"T.H. Tiger" <schell@interlog.com>


Tenchi and Ranma, Together Forever!?
Chapter 1: Beginnings.

     Genma Saotome looked at the faded and tattered postcard in his
hand.

     Coming soon.
     Bringing Ranma.

     A tear slid down his cheek.  He had written it the day before he
and Ranma had arrived at Jusenkyo.  That had been meant to be the last
stop on their training trip, after that Genma had planned to take them
back to Japan, and to the fiancee that was waiting there for Ranma.
The fiancee that Ranma now would never know about.

     He'd had such plans.  Ranma would marry one of Soun's daughters,
and Genma would retire to his well earned rest.  All gone now, all his
plans dust, because his son had lost his temper and forgotten the true
way of the martial artist.

     His mind drifted back to that day when all his hopes and dreams
had come crashing down.  It had been foggy, he remembered that well,
so foggy that he had almost walked into one of the Jusenkyo springs
before he had seen it.

FLASHBACK:
     We see the Jusenkyo valley, or rather we don't see it.  The
entire valley is shrouded in a dank fog that cuts visibility to a mere
few feet.  Three figures emerge from the fog.  Genma, Ranma and the
guide.
     "And this Sirs, is famous training ground of cursed springs, very
tragic and famous place."
     "Not bad Pop, this place looks like it might actually be
challenging, this fog is great."
     "O no sirs, fog is not part of training ground.  Please, you come
to hut now, have nice cup tea, wait for fog clear, then I show you O
so tragic springs, yes?"
     "Are you kidding?  The fog's the only thing that makes this a
challenge."  Ranma slipped the backpack he was wearing off, and
lightly leaped up to one of the barely visible bamboo poles.
     Genma looked uncertain, he could barely see the poles.  "I don't
know boy, maybe we should take the guides advice.  A nice hot cup of
tea would go nice about now."
     "Sure pop, you go right ahead, go rest your creaky old bones.  It
must be a bugger to get all old and slow.  I'll just practice by
myself."  Ranma smirked down at Genma, who was rapidly turning red.
     "Old!?  Slow!?  You asked for it boy.  Prepare yourself, I'm
going to show you that these old bones can still kick your ass."
Genma slipped out of his own pack and leaped up to the pole opposite
Ranma." he felt a twinge of relief as the pole came into clear view as
soon as he got close.  He turned and leaped at Ranma the instant he
touched down.
     The guide was frantic and yelled up at the barely visible martial
artists.  "O sirs, what you do?  You not want to do that, better you
come down now.  Yes?"
     Ranma ignored the guide's frantic cries, and leaped to meet
Genma.  They exchanged a flurry of blows before Ranma snuck in a
clever feint, followed by a kick, that sent Genma plunging into the
mist.  Ranma smirked as he heard the tremendous splash Genma made as
he landed in the spring below his pole.
     The guide heard as well, and barely backed off in time to escape
being splashed by the wave of water that washed over his former
position.  The first splash was followed by a second as Genma leaped
back toward Ranma position.
     Ranma was peering into the fog, trying to spot his father.
"What's the matter pop?  Giving up already?  Ahhh, what the hell is
that?" The last was screamed out as a massive black and white creature
came flying out of the fog straight toward him.  Taken by surprise, he
reacted slowly and was knocked from his pole and sent flying backwards
out of sight by a powerful kick.
     Having revenged his dunking, and shown the boy once again who was
boss, thoughts of hot tea crossed Genma's mind.  He leaped lightly to
the ground beside the Guide who stared at him in shock.
     Genma tried to say, About that tea, but all that came out was
"Growf."  Genma lifted a hand to his mouth in shock, but before it
could reach its destination, he froze in shock, staring at the black,
heavily clawed hand that had replaced his own meaty hand.
     "O too bad, Mr customer fall in spring of drowned Panda, very
tragic tale of Panda that drown there two thousand year ago, very
tragic tale.  Now whoever fall in spring take on form of Panda.
     Genma could only look at the guide in shock.  The guide was used
to this reaction, and was about to lead Genma to his hut for a kettle
of hot water, when an explosion of voices yelling in some strange
dialect came through the fog.
     The Guide turned pale, and grabbing Genma by a paw, dragged the
stunned and unresisting panda along behind himself as he made haste
away.  As he was dragged along Genma became aware of the voices behind
them.  He also could hear the sound of someone running towards them,
the sound of hurrying footsteps was intermixed every few seconds by a
splash, only to resume seconds later.  The footsteps kept getting
closer and closer, until finally a small naked red headed girl, her
wet hair hanging practically to her knees, burst from the fog, and
immediately launched a flying kick that caught the stupefied Genma
under the chin and sent him sailing backwards into the fog, and
unconsciousness.


     Genma sighed, Ranma in her eagerness to get back at him after
getting out of the Nyanniichuan, had in her rage, and blinded by the
fog, stumbled into a spring.  When she had not changed any further
then she already had, she had thrown caution to the wind, and made a
bee line straight back towards where she thought Genma was, falling in
a dozen or so springs as she did so.  Somehow the contact with all
that magic had frozen her in her cursed form.
     The guide had no idea as to how it had happened, the springs were
not suppose to do that, they could not mix.  At least not without the
body having years to adapt to one curse.  Genma could go back in ten
years, and jump in the Nanniichuan, and might free himself of his
curse, but only might, it was no guarantee.
     The guide had no idea if that would work on Ranma.  He was very
evasive when asked.  Genma suspected he was one of those people who
hated to admit they did not know the answer.  He hated people like
that, they should be forthright and honest, and admit their short
comings.

     Genma turned his attention back to his open back pack.  He had
been looking for food when he had found the tattered postcard in the
bottom.  It had been crushed up against a bundle of waxed paper jammed
in the bottom of his back.  Now Genma's eyes were draw back to that
packet, and with a hand that visible trembled he reached in and picked
it out.
     Unwrapping the outer layers he carefully unfolded the contents.
Various documents and letters, and most importantly, a document with
his signature, and Ranma's baby hand print.  A copy of the agreement
with his wife to turn Ranma into a man among men, or commit Sepuku.
Genma winced, there would be no going home for him, not ever.  With a
sigh he started to fold the documents back up.  He was interrupted in
his task when a small scrap of paper separated from the main bundle
and fell to the ground.

     Curious, Genma bent down and picked it up.  looking at it he saw
that it was a napkin from a bar he, Soun and several of their friends
had frequented back in the old days.  What was it doing here among his
papers?
     Turning it over he read the writing on the other side.  His eyes
widened in shock at the words there, and memory flooded back.

     It had been the night he and Soun had agreed to merge there
families.  Nodoka was expecting any day, and Kimiko would be due not
long after.  Then an old friend who was seated with them brought up
the question.
     "What if they both have girls?"  He had said, after all, Soun
already had two, and the odds were fifty, fifty that Genma would have
one.  So how would they merge their families then.
     For a while the party turned depressed, but fueled by alcohol,
Genma came up with a solution.  "You have a son.  We'll marry our
children to him if we both have daughters." he said
     Soun had objected, "We can't both marry are daughters to him.
Not legal I don't think."  Soun was a little drunk by then, as
compared to the other two, who were very drunk.
     It had been decided to flip a coin to decide who's daughter would
get married.  Genma had won, and they had created an agreement on the
spot.  Genma and his friend had written in the gist of the arrangement
on a napkin, and Soun had signed as a witness.  Then they had preceded
to get even drunker in celebration, and forgotten all about it.  Till
now.

     Genma looked at the stained ripped document that was now worth
more than anything else he possessed.  Because it meant a happy
retirement for him in his old age.  He hugged the precious document to
his chest, and tears ran down his face and dripped off his chin.
     Controlling his overflowing emotions, Genma turned and yelled at
the red headed girl soaking in the hot spring.  "Ranma, come on hurry
up.  We have an old friend to visit."
     "You mean Mr. Tendo?  About time, you said we were going to see
him months ago."
     "Not Tendo, no.  This is another friend.  You'll like him, he has
a son a little older then you.  I think you'll get along splendidly
with him.  And if he's anything like his Father, Tenchi Masaki will be
very glad to see you.

Two days later:

     "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR [Expletive deleted] MIND!!!!" Ranma screamed
at her father in disbelief.  No freaking way am I marrying some guy.
You can forget that idea right now.  I'm going back to china, there
has to be something we missed, and Shampoo must have gotten tired of
chasing us by now, I mean its been three months, how long does it take
someone to forget a grudge."
     "Girl, you're not going anywhere, you have a duty to your family,
as the last Saotome of our family it is up to you to see that our
proud line continues."
     "Proud line, yea right, were so proud we'll marry our sons off to
other guys just to fill our fat stomach.  Well if you're so determined
to carry on the line, the zoo just got a female Panda in.  I'm sure
they'd be happy to marry the pair of you.  As for me, I'm leaving, and
you'd better not try and stop me old man."  Ranma turned her back on
Genma and walked away, her hair fairly bristling with outrage, how
dare he, how dare he, how dare he.  She was a guy, damit.  How dare he
even suggest such a thing, the, the, the, PEVERT!!!

     Genma watched as Ranma turned a corner and disappeared from his
sight.  His gaze shifted to the pack laying in the middle of the road
where it had fallen after Ranma had flung it at him when he had
broached the idea of marriage.  Ranma would be back, if only for her
supplies.  Genma had better be ready when she did so.  He looked
around, and spied a heavy roadside hedge, a field on the other side
would make a good campsite, and would give Genma some privacy for what
he needed to do.

     Ranma cautiously peaked around the corner, ready to snatch her
head back if Genma was out in the open looking in her direction.  She
felt a proper fool, stalking off like that and forgetting all her
supplies.  She'd never hear the end of it.  She would just sneak into
camp, snag the back pack when pop fell asleep, and get the hell out of
here.  If she gave pop a week or so she was sure he would forget this
whole crazy idea, but until then she needed the supplies in that pack.
     Not seeing anyone, Ranma came fully around the corner and
carefully made her way to the hedge behind which she could see a small
stream of smoke coming from the fire Genma would have made to heat his
evening meal.  So far so good, she thought.  Creeping silently along
she made it to the hedge, and brushing a few branches out of the way
peered through it at the campsite Genma had set up.
     The sight she saw brought her crashing through the hedge and into
the clearing on the other side.
     "Are you crazy?!?  What the heck are you doing pop?!?"

     Genma looked up from where he knelt in front of a clean white
cloth.  A ceremonial knife griped in his hand.  "I am restoring our
family honor in the only way I can, because of my mistake, are clan
will be no more.  I must atone for my error."  Pressing the tip of the
knife against his bare stomach, her gritted his teeth and pressed, the
blade sank an inch or two into his hard muscled belly and he hastily
placed a hand bearing a clean cloth against the wound to prevent the
blood that welled out from fouling his pants.
     "No!!" Ranma screamed.  Diving forward she grasped Genma's hand
and tried to pull the knife free.  Genma resisted and the knife sank
another inch or so into his belly, drawing a pained gasp from the
stocky martial artist.  Horrified, Ranma snatched her hands free of
Genma's before she caused him to finish the stroke that would end his
life.
     "Please, don't do this." She begged.  "You don't have to do
this."
     "I must, I have no choice, there is no other option, you made me
see that, it is the only way." Genma said.  Gritting his teeth, he
prepared to make the final thrust that would end his life and restore
his honor.
     "I'll marry him!!" Ranma cried out.  "If it means that much to
you, I'll marry him." She repeated in a faint whisper.  "Only please,
don't do this pop."
     "Do you promise?  Will you restore your clan's prospects?"
     "Hai," Ranma said, eyes lowered.  "If it's that important to you,
I'll keep your end of the bargain with Mr. Masaki."

     Genma agreed to forgo his suicide, but he refused to go to a
doctor.  He pulled the knife free of the wound it had made, and
without removing the white cloth he had used to staunch the flow of
blood, bound it in place.
     "A true martial artist must be able to ignore little scratches
like this Ranma.  Why I've done worse shaving."  Genma laughed and
then bit back a curse as he clutched his stomach in pain.  He waved
Ranma off when she would have come to his aid.  "I'm fine, you just
carry both our packs for the next few days and I'll be right as rain."

     Genma looked up the road to where Ranma labored under the twin
burdens of both her's and Genma's packs.  Making sure Ranma was not
looking Genma surreptitiously tossed the prop knife he had used to
fool her into a nearby ditch.  It had been well worth the thousand and
fifty yen he had paid for it.  The fake blood in the rubber handle,
the retractable blade, all had worked perfectly.  Thanks to it, he had
passed the biggest obstacle to his happy retirement.

     Ranma gritted her teeth.  Stupid old man, why'd he have to do
such a stupid thing?  Was he crazy?  Well Ranma may have promised to
follow through on pop's promise, but she was only one side of the
bargain.  This Tenchi guy still had to agree to marry her, and by the
time Ranma was through displaying her feminine charms, she would be
the last girl on earth he would ever want to share a room with, little
lone marry.  Yep, she gave it a week at the most, then she'd be free
to start looking for a cure.


Tenchi and Ranma, Together Forever!?
Chapter 2: Meetings

     Nobuyuki Masaki was performing his usual evening juggling act.
He was currently in the process of manipulating, one briefcase, three
plan tubes, filled with architectural drawing that had to be checked
by morning, one bag of take out, a set of house keys, one weeks worth
of mail, and finally, an open umbrella.  His act had an unusually high
difficulty rating this evening, as there was a good stiff breeze
blowing that threatening to rip the umbrella from his hand, and leave
him open to the deluge of rain that was currently pouring down.

     An avid audience of birds watched from the shelter of a near by
tree.  Would he make it, or like last night, would he drop the take
out, spilling rice all over the front stoop.  It was going to be
close.  He had managed to tuck both the brief case and the plan tubes
under one arm, and was holding the bag of food and his umbrella in the
other hand.  Carefully, maintaining his grip on every thing, he slid a
hand in his pocket and started to go for his keys.  The birds leaned
forward, and then let out a piping cheer as the inevitable happened.

     Damn, Nobuyuki cursed in a muffled voice, as a sudden strong gust
of wind wrenched his umbrella free of his hand.  Then he cursed again,
as his desperate attempt to regain his umbrella, resulted in him
dropping his food, to the cheers of the audience, closely followed by
his briefcase and the architectural drawings.  The only thing he
managed to retain, was the mail, and that only because it was gripped
between his teeth.  Pulling his house keys from his pocket, he stooped
down to see what he could salvage.
     "Here mister, let me give you a hand with that." A cheerful,
bubbly feminine voice said.  Simultaneous with the voice, the rain,
which had been pelting down on Nobuyuki's body since the loss of his
umbrella, stopped.
     Nobuyuki's ears pricked at what sounded like a pretty girl.
Looking up, he found himself eye to chest with a most attractive young
lady.  Indeed, as he had guessed, she was very pretty, and very
healthy as well.  He stared in bliss for a second, before lifting his
eyes upwards to look at the face of his benefactor.  He was pleased to
see that the face of the small red head was every bit as attractive as
the rest of her.  She was smiling as she held an umbrella out over
him.
     Nobuyuki smiled back, and then realized that one of the reason
her state of health was so apparent, was that she was not sheltered
under the umbrella she was currently holding, but instead was being
soaked by the rain as she shielded him from the downpour.  This caused
her clothing to cling to her very curvy body, and reduced their
concealment factor by a substantial degree.
     "Thank you my dear," he enthused as he stood up.  "But this will
never do.  You'll catch your death if you don't cover up.  Please,
come inside, and we'll get you out of those wet clothes."  He grinned
widely at the little red head, who returned his smile, just before
vanishing.

     She had not really vanished, she had merely dropped so quickly,
it had appeared that way.

     "Wha" was all Nobuyuki had the time to say, before the space
formally occupied by the young girl's head was filled with a massive
black and white paw, armed with a most impressive set of claws.  The
paw swished through the air with an audible ripping sound, as the air
protested being displaced so abruptly.
     Nobuyuki followed the path of the paw through the air with his
eyes, and then wrenching them back around, he stared up in horror at
the owner of said paw, and yet further up.  His eyes traced their way
over a massive fury body, up to a head as large as a keg, and armed
with a massive set of fangs.  Strangely, there was a pair of
eyeglasses hanging off of one round furry ear.
     "O please, mister, save me from that monster." the girl said from
behind him, her voice faint with fear.  He felt her hands on his back,
forcing him to stay between her and the beast, that even now was
growling in anger at being denied its prey.
     Nobuyuki did the only thing he could under the circumstances.

     Ranma felt the body of the man in front of her go limp and
watched as he bonelessly slid to the ground, leaving nothing between
her and an enraged panda but thin air.
     Ranma jumped back out of the way as her father once again lashed
out at her.  "Hey pop, your friend is a bit of a wimp ain't he?  I
mean, imagine fainting at the sight of you.  Your so fat and slow a
little kid could keep away from you."
     As Ranma mocked her father, she kept moving, dancing and leaping
around her father's best efforts to chastise her.  "I don't know what
your so upset about Pop.  I mean you wanted me to make a good first
impression, didn't you?  It ain't my fault you only bought one
umbrella.  If you'd gotten one for me, I wouldn't have had to take
yours."

     Genma made no reply.  Not even a growf.  He was thoroughly winded
from trying to catch Ranma before she got to the Masakis', and had no
breath to spare..
     He had made the mistake of telling her the address while they
were still some distance away, and she had taken off like a shot.
Genma was under no delusions as to her reason.  She might have
promised to cooperate and marry Tenchi, but Genma knew she was not
going to do so without a fight.  If he let her get to the Masakis'
ahead of him, there was no telling what she might do to dissuade them
from accepting her as a potential bride.  Faced with this, Genma had
no choice in the matter but to make the best speed possible after
Ranma.
     He had barely managed to keep pace with her, and the instant they
had reached the Masakis' and seen Nobuyuki standing in front of his
house, she had stolen his umbrella, leaving him exposed to the falling
rain.

     Ranma watched her father's labored breathing with some
satisfaction.  Much as she had initially disliked and hated her new
body, she had gradually become aware of how much faster she could move
in it.  Faced with the possibility that she might be a girl for the
rest of her life, she had focused all her efforts on increasing that
speed, drowning her fear in an orgy of training.  The results exceeded
her wildest dreams.  She was so much faster then three months ago,
there was no real comparison.  She knew if she were to face off
against her male body, she could clean it's clock.  Whoever the girl
was who had drowned in the spring, she must have been chained
lightning in a fight.
     Ranma easily dogged a half hearted swipe from Genma, and decided
she'd had enough fun for the night.  The rain was icy, and unlike her
father, she did not have a thick coat of water repellant fur.  Of
course, if her father did not give up this crazy idea, she might
acquire one in the not too distant future.  The point was however,
that she was chilled to the bone, and was wanting a good hot bath.
     "Come on Pop, give it up.  Let's get your friend inside before he
drowns." Ranma said, gesturing towards the unconscious Nobuyuki, who
was laying face up on the front stoop, rain water filling his open
mouth.  A steady stream of bubbles rose to the top of the little pool
of water, making Nobuyuki look like some particularly ugly fountain.
     Glad for an excuse to stop, Genma merely grunted.  He waddled
over and picked up Nobuyuki and slung him over his furry shoulder.
Ranma gathered up the various objects Nobuyuki had dropped, and
followed her father inside.

     Once inside, Genma wasted no time in finding himself some hot
water, and Ranma went off on her own in search of the bath.

     Nobuyuki woke to find himself laying on his living room rug.
Blinking his eyes, he wondered if he had dreamed the whole sequence of
events.  Then the sound of someone eating drew his attention.  Turning
his head, he spied a large man in a white training Gi stuffing his
face from a cardboard take out box he held inches away from his mouth.
The man's chopsticks were a blur and the sound of his chewing filled
the room.  The sight sparked a memory in Nobuyuki's mind, and an image
from years ago rose up.

     Scene: The school yard of a junior public school.  A figure
recognizable as chibi-Genma is using his foot, pressing it against the
face of a crying chibi-Nobuyuki, to hold off the other boy as he
scarfs down his lunch.

     "Genma?" Nobuyuki said, a questioning tone, half disbelief, half
dread, in his voice.
     Genma took a few seconds to finish the box of take out he was
eating, then after setting it down, he jumped across the room and drew
Nobuyuki into a bear hug.
     "Nobuyuki, you old dog!" Genma shouted as he hugged the astounded
man.  "I haven't seen you in years.  Not since my daughter was born.
Bet you thought I'd forgotten about our arraignment didn't you?  Well,
no fear, Genma Saotome's word is his bond.  I promised my daughter
would marry your son, and here we are, ready to fulfill my promise."

     Nobuyuki was in a state of shock, the appearance of his long ago
acquaintance in the middle of his living room, after his encounter
with that monster outside, had left him a little slow on the uptake.
One concept did manage to filter through the flood of words Genma was
directing at him.
     "Marriage?
     "Tenchi and your daughter?
     "What deal?  I don't remember a deal.  Beside's you have a son.
Nodoka wrote my wife and told her so."
     Genma's face took on a tragic look.  "You don't remember the
solemn promise we made to each other the night little Ranma was born.
O to think my friend has sunk so low as to forget the meaning of
honor.  I wrote and told you we were coming.  Don't tell me you never
got the letter?" Genma said in an accusatory voice.
     "Well . . . no!" Nobuyuki said, putting his hand behind his head
and rubbing it.  "I've been sort of busy.  Don't check the mail much.
Not that much time.  Sleepy when I get home from work, you know how it
is."
     He cast his eyes around the room until he spotted the pile of
soggy mail that Ranma had dropped on the hallway table after carrying
it inside.  Getting to his feet Nobuyuki crossed to the mail and
leafed through it until he found Genma letter.  Opening it, he read
the contents with astonishment.  He looked closely at a photo copy of
the original agreement between him and Genma.  Finally he lowered the
pages and looked at Genma with puzzlement, "This is my writing, no
doubt, I'll take your word we made this deal, but Ranma's a boy, not a
girl, I'm sure of it."
     Genma carefully schooled his features.  This was the critical
point.  He had managed to get Ranma's promise to go through with this
marriage, but he was under no delusions as to Ranma's real feelings.
His former son would do everything she could to sabotage Genma's
chances at a peaceful retirement.
     He had been giving the situation much thought, and had come up
with a way to at least spike some of Ranma's plans.

     Looking at Nobuyuki he let his face fall into an expression of
great sadness.  "I'm sorry to tell you this Nobuyiki-san, but your
cousin has fallen ill.  Nodoka was convinced she was going to have a
son.  I thought nothing of it at the time, I merely thought it the
natural thing for an expectant mother to imagine their coming child to
be one or the other.  I did not recognize Nodoka's obsession for what
it was.  When Ranma was born, I was shocked that despite the obvious
fact she was a girl, Nodoka insisted on giving her a boys name.
     That was only the first sign, and I shrugged it off, but over
time I came to realize that Nodoka truly believed little Ranma was a
boy.  She referred to her always as a boy, all the letters she wrote
to her friends said Ranma was a boy.  Every time she talked to a
friend, it was about her son.
     "She refused to treat Ranma as anything other then a boy.  I
tried to reason with her, but it was no good.  I loved her deeply, and
foolishly went along with her obsession, hopping that she would
eventually come to her senses.
     "I did not realize how grave my error was, until I discovered
that Ranma thought she was a boy as well.  Not wanting my daughters
life to be ruined, I put my foot down, and insisted that Nodoka treat
Ranma as the girl she was." Here Genma grimaced, "That was a mistake,
Nodoka almost took my head off with the family sword, and Ranma's
reaction was not much better.  Neither one of them would speak to me
for weeks."
     Genma looked at Nobuyuki in desperation.  "Please don't think
Nodoka was completely mad, except for that one blind spot she was
perfectly normal.  Maybe if there had been other signs I would have
acted sooner." Genma shook his head, and covered his eyes with a hand.
"In the end, I did the only thing I could think of, I played into her
madness.  I accused her of coddling Ranma, of turning him into an
unmasculine man.  I told her that I was going to take him away and
turn him into a man among men." Genma turned away from Nobuyuki, who
was looking at him incredulously, to rummage through his backpack,
which he had pulled near.  Finding what he sought, he handed Nobuyuki
his copy of the agreement he had signed with Nodoka.
     "As you can see, I agreed that if I did not turn Ranma into a man
among men, I would commit Sepuku.  I was willing to give up my life to
give my daughter back her life, but Nodoka insisted on adding a clause
that would include Ranma in the agreement.  If I take Ranma back to
her, and she does not judge her to be a man among men, Ranma must kill
herself along side me.
     "Even with that I hoped to restore Ranma to her lost womanhood,
if it meant we could never go home, then so be it.
     "Nodoka's influence proved too strong, however, and she continued
to believe she was a boy.  I hoped when she began to blossom, she
would no longer be able to deny the truth.  For a while I thought I'd
guessed ritght.  When Ranma started to change, she felt doubt for the
first time.  She still denied it, but I could see her belief
wavering."
     Genma looked at Nobuyuki, tears streaming down his face.  "I was
so close old friend, another few months, and I truly believe Ranma
would have at last admitted the truth." Genma sobbed out loud.  "But
it was not to be."
     Genma lowered his face into his hand and began to cry bitter
tears.  "So stupid.  I was so Damn stupid!!" he cried into his hands.
     Nobuyuki had been listening to him with a mixture of shock, and a
large dose of scepticism.  This was not the first time he had been
witness to a Genma Saotome production.  He knew his cousin Nodoka, and
this did not match that knowledge of her.  Still it had been almost
sixteen years since he had last seen his cousin.  A lot could have
changed.  He would listen to Genma's story, but he would keep in mind
other times he had fallen for one of Genma's tales.

     Lifting his tear stained eyes to Nobuyuki, Genma visibly brought
himself under control.  "I was so close Nobuyuki.  I had been training
Ranma, taking her to all the old training grounds, and teaching her
many of the ancient and lost styles.  You can not deny your body and
become a good martial artist.  I hoped that having to deal with her
body in such a comprehensive way, she would come to accept it.
     "Then I heard of the Amazons of China, and my and Ranma's fate
was sealed"
     "Amazons?" Nobuyuki asked, questioningly.
     "A small tribe in China, where the women are all fierce fighters,
and the men little better then servants.  I hoped that seeing them
would make Ranma realize that she could be a woman and a warrior.
Such hope I had.  If it had not been for that cursed training ground,
all might have been well."
     Overcome by his grief, unable to continue speaking, Genma fumbled
with the dishes on the table top until he found a glass of water.
Upending it over his head, he shifted form.

     Nobuyuki reared back in shock as his old friend suddenly turned
into the massive beast that had threatened him on his own door stoop.
Falling backwards, he raised his hands in a warding gesture.  The
beast made no move to attack however, instead it picked up a tea
kettle and dumped a stream of warm water over it's head.  Nobuyuki
watched in awe as the beast became a man.
     "What?  How?  I don't understand," he babbled.
     "Jusenkyo," Genma said flatly.  "The cursed training ground of
Jusenkyo.  We had to pass through it on the way to the Amazon village.
     "Whoever falls into one of those springs, becomes the creature
that last drowned in that spring.  I fell in the spring of drowned
Panda, and you see what happens to me.  Cold water changes me, hot
water reverses the change.
     "Did . . . did Ranma . . .?"
     "Fall in a spring?  No!!  If only she had.  That I could have
dealt with.  Instead, the springs provided her mind with a reason for
her female body.  Even though hot water did not effect her, she became
convinced that she had fallen in the Nyanniichuan.  That she had been
a boy, and now was cursed to be a girl.  Nothing I have been able to
do has managed to convince her otherwise.  That is when I remembered
our agreement.  If Ranma were to get married, eventually she would
have to except the truth.  Having a baby would leave her little
choice.
     "But if she thinks she's a boy?"
     "I've taken care of that, she may be delusional, but she has a
strong sense of honor.  I've been able to convince her that she must
marry for the honor of the clan.  The only hold I have over her is the
agreement that you and I made."  Genma leaned in closer to Nobuyuki.
"Please, I beg of you, don't forsake me.  You are my last hope, I fear
I might have to take drastic measures otherwise.
     Nobuyuki was torn, he did not really want to marry his son off to
a crazy woman, but he had made the agreement, there was a certain
amount of honor involved, and she was a very nice looking girl.  His
eyes glazed slightly as he recalled how she had looked with her wet
shirt plastered to her torso.
     Tenchi had been a bit of a disappointment to Nobuyuki, he seemed
to have little interest in girls.  Maybe an arranged marriage to a
beautiful girl would bring out his true Masaki nature.  He sat up
straight and faced Genma, a resolute expression flowing across his
face.  "I'll do it, for the sake of your daughter, I'll agree to the
marriage.
     "My friend," Genma shouted lunging across the table and pulling
Nobuyuki into a rib creaking hug.  Nobuyuki returned it with fervor,
Tenchi would be so happy that he had found him such a nice looking
girl.  And so what if she was a little crazy, his mother had believed
some very strange things, and he had loved her anyway.
     Their self congratulations, were suddenly interrupted by a male
voice coming from the direction of the bath.

     "Nani . . . No way!"
     "Tenchi?" Nobuyuki exclaimed in surprise, "He's not suppose to be
back from his grandfathers till tomorrow.  What's he doing home?"

     Tenchi Masaki had not slept for three days.  Not since he had
snuck into a certain cavern, and come face to face with the legendary
demon that was sealed up inside it.  So shattered had he been by that
experience, that the instant his eyes closed, the image of the demon
would rise up in front of him, and bring him screaming out of his
sleep.
     His grandfather had noticed his lethargy, and tiredness, and had
told him to go home.  Not in anger, as Tenchi might have expected, but
in concern.  Sometimes he forgot how kind his grandfather could be.
So often in recent years he had been the rigid taskmaster who set
Tenchi to slaving every vacation.  It was easy to forget that this
stern man had held him in his arms and wept with him in their mutual
grief.  Tenchi for his mother, Yousho for his daughter.
     So he had arrived home a day early to an empty home.  He had
staggered upstairs, dropped his luggage in the middle of his room, and
had barely made it to his bed.
     For the first time in three days, he managed to sleep for more
then thirty seconds.  Thanks to the warm familiarity of his own bed,
he actually made it to sixty seconds.  He spent the next six hours in
a half awake stupor.  Every time he fell all the way into sleep, the
image of the demon would bring his out of it drenched in a cold sweat,
but his exhaustion was such that he never woke completely.  At some
time he became aware of voices downstairs, but he did not have the
energy to let his father know he was home.
     Finally during one of his periods of wakefulness, he became aware
of a pungent odor.  Lifting an arm he sniffed.  Wrinkling his nose in
disgust he realized the odor was coming from him.  Hours of sweating
in fear had given him an especially fragrant bouquet.  Giving up on
the thought of sleep, he decided to see if a hot bath might sooth him
enough to allow him to finally sleep.

     Ranma looked up from the bath as she heard the door open.  She
expected to see her father, instead it was a slender boy, about her
own age and height, or what once was her height, she corrected
herself, he was about ten inches taller then her at the moment.  His
hair was cut short on top, but was left long enough in the back to
form a small pony tail.  While he was slender, he had very good muscle
definition, he must train, she thought to herself.
     She drew herself up in the bath and rested her elbows on the edge
of the tub, cupping her chin in the cradle her fingers made.  To her
surprise, the boy did not noticed her.  Careless, she thought.  A true
martial artist should be aware of everything around him at all times.
However, she did note in his defense, that he seemed bone weary.  She
had been in a similar situation enough times to emphasis with him
slightly.  Most recently while fleeing a certain homicidal amazon.
     Then she realized that this must be the boy her father meant her
to marry, and any sympathy she might have had fled.  Her expression
hardened, and she looked at him with new eyes.
     He still had not noticed her, and as she watched, he tossed the
towel he had wrapped around his waist aside and sat down on the
scrubbing stool.  Filling a bucket with water, he upended it over his
head, shuddering as the cold water cascaded over his body.  His eyes
widened, with the shock of the cold water, and he reached down to pick
up a bar of soap, and froze.  He stared in shock at the small girl who
was glaring at him from the tub.
     "W. . . wh. . . who, are you?" he stuttered, clapping his hands
over himself.
     Ranma snorted in derision.  "Don't bother, it ain't like you got
anything I ain't seen before, and a lot better then what you got to
boot...
     I'm Ranma," she stood up in the tub and Tenchi hastily averted
his face, but not before Ranma saw a thin tendril of red run out of
his nose.  Again she snorted, this time in disgust, and stepped out of
the bath.  Walking across the room, she picked up a towel and wrapped
it around herself.  Opening the door she exited, but before she slid
it shut, she turned back and said, "I'm your new Innazuke."  She slid
the door shut, and Tenchi stared at the shut portal in shock.  Then he
started as the door opened and Ranma stuck her head back in.  "O, by
the way, I'm a lesbian too."  Then she slid the door shut once again.
     Tenchi stared at the door flabbergasted for a minute before
finally finding his voice
     "Nani? . . . No way!"

     Out in the hall Ranma smirked, she was not sure what a lesbian
was, but the several boys who had called her that in the last month
had acted like it was something pretty terrible.  Of course Ranma had
flattened them, rather then asking for an explanation of the term.
Just because she did not recognize the word, did not mean she did not
know when she had been insulted.

     Later Ranma lay awake in the bed Nobuyuki-san had given her and
Genma.  She had shamelessly eavesdropped on Tenchi's confrontation
with his father.  If you could call it that, she snorted to herself,
confrontations between Ranma and her father usually resulted in
various contusions and lacerations.  Tenchi's argument with his father
was more verbal, and seemed to consist of Tenchi protesting and
Nobuyuki cheerfully ignoring said protests.  Tenchi would ask what his
father was thinking, and Nobuyuki would go into raptures describing
the blissful life Tenchi would have with his lovely new bride.
     Ranma had soon realized that Tenchi was not about to out and out
refuse the engagement, and Nobuyuki was not about to listen to his
protests on the matter.  So it looked like her plan, such as it had
been, had failed.
     As she lay there, she began to feel uncomfortable, while she had
been annoyed at Tenchi wimping out on her, she could hardly blame him
for not doing what she had not done.  She was beginning to suspect
that her father had tricked her.  He was a little to lively for
someone who had stuck a knife in his belly only a few days before.
She should face him down again, but she kept remembering the dark
blood that had soaked the cloth Genma had held against his wound, and
her resolve to confront her father faded away.  Besides, she had given
her word.  God how could she have been so stupid.  She had panicked,
she admitted that, the thought of losing the only family she
possessed, had frightened her badly.  That's it.  It's not like I love
the old fart or nothing, I just didn't want to be left alone is all.
     Still, she was damned if she was going to marry some guy.  So
what was she going to do.  One thing she had noted about Tenchi's
argument with his father.  Not once had he badmouthed her.  Despite
her behavior in the bathroom, not once had he said anything nasty
about her.  Not even when his father started to praise her good nature
and cheerful disposition.  Ranma laughed to herself remembering how
she had to fight to keep from laughing out loud at that point, and
giving away the fact that she was nearby and listening in.
     Ranma, rubbed her chin as she thought.  Tenchi wanted this
marriage as little as she did.  Maybe the thing to do was to put her
cards on the table.  They could always use the horse defense.  Mind
made up, she got out of bed, and crept out of her room.

     Tenchi supposed he should be grateful.  This was the longest he
had gone without a nightmare, or a daymare for that matter in three
days.  Learning that he had suddenly acquired an innazuke, and a
future father in law who changed into a Panda, had completely driven
thoughts of Yousho's demon out of his head.  Well at least till now
anyway, and even now it seemed a distant threat compared to this much
closer situation.  The problem was, she was obviously being forced
into this by her father, and that was too bad.  She was the sort of
girl Tenchi had always wished would notice him.  Well, she had noticed
him alright, but not in any of his dreams had Tenchi imagined his
dream girl remarking on his deficiencies as a man.  Still, he could
not help but remember how she had looked, and he wondered if she was
thinking of him right that moment, even as he was thinking of her.

     The sound of his door sliding open brought Tenchi away from his
thoughts of what Ranma might be thinking.  He looked over at the door
inquiringly, only to go wide eyed as the very girl he had been
wondering about, slipped into his room.  With her back to him, she
looked both ways down the hallway, and then came the rest of the way
into the room, sliding the door shut behind herself.  Tenchi opened
his mouth to protest her invasion, but before he could even get a word
out, she was across the room and had a hand clapped over his mouth.
     "Shhhh," she whispered, "I don't want to be interrupted.  You and
I have some business to discuss."
     "Nani?" Tenchi said, keeping his voice low.  Her remark in the
bathroom about Tenchi having nothing she hadn't seen before came back
to him.  Combining that with the thin t-shirt she was wearing, and it
was not long before a slight trickle of blood started to flow from his
nose.
     Ranma did not notice, she was to busy trying to think about what
to say.  Sneaking around the matter had gotten her nowhere.  She
turned to Tenchi and grasping his pajama top, pulled his face to
within inches of her own.
     "Look, I don't care what our old men cooked up, I ain't going to
marry you, got it.  That story Pop told you is full of shit.  I ain't
a girl, I'm a guy, and I did so fall in the Nyanniichuan.  Pop should
know, he's the one that kicked me in.
     Ranma noticed that Tenchi had a rather glazed look in his eyes,
and she relaxed the grip on his top, fearing she had cut off his air.
     "Look, this is the way it happened," she said, backing away from
Tenchi and sitting herself down on the foot of his bed with her legs
crossed.
     Tenchi pinched his nose to stop the blood lose and listened as
Ranma told her story.  She covered how Genma had dragged her to
Jusenkyo, and the foggy condition.  She did not try to hide the fact
that she taunted her father into fighting her.  She described with
some glee how she had managed to get the better of her father and slam
him into the spring below where they were fighting.
     Tenchi was having some trouble following her story, Ranma was
very into using body language, and her chest bounced quite a bit as
she described the fight with her father, Tenchi finally with much
regret closed his eyes, so he could focus on what she was saying with
no distractions.
     "Well, when Pop came bursting up out of that fog, you could have
knocked me over with a feather.  All I could do was stand there and
stare as the old fart who was guiding us spouted off about how these
were cursed springs, and how Pop had fallen into the spring of drowned
Panda.
     All I could think of was to get the hell out of there, but I was
to late, Pop came at me, and the next thing I know, I'm sailing
through the air surrounded by nothing but fog.
     "I mean, I couldn't see a damn thing, I didn't know up from down.
Then I spotted a pole, and made a grab for it.  Almost made it too,
but this monkey comes flying out of the fog, and 'smack', right into
me."  Ranma punched her open hand with her fist to demonstrate the
impact.  "He used my head for a spring board, and the next thing I
knew, I was splashing down in a pool.
     "Man that was weird, I could feel my body twisting and changing,
and I knew I'd landed in one of those cursed springs, but I didn't
know which.  The only thing I could think of was getting out of there
quick as I could.  Problem was, that monkey had shoved so hard, my
foot and one hand had driven down into the mud at the bottom of the
pool.  There was a lot of old Bamboo down there, and my Gi got tangled
up.  I might have drowned, but I'm a lot smaller now then I use to be,
and my Gi was almost falling off by itself.  I slipped out of my
clothes and made it to the top.  Course the first thing I did was take
a deep breath, and that's when some jackass on shore threw a cup of
water straight in my face.  Instead of air, I ended up swallowing
water.  Shit, I came closer to drowning from that jerk then from when
I was trapped underwater.
     "I was some mad, I'll tell you.  I came out of that pool looking
for a fight.  Some guy with funny hair tried to distract me by shoving
a banana in my face.  Well I went up and over him, and gave him a boot
to the back of the head while I was at it.  Last I saw of him, he was
splashing down in the same pool I'd just come out of, serves him
right.
     Anyway, soon as I was clear of those goons I headed back the
towards where I thought Pop would be.  I really wanted to discuss my
situation with him.  Guess I got a little too mad, because I didn't
watch where I was going, next thing you know, I come out of the fog,
and I'm right on the bank of another pond, couldn't stop in time and
in I went.  Well I just about shit myself, let me tell you, but
nothing happened, I crawled out the other side just the same as I went
in.  About then I figured that once you take a dip, the pools don't
work no more, so I forgot about being cautious and just booted it back
towards Pop.
     "Must have fallen in a dozen springs before I finally found him,
and gave him a good pounding, but that didn't do me no good, I was
still a girl.  The guide, he wanted us out of there quick, and he
hustled us out of the valley talking a mile a minute.  Half the time
we didn't have a clue what he was talking about, but one thing we
picked up was that hot water would cure the curse, temporarily.  Soon
as we heard that we stopped and lit a fire.  The guide, he didn't like
that at all.  All the time we were heating water he was pissing and
moaning about this being very bad, and we should not waste time.  We
could of cared less, all we wanted was our own bodies back.  Pop got
the hot water first, I wasn't eager to be no guinea pig, and sure
enough it worked.  Pop turned back into a man, I damn near scalded
myself dumping the whole pot over my head."
     Ranma stopped talking for a minute, up till now she had been
rattling her story off like a machine gun.  Hardly stopping for
breath.  Now she sat there looking at the bed sheet.  Tenchi cracked
an eye, and looked at her sitting there, a dejected look on her face.
     "And?" Tenchi said, an inquiring tone in his voice.
     "Obvious, ain't it, it didn't work.  I must have heated a dozen
kettles of water, and none of them worked, I had blisters from the
heat for days afterwards.  I might have hurt myself bad if Pop hadn't
wrestled me to the ground and tied me up.  He carried me the rest of
the night, until the guide figured we'd come far enough." Ranma
trailed off, and just sat there looking into space, caught up in her
own thoughts.
     Tenchi had been listening to her for a good five minutes, most of
it with his eyes closed.  He found that without the distraction of her
body, it was easy to think he was listening to a young man.  Ranma' s
voice and speech pattern was masculine.  Tenchi found himself
believing her story.  He had seen her father transform with his own
eyes, and with that proof of magic, he found it easy to believe Ranma
was really a guy in a girls body.
     As long as he kept his eyes away from her more obvious feminine
attributes.  That is.  Resolutely he kept his gaze on her face,
concentrating on the sad, and lost expression that it showed.  As he
looked at her closely for the first time he became aware of her eyes.
Startled, he blurted out, "you're eyes!  There just like mother's!"
     Ranma snapped out of her funk and look at Tenchi in surprise.
"Well, that's a new one" she said snidely, "Most guys tell me my eyes
are special, and the windows into my soul, all sorts of garbage like
that.  Ain't no one ever said they looked like his mother's."
     "But they do!  Look like my mother's I mean, and like my
grandfathers too, I guess, They both had the same color eyes."
     Now Ranma was interested.  "Really, I ain't never seen anyone
else with eyes just like these, and let me tell you, it's a real pain.
Guys can't say things about your body in public, so they all look for
something safe to say to you.  Most of the jerks started spouting
poetry and whatnot about my beautiful eyes.  Gets to be a real pain,
let me tell you, especially when it's not your eyes their looking at.
Got so I'd thump any guy that started a sentence with, 'You're eyes
are like'.  Well I guess there had to be other people with eyes like
this, after all the girl who drowned in the spring had them.  Funny
they live in Japan though.  Did your family come from China?"
     "No, I don't think so, at least not in grandfathers line.
They've been looking after the Masaki shrine for seven hundred years."
At the mention of the shrine, Tenchi went white, as the vision from
the cavern once again reared it's ugly head.
     "Hey man, you alright?" Ranma asked, "you look like you've seen a
ghost."
     "You could say that." Tenchi said with a rather weak grin.
     Tenchi proceeded to fill Ranma in on the legend of the Masaki
Shrine, and the experiences he had suffered through a mere three days
before.  Not being able to say anything about what had happened had
not given him anyway of getting it out of his system.  Now after the
story Ranma had told him, he was comfortable enough she would not
think him crazy to tell her everything.
     Ranma gave him a cheer when he told how he had tricked his
grandfather and stolen his keys.  She listened raptly as he described
his decent into the cavern that had opened up when he accidentally cut
the wards.  She gasped when he described the desiccated corpse of the
demon, and how it rose from it tomb to clutch at his face.  He brushed
by the part where he screamed like a child and fled the cavern in
panic.  Instead saying he had shaken free of the demon's grasp and
beaten it to the entrance, barely managing to reconnect the wards
before it could escape.
     When he was done she sighed in contentment and said, "great story
Tenchi, wish I could have been there with you."
     Tenchi was startled to say the least.  "You do!?" he asked
incredulously.
     "You bet, sounds like it was a blast, did you get in any good
wacks when the demon grabbed you?"
     "Wacks!?  Wacks!?" Tenchi shouted.  "This was a demon, a demon
who crossed mountains with a single step, who destroyed countless
villages before my ancestor stopped it with his magic sword, and you
ask if I got in any good wacks.  No!  I did not get in any good
wacks!"
     "Ok, ok, don't have to bite my head off.  And keep it down will
you.  Last thing I want is for my Pop to find me . . ."  A sudden
sound caused both Tenchi and Ranma to slowly turn their heads to face
the door.  Both afraid of what they were going to see.  Their worst
fears were confirmed, both of their fathers were standing there,
beaming at them with the joyful expression only possible to the truly
drunk.  Turning to each other Genma and Nobuyuki each raised a large
bottle of Sake, and made a toast.

     "Tenchi and Ranma.  Together For Ever!"


Tenchi and Ranma, Together Forever!?
Chapter 3: Demon and devils, O my.

     Vacation was over, and like fish returning to their birthplace,
students from all over Japan were converging on their schools.
Traveling down the alleys and lanes, converging on the main streets,
and forming a solid mass, as different in reaction and behavior as
they were similar in appearance.  From above a witness would have seen
many different reactions to the prospect of the first day of school.
From the students who were eager to renew old acquaintances, to the
students who had 'heard' about their new teacher, and were not looking
forward at all to making their acquaintance.
     But even in this mass of humanity moving at different speeds and
with varying degrees of enthusiasm, the casual onlooker would have
found their eyes being drawn to one particular pair of young people.
     It was not that the boy was unusual, he was very not unusual, and
in any other company, would have passed without a moments notice being
taken, but his companion, now she drew the eye.  It was not just her
clothing, though that was certainly enough to attract attention.  The
black pants and red shirt were most unusual attire for a young girl,
and despite the looseness of her shirt, it was not difficult to tell
through the thin material that she wore nothing under it.  Many a boy
on their way to school, walked into a lamp post, or if they were
unlucky a fire hydrant, upon noticing the girl, and taking the time to
give her an appreciative glance.
     But even that was not the first thing that drew the eye.  Was it
her hair, a brilliant red, done up in a heavy braid that fell down the
small of her back and reached nearly to her waist.  That braid danced
and swayed as the girl capered with all the appearance of great joy.
But even that, despite its rich and unusual color was not what first
drew the eye to the girl.  What in the end caused every eye to look
their way was that the girl was doing her capering on the top of a
narrow fence nearly seven feet in height.

     Tenchi looked up at the small girl dancing along the top of the
fence, and could not help but smile.  Ranma seemed to radiate joy, and
just being in her presence drove some of the dark shadows that had
recently been haunting him away.  He turned his gaze away from her,
and said in a half joking tone.
     "I don't know what you're so happy about.  Missing school is no
big deal to you.  From what you told me, you've missed more than
you've attended.  Aren't you afraid you'll grow up ignorant and poor?"
     "Don't got to worry about that.  I'm going to marry a sucker, and
he'll support me in comfort.  Ain't that right sucker?  Tenchi just
snorted.
     "Besides, It ain't missing school that's got me so happy, that's
just icing.  It's what your old man did to pop yesterday."  Ranma
exuberantly leaped high into the air, and managed two and half
somersaults before landing, one handed, back on the fence.  With a
little shove she flipped back to her feet.  "Yep, your pop got the old
man real good."
     Tenchi's mind wondered back to the day before.  His father had
just returned from work, and over supper, had brought up the subject
of school.

     "Nani?  You mean Ranma does not have a single school uniform.
That's no good, she won't be able to attend till she gets at least
one."
     Genma looked a little embarrassed.  "Well, Masaki, you know how
it is.  We've been on the road for the last ten years, spare money is
hard to come by, all we had went to keeping us fed, and to pay for
transportation.  I don't suppose you could lend us a hand until I get
my feet under me."
     "I can do better then that," Nobuyuki enthused.  "I checked the
notice board at work, and there's a vacancy in the janitorial staff.
I put in a good word for you, and if you go in with me tomorrow, I can
practically guarantee you'll get it."
     Genma felt a little panicked at the sudden, and unexpected,
prospect of working, but he had long ago learned to keep such things
from showing on his face.  "That's sounds wonderful Masaki," he said,
but then he let his face fall in seeming disappointment, lifting a
finger he shoved his glasses up the bridge of his nose, and said in a
serious voice.  "But alas, I can't afford to be away from my daughter
at this time.  This is a very unsettling point in her life, and I have
to be there for her.  The job plus the commute would mean she would be
alone from the time she got up, till the very late at night.  You
understand don't you?"
     Nobuyuki's face went stiff, and he turned himself away from the
table, and away from Genma.  Crossing his arms over his chest, he
snorted in derision.  "Don't lie to me Genma.  I know exactly why you
don't want to take this job."
     "Cause he's allergic to work." Ranma whispered to Tenchi as she
raised a glass of water to her mouth.
     "It's because you don't trust my Tenchi with your daughter's
virtue."
     Ranma sprayed water all over the table, and her father, who had
facefaulted across the top of it.
     <That's not it.  Ranma would never . . .> Genma hastily scrawled
on a sign, which Nobuyuki did not see, as his back was turned to
Genma.  Ranma, meanwhile, was trying to expel the several ounces of
water that had run down her windpipe.
     Tenchi was big sweating, this was only the second time he had
witnessed Genma's transformation, and it was going to take awhile to
get use to seeing an enormous black panda popping up out of nowhere.
Then Ranma's distress became apparent, and he swatted the choking girl
on the back in an effort to get her breathing going again.  His father
ignored them and kept on talking to Genma.
     "If you can't trust my only son, my heir, my reason for life, the
last reminder I have of his dear sweet mother.  Well, if you can't
trust him, I don't know how I can continue to support this marriage."
Both Tenchi and Ranma, who had finally recovered her breath, perked up
at this.
     Genma big sweated, then after a minute he wrote, <You say all I
have to do is show up with you, and I have the job?> He held the sign
out in front of Nobuyuki.
     "My friend.  How could I have ever doubted you?" Nobuyuki cried,
spinning around and jumping to his feet, he embraced Genma, then
looking over the shoulder of the seated panda, he winked at Ranma and
Tenchi, who's faces had dropped into expressions that seemed to say,
'I knew it was to good to be true.'  Later on Ranma had realized just
what Nobuyuki had maneuvered her father into, and had been laughing
ever since.

     "Man, I never thought I see the day that someone put something
over on the old man like that.  Serves the old fart right.  I hope he
enjoys his days mopping floors and scrubbing toilets."

     Tenchi big sweated, and wondered what Ranma would be saying if
she had witnessed Nobuyuki's meeting with Tenchi after supper.

     After taking a little while to think about the conversation at
dinner, Tenchi had come to realize just how much his father had
praised him.  He had been filled with happiness and pride.  It was
doomed to be short lived however.  Tenchi had been on his way upstairs
to get his books ready for school the next day, when he had met his
father in the hallway.  Looking both ways to make sure he was not
observed, Nobuyuki had sidled over to Tenchi and given him a small
box.
     "I've done my part son, now make your father proud.  Just be
careful."  Nobuyuki had wiped a tear from his eye, turned, and marched
away.  Tenchi had looked after him in puzzlement.  Then he had looked
at the small box in his hand, and seen it was a box of condoms.  His
chin had sunk to his chest, and he had moaned, "He never changes."

     Tenchi decided it would more then likely be a good idea not to
mention that box to Ranma.  Instead he asked, "So, what do you plan on
doing today?"
     "Don't know, just bum around, get to know the area, find out
where the soft touches are, that sort of thing.  You want I should
meet you after school?"
     "That's fine, I need to pick up some food.  Knowing dad, the only
thing in the house is likely old take out."
     Ranma snorted, "Not likely, not with pop there.  There is no such
thing as leftovers when he's around."
     Tenchi wisely kept his mouth shut, not knowing the meaning of the
word leftover must run in the family, if the way Ranma had eaten last
night was any indication.  Just as Tenchi's train of thought reached
that station, the school gates came into sight.  "Well, here we are.
Enjoy your day."
     "Thanks, I will." Ranma said with grin, and with a final wave of
her hand, jumped from the top of the fence, to the roof of the
building across the street, and from there, out of sight.  Tenchi
sighed, and for a moment wished he could follow her, in more ways then
one, but then responsibility reared it's ugly head, and head down, he
trudged through the gate, and into the school.

     "Gee, thanks mister, you sure are sweet."
     The boy behind the bakery counter smiled at the bubbly little red
head, and wished his shift was over.  "It's nothing," he said.  "How
could I let a cute girl like you waste away from hunger?"  Then
looking around to see where his boss was, he leaned over the counter,
and said. "If you come back at nine, I'll take you out for a real
meal.  My parents are away, and I happen to know they have a pair of
steaks stashed away in the freezer."
     "Oooo, that's sounds great." The kawaii girl said, but then her
face fell, "but my fiancee can't make it tonight, could we do it some
other night?"
     The counter boy face faulted.  "Aa, no, I don't think so, my
parents will be back tomorrow."
     "O, too bad, maybe some other time.  Bye."

     Ranma walked down the street stuffing her face with the contents
of various boxes.  Buns, cookies, meat pastries, all disappeared down
her throat.  For awhile she had been afraid that her new neighborhood
was going to be a bust in the food scamming area.  It seemed as if
every booth was maned by sour old farts that never smiled, let alone
gave away food to cute little girls.  Then a couple of hours ago, most
every booth had suddenly been maned by young boys, and ever since
Ranma had been making out like a bandit.  She had made out so well as
a matter of fact, that she was almost full, almost.  Suddenly an
altercation drew her attention.
     One of the old skinflints that had shooed her away earlier was
yelling at a boy dressed in a yellow shirt with green pants tied
tightly to his legs from the knees down.  He had a shaggy mop of black
hair that was barely controlled by a yellow and black head band.
There was something about him that seemed familiar, and Ranma moved
closer in an effort to hear what the fight was about.
     "You little punk.  You think it's funny playing stupid jokes on
busy men?  You ask where Nerima is and I tell you go south.  What do
you do?  You go west.  Then you have the nerve to show back up here
fifteen minutes later and ask me the very same question.  Well boy,
why don't I just call an officer?  I'm sure he'd love to help you go
where you need to go.  RIGHT TO THE HOOSGOW!!"
     "Nani?" The black haired boy exclaimed, backing away from the
furious old man.  "But I didn't do anything.  All I did was ask for
directions."  He looked like he wanted to curl up and die.  His face
was blazing red, and he kept darting looks at all the people the old
mans yelling was attracting.
     "Asking for direction?  Playing jokes on an old man why don't you
say?  Well I can play jokes too boy.  Like the one where I tell the
officer I caught you stealing food from my booth."
     "O dry up you old fart!" Ranma said.  Both the old man and the
shaggy haired boy turned in surprise to look at the source of the
interruption.  The old man with anger, the boy with gratitude.  "You
go ahead call the cops and tell a lie like that, and I'll tell them
how you copped a feel while I was in here earlier."  While the old man
turned red and began to sputter incoherently, Ranma grabbed the hand
of the black haired boy and dragged him away.

     Several minutes later they arrived at the train station.  "There
you go, you just buy a ticket, and you'll be in Nerima in no time."
     The black haired boy had been silent the whole trip to the train
station, now he tried to thank Ranma for saving him.  Tried, but
without much success, he was mostly incoherent, and did not seem able
to look Ranma in the eye.  Ranma was pleased however to note, that it
was not because he was too busy looking at another portion of her
anatomy.
     In the last three months she had come to recognize the several
types of boys in her age bracket.  By far the most common, because
they went out of their way to meet her, were the brash type who hit on
every cute girl they saw.  Ranma enjoyed manipulating them, and had
ended up with many a free meal as a result.  They always had to push
it however, and Ranma almost always ended up breaking something
fragile, which seriously compromised the prospects for more free food.
     Far rarer, because they never approached her, was the terminally
shy types.  Ranma was only aware of them because of the way they
tended to peep at her from around corners and behind bushes.  They
could be distinguished from the common garden variety peeping tom by
the fact that their faces were generally a bright crimson.  Ranma was
very found of them.  They tended to leave boxes of chocolates and
flowers where she would be sure to find them.  The flowers she
trashed, but the chocolates disappeared rapidly down a completely
different disposal system.  The best thing about these boys was that
they never got up the nerve to try anything, and as such remained a
constant source of candy for as long as Ranma was in their area and
gave them the slightest bit of encouragement.
     This was obviously a prime example of the species.  Ranma looked
away from him, taking in the sights around her, waiting for him to get
himself together enough to say thank you, and maybe slip her a little
something for her trouble.  There was an ice cream vendor at the train
station, and a cone would hit the spot right about now.  To bad he was
leaving on the train, he looked like he might have been good for all
sorts of no strings attached gifts.  Then her eyes fell on the station
clock, and she suddenly realized why the food booths had suddenly been
filled with young guys.  It was six o'clock, school had been out for
two hours.
     "Sorry, got to go!" she shouted at the black haired boy, already
several feet away and accelerating.  Her sudden hasty retreat jarred
the boy enough that he managed to get out.  "Wait, at least tell me
your name."
     "Ranma, Ranma Saotome," she called over her shoulder, just before
vanishing around the left hand corner.
     "Ranma, what a sweet name." The rather bemused boy said, then his
eyes flew open and he shouted in shock.  "Ranma Saotome!?"  He took
several steps after the departed girl, but then rationality reared
it's head.  "Hold it," he said to himself, "Ranma's a boy, and that
was a girl.  The only way that could be Ranma would be if . . . he . .
. had . . ."  Suddenly the boy's eyes widened again, "Jusenkyo" he
whispered to himself.  Then he screamed, "Curse you Ranma, how dare
you play with me like that!  I will have my revenge!"
     He rushed off intent on catching the fleeing girl before she got
to far.  Reaching the corner he turned right, and kept going . . . . .
and going . . . . . . . . and going.

     A few hours later filming on a climatic scene in the galaxies
most popular soap opera was interrupted as a strange biped ran across
the set, destroying the main support column as he did so.
     "I don't believe it, that's the third time this month!!" The
producer, and main sponsor, screamed as he oozed out of the wreckage.
"Get me the galaxy police, I want that barbarian caught."

     Ranma heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that Tenchi was not
waiting at the gate.  Tenchi was a nice guy, but he was a little bit
of a pushover.  She'd been afraid he'd have spent the last two hours
waiting for her.  Hopefully he'd seen she was not coming after a short
time and was at home now.  She started in that direction, and the roof
of the school exploded.  She whipped around and stared at the smoking
building in surprise, and then she saw two figures moving in an
unmistakable pattern on the roof.  A grin crossed her face and she
began to race across the yard towards the school.  O boy, o boy, she
thought to herself, just what I need to make this a perfect day, a
fight.

     Up on the roof of the school, Tenchi was running for his life.
The demon from the cave had followed him, and now in the guise of a
cute girl named Ryouko, was intent on revenging herself on Tenchi for
the crimes of his ancestor Yosho.  He dodged left, just in time to
avoid being fried by a bolt of energy that blew a large hole in the
roof.  Suddenly the steady stream of force bolts stopped, and Tenchi
ducked behind a roof vent to catch his breath, then remembering the
way the demon had cut one of the other vents in half, he rolled out
from behind it, looking frantically for the demons present location.
What he saw caused him to freeze in shock.
     A small girl with waist length red hair done up in a single braid
was facing off against the demon.
     "Ranma, get out of there!" Tenchi yelled.  "It's the demon from
the cave."
     "This is the dried up old mummy you told me about?" Ranma asked
in surprise.
     Tenchi big sweated at the look Ryouko shot his way.  "Dried _ Up
_ Old _ Mummy!" she hissed from between clenched teeth.  A ball of
energy formed in her hand, and then when she closed her hand tightly,
it extended into a glowing sword.  Once she reached that point
however, Ryouko did not seem to know which person to attack.  Then
Ranma took the decision away from her.
     "Demon?  Then I guess I don't got to worry about hurting you."
Ranma said.  Ryouko looked surprised, then gestured for Ranma to give
it her best shot, smiling a fang filled grin as she did so.  The smile
disappeared quickly however when she only just managed to fade out of
the path of Ranma's kick.  Ranma cursed, and just barely managed to
duck under the glowing bar of Ryouko's energy sword as she
materialized behind Ranma.  Tenchi watched in amazement as Ranma and
Ryouko proceeded to put on a dazzling display of agility and speed.
     The demon would throw a force bolt, and Ranma would be long gone
by the time it got to where she had been.  Ranma would throw a kick or
punch and Ryouko would fly above her attack, or fade from sight and
reappear close behind Ranma.  Ranma soon learned to move quickly when
the demon faded, and was generally no where near the place that Ryouko
appeared, but she kept up the tactic, trying to guess where Ranma was
going to be when she reappeared.

     Ranma stood panting, looking at the figure of the demon who was
leaning against the side of the stairwell, smirking at her.  She was
not even breathing hard.  Ranma on the other hand had to use all her
will power to keep her legs from trembling, she was down to her last
chance, she had strength enough for one more try, and then she was
done for, which meant she had better make it count.  Damn her, she
thought, how the hell does she do that disappearing trick?  Is it an
illusion?  Does she have some way to make herself invisible?  Maybe
she's moving so fast I can't see her do it.  Naa, that can't be it, if
she were that fast the fight would already be over.  Ranma started to
replay the fight in her mind, trying to find a solution to the current
deadlock..
     One of the prime tenets of the Anything goes school of Martial
Arts, was observation.  Ranma could recount move for move, second by
second, a fight she had been in weeks before, now she applied that
ability to her current fight, replaying every move the demon had made,
looking for a weak spot.  Then her eyes widened, and she called up
every instance where the demon had pulled the vanishing trick.
     She's not moving her body when she shifts between locations Ranma
thought to herself.  What ever position her body is in when she
vanishes, she's in the same position when she reappears.  Right down
to the most miniscule tensing of muscles.  That eliminated the
possibility that she was moving in such a way as to render herself
invisible.  Now the big question was, could she see what was going on
when she was traveling from place to place.  Ranma was pretty sure she
could not, but there was only one way to find out for sure.
     "All right demon, this is where it ends."
     "All rested?" Ryouko said, giving a yawn before moving away from
the stairwell, and towards Ranma.  "Good.  I was getting bored.  Let's
finish this so I can go back to playing with Tenchi."
     "O, I'll finish it alright, but the only ones you'll be playing
with are your fellow demons in hell." Ranma said as she started her
rush.  As had already happened many times before, Ryouko vanished just
before Ranma's blow could fall.
     As soon a she faded Ranma began her windup.  Spinning in place,
she used every muscle in her body, and the last dregs of energy in
them, to accelerate her foot to where she estimated the demon's head
would be when she reappeared.  It was a show boat move, something
Ranma would never use in a fight, it was impossible to do it without
telegraphing your intent well before it could land.  If the demon
could see in her invisible state, then Ranma was toast, if not, well,
she was in for a very rude awakening.
     The demon appeared, bare inches away from where Ranma had
estimated, easily close enough to correct her foots trajectory.  With
a sound audible for several hundred feet Ranma's shoeless foot crashed
into the demons chin, causing her head to whip to the side and forcing
her to take a step backward in order to stay on her feet.
     Ranma let out an yell of accomplishment as she let the follow
through from her kick carry her around in a circle until she was again
facing the demon.  Her victory cry died in her throat, and her eyes
bugged out as she saw the demon straightening up, to all appearances
non the worse for having been hit by the most powerful blow Ranma had
ever thrown.
     Lifting a hand to her chin, the demon wiggled it back and forth
slightly, then using her thumb, she wiped the corner of her mouth.
Holding her thumb in front of her face she looked at the tiny smear of
blood on it.  Then she grinned broadly at Ranma.  "Nice move red." She
said mockingly, then her smile turned sinister, and she rubbed her
fist in the palm of her other hand.  "Now it's my turn."
     Ranma just stood there, unable to move, she had given it
everything she had, had delivered a perfect blow, one that should have
finished the fight, and all she had done was amuse the demon.  What
was worse, she had temporally depleted her reserves, the fight had
taken a lot out of her, and the effort she had just expended had left
her utterly drained.  Given a few seconds to rest, she would be able
to recover.  It did not look like the demon was going to give her
those seconds.  She stood there, arms hanging a her side, lacking even
the strength to make a token defense, as the demon drew back her fist,
but before anything could happen, she felt herself being picked up by
the waist and carried into the stairwell.

     Tenchi took the stairs three at a time, barely fazed, thanks to a
healthy jolt of adrenaline, by the hundred and fifteen pounds of
curvy, but very muscular, red head in his arms.  Ranma just hung there
limp, offering no objection to being manhandled.  Suddenly an
explosion at the top of the stairs blew them off the steps and sent
them tumbling head over heels down to the lower hallway.  They rolled
up against the far wall with a thump.  For a moment Tenchi sat there
waiting for his head to stop spinning.  Then a voice from above
galvanized him.

     "Don't hurt yourselves," the demon's voice mocked.  "I want to do
that myself."
     "Still want to stay and fight?" Tenchi asked from his position on
the floor beside Ranma.  Ranma just looked at him blankly.  Tenchi
groaned, Looks like it's up to me, he thought, Ranma's out of it.
Dragging the unresisting girl to her feet by one hand, he looked
around wildly for someplace to hide.  Spying the open door to the
science classroom, he headed towards it, pulling Ranma along behind
him.

     Tenchi quickly, but quietly, slid the door shut and hunkered down
beside Ranma, below the level of the windows lining the hallway.  He
held his breath as he watched Ryouko's shadow move across the far
wall, and then sighed in relief when she failed to discover their
presence.
     "She playing with us." said a quiet voice beside him.
     "Huu," Tenchi said, turning to look at Ranma.  The vacant look
had disappeared from her face, and had been replaced by an expression
of deep thought, she looked like she was in pain.
     "I said she's playing with us.  I thought she had a few tricks,
but was nothing special.  The way she took that kick . . . she could
take us anytime she wanted.  So, she's playing with us.  But why?"
     "Maybe she wants to make me suffer, she is out for revenge for
Yosho's locking her away all those years ago after all."
     "Hmm, maybe, but there might be something else.  Then she
straightened up, her face taking on an excited look.  Tenchi!" she
exclaimed, "you said the magic sword was nothing but a mass of rust,
despite the hilt looking good.  Where's the hilt?"
     Tenchi was puzzled, but he answered Ranma's query.  "In my book
bag.  It's probably still in my desk where I left it.  Why?  What good
is it?  The rest of it fell apart back in the cave.  I only kept the
hilt because I was in such a hurry to get out of the cave I forgot to
put it back."
     "Which is probably why the demon is walking the halls right now.
I bet you anything the magic is in the hilt.  I thought it was awfully
funny when you said it was still in perfect condition after seven
hundred years.  I may not have much education, but I've heard a lot of
stories in the last ten years.  It's sometimes seemed like pop went
out of the way to take me to places where weird stuff happened a long
time ago.  You, the sword, and that demon are classic.  Descendant of
demon killer awakens demons, demons do nasty things, then just before
he gets killed, he discovers his legacy and destroys demons.  If I've
seen it once, I've seen it a million times."  Ranma laughed out loud,
"We ain't got a thing to worry about."
     Tenchi laughed along with her, "That's great, you've really seen
this sort of thing before?  I thought that sort of thing only happened
in stories these days."  A sudden explosion caused Tenchi to revise
his statement, "I mean, I didn't think they happened all the time, so
you've seen demons in real life before.  That makes me feel better."
     "Well, not in real life, but just about every anime I ever saw
always worked that way.  Let's go get that demon!"  Ranma started
towards the door, only to be brought up short by Tenchi catching hold
of her arm.
     "You mean to say," Tenchi hissed at her, "you expect me to risk
my life because it always turned out ok in the anime.  Are you crazy?
Those are real energy blasts she's throwing, not drawing's on an
animation cell! . . ." suddenly Tenchi's eyes glazed over, "the energy
blasts, every time she draws energy, the gem on her wrist glows.  I
forgot about them, their in the legend too.  She gets her power from
them, all we have to do is get them off her, and she's powerless."
Tenchi laughed out loud.  "It's so easy," he enthused.
     "Right, and how do you plan on getting close enough to get a hold
of them." Ranma said in a quelling voice.
     Tenchi held up a finger, his face radiant, but then he big
sweated and dropped his chin to his chest, "I never thought of that,"
he said.  Then he lifted his head and sniffed the air.  "Do you smell
that?" He said.  Then he pointed frantically at a pile of rubble under
one of the holes Ryouko had blown in the roof.  "Gas, the explosion
has broken one of the gas lines, we have to get out of here.  One
little spark, and we'll be history."  Tenchi grabbed one of Ranma's
hands and started to drag her towards the door.  She jerked herself
free.
     "Would you stop doing that!  I ain't a girl!  I can look after
myself!" She shouted at Tenchi, then her eyes widened in shock, and
she slapped a hand over her mouth.  It was too little to late.
     "There you are, you naughty people.  Did you really think you
could hide from me?"
     Ranma and Tenchi looked around the room frantically, trying to
find the source of that mocking voice, then they both saw her at the
same time, their hair stood on end, and their eyes bugged out in shock
at the sight of Ryouko's head, sticking out of the wall, for all the
world like some sort of macabre hunting trophy.  Then the head smiled
at them, and with a shudder they watched as her body moved into the
room along with her head, passing through the solid wall with casual
ease.
     "No way!!" Tenchi moaned, "she can walk through walls."  Then his
eyes widened as he saw Ryouko beginning to draw energy into her hands
again.  "Stop, there's gas," he shouted.  To the apparent bewilderment
of Ryouko.

     Tenchi and Ranma raced down the hallway, trying to put as much
distance as possible between them and Ryouko.
     "I can't believe I used that old gag," Tenchi said.  "Look!  Out
the window."
     "I can't believe she fell for it," Ranma said in return.
     "O shit!!" Ranma cried, looking behind her at a wall of flame
advancing down the hall towards them.  "Run like fuck, she shouted.
To late as it turned out.  The pressure wave in front of the blast
picked them both up and tossed them like leaves down the length of the
hallway, barely in front of the wall of flames that accompanied it.
Tenchi did a face plant and slid fifty feet on his chest, Ranma
gracefully turned her body in mid air and tucking herself into a ball,
rolled with the impact, bouncing to her feet as soon as she stopped
moving.
     "Well, that's that," she said.  "One barbecued demon, hold the
sauce."  Beside her, Tenchi clapped his hands in prayer, and then
looked sheepishly at Ranma.
     "Sorry, old shrine habit.  It's too bad, she was sort of cute."
     "Cute!!  Cute!!  Are you crazy.  Cute.  I don't believe it.
Maybe if you like girls who could wrestle gorillas, who would as soon
cut you in half as look at you.  Cute, for gods sake, I don't believe
you, she just tried to kill you."  Unable to continue, Ranma turned
her back on Tenchi in annoyance.  Crossing her arms over her chest,
she glowered at the flickering flames that were illuminating the
hallway with a ruddy glow.  "Cute." she muttered again in disgust,
then "Boys" with all most as much disgust.
     Ranma's eyes suddenly widened, and spinning in place she caught
Tenchi's arm and dragged him into a mid hall stair well.  When he
would have protested she clapped a hand over his mouth and gestured
towards the hall they had just left.  She mimed fangs, using her free
hand's fingers held over her mouth.
     "Nani, you don't mean?" Tenchi whispered.  Then he big sweated
when he heard coughing coming from the direction of the flames,
followed by a voice yelling out.  "I will never forgive you!!"
     "We're doomed," Tenchi moaned.  But for some reason Ryouko did
not appear immediately at the head of the stairs, and they were able
to make there way down them and into a lower hallway without
interference.
     Tenchi led the way towards his home room, and once there, he
found his book bag in his desk, right where he had left it.
     "Great," Ranma said, when Tenchi showed her the hilt of Yosho's
magic sword.  "I was right, look at the condition it's in.  It could
have been made yesterday.  I bet these jewels in the handle are the
source of the magic."
     "Actually, their Ryouko's.  Yosho used the sword to take them
from her, I remember the legend."
     "That must be what she's really after then, we have to keep it
away from her."
     "No!" Tenchi said firmly.  "Not we, it's the sword and me she's
after.  You get out of here, I'll hold her off until you're well
away."
     Ranma glowered at Tenchi, then she reached out and grabbed his
collar, and with a yank, pulled his face down level with her.  "Just
what the fuck are you trying to pull here, I say when I go or stay,
what the crap do you think I am, a girl."
     Tenchi blushed, and letting his eyes drop slightly, said. "Well
actually, it's just, well . . . yes.  But just for a minute!" he
hastily said, "it's just your shirt, it's sort of, well, it made me
forget for a minute."
     "What about my shirt?" Ranma said, looking downward.  Then she
cursed slightly, she had not come through the battle unscathed, and
her shirt was much the worse for wear.  Her breasts were clearly
visible through the various rents.  "Damn it, and I just got this
shirt, shit, that un-cute mummy is going to pay for this."  When Ranma
had looked downward, she had retained her grip on Tenchi's collar, and
had inadvertently dragged his face down into close proximity with her
breasts.  When she looked back at Tenchi, he was blushing heavily, and
had a slim streamer of blood trailing down from his nose.  She looked
at Tenchi's face for a second, then followed his gaze to her chest.
     "Pervert!" she yelled, in disgust, shoving him up against the
classroom wall, "I told you, I'm a guy, don't go turning weird on me.
This stupid engagement is bad enough, with out you acting sick.  I
thought you believed me when I said I was really a guy."
     "I did, I did," Tenchi hastily affirmed, "It's just . . ."
Anything else he might have planned on saying was drowned out as the
outside wall of the classroom blew in.

     Once again Tenchi and Ranma raced down a hallway, only this time
instead of the blast rolling down the hallway after them, a series of
individual blasts, shattered the exterior wall, one right after the
other.  Each one next to the previous, herding them down the hallway.
     "Bitch!" Ranma cursed.  "That un-cute mummy is playing again, she
wants us outside where there aren't so many hiding places.  When we
get outside, I'll distract her, you use the sword."
     Tenchi was too winded to reply, but he gripped the bag in his
arms tightly, determined not to lose their last chance at living
though this.  He wished Ranma had listened to him and snuck out the
back, but remembering how well she had fought on the roof, he was
comforted by her presence beside him, and was glad she had stayed.
They raced out the front door together and managed to make it through
the gate, before Ryouko caught them.
     Tenchi was jerked backward as Ranma grabbed the back of his
uniform and put on the brakes.  Tenchi came to a stop about one foot
in front of Ryouko, who just stood there smiling at him.  Tenchi
frantically scrambled backward, while Ranma took advantage of the fact
that Ryouko was focusing on Tenchi, to sidle out to the side, trying
to move around behind her.  She did not really expect to succeed, but
if she could draw Ryouko's attention, then Tenchi might have a chance.
     She was not expecting what happened.
     "Don't be scared sweety pie.  I won't hurt you." Ryouko said,
totally ignoring Ranma, then with no warning swung her sword full at
Tenchi.

     "Nooo!!" Ranma screamed, how could she have been so stupid, the
demon had only wanted them to show her where her jewels were.  Now
that they had recovered the hilt, she had no further use for them.
Ranma started forward, sick with fear and self loathing.  There was no
way she could get there in time, but she could at least try to cause
the demon some pain before it killed her.
     She was still several yards away when Ryouko's sword impacted on
the book bag Tenchi held between two hands in a futile effort of
defense.  Then the sword that Ranma had witnessed cutting through
every thing in it's path, stopped.  A brilliant glow of energy flared
up from between Tenchi's hands, and Ryouko was flung backwards a dozen
yards.
     All three of them watched in amazement as the glowing hilt to
Yosho's legendary sword hovering in mid air.  Ryouko was the first to
recover.  "Impressive," she said, then unleashed a barrage of energy
bolts at Tenchi, all of which flowed around him and the hilt doing no
harm to either.
     Ranma's heart, which had been sick with dread, leaped back to
life.  Yes, she thought, I was right, the magic is in the hilt.  She
watched in glee as Ryouko launched an attack at Tenchi, only to be
brought up short when a glowing bar of energy sprang from the hilt in
Tenchi's hand to match the demon's weapon, and parried her sword.
Then she felt a spurt of admiration as Tenchi launched a furious
counterattack.  It looked chaotic, but Ranma could make out an
underlaying sword style she was not acquainted with.  That surprised
her, "looks like Tenchi has hidden talents," she mused to herself.
     Then a scream of fury from Ryouko made her realize that she had
better start to play her part.  Apparently Tenchi had called her a
monster and she had taken grave exception to it.  Well anger bred
carelessness, time to take advantage of that.  Darting forward, her
body low to the ground, she snatched up a rake that some one had
carelessly left laying on the ground.  She whirled the rake in an
intricate pattern around her body in order to attract Ryouko's
attention to herself, when she got it she lashed out with a vicious
blow that Ryouko could not possibly ignore, she hoped.
     With an angry growl Ryouko knocked it aside with a casual elbow
that bent the heavy iron handle almost in two, and then snapping a
hand out, she fired a force blast at Ranma that picked her up and
smashed her into the nearby fence.  Where she hung limply, the breath
knocked out of her.
     Tenchi felt the sword twist in his hand, and suddenly he was
being pulled along behind it as it dragged him towards Ryouko.  With a
hiss it swung through the air, and cut off the hand Ryouko still held
extended towards the fallen Ranma.  Slicing it cleanly off her arm
just behind the jewel imbedded in her wrist.  Tenchi watched in horror
as the severed hand flew through the air and vanished in a puff of
flame.  The jewel that had been attached to it bounced several times
before exploding in a fierce, but localized explosion.
     "Yatta," Ranma yelled from where she was just getting to her
feet.  "Way to go Tenchi."
     Tenchi did not share Ranma's pleasure.  He was looking at Ryouko
who was standing there with a sad look on her face.  Blowing out a
puff of breath she said sadly, "Oh well, another battle lost.  My
miserable lot."  Then she blinked as she noticed for the first time
that she was missing an appendage.
     Tenchi felt he had to say something, "I'm sorry!  It was the
sword, I didn't mean to cut your hand off."  Ryouko blinked at him.
Then she smiled, and for once, it was not a mocking or derisive smile.
Holding up her shortened arm she touched a finger, that trailed sparks
as she moved it through the air, to the stump.  Then pressed the stump
to the palm of her remaining hand.  Drawing it back, she showed that
she now had a brand new hand where had been only a charred ruin.
     Tenchi applauded enthusiastically, but trailed off sheepishly as
he saw the look Ranma was directing at him.  "Geez Tenchi get a grip.
She was ready to kill you a minute ago."
     Tenchi held the back of his head with one hand, and laughed
nervously, "But she's helpless now.  Isn't she?"

     Ranma started to tell Tenchi to finish the demon off, but
stopped, now that Tenchi had the sword she was no threat, and she
looked so sad.  It had been a good fight, it would leave a bad taste
in her mouth if they were to end it by killing the demon girl, but
what were they going to do with her if they didn't.  Ranma was not
looking forward to herding her back to the Masaki shrine so Tenchi
could seal her back up in that cave.  But what else were they to do?
     Ryouko took the decision out of their hands.  She bowed to them,
or rather to Tenchi, said, "Farewell," and sank out of sight into the
ground.
     Tenchi and Ranma looked at each other.  "Do you suppose she's
gone for good?" Ranma said, a wistful tone in her voice.
     "I don't know, I'm just glad we all survived."  Just then what
remained of the school exploded with a force that almost threw them to
the ground.  Tenchi looked in horror at the remains of his school,
then he started to head for home at a rapid pace.  "Let's get out of
here.  I don't want to be here when the police and fire trucks
arrive."  Ranma nodded her agreement, and they both headed for home.

     Ranma sighed in relief as she made her way towards her room, It
had been a good fight, her strategy had worked, it was too bad she
couldn't have thrown the final blow herself, but the sword was
Tenchi's ancestor's, so it was unlikely it would have worked for her,
but at least she had come up with the solution.  Suddenly she heard
Tenchi cry out in shock.  With a groan she turned and started back
towards his room.  What now, she thought.  Then she suddenly snapped
fully awake, the demon, is she back?  She rushed towards Tenchi room,
ready for anything, a smile on her face.


     Whew, well that's another one done.  To think I originally saw
this one ending after Sasami and Aeka were introduced.  I just can't
seem to compress my stories.
     Real life has slowed my output down a lot, but I will keep
plugging away at this.  Lots of replies will no doubt encourage me to
write faster ^_^ hint, hint.

Many thanks to my Pre-readers.
Tzigane
Wade Tritschler
Jim Nutley
Green Eyes
and Eimii, the lovely Pain Magnet, who had better get going on
SHOTR, if she does not want to find out just how magnetic she
is. ^_^

Till the next chapter.
T.H. Tiger



Tenchi and Ranma, together forever!?
An alternative universe, semi fusion saga.

The characters from Ranma 1/2, were created by the brilliant Rumiko
Takahashi.

The characters from Tenchi Muyo, were created by Hitoshi Okuda, may
his wrist never go limp.

Louis-Philippe Giroux, has very kindly posted the earlier chapters of
this story at the following address.
     <http://www.anime.usacomputers.net/~dragon/>
     If you have not already done so, check out his story, Lines of
Destiny, at the same location.  It's well worth the time.

What has happened:
In this universe Ranma has, as a result of a run in with Herb of the
Musk Dynasty, been trapped as a female from her first dip in the
Nyanniichuan.  She is not aware of Herb's part in this, and believes
she is trapped as a result of falling into several springs right after
falling in the Nyanniichuan..  She has spent the three months prior to
this story getting used to being a girl, and while she is not happy
about it, she has adapted to a certain extent.
     Genma sank into despair, his son's loss of manhood scuttled his
plans to retire in comfort to the Tendo training hall.  Then, while
looking through some old papers in his backpack, he came across an old
agreement between himself and Noboyuki Masaki that was drawn up prior
to Ranma's birth.  It was a commitment to marry Noboyuki's son Tenchi
to Genma's child if he should happen to have a daughter.
     After a brief, very convincing, but completely phony, display of
attempted suicide on Genma's part, Ranma reluctantly agreed to fulfill
her obligation to carry on the Saotome clan's blood line by marrying
Tenchi.
     Last episode, Tenchi and Ranma faced and defeated the demon of
the Masaki Shrine.  Or did they?


Chapter 4: Ryo-oh-ki, Death and rebirth.

     Nodoka Saotome was going over the arrangements for her upcoming
trip when a knock on her front door broke her concentration.  Setting
her tickets down on an atlas of China, she made her way to the door.
"I wonder who that could be?" She said with a small frown.  She was
not expecting anyone, and her next door neighbor had already been over
for her morning cup of tea.
     Reaching the door, she opened it and smiled pleasantly at the
young man on her stoop.  "Hello.  May I help you?"
     "Saotome-san?"  At Nodoka's nod, the boy went on.  "I am most
grievously sorry to intrude on you in this manner, but I have no
alternative.  My name is Kuonji Ukyou, and I need to talk to you about
your son and husband, and a matter of honor."  He bowed low, and
waited for her reply.
     Nodoka's eyes had gone wide at the mention of her son and
husband, and she stepped aside.  "If the matter is as you say, one of
honor, then you must by all means come in.  I am always happy to hear
word of my son and husband, and most especially eager to hear of any
matter of honor concerning them."


     A bedroom in a typical, if rather oversized, suburban family
dwelling.  A curvaceous form slipped silently through one of the
outside walls, leaving no sign behind to indicate how it had
penetrated a solid wall.  Once in the light, the form was revealed to
be an attractive young lady with coarse, cyan colored hair.  She wore
a look of smug self-congratulation.

     Ryouko smiled in anticipation, this was going to be good.  Tenchi
was going to be so happy to see her.  Her imagination in full
overdrive she dropped to her knees and grasped at the pant legs of an
imaginary Tenchi.
     "O, Tenchi, you have defeated me in battle.  I have no where to
go, no where to turn.  I am," her voice caught in her throat for a
second, ". . . utterly your's, please . . ."  Here she lowered her
head and bit a finger, before looking back up, artistic tears running
down her cheeks.  "Please . . . be gentle."  She lowered her head and
gave a little sob.  Then she quickly stood up and assumed the role of
Tenchi.
     "Ryouko-chan." Ryouko-Tenchi said, a catch in her voice.  She
reached out and gathered an imaginary Ryouko to her chest, stroking
her hair with a gentle hand.  "You are so very beautiful.  It will be
hard to resist the great desire burning within me, but I will try to
be gentle."
     Ryouko stood there for a minute, eyes closed, smiling, then she
threw back her head and laughed like a maniac.  "Yes, oh yes, just
like that.  BAHAHAHAHAHAHA"  In a quick motion she drew back the
covers on the bed in the corner, and slipped under them, pulling them
back up, and over her head, covering herself completely.
     Ryouko settled herself down to wait, stifling the laughter that
threatened to give away her hiding place.  The expression on Tenchi's
face when she had confronted him at school had been priceless.  She
had gotten him back good for treating her like some sort of monster,
and running off and leaving her in that cold dank crypt.
     Not that everything had gone quite as planned, she thought to
herself, frowning under the covers.  Tenchi's sister had come as a
complete surprise.  She had no idea Tenchi had one.  There was no
mistaking those Juraian features, however.  She had to be Tenchi's
sister.  Well, that just added spice to the situation.  She was almost
as cute as Tenchi, and what a firecracker.  Ryouko worked her jaw back
and forth.  It was still slightly sore from the blow she had received
from the little red head.
     Imagine, she thought, someone that young, and untrained in the
power of her heritage, landing a blow that hard.  It was almost as
impressive as the fact that she had managed to figure out how to do
it.  The girl had excellent instincts.
     O, yes, she thought with glee, it was going to be almost as much
fun playing with Tenchi's little sister as with Tenchi himself.  Maybe
after she had worn Tenchi out to-night, she'd pay Ranma a visit.  A
little spice to go with her sugar.
     Ryouko's thoughts were suddenly disrupted as a connection that
had not been active in nearly seven hundred years suddenly came on
line.  Ryo-ok-ki's passive sensors were picking up a Juraian craft
moving into near earth orbit.  Automatic systems analyzed the signal
from the on board beacon that was required by law to be carried on
every ship in space, a law Ryo-oh-ki had somehow always neglected to
follow.  The craft was the Ryuu-oh registered to the first princess of
Jurai, Ayeka.
     "Damn," Ryouko swore, "Seven hundred years, and I'm not out of
that damn cave one full week and they're here already, and Yosho's
sister on top of that."
     So much for fun and games with Tenchi.  She needed to up her
firepower, and quick.  She sent out a command to Ryo-oh-ki, ordering
her to activate and get her furry butt over here now!  Nothing
happened.  Again she sent, this time with all her strength, again
nothing.  She did not have sufficient power to order Ryo-oh-ki to full
activation.  That could only mean one thing, this was not her
Ryo-oh-ki.  She must have been damaged sufficiently in their last
battle to require regeneration.  So it was Ryo-oh-ki's
daughter/sister's auto functions that were feeding Ryouko telemetry.
     Ryouko swore long and imaginatively under her breath.  She needed
the power jewels in Tenchi's hilt to re-establish the connections
required to order Ryo-oh-ki to full activation.  The faux one in her
earring would not do.  It was fine for drawing power, and manipulating
power on a small scale, like at the school earlier, but not for this
job.  Only the originals had the range and power for this.
     As if on cue she heard someone opening the bedroom door.  Tenchi,
speak of the devil, she thought.  Ryouko resisted the urge to burst
out at him.  She might not have time to play the way she had hoped,
but she could at least do a little flirting, and who knows, it might
make it easier to talk Tenchi into handing over the family jewels.

     Ranma had been on her way to bed, a very much desired thing after
her busy day, when she had been pulled up short by a cry of alarm
coming from Tenchi's room.  For a second she hesitated, pulled by the
siren call of her warm bed, but then she recalled that they still did
not know for sure what had happened to the demon girl.  So she turned
and hurried towards her 'fiancee's' room.

     "What was that Noboyuki?" Genma asked.  Looking up toward the
ceiling.  "Did you hear something?"
     Noboyuki had indeed heard something, and the last thing he wanted
was for Genma to get inquisitive.  He had gone out of his way to give
Tenchi and Ranma enough privacy to do whatever they wanted.  The last
thing the two lovers needed was Genma interrupting them at a crucial
moment.  If he had been alone, he would have been discrete, a little
window peaking, being very careful not to distract them, but alas, he
had to sidetrack Genma.  Tenchi was on his own.  "It's just the house
settling.  Come, try this Sake, it's a particularly good brand, and
I'd like your opinion on it."  Genma forgot the noise, and reached for
the warm bottle of Sake Noboyuki was holding out toward him.

     Ranma was about to barge into Tenchi's room, but she stopped.  No
point in rushing into an unknown.  Not when a light around the door
gave indication of a gap big enough for a little reconnoitering.
Lowering an eye to the crack, she peered inside, and blushed
furiously.

     Ryouko looked up from her position astride Tenchi when the door
slammed open and an outraged voice exclaimed.
     "What the f*** are you doing to him, you old mummy."
     Ryouko stifled her annoyance at the mummy crack, time enough
later to show Tenchi's sister she was anything but dried out.  Instead
she directed a languorous look at the fuming red head.  "Don't worry
cutey, your brother and I are just playing a grown up game."  Both
Ranma and Tenchi turned red, and blurted out:
     "DON'T call me cutey . . . Brother?"
     "She lying, she wants the sword . . .Brother?"
     Both Tenchi and Ranma exchange puzzled looks, and Ryouko looked
between the two of them.  "She is your sister.  Isn't she?" Ryouko
asked Tenchi.

     A split screen formed, on one side was Tenchi's imagination, on
the other Ranma's.

     Over Ranma's head an image appeared, in it, a SD Ryouko and
Tenchi are in the same position the real one's are in, but Ranma-chan
is now Ranma-kun.  Ranma-kun minces over to the pair and glomps
Tenchi.  He says, in a sickeningly kawaii voice, "why no, Tenchi is my
fiancee.  We're going to get married and have lots and lots of Babies,
Tee Hee!"  Under the thought bubble the real Ranma shuddered and
looked nauseous.
     "Yea sister, right, I'm his sister.  You bet," she said quickly.

     Meanwhile over above Tenchi's head, in his thought bubble, a SD
Ryouko is advancing on a SD Ranma-chan who is cowering in the corner.
"Well, if she's not your sister, than I guess the sword won't protect
her," SD Ryouko says.  She grins an evil, fang filled smile and raises
her sword to start slicing and dicing.  SD Ranma screams in denial and
covers her head with her hands.
     "Sister!!!  She's my sister." Tenchi shouted.  Then a little
quieter when both Ranma and Ryouko stared at him in surprise, "he, he.
Of course she's my sister.  What else could she be?"

     Ryouko looked from Tenchi to Ranma, and back again, a puzzled
frown on her face.  Both Tenchi and Ranma big sweated, and tried to
look nonchalant, without much success.  Ryouko was about to say
something, when a new data burst from Ryo-oh-ki put an end to all
unnecessary talk and speculation.
     "We don't have time for games," Ryouko said.  "Tenchi, give me
your balls.  Now!"
     "Nani, no way!" Ranma cried.  She leaped at Ryouko and wrapped
herself around the larger girl, trying to pull her away from Tenchi.
"No one's going to lose anymore balls around here, not if I can help
it!," she shouted in Ryouko's ear.
     "Aaa Ranma," Tenchi said, blushing fiercely.  "She means the
power jewels in the hilt."
     Ryouko turned and smirked at Ranma, who's face was inches from
her own.  "That feels soooo good Ranma, but we'll have to do this
later.  Right now I have a devil to stop."  Ranma looked at her
blankly for a minute, then even as Ryouko looked down at her chest in
a meaningful way, Ranma became aware that she was gripping something
other then hard muscle.  With a rather stunned look in her eyes, she
gave a slight squeeze, and discovered that the large object she was
gripping, while firm, was not in the least hard.  Following Ryouko's
gaze, she looked down to where one of her hands was currently groping
one of Ryouko's substantial breasts.
     Ranma released her hold as quickly as she could, falling off of
Ryouko's back, and on to the floor.  Feeling very flustered, she tried
to explain.  "I didn't mean nothing.  It was an accident.  I'd never
..."  She broke off, blushing furiously, and then said loudly and
emphatically.  "We're both girls dammit!!"  Ryouko, despite the
situation, noted Ranma's reaction, and felt quite pleased with it.  Oh
yes, her and this little fire cracker were going to have lots of fun.

     Down in the dining room Genma was happily on his third bottle of
warm sake, while Noboyuki was on his second.  "This is very good,"
Genma said, "but I think the first brand was a little better.  I'd
better try some more of that, just to double check."
     "Certainly, we must be sure," Noboyuki said.  He reached for
another warming bottle of sake, but was interrupted by a voice that
seemed to come from everywhere.  It was accompanied by a heavy
thrumming from overhead, and a brilliant light that flooded in through
all the windows.
     "Ryouko-san, come out."
     Both Genma and Noboyuki rushed outside, and froze, staring in
shock at the massive wooden craft hovering overhead.  The voice came
again.
     "Ryouko-san, Ryouko-san.  I know you are in there.  You cannot
get away from me now."  Then in a much quieter voice, the stranger
asked, "Are you sure this is on?"
     A different voice started to answer, but was cut off halfway
through what sounded like, "yes."
     Genma and Noboyuki continued to stare, still frozen in place.
They were soon moved however.  A brilliant beam of light flashed into
life and hit a nearby vacant lot.  The blast that resulted picked up
both of the men and flung them into the side of the house, even as it
blew out all the windows in the neighborhood.  For a minute their
bodies stuck to the wall, like dead frogs on a road, then they slowly
fell forward, to land heavily on the front lawn.
     Above them Ranma stuck her head out the shattered bedroom window
and screamed at the ship overhead.  "You goddam bitch, come down here
and fight fair.  Even the mummy fought face to face."
     "Who's a mummy?" Ryouko yelled from inside, and a book bounced
off of Ranma's head almost knocking her all the way out the window.

     "What'd you do that for?" Ranma yelled, pulling her head back in
the window and glaring at Ryouko.  Ryouko paid no attention to her.
She was standing there, her eyes closed and her arms stretched out
toward Tenchi.  Tenchi was holding the hilt of Yosho's sword toward
Ryouko, in an attitude of prayer, his eyes closed as well.  Even as
Ranma watched wide eyed, a gem disappeared from the hilt, and
re-appeared on Ryouko's wrist.
     Ryouko opened her eyes, a smile on her lips, a smile that
disappeared as she stared at both her wrists.  "Hey, what's the idea?
You only gave me one."
     "Uh, hu," Tenchi nodded, a 'what type of fool do you take me
for', expression on his face.
     "Good going Tenchi." Ranma said approvingly.
     Ryouko laughed out loud at Tenchi's caution, then said, "well, no
matter."  She closed her eyes and held her hands close together.
After a moment of concentration, she spoke in a soft but intense
voice.  "Come, Ryo-oh-ki.  Awaken."  For several seconds she held that
pose, then she relaxed and smiled.  "She's coming."
     Tenchi and Ranma exchanged glances.  Now that there was no
turning back, they could not help but wonder if they had done the
right thing.  What had they unleashed?
     For a minute, all was quiet, then from overhead the whip crack of
air shattered by the passage of plasm beams, was followed by distant
explosions that came closer and closer until they were directly
overhead and the noise was almost deafening.
     A white light flooded the room.  It seemed to come in not just
through the window, but through the very walls.  Ryouko said, "lets go
kids."  Ranma and Tenchi both let out startled cries as their feet
left the ground, and they started to float toward the ceiling.  They
faded from sight, and a second later, the entire house and part of the
yard followed them.  Overhead, a massive crystalline starship moved
out of the shadow of the even larger wooden ship, and flashed toward
the horizon.

     Saotome Nodoka raised her tea to her mouth and took a sip.  To
look at her, you would never know she was suffering torments.  Or that
it was taking all her efforts to keep her hands from trembling and
revealing her disquiet to her guest.
     She looked across the dining table at Kuonji-san, who she now
knew was a girl, and not the boy she had first taken her for.  At
first she had not wanted to tell Nodoka the complete story, wanting
only to learn of Ranma and Genma's location.  Nodoka had insisted on
hearing the entire matter, and reluctantly she had complied.  Now
Nodoka was wishing she had not insisted.  Lowering her cup to the
table top, she said.
     "I hope Kuonji-san, that you will understand that I can not take
your word alone for this matter.  I must find and talk to my husband
and son before I can make any determination."
     "That will not be necessary Saotome-san.  I wished only to learn
the location of your husband and son.  It rests on me to satisfy my
own honor."
     "Unfortunately, that is no longer an option.  This matter is
serious, and as Ranma's mother, I must address it."  She looked up and
smiled at Ukyou, "besides, I don't know where they are."  She reached
down and picked up her cup, while Ukyou looked at her thunderstruck.
     Ukyou started to simmer in rage.  "You mean Saotome-san," she
ground out from between her teeth, "that I spilled my guts for no
reason?"
     "I would not go that far dear.  As his mother, hearing this news
of my son was very important to me.  I hope you will accept that
reason for my insistence on knowing the entire story of your
engagement and abandonment by my husband and son.  If it is any
consolation, while I do not know where they are now, I do know where
they were going four months ago.  I was planning on leaving in two
days to go in search of them.  They were due at the Tendo training
hall three months ago, at least according to the last letter Genma
wrote me.  I recently visited his old partner Soun Tendo, and he had
heard nothing.  I intend to find them, and when I do, I will contact
you, and we can settle this matter."
     "I'm going with you!" Ukyou said suddenly.
     "I beg your pardon?"
     "If I had managed to find them on my own I would never have
bothered you, but now that I have, I'm not going to lose the first
lead I've had.  Besides, I can't let you go on such a dangerous trip
by yourself."
     Nodoka pulled herself up straight, "I am perfectly able to look
after myself, thank you," she said in a frosty voice, that did not
deter Ukyou in the least.
     They argued back and forth for a while, and finally Nodoka
allowed herself to be swayed.  Ukyou with a satisfied look on her face
left to get her belongings.  The frown on Nodoka's face disappeared
after she closed the door behind the departing girl, to be replaced by
a smile.  "There now, that should give me a chance to get to know my
future daughter-in-law, and to talk her out of extracting vengeance on
Genma."  She looked over at a narrow cloth wrapped bundle.  "That I
reserve for myself.  Imagine setting such a bad example for Ranma.
How will he ever become a man among men with that behavior as an
example."  A wistful expression crossed her face.  "Still, imagine
Ranma being a heart breaker at such a young age."

     Five minutes later a knock sounded on the door.  "Surely
Kuonji-san is not back so soon," she thought.  "Come in dear," she
said out loud.  The door opened behind her, and she turned with a
smile, "my that was quick . . ." She broke off in surprise as her
visitor came into sight, "Akane?  What are you doing here?"

     Ranma was in the bottom most level of her own private hell.  It
had not seemed like hell when she and the others had arrived.  Then it
had been like some sort of crystal fantasy land.  Everywhere you
looked was crystal, the floor, the walls, the ceiling, and in between
all of that crystal, numerous smaller shards hovered in mid-air.
Despite herself, Ranma had gawked like a tourist at the Tokyo tower
for the first time.
     Then Ryouko had ordered her ship to leave, and Ranma discovered
the truth.  At Ryouko's command, a hideous sound had reverberated
through the room, a sound so awful, so horrifying, that Ranma was
currently curled up in ball in the middle of the room, her arms
wrapped protectively around her head, and her face pressed between her
tightly clenched knees.  Her distress went unseen by her companions,
who were looking elsewhere.  Ryouko had her eyes on the stars, long
missed.  As for Tenchi, his eyes were focused in horror, at the
miniaturized house that had been his home, and the doll like figures
of his father and Mr Saotome on the front lawn.
     "Meow," had been the sound, and it had come from everywhere.
Just like before.  Just like in the pit.  Above, below, to the sides,
the cries had come, and soon after the sound, the claws and teeth had
come.  The first time she had been thrown in the pit she had learned,
cover your face, protect your eyes.  And so she did, they wouldn't get
her, not this time.
     It had been a long time since Ranma had been this far into her
phobia.  The first few weeks after the pit, it only took the sound of
a cat to throw her out of her mind.  Then she learned that she could
run, run faster than the monsters, faster than their hungry cries, and
so, she kept her mind.  Now there was no where to run.  They were all
around her, everywhere.  She could feel them nudging at her arms,
could hear their soft cries as they tried to get under her body, tried
to shove her hands away from her face.  If she had looked, she would
have seen that it was the small floating crystals that were nudging
her, that the soft murmuring of cat voices was coming from hard
crystal, and not from soft flesh, armed with fang and claws.  She did
not look.  She knew better.  Protect the face.  Guard the eyes.  She
pulled in tighter, clenched her legs and arms, and prayed for release,
for death, for her mother.  Prayed for anything and anyone who might
make them go away.  She only had enough control left to keep from
shamming herself by screaming in blind terror, showing Tenchi what
sort of a coward she really was.
     With her face hidden between her legs, she missed seeing the
tangle field that condensed around Ryouko, holding her immobile while
an upright log appeared and absorbed her.  She did not take note of
the other log that appeared and treated a panicked Tenchi in a similar
fashion.  Even when that log turned and addressed her.
     "Never fear my lady, I will be back momentarily to rescue you."
     She did not hear, did not care.  Her mind dived deeper and
deeper, seeking escape, and at last found it.

     Ayeka, first princess of Jurai, looked up as Kamidake, one of her
pair of guardians appeared.  She arched a delicate eyebrow in surprise
when he disgorged a young boy from his interior.  The boy, an
inhabitant of this primitive world from the look of him, slumped
bonelessly to the ground once he was out of Kamidake's tangle field.
Something fell from his waist as he dropped, and the understated
expression on her face gave way to a much less lady like one.
     "WHAT IS THAT?!?  She screamed.  Forgetting all pretense of
dignity, she hiked up her dress and ran the few feet to the fallen
boy.  Kneeling down beside him, she picked up a short length of carved
wood.  Eyes disbelieving, she turned it over and over in her hands,
before finally clutching it to her bosom.
     "Yosho." She said softly.  Tears streamed down her face from her
closed eyes.  After a minute she looked up at Kamidake, who had moved
back, and discreetly given her a moment of privacy.
     "Was. . . was there any sign of my brother?"
     "No my lady.  But there was a lady of Jurai on board."
     "A lady . . . of Jurai.  Are you sure?"
     "Indeed, my scan showed her to be quite clearly of Juraian
descent."
     Ayeka felt an ache in her heart, a lady of Jurai, there could
only be one reason . . . No, it was not possible, she searched through
her mind trying to find some other reason then the unthinkable for the
presence of a Lady of Jurai, and then remembered what Kamidake had
told her earlier about this world.  "This is a colony world, most of
it's inhabitants will have Juraian ancestors," she said.  She looked
at Kamidake, praying he would not disagree, but he shot down her
hope's.
     "She had the genetic traces that are part of the royal familie's
code.  All royal guardians are equipped to register that particular
code string."
     Unable to deny the possibility any longer, Ayeka voiced her
darkest fear.  "Is she. . . I mean . . . Yosho's . . .?"
     "I am not equipped to make that close a diagnosis.  It is
possible, however."
     Ayeka closed her eyes, and went silent for a moment, grieving for
what would never be.  Then her head came up and she looked at Kamidake
with determination.  If this was her brother's child, then she had
responsibilities to her, especially if she was with 'that woman'.
"Was she a prisoner?"
     "I believe she was my lady, that is why I scanned her.  She was
surrounded and being kept prisoner by some of Ryo-ok-ki's sub units.
The tangle field had immobilized them, and I assured her that I would
be right back."
     "What are you waiting for?" Ayeka demanded.  "Take this boy to a
holding cell, and go and get her at once!  We can't leave her in that
foul ship one moment longer then necessary!  Who knows what she has
suffered at the hands of that woman!"
     "HAI!" Kamidake shouted, and faded from sight.
     Ayeka turned to her other guardian, Asaka, who had been patiently
waiting.  "You have that 'woman' secured," she said, venom dripping
from every syllable.  It was clear that if she had not been a lady,
she would have been using far different terms to describe Ryouko.
     "Hai!"
     "Take her to the small dining nook, we can wait for Kamidake
there."  Ayeka practically glowed with satisfaction as she followed
Asaka.  "Your nature has run true, Ryouko.  The stupidity that allowed
the charges against you to lapse, may keep me from arresting you for
your former crimes against Jurai.  But kidnaping a lady of Jurai has
put you in my power.  The statute of limitations will run out on that
crime while you are rotting in prison.  You will tell me where Yosho
is Ryouko, oh yes you will, or else, you will be very, very sorry."
Ayeka lifted a hand to cover her mouth as she laughed long and hard.

     A few minutes later, Ayeka was pacing back and forth impatiently,
"Where is Kamidake?  What is taking so long?  How long does it take to
make a simple pickup and delivery?"
     As if on cue, a very battered Kamidake suddenly appeared, swayed
for a second, and then like a felled tree, he leaned far to the left
and fell to the ground with a crash, raising a cloud of dust,
interspersed with splinters of wood.
     Ayeka looked at him in shock.  His entire right hand side was
gouged and splintered, with heavy curls of wood draped at the end of
each long score mark.
     "Kamidake!!" Ayeka cried out in shock.  "What happened to you!?"
     "My apology my lady," Kamidake said in a labored voice.  He
slowly, with aid from Asaka, levered himself upright.  "I will be
fine." he said in a slightly stronger voice, but with a quiver still
present in it.  "The shock was extreme, but my self repair functions
are on line.  Repairs are being implemented."
     "What happened?" Ayeka repeated, "Where is the lady, is she all
right?"
     "I would have to say that she is very healthy, at least in body."
Kamidake said hesitantly.
     At Ayeka's blank look, he turned slightly to the side, and a
small beam of light sprang from the jewel in the middle of his
forehead, or rather where his forehead would be if he had a head.  It
started scanning right to left at ever increasing speeds until it was
moving too fast for the eye to follow, and it disappeared.  A hologram
image of the interior of Ryo-oh-ki appeared.  The image slowly scanned
across the bridge, past, and then back, as a figure of a young girl
crouched on all fours appeared.  The image stabilized, and the image
of the young girl started to expand as Kamidake advanced on her.  Her
lips pulled back from her teeth in a snarl, and a second later she
sprang.  The image disappeared at that point in a burst of static.
     Ayeka blinked.  "Nani?"  She turned to Kamidake, "What is it?
What has that monster done to her?" An angry look filled her face.
She turned to Asaka, "Get her out here, NOW!!  Kamidake?  Are you well
enough to help Asaka hold her?"
     "Hai!" Kamidake shouted, but as he moved into position a few feet
from Asaka, it could be seen by his less then steady movements, that
he was still unsettled by his experience.  Once in position, they
concentrated, and a field of force extended from each of them.  When
the two fields merged there was a moment of instability, and Ayeka
could see Kamidake strain.  She almost ordered them to desist, but
then the interference stabilized, and the two fields merged
seamlessly, and Ryouko phased out of Asaka, hanging upside down.
     "Sorry." Asaka said in a contrite tone of voice.  "I'll fix that
now."
     "Wait!" Ayeka said, then smiling a wicked smile, she added, "I
like her like that.  Leave her!"

     Ryouko had never lost consciousness, but she knew better then to
forfeit an advantage, so she played dead, and waited for an opening.
Slitting her eyes, she took stock of her situation.  The fact that she
was upside down caused no distress to a flyer, and she had no problem
adjusting for the different perspective.  Across the room, a figure
that had to be Ayeka, sat calmly sipping tea.  As Ryouko watched,
Ayeka gave a gentle smile, and said.

     "It's been a long time Ryouko.  I've been wanting to talk with
you for a while.  I have some questions for you."  Ayeka got up from
her table, and clutching Yosho's sword in her hand, approached Ryouko.
"Who is the girl on Ryo-oh-ki?  What have you done to her?  Who is the
boy?  Why did he have this sword?" Ayeka snapped out.  Each question
emerging like a bullet aimed at Ryouko.
     Ryouko's eyes snapped fully open, and she grinned insolently at
the blue haired princess, causing her to take a step backward.
     "I've done nothing to Ranma." She finally said after a pause to
let Ayeka stew.  "As for your other questions," she flipped her hair
out of her eyes and directed a smirk at Ayeka, "only a bonehead could
fail to know the answer.  I was never one to waste my time educating
fools, so, get stuffed!"  Ryouko turned her face from Ayeka.  Who had
reared back in surprise at Ryouko's answer, her mouth open in shock.
No one had ever spoken to her like that.  An angry frown crossed her
face.  She nodded at both Kamidake and Asaka, and they responded.
High voltage current surged through the tangle field holding Ryouko,
and her body arched in pain.

     Ryouko gasped as pain washed through her body, but she refused to
cry out.  Refused to give this spoiled brat the satisfaction.  Her
resolve waned as the next surge tore through her body.  The pain was
too much, too severe, she had to cry out.  Then . . . inspiration!
She opened her mouth and screamed, not in apparent pain, but in
ecstacy.  "I'm coming, I'm coming!"  She cried, her body trembling
with seeming pleasure.
     Almost immediately the shocks ceased, as the badly flustered
Ayeka ordered the Guardians to cease and desist.  Ryouko grinned, and
mentally marked down one for her side.  She hovered in the tangle
field, and waited for the princess's next move.

     Ranma-neko prowled the dim empty reaches of Ryo-ok-ki's bridge,
wailing mournfully.  She was frightened and lonely.  She did not like
this strange place.  The smells were old and musty, and there was
nothing to chase.  Always there had been something to chase when she
had woken before.  This time there had only been the strange moving
tree, and it had vanished before she could do more then barely sharpen
her claws on its bark.  Since then she had been alone.

     Deep in Ryo-ok-ki's mind, a segment that had ignored Ryouko's
call, was now finding itself unable to equally ignore the wailing of
the small girl presently prowling her deck.  To think was to act, and
the section that had kept itself separate when the rest of her mind
had woken, merged with the small segment that had been controlling her
body up till now.  Using her inner sensors, Ryo-oh-ki scanned the
interior of her bridge, and what she saw filled her with a sweet
sorrow.  So like her little lost ones.  Unable to leave the small girl
in the pain of loneliness, she over rode the Juraian tangle field on
one of her subunits, and morphed it into a body she had vowed never to
wear again.

     A sudden shift in the air caused Ranma-neko to whirl, her back
arched in threat, ready to spring.  On the other side of the room a
figure knelt.  Human?  The visual cues were confusing, some said nice
person, source of food, source of ear scratches.  Other cues said
animal, also source of food, but not in the same way.  Distrusting her
eyes, Ranma-neko moved closer, trying to sniff out this newcomers
scent.  If Ranma-neko's other self had been in control of her body,
she would have seen what looked like an attractive woman, maybe in her
early thirties, but with a face completely covered in fur.  The fur on
her face was a light brown and was short enough that in the dim light
of the ship, it might have passed as dark brown skin, but the heavy
mane that covered her head and ran down the side of her head could
never be mistaken for hair.  Brown with white highlights, it framed a
face of surpassing sweetness.  So distinctive was that heavy mane, it
made an observer look closer and recognize the facial covering for
what it was.
     Ranma-neko noted none of this.  Not for her to say, this looks
like a person, but with fur, sharp fangs, and a face with more then a
little feline in it.  She classified other creatures in three
categories.  Threats, to be dealt with as rapidly as possible.  Play
and food, to be chased and tossed, and eventually devoured, and last,
and very rare, soft laps and gentle hands to give comfort and
pleasure.
     There were certain things about this particular creature that
made Ranma-neko think it might have a very soft lap.  A stillness to
its body, denoting no fear, no threat.  The eyes following her motion
were soft and gentle, not narrowing in calculation at her approach.
Finally after following a round about route, Ranma-neko came close
enough to the kneeling figure to risk a cautious sniff.  She
registered the clean scent of a freshly laundered Kimono, and
underneath that a strange smell that was equal parts animal and
mineral.  The kneeling figure made no move and she inched forward,
smelling the hands that lay cupped in its lap.  Extending a small pink
tongue she licked the palm of one of the hands, and tensed as the
other one moved.  She crouched, ready to fight or flee, waiting to see
what the creature was going to do.  Slowly the hand moved toward her,
no threat implied.  It reached her head and softly stroked her cheek,
causing pleasurable sensation's.  Ranma-neko pressed her cheek against
the stroking hand and a purr rumbled deep in her throat.  This was
most definitely a warm lap creature then, she thought with more then a
little satisfaction.
     Lowering her head she nudged the hand that was still laying in
the strangers lap.  When its owner lifted it, Ranma-neko flowed into
the inviting resting place.  Tucking her arms and legs under her body,
and laying her head down on her front paws, she purred in pleasure, as
the owner of her resting place gently stroked her head and back.
Tired, she let her eyes shut, and as the creature continued to fulfill
its function in life of supplying her with pleasure, she slipped into
sleep.

     With a deadly hiss the thin black whip arced through the air,
then landed with a wicked 'crack' parting the thin cloth and leaving a
thick red welt behind.
     "AAHHHH" Ryouko screamed out in pain.  As the whip lay a band of
fire across her already much abused back.  "Please, mercy, mercy." She
cried out, but Ayeka paid her no mind, only drawing back the subtle
leather lash for another stroke.
     "Please Princess, my lady, no more, no more, I'll tell you what
ever you wish to know.  Only no more please."  The figure hanging
between Kamidake and Asaka, was facing away from Ayeka.  Her back a
mixture of tattered cloth and abused flesh.  Now, after her entreaty
for mercy, she lowered her head and began to weep piteously.
     "To late for mercy Ryouko-san, you have to long escaped justice.
For what you have done to my family, you must pay."  Ayeka lifted a
hand to decorously cover her mouth as she laughed long and loud.  Her
laughter was abruptly cut short by a voice speaking from the shadows.
     "Aki-chan, time for bed, but down your toys and come with mommy."
     A suddenly five year old Ayeka looks up at the tall figure of her
mother Misaki and pouts, "Do'n wanna."
     "Little girls need there rest, now come to bed right now.  You
don't want to make mommy cry do you?"  Little Ayeka flinches as hot
tears suddenly start to rain down on her head, soaking her nice new
dress.  Misaki bends over and picks her up.  As she is being carried
away, Ayeka looks back over her mother's shoulder and sees Ryouko,
free of her bonds and completely undamaged walking away hand in hand
with her brother.
     "Onisan, onisan, don't go, don't leave me," she cries out,
holding her arms out toward Yosho, but her brother does not turn.
Instead he fades slowly out of sight as she is carried farther and
farther away.  Just before they fade completely from sight, Ryouko
turned back and said.
     "That's a good little girl, you go off with Mommy.  Your brother
and I are going to go and play some grown up games."  She grins at
Ayeka, showing all of her sharp and predatory teeth.  She throws back
her head and lets out a full throated laugh, that goes on and on, as
Ayeka is carried away.

     Ayeka tossed on her bed, and Tenchi froze, his hands inches away
from the Tenchi Ken.  Sasami had sent him here to get Ayeka's
controller.  With that, Sasami said, she could send Tenchi and his
home back to earth.  She had not mentioned that Ayeka did not take it
off when she slept.  How he was suppose to get the headpiece off her
head he had no idea, but when he had spotted the Tenchi Ken, gripped
tight in her hand, he had decided to recover that first.  Slowly he
reached for the wooden hilt, only to have the princess roll away from
him.
     This was no good, he had to recover that sword, he carefully got
up on her bed and straddled her body, and once again reached for the
sword hilt.

     Ayeka turned on her side, tossing in her bed, Yosho she murmured.
     "Yes little sister, what is it?"
     Ayeka sat up in her bed and looked at the doorway to her room,
and the figure standing in it, in incredulous joy.  "Yosho?" She
breathed out, "Is it really you onisan?"
     He laughed.  And her heart fluttered as he stepped into the room,
as tall, and as handsome as she remembered.  "Of course it's me.  I
should be the one who is asking whether it is you or not.  You have
grown up to be such a beautiful lady."
     Ayeka blushed, and looked down at her bed spread.  Doodling with
the thin covers with one finger she said, "Do . . .  Do you really
think so?"
     The mattress of the bed heaved slightly as he sat down beside
her.  "How can you doubt it?  You are the fairest flower of Jurai."
He leaned forward, she closed her eyes and turned her face up toward
him, pursing her lips.  Then she has a sudden urge to see his face,
opened her eyes, and stared straight into the face of the boy Kamidake
had brought on board, she started to scream, and he clapped his hands
over her mouth.
     "It's not what it seems" He said in a panicked voice.
     For a second, they held that pose, then she brought one slim leg
up between there bodies and kicked him away from her.  He tumbled over
the end of the bed, and took off running.
     "Kamidake, Asaka!!!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.  The
two Guardians appeared almost instantly, fading into sight beside her
bed.
     "Hai?" they asked in a questioning tone.
     Pointing a finger in the direction Tenchi had taken off in, she
screamed.  "Put that Intruder to death!!"

     Ryo-oh-ki looked down at the small girl sleeping in her lap.
Emotions she had not let herself feel in nearly six hundred years
flooded through her.  Gently she stroked the red hair that flowed down
over the girls back, and tried to remember the last time she had held
a child like this.
     "Ken-oh-ki, my little Ken-oh-ki was the last.  So many years ago.
So many lonely years."
     "Who are you little one?  Where did you come from?"  Ryo-oh-ki
used her hand as a remote sensor unit, and scanned the sleeping figure
as she stroked her.  "Juraian," she murmured.  "Then you are of
Yosho's line.  I do not know if I should hate you, or bless you.  If
not for Yosho, I would not have spent the last six hundred years in
mourning, but I also would not have had anything to mourn, or even
have had the capacity to do so."
     The girl in her lap twitched, and gave a small cry of distress.
Ryo-oh-ki's slowly stroked the sleeping girl in an effort to calm her.
Then when her motions grew more frantic, she pulled the small girl up
into her arms and cradled her against her chest.  She was not entirely
successful in her attempts to calm her, but the girl did settle down a
little, and did not seem quite as distressed.

     Ranma was standing in water up to her thighs, leaning back
against a pole.  Without looking, she knew somehow that the pole was
bamboo, and that water she was standing in was a Jusenkyo pool.  At
the moment she was looking at her chest, more specifically at her
hand, which was clutching at a source of mind numbing pain.  Her hand
moved, though she had not willed it to, and she saw that there was a
charred hole in her chest, just below her left breast.  She looked up,
at a log, that was hovering in the air.  Strange Kangi covered it's
front, and a small jewel sputtered and fizzed as the thin rain that
was falling splattered across it.  Again without knowing why, she knew
that the jewel was the source of the hole in her chest.

     "Well, brought to bay at last.  You've led me a fine chase my
pretty barbarian, but the outcome was never in doubt."  Ranma's field
of vision shifted, and she found herself focusing on a rather foppish
figure as he stepped out of some nearby bushes.  He walked over to the
floating log, and gave it a fond pat.  "Imagine old Jakaaha succeeding
where those mercenaries failed.  I really must thank you for that by
the way.  The twins had become, how should I put this?  An
embarrassment.  Sooner or later the attempt on the empress would have
been traced to them, and the Count no longer wished them in his
employ.  You made me a pretty penny when you disposed of them for me.
Aa, the expression on their faces when you dropped that mountain side
on them.  That alone would make me inclined to be lenient.  But alas,
I have my duty, and an empty bank account to fill.  You know how it
is?"  He grinned sardonically at her.

