Legal stuff : All the characters depicted below do not belong to me in
anyway. I am not doing this for profit, honest! I have the greatest
respect for Rumiko Takahashi, creator of Ranma 1/2, and the creators
of Neon Genesis Evangelion. I write for the sake of fun and don't
really have their permission to do this to their patented characters.
Please don't be mad at me.
Mumbo Jumbo : I have taken several liberties with this work. Since I
do not have a full understanding of the realities and relationships of
both worlds, there are sure to be errors and changes of "reality" in
this fic. Casting of each character from the Ranma 1/2 universe to the
Evangelion universe is purely whimsical and out of the blue, there are
some serious alterations in some of their history and background to
make things mesh a little more but I hope it will be for the better.
The identities and personalities of said characters are a combination
of both Eva and Ranma. A mix of Eva's heavy seriousness and a dash of
Ranma style wackiness to get rid of Eva's mother of all head aches
type plot. Any praise will be appreciated, if you must criticize,
please do it gently. I have a sensitive ego.

LeeKing Works Proudly Presents:
Neon Ranma Evangelion  part  5
Team Work
by the KingKiller
lynch@surfshop.net.ph

Ranma walked home feeling very grouchy. Akane sure knew how to be cute
when she wants to be. These picture do NOT show her true nature.  In
his hands were several pictures of Akane, walking, talking with
friends, finding her locker filled with love letters, etc...Gos gave
them to him out of "friendship" along with a camera and a request to
take a few candid shots. Not that it would matter anyway. He had no
idea where Akane was. Not that he'd want to know where that uncute
tomboy was. He jammed the pictures in his pocket and tried to forget
about it.
Just when he was about to open the door, Ranko opened it for him. She
smiled a bit more now and did so in his presence. Ranma smiled back
and held up the bag of takeout he bought. It was her turn to cook but
since she wasn't such a good cook-she had trouble boiling water- take
out seemed like a much more appetizing and less toxic choice.
Inside, Kasumi was trying to deal with a problem. On one hand, Ranma
was really a nice boy and all. He was a brave Eva pilot and was
friendly...maybe too friendly in fact. She watched silently as Ranko
and Ranma prepared the dining room for their meal tonight. They did
not say a word yet they moved together perfectly. The scene was so
homey that Kasumi had second thoughts about obeying her orders but she
was going to have to go through with it anyway. Commander Soun, the
one in charge of public relations, was having a fit with the little
incident at sea. Rumor has it that he moans about it in his sleep. By
the time she had finished her musing, they were already all seated at
the table. Oh well, might as well break the news to Ranma now.
"Ranma."
"Yes?" Ranma took a big bite out of the okonomiyaki on his plate.
Showing Ranko the fine art of pigging out.
"I'm afraid you're going to have to move out."
Ranma choked and Ranko immediately slapped him on the back and offered
him something to drink. After a bit of wheezing he looked up at her,
clearly puzzled.
"Ranma, I hope you understand that it is unseeming for you and Ranko
to live together in the same house. After the little incident at
sea....I'm afraid that I've been ordered to arrange new accommodations
for you."
Ranma and Ranko stared at her with a matching expression of
bewilderment.
Just then the door flew open and suddenly movers with loaders full of
boxes started pouring in. Akane strode in a moment later.
"What are you doing here!?" She saw Ranma sitting by the table with
another girl and Lt. Kasumi. She was a little early in moving in but
it was best to get things done early.
"I live here!"
"Not any more! I'm going to be Kasumi's new room mate."
Ranma looked at her and then at Kasumi. Kasumi looked embarrassed and
apologetic but didn't say anything to contradict her. Akane smiled
smugly.
Then a small, black, long eared piglet sensed a conflict among the
humans and choose to ally itself to the newcomer that was clearly
giving his most hated enemy a bad time. "Bwee!"
"Oh how cute!" Akane picked up P. P had a new collar on its neck that
prevented people from eating it since it marked P as a pet, Akane
dismissed Ranma from her mind as she concentrated on the cute creature
before her. "I think I'll call you P-chan."
"Fine then, I'll leave!" Ranma stood up and headed for his room. Ranko
ran after him.
Kasumi sighed sadly. Things were not working out as well as she had
hoped.

