"AKANE!"  Ranma shouted, hand outstretched.  "Chikusho!"

Ranma and Ukyou, both wearing formal black kimonos, haoris, and
hakamas, dashed over rooftops in pursuit of a fleeing figure,
which looked only partially human.  The figure carried
a bound, unconscious Akane, dressed in a white kimono.

"A Fox Prince, huh?  How many princes does this make?"  Ukyou
spared a moment to wonder why this never happened to her.

**************************************************************
* A Spring Tale                                              *

* A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic                                         *
  21 September 1998 - by HK Miller
*   Jan/Feb 1999 - final third replotted; format conversion  *

*  Major characters copyright Rumiko Takahashi and licensees:*
   Shogakukan in Japan and Viz Communications in the USA.
*  No disrespect is intended by my unlicensed usage.         *

*  Lemon-scent warning; a few adult themes.                  *
   Coy insider reference warning; this fic's full of 'em.
**************************************************************

Ranma and Ukyou leapt from one roof to another, across a major
thoroughfare.

"If he's a fox, does that mean he can change shape 'n stuff,
to fool us?"

"Ranchan, he's heading for the train station!"

"Hurry!  If he makes the train and we don't, we'll never catch them!"

"Don't you know any distance techniques that won't harm Akane?"

Ranma gritted his teeth.  "NO!  ...Another technique I need to
learn someday..."

**************************************************************
  The seventh story in "Much Ado about Ranma", a continuation
* mini-series set after Volume 38 of the manga.  The earlier *
  stories were:  "Much Ado," "As You Like It,"
* "A Comedy of Errors," "Midsummer Days," "Midsummer Nights",*
  and "Measure for Measure."
*                                                            *
   All preceding stories posted at:
*        http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Dojo/5058.           *
   A summary of the previous stories follows this one.
**************************************************************

The fleeing figure, carrying Akane, made the station and boarded
a train, which began to depart.  Ranma grabbed Ukyou, lifting
her, and blurred, picking up speed.  Reaching the station roof,
he jumped fifty yards onto the top of the moving train.

"Now what, Ranchan?  We have to find them in the train!"

"I'll go forward, you start from the back.  Bend over the side
and look in the train windows.  Look for Akane, not the Fox, and
use the invisibility-counter technique."

"Gotcha!  Don't worry, Ranchan!  We'll get her back!"

Ranma did not reply.  Sweating and frantic, he raced to the
front of the train.

One-third of the way from the front of the train, Ranma spotted
an middle-aged woman sitting next to an old, helpless invalid.
"Concentrate...  Will myself to see...", Ranma muttered.
"Nothing! This ain't getting me nowhere.  But I've got to do
something!  I gotta get Akane back!"

Ranma and Ukyou met at the center of the moving train.  They
absently ducked two overhangs while planning their next move.

"Maybe they didn't really get on the train?"

"Maybe, but as long as we're here, we need to search the train
THOROUGHLY.  Let's disguise ourselves, and go in together from
the back of the train."

Ranma and Ukyou ran to the back of the train, swung down, and
entered the last car.  Seeing a pail of mopwater, Ranma doused
himself.

"Ranchan?  Why...?"

Ranma opened her kimono top, then vanished.  A voice came out
of thin air.  "I figure the Fox can see me while I'm invisible,
but might give himself away if he sees my bare chest.  He should
be the only passenger who can see me.  You're dressed as a guy;
unbind your hair and adjust your clothes so you look like a girl,
and maybe he won't recognize you as we pass through the train."

Ukyou, now looking like a woman dressed in formal male garb,
carefully walked through the train, back to front, apparently
unaccompanied.  She was about halfway to the front when one of a
pair of playing children suddenly looked up and gaped past her.

"MOUKO TAKABISHA!"

Hit in the middle of the chest, the girl child flew the length
of the train car.  The other playing child, a boy, although unhit
by the blast, flew through the air as well.  Ranma reappeared.

"That's them!  Focus the counter; I can see them clearly now!
Don't lose them!"

Ranma, still female and bare-chested, and in formal male
clothing, ran the length of the crowded train car after the two
children.  She cornered them at the front of the car before they
could escape to the next car forward.

"Alright, Fox!  You're cornered!  Drop the disguise and hand over
Akane!"

The girl child faced Ranma and frowned, then started to grow and
change shape.  The girl's face elongated into a pointed snout.
Whiskers and fur appeared.  The Fox's countenance grew dark.  The
boy child slumped, and seemed to drift through the air into the
Fox's arms.  Ropes and a gag appeared and solidified.

