Insertion Reflux

	Part 4

	Things get sticky�

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

	Genma Saotome stood at the customs office at the port in China. His son
would probably try and catch a boat home, neglecting his training. He
didn't need such training any longer after all, so why should he suffer
when the boy wasn't learning anything? 

	"Do you have anything to claim?"

	"Thirty evil minions," said Genma. 

	The customs officer craned his head around the man's shoulder and saw
two rows of robed bald men with big dark hoods standing behind him. They
all glared forward ominously. 

	"Oh. Also an Ancient sword, I have the paperwork right here." The
minions had proved themselves quite useful when they obtained these
things for him. They weren't even forgeries. 

	"Say. Why didn't we use forgeries? You are evil minions after all."
Genma ignored the customs official as he looked at his minions for a
moment.

	The lead minion spoke up. "Master, evil is evil, our purpose and our
ways. It is, however, much more inexpensive to acquire proper
paperwork."

	"Oh. Good work then." 

	"Fill out these forms," grumbled the man as he hefted a large stack of
forms onto the countertop. 

	"Allow me master," said the evil minion as he took the pile and
scurried back to the others. All of it was dumped on the smallest evil
minion. He had glasses, incredibly squinted eyes, and large bucked
teeth. It truly was an evil sight to behold such an awful stereotype. 

	"Make sure to use a red pen," said Genma firmly. "These are business
forms right?"

	"Yes, Master. Most evil indeed," agreed his new personal lackey. Genma
kind of liked him. The others followed his orders, and he didn't have to
deal with them directly. As they were evil minions, they were quite
unpleasant.

+++++++++++++++++++

	A small suburb, somewhere in Southwestern China...

	"Wha?" said Ranma as he peered at something he'd not seen for a very
long time. "Paved roads!" 

	"Yeah. No way those crazy bitches will follow us into a city!" said Gai
cheerfully. Things were finally looking up for them. The place in front
of them was little more than a more modernized village.

	"I would not count on that," said Sesshoumaru. "They still chase us
even now, though we left them behind long ago. I can feel them moving
towards us, but it is faint and distant. At best, they are three days
behind us."

	"Are you kidding? They way they've hounded us?" snapped Faye. "These
women have connections."

	"How do you figure? They're hunting us aren't they?" muttered Ranma.
He'd never killed one, but a few had come dangerously close to meeting
the demon's powers a few times. Sesshoumaru had taken to surprising him
in the middle of a fight. He'd barely kept himself from taking out
several more since that time. It was growing less difficult to escape
them as well. 

	"They remain as strong as they are under the government I've seen here?
That tells me these humans have connections. It is a pity they are so
hostile. The might have been of some use to us. They seem to have been
useful to them in keeping track of our movement," commented Sesshoumaru.

	"I hate you, Fluffy," said Ranma.

	Small red dots of light began to light up the street all around them.
Ranma Saotome froze in place as he looked down at himself. "Oh shit."
They were all over his chest. 

	"Run!" screamed Gai as he dove for the ground and rolled. The place
where they had been standing was torn to shreds as leaves and foliage
was sent flying in every direction. They crawled to their feet and ran 

	"A trap?!" cried the boy as he bounded over a small chain link fence
and into someone's back yard. 

	He rushed out into the street by hopping the fence on the other side.
No one else was firing at him, and he started jumping across the
rooftops and further into the suburbs.

	"Where the hell are we?" asked Gai.

	"Somewhere in China. This is just a residential area," grumbled Faye.
Scores of tiny identical homes littered the landscape for a long way
into the distance. "We need to get out of here."

	"I'm all for that," agreed Gai. He jumped off the edge of the building
they were standing on and into the yard below. They had lost their tail.
The men lying in wait for them were all snipers set up around the edge
of the road.

	"Someone told them we were coming? Who though?" asked Faye.

	"Probably those Amazons. We have not seen them, but they have had
scouts following us rather closely. A pinpoint strike like this was not
surprising. I could sense them...but..." His voice sounded slightly off
for some reason no one but him could understand. "These were not women
though, male assassins."

	"You knew about this?" screamed Ranma at the top of his lungs. He
wasn't even bothering to notice that his body was climbing into a rather
ragged looking pickup truck. 

	"What the hell?" said Faye suddenly.

	Everyone's attention went to what they were doing. They were sitting in
the cab of someone's vehicle. It was parked in front of one of the
homes. It was nothing more than a very old and ragged pickup truck.
"What the hell is this?" Muttered Faye as her eyes searched around the
cab.

	"What are we looking for?" asked Gai suddenly. 

	"The ignition! I don't see a data input device or anything!"

	"I'm driving," said Gai as he calmly reached under the steering well
and pulled out a few cables. He calmly ripped two of them off and began
to twist the ends. After a moment he hit them together a few times and
the vehicle started immediately. He shifted and started chugging down
the road. "It's just really old, that's all."

	"Oh," said the woman dumbly. She paused for a moment. "You're serious
aren't you?"

	"Yup. We're way in the past, remember?" said Gai with a small shrug.
"Don't have much hope of finding anything really interesting. No giant
robots or nothing, I bet we can't even find a little robot." He sounded
somewhat wistful as he said this.

	"We don't need this crate," growled Sesshoumaru. "We need to become
stronger. Staying on foot would be much better for that."

	"You've never seen guns before have you?" asked Gai. "If you have, I'll
bet it was nothing like the things they have here. Some of them can fire
hundreds of rounds in only a few seconds. Bullets can kill from a lot
farther away now, and you don't have to load after each shot. We should
probably find some guns for ourselves actually." He was driving the
truck with an almost lazy familiarity. 

