Two silhouettes walked down a well-lit street.
The moon was hidden behind heavy clouds, yet there was no sign of rain
in the air. The neighbourhood voluntary patrol looked at the two
figures, smiled and waved at them then went on their way.
"You and your stupid shortcuts," muttered Iikiba
Hibiki. "I should have known better."
Kanaeda Saotome stared in disbelief at his friend.
"Who the hell are you to talk, Ga-chan?!? You're commenting on MY
sense of direction? Ain't that a little bit um, stupid? At
least we're in Nerima. If I kept following you, we might not have
made it back home until next week!"
"You didn't have to follow me, you know.
I am perfectly fine travelling on my own."
"You mean getting lost on your own. I mean,
c'mon 'Kiba-kun! You're not your dad, so it's not like you to deny
your inability of getting anywhere without getting lost."
Both boys stopped walking. Kanaeda stared
at his friend, and Iikiba stared back. Finally the Lost Boy shrugged
and sighed.
"You're right, Kan-kun... It's just that I'm
not used to travelling with anyone except for Tousan. It's just a
bit odd for me to be with someone who can actually tell the difference
from North and South."
"Or the difference between Left and Right for that
matter," grinned Kanaeda.
"Yeah, so rub it in, why don't you..?"
Kanaeda blinked in mock confusion. "But I
am, can't you tell?"
"Jackass." Iikiba shoved his elbow into his
buddy's stomach.
"Pig." Kanaeda grunted as the elbow made contact.
The boys continued on. Neither was talking,
both intent to make their way to the okonomiyaki restaurant. Neither
really noticed the cloaked figure in front of them until they were almost
upon him.
"Are you the son of Saotome Ranma?" asked the cloaked
figure in a low hiss.
Kanaeda mentally cursed at himself. He hated
being caught unaware like this. His father would berate him if he
knew. He figure that he would beat this guy up and forget that this
little slip up ever happened.
"Yeah, I am! Who wants to know?!?"
Kanaeda figured that the guy would lunge at him
or at least explain his reason for just being there. But he didn't
expect the deluge of cold water that came from out of the alleyway that
they were standing beside.
Iikiba's belongings fell to the ground and Ga-chan
was already struggling to get out of the wet clothes. Kanaeda took
a quite look at his friend, relieved that he was all right. But that
was all the distraction that was needed.
Huge hands grabbed Kanaeda and dragged him into
the alley. He was humiliated to be caught unawares again and this
time he was actually grabbed. He rolled upward and drove his knees
into the person who was holding him. The figure grunted in surprise,
then let go. Kanaeda twisted around and landed on his feet.
"What the hell is going on?!?" he
demanded. He wanted to take a quick look for Ga-chan, but he knew
that he could not be distracted again like before. He secretly hoped
that the piglet was taking care of himself. His attackers were now
keeping their distance, and Kanaeda took the moment to assess the situation,
and realised that his opponents weren't attacking. "C'mon!
Bring it on! You won't catch me unawares again!"
Another figure, a more slender one, came forward,
but not too close. She blew a handful of powder into the young martial
artist's face. Kanaeda sneezed and became groggy. His body
became leaden.
"What do you want with me?!?" he asked the cloak
figures in a slurred voice.
The first cloaked figure walked up to him while
strapping on a rubber glove.
"I want revenge," he said as he dragged the boy
towards a tub of water. Kanaeda would have struggled if he were able
too. Already, his body was trying to fight off the powder, but it
wasn't fast enough. The cloaked man thrust Kanaeda's head into the
water, and held it down. The boy tried to hold his breath as long
as he could under the circumstances, but finally he took in a lung-full
of water. Before he blacked out, Kanaeda was certain that he saw
feathers underneath the black cloak.
Ga-chan was fighting for his life. As soon
as the thug pulled Kanaeda into the alley, the cloaked figure reached for
him. Wisely Ga-chan backed away.
"Are you the son of Hibiki Ryouga?" asked the stranger.
Ga-chan glared, then nodded curtly.
The stranger sighed. "Then it is too late
to take my revenge on him. The piglet had no clue to what the man
was talking about. Then the man turned at the sounds of struggling
and walked into the alleyway. Ga-chan followed quietly, ready to
help his friend if he needed to. He rounded the corner just as the
cloaked stranger shoved Kanaeda's head into a wooden tub of water.
He launched an attack on the man, knocking him away from the tub.
The man tried to grab the piglet, but Ga-chan was too fast for the stranger.
Bouncing off the walls and the men's foreheads, he held his own for a while.
The men were getting tired, and they were starting to stumble.
It started to rain. It came lightly for the
first few seconds, than it came down heavily. The men were surprised
from the sudden downpour.
"Grab the pig, and Saotome's offspring," commanded
the leader. "We're done here." The men surrounded Ga-chan once
more. Lightning flashed off the walls of the alley. The piglet
looked around, and saw the silhouette of a wolf at the entrance of the
alleyway. Light glinted off of the pair of glasses that it was wearing.
There was a howl that echoed with the thunder that
came shortly after. Then the wolf charged at the cloaked men, biting
each one in the shins. Ga-chan took the moment to go help out his
friend. He tugged on Kanaeda's shirt and pulled the young martial
artist out of the tub, and managed to prop his friend against the wall.
The unconcious figure was too quiet for the piglet's taste. He was
worried about whether or not Kanaeda was still alive, but the martial artist
started to cough and hack. No longer worried, the piglet went to
help out the wolf which was still tearing after the cloaked figures.
"That's enough," called out the leader. "We're
done here. Let's go." He strode away, and his henchmen went
after him. The wolf growled after them then turned its attentions
to the unconcious figure against the wall. Ga-chan couldn't see much
in the dark, but he could tell that the wolf saw something was amiss.
Lightning flashed again, illuminating the entire alleyway.
The wolf stood absolutely still, its expression hidden by its glasses.
Ga-chan followed the wolf's gaze and looked towards the spot where his
friend was resting.
A young woman was sitting where Kanaeda Saotome
was supposed to be.