**********************************************************************
****
Ranma was packed and ready to go in a few minutes, his belongings
stuffed in a pack. Ranko was similarly ready. Ranma didn't notice what
she was doing until he was heading for the door. He stopped in his
tracks and looked at Ranko.
"Ranko! Where are you going?!"
"With you." She said simply. As if there was never any doubt to that
question.
"But Kasumi said I'm the one that has to go. You could stay here."
"I don't want to stay here if you will not be here Ranma. You are my
friend. I want to be near you."
Ranma felt touched by Ranko's sincerity. He stared at her silently for
a few moments before a grin broke out of his face. "Well come on then,
I'm sure there's someplace we can find to crash for the night."
Just as they were about to open the door, Nabiki rushed inside, a bit
out of breath and clutching her sides as she panted a bit.
"There you are Ranma! Well, come on now, I'm very busy and I can't
wait for you all night. Hurry up and lets go!"
"Huh? Go where?"
"To your new place of course! Since Akane's a newbie, she's going to
have to stay with Kasumi for a while. You're going to have to stay
with me till we can finalize your living arrangements. Don't worry, I
live just down the hall. We can still make it in time for the take out
delivery if we hurry."
Ranma gaped a bit at that. Alright, slight change of plans.....
Nabiki saw Kasumi out of the corner of her eye and gave her a secret
wink.
The things she did for NERIMA....
**********************************************************************
****
Ranko decided to stay behind after all. Nabiki's place wasn't big
enough to take two new roomers and her apartment was close enough for
them to be practically neighbors anyway.  Ranma followed Nabiki
through the dark door way and gasped when the lights went on. The
place was so...so...
"Sorry if the place is a little messy Ranma. I haven't had the time to
clean up."
A little messy! The whole place was carpeted by a substantial layer of
litter. The floor, the tables, her bed and even the nooks and crannies
of the place held an assortment of instant food wrappers, empty cans
of Jolt, Caffeine Cola, 7 Volt, and more assorted junk than he had
ever seen in one place before. After his brief time with Kasumi, this
place seemed like a dump. To hell with it, the place WAS a dump!
"If you want something to eat you can fix yourself a little snack and
pay the pizza guy when he gets here alright? I'm heading back to bed.
I've got a big day tomorrow." With that, Nabiki headed for her bed,
and lied down on it after clearing a space of rubble and left him
alone.
Okay...it's not as bad as it seems. With a little work this might
actually be a nice place to live. First, I've got to eat. Things
always look better after you've eaten. Ranma pick his way carefully
over the garbage strewn landscape and made it to the fridge without
having to make too much noise or kick up too much dust. When he opened
the fridge he felt his hopes plummet.
The fridge was full of cans of coffee, caffeinated drinks and things
he seriously doubted could be considered food by the board of health.
Boxes of instant cereal were half opened. There was something green
and rotten at the back that he didn't want to know about and the only
thing he would have considered eating was a pack of sealed cheese.
What kind of life does Nabiki live? How could someone who could make
split second, life and death decisions be so incredibly sloppy!
His stomach rumbled a bit and he frowned as several unpleasant
thoughts ran through his mind. This sure got rid of the illusion of
Nabiki the perfectionist.  He hastily ate what he dared and then went
to look for a broom. Things are going to have to change around
here....

