Contents

Chapter 1: With You

Chapter 2: Numb

Chapter 3: Foreword

Chapter 4: Lying From You

Chapter 5: Session

Chapter 6: Breaking the Habit

Chapter 7: Carousel

Chapter 8: Pushing Me Away

Chapter 9: Hit The Floor

Chapter 10: One Step Closer

C&A Productions Presents

A Work of Blatant Self-Insertion

Hybrid Theory

Chapter 1: With You

They stopped when Aaron pointed it out to her, and Ukyou led them over to the sign. It was nondescript, just one of the thousands that appeared haphazardly across the landscape. Aaron was rather annoyed with the lack of proper signs in Japan. It made navigating the land difficult, requiring one to ask directions far more often than he wished. Ukyou was more familiar with the way things worked here, obviously, and thus had been very helpful with that. Still, she wouldn't have known where to go at all without him. And it wasn't like she had much choice but to let him tag along.

"Nerima Ward," she said aloud as she read the sign. It was placed on an otherwise unremarkable street leading through the great metropolis of Tokyo. Though one would have been hard-pressed to guess this was one of the largest cities on earth, from the small houses and simple wall-lined streets through which they passed. Would Ranma really be here?

Aaron was sure that he would be. He also knew exactly where her elusive fiancé would be staying. It would make her search considerably easier. And then she could have her revenge

(Is that what you're really after?)

Damn it! Ukyou reached up and clenched her head in frustration. She leaned against the sign and took a long, deep breath. There was no getting used to it. Feeling the thoughts bubble up and consume her mind like that. Even though she knew that the thought was alien, the experience of it was so... complete. It reminded her that she had other priorities now. Nonetheless, finding Ranma was important, because it would draw her closer to a solution to both of her problems.

With a sigh she pulled herself to her feet and walked past the sign. It was just as well she got moving, as people had started to give her odd looks. Not surprising. She did strike an odd figure, dressed in a solid black boy's school uniform covered with a layer of trail dust. The dust could have been avoided by taking a bus; there was ample money. But the time spent walking had allowed her to... adjust to her new circumstances. It also made Aaron a lot less dangerous both to himself and others, since she had been rigorously drilling him in the Art since they had left her hometown. On her back was a huge canvas travel sack, intended for someone at least twice her size. It made her stand out, but it was not obviously out of place. Far stranger was the huge polearm strapped to the back of the sack, which resembled nothing so much as a spatula.

*

"He's not there," Ukyou stated aloud.

They had ditched the travel pack in a rat-hole motel that asked no questions and accepted cash. Ukyou wasn't really afraid of the types who lingered there. She was more afraid of the communal bathroom, really. She didn't know why Aaron insisted that they travel in such secrecy, but she supposed he had a right to be paranoid. She really couldn't blame him, since his concerns were literally infectious. That was also the reason she was standing in a tree in the neighboring yard, using the blooming spring foliage to conceal her location from the family she was watching.

The compound looked almost exactly like Aaron remembered. It was a walled-in home, two stories, attached to a traditional dojo with an idyllic backyard garden complete with koi pond. Still, it was strange seeing it like this for the first time, and he was experiencing some form of strange sensory feedback. Ukyou sighed and rubbed her hand over her eyes as the headache spread. She then forced them open again as she heard the family members beginning to call to each other down below. For a moment she watched as the group gathered itself together for the traditional evening meal. Their position in the tree afforded them an almost unobstructed view straight into the dining area. Aaron took this opportunity to point out the family members. Ukyou didn't resist his efforts, even if it was unnecessary.

"Akane." The girl was obviously in her mid-teens, with a long head of black hair. She was wearing a simple blouse-skirt combo and was gesturing extravagantly as she spoke. If Aaron's memories were to be trusted, something Ukyou had yet to agree with, then that hairstyle placed her either before or very early in the series. That might explain Ranma's absence. Or it might not.

"Nabiki." The next girl was dressed in a far less modest fashion. She was slightly taller than Akane, with shorter hair and an expression of calculated indifference.

"Soun." The only man of the household was sitting with his back to them, so neither could see his face. He was dressed in a plain green gi and his dull black hair was cut severely just below his shoulders.

"Kasumi." This girl Ukyou couldn't see entirely. Her position at the head of the table edged her just out of their line of sight. All that Ukyou could see was that she was wearing a dowdy housedress and was serving the rest of the household before digging into her own meal.

"He's still not here," Ukyou pointed out again as she drew back her finger. Her hand wrapped carefully about the hilt of the combat spatula that was slung over her shoulder. It was early, Aaron pointed out. Ukyou didn't know if she trusted this memory of his. It was all a bit too much to take. He couldn't really have read out a significant portion of her life in a comic book published in another world. It was just insane. Still, enough of what he knew made just enough sense that Ukyou couldn't dismiss it. Plus she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he had never been to this house or this place before. The only place he remembered that family from was the stories he had read and watched on his strange alternate Earth. It sent strange chills through her limbs to think about it. Aaron calmed her down, keeping her from hyperventilating at the idea. He was very good at that; calming her down when her emotions flared.

"We'll do some investigating," Aaron pointed out in a whisper. It was still strange to hear him talking like that. It was disturbing. This whole experience was disturbing... no, beyond disturbing.

(Once we have the sword, I'll be out of your hair... literally.)

Ukyou nodded. Yes. The other reason they were in Nerima. It would give them something else to do before Ranma showed up, at the very least.

*

Akane glanced back over her shoulder. There he was again. The boy was wearing a school uniform, but she could swear she had never seen him at school. It would have been hard not to recognise him, with that weird weapon strapped to his back. Still, it was the same boy, and now Akane was definitely convinced that he was following her. Akane moved her eyes back in front of her before the boy noticed her noticing him. She felt her temper growing shorter as she thought about him back there, watching her. His gleaming baby-brown eyes sliding lecherously across her body. His effeminately handsome face cracked in two by a perverted leer. Akane was fuming as she felt heat rising in her cheeks at the image of him she conjured up in her mind. If some... BOY thought that he could stalk her and catch her defenceless and alone and molest her away from prying eyes, she would show him a thing or two.

"Excuse me," she called to Sayuri and Yuka. They stopped in mid-stride upon hearing her, and blinked when they realized that she had stopped a few paces back. "I have to go take care of something," she practically growled at them as she bowed slightly and turned to walk back the way they had come.

"Uh oh, sounds like Akane spotted that guy again," Yuka told her friend as Akane stalked away.

"Oh man," Sayuri sighed to herself. "I hope Akane doesn't hit him in the face. He has such a cute face..." The rest of her friends' conversation was lost to Akane as she moved through the crowd towards where she had last spotted the mystery boy. She was feeling good and steamed up now. After her "talk" with the acting principal about how she was "abusing" all the men on campus, Akane had been packing a good old-fashioned beating around all day just waiting for an excuse to let it loose. She had planned on working out her frustrations on some innocent bricks back at the dojo, but this was far better. Not only would giving this guy a few wallops do wonders for her peace of mind, it might also convince him to find somebody else to stalk. Akane didn't like the feeling of being watched, and was prepared to demonstrate this... at length, if necessary.

She was just quick enough to spot the boy slipping away into an alley. Akane didn't hesitate as she jogged in pursuit. Still, by the time she caught sight of him the boy was already exiting the other side of the narrow passage. Damn, he moved fast - especially for someone who appeared to be only walking. If he got out of her sight she might lose him in the crowd of students that were rapidly filling up the streets.

"Hey you! Stop!" Akane cried out in her most commanding tone. The boy continued to move, perhaps picking up his pace a little. "Don't pretend you don't hear me!" Akane snarled as she picked up her pace to a sprint. The boy jerked his head at this, his long black hair snapping behind him. With obvious reluctance he stopped his forward momentum and turned to face her. His expression was blank, with just a hint of curiosity in his elegantly arched eyebrows. Akane had spent too long living with her sister to be fooled by that expression. "Yes, I'm talking to you!" she growled as she slowed down so she didn't slam into him. Tempted as she was to hit first and ask questions later, Akane was willing to give this guy the benefit of the doubt.  THEN hit him.

"Can I help you?" he asked in an uninflected, high-pitched voice. Akane frowned. This guy looked too old and tall for his voice not to have changed yet, but he still sounded like a ten-year-old.

"Don't play dumb with me," Akane poked at his chest - only to stumble slightly as the boy slid back to avoid it so fast she barely saw him move. The boy's arm was raised protectively over his chest to ward off her touch. Akane blinked at the odd gesture.

"I'm not playing dumb," the boy said slowly as he lowered his arm.

"Yes, you are!" Akane snapped. The boy was giving her a wary look. Good, she wanted him a bit scared. "You've been following me around for almost two weeks now! Don't play innocent-"

"Oh, that," the boy cut her off with a sigh. Akane blinked. "So much for my mad wind ninja skillz..." he grinned a bit impishly and ran his hand through his long bangs. "Yes, I was following you, I admit it. But it wasn't for the reason you probably think it was for."

"What if I don't believe you?" Akane stated evenly. The boy’s confession had thrown her off her stride. Akane fully expected to have to beat the truth out of him. But this boy was neither cowering in terror nor slinking away in shame. He was completely ruining her fantasies about this confrontation!

"Then I guess you don't believe me," the boy replied with a fluid shrug. The smile had faded from his face.

"Well, I think I know exactly why you're following me," Akane snapped. "I think you're some pervert boy who sees me as some easy target for his disgusting fantasies. Well I'm not about to let you-" The boy began to laugh abruptly, cutting off Akane just as she was reaching her stride. Akane narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists so tight her knuckles turned white. He was MOCKING her?

"You have a healthy ego, I'll give you that," the boy commented as he quieted his laughter. "No, I'm not after you for anything like that. In fact, I'm only peripherally interested in you at all." Akane was about to open her mouth to retort when he stopped her by holding his palm up. "And I see that nothing I say is going to prove that I'm not after that. So I'll show you. Just not here on the street."

"What?" Akane stepped back, unsure what the boy meant. He had a mischievous look in his eyes, but his voice was resigned.

"Follow me into the alley a little bit, just far enough to get out of sight of everyone else," the boy invited as he smoothly slid around her. Akane stared at his back as he moved further into the alley. She could see he had moved his hands up to his chest and was doing something there, but not what. Suddenly doubt and a hint of fear crept into Akane's consciousness. The boy paused after a dozen space-eating strides and looked over his shoulder at her. His long hair flipped with the gesture to rest over one shoulder. "There's nothing to be afraid of. If I'm trying to trick you or you don't believe me for any reason, you can beat me up if you like. I won't even raise a finger to defend myself."

Somehow, the suggestion that she might be afraid caused the emotion to evaporate. Akane didn't really pay attention to the rest of what he said after that. She was too busy grumbling unintelligibly and planning what awful pain she would inflict on this pervert once he failed to convince her of whatever lie he had thought up. Still, Akane followed him into the alley. It was really narrow inside, not even wide enough across for two people to walk abreast. It was also filthy, and the ground was covered with some sort of slime that Akane preferred not to think about. She had gone through the alley so fast the first time she didn't even notice the smell. The boy resumed his trek inward once he was sure she was following. Soon they were standing less than a meter apart, halfway into the shadowed passage.

"Okay, this is far enough," the boy said with a nod. He turned to face her. One hand lay askance at his side, but his other hand was holding the high collar of his black school uniform in a tight grip. "I'm usually not such an exhibitionist, but you leave me little choice," the boy warned her cryptically. With an easy pull he peeled down his shirt and Akane could only stare at what was revealed. At first, her mind didn't register it right. The tightly wound bandages first made Akane think of some horrible wound, complete with the swelling that was obvious underneath them. Then she realized what she was looking at. The boy had breasts.

Akane snapped her head back as if burned, and her face felt hot enough for that to be true. The boy laughed and pulled up his shirt over his... no, HER breasts again and began to button up. Akane tried to speak, but her mouth refused to cooperate. It simply hung open there and sagged back and forth as she backed up a few steps.

"Satisfied?" the girl said with a grunt. She was just finishing refastening her top and Akane's face drifted from his hands up to his nearby face. Now that she was looking in the right light, Akane could see that the boy was a bit too effeminate. His eyes and the angle of his nose and the smooth chin... it was a bit too much when taken all together.

Oh yeah, and he had no adam's apple. There was that too.

"My name is Ukyou Kuonji," the girl said with a short bow. "Sorry for the misunderstanding."

"Akane Tendo," Akane bowed back, dipping only slightly deeper. "It was my fault. I leapt to conclusions..." she trailed off lamely, not really sure how to address the person standing before her. Thankfully the girl seemed to be taking it in good humour. She waved off Akane's attempt at an apology and started to walk out of the alley, mentioning that the place stank a bit too much for the conversation to continue there. Akane had to agree with that and followed along willingly enough.

"It was my fault," Ukyou pointed out as they walked. "I was the one tailing you. Though it wasn't just you. I've actually been spying on your whole family for the last few weeks. I honestly didn't think anyone had spotted me."

"Well, you're wrong," Akane replied with a frown. "I think Nabiki spotted you first, but you're being talked about all around the school." Akane paused at this point to growl. "Like I don't have enough rumors floating around about me, thanks to you everyone is talking about my 'mystery stalker' and how 'romantic' it is that you don't attack me every day like all the other guys."

"Oh man," Ukyou muttered to herself and put her face in her hands. "I really suck at this stealth stuff."

Akane chuckled at her obvious disappointment. But that brought the reason for it floating back to the front of her mind and the laugh died off suddenly. Ukyou looked over at her and Akane cleared her throat. "Speaking of that, why were you following me?"

"I'm looking for someone, and I have reason to believe you - or more accurately your family - knows him." Ukyou's voice was even and soft. But there was a underlying hint of some deeper emotion. Akane couldn't place it, but from the way the other girl's hands twitched Akane suspected this was something very personal to her. "I didn't announce myself because I know how sneaky they are. That bastard Genma would flee like a rat if he found out I was looking for him." Akane frowned as Ukyou spoke. She was already straining her brain to identify the name Genma, but she could not recall having ever heard it before in her life. "The person I'm looking for is named Genma Saotome, and his son... Ranma," Ukyou added after a moment's deep thought. Her voice hitched at the second name. Akane found herself intensely curious about what this girl-in-disguise was after these two for. Especially if they were somehow connected to her family.

"I've never heard of them," Akane murmured softly. Ukyou looked back at her with an unreadable expression. Then she strode forward slightly and turned her attention back to the crowds.

"No, I think you would have led me to them by now if you knew them," Ukyou said. "But I have a feeling that if you aren't going to contact them, they'll be contacting you. I have reason to believe your father owes Genma something. And Genma is sure to remember a debt like that... at least when he's not the one owing."

"What kind of debt?"

Ukyou took a good long time answering this question. Her body was slouched slightly and she was staring off into space. Akane almost stepped past her before she realized that the other girl had stopped.

"I have suspicions, but nothing I can prove," Ukyou said slowly. She looked at Akane with a blank, almost dead expression. "I think it has something to do with what they did to... me."

"Did to you...?"

"Nevermind," Ukyou laughed suddenly and waved her hand as if to dispel some stale air. "It doesn't matter. When I catch up with them, I'll be able to set that all right." Ukyou paused again and looked off into the distance. "But I've wasted enough of your day already. I promise to stay out of your hair." Ukyou began to walk away at an angle, her strides once more beginning to consume space with abandon.

"No, wait!" Akane called out. She was holding her hand towards the retreating back of this strange girl and didn't know why. Maybe it was because there seemed something... sad about her. She seemed to be so alone. And Akane was beginning to understand what it was like to be alone. She had never exactly been popular. But now... now she was receiving all the wrong attention. And as a result, the only people in school that ever talked to her were Yuka and Sayuri. And Akane had known them since the three were toddlers. Ukyou had been so... so at ease with her. It was like being treated like a human being again.

The girl in question had paused and was looking back over her shoulder. Akane could see how she, and everyone else, had mistaken her for a boy. Her face was cute, but not pretty enough to give her away, and all her other signs of femininity were well-concealed. Her posture, her gestures and her very expression were so masculine it was hard to picture her as anything else. The girl must have had a great deal of experience with her deception.

"Indeed?" Ukyou asked, startling Akane out of her reverie.

"Uh... you don't have to go," Akane began lamely. Ukyou didn't move, but continued to stare at her with a strange, dispassionate intensity. "What I mean is... you don't know anybody around here, do you?"

"You could say that..." Ukyou said slowly. She cocked her head to the side and spun to face Akane. She crossed her legs at the ankle as she stood there. Her arms rose up and laced together over her concealed breasts.

"Well, we might have gotten off in the wrong foot but... do you... want to be friends?"

"Okay..." Ukyou said slowly and then laughed. "As long as you don't get mad at me for being better than you at martial arts."

"What!?" Akane snapped. She stepped forward and clenched her extended hand into a fist. "Are you saying you're better than me at fighting?" Ukyou shrugged and chuckled again. "I think that's a challenge!"

"Who, me?" Ukyou stepped back and waved her hands in front of her to ward Akane off. "No, it was just an in-joke! Really!"

"Oh no, you're not getting away with it that easy! Let's go... right here, right now!"

"But..."

Akane wasn't about to listen. Grinning like a loon, she charged at the other girl. She still needed to work out her frustration, after all. And it wasn't like she was going to hurt Ukyou. Before Akane could close half the distance, Ukyou was moving. Her hand reached up and clasped the shaft of her ridiculously huge spatula. With an elegant motion she jerked it free of the harness on her back and brought it around before her. Akane felt her first blow glance off the metal of the weapon and grunted to conceal the pain she felt. She was already moving into her next blow, but Ukyou skipped back, sliding away from the shorter girl with deceptive ease. Akane had committed herself to the strike, and was already moving to recover when Ukyou countered. Akane could only blink as she felt the ground disappear from under her feet. She was already smashing her back into the sidewalk before she even felt the sharp pain in her ankles.

