White Rose

Chapter 15:  Growing Pains

by Andrew Lemly

=====

                Disclaimer: the Ranmaverse characters owned by Rumiko Takahashi, and 
all that obligatory stuff.  This story based on the anime, not the manga.

                ---------------------------- denotes the beginning or end of a flashback.

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

                "<There she is!>"

                "<Don't let her get away!>"

                Ranma-chan cursed, tucked, and rolled, in that order, as a set of bolos 
whipped through the air inches above her.  She shot back to her feet and started 
running again.  'Man, this sucks,' she thought disgustedly.  'I almost made it, too.  
Managed not to get splashed except when I was safe in the Matriarch's home for 
this whole month, but it couldn't last, could it?  Oh, no, the day before we're gonna 
leave my luck just HAS to run out.'

                She wasn't even sure where the water had come from.  One minute 
Ranma had been dry, walking along feeling relatively carefree.  There hadn't been 
anyone else on the street at all; the other Amazons seemed finally to have given up 
on chasing him, and so there had been no problems with walking along openly and 
by himself.  The next thing he knew, water had come out of nowhere, and only a 
few seconds later a large group of girls had turned a corner and come face to face 
with her.  After one look at the expressions spreading across their faces Ranma-
chan had turned and bolted, trying not to listen to the cries of "<That's the 
honorless dog of an outsider who defeated Shampoo last year!>"  "<What the hell is 
she doing back here?!>"  "<Probably come to steal our treasures or poison our 
water supply for revenge!>"  "<GET HER!!>"

                That had been five minutes ago.  Under better circumstances Ranma-chan 
would already have outdistanced her pursuers, but the current situation was a bit 
more complicated.  If she ran through the streets, other Amazons would see her and 
try to cut her off.  Taking to the rooftops mainly eliminated this problem, but 
replaced it with one that was only slightly less troublesome, given that most of the 
buildings in the Amazon village had a type of tiled roof that couldn't handle 
someone running at full speed across it.  Fleeing via rooftop could still be done, but 
it was cutting Ranma-chan's speed considerably.

                In the front of the pack of girls racing through the streets below, Balm 
growled in frustration.  Why hadn't Shampoo dealt with this girl as the Law 
dictated?  What was the redhead doing, running around free, with so little respect 
for Amazon prowess that she dared even to sneak back here?  Well, if the so-called 
Champion didn't have what it took to deal with one irritating little outsider, Balm 
would be more than happy to show SHE suffered from no such failing!

                She used that thought to focus herself, drawing deeply on her energy 
reserves.  Without slacking pace, the girl reached behind her and brought another 
set of bolos forward.  This particular weapon was by far the heaviest she carried, 
with weights half again as large as the ball of a standard bonborri, strung on a 
lightweight metal chain rather than the cord that would have inevitably snapped.

                 Beside her, Li Rin's eyes widened in shock.  "<Hang on, Balm.  We 
can't just kill her!>"  There was no way the petite redhead would be able to survive 
a hit from the 'Bonecrusher', as Balm affectionately called her ultimate weapon.  
"<The Elders would tear a strip six inches wide out of ALL our hides if you do that!  
We need to find out just why she's here and whether she's already done any 
sabotage.>"

                Balm spared a fraction of an instant to glance disdainfully at the girl 
beside her, as she began to spin the weapon.  "<Still thinking in just three 
dimensions, Li Rin?>"

                "<JUST three dimensions?>" Li Rin snapped back.  "<How many others 
are there exactly?>"

                With a smirk, the first girl loosed her weapon.  "<At least one more.  Why 
don't you try a little foresight for once?>"

                Balm's meaning became clear as the bolos shot up and away, racing not 
toward Ranma-chan but rather to the rooftop toward which she had just leaped.  The 
weapon impacted first, smashing down and plowing through the tiles that lined the 
roof, shattering them and leaving Ranma-chan no good place to land.

                While the Saotome heir was exceptionally skilled at midair maneuvering, 
there were limits.  Given the size of the affected area, only the Rotary Ribbon or 
some similar technique would have allowed her to avoid the treacherous expanse of 
broken tile.  As it was, Ranma-chan landed directly on two unattached pieces and 
shot forward, zooming off the edge of the house before she could regain control.

                She impacted hard, but bounced back to her feet almost immediately.  A 
sharp pain shot through her upper leg, making it clear that she'd pulled a muscle.  
Inconvenient, but it would heal in a matter of seconds if she didn't move on it.  And 
since Amazons had formed a ring even before she landed, and were now hedging 
her in with drawn weapons and grim expressions, she figured she might as well wait 
for them to move before she did.

                After ten seconds, the pain had faded noticeably and Ranma-chan was 
beginning to relax.  After forty-five, it was gone completely, and she allowed 
herself a cocky grin.  After a minute and a half, the grin had been replaced by a 
grimace of impatience.  "Don't ya think there's enough of you to handle little old 
me?  Whatcha waitin' for, anyway?"

                "That would be me, outsider girl."

                At the sound of the dry voice behind her, thinned with age but 
underscored with authority and strength, Ranma-chan whirled.  Sure enough, an 
Amazon Elder was standing there, regarding her through half-closed eyes.  The 
redhead breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

                "<Foolish girl, you know not what peril you face!>" one of the girls said 
with a nasty smirk, noticing Ranma-chan's reaction and thinking it was because the 
outsider thought she was looking at a harmless old woman.

                "<Prepare to fall before Amazon might!>"

                "<Honored Elder Ton Fa is going to leave you crying like a little boy!>"

                "<Time for you to learn some respect, dishonorable one!>"

                Ranma-chan frowned, then turned her attention back to the Elder.  "Do ya 
think you could call off the cheerleaders already?"

                "I suggest you do your best to ignore the distraction and prepare yourself, 
girl.  The penalties for trespassing in Amazon lands are severe.  I'm afraid you're 
not going to enjoy this."

                "H- hold on a second!" Ranma-chan squeaked, then gulped and lowered 
her voice.  "I ain't trespassing and the damage on that house isn't my fault.  You 
know who I really am, so let's cut the crud, send those trigger-happy girls away, 
and get me some hot water!"

                "Do you recall a girl named Lotion?  From your own memories of this 
trip, not Shampoo's," the Elder returned in an equally quiet voice.

                "What the heck's that got to do with anything?" the Saotome heir asked 
bewilderedly.

                "So you don't remember.  Hardly surprising.  After all, you've turned 
down so many girls during your stay here, what were the feelings of one more?  My 
great-granddaughter was most disappointed at not even being given a chance," Ton 
Fa remarked conversationally, as she drew a pair of ornate war fans out of the 
interior of her robe.

                Ranma-chan braced herself.  This didn't look like it was going to be any 
fun at all.

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

                Anger at the injustice of it all.  Frustration at her inability to rise to the 
challenge.  Disgust at the poor showing she'd put forth.  Her emotions were plain to 
see on her face, even though she said nothing, her lips tightly closed, rejecting the 
impulse to rail against her failure.

                "Is not _that_ bad," Shampoo said consolingly as Kodachi continued to 
glare at her first attempt at sculpture.  "No worse than first time I tried to paint like 
you do."

                The White Rose sighed, letting the tension flow out of her.  "I suppose 
you're right.  Really, I don't know why I'm letting it get me so upset."

                Shampoo wondered as well, but before she could say anything, the sounds 
of a commotion reached her ears.  She walked over to the window and stuck her 
head outside.  "Aiyah.  Is very strange, Kodachi," she called back.  "Is many girls in 
street outside the front door."  She couldn't actually see the entranceway, due to the 
angle from which she was looking, but there were Amazons crowding the street in 
both directions, facing toward the door and muttering amongst themselves.  
"Almost look like mob, except no flaming torches."

                "That's odd," Kodachi said, after removing the clay-smeared apron she'd 
been wearing and taking a look for herself.  "Let's go downstairs and see what's 
happening."

                They did so, catching a glimpse of the front door swinging shut as they 
came down.  Faintly Shampoo made out the words of whomever had just left, 
addressing all the girls in the street.  "<Everybody head on home.  The Matriarch 
will handle matters from this point on.>"  Wondering all the more what was going 
on, she followed Kodachi down the last few steps, only then reaching a point where 
she could see the gift Ton Fa had left behind.

                Kodachi blinked, then zipped over to Ranma-chan.  "Ranma-sama!  Are 
you all right?!"

                The redhead grunted and mumbled unintelligibly.  Given the gag stuffed 
into her mouth, there really wasn't anything else she could do.  Kodachi began 
looking over the confusing tangle of ropes and knots with which Ranma-chan had 
been tied up into a neat little package, trying to find a good starting point for the 
untying.  It was truly an intricate mesh, she noted, both impressed and annoyed at 
the expertise displayed.  The ropes were quite snug against Ranma-chan's skin, not 
so much so as to cut off the flow of blood, but too tight to be able to use a blade to 
sever the bonds without risking her fiancé's hide.

                "What's going on here?" Rouge asked, striding into the room.  Her eyes 
widened as she caught sight of Ranma-chan.  A quick gesture from the mage 
transformed the bonds from sturdy hemp to dry withered grass, which posed 
somewhat less of a problem.  Ranma-chan tugged an arm free and removed the gag 
while Kodachi pulled away the remains of the rope.

                "Thanks, Auntie, Dachi-chan," the redhead said with a sigh.  She flashed 
Shampoo a smile of gratitude as the lavender-haired girl stepped over and handed 
her a kettle of hot water.

                "You're welcome, nephew-in-law.  So what happened to you just now?"

                Ranma grimaced.  "Don't wanna talk about it.  Man, I am so ready to get 
back home it's not even funny."

                "You really looking forward that much to go back to Furinkan?" 
Shampoo asked innocently.

                Another grimace.  "You just had to bring that up, didn'tcha, Sham-chan?"

                "Hmmm.  If Ranma want, I could happen to mention to Ling-Ling and 
Lung-Lung that if somebody was to sabotage school building, like knock out some 
of its supports or something, would give them few more weeks to spend lots more 
time with Ryu while workmen repair the building," Shampoo suggested.

                Rouge coughed loudly.  "Shampoo, I don't think my sister Li Na would 
be too happy at the thought of her niece encouraging her daughters in acts of 
vandalism.  Do you take my meaning?"

                The Amazon blanched.  "Sorry, Airen.  Next time I wait til we alone 
before make some offer like that," she whispered.

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

                The remains of the day passed uneventfully, as did the night.  Ranma had 
been planning to sneak out, wake up Jin To one last time, and tell him how much 
Kodachi liked the ring, but since whatever streak of luck had been keeping him 
from accidental transformations had apparently ended, he decided not to risk it.

                They left the village in the same way they'd first entered, with no official 
notice being taken of their passage.  Among the Chinese Amazons, it wasn't 
considered proper to celebrate farewells.  Ranma felt a number of wistful stares 
pressing against the back of his neck as the group made their way through the 
village, but that was all.

                Everyone was fairly quiet as they made their way through the fields and 
hills, and began the ascent up toward the mountains.  They were all busy with their 
various thoughts.

                There was a definite spring in Ukyo's step.  She was really looking 
forward to sweeping the dust out of her restaurant and opening the place up again.  
The thought of not having to worry about sneak attacks, or even direct attacks, from 
Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung anymore was quite nice.  Heck, she was even ready to 
get back to Furinkan and kick a few chemistry and croquet butts with her official 
boyfriend at her side. 

                If Ukyo was happy, Ryoga was bordering on ecstatic.  Their path was 
beginning to rise now, the land shifting from foothills to actual mountains.  The 
village of the Joketsuzoku was well behind them, and HE'D MADE IT OUT 
SAFELY!  He hadn't accidentally defeated anyone!  None of the Amazons had 
found out how good a fighter he was!  His girl troubles could have been kicked into 
overdrive, but instead they'd been solved!  As soon as he could make his way to a 
novelty store, Ryoga was going to put on a party hat, throw confetti, and wave 
victory fans until he was blue in the face.

                Ryu was thinking back over all the changes that had taken place in his life 
lately.  Occasionally he would glance around, smiling a little as his gaze fell on 
Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung to either side of him, or his brother walking along next to 
Ukyo a little ways off, or his parents hand-in-hand toward the front of the group.  
He wasn't as euphoric as Ryoga, but on the whole, he was feeling quite happy, with 
only one nagging worry in the back of his mind.  Namely, if things had gotten this 
crazy in China, what kind of supreme chaos was going to erupt once they were back 
in Nerima?

                Beside him, Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung were working their way through 
some introspection.  Earlier, they had been trying to force themselves to face the 
idea of returning to Japan, leaving their familiar mountains and countryside again, 
surrounding themselves once more with concrete and metal and the teeming masses 
of an unfamiliar people.  Each girl had been surprised to find that the thought hadn't 
been nearly as repugnant as she had expected.  Eventually they would realize that 
they were largely riding the high of relief at no longer getting stuck with other 
people's chores, but for now they were walking along in quiet thought, wondering 
just how much the last few months had changed them.

                Kozue glanced over at her husband.  Ichiro was still stumbling along in a 
daze, a blank grin on his face.  Even with their half-Oni directionlessness currently 
suppressed by Jusenkyo's kiss, it was clear that without her grip on his hand the 
Hibiki patriarch would have wandered off long before now.  Kozue shook her head, 
mildly annoyed at herself.  She should have waited until they'd gotten settled back 
in Japan before telling him the news.  Idly she wondered just how Ryoga and Ryu 
were going to react when they learned that each of them was going to become a 
brother _without_ the intervention of the Spring of Drowned Twins.

                Cologne's lips were curved in a broad smile as she walked along.  The 
Matriarch was enjoying the quiet beauty around her, and particularly the fact that 
here and now there was no one requesting her guidance on some trivial little matter 
that they could have easily handled themselves.  It had actually taken her until late 
the previous evening to finally clear out the backlog that Rouge had arranged to 
have waiting for her.  Thinking back to that little ploy by her great-granddaughter 
only caused the smile to broaden; Rouge was coming along nicely, showing a 
devious mind and an independent streak that would serve her well when she became 
the official Matriarch.  And she would need both those qualities shortly, when she 
discovered that this time Cologne had taken the Nanban mirror with her.  Payback, 
the Matriarch mused with satisfaction, could be quiet enjoyable.

                Unlike the rest of the people in the group, Ranma was dealing with some 
angst.  Specifically, he was trying to imagine what would happen when he made it 
back to Nerima and confronted Genma again.  How exactly did he hope things 
would go anyway, he wondered.  What would be the best way to handle the 
situation?  Would the Earth Slash be enough to impress his old man, maybe even 
make him proud?  Did Genma care enough to let his son's accomplishments affect 
him like that at all?  Ranma wasn't sure, and thinking about those doubts hurt.  But 
glancing to either side of him dulled the pain considerably, and reminded him that 
even if it turned out that Genma ultimately didn't care, he would still have a family.  
Both those with him now and those waiting back in the Kuno mansion.

                Kodachi and Shampoo were basically just floating along in a happy pink 
haze, the White Rose regarding the gleam of sunlight off the ring on her finger, the 
Amazon purring with contentment at the feel of the large squarish package slung 
next to her backpack.  Let's let them have their moment, folks, it won't be this 
peaceful much longer.

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

                As if by unspoken consent, everyone came to a halt.  They had just 
reached the place where the Matriarch had met them one month prior, high in the 
mountains.  A few more steps and the rock walls would close around them again, 
blocking out all sight of the lands they were leaving behind.  The various travelers 
turned around and stood in silence, taking a long last look at the valley of the 
Chinese Amazons.

                "Yen for Airen's thoughts," Ling-Ling said at last.

                Turning from his view of the countryside below, Ryu gave her a smile.  "I 
was thinking about how much has changed over this last month."

                "Yeah, no joke."  Ukyo joined the conversation.  "Seems like just about 
everything's different now, doesn't it?"  She gave a sidelong glance over toward 
Ranma, Kodachi, and Shampoo.  "Well, maybe not _everything_."

                "Huh?  What's that supposed to mean, Ucchan?"  Ranma was a little 
annoyed at his oldest friend's attitude, considering how much time he'd spent 
working on what he planned to say and psyching himself up for his proposals.  He'd 
never have been able to pull that kind of stuff off when he first came to Nerima, and 
was pretty darn proud of the ways he'd changed since then.

                Ukyo, not being able to read minds, just snorted.  "You kidding me, 
Ranchan?  Anybody could've seen what happened with you three coming a mile 
away."  She conveniently forgot the shock it had been when Ryoga first explained 
the truth about Ranma, Kodachi, and Shampoo to her.  "This wasn't a change, it 
was just making something official."

                Shampoo gave Ukyo a strange look.  "You think Ranma has no changed 
over last month?"  Then she smirked, quickly pulling forward, unwrapping, and 
holding up the mahogany panel carved with her likeness.  "I must have forget to 
show this to you.  Is not beautiful?  Ranma made with own hands, taught himself to 
carve in between developing powerful new technique."

                "Okay, okay, I stand corrected," Ukyo laughed, holding up her hands in 
mock surrender.  "I was just thinking about the proposal, not the other stuff."

                "There _were_ other things that happened this month.  Nothing nearly as 
important, of course," Kodachi said with a smile.  "But all the small things add up 
as well.  I've read a great deal, and traveled to exotic locations with my parents, but 
this is the first time I've ever had such a level of immersion into another culture.  It 
certainly is a mind-broadening experience."

                That struck a deep chord in a certain okonomiyaki chef.  "You're right.  
We've all changed this last month," she agreed.  "And all for the better, I think."

                "I'm certainly not going to argue with that," Ryoga said fervently.

                "Me neither," Lung-Lung said cheerfully, looping her arm through Ryu's 
and pressing against his side.  "Changes is very, very nice."

                "But I wonder who's changed the most," Ranma said thoughtfully.  "I 
mean, it'd be Ryoga hands down, except with two of them now you kinda gotta 
figure that only half of it applies to each of them."

                "Well, not like I'm bragging or anything, but I think it would be me," 
Ukyo said modestly, buffing her nails against the front of her outfit and then 
summoning a corona of energy around her hand.  The development of her mystic 
talent wasn't the only reason for her statement, but she didn't quite think she ought 
to add, "I came here thinking all Amazons were scum, and look how much better 
I've learned."

                "But Ranma come up with a strong new technique, and learn a skill 
completely not related to martial arts, and make too romantic proposal without 
stuttering or false start or anything, AND get Kodachi's super power through Heart 
Link too.  Shampoo's vote still goes to him."

                'Super power?' Kodachi thought, trying not to laugh out loud at a sudden 
mental image of herself in a ridiculous 'Magical Girl' outfit.

                "Ah, youth, always thinking of themselves.  What about all the changes 
I've undergone in these last few weeks?" Cologne asked.

                A long moment of silence followed.

                "Just kidding," the Matriarch cackled.  "I'd like to think that I'm old 
enough to put all that self-discovery and redefining yourself angst and nonsense 
behind me."

                "_I'd_ like to think you're old enough not to cause trouble, Granny.   Too 
bad that ain't true," Ranma gibed.

                "Watch it, son-in-law," Cologne returned, grinning a grin that gave 
several people a case of the creeping horrors.  "Or I'll do something that makes it 
obvious you are indeed the one who's been changed the most during this trip.  The 
full-body cat tongue might be amusing."

                "NOOO thanks," Ranma responded, backpedaling and holding up his 
hands in a warding sign.

                Kodachi giggled.  No matter how much some things changed, others 
stayed the same.  When so much else shifted and rearranged itself, it was nice to 
have that stability.  Even if all the recent changes had been good ones.

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

                He stood on the rocky shore, looking out over the water.  The greyness of 
the sky above him was reflected in the steel surface of the lake.  Rain fell in light 
sprinkles, dimpling the water, collecting in the boy's hair and trickling down the 
back of his neck.  At another time, in another life, the sensation might have been 
irritating.  But here and now Shinnosuke didn't even notice it.

                Nor was he really seeing the lake before him; at least, not as it was then.  
In his mind's eye, he viewed the waters as they had been ten days past, lying still 
and quiet in the depths of a cavern.  The passage from the outer world was a short 
one, far too short to block the normal sounds from the surrounding forest.  Yet as 
the three of them had stood there, those sounds had fallen into silence.

                For a moment, the stillness held... and then the waters thrashed and 
convulsed.  That had been their cue to run, and run they had, hoping to draw their 
pursuer after them onto dry land where it would be much less dangerous.  Instead, 
the rock behind them had shattered, water from beneath surging skyward, throwing 
spray into the air that shone like diamonds.  Another memory followed in grim 
counterpoint, of the duller gleam of sunlight against dark green scales.

                The images fractured, becoming only glimpses, distorted by the frantic 
pace of events and the rush of adrenaline that had flowed through him.  His 
grandfather in a dress.  Akane, vibrant and alive as she soared into the air.  The roar 
of the Yamata no Orochi as its heads struck and wove around each other, tearing the 
rocky floor as if it were tissue paper, trying to catch the figures moving swiftly 
among them.  There had been one taunting the monster, racing along as live bait, 
and two others who struck various heads as hard as they could, keeping it off-
balance and confused.  And all three kept half an eye peeled for a hint of 
luminescent, brighter green--the moss that was their only hope to finally cure the 
wound Shinnosuke had borne for more than a decade.

                He stood there now, looking out over the waters of the new lake, and the 
rain plastered his thin shirt against the unmarked flesh of his back.  Shinnosuke 
stood, and watched, and remembered.  His memory had eventually healed itself 
once he was no longer living from minute to minute, sustained only by the Water of 
Life.  That seemed more curse than blessing, now, as the memories sped inexorably 
onward.  The increasingly-frantic search as they failed to find any trace of the moss 
on the monster.  The one moment of sheer blind panic when the true bulk of the 
Orochi emerged, tearing thousands of tons of stone aside without even noticing, 
howling in fury and hunger.  The desperate scramble for a now-revealed patch of 
moss, followed by the even more desperate scramble to get away.

                And then... the smaller head that had come rocketing out of nowhere... the 
maw gaping wide, roaring like a freight train from hell... his desperate blow, struck 
with all the force he could muster, but not enough, not enough to prevent the bright 
shower of blood...  Shinnosuke screwed his eyes shut, balling up his fists at his side, 
and trembled for long moments.

                At last he opened his eyes again, and once again he wasn't seeing the 
water in front of him.  This time he stared forward, as if piercing the surface with 
his gaze, to look on what hid in the depths.  "You can't sleep forever," he 
whispered, his voice throbbing with emotion.  "Sooner or later, you'll come up 
again.  And I'll be waiting."