**********************************************************************
****
After the dust had settled and the pilots had moved to their new
quarters, a relative peace formed. With the arrival of Eva02, Eva00's
repairs were put on hold as NERIMA concentrated their limited funds
and man power into making a containment unit for Eva02. Ranma
basically had the run of the house since Nabiki was almost never home
anyway so he spent most of his time hanging out with Ranko and Kasumi
at their place. Akane was seldom in herself, going wherever it was she
went.
Things were so peaceful that for a while, Ranma thought the worst was
over. Of course things rarely work out quite so well.
**********************************************************************
****
"Alright! My first debut fight in Japan! I can't wait till I get my
hands on that Angel!"
Ranma grunted something at Akane as the Evas were dropped into
position. He would rather have Ranko as his back up but Eva00 wasn't
fully repaired yet. The robots were dropped out of the sky via special
bomber that was converted for the sole purpose of deploying Evas.
Ranma felt oddly calm as he saw the ground rushing up to greet him,
without an Eva, he would land and splatter himself all over the
scenery like an egg tossed out the third floor. Eva01 landed feet
first with an earth shaking crash and waited for the ground crew to
attach their power cords. The Angel was spotted still miles away from
NERIMA. The new early detection systems must be working.
Ranma readied his auto cannon as Akane activated her sonic sword. A
bigger and nastier version of the sonic knife. Ranma personally
thought Akane was nuts for not trying a safer weapon like an auto
cannon to blast an Angel from a distance but like she said : "Where's
the glory in that?" He had to admit, the last time he tried it the
safe and easy way, he still had to get up close and personal with the
Angel and fully neutralize the A.T. field in the end but charging into
a fight without looking for a way out seemed stupid to him.
He was facing a beach. The Angel was traveling underwater but now it
had to surface. The water boiled and frothed and the Angel stood.
Ranma made a note to himself that it looked like the first one he had
fought but altered somehow. It felt different. The color was different
and the design were different but its build and form looked like the
very first Angel he fought.  "Ranma, cover me! I'm going in for the
kill!"
"Akane wait!"
Akane ignored him as she charged on ahead. She heard the noise of auto
cannon fire a moment later and was pleased to see a stream of
projectiles slamming into the Angel. The Angel stood there and just
raised its shield but the sheer amount of fire was distracting it.
Letting her get close enough for this!
"Hiyyaa!!" Akane jumped up and came down hard and fast. Her sword
sliced into it cleanly, separating the head and a shoulder from the
main body. Akane cheered and flashed her sword a little but her
celebration was short lived as the Angel shimmered and then flowed
about. Akane turned back to see that instead of a big dead Angel,
there was now two Angels. One smaller than the other and both of them
heading straight for her....
"Uh-oh...."
"AKANE!!!"
**********************************************************************
****
"At 0900 the Evas engaged the Angels."
A darkroom shows a picture of the Evas earlier, facing the Angel.  "At
0902, Eva02 attacked the Angel and it split into two separate targets.
The smaller one has been named Target A while the main mass of the
Angel shall be named Target B."
A scene appears where the two are facing the lone Eva02.
"Both targets tried to attack Eva02 and Eva01 intervened. Target A
took the sonic sword and ran off with it, Eva02 chased it while Target
B engaged Eva01. What happened next is in the picture file."
The image turns into a mess of pictures. Eva02 running after Target A
and tripping over Eva01's power cord while Eva01 was busy beating the
crap out of Target B, its core was basically smashed already but still
fighting back. Target A cutting Eva01's power cord with the sonic
sword while Eva02 was trying to wipe out the mud out of its face from
the fall. Target A attacking Ranma from behind, covering his eyes and
being a general nuisance while Target B takes advantage of his
blindness by grabbing on to his legs and spinning him by his heels.
Eva01 crashing through a mountain, upside down.
"At about this time I ordered both Evas to retreat."
Picture of Eva02 running away with Eva01 on its back. Eva01 looks
pretty bad. Its thumb, forefinger and pinkie finger seemed to be
stretching out while the rest of the fingers were gripped into the
palm.
"At approximately 0915, the U.N. took over the situation and dropped
an N-2 bomb at the Angel, the result is the new Kolenhizo bay."
The scene shifts to a topographical map. A satellite picture of new,
instant man made bay. At the bottom of the bay, there are two figures.
Target A and Target B. Both heavily damaged but regenerating slowly
and surely.
"Intelligence suggests that the Angels will reactivate and resume
attack in about a week. That is more or less the same time required by
NERIMA to repair the Evas. That's the report up to now."
The lights turn on and Nabiki faces the crowd. Ranma was there, still
looking a bit green from the spin attack the Angel gave him, holding
on to him was Ranko who looked typically neutral. Akane, who looked
embarrassed enough to die. Kasumi, who was basically there for moral
support and commander Soun himself! The press must be having a field
day if he was here.
Soun stood up and took the podium as Nabiki sat down besides Kasumi.
Soun faced the crowd with a calm and regal bearing, that is, until he
started crying.
"WHAA!!!! I can't believe it! Never before has NERIMA been so
embarrassed!
Oh the shame of it! To be defeated so easily! How could you two let
such a thing happen!" Soun cried, rivers of tears flowing down his
face. The combined stress of having to deal with the UN committee,
Genma's secrets and the press was getting to be too much for the mild
mannered scientist.
"HEY!!! I did my best out there!" Ranma stood yelling, unfortunately
his vertigo still had not left him and he wound up swaying for a
moment before Ranko pulled him back into his seat and steadied him.
"Actually Ranma, that's not the point."
Every one in the room jumped in their seats as Tofu sat up from the
last row of chairs. He looked like he had just taken a nap.
"You two were sent out as a team. You were supposed to work together
and cooperate. The Angel was even better at team work than you guys
were." Tofu tried to sound casual as he lit up a smoke to calm his
nerves. Kasumi's presence was not helping him any so he wore dark
shades and hoped he was facing the right people and smoked so that he
wouldn't be haunted by her scent, that incredibly sweet scent....
"How did you get past security!??!" Soun yelled.
Tofu smiled a slow, insolent smile. "I'm sorry but I can't tell you
that. U.N. classified business you know." He puffed out a last ring of
smoke before he tossed Kasumi a disc.
"In that disc is all the information I've gathered about this new
Angel and suggestions on how to defeat it. You might want to read it."
Tofu stood up and left quickly, afraid that if he stayed any longer,
the others would hear his thundering heart. I'm sorry Kasumi but I
have to do this first....when this is all over it'll be like before
again! I promise.
**********************************************************************
****
"Alright, here's the deal. This Angel isn't like all of the others.
This one  has an unstable core." Nabiki faced the trio of pilots.
Ranma looked a little better now and could stand on his own provided
he was holding on to something solid. Ranko stood near him but showed
no emotion while Akane was on the other side, still fuming in anger
and embarrassment. Given half a chance, Nabiki was sure she'd pilot
Eva02 to victory or death over the Angel that humiliated her.
"So what does that mean?" Ranma asked.
"It means that if your going to defeat this Angel, your going to have
to do it at the same time." Nabiki clicked a switch and the monitor
showed a rough chart, probably drawn by Tofu himself. "This Angel
split its core when it was cut into two. If you destroy one core, you
need to destroy the other too or they'll just regenerate later as long
as both cores are within each other's A.T. field."
"So that's why the thing didn't die when I busted its core! All we
have to do is destroy both of them right?"
"Unfortunately Ranma, it is not that simple. With an unstable core,
this Angel is basically able to soak up everything we can throw at it
unless both cores are attacked at the same time and both destroyed in
that twin attack. If not, then the cores just regenerate or the Angel
gets a chance to make a new core somewhere else."
Ranma groaned. Akane hissed and Ranko blinked. It must sound pretty
bad.
"So in order to accomplish that, Tofu has designed a program." Nabiki
looked at the hope in their eyes. "But this program calls for some
team work...."
**********************************************************************
****

