. If his aura was like hers, he could have taken the Yamase− A thought suddenly entered his head, and he grinned. A plan was formed.

“We will be stopping the Umisenken training here…” he began. She opened her mouth to protest, but he did not give her a chance to respond. “…and we will continue your Yamasenken training. You've shown a much greater grasp on that set of techniques.”

“No!” she shouted. The Umisenken practically rendered its users invisible during combat. It was fast and subtle, where its counterpart the Yamasenken was harsh and violent. She remembered Ryu Kumon, and how easily Ranma defeated him and the Yamasenken using the Thousand Seas Fist…

“The Yamasenken isn't good enough!” she declared.

Genma sighed as he pulled the glasses from his face to clean them. The girl didn't understand. “Akane, you must realize. You are fire. The Umisenken is water. It is unsuited for you.”

She glared at him. So that was it. You had to be special. “I'll never be good enough to learn it,” she announced, feeling like her heart was ripped in half. She had been feeling so confident before, learning things so quickly. She had a much better control of her ki now, and she was getting so good… And now…

Genma slapped his hand to his head at the conclusion she reached. “You're looking at this the wrong way! Settle down, and let me explain.

“It's like your fighting style. You've adapted something beyond what your father taught you with the Tendo Ryu, correct?”

She nodded. The Tendo Ryu was based on strength and ground combat, with some elements of weapon play. While her present fighting style had many elements that her father taught to her, it was too fast and acrobatic to be considered part of the Tendo Ryu anymore. She had mixed in some of the speedy and acrobatic forms that Genma had taught her from the Saotome Ryu, resulting in a fast and hard hitting fighting style. Her amalgamation of the basic Tendo-Saotome schools served her far better then either school did separately.

She didn't see what that had to do with the Umisenken, though.

“You took what you knew, and made it work for you,” Genma continued, placing his glasses back over his eyes. “It will be the same thing for the Yamasenken.”

She frowned, still not completely understanding.

He took a deep breath, and continued the explanation. “The Umisenken works well for both me and Ranma because it suits the nature of our ki and battle auras. The Yamasenken is inferior for this reason”.

She was confused. “What do you mean?”

“The Yamasenken,” he said, taking a breath, “is incomplete.”

“What! Then I shouldn't be learning it!”

“Foolish girl!” he admonished, bursting to his feet. He was prepared to backhand her, like he might have done his son, but stopped himself short. “The reason the Yamasenken is incomplete is because I was unsuited for developing it! It never reached its true potential like the Umisenken, because my nature could not take it there!”

Akane stood stunned, suddenly understanding. Her confidence began to bubble up again. “So, you think my nature…”

“Precisely!” Genma nodded, slapping his fist into his other hand. “Your ki is distinctly vibrant and explosive. I think with it, you can eventually take the Yamasenken to where I could not.”

Hope rose up high with in her. Could she do this? Take the basics of what is already a difficult art, and take it further into something far better? Inventing would be much more difficult then just learning, but the end result...

She nodded happily to Genma. “Let's get started, then.”

Genma puffed up, looking proud. “Excellent. I believe you're ready for the Kijin Raishu Dan.”

“It's going to have to wait, Akane!” said a voice from above. She looked up, to see Nabiki in the crow's-nest, gripping a pair of binoculars in her hand. Since her fight with Kuno, Nabiki had been spending almost all her time up there studying some books on navigation. “There's land up ahead!”

Akane pouted. She was eager to start, but apparently they had arrived. She sighed, and went to find Kuno. They had to make preparations to land the boat.

To everyone's great relief, they did find civilization. Seregrently was a warm and sunny spring island, and while it wasn't very big, it looked as if it would have all the services the Akaken needed. Though neither grand nor huge, it was bustling with life.

Nabiki planned and organized everything about their little pit stop, surprising Akane with how thorough she was. She had to wonder if her sister was overcompensating for something.

Nabiki had paired everyone up, with her and Akane in charge of finding a carpenter to look over the ship. Tofu and Genma would get supplies, and Kuno and Konatsu would handle the fridge. Money was divided out between the pairs. Even though they had quite a lot of beli to work with (courtesy of the raids, and as well as the Kuno family), Nabiki handled it all with an iron grip regardless.

They split up at that, with Akane and Nabiki making their way through the markets undisturbed. The fact that they were pirates didn't seem to matter to the locals, as the entire island served as a sort of a pit stop for pirates and trade ships alike. Various vendors had set up stands, selling various foods and knickknacks, and the two sisters paused every so often to look at the goods.

