First off, I’d like to thank you guys for your well wishes. They’re much appreciated!!

For those not in the know, my second son Jaron was born a week ago (as can also be read in my profile). That (my wife’s pregnancy and the subsequent birth) was also the reason why I seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth for quite some time (bar a few exceptions).

Now that we are as a foursome we’re still trying to establish a daily routine which isn’t always easy on our oldest. But hey, that’s what we chose, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

That also means that updates will remain sporadic, but I *will* turn my full concentration on ‘A legend reborn’ next. I plan to bring the story to a conclusion within the next few months, and have already mapped out everything. I know what I want to happen and I know how. All I ask is your continued support.

That said, expect an ALR update at the end of July. Thank you!

Chapter 16: Unforeseen developments

Sasuke Sarugakure, loyal retainer to the Kunos, literally fled the Tendo compound upon learning that his Mistress would be the next target of the more than formidable Grandmaster of the Anything Goes and this young gaijin woman named Felicia Hardy who'd so easily defeated Ryoga Hibiki. And gauging from how they’d crushed the Tendos, Nabiki Tendo in particular, things didn’t bode well for his Mistress; and regardless if he approved of the things his Mistress had done or not, he’d sworn loyalty to either Kuno, and it was his kami-damn duty to warn the Mistress of the impending danger.

The gopher-like ninja was well-aware that his pursuers wouldn’t waste much time in catching up to him, and he wanted to curse himself for letting his stealth slip which had allowed this gaijin Felicia Hardy and Grandmaster Happosai to sense him. Gnashing his teeth in determination Sasuke focussed all of his energy on coaxing even the last bit of speed out of his body as he dashed through the streets of Nerima, using every shortcut he knew.

A relieved grin almost spread on his face when the mansion of his employers came into view, and he allowed a sigh of relief to escape him. ‘It seems my hard work of the last year paid off,’ he thought to himself as he entered the grounds with a flying leap, dashing right into the house, ‘Mistress’s likely in the lab, she always is lately,’ he mused and made move to get to the said room, only stopping from time to time to lay traps.

Almost out of breath Sasuke dashed into the lab and threw open the doors with a resounding bang, and instantly felt the dark and empty eyes of his Mistress on him. "What is the meaning of this, worm?" Kodachi Kuno queried in a dead tone, the same one she’d taken to using since the day she’d learned she had been the one to cause her Ranma-sama's death.

Sasuke suppressed a shiver both at the look and the tone as he surveyed his employer who was, as always since she'd learned of her blunder, clothed in black leather from head to toe, and the small ninja completely tuned out the strange looking concoctions standing on the workbench in front of his Mistress. The less he knew, the better for his sanity. "Mistress, Grandmaster Happosai, his new apprentice and a horde of people are on their way to our position! They learned of what happened to Ranma Saotome and your part in it from a recording Master Happosai made, and now they want to apprehend and try you! You must flee!"

Kodachi stared at her servant blankly until the information had filtered into her mind, then she threw back her head and laughed self-mockingly. "And where, my dear worm, should I flee to if I can’t even escape myself?"

Sasuke turned his head sharply instead of answering the rhetorical question when he heard some of the traps he'd set go off in the distance, and Kodachi Kuno turned her head as well. "Flee, Mistress, while there's still time!" urged Sasuke pleadingly, "My traps won't hold them off forever, but long enough for you to escape!"

Kodachi Kuno, it seemed, hadn't listened at all and turned her attention back to the workbench as cool as you please. Sasuke watched in frustration as the Kuno girl began to mix ingredients in a potions flask, and Sasuke decided to bring out the big guns. "Mistress, I have just found out that your Ranma-sama's still alive! Please use the time I'll buy you to flee!"

Brown eyes looked dispassionately at the small ninja, not a hint of a spark of interest visible in them. "You would say anything in this situation to compel me to act, worm, and while I appreciate the gesture, misplaced as it is," she said, scorn dripping off her voice, "it is fruitless. I know in my heart that I killed my Ranma-sama, if not by my own hands then through my actions. Nothing you say or do will convince me otherwise," she concluded, her tone ringing with finality.

Sasuke bowed his head and sighed, disjointed thoughts running through his head. He'd never convince his Mistress of the veracity of his statement in the time he had left before the mob would arrive, for he lacked proof and the required rhetoric abilities to compel her to listen. And it was true, he would tell his Mistress anything to get her out of her funk, and she knew it.

The ninja gnashed his teeth in frustration and seriously played with the thought to just bash his Mistress over the head and get her to safety for a moment, but shot down the idea quickly. Well knowing that he couldn't do jack to change his Mistresses' mind the loyal retainer shoved his hands in his pockets and resolved himself to the only option open to him, namely to wait for the things to come, hoping against hope that things would turn out alright.

-.-

A few minutes earlier...

Felicia and Happosai were far ahead of the small group of 'brave' people they supposedly 'led' as they shot through the streets of Nerima like liquid lightning, the Grandmaster leading the way seeing as that was much quicker than for Felicia to access her 'knowledge' of the ward. The Kuno's ninja couldn't have had more than a two-minute head start, and with the way the Anything Goes Grandmaster was leading them through the mazes she was confident they'd catch up soon. That, and Sasuke Sarugakure was hardly top-notch ninja material as far as she remembered from the intel Ranma'd given her.

— While it stands to reason that he will be easy to beat I recommend to exhibit caution nonetheless. This Sasuke Sarugakure is known to rely on traps to beat his opponents, and it is questionable if he has not improved on them and other aspects pertaining to him in the time that has passed since Ranma's departure, — SD cautioned.

'Duly noted, SD,' Felicia replied and followed after Happosai who'd just turned a corner, and the silver-haired woman almost crowed in triumph when she glimpsed upon the mansion Ranma had described to her more than once.

Happosai quickly made his way to the gateway, and Felicia’s eyes widened when the Grandmaster unleashed a sizeable ki-blast at the obstacle in their path, blowing a giant hole in it. Afterwards he proceeded to shower the path ahead with a volley of vacuum blades, which Felicia would have considered overkill hadn’t she known about the Kuno's penchance for traps.

After having turned the opulent yard of the Kuno mansion into a wasteland Happosai motioned for Felicia to follow him, and the silver-haired woman was quick to fall in step with the old man. Due to his knowledge of the vicinity they were quick to reach the steps and began to ascend the said steps as one. Frowning in distaste Felicia unleashed her own variation of Ranma’s Moko Takabisha at the large doorway and stepped through the smoking hole.

"This hallway’s an obstacle course, and you know what they say about obstacles?" asked a meanly grinning Happosai as he stepped to Felicia’s side.

Felicia mirrored his grin, and as if on unspoken consensus both martial artists began to unleash energy attacks at the general vicinity, "Obstacles are for killing," the silver-haired woman quipped as hidden traps exploded or were turned to scrap metal amongst their onslaught.

Happosai carefully stepped over the debris with his senses stretched out to the maximum and nodded towards his student to indicate the coast was clear. "Let's speed this up a bit," the old man exclaimed with a boyish grin and blurred forward, the energy launched from his hands devastating anything in his way.

Felicia just raised a delicate brow at Happosai going into overkill-mode before following his example, and between them it didn't take the duo long to dismantle or just plain blow up any obstacle or trap in their way. Incidentally the others, a group of six, had caught up to them in the time it'd taken them to clear the path, and Felicia, who chanced a look over her shoulder, was a bit surprised to find Soun amongst them; Genma's presence was pretty much a given seeing that he was just as interested in bringing Kodachi Kuno to justice as they were, and Happosai actually stepped away from the large double doors, his face holding an unusually solemn expression.

"If you'd do the honours, Genma, this is the last obstacle in our path," the Grandmaster said, "And it's only fitting you be the one to remove it."

Genma inclined his head in a small bow, something akin to glee lighting up in his eyes. "Thank you, Master. Finally, finally the bitch's gonna get what's coming to her," he whispered, his face contorting minutely before he launched a volley of ten vacuum blades at the door's critical points, which caused both wings of the door to collapse inwards with a loud bang.

A large amount of dust was kicked up into the air, and Genma used the obscuring opportunity to disappear from view via the Umi-sen-ken, Felicia and Happosai following his example amongst gasps from the others. Hidden by their own inverted ki - and in Felicia's case SD's inherent abilities to boot - the trio made their way into the room. Sasuke was about to launch a diversion attack in desperate hopes his Mistress would see reason and flee, but Happosai and Felicia shimmering back into existence to either of his sides and both striking a blow to the neck threw a wedge into his plans.

