Celeste Byrd [nshampoo@gold.interlog.com]
05.04.1998 [April 5, 1998]

Rating: Most audiences approved.

Ranma 1/2 is copyrighted 1998 by Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan Inc. and anyone else who rightfully owns the copyrights. All-Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku is copyrighted 1992 by Yuuzou Takada/Futuba Sha/King Records/Movic. This fanfic was written entirely for entertainment purposes and NOT for monetary benefit. Please don't sue me. Any similarities with other fanfics are purely coincidental unless stated otherwise.

This is my second attempt at a decent fanfic. This also happens to be my first attempt at prose. Be lenient.

Information is based on the author's experience of the two series, meaning a truckload of Ranma 1/2 but an OAV and a few fics of Nuku Nuku. Japanese will only be used when necessary, and NOT to show that this author can look up lots of words and phrases she does not understand in a Japanese-English dictionary, or show that she can write Japanese in English when others don't have a clue what any of it means. Incidents from Ranma 1/2 are based on the manga.

Some parts of this fanfic were influenced by Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. If you haven't read any of them, shame on you.

If you've just stumbled upon this, please read the previous chapters to understand anything in this one.

There was a knock at the door, and Natsume Kyusaku looked up from his desk. Who would want to see him at this hour? It was well past midnight, and Kyusaku was hoping on getting home after he finished his business at Mishima Heavy Industries. His wife, Akiko, was expecting their first baby soon and he wanted to be at home with her right now, but she told him to finish his project before going home. It was strange to him. Kyusaku was merely a designer in one of four research and development departments, and his wife was the granddaughter of the CEO. Admittingly, Kyusaku was the most creative and intuitive person of the entire faculty, but he was a poor man with a bad business sense. Akiko was the exact opposite, born into a life of comfort and luxury. She also had the business morals of a shark, snapping up any new industrial prospects to increase the profits of MHI.

When they married, Kyusaku instantly became the lead cybernetics researcher in the company. A big jump surely, for the majority of the superiority in the corporation was female. Under the financial support of his wife, he designed, created and tested prototype after prototype after prototype. MHI benefited from Kyusaku's extraordinary progress in the field of cybernetics and technology. Project NK-583, for example, was a half-hearted attempt at video communications; MHI however, liked the concept and developed the Satellite enHanced Intercommunications Telescreen (appropriately named by Kyusaku). It was quite expensive, so the company decided to use the device only in the building. NK-686 was a breakthrough in artificial intelligence; the ability to interpret human speech patterns and carry out simple instructions said to them. MHI encouraged Kyusaku to continue with developing the technology and created many militant vehicles as well as strategic programs to be incorporated into the Japanese military computers. And finally, NK-966 was the first AI ever to be able to react to its environment and adjust to its situation; the perfect technology for satellite repairs or dangerous underground maintenance. MHI took one of Kyusaku's best achievements and altered it to become the first advanced weapons system.

Kyusaku was slightly annoyed when he found out seven out of ten of his projects were being used for military purposes, but he supposed he couldn't complain; if Akiko wanted to support his works, then she should have the right to determine the best method for using his 'toys.' At least none of them thus far had actually been used to fight wars, and if that happened...

Dropping his pen into his lab coat, Kyusaku adjusted his collar and brushed the bangs out of his eyes. He put the papers on his desk into a folder marked 'NK-1077'; he saved a similar file on his computer and shut it down. He then walked across the room and opened the door.

His guest was quite unexpected. Kyusaku smiled.

"Genma-san! It's great to see you!" he exclaimed, "it must have been what, a year since you visited an old friend!"

Genma's face was anything but cheerful as Kyusaku came to see. He brushed his bangs out of his eyes again.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Genma looked disturbed. It was quite unsettling for Kyusaku, for Genma rarely was seen this way. He was a loud and carefree man, and Kyusaku had trouble associating that with the man in front of him. It was then Kyusaku noticed the bloody boy that Genma held in his arms.

"Oy, what happened to Ranma?!" Kyusaku burst out. Genma shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

"A training accident..."

A light dawned in Kyusaku's eyes. "You know, some day your recklessness will get the better of you, Genma-san! Haven't you've seen a doctor for him?"

"Yes, Ranma's been to the hospital."

"And...?"

