"James P. Goleski" <dizzy@aloha.net>

Ranma Goes to War

by J. Austin Wilde
Fission Park Press
dizzy@aloha.net



Most of the characters portrayed in this work of fiction are the 
creation of Rumiko Takahashi (long may she reign), she's the one to 
blame.


Introduction...

   This work of fanfiction comes from a crazy idea inspired on a quiet 
midwatch in maneuvering. For any of you out there who understand what 
I'm talking about, you have my sympathy. I don't remember who exactly 
came up with the idea of putting the characters from Ranma Nibun no Ichi 
in a war, but the original intent was to play up the characters in a 
very different set of circumstances than they (and their fans) were used 
to. Neither I nor my partner in crime were aware of fanfiction at the 
time.
   Having recently discovered the wonders of fanfiction, I can say there 
are others out there who have done such things. (Some of them rather 
well!) No one, to my knowledge, has attempted something like this.
   For those of us who have followed the exploits of Ranma and Company 
for awhile (and even those eager newcomers), it is easy to have a 
definitive feel for the characters. To know how the characters would 
react in situations, (or at least how we would want them to act; 
stubborn prideful jerks, just come out and say it!) The thought of 
putting these beloved characters into a situation as terrible as a war 
seems uncomfortable, especially when the portrayal of that war isn't 
some jingoistic rah-rah Hollywood production. I have tried to present 
this story in sometimes bitter, sometimes touching reality. The reality 
of combat and war.
   From other fanfiction I've read, this is probably the most graphic 
story around. Don't be too alarmed here. I've tried to keep it from 
getting too far out of hand.
   A Second Korean War is something most people write off as being 
alarmist fantasy. The quote later in the story about 'this next year 
will prove to be the year of North Korea's discontent' is not my words. 
They are the words of an intelligence specialist spoken in the late fall 
of 1995, while we were doing joint exercises off the coast of Korea. 
   What would Japan's involvement be in such a war? 
   How do our poor male cast members get caught up in this?
   What about the family and friends they leave behind to wait and hope?
   Read on, friend....


Chapter One



   Summer had come to Nerima the way it had for years past count. School 
was over for awhile. For some though, school was over for good.
   Ranma had graduated from Furinkan High, a fact that surprised some, 
particularly the faculty. Never much of scholar, he had done 
surprisingly well on his final exams, and his prospects for a good 
college were as bright as the summer sun. Ranma, for his part, had no 
particular interest in further schooling. It distracted him from his 
true talents. Martial Arts. He wouldn't be going to college in the fall, 
and even his father and Mr. Tendo had nothing to say about it.
   Akane had done outstanding, a fact which surprised no one. She would 
be attending college in the fall with her older sister Nabiki. This was 
a last summer of sorts, and the thought of it had forged an uneasy (and 
unspoken) peace between Akane and Ranma.
   Tendo Dojo was particularly quiet that afternoon. Soun Tendo and 
Genma Saotome played shogi in the waning sun. The heady aroma of 
Kasumi's cooking filled the air. Even the fish in the pond seemed 
content with the remains of the day.
   Nabiki, home for the summer, was perched before the television 
watching the news. She curled her legs up to her chin and watched the 
screen. They had acquired a satellite receiver through unknown (and 
dubious) means, though no one was arguing much about it. CNN was tuned 
in.
   Ranma and Akane came into the living room from separate directions. 
Both plopped down beside each other to watch the news with Nabiki. 
Nabiki held her tongue, deciding that if Ranma and Akane decided to sit 
next to each other, who was she to argue. Their truce was keeping the 
place quiet, though she missed the good old days already.
   "What're you watching?" Akane asked.
   "CNN. It's the top of the hour, so the headlines are coming up. I'm 
only watching for the financial reports though." Nabiki replied.
   "What? You mean you don't have a ticker tape machine constantly 
feeding you Nikkei Index reports?" Ranma chided.
   "My dear Ranma, please get with the times. My laptop with cellular 
modem receives all the information I require in that intelligence 
spectrum. I simply wish to evaluate my options from a human side. The 
Market is, after all, based on perception."
   "Sorry I asked," Ranma said lamely.
   "Shhh!" Akane hissed. "The headlines are next."

   They all turned their attentions towards the small screen. The 
Indomitable Sturm Blitzen appeared on screen, the Herald of World 
Conflict for CNN. He was on some sort of ship at sea.

   //"This is Sturm Blitzen reporting to you live from the Arleigh Burke 
destroyer USS John S. McCain, currently deployed near the Spratly 
Islands in the South China Sea. The McCain is part of a surface task 
force trying to project a sense of stability to the sea lanes around the 
Spratly Islands. Tensions between Western Pacific Nations have been very 
high the past few days with formal proclamations of ownership by at 
least eight countries: Vietnam, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, the 
People's Republic of China, Singapore, and Japan..."//

   "What the heck do we want with a bunch of islands out in the middle 
of the ocean?" Ranma asked. Nabiki shushed him.

   //"The Spratly Islands have become an economic boon for the 
surrounding nations with the discovery of vast mineral wealth, 
particularly crude oil..."//

   "You see my dear Ranma, Japan relies almost entirely on foreign oil. 
If we were to develop our own resources, we would rid ourselves of a 
vast drain on our energy dependent economy," Nabiki supplied.
   "So what are the Americans doing there? They can't possibly have a 
claim to those islands as well." Ranma asked.
   "The Americans are just playing policeman again. I say let them. It 
spares us the expense of using our own Maritime Self Defense Force 
ships."

   The CNN anchor was on again. Superimposed behind him was a map of the 
Korean peninsula.
   //"In other news in the region, the military Junta that deposed 
former ruler Kim Jong Il of North Korea has demanded trade concessions 
with their cousins in the south. Such demands were met with great 
criticism in Seoul."//
   The screen then shifted to show file footage dated from last winter. 
An American officer in green camouflage fatigues was speaking.
   //"As we learned during this last Foal Eagle exercise with Republic 
of Korea forces, this next year will prove to be the year of North 
Korea's discontent..."//

   "What did he mean by that?" Akane asked.
   Nabiki sighed. "He was making a reference to Shakespeare. What he 
means is that North Korea is bankrupt without support from Communist 
China and the new Russian Republics. If they don't take drastic 
measures, they'll be completely ruined."
   "Oh well," Ranma sighed. "It really doesn't affect us at all."
   Nabiki was about to rebuke him when Kasumi appeared in the room.
   "Dinner's ready!" The eldest Tendo daughter declared cheerfully.
   Such matters were forgotten...



                    *       *       *




   It was quiet in the house, several weeks later. Everyone had gone to 
bed save for Ranma and Akane. They stood out on the balcony of the dojo 
watching the stars. It was a glorious night, filled with heavenly light.
   **It was time I said something to her**, Ranma thought to himself. It 
seemed that as far as Akane was concerned, words that were so easy to 
say in his heart became a tangle, driven by frustration into the 
inevitable cutting remark that he never meant to say, but came out 
anyway. **Tonight's gonna be different!** He vowed. Soon she would be 
away at college; hers would be a different life from the one they'd 
shared these last two years. He had to do something, say something, or 
he just might blow it for good.
   "Uh, Akane...?" His voice was shaky, and he cursed himself silently.
   She didn't seem to notice. Or did she? "What is it Ranma?" Her voice 
had that tone about it that spoke volumes. Like **Come on and say it, 
I'm ready!.**
   He found his small reserve of nerve fading to dross before the light 
of day.
   "Uh, I've been meaning to talk to you about something for awhile 
now..." He forged on.
   "Yes? About what?" Her voice was supportive, but also too eager. She 
knew what he wanted to say, he knew what he wanted to say, why wouldn't 
the words come?
   "Uh... You see, I've been thinking. You go off to college this fall 
and I'm going to be here at the dojo and well I..." His voice trailed 
off.
   She turned to look him in the eyes. Hers were now a little dewy, and 
his heart started turning somersaults. **Say it you coward!**
   He opened his lips to say the one thing he'd wanted to tell her for 
so long. To get his feelings for her out in the open, to cast aside all 
pretense, all their pent up frustrations, and their petty stubborn 
defenses and just tell her. **I love you Akane.**
   Akane waited, her breath held. She knew what he meant to say, and it 
was all she could do to contain herself.
   "I....That is I...Well, you know we've known each other for awhile 
and..." **Coward! Coward! Coward!** His mind screamed at him.
   "Yes Ranma?" It really was all she could do to contain herself, and 
she pleaded with the gods to give him the strength to say those three 
little words.
   The distant, and totally unexpected wail of a siren filled the night. 
More sirens, closer than the first, took up the plaintive cry. Soon all 
of greater Tokyo was filled with them. The roar of jet engines was far 
away now, throaty and powerful, and any pretense that they were the 
engines of passenger jets was immediately dispelled.
   "What's going on?" Ranma cried.
   "It sounds like an air raid or something!" Akane replied.
   "Here? How? Who?"
   "I don't know, but maybe we should get inside!"
   In the living room the rest of the family clustered around the 
television set. They sat in bleary-eyed shock as NHK carried the news 
live.
   "What's going on?" Akane asked them.
   Soun pointed at the screen. "It appears we've been attacked." His 
voice was solemn.

   Images of smoke and fire raged around the seaport of Nagasaki. The 
reports were coming in hurried and even a little panicked. No one seemed 
to have any idea what was going on. Nabiki flipped to CNN.
   //"This just in... A ballistic missile attack was launched from North 
Korea at various Western Pacific nations including Japan, Taiwan, and 
South Korea. At this time at least thirty Scud-E missiles have been 
fired. All diplomatic channels with the communist nation have been 
severed. A spokesman for the White House revealed that the Republic of 
Korea now considers the Armistice of 1953 null and void, and that a 
state of open warfare exists between the divided country..."//
   The screen switched to Sturm Blitzen, again at sea.
   //"This is Sturm Blitzen reporting live from the USS Lake Erie, a 
guided missile cruiser in the Sea of Japan and the flagship of the US 
Naval surface forces in the Western Pacific..."//
   A flash of brilliant orange light and the harsh roar of rockets 
filled the screen. The cameraman tracked a Standard SM-2 missile 
climbing higher and higher into the sky, leveling off at high altitude 
and disappearing from sight.
   //"I'm told that we're firing on a second wave of theater ballistic 
missiles launched from North Korea at Japan. The first wave came largely 
by surprise not fifteen minutes ago. I'm led to believe Nagasaki and 
Osaka were hit especially hard, although details aboard the Lake Erie 
are sketchy right now. As far as I know, Tokyo and it's surroundings 
have not been targeted."//
   An announcement was made over the ship's loudspeakers, but none 
watching could make out what was said.
   //"The Captain has just ordered the ship to rig for a possible 
nuclear-biological-chemical attack. We'll have to go inside for 
now...This is Sturm Blitzen reporting live for CNN aboard the USS Lake 
Erie."//

   "Oh my!" Kasumi gasped, hand pressed to her cheek in surprise.
   "Dad, does this mean we're at war?" Akane asked, suddenly very 
frightened. The thought that someone could rain missiles down on their 
heads while they waited helplessly was enough to make all of them 
frightened.
   "That might be very true," Soun replied somberly.
   "Well they haven't attacked Tokyo, and now we've got a fleet out 
there shooting the damn things down." Genma offered, which seemed to 
bring a little calm back to the assembled family.
   "Yeah, It's not like they're trying to invade us or nothin'," Ranma 
added.
   When Ranma spoke Genma and Soun looked at each other, then Ranma, 
then back to each other. Theirs was a grim countenance indeed.
   "It'll all be over in a few days," Ranma said, trying as much to 
comfort Akane as himself.
   Genma and Soun shook their heads imperceptibly, now focused on the 
sight of Ranma and Akane sitting close to each other. Neither was 
conscious of the fact that their hands were now locked in the other's.



Chapter Two



   The notice had come with the morning mail. It was a shock to all save 
Soun and Genma, who had known it would come and yet prayed with all 
their strength that it wouldn't. Ranma took it hard, disbelieving at 
first, but Akane took it the worst.

   "You are to report no later than 10 July to the First Military 
District Recruiting Depot for compulsory service under the National 
Emergency Act dated such and such..." Ranma voice trailed off as he read 
his draft notice. "Aw this can't be happening to me!" He cried aloud. If 
there was any sympathy for him from above, it failed to reveal itself.
   "You must go my son," Genma said, and tears streamed from his eyes. 
Soun looked even worse than his father. "It is your duty."
   "I understand all that, pop. It's just that I can't see myself as a 
soldier."
   "Every martial artist is a soldier, boy." Genma's voice was now 
stern. "A martial artist sets himself in combat before his enemies to 
protect those he loves."
   His father's words were lost upon him. "Yeah, but this is different. 
Wars these days are fought with guns, not fists."
   "Then you will learn the ways of the rifle. It is your duty, son."
   "I can't shoot anybody!" Ranma cried in protest. "Maybe beat 'em up a 
little, if they have it coming, but I can't go killing anyone because of 
some stupid..." His voice trailed off.
   "There are other paths than killing, my son."
   "If I go to Korea to fight than I'll have no choice! I'm not a 
killer, pop!"
   Genma searched for a rebuke. He didn't want to see blood on his son's 
hands either, but there was honor and duty to think of.
   "Maybe if they find out about my little 'secret' they'd disqualify me 
from service," Ranma thought aloud.
   Genma was livid. "You will not bring such disgrace upon the Saotome 
name!"
   **Pop's really serious about this!** Ranma thought. It was true 
enough. To be disqualified from service would be a disgrace, 
particularly the nature of disqualification, should he reveal his 
'secret' to the Army. He would have to go.