	"That's a good idea," agreed Faye.

	"Why? My magic will be more than enough," said Sesshoumaru coolly. 

	"I agree. I don't like the sound of a weapon like that," grumbled
Amelia.

	"We're being hunted. I agree with those two," said Ranma calmly.
"Martial arts isn't the way you fight these kind of people. I was taught
to avoid them if at all possible, strike quick and hard. You don't want
them to remember your face if you have to fight them."

	"That's good advice," said Faye. 

	"Pop told me that," replied the boy simply. 

	"You know kid, given infinite time, you could sit a monkey at a
typewriter and it would write the entire works of Shakespeare." 

	"What the hell does that mean?" asked Gai and Ranma at the same time.

	Faye sounded disgusted. "Even a complete ass can give good advice if he
constantly spews bad advice. Sooner or later he's got to screw it up
accidentally."

	"Pop tells me lots of useful stuff. I've gotten lost a couple of times,
and learning all that stuff made getting by a lot easier."

	"He is his father," grumbled Amelia. 

	"I suppose we're going to Japan anyway. We're gonna have to start some
kind of rules about clothing. Do you have any idea how loose this shirt
is? I'm bouncing all over the place here!" She frowned and adjusted the
mirror on the vehicle to see her face.

	"Cut that out! This thing is old and we need to watch the road. Even in
this time this thing is old," snapped Gai.

	"He is correct, there may be threats in our path. Even in this...thing,
we must be cautious. I do not think it will offer us much protection,
though it is fast. I am surprised at the progress we've made so far."

	"You call this fast? We're doing like ten kilometers an hour!" snorted
Gai distastefully. "This thing is a heap. We need to find a better car,
something we can outrun our problems with."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

	Three hours later...

	"Augh! You piece of junk!" screamed Faye as she forced them to kick the
broken down truck. They were in them middle of the city now. It wasn't a
very large city, just a little nowhere place in the middle of China.
There were several tall buildings, and a few large government complexes.
As it was, they were in the middle of the street in the middle of the
night. 

	There were a few cars parked about, but not many people on the streets.
In fact, they hadn't seen a soul since their arrival.

	"Can we just find a place to crash? I'm tired," grumbled Ranma.

	"So go to sleep," replied Faye calmly. "We can all sleep while you're
awake you know."

	"What?" he said dumbly.

	"Ranma. Didn't you notice that you'd wake up sometimes already walking
and miles away from where you were?" asked Amelia in confusion.

	"Huh? No, not really. Pop does that to me all the time."

	"Ranma. Your father isn't here," said Faye irritably.

	"Oh. Oh yeah," said the boy dumbly. 

	"Now what?" asked Gai. "I don't think I can fix this heap."

	"We start walkin again," replied Ranma. "We need to lay low for a
while. Let's find an out of the way place to crash. I don't want to get
stopped by the cops for bein out so late."

	"We will lose some of our lead," said Sesshoumaru.

	The area seemed somewhat seedy. Dark alleyways and a misty haze over
the street gave the place a sort of presence around them. Not that any
of them were all that impressed.

	"Wow. Scary," muttered Amelia.

	"Huh? Really?" asked Ranma in confusion. "Why?"

	"This isn't the best of neighborhoods, but I've handled worse kid,"
said Faye with a reassuring tone. 

	"I am not a kid! I'm just not used to this sort of thing," she replied
in a sharp tone that quickly drifted into embarrassment. 

	"Great. What the hell is that supposed to mean?" muttered Gai. They had
started down the street again and a small strip of bars lined the road
on either side of them. It was early enough that they were still open,
but probably not for too much longer. "Hey, can we..."

	"That's not a bad idea," agreed Faye. "Maybe we can sit down and think
about our little mess for a little while."

++++++++++++++++++++++

	No one said anything or even really noticed as Ranma stepped out of the
bathroom wiping his wet hair out of his eyes and back. He shook his head
a few times and put it back into place. There were still quite a few
patrons in the place. Mostly men, but there were a scattered few women
sitting around the room as well. 

	He looked around for a moment and walked up to the bar. "Whiskey, on
the rocks."

	The man stared at her and she produced a few bills and pointed to a
picture of what he wanted on the menu in front of him.

	"What's that?" asked Amelia. "Um. I'm not so sure about this..."

	"Relax kid, I'm sure most of us have done this before," said Gai
cheerfully. 

	"We are not getting drunk. We don't have a place to stay right now
remember?" grumbled Faye. "One drink, and then we have to leave."

	"You seem out of place," said a voice from beside them. A Chinese man
with slicked back hair walked up to him as he puffed on a cigarette.

	"I'm just passing through," he replied calmly. "Don't want no trouble."

	"I understand. Tell me, what business brings you to this remote place?"

	"As I said, I'm just passin through. I'm on my way back home, from a
long training trip."

	"Martial artist?" asked the man calmly. He noticed Ranma's eyes were
searching up and down his body carefully. "Got a name?"

"Gai, Daigojii Gai." The boy frowned at him as he studied him a bit
longer. "Did you want something?"

	"You speak our language very well," said the man calmly.

	"I didn't get your name?"

	"I didn't give it," he replied. "I find your story interesting Mr.
Daigojii. I've always been somewhat interested in your culture, so
similar, yet so different from our own. I'm wondering if you might be
interested in an offer I might make you? Should you choose to stay
around for a few days."

