Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ The dragon amongst wolves ❯ Another piece of the puzzle ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter 6

Another piece of the puzzle.

AN: And the sh!t starts to hit the fan. Please review and tell us what you think.

The Continuation of the Continuing Flash Back that Continues to Continue

The group gasped at Bankotsu’s announcement.

“What do you mean?” Hajime demanded.

“From what I’ve heard, that school has no boundaries or limits.” Bankotsu explained. “They’re only objective is to hash out the strongest man alive or something to that ilk and they have no qualms about how they get there.”

“The strongest man alive?” Ikari scoffed. “Are they martial artists or body builders?”

“I would think a bit of both,” Jason guessed.

“Indeed,” Bankotsu agreed. “They have a policy of learning anything and everything and are not above using underhanded tricks to achieve their goals. Hell, from what I’ve heard on the gossip line, the last known head of the school had a tendency to throw cherry bombs at his opponents as he fled.”

“Real bombs?” Dr. Kurata gasped.

“Hell,” Ikari muttered. “That explains the severity and location of many of Ranma’s fractures if she was involved in that level of fighting.”

“Oh believe me, I wouldn’t call that fighting.”

“Remember people,” Shirou raised his voice over the murmured din. “This is all circumstantial and hearsay as to Ranma-chan’s upbringing. We won’t know any of the details until we hear from Ranma-chan herself.”

Hajime nodded solemnly while Jason stuck his tongue out at the stogy lawyer. Shirou frowned. “And if she truly were brought up in such an environment,” Hajime stated, “she probably is a fighter to the core and believes in what she has been taught.”

The others nodded and agreed to wait until Ranma woke to receive the full story. “What did you find of the children in your investigations?” Hajime asked.

“Well, I certainly wouldn’t call Ranma-chan a ‘child’.” Shirou warned them. “From what I can tell, she had to grow up really quick if she truly is the child of this Genma. As for Ranma-kun, it seems that he has not been seen in school for a few days. Around the time Ranma-chan appeared in your pool, Hajime-sama.”

“That isn’t surprising,” Jason mused. “If they found out that the girl is missing, they probably have a tight hold on the son just incase he should decide to do the same.”

“Indeed,” Shirou agreed. “While there are a slew of multiple offences against Genma Satome in regards to his son dating for many years, its not until an incident a year ago that Ranma-chan finally appeared in the works. During a incident in China, apparently. Before then, there is absolutely no trail for a female ‘Ranma Satome’ anywhere in any record. Genma only has one child registered as we surmised yesterday but some of the charges are for the public selling of his daughter Ranma.”

Hajime jerked upright. “What do you mean by ‘Selling’?” he demanded.

“No sign of forced prostitution,” Shirou assured quickly and Ikari confirmed that there was no sign of sexual abuse or anything else untoward.

“Well, that’s a relief.” Jason sighed.

“Then what’s the ‘selling’ all about?” Bankotsu asked.

“It seems that Genma Satome has made a habit of bartering his children’s hand in matrimony for trade of different odds and ends. Most of what the reports state that they’re for restaurant or food bills but the paperwork from China is so backlogged it could be something entirely different.”

“Now hold on,” Jason interrupted. “She’s married?” ha asked hitching a thumb towards the doors and the girl that was beyond them. “Do we have to worry about a husband suddenly showing up out of the wood work and dragging her out of here?”

“From what I can tell, none of the marriages were ever finalized.”

“Well that’s a relief.” Three pairs of eyes looked at the current head of the Hajime clan with sudden suspicion.

Hajime coughed to cover the unintended exclamation. “What of their mother?” he asked instead. “Surely she would know the whereabouts’ of her children.”

“Here’s the thing, Hajime-sama and the reason I drove down here instead of telling you my findings over the phone. Their mother is a Nodoka Genma, maiden name of the family Himura.”

“WHAT?” The screech was deafening.

Both doctors watched in shock as Hajime whirled around and started barking orders at Bankotsu who in turn shouted them down the line of his cell phone.