Kodachi Kuno, still standing in front of the workbench with the potion flask grasped in her right hand watched impassively as her loyal retainer dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. "Little fool. A Kuno doesn't flee, nor are they caught alive. Let me show you peasants how one of noble lineage dies," she whispered in the same dead tone she'd used before.

Genma shimmering back into existence right in front of the black-clothed teen startled Kodachi enough that she involuntarily removed the flask from her lips, and Felicia and Happosai, much as the others, held their collective breaths in anticipation of what was to come now. "You don't have enough spine to end yourself, Kuno. If you had you'd have done so the moment you learned you're responsible for my son's death," Genma snarled, red balls of ki glowing angrily in both palms of his hands.

Kodachi's previously detached expression turned into one of self-loathing, "Don't you think I've wanted to do just that ever since I learned my Ranma-sama and the pigtailed harlot known as Ranko Tendo are one and the same?" she shouted, but recomposed herself quickly after taking a few calming breaths, "But choosing so mundane a death like cutting myself and bleeding out is beneath a Kuno. Which is why I used my contacts and got my hands on these ancient herbs and poisons I used in this potion," she elaborated emotionlessly and held up the flask, the clear liquid within swirling almost hypnotically, "Isn't it fitting that that which I loved so much in life, my plants and poisons, will bring about my demise?"

Genma snorted disdainfully, "Then go right ahead, bitch. Rotting in prison's much too good for you, and I don't feel like paying tax for you."

"Saotome, don't egg her on!" Soun exclaimed urgently, "She needs to be tried so-"

"So that you can try to clear your family's name?" Happosai cut in scathingly.

"No! So that everyone knows Ranma was innocent!" Soun defended himself, yet anyone listening could tell it was a feeble excuse at best.

"You talk too much, Tendo," Genma shot in Soun's direction, "She-"

"Thinks you all talk too much, peasants. It's a given my Ranma-sama was innocent, but who cares any more? He's as cold as this world, so good bye," Kodachi muttered tonelessly, put the flask to her lips and downed the contents in one go.

The reaction set in quickly, and a convulsing Kodachi Kuno dropped to the ground like a ripe cherry amongst wide-eyed stares, the potion flask falling from her numb fingers and shattering into pieces. Genma’s dispassionate comment, "Guess she had enough spine after all. Surprising," was met with a nod on Felicia’s and Happosai’s parts, Soun however was far from happy and silently lamented away to himself.

About a minute later Kodachi stopped moving altogether, and after waiting another half a minute Felicia bend down to check the other girls vitals, and immediately looked up, surprise evident in her eyes and exclaimed, "Seems you might get your wish after all, Tendo-san, she’s still alive, even if barely."

"Figures she'd be too far gone to be competent enough to kill herself," Genma muttered darkly to himself and shook his head in displeasure whereas Soun wore a relieved expression which he wasn't quick enough to hide.

Moaning could be heard from the background and heads turned to look at the source to find it was Sasuke. The ninja bounced to his feet and assumed a defensive stance before looking around wildly, and a scream tore itself from his throat when his eyes fell upon his Mistress, "What did you do to her!" he demanded shrilly, his accusing eyes darting between Happosai and Felicia.

"Nothing except for listening to her speech," Felicia replied with a careless shrug, "The rest she did to herself by drinking this potion," she added and pointed her left index fingers to indicate the glass fragments.

Sasuke looked disbelieving for a few moments and then dropped to his knees, tears streaming from his eyes. Not minding the glass shards he crawled over to Kodachi's body, the sound of glass splintering underneath his palms making a lot of people wince. Still weeping the ninja laid his head down on Kodachi's stomach and whimpered, "Why, Mistress? Why?" over and over again.

"Boy, have your skills dulled so much that you can't detect your 'Mistress' is still alive?" Happosai asked forcefully, disappointment permeating his voice, "And here I'd thought you'd made progress."

It took almost half a minute for Happosai's words to penetrate Sasuke's mind, but when the meaning hit him the Kuno retainer jumped away from Kodachi and bowed deeply with his hands clasped together, mumbling to himself, “Bad Sasuke’s sorry for touching Mistress, so sorry!”

“Our loyal ninja seems to have a horde of bats in his belfry, eh, sensei?” Felicia queried with a raised brow, eyeing the spectacle a bit disbelieving much the same as the other attendees.

“Yep, he seems to have lost some of his marbles alright, Felicia-chan. Hmm, maybe the Kuno girl will still bite the dust if he continues to wail like that instead of getting help?” Happosai mused with a speculative gleam in his eyes, “Would meet with her wish to die, no?”

“Sasuke, snap out of it!” exclaimed Soun Tendo from behind and made his way toward the kneeling ninja, grasped his shoulders and began to shake him, the Tendo patriarch feeling prompted by Happosai’s words to act, “If you call an ambulance she might still be saved!”

Sasuke looked up over his right shoulder with dull eyes and shrugged, “And what would that accomplish? They might save Mistress, and if they do they’re gonna try her. Then they’re gonna sentence her to death for what she did. So where’s the sense in that?” he asked monotonous.

"If you won't call help I will!" Soun vehemently exclaimed, "Where's the nearest telephone?"

"Mistress had me booby trap it yesterday, and the floors leading to it as well," Sasuke said tonelessly, "So have fun trying."

While Soun collected himself for a convincing rebuttal Felicia let her ki spike to catch her sensei’s attention, and once she had it the silver-haired woman mouthed, “Do you want to allow Soun to talk that ninja into saving the Kuno girl? I’d say it’d be fitting she dies.”

Happosai stroked his moustache for a moment as he thought deeply and looked up at Felicia once he’d arrived at a decision, “Fitting, yes, but we cannot be sure that that which she ingested will really kill her. She said herself that the ingredients of this potion were ancient and thus their properties unknown, so who knows how they’ll take hold? I say it’s better to hand her over to the authorities now that she ain’t a danger, and to ensure she’s properly tried.”

Felicia inclined her head in thought as she went over Happosai’s words, and the woman couldn’t help but to agree with the old man’s reasoning, “Good thinking, old man,” she jabbed, causing the said ‘old man’ to sport a fake-pouting expression which made the silver-haired woman smile in spite of herself, “So it’s agreed, Soun Tendo can have his go at convincing the ninja.”

"Yeah, let's see how my old 'student' fares," Happosai muttered back with a gleam in his eyes and fell silent to watch the events unfold, Felicia following his example suit.

-.-

Soun Tendo had tried to use the few seconds the exchange between Felicia and Happosai had taken to come up with a compelling argument, but seeing as nothing worthwhile was coming to the fore he just schooled his feature and adopted a serious demeanour and opted to say the first thing that came to him, "You ask why you should help your Mistress, Sasuke? Because it is your duty as her servant. No, hear me out and think for a moment. Think! What would the community say if it was to be revealed that your Mistress killed herself not like a honourable samurai, but like a common coward, with poison? What would they say?"

"They... They would laugh even more at the ancient and noble house of Kuno," sighed Sasuke abashedly and looked at Soun with hopeless eyes, "But don't they already? Mistress' actions caused the death of Ranma Saotome, and before he was framed by Mistress and imprisoned as 'Ronin Ranko' he was held in high regards in the ward. And all that just because Mistress couldn't accept that he was cursed to become a girl, the redhead she so loathed! Everyone will know!"

Soun paused to sort his thoughts before retorting, "There's no shame in not believing in magic. I didn't either prior to Ranma's and Genma's arrival, and what she did to Ranma... Well, it was just a matter of time until someone would get in a lucky shot. That she managed to was coincidence, it could just as easily have been Mousse or one of the others," he reasoned.

"Coincidence and a lot of devious planning," muttered Felicia in a disgruntled tone, to which Happosai nodded.

"Yeah, but Soun's surprisingly doing a rather competent job," he commented and absently scratched his moustache, muttering silently so that only Felicia could hear him, "Only good that I've been recording every word since Genma broke down the door. Now there should remain no doubt that poor Ranma was framed."

Felicia nodded with a bright light shining in her eyes while Sasuke seemed to be thinking that Soun's arguments were convincing as well as was evidenced by his contemplative and undecided expression, "But fact remains that it was Mistress who did it. And that will be a tarnish on the houses' honour that'll weigh heavily upon it," he muttered with a sigh.