For the moment, they felt like sisters again. They had very little opportunity in the last few months to relax and spend time together.

“So what have you been up to?”

“Ah?” Nabiki asked, surprised by Akane's query. It seemed fairly obvious to her that she'd been doing an awful amount of nothing lately.

“What have you been up to? You've been hiding in the crow's-nest the last two days!” Akane asked again, following it with a small giggle.

“Why, isn't it obvious?” Nabiki replied with a smirk. “I've been working on my tan again!” She laughed at that, and Akane started giggling with her.

“No! What have you really been doing?” the younger sister pressured.

“Seriously?” She quirked her eyebrow at Akane, and then answered, “I wrote in my journal a little bit, but I've been studying navigation…”

“Why's that?” Akane asked, curious. “Kuno-baka seems to have a good handle on that.”

Nabiki snorted. “Do you honestly think that will be there to help us forever? The minute Ranma's back, do you think he'll stick around? I want to be prepared.”

Akane's earlier joy vanished as a sad frown crossed her face. “We don't know that.”

Nabiki rolled her eyes. “Why so disappointed? I thought you hated him.”

“I don't hate him. I just don't like him.” She sighed. “I don't want to throw him out, when we're the only thing close to a family he has left, Nabiki.”

Nabiki didn't respond, though her expression became downcast. The two continued to walk on somberly, moving through the crowds of the market place. “Is it wrong that part of me wants to throw him out? To just forget about him?” Akane asked, her voice full of sorrow.

Nabiki thought for a moment. While she was currently angry with him, she had shared classrooms with Kuno Tatewaki since they were children. He was the closest thing she had to a `best friend.' But after everything he put her sister through, could she really blame her for such feelings? “No,” she declared. “He made your life hell. You really don't owe him anything.”

“Maybe, but…” Akane began, but trailed off as something caught her eye. “There it is!” she exclaimed, pointing at a bright red sign labeled `Ely's Carpentry.' The building was rather large, about two stories high.

They entered, and found themselves in a fairly large room. Dust covered everything, and the smell was heavy and musky, reeking of sawdust. Various tools were strewn and scattered about all over the place.

A man sat behind a counter at the front, reading a book. One arm held the open book, while his other was wrapped in a sling. If he was Ely, it was clear he was in no position to be repairing anything, least of all their ship. He looked to be in his forties, with a thin face and a long dropping mustache.

The man behind the counter dropped his book and scowled, “If you're looking for a carpenter, you're out of luck. My arm's busted.”

Akane frowned. They really needed a carpenter; some of the leaks in unfinished places of the ship were getting really bad.

“Is there no one else?” Nabiki asked in response.

Ely bitterly laughed, “My old boss from Water 7, bless his heart, sent me one of his foremen to handle my responsibilities for a bit, while I recover.” He slammed his free hand down on to the counter angrily. “But the bum he sent is off at the bar! Always gambling!”

Both Nabiki and Akane exchanged looks and nodded. If it was the best they could hope for…

“Do you know where we can find him?” Akane asked, hopeful.

Ely's angered visage slowly relaxed, before he spoke. “You can find him at the Six Sabers' Tavern. Should be play'n poker. Paulie's the only carpenter around here besides me.”

Despite it being midday, the bar was filled with people. It was loud and smelly, with bountiful and harsh laughter coming from every table.

“Oh, god, it reeks in here,” Nabiki complained. The smell of tobacco smoke was overwhelming, and she was forced to pinch her nose to bear it.

“This is gross,” Akane agreed. She covered her hand over her mouth, trying very hard not to breathe in the tobacco-laced fog.

“If ya can't take it, leave girlie!” commented a man at one table, earning a round of laughter from his friends. Akane suppressed the urge to thump him as they walked past, making their way to the bartender. She was an elderly woman, looking as worn and tired as the tavern itself.

“Do you know where we can find a man named Paulie?” Nabiki asked the bar lady, shouting over the loud rambunctious laughter all around them.

The old women's sad expression quirked into a small smile. Suddenly there was a loud roar of “NO!” at one table, forcing Akane and Nabiki to turn their attention to him. A young, blonde haired man stood over the table, shaking in outrage. He wore blue leather pants, and a leather jacket of the same color, with a bright orange shirt underneath. The man's jacket was covered with cigars, which were suspended vertically in the fabric of the jacket, almost like a bandolier. He was unshaven, with a light beard developing, and wore large, orange ski goggles on his head. He was furious, his eyes wide in rage.

