Ace Sanchez presents ...

__________________________     

All's Fair In Love And War

A work of fiction set within the Ranma 1/2 Universe
created by Rumiko Takahashi.
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Night was falling. Despite the heating, the large office was getting
quite cold. Already, the moon was becoming visible in the grey sky
through the large windows, its moonlight beginning to shine like a
crescent lamp. Through the glass, the city of Osaka spread out like a
blanket of stars, the many dots of light resembling a haphazard pattern
of chaos. Up so high, the faint line of the horizon was a tapestry of
pale hues.

Ryane sat back in her easy chair and ignored the magnificent view.
Instead, she stared at the blank, white wall of her office. She had
thought that this time she had finally been free of the memories. But,
periodically, unfailingly, her mind never let her forget. Last night had
been particularly bad.

She looked at the tall vase of flowers sitting on her large desk in front
of her. They were, actually quite lovely, flowers with a flawless crimson
colour. She smirked at the card hanging off a string tied to one of the
thorny stems. Hiro would soon give up after maybe the fifth rejection
she thought, with a small smile devoid of any humour. She leaned forward
and picked up her glass of champagne that was resting beside the flowers
and took a small sip.

The loud ring of the phone momentarily startled her. She cursed at
the noise and picked it up, sitting her glass of alcohol back in its
place beside the flowers. "Ryane Satomi speaking," she spoke crisply
into the phone, trying to hide the irritation she felt.

"Ryane!" a loud gravelly voice said in relief. "I've been looking for you
everywhere. Why are you still at the office?"

She recognised the voice. It was only her boss. "Oh, I was just working a
little on the Cosmo Girl project," she said, running her free hand
through a loose lock of her hair. "Revising through our notes and I just
kind of lost track of the time."

Mister Horoku's short laugh came through the line. "Always working so
hard, Ryane, you amaze me. Anyway, I just called to ask you a big
favor..."

"You know you can always count on me," Ryane cut in.

There was a short pause at the other end. "Well, this job's a little
different. I know you gave up the 'floor work,' so to speak, but this is
really important. You know there's a big photo shooting session for Cosmo
at ten tomorrow. Well, Karin just called me to say that she's feeling a
little under the weather and all the other girl's schedules are booked up
tight for tomorrow ... wait," he said just when Ryane was going to
interrupt. "You're looking at a fat bonus for this, and you'll also get
the commission."

Ryane mulled over that for a second. "Karin's sick? I hope she's okay."

"Oh yeah, she said it wasn't serious, just a case of the flu. So will you
do it?"

"It's tempting," Ryane said slowly. "But tell me the real reason why you
want *me* doing the job instead of any of our other girls. You know you
can find a replacement dirt easy with the kind of money you're offering
me, even if their schedules are full."

Mr Horoku laughed again. "I swear you have a sixth sense, my girl. Your
instincts are amazing. How I ever found you that day, it was a stroke of
pure luck-"

"You're stalling," Ryane chuckled.

"True, true," he said. "But damn it, you know I still think you were the
best. And still are, I might add. How I ever let you talk me into giving
you a desk job, I'll never know. A damn waste I tell you, a damn waste,"
he lamented. "Although, I'm not complaining with the increased profits
you've brought in now, mind you," he added.

Ryane couldn't help laughing. "Okay, okay, I'll do it. Now is there
anything else I should know?"

After her boss gave her the details he also reminded her of the business
dinner at the Cosmo Girl building on Saturday night. "So, who's going to
be your hot date?" he joked.

"Very funny, ha ha," she said sarcastically. "You know I don't date."

"And it's one of the greatest mysteries of the world," he said in a
pseudo-serious tone. Then he thanked her for doing the job for him and
after the usual goodbyes were said, they hung up.

Ryane felt better after the call. She liked her boss. Big and jolly, with
a long white beard and fuzzy white hair, he resembled that silly, Santa
Claus, that supposedly gave away gifts at Christmas. He was like the
real father she never had. The type of father anyone would have wanted.
But life was far from fair and typically, she had been stuck with one of
the worst. She realised that the tickling feeling on her cheek was a
stray tear, and abruptly wiped at it with the back of her hand. She had
vowed to herself years ago that she would stop thinking about the past,
but sometimes it was impossible to prevent it. Especially just after the
nightmare visited ... no she would not think anymore on the subject.

She stood up and stretched, her fingers clasped together as she lifted
her arms over her head. After straightening out some of her papers, she
picked up a hairbrush from her desk and walked over to her wall mirror.
She observed her reflected image and smoothed out her blouse and
knee-length skirt. She was careful to avoid looking at her haunted blue
eyes as she combed her straight black hair, which was worn loose around
her shoulders. She frowned when saw that the long streak of red hair
which grew at her hairline was visible. Carefully, she combed an
abundance of black hair over it, which resulted in a length of hair
covering her right cheek and obstructing her eye. 

Satisfied with her appearance, she walked back to her desk and picked up
her long, grey trench coat which had been hanging over her chair. After
shrugging on the coat, she picked up her small handbag and hooked it over
her shoulder. Time to go home, she thought.