     Ranma felt more hatred for this strange man she had never before
seen, then she had ever felt for any other living soul.  The hatred
burst through the rather disconnected feeling she had been
experiencing up till then.  She tried to spring at the figure, angry
curses on her lips, but her body did not move, nor did her voice cry
out her insults.  Ranma strained, growing panicked by her inability to
move her own body, but then a presence seemed to lay a hand on her,
and she felt the hatred and anger diminish, and once again become
vague and dream like.  Dream like, that was it, this was a dream, it
had to be.  The last thing she remembered was the crystal room and
. . . her mind shied away from the next thought, and she focused
instead on the dream image in front of her.  He was still speaking,
just where he had left off when Ranma had lost her temper, no time
having passed in this dream realm.
     "In a way it's a pity your going to die.  Now that is," He
qualified.  "Of course you would have had to die eventually, just like
your sister is going to have to die.  But it would have been pleasant
to have your company on the trip back.  I'll just have to consol
myself with all the money your death will bring me."
     Even through the veil that separated her from the events in her
dream, Ranma felt energy drawing in from all parts of her body, and
was conscious of her mouth silently forming words she did not
understand.  Her eyes focused on the face of the man who was talking,
with a terrible fixity, narrowing her own personal world down to just
that face.  He did not notice, or did not care.
     "And then of course there is your sister, a little young I know,
but she will supply a bit of fun before she has to leave us.  Oh yes,
this has been a most profitable venture, who would have thought your
father would have been so foolish as to have come here, out of all the
planets he could have hidden on.  No doubt the fault of his barbarian
sensibilities."
     A new voice broke in at that point.  "Caution, unknown energy
reading, caution."  Ranma realized it was the log when it shifted over
to stand in front of the speaker.
     "Really, where from?  Surely not from this half drowned little
wretch?  You have got to be kidd....? Wait, what are you doing?
Jakaaha!!  Stop her, stop whatever that is she's doing with her
hands."
     Up till this point Ranma had been focusing on the speaker, but
now she once again felt the sense of unreality from before as her
hands lifted into her field of view, glowing with an intense white
light, and again she had nothing to do with it.  The jewel in the log
sparked, and a beam of light flashed toward them.  To be stopped by
one of three, serrated edged triangles, that centered on the glow in
her hands.
     "Impossible, no human can generate the Wings of the Light Hawk!!"
The foppish man cried in fear.  "Kill her, kill her!" He cried,
pushing at the log, trying to shove it toward Ranma.
     "I regret that I am unable to comply with your order sir.  My
energy beam is useless against her shield." The log answered in a
dispassionate voice.
     With visible effort the man controlled himself, straitening his
disarranged clothing.  "No matter," he said in a shaky voice.  "She's
as good as dead, let her waste her energy on a useless defense.
Generating the wings of the light hawk is a flashy trick, but they
won't save her, or her sister.  I'd love to know how you do that my
dear, but I have a date with your oh so sweet sister.  So I'll be
going now, I leave you to your bath."
     "Not hawk wings." for the first time Ranma answered the stranger,
much to her surprise, because it was not her voice, nor had she willed
it to speack.  A flood of warm thick fluid entered her mouth, and she
recognized the taste from countless bloody noses and split lips.  But
never in this quantity, never this strong, and she knew that she was
dead, it was only a matter of time.  But the knowledge seemed to be a
distant thing, unimportant in comparison to what she must do now.
     Again her voice said in that bubbly tone that denoted a punctured
lung.  "Dragon wings"
     The man had jolted when Ranma had spoken, but he sneered at her
now.  "Well whatever you say my dear, far be it for me to argue with
your cultural idiosyncracies."  Then his eyes widened as the serrated
wings furled around each other and formed a fat bellied tube pointing
straight at him.
     "Ryuu!!"
     "Master beware!" The log shouted, moving once again between her
and his master.
     "Satsu!!"
     "Don't just stand there, get me out of here!!" the man screamed,
his voice high with panic.
     "Haaaaaaa!!"
     A storm of light flashed from the end of the tube, blinding
Ranma.  When her vision cleared there was nothing in front of her,
nothing but a floating cloud of red tinged, wooden slivers.  A feeling
of great satisfaction filled her.  She slumped forward, the water
closed over her head, and she slipped down into the darkness.


     Ryo-oh-ki had been drifting, remembering other times, other
memories, and other moments she had held small forms in her lap, a
small tear trickled down one furry cheek.  Her private musing were
interrupted when the figure in her lap stirred, thrashed, and fought
against Ryo-oh-ki's hands.  Fearing that her hug was contributing to a
bad dream she released the small girl from the embrace she had holding
her in, and hoped she would be calm when she fully awoke.
     "Where?" The girl finally said in a muzzy confused voice.
Ryo-oh-ki felt her stiffen, and she knew that the girl was now fully
awake.  She could almost follow the processes of the redhead's mind.
She would be analyzing the situation, trying to reconcile it with the
dream she had just had.  Ryo-oh-ki's own children had all been trained
fighters, and they would often awake in just this manner when in a
strange place, or after a bad dream.  This girl was in both of those
situations..
     A soft, "Oh man, not again," floated up to her ears, and the girl
rolled off her lap, leaving it empty and cold.
     "Sorry about this," the girl said, getting her feet under her and
standing, but still not looking at Ryo-ki-ki.  What could be seen of
her face was almost as red as her hair.  "I hope I didn't scare you or
nothing. . ."  She looked up, and for the first time saw Ryo-oh-ki.
An expression of stark fear crossed her face, and she leaped across
the room in panic.  "C . . . c . . . cat." She stuttered out in a
voice shaking in fear.
     Ryo-oh-ki stayed still, but inside she drew certain conclusions.
In a gentle voice, she said. "I'm not a cat little one, there is no
need to fear me.  Have you ever seen a cat like me?"
     "N . . .no." The girl said in a long drawn out way.  "I ain't
seen nothing like you, ever."  She did not come any closer however.
"What are you?"
     "I am Ryo-oh-ki."
     "The other demon," The girl said in surprise.  "You don't look
like no demon.  You're strange and all, but you don't look, . . . I
don't know bad, I guess."
     "Thank you." Ryo-oh-ki said, with a smile.  "And what is your
name?"
     "Ranma."
     "Well, Ranma, I'm not really the same creature your ancestor
fought.  That was my mother/sister."
     "Mother/sister?" Ranma asked, a puzzled expression on her face.
Her face grew even more puzzled as a thought occurred to her.  "I
thought the other demon was some sort of giant flying thing?  I
thought, this," she waved a hand to indicate the room they were in,
"Was Ryo-oh-ki?"
     "It is, and I am," Ryo-oh-ki said.  Before Ranma could voice the
question that was immediately obvious on her face, Ryo-oh-ki
continued.  "I am a, . . . shape shifter would be the best word.  I
can change myself from one form to another, and I can also split
myself into several discreet entities, but if I do that, only one of
them carries my core personality, the others are merely mirrors.  That
is what I am doing now.  I am here."  She waved a hand at her body,
"but I am also here."  This time her wave encompassed the entire room.
Seeing that Ranma was still looking blank, she said. "Do not worry,
just accept that there are two of me at the moment, one small, one
very large.  Now, as to your first question."
     "Huh?"
     "Mother/sister."
     "Oh, that, ya, what'd you mean by that?"
     "It is simple really.  If I am so badly damaged that there is no
hope of repair or healing, I can create a small clone of myself.  It
will be a baby, but it will eventually grow up to be just like me, but
without my personality.  Memories and instincts can be passed on, but
personality is what grows from how you were raised.  It was not me who
fought Yosho and his ship, but rather the Ryo-oh-ki who came before
me.  I have all her memories, but I was not raised as she was, and am
not the same person.  So she is not precisely my mother, and is not
quite my twin, so Mother/sister."  Seeing Ranma's expression, she
laughed.  "Don't let it give you a headache, it will come eventually.
You do not have the knowledge at the moment to understand completely.
Think of it as a fairy story come to life."
     Her laughter was not derisive, but was filled with joy and
pleasure, and Ranma felt the last of her fear melt away under its warm
glow.  She moved closer to this strange woman, then for the first
time, realized that there were people missing.  "Tenchi?  Where's
Tenchi?" She said, looking all around the bridge.
     "The sword, I believe it was with the boy the Juraian Guardian
took on board Ryuu-oh."
     "What sword, I'm talking about Tenchi." Ranma said in puzzlement.
"The guy I came here with." Ranma elaborated.  "Ryouko brought us on
board at the same time."  Mention of the girl demon drew Ranma's
attention to her absence as well.  "Damn, that mummy has him I bet."
She turned a fierce gaze on Ryo-oh-ki.  "Where is she?  Where's
Ryouko?  What's she done with Tenchi?"
     Ryo-oh-ki held up a hand to forestall the flood of questions.
"Just a minute, accessing records."  After a minute she lowered her
hand and smiled at Ranma.  "I'm sorry, I was not fully awake when I
picked you up before, I was running on automatic, sort of like animal
instinct.  Tenchi, both the boy and the sword, and Ryouko have been
captured by Yosho's sister, the princess Ayeka."
     "Yosho's sister!?" Ranma said incredulously.  "I thought Yosho
was a just a warrior.  How could his sister still be alive?  Was he
really a god?  I've heard lots of stories about gods marrying humans,
but I thought those were just stories."
     Ryo-oh-ki smiled at her.  "First, I think I had better clear up
some things.  It will make it easier for you to understand.  Ryouko
and I are not demons.  Ryouko is a an alien, a space pirate, and I am
her spaceship.  Yosho was the crown prince of Jurai.  He fought us
because we raided Jurai and caused much damage.  He chased us to
Earth, and I and his ship both crashed.  I was so badly damaged, I
needed to create a clone, who is me.  I learned later that Yosho
fought Ryouko and imprisoned her in a cave."
     "And Tenchi let her loose." Ranma said, nodding her head.
"Still, this Ayeka must be one old lady."
     "Juraians live for a very long time, and keep their youthful
looks for most of their lives.  Still, I would guess that if Ayeka has
been pursuing us, she has kept herself in stasis.  She might have been
able to survive the years of searching, but the boredom would have
been unbearable.  She is more then likely still very young."
     "Are Tenchi and Ryouko alright?"
     "Ryouko is, . . . rather drained, but nothing she cannot
withstand.  Strange," Ryo-oh-ki mused, more to herself then to Ranma,
"she has changed. . .  She is not the Ryouko of my memories.  That
Ryouko I never wanted to meet.  That is why I hid myself away when she
called, and let my memories run the ship."
     "Tenchi I do not know about.  I am linked to Ryouko, but not to
him, and she has not seen him since she was taken to the ship."
Seeing Ranma's worried expression, she hurriedly reassured her.  "Do
not worry, I think it very unlikely Ayeka would harm Tenchi.  She has
reason to be angry with Ryouko, but there is no reason I can think of
that she might want to harm Tenchi. . ."
     Ryo-oh-ki broke off, and a large sweat drop formed on her
forehead.  "It would seem I spoke too soon.  Tenchi has apparently
angered the princess in some manner.  She has just chased him into the
area where Ryouko is being held.  Oh my," Ryo-oh-ki said in a faint
voice, "this is not good."
     "What, what?"
     Ryo-oh-ki swallowed nervously, "it seems she believes Tenchi
tried to ravage her."
     "Tenchi!?!?" Ranma practically screamed.  "You have got to be
joking?"
     "I wish I was.  This, is not good . . . wait."  Ryo-oh-ki
suddenly stiffened.  "Brace yourself Ranma, we're going in."
     "Going in.  Going in where!?" Ranma yelled.  She received no
answer.  As soon as Ryo-oh-ki had finished speaking, she had popped
out of existence.  Literally, as the air rushed in to fill the space
she had just recently vacated with a loud bang.  The deck under
Ranma's feet shuddered, and she barely managed to keep her feet as
with a tremendous crash, Ryu-oh-ki lurched upward, and though Ranma
could not see it, drove one of her massive stabilizing spikes up
through the bottom of Ryuu-oh.  The sudden stop that followed after
the rapid upward movement tossed Ranma off her feet, and before she
could regain them, Tenchi and Ryouko appeared in the cabin.

     "We can't leave her up here Tenchi!" Ryouko shouted.  "She'll
never let us alone.  I"m taking her down."
     "No!  Ryouko you can't!" Tenchi shouted, grasping the girl's
sleeve.  Ranma gasped at the venom in the gaze Ryouko turned on
Tenchi.  So different from the way she usually looked at him.  Even in
the attack at the school there had not been that much . . . evil, in
her look.
     "Whose side are you on!?" Ryouko yelled in anger, and maybe a
little hurt.  "If you want to be on their side so much, go back to
them.  I'm not stopping you."  She turned her back on Tenchi and
ordered, "Ryo-oh-ki, get moving.  Now!!"  The artificial gravity kept
their orientation the same, but the stars in the view screen whirled
around, and the image of Earth, which had been below them was blocked
out by the massive form of Ryuu-oh.  Tenchi turned to Ranma and
yelled.
     "We have to stop her, she's gone crazy!"
     "Ranma," a soft voice said.  Ranma turned, and found a small
crystal floating beside her, the image of Ryo-ok-ki's face in it.
"Don't worry, the girls will be fine."
     "What girls?  What the hell is going on?" Ranma yelled.
     Tenchi by this time had reached Ranma, grasping her by the
shoulders to hold himself steady in the now shaking ship, he yelled in
her face.  "There are two girls on the other ship, Ryouko's going to
kill them, she's gone crazy!!" He repeated.
     "No!  She has not!"  Turning toward the voice, Tenchi started.
     "Nani?" Tenchi said, staring at the furry face in the crystal.
     "That's Ryo-oh-ki, she's the other demon from the story, only
she's not, she's the daughter of that demon, but she has all her
memories, so they're the same person, only they're not." Ranma babbled
in her hurry to get to the important stuff.  Like, were they all going
to die?  She hated this, not having any control over her own destiny,
having to place her life completely in some one else's hands.
     Tenchi looked blankly at Ranma, trying to figure out what she was
talking about.  Then giving up on that, he turned to the crystal and
demanded.  "How can you be sure of that?  I can't just stand here and
do nothing."
     "What can you do!?" Ryo-oh-ki snapped out.  When Tenchi stepped
back as if he had been slapped, she softened her tone.  "I'm sorry,
but there is nothing you can do here.  Please, just trust me.  The
girls will be fine, and so will Ryouko.  I can't explain, don't ask me
to.  Just, please, trust me."  She looked at the both of them with
wide brown eyes, moist with unshed tears.  Tenchi melted, and though
Ranma fought the mushy feeling, she too found it hard to deny those
eyes.
     "All right," Tenchi said, "but if anything happens to them . . ."
     "Nothing will, on my honor." Ryo-oh-ki said in a soft voice.
"Now, you and Ranma should brace yourself, it's going to be a bumpy
ride."  There was a deadly serious tone in her voice that left no time
for anymore questions.
     Ranma and Tenchi looked at each other, then dove under the
central consol, that being the only permanent fixture on the bridge.
They linked arms, braced their legs against the overhead panel, and
waited.

     Ryo-oh-ki watched them for a minute, then with a sigh, turned all
her attention on controlling the upcoming crash.  She had wanted to
explain to them so badly, why this was happening, but it was a useless
desire.  How could she explain to two teenagers, what it felt like to
have memories six hundred years old, that were as clear as the day
they happened?  How could she explain how much pain it caused, to one
by one have all your loved ones ripped away from you by a foe neither
they nor you could fight?  A foe she would never have to face for as
long as she was careful, and kept herself from damage.
     Human's were so frail, so short lived, they could not imagine the
burden life could become to one who need never die.  Her mind flashed
back once again, the memories as clear as could be.  There was her
husband Toriki, so kind and gentle, the brother who had become her
lover.  Their children, Ryou-oh-ki so big and strong, so fierce and
angry at times.  Mich-oh-ki, who should have been named 'why', for at
times it had seemed like the only word she knew, and finally the baby,
Ken-oh-ki, who had barely started to discover the wonders of life when
he had been taken from her.
     The Shogun's warriors had not even been attacking them.  A war
with a neighbor had washed over their little village, and left death
and destruction behind it.
     Oh, she had gotten her revenge.  The dragon that burned the
Shogun's castle to the ground was remembered to this day in the small
village that had been built on its ruin.  She had allowed the servants
to evacuate, but the callous Shogun and his warriors had provided fuel
for the fire.  It was the first and last time she had taken up her
Mother/Sister's ways.  None of that did anything to eliminate the void
her family's absence created however.  Not even Ryou-oh-ki and
Mich-oh-ki's surviving children could sooth her aching heart.  She
could not bear the thought of watching them grow old and die, as her
husband and children had.  So after burning the Shogun's castle to the
ground, she had retreated to the lake created in her crash landing
nearly one hundred and fifty years before.  There she had rested,
asleep and dreaming, till woken by Ryouko.  That rest would be denied
her now she knew.  Ryouko would not allow her to sleep, to live in her
dreams.  Ryouko was a creature of action, and Ryo-oh-ki had no
interest in that.
     That had left her with only one option.  Which was why she had
taken all the memories she possessed of the former Ryouko, and had
distilled them down to their very essence.  And when that vile
concoction was seething and bubbling, she had shoved it down the link
between her and Ryouko, driving the none too stable former pirate over
the edge.  It was but a shadow over her new personality, and it would
not last long, but it would last long enough to put Ryo-oh-ki out of
her misery.  There was just one other thing to do.
     "Ranma?" She said in a soft voice, for the redhead's ears only.
     Ranma looked up from where she sat beside Tenchi under the
central consol.  She saw a small crystal hovering inches from her
face.  Taking her cue from Ryo-oh-ki, she spoke in a quiet voice.  "Is
everything alright?  Nothing's happened to the girls has it?
     "No, they are fine.  I just wanted to ask you something."
     "What?"
     "Would you help look after my daughter/sister, let her know the
love I grew up with, but that my mother/sister never knew."
     "Huh, sure I guess, I'd be glad to help you raise her, long as
I'm around anyway, long as Pop has this bee up his butt about me
marrying Tenchi I guess.  Don't know how much help I'll be though.
I'm not good at that sort of stuff."
     "You'll do just fine.  Thank you Ranma.  Good-bye."  With that
her image faded from the crystal, and it moved to join the others
circling the central consol.
     The floor started to jolt and bounce as the turbulence the two
unbalanced ships were generating started to overcome the compensators.
Ranma forgot the conversation in the more immediate need to keep from
getting her brains bashed out.  In the distance she could hear Ryouko
laughing like a crazy woman, as Ryo-oh-ki headed for a crash landing
in the ocean.


     Nodoka opened the door, and smiled at Ukyou, "Kuonji-san, you''re
back.  I have a surprise for you."  Leading the puzzled girl to the
dining room, she smiled at the small girl with the long black hair who
was sitting there, then turned back to Ukyou and made the
introductions.
     "Kuonji-san, I'd like you to meet the daughter of my husbands old
friend Tendo Soun.  She will be accompanying us.  It appears you are
not the only one needing to seek out my Husband and Son in the name of
honor."
     Both girls looked at each other, Ukyou with an expression of
surprise, and Akane with a look of distaste so strong, Ukyou was left
wondering what she had ever done to the other girl.
     "'He's' coming with us?" Akane said, the distaste in her voice,
making the expression in her eyes seem mild in comparison.
     "She is indeed."
     "She?"  Akane's expression shifted to one of surprise.  She
looked intently at Ukyou, and then leaned back with a much less
daunting expression.  She seemed to be satisfied that Nodoka was
correct as to Ukyou's gender, if her demeanor was anything to go by.
"Well, that's much better, I was afraid I was going to have to spend
two months with a 'boy'!"  The amount of venom Akane managed to put in
that one word caused Ukyou to arch an eyebrow in surprise.  She began
to wonder what Ranma had done to this girl.  If it was as bad as
Akane's attitude indicated, would the other girl be willing to allow
Ukyou her vengeance first, before taking her own.  Well, one way to
find out.
     "If you don't like boys, why are you looking for Ranma?"
     The expression of distaste on Akane's face was, if anything, even
more pronounced as she answered.  "I have no idea.  My father went
into this big song of dance about how I had to find this Ranma, or the
Tendo dojo would be doomed.  I either had to go look for him, or Daddy
would have killed himself."
     "He would have committed suicide?" Ukyou asked in shock.  Even at
her worst, she had never considered that option.
     Akane looked disgusted, "No, he would have died of dehydration."
At Ukyou puzzled look, she said. "Let's just say that spending my
summer vacation tramping around China was much more tempting then
staying home and watching Daddy soak the floor.  So, when do we leave?
And where are we going?"
     Nodoka spoke up.  "The last letter I had from my husband said
that he and Ranma had one last destination, and that he would be going
to your father's after they finished there."
     "Where was that?"
     "A place called Jusenkyo."


     Ranma sat on the roof top and stared out over the valley that was
the new home of the Masaki house.  The small lake that filled the
middle of the valley, was currently filled itself with the wreckage of
two spaceships.  A tear trickled down her cheek as she gazed at the
few small scraps that were all that were visible of Ryo-oh-ki's
remains.  She cursed herself for what had to be the twentieth time.
"Baka, baka, baka!!  She told you what creating a daughter/sister
meant, why didn't you listen?  You could have stopped her."  Ranma had
an ache in her gut, that for once had nothing to do with eating her
Pop's cooking.  She had never had any one close to her die before.
She had only known Ryo-oh-ki for a few hours it was true, but she had
connected with that strange creature.  Even her Neko form had liked
her.  She knew that for a fact.  Her Neko form was very picky about
who's lap she fell asleep in.  A fact that had no doubt saved Ranma a
lot of embarrassment since she had acquired the Neko-ken, and even
more so since she has also acquired her other curse.  She shuddered at
the thought of waking up to find that her other self had decided to
cuddle up to some guy.  She shook off the image that thought created.
     She was on the roof, instead of downstairs eating, for a very
good reason.  She wanted no one to see her acting like a girl.  No one
was going to understand why she was crying her eyes out over a hunk of
glass getting smashed, least of all her father.  She just could not
bring herself to face the old man like this.  He would say something,
and Ranma would have to do something to prove she was not a wimp.
Right now, she didn't care if she was a wimp or not.  She only wanted
to mourn her lost friend, not fight with her Pop.
     A motion near the lake drew her attention.  Wiping her face with
a sleeve, she looked at the small figure of a girl who was trying to
prop up the giant disk that was all that remained of Ryuu-oh.  Of
course she had no hope, and the plank she was using soon slipped, and
she landed on her hands and knees in the mud.  As the massive disk
gave a gurgle, and slowly sank into the lake, the faint sound of
crying floated up to Ranma.  A day ago she might have felt derision
for some one crying over a hunk of broken wood.  She no longer felt
the least inclination to mock.

     Ayeka, first princess of Jurai, the flower of the empire, radiant
sun of the imperial court, around whom all the courtiers and lesser
nobles circled, knelt in the mud clutching a shattered plank in her
arms and crying her eyes out.  No one understood, not even Sasami
understood, no one who was not bonded to a ship could understand.
They all thought she mourned a piece of transportation.  But a part of
her had died with Ryuu-oh.
     "Here," a voice said at her side.
     Blinking back tears, she turned and saw it was the wild woman
from Ryo-oh-ki, the one that had mauled Kamidake.  She was very nearly
as grubby as Ayeka felt, and her eyes were red and puffy.  She was
holding out a grubby cloth to Ayeka.

     "For your face," Ranma said, then explained further.  "You got
mud on it.  Ryo-oh-ki said you was a princess, guess you ain't used to
having mud on your face, so here."  Once again she offered the cloth
to Ayeka.
     Ayeka normally would have sooner wiped her face with a handful of
leaves, complete with bugs.  Right now she could care less.  She
reached out and took the cloth from the red headed girl, and gave her
a smile as she did her best to repair the damage mud and tears had
caused to her face.
     "You're, Tenchi-sama's sister, are you not?"

     Ranma blinked, and took a moment to understand the question.  So
much had happened in the last few hours, she had completely forgotten
the lie she and Tenchi had told Ryouko.  She almost blurted out the
truth, but then she paused.  She had been looking for an out of this
crazy idea of Pop's.  This might be the wedge she needed.  No reason
to clear it up, she'd let it ride and see what came up.
     "Ya, I'm Tenchi's baby sister." She told the Princess.

     Ayeka winced at the other girl's crude speech, but let nothing
show on her face.  "I understand you have been raised by men all your
life."
     Ranma blinked at this sudden change in topic.  Still, she was not
used to offering comfort, maybe this was how girls handled grief, by
talking about something completely different, that had nothing to do
with the matter at hand.  "You could say that, Pop and I've been on
the road for a long time, seems like forever sometimes."
     "Well, as your Aunt, I would consider it an honor if you would
let me teach you those things that men can't seem to grasp."
     Ranma blinked again, her effort to offer a little comfort was
taking off in a direction she was not sure she wanted to go.  Not to
mention she just seemed to have acquired an aunt.  Her first
inclination was to tell the older girl that she had not the slightest
interest in learning the things guy's didn't know.  Then she looked at
the face of the girl in front of her, smiling through eyes puffy and
red with crying, and did not have the heart to tell her she didn't
need no help in how to be a girl.  That being a girl was the last
thing in the world she wanted to be.  Instead she said, "Sure, that
sounds fine, we'll do that sometime.  You want to come inside?
They're having something to eat, and I know I always feel better on an
full belly."
     Ayeka smiled at the little barbarian if front of her and shoved
herself to her feet.  Her grief already receding a little as she
started to contemplate the things that would have to be done to turn
this little ragamuffin into a proper princess of Jurai.  "I am feeling
a little hungry.  Will you lead the way."
     The two girls walked off toward the house.  Ranma acutely aware
of the eyes of the other girl on her back.  She wondered if she might
not have made a mistake, but dismissed the idea.  After all, how could
a puny little thing like the Princess make her do anything she didn't
want to.


Authors notes:
Thanks to Sam Vilsmeier for his suggestion as to a name for the attack
used by the Drowned girl in Ranma's dream.
     Ryuu (Dragon) Satsu (Death/Kill/Elimination ) Ha (Wave)

Many thanks to my Pre-readers.  They keep me in line, and readable,
I hope.^_^;;
Tzigane
Wade Tritschler
Jim Nutley
Green Eyes
Eimii, and new to the crew
LechLord who has no idea what he's letting himself in for.

Till the next chapter.
T.H. Tiger



Tenchi and Ranma, Together Forever!?
Chapter 5: Girls just want to create Mayhem.

What's going on:
This is an alternative universe story.  Ranma was trapped as a girl
from her first dip in the Nanniichuan.
     Why?  Read the earlier chapters.  See below for some highlights.

     Unable to carry out his plan to engage Ranma to one of the Tendo
girls, Genma recalled that he had once promised Nobuyuki Masaki that
if he had a daughter, he would marry her to Nobuyuki's son Tenchi.
     Nodoka Saotome, along with Akane Tendo and Ukyou Kuonji are on
their way to Jusenkyo in hopes of finding out what has happened to
Ranma and Genma.  At least Nodoka and Ukyou are.  Akane just wants to
get out of the house for the summer before her father sinks the place
with his tears.
     When we last left Ranma, she had just survived a crash landing
aboard the now defunct Ryo-oh-ki.  And in a moment of weakness she has
agreed to allow Princess Ayeka to teach her some of what it means to
be a girl.

     On with the story.


     The old man stood at the top of the stairs that led down into the
small mountain valley.  Behind him, the graceful buildings of the
shrine he tended gleamed in the early morning sunlight.  He looked out
over the valley, and then down at the small circular lake that filled
its middle.  Normally, other than by its shape, the peaceful valley
gave no evidence of the cataclysmic event that had created it seven
hundred years before.  This morning was a marked exception.
     Masaki Katsuhito had seen every one of those seven hundred years.
Not all in this location, or under the name he now wore.  He had seen
the valley when it was nothing more then a smoking crater, and he had
seen life slowly fill it to brimming.  Many of the stately old trees
that grew on the valley slopes had been planted by him personally.
     Now like some shadow out of the past a vast wooden dome filled
much of the lake.  Even as he watched, it lurched and began to sink
into the unexpectedly deep waters.  Surrounding the slowly sinking
disk were upthrust shards of black crystal.  They sprouted like some
jagged edged Stonehenge, placed there for who knew what reason.  They
too were slowly settling into the depth.
     A feeling of sorrow filled him as he took in those shards.  He
had never made himself known to Ryo-oh-ki back when she had lived out
her life in the human village in the next valley over.  However, he
had taken pleasure in the joy she had found there.
     The family that had found the mysterious jewel that had hatched
into a Kapa spirit had raised her as one of their own.  There kindness
had been rewarded by good fortune.  The first food that Ryo-oh-ki
tasted had been a noxious weed that had been choking the life from the
villagers scant crops.  That first taste had left her with an
insatiable appetite for that particular plant.  Soon the fields for
miles around were bare of it.  Proof positive that she had been a gift
from the gods to the poor villagers, and she had led a sheltered and
loved life from that point on.  She had grown, assumed human form, and
had married the boy who had been her brother.  She had given birth to
three children, and had seen two of them grow old enough to give her
grandchildren.
     As Ryo-oh-ki had found joy in her life, that joy and contentment
had flowed down the link she shared with Ryouko, and even in her
spelled sleep, it had filled Ryouko with a longing for those emotions
and feelings.  When Ryo-oh-ki's life had turned bad, when despair had
gripped her, sending her into a centuries long sleep to escape it,
that too had been sent to Ryouko as well.  Ryo-oh-ki's sleep had ended
that particular torment, but not before it had affected her master
profoundly.  In her endless dreams, Ryouko had learned to dread that
feeling, that loss.
     Katsuhito, had found shortly after sealing Ryouko away, that he
had a link to her.  It flowed from her, to the jewels in Tenchi-ken,
to Funaho and then to him.  No where near as strong as the link
between Ryouko and Ryo-oh-ki, it was true, but still, it let him gauge
her character.  Which is why he had not set out to restrain her when
he had discovered Tenchi had freed her.  She was a far different
creature then the one he had sealed up all those centuries ago.  Just
how different, he believed even she did not know yet.

     As these thoughts ran through his mind, his eyes, still sharp as
an eagle's after all these years, picked out two feminine forms making
their way toward the house that had sprouted over night in the valley.
One of those figures he knew, even from this distance.  The very shape
of her was engraved on his heart.  Ayeka, his sister, who he had never
thought to see again, and who, with a little luck, would never know
just who he was.  He knew little Sasami was here as well, and he
looked forward to seeing her.  Even as Ryo-oh-ki had let Ryouko know
of their presence in orbit, Funaho had let him know about Ryuu-oh's
presence and who was on board it.
     Welcome as Ayeka, and Sasami's presence were, his eyes did not
stay focused on Ayeka for long, his attention switched to her
companion, a small girl with vivid red hair done up in a heavy braid
that fell nearly to her waist.  Something about her tweaked at his
memory, but at this distance details were too vague to tell why.
However, that was not what was making him stare so intently at her.
     She would be the fiance that Nobuyuki had told him about on the
phone the other night.  Saotome Ranma, the daughter of Nobuyuki's old
friend Genma and his cousin Nodoka.  That was the thing that made
Katsuhito look very intently at the young girl.  Fifteen years ago
Nodoka had brought her infant child to the shrine to show it to the
head of her family.  She had stayed a week, and during that time
Katsuhito had been drafted into babysitting duties on more then one
occasion as Nodoka had visited with Tenchi's mother, who was also
visiting at that time.  Katsuhito had changed both babies, and Ranma
was every bit as much a boy as Tenchi was.
     So who was this girl who called herself Saotome Ranma?  He idly
stroked his chin as he thought over the possibilities.  Genma was a
scoundrel, he knew that well, but he had a hard time believing that
even he would try and pass off some child he had picked up as his
daughter.  Well, there was an easy way to settle the matter.  He had
Nodoka's number, a simple telephone call would go a long way to
clearing this puzzle up.  He turned and headed into the shrine.


     Down in the valley, the girl that was attracting so much of
Katsuhito's attention, was trying to deal with some puzzles of her
own.  Ranma had been feeling uncharacteristically depressed, and a
little unwell.  She'd even cried, an action that filled her with
disgust.  Sure, a very nice person she had just met had died in the
crash that now littered the nearby lake with refuse, but guys weren't
supposed to cry, not even for stuff like that.  That was one thing
Genma had drilled into her constantly over the last ten years.  To cry
meant you were weak, and to be weak was to be a failure.  It was a
lesson Ranma had taken to heart long ago.  So why was she feeling an
itchiness in her eyes, and this enormous urge to bury her head in the
Princess's shoulder and cry her eyes out?  It was unmanly, that's what
it was, and she'd not give in to it.
     She tried to drive the sadness she was feeling away.  Things were
looking up after all.  She had discovered a way to at least
temporarily wiggle out of this stupid engagement to Tenchi.  Both
Ryouko and Princess Ayeka thought she was Tenchi's sister.  Now if she
could just get to Tenchi and convince him what a good idea it was for
her to continue the deception until they left, things would be great.
After all, she told herself, surely he couldn't want to marry her!
She had told him she was really a guy.  Guys didn't marry guys, even
if one of the guys looked like her.
     She was sure Tenchi could convince his father.  Masaki-san seemed
a nice enough guy, even if he stared at her rather a lot.  Of course
that left her Pop.  She rubbed a closed fist in the palm of her other
hand.  She was rather looking forward to convincing Pop to go along
with the idea.
     Buoyed up by the thought of doing violence to her father, her
usual upbeat character was soon shoving the grief she had been feeling
aside, forcing it down into her gut.  Just like Pop always told her to
do.  Even if her stomach felt like she'd been punched there repeatedly
in her last sparring session, she could at least think of other things
now.
     She had just made a new friend, well, a maybe friend, and a
rather cute one at that.  Despite her mud spattered kimono, Princess
Ayeka was every inch a lady.  Normally that would have been a mark
against her in Ranma's mind, but the way she carried herself, and the
kimono she wore, reminded Ranma of someone, and that memory carried a
warmth that was helping in the lifting of her spirits.  She was not
sure what it was, but that didn't really matter.  It wasn't like she
had friends by the dozens, and they'd been even harder to come by
since she had become a girl.

     Most of her life she had been alone, her Pop hardly counting as
company.  The few friends she managed to meet were soon left behind on
her everlasting training trip.  She tried to think of how many there
had been.  After a moment of thought she was shocked to realize that
she could think of just three that had made a real impression in her
life.  There had been the old lady who had comforted her when she
first acquired the cat fist.  Ranma had known her for a while when
that had happened, and she had instinctively sought her out the first
time she went cat.  The old lady had comforted the frightened creature
she had become, and had brought Ranma back to herself.  Then she had
held Ranma while Ranma had wailed out her fears and trauma in her
arms.  The old lady had not thought crying unmanly she recalled.
     Pop had moved them on shortly after he had caught the old lady
telling Ranma that sometimes it was all right to let others see your
feelings.  Maybe because of the closeness she felt for the old lady,
and from missing that closeness, she had quickly made another friend
at the first opportunity.
     That had been Ukyou, the best friend she had ever had.  They had
played together for nearly three months that summer before Pop had
moved them on.  She remembered Ucchan running after them, and how hard
it had been to keep the tears at bay, but she had managed, and her
friend's last sight of her had been a smiling face, instead of some
baby crying over something that could not be helped.

     She wondered what Ucchan would think of her now, hard to imagine
him as a grown boy.  All the boys she'd met since the change had been
such jerks.  She was sure Ucchan would not be like that, maybe . . .
No!  She pushed the thought aside.  The last thing she wanted was for
any of her old friends to see her like this, see what had happened to
her.  She shoved the memory of Ucchan from her mind.  Even if she were
to meet him again, she would not be able to tell him the truth.  The
memory of Ucchan's friendship was far too valuable to spoil by letting
him find out she had turned into a freak.

     Her last friendship had not been as strong as the one with
Ucchan.  It hadn't really even been a true friendship.  She had grown
cautious of making close friends after Ukyou.  Still, there had been
something about him, something in his face, in the guarded way he
behaved around others.  She had felt that he might understand her.
But, she'd blown it.  She'd tried to use the same basic method she'd
used so well on Ucchan.  He was a lot different than Ucchan however,
and he'd seen her behavior as a personal insult.  She'd regretted not
finding some other way of getting to know him when he had challenged
her to a man to man duel.  Maybe if she had let her guard down, he
would never have felt the need to challenge her.  Maybe if she hadn't
been such a jerk, they could have been real friends instead of
glorified sparing partners.  They had never fought that last fight of
course.  Poor old Ryouga had gotten lost like usual . . .

     "Ryouga!!!" Ranma suddenly shouted out loud, her face a study of
chagrin.
     "I beg your pardon Ranma-san?" Ayeka asked, startled by Ranma's
outburst.
     "Damn, damn, damn.  How could I be so f****** stupid?" Ranma
cursed loudly and vigorously.  Then she noticed Ayeka's shocked
expression, and blushed, placing her left hand behind her head and
rubbed her hair.  "Eh, sorry Ayeka-san, I just realized something, and
it pissed me off that it took this long.  I met this boy the other
day, and I didn't remember him from when we went to school together.
I just realized I told him my real name.  I hope he doesn't think I'm
me."
     Ayeka was still rather flustered at hearing a Jurain princess, no
matter how backward her raising, using such language.  She put that
thought aside for the moment, time later for etiquette lessons.  "This
boy, did he make advances on you before?  Are you afraid he'll come
here?  Should we warn your father and brother?"
     "Eh?" Ranma said, looking at Ayeka in bemusement, trying to
figure out what she was going on about.  Then it struck her, and she
frowned angrily.  "Hey, I don't need no one looking after me.  It's
just that I wasn't a . . ."  Ranma paused, having almost said she
wasn't a girl last time she met Ryouga.  That would blow her sister
story right here and now.  That was no good.  She finished rather
lamely.  "I wasn't looking like he remembered, and I didn't want him
thinking I was strange or nothing."
     "Ahh," Ayeka said knowingly.  It was obvious that Ranma did,
despite appearances, give some thought to how she looked.  Why else
would she be concerned about what this boy might think of her current
appearance?  "Don't worry Ranma-chan.  We will have you looking just
like a proper young lady in no time.  Just leave everything to me."
     Ranma was once again left wondering just what in the hell the
princess was talking about, but she did not let it concern her.  She
had other worries.  "Man oh man," she thought to herself, "I hope
Ryouga didn't make me.  I'd die of embarrassment if he knew what
happened to me."  She tried to reassure herself that there was no way
Ryouga would know it was her, but still, the thought of an old
acquaintance finding out about her condition, and maybe blabbing it
all over town, or in Ryouga's case, all over Japan, filled her with
dread.  The only thing that made walking around like this bearable was
that no one she knew was aware of it.

     "Oh, look.  Kamidake and Asaka managed to recover my belongings
from Ryuu-oh." Ayeka said suddenly, breaking into Ranma's train of
thought.  Ranma looked up and saw a stack of wooden cabinets scattered
haphazardly across the grass that had been transported along with the
house.  Even as she watched, Tenchi came down the stairs from the
house and picked one up with a grunt of effort.  Then, accompanied by
a young girl Ranma had not yet met, he returned to the house.  As
Tenchi walked into the house with his burden, two large floating logs
maneuvered themselves into position of either side of a large stack of
the dressers, and the bulky objects floated up in the air, supported
by nothing Ranma could see.
     "Neat!" Ranma exclaimed, once again caught up in the wonder of
being in the presence of aliens, and all that went with it.  She was
also glad that as a girl she did not have to feign disinterest, but
could act in a manner she would be too embarrassed to do in her male
body.  She bounced over to have a closer look.  One of the logs gave a
sudden "eep" and disappeared into the house.  The other log,
unbalanced by the lose of whatever force his companion had been
exerting toppled over, along with the wooden furniture, which
scattered across the small patch of lawn.

     "What, what, what." A voice said from inside, and Nobuyuki came
out on the deck, and looked over the disarray.  "Tsk, tsk, tsk," he
said to the fallen Asaka, "you shouldn't try to take so much at one
time.  You might have damaged something."
     "It was not Asaka's fault." Ayeka explained.  "I am afraid
Kamidake had a rather unpleasant experience with your daughter, and is
a little nervous around her.  I'm sure he will get over it quickly
once he gets to know her."
     "Daughter?" Nobuyuki said in puzzlement, but Genma, who had come
out on the deck behind him laughed out loud.  If Ranma had been less
busy trying to signal his father to go along, she might have noted a
slight tinge of hysteria in her fathers laugh.
     Despite Ranma's frantic hand signals, Genma said, "Ranma's my
daughter, and Tenchi's fiancee."  Ranma dropped her head and moaned.
     "Fiancee?" Ayeka said, a puzzled expression on her face.  "I
don't understand.  She must be your daughter." She said to Nobuyuki.
"She has the Jurain royal blood.  Just like Tenchi."
     A sudden flare of light drew the attention of everyone on the
deck before any explanations, or in Genma's case, lies, could be made.
They all, with the exception of Ranma, who was glaring in anger at
Genma, turned to look, and saw Ryouko standing there, her face twisted
into a horrendous expression.
     "Fi-an-c-ee!" She stuttered out, her fist clenched and sparks
forming a halo around her statically charged hair.
     Genma turned slightly pale.  He had not taken being shot at,
shrunken, kidnaped on an alien space craft, and then being crash
landed in a lake well.  About the only thing that had gone his way was
that he had managed to evacuate the ship without getting wet.  A
situation Ranma now rectified with a pail of water she plucked off the
deck.
     "You got a big mouth Pop.  Why don't you keep it shut for a
while?" Ranma yelled at him.  She was furious that he had screwed up
her plan to pass as Tenchi's sister.  She watched in satisfaction as
he changed form, and then dove in fists first.
     Ryouko paid not the slightest attention to Genma's
transformation.  Every bit of her attention was focused on Ranma's
back.  Sixteen years!  She had watched Tenchi grow up for sixteen
years.  Now, just as she managed to get free, this, this, this mud
covered, ragged, top heavy, little tramp came along to take him away
from her.  No goddamn way, not if she had anything to say about it.
     If Ryouko attention was fully focused on Ranma, Ayeka's was on
the large Panda that had just joined their group.  "Wha, wha, what?"
She stuttered pointing at the transformed Genma.  Then a shocked look
crossed her face, and she looked from Genma to Ranma and back again,
recalling he had called her daughter.  "Shape shifter." She suddenly
said, and her body language was suddenly saying the same thing that
Ryouko's was.  There was a shape shifter in the legends of Jurai, and
those legends were not such as to give her a good opinion of the
creatures.
     "So," she gritted out from between clenched teeth.  "You thought
to insinuate yourself into the royal family.  Evil creature!  Never!
Never will I allow this to happen!"  She reached with her right hand,
and pulled the fingers on her left hand, then cursed a ladylike curse
under her breath as nothing happened.  Of course, her armor was still
packed away in one of the dressers in front of her.  She gritted her
teeth in anger at herself.  If she had taken the time to find it and
dig it out before confronting Ryouko, none of this would have
happened.  She wouldn't be trapped on this backward dirt hole.  She
stalked over to the scattered dressers and began to ruthlessly dig
through them, looking for the ring containing her Jurain battle armor.

     Meanwhile, Ranma was just getting into a nice rhythm with her
father, landing two punched for every one he managed to block.  Then
she became aware of a hazard from another source.  Ranma's danger
sense was highly developed, so it was hard to say which of the
minuscule clues tipped her off to the impending attack.  It could have
been the smell of charred wood from under Ryouko's feet, the crackle
of lightning as it arced through her wildly waving hair, or maybe the
smell of ozone as she concentrated and formed a globe of pulsing
energy in her hand.  Of course it could merely have been the, "NOW YOU
DIE!!!" that Ryouko screamed out, just before launching the blast.
     Whatever subtle clue warned her, it gave Ranma time to spring up
and do a handstand on her fathers shaggy head, leaving Genma fully
exposed to the bolt of energy that blasted him off the porch and in a
long trajectory toward the lake.  Bereft of her support, Ranma did a
somersault, and landed on her feet.  She watched Genma splash down in
the lake with every indication of satisfaction.  Then with a grunt of
effort, she twisted her body aside as Ryouko's energy sword passed
through the space she had just occupied.
     "What's got your shorts in a twist!?" She yelled at the angry
Ryouko, giving her a boot to the backside as her wild swing carried
her past Ranma.  Ranma's only answer was a concussion blast that she
saw coming a mile away and easily dogged.  Doing several multiple back
flips, she moved away from the house, and toward the side of the
valley, never taking her eyes of the furious demon girl.  She didn't
know what had set her off, but she had been hoping for a rematch, and
she still had a pile of anger to burn off.  So, all in all, she was
perfectly happy to accommodate Ryouko's sudden need for a battle.
Unrestricted by walls she was sure her greater speed would let her
give a good account of herself.  She felt not an ounce of fear.  She
never did in fights.  The thought that she might lose was just not a
part of her mental makeup.
     Drawing on the memory from her first fight she found it easy to
dodge Ryouko's energy blasts.  Ryouko had to focus for just a second
before launching them, and that gave Ranma ample time to dodge, and to
even use the shock wave, and debris to her advantage.  She used her
feet and hands to deflect the shattered pieces of rock toward Ryouko.
They did Ryouko no harm, but they did inflame her even more, and gave
Ranma even more of an advantage as Ryouko's anger made her careless.

     Tenchi had of course heard the explosions, as well as Ryouko's
scream of anger.  He came bursting out of the house, fully expecting
to see Ryouko attacking the princess.  He stopped in surprise when he
got outside and Ryouko was nowhere to be seen and Ayeka was rummaging
through her belongings throwing clothing and other things right and
left as she looked for something.

     "Ayeka-san!  What is happening, where is Ryouko?"  Then taking a
closer look at who was present he added. "Where is Ranma?"
     "You have been betrayed Tenchi-sama!" Ayeka yelled over her
shoulder.  "That girl you are engaged to is a shape shifter.  She is
not what she seems."
     Tenchi was surprised to hear this, first because he could not
think how Ayeka could have been able to tell, and secondly, because
Tenchi himself had not been entirely convinced that Ranma was really a
boy under that very feminine body.
     "No, no, no!  You are very much mistaken Miss." Nobuyuki broke in
before Tenchi could say anything.  He had watched enough anime, and
read enough manga, to know what she feared.  "Ranma's father is not a
shape shifter, he is a shape shifted."  Ayeka and Tenchi both gave him
a blank look, and he explained further.  "He does not change himself,
he is changed by his curse.  He had no control over it, and Ranma has
no curse, she is merely a little confused.  Sasami-chan, there is a
kettle on the stove in the kitchen, could you go and get it please?"
Nobuyuki asked the young girl who was standing beside Tenchi, a look
of confusion of her face.
     "Yes," she answered, glad of something to do.  She hurried into
the kitchen, not wanting to miss any of what was turning out to be a
marvelous entertainment.  To think, just a day ago she had been bored
out of her skull, and now she was here after a fierce battle in space.
A crash landing on an alien planet, and out in the lake was a shape
shifter right out of the legends.  She had no idea what the hot water
was for, but she felt that given recent events it had to be for
something more interesting then making tea.

     By the time Sasami heated the water, and returned to the porch.
A singed and soaking wet Panda was sitting there, cowering under the
basilisk stare of her older sister.
     "Ah, thank you Sasami-chan." Nobuyuki said, taking the kettle
from her.  "You see," Nobuyuki said to Ayeka.  "My old friend Genma is
under a curse.  When splashed with cold water, he turns into a panda.
When splashed with hot. . ."  Nobuyuki poured the water in the kettle
over the shivering Panda.  Sasami clapped in delight when the large
black and white creature suddenly shimmered and turned back into a man
in an old cotton gi.  A man who yelled in pain.
     "It needn't be that hot Masaki." He said in a querulous voice.
     Nobuyuki ignored him, and instead addressed Ayeka.  "There, you
see, that's not so bad, is it?  He's not some sort of monster.  He
merely had the bad luck to fall into a cursed spring."
     Ayeka didn't look in the least mollified.  "And his daughter?"
she said in a grating tone.  Once fooled, she would not so easily be
tricked again.
     "Ah, well, that is a little more complicated." Nobuyuki said, he
held up the kettle and shook it.  "Good, enough for some nice tea.
Why don't we all sit down and my friend can tell you about his poor
daughter."
     Ayeka declined to be mollified.  "That is all very well, but why
did she scan as having the same ancestry as Tenchi."
     "That?  Why that is a simple as can be, they are both descended
from Yosho."
     "What?"
     "Yes, yes, you see, while grandfather up at the shrine, and
Tenchi, are descended along the direct line, myself, and Ranma's
mother, are descended through another branch.  So you see, both Ranma
and Tenchi have Yosho's blood in them.  Now come, let my friend tell
you about Ranma's problem."


     Meanwhile, Ranma was having a thoroughly good time.  It had been
months since she'd been able to go all out against her father, a few
weeks after Jusenkyo, her speed had increased to the point where he
just couldn't stand up to her.  What she had lost in strength, had
more then been made up for in speed and flexibility.  Two weeks after
the curse, she had mastered a Kata she had been trying to do for
months, and had been unable to.  Her male body just refused to bend
that fast, or that far.  She'd not even felt like she was trying when
she'd done it the very first time in her female body.  The problem
was, she could no longer let herself go with her Pop.  If she did, the
fight was usually over in a minute or less.  That was very frustrating
to some one who was use to training at full throttle.
     Now however, she was facing an opponent who she did not have to
hold back with in the slightest.  Ryouko was enraged for some reason,
and unlike the fight in the school, where Ranma had tried to be the
aggressor, Ryouko was doing the attacking.  This allowed Ranma to land
several blows, which were ineffective, and to redirect her movements,
which while not doing Ryouko much damage, caused very impressive
collateral damage.
     She had just now dodged out of the enraged demon girl's way,
using a shove from her hand to add a little speed to Ryouko's already
rapid movement, and sending her face first into a large boulder, which
shattered most satisfyingly.
     "Argggg!!" Ryouko screamed, bursting out of the ruble, her hair
streaming almost vertical from the aura crackling around her.  "Stand
still you little bitch."
     "Sorry Granny, should I go a little slower?  Would you like me to
wait while you cut yourself a cane?" Ranma's voice floated down from
where she was currently standing on a tree branch.  Ryouko shimmered
and reappeared floating on air beside the branch, with a cry of rage
she brought her energy sword around and severed the foot thick limb
with one blow.  Then she blinked, and looked around for Ranma, who had
disappeared between the time she had faded out on the ground, and
reappeared in the air beside Ranma's perch.
     "Feeling creaky you old Mummy." Ranma's voice floated down from
farther up the hill.  Ryouko screamed in rage, and flew in a straight
line toward that taunting voice, severing several moderate sized
trees, and shattering two large ones.  She burst out of the forest to
see Ranma standing on the stone patio of the shrine.
     A lance of force flew from her hand and penetrated the stone
where Ranma had been standing.  From several feet away, Ranma ragged
her.  "Missed again!  Damn, you're not a very good shot are you."
     "Good enough." Ryouko said with an evil chuckle in her voice.
She grinned down at the smaller girl, who looked at her in puzzlement.
Then a rumble filled the air, and the stone under Ranma exploded
before she could escape.  She was flung high into the air.  Ranma
rapidly oriented herself, but she knew she was in trouble, she could
maneuver in the air almost as well as if she could fly.  The problem
was, Ryouko 'could' fly!
     "Gottcha," Ryouko cried in a triumphant voice as she managed to
snag the front of Ranma's shirt.  Ranma struggled futilely, leveling
several powerful kick and blows at Ryouko, to no avail.  Ryouko just
took her best shots, and kept right on smiling, a very nasty smile
Ranma noted with a sinking feeling.  In one last desperation move, she
pressed both feet against Ryouko, and pushed with all her might.
There was a loud ripping sound, and Ranma was free, sans shirt, but
free.  She somersaulted to the ground, and shouted out.
     "Hey, that was my favorite shirt, you owe me."
     "Favorite shirt!!" Ryouko screamed.  "You take Tenchi away from
me, and you bitch about some shirt.  I'll kill you!!"
     "What the hell are you talking about!" Ranma yelled as she dodged
several force bolts.  "I never took Tenchi from no one!"
     "You're his Fiancee aren't you!" Ryouko yelled as she slashed at
the ducking, weaving girl with her sword.
     "Yea, so what."
     "So what!!! SO WHAT."  Ryouko became a veritable tornado of
slashes and blasts.  Tears were running down her face.  "Tenchi is
mine!  I'm the one who will show him the sweet secrets between a man
and a woman.  No one else.  DO YOU HEAR ME!!"
     "Sweet secrets?" Ranma said in puzzlement, then she gagged as she
deciphered Ryouko nearly incoherent shouting.
     "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR F****** MIND??  THAT'S DISGUSTING!  God,
what sort of a pervert do you think I am?  Sleep with a guy."  Ranma
made retching sounds.
     "Nani" Ryouko said, shocked enough by Ranma's outburst to stop
her attack.  She looked down at the little red head, who looked up her
with an expression of total disgust.  Suddenly her mind went back to
the scene in Tenchi's bedroom.
     "OH ho," She murmured, "It's like that is it."  She floated down
till she was two feet from the ground, then floated toward Ranma, who
fell into a defensive pose.  Ryouko was not attacking however.
Instead she stopped a few feet away from Ranma and bent over to look
her in the eye.  As her feet were still two feet off the ground, and
she had mentally adjusted her top, this had the effect of
demonstrating very explicitly to Ranma that she felt the same way
Ranma did about bras.  Ranma's eyes glazed slightly, and she blushed a
deep red.
     "H mm mm," Ryouko hummed, sounding very satisfied with herself.
"Tell me Ranma, if you don't like Tenchi, why did you get engaged to
him?"
     "It was our stupid father's idea!" Ranma cried, wrenching her
eyes away from the soft mounds in front of her.
     "So you don't have any interest in doing this and that with him?"
Ryouko purred in a seductive voice.
     "NO WAY!!  Acchhh." Ranma let out a frantic squawk as Ryouko
moved in closer and pulled her into a tight embrace.  Her danger sense
had not warned her in the least that Ryouko was about to attack.  For
a good reason.
     Ryouko held the struggling girl tight against her, making sure
the hug pulled Ranma's face deep into her cleavage.  She chuckled to
herself as Ranma's body reacted to her embrace.  What ever Ranma might
say in protest, it was clear where her interest lay.  Releasing Ranma
she floated back from the other girl, who was flushed a deep red and
was breathing heavily.
     Blowing a kiss at her, Ryouko said. "Sorry sweet, I'd love to
stay, but I need to get back to Tenchi."
     Ranma watched her go, part of her relieved, part of her
disappointed.  Drawing a deep breath, she tried to bring her heart
under control.  "Geez, what was she doing?  We're both girls."
     "And very healthy ones at that." A voice said from behind her.
     Ranma spun in place, and looked in surprise at the old man
standing there.  How had he managed to sneak up on her?  Surely Ryouko
hadn't rattled her that much?  Then she became aware of her topless
state and crossed her arms over her exposed chest.  Even after three
months, she still did not possess a natural modesty toward going
topless, but bitter experience had taught her that it was inadvisable
to go around that way in front of other guys, even old priests, as the
one at the Cherry Hill Temple had proven to her.
     "What do you want?  Who are you?"
     "Masaki Katsuhito, but you may call me grandfather Ranma."
     "Hu, you know who I am?" Ranma said in surprise, but then the
other part of that sentence registered.  This must be Tenchi's
grandfather, which meant . . .
     "No way, not you too.  Listen up old man!" Ranma said with some
heat.  "I ain't marrying Tenchi, no matter what weird ass ideas our
fathers have.  You got that!"
     The old man held up his hands in a peace gesture.  "Got it, got
it." he said in a placating tone.  "That is not what I meant in any
case.  Your Mother used to call me uncle, but I've gotten use to
Grandfather, so I felt . . ."
     "You knew my mother!?" Ranma blurted out, her mind suddenly
swamped with images.  It had been so long since she'd thought of her
mother.  The images in her head were blurred and distorted.  She only
had a vague memory of the woman who had given her birth.  She was
incredibly tall for one thing.  Towering over Ranma.  Ranma mentally
kicked herself, "Baka, of course she's tall.  You were only what, Six?
When did Pop take me away anyway? Ten years ago?"  Ranma tried to
focus on the image in his mind, and found that it kept getting mixed
up with her memory of the princess.  She finally placed the points of
confusion.  The way Ayeka carried herself, the way she dressed, that
was how her mother had behaved.
     "Ranma, Ranma, wake up.  Are you alright boy?"
     "Huh," Ranma said, coming out of her daze to see the old man
peering into her eyes from inches away.  "Yaaa, get away from me!" She
shouted in surprise.  She lashed out at the old man in surprise.  To
her amazement, her fist was stopped cold as it splatted into the old
man's open palm.
     He grinned at her, and said, "Now, now, don't be like that.  I
didn't mean any harm.  You just drifted off there for a minute boy.  I
was worried about you."
     "Well, don't do that." Ranma said rather weakly, still looking at
her closed fist in puzzlement.  In her surprise she'd thrown a full
speed punch.  No way should the old man have been able to stop it.
Then she remembered what had started this.  "You knew my mother?"
Ranma repeated.
     "Indeed, she visited often when she was young, but the last time
was many years ago when she brought you around to see me."
     "I don't remember that."
     "Well, you were very young, still in diapers as a matter of fact.
You were a messy baby."  Katsuhito chuckled in remembrance.  "You
could be clean one minute, and covered in jam or something else a
second later.  You spent so much time in the water.  It's a wonder you
didn't turn into a prune."
     Ranma put a hand behind her head and chuckled.  "Ya, guess I
haven't changed much.  I still seem to need twice as many baths as
anyone else I ever knew. . . Wait a second!" Ranma suddenly exclaimed.
"You gave me baths?"
     "Yes."
     Ranma dropped her arms, and put her hands on her hips.  She
stared at the old man with a look of mistrust.  "So, you notice
anything strange about me you old fraud?"
     Katsuhito peered over his glasses at her for a second, then
turned to walk toward the dojo.  Over his shoulder he threw a parting
comment.  "The one on the left is a little bigger, but I don't think
that's really strange."
     Ranma stared after his retreating back for a second, then a look
of disgust crossed her face and she replaced her arms back over her
chest and yelled.  "That's not what I meant you old pervert!" Ranma
muttered to herself.  "The old fraud, no way did he change me as a
kid.  He'd know that I wasn't a . . ."
     "Come in and have some tea Ranma, there's a good boy." Katsuhito
called from inside the Temple office.
     "Yea right." Ranma muttered, then a look of shock crossed her
face.  "Hey, you called me a boy!  Are you blind or something old
man."
     "Would you like some hot water before I make the tea Ranma?" was
the reply.
     Ranma blinked at the open doorway, then said softly.  "Hot water,
why'd I want hot water . . . Unless . . .YOU KNOW!!!" She yelled,
running across the stone paving blocks and into the office.  She
glared accusingly at Katsuhito.  "You know about Jusenkyo!" She
repeated.
     He looked up at her from where he was heating the water.  "There
are records, one of my ancestors visited that area of China about
three hundred years ago."  He held up the kettle, gesturing with it
toward Ranma.
     "It won't do me any good." Ranma said in bitter tones.  "I'm
stuck like this.  Hot water just gets me wet."
     Katsuhito raised an eyebrow.  "Really, did you have a run in with
the Musk?"
     "The Musk?"
     Katsuhito opened a large book on his desk, and gestured toward a
picture in it.  Coming closer Ranma saw a drawing of people that
looked vaguely familiar.  "Hey, those are the characters I saw at the
cursed springs."
     Katsuhito nodded his head as if she was confirming something he
already knew.  "And did they splash you with some water?"
     Ranma thought back, and remembered the water thrown in her face.
"Yea, they did."
     "The Chiisuiton." Katsuhito said.  "It is a magic bucket.  Water
from it freezes the victim in their cursed form."
     "What!!! Those bastards!  You mean all this time I thought it was
my fault, and it was theirs.  And the guide, he knew, he was scared of
something that day.  He knew they were there.  If you know, he had to
have known.  He should have told me the bastard."
     "Don't be so hard on him.  I could be wrong, but I may know why
he did what he did."
     Ranma snorted, "Yea, what could be a good enough reason for
leaving me like this."
     "To keep you from becoming the bride of a Musk warrior."
     "Nani?"
     "That is what the Musk use the Chiisuiton for.  They throw an
animal into Nyanniichuan, douse the girl that comes out with it, then
marry them."
     Ranma looked disgusted, then sick as the full implications hit
him.  "You mean. . . But I'm a guy!"
     "They would not care."
     "Well, I would have liked to have seen them try.  I would have
kicked their teeth down their throats."
     Katsuhito nodded as if agreeing with her, but then he said.
"There is a legend that says the Musk once defeated a mighty dragon,
and threw it into the spring to make a bride for their Emperor.  Do
you think yourself a greater fighter then that dragon?  Or of the
Tigers, or Bears they have used?  I watched your fight.  You are
skilled, but you are only one, and it is said the Musk are very single
minded.  Could you have defeated their entire Kingdom?"
     "I sure as hell would have tried!" Ranma answered belligerently.
     "And that is why I think the guide did nothing.  He must have
known you would feel that way.  Something else you must consider.
Have you been pursued since then by any men who look like these?"
     "Not . . . men . . . not looking like that." Ranma said slowly.
Katsuhito waited, but it became clear she was not going to add
anything, so he continued.
     "There you have it.  Keeping your secret from the Musk was a
grave risk for the Guide.  But keep it he must have, because they
would have pursued you to the ends of the earth if they had known the
truth."
     "I don't care, he should have told me!" Ranma yelled, tears
suddenly springing forth in her eyes.  "Damn it, I'm a guy, a guy.
What the hell am I doing walking around with a pair of tits on my
chest, and nothing between my . . ."
     "Yes, yes, but is it really so bad?"
     "So bad!  So bad!  Of course it's bad.  Girls are weak.  Girls
are silly.  They cry at the stupidest things."
     "Like Ryouko?"
     "Yes!  No!  That's not the same thing.  She's a demon, not a
girl, not a real girl."
     "Ah, ah, you seemed to think her a real girl outside there a
moment ago."  Ranma started to protest, but Katsuhito kept on going.
"So, you've been feeling weak?"
     "No!"
     "Silly?"
     "No!"
     "Stupid?"
     "NO!!."
     "Oh, are you sure you've got a girl's body then?"
     "What the hell do you think these are old man?" Ranma cried,
thrusting her bare chest forward for Katsuhito's examination.
     Katsuhito pushed his glasses up on his nose and peered at the
offered anatomy.  "Hmmm" he hummed, leaning in closer, then he leaned
back and said. "Very nice."
     "Why you old . . .!" Ranma cried out.  She threw a blazing fast
fist at him, tying to put a little extra speed on it this time.
     "Ah, ah," Katsuhito said, catching Ranma's fist in his hand, and
twisting so she crashed face first into the wall.  "Just a little
joke.  Just a little joke."
     "Stupid old man." Ranma mumbled from her position against the
wall, before she fell backward, her eyes clearly showing she was
slightly stunned.
     "Really," Katsuhito said.  "Stupid? Do you think I'm turning into
a girl?" He felt his chest experimentally.
     "I'm not staying here for this.  I'm going back to China to get
the cure for this body."
     "Ranma." Katsuhito said, the light bantering tone gone from his
voice.  The serious way he said her name caused Ranma to stop, but she
didn't turn around.
     "What is it now old man?"
     "Answer me truthfully.  Could you beat me?"
     Ranma first instinct was to say, of course she could beat him,
but then she thought of the way he had stopped both her attacks.  Not
the fact that he had stopped them, but how easily he had done it.  How
centered he'd remained.  Truth be told she'd never seen anyone move
like him.  So she did what he said, she answered truthfully.  "I don't
know, maybe."
     Choosing his words carefully, Katsuhito said. "I don't know if I
could beat the Musk by myself.  Maybe I could.  Maybe I could recover
the Chiisuiton if I tried for it.  But if I tried, and failed, the
worst that would happen would be that they would kill me.  But
you . . ."  Katsuhito let the implication sink in.
     Ranma winced, and her shoulders slumped.
     "Something else you must consider as well.  The Chiisuiton is
well known.  The Musk have used it for generations.  But always to
lock, never to unlock.  You might take all that risk, and then end up
with something that was no good to you."
     "Then why the F*** did you tell me about the Chiisuiton?"
     "Because you deserved to know."
     Ranma turned and looked at him.  "Just that?"
     Katsuhito shrugged.  "Why else?"
     Ranma tried to get her mind around the concept.  Had her Pop ever
told her anything he didn't want her to know, just because she
deserved to know.  Slowly, thoughtfully, she walked back to Katsuhito
and sat down.  "So what do you suggest I do?"
     "You are young, and very, very good . . . for your age.  If you
are not good enough now to seek out the cure, you will be."
     "What cure?  You just said the Chiisuiton was no good to me."
     "You were not listening.  I said there was no mention of it being
used in that manner.  But think.  If there is one device to lock.
Might there not be one to unlock?  If you become good enough, you will
be able to take the Chiisuiton.  The Musk value it highly, and if
anyone knows a way to undo its effects, it will be them."
     "How can you know that?  What if I'm never good enough!?" Ranma
cried out in anger.
     "Would it be so bad, to stay as you are?"
     "Yes!!" Ranma said intensely.  "I'm not a girl."
     "Yes I know, you're not weak, or silly, or stupid."
     Ranma winced, and admitted, "alright, maybe girls aren't so bad,
but I'm still a guy inside.  How can I be a girl?  How could I marry a
guy?"
     "Don't."
     "Nani?"
     "Don't marry a guy."
     "Yea, right, girls marry guys, that's the way it works in case
you ain't noticed. . .  I don't . . . want to spend my life alone. . .
I'd like someday . . ."
     "Yes."
     Ranma threw up her hands in dismissal.  "What's it matter.  As
long as I'm stuck like this . . . I mean it just couldn't work out,
the thought of some guy, ugh.  It's disgusting."
     "What about other girls?"
     "Nani?  Don't be stupid, what am I suppose to do?"  Ranma
gestured at her most prominent current feature.  "Strap these down?
Don't you think the girl might get a little suspicious on our wedding
night?" She finished sarcastically.
     Katsuhito pushed his eyeglasses back and stared at Ranma for a
few minutes until she started to fidget under his intense gaze.  At
last he said. "Ranma, do you know what a lesbian is?"
     Ranma grimaced, remembering her taunt to Tenchi just a couple of
days ago.  "I don't know, it's something bad that's all I know."
     "How do you know it's something bad?"
     "When the guys got mad at me, that's what they'd call me."
     "Hmm, I suppose they would.  But Ranma, a Lesbian is not a bad
thing, it's a person, and not a bad person."
     "Really?"  Ranma leaned forward in interest.
     "Ranma, did you know that some people like people of the same
sex."
     "Well sure, I've had two guy friends, and I chummed around with a
lot of other ones.  Back when I was a guy that is.  So what?"
     "Ah, that's not exactly what I meant.  I meant love rather then
like, as in the love a boy and girl feel for each other."  Katsuhito
watched as Ranma frowned, her forehead wrinkling as she tried to
decipher his point.  Just when he thought he was going to have to draw
pictures, her faced cleared and she looked at him incredulously."
     "Nani?  You mean . . . ?"
     "Exactly."
     "That's disgusting!" Ranma said, her face twisting, then she
winced as Katsuhito produced a bokken from nowhere and lightly rapped
her over the head with it.  "Ouch, what you'd do that for old man?"
     Katsuhito gave her a stern look, quite unlike his usual one of
good humor.  He placed the bokken in his lap, and said. "I told you
Ranma, they are not bad, nor are they disgusting.  They are the way
they are.  Whether they are good or bad is a matter of how they lead
their lives, and how they treat others, just as it is for you and me.
There is nothing disgusting about feeling honest love for another
person, no matter if they are the same sex as you."
     Ranma rubbed the top of her head, and glared at Katsuhito.  "So,
you mean that there are guys, who like other guys?  I still say . . ."
     "And girls, that like other girls."
     "Yea right, and girls who like other . . ."  Suddenly Ranma's
eyes widened, and she looked at Katsuhito with a look of horror in her
eyes, the whole disgusting conversation suddenly clicking into place.
"No way, no way." She said.  Then she sprang across the room at the
seated Katsuhito, who was suddenly not there by the time she arrived.
"NO F****** way," she screamed as she pounded her fist into the place
he had been sitting.  Following after the retreating Katsuhito, she
lashed out with everything she had, punctuating each strike with a
rejection of the point he had just made.  "I'm not a girl damn it! I'm
not a girl!  I'm a guy!  A guy you son-of-a-bitch, not some pervert
girl!"
     Ranma suddenly found her eyes flooding with tears, and the pain
in her stomach was back ten fold, but she kept after Katsuhito, never
wavering in her attack.  Always he faded away from her best blows,
never retaliating, just dodging.
     "How the f*** is he doing that?" Ranma muttered to herself, she
wiped the tears free from her eyes, and pressed on.  "Is he reading my
moves?"  She drew back, and tried to catch her breath.  The fight with
Ryouko had worn her out, and she was having trouble focusing past the
pain in her stomach, and her usual calm in battle seemed to have
deserted her, but she didn't care.  She would wipe the floor with the
old man.  She'd make him take back what he was suggesting.
     For the last three months the only vestige of Ranma's manhood had
been that she was still interested in girls.  Even if she couldn't do
anything about it, at least it proved she was still a guy down inside.
Now this old pervert was telling her that she was a real girl.  That
the fact she still liked girls had nothing at all to do with her
really being a boy.  Well, he could take that idea and stuff it up his
ass.  Better still, she'd do it for him.
     Ranma's eyes suddenly glinted as she noted Katsuhito had gotten
himself trapped between her and the wall.  This was her chance.
Calling up every ounce of energy she could muster, she lashed out.
Forcing herself to move faster then she ever had before.  For a second
she thought she had him.  Then her fist passed through his image, and
she realized she had only managed to tag his afterimage as he jumped
lightly over her fist.  With a crash, her fist hit the wall, and
passed through it.  Ranma was temporarily pinned.  If she tried to
wrench her fist free, she risked cutting her arm to ribbons.
     That was when she felt the light tap on her head.  She twisted
her head around and saw Katsuhito standing there, his bokken over his
shoulder.  He gave her a smile and said. "Come, have some tea.  Don't
be mad.  I'm sorry I made you angry."
     Ranma stared at him in stunned surprise, but then she felt her
temper flaring and she was suddenly madder then she could ever
remember being.  Without a thought of the harm she might do herself,
she wrenched her arm free, and brought nearly half the wall with it.
There was blood running from a long scratch on her forearm, but she
gave it no mind.  She glared at Katsuhito, her chest rising and
falling like a bellows.  She wanted to smash him, beat him to a pulp
. . .  And she couldn't.  She'd given it her best, she had nothing
more.  She wasn't good enough.  Not to beat him, and not to acquire
the cure she needed.  Suddenly, to her horror, she heard herself give
a little sob.  She felt a larger one forming in her throat, and tears
started rolling down her cheeks in large fat drops.
     "Damn you!" she said, her voice hoarse from suppressing the
emotions in her chest.  "I'M A GUY GODDAMIT!!" She screamed, then
turning, she lunged through the hole she'd made in the wall.  Ranma
wanted nothing more then to get away from this place before she
disgraced herself anymore.  Wiping the tears from her face with her
bloody forearm, she plunged into the undergrowth that surrounded the
paved area of the Temple, and vanished from sight.

     Katsuhito watched her go.  His calm face belying the raging
lecture he was giving himself.  "You bloody fool.  After all that
effort you put into preparing yourself to face her?  What do you do?
You're not talking to her five minute and you're acting like it was
Xian Pu in front of you, instead of scared former boy who doesn't know
what is happening to her."  With a muffled curse, he turned and left
the Temple, heading for the stairs.  He had not wanted to face Ayeka
and Sasami this early.  He had wanted to give himself time to adjust
to the concept, but he had to try and straighten this mess out.  He
owed her, both Ranma, his great, god knows how many times Grandson,
and Xian Pu, his poor dead daughter, whose body Ranma was wearing.

     When Katsuhito had called Nodoka, he had gotten her neighbor
instead.  Apparently all of Nodoka's calls were being forwarded while
she was out of the country.  She was on her way to a place called
Jusenkyo, to look into the disappearance of her Husband and Son.  That
name had sent shockwaves through him.
     His daughter Xian Pu had drowned there, fighting off some magical
monster that had attacked the village.  He had never been happy with
that story, but knew he would never know the full details of what had
happened to her.  He had been away at the time, and two weeks later
when he returned, she was already buried with full Amazon honors.  Her
name had already been bestowed on a newborn infant.  Her name would
live on as one of the famous.  Like Pur-Fum, who had died holding a
mountain pass against the Musk.  Or Lo Xien, who had given her life to
save a group of children from an insane wizard.  Like them, there
would always be a Xian Pu.

     Knowing that Ranma had been to Jusenkyo, it had not taken
Katsuhito long to put two and two together.  Something in the Jurain
blood was beyond Jusenkyo's ability to duplicate.  For years they had
watched the Musk, but no woman born of Nyanniichuan had ever had Xian
Pu's features, or more importantly, her abilities.  But, when he had
learned that Ranma had gone to Jusenkyo, combined that with Tenchi's
new Fiancee, and had stirred in the vaguely familiar red head he had
seen with Ayeka, he ended up with the conclusion that somehow Ranma's
Jurain blood had enabled her to assume the body of Katsuhito's long
dead daughter.
     Just as he had in regards to Ayeka and Sasami, he had prepared
himself to meet her with a calm face, and a moderate behavior, giving
nothing away.  And he'd blown it.  He'd been unable to keep himself
distant from her, had slipped into behavior three hundred years old,
and in doing so, he might have permanently scarred Ranma.  He reached
the stairs, and hurried down them.  As he moved down the stairs, two
at a time, a huddled ball of misery just off the stairs, hidden in the
undergrowth watched him go.


     Ranma barely stifled the sobs that were racking her body as
Katsuhito strode past.  She had barely made it out of sight of the
temple when all her efforts had failed, and she had fallen to the
ground weeping as if her heart was breaking.  The worse part of it
was, she had no idea why.  She had endured far worse insults with out
shedding a single tear drop.  She had lost fights before, met superior
fighters, if not recently.  It had never bothered her before.  Not
this way anyway.  Always before she had been left with a grim
determination to improve.  So why was she crying like she was six
years old again?
     Slowly, she rocked back and forth, her arms wrapped around her
stomach, which felt like it was full of knots, and slowly, far too
slowly for her peace of mind, she brought herself under control.
Finally, with a last hiccup of a sob, she managed to stop the crying,
if not the tears.  It was at that point she started to berate herself.
     "Stupid fool." she muttered to herself.  "The old guy told you
more about your curse in five minutes then you found out in six weeks
in China.  And what do you do?  You act like some sort of crazy
person.  Okay, so maybe he was full of shit about that pervert stuff,
but he knew why I'm stuck like this.  Shit, he could have just kept
his mouth shut, that's what Pop would have done."
     Ranma stood up, wincing as her stomach protested.  What was wrong
with it anyway?  She couldn't remember taking a hit there recently,
not a bad enough one to be bothering her this much.  Brushing through
the low bushes that lined the stairs, she stepped out on the stone,
and looked down toward the house.  She could just barely make out
Katsuhito as he made his way toward it.  Her thoughts went back to
what she'd noted as she had fought him.  The absolute ease and control
he'd shown as she had come at him with everything she had.  Not for
one instant did she think she'd pushed him anywhere near his upper
limit.
     "F***," she swore.  She had a feeling that if anyone could
prepare her to meet the Musk, it was him.  "Ah what's the use, I've
blown it.  He probably thinks I'm some sort of crybaby girl.  How the
hell am I going to get him to train me?"  Ranma mulled this over as
she walked down the stairs.  She could just attack him again.  She'd
learn a lot that way, but he'd have no reason then to point out where
she was going wrong.  Or to show her anything more then he had to.  He
might also kick her out.  It was his shrine after all.  He probably
had a lot of say in who lived here.
     Once, half an hour ago, that prospect would have delighted her.
Now it was the last thing she wanted.  His remarks about the result of
failure had bothered her more then she liked to admit.  The thought of
being forced to marry some guy, and not having any choice in the
matter.  Ranma shuddered.  That prospect had been the stuff of
nightmares, and not just since Genma had come up with his scam to
marry Ranma to Tenchi.  Tenchi didn't frighten Ranma.  Ranma was
positive the two of them would work this out, but what the old guy had
said about the Musk. . . Ranma would risk death happily, if there was
a chance of a cure in it.  But that . . . She shook her head, she had
to think of someway of convincing the old man to help her.  Shit, she
didn't even know what this Chiisuiton looked like.
     "Damn, damn, damn!" She swore, as the only possible option became
obvious.  She was going to have to apologize to the old fart.  Glumly
she continued down the steps, not looking forward to the next fifteen
minutes in the least.


     Down in the house, Tenchi was trying to keep Ryouko at bay, while
keeping his attention on the Temple stairs.  His Grandfather had just
come down them, but there was no sign of Ranma.  Once again fighting
free of Ryouko's grip, he turned to her and said in an accusing tone.
"You said you left Ranma with Grandfather, and that she was alright.
Where is she then?"
     "Oh Tenchi, don't be like that.  Don't you trust me?" Ryouko
whined, trying to crawl kittenishly into his lap.  Her efforts were
met by a resounding lack of success.  No doubt due to the fact that
the boy who's lap she was currently trying to settle into was the same
boy she had apparently been doing her best to kill not eighteen hours
before, and who was not interested in the least in having her perched
that close.
     Tenchi reached around behind his back and pulled out the
Tenchi-ken.  He thanked fortune that Ayeka had returned it to him.  Of
course she had slipped it to him in order that he could protect
himself from the wicked shape shifter that had tried to ensnare him.
However, it wasn't Ranma he needed protection from.  He held the sword
hilt between himself and Ryouko, who retreated a pace.  "No.  I don't
trust you.  You tried to kill Ranma.  I want you to take me to her.  I
want to see her myself."
     "Ah Teennnccchhhiii." Ryouko softly wailed, "you're so mean to
me."
     Katsuhito, reaching the house, took in the scene in front of him.
"Tenchi, shame on you.  You should not treat such a lovely lady so
badly." he said.
     "But Grandfather . . ."
     "There, there, don't fret.  I left Ranma up at the temple.
Ryouko did her no harm."
     "See Tenchi, aren't you sorry you didn't trust me." Ryouko
purred, taking advantage of the fact that Tench had turned her back on
her, to wrap her arms around him neck and to blow into his ear.
Tenchi blushed red, and tried to dislodge her, but she held tight.
     Katsuhito pushed his glasses up his nose, and asked.  "Tenchi,
why is there a Panda writing on a sign in the livingroom?"
     Tenchi craned his head about as best he could under the
circumstances, and took in the scene in the living room.  Genma was
indeed a Panda again, and from the way Ayeka-san was scolding her, he
guessed the likely reason was Sasami, who was not paying her older
sister any mind, but was instead taking in the sight of a large furry
panda with every evidence of delight.
     Tenchi finally managed to dislodge Ryouko, using the Tenchi-ken
as a pry bar, and while she floated off a bit and sulked, he turned to
his grandfather.  Placing his hand behind his head, he said
hesitantly.  "It's a little hard to explain.  That's Ranma's father."
Then hurrying his words, before his Grandfather could have him
committed, or wacked him over the head for telling tall tales, he
continued on.  "Hefellintoacursedspringinchinaandnoweverytimehegetswet
heturnsintoaPanda."  Tenchi took a deep breath.  "And when he gets
splashed with hot water, he changes back."  Right on cue, Nobuyuki
showed up with a fresh kettle of hot water, and Genma was soon
returned to normal.  To Tenchi's surprise, his Grandfather did not
even blink.
     "Well," Katsuhito said.  "It makes sense I suppose.  If Ranma was
at Jusenkyo, then Genma most likely was there as well."
     "You know about the cursed springs."
     "I had a chat with Ranma up at the temple."  Katsuhito sighed,
and looked up the hill toward the Temple.  "Tenchi?"
     "Yes Grandfather."
     "Do you like Ranma?"
     Tenchi was a bit taken aback by the question.  Ranma had arrived
like a bomb in his life nearly two days before, and he'd spent all
that time getting use to the concept of having a fiancee who insisted
she was really a boy, not to mention dealing with demons, aliens, and
space battles.  Did he like Ranma?  "Yessss." he said in considering
tone of voice, "I think I do.  She's very pretty, and has a lot of
energy.  She's a little reckless, but she came to my rescue when I
hardly knew her.  I like her a lot I guess."
     "Well, that's good.  I'm glad to hear it.  But Tenchi . . ."
Katsuhito turned to his grandson.  "You will be a gentleman won't you.
Don't try and take advantage of her, eh."
     "Grandad!" Tenchi said in shock, blushing red.  "I"d never do
that!"  Besides he thought to himself, Ranma would kill him if he
tried anything eechi.  As long as that was the case, he was not likely
to get too familiar with her.  Then he started as something occurred
to him.  He looked at his Grandfather in surprise.  Grandfather
telling him not to be eechi, that wasn't like him at all.  Katsuhito
continued his out of character behavior with his next sentence.
     "Good, good.  You're a good boy Tenchi.  Just . . . Ranma needs a
friend, and not a boyfriend right now.  Just give her a little space.
That's all I meant."
     "Sure Grandfather." Tenchi said, easily agreeing, as that matched
his intentions anyway.  He was impressed however, by the serious way
Katsuhito was talking.  His Grandfather usually took a much lighter
tone.  He was not as bad as Tenchi's father, when it came to being a
hentai, but he had his moments.  If Grandfather thought the matter was
this important, Tenchi would be well advised to take it to heart.  He
vowed to be as good a friend as he could to Ranma.
     "Now, are you going to introduce me to these lovely young
ladies." Katsuhito said, the serious look on his face gone, and a
lecherous twinkle in his eye.  Tenchi sighed.  It had been too good to
last.  He just hoped he was not going to be embarrassed too badly.
     "This is Ryouko." Tenchi said.  Gesturing at the floating girl,
who was giving Katsuhito a skeptical look.  She clearly didn't quite
trust him.  She gave him a short nod in acknowledgment of Tenchi's
introduction.
     "Aaa, of course, but you've been our guest for many years my
dear.  My ancestors accounts of you do not do you justice."  Ryouko
scowled at being reminded of her imprisonment, and then smiled at the
compliment, then scowled again as she started to wonder if it was an
compliment.  By then Katsuhito had proceeded into the living room,
where they watched as the explanation regarding Genma's condition, and
Ranma's behavior were coming to a close.
     "As I understand it." Ayeka was saying.  "You fell into this
pond."
     "Spring," Genma corrected her.
     "Whatever."  Ayeka scowled at being interrupted.  She clearly was
not over her earlier reaction to Genma's shape shifting, and was
nervously fingering a ring on her right forefinger.  It was one Tenchi
had not noticed before, and he assumed she must have just recently put
it on.  She went on with her summary of Genma's story.
     "This 'spring' somehow cursed you so that you change into that
creature whenever you are splashed with cold water, but only into that
creature, no other.  Sasami-chan, stop doing that!" Ayeka chided her
sister.
     "I'm sorry Oneechan.  It's just so funny." Sasami said, lowering
the water pitcher in her hand.
     *That is correct* Genma Panda said, via the sign in his paw.
     "I'll make some more hot water." Nobuyuki said, leaving the room.
     Ayeka continued.  "There is no cure, and you have no control
other then the hot and cold water?"
     *That is correct*
     "Ranma is not cursed, she has a deep seated belief that she is
really a boy?"
     *That is correct*  Tenchi would have spoken out, but he felt a
hand on his shoulder.  Looking up, he saw his Grandfather shake his
head.  The meaning was clear.  He did not want Tenchi to say anything.
Tenchi did not understand, but decided to go along with his
Grandfather, for now.
     "When your daughter learned of the nature of the springs, she
used it as an excuse for the physical changes that were happening to
her own body, and that she was having trouble dealing with.  She
decided that she had fallen into the spring of drowned girl, and her
body was a cursed form, just like your creature form?"
     *That is correct*  Genma turned the sign to reveal the other
side, which said. *And it's a Panda, not a creature.*
     "Whatever.  The proof of this, is that Ranma does not change, no
matter what." Ayeka finished.
     *That is correct*
     "And you expect me to believe you?"
     *That is correct*
     "I think you are lying.  I think you have afflicted that poor
girl with her delusions, and you are a foul deceiving monster.
     *That is . . .*  Genma hastily lowered the sign, and quickly
created a new message.
     *Who?  Me?*
     "That is correct." Ayeka said sarcastically.  She stood, her hand
lifting to the ring she had been fingering earlier.  "And I'll prove
it."
     Katsuhito finally intruded himself in the conversation.  "That
will not be necessary my dear.  I can assure you that Jusenkyo does
indeed exist."
     "And who are you!?" Ayeka snapped out, spinning in place to look
at Katsuhito, upset at being interrupted at the climatic moment on her
denouncement of this evil creature.
     "Oneechan!" Sasami said reprovingly.
     Ayeka suddenly flushed, and lowered her head in confusion.  "I'm
sorry." She said softly.  "It's just that I was so shocked by his
change.  Shape shifters are evil creatures.  The thought that one had
wormed its way this close to my family.  I'm afraid I forgot my place.
I'm a guest.  I'm sorry." She repeated.  Drawing a breath, she looked
up and met Katsuhito's gaze.  The look of apology lasted for a second,
then was replaced by one of puzzlement.  "I'm sorry, do I know you?"
She said.
     She stared intently at Katsuhito, who coughed into his hand, and
turned his face away from her.  "Oh, I don't think so." He said in a
joking tone.  "It's been years since I shot through space in my space
ship."
     "Grandfather, don't tease her.  She's a princess." Tenchi said
reprovingly.
     "Ah.  A princess you say.  Then we are most honored indeed.  Is
this also a princess?" Katsuhito said, kneeling down to look Sasami in
the eye.
     "Yes!  I'm Sasami, and that's my sister Ayeka.  Don't mind her,
she's in a bad mood."
     "Sasami-chan!"
     "Well, it's true."
     "Sasami." Ayeka said, her tone quelling.
     "Oh, alright." Sasami muttered.
     Turning to Katsuhito, she said. "You said that you knew of this
cursed place sir?"
     "That is correct." Katsuhito said in a wooden voice.  Then giving
a small smile he continued in a more normal tone.  "It is in the
Temple records."
     Just then Nobuyuki returned with the hot water, and restored
Genma.
     Katsuhito looked at the thoroughly sodden figure in front of him.
"Hello Genma.  Long time no see."
     Genma looked at Katsuhito nervously.  "Ah, do I, ah, know . . .
you?"
     "I don't know if we ever met.  I was at your wedding, but I don't
believe we talked."
     Genma looked very relieved.  "Oh, well, that's fine then.  Nice
to see you."
     "I called your wife just a little while ago."
     Genma froze, his eyes took on a haunted look.  "No . . .Nodo. . .
Nodoka.  Ah, how, I mean, she was well?"
     "I don't know.  She wasn't home."
     Genma nearly melted with relief, but he was premature in his
reaction as Katsuhito continued.  "I got her neighbor.  She told me
Nodoka has gone to Jusenkyo, looking for you and Ranma."
     Ayeka looked up at this.  "So he was at that place!"
     Katsuhito looked over at her.  "Indeed, according to Nodoka's
neighbor, he was suppose to have been there about three to four months
ago."
     Genma was not hearing any of this.  One phrase kept going through
his head.  Nodoka was going to Jusenkyo, that meant she would meet the
guide, and the guide would tell her, and she would know, and he was
going to die.  No.  Get a hold of yourself Genma.  Think man.  Nodoka
was going to find out.  Nothing he could do about that, but he was
safe here.  She'd never expect him to hide here, in her own family as
it were.  Everything would be alright.  He looked over to where Ayeka
and Katsuhito were talking, focusing in on their conversation.
     "I left my number with Nodoka's neighbor.  I also left a message.
I told her to tell Nodoka that Ranma was here.  She'll call as soon as
she gets back I imagine."

     Genma picked up the half empty pitcher of water, and went Panda.
The thought "I'm going to die.  I'm going to die," ran through his
head over and over again.

     "Looking good Pop." A sarcastic voice said from the doorway.
Everyone in the room turned to look at Ranma, and with the exception
of Ryouko and Katsuhito, they all gaped in shock.  Ranma was a mess.
She was still topless, her upper body was covered in scrapes and
abrasions, blood smeared across most of it..  Her face was filthy,
covered in dirt and blood, except for two clear tracks that had been
cleaned by her tears.  She ignored the stares she was receiving, and
looked straight at Katsuhito.  "May I talk to you alone Sensei?"
     Katsuhito nodded.  "Of course."  Turning to Nobuyuki, he said.
"May we use your office?"
     Nobuyuki nodded, more in reflex then consciously, his face was
still wearing a stunned, hit between the eyes, expression.  Katsuhito
gestured to Ranma to follow him, and he made his way toward the back
of the house.  Back straight, looking at no one, Ranma followed.
Then, as she passed Ryouko, who was stretched out in a relaxed pose on
the sofa, she turned and glared at her.  Ryouko returned her glare
with a leering smile.  Ranma's gaze became even hotter, and she hissed
out, "You pervert!"  Then she turned and followed Katsuhito out of
sight, a second later the sound of the door closing could be heard.
     Ryouko gave a snort, still looking in the direction that Ranma
had disappeared.  "Hmp, she has some nerve calling 'me' a pervert."
Suddenly, a fizz, snap, followed by a constant low thrum filled the
air.  Ryouko jerked her head around, and saw that the Tenchi-ken,
which Tenchi had been holding in his lap, had sprung to life.  Under
normal circumstances, Ryouko would have made a slightly lecherous
comment, remarking on the blade's apparent point of origin.  As a
matter of fact, she started to do that very thing, but then the words
caught in her throat as she lifted her eyes to meet Tenchi's.  He was
looking at her with a look of utter loathing.  Lifting the sword, he
pointed it at her.  His mouth moved, but no words came out, it was as
if he could find none to express what he was feeling.  However, the
look on his face, and the white knuckles on the hand holding the sword
gave mute testimony to the feeling he could not voice.
     Ryouko took this all in, in a second, then a second flash of
light out of the corner of her eye diverted he attention for a second.
Just long enough to see the final stages of Princess Ayeka donning her
Jurain battle armor.  Again, under normal situations, her reaction to
this would have been a smirk, and a feeling of 'Good.  Exercise.'  In
this case however, the words did not even enter her mind.  Ayeka's
face was a feminine mirror of Tenchi's, which caused her to move her
gaze back in his direction.  He had stood, and was moving toward her,
very nearly shaking with the emotion he was trying to contain.
     "Wh, wha, what?  Tenchi?  What?" Ryouko stammered out, unable to
understand what had Tenchi so upset.  The princess, she could
understand, but what had she done to make Tenchi mad.  As might be
noted, Ryouko's skill at looking at events from other people's point
of view was not highly developed.


     Ranma closed the door behind her, ignoring the sound of a large
explosion, and the accompanying screams and shouts.  All her attention
was focused on Katsuhito, who was standing across the room, one hand
resting on Nobuyuki's drafting table.  She closed her eyes, and
through gritted teeth started to say.  "I'm sorry for being such an
asshole up at the temple."
     She only got as far as "I'm sorry . . ." when Katsuhito
interrupted her.
     "No."
     Ranma blinked, startled out of her carefully rehearsed speech.
Then she flushed red, and was on the verge of giving Katsuhito hell
for not letting her say she was sorry for giving him hell before.
Then Katsuhito continued.
     "You have nothing to apologize for."  A loud explosion rocked the
room, and dust settled down of both residents, but they ignored it.
"I spoke out of turn.  It was not my place to speak so to you, not on
such short notice."  Katsuhito gave her a small bow.  "I am sorry that
I offended you."
     Ranma was shocked.  Had anyone ever apologized to her before?
She couldn't think of anyone off hand.  "Ah," She hemmed, placing a
hand behind her head as an aid to thinking.  "That's alright."  Then,
getting into the concept, she added. "I shouldn't of ought to have
gone over the top like that, even if you were being a pervert."
     Katsuhito smiled at her, his face shifting into a more relaxed
expression.  With a slight undertone of amusement, tinged with mock
lechery, he said. "A poor old, lonely man, he has to find his pleasure
where he can.  A pretty young girl comes calling, it would be rude not
to compliment her on her outstanding features."  Here he leered at
Ranma's still bare chest.
     Catching the tone of his statement, Ranma, relieved that this was
going so well, and that she hadn't had to kiss ass, played along,
returning the smile, she arched her back.  "Well, they are
outstanding, I have to give you that.  Guess I can't fault you for
honesty.  Guess it'd be rude of me to deprive a senile, decrepit old
pervert a little pleasure before he croaks."  She held her pose, and
grinned at Katsuhito, who tried hard to keep a straight face, but
finally had to advert his eyes.
     Chuckling into a his moustache, he said. "I think things are
going to be very interesting around here for a while."  Which of
course was when the wall fell in.

     "Raaaannnmmmmaaa!"  A truly wretched and frightened Ryouko shot
through the hole where the wall had been, and latched on to Ranma.
Putting the smaller girl between her and the advancing Tenchi and
Ayeka.
     "Leave her alone you monster woman!  Have you not done enough to
the poor girl already?" Ayeka demanded.  Tenchi stepped through the
dust and debris, taking a heroic stance, he pointed the glowing sword
in his hand in Ryouko's direction, and quickly clapped a hand to his
nose as he got a good close look at Ranma's bare chest.
     "Ranma, Ranma, tell Tenchi I didn't touch you.  Tell him's he
wrong." Ryouko whined, her voice stricken at the thought of Tenchi's
hatred.  She fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around Rama's
legs.  "Please, please Ranma."  Turning her eyes up toward Ranma, she
met Ranma startled maroon ones with her own slitted cat eyes.
     Ranma flinched from those disturbing orbs, but not before seeing
the distress in them, or noting the heavy stream of tears flowing down
her cheeks.  Much as she enjoyed seeing Ryouko in this state, Ranma
couldn't ignore the entreaty in those eyes.  Sighing, she turned to
Tenchi and Ayeka, who were both trying to move so as to get a clear
shot at Ryouko.  Tenchi still had one hand pinching his nose closed,
and Ranma grinned at the image he projected.  "Alright," she finally
said.  "Anyone want to tell me what the heck is going on?"


     It was several hours later that the pain in her belly returned to
Ranma, pulling her out of a restless sleep.  Giving a soft moan, she
sat up in bed and clutched her gut.
     "Ranma?" A soft sleepy voice said from the side in a questioning
tone.  "Are you alright?"
     "It's alright Sasami, just something I ate probably." Ranma said
to the young girl.  She glanced over to where Sasami's sister was
sleeping, and gave a sigh of relief when she noted the Princess was
not stirring.  After enduring a solid hour of Ayeka's sympathy and
understanding earlier, she wasn't sure if she could take any more so
soon.  The Princess had been so roundabout in her remarks, phrasing
things so delicately, it had taken Ranma nearly a half hour to
understand what it was Ryouko was suppose to have done to her.  It had
taken nearly as long for Ranma's very loud denial that she had not
been molested to be believed by Ayeka.  Tenchi thank god, had believed
her right away, and had shamefacedly apologized to Ryouko.  She in
turn had taken full advantage of his guilt to cuddle him, much to
Tenchi's obvious distress.
     After giving some more quite assurances to a worried Sasami,
Ranma left the room and made her way to the bathroom, hoping that
emptying her belly from one end or the other would relieve the
discomfort she was feeling.

     After Ranma left, Sasami found she had trouble getting back to
sleep, so many exciting things had happened today, her mind was
whirling with all the experiences and new people she had met.  She had
even met a shape shifter.  Ayeka had forbidden her to go near him, but
Sasami was sure her sister would recant.  He was so soft and furry, he
couldn't be an evil creature of the realm of darkness.  As that
thought was running through her mind, a blood curdling scream of
feminine terror ripped through the house.  Sasami screamed in
sympathetic shock, and launched herself across the room toward her
sister who sat bolt upright as the scream ripped her from her deep
sleep.
     "Ayeka-oneechan," She cried as she flung herself into Ayeka's
lap.  "It's Ranma, something is wrong with her, we have to help."
     Ayeka didn't need Sasami encouragement, throwing on her night
dress, she ordered Sasami to stay in their room, and raced through the
door, heading in the direction the cry had come from.  "If that
monster woman had touched her again, I will never forgive her!" She
vowed to herself.
     Reaching the bathroom, Ayeka found Nobuyuki and Tenchi standing
outside.  Even as she arrived, the door opened, and a thoroughly
flustered Panda appeared.  Tenchi immediately demanded information.
"What is it?  Is Ranma alright?  I'm going to see if she's . . ."
Tenchi was cut off as a large furry arm blocked his access to the
bathroom.  His free hand held up a sign.  *You do not want to go in
there*  Then he turned it.  *Believe me!*  Genma's fur bristled, and
his eyes were clouded with agitation, something had very clearly
disturbed him.
     Ayeka had long since discarded any belief that Ranma was a shape
shifter, but she still did not trust Genma by a long shot.  Hustling
up, she demanded.  "Why are you stopping Tenchi-sama from going to
Ranma?"  Inside the bathroom, a moan of despair could be heard.
Reacting to that sound, Ayeka started for the door.  "Well you won't
stop me." She declared, and then was shocked when rather then stopping
her, or even trying to.  Genma opened the door, and pushed her in.

     Once in, she saw Ranma kneeling on the floor, her boxers around
her ankles.  She was staring in shock at a hand she held in front of
her, a hand that dripped with red.  Ayeka took a step toward her, and
then paused, shocked.  "Surely not?" she thought to herself, Ranma was
too old, for this to be her first time.  Wasn't she?

     Outside in the hall, all was silent.  The three males looked at
the door with varied expressions.  Genma's was reminiscent of someone
expecting a bomb to go off at anytime.  Sasami hurried up just as the
door opened and Ayeka stuck her head out.
     "Oh, good, Sasami-chan," she said, ignoring the fact that her
young sister had once again ignored her orders, "would you go back to
our room.  In the dresser that use to stand beside my bed, in the
bottom drawer, there is a small pink bag.  You know the one?  Good.
Get that and bring it will you please."  A look of comprehension
donned on Sasami's face, and she hurried off on her errand.
     Ayeka-sama?  Is Ranma going to be alright?" Tenchi asked in a
worried tone.
     "Ranma-chan will be fine Tenchi." Ayeka answered.  "You need not
worry, it is nothing serious.  Please, won't you and your father go
back to bed.  I'll make sure Ranma is well.  Not you!" Ayeka suddenly
snapped out, as Genma started to follow after Tenchi and Nobuyuki.
"Perhaps you could explain how it is that your daughter has not been
taught one of the most important things a young girl should know!  Do
you have any idea what you have done to her?"  The cold in Ayeka's
voice slashed Genma like a knife.  He tried to write on his sign, but
Ayeka gave a disgusted snort, and went back in the bathroom.  In her
haste she left the door open a crack, and Genma moved in closer.  He
heard Ranma ask in a disgustingly weak and quavery voice.
     "Ayeka-san, am I, am I dying?"
     Ayeka gave a light laugh.  "Don't be silly Ranma.  What is
happening to you is perfectly normal.  You are a bit old it is true
for this to be your first time, but then you are very active, and I
have heard that hard exercise can delay it."
     "What is it?  What's wrong with me?" Ranma asked, her voice
sightly steadier as a result of Ayeka's assurance.
     "It's very simple Ranma, I'll explain it in detail to you later,
but think of it like this.  It's something to be very happy about."
     "Happy?  Happy?  About bleeding like this?"
     "Yes.  You should be very happy.  Your body is telling you that
it is ready to make babies.  What could be happier then that?"

     Genma very nearly made it to the forest lining the side of the
valley before Ranma caught him.  Ayeka held a hand to her mouth in
shock as the sounds of a Panda crying out in agony floated across the
small lake.
     "Ayeka-oneechan, here's the box you wanted."
     Ayeka took the container from Sasami, then pulling up a chair she
sat down.  Then, as another cry echoed through the night, she turned
to her sister she said. "You might as well go to bed Sasami, I could
be here for awhile."


Comment or death threats accepted, comments being the more welcome.

Many thanks to my various pre-readers, who's gentle ways with the
cattle prods keep me motivated.

And a special thanks to Wade Tritschler.  If it were not for him, it
is very unlikely I would be able to write with even as little ability
as I do.  So now you know who to blame. ^_^
     Please check out Wade's home page at
     <http://www.mala.bc.ca/~tritscwa>
     He has some very good stories there.

Next Chapter: Join us for. . .

     Happy birthday, Ryo-oh-ki.

     "Oneechan, why is Ranma-oneechan acting that way?"
     "Meow!"

T.H. Tiger,
schell@interlog.com
From: "T.H. Tiger" <schell@interlog.com>


     Tenchi and Ranma, Together Forever!?
     Chapter Six
     Happy birthday, Ryo-oh-ki
     
     What's going on?
     This is an alternative universe story.
     Ranma was trapped as a girl from her first dip in the 
     Nanniichuan.

     Why?  Read the earlier chapters.  See below for some
     highlights.
     
     Previous chapters can be found at these fine locations.
     All of these sites have many other fine stories, check them out,
     even if
     you have all my material.
     <http://www.anime.usacomputers.net/~dragon/>
     <http://members.xoom.com/gensao/>
     <http://www.fortunecity.com/marina/thunder/181/ccc.html>
     <http://home.one.net/~gorlando/Anime/index.html>

     

     Unable to carry out his plan to engage Ranma to one of the
     Tendo girls, Genma recalled that he had once promised
     Nobuyuki Masaki that if he had a daughter, he would marry her
     to Nobuyuki's son Tenchi.  Well, as it so happens, he's recently
     acquired a daughter.


     When we last left Ranma, she was busy thanking her father for
     giving her the opportunity to experienced all the perks of
     womanhood.  
     He survived.  I know, disappointing, but life is that way
     sometimes.
     T.H. Tiger
     schell@interlog.com


     It was a large white pillow, stuffed with something heavy. 
Ranma knew this, because it was currently resting squarely on her
belly, how it got there, she had no idea.  Who was likely responsible
for putting it there was another matter entirely.  She had no idea how
he had managed it, but it had to have been her old man.  No one else
would do something this dumb.  Why had he done it?  That was
another unknown.  Some sort of crazy training exercise she figured. 
All she knew for sure, was that it was heavy as hell, and that no
matter how hard she tried to shove it off, she couldn't move it.  She
was beginning to fear the old fart had glued it in place somehow. 
     Not that she was giving up, just as she had already done
numerous times since waking up to find this thing on top of her,
Ranma pressed her hands against the strangely warm pillow, and
shoved.  Her hands sank a little ways into the pillow, but that was
the only effect.  Then, something twitched under the smooth warm
surface, and Ranma jerked her hands away as if they had been
burned.  
     "What the hell?  There's something alive in there," she said in
surprise.  Then, a look of horror crossed her face.  "Oh no, not even
Pop would do that, it can't be a, a . . ." Ranma could not bring
herself to say the word, instead an image formed in her mind, a fur-
covered nightmare, all teeth and sharp claws.  With a shudder, she
pulled her mind back from that thought.   "Goddamn it!" Ranma
cursed to herself.  "Old man!  Get your butt in here and get this
f****** thing of off me!" She screamed out, trying to keep the edge
of panic out of her voice.
     There was no answer from Genma, which was not surprising. 
Her old man was never there when you wanted him.  What was
surprising was that she got no answer from anyone, even though she
was sharing her bedroom with two other people.  Ranma looked
around, and for the first time realized she was alone.  The spaces
that should have been occupied by a sleeping Sasami and Ayeka
were empty.  Not even their bedding was present.  Worried, Ranma
took a closer look at the room she shared with the two other girls. 
Her eyes widened in shock when she realized that not just Ayeka's
futon, but all the princess's  various cabinets and dressers were
missing as well.  She couldn't even see the walls of the room.  They
seemed lost in a faint mist.  "What the hell is going on here?" She
murmured to herself.
     A soft noise attracted her attention, and she swivelled her head
to look for the source of it.  "Tenchi!" She cried out on spying the
familiar form on her iinazuke back among the shadows, just
emerging from the mist that hid the walls of her room.  Ranma
fought back the uneasiness she'd been feeling toward him for the last
few days, and put on a cheery expression.  "Boy am I glad to see you. 
Come and give me a hand getting this stupid thing off.  I don't know
what the old man was thinking . . . " 
     Ranma's voice trailed off as Tenchi stepped fully out of the
shadows.  There was something new on his face.  He had a
mustache.  It looked a bit like the soup strainer Tenchi's father wore. 
On Tenchi's face it looked totally out of place.  More than that, as
Tenchi got closer, Ranma could see the string running from the edge
of the thing, up behind his ears.  She gave a weak chuckle.  "Very
funny, ha, ha.  Now, would you get this thing the f*** off of me!"
     Tenchi said nothing, instead he knelt down beside her and held
out a hand to Ranma.  Grumbling, she reached out and took it,
expecting him to try and pull her to her feet.  Instead, he clasped it
gently, and looked down at her, a funny expression on his face.  She
found herself staring into his liquid brown eyes, there was an
expression there that made her very nervous.  "Wha, what the hell
are you doing Tenchi?" She stammered out in confusion.
     Again, Tenchi did not answer.  Instead, music swelled the in
the air.  Coming from no source Ranma could identify.  Then, before
Ranma's horrified gaze, Tenchi produced a karaoke microphone. 
Smiling gently down at her, Tenchi lifted the microphone to his lips,
and began to sing.
     %Having my baby%
     %What a wonderful way to say how much you love me%
     %Having my baby%


     "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhh!!!!" Ranma
screamed, shooting upright on her futon, and sending her sheets
flying across the room.  She stared in wide eyed horror all around
her.  Sweat running down her face.  With relief she saw that the
room was back to normal.  All of Ayeka's baggage, and the figures
of her two roommates, were back where they belonged.  She slumped
down and drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms
tightly around them. She rocked back and forth, her lungs pumping
like bellows as she tried to bring herself under control. 
     "Ranma-san, are you all right." A quiet voice asked, and
Ranma looked over to where Ayeka had lifted herself up to look at
her.
     "Ranma-neechan, what's wrong?" Ranma turned to see that
Sasami had woken as well. She rubbed her eyes with her fists, and
then blinked blearily at Ranma.
     "It's alright Sasami-chan.  It was just a bad dream.  I'm sorry I
woke you, just go back to sleep."
     Sasami nodded her head, and then it slumped back down.  She
had never really woken, and as a result, she slipped back into sleep
easily.  Ayeka was not so easily put off.
     "Do you want to talk about it, Ranma-chan?"
     Ranma winced at both the term chan, and the request to share. 
She couldn't bring herself to tell Ayeka how much she hated being
called chan, and she most definitely was not ready to share this
nightmare with her.  What she had already had to share with Ayeka
was humiliating enough, without having to discuss her weird ass
dreams on top of it.  Stupid old man, she thought to herself, this
would never have happened if you hadn't made me work in that
karaoke bar for two weeks.
     "That's alright Ayeka-san.  It was probably something I ate."
     The expression on Ayeka's face showed she did not buy this for
a second, but rather than pushing the matter, she just said.  "You
should try to get some sleep if you can Ranma-chan, it's still very
early."
     Once again Ranma winced, then gave a sigh of resignation.  It
looked like she was just going to have to learn to live with it.  Just so
long as no guy called her that.  Ranma looked out the window at the
early morning darkness, and shook her head in answer to Ayeka's
question.  
     "No.  It's been too long since I did any morning training.  What
with the old man having to go off to work first thing in the morning
and all, I've been slacking off.  Say what you will about the old fart. 
He does take training seriously.  Even if it's me that usually does
most of the sweating.  Heck, even when he came up with the cash to
let us stay in a hotel or inn, he'd pay in advance so we could leave
before anyone else got up, and make an early start at it.  Besides,
Grandfather said I could start training with Tenchi and him today.  I
want to work the kinks out before then.  Don't want to look bad on
my first day.  You go back to sleep.  I'm going to get up." 
     Ranma got up and pulled open one drawer in Ayeka's
collection of dressers.  Inside was every piece of clothing she owned. 
It was a smaller gathering than the week before.  The outfit she had
been wearing when she fought with Ryouko and Katsuhito had been
pretty much trashed.  Sasami had tried her best, but it was beyond
salvage, even by Ranma's rather lax standards.  What was left in the
drawer were two outfits.  A pair of black pants, a yellow shirt, and a
mao suit, complete with cap.  For underwear she had two pairs of
boxers, and a pair of T-shirts.  Ranma adverted her eyes from the
last items in the drawer, refusing to look at the three pairs of panties. 
It would be another three weeks before she would have to worry
about wearing them again.  
     Ranma sighed, It looked like she'd be doing washing every day
from now on.  At least she had an automatic washing machine,
which was a big improvement over washing them in a stream. 
     Of course in the wild, she'd gone weeks without changing, but
once she got back in civilization, she found she disliked the looks
and sniffs she got if she let herself get too ripe.  Making her
selection, she pulled out the yellow shirt and black pants, and put
them on.  The Mao outfit was a top notch food scamming outfit, she
looked cute as a button in it, or so all the guys claimed while offering
her food.  No point in messing it up, no telling when she might need
it again.  The yellow shirt and black pants were much better for
working out anyway.

     Ayeka watched as Ranma left the room, a pensive look on her
face.  Her feelings toward the other girl were mixed at best.  In many
ways Ranma was an uncouth barbarian, but she could hardly be held
to blame for that.  Not considering who her father was, and how he
had raised her.
     Her . . .  that was another thing, Ranma's gender.  Ranma
insisted she had been born a boy, while her father was just as
adamant that she had been born a girl, and was delusional.  There
was no question as to whom Ayeka trusted, but . . . there was no
getting around the fact that Ranma did not change gender the way
her father changed species.  She hated to think for an instant Genma
might not be lying, but what was she to think.  It was not exactly
something she had any experience with.
     That left Ayeka with a problem.  Ranma was a member of her
family, a younger member at that.  Her father was a joke, not fit to
raise a dog, let alone a child.  It was Ayeka's responsibility as her
aunt to see that Ranma was taught what she needed to know, but
what did she need to know?  While Jurai was very equal handed in
its treatment of the sexes, there was still a difference in how they
were expected to behave.  Ranma's inner self may or may not have
been male, but her outer self was 100 percent female. 
     Ayeka sighed, and then just as she had for the last three
mornings, realized there was no choice.  Whatever she may have
been, Ranma was now female, and she would have to be taught what
that meant.  Especially as she was ignorant of even the most basic
knowledge of what it meant to be female, let alone a princess of the
mightiest empire in space.  
     Ayeka's expression brightened suddenly as she remembered
that today was the day Nobuyuki would pick up the purchases they
had discussed three days ago, and which he had ordered for her the
day after.  That thought caused a large smile to cross her face.  She
lay back, and started making plans, and constructing her arguments. 
Tonight she would finally be able to start remaking Ranma into the
princess she was born to be.

     Unaware of the dire fate awaiting her, Ranma stepped out into
the gloom of the very early morning onto the dew-damp grass and
drew a deep breath of morning air.  Down the road away, she could
see her father and Mr. Masaki trudging off to the bus stop.  Genma
looking like a gray ball in his new suit.  Ranma grinned to herself. 
Pop had sure got more than he bargained for when he had brought
them to the Masakis'.  Having to get up at four every morning to
catch the bus in time to get to work, and then not getting home till
late every night.  Having to wear a suit and tie, even though he was
only going to be sweeping hallways.  It was too bad he got to change
into coveralls at work.  Still, it was nice to see some of the bad luck
falling on him, instead of on her for a change.  
     As Ranma began her morning workout, she idly wondered how
much longer her father would be able to put up with actually having
to work for a living.  She gave him another week, two at the most,
then he'd be packing his bags, and they'd be leaving in the middle of
the night.  
     Ranma suddenly paused in the middle of her warm up
stretches.  "Damn it." She muttered to herself.  "I can't let the old
fart drag me away." She kicked herself for forgetting that the only
real hope she had yet to find of restoring her manhood was living on
top of the hill.  Grandfather had promised to train her to face the
Musk.  Ranma had a good eye for skill, and her newly discovered
relative was quite simply the best she had ever seen.  Added to that
was Ryouko.  While the demon girl had little skill as far as Ranma
was concerned, she was an excellent brawler, and her power level
more than made up for what she lacked in style. 
     Ranma resumed her stretching, and winced slightly when her
muscles protested.  As if in a silent reminder of just how much
Ryouko's strength made a difference.  Ranma had been lax in
working them after her bout with Ryouko, and she was paying the
price for that now.  She ignored the soreness, and worked on getting
her muscles and tendons loose and warm for her workout.  As she
did so, she went back to thinking about the likelihood of Pop trying
to drag them away.
     It was pretty much a sure thing.  Ranma had a hunch things
were not working out nearly the way her Pop had expected.  Having
a regular job was not something Genma Saotome was fond of. 
Having to commute two hours each way, every day, made it that
much worse.  Then, just to make for a perfect day, he had to come
home to face Ayeka.  Ranma chuckled to herself.  Ayeka had little
respect for the old man, and did not hide that fact.  Ranma had a
hunch that the only reason Pop was not char broiled was because
Ayeka was too much of a lady to fry another guest in a home where
she was staying. 
     Ranma had witnessed a few 'discussions' between Ryouko and
Ayeka, and despite Ayeka's mild exterior there was not a drop of
backdown in her whole body.  That was something Ranma could
respect.  It was too bad she didn't put Pop into the same class as
Ryouko, as an intruder rather then a guest, but, she did, so there was
no help for it.  On the plus side, her Pop had also witnessed one of
these 'discussions', which might explain why he went a little pale
whenever he saw Ayeka heading toward him with that look in her
eye.  So far it had only resulted in lectures, but Ranma lived in hope.
     Well, it didn't matter what her Pop wanted.  She was not going
to leave.  He could just stew in his own juices this time.  Ranma had
no intention of leaving until she had learned enough to regain her
manhood.  It was the old mans own fault.  Engaging her to Tenchi
like that . . .  
     The engagement.  Ranma grimaced as she remembered that. 
She finished her stretches and started a basic Kata.  She agreed to it
initially because she was sure her father was about to rip his belly
open with a knife.  Looking back, she was sure she'd been rooked
somehow.  Later, she'd treated it like a joke.  She was a boy, how the
hell could she marry another boy, let alone carry on the Saotome line
by doing so.  That had been before . . . 
     The look on Ranma's face went from a grimace, to something
like fear.  She could have babies, even after four days, that fact made
her guts churn.  Ranma's knowledge of the facts of life would not
have fit on the head of a pin, but it would not have missed by much. 
That had been before the incident.  
     Now, thanks to Ayeka, she knew far more than she wanted to. 
She knew exactly what was involved in getting pregnant, and gods,
did she wish she did not.  The joke of an engagement, was suddenly,
in her nightmares, very real.  Despite her flippant attitude toward her
dream, she was having a hard time dealing with the concept.  
     This morning's had been rather mild.  There had been a few
dreams that had sent her to pray at the porcelain altar.  The thought
of being pregnant was really not that scary, it was too far out a
notion, she couldn't even really imagine herself in that condition. 
What gave her nightmares, was what was involved in getting that
way.  
     Ranma shook her head.  Poor Tenchi, she'd been avoiding him
like the plague lately.  No matter how hard she tried, she could not
separate him from the thought of what the two of them were
expected to do.  As a result, she'd been ducking him, and when she
could not, she'd found to her disgust that she'd break out in a cold
sweat if she stayed near him for too long.  
     Tenchi had taken to looking very hurt at Ranma's rejection,
and had tried to apologize for whatever he had done wrong.  Genma
had cornered her about that, and had congratulated her on playing
Tenchi so well.  That comment had bothered her so much, she'd
almost asked Ayeka what the hell Pop was talking about.  She'd
stopped herself, but only just. 

     Ayeka, there was another problem, she'd been spending a lot of
time the last few days staring at Ranma in a way she found very
uncomfortable.  It reminded her too much of the women in the
market examining the live animals they were considering purchasing
for the larder. It wasn't that she thought Ayeka wanted to eat her. 
She was very sure Ayeka was not that sort of alien, but all the same,
it was a look that made her very uneasy.
     It was not that she was ungrateful for what the princess had
done for her.  She was, very grateful.  She didn't even like to think
what it would have been like if Ayeka had not been there to help,
and to explain what was happening to her.  She was willing to lay
down her life for Ayeka, but talking about girl stuff with her . . . no
way.  Ranma suddenly shuddered violently as the train of thought
she had just been on resulted in a flashback to that evening four days
ago.  Sitting on the floor of the bathroom, looking at the blood
staining her hand.
     
       Ranma stumbled and fell as that sudden memory caused her to
slip out of her well-practiced forms.  She cursed to herself, and went
back to the beginning.  Ruthlessly, she drove all other thoughts from
her brain, and focused fully on why she was here this morning, to
practice the art.  
     Ranma flowed into the rhythm only years of long practice
allowed, letting the comfortable familiarity of muscle, bone, and
mind merging together in one whole soothe her troubled thoughts. 
Soon, she was lost in the physical sensations of a perfectly executed
kata, and from the first basic one, she moved to the next level, and
then to the next, working her way ever higher.  Sweat began to bead
on her body, and it became more and more difficult to control her
breathing.  Still, she persevered, moving faster, and more intensely,
pushing her body to its limits, until at last, she moved her body
through one last contortion, and came to rest, calm and fully
centered.  

     Ranma let out a final slow even breath, and luxuriated in the
complete lack of tension in her body, she was at one with, and at
peace with, the world.  Then, a pair of slim, strong arms slipped
around her neck from behind, and shattered her mood.  With a cry of
surprise, she practically levitated several feet straight up and out of
the encircling arms before they could fully close around her. 
Flipping through the air, she came to rest several feet away from her
ambusher.  Dropping into a defensive stance, she snarled.  "What do
you want pervert?"
     Ryouko gave a little pout, and said.  "I was just saying good
morning, is there anything wrong with that?" 
     Ranma scowled as she detected the smirk Ryouko was not
really trying all that hard to conceal.  "Well, I don't like being
touched by mummies in the morning."  She lifted a hand and ran the
back of it along one of her cheeks.  "That rough old skin might
damage my delicate girlish complexion.  I'd hate to end up like you,
all wrinkled and old looking."
     This had the effect Ranma was looking for.  Ryouko flared up,
and her hair flew out in an aura around her as excess energy
discharged into the air.  Ranma braced herself, looking forward to a
nice spar now that she was all warmed up, but then to her surprise,
Ryouko calmed down.  With a flip of her head, she dismissed
Ranma's words.  "I've no time to play this morning sweet cheeks,"
she said as she walked by Ranma, giving her a pat on the bottom as
she did so. 
     Ranma jumped in shock at the touch, and flushed red.  "Hey,
keep your hands to yourself pervert!" She yelled after the retreating
figure.  Ryouko ignored her, and just continued on her way toward
the lake.
     "Ranma-neechan."  A voice called out, distracting the fuming
redhead from the object of her ire.  Ranma turned to see Sasami
waving at her from the house.  With one last scathing look at the
retreating Ryouko, Ranma headed over to see what the younger girl
wanted.  "Could you give me a hand Ranma-neechan?" Sasami
asked as Ranma reached her.  Ranma readily agreed, and they
headed into the kitchen.

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

     Up on top of the hill, near where the path to the main road lay,
a purple haired girl watched Ranma enter the house.  Even at this
distance she recognized the distinctive hair style of her prey.  A cat
like smile of satisfaction crossed her face.  I have you now Ranma,
Shampoo thought to herself.  She fought down the temptation to fly
down the hill and attack the other girl.   
     The chase had been too long to risk Ranma escaping yet again. 
She had to plan this out.  Try to get up close to Ranma without the
other girl knowing she was there.  Then, one final surprise attack,
and she'd be on her way back home.  Shampoo's eyes scanned the
sides of the valley, looking for the best avenue of approach.  She
would need to work her way around the perimeter of the valley in
order to keep under cover.  That would take a little while, but after
all the time this hunt had already taken she could be patient for just a
little longer.  Shampoo slipped back under the trees, and faded from
sight.

