Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / You're Under Arrest Fan Fiction / Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction ❯ Officer Saotome ❯ First Encounter Prose Rewrite ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

This is part two of two rewrites I am currently undergoing
for my Officer Saotome series. I first wrote Chapter 1: Meet
Officer Ranma in script form instead of prose because it was
my first fic and I wanted to use a format that I thought I
could do better with. After the third chapter, I realized
that script is truly no match for prose style writing. I
realized that I could convey the mood, setting, emotions,
and other various nitpicking descriptions much better in
novella writing than clinical script. With my first prose
rewrite accomplished, it is now time for Chapter 2: First
Encounter to receive its tour de force rehaul.

Also, another big reason I wanted to rewrite the first two
chapters was because I wanted to portray Ranma's character
better (as well as fix some stupid mistakes I made, and
there are a LOT of them ^^;;), and add in some stuff because
now that I look back, the original first chapter is pretty
damn corny. For those of you who have already read this fic
before and you're reading this right now, you will notice a
lot of newly added scenes. Not only that, I want to add
things NOW that will come into play later so that they will
make better sense (although I shall write it so that they're
not really required knowledge, just as supplements) in my
yet unwritten/unpublished chapters.

This second and final rewrite that I will be finishing up
will make up for the massive plot holes and flaws of the
second chapter's crude story telling (if you can even call
my old dog shit a story), and give one of the main heroines
of this story the intro she deserves. My original
introduction to Kiyone was a crude and undeveloped one, much
like her character in the TV/OAV/Movie/etc series. I am
determined to flesh out her character as she is so
underrated (fanboy that I am) and has the potential to be so
much more, and long ago vowed to give life and personality
to her in a way I'm sure lots of fans of Kiyone can
hopefully appreciate..

Now, enough ranting. On with the show!

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

This fic is a crossover continuation fic for both the Ranma
and Tenchi Universe. Hopefully you readers know some basic
knowledge about both Ranma and Tenchi:) I would rate this as
an "R" fanfic, because of some of the harsh language used.

Here are a few things you must know while reading this:

-The Ranma aspect of the story takes place after Manga 38
and the Tenchi aspect takes place after the TV show/OVA.

-At the end of manga 38 Ranma was at the end of his
sophomore year in Furinken High School and the year is set
in 1992. I like keeping an accurate timeline in my fics.

-I try my best to get geographic locations as accurate as
possible with what I can find on the internet, but obviously
I'm no Magellan so fictional locations will be rampant.

-Police jargon, cop talk, miscellaneous references, and
other oddball things that you may find in the story and
don't understand will be explained at the END, in my Author
Notes section.

-And finally, (for now) Ranma as you read him in this intro
will seem very out of character. But this will all be
explained with some flashbacks and explanations! This is a
long, somewhat complex story! You need to finish it through,
hehe. This is in response to a lot of people emailing me
unhelpful flames (yes, I find flames helpful in general if
they make even a little bit of sense) WITHOUT finishing
reading through everything. Now that doesn't make much sense
now, does it? It's common sense, guys. I like all sorts of
feedback, don't get me wrong.

-SgtRanma

Please visit my website at http://sgtranma.anifics.com! New
fics will always appear there first!

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

Chapter 2: First Encounter

April 7th, 2001. 6:50 AM.
Apt No. 420, Senzai Haru Villa - Okayama, Japan.

Four years of being used to a certain time zone
certainly had its effects when one immersed themselves in a
different one. Even a week of rest hadn't quite reset this
biological ticker.

Ranma sat up and looked at the clock next to his
luxurious king sized bed. It wasn't hard adjusting to
Japanese time as the jet lag had been minimal. But for
someone who'd lived the life of a night owl waking up late
in the morning, it felt a little unusual rising early.

"Hmmmmm," Ranma mumbled to himself, still drowsy. He
looked down, and blinked.

Of course. Two mounds of plump flesh dangled below, and
he who turned into a she remembered that she had gone to
sleep as a girl after finishing up tidying her new
apartment. An April shower had caught her right at the end
of her move, with a stack of boxes in her arms. Tired and
feeling lazy, she fell asleep without bothering to change
back.

She walked into the living room and stretched as she
turned on the big screen flat panel TV onto the local news,
wondering what the day would bring. As she fixed a glass of
water to drink in the kitchen, Ranma still looked around in
awe at just how good the accommodations were. Her boss sure
delivered on his promise of a good life. The apartment was
far larger and more luxurious than she had ever imagined.
Two bedrooms, a large airy living room, and plenty of
windows viewing the Okayama landscape all to herself and all
utilities were provided without worry. Privacy was a high
priority for both Ranma and Takayama, the apartment was
discreet in concealing her address and identity and all
entry was accessed via fingerprint recognition.

Ranma opened up her laptop, one of the first purchases
she'd smartly made when she arrived in Japan. She wrote
several emails to friends abroad, as well as one to Ukyou to
let her know things had settled.

Ranma tapped the keyboard, wondering how soon it would
be till his buddy Ucchan would be done setting up her own
restaurant. A couple of complications arose as minor
problems popped up before her planned grand opening of her
third restaurant, and she was forced to delay it for a few
days.

She sighed, it was going to be tough living in a new
place again without knowing anyone around.

After logging onto a secure BBS network that Takayama
had created for his agents, Ranma perused through the
various messages her boss had sent her. To secure any
confidential information from being accessed and leaked to
unauthorized personnel, Ranma constantly had to check her
phone for a decryption code that constantly updated itself
every 6 hours to read anything.

There were no important tasks given to her, although she
had kind of hope for it, there were several minor agendas
that Takayama had outlined for her today.

Despite the lack of initiative, Ranma was informed to
keep up with any major incidents that occurred in his area
and was to take over and command at will if there was any
sort of crime that local law enforcement would have trouble
handling efficiently. Possible situations included but not
limited to narcotics trafficking, terrorism, organized
crime, firearms related incident, and various other crimes
of heinous nature.

"A watchdog, am I?" Ranma pondered. As various pages on
his browser loaded he fiddled with his P226 and silver 92FS
that were on the table along with the laptop. The Beretta
had a skinny black suppressor can firmly attached to the
muzzle and had an odd, if mismatched two tone finish in
contrast to the stainless steel finished pistol.

One particular memo caught her attention as she browsed
through. Takayama wanted her to familiarize herself with the
Okayama Police Department, while keeping minimal contact and
keep them under surveillance. Complaints of corruption had
been filed and ignored in the department, and overall
performance of the officers had been generally lackluster
and lax depending on the brass controlling from above.

Ranma scoffed, ignoring that one. Police corruption
basically meant petty payoffs and turning a blind eye to the
activities of the local sex industries and underground
gambling. She did a bit of homework on her Japanese police
counterparts. Short of murdering innocent people, the
Okayama PD was probably plagued with the same run of the
mill problems as every other police presence in the rest of
Japan. She didn't feel like becoming a nosy Internal Affairs
rat.

But the other part? Ranma figured she could go around
town and check out the local police in action, and visit the
station maybe and sneak around. Getting to actually know
people she though to herself, might actually prove difficult
however.

She closed her laptop and walked into the bathroom to
forget about work for now.

* * *

April 7th, 2001. 10:32 AM.
Detectives Bureau, Okayama Police Department - Okayama,
Japan.

"Mou! I'll be stuck in this office forever with this
much paperwork!"

Sergeant Juzo Kanemaki walked up to the woman in
distress with a cup of coffee in his hand. He gave her a
sympathetic smile as she put down her pen and rubbed her
temples in frustration.

"Your partner did quite a number again I'm guessing? The
Lieutenant sure knows how to rustle things up around here,"
Juzo said.

"You don't know the half it," she replied, sighing as
she leaned back in her chair. "Damn her for having me fill
out all this crap. I'm glad I'm not fired yet, but jeez. How
is it she gets such a break?"

Juzo nodded understandingly. The Okayama Police's
detectives weren't a terrible bunch, but the past year or so
had been considerably livelier with the transfer of two new
officers under their wing. He looked around while sipping
his coffee. Everyone was busy doing one thing or another,
and their time was spent productively doing mostly paperwork
if they weren't called out on the field. He was one of the
younger detectives, with a newly married wife and a newborn
kid coming just around the corner.

"Kanemaki-san, doesn't Lieutenant Kuramitsu drive you
crazy with all the extra bullshit she brings around?"

"Hmm?" Juzo sipped his coffee and looked down on one of
the only two detectives who was younger than him. "Well it
is a bit of a mess, Makibi-san. But I have to admit, since
Mihoshi came our workload may have increased but everyone
here got a pay raise too from all that extra effort. It's
nice for a starting family man like me."

Twenty-six year old Sergeant Kiyone Makibi rolled her
eyes and blew away her beautiful teal hair that was dangling
in her face. "I can't believe that blond airhead. How does
she do it? I mean I'm not bad at this job myself, I know
you've at least seen that, Kanemaki-san." Juzo simply nodded
as she looked up. "But for her, she messes up and does
something extremely lucky to become a hero and gets all the
credit. It's the story of my life, I swear."

Juzo continued to sip on his coffee. "Well, I got some
bad news for you." He plopped down another packet of files
and folders on her desk much to her chagrin and widening
eyes. "The cycle just keeps getting more and more vicious.
These are all yours."

Kiyone wordlessly waved her hands and took them. "Great,
more work. This is how I get to spend my Saturday."

"It'll be done before you know it. I just finished all
of mine right before I came to see you."

"Lucky bastard."

"She's your partner," Juzo laughed, receiving a glare
from his friend. "And if I'm not mistaken, you get a four
day vacation next week anyway. I'm going to take off, I need
to check out a tip that was given to us for a narcotics
tradeoff. Good luck with all this paperwork, it'll be done
in no time."

"If my commander in charge ever stays out of trouble.
Good luck," she replied, sighing again.

Juzo waved as he closed the door to her office, shutting
out the ambient noise from outside.

The temptation to blow off all her work felt really
appealing to the fair skinned detective, as the pile was a
formidable one sitting in front of her. Kiyone leaned back,
the fair skinned Galaxy Police veteran twirling her chair
around to face her stained glass window. She brushed her tan
baby-tee shirt and her designer jeans to knock off crumbs of
wheat thins that she munched on while sitting idly in the
office. The shirt was a snug fit on her, and her ample
breasts shook as she wiped them off in embarrassment. She
dressed very casually to work, one of the perks of being an
investigator instead of a lower ranking foot soldier.

Had it already been over half a year, Kiyone mused to
herself? Getting a job here with Mihoshi in the local police
force had been a piece of cake thanks to Washu's meticulous
tinkering. She had kicked herself at first when she hadn't
thought of it earlier. Why waste time with menial jobs for
petty cash when she had an opportunity right in front of her
with the training already part of her skills? The transfer
was a privileged one, with Kiyone and Mihoshi guised as
stellar, young, up and coming investigators coming in with
years of Japanese police experience under their belts. It
was only half a lie, Kiyone was a first-class detective with
the Galaxy Police force.

Despite the sexism and gender stereotypes that were
rampant in the Japanese police, Kiyone and Mihoshi dragged
themselves above and beyond such limitations by exceeding
the expectations of many superiors in what a female officer
was capable of. Their prior experience and training in the
Galaxy Police gave them the necessary edge in being able to
handle more than standard patrol duty and petty undercover
assignments of menial social importance.

This new surge in income and self-respect was a definite
perk of course, with Kiyone indulging in the little things
in life that she had taken for granted when she arrived on
earth. She got to buy all the cute clothes she wanted,
designer brands, food that didn't border on MSG loaded
microwavable, and even a new car to boot. Even better with
the recent peace that reigned over the known universe with
Kagato defeated, her promotion within the GP and newfound
authority didn't force her to patrol Earth in a lonely and
tedious space cruise that didn't amount to anything anyway.
Her ambitions with the GP were at a critically acclaimed
stage in her life, with personal orders from the Jurai Royal
Family to offer protection for family members residing on
Earth. Having her true close friends nearby was a nice plus,
and the exclusivity of her assignment had every Galaxy
Police officer in the universe looking at her and Mihoshi
like they were godlike deities.

The reassignment to patrol Earth's solar system however
was also influenced by another factor altogether for Kiyone.
Jurai's coup d'etat debacle left Kiyone disillusioned with
the Galaxy Police and the rampant corruption that had
ensued. She decided it would be far better for her to stay
with her power circle of friends and diplomatically stay one
step ahead of whatever the GP would try to pull thanks to
Ayeka as a close friend.