                He received no answer, neither from the waters nor from what they 
concealed.  Nature seldom takes direct notice of individuals, no matter how strong 
their feelings of grief and rage might be.  And here in Ryugenzawa, Nature held 
more sway than just about anywhere else in Japan.  Shinnosuke knew this on some 
level, knew how small he was compared to the Orochi, but it didn't matter.  He 
wouldn't let it matter.  For what the dragon had done to her, it would pay.

                "You're getting awfully wet, Shinnosuke."  The voice came from behind 
him.

                "I hadn't noticed," he replied truthfully.  Then he spun, fear evident on 
his face.  "You shouldn't be out in this!"

                Akane frowned at him from beneath a large umbrella.  "Don't try to 
change the subject.  You were standing there feeling guilty again, weren't you?"

                "Akane, please!  Let's go inside.  You don't want to risk getting chilled, 
or getting your bandage wet, do you?!"

                The youngest Tendo rolled her eyes.  "Shinnosuke, this is kind of sweet, 
but it's pretty stupid too.  I took a measly six-inch cut on my arm... not even deep 
enough to really hurt the muscle... and you keep acting like the Orochi ate me for 
lunch!  GET OVER IT, ALREADY!!"

                "You're absolutely right, I shouldn't be standing out here in this rain, let's 
go inside quickly, okay?!"

                "Right," Akane sighed, but a half smile curved across her lips.  She 
motioned him to come share the shelter of the umbrella.  They walked along in 
silence for a little while, Akane marshalling her thoughts, Shinnosuke doing his best 
to put feelings of guilt aside and enjoy the moment.

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

                "Where's Grandfather?" he asked after they'd sat down inside the shelter 
of the house.  The rain had picked up in force during their walk back.  It beat a 
steady tempo against the rooftop now, and Shinnosuke didn't think his grandfather 
would enjoy getting caught in such weather.

                "He's gone to town to pick up some supplies," Akane answered.  He had 
left the umbrella for her to use, and he wouldn't even have needed to go in the first 
place if she hadn't been here.   Akane's appetite was nowhere near a match for a 
Saotome's, but three people inevitably depleted the food stores faster than just two.  
These thoughts made Akane feel a little guilty, as she pictured the old man trudging 
along with only a raincoat to shield him from the elements.  But the feelings of guilt 
didn't last too long, as she reminded herself of what else her presence in this home 
had meant.

                Shinnosuke frowned, looking off into the distance as if he could see his 
grandfather through the walls of the house and the surrounding forest.  "I hope he 
remembers to get more first-aid supplies," he said.

                Akane frowned herself.  "Maybe he'll bring back one of those big 
winding bandages, so I can tie it over your mouth."

                Her companion winced.  "No, don't do that.  I couldn't eat any of your 
wonderful cooking if you did."  It still amazed him how she melted whenever he 
complimented her cooking, and how his insides would turn to goo when she smiled 
because of him.

                "Shinnosuke, I don't understand you sometimes," Akane said fondly.  
"How can someone be such a big idiot and still know how to say just the right 
thing?"

                "I don't know," Shinnosuke admitted.  "Akane, something _I_ still don't 
understand is why it bothers you, that I feel guilty about... about what happened to 
you."

                "Because you're acting like it's some great tragedy that was all your 
fault!  What does that say about me, huh?!"  Akane leaned forward, holding out her 
bandaged arm in challenge.  "I can handle this, Shinnosuke.  I'm a martial artist, 
and this is NOTHING!  And it wasn't your responsibility anyway to protect me.  I 
was the one who got tagged by the Orochi.  If it's anybody's fault, it's mine.  If you 
say it was yours, because you couldn't protect me, that's as good as saying you 
want me to sit on a shelf like a pretty little doll, so I won't get broken."

                Akane was breathing quickly now, her pulse racing.  Not out of anger, 
which surprised her a little.  She felt determination, not rage.  Shinnosuke _would_ 
hear her and understand what she was saying.  She wanted him to see, needed him 
to understand _her_.

                "Is that what you think?" Shinnosuke asked, a little sadly.  "That's not 
right, Akane.  I wouldn't ever treat you like that."

                "Really?" Akane challenged him.  "Then look me in the eyes and tell me 
you don't think it's your fault."

                He sighed.  "It's not that simple.  Why were you fighting the Orochi in 
the first place?"

                "To help you.  You know that!  Why..."  Akane stopped, and considered 
the answer she'd just given.

                "That's right, Akane.  Never mind anything about protecting you during 
the battle.  That's not the point."  Shinnosuke fixed her with an intent stare.  "The 
point is, if it weren't for me you wouldn't have been there in the first place.  You 
AND Grandfather.  Both of you put your lives at risk, and for what?"  His face 
twisted in sorrow.  "So I could get rid of a stupid scar on my back!  That's all!  You 
didn't even know my memory would get better.  I saw how surprised Grandfather 
was at that.  So don't tell me not to feel guilty, that someone I care about risked her 
life and got hurt, could have gotten killed, for such a little thing for me."

                "So that's it," Akane breathed, covering her mouth with one hand.  "Oh, 
Shinnosuke, I didn't understand _you_."  She sat up straighter then, feeling an even 
greater rush of determination than a few minutes back.  "There's something I need 
to tell you.  Something your grandfather told me this morning, and I've been trying 
to think of a good way to get around to it now."

                "What's that?"

                "It's... look, you remember when I first said I wanted to help you get rid 
of that wound on your back?  How I felt guilty because it was all my fault to begin 
with, and your grandfather said there might be something we could do about it?"

                "I remember," Shinnosuke said, frowning again.  His grandfather had 
come right out with the insane scheme of luring the Orochi into daylight and 
fighting it, in the hopes of finding some miracle moss that grew on it and was the 
source of the Water of Life.  He had been aghast at the idea, but there hadn't been 
any way to change either Akane's or his grandfather's mind, though Kami knew 
he'd tried.  But they had been determined to do this thing for him.

                Akane took a deep breath.  "There was something he wasn't telling either 
of us, Shinnosuke.  Something about why he was willing to take a risk like that.  
Something he told me today, and wanted me to tell you.  I wasn't sure what he 
meant, when he said it would help you stop moping around.  Didn't seem like that 
at all, when he told me.  But I guess he understood just why you were feeling guilty 
better than I did."

                She held up her bandaged arm again.  "I didn't get hurt just trying to get 
rid of a scar on your back, Shinnosuke.  I mean, I didn't know there was any other 
reason, and I didn't _need_ any other reason to help you.  But there was one.  Your 
grandfather didn't tell us because he didn't want us to get worried or distracted.

                "But the truth is, you were dying.

                "You don't remember them, but you would have these fainting spells.  
You'd pass out, and your heart would start beating slower and slower, and the same 
thing with your breathing.  The Water of Life would be the only thing that could 
bring you back, and the springs that produce it had started to run low.  Your 
grandfather told me he thinks it was because the Orochi was beginning to wake up.  
If we hadn't done what we did, he doesn't think any of the springs would have 
lasted another year.  Which means you wouldn't have either."

                For the last few sentences, Shinnosuke had sat as if turned to stone.  
Silence fell as Akane finished her revelation.  It hung in the air for several long 
moments.  At last, he gulped, and gasped out, "Are you serious?!"

                Akane nodded solemnly.  "He promised me on his family name, that it 
was true."  She gave him a smile then.  "That make you feel any better?  I didn't get 
hurt for nothing.  I was fighting for something that was worth a lot."

                "I... this..." Shinnosuke shook his head as if dizzy.  "I don't know what to 
say."

                Akane punched him lightly with her unhurt arm.  "Say you'll stop beating 
yourself up over this, idiot."

                Shinnosuke looked at her then, _really_ looked for the first time since the 
battle with the Orochi.  This time he could look past the bandage without wincing, 
or at least without suffering a queasy feeling of guilt and shame when he saw it.  He 
looked beyond the wound and into her eyes, seeing the strength and tenderness that 
were there now, and remembering the triumph that had shone forth a week and a 
half ago, with the three of them safely back on shore, as his grandfather had gently 
taken the swatch of moss from her hand.  She hadn't dropped it even when the 
dragon's fang had scored her flesh.

                The memory was still a little painful, but the worst of the sting was gone 
now.  Shinnosuke wasn't a prideful sort, but he believed his life had meaning and 
worth.  And he knew Akane believed that, too.

                Maybe it even had meaning and worth _to her_.  He hoped that it might.  
That _he_ might.  Shinnosuke knew it wasn't the right moment to ask a question 
like that, but he felt like that time might not be too far off.  For now, though, he just 
smiled, and said, "I will.  I promise."

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

                Many miles away and many days later, a door opened.

                This wasn't particularly unusual; doors opened and closed all the time in 
the Kuno mansion.  In fact, this particular door saw more use than many, as it 
opened into one of the most comfortable recreation rooms in the household.  Large 
windows dominated one wall.  The grounds immediately outside held several large 
trees and other assorted flora, which provided a pleasing view while still letting in 
enough sunlight to give the room a bright, cheerful air.  There were a number of 
plush, comfortable chairs and couches in a rough semicircle facing the 
aforementioned windows, with the occasional end table supporting lamps for the 
evening hours.  It was arguably the single best room in the Kuno mansion for 
kicking back and relaxing with a book, magazine, or handheld electronic gaming 
system, and it saw frequent use.

                As has already been implied, it was also not unusual that after the door 
leading into this room had swung open, someone passed through it.  This was the 
standard operating procedure.  Nonetheless, Tatewaki was quite surprised to 
witness this sequence of events.

                "Saotome?" he asked, not exactly shocked, but definitely nonplussed.  
"What are you doing here?  I had not thought any of you were due back for another 
three days."  He caught a glimpse of Ukyo and Ryoga through the open doorway, 
confirming that the pigtailed martial artist wasn't the only one to have returned.

                Ranma shrugged, and sat down on a nearby couch.  "We left the Amazon 
village a couple of days sooner than we'd originally thought we would.  Then we 
ran into some weirdness in the mountains.  None of us really felt like dealing with 
any more crazy stuff just then, so we hurried back faster than we'd been planning 
to."

                Kuno gave him a frankly incredulous look.  "You hurried back to Nerima 
in order to find respite from bizarre events?"

                "Nah, just to get back to where we _expect_ to find the random insanity," 
Ranma explained.

                "Well, that at least makes sense..." Kuno's voice trailed off and his eyes 
bugged out.  After staring over Ranma's shoulder for a few moments and gulping 
periodically, he said, "Er, Ranma?  Did I just see Hibiki walk past in the outer 
corridor with the Amazon twins at his sides?"

                Ranma shrugged.  "I don't know.  Did you?"  Did Kuno think he had eyes 
in the back of his head or something?

                "It appeared to be so.  But I had thought I saw him walking along with 
Ukyo just a minute before."

                "You probably did.  Oh, yeah," Ranma said a little belatedly, as the door 
at the far end of the room opened, and Ryoga, Ukyo, Ryu, Ling-Ling, and Lung-
Lung entered, having deposited their luggage elsewhere.  Tatewaki gave an 
enhanced encore of the eyes-bugging-out routine as Ranma continued, "He found a 
solution to his girl troubles."

                "I... see."  Kuno felt the sudden need to sit down.  Which was 
problematic, as he was already seated.  After a bit, the mental fog thinned enough 
that he was able to turn to the nearest Hibiki boy, sitting now on a couch with Ling-
Ling and Lung-Lung on either side of him, and ask, "What happened to you?!"

                Ryu shrugged, playing it cool.  "Spring of Drowned Twins.  Terrible 
tragic story of boy who not have to break anybody's heart, as Ling-Ling and Lung-
Lung's mom said after she knocked me into it."

                "Airen goes by name of Ryu now," Ling-Ling added.

                "And this doesn't bother you, either of you?"

                "Are you kidding?!" Ryoga asked.  "You remember what I said just 
before school let out, right?  Well, this is like the ONLY way things could have 
worked out without anybody getting hurt.  I don't think I'm EVER gonna be able to 
pay Li Na back for doing this."

                "That okay, Ryoga," Ling-Ling reassured him, then leaned her head 
against Ryu's shoulder.  Tatewaki noted with surprise that the tattooed Hibiki boy 
only looked a little nervous.  "Your brother can be one to pay back debt to Mother, 
by treat her daughters right."

                "Yeah, that sound good to me," Lung-Lung chimed in, her head claiming 
its rightful place on Ryu's other shoulder.

                Not sure that he'd be ready for the answer, but unable to stop himself, 
Kuno asked, "And did anything else of import happen during this trip?"

                "I discovered that I'm really the long-lost heiress to a magical kingdom of 
wisdom and truth, with powers far beyond mortal ken!" Ukyo proclaimed, 
surrounding herself with a golden corona of arcane force.

                "Nice battle aura," Tatewaki said with a laugh.  "Seriously, did anything 
else crazy happen?"

                Ukyo sighed as her joke fell flat.  "Actually, that wasn't a battle aura.  I 
got magic lessons from Shampoo's aunt.  The princess thing was a joke, though."

                "Really?  Well, you could run quite an advertising campaign for your 
restaurant now," Kuno replied with a smile.  "Eat at Ukyo's--our okonomiyaki are 
so good, you'll swear it's magic!"

                "Brother dear, an advertising executive you aren't."  Kodachi entered the 
room and seated herself next to Ranma.  "So how has your summer vacation gone?"

                "Pleasantly, mainly uneventfully.  Though there was a bit of friction with 
the heir to Martial Arts Tea Ceremony, or some such nonsense.  He wanted to pick 
out his own bride rather than having her chosen for him, and thought it would be a 
good idea to ride up on horseback and kidnap Nabiki."

                "I suppose he learned the folly of that idea rather quickly," Kodachi 
remarked.

                "Not so quickly as I would have preferred," her brother answered with a 
growl.  As if in response to his mood, the sky outside began to cloud up.  "I wasn't 
there when the atrocity took place.  By the time I learned of it and came to her 
rescue, she had already been forced to endure lessons in that ridiculous excuse for a 
martial art from a shriveled-up crone with a worse attitude than Shampoo's great-
grandmother ever had."

                "Nabiki... martial arts... nope, I just don't see it," Ranma commented, 
shaking his head.  For that matter, Nabiki and tea ceremony was a pretty hard 
picture to grasp as well.

                "She certainly wasn't enjoying herself when I arrived," Kuno said, 
growling all the more at the memory of Nabiki in a 'training kimono' that forced 
her to remain cramped in a seated position with her arms at her sides, while 
balancing a basin of ice-cold green tea atop her head to 'promote balance and 
poise.'

                "Was it a mighty battle in which the noble warrior struggled fiercely and 
long, triumphing over his foes at last to rescue the fair damsel in distress?" Kodachi 
asked.  "Or did you just blast them with something of Father's?"

                "You're never going to let me forget that time, are you?" Tatewaki 
replied with a grimace.  "Anyway, neither of the above.  I used the Heaven and 
Earth Cut, but modified to do property damage while leaving living targets 
unaffected."  He shook his head, forcibly discarding the unpleasant memories.  
"Other than that, my summer has been nice and sedate.  Oh, and it's going to be 
longer than we had expected."

                "Whaddaya mean?" Ranma asked.

                "Well, I don't have all the details yet, but apparently there has been some 
structural damage done to the main building at Furinkan.  Some of the supports 
were knocked out, I believe.  In any case, the school remains closed for at least the 
next three weeks, so the workmen can repair the damage."

                "Why Ranma look at us like that?" Lung-Lung queried.

                "No reason," he replied, resolving to ask Shampoo a question or two once 
they had a moment of privacy, and wondering idly just what was taking her so long.

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

                For the fifteenth time, Shampoo moved her betrothal gift to a new 
location.  Finding the one perfect spot to display it was proving unexpectedly 
challenging.

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

                "An extra three weeks of vacation?  Well, that is a pleasant surprise," 
Kodachi said happily.  "Not the best thing I've heard all summer, but still quite 
nice."

                "What would that best be?" Tatewaki asked quizzically.

                The White Rose rolled her eyes.  "Brother dear, considering how recently 
you asked someone a certain question, you are being singularly unobservant."

                "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean," he protested, ignoring the 
giggles from Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung.

                Rather than waste any more words, Kodachi leaned forward, extending 
one hand before her.  At just that moment, a single beam of sunlight broke through 
the clouds outside, falling through the window to illuminate the ring upon her 
finger.

                "Nice effect, Ukyo," Ryoga whispered.

                "Hush, Ryoga honey, you'll make me lose my concentration," she 
whispered back.

                "Ah, is that...?"  Kuno didn't bother to finish what would have been a 
pretty stupid question.  He grinned broadly and said, "Congratulations!  
Congratulations to both of you!  Mother and Father will certainly be pleased to 
know you'll finally become an official member of our family, Ranma!"

                "Thanks, man."  Ranma grinned himself.  "I'm looking forward to seeing 
their expressions too.  It kind of surprised me when I heard they were gone on some 
trip.  I'd have thought they'd want to be sure they were here when we got back."

                Kodachi explained before her brother could.  She'd gotten a few more 
details from the servants than Ranma had heard, which was why she had been 
delayed.  "Apparently some friend of Father's came by and asked for his help, 
Ranma-kun."

                "Huh.  So your mom and dad went off to battle the forces of darkness 
with your dad's old adventuring companions or something?  I hope they're okay."

                Tatewaki rolled his eyes.  Apparently his sister's love of dramatic fantasy 
had rubbed off on Ranma more than he'd realized.  "No, it's nothing like that.  I 
was gone on a date with Nabiki at the time, but Sasuke informed me that it was a 
high-stakes business opportunity.  It would be lost unless Father was willing to 
quickly step in and serve as the guarantor on a loan.  The only risk involved was 
financial.  If it were otherwise, you don't think he would have brought Mother 
along with him, now do you?"

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

                'Why the hell didn't I let Go-kun talk me out of this?!' Hitome thought 
frantically, ducking as a scimitar whizzed over her head.  As the Drow warrior 
recovered and struck again, she caught the blade in crossed gymnastics clubs.  With 
a twist of her wrists, she disarmed the dark elf, then struck for a knockout blow.  
Her enemy dodged backward, reaching toward the long dagger in his belt... and 
then collapsed lifeless to the cavern floor as Godai spared an instant from the three-
way battle he was fighting to launch a vacuum blade from his sword, neatly 
removing his wife's foe's head.

                Hitome glanced around, but found no immediate opportunity to rejoin the 
fighting.  The good guys were clearly winning; even as the Kuno matriarch looked 
for an opponent, she saw another of the priestesses of Lloth fall, unable to maintain 
her personal shield under a hail of crossbow fire.  The oppressive atmosphere of 
despair and fear lightened just a little more, and the lightning bolts coming from the 
wizards on the side of the light elves seemed a bit stronger and brighter.

                A quick eddy in the flow of combat opened a clear shot for her.  She spun 
a hula hoop through a few revolutions to give it power, steeled her soul, and sent it 
flying to cleave a drider in half at the waist.  Hitome knew she was going to have 
nightmares about this for some time to come, and resolved that as soon as all this 
was over and done, she was going to spend a LOT of time apologizing to her 
husband for not taking him at his word.  He had begged her not to join the strike 
force, but after she had forced him to admit that she was a more competent fighter 
than most of their elven allies, she would let nothing dissuade her.  After all, her 
husband had made it through two years of adventure.  With him at her side, how 
terrible could this mission really be?

                Well, Hitome thought with one tiny detached corner of her mind, as three 
wizards targeted a huge stalagmite with fireball spells and sent it smashing down 
into the rear ranks of the Drow, now she understood the answer to that question.  At 
least a little bit better.

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

                "Well, good to hear they're not in trouble or anything.  _We_ had to fight 
these stupid homicidal little bean-bun-looking guys on our way back from Amazon 
lands," Ranma said.  "I still don't know what that was about.  Cologne eventually 
splashed 'em all with water from the Spring of Drowned Priest.  And that was mild 
compared to some of the other stuff that went on in China."  Taking that as a cue, 
Ryoga and Ryu went on to inform Tatewaki of the return of their parents, who were 
now out with Cologne looking for an apartment, and then to describe the ordeal of 
constantly making sure none of the Amazons caught on to the fact that they were 
actually strong fighters.

                Ranma one-upped them by telling what it had been like to deal with 
Amazons who did know just how good he was.  Descriptions of the cultural 
experiences and interesting sights were supplied by Kodachi, who hadn't had to 
spend most of the visit either hiding or fighting.  Ukyo performed a few more magic 
tricks.  Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung took the opportunity to vent their frustrations 
over all the chores they'd wound up doing.  And a pleasant time was had by all.

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

                "Well, now I know for sure we're back in Nerima," Ranma-chan griped 
later that day.

                "Seem to be making up for lost time," Shampoo complained, tilting her 
head back and running her hands through her hair.  Water cascaded to the ground.

                "I thought it was a particularly elegant touch how, once it became obvious 
that my ribbon was spinning too quickly to allow any rain to reach us, a lightning 
bolt struck that fire hydrant," Kodachi said with a sniff.  The three began walking 
along again toward the Tendo household.

                "At least Ranma not drop casket of Nannichuan when we get hit by spray.  
Would have been bad," Shampoo said with a shudder.

                "No joke.  All I got to say is, Pop better appreciate this."  With that, 
Ranma-chan fell silent, brooding over the upcoming encounter.  She still wasn't 
sure how she wanted to approach it, or even what she was going to say.  All the 
thinking the pigtailed martial artist had done so far had wandered in circles, never 
coming to any real resolution or conclusion.  Some things you just had to wing your 
way through.   Hopefully once she got to the Tendo home, things would flow a bit 
more easily.


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

                "Gone?" Ranma-chan asked blankly.  "Gone?... WHAT DO YOU MEAN 
HE'S GONE?!"

                Nabiki frowned.  "Isn't that supposed to be my line?"  She received three 
odd stares for this.  "Look, Ranma, I'd have thought Tachi would have told you 
already.  Didn't he send you here to help out with Akane?"

                "Akane?  Nabiki, I got no clue what you're talking about.  Where's my 
old man, anyway?"

                Nabiki rolled her eyes and gave an indulgent sigh.  "Come on in, this is 
too long to tell just standing in the hallway like this."  The three followed her 
inside.  It felt a little strange to Ranma-chan to return here after so long, but she 
didn't bother to focus on it.  A quick detour through the kitchen for hot water put 
Ranma back in his preferred form, and then the four seated themselves in the living 
room.

                "So what trouble Akane get herself in this time, that we need to help 
with?" Shampoo asked.  "And what that have to do with Ranma's father?"