	"I'm afraid not. I'm in a bit of a hurry. I'm separated from my father.
The stupid trip was his idea. I'm leaving, right after I finish this."
He downed the glass, dropped a bill on the counter and turned away from
the bar. He walked outside and into the street and looked around the
area. 

	"It is a trap," said Sesshoumaru.

	"Thought so," grumbled Ranma.

	"The triads are after us?!" cried Faye. "Shit!"

	"Who the hell did you think shot at us before?" asked Gai. 

	"I dunno, amazon trained assassins working for the Triads maybe?"
replied the woman with a little fading hope still in her voice.

	"These are men, around twenty of them. Poised for a chase if the
marksmen fail to hit us."

	"Where are the marksmen?" asked Faye.

	"On the rooftop above us, we won't be in their line of sight until we
walk into the middle of the street. He turned them into an alleyway and
crashed their hand through the driver's side window of the black car
that was parked there. He calmly lifted the man inside at the wheel out
of the car by his throat and tossed him over his shoulder. "I trust you
can operate this?"

	Gai grinned as he took the wheel. "Wow. An air conditioner! Sweet!" He
turned the key in the ignition and backed out of the alleyway. Three
other cars were already pulling out of hiding after them. Five more men
on small motorcycles blasted out of the smaller alleys at top speed. 

	"Please," muttered Faye as she reached over to pop open the glove
compartment. "Oh wow! This is great! I think we stole that guy's car!
This one was probably waiting for him." Two forty-five millimeter
handguns and a shoulder harness for them fell out onto the seat. 

	"He wasn't there when we went into the bathroom," said Ranma. "They
must have spotted us going in."

	"Why would he know to talk to us then?" asked Faye. "We were a girl
when we walked in there."

	"As I said. Amazon connections, they will use the city's underworld to
hunt us, and the authorities will ignore it. If they happen to arrest
us..." Sesshoumaru was growing quite impressed with the methods these
humans hunted them. They were quite merciless. 

	"We'll be sitting ducks in jail," growled Faye. 

	Bullets started to hit the trunk of the vehicle and Gai squealed around
a corner. "Damn thing. It's automatic!" he growled. 

	"That's good right?" asked Faye.

	"Not in a car this old, no," he replied lamely. 

	"What is this thing anyway?" asked Faye. 

	"A Ford," said Ranma. "That's what the little blue circle said anyway.
Gaijin word I think."

	"Well it's not Chinese," said Faye flatly.

	"It's American," said Gai. "The guy invented cars."

	The glass in the back window shattered as two of the bikes pulled up on
either side of their vehicle.

	"How stupid are these jerks?" asked Gai as he simply swerved from side
to side and took them both out easily. 

	Faye grabbed the gun and started firing. 

	"What's this?" grumbled Sesshoumaru as he watched the front windshield
of the vehicle behind them crack as it spun out of control suddenly and
flipped over in the air a few times. It landed on top of one of the
other cars chasing them and both exploded in a huge ball of flames.

	"Wow! I can't believe I made that shot," gasped Faye.

	The men behind them were hanging from the windows with automatic rifles
in their hands. 

	"Where the hell are the police?!" cried Faye.

	"Are you insane? You want the cops to show up?" cried Ranma. 

	The flashing lights of a Chinese Police cruiser began behind them. Two
others just like them appeared moments later.

	"Shit," growled Gai. He started to slow down and pull over.

	"What the hell are you doing you asshole!?" cried almost everyone else.
Amelia left out the last part.  Faye jammed her foot into the gas as
hard as she could.  They squealed away once again, actually gaining a
few moments over the confused police. 

	The triad vehicles had turned away once the police had arrived, turning
off one at a time down different roads as soon as the lights had started
flashing. 

	The man from the bar was sitting in the front seat of the back car. He
narrowed his eyes and glared down the road the boy had taken as he
turned away. "I'll remember this." He puffed on his cigarette angrily
and focused on where he was going once again. 

	"Do something!" snapped Ranma as he tried playing with some of the
buttons. All he accomplished was turning on the radio. The song, 'I ran
so far away' by A Flock of Seagulls started blaring through the
speakers. 

	"Gah! Quit playing with things if you don't know what you're doing
kid!" snapped Faye. "You're gonna get us all killed!"

	Gai was nodding his head as he rolled down the windows. "This is so
awesome! It's just like that video game! Cruisin 1987! I used to love
that game! It had every car ever produced throughout the year! The
physics engine was awesome! They handled just like the real thing, I
used to live for it before I discovered my true destiny in Gekkiganger!"

	"Yeah. So you know what you're doing?"

	"Heh," Gai narrowed their eyes as he shifted the gears and slammed his
foot down on the gas. "Player one! Please insert coin!"

	"Oh shit," said Faye.

	"What?" asked Ranma and Amelia.

	"We seem to be in for a most interesting ride," commented Sesshoumaru.
"Judging by her reaction to that. I do hope we aren't damaged too badly.
Then again, a bit of time in prison might do us some good? I'm sure
we'll have plenty of fun killing their assassins while we grow stronger
in relative safety."	

	"I ain't goin to jail for no one!" cried Ranma as he focused his
attention on steering the vehicle. Anything he could help Gai do to keep
them alive and away from the cops.
	 
	"Wait a minute," grumbled Gai. He turned into the opposite side of the
road and into traffic, skillfully weaving back and fourth as he
navigated the panicked drivers in front of him skillfully. "That guy
said something about work?"

	Faye seemed to light up suddenly as she realized what he was talking
about. "He's right! If we're useful to them, then they won't kill us."

	"It's a trap stupid!" snapped Amelia. 

	"Yeah, it is," said Gai. 