But with all that was good, there was Mihoshi. Kiyone
sighed at the nuisance of a blonde hot-air blow up doll that
knew nothing but partying and going to karaoke bars and
causing havoc at the very proximity of her presence. But low
and behold, what ever Mihoshi seemed to screw up it turned
out magically successful with her zany actions alone. Every
accidental success she had impressed the brass in the
department more and more and she was promoted to head the
entire detectives' bureau in the Okayama Police Department.
Moans and groans were heard, but no one could dispute the
raw success she brought to the table.

Kiyone didn't hate her partner, far from it. She could
even admit she was her best friend. Before Earth, Mihoshi
was an acquaintance who was a stubborn obstacle in her path
to glory. But with trials and tribulations that came by,
Kiyone's stern attitude softened considerably as her blonde
partner had saved her life with disregard to her own several
times.

Few bonds of camaraderie are closer than that of two
partners backing each other in combat.

But the way she viewed her in terms of her
frustrations was the way a parent saw their child misbehave
like a brat. She was a pain in the ass at times, but how
could she possibly hate her?

"I wonder what Mihoshi is up to," Kiyone talked to
herself.

She figured since her friend was her boss anyway, there
was no one to really chide her on procrastinating on all the
bureaucracy that plagued her desk. Kiyone walked out into
the bureau's large office, garnering several looks from the
other detectives, all male, as she walked over to Mihoshi's
office. It wasn't something she thought about
conscientiously, but it was a secret source of pride that
Kiyone was proud of that almost every red-blooded man in the
department saw her unanimously as the most attractive girl
in the building and perhaps on the block. That was one thing
at least, although useless, that Kiyone had on Mihoshi.

The door to the largest office in the room had
"Lieutenant" laser etched into the one piece glass door,
much to Kiyone's irritation. She pulled the stainless steel
handle and walked inside to see a mess of Cosmo and Vanity
Affair magazines, celebrity tabloids, and open bags of
cookies and chips. Her right eye twitched when she saw the
tanned bimbo behind the desk engrossed with a Game Boy in
her hands.

Mihoshi looked up and greeted her partner with a
sparkling smile. "Hey Kiyone! I was just about to call you
over!"

Kiyone sighed. "Mihoshi, if you have enough time to be
playing video games you could help me with the mountain of
paperwork you caused me last week." She looked around in
surprise, noticing that Mihoshi had no paperwork herself.
"In fact, you don't have any files to take care of yourself!
Why are you sitting on your ass while I slave away?"

"Come on, Kiyone. I only did a little bit of damage,"
Mihoshi replied innocently.

"You destroyed the entire parking lot!" Kiyone threw up
her hands. "And the worst part is you don't even know how
the hell it happened! How is it possible that there was fuel
all over the floor?"

Mihoshi sweatdropped. "Uh...it was already there? The
fuel fairy?"

"The fuel fairy?" Kiyone sounded confused. "Where the
heck did you come up with that one?

The blonde thought hard while stroking her chin. "I
don't know."

"The whopper is that somehow despite all that you
managed to catch the car thief and all of his buddies and
the explosion just HAPPENED to reveal a huge piracy ring
across the street that one of the other detectives had been
investigating for weeks." Kiyone sat down on a chair in
front of the desk, giving her friend a resigned smile. "I
don't know if you're just dumb lucky or just plain dumb."

"Hey, that's mean Kiyone!" Mihoshi shed exaggerated
tears. "I don't know how to do things as well as you!"

"Forget about it, Mihoshi. What were you going to call
me over for, by the way?"

"Oh." Mihoshi lit up and grabbed a fax that was in
front of her and handed it to Kiyone. "I just got a fax from
the chief of the National Police. I have no idea what he's
talking about. So, uh... can you help me Kiyone?"

"How is it someone as air headed as you becomes a
supervising lieutenant?" Kiyone tsked as she grabbed the fax
and read it.

She frowned immediately.

"Mihoshi, this document says 'Eyes Only' on it. I'm not
even supposed to read this."

Mihoshi was already busy munching on some Pocky.
"What does that mean?"

Kiyone continued to read anyway, despite the
sensitive material. "It means this was top secret. I think
this was sent to only high ranking investigators within the
National Police."

"Oh? Like who?"

"It means you, dumbass." Kiyone continued to read and
her eyes narrowed. "It's saying here that a high ranking
government agent is going to be overlooking Okayama and its
surrounding areas and that you are to give him your full
cooperation and handle any of his affairs if involved in the
most discreet manner possible."

"That sounds pretty serious. I wonder if he's cute or
if he's some old fart?"

Kiyone ignored her and finished reading, her eyes
widening in the process. "It says he's from the JNSA, and
his identity is classified. He is armed and autonomous in
his authority. Sounds pretty serious, I'll admit. This is a
confidential document, Mihoshi. You got to be more
responsible for yourself."

Despite what the rest of the world thought, Mihoshi
was smart enough to know that Kiyone was much more adept in
police work than she was. "But I thought you could handle
this so much better, you know Kiyone?"

"If I was a lieutenant," she grumbled under her breath.
"But you are right though. It's a good thing you showed me
this. We at least have a heads up in case we ever meet this
mysterious secret agent."

"Oh, ok." Mihoshi instantly shifted gears. "Hey Kiyone,
let's go out. I'm bored."

Here we go again, Kiyone thought. "We're supposed to be
here till five o'clock. It's called a full day's work?"

"Oh Kiyone, it's a Saturday! Well I'll just relieve you
to freelance for the rest of the day. I look over everyone's
timecards here anyway."

Sigh. "I still have to finish all that paperwork you
caused."

"Oh, that's not even a problem." Mihoshi opened up her
drawer and handed Kiyone a plastic contraption that looked
like a large rectangular container.

"What's this?" Kiyone took the item and looked
thoroughly confused. Mihoshi was quite unpredictable.

"Washu dropped that off the other day saying you
requested it. I just stuck in all my papers inside that
machine and pressed the green button and everything was
filled out and done! It's super neat-o!"

"And you had it ALL THIS TIME!?" Kiyone yelled, clearly
vexed. "I remember asking for this to make my work easier.
No wonder you didn't have anything on your desk!"

"Well I wanted to finish up what I had first," Mihoshi
pouted.

"Figures," Kiyone replied. She looked at her partner who
was smiling sheepishly and looking apologetic, and gave in
with a lazy smile herself. "Oh, what the heck. With this
I'll be done for the day right and I get to enjoy my
weekend?"

Mihoshi's eyes sparkled. "Does that mean we'll go out
and play?"

Kiyone nodded. "There's that cute miniskirt that I've
been wanting to buy and those shoes we saw the other day in
the department store. Your last escapade got us a nice
bonus, might as well use it."

"Hooray!" Mihoshi did her own little bouncy dance around
the office.

Kiyone headed out the door in the midst of Mihoshi's
idiocy and back to her office to clear all those forms off
her desk. If only everyone else knew what she knew.

* * *

April 7th, 2001. 1:45 PM.
16th floor, Loft Department Store food court - Okayama,
Japan.

Ranma strolled into a busy and popular restaurant on the
top floor of this premium department store. Despite the
other choices available among the wide variety of
restaurants in the food court, he had a sudden hankering for
some American food. He hadn't come here to shop, but was
sight seeing anyway and figured the department store would
have plenty of good places to eat. To his surprise there was
a Red Robin, a familiar American diner he had gone to before
in Southern California.

A hostess came up to him immediately as he passed the
entry. "Welcome? How many?"

"I'm by myself," Ranma replied, looking at the bustling
tables. "Can I be seated at the bar?"

"Certainly! Right this way, sir."

Ranma was led to a mahogany bar surrounded by swiveling
high chairs. He thanked the hostess and looked over the menu
she left behind. After a quick look, he focused on the bar's
beer taps and available selection of drinks.

"Excuse me, bartender?"

A young man with a thick pair of square glasses came up
to him while he was cleaning a mug. "Can I get you anything,
sir?"

Ranma took a second look at the taps. "Can I get a
Newcastle on tap?"

The bartender nodded and promptly fulfilled his order.
"Here you go."

"Thanks," Ranma replied, lifting a tall glass of brown
ale to his lips. He looked at the menu and did a double
take. A pint of imported beer cost 900 yen. Quite an unfair
premium, Ranma grumbled to himself.

Okayama was quite a bit smaller than he had imagined,
Ranma thought to himself. That much he could accept, since
perhaps he was used to the vast glam and glitter of Tokyo.
As far as surveillance of the local police in action, Ranma
saw nothing more than standard rank and file patrolling and
friendly neighborhood community service.

It had only been a few hours, but Okayama seemed to
be a relatively clean city to be living in. Perhaps going on
the prowl at night would reveal more when the undesirable
elements started to gather, but Ranma wasn't pressed into
any rush and figured he could spend the next few days taking
his sweet time.

* * *

April 7th, 2001. 1:36 AM.
Floor B3, Loft Department Store garage parking - Okayama,
Japan.

Without too much searching, Mihoshi finally found a spot
to park her Toyota Avalon in the crowded underground parking
lot. It wasn't her car exactly, it was both hers and
Kiyone's together as they had split the cost with both their
combined paychecks.

To the enormous surprise of everyone she knew, Mihoshi
wasn't a bad driver. Getting her driver's license had been a
pain in the ass that everyone saw as a predictable disaster.
Three destroyed student vehicles, a kidnapping, and a high
speed pursuit later, she had been granted her license from
her driving academy. Luckily Kiyone was on a temporary
transit assignment at the time of her test, so she never
asked (nor could the others explain anyway) exactly how all
those different disasters somehow culminated into Mihoshi
passing her driving exam.

But once she was on the road on her own, she was a
remarkably safe and attentive person who managed to astonish
people with this paradox in her usually ditzy self. Kiyone
was one of those people who attributed this phenomenon to a
growing list of oddities that Mihoshi possessed. Being
normal over such a random thing was so weird that it was
consistent with Mihoshi's personality, Kiyone had commented
to her friends.

It certainly wasn't her first talent either, her
other was making the best cup of orange mocha frappachino
everyone had ever tasted. This was another isolated feat,
however. Her attempts at regular black coffee were paramount
to sewage in a cup.

"Thanks for buying me this miniskirt, Mihoshi," Kiyone
said, beaming. She stepped out of the passenger side and
gave herself a look down. "It's so cute!"

The absent minded Mihoshi replied with a happy smile as
she stepped out of the car herself and locked the doors with
a remote. She was more than glad to be able to go out
shopping with her partner and best friend. Ever since the
cash started flowing in from their jobs, they had been
definitely enjoying the good life.

Kiyone pressed the button for the garage elevator and
waited. She was quite pleased with her new clothes, a white
Abercrombie cardigan unbuttoned on top to show a new baby
blue tee similar to one she had been wearing earlier but
with a low cut V. Her denim miniskirt bordered on
dangerously short, depending on the ages of judging eyes. To
the young and trendy, it hardly blipped a notice in most
people's visual radars.

Mihoshi wore a summer casual pink tank top with
revealing spaghetti straps overlapping her white bra straps
along with a pair of tan slacks. Her natural blonde hair and
dark tan definitely contrasted in screaming definition.

"What do you feel like eating, Mihoshi? This one will be
on me."

"Hmmm?" Mihoshi had a finger over her lips as a bit of
drool seeped out as her mouth started salivating. "How about
some American food?"

"American food, huh?" Kiyone heard the elevator's ring
and stepped inside. "I think there's a good restaurant in
the food court of this mall. Went there once with one of the
other officers. Red Robin, was it?"

One of Mihoshi's eyes twinkled. "Another officer? I
don't remember going out on an outing here after work?"

Kiyone froze at her slip up. "Uh... I just had dinner
after work with someone in the Search and Rescue team."

"Oh?" Mihoshi sported a mischievous grin and her eyes
turned beady as she got up close to her partner. "A guy,
huh? Who is it?"

"No one you know!" Kiyone sputtered.

"So who'd you go on a date with, Kiyone?" Mihoshi
teased. It was extremely rare that her partner ever
associated with men, and she always managed to keep to
herself over her private affairs.

Kiyone pushed Mihoshi away, visibly annoyed. "It's no
one you know, I swear. Damn it, Mihoshi." Whenever a rare
occasion came up for Kiyone to improve her social life,
Mihoshi always meddled with her. "The guy was a real weirdo,
and he wouldn't stop talking about climbing his next big
mountain in the Himalayas or something else dumb to bore me
to death. I just couldn't stand him."

"Oh, you're pickier than I am. How much longer do you
think you can stay single?" Mihoshi giggled, leaning on the
wall of the elevator.

Having a companion of the opposite sex wasn't exactly a
top priority in her mind, but Kiyone knew that Mihoshi liked
to tease her once in a while about men and that it never
failed to annoy her. Was it her fault that every guy she
seemed to come in contact with was either a tool or just a
real boor?