                    *       *       *


   He was going away, but there was nothing really for him to pack. The 
Army would send it all home when he arrived regardless. Mostly he just 
paced around the room wondering about what would happen next.
   He couldn't believe he'd been drafted!
   He understood it, he supposed. Japan didn't have a large standing 
Army. It was actually quite small, even with the slow withdrawal of 
American troops from his country. The only branch of the Self Defense 
Force of any size was the Maritime SDF, their navy. Nabiki had explained 
that Japan maintained a large and modern Navy to protect their shipping, 
which was the absolute lifeblood of the economy. Nabiki would know of 
course.
   Akane slipped into the room behind him. He wasn't sure what she was 
going to say, and tried to prepare for any number of possibilities.
   "Ranma?"
   He turned around.
   "Yeah?" Somehow it came out sounding all wrong. He didn't want to 
push her away, but he was going there fast.
   Her expression was somewhere between hurt and anger.
   "Ranma... I--I just wanted to talk, but if you don't want to..." She 
turned to go.
   "Wait." He took her wrist gently and turned her to face him. "That 
is..." He began. He stalled. 
   **Why aren't I any good at this?**
   Akane bit her lower lip. "Umm...I just wanted to..."
   "I'll be alright," Ranma said cockily. Once again the words came out 
all wrong.
   She put her hands on her hips. "What? You thought I was worried about 
you?"
   **This wasn't where I thought we were going,** he thought darkly.
   "Well isn't that why you're here?"
   Akane's emotional spectrum shifted further towards anger, but Ranma 
had known her long enough to know there were feelings much different 
behind her storm front.
   "I came to help you pack!" She said and stormed out of the room.
   Ranma buried his face in his hand. **That went _real_ good...**


   Kasumi had pulled out all the stops for dinner, as this was going to 
be Ranma's last one with the family for a long time. Unfortunately no 
one was feeling particularly hungry. Not even Ranma, who was a chowhound 
of the first order.
   "Is there something the matter?" Kasumi asked, unused to the lack of 
attention her meal was getting.
   "No! No not at all Kasumi dear," Soun said.
   "Guess I should be enjoying this," Ranma said glumly. "It's my last 
supper."
   "Oh my Ranma, don't say that!" Kasumi cried.
   "Gallows humor doesn't suit you," Nabiki added.
   Dinner went really well after that...


   That night Ranma decided to try and make a final peace with Akane. He 
didn't want to leave with bad blood between them. He went upstairs.
   The first place he looked was her room. He knocked, there was no 
answer. He decided to let himself in (it hadn't stopped him in the 
past). She wasn't there.
   Next he tried the bath. He knocked.
   "What is it?" Nabiki's voice asked.
   "Is Akane in there?" Ranma asked.
   "Haven't seen her," was Nabiki's curt reply.
   "Uh, okay," Ranma offered, and headed for the dojo.
   She wasn't there, either. He walked out into the yard. The sky was 
filled with light.
   He looked skyward, shaking a fist to the stars.
   "You're always popping up at the worst possible times, but when I 
need you you're not there!" He yelled. His voice echoed across the 
neighborhood.
   "Need who?" Akane asked.
   Ranma just about jumped out of his skin.
   "Need who?" Akane repeated.
   "Oh, uh. Nothin'."
   She smiled at him. "Oh, I just thought you were talking about me."
   He started to turn red. Fortunately for him his head was backlit by 
the rising full moon, and Akane didn't notice.
   "I was going to take a walk, would you like to come with me?" She 
asked. Her hand was just far enough from her side to be an invitation 
without seeming too forward.
   "Well, sure." He steeled himself, and took her hand. It was warm and 
soft, and his jitters seemed to melt away.
   They left the yard and walked out into the street. Ranma had to 
suppress his conditioning and not jump up to walk along the walls. Akane 
felt him start to surge out of her hand, and gave it a firm squeeze and 
gentle tug to pull him back next to her.
   "Uh, sorry," he apologized. "Force of habit."
   They walked hand-in-hand for awhile with neither of them saying a 
word. Ranma was content with that, as a conversation would probably ruin 
everything again.
   The two of them eventually returned to the yard. They sat down in the 
grass to watch the stars. Akane leaned her head on his shoulder, which 
thrilled him to no end. Their hands seemed inseperable.
   She sighed, and for a moment Ranma felt like it had sounded more like 
a sob. He started to panic inside, wondering what he'd done wrong now.
   "W-What's the matter?" He asked quietly.
   She shuddered a little. "You promise me that you'll be alright?"
   He leaned his head over to rest on hers. Her hair smelled so sweet, 
and her closeness was suddenly intoxicating. 
   "Don't you worry Akane. I'll be just fine."
   She looked up into his eyes. Hers were wet, and still he wondered 
what he'd done wrong to upset her.
   "You promise?"
   He gave her hand a squeeze as she had done to him earlier. "I 
promise."
   They were so close to each other, he felt sure they were going to 
kiss. He started to lean closer, just letting his heart take over for 
once and let his foolish pride be damned! Akane closed her eyes in 
anticipation.
   "Oh my! There you two are! Father's been worried sick." Kasumi cried 
from the porch, oblivious to what was about to happen.
   The moment was shattered. Ranma could almost hear it crash down 
around them. Akane cursed so softly, he wasn't sure if he heard it or 
just felt it from her.
   She stood up, and he rose with her. Kasumi went back into the house, 
only now realizing that she had interrupted something. Ranma was once 
again at a loss for words, and decided that he shouldn't push his luck 
by saying anything.
   It was very late, and they climbed the stairs to their rooms. Only at 
Akane's door did they let go of each other's hands.
   Akane opened the door and started to go inside her room. Then she 
spun on her heels and threw her arms around him in a brief but fierce 
hug.
   "Good-bye Ranma! Please be careful!" She whispered into his ear. Then 
she broke from their embrace and ducked into her room.
   "Good-bye Akane..."
   He walked slowly to the room he and his father shared.
   **I finally did something right with her!** But grim thoughts of the 
future followed, and his bouyant mood was smothered in doubts. **Too bad 
it might be the only time I ever do...**


   The next morning came earlier than he'd hoped. He hadn't slept much 
at all that night, lost in his thoughts and the events of the past few 
weeks. Kasumi had prepared a simple breakfast for Mr. Tendo, his father, 
and him so they could catch the train.
   He said his good-byes, took one final look at the dojo, and walked 
away with the two fathers. The trip was once again filled with silence. 
Mr. Tendo had quickly spent his meager store of peppy small talk, and in 
the end stared off into space.
   The word was that he would be placed in a reserve unit following his 
recruit training. A training that would be greatly abbreviated due to 
the nature of the emergency. Boot camp would only be six weeks long, 
compared to the sixteen week training regime normally directed for 
recruits. He was glad he was already in top shape, as the Army no doubt 
had plans to squeeze in as much as possible within the shorter time 
frame.
   When they reached the Depot, long lines of other young men his age 
stretched around the corner of the building. Their families tried to 
look strong and supportive, but the dread and the pain of separation was 
plain to be seen.
   Ranma didn't know what to do when he saw the crowd waiting at the end 
of the line. Tatewaki and Kodachi Kuno were there, the sister weeping 
openly for her brother while he stood stoically like some kabuki 
samurai. Ryoga Hibiki was there, having no family present, but in the 
company of Ukyo. Hikaru Gosunkugi was last, and his family was just as 
spooky looking as the frail 18 year old himself.
   "So they got you too Saotome?" Ryoga asked.
   "Yup," Ranma replied. "I can't imagine how you managed to find this 
place in time."
   "He had a little help, Ranchan." Ukyo said. She smiled sweetly for 
him, but there was that same look of despair that Akane had. Why does 
everyone fear the worst? I'm just going into the reserves, it's not like 
I'm going to be on the front lines. Heck, I'll probably spend the whole 
time in Japan!
   Kodachi brightened a little at seeing him, then broke down into 
another wave of tears. "Oh not my Ranma darling too!" She sobbed. She 
moved to embrace him, only to be held in check by her brother.
   "Hush sister, waste not thy tears on him." Kuno said gruffly.
   "Oh but I may never see him again!" Kodachi cried. The black rose in 
her teeth became an image, particularly morbid, graven in Ranma's mind.
   "Oh come on!" Ranma said full of bravado. "We're going into the 
reserves! We'll probably be right here in Japan!"
   The others took a little heart to his words.
   **Perhaps this won't be so bad after all. I just have to keep 
convincing myself that it will all work out.**
   Good-byes came especially hard. He said good-bye to his father and to 
Mr. Tendo, both of whom lost all resolve and began to weep. It was hard 
for him to see it from both men, but he dismissed it as just useless 
worrying. Kodachi had given him her rose and promised to write him every 
day. Ukyo's tearful kiss upon his cheek had been a welcome surprise, and 
he marveled that he had such an unlikely friendship with her, his 
Ucchan.
   Within seconds of saying his farewells he was whisked into a world of 
stern faced doctors and soldiers. He was poked, prodded, probed, tested 
and interrogated at every turn. When they drew several tubes of blood 
from his arm he had to ask them what all that blood was for.
   "We do blood typing, pathology, HIV testing, and of course the DNA 
for the archives," the nurse replied cheerfully.
   "DNA? What for?"
   "To assist Graves Registration in identifying remains."
   He decided that there were some questions he didn't need to ask. They 
were taking this all so seriously, and Japan hadn't even sent troops 
anywhere. The Second Korean War had yet to materialize, it was all 
blowing over just like he said it would.



                    *      *       *


   It came as no surprise to Recruit Private Saotome Ranma that he would 
get Kuno, Ryoga and Gosunkugi in his boot camp unit. It was his karma he 
supposed. Even worse though, was that Kuno was his bunkmate, and had 
insisted on the bottom rack of the double bunk. He could see that even 
six weeks of boot camp was going to be an eternity, as Kuno was already 
crying out for the servants to make his bunk.
   **It took him three hours to come to grips with the fact that he'd 
have to sleep on such a little bed and with the entire platoon for 
company,** Ranma thought darkly. **How long's it going to take for him 
to figure out that he's supposed to make his own bunk?**
   He sat on his bunk as Kuno raged on in his unique form of tirade. 
Eventually he got tired of it and bonked Kuno on the head, sending him 
to blissful stupor on the cold tile floor. The rest of the platoon 
applauded him, and he could see that he would be popular here as well.
   He felt the top of his head, it was bare. For reasons that became 
immediately apparent to the base's barbers, Ranma had to keep his 
pig-tail where it was. He felt a little silly, and his unique condition 
had leveled all manner of abuse against him by the Drill Instructors.
   Ryoga had the bunk next to his. He and Gosunkugi were bunk mates it 
seemed. Ryoga had a far away look in his eyes.
   "This ain't so bad, huh Ryoga?" He said.
   Ryoga didn't answer.
   "Aw come on Ryoga, the chow ain't nearly as good as Kasumi's but it 
wasn't bad either. And the Drill Sergeants aren't nothin' but a lot of 
bluff and bluster. You and me can take whatever punishment they dish 
out."
   Ryoga remained silent.
   "Aw Ryoga, talk to me man. You're the only friend, well sort of 
friend, that I have here."
   "We aren't killers Ranma..." Ryoga said.
   **So that's eating him too...** "Who said anything about being 
killers? We're reservists."
   "You actually believe that? Why then such a short training cycle if 
our country isn't going to need many combat troops ready?"
   Ranma hadn't thought about that.
   "But we're not even at war right now. Everything's a little tense, 
but the diplomats are working things out."
   "Believe that if you will Ranma, but as for me, I must come to terms 
with the fact that I may become a killer." **And that I may never see 
Akane again.**
   "Ryoga, the only thing we have to worry about is staying away from 
cold water."