Soun pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration and decided to risk incurring Happosai's wrath, "A tarnish it'd suffer from anyway should she die now. On the other hand, it might even be decided in court that she did what she did in a state of diminished responsibility, and the house Kuno could wash their hands off her actions. Maybe she'd even finally get the help she so obviously needs," he suggested and did his best to steel himself for the ki-filled glares he was sure would come.

But they didn't come as Happosai limited himself to a glance at Felicia who nodded back, indicating that they'd allow Soun to have his attempt until he either succeeded or failed. Letting out a relieved sigh Soun looked Sasuke straight in the eyes, "You must choose now, Sasuke. Instant dishonour for the House Kuno, the House you've sworn to serve, if she dies, or the possibility of a trial that holds the chance that House Kuno may wash their hands clean and get your Mistress much needed help. What will it be?"

All who watched could see beads of sweat on Sasuke's forehead as the ninja who usually just followed orders was suddenly confronted with making a life-altering decision, and it was apparent he didn't like being in this spot, literally between a rock and a hard place. The Kuno's retainer glanced from face to face a little helplessly until he noticeably turned his focus inward, closing his eyes in silent contemplation. Silence stretched out for several minutes and Happosai in particular was tempted to take action to speed things up, but then Sasuke opened his eyes, a hard glint in his eyes.

"I am responsible for Clan Kuno, meaning for both Master Tatewaki and Mistress Kodachi. Mistress' actions will shortly be known throughout the ward regardless of what I choose, and they will bring great dishonour, so I have no choice," the gopher-like ninja scrunched up his face, "It is more important the Clan's honour not be damaged than what Mistress Kodachi would want. Happosai-sama, Hardy-san, call the police and an ambulance. I will help disable the traps."

The Anything Goes Grandmaster and his student exchanged a satisfied look and turned their heads in unison to look at Sasuke. "As hard as that probably was on you, it was a wise decision you made there, Sasuke. And those are always the hardest."

Sasuke scoffed and kept his head bowed. "And why does my heart feel like it shattered into a million pieces?" he asked unhappily.

"Because your sense of duty is warring with your common sense, which is perfectly understandable. Luckily your common sense won out in the end," replied Happosai and patted the much younger man on the shoulder, subtly tapping a pressure point to lighten the young ninja's mood. "And now let's call the authorities."

-.-

The sky had continuously darkened and rain had begun drizzling down on Nerima ward, and it were five disgruntled police officers and three worn out paramedics plus the doctor on duty who stepped on the premises of the Kuno compound.

Lieutenant Yamaka, an average looking police officer in his mid-thirties and the designated leader of squad nine, the unfortunate squad that had had the bad luck to be sent to deal with the first ‘Kuno situation’ in almost a year, let his experienced gaze travel over the grounds, and his eyes briefly widened at the destruction that had been wrought. Whoever had entered the Kuno grounds had packed some serious firepower.

“Tadoka, Kotaga, follow me. Hurano, Yamura, you stay with the meds. We’ll call you in once the perimeter is secured,” he ordered in a gruff tone and began to move, secure in the knowledge that his orders would be followed to the t.

Hearing his subordinates move behind him Yamaka stepped through the destroyed gateway and sharply inhaled upon the sight presented to him. "Holy Kami-sama! Looks like a warzone!"

“Can say that again, Chief,” agreed the only female on the team, Akemi Kotaga, amidst agreeing grunts from her colleague, not stopping in her stride as she followed her leader.

Firming his expression the Lieutenant stepped through the hole, only stopping briefly to look over his shoulder, “The caller said they’d be in the room down the hallway. Let’s not keep them waiting, shall we? But mind where you step. We know from previous incidents that the Kunos are fond of using traps.”

Kotetsu Tadoka and Akemi Kotaga nodded their assent, serious expressions that were all business on their faces. Exhibiting as much caution as possible the three police officers made their way to the main building and the stairs that led up to it, and once they'd safely crossed what they'd - rightfully - believed to be a minefield three sets of eyes appraised the sizeable hole that had been made into the large two-wing door, low whistles and similar exclamations escaping them.

Shaking his head Lieutenant Yamaka summoned his courage and cautiously walked up the stairs. Following their leader's example Sergeant’s Kotaga and Tadoka cautiously ascended the flight of stairs as well and followed the Lieutenant through the large hole in the door, firearms drawn. The first thing the three officers did was look around as they'd been trained to do, and after the trio had silently communicated that the coast was clear they allowed themselves to relax just a bit.

A disbelieving snort escaped Sergeant Tadoka's lips as he appraised the devastated hallway. "Would've never thought to see something that gives my daughter's room at its 'best' a run for its money. Kami, looks like a hurricane blazed through!"

Hideo Yamaka and Akemi Kotaga couldn't help but nod despite the fact that neither had an inkling of how the room of Tadoka's seven year old daughter looked at its worst, and the trio advanced carefully, always ready to use their guns at a moments' notice. Despite the officers' suspicious natures - which wasn't alleviated in the least by the hallway's devastated state which would have offered a small army suitable hiding spots - no attackers leapt at them from hidden places.

The group of police officers proceeded cautiously down the corridor until they reached an opening that led to another room, the double doors that’d formerly served as the entrance cleanly blown of their hinges. Firearms drawn they slinked forward, ready to act on a moment’s notice, and Tadoka performed a sideward roll into the room on Yamaka’s sign, his firearm aiming directly at Happosai.

The Grandmaster stared at the officer with a bored expression from his position on the workbench and tsked. “Took your sweet time, didncha?”

Tadoka scowled at the old man and was about to utter a scathing reply when suddenly he felt a heavy hand clamp down on his shoulder, and one look into his superior’s face stopped him cold. “Don’t, Sergeant. This is Grandmaster Happosai, and special ops has a folder on him longer than your arm. He could demolish us all in a few seconds flat without breaking a sweat.”

Turning to Happosai Yamaka bowed curtly, stopping briefly to acknowledge the others in the room. “Happosai-sama, I apologise for the delay, but we had to make sure we didn’t run afoul of booby traps. Not everyone has your abilities.”

Kotaga and Tadoka (who’d in the meantime put away his firearm) shared a confused look at how subservient their normally so tough superior was acting in front of this seemingly harmless old man, but knowing their commanding officer for as long as they did and being trained professionals they followed his lead without question.

“Not to worry, Yamaka-san,” Happosai replied and waved his hand airily, an amused smile showing on his face at the brief look of surprise on the Lieutenant’s face, “And don’t look so surprised, I seldom forget a face. Especially of someone who acknowledged my heir.

“Anyway, the Kuno bitch here,” he pointed his right hand behind him, “did herself in. She’s hanging in there barely, so if your meds hurry up she might just survive. Not that I care, but seeing her trial might be fun.”

“Trial?” Yamaka asked, confusion showing briefly on his face.

“Ahh yes,” Happosai exclaimed and snapped his fingers, “you don’t know it yet, do you? Turns out I was right all along, my student Ranma Saotome was innocent, framed by this bitch lying half-dead on the ground.”

“I assume you got proof?” Yamaka queried neutrally, only his cocked right brow belying his interest.

“Ample proof, in fact. A recording I made when Kodachi Kuno boasted to me and others that she’d framed Ranma, and a just recently made recording that cements it. You should find it very interesting,” Happosai replied, just the hint of a smug smile playing on his face.

Yamaka inclined his head. “Off the record, I always thought there was something fishy to the whole case. Saotome, as much property damage as he may have caused, was always there to protect the innocent and to do what was right, so him doing something like that, committing fivefold cold-blooded murder just didn’t add up. And all the hush up with that 'Ronin Ranko' business that happened afterwards was… suspicious.”

“He… He knows about the curse?” Soun uttered in surprise.

“I do. Ranma changed in front of me when he stopped an attack on a money transporter. He… She saved the guards and a few officers this day without even expecting gratitude or praise, and it’s something I’ve never forgotten,” Yamaka replied, lacing Soun with a pejorative sidelong glance.

“Finally someone with two brains cells to rub together,” Genma snorted quietly, causing Felicia to snort amusedly.

“And you are?” Yamaka inquired, the peevedness of his tone communicating that he’d perceived what Genma had said.