The two arrived on the food court floor soon enough and
walked into the colorful red and white striped entry of Red
Robin's. Mihoshi was surprised at how popular the place was
with all the tables crowded and heaping plates of delicious
food everywhere.

Kiyone asked the hostess for seats at the bar to avoid a
long wait for a table or a booth.

"This is a very nice place, is the food good too?"
Mihoshi asked.

"I've never been to America before so I can't compare.
But I was told it's a real restaurant from America. It
tasted really good though. It doesn't taste like it's been
through a Japanese cultural crash course," Kiyone said,
taking her seat on a high stool along the bar.

She accidentally bumped the man next to her as he was
drinking from his beer mug. "Oops! Excuse me."

The guy wiped his mouth with a napkin to get some of the
beer that dribbled down his chin. "Oh, not a problem. It's
kind of crowded here after all," he said, looking around.
Even the bar was getting packed, and the two young ladies to
his right were taking the only two consecutively open seats.

Kiyone gave a very slight bow of the head as she turned
away to look at her menu. She paused very subtly as she
glanced at her neighbor's odd pigtail, and his steely gray-
blue eyes. The pigtail was kind of silly but for some reason
fit really well with his messy hair, but the blue eyes were
odd and definitely striking for a Japanese man.

Ranma returned to looking at his menu after the girl
next to him nudged him while he was drinking his brown ale.
His eyes wandered as the hair colors of both these women
were a bit striking compared to most people who dyed their
hair. The one next to him had a pretty ridiculous looking
teal splashed getup that looked quite brash, but on a second
glance it was way too even and solid from root to tip. He
almost did a double take in surprise, as it looked
deceivingly natural.

The woman in question felt a tingle over her shoulder as
she saw an eye snaking up and down on her. "Excuse me, what
are you looking at?" she asked, a hint of disgust in her
voice.

"Ay, sorry." Ranma broke out of his fix and put a hand
behind his head. "I'm sorry, I was just looking at your hair
and couldn't help but wonder if that was real or fake. I
thought it was dyed, but man!"

"It's real," Kiyone said, growing suspicious. She
matched her eyes with his, a corner of her lip curling. His
eyes weren't the only unique feature, he was dashingly
handsome as well. "Sorry pal, but it's just kind of weird
that you were staring at me like that."

Ranma held up his hands. "Again I apologize, I was just
curious that's all." He got a look at her friend as well, a
tanned buxom blond with a big wavy and bouncy do. "But
that's real interesting, it's rare to see hair color like
this that's natural."

Kiyone shifted in her seat and raised a brow. "I don't
ever see Japanese men with blue eyes either, and I know
you're not wearing contacts," she said, eliciting a look of
surprise from Ranma. Some of her senses as an evolved
humanoid were far keener than the simpler humans on Earth.
"Your pigtail though," she said chuckling. "That's a
refreshing change from all these rad hairstyles that are
trendy around here."

Ranma grabbed his beer and swiveled his high chair to
face this woman, who was just barely sparking some playful
ire. "Hey, I've been used to this hair style for as long as
I've known," he replied, flicking his pigtail. "And if you
don't mind me asking, you girls look Asian but you don't
seem like you're from anywhere around here. Foreigners?"

Something from the corner of her eye caught Kiyone's
attention. "You could say something like that," she replied.

"Yeah, we're not from this world," Mihoshi piped in,
focusing her attention away from the menu.

Kiyone casually waved away her friend from Ranma, who
was looking confused. "She loves to mess around." She
grabbed something from her purse. "But you know, I have to
ask you something though..."

"What is it?" Ranma said, wondering what was on her
mind. His eyes were wide open when he saw her whip out a
large folding knife that flipped out the blade with the push
of a button.

Kiyone smirked. "You know, most people wouldn't have
noticed that tiny bulge at your waistline. It's hard to
recognize the outlines of a handgun concealed under
clothing." She flipped open her badge holder with police ID
attached. "Did you know guns are illegal in this country?"

Ranma breathed a feigned sigh of relief, holding in the
desire to laugh. "Wow! You are definitely an interesting one
aren't you! You're like the catch of the day," he said,
finally chuckling.

This actually amused the teal haired detective, as she
continued to smile. "What the hell are you laughing at? I'm
putting you under arrest", she said, her voice low and
casual so to not cause a ruckus in the restaurant. Mihoshi
was already standing behind her back, ready to back up her
friend and partner. Guns were exceedingly rare in this
country, but a weapon so well concealed couldn't have been
an airsoft model, especially in a holster. Such a situation
had to be held seriously by Kiyone, as she didn't like
weighing risks that poked away at her gut instinct.

"Well, I'll let you in on a little secret." He slowly
pulled out a leather wallet of his own and flipped it open
for the two policewomen. "I'm an NSA agent in the area who's
just having lunch in town. I'm no criminal, and you couldn't
take me in even if you wanted to anyway."

Mihoshi looked puzzled and Kiyone had her eyes bugging
out at the sight of the badge and ID. The memo that had been
given to Mihoshi DID say that there would be an armed NSA
agent in town, was it just Kiyone's luck that she found him
and tried to apprehend him on the same day?

"Sumimasen!" Kiyone blurted out, flustered. She put away
her knife and police ID back into her purse.

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Ranma assured. "I'm
just as surprised that you're a cop in this city, who'd have
thought? I'm amazed you could spot out something like that
even though I concealed it pretty well." Ranma was genuinely
impressed. He was looking down on his right hip, and his Sig
Sauer P226 was barely imprinting out on his polo tee.
Unbelievably sharp senses, he thought.

Kiyone's trained eye from years of GP service far
outclassed whatever the Japanese police instructed when it
came to weapons and duty concealment.

"I'm Ranma, by the way. Ranma Saotome."

Kiyone blinked. There was an open palm in front of her.
"I'm Kiyone Makibi," she said, grabbing his hand to shake
it.

Mihoshi stuck her hand across Kiyone's chest with a
bubbly smile. "I'm her friend, Mihoshi. Mihoshi Kuramitsu."

"Oh?" He shook her hand next. "Are you a cop too?"

"We're both detectives in the Okayama Police Department.
I'm a sergeant, she's actually my boss and lead detective as
a lieutenant."

Ranma whistled. "Wow! How old are you? You look way too
young to be a shot caller!"

"Look who's talking," Kiyone said, annoyed that she had
to mention that her airhead partner was her boss. "We
received a memo from the top brass saying a guy like you was
going to be around town. But I never would've guessed in a
million years a high ranking federal agent like yourself
would be so young."

"We're both 26 years old," Mihoshi replied to Ranma. She
wanted to join in on this interesting guest of theirs. "And
you're definitely not an old fart, I see," she said,
winking.

That earned a blink from Ranma and an exasperated sigh
from Kiyone.

"Well," Ranma said, his eyes focused on Kiyone's.
"You're probably going to hate me for this, but I'm a year
younger than both of you."

She'd heard of academic and musical prodigies before,
but never a law enforcement prodigy. And Mihoshi didn't
count. "I guess we're just feeding each other one surprise
after another, huh?"

"I'm actually wondering how you knew about my presence
in this city? I was told my identity would be kept
confidential to only high-rankers?" he asked, raising a
brow.

Ick. "Well, Mihoshi is my CO and she's my friend and
all, so she kinda told me." She turned red at having to use
Mihoshi of all people as an excuse for getting out of a
tight spot. "We're not in trouble, are we?"

After holding a serious look on his face for a few
moments he finally huffed and leaned back in his chair,
shaking his head and grinning. "I'm not an asshole, I'm just
messing with you. You two seem nice enough, I'm not going to
rat you out and write a report over it."

Kiyone breathed a sigh of relief. "Our lips are sealed
from the other officers, I promise."

A waitress came to interrupt them. "Can I take your
orders or would you like some more time?"

"I'm ready," Ranma chirped.

"Me too!" Mihoshi said.

Kiyone was the only one who had been bantering back and
forth and hadn't even taken a look at the menu. "I'll just
have whatever she's having, thanks."

"Can I buy you two a drink? How about we start over,
hmm?"

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

"Four years and you call yourself a veteran? Getting a
little full of yourself, don't you think?"

Ranma tried his best to look offended. "I didn't exactly
sit around on my ass and do nothing. I swear, I was a busy
man!"

A little chit chat and a few beers later Kiyone had
loosened up enough to toy with this new acquaintance of
hers. So far the guy had been easy going enough to tell her
that he was an ex-cop from a different country. As far as he
knew, she was a born and bred career woman with a decorated
tour of duty.

And so it happened that a little bit of a pissing match
was ignited between two powerful egos.

"I bet you're real proud of yourself aren't you? You got
hired for a gig like this and you're a year younger than
me," Kiyone said, gulping her beer.

Ranma did the same with his mug, but sipped it to enjoy
the bitter hops. "You're a really funny gal, I just met you
and you're grilling me like I'm fresh meat. Although it's
funny how you say all that about me, yet your friend over
there is the same age as you and yet she's a lieutenant?"

Kiyone blinked and turned around to look at Mihoshi, who
had gladly accepted Ranma's earlier offer for a drink and
had taken quite a liberty to it. She was in the restaurant
arcade playing Marvel vs. Capcom 2 with a couple of young
kids. Her eyes were hazy and face slightly flushed from
being buzzed.

She too had taken the offer for a drink, but not as many
Mihoshi. Her tongue was caught short at Ranma's comment, as
it meant explaining her unlucky fortune in relation to
Mihoshi's fabulous luck.

Her hesitance and lack of reply was fully evident by the
smile that curled onto Ranma's face as he was having just as
much fun messing with her. His eyes definitely had their
fair share of exposure to incredibly beautiful women from
both sides of the Pacific. But this little catch was one of
those rare fish in the sea that had managed to give him some
attitude and a spar of wits with a delectable trace of
sauciness.

This woman wasn't just a pretty piece of ass. That
was far too crass for any man with the slightest trace of
dignity. She was breathtakingly fine.

The girl's mannerisms, subtle sexuality, and the cool
and collected air she gave off were just taunting Ranma
without him even consciously realizing it. The vibes she let
off had a subliminal message to them, and it tapped a part
of him that hadn't been disturbed in years. "Fat chance of
getting near this," it rang.

With the right combination of alcohol and competitive
spirit, Ranma was spitting his game without even knowing it.

"Mihoshi is one of those average people in life you
meet, and they're real friendly, goofy, and can't seem to do
anything right when you're just hanging around. But whenever
she's put to the test... somehow she screws up into
succeeding beyond your wildest dreams. That's all I can
really describe about her," Kiyone said lamely.

"But you're there to go along for the ride, ain't ya?"
Ranma said, looking at her from the corner of his eye. "You
sure make it sound like you got the raw end of the deal.
But, damn." He clicked his tongue. "You realize you're 26, a
fox, and you're a detective in a major city?"

"You trying to flatter me?" Kiyone fluttered, caught by
surprise.

Ranma completely ignored her. "So what do you do with
your partner slash boss, over there? It's early in the
afternoon and you guys are chillin' here at a bar?"

The slightly inebriated GP decided to humor him. "For an
EX-detective you sure are dense. Think about it, tough guy."
She gestured her arms in confusion "If you can't figure out
that it's obviously our day off, I don't know what to tell
you. Last time I checked we're detectives? You know, we
investigate for a living?"

Ranma seamlessly took the reply with rolled eyes and a
pensive face. "Sorry, I almost mistook you for a comedian.
That was the funniest thing I've ever heard without
laughing," he replied with a sardonic roll of the tongue. "I
was just trying to make some small talk."

Despite all her defensive puns and plays, Kiyone's
control betrayed her as she let a warm smile form ever so
subtly at the corners of her lips.

"Well, Saotome-san." Kiyone left a large bill covering
her and Mihoshi's expenses onto the tab. "Thank you ever so
much for the drinks and just such a lovely conversation,"
she finished out that last part with an equally biting tone
of sarcasm, albeit free of mischief. "I suspect we'll be
crossing paths in our line of work?"

"I suppose we might," Ranma said with a hand stuck out.
His words were carefully chosen to dance around with the
recipient.

Kiyone's smile didn't waver as she shook his hand, not
missing a beat. "I didn't think a bureaucrat like you would
be a fielder."

The past year or so of his affairs be damned, something
triggered inside of him. "Well then, how about I get your
number? We can keep each other up to date, yeah?"

"Oh, not a prob." Kiyone grabbed her wallet inside her
purse and pulled out a business card with her name and work
phone number.

Ranma saw the twinkle in her eye as he just realized
they'd both been playing off of each other and she had
managed to outmaneuver him. He reached out and wordless
grabbed the card. His left hand had been in his pocket ready
to pull out to get her cell or personal number.