"Foolish Mortals!  Think you to stymie a Prince of the Foxes?"

"Well, yeah.  Why?  You think you can even slow Ranchan down in
hand-to-hand combat?"

The Fox Prince raised one arm.  His fingers suddenly developed
six-inch claws.  He swiped at Ranma.  Ranma blocked, then
delivered a punch, fist glowing, to the Fox's midsection.

The Fox Prince grunted, mouth open, and dropped Akane.  Ranma
scooped her up.  Ukyou confronted the Fox.  A glowing blue
battle spatula appeared in her hands.

"Uhhh... I'm not going to be able to eat for days..."
The Fox, looking green in the face, disappeared in a puff of
smoke.

"Well, I think that's that.  We'd best get back and finish your
wedding, Ranchan."

**************************************************************
*  Time:  Spring, immediately following Ranma, Akane, and    *
       Ukyou's graduation from Furikan High School.  Between
*      four and five months after 'Measure for Measure'.     *
**************************************************************

Fifteen minutes later, Ranma, Akane, and Ukyou ran into a Shinto
shrine through the torii, past a sign reading 'Bimbouna Shrine'.
The immediate Saotome and Tendo families, plus certain
self-appointed go-betweens, stood waiting.  Soun, Genma, Happosai,
and Chingensai, having persuaded the shrine maiden to part with
some sake early, were drinking.  Genma and Soun exchanged cups.

"Tendo-kun, our families are united at last!"

"Right you are, Saotome-kun!  Kampai!"

A Shinto priest, standing before the main altar, smoothed his
robe nervously.  "Now, where were we?"

"I think you finished imploring the kami for favor," Nabiki
stated.  "The oaths should be next, then the san-san-kudo and
the ring exchange."

"...Oh, yes..."  The priest fidgeted a bit, then gestured at
Ranma.  "You may read the oath."

Ranma unfolded a sheet of paper handed him by Nabiki.  Happosai,
however, bounded forward and grabbed the oath away from Ranma.
"I'm the go-between for this marriage!  I'll read the oath for
both of them!"

Chingensai elbowed Ranma and winked.  "Man in your position can't
be promising faithfulness, now, can he?"  Chingensai guffawed,
bent over, and slapped his knee.

"CHINGENSAI NO BAKA!"  Akane punched Chingensai skyward.

"...and she can't promise obedience, either..." came faintly
down from the sky, fading gradually away.

Akane fumed as Happosai read out the oaths.  "...and Ranma
promises to love Akane, even if he doesn't always say so...
Hmm, let's skip this... and Akane promises the same... and
both promise to uphold the traditions of the Musabetsu Kakutou
Ryuu and hand these traditions down to their children... Hmmm...
AND TO ALWAYS HONOR THE FOUNDER OF THE SCHOOL AND DO HIS
BIDDING..."  Happosai leered at Ranma and Akane.
"Hmm, unimportant... Let's skip this part too..."

"HAPPOSAI NO BAKA!"  Happosai followed Chingensai skyward.

Next Ranma and Akane knelt and exchanged sake cups.  Each took
three sips from each of three cups.

"Not much sake in these, is there," Ranma whispered.

"I think our Dads already drank it all..."

Finally Ranma and Akane approached the main shrine altar
holding twigs of Sakaki wood.  Ukyou stood a bit closer to the
two of them than was seemly.  Nodoka frowned.

"I still don't like doing this during the ceremony, Ranma!"
muttered Akane.

"No choice.  Most kami in one place we'll see for a while; huge
reserves of ki; auspicious date; even a supernatural visitor.
We gotta go for it."  He muttered back, then, just enough louder
for Ukyou to hear, "This is it.  Concentrate, then touch me,
both of you."

As Ranma and Akane offered the twigs, Ranma concentrated and
cupped his hands.  Ukyou and Akane laid their hands on each of
his arms.  Ranma started to glow, almost incandescent.  Something
luminous began to appear in Ranma's lower hand.

"YATTA!"

Just as Nodoka approached to reprimand them, Ukyou and Akane
broke contact and Ranma's glow vanished.  Ranma now held three
thumbnail-sized jewels.  One glowed with a polychromatic,
writhing radiance; the other two were dark.

"OWWW!  Would-you-guys-please-take-yours!"

Akane and Ukyou each grabbed one of the dark jewels, then even
more quickly tossed the ones they took at each other, both
exclaiming in pain.  Finally all three held gleaming jewels in
their cupped hands.  Ranma attached his to a chain around his
neck.  Akane and Ukyou attached theirs to bracelets they wore
underneath their sleeves.  Nodoka briefly looked suspicious
at this, then backed away, pulling Ukyou with her.  Nabiki raised
an eyebrow.