<><><>


Ryane looked at the city below her through the sheer glass walls of the
elevator. She smiled, feeling a slight buzz from the champagne she had
drunk earlier. Somewhat unsteadily, she stepped closer to the glass wall
and looked down. The extreme height of the building had always fascinated
her. Sometimes she wondered what it would be like to fall through the air
at this height, her arms and legs spread wide as she welcomed the
on-rushing, hard ground. When she hit, would she even feel pain or would
death come so quick, there wouldn't be enough time to feel it? She
imagined herself, leaping through the glass and ... the elevator bell
rang and the doors slid open with a faint whoosh. She was startled that
she had reached the ground floor already. Shrugging, she pulled her
handbag up higher on her shoulder, turned around and walked briskly
towards the main entrance of the building, her high-heels clicking
on the white marble floor.

She nodded to the security guard as she passed him in the main foyer and
tried to ignore his lust-filled stare. After all these years, she had
never gotten used to the looks of frank male appreciation. Oh, she might
have looked nonchalant and calm on the outside, but inside she was
seething in anger and a sense of disgust. She didn't know how she had
survived it so far, but she guessed that her shell must have just gotten
thicker as time went by.

She stepped through the revolving doors and into the crisp, cold bite of
the evening wind. Her hair blew around her shoulders as she walked along
the footpath, searching frantically along the street for a cab. Horns
honked and people shoved past her as she made long sweeps with her eyes.
There didn't seem to be any cabs at all. She looked at her watch, a cute
Mickey Mouse one that her friend Karin gave her for her twenty-sixth
birthday. It was just past seven o'clock. She looked up again and made
another sweep. There. She spotted one and ran to the edge of the street
and waved at it. Lucky, the idiot saw her and stopped by her side. She
opened the door and got in, carefully entering sideways as she couldn't
spread her legs very far within the skirt. After getting in, she shut the
car door with a slam.

"Where to Ma'am?" the driver said, talking to her chest. Ryane looked
down and found that the front of her coat was slightly open, showing some
skin and the start of her cleavage. She closed it quickly. When she
looked up, she found the fat man giving her an oily smile.

Trying not to let the disgust enter her voice, Ryane told him to drive
her to Hankyu International Hotel. 

The driver scratched at his unkempt, dirty-brown hair. "Yeah, I kinda
know where that is." He belched. "Well, little lady, let's be off." And
with that, he put his foot hard on the accelerator and screeched off
without even bothering to signal. There was a loud honking that exploded
behind them, which grew fainter as they grew further away.

Ryane stared outside the passenger window, trying to avoid looking at the
driver. Did all men think their cars were connected to their dicks, she
asked herself. And this idiot didn't even own the cab they were driving
in. It was a crappy cab to boot.

She thought about the photo session that was being shot the next day. She
hadn't done one of those in a long while. She wondered if she could
stomach it now, now that she was out of practise. She didn't worry about
whether she still had the 'looks' as it was obvious every time she looked
in the mirror. Actually, she wouldn't have minded if her appearance just
suddenly went all to hell, with a fat, stumpy body and a withered face.
Instead she had a tight, slim and athletic physique, with large breasts
for her size and a flawless face. I guess it goes with the type of
exercises I do and my genetic make-up, she thought, thinking of her 
mother the last time she saw her. It was quite a while. What did she 
look like now? Ryane knew that she held more than a passing resemblance 
to the way she remembered what her mother looked like. In fact, she 
could have even passed for her sister, except Ryane had grown much 
taller over the years and she was sure that she was taller than her 
now. Too bad she couldn't have ended up more like her father, she 
thought ironically.

Suddenly, with a start, Ryane realised that the cab was not taking her in
the right direction of the hotel where she lived. The area looked kind of
seedy and deserted. "Excuse me," she said, alarmed as she turned around
to face the driver. "I don't think this is the way to my hotel."

The fat driver didn't bother to look at her. "It's a short-cut," he said
unconvincingly as he turned into a side-street. No, it was an alleyway,
Ryane realised.

"Bullshit. What do you think you're doing?" she said angrily.

The driver stopped the car and switched off the engine. He wiped his
sweaty hands on the top of his pants and turned to face her. He was
wearing that oily leer of his again. "Why, I'm thinking I'm going to rob
ya of everythin' ya got, then," he licked his chops, "I'm thinkin' I'm
gonna sample of your nice tight body." However, he grew a puzzled
expression on his pimply face when Ryane just smirked at him.

"Huh? Really!" she laughed mockingly. "All by your fat little self?"

His face grew red. "Well if you're into some group loving, we got plenty
to share in the fun." He opened his door and got out. 

Ryane realised that there were more men coming out of the shadows of the
alley. She hurriedly opened her door and jumped out, leaving her handbag
in the car. Looking all around her, she found out that she was surrounded
by at least four men, including the taxi-cab driver.

One of the new men to the left of her spoke up. He had blond hair worn in
a short braid on his neck. He was of average height and was kind of
skinny. "Saki, you've out done yourself this time ... she's the best
looking chit you've stolen by far," he said with a wide-eyed stare full
of lust. "I can't wait to sample her."

"No, it's my turn to be the first this time," the man to the right of her
said in an annoyed tone. He was very short, standing at least a head
shorter than Ryane's five feet, ten inches. However the thickness of his
body suggested a heavily muscled physique. "The last one you had turned
out to be a virgin. I want to pop some cherries too. Are you a virgin,
girl?"

Ryane's face filled up with blood as she grew momentarily embarrassed.
Then she grew angry.