	"Wait a minute, what the hell are you doing!?" cried Faye. 

	Their car swerved under the back end of a gigantic semi trailer. Sparks
flew off the top of the roof as it became slightly dented. The police
squealed to a halt on the other side of the braking vehicle as it
completely blocked off the off ramp he had just taken. "There. We need
to ditch this car," said Gai. He quickly turned off the main road and
into a back street. He turned into a large park and stopped the car in a
parking space near the edge. He quickly hopped out of the car and jerked
at the edges of his collar reflexively. "Come on. We need to get away
from here."

	"Do this sort of thing often?" asked Faye.

	"Never anything like this," said the man. "I've gotten into my fair
share of trouble though. It is required to have the dramatic back story
needed to become a pilot worthy of Gekkiganger itself!"

	"What?" muttered Faye. "Look. I have done this sort of thing before all
right? So why don't you curb the macho crap and let me do the thinking
all right?" She turned them around and reached into the back of the car
to pull out a long black coat from the back seat. She quickly put it on
and grumbled as she adjusted it so that the guns hanging off of their
shoulders were hidden from view. "Idiots."

	"Huh? Is it over?" muttered Ranma. "Are the headlights gone?"

	They were about to turn away when something thumped behind them. 

	"What was that?" asked Faye.

	"We don't want to know," muttered Ranma. 

	"What was that?" asked Amelia in confusion. They were looking back and
saw nothing but empty parking space and the park itself. No people were
anywhere to be seen. It was getting later, and he had little choice but
to guess where the noise was coming from.

	The sound happened again, this time their eyes turned to the source. It
was coming from the trunk. "No. No. No," muttered Ranma in horror.

	"We should go," said Faye with a slightly nervous sounding laugh. "We
don't have keys anyway. I can't pick a lock with anything we've got on
us either."

	"What do you mean?" asked Gai as he took over and walked over to the
driver's side door. He calmly popped the trunk with the lever under the
dashboard. "It's easy to open. See."

	Muffled sounding noises started in the trunk behind them. It sounded
like a person. They slowly turned towards the trunk and hung their heads
further and further as they grew closer. It was increasingly obvious
what was inside. 

	Why, a young and pretty Chinese girl of about sixteen years in age, of
course! She was dirty and tied up, with duct tape covering her mouth.
She stared up at them fearfully and shied away from them by backing
further into the trunk. They just stood there and looked at her.
 

	"I don't think that was a trap for us. It was some sort of pickup, and
we screwed it up," muttered Faye. "This is bad."

	"How bad? I mean, we saved her," said Amelia.

	"It depends on who she is," answered Faye. "If she's important, then we
might have started some kind of war. It's not all bad, because they had
snipers in place. It was probably a double cross."

	"It likely would have happened anyway," agreed Sesshoumaru. "We should
destroy her and leave the body. That will lessen the blow to us if she
is found dead. Only one of the parties will be offended. It was fairly
obvious she was meant to die with whoever was supposed to meet that
human."

	"No!" cried Amelia firmly. "She needs our help! Right Mr. Yamada?"

	"Gai. Damn it. Gai!" he snapped. "Otherwise you're right."

	Ranma wasn't happy to see her, but he wasn't about to leave her there
either. "This sucks. I hope she knows somewhere we can take her that's
not too far from here."

	The girl was around his age, and she didn't look very happy to see him
either.

	He reached down at her face and she tried to scream as she backed away.
He calmly ripped the tape off her face and glared at her. "Who the hell
are you?"

	The girl stared up at him in silence.

	"Please, tell me you speak Japanese?" muttered the strange boy
irritably.

	"A little," she muttered dumbly. "Who are you? Did my father send you?"

	"Who is your father?" he asked as his head hung down again. "Tell me
what he does also please. Don't lie either, don't forget where I found
you."

	"My father is Li Shao. He is the leader of the Golden Tigers..."

	"Triads, damn it," muttered the boy as he conked his head against the
open trunk. 

	"You do not have anything to do with this do you?" she asked him as a
sly looking smirk formed on her face. 

	"No. I've got a hit on me. I thought it was a trap," he grumbled
dejectedly. 

	"If you help me, my father will reward you," said the girl as her smile
grew wider. She grabbed his shoulders and looked deep into his eyes.

	"Could you stop that?" he muttered as he frowned at her. "Look.
Traveling with me is not a good idea. I've got a hit out on me."

	"If you take me back to Hong Kong, my father may be able to help you."

	"No," he said flatly. "Across town maybe, but Hong Kong?" He started
walking.

	"Wait! You can't leave me here! I'd never make it home before they
stopped me!"

	The boy's arm raised and she screamed as the weapon in his hand
reported. She slumped to the ground as blood sprayed through the air. 

	"Now you can make it home," he said simply as he put his weapon away. 

	The wound on her shoulder was little more than a very messy scratch,
but the bullet had lodged itself inside the trunk, and splattered the
entire interior with blood. She looked back at it in horrified shock as
blood flowed down her arm. 

	The boy tore pieces off of her skirt and wrapped them around the wound
firmly, making sure to clean the blood off her arm before too much could
drip onto the ground. He calmly closed the trunk lid and turned away
from her.

	"When the triads in this area find this car. They'll assume you died.
He opened he passenger side door and pulled out a pair of sunglasses
from the visor. He tossed them to her with a few bills folded between
the rims. "Buy a coat like this one first thing, and don't tell anyone
who you are until you're safe. By the time they figure out you're not
dead, you'll be home."

	He turned away from her and left her sitting on the pavement. 