                "Short version:  Akane snuck off by herself on a training trip, or some 
martial artist thingie like that."  Nabiki smirked as she noticed Ranma actually 
winced at the words 'martial artist thingie'.  "We think she went to the mountains, 
but that's just a guess.  And needless to say, Daddy is not too happy about his 
youngest baby girl being all by herself in the harsh, cruel world.  So he sent Mr 
Saotome off to track her down and bring her back safely.  That was a month ago."

                "You don't seem too concerned," Kodachi noted, wondering why this 
would be the case.  Had Nabiki finally become blasé about her younger sister's 
tendency to get in over her head?

                 Nabiki shrugged.  "The little sneak took my cell phone when she left.  
Every few days she calls home, to tell us she's having a good time and not to worry, 
she's fine.  I guess that's why Tachi didn't remember to mention it to you; it really 
is no big deal.  But Daddy is apparently incapable of seeing it like that, so I'd 
appreciate it if you could do your little 'find the missing person' trick again, 
Shampoo."

                "Okay, sure, that not problem, but why you not just trace the phone 
calls?"

                "Technology's just not there yet to do that for a cell phone," Nabiki 
explained.  "Maybe in a year or two."

                While Shampoo was trying to think of the perfect way to contrast the 
weakness of technology against three thousand years of Amazon glory and tradition 
(as represented by the Eye of Bastet), Kodachi spoke up.  "Wouldn't the battery 
have run down on a cellular phone by now, if Akane really were off in the 
mountains with no way to recharge it?"

                Nabiki blinked in surprise.  "I can't believe I missed that," she said at last.  
"Well, guess Mr Saotome's been wasting his time for the last few weeks.  Better 
him than me."

                "So Pop's just been searching the mountains?  How would he know to 
come back if Akane made it home on her own?"

                "I don't know.  Maybe he'll check back before too much longer.  I mean, 
school would have been starting next week, if it weren't for those idiots Shinji and 
Koga nearly destroying the building ."

                Kodachi arched an eyebrow.  "Excuse me?  Did you say the damage to 
the school was caused by the chemistry-croquet clan war?"

                "Yeah, that's what I heard," Nabiki confirmed, wondering why Shampoo 
was sticking out her tongue at Ranma.  "Koga arranged to meet in the basement 
there with Shinji last week, as it was kind of neutral ground and he supposedly 
wanted to negotiate a truce.  But it turned out to be an ambush... by _both_ sides at 
once, no less.  And since both sides have recruited new members over the summer, 
this time their fight got big enough to seriously damage the place."

                "Same ol' Nerima," Ranma commented.  "We're getting off the subject 
here, Nabiki.  So basically we got no idea where Pop is or when he'll come back, 
since it's a pretty safe bet he ain't gonna find Akane where he's looking."

                "That not such a big deal, Airen.  Can use Eye of Bastet to find him too, 
and go get him after we fetch Akane."

                Ranma blinked.  "Uh... good point."

                "Or we could let him keep searching the mountains awhile longer," 
Kodachi mused.  "Getting fresh air and plenty of exercise... behaving responsibly 
rather than freeloading off your father, Nabiki..."

                Said Tendo girl's head was now bobbing eagerly up and down, her eyes 
wide and sparkly, with a mischievous smirk on her face.  Ranma hesitated for a 
moment, then said, "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to do it that way.  At least for a 
little while longer.  Can I just leave this here for him, in case he comes back on his 
own?"

                "What is it, anyway?" the middle Tendo asked, referring to the small 
barrel of which he'd spoken.

                "Nannichuan for Pop," Ranma answered.  "Make sure it doesn't get 
busted or spilled or nothing, okay, Nabiki?  And tell him it was from me when he 
gets back, so he can cure his curse."

                Nabiki gave him an odd look.  "If the Spring of Drowned Man really does 
work like that, why didn't you use it yourself, Ranma-CHAN?"

                "That was an unkind question," Kodachi snapped, frowning at her sister-
in-law-to-be.  "When Ranma-kun immersed himself in the spring, Shampoo and I 
received Nannichuan curses through the Heart Link.  Our fiancé is far too noble to 
sacrifice our well-being for his, so he re-entered the Nyannichuan to restore the 
status quo."

                "Oh.  Sorry about that, Ranma."  Nabiki had the grace to wince and look 
sheepish.

                "No problem," Ranma said, narrowing his eyes and giving her a predatory 
grin.  It might not have been that big a deal, but he still felt like getting a bit of his 
own back.  "So, you said you'd pay Sham-chan ten thousand yen to use her magic 
and find Akane, right?"

                Nabiki blinked, then said, "Sure, that's fine."  Ranma just had time to feel 
the slightest pang of disappointment at the uncontested victory before she 
continued, "And my fee for storing something as dangerous as cursed Jusenkyo 
water for an unspecified amount of time comes to... let's see... I think ten thousand 
yen sounds about right."

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

                It was getting on toward evening now, but they decided to press on to the 
Nekohanten and make use of the Eye of Bastet anyway.  As luck would have it, 
they found Cologne was absent, presumably still out apartment hunting with the 
Hibiki parents.  Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung were still at the Kuno mansion with Ryu.  
The only one to greet the three of them was the ill-omened chest, sitting there 
closed tightly and seeming to sneer.

                Not that Ranma or Kodachi were really paying it any attention yet.  
"C'mon, Dachi-chan, I'm telling you I should be the one to open it!"

                "And why is that exactly, Ranma-kun?"

                "So far we've had to open this thing twice when Cologne wasn't around.  
Once I did it, and got away with no trouble at all.  Once Shampoo did, and got 
knocked unconscious for half a day.  Just going by the pattern we've already seen, 
it's more likely not to cause any trouble if I'm the one to open it, instead of you.  
The odds are in my favor," Ranma explained.

                Kodachi frowned at him, not taken in for a moment.  "At least be honest, 
dear.  You're doing this because you simply cannot stomach the thought of me 
opening a chest we know to be trapped."

                "Well, there is that too," her fiancé admitted.  "Now that I got your 
healing ability, why should you have to risk yourself?"

                "So I should allow you to do so instead?  I think not.  Remember, Ranma, 
you may have received the same empowerment as me recently, but there is still a 
significant difference between our levels of power.  I have lived with this condition 
for half my life.  As greatly as your chi levels have been raised, you KNOW mine 
are still quite a bit higher .  That means it's less of a risk if I am the one to open the 
chest."

                "Look, Dachi, we're not really talking about a risk anyway, are we?  I 
mean, we know what the trap does.  It shoots a dart with a knockout drug into 
whoever opens the stupid thing.  That's not what I call a _risk_.  As far as I'm 
concerned, it's a challenge."

                "What do you mean by that?"

                "Simple."  Ranma gave her his most charming cocky grin.  "I wanna see 
just how good I really am.  Good enough to catch the dart as it shoots out, before it 
hits me, maybe?"

                For a moment Kodachi's resolve wavered, then a new thought struck her.  
"Well and good, Ranma dear, but what if the Matriarch has since upgraded the trap 
on the chest?"

                "Why would she do that?"

                "Because after Shampoo had opened it without permission, we knew what 
type of trap to expect."

                Ranma shook his head.  "Remember, Ling-Ling had already tripped the 
trap once, and the old girl didn't change it after that."

                "True.  But I'm still uneasy.  Why don't we lift the lid with a long stick?  
That way, if the trap has not been altered, it won't be a problem.  And if it's 
something else, I'll still have more time to react with distance between myself and 
the chest."

                "I musta blinked somewhere in there, Dachi-chan, cause I missed the 
point where it got decided it'd be you who held that long stick."

                At this point Shampoo reached out and lightly bopped each of them on 
the head.  "How much longer you going to keep up silly lover's quarrel anyway?  I 
already got Eye of Bastet."

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

                "Honored Elder?  Are you all right?" Kozue asked worriedly.  The 
Matriarch's eyes had widened suddenly, she'd mumbled something in Chinese that 
hadn't sounded too polite, and then she had just seemed to zone out.  While the 
landlord's spiel had been boring, the Hibiki matron didn't think it was quite _that_ 
bad.

                "I'm fine, child," Cologne said shortly, coming out of the trance.  Once 
again she had sensed someone tampering with her chest of valuables, and had cast 
her awareness back to the Nekohanten.  The Matriarch wasn't sure how it had 
happened, but apparently this time Shampoo had opened it without suffering the 
effects of the trap... even though Cologne had recently upgraded it from a dart to a 
device that would fill the room with sleeping gas powerful enough to affect 
Kodachi.  Needless to say, the ancient Amazon was not too happy at this latest turn 
of events.

                Meanwhile, the landlord was still blathering away at Ichiro about the 
many fine features of the apartment suite they were inspecting.  It was just his bad 
luck to find himself the focus of the Matriarch's suddenly-sour mood.  Cologne 
caught his eye with a glare.  When the man gasped, paled, and stumbled backward, 
she said flatly, "The color of the carpet clashes slightly with the wallpaper, the view 
out of the southern windows is mediocre at best, and the general setup is rather 
flimsy considering the Hibiki family and friends are mostly high-caliber martial 
artists.  You're going to let them have these rooms for fifty thousand yen a month."

                "Y- yes ma'am," the hapless landlord said meekly.  Cologne gave him a 
curt nod, then turned her thoughts back to the matter of Shampoo and the supposed-
to-be-off-limits chest of treasures.  What action, besides upgrading the trap again, 
should she take?  And how had her great-granddaughter managed to open the chest 
without mishap anyway?

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

                Incredulously, Ranma and Kodachi turned and saw the chest sitting wide 
open.  It now had a sullen look to it, as if disappointed at not getting to knock 
anyone unconscious this time.  "Sham-chan, what'd you do that for?!" Ranma 
demanded.  "There's two people here who got special protection from junk like 
that.  If not me, it definitely shoulda been Dachi who opened the thing.  You didn't 
need to risk yourself!"

                The Amazon shrugged.  "Wasn't really a risk.  Stupid 'Eyes of the Cat' 
thing kick in again, Airen.  I able to see which carvings on chest need to be push in 
what order, to turn off trap."

                "Still sounds risky to me," he protested.  The White Rose chimed in with 
her own agreement.

                "To Shampoo, it seem less risky than have you two argue for next hour 
over who open chest, and have Great-Grandmother come back to find we about to 
go through her private stuff without permission again," Shampoo said pointedly.  
Inaccurately too, of course.

                On that note, Ranma and Kodachi exchanged rueful glances and shut up.  
Shampoo settled down with the Eye of Bastet, closing her eyes and invoking the 
magic of the jewel.

                Now that her sister had mentioned it, Kodachi found herself more than a 
little nervous at the thought of Cologne suddenly returning and catching them red-
handed.  Was it really such a good idea, to have done this without waiting for the 
Matriarch to return?  After all, Nabiki had said Kasumi had received a telephone 
call from her sister just the previous day, again saying that she was fine, she was 
enjoying herself, her martial arts studies were progressing nicely, and not to worry 
about her.  Surely if Akane had made it this long without getting into trouble, they 
could have afforded to put off locating her for a few more hours...

                "Shampoo not believe it!" the Amazon exclaimed, her eyes flying open, 
an expression of shocked disbelief clear on her face.

                The White Rose jumped.  "What?!  What is it?!  Is Akane in some dire 
peril?!" she demanded.

                Shampoo shook her head, the disbelief still plain to see.  "No.  At least, 
maybe not.  Probably not.  She look like she very happy where she was."

                "Whaddaya mean?" Ranma asked.

                "I tell you in a little bit.  Need to use Eye again," Shampoo replied.  She 
closed her eyes again.  Ranma and Kodachi waited once more, with a good bit more 
trepidation than before.

                After a while, the Amazon gave a relieved sigh, opened her eyes, and set 
down the jewel.  "Okay, can confirm Akane is not in trouble.  She is actually going 
to start back to Nerima tomorrow.  Will probably get here in next few days."

                "Where's she been all this time?" Ranma asked.  "And what was the deal 
earlier, with you jumping like that?"

                Shampoo glared at the Eye of Bastet, as if what had happened were its 
fault.  "Is stupid trend that Shampoo really getting tired of.  I not tell this before, 
because I not want to worry anybody at time and later it not matter, but first time 
when I use this thing, find Akane after Ryoga's Oni half had take her, when I find 
was exact moment when he lean in and kiss her."  Now that she had said this, 
Ranma did remember seeing that scene during the forming of the Heart Link.  "And 
you both know what happen when I use second time, and look for Mousse.  Well, 
same kind of thing happen AGAIN just now!"

                "Don't tell me you caught that uncute tomboy in the sack with 
somebody?!" Ranma exclaimed, his mind refusing to seriously consider the 
thought.

                "No, but she and some boy were kissing.  Not really hot and heavy kiss, 
but serious enough."

                "So had they stopped, when you checked in the second time?" Kodachi 
asked.

                "Mm-hm," Shampoo confirmed.  "That when I hear she soon to leave for 
Nerima.  Boy was saying how much he would miss her, and Akane say she miss 
him more.  My teeth start to hurt from all the sugary sweetness."

                "Well, we can reassure the Tendos at least, I suppose.  No need to spoil 
Akane's surprise by mentioning anything else."

                "Yeah.  That's so weird, though, Sham-chan.  Each time you've found 
somebody with the Eye of Bastet, you've caught them in some kind of 
compromising situation.  Even for our lives, that seems too crazy."

                "Shampoo agree."  The Amazon glared all the more sharply at the Eye of 
Bastet.  "Stupid jewel trying to make me feel like voyeur or something."

                Suddenly Ranma chuckled.  "Y'know... you better not ever use that thing 
to look for your granny."

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

                A couple of days later, Ryoga opened the door to Ukyo's and stepped 
through.  He paused for a moment, inhaling appreciatively.  A customer had just 
placed an order at the grill, and the sizzle and wonderful smells of cooking 
okonomiyaki were thick in the air.  Ryoga's stomach rumbled in anticipation.

                Ukyo gave him a bright smile as he threaded his way through the tables 
and sat down at the counter, in the seat nearest to her position.  "What'll it be, 
sugar?" she asked.

                "One shrimp deluxe and one vegetarian special," he replied.

                "Coming right up!"  With her usual flair, Ukyo whipped out the delicacies 
and passed them over to Ryoga, pocketing his twenty yen and watching with 
satisfaction as he dug in.

                A quick glance around her restaurant threatened to diminish her smile, 
though.  The man she'd been serving as Ryoga entered had taken his order to go.  
He had left now, and there were only a few other people scattered around.  Granted, 
her place was never packed at this hour of the afternoon, but there had been a time 
when it would have been a good bit busier than this.

                That time was in the days prior to Ukyo having taken a month off.  
Business had been scarce at best since she reopened.  Ukyo was hoping it wouldn't 
take too much longer for things to pick back up; each day like this felt like a 
personal insult to her mastery of the art of the okonomiyaki.

                Those thoughts were really only in the back of her mind just now, though.  
The chef's primary concern had been to evaluate the status of the rest of the 
customers.  To her practiced eye, it seemed as if none of them were likely to want 
anything else in the next few minutes.  And so she quickly whipped up a house 
special for herself, eating along with Ryoga in companionable silence.

                After they'd both finished, Ukyo spoke up again.  "So how's it going, 
Ryoga honey?"  Noting how he flinched at the question, she frowned slightly.  "Is 
something wrong?"

                "Um... I was kind of feeling bad about how few customers you've got in 
here right now," he admitted.

                "You sure that's it?" Ukyo asked skeptically.  "You were looking more 
like you were feeling guilty than anything else."

                "Well, yeah!" Ryoga answered, puzzled as to why he wouldn't be.  "I 
mean, you were doing a lot more business before we went to China, weren't you?"

                "Rub it it, why don't you," Ukyo said, then felt bad as he flinched once 
more.  "Sorry, sugar, I didn't mean to sound so upset."

                "Well, you should be," Ryoga replied.  "You know something, Ukyo?  
After I invited you to come with us to China, Cologne warned me this was going to 
happen.  Said your restaurant was at a point where if you just dropped it for a 
month, you'd have lost a lot of business when we got back.  She told me that, but I 
just blew it off, thinking that she was trying to do Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung a 
favor.   Because it would be better for me if you came along, I didn't really think 
about what would happen for you.  I'm sorry."

                "Cut it out, will you?  You're embarrassing me."  Ukyo gave a half-
exasperated, half-amused sigh, understanding now the reason for his guilty look.  
"Listen, Ryoga, you still did the right thing.  If you hadn't invited me along, if I 
hadn't been there in China with you, there is no way Li Na would've done her little 
trick with the Spring of Drowned Twins.  It would have been just you, Ling-Ling, 
and Lung-Lung for a month."  The amusement was gone now from her face and 
voice.  She looked down, and said quietly, "I would have lost for sure."

                "Well, that didn't happen, so cheer up, okay?" Ryoga responded 
awkwardly.  That had reassured him somewhat, but he still felt a little guilty.

                The chef looked up, smiling again.  Although, also again, her smile 
became a bit strained as she glanced around to find they were now the only two in 
the restaurant.  What few customers had been present had left over the last few 
minutes, and her view of the street didn't show anybody else that seemed to be 
headed her way.  "Tell you what, Ryoga honey.  I think closing down for a little 
while and going on a walk with you would cheer me up a lot," she said.  Thereby 
illustrating nicely that seeing the future was NOT one of the lessons Rouge had 
taught her.

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

                As they began walking away from the restaurant, Ukyo became more and 
more puzzled.  "That's weird," she finally muttered under her breath.

                "What's weird?" Ryoga asked.

                "Look around."  Ukyo made a sweeping gesture, indicating the street 
before and behind them.  They were almost the only pedestrians to be seen.  
"Where's everybody else, anyway?  A month ago, there was a lot more traffic on 
this lane.  And much as it hurts my ego to admit it, they weren't all there just to get 
the best okonomiyaki in Japan.  What's happened to all the people who just use this 
lane to get from point A to point B?"

                Ryoga scratched his head in the stereotypical gesture of cluelessness.  "I 
don't know."  Then he ruined the impression by making an intelligent comment.  
"Maybe there's some work being done on the street up ahead of us.  If it's blocked 
off, that would explain it."

                "Wouldn't you have seen that when you were on your way over?" Ukyo 
asked.  If Ryoga had come here from the Kuno mansion, they ought now to be 
retracing the path he'd taken.  Which meant they wouldn't see anything he hadn't 
already seen.

                Ryoga gestured in the opposite direction from the way they were walking.  
"I came up that end of the street.  There wasn't anything blocking the road there."

                "Oh, that's right," Ukyo said, mildly annoyed at herself.  "You're staying 
with your parents in that apartment now, not at the Kuno mansion."

                "Yeah.  It feels a little strange," he said.  "We're finally together again as 
a family, but not in our old house.  It's a nice apartment and all, but I guess it'll take 
a while longer before it will really feel like home."

                "How can you guys afford that place, anyway?" Ukyo asked curiously.  
"It's not like your family's got a lot of regular income, right?"

                "Well, actually, we are pretty well off.  Back in his younger days, Dad got 
lost in a series of caves once, and found this massive pile of gold and jewels.  He 
packed out as much of it as he could carry in one trip," it went without saying that 
Ichiro had never managed to find his way back again, "and of course as strong as he 
was that was a lot."

                "Whoah.  So you've got this big pile of treasure sitting in the basement in 
your house, or something?"

                "Nah, Dad eventually found somebody who gave a good price for the 
stuff and didn't ask questions.  I think they just kept a few of the nicest pieces of 
jewelry for Mom, but all the rest got traded and the money deposited in a bank."  
Ryoga laughed sheepishly.  "And up until now, it's mostly just sat there and piled 
up interest, since we spent so much time lost."

                "That's good to know.  That your dad isn't gonna have to turn into a 
salaryman to support his family, I mean."  Though truth be told, Ukyo was just a tad 
envious now.  She and her father had never exactly been dirt poor, but they had had 
their share of lean times.  Especially in the months immediately after Genma had 
stolen their yattai.  There had been occasions where Ukyo had wistfully pondered 
what it must be like to have more money than you knew what to do with.  "Hey, did 
you ever buy anything really expensive, just because you wanted to?"

                 "By the time I was old enough to legally get a debit card or something, I 
never managed to catch up with Mom or Dad long enough for them to get that set 
up with the bank," Ryoga said.

                "That's kinda harsh.  No big sums of cash for a birthday present, either?" 
As soon as the question had left her lips, Ukyo clamped her mouth shut and looked 
stricken.  Who knew how many birthdays he'd spent alone?  "Oh, no.  I'm sorry, 
Ryoga honey.  I didn't mean..."

                The former lost boy heaved a sigh.  "Okay, you caught me," he said 
guiltily.  He hadn't wanted to admit this, but he wasn't willing to lie and he'd 
exhausted his skill at the verbal dodge.  "I did get a huge check for my fifteenth 
birthday from Mom and Dad."

                "So what's up with the long face?" his companion asked.

                "I blew the whole thing on a depleted-uranium battle umbrella."

                Ukyo was still giggling as they reached the spot where the lane 
originated, branching off a larger thoroughfare.  Ryoga looked around, glad to be 
able to change the subject.  "Well, there's nothing blocking the road now.  Doesn't 
look like there might have been anything there earlier, either."

                "Yeah, that's true, but look over there."  Ukyo pointed a few blocks 
down, where another lane split away from the main road, running more or less 
parallel to the one on which her restaurant was located.  "Everybody seems to be 
going down that street for some reason."

                "You want to check it out?" Ryoga asked.  The chef nodded her assent, 
and the two of them headed for the lane.

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

                'Note to self:  never say anything insulting about okonomiyaki when 
Ukyo's around.'

                It was probably an unnecessary thought, as Ryoga would hardly have 
been inclined to do something like that anyway, but better safe than sorry.  The 
former lost boy watched the scene before him continue to unfold, feeling more and 
more nervous.

                They hadn't walked very far down the lane before catching sight of a 
crowd of people clustered around a large, open-air truck.  A handome young man in 
his early twenties stood behind the counter in said truck.  He wore a white chef's 
suit and was currently whipping out a variety of crepes with a flair and élan that 
Ryoga had previously only seen when Ukyo cooked.  Unsurprisingly, much of the 
crowd of customers was composed of giggling schoolgirls with starry eyes and 
blushing cheeks.  However, there were enough boys and adults present, even at this 
hour when most people were still at work, to make it clear that the vendor's success 
was based on more than just his looks.