Akane was just re-catching her breath when she felt something cool placed against her neck. Her eyes drifted up the shaft of the giant spatula; Ukyou was holding the wide edge of her bizarre weapon at her throat. And from the feel of it, she kept the edge of that weapon very sharp. "So, do you yield?" Ukyou asked softly. She had a strange expression on her face. It wasn't mocking, or enthused, like all the other fighters she had ever seen win a fight. It was confused, as if Ukyou was genuinely surprised at how well she had done. Akane internally debated how to feel about that and decided she might as well feel good. So she allowed herself to smile and nod, at least as much as the blade at her neck would let her. It wasn't like it really mattered if she lost to Ukyou, anyway. Ukyou was a girl. No matter what she looked like.

Ukyou reslung her spatula with a single motion. Still wearing her confused frown, she offered her hand to Akane and yanked the smaller girl to her feet easily. Akane laughed a bit as she bounced to her feet. "I yield all right," Akane snickered into her hand. "But I want a rematch. And next time leave your toy at home."

"Okay," Ukyou smiled behind her own hand. "You have a deal."

*

Aaron directed them into the hotel room and hung the battle spatula, harness and all, on a hook usually reserved for hats and coats. His mind was awhirl. Well, even more than usual. Today had certainly not gone the way he had planned. It was certainly inevitable that his presence here would cause changes in the timeline,

(Like ruining my life.)

but he wasn't expecting to cause such a change so soon. Still, as changes went, it was rather minor. Ukyou and Akane had been friends in the manga as well... eventually. Besides ,this gave him a line right into the Tendo dojo, which meant less time spent staking out the place waiting for Ranma to show up so Ukyou could have her

(Revenge)

whatever she finally decided to do about her feelings about Ranma.

He sat down on the relatively clean - compared to the rest of the building - bed and started to undress. Ukyou was too busy thinking about what to do with Akane to help him with that, so he moved gingerly but with an annoying familiarity. He sighed in relief as he unwrapped the bindings on Ukyou's chest and lay back to let the tensions of the day flow out of them. Aaron had tried pointing out that Ukyou's ruse was no longer necessary, and to a large extent Ukyou agreed with him. Still, habits were hard to break, and Ukyou herself didn't really know how to dress and act like a girl, after spending so long repressing and avoiding her feminine side. Not that Aaron was complaining. It meant he was less likely to have to deal with

(What, you afraid of a few skirts, mister sexless wonder?)

those things.

Aaron groaned and let Ukyou lead them to the bathroom, where she began to clean herself. He tried not to think about what she was doing, but it was rather hard considering his circumstances. He didn't like these feelings she was filling his mind with. Ukyou couldn't help it, and was trying to deny the feeling existed herself. But if there was one thing Aaron was good at, it was pointing out when people were just deceiving themselves. Ukyou didn't want to face up to how she really felt about Ranma, but Aaron was having none of that. He may not like how her childhood crush turned teenage lust made him feel, but he couldn't deny it was there.

And now they were friends with Akane. Aaron admitted that the girl was pleasant enough to be around. She had a boisterous energy that was tempered by her wary shyness. The odd combination made Akane both enthusiastic and sarcastic, which was a mix Aaron had never experienced before. He had spent the whole afternoon subtly picking Akane's brain, trying to peel away her personality and see into the girl within. It was a fascinating intellectual exercise. Made even more so by the fact that he already knew

(Or think you know)

so much about her.

Not that Ukyou really approved of such activity. She was just glad to have someone to talk to that wasn't Tsubasa or some macho jerk that she had to impress with her strength and speed before they took her seriously. She could see why Akane and That-Other-Ukyou (TM, All Rights Reserved) had eventually become friendly rivals over Ranma's affections. Of course, Ukyou didn't plan on becoming Akane's rival for the boy in this world. But still... the more she thought about him, the less and less angry she was with him. He had been six. He couldn't be held responsible for abandoning her.

Genma, they both agreed, was going to be smashed into an unrecognizable lump. Ukyou planned on testing out exactly how much of Ranma's famous recovery speed he had inherited from his father. And given their performance against Akane, she guessed that would be no problem at all. Aaron was still confused about that. He had never believed Ukyou was that good. Better than Akane, yes. But that much better? It should have been some sort of a challenge. Unless... he sighed as Ukyou started up the shower for them. There were too many variables. Had Akane not been going all out? Was he comparing Ranma to Ukyou, but only after Ranma had already mastered the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken? For the life of him he couldn't remember any time Akane and Ukyou had fought directly in the manga. Not that there was any indication this was the manga. Well, except for the hair. He fingered a strand of Ukyou's hair and examined its severe black color. The anime had made this hair brown. But still, Ukyou was right. There was no reason to assume everything here was based on the manga he had known. There was no reason to dismiss that knowledge either. Besides, he knew the anime and most other fan-created continuities just as well.

Ukyou finished her shower quickly, and stepped out to towel off. The very fact this run-down dive had a functioning - and private - shower was the only reason Ukyou still allowed them to stay here. It wasn't like Ukyou couldn't afford to set them up somewhere more classy. She had inherited quite a lot of money from her father's life insurance. Combined with the cash she had squirreled away over the years working odd jobs in restaurants, it was more than enough to afford the space for her own restaurant in the super-expensive real estate of Tokyo. But the privacy of this place suited her for the moment, and Aaron had no opinion one way or another. He only recommended she not put down too many roots before she knew exactly what she was going to do about Ranma Saotome. Maybe if she fucked him that would get him out of her head.

(Aaron!)

Well, he just hoped that they got their hands on that sword before she did. It was hard enough taking a shower like this. He wasn't really sure if he could survive that.

*

Very few people understood Tatewaki Kunou. It was a condition he did little to rectify. In fact, sometimes he was so magnificent that he had trouble understanding himself. How could any lesser person thus measure up to his standards in this regard?

Kunou strode boldly through the halls of his domain, allowing his people to part before him. He listened with contentment to their inane banter as he crossed the schoolyard. He didn't pay attention to the actual words. It was obvious that they were discussing him. Listening to their mutters of awe and reverence would doubtless only tempt him to think better of himself than he really was.

He was almost to the entrance when he spotted his goal lingering near the corner of the school. Adjusting his path, he proceeded to her without delay. Given a choice, Kunou would have as little to do with Nabiki Tendo as was humanly possible. However, as with so many unpleasant things in life, he had found it was his duty to deal with her. Few others could bring her to heel about her petty blackmail and extortion schemes around the campus. And was it not the duty of the daimyo to look out for the well-being of his fiefdom?

"You sent me this?" Kunou deftly retrieved a folded paper note from the pockets of his hakama-style pants. Nabiki looked up at him from under her bangs. As always, she had that annoyingly superior smirk on her face. Kunou despised that smirk, and despised even more the woman it came attached to. As an excuse to take his eyes from her, he unfolded the note that he had meticulously stored and began to read it aloud. "Kunou-chan," he began, and almost immediately regretted it. Why she chose to refer to him with such a childish, diminutive title eluded him. Didn't she know it annoyed him?

"I have some important information for you. Please bring me five thousand yen when you come to school tomorrow," he continued. He then folded the note again and safely stowed it away. "Well, I am here and I have brought your money. So tell me what is so urgent, Nabiki Tendo?"

"So forward?" Nabiki said coyly. "Maybe I want you to say 'please' first?"

"Don't toy with my time," Kunou responded.

"I think I might increase my price because of that comment," Nabiki pointed out in a level tone. Kunou did not groan. People of his standing simply did not do so. Thus it must have been someone nearby who made the noise. "Oh, you're so cute when you're annoyed, Kunou-chan!" Nabiki said brightly. Kunou did growl, however. "Okay, I have information about Akane's secret mystery admirer. I thought you might be interested."

Kunou perked up. He was, by definition, above the mindless gossip and rumor-mongering of his fellow students. Yet even he had seen the mysterious stranger who had started showing up shortly after his open challenge to Akane Tendo. Kunou knew the boy had been observing his Akane from a distance, but the situation bothered Kunou not a bit. What was the point of wooing such a prize if others did not also desire it? Besides, the boy had never had the courage to openly challenge Kunou's destined paramour. Such weak-willed fools as those who could not fight to gain the attention of the young woman were typically beneath Kunou's notice.

"You thought wrong, Nabiki Tendo." Kunou allowed his smirk to show in his voice. Watching Nabiki's face fall briefly was worth the annoyance of having been brought here to her in the first place. "What do I care of some miscreant who stands in the shadows cast by your sister's shining star?" Shining star? He would have to remember to write that one down. Maybe if he altered it slightly, it would serve as a suitable nom de guerre.

"Ah, so you haven't heard the latest news then," Nabiki spoke with feigned innocence, thus stopping Kunou in his tracks before he could turn away.

"Very well, woman," Kunou frowned and retrieved a wad of bills from his pocket. "I expect this news to be worth the expense." From the venom he laced his voice with, he doubted Nabiki missed the double-entendre.

Nabiki held out one hand until he handed over the cash. She didn't bother to count it. Instead she opened her school pack and retrieved a number of glossy photos. The exchange was over quickly.

Kunou fanned the photos with easy familiarity. Then he found himself staring hard at them. The pictures contained one of his favorite subjects, but not in a manner that Kunou enjoyed seeing. She was on the ground, while a boy loomed over her with his bizarre giant spatula held against her throat in one picture. In the next, the two were sitting in an ice cream parlour, both with huge smiles on their faces. In the next the two were walking down the street and chatting back and forth. In the next Akane was handing the boy a small note. And that was all. Creases began to appear in the photos, making it seem like the two were moving closer and closer together.

"Who is he?"

"Well I don't know exactly..."

"I want a name and location, Nabiki Tendo," Kunou informed her softly. "Money is no object. I must find this boy."

"You just said the magic words, Kunou-chan!" Nabiki called and Kunou grunted. He heard her walking away, but didn't look up to see her leave. Kunou was too busy burning the face of his enemy into his mind. Obviously the fiend had ambushed her like an assassin from the shadows, and was now having his way with her. A man like that, who had no honour...

It was the duty of the daimyo to protect his property.

*

Akane spotted Ukyou standing just outside the school grounds. The girl was actually leaning against the outer wall of the school. Once again Akane was struck by how male she looked with her dour frown and slumped posture. Her hands were idly sliding back and forth on the handle of her huge spatula, spinning the ring at the end in the dirt and creating a low whirring sound from the blade atop it. She was staring off into space, obviously not noticing or not caring that she was the centre of attention for all the students exiting the school.

"Ukyou, you came!" Akane called out brightly. Ukyou snatched her weapon with one hand, instantly stopping its motion and jerked her head to look in Akane's direction. Suddenly Ukyou was smiling, and her entire face seemed to change. Her eyes, usually veiled and mysterious, now sparkled with unconcealed mirth. Animation and vitality seemed to flow into her expression and in fact her entire body. She waved eagerly to Akane and then gestured her forward. Akane heard several of the nearby girls make swooning noises and cries of delight. She hid a derisive smile behind her hand and walked easily towards her new friend.

"You thought I was lying?" Ukyou asked in her usual direct manner once Akane was a bit closer. Akane stared at her earnest face for a few seconds before she decided Ukyou was just toying with her.

"I just thought..." Akane trailed off and shrugged. "I thought you might have something else to do."

"Indeed?" Ukyou spun her spatula around her hand and returned it to the harness on her back. Akane supressed a shot of jealousy at the ease with which she handled her weapon. "I don't have much else to do except wait around for Ranma to show up. Frankly, I'd prefer to spend that time hanging with you than sitting in my apartment brooding."

Akane blinked, embarrassment threatening to emerge visibly on her face.

"That's great," she grinned and nodded. "Don't you go to school? You can't be much older than me, and with your uniform, I just assumed you did."

"Oh," Ukyou murmured as she cocked her head to the side and took a few moments before answering. "I dropped out of my old high school before coming here. I just don't feel the need to go to school at the moment, I guess."

"Akane!"

Both girls turned to see Akane's childhood friends dashing up to the pair. Both girls were looking at Ukyou while trying not to appear as if they were doing so. They waved slightly as she met their gaze, and Akane beckoned them over.

"Akane, so this is your mystery stalker?" Yuka asked brightly. Sayuri elbowed her in the ribs at her tactlessness. For her part, Yuka responded with a glare. Akane giggled.

"Oh man," Ukyou grumbled and put her face in her hands. "Apparently next time around I should practice my 'not getting noticed' skills." This caused all three childhood friends to burst out laughing. "My name is Ukyou Kuonji.” Ukyou introduced herself with a bow to the two girls, which they returned. "Rumors of me being a sex maniac are greatly exaggerated."

The two girls chuckled amiably at Ukyou's remark. Then Sayuri piped up.

"I would have thought Akane would've flattened you when she caught up with you yesterday."

"Well there was no need to," Akane responded cheerfully. "It turns out that Ukyou is actually-"

"A friend of the family!" Ukyou burst in quickly, cutting Akane off. Akane glanced at her and caught Ukyou's eyes. The girl in disguise almost imperceptibly shook her head back and forth. Akane supposed the girl had a good reason for continuing to maintain her deception, so it wasn't her place to reveal it if Ukyou didn't want to do so.

"That's right," Akane said slowly. "She has... business with my family."

"Well, not exactly," Ukyou amended. "I have business with someone who has business with her family."

Yuka and Sayuri were looking back and forth between the two of them. Yuka only smirked and nodded, while Sayuri fingered her chin and mumbled, "Riiight..."

Akane broke the awkward silence and properly introduced her only other friends to Ukyou. Each of them took their opportunity to bow in turn, and soon enough all four of them were chatting easily. Ukyou seemed to be only half-paying attention to the conversation, however. Her eyes had taken on their usual concealed cast and she seemed to keep casting glances back at Akane's school. Akane briefly wondered what her new friend could find so interesting about the school. It was just like thousands of others found throughout Japan. And she was pretty sure that this 'Ranma' jerk, whoever he was, didn't go there.

"You there, step away from Akane Tendo!"

Akane groaned. This was just what she needed to ruin her day. Strangely enough, Ukyou had a smile on her face. It wasn't a pleasant smile. It was a dangerous, almost feral smile. "I was wondering when he'd show up," Ukyou murmured, almost too low for Akane to hear.

"Do you not know who you are dealing with?" Kunou shouted as Akane turned to watch him with a frown on her face. The upperclassman was standing only a few meters away, garbed up for battle in his traditional samurai costume. He stood almost a head taller than any nearby student, not that many of them were standing near him. His wooden bokken was out and levelled threateningly in the direction of Akane's group. From the look ofn his face, he was not pleased to see Ukyou. "Very well, I shall introduce myself. I am-"

"Tatewaki Kunou, age seventeen," Ukyou grunted as she slid around Akane to face the taller fighter. Her hand reached behind her back to clench tightly around the ring on the end of her spatula. Her other hand disappeared into one of her pants pockets. "I'm not impressed."

"Obviously not," Kunou practically spat. "Honourless cur, one who would ambush Akane Tendo on the street and then seek to take advantage of her delicate nature would not be impressed by my righteous demeanour and elegant tongue. I fear only my strong blade could garner my due respect from you."

"Honourless!" Ukyou snapped and her knuckles whitened around her weapon's grip. "I should-" Then Ukyou took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When she opened them again her face was set and calm, her eyes cool and unwavering. "For your information, Akane attacked me and I defeated her in open combat."

"You lie!"

"Believe what you want."

Akane moaned as the exchange took place. In the wake of Ukyou's declaration, everyone in the immediate area had gone silent. Well, everyone except-

"Is that true, Akane?" Yuka gasped and clapped her hands together. Sayuri was nodding along with her, obviously also eager to hear the latest gossip. Akane allowed her eyes to drift over everyone else nearby, most of which were listening in. A few shameless individuals were even taking notes. Her gaze finally settled on Ukyou, who nodded slightly when she noticed the shorter girl's attention.

"Ukyou's version is true," Akane forced herself to admit. She took great pride in her skill as a martial artist, and Ukyou had totally floored her. Still, it didn't sting as bad as Akane thought it would to admit it. Thankfully it wasn't one of the pervert BOYS that had been able to do that.

"I refuse to believe it!" Kunou shouted.

"Whatever," Ukyou commented with a shrug. "That isn't my problem."

"Ah, but it is your problem," Kunou informed Ukyou as he shifted his stance slightly. "Are you not aware of the special circumstances that dear Akane has agreed to regarding her social activities?"

"Agreed to!?" Akane shouted and stepped forward. That pompous ass! If declaring something to the entire school during the first public essay contest without even consulting her was his idea of agreeing... Akane found her way blocked by Ukyou's extended arm.

"Let me handle this, Akane." Ukyou turned and smiled at her. "I think I can take him. But you might want to step back, I have a feeling he has a few tricks up his sleeves that might surprise you." Akane found herself at a loss for words, so she nodded mutely and stepped back. Yuka and Sayuri sighed expansively before Akane waved her fist at them threateningly and shooed them away from the confrontation.

"Only one who beats Akane in fair and open challenge can date her," Kunou informed Ukyou with a smile as he tossed his head. "An agreement that is enforced by me, the greatest rising legend in the high school kendo world. I will give you one chance to back away from me and leave this place, never to soil Akane's presence with yours again, and perhaps I won't thrash you for your impertinence."

"I'd rather skip the battle of wits with an unarmed opponent and get straight to me kicking your ass," Ukyou drawled. There was a loud woosh of displaced air as Ukyou slipped into a combat stance with her spatula held in front of her. Everyone in the crowd gasped and backed off. Akane found herself standing on the edge of the circle the students had created, flanked by her friends.

"Fine then, we shall join in battle!" Kunou roared as he shifted slightly, before launching himself forward. The air cracked. Wood collided with metal in a resounding clang. Akane gasped. Kunou's swing had been almost too fast for her to follow. So had Ukyou's defence. Now Kunou found himself growling through gritted teeth as he held his sword against the shaft of Ukyou's upraised weapon. Akane could see the strain in his face as he attempted to power through his opponent's guard, but Ukyou was holding her ground with little difficulty.