“Genma Saotome, Ranma’s father. And I just wanted to say that I’m glad that there’re still people in Nerima who can think. Seems to me that this skill has dulled in a lot of people around here,” he concluded with a pointed glare at Soun.

“I see,” Yamaka mused with a curt nod of his head, his hostile attitude disappearing, “And I must admit that I’m looking forward to examining the proof. If what you say is true a great injustice can be alleviated, and even if it’s too late for Ranma, maybe it’ll give his soul the rest it deserves.”

“About that, shouldn’t the Kuno girl get help now?” Soun asked and wet his lips nervously, “I mean, it would be easier to uncover the truth with her alive, wouldn’t it?”

“Now that it’s too late for Ranma he can’t wait to 'uncover the truth', eh? Pathetic,” Felicia spat, her eyes shooting daggers at the Tendo patriarch.

“Too true, my dear. I must’ve been really drunk when I decided to make him my student,” Happosai muttered sagely, and almost scoffed when not even the hint of a rebuttal came from Soun.

“Anyway, see to it that the Kuno bitch is brought to the hospital, Lieutenant Yamaka. She’s more useful alive for the time being,” the Grandmaster said to the policeman.

“Will do, Happosai-sama,” Yamaka said and tipped an imaginary hat. “Finally being able to arrest the Kuno girl and levelling charges against her fills me with satisfaction. Tadoka, call in the meds and the rest of our team, pronto. Let’s get her to hospital.”

Sergeant Tadoka complied with a nod of his head and muttered instructions into his walkie talkie, and Genma Saotome sighed with relief. “Finally, finally this madness ends and everyone will soon know that my son is no murderer. Not that I ever believed it myself,” he said with a contemptuous glance at Soun.

“How right you are, Genma. All it would’ve taken was one good, long look at Ranma’s character to convince just about any person with a single viable brain cell that he was innocent, but it seems those were in short supply where certain Nerimans are concerned.

“The Americans I don’t blame, the faked evidence was just too overwhelming and the public opinion to fired up for them to have bothered to dig deeper. I just hope they’ll feel at least some remorse when they learn the truth,” Happosai said softly.

“Trust me, they will,” Felicia spoke up with conviction, “Us Americans may come off as headstrong and arrogant due to our inert belief in our values, but we believe in fairness and will admit fault when we’re off the mark.”

“We shall see. Human behaviour is so unpredictable that it gives even me a surprise every now and then,” Happosai mused with a sidelong glance at Soun and calmly lit his pipe, “And while some may wish to be able to undo their actions it is as so often that the past is set in stone, and hindsight is twenty-twenty and just no good.”

“Too true, Master. If wishes were horse then beggars would ride,” muttered Felicia a little scornfully and glanced at Soun, “And the righteous wouldn’t have fallen off their high horses.”

“Amen to that, Felicia-chan,” Happosai said, his eyes twinkling with amusement especially since Soun seemed unable to mount a defence, “Amen to that.”

-.-

Ten minutes later the comatose body of one Kodachi Kuno had been taken into the ambulance, and a handcuffed Sasuke Sarugakure had been allowed to go with his Mistress, waiting in the ambulances’ back for them to move off.

The small ninja had willingly accepted being temporarily stripped off his skills by a pressure point courtesy of Happosai to get permission to accompany his helpless Mistress (whose threat level had been deemed so low that not even an officer was standing guard), and watching Kodachi Kuno lying there on a gurney, all pale and motionless as if dead almost broke his heart.

“Why didn’t you listen to me, Mistress?” the ninja asked with his head bowed, a single, crystal tear trailing down his cheek, “Why didn’t you believe me that your Ranma-sama is still alive?” he whispered.

Silence answered him, and even though there was no danger of him being overheard simply due to the fact that the doctor and the para-medics (safe one who was sitting in the driver's seat) were in the process of being debriefed by the Lieutenant now that they’d done everything in their power to ensure his Mistresses’ survival, Sasuke couldn’t bring himself to talk in more than just a whisper.

“Had you just fled you could have gone to see him in New York, and who knows, maybe he’d have forgiven you and you’d have had a chance at living your dream. But now you’ll never find out if he could’ve been yours,” he sighed.

A sudden change in atmosphere prompted Sasuke to look down at Kodachi Kuno, and an involuntary gasp escaped him when he glimpsed upon eyes as black as space itself. A part of him wanted to feel elation at the fact that his Mistress had woken up against all odds, but his instincts were screaming at him that something was very wrong here.

“New York, you did say, worm? My darling Ranma-sama lives in New York?” Kodachi Kuno queried in a voice that was oddly detached, and Sasuke couldn’t take his eyes of those of his Mistress, jet-black pupils that were slowly shrinking until they had reached a normal size.

“Y-Yes. H-He survived, f-faked his d-death and ass-assumed a n-new identity, calling himself R-Randall Parker,” Sasuke stuttered nervously, not really knowing what to expect from his Mistress.

Kodachi Kuno considered the words for a few moments before erupting into laughter. "My Ranma-sama survived, I survived. It's meant to be. Ah-hah-hah-hah-hah-ha!"

"Hey! What's going on in there?" the paramedic who served as the driver called.

Kodachi Kuno closed her eyes and seemed to concentrate, a smile appearing on her face. "I feel... connected to it all. This... power! This control! Come, come to me!"

Sasuke, who'd come to the conclusion that his Mistress had lost even the last vestiges of her sanity, suddenly tensed when his trained senses picked up on a change. It was almost indiscernible, but the ninja was certain something was about to happen, and whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

Then, suddenly, a surprised cry erupted from the front of the car only to stop abruptly, and Sasuke felt chilled to the bone.

"Worm, get to the front and take care of our unintentional helper, then take us to the private airport, and do it stealthily. I want nobody following us. Now go, I have things to attend to," the young woman commanded in a voice that sounded tired.

"Y-Yes, Mistress," Sasuke replied, "There's just one little p-problem... Happosai-sama temporarily sealed off my s-skills, I can't remove the cuffs."

A tired sound escaped Kodachi Kuno. "Now that’d indeed pose a problem, wouldn’t it?" she mused and got to her feet, stretching for a bit and generally working out the kinks; then she removed the hairpin that held her ponytail in place and in a few seconds flat the handcuffs were lying on the ground.

“Now do as ordered and leave me be,” the changed gymnast ordered and absently waved her right hand, dismissing Sasuke.

Using his agility the said ninja climbed to the front of the car, and the sight he glimpsed upon made him swallow nervously. The paramedic who’d been left with the job of driver was sitting in his seat, but that was where the normalcy ended.

The man’s eyes were closed and Sasuke wasn’t certain if he was still breathing; ascertaining this fact was made a tad difficult by the factor that countless plant roots had found their way into the car and had crept up all the way to the man’s neck, ensnaring hands and feet as well in what appeared to be an unbreakable grip.

“How in Kami-sama’s name...?” muttered Sasuke to himself, and shaking his head quickly a few times helped him to focus, and being careful not to touch the plants in case they were poisonous he reached into a hidden pocket to retrieve a shuriken. He had just set the weapon to where the plants entered the car and had made a tiny cut when a commanding voice resonated in the car.

“Stop, worm!” Kodachi Kuno spoke in a tone so serious that Sasuke dropped the weapon, and he was just about to ask what his Mistress meant when suddenly the plants began to retreat, removing themselves from the paramedic’s body and the car in under ten seconds.

“Okay, now I’m really freaked out,” muttered Sasuke in a tone that sounded weirded out even to his ears, and shaking his head once more he concentrated on the man, checking his pulse. “Hmm, faint but steady,” he muttered to himself and let out a sigh of relief. He then checked the man's reflexes and even looked at his eyes by lifting the lids just like he'd been taught to, muttering to himself, “Seems like he's in a low grade coma. Pheew."

“This peasant was just doing his job, and he helped me even if only because his oath bound him to do so,” Kodachi spoke up, still sounding tired, “Being who I am I knew exactly how to induce unconsciousness without killing him, and be sure to remember, worm, I am no murderer.”

“Y-Yes, Mistress,” Sasuke replied meekly (not daring to remind her that she was indirectly responsible for the death of the five teens the clone had killed), and suppressing the shudder that ran up and down his spine at the implications of what Kodachi had said he reached for the handgrip and pushed open the door, and he let the unconscious paramedic carefully down to the pavement.

A few moments later the man had been expertly hidden behind some underbrushes.