                In fact, as they got closer, Ukyo had recognized a few people in the crowd 
who had been regular customers at her place before the trip to China.  She had 
already been simmering with annoyance, feeling as if her rightful territory was 
being encroached upon, and the realization that HER regulars were simpering up to 
this crepe creep just turned the heat up a few more notches.

                They hadn't really intended to approach the counter, but suddenly the 
Brownian motion of the crowd had swept them there anyway.  Ryoga had 
unexpectedly felt a bit of long-forgotten jealousy surge back as the man, who'd 
identified himself as the Crepe King during a round of smooth talk to the previous 
customers, turned his oh-so-charming smile on Ukyo and asked what she wanted.  
That jealousy had been utterly pointless, of course; Ukyo informed the vendor in no 
uncertain terms that she wasn't here to order anything.  Because, the chef snapped, 
she was the proprietor of Ukyo's Okonomiyaki, a place just three streets over that 
served _real_ food.

                The King's smile had shifted subtly, and he replied that he knew the 
place.  In fact, he'd briefly considered setting up on the same street when he arrived 
in Nerima.  But he had decided he didn't want his business hurt by such close 
proximity to a dingy, dusty, unpopular, hole-in-the-wall little joint.

                This had prompted a fairly impressive facial twitch on Ukyo's part, along 
with a statement that the King should be thanking his ancestors that the 'joint' had 
been closed for the past month due to its proprietor being away.  Had things been 
otherwise, Ukyo stated categorically, there wouldn't have been any flock of poor, 
deprived souls crowding around this pathetic little fly-by-night operation, desperate 
for the meanest substitute since they hadn't yet realized their preferred chef had 
returned.

                That was when the Crepe King had begun musing about the possible ill-
effects that might occur from eating too much okonomiyaki.  Would one have to 
consume four in order to begin suffering from delusions, or would three be enough?  
Maybe just two would do for a scrawny little girl whose head hadn't been screwed 
on too tightly to begin with.

                As far as Ryoga could tell, Ukyo didn't even notice the personal part of 
that insult.  The slight to the foundation stone of her family's Art left her standing 
ramrod straight, battle aura visible even to the non-martial-artists.  Unsurprisingly, 
everyone with any sense of self-preservation pulled well back, dragging their 
friends with them, giving Ukyo plenty of room.

                There was a long moment of silence before Ukyo regained enough self-
control to speak.  "I think I've had just about enough of you.  That's the problem 
with living in Nerima--it's full of nutcases with delusions of adequacy.  People who 
think waaaaay too much of themselves."  She pasted a sugary, utterly fake smile on 
her face.  "People like you, jackass.  You wouldn't have had ONE customer if I 
hadn't been gone when you arrived."  While not in the way Ukyo meant it, that 
statement was technically true.

                He just shook his head, with a disdainful smile of his own.  "You can 
trash talk me all you want, but it doesn't make any difference.  When everything's 
said and done, you're still just second best... _if_ that.  I came to Nerima because 
people from here were asking for me by name, trying to hunt me down and get me 
here.  Can you say the same thing?  I didn't think so."

                A scornful laugh answered his disdainful smile.  "You really expect me to 
believe that?  You know, maybe you were on the right track when you were talking 
about delusions earlier.  I bet something like that really _could_ happen to someone 
who works with crap... oh, I mean crepes... for too long."

                _That_ remark managed to make its way under the Crepe King's skin.  
"It's the truth, you little brat!"  Recovering his equanimity, he requested that Ryoga, 
who was still standing next to Ukyo, move back a few steps.  The former lost boy 
complied, uncovering a poster that was affixed to the side of the truck, indicating 
that the price of a crepe was fifty percent lower for girls with green or red hair.

                The Crepe King noted with satisfaction that the girl suddenly seemed to 
lose her sense of righteous surety.  "Th-  that... Is that for...?" she stammered.

                "My way of saying thanks to them, whoever they are.  I never caught up 
with them, just heard the sad, sad story... two girls were so starved for quality food 
that they had to go right out of Nerima in search of me.  Well, I'm here now, and it 
certainly was a good business move on my part.  And I'm not about to let some 
little pancake-pusher wannabe chef mess with me."  The Crepe King sneered at 
Ukyo.  "Now why don't you move along, girlie.  Unlike some people, I've got 
customers to satisfy."

                "I'll go," Ukyo said grimly, coming out of her trance, "but believe me, I'll 
be back.  Just got something else to deal with first.  Ryoga honey, let's go."

                "No.  Not yet."  When Ukyo had been radiating barely-suppressed fury, 
Ryoga had had the good sense not to get between her and the target of her ire.  But 
now there wasn't any such problem.  He stepped forward and looked the Crepe 
King dead in the eye.  "I've got something to say to this loser first."

                "And what's that?" the loser in question asked condescendingly.

                "Nobody talks to, or about, Ukyo like that," he replied, in a tone more 
thick with menace than anything Ryoga-Oni had managed in his brief stay.  
"You're damn well going to apologize right now."

                "Or else what, kid?  You'll make me sorry?"

                Ryoga held up his hand, palm facing upward.  He concentrated... 
determination... strength of will... 

                A ball of pure chi formed in the palm of his hand.  Ryoga locked eyes 
with the Crepe King.  "Something like that."

                "Ryoga, no!"

                Ukyo's cry distracted him, breaking his tenuous grasp on the power of the 
Kikotsu Bakuha.  The chi dispersed harmlessly, the Crepe King began breathing 
again, and Ryoga turned to Ukyo with a plaintive look on his face.  "What?  Why 
not, Ukyo?  I can't let him get away with all that junk he just said about you!"

                "That's really sweet, Ryoga-kun."  Ukyo was clearly now in a better 
mood than she had been immediately after the Crepe King's little revelation.  "But 
that's not what you're going to be doing."

                "It isn't?  I mean, of course it isn't.  Um... then why did you stop me?"

                "You're not letting him get away with anything, sugar."  Ukyo gave him 
the fierce grin of a tiger out for blood.  Since Ryoga had never trained in the Cat 
Fist, this didn't particularly bother him.  "You're leaving him for me."  She linked 
her arm through his, and led the way as the two began to walk off.  Ryoga cast a 
dark glance back toward the Crepe King, and Ukyo smiled.  "You can have the 
remains after I'm finished with him, Ryoga honey, if you don't think he's been 
punished enough.

                "But for now..."  Her gaze shifted off into the distance, as she turned to 
face the general direction of the Nekohanten, "first things first."

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

                It is said that fortune favors the bold.  It is also well-known that there 
exists such a thing as dumb luck.  So it would stand to reason that those both bold 
AND dumb might well have more than their fair share of good fortune, although it 
might all be used up in simply keeping them alive through the situations into which 
the aforementioned traits would lead them.

                Azusa Shiratori was feeling oddly tense as she glided along the street.  
She wasn't sure why, but it felt like someone was behind her, watching her with 
hostile intent.  While this wasn't exactly a sensation she'd never experienced 
before, this was the first time it had happened when there was nobody present to do 
the staring.

                Another quick, sweeping glance behind, then around her turned up the 
same results as before.  There were only a few people on the street, and they were 
all ahead of her, going the same direction she was.  And none of the buildings 
behind her now had even been in sight when she first began feeling the stares.  
Azusa wasn't really concerned, therefore, deciding that she was probably just 
feeling uneasy because she hadn't yet rescued anything cute today.  There was 
nothing appealing to be seen here, either.  She began skating a little faster, though 
still not moving at much more than walking pace.

                Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung cursed mentally.  They certainly couldn't spare 
the breath to do so out loud, as that would have disrupted the Dance of the Hidden 
Chameleon.  It wasn't easy to move this quickly while still maintaining the 
technique, but there was no way they were going to let the stupid thief girl get away 
again.  Not after she'd stolen their chance to create a technique of their very own.  
Their anger gave them the strength to match Azusa's speed and even go a little 
faster, while still maintaining their stealth shield.  Just let them get close enough 
undetected, and their clueless opponent's rollerblades wouldn't make any difference 
at all...

                They were forty feet away now... thirty-seven... thirty-four...

                'Hey, there they are!' Ryoga realized suddenly, as he and Ukyo walked 
out of a side alleyway some little distance behind the twins.  'Guess we won't need 
to go all the way to the Nekohanten after all.'  He raised his voice and shouted 
"Ling-Ling!  Lung-Lung!  Over here!"

                The sudden cry disrupted their concentration completely.  The twins 
stumbled to a halt, reflexively looking around for their Airen (for of course they 
couldn't tell Ryoga's voice from Ryu's).  And of course Azusa looked behind her as 
well for the source of the shout, saw the two girls she least wanted to see, gulped, 
turned back around, and zipped away at top speed.  Dumb luck triumphs over skill 
and focus once again.

                The young Amazons watched her go with expressions of sick disgust, 
then turned around to face Ryoga and Ukyo.  "This better be good, Ryoga," Ling-
Ling said with a grimace.

                Their reaction surprised the former lost boy, who hadn't yet realized they 
had been using their stealth technique.  "Huh?  What's wrong?"

                "You see that girl who run away on stupid skates?" Lung-Lung asked 
bitterly.  "We using Dance of Hidden Chameleon to catch up with her.  She take 
something very very important from us.  Deserve to get beat good for it, but we 
never manage to do yet."

                "What'd she take?" Ryoga asked.

                "Back before China, we is practicing in park, yes?  Get really deep into 
music, so deep we about to come up with own special technique.  We would have 
create own Dance.  Would have been first time it happen in five generations, and 
would have been us who do.  But stupid thief girl come by, grab flutes away, and 
race off."  Lung-Lung's shoulders slumped.  "We try many time since then to get 
back to that state, but so far it not happen.  That is what thief girl take from us.  That 
is what she will pay for."

                "Oh.  Crud.  I'm sorry, Lung-Lung, Ling-Ling."

                Both Amazons sighed.  "Oh well.  We get Airen to take us out to date to 
make up for disappointment.  Stupid thief girl can not get lucky forever anyway."

                By now Ukyo had more or less recovered from the shock of seeing the 
twins suddenly appear out of thin air.  "Anyway, there was something I needed to 
ask you two.  Ryoga honey and I were on our way to the Nekohanten to find you."

                '<I wish you'd taken a different route there,>' Ling-Ling thought, but 
didn't bother to say it out loud.

                Ukyo paused, considering how to broach the subject of the Crepe King.  
When she'd first heard just who was responsible for him showing up in Nerima, she 
had been furious, ready to rip into the twins.  At LEAST verbally and possibly not 
stopping there depending on their reaction.  Old habits died hard.

                But the way Ryoga honey had leapt to her defense had improved her 
mood considerably.  She'd reminded herself that whatever the kids had done, they'd 
done before the truce was declared.  And so she had already been fairly composed 
before encountering them here, having rejected the thought of lashing out at them 
without first asking calmly for an explanation.

                Plus, seeing them appear out of thin air had been an uncomfortable 
reminder of the techniques they could bring to bear if pushed.  Ukyo had no desire 
to spend the next few weeks suffering from nightmares.

                Consequently, when she spoke it was in a mild, non-accusatory tone.  
"You ever hear of someone called the Crepe King?"  Their response was a little 
puzzling.  The twins blinked in surprise, a reaction pronounced enough that it was 
clear they knew the name, but they didn't seem to feel any guilt.

                "Never meet him, but have heard of him," Ling-Ling said.  "Why you 
ask?"

                "Because he's set up shop a few streets over from my place, and is 
drawing off _my_ customers," Ukyo responded shortly.  "Would you happen to 
know anything about that?"

                Lung-Lung briefly considered dissembling further, but decided it would 
be counterproductive.  There was no reason for the spatula girl to have come to 
them with questions if she didn't know something about their search for the Crepe 
King.  "Maybe.  This happen about two month ago, spatu--sorry, Ukyo.  Great-
Grandmother suggest to us that good way to get you less interested in Ryoga would 
be get somebody else here who better match for you.  She had hear of Crepe King, 
that he good martial artist and good cook, who fight and cook with same style.  
Much like you, yes?  So we spend some time in Tokyo and look for him.  But never 
find."

                "You thought that... that... that arrogant JACKASS would be a good 
match for me?!"  Luckily, Ukyo's incredulity prevented her from losing her temper.

                Ling-Ling frowned.  "Is he not good person?  Remember, none of us ever 
meet."

                Ukyo took long, deep breaths, trying to view the situation objectively.  
Ryoga was able to do this more easily, of course, due to his friendship with the 
Amazons.  "No, he's not," the former lost boy replied.  "In fact, he's a real jerk.  If 
attitude and rudeness were skill, he might be able to take on your great-
grandmother."  That was obviously an exaggeration, but it helped the twins get the 
idea.

                "Oh.  We sorry, Ukyo," Ling-Ling said.  "If we know he really such bad 
person, would not have tried to find him.  He obviously no good for what we 
wanted for him."

                "Why he here anyway?" Lung-Lung asked.  "Is somehow our fault?"

                "Yeah," Ukyo said.  "You may never have found him, but he eventually 
heard there were these two girls from Nerima looking for him.  So he came here and 
set up shop."

                "Must not have been doing very good in old place," Ling-Ling 
commented, "if just two girls look for him is enough to get him to move.  Or 
maybe, since he have such bad attitude, could be he had made enemies at old place 
and was getting ready to move along soon anyway."

                "Wouldn't surprise me one bit," Ryoga said.

                "Anyway, we did not do this to cause you more trouble, Ukyo," Lung-
Lung said.  "No worry, we go right now and pound stupid Crepe King, run him out 
of town."  That would strengthen their truce, make them look good to their Airen 
when he found out, and nicely get rid of their residual frustration over Azusa's 
narrow escape.  An all-around positive situation as far as the twins were concerned.

                However, Ukyo shook her head.  "I appreciate the thought, but I'm the 
one whose business has suffered and who's been insulted.  I need to be the one to 
deal with him.  Assuming he doesn't skip out of town tonight after the way Ryoga 
honey scared him spitless."

                "What you do?" Lung-Lung queried.

                "Just gave him a little glimpse of the Kikotsu Bakuha," Ryoga replied 
modestly.  "Mr Supposedly A Martial Artist Crepe King looked like he was going 
to pass out, just from the sight of a ball of chi."

                "Aiyah!  Ryoga manage that much of technique already?!  We no hear 
this from Airen!" Ling-Ling exclaimed.

                "Have you seen him since he and I had our training session this 
morning?" Ryoga asked.  "We both managed it then.  That was the first time either 
of us got that far with it."

                "No, we have not.  Need to go find him right now and celebrate!"  The 
Amazons turned to go, but then a thought struck Lung-Lung.  "When you going to 
pound stupid Crepe King, Ukyo?"

                "I'm thinking tomorrow morning."

                "Well, let us know details.  We come with Airen, watch the slaughter."

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

                That sentiment turned out to be a common one.  Early the next morning, 
Ukyo made her way to the Kuno mansion and used one of the spacious training 
halls for a warm-up session.  An hour later, when she left to confront the Crepe 
King, she was accompanied by Ryoga, Ryu, Ling-Ling, Lung-Lung, Ranma, 
Kodachi, Shampoo, Nabiki, and Tatewaki.

                "I still can't believe I'm walking all this way just to watch one of these 
fights," Nabiki remarked as they turned onto the street that would take them to the 
lane where the Crepe King had set up.  "It's not like there'll be enough people there 
yet to get a betting pool set up."

                "What were you doing over at the Kuno place so early in the morning 
anyway?" Ryoga asked.  Nabiki had already been there when he and Ryu had 
arrived, and they'd only been a couple of minutes behind Ukyo.  Ling-Ling and 
Lung-Lung hadn't gotten to the mansion until another three quarters of an hour had 
passed.

                Nabiki regarded him with an arch look.  "Feeling braver than usual this 
morning, are we?  Normally you wouldn't have the guts to ask a girl why she might 
have been over at her fiancé's house so early in the morning."

                Kodachi giggled at the response to this statement.  The sweatdrop, the 
flush, the stumble as he caught Nabiki's meaning... honestly, she would have 
thought her brother had more self-possession than that.

                Ryoga, on the other hand, just gave Nabiki a look that made it clear the 
innuendo had passed him by.  "Um, I don't get it."

                "Ahem.  What Nabiki isn't trying to say," Kuno shot his fiancée a dry 
glance, "is that she arrived early because she was so eager to witness the upcoming 
spectacle.  After all, given that she has recently determined to train herself in the 
path of a true martial artist, this will serve as valuable instruction."

                Where had he gotten such a strange idea as that, Nabiki wondered.  
"Tachi?  Are you feeling okay?"

                "Of course, 'Biki-chan."  Kuno struck an overly melodramatic pose.  
"Though a little remorseful.  Truly I have not fulfilled my duties to you as fully as I 
should, or you would have come to me for training rather than going behind my 
back."  He sighed mournfully.  "That you would seek such a ridiculous discipline as 
Martial Arts Tea Ceremony over the elegance and power of Kendo cuts me to the 
quick as well."

                Nabiki made a revolted face.  "Ha ha.  If I never see that loser Sentaro or 
his dried-up old female relations again, it'll be just fine by me."

                "So when _are_ you gonna start training for real, Nabiki?" Ranma asked 
with a grin.  "I gotta admit, I think it's a good idea.  Considering how crazy this 
place can get, well, anybody should know how to defend themselves."

                "Not you too," Nabiki groaned.

                "Hmmm.  Seeing as we will be sisters-in-law, I would be only too happy 
to spar with you, Nabiki.  Brother dear would probably be a little too soft-hearted to 
really press you hard enough for maximum improvement in your skill."

                "Shampoo too, sneaky girl," the Amazon said, doing her best to match the 
kind of smirk she'd seen Nabiki use in the past.  "I have trained in path of the 
warrior since old enough to take first steps.  Have learned many lessons through 
blood and sweat and tears.  I would be glad to pass my experience on to you."

                Nabiki let her lower lip start quivering, while her eyes widened and began 
to glisten with unshed tears.  She trembled, then whirled around and grabbed hold 
of Tatewaki as if desperate for reassurance.  "Tachi, everyone's threatening me," 
she said tremulously.  "Y- you'll protect me, won't you?"

                "There, there, little woman," Kuno said magnanimously, putting his arms 
around her and giving her a comforting pat on the back.  "Don't worry your pretty 
little head about it."

                The middle Tendo pulled back and eyed him dangerously.  "Okay, I left 
myself open for that one, Tachi dear.  But remember... I've got a long memory, and 
it won't be much of a honeymoon if you're sleeping on the couch."

                "Not much of honeymoon for either of them," Ling-Ling commented.

                "Lung-Lung think it would just turn out to be crowded couch," her sister 
replied.

                "Enough of the comedy sketch, already!"  This was Ukyo.  "Some of us 
are trying to get psyched up to squash insulting creeps who're threatening our 
restaurants.  Save the witty banter for AFTER the fight."

                "Don'tcha mean, after the massacre?"  Ranma had watched most of 
Ukyo's earlier practice session.  When he saw that her battle aura was doing nearly 
as much damage to the floor as her weapon was to the practice dummies, he'd 
begun feeling a little sorry for this Crepe King.  But only a little.

                Ukyo gave him a stare she'd received several times in the past from Ling-
Ling and Lung-Lung.  "What'd I just say about the jokes, Ranchan?  Keep it up, 
and no okonomiyaki for you afterwards."

                "Okay, okay!"  Ranma held up his hands in a placating gesture.  "Geez, 
Ucchan, if I didn't know any better I'd think you were nervous or something."

                "I..."  Ukyo sighed.  "I guess I am, a little.  I mean, this is going to be a 
challenge match, right?  And I haven't had such a good record with those."

                Ranma just shrugged.  "So what?  I mean, losing to _me_ is no big deal.  
And the way I heard it, you almost did beat Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung.  They just 
caught you off-guard with a trick."  He continued speaking, oblivious to the glares 
the young Amazons were sending his way.  "You're gonna win this fight with no 
problem."

                "Yeah," Ryoga said, "third time's the charm.  And remember, this guy's 
probably all talk anyway.  Remember how scared he was when I threatened him just 
a little?  No REAL martial artist would have been that freaked out."

                Ukyo smiled.  "Y'know, you're right.  He did look like he was about to 
crepe his pants, didn't he?"

                Everyone else groaned.  "I thought you said you didn't want any witty 
banter," Kuno protested.

                "And what in that last statement seemed witty to you, Tachi dear?" 
Nabiki enquired.

                "ANYway, thanks for cheering me up," Ukyo said.  "That jerk isn't going 
to know what hit him!"  They were now approaching the head of the lane on which 
the Crepe King had set up his business, so there wouldn't be much longer to wait.  
'Just a couple more minutes to get there, and then a few more for the obligatory 
smack-talking, and then that creep is going down,' the chef thought.

                "Of course, this is all assuming the worm didn't flee last night under the 
cover of darkness," Kodachi remarked.  "It would be a bit of a let down if, after all 
this build-up, we find that he is indeed gone without a trace."

                "One let-down, coming right up," Ryu announced, jogging up to the 
group in time to hear Kodachi's remark.  He'd gone on ahead of everyone a few 
minutes back, so that he'd have a chance to clear out any customers that might have 
been queued up in front of the Crepe King's truck.  "Sorry guys, it looks like he did 
run like a yellow-bellied coward.  His truck's nowhere to be seen."

                "No way!" Ukyo protested.  Nervous she might have originally been at 
the idea of the upcoming match, but even then she had been determined to make the 
jerk pay for his insults.  And that desire had only gotten stronger over the last few 
minutes.  "He's really gone?!"

                "See for yourself."  By now the entire group had reached the lane.  They 
hurried down it and found only one sign that the Crepe King had ever haunted this 
location:  a poster affixed to a nearby wall, stating that he had relocated.

                There was a long moment of silence, before Ukyo finally let out a 
frustrated sigh.  "Well, that wasn't very satisfying, but a victory is a victory, I 
guess.  Come on, everyone, okonomiyaki's on me."

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

                It was a little disconcerting when they found out just _where_ the Crepe 
King had moved to.

                Specifically, he had set up shop about thirty feet away from Ukyo's 
restaurant.

                The entire group came to halt and stood for a while, contemplating this 
new development.  Eventually Shampoo asked the question that was on everyone's 
minds.  "How you not notice this earlier today, Ukyo?"

                This kick-started Ukyo's mental processes again.  "The jackass wasn't 
there when I left for your place this morning.  He must've moved in after that."

                "Well, it looks like we'll get to see some justice served after all," Ryoga 
said with a menacing smile.  "Let's go show him what we think of his little tactic."