“Have the guard doubled! Who knows what they’ll try and do to get her back!” Hajime snapped. “I want everyone to be sharp and on alert. Also have Shijyo make his way to the other side of Nermia and have him keep an eye out on the Himura household. I want any and all activity there reported immediately! Also have Koushiro-”

“Friends of yours?” Dr. Ikari asked the only other two non-panicking people in the room sardonically.

“Let’s just say there’s a long history between the two,” Jason replied with a smirk.

The four watched in silence until the whirlwind of commands slowed to a halt and Hajime finally fell back into his chair. “Is everything alright?” Dr. Kurata asked.

“It’s as prepared as we can be in such short notice,” Hajime replied.

“Um, if I may ask,” Dr. Ikari began. She was suddenly pierced by four sharp, angry glares. “Um, never mind.”

“No, it is us who should apologise. It is just that the Himura and Hajime clans have been at odds for what seems as if it were the end of time. I do apologise.”

“Well, there’s no harm done,” Dr. Kurata gruff voice broke the tension the sudden flurry had caused.

“This still doesn’t explain what will happen to Ranma-chan or her brother once he’s found,” Jason tried to bring the topic back around.

“As to that, I would assume that the two would become wards of the state,” Shirou explained.

“Wards of the state? You mean like in an orphanage?” Bankotsu asked.

“Well Satome-san won’t be going anywhere for quite a while as it is,” Dr. Kurata broke in. “Her injuries require a great deal of recovery time.”

“Not to mention the fact that she still has a number of reconstructive surgeries to undergo,” Ikari added.

“There’s also the fact that I’m paying for her stay,” Hajime added. “Will that help?”

Shirou went over his documents. “It may help for the time being. If she is such a martial arts fanatic, she may feel indebted to our clan for helping her.”

Hajime bristled. “Well I didn’t mean it that way,” he insisted.

“What if Ranma-chan doesn’t want to go to an orphanage? Or anywhere else for that matter?” Bankotsu asked.

“It doesn’t mater is she does or doesn’t,” Shirou told him. “It will be the courts decision.”

“And if she goes back to her parents?” Hajime asked in dread.

“Kinda hard to go back to your parents when they’re in jail, ain’t it?” Jason drawled. Hajime frowned at him.

“Speaking of parents, what if they discover that she’s here and try to get her back before the paperwork is through.”

“They’ll have to get through me. We have jurisdiction over the health of our patients and we can have the Satome’s kicked off the premises if they try to take her.” Ikari stated with authority.

“For the moment, it is your insurance that is covering the medical costs, Hajime-san. So for the time being, we have placed your name under primal caregiver on the paperwork until something more concrete is decided upon.

“Well, I guess then we just have to wait for Ranma-chan to wake up.” The others were silent at Bankotsu’s words.

There was a sudden knock on the door and Dr. Hashimoto timidly poked his head round the doorframe. “Doctors, Satome-san has been successfully moved to the ICU.”

Ikari stood, “I should see to my patient. Gentleman,” she excused herself as she quit the room, asking Hashimoto a flurry of questions concerning Ranma-chan’s vitals and such.

“Perhaps we should head back now,” Bankotsu suggested as he moved to Hajime’s chair from where he had been leaning against the wall. “For one thing you can’t do anything more here.”

“He’s right,” Jason added. “And for another thing, we stink.”

Dr. Kurata chuckled. “Well I wasn’t going to say anything.”

“And I really should be returning to my office,” Shiro added.

“When can we visit her, Doctor?” Hajime asked.

“Well, normally we do not allow visitors save the immediate family into the ICU…” Hajime deflated at these words. “But I suppose we could make an exception.”

Nodding his thanks, the three left the hospital blinking at the sudden shift from dimming fluorescent lights into the bright sunshine.

“Well, we’ve had a hell of a start for the week? Haven’t we?” Jason chirped brightly.

It was all Hajime could do not to smack the man.