                    *       *       *



   The platoon had found out about Ranma and Ryoga's secret after two 
days, with the sudden summer shower that struck them as they marched. 
After the initial shock, the platoon had adjusted quite well, 
particularly so because Ranma-chan was the best thing the soldiers had 
to look at all day. Ryoga's transformation was a little more bizarre, 
but the platoon had looked after him as well at Ranma-chan's direction. 
They'd even kept it secret from their Drill Sergeants by secreting 
thermos flasks of hot water in their rucksacks.
   The only problem was of course Kuno. At the beholding of his 
pig-tailed goddess, the once Rising Star of Furinkan High went berserk. 
Ranma handled him like usual, and ended up doing a lot of push-ups 
alongside the fool for his troubles.
   They trained from three in the morning to nine at night plus all the 
routine housekeeping chores of their barracks. The physical stuff wasn't 
very challenging, except for Gosunkugi, who was a constant source of 
pain and discontent for the platoon. The Drill Sergeants zeroed in on 
him from the start, but the frail little freak actually hung in there. 
The other problem child was again Kuno, but after several days of 
affront to his genteel sensibilities, (and lots of corporal punishment) 
let his martial arts training in control go to work for him, and he bore 
his insults in silence when the sergeants weren't around. Ranma took 
care of him when his barracks tirades got out of hand, earning him the 
respect of the entire platoon.
   They did weapons drill after only a week of training. Ranma found 
that when he applied himself, he was an outstanding marksman, the best 
in the platoon. Ryoga was a close second, and even Kuno was a 
respectable third. The posturing idiot likened himself to a modern day 
samurai who had traded in his bow and arrows for their modern 
equivalent. Even the Drill Sergeants had approved of such sentiments, 
which was another point to Ranma's belief that he didn't belong here 
-even if he was the best in the platoon at everything the Army had to 
teach.
Six weeks went by in a blur. The platoon was beat dead tired, to a man. 
Word was they'd be given three days leave before their posting to a 
reserve battalion in battered Nagasaki.
   On the subject of the word though, the truth was that they weren't 
getting much of it outside the Army, and the Army was keeping mum. Ranma 
found to his disgust that his letters were being censored. Big black 
permanent markers had been taken to letters from Akane, Ukyo, Kodachi, 
Shampoo and his father. He didn't know what half of the letters said, 
only that he received more mail than anyone else in the platoon, most of 
it unreadable.
   The day of graduation came, with little ceremony. The Drill Sergeants 
seemed particularly solemn as they handed out each Private's orders. The 
platoon was instructed to keep their orders sealed until the sergeants 
had spoken to them. It was the first time their leaders had been so 
informal with the platoon.
   "It is our duty to inform you that upon the completion of your 
training, you will be sent to the 1st Army Expeditionary Division, now 
in combat against North Korea."
   There was a stunned silence then upon the whole platoon. The 
sergeants continued. "Our country declared war against them four days 
ago following a third missile attack and for attacks on Japanese flagged 
shipping in the open sea. North Korea has invaded the south, and you 
will be part of a United Nations force to oppose them. You must be on 
your highest standards of behavior and conduct, as the Republic of Korea 
has openly protested the presence of Japanese troops on their soil."
   They let their words sink in for a moment before continuing. "It is 
also our duty, and our regret, to inform you that all leaves have been 
canceled for recruits, due to the need for replacement troops in the 
field. You will be departing for the Divisional Staging Area in four 
hours. Your families will be notified and instructed on where to send 
mail. Good luck, and may the gods shine upon you for the glory of 
Japan."



Chapter Three


   Korea in the summer was terribly hot. The country was nothing but 
hills, although some would argue them more at mountains. Ranma was 
leaning in favor of the mountain definition, as he had hiked up and down 
just about every one of them in all of South Korea getting to his new 
unit.
Again it was no surprise for him to learn that himself, Ryoga, Kuno, and 
Gosunkugi were to be in the same unit again. They seemed fated to be 
together, and over their last six weeks together had become a sort of 
family. (Albeit a very twisted and dysfunctional one, but work with me 
here!) They were now part of 3rd Platoon, 'A' Company, 2nd Battalion 
Reserves, and they would be right on the front lines. Their only solace 
was that the North Koreans were more interested in attacking along the 
western end of the front, which was closer to Seoul. The Japanese troops 
had been shunted far east along the coast for political reasons.
   The scourge of the day were airplanes. Jet fighters that streaked 
overhead at supersonic velocities and shot at anything they felt like. 
They'd heard of one of their brother companies getting hit by South 
Korean F-16's, which didn't do anything for morale, particularly when 
feelings between the Republic of Korea and Japan were none too pleasant 
to begin with.
   Ranma and his platoon were fortunate indeed. At least they tried to 
convince themselves of this.Ranma sat atop his foxhole dug into the side 
of the hill near the top. He looked out across the valley below into 
no-man's land, and to the hill where the North Koreans had some troops. 
   Jets criss-crossed the air above them, streaks of white and black 
smoke danced lazily over their heads. Bombs fell along that opposite 
hill, little puffs of black smoke followed by dull booms several seconds 
later. The constant patter of distant artillery miles and miles away was 
something they had grown used to.
   Ranma had seen the maps and knew that even miles and miles away, it 
wasn't very far when you figured how narrow the country really was. 
Seoul was being hit pretty hard, as if the bombardment of Scuds that 
precipitated this nightmare weren't enough.
   He missed Akane.
   Her letters flowed in to him by the armload from the rear area. To 
his delight he found that her letters weren't being censored like they 
used to be. She was writing him at least daily, and though he never 
thought he had it in him, he tried to write her too. He wondered where 
she found things to talk about, all of his letters to her and to the 
Tendos back home in far away Nerima all said pretty much the same thing:
   "Korea's hot. Everything's quiet where I am. I'm alright. Miss you 
much."
   He had learned that his old man had finally owned up to his mom that 
they had returned from their training mission. It turned out that his 
mother had seen right through their little "Mister Panda / Ran-ko" 
routine, but had not called them on it for her own reasons. She also 
hadn't demanded their immediate suicides as Genma had often threatened 
she would. He felt a pang of regret, he hadn't seen his mother in so 
long, at least not as her son. It had taken something as terrible as 
this to bring his stupid old man to fess up.
   Ryoga's head poked out of their foxhole. He had his M-16 slung over 
his shoulder, his ever present bandanna wrapped around his head beneath 
his kevlar helmet. At least Ryoga made a better partner than Kuno, who 
now suffered the company of Gosunkugi.
   "Hey stupid! What are you doing up there? You wanna get killed?"
   Ranma scoffed at Ryoga. "Come on Ryoga, we've been here three weeks 
and no one's so much as looked in our direction the whole time. The only 
casualties we've taken were from those stupid jets, and they were 
supposed to be on our side!"
   "Fine with me then, I'll just have to console poor Akane when they 
bring your stupid dead body back from this hellhole."
   "Shut up Ryoga! It's not like you can even find your way back to 
Division much less all the way back to Japan. You can't even find your 
own damn foxhole!"
   "You take that back!" Ryoga yelled. He jumped out of the foxhole and 
assumed a fighting stance.
   Ranma sneered. It was about time! He needed someone to spar with or 
he was going to go crazy!
   They commenced to hammer each other with blows, not really caring 
about defense, just blowing off steam. As they grappled and tried 
alternately to strangle or break the other's neck, shells began dropping 
in all around them. 
   Ranma watched horrified as their own Corporal Ozawa was blown to bits 
not ten yards away from them. Hot embers and clods of dirt rained down 
on them, and their ears rang with the report of the shell. They jumped 
into their foxhole.
   The shells continued to fall around them, shaking the ground and 
threatening to cave in their shelter. Dirt clods pelted them as each 
tooth rattling explosion hit nearby. It seemed every gun in Korea was 
aimed at their foxhole.
   Ranma opened his eyes to find that he and Ryoga were holding onto 
each other for dear life. Ryoga's eyes were squinted tightly shut. It 
struck him as funny in a brain addled kind of way.
**Two minutes ago we were trying to kill each other, now we're holding 
onto each other like best friends.**
   He started to laugh.
   Ryoga opened his eyes and saw that Ranma was laughing. Not that he 
could hear him, as the shells' thunder came in full force to their 
little hole, but because the idiot was smiling and carrying on.
   **He's gone nuts.** Ryoga thought. **Shell shock.**
   "What are you laughing at?" Ryoga screamed.
   "Just thinkin' how lucky you were to be saved by this shelling!" 
Ranma shot back.
   Ryoga's face screwed up into a cross-eyed visage of mindless rage.
   "AAAAARRRGGGHHHH!!! I'll take your fool head off Saotome!"
   Before Ryoga could make good on his threat, the sound of Kuno's voice 
could be heard over the howl and whomp of the shells.
   "Insolent curs!" Kuno cried at the top of his lungs.
   Ranma and Ryoga faced each other, then poked their heads cautiously 
out of their hole.
   Tatewaki Kuno stood atop his foxhole, facing out across no-man's 
land. He carried a sword held high in his hand; a real sword, not a 
wooden bokken. The steel gleamed in the sunlight. Shells landed all 
around him, yet not a scrap of shrapnel touched him.
   "Cowards!" Kuno bellowed. "A thousand deaths are not enough for 
thee!"
   "Kuno you idiot! Get back in your hole!" Ranma yelled. A hot sliver 
of metal creased his helmet liner, driving him back down.
   "Let him get himself killed!" Ryoga yelled over the din.
   Kuno continued to pontificate.
   "Face me in single combat you heathen!" he bellowed, waving his blade 
over his head. "Hide not behind the skirts of your artillery!"
   Ranma dared another look out of the hole. Kuno was still standing 
there, still in one piece.
   "Kuuuunooooo! Get down you moron!"
   Kuno spun on his heels to face him. "Silence wretch! You have no 
leave to speak to me in that tone!"
   "Alright ya jerk! You asked for it!" Ranma snarled in reply.
   Ryoga watched in disbelief as Ranma jumped out of the foxhole and 
charged Kuno. The swordsman now faced no-man's land again, returning to 
his verbal counter-battery of the far hill.
   "Cretins! Wretches! Cowards! I fear you not! Come face me as men! For 
tis truly nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of--"
   He didn't get to finish, as Ranma had body checked him with all his 
might, driving them both down into Kuno's foxhole. A shell blew apart 
the ground where the swordsman had stood, geysering clods of red-brown 
dirt high over their heads and collapsing part of the hole.
   Ranma lay sprawled atop Kuno, who lay atop Gosunkugi, who was now out 
cold. Ranma growled at Kuno for having made him do such a stupid thing, 
realizing that his voice had taken on a higher pitch and smoother 
timbre. His (now her) helmet rolled over her face, obscuring her vision. 
Her clothes now hung on her, and her boots were five sizes too big.
   Her whole side was sopped where a shell fragment had burst her 
canteen open. 
Kuno opened his eyes. He then threw his arms around Ranma-chan and 
embraced her with all his prodigious strength, and cried in a loud 
voice;
   "Oh Pig-Tailed Girl! Even here to this desolate place do you follow 
me! I will do honor to your devotion for me! I will protect you with 
these arms even as I do so now! I-"
   Ranma-chan headbutted him, knocking him out cold. She left him atop 
Gosunkugi and sprinted for the safety of her own hole.
   Ryoga began to laugh as soon as he saw the bright red locks of hair 
spill from beneath Ranma-chan's helmet.
   "Oho! Couldn't resist tempting Kuno with your beauty, eh Saotome? You 
and he make such a cute couple!" Ryoga taunted.
   "Jus' shut up!" Ranma-chan spat. She reached for their tiny little 
camp stove and a box of hexamine tablets to make some hot water.
   There's no way I'm gonna be caught dead like this!
Ryoga continued to chortle. The shells seemed to slow their barrage. 
Soon they had stopped, and there was an eery quiet throughout the hill.
   "Huh?" Ryoga grunted.
   He poked his head out.
   Smoke wafted from numerous shell craters. Clods of dirt were strewn 
everywhere. The ragged remains of Corporal Ozawa were now muddied red 
only three yards from their hole. Ryoga was grateful for the 
overpowering reek of cordite, which masked the smell of their dead NCO.
   He started to say a prayer for him when the bullets began whizzing 
around him.
   He ducked back down into the hole.
   "Damn it!" He swore. "The shells weren't enough, you have to shoot at 
us too?!" He unslung his M-16A2 and jerked back the bolt. Ranma-chan 
looked at him, unsure of what to do or say.
   "Don't just stand there fool! They're coming for us!" Ryoga yelled. 
He popped back up and began firing 3-round bursts. The hot brass 
showered over Ranma-chan, and she yelped in pain.
   "Hey ya jerk!" She cried, and chambered a round in her rifle. She 
popped up next to him and looked down her sights. Bullets zinged around 
them, but they held their ground. **This was different from being 
shelled,** Ranma-chan thought. **I've fought some pretty scary 
characters in my day, but getting shelled is a lot different. You're 
helpless against it. But this...I can fight back now.**
   There were a lot of them running along the valley under the cover of 
smoke from artillery shells. She could see several armored vehicles 
lobbing more smoke shells in front of them. The artillery barrage 
returned with a vengeance
   There was nothing she could do except start shooting. If they ducked 
back into their hole the North Koreans would get close enough to kill 
them with grenades. But I don't have to kill anyone, she thought. She 
took aim and fired.
   The rifle cracked once. It was a good 300 meters, through smoke, but 
the shot was true. A North Korean dropped to the ground clutching his 
ankle.
   A heavy machine gun from a larger hole behind theirs began chattering 
away, and the North Koreans began directing their fire at it instead of 
them. Ranma-chan focused on the task at hand, and her rifle cracked 
again and again. North Koreans dropped to their knees or began to hop 
around on one foot as she shot at their legs. They were closer now, but 
the wind had picked up, blowing away their smoke cover. Shells that 
rained death on the hill now shifted to drop smoke on their forces to 
keep them covered.
   Ryoga saw what Ranma-chan was doing and joined in. All he'd been 
doing was wasting rounds spraying in front of them to get them to stop 
advancing. Both of them were expert marksmen. Between the two of them, 
they hobbled an entire enemy platoon.
   The roar of jets filled the air. All at once the valley became 
engulfed in fire and smoke. A terrible ripping noise followed, like a 
giant tearing apart a great carpet. Huge steel shell casings dropped on 
them from above as something big, green, and ugly flew overhead. A 
grinning shark's mouth on the thing's nose surrounded an enormous 
gatling gun. The three armored vehicles were flayed open like Saturday 
evening's fish, bursting in bright firework flowers of orange and green 
as their ammo exploded.
   As suddenly as the jets had come, they were gone, and silence once 
again reigned on the battlefield.
   Ranma-chan could see the North Koreans running back for the shelter 
of their holes, many of them limping badly. The artillery barrage had 
ceased for fear of drawing further attention from the terrible green 
jets that had decimated their attack in one pass.
   "Wow! What the heck were those?" She cried in her clear alto voice.
   "Who cares?" Ryoga replied. He dropped back into the hole and 
reloaded his rifle. "Maybe they will buy us a little more peace and 
quiet."
   Ranma-chan joined him in the hole. Both of their faces were plastered 
with sweat and smudged with smoke and dirt. Ryoga looked very tired, and 
she felt as tired as he looked.
The water was hot on their little hexamine stove. She applied a splash 
of it to herself, feeling herself begin to fill out her camouflage 
fatigues at once. His boots now fit him again, which was a relief from 
all of the chafing he'd suffered with them flopping around on his 
formerly little girl's feet.
   "Want some tea?" He offered the remainder of the water to Ryoga. They 
were well supplied with it from Kasumi's care packages. It was finer 
brew than the tea in their ration kits.
   Ryoga looked at him tiredly. "I'd settle for going home."
   Ranma slumped down beside him. They were both worn too thin to 
continue their earlier fight.
   "Me too, Ryoga. Me too."
   A voice from outside their hole asked if they were still alive. It 
was their sergeant, Yoshida.
   "We're alright sarge," Ranma and Ryoga replied in unison. The two of 
them poked their heads out of the hole.
   Yoshida had a cut across his forehead that a medic was trying to 
treat. His face was just as dirty and worn as theirs, yet he seemed to 
draw strength from some hidden reserve. He gestured to Kuno and 
Gosunkugi's hole.
   "How 'bout them?" He asked.
   "I think they're alright," Ranma answered.
   Yoshida smiled as Kuno and Gosunkugi crawled out of their hole. Poor 
Hikaru looked even paler than usual. Kuno seethed in silent fury at the 
grief his enemies had heaped upon him. He had a purpling bruise on his 
forehead.
   The sergeant turned back to Ranma and Ryoga. "Ozawa and Kishiro were 
killed during the attack," he said flatly. Both men were corporals in 
the platoon. "There are no replacements for them, so the Old Man told me 
to find some out of the rest of the platoon. Saotome, Hibiki, you're the 
best men I've got right now, so you're both breveted to corporal 
-effective immediately. It'll be official once it clears Division, but 
this is good enough for now."
   Ranma and Ryoga didn't know what to say. Yoshida continued on without 
pause.
   "Your first assignment as the new squad corporals is to see that 
every man has enough ammo and grenades for another attack, probably 
after sundown. Then you'll meet me in my hole and I'll lay out the new 
fire lanes for our position. You'll pass that on to the rest of the 
platoon. Questions?"
   "Another attack?" Ryoga asked.
   "Of course. That was just a probe according to Division. We were 
lucky to have air support close by, that's the only reason we got off 
with such light casualties. We can expect another probe tonight, maybe 
even a full scale assault, so make sure the men have plenty of ammo. 