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

     Ranma had been very glad when Sasami had taken up the
chores around the house.  She had a very good idea who might have
been drafted into the job if the little girl hadn't.  Then  she'd caught
Sasami two days ago trying to lift a boiling pot of water far too big
for her off the stove.  Scared at the thought of what might have
happened to the little girl if she'd lost control of the heavy container,
she'd ordered Sasami to call her whenever she needed any heavy
lifting done.  That had expanded over the last few days to include
other chores.  Without her father around to make nasty comments
about her manhood Ranma really felt no reluctance about helping in
the kitchen, and besides, if she helped a little, then there was less
chance of Sasami growing bored or overloaded, and saddling Ranma
with the full responsibilities of looking after the house. 

     The kitchen was full of the smell of breakfast, which Sasami
was in the process of making.  She was also trying her hand at
making a stew for supper, and needed to get it started early, so it
could simmer all day.  She had already grilled the meat for it. 
Ranma found herself drooling at the tantalizing scents.  And when
Sasami explained what she wanted, she readily sat down and began
preparing the other ingredients for the stew, peeling, and slicing
various vegetables with blurring speed, and freeing Sasami to
concentrate on the morning meal.  In no time at all the heavy pot of
ingredients was ready to go on the back burner of the stove, and
breakfast was ready to serve. 

     Ranma helped carry the trays into the livingroom, and scowled
when she saw Ryouko sitting on the couch fondling a large black
egg-shaped object.  Ranma laid the dishes out on the table, then
dropped into a kneeling position beside it.  Snagging a bowl of rice,
she listened as Sasami asked Ryouko what the egg-shaped object
was.  Rice sprayed everywhere when Ryouko answered.
     Ranma whirled and looked in shock at Ryouko, and a blushing
Tenchi who she was currently snuggling up to.  A shocked looking
Ayeka was standing a few feet away.  "Nani?  Tenchi and your
baby!?" Ranma shouted, overwhelmed by the concept, especially
considering her thoughts of a little earlier.  Suddenly, for no reason
she could think of, she found herself seeing red.  Rising from her
place by the table, she took one long stride, and reached out to snag
Ryouko's long coarse hair.  Before the girl could protest, or brace
herself, Ranma yanked her away from Tenchi.  "You pervert, what
did you do with Tenchi?" She raged at the cyan haired demoness,
while directing dirty looks back and forth between Tenchi and
Ryouko.
     
     Meanwhile, a few feet away, Ayeka was laying into a very
flustered Tenchi.  "You philanderer, how dare you betray Ranma in
this way." Fortunately for her, Ranma missed this comment.  She
was too busy yelling at Ryouko for being a pervert and molesting
Tenchi.
     Sasami was ignoring the activity, having grown pretty much
used to it in the last few days, and was gazing raptly at Tenchi and
Ryouko's egg, which she held cradled in her hands.  It gave a lurch,
and rocked back and forth.  Sasami let out a shriek of delight, and
shouted.  "Its hatching, its hatching!" This drew the attention of the
various fighting parties, and Ryouko took advantage of the
distraction to slip out of Ranma's grasp.  She phased across to
Sasami, and snatched the black egg out of her hand.  Wasting no
time, she next phased over to Tenchi, and dropped the black object
into the flabbergasted boy's hands.  Cuddling up to him, she crooned
into his ear.  "Here Tenchi, hold this tribute of our love." 
     Ayeka, if anything, went even redder.  She reared back, and
slapped Tenchi across the face, shocking him out of his bewildered
daze.  "How dare you consort with this monster woman, when
Ranma is living under the same roof.  Have you no honor?" Ayeka
cried.
     Tenchi tried to say something in his defense.  Ranma also
started to object to Ayeka's remarks.  The idea that Tenchi owed her
any fidelity was very disturbing.  Before either one of them could
voice his or her objections, the egg in Tenchi's hand cracked, and he
looked down to see a pair of furry legs pop out of the side of the
shell.  The last few minutes had been stressful for Tenchi, and his
nerves were not currently at their best.  The fully unexpected
appearance of a pair of animal legs poking out of an egg was the
final straw. With a cry of shock, he flung his hands into the air, and
the egg went sailing in a high arc. 
     Ranma reacted instinctively.   No matter how strange the
circumstance that was a baby flying through the air.  While Sasami
watched in horror, Ranma flung herself across the room in a low
dive that got her into position just in time to catch the falling egg
before it hit ground.  Sasami gave a relieved sigh as she saw Ranma
catch the egg.  At pretty much the same time, the creature inside the
egg succeeded in breaking loose from its prison.  It fell into Ranma's
hands, and looked up at the girl looming over her.  "Meow" she said
in pleasure at being free of her confining prison.

     On the other side of the room, Ryouko and Ayeka were having
a screaming match, and it was just about to go beyond the verbal
stage.  Ayeka had summoned her force field generators, while
Ryouko had materialized her energy sword.  Tenchi had tried to play
peacemaker, and was currently picking himself up off the floor,
looking somewhat the worse for wear. 
     That was when Sasami said, "oh my, what's wrong with
Ranma-neechan?"  All eyes turned toward the redhead, and puzzled
frowns crossed the faces of all of them.  All of them that is, that had
faces, as opposed say, to those that presented a Kanji-covered surface
to the world.  
     Kamidake eeped quietly, and slowly sidled his way over till he
was standing right between Ayeka, Sasami and the peculiarly acting
redhead.  In a voice that quivered in barely repressed terror, he said. 
"Princesses, may I recommend you withdraw, this could be
hazardous." To his great distress he was ignored completely.  Both
princesses stepping around him to get closer to Ranma. 
     Everyone in the room had eyes only for the little redhead, who
was hunched over on the floor, her hair standing out from her head
as if charged with static.  Her back was to them, and she was making
tiny choking noises. Over her voice could be heard what sounded
like a small cat mewling. 
     "Ryo-oh-ki, that's Ryo-oh-ki, she's hatched out!" Ryouko
suddenly said.  "Oh Tenchi, wait until you see her, she's so cute at
this age." She gushed.
     "Ryo-oh-ki?" Ayeka, Sasami and Tenchi all said questioningly. 

     Ayeka suddenly flushed an even deeper red than before, as she
realized she'd once more been played for a fool by Ryouko. 

     Ryouko in the meantime, walked toward the hunched over
figure of Ranma.  Looking over Ranma's shoulder she could see
Ryo-oh-ki cuddled in the small girl's hands.  With a smile she
reached down to pluck the little cabbit from Ranma's hand.  There
was a blur of motion, and Ryouko stumbled back as four small
objects fell through the air, and burst into fire and smoke before they
could hit the ground.  Ryouko held up her hand, and stared at the
stubs that were all that was left of the four fingers on that hand. 
Everyone else in the room gasped in shock.  Then, all eyes turned to
look at Ranma.  She was now crouched on all fours facing them, her
hands curled up so that her weight was resting on the back of her
fingers.  Ryo-oh-ki was on the floor between her fists, looking out at
the rest of the people in the room with an expression of great
curiosity on her face.  It was the expression in Ranma's eyes,
however, that drew everyone's attention.  They were completely
feral.  There was not the least trace of humanity in those burning
orbs. 
     "Why you little . . ." Ryouko snarled out, she curled her
mutilated hand into a fist, and then opened it wide, revealing that
her fingers had been regenerated.  She closed it again convulsively,
and this time a lance of energy appeared as her sword manifested in
her clenched fist.  She took a step toward the hissing Ranma, and
then was stopped when a pair of arms encircled her body.
     "Ryouko-san, stop.  Something is wrong with Ranma." Tenchi
cried out, as he tried to hold the raging demon girl back.  A second
later Ayeka joined his efforts, and a set of force shield generators
phased into existence around the pair of them, holding them both
immobile. 
     "Let me go!" Ryouko snarled, "I'm going to teach the little
bitch some manners!"
     "I think not." Ayeka said in a smug voice, not showing the
disappointment she felt over not acting fast enough to cage Ryouko
before Tenchi had gotten close to her.  With Tenchi inside the shield
along with Ryouko, she could not send pulsed energy through the
containment field.  Galling as it was, she had to be content with
merely holding Ryouko still, rather than teaching her good manners. 

     Satisfied that the situation with Ryouko was taken care of, she
turned her back on the raging monster woman, and looked toward
Ranma. Ayeka studied Ranma closely, and was in turn studied by
Ranma, who cocked her head to one side, and was looking at her
with a puzzled expression on her face. 
     "Ayeka-sama" Came a rather strangled voice from behind her,
causing her to break off her examination for a second.  What she saw
when she turned around, temporarily drove all thoughts of Ranma
from her mind.  
     When Tenchi had seized Ryouko, he had not been overly
concerned with where he put his hands, being only interested in
keeping her away from Ranma.  When Ayeka had sealed him in with
Ryouko, she had fastened them together as well as a mile of rope
would have.  It had not taken Ryouko very long to take note of this,
and she was now happily purring as Tenchi was trying very hard to
keep from hemorrhaging.  It was this effort that caused the strangled
quality in his voice.
     "You monster, let him go at once." Ayeka demanded,
somewhat illogically under the circumstances.  A fact Ryouko was
quick to point out. 
     "I'm not the one doing the holding here Princess." Ryouko said
rather smugly.  Nestling back against the very red Tenchi, she said
in a faux girlish voice.  "Oooohhh, Tenchi, don't squeeze  so hard.
You need to treat them gently."

     It went without saying that Ayeka dropped the force screen
with great haste.  Tenchi nearly threw himself across the room in an
effort to get at some tissues.  Ryouko watched him go, a lecherous
smirk on her face.  She faded away just as the force shield generators
reformed around her former position.  "Nice try Princess," Ryouko
sneered from her new position on the other side of the room.  She
lifted her hand, open palm toward Ayeka, and fired a wide blast of
energy that flung Ayeka across the room into the sofa, which tipped
over dumping her onto the floor behind it.  This left Ayeka
scrambling to lower her dress to a slightly less indecorous height
much to Ryouko's amusement, and Tenchi's continued distress.  He
quickly stuffed another wad of tissue up his nose. 
     "Now, where was I?" Ryouko asked rhetorically, summoning
her energy sword once again.  "Oh yes, teaching Ms Quick-knife
here a lesson in respect." She answered herself, just before flinging
herself across the room toward the crouching figure of Ranma.  Too
late as it happened.


     Ranma-neko had been confused, this was the second time in a
row she had found herself in a situation outside of anything she was
use to.  While the toy from her previous time was here, and there
was another one she had not seen before just like it, there were also
factors she had never experienced.  First and foremost among these
was the kitten between her paws.  It was hers, of that there could be
no doubt.  Not for her the confusion and bewilderment that such a
discovery would cause in a human.  She had no concern with how or
why, merely what was, and the kitten was hers.  
     This created great conflict in her.  Her first instinct when she
had been attacked by the strange thing that looked like a
screamer/chaser/chew toy, but was not,  had been to retaliate, but
that would have meant leaving her kitten behind, so she had
refrained, settling with merely warning off the strange creature. 
Then, the most peculiar thing had happened.  Two of the humans,
she recognized as feeder/warm-lap-possessors, had intervened,
stopping the strange one from attacking.  Both of these humans had
also slipped out of her usual terms of reference as she focused on
them.  For some reason, the male awoke feelings she had never
experienced before, at least not with a human.  A certain feeling of
trepidation she had only felt in the presence of  dominant males
before.  The last time she had felt this way had been with that large
striped male. She had sent him on his way well chastised for his
presumption.  Never before however had she regarded one of the
human things in this light, it was perverse, he was not even a cat.  
     Of course Ranma-neko did not think of it in those terms.  She
was merely at one, familiar with the reaction, and two, disturbed at
the cause of them.  She did not understand the concept of mating. 
She had never been in heat.  She merely knew that there was
something about this male that made her both want to flee, and at
the same time approach him.  Only the presence of her kitten held
her rooted firmly to the spot. 
     The second human to create confusion in her was less
disturbing.  She was . . . mother, no, that did not seem right, how
could she be mother, but there it was, the feeling of this person being
someone she could flee to in times of turmoil, very much like this
time.  The feeder/warm-lap-provider was busy fighting with the
strange not human however, and again, Ranma had her kitten to
think about.  The tearing frustration of her conflicting drives finally
made Ranma lift back her head and let out a loud yowl of anger, and
frustration.  Then, bending over, she grasped her kitten by the scruff
of the neck, and fled for a quieter location.  Somewhere where she
could look after the little creature in peace.  A quick slash of her
claws removed the trifling obstacle between her and the outside, and
she leaped through the shattered remains of the wall, well ahead of
Ryouko's attack.
     
     Ryouko paused in surprise as Ranma exploded through the
outside wall.  Carrying Ryo-oh-ki in her mouth, Ranma rapidly
crossed the open ground and disappeared among the trees lining the
valley.  Her speed was incredible, faster even than when they had
fought the other day.  
     The shock from Ranma's unexpected attack had worn off by
this time, and Ryouko was no longer driven as much by her anger, as
by her curiosity.  The brief period she had spent trapped with Tenchi
had also gone a long way toward softening her mood.  Now, as she
looked toward where Ranma had disappeared, she was found herself
more curious than furious.  She was receiving very strange signals
from Ryo-oh-ki.  Deciding to investigate from a distance, she took to
the air, and headed out after Ranma and her newborn ship/partner. 
She failed to note the small force shield generators that phased into
place where she had been standing a moment before.

     Ayeka let out a very unladylike curse as she was once again too
slow to catch Ryouko.  Accompanied by Tenchi, she rushed over to
the new opening in the wall, and looked up at the rapidly
disappearing demon girl.  "We must go after them!" She said to
Tenchi, and then not waiting for an answer, started out.  Tenchi was
right behind her.  He well remembered the condition Ranma had
returned in after her last encounter with Ryouko, and he was worried
at what might happen this time.  As well, the way Ranma was
behaving was very worrisome.  He wondered if this was some aspect
of the curse she claimed to be under, or if it was caused by something
 else entirely. 
     As if echoing Tenchi's thoughts, Ayeka spoke suddenly.  "That
creature of Ryouko's must be responsible for Ranma's behavior!"
She stated, as much to herself as to Tenchi.  "She was acting in a
similar way when Kamidake tried to bring her to my ship.  Be very
careful Tenchi-sama.  She can be very dangerous." Then after a
moment of consideration, she added.  "We must get that vermin
away from her so she can be restored." Tenchi said not a word,
saving his breath for what he felt could be a long chase.

     Behind them, Sasami watched them leave, wondering what to
do.  A sound behind her caused her to turn, and see Grandfather
Masaki making his way through the wreckage Ranma had made of
the wall.  "What happened here, Sasami-chan?" he asked her. 
Sasami took one last look in the direction her sister and Tenchi had
disappeared, and then started to explain the events of the morning as
well as she was able, given that she was pretty much totally confused
as to what was going on.  Her explanation contained a lot of Ryouko-
neechan did this, then Ayeka-oneechan did that, while Ranma-
neechan and Tenchi-nesan did something else.

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


     Ranma-neko emerged from the forest and into a small sun-
dappled clearing.  Satisfied that she had put a good distance between
herself, and any of the humans who had disturbed her, she got down
to important matters.  Pinning Ryo-oh-ki under one paw, she
proceeded to do what she would have done long ago if it had not
been for all the interruptions, and that was to  thoroughly clean the
wriggling little cabbit.

     Up near the top of a tall tree on the edge of the clearing,
Ryouko stuck out her tongue in sympathetic distaste.  "Oh yuck," she
said, but quietly, not wanting to disturb Ranma, and send her off on
another headlong run.  She had already spent fifteen minutes at high
speed, chasing Ranma.  The strangly acting girl had run in a very
confusing pattern, and only the fact that Ryouko had an aerial view
had let her keep the pair in sight.  Ryouko did not know if Ranma
was trying to lose any pursuit, or was just changing her mind every
five seconds as to which way she wanted to go.  Whatever it was, it
was highly effective against losing conventional pursuers. Tenchi
and Ayeka had lost the trail within five minutes by Ryouko's
reckoning. 

     Ryouko leaned back against the trunk of the tree, and watched
as Ranma finished washing Ryo-oh-ki, and the two of them began to
play.  Ranma, bouncing from one side of the clearing to another,
while Ryo-oh-ki tried valiantly, if futilely, to keep up. 
     Ryouko suddenly became aware of a strange feeling in her
chest.  She placed a hand over her heart, and looked down at it, a red
flush suffusing her face.  "Nani?  What is this?" She murmured to
herself in a soft voice as a warmth spread out from her heart.  She
lifted her eyes and gazed down at the pair beneath her.  "Ryo-oh-ki,"
she breathed out.  "It's Ryo-oh-ki's feelings I'm feeling . . .  So
warm." A happy smile spread across Ryouko's face, and she
repeated herself in an even softer tone.  "So warm." She leaned back
against the sun heated bark of the tree she was sitting on and let the
warm emotions from Ryo-oh-ki suffuse her.

     Ryouko suddenly stiffened as her higher vantage point allowed
her to spot danger headed toward the happy pair.  A girl moving
with the grace of a warrior had crept out of the underbrush, and was
now crouched hidden on the outskirts of the clearing where Ranma
was playing with Ryo-oh-ki.  A feral grin crossed Ryouko's face, one
that contained not an ounce of humor.  There was a slight shimmer,
and the branch where she had been sitting was suddenly empty.

     Shampoo's lips pulled back in a silent snarl as she found
herself closer to her prey than at any time in the last two and a half
months.  Memories of her long search kept her from rushing to the
attack.  This time there would be no warning.  Ranma had proven
herself a coward, fleeing honorable combat time and time again, she
did not deserve the courtesy of challenge.  Shampoo would mark her
time until the perfect opportunity arose, and then; one swing; and it
would be over. 
     She gazed out over the clearing in front of her, and her brow
furrowed as she puzzled over the strange activity of her target.  She
was playing with some sort of bizarre creature, the like of which
Shampoo had never seen before.  For a second curiosity filled her,
but then she ruthlessly shoved it aside.  What Ranma was doing, and
why, were of no matter.  All that mattered was that she was at last in
range of Shampoo's vengeance.  Shampoo gently stroked the blade
of the sword she held in one hand.  Soon, very soon it would run
crimson with the life blood of her enemy, and her quest would be
over. 
     "Nice sword." A voice came from behind her, and Shampoo
spun around to face whoever had crept up on her.  She snarled in
frustrated rage at being interrupted so close to her goal.  Surely
Ranma was already fleeing in cowardly terror.  Well, this interloper
would pay for interfering in an Amazon's quest.  All this ran
through Shampoo's mind in a split second, just long enough for
Shampoo to turn and see her potential foe standing there with her
arms crossed, and to note that she was doing so two feet off the
ground.
     "Want to see mine," the cyan haired stranger said, and even as
Shampoo took in her yellow cat slitted eyes, the stranger held up a
hand and flexed it.  A beam of incandescent light suddenly sprang to
life in that hand, and Shampoo found herself facing what looked like
a sword crafted from raw Chi.  Shampoo watched in stupefied
amazement as the floating woman drew back her sword hand.  Her
inaction did not last long.  One did not reach Shampoo's level in the
martial arts by letting surprise slow you down.  When the woman's
glowing sword passed through the space her body had occupied, she
was already several feet away, her own sword in the guard position.
     "Who you demon?" Shampoo demanded.
     "Ryouko, I'm Ryouko," said the woman with a smirk. 
"Remember it well, and be sure to tell all the denizens of hell who
sent you there." She matched her words with another attack, one
Shampoo also dodged, and this time she counterattacked, swinging
her sword in a shallow arc as she ducked under the flying woman's
swing.  
     Shampoo grinned to herself at how badly her opponent had left
herself open.  She was grossly overextended, and it would take her
precious moments to redirect the mass of her sword. Shampoo's self
congratulations soon turned to a curse against her own foolishness. 
She barely managed to leap away in time to avoid the demon's
response, but not before she left the tip of her sword laying on the
ground.  Her opponent's Chi sword had sheared the last ten inches
off as clean as a knife through butter.  Shampoo hadn't even felt a
tug on the hilt as it did so.
     That was stupid Shampoo, she thought to herself.  Of course
her sword would have no weight.  She can move it as quickly as
thought itself. Shampoo reached into her clothing with her free
hand, pulled it out, and with a flick or her wrist, snapped it in the
demon girl's direction.  A spread of shuriken throwing spikes flew
from her fingers, spreading as they went.  Shampoo allowed herself
another tight little grin, and waited to see how the girl would handle
these.  No matter how fast her sword was, she'd have to work to
avoid all the knives . . .  Shampoo paled as the cyan haired girl
simply faded out of existence, allowing the knives to flash through
Ryouko's former position and imbed themselves in several trees.
     Realization suddenly crashed over her, and she knew exactly
what, and who she was facing.  Ever since she had learned the name
of the place her prey had fled to, something had been bothering her. 
She had been sure she'd heard it somewhere before, but had put it
aside as unimportant.  Now, the name Ryouko suddenly clicked into
place beside the name Masaki shrine.
     "You is demon Yosho sealed!" Shampoo blurted out, whirling
to face the demon who had materialized behind her.  
     The demon girl paused in her planned attack, then she snorted
and said, "that damn Yosho. Did he go boasting about it to everyone
he met?"
     "What you mean he?  Yosho Shampoo's ancestress, she very
great warrior.  Shampoo's great, great-grandfather descended from
her."
     "Take it from someone who knows, Yosho was all man . . . hey,
don't tell me you're another one of his get.  Man.  He sure loved to
spread himself around.  So what's your beef with Ranma?  Family
quarrel?"
     "What you say, Shampoo no family to cowardly redhead girl."
     Ryouko lowered her sword till the tip was nearly resting on the
ground, and smirked at Shampoo.  "Red might be a lot of things,
annoying, loud, top-heavy, and an all-around pain in the butt, but
she is no coward.  If you claim Yosho as an ancestor, than she's
family alright." 
     "You lie, try to confuse Shampoo." Shampoo once again threw
a handful of throwing spikes toward Ryouko, and then barely waiting
for her to fade from sight, whirled and started to swing her truncated
sword toward the empty space behind her.
     "Nice try, but you lose." Came a mocking voice from behind
her.  Ryouko had only phased out of the way of the throwing spikes,
not teleported, when she returned to solid form, Shampoo's back was
fully exposed to her.  Shampoo did the only thing she could, she
dove forward, and skidded face first through the forest trash that
covered the ground, grinding old leaves, small stones, dirt, and other
less savory things into her face and upper body.  Ignoring the small
scratches and bruises this caused, she kept moving in a mad
scramble rolling her body to the side and thrusting out with a leg to
shove herself into a somersault that brought her to her feet several
yards from where she had left her opponent.  Ryouko was still
standing in her original position, a smirk on her face.
     Shampoo flushed in anger at being played for a fool, but she
resisted the temptation to fling herself at the demon.  There was a
much more important matter here than Shampoo's pride, or even her
life.  This demon was a family responsibility, and Shampoo was not
foolish enough to believe she could handle her.  Even in the unlikely
event she could defeat the demon, she had not the least notion of
how to seal it back up again in its prison.  
     The current tenants of the shrine would be no help.  The fact
that they had been careless enough to let the demon escape in the
first place proved they were not competent enough to help her. 
Shampoo would have to get help she knew could do the job.  So, the
question was.  Could she survive and escape to do it?  The answer
was, she had no idea, but she would have to try.  Shampoo spun on
her heels, and started to run, only to skid to a halt and barely duck
out of the way of the demon's gleaming sword as it materialized in
front of her. 
     "I'm not done playing yet!" The demon snarled at her, a
malicious smile on her face.  Shampoo looked at her, then rose to her
feet in resignation.  It looked like she would not escape after all.  The
only option left to her was to show this demon that an Amazon knew
how to die well.  Dropping her left leg back, she raised her sword
parallel to the ground just above her head, one hand steadying it near
the severed tip.  She faced the demon and waited for a chance to
strike at least one blow.  While she waited for the demon's final
assault, she started to sing her death chant in a soft voice.

     Ryouko was not impressed, with a smirk she raised her sword,
she had no intention of doing any real harm, but she was in a playful
mood, no doubt due to leakage from Ryo-oh-ki. Stomping on another
of Yosho's seemingly innumerable brood would be a pleasant way to
spend a sunny day.  It was about at that point she was bowled over by
a redheaded ball of concentrated mayhem.  Ranma-neko wanted to
play too.

     It had been the noise that had attracted Ranma and Ryo-oh-ki's
attention, and after a brief internal struggle, Ranma's curiosity had
won out over her recently acquired maternal instincts.  She had
gently picked Ryo-oh-ki up and deposited her behind a small shrub. 
Then, having hidden her kitten, she'd stalked carefully toward the
disturbance, her nerves on edge, and ready to bolt at the least little
sign she and Ryo-oh-ki had been discovered.  For her part, Ryo-oh-ki
watched Ranma intently, for all of ten seconds, then a passing
butterfly caught her attention, and she bumbled off in pursuit of it.

     The faux feline crept through the grass of the clearing to the
bushes lining the edges of it, and carefully peered beyond the
sheltering shrubbery into the gloom of the deeper forest.  Ranma-
neko's hackles rose as she witnessed the activity on the other side. 
Someone was playing with _her_ toy.  All her doubt concerning
what Ryouko actually was, were forgotten, because of one thing
Ranma was sure of.  Whatever else the strange one might be, she
was Ranma's.  A low growl began to form in the back of her throat. 
She crouched down, drawing her legs under her body in preparation
to springing.  Then, she froze, blending into the sun dappled
shrubbery as she waited for her chance.  It was not long in coming,
soon the tide of battle brought the two contestants close enough for
Ranma to make her move.
     Silent as a ghost, Ranma sprang, taking Ryouko completely by
surprise, and tumbling her across the ground.  They came to a stop
with Ranma on top, and she directed a hiss of fury toward the purple
haired interloper who had dared touch her property. 

     "What the hell are you doing you crazy bitch?  Get off of me!"
Ryouko yelled, as she got over her surprise at the sudden attack. 
With a shove, she sent Ranma flying through the air.  The redhead
effortlessly reoriented herself, and landed with her feet and hands
against the bole of a large tree, for a second she hung there, defying
gravity.  Then, with a yowl of delight, she pushed off and came
sailing back toward Ryouko, who escaped by flying straight up,
allowing Ranma to go sailing past her former position. 
     Ranma did not let her near miss discourage her.  She bounced
off yet another tree, this time going nearly straight up until she could
reach a large branch with which to springboard herself toward
Ryouko.  Ryouko was forced to dodge yet again, and this time was
not quite quick enough. She had underestimated Ranma's speed, and
before she realized it, Ranma snagged the tails trailing off the back
of Ryouko's jacket, and she found herself being yanked down toward
the ground, hard.

     "All right!  That _is_it!" Ryouko screamed, brushing dirt off of
her face, and spitting some more of the same out of her mouth. 
Powering up an impressive force bolt in her hand, she released it
toward Ranma, who was at that very moment preparing for another
attack.  "Chew on this!" Ryouko said, a smile of anticipation on her
face as she readied two smaller force bolts to throw when Ranma
dodged the large one.
     The problem was, Ranma did not dodge.  "NO!" Ryouko cried
out in denial, when Ranma sprang directly toward the oncoming
blast, immaterial claws raked out.  Claws of pure life force that could
cut any substance, met non substance, and shredded it, but did not
stop it.  Instead its tight focus was disrupted, and instead of
impacting on one small spot, with instant fatality being the result,
Ranma was caught in a burst that encompassed her entire body.  Her
forward motion was halted instantly, and she was flung backward
with tremendous force.  A tall stately giant of the forest shuddered
violently as Ranma impacted with it's base, and slowly slid down its
trunk to lie in a huddled heap at the bottom. 
     "No." Ryouko whispered, her voice barely audible, the two
unused spheres of energy in her hands dissipated as she looked at the
small huddled form at the base of the tree.  She floated toward
Ranma, talking softly to herself.  "You baka, you were supposed to
dodge.  Why didn't you dodge?" She reached Ranma, and stretched
out a hand toward her still body, then stopped, afraid to touch her,
afraid of causing even more harm.  A vision suddenly appeared in
her mind of Tenchi, looking down at the shattered remains of
Ranma, and looking at Ryouko with hatred and loathing.  "baka,
Baka, BAKA!" Ryouko's scream rang through the forest.
     
     Some distance away, watching from behind the shelter of a
large tree Shampoo felt her heart lurch.  Her quest was over.  Ranma
was dead.  So why didn't she feel happy?  She shook off the thought
as unworthy of her, and started to inch herself way away from the
demon.  She moved with the utmost caution until she judged herself
far enough distant, and then she broke into a run.  Not a sprint, but a
ground covering lope she could keep up for days if need be, and it
was needed.
     She had to get back to the village as fast as she could.  Her
family had sealed the demon once before, and they would do it again. 
She just had to bring help back before the demon grew too great in
power to be sealed.  
     Despite Shampoo's efforts to put it behind her, she could not
stop thinking of Ranma.  How the girl had taken the demon off of
Shampoo, and had died for it.  Most of all, she remembered the
demons remarks that Ranma was a relative.  She longed to call in a
lie, but this was the Masaki shrine, the one place in all of Japan
Shampoo could reasonablely expect to find a relative.  Sweat ran
down her forehead and into her eyes, and the stinging salt water
caused tears to flow down Shampoo's cheeks, and off of her chin, so
as she ran she left small teardrops glistening in the air behind her. 
She ignored the sting, she ignored her thoughts about Ranma, and
most of all she ignored the tears.  Only one thing mattered.  Getting
back to China as quickly as possible.

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

     Tenchi and Ayeka raced through the rain, holding articles of
clothing over their heads as they headed for the old wood lot shed. 
Slamming open the door, they scuttled inside, and turned to look out
at the intensifying storm.
     "We should keep looking," Ayeka said, as she looked out at the
downpour, a touch of doubt in her voice.
     "We'd never find her in this." Tenchi said in a regretful tone,
also looking out at the rain. Giving a shiver as a gust of wind from
the open door chilled him in his damp clothing, he looked around,
and found an old tin fire pot, and the ingredients to make a fire with. 
Soon he had a crackling blaze going, and after a last look out at the
sodden forest, Ayeka came to join him in front of it. 

     Back in the shadows, a small figure watched the pair of them.

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

     It was the rain dripping on the top of her head that woke
Ryouko.  She looked up with bleary eyes, not sure at first where she
was.  Then, she remembered, the strange girl named after a hair care
product, the fight, Ranma's intervention, and the energy blast that
threw the little redhead against a tree with sickening force.  Her
heart in her throat, she looked down at the small shape whose head
was currently resting in her lap, and noted with relief that she
seemed to be breathing easily, and appeared none the worse for the
damage she had taken.
     Ryouko knew she should have flown Ranma home, but she had
been afraid.  Afraid of what Tenchi's reaction would be if she
showed up at the door with Ranma's broken form cradled in her
arms.  She well remembered the events of four days ago, and wanted
no repeat of them.  So, afraid to take Ranma for help, but also not
able to leave the girl where she was, she had settled for staying with
her, cradling Ranma's head on her lap and waiting for her to wake
up.  At some point she had fallen asleep, and had just now woken.
     She looked around her, and noted the evidence of a heavy
downpour.  Clearly the old, heavily leafed tree they were under had
sheltered them from the worst of it, but some drops were making it
through the canopy now that the storm was over, and it had been
those that had awakened her.  More of those drops were still falling,
and some of them made it past Ryouko's head, and struck Ranma's
cheek.  She gave a small discontented sound, and moved her head to
the side to avoid the sensation.  

     Ranma was once again in the pond with the bamboo stake
behind her, once again she had faced the attacker, and blown him
and his companion to blood tinged sawdust.  Now, she felt her body
relaxing inexorably.  Unable to do anything to prevent it she felt
herself slipping into the water, the cold wet closing over her head. 
Then, something new happened.  A cry echoed in Ranma's head. 
"Father, mother, I don't want to die yet!" Ranma wanted to weep
from the desolation in that cry, but there was something else in it as
well. The cry contained power.  Ranma's whole body shuddered with
the force of it.  Then, the thought faded, and all that was left was the
sensation of cold and damp.  
     Ranma fought against the blackness that was trying to take over
her mind.  Struggling against the pull of the water, she clawed her
way toward a single spot of brightness that appeared just a little way
if front of her.
     
     Ryouko felt Ranma suddenly go stiff, and a faint voice reached
her.  "Oh man, not again." She heard Ranma say, and there was
more than a hint of despair in her voice.  Ryouko looked down at the
small redhead, a feeling of joy surging in her breast as she realized
that she might not have to face an angry Tenchi again.  Ranma
opened her blue eyes, and blinked them several times to clear her
vision, her gaze focused on Ryouko's smiling face.  For a second her
face appeared puzzled, as if she could not quite make connections. 
Then, her eyes widened in recognition, and the next thing Ryouko
saw, was Ranma fist heading for the space between her eyes.
     "YOU PERVERT!!!!!"

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


     "What was that?" Tenchi asked, but while Ayeka looked in the
direction of the faint sound that had come to them as they walked
along the road.  She did not reply to his question, or even look at
him. 
     Tenchi gave a sigh, and looked down at the cause of Ayeka's
current anger.  The furry creature in his arms looked up from where
it was gnawing on a carrot nearly as big as it was, and gave a mew of
inquiry.  Tenchi smiled, and gently stroked her.  She gave a happy
chirp, and went back to her carrot.  Looking back up, Tenchi gazed
with regret at Ayeka's stiff back.  He hated that she was mad at him,
but he truly could not see how this little creature could be responsible
for Ranma's condition.  And even if he had believed that, he didn't
think he could have killed the little thing in cold blood.
     He sighed once again, he and Ayeka had been getting along so
well.  She had been talking openly and freely about her brother and
Tenchi's ancestor.  Then, they had discovered Ryo-oh-ki was sharing
the old hut with them.  Ayeka was not pleased.  She had handed
Tenchi the hilt for Yosho's sword, and ordered him to destroy the
monster.  Tenchi had declined, which had caused Ayeka to snatch
away the sword, and to march out the door, Tenchi two steps behind,
Ryo-oh-ki cradled in his arms.

     "What is that?" Ayeka suddenly said, her voice expressing
great surprise.  
     Tenchi, who had almost walked into her when she had come to
a sudden stop, looked off in the direction of her gaze.  "That's the
sacred tree of the shrine, it's supposed to make it rain and grant . . ."
he trailed off as he realized Ayeka was not listening, instead, she
was making her way down the slope toward the tree, a look of
mingled anticipation, and hope on her face.


     "There can be no doubt." Ayeka said, her hand resting on the
massive trunk of the tree.  "This is Funaho."
     "Funaho?" Tenchi asked, but Ayeka ignored him.  Instead, she
took out Yosho's sword, and tapped it against the trunk of the
shrine's sprit tree.  Energy crackled between the two pieces of wood,
and to Tenchi's great amazement, beams of prismatic light lanced
down to the waters of the pond that encircled the tree, bouncing
them back up to the overhead branches.  The surrounding
countryside vanished, and Tenchi found himself standing in
blackness.  Ayeka, Ryo-oh-ki, and himself  mere outlines.  Vivid
images began to appear, and Tenchi found himself witnessing the
confrontation between Yosho and Ryouko, and Funaho and Ryo-oh-
ki.  
     He watched in amazement as the battle reached its climax. 
Funaho fired a burst of energy that shattered Ryo-oh-ki, causing her
to crash and create a large crater that Tenchi realized must have
been the origin of the small lake in front of the house.
     The scene switched, and Tenchi watched as Yosho thrust the
gleaming length of his sword through Ryouko's neck.  Even then,
she fought on, trying to drag herself down that beam of incandescent
energy in an effort to get at her enemy.  Her sheer vicious savagery
was awesome.  Different by far from the Ryouko he had come to
know in the last week. The scene before them faded out as one by
one, the jewels that powered Ryouko were drawn from her body, and
down the swords length to its hilt.

     "He's alive." Were Ayeka's first words after the final vision
faded from sight.  "He has to be alive.  If Funaho is here, than my
brother is alive.  Somewhere, he is alive, and I'll find him." Tears
streamed down Ayeka's face, and she looked up at the overhead
canopy, with an expression of such hope on her face that she was
utterly transformed.  Tenchi found himself holding his breath, she
was so beautiful he was afraid she might vanish like a dream if he
made a noise.
     
     The moment did not last, Ayeka's face suddenly twisted into a
snarl of anger, and she shouted out.  "Get away from her you
monster!" Tenchi was shocked by the sudden transformation, and
followed Ayeka's angry glare to where Ryo-oh-ki was standing on
her hind legs, her front paws resting against Funaho's trunk.  She
mewed in an inquiring tone, patting the massive bole with one of her
paws.  To Tenchi's horror, Ayeka drew back the hand holding
Yosho's sword, her intention clear in the furious expression on her
face.  
     Tenchi lurched forward, trying to place himself between the
small creature and Ayeka, but before he could reach her, Funaho
came to life.  Once again beams of light lanced down from her
branches, and the real world faded away as Funaho once again
showed them scenes from her memory banks.
     At first everything was black.  Not the black of before, but
somehow different, though Tenchi could not say how.  Then, jagged
white lines, like lightning appeared.  When the bright jagged marks
did not shift or fade Tenchi realized it was not lightning, but rather
cracks in some sort of black wall.  Then, a large chunk of the wall
fell away, and they could see three humans.  A man, a woman, and a
small child, a boy.  They were enormous.  At first Tenchi thought
they were giants, but then, he realized it was a matter of perspective. 
They were normal people, it was whoever's memory they were
seeing who was small.  The man and woman wore expressions of
shock on their face, but the little boy's face broke into a broad smile. 
Before his parents could stop him, he stepped forward, and Tenchi
felt a touch of vertigo as the world swooped and swirled around him. 
They, or rather, the person who's memory they were viewing, had
been picked up.
     The scene suddenly pulled back, and the image grew more
normal.  Suddenly, Tenchi saw whose eyes they had been seeing
through.  Ryo-oh-ki's.  She was being held in the little boys hands. 
Tenchi was puzzled.  Then, he took note of the archaic clothing the
people wore, and the furnishings that surrounded them, and realized
that they were seeing the past, just as they had earlier.  This was not
their Ryo-oh-ki, but another one, most likely the one that came
 before this one, and after the one Funaho had destroyed.

     The image swirled and changed. 
     They were seeing the same family again, they were kneeling
around a table eating, but this time there was a small fur-covered
child at the table with them.  Her features made it clear who she was. 
This was Ryo-oh-ki again, but one who looked almost human.  She
was eating, with every indication of enjoyment, some sort of plant
Tenchi had never seen.  There was a large bushel basket of similar
plants next to her, and she was diligently working her way through
the contents of it.  The adults no longer looked fearful of her. 
Instead they seemed to be treating her very much as they did their
son.

     The image changed.   
     Now it was just the boy and Ryo-oh-ki.  Or at least Tenchi
assumed it was the boy.  Ryo-oh-ki now looked like a teenager, and
so did the boy.  They were walking through a forest, holding hands. 
The boy suddenly stopped, and Ryo-oh-ki took one step before
realizing he had stopped.  She paused and looked at him, a
questioning expression on her face.  He took her other hand, and
pulled her closer.  She ducked her head, and Tenchi had a feeling
that if she was not covered in fur, she would be blushing.  The boy
certainly was.  He leaned forward and whispered something into one
of her large furry ears.  Whatever it was he said.  It caused her to
look up, an expression of incredulous surprise on her face.  He took
advantage of her upturned face, and as the image faded away, their
faces came together in a tender kiss.
     
     Another scene.
     This time Ryo-oh-ki was laying in a bed.  Her facial fur was
wet and bedraggled, and there was a look of profound weariness on
her face, but it was eclipsed by the look of joy that was there as well. 
A look that was shared by the boy, now a man, as he looked down at
the small bundle held protectively in Ryo-oh-ki's arms.  He leaned
forward, resting his hands on the bedframe.  Once again, they
kissed.  This time not the hesitant kiss of a pair of teenagers, but in
the practiced manner of a pair of adults who still loved each other
even after the novelty had long since worn off.

     The images sped up.  
     Ryo-oh-ki with a small child on her lap, then once again in bed
with a bundle in her arms, this time with a toddler standing by the
bed, looking at his/her new sibling.  The children grew, got older,
and were eventually joined by a third, who also grew older. 
Eventually it could be seen that the children were two boys, and a
little girl.  They grew older still, into adults.  The man now had
silver in his hair, but  Ryo-oh-ki looked no older than her daughter.

     Soon there was a new child, not Ryo-oh-ki's this time.  Rather,
this new bundle was held in the arms of a strange girl, while the
older boy, now also a man hovered over her, his hands held out as if
ready to catch her if she should fall.  His expression one of stupefied
wonder.  Not unlike the one his own father had worn when he had
 first seen him laying in Ryo-oh-ki's arms.
     
     Scene after scene followed, clicking like slides in a slide show,
barely giving the watchers time to register the children growing up,
the man growing older.  Then, they stopped.  Ryo-oh-ki stood in
front of a soft mound of dirt, her children and grandchildren around
her.  Tears rolled down her furry face, and dripped to the ground. 
Tenchi felt his heart ache, and became aware that not just sight was
being used by Funaho.  He could feel the deep pain coming from all
the people in front of him, pain that resonated all too familiarly in
his own heart.  "Mom" he whispered, as tears welled up from his
eyes, and ran down his face in a steady stream.

     The next scene flared up in a burst of light, flames crackling all
around them.  Horses with armored riders flashed by.  Swords
gleamed red, the flames reflecting from their blades, then it was a
different sort of red that shone on those deadly blades, one that
gleamed wet in the flickering light. 
     Into this hell, Ryo-oh-ki stumbled, her mouth working as she
cried out silently.  Tenchi saw her pause, a look of agony on her face. 
She fell to her knees, and grasped a fallen figure to her breast.  Tears
streamed from her face again, but this time her expression was not
one of pain, but of fury.  Tenchi watched as the scene shifted, and
Ryo-oh-ki was standing in front of the same mound of dirt as before,
now covered with grass and flowers.  Beside it was a fresh mound, a
shovel laying beside it.  Ryo-oh-ki's clothing was covered in mud,
but she looked like a queen as she stood there, looking down at the
new grave.
     Ryo-oh-ki raised her head to the heavens, and her mouth
opened in a scream of pure rage, and she changed.  The mud
spattered, clothing was ripped to shreds as something dark and
crystalline came into being where she had been standing.  The
gleaming conglomeration of crystal spires rocketed into the heavens,
and Tenchi felt a shiver of fear for the people who had caused this
transformation.

     Bright sunlight caused Tenchi's eyes to blink.  It took a second,
so strong had the images been, for him to realize that they were once
again standing beside Funaho, and that this particular memory was
finished.  Tenchi drew a deep breath, and wiped moisture from his
eyes with the back of his hand.  He was not the only one who had
been strongly affected by the sights and feelings they had just
witnessed.  He heard soft sobbing, and turned to see Ayeka, kneeling
on the ground, tears streaming down her face.
     There was a soft miyaa, and Tenchi looked over to see Ryo-oh-
ki looking at Ayeka, her head cocked to one side.  She hopped
toward Ayeka, and reached the girl before Tenchi had time to think
that this might not be a very good idea.  He watched, holding his
breath as Ryo-oh-ki placed her front paws on Ayeka's knee, and
meowed plaintively.  Tenchi edged closer, planning to grab the little
cabbit away, but before he could reach her, Ayeka lifted her face
from her hands, and looked down at the little creature leaning
against her legs.

     Ayeka gave a small wail, and grabbed Ryo-oh-ki up into her
arms.  Holding her tightly, she cried out in a voice hoarse with
sorrow.  "I'm sorry.  I'm sorry, so very sorry."  As Ayeka held Ryo-
oh-ki tightly against her breast, much to the discomfort of the little
cabbit, five days of suppressed grief came welling up out of the
corner of her mind where she had shoved it aside.  

     The bond between a ship of Jurai and its owner was a profound
one.  The loss of that bond was not something to be casually
dismissed.  Part of the training Ayeka had undergone to be allowed
the bond, was the manner of dealing with the loss of it. 
     Ayeka had not handled the loss of Ryuu-oh in the manner she
had been trained to.  She should have spent at least two days,
preferable more, in meditation and solitude, coming to grips with her
pain.  Instead of facing that painful necessity, Ayeka had hidden
behind what she told herself was Sasami and Ranma's need for her. 
So, while her outward appearance was one of calm control, inside,
the pain she refused to deal with festered and grew.
     When Ryo-oh-ki hatched, the walls Ayeka had built around her
grief were cracked as well.  They were further breached when she
saw Ranma's transformation into a feral creature, seemingly because
of the same creature who had slain her beloved Ryuu-oh.  Hatred had
welled up in her for Ryo-oh-ki.  Unreasoning and hot with her
suppressed grief, she gave little thought or consideration to the fact
that the little creature was but newly hatched.  All that mattered was
she was a symbol of all that was bad in Ayeka's life.  Her brother
leaving in pursuit of the pirate that had devastated her childhood
home.  Seven hundred years of fruitless searching, only to learn of
Yosho's rumored death.  The fact that her beloved had found a
different love, someone other than her.  The evidence of this love
graphically represented by Tenchi and Ranma.  Last, the destruction
of her ship, and the stranding of herself and Sasami on this primitive
planet.  All this had conspired to make her a creature of vengeance. 
     Then, she had witnessed the memories of the previous Ryo-oh-
ki, and her own grief had resonated with the very similar pain
experienced by that departed entity.  That had finished the job that
had begun with the current Ryo-oh-ki's appearance.  All the grief
she had bottled up till she had time to deal with it, broke free.
Unrestrained, the pain over the loss of her beloved ship, along with
the pain over the loss of her brother, either to death, or to another
woman, threatened to wash Ayeka under in a flood of uncontrolled
sorrow.
     Lost in her pain, she became aware of a haven of warmth, and
she pushed herself up against it.  A pair of arms folded loosely
around her, and she pressed her face into the shoulder of the person
holding her and cried for her loss.


     Tenchi flushed red as Ayeka pressed herself against him, but
did not move except to adjust his arms so they were lightly cradling
her as she cried out her grief onto his shoulder.  Between their
bodies, Ryo-oh-ki made little encouraging noises, trying as best as
she could in her limited understanding to offer comfort.  A
movement out of the corner of his eye caused him to turn.  His
Grandfather and a worried Sasami stood there, taking in the scene.  
     Tenchi blushed even deeper, and gestured with his eyes. 
Hoping his grandfather would take the hint, and come and offer
Ayeka his shoulder.  That's what priests did after all.  Was it not? 
His grandfather just gave a small shake of his head, accompanied by
a gentle smile.  His eyes clearly said that Tenchi was doing just fine
by himself.

     Tenchi was never sure how long he stood there, Ayeka loosely
cradled in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder, her tears
slowly turning his shirt into a sodden mass.  Eventually it was an
outside force that broke the tableau.  A series of explosions, slowly
moving toward them. A phenomenon that Tenchi was becoming far
more familiar with than he cared to think about. 
     Ayeka pulled her face away from his shoulder, and dabbed at
her red-rimmed eyes with a cloth she pulled from the sleeve of her
kimono.  She glanced away from Tenchi and toward the rapidly
approaching sound.  As she looked off in the distance, she spoke
softly.  "I'm sorry Tenchi-sama.  I apologize for the unforgivable
way I've been behaving." 
     Tenchi placed his left hand behind his head and looked
sheepish.  "That's all right Ayeka-sama." He hunted for words to try
and ease the embarrassment they both felt over the recent incident,
but was saved from the trouble when a familiar redheaded form came
into view, dashing from the cover of the trees toward Tenchi.  Close
on her heals was the source of the explosions, more of which rocked
the clearing as Ryouko tried to nail the fleet girl, who always seemed
to be somewhere else when one of Ryouko's energy blasts struck
home. 
     The first thing that Tenchi noticed, after the explosions, was
the state of Ranma's clothing.  While she was slightly more modestly
garbed than the last time she had appeared after a fight with Ryouko,
it was not by much.  Her pants and shirt were both tattered and
singed, and barely preserved her modesty.  He clapped a cautionary
hand to his nose just in case.  Ranma's clothing did not look like it
was going to last much longer.
     Tenchi felt something being placed in his hand, and looked
down for a moment in surprise.  Ayeka closed his fingers over the
haft of Yosho's sword with her own hand.  Looking up at him with
puffy eyes, she gave him a smile, and said.  "Lord Tenchi, I ask that
you please defend me and mine."
     Ayeka's statement had the feeling of some sort of formal
request, and Tenchi knew there was more than likely a counter reply
he was suppose to make to it, All he could think to do was to place
the hand holding the sword behind his head, and give an
embarrassed laugh, before saying, "I guess."
     Another explosion brought Tenchi's attention back to the
matter at hand.  Ranma had reached the edge of the pond
surrounding Funaho.  Instead of using the stones that were there for
people to walk to the tree, she left the bank of the pond with a
prodigious leap, and landed in front of Tenchi and Ayeka.  Parts of
her shirt choose to give up the fight at that point, falling aside to
reveal what was underneath. Tenchi was barely able to take in the
singed and tattered condition of her clothing, using all his willpower
not to stare at what it was not covering.  Ranma looked the very
picture of a poor abused waif.  
     Unfortunately for Ryouko, Tenchi's gaze did not manage to
reach as far as Ranma's face.  If it had, he might have noticed the
look of unrestrained glee on her face. The flush on Tenchi's face
changed from one of embarrassment to one of anger.  Stepping
forward, he placed himself between Ranma and the oncoming
Ryouko.  Without Tenchi even having to think about it, the sword in
his hand sprang to life. 

     Ryouko was furious.  There was a vivid red spot directly
between her eyes, and her face was twisted up in an angry
expression.  In one hand she held her sword, in the other, a ball of
energy, ready to throw.  "Get out of the way Tenchi.  The ungrateful
little tramp is mine."
     "Ungrateful!" Ranma yelled out from behind Tenchi.  "What
do I have to be grateful for?  The only thing that I'm grateful for is
that I woke up before you had a chance to do anything more to me,
you pervert!"
     "Arrggghh," was Ryouko's intelligent reply to this, and she
lunged forward in an effort to get around Tenchi and at the little
redhead.  She had long ago passed the point of considering tactics,
and was in full bull-in-a-china-shop mode.  There was a shrill squeal
of sound that hurt the ears as Tenchi parried Ryouko's sword with
his own.  He was driven backward a step, but did not give any
ground up after that.  

     Of to the side Katsuhito raised an eye in surprise as he noticed
the detached way Tenchi was handling the sword.  For years he had
been trying to teach Tenchi to make his weapon part of himself, but
the boy had always been too self conscious.  Tenchi had always been
aware of the bokken in his hand, and tended to have to think of every
move he wanted to make with it, which handicapped him a great
deal.  
     He was no longer thinking about his weapon.  He moved it in a 
smooth pattern that told Katsuhito's trained eyes he was not even
aware of it other than as a part of his own body.  He smiled.  Tenchi
had just completed the first step toward becoming a true master of
the sword.

     "Ryouko, stop it!" Tenchi snapped out, as he and the demon
girl crossed swords once again.  Ryouko tried to force her way
forward, and Tenchi's arm gave under the pressure, but that only
brought Ryouko close enough to the sword in his hand for it to react
to her presence.  Just as it had done in the school yard, it flared with
energy, and moved on its own volition, shoving Ryouko back.  She
sprang away from Tenchi, her concentration broken.  
     For the first time Ryouko took in the expression on Tenchi's
face, and a stricken look crossed her own "But Tennnncccchhiiiii."
She whined, stamping her foot for all the world like a four year old,
denied a treat.  The expression on Tenchi's face did not shift, nor did
the sword in his hand lower. 

     Behind Tenchi, Ranma smirked at Ryouko, and pulled down
one eyelid, revealing the red skin on the underside of her lid.  She
stuck her tongue out as well.  Ryouko flushed, and took a step
forward, only to find it matched by Tenchi.  She visibly simmered in
rage, but gritting her teeth, she opened her hands and let her sword,
and the ball of energy, wink out of sight. 
     "Next time little girl, next time." Ryouko said to Ranma, who
responded by turning her back and patting her bottom.  Kiss my ass. 
She mouthed silently over her shoulder at Ryouko.  Just then Ryo-
oh-ki, who had been silent in Ayeka's arms while this was going on,
grew impatient for someone to pay attention to her, the most
important person here. 
     "Meow!" She mewed loudly, and Ranma jumped out of her
tattered slippers.  The small girl practically levitated straight up into
the branches of Funaho.  A thrashing of branches marked her ascent
to the very crown of the massive tree.  She climbed until there was
nothing left to climb, and then she huddled there, swaying back and
forth on the last slender limb.  
     "C . . . c . . .c . . . cat!" She stammered out in terror, curling up
in as tight a ball as the situation would allow, burying her face in her
arms.
     Down below the pretty much universal reaction was one of
surprise, with the exception of Katsuhito, who looked worried, and
also as if he were trying to recall something that was just on the edge
of his memory.
     Ryouko's expression was as puzzled as the rest, but did not stay
that way long.  One did not become a dread space pirate, feared on
countless worlds, but failing to take note of, and act on, an opponents
weakness.  Plucking Ryo-oh-ki from Ayeka's arms, she floated up
level with the cowering girl, and leered at her.
     "Aww, Ranma, don't you want to pet the nice little kitty cat?"
     "Take it away, take it away!" Ranma screamed burrowing her
face deeper into her sheltering arms.
     "Ryouko-san, you stop that!" Ayeka yelled impotently from
below.
     "Ryouko, stop, don't tease Ranma!" Tenchi added, looking in
fear at the way the branch Ranma was clinging to was swaying from
Ranma's panicked efforts to turn away from Ryouko, and the
nightmare she carried in her hand. 
     Ryouko ignored them both, and floated over to where Ranma
perched on her branch.  Grabbing a good chunk of red hair in her
hand, she pulled Ranma's head up out of her arms, and shoved Ryo-
oh-ki to within inches of her face.  "Yaaaaaaaaaa" Ranma screamed,
and tried to get away, but Ryouko held her in place effortlessly.  Ryo-
oh-ki dangled from her hand, looking first at Ryouko, and then at
the fearful Ranma.
     "Meow," she said in a sad tone, not understanding Ranma's
rejection.  Something in the tone of her voice made it past Ranma's
defenses, because for the first time she really looked at Ryo-oh-ki. 
For a minute, her eyes remained panicked, but then a small amount
of awareness trickled into her bulging orbs.
     "That's not a cat?" Ranma said in a halting questioning voice. 
"That ain't no cat!" She repeated, this time in a firmer voice.  "What
the heck is she?" 
     Ryouko frowned as she detected that Ranma had returned to
sanity, but then, shrugged her shoulders.  The brief period of
tormenting Ranma had restored much of her good mood, and she
answered Ranma's question with only a hint of a snarl in her voice.
     "This is my little Ryo-oh-ki."
     "That ain't Ryo-oh-ki!" Ranma exclaimed.  "Ryo-oh-ki's is
human.  Well sort of," She amended.  "This thing is . . . What is that
thing?" She repeated her earlier question.
     Down below Ayeka and Tenchi could just barely make out the
conversation between Ranma and Ryouko.  Tenchi yelled up at her. 
"It's true Ranma.  We saw Ryo-oh-ki grow up in Funaho's memory. 
That is what she looked like when she hatched before, and then she
turned into a person."
     Now it was Ryouko's turn to look puzzled.  "Human?"  she
said, questioningly.  "I've never known her to assume a human
shape."
     "Well she does!" Ranma asserted.  "I talked to her while you
were attacking Ayeka's ship."
     "You talked to her?" Ryouko asked in evident surprise.  For
some reason she found this so surprising, she failed to react quickly
enough when Ranma reached out with a shaking hand, and plucked
Ryo-oh-ki from her grasp. 
     "I promised her I'd be nice to her baby." Ranma said in a
distracted way, not really aware of Ryouko anymore.  Instead, all her
attention was focused on the little bundle of fur that was happily
curled up in the crook of her arm.  "You are kind of cute," she said,
poking the little cabbit in her furry belly.  Ryo-oh-ki mewed, and
batted at Ranma's finger.  Ranma for her part shuddered, and fought
the urge to fling her away.  "Not a cat, not a cat," she said repeatedly
for a few seconds, till she calmed down again.  "Man.  This is going
to take some getting used to." With a hand that only quivered
slightly, she handed Ryo-oh-ki back to Ryouko.  "Here, you'd better
take her.  I ain't all that good at this mushy stuff."
     A shudder ran through her body when Ryouko took Ryo-oh-ki
from her hand, and tension seemed to flow out of her body, as she
exhaled a deep calming breath.  Ranma started to climb down the
tree, taking more care than was usual for her.  When she reached the
bottom, everyone was looking at her, and they all had questions in
their eyes.  Well, Tenchi's were a bit glazed rather than questioning.
Ranma's clothing being in an even worse state of affairs than before. 
He hurriedly turned his back and unbuttoned his shirt.  "Here," he
said, having stripped the shirt from his back and held it back over
his shoulder toward Ranma.
     "Thanks," she said.  Taking Tenchi's shirt, Ranma put it on,
and found it fell to just below her thighs, doing a fairly good job of
covering the bits that Tenchi was finding so distressing.  "I guess
you must sort of be wondering what's going on?" Ranma said rather
sheepishly.  The look everyone gave her was a clear answer to her
question.  Giving a sigh, she said.  "Well, it happened when I was
about seven . . ."

     Over the next half hour, during which they walked toward
home, Ranma told them the tale of the Cat Fist.  About how her
father had wrapped her in fish sausage, and tossed her in a pit of
hungry cats.  All to train her in the unbeatable style of the Neko-ken. 
During the explanation, Ranma would every now and then work her
mouth, and spit toward the side of the path.  Ayeka was distressed by
this action, but refrained from saying something.  She was not that
fond of Genma herself, and if he had not driven her to spitting when
talking about him . . .  Well, she hadn't known him as long as
Ranma had.
     
     When Ranma finished, the people around her had various
expressions on their faces.  Tenchi and Sasami wore looks of horror,
mixed with sympathy.  Katsuhito looked disgusted, and also
satisfied, as if something that had puzzled him had been made clear. 
Ayeka looked furious, and was mouthing words like, Unfit . . . What
father?  . . . Outrageous, should be whipped. 
     Ryouko looked bored. 

     Their walking had brought them into sight of the house, and
Ranma stopped in shock when she took note of the hole in the wall. 
"Oh man Tenchi!" She groaned in dismay.  "I'm sorry, I don't know
what I'm doing when I go . . . you know."
     "Crazy, nut bars, loose in the brain pan, a few bricks falling out
of the wall?" Ryouko suggested.
     "Ryouko-san," Tenchi chided her half-heartedly, before turning
to Ranma.  "It's alright, we can fix it up." He turned to look at the
damage, and his confident look slipped a little, "I think." He added
under his breath.
     Ranma nodded her head, but she looked a little doubtful as she
took in the sight of the damage.  While contemplating it, she again
turned her head to the side, and spat.  This was too much for Ayeka.
     "Ranma-chan, please, that is most unladylike."
     Ranma looked at her a bit sheepishly, and then said.  "I'm sorry
Ayeka-san.  I've got this really gross taste in my mouth."
     "Oh my," Sasami said, looking at Ryouko who had fallen to the
ground in hysterics.  "What's wrong with Ryouko-neechan?"

     Some time later, they sat enjoying tea.  Ryouko occasionally
directing a look toward Ranma and snickering, which made the
redhead feel very uncomfortable.  She was beginning to get a little
worried about what Ryouko might have done to her while she was
out.  The rest of the group was simply sitting back and enjoying the
rest after a hard two hours of clean up duty. All the splintered boards
had been cleaned up, and piled neatly off to the side.  

     Now, they sat in front of the hole, and enjoyed the afternoon
sun as they ate the snacks Sasami had prepared.  Licking a little
sugar off of her fingers, Ryouko asked Ranma.  "By the way, who
was that purple haired chick who was planning on dividing you into
equal parts?" She smirked at Ranma.  "For someone who claims to
be a guy, you sure don't seem to handle girls . . ."
     Ryouko trailed off as she noted that Ranma was not paying any
attention to her, had in fact jumped to her feet and was now peering
out at the surrounding trees, as if expecting something horrible to
emerge from them at any time.
     "Shampoo," she said, just one word, but the look of dread on
her face made it very clear she was not talking about hair care,
despite the fact her own was in dire need of some.

*******************************************************
***********************
     
     "This Shampoo sounds like an awfully poor loser." Tenchi said
after listening to Ranma detail the reason for the Amazon's presence
at the shrine.  "I mean, trying to kill you just because you beat her in
a challenge fight."
     "Yes, the Amazon's can be rather rigid in their observance of
their law, but there was good reason for it at one time, or so our
ancestor's papers tell us." Everyone looked over at Katsuhito who
had spoken over the rim of his tea cup.  He sat there, oblivious to the
stares.  His eyes were closed and to all intents and purposes he
seemed to be doing nothing more than savoring the aroma of
Sasami's excellent tea.
     "You know about the Amazons grandfather?" Tenchi asked in
surprise.  Ranma, remembering Katsuhito's familiarity with the
Musk was not as  surprised.  Instead, she felt a surge of hope. 
Maybe Grandfather would know something that would get that crazy
Amazon off her back. 
     Katsuhito, opened his eyes, and took a long slow sip of his tea. 
Everyone at the table waited for him to talk, some with more
patience than others.  Ayeka appeared perfectly calm, while Ranma
looked like she was ready to lunge across the table at him. 
Appearances could be deceiving, to Sasami's experienced eyes,
Ayeka was every bit as impatient as Ranma, she was just better at
hiding it.
     Ranma was just getting up from her kneeling position by the
table, her face promising mayhem, when Katsuhito placed his cup
down with a sigh of contentment, and started to speak.  Ranma
wavered, off balance, and finally fell over on her side, helped along
by a subtle poke from Ryouko.  Ranma glared at her, and she put on
an innocent air, and gave the appearance of giving all her attention
to Katsuhito.
     "You must understand a bit of their history." Katsuhito was
saying.  "It was originally possible for an outsider to challenge an
Amazon to gain a position in the tribe.  They wanted the best, and
this was their way of selecting them, but that led to problems.  Like
all societies, there was a given limit to the number of warriors they
could support.  It takes a lot of farmers and craft men to support one
person who does nothing but train for war."
     "Yea, but they sure are happy they're there when the shit hits
the fan." Ranma said.
     "Yes, they are, but that does not change the fact that a village
or a kingdom can only support so many.  Some get around this by
conquering other villages or nations.  That works for a while.  You
gain slave labor, and can support more of your own people as
warriors, but it is a losing proposition in the long run.  You need to
guard your conquest, and that takes more warriors, and then you
need to take over another country, and another, until your own
culture is eventually lost from the sheer number of those you share
your land with.  The mighty Mongols conquered all of China, and
then were absorbed by that country's population.  The Amazons
valued their culture highly, and had no wish to dilute it.  They were
satisfied with what they had, and had no wish to gain more, only to
defend what they already possessed."

     "A likely story," Ryouko snorted, "The Powers-that-be are
always ready to throw away a few civilians to steal something that
belongs to someone else.  Of course they don't call it stealing."
     Ayeka smiled a thin tight lipped smile at Ryouko.   "I'm sure
you know all there is to know about stealing, but I know about rulers. 
The goal of a good ruler is the welfare of his people.  But you would
know nothing about the welfare of others.  Would you?"
     Ryouko smiled at Ayeka, and there was more than a hint of
teeth in her smile.  "Ahh, the mythical _good_ ruler," she said,
placing a great deal of stress on the word good.  "And tell me
_princess_ do you also believe in the Star-father, who brings presents
to all the good little girls and boys at the end of every standard
galactic year?"
     Ayeka smile grew tighter, and her teeth started to peep out
from behind her pale lips.  "At least I was a good little girl, and
while it may have been my mother rather than the Star-father who
left me presents, at least I got some.  Did yours ever give you one?"
Ayeka by now was leaning across the table, her nose nearly pressed
against  Ryouko's.  Her teeth were now clearly visible as her lips
pulled back in a snarl.  "Or do monsters even have mothers?"

     Very much to Ranma and Tenchi's surprise, Ryouko did not
have a quick come back to this  comment.  Rather, her face grew a
bit pale, and her mouth gave up all pretense of smiling, as she bared
her fangs fully at Ayeka.  Ranma recognized the telltale signs, and
when Ryouko lunged across the table with a scream of "Bitch!" she
was ready.
     Down slapped Ranma's hand, hitting Ryouko's thigh, and
slowing her leg's upward progress just enough that it caught on the
edge of the table instead of going over it.  Ryouko's arms
windmilled, and she made a three-point landing on the table top, her
face, which landed in a plate of tea cakes, being one of the points.
     Ayeka covered her mouth with her sleeve, and laughed
unrestrainedly at the sight of Ryouko, her face covered with lemon
filling.  Things started to get out of control at about that point.  
     
     Ranma grimaced, she had no objection to a good brawl, but
Shampoo was out there somewhere, and that was not something she
wanted to forget about.  It would be just like that crazy girl to come
bursting in while they were at each other throats.
     The problem was, while Ayeka might settle down if Ryouko
did, there was no way in hell Ryouko was going to stop.  The only
one who seemed able to control her even a little when she was like
this, was Tenchi, but only sometimes. Tenchi was alright when he
thought Ryouko had done something bad, but when it came down to
getting between Ayeka and Ryouko when they were both on a tear,
he was pretty much useless . . .  Unless  . . . Ranma thought of
something that might distract Ryouko.  For a second she hesitated,
her face tense, she was not sure if she really wanted to do it.  Then,
the sound of smashing furniture reached her ears, and reminded her
all too much of the last time she had heard that sound.  They had to
get ready for Shampoo.  This was no time to be a wimp.  Ranma got
to her feet, if she was going to do this, she was going to need some
aids.

     Tenchi was nervously holding his sword in his hands, trying to
figure out what to do.  He wanted to stop the fight before it got
serious, but he didn't want to hurt Ryouko's feelings by siding with
Ayeka, who had after all goaded Ryouko into the current quarrel. 
On the other hand, he didn't want to side with Ryouko against
Ayeka, not after just having gotten back in Ayeka's good books.  
     It was so much easier when Ryouko was picking on Ranma. 
Despite her skill, Ranma was really too weak to defend herself
against Ryouko.  Only the Tenchi-ken gave Tenchi an edge against
the demon girl. Ayeka was another matter.  Despite her ladylike
exterior she had proven herself able to go toe to toe with Ryouko.  
     Tenchi sighed in despair.  He did not want either one of the
girls mad at him, but if he tried to break up this fight, he just knew
that somehow they would both end up being furious with him.
     Tenchi felt someone take his hand, and he looked down in
surprise.  Ranma was standing there, a strange look of tension on her
face. "Tenchi, why don't we go outside and take a walk, the . . ."
Ranma paused, as if trying to think of something.  Then, her face
brightened.  "The moon, the moon is so nice, lets go look at the
moon." She started to drag Tenchi toward the door. 
     "But, but, but." Tenchi stammered, trying to tell Ranma there
was no moon tonight. 
     Ranma stopped, and stared up at Tenchi, her eyes wide and
glistening.  A solitary tear trickled down her cheek.  Unseen by
Tenchi, Ranma let the cut onion in her hand drop to the floor behind
her.  "Tenchi, don't you want to go walking with me." All motion in
the room stopped, heads turned toward the pair by the door.  It was
not what Ranma had said.  It was the way she had said it.  Her voice
had been low and quivery.  Straight out of a bad romance movie. The
very sound of it was enough to send shivers up and down Tenchi's
spine, and completely different feelings through Ryouko. 
     "What!?  What the hell are you trying to pull?  You don't like
guys.  Remember?" Ryouko demanded, breaking off from Ayeka,
and storming across the room toward the two of them. 
     Ayeka called after her. "She is taking her innazuke, and getting
away from a barbarian for a little privacy.  I would have thought that
was obvious, even to a creature like you."
     For her part, Ranma looked up at Ryouko with an innocent
expression, and said.  "Ayeka-san is right.  We can't hear
Grandfather over your noise, so I thought Tenchi and I could take a
nice walk while you two settled your differences.  And don't be silly. 
I'm a girl, so of course I like boys." Ranma added in a saccharin
voice, taking Tenchi's arm and looping it through her own. 
Everyone was listening to her words, and except for Katsuhito, no
one noticed the cute look on her face was taking on a strained
expression.  
     Ryouko snatched Tenchi away from Ranma, who barely
controlled her look of relief, and dragged him over to the table. 
Looking back at Ranma defiantly, she said.  "I'm all done with the
chicken girl." Turning to Katsuhito, who had  moved out of the way
of any possible flying objects, or people, taking  Sasami with him,
she said.  "Well, get on with it old man, we don't have all day."
     "Chicken girl!?" Ayeka said in outrage, but Ryouko merely
snorted, and turned her head away from her.  Ranma shrugged her
shoulders, and came over and sat down in Tenchi's former place. 
Katsuhito, and Sasami joined them, and after a minute, a fuming
Ayeka as well. 
     "Now, where was I?" Katsuhito asked. 
     "You were talking about how the Amazon did not invade others
so they could support more warriors, and why that was a problem."
Sasami answered him.
     "Ahh yes.  Originally any woman who could prove herself a
warrior could join the tribe.  After a while they realized they had to
limit the number, or exceed their ability to support the fighters who
did not contribute to the day to day needs of the village.  A number
was established, and that was the limit.  To become a warrior, you
either had to wait for an opening, or defeat a warrior and take her
place."
     "This was at first open to all.  The Amazon elected to go for
quality over quantity, and whoever proved themselves worthy could
become an Amazon warrior.  Any outsider woman could  fight any
warrior, and if she won, she would take that warrior's place.  This
led to resentment as people saw their friends and themselves being
replaced by people from out of the village.  Understand, in those days
the Amazons were not the fighters they are now.  It was common for
a woman from outside to wander in and defeat a warrior.  Such is no
longer common.  The Amazons have grown very formidable, but that
was not the case back then. 
     Eventually, politics got into the matter.  The village warriors
agitated to have the laws altered.  Because they formed the largest
power block in the tribe, they got their way.  It was decided that the
outsider had to prove her worth by defeating the Amazon not simply
once, but as many times as it took for the warrior to concede defeat. 
But the elders didn't like being pushed around, and they added a
 little twist."
     "Let me guess, the kiss of death, right?" Ranma said. 
     "That's right.  The Amazon warrior found that they had to face
a girl who had already beaten them once, and who knew she would
die if she lost the rematch.  Not a few Amazons choose to concede
defeat, rather than take the risk."
     "Hey, wait a second." Ranma said.  "Do you mean I'd have
been free and clear if I'd beaten Shampoo a second time?"
     "Not exactly, while Shampoo could have conceded your
superiority at anytime, even after the first defeat, and given up her
position in the village to you, she could also have forced you to fight
her to the death, either yours or hers no matter how many times you
defeated her.  If you had done that, you would have been offered her
place in the tribe." 

     "Hey, no problem then.  Red can take her." Ryouko said
cheerfully.  "So tell me, would Red get all her property if she did for
her?"
     "Hey, I ain't going to kill anyone!" said Ranma in outrage. 
Turning to Katsuhito, she said in a pleading tone of voice.  "There's
got to be someway, ain't there anyway to make her back off without
killing her?"
     "If you could convince her you really are a boy that might
help."
     "Why?" Sasami said.
     "Because if an Amazon is defeated by an outsider male, she has
to marry him.  Another way the elders came up with to improve the
village blood line, and to keep the warrior's from picking fights
casually with men from the neighboring kingdoms.  Not a few border
incidents escalated into serious wars before the new law was put in
place."
     "What!?" Ranma yelled.  "You mean if I get cured that crazy
chick is going to try and marry me?"
     "She might, or she might decide you are really a girl, and try to
kill you anyway.  The fact that you might be a relative could help."
     "What?" Ranma said once again, beginning to sound not unlike
a broken record.
     "Hey, that's right, she's one of Yosho's get as well," Ryouko
said.
     "What?" Ayeka said, "You're lying!"
     "Fraid not princess.  Yosho was a pretty frisky guy.  No telling
how many little surprises he left around for you to find."
     Ayeka flushed with outrage, but before she could retort. 
Katsuhito broke in.  "Actually, while she _might_ be descended from
Yosho, it was not Yosho who married into the Amazons, but a
descendant of his." Ranma thought Katsuhito looked a bit
uncomfortable as he said this, but the old mans face smoothed over
quickly, and she decided it was likely just the light that made it seem
that way.
     Ayeka looked mollified, but she continued to direct dirty looks
toward Ryouko. 
     "Anyway, there is not much we can do till we can talk to this
Shampoo. Most of you should be safe.  The Amazons consider it bad
form to kill someone who is not their target."
     Ranma snorted, "yea, but the way she goes knocking walls in, I
don't see how she can help but hurt someone.  I'd better head out. 
I'll try to lead her away from here.  Maybe I can talk to her now that
I know about her maybe being family." 

     Ranma was having a hard time grasping that Shampoo might
be a relative.  A week ago, she had been all alone in the world except
for her Pop.  Now, not only had she learned her mother was still
alive, she had gained a large family in the form of Ayeka and her
sister, and Tenchi and his family.  To bad the connection was not
closer however.  It would have given her an out from marrying
Tenchi.  As always, she gave a little shudder at the thought.
     "If she believes you." Ryouko said, breaking Ranma out of her
introspection.  "That's a pretty old gag." 
     "Out of the question." Ayeka said, vetoing the idea of Ranma
going out to face this mad woman alone.  "Kamidake and Asaka can
guard the house.  This barbarian will not get past them."
     Ryouko laughed out loud, and looked over to where Kamidake
was peeking around a corner at Ranma.  "Oh yes, they're great
guards.  I feel _so_ secure knowing they're on the job."
     "Actually  . . . they might be a big help." Ranma said, a
speculative look on her face.  Asaka pulled himself up a bit
straighter, the distance between his bottom and the floor increasing. 
For his part, Kamidake seemed to radiate surprise at Ranma's
defense of their fighting skills.  "They might be pretty lousy
fighters," The two guardians sagged, sweat drops dripping from their
heads.  "But Shampoo doesn't know about them.  So they might be
able to take her by surprise." 
     "Very well, let us make plans then." Ayeka said.

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

     "Where the hell is she!?" Ranma yelled in frustration,
marching over to the sliding porch door, and looking out across the
dark valley.
     "Maybe she is waiting to catch you alone?" Ayeka said as she
came over to join Ranma.
     Ranma snorted.  "Not bloody likely.  Shampoo isn't like that. 
She never let crowds or anything else stand between her and me
before."
     Ayeka seemed to be having an internal struggle of some kind,
but at last she spoke, each word spoken as if drawn forth by torture. 
"Ryouko . . . is . . .  formidable.  It is possible this Shampoo realized
what she was up against, and --"
     "No!  No way, not Shampoo, you don't know her, she'd no
more back off than I would. She'll be here.  You just wait."
     
     Behind the two girls Tenchi was putting the final touches to the
house's defenses.  All the furniture in the room had been
repositioned near the outside walls, leaving the main floor clear. As
well, rope had been strung from the walls to form a network of
strands between the furniture. If Shampoo came through the wall
like Ranma expected, she would find herself in a cluttered and
enclosed area, and hopefully Ayeka could seal her up before she got
her bearings.  This was a last ditch effort however.  Kamidake and
Asaka were positioned on either side of the house.  Far enough away
so that they could observe every approach. Ryouko was sitting on the
roof.  Ranma would have preferred to have taken a forward position
herself, but she realized she was the bait in the trap.
     Grandfather and Sasami were sitting in front of the TV,
watching the nightly news, while playing with Ryo-oh-ki.  Tenchi
had protested Sasami's presence, but had been swayed by the
argument that the safest place for her was right where she was. 
Alone in her room she was vulnerable, and while Ranma insisted
Shampoo would not take a hostage, Ayeka had felt it better to take
no chances.

     Over by the door, Ranma was watching the darkening ground
intently, as if by looking hard enough she could cause Shampoo to
materialize.  She kept darting glances toward the girl standing
beside her, a troubled look on her face.  "Ayeka-san?"
     "Yes Ranma-chan?"
     Ranma winced, but then went on. "I just wanted . . . Well I just
wanted to say I'm sorry I was such a pain earlier this week."
     Ayeka looked at her in surprise.  "What do you mean?"
     "You know.  The way I followed you around, not giving you
any privacy.  I was acting like a little kid."
     Ayeka remembered back to the night and day after the incident
in the bathroom.  Ranma had literally not wanted to let Ayeka out of
her sight.  Not an unexpected reaction given what had happened to
her, and how poorly her father had prepared her for it.  She must
have felt her body had become a time bomb, and Ayeka the only one
who could defuse it.  She smiled at Ranma, and said, "I didn't mind. 
It helped to take my mind off my own problems."
     "Yea, well, I want you to know.  I ain't usually like that.  I've
been taking care of myself for a long time."
     "But it's nice isn't it?" Ayeka said, and when Ranma gave her
a puzzled look, she continued.  "To have someone look after you I
mean." Her gaze seemed to drift away.  "I can remember being sick
in bed, and momm  . . . mother, bringing me hot soup, and reading
to me while I lay there, all curled up in a nest of blankets.  I felt so
safe and protected.  There are times when I wish I could go back to
those days.  Everything was so much simpler then."
     "Your mother, was she nice?" Ranma asked, a look of longing
in her eyes.
     "Very.  She loved me and Sasami very much.  You would have
liked her."
     "I would have?"
     "Oh yes, you have a lot in common with her.  Not that anyone
would ever guess it, but mother is a very great warrior."
     "She is?  But she's a queen."
     Ayeka laughed.  "She wasn't born a queen, and even if she had
been, what would that have to do with it."
     "Well, queens, don't, you know, they just sort of sit around and,
people do stuff for them.  Don't they have people to fight for them?"
     "And what happens if whoever is attacking gets past those
people.  The worst thing about being a member of the royal family, is
that most of the attacks on you do not come in the light.  The dagger
in the dark, poison in the tea.  A pillow in the bed."
     Ranma was looking at her wide-eyed.  "Man, that sounds like a
crummy way to grow up, always having to look out for a knife in the
back."
     "No, no, I don't mean that is how I was raised, but my family is
very old, with long memories.  History repeats itself, and we are
trained to defend ourselves.  We are our own last line of defense."
     "So do you practice martial arts?" Ranma asked, her interest
peaked, Ayeka did not carry herself like a martial artist, but that
might be a deliberate act, to hide what she was.
     Ayeka shook her head. "No, not the way you mean it." A small
version of the guardian logs appeared in front of her, and she held
out her hand so it floated down into her palm.  "I know how you feel
about weapons, but mine can't be lost, or taken from me.  Still,
maybe I rely on them to much." Ayeka banished the small log, and
turned to look at Ranma.  "Would you like to teach me?"
       Ranma looked surprised, but then she smiled.  "Think you got
what it takes?  It ain't exactly easy."
     "There is only one way to find out, but that can wait, right now
we need to discuss other matters."
     "Yeah, Shampoo.  Where the hell is she?"
     "No, not Shampoo, you, and what you are going to wear
tomorrow."
     "What?" Ranma looked at Ayeka, a puzzled expression on her
face at this abrupt change of topic.  Ayeka returned the look with a
much more calculated one, running her eyes up and down Ranma's
current outfit, which consisted of a pair of black pants held together
more by prayer than fabric, and the shirt Tenchi had given her
earlier.
     "You have not been gentle on your clothing.  From what I saw
of your wardrobe, you have next to nothing to wear."
     "This ain't the time to be talking about clothes." Ranma
objected.
     "Perhaps you are right, you can wear some of mine until we can
get you some of your own."
     Forgetting she didn't want to talk about clothes, Ranma
objected to this.  "I can't wear your clothes.  They're girls' clothes."
     "Why, you know, I do think you are right." Ayeka smiled at
Ranma, and then looked away, a gentle smile on her face. 
     Ranma, flushed slightly, and said. "All, right, so maybe that
was a dumb thing to say, but I still can't wear your clothes."
     "You already have."
     Ranma looked puzzled for a second, but then went cherry red,
and sputtered a protest.  "That was different, I had to wear those,
boxers wouldn't hold the pad in place." Ranma's voice had dropped
to a whisper, and she looked over to where Tenchi had joined Sasami
and Katsuhito.  "Don't say things like that out loud." She hissed at
Ayeka.
     "And when the next time comes that you don't have a choice?"
Ayeka questioned, lowering her voice a little.
     Ranma suddenly looked sick.  "You mean this body is going to
do more weird things?"
     "No of course not." Ayeka replied.  "It won't do one single
weird thing." Ranma heaved a sigh of relief, but her relief was short
lived.
     "Everything it does will be perfectly natural; for a woman."
     Ranma looked shocked, but then she whispered furiously to
Ayeka.  "I ain't a woman.  I'm a guy."
     "No!  You are not!" Ayeka said in a fierce tone of voice. 
Ranma looked at her in shock, she was sure Ayeka had accepted the
truth about her.  As if reading her mind, Ayeka continued. "You may
once have been a boy.  I don't know, and it does not matter.  Right
now you are a young woman, and we have no idea of when that
might change, or if it ever will."
     "So, am I suppose to dress up in frilly clothes, and flutter my
eyelids at all the pervert boys." Ranma retorted in an angry voice.
     "Does Ryouko dress frilly?  Do I flutter my eyes?  Being a
woman is much more than how you dress or how you behave.  If you
wish to continue to dress as you have, we will somehow acquire
clothes for you.  Maybe Tenchi has some clothes from when he was
younger we can alter to fit you.  I don't care if you act like a girl."
Ayeka lied, "but you must accept that at this time you are a girl. 
There is so much you do not know."
     Ayeka looked over at where the others were sitting.  "Please, all
that I ask is that you let me try and teach you to understand your own
body.  Isn't that what marital arts is all about?"
     Ranma looked at her wide eyed, her first impulse, to hotly deny
Ayeka's words died in her throat.  She looked away from Ayeka's
eyes, so like the ones she'd seen in the mirror every day since that
day in China.  A visible reminder of the relationship between her
and the princess. "Alright, but only stuff about my body.  I ain't
putting stuff on my face or kissing boys or nothing like that." 
     Ayeka smiled.  Ranma had left a great deal open in her
statement.  The proper clothing for instance was an important part of
looking after her body.  She once again felt a sense of anticipation
when she thought of the package Tenchi's father was picking up for
her.  "That will be fine," she said to Ranma, who looked at her with
an expression of doubt on her face.  There was something about the
way Ayeka was smiling at her that made her feel very nervous.
     


     "Ranma, Ranma-neechan!" 
     Ranma looked across the room to see both Tenchi and Sasami
gesturing at Ayeka and her, wildly, pointing at the TV set.
     "It's her, the girl, Shampoo!" Tenchi yelled across at Ranma.
     "What?" Ranma yelled, sprinting across the room to stand in
front of the TV.  Sure enough, there in grainy black and white was
Shampoo.  She was holding a familiar sword under the chin of a
weasely looking man.  He did not seem to find the fact the sword was
missing about ten inches from its tip very reassuring, if the sweat on
his face was any indication.  Ranma listened to what the news reader
was saying. 
     "The pilot of the small hijacked plane was known to police. 
Unconfirmed sources inform us he was being investigated for flying
contraband into China.  Speculation is that it might be a rival gang
involved in the highjacking.  As of yet, the woman in the security
video has not been identified."
     The news reader went on to another story, and Ranma turned to
look at the others, a look of frustration on her face. "What the hell
was that all about?"
     Tenchi hurried to fill in the blanks.  "A small plane and its
pilot were hijacked from an airport near here.  They caught the
hijacker on video tape.  It was Shampoo wasn't it?"
     "Sure, but what the hell is she up to."
     "Going back to China."
     Everyone turned to look at Katsuhito.  "What do you mean?"
Ranma asked.
     "You heard the story.  The pilot is suspected of flying illegally
into China.  Amazon's might appear reckless, but they are born and
bred to be fighters, and a good fighter always knows where the back
door is.  My guess is that plane and pilot were Shampoo's back door
in case it was needed."
     "No way." Ranma murmured in a faint voice.  She looked as if
one of the main pillars of her world view had been knocked out from
under her.  "Shampoo ran away?"

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

     "Ryouko?  Yo, Ryouko, you up here?" Ranma called out while
standing on the roof in a defensive crouch.  She didn't trust the
mummy not to try something perverted.   Frankly, she would have
just as soon let her stay up here all night, but Tenchi had asked her.
     Trying to watch both ways at once, Ranma worked her way
down the roof peak, trying to pick out Ryouko's form in the
darkness.  "Where is she?" Ranma muttered to herself.  A familiar
sound reached her ears, and she gave a grimace of disgust.  Looking
around the chimney, she saw that sure enough, Ryouko was fast
asleep.  She was laying along the peak of the roof.  Her head propped
up on hand, her elbow resting on the roof.
     "Shit, and she had the nerve to bad mouth Kamidake and
Asaka." Ranma said.  "I bet she went out five minutes after coming
up here.  She's as lazy as Pop.  Well, if she likes sleeping up here so
much, I'll just let her catch her beauty sleep.  Lord knows she needs
it." Ranma watched Ryouko carefully, and the sleeping girl did not
even twitch.  "Hmph, guess she really is out of it." Ranma turned to
leave, but a sudden thought caused her to turn back around.  She
eyed the arm Ryouko was holding her head up with.  A speculative
gleam filled her eyes, and she drew back her foot.

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


     Tenchi heard a sudden loud bumping, and looked up toward the
ceiling where the noise seemed to be coming from.  His head moved
as his ears followed the noise as it progressed down the roof toward
the back of the house.  Just at the point where whatever was making
the noise reached the edge of the roof, there was a yell in an all
together too familiar voice, and then, a loud crashing sound as
something, or someone, and Tenchi had a very good idea who,
crashed into the bushes that lined the back of the house.
     A laugh behind him caused him to turn around to see Ranma
walking into the house.  A cat-eating-the-canary smile on her face. 
     "What happened?  What was that noise?" Tenchi asked,
dreading the answer.
     "Oh Ryouko fell asleep on watch, and when I woke her up, she
lost her balance."
     Tenchi grimaced, he really wished Ranma wouldn't aggravate
Ryouko.  He opened his mouth to say this, when Ranma put her
hands behind her back and stretched.
     "Man, it's been a long day," she said.  "I'm about ready to
catch some sleep.  Yo?  Tenchi?  What's wrong with you?"
     "Nothing." Tenchi mumbled, his back turned toward Ranma,
and his hand holding his nose.  Ranma was still wearing his shirt,
and the buttons really did not hold the front together that well, as her
stretch had proven very graphically.
     "Ranma!" Ayeka said in an annoyed tone from across the
room.  "You really should be more careful.  Tenchi-sama may be
your iinazuke, but you should behave more modestly around him."
     "Huu," Ranma grunted, then looked down at her exposed front. 
"Oh, sorry," she said with a shrug, which did interesting things to
her upper body.  Fortunately for Tenchi, his back was still turned
toward her.
     "Meow"
     Ranma stiffened, a shudder running through her body.  Then,
she visibly forced herself to relax.  "Man kid," she said.  "I'll sure be
glad when you grow out of that body." Ranma turned, a strained
smile on her face.  The smile vanished as she saw not the expected
cabbit, but a small black cat with a bell around her neck.
     "C...c...c...cat!" Ranma shrieked.
     
     Tenchi turned around at the first stuttered c, and was just in
time to catch Ranma, as she jumped into his arms, and wrapped her
arms around his head in a panic.  Tenchi resisted for a minute, then
he keeled over, a strange expression on his face.  Having lost that
refuge, Ranma raced from the room, the black cat in full pursuit.

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


     Noboyuki Masaki was feeling more than a little weary, and a
bit lonely.  It had been a long day, and doing the commute home
alone was strange.  He had gotten use to Genma's company, and was
surprised to find himself missing it.  "Oh well," he told himself,
"you're just going to have to get use to going to work by yourself
again." He shifted the large, brown-paper bag he was carrying in one
hand, to the other hand, and kept putting one foot in front of the
other.

     Noboyuki, crested the last hill, and stopped at the top of the
ridge as he usually did to look out over the valley that was the new
site of his home.  It was, as always, a beautiful sight.  The stars and
moon overhead reflected of the symmetrical lake in front of the
house, and the combined light reflected off his home, giving the
whole setting a fairy tale quality.  Not inappropriate considering his
house guests.
     He suddenly frowned as he noticed something was wrong with
the familiar picture.  The house was not quite right.  From this
distance, in the dim light from the night sky, he could not quite
make out what was wrong, but something was most definitely
unusual.  He stepped out on the path, and all trace of lethargy
vanished as he hurried toward home.


     Noboyuki pulled up, and stared in shock at the house. It looked
. . . melted.  As if the lower walls had not been able to fully support
the upper half, and it had slumped down on itself.  Eyes glazed, he
shuffled toward the house.  As he got closer, he could see that the
remains of the lower walls scattered all around the remaining bits of
the house, they looked like so much wood shavings.  Only the few
scattered bits and pieces that still retained their shape gave away
what they had once been.


     Noboyuki reached the outside wall, and stood staring at the
window in front of him, the window that used to grace one of the
upstairs rooms, and which now graced the same room, but on a
slightly lower level.
     "My house." Noboyuki almost whimpered.  Leaning forward,
he stuck his head in through the window, and surveyed the room on
the other side.  The look of shock on his face disappeared, to be
replaced by another look of shock, but this one of the utmost
pleasure. 
     Looking up at the stars, he murmured in a voice filled with
barely restrained glee.  "Oh my darling, if you could only see your
son now." Tears ran down his face, as he tried to figure out where
his video camera was in the newly remodeled house. 
     
     A few minutes later, Noboyuki was looking through the
viewfinder at the scene that had made him forget totally the
destruction of his house.  There was Tenchi, laying on a futon. 
Beside him, her head resting on his chest, was the cyan-haired girl
Ryouko.  On a futon next to Tenchi, lay the Princess, Ayeka, her
sister Sasami cuddled up against her.
     Best of all however, was the last female guest.  Between Ayeka
and Tenchi, the form of Ranma was curled up, her head laying on
Tenchi's chest, inches from Ryouko's, some sort of stuffed animal
cradled in her arms.  
     And just to make Noboyuki's life complete, all Ranma seemed
to be wearing was one of Tenchi's shirts, which had a very shredded
quality to it.
     "What a man.  You would be so proud of him if you could see
him now dear," Noboyuki blubbered.  Then, he got down to the
serious business of recording his son's manliness for posterity.

     Somewhere in the rubble, the TV set, which had miraculously 
survived the house's destruction, droned on.  It went unheard by the
sleeping people, and ignored by Nobuyuki, who had far more
important matters on his mind.

     "Hey panda fans, this just in, our mysterious wanderer has
made a reappearance after going missing for two weeks.  He was
seen in the Nerima ward just hours ago.  No sign of his cute sidekick
however.  Sorry boys." 



     Well, that wraps up another chapter of TARTF.
     Sorry I've been so long.  Real life sort of stomped on my free
time. 
     
     If you enjoyed this story, be sure to catch,  Ryouga Hibiki, Lost
is Space.
     The companion story to this.  
     It can be found at most of the nice people's sites that carry
TARTF.
     <http://www.anime.usacomputers.net/~dragon/>
     <http://members.xoom.com/gensao/>
     <http://www.fortunecity.com/marina/thunder/181/ccc.html>
     <http://home.one.net/~gorlando/Anime/index.html>


As always, comments or death threats accepted gladly, Comments
being the more welcome.

Your remarks matter.  If you dislike something, or would like to see
something happen, let me know.
I can't promise I'll use your idea, but it will go into the mess that is
my mind, and who knows what might come out.


Many thanks to my various pre-readers, who gentle ways with the
cattle prods keep me motivated.
And a special thanks to Wade Tritschler.  If it were not for him, it is
very unlikely I would be able to write with even as little ability as I
do. 
So now you know who to blame.^_^
Please check out Wade's home page at
<http://www.mala.bc.ca/~tritscwa> 
He has some very good stories there.

     And last, I'd like to thank all the people who took the time to
write, and kick me in the ass. Without your encouragement, this
would not have been out even this fast.

Next Chapter: A bit of a departure.  We leave Ranma and the gang,
and snoop into what Nodoka, and her two tag along are up to.
      Join us for.Three girls?  Take a trip.

Then, another chapter of Ryouga Hibiki, Lost in Space, will be
winging its way toward you.

Ryouga, Lost in the land with no stars.

And then, finally we will be rejoining Tenchi and Ranma, and all the
gang as they head out for a nice relaxing, low key, visit to the hot
spring, and Ranma gets a new wardrobe. 

T.H. Tiger, 
schell@interlog.com


From: "T.H. Tiger" <schell@interlog.com>


     A fan fiction based on the works of RumikoTakahashi,  
     creator of Ranma 1/2, and, Masaki Kajishima, who I've been
     told is the creator of Tenchi. Hitoshi Okuda, is the artist and
     creator of the Tenchi Manga.
     Go figure.
     I have no rights to these characters.  Which should come as no
     surprise to anyone.
     
     Tenchi and Ranma, Together Forever!?  Chapter seven.
     China Girls , or
     Mother, Chef, and Violence.  Part one
     
     What's going on?
     This is an alternative universe story.
     Ranma was trapped as a girl from her first dip in the
     Nanniichuan.

     Why?  Read the earlier chapters of Tenchi and Ranma,
     Together Forever!?.  See below for some highlights.
     
     Unable to carry out his plan to engage Ranma to one of the
Tendo girls, Genma recalled that he had once promised Nobuyuki
Masaki that if he ever had a daughter, he would marry her to
Nobuyuki's son Tenchi.  Well, as it so happens, Genma has recently
acquired a daughter.

     Nodoka Saotome, along with Akane Tendo and Ukyou Kuonji
are on their way to Jusenkyo in hopes of finding out what has
happened to Ranma and Genma who are three months overdue.  At
least Nodoka and Ukyou are.  Akane just wants to get out of the
house for the summer before her father sinks the place with his
tears.  Not to mention escaping from the constant combat zone her
life has become due to a certain Kendoist, and her father's perverted
Master.

     Big thanks to the people who contributed C+C to this, their
     help has been greatly appreciated.
     Pieter Thomassen
     Jeffrey Hosmer
     Thiemo Gunther
     Matthew Campbell, who didn't let me get away with anything,
     and I thank him for it.
     And of course all the rest of the usual suspects.
     Jim, Eimii, and Wade, who have much to do with getting me
     to the point I am at as far as my skills as a writer go.
     Last, but not in the least, least, Green eyes, who's cheerleading
     has got me through many a dry spell. 
     
     If you have not read my TARTF side story featuring Ryouga in
Space, I recommend you do so before reading this. 

T.H.  Tiger
schell@interlog.com



     Space is big.  That may seem a trite statement, but the problem
is that the vocabulary of planet-born peoples simply can't cope with
the sheer scope of space.  Oh, they will spout off knowledgeably
about light years, and parsecs, but in the end, those words do not
truly convey that which is space.  

     By the time a race evolves to the point where they can truly
sum up all that is space in a few simply words, they have become so
insufferably smug that all the other people in the galaxy have long
since stopped listening to them.  As a result, there are no words
other then the mundane ones used by planet bound people to
describe how bleeding big space is.

     You would think therefore that the chances of two or more
spaceships running into each other in this massive void would be so
slim as to be not worth calculating the odds.  If you believe this you
have not often visited Jurai system 0315, or for that matter any
other area that has for any length of time been the territory a certain
Galaxy police detective has made her home.

     Currently, two small, small being a relative term of course,
space ships, were making their way toward the outskirts of said area
0315.  On board the trailing member of the small convoy, the
captain, and sole occupant was not happy.

     Agent P, special investigator for Jurai security, currently on
detached duty, looked at the blank sensor screens in front of him,
and felt like cursing.  So he did.  His carefully laid plans to catch the
kidnappers who had shanghaied his young charge looked like they
were going to come to nothing.  He had been sure that they would
try to recover him in order to cover their tracks, but such did not
look to be the case.  Which meant that he had wasted the better part
of a week on a wild goose chase. 

     Having turned the small cabin of his ship blue for a length of
time sufficient to some what relieve his feelings, he pressed an
intercom button.  The central most screen in front of him came to
life with the image of a human, a young male of the species.  He
was clad in a galaxy police issue coverall, but had his black shaggy
hair held back by a non-regulation black checked, yellow bandana. 
He looked startled for a second, and then smiled at the screen,
revealing canines that were in general more pronounced then was
usual for his particular species.

     "Agent P, what is it?" He asked, and then in a hopeful voice,
added, "Are we almost home?"
     "Should be there in a half a day at this rate." The captain of the
other ship assured him. The young man's face took on a relieved
look, and the sudden absence of stress lines on his face revealed just
how much strain he was under.  Agent P well understood his
feelings.  The boy was not used to space travel, and was especially
not use to being confined to a small area for such a long period. 
While he had tried to put up a brave front, P was familiar enough
with primate humanoids to decipher the claustrophobia that lurked
just beneath the surface of his companions mind.  Some of P's
disappointment disappeared in the face of the boy's obvious
pleasure.  The trip had not been a total waste, not as far as the boy
was concerned anyway.
 
     "I'll sure be glad to see home again it's been so ---" The boy's
words were suddenly cut off as the screen his face was on dissolved
into static.  At the same time warning sirens started howling in the
captain's cabin. 

     The calm and detached voice of the ship's computer began to
speak, giving details to explain the warnings.  "Caution, proximity
alert.  Ship exiting hyper space in close proximity.  Danger."  

     "Who is it?"

     "Scanning alien vessel . . . Scan complete.  Ship identified."  
     
     "Well, don't keep it to yourself."

     "Craft is that of most wanted criminal, Kagato, the Soja."  

     "Crap on a stick!"
     
     "Warning, extreme danger, automatic evasive maneuvers
begun."  
     
     "Quit stating the obvious.  Can we make it?" 

     "Warning, time not sufficient.  Soja's deflector array will
impact on us in thirty three point five seconds." 
     
     "Shit."  

     "Initiating emergency protocols."

     While the computer and himself had been speaking, agent P
had been doing his best to override the interference that was cutting
him off from the craft the young boy was on, to no avail.
He was still frantically working controls when several large valves
opened, and a pale blue fluid began to flow into the small cabin
with enough force to shatter the instrument screens.  Instinctively,
agent P held his breath when the liquid filled all the available space. 
He ruthlessly overrode those instincts, and took a deep breath,
drawing the liquid deep into his lungs. 
     A sensation of drowning filled him, and he had to fight to
control himself.  He continued to make normal breathing motions,
and eventually his body accepted that he was not drowning.  The
oxygen saturated liquid supplied all the oxygen that was necessary
to keep him alive.  It also provided a large level of protection
against sudden deceleration.  The type that happens when a small,
fast moving object, runs into a large, slow moving one.

     Agent P had time to think, 'I'm sorry boy,' and then the
emergency jump feature cut in, and the main life support module of
his ship vanished, leaving behind a gutted hulk that an instant later
shattered into atoms as the Soja's deflector screens ripped it apart. 

     Several miles away, the small auto courier ship agent P had
been following, the one with the young boy on board, was struck a
glancing blow by the trailing edge of Soja's deflector screen.  It
went spinning through space, shedding bits of its superstructure as it
did so.

     Inside the ship, the lone passenger was thrown around his
room as the inertial stabilizers failed under the heavy load.  Seen
from the outside, large dents began to appear in the hull adjacent to
his cabin.  The AI in control of the ship tried to compensate, but it
was a losing battle. Power relays failed under the load.  Bus bars
glowed incandescent, before exploding into a blinding cloud of
molten metal.  The ship began to break up, and in the boys cabin,
several of the large indentations in the hull ripped, spilling the
precious air inside, out into the void.

     Ryouga Hibiki felt the air sucked from his lungs, and they
burned with the need for oxygen, but that pain was as nothing
compared to the pain that filled the rest of his body.  He felt like he
was on fire, like he was freezing, like he was about to blow up, like
he was about to be squeezed into a small lump, and all at the same
time.  His brain tried to make sense of the messages Ryouga's body
was sending him, but was overwhelmed by the sheer quantity and
complexity of what was happening.  It grasped at one basic fact, at
one fundamental truth, and as the hull around him exploded
outward he screamed it at the silent star studded blackness of space.

     
     In space they say, no one can hear you scream.  This is not
entirely true.  It comes down to what you are using to scream, and
what that 'one', is using for ears.


     MIB headquarters, New York, New York. 

     Agent J, a tall thin black man, dressed in a black on black suit,
turned his head to the side and looked at the six inch long quivering
shard of black crystal that had just shaved a neat furrow in his
closely cut black hair.  The part of his mind that was still rational,
idly noted that the crystal was imbedded several inches into the dura
steel bulkhead that he was currently leaning against, and that dura
steel was in general much tougher then the average human head. 
The rest of his mind then went, "huma a huma a huma," and his
long legs slowly folded up till he was sitting on the floor.

     Agent J became aware of a voice speaking to him, and he
looked up to see a tall icy blond in a black suit very similar to his
standing over him.  Her mouth was moving, and from this he
assumed that the voice he was hearing was hers.  He focused.  "J! J!
Are you all right?" The woman's hands reached out and gingerly
fingered his scalp.  Something that at most any other time would
have been very welcome, but which drew no strong reaction from
him for several minutes this time.  It was only when she turned
away and spoke that he began to regain some level of concentration. 
"It's all right, it only took off a bit of hair.  He's fine as far as I can
see."
     "Fine!  Fine?" Agent J shouted, springing to his feet.  "L, do
you have any idea what it takes to get this level of perfection?" He
cried, running his hand through his hair and wincing when it crossed
the furrow the piece of crystal had left behind. 
     "Eight fifty?" A voice answered from behind J, and he
turned to scowl at his craggy faced partner, K, who had just walked
up. 
     "I wish. This cost me fifty big ones.  Oh man," J moaned,
trying to see himself in the shiny surface of the door, "and I had a
date tonight too." His eyes suddenly fell on the cause of this whole
situation, the black crystal shard.  "Hey, what is this thing any way? 
I'd sort of like to know what almost did in my Mama's favorite
boy."
     "That," growled a voice from the direction of the main floor,
as Z, the director, made his presence known  "Is the single largest
remaining piece of what used to be the most expensive
communications device in MIB central.  An instantaneous
communicator.  And what I want to know is how the bloody blue
blazes this happened."
     "It was an overload sir," L answered.  "Some sort of signal
came in that set up a dissonance in the crystal, and before we could
dampen it, it shattered."
     "What was the signal?" K inquired.
     "The twins are working on it.  We should . . . oh, looks like
this is it." L said, nodding toward a white coated tech who was
hurrying toward them, or more specifically Z, who took the sheet of
paper he was carrying. 
     Z perused the message for several minutes, his heavy grey
eyebrows drawing together in a single furry line across his brow. 
"What is it?" J inquired.  "It in some sort of weird alien code?"

     "No!" Z said shortly, "it's not in code, it's not even alien.  It
was originally in Japanese, but the lab boys translated." He handed
the letter to J, who read it and then looked at the other three agents
with a puzzled look on his face. 

     "All right, I'll bite, who or what is this Ranma dude, and what
is all, his, her, or its, fault?"




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


     Plum, who was filling in for the Jusenkyo guide, her father, 
looked over the dusty travelers standing in front of her.  An older
woman, dressed in a practical traveling kimono.  A young girl,
dressed every bit as unisex as Plum herself.  Good stout trousers,
and a heavy, long-sleeved cotton top that all but obscured her
figure.  The only concession she made to her femininity was the
long shiny black hair that was drawn back into a single heavy pony
tail that fell half way down her back.
     Last, and in Plum's opinion, definitely not least, was a very
handsome boy.  He was a little taller then the older woman, with a
build and face to die for.  His long chestnut hair was also drawn
back in a pony tail, though not quite as long as the younger girl.  He
had some sort of heavy, large-bladed weapon strapped to his back,
and a bandolier of what Plum assumed were throwing weapons
hanging diagonally across his chest.  His eyes were a lovely
sandalwood brown that a girl could easily lose herself in for days at
a time.

     While Plum was checking him out, he, and the two women
with him were in turn looking her over.  They saw a young girl,
about as old as the two younger members of their party, dressed in
an oversized, and very rumpled, Chinese Mao uniform.  Her fine
brown hair was drawn back severely in a tight braid that fell half
way down her back.  Belying the severity of her hair style, she wore
two bright red hair ornaments on either side of her head.  They
made a vivid splash of color on her otherwise drab exterior.  Her
eyes were lively and quick, and seemed to sparkle with delight and
joy.  A marked contrast to the way the three visitors were currently
feeling.

     Having looked the visitors over, Plum, for the first time by
herself, launched into the  delivery of the traditional greeting. 
"Welcome to legendary training ground of Jusenkyo.  Here be many
tragic tales . . . "  Plum had said this so often in practice, she had no
need to think about it.  So while her mouth worked on autopilot, she
surreptitiously checked out the cute guy.  To think she'd been mad
at her father when he had drafted her to look after the valley while
he took some other customers around to some of the local hot
springs. On a monkey hunt of all things.  This was suppose to be
their time together.  She hardly ever got to see him as it was,
without him running off like that. How was she ever going to learn
all she needed to know if he never taught her? Well, now it looked
like an absentee father was going to turn out to be a plus, and didn't
it ever serve him right.  This would teach him to try and keep her
away from cute guys.

     "Young lady!" A firm voice said, pulling Plum back from a
just started daydream involving the handsome boy in front of her,
some moonlight, and rice wine.  Plum blushed as she realized the
older lady had been addressing her for some time, and that she
herself had long since stopped talking.

     "So sorry, what you say?" She asked politely, while inside she
writhed in embarrassment at the thought of what the cute guy must
think of her distracted air.  He must think her a little kid, to get
distracted so easily,  Plum thought to herself.  She vowed to act her
apparent age from now on.  They would have no reason to find fault
with her. 

     The older woman was again the one who spoke to her.  "We
are looking for two people, a young boy and his father.  My
husband and son.  They would have been here about three and a half
months ago.  We have been tracing their journey.  We know that
they were in the village an hour north of here at that time, and that
they were coming here from there."
     "This one is so sorry.  This one was not here at that time. 
Honorable father is official guide.  This one has only been here for
last two weeks." 

     Plum sighed to herself. Two, long, boring, dreary, lonely, boy
deprived weeks.  Her father was going to owe her big time.  Of
course, if her father was here, the last thing on her mind would be
boys, she thought with a sigh of regret.  Either way she couldn't
seem to catch a break.  Her mother watched her like a hawk at
home, and her father was just as bad in the valley.  Now, here was a
handsome guy, and no father or mother to send her back to play
with her dolls, and he had two other women with him already. 
Well, she thought with some hope, maybe her chances weren't fully
blown.  The older woman was likely his mother, or some other
female relative.  As for the black haired girl.  Well, she was hardly
what Plum would call competition.  She was almost as flat as a boy. 
Once the cute guy got a load of her assets, the black haired girl
would be eating her dust.

     The older woman seemed to slump after hearing Plum had no
news of her husband and son, and that drew Plum back to her
duties.  She realized that more than the journey was responsible for
the worn look on the older woman's face.  Plum's father had always
told her to pay close attention to the people who came to the
springs.  To try and judge not only their pocketbooks, but their
emotional state.  It saved a great deal of trouble in the long run if
you could detect the ones who were likely to take a head long dive
into one of the pools as a rather round about way of ending it all. 
Of course, as her father even more frequently said, there was
nothing you could do about the damn fools who were the most
frequent victims of the pools of sorrow, but at least you could try to
head off the crazy ones.
     Plum did not think this one was crazy, but she was clearly
under a great deal of strain.  Plum's lack of information had only
added to that from the looks of things.  
     Plum hastened to offer what reassurance she could. "This one
is sorry to distress you.  If you wish to wait, honorable father will be
back in a day or so.  You may ask him about the young man and his
father." 

     Actually, Plum had no idea how long her father was going to
be.  How long did it take to spray a bunch of monkeys with cold
water anyway?

     "Thank you.  Is there somewhere safe we can camp while we
wait?  We have heard that this area is dangerous."

     Plum blinked in surprise.  A cautious person visiting Jusenkyo. 
That was very nearly unheard of.  Except of course, for those few
magic users who came here to gather the plants that grew nowhere
else.  For a second she was uncertain of what to suggest.  She'd love
to offer the cute guy the shelter of the guide hut, but four people
would be a bit crowded in the one room shack.  Somehow, she
didn't think he'd be agreeable to sharing it with her while his
companions camped outside.  
     She could send them back to the village they had come from. 
Then, she could come and get them when her father came back.  If
she did that however, one of those boy crazy girls in the village
would latch onto the cute guy.  No way could she let that happen. 
Then, inspiration hit.  "At end of valley is safe area.  Many years
ago, side of mountain fall off.  Cover everything.  No springs there. 
You wait for honorable father there, yes?"

     "Thank you that would be fine.  Could you show us the way
please?" 
     
     Plum gladly escorted them down to the proposed camp site. 
As she skipped along beside the older woman who said her name
was Nodoka, she delivered the standard lecture on the springs, and
the various curses of the ones they passed.  As usual, the three
people did not believe a word of it.  She sighed to herself.  She had
once asked her father why he did not do demonstrations.  Tossing a
mouse or something similar into one of the springs would save so
much time and bother.
     He had not taken the suggestion well, and she had ended up
receiving a stern, and very long, lecture on how wrong it was to
inflict a curse on an innocent animal, especially if you used one of
the human springs.  "Besides," he had finished with, "it would do
no good.  The watchers would just assume it was some sort of trick,
and would learn nothing from it.  You would have harmed the
creature for no gain." Having heard tales of the fools her father had
met over the years, Plum had to concede that he more than likely
had the right of the matter.  Fortunately, these three did not seem to
have any interest in the valley's reputation as a training ground, and
so it was unlikely she would have to deal with the consequences of
their disbelief.  Or so she tried to convince herself.

     When they reached their goal, Plum helped them to set up their
tents and gear, trying to stay as close to the good looking young boy
as she could.  She was a bit dismayed to find that he was sharing a
tent with the young girl.  However, after observing them together,
she came to the conclusion they must be brother and sister.  Which
likely made the older woman their mother.  They certainly
displayed little in the way of affection for each other.  Indeed, the
younger girl seemed to be looking at the boy with every indication
of distaste.  A feeling Plum was very familiar with.  She felt much
the same way about her male cousins.  She resumed helping with
the setup, and started to hum a happy tune as she did all she could
to attract the good looking boy's attention. Eventually however, the
camp was set up, and she could find no more excuses to stay.  
     Much to Plum's dissatisfaction, despite her every effort, she
had not succeeded in drawing more then a passing look from the
cute guy.  She decided it was all the fault of the stupid uniform her
father insisted she wear when she was here.  Bad enough that it was
so drab, but it was several sizes too big on top of that.  No wonder
the boy hadn't given her a second look.  He probably didn't even
know she was a girl.  
     Well, father might like sucking up to the local political officer,
but she had a life.  Or at least she would have, if she didn't have to
wear butt ugly outfits day in and day out.  She vowed to hunt
through her meager wardrobe for something that would knock the
cute guy's eyes out.  
     Tomorrow when she came back to take them on a tour of the
springs, he would see what a real woman looked like.  That little
silk number with the side cut to here, that she had stolen from her
mother's trunk, and kept hidden from her father, ought to do the
trick.  One look at her in that, and he'd have no doubts that she was
a full grown woman.



     "Well, that must make you feel pretty good about yourself."
Akane said sarcastically, as she watched the female guide walking
away.
     Ukyou turned to stare at Akane, a questioning look on her
face, "What?"
     "The way the little bimbo was practically  drooling over you."
     "I didn't really notice." Ukyou said, but the faint look of
discomfort on her face belied her words.
     "Oh please, she couldn't have been more obvious without
stripping down and jumping you.  Are you sure you don't like it?"
Akane asked suspiciously.  
     Ukyou sighed.  Akane was about a subtle as a brick to the
head.  She'd been trying to find out if Ukyou was gay for the last
four days.  Ukyou had been hard pressed to keep her temper. It was
all the more disturbing because of her own self-doubt on the
subject.  "No, I don't like it, but it comes with the territory.  I
sometimes think that if I did want the attention, I wouldn't get it.  I
think the fact that I don't drool, or bleed from the nose, every time a
cute girl looks at me, makes them all the more interested."
     "My, I'm glad to see you're so modest." Akane said
sarcastically.  
     Despite Akane's tone Ukyou was pleased to note there was a
very faint touch of humor present in her words.  And was that a
slight smile on her lips as she turned away?  Akane had started to
relax toward Ukyou after the first time they had used a public bath
together.  Ukyou had a hunch that Akane had not really believed her
to be female till then.  She was still prickly as hell, but at least now
she seemed to finally be coming around to regarding Ukyou as
something other then a pervert who was just waiting for a chance to
get her alone.  
     Ukyou's lips twitched toward a grin herself, as she
remembered that time in the bath.  How Akane had stared at her
suspiciously, not taking her own clothing off until Ukyou had
stripped down completely.  Anyone watching might have been
justified in thinking Akane was the pervert, considering how
intently she had checked Ukyou out.  That recollection brought
another one.  
     Ukyou wore boxers and tied her breasts down as part of her
disguise.  She wondered what Akane's excuse was?  While Akane's
bindings were not nearly  as stringent as Ukyou's, leaving the
contours of Akane's breasts visible, they had to be more
uncomfortable then a bra.  As for the boxers, well, Ukyou had to
admit that except when nature demanded otherwise, she actually
preferred boxers.  It could be that Akane just felt uncomfortable in
panties, and maybe found the breast bindings offered more support
for her martial arts training then even a sports bra could. Still,
Akane was a poor one to be casting stones, given her own
masculine attire.  Not to mention her attitude toward boys would
seem to indicate she might find girls more interesting herself.

     "Well, I think if you have no interest in girls, the least you
could do is let them know the truth before they make complete fools
of themselves." Akane said, showing she was not ready to let the
matter drop.  "That is unless there is some reason you don't want
them to stop?"
     Deciding she was not really up to another discussion of her
gender preference, Ukyou switched topics.  "Have you noticed
Saotome-san?  She looks so sad."
     Akane looked for a moment like she was going to resist
Ukyou's attempt to change the subject, but the chance to bad mouth
males proved too much for her.  "Well finding out your husband
and son are a pair of crooks would depress anyone.  We've found
three places where they either stayed or ate, and they ran out on the
bill at all three of them.  I'm thinking she's well rid of the pair of
them. Not to mention all the complaints we heard in the villages
when we asked around about them."
     Ukyou nodded, but she couldn't help but feel there was more
to it then that.  You would have thought petty thievery carried the
death penalty from the way Nodoka reacted to Genma and Ranma's
behavior.  As for herself, she had shrugged off the news.  It was
what she would have expected of the pair of them after all.
     "I'm going to go and do some practicing.  You want to come
along?" Akane asked, breaking into Ukyou's train of thought.
     "Sure.  You want to spar?" While they had trained along side
each other on several occasions, they had never sparred.  Ukyou was
feeling a bit rusty, and a good match would help that.  To her
surprise, Akane looked almost nervous at the suggestion.  
     "Ahh, no, I don't think that's a good idea right now  . . .  The
springs, we have to be careful.  If we got too caught up in our
sparring, we might lose track of just where we are, and fall in. 
Wouldn't want that would you?" Akane said this in the manner of
someone searching for an excuse not to do something, rather then if
she really believed what she was saying. 
     "Oh please, you don't mean to tell me you really believe in
that nonsense about them being cursed?"
     "Of course not!" Akane protested
     "Then come on." Ukyou wheedled.  She put on a smirk, and
pushed one of Akane's buttons.  "I promise I won't go too hard on
you."
     "Too hard on me!?" Akane said in outrage.  "Not on the best
day of your life!"
     "Care to prove that?" Ukyou said, her smirk growing more
insulting.  She drew her main weapon, the oversized battle spatula
she kept strapped to her back.  Looking like a metal version of a
typical baker's peel, it made a formidable weapon.  Ukyou handled
it with the competence of long familiarity, but on this occasion, she
did not mean to use it.  She leaned it against a nearby shoot of
bamboo instead.  "There, that should make things more even.  Or
would you like me to tie one hand behind my back as well?" As she
said this, Ukyou made a come-on gesture with her hand, while
falling into a defensive crouch.
     Akane glared at her.  Taking the metal baker's peel from its
position by the bamboo, she tossed it to the surprised chef.  "Fine,
but don't say I didn't warn you, and you'd better use this.  You're
going to need it."
     "Hee," Ukyou laughed.  "Now who's being modest?" Ukyou
held the baker's peel across her chest, and waited for Akane to
make the first move.
     Despite her words of confidence, Akane moved in hesitantly,
and her first few strikes were half hearted, and easily deflected by
Ukyou.  Ukyou for her part was puzzled, she had seen Akane
working out several times.  Her current effort did not even come
close to approaching the competence she had shown on those
occasions
     It was also annoying.  Akane had been bending their ears the
whole trip about how she'd been forced to fight countless duels
against boys who wanted to challenge her for a date.  Something set
up by a nut bar at her school.  Now it looked like that had been all
hot air.  Either that, or they had been total crap as fighters.  As for
the solo training katas Ukyou had seen, well,  it was easy for anyone
to look good fighting against thin air.  Now that she was facing a
true opponent, maybe Akane was showing her real skill level, or
maybe she was tanking it for some reason.  This last thought caused
Ukyou to frown in anger.  She didn't need any gifts.  She was more
then capable of holding her own in any situation.
     Ukyou decided to end this unsatisfying match early, and her
annoyance made her decide to do it in a way that would not be easy
on Akane's ego.  Moving in a smooth rhythm that could only come
from countless hours of practice, Ukyou went on the offensive.  She
lashed out with quick sudden moves of her baker's peel  while using
her legs to attack low when Akane parried high.  To her surprise, as
she began to really push the other girl, Ukyou suddenly found
Akane's style changing.  Her moves were no longer hesitant. 
Indeed, Akane was almost negligently parrying Ukyou's best
efforts.  She flowed aside from the main thrust of Ukyou's attacks,
while deflecting the baker's peel with a casual brush of her hand, or
a well-placed finger.  At the same time, she used both legs to
deflect, or parry, Ukyou's kicks.  
     Ukyou's eyes opened wide as she suddenly realized how
strong the other girl must be in order to so casually deflect the
heavy weapon.  Not to mention the kicks, which Ukyou knew from
past experience were more then adequate to break down the guard
of most martial artists.  
     Now she was annoyed for another reason.  Akane did not seem
to be taking her seriously at all.  First she barely tried, now even
though she was reacting much more positively to Ukyou's attack,
she still was not giving it her all.  While she was easily deflecting
Ukyou's best efforts, she was making no effort to counter punch.  
     Annoyed, Ukyou yelled out at her.  "Come on, attack me.  I'm
not a china doll." Akane only smiled tightly, and did not change her
style.  "Fine then!" Ukyou switched to one hand usage of her main
weapon.  She locked the end of the baker's peel into the crook of
her elbow for added leverage.  Then, with her free hand, she
plucked several throwing spatulas from her bandolier.  Akane's eyes
widened, and she tried to back off to gain maneuvering room. 
Before Akane could manage to foil her plan, Ukyou threw a spread
of the small weapons, designed to bracket the other girl and hold her
in place while Ukyou attacked simultaneously with her baker's peel. 
     It worked; pushed by the multiple threats, unable to dodge
without taking a hit, Akane had to go on the offensive.  She  threw a
punch that caught the incoming baker's peel square in the middle. 
The blow drove the weapon back toward Ukyou with a force that
was like nothing the Okinomiyaki chef had ever experienced 
before.  Ukyou felt a blow to her chest, and then was only  vaguely
aware of flying through the air.  
     The strange floating sensation ended with a splash as she
landed in one of the various pools dotting the valley, some thirty
yards away from where she and Akane had been sparring.  The
shock of the cold water cleared her dazed mind.  Her hands clutched
at the ball of pain that seemed to fill her chest and made it hard to
breathe.  She gasped, and drew in a mouthful of water. Choking and
sputtering, she scrambled for the shore of the pool, and was vaguely
aware of a hand grasping her collar.  The next instant, she was
flying through the air once more, this time propelled by the grip on
her top.  She had a blurred impression of Akane's worried, fearful
face hovering over her.  The other girl's mouth moved, and as if
from a great distance, Ukyou heard her asking if Ukyou was all
right, and apologizing for not being more careful.  Ukyou barely
registered this.  Her head was spinning, and her body felt heavy and
unwieldy.  Her wet clothes binding and pressing against her in
uncomfortable ways.