Day 1

Amidst the sounds of culinary struggle, the hope of salvation for the
entire human race was being forged.

The human race's chances sucked.

Kasumi could only sigh at the scene infront of her.

Ranma was a very experienced cook and it showed in the way he moved in
the
kitchen. No a motion wasted, not a step uncertain. Grace shined
through his
every action. He really could make stir fried vegetables with his eyes
closed.

Ranko on the other hand, was not very experienced but her lack of
skill
was totally off set by the close and constant attention of Ranma.
Whenever
Ranko was in doubt, Ranma gave her advice. Whenever she was about to
make a
mistake, a quick hand would stop her and then gently guide her.

Akane....Akane wasn't doing to well.

She was basically being ignored and that didn't sit too well with the
fiery young pilot. In fact, it made her very angry. And when Akane got
angry she seemed to forget about certain concepts, like finesse,
foresight
and taste.

An onion was smashed into an odd looking pulp then tossed into a
smoking
pan only to followed by lettuce that was assaulted by a cheese
shredder and
a cleaver mutilated cabbage.Considering what she did to the melon,
marshmallows and prunes, the vegetables got off lucky.

This can't go on, Kasumi thought. The plan called for team work and
the
way she saw it Ranma and Ranko had team work pretty much mastered
between
them but only between them. It was like looking at two beings instead
of
three. Ranma and Ranko were one, Akane was another. Three evas would
have a
better chance than two but only if they could work as a team.

A knock on the door made Kasumi rise to answer it. Nabiki came in
moments
later with a few boxes of hers and Ranma's things and some improvised
training equipment. Nabiki had spent a considerable amount of time
convincing a very reluctant Soun to let Ranma stay in Kasumi's
apartment
again for extensive training and finally managed to wring permission
to let
Ranma go back on the condition that she go as well to make sure no
*inappropriate* actions were taken by Ranma towards the other female
pilots. Apparently the threat of the boy's hormones and it affect on
publicity were more Soun's concern than increasing combat efficiency.

"So, how are the pilots?" Nabiki asked as she absently took a sip out
of a
can of coffee that was in Kasumi's fridge. Kasumi always kept a small
supply just in case she dropped by.

"See for yourself."

A burst of flame form the kitchen followed a very distraught Akane as
she
ran to get the fire extinguisher.

Nabiki and Kasumi blinked at the sight and sighed together. This was
going
to take a lot of work....

**********************************************************************
****

Day 2

"Akane...."

"Not now Kasumi, I've got to beat that baka Ranma and Ranko."

Akane jumped into the pool only to flounder pathetically as Ranma and
Ranko continued their near synchronous laps round the pool.

Kasumi and Nabiki looked at each other and shook their heads.

**********************************************************************
****

Day 3

"Akane, I think we need to talk." Nabiki dreaded this but she had lost
too
much time to Akane's stubbornness already. Two days of frustrating
team
building exercises didn't help Akane. Two days. 48 hours. Time which
was
quickly slipping way from her and she couldn't even finalize her
battle
plans because of Akane's behavior. Well if Kasumi wasn't hard enough
to do
this then she was going to have to do it.

"What is it Nabiki?" Akane wondered why she was called to Nabiki's
office.

"Akane, do you know that I'm considering sending only two Eva's to
battle."

"Only two? So who's going to join me, the pervert or the baka." Akane
of
course thought of Ranma as the pervert, since he did peep on her. And
of
course Ranko didn't strike her as very smart. So boring and drab. Her
choice in men was obviously flawed if she liked the pervert. Most
other
girls would choose her over a pervert any day.

"Akane, you are a great pilot but you are a horrible team player."
Nabiki
quickly found herself losing what little patience she had for Akane.
While
she would give Eva pilots a great amount of slack, there was a limit.
There
was no call for Akane's superior attitude.

"Hey that's not true! I'm a great team player! Its Ranma and Ranko
that
are so weird." Akane answered.

"Regardless, Akane given the choice between sending both Ranma and
Ranko
alone as opposed to sending all three of you out there right now, I'd
send
Ranma and Ranko alone."

"WHAT!?!" Akane's shock drove all thought out of her mind.

"Akane, unless you fully cooperate you may consider yourself as
back-up.
You will not be taking part in the training until further notice."