The look in Genma's eyes told Kyusaku all he needed to know. He looked down the corridor, and seeing no one he led Genma inside. He asked him to deposit the boy on the workbench, and Kyusaku gave Ranma a cursory examination. Ranma looked FAR worse under the light of the bench. It took all of Kyusaku's willpower not to throw up.

He made a decision. "Genma, come back tomorrow. I need your son for tonight."

"But--"

"No buts! You leave school to go on a martial arts training trip, you come visit your friend only once a month, and now you're the one who comes back after a full year to want me to do something, to fix something you took away from your son! If you really want him to live, LET ME DO MY WORK!"

Genma cowered down, for Kyusaku rarely let his temper flare. He bowed an apology and quickly left the premises to his friend's wishes. After Kyusaku closed the door, he lit a cigarette and glanced back to the boy on the table. He made a smoke ring and sighed heavily.

There's nothing I can do. I'm no doctor, he thought. Genma's asking for a miracle. Cybernetics can't create miracles.

Unless...

Kyusaku gazed at the nearly dead child on the workbench, then to his computer. He turned the computer back on and opened a file related to his work on project NK-966. He scanned the file until he saw what he was looking for.

Ah.

Akiko can wait, he thought. If all goes well, I'll revolutionize cybernetic technology as we know it. She'll understand. He checked the information once more and opened a new file. Taking out an indexed folder, he thumbed through it for the notes he needed. Once he found what he was looking for, Kyusaku started to type. After twenty minutes he ran down to Research and Development and placed in a query for his new project. It'll take an hour, he thought. Just enough time to think of something else. Kyusaku was very fond of Ranma, the main reason he was willing to do this for him. It was also the main reason he was hoping to have a boy when Akiko delivered. He took the elevator upstairs, ran to his office, sat back down at his computer and started typing again.

"The stasis apparatus I'm finishing downstairs should hold him for a few weeks," he said to himself. "That gives me time to work on something for him."

An hour later, Ranma was transferred into the apparatus, and Kyusaku decided it was enough for the night. He hesitated before deciding what to name and where to put the new file. He really didn't want his wife to know about the project, for she might tell him what a waste of effort Kyusaku was putting into it. And money.

He typed in a name, and the computer saved it onto a floppy disk Kyusaku put in the drive. Taking a pen out, he labeled the disk and stored it into his jeans pocket. The label could not have been seen by any conventional means, but anyone with x-ray vision would have clearly seen the inscription on the disk.

NK-1078.

RANMA 1/2  and  ALL-PURPOSE CULTURAL CAT-GIRL NUKU NUKU
PROJECT NK-RANMA
Written by Celeste Byrd

CHAPTER FOUR: Pulling the Trigger

Ranma tested his new restraints. He knew he could probably break free of them, but that really big metal thing looming over him squashed down any thoughts of escape. Ranma-Neko seemed eager to take over and get them out, but Ranma felt wary of what he planned to do.

"How do I always get into these situations?" he thought.

"Shut up, Neko," he added.

The interrogator, Akiko, smirked as she watched Ranma's resigned expression. It took her company years of dedicated work to come up with something as advanced as the new BC-E88 powersuit. Years of throwing everything she had at that infuriating catgirl. Years of trying to get her son back. She'd be damned if she didn't learn anything from the experience.

"Kyusaku, this time your new android and NK-1124 will not be able to protect you. I'll destroy this abomination and then that android that hangs around my son!" she thought. "And then my Ryunosuke baby will come back to me, with Kyusaku at my feet!"

Out loud she said, "Saotome, if that's your name, I made a promise to Kyusaku a long time ago. I promised I would chase him to the gates of hell if that's what it would take to get Ryunosuke back, and you nor he will get in my way!" She dismissed her associates and waited for Ranma's response. Arisa, from within the suit, also awaited Akiko's orders. She couldn't wait to try out MHI's new line of weaponry!

"Kyusaku? Ryunosuke? Who're they?" Ranma asked. Inwardly he thought: "Ryunosuke... That rings a bell. I'm sure I remember that name somewhere..."

Akiko let her impatience show. "Look here, Saotome, give up with your stupid games and I won't break you down!"