     "Akane, what happened?" Nodoka voice called out in concern.
Akane looked up from the dazed form of Ukyou, to see the older
woman rushing across the space between their campsite and her
present location.  
     "It's my fault." Akane said in a miserable tone of voice as
Nodoka reached them.  "I didn't pull my punch enough, and I
knocked Ukyou into a spring."
     "I thought you were going to stay clear of them?" Nodoka said
reprovingly.  "I know the guides explanation is ridiculous, but we
heard too many warnings about this place on the way here for there
not to be something wrong with them.  You were very careless. 
Ukyou may have been poisoned."
     "I'm sorry, but I thought we were far enough away.  I never
meant to hit her that hard.  It's been two weeks since  . . . " Akane
trailed off, and Nodoka looked at her with a question on her face.
     "Since what?"
     Akane looked away from her, and seemed flustered.  "It's
nothing.  I just thought I had more control then that.  I guess I was
wrong.  It's just  . . . " She trailed off, and her hand went to her face,
brushing against it as if checking for something.  It had the marks of
a reflexive move, and Nodoka recalled Akane making it frequently
during moments of stress over the last few days.  However, Akane
said nothing more, and Nodoka turned her attention toward Ukyou,
who was coughing up water, and attempting to sit up.  
     "Here, let me help you," Nodoka said.  Kneeling down, she
helped Ukyou assume a sitting position, and braced her in that pose
with a hand behind her shoulder.  "Are you all right?"
     "I'm fine, I was just surprised is all." Ukyou said in a strained
voice.  She looked across at the worried looking Akane, and said
reassuringly.  "I'll be fine in a little while.  That is one hell of a
punch you have there sugar.  Remind me to be more careful the next
time we spar."  She gave a small chuckle that was interrupted by yet
another coughing fit.  "At least I landed in something soft." She
finally managed to get out.
     "At least you didn't change into some sort of animal." Akane
joked, her face showing her relief that Ukyou was all right.  "Lets
get you back to the camp." Akane helped Ukyou to her feet,
showing no strain from having to support Ukyou's weight, and
helped the dazed girl back toward their tent.

     Nodoka followed behind, a worried look on her face.  She was
still not sure Ukyou was none the worse for the experience.  She
vowed to keep an eye on the girl, to make sure the water from the
spring had not poisoned her, or caused any other effect.  Despite her
determination to watch Ukyou closely, her eyes noted, but her brain
dismissed the fact, that Ukyou's sleeves and pants legs seemed to be
riding up a bit high, showing a strip of pale skin that was usually
sheltered from the sun.

********************************************
     
     "Nihao," a cheerful voice called out, causing Nodoka to look
up from the meal she was tending over the campfire.  Walking
toward their camp was Plum, the young girl who had guided them
earlier in the day.  
     "Hello dear.  Nice to see you again." Nodoka looked the young
girl over, taking note that she was dressed in a much more feminine
manner then she had been earlier in the day.  The dress was a bit
daring for Nodoka's taste, but at least it was a dress.  She wished
Ukyou and Akane would dress a little less manly.  If they were her
daughters  . . .  But they weren't, and she was hardly a shining
example of parenthood anyway.  Banishing these thoughts, she
asked Plum, "What can I do for you dear?"
     "This one is off duty." Plum lied.  "This one dropped by to see
if you settling in, and if this one could help with anything."  "She
looked around, and asked.  "Where are the others?"
     "Ukyou and Akane are over at the tent changing.  Ukyou got
covered in mud when she had her accident, and Akane got smeared
while helping her."
     So, his name is Akane, Plum thought to herself, jumping to
conclusions, based on her knowledge that there was only one girl in
the group other then the one she was currently talking too.  "What
happened to Ukyou, is she all right?" Plum asked, as an
afterthought.
     "She and Akane were sparring, and Akane knocked her into
one of the springs.  She was a bit shaken up, but--" Nodoka was cut
off when Plum practically screamed.
     "A spring!  What spring!?" 
     Nodoka was a bit taken aback by Plum's loud question, but
she remained calm.  Pointing at the spring in question, she said, "I
believe it was that one over there."
     "Oh no, how tragic," Plum said.  "To lose your womanhood so
young."  Inside, she was restraining an unworthy sense of glee.  Her
one fear concerning Akane was that despite her earlier wishful
hope, he might be involved with the rather mannish Ukyou.  If that
was the case now, and Ukyou was cursed to turn into a boy, then the
hunk would need a sympathetic, and female, shoulder to cry on.
     Nodoka was looking at her with a puzzled expression on her
face.  "What do you mean dear?  Why should falling into the spring
affect Ukyou's womanhood?" Nodoka's face brightened in
understanding.  "Oh, you mean that legend you were telling us
earlier.  You don't need to worry.  Nothing happened.  Ukyou did
not change into anything." Nodoka spoke in a light tone, almost
joking.  She expected Plum to join her in the joke, but instead she
looked very grave.
     "That spring is Nanniichuan, spring of drowned man. 
Whoever fall in that spring take body of a man who drowned there
fourteen hundred and fifty-year ago.  Very tragic tale."  Plum said
this as if by rote, and in a sort of sing song voice, then her tone
changed, and she spoke in her normal cadence.  "This one does not
wish to seem rude, but Ukyou look a little like boy to this one. 
Maybe you not notice.  Be very good if we tell what happened
before she find out on her own." Plum said this in a serious tone,
but inside she was wondering what sort of girl could not notice she
had turned into a boy.  Sure Ukyou was flat-chested, but not that
flat.
     Nodoka stared into Plum's face, a look of skepticism on her
face.  This was taking a joke a bit far.  Local stories were all very
well and good.  She was sure they helped the local economy a great
deal, but surely the girl could not expect Nodoka to take her
seriously.  Well, one way to settle this.  "Very well, why don't we
go and check out Ukyou, and see if she's been turned into a boy." 
Nodoka could not quite keep the condescension she felt out of her
voice, but Plum did not seem to notice, instead she headed toward
the tent the two girls were sharing.  Nodoka trailing along behind
her.
     They had barely taken three steps when a scream ripped
through the still valley air.  Not a scream of pain or grief or terror,
but one of out and out rage.  A voice that Nodoka recognized as
Akane in full outrage mode, screamed, "you filthy, perverted,
degenerate!  How dare you?"  
     The last time she had heard Akane that angry, a boy in Japan
had grabbed her bottom.  Nodoka started to hurry toward the tent,
afraid one of the local men had snuck into their camp.  She just
hopped she could get there before he was hurt too badly.  She
remembered how much effort it had taken to keep Akane off of the
other boy.  This could be bad.  There wasn't a strange green haired
girl, and a ridiculously strong brunette, to help her pull Akane off of
the boy this time.
     She didn't make it.  The side of the tent suddenly ripped open
as a body came flying through the air in a high trajectory that took it
over Plum and Nodoka's head.  The glance Nodoka got as it flew
overhead told her it was Ukyou.  A second later Akane came
storming out of the tent, literally glowing blue.  "Come back here
you pig!  I haven't even started you son-of-a-bitch!"
     "Stop!" Plum shouted, placing herself between the outraged
Akane and the sprawled figure of Ukyou, who Nodoka was running
toward.  "It not his fault you not listen to this one's warning.  If you
fall into Nanniichuan, it your own fault.  Besides," Plum added,
looking at Akane's heaving chest, "you already find out hot water
fix.  This one have to warn you, you get splashed with cold water,
you turn back into a boy."
     "What the hell are you babbling about?" Akane yelled at the
girl in her way.  Sending Plum staggering with a sweep of her arm,
she marched toward Ukyou, who was presently being overseen by a
shocked Nodoka.  
     Nodoka's shock could have been because of Akane's behavior,
but it wasn't, while this was the first time Akane had lashed out at
Ukyou, her anger was never far below the surface.  What had
caused Nodoka's shock was the sight of Ukyou's chest.  When she
had reached the fallen girl, her suit jacket had been open. 
Obviously because she had been about to change out of her wet
clothes, and the wrappings she wore around her chest had slipped
down around her waist, Ukyou no longer having the necessary
means of holding them in their usual place.  Nodoka stared at the
bare, and most definitely masculine chest thus revealed in stunned
surprise.


     "You bastard!" Akane yelled, reaching for Ukyou's throat,
intending to pull the stunned youth away from Nodoka.  
     "Akane!  Stop!" Nodoka said in a very sharp, no nonsense
tone.  She grasped Akane's wrist in her hand.  
     "No!  I won't!  That pervert has been laughing up his sleeve at
us all week.  He watched me change!  Hell!  He was in the
bathhouse with us.  He watched us both!  He even washed your
back!  How can you defend him?"
     Nodoka looked into the furious Akane's eyes, and saw little
sanity there, but the mere fact that she was able to restrain the angry
girl showed that somewhere, deep down, a seed of doubt must exist. 
The raw power she had witnessed, and the iron hard forearm she
was currently gripping proved to her that Akane was restraining
herself.  If she wanted to, she could easily brush Nodoka's efforts to
restrain her aside.
     "Akane think!  We've seen Ukyou nude!  You know she was a
girl, is a girl."
     "It was a trick, a stupid pervert trick!  I don't know how he did
it, but he did it."
     "You're being foolish!" Nodoka snapped out.  "You know
that's not possible! Ukyou may have washed my back, but you
washed hers.  Can you honestly say that you think she was wearing
a disguise?"
     Akane flushed at the reference to washing Ukyou's back, but
the reminder was enough to break her out of her cycle of rage and
denial.  The angry look on her face did not disappear, but it grew
confused.  Akane clenched her fists, pulling her arm free of
Nodoka, and took a step backward.  She wrapped her arms around
her chest, and Nodoka saw her knuckles go white as she gripped her
forearms tightly.  It was if she was trying to hold in an explosion. 
Finally, in a strangled voice she said.  "How?"

     Nodoka looked over at Plum, a sorrowful look on her face.  "It
would seem we should have taken the stories our guide told us more
seriously."
     "You can't be serious!" Akane demanded, "are you telling me
that the spring turned Ukyou into a boy!?"
     "Wait, wait, what you talk about?  You one fall in spring."
Plum's Japanese suffered as she tried to understand what was going
on.
     Akane looked at her in surprise, and repeated her earlier
comment.  "What the hell are you talking about?  Ukyou fell in the
spring, not me!"
     "As I remember it, you knocked me in." A rather weak voice
said.
     "Ukyou, you're awake!" Nodoka exclaimed, looking down at
the girl turned boy in her arms.  She helped him to sit up, and
almost his first reaction was to raise a hand to his chest, and pat it.  
     "It's true!" He said in a stunned voice, "I'm a boy."
     "Plum no understand what going on!  You always boy!"
     "No." Nodoka answered, "she merely dressed like one."
     Plum looked down at Ukyou as he lay sprawled on the ground,
a look of surprise on her face, the look that changed quickly to one
of embarrassment, and maybe a little anger and denial of her own. 
She snatched the kettle from the nearby campfire, and before
anyone realized what she was doing, dumped its contents over
Ukyou, fortunately missing Nodoka.
     "Owwwww, you crazy jackass!  Are you trying to boil me?"
The now female chef demanded.
     Plum did not reply, instead, she reached forward, and
hesitantly grasped one of the most prominent proofs of Ukyou's
current status.  She quickly snatched her hand away, and said in a
dismayed voice.  "Is true.  You is girl."  Her face turned a deep
shade of red.  

     Ukyou had gone rigid when Plum had grasped her, but only for
a second, even as Plum snatched her hands away as if burned,
Ukyou was replacing it with her own.  "I'm a girl again." she said,
her expression and tone of voice still rather stunned.
     Akane's expression was equally stunned, while Nodoka had a
stricken look on her face.  Speaking to Plum, but for the benefit of
the other two girls as well, Nodoka said.  "I think maybe you should
tell us the stories of this place again, and this time I can promise
you, we will listen most carefully."

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

     Out on the very edge of the earth's atmosphere, an object
about fifty feet in length was suddenly outlined in a pale corona as
it impinged on the upper wisps of air that made up the farthest
reaches of the planet's area of dominion.  Silhouetted by the light
caused from the friction between metal and air, it was revealed as a
rather elongated egg shape.  Its matte black surface peppered with
what might have been at one time a sophisticated telemetry array,
but which now consisted of nothing more then melted stubs of
metal.  
     As the alien object bit deeper into the atmosphere, it began to
tumble, shedding sections of its outer surface until it was
surrounded by a plummeting cloud of debris.  As it fell deeper and
deeper into the atmosphere, the debris trail became attenuated, and
formed a tail behind the craft, giving the object the appearance of a
comet.  Its trajectory was shallow, and so despite its precipitous
decent, it would take some time for it to reach its ultimate
destination.

     Somewhere on a small island in the South Pacific, in a dark
room lit only by the green glow of numerous tracking stations, a
man asked a question.
     "Well gentlemen, I'm waiting.  What is our bogey?  Is it a
another Russian satellite our new allies forgot to tell us was about to
fall?" The speaker was an older air force Major, he had _not_ been
sleeping when the alarm had gone off, and as a result, was rather
grumpy to have been gotten out of bed.  He was standing in a dimly
lit room, while all around him eager young officers peered into
glowing green screens that lit their faces up like extras from a
grade-B horror movie.
     The senior scope technician answered the Major's question.  "I
believe that is a negatory sir.  The back plot for the object shows it
to be from deep space, farther out then we or anyone else has
anything.  I make it to be a meteor sir."
     "Size?" The Major asked, a hint of tension in his voice. 
Congressmen had been getting a large number of inquires about
what they were doing to protect their constituents from giant
asteroids landing in their backyard swimming pools.  If something
of any size had slipped in this close on his watch without him being
aware of it till now  . . .  he shuddered slightly.  "Damn
Hollywood!" he muttered to himself.  
     After a few minutes studying his scope, the tech answered his
question regarding the size.  "It looks like a gravel pit sir.  Not solid,
just a mass of loose material.  Nothing to be worried about.  It's
already a fraction of its original size.  It's odds on whether any of it
actually reaches the ground."
     The Major heaved a sigh of relief, then asked the next
pertinent question.  "And if it does reach earth, where would that
be?"
     The senior scope man turned to one of his subordinates. 
"Finey?"
     Finey replied without lifting his head from his instrument.  "I
almost have it sir.  It's a bit tricky, every time it sheds a large chunk
it alters course.  It came in on a glancing trajectory.  A few miles
more and it would have missed us altogether.  It's going to orbit at
least twice before really biting into the atmosphere and coming
down.  Best I can make it out is somewhere in northeastern China."
     "China eh," the Major rubbed his chin for a second.  "Any
chance it could change course enough to bring it into our sphere of
concern."
     "If it does sir, it won't be our problem.  If it shifts trajectories
that much the, pardon me sir, shit will hit the fan.  The only way it
could change course that radically would be if it was a lot more then
it seems."
     "Huh," the Major grunted, "see your point.  Well, I'm going
back to bed.  If it does happen to change course that much, do give
the lard butts over at Cheyenne mountain a call would you."
     "Will do sir." The lieutenant snapped off a salute as the Major
left the room, then turned back to his scope.  Unseen by anyone, he
crossed his fingers.  He might have been senior to everyone left in
the room, but he still had the same dreams that had placed him in
his present position.  He sat watching the screen, and hopping the
small blip would alter its trajectory in a way that no falling rock
ever would.

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

     Half a world away, the young lieutenant would have been in
seventh heaven if he could have seen the two creatures, who would
not have looked out of place in certain Japanese anime, and who at
that very moment were observing the self same meteor as himself.
They however were of a different impression as to it's nature. An
opinion they had shared with the stocky white haired man standing
in front of their common desk. 

     "So, this originated from the same area as the disturbance that
blew our crystal radio. Do you have an I.D. on it?"
     The twins, as they were known, garbled a string of remarks at
their boss, who frowned at their reply.
     "You can't detect anything? With our equipment? Are you
sure it's not just a meteor?"
     This time the gargling had a decidedly huffy tone.
     "Very well, you're the experts, keep an eye on it, and we'll
send a team to the touchdown point. Wherever that ends up being."
The white haired man said placatingly, as he headed back to his
office. 

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

     The Jusenkyo Guide made a very great production of lighting
his pipe, using his cupped hands to hide the expression of mirth on
his face.  Two weeks ago he had dropped a suggestion in Prince
Herb's ear to the effect that the monkey he and his followers had
dunked in the Nyanniichuan might not actually have been splashed
by the water from the Chiisuiton.  The guide suggested that in the
excitement of the moment, combined with the fog, they might have
missed with the ladle.  In that case, if the monkey had belonged to
one of the troops that frequented some of the local hot springs, it
might have rejoined them.  It could be the reason they could not
find it, was that it was no longer a girl.  If he had known the
outcome was going to be so humorous, he would have suggested it
ages ago.
     Of course, the real reason he had suggested it was to get Herb
away from Jusenkyo while Plum was visiting.  He had hated to
leave her alone at the spring, but she was very mature for her age. 
Too mature.  That was the problem. The prince's character had
improved remarkably in the last three months, but he still was not
someone who the guide was eager to have his daughter meet.  Given
Plum's unfortunately precocious attitude toward the male sex, and
Herb and his follower's fascination with female breasts, he just had
not thought it a good combination.  He smiled a little to himself. 
How Herb could remain so fascinated by female breasts when he
himself had such a spectacular set, was a continuing source of
mystery to him.
     Be that as it may, his suggestion had worked, and far better
then he had expected.  He watched as Mint and Lime cornered one
of the monkeys belonging to the current troop they were checking. 
The monkey watched warily as Lime approached, a heavy canvas
drop cloth in his hands.  While his attention was distracted, Mint
moved into position.  Like Lime, Mint too had a large piece of
canvas in his hands, but his had been converted to a large bag
stuffed with clothing.  
     When Lime felt he was close enough, he tossed his drop cloth
toward the monkey, who dogged nimbly out of the way, chattering
his outrage over the tiger boy's behavior.  While the monkey was
distracted, Mint made his move.  Blurring into motion, the wolf boy
swung the large soft bundle in his hands, and belted the monkey
high into the air.  The monkey let out a shriek of fright, and clawed
futilely at nothing as he described a high arc, straight toward Lime,
who had recovered his drop cloth, and now held it out to receive his
prey.
     With a despairing wail, the monkey landed in the middle of the
cloth, and before he could scramble to freedom, Lime closed it
around his body, leaving only the monkey's woebegone face clear
of its embrace.  The monkey's cries were echoed by his brothers
and sisters who were currently penned up in a large bamboo cage
built against the side of the small valley.  
     "Herb-sama, Herb-sama, we have him, we have him." Lime
and Mint cried out in excitement.  The pair of them had grown quite
expert at catching the little creatures.  Indeed, they had grown so
obsessed with catching the monkeys, staying up late at night to
devise new methods, the Guide sometimes thought they had totally
forgotten why they were doing it in the first place.  
     Down below them, next to the hot spring, Herb stood up,
having heard their cries of triumph.  He watched as Lime and Mint
approached with their latest captive.  Hefting a large, impressive
gun in his hands, he aimed it toward Lime.  Depressing the trigger,
he sent a high pressure stream of water from the fluorescent green
water gun in his hands, and thoroughly soaked both Lime and the
monkey.
     The Guide noted that Herb seemed to be having trouble with
his aim, far more of the water landed on Lime then on the monkey,
and for that matter, he continued the spray for far longer then was
really necessary to prove that the Monkey was not the one they were
looking for.  
     
     There had originally been three of the high tech American
water guns, but after about the twentieth 'accidental' dousing in the
first three hours, Herb had 'accidentally' chi blasted Mint and
Lime's guns into tiny little plastic pieces.  

     The now sodden Lime looked down at the monkey in his arms
and stated the obvious.  <"This isn't it either Herb-sama.">
     <"So I see, put it with the rest.  How many more of them are
there at this spring?"> Herb asked Mint.
     <"Only a few more Herb-sama, no more then five or six.">
     <"Good."> He looked up at the sun, just inching up over the
mountain top.  <"We should be able to check them all in the next
hour or so.  Then we can move onto the next hot spring, and have
our camp set up by tonight.">
     Lime had by then reached the cage holding the other monkeys. 
Using a double door system they had devised after one too many
prison breaks, he inserted the monkey in with his fellows.  
     They had originally simply sprayed the monkeys out in the
open.  While this was certainly much faster then catching and
caging them, it had proven almost impossibly to tell which monkeys
they had sprayed, and which they had not.  So the only way to
eliminate each troop was to methodically capture each monkey, test,
and then cage them.  Once they had tested all the monkeys at a
given spring, they would release them, and move onto the next.  The
released monkeys would not allow a strange monkey into their
territory.  So, in this manner they were slowly able to eliminate all
the various hot spring troops.  Of course matters would have been a
lot simpler if they could have remembered which troop the monkey
they had used came from in the first place.  Unfortunately Lime and
Mint had been given the job of procuring the original . . . 
     As Mint started to get the evening meal ready, Herb
walked over to the Guide.  Once again the Guide took note of how
much the Prince had changed.  He had a smile on his face, and an
attitude of relaxed good cheer.  Where before he had been sour and
grumpy over his exile, he now seemed to truly enjoy being away
from the tightly controlled environment of his father's household. 
The Guide thought to himself that Comb, the Amazon healer, had
done this whole region a favor when she had saved the life of young
Herb's father.  If the sickness had carried his father off, Herb would
have become ruler without the maturity the role required.  He had a
long way to go yet, but the Guide could already see signs that he
would be a good emperor when the time came.
     <"The hunt goes well."> Herb said, as he reached the Guide.
     <"That is good to hear.">
     The cheerful look suddenly departed Herb's face, and he sat
down beside the Guide with a sigh.  <"But there is only one more
spring, and I fear our luck will be little better there."> Herb shook
his head, and said in a slightly depressed voice.  <"I don't know
what we are going to do next.  The beast has vanished from the face
of the Earth.  I fear the poor creature never survived.  Trapped in a
body not its own, I grow more convinced every day that it perished. 
If we are lucky, we may find its bones, but I greatly fear that is all
we will ever find.">
     The Guide was pleased to see that Herb seemed genuinely sad,
not just at his failure, but at the fate of the poor unfortunate monkey
as well.  The boy had indeed matured.  He briefly contemplated
telling Herb the truth.  That the monkey had never been cursed. 
That it was a young boy from Japan who had been the girl Herb had
seen, and had assumed to be the monkey.  He sighed to himself
regretfully.  Unfortunately he had let the matter go too far.  It was
now much too late to reveal the truth to Herb.  Doing so would
likely undo all the good his exile had done the young prince. 
Instead he commiserated with the young man.  <"You have tried
your best.  I'm sure your father will not hold you to your exile.">
     Herb looked over at him, a wry smile on his face, and opened
his mouth to reply, but before he could say a word, a bright light
flooded the narrow valley they were in as a ball of fire flashed
across the top of it.  A second later a thunderous crash rocked their
campsite, as the sonic boom trailing the object assaulted their
eardrums, and sent all the captive monkeys into  paroxysms of
fright.  They screamed and leaped from one side of the cage to the
other, rocking the bamboo structure back and forth till the Guide
feared it would break.  
     <"What in all the heavens?"> Herb said, rising to his feet, and
staring in the direction the ball of fire had vanished.  The Guide
followed his gaze, and felt a sinking sensation as he realized the
direction the fire ball was heading in.  They were two days travel by
rough mountain trails from Jusenkyo, and his heart suddenly beat
heavily in his chest as he contemplated his daughter there by
herself.  
     Herb had also realized what direction the comet was traveling
in.  <"Mint!"> He shouted out at the top of his voice.
     <"Yes Herb-sama."> The wolf boy cried out as he rushed up
to his liege lord.  His eyes also were looking in the direction the fire
ball had disappeared to.
     <"You are to make for Jusenkyo as fast as you can.  Tell
anyone there that we are on our way.  If help is needed, give what
you can.  Now go!">
     Mint looked startled for a second, then his eyes widened as he
once again looked after the vanished fire ball.  Looking back at
Herb, he made the sketchiest of bows, turned, and made haste with
all his considerable speed toward Jusenkyo.  
     <"Lime!"> Herb yelled again.
     <"Yes Herb-Sama!"> Lime yelled back from where he was
trying to hold together the monkey cage.  
     <"Release the monkeys.  Pack our gear.  We leave for
Jusenkyo now.">
     The Guide felt emotions choke him up, <"My lord, thank
you">
     Herb brushed him off, going to help Lime with the camp gear. 
Over his shoulder he called back.  <"It is nothing.  You would be
useless as a guide with this on your mind.  The sooner we can ease
your fears, the sooner you can get back to doing your duty to me.">
     The Guide could only look after him in amazement.  The
Prince had changed far more then he had suspected.  Maybe it
would not be such a bad thing if he were to meet Plum after all. 
Musing on that, he made haste to pack up his own small bag.  The
comet had likely missed Jusenkyo, but his mind would not rest easy
till he knew for sure.

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


     Akane came out of the tent she shared with Ukyou, and looked
across the valley toward where a small figure could just barely be
made out in the early mountain dawn.  Ukyou had not come to bed
last night.  Had spent the whole night, as a matter of fact, sitting on
the same rock, her arms wrapped around her staring at nothing. 
Nodoka had tried to get her to come in for supper, but had been
rebuffed.  
     A look of anger flickered across Akane's face, but was quickly
replaced by a look of guilt.  With a sigh, she started out toward the
distant figure.  She had been wracking her brains for a solution to
Ukyou's problem all night, and had not gotten any more sleep then
the cursed girl.  She thought she had come up with something, but
she had to confront Ukyou to tell the other girl of it, and she was not
looking forward to that.

     "Ukyou?" Akane asked in a tentative voice.
     "Go away!" Ukyou said, her voice strained with suppressed
anger.
     Akane flared up at Ukyou's tone, her hair trigger temper
reacting like always.  She hadn't always been that bad, but two
months of having her natural inclination to help someone in distress
used against her had made her overly sensitive.  She had only
recently started to realize just how bad she had become.  The looks
Nodoka and Ukyou had directed her way during this trip had not
gone unnoticed, despite what they might have thought.  The
expression on their faces when she went on one of her rants was a
painful thing to see.  
     More and more Akane was finding she didn't much like what
she had become. She had several times vowed to control herself. 
Unfortunately, it had proven far more difficult then she had thought
it would be.  There was always some pervert ready to make a
comment, or to try something funny.  She gritted her teeth, and
brought her anger under control.  She would not flare up.  Ukyou
had a valid reason to be upset, she told herself.
"I only want to help.  I've been thinking and  . . . "
     "Haven't you helped enough?" Ukyou interrupted, speaking 
in a bitter voice.  She turned her face toward Akane, and the other
girl was shocked by the haunted look in Ukyou's red rimmed eyes.
     A flair of guilt flashed through Akane, and as is to often the
case with people, she substituted something else for it, goaded on
by Ukyou's words. Akane's temper flared again, washing away all
her good intentions in the comfortable familiar rush of hot anger.  It
wasn't like it was all her fault, she'd tried to refuse Ukyou's
challenge, but the other girl wouldn't take no for an answer.  She
said as much to Ukyou.

     "Don't go pushing this on me.  You're the one who insisted we
spar."
     "That was before I knew you were a monster." Ukyou shot
back.
     Akane flinched back from her, her face stricken, shocked out
of her comforting anger by the voicing of a thought that had been
floating in the back of her own mind for some time now.  "A
monster?"
     "No one human could do what you did.  You knocked me
thirty yards with a single punch.  Just what the hell are you Akane? 
Some sort of Oni who goes around ruining people's lives?"
     Once again the comfortable heat rose up in Akane.  Washing
away her fears and uncertainties.  "You have no idea what you're
talking about!  So I'm strong!  Does that make me a monster?  You
have no idea of what I've gone through.  Don't you dare call me a
monster!"
     "What, what have you gone through that is so awful?  What
could have made you this way?  A few challenges at school
everyday?  That's crap."
     "It was a lot more then that!"
     All the exasperation Ukyou had felt toward Akane's behavior
during the trip, combined with her feelings about her recent curse
exploded.  "So tell me, what made you into such a bitch!? Why is
every guy that looks in your direction a pervert!?  Why is every man
in the world out to get you!?  What's so _ goddam _ special _ about
you that any right minded boy would even take one look at you!?"
     Akane had been driven back several steps by the vitriol in
Ukyou's voice, but she rallied and her own voice rose in
counterpoint to Ukyou's.  "How dare you call me a bitch?  If I'm a
bitch, then you're a whining little child, who can't deal with the
consequences of her own actions.  You wanted to spar, not me. 
You pushed it during the fight.  I was content to just take it easy, but
you had to force me to go all out.  You have no one to blame for
this but yourself."

     "That is enough!" An angry voice said off to the side.  Akane
and Ukyou who were glaring at each other broke off, and glanced
over to where Nodoka was standing.  The older woman had come
up on them without their realizing it.  Lost in their own world of
anger.  Her face was grim, and the expression on it was directed
toward both of the girls.  "There is only one person responsible for
Ukyou's condition."
     "That's right.  It's her!" Both girls shouted at the same time.
     "I said be quiet!" Nodoka said, in a low intense voice.  She
reached over her shoulder, and there was a hiss as a gleaming katana
was pulled into view.  Ukyou and Akane both gulped as they
realized what the long covered bundle Nodoka had been carrying
for days was.  They both edged backward nervously from the older
woman, inadvertently standing shoulder to shoulder.  This was not
the gentle Japanese housewife they had been traveling with for a
week.  This was the descendant of the Samurai, and her eyes were
ice cold.  Looking into those eyes, neither Akane nor Ukyou could
bring themselves to doubt that Nodoka would use that sword if they
gave her reason.
     Nodoka glared at both of them, then she turned her full
attention on Ukyou.  "As I said, there is only one person truly
responsible for what you have undergone.  Be quiet!" She said, in
tightly controlled, but very forceful voice, when Ukyou would have
protested.  She waited to be sure that the young girl was not going to
resume her protest.  Satisfied Ukyou was going to stay silent, she
continued.  "You each, for your various reasons, choose to
accompany me on this trip.  I did not ask you to come.  You both
knew that I was investigating the disappearance of my husband and
son.  The implication being that this could be a dangerous journey."
     Nodoka looked back and forth between Akane and Ukyou, and
while it was obvious both girls wished to say something, they did
not.  The fact that their eyes seemed unable to leave the gleaming
length of Nodoka's sword supplied an explanation for their
uncharacteristic restraint.  A talent neither one of them had shown a
great deal of during their journey.  Nodoka nodded her head in
satisfaction.  Then, with a sigh, she lowered her sword until the tip
was pointed toward the ground.
     Once more looking Ukyou in the eye, she continued.  "Having
said all that, I now must say that none of it matters.  I was the adult. 
It was my choice in the end whether you came or stayed, and my
responsibility to look after your welfare once I allowed you to
come.  It was my duty to learn the truth of these springs, and not to
laugh skeptically toward the one who knew the truth.  I have failed
in all those tasks, and you have paid the price for my failure."
     "Kuonji-san." Nodoka bowed toward Ukyou.  "When the true
fate of my husband and son is determined, and my duty to them
fulfilled, I ask that you act as my second so that I may extirpate my
loss of honor." Nodoka moved her grip on the sword till she was
holding it by the blade, and held the hilt out toward Ukyou, who
took it out of reflex.  Several drops of blood fell to the ground from
the cut the razor sharp edge had left on the palm of Nodoka's hand.
     Ukyou looked at the older woman in shock, her mind trying to
process the data.  It was not till Akane reacted that her eyes showed
any comprehension.  
     "You have to be joking!" Akane shouted.  "You want Ukyou
to cut your head off after you've slit your throat?  Are you crazy?"  
     While Akane ranted, Ukyou looked in wide eyed surprise at
Nodoka, amazed at her offer.  Ukyou led her life by the code of the
Samurai, and to find that Nodoka had the honor and strength to
make such an offer was a revelation.  She suddenly realized that she
had been underrating Saotome-san.  Ukyou had felt her weak, and a
bit of a fool to have tied herself to Saotome Genma.  Now, she
understood that there was far more to this woman then was apparent
on the surface. 
     With that understanding, came the knowledge that she would
gladly act as Nodoka's second.  To aid her in her search for honor,
would in turn bring honor to Ukyou.  If such a thing truly needed to
be done that is. The problem was, that in this case, Ukyou did not
think it did need to be done.  Nodoka's reasoning just didn't sound
right to her. Ukyou was an adult, she didn't need a babysitter. 
She'd come on her own free will, and so had Akane.  Nodoka owed
her nothing, not for this.  Now if it was Akane making the offer, that
would be another matter.  The way she felt right now, she'd happily
swing the sword after Akane cut her own throat.  Or maybe not even
wait for Akane to make the first cut.
     While Ukyou had been experiencing her own little epiphany,
Akane had continued her rant at Nodoka's foolishness in making
such an offer.  After listening to her talk for a while, and realizing
she showed no indication of stopping, Nodoka finally interrupted
her.
     "There is no choice!" She said in a tone that brooked no
argument.  "What I have done to Ukyou is unforgivable, and
irreversible according to our guide.  There is no way I can make
recompense.  As such, I must pay what portion of the debt my life
will cover."
     Akane who was in truth more scared then outraged by
Nodoka's offer, suddenly remembered why she had come to see the
cook in the first place.  The same solution that would help Ukyou,
would also satisfy Nodoka's honor, she hoped.  After all, if Ukyou
was no longer cursed, then there would be no problem, right?
"Nyanniichuan!" She blurted out.
     Her two companions looked at her, a questioning expression
on their faces.
     "It's obvious," Akane said.  "If the spring of drowned man
cursed Ukyou, spring of drowned woman would cure her.  I saw
Plum point it out when she brought us here."
     Nodoka shook her head in regret.  "I am sorry Akane, but that
would not work.  You left before it came up, but I asked Plum about
that very thing.  Having been cursed by one spring, the others will
have no effect on Ukyou."
     Ukyou objected.  To her, Akane's suggestion made perfect
sense.  "If it won't have any effect, then what's the harm in trying?"
She said eagerly, her face glowing with the thought that there might
be a chance to end this curse.  "It's at least something.  Anyway,
Plum is not an expert, she's only an apprentice, maybe sometimes
the springs will reverse the effect.  Maybe they don't want people to
know there is an easy cure.  We have to at least try."
     Akane nodded her head, and added.  "If it won't have any
effect, then there can be no harm in trying.  It's got to be better then 
. . . " She looked over at the sword in Ukyou's hand, and shuddered. 

      "Show me where this spring is Akane." Ukyou demanded.  
     Nodoka objected, but the two girls would not be swayed, and
as Ukyou was currently holding Nodoka's most powerful
bargaining chip, she had little choice in the matter but to
accompany the two of them.

     Off in the distance Plum saw them making their way toward
the main body of the valley, and felt a shudder of apprehension. 
She quickly snatched up a pot of hot water, and started working her
way toward the three women.  She did not run.  The first thing she
had learned from her father was that you do not run around the
pools of sorrow.  It had been a painful lesson, she had not sat down
in comfort for a week afterwards, but she also never ran around the
pools again.

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

     "Well, so much for that idea," Ukyou said.  He was standing in
the middle of Nyanniichuan, his hair hanging in sodden stringers
down his back, water dripping down his face.  He had taken nothing
for granted, and submerged himself completely, but the only effect
had been that the cold water had turned him into a boy again.  He
wanted to scream out his disappointment.  He wanted to get out and
pound Akane into the ground.  He did neither.  Instead, he directed
a worried look toward Nodoka, who was standing there, her back
rigid, her face set in an expression of grim determination.  Right
there and then Ukyou vowed that Nodoka was not going to die for
Akane and his stupidity.  
     "Oh what you do?  You very foolish.  You come away careful. 
Very bad you fall in."
     All three of them turned to look at Plum, who was standing
some distance back from the spring.  The guide girl was nervously
jittering from one foot to another, which did interesting things to her
upper-body under the smooth, low-cut silk dress she was wearing.  
     Ukyou flushed with embarrassment as he realized that the
changes in his body seemed to be more then skin deep.  He'd heard
enough locker room humor while posing as a boy to know exactly
what was happening to him.  Fortunately, that same rough humor
also included a possible solution.  He looked away from Plum and
hoped the cold water he was standing in would work as good as the
legendary cold shower.  To be safe, he also started going over the
multiplication tables in his mind.
     Fortunately for Ukyou's peace of mind, both Nodoka and
Akane were looking at Plum and not at him.
     "It's all right Plum-san, it's only Nyanniichuan.  I remember
you pointing it out to us earlier.  We just thought it would be worth
a try for Ukyou to see if it would help.  After all, you said the
springs could no longer affect Ukyou, so what's the harm?"
     "They no effect boy-girl, but you is other matter.  You come
away quick, quick, yes?"
     "I don't understand." Nodoka said.  "How could this spring be
dangerous?  Akane and I are already women."
     "You no understand. This one no have time to tell you all is to
know about valley, take years to learn all that.  You fall in spring, it
change you into girl who drowned there, and you act like that girl
too.  You only you, when you, you, rest of time, you she." Plum's
anxiety was making her hard to understand as she tried to make
them comprehend that they were not safe.  Fortunately, her urgency
conveyed the danger, even if her words were not easily
understandable.  
     Nodoka and Akane looked at each other, and started to inch
away from the spring.  Ukyou for his part was also moving, to exit
the spring.  Mathematics and cold water having served to quell his
body's  uprising.  He was still making every effort not to look at
Plum, however, keeping his eyes focused on the sky.  As a result, he
was the first to see the fireball as it flashed into being above the
north valley wall.
     "What  . . . " Was all Ukyou was able to get out before, the ball
of flame crossed the distance between the two sides of the valley,
and plowed into the top of the south wall.  The impact was followed
by a wave of pressure, as the air disturbed by the impact washed
over them.  Underneath their feet the ground shook, and Nodoka,
startled by the event, reflexively  took a step away from the impact
zone.  Unfortunately, that was a step toward the spring.  Everyone's
attention was on the smoking crater, high up on the valley wall, and
it was not till Nodoka cried out in shock that they turned and
witnessed her falling backward into the pool.

     Ukyou lunged forward, but while he got his arms under her, it
was too late.  The force of her fall drove Nodoka under the water
before Ukyou could stop her motion, and while he snatched her out
within a second, it was far too late.
     Plum, and Akane looked in shock at the coughing sputtering
figure laying in Ukyou's arms.  A tiny redheaded girl now virtually
swam in Nodoka's kimono, her long hair falling like a fiery
waterfall into the pool.  
     Ukyou stared down at the cute girl in his arms.  There was a
slight resemblance to Nodoka in her face, but when the girl's eyes
finally focused and stared up at him, it was not Nodoka looking out
of them.  

     Xian Pu fought to focus her mind.  Her last coherent memory
was of being in a life and death fight.  One of her enemies must
have gotten in a blow, and knocked her senses loose.  She had to
pull it together. If she faltered, her village was doomed.  She had to
regain control.  She blinked her eyes quickly trying to clear them. 
Her body felt strange and heavy, and her clothing seemed to be
weighing her down.  A part of her mind deciphered the sensation. 
She was wearing soaked clothing.  That was right!  She'd run into
the Nyanniichuan.  Being very careful not to slip and immerse
herself completely. She had hoped to lure her enemies into the
spring after her, and then kill them while they were disoriented.  
     Another level of awareness was reached, and she realized she
was being held in someone's arms.  She blinked her eyes some
more, and made out a vague masculine face above her.  Father? No,
father was away, would not be back for weeks.  A part of her mind
tried to decipher the mystery of a man staying a man while standing
in Nyanniichuan.  As a female she could get away with it as long as
she was not fully immersed.  Any animal, man, or pre-pubescent
girl, who got this far in, should be affected by it, drawn down by the
pools magic, and changed.  So how had this man escaped? Maybe
he hadn't.  Maybe his upper half was the only part that was still
male.  A very un-warrior like giggle threatened to escape her lips at
the picture that presented to her mind.
     She shook her head, trying to dispel the giddiness that was
clouding her thinking.  She looked around herself, trying once again
to focus on her surroundings.  She became aware of three people. 
Women?  Standing on the ground beside the spring.  She didn't
recognize any of them.  That made them outsiders, and someone to
walk careful around.  On the plus side, they were not dressed like
the attackers who had raided the village, nor were they monsters
like the pair she had just buried under a mountain of rubble.  
     Xian Pu felt herself being carried out of the pool, and once
more looked up at the strange man holding her.  She could see him
clearly now, and he also did not look like anyone she knew.  She
tried to struggle, suddenly embarrassed at being held so intimately
by a strange boy, but her body betrayed her.  Try as she might, her
body did not seem to want to obey her commands.  She looked deep
into the stranger's eyes, trying to read his intentions there.  His eyes
were not hostile, they reflected only care and worry.  Trusting her
instincts, she gave up her futile efforts, confident that this stranger
meant her no harm.  She would trust him for now.  It was not like
she had any real choice in the matter after all. 
     Xian Pu resumed her assessment of the surrounding area.  Her
vision was much clearer now, but what she saw made no sense. She
frowned. Where were the bushes?  There should be bushes lining
the side of the pool.  Where were they?  Her vision cleared further,
and she could see farther and more clearly.  Something was wrong,
this was the Valley of Sorrow, but it looked different, it was not the
same.  What was going on?  Where was the enemy? She suddenly
clutched a hand to her chest as a memory returned.  Her wound, the
strange living log.  It had burned her.  Lanced her through and
through, she had been dying, she had felt the taste of her own blood
on her breath.  Her lung had been pierced.  
     Xian Pu started to panic again, she thrashed in the boys arms
as this time her body responded to her wishes, or maybe to her
panic.  <"Where am I? What has happened?  Who are you
people?"> She cried out.  One of the strangers loomed over her, a
shiny pot held in her hand.  The pot tipped, warm water splashed
over her, and all faded to black.

     Nodoka woke, laying on her back and staring up at a ring of
worried faces.  
      "Are you all right Saotome-san?" Ukyou asked.  
     Nodoka noted that Ukyou seemed to be female again, but a
second ago she had been male, and standing in the pool.. Nodoka
then took in the expressions on the faces above her.  Their worried
looks gave evidence that all was not right.  Seeing as how they were
directing those worried looks her way, she had to assume whatever
was wrong, was wrong with her.  "What has happened to me?" she
asked.  She took some small pleasure in the fact that her voice did
not by the merest quiver give away the fear she was feeling.  She
had fallen into one of the springs, and after what had happened to
Ukyou, she did not even have the shield of skepticism to keep her
from fearing the worst.  
     Akane and Ukyou looked at each other, then turned and looked
at Plum, who looked at each of them in turn, then sighed and said. 
"Oh, very tragic tale Mrs. Customer, you fall in Nyanniichuan. 
Very tragic tale of girl who drown there 1500 year ago, now
whoever fall in spring take body of girl." As before when reciting
her lines, Plum spoke in a sing song voice.  Now she said in her
normal speaking voice.  "Unless you be girl too, then you change
into other girl all way.  Now when you splashed with cold water,
you turn into drowned girl, she live again through you.  Splash with
hot water, you be you again."
     "I see." Nodoka said, she looked at Akane and Ukyou, a
question in her eyes.  Again they looked at each other, and Akane
nodded at Ukyou, who turned back to Nodoka and spoke.
     "You did change.  You were younger and smaller, with long
red hair,  and when you looked at me, you didn't seem to know who
I was.  You don't remember any of it?"
     Nodoka shook her head.  "The last thing I recall was stepping
back after that thing hit the other side of the valley, and then falling
backward.  The next thing I remember was just now, you standing
all around me.  Did this other girl do something?"
     "She said something, but it was in Chinese." Akane said. 
Again all eyes turned to Plum.
     "Girl want to know what was happening.  Who we is.  She
scared this one think, but try not to show it." Plum looked puzzled
for minute.  "This one no understand, very rare girl fall in spring,
only two records in scrolls .  Father makes this one study all old
scrolls, they tell of those two times.  Girl you was, that not girl in
scroll.  She not act like either girl in scroll.  This one no understand. 
Wish father was here," Plum said in closing.  Her temporary fill in
job was proving much more eventful then she cared for.  She was
starting to appreciate the fine sensation of being bored out of your
mind, and was starting to wish she could go back to it.
     "Poor girl." Nodoka said, as she got to her feet.  She ran her
hands over her body as if checking to see that everything was as it
should be.
     "Oh this one be all right," Plum said.
     "I was not referring to you dear." Nodoka said.  She shook her
head.  "It must have been awful for her.  How much do you suppose
she remembers of her last life?" She asked Plum.
     "Little bit only.  Is more personality than memory.  One girl in
scroll not remember anything of last life, but act like drowned girl
when splashed with cold water.  That was second one who fall in. 
First one have some memory, but not all, she remember husband
drowning her.  Very sad tale.  She sit and cry all time."
     Akane shook her head.  "That makes no sense, this girl spoke
Chinese, and I think she did it much better then what Saotome-san
can.  She must have more memory then that."
     Ukyou spoke up in disagreement. "Yes, but remember Akane,
she asked where she was, who we were.  Maybe if Plum hadn't
doused her with hot water, she would have asked, "Who am I?"
next.  We can't tell how much of a person is there from the little we
saw."
     "Well, there is only one way to find out," Nodoka said.
     "You can't be serious?" Akane said.  "You're going to give
somebody else your body?"
     "Better to do it now, then have it happen later when we can't
control the situation.  Anyway, we can wait till we are back to camp
and I'm out of these wet clothes.  I don't know about her, but I feel
much better when I'm dry and warm." Nodoka set out for the
campsite at a brief pace.  Once her face was turned from the other
three girls, she was free to let the control she had been using slip a
bit.  If Akane or Ukyou had been able to see her face at that
moment, they would have noted it carried an expression remarkably
close to the one she had worn after hearing tales of her husband and
son's thievery.  The expression of a person who feared the end of
their life was close at hand.

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

     Nodoka adjusted her clothing, and sat down on the ground, her
back to a small rock.  She looked up at Akane who was standing
behind her, a kettle of hot water in her hand.  "Are your ready
Akane-chan?" At the young girl's nod, she turned to Plum who was
standing in front of her with a glass of water.  Plum drew back her
hand.  Then, stopped when Ukyou placed a hand on her shoulder.
     "Wait." Ukyou had a towel in her hand, and she handed it to
Nodoka.  "Here put this around your neck.  I did a little
experimenting while you were changing.  Getting your head wet
seems to be all it takes.  No need to get your dry clothes wet as
well."
     Nodoka gave Ukyou a grateful look, and wrapped the cloth
around her neck.  Once again she nodded at Plum, and this time
there was no interruption as Plum dumped the cold water over her
head.  Behind her, Akane stiffened, and prepared to splash hot water
if it was necessary.

     Xian Pu once more awoke to find herself in a new situation. 
She was sitting on the ground, her back against a rock, and the
people from before surrounding her.  She narrowed her eyes as she
took in the black-haired girl behind her.  Before they could react,
she lashed out.  She brought her leg up and over her head, and sent
the kettle in the other girl's hand flying with a powerful kick.  Then
ducking low, she leaped forward between the two people in front of
her, intending to put as much distance between her and them as she
could.  Happily, the paralyzes from before no longer seemed to be
affecting her. Before she could go far however, she fell, tangled up
in her oversized clothing, which was slipping off her body, and
tangling her limbs. 
     Frantically, she rolled across the ground, slipping off the
garments as she did so.  At last, free of the confining things.  She
bounded to her feet in a defensive pose.  She relaxed a bit when she
saw the other three. . . girls?.  Xian Pu blinked, she could have
sworn that the brown haired one had been a boy, but even a blind
man could see she was a girl.  
     "Talk to her Plum!  Calm her down!  Tell her we mean her no
harm," the brown haired girl said in her father's language.
     Xian Pu straightened up, and said.  "Why not tell me yourself
outsider?" It took all her control to keep her voice calm.  She was
not about to let these people know how badly confused she was. All
three of the girls looked at her in shock, and before they could
recover, she gave them an order. "Before you do, tell your brother to
come out from wherever he is hiding." Grandmother had always
told her that in a situation like this, it was best to take a position of
command.  If you acted like you were in charge, most times people
would at the very least, take a wait and see attitude.  Act tentative,
or submissively, and you placed yourself at a disadvantage.  
     Xian Pu found some measure of comfort in remembering her
training.  It gave her an anchor to hold on to in this strange situation. 
Better yet, it seemed to be working.  The people facing her looked
uncertain as to how to treat her.  She watched them carefully, trying
to pick up clues as to what was going on, while at the same time she
kept careful watch, waiting for the girl's brother to show himself
now that she had revealed that she knew he was lurking.

     The black haired girl, and the tall brown haired girl looked at
each other, then at Xian Pu.  "Brother?"
     "I'm not a fool, the boy that was holding me in the pool.  The
one that looks just  . . . like  . . .  you." Xian Pu trailed off as
realization hit home.  She suddenly realized why the boy could
stand in Nyanniichuan with impunity. "That was you wasn't it?"
She said to the tall brown haired girl, and while she phrased it that
way, it was not really a question.
     "Yes." The girl said.  Then she added, "you speak Japanese
very well." 
     "It was my father's native tongue."
     The young, shorter brown haired girl protested. "No, no, no,
this not right!  Scrolls say nothing about drowned girl speaking
Japanese, this not right." 
     "What do you mean?  Drowned girl?  What are you talking
about?" Xian Pu had a nauseous feeling in her stomach.  Her feeling
of sickness increased as she saw the looks the other girls were
exchanging.  A sudden realization hit her. "I drowned!" She said in
an incredulous voice.  "I'm dead." She said, more to herself then to
the outsiders, her voice as faint as her face was pale.  Her knees
went weak, and her legs folded under her.  She dropped to the
ground, and knelt there, staring at nothing.  "Mother, father," she
muttered.  The others drew near her, and she looked up at them, her
eyes stricken.  "How long?  How long since I  . . . " she couldn't say
it.
     The black haired girl said in a gentle tone.  "Fifteen hund--"
     "No!" The Chinese girl cut her off.  "That not right.  This not
girl who drown fifteen hundred year ago.  This one not know how,
or who."  The girl turned to her and said.  "You know name?  How
much you remember?" Frustrated with her look of
incomprehension, the girl switched to Chinese.  <"Do you
remember who you are?  What was your name?  How much do you
remember of your life?  I am the guide here, you can trust me.  It is
my duty to help those who run afoul of the curses.">
     Xian Pu looked at her for a minute, too numb to react.  Then,
her shoulders went back, and her chin came up.  She pulled her
dignity on like a set of armor, and said. "My name?  My name is
Xian Pu.  I am a warrior of the Nyanichiczu, from the village of
Joketsuzoku, and I remember everything." Her voice rang out,
echoing off the walls of the valley.  Then she slumped in on herself,
no longer able to keep the horror at bay.  "And I am a walking
ghost." She murmured in a quite voice, more to herself, then to her
audience. 
     The Chinese girl looked  . . .  awe struck.  "You is Xian Pu?"
She seemed unable to go on.  She just stared at Xian Pu, an
expression on her face very much like the one you would expect on
a child who has just discovered a dragon in her favorite play area. 
One of mingled fear and delighted awe.
     Her behavior was enough to arouse Xian Pu's curiosity.  An
emotion that her grandmother had often said would be the death of
her.  Well, too late for that now, she was already dead.  "Do you
know me?"
     The girl opened her mouth several times, and finally managed
to say.  "You is famous.  You is monster killer.  You save Amazon
village three hundred year ago.  Very famous tale.  You take last of
enemies with you when you die.  You found in Nyanniichuan, but
no girl look like you, act like you ever come out.  All figure you die
before drown.  You very, very great hero.  Name of Xian Pu, is one
of great names.  All girls, they know you." 
     Xian Pu's eyes widened at that.  A great name, one of the
names that would never die.  There would always be a Xian Pu of
the Amazons.  Then she shuddered, and hugged herself tightly. 
There was someone else out there with her name.  There was
another Xian Pu.  A Xian Pu who belonged to this world, this time. 
A Xian Pu with a mother and a father and family.  A Xian Pu who
was not some sort of soulless body stealing spirit!  
     Suddenly it was all too much, too fast. With a cry, Xian Pu
spun to her feet.  Looking around wildly, she spotted the kettle she
had kicked out of the dark-haired girls hand, and sprinted toward it. 
Picking it up, she gave a sob of relief when water sloshed.  She no
longer cared if the others thought her weak.  She just wanted to run
away from the awfulness that was her existence, and this kettle gave
her a way to run away even from herself. She let the water that had
not spilled out when she kicked the kettle run over her head.  Thank
the spirits, it's ho  . . . Was her last thought before the darkness once
again swallowed her up.
     
     Nodoka woke up, and the first thing she noticed was that she
was standing instead of sitting, and she staggered a bit as her mind
adjusted.  The second thing she noticed was that she was as naked
as a jay bird.  She gave a small shriek, and covered herself with her
hands and arms as best she could.  Then with a shudder, she
dropped her hands, and drawing her dignity around herself like a
cloak, walked over toward her clothing.  "Well, this could take
some getting use to," she said, as she dressed herself.  Her voice
was steady, but the slight red flush across her nose gave the lie to
her appearance of calm. "Any particular reason she took our clothes
off?"
     Akane and Ukyou started to respond together.  They looked at
each other, and this time it was Ukyou who deferred to Akane with
a nod of her head.  Akane said. "They were too big for her, and she
got tangled up in them.  I think she was afraid we were going to
attack her.  She kicked the kettle out of my hand before I could
move.  She's fast." Akane finished, her voice expressing a level of
amazement that told Nodoka the girl was a lot more then merely
fast.

     Something else Akane had said had drawn her attention. 
"She's smaller then I.  How much smaller?"
     "She comes up to about here on me." Akane said, holding a
hand about an inch below the top of her head, "and she's pretty
lightly built."
     "Except around the chest." Ukyou added, earning a dirty look
from Akane.  
     "You would notice that."
     "Girls, please!" Nodoka said firmly.  "We have other things to
worry about.  What is she like?  Is she a blank slate like Plum
feared?"
     "Girl is all there, is very strange, Plum never hear of like
before, she great Amazon hero, very famous girl."
     "Amazon?" Nodoka questioned.
     "Yes, is village one day walk from here, very powerful female
warriors."
     Nodoka looked troubled.  "That could be a problem, I can't
see how I can avoid cold water out here in the countryside, and if I
change, she might head for her home.  Who knows how they would
react to her?  They might think her a ghost, or worse." Nodoka did
not mention her own fears, that once away from Akane and Ukyou,
the girl would have no reason to change back.  Nodoka might wake
up to find weeks, months, or even years had passed.  It was far
easier to avoid accidental dousing with hot water then the reverse. 
She gave an inner shudder at the thought, but was careful not to let
her fears show on her face.  There was no need to worry the
children.
     "She seems to feel that way herself." Ukyou said, and at
Nodoka's questioning look, she explained.  "She seemed to take the
notion she had died very hard." Ukyou stopped, looking a bit
flustered as she played back her last statement in her own mind.  "I
mean, more then you would think.  Considering that as far as she
was concerned, she was perfectly healthy.  I heard her mutter about
being a walking ghost.  It was her who changed you back.  She
looked pretty broken up."
     Ukyou comments gave Nodoka something other then her own
fears to worry about.  She was not the only person with a problem
here.  The girl inside her must share her fears on the matter, and
unlike Nodoka, who had only her own carelessness to blame, the
other girl was innocent of any wrong doing.  It was wrong of
Nodoka to turn her into a monster because of her own fear.  Some
of this showed in her voice when she spoke. "The poor girl, we have
to do something to help her."
     "Help her!" Akane said incredulously. "She's a spirit that
steals your body whenever you get doused with cold water, which
could happen at anytime out here.  How can you think about
helping her?  You need to get rid of her, before she decides to get
rid of you."
     "It is not her fault we are in this situation.  She did not choose
to be what she is.  We were the ones who were careless, and we
must take responsibility for our actions." Nodoka said in a firm
voice.  While she did so, a little voice in her head asked her who she
was trying to convince. Akane, or herself?  She gave a sigh, and
turned to Ukyou.  "I am sorry Kuonji-san.  Until this can be
resolved, I'm afraid I cannot do the honorable thing.  I hope you can
forgive me, and will be willing to wait till I can settle this issue, and
I can make amends."
     Ukyou looked at Nodoka not sure what to say to that.  In truth,
she had totally forgotten Nodoka's intention to commit seppuku. 
"Ahh, no problem," she finally managed, putting a hand behind her
head, while trying to gather her thoughts.  "Take as long as you
like." She directed a look at Akane, and was pleased to see in the
other girl's eyes that she was not the only one who was worried
about the direction Saotome-san's thoughts were taking.  She
vowed to have a private chat with Akane later.  The two of them
needed to bury the hatchet.  Maybe if they worked together, they
could convince Saotome-san there was no reason to commit suicide. 
     As if reading her mind, Akane suddenly spoke up.  "Ukyou?"
She called out.  "Do you want to go over and check out the
meteorite with me?" Ukyou could clearly see in Akane's eyes that
the girl was also thinking they should get away from Nodoka for a
little bit to discuss the situation. Akane's words also reminded
everyone of the event that had precipitated this whole matter.  All
eyes turned toward the smoking crater high up on the valley wall.
     Nodoka looked doubtful, she'd already proven herself a very
poor guardian, but then she considered the matter.  Frankly, she'd
feel a lot better with Akane up on the side of the valley, rather then
down here, close to the springs.  It was too late for her and Ukyou. 
The least she  could try to do, was to get Akane home safe.  "Very
well, you girls go and investigate.  I wish to talk with Plum, and to
begin breaking camp.  I will not spend another night in this valley. 
Please be careful." 
     Akane merely smiled at her.  She cocked her arm and made a
muscle, which she patted with her free hand.  "Don't worry.  If there
are any alien monsters inside it, Ukyou and I won't hurt them too
badly."  Akane turned, grabbed Ukyou by the hand, and dragged her
off at high speed toward the crater.  

     Nodoka watched them for a while, and then turned to Plum.  "I
would appreciate all you could tell me about the girl I change into  .
. . " Nodoka broke off as a thought occurred to her.  She turned a
worried look toward the now distant figures of Akane and Ukyou. 
"There are no springs up on the valley wall are there?" She asked in
a worried tone.
     "No springs over that way.  Not since mountain fall down. 
Only spring outside of valley, over there." Plum pointed toward the
opposite side of the valley, which was covered in heavy brush.  
     Nodoka looked in the direction Plum was gesturing, and could
just barely make out the entrance to a narrow gully.  "What spring is
that?" She asked in curiosity.
     Plum looked a bit uncertain, and to Nodoka surprise, she
started to breathe in and out deeply.  "What's wrong dear?" Nodoka
asked, but Plum only held up a finger, asking for patience.  
     After several more deep breaths, Plum finally said, That spring
is,
Weitaoyanbuhuaihaoyiduocigubanjuyouyiyanjuyouheinanmaodaitu
renwushishishengbaobeibinggebaihechuyuchuzhizianwobeituretang
yuqilingdeshijieyongjieniichuan."
     By the time Plum finished, she was turning a little blue, and
the last few syllables had been spoken in a very high wheezing
voice.  She gasped as she pulled in great lungs full of air.  Nodoka
looked on in worry till she had fully recovered.  When Plum had
finally caught her breath, she looked pleased with herself.  "That
first time this one manage whole thing, one go.  Old priest who
name spring, he very great talker, he talk and talk all time, very long
winded, this one thinking."
     "My goodness, whatever does it mean?" Nodoka asked, and at
Plum's look of dismay, she hastily added.  "You don't have to say it
all in one go dear.  Just break it up if you would."
     Plum nodded, and stood silent for a little while as she worked
out the translation.  Finally, she gave a nod, and said.  "This spring
is called.  Spring of Drowned Big, Nasty, Evil-Tempered,
Battle-Scarred, One-Eyed, Black Tomcat that Ate the Holy and
Revered Fighting Cranes of My Monastery, May He Burn in the
Seventh Ring of Hell For All Eternity . . . "
     Nodoka blinked, then said,  "I see, I imagine he was very
annoyed at the time."
     Plum just nodded solemnly, and then the two women started to
break down the camp site while Plum told all she knew of the
Demon slayer Xian Pu.  Which turned out to be heavy on stories,
and rather short on actual facts.

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

     "So what are we going to do about Saotome-san?" Ukyou
asked.  Akane had stopped her head long rush half way across the
valley, and they were now walking at a pace that made conversation
much easier.
     "I don't think there is much of a problem right now.  You
know what Plum said about the curses being permanent.  I don't
think she'll kill herself as long as she has to take someone else with
her, even if it is a body stealing spirit.  On the other hand, if she's
crazy enough to think of it in the first place, who knows." 
     "I hardly call wanting to do the what you think is the right
thing crazy." Ukyou chided Akane, but then added.  "Still I suppose
you're right about her holding off as long as this Xian Pu is
around."  Ukyou rather admired Nodoka's commitment to honor. 
So many people paid the concept lip service, but were not prepared
to go out of their way in actual observance of it.  Ukyou had seen
the calm acceptance in Nodoka's eyes when she had made her offer,
and had no doubt that the woman was prepared to do what she felt
was the right thing.  
     That made it all the more important that she and Akane do
everything they could to make sure she didn't.  Nodoka was not
responsible for Ukyou's condition, and Ukyou would not see
another pay the price for someone else's mistake.  She directed a
side long look at Akane as she thought this, but kept her mouth shut. 
With some difficulty to be sure.  She was still more then a little
angry at the dark haired girl.  She was going to have to put that aside
if she wanted to convince Saotome-san that there was no need for
the ultimate apology.  She was going to have to pretend that her
curse was no big deal.  She gave a sigh.  Maybe it really wasn't. 
After all, what would it change?  It might even be for the best.  At
least as a boy, her chest wouldn't constantly ache from the bindings
she used to tie down her breasts.  It wasn't like she was going to
have to change her behavior, or her mode of dress. 
     Besides forcing Ukyou to accept her curse, one other thing
Nodoka's offer had driven home, was Ukyou's own reluctance to
take responsibility for her actions.  Akane might have been at fault,
but she was not blame free herself.  Maybe the first step in coming
to some arrangement with Akane was to admit that.  If Nodoka was
prepared to kill herself, the least Ukyou could do was to bite her
tongue, and admit her own partial blame in the matter.
     "Akane?"
     "Ukyou?"
     "Oh, you first." 
     "No, you go ahead."
     "All right.  It's what Saotome-san said.  About taking
responsibility.  Not about killing herself.  I've been thinking about
it, and she's right.  I was as much to blame as you for what
happened to me.  I'm sorry I took it out on you."
     "What do you mean?  I'm not . . .!" Akane yelled, and then to
Ukyou's amazement, she blushed and broke off in mid rant.  After a
minute, she said.  "I'm sorry too.  I guess I was partly to blame.  It's
just been really hard on me the last little while, and I have a difficult
time trusting anyone in pants, even when I know in my mind they're
really a girl.  You, just look way too much like a guy.  Even when
your not, a guy that is."
     Ukyou lifted an eyebrow, and took in Akane's own apparel. 
Akane caught the look, and for a moment she looked like she was
going to flare up again, but then she threw back her head and
laughed.  Ukyou watched in amazement as Akane's face seemed to
undergo a transformation. The hard lines that had given her a
continued discontented look melted, leaving her looking softer,
kinder, a very different person from the one Ukyou had grown to
know over the past week. 
     "All, right." Akane said, when she stopped laughing.  She
wiped tears from her eyes, and continued.  " Point taken.  I'll try not
to judge so quickly from now on," she said.  "For what it's worth, I
know I've been a complete bitch the last week.  I guess it took a
shock like the curses, and Nodoka-san offering to cut her own throat
to make me realize it.  I promise I'll try and do better. Come on.  I'll
race you." With that, she took off for the impact crater, Ukyou in
close pursuit, her face reflecting her inner amazement at Akane's
words.  It would seem she was not the only one to be affected by
Nodoka's offer.  If Akane could admit her faults, maybe there was
hope for the girl after all. 
     It did not take them very long to reach their destination. 
Unlike most of the hills surrounding the valley, this one was neither
a cliff, nor covered in brush.  It was instead a massive jumble of
rocks, but that was no impediment to the girls.  They easily leaped
from the top of one boulder to another, until they reached the
impact point.  The meteorite had hit high up on the slope.  Up where
the rock gave way to dirt, and it was almost completely buried.  
     "Shoot," Ukyou said.  "You can't see anything."
     "I can fix that." Akane said.  She slipped out of her shirt,
leaving only her breast bindings in place, and started to do some
stretching exercises.
     Ukyou looked at her in surprise for a minute, not sure what she
was doing, and more than slightly fascinated by the other girl's
muscular development.  Akane might not have had much of a
figure, but she more then made up for it in definition.  Ukyou had
never seen another girl with that sort of muscle mass.  She regarded
herself as being toned and buffed, but Akane put her to shame.  She
continued to stare at the play of muscle along Akane's back, until
the other girl stooped down and started to work her fingers under
the exposed edge of the meteorite.  
     "Oh come on." Ukyou scoffed.  "You may be strong, but that's
bloody ridiculous.  There is no way in hell you are going to move
that thing."
     Akane looked over her shoulder at Ukyou, and grinned. 
"Want to bet." Then, she gave a barking laugh.  At Ukyou's puzzled
look, she added.  "Sorry, I just had a flash back.  My sister made a
bundle saying those very words, and in exactly this type of
situation.  A truck had rolled over, and was blocking the street.  It
was beside a construction site, and they were trying to get it out of
the way, so they could get supplies in.  They were talking about
bringing over their crane, but my sister came up with the idea of me
moving it.  They didn't think I could do it either.  We ate take out
for a week straight."
     "And you're trying to make me believe you moved the truck? 
Sorry, I don't buy it." Ukyou said in a very skeptical tone.  "I know
you're strong, but I don't believe  that for a second.  If you move
this rock, not only will I cook every night for the rest of the trip. I'll
do the dishes as well." 
     Akane only grinned, and reached under the rock.  "I'll hold
you to the dishes part, but I'll help with the cooking.  I've been
meaning to offer for a while."  She felt around a bit, and then found
a purchase point.  Bracing herself, she started to lift.  Almost as
soon as she began her effort, her feet started to sink into the ground. 
Ukyou stood back, her arms crossed over her chest, and waited for
Akane to give up.  Akane's feet continued to sink until they reached
solid rock, and could sink no further.  Akane gave a grunt of
satisfaction, and having assured her footing, really started to pour it
on.  
     Ukyou's eyes bulged when she saw the mound of dirt over the
meteorite start to shift.  "I don't believe it." She said incredulously. 
However, after the first shifting of dirt, there was no more
movement for some minutes, and Akane's face began to take on a
purplish hue.  
      Ukyou was just about to try and convince Akane to give up
when there was a sudden sharp snap.  Akane jerked upright, as the
ledge she was lifting on suddenly broke away from the main mass
of the object, and snapped up with no further strain on her part.  The
loss of resistance caught Akane by surprise, and when a flood of
pale blue liquid gushed out of the interior of what was now clearly
not a rock, she was unable to react in time, and was knocked over
by the flood.  
     "What the hell?" Ukyou exclaimed, looking back and forth
between the sodden Akane and  the interior of the supposed
meteorite.  There were little tell tale lights in there, and levers and
controls.  What might have once  been viewing screens, but were
now hollow sockets.  Whatever had filled them not having survived
the crash.
     Akane was sputtering and coughing.  She had been taking a
deep breath when the flood of blue liquid hit her, and more then a
little had gone up her nose, and down her throat.  She sat up, and
something on her chest started to roll off.  Instinctively, she cradled
her arms, and caught whatever it was before it could fall completely
off her body.  Blinking her eyes to clear them, she looked down at
the small black object in her arms.
     "It's a pig!" Akane and Ukyou exclaimed at the same time,
and indeed, that is what it was.  A small black piglet.  Not your
typical barnyard denizen however.  He had a yellow bandanna with
black checks wrapped around his neck, and its two front hooves
were deformed.  The front legs simply ended in two gray balls,
about twice the size of the rear hooves.  
     "I don't understand, why would a pig be inside a rock?" Akane
said in puzzlement.
     "Maybe because it's not a rock.  Check it out." Ukyou said,
gesturing toward the exposed interior of the supposed meteorite.  
     Akane gaped at the sight for a minute, and then her expression
  darkened.  "Those bastards!"  She swore.
     Ukyou looked at her in surprise, wondering what had set off
the volatile girl now.  For the life of her she couldn't see how on
earth Akane could blame anyone for this situation, or why she
would want to.  Akane did not keep her in the dark for long.
     "How dare they, shooting a helpless little animal into space
like that.  I thought they gave that up years ago." She held the limp
little animal up near her face.  "He must have been so scared." Then
her face firmed.  "We are not going to let them get away with it!"
She declared.
     "What are you talking about?" Ukyou asked.
     "We're taking him with us!"   
     Ukyou looked back at the ship.  It looked like a very expensive
piece of equipment.  She didn't think the owners, whoever they
might be, would be happy about the pig being missing.  She looked
over at Akane, about to say something, then stopped herself.  There
was no point.  The expression on Akane's face showed quite clearly
that this was a non-negotiable matter, and Ukyou knew better then
to think she could change the other girls' mind.  
     Besides; truth be known, she was not keen on handing the little
thing over to whoever it belonged to either.  The chances were very
good it would not be given a hero's welcome, and live to a ripe old
age, going on to father another generation of space going pigs.  A
short messy end in a lab somewhere was its much more likely fate. 
That thought settled it for her.  "You're right," she said in a firm
voice.
     "I am?" Akane asked in surprise.
     "Damn straight.  I agree one hundred percent.  We'll keep the
fact he came out of this thing to ourselves."
     Akane looked gratified, and she directed a smile Ukyou's way. 
Once again the chef was struck by what a difference it made to her
face.  She really is cute when she smiles, Ukyou thought to herself.

     Nodoka was putting the finishing touches to her packing when
the girls rejoined her.  She raised an eyebrow at the presence of the
small pig in Akane's arm.  "Really, Akane, you shouldn't have done
that.  Some farmer will be most unhappy that you poached one of
his pigs for dinner."
     Akane looked at her blankly for a second, then protested.  "I
didn't.  He was--"
     "Wandering around up by the meteorite!" Ukyou broke in,
directing a speaking look in Akane's direction, hoping she would
keep quite.  "We think he wandered off from wherever he came
from.  He's too young to survive on his own out here for long. 
>From the bandanna around his neck, he might have been a pet.
Akane want's to keep him, as one herself.  We could leave a little
money with Plum in case someone comes looking for him, and
directions if they really want to get him back badly." Of course,
Ukyou thought to herself.  Seeing as how she would fill Plum in on
what those people would do to the pig, and what Akane would do to
Plum if that happened.  It was unlikely that the girl would reveal the
pig location under any circumstance.
     Nodoka looked a bit doubtful.  She looked at Akane, saw the
entreaty in those eyes, and gave in to the inevitable.  Getting out of
this valley was far more important then the true ownership of a
piglet.  "Very well, Ukyou.  Plum has gone back to her hut to check
the records for more information on my curse.  You'll find her
there.  Hurry.  I want to be out of here as quickly as possible. 
Akane, you had better go and clean yourself up.  You are a mess."
     It was true, the liquid that had drenched Akane, had also
soaked the ground she fell on, and she was covered pretty much
head to toe with mud.  She nodded her head in agreement to this,
and set out to follow Nodoka's suggestion, but then stopped. 
Looking uncertain, she asked.  "Where should I go?  How will I
know what water is safe?"
     "Plum tells me the streams that run into the valley from the top
of the hills are safe.  There is one over near the base of the hill
where the meteorite crashed."

************************************************
     
     Ukyou was coming back from leaving money with Plum when
she spotted the boy.  He was slim and short, and was wearing a
tattered grey fur as clothing, with a fur cap of the same color on his
head.  He was also several feet behind Akane, who was nude from
the waist down, with her back toward the boy.  Ukyou had a
horrible feeling she knew what was about to happen, and broke into
a run, hoping to get there before it did.

     Akane was deep in thought as she washed herself.  She had
finally managed to relax, and for the first time in months had
managed to let go of the certainty that at any minute some pervert
was going to molest her.  She had enjoyed herself with Ukyou up on
the hill, and had felt real pleasure when the other girl had agreed to
enter into a conspiracy with her to save the little pig.  
     She felt tensions that had been tying her nerves in knots for the
last six weeks start to relax as she cleaned the muck off her upper
body.  This trip was turning out to be very good for her.  Maybe, if
she could just keep control, she might just come out of this with a
friend.  Something that she had been lacking ever since Sayuri's
boyfriend gave into peer pressure and joined the morning gang
attack.  Taking away what had been the last sympathetic ear she
could voice her problems to.  
     Looking back, she decided that was when she had started to
lose it.  With no one to talk to, or to sympathize with her problems,
she'd started to feel it was her against the world.  The problem was,
the world was a lot bigger then she was.  Not that she had let that
stop her, but thinking about it, she could see how her behavior must
have looked to others, and to see for herself just how bad she had
gotten.  
     Ukyou was right.  It wasn't like every man and boy in the
world was out to get her.  At least half the boys at Furinkan had
never joined in the attacks.  And the boys who challenged her in the
street, or at the dojo, were just out to make a rep for themselves as
fighters, they likely didn't even care that she was a girl.  As for
those bastards who had tried to drag her into an alley that one time,
well they were just creeps, out to make a different type of
reputation.  It hadn't been fair of her to paint all boys with the same
tar brush.

     Mint had run as he had never run before, and had made it to
Jusenkyo in a time that would be the stuff of legend.  If anyone had
cared that is.  The area was sorely lacking in cheering crowds.  He
stood on the outskirts of the valley, trying to remember Herb-sama's
message.  He must help, and tell them that more people were
coming.  There was a boy a few feet away from him, washing
himself in the stream.  His clothes tossed over a large flat boulder
nearby to dry.  
     Mint walked toward the boy, too out of breath to speak.  His
shadow fell across the other boy, and he turned in surprise to look at
Mint.  Mint's eyes bulged, and his mouth fell open, a hint of drool
appearing on his lower lip.  The boy had titties.  Mesmerized by the
sight, he reached forward, and poked one of the fascinating mounds. 
"Titties," he giggled.

     A sound behind Akane made her turn.  Expecting to see Ukyou
she had a smile on her face.  The smile froze as she looked up to see
a strange boy looming over her.  She found herself paralyzed for a
precious second, just long enough for the perverted bastard to reach
out and molest her.

     "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

     Nodoka jerked upright, just as Ukyou flashed by their former
campsite.  "Oh Shit!" floated back to Nodoka from the running girl. 
She turned toward the direction of the scream, and saw a scene that
stopped her heart.  Akane was standing there, stripped to the waist,
a boy in front of her.  Clutched in Akane's hands was a massive flat
boulder, nearly three feet thick, and a good fifteen feet in diameter. 
Akane was holding this over her head, and Nodoka did not need
anyone to tell her what was about to happen.  Unfortunately, the
same could not seem to be said for the boy, who seemed oblivious
to his danger.  He simply stood there, his eyes glued to Akane's
breasts. 
     "Akane, no!" Nodoka screamed.  Then, unmindful of her
dignity, she rushed toward Akane, making the best speed she could. 
Praying that against all the odds, either she or Ukyou would be able
to stop Akane. 
      Behind Nodoka, a small black animal groaned to itself as it
came back to the world of the living.  It rolled over on its side, and
blinked bleary eyes.  Seeing the activity in the distance, it set out on
unsteady legs, hoping to discover where it was, and what the hell
was going on.
     Ukyou could see she was not going to be in time.  Muttering
an apology under her breath, she drew one of her throwing spatulas,
and threw it with all her might, hoping it would reach its target in
time.  The small weapon sped through the air, and hit, right where
Ukyou had intended.  Akane gave a small scream of shock as the
knife edge of the weapon bit into her shoulder, causing her to turn
slightly.  
     Ukyou had hoped to distract Akane from the target of her rage. 
Her plan failed.  While Akane flinched under the strike, and turned
slightly, her intention to pulverize the pervert did not lessen in the
slightest.  However; if Ukyou plan did not work as she intended, it
did serve the purpose of saving Mint's life.  When Akane turned,
she broke Mint's eye contact with her breasts.  That and her cry of
pain was enough to waken him to his danger.  Looking at the
boulder descending toward his head, he leaped backward with
blurring speed, managing to almost completely  escape the hammer
of doom.  Almost.  The edge of the boulder brushed by his body,
and sent him sprawling.  A microsecond later, the rock slammed
into the earth with an impact that seemed to shake the whole valley.

     Akane scowled when she saw she had not managed to swat the
pervert, and started to lift the rock again.  Fortunately for Mint, and
unfortunately for her, the impact from the rock was not without
consequences.  As Akane started to lift the massive boulder, the
ground shifted under her feet and gave way.  Akane had time for
one startled squawk, and then she vanished, swallowed up by the
inky blackness that had opened up at her feet, a second after she
disappeared, there was a muffled splash.  

     Slowly, a group cautiously formed around the hole in the
ground, keeping well back from the crumbling edge.  Ukyou had
been the first to reach the scene.  She fell to her knees, and leaning
forward carefully, called down the hole.  "Akane, are you alright?"

     A muffled cough, and the reply, "Yes, I think so," floated up
to her.  Ukyou frowned, the voice did not sound at all like Akane's,
and had a strange echoing quality.  She blinked in surprise, and then
brushed the strangeness aside.  Obviously the hole Akane was in
distorted her voice.
     Nodoka was the next to arrive, and before she could say or ask
anything, Ukyou reassured her.  "She's all right, but I don't know
how we're going to get her out, the side looks awfully unstable."
     "I'll climb back up." Came Akane's strange echoing voice
from down in the hole. 
     "No, stay where you are!" Nodoka called out, worry in her
voice.  "If you try to climb up you may bring the whole thing down
on your head.  Stay put.  I mean that Akane!  Don't try to climb
out!" Nodoka put all the power she could in her voice, hoping for
once that Akane would listen to her.
     "All right," Akane replied.  The tone of her voice indicated she
would not stay put long however.  "You had better hurry," she said
nervously.  "I think there is something else down here with me."  
     Plum arrived at that point, and looked at the hole in the ground
with a pale face.  "Oh no!" she murmured to herself.  For what
seemed like the hundredth time that day, she found herself praying
for a return to boredom.  
     "Titties," a voice said beside her, and she turned to see a boy
about Akane and Ukyou's age leering at her cleavage.  His face was
suddenly replaced by a broad shiny surface.  
     SPLANG, went Ukyou's baker's peel as it impacted.  "Get lost
you.  This is all your fault!" Ukyou yelled at the comatose boy. 
Rather futilely as it happened, he was obviously not going
anywhere.

     The small black pig Akane had found limped up, and poked its
head over the edge of the hole.  No one paid any attention, not until
a rough gravely voice asked.  "So, what's going on here?"

     Three heads turned in incredulity, three pairs of eyes looked
into a pair of brown eyes that looked back at them placidly, if a
little impatiently.  "Well," the pig said, "I'm waiting."  

     Even if any of them had been capable of speech at that point,
he would not have received an answer.  Akane's distorted and
echoing voice suddenly cried out in panic.  "There is something
down here!  Get away from me you perverted monster!" A second
later, two blurs rocketed up out of the hole, and landed several yards
away from it, one on each side.
     
     The sight that greeted the three girls, and one pig, drove all
other thoughts out of their mutual minds.  The creatures on either
side of the hole were well covered in mud, but that did not keep
their general appearance from being made out.  About six feet tall,
maybe a bit more.  They were covered head to toe in short, light
honey-blond fur.  It clung close to their bodies, in most places no
more then a half an inch in thickness, but so heavy that no sign of
skin could be seen.  Only in a few areas such as their heads did it
grow thicker.  
     Observation of their appearance was greatly aided by the fact
that they were stark naked.  Their modesty somewhat preserved by
the heavy blond mane each possessed.  Hanging from their heads, it
fell as far as their knees.  The mud and water that soaked it helped it
greatly in its job of concealment.  Weighed down by the water and
muck dripping from it, it hung in great tangled streamers around
their bodies.  

     As the two strange beings glared at each other, another feature
attracted the watchers' attention.  Swishing in agitation behind each
of them was a long tail. One had a tuft on the end of her tail, while
the other's ended in a blunt point. The tails were currently giving a
very clear indication of the two's current mood.  
     That is, if they lived up to their general cat like appearance. 
On a dog, that much tail movement would have indicated great
happiness.  None of the people watching thought for even a second
that was the case here.  The way they were baring their teeth at each
other, and the manner in which they were warily circling the other
party, gave pretty clear evidence that they were not happy campers.
     Their faces were almost human, but in keeping with the rest of
their bodies, they had a distinctive feline cast to them.  It was too far
away to make out their eyes, but the watchers had little doubt they
would continue the trend, and be slitted cat eyes. The one with the
tuft on the end of her tail had a patch of whitish fur on her left
cheek.  The grain of that small patch ran opposite to the rest of her
pelt, giving it a ruffled look, and exposing the pale undercoat of her
fur.  
     Last, but not least, topping their heads were large triangular
ears that projected up out of the mud and water soaked hair that
covered their heads.  They were mobile, and as the girls watched
each other intently, they twitched back and forth, moving in time
with the agitated swishing of their tales.  

     Both creatures cried out at the same time.
     "Saotome-san, Ukyou, Plum!  Get out of here!  I'll hold it
off!"
     "Saotome-san, Ukyou, Plum!  Get out of here!  I'll hold it
off!"
     
     "What?  How dare you mock me, you, you, you, creature
you?"
     "What?  How dare you mock me, you, you, you, creature
you?"
     Again, the creatures spoke in perfect harmony.

     "Spring of drowned twins." Plum murmured in a dazed voice.

     "What?"  Nodoka exclaimed.  She tore her eyes  away from
the sight of the two humanoid cat creatures arguing with each other,
word for word, and in perfect harmony, to look at Plum.  "You
know what is going on, Plum-san?"

     The guide girl looked at Nodoka, her eyes glazed.  She spoke
in a mumble, as much to herself as to Nodoka.  Events seemed to be
catching up to her. "They act like person fall in spring of drowned
twin.  They think other fake, both talk and think same thing, same
time.  But that wrong, there no spring of drowned twin cat demon
here.  This part covered over three hundred year ago.  There was
spring of drowned rabbit, spring of Tasmanian devil, spring of
drowned Bush boy, spring of drowned Kangaroo, spring of drowned
crocodile, and spring--"
     "Yes, yes," Nodoka cried, afraid that Plum might go on
forever at this rate.  Reaching out and shaking the dazed girl, she
said,  "I understand.  There was not supposed to be a spring here
that would have done this.  But there is a spring  that will turn one
person into two?"
     "Yes, but it only change into two who be same as one who fall
into spring.  They no change into different thing." 
     "But that does not mean that it couldn't!" Nodoka said firmly. 
"After what has already happened here, I'm prepared to believe
almost anything.  That means that both of those things could be
Akane.  There is only one way to find out." Nodoka gave Plum a
good shake for emphasis, and shouted at her.  "Run and get hot
water! I'll try to get Akane to understand what has happened."
     "But--" Plum started to say, but was cut off by Nodoka before
she could say anything else.
     "Get the water!" Nodoka ordered her again.  Then, leaving
Plum, she strode off toward the two quarreling creatures.  With no
other choice, Plum hurried off toward her distant hut, wondering
what else could possible go wrong.  As if in answer to her thought, a
large fat drop of rain dropped onto her nose, followed shortly after
by others.
     Nodoka had managed no more then two steps toward
what she assumed was Akane and Akane, when the world went
away again.
     Xian Pu stumbled, almost falling to her knees.  She caught
herself barely in time, and gave a muffled curse.  Was this the way
she was fated to spend the rest of her life?  Constantly coming to
awareness in strange situations, and moving in ways directly
opposite to the way she had been maneuvering when last aware? 
What was she to do if she woke in the middle of. . ."

     "Agggg!  What have you done to me you monster?"
     "Agggg!  What have you done to me you monster?"

      "a . . . battle?"

     Xian Pu's head whipped around in shock.  It couldn't be! 
She'd dropped a mountain on them.  They had to be dead!  As if to
give the lie to her thoughts, there they were, big as life.  The
monsters that had almost destroyed her village before she could lure
them out of it.  They were standing there facing each other and
ignoring Xian Pu.  Each of them was looking down at themselves in
shock, and running hands up and down their bodies.

     "You've turned me into one of you!"
     "You've turned me into one of you!" They shouted at each
other.
     "Are you making fun of me?"
     "Are you making fun of me?"
     "Stop that!"
     "Stop that!"
     "Arrrhhhhhh!  I'll Show you!"
     "Arrrhhhhhh!  I'll Show you!"

     They lunged at each other in a perfectly choreographed move,
and seconds later they were rolling across the ground, trying to do
each other serious harm.  It was the strangest fight the befuddled
Xian Pu had ever seen.  Every single move they made was exactly
duplicated by the other, countering every attack before it had even
started.  Punches collided with each other.  Grappling moves
tangled with their duplicate move.
     Xian Pu did not know what was wrong with the two cat
demons.  She was only glad that their quarrel was distracting their
attention from her.  What was she going to do?  If dropping a
mountain on top of them had not finished them off, what would? 
Before she could come up with a suitably lethal plan, she was
interrupted.
     "Real intellectuals ain't they?" A gravely voice said.
     Xian Pu whirled around in shock.  While she had been
distracted, someone had snuck up on her.  She blinked.  There was
no one there.
     "Down here toots." Xian Pu lowered her head, and found
herself staring at a small black pig.  Having gotten her attention, he
turned back toward the two arguing cat girls, and continued to talk. 
"Not that the two of them were ever what you would call brain
surgeons mind you."
     Xian Pu got over her shock fairly quickly.  After all this was
Jusenkyo.  She had not thought people with an animal curse could
talk.  But there was no arguing with the fact that he was.  Besides,
her attention was more on what he had said, then the fact that he
had been able to say it.
     "You know them?" She asked him.
     "Too damn well.  They tried to kill my empress once.  See
Anna there?  How she's missing the tip of her tail.  That was me
that did that.  She was hiding behind a wall taking pot shots at the
palace guard.  Didn't think to keep her tail behind it as well though. 
Should have seen her jump when I nicked her.  Too bad her sister
Una got off a shot and distracted me before I could finish the job, or
I would have potted her in the air.  Funny thing though.  The girls
are looking pretty damn spry for three-hundred, considering their
species has a life span of about one-hundred-fifty.  Well, never
mind, we'll figure that out later." 
     The small pig held up one of his front hooves, and Xian Pu
saw that it was deformed.  Then, it shifted, the ball of dull grey
material that was at the end of his leg instead of the expected hoof,
turned shiny, then flowed, taking on the shape of a large sharp
spike.  The small black pig looked at it with grim satisfaction. 
     "Nani?" Xian Pu exclaimed.
     The little pig waggled his eyebrows at her.  "Magic kid.  Can't
you tell I'm a great and powerful magician?" 
     Xian Pu nodded her head solemnly.  That explained a lot. 
How he could talk in his animal form, the strange hooves,
everything.  Even the fact that he claimed to be at least three
hundred years old , and had faced the cat demons before.  "What
would you have us do elder?" She asked, giving him a slight bow of
respect as she did so.  Even if he was a male, he had a presence that
would not be out of place on a matriarch.  Besides, anyone who had
fought those two before, and lived, was deserving of respect.
     "Well now.  I was not really thinking of us.  'I' was going to
sneak up on them while they're arguing with each other, and give
them a taste of several thousand volts.  Hoping of course they don't
see me.  I'm too old and tough to make a good meal, but those two
are likely to try anyway in my case.  Anna was awfully proud of her
tail. You stay back here where it's safe."
     Xian Pu rejected that plan outright.  "I am an Amazon warrior. 
I too have fought these creatures before, and unlike you, I did more
then score a lucky hit.  I managed to drop the side of the mountain
on them." She saw no reason to mention that it had been pure luck
on her part, rather then any great skill or planning.  "If they were not
demons they would surely have perished.  I say we lure them into
one of the springs.  Even a demon might not be a match for the
magic of Jusenkyo.  If we can change them into something helpless,
they will be ours to defeat."
     The small pig had been listening to her with the long suffering
look of someone who had spent far too much time with eager
rookies, but when she mentioned Jusenkyo, his ears perked up. His
attention, which had been focused mainly on the quarreling pair of
cat demons was suddenly all directed toward her.  "Jusenkyo!  As in
the magic springs that give transformation curses?  Cold water
changes you, hot changes you back?" 
     Xian Pu was puzzled by his apparent lack of knowledge. 
Surely he must know the place he had been cursed?  Still . . . "That
is right, this is the Valley of Sorrow.  Every spring here has a curse. 
If we can just find the guide, and have her point out a suitable
spring, we can bring an end to the cat demons once and for all."
     "Just a minute, just a minute.  Let me think here," the pig said,
holding up his spike tipped leg in a be-quiet gesture.  Xian Pu
fumed, but before she could voice an objection, he asked her a
question.
     "You say you dropped a mountain on them?  When?" His
voice carried such a tone of command that Xian Pu had to fight to
keep from bracing to attention.  She almost said she had fought
them three hours ago, but then she paused., flushing sightly.  That
would have been the answer of a true novice.  During the
excitement of seeing the cat demons still alive, she had forgotten
her own situation.  Once again the pig's comment on when he had
faced the demons surfaced in her mind.  "It was three hundred years
ago.  I drowned in Nyanniichuan shortly after that.  I only recently
woke up after a woman fell into the spring and gained me as a
curse.  I'm not even a real person.  I am nothing more than a
shadow of the past." Xian Pu said the last with some bitterness,
which was not lost on the little pig.
     "Funny, you don't look like a shadow to me." He waggled his
eyebrows at her as he ran his eyes up and down her body.  "As for
being a real person.  I'd say you're more than real enough for me. 
Alright, enough self pity." Xian Pu felt outrage at his remarks, and
at his casual dismissal of her situation, but once again the pig did
not give her time to voice this.  He continued to speak in a crisp
voice. "So you claim to have dropped a mountain on them three
hundred years ago.  I don't suppose they tried to run away when you
did that?"
     Disciplining herself, she kept her attention on the matter at
hand, but privately vowed that there would be a reckoning later.
"Yes, they did, but they did not escape.  I lost sight of them in the
dust near the end, but by then they were still too far from safety for
it to have made a difference.  There is no way they could have
escaped fully."
     "I don't suppose they could have run into one of the springs
while trying to get out from under the landslide?  Say, just before it
buried them?"
     Xian Pu experienced a burst of understanding.  "They fell into
a spring!  That's why they are still alive.  They are a curse!" She
glared at the little pig, and added.  "Like me." 
     He ignored her last remark, focusing instead on the part that
interested him. "So if we can splash some hot water on them, they'll
revert to their previous form, whatever that is."
     Xian Pu looked around herself quickly, taking inventory of the
people she could see.  There was a ragged looking boy laying on the
ground nearby, his chest raising and falling, showing he was not as
dead as he looked.  Xian Pu did not recognize him, but his clothes,
and a certain feral quality, marked him as a member of the Musk. 
That would have to be dealt with, but later.  Near him, and watching
the two cat demons with a worried look on his face was the brown
haired boy from the spring.  The rain had obviously changed him
into his current form even as it had brought her out.  Far off in the
distance she could see the female guide hurrying toward them, a
kettle in her hand.  That left one person, unless there was another
unknown individual involved. 
     "Short, black haired girl, good fighter, but not the best.  Fairly
strong from the look of her. That is the one who likely has the
curse."
     "But that's only one.  Who's the other?"
     "There is no other.  If the Cat demons drowned, they likely did
it at the same time in the same spring.  They seem to be twins. That
makes it a twin spring.  One person falls in, two come out."
     "No shit!" he looked over to where the two cat demons were
rolling around on the ground together, trying their level best to
strangle each other, and not having much luck.  The landscape was
not fairing as well.  They were surrounded by a churned up sea of
mud and rocks.  Even as he watched, they rolled near a large
boulder, imbedded deep in the ground.  One of the girls, he couldn't
tell which one, they were so badly coated with muck by now, placed
a foot against it and shoved.  She might have been hoping to gain an
advantage over her opponent with the added leverage, but all she
succeeded in doing was to shove the massive rock over, churning up
even more dirt.  
     P's expression became uncertain for the first time.  Damn, he
didn't remember them being that strong.  It must have something to
do with the magic, and that was something outside his experience. 
He turned to his companion.  She at least seemed to know a little
about it. "Should we douse them while they are together, or wait till
they separate.  I'm not up on this magic stuff.  Not even sure if I
believe in it.  Do they need to be touching to turn back into this girl
who fell into the spring?  Do we have to douse one, or both of
them?"
     "I'm not sure." Xian Pu frowned, and tried to remember what
her grandmother had taught her about the springs.  "Spring of
drowned twin is not like other springs.  The curse makes two people
where there was one, and they don't change back.  This is different I
think.  If it was the black haired girl who fell in, then she changed
into a completely different creature, two of them as a matter of fact. 
The hot water might not work, or it might leave us with two girls, or
they might merge into one person again." She shrugged her
shoulders.  "There is really only one way to tell."

     With no further word or explanation, Xian Pu went bounding
across the ground, straight toward the panting out of breath, Plum. 
Reaching her in seconds, she snatched the kettle from the startled
girl's  hand, and bounded back toward the fighting cat demons.  The
rain that was falling would make this a very short term experiment. 
Despite that, it should at least let them know whether the hot water
would have any effect, and if so, what.  Reaching the two girls, she
quickly hoped into the air to avoid their rolling bodies and to get as
close as she could to them.  As they passed under her, she upended
the kettle.  The figures below her morphed, and for just a second, it
was two naked black haired girls below her.  Then, they were back
to being cat demons.

     The brief moment was enough however to finally break the
stalemate the two had ended up in. They broke apart and looked at
each other in shock.  Then their eyes narrowed and they glared at
each other.
     "So that's it, you're trying to steal my body."
     "So that's it, you're trying to steal my body."
     They glared at each other with loathing. For a second, it
looked like they were about to resume their interrupted battle. 
Before that could happen however, there was an interruption. 

     "Ahhhhhhh!" the cat girl with the tuft missing from her tail
suddenly stiffened, her back arcing in a bow.  The one with the
white patch on her cheek watched in shock as the other girl seemed
to go into some sort of fit.  The convulsions seemed to go on
forever, but really only lasted about five seconds.  The stubbed
tailed girl finally slumped, and slowly folded to the ground.  Behind
her, the small black pig gave a toothy smile, and blew on the tip of
the sharp needle his hoof had morphed into.
     "Get's them every time." He said with every indication of
satisfaction.  "Now we deal with you!" He glared up at the
remaining cat girl, who looked back at him in shock. 
     "Nani!  P-chan?  I don't understand?  You can talk!  How?"
An expression of complete befuddlement covered her face.
     An expression of startled surprise crossed the pig's face.  It
was quickly replaced by one of intense anger.  "Don't you dare call
me that!" He said in a voice that carried an amazing amount of
threat, for coming from such a small creature.  "You don't have the
right!  You haven't earned the right!"
     The standing cat girl backed up a few steps, her expression
going from befuddlement, to shock.  For a second she looked like a
little girl whose parent had yelled at her, and who didn't know why. 
Her expression turned quickly to one of anger.  Anger which
completely overrode any surprise a talking pig could cause.
     "How dare you!  I'm the one who saved you from your
crashed rocket!" 
     For a second the tall cat girl, and the short pig glared at each
other.  To Xian Pu's surprise, the small pig was the first to look
away.  When he spoke, it was in a sad tone.
     "Sorry girl.  My partner Felicity use to call me P-chan.  To
hear it from you . . .Let's just say it was a shock.  That body you're
wearing used to belong to Una Puma.  She was my partner's great,
great, aunt.  She was also a vicious mercenary, who tried to kill
someone I cared very much for.  She also threatened to serve me for
dinner if she ever got her hands on me.  We didn't get along very
well."
     His words seemed to remind the girl of her current situation. 
She looked down at her own body, and then at the one laying on the
ground.  "I'm cursed then?" She said in a stunned voice.  "But who
is that?  Did someone else fall in at the same time?" Her eyes
suddenly widened. "Not the pervert!" She looked around, and
sighed in relief when she spotted the figure of the fallen Musk
warrior. 
     Xian Pu answered her.  "You fell into a spring of drowned
twin cat demons.  That one on the ground there is you as well."
     "What!?  You mean that one's a copy of me don't you?"
     Xian Pu shook her head.  "You are both the same person,
neither of you is copy, not if what I've heard of the stories is true. 
Or maybe you could say you are both copies."
     "That wrong!  I'm the original!" She turned to the pig.  "Why
else would you have knocked out the other one?"
     "I've got this one toots." The little pig said to Xian Pu. 
Turning back to the cat girl, he said.  "Luck of the draw I'm afraid. 
If you had been the closest, I'd have zapped you." Seeing the girl's
expression, he quickly added.  "Now don't go getting upset.  I had a
good reason.  You two are exactly the same person.  Until you
diverge from each other you're going to be caught in some sort of
feedback loop.  I figured that if I put one of you out, then that would
give the one still standing a chance to diverge enough that you two
can start dealing with each other in a less violent way."
     "Deal with that fake!  Never!" 
     Before either the pig or Xian Pu could say anything, a sarcastic
voice came from behind them. "That's the way to go Akane!  Why
don't you yell a little louder!  I'm sure reality will move over if you
just howl loud enough!"
     Xian Pu turned to see that the brown haired boy from before
had walked up to join them.  He was looking at the cat girl in
disgust.  The cat girl for her part was looking at him with a great
deal of anger.  "Are you saying I should just go along with this
crazy idea?"
     "Oh no, of course not!" The brown haired boy said, his voice
dripping sarcasm.  "I think you should wait till this other one wakes
up!  Then, you and her can go back to tearing the hell out of the
each other, and everything else around here!" He made a wide
sweeping gesture.  Indicating the mounds of dirt and the deep
gouges in the earth the two cat girls had already churned up during
their fight.  "Or better still, you could use this!" He held up a
sheathed sword.  The one Nodoka had given him a little while
earlier. Taking a firm grip on the sheath he used his other hand to
pull twenty six inches of razor sharp blade free of it.  "Yes, this will
do the trick.  You can just cut her head off while she's helpless. 
That should solve all your problems."
     "What!?" The cat girl said, drawing back in shock.  "I couldn't
do that!"
     The pig took over the conversation at this point, after directing
an approving look at the brown haired boy. "Why not?  She's a
fake!  You said so yourself.  What right does she have to live.  How
dare she have your body, your memories!  Best thing you could do
is to kill her before she starts demanding your rights.  She might
even claim you're the one who's the fake."
     "I am the real one!"
     "That's right.  So I guess you'd better take the boy up on his
offer.  Do her in now.  After all, it's not like she's a real person,
she's just a cheap fake the springs conjured up."
     "Are you crazy?  I can't kill her!"
     "Why not, you don't think she's going to agree that she's the
fake.  If Red here is right, she's got your memories, your body. 
She's thinks she's you." He shook his head.  "Nope, better to just
kill her and be done with it.  Give her the sword."  He told the
brown haired boy.  The boy held out the sword to the cat girl, a
serious look on his face.  Xian Pu realized what they were trying to
do, but from the look on the boy's face, he was not altogether sure
the cat girl would reject the offer of the sword.  The relief on his
face was obvious when the cursed girl placed her hands behind her
back, and backed away from the proffered sword, shaking her head
in denial.
     "No, I won't do that.  You can't make me do that."
     The pig spoke again, and this time his voice was soft and
soothing.  "It's alright girl, you don't have to do it.  Why don't you
go and get yourself cleaned up, and we'll talk with this other one.  I
can tell you that you got yourself a hell of a good looking body
there, if you'll just wash all that muck off of it.  No one ever
accused the Puma sisters of being short on looks, just on brains.
With your mind and Una's body, you're one hell of a package."
     Ukyou stiffened in reflexive shock, and for a brief second, a
recipe for pork Okinomiyaki ran through her head.  She wondered if
she could snatch the pig away before Akane went ballistic.
Her jaw dropped when none of this became necessary.
     Instead of going postal on the little black pig. Akane said,
"really, you think so?" Ukyou gapped as Akane shyly ducked her
head and dug a toe into the dirt.  What the hell was going on here? 
If any guy had said that to Akane, she would have pulverized him. 
Of course the one doing the complimenting really was a pig, instead
of just being one metaphorically, but still. 
     "For sure, now go wash up now.  Leave your sister to us."
     "Sister?" The cat girl said this word as if tasting the concept, a
look of surprise on her face. She gave them a weak smile.  "I guess
she is sort of a sister isn't she?" She walked off toward the nearby
stream, the angle of her head showing she was finally thinking,
rather then simply reacting.  Ukyou watched after with a feeling of
some relief.  She'd been afraid Akane had reverted fully to her
angry young girl mode, but it looked like she had been serious about
behaving better.
     Xian Pu waited till she was out of earshot, and then spoke in a
lowered voice just to make sure.  "That was well done elder.  But
what do we do with this other one?  She is going to be as hard to
convince as that one was."
     "The name is P, Agent P. 'You' can call me P-chan if you like. 
You're not bad, either of you.  You both have the making of good
cops.  As for this one, well, we wait till . . . What is her name
anyway," he asked the brown haired girl.
     "Akane, and I'm Ukyou."
     "All right, we give Una-Akane a chance to clean up.  Then."
He held up his spiked tipped hand, "we give her a nice little nap,
and do the whole thing over again with Anna-Akane here."
     Xian Pu frowned.  "Una-Akane is not likely to take that well."
     "Can't be helped.  But one of the benefits of this method is
that it scrambles short term memory.  She won't remember anything
from the last thirty seconds before I stuck her.  Believe me, I know
what those bodies can do, and what it takes to put one of them
down.  It won't do her any lasting harm.  I wish we could do it some
other way, but it has to be done like this.  Like you told me, at the
moment they are duplicates of each other.  Mentally, as well as
physically.  What worked with one, will work with the other.  They
are simply too dangerous as they are.  I won't have them killing
someone accidentally while they quarrel.  We already know one
method that works, so I don't see any need with trying a different
one.  Now, back to your positions, and try to remember what you
did last time, and when."
     Xian Pu found herself responding once again to the aura of
command P-chan exuded, and along with the brown haired boy. 
Ukyou?  She started trying to remember the words and actions she
had spoken and used in the conversation with Anna-Akane.

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

     "So that's what we did." Ukyou said to Nodoka.  "And just
like with Una-Akane, Anna-Akane came around in the same way,
they're still pretty wary of each other, but they seem to be at least
trying to get along.  I don't pretend to understand why that pig can
get through to them, however.  Maybe it's because he's not human? 
Or maybe because he's so small?  Whatever it is, I'm glad he could. 

     "That seems very cruel, what this Agent P did to them.  Is he
really an alien?"
     "As far as I know.  I'm no expert, but I can't think of any other
explanation for him.  Xian Pu is sure he's some sort of magician or
spirit guardian.  That is she thinks that now.  She dumped some hot
water over him.  He read her the riot act for that, but he didn't
change. As for Akane, I agree with you.  I think it was cruel, but I
couldn't think of anything else, and you know how strong she is.  I
was afraid if the two of them didn't settle down they could cause
some real harm.  You saw what she almost did to that boy.  It was
only luck she didn't kill him. Akane's new bodies have some pretty
impressive natural weapons, I hate to think what would have
happened if that Agent P hadn't calmed them down.""
     "What about that boy?  Where is he now?"
     "Locked up in Plum's hut.  When he was just coming around
he started talking about Prince Herb coming with everyone.  Plum
tells me Prince Herb is the son of a local ruler that lives outside the
communist net.  Seems they have an arrangement with the
government.  You don't bother us, and we won't bother you.  They
must be pretty dangerous if they can get the PRC to accept an
arraignment like that.  Plum tells me her father has warned her
about this Prince Herb.  She's supposed to make herself scarce, and
to make sure he does not see her if he comes here.  She didn't say
outright, but I get the impression that Prince Herb and his men are
not great respecters of women.  I can believe it.  When that boy
woke all the way up and saw Xian Pu, he didn't even hesitate, he
made a grab for her with no warning at all.  Pu flattened him."
Ukyou's voice held admiration.  "Akane was right, she's faster then
anyone I've ever seen.  I meant that guy was quick, I didn't even see
him move, and she still took him out."
     "Oh dear," Nodoka said, glancing over to where both Akanes
were sitting.  Listening while Agent P filled them in on the former
history of their cursed forms.  From the expression on their faces, it
did not make good listening.  "We had best be gone before this
Prince Herb gets here then.  I don't want Akane to go on another
rampage.  We've already caused enough damage." 
     "My thoughts exactly."
     "Will Plum be safe?"
     "She should be.  She says she knows the mountains well
enough that she can hide out there while she waits for her dad to get
back."
     Agent P who had finished his talk with the Akanes,  left them
quietly talking to each other, and wondered over to Ukyou and
Nodoka.  "So, you're Xian Pu's other half."

     Nodoka looked at the small pig uncertainly, but despite her
doubts, she owed him a debt of honor.  So she spoke with respect to
him.  "That is correct.  I understand from Ukyou that I own you a
debt of gratitude.  You managed to bring Akane . . . and Akane
under control.  Something I have been unsuccessful in doing."
     "Don't mention it.  I've had lots of practice.  They were a lot
easier then the originals to deal with, believe me.  I wanted to ask
you a question.  Is it true that you have no memory at all of the time
you spend as Xian Pu?"
     "Yes.  I wake as if no time has passed at all.  I don't even
dream."
     "That's no good, no good at all.  That could be a big liability. 
If this Prince Herb catches up with us, that could be very dangerous. 
It would be very bad if you were to change in the middle of the
conflict.  Neither you or Xian Pu would have any idea of the
situation."
     "I've thought of the same thing myself, but what am I to do
about it.  Notes or any other form of communication between us
would be useless in those circumstances.  It might be best if I turn
control of my body over to Xian Pu.  Accidental dousing with hot
water is much less likely then cold.  It is my carelessness that
caused the situation, it is my duty to do what ever is necessary to fix
it."
     "That is an option of course, but it has its downside.  For one
thing, this Prince Herb is well aware of the curses.  He could come
prepared with hot water.  I have something else I'd like to try first."
He held up a stylized tiara that looked like it had been carved from
some fine pale wood. 
     "What is it?" She asked.
     "I won't go into the details, but basically it's a device for
making a recording of a person's mind.  It was not designed for this,
but I believe it can be used to allow both you and Xian Pu to remain
self aware while the other is in charge of your mutual body.  Now I
can't force you to wear it, but . . ."
     P got no further, Nodoka reached out and took the wooden
tiara from him.  She lifted it up and placed it on her head, being
careful to work the bands on either side carefully under her hair. 
"Oh," she said in surprise.  "It moved."
     "Yes, it will adjust itself to fit you, or Xian Pu." 
     "How long must I wear it?"
     "Always, it needs to be in constant contact to work. It will take
a day or so to make a complete recording, after that, if it works like
I hope, you and Xian Pu will be aware of what is going on while
trapped in the others body.  Of course Xian Pu will need to spend a
full day in control of your shared body so that the device can make
a recording of her mind as well.  So, when do we leave?"
     "Are you coming with us?" Nodoka asked in surprise.
     Agent P shrugged.  "Got no where else to go, and from what
the girls have told me, this planet is not the safest place for someone
who looks like me.  I figure the three of you are so unusual, that no
one is going to look twice at a pet pig, even if he behaves strange
from time to time."
     "Then it is best we be off then," Nodoka said firmly.

     Overhead, a small single engine plane passed by.  But no one
payed any attention to it.  They had far more important things to do
then to stare at something that had nothing to do with them.


So ends part one. In part two, I cover the return home, and mix in a
few Amazons to make life more interesting.

Uni and Anna are of course stolen from the marvelous Manga,
Dominion Tank Police.  While my versions are biological rather
then cybernetic, their appearance is very close, with the addition of
their tails being my concept. 

     A special thank you, to Eimii, who created the names for
Ryouga's spring.


T.H. Tiger
schell@interlog.com.


From: "T.H. Tiger" <schell@interlog.com>

     A fan fiction based on the works of Rumiko Takahashi,  
     creator of Ranma 1/2, and, Masaki Kajishima, who I've been
     told is the creator of Tenchi Muyo. Hitoshi Okuda, is the artist     
     and creator of the Tenchi Manga, which continues the original
     Tenchi series, more or less.^_^
 
     I have no rights to these characters.  Which should come as
     no surprise to anyone.

  Previous chapters can be found at these fine locations.
  All of these sites have many other good stories, check them
  out, even if you have all my previous chapters.
  <http://www.anime.usacomputers.net/~dragon/>
  <http://members.xoom.com/gensao/>
  <http://www.fortunecity.com/marina/thunder/181/ccc.html>

  T.H. Tiger
  schell@interlog.com


Tenchi and Ranma, Together Forever!?
  Chapter Eight
  Clothes make the Girl?
  
  
  This is an alternative universe story in which Ranma was
trapped as a girl from day one, due to a foggy encounter with the
Musk Dynasty.
  Unable to engage his now permanently female son to one of
Soun Tendo's daughters, Genma was deeply depressed. Until he
came across an old agreement between himself and Nobuyuki
Masaki, agreeing that if he should ever have a daughter, she would
marry Nobuyuki's son, Tenchi. Well, as noted, Genma has recently
acquired a daughter. ^_^ 
  
  
  Tenchi Masaki was in hell!  
  This fact would have come as a large surprise to his father, or
any other male observer of his current situation, and some females
as well.  From all appearances, the direct opposite should have been
the case.  After all, how many seventeen-year-old boys wake up in
bed to find two gorgeous girls cuddling up to him on either side? 
  Of course, Tenchi was privy to some facts regarding those girls
that the casual observer might not be aware of.  For instance, the
tall, well-built, cyan-haired lady on his right was known as Ryouko,
a former class 'A' galactic criminal, aka, the demon of destruction.
At least according to Princess Ayeka, but then she seemed to be
biased on the subject.  
  Tenchi had seen Ryouko shatter the foot-thick reinforced
concrete roof of his late school with one casual gesture.  The school
was late because besides shattering the roof, Ryouko had also
caused, and walked through, a massive gas explosion that had
reduced it to rubble.  She had done all this while doing her level
best to reduce Tenchi to a smear of grease.  Of course, she now
claimed that she had only been playing.  Tenchi had doubts, big
doubts.
  The girl on Tenchi's left had the advantage of being human, or
at least no more inhuman than Tenchi himself.  Unlike Ryouko she
was short, less than five feet in height. Where Ryouko's hair was a
wild uncontrolled mane, her crimson hair was pulled back in a
heavy French braid, that at the moment coiled around her shoulder
and lay across Tenchi's stomach.  
  Though both girls' eyes were closed in sleep, they too were
different. Ryouko possessed slitted yellow eyes, which tended to
shift color when she was aroused, in one fashion or another. The
red-haired girl's eyes were a deep maroon, very much like those of
her aunt, Ayeka, and Tenchi's grandfather.  
  They also differed slightly in behavior, if not quite as much as
they did in appearance. The redhead, for instance, did not make a
habit of tossing around energy bolts, flying, or walking through
walls.  Instead, she had a tendency toward going insane while in the
presence of cats, and of coping by becoming a cat herself, in mind if
not in body.  Tenchi had seen her reduce the lower story of his
home to so much sawdust the evening before.  Only the quick action
of Princess Ayeka and her guardians had kept the upper story
supported and in one piece long enough to lower it to the ground. 
  None of that was obvious at the moment. Ranma looked cute
as a kitten curled up beside him, her head on his chest and one arm
curled up so her fist was tucked under her chin. In the crook of her
other arm was what looked like a small stuffed animal, but was, in
fact, according to Ryouko, a living creature who would one day
grow up to become a spaceship.
  Oh, and one final thing about the redhead.  Despite a body that
screamed out its female nature, she insisted that she was, in fact, a
boy, and she tended to take serious exception to anyone trying to
treat her as a girl.  This put Tenchi in a bit of a difficulty due to her
rather casual way with clothes, the lack of them that is.  Her typical
attitude of, "Hey! We're all boys here right?" tended to force home
the fact that despite her claim to former boyhood, her body was
one-hundred, and then some, percent female.
  To tell the truth, after the initial panic of waking up to find
himself bracketed by two sleeping wildcats, possibly literally true in
the case of Ranma, he'd started to enjoy the sensation of the two of
them pressed against him.  He was a healthy male teenager, after all.
They were, despite Ranma's claim to the contrary, very female, no
matter what other characteristics they had.  But then, he had spotted
it, the final element that turned the current situation into a hell of
anticipation.  A thing that currently terminated inches below
Ranma's face, a sunbeam.

  He had been laying there, still drowsy, enjoying the warmth of
his bed and the unusual sensation of being trapped between two
girls when he'd first noticed it. He had initially attached no
significance to it. It had appeared on the wall, and in the manner of
sunbeams, it had moved as the sun rose, first down the wall to the
floor and then across that. 
  It was half way across the room before his mind really started
to take note of it and where it was headed.  Its path was undeviating
and, therefore, easy to predict. In just a little while, it was going to
end its journey by shining directly into Ranma's face.
  Ever since he had taken note of that fact, Tenchi's imagination
had been supplying him with a vivid series of the likely
consequences of Ranma waking to find herself in her present
situation.  This, of course, was in between episodes of his life
flashing before his eyes.  One: she would still be in cat mode, and
he was smack dab between her and her favorite cat toy. Two: she
would be normal, more or less, and if that were the case, he had a
feeling she was not going to react well to her current situation. In
either case, Tenchi was looking at a world of hurt.
  For a brief moment he had entertained thoughts of waking
Princess Ayeka, the one person Ranma seemed to pay any heed to. 
The princess and her sister were currently sleeping a few feet away,
the damage done to the house having left little remaining of their
and Ranma's bedroom.
  He had given up the idea after a few casual whispers had done
nothing other than to cause Ranma to mumble something about
letting her sleep a few more minutes Pop. After his heart had
stopped racing, he had concentrated on being as quiet as he could. 
  Since then, he had come to the inescapable conclusion that
there was no escape from this fate. Any action he took toward
freeing himself would only awaken one or both of the girls, and
merely hasten the inevitable result. 
  Slowly the spot of light on the floor had moved nearer and
nearer to its goal.  It reached Ranma's torso and crept up and over
the arm she was holding Ryo-oh-ki with.  The little cabbit had
shifted slightly as the warmth penetrated her fur, but had not
wakened.  She'd merely snuggled deeper into the crook of Ranma's
arm and settled down with a small contented mewl, which drew a
twitch from Ranma but, fortunately, did not waken her.  The
sunbeam left Ryo-oh-ki and moved across Tenchi's chest, the
warmth a distinct contrast to the chill Tenchi felt as the bright blot
finally reached the destination he had been anticipating; Ranma's
face. 
  Ranma's features screwed up slightly as the bright light fell
across her closed eyes.  Tenchi's mind started to chant a liturgy, 
"I'm going to die.  I'm going to die." Despite that, the part of his
mind that was not focused on his soon-to-be demise could not help
noticing how cute Ranma's scrunched up face was. Tenchi was a
teenage boy. The insignificant prospect of his impending death
could not keep him from appreciating certain things.

  Ranma's eyes opened, and then shut immediately against the
glare of the sun.  The hand not currently involved in holding Ryo-
oh-ki slid out from between her head and Tenchi's chest and was
used as a screen to protect her vision from the brilliance of the early
morning sun.  For a second, she lay there, a blank look on her face,
but then a look of horror settled on her features, and Tenchi felt his
stomach lurch with dread.
  "Shit!" Ranma yelled, jumping to her feet.  "What the heck is
the time?" She dashed across the room to where Tenchi's bedroom
clock lay, ignoring the chaos of the room. "Shit, shit, shit!" Ranma
cursed when she saw the face of the clock.  "Damn, I'm late!" 
  Sasami, who had been in that pleasurable daze between sleep
and waking, was pushed into full awareness by Ranma's activity. 
She sat up with a wide yawn and sat there blinking before asking,
"Ranma-oneechan, what's wrong?" Ayeka snorted softly and
blinked her eyes blearily as she woke to greet the new day. Ayeka
was not a morning person.
  "No time! Here! Look after the squirt! Got to go! Late for
training!" Ranma blurted out. She thrust a still drowsy Ryo-oh-ki
into a befuddled Sasami's hands and then literally dove out the
window.  A second later, an impact was heard, followed by an
expression of pain from Ranma. A few choice curse words
followed. Tenchi jumped out of bed and rushed to the window,
leaving Ryouko's head hanging in the air for a second before it
thumped down on the futon. 
  Reaching the window, Tenchi looked out to see Ranma
rubbing her backside and staring at the house with an expression of
puzzlement. The fact that the second story window was now at
ground level had taken her by surprise, Tenchi surmised. However,
Ranma had no time for mysteries this morning, she was already late,
and she had a lot to learn, and a short time to do it in. She took off.
  Tenchi watched Ranma go with a dazed expression.  Then a
happy smile crossed his face.  He had lucked out.  He was still alive. 
He'd dodged the bullet. What a great start to a beautiful day.  Then,
a pair of velvet-covered cables snaked around his neck and a
breathy voice whispered in his ear.  
  "Mmmmm, morning Tenchi." Tenchi flinched as he felt
Ryouko start nibbling on his ear. "You know, Tenchi," Ryouko
whispered around her morning snack.  "They say that the morning is
the best time for romance, ne? And the bed is so cold when you're
alone. Why don't you come back to bed and keep me warm?"
  "You hussy!  Release Tenchi-sama this instant!  He is
promised to Ranma-san!"
  Sasami yawned widely and exited the room as mayhem
erupted behind her.  "Let's see if we can find something to make
breakfast out of, Ryo-oh-ki," she said.  Ryo-oh-ki mewled
enthusiastically at the idea of food.  She hopped out of Sasami's
arms and began a thorough search of the remains of the lower story
of the house.  She was sure there had been a bushel basket of carrots
around here somewhere.  Sasami giggled and joined her search,
looking for the remains of the kitchen and any foodstuffs that might
have survived the events of the night before.


  Tenchi flinched as Ayeka administered both medical aid and a
lecture.  "Really, Tenchi-sama," she chided as she stuck a bandage
on his forehead. (with a little more force than was strictly necessary,
in his opinion).  "You should not encourage that hussy. Poor
Ranma-san has enough problems without you making her wonder
about your feelings for her."
  Tenchi felt rather hard done by. He had hardly had time to
encourage Ryouko, either in a positive or negative way, what with
Ayeka starting a fight with the demon girl before he even had time
to react to her hug.