Off to one side, Genma and Soun continued to drink sake.  Each
had an arm around the other's shoulders, and both cried.
"Our famblies... ignited at last," they sobbed in unison.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Reception, in a public park, with the cherry blossoms at their
peak.  Konatsu and Reiko, in kimonos, served food and drink.
Many guests sat on blankets; other stood and mingled.  Ukyou
timeshared between helping her employees and chatting with guests.
Many of Ranma's and Akane's classmates and all of their teachers
were present, as were Sumizu and Jounsu.  Happosai and
Chingensai lay passed out on the grass, surrounded by dozens of
empty sake bottles.  Akane now wore a bright, multi-colored
garment in place of her white kimono.

"Oh, Akane, your uchikake is lovely!" said Yuka, giggling.

Sayuri added, "Where are you going on your honeymoon, Akane?"

Daisuke nudged Hiroshi and whispered, "2000 yen says Ukyou goes
along."

"We don't know yet.  Our boss told us not to make plans, that
he'd figure out how to send us somewhere for free."

Hiroshi whispered back, "No bet.  I agree."

Daisuke turned to Akane.  "Oh, you mean another mission for the
Typical Uninteresting Officeladies?  Live on TV again?"

"Akane, what happened during the ceremony?  Why the delay?"

Akane blushed.  "My fault.  Right in the middle of the ceremony,
the cutest little fox came running up to me, with this odd
crown-shaped marking on its head.  I bent down to pet it, and..."

Over a ways, Ranma and Ukyou chatted with Ryouga and Akari.

"From one prisoner to another," chortled Ryouga, "welcome
to captivity!"  Akari elbowed Ryouga, hard.

"It's really not that bad," Ryouga continued.  "Actually, I like
being married better than I thought I would."  Ryouga glanced over
and beamed at Akari.  "It's just what you need, Ranma."

"Some of your friends aren't here, are they?  Kunou-san...
Shampoo and Mousse..."  said Akari to Ukyou.

Ukyou grinned.  "I think Kodachi-chan gave her brother tomorrow's
date for the wedding.  I wish Shampoo had been able to make it,
though.  She's apparently still in China, with Mousse and
Cologne.  We haven't heard from her at all, and it's been
months.  We did invite Shampoo's father, though.  That's him over
there.  He hasn't heard from any of them, either."

"Is he handling the Nekohanten by himself?"

"He's quite a good chef, but he doesn't have much business
sense.  Nabiki-chan and I were over there the other day, looking
at their books.  He's running short of cash, and we're thinking
about buying in.  I was getting close to opening another
restaurant anyway."

Konatsu and Reiko brought out the wedding cake.  Hinako-sensei,
in her child form, hopped up and down exclaiming:  "ICE CREAM!
CAKE!"

A bit later, Ranma and Akane approached Kodachi and Fujiwara-
sensei.  The latter glared at the spot where Happosai and
Chingensai were sleeping it off and muttered something about
old reprobates.

"I'm still not happy we invited her," whispered Ranma.

"You're the one who insisted on inviting her sensei,"  Akane
snapped back.  "But I think she's changed a lot."

Ranma gave a perfunctory bow to Kodachi and a deep, respectful
one to Fujiwara-sensei.  "Sensei, thank you again.  I'll never
be able to repay you for the instruction you provided in how
to make these."  Ranma indicated his rensu.

Fujiwara-sensei chuckled dismissively.  "It was nothing.  It
is most impressive that your attempt succeeded, however.  Only
a few of my ancestors could have managed as much at your age."

Kodachi, dressed in a very elaborate kimono, waited patiently
for Fujiwara-sensei to finish.  She bowed to Ranma and Akane.
"Ranma-san, Akane-san, thank you very much for inviting me.
I hope we can be better friends in the future."  Ranma was
beginning to relax when Kodachi smiled seductively at him, then
glanced meaningfully towards Ukyou.  "VERY good friends."  Ranma
shuddered.  Akane glared.  Fujiwara shook her head sadly.

Towards the end of the reception, Sumizu came over to Akane.
"Your honeymoon is in Hong Kong, on us.  All you have to do is
pick up one small item and bring it back with you to Tokyo.
Ukyou-san is going with you, and we're even paying for a separate
room this time.  Your airline tickets, hotel information, and
directions to your pickup are all in the envelopes.  You'll have
most of a week to yourselves, as the pickup should only take an
hour at most."