"You can reach me in my office nine to five, on weekdays
and sometimes on weekends. Now if you'll excuse me." She
turned around gracefully and gave a wave. "Ja ne."

With the card in his hand all he could do was watch as
the teal haired bombshell he had just socialized with for
the past hour was walking away in front of him without even
a look back. He chuckled as he saw her grab Mihoshi
forcefully and yanked her away from the arcade console she
had been glued to.

He peered down to see the card in his hand. "Keep an eye
out on the Okayama Police Department and get to know how it
operates, huh?" Ranma said, remembering his orders from the
morning.

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

"I get to have him first."

It was seldom that Mihoshi managed to surprise Kiyone
without destroying something. "What was that?"

Mihoshi giggled, and played with steering wheel without
moving it. "I'm talking about Ranma. The NSA agent who came
in town. He is soooo cute!"

Kiyone didn't know why but her brow raised in reaction
and she felt speechless for a moment. "The guy buys you a
drink, you get a little hammered and you like him right
away?"

Of course Mihoshi had sobered up before getting into the
driver's seat of the car. The topic of Ranma was not brought
up once as the two resumed their shopping in the lower
floors of the mall to sober up before they hit the road.

"Well, I thought he'd be a stuffy old fart," the blond
replied nasally. "But wouldn't you know? He's pretty darn
handsome, don't you think Kiyone? And he's pretty cool too."

It wasn't the handsome part that again bogged her head,
but the last comment. "Yeah, he's a pretty cool guy from
what I saw," she said.

And it wasn't often that men fazed Kiyone's focused mind
and their sweet talking cut through her dense fog of
bullshit resistance. But she knew at the end of that
pleasant encounter that there was some interest from the
pigtailed guy she met when he had slipped in a request for
her phone number. Playing the game as it was without even
consciously putting up the effort, she gave him something
else instead which was admittedly far above what most men
got from her.

Far from being a novice when it came to interaction with
the other sex, Kiyone had seen a fair amount of guys that
tried to shine their way into her personal realm. But this
was one of the few shooting stars that crossed her path that
gave her a little tease of the light show and she
unknowingly followed for some more.


Mihoshi really wasn't as dumb and clueless as she let on
and everyone assumed. "You know Kiyone, I haven't seen you
get along with another guy other than Tenchi in so long? And
you were talking about how you only meet so many dorky and
boring guys."

"So? He was a cop. And we were just having cop talk.
It's like talking to the guys at work."

"That wasn't what I saw," Mihoshi said, a gleam in her
left eye. "And besides, I still like Tenchi so much more."

"I'm glad, because-"

"GOTCHA Kiyone! Glad because I was joking about Saotome-
kun?"

Kiyone's face flushed red and she looked steamed. "I
don't know what you're talking about Mihoshi! Just keep your
eyes on the road!"

"Whoops!" Mihoshi quickly corrected the car back into
her lane, narrowly missing an oncoming car.

Kiyone's red hot visage was hidden under her teal hair,
and she was too flustered to care about almost crashing at
Mihoshi's hands. "Let's just drop it, Mihoshi. I'm not
sprung over him or anything."

That's what you say, but not what you think, Mihoshi
happily thought to herself. She turned on the radio and
started singing softly to a pop song that was playing on the
station.

It wasn't long before Kiyone sighed and joined her and
filled in on the harmonic vocals.

* * *

April 8th, 2001. 10:52 AM.
Miho-Kiyo Apartment, Unit 215 - Okayama, Japan.

The rumbling train tracks weren't exactly the most
welcoming wake up call in the world but it was a definite
reminder of home.

Home was a shabby second rate apartment on the second
floor of a small resident complex right on the outskirts of
town, conveniently close to the expressway interchange and a
short drive to the Masaki home in the mountains. Despite
outward appearances the inhabitants kept it clean (at least
one of them did) and cozy with all sorts of creature
comforts.

Kiyone had long debated whether to move out into a
better place, but the rent was stress free and it felt
comfortable living there. And comfort was something you only
found when you felt at home.

The duo spent their only guaranteed day off (as per
their department's standards for their supervisory
positions, short of an urgent situation) at their own slow
pace. Mihoshi oddly enough always woke up just a few minutes
before Kiyone on Sundays and prepared her usual orange mocha
frappachino in two large bowl sized espresso cups. She had
them ready on the table right as her partner rose out of her
slumber with the sweet aroma of zest and roasted coffee
beans wafting around her nose.

"Good morning, Mihoshi."

"Good morning, Kiyone!"

Kiyone grabbed the remote for the TV and flipped on the
big flat panel that was snugly fit against the wall of the
compact apartment. Still under the covers, she crawled
towards the table in the kitchen and reached for her cup of
coffee. Mihoshi wordlessly handed it to her without taking
her eyes off the celebrity tabloid she was immersed in as
Kiyone's hands reached just shy of the table.

She gratefully accepted the cup. "Mmm, I still don't
know how you get the flavor done just right," Kiyone purred
as she sipped the frothy drink with both her hands cradled
around the warm ceramic. Starbucks could learn a lesson as
her blend never got old. Kiyone flipped through the channels
until she settled on the Universal News Network, a special
hack fix accomplished by a satellite transmitter that
reached broadcasts outside of the solar system.

"Hey, do you want to go visit Tenchi today?"

Kiyone looked over, and shook her head. "You can go if
you want. I think I'm just going to relax today, maybe head
over to the station. You can take the car if you want."

"Aww, why do you want to go back to work?" Mihoshi
pouted.

"I'm not going to work, work. I just want to poke around
for a bit, see how our detectives are doing with their other
cases."

Mihoshi was above her, but the buck stopped there in
the Detectives Bureau. Kiyone had just as much authority in
looking after the officers below her and keeping track of
their case loads. It wasn't much of a surprise that Kiyone's
sense of responsibility went beyond her partner and spread
her efforts to those around her.

"I guess I'll go by myself then. Ryoko, Ayeka, and Washu
all said they were going to go on a night out with drinking
and karaoke! You sure you don't want to come?"

"You have work tomorrow morning and I know you're going
to be late, so don't overdo it," Kiyone nagged.

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

"Not exactly the Ritz," Ranma mused to himself.

He drove by the shabby apartment complex without
stopping and looked up the two personnel sheets he printed
out earlier in the morning. Kiyone Makibi and Mihoshi
Kuramitsu were two individuals with records cleaner than a
secret agent and a complete lack of history with their
associated social security numbers. If they were living
together he figured their combined salary would be more than
enough to afford a much nicer place to live than an old
remote apartment, but it wasn't surprising as some people
just liked to be thrifty.

But their spotless records were actually quite an
enigma, and all corresponding reference material for the
supposed transfer to Okayama from another obscure department
on the other side of the country suspiciously lacked
contacts and recommendations. Nonetheless everything was
official. Their appointment was completely done by pick and
application, and the Okayama PD apparently hired them with
no questions asked.

This kept getting better and better, Ranma thought. He
plotted a course on his navigation system back home and
decided to go around again on foot and with public
transportation. His vehicle of choice was a fun but
foolhardy one when it came to anything remotely covert.

When he got to his apartment he went in for a quick
change out of his sweats. He grabbed a black flat cap to
tuck his pigtail under and he tilted it just enough to shade
his eyes. He donned an almost nightshade navy blue Benetton
jacket with a white collared shirt underneath and a pair of
tan Dockers with a crisp white pair of K-Swiss tennies.
Satisfied with the way he looked in the mirror as he
strolled back out, he decided to give a secret visit to the
Okayama police station.

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

"I'll see you later Kiyone!"

"Bye," Kiyone replied as she closed the apartment door.

She gave her back a good stretch accompanied by a
mighty yawn as her teal tank top rose up to reveal her toned
abs.

Breakfast was a light affair for her, and she got
herself ready to go for a long jog all the way to the
station. Her GP required athletics didn't come for free, and
she always kept some of her wardrobe in her private office
for her convenience.

With a fanny pack at her waist and some thick
comfortable sweats, Kiyone locked the doors to her apartment
and started stretching her arms and hips as she made her way
down the stairs. The pack had just the bare essentials, her
phone, a combination wallet with police ID and badge holder,
keys, her GP laser yoyo, and her ubiquitous standard issue
GP pistol.

It was a lengthy run through vacant hills and some
various parks that she used to avoid the city traffic and
get some fresher air into her lungs, but this was quiet time
for herself without having anyone clinging to her. She did
this a few times a week when Mihoshi was just an absolute
pain to wake up, and left her the keys to the car as she
simply jogged to work and hitched a ride back home at the
end of the day.

She was greeted by the women at the front desk, who
formally saluted her and Mihoshi every day they walked
through the front doors. Kiyone was particularly admired by
her female subordinates for her stature in the detectives
bureau and for being level headed compared to the quirky
lieutenant. She cooled down to a walk to catch her breath by
the time she had reached the station so she wouldn't be
panting in front of everyone, and all the officers who
passed by recognized her right away by the orange bandanna
that was matted with sweat on her forehead. She casually
walked up the stairs to make way to her office to take some
fresh clothes to the locker room and showers.

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

It didn't quite occur to Ranma that in all the years he
had lived in Japan he had never ever seen the inside of a
Japanese police station before.

Sure, he had spent his entire childhood and a good
portion of his teens traveling with his father and taking
part in more than a few unscrupulous deeds but not once were
they caught and arrested for it.

The front desk women were friendly enough, typical
robotic drones who greeted him in the rather surprisingly
large lobby with the utmost sincerity and zeal. If the
uniforms weren't there it would have been difficult to
distinguish them from the same women who greeted you at most
department stores. Same synchronized voices, smiles, and
static bows.

In contrast to police stations in Los Angeles, this
station was kept very clean and looked downright hospitable
even. The rows of plastic seats and a few padded sofas in
the large lobby were occupied by several people there to
report their minor grievances and problems.

He relaxed himself in one of the corner chairs and
waited around just like everyone else so he wouldn't attract
any attention. He idly listened to what the locals had come
in to report and watched the pitter patter of the officers
moving through the lobby.

Most of the residents who came in were complaining of
minor problems of noisy kids or cars driving to fast on
certain neighborhood streets. In maybe an hour's worth of
time, the most serious complaint he heard was that of a shop
owner reporting shoplifters. Ho hum.

Even his thoroughly conditioned, cynical self had to
smile at this remarkable display of public servitude.
Despite sitting around the whole novelty of the everyday
things that were transpiring in front of him amused him
plenty. The officers of the Okayama PD were kind, prompt,
and completely professional. In contrast to an LAPD desk
jockey, where one found any excuse possible to avoid filling
out a minor report. This, even Ranma had been guilty of.

A few of the plain clothed men he'd seen in suits
interested him, as they seemed most likely to be
investigative officers in the building. Instead of following
them, he decided to go exploring on his own and calmly
slipped out of the lobby and into one of the many hallways
in the building unbeknownst to the lax patrol women at the
desk. There were free guided tours available in groups by
appointment at the front desk, but he didn't want to bother.

Each corridor was fairly wide with a lot of the large
rooms occupied by uniformed officers. The building was a
four story setup with a main open staircase in the middle
and two other narrow ones flanking both ends of every floor.
The first floor was mostly the lobby with situational rooms
for revolving patrols. It also housed a small interim jail
wing connected to a small visitor's ward. The second floor
was split between an indoor training dojo, the men and
women's locker rooms, and a very small indoor shooting
range. The third floor was the public cafeteria as well as a
system of large board and meeting rooms and media archives.
The top floor divided the personnel, with a traffic bureau,
detectives bureau, armory locker, and a Tokubetsu section.
The last one was simply a combination of small support
functions of the police that included search and rescue,
passive crisis negotiators, public relations, and other
factions that did not work independently like the traffic
and detectives bureau.

Ranma snooped around without hassle, as the trick to
being in an unfamiliar place was to act as familiar as
possible. Women who walked by carrying trays of tea or
motorbike cops who were passing him in the hallways gave no
notice to him as he seemed to confidently navigate his way
around everything and didn't give off telltale signs of
being a Curious George. He was an expert in blending his
presence anonymously even to the observant eye.

He didn't bother to stop in any one place to observe,
and merely walked by everything to just take a glimpse of
things to prevent being caught. The detectives bureau was on
the opposite side of the traffic bureau's, similar in size
but with a decent chunk separated for interrogation rooms.
He took a quick peek through the glass door as the blinds
covered everything else from the hallway. To his great
surprise there was only one person, Kiyone, walking around
in jeans and a white and yellow baby tee with a cordless
hair dryer blowing on her just washed, damp hair.