With another cry, Kunou pulled back his blade and brought it down again, and again, and again. Each time Ukyou deftly deflected the strike with her weapon's shaft. Still, she was driven backward a step with each blow. Kunou began to grin as he realized he was stronger than his opponent. Soon Ukyou found herself pushed to the edge of the wall surrounding the schoolyard.

"You're better than I thought you would be," Ukyou pointed out in a hollow voice. Kunou laughed and struck downward again, but this time Ukyou did not meet his attack. The wall parted in the wake of Kunou's sword. Concrete and dust erupted from the wall in all directions. The student body shouted and scrambled back as small stones pelted down among them. Akane frowned and dusted a few fragments from the collar of her dress, but didn't move. Her eyes were scanning for Ukyou among the debris.

It was Kunou who spotted her first. Without halting the momentum of his swing, he dragged his bokken through the ground, ripping a new trench in his haste, and brought it up behind him to halt the path of Ukyou's swing. Once again metal and wood met noisily. Kunou found himself in the unenviable position of having to hold his sword behind his back while Ukyou was using both hands to press her spatula against it. Grunting, Kunou allowed himself to be pushed forward, and he stumbled through the shattered rubble of the wall. Ukyou smirked before leaping, her simple leg pump propelling her over the two-meter-tall wall without difficulty. At that point Akane lost sight of both of them.

Muttering a mild profanity, Akane ran around the remaining section of wall to catch sight of the battle again. A few dozen of her bravest classmates followed her. She heard the battle before she could see it again. A second later she caught sight of Kunou snarling and slashing madly at Ukyou. His bokken snapped and thrust through the air, seemingly in multiple places at once. But everywhere it went, so did Ukyou's battle spatula. Akane couldn't even see the impacts from her parries, only hear the staccato clangs. She could see Ukyou's face through the swirling mass of brown and grey streaks, and the girl was smiling.

"Hey Kunou, we've got our audience back!" Ukyou shouted aloud.

"Hold your tongue, lest I remove it!"

"That's no fun," Ukyou commented happily. "I have to do something to keep myself entertained. Your patterns are too predictable."

"You mock me!" Kunou roared and stepped back. His blade was extended far over his head for a moment and then with a roar he brought it down at Ukyou, his entire body bending with the force of his blow. Ukyou wasn't there to receive it, sliding easily out of the way of the strike. Dust leapt up from the pavement as Kunou's sword bit into it deeply. Akane snapped her head to the side as a loud crack filled the air. She watched in mute awe as a large tree - over five meters from Kunou and almost a half-meter thick - split in two and began to topple to both sides.

"He did that... with just the air pressure!" she gasped aloud. Ukyou wasn't kidding. There was a lot of tricks Kunou was capable of. Did he really hold back that much in her daily battles with him?

Kunou was straightening himself up and scanning for Ukyou. His breathing had grown labored and sweat trickled down into his eyes. Ukyou was standing nearby, leaning casually on the haft of her spatula.

"Okay, I think I've made my point," Ukyou drawled in her kansai dialect. She stood up and swung the spatula in her grip until the wide blade was pointed at Kunou. He frowned and pivoted so he could point his own blade straight at her heart.

"Yes, you certainly are a worthy opponent," Kunou admitted. "But no one can defeat the sword of Tatewaki Kunou."

"You're the one who likes quoting people, right?" Ukyou shifted her grip on her blade slightly. "Well here's one by Musashi, 'The sword is the queen of the battlefield..." And then she was moving. Kunou tried to engage her before she got too close, but Ukyou deflected the sword. Transferring the momentum of her block easily, Ukyou spun her weapon behind her back and rammed the ringed end into Kunou's face. As Kunou swayed to the side from the impact, Ukyou continued past him and spun her spatula again. As it swung back, it caught Kunou's gut and folded him over like a rag doll. Ukyou dug in her heels just past him and with a negligent tug pulled Kunou staggering forward. As he gasped to recover his breath, Ukyou continued without pause. Pulling with both arms she smashed the flat of her spatula into the back of his knees. Kunou found himself going vertical, his body shifting up until it seemed to float parallel to the ground. Ukyou swung her spatula up in his wake. Her body pirouetted elegantly on one foot, her long hair flowing back behind her in a graceful arc. Then her spatula came down on Kunou's chest. The taller boy found himself pancaked into the pavement so hard that a spider-web of cracks radiated outward from him. All of this happened in less than three seconds. "...but the staff is king'," Ukyou finished and straightened up while she ran her fingers through her bangs.

Ukyou nudged Kunou's body with her foot a few times to make sure he was unconscious, and then re-slung her spatula in its harness. She pivoted away from him and strode toward Akane. She didn't bother looking to either side as she approached the crowd of dead silent students. Once she was within easy reach of Akane, she allowed herself to smile down at the other girl. "Well, now that I've gotten that out of my system... is there somewhere you wanted to go? Or did you just want to hang around school all day?"

*

"Okay, I think this is far enough."

Akane looked over at Ukyou as the girl ran her hand through her bangs and stopped in place. It was quiet on the street they had stopped in. Nobody was around. That wasn't surprising, considering this was one of the less populous parts of town. Ukyou stepped over to a wall, leaned against it... and immediately slumped to her knees and began to take deep breaths.

"Oh man, that really hurts once the adrenaline wears off," Ukyou groused as she began to rub her arms up and down along her sleeves.

"You're hurt?" Akane asked in surprise.

"Well, not really," Ukyou grumbled. "But that guy was throwing around strikes strong enough to shatter concrete from several meters away and I was just standing there absorbing it like an idiot."

Akane chuckled. Somehow it made her feel better that Ukyou had come out of her dramatic battle with a few aches and pains. For a while there, while they walked and Ukyou just gazed off into space with her enigmatic blank-eyed stare, Akane had felt slightly intimidated by this superhuman fighting machine she had befriended.

"Laugh it up, Tendo." Ukyou waggled her finger at Akane reproachfully. "I only put on that little show for your benefit."

"What? My benefit?"

"Indeed," Ukyou sighed as she slid to her feet again. "If we play this right, you won't have to worry about those hordes of assholes attacking you anymore."

"What are you talking about? I can handle myself..." Akane said a bit defensively, crossing her arms under her chest.

"That’s not what I’m saying, Akane." Ukyou waved her arms vigorously. "I wouldn't think of fighting your battles for you. Kunou was going to attack me anyway. But the fact that I beat him so soundly can work to your advantage." Ukyou paused here and began to fiddle idly with the haft of her spatula. "I don't think you'll ever get Kunou to leave you alone, he strikes me as the obsessive type. But the others? Most of them are just being intimidated by Kunou. If they think they'll have to face ME, after the unholy can of whupass I just opened up on the strongest fighter in school without breaking a sweat, they'll probably back off."

"Wait a minute." Akane shook her head and looked askance at Ukyou. "Why would any of them back off... oh." Akane blinked, and then blushed fiercely. "But they'd have to think that you were my..."

"Boyfriend?" Ukyou laughed. "Don't sweat it Akane, I won't ask you to go steady if you don't want me to." Akane found herself backing away from the other girl slightly. Was it possible that Ukyou... swung that way? "Geez, you've gone white as a sheet. I'm just teasing you a little bit. You have to relax, girl." Akane laughed, but it sounded a little forced to her ears. Mainly because it was a little forced. "Akane, you don't have to go along with this if you don't want to." Ukyou shrugged. "The way I see it, those guys with their barbaric contest have probably spoiled you on the entire other half of the genepool for a good long time. And I'm fine with that. But I have a... unique insight into the male mind and don't want you to just keep getting antagonized with them perpetually until you lose all hope with them." Ukyou tilted her head back and stared up at the clouds. "This will get most of them off your back, and give you a chance to start looking at things with a chance to catch your breath. You're not being pushed into any relationships... as long as you keep this fiction about us up, you'll be effectively off limits to all but the most insane guys. Eventually..." she shrugged again, "...eventually you might find some guy you like, decide to take a chance with him. In this case, you'll do it under your terms. It’s not like you'll have to worry about me getting jealous or anything."

"Ukyou... I don't know what to think..."

"Well, don't get all mushy on me," Ukyou laughed. "I have an ulterior motive, you know." Akane blinked, not sure how to respond. "Think about it, if all the girls think I'm 'with' you, then it will really cut down on the number of stray love letters and chocolates I'm going to get."

Akane frowned at that. Then she found her frown cracking. Then she found her throat convulsing. Finally she could hold it in no longer and burst out laughing.

"Hey! I know how much this hot pretty boy look turns the girl's knees to mush!" Ukyou said with a comically miffed expression on her face.

"And you accuse me of having an ego!" Akane guffawed while pointing at Ukyou. The other girl was obviously doing little better at holding back her own laughter. Every now and then a snicker would escape from between her lips. Akane had to clutch her stomach, it was beginning to hurt. Apparently that was the last straw for Ukyou, as she too broke out in rolling laughter. Akane patted Ukyou on the shoulder and nodded between guffaws to show she approved of the idea. If it didn't work, there was little really it would change about Akane's life. And if it did, then all the better. She really couldn't see a downside.

*

"I'm home!" Akane called out as she entered the house.

"Welcome back!" Kasumi called out from the kitchen in her usual cheerful manner. "How was school?"

"Yeah, sis," Nabiki deadpanned from the living room. "Why don't you tell us all about it?"

Akane glared at her sister as she walked into the home. Trust Nabiki to ruin a perfectly good mood. Her older sister was lounging on the floor, wearing a pair of embarrassingly high cut off jeans and a tight maroon T-shirt. She was idly flipping through one of her manga, but her attention was focused entirely on her little sister. Akane stuck her tongue out at her. Nabiki blinked.

"I had a wonderful day at school," Akane retorted in her most snobbish tone of voice. Nabiki had recovered by this point and rolled her eyes in an exaggerated manner. "You're just jealous because I got a boyfriend before you did!"

"Akane has a boyfriend?" her father spoke up from behind her. Akane froze solid. Nabiki just smirked and stuck the tip of her tongue out at Akane. Great. She had just walked into that one.

"Did I hear correctly?" Daddy asked in a reasonable enough tone of voice. Akane turned to face the music. She knew her father was not the most... emotionally dependable adult in the world. She remembered clearly the time Nabiki had brought one of her dates back to the house. The poor boy had been chased off with bows and arrows for 'being too forward' with her. And all he'd done was place his arm around Nabiki's shoulder.

"Well, it's not exactly like that, Daddy," Akane began uneasily. Her mind flashed back to a conversation a few days ago. Specifically, Ukyou asking her not to reveal her secret to her family, or ask about the Saotomes. Apparently that bastard Genma was able to sense an ambush a mile away, and she didn't want him or Ranma catching a whiff of her presence until she was ready to pay them back for what they had done to her. Akane reminded herself to get the mysterious girl to actually spill the truth about that soon. Every time she asked, Ukyou politely and efficiently sidestepped the question.

"Oh... what is it like, exactly?" he replied in an innocent tone. Akane sighed. She couldn't risk revealing their scheme to get the boys at school to leave her alone. Knowing Nabiki, the information would be spread across the whole school before noon tomorrow and the whole thing would have been a waste of time.

"Well, he is a boyfriend, I guess you could say..." Akane could see Daddy's eye twitching. "But NOTHING has happened! We just started dating yesterday! I swear!"

"I see..." Daddy murmured evenly. His eye was still twitching.

"This is great news!" Kasumi called out brightly as she entered the living room. She was absently cleaning her hands on her apron, and Akane could smell the aroma of baking bread following in her wake. Ohh, that reminded Akane. She would have to treat her new friend to some cookies or something... "I was beginning to wonder if you would ever have a boyfriend, Akane!"

Akane's eye twitched, almost mirroring her father's expression. "You don't have to say it quite like that..."

"Oh Kasumi!" Daddy finally broke down in tears and clutched his eldest daughter in a bearhug. "My little girl is growing up!"

"There... there..." Kasumi muttered in an unsure manner,

"But... but what about..." Daddy's eyes shot open and he pulled back to clutch his eldest by the shoulders. "Kasumi! You don't have a boyfriend, do you!? Please, tell me you don't!"

"Of course not, Father," Kasumi laughed prettily. Kasumi did everything prettily, Akane noted to herself grumpily. Her mind drifted to Doctor Tofu and his bizarre fascination with her sister...

"And you, Nabiki, you aren't dating anyone, are you?" Daddy pounced on the middle sister with an almost frantic energy. Nabiki stared at him in obvious bewilderment.

"No, I prefer to leave my options open when it comes to that sort of thing," Nabiki pointed out as she pried her father's hands off her shoulders.

Daddy collapsed to his knees in relief. "Then the agreement is still safe," he sighed aloud.

"What agreement?" Akane asked into the descending calm.

"Uh..." Daddy broke out into a sweat as he stared at all three of his daughters. "Why... it's nothing! Nothing you have to worry about!"

Akane frowned at her father suspiciously. Nabiki just gave Akane a flippant shrug and went back to her manga. Kasumi remained cheerfully oblivious and informed everyone that dinner was almost ready.

*

Ukyou ran her fingers along the spine of the books. Some of the titles she recognized, others she did not. Not that she had ever been a big fan of the medium before, but Aaron certainly liked manga well enough. Thanks to him, she now knew far more about the various titles. She had even decided that a few of them were rather interesting, from what Aaron could remember about reading them.

Thus, she was growing rather annoyed at her inability to locate a few of her favourite series. Aaron tried to point out that this world might not be the same as his own. He was aware of the selection of manga from over a decade in the "future" and wasn't even sure when a lot of titles had been first published. Still, she wasn't about to complain about his foresight in that regard. A quick scan of the history books had revealed that the two worlds had almost exact parallels when it came to things like politics, business, sports and a host of other areas. Ukyou certainly wouldn't be lacking in financial resources, after the savvy investments she had spent most of today transferring her funds into.

Aaron sighed as they stepped out of the last aisle in the cramped bookstore. He stretched out one of Ukyou's hands and cracked her knuckles in irritation. Her other hand held less than a dozen graphic novels, far fewer than he would have thought available. Still, it would do. He was just glad the two of them had finally agreed on an activity to pass the time. It was getting annoying to be constantly bickering back and forth over every little decision like that. It was giving them both a massive headache.

Paying for the collection was a simple affair, and Ukyou was out of the store in short order. She took her first breath of fresh air since she had entered the cramped basement over an hour ago. She wrinkled her nose in disgust at the remembered smells of the place, an unappealing combination of dust, body odour and drying paint from the custom garage kit models. Compared to that, the smog of the Tokyo suburb was almost pleasant.

Aaron took a few seconds to scan across the crowd moving along the street. It was mostly housewives and young adults at this hour. Still not yet afternoon... most of the younger children were still in school, and the majority of adults would be involved in whatever gainful employment they had. Still, Aaron couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. Ukyou agreed with him, but thought it was just his paranoia acting up.

Then he spotted her. She was dressed in an elegant and fashionable business suit. She was tall: tall enough to stand out among the small-statured Japanese that surrounded her, and had a dark complexion that almost looked Mediterranean. She had red eyes and dark green hair that fell about her shoulders in a delicate cascade. And she was looking right at Ukyou. Right at her.

"Sailor Plu-" Ukyou burst out in surprise and Aaron smacked their hands over their mouth before she could say any more. Setsuna's eyes narrowed slightly. She couldn't have possibly heard Ukyou from all the way on the other side of the street. She had to be standing a good ten meters away.

(Can she read lips?)

Shit. Aaron realized they were staring at her, with their hands covering their mouth and their eyes agape. They didn't exactly strike the picture of innocent nonchalance. For one brief moment Setsuna's eyes met with Ukyou, and Aaron saw recognition flash in those red eyes. What the hell was going on?

Before Ukyou could even think about it, she was fleeing. It caught Aaron by surprise when she pumped her legs and propelled them off the street onto a nearby rooftop. She didn't hesitate on the rooftop long, bounding away almost as soon as her feet found purchase on the tarred surface. She was muttering a few choice curses under her breath as she ran and

(Stop!)

her legs refused to move. With a cry she fell face-first into the next roof and slid a few meters before her inertia gave out. She spent a few seconds understanding the concept of pain. With a groan she levered herself up to her knees and brushed a few flecks of dirt from her face. She probed her face gingerly but found nothing out of place or broken. No thanks to SOME people.

(Sorry.)

Ukyou grunted and looked around. The rooftops, for as far as she could see in any direction, were free and clear. Thus feeling momentarily safe, she smacked herself in the face good, enduring the pain to know that Aaron would be thrown for a loop by it as well.

Aaron frowned and pulled her hand down before shifting them into a more comfortable position. Ukyou was still annoyed with him, but he didn't much care. They had already probably ruined any chance of clearing up whatever misunderstanding had come over the Senshi of Time. Ukyou felt herself backing away from the idea of confronting Setsuna. The woman was a psychopath. No. Aaron knew that wasn't true. She was mixing up continuities again. Sure, many fanfics on the net had painted Setsuna as cold-hearted and ruthless, but no evidence from either canon series supported that idea. It was just as likely that she could be talked to reasonably, and they certainly wouldn't know what kind of personality the Senshi had until they interacted with her. Unfortunately, now they had sent all the wrong signals. If Setsuna suspected them of some wrong-doing, then fleeing would only support the idea that Ukyou was guilty in her mind.

Still, the Sailor Senshi were all about forgiveness and redemption. The likelihood of them shooting first and asking questions later was from low to nil. It would be even better if Ukyou did nothing hostile. Aaron cocked his head to the side as he thought about it. Actually, having Sailor Moon around might be a blessing in disguise. With her magical powers, it might be possible to separate the two of them without having to resort to the wishing sword.

Ukyou sighed and agreed. There was no point in jumping to conclusions. Once Ukyou had taken care of her business here with Ranma, she would head off to the Minato ward and see if she could find Usagi. Aaron was sure that if they could get the young princess-to-be to trust them, then whatever problems Setsuna might have with them could be forgiven and forgotten. She pulled herself to her feet and dusted herself off. It was then she realized she had dropped her manga back at the store. Well... there was no helping it. Best not to risk confronting Sailor Pluto until she had a chance to get in good with Usagi.