"It looks like we might just be lucky again, this time." Ryane
immediately half turned to keep the man closest to her back in view. She
was surprised at the size of the man. He must have stood at least six
feet, four inches. And he was bulky, and it didn't look like fat either.
He was even quite handsome, with a smooth face, silver-grey eyes and
longish black hair. "I got a real good feeling that this one's unbroken."

"That's a load of crap," the cab driver said. "I mean just look at her.
She's friggin gorgeous, and she ain't no teenager. I reckon she's been
done at least a hunnerd times by now ... and by the time this nights over
she's gonna be done two hunnerd." He laughed at his own sick joke.

"Nah, I can sense it. I bet you half of your share of what she's carrying
that she's fresh meat," the giant replied.

Ryane looked contemptuously at them. "And as if you scum are ever going
to find out. I'm warning you, just give me the keys to the car, I drive
out and no-one gets hurt."

They laughed at her. "I'll get her," the midget said, walking up to her.
Ryane stood still, the only movement was her hair and the lower flaps of
her trench coat flapping in the cold wind. "Where's your struggle, girl?
Aren't you going to make this fun for me?" When he was only about a foot
away, he turned and smirked at his friends. "See? All hot air. She's
scared stiff- arghhhhhh!"

He screamed as there was a loud snap and he abruptly flew sideways at
least ten meters into the heavily graffitied brick wall. His friends
looked on shocked as the midget's unmoving body slid brokenly off the
wall, leaving a slimy red trail like some disgusting human slug.

They turned to look back at her, as she slowly completed her turn.
She lowered her outstretched leg. "I warned you," she said, with a
half-smile on her lips.

That was the signal for a full-on attack. As one, the men roared and
charged her. The blond skinny man reached her first. Ryane blocked his
wild swing almost lazily, then returned the favour with a hard gut punch.
There was another loud snap as the man bent forward at an unnatural
angle, and his face turned blue. Ryane kicked him away and faced the next
man.

It was the taxi-cab driver. Ryane felt that she owed this one a lot of
pain. She sidestepped to the right of his fat charge and tripped him with
her left foot. As he fell forwards, she made his stomach land on her
right knee. She avoided the vomit which exploded from his mouth and
kicked him in the rear, her sharp high-heel puncturing his buttocks and
sending him headfirst onto all the garbage and crap at the side of the
alleyway. She'd deal with him later.

She turned to her final opponent, the giant, with her hands raised to the
ready. "I'm impressed. You're one heck of a fighter lady," he said.
"Anything Goes, right?" Ryane gasped. "Yeah, I thought so. I met a guy
that used that martial art before, way back in my youth. I wonder how
I'll go against an expert?"

Ryane, wondering just who he was talking about, crooked her fingers at
him. "Come and find out," she breathed.

The huge man, stepped closer on the balls of his feet. Despite his large
size, he moved smoothly and gracefully. "I'm thinking I am," he answered,
just before he brought his right arm in a chop. Ryane sensed that it was
a fake-out though, and waited for the real attack. She was right. Instead
of the chop, the man moved unnaturally fast to give a powerful left,
twisting back into right, spin into left.

Ryane blocked them all smoothly, but the strength of the hits was such
that she was being pushed back, not so much as giving ground, but her
feet slipping backwards despite the high pointed heel digging into the
dirt floor. The style was very familiar, but somehow she just couldn't
point her finger on where she had encountered it before. She did remember
how to counter it though. As the man kept attacking in a frenzied manner,
she found the opening she was looking for and exploited the hole in his
offence. She weaved in like water through an open palm, and struck
rapidly with her fists and open palms on certain points on his chest.
Surprised by the pain, the giant fell back under the onslaught and found
his body opening up as if to invite even more punishment.

"What is this?" he shouted in confusion as he found that he could not
control his limbs. They were opening up like a flower to invite the
hummingbird. And Ryane was glad to fill that role. She lifted her legs,
and repeatedly roundhouse kicked his chest with her high heels,
puncturing holes in his chest numerous times. 

After a while of this, she flipped in the opposite direction,
and rose into the air before using her other foot to crack him on the
back of his lowered head. To complete the brutal beating, she landed
before the giant could fall on his face, and kneed him in the balls so
hard he flew several meters backwards and landed on his back with a solid
thump. His still body continued to slide backwards until a trashcan
pressing into his back stopped his movement.

Breathing slightly harder than normal, Ryane stood and surveyed her
handiwork. They would live, she knew, but that was all she could promise
them. Suddenly remembering that the taxi cab driver knew the hotel she
was living in, she walked up to his still body and touched a few pressure
points on his head. Now he would not remember. As a side effect he might
experience severe head-aches, that felt as if his brain was slowly being
ripped out with a metal hook, but it was his fault for kidnapping her in
the first place.

She sighed and bent over to fish the car keys from his pocket. She would
remember to wash her hands when she got home, she promised herself. She
looked down, annoyed at her trench coat. Blood stains were a bitch to get 
out. She would also have to remember to visit the laundromat on the way 
home.

After dusting herself off as best as she could, she walked over to the
taxi-cab and got in the driver's side. After pulling out her compact to
check her makeup and fix it, she started the car and pulled out of the
alleyway. She wondered where she could abandon the cab once she got close
enough to her hotel.



<> 2 <>



"She's not here."

"Where is she?"