                "Right," Ukyo growled, as the situation before her finally sunk in.  She 
paused one more second to glower at the truck, then strode briskly over, followed 
closely by everyone else.

                The Crepe King had seen them long before this, of course, as right now 
there were no customers to distract him.  To his credit, he didn't show any sign of 
feeling nervous at seeing this many high-caliber martial artists who were apparently 
here to support Ukyo.  But it was a struggle to keep that emotion hidden.

                "You think you're real cute, don't you," Ukyo said flatly as she reached 
the truck.  "Setting up just a few doors down from my 'dingy, dusty, unpopular, 
hole-in-the-wall little joint'."

                "I just felt sorry for the people who might have been eating at your place 
because they didn't know they had better choices available," the Crepe King 
sneered back.  "And you know what?  As early as it is, I've still had several 
customers come by.  Which is more than I can say for you."

                Ukyo gave him a strange look, then turned and shaded her eyes, squinting 
towards her restaurant.  "Yep," she said at last, "the 'closed' sign IS still hanging on 
my door.  And there haven't been any customers, you say?  Imagine that."

                "Well, at least you had the right idea when you didn't bother opening 
today," her adversary responded.

                The chef shrugged.  "Don't normally open this early anyway, plus today I 
was busy warming up for something a little rougher than slinging okonomiyaki.  I 
gotta admit, I was disappointed when I got over to your old spot.  Looked like 
you'd slithered away with your tail between your legs.  And I had really been 
looking forward to teaching you some manners."  She flashed him a hard, grim 
smile.  "Guess I should even _thank_ you for setting up here, where I'd run into you 
again.  Just out of curiosity, why didn't you put your new location on the poster you 
left in your old place?  When we found it, we thought you'd just vanished without a 
trace so I couldn't find you again."

                The Crepe King blinked, then smacked his forehead.  "Knew I forgot 
something," he muttered disgustedly.  No wonder business had been sparse so far 
this morning.

                "Geez, isn't that enough smack-talking already, Ukyo?  C'mon, let's get 
on with it!" Ranma called from the sidelines.  He'd been expecting to chow down 
on some of Ukyo's finest okonomiyaki as soon as they got here.  Failing that, 
watching a fight was always interesting, but the repartee wasn't doing much for 
him.

                "Hold your horses!" Ukyo retorted over her shoulder.  She turned back to 
face the Crepe King.  "He does have a point, though.  The sooner we get this over 
with, the sooner MY customers won't have to look at your ugly face anymore.  
Crepe King, I challenge you!"

                "Fine with me, girlie.  We'll see just whose cooking comes out on top!"

                Ukyo gave him that hard, grim smile again.  "I don't think I said it was a 
_cooking_ contest, sugar.  Your fighting style against mine, first to K.O. or 
submission."  After all the insults that had flown between them, she wanted 
something a little more painful for him than just being forced to admit her food was 
better.

                "I see.  All that stuff about your cooking was just so much hot air, wasn't 
it?  You're too scared to face me in a real test of skill."  The Crepe King poured 
every ounce of derision and condescension that he could muster into his tone.  
Twenty-four hours prior, he would have dismissed chi attacks as the stuff of Street 
Fighter games, nothing more.  This girl's boyfriend's demonstration had shattered 
those comforting illusions completely, and the King didn't remember her reacting 
as if it had been any big deal.  No, he _definitely_ wanted to keep this confrontation 
on a nonviolent level if he could do it without sacrificing his pride.

                Ukyo glared fiercely in response to this, before shifting her expression 
into a lopsided smile.  "Well, I guess I could go with that.  You whip up some 
crepes, I'll cook some okonomiyaki, we'll pass our stuff around to everyone who's 
here, and let them vote on who's the better chef.  Loser takes his truck and leaves 
town."

                The Crepe King looked up and down the lane.  A few people had showed 
up to watch the street theater, but these impartial members of the audience were far 
outnumbered by the friends Ukyo had brought with her.  Accepting _those_ terms 
was as good as throwing in the towel and walking away without a fight.

                He seriously considered doing just that, but his pride wouldn't quite let it 
happen.  "Fine," he snarled at last, "I'll accept that first challenge you gave me.  
Your skill against mine.  And don't go crying home to Mommy, little girl, when I 
give you the spanking you deserve."

                "Now she know how it feel," Ling-Ling muttered, not entirely 
unsympathetically, as Ukyo turned purple with fury.

                "Be right back," Ukyo ground out.  "Ryoga honey, give me a hand."  She 
led him over to her restaurant and then inside; a few minutes later, they exited 
again, each lugging a couple of padded posts and some ropes.  Another couple of 
trips inside were enough to fetch the rest of the components, which Ukyo quickly 
assembled into a fighting ring in the middle of the road.  She took her place in one 
corner and called, "I'm ready whenever you are, loser."

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

                Not ten minutes had passed since the Crepe King had declined Ukyo's 
version of a cooking challenge.  Yet in those few minutes that had elapsed, a crowd 
of onlookers had formed, seemingly out of thin air.  He gave them all a disgusted 
glance from where he stood now, in the corner of the ring opposite Ukyo, then 
turned to face his opponent.  "Anytime, girlie."

                Declining to comment, Ukyo slowly began spinning her combat spatula in 
a defensive pattern.  The Crepe King tensed as the massive weapon began to move 
more and more quickly.  He didn't _think_ the angle at which she was moving it 
would let her suddenly release it to shoot toward him, but he wasn't quite sure.  
Deciding that it would be better not to give the initiative to his opponent, he slipped 
one hand inside his chef's outfit, reaching for a few of the 'special' crepes...

                With a fierce scream, Ukyo exerted every bit of force she could muster, 
changing the angle of her combat spatula's path to send it crashing into the floor.  It 
sliced easily through the padding and shattered the wooden boards beneath, sending 
a cloud of splinters and fluff into the air.  Through this smokescreen, Ukyo launced 
a fistful of throwing spatulas.

                The Crepe King recognized his danger with just barely enough time to 
respond.  Getting out of the way wasn't an option.  Ranma could have snatched all 
the spatulas out of the air, but the King was nowhere near that skilled.  Instead, he 
blocked with the only thing he had that was large enough to serve as a shield.

                Ukyo grimaced to see her opponent stop her projectiles with what looked 
to be a giant, unrolled crepe.  She freed her own oversized cooking item and darted 
forward.

                The Crepe King spared an instant to glance at his makeshift shield, 
confirming that what would have been a Golden Crepe of Death was now useless.  
Ukyo's spatulas had lodged deeply within it; if he tried to use this one as it was 
intended, to wrap his opponent and then explode, chances were excellent that it 
would fail in some way.  And so he tossed it at Ukyo, not to entrap her but just to 
slow her down a bit while he jumped over her head to a safer corner of the ring.

                She swung her giant spatula, knocking the damaged crepe aside, trying to 
nail the King with it in midair.  However, to one who didn't know how to use such 
a thing, the massive pseudo-pastry was extremely awkward.  It came nowhere near 
the Crepe King, instead tumbling through the air to land next to the door of Ukyo's 
Okonomiyaki.

                Where it exploded.

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

                Perhaps a quick digression is in order here, to discuss the Crepe King's 
final attack in more detail.  The Golden Crepe of Death is a crepe in name and 
general appearance only.  It certainly isn't edible, given the fact that the 'whipped 
cream' filling is made from C-4 explosive and the 'pastry' is composed of highly 
durable synthetic compounds.  The extreme strength of that material is necessary to 
prevent one entrapped from freeing themselves before the explosive can go off.

                And this explains why the Crepe King used an explosive as powerful as 
C-4 in the attack.  A weaker one wouldn't be able to shred the outer crepe; all the 
force would be spent inside, on the martial artist trapped there.  Ironically enough, 
less powerful explosives would be far more likely to cripple or kill the target of the 
attack.

                Of course, there was also the minor detail that the crepe needed to be 
folded properly, in order to correctly shape the charge.  It had taken quite a bit of 
research and experimentation on the Crepe King's part to achieve the perfect 
design.  When the Golden Crepe of Death was folded into the correct configuration, 
most of the energy of the explosion would be used up in destroying the crepe, only 
a relatively little remaining to damage the victim of the attack.  Of course, that 
'relatively little' amount would be enough to knock just about anyone unconscious.

                It might seem dangerous and irresponsible of the Crepe King to use an 
attack that could conceivably rip his opponent to shreds if something went wrong.  
As the crepes were engineered not to explode without having been folded first, he 
would have denied this with an arrogant smirk and a rude comment.  However, the 
fact remains that here and now, the damage from Ukyo's mini-spatulas caused that 
safeguard to fail.  And so, when the C-4 detonated, it did so without being muffled 
at all by an enshrouding blanket of damage-resistant fibers.

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

                The blast from behind her sent Ukyo whirling around, her face ashen as 
she took in the sight before her.  "No... my restaurant..."  The windows were 
broken, the front door was a charred, gaping hole, and tables and chairs inside had 
scattered like leaves in the wind.  All thoughts of the fight were momentarily lost 
from her mind.

                "Mistake," the Crepe King said reprovingly, as he whipped out the second 
Golden Crepe of Death he'd been carrying.

                "Ukyo!"  "Ucchan!"  "Look out!"  These and various other cries of 
warning came much too late, as Ukyo spun around, only to find herself wrapped in 
the twin of the pastry that had assaulted her restaurant.

                "Just so you know, girlie..." the Crepe King smirked, feeling a serious 
surge of relief at his quick victory, "...this has been the least challenging match I've 
ever fought."

                The trapped chef looked down at the pastry around her, then reared her 
head back and screamed in rage, her hair actually flying up with the fury of her 
response.  And then there WAS an explosion, quite a powerful one, as Ukyo's battle 
aura surged out, shattering the crepe and freeing her.

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

                Ranma frowned.  "Seems so familiar, somehow," he muttered.  "Like I've 
seen all this before."

                "Of course it does, silly," Kodachi said.  "Remember when we were 
watching those Tenchi OAV episodes last night?  This is just like when Ryoko 
broke free of Kagato's hourglass trap."

                "Oh yeah, that's what I was remembering.  Thanks, Dachi-chan."

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

                "You just pushed me WAY too far," Ukyo said in a deathly quiet tone.  
Her battle aura flashed blindingly bright, as she called on the powers Rouge had 
taught her to access.  As the surge of magic combined with the chi energy she was 
already pumping out, most of the onlookers had to shield their eyes or look away.

                A swarm of glowing mini-spatulas flew towards the Crepe King.  He 
desperately threw out chi-charged paper serving cones to block, but many of the 
spatulas sheared right through these without slowing.  The ones that didn't flew off 
to the sides, speeding even faster as their paths curved again, bringing them back in 
line with the Crepe King.  He was hit from all directions at once, twitching and 
jerking spasmodically as the projectiles released their payload of concentrated 
electrical magic into him.

                A light breeze began to blow, thinning the haze of smoke coming from 
both Ukyo's restaurant and the scorched Crepe King.  She stood still and sneered at 
him, giving him the chance to climb back to his feet.  As he did so, the breeze 
strengthened.  And as the Crepe King launched a desperate counteroffensive, 
pulling out all the crepes loaded with nasty surprises that he was carrying and 
throwing them at Ukyo, the wind began to howl.  The crepes flew right back at their 
creator, dumping spiders, snakes, flame canisters, and exploding pellets onto him.

                After the smoke had cleared again, the Crepe King's battered form was 
sprawled along the floor of the ring.  He was twitching feebly, and still technically 
conscious.  Which frankly suited Ukyo just fine.

                The chef paused, looking at him for a long moment.  At last she said, "So 
you thought throwing exploding crepes around was funny, did you, jackass?  Well, 
HERE!  LET ME SHOW _YOU_ WHAT IT FEELS LIKE!!"

                Most of what was left of the padding on the ring floor ripped up at this 
point, winging forward and wrapping around the hapless Crepe King and pulling 
him upright, rendering him far more helpless than Ukyo had been.  His eyes, dazed 
and pleading, met hers.

                Ignoring his pathetic nonverbal attempt to beg for mercy, Ukyo spoke 
quietly.  "One loser to go."

                The cloth and padding that had wrapped the King suddenly unrolled, 
sending him spinning in place like a top.  As he slammed into a corner post and fell 
to his knees, head spinning, almost unable to focus on anything, the glowing 
pseudo-crepe soared through the air and over to his truck.  Ukyo was generous--
when the explosion came, it was in the open-air food-preparation area of the 
vehicle, which didn't breach the gas tank or even leave the truck inoperable.  But it 
would be a long time before any more crepes would be served from there.

                It was anybody's guess whether the Crepe King was really capable of 
realizing what had just happened.  Ukyo didn't give it much time to sink in, either.  
"Good night," she hissed, lobbing a sleep spell his way.  He collapsed at last into 
the relative mercy of unconsciousness.

                Silence fell, holding sway for a long moment over the street.  Then the 
cheers of "Ukyo!  Ukyo!  Ukyo!" began.  The chef stepped from the remains of the 
ring, preparing to bow.

                Ryoga barely managed to catch her as her knees buckled.  "Th- thanks, 
sugar," she managed, her voice coming in labored gasps now.  "I had... had a 
feeling I was pushing it... a little with that last couple of attacks..."

                "No joke," Shampoo said reprovingly.  "You use very much of energy up, 
Ucchan.  Should have been able to tell you were running low before it come to this.  
You really need to rest now."  She cast a pained glance at Ukyo's restaurant.  
"Come back with us to Kuno place, okay?  Tatewaki and Nabiki, you please get 
police or whoever here to protect restaurant.  Ryoga, you help Ukyo walk."

                Ryoga gulped, then said, "I- I've got a better idea."  He gently scooped 
Ukyo up, carrying her with ease as the martial artists began to walk away.

                'All right,' Ukyo thought, settling back into his arms with a smile, 'this 
part worked out even better than I'd hoped.'

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

                "Wonder what that is," Akane said to herself as she noticed a plume of 
smoke off in the distance.  She hesitated for a moment, debating whether or not to 
take to the rooftops and go investigate.  When the smoke thinned in the breeze and 
all but vanished, she decided it was probably just some typical Nerima weirdness 
and not actually someone's house on fire, and continued on her way.

                She had made good time on her trip back from Ryugenzawa; spending the 
month as Shinnosuke's guest had left her with more funds than she'd originally 
expected to have remaining.  She had been able to afford all the bullet train rides 
she needed.  Akane was looking forward to finally seeing her family again, 
although she suspected the first few hours back home might not be much fun.  
Which, at least subconsciously, was the reason she was now walking along the 
streets of Nerima, not speeding over the rooftops.

                Akane _told_ herself that the reason for taking the slower route was so 
she could get used to the city again.  It was quite a change of pace from the solitude 
and abundant presence of nature at Ryugenzawa.  She stopped for a few minutes to 
watch a brawl between two young men (blinking and rubbing her eyes when she 
realized one of them wasn't casting a shadow).   Some little distance from Akane, a 
girl stood next to a horse that seemed to be frozen in some kind of force field, 
calling soft encouragements to whichever of the boys was named 'Ken'.

                When the shadowless boy manifested some kind of darkness attack and 
began wiping the floor with his opponent, while shouting that nobody tries to 
kidnap his friends, Akane decided there wasn't any need to get involved.  Although 
she now considered herself a dedicated adventuress, it looked like justice was 
already being served here.  Consequently, she began walking toward home again.

                Nothing further happened to delay her, though Akane almost succumbed 
to the temptation to stop off at an ice cream parlor.  She'd missed some things more 
than others during her stay in the wilds of Ryugenzawa.  But she valiantly resisted 
this impulse, taking a deep breath and picking up the pace as she fought the sweet 
siren song coming from the dessert shop.

                "That actually felt harder than facing the Orochi," Akane muttered once 
she'd left temptation behind her.  She wiped a fair quantity of sweat from her brow.

                A few minutes later she came within sight of the Tendo home.  Her father 
was standing in the yard, sweeping it clean.  Akane took a deep breath, released it, 
took another, then ran forward.

                "Hi, Dad!  I'm back!  I missed you guys a lot, did you miss me?" she 
asked, projecting as cheerful and chirpy an image as she could, on the theory that 
this might make it harder for her father to be upset with her.

                As Soun caught sight of his wayward daughter, the broom went flying.  
"A- A- Akane! My precious little baby girl is home at last!!"  He grabbed Akane in 
a hug, fortunately not connecting with the wounded portion of her arm, and 
proceeded to let loose with the waterworks.

                Just as Akane's vision was beginning to fade from the bone-crushing 
embrace, Kasumi came to her rescue.  The Tendo homemaker had been in the back 
of the house when she heard a crash; hurrying to the source of the sound, she found 
a broom had come flying through a window.  On going outside to investigate, she 
caught sight of her little sister, back at last from her adventure and apparently none 
the worse for wear (aside from turning purple from Father's overenthusiastic 
response).  "Oh, my!" she exclaimed, hurrying over and pulling back one of Soun's 
arms so she could join the hug.

                Akane took deep breaths for a few seconds, then hugged Kasumi and 
Soun back.  "It's really good to see you guys again," she said at last, pulling back a 
little.  "I'm sorry I just took off like that, but it was something I needed to do.  You 
understand, right, Dad?  How could I call myself a martial artist if I didn't have the 
guts to go on a training trip?"

                For a long moment, Soun struggled to be stern.  But that quality had been 
largely beaten out of him during his early training with Happosai, and the loss of his 
beloved wife had crippled most of what remained.  Threats to his precious 
daughters could still raise the ghost of the iron-willed young man he'd once been, 
but that didn't mean he was capable of turning that strength of will on _them_.  
Giving up the feeble attempt, and resolving to ask Kasumi to have words with 
Akane when he wasn't around, Soun said at last, "Akane, you should have 
discussed it with me first.  But never mind that!  This is a joyous occasion!"  His 
eyes teared up again.  "I'm so glad you're home safely!"

                "Me too."  Even though she had begun missing Shinnosuke well before 
arriving at the Nerima train station.  Better not think about that, Akane chided 
herself.  It would be a long time before her next school break.  "Hey, where's 
Nabiki?  She's not at school, is she?  I didn't think Furinkan would have started yet, 
but I could have lost count of the days."

                "Oh, no, you still have a few weeks until it reopens," Kasumi reassured 
her.  "The school was damaged in an explosion or something, and it's being 
repaired.  The reason Nabiki isn't here is that she and Tatewaki eloped a few days 
ago."

                "W- What?!" Akane cried, shocked.  The last she'd heard, Nabiki had 
wanted to wait until after graduation to get married!

                "W- What?!" Soun exclaimed, horrified.  "M- my little Nabiki has 
eloped?  Without even inviting me to the wedding?!  WAAAAHHHHH!"

                Kasumi sighed in light exasperation.  "Father, I was playing a joke on 
Akane.  Remember that Nabiki was with us at the dinner table last night?"

                Soun's tears switched off, and he adopted perhaps the most sheepish face 
he'd ever worn.  "Um, now that you mention it, yes."

                'Crud,' Akane thought ruefully, 'she got me again.'  Kasumi didn't play 
practical jokes often, but so far whenever she had whichever sister was the target 
would inevitably fall for the prank.  Akane swore to herself, again, that NEXT time 
she would see through her big sister.  Seeking a change of subject, she asked, "Can 
we go inside now?  I'd really like to take off this backpack."

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

                Once they were inside, Soun glanced sheepishly at the broken glass on the 
floor, then began sweeping it up with the convenient broom.  Meanwhile, Akane 
went upstairs to deposit her pack in her bedroom.  It was a little puzzling to her 
when Kasumi followed along, even shutting the bedroom door behind her.  "Um, 
did you want something, big sister?"

                Kasumi's smile melted away, replaced by a look of mixed worry and 
sternness.  "Akane, when I hugged you earlier, I felt something very much like a 
large bandage on your arm.  Is there something you'd like to tell me?"

                Akane flinched.  So much for keeping it secret by just wearing long-
sleeved blouses.  "Um, it's really no big deal, Kasumi," she said weakly, 
_knowing_ that wasn't going to cut it but trying anyway.  Kasumi's expression 
didn't change one iota, and Akane's resistance crumpled.  "I got a cut on my arm 
during my trip.  I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell Daddy about it, at least not until 
it's finished healing."

                "Let me see it," Kasumi said in tones that brooked no argument.  Meekly, 
her youngest sister slipped out of the blouse and unwound the bandage.  Kasumi 
winced at the sight revealed.  There was no sign of infection, and the wound was in 
fact quite close to being healed... but there would always be a scar clearly visible 
there.  Whatever had cut Akane, it had left a ragged wound, not the clean incision of 
a blade or sharp rock edge.  "Oh, little sister.  What happened to you?"

                "I saved somebody's life, that's all," Akane replied, feeling slightly cross 
at another overreaction.  "Being a martial artist means you have to take risks, 
Kasumi.  This doesn't bother me, so it shouldn't bother you."

                "How did you save someone's life?" Kasumi asked, still not happy at the 
sight of the wound but willing to accept Akane's argument for now.  "Where were 
you, anyway?  Mr Saotome is still looking for you in the mountains."

                Akane winced.  "Um, well, I didn't actually go to the mountains.  I went 
to Ryugenzawa.  Remember how we had that family trip there, so long ago?  I 
kinda wanted to go back, and see what there was for me there."

                "Oh, did you?  Are there really any monsters in the forest, like the tourist 
brochures say?"  Kasumi's smile made it clear that this was a joke.

                Akane met her eyes.  "Yes, there are, Kasumi."  The older girl blinked.  
"There's giant animals, and traps to keep them from getting outside the forest.  
There's even an eight-headed dragon that sleeps in a lake.  It's because of that that 
there's all those other things.

                "And there's also a family there, an old man and his grandson, who act as 
caretakers of the place.  Shinnosuke, that's the boy, he... I met him before, when I 
was lost there on the family trip, he saved me..."

                Kasumi pushed aside thoughts of monsters and braced herself.  Judging 
from Akane's last few words, the blush on her cheeks, and the way she was looking 
down at the floor while twisting her fingers together nervously, the eldest Tendo 
daughter suddenly had a pretty clear idea where this was going.

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

                'Yes, little sister has it bad,' Kasumi thought to herself half an hour later.  
So far the eldest Tendo daughter had heard quite a lot about Shinnosuke, whereas 
she'd practically had to drag details of anything else out of her sister.  When Akane 
would rather talk about a boy than an epic battle in which her martial arts skills had 
led her to a stunning victory, it was clear that she had fallen and fallen hard.  Aloud, 
Kasumi said, "He sounds like a very nice boy, Akane.  It's too bad he can't come 
visit you."