"You can't do this to me! I'm Akane Langely! UN's chosen pilot for
Eva02!
My test scores are the best there is!"

"Young lady, unless your vaulted test scores can defeat Angels, I
don't
give a damn! You are NOT a better pilot than either Ranma or Ranko and
if
you insist on disturbing them while they train for their mission I
shall
tell the UN to choose another pilot myself! Do you understand me!"

Akane looked at the stern gaze of Nabiki and knew that the tactical
officer wasn't bluffing. She really could get the UN to reconsider her
position as their chosen pilot. Well....

"FINE! See if I care!" Then she stormed out of the office.

Damn it. That didn't go very well. Nabiki sighed and hunted in her
drawers
for a bottle of aspirin. The stress of her job as starting to get to
her. It
was too bad actually. Nabiki was betting on Akane swallowing her
pride. Not
running off like this. Oh well, she could still work with two Evas
then.
Akane wasn't going to be in any shape to pilot if her psych profile
was any
indication.

**********************************************************************
****

Day 4

Three pilots, two officers and a hybrid pig lay around Kasumi's house,
totally, physically and emotionally exhausted. Kasumi and Nabiki
decided
to give the pilots a little down time after the frantic pace they set
for
them a few days ago. They had hoped that relaxing together was going
to
promote a little more unity. It was working in the sense that the
situation
wasn't getting worse but that was about all that happened.

Akane played with P, renaming it P-chan. She snuggled up to it like a
stuffed toy and the thing seemed to like it. Ranko stroked Ranma's
head in
her lap like she had seem Akane do with P-chan and was enjoying
herself.
Ranma was zoned out and enjoying this break while listening to his
walkman.

"Well, three days and we still haven't found anything the three of
them
could do together!" Nabiki muttered as she took a swig of canned
coffee.
Kasumi took a drink of canned tea and they set down their cans
together on
the table as they sighed in hopelessness with perfect harmony.

Ranko was quite content. Ranma seemed to like her touch. She wished
she
knew more about how to act in situations like this. His head in her
lap.
The way he smiled when she touched him. It made her feel....strange.
She
knew she liked being with Ranma though she did not understand why
Akane
seemed to dislike that. Was being with Ranma irritating to her? She
had to
remember to ask Kasumi about it next time they could be alone. Kasumi
seemed to grow uncomfortable when she asked certain questions around
other
people.

She often wondered what Ranma was doing with the walkman. She had seen
him
listening to it sometimes in the past. What she did not understand was
that
why he was listening to it over and over again. Didn't the tape
contain the
same thing no matter how many time you played it?

"Ranma."

"What is it Ranko?"

"What are you listening to?"

"Oh, this is music."

"Music?"

"Sure, want to hear it?"

Ranko nodded and was about to accept the ear plugs when Ranma drew
them away.

"Wait a minute! Of course! Wait right here Ranko."

Ranma leapt up and ran to where Kasumi kept a stereo. He had seen it
before but never really thought about it much. His walkman served him
well
enough but if Ranko was going to appreciate his music, then he wanted
her
to listen to it in style.

"Alright, here goes!" He turned on the switch.

<Click.>

*I'm a lonely boy so lonely boy!
Shining shimmering just like in my dreams!
I see you....waiting for me!

Ranma started to tap his fingers to the music and smiled as Ranko
began
to nod in tune. Akane ignored them as best she could but her foot
began to
follow the rhythm of the beat.

*One day we'll be together again.
Nothing between you and me,
till then, think of me as a friend.
Because you know my heart belongs to you!!!

Kasumi and Nabiki stared with wide eyes at the pilots. They just found
out
the one thing that could unify the trio!

**********************************************************************
****

Day 5

The three pilots were panting heavily on the floor. Their bodies
soaked in
sweat. Their rumpled shirts clung to their bodies. After Ranma's
music,
there was no stopping them. They were unified. A team. Their dance
attack
routines were within split seconds of each other.

<Ding Dong!>

"I'll get it!" The three said as one. Nabiki and Kasumi smiled as all
three of them made the exact same response. They made their towards
the
door and opened the door together.

Ryoga, Gos and class president Akari stared back at them in shock.

"Aiee!" Akari covered her eyes and turned away, dropping the papers in
her
hands. Her face beet red. Gosunguki stopped moving and Ryoga got angry
again. He lifted Ranma by his shirt and started lecturing him about
his
evil ways.

"RANMA!!! How could you do that to AKANE while you!!?..you!!??! with
RANKO!!!" Ryoga shook his sometimes friend.

"ITS NOT WHAT YOU THINK!!!" Akane yelled.
Ranma slugged Ryoga back to his senses.
Ranko just blinked.

Kasumi and Nabiki slapped their foreheads in union. Things had gone so
well....

**********************************************************************
****

Final Night

Ranma had to sleep outside in the living room on a futon while Kasumi
slept in her bed and Ranko and Akane stayed in the guest rooms. Nabiki
went
back to base and probably would;t be getting any sleep anyway.