Enough to fight all night. And get 'em to eat something now while they 
can. A little sleep couldn't hurt either, as long as it's in shifts. I 
don't want more than two holes in a row asleep at any time, got it?"
   "Hai!" Both answered. What else were they going to say?
   Yoshida left them to see to Ozawa. Two medics had placed the man's 
body in a vinyl plastic bag and zipped him up. Ranma and Ryoga were both 
grateful that they didn't have to look at him anymore.
   **Two dead and that's getting off light?**



   The night came and went without an attack, although the shelling 
picked up again sporadically in the morning. Across the ridge line, 
towards the west, the shelling and the noise was intense. The word was 
that Seoul was about to fall, and that the front would be turning back 
towards the center of the peninsula. Towards them.
   Yoshida dropped two new jackets into their hole, each with corporal's 
stripes on the sleeves. He left without saying anything.
   Ryoga tried on his jacket. It was clean, but that wouldn't last long. 
Ryoga didn't quite fit the part of a corporal, but then again, neither 
did he, Ranma supposed. He tried on his jacket as well. At least it was 
dry and clean.
   Kuno didn't take the news of Ranma and Ryoga's promotion well, and 
was now sulking in his hole. Gosunkugi had ventured out long enough to 
congratulate them, and snapped photos of both of them to send home. It 
was the bravest thing they'd seen Hikaru do since coming to Korea. 
Apparently he'd fainted dead away long before Kuno and Ranma had landed 
on him.
   Later that day the shelling stopped, and someone from the rear area 
brought mail. Ranma had his usual bundle of letters, and today it seemed 
there was a care package as well. The package was from Akane, which was 
unusual in that Kasumi sent all the other ones. A cold lump formed in 
his stomach, and he shook the box cautiously.
   It rattled, sounding a little like cookies. Now his heart was racing. 
He handed the box to Ryoga as if it was full of explosives.
   "Here, open it."
   "Why me?" Ryoga asked.
   "Cause it might be food."
   "You lout!" Ryoga snarled. "Just because Akane is still learning to 
cook doesn't mean you should malign her so!"
   "Hey, you know as well as I do what her food's like. If we air 
dropped some of it over there we'd end the war within the day! Of 
course, they'd probably retaliate with nuclear weapons..."
   "Very well _Corporal_ Saotome! I shall open this, but if it's edible 
you don't get one damn bite!"
   "Deal!" Ranma chirped.
   Ryoga tore open the box with his characteristic ferocity. Sure 
enough, there was a tin of home baked cookies inside. Akane had drawn 
little animal faces on the cookies with frosting. At least that's what 
they thought they were. The faces _were_ a little crude.
   "Hey, they smell pretty good!" Ranma cried in excitement. Maybe 
Kasumi _did_ bake them.
   "Oh no you don't Ranma! Remember our deal!" Ryoga shot back, jerking 
the box out of Ranma's reach.
   "Aw come on Ryoga! Just one?"
   "A deal's a deal!"
   "But we haven't tested them yet!" Ranma protested. "How do we know 
they're not edible?"
   Kuno and Gosunkugi appeared then at the top of the hole. Ranma and 
Ryoga had lined the top with sturdy logs, which made the place feel a 
little more secure. 
   "Are those cookies, or doth mine senses deceive me?" Kuno asked.
   "They smell great!" Gosunkugi added.
   "Akane made them," Ryoga said, both as answer and warning.
   "Home baked cookies made from the loving hands of Akane Tendo?" Kuno 
cried. He lunged down into the box and grabbed one. "Very well then, I 
shall taste what love hast made!"
   He bit down on the cookie. Ranma could have sworn he heard the sound 
of shattering glass. Kuno began to stare cross-eyed.
   "Gee, who would have thought she'd confuse cement with flour? Could 
happen to anyone I guess." Ranma said casually. It was a disappointment 
to be cheated like that, but better Kuno to discover the awful truth 
than himself.
   Kuno recovered from his shock to examine the cookie. There weren't 
even dent marks from his teeth in the thing.
   "Hhhhmmmmm...." He murmured, still studying the cookie. "Perhaps like 
fine French wines, they do not travel well..."



                    *       *       *


   The days seemed to drag in Nerima. Every day found the family 
clustered around the television set to watch the news. Ukyo was there, 
as were Shampoo and Mousse. Shampoo and Mousse had escaped deportation 
back to China only because China had refused to take sides in the war. 
Happosai smoked his pipe calmly, the only one who wasn't worried about 
Ranma or the others.
   Nodoka and Kasumi entered with the tea. All were silent as the news 
came on. The screen showed images of distant explosions and the sounds 
of jets and artillery. The NHK reporter was describing what he saw, 
which was followed by a voice-over narration.

   //"Fighting continues around the outskirts of Seoul today, with heavy 
casualties on both sides. UN forces have been pushed back after their 
first counter-attack since the beginning of hostilities. Many insiders 
report that an uneven flow of supplies due to North Korean submarine 
attacks is hampering the defense of the peninsula..."//
   The screen then shifted to show a foundering merchant ship burning in 
the early morning darkness.
   //"Attacks continue on merchant shipping on the high seas, with the 
latest being the attack on the Yuri Maru. The 25000 ton bulk freighter 
was hit by several Russian made anti-ship cruise missiles fired from a 
North Korean Kilo submarine. US naval forces were able to sink that 
submarine, but only after it had sunk Yuri Maru and her vital cargo of 
pharmaceuticals and iron ore from Australia. The cost of the sinking is 
estimated at 24 billion yen. Even worse than the loss of life and 
property is the delays such shipping attacks are causing in the region. 
Inflation has risen nine percent in recent weeks, and the cost of 
underwriting voyages has skyrocketed. Ultimately the consumer must pay 
the price for the higher cost of goods that travel by sea..."//
   The screen shifted back to the jagged hills of Korea. Bodies were 
being carried out on stretchers. Each was zipped up in a dark plastic 
bag. Several shots of wounded Japanese soldiers followed, with each 
member of the family and friends cringing in the fear that they would 
see someone they knew, perhaps even cared for. Fortune was with them, 
and they recognized no one. There was little more of note on NHK, and 
Nabiki switched over to CNN. She had a hunch that certain details of the 
war were being censored by the Japanese government. CNN would have no 
such troubles reporting the events as they happened. After a rehash of 
NHK's report, she was vindicated.
   Sturm Blitzen appeared, this time on dry land. He was wearing a 
camouflage parka because the weather was starting to turn cold in Korea.
   //"Japanese elements of the UN forces came under heavy attack earlier 
today, the ninth straight day of attacks. Experts believe that the 
attacks are an attempt to skirt American and Republic of Korea blocking 
forces around Seoul, and drive deep into the center of the peninsula. 
Thus far the Japanese troops have held, but losses have been heavy. 
Continued shelling and armored attacks have kept them pinned, and only 
the dwindling resources of available air support by the American and 
Japanese Air Forces have kept the North from rolling over the 
beleaguered defenders..."//

   "Oh my!" Kasumi cried. Hers was the most vocal report. The rest 
suppressed their worst fears with silence. Nabiki turned the TV off.
   Akane stood up and walked out to the pond. Ukyo followed her to offer 
some kind of support.
   "If something happened to the boy, we would have been notified by 
now," Soun Tendo said. He wasn't sure who he was trying to convince.
   "You're right Tendo," Genma replied solemnly. He was determined to 
help his friend keep the family's spirits up. Ranma hadn't written in 
twelve days.
   Akane was on the verge of weeping. She'd been able to keep her chin 
up for awhile, but the truth was that Ranma's absence was tearing at her 
more and more each day. Why won't the jerk write me? **All I want to 
know is that he's alright!**
   Ukyo had an empathy for these things and placed a reassuring hand on 
her shoulder.
   "Come on Akane, we both know Ranma can take care of himself."
   "Then why hasn't he written or tried to send word? He used to write 
every few days!"
   "Maybe with all the fighting that's been going on the mail's having a 
tough time getting out. Heck, he's probably got a whole stack of letters 
ready to go for you."
   "I hope you're right Ukyo." She smiled for her sometime rival's 
benefit.
   Kasumi's voice rang clear and cheerful across the garden. "Akane! 
Come quickly! I've got letters from Ranma!"
   Akane's face brightened like they hadn't seen in weeks. She was 
standing before her eldest sister before another word could be said. The 
rest of the family gathered around the two.
   "It's dated only three days ago!" Akane said happily, and she tore 
open the envelope.
The paper looked like the back of a ration box, but they were used to 
that. Ranma's scrawl was plastered over every available surface.

   "Dear Akane," she read aloud, too happy to care if anything personal 
was being said. "Sorry I haven't written to you sooner, hope you're not 
worried or nothing. As you probably know, things are pretty crazy here, 
but I'm alright. So're Ryoga and Kuno and even Gosunkugi. Oh yeah, Ryoga 
keeps buggin' me to tell you that him and me got promoted to corporal-" 
Gasps of happy surprise followed. Genma started bragging until Nodoka 
shushed him. Akane continued, "-but all it really means is we get less 
sleep than everyone else 'cause we gotta look after them. Oh yeah, 
thanks for the cookies you sent, they've been a real life saver! Signed 
Ranma."
   Akane closed her eyes and tried to imagine Ranma's happy surprise at 
her box of cookies. Something had finally turned out right! Tears welled 
at the corners of her eyes, tears of joy.