  They were currently sitting outside the house, on one of the
surviving tatami mats from the lower story.  Sasami had started a
small fire and laid the kitchen grill over it.  She was currently taking
an inventory of all the food she had managed to salvage before
starting breakfast.  Ryouko hovered nearby, a hungry look in her
eyes, only occasionally directing sardonic glances Ayeka's way, and
glances at Tenchi that were almost as hungry as the ones she was
directing at Sasami's efforts.  Ryo-oh-ki was slightly off to the side,
happily gnawing on a large carrot Sasami had salvaged from the
remains of the storage shed.   
  Tenchi was not paying any attention to this.  Instead, Ayeka's
comment on his feelings for Ranma had started him thinking on a
subject that had been much on his mind recently.  
  What were his feelings toward the little redhead?  She was
violent and crude, so much so that she made Ryouko look feminine
at times.  She was about as far from Tenchi's idea of a normal girl
as you could get. Yet, there was something there. Something about
her that made him smile just from being in her presence. 
  Joy, that was it, Tenchi thought with a small smile. Ranma had
a joy for life that burned clear for everyone around her to see.  She
smiled more often than frowned.  Laughed more often than cried.  If
her story of once being a boy was true, then Tenchi was in awe of
her. In her position he would have been depressed and withdrawn. 
He was not sure if he'd have been able to walk down the street if it
had happened to him.  Ranma on the other hand, despite the
occasional grumble, which often seemed more out of reflex than
any serious emotion, just got on with her life.  Why, right now, she
was up on the hill, eager for a lesson from his grandfather,
something that Tenchi tended to regard as a chore rather than as
something pleasurable.  That was one reason why he was sitting
here, letting Ayeka tend to him, rather than going up the hill for his
own training. 
  Tenchi was suddenly consumed with a desire to watch Ranma
practice.  He was sure that she took as much joy in that as she did in
everything else. He could easily picture her in his mind, laughing
and joking, his old shirt clinging to her sweaty body as she twisted
through a complicated kata. The morning sun highlighting all the
many curves of her body . . .  Tenchi wrenched his thoughts away
from the direction they had been traveling.
  Ranma was a boy! He had to remember that! She had said so
on numerous occasions. Her father's curse was proof that it was
possible. Even if she was delusional like her father claimed, she had
made it clear that she had no interest in him, or in any other boys in
that way. Even his grandfather had warned him that Ranma needed
a friend, not a boyfriend. So even if she had never been a boy, he
still had no business thinking such thoughts about her. If he didn't
stop, he might turn into his father. Tenchi shuddered at the thought.
  Besides, in all ways possible, she and he were an unlikely
couple. 'So why,' he asked himself, 'when you have a beautiful girl
like Ryouko constantly showing her willingness to be with you, do
your thoughts keep turning to a girl you do not have the least chance
of knowing romantically?  One who has not the slightest interest in
you, and who, in fact, would likely clean your clock if you even
suggested anything of a romantic nature to her?' 
  Tenchi sighed to himself. He would just have to try and think
of Ranma the same way he thought of his friends at school. A vision
of one such friend appeared in his mind's eye; fat, pimply and male.
A vision of Ranma floated up beside him; clear complexion, sleek,
well shaped body. Tenchi snorted in derision. Yeah right, he
thought to himself with a mental sigh. Just treat her like one of the
boys. No problem.

  "Ouch," Tenchi exclaimed, as a particulary vigorous
application of some stinging salve by Ayeka brought him out of his
reverie. Ayeka was unrepentant as she finished the last of her
nursing. Her expression clearly showed she thought Tenchi was
only getting what he deserved. Looking away from her frown,
Tenchi sighed again, this time in anticipatory resignation. His
glance had taken in the scattered remains of the lower story of the
house. His thoughts regarding Ranma had made him forget, briefly,
the condition of his home. "I guess I'll have to start cleaning this
up," he said in a depressed tone. "I don't know where I'm going to
start though."

  Kamidake, one of Ayeka's guardians, the one with the strange
script on his front in crimson, had been hovering nearby, waiting for
the princess to finish with Tenchi.  Now, as she finished her
nursing, he spoke up. "There is no need for that Tenchi-sama."
When both Ayeka and Tenchi turned inquiring looks his way, he
explained.  "I was waiting to inform you, princess.  Azaka has
managed to locate an undamaged pod of some of Ryuu-oh's self-
repair drones.  They cannot restore Ryuu-oh itself, unfortunately.
They were programmed for the maintenance of the living quarters
only, not the flight superstructure, but they can easily repair the
damage to Tenchi-sama's dwelling."  As he was talking, a small
disk-shaped object flew up behind him and blinked its round sensor
arrays at Tenchi.  The sensors gave it a droll expression, and Tenchi
found himself smiling at it.
   "That is good news," Ayeka said, but then she frowned, and
added, "but will their storage cells last?  We have no way to
recharge them. If I remember correctly, they are imported and are
not compatible with Ryuu-oh. I'm sure the auxiliary power modules
were destroyed in the crash."
  "There will be no need, princess. These are the new models
with the miniature fusion reactors.  No energy cells required. They
also have a self-replication ability, so with any luck we will soon
have more than adequate help." 
  "Excellent!" Ayeka exclaimed happily.  She turned to Tenchi. 
"You go and keep your iinazuke company.  I'm sure she will be
most happy to see you." Ayeka made shooing motions with her
hands, urging Tenchi toward the stairs leading up to the temple. 
"Go, go.  By the time you get back, Kamidake and Azaka, with the
aid of the drones, will be well on the way to restoring the house."
  "Well, if you're sure?" Tenchi said, as he backed toward the
shrine steps.  Then as Ayeka renewed her shooing motions, he
smiled and headed toward the shrine on the top of the hill, his vow
to treat Ranma as one of the boys already forgotten. 

  "Ayeka-san?" Ayeka turned to see Tenchi's father walking
toward her.  He had a brown paper parcel under one arm and a pair
of letters in his free hand.  He handed one of the letters to her and
held up the parcel for her to see.  "Here are the outfits you wanted
me to get," he said with a happy smile, and then he winked, and
went on. "And I got a little something special for her to impress
Tenchi with." Ayeka smiled in return, a bit weakly however, there
was something in the way Nobuyuki said . . . No, it was just her
imagination.  She looked at the envelope in her hand in curiosity.  
  "That's from Genma," Nobuyuki explained. "He's left to see
his wife and to try and reason with her.  He said he'd call me back if
he was successful, but he wanted us to make sure she did not find or
meet Ranma until he gives the all clear. If she shows up here
without word from him, we're supposed to tell her that he and
Ranma continued their training trip and are no longer here."

  Ayeka frowned. She had noticed Genma's absence, but had
merely counted it as a small blessing, expecting him to turn up at
any moment. And while it was welcome news that he had left, she
was annoyed at him for running off without telling Ranma goodbye.
He might be a waste of space shape-shifter, but he was the girl's
father and he owed her at least that much consideration. 
  Ayeka was also skeptical of Genma's warning in regards to
Ranma's mother. She found it hard to believe that any mother
would treat her child the way Genma insisted his wife had, or that
any mother could even consider killing her only child for not being
a boy when clearly she was a girl.  She did not know the woman,
but she did know Genma, and if he disapproved of her, that was a
ringing endorsement to Ayeka.
  She carefully ripped open the end of the envelope Nobuyuki
had handed her and extracted the rather rumpled and dirty contents.
Opening it, she perused the contents for several minutes, while
Sasami, who had left her cooking, stood nearby, her face alight with
curiosity.
  "What does it say, Oneechan?" She asked.
  Instead of replying, Ayeka turned the page around and began
looking at it again. After a minute, Ayeka looked up and waved the
document in front of Sasami and Nobuyuki. "I have no idea," she
said in frustration. "This, this is . . . this isn't writing, this is the
scratchings of an imbecile." 
  Ayeka was frustrated and embarrassed.  She felt she should
have been able to read Genma's missive. After all, handwritten
correspondences constituted most of her personal mail. No
aristocrat would ever be so crass as to send a machine-generated
letter to a member of the royal family.  
  Of course, what she did not consider was the large number of
scribes in the capital city who made a good living crafting works of
art for their customers to send to the various members of the ruling
family. For if the aristocrats of Jurai were not so crass as to send an
artificially produced letter, they were not so foolish as to send one
that the recipient might have difficulty in reading, or that would
reflect badly on their own abilities.  Genma's letter bore the same
relationship to those documents as a child's mud pie did to the
products of the finest French kitchens.  

  "If I may, princess?" Nobuyuki said, taking the letter from
Ayeka. He looked at it and frowned. Genma had obviously put a lot
of effort and thought into this to judge by the amount of crossed
out, smeared, and altered words. It was too bad he hadn't taken the
effort to place his final version on a clean sheet of paper, or to write
it when he was not eating in the first place.  Still, Nobuyuki had far
more experience than Ayeka in deciphering documents of this
nature. It was not out of the ordinary for a client to hand him
something like this, with the expectation that he would turn it into
the basis for their dream home. He worked his way through the
letter, reading it to himself while Ayeka and Sasami waited for his
translation with barely disguised impatience. 

  *Girl! You listen to me. Don't mess with Ranma's training.
Let the old man teach her what little he can. If you try to change her
into a soft weak girl like yourself, you'll be signing her death
warrant. Ranma is a martial artist. She has sworn she will marry
Tenchi, and Tenchi's father has agreed he will honor our agreement.
That is all that is needed. Ranma is a martial artist. She doesn't need
your frippery and fancy ideas. She will do what she has promised.
No more is needed. Leave her alone! Let the old man handle her. If
you don't, her death will be on your hands!*

  Nobuyuki frowned and shook his head. This would never do.
While Ranma was a real cutey, she had a lot of rough edges. He
wanted her to be a good wife to his son. After all, they had to spend
sometime out of the bedroom, and Tenchi deserved a partner as
wonderful as his mother had been to him. He looked up at Ayeka,
who was frowning with impatience. 
  Ayeka stifled her annoyance and politely asked, "Can you read
it, Masaki-sama?"
  "Yes, it's nothing complicated. About what you would
expect," Nobuyuki said, as he crumpled the letter behind his back.
"Genma asked if you would please teach Ranma to be a real lady, as
he has done so poorly at it."
  Ayeka blinked in surprise. That was unexpected. Who would
have thought that the man had that much sense? To Nobuyuki she
said, "Of course, I'd be honored to do so. It is my duty, after all.
Ranma is family." She looked at the parcel in Nobuyuki's hands.
"Those will be a good start. After all, Ranma can hardly feel like a
princess when she has to dress like a beggar." Then in curiosity, she
asked. "Who is the other letter for? Is that from Ranma's father as
well?"
  "Yes. It's for father." 
  "May I take it to him?" Ayeka asked, while thinking to herself
that the sooner she got started on Ranma, the sooner the girl would
begin to act as befitting her true status as a princess of Jurai. Ayeka
found herself looking forward to the challenge. Before she could
start for the shrine stairs, however, Sasami called out to her.
  "Oneechan, if you are going up to see Tenchi-niichan, could
you tell him and Ranma-oneechan and grandfather that breakfast
will be ready in an hour?" Ayeka nodded and started toward the
stairs, at a much more decorous pace than Tenchi's earlier dash. In
her hand she carried the letter from Genma.

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

  Tenchi oofed and fell back out of the sparring circle for the
fifth time in ten minutes. Still inside the ring of dirt, Ranma
watched him with narrowed eyes. She had a bokken clutched in her
hands and was currently frozen in the position she had taken during
her last strike at Tenchi. 
  Instead of looking happy at her most recent victory, she was
scowling, and the expression showing in her eyes was far from
pleased. She stepped back, falling out of the stance she had taken,
and waited for Tenchi to re-enter the ring. When he did so and took
a ready position, she failed to emulate him. Instead, she ran a finger
speculatively up and down the side of the bokken that corresponded
to the edge on a sword. In an almost casual way, she directed a
question at Tenchi.  "Say, you do wear a cup, don't you?"
  Tenchi blinked, but before he could even begin to reply to this
sudden, out-of-the-blue comment, Ranma moved. She came in low,
swinging her weapon so that the tip of the bokken brushed the
ground, moving in an arc that would bring it up with tremendous
force. 
  Tenchi had time to blanch as realization hit home, but only
just. Ranma's speed was far in excess of what she had been using
thus far in their sparring. Before, she had been working her way
through the various styles that his grandfather had been showing her
when Tenchi had arrived. There was none of those present in this
attack. Ranma was holding the weapon as if it were a club, and
there was no finesse at all in her attack.
  There was no time to think, no time to calculate, only time to
react. The bokken in his hands seemed to move on its own, just as
the Tenchi-ken had during the fight with Ryouko the day before.
Only this time, it was Tenchi's own skill that directed it, a skill
unencumbered by his mind, which had interfered seriously with his
sparring up till now. He just couldn't bring himself to fight against
the cute girl across from him. There was nothing cute about the
murderous expression on her face now, however.
  Tenchi's bokken swept down and to the side, brushing
Ranma's weapon out of alignment with its intended targets. One of
Tenchi's hands released its hold on the hilt of his bokken, while his
other hand loosened its grip, allowing the bokken to pivot. The
weapon slid alongside Ranma's, using its force to swing itself
around until the point was to Tenchi's rear. Bringing his hand
forward, Tenchi rammed the butt of his weapon directly into
Ranma's diaphragm. With a sudden gasp of expelled air, Ranma
folded over Tenchi's arm. Less then a second had elapsed since
Ranma started her attack. 

  Tenchi felt horror well up in him as the adrenaline rush left
him. Ranma's slight body lay cradled over his arm, the hilt of his
bokken still pressed into her body. He hastily dropped his weapon
and using both arms eased the wheezing girl over on her back,
suddenly aware once again of how small she really was, a fact that
was generally hidden by her vitality of spirit. 
  'How could he have let himself lose control that badly?'
Feelings of self-loathing cascaded through him as he looked down
into Ranma's flushed face. To his amazement, she looked back up
at him with a pleased smile on her face.
  Gasping between the words, she said, "Now that's more like it.
What the heck was you thinking, holding back before? I'd have got
more practice sparring with a wooden dummy.  Keep this up and
you might even get to keep your balls." 

  "Here you go, Ryo-oh-ki," Sasami said, handing the small
cabbit a large carrot. Ryo-oh-ki gave a happy mewl and dragged it
over to a nice sunny patch of grass, where she happily set to work
demolishing it. Meanwhile, Sasami handed an eager Ryouko a bowl
of rice and a fried fish. 

  
  Ranma stopped talking and started concentrating on recovering
her breath. As she did so, she became aware of a strange, but
comfortable feeling permeating her body. Tenchi's body felt warm
against her's, and his arms seemed to fit around her just right. She
found herself thinking that this was a heck of a lot better then the
way her Pop rattled her around whenever he managed to get a lucky
blow in. 
  Ranma closed her eyes for a second and savored the feeling.
Then, her whole body jerked, and her eyes flew wide open as she
pulled herself out of Tenchi's grasp. Regaining her feet quickly, she
looked at the perplexed Tenchi with wide eyes. Her heart beat
madly in her chest, and a cold sweat broke out on her forehead.
What the heck was she doing? She was a guy. Guy's don't snuggle
up to other guys.
  Ranma felt heat in her cheeks and realized, to her shame, that
she was blushing. In an effort to regain her equilibrium, she spoke
harshly to Tenchi. "I hope you learned good, Tenchi, cuz if you
keep that bullshit, wimp-ass fighting up, I'll be taking that fancy
sword from you. It ought to belong to a real man, not some wuss
who backs off just cuz the person he's fighting's got a pair of tits."

  "Ranma-chan, that is no way for a lady to talk! Especially to
her fiancee!" a fierce voice said, breaking into Ranma's heated
speech. Both Tenchi and Ranma turned around to see a flushed
Ayeka standing at the top of the stairs, breathing slightly harder than
normal after the effort of climbing up the stairs to the shrine.
  After taking a moment to catch her breath, Ayeka continued
her speech. "It is to Tenchi-sama's credit that he treated you like a
lady. It is most unfair of you to chide him for proper behavior. I can
see that your father coming to his senses has happened not a minute
too soon." Ayeka marched across the stone courtyard of the shrine
to where Tenchi and Ranma were frozen in place. 
  
  Ranma looked at Ayeka with an expression of shock on her
face. The princess giving her Pop credit for something! A
suspicious expression crossed her face. What had the old man done
now? She voiced this question to Ayeka. 
  "Your father has gone to see your mother. He has asked that
while he is away, I endeavor to teach you to behave in a manner
befitting your gender and status as a princess of Jurai. 
  "He what!" Ranma shouted in outrage, not sure which had her
more upset; her Pop leaving without her, or his deciding to have her
turned into a lady. After a minute she decided it was the lady thing.
She'd been expecting Pop to run off, even if his leaving without her
was a bit of a shock.
  The lady bit, however, that was a surprise. Despite his stupid
deal to marry her to Tenchi and the promise he'd extracted from her
to guarantee that she'd go through with it, he had never insisted that
she act like a girl. Indeed, he had constantly chided her whenever he
thought she was acting in an unmanly manner. This about face was
a complete shock. Ranma's face suddenly darkened in anger. Pop
was abandoning her. Running off was one thing, the old fart did that
all the time. Ranma would have put it down to his wanting to get
away from a job he hated and away from the danger zone that the
Masaki household had become.  Eventually, he would have come
crawling back when his belly was empty. 
  Asking Ayeka to turn her into a lady, however, that was a
different kettle of fish entirely. He might still come back, likely
would in fact. That wasn't the problem. Her Pop had made it clear
many times that he believed girls were good for only two things,
making a man comfortable and providing him with heirs. That was
their only duty and responsibility in his mind.  By asking Ayeka to
train her, he was showing clearly that he had given up on Ranma
being his heir. He was as good as saying that her only value to him
now was to provide the next generation. She no longer had any
value beyond that. 
  Ranma's rage at Genma was so great, she felt like she was
going to explode. If she had been paying them any attention, she
would have seen Ayeka and Tenchi stepping back as her battle aura
flared to unprecedented levels. Katsuhito watched this flare with an
quirk of his eyebrow. 
  Her anger finally expressed itself in words. "You can go to
hell, Pop!!!" she screamed in the general direction of the bus stop, a
mile and a half away. "I'm a guy, damn you to hell!! I'll see you fry
before I turn into some weak, useless, brain dead, uncoordinated,
soppy girl!!!!"
  Ranma stood panting, her initial anger somewhat diminished
by her outburst. Once again aware of her surroundings, she felt an
itching on the back of her neck. Filled suddenly with a strange sense
of dread, Ranma turned her head slowly around till she was looking
behind herself to where Ayeka was standing. She gulped in fear as
she took in the expression on Ayeka's face. "Ahhh, Ayeka-san, I
didn't . . . I mean I did, but I . . . I --" 
  Ranma got no further.  With a soft hum, several dozen small
duplicates of Ayeka's two guardians snapped into view around her.
There was a crackling of energy, and Ranma suddenly found herself
floating up into the air. "Hey . . ." Ranma started to protest, only to
choke off her words as Ayeka flashed her a look rife with promises
 of pain and suffering. 
  Satisfied that Ranma was well caged, Ayeka turned to Tenchi
and Katsuhito, her face undergoing a transformation as she did so.
She smiled politely at them and said, "I'm sorry to interrupt your
training, but as you can see, Ranma is in great need of some
lessons."
  "Hey, I don . . ."
  Once again, Ranma trailed off as Ayeka whipped her head
around, her expression once again fierce. Ranma found herself
quailing under that look. "Scary," she whimpered in a small voice.
  Ayeka once more turned a pleasant countenance toward
Tenchi and his grandfather. "Please, have a good day," she said to
them, then shouted, "Kamidake, Azaka."
  With a loud "Hai!" the two guardians appeared in a blur of
motion. Ayeka nodded toward the captured Ranma, and the two
upright logs took positions on either side of her. 
  "Are the repair drones done?" Ayeka asked. 
  "Yes, princess," Kamidake and Azaka confirmed.
  "In that case, you may transport Ranma-san to the bathroom,"
she told them. She looked at Ranma, and said, "You may wash off
the sweat of your training, and when I get there, we will try on your
new clothes. Is that all right with you?" Her eyes bored into the
redhead's like lasers, making it clear what answer she expected
from her captive.
  Whatever thoughts might have been going through Ranma's
head stayed there. She numbly nodded her head in assent and then
sent a beseeching glance toward Tenchi. Too late for him to do
anything however, as with a flash, she and the guardians were gone.
    Ayeka gave a polite nod of her head to Tenchi and Katsuhito
and started down the stairs at a slow dignified pace. 
  
  Tenchi stared after her, and as he did so, a vision of Ranma
floated up in his mind. Just before she had vanished, it had seemed
to him that she had turned a pleading look toward him, one that
begged for a rescue. He started to move toward the stairs, intending
to plead Ranma's case with Ayeka. He was not sure what, if
anything, he could accomplish, but he was unable to resist the
entreaty that had been present in those large liquid eyes.
  A whack across the head from his grandfather's bokken
stopped him in his tracks. "Ouch, grandfather!" He protested. 
  "Leave the girls to themselves, Tenchi. You can peak at
Ranma in the bath some other time. You lost five out of six matches
with an untrained girl. You obviously need a refresher. Let us start
with the basic kata. Begin!"
  Tenchi had no choice in the matter.  He didn't even bother
protesting his innocence. Instead, he assumed a ready position.  But
while he appeared outwardly calm, he found he could not help
worrying about Ranma. He had never seen the Princess acting so
fierce toward anyone except Ryouko, and Ranma was much more
fragile than the former space pirate. He hoped she was going to be
all right.
  
  Ayeka opened the door to the bathroom to hear Ranma
remonstrating with the two Guardians. Indeed, she had backed poor
Azaka halfway up the wall till his top was pressed firmly against the
ceiling, and looking like he would be delighted to keep going, if
only he could. "You perverts, how can you stand there and expect a
poor innocent girl to take a bath in front of you? Ain't you got no
respect? Ain't you gentlemen?"
  "You may leave now," Ayeka said, and Azaka did so, so fast
that Ranma's hair was pulled out straight by the slipstream.
Kamidake followed his partner, but at a more decorous pace. 
Ayeka caught the back of Ranma's shirt as she tried to leave as
well. "Where do you think you are going?"
  "Well, you said we could leave . . ." Ranma trailed off at the
look Ayeka gave her. "Okay, okay," she said in a weak voice and,
giving in to the inevitable, stripped her clothes off. She shuddered
as Ayeka dumped a bucket of cold water over her head and meekly
began to scrub down.
  Ayeka stood nearby, watching to make sure Ranma did not
skimp in any way. As she did so, she thought back to the situation
she had found when she had arrived at the shrine; Ranma cradled in
Tenchi's arms, her face giving every sign of contentment. And then
that expression had vanished as Ranma had pushed herself away
from Tenchi. It was not the first time Ayeka had seen signs that
Ranma was not indifferent to Tenchi.  There were the times she
pulled that hag, Ryouko away from him, for instance. Ayeka had
also seen the small girl reject those feelings before as well.
  It was clear to Ayeka that no matter how much Ranma
protested the fact, she was clearly smitten with Tenchi. It was only
the barbaric upbringing by her idiot of a father that kept her from
realizing her feelings. Those walls needed to be broken down. She
would never dream of forcing Ranma to do anything she truly felt
degrading, but this was a case of Ranma not understanding her own
heart. For that reason, Ayeka felt justified in taking some very
strong steps. 

  If Sasami had been there to see the look on her sisters face, she
would have recognized it. Every now and then Ayeka got a notion
in her head, and absolutely nothing would stand between herself
and realizing it. She had such a look when she decided she was
going to find her brother, a task that had eluded the entire Juraian
navy. If Sasami had been there in the bathroom, she would have
told Ranma to run, run and never look back. But she wasn't.

  Ayeka thought on what steps to take as Ranma continued to
wash off the sweat and grime of her training. Deep in thought, she
turned on the tap and began to fill the rinse bucket.  As she did she
asked in a very serious tone of voice, "Ranma, could I ask you a
question?"
  Ranma looked up, peering at her through soapy lather. "Sure,
Ayeka-san. What do you want to know?"
  "As I understand it, you swore on your honor that you would
marry Tenchi and have children to continue your family line. Is that
right?"
  Ranma grimaced.  "Yeah, the old man conned me pretty good.
Should know better than to believe anything Pop says or does."
  "You don't think much of your father?"
  "Why should I?" Ranma said in disgust. She looked at Ayeka
and added, "He's as crooked as a snake, and don't even know the
meaning of honor."
  "I see," Ayeka said thoughtfully, an idea firming in her mind
as she lifted the bucket up in preparation for rinsing Ranma off.
"And tell me. How long after you promised on your honor to marry
Tenchi did you start thinking of ways to get out of the agreement?" 
  
  "Close your mouth, dear. You'll get soap in it," Ayeka said, as
she dumped the bucket over Ranma's head.

  Ranma was still in a daze from Ayeka's question when they
arrived at their bedroom. Was she really no better than Pop? That
was the sort of thing he would do, skipping out on a vow of honor
seconds after making it. Ranma's preoccupation was so great, she
didn't really take in the clothes someone had laid out on her futon.
Several dresses and various other feminine garb, including panties
and bras, were neatly arranged in order of size.
  Ranma sometimes thought that to her Pop, honor was what
you did when someone was watching. That was how he acted,
anyway. How he talked was another matter entirely. To hear him
talk, honor was all a man had. If he didn't have honor, he had
nothing, was nothing. That was the attitude Ranma had been raised
with. And even when she had grown up and realized that Genma
talked the talk much better than he walked the walk, she had taken
pride in the fact that she, unlike him, took her honor with great
seriousness. 
  Or so she had thought. Now it looked like somewhere,
sometime, she had turned into her Pop. The idea was not a
comfortable one. She turned to Ayeka, a worried look on her face.
The princess, as far as Ranma could tell, was someone who truly
understood honor. "Ayeka-san, do you think I should marry Tenchi?
I'm not really a girl. Isn't it lying to him to go through with it?"
There was a hopeful tone in her voice, but her worried eyes
betrayed her fears of what the answer would be.
  
  This was the sort of question Ayeka had been hoping for. Both
because it showed Ranma had faith in her, and because it gave her a
chance to start repairing the damage Genma had done to Ranma.
She looked Ranma straight in the eye, and said, "We both know that
whatever you might once have been, you are now a girl. You can
have babies. I can think of no purer proof of what you are." Ranma
flinched visibly at that, but Ayeka bulled ahead. "That means you
can physically carry out your promise, and therefore, I think you
should fulfill your vow."

  Ranma had been halfway expecting the answer she got, but it
still sent a shock through her system. Her entire body seemed to
slump, and her already small form seemed to shrink in on itself. Her
head hung in dejection, but despite all that, she made no protest to
Ayeka's pronouncement.  She was not her Pop. Her honor meant
something to her, and she would keep it, no matter what the cost.

  To Ayeka, a member of a royal family, arranged marriages for
political reasons were the norm. She had loved her brother and had
looked forward to the marriage her parents had arranged between
the two of them, but even if that had not been the case, she would
have done her duty. 
  That did not mean she believed Ranma should marry someone
she disliked, or found disgusting. If Ayeka had not believed that
Ranma had genuine, if deeply suppressed, feelings for Tenchi, she
would never have answered her question the way she did. 
  That did not mean, however, that she thought Ranma was
ready to marry Tenchi here and now. Such a course would be a
disaster. Ranma was far from being the lady she needed to become
in order to properly fulfill her duties toward Tenchi. That was why,
after depressing Ranma with her first answer, she set out to ease her
mind.
  Ayeka reached over and lifted Ranma's chin, causing the
slumping girl to look at her. "Of course, it's out of the question that
you marry Tenchi-sama soon. You are still a child, after all." 

  Mixed emotions surged through Ranma; euphoria at the
prospect of putting off marrying Tenchi, and indignation at being
called a child. As that was the last thing Ayeka said, that was the
first thing she replied to. "I'm not a child!" she protested, and then
almost bit her tongue as she realized she was arguing for an early
wedding. 'Stupid, stupid, keep your mouth shut you baka,' she
thought to herself. She looked up at Ayeka with dread in her eyes,
convinced, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, that
Ayeka would suddenly turn into a wimp and back off on her
statement.
  
  Ayeka smiled at Ranma's protestation and asked a question,
seemingly out of the blue. "Ranma, how old are you?" 
  "Huu? I'm sixteen. I had my birthday about two weeks after I
was cursed."
  "Well, there. You see? On Jurai you would be far too young to
get married legally," Ayeka said with a smile, crossing her fingers
behind her back. 

  While it was true that sixteen was an unthinkable age to get
married on Jurai, it was because at that age the average Juraian girl
would not have even reached puberty. Ayeka saw no need to go into
that, however.  Instead, she pressed home her point with Ranma. 
  
  "As you are Juraian, you are much too young to even think of
marrying Tenchi-sama. I'm afraid I simply could not allow it."
Ayeka paused and gave the impression of being deep in thought.
Finally, she nodded and said, "There is no choice. You will have to
wait till you are older. At least two years."

  Ranma felt euphoria filling her body, but she managed to keep
her wits. "Gee.  I don't know. Seems you are right about me still
being a kid. After all, this body might only be fourteen or so. Maybe
I should wait till I'm as old as you are. I don't mind waiting ten or
twelve years hardly at all."

  Ayeka's expression became slightly strained, but with some
effort she kept the smile on her face. "That was not quite what I
meant. In relative terms, given the difference in our aging rates, in
two years you will be as old as I am. That is more than enough time
for you to mature and to learn to adapt to your new situation."
Ayeka gave Ranma a stern glance.  "That does not mean that you
can delay your training in the female arts. Promise me that you will
try your best."
  Ranma nodded her head.  While shorter then she might have
wished for, the pleasure of a two-year stay of execution would have
made her agree to just about anything. A lot could happen in two
years. Not, she told herself firmly, that she was still trying to duck
her promise. She wasn't her Pop. She'd made that promise, and
she'd stick to it.
  She'd show her stupid father what honor was all about.  The
stupid old man wanted it both ways. He wanted her to stay a boy in
spirit, but still marry some guy so the family line would continue.
Well, boys didn't marry boys, she'd given her word, and she was
stuck with it, but all that meant was that she was going to have to
become a girl in truth. It was a hard thing, but honor was a harsh
taskmaster. Ranma felt very noble and self-sacrificing.  She made a
vow to herself. She could do anything she set her mind to, and she
was going to become the best girl in the world. 
  That is, unless she managed to get the cure she needed from
the Musk. Then all bets were off. She'd be back to being a boy, and
boys don't marry boys. It wouldn't be like she was ducking out on
her promise, after all. It just wouldn't be possible to do it was all.
She smirked inside. Yep, a lot could happen in two years. She
smiled wildly as she hummed a little tune in her head. 'Never going
to marry no boy. Never going to marry no boy.'

  "Now that we have settled that," Ayeka said, oblivious to the
thoughts running through Ranma's mind, "let's take a look at the
clothes Tenchi-sama's father picked out for you. I think you'll look
very nice in this green one."
  Ranma groaned inwardly, her just-made vow to take her
female training seriously wilting under the force of reality, but
having won so much, she was prepared to give up a little. And the
truth be known, she was starting to find the idea of wearing
Tenchi's old clothing a little disturbing. The knowledge that the
shirt she had been wearing had once been worn by Tenchi had
started to make her feel more than a little weird. 
  Without any further urging from Ayeka, Ranma picked up a
bra and slipped it on backwards. Fastening the catch in the back of
it, she pulled it around her body till she could tuck herself into it.
Only then did Ranma become aware of Ayeka looking at her with
surprise.
  "Ranma-chan?" Ranma flinched. "You've worn a bra before?"
  Ranma sweated as she realized she'd given herself away.
'Damn, pay attention to what you're doing stupid.' She gave a
nervous laugh. "Yeah, sort of. A lady near where we were camping
a month or so ago gave me one. Said something about her son was
bad enough as it was without that sort of temptation around. She
was a weird lady.  When I asked where her son was so I could keep
away from him, she said he was with his girlfriend in her flying
saucer. You ever hear anything so silly . . ." 
  Ranma trailed off as she suddenly realized who she was
talking to. She gave a small self-conscious laugh and continued. 
"Anyway, I was curious, and I'd been having a bit of trouble with
them, my tit . . . breasts I mean, so I tried it. Took me a while to
work out how to put it on, but that's why I know how. Not that I'm
no expert or nothing," she hastened to assure Ayeka.
  "But you weren't wearing one when you came here, and you
had none in your bags."
  "Yeah, Pop caught me wearing it. He burned it and gave me
hell about how I was being weak, and giving in to the curse, and
that I was a boy, not a girl."
  Ayeka fumed - how like the man! "Well, you're to wear one of
those from now on. Proper ladies do not go without. Now, let's get
you dressed. Have you worn a dress before?"
  "No, that would have felt too strange. I mean the bra helped
my martial arts by keeping my tit . . . breasts under control, but a
dress would have just got in the way, and anyway, Pop would have
caught on too soon. I got away with the bra for two weeks before he
found out."
  As she had been talking, Ranma had been examining the
selection of dresses on the bed. They didn't look _ too _ bad. Her
eyes fell on something black and lacy, and she picked it up, only to
find that it was actually two pieces. She examined them curiously,
and then snorted. "Man, I thought Tenchi's dad was supposed to be
smart. Looks like he got took. These must have been second-hand
or something.  Half the material is gone."
  Ayeka who had been standing beside Ranma, deciding which
of the three dresses on the bed to put on her, looked at the objects in
Ranma's hands and suddenly blushed crimson. She snatched the
matching panties and bra from the surprised redhead and quickly
stuffed them in a random drawer. Ranma blinked in surprise at
Ayeka's reaction and asked, "What's the matter?  Why'd you stuff
them in there?  It ain't like anyone is going to ever wear them. What
with all those holes in them. You might as well trash them."
  Ayeka just blushed deeper and refused to talk, instead holding
up a light green dress and holding it against Ranma. She was going
to have to have a talk with Tenchi's father about what was
appropriate wear for a young girl. The bra and panties in the drawer
were never going to grace Ranma's body. She changed track
slightly and rethought her position; well, maybe on her wedding
night.

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

  It was some time later that Tenchi made his way down the
stairs, his body aching in every place it was possible to do so, and in
a few places he would have said it was not possible as well. 
  The workout his grandfather had put him through had been as
intensive as any he had ever experienced. It had been more than
sufficient to drive his worries about Ranma out of his mind for the
duration. Now, however, his thoughts had once again turned to the
look of entreaty she had sent him at the shrine. Even though he
knew in his heart that Ayeka would do Ranma no harm, he could
not help but feel guilt over not doing something to help her. He'd
grown rather fond of protecting her, he realized.

  His vision was suddenly obscured by the face of someone else
who was clearly in distress. Tenchi pulled back in shock as Sasami
looked up at him, her eyes large and luminous with unshed tears. 
  "Tenchi-niichan, you're mean!" The tears that filled Sasami's
eyes spilled out and trickled down her cheeks. "Oneechan and
Ranma-oneechan didn't eat my breakfast, Nobuyuki-sama was too
busy with Azaka and Kamidake to eat, and you and Grandfather
didn't come. No one wanted my breakfast but Ryouko- oneechan
and Ryo-oh-ki. You're all mean!"

  "Ahhh," Tenchi murmured, rubbing the back of his head with
his hand. He dropped to one knee so his eyes were level with
Sasami's. "I'm sorry, Sasami. I was so busy with Grandfather, I
forgot." His stomach gave a rumble, causing him to give a small
laugh. "But I'm very hungry now, so I'll gladly eat whatever you
have, even if it's cold."
  Sasami's face screwed up in misery, and tears streamed down
her face as she cried out, "But there's nothing left. Your father
asked me to cook all the food I could find so it wouldn't spoil
before the house was fixed. And Ryouko-oneechan ate everything."

  Sasami's words were punctuated by a load burp from nearby. 
Tenchi looked over to see a rather bloated Ryouko sprawled on the
ground, numerous empty containers surrounding her. His stomach
once again rumbled, and it was his cheeks the tears now flowed
down. "I see," he said in a weak voice. "I guess I'll have to go into
town to get some more supplies, then." He groaned as he thought of
the long walk and the even longer bus ride ahead of him.
  Ayeka's voice came from behind Tenchi. "That sounds like a
good idea. Ranma and I need to buy some supplies as well."
  Tenchi turned, a smile on his face, intending to express the
fact he would be happy with the company. His voice died in his
throat when he spied Ayeka's companion. Not even the self-
conscious expression on her face could detract from the vision
Ranma presented.

  There was nothing spectacular about the pale green dress
Ranma was wearing. Or in the way her unbound hair fell in a
cascade around her shoulders and down her back. The ribbons that
held her hair back from her face could be bought for a dime-a-piece
in any store and were in no way unique. The black shoes on her feet
were perfectly ordinary, and the white socks with the decorative
tops could be seen on thousands of school girls. None of the things
she was wearing were in any way out of the ordinary, but somehow,
when taken as a whole, along with Ranma's natural beauty, they
created an image that could stop traffic.

  Beside him, Sasami expressed Tenchi's opinion to perfection.
"Kawaii."
  To Tenchi's surprise Ranma blushed slightly, and said, "Yeah,
I clean up pretty good, don't I?"
  "Oooohhhhhhhhh, how beautiful, how wonderful, how lucky
you are Tenchi!" Nobuyuki popped up with a camera in his hand,
the lens inches from Ranma's cleavage.  Ranma reared back in
shock. A second later, Nobuyuki was a faint dot in the sky as he
headed toward the lake. Ranma stood there panting, her hand still
raised in the follow-through to the punch that had sent Tenchi's
father sailing. 
  "Geez, what's with that guy?!" Ranma shouted, clearly rattled.
Ayeka gave a cough and Ranma wilted. "Ah, I mean, Oh _ he _
startled _ me.  I _ was _ so _ scared." Ayeka nodded in satisfaction. 
  Beside Tenchi, Sasami big-sweated and said in a soft voice,
"Scary."
  Tenchi nodded his head in agreement. Out of the corner of his
mouth, he asked. "Sasami, do you have pod people on Jurai?"


  A half-hour walk and a fifteen-minute wait later, they boarded
the bus to town. Their party consisted of Tenchi, Ranma, Sasami,
Ryo-oh-ki, and somehow, having gotten himself out of the lake and
into dry clothes in time, Nobuyuki.  This far out on the route, the
bus was mostly empty, only a few dozing boys heading into the city
for a night on the town. 
  Ayeka had arranged, in a not-too-subtle manner, for Ranma
and Tenchi to sit on the rear bench, while everyone else sat at the
front, with the exception of Ryo-oh-ki, who was currently curled up
on Ranma's lap sleeping off her heavy breakfast. 
  Ayeka was taking nothing for granted, as Nobuyuki found out
as he tried to get a little closer to the couple. Tenchi winced at the
discharge of energy as his father ran smack into one of Ayeka's
force fields. The bus driver, understandably startled by a lightning
strike inside his bus, jerked his head around to see what had
happened. This caused him to swerve the bus from side to side as he
spotted Nobuyuki's slightly charred form standing in the middle of
the bus. As he watched in shock, Nobuyuki puffed out a cloud of
black smoke and shakily made his way back to his seat, holding
onto the seat backs in order to avoid being tossed about by the bus
as it continued to swerve. 
  The bus's gyrations caused the unprepared Ranma, her hands
filled with sleeping cabbit, to slide across the seat and firmly up
against Tenchi.  Sitting together, Sasami and Ayeka were also
tossed about, but they managed to stay in their seat, bracketed as
they were on three sides, and having their hands free. Tenchi,
braced in the corner, was able to get his hands up in time to catch
Ranma.

  Once again, Ranma suddenly found herself pressed against
Tenchi, his arms partially wrapped around her. She suppressed her
first urge, which was to deck him. Girls did not deck boys for things
that weren't their fault. Besides, she had her hands full of cabbit. 
That prevented her from acting on her first instinct. Her initial
response having been suppressed, she had to think, which delayed
any further action from her for several minutes. During that time
she became aware of the same pleasant, warm, and safe sensation
she had felt at the shrine.
  She flinched as if Tenchi's hands had suddenly become red
hot and she practically levitated away from him. Her face twisted up
in a scowl, and one hand closed into a fist. Tenchi flinched, closing
his eyes in anticipation. Nothing happened. He opened his eyes and
saw that Ranma had lowered her hand. It was still clenched into a
white-knuckled fist, however. 


  The bus driver began to slow the bus, intending to get to the
bottom of this. It would be his head if one of his passengers were
electrocuted by a short in the bus' wiring.  Ayeka, pleased with the
way things were going, did not want the two in the back interrupted.
She called out to the bus driver, "Keep going!" He ignored her and
kept braking. 
  "I said, keep _  going _ !" This time Ayeka spoke in a tone of
voice that the servants at the palace had long ago learned meant,
'take cover'. The bus driver did not know Ayeka that well, but the
tone of her voice caused him to look toward her. Ayeka glared
daggers at him. Suddenly, several small objects appeared out of
nowhere. He looked at them in shock, which turned to outright
panic as small bolts of lighting arced between them. Remembering
the charred figure in the middle of the bus, he suddenly lost all
inclination to stop. Facing front, he got the bus back up to speed,
and sighed with relief when a look in the rear view mirror showed
that they, whatever they were, were gone. Soon, he was once again
cruising at eighty kilometers-an-hour, glad that he'd escaped the
explosion.
 
  Ranma seemed to be having an argument with herself,
speaking softly, but in intense tones. After a few moments, she
looked up at Tenchi with a strained smile on her face. "Tenchan,
you really shouldn't be so forward. After all, we're not married
yet." She gave a high-pitched giggle and lowered her eyes back
down to the slumbering Ryo-oh-ki. 
  Tenchi sweated; this was starting to get very scary. It was time
to finally follow his grandfather's instructions about being a friend
to Ranma. Maybe he could find out what the heck was wrong with
her. To that end he cleared his throat and said, "I enjoyed sparring
with you this afternoon. I hope I didn't disappoint you too much."
  "Oh Tenchan.  You could never disappoint me. It was so nice
of you to let me win all those times. Being a poor weak girl and all.
I hope you weren't too mad at me when I got all angry and
unladylike. Tee hee."
  Tenchi stared at her in shock. Had she just said Tee hee? Yes,
she had. Tenchi's face hardened, and he took Ranma by the
shoulders. "Ranma, stop this!" he ordered. Holding Ranma firmly in
place, he looked around the bus and called out at the top of his
voice, "Ryouko, I don't know how you did this, but I want you to
stop right now! Bring back the real Ranma this instant!"

  Several miles away, Ryouko gave a powerful sneeze that woke
her from her after-banquet nap. Sitting up and rubbing her eyes she
looked around. "Tenchi! Sasami! Red! . . .  Sourface? Where the
heck is everyone?"

  Back on the bus, Tenchi was still yelling, which was drawing
looks from the few other passengers and a large sweat drop from the
bus driver, who wanted nothing more than to make it the last few
miles to his final stop of the day. He pressed down on the gas,
sending the large bus rocketing down the back road with predictable
results.
  Sasami and Ayeka grabbed the seat in front of them as they
bounced higher and higher. The other passengers did similarly,
several crying out to the bus driver to slow down.

  Tenchi, gripping Ranma by the shoulders and looking around
wildly for a certain space pirate he knew had to be here, was, like
Ranma earlier, caught off guard by the bus's sudden gyrations. He
lost his balance and fell forward, pushing Ranma flat against the bus
seat and settling firmly down on top of her. Ryo-oh-ki, who had
finally woken, gave a startled mewl and just barely escaped being
crushed as she leapt from Ranma's arms.

  Ranma had been surprised by Tenchi's sudden shouting and
had wondered if Ryouko had maybe done something to the boy
while she had not been around to protect him, when he lurched
forward. Tenchi's actions were very similar to certain male type
behavior that Ranma had become far too familiar with for her
liking. For some reason, perverted boys, and men, seemed to
consider her the perfect target. Up till now one of the things she
most liked about Tenchi was that he had never once tried to grab a
cheap feel. Now suddenly, out of the blue, he seemed to be making
up for lost time.  She had time for just one quick thought. 'Geez, if
I'd know acting like a perfect girl was going to do this to the poor
guy, I'd never have agreed to go along with Ayeka.'

    The combination of him suddenly pressing her down on the
seat and then falling on top of her, joined with the sudden jolt of
fear that Ryo-oh-ki's mewl sent through her, was more than
adequate to stop her from even thinking of continuing her version of
girl-like behavior.
  With a scream of, "Get the heck off of me, you pervert!" she
laid a lovely right cross to his chin. Tenchi was thrown across the
bus and against the wall. For a second he lay there, eyes glazed,
then they focused and he gave a shout of joy. "Ranma, you're
back!!" 
  Ranma eeped in dismay as Tenchi suddenly rocketed across
the bus and picked her up in a bone-cracking hug. At the same
moment, Ryouko, who had homed in on the group via her link with
Ryo-oh-ki, suddenly phased through the back of the bus with a cry
of, "Tenchi, you're so mean.  How could you . . . What the hell is
going on here?!! Red, what the hell do you think you're doing?!!"
  "What's it look like, you old mummy? I'm trying to get this
pervert off of me. What's it to you?"
  "Oh Ranma! I'm so glad you're back!"
  "What? Tenchi! You let her go right now. She's not even
interested in you. Come hug me like that."
  "What do you mean I'm not interested in him? He's my
fiancee. You keep your grubby paws off him you mummy."
  "How dare you! What right do you have to keep Tenchi, when
you'll never give him the love he needs?" 
  "Ha!  Shows how much you know. I got honor, you hear? I
said I'd marry him and that's just what I'm going to do. Hey!
 Tenchi, you pervert! Watch the hands!" 
  "Oh, Ranma. I'm so glad you're all right."
  The rest of the conversation was mercifully drowned out as the
rear of the bus became ground zero. Ayeka, who was being crushed
by the small mass of humanity trying to get as far away from the
rear as possible, sweated and muttered to herself, "I guess it's going
to take a lot more than clothes to make Ranma a girl."
   The bus driver tried his level best to push the gas pedal
through the floor.


  Much later, after a rather eventful, if predictable, day of
shopping, they got back home. After bandaging up their exteriors
and getting some food in their interiors, they gathered in the living
room to relax in whatever manner appealed to them.
  Tenchi slumped on the couch, his legs stretched out in front of
him and English textbook in his hands. It was only a matter of time
before he would have to begin attending school again. He didn't
want to be too far behind when he did. He was dressed in his usual
black pants and white shirt.
  Ranma sat cross-legged on the couch beside Tenchi, a bundle
of martial art mangas between them. Ranma had changed from her
dress into an outfit she had bought while shopping with Ayeka.  A
blouse with wooden ties that was so green, it might as well have
been flourescent was tucked into a pair of baggy black pants that
were also unique, color-wise. They were not one shade of black but
rather were smeared haphazardly with several; from a dusty pale
gray, to one that was so dark, hints of purple were present. Ranma
had found them in a bargain bin, along with several hundred others,
all exactly the same. She had reacted with something close to glee at
the discovery they were cheap enough that she could buy three sets
with her limited pocket money. 
  It had taken a bit of effort on her part to convince Ayeka, but
by pointing out that she needed clothes she did not have to worry
about damaging during her training sessions, she had gotten the
princess to agree with her choice.
  Both garments were loose fitting, and while they could not
hide Ranma's figure, they did work quite well in minimizing it. 
Ryo-oh-ki was laying in the nest provided by Ranma's crossed legs. 
While perusing the latest adventures of the Dragonball gang with
one hand, Ranma evoked pleasurable murmurs by stroking Ryo-oh-
ki's tummy with the other.
  Ayeka was sitting in one of the large easy chairs combing
Sasami's hair, the younger girl was perched on a footstool in front
of her older sister. Ayeka occasionally glanced at Ranma's clothes
with some vexation. She was not sure which she found more
annoying: the fact that she had not been able to argue successfully
against buying them; that the outfits might as well have been sacks
for all the good they did Ranma's figure, or that Ranma had
selected three of the outfits, all exactly alike. Looking at the eye-
straining color of the shirt and the blotchy black of the pants, Ayeka
had no problem guessing why they had been so cheap. She was just
glad that Ranma had only been able to afford three pairs. The way
she went through clothes, they would not last long. 
  Ayeka was also mildly annoyed that Ranma had rejected her
advice on which outfits to buy. There had been tops available in
several different colors, if not as cheap, or garish as the ones Ranma
had bought. But, when Ayeka had suggested several different tops,
or maybe some outfits of a different style altogether, the redhead
had looked at her as if she were speaking an alien language. Even
when she had offered to pay for them herself and pointed out the
advantages of mixing and matching, Ranma had declined.
  In Ranma's own words, the outfits were comfortable, cheap,
and easy to move in. What difference did it make what color they
were? Ayeka sighed.  Ranma had made such a good start this
morning but she had rapidly backslid after the incident on the bus. 
  Ayeka's jaw firmed as she vowed to continue the fight. She
was not going to give up. Ranma would become a lady! She vowed
this on her honor as a princess of Jurai. Ayeka took one more look
at Ranma and added a rider to her vow. Ranma would also learn
fashion sense, no matter how painful the acquiring was. 
  Behind Tenchi and Ranma, Ryouko was half laying, half
floating, atop the back of the couch. Every now and then she would
reach down a hand, intending to twirl a finger in Tenchi's hair.
Curiously, every time she attempted this, Ranma would apparently
reach a particularly exciting part in her manga, causing her to shoot
her hands out in imitation of the action inside.  Somehow, her
upthrust hands always managed to strike Ryouko's hand, knocking
it away from Tenchi. Ranma would apologize and go back to
petting Ryo-oh-ki and reading her manga, while Ryouko would go
back to waiting for Ranma's guard to drop. They both seemed to be
enjoying the impromptu sparring match.
  If this behavior seemed a bit mild for the two of them, Tenchi
and Ayeka had, speaking to the person they each had the most
influence on, laid down the law. They had expressed in no uncertain
terms how unhappy they would be if the newly refurbished home
was destroyed. Any fighting in the house would be met with the
most extreme displeasure. Neither Ryouko nor Ranma wished to
annoy their respective lecturers, so they had promised to be good. It
was, however, possibly too much to expect them to live in perfect
peace, hence their current activity. No doubt they would start
making faces at each other soon.
  The final members of the group, Nobuyuki and Katsuhito,
were each seated in an easy chair. Nobuyuki had his favorite
camcorder on the floor beside his chair, ready to snatch up if either
Tenchi or Ranma looked like doing anything romantic. At the
moment, this seemed unlikely and so most of his attention was on
the TV, which was turned down low so as not to distract Tenchi
from his studying. 
  Katsuhito was reading a letter, the one Genma had written, and
that Ayeka had finally remembered to deliver. Genma had been a
bit more certain of the tone he wanted to take with Katsuhito, and as
a result, this effort was a great deal more legible then Ayeka's had
been. Also, a lot longer.

  *Master, I beseech you, take Ranma under your wing. I know
she's only a girl, but she has some small talent and is currently the
repository for all I have managed to teach her. Till I can pass that
knowledge on to her son she is the sole repository of the hopes and
dreams of the Saotome School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts. She
is lazy I admit, but I'm sure a master of your stature can drive some
small amount of knowledge into her. 
  Don't be afraid to be hard on her. She needs to be tough. Is it
not said that the lot of a martial artist is not an easy one?  I ask only
that you keep her away from her mother. It gives me great pain to
speak ill of a member of your family, but I fear Nodoka's reaction
when she discovers Ranma is not the son Nodoka supposes her to
be. Please give me time to work on my wife. If she should show up
without me, hide Ranma from her. It could very well save the girl's
life. 
  On the subject of Ranma's life, I would also ask that you do all
you can to keep Ranma from going back to China. She has told me
of your tale, but even if the so-called cure existed, it would do her
little good as she is not cursed as I am, but merely suffering from a
delusion. If she goes back to China she is as good as dead. I know I
can trust you to keep her from throwing her life away.  She is still
young and foolish.  She must bear the heir to the Saotome school
before she can take such a risk.
  I realize this is a great deal to ask of someone as important as
you are, but I remind you that Ranma is family and will sometime
in the future be the mother of the child that will carry on your
family style as well as mine.  In her lies the hopes of both our clans.
Protect that legacy.  Keep her alive and healthy.*
  Katsuhito shook his head in dismay. Some things just never
seemed to change. Genma was still able to shovel it with the best of
them. One fact, however did distress him. Even with  knowing the
man as he did, Genma had still managed to get through his guard
and touch a tender spot.
  Katsuhito had outlived the many children he had fathered.
While he still had their descendants such as Tenchi and Ranma
around, the loss of each one had hurt him deeply. Ranma, with her
resemblance to Xian Pu, had opened old wounds. The thought of
her going off to face the Musk, to try and attain something that
might not even exist filled his heart with sorrow. He had learned the
hard way that his children had to grow up and make their own
decisions, but that did not make it any easier. 
  He was more tempted then he cared to admit to keep Ranma
here until she grew reconciled with her new body. It would be easy
enough. He could simply tell her that she would not be ready to
leave until she performed some obscure feat to prove her skill.  It
would be child's play for him to come up with something that
looked simple, but was in reality incredibly difficult. Hmm, maybe
that trick he'd played on little Po, 'snatch the pebble from my hand
and you will be ready to become a great warrior.' The last he'd
heard of the youngster, he'd entered a monastery. 
  Katsuhito shook his head in regret. No. It would not do.  Just
as it would not do for him to accompany Ranma to the Musk
empire. 
  While in this day and age he was unlikely to become a god, as
his Aunt Amaterasu had become a goddess, he could still do
irreparable harm to human development if he interfered too much.
His just living on this planet was risk enough. Taking part in
Ranma's adventure could have consequences up to and including a
war between China and Japan. Lord knows he had seen wars start
over smaller, and sillier, things. 
  No, difficult as it was, he would have to let Ranma find her
own destiny. For his part, he would have to be content with training
her as best he was able.  Turning slightly in his chair, he called out,
"Ranma." When the redhead looked his way he flicked his wrist and
sent the letter spinning across the room to where she was seated.
  Ranma caught the document between two fingers and looked
at it curiously. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw it was from her
father. For the next several minutes she read, pausing every now
and then to deflect a new move by Ryouko or to snort a derisive
 comment about her father.
  Ranma, with one last expression of disdain, laid the letter
down and addressed Katsuhito. "The old fart never changes. You
watch.  He'll be crawling back here with an empty belly any day
now." Ranma then directed a challenging look at Katsuhito. "So,
you going to do like the old man asked? Keep me all safe and
secure so I can be a baby factory?" Beside Ranma, Tenchi blushed.
  Katsuhito returned Ranma's look with one of mildness. "I
promised to train you," he said, and then just looked at Ranma
expectantly, as if that statement covered everything.
  Ranma looked at him skeptically. "So, you ain't going to string
me along, telling me I'm not good enough yet?"
  Nearly a millennium of training enabled Katsuhito to keep a
perfectly straight face as he said, "Of course not, when you think
you're ready, you may go."
  The skepticism did not fade from Ranma's face. "Oh, and
what if you don't think I'm ready? You're just going to wave bye I
suppose?"
  Katsuhito rubbed his chin, as if puzzling out this conundrum.
"That is a hard question. I do have a certain obligation as your
master to make sure you don't do anything too stupid."
  "Stupid?!" Ranma growled, but before she could say anything
else, Katsuhito continued in his matter of fact voice.
  "I suppose, in that case, I'll just have to break your leg."
  The rest of the people in the room joined Ranma in a facefault.
  Ranma was the first to regain her feet. She looked at Katsuhito
with anger in her eyes, which slowly faded, till she was smirking at
him. "All right. I guess if I let an old fart like you break my leg, I
ain't ready."
  "That's right." Katsuhito nodded in agreement. "A frail old
man like me should be no match for a healthy young girl like you."
He gave a mock cough into his hand and thumped his chest. "As a
matter of fact, lately the chill night air has been giving me some
problems." He leered at Ranma in a very close mimicry of
Nobuyuki's lecherous look. "I don't suppose you'd like to start
sleeping up at the temple? An old priest needs a nice young shrine
maiden to keep him warm at night and to rub mustard on his chest.
I'd be happy to give you extra training as payment."
  "Grandfather!" Ayeka protested, blushing red. She reached out
and covered Sasami's ears with her hand. 
  Ryouko chortled at Ayeka's reaction, she'd been enjoying the
byplay, especially as Ranma's distraction had let her finally get her
hand close enough to run her fingers through Tenchi's hair.
  Annoyed, Sasami pulled herself free. Giving Ayeka an
annoyed look, she turned to Katsuhito and asked, "Can I be a Shrine
Maiden, too? I promise I'll look after you very well."  
  This time, only Sasami remained standing as everyone else in
the room collapsed. Even Katsuhito was not immune. Ayeka
bounced back to her feet, her face so red it glowed. She grabbed
Sasami by the hand. "Is that the time? Oh my goodness! You should
have been in bed ages ago, Sasami! You've had a long hard day!
Come along, no arguments, a young girl needs her rest!"
  "But I want to be a shrine maiden," floated back to the
remaining people as Sasami and Ayeka disappeared up the stairs.
  Ranma continued looking in the direction they had gone for
some time before turning back to Katsuhito. "Too bad, old man. 
Looks like you miss out. Pity.  Would have been a good match.
She's just a kid, and you're in your second childhood." 
  Behind Ranma, Ryouko had taken advantage of all the face-
faulting to somehow end up in Tenchi's lap, much to his apparent
discomfort. 
  Katsuhito seemed to be giving Ranma's comments serious
thought, but after a moment, he shook his head. "Sasami is kind and
makes a good meal, but she's too skinny. When you get to my age,
you want something soft and cushy to lay your head on. A nice
plump girl like you is just the ticket."
  "Plump? Plump!?" Ranma said in outrage. "What do you take
me for? Ryouko?" Behind Ranma, Ryouko's head whipped around
in indignation. From where she sat, she couldn't see the sly grin on
Ranma's face or the wink the redhead directed toward Katsuhito. "I
don't lay around on my butt all day like her, eating all the food in
the house. If you want a girl who's plump, you ought to take her
on."
  "Hey!" Ryouko protested.
  She was ignored as Katsuhito nodded his head thoughtfully
and said, "That is true. I have noticed she's been getting a bit broad
across the beam."
  "HEY!!" This time Ryouko's protest was much more
pronounced.  She was half-way across the room to Ranma and
Katsuhito when she belatedly remembered her promise to Tenchi
regarding fighting in the house. She hovered in the air fuming. 
  Ryouko's feelings were not improved when Ranma turned to
her and said, "Wow, I'm impressed!" She directed her next words to
Tenchi, who was watching the proceedings with more than a hint of
trepidation. "Ain't you impressed, Tenchi? It's really something
how she can still fly with all that weight holding her down."
  Ryouko turned stricken eyes toward Tenchi. "Tenchi, you
don't think I'm fat, do you?" she asked in a pleading voice. This
time it was Ranma who failed to detect the sly look on Ryouko's
face. "Ranma's bottom is much bigger than mine, isn't it?"
  "HEY!?" It was Ranma's turn to protest this time. "I don't got
no fat ass." Ranma strode across the room and positioned herself
beside Ryouko, only a foot or so away from Tenchi's seated
position on the couch. She turned her back to him and bent over
slightly. "Here. Look. Isn't my bottom in better shape then fatso
here?" 
  Ryouko duplicated Ranma's move, and also shoved her
derriere in Tenchi's face. "No. Tell her Tenchi. I've got the best
bottom."
  Tenchi was not sure which was going to kill him the sight
before him, or the consequences of any answer he might make. His
life was saved by a surprising source. "Uncle Genma," he blurted
out.
  Ranma and Ryouko looked over their shoulders at him.
"Huh?" they both inquired intelligently. 
   Wordlessly, Tenchi pointed at the TV screen, causing all
present to look that way. A general murmur of recognition ran
around the room as everyone recognized the well-padded form of
Genma's cursed body legging it across some sort of sports field.
  "What the hell!?" Ranma blurted out. She looked around the
room. "Who has the remote? Someone turn it up." Nobuyuki held
up the object in question and soon the TV set, which had been set
on low volume, was blaring forth the story on the screen.

  " . . .anda has been avoiding capture for over an hour now, but
it looks like his luck has run out. The combined forces of the local
police and the Zoo, as well as various volunteers, have managed to
trap him inside the grounds of the local high school. You can clearly
see the students observing this strange activity from the windows of
their classes. I doubt the residents of Furinken have ever seen
anything this bizarre. 
  Unless I miss my guess, we will soon be seeing an end to this
chase. With all the gates blocked and a high wall surrounding the
grounds it's only a matter of time . . . Did you see that!? The panda
climbed over one of the walls. Well, that was unexpected, to say the
least. Looks like the speculation that the Panda is an escapee from
some circus might be the case after all.  He certainly is nimble for
such a big, fat, fellow." 

  "Not bad," Ryouko commented as she looked at the screen
avidly. Her former profession had left her somewhat of a
connoisseur in regards to fleeing the authorities. "He's got them
rooked good."
  "Yeah, if there is one thing the old man is good at, it's running
away," Ranma said sardonically, but underneath the derision in her
voice, there was something else, and it did not escape Katsuhito's
attention that she was watching the screen just as avidly as Ryouko.
  Tenchi looked at the two girls, puzzlement clear on his face. "I
don't understand. He barely made it over that wall." He asked
Ranma, "Don't you feel at all worried?"
  "Huh? Nah. The old man's running a scam. Don't you see? He
could hop over a wall like that in his sleep. He's got them thinking
he's a lot less quick than he is. You watch. He'll give them the slip,
find some hot water, and the legend of the wandering Panda will go
up a notch."
  Ryouko nodded in confirmation of this. "Broken wing, oldest
trick in the book. Let them think you're easy prey and they'll be so
busy chasing you, they won't notice your partner sneaking around
behind . . ." Ryouko trailed off as she suddenly noticed everyone
staring at her. "Ah, ha, ha," she half laughed, half coughed, then
suddenly pointed at the screen. "See, what did I say about
overconfidence?"
  Eyes shifted from her back to the TV, and she heaved a sigh of
relief. She was having enough trouble with Tenchi without rubbing
his face in her larcenous past.
  Ranma gave a guffaw, no longer even trying to maintain a look
of disdain.  In the foreground two zoo keepers were tangled up in a
cargo net that they had apparently tried to snag Genma with.
Meanwhile, in the background, Genma was free and clear and, true
to Ranma's prediction, heading toward a ramen shop, a very likely
source of hot water.  By all indications, it looked like Genma was
about to once again get away scot free. 
  Ranma's chuckles suddenly choked off.  She gave a gasp. A
figure in dark clothes and glasses had just stepped into the camera's
view. In his hands was a heavy rifle. Even Ryouko reacted as he
raised the gun and pointed it at the rapidly retreating panda. Her
reason for objecting, was along the lines of not wanting to see an
end to some interesting entertainment. Ranma's reaction was a bit
 stronger.
  "No, you bastards! Who the hell shoots pandas? Are you
crazy?"  She grabbed the side of the TV and gave it a shake, as if
that would distract the man with the gun. "Stop it! Stop it!" she
screamed at the TV. Katsuhito was suddenly there, folding her into
his arms and trying to force her eyes away from the screen. Ranma
would not let him. She could not win free of his arms, but neither
could he force her eyes away from the screen.
  The man with the gun squeezed the trigger, and he rocked back
slightly as his weapon discharged. Many yards away, Genma
suddenly arched his back and went up on the tips of his hind paws.
He stumbled forward a few steps, his front paws reaching around
behind him in a vain effort to reach the injury, and then fell
forward, raising a visible cloud of dust. 
  "NO!!!!" Ranma cried out in despair, and finally giving in to
Katsuhito's urging she turned her head and buried her face against
his chest. She cried out, "You stupid old man!" then her voice was
muffled by Katsuhito's robe.
  The three men continued to stare at the TV, the picture
bouncing as the cameraman ran toward the downed panda. A start
went thorough Katsuhito, and a gasp of relief rose from Tenchi and
Nobuyuki.  
  The unexpected reactions caused Ranma to lift her tear-stained
face away from Katsuhito's chest and look once more toward the
screen. Katsuhito made no effort to stop her this time. Ranma stared
for a moment, and then a choking sound rose up from deep in her
chest. "Huh, ha, Ha, BWAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH!!!"
  Tenchi and the others joined her in relieved laughter. On the
screen the dark-clad man reached forward and pulled the large
tranquilizer dart from Genma's backside.


Epilogue:

  Ryouko and Ranma had moved to the floor and were sitting
close to the TV, a bucket of popcorn between them. In between
mouthfuls, they exchanged slightly ribald suggestions as to
Genma's eventual fate.
  On the screen, the man with the tranquilizer gun was being
interviewed by a _ very _ attractive lady anchorwoman, while
numerous disgruntled members of the print media took what
pictures they could. 
  A commotion in the front lines of the cameramen announced
the arrival of a brown-haired school girl. She had a small camera in
one hand and was using both elbows to clear herself a space among
the professionals. 
  "Nice work there," Ranma commented.
  "Not bad, but if she wanted to be really effective, she should
be aiming a bit lower," Ryouko said. Behind her, Tenchi and
Nobuyuki winced slightly and crossed their legs.
  "Oops, there she goes.  Too bad, she was sort of cute," Ranma
said, as the girl was dragged away by the pair of men Genma had
tangled in the cargo net. They were more then slightly disgruntled,
believing rather strongly that it should have been them being
interviewed by the babe. Instead they were stuck doing crowd
control. The girl kept clicking her camera till she was out of sight.
Unfortunately, she'd picked a bad location, and the only shots it
looked like she'd managed to get were of the newscaster.
  "Oh, is that the sort you like?" Ryouko chortled, giving Ranma
a nudge in the ribs.
  "Well. I do sort of like a girl who ain't afraid to go for what
she wants," Ranma replied with a distracted air, as she watched her
Pop being loaded into a cargo truck. A second later, she realized
what she'd said and started to backtrack, "that is . . .I mean . . ." It
was too little, too late.
  "Oh really. You like aggressive girls?" Ryouko asked, in a
voice that had more then a hint of a growl to it. Ranma leaned over
backward in fear as Ryouko suddenly loomed over her. Then, with a
yelp of terror, she scooted out from under the descending Ryouko
and made tracks for the great outdoors. 
  Nobuyuki looked at Tenchi, tears in his eyes. "Oh Tenchi! 
You're so lucky!" he cried out, before dragging Tenchi into a rib-
cracking hug.



  

  And that wraps up another chapter. I'm sorry I missed getting
to Mihoshi as promised this chapter. But it's been so long since
wrote that I needed to do a fun stand alone chapter just to get back
into it. 
Next chapter we rejoin Nodoka and the girls and several groups who
are also heading in the same direction, Nerima, figures eh?

After that, we will rejoin Tenchi and Ranma, and finally, Mihoshi.

  I'd like to thank all the fine people who went about and
beyond in pre-reading for me, still hanging in there even after
months with no new chapter.

  I'd also like to thank the people who took the time to write me
that they enjoyed the story, and when the heck was the next chapter
coming out. Believe me, there is a very good chance you would not
be looking at this chapter now if not for them.

  One final note. I skipped the Shopping trip because I wanted to
get this story out, and I thought I could for the most part skip it. If
you are so inclined, give me a post, and if no one has already taken
the task up, I'll be happy to let you write a side story covering that
episode.

T.H. Tiger.
schell@interlog.com

From: "T.H. Tiger" <schell@interlog.com>

     
                                  
         Tenchi and Ranma, Together Forever!?  Chapter nine.
                        China Girls, part two
                            Journeys 


     A fan fiction based on the works of Rumiko Takahashi,  
     creator of Ranma 1/2, and, Masaki Kajishima, who I've been
     told is the creator of Tenchi. Hitoshi Okuda, is the artist and
     creator of the Tenchi Manga.
     The characters from M.I.B. are the creation and property of
     Malibu comics.
     I have no rights to these characters.  Which should come as no
     surprise to anyone.
     
     Perfume is a creation of Wade Tritschler, used with his
     permission. For more stories featuring her, and other 
     interesting characters check out Wade's altered destinies page,
     she shows up in many of the stories there. You can find it at.
     <http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/attenborough/249/index.htm>
     
     What's going on?
     This is an alternative universe story.
     Ranma was trapped as a girl from her first dip in the
     Nanniichuan.

     Why?  Read the earlier chapters of Tenchi and Ranma,
     Together Forever!?.  See below for some highlights.
     
     Nodoka Saotome, along with Akane Tendo and Ukyou Kuonji
have visited Jusenkyo, with about the results you would expect.
They are now on their way home, each of them trying to come to
grips with the changes the trip has caused to their individual worlds.

     Big thanks to all the people who contributed C+C to this, their
help has been greatly appreciated. It is very unlikely the story would
be anywhere near as good as it is without their efforts.
     
     If you have not read my TARTF side story featuring Ryouga in
Space, I recommend you do so before reading this. 
     
     You can find all of TARTF at,
<http://www.anime.usacomputers.net/~dragon/>, or use
the direct link
<http://www.anime.usacomputers.net/~dragon/fanfic.html>
I'd use the first one myself if you are not already familiar with
Phoenix's work. He has some great stuff.




T.H.  Tiger
schell@interlog.com



     The Jusenkyo springs, an ancient training ground, renowned in
legend and story, had seen better days.  The pristine valley was a
mass of churned up dirt, displaced boulders, and shattered bamboo. 
Several springs had even been covered over, while many others
were churned up and murky.  All in all it looked more like a toxic
waste dump than a mountain valley.  Of course, even with all the
destruction, a toxic dump would still be a much safer place for the
casual traveler to visit.

     <Your behavior has been disgraceful Plum. I leave you in
charge for two weeks and I come back to find the valley very nearly
destroyed.> 
     It was one full day after the three, now four, women and the
peculiar pig had left the valley, and Plum's father was home.  
     The Jusenkyo guide was indulging in a common parental
habit. The one where, having discovered your precious, darling,
loved one is not lying shattered in the ditch along with the car, you
proceed to express yourself in terms somewhat less then
affectionate.
     To say he was displeased to find Mint, the person who had
been sent to offer help, locked up in the hut like a common criminal
was an understatement.  His feeling concerning the condition of the
valley went way beyond displeased.
     The current lecture had been going on for over an hour, and
Plum's father was starting to repeat himself.  He seemed to realize
this as well.  He ground to a halt and stared in displeasure at her. 
Finally, giving a nod, as if coming to a conclusion, he walked over
to a corner of the hut and lifted up a trap door. 

     Plum felt her heart sink as he turned and directed a
commanding look at her. <I think it is time you got serious about
your studies. You will review every scroll in the archive.>

     Plum's eyes widened in shock.  <Every scroll! That will take
months!  Maybe years!> she protested. 
     Plum had not been completely honest with Nodoka when she
told the older woman she had studied all the old scrolls.  The truth
was she had pretty much skimmed them, only paying attention to
those that caught her attention.  She blanched at the thought of
reading account after account of normal travelers falling into such
mundane springs as the spring of drowned dog or deer.  Over the
centuries a lot had happened at the springs, and despite the magic
involved, the vast majority of those cursed had led, and continued to
lead, boring lives.

     Her father merely glowered at her and said, <Good.>.  He
looked Plum up and down and reached behind him to a kettle that
was simmering over the cookfire. <Before you start, I want you to
clean up and change into something less blatant.  I don't want the
prince or his men to see you like that.> He handed her the kettle
and, without another word, walked outside to talk to his guests. 
Plum was left behind, looking at the open trapdoor as if it was the
entrance to eternal damnation. 
     Giving a sigh, Plum set the kettle down and wiggled out of her
purloined dress.  It had been nice while it lasted, but now it was
time to go back to the old boring Plum.  Upending the kettle, she let
the hot water flow down over her head. Her body shrank, her curves
flattened, and a few seconds later, ten-year old Plum slipped into
her regular clothes and headed for the ladder to the archives.

     When the guide got outside he was surprised to find Herb and
his men engaged in a hurried packing.  They were going over all the
supplies they had left in the valley, as well as what they had brought
back from the monkey hunt.  They were carefully picking and
choosing some items and discarding others.  
     When the guide walked up to the prince, instead of the angry
scowl he expected, he received a beaming smile.  He was not left in
suspense long as to the cause. 
     <We have found her!> Herb told the guide, his voice gleeful.
     <Who my lord?>
     <The monkey, the monkey!> Herb said excitedly.
     <The monkey, but-->
     <Mint spotted her here. She was with the strangers that visited
while your daughter was here alone.  She's alive!> 
     <But. . .>
     Herb turned to Lime and Mint who had finished packing and
had slung the backpacks onto their backs, in Lime's case a truly
massive one. <Let's go.> Herb ordered, and pulling on his own
small backpack he set out at a trot.
     <But . . .> The guide was left standing in shock, his mouth
gaping open.  He held up a hand and started to call out after the
prince, but then he let it drop and gave a sigh of resignation.  What
did it matter?  One wild monkey chase was no different than the
other.  When Herb finally tracked down the group of girls, he would
find that the monkey was not there.  With any luck, the chase would
take a very long time.  With real luck, by the time the prince found
them, and learned the truth, he would be tired of the hunt and ready
to return home.

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

     Akane walked along, slightly behind Ukyou and Nodoka, her
mind lost in thought.  So much had happened in such a short time. 
She had seen things that she would have dismissed as fantasy if told
them.  She had seen magic spells transform her companions.  Met
an alien from another planet, for Kami's sake.  Despite how
incredible all that was, it shrank into insignificance when compared
to the truly major change in her life.  The one that was even now
walking alongside her, matching her stride for stride, every motion a
duplicate of her own.  And why not?  She was Akane, every bit as
much as Akane was Akane. 
     Akane turned her head slightly to the left to take a look at the
dark-haired figure walking beside her and met a pair of brown eyes
looking at her with the same quizzical expression she knew she had
on her own face.  She jerked her head back to stare down the path
and knew with a sure certainty that the other girl had done the same
thing. 
     They walked in silence for some time, and then Akane looked
back over to the right and broached the subject she knew must be on
both of their minds. 
     "This is strange."
     "This is strange."
     Akane looked at the other girl, startled, still not used to hearing
her words echoed back to her, even before she had truly spoken
them.  She felt a familiar rush of heat, feeling the other girl must be
mocking her, and fought it down, knowing the self same thought
must be running through her counterparts mind.
     "Sorry."
     "Sorry."
     "Damn."
     "Damn."
     Akane stopped walking and turned to face the other girl, who,
of course, was doing the exact same thing in return.  It was a strange
experience, looking at yourself like this.  You would have thought it
would be like looking into a mirror, but it wasn't.  The face was
reversed from the one she was use to seeing in the mirror.  A subtle
thing to be sure, but one that seemed to make a great deal of
difference.  She had been looking into mirrors and ponds all her life. 
The slight disassociation between the face in front of her and the
one she had been used to seeing for all those years was far more
jarring then she would have thought.  At times, she found herself
thinking that the other girl really did not look at all like her.  Her
right eye was slightly higher then the left, when she knew her own
left eye was the one that was the higher.  A small freckle on the left
side of the other girl's nose should have been on the right.  The
more she looked, the less like her the other girl resembled her. 
     "We don't . . ."
     "We don't . . ." 
     Akane gritted her teeth and, going against every facet of her
character, surrendered control to the other girl. 
     "Sorry, you go first."
     "Sorry, you go first."   
     Akane found herself on the verge of screaming.  Mindful of
the pledge she'd made to herself to try for more control, she
counted to ten slowly.  Strangely enough, the sight of the other
girl's lips moving as she did the same thing did not make her more
angry, but caused a slight trickle of humor to infiltrate its way into
her brain.  If it wasn't so frustrating, it would be funny as hell, she
couldn't help but think.  She felt a slight tugging as the corner of her
mouth quirked up.  Her smile widened when she saw the other
Akane smiling back at her.  
     Another second and they might have burst out in mutual
laughter.  Before that could happen, however, a tug on her pants leg
distracted Akane.  She looked down to see Agent P, the alien pig,
sitting beside her.  He looked out of breath and thoroughly
exhausted.  He was also coated in a heavy covering of road dust.
     "I take it you two are having a bit of a problem
communicating?"
     Akane grimaced,
     "You could say that."
     "You could say that."
     Akane looked at herself, and they both sighed simultaneously
in disgust.
     "I might have a solution." Akane looked at him, an expression
of interest on her faces.
     "Let the one holding the pig talk first."
     "Nani?"
     "Nani?"
     "It might have escaped your notice, but I'm built a bit closer to
the ground then the rest of you oversized tree hump . . . huggers.  I
could use a lift."
     Akane looked surprised.  
     "Really, you wouldn't find it degrading to be carried like a
pet?"
     "Really, you wouldn't find it degrading to be carried like a
pet?"
     "Shit, yes.  How horrible.  To be carried like a pet.  I'd much
rather have a heart attack trying to keep up with you.  I love the
taste of dirt in the morning, and there's nothing better for a person
than to throw up every few miles from exhaustion."
     "Well, if your going to be like that . . ."
     "Well, if your going to be like that . . ."
     Akane turned her faces away from the little pig, and they each
took a step down the road.
     "Hold it, hold it.  Look, if you ask silly questions, I'm not
going to be held responsible for my answers.  If I minded being
carried like a pet, I'd never have asked you to do it.  Shit, my people
were originally bred to be pets.  Now would you 'please' give me a
lift before I fall over and embarrass the hell out of myself?"
     Akane looked at herself, and they both nodded at the same
time.  Turning back, they both bent over to pick up the exhausted
agent.
     "Hold it, hold it.  There's only one of me remember?  You," he
pointed a finger at one of the Akanes, "what do you look like when
you're in your other form?  Do you have a tuft on your tail or not?" 
     The Akane in question looked startled for a minute.  Then, she
said, "I do have a tuft." Her face had a funny expression, and her
hand snaked around her backside as if reflexively reaching for
something that was not there. 
     "Good, then you're Unakane.  I'd be ever so grateful if you
would give me a lift, Una." There was only the tiniest bit of sarcasm
in the pig's words, but the newly named Unakane decided to ignore
it.  She was beginning to realize that the little pig had a lot in
common with some of the old ladies in her neighborhood.  It was
just the way they were. They didn't mean anything personal by it. 
A long life had simply left them with little patience.   An image of
the little pig dressed up in a shawl and a long dress crossed her
mind, and she stifled a giggle as she picked him up, but not enough
that her counterpart failed to note it.
     "What's so funny?" the girl who now figured she'd be named
Annakane asked. Surprisingly, she didn't really mind having her
name arbitrarily changed. For the first time since getting the curse,
she felt like an individual again. Looking across at her giggling
'sister', she knew that Unakane felt the same.
     "I was just thinking of old Mrs. Kimichi."
     Annakane looked puzzled for a second, then her eyes widened,
and she looked at Agent P in Unakane's arms.  A giggle escaped her
lips.  "He does, doesn't he?"
     "To a T."
     "Someone care to let me in on the joke?" Agent P asked in a
querulous tone that caused both girls to break into outright laugher.
     "Never mind,"
     "it's just a,"
     "private joke." 
     Unakane suddenly stopped laughing and looked at Anna, who
was, of course, looking back at her.
     "Hey,"
     "We're not,"
     "talking at the"
     "same time"
     "anymore."
     "Cool"
     "I don't exactly call it an improvement," was Agent P's wry
comment.  "Why don't you try to talk like normal people?"
     "But we're"
     "not normal"
     "people," the two girls said with a laugh.  They sobered up a
bit when Agent P sent them both a scathing look, but they still
retained silly smiles. 
     "Fine, have your fun.  When you're ready to have a serious
conversation, let me know."
     "We're"
     "sorry."
     "I have the pig," Unakane said.
     "So you get to go first," Annakane finished with a grin.
     Unakane thought about what to say.  There were so many
things she wanted to ask the other girl, she swiftly ran over them in
her mind, trying to think which one to ask first.  Slowly, an
expression of chagrin crossed her face, and she looked across at her
counterpart, who was grinning back at her broadly. "This is stupid. 
There isn't any point in asking you anything.  You're me, or close
enough it doesn't make any difference."
     "So if we can't talk about us,"
     "why don't we talk about"
     "Ukyou, and Nodoka?"
     "Not to mention our resident alien." Both girls looked down at
where Agent P was comfortably cradled in Unakane's arms.
     Agent P blinked lazy eyes at them, and said,  "Go right ahead. 
I'll take running my mouth over running my legs any day." 
     Unakane looked thoughtful.  "Well, . . . seeing as how
Annakane and I know all there is to know about our regular bodies," 
     "why don't you tell us more about our cursed forms?"
Annakane finished.
     Agent P looked at both girls with an unreadable expression,
then he shook his head and said simply,  "No."
     Both Akanes' looked surprised at this and slipped back into
their old behavior.
     "Why not?"
     "Why not?" 
     They both grimaced together and gave each other dirty looks. 
Unakane shifted Agent P in her arms, drawing attention to who was
supposed to be taking the lead here.  Annakane glowered a little, but
then lowered her eyes and sighed, before saying,  "All right, but I
get to carry him after our lunch stop." Agent P raised an eyebrow
when Unakane didn't mimic or complete Annakane's statement.  It
looked like giving them a single focal point in the person of him
was working out nicely. In more ways than one, he thought as he
snuggled more comfortably against Unakane's bosom.
     Unakane looked down at him and repeated Anna's and her
earlier question.  "Why won't you tell us about the original Anna
and Una?"
     "Because they were thugs and bullies, who thought that
because they were born carnivores, they were superior to all the
lesser creatures that lived in the galaxy.  They are also considered to
be great heros by a large number of people who should know better. 
I refuse to dignify them by passing on their actions to people who
have had the good fortune not to have heard about them before. I
told you both only what you needed to know before. In the future,
I'll be happy to fill you in on details relating to your particular
species, but I will not tell you specific details about those two." 
     While he imparted this information in a level tone, there was a
great deal of venom in his voice, and the Akanes realized that there
was little chance they could change his mind, at least for today
anyway.  She found herself with a sudden burning desire to learn
about the two girls whose bodies they now possessed.  The little
pig's refusal just made her desire to find out even more intense. 
One piece of information he had mentioned did intrigue her,
however.  "You said they were carnivores?  Didn't they eat
anything but meat?"
     "No, and now that you mention it, I'd recommend you avoid
eating any plant matter while in your other forms.  I'm not sure
what the effect would be on you, but I do know that Felicity made a
very bad companion when she ate vegetables."
     "Did she get upset?  Or did it just make her sick?"
     "Neither.  She rather liked the taste, actually.  It was me who
did the suffering.  She didn't have the fauna in her gut to digest it
properly.  I've got a sensitive nose, and spending time in a small
patrol craft with her after she'd downed a salad was no fun thing."
     Unakane and Annakane looked blank for a second, and then
the light of understanding crossed their faces, simultaneously, of
course, along with a slight blush.  "Oh, well, in that case I guess
we'll make a point to avoid anything but meat when we're in our
cursed forms.  What was your partner Felicity like?  How did you
end up with a descendant of Una and Anna if you hated them so
much?"
     "Felicity was a wonderful person, and I'd like to say I ended
up with her because I'm a wise and understanding being who only
judges people by what they are and not who they are.  
     "That would be a lie however.  The truth is, I'm a sour,
vindictive old fart.  I'd never in a million years have picked her for
a partner, but fate, and a petty, vindictive pencil pusher, threw us
together." His eyes took on a distant look as he remembered events
long gone.  The two girls exchanged looks and grinned in
satisfaction.  It looked like they would hear a few tales of outer
space, even if they weren't about the original wearers of their
cursed forms.

     Agent P's voice came as if from a long distance away. 
"Felicity was a real hick from the sticks. Hadn't seen an alien in her
whole life before coming to Galaxy police cadet training.  Me, I was
growing back a leg that I'd lost during my last case, so, I was
convalescing, and acting as a combination teacher/liaison officer.  
     "It's a common courtesy to assign someone of my rank a
senior student to act as a gofer, teaching assistant, and anything else
that might come up.  They get to learn at the feet of an experienced
officer, and the officer gets to grow a fat ass while they do all the
running around for him.  That's the theory anyway.  
     "Felicity was just out of kitten-hood and was as clumsy as they
come.  She managed to make a mess out of the admittance office
her first day.  Disaster area doesn't start to cover it.  She had
somehow gotten the printer going and couldn't shut it off.  It
spewed paper all over the place.  She tried to get rid of the excess by
shoving it down a disposal.  Only the disposal had an alarm rigged
for that very eventuality.  People who shove large quantities of
paper down a disposal chute in a major police station usually have
something to hide.  Felicity didn't even know the alarm existed, let
alone the code to disable it.  
     "So, there she was, shoving paper hand over fist down the
chute when a security team came bursting in.  In full combat gear, I
might add.  Poor Felicity didn't have a clue as to what was going
on.  To make matters worse, the jerk-off in charge didn't bother to
announce who they were. Felicity jumped to the conclusion they
were pirates, raiding Galaxy Police headquarters for some nefarious
purpose.  
     "Felicity, I might add, had watched way too many bad movies. 
To make a long, and sorry, story short, by the time everything was
settled, there was not much left of the office.
     "This disaster got her on the bad side of one of the pencil
pushers there, and this is where I come into the story.  I'd told the
same duffus off for what I considered his slack attitude a week or so
earlier.  Growing back a new limb always makes me more of a pain
in the butt than usual, and I was in rare form on that day.  The
upshot was he was pissed off at both of us, so when word came
down to assign me an assistant, he juggled some files.  Instead of
one of the senior students, who would have known what to expect, 
Felicity was the one sent to my office.  The pencil pusher knew
about my run-in with her aunts. Of course, everyone knew about
that.  He had high hopes that something nasty would come of it."
     Akane gave a short laugh.  "I can see where this is going.  I bet
you weren't happy when she showed up."

     "Kitten, you don't know the half of it.  I told you Felicity was
a hick, she'd never seen or heard of  Brinigins, my people," Agent P
added as an aside.  "So when she walked in and saw me standing on
top of the desk, tearing up a botched effort at an exam I was trying
to write for my next class, she thought I was an animal who was
destroying an important piece of paper.  

     "After the lecture she'd received for her earlier snafu, she was
convinced that every piece of paper at GP headquarters was worth
its weight in ultra-dense energy.  She grew out of it eventually, but
it took some time." The grimace P gave while saying this was a
pretty good indicator that it had taken her a good long time to grow
out of that habit.  
     "Anyway, she snatched me off the desk, and then heard a noise
in the hallway.  Thinking that the infamous, and notoriously bad
tempered, Agent P was about to walk in, she stuffed me in a desk
drawer out of sight.  She thought she'd get blamed for my being
there you see, and for the damage I'd done.  
     "This happened all too fast for me to protest, but I rectified
that soon after.  I walked up one side of her and down the other. 
The poor girl didn't stop shaking for a week.  I, of course, got to get
snickered at for the rest of my stay at the cadet training hall.  The
student computer traffic was full of jokes, bad poetry and songs, all
memorializing the day the famous P was stuffed."
     Both girls had tears rolling down their cheeks.  "That must
have been awful for you," Unakane managed to choke out, while
Annakane gave a loud snort at the image in her mind.
     "It was not one of my finer moments, I'll give you that," Agent
P said, while directing a dirty look at the laughing girls.  "That
might have been it for Felicity and I, but it seemed a certain Pasha
with more gonads then sense had decided to set up a special harem.  
     "He sent out crews with very specific instructions to find
females from more then a dozen different races who were
compatible with his body type, and who matched his impression of
what a perfect specimen of each of those races should look like. 
Felicity happened to match the specifications for a girl of her race
to a T."
     Annakane and Unakane  listened raptly as Agent P spun out
the tale of his and Felicity's first case together.

     
     "And so there the Pasha was, naked as the day he was birthed,
surrounded by eleven of the most beautiful women in the galaxy,
according to the standards of their individual races of course.  Each
and every one of them as naked as he was and each armed to the
teeth with some of the most lethal looking hardware ever invented. 
I've never seen a man stand down so fast in my life." 
     Agent P had timed his story well.  For just as he finished,
Nodoka called out that it was time to stop for a rest. Both girls were
beet red, whether from laughter or embarrassment it was hard to
say.  Unakane set P down, and she and her sister stumbled into the
woods to look for firewood.  The way they kept looking at each
other lent some credence to the embarrassment theory, but the
smiles and laughter were equally strong evidence of the other
possibility.
     
****************************************************

     It had not been a good week for Genma Saotome.  Having
reached the wrenching decision that Ranma simply was not going to
be the boon of his old age he had hoped for, he had set out to make
other arrangements.   A visit to Soun, and a carefully crafted story
of his poor son's heroic death while he saved ten . . . no, twenty
children from a burning school bus would gain him a comfortable
place to stay.  He was sure the tender-hearted Soun would be happy
to put him up till he recovered from the terrible tragedy of his son's
death.
     Meanwhile, the notes that he had left for the Princess and
Katsuhito should keep Nodoka from discovering the truth about
Ranma.  He had been very explicit in his explanation of what
Nodoka would do if she found out Ranma was not a man among
men.  A bit of judicious questioning on their part would confirm
this.  Nodoka had no qualms about her intentions.  Asked point
blank about her deal with Genma, she would readily confess her
intention to force Ranma to commit sepuku if she felt Ranma was
not a man among men.  That would convince the Masaki household
to hide Ranma from her. Meanwhile, he would be able to tell her of
Ranma's tragic demise, being sure to mention that his body was
never recovered from the ashes of the bus.
     If by some miracle Ranma should manage to regain her male
body, Genma would be covered.  If she did not, well, Nodoka could
hardly argue that a boy who died saving others was not a man
among men.  In time, she would get over her grief.  A new child
would help with that.  She was still a young woman, and Genma
was as virile as ever.  He might yet father the son that would
support him in his old age.  The plan had been flawless.  Except for
the men from the zoo.  
     Genma had not paid a great deal of attention to the stories that
were circulating about his cursed form.  He had always escaped the
would be panda hunters easily.  Those years training with the
master, Genma reflexively made a warding gesture, had not been for
nothing.  
     Unfortunately, that had been before his picture had ended up
in the papers.  Faced with proof that the Phantom Panda actually
existed, the local zoos had put some real effort into hunting him
down.  He had been barely a block from the Tendos' house when
they had caught up to him.  He'd put up a good fight, but in the end
had lost.  Only because they had cheated, of course. 
     Genma idly rubbed his backside, which was still sore from the
tranquilizer dart that had put him out of action, and looked
morosely out through the bars of his small cage at the panda
enclosure of the local zoo.  He was currently in quarantine while the
vets made sure he was healthy and disease free.  Unfortunately,
none of those tests involved hot water.  
     Fortunately, the quarantine was almost over.  Pandas were a
big draw, and the mysterious wandering panda was likely to be an
even bigger one.  They wanted to get him out in front of the public
as soon as possible.  That would mean putting him out in the large
viewing enclosure.  The moat and tall wall might keep a normal
panda safely caged, but it would be child's play for him to escape. 
Just one more day and he'd be able to make his break for it.
     "Why hello there, good looking."
     Genma snapped his head around with startled, "Growf?"
Standing in the entrance to the quarantine room was a lovely young
brunette, a large tray of fruits, bamboo shoots, and, Genma's eyes
widened, baked goods.
     "Oh, feeling hungry are we?" the girl asked rhetorically, as
Genma shuffled forward to the front of his cage and looked at the
tray she held below her substantial bosom with longing. To
Genma's delight, she picked one of the baked goods off of her tray,
and handed it to him between the bars. Genma eagerly snagged it
from her and gulped it down in a single bite. 
     A man who had just entered the room, his arms laden with
various medical paraphernalia, said in admiration, "Looks like you
were right.  Those blueberry muffins really do the trick." 
     "Yep, only thing we've ever found that lets us get medicine
down their gullets every time."
     'Medicine,' Genma thought in alarm, even as he felt his limbs
growing weak and his vision start to blur. Unable to keep his feet,
he sagged to the floor of his cage. The last image he had before the
lights went out was the attractive girl pulling on a rubber glove that
reached all the way to her shoulder, and saying, "Well, lets see if
this big boy is as healthy inside as he is out."

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

     Ukyou looked up from where she was preparing dinner as
Nodoka came up to her. "Ukyou, could I talk to you for a minute?" 
     "Of course, Saotome-san.  Just let me finish getting these fish
ready and I'll be right with you." In a few minutes Ukyou had a half
dozen plump fish staked out around the campfire.  She would have
preferred okinomiyaki, but had been outvoted.  The others had
prevailed on her to prepare the fish without turning them into
toppings.  
     Ukyou wiped her hands clean, and looked up at Nodoka
expectantly.  Nodoka looked over to where the two Akanes were
listening raptly to another one of Agent P's stories.  No doubt
featuring his former partner Felicity, the great, great-grandniece of
the Puma sisters, whose bodies Akane now possessed thanks to the
Jusenkyo curse.  He seemed to have an inexhaustible store of 
stories, and both Akanes could not get enough of them.
     "Could we go off a little ways?" Nodoka asked.  "This is
rather personal."
     No longer distracted by her dinner preparation, Ukyou noticed
for the first time how grave Nodoka's face was.  She felt a twinge of
dread.  Nodoka had not brought up the topic of sepuku since just
after acquiring her curse.  Had she decided to go through with it
despite Xian Pu's presence, Ukyou wondered?  With a feeling of
trepidation she followed Nodoka off into the woods to a small
clearing.  Nodoka sat on a fallen tree and motioned for Ukyou to
take a seat on a nearby rock.
     Once Ukyou was settled, Nodoka frowned, and after gathering
her thoughts, began to speak.  "Kuonji-san, I have been giving a
great deal of thought to the arrangement my deceased husband
made with your father."
     "Deceased!?" Ukyou burst out.  "How?  I mean, did you find
someone who told you this!?"
     "My husband and son are dead," Nodoka said flatly.  "I no
longer have any need of proof.  I should have accepted that earlier,
instead of heading off on a fruitless journey that ended in disaster.
What is left to me is to deal with the legacy my husband left me. 
You."
     "Me?  I don't understand!" Ukyou blurted out, more from
reflex then from genuine curiosity. Nodoka's sudden assertion that
Genma and Ranma were dead had left her off balance.
     "My husband made an arrangement to bring you into our
family, he even accepted your dowry."
     "You don't have to tell me that!  I've been training for ten
years to take that dowry out of his and Ranma's hide!" Ukyou said
fiercely.  Then she remembered to whom she was talking and
blushed very slightly, though her expression remained firm.  "I'm
sorry, Saotome-san.  I didn't mean to distress you, but I've lived
with it for too long.  Sometimes I forget myself."
     "You have reason.  At first I thought you were mistaken, had
misunderstood, or --"
     "Was lying through my teeth."
     "I never--"
     "It's all right.  I don't blame you.  I wouldn't have believed me
either.  I don't care.  I know it's true, and that's all that matters."
     "I, too, believe it's true, and that is my problem.  I have an
obligation to you, above and even beyond the one I owe for
allowing you to become cursed." 
     "No!  I came on this journey of my own free will.  As for the
other matter, Saotome Genma and Saotome Ranma have an
obligation to me.  You are just another of Genma's victims.  I do
not hold you liable for their actions."
     "But I do!  And as you said, that is all that matters.  Genma is
my husband, his honor is my honor.  My clumsiness has rendered
me unable to make recompense as I should for my own actions in
regards to you.  That leaves me with only one option.  I must try to
make what amends I can for my husbands actions.  It is a poor
substitute.  Indeed, you may find it a distasteful one, but it is all I
have to offer at this time.  I ask that you listen."
     The seriousness with which Nodoka said this caused Ukyou to
answer in more formal tones then was her usual manner of
speaking.  "Of course, Saotome-san.  In the last few days I have
come to respect you.  You have shown yourself to be a person of
honor and integrity.  I will gladly listen to your offer."
     "I wish to adopt you."
     "Nani!?" Ukyou reared up, her face startled.  This was the last
thing she had expected to hear.  
     "I wish to offer you the Saotome name that Genma promised
you.  You would become the heir to the Saotome clan, little enough
though that may be.  As I said, it is small recompense, but with the
situation with Xian Pu being what it is, I am restrained from
offering more."
     "This . . ." Ukyou paused and shook her head.  "I don't know
what to say.  I never . . . Can I have some time to think about this?"
She said, trying to buy herself some time to think.
     "Of course. Take all the time you wish.  I assure you that I am
deadly serious about this. I offer this out of obligation, but make no
mistake about it.  It would give me great pleasure to call you
daughter.  You have shown yourself to be a person of honor and
bravery.  Indeed, if my son had been half the . . ."
     "Man?" Ukyou finished.
     "I didn't mean--"
     "I'm not offended.  I've spent more time living as a boy, than I
ever did as a girl." A wry look crossed Ukyou's face.  "You offered
to make me your daughter, but I've never been what you could call
ladylike, and now with my curse . . ." Ukyou paused, a calculating
look on her face.  "I'll make you a counter-offer Saotome-san.  I
vowed to give up my womanhood until I brought justice to your
husband and son.  If they are dead as you say, I can't do that now. 
Your honor demands that you offer me a place in your family.  My
honor means I can only accept one position.  Would you take me as
your son?  Instead of your daughter?"
     "I don't . . . Surely not?  You can't mean that, Kuonji-san?"
     "With every fiber of my being!" Ukyou said, her voice rock
steady.  "You offered me time to think on your offer.  I offer you
time to think on mine."
     "I see.  Well then, if that is the way you feel." Nodoka looked
troubled, but then a speculative look grew on her face.  She looked
at Ukyou closely, but her mind's eye seemed focused elsewhere, as
if she was recalling something.  Finally, she gave a nod, and her
face grew firm.  She sat up straight and stared Ukyou straight in the
eye.   "I would be honored to take you as my son."
     Ukyou looked at her flabbergasted.  The last thing she had
expected was for Nodoka to take her up on her offer.  She mentally
kicked herself.  She knew how seriously Nodoka took obligations. 
She should have known that she would accept Ukyou as a son if that
meant she could in some small way expunge part of the debt she felt
she owed Ukyou.  That left Ukyou in a very uncomfortable position. 
If she allowed herself to be adopted as a son, that put an obligation
on her to be that son, not just to play make believe.  
     Ukyou grimaced.  What did it matter?  She was already
trapped in the role of a boy by her vow regarding Genma and
Ranma.  If they were truly dead, she would never regain her
womanhood.  Add the curse on top of that, and she might as well
give in to the inevitable.
     As if reading her mind, Nodoka smiled gently at Ukyou. 
"Take your time.  There is no need to come to a decision right
away." When Ukyou would have spoken, she held up a hand.  "No. 
Don't say anything.  We should get back to camp.  Your fish will be
done." 
     Nodoka rose to her feet, and as she did so, her hand lifted to
caress the pale wood tiara that was laced through her hair.  "Oh, I
almost forgot.  Agent P tells me that the device he gave me should
have done its job by now.  After dinner I mean to call up Xian Pu,
and see if Agent P's hopes are justified.  If this works as he claims,
then Xian Pu will be taking my place for the next day or so.  You
may think on my offer, and your own, while she is here.  Whatever
you decide to be, my son or my daughter, will be acceptable to me."
     There was little Ukyou could say to that, so with her mind
whirling from this new development, she followed Nodoka back to
camp.
     

     "Are you ready for this, Saotome-san?" Agent P asked,
looking up at Nodoka, who had a worried expression on her face. 
     Nodoka shook off her uncertainty and straightened her
shoulders.  "I'm ready, P-san.  It is far better I do this here, where
we can control events than to have it happen unexpectedly."
     "You got that right.  But you don't have anything to worry
about, Saotome-san.  At worst, nothing will happen.  I don't think
that will be the case, however. It should at the very least let you and
Xian Pu remain aware of what is going on instead of experiencing a
total blackout every time you change.  At the very best, it will allow
you to communicate with each other.  I'm not sure about that part,
however.  It was never intended for that sort of use."
     Nodoka stopped herself from asking just what the tiara was
used for normally.  She had wasted enough time already.  This had
to be done, and if it must be, best be done soonest.  She walked out
into the middle of the small clearing near their campsite, a canteen
of water in her hand sloshing as she moved.  She reached her
destination and sat down on the ground, her back against a small
tree.  She knew from her own experience how disorienting it could
be to suddenly find yourself in a radically different situation than
the last one you remember.  She wanted to make the transition as
easy as she could for Xian Pu.  Draping a towel around her neck,
she opened the top of the canteen she was carrying and doused her
head with cold water.

     Xian Pu woke.  She felt her heart lurch.  Was it time?  Or was
this an unexpected change?  A quick look around herself made it
clear which it was.  She was sitting in the middle of a clearing and
in front of her were lined up her alternate's companions.  The
strange pig/spirit/wizard, the brown-haired girl/boy, and the last
two.  The girl, or girls, who bore the cat-demon curse.  She found
herself staring at them, wondering what sort of person they were. 
The cat-demons had been fierce fighters; only luck had let her
prevail in their battle.  Did these girls posses that skill, or did they
just have the bodies?  They had shown little finesse during their
fight back in Jusenkyo.  Maybe she could test herself against them, 
see if she yet retained her skill or whether she would have to spend
long years regaining it.
     "Are you all right, Xian Pu?  Is anything the matter?"
     Xian Pu broke herself out of her reverie.  She moved her gaze
from the two black-haired girls.  Akane?  And looked at the brown-
haired girl.  Ukyou?  She had been given their names so quickly, the
only one she remembered for sure was the wizard pig.  P was a
rather simple name to remember, after all.
"I am fine . . .Ukyou?"
     "That's right.  I'm Ukyou. Those two have taken the names
Annakane, and Unakane."  The two girls  nodded their
acknowledgment at her.  "And this is Agent P."
     "I remembered the wizard.  I give you greeting, wise
one."
     "There are many who would dispute that title, but I thank you,
and give you greetings as well, warrior.  Are you ready?"
     "This is it then?  The talisman is ready to function?  I feel no
different."
     "I asked Saotome-san to wait and give you a chance to get
ready.  She may not be able to make herself known to you.  In that
case, we will have to change you back to see if she remained aware. 
If she did, then you will spend a day charging the . . .talisman with
your spirit.  Then you too will be aware of what is going on."
     "That will be good.  It is not a pleasant thing. . . to be always
waking in a strange situation." Xian Pu drew herself up straight and
took a deep breath.  When she had let it out, she said in controlled
voice, "Let us begin.  You may speak if you are able Saotome-san."

      *CAN YOU HEAR ME, XIAN PU!*

     "Ahhhhh!!!" Xian Pu cried out, as she jerked upright, her eyes
wide in shock.  Her hands flew to her temples and clutched them
tightly.
     The watchers broke into shouts of "What is it?"  "Are you all
right?"  "I thought you said nothing could go wrong?"  "I thought
 'you' said nothing could go wrong?"
     Xian Pu held up a hand to quiet them.  When they settled
down, she said,  "I am fine.  Saotome-san, I can hear you, but
please, could you speak a little softer?  I thought my ears were
going to pop off my head."
     *I'm dreadfully sorry dear.  This is so new to me.* The
chagrined voice in Xian Pu's head said. *I wasn't sure how to go
about doing it.  It is so strange here. Is this better?*
     "That is much better.  I give you greetings, Saotome-san."
     *And I give you greetings, Xian Pu, but please, call me
Nodoka.  It seems strange to be so formal under these
circumstances.*
     "Very well, Nodoka.  Can you see what is going on?" 
     Nodoka's voice hesitated, and then she said. *Not clearly.  I
can't seem to see you.*
     "Nodoka say's she can not see me," Xian Pu told the wizard.
     "That is to be expected," Agent P said.  "She is seeing through
your eyes.  She can only see what you can see."
     *Oh, I feel foolish.  That should have been obvious.*
     "You heard him then.  It would seem you can use my ears as
well."
     *Yes, but it is strange.  I'm not seeing, or hearing, like I
thought I would.*
     "How so?"
     *I thought I would see and hear normally, but would not be
able to do anything.*
     Xian Pu was taken aback by this.  She had not really given any
thought as to how this would work.  The idea of being aware but
helpless to do anything, she shuddered at the idea.  Then she said to
Nodoka,  "I had not considered this.  I do not think I would have
liked that.  But you say it does not work that way.  How does it
work?"
     *Well, it's the strangest thing.  I seem to be home in my own
living room, and I am seeing what you see on my televison, and
what you hear seems to be coming from the speakers.*
     "Television?" Xian Pu said, her voice puzzled.  "What is a
television?  And who are these speakers?  Are there others in there
with you as well?"
     *Oh dear.  This could take some time.*

     "Well, looks like it worked," Agent P said with some
satisfaction as he watched Xian Pu apparently talking to herself. 
"We might as well leave those two to get acquainted.  Why don't
we go back to the camp and wait for them?" 
     He trotted off ahead of the others.  Both Akanes started after
the small pig, only to be brought up short by Ukyou, who asked,
"So, Akane . . . er Annakane and Unakane, what's the deal with you
and the pig?  How come he's still among the living?  I've seen him
leer at you, make suggestive comments, and outright order you
around.  How come you haven't used a large rock on him yet?"
     "That's"
     "Silly"
     "Ukyou!"
     "You make"
     "it sound like"     
     "we're some sort of"
     "Monsters"
     "We--"
     "Stop that!" Ukyou broke in.  She had started to get dizzy from
moving her head to look at first one girl, and then the other.
     "The two Akanes looked at each other, and giggled.  Then they
said.     
     "We're sorry.  Is this better?" 
     "We're sorry.  Is this better?" 
     In perfect harmony, of course.
     "Oh great, now we're back to stereo."
     "Oh great, now we're back to stereo." They said with a mutual
laugh, then they sobered, and said,
     "Seriously"  
     "Ukyou . . ." 
     The two Akanes stopped, and Annakane looked at
Unakane, who gave her a nod, and firmly shut her mouth.  "Don't
you find him incredible?  He's an alien!  He's from outer space! 
He's had adventures we can only dream of.  And the best part of it
is, we're aliens now too."
     Unakane could not resist and broke in at this point.  "He said
we were nothing like the original Puma sisters.  We remind him of
his old partner.  She was a great hero.  He says with a little training,
he's sure we could be great intelligence operatives."
     "Yes!" Annakane broke in.  "He's says with our former bodies
reputation, we would be perfect undercover operatives." Both girls
turned their faces up to stare at the stars, a dreamy look in their
eyes. 
     "To go out"
     "there, and"
     "to meet people"
     "from other"
     "planets." 
     Ukyou shook her head in disgust and walked off, muttering as
she went.  "Star struck.  Literally.  The pair of them."

     Agent P reached the camp site and flopped down beside the
campfire.  He heaved a sigh of relief.  Despite his reassuring words,
he had not been completely sure the device would work.  After all,
he had disabled more then half of it's circuitry.  But it would not do
to put a fully functioning _ Better Than Life _  game on an
unsuspecting person's head.  For one thing, it carried the death
penalty on several worlds and long incarceration on many others.
     Not that he disagreed with those laws.  He'd put his share of
bootleggers out of business.  That was how he had come to have one
of the insidious devices in the first place.

     Developed over five hundred years ago, the Better Than Life
game worked by completely downloading a copy of the players
mind.  It would then put the person into a deep coma, leaving the
downloaded mind conscious.  Using feedback from that
consciousness, in conjunction with interactive circuitry, it then built
a fantasy world where every dream and desire of the player could,
and would, come true.  In short, it created a world that was literally
better than real life.  When the player was ready to quit the game, it
would stop the electronic interference that kept them in a coma, and
upload the mind in the game back into the player, leaving them with
the sensation that they had really been in that world.
     The game's manufacturers had claimed that the player could
exit whenever they wished, and that was true.  The problem was that
over sixty percent of first time users did not wish to, and if not
found and disconnected, their real bodies often died of neglect.  The
death toll in the first month of release had been staggering. 
     However, despite this, because it was in effect the ultimate
drug, to this day there was a market for the things.

     Agent P had gutted the one he had given Nodoka and Xian Pu. 
It was no longer able to generate the mental white noise needed to
disconnect the player's mind.  P had counted on the curse supplying
the triggering shutdown when it was activated, and apparently it had
worked.  As soon as Nodoka's real mind had stopped functioning,
the machine had woken her downloaded mind.  When Xian Pu
changed and Nodoka 'woke', the device should seamlessly
reconnect to her mind, and the memories of her downloaded mind
would seem as real as if they had happened to her real one. 
     He had disabled the vast majority of the game's interactive
circuits.  It would be able to manifest settings that were already in
the two girls' minds, but it could no longer create fictional worlds
based on their dreams, or generate other people to share the world
with them. The actual memories of the places people lived and grew
up were much more solid and real then the phantasms that make up
their dreams. 
     Actually, things had worked out much better than he had
hoped.  It had always been a long shot that they would be able to
talk to each other.  He had hoped that the curse would fool the
device into linking the downloaded mind with the mind of the girl
who was currently active, but it had only been a hope, not a guess
based on any knowledge he possessed.  
     That at least was one problem out of the way.  Now he could
concentrate on the new and improved Anna and Una.  They were
nice girls, but they were so much like the originals in some ways, it
was scary.  If he did not watch out, they could be even more of a
scourge then his Anna and Una had been.  
     Fortunately, they were young and malleable, and with any
luck, he could direct them into a positive lifestyle.  If he could just
teach them to temper that anger of theirs, that is.  He also had to
find out what the deal was with this strength of theirs.  
     They were far more powerful than the originals.  From what he
had observed, the same held true for their other form.  The girls
were stronger by far than their fellow humans, and that had
apparently predated their dip in the spring.  That ruled it out as far
as being a result of the spring's curse.  
     He did not think, however, that the strength was natural to
them.  They were too careless and unaware of the consequences in
their use of it.  He had seen them break camping gear, not to
mention landscape, when not paying attention.  That would have to
be addressed.  They might not be the criminals he had made it a
life-long goal to catch years ago, but he still felt a certain
responsibility for their actions.  
     He closed his eyes and dozed off, making plans for the next
day and for his eventual rescue.  He grimaced.  When that
happened, he'd have to face a board of inquiry over his presence on
a restricted planet.  He hated those.  Which in a way was funny,
because one way or another he seemed to end up in front of one on
a fairly regular basis.


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


     <Xian Pu, the council has reached their decision.>
     Shampoo lifted her head, brushing her purple tresses from her
tired and dirty face. She looked over at her great-grandmother and
got to her feet.  It took a great deal of effort for her not to show the
effects of 36 hours of nearly constant activity without sleep.  She
managed, somehow. She would not give the curious watchers the
satisfaction of seeing her looking worn down. 
     Shampoo ducked her head and entered the council chamber
through the low door in the outside wall.  She found herself
effectively blind in the dim light inside after the bright sun of the
afternoon.  Not giving any sign of this, she made her way by
memory to a position in front of the council.  She sensed her great-
grandmother taking a position beside her, but she did not move her
head to check.  Instead she remained standing stiffly, her eyes
focused on where she knew the acting senior elder would be sitting. 
As her eyes adjusted, she could slowly made out the row of five
diminutive and wrinkled elders.  They sat in their places, staring at
her, their expressions giving away nothing of their decision.

     Shampoo had been dismayed at the welcome she had received
when she had arrived at the village.  She supposed that in the back
of her mind she had imagined all the warriors of the village  rallying
behind her as she led them on an assault against the demon Ryouko. 
Instead, she had been treated like a coward and a fool.  
     The plane she had commandeered was an important link with
the outside world.  One that was to be used for only the gravest of
emergencies.  Her actions had compromised its existence.  Her
protests of justified usage had gained her a hearing, but it had not
gone well.  She had been dismissed an hour earlier, while the
council came to its decision as to what to do about her, a decision
they apparently had now reached.

     The elder in charge did not leave her in doubt for long as to the
attitude of the council. <It has been many a year since anyone told
me a child's story, Xian Pu.  It has been almost as many since
anyone took me for a fool.> Her voice was malicious, despite the
bland expression she wore on her face. While she talked, she looked
more at Shampoo's great-grandmother than she did at Shampoo.
     For her part, Shampoo's great-grandmother snorted in
derision. <You are every bit the fool you were when I switched you
for running after that Musk boy, Bii Ter.  My granddaughter
brought serious news.  You waste our time with this farce.  We have
no time for you to settle old grudges.>
     <This has nothing to do with old grudges, Khu Lon.  Xian Pu
set out to restore her honor by defeating an outsider female.  She
returned with her tail between her legs, having no evidence of
accomplishing her goal and having squandered an important
resource of the village.>
     Shampoo kept her anger at bay with difficulty.  It was her
great-grandmother's task to speak for her, a duty that was looking
more and more difficult.  The faces before her that she had thought
so impassive now looked petty and vindictive.  
     <The girl told you.  The demon killed the outsider girl.>
     <The girl was duped by a strategy employed by the outsider. 
She fell for a trick any true child of the Nyuuchiezuu should have
seen through.> 
     <Fools!>
     <Enough!> Bii Ter brought her staff down on the table in front
of her with a crash. <We are not here to go over this again and
again.  We have heard the evidence, and we have reached our
decision.  Xian Pu has been judged to have failed in her quest.  She
is further judged to have harmed the village by revealing an
important asset without just cause.  To atone for these actions, she
must prove herself worthy of retaining her status as an Amazon. 
We sentence her to single combat at a place and against a champion
of our choosing.>
     Shampoo perked up; that was not so bad, there was no warrior
of the village she could not defeat in honorable combat.
     <The council selects the matriarch Khu Lon as our champion.>
     Shampoo blanched, while her great-grandmother stiffened in
shock. 
     <The place. The Pools of Sorrow.>
     <This is madness!> Khu Lon protested.
     <Do you refuse the charge the council gives you?> Bii Ter
said, her tone gloating.
     Khu Lon looked back at her with loathing.  To refuse the
orders of the council in this matter would be cause for banishment
from the tribe.  There was no choice in the matter. 
     <I, of course, accept the charge placed on me by the council.>
Khu Lon's eyes glared promises of vengeance at Bii Ter, but they
both knew it was an empty threat.  No matter what her words on the
subject, Bii Ter knew Shampoo would not lie about such an
important matter as a demon.  She also knew that Khu Lon would
have no choice but to go and face Shampoo's demon after the trial
by combat.  If the old stories of the demon's prowess were correct,
then without the full support of the village, she was unlikely to
return from that battle. 
     After Khu Lon and Shampoo were well gone, Bii Ter turned to
a shadowy figure standing at the back of the hut and to the side of
the council.  "Enforcer," She said, not bothering to keep the
contempt from her voice.  When the figure came to attention, Bii
Ter gave her orders.  "You will follow Khu Lon and her
Granddaughter.  You will see that they obey the orders of this
council."
     The figure brandished twin, one handed, double-bladed, battle
axes, in a salute that, in its own way, reflected every bit as much
contempt for Bii Ter as Bii Ter's voice had earlier expressed for the
enforcer. Bii Ter flushed with anger and jerked her head in
dismissal of the figure, who slipped out the back of the hut as silent
as the shadow she seemed. 
     Bii Ter's face still held an angry glare, but inside she was
delighted.  With Khu Lon's disgusting charity case gone, there was
no one left in the village who would stand against her quest for the
leadership.  She told herself that she had done great deeds for the
village this day.  She had gotten rid of an anchor around the tribes
neck, one that held them in the past, refusing to let them advance
into the future.  She had also gotten rid of a defective, who should
have been at the very least cast from the villages ages ago.  It was a
pity about Shampoo. She had the making of a warrior out of the
legends. Yes, it was sad, but to do the right thing, sometimes
sacrifices had to be made.  It was the duty of a true leader to make
the hard decisions when they were needed.  Bii Ter felt very proud
of her first day as the new leader of the village.

*******************************************************
     
     A day had passed, and Nodoka was once again in her own
body.  They had made good time during the day and were camped
only a few minutes away from where a bus would be passing by
first thing tomorrow morning.  
     The bus would take them to the train, which would take them
to the airport, which would take them home.  It was going to be  a
long day, but at the end of it, they would be sleeping on futons,
under a roof, inside a warm house. 
     It was still early, and the companions were entertaining
themselves, each in their own way.

     "Arrrhhhggggg!! I'll NEVER get this right!" Annakane
screamed.  She tossed down a pair of three-foot by one-inch metal
rods she had been holding, one end of each bar wrapped in leather. 
Unakane smirked across the campfire at her.  She had a similar set
of bars in her hands. 
     "I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of it. 
It's not that hard."
     "I haven't seen you manage it yet," her sister replied. 
     "Just watch." Biting her upper lip in concentration, Unakane
reached out with the two bars, placing the end of each of them on
either side of an egg that was laying on the ground.  She slowly
brought them together till they lightly touched the egg.  Steadying
her hands, she drew a deep breath, then slowly started to pick the
egg up.  She got it about two feet off the ground and started to move
it sideways, toward a pot of boiling water that was sitting on the
fire.  There was a loud crunch, and what was left of the egg fell
sizzling into the fire.
     Annakane gave a snicker, and said, "See? It's impossible."
     "You'd better hope not," a gravely voice said.  Agent P
reached out with an artificial hand and plucked an egg out of a
basket that looked like it contained the entire output of a village's
communal chicken coup.  For a good reason.  It did.  P had insisted
they buy them in the last village they had passed through, along
with the four bars of steel stock.  He had not explained his reasons
until they had made camp, and he had declared that his two students
would be making their own dinner tonight.  Now he looked at the
two girls as he set a second egg down in front of Annakane.  "If you
two expect to eat tonight, you'd better get some of these into the
pot.  That is, unless you like your eggs raw?"
     Both girls groaned, and with a sigh of resignation, they both
picked up their oversized chopsticks and went back to trying to
move the eggs from ground to pot.



      Over on the other side of the campfire, Nodoka sat staring into
space.
     *This is very interesting.  If I did not know better, I would
swear I was back home at my special place.*
     "Special place?" Nodoka asked Xian Pu, who was speaking to
her from inside the tiara on her head.
     *It was a small clearing high up in the mountain above the
village.  It was on the edge of a cliff and edged all around with
heavy bushes.  I always felt as if I was the only person in the world
when I was there. It was a wonderful place, you could see for miles. 
It had a small basin that was always full of water that seeped from a
spring farther up the mountain.  It was clear and perfect, and the
water was so cold it hurt to drink it straight.*
     "How are you seeing and hearing?" Nodoka asked curiously.

     *It just seems as if you all were just on the other side of the
bushes.  As for seeing, I see what you see when I look into my pool. 
I used to dream that it was a magic spring, and that if I only looked
hard enough, I would be able to see other places in it.  It looks like
that is true in this place.*
     "It sounds like a very lovely spot." Nodoka said.  She looked
around their campsite, and a small smile quirked at the corner of her
mouth as she watched Anna and Una try to cook their dinner. 
Frustration was evident on their faces, and there was now a large
pile of broken eggs littering the ground in front of each one of them. 
There was one person missing, however.  "Xian Pu?" she said
softly, not wanting to distract Annakane, who was just about to
finally get an egg to the pot.
     *Yes.*
     "Did you see where Ukyou went?  She left before you and I
changed places, and  I'm afraid I was cleaning and did not notice."
     *Cleaning?* Xian Pu said in surprise.
     "Well, I had been away from the house for some time, and it
needed a good going over."
     *But . . .* Xian Pu started to say, meaning to point out that
Nodoka's house in this place was not real.  At that point she noticed
the handful of bracken she had gathered up from around the edge of
her pool and was about to throw off the edge of the cliff.  She had
always had to clean up the clearing a little whenever she came to
visit, and she had not even noticed she had been doing it while
watching the outside world in the pool.  She hastily revised what
she was about to say. *I saw Ukyou going off to the west after we
set up camp.*
     "Thank you." Nodoka started off in that direction, and then
paused.  "Xian Pu?"
     *Yes.*
     "I wanted to say we . . .  I, am sorry I did not consult with you
before leaving.  I know you must want to visit your old home.  As
soon as I get the girls home, I'll make arrangements to return so you
can visit.  I suppose we will have to decide how we are going to
accommodate each others lives when that is done."
     Silence answered Nodoka, and after a minute she was ready to
call out Xian Pu's name, to ask what was wrong.  Before she could
do so however, Xian Pu answered her in a hesitant voice.
     *That will not be necessary.  I will not be returning to the
village.*
     "What?  But why?  It's your home.  Surely you must--"
     *No!  It is not!* Nodoka winced slightly at the volume of Xian
Pu's mental voice.  She felt great relief when the little redhead
continued in a quieter voice. *Please, you must understand.  I have
her memories, and her body, but I am not Xian Pu.  Xian Pu died
three hundred years ago.  I am simply you with her body and
memories.  Fate has created me, and I must live with that, but I will
not try to pass myself off as the real Xian Pu.*
     "Xian Pu," Nodoka said in a sad sympathetic voice. 
     *Don't feel sorry for me,* Xian Pu said in a cheerful tone. *I
have a new life, and that is not to be despised.  There are many
wondrous things in this world, and I look forward to seeing and
experiencing many of them.*
     Nodoka nodded at this.  "That is true, and I look forward to
showing you this new world." Nodoka hesitated for a moment. 
"This is awkward to say, after offering to show you the world, but I
have a favor to ask of you."
     *Of course.*
     "Do you suppose you could maybe take a nap, or go for a walk
or something.  I do not wish to exclude you, but I need to discuss
something with Ukyou that is a private matter between us.  I
suppose I will have to get used to you sharing my life, but this
involves Ukyou's life as much as mine, and I'd like to give her as
much privacy as I can.
     *It is no problem.  It will be interesting to see how large this
place is.*
     "Thank you." Nodoka resumed her walk, making a mental
note to explore her own world when next she was there.