Once again in agreement, the two bounced over the rooftops, heading back towards their dingy hotel room.

*

"I'm Ranma Saotome. Sorry 'bout this."

Akane stared at the short, busty girl in front of her. This couldn't be possible. Ukyou had been quite clear on the point. Genma Saotome had a son named Ranma, not a daughter. There was also no mention of any pandas of any shape or form.

"Daddy, how could you engage us to a girl?"

"My friend Genma told me his son was a boy."

"Does this look like a boy to you, huh, Daddy?" Nabiki reached out as she spoke and began to squeeze and fondle the young girl's ample assets. Ranma, for her part, made a sick-looking face and cringed a bit away from Nabiki.

"Ah, could you stop that?"

"You stay out of this," Nabiki commanded the smaller girl. The girl blinked but seemed uninclined to complain any more. She was beginning to blush something fierce, however. Akane felt like she should stop this, but wasn't sure she wanted to get involved. She was still trying to parse the contradictory information in front of her. The fact was, she trusted Ukyou completely. Especially since she had revealed her deep secret...

Ah ha!

"Nabiki," Akane shouted out. Her sister turned to look at her with a frown. "You should leave our guest alone." The girl looked relieved when Nabiki let go, but was staring at Akane quizzically. She had probably picked up on the venom in Akane's voice. Maybe she thought it was directed at Nabiki. Well, she thought wrong. "Hi there. Ranma, right?"

"Uh huh..."

"I'm Akane," Akane bowed in place, but only slightly. "I apologize for my sister's behavior." Nabiki snorted. "I know this must be pretty strange for you, being engaged to a bunch of girls. Why don't I take you on the tour while we wait for your father to arrive so we can get this all cleared up."

"But my pop is right..." she trailed off. Then she turned and glared at the large panda bear. "Yeah. Maybe I should wait until I can talk to my father before I do anything here. Or at least, until he can talk back."

Akane stood up and offered her hand to the shorter girl. "Then why don't you come with me?" Ranma took the hand a bit hesitantly. Akane tried to smile in a reassuring manner, but maybe it came out a bit sinister, since Ranma was staring at her wide-eyed the whole time. Akane didn't let that bother her. She led the way out of the house proper and into the dojo. No use destroying the good furniture here. She smiled again, this time not trying to hide her angry glee. It was going to be good to get a chance to pay back Ukyou for her favour with the guys at school, and get a chance to beat a real pervert into the ground at the same time.

It didn't take long to reach the dojo. Ranma was slumping through the area nonchalantly. Akane had to snort. Maybe if she hadn't had such recent experience with Ukyou's deception, this entire thing might have fooled her. But look at that "girl"! She wasn't moving like a girl. She didn't even try to sound like a girl, even if her voice didn't sound like any teenage guy's. Akane concealed her gleeful grin before turning back to her guest.

"So, my dad told me you were trained in martial arts?"

"A little," Ranma said with a shrug while "she" shuffled her feet.

"Well, so do I!" Akane called out cheerfully. "Why don't we have a little match?"

"Uh." Ranma looked her up and down with a critical eye and then shrugged. "Sure, I guess."

"Great!" Akane clapped her hands and led Ranma further into the dojo and then took a stance. Ranma seemed to have his mind on other things, since he just stood there with his arms behind his back, swaying back and forth on the balls of his feet like a little kid. "Let's begin, shall we?" Ranma only nodded slightly in response. Akane gave a mental shrug and narrowed her eyes. She had warned the little freak.

Akane didn't bother holding back, striking with all the force and precision her twelve years of martial arts training had instilled in her. Ranma wasn't there to receive the punch. Akane had to skid to a stop before she smashed a hole in the dojo wall. She spun in place, and spotted Ranma standing a few meters away, still with arms behind the back and trying to look innocent. Akane began to feel her temper building.

"You're pretty good..."

"Thanks," Ranma replied with a shrug.

Okay, this time Akane wasn't going to kid around. Sliding forward she made her approach slow and easy. Ukyou was also faster than her, and Akane had learned a few things from their sparring sessions over the last week. The first lesson: never charge someone faster than you. Ranma noticed her slow approach and backed up a step, allowing his arms to unfold from her back. His eyes had become wary.

"You should be worried, buster," Akane said aloud.

"Huh?"

"After what you did, I'm going to make sure you pay!"

"What! What did I do to you?" Ranma sounded genuinely confused.

"Don't play innocent!" Akane pointed at him. "I know your dirty little secret! Did you think I wouldn't see through it the moment you walked in the house?"

"You... you know..." Ranma backed up another step, his arms shooting out. "Wait, I can explain-"

"Oh no you don't!" Akane roared. She was close enough now, and Ranma’s guard had dropped. She burst forward and lashed out with a blistering right cross. Ranma leaned back under the blow. Akane was too off-balance from the attack to recover before he had a chance to scamper out of reach again.

"Hey you crazy chick! This isn't my fault!" he shouted.

"Yeah right," Akane replied sarcastically. She launched a few more attacks, but again and again Ranma twisted or side-stepped away from her best efforts. Damn, this guy was good. "You can't possibly pull off something that convincing without special effort!"

"Huh? What are you-"

"Got you!" Akane shouted as she leapt forward, jumping into the air with her arms wide. Unseeing, Ranma had backed himself into a corner and had nowhere to go as Akane spread herself like a net. Ranma yelped as Akane fell on him and the wall creaked as the two landed against it. "You can't escape from me now, you crossdressing pervert!"

"Agh! Get off me!"

"Oh no! Not until I reveal you for what you are! Now take off your clothes, you pervert!"

"Gah! That's my shirt!"

There was a ripping sound as Akane tore at the fabric of Ranma's red satin shirt.

"Why are you being so stubborn about this! Take your punishment like a man!"

"No way! You're nuts! Let me go!"

"Not until I get your pants off, too!"

"Waaah! Don't touch me there!"

Akane frowned as the breasts came into view. They were certainly large and... very realistic-looking. They had to be very good false breasts. So of course, Akane decided the best thing to do was to rip them off. Which was what she was trying to do right then. They were very stubborn. It must be a very strong glue.

Click. Click.

Akane paused and looked to her right. There was Nabiki, and her father, and Kasumi, and a large panda bear. Nabiki was cursing rapidly and trying to change the film in her camera. Kasumi was standing as stiff as a statue, her eyes the size of dinner plates. Soun was shuddering and twitching, his eyes sparkling with ready tears. The panda had an unreadable expression, but then, it was a panda.

Finally Nabiki had her camera reloaded. She looked through it at the pair of wrestling girls. "Don't stop on our account," Nabiki deadpanned. "Just pretend we aren't here."

"Oh... oh..." Kasumi gasped softly.

Akane slowly released Ranma's breasts and looked down at the girl beneath her. Akane's own gi had come partially loose in the struggle and the front was now half-open. At least open enough to see Akane's sports bra underneath it. Now that she looked down, outside of the heat of the moment, those breasts looked very real. Much too real. Especially considering there were bruises forming on them in the outline of her grasping hands. Akane couldn't think of any material that bruised like that.

"Could you get off me now?" Ranma asked with a dead-eyed glare.

*

"And you were complaining about me fondling Ranma," Nabiki pointed out for what had to be the millionth time.

"Shut up!" Akane groused from her position at the table. She wasn't looking up at her sister. She wasn't looking at anything at all. She was sitting in a fetal curl, her arms wrapped firmly around her knees and her head buried in the nook created by them. Anything so people couldn't see the embarrassment on her face. She would have really preferred to be left alone to wallow in her misery. Nabiki, however, seemed far more interested in tormenting her than sympathizing. It was times like this she hated Nabiki.

"No really, tell me again how you were trying to protect the family from a sex fiend," Nabiki requested. Her voice had taken on a sing-song quality that Akane really didn't like. "Because I'm interested in knowing which of you ended up acting more like a sex fiend in the end."

"Shut up!"

"You know, if you didn't have a boyfriend, I'd think all those rumors about you at school were true," Nabiki mused softly. Thankfully, Nabiki couldn't see Akane flinch at that. "Maybe you swing both ways?"

"Argh!" Akane screamed heavenward.

"Excuse me, girls," Daddy called out to the two of them. Akane looked over at him. He was standing in the doorway with a strange man. The man was portly, but not fat. He wore a white martial arts gi and a kerchief over the top of his head. A pair of wire-rim spectacles perched on his florid face. Kasumi had preceded the pair of grown-ups into the room and was now sitting down at the table. She was glancing at Akane out of the corner of her eye, but her expression was carefully neutral. Akane felt herself squirming. Having Kasumi disappointed in her made Akane feel... soiled.

Seeing neither of her sisters was going to speak up, Nabiki interrupted her hemming and hawing father. "We're all here, Daddy," she pointed out. "You had something to say?"

"Ah yes," Daddy murmured. Then he cleared his throat and seemed to straighten himself up. When next he spoke his voice was clear and resonant, fatherly. "Kasumi, Nabiki, Akane, I want to introduce you to my old friend Genma Saotome." All three of the girls nodded at the man as he bowed to them. "And this is his son, the boy one of you will marry..." Daddy waved his hand around the corner and a boy stepped into view.

He was taller than the girl, and much more flat-chested. But his hair was the same style. His uncomfortable slouch the same. His eyes the same eyes.

"I'm Ranma Saotome. Sorry 'bout this."

*

"I'll kill him!" Akane screamed as she waved the giant stone she had uprooted out of the garden over her head. Ranma was cringing back behind the large panda that was her father. Akane tried to get a clear shot with her projectile, but the boy-turned-girl was slippery as an eel and kept sliding out of her arc behind the giant fuzzball. Akane was just beginning to consider going through the faux-animal when her eldest sister's voice cut in.

"Akane! I won't have you throwing such things around in our house!"

"But sis! I was right! It IS a guy! He just has the advantage of this magic to carry off his perverted plans!"

"What perverted plans? I haven't tried to do anything to you, you psycho chick!"

"Akane!"

"Kasumi..." Akane moaned in a voice even she found a bit childish.

"No, I won't have you destroying the house with that rock!" Akane sighed and put the rock back down outside. "Here, use this instead." Kasumi smiled and handed Akane a bokken. Akane tested the heft of the weapon and turned on Ranma with an evil grin. The fake-girl let out a girlish squeak and tried to flee from the room. She didn't get very far. Genma was using his giant paws to hold onto the collar of Ranma's recently-replaced shirt.

Akane never got a chance to 'open the unholy can of whupass on him' , as Ukyou would say, since at that point her father intervened with the retrieved kettle of hot water.

"Really, this problem isn't so bad!" Daddy called out as he placed himself between Akane and her prey. "Cold water changes you to a panda... but hot water changes you right back!" He upturned the kettle and spilled the steaming water over Genma.

The transformation was so fast, Akane barely even noticed it. She saw the image of the panda superimposed over the image of the man for a brief second, like an afterimage or a reflection on a glass window. Then it was gone and there was only the man. He was panting and pulling his glasses back on.

"It needn't be that hot!" the man groused in mid-pant.

"And while cold water makes you a girl, hot water can change you back as well!" Daddy attempted to pour the kettle onto Ranma, but the girl bent her body out of the way.

"Watch it with that!" Ranma cried out as she tried to twist out of her father's grasp. She wasn't having much luck with that. When Daddy moved in and grasped her around the shoulder, the girl gave up with a sigh.

"This means things can continue as planned," Daddy stated expansively. He waved his hand towards his three daughters. "These are my daughters; Kasumi, she's nineteen; Nabiki, she's seventeen and Akane, she's sixteen! Pick whomever you like, she'll be your fiancée!"

"Fiancée?" Nabiki blinked. "You're not still going through with that?"

"There is NO WAY I'm marrying that pervert!" Akane pointed her sword at the girl's heart.

"Like I'd marry you either, you psycho tomboy!"

"What did you call me?"

"Psycho tomboy!"

"You... sex-changing freak!"

"Flat-chested gorilla!"

"Friend-betraying creep!"

"Thunder thighs!"

"You must think with your privates because you certainly don't have any brains left at the moment!"

"You-"

The two cut off as they realized that their two fathers were laughing heartily in the background.

"They sound like they're already married, Tendo," Genma pointed out as he calmed himself down.

"That they do, Saotome. That they do."

Oh no. Akane saw that look in her father's eyes. It was time to step on this fire before it spread any further.

"I can't marry him, Daddy... I... I..." Then it hit her. "I already have a boyfriend, remember? And I really like him!" Ukyou to the rescue again. Akane made a mental note to treat her friend to an ice cream.

"But doesn't family honour come before personal feelings?" Nabiki noted laconically.

"Stay out of this..." Akane warned her. "Besides, you're here too. And you already pointed out you weren't attached at the moment."

Nabiki opened her mouth, then closed it. She glared at her sister.

"Oh dear, he's much too young for me. Maybe Nabiki is the best choice, after all?"

"Oh no! You aren't roping me into this so easily! I'm not marrying this guy," Nabiki asserted in an even tone of voice.

"I wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole!" Akane pointed out.

"He's so uncouth and rude." Kasumi clapped her hands to her cheek in exaggerated horror.

"You're the one who was so keen on getting his clothes off earlier, you marry him!"

"No way! You're the one who grabbed his breasts first!"

"Hey! Stop talking about me like I'm some peace of meat!"

"You stay out of this!" all three girls yelled in Ranma's face. Wisely, the boy-turned girl decided to stay silent after that.

*

It was amazing what you could learn from a simple phonebook. Ukyou flipped the carefully-folded piece of paper over in her hands again and again. Written on that simple paper were the phone numbers and addresses of every Sailor Senshi she had been able to find. A few had eluded her grasp. There were far too many "Aino"s and "Mizuno"s in the Tokyo listing to pinpoint the locations of either of those girls. Heck, it was possible Sailor V was still fighting the Dark Agency over in England. It was certain that there was a lot of Sailor V merchandise that was making its way into the popular culture around here. Ukyou almost wondered how she had missed it before.

The park came into view quickly, and Ukyou hurried her steps a little bit. Akane had agreed to meet her here once again now that school was over. Aaron ran her hand through her bangs as he considered the agenda for today. It was probably best to get in a few more hours of free sparring. Every hour he spent practicing his imperfect hand-to-hand techniques on someone he didn't have to worry too much about mangling with Ukyou's superhuman strength was an hour well spent. He felt he was actually beginning to get a grip on this whole martial arts business. Even Ukyou agreed that learning how to fight without her weapons of choice was probably a good idea.

After that, Ukyou planned to spend the rest of the day just hanging with her new friend. It would be hard to enjoy it, what with Aaron acting as a constant black hole of cynicism and apathy in the back of her skull. But Akane was a decent person, and worth just hanging around with.

When they saw Akane sitting on the bench, fiddling her legs in the dirt and frowning at her shoelaces, Ukyou knew something was wrong. Aaron called out a greeting and waved to their new friend. Akane looked up, and her eyes brightened as she smiled with relief.

"Ukyou! Over here!" Akane called needlessly. Aaron shrugged their shoulders and bit back a comment about that, mainly because Ukyou mentally threatened to start thinking about sweaty men if he did.

"What's up, Akane? You look down," Ukyou asked as she slumped into the bench next to Akane. Unconsciously she sat with her legs spread and her arms stretched across the back of the seat. Aaron began to drum her fingers against the wood.

"I... Ukyou..." Akane took a deep breath and looked at Ukyou before looking away again. Then the girl began to twiddle her fingers together and sigh. "I... well..."

"Something is obviously bothering you, Akane," Aaron blurted out in his most blunt tone. "It obviously has something to do with me, too. Why not just spit it out?"

"Right... Ukyou," Akane drifted off, then looked at Ukyou's expectant features. Her mouth set in a firm line and her eyes narrowed before she nodded to herself. "Ukyou, that boy you were waiting for showed up at my house yesterday. You were right."

"Ranma..."

(Ranma.)

Ukyou felt her heart skip a beat. She knew this moment was coming. Somehow, she hadn't quite believed it. She was going to have her chance with Ranma. She was going to get to pay him back

(Who are you kidding?)

for... for nothing. It wasn't his fault. Ukyou dropped her head to her chest and felt her fingertips digging into the wood of the benchback. Aaron was right. Ukyou had seen too much that corroborated his memories of that stupid comic book! Ranma knew nothing about her! Nothing! He...

"Ukyou, are you okay?"

"I..." Aaron forced them to stop speaking. Ukyou's voice was cracking with emotion. He calmly asserted control over the conversation. "I'm fine. I was just caught off-guard."

"Okay..."

"Is Genma with him?"

"Well, yes, but I have to ask you a favour..."

Ukyou wasn't paying attention to Akane anymore.

(Genma...)

She was thinking about only one man. Thinking about how he had tricked her father. Thinking about how he had tricked Ranma. Thinking about how he had humiliated Ukyou, and forced her to become this bizarre parody of a woman.

(Genma.)

Ukyou remembered his florid, smiling face. Pretending he approved of Ukyou's friendship with Ranma. Pretending he gave a shit about Ranma at all. Always taking. He was someone Ukyou could safely hate. Someone she could

(Genma!)

feel something dark and malevolent about. She could feel herself starting to grin. Remembering that boy. The one that had bullied her. Little Ukyou versus the big bully. And there had been hate there. Just like this hate. Hate for the humiliation and pain and then Ukyou had just walked up to him and lit him on fire

(Wait...)

and that had been that. And she had enjoyed watching it too. Just like she would enjoy watching Genma squirm. She could burn him too. She knew a few techniques to roast the bastard alive and

(This isn't right...)

she would enjoy it. No more holding back. No more pretending to be something she was not. No more trying to fit in with the other boys despite the fact it was obvious she did not. She could lash out with all her

(his)

anger without having to worry about anyone caring. It would be-

"UKYOU!"

The sound of wood splintering snapped Ukyou out of it. Akane was standing across the gravel path in the park. Akane had one arm extended across her chest between the two of them and the other pointed behind her. Her eyes shook in her face and her mouth was a large O. Ukyou looked down at herself. She was covered by splinters of wood. The entire bench had been torn asunder and Ukyou was now sitting on the gravel in the remains. It took her a few seconds to realize that she had done that.