                "I know... hey!"  Akane brightened as a thought struck her.  "You said 
school wasn't going to start for an extra few weeks, right?  We could all go down 
there and visit him!  You'd all like him, and I know he'd like to meet you!"

                Doing so made her feel as if she were kicking a puppy, but Kasumi forced 
herself to say, "Akane, I don't think Father is ready to find out that his 'precious 
baby girl' has picked up a serious boyfriend.  He's taken this month really hard... 
give him some time to get over that before you spring anything else on him.  All 
right?"

                Akane deflated as her sister's words sunk in.  "All right, Kasumi," she 
said reluctantly, "but he may figure it out before too long anyway.  I'm going to be 
talking to Shinnosuke on the phone a lot, after all."

                "Well, I wouldn't worry about that until Father actually does notice," 
Kasumi said sweetly.  She was too kind to give words to the rest of thought, 'which 
might even happen after a year or so.'

                Perhaps Akane picked it up anyway through some sort of sisterly 
telepathy, because her expression cleared and she nodded. "Okay."  Then she 
remembered something else.  "Say, Kasumi, you don't think Nabiki will mind that I 
left her cell phone with Shinnosuke, do you?  Their house is too remote to get 
normal phone service."

                Kasumi winced.  "Well, Akane, I don't suppose Nabiki will be _too_ 
harsh on you, but I doubt she'll just let something like that slide.  At the very least 
she's going to force you to take over the payments on the phone plan."

                "I was hoping she'd just be happy for me, since I finally found a good 
guy for myself," Akane confessed.

                "I think you would have had to catch her within a few days of Tatewaki's 
proposal, if you wanted to find our Nabiki in that romantic a mood," Kasumi 
replied.

                "You're probably right," Akane sighed.  She rummaged in her pack, 
eventually pulling out several odd pieces of a dark green, glossy material.  "Maybe 
she can help me get a good price for these dragon scales, and I can square things by 
giving a bit extra on her commission."

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

                Ranma leaned back against the rooftop of the Kuno mansion.  It was the 
first time he had done this since the return from China, coming up here at night and 
regarding the sky.  The stars shone only faintly, their presence dimmed by the 
backwash of light from the city.  Ranma didn't really mind, though... although the 
last month had been plenty stressful in its own way, the beauty and unspoiled nature 
of the Amazon village had refreshed him on a deep inner level.  He'd been missing 
that.

                Thoughts of his recent sojourn away from modern industrial Japan made 
him consider someone else in a similar situation. "Wonder what Pop's doing right 
now," Ranma said quietly to himself.  "Heh... the old fool's probably in panda form 
chowing down on bamboo.  How's he think he's gonna find Akane anyway?  Is he 
just gonna wander through the mountains like a Hibiki, hoping to stumble onto her?

                "That'd be just like him.  Stupid old man."  Ranma wiped some dust or 
something out of his eyes.  "Kinda impressive, though, that he's tryin' this hard to 
find Akane.  Sure didn't do that to get back to me, once I left the Tendos behind..."

                The dust content of the wind was apparently increasing.  Ranma wiped 
his eyes again, then turned to face the other way and concentrated on other 
thoughts.  'I wonder how the cleanup's going at Ucchan's place.  Man, I can't 
believe that jerk trashed it so bad.  And the worst thing was he didn't even mean to!  
Ucchan oughta have asked Shampoo to use the Xi Fang Gao on that scumbag, make 
him forget anything he ever knew about fighting.  Moron uses an attack that 
powerful and doesn't even bother to keep it under control...  Heck, maybe I'll track 
him down and give him the works myself one of these days.'

                Ranma smiled slightly, his memory shifting to a scene from the late 
morning, after Ukyo had recovered most of her energy and they'd gone back to 
inspect the damage.  'That was pretty funny, when Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung got 
into an argument with Dachi about who's gonna be the one to pay all the expenses 
of gettin' Ukyo's up and running again.  Never thought we'd see the day when the 
twins were so insistent about helping Ucchan out.  Guess they really felt like their 
honor was on the line, cause of getting the Crepe King here.'  He chuckled.  'Of 
course, it's easy to be generous with someone else's money.  I wonder what Great-
Grandmother's gonna say when she finds out they signed away a huge chunk of her 
cash.'

                While there were some elements of unpleasantness in contemplating that 
thought, it nonetheless left Ranma with the warm fuzzy comfort that _he_ wasn't 
the one in such a situation.  He turned back around to catch the wind in his face 
again.  The dust seemed to have all blown past now.  He closed his eyes and 
relaxed, letting the breeze flow around him.

                Ranma wasn't certain how long he lay like that, enjoying the sensation of 
peace.  When he opened his eyes again, he was just in time to see a trail of light 
crawling across the heavens, barely visible through the glow from Nerima.  "A 
shooting star?  Cool!  I wish... I wish..."

                The star had vanished before he could find any way to complete the 
thought.  Ranma just sat there, staring into the sky where it had been and blinking 
occasionally.  At last, he admitted, "I don't know what I want."

                "What was that, Ranma?"  The call came from below.  Ranma blinked, 
then scooted over to the edge of the roof and looked down.  Either Ryoga or Ryu, 
he couldn't tell in this light, was standing below.  Apparently the breeze had carried 
enough of his words for the other to hear something.

                "Hey.  Nothing much, man.  Just talking to myself."

                "If you're _that_ desperate for company, I guess I'll have to hang around 
for a while."  The Hibiki boy tensed and jumped to the rooftop, landing a few feet 
from Ranma and allowing him to make out the dragons coiling along the other's 
forearms.

                "Gee, thanks, Ryu.  I am sooo honored," he retorted with a sarcastic grin.  
"Taking time out of your busy schedule and all.  Even though Ling-Ling and Lung-
Lung are probably looking out their bedroom window right now, just wishing a 
certain someone would come sneaking up the trellis and pay them a visit."

                "Actually," Ryu said, "right now they're probably too sore to even get out 
of bed."

                "What?!  You sly dog!  Man, I didn't think you had it in you!" Ranma 
exclaimed, more than a little shocked.  Yes, it is entirely possible for someone to 
see an innuendo when it doesn't involve himself, and be completely oblivious when 
it does.

                "What're you talking about?" Ryu asked.  "How is it my fault their great-
granny ran them into the ground in a training session?"

                "Oh, heh heh, never mind.  I was thinking of something else.  Was this 
some kinda punishment for throwing her money around without asking?"

                "Kind of.  Well, yes and no.  There's a big tournament coming up in a 
month, and first prize is enough yen to pay for all the repairs to Ukyo's and still 
have some left over.  Cologne has told the twins that they're going to train their 
hardest to win that."

                Ranma frowned.  "Way I heard the story, it was _her_ idea to get the 
Crepe King here, not theirs.  She oughta be willing to carry some of the burden."

                Ryu hesitated, wondering what to say.  When he had made that same 
argument to Cologne, the ancient Amazon had sworn him to secrecy, then informed 
him that she was going to allow Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung to keep the entirety of 
any prize they managed to win.  The Matriarch was just using this situation to 
encourage them to think before acting, as well as motivating them to train harder.  
"Maybe you should tell that to her, when Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung aren't around 
to hear you," he replied at last.

                "Or you could, when they ARE around, so they know their Airen is 
watching out for them," Ranma retorted.

                "I already did bring it up, and we need to change the subject, okay?  So 
where are Kodachi and Shampoo right now?"

                Ranma blinked, then let it go.  He concentrated on the Heart Link.  From 
Kodachi, he felt a frustrated annoyance mixed with determination.  The same basic 
feeling of determination was present in Shampoo, and tinged slightly with 
satisfaction.  "Practicing arts and crafts," he replied.  "Sham-chan had kinda let her 
painting practice slide for a while, but ever since I gave her her betrothal gift, she's 
been enthusiastic about it again.  Dachi-chan's still working on getting the hang of 
sculpting."

                Ryu rolled his eyes.  " 'Still', you say.  As if it might have been 
reasonable for her to learn it in the short little bit of time she's been trying."

                "Well, it wouldn't be _that_ surprising if she had, right?  I mean, it took 
me most of a month to get good enough at carving to make Sham-chan's portrait, 
but I had to figure it out all by myself, with just the painting experience I got from 
Dachi-chan's memories to help me.  She actually had some of the best artisans in 
the Amazon village show her sculpting techniques.  Wouldn't've surprised me if 
she started turning out really good statues with just a little practice."

                "Just like how you can pick up new martial arts moves so quickly, right?"

                "Yeah, more or less."

                Ryu shook his head slowly.  "Ranma, I don't see how you haven't figured 
this out for yourself.  Heck, getting the memories from two other people should've 
clued you in.  But the way you learn so quickly is not something just anybody could 
do if they put their mind to it.  It's a gift, something you were born with.  You really 
ought to recognize that one of these days.  Sometimes I think you don't see just how 
lucky you really are."

                "Hey, whoah!  You're talking to a guy who proposed to and was accepted 
by the two best girls in the world less than two weeks ago!  I know darn well just 
how lucky I am!  If anything, _you're_ the one who needs to get a clue about how 
good he's got it now!"  Which statement should make it clear that Ranma hadn't 
spent much time with either Hibiki brother over the past month.  He had yet to get 
over the impression of despair and confusion that he'd received from Ryoga prior to 
the trip.

                "Nope.  You're wrong."  Ryu was smiling now.  "I do know how good 
I've got it.  I got out of the biggest dilemma in the world without hurting Ling-Ling 
and Lung-Lung or Ukyo.  Heck, I didn't even _lose_ anyone!  Ukyo's still my 
friend, and Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung..." he laughed, a little nervously, a little 
embarrassedly, but there was warmth there under it all, "...well, I can't say I'm 
going to be ready to walk down the aisle with them anytime soon, but I... I am glad 
things are like they are.  I like being with them, and I especially like it that they like 
being with me.  And the... the other stuff... that'll come in its time.

                "And as if that wasn't enough, my family is together again.  It's even 
bigger than it ever was.  I've got all the benefits of a brother without the sibling 
rivalry, and another little brother or sister on the way.  My parents won't get lost 
anymore, except maybe once in a blue moon if there's an accident with hot water.  
We really will be a family from now on.

                "No, Ranma," he finished, with determination shining forth, "you don't 
need to tell me how lucky I am.  I _know_ it."

                "Yeah.  Guess you do at that," Ranma said, looking off into the distance.  
For a long moment he was silent, then asked, "Ryu?  What'd you feel like back in 
the Amazon village, when you first saw your mom and dad again?"

                "I think I pinched myself something like fifty times.  I could hardly 
believe I wasn't dreaming.  It felt like I was."  In fact, he hadn't even noticed when 
Ling-Ling murmured, "That look like fun," and gave him a pinch of her own in a 
rather personal area.  "It had to be the best surprise of my life."

                "Sounds like you were really glad to see them.  Like I didn't already 
know that, of course."  Ranma sighed.  "Wish I knew how it feels."

                Ryu frowned in puzzlement, wondering just what his friend meant.  A 
moment's thought, and his face shifted into somber realization.  "Are you thinking 
about your father?"

                "Got it in one."  Ranma looked off into the distance, where the edges of 
mountaintops would have been visible had there been daylight.  "I left the Tendos, 
he stayed.  Next few months after that I see him every now and then, when he's 
trying to pull that must-marry-a-Tendo crap even though Dachi got me out of all his 
promises.  Except for one time, when I had to deal with that stupid Kaori chick.  
Really nice hearing how he traded me off when I was just a baby for rice, pickles, 
and a fish.


                "After that, Dachi-chan takes down the old lech, and Pop shuts up about 
the stupid marry-a-Tendo business.  Hell, he even said he'd be proud to call her his 
daughter!  And when's the next time I see him?  Huh?  Months later, when he 
comes back to the Kuno place, pulling Akane along, callin' me a lazy freeloader 
and sayin' he's trained her to kick my butt!"

                Ranma let out a shuddering sigh.  "And now he's gone into the mountains 
searching for her.  Don't get me wrong, I'm actually kinda proud that he hasn't 
given up yet and come slinking home.  But I'd feel a lot better about it if he'd ever 
showed that kinda concern for _me_."

                Silence fell for a while.  Eventually, hesitantly, Ryu said, "Then you need 
to tell him that."

                "It ain't easy, you know?  Especially when he's not here," Ranma pointed 
out.

                Ryu shot the argument down.  "Don't give me that.  Shampoo can find 
him any time you ask her to.  Remember?  And unlike with MY parents, er, how 
they used to be, you don't have to worry about him being in Sapporo one evening 
and Saskatchewan the next morning!"

                Ranma sighed.  "Look, he's the one who needs to make the next move.  
Before we left for China, I told him that I wanted to talk to him again about stuff."

                "If I remember correctly, what you said was, 'Look me up again when 
you've learned how to do something other than dump garbage on me.'  And then 
you knocked him unconscious."

                "Yeah, that sounds about right.  What's your point?"

                "Never mind."  Ryu wondered whether Tatewaki would be doing better if 
it were him having this conversation with Ranma.  The kendoist was the one whose 
family had always been stable and functional.  "I just think things might go better if 
you didn't decide it had to be him to come to you."  A thought struck him then.  
"Besides, you were wrong about something you said just a little while back."

                "What's that?" Ranma asked guardedly.

                "When you said you didn't see Genma between him giving up on you 
marrying a Tendo and just before we left for China.  There was one time we saw 
him.  Remember?"  Not bothering to give Ranma time to search his memory, Ryu 
continued, "We ran into him when you, Kodachi, Shampoo, Ukyo, and I were going 
out to have some fun.  And they had fun, all right... the girls beat him senseless and 
stuffed him in a trash can, and all we did was stand back and watch."

                "He had it coming for the way he treated Ucchan," Ranma protested, but 
it was a weak effort.  Ryu didn't bother to respond.  After a few seconds of tense 
silence, the Saotome heir sighed loudly.  "Maybe you got a point, Ryu.  Okay, 
guess I will ask Sham-chan to use the Eye of Bastet again tomorrow."

                "I really think it's for the best," Ryu said, a little awkwardly.

                "Guess we'll see," Ranma said quietly, looking off into the distance once 
more.  After a while, during which Ryu began to fidget uncomfortably, he spoke up 
again.  "Thanks for the company.  By the way, why'd you come over this late, 
anyhow?"

                Ryu laughed sheepishly in the trademark Hibiki fashion.  "Ah... well... 
here."  He pulled a folded piece of paper from his back pocket and handed it to 
Ranma.

                After opening it and skimming the contents, Ranma looked back at his 
companion.  "This is a joke, right?"

                "Nope.  It's the real thing."

                "A challenge letter."  Ranma glanced down at the paper again, as if to 
make sure it hadn't morphed into a page of math homework or something.  "Exactly 
why are you doing this, Ryu?"

                The other shrugged.  "Isn't challenging someone who's farther along than 
you the best way to get better?"

                "Then why a formal challenge like this?  I'll spar with you anytime you 
want!"

                "I know that."  Ryu met Ranma's puzzled stare with a serious look.  "And 
if you did, you'd hold back like crazy.  I know you won't go all out even in a formal 
challenge, but you will fight harder than you would if it was just a sparring session.  
That's the fight I want, even if I can't win."

                "Well, if you're sure..."

                "I am."

                "Then I accept."

                The breeze gusted a little higher, ruffling their hair.  Crickets chirped in 
the background.

                "You do realize that the date you've set this thing for is going to keep me 
from going after Pop, right?  At least for the next three days."

                Ryu smacked himself on the forehead in disgust.

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

                The breakfast table seemed rather desolate the next morning.  The lack of 
a Hibiki still felt strange, Hitome and Godai had yet to return, and Kodachi was 
absent as well.  "Where's Dachi-chan?" Ranma wondered aloud after the three who 
were present had waited for several minutes.

                That was Sasuke's cue to pop up from under the floorboards, causing 
Ranma to jump, Shampoo to fall out of her chair, and Tatewaki to roll his eyes.  
"The young mistress remains in her studio, practicing the basics of sculpture, 
master Ranma.  She left instructions that she did not wish to be disturbed until she 
comes out on her own."

                "Aw man, not this again," Ranma sighed.

                "What you mean, Airen?" Shampoo asked.  "And what little ninja mean 
by 'remains' in studio?  She was still there when I leave last night... did she spend 
whole night there?"

                "Most likely," Kuno replied, as he served himself from the various dishes 
on the table.  On hearing Sasuke's message, he'd known there was no point in 
waiting for his sister.  "Remember that she can go without sleep more or less 
indefinitely."

                "She did this before, Sham-chan, back when she was about thirteen.  
She'd gotten serious about learning how to do watercolor painting, and she spent 
something like seventy-two hours straight practicing it.  She didn't stop until she 
felt like she'd made enough progress.  So we might not see her for a while."

                "Actually, if 'Biki-chan were here I'd place a bet that my sister will 
emerge before the afternoon is well advanced.  When she was thirteen she didn't 
have a fiancé whose company she would miss," Kuno said dryly.

                "Good point," Shampoo said, snickering as Ranma blushed a little.  
Conversation flagged as everyone turned their attention to their food.

                A little while later, when they had more or less eaten their fill, Ranma 
spoke up again.  "Hey, Sham-chan, you wanna go visit your granny this morning 
while Dachi's working the sculpting bug out of her system?"

                "Sure, Airen.  What is reason you ask?"

                He looked down at his plate.  "Last night... Ryu came over while you girls 
were both working in the studio.  We talked for a while, and he wound up 
convincing me I need to go ahead, track my old man down, and talk to him.  
Waiting for him to come to me is just making this harder.  So I was thinking we 
could go, borrow the Eye of Bastet, and at least check things out, find out where he 
is now and make sure the old fool hasn't gotten himself into any trouble."

                "If Ranma sure about that, then is fine with me," Shampoo responded 
after a slight hesitation.  "Can go find him this morning, come back, and start 
making up backpacks for trip into mountains to fetch him."

                He shook his head.  "Not unless it turns out Pop's in trouble or 
something.  I've got a challenge match with Ryu in a couple of days.  That was why 
he came by in the first place last night."

                Shampoo blinked.  "For real?  He make real challenge to you?  Is glutton 
for punishment or something?"

                "Nah, he just said he wanted a fight where I wouldn't hold back as much 
as I would in a sparring session.  Said it didn't matter if he couldn't win, that was 
the kinda fight he wanted, to help him get better by going against someone better 
than he was."

                "Still seem strange to me," Shampoo said.  "If just about getting better, 
Shampoo would think he would rather train than make formal challenge."  Then she 
shrugged.  "Is probably because Ryu have too much pent-up energy, after spending 
month in home village and having to keep his true skill secret.  Bet he is really 
anxious for good fight."

                "Y'know, I bet that's it."  Ranma chuckled wryly.  "If I could've, I'd 
have been glad to share some of my challenge matches with him and his brother 
during that trip."

                "Most of matches you have then, you fight to win as fast as possible.  
Probably should not do that with Ryu, it not give him time to get the kind of fight 
he want,"  Shampoo said thoughtfully.  "You want to spar with me after we get 
back from Nekohanten?  Will help Ranma to get in right mindset for challenge 
match with friend."

                "Sure, Sham-chan.  Thanks for thinking of that."  Ranma pushed back his 
chair and stood up.  "You ready to go now?"

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

                "Man, Cologne sure wasn't kidding back before we left for China, when 
she said that stuff about this place being just a hobby for her and she closes 
whenever she feels like it," Ranma muttered a bit later.  They had arrived at the 
Nekohanten to find the restaurant closed for the day and, on entering, had 
confirmed that nobody was there.  "I'd've thought for sure she'd be here this early 
in the morning."

                "Oh well," Shampoo said.  She took a hesitant step toward the staircase 
that led to the room where Cologne's chest of valuables waited.

                "What's the matter?" Ranma asked as she stopped.

                "Is just... Shampoo beginning to feel a little guilty about all the times we 
go behind Great-Grandmother's back.  Is not like last time or this time is any big 
crisis."

                Ranma frowned thoughtfully.  "You know... you're right.  It's not very 
respectful, is it?  Why don't we just come back later.  We're not gonna be leaving 
until after my match with Ryu, after all.  We got plenty of time between now and 
then to track Pop down."

                "You sure?  Earlier you say you want to do this now so to make sure 
father is not in trouble or anything."

                "Eh, he can take care of himself."  In the bright morning sunlight with 
Shampoo by his side, it was a lot easier not to worry.  "Remember, it ain't like he 
could starve or freeze or nothin'.  One splash of water and he's got all the bamboo 
he can eat lying around, and a big fuzzy coat to keep him warm."

                Shampoo giggled.  "Is good point.  How about this?  I leave Great-
Grandmother a note, so she know to call us as soon as she get back here, and we go 
back home."

                "Sounds good to me."  Ranma wandered over to a window and peered 
out, looking up at the sky and speculating idly about the chances of it remaining 
clear and sunny.  There weren't any clouds to be seen right now, but that didn't 
always count for much in Nerima.

                Shampoo dug out a pad of paper and a pencil, wrote a quick message to 
Cologne, and went over to leave it on the main counter where the Matriarch would 
be certain to see it once she returned.  "Hmmm?" she said in surprise.

                "What's that?" Ranma asked.  He turned around to see his Amazon 
fiancée was now holding a second note, with a rather large sweatdrop visible on her 
forehead.

                "Is from Great-Grandmother," Shampoo said nervously, walking over and 
passing the note to Ranma.

                The note read as follows:  'I have taken Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung to 
Chuushinteki Park for training.  I can be found there if anyone needs to speak to 
me, such as perhaps my great-granddaughter might have come by to borrow 
something from my chest of treasures and was considering just opening the chest 
herself since I'm not here, which would be a most unwise decision on her part.  Do 
you take my meaning, Shampoo?'

                After Ranma finished scanning the note, there was silence for a few 
minutes.  At last he said, "Wanna head to the park, Sham-chan?  Or would you 
rather go back to the Kuno place, spar for a while, call back later and come over 
when we know your granny's here, and pretend we never saw this note?"

                "Which would Shampoo rather do?  Second choice.  Which is smarter one 
to take, considering just what Great-Grandmother write here?  Probably first one."

                "Well, if you're gonna be _reasonable_ about it..." Ranma grumbled.  
They left the restaurant and headed for the park.

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

                Ling-Ling maintained control as best she could, taking deep measured 
breaths and holding herself in a ready stance.  What she really wanted to do was 
collapse on the ground and gasp for air.  Her sister was in much the same state as 
they continued to prowl slowly through the park, senses straining for a hint of the 
Matriarch's presence.  Ling-Ling knew that if Great-Grandmother was going to test 
their defenses on this pass, then that hint wouldn't come until the proverbial last 
second, when she and her sister would have only just enough time to brace 
themselves.  Or rather, they would have what Cologne considered _should_ be only 
just enough time.