"Gone. Left with-"

Ryane woke up with a start. After a few moments to get back to reality,
she sighed and brushed the hair off of her sweaty forehead. That was
unusual she thought, as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. The dream
hadn't ever come twice in a row before. It wasn't quite as bad as the
night earlier, but it was definitely related. Then she shrugged and put
it down to stress. Last night had been more fun than stress, she thought,
but she guessed it came to the same thing.

She wondered what time it was. Judging from the faint morning light
coming in through the cracks in the white curtains, she guessed it was
still early, but not early enough. She cursed. She must have forgotten to
set her alarm clock last night in all the excitement. She hadn't had a
work-out like that in years.

She sat up on the king-size bed and looked at the time. Six o'clock.
That left her with a bit over three hours to take a shower, get dressed,
then eat breakfast. She had to get to the session at least a little early
or it wouldn't look good for their company. It didn't leave her with
quite enough time, but she knew she could do it. Too bad she wasn't a
man, she chuckled ironically to herself. Men could get ready in half an
hour, tops.

After phoning room service for breakfast to come in at about
eight-thirty, she stepped into the large bathroom and dropped her
nightgown around her ankles. She stepped out of the fallen clothing and
stared critically at her naked reflection in the mirror. There was
definitely not going to be any problem at the session, she thought, as
she took in her tall, full-figured, but slim physique. She could even
pose in a swim-suit just like the old days. If anything, her figure had
improved. 

Suddenly depressed, she frowned at herself in the mirror, before turning
around to turn the shower on. After a short moment of testing the
temperature of the hot spray with her fingertips, she stepped into the
stall and closed the glass sliding door.

Standing under the hot shower she looked upwards, letting the warm water
run down her face, as she streaked her hair backwards with her fingers,
letting it fall down her back in a long river of wet silk. Ryane grinned
silently to herself. If anything, one real advantage to womanhood was the
understanding that they were allowed to have long, hot baths. What's your
excuse? I'm a woman, so there! In fact, if it weren't for the time 
factor, she would be taking a long soak in the tub instead of a shower.

After washing her hair, she soaped up her hands and began rubbing the
suds all over her body. Absently rubbing her breasts, she began thinking
about the giant guy from last night. There was something about him.
Something damn familiar. She hated it when you just *knew* something, it
was on the tip of your tongue, but it just wouldn't come out.


<><><>


Two and a half hours later, Ryane hopped out of the cab after paying the
driver, and hurried along the sidewalk, careful to avoid brushing into
any of the many people walking rapidly along it.

She spotted the main entrance to the large building by it's huge gold
lettering, 'Cosmo Girl', and walked through the revolving glass doors.
Once inside, she blew on her cold hands and sighed in pleasure at the
warmness of the air. The weather lately had given a pattern of freezing
coldness during the mornings and evenings.

The large foyer was comparatively empty compared to the hustle and bustle
of the rat race outside. Besides the secretary at the large help desk,
there was only a few people walking around. She looked around and saw
many pictures of models advertising the Cosmo Girl cosmetics hanging in
places around the walls. There were several long white couches, which
looked invitingly soft, lined near the help desk and a small glass table
with a few magazines littered on top of it. Numerous potted plants and
decorations softened the professional look of the place.

She smoothed down her jacket and skirt before walking over and asking the
secretary at the desk where the ten-am photo session would be. The cute
looking secretary, was startled for a moment, before pushing up her
eye-glasses which had fallen down a bit on her pert nose, and looked more
closely at her. 

"Ohhh!" she squealed girlishly, apparently recognising her. "You're Ryane
Kay! I can't believe your doing some photos for us!" she babbled, as
Ryane pasted an automatic smile on her face. "I mean, everyone knows you
retired, but were still involved with Mister Horoku's Modelling Agency,
and then I heard a rumour that you were actually going to fill in for one
of the girls!"

"Um, yes ... now, which way to the studio where we'll be doing the
pictures?" Ryane asked before the bubbly secretary could squeeze in
another squeal. Now she remembered one of the reasons she hated being
semi-famous.

"Well you are kind of early, I mean, it's only nine-thirty, and didn't
you know that the girls we usually hire come in fashionably late?" At
Ryane's uncomprehending look, she tugged at her light brown hair
excitedly as she continued, "Well, when we say ten, it usually means
about eleven ... but I guess you can head over to the studio now, if you
want to, it's on the third floor, just follow the hallway on the right,
you can't miss it, and ... can I have your autograph?"

A few seconds passed before Ryane could absorb all of that. "Late? Third
floor? And um, my autograph? I guess so ... what do you want me to sign?"

The secretary looked right and left around the relatively quiet foyer 
before leaning forward with a mischievous look in her green eyes. "I'm 
wearing one of the bras you used to help advertise," she whispered
conspiratorially. "Do you think you could sign them?"

Ryane covered her mouth with her hand to prevent a laugh escaping her
lips. She coughed instead. Cupping her hand back to prevent anyone else
from hearing, she replied, "That's fine, just don't ask me to sign your
panties."

The secretary giggled as she undid a few buttons on her blouse quickly
and in a few seconds, Ryane was smirking to herself as she signed on the
frilly white lingerie. After slashing her name in slashing big strokes 
with the black texta the secretary had given her, she handed it back 
stealthily as if what she was holding was not a bra but really a package 
of illegal drugs.

"Say, what is your name, by the way?" Ryane asked her as the secretary
put her bra back on as quickly as she could.