Needless to say, Ranma was feeling a little ticked off at this point. Angrily he blurted out: "What is it with this stupid 'break me up into tiny pieces anyway?! I have no idea who this Kyusaku or Ryunosuke is, and I sure as hell don't know what you keep going on about!"

Akiko was slightly taken aback, and began to seethe. No one, absolutely NO ONE talked to her this way!

"Kyouko! Teach this insolent android some manners!"

Kyouko came out from behind Akiko and gave Ranma a disapproving glare. Arisa waited impatiently.

"You had better listen to Lady Akiko," she told Ranma, "unless you REALLY want Arisa to have her fun and destroy your body."

Ranma started to laugh. Oh sure, the cops'll really like this!

"Look," he said between chuckles, "if ya eliminate me, the police will be all over this building with search warrants and the like! I don't know much about them, but I do know killing me will bring them here!"

Kyouko tilted her head. "Really? I don't think so."

Ranma stopped laughing. "Huh?" he asked.

Kyouko smiled. "The police won't come for a robot, you know."

"OKAY, WOULD YOU STOP CALLING ME THAT?!" he yelled.

"But it’s true," she continued, "why don't you look at that poor leg of yours, hmm?"

Ranma stared at Kyouko's face. When you survive three long years of attacks thrown by three violent fiancees, three heated rivals, several lunatics, one cowardly yet persistent parent, a panty thief, a wise yet dangerous old woman, the invincible martial artist of the week and on one occasion a giant lobster with shears, you learn a lot by facial and body expressions. Kyouko had no trace of malice on her face, no telltale quirk that told of some little private joke she was sharing with herself. None at all...

He decided to shut up for once and take the information at face value. He slowly looked down at his injured leg, afraid of what he'd see. It was normal looking, except for the burn marks and the long gash in the side. The blood had clotted, so that was a good sign.

If it weren't for the wires jutting out of the wound and the traces of metal here and there, Ranma would have thought nothing of it. As it were, he was shocked beyond belief.

"Okay, okay. At the age of ten I get trained in some stupid form of martial art that leaves me scarred for life. I lose one of my only friends because of a stupid duel he couldn't get to. I go to China with Pop even though the stupid moron doesn't speak a word of Chinese. We go to the stupid training grounds of Jhusenkyou where I get cursed to turn into a stupid girl. I get into a stupid fight with Chinese amazons and get the Kiss of Death, and get chased out of the stupid province. Pops and I come back to Japan where I learn he arranged a stupid marriage. Not to one girl, but to at least seventeen of 'em. I have stupid rivals I don't want because of having multiple fiancees. I get nearly killed almost everyday because of the stupid life I lead. I find out I've had an alternate personality for eight stupid years. And to top it all off, I've got stupid metal things jutting out my stupid leg. Stupid!"

Ranma-Neko instantly took over before Ranma could scream his head off. He would have found out sooner or later, R-Neko thought. It's just as well these funny people decided to tell him instead.

Ranma-Neko looked back up and met the gaze of Kyouko. He couldn't talk, for Ranma's mind had to be stable in order for speech to occur. After all, he was just a cat. And there was only one thing he could do.

He stuck his tongue out at Kyouko, making one of the silliest faces ever. At least he could get back at them THIS way! Slightly peeved, Kyouko dropped her mannerisms and stuck her thumbs in her ears and blew a raspberry. It then became one big contest, to see who could make the stupidest expression at the other. This happened for a few minutes with Akiko and Arisa giving them strange looks. It wasn't long before Akiko had enough.

"STOP IT!!!" she yelled. The volume of her voice threw Kyouko back, and Ranma-Neko hissed. "Kyouko! Shouldn't you be acting more your age?! I can understand this Saotome acting like a spoiled brat, but I expected more of you!"

"Hey, that wasn't very nice!" Ranma-Neko objected. Akiko whirled on him and poked him in the chest.

"It was bad enough Kyusaku built a superweapon shaped like some teenaged girl in his sick fantasies. Now he builds one to become my Ryunosuke's 'older' brother? He has no idea the bad influences that could come from this!"

Ranma may not have been very bright, but he did understand certain key points to the conversation. There were more of him. This Kyusaku built him and made him think he was human. He did damn good work.

I can live with that, Ranma thought. I'm cursed to turn into a girl, I have multiple fiancees, all who are incredibly violent towards me, and I have millions of guys who want to kill me. Being a robot sounds like a picnic.