Ranma knew he shouldn't be listening to music so late at night but he
couldn't help it. He was afraid. Music was what was going to help them
all
beat the Angel tomorrow.

He heard a door open and he quickly shut off his walkman, pretending
to be
asleep while he listened. There was some light foot steps. Another
door
opening...a flush, the tap. The closing of the door. More foot steps
this
time. They seemed louder now. A crumpling sound...huh?...that was
close
enough to be right besides...eep!!!

Ranko was right besides him. Still wearing the NERIMA shirt. It was
loose
on her small frame and it showed quite a bit of her cleavage. Her
breast
strained against the fabric and her lips parted slightly, her red hair
in
wild disarray and framed her angelic face. She had a look of such
loveliness that Ranma couldn't help but feel his pulse race. He felt
desires he clamped down ruthlessly surface unbidden.

He edged closer to her lips. A part of him screamed out that this was
wrong. It was perverted. Part of him didn't care. He wanted to feel
her
lips on his no matter what the cost. He edged towards her slowly. Fear
and
excitement growing by leaps and bounds as his lips traveled the short
distance to hers. He was close enough to smell her sweet, spring water
scent when he noticed something. She was crying.

"Ranma don't....please don't...." Ranko cried silently. Tears leaked
out
of her face and she bought her hands up to hug herself while she
withdrew
into a fetal position. Her entire body shook gently.

Ranma recoiled. Guilt hammered into him as he realized what he had
been
planning to do to her. To Ranko, his friend. He sat up and bolted away
from
her. He felt like he had betrayed her. They were right when they
whispered
behind his back, he was a pervert! A great, sick, demented PERVERT!!

"Ranma don't leave me...."

Ranma was taken aback by this. He looked again and saw that Ranko was
still asleep and having a nightmare. Fear etched into her face and she
shook in terror from the dream.

"Please don't leave me..." Ranko cried. Her face was streaked with
tears.

Ranma felt shocked beyond words. Ranko cared for him that much! He
slowly
crawled closer to her. Ranko was still sobbing silently, her nightmare
making her shake. Ranma gently touched her face and Ranko's eyes
opened
wide. Her fear and panic left the second she saw his face.

"Ranko, are you alright?"

Ranko didn't respond in words. She leapt into his arms and embraced
him
desperately. Ranma gulped.

"I'm afraid! Tomorrow you might die...."

"Hey! Don't talk like that Ranko! I'm going to be all right! You'll
see."
Ranma said gently. Stroking her back to calm her. "I know you'll be
there
to help me. What are friends for right?"

"Ranma....I don't want to be alone. I'm sad when I'm alone. I never
noticed I was sad because I was never happy. You make me happy. Please
don't leave me!" She loosened her embrace enough to let her stare into
his
eyes.

Ranma stared into her beautiful sad green eyes. He felt his heart
flutter
at the sight of Ranko looking at him like that. He felt his lips touch
hers
and heard Ranko gasp in shock. They both tensed for a moment before
they
relaxed. Enjoying the sensation of the kiss. Ranko reacted
instinctively.
Her arms circled Ranma as she savored the taste of his lips on hers.
Ranko
wasn't sure what they were doing but it felt good. Ranma felt his
passion
rise. The voice of reason fled as he felt Ranko respond in his arms.
He
deepened the kiss only to have Ranko clutch at him tighter and....

<Crash!>

Ranma broke off their kiss and snapped his head to the source of the
sound. He saw Akane staring at them with a crushed mug in her hands
from
her room door. Several tense moments passed before Akane wordlessly
turned
around and went back into her room.

"Ranma...." Ranko whispered breathlessly. Her cheeks were glowing red
and
she felt incredibly light headed. A pleasant feeling surrounded her.

"I..I'm sorry Ranko..." Ranma stammered as he realized what he was
about
to do. If Akane hadn't been there....

"No. It felt good." Ranko smiled. Her face was flush and her smile
seemed
even more beautiful. She wanted more! She edged nearer to him but felt
him
stiffen. What was wrong? Ranko snuggle up to him again and lay her
head on
his chest instead, content to let the glow she felt warm her for a
while.
Ranma relaxed a moment later.

"What we did, what was it called?" Ranko asked.

"Huh, oh that! We kissed..."

Ranko repeated the word several times. She had never been kissed
before
but she liked it. It made her feel warm inside and safe. She forgot
about
the loneliness when they kissed.

"Can we do that again?"

<Crash!> The sound came from Akane's bedroom.

Ranma didn't answer.

**********************************************************************
****

Ranma carried Ranko back into her room and tucked her in after she
fell
asleep. Strange how she could fall asleep so easily. After a few
minutes
the girl just started to snore softly in his arms. He sneaked out of
her
room and took his place back on the futon on the floor. He absently
reached for his walkman before a realization hit him. Just like before
when
he was terrified and alone, Ranko gave him courage. He wasn't afraid
anymore. He was worried, mostly for Ranko and Akane but he wasn't
afraid.