"Oh, I'm Yuri, just the foyer secretary-slave," she said, smiling.

"Well, nice meeting you Yuri-chan, I'll just head over to the studio. I
don't mind if I'm early." Ryane was beginning to like the energetic and
bubbly young woman. They waved goodbye at each other as Ryane walked 
over to the elevators.

She pressed the 'up' button and waited for the one of the many elevator
doors to open. She ignored the security guard trying to eye her around
the corner. Jeez, she thought. Where did these guards go to school?
Happosai's school of lechery?

The elevator bell, 'dinged' and one of the doors opened on the right.
Ryane skipped over to it and found that it was empty. She sighed in
relief. She stepped in and pressed the button for the third floor. After
the doors slid closed, she leaned her back against the wall waited as she
felt the familiar sensation of the elevator rising. Briefly she checked
out her reflection in the mirror walls of the small room. What was it
about someone that made them beautiful, she wondered. She cinched her
small jacket in with her hands causing her breasts to be outlined and
made faces in the mirror. She didn't really see anything outstanding
about herself.

She let go of her waist and reached up to the back of her neck to gather
the long, straight, black hair with her hands. In a ponytail, she did
slightly look like her old self. For sure, no one could ever mistake her
for a guy, but it did make her look like a girlish teenager again. But
then she noticed the longer lashes, the higher cheekbones, the fuller
lips, the sultry eyes - she was a mature woman at the same time. People
said that her eyes looked haunted, which was another reason for their
allure - people liked a mystery, but turning around to the mirror behind
her for a closer look, she couldn't really see it. All she saw was the
same bright blue irises, flecked with green, which in certain light like
here in the elevator, looked torquoise. They were fascinating eyes, she
decided, but what did 'haunted' look like?

Again the elevator bell ringing startled her and she turned back
to the doors, which slid open. A recorded voice said, "Third level, Cosmo
Girl photo studio. Have a nice day!" Ryane smiled, as she let the hair
fall back down her back. She loved these talking elevators.

"Let's see, hallway on the right," she mused, as she stepped out of the
lift, the doors closing behind her. Yep, there was a hallway on the
right, so she took it, her high-heels making clipping sounds on the
black, tiled floor. Along the walls, there were more photos of various
models, each with a plaque beneath them saying what type of cosmetics
they used to associate with each girl. Today was different though. This
would be a group shot advertising a new brand of lipstick. She had asked
Mister Horoku why this was a group shot when Cosmo Girl had always used
only one model per cosmetic in the past, but he had laughed and said it
was a surprise. Ryane hated surprises, but she thought to humour him just
this once.

As she walked, she began to think about the fight last night. She smiled
to herself. She hadn't had an all-out brawl in a long time. For the past
months she hadn't been training as much as she'd like to, but all her
experience with fighting in her youth had just come back to her. She was
so happy she felt like kicking the air. The hallway was long and wide
enough. She began to throw some of the moves out that she had used last
night to emulate the fight. "Ha!" she shouted aloud as she spun around
and punched, imagining the look on that guys face as he flew into the
wall. "Take that!" She remembered kicking that blond guy in the chest
sending him to Kingdom-come. "Ya!" she threw a couple of roundhouse
kicks. Then she thought about the big guy who looked so familiar. I'll
remember what it is about you yet, she promised to herself, as she ran
forward, pretending that the photo of some beautiful woman's face hanging
on the wall in front of her as the hallway turned to the right, was the
black-haired giant's.

And now, for the final blow, she thought, grinning like a fool as she ran
forward, preparing her knee to smash the imaginary guy's balls. Then all
of a sudden, it seemed as there really was a man in front of her. Gee,
her imagination sure was life-like, she thought wonderingly. He even
looks scared like he did last night. She kneed forward, expecting to rise
through the air ... when there was unexpected resistance and a huge
crunching sound and everything went all jumbled and it seemed there
really *was* a man in front of her ... who she had just kneed in the
balls with tremendous force.

"Arrghhhh!" the man screamed as he fell backwards, clutching his
privates. His back rammed into the wall and he fell on his butt, yelling
in agony. The framed photograph that she had pretended to be that guy's
face fell off and crashed into the unfortunate man's head, his head
ripping through so that the frame seemed to be some kind of bizarre 
necklace.

Ryane paused with her knee raised stupidly, before her mind catched up to
what happened and she was immediately sorry. She ran over to the man and
kneeled next to him, calling herself insulting names in her mind. "Shit!
Are you okay??" she asked desperately.

The man's head was bowed and his face was screwed up in intense pain.
"Are you crazy, woman?! What does it look like? Argghhh! Friggen,
ever-lasting hell! If you had balls, you'd definitely know!" His
black-haired head lifted, and Ryane found herself staring into the most
handsome face she had ever seen, his eyes a bright green, dominating his
rugged good looks. She could lose herself in those eyes, she thought.

He stared at her and she stared back for what seemed like an eternity,
but was only likely a few seconds. Then the spell was broken as she
remembered his angry words and a chuckle escaped from her lips. Then she
looked down at the picture frame around his neck pretending to be a
Hawaiian lei and the small chuckle turned into a hearty laugh. That and
the fact, he looked so funny there, sitting on his butt, clutching his
family jewels as if they would fall off if he weren't cupping them.