   **Hey Saotome! Supplies didn't get through again!** She imagined 
someone telling him out there. **He looks at the soldier and smiles. 
'Don't worry about me, I've got these cookies to see me through!'**


   The shelling picked up the tempo, coming down like high-explosive 
hail. Ranma, Ryoga, Kuno, and Gosunkugi sat in their enlarged hole. Kuno 
and Gosunkugi's had taken a direct hit while they were in the rear area 
picking up ammunition for the platoon, and now the four from Furikan 
shared a hole -what had once been Ranma and Ryoga's.
   A particularly nasty shell landed close by, nearly knocking them 
silly with the concussion. Several more followed around them. The dirt 
was hard packed by now, and only little trickles of it fell from the 
logs and sod roof they'd put over the forward half.
   "Hey Kuno, shelling's getting heavier, put some more of those cookies 
on the roof," Ranma said casually. He'd grown used to the constant 
thunder, could even sleep through it if it wasn't immediately close by.
   "Why must I do it, Saotome?" Kuno protested.
   "Because it's your turn," Ryoga informed him.
   Kuno sighed. "Very well, though it seems a sin to despoil the work of 
the beauteous Akane Tendo by such coarse and vulgar uses."
   "Whatever keeps us from getting killed," Ranma said. "Those things 
are harder than stone."
   Kuno sighed again and dug into the box for a half dozen of the 
things. They looked like ordinary sugar cookies, they even smelled 
wonderful, but whatever Akane had done to them, they were now like armor 
plate. He poked his head up long enough to arrange them with the rest in 
as aesthetically pleasing way as time permitted. As soon as he ducked 
back into the shelter of the hole, a shell hit the roof dead on.
   The concussion was enormous, stealing the breath from their lungs. 
The reason they had not been instantly killed was that something 
directed the tremendous force of the blast up and away from the four 
soldiers huddled in the light of their tiny camp stove. Ranma ventured a 
look up to see how their shelter had fared.
   As expected, the cookies were undamaged. They weren't scorched. They 
weren't even warm.
   "If only Akane knew how many times those things saved our necks," he 
muttered to himself, then ducked below to wait out the shelling and the 
inevitable attack that would follow. This the tenth day of it was really 
wearing thin, though they had all hit some weird threshold where they 
didn't seem to fatigue anymore than they already were. If anything, the 
constant shelling had made them indifferent to all the violence around 
them, their actions in hobbling the enemy when they attacked were 
automatic, like robots.
   The one time when the North Koreans had gotten close enough for hand 
to hand combat fighting, Ranma and Company had beat the tar out them, 
and taken many prisoners. Yoshida had mentioned something about medals, 
but Ranma and the others could care less. They just wanted to go home.



   Akane hugged the letter to her chest, the happiest she'd been in a 
long time. She let the others read the rest of the mail, content to sit 
on the patio deck and watch the sun set. 




Chapter Four




   Ranma felt the cold bite of the wind and knew that things were only 
getting worse. They'd been driven back seven miles before finally 
holding along a new line of hills when the American and Japanese Air 
Forces finally received badly needed aviation fuel and ordnance. Their 
own ammo supplies had been down to the last few rounds only yesterday. 
Then those ugly green jets had come roaring overhead, and the North 
Koreans had begun to withdraw even before the first bombs hit. He still 
hadn't learned what they were, only that they were some American plane.
   Gosunkugi had been hit three days ago. They were fighting the 
withdrawal to the current hill front when a bullet struck him in the 
shoulder. It spun him around like a top, and Ranma was sure that the 
frail little guy was dead. But miracles happen, and the little guy 
somehow picked himself up and kept going. Ryoga had nearly gotten his 
butt shot off helping him along, but they finally got him to an aid 
station.
   Hikaru was going home, the bullet wound had shattered the shoulder 
blade, and he would need reconstructive surgery. The doctors said he'd 
lose some arm strength (not that he had much to begin with), and that he 
might lose some mobility. The bottom line though, was that he was going 
home.
   Ranma and the others were stuck on their new hill, dubbed 1127 on 
their maps. 1127 of course was the hill's height in meters. They weren't 
going home anytime soon. They had already spent nine days on hill 1127, 
just holding their own.
   He had just loaded up the UN Humvee with the platoon's ammunition 
allowance, which he had been tasked to draw by Sergeant Yoshida. He was 
in charge of four new guys, fresh from boot camp. It still amazed him to 
think that he had been one of them only two months ago. Now he was a 
veteran, a corporal, and soon to be decorated for valor.
   He could tell that they were looking at him more in awe than respect. 
It bugged the hell out him. The winding road back up the hill to the 
company area seemed to take forever.
He dropped them off with the ammunition and reported in to Sergeant 
Yoshida. Yoshida took his report with the same silent ease that Ranma 
had grown accustomed to. Then he went back to his new hole, ahem, home.
   They hadn't salvaged most of the cookies when they bugged out of 
their first shelter, he only hoped that some of the bastards had eaten 
them (or tried to.) His feelings for the North Koreans and this stupid 
war had changed, and although he still couldn't bring himself to 
actually shoot to kill, he felt no sympathy for them. Quite the 
opposite, he wished them all dead. He'd lost too many comrades already.
   He wondered if he'd ever really be the same as he was before the 
summer started, and knew at once that he wouldn't. This place had 
changed him, and not in all respects for the better. He dropped down 
into the hole.
   Ryoga wasn't there. Come to think of it, his pack wasn't there 
either. The place looked much the same as it had when he left for the 
Divisional area that morning, only Ryoga was gone. That was odd, 
considering that Ryoga had drawn the midnight listening post watch out 
on the perimeter. He was dead tired asleep when Ranma left.
   Ranma asked around. No one had seen Ryoga. He began to worry.
   **That numskull can't find his way through a pass-in-review much less 
navigate through this camp. He's probably lost. With his luck he'll 
stumble through a minefield!**
   It suddenly struck him as quite odd that he even cared at all for the 
jerk. All he'd ever done was try to make his life a living hell. When 
had things changed?
   He ran into Sergeant Yoshida as he wandered.
   "What is it Saotome?" The sergeant had the talent of knowing people's 
minds before they did.
   "Um, 'scuse me Sergeant Yoshida, but have you seen Corporal Hibiki?"
   Yoshida nodded. "Hibiki's out leading a patrol in no-man's land. You 
were down in Division so I sent him instead."
   Ranma nearly exploded. "WHAT?!! You sent Ryoga Hibiki out to lead 
people through no-man's land?!! Are you crazy?!"
   "Saotome! You raise your voice to me again and I'll bust you back to 
buck private on minesweeping detail!"
   "You don't understand, sir! Ryoga Hibiki has the worst sense of 
direction in the universe! He gets lost on the way to the latrine! Now 
he's out in the middle of hostile territory and he's probably lost!"
   "Calm yourself Corporal Saotome. I understand your concern for your 
friend. We'll see about establishing radio contact. Now see that the 
rest of your squad gets their ammunition."
   "Yes sir."
   Ranma did as he was ordered, knowing that no matter what, Ryoga was 
lost.


   Ryoga Hibiki had the latest navigational aids available to the modern 
soldier. He had hyperacurate satellite topography maps. He had both a 
magnetic, and inertial compass. He even had a portable Global 
Positioning System receiver linked to the United States' cluster of GPS 
satellites high in geosynchronous orbit.
   None of it mattered, because Ranma was right. Ryoga was lost.
   "What do you mean you don't know where we are?!" Kuno bellowed. Two 
of the squaddies silenced him. They'd had the feeling that the North 
Koreans were ghosting them.
   "I mean I'm not sure where we are. Everything on this stupid map 
looks the same."
   "Damn your eyes man! Use your GPS!" Kuno cried.
   "How?"
   Kuno nearly collapsed. No one else knew how to use the thing either. 
Ryoga tapped at the buttons for awhile. At last some numbers scrolled 
across the little LCD screen.
   "Aha!"
   The squad of five clustered around the little display.
   "Great," the private named Kenjiro said. "Now what's it mean?"
   "Uh, beats me..." Ryoga said. "They cut that part out of basic 
training, remember?"


   Ranma had waited about as long as he was going to wait. Ryoga and the 
others hadn't shown up. Radio communications in the FM bands were shaky 
to begin with due to the hilly terrain, but the constant warble of 
jamming systems killed any hopes of contact.
   "I'm goin' out after them," he said to Yoshida.
   "And add your name to the lists of the dead?"
   "I ain't plannin' on dyin'."
   Yoshida scowled.
   "Are ya gonna let me go, or do I have to leave without your 
permission?" Ranma's eyes blazed. Yoshida knew Saotome was deadly 
serious.
   "I know nothing of this..." Yoshida said at last. Then he walked 
away.
   Ranma nodded grimly. He was on his own. Yoshida would neither give 
his assent nor try and stop him. That was good enough.



   It was pitch dark with no moon in the sky. The North Korean positions 
weren't fixed with any great precision, so he had no idea how far he 
could go before he ran into trouble. That didn't bother him. What 
bothered him was how he was going to find Ryoga and his squad.
   He was traveling light to move faster. He had traded his M-16A2 for 
an M-727, which was a shorter carbine version of the M-16. It was 
smaller and lighter and a little more handy than his trusty rifle. He 
only carried four magazines for it, plus a few smoke grenades. He 
carried no food and only two canteens of water. If he didn't find them 
within a day, chances were they were already dead or captured.
   He started down the hill, checking in with the listening post on the 
perimeter to make sure he knew the password to get back through the 
lines. No-man's land was another valley between ranges of hills, this 
one was more narrow than the one he'd first come to hate. There were 
abundant trees, as they had pulled back to a more defensible position 
faster than the North Koreans advanced. The enemy had been heavily 
bombed over the next range though, and very little remained standing.
   Ryoga was supposed to turn inland, away from the sea for his patrol. 
It was a safe bet then that the knucklehead had turned out towards the 
coast and the Sea of Japan. He started heading towards the east, and the 
sea. He made seven miles in four hours, running as fast as he dared. The 
feeling that the Koreans also had patrols out in no-man's land was very 
strong in his gut.
Around midnight he stumbled across a yellow and black headband. It was a 
standard Ryoga method of finding his way, although it never worked. It 
did give him hope.
   He continued on through the night. Several times he was sure that he 
was being stalked. His stalkers were good though, and stayed out of 
sight. Ranma didn't have time to try and draw them out.



   "Are you sure we haven't been this way before?" Kenjiro asked.
   "Positive," Ryoga replied. **Or am I? How can I possibly get lost?! I 
had everything! A map, two compasses, even that stupid GPS thing that no 
one knows how to use. Why did they even give it to me? Why is this 
happening to me? Why? Why? Why?**
   "Methinks Private Kenjiro is correct, Hibiki," Kuno said. "We have 
been wandering aimlessly through these hinterlands all night!"
   "Shut up!" Ryoga barked.



   He found another bandanna about two hours after midnight, then a 
third an hour later. A fourth was found thirty minutes after that. And 
shortly thereafter, a fifth.
   **Yep, no doubt about it. The jerk's circling now. It'll be any time 
now.**
   He followed the least likely path Ryoga would take, and was rewarded 
with a trail of broken and trampled foliage. He knew he was close. He 
knew his stalkers were close as well. He'd been pretending not to notice 
them all night, but his hackles were up and just getting worse. He hoped 
they'd have some give away before they attacked, and he hoped even more 
that they'd try and take him hand-to-hand.
   **They want me alive, 'cause they coulda shot me a long time ago. I 
just hope I can get them all before they change their minds.**


   "Come on Hibiki, let's just try the radio again," Kenjiro said. He 
was getting spooked, and it was contagious.
   Ryoga nodded. He unslung the radio and tried to tune it in. They were 
rewarded with static, some faint signals in English, and more of that 
incessant warbling on their own command channels.
   "The stupid thing doesn't work."
   "We can see that, Philistine," Kuno growled.
   "I've had about enough of you!" Ryoga yelled.
   "Oh really, cretin?"
   "That tears it!"



   Ranma knew that voice anywhere.
   **That stupid jerk's gonna wake up the whole damn North Korean 
Army!**
   He ran on, knowing his stalkers had heard as well.



   Ryoga and Kuno squared off to fight. Neither one noticed as Ranma 
leaped into the air, kicking both of them to the ground. Kenjiro nearly 
blew Ranma's head off with a burst from his rifle. Ranma spun around and 
snap kicked the weapon from the private's hands.
   "Aw knock it off you idiots!" He yelled.
   Ryoga cursed at him. "You shouldn't have stopped us!"
   "Look you idiot, maybe you haven't noticed, but we're being 
followed."
   "Maybe I did notice!" Ryoga shot back. "Maybe I just don't care. If 
they were so dangerous, why didn't they attack? Huh?"
   That was when the shooting started.
   Kenjiro took a burst across the chest and went down, but not before 
he pointed to the direction of the shots with his dying efforts.
   Nomura actually dropped into a firing stance and started shooting 
back before he took a bullet in the side of the head. Whoever they were, 
they were attacking from at least two directions.
   Kuno was on his feet and leaping into the fray with his sword drawn. 
he hacked at one of their assailants who'd charged in shooting. The man 
spun around in a spray of blood. He was North Korean, wearing some 
blackout style camouflage. Kuno wasted no time in idle prattle, leaping 
gracefully again into the fray.
   Ryoga rushed to Hideo's side as the private fell with a bullet in the 
knee. His own rifle barked out two 3-round bursts, taking one of their 
attackers across the groin. Hideo was thrashing in pain, his screams 
shrill and loud enough to drown out all but the gunfire.
   Ranma fired wildly into the darkness, having no targets he could 
reach without hitting Kuno. Next he popped two smoke grenades and lobbed 
them in the directions of incoming fire. The grenades went off with loud 
pops, and billowing clouds of blue smoke erupted in the trees.
   If things could go any more wrong, they just did. A single crack of a 
pistol from the darkness sent Kuno flying backwards. He landed amidst 
the four he'd killed with his sword, and was still. Ranma could just 
make out the expanding wetness at Kuno's belly.
   He looked up in time to see the dull cylindrical object tumbling 
towards them.
   **Ryoga's right there!** He cried out in his mind.
   The grenade exploded an instant later.
   There was heat and pain, followed by silence.