“Good worm,” sounded Kodachi Kuno’s voice from the backside just after Sasuke had closed the door, “Now get us out of here, and don’t worry your insignificant mind about little things like those peasants catching up to us. I have it taken care of.”

Sasuke silently asked himself just what his Mistress meant, but knowing that he wouldn't find out anyway he floored the accelerator and sped away.

-.-

Ten minutes earlier

A myriad of emotions flashed across Genma Saotome's face as he stared at the spot where Kodachi Kuno had collapsed, and his initial unhappiness over the decision to allow Sasuke to call an ambulance slowly faded when the thought popped up that the insane girl might die still. He didn't even spare a glance at Soun whose motivation behind trying to save the Kuno girl's life was as clear as crystal (as far as he was concerned) and opted to ignore his former best friend altogether. His expression turned stoic as he surveyed the girlfriend of his son, Felicia Hardy.

The young woman wasn't just stunningly beautiful, she had proven herself a powerful and skilled martial artist, and just as important, she appeared to be in control of herself anytime. A look of approval appeared on Genma's face only to be replaced by a frown when the thought popped up that he'd overlooked a lot of Akane's less than attractive traits in his hell-bent bid to unite the schools. He'd been as myopic as Mousse, that much he could admit now. But hindsight was twenty-twenty, and despite Ranma still being alive he'd never attempt to join the schools again, neither through Ranma nor through any descendants he might have. He'd been thoroughly cured of his aspirations by the past events.

'Apropos crazy, it might be a good idea to see if we can find stick-boy,' Genma mused, and walking towards Happosai he cleared a path through the room until he came to a stop in front of the old man who stopped talking to Felicia in favour of looking expectantly at him. "Master," he began, inclining his head in respect, "I just had the idea that it might be good to look for the Kuno boy. He might be of some help."

"Good idea, Genma. He might even be willing to testify against his sister," Happosai mused with a nod.

Soun nodded as well. "Akane said-"

"I don't care what Akane said," interrupted Genma coldly, "The Master's already given his consent, it simply doesn't matter."

Soun made a put upon face. "But I just wanted to say that Akane said," Genma wanted to interrupt Soun again at this point but Happosai subtly shaking his head stopped him, "that the Kuno boy had been acting even stranger at school than usual, and he hasn't showed up at all for the last two days. Maybe Kodachi's poisoned him!"

"A thought worth consideration, and it just means we have to find the boy and render assistance if he's to be of any use to us," spoke up Felicia.

"Of any use?" queried Soun, his face showing indignation.

"Master, if I may," Felicia said with a glance at Happosai who nodded, "Stones and glasshouses, Tendo-san, and that's how you and your daughters treated Ranma when he'd have needed you the most notwithstanding."

"Huh?" Soun asked intelligently.

"The assumption that you wanted to further yourself by having Ranma marry your daughter isn't too farfetched. So don't preach something you don't practise yourself," Felicia said coldly, her green eyes two chips of ice.

"That's an outrage!" Soun exclaimed incensed, "I-"

"Could you throw your tantrum while we look for the Kuno boy, Soun?" Happosai interrupted sarcastically.

"O-Of course, M-Master," Soun replied obediently, caving like a house of cards.

Happosai turned on his heel and marched out of the lab with Felicia and Genma flanking him, muttering about "Jellyfishes" and "backbone".

-.-

The impromptu search party found Tatewaki Kuno passed out on his bed. The young man was lying face down on expensive black silk sheets, a line of drool running out of the left corner of his mouth, and he didn't react at all to external stimuli. Happosai quickly hopped onto the bed and examined the scion of House Kuno with the techniques at his disposal while the others stood aside, the serious expression never leaving his face.

"Whatever got into his system sure did a number on him," the old Grandmaster mumbled as he went about pressing pressure points here and there, a slow smile spreading on his aged face when the boy he was tending to began to groan. "He's out of his sleeping beauty like slumber and should wake up within an hour. Whatever Kodachi used on him wasn't truly dangerous and will be flushed out of his system in an hour tops, and-

"Incoming!" he suddenly yelled as his senses picked up on an immediate threat.

Felicia, Genma and even Soun switched into ready stances, but they were nonetheless surprised when hundreds of roots of all kinds closed in on them from all sides. "What the fuck!" Felicia exclaimed, eloquently summing things up.

"Don't underestimate these things!" Happosai exclaimed in a warning tone, "These are without exception poisonous, and I don’t want to find out if they carry a paralysing agent or something worse!

"Soun, sling the Kuno boy over your shoulder while we deal with the situation!"

The Tendo patriarch obeyed Happosai's command and watched in something akin to morbid fascination as the thorny vines and roots rapidly slithered toward them, closing in from all sides; he couldn't help but feel like being in one of those Gaijin horror movies, except for the fact that this was reality. And then Happosai and Felicia turned loose, firing ki-blasts left, right and centre, but the green kept on coming, creeping alongside walls, ceiling and the ground.

"We'd have to find the source to stop this mutated twine, but I don't feel like making the effort. I'm a Martial Arts Grandmaster, not a gardener," Happosai grumbled, reducing yet another root that'd tried to attack from above to smithereens, "Felicia, transform and hack your way through it. I doubt that it'll have an effect on you in your upgraded state."

"Are you serious?" Felicia queried in a tone that suggested she thought he'd lost his marbles, "What about him?" she added with an inclination of her head at Soun as she blasted yet more vines.

"Don't worry about him," Happosai retorted, mirroring her actions, "If he blabs I'll bury him, no questions asked."

Felicia shrugged in acceptance while Soun paled at the seriousness of Happosai's tone. "I think you're off your rocker, but hey, everyone's gotta be a little crazy every now and then."

"What in Kami-sama's name are you talking about?" yelled Genma while fending off several simultaneously attacking vines, "If you got a way to end this quickly use it!"

Felicia sighed minutely and muttered that she'd regret it later before nodding. 'SD, let's use your original design with a standard facemask, no maw. That'll make it harder to link us with our alter ego.'

— Understood, Felicia. A wise precaution indeed, — SD replied and instantly began to cover her host until she'd formed the original combat suit, replete with randomly moving tendrils.

Soun and Genma gasped in unison, but their eyes got really wide when wicked and extremely sharp looking blades formed where Felicia arms should have been, blades that the costumed young woman immediately turned to good use. Not a minute later a lot of destroyed flora littered the ground, and Felicia briefly looked over her shoulder. "Don't be standing there like statues, let's get outta here!"

Happosai, who'd given his apprentice an appreciative once over, had already been on the move with ki-blasts primed in each palm and barked, "You heard her, boys! Move your sorry asses!"

Genma was the first to shake himself out of his stupor, and he elbowed Soun (who'd yet to climb down from the mattress) firmly in the side. "Come on, or have you gotten so useless that you can't even carry an unconscious man?" he sniped.

Soun frowned angrily but didn't reply, opting to finally step to the ground. Genma whereas scoffed and turned to follow Felicia and Happosai, sensing that Soun was following as well. Hopefully they'd get some answers out of the Kuno boy.

-.-

The light shower of rain that had passed through Nerima ward had long since abated and a few hesistant rays of sunlight peeked out of the clouds every now and then, but the weather conditions were largely irrelevant to the group of twelve that'd finally made their way out of the Kuno mansion. It had taken the four martial artists, their unconscious comrade and the others almost half an hour to leave the large house, and to some it had been very exhausting thirty minutes.

Not only had the plants put up massive resistance, the martial artists of the group had also had to rescue the medics and Lieutenant Yamaka's team who had been forced to retreat to the kitchen, only to be effectively trapped there. The non martial artists had been at the end of their rope and had been defending themselves with kitchen implements and assorted improvised weaponry seeing as bullets had proven completely useless; they'd unsurprisingly been very relieved when the cavalry had arrived, having quickly made short work of the annoying and persistent green.

"Wheew, I've never seen anything as crazy as that in all my long life," Happosai breathed as he watched the mansion from a safe distance, "And that's saying something."

"Yeah, you can see even now how these... plants won't stop meandering 'bout the property. Just good that everyone made it out alive and unharmed. That could've gone a lot worse," Genma added, wiping sweat from his forehead before retying his bandanna.

Soun, who'd lowered Tatewaki Kuno onto one of the grassy fields surrounding the mansion, nodded with a shudder. "Remember what those plants did to that dog? It was out cold in under ten seconds after those thorny plants had gotten to it!"