"What's so funny?" the man asked, offended. "I heard some noises and
I went to see what it was and suddenly you were there attacking me. Do
you go about kneeing men in the balls for fun?" His deep voice still had
an angry tone in it, but now held a touch of amusement.

Ryane finally got her laughter in control, and wiped some of the tears
that had begun leaking down her cheeks. "No of course not!" A giggle
escaped, and she cursed herself. "I was just ... um ... practising some
moves as I walked along ... I thought I was alone here. You can't believe
how sorry I am." She looked worriedly at him. "I-I hope there's no
permanent damage ... I-I ..."

The man waved her off. "No, no, I don't think so. I managed to turn a bit
at the last second, although it really does feel like you did permanent
damage."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

The man lifted off the picture frame from around his neck and threw it on
the ground in disgust. "I don't think so. What can you do? Massage them?"
Ryane giggled again as he began to stand up. Then he slipped and fell
back on his butt. "Well I guess my legs still feel a bit weak. I'll just
rest here a while."

Ryane shook her head. He was just trying to act tough in front of a
woman. They all did it. "Is there a couch or anything nearby?" He nodded.
"Well let me help you up and I'll help you there."

The man snorted. "You? You're just a woman. I'm too heavy."

Ryane stared at him. He really was a big man. It wasn't his height, 
which seemed to be only about two inches taller than her at six feet, 
she guessed, but his build. The ruggedness didn't stop at his face, she
thought. Absent-mindedly, she realised that she had been checking him 
out, so the disgust on her face was genuine as she answered his 
chauvinistic remark. "Oh, so I'm a woman and must be weak, huh?"

"Well ..." At least he had the grace to look ashamed when he realised
what he had just said. "It's just that you're so slender and ..."

"Hold it right there. Appearances can be deceiving. What's to bet that
I'm stronger than I look?"

"Okay, I'll bet you a kiss that you can't lift me." Then his face turned
immediately red as if he had just surprised himself. "I mean, no forget
that."

"No, no, no! I accept the terms." Ryane knew that she could lift him
easily, so she wasn't in any danger of having to kiss a guy. Which she
had never ever done in her life. At least voluntarily, she thought, her
forehead screwing up in disgust for a moment. And won't either as long as 
she lived if she had anything to do with it. In fact, she decided to have 
a little fun with him. She bent over and swiftly scooped him up in her 
arms like a babe. It wasn't his weight that she had trouble with, it was 
the bulkiness of the man.

"Still think I'm weak?" she said mischievously.

"Holy fu-" He looked at up her. "I mean, holy spirits!" His expression
was unbelieving as she walked effortlessly down the hallway to the 
sitting room where there were indeed some couches. When she got there, 
she carefully put him down on the longest one. After seeing that he 
looked comfortable, she sat down on the couch opposite him and crossed 
her legs as she leaned backwards. 

She looked over at him. He was still gazing at her with that amazed
expression on his face. "I can't believe it. You must be even stronger
than my w- friend!" He looked uncomfortable for a second. "She's the
strongest woman I know, and she can't even lift me up like you did."

Ryane smiled at him and giggled again. And was again appalled at herself.
She never giggled! But now she had done it so much, she couldn't remember
how many times she had done it. What was wrong with her? She studied the
man again. He was wearing a grey business suit, which clearly outlined
his muscular body and a cute orange and black tie. His black silky hair
was longish and it seemed he went for the 'mess effect,' which she had to
admit, worked for him. Finally she came to his face, which was still as
handsome as she remembered it. She began to feel a bit warm and an
uncomfortable, alien feeling rose in her crotch.

After a while, she realised that they both had been staring at each other
again. "So ... what are you doing here at Cosmo Girl of all places
anyway?" she asked to make small-talk. Anything was better than this
silence. "You don't seem the type to work here."

"No," he answered. "I'm here because one of my in-laws asked me to 
oversee some of her business. Actually, I'm not supposed to be here 
today, but she called me up to do a favour for her. I don't know what it 
is, it's supposed to be a surprise. Which probably means bad luck for 
me."

"No kidding," Ryane said. She totally agreed with him. Surprises usually
meant bad luck, which is why she hated them. "I know how that feels."

The man looked like he was going to say something, but then closed his
mouth. Then he got a confused expression on his face. Ryane guessed that
he forgot what he was about to say. She smiled at him and his eyes
lowered to her mouth and stayed there. The moment of silence came back.

"So ... you think girls are weak?" Ryane was again the one to break it.
Suddenly she began to feel a little wild. "How about a little
arm-wrestle?" she asked, grinning at him. "I'll even bet over it."

The man just stared at her. "I guess it could be interesting." He slowly
smiled. "But what's the pot?"

Ryane thought for a second. "Whoever loses has to buy that person some
ice-cream." She couldn't believe what she was doing. Whatever happened,
that would still equal a date with a man. A man. Unbelievable. Could this
female stuff be slipping on her? I mean, granted she did love ice-cream,
she thought, but it wasn't worth a date over it.

Before she could retract her offer though, the man pounced. "Done.
Whoever loses has to fork over some ice-cream. There's even a nice shop
across the road from this building."

Ryane sighed. At least she would be able to win the match. "Okay, shake
on it." They shook hands and her hand felt positively dainty and delicate
inside his rough, callused grip.

The man walked over to a small wooden table across the room and slid it
back to where she was, in the middle of the two couches. Both of them
lowered themselves to their knees opposite the table and rested their
right arm on it. They grasped each other hands.