                Lung-Lung forced herself to concentrate through the buzz of weariness in 
her head.  '<It'll all be worth it in a few weeks,>' she thought, allowing herself a 
slight distraction in an attempt to raise morale.  '<Great-Grandmother's pushing 
you this hard to make you get better as fast as possible.  Sure, it feels like hell now, 
but think how much better you'll be when it's all over.>'

                Cologne watched from a position of concealment inside a treetop, her 
aura aligned with the tree's life-force to hide her presence.  She waited, giving the 
twins a bit longer to recover, and considering her next move.  The dual-sided 
training method she was using this morning was one of the best general ones she 
knew.  It helped improve the trainee's offense, defense, reaction time, and 
commitment to a course of action.

                Either Cologne would move in with lightning speed, forcing the young 
Amazons completely on the defensive, or she would make her presence obvious and 
give Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung the chance to attack.  In the latter case, if she judged 
their efforts adequate she would simply hold a defensive posture for a few minutes, 
then disappear and let them recover for the next round.  If their attack wasn't up to 
par, Cologne would go on the offensive and not worry about whether she was 
moving at a speed they could actually counter.

                '<Defenses again this pass,>' Cologne decided.  Just as she was preparing 
to spring forward, launch another furious volley of staff strikes at the absolute 
maximum speed they could handle, and disappear back into the trees when they 
were on the verge of collapse, the Matriarch noticed something.  She relaxed and 
smiled.  '<Well, well... this could prove amusing.>'

                The burning in Ling-Ling's lungs had nearly faded now, and her pulse 
was approaching normal levels.  '<That must mean it's just about time for Great-
Grandmother to strike again.>'  The cherry-haired girl focused even more sharply.  
If the Matriarch gave them the offensive, they had to attack very quickly indeed for 
her to be satisfied with their response.

                A loud, obvious rustling came from the nearby bushes.  It was all the 
warning they needed.  "KIIIIYAAAA!" Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung shouted, 
rocketing forward and striking with all the speed and skill they could muster.

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

                "We really sorry, big sister Shampoo, Ranma," Ling-Ling said 
mournfully.

                "So much for coming to park being smarter choice," Shampoo muttered, 
holding a wet cloth to the large bump on her head.  She tried not to feel jealous as 
she noted the swelling had already subsided for her Airen, and reminded herself that 
she'd eventually get the same power-up.

                "They did know I was training you two," the Matriarch said heartlessly.  
"They should have been better prepared."

                Ranma bit back an annoyed comment.  "Well, anyway, we got your note.  
How'd you know we were gonna need to borrow the Eye of Bastet again?"

                Perhaps she secretly did feel a little bit of sympathy for him, or perhaps 
she just didn't want to bother with the 'mysterious Elder' impression.  Cologne 
answered, "I didn't know, son-in-law.  I left that note just in case someone needed 
to know where I was."

                "So why'd you put all that stuff in there about not opening the chest, 
then?" Ranma asked.  Shampoo glared at him, as she would have preferred not to 
get into that if it could be avoided.

                "As a warning," Cologne said flatly, turning her gaze from Ranma to 
Shampoo, and then back to him.  "I'm not certain how you managed to avoid the 
trap on the chest last time, but you will not do so again.  And I assure you, I have 
upgraded it to something that you'll wish to avoid at all costs."

                "Which is?" Ranma prompted.

                A hard, grim smile from the Matriarch.  "Why, son-in-law, I'm not going 
to say.  Just remember... curiosity killed the cat."  Ranma flinched at that, but not 
nearly as badly as he would have had she given the details.  Should an unauthorized 
person tamper with the chest now, the trap would send a spray of Instant 
Maonichuan water through the room.

                "Oh, great," he muttered.  "Well, could we pretty please borrow the Eye 
of Bastet, so I can find my old man?"

                So that was what they wanted.  Cologne's expression softened ever so 
slightly, and she decided to ignore the uppity tone of his request.  "Very well, 
Ranma."  She reached inside her robe and pulled out a rune-scribed triangle of 
glazed pottery.  "Press this against the chest while you lift the lid, and the trap will 
not activate."

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

                Tatewaki's prediction turned out to be right on the mark.  After using the 
Eye of Bastet, locking the chest again, and returning the runic key to Cologne, 
Ranma and Shampoo returned home to find Kodachi waiting for them in the 
doorway of the main greeting room.

                "Shampoo thought so," the Amazon said, with just a hint of teasing 
mischief in her voice.

                "Thought what?" Kodachi asked, confused by the apparent non sequitur.

                "When Ranma tell me about how you work on painting for three days 
straight, back when you was thirteen, Tatewaki say he didn't think you would be 
able to stay so long this time.  He think you would miss Airen, give up, and come 
out long before then.  And I thought so too."

                The White Rose gave a small, mysterious smile and stepped backwards 
out of the doorway, motioning wordlessly for them to follow her.

                The room looked much as it had two hours prior, when Ranma and 
Shampoo had passed through it.  Aside from Kodachi's presence, there was really 
only one difference... the north wall was now dominated by a large panel of marble, 
carved to resemble a waterfall cascading down a rocky slope.  The attention to 
detail was incredible, even to the point of distinguishing foam on the water.  
Kodachi walked over to it and made an elaborate, sweeping bow, waiting for their 
responses.

                "Water.  Why does it always have to be water?"  This was Ranma.

                "I thought you was working with clay, not stone."  This was Shampoo.

                Kodachi blinked, straightened up, and sent a hurt gaze their way.  Then 
she got a good look at their faces and relaxed, giggling a little at the poleaxed, 
dumbfounded expressions of shock.  "So do you like it?"

                "You... you really make this, Kodachi?  How?!"

                "Once I made a certain breakthrough, it, ahem, _flowed_ fairly quickly."

                Ranma was still a little too surprised to notice the pun.  Who says shock is 
always a bad thing?  "What breakthrough?  Shampoo's right, you've been working 
with clay up until last night.  How'd that experience help any with carving..." he 
gestured helplessly toward the masterpiece, "...this?!"

                Kodachi shrugged.  "It didn't, actually, at least not in any meaningful 
way.  That isn't the kind of breakthrough I was talking about.  What actually 
happened was, I had the thought to try and blend in something with which I was 
already familiar.  It helped tremendously.  Observe."  She winked at him, pulled out 
her ribbon, charged it with chi, and sent it lashing toward the base of the statue.  
Ranma and Shampoo blinked as the darting edge of cloth effortlessly carved the 
signature 'Kodachi Saotome' into the base of a boulder.

                "Whoah.  That is just plain awesome, Dachi-chan," Ranma said.  "I am 
really impressed."

                "Thank you, Ranma-sama," she replied softly.

                Shampoo began unobtrusively edging backward toward the door, ready to 
give them privacy if it looked like they wanted it.

                Then Kodachi sighed, and said in a more pragmatic tone, "Of course, the 
technique is only effective on a rigid medium.  My efforts to work with clay remain 
abysmal failures.  But I'm going to let that slide for now."

                "Sounds good to me," Ranma responded.  "Can't say I was really happy 
about the thought of not seeing you for a few days."

                "Ha.  _I_ have been missing _you_ after just one night's absence," 
Kodachi said playfully.

                "So you not normally spend nights apart from Ranma?" Shampoo asked 
oh-so-innocently.

                "Ack!  That's not what I meant!" Kodachi protested, blushing furiously.  
"I meant... twelve hours apart from Ranma... just that they happened to be nighttime 
hours when we're not normally awake...  Eep!  I mean..."  She sought a quick 
change of subject.  "So what did you two do this morning?"

                "Stopped by the Nekohanten," Ranma said, fighting his own blush, and 
doing his best to ignore Shampoo's snickering.  "The Matriarch wasn't there, so we 
went an' tracked her down to get permission to borrow the Eye of Bastet."

                "Whatever for?  To seek out your father?"

                "Yeah."  By now Shampoo had forgotten her amusement, and Kodachi 
her embarrassment.  Ranma continued, "Like I told Shampoo this morning, Ryu 
came by last night, and we talked for a while.  He convinced me that I needed to go 
ahead and be the one to take the next step.  We don't... we don't even know Pop 
ever would."

                "I think he would seek you out, Ranma dear," Kodachi said reassuringly, 
"if nothing else to thank you for the Nannichuan.  Still, who knows how much 
longer it would take, since he has no way of knowing his search for Akane is a lost 
cause."

                A thought occurred to her then.  She hesitated for a moment, then bravely 
asked, "Shampoo?  Ah... this time, when you used the Eye of Bastet... well, you 
know there's been a certain unpleasant trend... did you have any, er, trouble finding 
Genma?"

                Shampoo made a truly disgusted face.  "When I find him, he was taking 
bath in mountain stream.  No clothes at all.  Shampoo think she scarred for life."

                "Very funny," the White Rose returned, a reproving smile on her face.  "I 
don't think the sight of a bathing panda would scar anyone."

                "Grrr.  You not supposed to see through joke," Shampoo complained.  
"That really was what happen, anyway, so if not for Jusenkyo, trend would still be 
going."

                "How deep was he in the mountains?  Will it take very long for us to 
reach him?"  There was an unmistakable lack of enthusiasm in Kodachi's last 
question.

                "Not too far.  We could get to where he is now with just couple days of 
travel."

                "Well and good."  Kodachi sighed.  "Might as well get it over with, I 
suppose.  Shall we go pack?"

                Ranma shook his head.  "Can't.  I've got a challenge match with Ryu the 
day after tomorrow.  Since Pop's not in trouble or nothin', I'm not about to skip out 
on a fight to go look for him.  He can wait until after that's settled."

                Kodachi appeared relieved.  "That's good to hear.  I'm glad we'll have a 
few more days to relax.  I'm in no mood for another trip just now."

                "What's that about a trip?" Ukyo asked, walking into the room.

                "Hey, Ucchan.  I didn't know you were over here," Ranma said.  "We're 
gonna go into the mountains and bring back my old man."

                "You sure you want to do that, Ranchan?  I know I wouldn't want to get 
out and go trekking through the wilderness again real soon.  It's time to enjoy the 
comforts of home for a while."

                Ranma shrugged.  "That's what Dachi was saying when you came in.  
And I pretty much feel the same way.  But we need to get Pop back here."

                Ukyo gave him a look that indicated she thought he was an idiot but was 
too nice to say it out loud.  "Well... hey, I know!  There's something in one of the 
scrolls Rouge copied for me about contacting somebody in their dreams.  How 
about I do that and tell Genma to haul his own sorry butt back here?  That way he 
gets back sooner and you guys don't have to go to any trouble."

                "Sound good to me," Shampoo said gratefully.  "But is you sure you can 
do this, if you never try before?"

                Ukyo shrugged.  "If I can't get it to work you won't have lost anything.  
You weren't going to go after him until after your match with Ryu anyway, right?"

                "Yep.  Thanks a lot, Ucchan.  I really appreciate this."

                "Hey, I'm glad for the chance myself.  Gives me incentive to learn a new 
skill, and helps me take my mind off the mess back at my restaurant."

                "How is the cleanup coming, anyway?" Kodachi asked.

                "Actually, that part's finished.  Ryoga honey and Ryu helped me get that 
done today, and we bought some new tables and chairs.  All that's left now is the 
actual repairs--fix the door, replace the windows, and put down new tilework 
around the entrance."

                "I still wish I could have helped you with the cost of all this," Kodachi 
said, a slightly dissatisfied look on her face.  "After all, what are ridiculously 
wealthy friends for?"

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

                Ranma spent most of the next couple of days preparing for his match with 
Ryu.  When the other had first made his challenge, the Saotome heir hadn't 
expected to put this much effort into it.  Shampoo's point had been well taken, 
though; Ranma didn't _want_ this to be a farce where he blew his opponent away 
with speed the other couldn't touch.  Not only would that be an insult to his friend, 
and of no real help in honing Ryu's skills, the victory wouldn't mean anything 
either.

                He and Shampoo had spoken more of this that morning, explaining the 
situation to Kodachi and asking for her thoughts.  She hadn't hesitated a moment 
before pulling the solution out of her hat.  What was needed, Kodachi decided, was 
for Ranma to completely refrain from using chi to boost his speed.  That was the 
single greatest advantage he had over all the other young martial artists in Nerima; 
if he should forego it, the battle ought to be challenging for both Ryu and Ranma 
alike.

                An easy thing to say, not so easy to do.  It had been a very long time since 
Ranma had first studied his fiancée's advanced chi-manipulation scrolls.  In all the 
time since then, he had practiced the speed-increasing path wholeheartedly.  By 
now it took conscious effort _not_ to invoke that mindset in a fight.  Or, looking at 
it another way, not doing so was a challenge, and Ranma never turned away from 
those.

                However, it didn't take long to discover an unpleasant truth:  he had come 
to rely on his enhanced speed more than he should have.  The first sparring match 
under the new system, in which he tried to go against both Shampoo and Kodachi at 
once, made that crystal clear.

---------------------------- 

                A true martial artist should not depend on ANY one thing to bring him to 
victory, whether that be a weapon or a single facet of the Art.  Ranma reflected 
moodily on this most basic truth of Anything Goes as he lay on the floor of the 
training hall, bound to immobility in Kodachi's ribbon.

                Shampoo idly played with the Dragon's Whisker that bound his pigtail.  
"Could Ranma repeat what he say five minutes ago, about still fighting us both at 
same time?  Oh, you can not, mouth is tied up too."  She slipped from her seated 
position on Ranma's back, moving to kneel beside him, and began untangling the 
ribbon.

                "Yeah, yeah, no need to rub it in, Sham-chan," Ranma grumbled once he 
could speak again.  "Point taken.  I haven't kept my basic skills as balanced as they 
need to be."

                "It seems Ryu has actually done you a favor with this challenge," 
Kodachi remarked.  She could clearly sense annoyance on Ranma's part, directed 
toward himself, and a determination to remedy the hole he'd allowed to develop in 
his form.

                "Guess you're right.  I'll thank him after the match.  But for now," Ranma 
stood up, flexed, and assumed a ready stance, "we've got work to do."

---------------------------- 

                The remainder of his practice bouts, alternating between Shampoo and 
Kodachi as the opponent, were both grueling and challenging.  In point of fact, 
Ranma even lost a few.  But there were no more humiliating defeats after that first 
one, and by the end of the second day, he felt he was ready to give Ryu the kind of 
fight his friend would want.

                The next morning, they met in a park midway between the Kuno mansion 
and the Hibikis' new apartment.  Unlike Ukyo's challenge match, there would not 
be many spectators for this fight.  Ryoga and Ukyo were meeting with a contractor 
to discuss the repair job at her restaurant.  Ichiro and Kozue were at the courthouse 
dealing with legal matters relating to their long absence.  Nabiki was still asleep; 
Tatewaki was arranging for a romantic flower delivery to be there to surprise her 
when she got up.  Cologne was occupied with her own affairs.  This time, the only 
witnesses would be the girls closest to the two combatants.

                The match was set quite early in the day.  Shampoo had been a little 
irritated when she first heard that, but now she found herself glad of it.  It was the 
most beautiful morning she had seen yet in Japan.  A soft breeze murmured through 
the foliage around them.  The clean scent of growing things, mixed with the subtle 
fragrance of flowers, filled the air.  Birdsong trilled in the background.   Sunlight 
sparkled in the water dripping from Ryu's head.

                Ranma stared, looking almost as if his eyes would pop out of his skull.  
"No way.  I walked over here without getting splashed, but you, Ling-Ling, and 
Lung-Lung are soaked through?!"

                "Well, thanks for leaving me holding the bucket!" Ryu complained 
jokingly.

                "Yeah, thanks a lot," Ling-Ling chimed in with a smile.  "See Airen in 
wet clothing is not so good as no clothes at all, but is still fun."

                Ryu made a strangled sound somewhere between "Ack!", "Ulp!", and 
"Argh!".  "Ling-Ling, you're gonna destroy my concentration!"

                "Okay, sorry.  If you lose fight will be my fault.  I be sure to make it up to 
you if that happen," Ling-Ling promised, a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

                By now Ranma was laughing audibly at Ryu's discomfiture, as was 
Shampoo (Kodachi had, with difficulty, limited her response to a smirk).  
Annoyance at this allowed the former lost boy to shrug off his embarrassment.  
"Anytime you want to get this match going would be just fine by me, Ranma."

                "Wait," the White Rose interjected, "surely you don't want to fight in 
those dripping wet clothes."  Lung-Lung grinned even more broadly and opened her 
mouth; before the lime-haired girl could say, "WE not want him to fight in them," 
Kodachi continued, "Brace yourself and I'll generate a strong enough wind to dry 
you of the worst of it."

                Ryu did so.  Kodachi turned her gaze to the Amazon twins.  "No offense, 
but I think the two of you are too lightweight to stand up to this."

                "We not want to sit in soaked-wet clothes either," Lung-Lung protested.  
"Airen, you let us hold onto arms to brace ourselves?"

                "Ah... heh heh... sure..." Ryu nervously extended his arms to either side of 
him.  Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung took hold, but to his relieved disappointment they 
didn't use the opportunity to tease him further.

                After a few minutes of a low-powered Horizontal Shear, Ryu's clothes 
were left only a little damp.  His hair was also sticking out in wild spikes, but he 
ignored that.  "Thanks, Kodachi," he said.  "So are you ready, Ranma?"

                "You got it."

                "Okay.  End point of the battle... obviously, if someone's unconscious or 
yields, they lose.  And just to make things interesting..."  He made a circular motion 
with one hand.  "If anybody goes outside the ring of trees around this clearing, 
that'll also end the fight in the other guy's favor."

                Ranma glanced around the clearing.  It was about the size of the smallest 
practice hall in the Kuno mansion.  The new restriction would be something to keep 
in mind, but with the training he'd been doing recently he didn't think it would 
really be a problem.  "Good thing I wasn't planning on using the Saotome Secret 
Attack," he commented, amusing Shampoo and Kodachi and confusing everyone 
else.  "Okay, you're on."

                Kodachi, Shampoo, Ling-Ling, and Lung-Lung retreated to various gaps 
in the treeline, and the battle was joined.

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

                Ryu made the first move, closing quickly and coming in high with a 
power strike to Ranma's torso.  Ranma absorbed the punch on his forearm, wincing 
at the pain from the heavy impact.  Ryu winced at the sight of a bruise that vanished 
almost as quickly as it formed.  'Nothing like being outclassed,' he thought 
grumpily, and launched another flurry of punches.

                Had he but known, Ranma was thinking something similar.  Whether it 
was because the former lost boy had significantly increased in skill while Ranma 
wasn't paying attention, or just due to his determination to put forth a good showing 
in this fight, Ryu was moving at a speed greater than Ranma could match without 
tapping his chi.  As his opponent pressed the attack, Ranma began to give ground, 
retreating slowly in an outward-expanding spiral.  This would give him plenty of 
time before he got too close to the boundary line, time enough for Ryu to slow 
down or get careless.  He concentrated on defense, not trying any of his own attacks 
just yet.

                After a few minutes of this, Ryu caught on to what was happening.  He 
knew good and darn well that he'd never be able to outlast his opponent, given 
recent developments.  And so he hesitated just for a second, gave a tremendous kiai, 
and then exploded forward in a fierce series of punches and kicks.  Ranma was 
forced to abandon the angular retreat.  He fell back in a straight line, dodging what 
blows he could without resorting to chi-enhanced speed, and blocking the rest.

                As he neared the edge of the trees, he changed tactics.  Ryu had just 
launched a hard punch toward his shoulder.  Ranma shifted his weight, put out one 
hand as if to block, then let the force of the attack push him aside.  Before Ryu 
could recover from his attack, the pigtailed martial artist launched one of his own.  
His spin kick just grazed his opponent's side, though, as the other boy continued to 
press forward away from him, rather than whirling as Ranma had anticipated.

                The Saotome heir blinked as Ryu increased in speed, despite the fact that 
he was only ten feet from the treeline and closing fast.  Given the loss condition 
Ryu himself had set out only a few minutes back, Ranma was at a loss as to just 
how to respond here.  He quickly decided against running after his opponent, 
instead drawing back a few steps and assuming a loose defensive stance.

                Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung grinned, thinking back to the day before, when 
they had come to this clearing with Ryu and formulated various strategies.  Lung-
Lung in particular was looking forward to seeing her husband put this tactic to use.  
She hoped it would be as effective in reality as it had been in her mind's eye.

                By this time it seemed obvious Ryu couldn't stop in time to avoid 
stumbling out of the clearing, unless he ran headlong into a tree.  This looked to 
Ranma like it just might happen, too... the largest, sturdiest tree in the area stood 
directly in the path of Ryu's headlong flight.  His first clue that this wasn't an 
accident came when Ryu changed his run to a jump, bouncing off the trunk, altering 
his direction nearly by one hundred eighty degrees, and landing on a branch.  
Without pausing, Ryu leaped again, going higher and causing Ranma to lose him in 
the foliage.  And then, with a loud crackling sound, Ryu soared free, but Ranma still 
couldn't see him--he was backlit perfectly by the early morning sun.  Just as Lung-
Lung had planned.

                Before Ranma could do the smart thing (namely, race to one side of the 
clearing, bounce off another tree, and take to the air as well), Ryu struck.  
Somewhere between leaving the ground and leaving the tree, he had apparently 
acquired a fistful of streaming cloth.  As he reached the apex of his leap, he began 
to spin the bandanas, charged them with chi, and let them fly.

                On the one hand, Ranma certainly wasn't expecting an assault like this.  
After all, it had been so very long since Ryu... Ryoga... whoever... had used that 
technique in battle.  The unexpected nature of the attack, coupled with the difficulty 
in seeing it coming through the bright light, left him standing flat-footed as the 
projectiles stormed down around him.

                On the other hand, it _had_ been a long time since Ryu had used that kind 
of attack.  And even back when he had, he'd mostly thrown one bandana at a time.  
The former lost boy had practiced this maneuver yesterday, with a limited measure 
of success.  He had managed to change the attack so that the bandanas struck with 
bludgeoning rather than cutting force, but he had been unable to precisely control 
the spread of the attack.  Sometimes the bandanas would all stay on target.  More 
often, they would spread out in a broader pattern.  This would make dodging harder, 
but would basically ensure that no more than two or three of the missiles would 
actually connect.