Ranma didn't stick around and quickly walked up to the
rooftop to escape the building. Using his martial arts
prowess he deftly leapt into a tall tree and jumped down the
branches gracefully out of anyone's view and landed on the
grassy ground without a sound and walked off the police
compound.

But his cursed fate, always having the last laugh on
him, decided to turn the sprinklers on just as he stepped
off the grass with just enough of a cold spray to the back
of his neck to transform him.

"......"

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

Kiyone stepped out the building with a breath of relief
and feeling wonderfully refreshed.

"You know, I could've sworn I saw a guy come in here
earlier wearing the exact same clothes."

"Yeah, I thought so too! And a cute girl like that would
never wear an outfit like that!"

"It looked so hideous for someone so pretty!"

Kiyone wondered what in the world the girls at the front
desk were gossiping about.

"Thank you ladies, I'm going to take off."

"Yes maam, have a nice day Sergeant Makibi!" the front
desk chirped in unison.

"I wonder why she walked into the bathroom after asking
us for a cup of hot water?" one of the girls continued in
the background.

Kiyone paid no attention and walked out into the nice
spring weather, in view of the many cherry trees blossoming
in early April. The nice thing about Earth was that it had
its share of beautiful natural phenomena.

"Fancy meeting you here."

"Huh?" Kiyone blinked and saw Ranma on the sidewalk
outside of the station gates.

"I've actually forgotten it's been maybe nine years
since the last time I saw cherry blossoms in the spring."

Kiyone smiled. "It's a bit of a surprise to see you
again. What you doing here?"

"I was just walking around, didn't realize this was the
police station," he lied. "I was admiring the sakura just
like you."

"Oh really?" Kiyone suspiciously eyed his hair and then
looked up and around.

"What are you doing?" Ranma asked.

She looked at him questionably. "Did it just rain or
something? Why is your hair all wet?"

"Ah," he glanced at her nervously. "I was just walking
by a park and one of the sprinklers went haywire and
splashed me."

"Oh, I see."

"What are you up to today, detective?"

Kiyone looked up with her hands behind her head. "Well,
I just stopped by the station to see what my subordinates
were up to. I was about to head home I guess."

"Would you like to take a walk with me then? I'm still
getting used to this city."

He gestured for her to come in front of him with an
obnoxious Cheshire grin and an assumptive attitude.

Kiyone's expression reflected the same amount of
attitude right back at him with understated derision.
"You're a big boy, I'm sure you can find your way around.
Have a nice day, Agent Saotome." Taking the bus to Tenchi's
seemed like a pretty good idea all of a sudden, she thought.

Ranma spent a good amount of time the rest of the day
wondering if he was a chump.

* * *

April 10th, 2001. 3:50 PM.
Apt No. 420, Senzai Haru Villa - Okayama, Japan.

"You're a fucking chump! There's no other way to put it
man."

Ranma grew increasingly exasperated with the phone.
"You're not exactly helping, Al."


"I'm just saying, man. And I'm not dissing you or
anything, but it took you a trip across the world to finally
get you chasing after women again. All that shit you talked
about being a has-been ladies man and this is the best you
can come up with?"

Ranma heard a rustle over the phone and heard a bop and
a series of grunts and punches over the line. "Hello?"

"Hey, Saotome. It's McClane. Don't mind what this son of
a bitch says."

"Thanks McClane, you know once you get him started..."

"I know, I know. He has a tornado of a mouth and you
just need to punch him to get him to shut the fuck up."

"Thanks."

"So how've you been?"

"Things are good here, glad you guys got my emails. The
agency treats me real well. I'm living like a king."

"That's good, Ranma. Real good. I'm not going to dig
through your personal life like this jerk has, but I
certainly hope whatever it is you're doing you're doing
well. You're a big boy, I'm sure you can find your way
around."

Ranma winced at an imaginary echo. "Yeah, thanks man."

"And I'll be damned if I don't get a hello too,
Saotome."

He recognized that thick as molasses Southern accent
immediately. "What's up Vince," Ranma said smiling.

"Why Saotome, you madcap! Well I do admit things
certainly haven't been as dandy without you around, but I
reckon you have your hands full on your side of the mill.
Make sure you play the right hand when it comes to women.
How's it feel bein' legal at home?"

"Oh, I'm sure it'll get interesting sooner or later. But
I'll enjoy the peace for now. I hear you might be promoted
to lieutenant by the end of the month, is that right?"

Ranma could almost hear him smirk on the other end.

"That's the rumor."

"Is it really okay for you guys to call me like this
when you're on a stakeout?" Ranma sighed.

"The taxpayer's dollar can go ever so far in the pursuit
of our amusement especially when we are protecting said
taxpayer 'round the clock."

Ranma heard the phone rustle again and could tell it was
McClane getting control of the car phone in the undercover
car they were packed in. He had to chuckle at the least with
Vince's crude comment. They had called him while on a
surveillance assignment in the dead of night, in an effort
to relieve their tedium.

"Never mind the Cavalier Pistoleer, Ranma. We've got a
vacation coming up in a few weeks, maybe a month. We were
wondering if we can visit you for a few days."

"Sure!" Ranma brightened up almost immediately. "You can
crash at my place if you want. You guys really want to blow
a grand for plane tickets?"

"Never been to Japan before, so why not? We're not even
going to stay there for a week."

"If you want, you're more than welcome." Ranma checked
the time. "Alright guys, I need to head out. I'll talk to
you guys later, I'll give you a heads up."

"Sure thing partner, take care."

Ranma tossed the cell phone onto the sofa and slid his
hands through his hair. He cleaned off the table of empty
bottles of sake and green Heinies along with trays of
takeout sushi. Grabbing the last beer he had left in the
fridge, he popped it with his thumb and blew away the
bottlenecked foam as he sat down to read the rest of his
files.

So this beautiful teal haired woman had managed to play
with him yet again, and it struck a buried chord in Ranma's
pride that hadn't been unearthed in years. Some things
changed, but some definitely stayed the same.

Further investigation into the pasts of the bubbly
Mihoshi and steely Kiyone confirmed some of his suspicions
and further conflicted with his instincts. His authority to
perform background checks at his bidding allowed him to
further entertain his immense curiosity with the two women.
A check with their former department had revealed official
and filed documents, but brief personnel interviews revealed
that no one ever heard of them or knew what he was talking
about. Ranma didn't push it and left them to be, and moved
on to study their current resumes.

Their reputation at the Okayama PD was stellar and
inspirational as they had managed to break the patriarchal
barrier of authority with their proven competence as police
women. Their reports, references, and collars all matched up
to what a real police jacket should look like instead of
being perfect shells.

This was where Ranma's instincts had a conflict of
interest with his logical train of thought. Common sense
told him that the facts didn't match up and the two women
fabricated their reports in a tour de force falsification of
monumental proportions. Such willful and carefully planted
backgrounds were not something to be taken lightly, and it
was not unreasonable to suspect that these women were moles
or saboteurs of ill motive. Assuming the worst was something
that got you in trouble, but assuming the best of something
was something that still got you in trouble and maybe get
you killed too.

His sixth sense however felt that such an exemplary
record was also just as troubling, as there was no sign of
bias in either detectives' track records in an impressive
six months worth of assignments. When an outsider handled
your jacket it was clear for anyone to see patterns in your
behavior and prejudice in your judgment. Ranma wasn't free
of this either, but he was guilty of no crime. Lieutenant
Hanna had been livid with him over his pre-SIS days in the
LAPD for covering up for crimes of certain Mexican gangs and
protecting valuable CIs at the expense of other
investigations. This was not an isolated thing, it was a
complex game of give and take played by many officers and
criminals alike.

Many, but not all officers of course, Ranma reminded
himself. He had been a deep undercover detective at times
and played in a heavily pipelined bureaucracy where
situations forced him to cover his own collars. A relatively
low profile city like Okayama and its close knit police
force didn't have to work through such complications because
they were so orderly and antiseptic in their operation. If
Kiyone or Mihoshi was working for a corporate raider, drug
tycoon, or syndication, their records certainly didn't show
any hint of it.

Ranma's mind was clouded with the image of damp teal
hair as he thought of his duty to continue following around
this beautifully intriguing woman.

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

With a change of clothes cleverly hidden using
rudimentary skills borrowed from an old friend, for once
Ranma thanked herself for at least attempting to learn
Mousse's seemingly ridiculous talent. In cursed form she at
least attempted to look the part without catching spry
comments of being a tomboy. She was pretty yes, and the
height was tough to hide. But in a sea of enough people
without any makeup and her hair covering her face it was
easy to just walk past with subtlety and get by without
attracting attention.

Dressed in neutral colors, Ranma followed Kiyone and
Mihoshi's car as it pulled out of the station. It wasn't
difficult at all to keep up, as traffic at this time had
surged so badly that movement was at a crawl. Before long
they pulled out into an alley and parallel parked in an open
spot along a bustling entertainment district.

She looked confused at they walked inside a karaoke bar.

Ranma scratched her head. "Maybe they were going inside
to meet a contact?"

Before she could follow them in a couple of young men
were in front of her blocking her way.

"Hey, beautiful. Would you like to have a drink with
us?"

"Or would you like to grab a bite to eat?"

"We'll show you a good time!"

Ranma put on her best behavior and gave them a shy
smile. "I'm sorry guys, I'm actually on my way to meet my
boyfriend. Sorry!"

The three miserably tried to mask the rejection on their
faces and politely stepped out of the way to let her on her
way without further hassle. Once she got inside, she told
the host that she was already waiting for another guy in one
of the rooms and he let her in without further question.

The rooms thankfully had a small oval glass opening in
the doors and Ranma found the duo in their rooms singing and
laughing. Odder yet, she thought. Were they waiting for
someone then?

Ranma peeked through the window without showing herself
and was surprised when someone bumped her from behind.

"Oh, I'm so sorry miss! Didn't mean to do that. Are you
alright?"

"I'm fine," she said, annoyed. She turned around and saw
a group of three guys and a couple of a girls with them.
They looked like college students.

"Hey, miss! If you don't mind would you like to join us?
We've got three guys and girls and could use one more."

"One per guy isn't enough-"

Before Ranma could protest the host and owner came
around to see why so many people were standing around. "Can
you folks please stop blocking the hallway?" He looked over
to Ranma. "Is this who you were waiting for, miss?"

Caught in her own trap, Ranma dejectedly nodded and the
group quickly made their way into a large room. This one had
a full glass door with a two way mirror showing a clear view
of the hall. At least she could keep an eye on either of the
detectives if they left or someone entered.

"What's your name by the way, babe?"

Ranma gave the guy a displeased look and smirked. "It's
Jennifer."

"Jeh-nee-fa?" one of the guys responded with his best
attempt at English. He was fixated on the tall beauty in
front of him as she was easily the best looking girl.

The girls were giggling at their new guest and one of
them picked up a mike to start off the karaoke.

"Would you like to have anything, Jennifer?" It was the
original guy who had asked her to join this shindig.
"Whiskey? Beer? Snacks?"

"A little early to be drinking and partying, don't you
think?" Ranma replied.

"Oh, that's why we're going to be going on all night!
And we have more reason to celebrate since a gorgeous gal
like you joined us!"

Ranma shrugged and sat in her spot, keeping an eye out
on the hallway. She just sat by and watched as the people in
front of her seemed to enjoy themselves and the guys weren't
overly obnoxious as they tried to goad her to sing along.
They were quite well behaved in fact, as none of them had
tried any cheesy pickup lines or flirted with her
physically.

A waitress walked in with a plate of assorted finger
foods and a couple of bottles of Kirin and a pint of Suntory
Whiskey.

Ranma grabbed the whiskey with interest. "What the heck
is this? You expect to feed us this cheap shit?"

"Well it gets you buzzed, and we've always drank that,"
one of the guys said, confused.

The other girls looked at Ranma curiously as they were
still college girls and didn't possess a fine taste for
spirits like an experienced drinker.

"Excuse me," Ranma said to the waitress before she left.
"Do you carry scotch?"

"Why yes, we do."

Ranma smiled coyly. "What do you have in stock?"

"Chivas Regal, Johnny Walker Black and Gold,
Ballentine's..."

"How much for a fifth of Chivas 18?"

"That'll be 20,000 yen, maam. And we offer the cheapest
prices in town."

The men balked as the other girls looked interested.
Ranma gave them a seductive wink and decided to have fun for
her troubles. "We'll take that, thank you."

As soon as the waitress scurried away the men did a
double take.

"20,000 yen! That's something our fathers would drink!"

"Well I've always been used to the finer things in
life," Ranma replied cutely. "If I want to get nice and
loose might as well drink with some class, no?"