"Thank you Ranko." Ranma said as he laid down to get some sleep. He
might
have realized if he thought about it, he didn't feel lonely anymore
either.

As soon as he was asleep, Akane's door opened. She went to the
bathroom
and came back a few moments later but not before stopping over Ranma's
sleeping form. We can see her struggling with her thoughts as she
looks at
him. A few moments later she goes back to her room. She muttered
"hentai..." before she closed the door.

**********************************************************************
****

"Alright, is everyone ready?" Nabiki asked.

"Ready!" The three pilots answered as one. Each was in their
respective
Evas, armed to the teeth and ready to go. They were loaded up with as
much
ordinance as the whole U.N. officer's golf tournament fund would have
bought. Nabiki snickered as she played the music they chose for this
fight.


As predicted, the Angel had started moving again sometime this
morning.
Both parts seemed to be staying together. The smaller one perched
ontop of
the large. Nabiki had calculated this into her battle plan and was
happy to
report that everything was going as planned. The Angel was practically
in
the middle of the city. Just where she wanted it.

"Alright, launching in 5..4..3..2..1..0! Lift off!"

The three Evas blasted off from their cages. Each one of them deployed
at
a different point. The broke through the surface and faced the Angel
together. The Angel sensed them but it was too late.

"Initiate cannon fire now!"

The three Evas leveled their auto cannons and fired within a split
second.
The Angel didn't have a chance to move away as hundreds of rounds came
tearing at it from six cannons at three different directions all at
once.
Nabiki could hear the hell she was going  to catch for going against
U.N.
sanctioned regulations of one cannon per Eva but she didn't mind. The
sight
of the Evas giving the Angel hell from their cannons was worth it.
Caught
in a triple cross fire, the Angel's A.T. field shimmered and weakened
as
the rounds kept hammering away at it.

"Evas, forward!"

The three Evas walked towards the struggling Angel. Cannon fire
pinning it
down while the three giants blasted away at it. Sometimes a cannon
would
run out of ammo but the Eva would quickly reach into an improvised
utility
belt and slip in a fresh mag and start blasting away again.

"This is unfair! What kind of fight is this!?" Akane grumbled.

"Who said life was fair? Just be glad that life is unfair towards our
favor for a change." Nabiki answered as she read the reading on the
Angel.
She was really starting to like this. She wished fighting Angels would
be
more like this everyday. A planned, precise operation instead of a
hope for
the best scramble for survival. The thing's energy readings were
weakening
and either she needed to check her eyes, the Angel seemed to be
melting.

"Hey, is that thing supposed to do that?" Ranma asked as his guns
released
used magazines and he slapped in fresh rounds. He was blasting again
before
he finished the sentence. "Looks like its melting or something."

Nabiki shrugged. This want really part of the plan but even she
couldn't
predict every little thing now could she. So the thing was melting, it
wouldn't affect the operation much.

"I'm in range for the knife attack! Ranma, Ranko, cover me!"

"Akane wait!"

Akane ignored Ranma and charged. Eva02 raised its guns and emptied its
load as it ran towards the Angel. Tossing away the spent cannons,
Eva02
drew out two sonic knives from its shoulder holsters. Akane could
taste
victory now. The thing was dead!

"Die!!" Akane jumped. Knives held blade down, streaking towards the
Angel.

Something strange happened. First, the Angel's A.T. field vanished,
along
with the last vestiges of solidity with the Angel. The core withdrew
into
the blob. Akane's knives passed through the Angel's mass like a knife
through water. Akane was surprised as the Angel bloated and expanded
like a
water balloon being filled. She tried slashing away at it already and
no
damage was evident. The thing was just getting bigger!

Crude hands streaked out of the mass and caught her foot. Akane
screamed
as she felt something snap. Her left leg had gone numb. She lost no
time in
cutting herself free from the thing but discovered that she was
crippled.
The mass started solidifying again. It grew gigantic and towered over
the
Evas as it rose on newly formed legs. It was easily twice their size
now.
The two red cores situated at the chest and head.

"Ranko cover me!" Ranma blasted away at the Angel. He aimed for the
core
and was pleased to see the Angel cover them with its hands but worried
when
he saw that instead of exploding or gouging holes in the Angel, the
thing
just rippled like a lake during a rain.

Ranko covered Ranma and continued firing as he used the last of his
ammunition. Ranma ran toward where Akane lay wounded. Eva01 caught
Eva02
from behind and started to drag her away from the Angel hurriedly.
Back to
her entry hatch to let her escape.

"HENTAI!!! Watch what your touching!" Eva01 ignored the squirming
Eva02.
Ranma didn't really see the problem. Being in his Eva, he felt like he
was
dragging a robot. Akane on the other hand, felt Range's hands where
they
shouldn't have been.

"Shut up and stop squirming stupid!!! We've got to get out of here!"