No. Not her.

Aaron shuddered. That had not been pleasant. It was... a feedback loop. It had to be. Like Ukyou was drawing on his memories and feelings to fuel her own. And he had barely noticed. Barely been aware of what was happening. Heck, he'd barely been aware of HIMSELF... he had... he had... lost himself in her rage. Been almost smothered by Ukyou's personality completely.

"Akane..." Ukyou began hoarsely. "I'm sorry... I guess it got to me a bit more than I thought."

"I'll say." Akane sighed in relief, and then laughed nervously. "Those creeps must have done something pretty bad to you, huh?"

"Something like that..." Ukyou pushed herself to her feet. Aaron had retreated. He was carefully pulling himself back, filling his mind with the familiar ice and void. Ukyou felt her own perspective shifting as he did. It was unavoidable. Her anger was draining away, at least. Ukyou couldn't blame Aaron for doing this. "I need to meet them, Akane." Ukyou could hear the flat, impassive tone of her voice but couldn't help it. Unconsciously, she pulled her hands through her bangs in Aaron's nervous tic. "As soon as possible..."

"I see." Akane seemed to be relaxing a bit. "I'll take you to my place right away, then."

"Thank you." The words were formal, but had no real passion behind them. Inwardly, Ukyou wished she could show true gratitude, but Aaron was clamping down on their emotions pretty hard. Maybe he could ease up and

(Risk killing Genma?)

maybe he couldn't. Damn.

"But while we're going there, I do have a favour to ask you."

"Indeed?"

"Yes... you see, the agreement between our families is kind of stupid... and if they find out that you're really a girl... I might... might end up engaged to that jerk!"

Ukyou looked at Akane. Damn. This was just another wonderful problem she had to deal with.

*

Ranma sighed as he relaxed into the bath. This was getting to be a long day. At least he was a man again. But he wouldn't be for long. He just knew something would turn him into that small, weak, fragile girl-form again before the day was out. Still, it wasn't worth lingering on that problem at the moment. Soon enough he would ditch this place and find his way back to Jyusenkyou, and the cure.

The real problem was how he was going to survive in this house. Already he had been molested by two of the girls he was supposed to marry, almost scalded by their father, and repeatedly tossed into a koi pond by his own father. The thought of sleeping in this house of nutcases made Ranma shudder, sending tiny ripples through the water.

At least he was safe enough in the bathroom. Nobody would walk in on him here. But there was only so long he could stay inside. Especially considering eventually the bathwater would cool. Then he would not only be a walking prune, he would be a walking female prune. And that mental image would haunt his nightmares for years to come. Thank you very much, overactive imagination.

Ranma was just stepping out of the water when the door slid open. His eyes snapped up and settled on the figure standing in the doorway. It was Kasumi, and aside from the towel folded daintily over one arm she was not dressed at all. Her eyes widened when she saw the boy in the bathtub. Ranma looked down, confirming that, yes, his clothes had not magically appeared on his body to save him from dreadful embarrassment.

"Oh dear," Kasumi said simply. "This is awkward."

"Uh..." Ranma wasn't sure what to say or do. So far Kasumi hadn't tried to molest him. That was a plus.

"Well, we can't have this at all," Kasumi frowned slightly and wrapped her towel about her chest so that it draped over her body to obscure it from view. She stepped inside to close the door behind her. "Next time remember to put out the occupied sign, young man." Kasumi walked over to the cleaning bench and began to fiddle with the hose. This involved her bending over.

"Gurk..." Ranma failed to speak clearly. He was blushing furiously but was far more worried about other involuntary reactions.

Ranma didn't even see her moving before he felt the cold water spraying in his face. He blinked as he felt his body shift and his physical reactions cease to exist at the same time.

"There, now that we're both girls, this isn't so bad!" Kasumi called out cheerfully. "Perhaps you could clean my back?" She turned away from him and dropped her towel.

Ranma ran screaming from the room.

*

He entered the policebox, squinted automatically as the darkened night outside was replaced by the brightly lit interior, then realised he didn't actually have to do that and relaxed.  The police officer was sitting at the desk, writing something, but looked up as the figure walked in.  He was alone. Good.  But there was a phone there.  Had to get him to get up.

As he thought, the policeman stared at him.  His eyes crinkled a bit at the sight of the heavyset foreigner, but his expression didn't change otherwise.

"May I...be helping...you?" the officer asked, in slow, careful English.

"That isn't necessary, I can talk," he replied in fluent Japanese, grinning slightly.  "But I do need your assistance."

Another twitch of the eyes, but still no change of expression.  "What is...your probrem?"  Still in English.  Oh, he'd heard about those.  So much for the 'ever-courteous Japan' myth.  That made what was about to happen a little better.  A little.

"I'm having some difficulty," he said, again in Japanese, assuming a serious expression.  "I think there's somebody hurt.  Could you please come look?"

Well, that knocked the racism out of him, at least for a moment.  Maybe he thought the hurt person was Japanese.  Bounding up, the officer walked up beside him.  "Where?"

He pointed with his off-hand, the policeman's gaze followed.  "It's right over..."

He was strong; he'd been careful to be strong.  The officer didn't really have a chance.  As he looked, he was grabbed around the throat, jerked from the floor.  Arms reached up to grapple with his attackers', but the grip was cinched in.  He made a brutal twist.  A noise emerged, but the policeman's struggles intensified.  He was trying to reach the weapon at his side.  Not enough.  The attacker let his weight bear them both to the floor, found better purchase, twisted again.  A crack, like a branch breaking underfoot.  The struggles ceased, became spasmodic twitching.  Still he held on, tight, tight, waiting until he felt it.  A few moments later, he did, and released the body, sitting up.

He was hyperventilating.  Damn it, he didn't need to do that.  That was stupid.  He willed himself to calm, willed the sharp, shallow breathing to cease.  It was all right.  It was all over.  It was necessary.

He sighed, which required him to draw breath again, but at least it was a normal breath. He didn't think he would ever get used to this. But... necessary.  It was necessary.  Standing, he stared down at the body of the policeman.  Life, snuffed out so fast, like a candle.  But the void left by its absence... it called to him.  Beckoned him.  Invited him.

Now.  It was time.

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes:

Blade: Wow, you actually reached the end.  That's better than I expected.  Well, here's the part where we explain to you why, exactly, after years of non- productivity and unfinished projects, we started yet ANOTHER new fanfic, and then just to make sure nobody (except, apparently, you) read it, we made it a self-insert.

Epsilon: Bah. Part of the reason I haven't been releasing fanfics for over five years is because I never actually got close to finishing anything else. I don't plan on being one of those writers who gets half-way through a released series and stops, never to return.

Blade: Not counting all those fanfics we DID get halfway through releasing and then stopped, I assume?  Or is that a statement of intent to finish them all after all?

Epsilon: (waves hand dismisively) Products of a misspent youth.

Blade: Ahhhh, I see.  Well, back on-topic.  There is a reason we're releasing this.  Namely, we expect to finish it.  For we are capping off a BLAZING series of writing unseen in the annals of this website, so we're way ahead in actual writing of where we're releasing anything.  But actually, that's still off-topic.  So, I guess, the question to be answered is: why a self-insert?  (stage whisper) That's your cue, Aaron, it's YOUR fic.

Epsilon: Its really very simple. I read "Insertion", by Carrot Glace (aside) Highly recommended, by the way. (/aside) and wanted to do my own take on the same idea. So I did. And it sucked. (pauses) Then I re-wrote it. And I got bored. (pauses) Then I explained the concept to you, and the concept changed from doing my own version of Insertion, to doing a self-insert in the same vein that made sense. A self-insert unlike any other self-insert, because it would contain many of the elements missing from most such stories.

Blade: Those elements being "a plot", and/or "a point"?

Epsilon: If you wanted to distill it down to the essence, yes. Also, a reason for the events that happen. And not a stupid reason, like contacting the Goddess Relief line and making a stupid wish, or a bullshit reason, like some cosmic accident. I mean an honest to goodness CAUSE for the self-insertion. Why it's happening, period. Why it's happening the way it is. Why me and Ukyou specifically. All of these questions have answers to them, which shall be revealed over the course of the story.

Blade: Quite so.  When it comes right down to it, most - I won't say "all", because I don't and never have read enough fanfiction to say, but "most" I feel comfortable with - self-insertions have either been for fun, or at best, something that TRIES to overcome its cheesy, pointless roots.  But there's no reason that has to be.  The concept of self-insertion is one that has an actual literary tradition, one that is decidedly not as despised as the self-insert tradition in fanfiction.

Epsilon: Indeed. From "Good Night Desdemona, Good Morning Juliet" all the way to

"Excel Saga" self-insertion has been used as a useful tool for storytelling.

Blade: Which is not to say we'll make a literary masterpiece, or even something amazingly better than what came before.  Obviously it is you, the reader, who decides the worth of the fic.  But if it sucks, it will at least suck for DIFFERENT REASONS from previous self-insertion fics.  That is our promise to you!

Epsilon: I should point out I rarely write anything for others. I'm writing this fic because I want to do so and I enjoy it. This doesn't mean I don't enjoy criticism, reviews, or even flames. Please feel free to respond on the board I post this on, or via e-mail at rlepsilon@hotmail.com, or send it along to Blade via kumonryuu@hotmail.com since we'll forward commentary to each other. Heck, if you raise legitimate questions I don't answer (or plan to answer) in the text of the fic itself, I'll even answer them for you.

Blade: Yes, any commentary is welcome.  Good, bad, indifferent, even those shitty "hey man i red yr fic needs more pr0n" mails.  I don't have the luxury of turning up my nose at anything anymore!  Oh, to have the glory and acknowledgement that was ours during those bright days of Ran Wars and CoD!  SO LONELY.  Umm...anyway, yeah.  Please feel free to send any thoughts you have.

Epsilon: Due note that I like the text of my fic to stand on its own, so I won't be answering questions that I feel are addressed through the writing. Thus, I'm not using these notes to explain the concept and characters of Hybrid Theory, myself included. If I failed to convey the story to you, then obviously I didn't do my job here. In the future, I will be using it as a way to translate the names of any "special techniques" I introduce. After all, attack names just sound cooler in Japanese. Even if I find the use of random Japanese in fanfics slightly annoying... but I digress.

Blade: Well, yeah.  Although, if you didn't understand anything, feel free to ask, since we will explain, and if we were unclear in our writing, well, that can be rectified in a reedit or future chapter.  Plus, next time, we'll explain exactly why I get a spot in these author's notes aside from the fact that I always try to hog an equal share of the spotlight on projects Aaron's doing most of the work for!

Epsilon: And on that note... there isn't too much left to say. I suppose I could insert the standard "disclaimer" here, but I don't really believe in them. I will note that this fanfic is written not for profit, and I hereby give anybody the write to post it on any website they want so long as none of the text is altered, no fees are charged, and Blade and I are informed. Heck, you inform us, and we'll probably end up linking to you from our website:

(plug) http://www.bladeandepsilon.com (/plug)

Blade: Not that anybody is likely to do this.  But we live in hope that our True Genius And Godlike Talent will someday be recognised by the great unwashed.

Epsilon: Indeed. On that note... in our next installment of Hybrid Theory...

"AKANE!"

Ukyou wasn't even aware she was moving before her feet hit the pavement. The throwing spatula impacted into the man's hand with a meaty thunk. But he didn't scream. Instead, he turned around and looked at her, his eyes narrowing. Ukyou pulled her battle spatula from her back with ease as she closed in.

He continued to stare at her as she approached. And then his eyes snapped open at the last second as Ukyou body-checked him away from Akane. The man flew like a rag doll across the street and landed limply against the other sidewalk. Ukyou spun around and briefly checked on Akane, Aaron's practiced eyes noting a lack of any injury. Her mouth was open in a small 'O' of surprise, but that was okay. Ukyou turned her attention back to the man across the street without saying anything, shifting her grip on the spatula to bring the wide plate in front of her.

Damn, would this thing stop bullets?

Hybrid Theory, Chapter 2: Numb

Hi!  Akane Tendo here, and, ummm, a lot of stuff happened last chapter, didn't it?  Well, first off, this person named Ukyou Kuonji came to Nerima.  I didn't think much of this at the time - actually, I didn't even know about it, but these two guys have shown up with and told me it was important to tell you all about it. Whoever 'you' are. They also told me I wouldn't remember any of this, but, oh well, right?

So, at first I thought Ukyou was some creepy pervert stalker, but then she flashed her chest at me and I knew a girl couldn't be a creepy pervert. Now we're friends, even if I don't know about this weird voice that seems to be in Ukyou's head. Ukyou even helped me out by convincing all the boys at school to stop attacking me in the hopes of getting a date by telling them all that I was her girlfriend!

Uh... at least I think she isn't a creepy pervert...

Ukyou has this thing with her old friend Ranma. She didn't tell me much about it, but I knew he did something bad to her. So when he showed up at my house pretending to be a girl I saw right through that and... uh... actually, the less said about that the better. Thankfully, I was able to use my 'relationship' with Ukyou to get me out of having to be Ranma's fiancée because of the stupid promise our fathers made. Now Nabiki is stuck with him.

So now I just have to find out what this big deal is between Ukyou and Ranma. That’s why I went to tell her about it, but Ukyou kinda freaked out when I told her about Genma being there.  Also, somebody apparently killed a police officer. Wow, this is beginning to look a little dark...

Chapter 2: Numb

Ukyou stood in front of the archaic gate that led into the Tendo compound. Akane was already stepping through the arch, moving without hesitation. Of course, she had every reason to: this was her home. She knew exactly what to expect beyond those doors. Ukyou... had only ever seen the place once. Still, she knew the layout of the building almost as well as if she'd been there repeatedly, thanks to her uninvited “guest’s” memories of the so-called Ranma 1/2 manga series.

"Ukyou." Akane's voice snapped her out of her reverie. "Are you coming or not?" Akane motioned towards the entrance. Ukyou felt herself smirking self-consciously at that. Aaron was apparently amused by the concept of being invited into the household. Still, his amusement faded slightly and the familiar numbing fog began to fill Ukyou's heart again. Her breath evened out and her heart stopped pounding as her unwilling companion's influence spread through her nerves like frost on a windowpane.

"Indeed," Aaron offered as he made Ukyou step through the gate into the front yard. "I was just... caught off-guard by the reality of this. I've been looking for Ranma for... ten years."

Akane perked up at this. Aaron had purposefully let the information slip. He and Ukyou had agreed to be secretive about the real reason they were in Nerima. At least, they would be until Ukyou figured out whatever actual reason she was here for. But the little slip had appeased Akane's curiosity and allowed Aaron to move them towards their goal with a minimum of interference.

"Do you know where Ranma is, now?"

"Well, no," Akane admitted with a shrug. "He and his father are staying in the guest room. I could show you to there..."

"No," Ukyou spoke up. "I think... if you don't mind Akane, I'd rather do this on my own."

"But Ukyou, I'm your friend, I can-"

Ukyou held up a finger, forestalling Akane's argument before it could get started. "I just need to do this alone, Akane."

(As alone as we'll ever be until this is over.)

Akane nodded and sighed.

*

Ranma leaned against the cherry tree, looking up at the star-speckled sky. It was so much more... empty here in the city. On the road, the stars had been everywhere. Too many to count, but they were always the same. They were always there, guiding, illuminating... but here in the city, the stars were lost.

Ranma had never been a deep person. He didn't like to think of life in the grand cosmic sense of things. Ranma was a man of action and instinct. When the world seemed to get confused and out of whack, he knew he could always rely on his instincts to put him on the right path and his abilities to allow him to take whatever actions were necessary. Now, his instincts were telling him that this place wasn't for him. It wasn't that he felt more at home in the country than the city; he had spent almost half his life in one town or another. Nah, it was more that this place was... well, for lack of a better word, weird. Every other time that he and the old man had settled down for a bit, Ranma had seen the signs of Genma being ready to leave at a moment’s notice. He had always seen his father working on his latest money-making scheme, or been involved in some stupid adventure to acquire the secret teachings of some local martial arts master.

Somehow, this time felt different. It was the first time Ranma could ever remember his father being WELCOME somewhere, for one thing. Also, despite the fact that this place was a dojo, Genma hadn't tried to convince the master here to show Ranma all his tricks. The old man was certainly making himself comfortable, too. Ranma couldn't avoid the image of his father somehow taking root here. The idea of taking root anywhere didn't appeal to Ranma, for a number of reasons.

The biggest of those was the trio of lunatic lesbians that lived here and that he was supposed to marry one of. The short-haired girl was the most calculating. Ranma could smell a sneak from miles away. He had his dad to thank for THAT skill. And that one was a sneak, all right. One who looked out only for herself. The eldest was the most subtle about it. Trying to confuse you with her sweet and innocent act, only to pounce on you when you least expected it. Worst of all, she made decent food. Why did such a good cook have to be such a bad person? But personally, the one Ranma disliked the most was the youngest, the little psychopath. That one just gave him the willies. The sooner he was out of her sight, the better.

The problem was that he was stuck here. His father just didn't see those three nutcases the same way Ranma did. He had tried talking sense into him earlier, but the old man stayed stubborn no matter how much Ranma hit him. He was beginning to get the sickening feeling that this whole situation was for real, and not just another of his father's elaborate con games.

Even putting aside getting his old man to agree to let him leave, there was the question of where to go. There was only one real place Ranma wanted to go to, and unfortunately it was the one place he didn't feel safe journeying toward. At least, not alone.  He knew he could beat that other psycho girl handily. But even he had to sleep sometime, and Shampoo had shown herself more than willing to attack him whenever he let his guard slip for a moment.

There had to be some way out of this. He found himself wishing that someone would claim responsibility for it all, someone he could beat black and blue to solve the whole problem. Ranma grunted and shielded his eyes with one hand. He didn't like thinking. There had to be something he could DO about this situation. Action, not thought, that was the key to keeping himself one step ahead of the problems here. But what direction to go in?