The girls nodded in support as they took on prissy
fronts as the guys hesitated. One of them finally sighed.

"It's cool, I got more than enough. We're here to have
fun, right?"

"Lucky for us you're rich, Seita!"

"Well let's not waste anytime," Ranma said, already
pouring glasses of beer for everyone. "Kanpai!"

The time passed by rather quickly as beer glasses were
filled and emptied rather quickly with each progressing
song. Ranma relaxed a bit and had her attention focused on
her original targets, getting up every once in a while to go
to the bathroom as an excuse to check their window. They
seemed to be doing what she was pretending to be doing right
now; having fun singing and drinking at a karaoke bar.

Ranma indulged her new acquaintances just once by
singing an American song as she was drinking most of the
expensive scotch while cradling it in a glass on the rocks.
She enjoyed it a little more than she intended, as her hosts
were quite impressed by "Jennifer's" English talent.

"Well let's bust out something to make the night more
interesting," Seita said as he pulled out a metal tin onto
the glass table.

The guys sat down immediately and one of the girls was
singing a slow song to herself in the dim lit room. Ranma
looked on with hazy eyes in curiosity as he opened up the
container.

She almost held her breath as the one who had offered to
pay for this outing, Seita, used his credit card to scoop
out onto the table a pinch of coarse white powder and
proceeded to cut it up and grind it.

The other girls looked just as curious and were staring
with fascination at the stuff.

"Is that what I think it is?" Ranma cautiously asked.

"Yes it is. Pure 100 percent Columbian," he said
boastingly. He impatiently rolled up 1,000 yen bill and
snorted a line about the size of a coffee straw.

Everyone watched spellbound as he tilted his head back
and inhaled through his nostrils as hard as he could. Ranma
gulped as she saw him scratch his throat, a sign of the
forced massive drip from taking in a large bump from the get
go.

Ranma sat closer to the table and leaned over. "If
that's the real deal I guarantee you it's not pure
Columbian."

"And how would you know?" he shot back, apprehensively.
He had a little trouble getting the words out, as his
esophagus felt like it had shrunk to the size of a pea.

She smirked and took down what was left in her cup. "I
used to live in America for seven years, you don't think
I've tried coke before?"

The group was speechless at that, and she took a close
look at the tin with prying eyes. The color was a little too
white and dull and had definitely been cut heavily. It
didn't quite have the pearlescent off color white of pure
cocaine.

"You boys mind if I try a bump?" Ranma asked casually.

Seita was a rich boy with a penchant for being a bratty
rebel. Even as a delinquent it was kind of shocking to meet
a woman, especially one so beautiful, who was as daring as
this.

"Go ahead," he gulped.

Ranma swiped her index finger on one of the lines and
rubbed the top of her gums with it, running her tongue
against it to taste. The acrid and chalky texture was
immediately present, and it took a minute or so for her
mouth to start going numb. She didn't realize that everyone
had been staring at her.

"Let me ask you something, Seita." Ranma slipped in
between his friends and had an arm around his shoulders,
although it was more intimidating than intimate. "Is it just
me, or since when has blow been popular around here?"

Seita felt some carnal excitement at being wrapped
around her, and he was just peaking off his euphoric high.
"This hasn't even been around for a month! It's expensive,
but I got hooked up with this stuff along with some of my
friends. No one's ever been able to score coke before, it's
unheard of!"

"And how much do you pay for it?" she said, nodding in
interest.

"15,000 yen a gram, and I got like 100,000 yen's worth
right here!"

This time it was Ranma's turn to balk, prices like this
for street cocaine in America would be undercut to hell with
so many competing drug dealers. This discovery was quite
sobering. The others were already cutting lines for
themselves and the other girls were anxiously waiting their
turn.

"Pretty popular, huh? I remember all the rich kids in
America used to party with this," Ranma said coolly. "Is it
the same here?"

"Hell yeah! I wouldn't be surprised if this shit is
going off the hook right now."

"Where do you get it?"

Seita turned stiff and looked at her uneasily. "Why, you
into this stuff?"

Ranma treaded softly, but with resolution. Devil's
Dandruff was famous for making even the tightest of lips to
blabber out important things. "Let's assume I do get down,
and I'm just dyin' for it," she said in sultry whisper.

"Right here, downtown. There's this guy just a few years
older than us who just lurks around and never in the same
place twice and always disguises himself differently. You
have to look for him, but you flash some cash and some
interest and he'll get you. Doesn't like small fry, he only
accepts big orders."

"What's small and what's big?"

"He does eight balls for 60,000 yen and I bought 7 grams
for 105,000. He doesn't fuck around with poor ass
stragglers."

"Is that a fact?" she replied. Her eyes caught a flash
of blonde and teal hair walking past the door and out the
establishment's exit. She quickly stood up and walked to the
door. "Thanks for the fun, guys. Maybe I'll see you around.
Don't snort that shit all by yourself either unless you want
a third nostril."

"Hey wait!"

Ranma bolted into a separate corridor where the
bathrooms were and went into the men's restroom. She turned
on the faucet's hot water and quickly changed and splashed
some warm water on her face just as the bathroom door
slammed open.

"Hey man, did you see some girl run in here just now?"

Ranma shook his head apologetically. "I'm sorry, I'm the
only one in here."

Seita looked around as it was clearly a one person
bathroom. "Sorry about that."

"No problem," Ranma said, wiping his face with a paper
towel as he walked past him. He suppressed the urge to
pummel this kid to knock some sense into him before he
turned into a full blown coke head.

He quickly made his way out and got a puzzling look from
the bar owner as he was sure that man hadn't entered the
place. Ranma looked around and saw Kiyone and Mihoshi
talking next to the car, and subtly made his way over there.

Mihoshi leaned on the car with Kiyone facing her away
from the street. Her face lit up as she saw Ranma walking by
in front of them.

"Hey! Remember me!"

Ranma pretended to be surprised as he looked up. "Oh,
Lieutenant Kuramitsu! What a surprise meeting you here?"

"Ya~da! Please, call me Mihoshi!"

"And if it isn't Sergeant Makibi. Or may I call you
Kiyone?"

Kiyone turned around with a neutral look on her face and
then smirked. "You can call me Makibi-san or Sergeant Makibi
will do just fine, Agent Saotome."

"Well, you can just call me Ranma. Agent Saotome is a
bit too stuffy, and that ain't even the right title either.
It's Captain."

Kiyone's brow raised ever so slightly, impressed. "So,
you finding your way around town alright? Or do you still
need a tour guide?"

"Why yes I do, in fact. I'd like to know if there's a
good place to eat around here, would you two like to join
me?"

"Oh, that's awfully nice of you Ranma! But I got to go
and have some people to meet and bad guys to catch," Mihoshi
chirped, stepping away and pushing Kiyone towards Ranma.
"But Kiyone here is free, and she has absolutely nothing to
do tonight and no one else to go see or any other work to do
because I'm her boss and I took care of all that, you see?"

Ranma blinked as Kiyone heavily sweatdropped. She was
glaring at Mihoshi in earnest. She pulled her over to the
side before she can escape to the driver's seat.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Mihoshi!" she
hissed.

"I'm just going to leave you two lovebirds alone while
you go out! Don't fight it Kiyone, its not like guys are
dropping at your feet at your age you know. You should take
this as a good chance!"

"Like you're any younger!" Kiyone nearly yelped as
Mihoshi slipped her way inside the car and started it.

"Bye, bye!" Mihoshi drove away quickly almost hitting
several objects and people.

"Anou..."

Kiyone looked wide eyed at the dusty path Mihoshi left
behind and turned her head around to see Ranma standing
around looking befuddled.

"If you need a ride home I have a car."

"......"

"Buy you a drink?" Sweatdrop.

The relinquished GP looked at the ground and sighed.
"Sure, why not."

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

Kiyone was still in disbelief as she held the empty cup
in her hand.

"Did you really have to do that again? It's not fun
being wet all the time."

She munched on a piece of dried fish. "Sorry, this is
just too fun."

The evening had gone by without surprises and they got
along and exchanged small talk with usual conversation
topics like upbringing, education, and other assorted
things. However it didn't take long for cold water to find
Ranma while he was in the presence of Kiyone. At first he
tried to hide it with quick reaction and resourcefully
finding warm liquids from literally arm's reach. But since
dinner, the last person who accidentally spilled water on
him finally spilled the beans for Kiyone. His explanation of
the curse was curiously... easier, than most other people
accepted at first.

"This is why I always like asking for a pot of hot tea
with me wherever I am," Ranma said as she lifted it to her
head.

Kiyone watched once again in rapt fascination as a well
figured woman turned into a well figured man in an almost
surreal metamorphosis. The other patrons inside were
politely ignoring them as they just figured they were drunk
and seeing things.

"You're a man full of surprises," Kiyone said. She
finally gave him a smile. He ran his mouth a bit, but he
knew how to take a joke in stride.

"And you ain't? Your hair color looks like it came
straight out of an anime and if I didn't know any better I'd
say your ki is abnormal. It's like you're not human."

"What?" Kiyone almost choked. "What do you mean my ki is
different? What the hell does that mean?"

"I'm a serious martial artist too, I can pick up these
things. Your aural signature is nothing like I've ever felt
before. I didn't notice till too long ago since we ate."

"So I'm different, so what," Kiyone lamely replied. She
was quite taken aback, no one had ever told her she let out
a different "aural signature" from humans. It was like this
guy was able to pry into her, and she couldn't afford to let
just anyone know she was from a world far beyond his
comprehension.

"I guess. Maybe it's just me, it's not like I've
traveled the world or nothing. I guess foreigners are
different? After all you said you weren't exactly from
Japan."

"Yeah, that's right," she quickly replied.

That was about the best Ranma's logic could apply to
such a discovery. It wasn't like she was some demon or evil
entity. That much his sixth sense filtered out. And of
course surely she had to be human, it wasn't like she was an
alien from a different planet.

I hope he doesn't suspect I'm an alien, Kiyone nervously
thought to herself.

"I like this izakaya, by the way. The food's actually
really good, and the bar is four stars all the way. You come
here often?"

Kiyone nodded. "Mihoshi loves the finger foods here, and
I like the oden they make." She took a spoonful of the hot
oden broth. "Here, try some"

She lifted her spoon to her lips on blew on the hot soup
lightly, and held it in front of Ranma's nose. He gratefully
accepted, and smiled when she popped the spoon out of his
mouth.

"Mmm. Wow, that is good."

"Sou, ne?"

"I have to tell you there's so many things I've missed
out on since I lived in America for so long. I'd never find
oden that tastes this good in K-Town or Torrance."

"Of course not, it's not Japan. Why would they even have
it?"

Ranma swirled his beer in his cup before drinking it.
"Ah, but you see. Have you ever been there before?"

"Well, no," she admitted.

"Well I came from Southern California. And I'll tell
you, it's the biggest melting pot in the world right there.
Just about anything you want, you can find."

"You lived in Los Angeles, right?"

"Yeah, along Venice Beach."

"Lots of movie stars, fame, and fortune?" What she knew
of LA was what she heard from Mihoshi rambling on about
celebrities and such and the glamour of Hollywood.

"I had to look for the drugs, murder, and mayhem. The
city hides this cesspool under all the daily grind. But I'd
still live there."

"The universe is just like that," Kiyone replied. "Some
places are just overridden with crime. I'm glad Okayama is
reasonably nice. At least it's not a war zone."

"Do you specialize in anything, Makibi-san? Or do you
work on just about anything that's thrown your way?"

Ranma lifted a bottle of Asahi Super Dry to Kiyone's
empty glass.

Kiyone accepted the pour and brought a frothy glass to
her lips. "I do everything. Robbery, homicide, narcotics,
and vice. Anything too high profile, Mihoshi and I handle."

"So you do narco too?" he asked, getting a nod. "How's
that around here, big problem?"

"I'm sure you've done some research about it. The only
big ones are basically methamphetamines and E. You get the
occasional marijuana which is so poor in quality we don't
consider it too much a threat. And opium is so far
underground we can't track it or it's a catch that we get
once in a blue moon."

"A lot of meth addicts?"

Kiyone shook her head. "Oh, no. It's nowhere near as bad
as it is in the US. There's hardly any crystal meth here.
There are more processed forms for easier smuggling and
selling."

"How about cocaine?"

Kiyone chuckled as she enjoyed her drink. "I'm sure
there's some around in this country, but it's not like this
is South America either. I've never seen it or heard of it.
It's too rare."

Ranma wordlessly nodded and leaned back in his chair,
looking at the light on the ceiling. "Well," he said,
looking back to Kiyone straight in the eye. "I was just
around a couple of teenagers earlier who were bugging me
while I was in my cursed form. They were partying and one of
them brought out a tin of blow."