	"But...but..." she muttered in horror.

	"Look. You'll be safer on your own than you will be with me. They're
hunting me too you know."

	The girl looked very frightened as she stared down at the glasses. She
paused for a moment. They were high mark bills, and she had more than
enough to make the trip relatively comfortably sitting in her palm.
Taking the bus would be unwise she'd have to hire a long distance taxi
instead. They were close to the city, but it would still be about a
two-hour drive though. She glanced up at him as he stood there staring
off into space a few yards away from her. Having cash made things
easier. She didn't have to give her real name, and could keep to herself
for the ride. Trying to bribe someone into taking her safely home in
this area with just her name would have been risky.

	"Are they?" asked Sesshoumaru coolly. "Amazon trained assassins maybe.
The triads are after us now regardless. We do not know which of these
Triads are hunting us. I've gathered this term is used for several
groups."

	"He's right. We don't know who is hunting us," agreed Faye.

	"If we help her, we can get back at them," pointed out Amelia. "I don't
like leaving her here. We should help her!"

	"That's a bad idea," said Ranma simply. "We need to leave China. It's
too dangerous here. We've got to get back to Japan."

	"I don't think you realize just how dangerous that will be," said
Sesshoumaru. "This is nothing to what we will face on an open sea."

	"So we'll go by air then," grumbled Gai.

	"The skies will not be any kinder to us. Yokai of this world seem to
remain hidden for some reason. If given sufficient reason, they will
emerge from hiding. We are sufficient reason."

	"We aren't taking her with us, that's final," snorted Faye. They turned
to see the girl had already vanished from the parking lot. "See?" She
paused. "How much did we give her anyway?"

	"Enough," said Ranma with a final sounding snort. "I couldn't just
abandon her ya know."

	"It took a week for us to make that much!" snapped Faye angrily. 

	"We got plenty," grumbled the boy.

	"The hell! I'm going shopping when we get back!" she snapped at him. 

	"That sounds nice!" agreed Amelia.

	"What!?" cried Gai. "No! Ranma! We can't escape!"

	"Escape what?" asked the boy dumbly.

	Gai gasped. He would have to be strong for the boy. "I cannot prepare
you for what we must face. You must be ready. You must not be afraid."

	"I ain't afraid of nuthin!" snapped the boy in retort.

	"Oooooh! You will be. You will be," replied Gai ominously. 

	"Cut it out you two," grumbled Faye.

	"What the heck did I do?" asked Ranma impatiently. "Jeez. I'm getting
yelled at for nuthin."

	They found themselves standing in the middle of the street with no idea
where they were. It was becoming a bit of a problem for them. "Hey. You
don't suppose that Hibiki kid..." said Gai dumbly. 

	"Where are we?" asked Ranma lamely. 

	"Oooh!" Faye felt a little weak kneed at what was sitting before her. 

	A polished red sports car was sitting in the parking lot of a
nightclub. The glare of the neon lights above the hole in the ground
club reflected off the surface of the vehicle. A lone bouncer stood at
the single tiny entrance to the building a good distance away.
Otherwise, the street was vacant.

	Gai was licking their lips as he stared at it.

	"Why are we looking at that thing like this?" asked Amelia in
confusion.

	"Hey Faye. I figure we've already done it once tonight."

	"I'm with you. This is more my style."

	"Hey! Where the heck are we going now?!" cried Ranma irritably as they
walked over to the shadows around the vehicle.

	"Damn. An alarm," she grumbled as she noticed the blinking light inside
the windshield. 

	"What are we doing?" asked Amelia innocently. 

	"We're going to steal this car," said Gai. "Might take a minute to
think around it though." He scratched their head as he peered into the
window.

	"No! Stealing is wrong! I won't allow this!" she cried. 

	"Hey. Fluffy, got any ideas?" asked Ranma.
	
	The demon seemed surprised at the inquiry. "I suppose we could try
using magic to get past this...alarm you speak of. What is it?"

	"It's security. If we hit the car too loud, it sounds a loud alarm.
Attracting lots of attention to us," said Gai. "I think we should leave
it for now."

	"We ain't doin this crap in Japan!" snapped Ranma angrily. 

	"Whatever. I do not see how this hunk of metal will make any sound. Is
there some sort of creature inside we need to destroy?" Sesshoumaru
seemed particularly interested in what might be hiding inside this
strange thing before him. 

	"Naw. It's just electronics stuff. Electricity."

	"That should pose no problem. Human control of such energy is extremely
limited, even in this time."

	"Sure. Tell me what to do!" Ranma was a healthy sixteen-year-old boy.
When faced with the might of such a vehicle, even he could not resist
the temptation. The vehicle before him was sleek, and well over the
hundred thousand dollar range. Not that he was aware of that, it just
looked fast.
	
	"Focus your attention on the device you wish to get past. I will do the
rest."

	"Okay," the boy stared down at the blinking light and focused on it.

	A few seconds later sparks began to shoot out of the alarm as the light
bulb shattered. 

	Gai smiled as Faye skillfully started picking the lock. "All too easy!"
she said as she opened the door and slid into the seat. "Hey! This is
real leather!"

	"Duh," grumbled Gai. "The ignition on this thing is a bit more
complicated..."

	"It should pose no problem," snorted Sesshoumaru. The vehicle started
as he and Ranma simply twisted the ignition without a key. "The device
is similar to that alarm. I only needed to overpower it, supplying
enough energy for this simple task poses no problems. I must simply
direct it to the correct points within this monstrosity. We do not need
this vehicle, where we are going, it could become a dangerous trap for
us."