The bartender laughed, and jabbed her finger at him. “That's Paulie.”

“NO!” Paulie roared. Nononononono! He had come to Seregrently to recover from his gambling debt, not make it worse. His boss, Iceburg, had offered him a hefty bonus to cover for his old friend Ely for two weeks, and he could not pass up the opportunity. Paulie's gambling debts were no secret, and Iceburg knew he needed the extra beli. He was sure this was the bastard's way of helping him out discreetly.

And he had blown it. No sooner than he arrived at the small island town, he found himself embroiled in poker game after poker game. And now, he had finally lost it all: the big, fat, huge, colossal bonus Iceburg gave him was gone.

He left the poker table, ignoring the players laughing at him. Bastards; he had half the mind to hang them all. Stomping off, he slammed himself down at one of the barstools, chewing on his cigar in frustration. He glared straight ahead, noticing the billboard in front of him. Pinned up against it were various wanted posters, mostly pirates, he realized. It looked like some new ones were put up.

Ah, to be a pirate. It'd be so easy, to just sail off and become an outlaw with no debt to worry about. If he didn't love his job so much, and his home of Water 7, he might have done just that, he realized. Everybody was resorting to piracy these days, from all walks of life. A wanted poster for a teenage girl caught his eye. How does a sixteen or seventeen year-old girl get herself a 42 million beli bounty? Unreal.

“Ummm… Excuse me,” a feminine voice spoke behind him. “Paulie-san?”

“Yeah?” he asked, not bothering to turn around. He did not want to deal with people right now.

“Could we have a moment of your time? We need your help...” He scowled, and turned to regard the person behind him, and nearly jumped out of his skin at who he saw, and fell off the barstool in shock. It was the girl from the poster!

He scrambled back up, his jaw open. She regarded him quizzically, looking concerned. “Are you alright, Paulie-san?” she asked.

“Ah, yes, I'm sorry,” he said, quickly composing himself. “You just surprised me.”

“I'm sorry,” she apologized. “My name his Tendo Akane,” she said. Paulie took a glance at the poster again, and sure enough, the poster read the same name. “This,” she continued, gesturing to another girl behind her, “is my sister Nabiki.”

Paulie regarded Nabiki coldly. She was dressed so immorally! A woman shouldn't show that much flesh! And her cleavage! Uh! At least this Akane girl was dressed more classily. She wore an exotic red shirt, and a pair of baggy pants, and while they were kind of baggy on her, they did not show the least bit of skin.

His thoughts turned more deeply to the Akane girl. She was worth 42 million! With that kind of money, he could easily pay off his gambling debt, and then some. The debt collectors were getting edgy, and he feared they'd soon start chasing him with pistols instead of bills.

Clearly someone in heaven had decided to give him a break, and tossed her into his lap. He'd tie her up and claim the bounty! The only problem was she was a woman… He didn't feel right attacking a woman, even if she was a pirate. But if he knocked her out quickly, and tied her up... She was just a girl, and capturing her shouldn't be too tough. He was a Galley-La foreman, after all! They were skilled carpenters AND fighters!

“How about we go outside and talk?” he asked casually. “This is no place to discuss business.”

Unable to tolerate the foul smell of the bar anymore, the girls were all too happy to be led outside. They walked a little ways out to the street. It wasn't a happy part of town, though the place was mostly deserted.

The carpenter was being oddly silent, Akane noted. Could it be he was planning something perverted, taking his chance to hit on two pretty women? “Thank you for speaking to us, Paulie-san,” she started, hoping they could talk business. The last thing she needed was for him to be trying to pick them up…

“Hate to do this to a woman, but…” Paulie smirked dangerously, as he suddenly leapt backwards. Akane narrowed her eyes, and dropped into a fighting stance. Nabiki scrambled off to the side at the sudden act of aggression, trying to get herself out of her sister's way. So he wanted to fight, eh?

A rope found its way from Paulie's sleeve, and it shot rapidly towards Akane, letting it fly like a golden bullet. Akane crossed her arms in front of her in defense, her eyes wide with surprise.

“ROPE ACTION,” the carpenter cried, as the rope wrapped around Akane's wrist, “Bowline Knot!”

Akane gasped as the cord somehow knotted itself around her hand. She tugged hard on the cord, only to find Paulie tugging with equal force at the other end. Why was he attacking her? She pulled hard again, but he refused to budge. “Strong,” she murmured.

Paulie bit down hard on his cigar as the girl struggled against the binding. Her strength was phenomenal, and he didn't think he'd be able to hold on to her for much longer. There was fifteen feet between them, so at least he was out of her reach.