Chapter Five



   Soun Tendo had known great sorrow before this day. The death of his 
beloved wife had been the hardest blow he'd ever suffered. That was 
until today, when he had to tell his daughter that her fiancee was 
Missing In Action, and presumed dead.
   The word had come via an Army officer of the Self Defense Forces. The 
officer had been the epitome of politeness and tact, but his message was 
a blow none the easier to take for it. The officer bowed formally and 
left the dojo.
   Once the officer had left, and only then, did the tears flow from his 
eyes. Kasumi saw him then, and at once she knew the cause for his 
sorrow. Her hand went to her cheek, but no words came. She let a sob 
escape her lips, soft and delicate, before she fled for the kitchen.
   Nabiki was in the family room, reading a magazine. Akane was 
attempting to knit something, a sweater perhaps? Neither of his 
daughters noticed his silent entry into the room.
   Genma and Nodoka did. They also saw the look on Soun Tendo's face.
   "What is it Tendo?" Genma asked. He wasn't sure he wanted to know.
   "S-Saotome..." Soun began. Akane and Nabiki looked up now at their 
father. "Saotome...An officer from the Army was just here..."
   "What is it dad?" Akane cried. There was terror in her voice.
   "It's Ranma..."
   "No! He can't be!" Akane cried. "He promised me!"
   Soun could barely say the words. "He has been declared missing in 
action..." He couldn't bring himself to add the words 'presumed dead'. 
It was too much now to see his daughter this way.
   "He isn't dead!" Akane yelled. "I know he isn't! He promised me, and 
he always keeps his promises!"
   She ran upstairs to her room.




   "Aw man, I feel like I'm dead..."
   It was a stupid thing to say. Since when do the dead feel anything? 
By saying it though, he knew he wasn't.
   He wished he was for just a moment. At least then he wouldn't hurt 
anymore. He hurt bad.
He tried to sit up. Slowly and reluctantly his muscles responded. It was 
daylight out. Maybe morning. It felt like morning. He was cold.
   He was alive. He knew that much. He hadn't been captured. Where was 
everyone else?
   Dead.
   Must have been. He'd seen Kuno go down with a bullet in his belly. 
Ryoga wasn't more than four yards away when the grenade went off. The 
other guys had all gone down before then.
   He looked around. There were bodies strewn everywhere. Five of them 
were Japanese. He saw Ryoga.
   He crawled over to him feeling his muscles cramp and knot with cold 
and pain. Ryoga's form was still, no wait, he was still breathing! He 
could see the shrapnel wounds in his legs and arm. There wasn't much 
blood, which he hoped was a good sign.
   "Hey, Ryoga...Ryoga, wake up."
   Ryoga stirred as Ranma shook him gently. The man who was sometime 
friend and sometime enemy bolted upright with a guttural moan. There was 
madness in his eyes. He had his knife in his hand and raised it to 
strike.
   "Ryoga, no! It's me, Saotome!"
   Ryoga seemed to come to his senses.
   "Come on Ryoga, take it easy..."
   Ryoga shook his head to clear the cobwebs.
   "Uhhhh...."
   "Just lay here for a minute, I'm gonna check on the others."
   Ryoga lay back down on the ground. He didn't seem to be in too much 
pain, although he was probably in shock.
   Ranma checked the others. Nomura, dead. Very dead in fact, he was 
missing most of his head. Kenjiro looked liked he'd bled out every drop 
of life in his body, the ground was soaked with it, now jellied and 
sticky. Hideo he'd seen was dead as well, the grenade had flung a piece 
of shrapnel across his throat, and his chest and arms were now shredded. 
That left Kuno.
   He crawled painfully along the ground, afraid to stand up. The 
Koreans had good snipers, and they'd learned that the hard way in the 
last two months. He did not want to be a standing target in broad 
daylight.
   Kuno lay there white and still. He'd been gut shot, and Ranma could 
see where powder burns had stained his fatigues along with the blood. It 
had been close range. Still, Kuno had sent four of them to hell first.
   **I can't believe Kuno's dead!**
   He had to be sure though. He picked up the man's cold limp wrist and 
felt for a pulse.
   Nothing.
   He turned back to Ryoga, who seemed to be the only other survivor 
besides him. As for the Koreans they'd fought, those that lay there on 
the cold ground were just as dead as Hideo, Kenjiro, Nomura, and Kuno...
   "Come on Ryoga, it's just you and me and we've gotta get out of 
here."
   Ryoga tried to stand. The pain in his legs must have been unbearable, 
but he managed to stand. Ranma could see where fresh blood now oozed 
from his wounds.
   "Come on Ryoga, I'll help you walk." **I'll carry you if that's what 
it takes.**
   "W-What about Kuno?"
   "He's dead..."
   "No he's not! I can see him moving!"
   Ranma spun around. Kuno stirred slightly. A soft moan escaped his 
lips.
   "I'll be damned..." Ranma said.
   "We'll need to carry him," Ryoga said. "I'll see about making a 
stretcher."
   "I'll do it Ryoga, you can barely stand up on your own."
   "You get Kuno, I'll worry about the goddamned stretcher!" Ryoga 
snarled.
   "Okay okay."
   Ranma went over to Kuno. He was breathing, barely. He felt for a 
pulse, and found one after several minutes of searching. It was weak and 
thready.
   He had a battle dressing in a hip pouch. He ripped at the fatigues 
and placed it upon Kuno's belly. With infinite care he lifted Kuno's 
cold limp form into his arms and over his shoulder into a fireman's 
carry.
   "You don't look so good Ranma," Ryoga said as he went to work. 
   Ranma looked down at himself. He was hit by shrapnel as well. In the 
leg and in the side. Both wounds oozed slowly, but appeared to have 
scabbed over. He was covered in blood, splashed from Kenjiro's death 
throes.
   There wasn't much he could do that nature wasn't already trying to 
fix.
   Ryoga had come up with a crude stretcher using two long branches and 
the fatigues of their dead comrades. Ranma lay Kuno upon it, and 
together they picked up the fallen swordsman.
   "He's bad, isn't he." Ryoga said. It was a statement, not a question.
   "Yeah..."
   "Anything we can do for him?"
   "I don't think so. I put a dressing on him, but he needs surgery. And 
blood, he's almost bled white."
   "We gotta keep him warm, I took Nomura's jacket."
   "Yeah..."
   "Ranma?"
   "What is it?"
   "Do you know where you're going?"
   "Yeah..."
   They walked in silence. Ranma didn't care about snipers anymore, they 
were as good as dead no matter who caught them. He still had his 
carbine, but that was the only weapon they had left.
   "Ranma?"
   "Yeah?"
   "Why did you come out here after us?"
   Ranma was silent a little longer.
   "I came out looking for you, Ryoga."
   "Me? Why? We've been enemies all our lives."
   "'Cause you're the only friend I got right now..."




   **Akane was still in denial...** Soun thought. **It's not hard to 
imagine why, but she has to face the facts...I just don't have the heart 
to tell her.**
   Nabiki had gone back to college. Akane hadn't. Nodoka had been with 
her for awhile during her exile in her room, but she still refused to 
accept it. She stayed in her room, and Kasumi eventually brought her 
meals up to her. Not that she ate much of them.
   He and Genma hadn't been able to say three words to each other, such 
was his friend's grief.



   "We gotta stop for a minute," Ryoga panted.
   Ranma agreed. They set Kuno down in the sun to keep him warm. The 
days were getting shorter and the nights colder. Frost covered the 
ground at night, and snow was just around the corner. The harsh Korean 
winter was coming for them.
   There was no way they could get back to their lines now. The North 
Koreans had pushed on the morning of their awakening and threw back the 
UN lines another seven miles. They had narrowly avoided the advancing 
troops.
   Now they were eight, probably nine miles in enemy territory.
   Ranma decided to head east for the sea. He hoped to skirt the 
majority of the fighting, perhaps find a fishing town or something where 
they could find help for Kuno. The swordsman had held on for three days 
now, but even the man's stubborn refusal to die couldn't last forever.
   Both of them were weak. Kuno was a dead weight, and Ryoga's legs hurt 
so bad that he could hear his friend's stifled gasps with every step. 
They hadn't said much to each other since that first day.
   They had no food. Ranma knew water was bad for a man with a belly 
wound, but he insisted on using some of their dwindling reserves on 
wetting a rag for the unconscious swordsman to suck on. Ryoga hadn't 
objected.
   "We need to change Kuno's dressing," Ranma said. "It's looking pretty 
bad."
   "I think I still have mine," Ryoga replied. He searched his pouch and 
found his battle dressing. The sterile wrapping had been broken, but the 
thing was cleaner than the one on Kuno.
Ranma had to stifle his vomit reflex as he changed Kuno's bandage. The 
wound was draining heavily and other signs of infection were visible on 
the exterior. He used up some more of their water trying to clean the 
wound a little before applying a new bandage.
   "You ready?" He asked Ryoga.
   "Yeah...How much further to the sea?"
   Ranma looked at the sky. "I think we can make it by sundown."
   "Let's go then. I don't know how much further I can push on."
   They got up again, carrying the stretcher between them.
   The going was slow, as planes zoomed overhead, and bombs fell in the 
distance. And some times not so distant. Once a glowing fireball of 
phosphorus sailed over their head from an incendiary explosion nearby. 
They inched along, and every step was a triumph now.
   The crash of the surf was welcome to their dull ringing ears. There 
were no fishing towns around, but they couldn't be far. They set Kuno 
down in the shelter of a boulder and dropped to the ground. They were 
totally spent.
   Ryoga was asleep in seconds. Ranma clutched at his M-727, trying to 
stay awake. The rhythm of the crashing surf was too much for him, and he 
drifted away. He thought of Akane then, remembering her face, and she 
was pretty when she wanted to be.




   He didn't know how long he'd dozed. The moon was high in the sky, but 
he didn't remember when it would rise and set anymore. His head felt 
like a big thick blanket was smothering it.
Something woke him up. Some danger sense maybe. He'd been a fighter all 
his life, and he was attuned to such things.
   There was something there. Someone there.
   A man. He had a rifle. A Russian rifle. There was a slender bayonet 
extended upon it. It was dull black against the moonlight.
   He was probing Kuno with it. Not really stabbing, just poking. Kuno 
was either dead or too far gone to react.
   This man was a North Korean. It was obvious, but he had to tell 
himself to get any kind of reaction from his body. 
   The Korean turned his attention next to Ryoga, who was lying still, 
breathing too shallow to see. The sound of the surf crashing nearby 
concealed the short ragged breaths.
   The Korean decided that Ryoga was alive, and in that instant decided 
to end that life. He drew back the rifle for it's plunge into Ryoga's 
heart.
   Ranma tried to scream, but his tongue was swollen and his mouth and 
throat too dry to make a sound. He remembered the carbine in his hands.
   The safety clicked off. Against the sound of the crashing surf, there 
should have been no chance of hearing it, but maybe the Korean had a 
danger sense too. He turned lightning fast to put his rifle to bear on 
Ranma.
   Ranma was all reflex in that moment, moving so fast that time slowed 
to a crawl. He felt the carbine, now weightless in his grip, come up to 
meet the Korean. There was the barest caress of the trigger. There was 
an explosion of light. He watched as the bullets in the 3-round burst 
spun in their perfect ballistic arcs, so flat at this range as to be 
nearly imperceptible, but Ranma saw them. The steel jacketed lead 
slammed into the Korean's chest. He could see the shockwaves roll across 
the man's tunic as each round struck. A brilliant red flower of blood 
and disrupted tissue blossomed at each impact. A blossom even more 
magnificent erupted out of the man's backside. Ranma saw the man begin 
to fall without a sound, saw the light dim in his eyes. The shell 
casings jingled musically scattering perfect golden rays of reflected 
moonlight as they danced on stones nearby.
   The Korean hit the ground like a felled tree, dead before he touched 
the sand. There was no sound of gunfire, somehow he hadn't heard the 
reports. The surf continued to crash nearby.
Ranma was aware of his scream, but there was no sound.