"Really?" Kiyone sat up straight, interested.

"That's the only nice thing about being a girl
sometimes. Guys become suckers for you," he said, earning a
wink and a mischievous grin from Kiyone. "I took a sample
and tasted it. It was the real thing."

"So did you run into some high ranking Yakuza boss' son?
Is that why you were asking about it earlier?"

"No, it wasn't anyone special. It was just some rich
college brat, and he told me it's been available for a
month, downtown. Says he would be surprised if it wasn't
taking off on the street scene."

"No way, you're shitting me."

"I shit you not, Detective. Maybe one of your guys have
heard about it at least or working on something?"

Kiyone sighed. "That may be, who knows. I'm guessing
like you said this must be pretty new around here."

"Or it could be some people are just keeping tabs on it
and making sure it doesn't spill out. Coke is big money,
more than enough to buy off a few heads from talking."

"Our bureau is clean, I'll tell you that right now.
They're all average middle aged men with families and I
personally oversee their duties."

"And how about you then?" Ranma asked frankly. "Are you
clean?"

"Of course I am." Her nose twitched in irritation. "I
haven't done a single dishonorable thing in my life as a
police officer."

"How'd you do in your old department? Standard rank and
file, patrol and control?"

"I did alright," she replied lamely. "I wanted to move
closer to my friends I guess."

"You got friends in Okayama?"

"Yeah, they live in the mountains about thirty minutes
away on the expressway. Real nice getaway."

"You must've done pretty damn well in your old post to
have moved up this young, huh?" Ranma was looking at her
straight in the eye.

Kiyone felt a chill running up her spine. "I do what I
can," she said casually. She thought desperately for a way
to change the subject.

"I see," he replied, nodding. He broke away his gaze and
drank what was left in his cup.

It wasn't that she was afraid of being suspected as a
corrupt cop, but she wasn't a completely honest one either.
The man in front of her, despite his appearance, probably
had the full power to investigate her employment and
possibly find a crack. She wasn't ready to give up her life
as a normal human on Earth.

"I'm going to order some more beer, do you mind?" She
smiled at Ranma.

He blinked and sniffled. Ranma wasn't the type to show
how drunk he was, but he was quite plastered as is. "Sure,
I'm down."

The izakaya owner promptly brought over a fresh bottle
and Kiyone eagerly poured two more glasses.

Kiyone watched with a smile as Ranma unreservedly downed
his glass. "Drink often?"

Ranma accepted a refill and clicked his glass with
Kiyone's before taking another sip. "I like to relax," he
replied simply.

"Fair enough," Kiyone acknowledged.

"Lot of stress," Ranma blurted.

"What was that?"

"My old job gave me a lot of stress. A shit load of it.
A drink in your hand and a Marlboro in the other made things
a lot easier to deal with at the end of the day."

"You smoke?" she asked, surprised.

"Quit," he said simply, putting his glass down. "Excuse
me, can I get a Johnny Walker Blue*, neat?" he motioned to
the izakaya bartender.

His second helping of scotch for the day, Ranma swirled
his chilled glass as he took it and sipped it lightly
enjoying the fragrance and the frosty contact on the tip of
his lips.

"That looks good," Kiyone said with a lick of her lips.
"Can I try some?"

Ranma handed the glass over as the teal haired detective
looked at it with misty eyes.

"It's so smooth," Kiyone purred. Even the texture and
aroma felt expensive in her mouth.

The corners of his lips curled, and Ranma felt himself
loosen up considerably at the presence of this beautiful
woman. "Another glass of Blue Label, please."

He took his glass back and handed Kiyone a fresh amber
double shot of smoky liquor in a frosted white glass of her
own.

Kiyone was taking a bow herself, she had been drinking
before with Mihoshi and it was well into round two with
Ranma. Her bloodstream was starting to concentrate with the
fruits of the evening as her sobriety rapidly took a dive.

But it was hardly often that she would get to drink such
a fine spirit.

"You like?"

"Mmm. It makes me feel like I'm alive."

"You never drink the Blue on the rocks, I think it kills
it. Always neat and straight."

"I'll remember that next time."

"Next time is it?"

Kiyone couldn't help but smile at the come on. "You know
what? You aren't the dipshit that I thought you were."

"Wow!" Ranma's eyes widened with surprise. "You saw me
like that from the get-go, huh?"

"Hey, you're the one who was acting too cool to be a cop
and you got that 'I kick ass at everything' confident shit
eating grin you carry around with you every time I bump into
you."

Ranma was taken aback and quite confused in his
intoxicated state.

"But I have to admit," she said as she got her face
close to his. "You're actually a pleasant guy to hang out
with. And as confident as you look, you don't look like
you're faking it either."

Her eyes were right below his as her chin was supported
on her arm leaning on the bar. She could smell the trail of
whiskey that emanated from her nose as she breathed.

"And I have to admit myself, you're one of the most
interesting people I've met in a long while," Ranma replied,
his lock on her eyes unwavering. "I swear you're like a fun
to solve puzzle."

"Fun to solve like a puzzle?" Kiyone chuckled at that.
"Do I come off like that to you?"

Ranma cooed with a Cheshire grin. "I'm no psychic,
but I think I've figured you out a little bit. Tell me if
I'm right or wrong."

Kiyone continued to rest her chin on her hand, and
her face was still inches away from his. "Go on, Captain.
I'd like to hear."

"I think you think you're hot shit," Ranma said
slowly. "I think you know other people think you're hot
shit. But like you said about me, I think we're kind of
alike."

Feeling slightly flustered at first, Kiyone quickly
became very interested in what he had to say.

"A girl with a fire burning inside like you, I don't
think you're faking it either. I knew within ten minutes of
meeting you you're a better cop than your friend and boss
is."

Kiyone's expression didn't change, again impressed by
this vibrant and younger personality in front of her.

Ranma continued. "I think you're so good at anything
and everything you do, you find yourself bored with guys who
are straight laced and as reliable as a light switch. They
either brag about garbage you couldn't give two shits about,
or they're just tools who try to satisfy your every whim."
He downed the rest of his scotch and looked back into her
eyes.

Without blinking and without breaking her composure,
Kiyone simply did the same and plowed down the rest of her
drink as well. "Not bad," she simply replied.

Wordlessly Ranma got his wallet out and dropped a
couple of bills on the table and stood to leave with Kiyone
following in tow.

The two didn't even hear the bar owner
enthusiastically thanking their patronage as they tried
their best not to stumble out to the street, both piss drunk
and rapidly declining still. The consistent and smooth sear
of Johnny Walker was still engulfing their throats as they
walked out into the now dark and neon lit night.

Kiyone sloppily swiveled on her heels and twirled her
finger around Ranma's collar, tip toeing to get into his
face. "You know, I take it back," she slurred. "You're still
a dipshit."

"Struck a nerve?" Ranma said, trying to balance on
his feet from a head rush of alcohol. "I bet you still make
the point to dump the guy first just to show you're the
boss, huh?"

"Now you're bein' a jackass!" she replied irritably.
"Think you're so fucking smart, huh?"

"I was just playin' fair since you're the one who
shared your thoughts about me first," he replied, also
slurring. His vision was muddled too.

The two stared at each other lividly, with Kiyone
forgetting her hand had been twirled around his collar and
was now resting flat on his chest. What had been a pissing
contest quickly and violently turned into something neither
could explain or perhaps wanted to, but their lips were
pressed against each other and tongues intertwined.

Both were secluded in private under dark shadow, and
they made out with a passionate drive that matched their
previous tenacity. Ranma was the first to stop as his tongue
was the last thing to come apart with a sloppy string of
saliva connected to hers as it dripped off.

Neither could believe what they had just done as they
seemed to come to their senses.

"I'm sorry-"

"I don't know what came over me-"

They stopped each other mid-sentence and stared at each
other silently.

"I think I drank too much," Ranma said, breaking the
ice.

"You got me there," Kiyone replied shyly.

For a moment, they saw each other like they were a
teenage couple who had just shared their first kiss.

Immense guilt hit Ranma's shoulders as he looked
apologetic, and seemed to sober up. "I apologize, Makibi-
san. I shouldn't have done that."

The words that wanted to come out automatically were
caught in her throat, as a small voice from her heart came
through stronger. "N-no. You don't have to apologize."

The awkward silence this time was deafening, although
the sound of their heartbeats were louder.

"The night was interesting enough, I think we should
both head home now," Ranma said somberly. His voice sounded
unsure and his own heart was panged with a remorse that had
no relevance to the girl in front of him.

Kiyone felt the same need to respectfully end the night
here, and nodded in agreement.

* * *

April 11th, 2001. 12:24 PM.
Detectives Bureau, Okayama Police Department - Okayama,
Japan.

Kiyone drew a deep breath and shot another rubber band
across the room hitting the closed door inside her office.
Her desk was clear of any paperwork and all administrative
duties had been taken care of with zealous and steadfast
concentration. She spent a decent chunk of the morning
perusing through current narcotics activities curious to see
if the rumors of cocaine being sold in town were true.

All the officers in the bureau were out on lunch and a
few unlucky ones busy out in the field. Mihoshi had ordered
takeout Chinese and was busy stuffing her face in her own
office. Although her partner offered to share as it was
customary of her to over order, this time Kiyone refused and
wanted to be left in solace.

Last night's sudden bit of ravenous affection was
playing on repeat in her mind. Being drunk was easy, she
simply came home in a stupor and passed out. The next day
had given her plenty of sober thinking ability to ponder
over what had happened. Mihoshi's constant nosy questions
weren't much help either.

And yet the same sentiments seemed to resonate. She had
enjoyed it, as messy and irresponsibly random as it was.

A loud beep from the intercom interrupted her reverie.
"Kiyone~! Are you sure you don't want any of this beef chow-
fan? It literally melts in your mouth."

"No thanks, Mihoshi. I'm not hungry." She clicked off
the transmit button of the conference phone.

"What's wrong, Kiyone? You haven't been yourself all
morning."

"There's nothing wrong," she lied. "You're just thinking
too much."

"I know there's something you're not telling me,"
Mihoshi chided. "Was it something with Saotome-san last
night? It is, isn't it?"

"Give it a rest, will 'ya Mihoshi? I just don't have an
appetite."

"You came home wasted last night and it wasn't even that
late, and you've barely said a thing since you woke up."

"I just had a few drinks and came home, and I was just
thinking of work all morning."

Mihoshi often wondered why in rare moments like this
Kiyone tended to be a terrible liar.

"Seriously, he seems like a nice guy and maybe the best
looking one I've seen either of us come across. Don't tell
me you blew him away."

Kiyone mashed the transmit button angrily. "You're
starting to piss me off now Mihoshi. I don't feel like
talking about it right now while we're at work! I didn't
blow him off, okay!? He wasn't being just another asshole!"

"Whew, glad I didn't at least score that title too."

A simultaneous "Huh?" emanated from the speakerphone and
Kiyone's lips as she looked up to see a familiar face and
ponytail peeking its head through the door.

"Err, did I come at a bad time? I didn't mean to
eavesdrop, but I assumed you were talking about me when you
were yelling at the phone when I opened the door."

The intercom from Mihoshi's side hastily clicked off and
Kiyone saw her curious eyes peek out from across the room
from her office.

"I'm sorry to surprise you like this, but mind if I come
in?"

Kiyone wordlessly nodded. Ranma stepped in and stood
behind the guest chairs that were in front of the desk.

"How did you get in? Nobody stopped and asked you who
you were when you walked through the personnel doors?"

Ranma shrugged his shoulders. "Honestly? I just
pretended like I owned the place and no one really figured I
was lost or out of place. Plus everyone's too busy with
their lunch break it seems to care."

"I see," she said warily, looking a little worried.

"Hmm. Yeah."

Kiyone felt like she was under scrutiny sitting at her
desk while he was just standing there.

"I wanted to talk to you about last night," he said
hesitantly. He took a seat in front of her, immediately
picking up that she had felt uncomfortable. "And the first
thing I want to say to you is I'm sorry."

"I-" she paused. Her eyes wavered and were slightly
embarrassed to meet his. "I was pretty wasted," she
chuckled.

"I think we were both pretty wasted," he chuckled as
well, trying to make light of the situation.

"What do you think it was that made us do that all of a
sudden?" she asked with a smile. "You and I were just going
at it with the insults."

Ranma paused and stared at her with an amused smile, a
strange sense of deja vu trickling in his mind. "Hey, at
least you're attractive. That much I can be thankful for."

"I could say the same thing," she replied sighing and
leaning back in her chair. "You're not the only guy I
randomly made out with that drunk, but I think you're the
best looking."