"Do you always assume things created by this Kyusaku are bad?! What's it to you, anyway?!" Ranma asked out loud. Kyouko backed away hurriedly, knowing what was to come. Akiko walked up to Ranma until she was just centimetres from his face.

"Kyusaku was my husband! It's bad enough that he ran away a few years ago taking his projects with him, but to take my son away to expose him to the dangers of the outside world?! He's such an irresponsible father!!"

"Hey, from the way you talk about this guy, I'd say he's doing a fine job of raising the kid!"

"WHAT?! Kyusaku leaves Ryunosuke under the care of that... robot most of the time!"

"Lot better than turning the kid into a bubblehead!"

"Why you... under my care, Ryunosuke will become well-educated with private tutors and have servants at his beck and call!"

"Turning him into a lazy freak!"

"Don't you dare talk about my son that way!"

Kyusaku put out his cigarette and checked his watch. Nuku Nuku had left two minutes ago, so that meant... well, it meant she'd be back any second now.

Five...

Nabiki put down the phone and grinned viciously. She smelled a nice situation to take advantage of, and she planned on milking it to the extreme. She calmly wrote down a few things in her notebook and hid the phone back under the desk. Consulting her previous notes, Nabiki walked to her window and opened it. She saw Akane toweling off and felt it was a good time as any to start. She'd call the Nekohanten and Ucchan's after.

"Akane?" she called.

Akane looked up to see Nabiki beckoning from her window. "Hi Nabiki, what do you want?" she asked, finished with wiping the sweat off her face. Nabiki smiled her usual predatory one.

"There's some information that might interest you..."

Four...

Kyouko nervously watched the verbal battle from a safe distance. She was very fascinated. The boy seemed to be shooting down any of Lady Akiko's reasons to take back her son. She had thought Akiko and Kyusaku were unique in their own ways, but this boy seemed to be a combination of the two! She was also shocked that she was secretly hoping the boy would win. If he were to win this confrontation, it meant no more injuries to Arisa and no more millions of dollars wasted in a fruitless pursuit.

That also meant no more work for Kyouko, so she instantly sided with the CEO-to-be.

"...That's it," Akiko said with her dangerous calm, "I wasted enough time arguing with a simple machine. It's time for me to make you feel the power of Mishima Heavy Industries..." She brought her face back and pointed a finger at Ranma. "And to eliminate you with BC-E88!"

"Oh, we think we're so smart and smug just because we have a big robot that can blow seventeen kinds of shit out of me, huh? Well, I happen to be a martial artist and I can make you kiss that high-tech bucket goodbye," Ranma thought. "How, I don't know."

Ranma-Neko's thoughts however, were not as elaborate. The feline mind does not normally deal with introspection and forethought, being a creature of impulse. Ranma-Neko was not normal, so the laws of feline thought did not apply here. In fact, R-Neko's thoughts could be considered the biggest leap for the evolution of cats and they went like this: Must get out and play with such a big dangerous toy!

Somewhere along the path between the brain and the mouth, the two thoughts between the personalities clashed together and became two words: "Uh oh."

Akiko smiled and turned to her two subordinates. "I trust the elimination of this new android is in proper hands."

"Yes, ma'am!" Kyouko saluted. When Akiko left, Kyouko sighed and listlessly dropped her hands to her sides. She had a sneaking suspicion was to happen next.

"Arisa, let's get this over with, okay?" she asked warily. Arisa glared from within her suit.

"No way! I want to have some fun first!"

Kyouko sighed once again, a drop of sweat slowly working its way down the side of her face. "You just blew up millions of dollars worth of Mishima technology an hour ago!" she exclaimed tiredly.

"Kyouko, you know how stressed out I get in the office. Besides, this is to continue where I left off!"

By mutual agreement, Ranma-Neko took over while the two office ladies were bickering and twisted his arms around to lift the table from out under him. He flipped over, tearing his leg restraints and landed awkwardly on one foot, still carrying the table. The two looked back to see Ranma and his amazing display of balance. Kyouko stepped back as the BC-E88 opened fire.

"I won't let you..."

Ranma-Neko nimbly dodged the blasts and upended the table on the powersuit's head. The table splintered, but the suit seemed undamaged. Ranma-Neko jumped behind the machine and grabbed some of the paneling, tearing it off. He made a fist and punched the console, causing it to explode violently.