With a huge grunt and a burst of the strength, he tugged back on the rope, pulling Akane off her feat and flipping her into the air behind him. “Oshioki!” he roared! He jumped forward and applied another hard tug in the opposite direction of his earlier throw. Akane flew forward this time, and starting arcing down towards the cobblestone road, head first and at great speed.

Akane only had a few moments of being airborne before she noticed she was plummeting towards the ground. She narrowed her eyes in determination; a martial artist was nothing if they didn't know how to fall. She spun herself in the air, turning her freefall into a flip.

“Ippon Tsuri!” Paulie finished. The cobblestone cracked as she impacted the ground furiously.

I overdid it, he thought, feeling guilty at performing such a technique on a woman. Still she was a heavily wanted pirate, and he had loans to pay… He looked up, and froze in confusion. She wasn't sprawled out unconscious like he expected, but rather, was crouched low to the ground with her back facing him. Her feet were buried in the shards of the cobblestone, having obviously taken the impact instead of her head.

Akane grinned as she felt the carpenter hesitate behind her; she had surprised him. She stood to her feet instantly, refusing to waste that opening. She lunged forward, punching the air with her bound hand, dragging the rope and Paulie behind her. The air crackled and whipped at the velocity of the strike, and Paulie gasped as he was pulled off his feet and rocketed towards her.

He reached her rapidly, and she greeted him by spinning and smashing her elbow into his face. The force of the blow sent him spiraling off to her side, and he bounced off the cobblestone as he crashed, skidding across the ground for a few feet. Akane then yanked the rope hard to herself, bringing the addled carpenter back to her like a yoyo. She let loose a fierce punch to his stomach, and Paulie howled in pain as he fell backwards again.

He had enough sense to let go of the rope this time, and rolled backwards from Akane as he touched the ground.

He knelt close to the street, his left hand clutching his aching gut as his right nursed his tender cheek. Lesser men would have been shattered easily by those two blows.

He watched as the girl stood confidently. She smirked at him, clearly enjoying herself.

“I underestimated you, Pirate,” he stated with a scowl, as he stood to his feet. She was strong, and it was no wonder she was worth such a big sum… He pulled out another line of rope from his sleeve, and stretched it tight between his hands. For better or worse, he had started this fight against her, and he would have to end it or suffer the consequences.

“My name is Tendo Akane,” she responded, still grinning, “of the Musabetsu Kakuto Tendo Ryu.” She was burning happily inside; it had been over a year since she fought a one on one battle, and the first time in awhile she could face someone with honest confidence rather then false bravado.

The increasing numbers of skilled martial artists in Nerima had quickly demolished her pride and fighting spirit. When she was once the best, she had become one of the weakest contenders. Finally, after all the training in the face of the recent tragedy, she had found her spark again. This was her first real chance to test her new skills against a skilled opponent…

Paulie scowled. Tendo School of Indiscriminate Grappling, eh? So she was a martial artist... “I'm Paulie,” he began, stating his own version of her earlier introduction. “Dock 1 Division Leader of the Galley-La Company.”

Akane's grin got wider. “Once I beat the crap out of you, you're going to fix my ship,” she announced. She fondled his discarded rope, at least thirty feet in length, and untied it from her wrist. She then attempted to loop it into a bundle around her shoulder, and failed spectacularly. She only succeeded in getting her arms tangled in the mess of cords. She squeaked loudly as she pulled the rope off of her, and attempted to re-loop the bundle again.

“That so?” Paulie questioned, his voice laced with sarcasm. Paulie had to balk at her clumsiness with the cords. Was this really the same girl who had smacked him around like a tether ball? He let out a small, chuckle, and pulled another cigar from his jacket and lit it with his match. He took a puff, watching Akane fumble with the thick string.

Akane's face was flushed with red at her klutziness. She had just ruined her big chance to look cool… Oh well, she sighed to herself, as the new bundle came together. “Got it!” she proclaimed, swinging the re-bundled loop of rope over her shoulder.

“Really think you can use that?” Paulie teased, as he dropped back into a ready stance. Really, she couldn't even loop it.

“I'll show you!” she exclaimed, charging suddenly.

Paulie grinned at her aggressiveness. “Rope Action!” he shouted, flinging the binding at the raven haired girl. “Round Turn!”