     "Haaiiiyaaa!" Ukyou screamed, bringing her baker's peel
around in a vicious arc that splintered the piece of dead wood that
was her target.  She had originally set out to cut and gather some
wood for the fire, but that goal was long forgotten.  Sometime
during the act of breaking up the dead tree she had located, she had
found everything going red.  
     The inoffensive wood had suddenly become a stand in for all
that was wrong with her life.  Her blows were not aimed at the tree,
but at images of Genma, Ranma, her own father, Akane, and last, at
a brown-haired boy wearing her face, who seemed to be laughing at
her. 
     Sweat ran down her face, matting her hair to her head.  Her
clothing was soaked with the perspiration from her body, and it was
becoming more and more difficult to hold on to her weapon, but
still she lashed out.  There was no longer any style or technique to
her moves, she was simply bashing away as hard as she could. 
Blisters formed on her callused hands and then burst, but she
ignored the stinging pain.  Genma, Ranma, Akane, her Father, all
had been vanquished, leaving her with one last opponent.  No
matter how hard she lashed out, no matter how hard she swung, she
could not make that laughing brown-haired boy go away. 
     The tree was reduced to pitiful shattered remains, and still she
battered at it, grinding the shavings into the heavy wet earth.  "No! 
No!  No!" She screamed aloud, in time with her baker's peel as it
rose and fell.  At last the time came when she could no longer raise
her weapon, no matter how hard she strained with her aching arms. 
She wrapped herself around the oversized spatula, its edge
embedded in the dirt, and slowly slid down till she was kneeling. 
She leaned her forehead against the leather wrapped handle, and
tears mixed with the sweat running down her face.  
     She held that pose for what seemed like forever, till a gentle
hand took her by the shoulder and turned her to face its owner. 
Arms went around her, and she resisted for a moment, but then
Nodoka pulled her into an embrace, and she buried her head in the
older woman's shoulder and let out her grief.
     A little while later, Ukyou pushed herself away from Nodoka,
who let her go with visible reluctance.  "I'm sorry for this.  I don't
know what came over me," Ukyou said.
     Nodoka raised an eyebrow at this.  "In the last three days you
have witnessed magic, seen a space ship crash, met an alien, learned
that your quest for justice is over without resolution, and the last,
you have been cursed to turn into a boy.  Frankly, I'm surprised you
are still sane."
     "Who says I am?  I don't see you smashing up the landscape,
and you have at least as much of a reason as I do."
     "Just because you don't see it, does not mean I'm not
reacting." Nodoka raised a hand and touched the wooden tiara that
was entwined in her hair.  "While I was in here I discovered a room
in my house that was not there before." 
     "Your house?" Ukyou asked in surprise.
     "Oh, I forgot, you wouldn't know.  When Xian Pu is here, the
talisman builds a copy of my home for me to stay in.  It is just like I
remember it."
     "Strange," Ukyou said, the information giving her something
other then herself to think about. 
     "But very comfortable.  Xian Pu tell me she is in a favorite
place of hers from when she was still alive."
     Ukyou suddenly looked embarrassed.  "Xian Pu, oh great, just
what I needed, one other person to see me acting like a jackass!"
     Nodoka frowned a little at Ukyou's rough language, but said. 
"You needn't worry.  I asked her to give us some privacy.  She is
off exploring her new world, seeing how large it is."
     "You can do that?" 
     "Apparently. I did something similar myself.  As I started to
tell you, I found a room that was not in my original home.  A Kendo
Dojo, complete with practice dummies.  I told Xian Pu I was
inattentive because I was cleaning, but in truth, for most of that time
I was doing something very similar to what you were doing here."
     "Maybe so." Ukyou snorted.  "But at least you did it more or
less in private.  For a while there the whole Red Army could have
walked by, and I wouldn't have noticed." She got to her feet and
dusted herself off.  "Anyway, one good thing came from it."
     "What is that?"
     "I learned that I can't make what I am go away, no matter how
hard I hit something.  I stopped being a girl a long time ago.  If I'd
never been cursed, maybe I could have gone on fooling myself that
I could someday go the other way, but now I know the truth." 
     Ukyou looked Nodoka straight in the eye.  "Ukyou Kuonji,
girl, disappeared a long time ago." Ukyou carried a water bottle
fastened to her belt.  Now she pulled it free, and after taking the top
off, she dumped it over her head.  "I won't hide from the truth
anymore.  For the last ten years, I've had no true identity.  I've left
my family behind, cut myself off from them.  They had a daughter,
that daughter is long dead.  If you will have me, I would be proud to
be Ukyou Saotome, boy."
     Nodoka looked at him. She felt a brief feeling of guilt at going
along with this, but she could not keep a smile from showing on her
face.  It was true that a daughter would make her happy but it was a
son she wanted more then life itself.  She looked at Ukyou more
closely thinking what a fine boy he was, what a fine man he could
become.  The mannerisms that were so inappropriate in a girl were
fine and good in a man.  
     She suppressed her feelings of guilt, and said.  "Very well. As
of this minute, I consider you my son.  When we get back to Japan,
I will start the paperwork."

     
     "Yes, yes, yes, yes!" When Nodoka and Ukyou got back to the
camp site, both Akanes were dancing around the campsite, slapping
hands and shouting out in glee.  When they spotted Nodoka, they
shouted out in happiness.  "We did it! we did it!" A part of Nodoka
noted they were once again speaking in perfect harmony, the other
part looked into the boiling pot, at the two eggs rolling over in the
hot water.  She then looked at the large pile of broken shells on the
ground. 
     "Congratulations," she said rather weakly.  Those eggs had not
been cheap. 
     Later on, both Annakane and Unakane ate their single boiled
egg with every indication of satisfaction, even if they glanced rather
wistfully at the large quantity of broiled fish the rest of their group
was eating.  
     "Never thought they'd do it," P whispered out of the side of
his mouth at Ukyou. 
     Ukyou gave a short laugh.  "That's not the miracle here.  The
real story is that they managed to boil an egg without ruining it."  

     Both Akanes had made good on the original's offer to cook
dinner for the group some time ago.  Only the fact that they'd tried
their cooking out on each other first had saved the rest of their party
from a long delay in their trip while they recovered.  The two
Akanes' stomachs seemed to be as strong as the rest of their bodies,
but even they had a hard time handling what they had put in each
others' mouths.


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

     Plum swallowed nervously and looked across the hut at the
grim-faced old woman, who was currently heating up some water
while a sodden and very unhappy pink and white cat sat at her feet. 
The elder did not look to be in the mood for casual conversation,
but the scroll Plum had recently found had made what she had to
say anything but casual.  But how to broach the subject without
getting her head torn off before she got to the important point?
     Start with the important point she supposed. < "Xian Pu is
alive,> she said, and held her breath.
     The old woman shot her an angry look. <What do you mean,
Xian Pu is alive?> she snapped out angrily. <I am not in the mood
for games.  Of course Xian Pu is alive. She is right there,> Khu Lon
finished with a snarl, pointing at the cat.
     Plum abased herself, bowing so low her hair brushed the floor.
<I am sorry, elder.  I did not mean your Great Granddaughter, but
the one she is named for. I have been studying the scrolls and have
recently found a section that said the Amazons were to be notified if
ever one resembling Xian Pu were to come out of the spring of
drowned girl."
     Khu Lon scowled at her. <This is true, but I have little interest
in some man or animal that resembles her. Take your story to the
elders at the village.  It is the sort of issue that will interest them. 
One of no importance whatsoever.  They can talk on it for hours
without having to do anything.>
     Plum swallowed nervously and almost took the suggestion in
the face of the elder's obvious anger, but her instincts told her that
this was the one she should be telling her tale to. <Forgive this
unworthy one, but I think you should hear this.> For a second Plum
was afraid the old warrior was going to strike her, but she settled
back with an angry scowl.  Almost absently, she picked up the small
cat at her feet and began to stroke it. 
     <Very well.  I am listening.  This had better be important!>
     Plum swallowed nervously once again and then began her tale
of the three recent visitors, and how one of them had fallen into the
spring of drowned girl.  She got as far as telling how the girl from
the spring claimed to be Xian Pu, before she was interrupted. 
     <Stop!> Khu Lon leaned forward, her eyes wide and her body
trembling with emotion. <This girl, describe her!>  Plum obliged,
and as she did the elder nodded her head, as if checking off each
feature she mentioned from a list in her head.  Neither one of them
noticed the eyes of the cat on the elder's lap getting wider and wider
as Plum described the girl in great detail.
     When Plum finished her description, the old woman was
silent.  Steam started to escape from the kettle, and without looking
at what she was doing, she plucked it from the fire and upended it
over the cat, and fell over backward as a full grown and very naked
teenaged girl manifested in the position formerly held by the cat.
     <Great-grandmother, I have very important news!> Shampoo
shouted.  She was answered by a muffled voice under her. 
     <That is very interesting Shampoo, but for now.  Get Off Me!>

     Shampoo slipped into her now dry dress with pleasure, it was a
little chilly for wandering around in the all together.  Her great-
grandmother was lost in thought, so Shampoo joined Plum in a cold
lunch while they waited for her great-grandmother to tell her what
they were to do next.  Shampoo was fully involved in the intricacies
of the quadruple layer chicken, fish, bacon and tomato sandwich,
when Khu Lon started to laugh.  It started out soft and gentle, but
soon became a roar of glee.  Shampoo bigsweated and wondered if
her great-grandmother had finally lost it.
     Khu Lon noticed Shampoo and Plum's faces and broke off
suddenly, coughing slightly behind a raised hand.  She looked up at
Shampoo with a grin on her face that made Plum shudder. <It
would seem that we owe Bii Ter a debt, great granddaughter.  If we
had not come to Jusenkyo, we would never have learned of this, and
we might have gone to our deaths, and Bii Ter would have been
most 'sad' to hear of that, of course.  How happy she will be to see
us return home victorious.>
     Shampoo was rather disgruntled to hear her new curse
described as a beneficial thing, but her curiosity overrode that
feeling. <I don't understand.>
     <It is simple.  Xian Pu is back.  Xian Pu the demon slayer. 
Xian Pu of the legends.  We must seek her out and enlist her aid. 
With her by our side, we cannot help but succeed.>

     Shampoo shook her head. <I do not see how great-
grandmother.  I told you that the one who defeated me on the
challenge log and the one the demon Ryouko killed also matched
Plum's description.  How can this one do any better against the
demon?>
     <You did not listen closely enough.  The one Plum saw
claimed to be Xian Pu herself.  What is more, from what Plum tells
me, she behaved in the manner of the Amazons and the woman who
fell in the spring did not even know of our existence.  The one you
chased might have possessed her body, but if she had been the true
Xian Pu, she would have known our laws.  She would not have
challenged you as she did, and even if she had, she would not have
run from you.  Besides, I know one piece of information you do not. 
I had a little 'chat' with the guide about that girl.  She could not
have been Xian Pu, she was not a girl originally."  Shampoo
blanched, as she remembered something Plum had mentioned to
her, surely she had not been defeated by a . . .  <Great-grandmother,
tell me I was not defeated by a . . . Monkey!>
     <No girl, close, but not quite.  It would seem that the girl you
chased was a young boy who had the misfortune to fall into the
spring at the same time Prince Herb was visiting with the
Chiisuiton.>
     <A boy!> Shampoo exclaimed in shock, <but that means . . .>
     <You gave her the wrong kiss, something we will have to
rectify, but later, and if the demon has not truly destroyed his soul.>
     <But great-grandmother, I saw her die.>
     <I know, but from the details you told me, I am not so sure she
did.  In any case, it is of no matter.  We will find out one way or the
other later.  For now, our goal is to locate the Demon Killer, Xian
 Pu and that will be a tricky enough proposition on its own.>
     Plum coughed slightly and handed Khu Lon a slip of paper she
had retrieved from an old envelope.  Khu Lon looked at the
numbers written on it in curiosity. <And this would be?>
     <That is the phone number and address of one of the girls who
accompanied the woman who has the Xian Pu curse.  She might be
able to help you locate Xian Pu.  Her name is Akane.>
     <Very well done, child,> Khu Lon said, beaming in pleasure at
Plum, who repressed a shudder.  A happy smiling Khu Lon was
almost as scary as an angry one.  Still, she felt a warm glow at the
elders praise. <Now all that is needed is to book passage for two to
Japan.> Khu Lon said.
     <For three, honored elder.> A quite voice said from the door.

     <Perfume!> Shampoo shouted out with glee, throwing herself
across the room and glomping her cousin in a strong, but tender
hug. 
     Khu Lon looked at the tall brown-haired girl with pleasure.
<Our luck continues to grow.  I'm glad to have you, girl.>
     Perfume flushed. <I wish I could claim credit, but 'she' sent
me to watch you.>
     <To get rid of you rather, I think,> Khu Lon mused, then
added, <but you need feel no regret.  You had your duty, and it is to
our benefit that Bii Ter is a fool. She thought only to get rid of one
who she despises and who she believes would be an ally in my
camp.  Instead, she has given us a truly great gift.  In truth, I fail to
see how we can be anything but victorious now.> 
     Despite her words, Khu Lon felt a great sadness in her
breast.  There were few people she loved, and she was leading two
of them to what could be their deaths.  She prayed that Xian Pu
would be the ace they needed to win the hand fate had dealt them.


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

     Xian Pu had made a mistake.  It had not seemed like that at
first, but she was now realizing how bad a one it had been.  When
she had left her small pool and gone walking, to allow Nodoka
some privacy, she had not had a destination in mind.  Lacking any
specific direction to go in, she had let her feet follow a familiar
path, one that lead to her home village.  Or rather, the village that
resided inside the mystic talisman that was her current home. At
first it had been a pleasant surprise, and she has spent an enjoyable
time exploring, amazed at the fact that the talisman had been able to
duplicate the village so well. 
     There were blanks, of course.  The little wizard pig had told
her that the talisman could only create things that were already in
her mind. There were places she had never been in the village, such
as the hall that housed the council of elders.  She had been a month
shy of her sixteenth birthday when the attack that ended in her death
occurred, and she had not yet been declared an adult.  When she had
entered the building, with just a touch of guilt, she had found an
empty room.  The walls, ceiling and floor, were the same as most of
the village homes, but that was all there was; no decorations and no
furniture, just a bare room.  Even some of the homes she had visited
were mostly empty, as she had not visited them often enough to
remember then clearly.
     Then, she had come to her own home.  That had been a very
different situation indeed.  She had spent hours going through the
clutter inside, finding things she thought lost forever.  Her favorite
sword, her favorite set of throwing knives, an outfit she particularly
liked, the bright green one with the light armor sewn into the lining. 
She had doffed the clothing she had been wearing, one of Nodoka's
kimonos, which fit her like a sack, and had hurriedly dressed herself
in true Amazon style.  

     For some time she had been happy and content, rummaging
through memories that to her were only days old.  It was not long,
however, before she became very aware of what was missing.
People, and more than that, the noise that people make.  As
suddenly as that, the joy went out of her, and a chill ran up her
spine.  The village was just as she remembered, it was true, but only
in a visual sense.  There were no sounds, no movement, that she
herself did not make. Not a bird chirped or flew, not a child laughed
or played. No fathers calling their families in to dinner. There were
not even any elders grumbling to each other on the deplorable lack
of character in the young warriors of today.  Nothing.
     Xian Pu tried to convince herself that it was nothing to be
bothered about.  Of course, the talisman could not duplicate real
people or animals.  Try as she would, however, she could not keep
the fear that was growing in her mind at bay.  She suddenly became
desperate to hear a noise not made by herself, any noise.  She stilled
herself and listened with all the concentration she could muster,
trying to hear something.
     Nothing!  Only the wind sighing through the bushes and trees .
. . Wind?  How could there be wind?  Nothing was moving, not the
trees, not the tall grass.  If there was wind, why did she not feel it on
her skin?  She listened closely to the sigh of the wind,
Hoooooooooo, which then died down, for just a second.  Then, it
resumed, Heeeeeeeeeeeee. Xian Pu frowned; there was a different
tone to the second breeze.  Then it too died down, and in a second,
when it blew again, it has the same tone as when she had first
noticed it,  Hoooooooooo.
     She listened carefully, trying to pinpoint a source for the
sound, and as she did, she began to anticipate the rhythm of it.  Her
breath started to move in time with the sound.  She inhaled on one
gust of, Heeeeeeeeeeeee,  exhaled on the next one of Hoooooooooo.
This went on for some time as she tried futilely to locate the source.
Then, she made the connection.
     Xian Pu paled. By the gods, it was breathing.  Not wind, but
the sound of some giant beast inhaling and exhaling.  How?  How
could it be here?  The pig had said no other creatures would share
this place.  But one was.  She could hear it. 
     Xian Pu looked around wildly, staring at every bit of cover that
could possiblyF conceal the creature.  Even at cover that could not
possible cover anything as large as what was making that relentless
noise.  Sweat started to bead on her face, and old childhood terrors
reared their heads.  Her secret shame once more making itself
known. 

     Xian Pu was a coward.  Oh, she had managed to conceal it
from the tribe and from her beloved parents, but always the
knowledge had been there, a constant pain in her soul. Now her old
fears were back in full force.  Coward, her inner voice taunted her. 
Afraid of the dark, afraid of the monsters the dwelled there.        
     That girl, Plum.  She had said the village thought her a hero. 
That was a joke, a lie.  The other warriors spoke of the thrill of
battle, the joy of bathing in your enemies blood.  She felt none of
that.  When she had fought the monsters, and the outsiders who
commanded them, she had been sick with dread, literally.  No joy,
no rush, just a ball of terror in her guts that would not go away even
when she paused long enough during a brief quiet moment during
the chase to spew her guts.  
     She had killed ten of them, counting the two cat-demons, and
still she had felt nothing but fear. Only at the end, when she knew
she was dead and it was too late, had her fear fled.  Even then she
had not felt the warrior's joy at a death well earned, only a numb
thankfulness that it was finally over.
     "Xian Pu," a soft voice said.
      Xian Pu screamed in fright and whirled around, bringing her
sword out of its sheath in one smooth, lethal motion.  Facing her,
looking greatly startled, was an older woman.  Taller by a good
margin than Xian Pu, she had brown hair with a slight red tinge tied
up behind her head and  soft brown eyes, eyes that were open wide
in surprise at the moment, staring at Xian Pu.  Familiar eyes.  Eyes
she had seen reflected in a stream just a little while ago.  She was
wearing a traveling kimono, one that Xian Pu recognized after her
heart stopped pounding in her chest.
     "Nodoka-san?" she asked hesitantly.  Incredulity in her voice.
     The other woman gave a relieved sigh, and said, "That's right,
dear.  Goodness, you gave me such a start.  My own fault, I
imagine.  If you had suddenly spoken from behind me in my own
home, I'm sure I would have been very startled myself. . ."
Whatever else Nodoka might have said was lost as she suddenly
found herself locked in a rib threatening embrace by the small red-
haired girl she now shared her body with. 
     Nodoka stood, her hands out to the side as Xian Pu hugged her
fiercely.  Despite her sense of personal space being seriously
compromised, Nodoka could not bring herself to remonstrate with
the girl or to try and move her away.  After a few seconds, she
brought her arms in and tentatively returned the hug, if with a lot
less pressure then what the other girl was exerting.  "I'm glad to
meet you too, dear, but do you suppose you could give me a chance
to breath?" Nodoka 
said finally, after what she felt was a long enough span of time.
     Xian Pu broke her hold immediately and moved back quickly,
her face blazing red.  "I'm sorry.  I don't know what came over me. 
You were just so suddenly there, and I . . .Well, I was just glad to
see you," she trailed off lamely.
     "There is no need to be embarrassed. You startled me, that is
all."
     Xian Pu shook her head in denial.  "I should not have reacted
so.  My grandmother would have laughed to see me in such a state .
. ." Xian Pu suddenly trailed off, realizing she was talking too
much. Then a look of puzzlement crossed her face.  "Nodoka-san,
what are you doing here?  How are you here?"
     "I'm not sure myself.   I know I lay down to sleep some time
ago, and I don't remember waking up. I think I may be dreaming,
and somehow I ended up in your world.  Unless of course I'm
dreaming I'm in your world and am not really here at all."
     Xian Pu shook her head and held her fingers up to her temples.
"Please, don't make me any more confused.  I know I'm not
dreaming.  If you have doubts, you can ask me tomorrow when you
are sure you are awake. . ." Xian Pu trailed off again, and she
frowned.  "That is, if you do wake up.  The sorcerer did say that he
was not entirely sure how the talisman would work.  Maybe it's
drawn you into my world, and we are both now trapped here."
     "Now it's your turn not to borrow trouble," Nodoka chided her
lightly.  "I think that the easiest explanation is that somehow I can
visit you in my dreams, and that maybe you will be able to do the
same when our roles are reversed.  If, on the other hand, I'm merely
dreaming this, then no harm will be done, and the real you will be
able to confirm that when I wake. I see no need to search for any
other explanation for now.  Let us enjoy this time together.  I've
wanted to truly meet you for some time now."
     "And I you," Xian Pu said, but then she paused, and her face
took on a worried expression.  "Nodoka-san, do you hear that?" she
asked.
     "What, dear?"
     "That breathing," Xian Pu said,  then lowering her voice, she
added in a worried tone,  "I think there is something in here with us. 
Something big.  But I can not find it.  Listen, and you will hear it."
     Taking Xian Pu's advice, Nodoka listened closely, and soon
she could make out the noise the young girl was referring to.  For a
minute she looked puzzled, and then surprised, and finally, just a
little embarrassed.  In a gentle voice, she said, "That is Ukyou, dear. 
I'm afraid she . . .he, is having trouble sleeping, but does not wish
me to know, so sh- he, is breathing as he believes a sleeper breaths. 
My husband often did the same thing."
     "Ukyou?  But how . . .? Oh, I see," Xian Pu said, blushing
lightly.  "I was foolish.  I forgot that what you hear, I hear." 
     "Foolish?  No, this is a very strange situation, and we both
have much to learn of our new lives.  Look at the fact that we are
here, together, something neither of us expected to happen.  It is
good, however.  I have been most eager to learn more of you."
     Xian Pu brightened at this. "That would be a good thing.  We
are to be together for many a year.  We need to know each other
well," she said, looking Nodoka up and down, her eyes resting for a
minute on the sword slung behind her back.  "I see you are a
warrior."
     Nodoka followed her eyes and shrugged her shoulder slightly,
causing the sword to settle more comfortably.  "Not really. I was
trained by my uncle, but that was many years ago, and it was never
serious.  I have kept my hand in, but I have only practiced alone. 
I'm only a pretend warrior, unlike you." She smiled and looked over
her shoulders at the sword there.  "In a way, that makes this the
proper weapon for me.  I gave my real weapon to Ukyou to hold. 
This one only exists in this world.  A make believe sword for a
make believe warrior."
     Xian Pu flinched.  Nodoka's comments were hitting a bit close
to home. "My sword, too, only exists here," Xian Pu said, trying to
cover her lapse.  "So they are a good match.  Shall we see which of
us has the stronger imagination?" she added with a quirk of her lip.
     For a minute, Nodoka looked uncertain, but then a small smile
crossed her own lips.  "I would like that." Reaching her hand over
her shoulder, she drew her sword.  She dropped into the familiar
ready posture of her uncle's style, and waited for Xian Pu to make
her move.  For her part, Xian Pu appeared startled.  A strange look
appeared in her eyes, and she assumed a position that was a mirror
image of Nodoka. 
     They moved toward each other and exchanged blows, not in
combat, but in the stylized form of a kata.  Xian Pu paid close
attention to Nodoka's style, a style she was intimately familiar with. 
Nodoka lacked the fluidity she remembered, and some of the forms
were not just so, but there could be no mistaking it.  It was the same
style her father had taught her.
     Xian Pu backed off.  Nodoka surprised, lowered her own
sword.  "Is something the matter, dear?" 
     "Your style. You said your uncle taught you.  May I
know his name?
     "Katsuhito Masaki," Nodoka answered. "Why do you ask?"
     Xian Pu did not answer immediately; she seemed to be in the
throes of some powerful emotion.  Her eyes were squeezed tightly
shut, and tears were streaming out from under the lids and running
down her cheeks.  Then, without opening her eyes, she said,  "Does
your family keep a shrine in Japan?" When Nodoka confirmed that
yes, they did, the tears began to run in even greater quantity down
her cheeks.
     Concerned, Nodoka moved closer to the stricken girl.  She
reached out and gently touched her shoulder, while asking,  "What
is it, dear?  What's the matter?" Then she grunted in surprise as for
the second time in less then half an hour the air was driven from her
lungs by a powerful hug.
     Xian Pu's muffled voice floated up from where it was pressed
tightly into Nodoka's chest. "Family, we're family."
     This comment startled Nodoka enough that she placed her
hands on Xian Pu's shoulders and pushed her gently away.  "I don't
understand.  What do you mean dear?" She asked the little redhead.
     Xian Pu wiped tears from her eyes, and said,  "My father's
name before he married my mother was Masaki, and his family kept
a shrine in Japan.  Don't you see?  That's why I was called forth
from the spring after so many years.  Your blood is my blood. 
We're family."
     Nodoka could only stare at her, her mind whirling with the
implications.  Part of her was ready to deny Xian Pu's claim.  The
evidence was too circumstantial.  The vast majority of her mind,
however, grabbed onto the concept like a life line. 
     Ten years of solitude had made Nodoka a very private and
insular person, more so even then the typical Japanese.  While she
had been prepared to do what was right in regards to Xian Pu, her
soul quailed at the thought of how intimately connected the two of
them were.  If they were family though, that made a great deal of
difference.  They were still closer then two people had any business
being, but at least this would make it easier to deal with. 
     Nodoka moved forward and, for the first time, initiated contact
between the two of them.  She gathered the excited Xian Pu up in a
hug and kissed the top of her head.  It was her turn to strain ribs, and
she did so.  This time, the feeling of the other girl's warmth pressed
against her did not feel like an intrusion, but was comfortable,
fanning an ember in her that had long been just a dim coal.  Family,
someone to love, this was something Nodoka had craved for years.
     Breaking the hug, Nodoka drew Xian Pu down to the ground
beside her, and said,  "Tell me of your father and of his family, and
I will tell you of mine." Xian Pu readily agreed and eagerly
launched into an account of her immediate family, close relatives,
distant relatives, the lady across the way whose husband made the
best cookies in the whole village, and more.  

     Nodoka was overwhelmed, but soon realized that the young
girl was not talking so much to her as she was trying to lock her
entire childhood into her own memory, to keep it bright and shiny
for as long as she could.  It brought home to Nodoka just how
terrible this situation must be for Xian Pu.  For her, less than a hand
of days had passed, but in that short span of time she had lost
everything.  The youngest child in her memory would be over two
hundred years dead.  So Nodoka added nothing to the conversation
but her presence.  She simply sat and kept the younger girl company
as Xian Pu went over every tiny detail of her home and family.
     After what seemed like hours, Xian Pu started to taper off, her
voice hoarse with use.  The pauses between bursts of descriptions
became longer as she had to search her brain for more details to
mention.  Nodoka waited for one such gap and interjected her own
voice into the monolog Xian Pu had been maintaining.  "My, your
home sounds wonderful.  Now that I know I have family there, I
really must visit it once I get us and Ukyou settled."
     Xian Pu's happy expression vanished.  She tucked her head
down till her chin nearly touched her chest, and her hair fell over
her face.  She said in a soft voice,  "If you wish, of course you may,
but . . . if you go, please don't tell them about me, or let me out
while you're there." Tears streamed down her cheeks, clearly
visible despite the veil of hair that hung forward to hide her face.
     The girl's pain struck through Nodoka's heart like a knife, and
before she thought about what she was doing she had moved over to
Xian Pu and drawn her to her chest.  Just as she had done for Ukyou
earlier that day.  Stroking the red-haired head that was tucked just
below her chin, she whispered, "Tell me what it is."

     "I want to go home," Xian Pu whispered into Nodoka's
kimono,  "but home is gone. Everyone I knew, everyone I loved,
gone.  If it were miles away, I could walk it.  If it were across an
ocean, I could swim it.  How do you cross time?  How do I swim
back three hundred years?  I want to go back so badly, but I am not
me.  The people there would not, could not, greet me."
     "Why?  You said something of this before, but why would
they deny you?"
     "It is our law.  The curse is not important, it is the person that
matters.  If a person is cursed to turn into a pig, you may not cook
them and claim it was nothing but an animal.  If a person changes
into another person, or another sex, it is the original that matters. 
To them I would be just you, not Xian Pu.  Xian Pu died three
hundred years ago.  All that is left is Nodoka Saotome, who
sometimes looks like, and thinks like, the dead Amazon child, Xian
Pu."
     "But that isn't the case.  You are an individual, unique.  You
may have been born of my body, but there is nothing of me . . . ."
Nodoka trailed off, a strange expression on her face.  Xian Pu
pulled herself back slightly and looked up at the older woman with
tear stained eyes.  She brushed at her eyes with the back of her
hand, angry at her show of weakness, and asked.
     "What is it?"
     For a second Nodoka did not answer, but then she shook her
head slightly and looked down at the young girl.  "It's nothing," she
said, with a slight smile.  "I just realized that after living ten years
on my own, I have suddenly, in less then twenty four hours,
acquired both a son and a daughter." 
     "What!" Xian Pu blinked, and then enlightenment dawned. 
"You mean me?" she asked, in surprise. "But I don't understand. 
I'm a curse."
     "No!" Nodoka said vehemently.  "You are a unique person,
yourself and none other.  One who was born from my body as
surely as if I had given birth to you in the normal fashion."
     Xian Pu shook her head in denial.  "No, that can't be.  I told
you.  The person who received the curse is the person that is there. 
I am a shadow of the past."
     "You are wrong Xian Pu!" Nodoka said, putting her hands on
the girls shoulders and looking deep into her eyes.  "Those are laws. 
Laws made by people.  Fallible people.  Maybe they would not
acknowledge you, but those laws have no binding on me.  To me
you are my daughter." As Nodoka spoke, her voice grew firmer, and
more commanding, and she finished with such a tone that Xian Pu
could not bring herself to argue with her.  Instead, she was aware of
a sudden unclenching in her chest, as if a great pressure had
suddenly been relieved.  She leaned forward till her head was once
again pillowed on Nodoka's breast and wept, but this time the tears
were not of sorrow. 

     For long moments the two women, one old, one young, held
that pose, till Nodoka finally said in a hesitant voice.  "What do you
think of Ranko?"
     "What?" Xian Pu said, her voice puzzled at this question.  "I
don't understand.  Who is Ranko?"
     "You are, if you like the name," Nodoka said, and as the other
girl looked at her in continued puzzlement, she continued.  "You
have said over and over again that you are not Xian Pu, but only her
shadow.  Well, if that is the case, maybe you should have a new
name, one that is your own and not that of the girl who died so long
ago.  My son's name was Ranma.  It would be something to keep of
his, now that he is gone."
     For a few minutes Xian Pu considered the idea.  "Ranko," she
said, tasting the name.  She grimaced slightly.  It sounded strange
and rough.  Not at all like her own smooth and silky name, but then
she stopped that thought.  Xian Pu was not her name.  Shadows do
not have names.  She could see in Nodoka's face that this meant a
lot to her, so she put on a cheerful expression, and said,  "Ranko! 
Yes, I think I could get used to it."  When Nodoka's face broke into
a wide smile at her words, Xian Pu decided, that she could indeed
get use to it.  The newly-named Ranko could not help but smile
with her new mother, but then a thought occurred to her.  "You said
a son and daughter.  Who is the son?"
     "Oh, that is Ukyou.  I asked him the other day.  My husband
made a promise to him, and it was the only way I could keep his
word."
     Ranko gaped at her.  "But Ukyou is a girl." 
     "Yes, I know, he was, but I when I offered to adopt him as my
daughter, he would only agree if I took him as my son.  He had
made a promise to himself, and with my husband gone, he did not
feel he could return to being a girl."
     "But that is stupid.  Why would she wish to become a boy? 
Boys are, are, well, they just are.  No right-thinking girl would ever
want to be a boy."
     "I agree," Nodoka said with a smile, "and I would not have
gone along with it but for one thing."
     "What was that?" Ranko asked.
     Nodoka suddenly looked a lot less certain, and instead of
answering Ranko's question, she asked one of her own.  "Ranko,
how old are you?"
     Ranko looked surprised, but answered.  "Well, I . . . I mean,
Xian Pu was almost sixteen.  In another month she would have gone
through her adult ceremony and become a full warrior of the
village."
     Nodoka considered this, and then, her face still slightly red,
said, "well, you see, Ranko, there are some girls who are fond of
other girls . . ." Nodoka continued explaining why she felt Ukyou
would do well as a boy, and she grew particularly enthusiastic as
she described him standing in the Nyanniichuan in his soaking wet
tights, which were very tight indeed when wet, and stretched over
his larger masculine body, and how manly he had reacted when
Plum had come bouncing up.

     Ukyou stared up at the top of the tent, invisible in the dark. He
wondered if it was possible to die of terminal embarrassment.
Beside him Nodoka continued to talk in her sleep. Ukyou was
surprised that the glow from his burning cheeks did not light up the
tent like a lantern. 

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


     Shampoo sat in front of the evening camp fire, sharpening her
sword with a whetstone. She was paying particular attention to the
truncated end where the Demon Ryouko had chopped off ten inches
during their fight. A simmering anger filled her as she tried to put
some sort of edge on the blunt tip. She was not having much
success at the task. The weapon was as good as ruined as a long
sword. 
     That was one of the reasons for her current feelings. The sword
had been her mother's. She felt great shame over her poor showing
in the fight where it had been damaged and burned to redeem her
honor and reputation. The skepticism and derision she had met in
her home village had wounded her deeply and had served to
reinforce her determination to do better next time.
     When she had time she would have to rework her damaged
weapon into a short sword, altering the pommel and blade to get the
correct balance. There was no time for that now, and her mother's
blade had one last task to accomplish before it was consigned to the
blacksmith's forge: revenge on the demon who had damaged it. 
Shampoo went back to working on the tip with renewed effort. 
     A flicker of movement reflected in the glistening blade caught
Shampoo's eye, and her mood suddenly shifted.  She smiled as she
looked closer, taking care not to give herself away to the person
who had just emerged from the bushes behind her. <Hello, cousin,>
she said in a casual voice. <Did the hunt go well?> 
     Shampoo turned and looked at her cousin Perfume. The
attractive, muscular, brown-haired girl acknowledged Shampoo's
greeting and question with a short nod toward several rabbits
hanging from her belt. Shampoo grinned. It might not be obvious to
most people, but to her Perfume's chagrin was clear to see. The
fierce village enforcer was not used to being detected when she
chose not to be. 

     Born with senses a dozen times more sensitive than a normal
human, and without the ability to dull them, a stubbed toe could
leave Perfume curled up in a ball of misery.  A scratch from a thorn
could reduce her to tears. As a result, she had learned from an early
age to move with great caution through the woods and was usually
somewhat quieter then smoke. 
     A fact that Perfume enjoyed using, both in her line of work as
village enforcer, and to satisfy her rather warped sense of humor. 
Shampoo thought there was nothing the brown-haired girl enjoyed
more than to have someone turn to find her standing inches away.
Her role as the village enforcer only added to the pleasure as very
few people had a truly clear conscience. It was the rare person
indeed who did not startle seriously when they discovered Perfume
standing beside them.

     The rather disgruntled Perfume tossed the rabbit carcasses in
front of the campfire and turned to walk away, saying as she did so,
<I'm going to clean up. See if you can avoid burning the food this
time, won't you?> 
     Shampoo only grinned at her cousin's retreating back, not
even the familiar jibe from Shampoo's first disastrous attempt at
outdoor cooking ten years before diminishing her good humor.
Licking a finger, she made a mark in the air. <One for me,> she
said. Then she bent over the three plump coneys in front of her and
started dinner.

     Perfume's bad mood lasted about ten steps into the bush and
then disappeared.  She gave a soft chuckle as she thought to herself,
'I really must talk to great-grandmother. It took Shampoo half-a-
minute to spot me standing there. I thought I was going to have to
snap a twig or something.' In any case, the plan had worked, and
her absence for the next two or three hours would be put down to
bad temper on her part. 
     Great-grandmother had gone to secure their transportation to
Japan and would not be back for at least half the night. Perfume did
not intend to waste the opportunity that circumstance presented. She
liked her cousin, she really did, but they were going off on what
might be a death mission, and Perfume could think of at least one
thing she'd much rather be doing then sitting around the fire
listening to Shampoo gripe about that cursed boy and the stupid
village laws that meant she had to marry the stupid fool. Because, of
course, he must have been a fool to fall into Nyanniichuan.
     She didn't know what her cousin's problem was. Girls were
ever so much nicer then boys, at least compared to the louts
Perfume knew.  In Perfume's opinion, Shampoo had lucked out.
And speaking of nice girls, she'd better hurry if she was going to get
to Lin's house before the dairy maid retired for the night. 
     Perfume was something of a Don Juan when it came to the
girls in the various villages surrounding the Amazons. In the last
two years, since turning sixteen, she had cut a wide swath through
all the girls in the vicinity. It was not that boys disinterested her. It
was simply for the most part she did not want to get tied down to
one as they were often so possessive. Then there was that sticky
matter of children to be concerned with. Great-grandmother had
been very graphic in describing what a pregnancy would mean to
her with her heightened senses. It had been days before Perfume
could even bear to be in the same room with a man. Great-
grandmother had assured her that when the time came, steps could
be taken to allow her to manage, but they would have to be
implemented before the pregnancy began. To do them afterwards
would endanger the baby. Not that Perfume cared, after her great-
grandmother's little talk, she'd not be letting any guy get anywhere
near that close to her. No, for her, at the moment, women were
much more appealing and far less dangerous.
     Of course, she could have searched for companionship among
her fellow Amazons. She had noticed one or two showing an
interest. She might have even tried something with her cousin if not
for the fact that Shampoo was such a stick-in-the-mud over the
issue.  However, when it came down to it, Perfume much preferred
the company of those 'weakling' outsiders, who were so inclined, to
that of any Amazon female.
     The warriors in her own tribe had, for the most part, despised
her when she had been young.  Labeled a coward and a crybaby,
she'd been an object of derision to others in the village. Her life
might have been bleak indeed if great-grandmother had not listened
to the pleas from Perfume's mother, and taken her in to train.  
     For that reason, Perfume never really bothered looking among
her fellow Amazons for a bed partner. While she might now be an
object of respect, and fear, she still remembered all too well the way
those same girls had treated her back then.  There were lots of
young girls in the surrounding villages who were more than eager to
share a bed with a warrior maid, if you knew what to look for, or in
Perfume's case, what to smell for.
     Perfume's condition might have left her vulnerable to pain, but
in compensation it also gifted her with heightened senses. Senses
that were every bit as keen as any animal. Unlike others, her
hearing, and other senses were not atrophied by an overdose of
evolution. 
     Any Amazon could tell when she had attracted the attention of
an interested male. It wasn't like the poor fools could hide their
interest. Perfume could every bit as easily tell when she had
impressed a female. As she was fond of saying, the nose knows.
     
     Perfume's rapid motion through the bush was suddenly halted
when those self-same heightened senses picked up the presence of
other people just ahead. It was unlikely any other human could have
detected the whispered conversation coming from the two
individuals ahead of her, but once she stopped moving Perfume had
no problem making out their words, or the slight scent that marked
them clearly as being Musk warriors. 
     The Musk had been thought a dead legend, bogie men to
frighten children, until just recently. That was when Shampoo's
mother, Comb, had found an injured man on a high mountain trail
and had nursed him back to health. The man had turned out to be
the emperor of the Musk, and suddenly the Amazon's legendary
foes were once again present in their world. Only this time as
tentative allies. Many Amazons looked with disfavor on this.
Perfume was one of them. It was not so much who they were, as it
was that the ones she met had a fondness for wearing the scent of
various animals as some sort of macho display. To her sensitive
sense of smell their stink was nauseating. She was always very
careful to stay downwind when a delegation came to the village. 
     These two were not that bad, but there was still that lingering
odor of tiger and wolf to tell her that they were indeed from the
Musk. Curious, she listened to what they were saying.
     <Shhh, be quiet. You don't want Herb-sama to hear us.>
     <Me, you're the one making all the noise.>
      <Quiet! I'll be mad at you if we don't get to see Herb-sama's
titties.>
     Perfume felt a shock go through her system at the mention of
titties. The sudden splashing noise she heard made matters very
clear.  Some poor girl was bathing, and these louts were sneaking up
to peek and to do the gods know what else to the poor thing.  All at
once her intention to work her way around these fools vanished. 'I
have to stop those perverts,' she thought to herself virtuously.  'It's
the duty of every Amazon to protect those weaker than them. Of
course,' she thought with a grin, 'if the possessor of the before
mentioned titties were to prove grateful for my aid, it would be
churlish of me to refuse to accept.'
     Perfume's hands crept into her bodice and came to rest on the
hafts of her battle axes, but then she reluctantly withdrew them
empty. Some girls were put off by the sight of blood.  Better to do
this a bit more quietly. Her left hand searched for and felt a slender
rod in the seam of her bodice. Giving a pull, she extracted a short
pipe, not much bigger then a drinking straw. Her other hand felt at
her collar and grasped two decorative tufts. A gentle pull removed
what proved to be a pair of darts. Carefully, not taking her eyes off
the silhouettes that marked the location of her prey, she brought the
small weapon to her lips.

     Lime was in difficulty. Both he and Mint were past masters of
skulking. The monkey hunt they had recently participated in had
heightened an already considerable talent, and that was as nothing
when compared to what their attempts at sneaking peaks at Herb-
sama had taught them. After all, monkeys did not fry you with Chi-
blasts when discovering your presence. 
     Both he and Mint had outdone themselves this time and were
within inches of a view of heaven. They just had to get around this
one last bush, and it would be clear viewing. That was where the
trouble started. Lime had divested himself of anything that might
make a noise or snag on a bush. All except for one thing, the
Chiisuiton. 
     Lime was under orders to not let the thin magic bucket out of
his sight, and it was currently snagged on a branch, impeding his
progress. Moving with exquisite care, he stood and started to free
the bucket. At that point a bug bit him just behind the ear. His only
reaction was a slight wince as he continued his task. 
     Lime blinked his eyes as the bucket in front of him seemed to
blur, along with the branch it was snagged on. He raised a hand to
his face to wipe away the blurriness, but to no avail. Lime turned to
ask Mint for assistance, only to find his partner was sprawled out on
the ground. His legs started to get weak, and he was finding it
harder and harder to keep his balance. All his attention focused on
the bucket. The only thing he could think of was how important that
it not make a noise and reveal their presence to Herb-sama.
     <Here, let me take that for you.> Lime tried to thank the boy
with the long brown hair who took the Chiisuiton from his numb
hands, but he was unable to make his mouth work. His eyes traveled
down the form of the boy as he sank to his knees. The last thought
to cross his mind before the lights went out was that this boy had
titties even bigger then Herb-sama's. 

     Herb, prince, currently princess, of the Musk, was nervous.
Not that she would ever admit to that condition. She was currently
taking her first bath as a female without a chaperone. She had never
realized how much hassle the presence of the Jusenkyo guide had
spared her. With him nearby to give a warning if Lime and Mint
took it into their heads to 'guard' her, she had always had complete
privacy, or nearly so. Now, alone except for her two companions,
she found herself starting at each and every sound.
     She was torn between bathing facing the shore, or away from
it. Facing, she had a better opportunity of spotting the two perverts,
but if she should fail to spot them, she would also present them with
that which they most desired, an unrestricted view of her chest.
Turning her back to the shore would deny them that, but make it
less likely she would spot them. She finally decided on facing the
shore, trusting in her ability to spot them before they got too big a
peek.  She focused all her attention on the shore while she hastened
to wash her long white and green stripped hair as quickly as she
could. This led to problems.
     The heavy lather she was working up slipped down her face
and into her wide spread eyes. Eyes she had been afraid to shut for
fear of missing a tell tale sign that would indicate the presence of
peepers. 
     Exclaiming in pain. Herb tried to rub the soap out of her
stinging eyes. This only worsening her condition as all she
succeeded in doing was shoving more irritant into her eyes.
     <Here, sweet one. Let me help you.>
     Herb stiffened in shock, a small ki ball forming in her hand.
Only the belated realization that the speaker was female saved
whoever it was from becoming crispy fried. She allowed the ball of
energy to dissipate as water sluiced over her head. The process was
repeated several times, until the stinging in her eyes subsided. 
     Holding up a hand to forestall any more rinsing, Herb blinked
her eyes to clear the last of her blurred vision. A vision swam into
sight, a brown-haired girl with a smile on her face and wearing
nothing else. Herb's lightning quick mind realized the girl was
naked. That meant if she looked down, she would be able to see the
other girl's titties. Herb looked down.

     Perfume frowned at the slight-bodied girl in front of her.
Everything had been going just fine, and then the girl had
completely zoned out, her large, slanting green eyes glazing over.
Perfume waved a hand in front of the glazed eyes of the other girl.
<Hello? You there? Anyone home?> Nothing. The girl merely
continued to stare blankly at Perfume, or more specifically, at
Perfume's chest.
     Perfume was starting to wonder if the girl was mentally
defective, when she finally moved. A hand slowly came up, and
tremulously reached forward. Perfume stifled an urge to back away
and allowed the exotic looking girl to touch her. A soft hand,
slightly chilled from the river water, touched, and then caressed,
Perfume's breast. 
     <Titties,> The girl said, in an breathy, worshipful tone of
voice.
     Perfume felt a familiar heat rising in her loins and decided that
it would be most impolite not to reciprocate this strange girl's
welcome. Subsequently, she reached forward herself and stroked
the other girl's breasts with both hands, saying, <Titties.> She then
added under her breath, <And very nice ones indeed.>
     Perfume's touch seemed to break the girl out of her stupor.
She jerked her head up to stare into the slightly taller girl's eyes.
Perfume was happy to see a fierce intelligence now burning in the
slanted green eyes staring into her own. The dull glaze that had
filled them was no longer present. 
     While Perfume was glad to see the pretty girl was not a lack-
wit, that did not mean she was going to let her use that brain. Before
the other girl could react, Perfume's right hand relinquished her
hold on the girl's firm, succulent breast. Perfume's arm slipped
down and around the girl's slim waist. She pulled the other girl in
close, and taking advantage of her upturned face, lowered her head
slightly, and captured the girl's dainty lips with her own. 
     For a second the girl struggled in her arms, but as Perfume's
experienced hands, and lips, had their way with her, she slowly
relaxed and to Perfume's immense satisfaction, began to tentatively
return Perfume's attentions with some of her own.
     Perfume stood in the water, drinking in the lips of the girl in
her embrace, till finally the need for a slightly dryer, and warmer,
location could no longer be ignored. She swung the girl up in both
her arms, cradling her against her substantial chest. The girl's
murmured protest ended when she found her face pressed up against
one of Perfume's generous brown-tipped mounds. Her eyes glazed
over once again, and with a happy sigh, she lay her head against its
warm softness.
     Perfume looked down at the exotic girl in her arms. Her
pointed ears, large slanted eyes, and long silky, green and white hair
that was currently falling down over Perfume's left arm, came
together to make a most fetching picture. 'Oh yes, this was going to
be 'fun', Perfume thought, as she carried the girl out of the river.

******************************************************
     
     Shampoo looked up some two hours later as Perfume
sauntered into the campsite, a happy cat-eating-the-canary
expression on her face. Shampoo had seen Perfume returning from
enough late-night rendevous to have no difficulty discerning the
reason for Perfume's self-satisfied expression. Holding out some
cold skewers of rabbit meat to her cousin, she said, <I see your
hunting went well again. You're such a pervert, Perfume. Couldn't
you go even one night without?>
     <What's the matter, cousin? Jealous?>, Perfume asked with a
laugh, taking a healthy bite from the skewer in her hand.
     <Of you? Hardly, but we are on our way to face a battle out of
legends. I would have thought even you would have the sense to
focus on that, instead of indulging your perverted desires.> Despite
the harshness of Shampoo's words, they were spoken with a tone of
humor. This was old territory for the two cousins, who had long ago
agreed to disagree on their respective attitudes toward romance.
     Therefore, Perfume merely grinned at Shampoo, and said,
<And I, cousin, would have thought that even you would be able to
see the need to reaffirm life at least once, when we may face the
final sleep so very soon.>
     <And I would have thought you two young fools would have
seen the value of getting some sleep while you had the chance.>
Both Perfume and Shampoo turned to see their great-grandmother
looking at them, a testy expression on her face. Seeing she had their
attention, she continued, <Break camp. We're going now. The plane
leaves in two hours.>

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

     Herb-chan sighed and rolled over on her back, letting the early
morning sun wash over her nude body. She felt _ wonderful _ . 
Better than she could ever remember feeling in her life. <Perfume-
chan, that was the most wonderful thing.> Herb's voice took on a
sly tone, and she turned to her left. <Can we do it . . .?> She trailed
off when she discovered the space next to her was vacant.
<Perfume-chan?> she called out. Then again with more intensity.
<Perfume-chan!?> Herb rolled to her feet and frantically looked
around the campsite for her companion of the night before, but
there was no one present.
     An ache started to form in her chest, but she fought it down.
Perfume-chan had likely only gone down to the river to bathe. That
was it, nothing unusual in that. Herb smiled. She'd just sneak on
down there and join her.

     <Perfume-chan!!!> Herb yelled with great enthusiasm as she
jumped through the bushes into the river, causing a great splash of
water. She wiped her eyes and looked around. Her spirit fell as she
saw she was alone, only to rise when she heard a crashing in the
bush behind her.
     Turning with an expression of joy on her face, Herb's spirits
plummeted once more when Lime burst from the brush and into the
stream. <Herb-sama are you alright . . .> Lime's voice trailed off as
he took in Herb's unclothed status. His eyes glazed over and drool
started to drop from his mouth as he focused on her bare chest.
     Herb glared at the massive boy in disgust. A ball of chi formed
in her hand, and a second later blew the tiger-skin clad boy back
through the bushes he had emerged from. Drawing as much of her
dignity as she could around her in place of the clothes she lacked,
she stalked back to camp, not even pausing as she fired a chi bolt
straight up. A second later Mint came crashing to the ground, the
tree branch Herb had severed landing on his head.
     Herb reached their camp and placed a kettle on the remaining
coals from the fire the night before. She'd get no help from those
two idiots as long as she was female. And disgusting as it was, she
needed their help. She had to find Perfume-chan. The lovely
Amazon might be in trouble and need rescuing. Herb slipped into a
daydream while she waited for the kettle to boil. A dream in which
she, in her male form, rescued the lovely maiden from her peril, and
was suitably rewarded. Her face took on an expression quite
remarkable in its resemblance to the one Lime had worn only
minutes before.
     Soon, though it seemed like hours to Herb, the kettle of water
heated to the correct temperature, and Herb poured the water over
her head. Shaking the water out of her hair, she walked over to her
clothes, only to pause when it finally registered that she was still
female. Looking down at herself in stunned shock, her mind froze
up. For a second she could not think, then, frantically, she refilled
the kettle and placed it back on the coals, this time adding fuel to
the fire. Obviously, she had not let the water get hot enough.
     Herb let the kettle come to a full boil this time. She gasped in
pain when she poured the hot water over her head. It was no good,
two very attractive and feminine breasts still decorated her chest.
Now thoroughly panicked, Herb cast around the camp frantically.
When Mint and Lime emerged from the bushes, she screamed at
them. <Where is it!? Where is the Chiisuiton!?> She got no answer
from the drooling boys, who only stared at her naked form. Almost
screaming in frustration, Herb searched the camp, tearing it to
pieces in her frantic search for the magic ladle. For once, she was
completely oblivious to the imbecilic state of her peeping
companions.
     Two hours later, Herb finally had to admit defeat, the
Chiisuiton was no where to be found. How was that possible? It had
to be here. One of them always carried it with them. They never left
it behind. They were here, so where was it? A sudden sensation of
dread filled Herb-chan's mind. There had been one other person
here last night. No! She refused to believe that! Perfume-chan
would never do that to her. There was peace between the Musk and
the Amazons at the moment. There was no reason for her to do such
a thing. Was there? A sudden memory filled Herb's mind. A wash
of water rinsing soap from her eyes. 
     With a dull ache in her stomach Herb raced back to the stream.
This time she looked carefully at the stream bank, and felt her gorge
rise in her throat as she spied the missing Chiisuiton laying on it's
side. <No.> Herb said in a weak voice, picking up the narrow
bucket and clutching it to her stomach. She staggered back to camp
muttering over and over to himself. <No, no, no, no ,no . . .> She
reached camp and fell to her knees, still clutching the bucket. Tears
rolled down her face. It couldn't be. Not Perfume-chan. She
wouldn't do this to me. 
     A cough behind her broke her out of her grief, and she turned
her tear stained face toward her two companions. Both Lime and
Mint were standing there, their gaze directed upward. Herb felt a
sudden burst of affection for the two clods. They were fools, but
they were trying their best. In her time of need they suppressed their
desire to peek to offer her solace. <You may speak,> Herb said in a
hoarse voice. 
     The two men exchanged looks, clearly wanting the other to
speak for both of them. After a bit of subtle body language,
involving elbows and ribs, Lime was selected spokesman. <Herb-
sama," he said, while painfully rubbing his side and glaring at Mint.
"I . . . I mean, we, wish to talk to you about that boy with the titties
last night.>
     The nausea in Herb's stomach increased, but she needed to
face the truth. She nodded, and said, <Go ahead.>
     Mint and Lime once again exchanged looks, Mint glared, and
Lime backed out of elbow range, and said, <We don't think it's fair
that you let a stranger touch your titties when you won't let us do
it.> Mint nodded vigorously in agreement.

     The explosion was most impressive.

     Two charcoal colored figures staggered down the road. The
smaller of the two spoke in an aggrieved tone of voice. <I still say
it's unfair. We've known Herb-sama since he hatched -- oof!> He
was cut off when his companion elbowed him in the side and
shushed him, all the while looking around frantically. 
     <You know we're not suppose to ever mention that, Mint,> he
said in a very worried tone of voice.
     "<So what? Who cares? Besides, there is no one around to
hear us.> Despite his words of bravado, Mint was looking around
himself. His expression might have been worried, but it was hard to
tell considering his face was as black as the rest of him. <I still think
Herb-sama should have let us touch his titties. If I had titties, I'd let
him touch them.> 
     Lime, who had continued to look for possible witnesses,
nodded his head in agreement. He was about to offer a 'me too,'
when a thought plowed through his rather dense mind,  bringing all
other activity up there to an abrupt halt. <You mean if you had
titties, you'd let me touch them?>
     <Of course. You're my best friend,> Mint added in an
aggrieved tone, "Unlike some people, I don't forget who my friends
are.> Mint paused as he noticed Lime was not moving. The larger
boy was frozen in place, rivulets of sweat washing the char from his
face, which was screwed up in intense effort to follow a certain idea
through to its conclusion. <Are you alright, Lime?> Mint asked.
     Lime jerked and broke out of his frozen posture. He looked
down at his friend, and said, <Say, Mint, why don't we wait back at
Jusenkyo for Herb-sama to cool off?>
     Mint looked startled at the question. The idea of leaving Herb-
sama was strange to him. He and Lime had been with the prince
since, as he had said, Herb had been hatched. Giving him a little
distance to cool down, that was one thing, going off so far . . . 
     Mint's face hardened as he remembered Herb-sama's reaction
to a simple and justified grievance. 'Why not,' he thought. 'It would
serve Herb-sama right. Maybe he would be nicer to us if he had to
get by on his own for a while.' Mint nodded in agreement to Lime's
suggestion. Without a backward look, he started out for Jusenkyo.
Lime followed after him eagerly, a peculiar look in his eyes as he
looked at Mint from behind. Almost as if he was seeing the other
boy for the very first time.

     Back at the campsite Mint and Lime had so precipitously
departed, a brilliant, pulsating ball of energy filled the area formerly
occupied by Herb. The surrounding area was a shambles. What was
left of the camping gear was a charred ruin, while nearby trees had
either been reduced to splinters or, in the case of the larger ones,
charred and uprooted. 
     Inside the ball of energy, Princess Herb, former heir to the
empire of the Musk, raged. Trapped as a female, she had lost
whatever status her curse would have left her. She saw it all now.
The Amazons had planned this. Her father was infatuated with that
Amazon healer. He would marry her, and their child would be the
new ruler of the Musk, while Herb would spend the rest of her life
in the woman's quarters, first her father's, and then those of
whatever man he choose for her Husband. Herb's anger kept her
from considering the unlikelihood of the scenario she imagined. She
was a person scorned and betrayed, and logic had nothing to do with
her current thought processes. 
     Herb's rage continued to grow as she imagined the treacherous
female laughing as she told her friends of how easily she had duped
the foolish prince of the Musk. Her body began to glow, then as
Herb's anger continued to grow,  to twist and change. Herb payed
no mind to the transformation her body was going through. Only
one thought filled her mind, and she screamed it to the heavens,
even as her physical form vanished as the glow from her body
blocked out any possible observation. 
     <PERFUME, YOU WILL PAY!!!!> 

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

     "Ahchoooo!" Perfume sneezed powerfully in her seat beside
Shampoo.  She quickly rubbed her nose in embarrassment and
carried on the conversation she'd been having with Shampoo before
her sneeze. Raising her voice to be heard over the clatter of the
ancient single engine, she said, <I still don't get it. Why are you so
against giving this Ranma-girl the kiss of marriage? Is she ugly?>
     <What has that got to do with anything? She's a girl! Not all of
us are as indiscriminate as you, cousin. I'd prefer my 'husband' to
have all the necessary parts. If what the guide told great-
grandmother is correct, Ranma is frozen in her girl form.>
     Perfume shrugged her shoulders. <And your point is? I don't
know why you're so hung up on boys, Shampoo. What can they
offer that a nice girl can't? Besides that,> Perfume added hastily,
when Shampoo looked at her incredulously, <believe me, cousin,
that's highly overrated.>
     "Oh, and just how would you know that? I remember that once
upon a time you wouldn't let a boy get within twenty feet of you.
You even broke poor Soap's arm when he came up behind you by
surprise that one time.>
     Perfume blushed at the memory and hastened to offer excuses.
<Well, that was right after great-grandmother's little explanation of
the facts of life and how it applies to me. You know I can't handle
pain,> Perfume said with complete frankness, easily confessing her
disability to Shampoo, something she would do with no other
person in the world. <By the time great-grandmother was done, I
was sure that I'd die in agony if I let a boy so much as kiss me.>
     <And now?> Shampoo asked in genuine curiosity. 
     <Let's just say that Lore-master Lotion explained some things
to me, like birth control. So, if I ever see a boy that has half a brain,
and who has no aversion to soap and water, I 'might' give him a
tumble. For now, however,  I still think girls are a whole lot more
fun.>
     Shampoo only snorted in scepticism and asked, <And tell me,
did the Lore-master tell you this before or after you seduced her
great-granddaughter?> 
     Perfume suddenly looked uncertain. After a minute of thought,
she said thoughtfully,  <After, I think.> Her eye's suddenly
widened, and she said, <You don't think . . .?>
     Shampoo smirked at her, and said, <I wouldn't know, but you
might want to run those birth-control ideas past great-grandmother
before you try out any likely boys.> Happy to have notched up
another coup on Perfume, Shampoo went back to reading the
twenty year old magazine she'd found tucked in the pouch in the
back of the seat in front of her. 
     Perfume stayed silent, her furrowed brow evidence of her deep
thought. Lotion had been a bit vague when she'd explained that
lemon with sugar and water was a powerful contraceptive.



*************************************************
M.I.B. Headquarters, New York, New York.
     
     Agent Jay made his way with great care through the many
back halls and passages that made M.I.B. headquarters such a
warren. He was dressed in his usual black on black suit, but was
wearing a new addition to his wardrobe. The top of his head was
covered by an oversized red toque. It was so oversized in fact, that
he verged on the need to cut eye holes in the thing, which would
have given him far more of a resemblance to a Bill Cosby character
than his already damaged dignity could handle. 
     J's face clearly showed the strain he was under as he checked
each doorway and cross passage with the utmost of care. It was vital
he leave headquarters without being seen by a single soul. Only a
few more feet and he'd make it. "I am so smooth," he purred to
himself in self-satisfaction. 
     At that moment, a soft, feminine voice said behind him,"There
you are, Jay, Zed wants to see us."
     "Aaaahhhhhh!!," Jay cried in surprise, nearly leaping out of
his skin in surprise. "Don't do that, Ell!" he cried, turning to face
the person who had addressed him. 
     The icy blond who was facing him merely cocked an amused
eyebrow. She fixed a curious gaze on the outlandish piece of
headgear Jay was currently sporting. "An interesting fashion
statement, but not within the dress code. Or are you planning on
trying out for this year's Santa?"
     "Oh ha ha, very funny. As it happens I was just . . . ah." J's
normally agile mind froze up as he tried to think up some logical
reason he would be wearing a large red stocking hat in the middle of
M.I.B. headquarters.
     "No time. Like I said, Zed wants to see us, and right away," Ell
said. She grasped the sleeve of J's jacket and took off down the hall
at a brisk walk, dragging Jay behind her. Her path took them right
through the middle of the main concourse. J's face darkened at the
many comments on his new apparel that rose from all sides as he
was dragged through the busy alien arrival terminal. 
     If anything, J's complexion became even darker when they
finally reached Z's office, and he found himself suddenly under the
exacting scrutiny of not only Zed, but his own partner Kay.
     Zed glowered at him, and said, "Care to explain, rookie?" But
before Jay could even start to explain himself, Zed continued, "No,
don't bother. We have trouble. Take that silly thing off and sit
down."
     Jay hesitated for a second, but then giving into the inevitable,
reached up and took off the large red hat. Long tangled cords of
black hair fell around his shoulders and down his back. Everyone in
the room stared in surprise at the matted hair that covered the top of
J's normally well groomed head. Looking sheepish, Jay started to
explain. "You see, I thought if I used a Rigelian healing machine, I
could sort of make that chunk of hair the crystal shaved off grow
back a bit quicker, and . . ." He trailed off and gestured helplessly at
his head.
     Zed glowered at him for a second, and then waved off any
further explanation. "People, we have a problem. In the last week
we've had several incidents in the orient. As you know, we stream
all official immigrants and travelers through the base here. This
allows us a level of control we could not manage if we let them
arrive wherever they wanted. This also means that if not all, the
majority of illegal incidents also occur in North America."
     "Because even illegals need a support structure of some kind,
such as Jeeter's pawn shop," Ell said in a contemplative tone.
     "Exactly. By restricting almost all of the legal immigrants to
this continent, we manage to concentrate most illegal alien activity
here as well."
     "So what about little Miss Destructo and the flying chicky who
trashed Japan last week?" Jay asked.
     "That is one of the incidents I was referring to," Zed said,
while delivering a quelling glance J's way. "It and several other
incidents are outside the normal framework we work with. Which is
why I've called you all here. You three are going to set up a
temporary M.I.B. operation as near as we can safely get to the non-
interference area, and monitor the situation."
     "Yo, that's bogus! Why don't we just go in and kick some
alien booty."
     "Can't, Slick," Kay said.
     "Why not?" Ell asked, when it was apparent Kay was not
going to say anything more.
     "No, let me guess," Jay said. "Need-to-know, right?"
     "You got it kid."
     "Oh man, that is so --"
     "The way it is," Zed broke in. "Kay is fully cognizant of the
reasons. He will be in charge. Listen to him 'and' obey him." Kay
delivered a speaking look in J's direction, leaving no doubt as to
who he was directing his last remark at.
     Turning to Kay, Zed gave his final instructions. "Kay, I want
you and Junior to visit your old friend, G. Seems he had an
unexpected visitor the other day. The cleanup crew is leaving in an
hour. You, Jay and the Ell.T.D. can hitch a ride with them. Once
you talk to him, you can head over to Japan." Zed then turned and
spoke to Ell, "You will head directly for Japan. We've made
arrangements for you to work as an English teacher. You'll start
work at the school attended by our one client in Japan. She's been
getting a bit out of hand lately, boyfriend trouble I hear, and needs a
bit of settling down. We've rented a large house for you to set up in.
It was built over the entrance to a large World War II bunker, the
plans of which have gone missing from the local zoning office.
There's a crew working on it right now, moving in everything you'll
need. Kay and Jay will join you when they are done in China."
     Zed looked at all three of them, grunting as his eyes passed
over Jay in a god-I-hope-I'm-doing-the-right-thing way, then he
snapped out. "That's all people. Move out."

And yet another chapter comes to a close.




Next chapter, we rejoin Tenchi and Ranma as they and the girls take
a relaxing trip to a hot spring.

     After that. What ever happened to poor Ryouga, and will he
ever find his way back to earth, and to the cute little red-head who
was so kind to him that one time. Tune into chapter two of Ryouga
Hibiki, Lost In Space, to find out.

     
     Think I'm taking too long to come out with chapters.
Be sure to drop me a line and let me know. Nothing motivates me,
and I'm sure other authors, so much as having readers writing up to
tell me how much you enjoyed the story, and to get off the stick and
write more.^_^

The Hungry Tiger.


From: "T,H. Tiger" <schell@interlog.com>


               Tenchi and Ranma, Together Forever!?  
                            Chapter ten.
                   Hot springs and fire balls
     



     A fan fiction based on the works of Rumiko Takahashi,  
     creator of Ranma 1/2, and, Masaki Kajishima, who I've been
     told is the creator of Tenchi Muyo. 
     Hitoshi Okuda, is the artist and creator of the Tenchi Manga.
     
     Garaga and Jiras are characters I lifted from 'Slayers Try'
     
     I have no rights to these characters.  Which should come as no
     surprise to anyone.
     
     
     
     What's going on?
     This is an alternative universe story.
     Ranma was trapped as a girl from her first dip in the
     Nanniichuan.

     Why?  Read the earlier chapters of Tenchi and Ranma,
     Together Forever!?.  See below for some highlights.
     
     Princess Ayeka has declared that Ranma is far too young to
marry Tenchi, and that any talk of a wedding will have to wait for at
least two years. Ranma, as you might expect, is just heartbroken
over this.^_^

     Yea, right. Ranma is feeling a whole lot better. She is sure she
can regain her boy side within two years, and as everyone knows,
boys can't marry boys.


     Big thanks to all the people who contributed C+C to this, their
help has been greatly appreciated. It is unlikely the story would be
anywhere near as good as it is without their efforts. How good it is
now I'll leave up to you.^_^
     

     You can find all of TARTF at,
<http://www.anime.usacomputers.net/~dragon/>, or use
the direct link
<http://www.anime.usacomputers.net/~dragon/fanfic.html>
I'd use the first one myself if you are not already familiar with
Phoenix's work. He has some great stories at his site.




T.H.  Tiger
schell@interlog.com


Three months ago:

     The human brain is a wondrous thing, but, despite all it's
abilities, it has limitations. You only have to throw a ball to a young
child and watch it bounce off their chest before their arms move to
know this. The child may want to catch the pretty ball with all of
his, or her, might, but by the time the brain sees the ball via the
ocular nerves, decides that it wants the ball, and sends instructions
to all the individual muscles needed to lift the arms and grasp the
ball with the hands, it is too late. The child has a sore chest, and
tears in his or her eyes.
     This is because the enormous number of instructions necessary
to perform even the most mundane of tasks takes time. Time the
individual often does not have. This is why nature created sub-
brains in the form of neural clusters and muscular memory. Once
these 'idiot' systems have been programed, the brain only needs to
send the most minute of signals to the respective group and the
action is performed. 
     The epitome of this function can be seen in a superbly trained
martial artist, who will often parry a blow before she is consciously
aware of the threat. 
     The creators of AI systems, i.e., artificial intelligence, adapted
this system for their own use. 
     In order to shrink the operative intelligence into a small
enough package to make them practical, they made use of the
subsidiary systems often present in the object the A.I. would be
commanding, be it a farm tractor . . . or a Galaxy Police patrol ship.
     Any repetitive function would be delegated to an idiot circuit.
The operative intelligence merely needs to send a simple signal to
initiate the action.   These actions can vary from the incredibly
complex, such as computing a space jump, to the incredibly
mundane, such as making sure the seat is left down. Any action that
is done with frequency ends up being relegated to a sub unit. 
     The intelligence in charge of the Galaxy Police patrol ship,
Yukinojo, initiated such a program, and caused an action that was
very repetitive indeed: 

     "Mihoshi-dono, I don't think this is a good idea."

     Mihoshi and Yukinojo had spent the last six days chasing a
particulary elusive pirate. Or rather, Yukinojo had been chasing
him. Mihoshi had spent the six days holed up in her cabin watching
slides of her and Kiyone's last vacation. 

     The chase had led, as might have been expected in this district,
to Fractal, or as it was otherwise known, that, $#(#)&%, place. 

     With the singular exception of pirates, not too many entities
were fond of Fractal.

     Fractal was a very young system as such things are measured.
It had been created when two close passing super-giants had drawn
a significant amount of mass from each other, indeed, both stars had
barely survived the encounter, and left a residue behind when they
escaped each other's gravitational fields. The matter left behind
had, over the course of time, cooled and congregated into a mass
sufficient to achieve ignition, and a new sun was formed. Smaller
pockets formed into planetoids and various other stellar debris. 
     Unlike most systems, Fractal was gifted with so much matter
that attempts to form larger masses, and eventually planets, for a
very long time came to naught. This was due to Fractal's most
unique feature. The matter that had formed Fractal had come from
two discreet sources, and they had been drawn together in counter-
rotating spirals. The result was that fifty-percent of Fractal's matter
rotated in one direction, fifty-percent in the other.  Frequent high
speed collisions prevented any one object from attaining size and
stability.  It was only in the last quarter billion years that Fractal had
stabilized to the point where it could begin the next step in it's
evolution as a solar system.
     For now, however, Fractal had the distinction of being the
most cluttered solar system in the known galaxy. It was almost
impossible to navigate in, and any craft larger than a three-man ore
tug would find itself reduced to scrap within a very short time. Not
surprisingly, it had become a haven for the local pirates, whose
small ships could maneuver, if slowly, through the junk pile that
was Fractal. They were assisted by crude maps, which were not that
accurate or reliable, but good enough so that a small, slow, ship,
make its way with relative safety. 

     Around the outskirts of the system were numerous small
mining operations, many of them subsidiaries of larger
conglomerates. They did not conduct mining operations themselves,
but instead purchased scavenged material from the independent
prospectors who were the only true inhabitants of Fractal. The
trading posts were also the main source for navigational data, for
which they charged a fairly substantial sum.
     
     But then the selling of treasure maps has always been a
profitable occupation. 

     There were enough valuable minerals in the asteroid cloud to
make it worthwhile for the small independents to sift through the
rubble. Their finds were eagerly purchased by the legitimate
businesses that acted as trading posts for the numerous beings who,
for one reason or another, had found it expeditious to relocate to
Fractal's rather less then law-abiding frontier.  
     And if the materials the prospectors sometimes brought in
were other then minerals, it was not that great a surprise. After all,
numerous ships had come to grief inside Fractal over the
generations. If a lone prospector was lucky enough to stumble
across a wreck containing high quality trade goods, well . . . who
were the trading posts' proprietors to question the gentle-being's
good luck?

     As might be expected, Fractal's various neighbors were not so
sanguine about these 'lucky' finds, but as numerous attempted
reprisals had proven over the years, attempting to clean up Fractal
was more trouble than it was worth. 
     Most sensible police officers made the best effort they could to
catch fleeing felons before they reached Fractal, but if they lost the
race, they generally had enough sense to give up the chase and go
pursue prey in an area of space that was more likely to leave them
in one piece. Which they did, after adding a few more epithets to
Fractal's alternative name. 

     Mihoshi's evaluation sheets listed her as hyper-intuitive, gifted
with superb reflexes, honest, trustworthy, loyal, and of high ethical
character.  Sensibility was conspicuous by it's absence.

     Yukinojo repeated himself as Mihoshi eased the throttle
forward. "Mihoshi-dono, I must reiterate. I do not think this a
prudent course of action. I'm too large to navigate inside Fractal's
system."
     Mihoshi frowned, and said, "But, Yukinojo, you said the
shuttle lacked the fire-power to apprehend the pirates. How can we
arrest them if we don't take the ship in?"
     "Policy in these cases is that we break off the chase, and send
a description of the miscreant to Galaxy Police headquarters and the
local law enforcement agencies. They will list him as wanted, and if
he is spotted, he will be arrested."
     "Break off the chase!?" Mihoshi exclaimed in shock. "You
mean let him go? We can't do that! Kiyone would never have let a
criminal escape her like that."
     "Well, actually . . ." Yukinojo started to say, meaning to argue
that Kiyone would have done exactly that. 

     Yukinojo had approved very highly of Kiyone. She had felt
almost as strongly about scratches on his body as he did. He was
sure that in a case like this, she'd have been quite eager to follow
policy. Especially as the felon they were chasing had not actually
succeeded in robbing anyone. They had interrupted him in the
process, and he had fled without the loot.

     Mihoshi gave him no time to say any of these things. She
stared into the view screen, taking in the cluttered space in front of
them, but not really seeing it, tears running down her cheeks.
"Kiyone would never have given up. In memory of Kiyone, we will
arrest this criminal." Mihoshi firmed her small chin, which was
quivering a little, and wiped the tears from her face with a forearm.
"For Kiyone," she whispered, and jammed the throttle full on.

     Captain Garaga was feeling very pleased with himself. He'd
pushed his ship to the limit and had managed to escape from the
Galaxy Patrol police ship that had been pursuing him relentlessly
for the past several days. As the homey comfort of Fractal's asteroid
field surrounded him, he leaned his massive reptilian body back in
his command chair. His thick, scaly tail, which projected out
through a hole in the back of the chair, twitched in contentment. 
     He laughed, leaning his head back. His dark artificial eye
gleaming in the glow from the overhead lights, Garaga turned to his
weapons officer/co-pilot/kitchen help, and general all around jack-
of-all-trades, master-of-very-few, Jiras.  "We showed them, eh,
Jiras? I bet that flat-bottom is cursing us to hell right about now."
     The small, red-furred, fox-like humanoid alien sitting next to
Captain Garaga chuckled as well. "We sure did, boss." Jiras turned
his eyes toward the rear scanner's screen, intending to savor the
image of the frustrated patrol ship hovering just outside the asteroid
field. What he saw, caused his eyes to bulge. "What the hell?" he
cried out in shock, hands flying to the controls in front of him.
     Garaga's relaxed pose disappeared at Jiras's action. He, too,
looked at the rearward scanner screen. Like Jiras, his one good eye
bulged as he witnessed the patrol vessel powering at what had to be
full throttle down their back trail. 
     "That's crazy!" Garaga exclaimed, his light-green hide turning
darker in shock. "They can't last a minute at that speed! What the
hell are they doing!?"
     As if in answer, the main communication screen in front of
them came to life, showing a light-colored mammalian female,
complete with those unsightly lumps on her chest that distinguished
the females from the males of her species.
     Jiras, being a member of a mammalian species himself, was
usually much more appreciative of those unsightly lumps.  In this
case, however, the lumps were attached to a cop, which was about
as alien as you could get in Jiras's mind, so his attention did not
waver from his controls.
     Well, maybe just a little. It had been a very long time between
ports.

     "Attention, pirate vessel! This is Galaxy Police Detective
First-class, Mihoshi. Surrender now!"
     "You're nuts!!!" Garaga screamed at the screen, as Jiras's
frantic piloting brought them within a lizard's scale of an asteroid
three times their own size. "You're going to get us all killed. Get
that whale the hell out of here before you cause a chain reaction."
     On the screen Mihoshi scowled. "Never! In Kiyone's memory,
I will bring you to justice."
     "Kiyone!? Who the hell is Kiyone!? Do you know a Kiyone,
Jiras?"
     "No boss."
     "Kiyone was the finest person who ever lived. She'd never let
criminals like you escape. In her memory I will punish you.
Surrender now, or. . . or . . ." Mihoshi turned to a small AI interface
that was hanging behind her, and asked. "Yukinojo? What will we
do if they won't stop?"
     "Under normal circumstances, we'd use a tractor beam to hold
them, but --"
     "Oh, yes, the tractor beam," Mihoshi said, cutting Yukinojo
off before he could finish his statement. 
     Mihoshi engaged the ship's main tractor beam, and locked the
sights on the fleeing ship in front of her. The automatic tracking
function took over from there.

     "Mihoshi-dono, I don't think this is a good idea."

     Yukinojo's words were barely out before they proved
prophetic. An asteroid of moderate size moved into the space
between Yukinojo and the fleeing pirates. The tractor beam latched
on to its high metal content, and caused it to shift trajectory, right
into a small cluster of similar sized asteroids. 
     Like a cue ball in a game of pool, it caused them to scatter in
all directions. Each one, by the most extraordinary of coincidences,
heading toward a similar cluster. 

     On board the pirate ship, Garaga and Jiras swore as their
mapped-out route to base camp disappeared in a flurry of multi-ton
rocks.
     While maps of Fractal's asteroid fields were, by their very
natures, temporary, they were accurate enough in the short term to
allow small ships to navigate with some margin of safety. Garaga's
ship had just lost that safety margin.
     "She's nuts!" Jiras screamed. He frantically worked his
thrusters to avoid three different asteroids which were all heading
toward their ship. He dodged them, but the ship was still rattled by
the shrapnel when the three massive blocks of stone collided with
each other. 

     On board Yukinojo, Mihoshi was in much the same fix as the
pirates. She was better armed, however. Her fingers danced over
Yukinojo's fire control panel, seemingly in panic, but every blast
destroyed or deflected a threatening asteroid, and allowed them to
continue in their pursuit of the penny-ante criminals they had
chased so far.  
     On one of the small scanner screens in front of Mihoshi, a
small, white, triangular representation of Yukinojo moved through a
field of massive tumbling boulders, which shattered into smaller,
and smaller, chunks under Mihoshi's bombardment. 

     Jiras and Garaga were being tossed around their ship like
characters in a sci-fi tv show, the integrity of their hull steadily
diminishing. Already the sound that haunted every spacers'
nightmares, the whistle of escaping air, was echoing through the
cabin.
     "We got to get into our suits, boss!" Jiras cried out in panic,
pulling said garments from the locker where they were kept. He
pulled his suit on in frantic haste, only to find it fit like a tent. Next
to him, Garaga was trying to shove his leg into a pair of pants that
were about twenty sizes too small for him.
     Recovering enough from his panic to notice the reason for his
difficulty, Garaga jerked the suit Jiras was wearing into the air, and
dumped the small red-fox out onto the cabin floor. 
     The two pirates managed to get their respective suits on just in
time. As Jiras closed the last seal on his suit, the integrity fields that
had been holding the hull together failed, and they found
themselves floating in space, surrounded by the remains of their
ship, and with several large asteroids bearing down on them. Jiras
was suddenly very sorry he'd skipped the sanitary hookups in his
hurry to get the suit on.

     Yukinojo used his tractor beams to pull the pirates out of the
path of the asteroids that were threatening to turn them into pate.
His task was made easier due to the fact that they had apparently
fainted. He deposited the two comatose villains in the holding cells
and activated the stasis function. Confident that there was nothing
further to fear from them, he turned his attention back to the real
threat to his present and future well being.
     The A.I.'s fabricated personality was not really capable of
pique. Despite that, something very similar to that emotion was
flowing through his circuits as he observed Mihoshi at the firing
controls. All mathematical solutions to their current situation
showed beyond a shadow of a doubt that their chances of survival in
this situation were . . . nil.
     Mihoshi was not very good at math. She was very good at
shooting. Despite the frantic way she was handling the controls, and
the many shouts of, "Oh no, go away, don't come any closer," and
the always popular, "Waaaaaaaaaaa," every shot she took struck a
target. 
     And it wasn't just her accuracy that was keeping them in one
piece. It seemed every large rock she blasted shifted the orbit of at
least a dozen others when it fragmented. The result of all this was
that Yukinojo sailed through a bubble of mostly empty space, his
deflector screens more than able to handle the small fragments that
were left behind by Mihoshi's fire and the collisions between other
asteroids. 
     Leaving the panic stricken Mihoshi to her task Yukinojo
turned himself around, and headed for home. A phrase, spoken on
numerous occasions by Mihoshi's former partner, Kiyone, floated
through his circuits. "I don't believe it; we're still alive." That was
when the principal power bus to the main guns gave up the ghost
and vaporized under the sustained loads Mihoshi had been
subjecting it to.
     As a dozen oversized boulders headed his way, Yukinojo
muttered, "Of course, I should have known," echoing another
frequent saying by his former commander. 

     Several days later, what was left of Yukinojo limped into
Galaxy Police headquarters and slipped into his usual repair bay.
     While Yukinojo's communication systems had been one of the
first things to go during the battering he took, news of Mihoshi's
activity had still managed to arrive before her. Her superior officer
was waiting on deck, a very unhappy look on his face. Behind him,
protected from the vacuum of the repair bay by a sheet of protective
armor glass, stood a large group of beings. Despite their varied
appearances they all possessed that certain something that said,
'Mother for sale, cheap'. In short, they were lawyers.  
     These particular examples of the breed were the combined
representatives of all the various 'legitimate' companies that had
made their home in the Fractal system. Companies that were
looking at a major loss of assets due to Mihoshi's actions. 

     The chain reaction Mihoshi and Yukinojo had started would,
within three years, render the Fractal system non-navigational for
the foreseeable future, and had, according to some experts, set
Fractal back approximately a billion years in terms of geological
formation.

     Fortunately for Mihoshi, another, smaller group of sentients
were also watching her arrival, and directing gleeful looks toward
their opposite numbers, one bay over. 
     These were the representatives from the systems surrounding
Fractal, whose various police forces had already picked up
numerous wanted felons fleeing the rock grinder that the former
pirate stronghold had become. 

     As it worked out, thanks to the intervention of some of
Fractal's neighbors, the Galaxy Police escaped liability for the
several trillion credits worth of lost revenue that the Fractal
representatives claimed, but not by much. Word came down from
on high that perhaps detective Mihoshi would prefer to patrol a less
breakable section of the universe.
 


The present:

     In the deep night the Masaki household slept. All except for a
stealthy figure dressed in blotched black trousers and a dark green
top making its way along the upper hallway. Despite its dark
clothing and the dim light, it was very obvious the figure was
female. It would take a lot more than what she was wearing to
conceal that figure. Like, for instance, several winter coats. Instead,
the only extra article she was wearing was a coil of rope tossed over
one shoulder.
     As she moved, she kept up a quite monologue. "The brave
ninja stalks the dark halls of the deadly castle, intent on her mission.
No obstacle will keep her from punishing the evil doers. No foe, no
matter how deadly, will stand --"

     "Meah!" 
     The dark-clad figure jumped straight up in shock.

     The trembling ninja looked down from where she was clinging
to the ceiling with white-knuckled fingers at the small furry creature
below, who was currently sitting on its haunches looking up at her
with an inquisitive gleam in its large liquid eyes. "Geez, squirt," the
ninja said softly, as she dropped from the ceiling, landing without a
sound, "I told ya not to sneak up on me like that. Whacha doing out
of bed anyway? Little kids need their sleep. You go back to Sasami-
chan, ok?"
     The little animal just sat there, looking at her.
     "Not going, huh?" the dark ninja said with a sigh. The fuzzy
cabbit chirped an affirmative. "All right, but you can't go like that.
Just give me a second here." The Ninja unwound several feet of
cloth from the dark fabric she had used to cover her face. A flash of
red shone in the moonlight as she tore off a small section, and then
wrapped the remainder back around her face and hair. "There," she
said with satisfaction, "that ought to do the trick."
     A minute later two stealthy figures made their way down the
hall. The original one, and a new addition. A brown furry one with a
dark cloth tied around its head, two slits allowing large floppy ears
to hang free. The taller one in the lead again offered commentary as
they moved. "The two brave ninja steal silently toward the evil
demon's lair. Nothing will keep the vengeance of heaven from
striking her. No longer will the wicked creature prey on the brave,
but dumb prince." 
     She fell silent as they disappeared down the stairs. Several
minutes passed, and they returned, the coil of rope absent. 

     The next morning Sasami stood beside the door to the dining
room, experience having taught her not to stand in front of it. She
held a large empty pot in one hand, a ladle in the other. She raised
the pan and banged on the bottom with the ladle while yelling,
"Breakfast is ready!" Two things happened almost simultaneously.
A green-black blur, trailing a long red braid behind it, dashed by
Sasami, causing her dress to blow in the slipstream. At the same
time a yell of panic came from the living room, causing the young
girl to start in surprise.
     Rushing to the next room, Sasami was greeted by a surprising
sight. Ryouko, swinging wildly back and forth, her hair brushing the
floor, hanging from a rope that connected one ankle to the large
ceiling beam that was her habitual sleeping spot. 
     Ranma strolled up beside Sasami, a heaping bowl of rice in her
hand. She grinned mischievously as she took in the demon-girl's
situation. "Wow, Ryouko, sure is lucky you used a safety line. You
might have hurt yourself, falling off your beam like that. Course,
with all that cushioning on your bottom you'd have likely been
alright."
     Ryouko's reply was, fortunately for Sasami's young ears,
inarticulate, but the gaze she turned on Ranma, and the glowing
energy sword that appeared in her hand, spoke volumes. 
     "Ryouko!" A voice rang out in shock, causing the former
space pirate to cringe as she looked up at the inverted form of
Tenchi, who was standing at the top of the stairs. Her energy sword
sputtered out, and her face assumed an expression reminiscent of a
whipped puppy.

     In the last few days Ryouko had become rather gun-shy around
Tenchi. It often seemed that every little thing she did got him mad
at her. Her wild gyrations at the end of the rope caused her to turn
away from him, and she started to sputter out that she hadn't done
anything wrong. Before she could gain enough presence of mind to
speak clearly, or to free herself from her undignified position, a pair
of arms caught hold of her swinging body and gently lifted her into
a more or less upright position. 
     Ryouko found herself cradled very closely to Tenchi as he
worked to free her ankle from the rope that was still looped around
it. Having freed her leg, he gently set her down on the couch and
cradled her foot between his strong callused hands. 
     "Are you all right, Ryouko-san?" Tenchi asked, his voice filled
with concern. "Does this hurt?" he added, as he moved her foot
back and forth. 
     Ryouko blinked at him, her mind nearly shutting down from
the shock of the current situation. She'd dreamed of Tenchi
kneeling before her like this. Of course, it hadn't been her ankle
he'd been holding in those dreams, but still. . .
     "Ryouko-san?" Tenchi repeated in a questioning tone. "Are
you all right?"
     Ryouko blinked again, started to say she was fine, but then her
brain shifted gears, and she gave a little moan of pain. "Oh, Tenchi,
it hurts." Ryouko squeezed her eyes together as tightly as she could,
forcing a crocodile-tear to roll down her cheek. 
     Ranma's jaw hit the floor. She could only stare in surprise as
Tenchi tenderly manipulated Ryouko's foot, and then, taking a long
bandage Sasami supplied, wrapped the injured girl's ankle. 
     For some reason, the sight of Tenchi ministering so tenderly to
Ryouko was making Ranma angry, which made her confused,
which made her even angrier.  Finally, unable to hold her feelings
in, she said in a loud voice, "Oh come on, Tenchi! You ain't falling
for this are you? She's faking!"
     Tenchi looked toward Ranma, an expression of
disappointment in his eyes, and she suddenly found herself feeling
guilty, and as low as a snake's belly button, or her father's pockets.
(1) "Fine!" she said loudly. "Be a sucker. I'm going to go train."
With that she stormed out of the house.

     (1) A frequent observation made by people who had gone
drinking with him, was that Genma had deep pockets, and very
short arms.


     "Stupid Ryouko," Ranma snarled to herself, as she moved her
bokken through an intricate pattern, holding off an imaginary foe.
Her shadow opponent, who happened to be the self-same Ryouko,
wove around Ranma's weapon, moving her own gleaming weapon
in counterpoint to Ranma's. Ranma twisted and turned, never
letting the imaginary energy weapon come close to her. 
     Ranma had been going at it for over an hour, and her body was
covered in a heavy sheen of sweat. "Where the heck is Tenchi?" she
asked herself. "The stupid baka should have been up here long ago
for practice."
     "Feeling lonely, little girl," her imaginary opponent mocked
her. "Would you like to do some of this, and some of that with me
instead?" she teased. 
     "Yea, right, in your dreams, mummy," Ranma snarled,
ignoring the fact that the figure doing the talking existed only in her
own imagination, and what that might indicate about the cause of
her current anger. 
     Ranma slashed out at the taunting figure in front of her, using
a particularly nasty pattern she'd been working on for a little while. 
Pushed onto the defensive, the imaginary Ryouko teleported behind
Ranma, her sword raised high for the killing blow. Only to be
smacked hard in the nose by the hilt of Ranma's bokken. Which the
redhead had slid back over her shoulder in a powerful thrust.

     "Very effective," a wry voice from the side said. Pulling
Ranma out of her semi-trance. 
     "Huh?" she said intelligently. Looking around for the source
of the comment. "Oh, it's you," she said, when she spotted
Katsuhito. "How's it hanging, Gramps?" 
     'Whack' 
     "Ouch! What the heck was that for?" Ranma groused, rubbing
the top of her head where Katsuhito had just thumped her with his
bokken.
     "You should speak with more care to your elders, girl,"
Katsuhito said, returning his bokken to its usual position, resting on
his shoulder. "That was quite an effective strike you made there, but
tell me. Was it really worth your fingers?"
     "Huh?" Ranma said in puzzlement, and then looked down at
where her right hand was firmly grasped around the 'blade' of her
bokken. She blushed, and rubbed the back of her head. "Oops,
sorry, forgot."
     Katsuhito sighed, and said, "It's not your fault. Your father
trained you too well in the Anything-goes style. I feared that was
the case from the first, but I wanted to make sure."
     Bristling at the implication that she was in someway lacking,
Ranma said, "What's that suppose to mean? How the heck can I be
trained 'too well'?"
     Katsuhito paused for a moment, and then started walking
toward the temple, gesturing for Ranma to follow. As they walked,
he said, "The Anything-goes style trains the student in making use
of anything that might come to hand to win a battle. It teaches you
to access the potential of those objects in an instant, and to use them
in the manner they are best suited for. 
     "There is nothing wrong with this in theory, but it causes
problems when you must use a substitute for a real weapon in
serious training, as with the bokken. No matter how hard you try,
deep down, your training forces you to view it as a shaped piece of
wood, and not as the razor sharp sword it is supposed to represent."
     "So, why don't we just stop this play-acting, and use the real
thing."
     "But that would be play-acting of a different nature. With the
bokken, you can strike blows that would kill or cripple if delivered
with a real sword. With a live blade, you would be forced to either
train in solitude, or to pull your blows. Both of these are contrary to
the way you have been trained, and at this point it would take far
too long to overcome your ingrained conditioning, if we even
could."
     "Bull," Ranma said in a dismissive tone. "Ain't any martial art
I can't learn." Despite her words, Ranma was getting nervous.
Katsuhito had taken great pains to convince her that she would be
foolish to face the Musk without a weapon to magnify her talents
and to counter their superior numbers. Now she was afraid he was
about to tell her there was no way she could ever face them.
     "Possible, possible, but I'm thinking there might be another
solution." By this time they had reached the porch that fronted the
temple, and Katsuhito picked up a long object wrapped in cloth that
was leaning against one of the porch supports. He handed it to
Ranma, who didn't hesitate to strip the wrappings from whatever it
was.
     A second later she was holding a bo staff, about five feet in
length. Carved from a blond wood, it was very plain, lacking any
decorative touches. It was simply a smooth, straight length of wood.
Ranma spun it in her hands, and an eyebrow raised as she felt the
perfect balance of the staff. It could have been made specially for
her from the way it snugged perfectly into her hands. She spun it
around her body several times, and then planted the butt firmly into
the ground. 
     Looking up at Katsuhito, she said. "Nice, but it's just a chunk
of wood. What do I do when it breaks, and there isn't another one
just like it nearby?"
     "It won't break," the old man said with assurance.
     "Come off it, old man. Everything breaks. That's why it's not
a good idea to become dependent on a particular weapon."
     "Look more closely."
     Ranma sighed, but obeyed, humoring the old man. She
carefully examined the staff in her hands, but as before, there was
nothing particularly distinctive about it, other then its color, most bo
staves being of a much darker hue, having been hardened by an
application of oil and laquer, and of course, lots and lots of human
sweat.  This one obviously had never been used, or else it shed dirt
really, really well.  Something about that thought struck a chord,
and Ranma looked again, this time paying close attention to the
wood itself. She discovered a familiarity in the grain; she'd seen
this type of wood before. She looked up at her Sensei in surprise.
"It's made out of the same stuff as Tenchi's fancy sword."
     Katsuhito beamed at her. "That's it. Legend has it that the
sacred tree shed two branches for an ancestor of mine, and he
carved one of them into that staff."
     Ranma looked at the weapon in her hand with more respect.
"Can it make a blade like Tenchi's sword?"  She swung it
experimentally, imagining it had a thin blade of energy at the one
end. It would not effect the balance, being made of light. In her
minds eye, she could easily imagine how effective such a weapon
would be. It would restore, and then some, the reach she had lost
when she'd been transformed. Then she frowned; unlike Tenchi's
sword, there was no particular orientation to the staff, no front or
back. Which way would the blade come out, or would it come out
from both ends? In her mind, Ranma devised a kata that would take
that into account. She was rather pleased with the result. This could
be very cool indeed.
     "I don't know," Katsuhito said, breaking into Ranma's
concentration.
     "You don't know?" Ranma said in surprise.
     "It's never been used. The one it was created for never got to
use it. It's been in storage almost from the day it was created. It's a
virgin." The old man raised an eyebrow, and smirked at the little
redhead. "The two of you should get along fine together."
     Ranma swung the staff at Katsuhito, who leaned back just far
enough for it to brush by his face, stirring his mustache slightly.
Ranma was not really trying, however. She was too busy thinking
on the possibilities of this new weapon. Something like this could
level the playing field between her and Ryouko. She'd be able to
keep the mummy away from Tenchi. Just to protect him, of course.
Tenchi was too dumb to realize what a pervert the girl was. 
     Ranma had given a lot of thought to how Tenchi's sword
worked. Even if she hadn't been fascinated by its nature she would
have done so out of ingrained habit.  Genma had often shown her
strange and exotic weapons, given her a few minutes to study them,
and then attacked, expecting her to know how best to use them.
Mistakes were painful.
     It was obvious that it had something to do with this power of
Jurai that the princess was always going on about. Ranma knew that
she should be able to make use of that power. Ayeka certainly spent
enough time telling Ranma how special it was that she had Jurai
blood. She had spent much time in private trying to call up the
power, but without much success. Maybe the staff would help her
focus better. 
     Infusing a weapon with ki was fairly simple; Ranma had first
managed it when she was seven. That would be a good place to
start. Ranma turned till she was facing the half dozen poles located
in one corner of the shrine. The top foot of each was wrapped in
heavy hemp rope, and they'd served as targets for her solo sparring,
both armed and unarmed. 
     Ranma focused on the weapon in her hands, feeling the warm
wood against her flesh, the slight weight pulling against her arm.
She sent her mind inward, imagining energy pulling in from all over
her body, and pooling in her belly. When the ball of chi force in her
stomach felt balanced, she pictured it flowing up her body and
down her arms into the weapon she held. Long practice let her
complete the exercise in less time then it took to tell it.
     A soft glow started emanating from the wood of the bo-staff.
While she was elated by her success, Ranma kept her concentration.
The staff moved in her hands as she started a slow kata. As the
weapon flowed through the air, it trailed a faint afterimage. Ranma
started to spin the staff in front of her. Faster and faster she went till
a low thrum sounded. Replacing the straight stick she had held, a
glowing disk of energy stood in front of Ranma, centered on her
rapidly twisting hands. 
     Ranma took a step forward, and the disk in her hand suddenly
changed once more to a simple staff as she thrust it at one of the
practice posts. The point of the shaft struck with a solid thunk
against the hemp cords circling the post, and almost instantly there
was a sharp 'tak' sound as the other end flowed backward and into
the post behind Ranma.
     Ranma became a blurred image as she moved among the
seasoned wood of the practice posts. Her staff was invisible except
for the glow it left behind as it moved through the air. The sound of
the staff striking wood and rope became a constant rattle, barely a
moment of time between each blow. 
     Katsuhito looked on in approval. Despite the speed that Ranma
was using, each blow was carefully controlled and lightly struck.
The bo was not a bludgeoning weapon, but one requiring finesse.
Pressure points and vulnerable areas were its natural targets, and
they were usually small, and in most cases, did not need to be struck
with any great force to be effective.
     Still, the weapon Ranma was currently wielding was not your
average bo-staff, and she needed to realize just what it could do.
"Oh dear," Katsuhito said in a loud, but bland voice, "I guess you're
too small and weak to really use that staff the way it can be. Maybe
I should wait till I can find a boy to give it to."
     Ranma gave no sign that she'd heard Katsuhito, but inwardly,
she was seething. Weak was she? She was stronger then any stupid
boy. Despite that, she did not immediately strike out with full force.
The staff in her hand was the most perfect weapon she had ever
held, and she found herself loath to break it. As she realized this,
her expression firmed. This was why weapons were so bad. You got
attached to them. Better to end this now. Not without regret, Ranma
set out to break her new staff. 
     The steady tak, tak, tak of her blows stopped, and she stood in
the middle of the practice posts, the weapon spinning in a circle
above her.  For a brief moment Ranma stood still, only the arms
stretched above her head moving. A look of intense concentration
was on her face, and her complexion was red with strain. 
     "Kiaaaaaaa," Ranma screamed as she brought the staff
swinging down and around in a complex figure that maximized her
leverage. With all the force she could muster, she slammed the staff
into the side of one of the practice poles.
     The side of the six-inch thick oak pole opposite Ranma's blow
exploded in splinters, and the top slumped over. Ranma didn't see
this. Using the rebounding force from the staff to boost her next
swing, she swung it around and into the next nearest post, which
also shattered under the blow.
     Five seconds after she shouted her battle cry, Ranma came to a
stop, the staff tucked under her left arm.  Her left leg was bent
slightly forward, and her right leg and arm were extended in front of
her in a ready stance. She held the pose for a second, and then
became aware of the carnage around her. "No way," she said in an
amazed voice, starring at the shattered remains of the heavy practice
posts. Dropping out of her stance she brought the staff around and
examined in carefully. Not a single scratch marred its surface. 
     Katsuhito smiled at Ranma's expression. Her expressive face
hid nothing of her inward feelings. Just so a child might look, who
has opened a Christmas present, and found the gift she'd been
wanting above all others.  A frown suddenly appeared on Katsuhito
face as he noticed a small detail he had missed. "Ranma, your
nose," he said in a sharp voice.
     "Huh?" Ranma said, looking over at him. She brought a hand
up and wiped it across her face. Looking down at the back of her
hand, she saw a smear of blood. She gave a snort, and sprayed a
small splatter of blood across the courtyard. "Guess I must have
caught a splinter," she said in a nonchalant tone, looking around at
the destroyed posts. 
     Suddenly she turned and focused on Katsuhito, a very feral
expression on her face. Spinning the staff in her hands gently, she
smiled nastily at him. "Feel like a little exercise, old man?"
     "I thought you and the others were going to the hot springs to-
day," Katsuhito said in mock surprise. "Or have you decided to stay
and keep this old man company." He put his best leer on his face,
only to find it wasted as Ranma was already racing toward the
stairs. The expression on his face shifted to one of fondness as he
watched her go.
      Ranma called back over her shoulder as she hit the edge of the
stairs. "Sorry. I forgot. Got to go! See you later. Thanks for the
staff."
     Katsuhito smiled at the swirling dust devil that was all that
remained as evidence of Ranma's presence. But then a frown
appeared on his face. Despite her words he didn't think it had been
a splinter that had caused Ranma's nosebleed. Ranma was not an
easy bleeder, and it was unlikely the strain of her efforts could have
caused it either. So what had?  
     At the last there, he had felt a distinct flavor of the power of
Jurai. Could that be the cause? Ranma's ability to use the power
was the first instance Katsuhito had ever heard of someone being
granted the talent through artificial means. 
     He had assumed that the girl had acquired Xian Pu's body, and
ability, because of her distant relationship to him. But what if that
was not enough? What if Ranma had gained the talent, but not the
ability to channel it correctly. The strain on her body would be
enormous. Maybe more than it could handle.
     Almost Katsuhito called Ranma back, meaning to caution her,
but then he decided against it. Ranma was going to the hot springs
with Tenchi and the girls. Even if she quarreled with Ryouko, it was
very unlikely she'd use more power then what she'd used here. He
would talk to her later
     He shook off the brief feeling of dread that filled him, putting
it down to the worries of an old man who had lost too many loved
ones. It was good that Xian Pu's staff finally had a master. It was a
crime for such a fine weapon to gather dust. He turned and headed
into the temple, his mind centuries in the past.

     Tenchi Masaki was no ladies man. Under most circumstances
he tended to freeze up when forced into conversation with the fairer
sex. 
     Up till now, he'd been doing fairly well with the girls who had
invaded his life, but that was mainly because they were all so
aggressive. He never had to initiate the conversation. Things had
changed. He needed to broach a subject with Ranma that the
redhead was likely very sensitive about at the moment. If he didn't
get his opening sentence just right, she was likely to walk away
before he could get his explanation out.
     So as he walked up the stairs toward the shrine, he rehearsed
potential lines out loud. 
     "I'm sorry, Ranma."
     "I'm really very sorry, Ranma."
     "No, Ranma will think I'm a wimp if I say that."
     "I was really wrong, Ranma."
     "No, no! That's just as bad. Maybe if I just act casual. 
     "Hey, guess what, Ranma? You were right about Ryouko.
How about that?"
     "Well, Geez. Big whooping surprise there."
     "Arrgggg," Tenchi cried out, stumbling back down several
stairs. He looked up to see Ranma standing above him, a smirk on
her face, a wooden staff resting negligently on her shoulder.
     "So, how'd you figure it out?" Ranma asked. Then she
smirked. "Or maybe I should say, how long before the mummy gave
herself away?" As she talked, she walked down the steps past
Tenchi, who hurriedly turned and fell into step beside her.
     "Well, ha ha," Tenchi laughed embarrassedly, while rubbing
the back of his head with one hand. 
     "She got perverted, didn't she?"
     "No, no, not at all, she just wanted to thank me for being so
kind, and the princess misunderstood."
     "So the two of them started going at it, and the dumb mummy
forgot she was suppose to be hurt?"
     "Well, something like that. Ranma, I'm sorry."
     "You're a baka is what you are," Ranma said in a friendly, if
chiding, tone, taking some of the sting out of her words. "You really
got to stop letting people walk all over you, Tenchi. You don't see
me being such a chump."
     Tenchi looked at Ranma with wide eyes, and said in a joyful
voice. "You mean you wanted to get engaged to me? Oh Ranma,
I'm so happy." 
     Ranma eeped, and barely escaped Tenchi's attempt to hug her.
She jumped down a dozen steps in one bound, and would have
continued her flight, if not for the sound of Tenchi's howls of
laughter. 
     The black-haired boy was laying where his attempt to glomp
Ranma had landed him, laughing fit to burst. Still laughing, he
pointed a finger at Ranma, and choked out, "Who's the baka now?"
     Ranma scowled at him. Then, drawing up her dignity, she
turned and marched down the stairs. Once her face turned away
from Tenchi, the scowl dropped from her face, and was replaced by
an impish grin. "There may be hope for the baka yet," she
whispered to herself.
     "Don't be mad, Ranma. I was only joking," Tenchi panted, as
he hurried down the stairs to walk beside Ranma. 
     But, I'm still the master, Ranma thought to herself, as they
walked down the stairs side by side.
     

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

     Sasami jumped from the Range Rover almost before it stopped
moving. "Ayeka, we're here!" she shouted out with glee, turning to
tug on her sisters sleeve in order to hurry the princess' slow exit
from the vehicle.
     "Really, Sasami. You should be more lady-like," Ayeka
chided her sister, then sweated as Ranma bounced out of the sport-
utility vehicle with a loud cry of pleasure. 
     "All right, we're finally here. I think my ass has fallen asleep."
     "Ranma-chan!" Ayeka chided fiercely. "Please behave with
more dignity while we are in public. You're setting a very bad
example for Sasami."
     "Ahh, leave Red alone," Ryouko exclaimed, getting out of the
vehicle and stretching her arms high over her head, causing her
chest to strain against the thin fabric of her shirt. "You ought to
loosen up princess," She said, drawing out the word 'princess',
making it an insult. Tucking her hands behind her neck, Ryouko
continued to stretch out the kinks from the long trip. While doing
so, she watched Ranma out of the corner of her eyes, and smiled
nastily at the little redhead's attempts to not look at her. Taking
advantage of Ranma's visual avoidance, she quickly reached down
and patted the girl's bottom, eliciting a shocked yell from Ranma,
and a leap that put her a good fifteen feet away. 
     "What the heck are you trying to do, you pervert!?" Ranma
yelled, her face heavily flushed. 
     "Just waking up that sleepy ass of yours, Red," Ryouko leered
before fading from sight.
     Ranma looked around frantically, wondering where the
demon-girl was going to appear, and gave a sigh of relief when she
saw Ryouko appear at the back of the truck where Tenchi was busy
unpacking the luggage. For once, she was content to leave the two
of them alone. Let Tenchi put up with the cyan-haired girl's teasing.
At least he was a boy.
     "Ah, so you're little Tenchi's fiancee," a voice said behind
Ranma, and she turned to find herself eye-to-eye with an elderly
lady, who gave her an appraising look. "You're just a little bit of a
thing, but you've got good wide hips. You should give Tenchi-chan
lots of good healthy sons."
     Ranma was past the point where she would automatically
object to such a comment, thanks in a large part to Ayeka's training,
but she was far from being comfortable with such a frank statement,
and as a result a strong blush covered her face. 
     "Hahahhahahah," the old woman chortled, with a hint of
approval behind the laughter "Shy, are you? Well don't worry.
You'll get over that soon enough. I'm sure Tenchi will see to that,"
she teased. "Just remember though, girl, this is a family place, so
don't you go letting Tenchi sneak into you bed while you're here.
I'll be keeping an eye on you two." The old lady cackled as she took
in not only Ranma's flush of outrage, but Tenchi's look of near
terminal embarrassment, her comments having been loud enough
for him to hear. Nobuyuki joined in her laughter at the expression
on his son's face.
     His feelings were not improved by Ryouko whispering in his
ear. "Don't worry Tenchi. While the old bat is watching Red, I'll
sneak in and keep you warm."
     Ranma fumed, and Tenchi blushed as they were surrounded by
ribald laughter. 

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

     Tenchi gave a sigh of pleasure as he leaned back in the
steaming pool of hot water. His pleasure was short lived, however.
     "Come on, Tenchi, you can't waste this opportunity. There are
pretty girls just over that wall, and it would be an insult to them not
to try and peek," his father admonished him. 
     Tenchi groaned as he took in his father's head covering: a
washcloth was wrapped over his head and under his nose in classic
peeping-tom style. Fortunately, his father did not waste time
arguing with him, but instead decided to teach by example; bad that
is. As Tenchi watched in disbelief, his father began to scale the
twenty-foot wall that separated the men's side from the women's
     "What's your pop up to now?" a voice asked from behind him.
     "Oh, hi, Ranma. The usual for him," Tenchi said, then froze in
shock. "Ranma?" he stuttered, turning to face the redheaded girl.
"Ack," he garbled, and hastily twisted his face away as he got an
eyeful of Ranma, sans clothes, standing in the thigh-high water. 
     "What the heck are you doing here?" Tenchi asked in shock,
pinching his nose in order to avoid embarrassing himself. "The
girl's side is over there."
     "Well, duh," Ranma said sarcastically. "I'm a guy, remember?
I can't bathe with girls."
     Ranma was not being completely truthful. She'd bathed
dozens of times on the ladies' side of the public baths since her
change. But sharing a bath with strangers was a completely different
matter than sharing it with girls she knew, especially that un-cute
pervert Ryouko. Who knows what she'd try. Unbidden, an image of
Ryouko leaning over during their fight at the temple rose in her
mind, to be hastily dispelled. Girl's didn't think that way about
other girls, Ranma reminded herself, not for the first, or fifty-first,
time.
     That train of thought, unfortunately for Ranma, led in an
unwelcome direction. If it was wrong for girls to think about girls
that way, it was right for them to think about boys that way. Taking
that to the next step, it was therefore right for boys to think about
girls like that. Ranma was suddenly very conscious of the fact that
she was currently wearing nothing, while Tenchi was garbed in a
towel. That towel was currently behaving in a most un-towel like
manner. As a former boy, Ranma was very aware of the motivating
force behind that motion, and thanks to Ayeka, curse her, she also
knew far more then she cared to about how that applied to her.
Ranma's face suddenly felt hotter than the water she was standing
in. 
     It was almost a relief when a long drawn out scream, followed
by a loud splash drew her attention back to Tenchi's father, who
was currently floating in the pool at the base of the dividing wall. 
     "Tenchi!" a voice called from above. Ranma jerked her eyes
up from the floating Nobuyuki to see Ryouko, who was resting her
arms on the wall, looking down at her and Tenchi.  "There you are.
What are you doing over there? Come over here. It's much nicer."
     To Ranma's disgust, Tenchi mumbled a rather pathetic excuse,
while actually looking like he might not mind the idea. She should
have known; the levitating towel was a dead give away, after all.
Boys were such perverts.
     Ryouko did not give Tenchi a chance to decide one way or
another. She lightly leaped over the wall, and phased out of sight,
only to re-appear standing on a rock beside the pool, stark naked.
     Tenchi eeped and hastily turned away, only to find himself
staring at an equally naked Ranma, who blushed and covered
herself with her hands. "Pervert!" she hissed at him.
     Before he could apologize, or figure out why the usually
immodest Ranma wasn't, Tenchi found himself being hauled into
the air by Ryouko. Tenchi only briefly struggled, as he almost
immediately realized that any motion on his part brought him into
intimate contact with Ryouko's parts.
     Ranma forgot her brief surge of feminine modesty, as she
watched Ryouko carry Tenchi over the wall that separated the
men's and ladies sides of the bath.  
     "Damn you, Ryouko, you let Tenchi go!" she shouted after the
departing pair. Ryouko, not surprisingly, paid her no mind
whatsoever. Ranma bounded across the pool in two jumps, the
second one off of the floating Nobuyuki's belly. Reaching the rock
ridge which supported the tall bamboo dividing wall, she tensed her
legs in preparation of jumping over it, and paused.
     Beads of sweat formed on Ranma's head as she peered at the
top of the fence. Leaping over it would be no problem. The problem
would start on the other side. The side where Ryouko, and Tenchi,
waited. 
     Ranma dithered in indecision. The thought of leaving Tenchi
to Ryouko's non-existent mercy was unthinkable, but to go over
there herself, where they both could look at her that way . . . and
then there was that towel . . .
     Maybe. . .maybe she should go get herself a towel first. Surely
Tenchi could defend his virtue for that long . . . couldn't he? Would
he?
     Before Ranma could answer her own question, the matter was
taken out of her hands. Ryouko's head and upper torso phased
through the bamboo dividing wall. "What's keeping you, Red. The
fun's on this side of the fence."
     "Fun, yeah, right. I've seen your idea of fun," Ranma retorted,
unconsciously covering her breasts with her arms, while trying not
to stare at Ryouko's own generous assets. Taking her eyes off the
demon-girl proved her undoing. Ryouko reached out and wrapped
her muscular arms around Ranma, and pulled her through the wall. 
     "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh," Ranma screamed in a long, drawn out
wail as she was pulled through a solid wall. As soon as Ryouko
released her, she hastily patted herself down to make sure
everything was still there. Having assured herself that all her parts
were still, in fact, part of her, she turned an angry look in Ryouko's
direction. "What the hell are you doing?! What if you'd left some of
me behind, you baka?"
     Ryouko laughed off this suggestion, but her laughter cut short
as numerous small log-shaped objects suddenly appeared in the air
around her. Long white tendrils spun out of them, reaching for her.
Ryouko hovered calmly in mid air until she was almost enveloped
in the white strands, and then with a blur of motion, she
disappeared. She re-appeared above Ayeka, the instigator of the
attack on her.
     "Blow from above!" Ryouko cried out in triumph, too early as
it turned out. Her hard-driven fist smacked into Ranma's crossed
forearms. The little redhead had moved so fast, she might almost
have been using Ryouko's own phasing technique. Ranma twisted
to the side, letting Ryouko's blow slide down a forearm. Her hands
and arms wove around Ryouko's larger limbs, catching them just
so. With a heave of her upper body, Ranma twisted Ryouko around
in the air, and then slammed her face first into the pool.
     "Hehehehehheheheheheeheh," Ayeka chortled in glee. "That
will teach you to not to molest your betters, you . . . ." Ayeka's
voice cut off as she suddenly noticed that the girls side of the bath
was no longer a segregated area. Tenchi waved weakly at her from
where he was standing beside Sasami, still clad only in a small
white towel, one hand, positioned in front of him, holding it in
place. "Tenchi-sama," Ayeka said in shock, her face turning red.
There was a small tug behind her, and Ayeka turned her head
around to see that Ryouko had recovered from Ranma's attack, and
was currently drying her long cyan-colored hair with a towel. A
sudden draft caused her to look down, and to realize where
Ryouko's towel had come from. 

     "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!." 

     All around the shrine, for a distance of several miles, birds
took flight as the horrified scream shook leaves from the trees. 

     The waters of the hot pool washed back and forth violently in
the wake of Ayeka's departure for the changing room. Slowly, first
one, and then more heads poked above the surface of the water,
hands held protectively over ears.
     "Princess?" Tenchi said in concern, and started to wade after
the departed Ayeka.
     "I wouldn't," Ranma said, laying a restraining hand on
Tenchi's arm. She had acquired Ayeka's former towel, and was
wearing it around her body. "Girls get weird when they get
surprised like that. Better let someone go who she won't clobber.
Sasami?" While Ranma didn't speak from personal experience, she
had listened in to enough bathing room conversations to know that
much at least.
     Sasami started, and looked over at Ranma. Catching the red-
head's meaning, she nodded in agreement, and started toward the
changing room. Before she got far, however, Ayeka appeared in the
doorway, clad in a white towel, and with a furious expression on her
face.
     "Demon, for humiliating a princess of Jurai, you will pay!"
     Ryouko yawned, then scratched under an arm, while saying in
a monotone, "How scary, I'm so frightened." She flashed a toothy
smile at Ayeka.
     Ayeka didn't bother to reply. She conjured up a flotilla of her
personal defenders, and sent them out to encircle Ryouko. Lightning
flashed between them, but Ryouko was not there when it struck.
     "You really should learn some new tricks, Princess," Ryouko
taunted from her position on top of a large boulder. "Here, let me
show you what I mean." Ryouko concentrated, and numerous misty
streaks of spiritual energy began to flow out of the surrounding
rocks and water. "They call me Ryouko because I can call up spirits
from anything." 
     At Ryouko's instructions, the wisps of energy began to swirl
around Ayeka, who mimicked Ryouko's bored stance of a few
minutes earlier. The small balls of spirit energy glanced off her
personal defensive shields, doing her no harm at all. Ayeka stifled a
mock yawn with one hand while saying,  "You call this pathetic
side show an attack? I've seen more formidable kittens."
     Ryouko again bared her teeth at Ayeka in a very unfriendly
smile. "I'm so sorry to bore you. Maybe you'll find this of more
interest."
     Ranma's eyes widened in shock at the creature Ryouko
proceeded to conjure up. It was a good twelve feet in height, with a
large barrel chest and arms like a gorilla. If it hadn't been made out
of spiritual energy it would likely have weighed in at over a ton. 
     Ranma's eyes got even wider when the creature took a swing
at its creator, taking out a good section of fence after Ryouko
dodged out of the way. Despite its misty appearance, it was
obviously very solid in some ways. "Oh boy, I've got a very bad
feeling about this," Ranma said to herself. Leaning forward, she
scooped Sasami up, and plopped her back down behind a large
boulder, then thrust Ryo-oh-ki into her hands. "You two stay here. I
think the mummy's taken after my Pop, and got herself in deep sh .
. .," Ranma paused, and then continued, ". . . stuff. Are you
nuts!!!?"
     The last interjection was directed at Tenchi, who was in the
process of moving after Ryouko, Ayeka, and the, whatever the hell
it was, who had by now disappeared into the main building of the
resort." 
     "I have to help them," Tenchi said.
     "You have to get your ass kicked, you mean. What the fu, . . ."
Ranma again caught herself, casting a glance back over her
shoulders at her underage listeners. "What the heck to you think you
can do? Snap it with your towel? We need weapons. Where did you
leave your sword?"
     Tenchi's face lit up at Ranma's words. "It's in my room." 
Tench started to head toward an exit, but then paused, and looked
back at Ranma. "Will you be alright?" he asked. 
     "Don't be stupid. Worry about your own butt. Meet me back
here, and then we'll show fang-girl how you're supposed to fight
monsters." With that, Ranma jumped lightly over the dividing wall
between the men and ladies side. There was a cry of surprise from
Nobuyuki, cut short with a splash.
     Tenchi hesitated, looking over at Sasami and Ryo-oh-ki who
were waiting where Ranma had put them. "Don't worry, Tenchi-
neechan, Ryo-oh-ki and I'll be alright. Go get your sword and
protect Oneechan and Ryouko-neechan." the little girl said. Tenchi
gave Sasami a nod and a smile of encouragement, then rushed off
after his weapon. Left behind in the pool, Sasami crouched down
behind the boulder and hugged Ryo-oh-ki tightly. "Hurry back,
Oniichan," she said, in a voice that was no where near as brave as
the one she had just used to send Tenchi off.