"Oh man," Ranma blurbed, unexpectedly blushing. "So
let's get past, ahem, last night, shall we?"

Kiyone felt a chill up her spine as this wave of relief
took the weight off her shoulders at the sight of Ranma
reddening. "Just don't let Mihoshi know, ok? Next thing you
know she'll be slipping roofies in our drinks."

Ranma laughed. "Alright." He pulled out some folded
sheets of paper out of his pocket and handed them to Kiyone.
"I need to ask you a question about this."

"And this is?" She took the folded sheets from his hand
and opened them up. "Oh, they're printed files."

When she saw whose files they were, she blanched.

"So I know I told you I'm not a rat. And like you said
over the phone just now I'm not an asshole either. So I'll
be fair."

The GP detective's eyes were going back and forth on the
summarized personnel sheets of her and Mihoshi and Ranma's
soft blue gaze.

"One of my duties as the local NSA agent is to oversee
the affairs of the police and also observe any unusual
activities from within. Now, that doesn't mean I'm internal
affairs, and I certainly don't wish to be either."

Kiyone nodded, albeit uncomfortably. The ambient mood in
the room had taken a drastic turn. She didn't know where he
was going with this.

"I knew there was something special about you from when
I first met you two. Especially you," he said, gesturing to
her. "I figured since I knew your names and you were the
first cops I met in town, I could look you guys up."

This made her frown. "Now don't you think that was kind
of a dick move? How do I know you weren't just swooping on
me to get some private info?"

Ranma didn't falter. "First of all, I have every
authority and right to do so."

The annoyed frown on Kiyone's face was replaced with a
skeptical one.

"Second, c'mon Sergeant. You have to give yourself a
little more credit. Honestly, even if I'd stalked your
private details like some loser would you have hung out with
me if I was acting like someone other than myself? Sorry, I
see you as anything but easy. And don't take that the wrong
way. It's just my way of saying I have some deep respect for
you."

Kiyone was not one for petty one-ups, and she took his
words seriously. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to sound like I
was accusing you, but I feel like you're accusing me right
now over my job history."

Knowing he was on thin ice over a delicate situation,
Ranma decided to tread thin. "I'm not accusing you over
anything, and I'm not here to ruin your life or even affect
your job. I'd like to be your friend, and not some heavy
handed Fed. But I just want to know the truth, because you
and I both know that something isn't completely right in
those files you're holding right now."

Again, Kiyone sighed. "The transfer was legitimate. I'm
not a fake cop or a corrupt one."

"I figured that much. No one could pull off a transfer
like yours unless you two were the real thing. And your
excellent records more than show you two aren't criminals."

"Thank you, I appreciate you seeing at least that much
of us," she said gratefully.

"But still, I'd like to know. It's my job to know. But
more because I think I would like us to be friends, I wish
to know. Where are you two from?"

By now Mihoshi had snuck up and was eavesdropping
through the door in plain view of Kiyone, and she too was
rapt with curiosity over what was going on in the room.

With an almost resigned looking smile, Kiyone finally
nodded. "This much is true. We really are foreigners, and we
really are out of town."

"Okay."

"What will you be doing this weekend?"

The question caught Ranma off guard. "Excuse me?"

"Do you have any plans for the weekend? I was wondering
if you'd like to join me over at my friend's mountain
retreat. It's a large temple and house by the lake in the
mountains."

"The getaway? You're inviting me?"

Kiyone nodded. "I'm asking you to hang out. And I
promise, I'll explain everything to you."

"So is that a date?" Ranma smiled.

"Bring another bottle of that expensive whiskey, and
maybe."

"Promises?"

"Hey Captain, I'm still an older woman. Alright? Don't
think it's that easy."

"Twelve months earlier and two ranks lower make you that
much more elusive, does it?"

Even Mihoshi cringed at the smug comeback, but Kiyone's
face lit up with amusement. Something about him was really
hard to hate. "Alright, alright. North on route 56 and exit
where it says Masaki Shrine and drive all the way to the
end. Saturday morning, nine AM. Sound good?"

"Sounds fantastic, Sergeant Makibi."

"You may call me Kiyone if you'd like," she replied with
a smug smile of her own.

Ranma stood up to leave. "By the way it would've been
easier to just eavesdrop with the intercom, Lieutenant," he
said loudly. He heard someone's head bang against the glass
window covered by shades. He gave a two fingered salute to
Kiyone as she snickered. "Ja ne."

He whistled nonchalantly as he passed by Mihoshi as she
was rubbing her head on the ground, pretending not to see
her. She quickly crawled into the office to her dazed
looking partner.

"What was that about!?"

"Hmm?" Kiyone replied sweetly.

Mihoshi was beaming. "You invited him over to Tenchi's!
Now I really want to know what happened between you two!"

"You didn't care about how he suspected us being fake or
corrupt cops, Mihoshi?"

"Oh, he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'd waste
time on stuff like that," she said, much to Kiyone's
exasperation. "But seriously, something must be going on
Kiyone. I may be dumb but I know well enough to know when
you like a guy."

"I got a little too drunk with him last night, and we
ended up making out."

Mihoshi squealed in delight. "And then? And then?"

"And then nothing. I was plastered out of my mind. He
came in to apologize about it, and I told him we're both
adults. It's fine."

"Wow. I am SOO jealous of you, Kiyone!"

Kiyone shrugged as the novelty of the whole thing had
worn off pretty quickly, and realized just for a moment that
Ranma was right. She wasn't easy, she was picky, and this
didn't happen to her often. "What happened, happened
Mihoshi. He's not bad at all. So yeah, I might give him a
chance, okay?"

"That's more than I'd ever thought I'd hear from you
again, Kiyone." Of course what Mihoshi didn't know was it
was literally a kiss bursting with sexual passion as her
partner had literally drooled all over Ranma and vice versa.

Kiyone blinked with a stiff look on her face, realizing
how long it had been herself. "You're telling me."

A grin crept onto Mihoshi's face as she tapped the desk
with her finger. "So you still not hungry? Because I have a
pile of fresh Chinese takeout in my office still. I could
use some help finishing it."

The solace of being left alone was sifting away quickly,
as Kiyone felt like herself again. "Sure, why not. I was
starting to feel a little hungry," she said with a smile.

<End of Chapter 2>

Disclaimer: Ranma is not owned by me, it is a copyright by
Viz, Rumiko Takahashi, the other big companies, so on and so
forth. Kiyone, Mihoshi and of course all references to
Tenchi belong to AIC and Pioneer.

Author's Ramble: Okay, so I've finally finished the second
half of my prose rewrite to the beginning of this story. It
took literally years, but wow the prose rewrites are done.
This chapter was written significantly faster than the first
one, as I had a very good idea of how I wanted to introduce
Kiyone in the fic with an intro she deserves, and not the
childish garbage I made years ago in the script version. I
think this addition will improve the depth of the story as
well as relations between our main heroes as this was
originally a short and sloppy 14 page work extended into 41.

First off, I have to admit that I absolutely love Kiyone. I
think she is up there as one of the most memorable goddesses
of anime history. There's just something about her that
makes her standout and the very fact that she was a cop and
her whole personality revolves as such inspired me to grind
out and create a story that effectively transformed Ranma
into a believable police officer (whether I accomplished
that or not, I'll let you readers decide.) so that I could
possibly pair them. Her character in Tenchi Universe was so
unappreciated and underrated that I couldn't help but wonder
how complicated a character she could be if prodded.

I took some liberties obviously, with certain details like
her status as a GP after the end of Tenchi Universe, her
privileged transfer as an Okayama detective, as well as some
other things. You see, since you never see Kiyone pining
after Tenchi like the other girls in the Tenchi series, I
had this idea stuck in my head that she'd be kind of a stuck
up elitist kind of girl who was super picky about the guys
she dated, or at the very least established high standards
without realizing it herself. She just seems like the kind
of hard to get girl you meet in a social setting who has
that rare quality of being super hot and sexy without
trailing a neon skank advertisement (although this is
debatable, and I won't disagree with some men who think all
girls who match those two descriptions are skanks. I
unfortunately understand). I was stuck for a looong time in
setting up and dialoguing Ranma and Kiyone's back and forth
banter and setting up the places and trying to establish a
competitively tense mood between the two. I dunno if that
made sense or not, but I hope you get the idea.

Mihoshi's character got a little boost too, and I thought
long ago it'd be hilarious to have her dumb luck continue on
to her new job. I could only imagine how easy going a
slacker like her would be as a supervisor, even if she gets
the job done.

And oh yeah, I did forget to mention. You're right,
PCHeintz, the search and rescue guy was a reference and
potshot towards Tokairin from YUA. I don't hate the guy, but
I always thought he was a pussy just for being Mr. Nice Guy
to every fucking person he meets in the series. Btw I have
no solid facts or scenes I can reference to support my
opinion, it's just something that was passin' me by.

As for other little notes, I honestly based bits and pieces
of the Okayama PD from what I know from watching You're
Under Arrest and from what I know about police here in the
US. It's not accurate by any means, but I think it'll do.
Apologies for my lack of research into this, as my resources
on the topic were kind of limited.

And here again we hear from Ranma's stateside friends,
McClane, Al, and Vince. A couple of Vince's lines were
SHAMELESSLY stolen verbatim from the movie Tombstone,
specifically Val Kilmer's Doc Holliday in which Vince
Thompson is based off of.

As for Mihoshi's perfect blend of orange mocha frappachino?
You can just say I've watched Zoolander a couple times too
many. I swear if I could find a way I'd someone insert
Mugatu into the story just to amuse myself.

Johnny Walker Blue Label is a pretty expensive scotch
whiskey that is sold in limited quantities for a bit hefty
but reasonable price of a couple hundred bucks if bought
from a store in America. It's probably the finest blended
scotch I can think of, and for those of you who've tried it
you know what I mean when I described it's flavor as in the
fic. Generally extremely expensive though when bought in
establishments, and I can only imagine how much it can be in
Japan (again an izakaya stocking a fucking 25+ year old
bottle of Johnny Blue is a liberty that I took). By the way,
like Ranma described, it's always taken neat and straight in
a chilled glass. You're a 100% grade-A fucking asshole if
you drink JW Blue on the rocks and dilute its flavor. That's
my opinion anyway.

Technical Notes: There's only really one technical note that
I can see needs to be explained for this chapter, and that
is on the cocaine.

Real, uncut Columbian cocaine doesn't like white, white.
It's like this weird, off colored white. It is by no means
powdery, and is actually kinda grainy and in clumps that
need to be cut up finely into lines like you see in movies.
Most people will never see what uncut virgin coke looks like
in their whole lives, I've actually only seen it once myself
as it was caught being smuggled through thick black plastic
and the Narcs who had busted it told me it was a rare uncut
delivery from South America. I've seen coke in general
plenty of times before, while and before I was a cop.

As for the guy who snorts the fat bump of coke and scratches
his throat? When you snort it rapidly and it just drips real
quick to the back of your throat, you get this feeling like
there's a sock stuck in your throat and it becomes super
numb along with the rest of your face. The sensation to
scratch and itch it is one of curiosity. And for female
Ranma tasting the coke by rubbing it on her gums and tongue?
You see this often in the movies when cops seem to dip their
fingers into what looks like bag of coke and they taste it,
or sometimes they rub it on their gums too. This is not to
see that it is simply not powdered sugar. Coke is a powerful
analgesic, and it makes any mucous contacted surfaces in
your body numb on contact. The feeling of being high is
almost impossible to accurately describe without trying it
yourself (and I of course suggest you DON'T find out), but
its centrally connected to you getting that numb feeling
spread from your sinuses to throat. Also, cocaine has this
super distinctive chemically taste, again impossible to
describe but also impossible to mistake.

How do I know all of this? Sigh. And NO, they don't let cops
take or smuggle hard drugs, or at least easily that I know
of.

Anyway that's the end of my notes right there. Again, I
apologize for how long it took to write this out, it's been
half a year already since I started this. The same excuses
apply, writer's block, personal time, busy time, lazy time,
you name it. And as much as I hate to say it, I'm very much
tempted to rewrite the third chapter as well, but more
likely I'm going to tweak it a bit to change some minor
discrepancies. More specifically times and dates of events.
I'm still not done with chapter 6 by the way, and I
apologize for that too. I couldn't bring myself to continue
with that even though it was near completion because this
rewrite business had been plaguing me and I felt I should
give it priority.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE SEND ME FEEDBACK!!! I write way
faster when people give me feedback! My e-mail is
SgtRanma@yahoo.com .

Visit my website at http://sgtranma.anifics.com for any
updates, as new material always shows up there first.

Finished February 18, 2007.