Akane twisted out of the way, and flung her own set of rope at Paulie. “Kinshi Kinbakusho!” she screeched, as her own cords bound themselves around the carpenter's arms. He grunted in surprise, flexing his limbs trying to break free. Akane was still charging towards him, though, with one hand pulling tightly on his bindings and the other pulled back and pointed into a vicious knife-hand. “Geimon Tetsu Sen Shi!” she cried, stabbing him fiercely in the chest.

The carpenter flew backwards like a rocket and smashed into a stone wall. Rock and mortar shattered around him, piling on top of him. He struggled to pull himself out of the rubble, gasping from the wind that was knocked out of him. His chest shuddered, and found he could not find the energy to move.

Akane grinned triumphantly as she grabbed him and pulled him out of the pile of rock and stone by the scruff of his shirt.

“Stupid woman,” he coughed, trying to avoid looking into her eyes. He was defeated.

“You attacked me because you have a gambling debt! That makes no sense!”

Akane was more than a little irritated at the random attack. While she had enjoyed the battle, she wanted to finish all the business in Seregrently, and having the person whose help they needed be a potential enemy was not helpful.

“MORON! PIRATE!” Paulie retorted. He was currently restrained, as Akane had kept him tied tight with the rope. “You're worth 42 million beli!”

Akane shook her head in disagreement. The Marines didn't know anything about her yet. She was about to protest verbally when Nabiki returned. She had entered the tavern a few minutes before, just after Paulie explained his money problems.

“He's right, Akane,” she said, handing her younger sibling a piece of paper. “Look at this.”

Akane studied the page, and gasped. A photo of Akane was plastered in the center of the page, with text that read the following:

Wanted

Dead or Alive

Tendo Akane

B 42,000,000

She frowned. She knew it was only a matter of time before a bounty was issued, but this was so soon... Their chances of infiltrating Glades undetected were very slim now that anyone could recognize her face.

She couldn't help but wonder where they got the photo. She didn't remember it being taken, but it looked like it was captured on a Marine ship, no doubt after one of her attacks. She was glaring angrily at the camera, looking quite sinister.

“They made me look evil!” she whined, her grip crumpling the sides of the page. It seemed something so stupid to be mad at, but really, the government were the bad guys! Not her!

“Oh, hush,” Nabiki chided. “At least you're worth quite a bit.” Akane sniffed and stuck her nose in the air.

“In any case,” Nabiki continued, turning to Paulie, “we still need you to fix our ship,”

“HAH!” Paulie huffed in defiance. “No way I'm helping you, you… immoral woman!”

“Immoral?” Nabiki asked. She chuckled and turned to her sister. “Akane, he KNOWS me,” she laughed.

“Pirates! Women!” Paulie sniffed in disdain. Akane clocked him lightly on the top of his head.

Akane was getting concerned. They really needed to finish repairs, and if he didn't help, who knows what could happen to the Blue Thunder? “Please, Paulie-san?” she begged. “I'm sorry I beat you, but we really need your help.”

Paulie closed his eyes at her pleading, and almost considered it. Being beaten by a girl stung his pride way too much, though. He wouldn't help them. “Forget it. Not helping you, psycho-woman.”

“Psycho-woman!” Akane growled, her left eye twitching in fury. She pulled back her hand to strike the jerk, when it was caught softly in Nabiki's cool grip.

“Just wait, Akane,” Nabiki cautioned. She turned to Paulie, “How about we wash each other's backs? You−”

Paulie exploded, straining against his bonds. “YOU IMMORAL WOMAN! Why would I want to do something improper like that with you!”

Nabiki quirked an eyebrow at him, and then laughed. “Get your mind out of the gutter. I meant we can help each other out, not actually bathe together.”

The carpenter calmed down, though he still glared at Nabiki, his distrust of her obvious. She continued, “You fix our ship and we'll help you solve your little money problem.”

“Eh?” Paulie asked, a bit curious. Why would the pirates want to help him after he attacked them?

“I'm quite the card player myself,” Nabiki claimed. “How about I win your cash back, and you fix the Blue Thunder?”

“Please, Paulie-san?” said Akane, pleading again. “Nabiki is awesome at cards! She even beat the Gambling King!” She neglected to mention the Gambling King preyed on children because he wasn't nearly as unbeatable as the mythos surrounding him suggested.

Paulie regarded her uneasily. Could he trust her? Especially someone dressed so… lewdly?

“Why not?” he decided out loud. It couldn't hurt. “Sure, if you can win it back, I'll fix your tub.”

Nabiki's smile curled dangerously, and Akane cheered at his acceptance. “So how much of this bonus did you lose?”

“Two million beli.”