"Ranma..."

The voice snapped Ranma out of his brooding. He sprang up to his feet, cursing himself for allowing someone to come so close without him noticing. That's what thinking did to you, throwing you off your game.

The boy who stood in the backyard with Ranma was shorter than him, with long black hair and a boyishly handsome face. He was wearing a black school uniform, with a harness around his right shoulder. Hanging on the back of that harness was a ridiculously oversized metal spatula with what looked like a very sharp edge to it. The boy was standing there, staring at Ranma with wide eyes. Yet the eyes were clouded, distant. It was like the boy was looking through Ranma, not at him. Something about him was disturbingly familiar, but the identity didn't leap to mind, so Ranma shrugged off the feeling.

"Who are you?" he asked cautiously.

*

"Who are you?"

Ukyou couldn't work up the willpower to answer him. Her knees felt weak and her throat was dry. Nervously, she ran her fingers through her bangs - and stopped herself halfway through the gesture. That wasn't her. That was Aaron. Creeping into her mind, filling her posture and expression and movements with his little tics and foibles.

What was Ranma seeing on her face? Was he seeing the conflict in her mind? Could he see her shock? Her mind refused to grasp what she was seeing. This was Ranma. This was her Ranma. He was taller and older and more mature, but he was the same Ranma. She could see the child in his soft black eyes. She could hear the echoes of his pre-pubescent voice in his words. She could SMELL him. That same scent of woods and dust and old-sweat and mixed in was something new, some subtle musk about him. If she reached out and touched him she would feel HIM, not some two-dimensional image of him. His body was round and full and there. His presence was unmistakable. This was Ranma Saotome. This was the heir to Anything Goes Martial Arts. This was the boy whom she had fallen in love with at the tender age of six and hated for the last ten years of her life.

Before her was the star of a popular manga and anime series.

She was a cartoon character.

(My god! Who AM I?)

Aaron felt Ukyou's reactions. His stomach lurched and twisted as she went through the rollercoaster of emotions. He tried to pull back, to rein in her feeling. But he might as well have been trying to avert an avalanche with a twig. Ever since he was twelve, Aaron had been learning to suppress his desires and feelings, for the good of others

(or so you told yourself)

and for his own well-being. But controlling Ukyou's emotions was different. Her feelings were more alive, more intense than any Aaron had felt except one... Ukyou felt ALIVE in a way that Aaron had never experienced. She boiled over with desire and sadness and guilt and anger, a complex web of personality that left Aaron baffled. How could she doubt herself now, feeling the way she did? She was more alive than Aaron had ever been.

Somehow, Ukyou felt herself growing more at ease with Aaron's vindication of her... fundamental reality. He was right. She felt and lived and breathed. If you pricked her, did she not bleed? She was Ukyou Kuonji, no matter what passengers she had picked up along the way. And she was here. Here, at last, with Ranma. The object of ten years of preparation and sacrifice was now within her reach.

What the hell was she supposed to do about it?

Ranma was growing uneasy in front of her. His body kept shifting slightly. He looked like he wanted to raise his fists, but never got around to actually doing it. "Hey, you deaf? I asked you a question." Ranma grunted and turned his eyes away from Ukyou, apparently unable to stand her stare for much longer. She WAS staring. With a jerk she forced her eyes away from him. The Tendo's backyard was quiet and serene in the starlight. Nobody was around. They were alone.

"I said, 'Who are you?'" Ranma was growing annoyed now.

"You don't... you don't remember at all, do you?" Ukyou spoke out loud. Ranma stared at her quizzically for a moment, but then shook his head ever so slightly. He had forgotten her. Ukyou's hands clenched into fists, her knuckles cracking as they strained a harsh white. The old rage filled her again. Abandoned. Alone. Mocked. Outcast.

Aaron came to her rescue. THIS emotion he understood. With consummate ease he eased their breathing and closed their eyes. For a few seconds she listened to the sound of her own heartbeat. The technique was really quite simple, once you knew how to do it. The fire wasn't sealed away; it was snuffed. When she opened her eyes again, Ukyou felt composed and relaxed. Distant.

"You don't remember your old buddy, Ucchan?"

Ukyou's voice was calm and detached, two feelings she wasn't sure she wanted to be projecting at the moment.

"Ucchan..." Ranma stared at her. Then his eyes widened and she saw recognition flare in his features. And in that exact moment she felt Aaron's iron control crumble again and her heart started beating a mile a minute. He was smiling, genuinely smiling and happy. He was even beginning to laugh. It was the exact same laugh. The laugh of a child with no worries and no limits.

"Ucchan!" Ranma cried out and grabbed her by the shoulders. "It... it really is you! Wow!" Ukyou blushed as his hands gripped her tightly. She could feel Aaron's displeasure, his physical unease at the closeness.

Aaron shrugged them out of Ranma's grip and took a step back. It was best to retain some distance between them, especially since Ranma didn't know

(how much Ukyou wanted him to touch her)

that Ukyou was a girl. The boy was a bit touchy about such distinctions at the moment. With his own curse and all. It was best not to risk anything, and he did mean ANYTHING, that could expose their secret.

"Hi, Ranchan." The words sounded so right in Ukyou's mouth and so wrong in Aaron's. "It's been... a long time." Ukyou allowed them to smile, a bit nervously.

"Wow, it has!" Ranma clapped and took another step closer to her. "You don't know how glad I am to see you, Ucchan. All the people here are crazy! I was beginning to think that there wasn't a single good thing in Tokyo. Now... this is great!"

Aaron could only stare at Ranma in shock and dismay. After a moment, his heart started pounding again. The boy was so exuberant, so alive. It was just the way Ukyou had remembered him, and just the way Aaron had imagined him. It sent flashes of heat and cold up and down his spine, the way he was looking at her. The way he was talking about her. Even if he didn't know, he was saying all the right words.

Then Ukyou remembered what Akane had said. She and Ranma had been at each other's throats, and Ukyou was looking for a way to prevent the inevitable engagement. Akane thought the best way to do that was for Ukyou to keep pretending to be her boyfriend. But Ukyou knew a better way to help

(yourself)

Akane out. She could assert her own claim. Ukyou knew she could play Genma like a flute. Aaron knew all his buttons, and so therefore Ukyou did as well. If she wanted to claim Ranma as the sole fiancée, then nothing could stop her. It would help out

(Who do you think you're trying to kid, here?)

...it would help out Ukyou.

"So, where have you been, what have you been up to?"

"I..." Ukyou paused at Ranma's question. She could tell him the whole truth, right here. She could tell him about her being a girl, and about hiding her femininity so that she could

(preserve yourself...)

avoid the humiliation he had left her in. And after she got through convincing him that this transformation was not the result of Jyusenkyo, he would say the words. She KNEW he would say the words. Telling her she was cute. She was, despite her ten year campaign to denounce and destroy her feminine self, still attractive and desirable. And she knew she could have him, if she wanted to. Aaron knew how to do it. Aaron knew that patience and kindness and taking it slow... not forcing him to do anything, always making it seem like he was in control... yes. It could work. The fairytale ending...

Aaron suddenly pushed them away from Ranma. Ranma staggered as Ukyou's hand thumped into his chest and

(No!)

he fell against the cherry tree. Aaron felt his self-control slipping. His eyes squeezed shut as the flood of sensation from Ukyou's subconscious threatened to overwhelm him. He was losing it, losing his sense of self piece by piece to her... her stupid senseless physical NEEDS! Needs that were base and disgusting at that. How could she risk this? How could he fight it? Then he felt it. Not her, but him. His anger. His rage. He had suppressed and controlled it for so long, but now she was wearing that away in her silly, selfish little desire. Well, fine. She wanted to give into emotions, then it was only fair she give into his as well!

Ukyou swayed under Aaron's mental onslaught, her hand flying to her head. She felt dizzy. Her head was splitting. It was like the mother of all migraines, except there was no relief from this. No retreat from it. The clash of two different emotions, two different desires in her head was tearing her apart. Fuck this! This was her life! She would live it the way she pleased, and fuck Aaron and the horse he rode in on!

Ukyou felt Ranma grab her around the shoulders, and she snapped her eyes open again. He was worried about her. Ranma was being sweet and... and what right did he have to think he could solve her problems anyway? No. Wait. She shook her head. She didn't mind Ranma touching her, perhaps even... even... even if he was a deceitful little prick! What kind of a friend was Ranma, that he would just abandon her and never even think about her for ten years? He didn't care about anyone but himself. Even if he did touch her THAT way it was only because he... no... he... he wasn't like that. He could be a decent person. He just usually wasn't.

Ukyou felt her knees weaken as Ranma suddenly found himself supporting her weight. But she was seeing red. She could stand up for herself. She didn't NEED him. How could he touch her without her permission? He was no better than that freak Tsubasa, demanding, possessive... She felt dizzy. He was leaning in closer, trying to say something she couldn't hear through the mental cacophony.

But words weren't what reached her. It was a flash of thought, a neon daydream image of Ranma leaning even closer, pressing his lips against hers. That single image cut through the fog of anger like a gale. She clung to it, focused on it. Pursued the daydream to its logical and inevitable conclusion. Imagined the rough texture of Ranma's fingers, as he helped her remove this boyish facade once and for all-

Aaron gagged. His anger was faltering, and in its place he felt only a sick sort of warmth. The images suddenly flooding their connected mind were primal, disgusting, made him sick just to feel them. Submitting to those alien feelings struck at the core of his being. Aaron felt his gorge rising... and before Ukyou could stop him, he submitted to the vicious thought and didn't even try to repress the reaction.

*

Ranma wasn't sure how to react when Ukyou opened his mouth and promptly vomited into his face.

On the one hand, he was now covered in vomit. On the other, Ukyou was obviously sick. Pride or concern? Ranma debated the concepts briefly, but decided it was best to go with his instincts. And his instincts were saying:

"GAH! I'M COVERED IN VOMIT!"

With a cry Ranma dropped Ukyou and leapt into the nearby koi pond. He felt the water splash around him, and began to wring it into his hands. Moving with inhuman speed, he rapidly scrubbed his face clear of the offending substance.

Once he was finished, Ranma turned his gaze back towards his old friend. Ukyou hadn't fallen completely to the ground. He was kneeling in the grass where Ranma had left him, staring at Ranma in that same detached manner. His right hand was clutching the top of his head and the left was covering his mouth. He was blushing beet-red in embarrassment.

"Geez, what's the matter, Ucchan? You sick?"

"Something... something like that," Ukyou spoke up softly. His voice seemed to change cadence in mid-phrase, going from cold to shy in the space of a single syllable. "Did you just turn into a girl?" he asked, in an oddly unsurprised voice. Ranma stared down at himself and confirmed that yes, that was indeed his current gender. With a sigh, he pulled himself out of the pond and sat on a nearby stone. He might as well get the explanations over with.

*

"So, this is your mysterious boyfriend?"

Ranma relaxed against the wall as the Tendo clan gathered around the dinner table. His father was sitting opposite him, giving long nervous glances at Ukyou. For his part, Ukyou seemed content to ignore Genma completely. In fact, he seemed to be ignoring virtually everybody at the moment. His old buddy had recovered from his earlier sickness, but now he was just sitting near the door, almost oblivious to everyone else. His eyes had that same distant, veiled quality that he remembered from when he had first shown up in the yard.

It was weird.  Ukyou had barely even reacted when Ranma had explained and demonstrated his curse. The only response out of his mouth had been "Indeed." Now he was just sitting back, responding only to direct questions.

"Yes," Akane was saying with a fierce nod. "So, as you can see, I have no intention of marrying Ranma at all."

"Wait a minute..." Ranma held up his hand. "You two know each other?" Ranma gestured between Akane and Ukyou.

"We know each other very well," Akane said, with a sneer in Ranma's direction. "We're dating." Ranma could only stare in open mouthed shock at this proclamation. Ukyou... and Akane? He was having a hard time picturing it. Ukyou was such a, well, Ukyou was a nice guy. He didn't deserve a psycho like Akane.

"That's what you say," Nabiki pointed out with a flip of her hand. "But we've yet to hear anything from your knight in shining cookware over there."

"Nabiki has a point," Soun said with a stern nod. "I know very little about this person who is supposed to be dating my youngest daughter."

Ranma looked over at Ukyou, expecting some response. But Ukyou was only twirling a small spatula between his fingers absently and staring off into space.

"Well, Ukyou, is there anything you'd like to say?" Kasumi took the initiative with the reticent guest.

"Huh?" Ukyou looked at Kasumi, cocking his head to the side in puzzlement. Everyone was looking at him expectantly. "I'm sorry, I don't understand the question. What exactly do you want to know?"

"Let's start with the truth about whether you are dating my daughter."

"Dad! Don't you trust your own flesh and blood?"

"Ah, he's just being protective," Ukyou said with a shrug. He ran his hands through his bangs, pushing them out of his eyes. "To answer your question..." He paused. "I like Akane, and I want to hang out with her more. If she wants to call that dating, that's her prerogative."

"How non-committal of you," Nabiki drawled.

"We've only known each other for two weeks, Nabiki," Ukyou pointed out. "This isn't exactly Romeo and Juliet. I prefer to let my relationships develop slowly, and go wherever they happen to go. If Akane wants this to grow into something more serious, then that's up to her." For some reason, Akane snickered at this statement. Ranma frowned briefly in her direction. The girl must think her whole relationship with Ukyou was some kind of joke. Ukyou was obviously stuck on her, from the way he kept placing all the emphasis on Akane's importance in the relationship. Now Ranma really knew that Akane didn't deserve him. There had to be some way he could get Ukyou out of this... without getting himself more involved with the black-haired tomboy than he had to.

"You're lying!" Genma suddenly burst into the conversation. He was now standing and pointing his meaty finger into Ukyou's face. The boy had turned his attention to the older man, and was holding his throwing spatula in a much more steady grip. "You can't possibly be dating Akane! This is just some scheme to sabotage the union of the two schools!"

"Indeed?" Ranma could have sworn he saw frost form in the wake of Ukyou's response, so cold his tone had been. "And why is that, Mr. Saotome? Do you know something about me that you want to share with the rest of the people here? Something special about you and me, and the relationship we share, that you think the Tendos ought to know? Hmmm?" Genma seemed to freeze solid at Ukyou's question. Ranma frowned and looked back and forth between the two. Ukyou's face never changed expression, retaining that placid but dangerous flatness. Genma's, on the other hand, seemed to be going through every kind of expression in the book as rapidly as he could possibly form them. Not to mention the beads of sweat slowly trickling down from his kerchief to drip off the end of his nose. Pops was definitely hiding something.

"Well, do you want to say why Akane and I can never be together? Why you think Ranma and her are SO much better for each other? All about the real truth about us?"

"No... No!" Genma sat down and stared at Ukyou hard. He began to pull at the collar of his dirty white gi. A sudden gasp caught Ranma's attention, and he flipped his gaze to Akane. She was staring at Genma, and her face had drained of all blood. Then she began to shake. Shake, and grit her teeth, and clench her hands into white-knuckled fists. Her eyes narrowed at Genma. Ranma suddenly found himself desiring the wall he leaned against to be further away from her.

"You... YOU BASTARD!" Akane yelled suddenly. "So that's what you did to Ukyou!"

"No!" Genma waved his hands in the air between them. "You have it all wrong. It wasn't my fault! I just couldn't stand to turn down such a golden opportunity!"

"What you did... is UNFORGIVEABLE!" Akane screamed and grabbed the table with both hands. Ranma watched her lift it easily over her head and bring it down on his old man with enough force to crack the floorboards. Everyone else, including Ukyou, had thought to retrieve their rice bowls from the table first. But Akane wasn't finished there. She drew back the table again and brought it down once more. Genma gave a weak moan of pain as the floorboards further protested their ill-treatment. Then Akane hit him again. This time the table snapped in two down the centre. As Akane lifted up her arms for a fourth strike, Ranma watched Ukyou step in between the two of them.

"That's enough, Akane," Ukyou said in a low, toneless voice.

"But... but he..." Akane was seething so much she seemed to have lost the ability to speak.

"What he did was between us," Ukyou said slowly. "He's not worth it, Akane." This seemed to calm Akane down a bit. Ranma found himself staring at the two of them. Geez, what could his old man have done to Ucchan that was so bad?

"Besides, if you kill him, I won't get my chance to pay him back personally." Ukyou quipped with an easy smile. Ranma found himself sighing in relief. Ukyou's entire posture had changed, and his face had suddenly become animated and vibrant. This was more like the Ucchan he remembered. Akane looked at Ukyou's face for a few seconds, and then she started giggling and nodded.

Ukyou turned around to retrieve a piece of broken table, and held it up towards Kasumi with a raised eyebrow. Kasumi surveyed the living room, then sighed and gestured outside. Ukyou smiled and held out his hand for Akane's half of the former table. Sheepishly, she handed the large wooden club over. Then Ukyou noticed Genma was beginning to stir and moan. With a shrug he clubbed him with Akane's half of the table once, soundly, on the head. Pops didn't continue reviving after that.

"Who gave you permission to regain consciousness?" he asked flippantly as he tossed the table halves outside. This caused Akane to giggle a bit again, and even Ranma found himself chuckling softly at the sight. It’s not like he hadn't seen Genma take worse punishment. Heck, Ranma had done worse to the old man himself a few times.

"Now, young man, I'm not sure I approve much of you beating up my old friend," Soun pointed out as sternly as he could once Ukyou was no longer armed with the table halves. Ukyou just shrugged and went back to sitting down near the door.

"I'm just glad Akane found a young man who suits her so well," Kasumi added vibrantly. This caused Akane to chuckle again. Nabiki seemed less pleased with the idea. She was glaring at Ranma and muttering softly to herself. Ranma frowned right back. Like he had any intention of getting himself hitched to any of the screwballs in this house. And if he had anything to say about it, neither would Ucchan.