   The figures came out of the surf wearing black.
   They moved well, a single entity out of the sea. They were monsters 
of a sort.
   They glided silently across the sand, ducked lightning quick around 
boulders, covering each other with liquid grace.
   They found Ranma and Ryoga and Kuno lying there. Between them was a 
dead North Korean. Smoke wafted from the corpse's back. Smoke wafted 
from the barrel of an M-727, a weapon that several of the men in black 
carried.
   They covered the three, but it was obvious that they weren't capable 
of any more grief this night.
   "What have we got?" Their leader whispered.
   "Looks like three nips and a dead gook," another replied.
   "The nips are all shot up pretty bad. One with a real bad belly 
wound," the corpsman added.
   The leader debated that thought. Against his better judgement he 
jerked a thumb towards Ranma and the other two. "Alright, load 'em onto 
the RIB. Doc, you take Deuce, The Man, and Easy with the pinger and get 
these guys out. We'll continue with the RIF.  But I want you back in 
three shakes of a lamb's tail, got it?" The leader said gruffly.
   Ranma was awake during all this, sort of. His awareness was drifting; 
time seemed to drag on one moment, and then was as fleeting as summer 
lightning the next. He remembered the one they called Deuce gently 
prying the carbine from his fingers. The ones they called Doc and Easy 
lifted Kuno up and carried him towards the sea. The Man took Ryoga, who 
tried to protest, but was too weak.
   Deuce lifted Ranma up into his arms. Somewhere in his mind he knew 
these men stank of death. They were killers, artful killers even. Yet 
they had such tenderness of action. These men were tall, their voices 
spoke in English. He remembered English. Sort of. He decided that they 
were Americans, although he'd never met one before.
   He carried Ranma towards the sea, the spindrift was cold but 
inviting. He wished he could just be swallowed up.
   The sea didn't swallow him. Instead he was placed in some sort of 
rubber boat. Ryoga was next to him, and so was Kuno. The one they called 
Doc was hunched over Kuno as they cleared the rolling surf and drove out 
to sea.
   He felt Ryoga's hand next to him. He took it in his, and Ryoga 
squeezed it in return.
   The waves rolled them on gently, adding to the dream state he drifted 
in.
   Finally the one called Easy lowered something into the water. There 
was a very high pitched whistle from somewhere. It pulsed several times. 
The whistle was a haunting sound.
   He must have dozed again. His head rolled to the side in time to see 
something long and slender rise out of the water. A glint of moonlight 
reflected off the top of it. A second form, much wider and covered in 
large spots rose up close to the first.
   Something huge, monstrous, rose out of the water very slowly. The 
water boiled gently around it as it rose. It was long and black and 
glistened with wetness. The sounds of voices reached his ears, more 
Americans. They had little red glowing lightsticks pinned to life vests, 
the lightsticks he'd played with when he was little. You bent them and 
then shook them up to get them lit.
   More people appeared on top of the thing, which his mind now 
registered as having to be a submarine, even though he'd never seen one 
of them in person. The crew of this submarine helped lift them out of 
the water. Someone called for something, and a sailor brought blankets 
for them.
   Slowly, carefully, they were lowered down the hatch. A man in a dark 
blue coverall and a substantial growth of beard took him from the ladder 
as another undid the harness catches tied about him. The man had the 
most intimidating set of teeth he'd ever seen.
   Below it was dark, and everyone carried red flashlights or 
lightsticks. They were brought down another ladder and into a long 
hallway. More people were waiting for them, medical people he supposed.
   They tucked them in a little cubby hole between two great cylinders 
that rose from the deck to the overhead and probably through decks above 
and below them too. There were beds here, small but comfortable. The men 
wore the same dark blue coveralls. Most of the men he saw were also in 
dire need of a shave.
   "These guys look pretty wasted. Let's get some wide bore IV drips 
going, 2 liters apiece"
   "How 'bout that abdominal wound?" Someone asked.
   "The cooks are prepping the wardroom now. Be ready in a few minutes."
   "We're running blood-work on all of them now."
   "Good. Pass the word around the boat that we're gonna need blood in 
that belly case's flavor. I don't want to cut him open out here, but he 
might not wait much longer."
   "Some of the off-going watch section are waiting on the mess-decks 
for that," a corpsman replied.
   Ranma listened in a daze as the men worked around him. Someone was 
getting his clothes off while another inspected his injuries. A third 
was cataloguing them as the second dictated.
   Something pricked his arm at the inside of the elbow, and he slept.
   The last things he remembered before he slipped away was the sound of 
an intercom from somewhere in the direction he had come.
   "All Ahead Two-Thirds."
   "Dive! Dive!" Some awful noise followed, like a horn being strangled 
a couple times, then    "Dive! Dive!"
   The most haunting and musical sound entered his mind then, if he'd 
known better he'd have said it was the sound of air rushing out of the 
ballast tank vents as the submarine slipped beneath the waves...



Chapter Six



   When he awoke he was no longer on the submarine. He was in a hospital 
room, the sterile smell and spartan appointments were a shock to his 
system. It was no hole in the ground, and those had been his home for 
the last several months.
   He shared a room with another. His roomie was swathed in bandages and 
seemed to be sleeping. Someone had left a small vase with flowers next 
to the man's bed.
   He felt like he'd been run over.
   There wasn't much pain, only a weakness he had never felt before. He 
doubted he could even sit up at the moment. He had the worst cotton 
mouth of his life.
   An army nurse came in then to check on them.
   "Ah, Corporal Saotome! You're awake I see. How are you feeling?"
   Ranma didn't know what to say.
   "How is your arm?" She asked, checking the bandages on his left arm. 
"No need to worry, I'm sure you'll have a nice scar to show off when you 
leave here."
   "Huh? What happened to my arm?"
   "You were shot. The bullet passed clean through. You were fortunate 
the bullet missed the bone."
   He sure didn't remember being shot.
   "What else happened to me?"
   "Oh, a few minor wounds. You were very undernourished and severely 
dehydrated when they brought you here."
   "How did I get here?"
   "I'm told that you were picked up by an American submarine. They 
transferred you by helicopter and flew you to a hospital ship. From 
there you were flown to Yokosuka, and here you are."
   He looked over at the bandaged soldier.
   "Who's he?"
   The nurse smiled. "Oh that's Private Matsumoto, he's recovering from 
burns. He's stabilized, so we moved him down here."
   He tried to sit up. "H-Have you seen a Corporal Hibiki or a Private 
Kuno?"
   "Oh yes. Corporal Hibiki is in the next room."
   "What about Kuno?"
   "I don't know anything about a Private Kuno. I'm very sorry."
   She brought him a small pitcher of orange juice. "You should drink 
some of this, unless you want to stay hooked up to an IV that is."
   He looked up to the wire stand next to him. A clear plastic bag 
slowly dripped into a tube that ran down to the needle in the back of 
his hand.
   "I'll be back to check on you in a little while," the nurse said as 
he inspected his surroundings further. She bowed once for him, then left 
the room as he lay back on the bed.
   **I'm home. I made it.**
   He took some of the orange juice the nurse had poured into a paper 
cup for him. It was so good. He drank it down and then had two more cups 
as well. The taste of the orange juice helped his cotton mouth a little, 
though he wished he could brush his teeth.
   **How'm I supposed to go to the bathroom when I'm hooked up to 
this?** He thought, gently tugging at the clear plastic tubing of his 
IV.
   Ryoga poked his head in then. Ranma had never been so happy to see 
him before. He was wearing a hospital-green gown and trailed an IV drip 
stand of his own. He had bandages on his legs and arm. He leaned against 
the door frame for support.
   "Hiya Ryoga!"
   "Finally woke up, eh?"
   "Yeah. How long have you been up?"
   "Since they brought us here. You slept the whole flight from the 
hospital ship."
   "Do you know what happened to Kuno?"
   Ryoga tried to remember. "I think they kept him aboard the ship. I 
guess they operated on him when we were on that submarine."
   "So he's not dead?"
   "I don't think so."
   Ranma thought a moment. "So we really were on a submarine. It felt 
like a dream. I guess I was pretty much out of it."
   Ryoga closed his eyes. "Yeah...You talked a lot in your sleep, it 
sounded like you were having nightmares or something."
   "Oh yeah? Like what did I say?"
   Ryoga tried to remember. "It sounded like you were apologizing to 
someone or something. I was pretty groggy myself."
   **Apologizing?**
   Ryoga looked him in the eyes. "I don't know how to say this 
Ranma...But thank you for what you did back there...I-I owe you my 
life..."
   Ranma was silent. It had taken a lot for Ryoga to say something like 
that to him, and he appreciated the humility of his words.
   "Aw come on Ryoga...You woulda done the same." He said quietly.
   Ryoga bowed once to him, very slightly, and ducked back around the 
door frame to his room.
   A doctor came into the room. He saw that Ranma was awake and smiled.
   "Ah, here's our other Jusenkyo twin! How are we?"
   Ranma spat out a swallow of orange juice.
   "Oh don't worry about it. I've seen stranger things." The doctor said 
with a grin. "Gave those Americans a shock though! Wish I could have 
seen it."
   Ranma wiped at the orange juice on his chin and lip. "How'd you know 
what had happened to me?"
   "A colleague informed me."
   That had his curiosity piqued. "Oh yeah? Who?"
   "Doctor Tofu. He and I went to high school together. All of our 
wounded come through this hospital, so he had me keep a look-out for you 
in case you showed up."
   "So then my folks know I'm alright?"
   "I can assume so. Tofu told me you had been listed as missing in 
action. He was very relieved to hear that you and your friend Hibiki had 
been found."
   Ranma felt better knowing that his family didn't have to worry about 
him anymore.
   "So how long have I been here? What day is it?"
   "You arrived early this morning. It's a little past noon right now on 
Thursday the 26th of November."
   **It's been five days then since I left hill 1127. I wonder how long 
they waited before they listed me as missing?**
   The doctor made a cursory examination of him before moving on to 
Matsumoto. He seemed satisfied with both of his patients' progress, so 
he left the room with a wave and a wish for Ranma to smile a little. 
   "You're going home Saotome," the doctor had said. "You'll be 
discharged from this hospital in two days or so, and then you'll get a 
little leave. From there you'll probably do some odd jobs back at the 
base and be out of the Army by Christmas."
   **Out by Christmas!**




   After supper he had been sitting in his bed thinking. Ryoga's words 
came back to him then. 'It sounded like you were apologizing to someone 
or something.' **What was he apologizing for?**
He tried to remember that night. He thought harder and harder; trying to 
reconstruct events, match faces with those events, match names with 
those faces. He remembered going out to look for Ryoga and the others. 
He remembered the ambush that was sprung when he found them. He saw 
Kenjiro die again and again before his eyes, almost felt the blood 
splash all over him as the man went down -something he hadn't noticed 
when it happened, but came back to him in a rush now.
   He recalled with sick horror as Kuno was shot and fell. Of seeing 
Ryoga so close to the grenade when it exploded. **Hideo must have taken 
the brunt of the blast for him, Ryoga should have been killed.** He 
remembered checking each of his fallen comrades for life, of nearly 
abandoning Kuno for dead. **Was I apologizing to Kuno?**
   No. That wasn't it. What happened later?
   He went on, recalling their three day ordeal trying to reach safety. 
Of carrying Kuno with their makeshift stretcher. He relived the terror 
of dodging the advancing units of North Korean troops as they threw back 
the UN lines, of cowering in holes as jets and helicopters blew the 
countryside to pieces around them.
   He remembered their sense of triumph as they reached the sea. They 
hadn't found help for Kuno, but reaching the ocean had seemed like an 
impossible goal. He remembered something else...
   He saw a face. It was a face he couldn't put a name to. But he could 
put an event with that face.
   He'd killed that man. Shot him to death at point blank range because 
he was going to stab Ryoga through the heart. The man had somehow heard 
him flick the safety off his carbine and had turned on him. He watched 
again in the theater of his mind's eye as the three bullets tore into 
the man's chest.
   **I killed a man...**
   He went cold all over his body. Vertigo washed over him, and for a 
moment he felt as if he was going to fall out of his bed.
   **I've seen men die out there, but never by my hand.**
   **I'm not a killer!** He pleaded with himself.
   **But I am...**