Jounsu added, "The pickup should be quite simple, but we can't
stress enough that the item you are to obtain MUST make it back
to Japan."  In a low voice he added, "it's important to the
defense of Japan as we know it."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The next day, Jounsu and Sumizu met with their superior in the
latter's office.

"But boss, we TOLD you they didn't have any training!  You said
to use them anyway!  You said all of our experienced couriers
were busy!"

Their superior just sat at his desk with his hands on his head.
"I know!  I know!  But apparently word of the mission has leaked
out...  and without training, they'll probably act like spies in
movies or something..."

In her room at in the Tendo-ke, Nabiki sat with earphones
on, snickering.  "I can just see it... Ranma as some movie
superspy!  The leak can't be me... Wait."  She looked at her
receiver.  "This is the same frequency as last week!  Cheap
Russian bugging device; the random frequency shift broke!
Oops..."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A privately-owned island in the South China Sea.  A bald, Mao-
jacketed westerner, seated at a desk, petted a silky-looking
cat with a gloved hand.  The other hand held a phone to his
head.  Behind him, outside the sliding glass doors, several
hundred martial artists did synchronized katas in a number of
courtyards.

"Trainee agents?  Picking up THAT item in Hong Kong?"

Pause.

"Certainly.  Opportunities like this vun don't come along every
day!"

Pause.

"My men vill handle it.  The item vill not reach Japan."

The bald man hung up the phone.  A tall, thin, sinister-faced
man with no arms stood in front of the desk.

"You vill be in Hong Kong the day after tomorrow and intercept a
pickup at the following location..."

**************************************************************
*  Conventions:  telepathy is delimited  >  <                *
**************************************************************

Ranma sat between Akane and Ukyou in economy class interior
seats on a JAL 747 en route to Hong Kong.  Around them, families
tried to quiet crying babies and low-grade salarymen discussed
business and Hong Kong nightlife.  Ukyou read a Hong Kong
newspaper written in Cantonese.

"Gee, the situation in Qinghai is getting worse.  Those Musk
Dynasty guys raided a mine near some city named Golmud.  The
Chinese have declared martial law.  I hope Shampoo is okay."

Ranma was not really listening to Ukyou.  >I wonder if these
rensus have other properties besides the magic language abilities
and the identification.  Old Chingensai mentioned the latter,
and Fujiwara-sensei said something about not touching the girls'
rensus, but I didn't think it'd actually hurt to hold another
person's rensu like that.  Fujiwara-sensei wouldn't say much
about what they do, just stupid hints.<

"Did you just say something?"  Akane said.

"Not unless I was thinking out loud."

"Maybe you were, but don't talk about... those things... around
other people."

Ranma looked hurt, but kept his mouth firmly closed.  >Yeah,
right, like I need you to tell me that.  Uncute...<

Akane glared at Ranma and clonked him on the head.  "OWWW!
What was that for?"

"Don't think about me like that!  We're married now!"

Looking up from her newspaper, Ukyou quickly intervened.  "Hey,
you guys!  No need for that!  Ranchan, why did you say that about
Akane?"

"I didn't say nothing!  She's reading my mind!"

Around them, other passengers stared in dismay, surprise, or
displeasure.  Embarrassed, Ranma, Akane, and Ukyou looked around
and waved their hands, palm out, to show they don't mean it.

>I'm reading his mind?...  But it's true, Ranma didn't even open
his mouth...<

>SEE, I TOLD YA!  YOU ARE SO.. uncute... no she's not... Akane is
the cutest person I've ever seen in my life.<

>Oh!  I heard Ranchan think that!  He really does feel that way
about Akane.<

>Oh no!  Poor Ukyou!  Unless we can shut this off, she'll have to
listen to everything Ranma and I think about each other.  And
I don't want to hurt her, she's my friend.<

Ukyou started to take her rensu off, but Ranma stopped her.

>Ucchan, we can't learn to keep our thoughts private unless we
practice.  We gotta wear the rensus to practice.  ...You're such
a good companion; so much fun to be around...<

Ranma abruptly blushed.  >Oh, no, you heard that too...<

>Well, I can leave it on for the rest of the flight, but tonight
when you're in the honeymoon suite, I'M TAKING IT OFF!<

Akane just looked straight ahead, bemused.  >Yeah. I think I will
too when the shoe's reversed.<

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
That evening, in a hotel room in Hong Kong, Ukyou took her
leave of Ranma and Akane, kissing Ranma goodnight.

"Happy Honeymoon, Ranchan," Ukyou whispered.