Nabiki and Akane's eyes bugged out. “You… bet that much?” Akane gasped, unable to grasp how someone could throw all that away.

“Your boss must give one hell of a bonus.” Paulie's scowl deepened. He neglected to mention that Iceburg's bonus was essentially charity.

“Alright, then,” she said, turning to face the bar entrance. “Let's get this over with.”

“So how about dealing me in, boys?” Nabiki said. She winked at them and did her best to flaunt her cleavage. Paulie, who was now unbound, groaned at her display, clearly disgusted at her lack of shame.

The assembled poker players drooled openly, not bothering to hide their lust. None were particularly attractive, and Nabiki filed most of them away into the category of “ugly, lowlife slobs.”

“We'd love to play some more with you, Miss, but…” began one man. He was as large as he was hairy, with a big, fat beer-gut hanging out from his tight undershirt.

Another man, a bit more pleasant to look at, continued. “We've already played our fill. We won a lot on this sucker here!” he exclaimed, gesturing to Paulie. The carpenter was about to explode, when Akane painfully squeezed his shoulder. He winced, and glared at her.

Nabiki continued to speak, unhindered. “But now's your chance to win big! How often will you get the chance to win a real meito!”

The table erupted in surprise, with conversation and banter going back and forth. Akane's eyes widened in shock, realizing what Nabiki was talking about. She hastily removed the sword that was strapped to her back and cradled it tightly

“NABIKI,” she began, taking a deep breath, “you can't!”

Nabiki shot Akane a glare, and pulled her to the side, away from the poker game.

“We need you to bet that sword,” Nabiki declared.

“And I'm saying you can't.” Akane replied evenly, hugging the sheathed blade protectively.

“Come on, Akane,” Nabiki pleaded. “These guys will need something big to convince them to stick around.” It seemed Paulie lost it all, and had made the other six players very eager to leave with their winnings. “This is the easy part!”

“No! This is Dad's sword!” her younger sister insisted. “Nabiki, it's been in our family for generations! I'd never forgive myself if we lost it!”

Nabiki leveled Akane with a pleading gaze, but inwardly, she was seething. This plan was supposed to be the easy part; she'd win a few stupid games of poker, and then Paulie would help them and they'd be on their way. She didn't count on Akane being so unconfident with her abilities. She trusted her little sister to easily dismantle six squads of marines, so why couldn't Akane count on her to beat a stupid bunch of lowlifes at cards? This was finally her opportunity to be useful, as suckering suckers was what she did best.

“I don't intend to lose, Akane.”

“You're too arrogant,” Akane retorted, remaining firm. “No, as captain I'm putting my foot down on this! Bet something else!”

Nabiki sighed. There was nothing else to bet. The only thing they had worth more then the sword was Akane herself, and perhaps their ship. Nabiki walked up to Akane, grasped her by the shoulders. Their eyes met, both determined and harsh. “Trust me,” she said, determinedly. “I don't lose,”

Akane's firm resolution wavered under Nabiki's rock-solid conviction. The raven-haired girl's anger faded, and replaced itself with a stern, determined look. With a hard nod, she thrust out the sheathed katana, and held it out horizontally in the air. Nabiki nodded happily at Akane, and took the sword from her sister's grip. Clutching the blade protectively, she returned to the game.

“Gentlemen,” Nabiki called as she sat herself at the table. “As I promised: a meito. One of the named blades themselves..” She gently placed the sword down on the table. The sheath and the hilt were a shiny, beautiful black lacquer, while the guard made of an almost-white silver. The same silver capped both the pommel and the scabbard, as well as coloring other small details and trimmings on the katana.

One of the players, a small skinny man with a ragged scar running from his ear to his jaw, reached out to touch it. He stopped short, and met Nabiki's eyes with a questioning expression. The brunette nodded, and he grasped the blade. He drew the sword out, and began to examine it. Akane watched uneasily, quite ready to break his neck for fondling such an important piece of the Tendo clan.

He pulled out a small pocket book and began flipping through it, comparing the sword to the contents of the booklet. To Akane's surprise, the tiny man appeared to be a bit of a sword expert. “To think I would have my chance to ever hold one…” he began, his trembling hands gripping Akane's weapon tightly. “Kuroga, a Ryou-Wazamono... One of the Fifty Great Edges!”

He smiled gravely, and replaced the sword to the center of the table. “It's worth over four million beli. I am game.” The other players around him went wide eyed, nodding in assent.

Nabiki grinned wickedly. It was time to do what she did best. The game was on.