*

Ukyou noticed Ranma following her as she leapt across the rooftops of Nerima ward. She cursed inwardly. She had hoped to avoid having to tell him about what was wrong with her until she and Aaron had a chance to work out a plausible story. She still wasn't even sure she wanted to go through with any kind of story. No matter what she told him, it would be a lie. And the truth was unacceptable. Aaron didn't much care if Ranma knew, but she knew that telling him the whole truth was likely to frighten him off at best, or make him think she was insane at worst.

Then again, was she really not insane already?

There was no point in debating the question internally. Aaron was quiescent at the moment. Not silent. It was impossible to escape the constant mental static of his thoughts. Just passive. He seemed uninclined to think about what had happened in the yard back there, despite Ukyou's attempts to pry information out of him.

Personally, Ukyou thought he was afraid. Afraid of himself. Ukyou couldn't blame him. But then, she couldn't forgive him either.

Finally Ukyou stopped and allowed Ranma to catch up with her. If Aaron wasn't willing to talk with her - as much as "talking" covered what they did - then she would just take the chance to talk with Ranma.

"Hey, Ucchan, wait up!" Ranma called needlessly. Ukyou only smiled and waved at him as he settled down on the roof Ukyou had stopped on. "With everything that happened at the dojo, I never got a chance to talk with you."

"Indeed," Ukyou said, and then frowned momentarily before forcing herself to smile cheerfully. Ranma was standing under the soft moonlight. His dark hair glimmered in the silver radiance, and his eyes seemed to shine with their own inner fire. Even as she found herself admiring the view of him, she felt her stomach stirring and writhing. She sighed and slumped a little. Aaron may have been acting quiet, but he was still willing to employ his weapon if she got too... mushy.

"I'd almost think you were avoiding me," Ranma laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well..." Ukyou suddenly felt a flash of inspiration hit her. She almost didn't use it, because she knew where it came from. But it was too good to waste... too perfect to discard, no matter which of them had thought it up. "I was avoiding you, Ranma."

Ranma blinked and opened his mouth slowly, then closed it again. Wait for it, Ukyou felt herself thinking. She wanted to fly through the entire explanation, but the number one thing about telling a good lie was pacing. Allow the mark to reel himself in.

"What do you mean? Do you... not like me?" Ranma said slowly.

"Actually, it's exactly the opposite, Ranma." Ukyou turned away. Mostly so that he couldn't see her face. It wasn't that she couldn't feign the proper emotions. Heck, in many cases she would actually be feeling them. The problem was that she was beginning to feel like a worm. Stringing Ranma along like this. She could have told herself it was for his own good, but there was an annoying voice in the back of her head which wasn't letting her cling to such a tempting illusion. "You aren't the only one of us who is cursed."

"W-what?"

Ukyou reached up and unbuttoned the top of her shirt, moving slowly. She could hear Ranma's feet shift on the tiles as he backed away from her. Still, she had committed to her course of action, and Aaron was in agreement for once. Soon she was pulling down her shirt, revealing the taut bandages along her back to Ranma. "This is just part of my curse, Ranma."

"You're... hurt?"

"No, Ranma, this form you see is a disguise. In reality..." she spun abruptly to face him, allowing him to see her tightly bound breasts for the first time. Ranma's eyes snapped open as he did his best impression of a fish. Ukyou felt herself flushing in mingled embarrassment and excitement. Still, that queasy feeling remained in the pit of her stomach, so she quickly pulled the shirt back together to conceal herself from him. "In reality, I'm a girl."

Ukyou double-stepped back to avoid the sudden stream of hot water as Ranma tried to up-end a kettle over her. She sighed and lashed out with her fist, smacking him on the side of the skull. "You idiot! This has nothing to do with Jyusenkyou!"

"But... my good old buddy, Ucchan..."

"Was a girl all along, dumbass."

Ranma seemed to need a moment to digest this. Ukyou waited patiently. Finally, Ranma rubbed his eyes and looked at her real hard.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes..." she sighed again. "I'm sure, Ranma. I'm really a girl. I was born a girl. I was a girl when we first met and a girl when you aban... when you left." She concentrated for a moment. What was some memory only she and Ranma would share? Something even that asshole in the back of her skull didn't know about? Oh... perfect... "I was a girl that day we went to the hotsprings outside the village. That's why I kept beating you up every time you tried to get in the bath with me."

"It was?" Ranma blinked. "I just thought you really wanted to spar that day."

"Obviously," Ukyou sighed into her hands. "Didn't you ever wonder why I kept using the girl's restrooms when we were kids?"

"Uh..." Ranma scratched his brow. "I never noticed. Back then, I used to just mostly do my business in the bushes..."

Ukyou hit him again, lightly.

Ranma rubbed his head absently, but was now slowly nodding. "So... you're a girl..." Then Ranma shrugged and grinned. "Well, I guess that's okay. You certainly aren't like any girl I've ever met, though."

"That's part of the problem," Ukyou pointed out as she stepped back. Her voice was choked up with emotion, but her head was perfectly clear. Aaron's numbing influence had filled her mind again. He didn't want them messing this up, and was more than happy to help out in the acting department. Apparently a dozen years pretending to be more... normal... had made him quite the actor. Ukyou was almost glad for his help. Almost. "I'm cursed like you are Ranma, but in a slightly different way."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm really a girl... but I have to pretend to be a guy."

"Have to pretend? But why?"

"I'd rather not get into the specifics," Ukyou waved her hand through the air. "The gist of it is that... some bastard cursed me. Now, whenever I try to act or be like a girl... I get sick. Really sick."

"Sick?" Ranma frowned. "Like earlier this evening?"

"Except it can be worse. I could really hurt myself." She turned and looked out across the sea of houses. "Even my thoughts aren't safe. My feelings..." Ukyou allowed some of her real anger at the situation to creep into her voice. But the anger was cold, like back in the house with Genma. "I can't even risk feeling like a woman until I'm cured."

"But wait. You were acting like a guy back at the house," Ranma pointed out as he scratched the back of his neck again.

"Ah Ranma." Ukyou turned and punched him softly in the arm. "You're such a clueless idiot. Don't ever change."

"Clueless?" Ranma blinked. He obviously had no idea what Ukyou was talking about. Ukyou found herself gazing into his eyes... and then was forced to look away again as her stomach roiled violently. Damn, it would be so easy to catch his heart if that bastard Aaron wasn't there refusing to go along with it.

"It's not important, Ranma," Ukyou pointed out as she slipped her hand over her mouth. Ranma stepped closer to her and she held her hand up between them and mimed feeling a bit sicker, even if she wasn't feeling ill at all.

"What is important, is that I'm just as cursed as you are. Maybe even worse. You can at least act like a boy when you're in that girl's body. Me, I have to spend the rest of my life living a life I never wanted to live..."

"Ukyou." Ranma's voice was soft and clear. "I... are you serious?"

"Of course I'm serious!" she spat. Her voice was full of frost and malice. She took a deep breath, listened to her heart beat for a moment. Anger wouldn't serve her well right now. Even if Ranma did appear to like them with a bit of a temper... Ukyou forced her mind away from that line of thought. It wouldn't do her any good at the moment.

"I'll... I'll get that jerk for you, Ucchan!" Ranma suddenly cried out. Ukyou felt herself spun in place to face him as the taller boy latched onto her shoulders in a grip that was both firm and gentle. "I swear it! Whoever did this to you... I'll give them hell!"

"Ranma... that's sweet. And don't think I'm not tempted to let you..." Ukyou sighed. A vicious little part of her imagined Ranma beating Aaron into a bloody pulp. Aaron didn't even flinch, mainly because he knew Ukyou would never go through with it. She may hate him for what he was making her do, but she couldn't seriously blame him. Besides... after the car crash, she doubted anything much scared Aaron as far as physical pain went. She shuddered in remembered agony of that day... that last day. No, best not to dwell on that, either.

"The fact is, the man who is responsible for this is beyond your ability to touch." She looked down at her feet. "He's already dead."

"Ukyou! Did you..."

"No. He died... a long time ago. I had nothing to do with it."

"Geez, that sucks," Ranma muttered slowly. "I was all set to beat up SOMEBODY."

Ukyou laughed.

*

"School?"

"Of course! It's the same school Akane and Nabiki go to," Kasumi added cheerfully as she handed him a boxed lunch. He reached out and snatched it from her hands like he would snatch an apple from a snake's mouth. He may not trust the girl as far as he could spit, but Ranma never turned down free food. Which reminded him, he would have to see if Ukyou still made those delicious okonomiyaki.

"Right, see you there!" Nabiki called out from the front gate.

"Nabiki, wait a moment." She slid to a halt with a sigh as her father stepped out of the house. A rolled-up newspaper was tucked under his arm and he had a serious-looking frown on his face. Ranma cocked his head to the side at the man's gait. Last night, he could have sworn old man Tendo was spineless. But he was moving like a serious warrior at the moment. "I think you should walk with Ranma to school."

"Daddy..." Nabiki moaned. "Why do I have to walk with him to school?"

"Don't argue with me on this," Soun gripped the newspaper under his arm. "This isn't just for the sake of the schools."

"Huh?"

Soun flipped out the paper and displayed it to her. Ranma read the headline quickly. "Foreigner Found Murdered In Police Box," the huge title read. The paper was too far away and Soun held it up too briefly for Ranma to catch any of the story. Apparently Nabiki felt the same way, since she stalked over and snatched the paper from her father's hands. She gazed over the article for a moment. Ranma slipped over and snuck a glance over her shoulder. Before Ranma could get very far, she rolled up the paper in her hands and used it to smack her father over the head.

"Oh Daddy, you silly little worrywart," she said in an exasperated tone. "This happened all the way out by Narita. That's nowhere near here!"

"Well, still." Soun wrung his hands, his fierce warrior expression melting under his daughter's assault.

"I think I'm safe enough walking through broad daylight with crowds of other students along an open road in a nice neighbourhood halfway across the city from the first murder in six MONTHS in Tokyo."

"Uh, well..."

"I'll walk Ranma to school," Akane piped up suddenly. Everyone turned their attention to her, especially Ranma. She was holding her school bag in one hand and was giving him a long, careful stare. Ranma frowned back at her. What was she up to now?

"Thanks, Akane! I owe you one," Nabiki called as she fled through the gate.

"You're welcome," Akane called back. Then she turned her attention back to Ranma. "Well, are you coming? We don't have all day."

"I'm not ready yet!" Ranma pointed out. Only to have his father shove his packed school bag into his face. Ranma sighed and grabbed the pack from him. There was no use grumbling about it. The old man had this thing about schooling. He'd even delayed a few of their trips for a few months, just long enough for Ranma to earn his credits and move on. With a sigh, he followed Akane out of the building.

*

Ranma strode along the top of the fence as he followed Akane to the school. His bookbag was slung behind his back, and he kept an eye on the slowly accumulating clouds overhead. Ever since his curse, Ranma had gained a new appreciation for watching the skies. Plus, it kept him from interacting with Akane in any significant way, which was a plus.

"So, Ranma..." Akane started. Ranma sighed. So much for that. "I think we need to talk, before we get to school."

"Ain't nothin' to talk about," Ranma grumbled. "I don't like you, you're a psycho tomboy with a breast fetish."

"I am NOT a psycho tomboy!" Akane shouted and swung her bookbag at his feet. Ranma nimbly danced over the few strikes until Akane got tired with trying to trip him into the nearby canal.

"But you didn't deny the breast fetish!" Ranma laughed while pulling down one eyelid and sticking his tongue out at her.

"I don't... I'm not like that!" Akane protested loudly.

"Oh right," Ranma grumbled. "That why you're takin' advantage of Ukyou's problem so blatantly?"

"Wha-what?"

"Don't think I don't know what you're really up to with my best buddy!" Ranma snapped. "Ucchan ain't got no choice than to do what she's doin'. You do, so don't expect me to forgive you."

"Forgive me? It was Ukyou's idea! All of it." Akane growled. "Not that I expect you to understand. You just don't know the whole truth at all, do you."

"Whole truth?"

"About you and Ukyou, and your father, and the connection between all three of you."

"What does pop have to do with Ukyou?"

"Only everything!"

"Yeah right," Ranma shrugged. "You're blowing smoke."

"Oh really?" Akane sneered. "Tell me, Ranma, how much do you remember about your mother?"

"My mother?" Ranma glared at her. "What does she have to do with this, you tomboy?"

Akane swung at him a few times, which Ranma nimbly evaded. Then she smiled and smacked her fist into the fence under his feet. Ranma blinked as the chain-link buckled under her blow. He suddenly found himself lacking support under his dancing legs. With a cry he plummeted down, breaking the surface of the drainage canal with a resounding splash.

Ranma climbed out of the water with a sigh. A single leap propelled him over the damaged fence and into the street next to Akane.

"Now look what you did," Ranma grumbled as he pulled off his shirt to wring it out.

"Ack!" Akane covered her eyes. Paused. Then rushed over and started trying to grab Ranma. "Have you no feminine modesty?"

"Uh, no?" Ranma deadpanned as he dodged around the girl's attempts to grab him. Damn, his center of gravity kept shifting in this shape. He had almost been grabbed that one time. "And can't you stop trying to molest me for a minute?"

"Just put your shirt on and I'll stop trying to conceal you from view!"

Ranma muttered to himself but did as she asked. It was better than dodging her freaky violent advances all day. Akane sighed, obviously in disappointment. She turned her nose up on Ranma and started walking again. Ranma shrugged at the girl's behaviour and followed.

"So, tell me about your mother," Akane started up again after a few steps.

"Didn't we just go through this?"

"Do you want me to dump you into the canal again?"

"Fine, fine..." Ranma groused. He wasn't really worried about Akane besting him in battle. He was just worried about having to fight her as a girl. Who knew what perverted thoughts ran around in that dim little girl brain? "My mother..." Ranma trailed off.

He realized that this was the first time he had even thought about his mother in years. His father never brought her up, and never seemed to pine for her in any special way. Then again, Ranma had never seen him out chasing skirts. Though if all girls acted like Akane and her sisters, he could understand why the old man would avoid the problem.

"I... don't really remember my mother," Ranma began slowly. His voice was soft and steady. He noticed Akane looking at him over her shoulder. "I just always assumed she was dead. Pops never talked about her."

"You never met her?"

"No."

"How... interesting."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ranma snapped, a bit irritably.

"Just that it's interesting," Akane snapped right back. Ranma grumbled and crossed his arms - or tried to, those damn things on his chest kept getting in the way. "Look, Ranma..." Akane's voice had changed tone completely. There was no hostility in her words, just a sort of... calm acceptance. "I think we got off to a bad start."

"And whose fault is that?"

Somehow Akane managed to smack him in the head with her bookbag before Ranma could react. He glared at her and rubbed the sore spot on his forehead while she turned around with an audible "hmph".

"I'm trying to be the bigger person here!" Akane snapped over her shoulder.

"Whatever..." Ranma slipped his arms behind his head again. For some reason, seeing him walking in that pose caused Akane to glare balefully but she turned away from him again to see where she was going.

"I was just going to say that I don't really blame you for what happened to Ukyou," Akane began again. She was talking softly. "It was just your father, taking advantage of both of you at the same time." Ranma stopped in mid-step. What was Akane talking about? Did she know something about what had happened to Ukyou that Ranma didn't? And if that was even possible, why would Ukyou reveal it to AKANE, of all people?

"Let's just say I consider you a neutral party in all this mess," Akane pointed out as she flipped her long hair from one shoulder to the other. "I don't really know how I can prove any of this, and Ukyou asked me to stay out of it anyway. But just know that I know exactly what's going on, even if you don't."

Ranma blinked in confusion. Just then, he noticed the clock tower of the school coming into view around the next corner. It was just like the clock tower at any other school, anywhere else in Japan. He secretly suspected somebody went around with a giant cookie-cutter and just stamped these things into existence. Oh well, at least in a few moments he wouldn't have to worry about hanging around with the mercurial Tendo sister anymore.

It was about then that he realized he was about to walk into the school grounds and he was currently female. Just great. Now everyone he met was going to consider him some freak, and he had she-of-the-violent-temper to thank for it.

Ranma's ears perked up as he heard a loud retort of wood off metal. Akane seemed to notice as well, but she just sighed as she walked into the yard. He could see a smallish crowd of students just beyond the front gate, obviously watching something.

"Hold still, you vile miscreant!" an unfamiliar voice cried angrily from within the group. Another clatter of wood striking metal followed.

"I think that would probably be pretty stupid, actually," a more familiar voice said back in an uninflected tone. Ukyou was involved in some sort of fight. Without a glance at Akane or a word in her direction Ranma took two steps and launched himself through the air, easily clearing the five-meter span across the street so he could land atop the school wall.

From his new vantage point, Ranma could see the entire courtyard. It was pretty standard. A few trees along the sides and placed sporadically across the manicured lawn. A concrete path leading up to the three-story building. Ranma quickly memorized the layout of the area, just in case. The big attraction was near the centre of the grounds. Ukyou and some guy in samurai robes were duelling back and forth across the concrete path. The other guy had the advantage of height, and obviously knew how to use the wooden sword rather well, but calling it a duel was giving him a lot of credit.

Ukyou was spinning around his assaults, deflecting each of his strikes with her twirling spatula. She was even using the unwieldy weapon to parry attacks that wouldn't have even threatened her. She was playing with him.

"You cannot win! My victory is inevitable, why not just lay down your arms and admit it to yourself?" the taller boy crowed pompously. Apparently, he didn't realize what was going on.

"Indeed?" Ukyou casually deflected another four or five strikes. "You'll have to prove your hypothesis, then."

"My what?"

"Ukyou!"

Ranma snapped his head to the side and watched as Akane pushed through the screen of on-lookers. She had a smile on her face, but was still shaking her head back and forth.

"I'm kind of busy, Akane. Can this wait?" Ukyou frowned and stepped to the side, dodging one of her enemy's strikes at the last instant. The boy tipped forward, unbalanced by the sudden lack of blocking force. Ukyou spun around him and twirled her spatula like a staff. The ring opposite her blade impacted with the back of his cranium. The boy's eyes crossed and his slight tip turned into a full topple. "Okay, I'm finished."