"Don't remind me," Genma muttered, suppressing a shudder, "Those... plants were high on something incredibly potent."

"Just what the hell happened in there?" Lieutenant Yamaka demanded without addressing anyone specific, "I mean, I've never seen plants, plants!" he added, throwing his hands into the air for emphasis, "behave like that! 'twas right out of some bad B-movie!"

"I had the distinct impression that the plants were being... controlled by someone or something," Felicia spoke up (who had in the meantime morphed the combat suit back into normal clothing), kneading her lower lip with her left thumb and index finger, "And even though they were fuckin' annoying, I can't help but feel that it was a diversion."

"A diversion?" Sergeant Hurano asked, a frown appearing on her face, "What for?"

"That's what we gotta find out," Happosai said decisively and marched down the driveway before any more comments or questions could come up (especially pertaining to Felicia's 'costume') that could cost them valuable time.

Felicia and Genma shared a look and followed Happosai as one with the police officers, the medical personnel and Soun not far behind, and walking around the curve Happosai calmly stated, "And here's our first clue."

"The ambulance! It's gone!" Doctor Hashigawa immediately exclaimed, shock and worry not just flickering over his face.

"Exactly," Happosai nodded, looking from face to face, "The question now is, what happened? Was the driver overwhelmed and kidnapped or did something worse happen?

"Seeing as there's not enough data to even speculate we'll have to investigate. I suggest we assume the worst for now," he finished.

"Agreed," Lieutenant Yamaka nodded grimly and turned to his subordinates, "Kotaga, get a search going for the ambulance and issue an arrest warrant for Kodachi Kuno," he ordered and the Seargant complied immediately, "Team, and everyone else," he continued once his subordinate was done, "we'll be searching the perimeter in teams of two. Hurano, you're with me, Tadoka, Kotaga, you take a medic each, and I suggest that you form teams for yourself, Grandmaster."

Happosai nodded and looked at Felicia. "Felicia, you're with Genma, Soun with me. Spread out!"

The command given the search began and the teams moved out, all in the eerie silence that now enshrouded the Kuno grounds like a blanket.

-.-

Felicia and Genma were making their way through the well kept underbrushes that surrounded the Kuno compound, and the young woman could sense that Ranma's father was just about bursting at the seams to ask questions. Turning to the right she grinned at her co-searcher. "Shoot, Saotome-san."

"Call me Genma. And what?"

"Felicia. And it's hard not to notice that you'll probably kill yourself if you have to keep your curiosity in check for even a minute longer," she grinned.

Smiling sheepishly (the smile reminding her very much of Ranma) Genma nodded. "What was that in there, Felicia? I mean, that... thing you transformed into?"

Felicia's demeanour changed to one of seriousness, and Genma instinctively stood more attentive. "It's an experimental personal body armour that enhances every aspect of its wearer. It was made by the American inventor, scientist and all around genius Reed Richards."

"Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four. I've heard of him," Genma nodded solemnly, a small smile turning up the corners of his mouth. "Head stuck in the clouds, but seems to be an okay guy."

"Yeah, that's Reed," Felicia nodded with a smile, "He'd probably forget all about Sue's and his anniversary and make up for it with a dinner on the Moon," she giggled, causing Genma to snort amusedly.

'Sorry for the deception, SD, but I feel this cover story's safer than the truth for the time being,' Felicia apologised while Genma and she continued to search in companionable silence.

— Perfectly understandable, Felicia. You did not even lie, seeing as Reed Richards invented the device that created me, — the symbiote pointed out.

'Hey, you're right!' she thought back before suddenly exclaiming, "Hey Genma! Here's something!"

Genma's head jerked over to Felicia's position just in time to see the silver-haired woman bend down (internally commending his son on his good taste) to look at something behind one of the tall bushes. "Found him," she said then in a grim tone as Genma walked up to her, "Looks like he's been strangled until he lost consciousness, or what do you think?"

Genma, who was now kneeling to the other side of the paramedic's body, repeated what Felicia had already done and checked the man’s pulse, noting (just like she had) the marks on the man’s neck. “Agreed. Guess it’s safe to assume that he was attacked by some of those mutated flora thingies. But that’s all just too...”

“Convenient?” Felicia supplied, her own brows cocked.

“Yeah,” Genma grumbled, rubbing his stubbly chin, “If I didn’t know better then I’d say that...”

“What?” Felicia asked after Genma had trailed off, “That the Kuno girl somehow got the ability to control plants?”

“Yeah,” Genma muttered grudgingly through clenched teeth, “But that’s too... too bizarre!”

“Not really, Genma,” Felicia sighed and rubbed her temples, “If you’d seen just half of the shit I’ve seen over in the States this’d have been your first assumption. I mean, genius scientists who inject themselves with a serum to restore the arm they’d lost just to turn into a man-sized lizard with enormous strength, another scientist who’s been turned into an insanely strong muscle-bound jade giant by gamma radiation, oh, and not to forget a certain team of four astronauts who were given super powers by cosmic radiation,” she listed with just a touch of irony in her voice.

“It ain’t too farfetched if you put it like that,” a sweat-dropping Genma muttered, his face scrunching up with frustration, “Regardless of what happened, Kodachi Kuno got away, and she has too much of a lead for us to catch up. She could be halfway to Brazil by now.”

“Yeah, or to God knows where,” Felicia agreed, her facial expression conveying her displeasure, “Let’s tell the master what we found, he won’t be pleased. God knows I ain’t either.”

“Not pleased is the understatement of the year, Felicia,” Genma grumbled, “Seems anytime something comes up that could help Ranma it goes up in smoke. ‘s bloody annoying, that’s what it is.”

“Amen to that,” Ranma’s girlfriend agreed wholeheartedly. "Well, let's tell the others we found the paramedic."

"Agreed," Genma grunted, "Let the other medic's work their magic on him, then we'll hopefully get some answers."

-.-

Tideo Hadoka was fading in and out of consciousness and blearily perceived voices talking, his mind in a fog, until suddenly it all came back to him, and he sat up with a gasp. His right hand went to his throat on reflex and the paramedic took a deep, gulping breath. “I’m... alive?”

“Easy there, Tideo,” Doctor Hashigawa spoke up and eased his subordinate back down onto the grass while the other bystanders watched, “Yes, you’re alive, and we’re very glad. I don't particularly care to have to train a replacement, you know,” the man joked, eliciting a weak grin from the paramedic, “Now catch your breath and don’t strain yourself overly, you can just as easily tell us what happened lying down.”

“Yes, Hashigawa-san,” Tideo sighed, laying his head back down into the grass, “Well, I was sitting there in the ambulance waiting for you guys to finish up when suddenly tendrillars literally invaded the car. It’d to have been thousands, and before I could do more than scream they’d completely entwined around me. The plants then began to suffocate me, and the last thing going through my head before everything went black was ‘Now that’s a shitty way to go, killed by your very hobby,’. Then I woke up hardly a minute ago, and while I’m surprised I’m very happy to be alive.”

“I quite believe it, Tideo,” the doctor chuckled and quickly took the man’s vitals, “Aside from a mild case of shock, which is to be expected, you’re perfectly healthy. I’ll recommend a few days off anyway so that you can recover from the ordeal.”

“Thanks, Hashigawa-san. I appreciate it. I’d really like to spend a few days with my wife and daughter,” Tideo replied in honest gratefulness.

“That’s the only sensible thing to do after such a brush with death, Hadoka-san. It's situations like this that open our eyes to how corruptible all things are, and how important it is to seize the day not just for work,” Happosai spoke up, calmly puffing his pipe, and after the paramedic had nodded his assent the Grandmaster added, “Say, did you have the impression that the plants that attacked you were acting like they were controlled by someone or something?”

“Well, I’m a hobby botanist and I’ve never seen plants behave like that. So yes, I guess I’d have to say they seem to have been controlled, somehow,” Tideo said after a moment’s thought.

“Thank you, Hadoka-san. You should rest now, that ordeal must've been exhausting,” Happosai said and patted the paramedic on the shoulder, subtly using pressure points to aid the man's recovery by sending him into a deep, regenerative slumber, before turning to the doctor, “Say, Hashigawa-san, how about you have a look at the Kuno boy? Maybe he can shed some light on the going ons.”

"Capital idea. With Tideo out like a light," Doctor Hashigawa shot Happosai a suspicious look who just shrugged innocently, "that's exactly what we'll do. Hikaru, Takahiro, tend to him and see that he gets a full check-up while I see what I can do for the Kuno boy."