Akane escorted Ukyou to the door.  "Ukyou, I... ummm..."
Akane blushed and looked at the floor.  "...if I were in your
place tonight, I know I'd be really tempted to try to use the
rensu to eavesdrop."

Ukyou turned white.  "Akane, I'd never..."

"It's okay if you do.  I could never resist if it were me."  Akane
hugged Ukyou.  "You can listen in to me tonight if you want."

Sometime past midnight, Ukyou, restless, tossed and turned in her
sleep.  Her rensu lay buried in her luggage.  In their own room,
Ranma and Akane were still awake and going at it, both wearing
their rensus.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The next morning, early, Akane tried to wake Ranma by shaking him.

"Baka!  You asked me to wake you early!"

Ranma snored on, twisting out of Akane's grasp and dodging her
punch.  Akane stood back from the bed and looked down at Ranma
impatiently, fists on her hips.  >Ranma!  Wake up!<

Ranma sat abruptly upright, hands to head.  "Ya didn't have to
think so loud, did ya?"

Akane smirked.  "Sorry.  What did you want to get up so early for,
anyway?"

Ranma turned enthusiastic.  "Oh, yeah, we gotta get outside.  I
wanna watch all the old people doin' Tai Chi in the streets, maybe
pick up somethin' new!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
At dawn, Ranma, Akane, and Ukyou walked through the streets
around their hotel, in the Causeway Bay area.  Ranma dashed to
and fro, closely inspecting every group of Chinese people doing
Tai Chi they came across, sometimes imitating a particular series
of movements.  Akane and Ukyou just strolled and chatted, watching
Ranma.

"Did being married make it feel any different with Ranchan?"

"A little.  The rensu made more of a difference.  I could actually
feel what he was feeling.  I could even look at myself through
Ranma's eyes.  He knew what I was feeling, too:  he was even
better with his hands than usual, and his timing..."  Akane sighed
happily.

Ukyou looked depressed.  "I don't know if that's good or bad.  You
know he doesn't love me as much as he loves you.  What if Ranchan
is really thinking about you when he's with me?  I won't be able
to fool myself otherwise."

"There was one point last night where I was so deep in his mind
that I was getting excited about my own naked body."  Akane
blushed, then giggled.  "That sounds Narcissistic.  Anyway,
Ukyou, I think you should try it with your rensu.  You may find
he loves you more than you think."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
At mid-morning, Ranma, Akane, and Ukyou were again walking
around on the street.  Akane grumbled, "what were all those
strange things at breakfast?  Do foreigners actually eat that
stuff?"

Ukyou suddenly pointed ahead.  "Akane!  Look!  A Daimaru
department store, just like home!"

Ranma rolled his eyes, but said nothing.

"Ranma, can we go in here for a bit?  I promise we won't be long!"

"Well, maybe if you guys practice with your rensus, it won't be
a total waste."  The three entered the store, Ranma without
enthusiasm.  "You've both noticed that you can read all the
street signs.  Have you looked at the individual kanji characters
to see how many of them you know?"

"I tried that, Ranchan.  Not many at all.  It feels weird to be
able to read the signs when I don't know the characters which make
up the signs.  Then I found I can read all the individual kanjis
as well, though I know I've never seen a lot of them before."

"Reading and listening are straightforward, but speaking and
writing are not; they can be tricky.  Unless you concentrate,
you'll find you're speaking either English or Cantonese to
practically everyone here.  If you WANT to speak Japanese to a
native, you'll find it's very difficult at first."

Akane, curious, asked, "Is that why you insisted on handling
check-in last night, and wouldn't let us speak to the hotel people?"

"Exactly!  The staff knew we're Japanese, so I figured somebody
might get suspicious if you both spoke fluent Cantonese to them.
I can manage Japanese since I practiced last fall with Cologne's
rensu.  The way we're dressed, though, everybody around us
probably thinks we're locals, so you can try anything.  Why don't
you guys practice by talking to that couple over there?"  Ranma
pointed to an arm-in-arm couple, a blond, big-nosed gaijin man
with an oriental woman.

Akane walked over and addressed herself to the pair.  She opened
her mouth, but nothing came out.  Oh!  They must have different
native languages.  I'd better focus on the wife.  ""

""

The husband looked annoyed as Ukyou walked up.

Ukyou, in fluent English with an American accent, said, "I take
it you don't speak Cantonese?"

"Only a bit.  It always annoys me when Lily does this.  Of course,
it's worse with her family; I always think they're talking about me."

Lily turned to Stuart.  "They usually are."