"Okay," Ryane announced. "At the count of three, one, two, three, go!"
She quickly brought a tremendous amount of force on her hand, eager to
finish the competition and embarrass him. But it didn't quite work out
that way. His hand refused to budge! That was impossible! She put even
more force on it, and his arm only moved a millimetre, if that. She 
looked up to find him smiling at her. Then his arm slowly began to exert 
force on her arm, and she found herself giving way to his greater 
strength. Shit, she thought. Who was he? He must be a martial artist! 
Then, abruptly there was a huge crack and the table underneath them 
snapped in two. They both fell over onto their sides as it gave way to 
the force they exerted on it.

Ryane turned on to her back and sighed in relief. Then she began laughing
out loud. A second later, the man next to her began laughing as well.
Deep, throaty chuckles which she felt right through to her bones. She 
only laughed louder. She liked him, she decided. There was just something
about him that made it seem like they were old friends.

"Uh, excuse me?" A man's voice said. "Am I interrupting something?"

Ryane quickly stood up, feeling like a child engaged in some illegal
activity. The man stood up also with an identical expression on her face.

She looked at the newcomer and recognised him as the Managing Director of
advertising for Cosmo Girl. "Oh, hi, Lee. I didn't see you there. We were
just, ummm, having a little arm-wrestling match." She looked at the
destroyed table. "Sorry about that. I'll pay for it, of course."

Lee looked at her and the man whose name she didn't even know yet. "Oh,
no ... that's unnecessary. I see you've met one of our major
shareholder's brother-in-law. I'd introduce you, but it looks like you
already have been."

"No, actually we haven't," the man replied. "We just sort of, um, crashed
into one another and we sort of forgot about the usual things and telling
each other's names."

"Well in that case, I'll introduce you. Miss Ryane Satomi, or better
known as just Ryane, meet Mister Ryoga Hibiki."

And then it seemed the floor gave way beneath Ryane's feet.


<><><>


"That was a nasty thing happening back there," the make-up artist was
saying as she worked her magic on Ryane's face. "I mean, you fainting
like that. I knew there was something wrong with the air-conditioning on
this level."

The air had nothing to do with it, Ryane thought angrily. Ryoga Hibiki,
that scum. She still couldn't believe it. She had thought she had seen
the last of him, back in Nerima when he had ripped her life apart. But it
seemed like life was doing the usual thing and making itself unfair for
her. She decided she would just ignore that she had ever met Ryoga again.
It wasn't as if she would be seeing him again anytime soon, wasn't it?

"Well, that's about it," the make-up artist said after putting the final
touches to her face. "Gee, now I know why you really were that successful
as a model, honey. You're gorgeous. It looks like our new lipstick will
sell through the roof!"

Ryane thanked her for the compliment and stood up off of the small stool.
She looked at herself in the mirror and wondered where all the make-up
went. Aside from the redder lips due to the lipstick, she couldn't really
tell that much of a difference. Although her hair looked really beautiful
she had to admit. Long black waves, which framed her shoulders and face,
the way that a part of it covered one of her cheeks giving her a
mysterious, sexy look. Even that stubborn red streak which ran from the
start of her fringe all the way to the maximum length of her hair was
made to look striking. Who would've thought that the few strands of her
hair that would not dye black no matter what she tried would turn into
her signature feature? Then she shrugged and smoothed down her tank-top
and mini-skirt. Jeez, the things they made the models wear were indecent.
That was another reason why she had retired from active duty and begged
for a desk job.

She turned to see some of the other models, who were already finished,
giving her admiring glances, even some borne of jealousy. She was used to
the look though. Eight years of experience had hardened her to the 
reactions that she got. 

There were four other models making them a total of five. She wondered
what the setting for this session would be and what the photographers
would make them do. No-one had told her yet.

When the last model had finished being prepared, this one a blonde, Ryane
opened the door to the make-up room and stepped outside into the studio.
She frowned when she saw that Ryoga was still there, being fussed over by
one of the make-up artists.

"What is he still doing there?" she asked in an annoyed tone.

"Oh, Ryoga Hibiki?" the other brunette model asked her. "Isn't he just a
dreamboat? You're so lucky! I caught him looking at you with calf-eyes
earlier!" she squealed.

"Yeah, I know what his name is and I don't care what he's been doing,"
Ryane replied. "I just want to know, what he's still doing here."

One of the models who had looked at her with jealousy gave her a
half-smile. It was obvious that Ryane didn't like him. "Oh he's part of
the shoot-out. Our male model, so to speak. We're to hang around him
looking beautiful while they take pictures of us." She picked up a
compact and admired herself in it, fluffing out her red curly hair. 

An awful taste crept into Ryane's mouth. "I don't believe it."

Lee, the advertising director walked up to her, having heard what she
said. "Yes, Ryoga is standing in for our male model. His sister-in-law,
Nabiki Tendo, who is one of our major shareholders, played a joke on him
and got him to do the job. What's the matter? I thought you liked him?"
he asked puzzled. "He said he was having fun with you before I came."

That was before I found out who he was, Ryane thought furiously.
Outwardly she assumed a neutral expression. She couldn't ruin this job
for Mister Horoku. Cosmo Girl was one of their most important clients.
Which is why he probably wanted to make a bigger impression using Ryane 
for their model instead.