"Yessir," the paramedics agreed and set out to carry out the doctor’s orders.

Felicia grinned and popped her knuckles. "Then let's get us some answers and possibly more ammunition to help clear Ranma's name, even if a little too late. But better late than never, eh?" she said and couldn't help but to needle Soun while giving him a significant look.

"Indeed, my dear, indeed," Happosai commented and leisurely followed the doctor over to where Tatewaki Kuno was lying on the grass, dead to the world. "As the Kuno boy is wont to say, the vengeance of heaven is slow but sure. Or something like that."

-.-

Tatewaki Kuno slowly became aware of his surroundings as his consciousness returned, and briefly wondering at the clarity of his thoughts he decided to bite the bullet despite what might await him, that being the sight of his wretched sister and all that entailed, the young man cracked one eye open and flinched at the bright light hitting him. He blinked his eyes for several seconds adjusting to the daylight and groaned before looking around, taking note of the people standing around him.

Blinking once more at the realisation that he was not somewhere in the Manor (the last location he remembered being anyway) but lying on soft grass Tatewaki pushed himself up on his elbows, a groan escaping him.

"Don't overexert yourself, Kuno-san," an unknown voice spoke up from his left which prompted Tatewaki to swivel his head to regard the speaker, identifying him as a doctor, and he was just about to reply when another voice spoke up.

"Young man's made of stern stuff and should be sufficiently recovered to function normally," Happosai said, calmly puffing his pipe, "The poison shoulda been flushed outta his system by now."

"You!" Tatewaki exclaimed and his face darkened before sporting confusion, "Are you not that wretched old man who commits all kinds of perverted acts?"

"I did do some... morally questionable things in the past, yes," Happosai agreed whilst taking another puff.

"And you helped me? Why?" Tatewaki asked in honest confusion.

"Master? May I?" Felicia spoke up, and Happosai nodded, curious as to what his newest student would say.

"And who might you be?" Tatewaki queried as he pushed himself into a sitting position, his head tilted to the right, "You're obviously not from around here, and I cannot recall ever having seen you before, for I'd have remembered someone of your beauty. And let me commend you on your mastery of my native tongue."

Felicia smiled and inclined her head. "Thank you. Don't take this the wrong way or interpret it as my being interested in you seeing as I'm spoken for, but my, you're not nearly as bad as I was told. I am Felicia Hardy, and I hail from New York City."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Hardy-san. I am Tatewaki Kuno, and please excuse my not giving you the greeting a lady deserves," the young Kuno said with a smile that was a far cry from former times in that it was normal, which made not just Genma and Soun cock their eyebrows. "And do not worry, I won't obsess over you. Whatever happened to me has left me with clarity of mind I've seldom felt before, sadly."

"Sadly?" Felicia queried, her left eyebrow climbing into the hairline while the others around her were echoing her sentiment.

"Yes," Tatewaki sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them a forlorn expression shown in his brown orbs, "sadly. You see, when my mind was still clouded I could convince myself that it had never happened, that the pigtailed girl was still alive. That my sister hadn't done what she did."

Felicia lowered herself onto the grass, coming to sit Indian style in front of Tatewaki, the look in her eyes urging him to continue. "What did she do?" she asked despite knowing it already.

"It seems like a lifetime ago that my twisted sister crowed that she'd finally rid herself of the pigtailed girl whom she believed to be a rival in her attempts to ensnare... Ranma Sao...," Tatewaki suddenly stopped himself, a look of horrified realisation appearing on his face. "But the pigtailed girl never was... for she... he..."

"Looks like you were hit by a clue-by-four, boy," Happosai commented surprisingly neutrally if not pityingly, "Figured it out, didn'tcha?"

"But... But how can that be? Is it really as Sao... Ranma claimed?" Tatewaki asked in a voice of someone whose world had just come crashing down around his ears, "Magic?"

Genma sighed. "I hate to play the circus animal, but has anyone got a bottle of water on hand?"

"Genma old friend, do you think it's wise?" Soun queried, his expression communicating just how unwise he thought Genma’s plan.

"Yeah. If it means we can convince Tatewaki-san here that magic's real it's well worth it," Genma retorted with a neutral face and added, "Especially if it helps clear my son's name."

Soun fell silent and slinked a bit into the background, fact that didn't even bother Genma. "So, anyone got water?"

Everyone present shook their heads after a cursory search and Doctor Hashigawa was about to go fetch the bottle of sterilised water they kept on stock in the paramedics' med kit when Felicia, sighing internally, reached into her left coat pocket and retrieved a pink bottle. She casually handed it to Genma with a muttered, "Here, but I want it back."

Genma's eyebrows climbed into his bandanna as he accepted the bottle, his confusion stemming from the strange design of the drinking vessel that depicted an (apparently) female horse rearing up on its hind legs, a white mare specifically, but his eyes widened distinctly when he read the lettering the mare was bearing, namely Mara N. Parker. "T-Thank you," he replied with a barely noticeable waver in his voice.

"You're welcome," Felicia smiled, the twinkle in her eyes convincing Genma even more that he'd interpreted the meaning of the bottle correctly.

'Mara N. ... If that ain't an anagram for Ranma my name ain’t Genma. So Felicia seems to accept both Ranma's forms, probably more than just acceptance if this is anything to go by. Interesting,' Genma thought before uncapping the bottle. "Doctor, what you're now about to see can't go any further, and I will not become a test subject over it. Bad enough I gotta live with it, even if I've come to terms with it."

"What is that 'it' you're referring to, Saotome-san?" Doctor Hashigawa wanted to know.

"This!" Genma exclaimed and upended the contents of the water bottle over his head, and the stocky man was immediately replaced by a much bulkier panda sitting on its hind legs. # Magic's real, doc. Very real as Ranma and me found out years ago. #

Tatewaki's eyes widened briefly, then he put his head in his hands and shook it repeatedly. "All this time... All this time I accused Ranma of being a foul sorcerer, and in the end he was the one afflicted by magic. Oh the irony," he muttered and fell silent, oblivious to the others as he hung to his thoughts.

"W-What... H-How..." the Doctor had stammered, and he was still rubbing his eyes a minute later as he had apparently trouble believing what he was seeing, "T-That just can't be!"

"Trust me, it is real. And you get used to it after a while," Lieutenant Yamaka commented casually, much to Happosai's amusement while Genma and Soun had disbelief written on their faces due to the officer’s reaction.

"I can see why this was never reported," Doctor Hashigawa muttered with an amused snort after he had recovered, "They," he turned his head to indicate the martial artists, "kept the crime rate down and dealt with dangerous situations the police would've been hard pressed to handle while you, as in the authorities, swept the knowledge of this magical affliction under the rug."

"Precisely," Happosai answered with a solemn nod and stopped to exhale smoke from his nostrils, "It's an arrangement that became necessary after my heir's dual nature was revealed, and both sides benefitted from it."

“That we have,” agreed the Lieutenant, nodding.

"Ahh. So the panda-man here is your heir?" the doctor queried curiously, making Genma grunt indignantly at being called 'panda-man'.

Happosai's reaction to the doctor's question was more severe, and the darkening of his eyes didn't go unnoticed by anyone, but Felicia spoke up before the medic had a chance to (inadvertedly) really put his foot in it. "No, Genma-san is the Master's student, yeah, but his son Ranma was Master Happosai's heir."

"Never met a finer young man. Or woman," Lieutenant Yamaka said wistfully amongst the nods of his subordinates. "Got to know him... Her... during an attack on a money transporter. Wasn't much we could do seeing as the attackers were heavily armed, and one of the fellas woulda shot me hadn't a raven-haired blur pushed me outta the way.

“Saved my life, Ranma did, and even though he changed genders right in front of me due to the bullet hitting a water pipe she carried right on and saved the day. Couldn't believe it when I heard what happened in New York. I always said that there was more to it as did a lot of others, figured that Ranma'd been framed, and seems I was right."

"Back up for a second here... So this Ranma changed genders, similar to how Genma-san here changes into a panda? Due to magic?" the doctor queried disbelievingly.

“Here we go again,” Happosai sighed, a bored expression on his face, "Well, let me tell you the very tragic tale of Jusenkyo, valley of the cursed springs..."