Akane said, "" and broke off.  She gritted her
teeth.  Her brow furrowed as she tried again.  "Thank you, I
mean,"  She managed, in English this time.  Akane and Ukyou
waved and walked back to Ranma.

"I see what you mean.  It's easy to speak to someone in their
native language, but hard to speak to someone in another language,
even if they know it well.  And there's something else weird:
I wanted to bow at the end, but didn't.  It's like the rensu
even translates my body language."

"I could understand everything perfectly regardless of language!
You were right, Ranchan; these'll be real useful."

"But we've graduated, so there's no more English tests for you to
cheat on!"  Akane smirked at Ranma.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The next day, in Hong Kong Park in the Central district, Ranma,
Akane, and Ukyou checked Ukyou's watch, then entered a giant wire
cage filled with birds and an elevated walkway.  Two children
wearing "Typical Uninteresting Officeladies" t-shirts gasped,
then pointed at Akane and Ukyou, tugging at their mothers.

>We're supposed ta be feeding the birds in the middle of this
aviary in five minutes.  Our contact will approach us then.  You
guys are getting this, right?<

>Ranchan, why pick such a weird place for our rendezvous?<

>Some kinda tradition about feeding birds in a public park when
you're exchanging secrets.<

A few minutes passed.  Finally a large gaijin man walked up and
stood beside Ranma on the walkway.  He wore battered tan
clothes, a hat, a bullwhip hanging from his belt, and needed a
shave.  He carried a nondescript box about six by eight inches
square at the base, and twelve high.

Carefully looking away from Ranma, the gaijin said, in English,
"The sun is shining."

Ranma started.  "But the ice is slippery."

The man turned to face the birds with his elbows on the railing.
Ranma moved to stand by his side.  The girls stood close by,
watching Ranma and the gaijin man mostly and occasionally glancing
around.

"It's in this box:  the statuette of Nurhachi, the seventeenth
century Manchu chief whose offspring founded the Manchu dynasty.
Legend says that possession of the statuette is a lucky omen."

Suddenly, a voice cut in:  "Then I'll take it!"

Ranma, Akane, Ukyou, and the gaijin all whirled around.  Behind
them stood a slender man with no arms, only sewn-up sleeves in
his shirt.

The gaijin snarled, "The Unarmed Man!"

The Unarmed Man took one step forward and the gaijin suddenly
collapsed.  With no visible means of support, the box containing
Nurhachi floated up out of the gaijin's hands and into a satchel
attached to the Unarmed Man's belt.  Ranma stepped forward.

""  Ranma, Ukyou, and Akane noted idly
that Ranma was now speaking Cantonese.

""

""

Ranma's fists became a blur as he launched hundreds of punches at
the Unarmed Man.  None landed.  What?  Feels almost like... hands
blocking my fists.  But he doesn't have any hands...

The Unarmed Man laughed gloatingly.  ""  He turned one shoulder
towards Ranma.

Ranma turned purple.  He gurgled faintly.  My heart?!

Akane's punch sent the Unarmed Man flying.  Ranma was down on
hands and knees, gasping.  Akane and Ukyou paused to check on
Ranma.

"Never mind me... Get after him!  Get the box!"  Ranma got out.

The Unarmed Man turned and ran, with the box.  Akane and Ukyou
chased him.  After taking a few more moments to recover, Ranma
got to his feet and followed.  In the distance, sirens approached.

Akane and Ukyou chased the Unarmed Man uphill, over the rooftops,
away from the harbor.  They leapt on and off the roof of a tram.

"He's heading for Victoria Peak!"  Akane pointed.

"If he thinks we can't jump uphill at least as fast as he can,
he's in for a surprise!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
In the mall atop Victoria Peak, Akane and Ukyou confronted the
Unarmed Man next to a boutique.

""

""

""  The Unarmed Man stopped speaking abruptly.  He
looked past the two girls, astonished.

Ranma trotted up.  "Oh good, you've got him.  "

The Unarmed Man still stared.  ""

Ranma impatiently thrust out his hand.  ""

""

""  Ranma shook his head.  My attack names
just don't sound the same in Cantonese.

Singed, the Unarmed Man flew through the glass wall of the
boutique.  Shaking his head to clear it, he picked himself up,
turned, and ran.  Ranma, Akane, and Ukyou gave chase.

Akane seethed.  That jerk called us tomboys!  I'll show him!