“Four of a kind! I win again!”

Akane watched them play uneasily. Her sister was so… casual about this. She acted as if her winning was the only natural thing possible. Maybe Nabiki was right, that this was the easy part.

Paulie watched excitedly. The devil woman wasn't kidding when she said she was good at cards.

They had played for only a couple hours, with Nabiki winning every time. Over time, she had managed to win back more than Paulie's bonus, making a neat little sum for herself as well. Every time she re-bet her full winnings, including the sword, and every time she was victorious. The temptation to keep playing for Nabiki's ever growing pile of loot was too strong. But now, wallets and funds were getting strained…

“I'm out,” declared one of the men, his face old and cracked and his head bald. “Seems our luck ran out.”

Nods of agreement filled the table, and most of the players began to stand up and filter out. Only one tiny man (the sword expert, Nabiki recalled) remained.

“YOSHI!” called one of the other players. “You got nothing else to play! Just give it up! She's too tricky!”

”Shut up! I have something else!” Yoshi retorted. “I was going to sell it to a buyer from the government, but…” He scampered under the table, and brought back up a small wooden chest and dropped it on the table. He then pulled a key from his pocket, and slapped it down beside the chest. I'll win that Ryou-Wazamono yet.

“It's a mystery prize, but I can assure you the contents of the chest are worth more than enough to equal the amount of your pot,” he stated, gesturing to her winnings. He grit his teeth, and continued, “I'll play you for it, one more time! But not poker!”

“Oh?” Nabiki asked, more than a little curious.

“Old Maid,” he croaked, steadily. “Two cards. A final showdown, one used often by the Gambling King himself! Choose the Joker, and I win. Get the other card, and you walk away with everything.”

Nabiki wanted to laugh, as his banter conjured memories from happier times. She had seen the Gambling King try that on Ranma. The Gambling King was anything but a goodcard player. He was even a lousy cheater.

Nabiki herself had been cheating all night, and even when they sent someone to watch her play behind her back, they still hadn't noticed her slight of hands. This would be easy; she could handle any of the Gambling King's tricks.

“Alright,” Nabiki replied, looking a little bored as she leaned over the table.

Yoshi grinned demonically. He slapped two cards down onto the table and pushed the chest and key towards the center. Nabiki responded in kind, pushing the sword and her pile of winnings towards the center as well. `Now witness my final technique,' he thought, `taught to me by the Gambling King himself!'

Nabiki's face was a mask, and she placed a finger down on the card on the left, but didn't flip it. “I choose this one,” she said. Yoshi could almost not control his grin, and went to flip it for her. “Nah uh!” she scolded, slapping his hand away.

She pointed to the other card on the right, and smiled. “That means this one is yours.” She flipped Yoshi's card, revealing the Joker. “Oh! Looks like I win!”

Yoshi's jaw dropped, and his world froze around him. He trembled in indecision, his mind shutting down. He collapsed on the table, unable to cope with what just happened.

Akane and Paulie exploded in excitement. “AWESOME, DEVIL GIRL!” Paulie yelled, almost squealing and clearly impressed. Akane was instantly relieved. She should have trusted Nabiki in the first place. The other players just shook their head in disappointment, walking off.

Nabiki carefully lifted the card she had chosen, careful to make sure she was the only one who could see it. Sure enough, it was a Joker also. “I think I'll keep this as a souvenir!” she declared, depositing the second card into her bust.

Her arms then wrapped around the huge pot of winnings she just one, pulled them closer to her. After returning Kuroga to Akane, she grabbed the chest and key, and decided to see what her mystery prize was. She plugged the key into the chest, and sure enough it unlocked the box. Opening it, she blinked in surprise at the contents.

`An apple?' she inquired to herself.His big mystery prize was a piece of fruit? “You did try to cheat me!” she accused. Yoshi ignored her, still laying on the table unmoving. She took it out and examined it. The apple had a strange texture, and its hue was more of a violet instead of a red. `It looks so tasty,' she thought, filled with the inexplicable desire to take a bite. It was her prize after all.Shrugging her shoulders, she brought it to her mouth and chomped down.

She nearly spat the chunk out of her mouth in disgust, but something compelled her to swallow. “This is disgusting!” she declared, hurling the fruit out of her hand. It was like eating old garbage, with wet newspaper and rotten meat… She clutched her forehead suddenly, as pain and discomfort filled her… Did she just eat poison?

“Nabiki?” Akane looked on, very concerned.

Even Paulie was worried. “Devil Girl?”