	"Heh. You thought that truck was fast?" Gai revved the engine as he
pulled out of the parking lot at high speed. "Wait till you get a load
of this."

	"I don't like this! Stealing is wrong!" muttered Amelia uncomfortably.
"We'll be fine on..."

	The engine roared and the boy calmly shifted gears. "Ah. Manual
transmission." He shot into the air over a small hump in the road and
came down ten feet further down on the road. 

	"We need to find a place to stop and rest," grumbled Faye.

+++++++++++++++++++++

	Ranma sat alone in a small abandoned building. The car was parked
underneath a small overhang in the back of the building. The place was
boarded up and he'd be leaving early in the morning. They could stay up
as long as they wanted, but his body did need rest from time to time. 

	"We can only stay a few hours," grumbled Ranma. 

	"We have plenty of time then. Those weapons we obtained. Take them out.
I wish to take a look at them."

	The boy did as instructed and pulled out one of the guns. 

	"Both of them please," said the monster coolly. "I would like to check
something."

	"These weapons, are both of the same mold?" He switched the weapons in
his hands. The boy was surprised to find that it felt better to hold
them that way. 

	"They are mass produced. A certain amount of handwork goes into it, but
mostly they're just stamped parts made by machines."

	"Yes. These two weapons were made by the same hands, with the same
mold. It is enough to suit our purpose."

	"What's that?" asked Faye.

	"I think I know," said Amelia. She actually seemed pleased with the
idea. "If he's right, then we can put magic into them easy! I haven't
learned anything about doing it though. I'm not sure if it will work."

	"These weapons are nearly identical, the younger one, in our left hand,
is the perfect vessel for my power. The older weapon will take light
power more easily. Such weapons are very rare, for obvious reasons. They
are quite powerful though, and will give us an edge in battle."

	"Enough to go home?" asked Ranma hopefully.

	"Possibly. I do not yet know the answer to that question. I've got
something in mind for those projectiles of yours as well."

	"The bullets?" asked Gai.

	Amelia seemed somewhat pensive. "I don't know if I can do this."

	"You can trust me with this task. I shall need your power, and a
balance must be maintained. I cannot overpower the dark weapon or it
will be useless to us."

	The girl sighed. "I know he's not lying to us. I'm not sure what he's
going to do to them exactly either."

	Sesshoumaru placed both weapons on the floor in front of them and put
his hands over both of them. "I must concentrate. This is not an easy
task. Girl, give the boy some of your power, I will do the rest with his
help. You must pay attention boy. We must get this right the first
time."

	Ranma nodded firmly and they closed their eyes.

	A soft glow formed around each one on the floor. He could feel the
light against his skin. Slowly, writing began to engrave itself into the
framework of the weapons. One of the auras died down and actually began
to feel cold; the other seemed to grow warmer. 

	After about ten minutes Ranma opened his eyes and looked down at the
floor. The weapons had changed in appearance and now had runes covering
both of them. The metal of one had taken on a red tint, and the other
had become almost blue. He picked them up and stared at them for a
moment. 

	"I liked the old colors better," said Ranma. 

	"It is too late to do anything about it now," snorted the Demon. "I had
no particular preference, so I allowed the magic to do as it wished with
them."

	The boy sighed and put them both away. "Right. Are we done?"

	"No," said Amelia. She reached into their pocket and pulled out the
clips of the weapons and a pocketknife. "We need to carve some runes
into these little metal things."

	"They're called bullets," said Gai.

	"Whatever," said the girl irritably. "Fluffy has to do some, and I have
to do some. If I use certain symbols I can put spells into them. Kind of
like enchanting arrows. Nothing too fancy though. Mostly I can add an
elemental effect of some kind; fire and ice are the easiest two. It's
remedial magic to add runes to things though, so I can do it no
problem."

	"Fire and wind should be simple enough for me. I'll allow you to handle
the others," said the demon.

	"Oh. I'm not very good with water..." grumbled the girl.

	"Whatever, can we get this over with?" muttered Ranma. He started
plucking bullets out of the clips and placed them in two separate piles.
With a small sigh he picked up one of the positively charged bullets.
"We're alternating. I don't feel like writing the same thing over and
over." Ranma glared down at what he was doing a little harder. "Don't
cut us."

	"We will need to make more bullets with my runes on them," said
Sesshoumaru calmly.

	"What? No!" snapped Amelia angrily. "It has to be balanced!"

	"The weapons yes. However, I can overpower your magic in these,
bullets, as you call them. My spells will be much stronger. We will need
that strength. I have no intention to waste them on mere human filth. My
magic will be far more potent in dealing with other demons."

	Amelia made an unhappy sounding grunt and decided to pout about it. She
didn't try to argue with him any more though. "My life is over. I'm
nothing but a common criminal."

	"You didn't steal the car, we did," said Faye cheerfully. "Don't feel
bad. You couldn't have stopped both of us."

	"Yeah. Ranma helped too, so it was all three of us," agreed Gai.

	"Fluffy got us past the alarm, and he started it," pointed out Ranma.

	"Well I didn't want to give him any credit," grumbled Faye.

	"That's not the point!" snapped the girl irritably as she gave up.
She'd done her very best, that was all that really mattered at the
moment. She'd just have to keep trying to convince them that the path of
light really was the best path. 

	"Cut that out!" snapped Ranma as he shook himself out of a disgustingly
cute pout. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++

	Ranma frowned as he gripped the steering wheel of the sports car and
drove down an empty stretch of road. He was heading for the coast and
home. It had been almost three hours since his last stop, and nothing of
interest had occurred. 