Ranma seethed.  Thinks I can't fight him?  I'll show that jerk
just who can beat whom!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Inside a police station in the Central district, Hong Kong Island,
a detective summarized a report.  ""

An older Chinese detective, stout, wearing a bowler hat and a
white suit, with a small mustache, replied.  ""

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A block in the Central district was cordoned off.  With a tall,
ultra-modern bank skyscraper in the background, movie cameras were
focused on a thirties-something movie star fighting two other men
atop a moving truck.  Just as the fight reached a climax, the
Unarmed Man leapt off a microphone boom onto the truck and knocked
all three actors flying.  Ranma, Akane, and Ukyou closely
followed, all descending from multi-story leaps.  Ranma fired a
one-hand Mouko Takabisha and missed.  Ukyou threw a blue glowing
hand spatula and clipped a few locks of the Unarmed Man's hair.
The hand spatula then disappeared.

The Unarmed Man paused in the middle of the set, jumping behind
the movie's star.  Still breathing hard, he shouted, ""

Alarmed, the movie director shouted, ""

Ranma, Akane, and Ukyou, breathing normally, stopped where they
stood.

""

>We need to separate the two of them or we can't do anything,<
Akane carefully thought to Ranma and Ukyou.

The cameras continued to film as the Unarmed Man slowly retreated
down the street.  The movie star sweated, nervous at being pulled
backwards without any visible contact.  Ranma, Akane, and Ukyou
spread out a bit, keeping pace.  The three neither spoke nor
looked at each other.

>Ucchan, keep moving away until we've got a large angle between
us, then distract him.  Gurgle and die or somethin'.<

>Thanks a lot, Ranchan!<  Ucchan mentally giggled.

Ranma moved left, building his ki up.

>Akane, I'm goin' ta use my new horizontal dragon blast.  You
dart in and grab Jackie as soon as they're separated.  Oh, and
see if you can get an autograph while you're at it.<

>Yeah, right, Ranma.  You want it, you get it.<

On cue, Ukyou let out a loud, gargling scream and collapsed.

The hostage actor winced.  What a ham!  I'd never get away with
acting like that!

But the Unarmed Man's attention was diverted long enough.  He
glanced away from Ranma, at Ukyou.

"HIRYUU SUIHEI TOPPUU!"

A narrow, horizontal tornado shot from Ranma's hands directly
at the Unarmed Man's chest.  Loose paper all over the street went
flying.  The Unarmed Man flew down the street, well away
from his hostage.  Ranma and Ukyou gave chase, followed by Akane
once she made sure the actor is safe.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
In Tokyo, Sumizu and Jounsu's superior was in his office,
speaking into a phone.

"What?!  Wanted for murder?  And you're SURE you spotted the
Unarmed Man?"

He drummed his fingers on his desk for a bit.  "Okay, keep close
tabs on this one.  Deny everything if Chinese Intelligence calls.
And refresh my memory on the Unarmed Man."

"Certainly, sir.  Mid-thirties, we believe.  Chinese, from
Guangdong province.  At the age of twenty-three, lost both arms
in an industrial accident..."

...a weary, cold, armless man made his way through the harsh
snows of the Tibetan plateau.  Reaching a monastery, he was
received by monks, fed and clothed.  The resident lama received
him and scrutinized the man closely.  "Ah!  A suitable candidate
for my experiment,"  the lama muttered to himself.  "I think we
can help you," he said in a normal tone.

...a dimly lit room, smoky from hundreds of yak-butter candles.
The high lama and a few other monks huddled around an operating
table.  "The first successful transplant from a real ghost to a
human being!  And nothing trivial:  whole arms!  We can make him
better, faster, stronger than before."

...gradual embitterment at continued lack of employment.
Discovery of new talents, leading to a profitable new career.

"He is believed to be able to feel and manipulate any object
within the range of normal arms, no matter what barrier might
be between him and the object, and to be able to exert enough
pressure to bend or break several inches of steel."

There was a pause on the phone.  "That's all we have, sir."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Unarmed Man ran through a crowded street in the Wanchai
area, Hong Kong Island, closely pursued by Ranma, Akane, and
Ukyou.  This street consisted mostly of restaurants and shops.
He passed the window of a bakery and stopped.  The window
shattered.  Pastries started to fly out of the window and down
the street at the three pursuers.

Ranma ducked a cream pie.  ""

Ukyou produced her glowing blue battle spatula and knocked several
pastries back at the Unarmed Man.  Several caught passers-by in
the face.

Akane ducked several pies.  Ranma will never stop laughing if I
get a pie in the face!  That jerk is going to PAY for this!  Ah!
He's out of pies!  Now's my chance!