"Oh, I like him enough I guess," she said. She didn't want anyone to
guess that she had known Ryoga in the past. Or that she hated him. "It's
just that I've never worked with a male model before." That much was true
after all.

"Just pretend that he's another female model and it won't distract you as
much," Lee said. "Well, it looks like their ready girls. Saddle up!"

Ryane and the other models walked up to where Ryoga was standing with the
make-up artist. He was wearing a tight muscle-shirt and jeans which
showed off his admittedly, impressive physique. He smiled at her, showing
his even white teeth and the old fangs. How could she have missed them 
earlier, she wondered. She smiled back, feeling sick to her stomach.

What followed next was the usual photography session with people
arranging them all around different positions with Ryoga and the other
girls, all the while with the camera's snapping and flashing. Ryane tried
to ignore that it really was Ryoga Hibiki she was so near to in intimate
positions, but it was impossible. What was even more impossible was that
the more intimate the position she was in, the more the funny feeling in
her lower stomach would tense up. What was happening to her?

"Okay, now each of you kiss Ryoga on the lips in turn and we'll take
shots," the director said. "Our slogan is, 'no matter how many times you
kiss with Cosmo Girl Evolution Lipstick, it will never rub off on your
man'. Cool huh?" Ryane panicked. She was not going to do this! She tried
to scream it out loud, but nothing came out of her mouth. After fourth
model kissed a flustered Ryoga to the accompaniment of camera's flashing,
it was her turn.

Ryane didn't know what to do. On one hand she did not want to kiss Ryoga
on the lips, ever! But on the other, she did not want to disappoint Lee
and so blacken her company's name. Oh what the hell, she decided. One
kiss won't hurt. I'll just pretend it's - No I won't think of her
either, seeing Ryoga again was enough.

She stepped closer to him and couldn't help flinching a little as he
reached up to bring with his hands to bring her closer. "We just met, and
already we're kissing," Ryoga whispered, with a boyish expression on his
face. "If it helps a little, just know that I think I like you."

It didn't help Ryane at all. But she sighed to the inevitable and
surrendered in his arms. His warm lips found hers and the sickly feeling
in her lower stomach magnified a hundred fold. She would have gasped if
her breath weren't locked in her throat, as unanticipated sensations
converged on her all at once.

His body pressed slowly into hers and she was shocked when she started
feeling the heat start spreading lower from her stomach. This was crazy,
she thought. Could she be liking this? Then all the thoughts disappeared
from her head as she felt Ryoga groan deep in his throat and his tongue
enter her mouth. All she thought about was being warm and surrounded,
safe in his arms ...

"Okay you can stop now," Lee shouted, chuckling a bit. Ryane flinched,
all the thoughts rushing back into her mind and they broke apart, each
flustered and breathing a bit more heavily. What is the matter with you,
Ryane's mind screamed at her. All she knew was a deeply confused feeling
with residual heat still flushing through her body.

They looked at each other. "Sorry," they each said at the same time. Then
they couldn't help laughing. Lee and the other models just looked at them
as if they were insane. 

"Hey! I thought that the lipstick would never rub off, but look at
Ryoga's lips!" the blonde model said. They all looked at him and laughed,
as his lips were indeed slightly red. Red from Ryane's lips. They both
blushed.

Lee explained that he would look into that, but the lipstick wasn't
really supposed to be used for 'heavy necking.' Besides, it was only a 
'prototype'. They all sighed at that. Then he told them that the session 
was finished and they should get cleaned up.

"Don't forget that we owe each other an ice-cream," Ryoga said, winking
at her.

"What?" Ryane asked, still confused. "We never finished the match."

"But we both lost, and well, we did agree and shake on it that the loser
had to buy the other an ice-cream."

Ryane was about to refuse that also, but then she remembered that she had
shaken on it after all and she wasn't about to break her honour no matter
what. Perhaps she had failed on some things, but she would never betray 
her honour. "Okay, already," she said, resigned. "I'll meet you in the 
foyer at one o'clock. Just don't think this is a date or anything."

"Will do," Ryoga answered, smiling, but looking a little guilty. And so
he should, Ryane thought. That looked like  a wedding band she had spied 
on a necklace around his neck. And she knew just who he would be cheating 
on if ever did it. In fact, that thought had given her a little idea.

Then they each left to their respective rooms to get cleaned up.


<><><>


Ryane was sitting down on the stool and looking at herself in the mirror.
That little idea had grown full-scale into a plan. A plan of vengeance.
She chuckled to herself. And it would all be so easy, judging by Ryoga's
reaction to her. He was attracted to her. No doubt about it. That stick
she had felt in his pocket when they were kissing was not really a stick.
It seemed that Ryoga had lost most of his bashfulness towards women.
Which suited her just fine.

Ryoga, she thought, you ruined me by stealing the love of my life away
from me. And so I shall do the same to you. Only I won't be stealing
Akane away from you, but myself. You'll fall in love with me, leave
Akane, and then you'll find the most intense pain you'll ever know.
Heartbreak. But love was a double-edged sword and she would have to keep
that in mind, she reminded herself.

Ryoga and Akane, you created me, and now you'll find that you've created
a monster. 

Ranma Saotome, smiled slowly at herself in the mirror and finally
realised that, indeed, she was quite beautiful. 


*** To be continued...

Ace Sanchez
Email: jsa@fl.net.au
WWW: http://jsa.users.fl.net.au