	His fingers had several bandages on them as well.

	The road behind him was long and dark, and the moon was still hanging
in the night sky. Soon, the sun would rise on China again. He saw the
lights of Hong Kong in the near distance and smirked to himself. 

	"Civilization!" cried Faye in triumph. "Real civilization at last!" She
seemed very happy to see the city.

	Ranma was somewhat relieved to see it himself. 

	"Don't let it fool you, this is a dangerous place," said Sesshoumaru.
"We are still being hunted, and they can hide in the numbers as well as
we can. I would advise caution. There will be other dangers as well,
those women are not the only ones who hunt us."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

	Ranma Saotome walked through a set of rotating doors with a frown on
his face. He found himself standing in the lobby of an expensive looking
hotel.

	"We ain't spendin all our money!" snapped Ranma angrily. 

	"Oh please. Like we won't make more," said Faye as she strolled into a
hotel and leaned against the counter. She smiled at the man behind the
counter cheerfully. "I'd like a room please."

	"I need a bath," said Amelia impatiently. She was growing weary of
Ranma's whining about the stop. Even Lina Inverse, the world's greatest
cheapskate, would stop at an inn occasionally. She found herself feeling
slightly homesick as she remembered the time Lina had proudly displayed
the award she'd won at a meal once. It all seemed so long ago, and a
good night's sleep would do her a world of good anyway. 

	"I could use some sleep in a real bed myself," said Gai. 

	"All right fine," growled the boy irritably.

	None of this was noticed as Faye concentrated on keeping them collected
and calm. She accepted the key and placed the money on the counter.
"See. We've still got plenty left." 

++++++++++++++++++++

	Deep in the shadows, somewhere far beneath the city's darkest
underbelly...

	"He has come master," hissed the thing as it bowed deeply to the
creature sitting on the throne of fire and skulls in front of an endless
sea of flames. The creature had massive horns that rose high into the
cavernous interior of the inferno. Gigantic wings rested folded at its
back as it peered at the cowering demon before him. 

	"Destroy it."

	"As you wish," the monster cocked its head in a small bow and scurried
away quickly. 

	"This one could be annoying if not dealt with quickly. I sense he is
already very strong. Most unusual for one so young." The beast didn't
seem too concerned with its newfound problem. It would probably be dealt
with in a few short hours.

++++++++++++++++++++

	The streets of Hong Kong were teeming with life as lunch rolled around
in the city. Ranma Saotome stepped out of the hotel in a bright red
Hawaiian shirt. He had a pair of sunglasses on, and a pair of faded blue
jeans. He looked quite irate as he found himself surrounded by hundreds
of people. They hadn't let him leave the hotel until now. Sesshoumaru
was complaining as well, but the others ignored them and spent most of
the morning relaxing around the room.

	"I feel so stupid," grumbled the Japanese boy irritably.

	"We look good," said Gai irritably.

	"Definitely handsome," agreed Faye. The boy had actually been forced by
the girls to put gel in his hair that morning. Now it was slicked back
and neat looking. A short visit to the small shop in the lobby had
supplied them with their new wardrobe, and a few toiletries for cleaning
themselves up a bit.

	He still had the staff strapped across his back, and both handguns were
hidden in the back of his pants. He strolled towards the garage building
nearby where he had parked. A small screwdriver was shoved into his
pocket. He pulled it out and flipped it around his hand a few times
while whistling cheerfully. He walked to the back of his car and
switched license plates with the car next to him. "We should get to the
docks," commented Gai as he calmly opened the door. Sesshoumaru's power
easily bypassed the tumblers in the ignition switch and the vehicle came
to life. 

	"I am not certain that is wise. We are stronger, but strong enough to
face what waits for us out there?"

	"This had better not be a let down, Fluffy," grumbled Gai. "If we go
through all of this, and have a nice peaceful ride home..."

	"I assure you that will not happen," replied the demon calmly. "If we
venture out into the sea, we will be destroyed. I said only that we
would return to Japan. There are ways of doing that, and this place is a
good way to get started in finding such a way. Come, we have a lot of
work ahead of us, this will take a bit of time I imagine."

	"What?" muttered Ranma dumbly.

	"We will return to your home before the year is out," said the Demon
calmly. "There is much to do before then."

	"Like what?!" snapped Faye angrily. 

	"Staying alive long enough to find a way," replied the demon coolly. 

	They all stopped and glanced around. A ring of men in suits and ties
surrounded them. He had been about to shift the car into gear, but
turned off the engine as he glanced around at them. The window was open
and he popped his head out to speak with them. "What the heck do you
want?"

	"Li Shao, wishes to speak with you," said one of the men.

	"All right," replied the boy with a smirk forming on his face. He
opened the door and stepped out in front of them. They weren't acting
very hostile yet.

	"What?!" cried Ranma inside their mind. 

	"Are you crazy?" agreed Gai.

	"I don't think this is a very good idea," muttered Amelia. "I mean..."

	"We saved his daughter, he owes us." Faye pointed this fact out
quickly. 

	"She didn't seem to happy with us when she took off," grumbled Gai.

	"I see no problems for us. We are more than strong enough to escape if
need be," replied the demon calmly. "I imagine if the situation was dire
enough, you would allow me out for a moment or two. Wouldn't you?"

	The boy calmed considerably. "I guess you're right."

	"This way," said one of the men as he opened the door of the vehicle
that had just pulled up in front of them.

	The men all piled in around him. He could see they were all armed. 

	"You will have to give up your weapons when you meet him," said one of
the men.