Akane sprinted forward.  The Unarmed Man took a few steps back
and shattered the next window.  A can of green paint flew down
the street, hitting Akane and covering her in green.  Ranma
and Ukyou ducked the rest of the paint cans.

That JERK!  Now an iridescent, uniform green, Akane's face
contorted with fury.  Her battle aura is incandescent as she
shattered the pavement with her fist.  A shock wave traveled up
the street and knocked the Unarmed Man over.  Before Ranma and
Ukyou can close, however, the Unarmed Man grabbed a passing taxi
with one ghost arm.  He appeared to be lifted into the air and
dragged along in the taxi's wake.  Ranma, Akane, and Ukyou again
gave chase.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Inside a bedroom somewhere in Hong Kong, a beautiful Chinese
looking woman was in bed with a western-looking man, lean and
saturnine.  A chair by the bed contained both sets of clothes,
including shoulder holsters with handguns in them.  An audible
buzz came from the bedside table.

The woman picked up a cellphone.  ""  She
paused to listen.  ""  She turned to her
companion and smiled, switching to fluent, lightly accented
English.  "Come, James, we must go.  We strike tomorrow at dawn."

"Vacation over already?"  The man got up out of bed and picked up
an empty martini glass on a side table.  He looked at it
mournfully.  "You can't even get a shaken martini here.  They
always stir them."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
In a crowded souvenir shop by the Wanchai Ferry Pier, Ranma,
Akane, and Ukyou had the Unarmed Man cornered.  Behind them
tourists from all over the world continued to shop.

""

""

""  Akane snarled, hotly.  Ranma
winced.  >Spies don't tell everyone who they are!<

>Oh, like you'd say anything different!<

Tourists continued to shop, ignoring the exchange.  The shop was
filled with many a vase and jar, many a screen and fan, decorated
with figures in lively paint, in attitudes queer and quaint.

The Unarmed Man looked dubious, apparently unable to believe 
young people speaking such fluent Cantonese could actually be Japanese.

""

Dozens of souvenir chopsticks flew at Ranma, Akane, and Ukyou,
followed by folding screens, then full glass cabinets.  The
Unarmed Man darted out the back door.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Unarmed Man reached the dock just ahead of his three pursuers.
He jumped into a speedboat, cast off the line, and was zooming
away as Ranma, Akane, and Ukyou came running up.

Ranma jumped into the next speedboat tied up at the dock.

"Ranma!"  Akane screeched.  "What are you doing?"

"Hey, we gotta get that box back.  You heard Jounsu-san."

"That's stealing!  You can't just take the boat!"

Ukyou dashed over to a nearby sailor.  ""

""

Ukyou threw the sailor a wad of bills, grabbed Ranma and Akane by
the wrists, and jumped into the rowboat.  "I hope you can row at
Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken speed, Ranchan."

Ranma just grinned.  The rowboat peeled out of the dock, kicking
up a bigger wake than the Unarmed Man's speedboat did.

Once in the open water, the three gave chase, closing to within
a hundred yards.  However, a police boat, siren on, pulled up
behind the rowboat, with the stout Chinese detective standing
behind the pilot.  Trying to look wise, the detective raised
one finger into the air and said, in English, "Old Chinese
proverb say:  if fugitives from law chase others instead of
fleeing, wise man investigate further."

A police radio operator interrupted.  ""

As the occupants of the police speedboat, and Ranma, Akane, and
Ukyou all watched, a helicopter flew up and hovered over the
speedboat carrying the Unarmed Man.  The helicopter dropped a
rope ladder, up which the Unarmed Man raced.  The box containing
the statuette rose through the air beside him.

"He's getting away!  We'll never catch him now."  Ukyou moaned.

"Ranma, what'll we do about that police speedboat?  The radio
says they think we killed our contact!  The police'll arrest us!"
Akane started to cry, stricken with panic.  "What will Dad think?
Or Kasumi?"

"The only way to clear ourselves is to stay free and catch the
Unarmed Man!  And we gotta get that box back!"  Ranma grit his
teeth and rowed faster.  The rowboat kicked up a huge wake,
outdistancing the police boat, as it passed a sunken battleship
just sticking out of the water.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Inside the battleship, in a secret base hidden on the floor of
Hong Kong Harbour, Colonel Lu and James stood facing a small
elite strikeforce.  Both were dressed in black, tight-fitting
clothes.  Both wore handguns in shoulder holsters, the man's
a Walther PPK.

""  A
picture of the Bald Man with the cat appears on a screen behind
the pair.  ""

"

    Source: geocities.com/tokyo/dojo/5058