-.-

Ten minutes later Doctor Hashigawa (and the officers as well as Tatewaki, who'd been listening raptly), had been brought up to speed pertaining to the sacrifice reactors that were the cursed springs of Jusenkyo. The range of reactions had consisted of quiet disbelief to horrified amazement (especially at learning what kind of horrible animal curses existed), yet the proof that it was true (as had been demonstrated by Genma) had been irrefutable even to the man of modern medicine and science Hashigawa, and the initial disbelief had faded into reluctant acceptance.

Felicia had explained her take on why Happosai had set out on panty raids in the first place afterwards (aside from it being fun and literally energising), the reason in her opinion being that he wanted his students, Genma and Soun, to stand up to him, to find ways, any way (hence Anything Goes) to stop him.

She surmised Happosai had been impressed by the ploy that'd led to his imprisonment in the cave, hence why his revenge on them had been very mild compared to what he could have unleashed on them, and that'd he'd have to have been very disappointed that they'd allowed him to walk all over them ever since his break-out.

Felicia further expedited something she already knew, that Ranma had to have been something akin to a fresh breath of air in that he’d been strong-willed, talented and skilled, and while in the beginning vastly inferior to the Grandmaster he’d proven that he never gave up or backed down, and he’d done what his older students had failed to do, stand up to him, always.

The silver-haired woman smiled sadly. “In short, he was the perfect heir, wasn’t he?”

Happosai lowered his head so that none of the bystanders could see his face, but when he looked back up his gaze was steely. “In one word, yes, to everything you said, Felicia-chan. The panty-raids were, while great fun and my way of painting the town red, a test. A test my students failed spectacularly time and again. And then Ranma came along, and the young lad... lass... gave me hope that my true heir had arrived.

“Ranma was young yes, but he... had so much potential, yes, he was a martial arts prodigy you’ll find just once in every generation. I’d have taught him everything I know had he challenged me to a fight after the events at Mount Phoenix, and it wouldn’t have taken much prodding to gaud him into a good brawl after that fiasco so aptly called the ‘failed wedding’.

“But then the invitation to New York came and what happened afterwards, and the idiotic ‘I-act-before-thinking’ fraction had to go and ruin everything, believing the worst of a young martial artist who’d risked his life for others countless times. Ranma didn’t deserve that,” he spat bitterly, glaring daggers at Soun who tried his best to make himself small. “Alas, I have found a worthy heir in Felicia-chan, and soon we’ll have enough evidence to clear poor Ranma’s name.”

“Hold on, Happosai-san,” Tatewaki spoke up and carefully got to his feet, “I do not remember more from that newspaper article other than that Ranma was convicted for fivefold murder as ‘Ronin Ranko’, but you want to tell me that Tendo-san and even Akane-chan believed the charges even for a second?” he asked incredulously, his eyes wide.

“Hah, my boy, that they did!” replied Happosai bitterly, “You see, your sister had hatched up a truly devious and clever plan, I must admit. She’d managed to retrieve a genetic sample of Ranma’s female form, and using this she had a scientist create a perfect clone. This clone, pre-programmed with orders to kill any male hitting on her then committed the slaughter in that McDonald’s while Ranma had been tricked and knocked out by henchmen. The clone then fled, likely to die in a corner or something, and the American police found Ranma not far from the crime scene.”

Tatewaki considered what Happosai had said for a moment, a thoughtful look on his face, and laying his right index finger to his mouth he said, “So the police likely had video footage of the incident seeing as all stores are under video surveillance, and the clone’s clothes were likely put on Ranma before it was sent away to expire. Pretty strong case against him... her... Kami, this is confusing. Yet it was a strong case, verily so, no doubt about that.”

“That’s what I thought too,” Soun muttered wistfully and bowed his head.

“What I do not understand, Soun Tendo,” Kuno said, his way of addressing the Tendo patriarch conveying that the man had lost his respect, “is how you could believe Ranma guilty of a crime like that.

“Knowing what I know today, that Ranma and the pigtailed girl are one and the same, has opened my eyes to the fact that he has always done his utmost to help those in need.”

“A martial artist’s first duty is to protect the weak,” recited Genma.

“Exactly, Genma-san. So, what prompted you to think the worst of Ranma, Soun Tendo?” Tatewaki asked, his eyebrows raised inquiringly.

A deep sigh escaped Soun Tendo’s lips. “After having seen the video footage I had convinced myself that Ranma had slipped into something akin to the Neko-ken but with conscious control; the actions were too controlled to be the ‘normal’ Neko-ken, but with everything that’d happened to Ranma, all the magic, poisons and potions he’d been exposed to I just believed that as it made the most sense.

"I mean come on, mirror clones are pretty much par for the course in Nerima, but who would've thought that real clones could be created by technological means?

“And this meant in my eyes that Ranma had become a loose cannon that had to be, if not put down, then imprisoned for the rest of his days. Akane-chan and my other daughters thought my explanation made sense as well, as did Ranma’s mother. That’s why I was happy when he was placed in that prison for meta-humans as it meant a very dangerous martial artist had been contained.

“How could I have known that it was all part of a sinister plan cooked up by an insane woman?” he finished bitterly and lowered his head.

“Tatewaki-san has given you the answer to that, Tendo,” Genma spoke up, his eyes drilling into Soun’s, “My son was a honourable man. Yes, he was far from perfect, he was cocky, had an uncanny talent to really put his foot in it and was often too arrogant for his own good, but he also helped everyone who needed it. He did what was right, not what was easy time and again, and had you known him, really known him you’d have known that he couldn’t have killed those teens, Neko-ken or not. And now I’ll shut up before I say or do things I won’t regret later.”

“B-But...” Soun stammered, his eyes wide at his (former) friends’ not so hidden insinuation.

“Just shut up, Soun,” Genma whispered quietly but with steel in his voice.

“Indeed, Genma-san. Those who intend to only waste air should rather stay quiet lest they make fools of themselves,” Tatewaki Kuno commented with a derisive scoff and brushed off Soun’s glare, “Be it as it is, you have my promise that I’ll do anything in my power to help clear your son’s name. I owe it to him not just due to the vile acts of my twisted sister, but because I now realise that he was a true martial artist, a fellow warrior. I will do my part to ensure that his soul can rest in peace,” he vowed and raised his right hand, balling it into a fist.

“I thank you, Tatewaki-san. I hope our efforts will be enough to convince the authorities,” Genma mused seriously, a sigh escaping his lips, “Knowing my luck it won’t be easy.”

“Then let’s see if our luck’s any better, Saotome-san,” Lieutenant Yamaka spoke up, a small smile on his face. “I suggest we all ride over to the police station, and there we’ll see to it that we make a case so strong that the courts won’t have a choice but to clear Ranma-san of all charges, posthumously.”

Exclamations of agreement echoed through the afternoon air and the group set out.

-.-

The police officers, the medics and Tatewaki Kuno (the latter two having hitched a ride with the policemen) had just driven down the driveway and the martial artist faction was about to start roof-hopping when Felicia palmed her face, making everyone turn to face her. “Gosh, I was just hit by something, guys... this Sasuke character disappeared with Kodachi Kuno, right?” she asked in English, secure in the knowledge that Soun wasn’t proficient in the language due to Happosai’s briefing and not really caring that the Tendo patriarch visibly felt left out.

“Right,” the others echoed in English as well.

“This is the same Kodachi Kuno who’s madly in love with Ranma, right?” she carried on, eliciting more sounds of agreement from Genma and Happosai who were asking themselves where Felicia was going with this, “And this is the same Sasuke who knows that Ranma is alive, right?”

“Oh jeez,” Genma and Happosai exclaimed in stereo, both having understood what Felicia was getting at, “Sasuke knows Ranma’s alive and he’s bound to having told Kodachi, so who wants to bet she’s en route to New York?” the Grandmaster queried and quietly palmed his face, exclaiming, “D’oh.”

Neither Genma nor Felicia felt inclined to chance a wager.

to be continued...

Yeah, I’d say the chapter title’s appropriate, ain’t it? What happened to Kodachi was planned from the start, and even though she seems to have received abilities similar to Poison Ivy’s hers are different. How so? Well, you’ll find out.

Anyway, tell me whatcha think.

Special thanks to BorgRabbit for rendering betaing services and to ShineX for going to the trouble of reading and reviewing every single chapter. Super special thanks to all of you for over a thousand reviews and for turning this story into a fun ride.

Cheers!!