	"Why? I'm just as deadly without them," replied the boy calmly. "I take
it Li Shao's daughter has returned safely?"

	The men all stared at him at once for a brief moment. They turned away
from him and stayed silent while they drove through the streets of Hong
Kong.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

	Ranma found himself standing in the middle of a rather nice looking
restaurant. He glanced around the room quickly as he walked in and
spotted three more guards besides the three that had brought him. All of
the men had pistols poorly hidden on them. They wanted him to know they
were there.

	A rather old man was sitting at the table. He looked far to old to be
the father of a girl that age. He was the man they were sent to speak
with though, they were certain of that much.

	"You helped my daughter. She told me of what happened."

	The boy sat down across from the man and glanced around the room. "I
did what I could. I'm in a bit of a mess, so it wasn't safe to bring her
myself."

	"I understand. Living with a mark like the one you've got isn't easy.
The Jade Dragons do not show mercy with any of their contracts. I am not
prepared to oppose them for your sake. Though I am grateful for your
help. It does not hurt that my daughter is now dead in the eyes of my
enemies. I could use that to my advantage."

	The boy simply nodded. 

	"I take it you want the bounty I posted?"

	"Bounty?" Faye was suddenly very interested in this man.

	"Five million American, to the man who got my daughter home safely to
me," replied the man simply. "You are a very talented man. Got a name?"
The man was eating and seemed to only be half interested in his
conversation.

	"Gai," replied the boy simply. 

	"Heh. Well, Gai, if your interested, I can offer you a bit of work.
I've got several contracts you might be interested in. We're always
looking for new blood."

	"I am not a mercenary," replied the boy simply.

	"Oh? What is it you do then?"

	Sesshoumaru cut off all the lies and stated it quite simply. "I hunt
demons."

	The man stopped eating and slowly looked up at the serious glare the
boy was giving him. "I see." He glanced around the room. Calmly taking
his napkin off his lap he wiped at his chin. "Everyone leave, now."

	The men all stared at the man in shock.

	"The Jade Dragon would not touch a hair on your head if that is the
truth. I think Mao Sheng will be most interested in knowing about this.
Those foolish women are overstepping their bounds. These are matters
that are far too dangerous for our kind to deal in. We skirt the line
between light and darkness far closer than most."

	The boy kept silent and simply watched the man. His surprised
underlings reluctantly obeyed his command. 

	"No one as serious as you would make such a claim if it wasn't true. If
you had wanted me dead, I would never have known you were coming at all.
I've seen eyes like those before."

	"What's going on?" asked Ranma to the panel.

	"Got me," muttered Gai in confusion. "I think this is good though."

	"I'm not so sure I like this. It's too complicated, and the Triads are
really deep into this. We shouldn't trust them this much," said Faye.

	"Maybe he really wants to help us?" asked Amelia nervously. The man
seemed more indifferent than anything else; he hadn't so much as arched
an eyebrow since Fluffy let the beans spill.

	"Fools. Families and organizations such as these are always involved
with the occult on some level. If you want to return home, we will need
the help of this city's underbelly."

	"I say we see what this is about," said the boy firmly. "Fluffy's been
real interested in keeping himself alive. Besides, like he said, we can
handle it."

	Ranma looked at the man evenly and nodded. "All right."

	"I'll be able to tell you more later this evening. No doubt this is a
surprise to you. Until then, you are my guest. I'll have one of my men
escort you to a room in a safe place."

	"I don't think so. I'll find my way to you thanks. Just give me a time
and place, and I'll be on my way."

	"You are very distrusting," said the old man without looking back at
the boy. He had started walking towards the back door already. 

	"I still don't have my weapons back yet," said the boy calmly. "Not
that I'd need them to beat all your men anyway."

	"Confident too, the fiercest fires die the quickest boy. You'd best
remember that advice. Be here, tomorrow night, at twelve. You can bring
your guns, but you will not need them. I'll take care of that car of
yours. It belonged to Mao Sheng's son. I will have it returned, it will
do a lot to help you in their eyes if it is returned. I take the vehicle
has not been damaged?"

	"Those guys that we fought. They weren't Jade Dragon were they?" asked
the boy as he ignored that line of questioning. He could give a rat's
ass who the car belonged too at this point.

	"No, those were Black Lotus. Filthy assassins, cowards, and thugs, all
of them; they control the area east of Hong Kong. They kidnapped my
daughter in an attempt to persuade me to deal with them. I want no part
of what they are into."

	"What's that?" asked the boy with a demonic coolness about him. 

	"The reason you were drawn here I imagine. I'll tell you what I know
when we meet tomorrow night. I imagine you'll need a day to rest. You
will be safe if you remain in this area of the city tomorrow. I promise
nothing more than that to you though."

	"I'll be going now, your men won't be able to tail me anymore. I know
you're going to try and keep an eye on me anyway though."

	The pair parted ways and Ranma found himself standing on the sidewalk. 

+++++++++++++++++++++

	Shu ho frowned as she overlooked Hong Kong, she was certain that the
boy had come this way. He was powerful, but arrogant and pig headed. She
was having serious doubts about him. He didn't seem strong enough to
resist the will of the demon inside him completely. That made him
dangerous. If properly trained however, he would become quite powerful,
and a very strong ally.

	She needed to consult someone in the city, and would no doubt cross
paths with him at least once. "I just hope I don't find him first. I've
got no idea what to do about him." With her head hung down in thought
she started walking towards her destination. "I knew I should have taken
a bus," she grumbled as she realized she was completely filthy. It had
been almost a week since her last bath.

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