     As Ranma raced toward the parking lot, her father's voice
echoed in her head.
     "Weapons are for those too weak, or too lazy to learn true
martial arts. If you are dependent on a weapon, then if you lose it, or
have it taken away, you are helpless. You, yourself, are the ultimate
weapon. Nothing, and no one, can take that away from you."
     "Yea right, Pop," Ranma said to the voice in her head, "but
what do you do when your facing something like that thing? Even
Ryouko and Ayeka couldn't stop it. You never mentioned things
like that when you lectured me on why I'd never need to depend on
a weapon. I just hope to hell that staff Grandpop gave me can even
the odds. 
     Ranma reached the parking lot, and the Masaki's rented SUV.
Leaping to the top of the vehicle, she found the staff Katsuhito had
given her, and freed if from the hasty ties she's used when she'd
stuck it up there before the trip.  
     As Ranma pulled the staff free, explosions ripped along the
resort's covered walkway. For a second Ranma contemplated
charging in the direction of the explosions, but decided against it.
The explosions only marked where the creature had been, not where
it necessarily was. Ayeka and Ryouko could take care of themselves
as well as Ranma could. It was the kids, Sasami and Ryo-oh-ki, that
needed her protection. Turning her back on more explosions,
Ranma raced back to where she'd left the younger members of their
party. 
     How well she had chosen was proven when she arrived at the
pool just in time to see the creature Ryouko had summoned bat
Tenchi aside with a casual blow of its hand. 
     The battle computer that Genma's training had created inside
Ranma's mind kicked in, and time seemed to slow. Tenchi's fate
was beyond her. She couldn't get to him in time. The only thing she
could do for him was to make sure the misty-monster did not try to
finish the job.
     A sideways glance with her eyes showed Ryo-oh-ki and
Sasami still hiding behind the rock where she left them. Sasami had
a hand held to her mouth in shock, and her eyes were following
Tenchi's flight through the air. A tensing of certain muscles groups
informed Ranma that Sasami was about to rush to Tenchi's side.
     Again there was nothing that Ranma could do to prevent this.
Moving to stop the young girl would merely draw attention to her
and the small furry creature in her arms. Somehow Ranma didn't
think the creature in front of her was about to be affected by a
couple of pairs of kawaii eyes. 
     The best bet was to use Tenchi's idea. Distract the monster,
keep its focus away from the non-combatants. 
     Tenchi was still in the air when Ranma gave a battle scream,
and rushed toward the foggy-bodied creature, drawing its attention
fully on to herself. 
     As Ranma moved toward the creature, she started to spin the
staff in her hands, moving it faster and faster till, like at the shrine,
it was a disk shaped blur between her and the creature. Sending a
prayer up to whatever Kami might be listening, she started focusing
more and more energy into the staff in her hands.
     A feeling of satisfaction filled Ranma as her actions were met
with success, and the blurred disk in front of her began to glow with
a light much brighter then that which it had manifested before. It
was nowhere near as brilliant as that emitted by the blade of
Tenchi's sword, but it was all she had.  
     "Eat this, foggy!" Ranma cried, leaping toward the monster,
the staff swinging in a powerful arc toward the creatures head.
Behind her, Tenchi crashed against the fence and slid to the ground.
A second later, Ranma too smashed into a fence, shattering it, then
sliding down into the water. Ranma sat dazed while a flock of
miniature winged pandas circled her head holding signs that said, *I
told you so.* Her staff splashed down into the men's pool well
below her present level. 
     Her attack had caused a small disruption in the creatures misty
body, just enough to cause it pain, and to make it lash out at the
source of that discomfort.  Now it took steps to make sure this
particular gnat would never cause it pain again.

     As the creature moved toward the felled redhead, a swirling
spot of energy appeared high in the sky above the combatants.  

     Ranma, vision blurred from the force of the blow, looked up at
the approaching monster, trying to get back her focus. As she
struggled, the monster suddenly paused, and swatted at Ryouko,
who buzzed around its head, distracting it from Ranma. 
     Gritting her teeth, and ignoring the ache in her chest, Ranma
pressed back against the bamboo wall behind her, and forced herself
upright. A wave of dizziness swept through her, and her vision
blurred. For just a second Ranma was not seeing Ryouko battling
the mist-monster she had conjured up, but another scene, a scene a
lifetime ago. A pink haired man leered down at Ranma, while
beside him a guardian log, who was not Kamidake or Asaka
hovered. The vision lasted only a second, and then vanished, but it
was enough. Ranma remembered! She remembered the last
moments of the girl whose body she now wore. Dreams of which
she'd had while recovering from the neko-ken. Somehow the
similarities between her current situation, and those long ago events
had made a connection. The ache in her chest, the water around her
legs, the bamboo against her back. It all reinforced the
remembrance of that long ago battle.  The disorientation that filled
Ranma's mind vanished, replaced by a grim determination. This
monster was going down!
     Ranma reached deep into herself, remembering the sensations
that had filled her borrowed body all those years ago. Energy
seemed to flow into her body from everywhere. More energy then
she could ever remember summoning in her life.
     As the energy built, fire raced through her veins. Sweat beaded
on her forehead, and fell into the water that flowed around her
thighs. Water began to steam where it made contact with her skin.
Little bubbles formed, and broke free to float to the surface of the
pool. Ranma ignored it all; her whole being was focused on the
power growing between her hands. I can do this! Ranma thought to
herself. Just me, no weapons. 
     At last, through some manner unknown to herself, Ranma
realized she had gathered what she needed, and it was time to use it.
Weaving her hands, she traced outlines in the air, outlines that
glowed with energy, and three ragged-edged triangles of light
appeared between her and the mist-monster.  Sweat ran off Ranma's
body in streams, and thin trickles of blood flowed from her nose
and ears.  
     Ranma, ignoring the outward signs of suffering and straining
with all her might, brought her weaving hands inward, and the three
wings of energy in front of her furled around each other to form a
fat, roughly cigar-shaped, tube. 
     There was no need for Ranma to force power down and
through that construct; for the last several moments it had taken all
her will to hold the energy she had collected in check. All she had to
do was release the tethers her mind had forged. 

     She did. 

     With a scream of shattering air, power flowed out of Ranma,
and through the focus point she had constructed, and as it did,
Ranma cried out with her last ounce of energy. "RYUU SATSU
HA!!!!!" Completely drained, she then fell face forward into the hot
spring.  Ranma did not get to see the result of her efforts, but others
certainly did. 

     Ryouko had been fully focused on distracting the mist-monster
from the others when the fine hairs on her arms began to shift while
the skin they were attached to tingled. Long experience told her that
a very large energy source was powering up nearby. She flew up
above the creature she was battling, just out of its reach, and looked
around. What she saw was Ranma. The red-headed girl was leaning
against the remains of one of the walls that surrounded the pool.
Her arms and hands stretched out toward the creature that even now
was trying to bat Ryouko out of the air. Between Ranma's
outstretched hands, and the monster, was a narrow ovoid-shaped
cylinder. The object glowed with a milky translucence, while a
corona of writhing tendrils of energy flowed and shifted around it. 
     Ryouko was not given long to stare at the object. As she
watched, a brilliant glow appeared in the hollow end of the tube that
was pointed in her direction. Instinct caused her to throw a
protective arm up, shielding her eyes from what she knew in her
bones was coming. 
     The air shrieked as it was literally torn apart by the force of the
bolt of energy that surged out of the object Ranma had constructed.
Flashing at the speed of light, the stream of energy hit the creature. 
     Fully two-thirds of its mass simply disappeared. It was not
shredded or dissipated, it simply ceased to exist, as did the wall
behind the monster, and a half mile away, the top of a rocky hill. 
     Fortunately, the upward trajectory of Ranma's energy meant
that from that point on, there was nothing in front of that beam of
devastation but empty space. At least Ryouko hoped it was empty. 

     Several dozen miles away, Katsuhito Masaki looked at the
blinding beam of light that pierced the heavens, and his heart turned
over in his chest. Once before he had sensed such an attack, and it
had been the swan song of his daughter. Filled with dread, he
remembered his earlier worries about Ranma. He hurried down the
stairs to his son-in-law's house. If something had happened to
Ranma, that was the place to wait for news. 

     Yukinojo shuddered as his already strained force shields took a
glancing blow from some sort of energy attack coming from the
surface of the planet. The shields, already taxed by their precipitous
descent into Earth's atmosphere started to fail. Yukinojo transferred
all available energy into the shields, and preceded to calculate PI,
which was the AI version of prayer. 
     
     Yukinojo had the distinction of calculating PI to more places
then any other AI in the Galaxy Police fleet.

     "Mihoshi-dono," he reported. "Someone is shooting at us." He
paused, waiting for her response. None came. 
     The blond police officer was staring raptly at the view screen.
On it the stark blue of water offered an attractive contrast to a large
island chain which they were heading directly toward. At high
velocity. "Whaaa, how pretty,' She murmured.
     "Mihoshi-dono? MIHOSHI-DONO?"
     "Hum?" Mihoshi said in a distracted tone of voice, her eyes
still on the lovely island." 
     "We're under attack."
     "Oh, well, I guess we should take evasive action, that's right
isn't it?" Without waiting for a response, Mihoshi reached for the
emergency short-jump button. 

     Designed for use in the most extreme emergency, the short-
jump button generated an un-calculated hyper-spatial leap of less
then one light-second, the absolute minimum possible. It was to be
used in only the most dire of circumstances. 

     Mihoshi had once used it to leave a docking bay. 
     
     It was never to be used under any circumstances in a planetary
 gravity well. 

     "MIHOSHI-DONO, I DON'T THINK THAT'S A GOOD
IDEA!!!"

     Far off in space, someone else sensed the energy flare Ranma
had fired with a feeling of pleasure rather then dread. "Is this the
true power of Jurai?" he murmured to himself, as the sensors
onboard the Soja relayed the information they gathered directly to
his mind. "It is weak, but it has that flavor," he concluded once all
the readings were in. 
     He lifted his eyes to the bright blue sphere that floated in the
Soja's main viewing screen. "Who would have thought that my
search might end on such an insignificant speck. I have found you,
Yosho, and your blood. Soon they, and it, will tell me what I wish to
know."


     Even though it had done so after her own attack, Ryouko was
shocked, and not a bit annoyed, to see the remains of the mist-
monster flowing back together. The look on her face quickly turned
to laughter, however, as she took in the one-foot tall monster, which
was busy trying not to drown in the foot-and-a-half of water it was
in. 
     Ryouko floated down and pushed the little creature under the
water. It thrashed back to the surface and howled its anger at her,
she just pushed it back down again. "Not so tough now are you
misty?" she said in a cruel tone. 
     Ryouko was not a good winner.
     Screams of panic distracted the former space pirate from her
amusement. She looked up to discover that the landscape had,
seemingly, taken up levitation.  Everything surrounding her, that
was not fastened down, was floating up into the sky. Her own innate
ability to ignore gravity had left her immune to the phenomenon,
but others were not so lucky. Tenchi and Ranma were both being
lifted into the sky, along with everything else. A quick look showed
Ryouko that Sasami and Ryo-oh-ki were holding tight to a large
rock, and were safe for the moment. Ayeka stood in the doorway to
the resort, her hands braced on the frame. Satisfied that the rest of
their party was secure, she took off into the sky after Tenchi and
Ranma.
     She reached Ranma first, and simply holding out an arm,
hooked it around Ranma's waist as she flew on in pursuit of Tenchi.
When she reached Tenchi he hardly noticed her grabbing hold. His
attention was focused completely on the sky above them. Following
his gaze, Ryouko was impressed despite herself. It wasn't often you
saw a warp singularity inside a planetary atmosphere. Mostly
because no one was stupid, or suicidal, enough to generate same. 
     The nose, of what Ryouko recognized as a Galaxy Police
shuttle, projected out of the swirling vortex. The craft was being
drawn backwards, or rather, was being pushed by the air rushing by
it. Even as Ryouko watched, it disappeared from sight. 
     A loud, and no doubt vulgar, high-pitched jabbering
announced the presence of the now diminished mist-monster as it
went zipping by them. It too disappeared into the vortex. 
     Tenchi suddenly started struggling in Ryouko's arms. Startled
by his actions, she loosened her grip on him, and he pushed himself
away from her. Following his trajectory, she saw the limp figure of
a busty-blond. Tenchi reached her, and took her in his arms.
Ryouko saw red. The nerve of him. Running after some other girl
when he had her. 
     At that moment, the force which had been holding them, and
half the countryside, in the air, disappeared. Tenchi flailed madly as
he, and the blond in his arms, began to fall. Ryouko, after making
sure Tenchi was heading toward a reasonable deep pool of water,
sniffed, and turned her back on him. "Come on, Red, let's go see if
soaking his head made any improvement in Tenchi's manners,"
Ryouko said. 
     Receiving no response from the girl in her arms, Ryouko
suddenly realized that Ranma had been unusually quiet through this
whole thing. She looked down at the small red-haired girl hanging
over her arm. The limp way Ranma was hanging sent a sudden
shock of worry through her stomach. Flipping the girl over, she
gasped at what she saw.
     Ranma's face and torso were blotched with large livid bruises,
which covered a large proportion of her body. Her eyes were shut,
but thin trickles of blood flowed out from under them and down her
cheeks. This was not the only bleeding. Blood also flowed from her
nose and ears. Worst of all, small red bubbles formed on her lips as
she exhaled, indicating something was seriously wrong with her
lungs. 
     Ryouko's emotions peaked at total panic, and froze. Ryouko
had been a warrior for five thousand years, only seven hundred of
them spent sleeping. That left a very long lifetime of experience in
witnessing serious physical trauma. She was a very different person
now then she had been back then, but just now she needed the cold-
hearted bitch she'd been in those long ago times. 
     Ryouko examined Ranma's condition, reached a conclusion as
to her survivability.

     None. 

     Dismissed that conclusion as unacceptable, and looked for
options. 

     One chance existed.  Time was of the essence if it had any
chance at all of helping. Without hesitation, Ryouko dove, heading
straight for the rocky ground that surrounded the hot spring. She hit,
and phased herself and Ranma through the rock. Ryouko 'felt' for
where she needed to be, and a second later flew out of a rock
outcropping many miles away from the hot springs. 

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

     Katsuhito was not shocked, or frightened, when Ryouko
emerged from the rock outcropping high up on the side of the
valley. Nor did the limp form she carried in her arms fill him with
dread. He was past all that. For the last ten minutes he had known
that something was very wrong. 
     That did not mean he felt nothing as he watched Ryouko speed
across the valley toward him.  His soul was like ice as he prepared
to once again cope with the pain of losing someone dear to him. 
     Ryouko reached him and thrust her burden into his arms.
Without a word she flashed back into the air and flew toward the
lake. She didn't bother with phasing. Water exploded into the air as
she dove at full speed into the quiet depths. 
     Katsuhito saw none of this. His attention was fixed fully on the
small girl cradled in his arms. A brief feeling of joy filled him,
quickly quashed, as he saw she was still breathing. Her appearance
left him with little hope that she'd survive for more than a few
minutes. 
     Like Ryouko, Katsuhito had seen war and battle, and was
under no delusions as to what happened to people who got caught
up in them. Ranma looked like she'd seen war. Her nude body was
one massive bruise, her skin almost uniformly black. Blood ran
from her nose, eyes, and ears. 
     An explosion of water out in the lake wrenched his gaze away
from Ranma. When he saw the article Ryouko was carrying he let
hope warm his heart for the first time since he had seen that flare of
energy in the distance. Ryouko flew straight toward the pair on the
ground, the emergency medical pod she'd just recovered carried
above her head.

     Designed for use in the event of catastrophic damage to the
ship, they were constructed to survive anything that might leave
survivors onboard the ship. Because they might end up floating in
space for months, they possessed very advanced temporal stasis
fields, with several added features. Because this particular pod was
on a ship belonging to the first princess of Jurai, it was of the latest
design. It was capable of stabilizing and treating very serious
injuries, even those as serious as Ranma seemed to be suffering. 
     There was no need for words. Katsuhito was already in motion
before Ryouko landed. Cradling Ranma's limp body in one arm, he
used the other to hit the hatch release on the pod. As Ryouko
finished setting it on the ground, he lifted Ranma inside, and
slammed the door shut.
     The process was automatic from that point on. A faint glow
sprang up as the pod activated its stasis units, and for the person
inside, time stopped.
     "Is she going to be alright," Ryouko asked anxiously. 
     Katsuhito had crouched down on one knee to look at the main
readout of the module. Something in Ryouko's voice made him
look over at her. She was pale with strain. Katsuhito had no idea
what had happened at the hot springs, but whatever it was,
combined with her flight back to the valley with Ranma, had
drained her. He also had a hunch there was more than that at work
here. 

     Katsuhito was quite aware of Ryouko's feelings toward
Tenchi. He had also been an amused observer of the comedy of
errors that had put Ryouko in Tenchi's bad books. Now was not a
time for humor. The girl needed, and deserved, reassuring. 

     He smiled gently at Ryouko, and said. "Tenchi will be very
proud of you, Ryouko-san. You acted quickly and intelligently. If
Ranma survives it will be due to your action. I will be sure to let
 Tenchi, and the others, know this.
     Some of the strain vanished from Ryouko's face, but not all.
The glance she directed at the pod was still worried. "Is Red going
to be ok?" she asked. 
     Katsuhito beamed at her, and then turned back to the screen.
"Well let us see, shall we?" he asked.
     Despite his light tone, Katsuhito was pretty sure what he was
going to discover, and he was not at all happy about it. It was clear
to him that Ranma had been responsible for the flare of energy he
had witnessed. He was dreadfully afraid that Ranma had burned
herself out. What he expected to see on screen would only confirm
that.

     In the split-second between the time the lid of the pod had
been closed, and the stasis field was activated, powerful sensors had
scanned Ranma down to the molecular level. For the last two
minutes the computer on board the medical pod had been
deciphering that information. Now it displayed what it had
discovered on the screen.

     For a minute Katsuhito couldn't understand what he was
seeing. It made no sense at all. If Ranma had burned herself out,
there should have been severe degradation of those sections of her
brain and nervous system that channeled the power-of-Jurai. There
was none of that. Indeed, the scans showed that Ranma's internal
readings were completely normal with the exception of some
damage to her lungs. Except for that, there was no evidence of any
damage at all below the main dermal levels of her skin. It made no
sense at all.
     Ignoring Ryouko's urgent inquires as to how Ranma was, he
called up a more detailed analysis, forgetting that a simple Shinto
priest shouldn't be able to manipulate alien technology several
thousand years in advance of anything on earth. Fortunately Ryouko
was too worried, or just didn't care, to take note of this fact.
     Katsuhito frowned as he labored to make head or tails of the
information presented to him. He was by no means a medical
specialist, and the data he was perusing was complicated in the
extreme.  As near as he could make out, instead of burning out
Ranma's ability to use it, the power she had called up had flushed
some sort of foreign matter out of her system. It was the ejection of
this material through the surface of her body that had caused the
massive haematoma to Ranma's skin. But why would Ranma have
had so much foreign matter in her cellular structure? Where had it
come from? 
     Katsuhito's eyes suddenly went wide with understanding.
Ranma was not going to like this at all, he thought to himself. His
fingers started flying over the keyboard, deleting certain
information from the data base. No one else must find this out. Just
as he was finishing, he was pulled away from the pod, and whirled
around to face an angry Ryouko.
     Ryouko gave him a shake, and yelled in his face, "For the last
time, old man. What's wrong with Ranma?"
     "Bad sunburn," Katsuhito said in a bland voice. He shifted his
shoulders slightly, and moved a foot. Ryouko suddenly found her
grip on the old man broken and her balance destroyed. She fell
forward, only to be stopped when Katsuhito wrapped his arms
around her. His hands found a pair of convenient handles, and
pulled her back to her feet.
     Ryouko flushed as Katsuhito's hands flexed, and she pulled
herself free of his grasp. She started to take a swing at him, and then
suddenly stopped. "She's going to be alright," she asked in an
incredulous tone. 
     "I don't see why not." 
     For a second a look of profound relief spread over Ryouko's
face, but then an expression of anticipation replaced it. Ryouko
reached over and thumped on the top of the medical pod. "You in
there, Red?" she shouted. "Get well soon, cause you, me, and a rope
have an appointment with the tallest tree in the valley!" 


                 To be continued in chapter 11.
                     I'm a girl for real!?



From: "T,H. Tiger" <schell@interlog.com>


             Tenchi and Ranma, Together Forever!?  
                        Chapter eleven.
                  No way! I'm a girl for real?
     



     A fan fiction based on the works of Rumiko Takahashi,  
     Creator of Ranma 1/2, and, Masaki Kajishima, who I've been
     told is the creator of Tenchi Muyo. 
     Hitoshi Okuda, is the artist and creator of the Tenchi Manga.
     
     
     I have no rights to these characters.  Which should come as no
     surprise to anyone.
     
     
     
     What's going on?
     This is an alternative universe story.
     Ranma was trapped as a girl from her first dip in the
     Nyanniichuan.

     Last chapter Ranma injured herself in a fight with a spirit
demon Ryouko called up. Ryouko flew her back to the Masaki
homestead, and she and Katsuhito sealed her into a Juraian Medical
pod. When he checked, Katsuhito noticed something very
disturbing on the readout of Ranma's condition.

Previous chapters can be found here.
<http://home.earthlink.net/~tannim/>


On with the story:

     Two months ago:

     The empire of Jurai is the largest independent political entity
in the galaxy, in terms of volume.(1) In terms of population, it is
one of the smallest. This is due to it being sparsely supplied with
habitable worlds, which in turn is a result of being located on the
galactic rim, where the stellar matter runs thin.(2) Many of its peers,
more fortunately located, have far more people and resources. 

     (1)[This is, of course, if you discount the claims of the Boom-
shika-booms, a comely, if not overly intelligent, mammalian race,
who claim they purchased the entire galactic cluster from a
salesman named Honest Happy. In return, he received their world's
entire supply of feminine undergarments.(3)]

     (2) This has been the source of several popular songs in what
is known as the western rim style, or just VW, Vacuum/Western. 

     (3)[As a side note, some few years before this current time
period, the law enforcement agents of the planet, Saywa, received a
complaint from an unknown alien that his 'pretties' had been stolen
from where he had stored them. Investigation proved that this site
was in fact the forbidden temple of Dynam, and that said temple
had been despoiled by, as was discovered later, the notorious ruin
destroyer, Kagato. When attempts were made to hold the original
complainant for questioning, he escaped using an unknown form of
trans-temporal transportation.(4) The only evidence found in the
temple were several large, finely-woven garments, later proven to
have been of Boom-shika-boom manufacture.] 

     (4)[Due to the combination of inexplicable motivations, and
sheer silliness, this report has been cross referenced to the Washuu
case file.]



     Despite its lack of population, Jurai had at least two things that
are much desired by its many wealthier, and supposedly more
powerful, neighbors: eternal life, or at least a reasonable facsimile
of it, and the living tree-ships that were Jurai's most famous asset. 
     All advanced races and cultures possessed life extension to
one degree or another, but, except in a very few cases, none came
remotely close to that enjoyed by the nobility of planet Jurai and
several of its member colonies. 
     In the case of the principal royal family, the life spans were
almost indefinite. Only mischance seemed to end their lives.
Indeed, in the twenty thousand years since its founding, only five
rulers had sat on the throne of Jurai. This had the added benefit of
making Jurai one of the most politically stable governments in the
federation. Not that all its residents believed that was a good thing,
but all societies have their malcontents.
     The rulers of Jurai insisted that their longevity was due to
conditions found only on their home planet, and was not a
technology that could be exported. Only people residing on Jurai, or
visiting at regular intervals, were able to benefit from these
conditions. And only the royal family had the bloodlines necessary
to receive the maximum blessing. 
     As Jurai was a very insular planet, few outsiders ever got the
chance to visit, and very few indeed were the non-Juraians who had
enjoyed the advantages that result from residing on the planet for
any length of time. This led to a great animosity toward Jurai from
many of the powers-that-be, who believed that they should share in
Jurai's bounty simply for being who they are. Matters were not
helped by the fact that, as was true in most governments, the people
in charge were nearing the end of their normal life spans.
     The same envy that their neighbors felt for Juraian life spans
was doubly true with regard to Jurai's ships: ton for ton, the fastest,
most-powerful spacecraft in known space. Few indeed were the
ships that could match a Juraian craft one-on-one. And those few
were slow and ungainly compared to the gracefulness and swiftness
of the living ships of Jurai.
     The ships of Jurai were that perfect tactical ideal, much
beloved by navies everywhere, wet or space. What they could not
outfight they could outrun, and what they could not outrun they
could outfight.
     As with the secret of their longevity, the rulers of Jurai insisted
their tree-ships were unique to Juraian space, and could be crafted
nowhere else. All efforts to convince them to let the Federated
Science Academy try to duplicate them had been rebuffed, not
always with the greatest of diplomacy. The royal family of Jurai
was fiercely protective of the giant trees that graced their home
world.
     Despite this, relationships with their neighbors might have
been slightly more congenial if it had not been for Jurai's past. 

     The original colonists of Jurai had been pirates, and their
older, and wealthier, peers had not forgotten, or forgiven, that
history, despite Jurai's peaceful stance in modern day galactic
affairs (Some would say rampant disinterest would be a more
accurate description),  There were still those who pointed at every
unsolved raid and attack as an example of Jurai reverting to its bad
old ways.

     Why, some had even claimed they were behind the recent
disaster on the set of "All My Spawn."

     Jurai could have, on the whole, cared less. Their living ships
were more then a match for any comparable tonnage of shipping.
Which, of course, is why they were so highly desired. And, if by
mischance, should a hostile force penetrate to the home world's
space, the same bio-forces that protected their ships in space had
been used to create a defensive screen around the entire planet,
which had only once been circumvented in Jurai's history. 
     That didn't stop various rivals from trying over the years,
however. Over its long history, the Empire of Jurai had fought many
battles, and won them all. As a result, in recent centuries the various
factions who meant Jurai harm had taken to using more subtle
means to gain their goals. 
     This too, like their more direct assaults, had met with little
success, due in no small measure to the head of Juraian security,
who had a talent for intrigue and Machiavellian maneuvers that was
second to none.

     The Empress Funaho, head of Juraian security, plied her trade
deep in the bowels of the royal palace, one of the most secure
locations in the known galaxy. To reach her office, an attacker
would have to pass several security checks, a dozen armored
portals, and thirty to forty palace guards. These were not there
specifically for Funaho, but she saw no reason not to make good use
of them.
     Funaho's precautions were not against outside threats. Any
force that could make it to the surface of Jurai would have little
trouble with the palace security.
     As an empress of Jurai, Funaho had her husband's ear - -
firmly between her thumb and forefinger at times - - but mostly in
the normal sense of the term. Nearly seventy percent of the palace
population was made up of people whose sole goal, and/or,
occupation, was to gain access to the emperor's ear. To these
people, it seemed a match made in heaven, especially considering
the difficulty presented by approaching the emperor via other
routes.
     Azusa had a reputation, carefully cultivated by himself, of
being very abrupt with unauthorized people who disturbed him. 
     While it was not true that he had once thrown someone off the
top of the royal tree, he also had not tried very hard to deny it. 
     Azusa was sensitive to the plight of his subjects who had
suffered injustice, but he had a large number of functionaries,
whose job it was to deal with those cases, sending on only the ones
that truly needed the attention of the emperor. 


     The Empress Misaki had a habit of drafting people who
petitioned her. More than one obese lobbyist had found himself
dragged along on an impromptu shopping trip that required he
spend hours giving Misaki advice on what dress went best with
these darling shoes. 
     She was seldom bothered anymore.

      That left Funaho, and while she had her own reputation, she
had also never really outgrown the manners and politeness that had
been instilled in her as a child, which made it very difficult at times
for her to deal with supplicants. Far easier to relax and do her work
in a part of the palace where unauthorized people were vigorously
discouraged.  

     From her well-protected office, Funaho wove a web of
informants, spies, and compromised officials with a master
weaver's touch. She could affect political decisions in places light
years away, or romantic situations as close as next door. 

     Her aide-de-camp was currently on her honeymoon.

     But there are some forces that even the best guards and
security measures are useless against. Which is how Funaho came
to be cowering behind her work-scarred desk, trying her best to keep
it between herself and the rather singed-looking figure on the other
side of it. 
     The tall woman with the pale blue hair, some of which was
looking more then slightly crispy, was in full flight. 
     "All day, I spent all day, slaving over a hot stove, working my
fingers to the bone, and for what!?" the empress Misaki wailed. "Do
you show up!? No! Do you call and say you're going to be late!?
No! You sit down here in your musty old office, getting thinner and
thinner! I don't know why I bother! I should let you fade away to
nothing! It would serve you right!"
     "Yes, yes," Funaho said placatingly, waving the palms of her
hands toward her co-wife and fellow empress. She gave a bow of
contrition. "I'm very sorry, but if you had just told me . . ."
     "But if I'd told you, it wouldn't have been a surprise!" Misaki
wailed. The lady Funaho sweated nervously. She felt relief when
Misaki slumped down in a chair, and looked at her with large liquid
eyes. "It was your birthday. You should have known I'd do
something special," she said in a sad little voice, her lower lip
quivering.
     Funaho cringed; she hated when Misaki did that. She knew it
was eighty percent fake, but she could never suppress a twinge of
guilt whenever that look was directed her way.
     "I'm sorry," she repeated. "I had forgotten the date." This was,
in fact, true; Funaho found herself trying to remember just which
birthday it was. She had stopped keeping track after the first three
hundred years. It didn't really seem to make any sense. It would be
like someone back home celebrating each week of the year. 
     "What was so important that you missed my special meal after
I spent . . ."
     "All day in the kitchen. Yes, I know. I do apologize, dear one,
but something came up, and I had to make sure it was not going to
cause problems."
     "What happened?" Misaki pouted. "Did one of your stooges
get caught with his hand in the cookie jar?"
     "They are replacing the automated warning system around
Earth space with a real officer and patrol ship."
     A change came over Misaki at those words. A metamorphosis
that very few people would have detected. Funaho, from long
experience and intimate knowledge of her co-wife, was one of those
people. 
     In the span of less then a second, the person across from
Funaho went from being her rather scatter-brained co-wife, the
destroyer of kitchens, to the head of the Juraian military. A person
who had sent shivers of fear up the spine of more than a few
admirals, and not always the ones on the other side. "Why? Do they
know?" she said in her customary flustered tone of voice, but her
eyes gleamed with sudden intelligence, giving the lie to her outward
behavior. 
     "To answer your last question first, no. As best I have been
able to discover, the situation on Earth is still a secret from both the
federated planets and, more importantly, Juraian security."
     Misaki looked relieved, and this time her eyes agreed with her
face. "That's good. I would hate for darling to find out at this stage.
You're so close to your goal."
     "Best estimates are fifty years before Earth will be ready to
demand equal status with the other colonies," Funaho corrected her.
     Misaki waved that away. "That's no time at all."
     "Maybe for us, Dear-heart, but it's a very long time for the
people of Earth, and much could happen between now and then.
Azusa could find out. He'd be most unhappy to discover that I've
been circumventing the very law I talked him into passing. After all,
he wanted to bring Earth into the Juraian fold five hundred years
ago."
     "Which would have been a disaster. The poor little Earth
people would have been frightened to death," Misaki said, quite
unnecessarily. They had been over this many times since Funaho
had talked their husband into joining with the aligned planets in
quarantining Earth space. 
     Funaho sighed and leaned back in her chair, rubbing her
forehead with her fingers. "Am I doing the right thing, Dearest?
Using the MIB to accelerate Earth's development?"
     It was an old question, one Funaho asked, on average, about
once a month. Misaki usually gave an answer along the lines of, "Of
course it's right, darling. You're so clever and cute, you couldn't
possibly be wrong." At the moment, however, she was in one of her
rare business-like moods, and since Funaho was the only person
alive who knew the true Misaki, she answered more seriously. "If
you were using MIB, then I'd say you were dead wrong." 
     Funaho looked at her in surprise, but before she could say
anything, Misaki continued.
     "But you're not. MIB has no idea you have anything to do
with them. They are acting purely in what they, as Earth people,
believe is the best interest of Earth. You were very careful to set
them up through a third party for that very reason. But let's not go
over old ground. You haven't told me yet why Galaxy Police is
assigning a live officer to the area."
     Funaho shook off the familiar feeling of self-doubt, something 
she would reveal to no one but Misaki, and only in the privacy of
the office, or bedroom, which was the second most secure place on
Jurai.
     "As near as I can tell, it has to do with internal politics. The
Marshal's granddaughter is screwing up, and they need to place her
somewhere where she can't do any harm."
     "One of those, eh?" Misaki said knowingly. Jurai was a feudal
society, and more then a few incompetents had made it to positions
of importance. The ironic thing was that a great many people felt
Misaki was one of those incompetents. Very few indeed were aware
of the hidden depths that she concealed behind her normally dizzy
exterior. Rare were the people who could match her in combat,
either personal, or in a tactical situation. The only person to ever
best her in one-on-one combat was her husband, and no one had
ever defeated her in a battle.
     "Not in the way you think," Funaho disagreed. "Up until two
months ago, Mihoshi Kuramitsu was one of the top detectives in the
galaxy police."
     Misaki looked interested. "What happened two months ago?"
she asked.
     "Her partner died on a case. Since then she's been a loose
cannon. She's brought in some of the most wanted criminals in the
cosmos, and some of the most un-wanted. In the process she's
caused trillions of credits in damage. She's destroyed her ship six
times. A record.  They couldn't demote, or fire her, not with her
family's status. And, when you come down to it, she has not
actually done anything wrong. So they settled for sending her
somewhere where she can't cause any harm."
     Misaki looked thoughtful. "Poor dear. Survivor's guilt, you
suppose? Is she trying to kill herself on the job?" 
     "I really don't know, but it is a possibility, and if it is, they're
doing the worst thing they possible could in sending her out alone to
a place where she'll have nothing to do but think about her lost
partner."
     "Are you afraid she'll do something to threaten Earth?"
     "By doing something malicious? No. By catching onto what's
going on there? Yes. The reports I've had on her show her to be
frighteningly intuitive. It would not take much for her to destroy all
my efforts regarding Earth.  But I think I've managed to do some
damage control. Her superior officer is one of mine, and through
him I've had her ship's artificial intelligence compromised. His
sensors will fail to pick up any ships on legitimate MIB business,
and anything short of a class 'A' criminal will cause a message to
be broadcast to the MIB surveillance net, without notifying Officer
Mihoshi. Even she needs some data to reach a conclusion."
     "And what happens if a Class 'A' Criminal decided to visit
Earth?"
     Funaho grimaced. "All bets are off. MIB can't handle that
threat level, and with Earth's very survival at stake, we can't afford
to play games. Galaxy police will be notified."
     "So it looks like you have everything under control."
     "I can only hope, but for now I've done all I can."
     "Yeaaaa!." Misaki shouted, jumping out of her chair and
clapping her hands together.  Reaching across the desk she grabbed
Funaho's wrist. The next instant the feared chief of Juraian security
found herself being dragged down the hall, while Misaki went into
raptures over the lovely desert that was sitting in the fridge, just
waiting for her, even if she had been a bad girl who really didn't
deserve it.
     After the two women had left, various security personal
emerged from their varied hiding spots, and did their best to look
like they had never abandoned their posts. Some threats the
Empress just had to face on her own.


The Present:



     "Really, Tenchi-sama, I don't know what that monster girl was
thinking of," Ayeka said. The Juraian princess was seated in the
front seat of the Land Rover, which was currently racing toward the
Masaki's valley home. Her hands twisted a small scrap of cloth, one
that used to be a delicate handkerchief, in worry. "To fly off like
that with poor little Ranma-chan. If that demon has hurt her, I
_won't_ forgive her in a thousand years."
     "I'm sure Ryouko won't hurt Ranma, Ayeka," Tenchi said
soothingly to the distraught princess. He just wished he was as
confident as he sounded. Ryouko's departure had been without
reason, as far as he could see. He was at a loss as to what could have
made her behave so. He couldn't believe she wouldn't have
checked to see if everyone was all right after the chaos of the mist-
monster and the arrival of officer Mihoshi's ship. 
     As he thought of the police officer, Tenchi looked sideways at
the strange girl who had fallen from the sky, and was currently
sitting next to him in the back seat of the SUV. The girl was quite
tall, with a slim build, except around the chest. She had blonde hair
tied up in a mass behind her head from which numerous fine strands
trailed. Her disheveled hair gave her a waif-like appearance that was
really quite attractive, and the rest of her body did nothing to
diminish that.  
     Suddenly aware of the direction his thoughts were drifting, not
to mention his eyes, Tenchi wrenched both away from Mihoshi's
cleavage.  What am I doing? he thought to himself in disgust. He
had more then enough girl problems without going out of his way to
add to them. God! Maybe his father's genes were starting to affect
him. Tenchi shuddered at the thought. What a pervert he was. Here
his fiancee was who knows where, having who knows what done to
her by a notorious space pirate, and he was ogling some other girl. 
     Still, he couldn't help but think that the alien girl was certainly
different from the police officers he was used to seeing, even the
female ones. Mihoshi's behavior was nothing like the cool
demeanor cops usually projected. Indeed, if not for her very mature
build, her behavior would have made him think her much younger
then she apparently was. The lively conversation she was having
with Sasami did nothing to dispel this thought.  Tenchi did not fail
to notice that she was conversing with the younger girl as if to an
equal, with none of the condescension usually shown by adults in
her position.  

     Sasami broke off her conversation with Mihoshi, not without
some reluctance, when she noticed how distressed her sister was
behaving. "Oneechan, don't worry. Ryouko-oneechan and Ranma-
oneechan are fine."
     "How can you say that!?" Ayeka snapped, then apologized.
"I'm sorry, Sasami-chan, but you're too young to know how wicked
some people are. You have no idea the sort of terrible things that
monster-woman could be doing to poor Ranma-chan."
     "What sort of terrible things?" Sasami asked, an innocent
expression on her face.  She looked at Ayeka expectantly. 
     Ayeka opened her mouth to speak, and for a second Tenchi
honestly thought she was going to tell the little girl, but then her
mouth snapped shut, and she turned away from her sister. "You're
too young," she said in a firm voice.
     Sasami sighed to herself; she'd almost got her sister that time.
Then her expression brightened, and she turned to her companion.
She liked talking to Mihoshi. With that unerring sense all children
had, she knew that Mihoshi would never talk down to her. Talking
with Mihoshi was like talking to someone her own age. Someone
who was not part of the great adult conspiracy to keep her from
finding out all the interesting things in the world, but at the same
time likely had lots of first hand knowledge about those facts.
     "Mihoshi-oneechan," she whispered to the tall blonde girl
beside her, "you don't think Ryouko-oneechan might do awful
things to Ranma-oneechan do you? 
     Sasami's question broke into Mihoshi's train of thought. She'd
been sitting quietly, watching the world go by, humming a tuneless
little ditty. 
     Once upon a time it was a method guaranteed to make her
former partner talk to her, no matter how much she was 'not
speaking to you,' at the moment. Sure, the talking usually consisted
of Kiyone begging her to, for the sake of her, Kiyone's, sanity, to
please stop that incessant droning, but it was a start, and she could
usually use it to keep Kiyone talking from that point. A tear trickled
down Mihoshi's cheek.
     Mihoshi didn't really hear Sasami's question. She merely
reacted to hearing her name, and turned to face the source of it,
Sasami. Suddenly the sorrow in her heart burst forth, and she fell on
the younger girl, wrapping her arms around Sasami, and sobbed out,
"Waaaaaa, she's never coming back." 
     Sasami big-sweated, and Ayeka reacted. If no less then a
Galaxy Police officer, albeit a very silly one, thought Ryouko was
up to evil, then they had no time to waste. "Hurry up!! We must get
home before it's too late!!!" she screamed in Nobuyuki's ear. 
     "Ah, Princess," Tenchi interjected hesitantly from where he
was helplessly trying to figure out how to comfort the wailing
Mihoshi.
     "Why are you not hurrying!?" Ayeka shouted at Tenchi's
father, who hunched his shoulders from the force of her yell. 
     "Because we're home, Oneechan," Sasami said in as calm a
voice as she could muster, considering that she was valiantly trying
to keep her head above water, and avoid suffocating in Mihoshi's
generous assets. 
     "That's no excuse to not hurry . . . ," Ayeka broke off as she
deciphered Sasami's words. She looked out the front dash of the
truck at the valley that was spread out before them. "Oh, gomen,"
Ayeka apologized, then yelled out again. 
     "Kamidake, Azaka!"
     There was a boom of displaced air, and Ayeka's two guardians
were suddenly flying parallel to the truck. "Yes!" they both shouted
out in reply to Ayeka's call. 
     "Go ahead of us and protect Princess Ranma from whatever
vile thing that horrid woman is trying to do!" Ayeka ordered.
"Don't let her near Ranma-san for any reason!"
     The two guardians vanished as quickly as they had appeared.

     Ayeka was the first through the door of the house. She'd
barely waited till the SUV stopped moving before leaping out.
Fearing what was likely to follow, Tenchi was right behind her, and
therefore nearly ran into her when she stopped suddenly just inside
the door.  "Oh no," she whispered in horror, her voice so faint it
barely reached Tenchi's ears. 
     Tenchi looked past Ayeka, and grimaced as he saw a seriously
annoyed Ryouko hanging suspended in the air between Kamidake
and Asaka. In front of the trio was a large . . . wooden egg? Tenchi
stared at the strange object in bemusement. About seven-and-a-half
feet in length, and fashioned from the same wood as Ayeka's space
ship, and the hilt of his sword. The object was very . . . egg-shaped.
There was no other way to really describe it. It was a giant wooden
egg. 
     "You, you . . ." Ayeka's voice was almost strangling in her
throat, so intense were her emotions. "What have you done to
Ranma-san!!!?" she screamed out. Her voice was followed by a
brilliant burst of energy that flowed between Kamidake and Asaka,
and caused Ryouko's body to spasm in pain. 
     As the surges stopped, Ryouko's body writhed, and she let out
a cry that sounded nothing like a person being tortured. Panting, and
with a leer on her face, she said, "Haven't we been through this
already, princess. It's fun and all, but I really prefer to be the one on
top." 
     Ryouko's words went right over Tenchi's head. 

     He really wasn't all that sophisticated in some matters, despite
his father's best efforts to rectify that lack. 

     Tenchi moved forward to place himself in between the two
girls.  "Ayeka-sama!" he cried out. "Stop this!" 
     Turning, he tried to pull Ryouko free of her energy prison.  He
screamed in shock as his nerves suddenly caught fire. His world
became a realm of agony. It only lasted for a second, just long
enough for Ayeka to order her guardian's to drop their energy field,
but it felt like a hundred years to Tenchi. He huddled on the floor,
arms curled around his body, and his mouth open wide as he gasped
in great lung-fulls of air. Ryouko survived minutes of this, and was
able to smile! he thought in shock.
     "Why?" Tenchi managed to croak out, looking up at the
distraught Ayeka. "What's wrong? What is that thing?" Tenchi's
eyes fell on Sasami, who was standing in the doorway, the Galaxy
Police officer behind her. Sasami's face was white, and she was
bitting her fist as she stared wide-eyed at the egg-shaped object in
the middle of the room.
     "Oh my," Mihoshi said, also staring at the object. "Is someone
hurt? Maybe I should make some tea. Tea always makes me feel
better when I'm sick. Of course, if they're in an emergency medical
pod I suppose they can't drink tea, can they? I'll wait till they're
better. Then I'll make them some tea. Unless you'd like some tea
now? I make very good tea. My partner Kiyone said it was the only
thing I could make without burning it. Of course, there was that one
time I forgot the kettle, and it melted, and set the kitchen on fire. So
I guess you could say I can burn tea. Not that I would, but you know
that. Who'd want to burn tea on purpose? It's not like tea is any
good burnt. Nothing is any good burnt. Well, some people say
cigarettes are good burnt. That's what my boss always said. He
always wants to have one while he reads my reports. Of course,
cigarettes are bad for you. So he really shouldn't smoke them. He
might get sick, and then he'd have to go into a medical pod. I hope
your friend learns a lesson and gives up smoking. It's really a very
nasty habit." 
     Mihoshi stopped and drew a deep breath, which proved
beyond a shadow of a doubt her mammalian ancestry, and which
drew Nobuyuki's undivided, and enthusiastic, attention.  Everyone
else in the room, with the exception of Ryouko, looked at the police
officer with stunned expressions that had nothing to do with her
attributes. Ryouko's worried look was directed solely at Tenchi.  
     Tenchi was the first to recover as his mind picked one
particular concept out of the deluge Mihoshi had just thrown at
them: Emergency Medical Pod. A sick feeling suddenly twisted his
stomach. He dropped down on one knee beside Ryouko, who,
despite her earlier words, was taking a little while to recover from
Ayeka's attack. "Ryouko-san . . . is Ranma . . ."
     Ryouko had been dreading this moment ever since she'd been
forced to flee the hot springs with the injured Ranma in her arms.
     She looked at the brown-haired boy with the gentle eyes, and
broke down. Tenchi was going to hate her, she just knew it. There
was no running from her crimes this time. She had nowhere to run
to. Anywhere without Tenchi would be hell.        
     "I'm sorry, Tenchi," Ryouko said, grief in her voice. "If I
hadn't created that creature, she'd never have fried herself like
that." Tears streaked down Ryouko's cheeks. She threw herself into
Tenchi's arms, and cried into his chest. "Don't hate me, Tenchi. I
couldn't stand it if you hated me."
     Out of reflex, Tenchi flinched when Ryouko grabbed him. But
when she made no effort to fondle, or otherwise snuggle him, he
realized that, for once, there was nothing phony about Ryouko's
actions. Tenchi let Ryouko hold him for a little while, then put a
hand on each of her shoulders, and pushed back gently. "What's
wrong with Ranma, Ryouko-san?" he asked. Tenchi forced himself
to keep his voice as gentle as possible, trying to prevent the fear in
his heart from flavoring his tone of his voice. 
     "What have you done to her, monster!?" There was nothing
gentle about Ayeka's voice as she suddenly interposed herself
between Tenchi and Ryouko, spilling Tenchi over on his backside. 
     Ryouko flinched back from the accusation in Ayeka's voice,
but then her expression firmed and grew angry. She'd screwed up.
Fine, it happens. But she was damned if she was going to be some
stuck up princess' punching bag. "I didn't do nothing to her, you
old-maid. She tried to write a check her body couldn't cash, and
paid for it!" she snapped at Ayeka. 
     "Why you --"

     "Stop it!!!" a shrill voice screamed out.

     Everyone paused in shock, and looked over at Sasami, who
was standing beside the medical unit. The little girl had tears
streaming down her face as she looked at them. "Don't you care that
Ranma is hurt? Why do you always have to fight? We were having
such a nice time, and you went and spoiled it by fighting, and now
Ranma is . . . Ranma is . . ." Sasami couldn't continue, she broke
down into tears. She turned her back on them and buried her face in
her arms as she leaned up against the medical pod. 
     On top of the wooden structure, Ryo-oh-ki joined in the water
works as she pawed at the pod, trying to get inside. A second later
she phased through the surface of the egg. 
     "Ryo-oh-ki, no!" Sasami protested, irrationally fearing she was
going to lose the little cabbit too. She thumped her fists on top of
the medical pod, and then staggered back as a soaking wet Ryo-oh-
ki phased back through the pod wall and into her arms. The little
cabbit gave a mew of distress. She'd found Ranma, but the
comatose girl had been unresponsive to her.
     A pair of strong hands settled gently on Sasami's shoulders,
and she looked up to see Katsuhito standing behind her, a gentle
look in his eyes. He settled back on his heels, bringing his eyes level
with Sasami and Ryo-oh-ki's. "Don't worry," he said, addressing
them both. "Ryouko got her here in time. We all owe her a great
deal of thanks. If she had not acted so quickly Ranma might not
have made it."
     "Ryouko-san, is this true?" Tenchi asked, moving forward till
he was quite close to the cyan-haired girl, looking down into her
face.
     Ryouko felt warmth spreading through her chest as Tenchi's
soft eyes looked into her own. His voice seemed to caress her, and
she blushed lightly, and looked down at the floor before replying.
"Well, you know. I still owed the little so-and-so for this morning. I
couldn't let her go and die before I got a chance at payback." 
     Ryouko was shocked when Tenchi bowed to her. "Thank you,
Ryouko-san. I . . . my family owes you a debt we can never repay."

     Off to the side Ayeka fumed. It was intolerable. Tenchi-sama
was humbling himself to that creature. She opened her mouth to
accuse Ryouko of being the instigator of the damage in the first
place, but then shut it again. Her own role had not been all that
innocent, and grating as it was to admit, the demon-woman had
saved Ranma-san's life. She had an obligation to repay that at the
very least. But that did not mean she need grovel. Instead she would
give Tenchi a lesson in how one of his status should thank a
commoner such as Ryouko.
     "Yes, Ryouko-san," Ayeka said, her face twisted into a
semblance of cordiality.  Barely moving her head, she gave the girl
a tiny nod, "we are very grateful for the service you have given us. I
think perhaps some small token of our esteem would be in order. 
Perhaps I could see fit to see some of the charges for your many
crimes against the Juraian people dropped."
     "But Ayeka-sama, the statute of limitations--" Kamidake
started to say, but was cut off short by the glare Ayeka directed
toward him. Kamidake quivered, and huddled back against the wall.
     Satisfied that she'd quelled any further disruptions, Ayeka
prepared to continue playing gracious sovereign toward Ryouko,
only to find that in the interlude, the others had decided to show
their gratitude in a more direct way.
     "Oh, Ryouko-oneechan, thank you so much!" Sasami cried as
she wrapped her arms firmly around the girl's waist. Ryo-oh-ki
hopped up onto the space pirate's shoulder, and nuzzled her cheek
enthusiastically. She added her own loud vocal thanks to Sasami's
in the form of enthusiastic mews.  Tenchi was not so demonstrative;
he simply beamed at Ryouko, who basked in his approval. 
     Like a snake in the sun, was Ayeka's thought. Indeed, with the
exception of Ayeka, the whole household radiated gratitude toward
Ryouko. It was really quite intolerable, the princess thought to
herself.  She turned from the disgusting display. To show she was
no longer part of the crowd showering praise on 'that' woman, she
examined the tell-tales on the side of Ranma's pod.
     Ryuu-oh's emergency medical pods were designed to survive
just about anything; they wouldn't have been much good if they
weren't. The pods utilized many of the standard galactic medical
technologies, with a few Juraian additions. Among other features,
they utilized a similar principal to the time lock field that had
allowed herself and Sasami to pass the centuries in no time.
     The pods could do much more then merely stop time,
however. Once a course of treatment was decided on, they could
reverse the process, and actually accelerate relative time for the
patient. As Ayeka examined Ranma's medical condition, she saw
that for the redhead, two weeks had already passed. 

     Ayeka grudgingly had to admit that it had been quite clever of
Ryouko to remember the existence of the emergency pods when
faced with Ranma's injuries. A shiver ran up her spine as she read
the information displayed before her. Given the extent of the
damage to Ranma's body, Ayeka was doubtful that any facility on
this primitive planet could have saved her. While not dangerous on
a small scale, the type of injury suffered by Ranma became far more
serious when it involved every square inch of her skin. 
     Ayeka suddenly realized that if not for Ryouko Ranma would
very likely have died from shock. No matter how she might wish it
otherwise, she, and the Juraian royal family, owed her a life debt. A
debt that was by custom settled by making the person owed a noble
of the realm.
     For a few seconds, Ayeka froze as the implications filled her
mind with horror. With one fell swoop, Ryouko would acquire
sufficient rank to be considered a serious suitor for Tenchi-sama's
hand.  Then she thrust the thought away. Such a thought was
unthinkable. It wasn't as if a barbarian such as Ryouko would
realize the extent of the debt owed her. 
     Ayeka mused on other possibilities. Sasami did not have the
political acumen to think beyond simple gratitude. Neither Tenchi
nor his family knew enough of Juraian customs to even imagine the
possibility, and of course, Ranma had no idea whatsoever. 
     So, the only one who knew the implications of Ryouko's act
was Ayeka, and for the good of the Juraian people she would never
tell. It was out of the question that a barbarian such as Ryouko
should be inducted into the ranks of Juraian nobility. 
     "Is Ranma going to be all right, Ayeka-san? How long will she
have to stay inside?" Tenchi asked.
     Ayeka was startled by Tenchi's sudden question. She had been
so busy contemplating the consequences of Ryouko's actions she'd
not seen him leave the group around the barbarian and walk over to
a position behind her. He was currently looking at the many flashing
lights on the side of the medical pod, a look of worry on his face. 
     Because of her surprise, Ayeka answered Tenchi's last
question without thought. "Ranma should be out in about twelve
hours," Ayeka said, and then wished she could snatch the words as
they left her mouth. The last thing she wanted was for Tenchi to
realize how badly hurt Ranma was, and how much in Ryouko's debt
they were. 
     "Oh, that's good. Then she's not hurt all that badly?"
     Ayeka blinked at Tenchi, the phrase, not hurt badly, echoing in
her head. Not hurt badly? Fifty days, subjective healing, was not
hurt badly? Ayeka caught herself before she voiced her thoughts. Of
course, Tenchi-sama was from a primitive culture, he had no idea of
the capabilities of a medical pod. 
     Ayeka plastered a smile on her face and said, "That's right,
Tenchi-sama, just a few hours and Ranma will be as good as new.
All her little scratches and bruises healed up nicely. I don't know
what Ryouko-san was thinking, getting all worked up over such
minor injuries." Ayeka spoke the last words in a muffled voice, as
she busied herself with the medical pod's few outside controls. The
last thing she wanted was for her words to be heard by anyone other
then Tenchi. With her face turned away from Tenchi, Ayeka
allowed herself to grin with unrestrained glee. Ryouko become a
noble of Jurai! Ha! Not in her lifetime.

     Ranma floated inside the healing liquid that both supported
her body and supplied nutrients and medicine to her abused flesh.
While the medical unit sped up time for her body, it attached
sensors to her head and slowed her cerebral functions, keeping her
in a semi-coma until she was ready to be released. It would not do
for her mind to be fully active for the two and a half months of
subjective time she would be undergoing treatment. Neither would
it be healthy for her mind to be completely shut down, however.
Some mental activity was necessary to keep her mind as healthy as
her body would become, and so Ranma dreamed. 

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

     "Stupid, boy! What were you thinking!? Relying on a weapon?
I trained you better than that!" the panda yelled at Ranma, who
scowled back, her fists clenched in angry defiance. The two of them
stood in a meadow, facing each other with indignant expressions.
     "What the heck do you know, you old fart? You weren't even
there! How the heck was I suppose to fight something like that with
my bare hands?"
     "You did in the end, didn't you, boy? After you got your tail
whipped good. If you'd done that at the beginning you'd have won
instead of ending up face down in the water." The panda looked up
to the heavens and cried out, "All my years of training, thrown away
at the first sign of a real challenge! Oh, the dishonor of it!"
     Ranma nailed the furry orator with a pile-driver elbow, and
then yelled at the hairy pain-in-the-butt, who was now imbedded in
the ground. "What the hell do you mean!? Your training!? You
never taught me nothing like that attack! I learned that all on my
own!"
     The panda pulled his head out of the ground, and whacked
Ranma across the yard with one of his signs. He held it up, but
instead of writing, flickering images filled it. "Oh, really, then
what's this?" he asked. 
     On the sign a scene from Ranma's borrowed memory
appeared. A young red-haired girl stood thigh deep in a circular
pool of water, her back braced against a bamboo pole. The girl was
facing down an elegantly garbed man, who was accompanied by a
floating guardian.
     "So what!?" Ranma yelled. "So I saw her do it. I taught myself
from just seeing it done. You always taught me to keep my eyes
open whenever I had a chance to see something new."
     "Don't you mean, from feeling it done? You didn't just see her
do it, you felt her do it, while you were her."
     "So what?" Ranma repeated. "What's the difference?"
     "The difference, you ungrateful boy, is that you surrendered
your body and let the girl do the attack. Oh, the shame of it! My
son, hiding behind a girl in a fight."
     "That ain't true!" Ranma shouted, while taking another swing
at the panda, who ducked, and again batted her across the field with
his sign.
     "Are you trying to tell me you could have done the same
attack as a boy, boy?"
     "You got that straight, old man."
     "You sure about that, boy?"
     Ranma suddenly got a wary look on her face. She scowled at
the panda, and said, "What're you talking about, old man?"
     "You know the girl did the attack, you just lazed back while
she did all the work. You remembered how it felt, how she drew the
power, even what she called it. The power belongs to her. Without
her, you'd be nothing."
     "That's a lie! I'm the best there is! I may have got her memory
of the attack, but that's all. She's just a shadow. There ain't no one
in my head but me." 
     "The best there is!" Genma said in derision. "Now, yes.
Falling into that spring was your ticket to the soft life, boy. You got
all that power; a roof over your head, meals every day, and people
who treat you well." Genma scowled in disgust, then looked up at
the sky one more, crying out. "How disgusting! My son has turned
his back on the way of the true martial artist. Only by suffering and
deprivation, combined with constant training, can a martial artist
truly become one with his art. A true martial artist would reject this
soft life and earn his skill." 
     Ranma couldn't help herself. She fell over laughing. "You,"
she howled, pointing her finger at him, "you lecture me on taking
the easy way? The only reason we suffered so much on the road was
because people figured you out as a faker so quickly. You never
turned down a free meal, or anything else free for that matter, in
your life."
     "You foolish boy! I did it all for you! And this is the thanks I
get? Oh, how stinging is the wound given by an ungrateful son."
     Ranma kicked the panda straight up. Looking skywards after
the dwindling fur-ball, she shouted, "And that's another thing! In
case you ain't noticed, I'm a girl now, thanks to you. Was that
another one of your 'gifts' to make me a better martial artist?"
     By now the panda had disappeared from sight, and Ranma
snorted in disgust. "Stupid old man." She turned to leave, and got
walloped across the back of the head by a panda-wielded sign.
Ranma went somersaulting across the ground, finally crashing into
a bamboo fence, which splintered from the impact. Water appeared
from nothing, and she was suddenly standing nude in the Jusenkyo
pool where this whole thing had started.
     "You're a girl because you were too slow and inept to avoid
it." The panda said from where it balanced on a nearby pole.
Ranma's body blurred, and vanished, only to re-appear in the air
beside the panda. A sweep of her foot sent him crashing to the
ground.
     "How's that for slow and inept, old man?"
     "Not bad," a strange but familiar voice said. "For a girl, that
is"
     "Who the hell said that!?" Ranma yelled from her perch atop
one of the bamboo poles, looking around the area, while falling into
a defensive pose.
     "Geez, just like a girl. Dumb as mud."
     Ranma zeroed in on the voice, and realized it was coming
from the limp form of her father. She scowled, and clenched her
fists tightly, popping the knuckles on first one hand, then the other.
"That's a new one, Pop, disguising your voice," she said, as she
dove for the attack. "What's next? Juggling? Or maybe you'll roll
around on a ball at the circus?"
     The panda leaped into the air just ahead of Ranma's attack,
and somersaulted away to land facing Ranma. It spoke with that
same strangely familiar voice. "Nah, I think I'll just go for a good
old fashion ass-kicking."
     "In your dreams . . . Pop?"
     "Starting to figure it out, eh, girl?" the panda said, as it reached
a furry hand up to its neck, and pulled on the zipper that was located
there. A second later a limp panda skin fell to the ground, and a
figure in a white gi stepped out of it. "Surprise," Ranma-kun said
with a smirk as he stared at the thunderstruck Ranma.
     Ranma gazed in wonder at her male body. It was just like she
remembered. A giant of a man with rippling muscles who towered
over her puny female form. Thick black hair tied back in a ponytail
topped a devastatingly handsome face. No wonder the voice had
sounded so familiar. Ranma started to move toward her former
body, one thought in her mind. Mine! 
     To her surprise Ranma-kun jumped away from her. "Whoa
there, girl," he said. "Whatcha think you're doing?"
     Ranma paused, one foot in the air, and looked at him in
astonishment. "But, you're mine. I want you back."
     Ranma-kun laughed out loud. "Yours? You wish, girl. I'm all
man, all the time. If you think I'm going to let myself get stuck with
you, you're even dumber than most girls."
     Ranma flushed with anger. "I ain't a girl and you damn well
know it, and who said you had any choice in the matter? You're
mine and I'm going to take you back!" She started to stalk toward
Ranma-kun, who held up his hands in mock fear.
     "Oh, I'm so scared, the little girl is going to attack me."
Ranma pounced forward, leading with her right foot in a powerful
kick, which Ranma-kun dodged with a bored look. As Ranma went
flying past him, she swung a fist at his head. He moved just enough
to make her miss by a fraction of an inch.
     For what seemed like forever Ranma threw everything she
could at Ranma-kun, and failed to score a single hit. The final straw
was when he pulled a manga out of his back pocket and began to
read it while still effortlessly dodging her attacks. "Goddamn it!!!,"
she screamed. "Fight me, you bastard!"
     "Nope. Sorry. Don't fight girls. It's a guy thing. But you
wouldn't know about that, would you?
     Ranma fumed, but resisted making another wild attack. She'd
finally realized what her male-side was doing. Her battles with her
father had always included a generous helping of mutual insults. 

     Anger could be a great help in a battle if properly focused.
Unfocused anger, on the other hand, was a severe liability.  Genma
had driven that concept into Ranma from day one. Getting her foes
too upset to think was still one of her favorite tactics. Now it looked
like she'd let herself be suckered by her own favorite stratagem.

     Still, that didn't account for all of her current difficulties.
Being pissed at her male body wasn't enough to explain her
inability to lay a finger on him. She knew she was faster than when
she'd been a boy. So what was going on?
     Ranma threw a few fast punches, focusing on her own body
and its reactions, rather than any specific target. Sure enough,
something was dragging on her arms. She gazed in puzzlement at
her bare limbs and then recoiled in surprise as a number of red
strings appeared, each one attached to a finger.  "What the hell?"
she muttered to herself.
     "Foolish boy. Don't you realize what you've done?"
     Ranma looked up, startled, to see that her male side had been
joined by her now human father, who was currently glaring at her
furiously. 
     "I ain't done nothing, old man, but I'm sure you'll tell me
different."
     "Idiot, you've violated the most cardinal rule of the martial
artist."
     "And which cardinal rule is that? Doing everything your
Sensei tells you without question, no matter how stupid?  Not
getting anything more to eat when your Sensei's plate is empty? Not
paying for dinner when you're sitting next to an open window? Or
is this a brand-new cardinal rule?"
     Genma ignored her remarks. "Ties, boy! Ties!" he shouted. "A
martial artist can't let himself be tied down. He must be free to
pursue his art. Free of ties that bind. You've got soft, boy. You've
grown attached to the Masakis."
     "Hey!" Ranma protested. "You're the one that engaged me to
Tenchi! What the heck was I supposed to do? You're the one who
made such a big deal out of making sure the Saotome line was
carried on. How the heck did you figure I'd do that if I didn't get
close to the guy who's suppose to be the father? Or was I just
supposed to pop out a baby and get back on the road?"
     Genma opened his mouth to shout at her, and then shut it. He
raised a hand to gesture, and let it drop. A look of sorrow came over
his features. "I'm sorry, girl, you're right."
     "And another thing, where do you get off . . . ," Ranma paused
in mid-rant, and boggled at her father. "I'm right?"
     "Yes, you are."
     Ranma stared at Genma with a disbelieving expression on her
face, then her face hardened. "All right, Pop, what's the trick? What
are you up to?" 
     "Forgive a foolish old man, my girl," Genma said, tears
running down his face. "The path you must walk now is different
from mine. I follow the path of honor and manliness; you must lead
a woman's life from this day on." Genma turned to Ranma-kun,
who had been smirking at Ranma the entire time. "Come, boy, the
road awaits."
     "Right with you, Pop." The two men shouldered backpacks,
and turned their backs on Ranma.
     She watched them walk away, an expression of incredulity on
her face, that shifted to one of chagrin, and then anger. "Wait one
effing second, you, bleeps!" she screamed after them.
     When the two males turned to look at her, she pointed at
Ranma-kun. "That's my body and I mean to have it back! I
challenge you."
     Ranma-kun smirked at her."Give it up, girl. You've already
lost. Go back home and make some babies."
     Instead of anger, Ranma's face showed amusement. Maybe
she'd fallen for that trick once, but never again. She was the one in
charge now. "Scared, eh? Don't blame you. Seeing as what I did at
the hot springs, I ain't surprised you're afraid to face me." 
     It was Ranma-kun's turn to flush with anger. "Ranma Saotome
ain't afraid of nothing."
     "Oh, don't worry about it. Like I said, you're just being smart.
A regular martial artist doesn't stand a chance against me. I've got
the blood of heros in me, and I've trained against a demon. All
you've had to spar against is Pop."
     "The girl has a point, boy . . . Hey! What do you mean by
that?" 
     "Just what I said. I've been trained by the best; all he's ever
had is a flabby old man."
     Genma fumed at Ranma, then turned to Ranma-kun. "For the
honor of the Saotome school, you need to teach this smart-mouthed
'girl' some manners." 
     "I don't fight girls," Ranma-kun said sullenly.
     "Yep, just like I figured, yellow all the way through," Ranma
said.
     Ranma-kun glared at her, but then his expression lightened,
and he chuckled nastily. "All right, 'girl' you want to challenge me?
I accept. Just remember you asked for it."
     Ranma dropped into a ready stance, and made a come-on
gesture with her hands. "I'm waiting, big-mouth. Lets see what you
got."
     Ranma-kun didn't duplicate Ranma's preparation. Instead, he
reached down casually and grasped his outfit where the pants and
jacket came together. Grinning at Ranma, he wrenched the clothes
from his body, revealing a hideous sight.
     Ranma paled, and stumbled backward. "No," she whispered in
a faint voice, taking in the shiny white shape in front of her; the
short, big headed staff in his sweaty hand. "you wouldn't. We're the
same person. I'm closer than a sister. You can't do this."
     Ranma-kun leered at her. With his free hand, he slicked back
his dark hair while saying. "Why do you think they call it, Anything
Goes, babe?" He gave a couple of thrusts with his white sequined
hips, and then brought the microphone in his hand up to his mouth
as music began to play.
     %Since my baby left me - I've found a new place to dwell . .
.%
     "Ahhhhh," Ranma screamed, covering her ears with her hands
to hold out the horrible sound. "Not Elvis, anything but Elvis!" She
staggered backward, away from the demonic Karaoke machine. 


     Ranma's reaction did not go unnoticed. Out in the real world,
lines of Juraian characters appeared on the status screen of the
medical pod.

     >Subject exhibiting severe mental trauma<

     It was not out of the ordinary for people being treated in a
medical pod to suffer traumatic dreams. After all, they were most
often in the device because of some sort of serious accident.
     Dreams could be a valuable tool. They allowed the patient to
start the process of dealing with whatever trauma they remembered
experiencing during the misadventure that landed them in medical
care. Pains needed to be taken, however, to see that the dreams did
not induce a mental trauma in the patient. It would do little good to
heal the body, if the mind ended up broken. 
     The recommended procedure for dealing with accident trauma
was to try and allow the patient to deal with it by reinforcing old
memories that would help shape and direct the bad dreams into a
more positive direction. The medical unit did this by gently
stimulating surrounding areas of the brain that contained those older
memories. If this did not decrease the patient's mental anxiety then
other steps could be taken. The medical pod instituted the
recommended action, and went back to being a passive observer.

     This activity went without notice in the Masaki parlor.  It had
been two hours since the hot-springs party had arrived home, and
they no longer were subjecting the medical pod to intense scrutiny.
Knowing the precise time that Ranma would be decanted, and that
she'd be fully cured when she was, relieved a lot of the emotions
that kept people anxiously waiting for news in Earth hospitals. 

     Not that their thoughts were not on her. Sasami, for instance,
was busy in the kitchen preparing the biggest feast she could
manage for the welcome out party they had planned for Ranma.
But, while everyone had Ranma's current status on their minds,
some had other matters that needed attention.
     Katsuhito had left shortly before for the temple, promising
Sasami that he would be back in plenty of time for the party.
Ryouko had left shortly after Katsuhito, muttering something about
settling a score. Nobuyuki was on the telephone, yelling at someone
while waving an official looking form in the air with his free hand. 

     The letter had been waiting in the mail box when he got home.
The gist of his conversation seemed to be that it was unreasonable
to expect a young girl to commute such a long distance to school,
and that surely there must be somewhere closer then this Furinken
with an opening. 

     Ayeka was watching the blonde police officer, Mihoshi, with
gimlet eyes. She did not like the way the top-heavy hussy had been
making up to Tenchi-sama. She was determined that when Ranma
emerged she would not find Tenchi's love for her compromised, in
any way. 
     Mihoshi, herself, was currently standing in the middle of the
room, holding a tea service in her hand. Everyone else had declined
the beverage, or were too busy to partake. Tenchi, who had been
quite eager to drink her tea, was not currently in the room.
     The boy in question was in the only room of the house that
offered him sanctuary from unexpected females. His pants
unzipped, he was currently recycling two pots of tea. It wasn't that
Mihoshi's tea was that good, or that he was that thirsty, it was more
a case of Tenchi suffering from a condition common among teenage
males. To put it simply, no healthy, heterosexual teenage boy would
say no to a beautiful blonde in fear that it would set some sort of
precedent. So when Mihoshi asked him if he wanted more tea . . . 
     Tenchi gave a sigh of relief and zipped himself back up.
Washing his hands, he gazed at the door to the bathroom with some
trepidation. It wasn't that he was scared, precisely. It was more that
he was finding it very hard to deal with the numerous females who
had entered his life, four of them very attractive and of an age to
make romance possible. 
     Tenchi had lived most of his life in a female-free zone. With
the necessity of taking care of the house, he had not even had time
to socialize at his school. He belonged to no clubs, and had no
friends with sisters. To Tenchi, girls had been a much desired, but
very mysterious puzzle that he had never really had the chance to
solve. Now he had been handed the equivalent of a ten thousand
piece jigsaw, all the pieces white, and was trying to fit it together,
while somewhere a time-bomb was ticking. 
     It didn't help that every single one of the girls were radically
different in personality and character. The easy comradery that
Ranma seemed to enjoy invoked an uncomfortable silence from
Ayeka, and was interpreted as an invitation to amorous activity by
Ryouko. 
     Formality got him approving looks from Ayeka, but gained
him smacks and interjections to lighten up from Ranma, while
Ryouko interpreted it as an invitation to amorous activity.
     He had never dared to try openly flirting, even if he'd known
how. He had no idea how Ayeka would take it, only that she'd
likely disapprove. Ranma would likely deck him, and he shuddered
at what Ryouko would do. 
     No matter how he hated to admit it, the former pirate still
scared him limp. Her temperament was so mercurial, and the
incident at the school so recent, he just could not bring himself to
fully believe in her. It seemed so inconceivable that such an
attractive girl could be truly interested in him. He couldn't help but
think it was some sort of an act. Maybe all she was really interested
in was the final two gems in the hilt of his sword, and had no real
interest in him at all. That, after all, was far more logical than that
she should suddenly fall passionately and deeply in love with him
after trying her level best to kill him.
     Tenchi gave another sigh. This wasn't getting him anywhere.
Time to face the lions den, he thought to himself. Making sure
everything was tucked in properly, he exited the bathroom and was
immediately set upon by Mihoshi, her tea service thrust forward
eagerly. Tenchi flinched backward from the offered tray, and
sweated slightly as his eyes took in the bounty in front of him. It
wasn't Sasami's tea cakes that made him sweat, however, but the
bountiful tanned globes that were framed on three sides by
Mihoshi's arms and the tea tray. His teenage mind couldn't help but
dwell on those as if they were what Mihoshi was offering him on a
tray.
     If Tenchi had been a bit more sophisticated, he might have
wondered if it was possible Mihoshi was drawing attention to her
charms on purpose. Being Tenchi, the only thought he had, other
then the obvious, was that he really was turning into as big a pervert
as his dad. 
     "Would you like some more tea, Tenchi?" Mihoshi asked with
great eagerness. Tenchi nodded weakly, and reached for the filled
mug resting beside the pot. Before he could take it, however, Ayeka
intervened. 
     Sliding into the narrow space between the blonde police
officer and Tenchi, Ayeka took the flustered boy by the arm, and
started to draw him toward the medical pod.  "Tenchi-sama, would
you like to see how your 'fiancee' is doing. I'm sure your 'fiancee'
will be most gratified to hear of your concern when your 'fiancee'
gets out. Your 'fiancee' is such a devoted girl. It will gladden your
'fiancee's' heart to know that you were so concerned about her."
     "Oh, is Tenchi engaged to the girl who made herself sick
smoking?" Mihoshi asked.  "Are you sure you want to be engaged
to a girl like that? They do say that they can never really get rid of
the habit? Maybe you should find a girl with nice healthy lungs."
     "Tenchi's fiancee has very healthy lungs!" Ayeka retorted, a
vein bulging in her forehead. "I don't know where you got this
ludicrous idea that she was a chain smoker, but I'll thank you not to
spread rumors."
     "Oh, is that right? Are your fiancee's lungs really healthy?"
Mihoshi asked Tenchi. Before he could think up a reply that
wouldn't embarrass him, Mihoshi took a very deep breath, and
expanded her chest to the maximum. "It's just that having good
wind is so very important. I have very healthy lungs. All the doctors
at Galaxy Police Headquarters say so. Why one Moroboshi doctor
has me come in for regular checkups just so he can take pictures for
a book he's writing on them."
     Beside Tenchi, Ayeka made a strangled sound. Tenchi looked
at her in concern, and asked, "Are you all right, Ayeka-san?"
     Ayeka looked as if she wanted to say something, but after a
minute, she simply nodded her head, and said, "I'm fine, Tenchi-
sama. Something just went down the wrong way." As she talked,
Ayeka was giving Mihoshi a very strange look, as if she was
wondering if the blonde was for real. 
     Mihoshi in the meantime looked right by Ayeka, and frowned
slightly. "Oh dear, is it suppose to be doing that?" she asked,
pointing at the readout on the medical pod, which was spiking very
high, indicating that the resident was experiencing highly distressed
mental activity. 


     Ranma's distress at her male counterpart's singing was so
great it took her several moments to notice the hand on her butt.
When she did, she whirled around, ready to deliver mayhem to
whoever had dared. The sight that greeted her was almost as bad as
the singing 
     A table full of Ryoukos faced her, each one dressed in a
salaryman suit. Each of the Ryoukos sported a cheesy fake
moustache. 
     No! Not just one table, Ranma saw, dozens of them. As she
stared in horror, the Salaryman-Ryouko who had been fondling her
butt gave her a leer, and then shouted to his companions. "That's
got to be jelly, because jam don't shake like that!"
     Ranma whirled her bo-staff up and around her head before
bringing it smashing down on the table in front of her, sending the
laughing Ryoukos sprawling. 
     Fueled by her anger, Ranma turned to face her male body, only
to be driven back by the driving beat and the words, % You ain't
nothing but a hound dog! Barking all the time%
     Once again Ranma's backward motion was arrested, but much
more politely this time. A pair of hands grasped her shoulders, and a
soft voice said, "It's okay Ranma, we believe in you."
     Ranma looked back over her shoulder at the black-haired
waitress with the soft brown eyes. "Thank you, Tenchi-chan," she
said. She took in the other waitresses standing there, offering her
their support. "Thank you, Ayeka-san, Sasami-chan, Ryo-oh-ki-
chan, Ryouko-chan." Ranma winced as Ranma-kun hit a
particularly sour note. Her hand fumbled at her change belt, looking
for her faux-jewelry earplugs. She gave a sigh of relief when she
found and inserted them. She didn't know how she could have
forgotten them. She'd never have lasted even one night at the bar if
Aoi-chan hadn't given them to her as a gift. 
     Her defenses in place, Ranma rose to face her male-self. Her
bo twirled lightly in her hand.  "All right you, time to settle this,"
she said, moving toward the stage. The still singing Ranma-kun paid
her no mind. He was too lost in the music to notice that it was no
longer affecting her. That changed when Ranma's bo-staff came
crashing down on the console, and sudden silence filled the bar. 
     "Hey!! What the heck did you do that for!?" Ranma-kun
yelled at her, the now useless mike dangling limply in his hand. 
     Ranma scowled at him, and said, "Just removing some
unnecessary distractions. Now, let's do this. I'm taking you back."
     Ranma-kun smirked as he tossed the mike aside, and took up a
defensive stance. "In your dreams, little-girl. And, I do mean
dreams. I bet you get all hot and sweaty at night thinking what
you'd like to do with this fine body. Am I right?"
     Ranma flushed. "You calling me a pervert!?" she demanded.
But her protest sounded weak, even in her own ears.
     "Oh ho," Ranma-kun laughed. "So you do. Well, I can't blame
you. I am one - fine - hunk - of - man. Ain't that right, girls?" he
said, directing this comment toward the waitresses who had
gathered around them. They all gave a collective sniff of disdain
and looked away from him to Ranma.
     "Kick his ass, Ranma-chan," Ayeka cheered. 
     Ranma-kun smirked and said, "She wants me."
     "Kick him in the jewels," Ryouko-chan shouted.
     "Her too," Ranma-kun said, blowing a kiss at the cyan-haired
waitress, who made a gagging gesture with her forefinger.
     Ranma rolled her eyes. "God, you're pathetic. Let's finish this
now," she said, rushing to the attack. Her bo-staff flashed through
the air, and missed.  "Damn," She cursed to herself, "Still too slow."
     "Here you go boy, these will help," Genma said, holding a pair
of scissors out to her.
     Ranma stared blankly at the object in Genma's hand, and then
at the many red-threads tied around her fingers. Threads that held
her back, made her slow, threads that kept her from becoming male
once again. Slowly, hesitantly, she reached for them, then paused.
She looked over at the waitresses. Gentle Tenchi-chan. The mature
Ryo-oh-ki, little Ryo-oh-ki in her arms. Little Sasami-chan, so full
of energy and fun. Dignified and beautiful Ayeka-chan. Wild and
carefree Ryouko-chan.
     "What are you waiting for, boy?" Genma said. "You can't win
with those things holding you back. Get rid of them!"
     Tenchi-chan smiled at Ranma and said, "It's all right, Ranma,
we understand. Go ahead and cut them."
     Sasami nodded her head, tears streaming from her eyes. "I'll
miss you, Ranma-oneechan but you need to be yourself." All the
other girls nodded their heads in agreement. Genma offered the
scissors once again and this time Ranma took them.
     "That's the way, sweety," Ranma-kun said. "Not that it'll do
you any good, but you don't want a bunch of silly girls holding you
back when you fight me. You'll need every advantage you can -
Yipe." The yell was a result of Ranma chucking the scissors in her
hand at Ranma-kun's head.
     "I don't need an advantage to take out a sorry piece of crap
like you!" Ranma yelled at him. She was glowing slightly in her
anger. 
     "That so?" Ranma-kun said skeptically. He suddenly blurred
forward and Ranma woofed in shock as his fist connected with her
diaphragm. She folded over his forearm, the breath knocked out of
her. He withdrew his fist and stepped back, letting her slump to the
ground. A second later the scissors she's tossed at him clattered to
the ground in front of her. "You'd better use these, girl, or else
you're going to make us look bad," he said, a sneer in his voice.
     Ranma knelt on the ground, the pain in her belly no match for
the one to her spirit. She couldn't do it. She was a girl. She couldn't
beat her male self. Her eyes fell on the scissors, and once more she
contemplated cutting the ties that were slowing her down, but she
rejected the idea again. It wouldn't make any difference. She just
wasn't good enough.
     A feminine scream yanked Ranma out of her pit of self-pity,
and a moment later she was wrenching Tenchi-chan out of Ranma-
kun's arms while at the same time decking the pervert, sending him
crashing into a table full of salarymen-Ryoukos. 
     "Keep your hands to yourself, you pervert!" she yelled at the
downed boy.  Turning her back on him, she examined Tenchi-chan,
who she was cradled in her arms.  "Are you all right,Tenchi-chan?"
she asked.
     Tenchi just looked back at her with wide eyes, and when she
finally spoke, it was not in answer to Ranma's question. Instead she
said, "Ranma, you hit him."
     "Huh?" Ranma said in surprise. She looked over at where
Ranma-kun was struggling to extricate himself from the table full of
Ryoukos, without a lot of luck. The Ryoukos were well gone to
drink, and their efforts to help him were rather more of a hindrance
then an aid. "I hit him?" Ranma said in a questioning tone. Her face
suddenly brightened, and she yelled out. "I hit him! Yatta!" A
puzzled look crossed her face, and she added, "But how?"
     Ranma ran over her actions of the last minute, trying to figure
out how she'd managed to accomplish what up till then had been an
impossible task. Her eyes widened and she looked at the red threads
tied to her fingers, which were almost humming with power. Instead
of holding her back, they had pulled her ahead this time. "Of
course," she said in a tone of wonder. "A martial-artist's duty is to
protect the weak. I couldn't beat my male body for myself, but I can
do it to protect the weak."
     Ranma turned to Tenchi and asked, "Tenchi-chan, will you do
me a really big favor?"
     Tenchi returned Ranma's look with one of complete trust. "Of
course, Ranma-chan. I'll do anything you want."
     "Thanks." Ranma gave Tenchi a bit of a push, and sent her
staggering into the arms of Ranma-kun, who had finally managed to
free himself from the table full of Salarymen-Ryoukos. 
     Ranma-kun gave a leer, and gladly wrapped his arms around
her. "Hey, cutey, how about you and me go somewhere nice and
private?" he asked, as his hands wandered freely. Tenchi gave a
squeal of dismay and beat her fist futilely against his chest. A
second later Ranma-kun received a fist to the face from Ranma.
     "Yatta!" Ranma exclaimed in pleasure as Ranma-kun went
flying backwards. Her theory was confirmed. Ranma was not slow
in putting her discovery to use. The threads that had been a
hindrance now fed fire into her nerves as she visualized her friends
in trouble. Ranma-kun's efforts at defense were laughable. She
wove around his guard like it wasn't even there. For every blow he
swung and missed she hit him a dozen times. 
     Fist, spin-backhand, spin-kick, spin-kick, palm-thrust, elbow
smash to the chin, knee to the groin, diverted at the last second to
take him in the belly when Ranma recalled it was her body after all.
She went to straight speed punches, staggering Ranma backward
with each blow. 
     Tossing loops of red thread into the air, Ranma used them to
swing high above the dazed Ranma-kun, tucking and rolling in a
somersault before falling feet first toward her opponent. Ranma-kun
was still groggily trying to locate her when her heels impacted on
his shoulders and drove him face first into the ground. 
     Ranma bounced with the impact, and landed next to the
flattened boy, rolling him over she aimed a fist at his battered face,
but before she could land the blow, Ranma-kun disappeared in a
cloud of glowing dust which melted into Ranma's body.
     An incredible feeling of joy filled Ranma as her body began to
grow and shift, and when, a few brief seconds later, Ranma found
himself a boy again, tears ran down his face. A startled gasp brought
his eyes up to see Tenchi-chan staring at him wide-eyed. Overcome
with joy, he swept her up in his arms and whirled her around. 
     The fist that knocked him on his ass seemed to come from
nowhere. He went sprawling, pain shooting through his abused jaw.
He started to get to his feet, anger at this sneak attack raging inside 
him, and stopped, staring in shock at the person behind whom
Tenchi-chan was cowering. 
     The red-haired girl glared back at him, and said, "Keep your
stinking hands to yourself, pervert. You touch my Tenchi, or any of
the other girls, again, and I'll put you in the ground." Putting a
protective arm around Tenchi-chan, the red-haired girl lead her
away. The other girls moved in to join the pair, and with them they
walked away from Ranma, their backs stiff with anger at him. 
     "What!  Come back. You can't leave! We belong together.
See." Ranma said, pointing at his fingers where the red-threads had
been tied, only to boggle in shock when he saw they were no longer
there. From within the pack of girls walking away from him, the
red-haired girl raised a hand and wiggled her fingers, drawing his
attention to the red threads that were now tied to her fingers.
     "No, that's not fair!" Ranma protested, taking a step toward
the receding group of girls, only to be brought up short by a large
furry paw on his shoulder. 
     "Come on, boy," Genma said, thrusting a large backpack into
Ranma's arms. "Now that you've gotten rid of those girls, you can
once again walk the path of the true martial artist." Dragging Ranma
along behind him, he continued to speak. "I've heard about this sect
of monks in Tibet who train naked on the glaciers high in the
Himalayan Mountains. They are said to have stamina beyond belief.
It's only a two-thousand mile walk; we can be there just in time for
winter, which should be the best time of all for that sort of training."
     After a minute of silence, except for Ranma's loud, and futile,
protests, he added, "I'm sure the stories about the man-eating Yeti's
are only a fable to keep the tourists away."
     Ranma screamed in frustration as he saw the girls disappearing
in the distance. "It's not fair!!!!" he cried out in despair.

     >Subject exhibiting severe mental trauma<
     >Stimulation of prior memories not helping<
     > Recommend sedation of most recent memory<
     >Sedation effective. Subject calming<

     While the medical pod could not read its patient's mind, it
could determine adverse mental activity by monitoring stress
indicators. It could also determine how often and recently memories
had been accessed, or how long ago stored by examining minute
chemical traces in the brain. If dealing with more recent memories
was too traumatic, it could prompt activity in older memories in the
hope that they would lead to more pleasant dreams. The newer,
more traumatic memories could then be slowly stimulated, with the
result that the patient could gradually begin to deal with the shock
of their accident. 
     Of course while the pod could stimulate activity in specific
areas, it could not prevent bleed-over from other sectors.
Fortunately, very recent memories, such as those resulting from an
accident, were usually well defined and restricted in area of storage,
and as such were easily controlled.

     >Stimulating older memories<

     Ranma looked down, and saw her breasts for the very first
time.

     >Sedation required<
     >Stimulating older memories<

      The waves crashed over Ranma's head, and she struggled to
keep going, only a few more miles to China, just a few more miles .
. . The Sea monster burst from the water, and towered over Ranma's
floating form. Jaws gapping wide, it dove down toward . . . 

     >Sedation required<
     >Stimulating older memories<

     Oh, this is going to be good, Ranma thought to herself, as she
calculated the ebb and flow of the mass of humanity in front of her. 
     "Last cutlet sandwich," the lunch lady called, and tossed the
listed article into the air above the crowd of howling boys. Ranma
leapt high into the air, bounced off a convenient head, and caught
the much-desired cutlet-sandwich well above the reach of her
schoolmates.
     "Look, a girl!!!" came the howl from below her, and Ranma
suddenly realized she was naked, and above a mob of boys who
were now howling for something other then sandwiches . . .

     >Sedation required<
     >Stimulating older memories<

     "C . C. c. c. c. c Cat!!!!"

     >Sedation required<

     The medical pod made a note of the likely age of the patient at
the time of this incident. It added a comment to its records to the
attention of the physician in charge to investigate for a possible
history of child-abuse.

     >Stimulating older memories<

     Ranma fought back the tears as Ukyou fell farther and farther
behind the Yatai she was riding. The young boy fell on his face, and
Ranma had to fight the urge to jump down and run back to him. Pop
would get mad if she did. Instead, as Ukyou got to his feet, she
forced a smile on her face, and gave him a cheery wave goodbye.
Then the monster stepped out of the shadows of the trees . . .

     >Sedation required<
     >Stimulating older memories<

     "Mommy, where are you, mommy." . . .

     >Sedation required<

     At this point a human doctor would have begun to get a little
frustrated, wondering if this patient had any positive childhood
memories at all. The AI in the medical pod simply continued
scanning for older, less accessed, memory. It found some, a large
segment of memory that had barely ever been read.
 
     >Stimulating older memories<

     For a few minutes the patient's mind seemed not to react, then
several adjacent memory storage areas increased activity, as the
patient's mind cross-referenced them with the ones the medical pod
was stimulating.

      Thirteen-year-old Ranma Saotome sighed with pleasure and
lay back on the warm, grass-covered ground, looking up at the blue,
cloud-speckled sky. A strand of straw projected from between her
lips as she gloried in sheer bone-idleness. In a little while she'd
have to go home. No doubt her grandmother would switch her for
skipping out on her training, but for now everything was perfect.
     Ranma rolled over on her belly, and inched forward, worming
her way through the hedge of brush that sheltered her little
mountain top nook from the wind. Sticking her head through the
sheltering underbrush, she looked down nearly a thousand feet to
the checkerboard pattern of fields and homes far below. She smiled
as she watched the ant-like figures of the people working in the
fields, but then her smile turned to a frown as she noticed a small
group idling by the side of one particular field. The one where Zar-
gell was working today.  Even from here she knew they were
warrior trainees, just a few years older then herself, and without
being able to hear them, she could just imagine the things they were
likely saying to each other, especially her older cousin, Lo-xion. 
     Ranma pouted, her perfect mood spoiled. She didn't
understand what her cousin saw in that stupid boy, but lately, that
was all she ever talked about. Zar-gell this, and Zar-gell that, and it
was even worse when she was with her friends. What was so special
about having a butt you could crack nuts on anyway?
     Ranma vowed that she would never let herself act that stupid
around any boy. The only thing boys were good for was working in
the fields and cooking and cleaning. A real Amazon warrior would
never waste time on someone like that. No matter what
Grandmother said, she would never, ever get stupid over a boy like
Lo-xion was.
     Ranma tore her eyes away from the figures below her, and
muttered, 'Stupid boys. Who needs them." She wiggled back into
the small alcove high up on the cliff face. Scooping a hand full of
ice-cold water from the pond in the middle of the nook, she
splashed her face, gasping as the near freezing liquid chilled her
skin. 
     Ranma flopped onto her back, letting the sun warm her face,
but the perfect day was spoiled. Stupid Lo-xion; she'd promised to
let Ranma try her sword today, but instead, she'd run off to be with
her older friends. To go and giggle at boys. "Yuck, disgusting," she
muttered half-heartedly to herself.
     A sudden thrashing in the bushes drew her attention, making
her forget everything else. A bolt of worry shot through her. Had
someone from the village found her secret spot? It was with relief
that she saw a fat, old panda bumble out of the bushes. Surprisingly,
when it saw her, it did not hastily withdraw, but instead, stood up on
its hind legs and began waving a piece of wood around with strange
markings on it while making urgent growling noises. 
     Ranma paid no attention to the object in the panda's hand. A
sudden thought had occurred to her. Roast-panda was her
grandmother's very favorite food in the whole world. If she brought
this one back for dinner, she would very likely avoid the switching
she'd earned by ducking out on training. 
     Moving carefully, Ranma drew the long knife her mother had
gifted to her on her first day of womanhood a year ago, and began
moving slowly toward the panda. The beast seemed oblivious to her
intent, and continued to wave its piece of wood and make growfing
noised at her. A large smile covered her face.

     >Subject experiencing positive mental activity<
     If it had been capable of emotion the medical pod likely would
have said, "About bloody time." Instead, it simply remarked,
     >Continuing stimulation of selected area of memory<    
     
*****************************

     Ayeka sighed with relief when she saw the indicators on the
medical pod stabilize. "Thank goodness. Ranma-chan seems to be
resting peacefully now," she said.
     "What went wrong?" Tenchi asked, his worry obvious in his
voice.
     Ayeka, hearing that worry, mentally pumped a fist in the air,
and thought, YES!!  Her face showed none of this as she turned to
face Tenchi. "There is nothing to concern yourself about, Tenchi-
sama," she said in a polite, controlled voice. "It is perfectly normal
for patients to suffer bad dreams, the onboard computer has taken
steps. Ranma will be fine. All physical repairs are progressing
normally."
     A feeling of relief filled Tenchi. He had been standing around
helplessly for the last ten minutes while Ayeka had monitored the
diagnostic screens of the big wooden egg that was the emergency
medical pod. 
     Tenchi clenched his fists at his side as he stared at the silent
medical unit. It was so frustrating not being able to do anything!
This whole situation was frustrating! There was nothing he could do
to make any difference. He couldn't even offer the sick Ranma
moral support. Until the egg released her she would be oblivious to
the outside world. He needed to do something! Anything! Just so it
gave him something to do. He turned to the princess, and said,
"Ayeka-san, I have to go out for a little bit. I have chores I should
get done."
     "Certainly, Tenchi-sama. I will stay and watch over Ranma-
chan for you," Ayeka said. She reached out and snagged the back of
Mihoshi's shirt as the blonde started to follow after Tenchi. "I'm
sure Officer Mihoshi will be happy to watch with me. Won't you?"
The last was directed at Mihoshi, who was looking after Tenchi in a
wistful manner.
     "Ano, well, I, that is . . ." Mihoshi started to say. 
     She was interrupted by Tenchi who smiled back at her over his
shoulder, and said, "Thank you, Mihoshi, I really appreciate it."
Tenchi hurriedly exited before anyone else decided to accompany
him.

     A little while later Tenchi had found a chore: sweeping the
flagstones in the temple courtyard. Perhaps it would be more
accurate to say that his body was sweeping. Tenchi's mind was far,
far away. It had been years since he'd needed to actually think
about what he was doing while sweeping up. So, while his body
performed dutifully, his mind was busy thinking about his current
situation.
     It was ironic in a way. For the past two or three years almost
all of Tenchi's daydreaming time had been spent on the subject of
girls, and the lack of same in his life. Not even the mystery of
Ryouko's cave had occupied a fraction of the time he had spent
thinking about that particular subject. 
     The cave, and the demon in it, had filled the dreams of his
childhood. As he had grown older, however, his dreams had
changed, and it was something very different from grappling with
demons that filled his mind. Tenchi snorted with laughter. Yet
another bit of irony. That the fearsome demon of the cave should
turn out to be a girl straight out of his fantasy life. 
     Well, not exactly, he amended his thoughts. For the most part
the girls in his dreams had been his schoolmates. Distant creatures
that he had never quite gotten up the nerve to approach. He had
envied the boys who had grown up with them. They talked and
laughed with the girls as if it were the most normal thing in the
world.
     Those were the girls who had danced through his dreams. In
those dreams he was witty and clever, and never blushed. And his
body never, ever embarrassed the hell out of him like it had in front
of Ranma back at the hot springs.
     The mere thought of that betrayal was enough to make
Tenchi's face flame with red. Ranma must think he was a total
pervert now. Even with that thought in his mind, he couldn't help
but think of how sexy Ranma had looked. She was so cute, and yet
so fully female. . . Tenchi groaned in dismay as he felt an only too
familiar sensation. Hastily, he started doing multiplication tables in
his mind.
     Several minutes later, when the crisis was diverted, Tenchi let
his mind come back from 147 x 135, and tried to think over his
situation without perving out. There was no denying the fact that he
found Ranma physically attractive. She was every bit as appealing
as Ryouko, and much less threatening. Despite her ability at martial
arts, she just did not have the same imposing physical presence as
the tall, alien-looking Ryouko. Most of the time she simply
appeared to be a slightly smaller then average, but very cute, girl.
Tenchi could visualize the comments his friends would make if they 
 ever saw her. Something along the lines of "boy, I'd like to put her
in my pocket and take her home."
     Tenchi softly laughed to himself as he visualized those same
boys' likely reaction if they got caught in a brawl between Ryouko
and Ranma. Not to mention dealing with Ranma in full, "I'm a guy,
dammit!" mode. 
     That last made Tenchi pause briefly in his sweeping. Not for
the first time he found himself trying to picture Ranma as male, and
not for the last time, no doubt, failing completely to do so. About
the best he could do was to visualize her wearing a moustache,
which only made him laugh out loud. He just couldn't seem to think
of Ranma as anything other than a female. He believed her, or at
least he kept telling himself that he did, when she said she wasn't
really a girl. But a part of him very much wanted to believe the
story Ranma's father had told. 
     Tenchi closed his eyes and leaned on his broom, resting his
forehead on the handle. The truth of the matter was that he wanted
Ranma to be a girl for real with all his heart. Unlike Ryouko, even
when Ranma was mad she didn't scare him. She was easy to be
with, she didn't wait for him to talk or suggest an activity; she
contributed. He was comfortable in her presence, or at least he was
when she was wearing clothes, he amended. He hastily did a few
multiplications until the image that thought conjured disappeared.
     Tenchi whacked his head against the broomstick and told
himself to get a grip. Dreaming about Ranma that way was an
exercise in futility. Ranma had made it very clear that she had no
interest in him, or in any other boy, not in that way.
     Tenchi tried to drum up a bit of anger at the redhead by way of
defense against the hurt that thought caused. She was so arrogant
sometimes. Where did she get off thinking she was the only one
who had been roped into this deal. She acted like Tenchi wanting to
marry her was a given, and that she was the only one who was being
forced, or who might object. Well, maybe he didn't want to marry a
redheaded wildcat, who gave a whole new meaning to the term
tomboy. She was rude and crude, with an attitude suitable for
someone four times her size. She was always getting into fights, and
putting herself at risk to help other people. She was kind to Sasami,
and doted on Ryo-ok-ki, despite her cat phobia, and, and . . .
     Tenchi sighed. He couldn't do it. Sure Ranma had lots of
faults, but she had lots of good qualities, and most important of all,
she was a friend who would always stand by your side, no matter
what. She had more then proven that at the hot springs, and almost
paid with her life for doing so.
     Tenchi had never been in love before. Not real love. But he
had an awful feeling he was in danger of falling in love with
Ranma, if he hadn't already done so. Unfortunately, no matter what
he might be feeling, he was sure that Ranma was in no danger at all
of falling in love with him. He couldn't help but think that the
situation was a pretty good example of his usual luck with girls.
Maybe his grandfather could offer some advice.

     Katsuhito was making tea. Not a casual brew to drink while
going over his books, but a full fledged tea ceremony. He was just
reaching for the whisk when a glowing cylinder of light appeared
beside his head, scant inches from his throat.
     "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't take your head
off," a voice demanded.
     Knock, knock.
     "Grandfather, could I have a word with . . ." Tenchi trailed off
as he took in the fact that his grandfather had company. "I'm sorry,
Ryouko. I didn't know you were here," he said to the former pirate,
who was sitting demurely across from his grandfather, a delicate
porcelain cup cradled in her hands.
     "Hohoho," Ryouko gave a phoney laugh. "Don't worry,
Tenchi-chan. I was just chatting. I can come back later and finish
our conversation."
     "Nonsense," Katsuhito said, catching the back of her shirt as
she rose to leave. "I can talk to Tenchi anytime. Beautiful young
girls on the other hand don't come an old man's way too often."
Looking over at Tenchi, Katsuhito said, "Run along, Tenchi. Go
sweep the courtyard. I'm sure Ryouko-chan and I'll be done by the
time you are."
     After Tenchi left, the strained smile on Ryouko's face melted
away, and she glared at the old man. Katsuhito ignored her, and
continued making tea. "You never answered my question, Old
Man," Ryouko said.
     "Really? I'm sorry. Old habits. The teacher in me I suppose.
It's always best to let a student find the answers to their own
questions if they can. Tea?"
     "I don't want any stinking tea, Yosho! I want answers!" 
     "Really? I thought you wanted my head."
     "I do! If Tenchi hadn't walked in . . ."
     "Ah, Tenchi, such a good boy, so obedient. Why, I bet, even in
this day and age, that he would never marry a girl his grandfather
disapproved of. Tea?" Katsuhito again offered Ryouko a bowl."
     "How kind. Thank you so much, honored elder," Ryouko
gushed, taking the bowl of freshly brewed tea and slurping it loudly.
"Exquisite, you are truly gifted." 
     Katsuhito shifted slightly. Ryouko rose like a shot and rushed
around behind him. "Oh, please, let me make those more
comfortable," she said, fluffing up several cushions and slipping
them behind him.
     "Such a good girl," Katsuhito murmured around the bowl of
tea. "I'm sure you'll make a wonderful wife to some lucky man."
     Ryouko fairly glowed, she was beaming so brightly. "You're
too kind. I'm not sure I'm worthy."
     "Nonsense," Katsuhito said, waving her protests aside. "But
you wished to ask me something?"
     "Oh, that. Don't give it a moment's thought. I've already
forgotten what it was. Goodbye, rest well. If there is ever anything I
can do for you . . ."
     "Well, if you are leaving, you could send Tenchi in."
     "Certainly, certainly," Ryouko said eagerly. She vanished from
the spot where she was standing, and re-appeared moments later, a
stunned Tenchi clasped in her arms. She pushed Tenchi toward his
grandfather, saying, "Tenchi-chan, your grandfather has something
he would like to tell you. Oh, I'm so embarrassed!" Ryouko cried
out, holding both hands to her blushing face. "I'll just leave you two
to chat." 
     Tenchi looked at the swirling dust cloud that was all that
remained to show that Ryouko had just been standing there. He
turned to his grandfather, his face still wearing a stunned
expression, and asked, "What was that all about?"
     "No idea," Katsuhito said, slurping his tea.

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

     If the palace servants, whose duty it was to care for Princess
Sasami, were to see her as she currently was, they would have been
horrified. The Princess, third, some say second, in line to the throne,
had the sleeves of her dress rolled up as high as they could go. Her
bare arms were thrust up to her elbows in soapy water while she
washed several tea mugs. 
     Next to the sink a collection of pots simmered on the stove,
sending steam wafting into the air along with delicious odors. The
steam had taken some of the life out of Sasami's hair, and every
now and then she'd give a little puff to blow the errant strands away
from her face. On the table behind her a large mound of vegetables
and fruits stood waiting for her attention.  A small smudge of flour
decorating the tip of her nose showed that she was also responsible
for the biscuits that were cooling on the counter. 
     Sasami was making all of Ranma's favorite things.  Preparing
them just the way the little redhead liked them: in large quantities.
She couldn't recall ever being happier. The broad smile that graced
her face gave proof to that.
     If the servitors back home had discovered Sasami indulging in
this activity they would have plucked her off the stool she was
standing on, and designated a scullery maid to the duty of cleaning
up. 

     After first giving the poor servant a stern lecture for allowing
the princess to engage in this activity in the first place. 

     A first-rate chef would have taken over the chores of cooking,
with an assistant assigned to cut the vegetables. Sasami herself
would have been plopped into a hot bath, after which her disarrayed
hair would have been styled, and soothing lotion rubbed into her
hands to restore them to their soft and ladylike norm.

     Was it any wonder Sasami was currently smiling ear to ear?

     Not even the intermittent presence of Mihoshi in her kitchen
was enough to dim the smile on Sasami's face. To the contrary, it
grew wider every time she had to tell the puzzled blonde something. 
Unlike other adults, Mihoshi was quite content to take advice and
suggestions from Sasami, even if she was not always that good at
following them. 
     Sasami's smile did slip a little when Ryouko breezed into the
kitchen and announced that she would be preparing an extra special
meal for her Tenchi-chan. Sasami rallied, however, and cleaned a
space on the counter top for Ryouko to work at. Ryouko was not
nearly as compliant as Mihoshi, however, and as soon as she started
working, she shooed Sasami away, declaring that all she needed was
her love to make the best meal Tenchi had ever tasted. At that point
the smile on Sasami's face became a little strained. 
     The strain became more evident a few minutes later when she
let out a startled squawk, and barely stopped Ryouko from dumping
a bottle of furniture polish into her concoction.  
     "But it smells good," Ryouko protested.
     "I know, but it's not for eating, it's for cleaning," Sasami
replied, returning the bottle to its place under the sink. "People like
things to smell nice after they clean them." 
     "Sounds dumb to me," Ryouko said, reaching for another
bottle to add to her bubbling pot.
     "Not that one!" Sasami cried out in panic.
     "Why not?" Ryouko asked, taking a sniff. "It smells bad, so it
can't be for cleaning."
     "That's because it's bleach; it's suppose to smell bad. It is for
cleaning, but it's powerful, so it smells strong to warn people."
     "I thought you said cleaning stuff smelled good," Ryouko
protested.
     Sasami sighed, her smile only a shadow of its former glory. It
was another six hours till Ranma was released. It now looked like
that was going to be a very long six hours.
     Sasami brightened as an idea occurred to her. Reaching into
her pocket, she located a small round pebble, and extracted it.
"Ryouko-san, do you know what this is?" she asked, showing the
glistening white object to the space-pirate. 
     Ryouko's eyes narrowed. "Where did you get that?" She
asked, her voice intent.
     Sasami told a little white lie. "Tenchi-Oniichan found it at the
springs. He asked me if I could find out how to make it work."
Behind her back Sasami crossed her fingers.
     "Tenchi did?" Ryouko murmured. She bounced the object in
her hands a few times.
     "That's right. He seemed really interested in it." Behind her
back Sasami crossed the fingers on her other hand. Conflict showed
on Ryouko's face, she turned to look at the bubbling pot on the
stove. "I'll watch your dinner for you," Sasami offered. "I see
you've finished everything and it just has to simmer."
     "I have?" Ryouko asked, startled. She quickly recovered, and
said, "Of course I have. You just make sure it doesn't . . ."
     "Boil over?"
     "Yea, that it. Make sure it doesn't boil over. I'll go and check
this out for Tenchi."
     A few minutes later Sasami poured the contents of Ryouko's
pot down the drain. Her smile widened as the drain, which has been
slow before, suddenly began to flow much better as the contents of
Ryouko's pot scoured the insides of the pipes clean. Humming
happily to herself, she began to prepare a new pot of stew in place
of the toxic stuff she had just disposed of.

     As the sun set behind the temple, people began to filter back to
the living room as the time for Ranma's release grew nearer. The
medical pod itself ceased its tranquilizing of Ranma's most recent
memory centers and, instead, gently stimulated them. The trauma of
those memories would, with luck, be softened greatly by the happy
dreams she'd been enjoying for the last few weeks, subjective time. 

     The water swirled around Ranma's thighs as she fought to
summon up the energy for the Ryuu Satsu Ha. Never had she had
this much difficulty in summoning her power. It felt like her entire
body was on fire, but for Ryo-oh-ki and Sasami, she would do it.
Even if it meant burning herself to charcoal to accomplish it.  At
last she managed to raise the energy required. She focused all her
will on the target, and let loose. The marauding monster panda
vanished in a blaze of white light that hurt her ey

     Ranma blinked against the light that was making her eyes
water. A small circle of dark objects came into view. The blurry
images gradually resolved into faces. A loud and enthusiastic,
"meeeoooww!" was accompanied by the feel of a furry object
colliding with her breasts. Ranma's instincts sent her nerves
quivering into escape mode as panic filled her. She exploded out of
her resting point, and was halfway out the door of the Masaki
livingroom before she realized that the creature attached to her chest
was not a cat. 
     Ranma blinked down at the furry creature, which meowed
happily back at her. Touching a forefinger to Ryo-ok-ki's nose,
Ranma chided her. "You have got to stop doing that!"
     "Well, looks like you're all healed up, Red. You sure seem
like the picture of health, anyway," Ryouko's sardonic voice said
from behind Ranma.
     "Huh?" Ranma exclaimed. She turned with Ryo-ok-ki cradled
in her arms, and blinked when she saw the entire family, plus one
stranger, standing in the living room. She blinked again when she
saw that Tenchi had his back turned to her, and was holding his
father's arm to keep Nobuyuki from looking in her direction as
well. Of the three males present, only Katsuhito didn't have his
back toward her. His eyes sparkled with humor as he stared at her.
Princess Ayeka was hurrying toward her with a bathrobe. 
     It was the bathrobe, and a sudden draft, that caused Ranma to
become aware of her current state of dress, which, with the
exception of some strategically placed Cabbit, was none. 
     "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, Papa, you pervert," she
screamed. Ranma fast-slapped Katsuhito a dozen times before
rushing out of the room, grabbing the bathrobe from Ayeka as she
went by.
     Like everyone else in the room, Ayeka froze in shock, but
quickly shook off her surprise. She moved toward the stairs,
intending to follow Ranma when a voice stopped her.
     "That's all right, Princess. I'll go," Katsuhito said in a mild
voice. 
     "But . . ." Ayeka started to protest, but Katsuhito was already
on his way up the stairs. Ayeka was not sure this was a good idea,
given Ranma's behavior, but somehow she couldn't seem to bring
herself to gainsay the elderly priest. 
     Katsuhito's mild demeanor belied his interior turmoil. Ranma
had called him Papa, no, not just that. She had reacted in exactly the
same manner as a thirteen-and-a-half year old Xian Pu had reacted
when he'd walked in on her at the wrong time. Well, exactly the
same except for the dozen slaps. He worked his face slightly,
feeling the sting in his cheeks. As he recalled, Xian Pu had thrown
one of her favorite maces at him.
     A small smile twitched Katsuhito's lips as he recalled Xian
Pu's rather chaotic journey through puberty. Of course, difficult as
it had been for her, it had been even more difficult for poor Zar-gell,
whose arm she had broken, along with several of his ribs.
     His face grew serious again as he once again came back to
why Ranma had used that particular phrase. While he was no expert
on the springs, from everything he did know, there should have
been none of Xian Pu's personality transferred. What had the
medical pod stirred up, and just who was waiting inside the girls'
room?
     Reaching the girls' bedroom, Katsuhito knocked on the door
while asking, "Ranma? May I come in?" There was more than one
question mark in that sentence, and he grew worried when there was
no immediate reply.
     The silence behind the door lasted for several long seconds,
but then Ranma replied in a hearty manner that fairly screamed
fake. "Sure, come on in, Sensei."
     Katsuhito relaxed, but then arched an eyebrow. Ranma being
polite and respectful?  He entered the room and carefully examined
Ranma, looking for any signs that might indicate there was someone
new residing in the redhead's body. Ranma had dressed while he
was walking up the stairs, and was wearing the fluorescent green
shirt and blotched, black pants she had purchased during her recent
shopping trip. Her eyes looked back at him, worry and anxiety
easily seen in her wide eyes.
     "How are you feeling, Ranma?"
     "Me? I'm fine. Nothing the matter with me. Nope, couldn't be
better. Right as rain. Fit as a fiddle."
     Katsuhito decided to take mercy on her, and interrupted her
litany of similes. "It's alright, Ranma. What happened downstairs
was perfectly normal. You found yourself in a very embarrassing
situation."
     The tense expression on Ranma's face shifted to one of anger.
"Sure, if I were a girl! Guys don't go crazy just because some other
guy sees them naked!" 
     "Neither do most girls. There is nothing crazy in being
embarrassed in such a situation." Before Ranma could remark on
this, Katsuhito asked in a bland voice, "Ranma, why did you call
me Papa downstairs?"
     Ranma blinked at him in honest bemusement. "I did?" 
She looked at him curiously, the mild panic in her eyes fading.
"What's the matter, old man? Your ears going on you now?" she
asked. 
     Katsuhito smiled gently at the mild insult. "That must be it,"
He replied.  Despite his bland exterior, Katsuhito was using all of
his considerable powers of observation to watch Ranma. The way
she was holding her body, the manner in which she looked at him.
The way she insulted him. Try as he might he could detect nothing
that would indicate Ranma was anything other then she appeared to
be. She really had no recollection of what she'd said downstairs. It
looked like Ranma was still all present and accounted for.
     Katsuhito debated with himself. It was very important that he
discuss what he'd learned from the medical pods report with
Ranma, but there really wasn't time to go into it right now. The
others would not leave them uninterrupted for long. Best to just
cover the necessary for now. 
     With that in mind, Katsuhito addressed the small girl. "Ranma,
there are some things I need to talk to you about, but we don't have
time for all of them now. I would like you to come up to the temple
later tonight." Ranma nodded her head. Katsuhito hadn't ordered
her but the seriousness with which he has spoken had made it very
clear to her that whatever he had to say must be important.  "For
now, however, there is something I need to tell you before we go
downstairs. Ranma, do you remember what happened after you
fired that energy blast?"
     Ranma's eyes widened. "You mean it worked?" she blurted
out, then flushed, and added, "Of course it worked. I knew it
would."
     "Hmm, indeed. Did you also know it would take the top off a
mountain a mile back of the resort?"
     "No way!" Ranma exclaimed, a look of pleasure appearing on
her face. Which quickly changed to a grimace as Katsuhito lightly
bounced his bokken on her head. "Ouch, what the heck was that
for?"
     Katsuhito was not smiling, and he snapped out a demand.
"What is the primary duty of any martial-artist."
     Ranma's reply was automatic. "To protect the weak. But
what's that got to do__"
     "So how well did you protect the people who were on top of
that mountain?" Ranma paled. "Oh, don't worry, there were none,"
Katsuhito quickly reassured her. "But there could have been.
Ranma, I won't ask you not to use the power, circumstances may
make such a promise a handicap. I will ask you to promise that you
will think very carefully before you try anything as big as that again.
I intend to train you in control, but right now you are a novice, and
like any novice you could hurt someone badly without realizing it."
     Ranma, sick with the thought of what might have happened to
anyone who had been on that mountaintop, agreed readily.
Katsuhito nodded in approval. "Good. There is just one more thing
before we go downstairs. When you fired that blast, you damaged
yourself. Very badly. You just spent three months healing the harm
you did to your body.
     Ranma looked at him in shock, but then her eyes narrowed in
skepticism. She suddenly twisted her body through an eye-watering
contortion that started with a backward flip with a twist, moved to a
forward dive, and ended with her left foot an inch from Katsuhito's
nose, while her head just missed the floor. She righted herself and
glared at him. "What's your game, old man? No way I spent
anywhere near that much time on my back. Everything works just
like it should. I ain't lost any muscle tone or movement. No way
three months has passed."
     "Right, and wrong."
     "Huh?"
     "Only a little over two-thirds of a day has passed for us, but
inside Ryuu-oh's medical pod, time flowed differently. Nearly three
months passed for you. As for your fitness, Juraian medical science
was more than able to keep your body healthy while treatment was
given." 
     "You're serious?" Ranma said faintly, her face once again
pale.
     Katsuhito took her by the shoulders and squeezed gently.
"Don't let it worry you, Ranma. This is one of the things we will
talk about up at the temple. For right now, all you need to know is
that you are perfectly healthy right now, and that the others were
very worried about you, and why. Now let us go downstairs and
show them that you're alright."
     Ranma grinned weakly, and made a small joke, "Yea, I
especially want to show monster-woman how healthy I am." 
     "Remember your promise about using your new talent,"
Katsuhito chided her. "You might also think about this. If not for
Ryouko's quick thinking and rapid action in getting you to the
medical unit in time, you'd be dead right now."
     Katsuhito walked out of the room, leaving a once again
dumbfounded Ranma behind. She quickly came to herself and ran
after him, yelling, "Ryouko saved my life!? You're joking? Right?
That was a joke?"

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

     Ryouko sat on the porch, sulking. Darn Red anyway. She'd so
been so looking forward to rubbing the other girl's face in the fact
that Ranma owed her big time. Then the little so-and-so had to go
and spoil it all by politely thanking Ryouko for her efforts. In front
of everyone. She hadn't even gritted her teeth while doing it.
Ryouko had been forced to accept the thanks with as much
politeness as Ranma had shown giving it. She'd been afraid she'd
rupture something. 

     On the roof of the house above Ryouko, Ranma stared down, a
grin of satisfaction on her face. Who could have guessed being nice
and polite could be so much fun? Ryouko had looked like she was
going to strangle there for a while. 
     Ranma's eyes drifted of their own accord, and she found
herself staring at the creamy half globes of Ryouko's bosom. Her
current vantage point gave her an excellent view of those bountiful
mounds, and she stared blankly at them for an indeterminate length
of time, a small flush decorating her fair complexion. Suddenly,
Ranma realized where her thoughts were leading her, and adverted
her eyes violently. "Un-cute monster," She muttered to herself. "No
way I'd ever be interested in her. Besides, we're both girls, and
that's just sick." 
     Ranma was tempted to drop down to the porch and be 'polite'
to Ryouko some more, but Katsuhito had been pretty firm about
needing to talk to her, and she'd already wasted enough time on the
pervert. She turned to leave.
     The truth was, after the bombshells he'd already dropped on
her, Ranma was a bit worried about what Katsuhito might spring on
her next. Giving one last look in the direction of the sulking
Ryouko, Ranma leaped lightly into the darkness.

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

     "So, what do you want to talk about, old man?" Ranma asked,
as she plopped down bonelessly across from Katsuhito. 
     He quirked an eyebrow in her direction and said, "Feeling
better, I see." Ranma merely looked blank at the comment, so he
continued. "I was thinking we might take a little trip to China next
week."
     Ranma's eyes widened in shock, and then understanding and
joy. "It was that blast, wasn't it?" She jumped to her feet in pleasure
and started pacing the room, her body fairly radiating eagerness.
"I'm good enough to go up against those Musk creeps, ain't I?"
     "That is a possibility," Katsuhito said in a matter of fact voice,
"but hardly pertinent. I don't believe you need their help any
longer."
     "Huh? I don't get you," Ranma said in puzzlement. 
     "Ranma, you recall I told you that you had been badly hurt by
your attack on the monster at the hot springs?"
     Ranma nodded her head. She hadn't really wanted to believe
the story. For one thing, it meant that she likely wouldn't be able to
fire off such a powerful blast again. 
     There was no denying the way the others had behaved,
however. With the exception of that strange blonde the others had
picked up at the hot springs, everyone had treated her like she was
made of glass for the first little while. Even Ryouko had seemed
worried. She'd hidden it well, but there was no denying that it had
been there. Ranma gave a small shudder. A solicitous Ryouko was a
scary thing. She turned her attention back to Katsuhito who had
continued after her nod of assent.
     "From the descriptions I received from the others, I believe
that what you used was the Power Of Jurai," Katsuhito said,
verbally capitalizing the words. He mentally crossed his fingers and
hoped that Ranma would not ask how a simple mountain priest
could know all that he was about to say.
     "The Power of Jurai?" Ranma repeated, making it a question.
     "This is the power that was gifted to the first emperor of Jurai
when he brought his people to that planet. It is a manifestation of
his link to the sentient trees that were the native intelligence of that
planet, and through them, to the planet as a whole. His descendants
are able to call on the life-force of the entire planet, just as you call
on your own life energy when you concentrate your chi."
     "Like a spirit-bomb?" Ranma asked, and not waiting for an
answer, added, "That's so cool. So anyone descended from that first
guy can do this. Can you?"
     "Not all, no," Katsuhito said. He hoped Ranma would fail to
notice that he was not denying his own ability in that regard. "Just
as in martial arts, some have more natural talent then others.
Training can help, but each person has their own limitations. Some
greater, some lesser."
     "Is that what happened to me?" Ranma said. "I tried to do
more then I could?" The tone in Ranma's voice made it very clear
that she was not happy with that option.
     "Not precisely. It's true that I believe the channeling of the
power is what hurt you, but I don't believe it was a case of burn-out.
The symptoms of that are well understood and documented, and the
medical pod found no evidence to indicate that this was what had
happened to you." 
     Ranma, relieved that she was not going to find herself stalled
in the quest for her personal limits, asked, "So what did happen? I
got to find out, or else I won't know what went wrong, or how to fix
it."
     "At the moment, I don't believe you need to fix it. While the
medical pod gave no evidence of burn-out, it did find evidence that
your body had purged itself of a large quantify of foreign matter."
Ranma looked surprised, but did not interrupt as Katsuhito
continued. "You were fortunate. As near as I can tell the bulk of the
material was completely destroyed. Only the substances in the outer
layers of your body caused any damage. They were not completely
destroyed and the fragments damaged your cells. The shock would
very likely have killed you if Ryouko had not thought quickly."
     Ranma didn't want to think about that part, so she asked,
"What was this stuff in my body?"
     "That is where I have to guess. I have no way of knowing, but
I believe it was the physical manifestation of your Jusenkyo curse."
     Ranma eyes opened wide in shock, and she whispered, "The
curse?" Before Katsuhito could say anything else, Ranma plucked
the tea pot of the table and poured it over her head. A look of
disappointment crossed her face when she saw that nothing had
changed. "That can't be right. I'm still a girl. If I'd burned out the
curse, I would have changed back."
     Katsuhito stared at her for a moment. He'd been afraid she'd
take this view, and he'd dreaded dashing her hopes, but there was
no way around it. "How?" he asked.
     Ranma looked puzzled. "How what?" She asked.
     "How could you change back if the curse were destroyed?
What would change you?"
     "I don't get it."
     "Ranma, it takes a very large amount of energy to change
someone the way your father changes, and the way you would have
changed if not for the Musk. Whatever was in your body somehow
supplied that energy, but it was destroyed."
     "No!" Ranma shook her head violently. "That can't be right.
This body is a curse. If the curse is destroyed, I have to change
back. This," Ranma gestured at her body, "is not natural."
     "I'm sorry, Ranma. You're wrong. The status of your body is
one of the things I checked for very carefully. As far as I know, no
Jusenkyo victim has ever been examined to the extent the medical
pod checked you out, and I wished to learn if there were any
abnormalities present. It could find none. All its test and checks
proved conclusively that at the present time you are a perfectly
normal, if very healthy and fit, female."
     "No way," Ranma whispered in shock. She held her small
hands up in front of her face, then dropped her eyes to the curves
that pushed her shirt out in a shape that no boy ever possessed. "No
way," she repeated. "I'm a girl for real?" Curiously, it was not
dismay that showed on Ranma's face. In fact, there was little
discernable emotion present in her expression. 
     Katsuhito, a little worried about the way Ranma was reacting,
hastily said, "But that's a good thing. It means the springs should
work on you now. A dip into the spring-of-drowned-man and you'll
have a male body again."
     "A male body?" Ranma said, her eyes turning toward
Katsuhito. He was disturbed what he saw in those eyes.  A wariness
that was the last thing he would have expected. For a minute she
stared at him, and then said asked, "What sort of male body?" 
     Katsuhito tried to make a joke out of his reply. "One with all
the options, of course. You don't have to worry about being short
any appendages. All fingers and toes will be present, along with
everything else a well-equipped boy needs." He waggled his
eyebrows suggestively. 
     His weak humor didn't lighten Ranma's attitude. Indeed, he
detected a slight flinch when he'd mentioned well-equipped. "Will
it be my body?" she asked hesitantly, as if searching for words.
"This body used to belong to some girl who drowned in the pool.
I've seen her in my dreams. Who's body will I get if I use the
drowned-man spring?"
     Katsuhito, realizing that humor was not doing the situation any
good at the moment, said in a serious voice. "The body is only a
shell, Ranma, that which is you is not changed by that. Whoever
gave the pool its pattern is long gone. The person who comes out of
the pool will still be you."
     Ranma was growing more agitated, and not in a way Katsuhito
would have expected. The fear in her eyes was very clear as she
spoke in an intense voice, "So why change? What's the point. This
body, that body, what does it matter. Is being able to pee standing
up worth a trip to China? Just what the f*** does it matter?! I don't
care anymore! I'm going home." Ranma got to her feet, and headed
for the door. Katsuhito let her go. There was nothing more he could
say. Until Ranma was ready to talk to him about what was bothering
her, there was nothing he could do.