"...touch me!"

Ranma-Neko started ripping cables and wiring out of the damaged mech. The powersuit shut down. Ranma-Neko then lifted the BC-E88 over his head and, straining from the weight, he drove the mech into the wall repeatedly.

Three...

"ARISA!" Kyouko yelled.

Within the suit, Arisa grimaced from the force of the impacts. No one, not even the android, could damage Mishima's new muscle! She smiled, for after a few years of fighting NK-1124, she suggested a back-up power system in future battle suit designs. That way if the android managed to disable the suit, she... it would think the job was done and be at a disadvantage. And people like Arisa knew where to insert the dagger.

She turned on auxiliary and waited for the system to come back online. Seconds later she picked up a surprised Ranma-Neko by the waist and started applying intense amounts of pressure.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! No one dares look down the power of Mishima Heavy Industries!" she grinned. "Now let's see how you can handle the force of two thousand tons of pressure, android!"

Ranma-Neko clenched his teeth as Arisa tightened her grip on him. The tightness of the clamp seemed to be getting to him though, for he could feel his ribs starting to buckle. His vision also started to blur profusely.

"Jeez, she's stronger than Ryouga!" Ranma mentally shouted as Ranma-Neko closed his eyes. "Don't give up yet! You've barely used this body for more than a coupla’ minutes! You've got to get outta this psycho’s grip! C'mon!"

"Crush!" Arisa said through clenched teeth.

"Why you..." This growl was directed at the BC-E88. Ranma-Neko pulled back his fists and was about to punch hard when one of the walls exploded inwards. Kyouko gasped.

"NK-1124!" she yelled.

"Nuku Nuku won't let you hurt him!" Nuku Nuku shouted. She immediately went into battle mode, sensors looking very much like cat ears shifting into position.

The following happened in the time span of six seconds, and can only be explained sequentially. First off, there was that bit where Nuku Nuku crushed the arm holding Ranma-Neko, dropping him to the ground. The second involved extreme amounts of force exerted by Nuku Nuku lifting the BC-E88 and launching it out the same wall she came in. The force exerted was enough for the mech to cause an even bigger hole in the Mishima building, and also effectively causing it to land a good six or seven kilometres away. Oh yeah, and the third revolved around Nuku Nuku picking up the semi-conscious body of Ranma-Neko and running out. As Kyouko put down her arms, she noticed a Ranma-shaped hole in the scenery. Not literally, but figuratively. Either way, Kyouko knew she was in for one hell of a day.

Akiko, who had been watching the fight from the safety of her office, forced down the urge to scream. Once again Kyusaku foiled her plans! She sighed instead and summoned Kyouko.

"Take POISON FOUR and head to my husband's place! Try and re-capture the escapee!"

Two...

It was Kyouko's turn to sigh. Being the more levelheaded of Akiko's two servants, Kyouko felt it a waste of good technology to send it after the NK-1124. Arisa, the other one, was more than glad to try it and blow everything up within a five kilometre RADIUS. If so happened that the NK-1124 was in the way, even better. Kyouko was about to point out those facts when she noticed the look Akiko was giving her. Any thoughts of rebuke were squashed down, for years of experience told Kyouko never to question her superior's motives.

"Yes, Lady Akiko."

I had a serious case of writer's block. Add that with sixteen million other things I had to do, and you get ten minutes of free time each day. Not really enough to keep an idea working well, but my prereaders tell me I managed to keep it all in line. If you don't think so, or if you just want to voice your comments on this series, e-mail your thoughts to [nshampoo@gold.interlog.com] and I'll certainly reply. I apologize to anyone who wanted Nuku Nuku to play a stronger role in this chapter. I'll do better, I promise!

The Project NK-Ranma series is archived at:

[http://www.fortunecity.com/skyscraper/seagate/131/nkranma.html]

Special thanks again to Richard Lawson, who gave me the information on Nuku Nuku needed to start this fic and for prereading a few chapters. Salutations also should be sent to Wade Tritschler for proofing my works, and to Jim Robert Bader (a.k.a. Shadowmane) for also majorly voicing his support on my series.

Coming up next: Ranma gets his questions answered, but not all of them are quite to his liking.