Yoshi managed to gather some sense and pulled himself from the table. “You… you ate it…”

Her body felt like it was on fire. She collapsed to her knees, and stared down at her hands, watching horrified. Her fingers began to shift and warp, reshaping themselves into long, sharp talons. Her skin began to turn gray, and she screamed in dismay. Pain exploded from her back, as she felt something erupt from it. She looked down at her bare arms, and they were now covered in black feathers. She screamed again, before collapsing to the floor.

Akane grabbed Yoshi by the scruff of his shirt and hoisted him straight up into the air. She was furious, her eyes full of madness.

“WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY SISTER?”

To be continued…

Author's Notes:
Please Review! Please! I worked hard on this chapter, and knowing what you guys think is immensely beneficial to me. I demand reviews! If I only get three again, I will cry. Like a little girl. Do you want that? Please review!

Again, thanks to my pre-readers Kaiser Convoy and Psycho King. Also, thanks to Wikipedia, YouTube, and Arlong Park. My knowledge of Ranma ½ borders on encyclopedic, though my One Piece knowledge is more shaky and being able to reference things at those sites is helpful.

This is essentially the second half of chapter 2 that I wanted to write. After twelve pages of writing, I was tempted to split it again, but decided to tough it out and write the whole thing. This section of the story took far longer than originally intended.

My muse loves to write action. I didn't originally plan to write Paulie fighting with Akane (originally, she was ambushed by random pirates), but it was something I needed to do to have fun with this chapter. To write a nice detailed one-on-one fight is really invigorating for me.

As usual, the name of the chapters from my playlist. This one was from the Appleseed OST.

Things to Consider
Yamasenken and Umisenken: The Thousand Mountain Fist, and the Thousand Sea Fist. Two secret sets of techniques designed by Genma. They're based around thievery. The Umisenken is based around the stealth of a quiet, sneaky thief while the Yamasenken is based around a loud, violent burglar.

Ki: Spiritual energy, which is harnessed by martial artists to perform superhuman feats. I'm generally assuming most anime readers know what this is, as the concept is used in so many different franchises.

Kijin Raishu Dan: This is Japanese for Demon God Assault Shot. A Yamasenken move.

Paulie: One of the Galley-La foremen from the Water 7/Enies Lobby arc in One Piece. Fights with ropes, and doesn't like it when women show too much skin, as he believes it is immoral.

Oshioki Ippon Tsuri: This means `Punishment: Gone Fishing'. It's also a pun on the word `Ipponzuri' which means one-handed fishing. Paulie uses his ropes to throw his opponents into the air, and sends them crashing down again head first.

Kinshi Kinbakusho: A Yamasenken technique, which uses rope to bind the opponent. Literally means `Gold Thread Tightly Binding Flight.' Like most Yamasenken and Umisenken techniques, one technique flows from another. This one is usually followed by the Geimon Tetsu Sen Shi.

Geimon Tetsu Sen Shi: Another Yamasenken attack. An attack to the chest that literally means “Welcome Arch Iron-ribbed Fan Finger”

Meito: A meito is a named sword with a prestigious history. Being a meito usually means they are immaculately well-crafted and dangerously sharp. Zoro from One Piece has three of them.

Ryou-Wazamono 50: Means 50 Great Edges. Very famous swords, some of the best in the world. One of Zoro's swords, the Wadou Ichimonji (Straight Path to Harmony) is a Oo-Wazamono 21, which means 21 Greater Edges. His other two swords, Yubashiri (Snow Run) and Sandai Kitetsu (Third Generation Demon Splitter) are both Ryou-Wazamono.

Kuroga: Japanese for Black Fang. The name of Akane's sword. I used western sword terminology to describe the katana, not feeling it appropriate to confuse you guys with strange Japanese terms. Its appearance is not too different from Zoro's Yubashiri.

Review Responses
Rabid Badger: You're complaining about the length of time between updates? D: You monster!

Yeah, I like Galactica. I wouldn't write a Ranma crossover though. I don't think it would work. It might be fun to explore how Ranma and the Tendos would live as some of the civilians in the fleet, but it doesn't tickle my muse very much. Thanks for the review, though!

Prometheus: It's more of a rack than simple shackles. I would also say Moko Takabisha is not possible, as Ranma is heavily drugged and does not have the focus. He managed a battle aura, but I'd say that is much more instinctual for him, and a ki blast would require much greater concentration. Also, he doesn't have his hands free to do the 'stance' that he and Ryouga usually take up when they fire a blast. Thanks for the review, though!