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

     Ranma didn't, in fact, go to the house. She walked down to the
second landing from the top of the temple stairs, and sat down. This
is crazy, she thought to herself. What the hell is wrong with me? I
should have been over the moon with joy. All I had to do was take a
dip in Nanniichuan and I would have had a boy's body again, at
least part of the time. So what if it wasn't my body, it would still be
male. Ranma started to get up, her face firm. I'm going to march
right up there and tell Gramps that we're leaving for China right
away.  
     For a minute Ranma held that pose, staring up at the top of the
stairs. All she had to do was go up there, and she'd be a week away
from having a male body again. A shudder went through Ranma,
and she sat back down, her head pillowed on her knees as she
hugged her legs tightly. 

     Turning into a girl had been the worst thing that had ever
happened to Ranma. It had been a violation of her body, of her soul.
It had seemed like the end of her existence as a person. To be like a
girl was her father's most common insult. To be a girl was to be
weak and silly. To be a girl was to be a servant. To be a girl was to
not matter to the world. Men mattered. Women were just supporting
characters, only there to provide a goal and future generations of
men. Despite that background, she had survived the shock, and she
had prospered. She was strong. She had friends. She affected others.
They talked to her as a person. She mattered to them.
     If Ranma had been told the week before they arrived there that
her father was going to take her to Jusenkyo, and what was going to
happen to her when she got there. . .  Well, she didn't have to think
about how she would have felt. She knew. It was the way she felt
right now. 
     She was a girl for real. Gramps had said so. This was her. She
had grown used to this body. The thought of turning into a strange
boy, one with all the proper parts, filled her with disgust. Maybe,
maybe if it had been her own body. Maybe if she knew for certain
she was going to change back into her old self. Maybe then she
would have been alright. But to simply change into a guy. She'd be
exchanging a body that she had grown used to for one that was
strange. 
     He might be some sort of pervert for all she knew. Even
Tenchi was a pervert sometimes. Did she want to turn into some
drooling freak, with only one thing on his mind?
     Was being a girl really all that bad? What was the big deal?
Maybe peeing in the bushes was a pain, but like she'd said to
Gramps, big deal. A look of determination firmed Ranma's face.
She could do this. There wasn't anything a boy could do that she
couldn't do as well or better as a girl. What the heck had she been
so scared of?
     "Ranma? Are you alright?" a male voice said a short distance
from her face.
     Ranma yeeked, and scrambled backward up several steps
before coming to a stop. She stared down at Tenchi's concerned
face, her heart beating like a snare-drum. On the other hand, maybe
turning into a strange perverted boy wouldn't be so bad. 

     Tenchi looked over to his right, and felt depressed. Ranma was
sitting on the same riser as he was, but as far away as she could get,
which was about five feet on the broad temple stairs. He managed a
weak grin, and asked, "So, what did you and grandad talk about?"
He hastily added, "Unless it's private."
     Ranma didn't look at him, but she did speak. "Yeah, I guess
it's sort of private, but it's about you too, so I guess you got a right
to know." She gave a deep sigh, and looked over at him, her eyes
measuring. Tenchi fought down the urge to squirm under that
appraisal. He kept his face as blandly cheerful as possible. His jaws
were starting to ache a bit from maintaining a forced smile when
Ranma resumed talking.
     "Grandpop told me that the medical thingy told him that I
don't have a curse anymore. He said I'm a perfectly natural girl as
far as the machine can tell."
     Warily, not wanting to push the wrong buttons, Tenchi said,
"I'm sorry, Ranma. I knew how much you wanted to change back."
     Ranma looked surprised, but then her face grew wary. "Pull
the other one. You never really believed I was a guy in the first
place."
     Tenchi gave a weak laugh while rubbing the back of his head
with his right hand. "Well, I believed you believed. I mean, I
wanted to believe, but, well . . ."
     "I didn't change. Not like Pop." Ranma gave a sigh. "I guess I
can't blame you. Sometimes I have a hard time remembering that I
was a guy myself." Ranma stared at her small hands for a minute,
then gave her head a shake. "Anyway, that ain't the problem.
Gramps said we could go to Jusenkyo. He figures the springs would
work on me now. I could get a guy's body."
     Tenchi blinked at this, and then forced himself to say
cheerfully, "That's great! Are you going soon?"
     "No. Not soon," Ranma said. "I ain't sure I'm going at all."
     "What!? I mean, really," Tenchi exclaimed, drawing an
amused, if rather strained, look from Ranma.
     "Thing is, well, the thing is, I'm sort of used to being like this.
Not being a girl!" Ranma hastily added. "But, just, I don't know,
being this person. I don't freak anymore if I catch sight of myself in
a mirror, and most of the time I hardily ever think about not being
like I used to be." 
     Ranma gave a weak laugh. "You know, it's funny. All I've
been able to think about since grandpop told me about the Musk
was getting that magic thingy, and freeing up my other side. But
you know what? All I was thinking of was doing that. I never really
stopped to think what it would be like once I did it. I wouldn't
really be a guy, I'd be like Pop, I'd change all the time. I'd be a guy,
and a girl. I don't think I could handle that. And turning into a
strange guy," Ranma gave a shudder. "I know I don't want to do
that."
     "So, are you going to stay a girl?" Tenchi asked.
     "I don't know," Ranma said, looking up at the stars that filled
the sky. "Like I said, I'm used to being this person, but I ain't used
to being a girl. It ain't something I want to think about, but if I stay
a girl. . . Well, I got an obligation to the Saotome line. I got to make
sure I ain't the last one. That means I'd have to . . . Well, I ain't sure
I can handle that. I never thought about having kids when I was a
guy. Now there are times when I can't think about nothing else."
Ranma grimaced. "Or at least, what I got to do to have them." 
     Ranma looked sideways at Tenchi, a band of color crossing the
middle of her face. Tenchi's face felt hot, and he quickly looked
away. Ranma ducked her head down. "It ain't that I don't like you,
Tenchi. I just ain't used to thinking of guys like that. Shit, I ain't
used to thinking of girls like that. The only reason I ain't running
back to China right now is that Ayeka said I can't do nothing for
two years."
     Ranma looked over at Tenchi again. "I'd understand if you
didn't want me hanging around." She gritted her teeth. "Like, if you
want to, you know, hook up with the dem . . . Ryouko, I'd
understand. It ain't exactly fair to expect you to wait around two
years, and then have me still say no way, only . . ."
     "Only what, Ranma?"
     "Shit, I ain't no good at this talking stuff. Pop always said men
don't have feelings, and if they do, they kept them to themselves.
Men don't whine like girls. They do what they got to do, cause
that's what men do. I got all these things I'm feeling, and I can't
handle them. I'm about ready to bust, and I just need to say them
out loud. And the thing is, for some reason, it's easy to talk to you."
     "I'm glad I can help. I'll always be . . . _We'll_ always be here
for you, Ranma."
     "Yea, I know. That's sort of scary, too. I ain't never had
anyone who I'd know would be there for sure, not even Pop."
Ranma looked at Tenchi for a long minute, and then muttered, more
to herself then to Tenchi, "Only one way to find out." Her face took
on a determined expression. "Tenchi, I got a favor to ask."
     Tenchi fidgeted a bit, but decided that Ranma was unlikely to
ask him anything he was unwilling to do, so he said, "What?" with
only minor reservations. 
     "Well, could you, sort of, look away for a bit."
      Tenchi looked at her with a blank expression, then gave his
head a shake and looked down the stairs, resisting the urge to try
and see Ranma out of his peripheral vision. "Ok, now what?"
     "Just . . . don't move, alright?"
     Tenchi was getting nervous. This was starting to get a little too
similar to certain incidents in middle-school. He didn't think Ranma
was going to give him a wedgie, but . . . he gave a sigh, and said, 
"Ok, I can do that."
     For a minute, there was no reaction from Ranma, but then
Tenchi heard the sound of pants sliding on stone. He fought down
the urge to look, and kept his vision straight ahead. 
     The sound of fabric on stone stopped, and Ranma said, "you
promise, you won't do nothing?"
     Tenchi was sweating now, but he kept his voice level as he
said. "I promise."
     There as a moment of hesitation, and then the sound started
again, getting closer and closer. Tenchi's nerves were about to
shatter when a soft pressure contacted his hip. He managed to
restrain his impulse to flinch, barely. 
     Next to Tenchi, Ranma drew a deep breath and let it out in a
sigh. "Well, this ain't so bad," she said in a strained voice, trying
not to pull her hip back from where it just barely touched Tenchi.

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

     Ryouko smirked as the small white sphere in her hand came to
life, projecting a holographic graphical interface. It had taken a little
while, Mihoshi had somehow disabled what was in effect a solid
object with no moving parts, but Ryouko had finally managed to
boot it up. 
     Leaning in closer, she frowned as she read the data displayed.
She'd forgotten about that little incident on Repupiclia. It was only
a bar fight, but Repupiclia was one of the few planets without a
statute of limitations. Ryouko used a more delicate version of her
phasing ability to reach inside the small device, and deleted that
particular item. She felt quite virtuous. If Ayeka had discovered that
little tidbit she would have, in typical fashion, overreacted. Ryouko
had just done her little bit to maintain household peace.
     She turned to the next little bit of information. These related to
some outstanding warrants against Ryo-oh-ki. Since the current
bearer of that name was not responsible for those crimes, she left
them alone. It would be worth a few giggles when that blonde ditz
discovered she was in the same room with a notorious planet
wrecker. 
     Switching off the device in her hand, Ryouko stretched her
back, and took in the position of the moon in the sky. It was pretty
late, she'd gotten caught up in getting the little data storage device
to work, and had really not paid attention to the passage of time.
Giving a yawn, she decided to call it a night. She phased through
the livingroom wall. A quick glance showed that no one else was
present. They were all likely tucked comfortably into nice warm
beds.  She floated up to the blanket-draped beam that served as her
bed and joined them.

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

     Crickets chirped in the forest on either side of the temple
stairs. The two figures sitting next to each other might as well have
been statues. A sentiment shared by a small spider who was
spinning a small web between their bodies. 
     Tenchi nervously swallowed. His butt was freezing, and he
had an itchy nose that was driving him crazy. He couldn't take this
any longer. He cleared his throat, and in a voice that croaked from
dryness said, "Ah, Ranma?"
     Tenchi couldn't have gotten a more extreme reaction if he had
prodded Ranma with a hot poker. The small girl slid sideways two
feet, and slipped off the edge of the stair they were sitting on. She
dropped to the next stair with an audible thump, which drew a
pained exclamation from her.

     A few minutes after moving close to Tenchi, Ranma had gone
into a bit of a trance, induced by her determination to _ not _ think
about her current proximity to a boy who had already displayed
hentai behavior on a past occasion. To accomplish this she used a
method  she'd learned while enduring her father's various
toughening exercises. Nothing like sitting under an ice-cold
waterfall for twenty-four hours at a stretch to teach someone to
ignore outside stimulus.

     "Geez, Tenchi," She said, rubbing her butt. "What's the big
idea?" In answer, Tenchi pointed toward the darkened house at the
bottom of the valley, drawing Ranma's attention to the lateness of
the night. 
     With her attention drawn to the time, Ranma realized that
she'd been sitting next to Tenchi for over two hours. A feeling of
deep chagrin filled her. She hadn't managed to prove anything.
She'd totally zoned out. She still didn't know if she could bear the
thought of getting close to a guy.
     "I had a nice time," Tenchi said, drawing a surprised look from
Ranma.
     "You did?"
     Tenchi smiled. "It was peaceful." Tenchi's smile turned wry.
"I haven't had much of that lately."
     Ranma felt a flash of guilt. Tenchi's lack of peace was mostly
her fault. If her stupid Pop hadn't tried to push the two of them
together Tenchi would likely still be living a quite life.
     Something of Ranma's thoughts must have shown on her face,
because as she and Tenchi walked down the stairs, he said. "Peace
is nice, but I'd miss the excitement if it disappeared. I'm glad you
came into my life. It's been a lot of fun."
     Ranma looked at Tenchi with an incredulous expression,
which caused him to laugh. After a second Ranma joined in. "You
know, I don't think I've ever met any guy who was as nice as you,
Tenchi."
     The two continued on to the house in companionable silence.
It wasn't until they were about to separate to go to their individual
rooms that Ranma broke the silence. She looked down at Tenchi
from her position several steps above him. "I don't know what I'm
going to do, Tenchi. About whether I'm going to stay like this or
not. It sucks that I have to even think about, but I'm glad that it's
you. You're nice. You never seem to lose it. You always see the
best in everyone." Tenchi's chest puffed out slightly. "It's almost
like I was engaged to a girl." Ranma bounded up the stairs to bed.
Tenchi stared after her, a smile frozen on his face, his eyebrow
twitching. 

     End, chapter 11.

     Coming soon. [god, I hope so.] Chapter 12, 
     China Girls, part three. Homecomings.

     A big thanks to all the people that have lent me their
     time to make this the best story I can write.

     Another big thanks to all the people who voted for this story in
the Ranma fan-fiction poll. 
     Tenchi and Ranma placed first in the Mini-series category for
the month of May, or was it June. In any case. I was very flattered
that you thought so much of it.

T.H.

From: "T.H. Tiger" <schell@interlog.com>


             Tenchi and Ranma, Together Forever!?  
                        Chapter twelve.
                     China Girls part three
                          Homecomings
                                
     Tenchi and Ranma do appear in this chapter, for those who may be
wondering.

     


     
     A fan fiction based on the works of Rumiko Takahashi,  
     Creator of Ranma 1/2, and, Masaki Kajishima, who is the 
         creator of Tenchi Muyo. 
     
     Hitoshi Okuda, is the artist and creator of the Tenchi Manga.
     
     MIB characters are the property of Malibu comics.

     I have no rights to these characters.  Which should come as no 
     surprise to anyone.
     
     Perfume is the creation of Wade Tritschler, and is used here
     with his kind permission.     
     Perfume made her first appearance in "Most Unusual of Friends"
     which, along with many other fine stories can be found here,
http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/attenborough/249/index.htm

     
     
     What's going on?
     This is an alternative universe story.
     Ranma was trapped as a girl from her first dip in the Nanniichuan.

     What happened in the last China Girls chapter. Akane, Ukyou, and
Nodoka started for home, leaving the cursed springs behind. Nodoka has
informally adopted both Ukyou and Xian Pu. In Ukyou's case, at her,
now his, insistence, as a son.
     Shampoo's cousin Perfume made a conquest in the form of
Prince{ss} Herb-chan, but unfortunately for her, that young lady now
believes she's been betrayed by the amorous Amazon, and has vowed
vengeance.  
     The three Amazons, Cologne, Shampoo, and Perfume, have started
their journey to Japan, intent on finding the reborn Xian Pu, and
enlisting her aid in destroying the demon Ryouko. 

Previous chapters can be found at;

http://tannim.freehosting.net/Tenchi_Ranma_Together_Forever/TRTF.html

T.H. Tiger
schell@interlog.com
January 27, 2001
*****************************************************

     Jusenkyo, the pools of sorrows, also known as the valley of mists,
all too often lived up to the latter name. So, on those rare occasions when
the sky was clear, and the stars shone down in displays never seen near
city lights, the guide like to sit on his front step and smoke a pipe while
admiring the heavens. 
     He was engaged in this activity when he noticed that the stars were
vanishing, and then reappearing, as something very large, very black and
very silent moved across the sky, heading for the opposite side of the
valley. The guide's only reaction to this was to remove his pipe, blow a
fragrant puff of smoke in the direction of the strange heavenly object,
and then replace the pipe stem between his teeth.  
     Shortly after he first noted the star-occluding object, noises began
to float through the still mountain air from the direction it had been
traveling. The sound of shovels, equipment and the quite murmurs of
men traveled easily through the clear atmosphere to the place where he
was sitting. Still, the guide gave no indication of worry, or even of
curiosity. 
     Only when quiet crunching footsteps sounded in the darkness just
beyond the light shed by his house did he remove his pipe from his
mouth, tap out the remains of his tobacco onto his front stoop, and look
expectantly out into the darkness. 
     "Evening, Gee," a man dressed all in black said in flawless
Chinese, as he stepped out of the darkness into the faint light shed from
the door to the guide's home. 
     "I bid you welcome, Kay. How _ is _ it _ hanging. . .good buddy,"
the guide answered, switching to strained English halfway through his
greeting. "May I ask, who is your companion?" he asked, reverting to his
native tongue.
     The granite-faced man cracked what his friends would call a smile,
and what others might have called a geological fault, and introduced the
young black man beside him to the guide, and vice-a-versa. "Gee, Jay.
Jay, Gee."
     "Welcome to Jusenkyo, Jay. Please don't drink the water."

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

     In a hollow of vitrified earth a black mass huddled, its outer
surface displaying a dark so complete that it seemed to possess a depth
that went on forever. The stars were brilliant in the night sky, as was the
moon, but not a single gleam reflected back from that inky darkness. 
     Slowly, hesitantly, a section of that eye-defying blackness peeled
away from the main mass and extended. It was long, with a flat broad
surface that displayed a serrated profile along the trailing edge. The
segment lifted, silhouetting against the night sky, revealing a
resemblance to a bat's wing, albeit of a size no bat had ever aspired to. A
second segment peeled free, and extended to the opposite side, making a
pair. Hesitantly, a long snake like appendage lifted, topped by a head
that any reader of heroic myth or fantasy would recognize in a heartbeat. 
     The dragon, for that indeed was what it was, slowly twisted its
head, first to take in its wings, and then turning to look down the length
of its body. Its eyes scanned down a row of short, stubby spikes that ran
down its spine and continued down the upper ridge of a long flexible tail.
The tail lifted waving back and forth in the air, and for a while the
dragon surveyed the appendage. Despite the intensity of its gaze, the
dragon's obsidian eyes gave little indication as to what was passing
through its mind. Pulling its inspection away from the tail, the dragon
again contemplated its wings, waving them in the air, furling them so
they lay flat along its back, and opening them again to their full expanse. 
                         
     At last it made a noise. Speaking in a rasping, high-pitched voice,
the dragon spoke. "I have been reborn. I have assumed my birthright.
The blood of my ancestor has called, and my cursed body has answered .
. ." The dragon paused, and for the first time emotion showed on its face
as concern twisted the set of its brow-ridges. Hesitantly, the snake-like
neck dipped, even as the dragon reared up on its hind legs. Down its
head swooped, to peer between its hindquarters. For a minute it held this
rather perverse position, and then its head jerked upright, and it roared to
the heaven in anger. 
     "Curse you Amazon!" the dragon screamed. "You rob me even of
this ascension! Was it not enough that you stole the manhood from my
mortal body? Now you have stolen it from my true body! You will pay,
and pay dearly!"
     In the dragon's mind, an image floated up of an Amazon warrior of
surpassing fairness, her long brown hair hanging down, veiling the
mounds that lay bare beneath those tresses. For a second, the image was
soft, and her expression tender, but then it changed, and the eyes, which
had reflected tenderness and love, now showed contempt and derision. 
     Again the dragon howled to the heavens. "What a fool I was to
listen to your honeyed words!! Betrayer! Seducer! You will pay! You
praised my tender flesh, said that you could not resist. Well, when next
we meet, it is I who will do the eating, and I do not think you will take
pleasure in it. I long to hear your cries for mercy as you slide down my
gullet so I may ignore them."
     The dragon's head swung right and left, and as it did, she spoke.
"Where are you? I can taste you, feel you, and soon I will find you. .
.there!" she exclaimed, her eyes locking in a southerly direction. "I have
you now, and soon, very soon, I will dine on your flesh, oh, my
betrayer."
     The dragon snapped her wings out to their full extension, and beat
downward with a powerful stroke, catching air and lifting her body into
the sky, neck outstretched, head pointed unerringly toward her target.
Then slowly, her body rotated from the horizontal to the vertical, until
her head was pointed downward, and she plowed into the soft loamy soil
of the forest that surrounded her hatching ground. 
     The dragon pulled her head free of the dirt, and spat out a mouth-
full of forest litter.  "Very well!" she exclaimed, drawing her tattered
pride along with her wings around her. "First I learn how to fly. Then, I
visit retribution on the Jezebel." 
               

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

     "KACHOO," Perfume sneezed, not quite getting the tissue in her
hand up in time, much to the distress of several nearby Japanese
travelers. Their distress could not begin to match that of the Amazon
enforcer, however. Her eyes were red and watery, her nose was running
non-stop, and her head felt like it was twice its normal size. 
     Her cousin, Shampoo, looked on in concern. Perfume had been
sneezing almost since they had disembarked from the plane. Up till then
she'd been happy and excited, a fact that had resulted in several
stewardesses suffering pinched bottoms, and the man sitting across the
aisle from her getting his face slapped several times by outraged women
who were passing by on the way to the facilities. 
     But when they had left the climate controlled and filtered air of the
airplane, her natural-born sensitivity had reacted violently to the new
allergens in the air. She'd been in her current state ever since. The girls'
great-grandmother had gone off to get some hot water so she could brew
up a restorative analgesic-tea. That had been ten minutes ago, and
Shampoo was starting to get a bit worried. Perfume was looking worse
and worse. Even now she could only stay on her feet with the support of
her purple-haired cousin. 
     People who only knew Shampoo from her outward persona would
have been very surprised at the look of genuine concern and caring on
her face. Shampoo was very conscious of her status in the village. She
lived her life accordingly, and she very seldom let her Amazon-warrior
demeanor drop. Faced with a very sick cousin, however, she'd
abandoned her normally aloof attitude, and for this moment was nothing
more than a young girl, concerned for her best friend, and feeling more
then a little bit helpless in the process. Where the hell was her Great-
grandmother?
     A sudden commotion on the other side of the airport arrival-
terminus caught Shampoo's attention. Setting one of Perfume's hands on
the back of a nearby bench, she hopped several feet up in the air to see if
it was help on the way.  Shampoo breathed a sigh of relief when she
spotted her great-grandmother moving toward them, leaving a wake of
outraged travelers behind her as she cleared the way with the rather
indiscriminate use of her staff, from the top of which a kettle hung. A
few seconds later, she joined them.
     Producing a mug from somewhere within her capacious robes,
Cologne poured Perfume a cup of pungent brew, which the brown-haired
girl raised to her mouth with reluctance and then swallowed down with a
grimace. Long experience had taught Perfume to get her great-
grandmother's remedies down as fast as possible, refusing to take them
not being an option.  As was almost always the case with one of
Cologne's brews, however, her symptoms began to abate quickly. 
     "Ahh, that feels better," Perfume said in relief five minutes later,
after giving her nose one more, good blow. "These Japanese girls are so
shameless, soaking themselves in scent like that." There was a certain
amount of professional criticism in Perfume's complaint. Her sensitive
nose gave her a very potent instrument in the manufacture of perfumes
with very interesting characteristics. Everything from memory foggers,
to panty removers.  
     Shampoo, relieved at her cousin's recovery, gave a smirk, and
resumed their customary banter. "What you really mean, you pervert, is
that your nose won't let you get close enough to them to cop a feel. Are
you sure it was really an allergy, and not withdrawal symptoms?"
     Perfume returned Shampoo's smirk, but before she could make a
comeback remark, her eyes tracked sideways, and her smirk became
lecherous. "Oh, my, double your pleasure," she murmured.
     Shampoo twisted her head to stare in the direction Perfume was
looking, and spied a pair of dark-haired twins, clad in baggy, travel-worn
shirts and pants, one of them holding a cage in which a small black piglet
was sulking. Their clothes were very loose and concealing, but the
village enforcer was a past mistress of seeing things other people wanted
to keep hidden, and it was obvious from her expression that she found
what the two girls were concealing very interesting indeed.  Perfume
started to drift toward the twins, the fingers on her hands bent into a
grasping position, and a cheerful leer on her face. 
     The amorous enforcer was brought up short by her great-
grandmother's staff, however, the end of which delivered a light rap to
the top of her head. Perfume's exclamation of pain drew the attention of
the twins she had been targeting, and they began to turn their heads in
the Amazon's direction. As they pivoted, their eyes passed over each
other's faces, and they both started, and clasped a hand to their upper
lips. Together they rushed off into the crowd. 
     Perfume turned to Shampoo, an expression of doubt and surprise
on her face. "Was it just me, or did those girls have whiskers?"
     "Enough foolishness," Cologne snapped out. "We've wasted
sufficient time already. I want to be at the Saotome woman's house when
she gets there."
     "I thought we were going to the house of Akane Tendo?" Shampoo
said in surprise. "Was that not the address the Guide's daughter gave
us."
     "It was," Cologne agreed, as she headed toward the exit, "but I
questioned the customs men back at the airport in China. Their records
contained the home addresses for the Akane girl's companions. Going by
age and sex, the one who bears the hero, Xian Pu, within her is one
Saotome Nodoka. It is to her house we go."
          
                                        
     In another part of the airport Saotome Nodoka sat quietly on a
bench while her son waited for their bags to show up on the luggage
carousel. After only two days, Nodoka had quite successfully managed
to drive the fact that Ukyou had been born a girl deep into the back of
her mind. The memory of the son she had lost still pained her, but she
had to face facts. Ranma had died in China. She would grieve for him
always, but life must go on. Ukyou was now her son. And he was a very
good one. Attentive to his mother, and attractive to the ladies. 
     Just how attractive was currently being demonstrated by several
young ladies who were casting covert glances in the direction of the tall
handsome boy. Nodoka sighed in contentment, and amused herself with
imagining which of the young girls would produce the nicest
grandchildren. 
     *Are we there yet?* a tremulous voice in Nodoka's head suddenly
asked.
     Nodoka felt a stab of guilt. In her daydreams about Ukyou, she'd
completely forgotten the other child she had adopted in China. About to
speak she paused and reached into her bag and pulled out a cheap
cellular phone, recently purchased for her by her attentive and thoughtful
son. Bringing it up to her face, she asked, "Yes, Ranko, we're here. Are
you feeling better, dear?" 
     Inside Nodoka's head, or more specifically, inside the virtual
reality generated by the wood-textured hair piece Nodoka was wearing,
Ranko carefully looked into the small ice-cold mountain pool in front of
her. With a visible sigh of relief, she noted they were no longer inside
the metal canister that had carried them higher than the highest
mountain. Traveling in something that was supported by nothing more
then a pair of flimsy looking wings, which didn't even deserve the name
in her opinion, being entirely lacking in feathers, was foolish beyond
belief. In her view anyway.   
     "Thank my ancestors," the former Amazon Xian Pu said fervently.
"How can you trust yourself to such a device, Nod . . . mother?"
     "I never really thought about it, dear," Nodoka said into her
cellular phone. As she spoke, she tried to minimize her mouth
movements, while keeping her voice clear. Agent P, that strange little
pig from space, had informed her that with practice she would be able to
communicate with the world inside the diadem without the need for any
outward vocalization. At the moment however, the prop-phone kept the
people nearby from thinking her deranged.
     Ranko, relieved at having rejoined terra firma, was noticing the
many people surrounding her new mother. They seemed to be
numberless. "So many people," she said in amazement, and not a little
trepidation. There were more people standing within her sight then she
had met in her entire life. How could she ever learn all their names?
     "We'll be home soon, dear," Nodoka said gently, picking up on
Ranko's distress. She was realizing that the former Amazon, out of her
own time and place, was beginning to suffer culture shock of
monumental proportions, and offered her something to latch onto. "As
soon as your brother gets our luggage, we'll head there." 
     Nodoka managed to infuse the concept of a warm cozy refuge from
the world into her voice, and Ranko felt her spirits lifting. This world
might be strange, and she might be in a bizarre situation, but she was not
alone. She had a new mother, one who was closer to her then any other
person had ever been, which was not hard, considering they shared a
body and mind. She had a brother, who, despite his strange desire to live
as an inferior boy when he could have been a girl, was pleasant and
interesting, not to mention handsome. 
     Ranko spotted Ukyou in her pool as Nodoka's attention turned
back toward him. She noted with a bit of vexation that several girls were
making cow-eyes at him. She took in their appearance with disapproval.
Scrawny, hardly any muscle on them at all. Not like Unakane and
Annakane, or even her mother. Not suitable at all for the brother of an
Amazon maiden. She would have to make sure he did not make an
unsuitable match. 
     It was Ranko's duty as Ukyou's sister to make sure the girl he
married was worthy. Men could be so dense at times, who knew what
sort of girl they might select if left to their own devices. 
     Ranko had always envied the other girls in the village, who had
brothers to play matchmaker for. Now she had one of her own. She
looked forward to the pleasure she would have at finding and selecting a
suitable wife for him.  

     Ukyou gave a small shudder as a cold chill ran down his spine. He
glanced around looking for the source of the chill, and winced when he
spotted Nodoka looking at him with an expression of great approval. The
sight brought a sheen of sweat to his forehead, and he quickly glanced
away. With some relief he spotted their party's luggage. Snagging the
three backpacks from the luggage carousel, he easily hosted them into
the air and turned to head towards Nodoka. Behind him, two girls
exchanged whispers, and then broke into giggles. Ukyou blushed, and
hurried his steps slightly. 
     Ukyou was finding being a boy for real, and not just pretend, to be
a lot more difficult then he had imagined. It was not passing as one that
was the difficulty. He'd been pretending for nearly ten years to be male,
and had mimicking the mannerisms down to a fine art. It was the
physical differences that were throwing him, and how he was reacting to
them.
     Since puberty Ukyou had been an expert flirt, able to talk smoothly
and easily to girls. An ability much envied by his classmates who had
been born male. Ukyou had taken great pleasure in his ease with the
girls, and had enjoyed teasing them with sweet-talk. He could reduce
most girls to flustered incoherence with almost no effort at all. He had
always felt a bit smug at how easy it was for him. Indeed, he often
experienced a warm glow at bringing color to a girl's cheeks, and a
sparkle to her eyes. Both things, which he accomplished often and easily
     Well, it was no longer so easy. Every time an attractive girl came to
his attention, his body began to behave in a most disquieting way. Ways
he didn't even want to think about. He especially didn't want to think
about what it implied. 
     Ukyou had never thought of himself as being interested in girls in
that way. Dressing and acting as a boy had simply been a self-induced
penance he had to serve until the day he visited vengeance on the
Saotome males. His flirting had been part of the image he projected to
reinforce the disguise. Because, after all, there were certain male
activities he could not engage in, no matter how skillful he was, so best
to excel in those he could, and avoid pissing contests wherever possible.
     Now, however, he was a boy for real, and he was discovering that
just maybe, he was not so superior to normal boys after all. Attentions
from an attractive girl brought heat to his cheeks, and an inclination to
stammering and incoherence that he'd never had before. And that was
only the more obvious indications of his new reactions. Thinking of
some of the other things his body did made him feel like a pervert. Not a
good thing when sharing company with someone like Annakane or her
twin, Unakane.
     Worse, his newly adopted mother, Nodoka, who could be
disquietingly observant at times, and totally oblivious at others, seemed
to greet these signs with every indication of approval. She seemed to
think them quite manly, and Ukyou had even caught her making sure
that the stewardesses on the plane paid close attention to him. 
     A slight flush covered his face as he remembered how one
stewardess, blessed with very ample endowments, had spent a great deal
of time leaning over to offer him pillows and nuts. Fortunately for his
peace of mind, all the Stewardesses had become rather distant and surly
shortly into the flight, and had stopped their casual flirting. 
     Una and Anna, fortunately, were so focused on their new Sensei
that they didn't seem to be picking up on things, despite their normally
paranoid reaction to the slightest sign of what they called perverted
behavior. 
     The two Akanes and he were getting along much better than in the
early part of the trip. Despite that earlier rocky start, Ukyou was growing
rather fond of the two violent girls, who in unguarded moments could be
as appealing as a pair of kittens, with the cutest little smiles, and he
didn't want to return to the way things had been.
     As if thinking of the twins had summoned them, they hurried up to
Nodoka just as Ukyou reached her. Nodoka rose to her feet, and smiled
at them.
     "Well, that's it then, children. It's time to face your father, Una,
Anna." While talking, Nodoka pulled a handkerchief from the sleeve of
her kimono, and dampened it slightly on her mouth. Reaching forward,
she used it to remove a touch of white cream from Unakane's cheek.
"There you go, dear. You just had a little shaving cream on your face."
Ignoring Unakane's deep blush, she tucked the cloth back up her sleeve,
and said, "Shall we go then?" Nodoka turned, and began to walk toward
the exit, and the bus that would take them on the final leg of their
homeward journey.
     Ukyou trailed behind the three women, carrying his own and
Nodoka's bags, his mind still lost in thoughts about his new masculinity,
and how he was going to deal with it, or rather, whether he could deal
with it. Their party had not traveled far when Ukyou suddenly realized
that he was admiring the way the two Akanes' hips wiggled as they
walked. Mortified, he snatched his attention away, and tried to focus his
mind on other topics. Like why Unakane had shaving cream on her face,
and whether Ranma and his rat of a father were really dead. 
     Ranma! Ukyou tried to summon up the anger and the rage that
name usually invoked, but it was a hollow anger. His heart just wasn't in
it anymore. Ranma was gone, and so was the girl he had betrayed. The
boy who was now Ukyou would have to get on with his new life.
     The party of four people, and one pig, exited the airport. Ukyou
looked up at the bright blue sky, and felt the warmth of the sun on his
face. It was going to be a beautiful day, a good day to start his new life.
Ukyou followed his Mother and his friends onto the bus. His last thought
before he boarded was that Ranma, wherever he was, alive or dead, in
heaven or hell, would just have to get along without Ukyou.


*****************************************    
     
     Ranma ran through the forest, barely controlled panic apparent on
her face and in the desperate speed she was making. Every now and then
she'd look back over her shoulder and up into the forest canopy above
her, looking for the pursuers she knew were close on her tail. She'd
gained a bit of time by slipping out a back window, but she was under no
delusions as to whether her absence had been noted yet. 
     She took another quick look back and upwards, judging that to be
the most likely direction to expect danger. While her attention was
momentarily distracted, a figure phased into solidity in front of her. The
sudden change in the air pressure was enough to alert Ranma to her
impending collision, but it only gave her enough time to twist her head
back around to the front. Just in time to plant her face between two soft,
but firm, mounds. "Murphle" was her intelligent response. 
     "Why, Red. I never new you cared," Ryouko chortled, wrapping
her arms around Ranma's head, and holding the smaller girl firmly in
place. Ranma waved her arms wildly, but any verbal protests she might
have made were muffled by Ryouko's substantial assets. Ryouko let
Ranma struggle for a little while before taking hold of the back of her
shirt and lifting her up so her flushed face was level with her own.
     Ranma's eyes were slightly wild as she inhaled deeply. "I thought I
was going to die," she gasped.
     "Yea, but what a way to go," Ryouko snickered. "Now I believe
you have an appointment, Red," Ryouko said. Still carrying Ranma by
the back of her shirt, she started to levitate into the air.
     "Tenchi! Over here! Help!" Ranma yelled, as she squirmed in
Ryouko's grasp. Her panicked eyes focused on a point several feet
behind Ryouko.
     "Tenchi? Where? Where?" Ryouko asked eagerly, twisting her
head around to look behind herself for the love of her life. Eagerly she
peered into the shadows under the trees. But no brown-eyed dreamboat
was in sight. A frown appeared between her eyes, and then realization
caused them to narrow. "Why you little . . ." Ryouko said. She twisted
her head around to glare at Ranma. The former pirate's yell trailed off as
she took note that a broken off tree branch was now wearing Ranma's
shirt, and that there was no sign of the little redhead. 
     "Ooohh, you *&#$)^%," she cursed, as she reduced the branch in
her hands to splinters. "You're not getting away that easy, Red!" she
yelled. So saying she sprang into the air, and headed for some altitude,
the better to spy out her quarry.
     "Hehe," Ranma laughed. Concealed behind a dense bush just a few
feet away, she watched Ryouko disappear into the forest canopy. "What
a maroon."
     "Snick!"
     "Got you!" Mihoshi cheered. Ranma looked down in dismay at the
glowing restraints that now connected her right wrist to the blond
detective's right wrist. 
     How the heck did she manage to sneak up on me? Ranma thought
in shock. I didn't sense her at all. 
     Ranma was not given time to speculate, as Mihoshi said cheerfully,
"I win, I win, this is such a fun game. I'm so happy Ryouko-san asked
me to play. Now all I have to do is get back to the house, and I get a
cookie from Sasami." Mihoshi took a step in the required direction, and
came to a sudden stop as Ranma was forced to walk backwards due to
having her restraint on the same wrist as Mihoshi.
     Under normal circumstances Ranma could have moved backwards
almost as well as she could have moved forward, which would have
meant that she could have easily kept pace with the clumsy Mihoshi, but
she had no desire to do so, and so stumbled as if she had trouble  keeping
pace with the Detective. 
     "Oh dear. This will never do!" Mihoshi exclaimed, pulling a
deactivating tab out of her belt, and moving it toward the cuff around
Ranma's wrist. Ranma tensed, ready to flee the instant Mihoshi released
her. 
     Then, at the last minute, Mihoshi hesitated. "Promise you won't
run when I take this off?" she asked Ranma.
     Ranma frowned, but said, "I promise." A second later she was free
of the cuffs, but not of her promise. But her Genma trained mind quickly
pointed out that she'd only promised to not run when Mihoshi took the
cuffs off. Now if she could only think of some means of escape that did
not involve running. . . 
     "Let's go back to the house now," Mihoshi said, making no effort
to re-fasten the restraints to the proper wrists. "Oh, dear. What's the
matter, Ranma-chan?" Mihoshi asked in distress, as tears began to run
down Ranma's cheeks.
     "Oh, nothing," Ranma said in a tremulous voice. She sniffed
theatrically, and wiped her tears away with a grimy forearm. "I was just
thinking how disappointed poor Sasami is going to be."
     "Sasami? Disappointed? Oh, my. Oh, dear. Why?" Mihoshi asked
in distress.
     "She so wanted to make those special cookies for Tenchi, and I
promised I'd get . . ." Ranma quickly looked around for inspiration, and
spotted the tallest tree in the valley nearby. "Pine berries. Poor Sasami
had her heart set on making pineberry cookies for Tenchi." Ranma shook
her head in sorrow. "Tenchi really loves pineberry cookies too. He'll be
so disappointed."
     "Oh, how sad," softhearted Mihoshi said, tears running down her
own cheeks by now. "Can't we get some first before we go home?"
     "Wellllll," Ranma said, twisting her face into an expression of deep
thought. "I suppose there might be some at the top of that tree there," she
said, pointing toward the tall pine a few feet away. "I could go look. If
you don't mind waiting a while." Ranma did her level best to look
sincere, while wondering if Mihoshi was going to buy her act. 
     Mihoshi didn't even hesitate; indeed, she pushed Ranma toward
the tree. "Oh please, go and get poor Sasami her nuts."
     Ranma disappeared up the tree in a flash, leaving Mihoshi behind
to stare up into the tangled web of branches above her. 
     "Where is she!?" Ryouko demanded suddenly, appearing behind
Mihoshi by phasing through an old oak tree, causing the police officer to
give a little shriek. "I heard the little twerp's voice! Where is the little . .
.?"
     Snick!

     The startled Mihoshi had spun in place to face Ryouko, and
somehow, the restraints that were still attached to her right wrist, swung
out and hooked around Ryouko's left wrist. The former pirate looked
down in shocked surprise at the multi-phasic restraint. 
     "What the hell did you do that for!?" Ryouko demanded. She tried
to tug herself free, and then phase through the cuff, which reacted by
sending a massive charge of electricity through her body.
     Ryouko stood dazed for a second, her face covered in soot, and
then she gave a scream, and reached out to strangle Mihoshi.
     "Are you all right, Ryouko-san?" Tenchi asked in a concerned
voice as he stepped out of the trees surrounding Mihoshi and Ryouko. 
     The hands that had been reaching forward to strangle Mihoshi
were suddenly tucked behind her back, as was Mihoshi, who was still
connected to Ryouko's left wrist.  "I'm just fine, Tenchi," Ryouko
gushed. "I'll have Red back to the house in no time at all, just give me
another few minutes."  
     Tenchi was only listening to Ryouko with half an ear. He was bit
distracted by the way Mihoshi was being jerked around as Ryouko tried
to keep her hands out of sight. "Are you alright, Mihoshi?" he finally
asked, leaning over to try and peer around Ryouko.
     "Ah, well, not really," a flustered Mihoshi said, wisps of blond hair
floating in front of her face. She tried to brush them out of the way, and
pulled her hand, and Ryouko's into view. Ryouko blushed in
embarrassment. 
     "I can explain, Tenchi. It was like this . . ."
     "That's all right, Ryouko. I understand," said Tenchi, who really
didn't, but who was finally learning that sometimes it was wiser to
pretend he did. He really, really didn't want to know why Mihoshi and
Ryouko were handcuffed together. Certain pictures from his father's
collection floated up from his memory, and he blushed nearly as red as
Ryouko. "I'll just go over this way to look for Ranma," he said, gesturing
in a vague way that took in about half the valley.
     "Oh! Ranma! She's up the tree there," Mihoshi said, pointing up
above her. "She picking pine-berries for you."
     "Pine-berries?" Tenchi said in an incredulous voice, while Ryouko
slapped her right hand to her forehead in disgust. 
     "Oh dear, was it suppose to be a surprise?" Mihoshi said worriedly.
                                                  
*****************************************

     Herb held her wings rigid, extending them to the maximum.
Stretching her neck and tail out as well, she focused her chi, and slowly
rose into the air. At first her body wavered from side to side, and back
and forth, but slowly as she became more accustomed to its quirks she
stabilized and began to move forward. The motion imparted lift to her
body, and she began to rise, soon gaining enough height to clear the trees
at the end of the clearing caused by her transformation.
     Herb felt smug pleasure. She should have thought of this right at
the beginning, before she'd taste-tested the forest floor a half dozen
times. She'd always been able to use her chi for limited flight, now with
a body designed for it, she was finding it easy to maintain. Careful not to
throw off her precarious equilibrium, she swung her head from side to
side, searching for that indefinable sense of rightness that would tell her
where the betrayer was. A shiver ran down her spine, and her body
orientated in line with the direction her head was facing. 
     "Now, I have you, Perfume," Herb gloated as she picked up speed
and headed toward her prey. "Soon my vengeance will be complete.
Nothing can save you now."
                                                            
***************************************

     "Eh," Kay murmured, breaking off his conversation with the
Jusenkyo Guide as a beeping sound emanated from his jacket. Flipping
open the innocent looking cell phone he extracted from his jacket, he
said, "Kay here."
     A voice at the other end quickly imparted the pertinent data, and
Kay's eyebrows creased in worry. Ending the conversation with, "We're
on it!" He slipped the communicator back in his pocket, and looked
around for his partner. 
     Jay was sitting a few feet away, his eyes focused on Plum, who
was cooking some food. Plum currently looked her true age, but when
Jay had first laid appreciative eyes on her, she'd been in her mature
body. The change brought on by an application of hot water had been a
real eye-opener for the rookie agent. It has also been rather embarrassing
considering the conversation he'd been having with her at the moment
her father had poured hot water over her.
     "Let's go, Slick. We got us a Draken on its way toward Japan."
     Jay looked blank for a second, and then his eyes widened with
shock as he mentally reviewed what he knew of that species. "Man, it
figures! Where else is a two-mile long lizard going to head? How the
hell are we going to stop something like that?"
     Jay was thinking on what he'd read about the Draken. An elder
race, one adapted to life in space. They were the source of the Galaxy-
wide legend of dragons, and could grow to enormous sizes.
     "The problem may not be as serious as that," the Guide said. "I
believe that if the stories are true I know this particular Draken. If I am
right, you are dealing with an infant."
     "A little baby?" Jay asked, his confidence swelling at this news.
"Well, lets go kick some lizard ass then,"
     "Not as easy as that, Slick," Jay said in a warning tone. "Draken
have no government. Each adult is an individual onto itself. If we blew a
mature one out of the sky, none of the others would give a damn. But if
this really is an infant, that's different. Draken don't have children often,
and when they do, the whole race looks out for them. We do anything
other then handle him with kid-gloves, and the earth will be charcoal."
     Jay's expression fell. "Oh crap, not again. Just once I'd like a nice
simple, straightforward assignment. Is that too much to ask? Why are we
always the ones that get the hard ones?"
                                             
***********************************


     "Would you two hurry up!" Ukyou frowned back at Annakane
and Unakane, who were hanging back, a look of great reluctance on
their faces.
     "Well I'm"
     "sorry"
     "if we're'
     "too slow for"
     "you,"
     "but you don't have"
     "to face your family."
     "What do you think"
     "they are going to think of"
     "having two"
     "daughters and sisters"
     "all of a sudden."
     Ukyou groaned, and held his palm to his head.  The two
Akanes had been getting much better, but they still tended to
crosstalk in moments of stress.  It could be very distracting if they
were on either side of you. At the moment, both girls were 'very'
stressed. They had been fine at the airport, where the crush and
hurry to get all the details taken care of had occupied their minds,
but now they were on the last leg of their journey, and with nothing
to do but think about the upcoming homecoming.

     "Well . . . well . . .well, finally stopped avoiding us, eh,
Tendo?" a mocking voice drawled from the alley they were just
about to pass. 
     Both Akanes stopped their forward motion, and their eyes took
on a decided frosty expression as twelve boys slouched out of the
alley. The leader and apparent spokesman set their fashion style,
what there was of it.  Like him, they all wore their school jackets
undone exposing soiled tee-shirts underneath. Their collars were
turned up to frame their faces, and they wore their greasy hair
combed forward over their eyes. 
     While there were individual divergences, they could have
passed for just about any gang of schoolyard toughs. One which
most schools were blessed with at least one of. Though blessed was
not a word usually associated with this sort of lower life form. 
     "Do we know you?" Unakane and Annakane asked in chilly
tones.
     The leader's studied insolence and detachment suffered
slightly when he noticed that there were, in fact, two Akane Tendos,
but he didn't let his surprise faze him for long, or render him polite.
"Not yet, babe. Or should I say, babes? But in a little while you're
going to get to know us really well," he said with a leer. 
     "What the hell do you want?" Ukyou asked with some heat.
He'd never cared for bullies, and this was a particularly repellent
example of the breed.
     "Don't you know?" the leader asked mockingly. "Your
girlfriends there have a little challenge going." He leered at both
Akanes, as he said, "They promised to 'entertain' anyone who can
beat them in a fight."
     "I hardly find that likely, young man," Nodoka said, her voice
icily polite. Indeed, so chilly was the attitude of their party, it was a
wonder that ice was not forming.
     "You stay out of this, old lady, unless you have a yen for some
young stuff. I'm sure a few of my friends would be glad to oblige
while they wait for their turn with the tough girls." The eleven boys
behind him gave nasty chuckles, and did their best to look like
genuine scum, instead of the faux type.
     Ukyou's spatula slipped into his hand, and Nodoka's thumb
lifted her sword enough out of the sheath to insure a clean draw, but
before either of them could make any further move, the Akanes
stepped out in front, and said, "Let us handle this."
     Ukyou looked at them with worry. The anger radiating from
them was almost visible. While Ukyou didn't really care all that
much what happened to the twelve boys, he was a bit concerned
about what would happen to Una and Anna if they smeared them all
over the ground. "Maybe it would be better if I took care of this,"
Ukyou said in a tentative voice.
     "I said, I'd take care of it," both girls replied in tones that
brooked no argument. 
     "But not by actually laying a finger on them," a softly spoken,
but iron firm, voice said from the vicinity of Anna's chest. This
voice did what Ukyou would have said was impossible; it cut
through the rage surrounding Una and Anna.
     "What, I can't touch them?" Annakane said.
     "Not that I'd want to, of course," Unakane chimed in.
     "How?" they both said.
     "Up to you," their Sensei replied. "Just send them packing
without actually touching them."
     "Hey, are we going to take all day here?" the leader of the
thugs said with malice in his voice.  P's voice had been pitched too
low to reach his ears, and to his rather unobservant, and ego
blinded, eyes, it appeared that the group facing him was paralyzed
with fear of him and his gang. 
     Unakane and Annakane exchanged glances, and Unakane
nodded toward a street sign on the other side of Annakane.
Annakane nodded back, and shifted Agent P so that he was cradled
in her right arm, and then reached out with her left hand to take hold
of the street sign. Una reached over her shoulder and slipped her
iron fighting sticks free of their harness. Handling the nine pound
rods like they weighed next to nothing, she twirled them in her
hands a few times before lifting her forearms to the vertical and
positioning the fighting sticks so that they sat in front of her arms.
     The gang facing her fell into what they fondly thought of as
impressive fighting stances and which the group facing them
thought of as anything but. Nodoka gave a slight smile as a voice in
her head laughed out loud at the sight.
     "Well, it's about time, I thought . . ." The leader started to say,
and then broke off goggled-eyed as Annakane gave a grunt, and
plucked the street sign she'd been holding out of the ground,
complete with the two hundred pound concrete cylinder that had
been anchoring it. 
     Anna swung the pole in her hand sideways, right into her twins
braced and reinforced arms. The concrete cylinder shattered on
impact, and Unakane took half a step backward as she absorbed the
blow. Annakane let the now bare metal pole clatter to the ground,
and extracted one of her own fighting sticks. She gave the boys in
front of her a mocking grin, and let the anger in her eyes flower.
"Shall we dance?" she purred.
     There was a wet splattering sound, and moisture appeared on
the groins of three of the boys facing them. All the boys, including
the leader, had pale sick faces as the realization of just how badly
they had overstepped themselves struck home. 
     Nodoka shouldered her way past the two Akanes, and looked
at the boys in contempt. "I'm afraid my charges cannot play any
longer. Please let us by."    
     Stiffly, not taking their eyes off of the twins, the boys shuffled
back into the alley they had emerged from with such confidence
mere minutes before. 
     "Shall we go then?" Nodoka asked. Not waiting for an answer,
she stepped into the street, walking around a large damp spot on the
sidewalk, and then back up onto the pedestrian way. 
          
     "Anna, Una, I do not wish to be presumptuous, but could you
explain?" Nodoka asked the girls once they were well clear of the
gang. 
     Both girls looked embarrassed, but also resigned. As
Annakane was still holding P, she began the explanation. "It started
about five months ago. This--"
     "Total Jerk!" Unakane interjected, earning her a dirty look
from her twin. She subsided, and waved for Annakane to continue.
     "This 'Total Jerk', Kuno Tatewaki, gets up during public
speaking, and announced that anyone who wishes to date me, must
first defeat me in combat."
     "And the other boys took him seriously," Nodoka said in
shock. 
     Inside Nodoka's mind, Ranko asked, *What's wrong with
that? How else is a girl suppose to know if a boy really likes her?* 
     Nodoka blinked, and then said, "I'll explain later, Ranko. For
now, let Anna continue her story."
     Both the twins and Ukyou were well used to Ranko and
Nodoka's conversations, so Annakane picked up her story without
pause. "Kuno was the best fighter in the school, next to me, of
course."
     "Of course," Ukyou said in a teasing tone, which the twins
ignored.
     "So no one even thought about simply asking me out, and
some of the more idiotic of the boys took it as a challenge. I don't
even think they wanted to date me that much. They only wanted to
prove how tough they were. Of course, I flattened them, but that
only made it worse. It became an obsession with the boys. If you
didn't join in the morning attacks--"
     "Morning attacks?" Nodoka asked.
     "That's how it ended up working. At school, anyway. The
boys would all gather in the yard, and when I showed up, they'd all
attack. Pretty soon, if you weren't part of the morning fight, you
weren't anyone. All the boys got pressured into joining in. That
made all the girls mad. It was as if the boys would rather get beaten
by me than date one of them. And even if they didn't believe I was
luring the boys away, they were still mad because I was hurting
them. I couldn't win. The only thing the boys at school wanted to
do was attack me, and girls would have nothing to do with me. Even
my best friends turned their backs on me." 
     The last sentence was said with profound hurt, and Ukyou's
heart went out to her. "That's awful. Didn't anyone stick by you?"
     "Only my sister, not that she let it show, but I could tell." Both
Annakane and Unakane shared a grin as they remembered some of
the ways Nabiki had extracted vengeance for the pain the school put
her little sister through. 
     "But I take it matters did not end there?" Nodoka asked.
     "No," Annakane said with a grimace. "Word got around about
the unbeatable girl fighter at Furinkan, and people started traveling
from other schools just to fight me. Even adults got into the act.
Fortunately, by the time the really good fighters started showing up,
I'd eaten the suber-soba, and they were no real challenge, but that
made it even worse."
     "Suber-soba?" Ukyou asked in puzzlement.
     Both Annakane and her twin blushed slightly. "It was this
magical food my dad's master acquired. I ate it by mistake, and it
gave me super-strength."
     Everyone's eyebrows twitched up at that. "I was wondering
about that," both Ukyou and Agent P said at the same time.
     "But even with that advantage, people kept challenging us, and
meanwhile, that stupid speech of Kuno's got more and more twisted
as it got passed on. Some of the challengers think that if they can
beat me I'll become their slave for life; others, like those idiots back
there, think that I'll simply let them do what they want if they can
manage to defeat me."              
     "It got so every time we left the house someone would
challenge us," Unakane added.
     "And even if we stayed home, they showed up and challenged
the dojo."
     "And of course, because of honor, we had to accept the
challenge."    
     "Damn," was all Ukyou could think to say. After another
minute, he said, "I'm sorry."
     Both Akanes looked at him in surprise, and asked, "For what?"
     "I never realized what you had to put up with. If the jerks back
there were an example, it's a miracle that you're not even more
homicidal than you are. I don't think I'd have listened to P-chan's
instructions in your shoes. So I'm sorry for how badly I thought of
you on the way to China."
     Both girls looked at him for moment, and then at each other.
Their mouths twitched, then an eyebrow, and finally they burst into
laughter. Sobering up after a second, they considered trying to
explain why the regular run of the mill challengers were minor pests
compared to what they had living in their own home. They each
gave a minuscule shake of their head. Happosai could not be
explained, he could only be experienced, and Ukyou would be
doing that experiencing soon enough.         
     While this had been going on, Ukyou had been looking on in
annoyance. He had hardly expected his apology to draw such
derision.  Annakane spotted this, and said, "We're sorry, Ukyou.
We weren't laughing at you. But you haven't even begun to learn
what we've had to put up with. Those boys weren't even worthy of
the name challenger."
     "But now we have a real challenge ahead of us," Unakane said
with a grimace.
     "Explaining to Daddy what's happened to his little girl,"
Annakane concluded, rolling her eyes at the prospect of her father's
likely reaction.
     Agent P, who was riding comfortably in Annakane's arms,
smiled up at her and Unakane. "Bite the bullets, babes.  Sooner or
later you have to face him.  Best to get it over and done with.  Just
be glad you don't have to do it as . . ." A big drop of rain splashed
down on his head.  "Shit, me and my big mouth," he muttered, as
the arms holding him suddenly became furry.
     Ranko grimaced as she tightened her oversized clothing as best
she could.  She exchanged looks with Ukyou. The two of them
heaved a mutual sigh, and walked back to the two soggy cat-girls,
each taking an arm of one of the feline females.  "Come on, you
two, the pig is right," Ukyou said. She and Xian Pu started to drag
the two reluctant girls toward their destination.  The two Akanes let
themselves be dragged along, but the look on their furry faces
showed that all things considered, they'd rather be going back to
China.                                       

     The four girls passed the mouth of another dark alley.  Just
inside it, a large black and white shape drew back in shock.  His
presence was not noted, the group being too occupied, and far too
confident in themselves, to be peering down dark alleys.
     
     "Ranma!" Saotome Genma hissed in shock.  What was the boy
doing here?  And who the hell were those people with him?  Had
those two girls been furry? A voice floated back to him from the
rapidly receding group, causing him to jolt in shock and then to peer
around the corner after them.
     "Come on Ukyou!  At least give us a chance to find some hot
water."
     
     Ukyou!  It couldn't be.  But the boy with Ranma did have that
unique weapon strapped to his back.  Genma might not be that good
at remembering promises, but he never forgot a weapon.  What the
hell was going on here?  He was sure Ukyou had been a girl.  Of
course she had been.  Her father had claimed she was, and had
engaged her to Ranma on that basis.  Then the reference to hot
water hit home, and Genma gasped out,  "Jusenkyo!" That had to be
it. 
     Oh lord, this was bad, very bad.  What had he done to cause
Kami-sama to punish him this way?  Ranma and Ukyou together,
and Ukyou had a boy curse.  He had to get Ranma away from her.
     Stealthily, or at least as stealthily as a giant Panda in suburban
Tokyo could be, Genma made his way after the girls. 


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

     "Nabiki, Kasumi!" Soun Tendo yelled out, his voice quivering
with excitement, and his red eyes dry for the first time in weeks.
     "What is it, Father?" Kasumi said from the kitchen. 
     "Wonderful news, simply wonderful.  Where is your sister?  I
want you both to hear this."
     "I think she was going out to meet her friend, Tatewaki,
father."

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

     "I see you're feeling much better, Kuno-baby," Nabiki
drawled, her eyes roaming over Kuno's body. Her smile turned
sardonic as she took note of the arm in a sling, the individual fingers
of the hand attached to that arm in their small casts, the light
walking cast on his leg, and the yellowish bruises on his face. 
Despite appearances, Nabiki's words were only a little sarcastic.
Kuno was in truth looking much better.  The last time Nabiki had
seen him, he'd been in a hospital bed, with three of his four limbs in
traction. 
     "Great or small, what matter is pain?  It is but the spice that
makes the joys of our lives that much sweeter.  I would suffer a
thousand fold this pain if I could but see one smile on the face of
your sister's glorious countenance."
     "Not much chance of that," Nabiki muttered under her breath.
     "What was that, Nabiki Tendo?"
     "Oh, I was just speculating on your chances of seeing Akane's
smile, Kuno-baby."
     Kuno frowned at Nabiki's familiarity, but let it pass.  It was
Natures way.  For a family as common as the Tendos  to have given
birth to one paragon was wonderful enough.  It was far too much to
expect them to have given the world two.  Besides, he had need of
Nabiki.  He leaned forward eagerly, and said, "Do you have news of
your sister's whereabouts?" 
     Nabiki leaned back in her chair, a look of anticipation on her
face.  "Funny you should mention that," she said, as she reached for
a menu.
                                   
     Nabiki sighed in satisfaction, and put her bowl down on top of
the stack of dishware already in front of her.  "That was good,
Kuno-baby, not great mind you, but good."
     Kuno was fairly bursting with impatience, and he practically
lunged forward.  "Yes, yes.  I am pleased you liked it, but now,
what of your sister? Where is the fair Akane? What blessed land is
gifted with the sunshine of her presence?"
     "China," Nabiki said, wiping her mouth with a napkin.  "She
went on a trip with an old family friend. She should be somewhere
in the Northwestern area about now."
     Kuno stood, gave a quick nod, and rushed from the room as
fast as he could hobble on his walking cast.
     "Well, how rude," Nabiki said with a smirk.  A look of
speculation filled her eyes as she stared after the departing Kuno. "I
wonder if he's going to go to . . .Naa, not even Kuno would do that. 
We're talking several hundred thousand square miles here.  It would
be like finding a needle in a haystack." Despite her words, she
frowned as she considered her departed meal ticket.  Kuno was a
strange one.  His obsession with her sister was almost clinical.  Who
knows what he would truly do.  She gave a shrug.  Oh well, what
did it matter?  Akane would be home in a week or so, and if Kuno
was in the wilds of China, so much the better for her little sister.

     A small distance away, Kuno Tatewaki paused outside a dark
alley.  "Sasuke!" he hissed harshly. 
     "Yes, Master Kuno?" a voice answered from inside the alley.  
     "Northwestern China.  Start the scan immediately."
     "As you command, Master Kuno." A small Log, with brown
Kanji on its face floated out of the interior of the alley, and blurred
into motion, rising high into the air at an extreme rate of climb.  
     Kuno rubbed his hands together in glee, then winced as his
broken fingers protested the motion.  Looking up in the sky after the
rising Guardian, he gloated to himself.  "Soon, my wild barbarian
princess, we will be reunited, very soon indeed."

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

     Kasumi looked up as Nabiki walked in the door, kicking her
shoes off, and shaking the rain off her head covering.  "Oh, good,
Nabiki, you're home.  Father has something he is very anxious to
tell us."
     "Father is always anxious.  What is it this time?" Nabiki said
in a bored tone of voice.
     "I don't know, but he seemed very excited."
     "So what else is new?" Nabiki said with a sigh.  She followed
Kasumi into the common room where her father was practically
bouncing up and down in his agitation.  "Hi, Daddy. What's up?"
     "Nabiki!  Good, you're here.  I have the most wonderful news. 
Your sister is coming home."
     Nabiki and Kasumi exchanged looks, and Nabiki turned back
to her father.  "Well, that's very nice, Daddy, but to tell the truth it's
not really a news flash.  Akane's been gone for a week.  We all
know she's due back in another five days.  That's when her
suspension is over." 
     Soun shook his head.  "No, she'll be home at any minute. 
Saotome-san called me from the airport.  They are back early, but
that is not the best news." The smile on Soun's face looked like it
was in danger of splitting his face. 
     "I'll bite," Nabiki said.  "What is the best news?"
     "Nodoka-san says she is bringing her son."
     Once again Kasumi and Nabiki exchanged looks, then turned
back to their father.  This time it was Kasumi who asked the
question.  "That is nice to hear, father, but why is it so wonderful?"

     The old lady next door to the Tendo's looked up as a loud
"Nani?" echoed through the neighborhood.  "Those Tendos, such
noisy people," she muttered to herself.
     
********************************

     Nabiki fingered the kimono she had put on, and wondered
why.  This Saotome kid had been with Akane for days now.  No
doubt he was as smitten with her as all the other jocks were.  Still, it
wasn't like Nabiki was beating them off with a club, and if he was
cute, and if he had managed to resist Akane's fatal attraction, and if
she had left him in one piece, it might pay to make a good
impression.

     The front door chimes jingled as someone opened the front
door, and the sounds of footsteps echoed around the corner.  Soun
jumped to his feet, and rushed out of the common room.  Nabiki
found herself rushing after him, eager to get a look at the potential
fiance.  She rounded the corner, and plowed into her father's back. 
Rigid with terror, he was staring down the hall at the people
currently occupying it.          
     Nabiki looked around her father. For an instant, facing into the
glare from the door, she couldn't make out the figures facing her.
One tall slim figure and one short, and obviously female, flanked
two tall people, who were very similar in build. That they were
female was even more obvious than with the short figure. They also
each possessed a head of hair that would have turned a country and
western singer green with envy. More subtle information was a bit
harder to pick out with her sun-blinded eyes, but with each passing
second the blurred figures became clearer. A sudden motion behind
one of the tall girls drew her attention, and she felt her hair stand on
end as she identified it as a tail.
     One of the tall females turned her face slightly, and Nabiki
swallowed as two eyes caught the light just so, and began to glow.
The two green, glowing orbs floated in the darkness of the person's
face, and seemed to try and draw Nabiki deep into their shining
depths. The final straw was when the other girl opened her mouth to
say something, and revealed a set of teeth that looked all too large
and sharp for Nabiki's, by now frayed, nerves.   Just as Nabiki had
rushed down the hall with no thought, she found herself rushing
right back the way she had come, her father right behind her. Her
only thought being to put as much space between herself and
whatever it was that was standing on their threshold. 
     "Oh my.  What is the matter?" Kasumi asked twisting her head
to look down at Nabiki, who was huddled behind her, while their
father took up a defensive stance in front of them both.  She turned
to look in the direction they had fled from, but nothing was there. 
Instead the faint sound of voices echoed down the hallway.
     "Me, why me?" a male voice asked.
     "Don't be a baka!  Because you're the closest thing to a
normal looking person here." Nabiki frowned, the second voice had
a curious duality to it, as if two people were speaking at the same
time.  Her puzzlement over the voice disappeared as suddenly this
incredibly hunky guy was shoved around the corner.  He scowled
back the way he had come, and then turned to them with an
embarrassed look on his face.  "I'm Ukyou Kuo . . .Saotome, sorry
about this."
     "Ooohh, he is cute." Nabiki heard herself saying, and blushed
slightly.  She needn't have worried.  The good-looking boy was
otherwise occupied, and it was unlikely he had heard her.  Indeed,
he was lucky he could breath considering how tightly her father was
hugging him. Obviously her father had decided that what they had
seen down the hall was some sort of illusion, and was concentrating
on what he considered important. As for her, she was beginning to
get annoyed.  She could not have seen what she thought she had
seen. That meant someone was playing a joke, and she detested
being the butt of jokes.  She looked at the handsome boy, and
decided she needed to find out what was going on here, and
interrogating him might do that. Getting up close and learning all
his vital statistics had nothing to do with it of course.
     Nabiki pulled on her fathers arm.  "Come on daddy.  Let him
go before you strangle the poor guy." Soun complied.  He shoved
Ukyou out to arms length, and looked him up and down. Nabiki
duplicated the look, and she hummed in appreciation.  He was the
best looking thing she had seen since the blue-plate special at dinner
this afternoon.  She opened her mouth to ask him about his strange
companions, but was interrupted.
     The beaming look on Soun's face suddenly grew puzzled.  "I
thought Genma's son was named Ranma?" He asked. 
     Nabiki spied a brief flare of anger on the boy's face, rapidly
suppressed.  "I'm the other son," he said tightly.   Oh ho, a little
sibling rivalry here? Nabiki wondered to herself.
     "You baka, tell them." Once again that curious dual voice
spoke from around the corner. Nabiki frowned, there was something
about the phrasing of the words, a hint of underlying anger.  She
was sure she knew this person, but she couldn't remember hearing
such a strange voice before. 
     The boy looked over his shoulder, and hissed,  "I'm getting to
it, give me a chance.  This isn't easy, you know." He turned back to
them, and looked at a loss for words.  Finally he said, "It's about
Akane."
     Soun's face fell, and tears starting running down his face.  He
grabbed the boy by the shirt and started to shake him.  "What about
Akane!? What happened to my baby girl!?" 
     "Oh, for heaven sakes.  You baka, can't you do anything
right?" Despite her belief that there was a logical explanation,
Nabiki's eyes bulged out as two . . . cat-creatures walked around the
corner, both staring in displeasure at Ukyou. 
     Soun had stopped shaking Ukyou, and was looking at the two
female felines, his mouth hanging open.  A small redhead ducked
under the arms of one of the cat-girls, and frowned up at them. 
"Oh, very well done.  Do you enjoy frightening your family?" She
paused, and then spoke, to thin air.  "No!  I don't think that is
unfair, she should have thought.  That is her problem, she never
thinks."
     "What?  How dare you!" The two cat creatures roared in
harmony at the redhead, who didn't even blink at a display of fangs
that almost made Nabiki wet herself. 
     "Belay that!" a gravely voice roared out in a voice that would
have shaken dust from the rafters, if Kasumi had permitted such a
thing in her house. 
     "Oh my!" Kasumi exclaimed in shock. Startled, Nabiki twisted
around to look at her older sister, who was holding a hand up to her
mouth, and was quite pale. "Akane, is that you?" she asked faintly,
looking from one cat-girl to the other.
     The two felines looked at each other, and then back at Kasumi.
"I'm sorry, Kasumi. Yes." They both said at once.
     That was when Soun gave up the ghost, and fainted.  To her
shame, Nabiki felt her own legs grow weak as her mind started to
shut down. She fought off the wave of dizziness in time to hear the
two creatures who both claimed to be her little sister yell at Ukyou.
     "Now look what you've done!"
     "Me? What did I do? You're the ones that scared them spit-
less." 
     "You should have explained things quicker!"
     "It's not like you gave me a chance! And just how did you
think I'd be able to explain you two anyway!?"

     Ranko rolled her eyes, and headed back out front, to where she
had spotted a pond. A little water would revive Akane's father. She
frowned a bit in disapproval. Akane's sister was certainly rather
man-ish, the way she'd gone all weak legged like that. The other
sister seemed rather man-ish as well, but at least she seemed to have
a bit more courage then the shorthaired one. 
     Careful not to get the hem of Nodoka's kimono muddy, Ranko
knelt down beside the pool and dipped a large quantity of water out
with the container she found beside some freshly washed clothes.
As she did, several large fish scattered, and her eyes widened.
"What a good idea," she murmured. "How clever to keep dinner
fresh till you're ready for it." Really, these people had such clever
ideas. Even if they were all soft as butter.
     She was speculating on whether Akane's sister would mind if
she caught a few of the golden fish for dinner when a pair of
massive furry arms circled around her from behind, and yanked her
off her feet.                      

     Nabiki was just starting to get her bearings when a cry of
outrage echoed through the house. Followed by the sound of a
heavy impact that caused the floor under her feet to shudder
slightly. The two furry centerfolds and the handsome boy
exchanged startled looks, and took off for the front yard. 
     Despite a certain amount of trepidation, Nabiki got to her feet
and followed after them. Her curiosity proving more compelling
than her fear, especially as her fear was subsiding quickly. The two,
whatever they weres, had made no threatening gestures to anyone
but the small redhead, and as she had shown no worries, it seemed
logical to assume that their meow was bigger then their teeth. 
     Nabiki resolutely ignored the fact that they claimed to be
Akane. Flexible as her mind could be, it was not yet ready to bend
that far. 

     When Nabiki reached the back yard, her mind very nearly
went away again. It wasn't the cat-girls, she'd filed them away as
not to be worried about at the moment, no, it was the giant panda,
which was currently laying on it's back, apparently unconscious.
The large panda shaped indentation in the garden wall giving a clue
as to the reason for it's current state. 
     The small redhead from before was happily prodding the
comatose Panda, while chattering away at the boy and the two
feline girls. 
     "Look how fat he is. I can't believe it. He just came right into
the yard and attacked me. I've never had so much food do that in
my life. There's enough here to feed us all for a month if we smoke
the extra right away. I get the liver," she announced, as she
unsheathed a wicked looking katana.
     Before the redhead could start slicing and dicing, however, a
look of dismay crossed her face, and she protested to thin air. "What
do you mean I can't eat him? I caught him all by myself. . . What
does endangered have to do with it? Of course he's endangered, I'm
going to have his liver for dinner. . . You're joking. . . Really? . . . I
don't believe it. There use to be so many of them. . .  Well, alright,
if you say so, Mother." With an expression of disappointment, the
redhead sheathed the sword. 
     Nabiki looked at the twin cat-girls and Ukyou. None of them
seemed to have found the fact that the redhead had just lost an
argument to herself at all strange. Suddenly the redhead's lack of
fear in regards to the two felines did not seem nearly as reassuring.
She took a step backward, suddenly thinking that it might not be a
bad idea to put some distance between herself and them. Her retreat
stopped as something suddenly clicked in her mind."You, you're
her," she said, pointing an accusing finger at the redhead. 
     For her part, the redhead looked at her in surprise, and asked.
"Her who?"
     "The redhead who's been wondering all over Japan with the
wandering panda. The one who escaped last night from the zoo."
     "I don't know what you're talking about. I was never at a zoo.
What is a zoo? . . .What? She thinks I'm an animal? . . . Oh. I see.
I'm sorry. You meant the panda escaped, not me. I have never seen
this panda before. I can't be the girl you mean."
     Nabiki blinked, and then endeavored to decipher the girl's
words in her mind. Having gotten the gist of it, she looked the
redhead up and down, letting her gaze settle on her large breasts.
"That seems a bit strange. How many short busty redheads are there
out there who attract panda attacks? Come clean. I'm not going to
turn you in."
     The redhead's face froze, and she looked at Nabiki through
slitted eyes. But before she could say anything, the two cat-girls
stepped forward. 
     "Stop it,"
     "Nabiki,"
     "Ranko can't,"
     "be her."
     "She was,"
     "born in,"
     "China. And,"
     "has been,"
     "with us,"                         
     "ever since."
     "What . . .?" Nabiki said in a stunned tone. She stepped backwards,
away from the two looming cat-girls, and stumbled. She started to fall,
but before she could hit the ground, a pair of strong arms caught her
body, and lifted her back to her feet.
     "Would you two back off?!" the boy named Ukyou said forcefully
to the twins. While keeping one arm around Nabiki's shoulder in
support, he continued, "She has no idea of what's going on, and you're
scaring her half to death."
     Under normal circumstances Nabiki would have objected in the
strongest terms to the possibility that she was scared, unless there was
money in it, but Ukyou's closeness was making her dizzy. And she had
no inclination whatsoever to argue with him. Not if it would make him
let her go. 
     The cat-girls seemed to be of a different view. "You pervert! What
the hell do you think you're doing to my sister!?" the two chorused in
perfect harmony. 
     "Belay that!" the same growly voice from before ordered, and to
Nabiki's amazement, it seemed to be coming from the small black pig
one of the girls was carrying. It was one more impossibility piled on all
the ones she'd already experienced, and she let herself lean back against
the strong arm of Ukyou. In a world that had suddenly sprouted six-foot
tall cat-girls, insane redheads, and talking pigs, the normalcy of Ukyou's
male body was a decided comfort. 
     "One of you really is my sister," Nabiki said in a dumbfounded
voice.
     "Actually, both of them are, sugar" Ukyou's husky voice said a few
inches from her ear, his breath warm on her neck. "But it's a long story,
and maybe it would be a bit easier to explain with some hot water."
     "Hot water?" Nabiki repeated, her mind heading toward shutdown
once again.
     "Mother says that's a good idea," the little redhead said, speaking
to Ukyou, pointedly not looking at Nabiki. Ukyou began to help Nabiki
toward the house, and she'd have been more then happy to let him, until
the redhead snorted, and muttered under her breath, "Mannish," 
     Nabiki wasn't exactly sure what the girl meant, but the tone of her
voice made it clear it wasn't complimentary. Freeing herself from
Ukyou's arm, she smiled up at him, and said. "That's alright, I can make
it from here." She was pleased to see him blush as she gave him the full
impact of her best wide-eyed look.
     She walked into the house by his side, followed by the redhead,
who seemed to be having another argument with herself, and the two
cat-girls.

     A few seconds after they entered the house, the panda, forgotten in
the confusion, rolled over onto his belly and got to his feet. Genma
started moving after the others, a look of determination on his face. He
didn't know what the boy was up to. Maybe his curse had driven him
crazy. Whatever it was, he was going to put an end to it now. The boy
had gotten lucky, using such a basic move on him. It had taken him by
surprise; he'd been expecting something more complicated then a simple
elbow to the guts and a shoulder toss. Well, next time he'd be ready for
whatever the boy tossed his way. Ranma had one big fault, he was
cocky, and after that easy victory, he'd be even worse then usual. That
would be his downfall. 

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

     Ranma gave a smirk as she slipped in the back door of the house.
Nobody was going to think of looking for her here. She could relax and
take it easy while they knocked themselves out scrambling through the
forest. Dang, she was clever.
     Ranma really didn't expect to get away forever. If she really
wanted to escape, she'd have to leave the valley, and never come back,
and she been through that already, it wasn't going to happen. Sooner or
later she'd have to do it, but she intended to register her disapproval
thoroughly before she did. 
     A faint aroma of tickled her nose. A delicious smell that made her
stomach growl in response. Saliva pooled in her mouth. She hadn't eaten
since breakfast, and that was a whole five hours before. She was
starving. Ranma glided through the rooms between her and the kitchen,
and looked in through the door. On the table was a plate of cookies,
under a glass cover and piled at least three inches high. Drool leaking
from the corner of her mouth, she pounced on the seductive object, both
hands reaching out for the prize.
     Her leap turned into a frantic about face retreat as with a crackle of
energy, a shield of force sprang up around her. She planted herself face-
first into the screen, and slid down it to the floor. The pantry door
opened in front of her, and Ayeka emerged, followed by a grinning
Sasami and Ryo-oh-ki, who was dragging a carrot almost as big as she
was. 
     "Traitor," Ranma hissed at the oblivious little cabbit. With a sigh
of resignation, she sat up. A smile suddenly lit her face as she
remembered the bait, and she reached up and snagged a large cookie out
from under the cover. which she tossed into her mouth whole. A second
later she spat the thing out in disgust.
     Sasami smirked at her while saying, "What's the matter was there
something wrong with my 'pinenut cookies, big-sister Ranma?" Behind
Sasami, Ayeka twitched the cover off of another plate of cookies, and
selected one, which she proceeded to eat with every sign of enjoyment.
     Ranma slumped, conceding defeat with her posture. Bowing her
head, which hid her anticipatory smile, she held up her hands, arms close
together, and said, "You got me. Lets get this over with, copper." There
was a hum, and then a click as something warm and vibrating settled
around Ranma's wrists. She looked up, startled to see herself secured
with a pair of Mihoshi's wrist restraints. These particular restraints
possessing a lead, the other end of which was in Ayeka's hand. 
     "Just in case you are not being quite as sincere as you seem, Miss,"
Ayeka said, not quite succeeding in keeping a smirk off her face. "Now,
if we are quite done with this nonsense, I believe you have school
uniforms to try on, Miss Saotome."  

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

     Nabiki had thought it couldn't get any weirder. That was when the
two cat-girls had poured hot water over their heads. She was now sitting
across the table from two Akanes. Sitting next to them was the former
redhead, who apparently was the wife of her father's old friend Saotome
Genma, Nodoka, who had come to visit them just a few weeks before.
The pig was still a pig however. And the boy was still a boy. Nabiki
directed a rather wan smile across the table at Ukyou, who gave her a
thumbs up. Which earned him an elbow in the gut from one of the
Akanes, a gentle one, however, as he only gasped slightly. 
     Next to Nabiki, her father sat, tears streaming down his face. "Oh
my poor baby . . .babies," he wailed. 
     "Please, Daddy. It's not that bad," the two said together. They
exchanged looks, and then the one on the left carried on the conversation
solo. "I know it's strange, but we're not hurt."
     "But which one of you is really Akane?" Soun wailed.
     "We both are!" the Akane on the left said firmly. "One of us isn't a
copy. I was split into two. Each of us is just as much Akane as the
other." 
     "Did it hurt very much?" Soun asked in a quavering voice. 
     "No. It felt a bit strange, but at first I didn't even know it had
happened." 
     Nodoka spoke up. "I'm very sorry, Soun. This is all my fault. I
should have kept better watch. I failed in my responsibility to you."
     "Eh, what? Oh no, don't think that. I know how hard it is to keep
track of my girls."
      Nabiki snorted in derision at this comment. As if he'd ever really
tried.
     Soun made a visible effort to bring himself under control. "After
all, there is no real harm done," he said, giving a slightly hysterical
laugh. While everyone looked at him incredulously, he went on. "Akane
is back, and twice the girl she used to be, and best of all, you've brought
back your son." 

     Listening outside the room Genma decided the time had come to
take action. From the murmur of voices everyone was just on the other
side of the wall. He raised his arms up in a threatening gesture, puffed
his body up as large as he could, and curled his lips back from his teeth,
baring them in a ferocious snarl. The plan was simple. He'd burst into
the room, let out a roar, and while everyone was stunned by his sudden
appearance, he'd grab Ranma and clear out.   

     Everyone around the table was staring at Soun in suspicion and
worry. There was something about the way his eyes were shining that
seemed to indicate that he was not yet in control of his faculties. Nodoka
spoke up after a moment of silence, and asked, "I'm glad you are happy,
Soun. But why are you so happy to see my son?"

     Whatever answer Soun might have made would have to wait,
because at that moment there was a hideous roar, and the giant black and
white form of the panda burst through the wall. 
     A shove from Ukyou send Nabiki sprawling backward behind him,
while Annakane and Unakane jumped on to the top of the table placing
themselves between the panda and Soun and Kasumi. All of them were
moving in slow motion compared to Nodoka, however. There was a
distinctive ringing 'shing' as fine crafted steel was drawn from its
sheath, and her sword came around and up, to end with the point a scant
inch in front of the panda's nose.
     For a second the panda looked cross-eyed at the object in front of
him, and then his eyes followed the length of steel down to its wielder. 
     A second later he was laying flat on his back, playing with an old
tire that had materialized out of nowhere, a sign in his paw declaring,
*I'm just a harmless Panda.*
     Nodoka took in this rather amazing display through narrowed eyes,
and asked, "Kasumi, could you please fetch me some more hot water?"
A second after she spoke, she lunged forward, and drove her sword into
the floor in front of the nose of the panda who was trying to creep from
the room, freezing it in place. "Please stay still, Panda-san. We would
not want an accident to happen. Would we?" Nodoka's tone of voice was
quiet, even polite, but no one in the room supposed for an instant that she
was anything less then serious. The panda subsided into a quivering
hunk of flesh.
     Ukyou's eyes narrowed. After the experiences of the past week
there was only one inference he could assign to Nodoka's words. The
panda was cursed, just as they were. But the implications went far
deeper than that. It was possible that his presence here was purely
random, but Ukyou was not about to buy it. Not when he knew for a fact
that a certain someone had visited Jusenkyo three and a half months ago,
and had some reason for being in this area. He pointed his finger at the
quivering panda, and said in an accusing tone of voice. "Gen__"
     
     "HOTCHA!!!  Akane-chan, I've missed you so much. Take me to
your breasts!"
     Ukyou stood with his finger still pointed at the panda, but his
attention was on something altogether different.  A bead of sweat
appeared on his forehead as he took in the small wizened figure
clutching Annakane's breasts. He fought down an urge to scream 'duck
and cover,' and instead pulled his spatula from behind his back, and
prepared to protect the non-combatants as best he could from the
approaching fall out. 
     Predictably, Annakane was not taking well to having her breasts
fondled and mauled by the wizened little man. Ukyou presumed he was
a man anyway; it was rather hard to tell with the way Annakane was
gyrating around the room. It wasn't until Unakane snatched up the table,
and Annakane suddenly stopped, that Ukyou realized that Annakane was
not as lost in anger as he had thought.
     "Now!" Annakane cried out, without need as it happened, Unakane
was already swinging the table flat side on as her twin came to a stop.
There was a fearsome crash, and the middle of the table shattered into
splinters as it impacted with Unakane. She staggered a step backwards,
and shook splinters out of her hair. Other than that she showed no sign of
damage.
     Unfortunately, the same could be said for the wizened little man.
That individual was sitting on the end of a dumbfounded Ukyou's
spatula, calmly smoking a long slender pipe. As he puffed, his eyes
swivelled from one Akane to another. The two girls were busy gingerly
examining Annakane's front, and were not yet aware of the present
location of their tormentor. 
     Tears started to stream down the cheeks of the little man, and
Ukyou, who had been about to shake him off, paused. Only to face-fault
when the wizened freak spoke. "I'm so moved," he sniffed. "What a
splendid present. To think you went to all that effort for me. I must give
you something in return." His eyes lit up. "I have just the thing. Here you
go." From inside his clothes the little man produced two pairs of black
lacy bras.          
     The twins glared balefully at the small man, veins bulging on their
foreheads.          
     Ukyou gulped, suddenly realizing he was sharing ground zero with
the object of the girls' ire. "Catch, girls!" he shouted, swinging his
spatula up and heaving the little pervert at the two Akanes. Or at least he
tried to do so. The little man didn't shift an inch from his position on the
end of Ukyou's spatula, sticking like he was glued in place. 
     Gaping incredulously, Ukyou shook his spatula violently. The only
reaction from the little man was a narrowing of his eyes. "That's not
very friendly," he accused Ukyou. He pointed his pipe at the brown-
haired boy, and said. "Take some advice, sonny, get lost. Me and Akane,
and uh," he looked over at the two twins, "and Akane, have some
catching up to do, and the last thing we need is a third, er, fourth wheel."
     "Why, you little --" 
     Ukyou got no further because at that moment a black blur buzzed
by the end of his spatula, and the little man gave a cry of horror, "My
pretties!"     
     Ukyou's eyes tracked toward the door, where a small black pig was
standing, a black bra dangling from his mouth. Even as the perverted old
man dove for him, he ducked around the corner of the opening, followed
closely by the little man. A second later, there was a loud crackle of
electricity, and a brilliant flash of light illuminated the doorway. 
     All was silent. Everyone's attention focused on the door through
which the pig and man had disappeared. There was the sound of
staggering steps, and the little man tottered into sight. He was covered in
black soot, and the charred remains of a bra hung from his hand. He
gave a gasp, expelling a puff of smoke, and said in a faint voice, "That's
no ordinary pig," after which he slowly fell forward onto his face.
     Behind Ukyou, Nabiki eyes narrowed. 
     The room went silent. Everyone just stared at the tiny figure on the
floor. Akane's father was the first to break the silence. "Master?" he
asked in a hesitant voice. "Master, are you all right?" He said again,
moving slowly toward the fallen midget. He reached out hesitantly and
nudged his master with a toe. No reaction. Bending down, he shook the
little man with his hand. No reaction. 
     "Oh my poor Master!" Soun wailed taking the little mans shoulders
in both his hands, and shaking him violently. "Wake up, Master," he
cried, as he started slamming the little pervert into the floor over and
over. 
     Ukyou and Nodoka watched wide-eyed, sweat forming on the back
of their heads. Nabiki yawned, bored. Unakane and Annakane stood
facing each other, playing a game of Rock, Scissors, Paper. Each picking
the same object each time, of course.  Agent P strolled back into the
room, a certain degree of smugness evident in his posture. He trotted
over toward the two Akanes, where Unakane snatched him up, directing
a triumphant gaze toward her twin, who scowled, but conceded defeat. 
     Unakane marched across the room and plucked the little man out
of her father's grip. Ignoring his protests, she marched out into the yard,
depositing Agent P on the porch as she did so. Once clear of the house
she gazed down at the limp figure in her arms who was starting to twitch
back to awareness. "Why, Master Happosai, you look a bit pale," she
said in a tone of voice, that despite being quiet and gentle sent a shiver
down Ukyou's spine. "I think you need a bit of sun."
     "I hear Hawaii is nice this time of year," Nabiki said in a sardonic
tone from where she'd stepped up beside Ukyou. She turned her gaze up
toward him, and continued. "I read that it's a favorite honeymoon
destination, what do you think?"             
     If Unakane's voice had sent a shiver up Ukyou's spine, the slightly
predatory tone of Nabiki's voice, combined with the rather ravenous
look in her eyes sent a whole fleet of icebergs, and he didn't even know
why. 
     Meanwhile, out in the yard Unakane was musing over Nabiki's
suggestion. "Hawaii, eh? That's to the east isn't it," she asked
rhetorically, as she turned to face the north. "I don't know, I think some
clear mountain air might be better for him, up above all this smog." 
     "I hear that the air in Tibet is very fresh," Annakane offered with a
grin.
     "I do believe you are right, sister," Unakane said, going into a
windup. She bent backward till the hand holding Happosai was almost
touching the ground. 
     "Stop!" Nodoka suddenly shouted, stepping down off the porch.
"Girls I'm ashamed of you," she said.
     "But, but," both Unakane and her sister sputtered.
     "You can't have been paying attention in class. Tibet is at least five
degrees that way," she said, taking Unakane by the shoulder and turning
her ever so slightly. She patted Happosai on the head, and said in a very
chilly voice, "I never did get a chance to thank you for those 'interesting'
wedding gifts, Master Happosai." Nodoka stepped back and nodded to
Unakane.
     A few seconds later the rapidly diminishing figure of the little
pervert disappeared into the smog.
     The people in the yard watched the disappearing speck with
various emotions. Most of them with degrees of glee, and Kasumi with
concern, but one person present was not paying any attention to the
departing master.
     While she took as much satisfaction in his banishment as her
younger sisters, a flying Happosai was worth very little Yen. Pandas on
the other hand . . .  That was why it was Nabiki who asked. "What
happened to Mr. Fuzzy?"
               
************************************************

     The flight to Japan had been much more strenuous than the
overconfident Herb had imagined. While it was true that she had
impressive levels of chi, she'd never before had to use them for such a
sustained effort. She was almost drained dry, and had been forced to
manage the last few miles on pure wing-power alone. She needed to
conserve what little energy she had left for her attack when she finally
reached her target.
     It was fortunate that her time in the air under chi power had
allowed her to become partially familiar with the art of flying, but it was
still far from easy for her. Eagles she had passed on the way had soared
high above her, never moving a muscle. They rode the currents in the air
with a skill Herb could only observe with bitter envy. Her own efforts to
stay aloft relied on much wasted thrashings. By now her joints felt like
they were ready to burst into flame, and it was agony each time she
flapped. 
     One thing alone at this point kept her going, and it was that her
target was very near now. Perfume was so close she could almost smell
the treacherous cow's sweet fragrant scent. She could make! She would
make it! No matter how much her new wings ached. 
     Herb's vision had increased greatly with her transformation, and so
she was still nearly a mile away, and two miles up when she finally 
spotted her prey. The gleaming glory of her hair was clearly visible as
she stood in front of a small insignificant house along with two other
figures. 
     The tired dragon would have screamed out a battle cry, but was
lacking the wind to do more than wheeze a hoarse, "Now I have you, my
pretty," before calling up her last reserves of chi, and tucking her wings
in close to her body as she began a dive bombing attack on her target. 
     Ten seconds after the start of her dive she had dropped nearly half
a mile, and was traveling at a speed that would have turned a falcon
green with envy. That was when the little man hit her right between the
eyes.
     At this point a certain bit of information about her new body
became evident to Herb. The ground where she'd been birthed had been
scoured back for yards from the heat of the transformation, and she'd
paid scant attention to details when she'd finally managed to take flight.
Herb, with some justification, had assumed that as she was a dragon,
then she must of course share the qualities that went with that status.
Everyone knew dragons were huge beasts, the largest under the sun
some had claimed. But there was no external magic involved in Herb's
transformation. All the energy and mass that contributed to her present
state had to come from her former body, and a one hundred and ten
pound girl did not make for a very large dragon. 
     So she possessed very little mass to counter the impact. Her
collision with Happosai was more then sufficient to destroy the delicate
balance she needed to maintain her control, and as her head whipped
backward from the force of the blow, her long tail whipped forward. The
spin continued until she was moving backwards at over a hundred miles
an hour. The pressure of the air flow against the back of her wings
pressed them tightly against her body, robbing her of any hope of
control, and completing the disaster.
     Seconds after being struck by the flung master, Herb's power dive
had degenerated into an out of control tumbling. If she had been capable
of coherent thought, however, she might have taken some consolation in
the fact that she was still falling straight at her former lover and target.  
               

     "How long are we going to have to wait?" Perfume asked her
cousin in a whisper. "I'm starving."
     "A true warrior does not whine, Great-granddaughter," Cologne
said from where she was sitting several feet away. 
     Perfume winced, and directed a dark look toward the Elder, but she
kept her tone civil as she said," Yes, Great-grandmother." She finished
her apology by making a face at the Elder's back. But then a puzzled
expression crossed that face, and she asked, "Do you hear something?"
     The village enforcer  twisted her head around looking for the
source of the strange whistling sound that had attracted her attention.
Her eyes widened in shock as she spotted the strange dark ball that was
falling out of the sky straight at her and her companions. "Duck and
cover!!" she screamed, suiting actions to words.
     Shampoo and Cologne duplicated her move, each in their own way.
Cologne managed to give the impression of leisurely stepping aside
rather than that of moving with any haste. Shampoo, on the other hand,
hearing the urgency in her cousin's voice dove as far to the side as she
could, sliding belly down in the dirt of Nodoka's garden, before spinning
around and bringing her maces up in a defensive position.
     All three Amazon's stared in amazement at the tumbling object
heading toward them. While it bore little resemblance to the graceful
images woven into the tapestries where its kind usually resided, all three
Amazons could make out enough in the brief moment offered to them to
correctly identify the genus of the creature heading their way. 

     Even if it was minuscule in comparison to those legendary beasts.  
                         
     Cologne reacted with an arched eyebrow, and the expression of
one who has just won a private bet with oneself. Shampoo and Perfume,
on the other hand, gapped in amazement.  
     A strange dopplering voice screamed out from the tumbling ball of
flesh as it went screeching past them. "Curse you, Perfume! You'll pay
for taking advantage of my innocence!!" The screaming voice cut off
abruptly as the miniature dragon impacted the front door of the house in
front of them. There was a tremendous crash, and splinters flew
everywhere. The patter of falling debris continued for several seconds,
and then silence fell. 
     Perfume stared at the large hole the dragon had left in the face of
the house, her face a study in surprise. How had the dragon known her
name? And what had it meant by its accusation? Perfume turned to face
her cousin to voice those various questions, only to stop short at the
expression on Shampoo's face. Her cousin was looking at her with
horrified awe.
     "You ravaged a dragon!?" Shampoo said incredulously. Then a
puzzled look joined the other expressions on her face, and she asked,
"How do you ravage a dragon anyway?"
     "What!? How would I know that!? Are you crazy?"
     "Tsk, tsk, Gread-granddaughter. I knew your philandering ways
would come back to haunt you one day," Cologne said in mock censure,
long practice letting her keep the twinkle in her eye from giving away
her teasing.
     "What! You, too? I tell you I didn't do anything to it. I've never
even met a dragon before."
     "Oh?" Cologne commented. "And what of the fair Herb?"
     "Herb-chan? What has she to do with this? She's back in China, no
doubt dreaming of me at this very minute."
     "No. There I think you are mistaken, Great-granddaughter. Unless
I miss my guess, your precious Herb-chan is currently residing in that
house there," Cologne said, pointing at the opening left by the
plummeting dragon.
     Perfume stared at her Great-grandmother. She opened her mouth to
say something, and closed it. She turned to look at the house, which had
started to creak. Even as she watched, one corner of the roof started to
sag. Finally she found her voice, and said, "I don't understand. Herb-
chan can't be in the house. There is no way she could have gotten here
before us."
     Cologne stopped herself from slapping her forehead, and settled for
giving her dense descendent a disgusted look. "Herb-chan is the
dragon!" she said in an exasperated voice.        
     "What?"
     "The current prince of the Musk is a descendent of a dragon. That
prince, Herb by name, recently took a dip in Nyanniichuan. Or so the
Guide tells me. Now a dragon, the first even I have ever seen, shows up
complaining of being betrayed, shortly after you shared an evening with
a certain young lady of the Musk named Herb. Does any of this ring any
bells, Great-granddaughter?"
     Perfume blinked as she digested this rapid summary, but then a
light went on in her eyes as the most important factor registered. Her
cute little Herb-chan was in that house. She turned to face it, and her
expression became horrified as she saw the slumping roof start to sag
even farther.
     "No!!" Perfume screamed, and in an eye blink was rushing at full
speed toward the house. Two twin-bladed hand-axes flowed into her
hands from their places of concealment, and a second later she vanished
into the dark hole that was all that was left of the front door of Nodoka
Saotome's house. 
     "Perfume!" Shampoo cried out, and would have followed her
cousin, but Cologne's staff snaked out and snagged her before she could
take a step.
     "Leave her be, Shampoo. She needs to do this herself."
     "But--"
     "Trust your cousin."
     Before Shampoo could make any further protests, the west wall of
the house finally gave up the ghost, and folded in on itself. The sagging
roof broke in half, and fell into the interior of the dwelling. Shampoo
gasped in dismay, but Cologne's expression never shifted as she watched
with placid curiosity. 
     A first the only thing moving was the clouds of dust kicked up by
the collapse of the house, but then the focused scream of Perfume's
battle-cry vibrated the air, and the exposed section of the fallen roof
started to shake and shudder. A screaming tearing sound clawed at
Shampoo's ears, as if someone had jammed an oversized piece of wood
into an industrial bandsaw. The few remaining clay tiles on the roof
segment started to dance in place, and several shattered. The runaway
saw sound reached a crescendo, and the section of roof where the tiles
had shattered suddenly exploded outward, revealing a whirling dervish
of destruction. 


     "Man, the Tasmanian Devil has nothing on that chick," Agent Jay
said in admiration. He was scanning the crash site from half a mile away,
courtesy of a pair of normal seeming, if slightly thick, glasses. 
     Kay, who was also wearing a pair of the MIB specials, stiffened
slightly, and said, "There's the Draken." 
     "Yea, I see it. Not much to look at, is it?" Jay commented as he
watched the brown-hair girl trying to carry the large winged lizard free
of the wreckage of the house. The awkward bundle made that difficult,
and it was not till the purple-haired cutie moved forward to help that she
managed to get it out into the front yard. "So do we move in now and
take care of__Whoa, did you see that!? The Old lady just changed the
lizard into a girl . . . A very cute, naked girl. Man. I have got to learn that
trick!"
     "Nyanniichuan unless I miss my guess," Kay commented, and then
added. "I don't think we need to snatch the Draken. I'm thinking we can
leave it where it is now."
     "What? But it's a monster. Sure, she may be one seriously foxy
mama right now, but from what Gee told us, one splash of hot water, and
she's all scaly again, and she's not going to stay a shrimp forever."
     "Draken don't have scales, but you're right. She won't stay a baby
forever. As far as is known, Draken never stop growing. The largest ever
recorded was over ten miles in length, and claimed to be over twenty-six
million years old." Jay let out an appreciative whistle, and Kay
continued. "Extrapolating from known data, Herb should double in size
in the next hundred years." Kay directed a sardonic grin at Jay. "I think
Tokyo can be prepared for her in that time frame."
     Jay grimaced, and said, "I know, I know. Study the material. But
anyway, even if she is going to stay a shrimp, how can we leave her
running wild? She's not exactly the subtle type. Be a bit hard to keep her
under wraps, won't it?"
     "Doesn't matter. Our mandate is to keep the world from
discovering that aliens live on Earth. As far as the people who see our
Draken, they're just going to think it's a legendary mythological beast.
Native to Earth. Think of it as hiding her in plain sight. Not that we
won't make a few adjustments to keep things smooth," Kay said, as he
extracted what looked like a small silver flashlight from inside his breast
pocket.
     "I see," Jay said with a grin. "So who gets the nosy neighbors, and
who gets the cute babes." Kay's response was to simply lift an eyebrow,
which drew a groan from Jay. "Right, Rookie gets the nosy neighbors."


     Cologne replaced the heavy-duty flask with some regret. She'd
specifically brought the Nyanniichuan in the event that they ran across
any kin to Nodoka Saotome. Given the evidence of her and her son,
there was a good chance that anyone of her bloodline might gain at least
some of the late Xian Pu's ability. Oh well, it had only been a possibility.
Restoring the dragon to human form had been more important. And after
hot water had failed, the Nyanniichuan was the only option left. They
needed all the firepower they could muster, and by all accounts the
Prince of the Musk was formidable.  
     While Cologne had been musing on the martial abilities of Herb,
Perfume had been focusing on something else entirely. Namely the fact
that Herb had not seen fit to bring any clothing with her. This was made
easier by the fact that she was currently cradling the shapely girl in her
arms. The unconscious girl shivered, which sent delightful ripples
through her body, but reminded Perfume that while a bare Herb was a
pleasing sight, she would not thank Perfume if she caught cold. The
fierce village enforcer slipped off her own top, intending to wrap it
around the sleeping beauty.
     "Oh, for heavens sake, you pervert," Shampoo teased. "Let the
poor girl at least wake up before you take advantage of her." Perfume
directed a dirty look at her unrepentant cousin, and worked her top
around Herb as best she could. As she finished, the girl in her arms gave
a soft moan. 

     Herb's eyes blinked as she tried to clear her blurry vision. A face
swam into view, and became clear. A jolt of shock raced through Herb
as she finally recognized Perfume. "You--" she started to say in an
accusing voice, but that was as far as she got. Delighted at Herb
returning to the land of the living. Perfume gave a glad cry, and hugged
the green and white-haired girl to her bosom, which was substantial, and
currently bare. When Perfume finally let Herb up for air, the former
prince's eyes were glazed, and a slight trickle of blood ran from her
nose. And all thoughts of vengeance had fled, for the time being.
     Before Perfume could further daze her beloved, Shampoo, who had
been making a show of looking away in disgust, suddenly hissed at her
cousin. "Company."
     Outwardly Perfume gave no sign of changing her behavior, but as
she shifted her gaze to take in the black suited man approaching them,
she adjusted her shoulders slightly; just enough to make sure her folded
axes were loose in their wrist sheaths.
     As the two young Amazon's examined the stranger, Cologne
moved over to stand by them, or rather to perch on the top of her staff.
"Good day," she said in Japanese.
     "And a good day to you as well," Kay replied in the same
language. "I wonder if you could tell me what happened here. I'm with
division 13 of the local gas utility."
     "I can't really say. We were just waiting here for some friends,
when the house exploded."
     "Ah, sounds like gas. I'll just take some air samples," he said,
adjusting the slim silver device he held in one hand. Cologne just had
time to wonder how he could see with those dark glasses on, when there
was a bright red flash, and the world went away for a little while.

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


     "No! Ah, I mean, I'll be fine, really, don't worry, Ayeka. After all,
I've been dressing myself for years now."
     "But . . ."
     Gently, but firmly, Ranma shut the door on the Princess, and gave
a sigh of relief. Bad enough she had to do this. The last thing she wanted
was an audience while she tried on her first girl's school uniform. That
is, if she actually had to . . . Ranma cast a speculative look at the wide-
open window on the other side of the room . . . Maybe . . .
     "ZAP" 
     Well, so much for that idea, Ranma thought as she sucked her
singed forefinger. Guess there's no way out of it. Ranma looked down at
the brown paper wrapped object on the bed, and gave a sigh of
resignation.
     Ranma had been avoiding this all morning, not that's she'd ever
felt she had any real chance of escaping her fate, but she'd felt the need
to make a least a token effort at resisting the inevitable. Anyway, it
wasn't really the fact that it was a girl's uniform that had caused her so
much distress, at least not directly. She'd been wearing girl stuff for a
while now, and actually appreciated the bras. Panties were another
matter, but she accepted the necessity of those at certain times. It was
something else that bothered her.
     Ever since her accident, she'd found herself intensely conscious of
her own body, and the attention it drew. Most especially from Tenchi,
but also from his father and grandfather. Not that the latter gave any sign
of paying any attention, but she still blushed at the thought that she'd
been standing in front of him naked. That alone was weird. That was the
first time she'd ever cared about being naked in front of a guy. Now,
even the thought of appearing in something as ordinary as a dress made
her nervous, wondering what the reaction would be.

     Well, she'd given escape her best shot, now it was time to face the
music. Reaching down, she neatly, in order to take more time, folded the
paper carefully away from the contents. Despite being braced for the
sight, she couldn't help wincing a bit when the first sign of cloth showed,
but a second later her forehead creased. What the?" she murmured. 
Ranma picked up the top most article of clothing and held it against her
body. It looked to be a perfect fit. Which was strange, considering the
style. "No way. I don't believe it," she said incredulously. 


     "No way. I don't believe it," Tenchi said in unconscious mimicry
of his fiancee. He stared at Ayeka in shock. "Dad bought Ranma's
uniform?" There was a note of horror in Tenchi's voice, along with
something else. The something else could have been due to a sudden
vision of thigh-high skirts, and white cotton panties, but a good boy like
Tenchi would never have such a perverted thought. Would he?

     "Big-brother Tenchi, why is your nose bleeding?" Sasami asked.

     "Ah, wha, oh, yes, it's, I've had a cold, that's it, I've had a cold,
and my nose is sensitive," Tenchi stammered, wiping the blood from his
face, and the dirty thoughts from his mind. What was he going to do?
When Ranma saw what his dad had bought her, she'd go through the
roof, maybe literally. Only the thought that Ranma might already have
started undressing kept him from bursting into the room and throwing his
body on top of the offending package. This was bad. This was very bad.
     Tenchi cast a glance over to where his father was busy setting up a
video camera. Funny, he'd didn't look particularly lecherous, very happy
yes, but not in a hentai sort of way. Maybe the uniform was alright.
Maybe there was nothing funny about it after all. Yea, and maybe pigs
would fly. Tenchi's attention turned once more toward the bedroom
door. Surely Ranma had checked out her uniform by now. They'd be
hearing her screams of outrage any second now.    Tenchi braced
himself, squinting his eyes shut. After a few seconds, he cracked a
cautious eye open and peered at the door. Nothing? Maybe Ranma
hadn't tried it on yet, maybe she was sulking in there, or maybe . . .
     Tenchi paused as a thought suddenly occurred to him. Ranma had
never attended a school that allowed girls, at least not in the last six
years if what she'd told him was correct. It could be that she didn't know
what a proper girl's school uniform was suppose to look like, and that
would mean . . .
     "Oh, big-brother Tenchi, your nose is bleeding again!" Sasami
exclaimed with concern. 
     While Ayeka, Mihoshi, and Ryouko all hurried over to join Sasami
in nursing Tenchi back to health, the bedroom door swung open. 
Nobuyuki clicked on the video recorder and beamed happily at the figure
in the doorway. "You look beautiful, Ranma," he said, a tear trickling
down his cheek.
     The mass of humanity in the center of the room all turned their
heads to stare in Ranma's direction. There was stunned silence for a
second, and then a universal cry of "NANI?!?!" went up as their chins
fell.

     Feeling self conscious, Ranma glared at the group. "What's the
matter? Ain't you never seen a school uniform before?" she asked
belligerently, but not quite keeping the pleasure out of her voice at the
reaction she had caused, and at the well tailored boy's uniform she was
wearing. 

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

     *I don't see why I couldn't help Ukyou and Annakane and
Unakane hunt for the Panda, mother,* Ranko said in a sulky tone.
     "I'm sorry, dear," Nodoka said in a kind, but firm voice. "But you
don't have enough experience with the modern world yet. You'd have
had to stay with one of the girls, and that wouldn't have covered any
more territory than they could by themselves. As well, I need to call
home and see if maybe the Panda, or someone else has been there."

     From her position at the dining table, down the hall from the
telephone, Nabiki watched as Nodoka picked up the handset. Nabiki had
always thought her family lived in the midst of chaos, what with her little
sister's super-soba boosted strength, and her father's perverted master,
but she hadn't known the meaning of the word. Watching Nodoka carry
on a one sided conversation with herself, and knowing that there was a
real person residing in the wooden diadem she wore as a hair ornament
merely drove the weirdness home even further. 
     Faced with this chaos, Nabiki could really only do one thing. Think
of the best way she could maximize the potential. There had to be some
way she could make money out of this.

     Soun, like Nabiki, was dealing with the weirdness by focusing
tightly on a singular goal. In his case it was Nodoka's son. He was a
handsome looking lad, who had acquitted himself well during the
Master's attack. Best of all, he'd managed to survive over a week in
company with Akane, and was still healthy. Tears ran down Soun's
cheeks. At last his family would be joined with Saotome's. 

     A sudden, shocked exclamation from Nodoka drew both Soun's
and Nabiki's attention. Her face was pale, and one hand rested on the
hallway table, as if her legs were suddenly too weak to support herself.
     "Nodoka!" Soun said in concern. "Are you alright? What's the
matter?"
     "My home," Nodoka said in a faint voice. "It's gone."
     "Gone?"
     "Exploded. A gas leak," Nodoka explained, her voice shaky with
shock. A sudden thought struck her, and she quickly raised the phone
back to her mouth. "Was anyone hurt, Ichiro-san?" she asked in concern. 
     A look of relief appeared on her face. "Thank goodness for that in
any case. I'll be home . . . I'll be there as quickly as I can manage. I'll
need to see what I can salvage. . . They did? Everything? . . . That was
very kind of them. And very kind of you to store them for me. I'll take
them off your hands as soon as I can. I am very grateful for all your help,
and--" Nodoka paused in surprise as the lady on the other end
interrupted her as she recalled something. "A message? . . . From my
uncle? Thank you Ichiro-san. I'll give him a call. And thank you again
Ichiro-san." Nodoka hung up the phone, a thoughtful look on her face.

     Kasumi, who had come out of the kitchen during the conversation
said, "Your house blew up, Aunty. That's terrible." She looked over at
her father, and asked. "Father, might we not put up Aunty and Ukyou?"
While the question was put in a very polite and respectful manner,
Nabiki for one was not fooled, and neither was her father. Kasumi would
never be so crass as to indulge in fits of temper or spite, but the house
would become a very uncomfortable place if Soun was not forthcoming
with said invitation.
     Not that Soun had any intention of refusing. Having Nodoka and
her son living in his house was a much to be desired event in his mind.
"Of course they must stay," he agreed firmly. "Will you be needing
anything? Did you lose much in the explosion?"
     "No, strangely, Ichiro-san says there was very little damage to the
bulk of the contents, and that the men from the gas company helped
salvage everything. She's keeping my possessions in her own home at
the moment."
     Nodoka looked thoughtful, and added, "the strange thing is that she
received a call from my Great-Uncle Masaki shortly after I left. He
asked that I call him back as soon as I could." she shook her head in
puzzlement. "I haven't talked to my uncle in years. I can't imagine what
he would be calling about." She looked at Soun, and asked. "If I might
trouble you again, Soun, do you suppose I could use your phone again? I
can't help but think it must be very important."


     It was some hours later that Ukyou returned home with Unakane
and Annakane. Ukyou was feeling a bit down at failing to locate the
missing panda, both for his own reasons, and because he knew how
important it was to Nodoka that he locate it. 
     As he walked in the front door, the tension in the air was almost a
physical blow. Nodoka was kneeling at the table, a cup of tea in her
hands. Kasumi hovered beside her, a steaming teapot held ready to
refresh Nodoka's cup. The expression on Nodoka's face was strange. It
was one part anguish, and one part towering rage. 
     She looked up as Ukyou walked in. If she cared that they were
pandaless, she gave no sign. Instead she said in a brusque voice, "Good,
you're home. We'll be going now." Turning to Soun, who was kneeling
at the end of the table, a worried expression on her face, she said, "I
thank you for the care and concern you have shown. It was more than I
deserved after I failed so dismally in my care of your daughter."
     Ignoring Soun's sputtered objections that no apologies were
necessary, Nodoka turned back to Ukyou. "We need to leave now, I'm
afraid, Ukyou. I have learned the location of your . . . of Ranma."
     A shock went through Ukyou. "Ranma's alive!?" he asked
incredulously. His first thought was that he was finally going to get his
vengeance. His second was that he was now Ranma's brother, which
could make pounding him into a thin paste a bit of problem, ethically
speaking. 
     "Yes, so it would seem." Nodoka turned to the two Akanes next. "I
am sorry I must rush off like this. I had hoped . . .well, that is neither
here or there. I am sorry for what my carelessness has cost you both."
     "Don't be!" both twins said in unison. "We are happy with the way
things turned out."
     Nodoka gave a weak smile. "Well, that at least is some small
consolation." 

     A few minutes later the Tendos stood on the porch watching
Nodoka and Ukyou leave. Speaking in a whisper out of the side of her
voice, Annakane spoke to her twin. "You know. It sort of seems a
shame."
     "Yea, you're right."
     "We started out to help her find Ranma."
     "And now we're going to miss the ending."
     "You know . . ."
     "We're still suspended from school for another five days."
     Both twins turned to look at each other with a gleeful smile, and
whispered together, "Road trip." 

*********************************************          
                                                            
     The phone rang just as Princess Ayeka was walking past it,
startling her. "Lord Tenchi, the communication device is calling," she
said, raising her voice slightly. "Mr. Masaki," she tried next when there
was no answer from Tenchi. Again the house was silent. Gingerly
reaching forward, she picked up the receiver with the tips of her fingers,
and held the device several inches from her ear and mouth. 
     "Lord Tenchi's residence," she said in a clear voice. She was
answered by an indistinct voice she could barely make out. Resigning
herself, she brought the device closer to her ear, praying Ryouko hadn't
been using it. "Please repeat."
     "Oh, Mr. Katsuhito," she said in relief. "Can I help you? . . .
Ranma? No, I'm afraid she is not here at the moment. She's . . ." Ayeka
hesitated. When last she'd seen Ranma, she'd been involved in a brawl
with that barbarian Ryouko, something to do with the last pastry at
dinner. But Ranma-chan's penchant for unladylike behavior was hardly
something she wished to broadcast to the world, even if her grandfather
was fully aware of her normal behavior. "Ranma is out enjoying the
night air at the moment. . . I'd be happy to take a message. . ." Ayeka
suddenly went very still, and the neutral expression that was her normal
aspect hardened. "I see. Her mother is coming to visit tomorrow. I'll pass
that along. . . Goodnight to you as well."
     Ayeka hung up the phone. "So," she muttered to herself. Vividly in
her mind she could hear Ranma-chan's father explaining his wife's
psychosis. That she believed Ranma-chan to be male, and that she
tended to react very badly when confronted with the truth, up to and
including lethal measures.
     Mr. Genma had claimed that he was going to visit his wife in order
to feel her out on the subject. The news had reported he'd escaped from
his inclosure at the zoo. Ranma-chan had claimed he'd be coming home
soon as a result. But if he'd gone to see his wife instead . . . Mr.
Katsuhito had said nothing about Mr. Genma accompanying his wife.
But how could she have discovered Ranma-chan's whereabouts if he had
not told her? It seemed unlikely he'd not accompany her back to the
temple if their discussion had gone well. Maybe it had not gone well! If
that were the case, it might mean that Mr. Genma was in no position to
accompany his wife back.
     Ayeka's expression became even firmer. There was no way she
could allow Ranma-chan and her mother to meet until she had
determined the state of the woman's mind. "Kamidake, Azaka!" she
called out in a commanding voice. 
     "Yes!" the two guardians shouted as they blurred into focus in
front of her.  
     "I wish you to take up position on the far end of the path to the
house. You are to warn me if any strangers appear. Do not take any
action unless they are acting in a threatening manner, but one of you
inform me immediately as soon as you detect visitors. Do not inform
anyone else. Only me. Now go!"
     Ayeka nodded in satisfaction. That eliminated any chance of
Ranma-chan's mother coming upon them unaware. Ayeka had no wish
to come between a mother and daughter, but she would never allow
harm to come to Ranma-chan, and if the woman proved to be as crazy as
her husband claimed, then steps would be taken. 

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

     "Look, I'm not arguing that we should have sent them back," Jay
was saying to Kay, as they cruised down the street in the LTD. "That
would have caused problems, no arguments. We'd have had to flashy-
thing the whole village, and we might have missed someone that was
away. All I'm saying is that don't you think it was a bit, oh, I don't
know, stereotypical."
     "I like Chinese food," was Kay's only reply as his eyes scanned the
sidewalks on either side of them. The one thing he didn't want to get into
with Jay was the real reason he had used the Neurolizer on the Amazons.
Jay had not heard what Gee had told him about the elder's purpose in
coming to Japan. The last thing MIB wanted was Yosho being shaken
out of his rustic life. They couldn't do anything about his sister, but they
could certainly prevent an impromptu Amazon assault group from
bothering him. Jay didn't need to know the real truth. To distract his
partner, who could be a real dog sometimes when he sniffed a mystery,
he said,  "Elle should be here," in a worried voice.
     "You don't think something maybe happened to her, do you --" Jay
was suddenly cut off as Kay slammed on the brakes, bringing them to a
sharp stop.
     "Told you to wear your belt, Slick," Kay said in a distracted tone,
as he gazed at the figure currently opening the back door of the LTD.
"Bit out of uniform, aren't you, rookie?" he said with a raised eyebrow.
     "I'll say, but I don't mind in the least," was Jay's contribution as he
took in the thin silk kimono that Elle was currently wearing. "Looking
good!" he said with feeling as he looked her up and down.
     "I had a little accident," was Elle's tight-lipped reply.
     "Must have been more then a little," Jay protested. "Our clothes
are tough."
     "I'd rather not talk about it. Thank you."
     "How did the mission go? Did you straighten out the princess?"
Kay inquired. 
     "Matters have been looked after," Elle said tersely. 
     "That's it!? That's all we get?" Jay protested. "Come on, Elle. Dish
the dirt."
     "I rather not, thank you."
     "Something happened didn't it?" Jay said with a smirk. "Come on,
no need to be shy with us. We've all been there. I get slimed by a baby
squid-thing. Kay gets swallowed by a giant cockroach. Whatever
happened to you can't be worse than that. Come on, sister, spill."
     "I really, would rather not," Elle said through lips that barely
moved, and the look from her eyes could have frozen water at ten paces.
     "Ok, ok, have it your way," Jay said, turning around to face the
front. Once his hands were out of sight, he surreptitiously reached over
and pulled a portable terminal out of the pocked in the door. A few
clicks called up Elle's report.
     "Well, lookie here," he chortled, "turns out that the princess's
boyfriend was a Moroboshi in a human suit. Ain't they those tentacle
thingys with a yen for mammalian females?"
     Jay's answer was the distinctive sound of a mini-fusion reactor
winding up, and he felt something hard and cold on his cheek. He rolled
his eyes sideways, and could make out the gleaming chromed end of
Elle's personal handgun. 
     "I said," a frosty voice hissed in his ear, "that I didn't want to talk
about it!"
     Jay's fingers quickly hit the disconnect and power buttons. "Sure
thing, whatever you say. My lips are sealed. I'll not say another word."

End, chapter 12
***********************************************

Authors notes.
          
     No, I'm not planning a MIB/UY lemon. Anyone want to try their
hand . . .^_-

     Some time ago I took a survey to determine what I should focus on
in this story. One of the things most people wanted dropped was the
MIB. As I only started using them as a one shot gag, that got out of
control, I had no problem with that. From now on they will only appear,
if at all, as background characters. Kay is going to be an English teacher
at Furinkan. Elle a nurse, and Jay a P.E. teacher. This being their cover.
They will only appear in passing references. Someday I may do a side-
story where they will appear more prominently. 

     The China Girl cast will fade back somewhat. Only appearing
when they interact with the Ranma and Tenchi cast. I originally didn't
plan to have any other members of the Ranma cast except Nodoka,
Ukyou , and Ryouga, but then my twisty mind got to working, and I
started wondering about what might have been going on in Nerima while
Ranma was rusticating. 

If anyone is interested in doing a side story, or series, featuring the
events in Nerima that are separate from the Tenchi and Ranma story,
drop me a line, I'd have no real problem with that.

About Kuno. You'll have to wait and see. ^_^

     Next chapter. Nodoka meets Ranma. And they both meet Kagato.
Who will survive . . .?

Dum de dum dum.


T.H. Tiger