                And this was what happened now.  The bandanas spread apart as they 
flew.  Only two of them hit Ranma, blasting into his right shoulder and left thigh 
before he realized what was happening.  The others smacked into the ground around 
him.  Ranma stumbled back, trying to get some space between himself and Ryu, 
and barely managed to avoid tripping on a patch of torn-up earth.

                Ryu landed from his jump and charged forward.  He'd seen Ranma limp 
backwards, and didn't have any intention of giving his opponent the time he needed 
to recover.  Ranma blocked the first couple of strikes as best he could, but he was 
hampered quite a bit by the torn ligament in his shoulder.  Sensing the advantage, 
Ryu braced himself, discarded any thought of defense, and threw everything he had 
into the assault, landing first one blow into Ranma's side, then connecting with a 
kick to his hurt leg.

                Kodachi bit her lip and fought the urge to nail Ryu with a gymnastics club 
to the head.  Beside her, Shampoo thought darkly about the 'friendly sparring 
match' that she had expected to see.  Just because their fiancé _could_ soak up all 
this damage with no real repercussions, that didn't make it much easier to watch.

                Ranma gritted his teeth.  At this point not even boosting his speed would 
make much of a difference--that last blow to the leg had really cut his mobility.  'I 
can't believe this!' he thought, with a mixture of desperation, disgust, and disbelief.  
'All this from him just catching me off guard once...  Got it!'

                A smile curved across Ryu's face as his last series of attacks opened a 
massive hole in Ranma's defense.  He launched his most powerful haymaker yet, 
directly into Ranma's stomach.  No way could he stop this one, Ryu thought 
triumphantly.

                Nor did Ranma try.  And Ryu was completely unprepared for the head-
butt that slammed him even as his punch connected.

                The former lost boy's head snapped back, his vision swimming in blurs of 
black and red.  He fell to his knees.  Ranma was knocked completely off his feet, 
rolling backwards a few paces before coming to rest nearly in the center of the 
clearing.  Despite the fire in his gut, he pulled himself immediately back to one 
knee, making it obvious he hadn't ever lost consciousness.

                "Airen!  Snap out of it!  Ranma still in fight!" Ling-Ling called 
desperately from the sidelines, as their husband continued to hold his head and 
groan.

                "You can do it!  Please, Ryu!" Lung-Lung echoed her.

                Their cries helped Ryu focus.  As his head cleared, and the pain faded to 
ignorable levels, he got shakily back to his feet.

                "Pretty impressive," Ranma said, standing now.  He waited, letting the 
last of the pain fade away as his most recent gift from Kodachi did its thing.

                "Same to you," Ryu returned steadily.  He was pretty certain that Ranma 
was fully healed by now, which was more than he could say for himself, but there 
was no way he was giving up yet.  Still, he had no desire to repeat that last 
exchange.  Instead of rushing to the attack again, he assumed a defensive stance.  
Let Ranma come to him.

                Although he faced Ryu with as cocky a grin as ever, Ranma knew that he 
had come within a hairsbreadth of losing the fight.  He had left himself open to get 
an opportunity for a power attack of his own, but had very nearly blacked out under 
the combination of Ryu's blow and the inevitable pain of his own counterstrike.

                Closing with Ryu and trading blows again didn't seem like the best of 
ideas.  He was still determined not to use his true speed in the fight.  Ranma 
assumed his own defensive stance and began to consider strategy while he had the 
chance.

                Ten minutes later, Shampoo finally yelled, "Will one of you please make 
attack already?!"

                "Hey, we are fighting," Ranma called back.  "You just haven't seen this 
kinda style yet, Sham-chan.  It's Endurance-Fu, the school with the longest 
challenge matches of them all.  An ancient and terrible martial art that seeks 
perfection through havin' a high boredom threshold."

                "Not to mention good bladder control," Ryu added, rising to the challenge 
of the comic interlude.

                Kodachi rolled her eyes.  "I wonder why I've never seen such a match 
televised or advertised."

                Lung-Lung tried to think of a witty comment of her own, but was coming 
up empty.  A low rumble in the background turned her focus to other matters.  "Did 
you just hear thunder, Airen?" she called encouragingly.  "Keep on with stand-off, 
and soon rain will give you advantage."

                Ranma growled, risking a glance upwards.  The sun still shone overhead, 
but the surrounding trees kept him from seeing very far away.  For all he could tell 
there might already be thunderheads dropping a deluge on the outskirts of Nerima.  
"Okay, okay, intermission's over, boys and girls."  Without warning, he leaped 
backward, landing twenty feet away in the midst of Ryu's discarded bandanas.  He 
bent down and picked them up.

                "I've got a bad feeling about this," Ryu muttered.  He took a quick glance 
around the clearing to orient himself, then raced over to another tree.  A quick jump 
into the lower branches brought him to another cache of items he and the twins had 
secured the day before.  Ryu landed back on the ground, armed this time with a pair 
of short staves, each of which was about the length of his long-abandoned battle 
umbrella.

                "Y'know, some people might think it was a cheap trick, if the guy who 
picked out where the fight would take place hid a buncha stuff there before the 
battle to help himself," Ranma remarked.

                "But I bet none of those people practice a martial art called Anything 
Goes," Ryu returned.  Ranma snorted, but couldn't find any good comeback to that.  
He began stalking forward slowly, one bandana in his right hand, the others all 
gathered in his left.

                This was Ryu's cue to charge the staves with chi and start whipping them 
up and down, back and forth, in a defensive pattern.  Ranma began spinning the 
bandana in his right hand.  And then... he focused his chi... poured it into the cloth 
in a very special configuration... he grinned, suddenly not even caring that he was in 
the middle of a fight, feeling the rush of satisfaction and joy that comes when you 
develop something new, something all your own...

                "BAKKUSAI TENKETSU KIREKUZU!"

                The bandana flew from his fingers, glowing with the energy he'd infused.  
It struck the ground a few feet from Ryu...  and the chi dispersed, and the breaking 
points were triggered, and the explosion blew Ryu completely off his feet.

                "Dang... little too powerful," Ranma muttered.  As Ryu scrambled back 
toward a standing position, he charged and threw another bandana, and then 
another, and another, putting about two-thirds the energy into these missiles as he'd 
used on his first attempt.  The explosions knocked Ryu around further, momentarily 
raising a huge cloud of dust that hid him from sight.

                Ranma paused in his attack, letting this settle.  It did so, revealing the 
Hibiki boy dazed and covered with dirt, coughing and choking and on his knees 
once more.  His shirt was torn in one place, a smear of red caking dust to the cloth.

                Ranma blinked, coming off the rush of creating a new technique.  "I..."  
He let the remaining bandanas fall to the ground.  "Aw, crap.  I'm sorry, Ryu.  I 
didn't mean to go that far."

                After another few seconds of hacking, Ryu forced out, "Don't... *cough* 
don't apologize."  He struggled back to his feet, glanced down at the staves he'd 
dropped in the first explosion.  Then he deliberately turned and walked a few steps 
away from them, taking deep breaths all the while.  Once he was confident he could 
speak clearly, Ryu said, "I told you this was the kind of fight I wanted, Ranma.  
Where I'd go against someone who was better than me, where I'd throw everything 
I had at you and push myself to my limits."  He stared into Ranma's eyes, 
determination burning in his gaze.  "Don't you dare apologize for this.  Win or 
lose... it doesn't matter, in the end.  What matters is that I will be stronger from 
this."

                "You and me both, Ryu," Ranma said.  "I'll tell you what I mean later, 
but for now, I'm just gonna say... thanks."

                Ryu nodded.  His face was set like flint.  "Then let's finish this.  And 
remember... no hard feelings."

                Ranma nodded.  "Right, man.  No hard feelings."

                "Right."  They stood there, framed one instant longer in perfect stillness, 
and then...

                ...Ryu shot his hands forward in the classic Street Fighter stance.  "HA 
DO KEN!!"

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

                Had he shouted _anything_ other than that, well, nearly anything, or just 
kept silent, things might have turned out differently.  But as it was, Ranma was 
caught totally off-guard by the sight of his friend apparently forgetting the 
difference between reality and a video game.  The Anything-Goes heir simply was 
not prepared for the blast of chi that shot forward from Ryu's outstretched palms, 
smashed into him, and sent him flying.

                A minute earlier, when Ryu had gotten back to his feet and taken those 
steps away from his weapons, it hadn't been obvious that he was deliberately 
maneuvering to a specific location.  It had just seemed coincidental that his 
movements had lined him up with Ranma directly between him and the nearest 
break in the tree wall.  And so there were no obstacles now to impede the pigtailed 
boy's flight.  When he crashed to the ground, dazed, confused, and feeling like the 
world had just turned upside down, he was well outside the clearing.

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

                Explanations were given, and congratulations were grudgingly offered, 
and a rematch was scheduled.  Ryu, Ling-Ling, and Lung-Lung headed for the 
Nekohanten, the young Amazons grafted onto his arms and practically glowing 
with pride.

                The mood was somewhat less pleasant as Ranma, Kodachi, and Shampoo 
made their way back toward the Kuno mansion.  No-one said anything for at least 
ten minutes.

                Eventually, though, Ranma broke the silence.  "One of these days, Sham-
chan, I am going to give your great-granny a boot to the head."

                "Now Airen, that not fair.  She has right to teach techniques to other 
persons than you.  Is not very nice that she keep secret from us, but..."  That was 
where Shampoo's family loyalty could no longer fight off her aggravation.  "Oh, 
forget it.  I with you, Ranma.  Great-Grandmother going to pay for this."

                "Frankly, I'm a good bit angrier at Ryu."  Kodachi all but bit the words 
off.  "All that high and noble speech about not caring whether he won or lost, and 
all of it just a smokescreen to lower your guard as he prepared his attack.  I hate it 
when people use such dishonorable tactics."

                Seeing his fiancée _that_ angry actually helped Ranma lose some of his 
aggravation.  "Well, I wouldn't say it was that dishonorable, Dachi-chan," he said 
half-heartedly.  "Actually, that isn't even really what he did say, is it?  Wasn't it 
something more like, what really mattered was getting stronger from the battle?  
And now that I think about it, back when he first made the challenge, he said he 
wanted to fight me even if he couldn't win.  NOT that he didn't think he could."

                "I'm in no mood to be reasonable, Ranma dear," Kodachi warned him.

                "Yeah," Shampoo agreed.  "Ryu will pay for this.  Maybe I go to Ling-
Ling and Lung-Lung, tell them that Ryu tell me he is too shy to ask them outright 
but would really like them to join him in bath some night."

                "WHOAH!"  Ranma cried out.  "That'd hurt them too when he freaked 
out, y'know."

                "Okay, something else," Shampoo snapped.  "He going to pay for 
throwing such dangerous attack around.  Super power or no super power, you is not 
immortal, Airen.  Get hit with big chi-blast like that could have hurt you bad.  Is not 
right at all for match between friends."

                Ranma shook his head.  "It looked a lot worse than it was, Sham-chan.  
See--my shirt isn't burned or torn up or nothing where the thing hit.  I'm the one 
who really was careless, when I adapted the Bakkusai Tenketsu like that.  I coulda 
really hurt him."  By now a good bit of his aggravation had faded, at least 
temporarily.  What remained was mostly focused on himself, for freezing in 
disbelief at the sight of Ryu's final attack.  'Still can't believe him, pulling that 'Ha 
Do Ken' trick, though,' Ranma thought ruefully, thinking back to Ryu's 
explanation of his newest move.

----------------------------

                "Of course it's not really called the Ha Do Ken," Ryu explained.  
Sheepishness and triumph made an odd mixture on his face.  "The real name is 
Kikotsu Bakuha."

                "Kikotsu..." Kodachi repeated.

                "...Bakuha?" Shampoo finished.

                "Yeah.  A pure chi attack, um, I guess you probably figured that out 
already though," Ryu said.  Ranma nodded curtly.

                "Is technique Great-Grandmother tell about to Airen and Ryoga while we 
in home village," Lung-Lung said.  "She also tell us be sure and warn you, Ranma, 
that is not safe for you to learn."

                "What?!  Whaddaya mean I can't learn it?!"  While there _were_ ways to 
get Ranma's ire up faster than suggesting he couldn't do something related to 
martial arts, these were few and far between (insult one of his fiancées, threaten one 
of his fiancées, hurt one of his fiancées... that was pretty much it).

                "We not say that.  Is that it would be too dangerous, now that you have 
same super high chi as Kodachi have.  You try use this, you might as well call it 
Kame Hame Ha."

                Ranma glanced at Ryu's hair, still sticking up in wild spikes and tufts, and 
forebore to comment.

                "Anyway, the technique works by focusing on one emotion," the former 
lost boy said.  "Feel it through and through, use it to pull in power, and then let it go 
in one blast of energy... that's pretty much it."

                "An emotion?  I suppose you mean determination?" Kodachi asked.  That 
was really the only thing that would fit with the name.

                "Exactly.  Determination and strength of will."  Ryu chuckled.  "And I 
needed all the practice I could get, to be strong enough to yell something else 
instead of the real technique name."

                "Yeah, that was a pretty funny trick," Ranma said flatly.

                "Hey, as I recall, you said you wanted me to show you a Ha Do Ken.  I 
was just doing what you asked."

----------------------------

                They walked in silence for a few more minutes.  At last Kodachi let out a 
long, aggrieved sigh.  "All right, I'll be honest.  The real reason I'm uspet is how 
much damage you took in that fight, Ranma-sama.  It hurt... it hurt so badly to 
watch him knock you around like that..."

                "Was not much fun for me either," Shampoo said.  "Was time there when 
it seemed like he was really out for blood.  I almost have flashbacks to your 
memories of fighting old Oni-soul Ryoga."

                "It wasn't like that," Ranma said firmly.  "I guess it coulda looked like it 
to you guys, but remember I was the one in the middle of things.  Yeah, he hit 
pretty hard, but not as much as he could've done if he went all out.  Remember, 
Dachi, he did the same kinda thing as me when you lent him those scrolls, focused 
all his potential into just one area of chi-manipulation.  'Cept, he learned to boost 
his strength.  You remember when he nailed me in the stomach, right?"  Twin 
growls assured him that they had not forgotten.  Ranma hurriedly continued, "Well, 
if he'd hit me as hard as he could've, massive chi healing or no massive chi healing, 
I woulda been coughing up blood.  At least."

                "That mental picture does surprisingly little to comfort me," Kodachi 
informed him.

                Ranma sighed.  "_Listen_.  I'm the one who nearly hurt him.  I'm the one 
who whipped out a brand-new, untried, and frankly too-powerful technique in the 
middle of the fight.  Don't be angry at Ryu, okay?"

                Shampoo gave him a long, considering look.  "Ranma say that as if you 
not upset he won."

                "I'm not."  Before his fiancées could do more than snort in disbelief, he 
continued, "I'm upset that I lost.  There's a HUGE difference."

                The girls tried to swallow their giggles at that.  But it was too late--the 
atmosphere of gloom and resentment had been dispelled.  They continued the rest 
of the way home in better spirits.

                "All the same, though," Ranma remarked suddenly, as they neared the 
Kuno mansion, "I don't think I'm gonna tell Pop about today's match."

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

                A sneeze echoed through the quiet morning air.

                Wearily, irritably, Genma shook his head.  If he were coming down with 
a cold, there wasn't much he could do about it now.  The older martial artist turned 
his attention back to the fire, or more precisely the trout cooking over it.

                Once the fish were done, he removed them from the flames, gently 
peeling back the blistered outer skin and exposing the tender flesh underneath.  
Genma ate slowly, making the meal last, stripping every last edible shred of meat 
from the skeletons of the trout.  He tried not to remember that this was the last day 
he would be following the stream.  He tried not to think about bamboo.

                Of course, that made it all but impossible to think of anything else.  
Genma suspected he'd eaten three or four times his combined bodies' weight's 
worth of the blasted stuff over the last month.  Traveling in his cursed form had 
made the going easier, and a panda's heightened sense of smell could theoretically 
have made the difference between finding Akane and missing her by a few hundred 
feet.  But that was cold comfort; he had yet to find the first trace of the missing 
Tendo daughter, and he had begun to loathe both the taste of bamboo and the feel of 
wet fur.  Silently Genma promised himself, for the thirteen hundredth time, that 
once he got back to Nerima he was _never_ going to spend time in this damnable 
cursed form again.

                The current repetition of the promise was made with a greater sense of 
anticipation than the others had been, though.  This morning had brought him to the 
point of decision.  Genma was going back.

                It wasn't the continued hardship of his trek through the wilds that had 
decided him.  Genma didn't enjoy this, not even a little bit, but he would suffer 
more than this for the sake of his friendship with Soun.  The other's daughter, _his_ 
student, was lost.  Genma wouln't let discomfort keep him from the search when he 
might be the only thing standing between her and a long, grisly death from 
exposure.

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

                Akane leaned back in the furo, luxuriating in the spacious expanse of 
near-steaming water.  There definitely were some things she'd missed more than 
others during her stay at Ryugenzawa.

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

                No, Genma would not have set his face toward Nerima, except for the 
dreams.

                The night before last had been the worst experience he could remember in 
his entire life.  At least, of the things that didn't have anything to do with the 
Master, or Jusenkyo, or Ranma's occasional accidents with the Cat Fist, or the time 
he'd been suckered into fighting an infestation of rat demons when Ranma was too 
young to help, or that business with Azusa Shiratori, or... well, it had been bad.

                He'd been exhausted after a hard day's worth of searching, tired enough 
that no dreams should have troubled him.  But for the first time in a month, 
nightmares had disturbed his sleep.  They had gripped him and held him fast, 
choking him in blackness and shame, murmuring that he wasn't fooling anyone, he 
wasn't searching for Akane here, he was _hiding_ from her failure to find her.  He 
hadn't made the slightest difference, the voices whispered, and was just making a 
fool of himself with this pointless, stubborn folly.

                The tone of the voices changed then, and they had roared at him.  Go 
back, Akane has already returned, there's nothing for you here.  Fool not to 
consider the thought that she might return on her own.  Idiot not to keep in touch 
with Soun.  Return to Nerima, and don't waste any more time like this.

                He had awoken that morning feeling more fatigued than before he'd gone 
to bed.  His head had throbbed, and the bright morning sunlight had been 
oppressive, faded, and dull.  Trees seemed to jeer at him, whispering the messages 
from his dreams again and again and again.

                Genma had taken on panda form, and covered four square miles of harsh, 
broken, mountainous terrain that day.  He still hadn't found any sign of Akane.

                The next night, for all his exhaustion, a dream had come again.

----------------------------

                He stood in a featureless grey expanse.  Nothing before, nothing behind, 
nothing beside.  And then, between one instant and the next, that changed.

                Ukyo stood and regarded him quietly for a few moments, before 
speaking.  "I'll admit I'm a little impressed, Genma.  Thought you'd fold like a wet 
paper bag under last night's program.  I guess you really are determined to find 
Akane."

                "What is this?!" he had demanded, recovering a bit of his self-possession.

                His visitor snorted.  "This is me, using magic to contact you in your 
dreams, like I did last night," for a moment she looked a little guilty, "and telling 
you Akane's already back home.  She didn't even go to the mountains in the first 
place, you jackass.  She just said that stuff before she left so you wouldn't look 
where she _did_ go.  Now quit wasting time and haul your sorry panda carcass back 
to Nerima."

----------------------------

                And there the dream had ended.  This time, when Genma awoke, he was 
willing to accept that it had been more than just the workings of his own slumbering 
mind.  He caught, cooked, and consumed breakfast, gathered up his gear, and set 
out for home, with one thought uppermost in his mind.

                'That business with the okonomiyaki cart was the worst bargain I ever 
made.'

 

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

 

                Author's Notes

                Lest anyone think I don't like Ukyo, or that I'm trying to portray her as a 
spiteful, vindictive witch, let me say that's not so.  She's just in a difficult time right 
now, still in the process of redefining who she is after some major upheavals in her 
life.  This does not happen in the original series, where to a great extent all the main 
characters' lives are interlocked in spinning circles, unable to really grow until 
some form of resolution is made to the various conflicts.

                I have not taken that route here.  The characters are free to grow and 
change.  The whole 'Ukyo-working-out-her-frustrations-on-Genma' theme is a 
necessary part of this, as I see it.  She's endured ten years of insecurity, loneliness, 
and hurt, which she now identifies as never having been Ranma's fault at all, only 
his father's.  Has she inflicted as much pain on Genma yet, as she suffered over the 
years?  Not even remotely close.  Does that mean she's going to keep tormenting 
him?  No.  I think she's now ready to move beyond that.

                While it might be more satisfying to have explained all this through actual 
narrative, writing more sections that focus on Ukyo considering these things and 
making a deliberate decision to let it go and forsake any more bouts of Genma-
bashing, instead of just explaining it in these Author's Notes, some things must be 
cut.  I'd never finish this beast if I went into the utmost level of detail for everything 
in the story.

                On a similar note, sharp-eyed people familiar with the anime might be a 
little confused by the occasional references to tables in Ukyo's, as her restaurant in 
the original series does not have any.  This is because, for whatever reason, this 
time around she found a different building up for grabs and opened her restaurant 
there instead.

                While we're on the subject of things different from the anime... obviously 
without Ranma or Ryoga present, as well as Shinnosuke not yet on the brink of 
death, events in Ryugenzawa would proceed differently.  For one thing, Akane 
wasn't nearly such a picture of gentle sweetness and light to Shinnosuke 
(remember, she doesn't know he was dying), which explains why he hadn't yet told 
her he loved her before the events of this chapter.  For another, with so few people 
to help, and with time not yet being critical, much more effort was put into planning 
the assault on the Orochi (including use of the horned mongoose whistle, which 
Akane had shown to Shinnosuke's grandfather).

                One last note of acknowledgement:  the opening scene was inspired by an 
email from Essex, who pointed out that there hadn't been much random splashing 
going on during the trip to Joketsuzoku.  He also asked whether Shampoo and 
Kodachi would now become water magnets.  My response:  yes, but rarely.  My 
take on this is when a Jusenkyo victim is in their cursed form, they will only 
occasionally draw water to seek them out.  Since Kodachi and Shampoo are always 
in their cursed forms (Nyannichuan, remember?), and for that matter so are Ryu and 
Ryoga, their splashings will be a good bit less frequent than Ranma's.

                Next time:  Genma keeps his promise.

 

                Kikotsu Bakuha:  roughly translates to 'determined soul's blast' (I hope)

                Kirekuzu (from Bakkusai Tenketsu Kirekuzu):  scraps of cloth