Ranko stopped firing, out of bullets. She popped out her knives and
changed at the Angel but Ranma stopped her.

"Don't fight it without me Ranko! I've just got to get Akane out of
here
first."

"No! I'm an Eva pilot! I can handle this!"
"You can't even stand up!"

Nabiki cursed. So much for her plans and their team work.

The Angel relaxed its guard since none of the three Evas were
attacking
it anymore. It spread its hands wide and the earth shook. Buildings
started
to tremble and break up. The few buildings that weren't secured
underground
were torn out and floated like drift wood. For a block around the
Angel,
all the building were uprooted and started to spin around it.

"Oh great! Just what we need. Come on, lets get Akane out of here!"

"Wait, don't leave our weapons behind!" Akane grabbed the cannons
Ranma
dropped. She knew that Ranma was right but she would be damned if she
ran
away like this without a good hard fight. She was an Eva pilot! She
was
better than this! Akane still had two magazines left. Just enough to
load
the two one last time. She loaded them both and gapped as she saw the
building rushing towards them....

"Look out!"

The buildings, tons of floating concrete went hurtling towards them
both!
Akane fired both cannons, desperately chipping away the building about
to
squash her flat. Ranma took the full brunt of it. He swung Akane
around
while he braced himself to take the impact. The buildings slammed into
him.
Tons of concrete slabs hit him with unbelievable force. After a
moment,
Ranma collapsed. A wall of buildings behind him.

"Ranma!" Ranko rushed towards Ranma. Eva01's back was a mess. Ranko
gently
tried to carry Eva01. It was unresponsive.

"Ranma, please don't die!" Ranko's voice pleaded desperately. Her sobs
started choking out of her uncontrollably.

Akane looked at the prone form of Eva01 and grit her teeth. Baka! Why
did
he have to try to be the hero!

"I..I'm alright Ranko..." Ranma muttered. His comm system must have
been
damaged. He couldn't get a visual of Ranko or Akane. "Just a little
shaken,
that all."

Eva00 hugged Eva01. It was a touching scene but Nabiki interrupted it.

"Ahem! As much as I'm glad to see you are all right Ranma, I think now
would be a bad time to celebrate. Can you three make it hatch 5C? I'll
have
it opened and..."

"No."

Nabiki knew what was coming next. She didn't like it but she realized
it
was all for the best anyway. Ranma may be stubborn and rebellious but
he had
good instances when it came to battle.

"We're not giving up so easy! We'll try one last attack! Akane, can
you
blast the Angel from behind this wall?" Ranma pointed to the mess of
buildings piled ontop of one another.

"With pleasure!" Akane struggled to her feet and leaned against the
rubble.

"Here's the plan. Akane will shoot at the thing and make it cover its
power cores while Ranko and I will sneak close enough to knife it! Can
we
do it?!"

"Ready when you are!" Akane said as she cocked the guns.

"Yes." Ranko said simply.

Akane stood up on one leg and used the buildings for support as she
blasted away. Ranma and Ranko crawled along to catch it in a pincer
attack.
The Angel shielded itself from the guns but was defenseless when Ranma
and
Ranko charged at it with knives slashing. Ranko leapt up and stabbed
the
core on the head just as Ranma sliced the one on its chest. The Angel
shuddered then grabbed Ranko and Ranma as it self distracted....

**********************************************************************
****

The control room in Nerima shuddered as the shock waves from the
latest
Angel explosion boomed high above them. Soun looked at the screen
nervously. Property damage complaints were pilling up in his mind
already
but he comforted himself with the knowledge that the children's
splendid
show of skill and teamwork would ease his problems with the UN and
give the
press something asides from scandal to focus on.

"Eva00, Eva01 and Eva02 are damaged but the pilots are okay! Com
systems
are still a little shaken but I think they're trying to contact us."

"Nabiki! Open the channels and activate the broadcast systems! Let the
public see and hear our young heroes after the glorious battle!"

Nabiki shrugged and nodded her head to a tech who immediately followed
the
order. Soun smiled triumphantly. Eva02 was crawling to where her
teammates,
Eva00 and Eva01 were lying on top of one another after heroically
standing
up to the explosion.

"HENTAI!!! You took advantage of me when I was down!" Akane yelled.
"I did not! Who'd want to take advantage of a violent tomboy like you
anyway!?"
"A hentai like you! Isn't Ranko there enough for you!?"
"WHAT!??!"

Soun's face frozen in a morbid smile. Nabiki rolled her eyes and went
back
to her work. Their teamwork lasted only long enough to complete the
mission
it seems. Looking at the frozen Commander Soun, she wondered if she
should
turn off the broadcast.

**********************************************************************
****

"And that's what happened. The rest of the fine details are in the
report."

"I understand." Genma held the reports in his hands and placed them on
his
desk. The last battle had given him much to think over, such as a
possible
vacation for Soun before the poor fellow had a total break down.

**********************************************************************
****

END PART 5



======
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                                                    - Nick Joaquin

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