   He was discharged from the hospital two days later. Ryoga had to stay 
a few more days because of infection in his legs. He still had no word 
on Kuno. He ran into a buddy from the company the day he was discharged; 
he had been wounded the same day Gosunkugi had been shot.
   His buddy arranged a ride to Nerima for him. He hadn't told anyone 
that he was coming because he didn't want them to have a party waiting 
for him or something. He didn't feel like celebrating.
   The ride was spent in silence. His buddy had run out of things to 
say, and without Ranma's interest in conversation there was nothing else 
to be said. He knew something was bothering Ranma, but he wouldn't talk 
about it. Nerima couldn't come soon enough.
   Ranma continued to stew. He didn't know what to think of himself. He 
had killed a man. He had proven that he could fight that stupid war 
without taking lives, and then at the end he had panicked and killed 
someone. A clumsy coward was what he felt like.
   **Oops...I lost control over myself and killed you. So sorry. I guess 
I'm not the great martial artist I thought I was.**
   The wide body of the olive drab Humvee had a little trouble getting 
through the narrow streets of Nerima. Ranma sighed as he saw how the 
neighborhood hadn't changed a lick. He had not been gone long, but it 
had seemed like years.
   The Hummer stopped outside the dojo. His friend waved good-bye to him 
as he lifted his bag out of the back. He waved back weakly as the Hummer 
zoomed off Yokosuka bound.
   He was in his dress uniform. Some UN general had pinned a medal on 
him, as had two Japanese generals. Two for valor, one for getting shot. 
They jingled on his breast pocket as he opened the outer gate wide. For 
a moment he wanted to rip them off right there along with his Corporal's 
stripes.
   He got his wish, no one was expecting him.
   He let himself in the front door. Kasumi turned to see him, and 
didn't recognize him at first.
   "Can I help you, sir?"
   "Kasumi, it's me."
   Her face brightened as recognition set in at last. She threw her arms 
around him and gave him a sisterly hug.
   "Welcome home Ranma!"
   By this time Soun and Genma had entered the foyer to see what was up.
   "My son!" They both cried, and joined Kasumi in a welcome hug.
   The rest of the house heard them and came running.
   Ranma wasn't ready for this; as Nabiki, Ukyo, Nodoka, and even Doctor 
Tofu joined the press. He was cheerfully crushed into a corner. Their 
happy voices filled his ears and their smiles melted his depression 
away.
   His mother looked upon him (as her son) for the first time in twelve 
years. Her joy and her pride knew no bounds. The others made way for 
her, and mother and son embraced then to a cheer from the rest.
   "You do your mother proud, Ranma." She said to him. He was so big 
now, a head taller than her. She stifled a sob at the years they'd lost, 
but seeing him now dispelled any regrets.
   They led him into the family room, chattering away. It was all he 
could do to try and answer their questions. He kept looking around for 
Akane, but she was nowhere to be seen.
   Kasumi and his mother brought out food for all of them, and Ranma 
found that his appetite had returned with a vengeance. He doubted he'd 
eaten an entire meal in the three days he'd spent in Yokosuka. He 
finished off everything placed before him.
   Nabiki rubbed at the short black hair atop his head. "It's going to 
take some getting used to, but at least they let you keep the pigtail."
   Ranma brushed at his head. "Oh I dunno. I might keep it short. They 
tell me I'll be discharged by Christmas, so I can start growing it out 
if I want."
   This news brought a fresh round of cheers. He still looked around for 
Akane without success.
   Kasumi set glasses of beer down before him and the other men. It was 
the first time he'd ever drank in the house. His prior drinking 
experience amounted to having a few in Korea with his buddies the day 
before moving out to the lines.
   Doctor Tofu clinked his glass with Ranma's. "So how did they treat 
you in Yokosuka?"
   Ranma shrugged. "Your friend Doctor Mitaka was great. He really 
patched me up good." He rolled up his sleeve on his left arm to reveal 
the bandage.
   "What happened, dear?" His mother asked.
   "I got shot, I guess."
   Nabiki smirked. "You mean you don't know? What happened out there for 
you and Ryoga and Kuno-chan to end up as missing?"
   Ranma didn't want to be reminded, but went on anyway. "Well Ryoga got 
lost out in no-man's land with Kuno and some others in the platoon, and 
I went out to find them."
   "Ryoga getting lost? Go figure." Nabiki cracked.
   "Alone?" Kasumi asked worriedly.
   "Well no one was going to risk sending anyone else out, so I just 
went on my own," he replied like it was no big deal.
   "You're a hero, son," Soun said. He clapped him stoutly on the 
shoulder.
   "Someone thinks so," Ranma said, jingling one of his medals. "They 
gave me this for it." He looked down at it and shrugged. "I was just 
looking out for my buddies, that's all."
   "You and Ryoga were always such good friends," Kasumi noted.
   Nabiki and Ukyo stifled laughs. "You even went after Kuno-chan? I'm 
surprised," Nabiki said.
   "Aw he can be a real pain in the neck sometimes, but he was really 
worthwhile to have around in a fight." Ranma replied. He remembered Kuno 
standing defiantly in the middle of a tremendous firefight in the battle 
where they had to withdraw from their first hill line. He didn't get a 
scratch and yet his stance and his taunts had directed the majority of 
the enemy's fire at him. And away from the heavy guns that saved the day 
and allowed them to retreat without getting massacred. Then he 
remembered that last night when Kuno's luck had run out and saw him 
crumple to the ground with a near fatal bullet wound.
   Genma and Soun saw the look that came over Ranma then and decided to 
change the subject.
   "Perhaps he should tell these stories at another time. When they 
aren't so vivid in his mind, eh Saotome?"
   "I couldn't agree more," Genma replied.
   Ranma shrugged again. It felt good to get it all out in the open with 
people who care about you.    "Ryoga's okay, he should be out of the 
hospital in a couple of days. I haven't seen Kuno since we were on the 
submarine."
   "Oh wow! A submarine? Was it like in the movies?" Nabiki asked.
   "I dunno. I didn't see much of it, and I wasn't in the best shape 
when they brought me aboard. I think they operated on Kuno there, I 
heard them talking about getting blood donations from the crew."
   "How badly was he hurt?" Nabiki pressed. Her concern seemed a little 
unusual for Kuno.
Ranma looked around the room and wondered how much he should tell them. 
Watching Kuno fall and later trying to care for him was horrible enough, 
and he was supposed to be the combat veteran here.
   "He was shot in the belly at close range." He watched as they winced 
at the thought. "At first I thought he was dead...He didn't seem to have 
a pulse." They looked horrified. "We were going to have to leave him, 
but Ryoga saw him moving a little and so we carried him with us. We 
carried him for three days. I think he's on a hospital ship until they 
think he's strong enough to be moved."
   "Good old Ryoga," Ukyo said. "He may have no sense of direction, but 
he's a stubborn one."
   "That ain't the half of it. Sometimes I didn't know if the enemy 
would kill us or each other. In the end though, we really got along. It 
was kinda weird."
   He looked around again, hoping that she'd slipped in somewhere. Akane 
was still nowhere to be found.
   Where the heck was she?
   "Uh, has anyone seen Akane?" He ventured.
   "Oh she went out for a walk," Kasumi answered him. "She's been doing 
that for awhile now. She'll be home soon."
   The night went on, and he talked and joked with them. The war was so 
far away now, like a bad dream. It felt so good to be home.
   He also got quite drunk. Unlike his father and Mr. Tendo, he was a 
rather quiet drunk. The women decided to call it a night, and left their 
men out on the back porch.
   It was late by the time Ranma decided to go to bed. He had spent the 
last three days trying to regain his strength, and the beer had hit him 
like the proverbial ton of bricks early on. He was just starting to 
sober up when Akane appeared across the yard from them and entered the 
dojo. The two fathers were too far gone to notice. Doctor Tofu had 
excused himself and went home twenty minutes earlier.
   He crept across the grass so as not to roust the two men from their 
stupor. As he reached the dojo he looked back over his shoulder to see 
Kasumi and his mother collect the two and help them upstairs. His mother 
pointed to the dojo and winked at him.
   He stepped into the dojo. It was dark, but in a beam of moonlight sat 
Akane. She had her back to him. He crept up to her and sat down next to 
her.
   She turned to him and tried to smile.
   "You smell like a brewery," she said softly. "But I'm glad you're 
home."
   He shrugged. "I kept my promise."
   "I know you did," she said and started to hug him. "But you had to 
worry me sick first!"
   "I'm sorry Akane," he replied. He pulled her tighter against him. 
**Since when was this so easy?**
   "Where were you tonight? I was going crazy waiting for you." He asked 
after a moment.
   "I had to stay away for awhile," she answered. "I wanted you all to 
myself, and I knew I'd get the chance eventually."
   "You spied on us, didn't you?"
   She laughed. "Well, just a little."
   Her hand came up to rub his head. "I kind of like it short," she 
giggled.
   "It was time for a change I guess," he said.
   "You have changed," Akane admitted. "I saw it right away."
   Ranma sighed deeply. "You're right. I have changed. Not all of it for 
the better."
   She sensed something wrong within him. Felt him grow suddenly cold in 
her embrace.
   "What is it?" She asked softly.
   He began to wave his hands as a drowning man would. **How do I tell 
her?** He began with, "I've seen things Akane. Done things. Stuff I 
never want any part of as long as I live."
   "I don't understand."
   **I don't either!**
   He tried to think of something to tell her. 
   "I'm not the same Ranma you knew this summer. Part of me died over 
there."
   "What do you mean?" She gasped.
   He shuddered at the thought of it. Saw for the ten thousandth time as 
the Korean fell, the light in his eyes waning to emptiness.
   "I killed a man." The words were like a hammer blow.
   Akane felt the wetness on his face and kissed his forehead even as 
she embraced him with renewed strength. 
   "You were in a war," she whispered.
   **Like that justifies anything! I was clumsy and I was afraid -and a 
man paid for it with his life. How many firefights was I in? Too many. 
But never once did I kill someone, until the end.**
   "It hurts just the same," he said to her.
   "Oh Ranma, when they told me you were going over there I hoped and 
prayed that you wouldn't have to do something like that. But I also knew 
that I wanted you to come home alive, and to bring Ryoga and Kuno, and 
even Hikaru Gosunkugi home alive with you! It doesn't matter Ranma! You 
did what you had to. You're here with me now, and you saved the lives of 
your friends where you could."
   "It's not that simple," he pleaded. His throat began to burn as tears 
stung at his eyes.
   "It's a start. I know this will hurt for a long time, but I want to 
help you move on."
   "It's not something I can just forget."
   "I'm not expecting you to, but you have to move on. You have your 
whole life ahead of you, don't throw it away because of something you 
may or might not have been able to prevent."
   He began to cry silently, and he felt utterly ashamed. The tears 
against his hot face ran even colder.
   Akane held onto him then and together they rocked slowly in each 
other's arms. Ranma wept, and Akane wept with him and for him.
   "I stumbled along without you around. I cried when I found out you 
were going to Korea. And I nearly died when father told me you were 
missing," she whispered. "But one thing kept me going on, one thing gave 
me strength, and that was your promise to me. I knew you would keep it 
and come home safe no matter what... I want to make you a promise Ranma, 
and I hope you can draw strength from it as I have from yours."
   Ranma nodded against the cool skin of her cheek.
   "I promise to you that I will be with you no matter what. We may be 
separated by distance, but never in our hearts. I love you Ranma, and 
all I can do is love you."
   The tears continued to spill down his face, but his shame was gone. 
He looked into her eyes and saw the love that had always been there but 
for one petty thing or another was always missed.
   "You better keep that promise Akane, 'cause I love you too." He 
replied.
   **So simple, those words...Why had it been so hard to say them for so 
long?**
   A long silence followed. The tears were gone, and the heat upon his 
face was replaced by one deep within his heart. Akane was there, closer 
than ever before, and he never wanted anything to come between them 
again. 
   "Where do we go from here?" He asked her.
   Akane shrugged with a smile. "I don't know, Ranma. But we'll go there 
together. We've got our whole lives to figure it out."


   Winter had come to Nerima the way it had for years past count. The 
end of the year wasn't far away. But then again, the future never is...



 THE END


All the fine folks at Fission Park hope you enjoyed this bit o' 
fanfiction. Before we go, we'd like to finish up with a few notes on the 
story to answer any questions you might have.
-First of all the two warships in the beginning of the story are actual 
ships home ported out of Pearl Harbor. The Lake Erie in particular has a 
reputation for being 'locked and loaded' at all times (even when they're 
not supposed to be.) I figured it would be perfect if the Lake Erie was 
on station to let a few SM-2's fly against Scuds.
-The Scud-E is a missile North Korea developed and exports to any and 
all takers. It is fairly accurate (more so than its previous models by a 
factor of about 50%.) It has sufficient range to reach any part of 
Japan, including Okinawa. (Maximum range with a 1000 kg warhead is 3500 
kilometers.) The Scud-E can carry nuclear, chemical, and biological 
payloads like it's less capable siblings over in Iraq.
-The Spratly Islands are located in the South China Sea, right in the 
middle of the major sea lanes. Seven countries have claims to them and 
the oil deposits believed to be there. Japan is not one of the seven, so 
I made up an eighth claim for the hell of it.
-I seriously doubt Japan would ever consider sending troops to Korea, 
even if it was the victim of ballistic missile attacks. There is too 
much bad blood between the two countries for Japan to try and defend the 
place. Japan also has a very small standing army. But with the 
incorporation of German troops into NATO action in Bosnia, Japanese 
military involvement in Asia may not be far away. (And I really wouldn't 
have much of a story if they didn't get involved.)
-For anyone sharing Ranma's curiosity about those big ugly green jets 
that tore holy hell out of the North Koreans, they were none other than 
the A-10 Thunderbolt II. (Also known as the Warthog.) I love the smell 
of depleted uranium in the morning...
-The guys coming out of the water were, of course, SEALs. Probably from 
Team 5, as they are forward deployed in the Western Pacific. They 
probably wouldn't have batted an eye at our fallen heroes, but then 
again, where would our story be?
-Ryoga with GPS? Come on, we're talking about Ryoga here... Might as 
well have given him bread crumbs.
-What's the sound of air rushing out of ballast tank vents? Sorry pals, 
you're just gonna have to sign up to find out. (Unless you live near a 
submarine base and have a friend who'll take you on their next 
dependents' cruise.) I wouldn't recommend the first option.
-If you have any other questions, comments, flames, or oddities to 
share... Drop me a line at dizzy@aloha.net. My network of spies and 
informants will get them to me.

Free The Nukes!