It was true, the boy wasn't rising from his induced slumber.

"You know I can handle him on my own, right?"

"Hey, it wasn't my fault!" Ukyou protested, in a much more animated manner than she had held during the fight. "I was just waiting here at school for you guys to show up when he attacked me."

"Right..." Akane sighed. "And the thought he would attack you just didn't occur to you?"

"Well, maybe..." Ukyou giggled a bit.

Ranma frowned and leapt from the top of the wall. He landed in front of the crowd of students and began to walk up to Ukyou with an easy slouch to his steps. He heard the sudden increase in noise behind him, but dismissed it as irrelevant.

"Heya, Ucchan!" Ranma greeted easily.

"Indeed," Ukyou smiled back. Ranma leaned back once he was within talking distance of his old friend, lacing his arms behind his neck once more. Ukyou's smile was really quite cute. It was a wonder anybody mistook her for a guy.

"What's this?" Ranma poked the unconscious teenager on the ground with his toe idly. The boy shifted a little in response, then fell still again. "Nice work, by the way."

"Problem not," Ukyou replied with a shrug. "But I have to give him most of the credit. I've been fighting him off and on for over a week. He never changes patterns, never adapts to other’s styles. Once you know how he fights, it's rather easy to beat him."

"I guess," Akane said as she nodded and rubbed her chin. "That would explain it."

"Whatever," Ranma shrugged. "It was still a good takedown. Not often you get a one-shot KO in our business." He looked at Ukyou and smiled slyly. "Maybe I should test just how good you've gotten in the last ten years, Ucchan?"

"Aw man, first Akane now the new babe! This guy has all the luck," someone cried from behind Ranma. The boy-in-girlflesh flicked a glance over his shoulder and saw a few of the boys near the front row crying streams of tears. One oily-haired kid was patting another blond-haired boy on the back and making 'there, there' noises. Ranma turned his attention back to Ukyou, not really sure what they were so upset over.

"I see you couldn't avoid water this morning," Ukyou commented sardonically.

"Yeah, blame this psycho tomboy," Ranma said as he jerked his thumb at the girl in question.

"You had it coming, you jerk!" Akane cried as she tried to thump him with her bookbag again. What did she put in that thing, a brick? Ranma decided not to test the theory and nimbly slid back away from the assault. He stuck his tongue out at her again. Akane just growled and clutched her bookbag in her white-knuckled hands.

"Yeah, yeah," Ranma replied flippantly as he moved closer to Ukyou. For some reason, the girl-in-boyclothes found the entire situation funny, at least funny enough that she couldn't stop chuckling lowly into the ball of her thumb.

"Don't you three make a lovely little group," a new voice intruded. Ranma gave a hooded glance as Nabiki stepped towards them, coming much closer than most of the other students. A few were entering the building, but a lot of them were milling around just within earshot, doing their best to appear anything but interested. Some guy was in the bushes nearby, taking pictures with a professional-looking camera. Ranma turned and flashed him a toothy grin complete with V-sign just as he took his next picture. The boy seemed to decide to leave just after that. Nabiki was looking at him strangely when Ranma turned back to the trio of girls, but nobody commented on his odd behaviour.

"Anyway, I just wanted to point out that if you three stand out here reminiscing all day, you're going to be late for class."

"It's actually five minutes until first bell," Ukyou pointed out placidly with a glance at her watch.

"And you would know? You don't even go here," Nabiki pointed out. "By the way, the administration is beginning to get annoyed at you showing up and constantly beating one of their students into the ground."

"Off and on, huh?" Ranma chuckled. Ukyou had the decency to shrug. Akane rolled her eyes.

"Tell them that if they want to complain, I'm sure your sister would be more than happy to press charges for assault," Ukyou replied easily. "But I doubt it will come to that. These things have a way of getting swept under the carpet. Especially when it involves the rich, or the powerful." From the way Ukyou emphasized the word, Ranma didn't think she was referring to politics. "Plus I don't think Kunou is ever going to lodge a formal complaint. That would mean admitting he was beaten, which is probably beyond the limits of his delusions."

"Okay." Nabiki shrugged and stepped past the group as she made towards the entrance.

"So... you wanted to talk to us?" Akane prompted once Nabiki was out of earshot.

"Well..." Ukyou looked around at the loitering student body. "Maybe this place is a bit too public. I tell you what, we'll meet after school. I have a feeling the three of us are going to need to have a talk." Ranma and Akane nodded in unison, then glared at each other for doing so.

"Oh, and Ranma?" Ukyou snapped her fingers and caught Ranma's attention. "I thought you might need it, so..." she trailed off and pointed. Partially hidden behind a nearby tree was a portable grill, on top of which was a small brass kettle.

"Oh man," Ranma said, leaning in and clapping Ukyou on the shoulder. "You're a champ, Ucchan!" Ukyou was blushing slightly, but seemed unable to say anything.

*

Ukyou sat on the lip of the wall, kicking her feet idly against the stone. Above and to her right was Ranma, lounging in a tree branch. Below and to her left was Akane, sitting on a more prosaic bench. Around them the park was reasonably well-inhabited, clusters of anonymous humanity treading their way past them. In and out of sight like extras on a movie set. Did these people look at her and see her as just a strange boy sitting upon a wall? Or did they immediately assume that she was a special person by her demeanour and appearance? Or did they even notice her? It was entirely possible some extant law of creation kept her and her friends from even entering the minds of these people for more than the few seconds they would use to note the existence of a field mouse or a dandelion. A boy sitting atop a wall with a giant spatula on his back? Somebody else's problem.

The other two looked at her strangely when she burst out into a fit of uncontrollable giggles. She waved off their concern and got herself under control quickly. Aaron helped; he was very good at that sort of thing. Then she opened her mouth and tried to decide what to say. The storyteller part of

(Aaron)

her was both excited and repulsed by the idea of saying, "I guess you're all wondering why I brought you here today?" Of course, anything else was just a variation on the same. But, as Aaron knew, it was sometimes best to avoid leading the conversation. Best to let the curious walk their own path. That gave you control. That gave you power over them.

"I bet you two want me to clear up a few things, right?"

"Yeah," Ranma said from his perch. Like Ukyou had asked, he was keeping an eye out for uninvited eavesdroppers, so his face was currently turned away. Akane echoed the sentiment, but her attention was all on Ukyou. So far, in all the time she'd seen them together there had been only open antagonism between the two. No long, quiet stares when they thought nobody else was paying attention. No unexplained embarrassment or sudden spurts of shyness between them. Ukyou sighed. What she was about to say might disarm some of their hostility towards each other, but it was unlikely to lead to a sudden blossoming of adolescent love. It appeared Destiny

(with a capital D and everything)

held no sway over these two's hearts. That made Ukyou feel better, on a great variety of levels.

"First off, I want to say that there are some things I haven't told either of you, and I have good reason. They're private things. Things I plan on dealing with myself." She could see that neither of them quite liked that statement. But Ranma was nodding in understanding. Akane was shifting her feet a bit and looking at Ukyou with huge doe-like eyes. Was that pity? Ukyou suspected it was.

"You don't have to tell us everything, Ukyou," Akane pointed out. "It's not like some of it isn't obvious in retrospect anyway."

Ukyou gave a mental "Huh?" at that but didn't let it show on her face. It was okay to let Akane leap to a few conclusions. If Akane had a few "facts" in her head, she would ask less questions. The less lying Ukyou did in response, the better.

"I just wanted to talk because you two don't seem to be talking much, and I think you've both sort of come to some wrong ideas here." Ukyou ran a hand through her bangs. "I just want to clear the air here. You're both my friends. Ranma, I've known you since we were six and Akane, I know more about who you are now than I do Ranma. But you're my friends, and I like you both. I don't want to be at the centre of some little war you two wage on each other."

"Hey! This isn't my fault!" Ranma cried indignantly. Akane only turned her nose up at him. Which looked kind of funny, considering he was perched in a tree over her head.

"I'm not laying blame," Ukyou pointed out at Aaron's prompting. "Nor am I trying to dictate how you two interact. If you want to hate each other, fine by me. I would just rather not have to choose between the two of you."

That seemed to quiet Ranma right down, and made Akane smile a bit.

"First off, both of you know that I'm not really a guy." Ukyou noted their nods. "So Ranma, before you get any ideas: no, neither Akane or I swing that way."

"Huh?" Ranma spun around in place, shifting his eyes over the two of them. "But I thought you said that you weren't-"

"I never said anything about being a lesbian, Ranma."

"Finally!" Akane said as she threw her hands into the air. "This moron has been going on about me being like that all day!"

"Well, technically I can't speak for Akane..."

"Ahah!"

"Ukyou!"

"I'm kidding!" Ukyou protested as she warded off a few flung pebbles from Akane's direction. "Akane isn't a lesbian either, Ranma." Ranma looked at her with a raised eyebrow, and his arms crossed casually over his chest. "She just doesn't like the guys at her school and they couldn't get that through their heads. So I stepped in to help with this fake dating thing. It helps the both of us."

"But this crazy chick-"

"Ranchan!"

Ranma blinked at the harshness of Ukyou's tone.

"Part of you two not involving me in your feud means not trying to kill each other in my presence. So maybe we can keep this civil?"

"I guess," Ranma mumbled sullenly and cast a glare at Akane. For her part, Akane returned it with equivalent smugness.

"Akane is a fully-functional heterosexual," Ukyou pointed out with a shrug. "Just ask her about Ono Tofu some time."

"Ukyou!" Akane blazed red as Ukyou smiled down at her.

"Who?"

"He's... our family doctor..." Akane said she twiddled her fingers together. Ranma blinked at this, but seemed to accept it with a shrug.

"Fine, if Ucchan says you're not that way, then you aren't." He grinned down at Ukyou. "I trust her, she doesn't lie to me."

Ukyou could only stare speechlessly at him for a few moments. She didn't wince; Aaron saw to that. There weren't any tell-tale signs of the turmoil in her heart on her face at all - once again Aaron's work. She wanted to say something, but couldn't seem to form the right words. In this part of her, Aaron couldn't help at all.

"See! I told you this wasn't about me feeling THAT way about you," Akane pointed out. Ranma seemed about to retort, glanced at Ukyou, thought better of it and shut his mouth with a shrug. "And I already told you I'm willing to be the better person here, so once you apologize for the way you've treated me-"

"Apologize!?" Ranma snapped.

"Never mind whose fault what was now," Ukyou pointed out loudly, catching the attention of both of them. She held up her hands. "Let's just make a clean break of things. No matter who saw who naked or under what circumstances or how many insults have been thrown in either direction, let's just start over from here, okay?" The two of them looked at her in confusion. "It’s really simple. All this malice is just because of stupid misunderstandings. It's kid stuff. You can't let one or two incidents rule the rest of your life..." Oh man, those words tasted bitter in Ukyou's mouth. "Just start over from scratch, okay?"

"Okay..." Akane said slowly.

Ranma looked at Ukyou, then back to Akane and then to Ukyou once more. He shrugged and looked up at the leaves of his tree-perch. "Whatever."

"Now, Ranma, say 'I'm Ranma Saotome, pleased to meet you' and Akane, you do the same." They both stared at her. "Humor me." They did, and managed to do it without sounding snide, or hostile or anything. Ukyou felt rather proud of the two of them.

"Like I said, I'm fine with working things out between us," Akane noted, apparently noticing some expression on Ukyou's face. Ukyou cocked her head to the side, and Ranma looked down at her. "Well, given what the two of you have been through, what Genma did to both of you... I can accept that. It's not your fault. It's really all Genma's doing."

Ukyou blinked. This was unusual. Aaron would give higher odds to the sun rising in the north tomorrow than to Genma admitting the truth about what had happened ten years ago. This meant that Akane was probably off in some strange self-delusion about what was going on. An amused part of... one of them, she wasn't sure, wanted to tease that out and see what it led to. A bigger part realized that this could (and probably would) lead to the wrong kinds of misunderstanding, and it was more trouble than it was worth.

"But... we can't let this lie, you two. This whole situation is just poison. I know that you don't want to talk about this, Ukyou, but you have to put your personal friendship with him aside. This isn't right. What happened between the two of you needs to come out in the light." Ukyou blinked again. "I know it's personal and it hurts, and it involves bad feelings... but Ranma deserves to know the truth about you and him and how you feel and what Genma is really after! It's sick and twisted, and talking about it might hurt, but if we get this all-"

"Hey, Ucchan! Hear about that murder this morning?"

Aaron snapped her head towards Ranma so fast Ukyou felt her tendons protest. The boy was squatting on the branch, clutching it with both hands and sweating nervously.

"Murder? What murder?" Aaron said in an implacably calm voice. Ranma blinked at the sudden shift in his friend's demeanour.

"Just some guy killed half-way across the city," Akane pointed out from behind her. Her tone was annoyed and dismissive. "Dad got all worked up about it this morning and tried to convince Ranma to escort Nabiki to school-"

"Wait!" Aaron cut Akane off with a sharp motion of Ukyou's hands. "Soun told you about this? Soun Tendo?"

"Well, yes..." Akane trailed off, obviously confused now.

"Yeah," Ranma agreed with a nod when Aaron stared at him in that cold, expressionless manner.

Ukyou felt herself frowning. Aaron was worried about this, but for reasons she wasn't sure she agreed with. This world existed beyond the confines of the story Rumiko Takahashi had defined. Murders happened the world over and it certainly wasn't 'out of continuity' for them to occur so that the cast of her little manga would become aware of them. But still... there had never been anything like that in the manga, or the anime for that matter. And if it had been serious enough for Soun to be worried about Nabiki's safety, it should also have appeared in the actual story. Except maybe whatever prescience Takahashi had to see this actual world and draw it up had been tainted by her desire to tell a funnier story and...

Ukyou clutched her head. She was giving herself a headache. Such mental debates with Aaron always did. They always led themselves in circles until they finally decided to just stop thinking about it.

And of course, there was the fact that Sailor Pluto was interested in Ukyou.

Okay. Something was going on here. Something had gone wrong with the continuity of this world. And Aaron was damn sure that nothing he had done had led to someone getting killed in Tokyo and Setsuna Meiou acquiring a sudden interest in Ukyou Kuonji. Not now. The timing was just too damn convenient.

"Ukyou, are you okay?"

"Where did this happen?" Aaron spoke in a level voice, but didn't look up at either of them.

"At the Tendo place-" Ranma began but Aaron cut him off quickly.

"The murder! Where?"

"Uh, I dunno... it was in the paper this morning..."

The newspaper. Of course. Aaron berated himself and Ukyou internally. He had been so sure that this world was the same - as far as most news went - as his own that he didn't need to bother reading the news. It wasn't like he was interested in the human interest stuff, and he knew all the major news stories for the next dozen years. How could he have been so stupid?

"Ukyou, where are you going?"

Ukyou looked over her shoulder at Akane. She had already leapt down from her seat before she even realised it.

"To get a newspaper," she explained.

"Wait, why?" Ranma also leapt down from his perch. His muscles were tense, and his eyes flickered across the landscape quickly.

"For nothing, I hope," Ukyou said slowly. "Listen, you two..." Ukyou pondered how to phrase her request. "Just go back home. I have to see about this. It's just a bad feeling I have, and I have to make it go away."

"I'll come with you," Ranma informed her, in a manner which made it clear this was not a request.

"Ranma, I..." Ukyou sighed. What harm would it do? "Okay." Ranma nodded to himself.

"I'm coming too!" Akane pointed out, standing and flexing her arms.

"No you're not," Ukyou pointed out. "I hate to be harsh, Akane, but you'll just slow us down. Speed is our advantage here. And you can't leap across the rooftops like we can."

"But..."

"Just go home, Akane." Ukyou waved her hand towards the houses in view nearby. "This is probably nothing. I'm just overreacting to bad news. But I don't like surprises, and I need to..." Ukyou sighed again. "Just trust me, Akane. I'll come back to the dojo as soon as I've cleared this up. Okay?"

Akane stared back at Ukyou defiantly. Aaron loosened up his grip on their emotions and Ukyou let a bit of her concern for the girl show in her expression. Akane couldn't met her gaze after that. After a few seconds of staring at her shoes shuffling in the dirt, Akane sighed and nodded.

"Great!" Ukyou nodded happily. "Come on, Ranma. I don't think this is anything, but I want to make sure."

"Whatever you say, Ucchan."

*

Sitting in the pipe, listening to the water flow, he wished the Internet had been invented a little earlier.  It existed, but it'd be years before it was really useful.  Luckily, he'd thought of that before, and gotten the information he needed before leaving the police box.  The Tendo Dojo was close.  She was close.

He felt... something.  It might have been a shiver running up his spine, but not quite so bold.  It was more... dull.  More blunted.  Less alive.  Of course, so was the cold from the water that rushed around his naked body, the feeling of wetness.  So dimmed.

But why had he felt it?  Was he having second thoughts?  Damn, he couldn't afford that.  He had told himself before.  Had to be done.  Had to be done.  It was the only way.  She was the only one.  The only one he was sure about, anyway.

He grimaced.  Telling himself that didn't make it any easier.  But what else could he do?

It was with mild surprise that he realised he could no longer see.  So night was falling. Time flew when you were... hiding naked in a pipe draining into one of those ubiquitous canals?  Or perhaps it just flew when you were... well, best not to dwell on that.  Besides, it was time for action.

His joints, despite being still all day (fifteen hours?  Perhaps.), moved fluidly and effortlessly.  And, of course, he felt no discomfort.  The cold and wetness were distant, shadows.  He crawled from the pipe, glanced cautiously around.  No one was near, no one took notice of the faint splashes. Good, good.  He'd picked a good area.  But of course, he knew that.

Near his hiding place, he dug the bag of clothes and towel from the ground where he'd hidden them early that morning.  Using the canal wall for cover, he dried himself.  The uniform was a little musty and wrinkled, but nothing too bad.  She wouldn't really have any reason to be suspicious.  Of course, the police would be looking for him by now.  But he knew how to avoid them.  It wouldn't take long, anyway.

Finishing dressing, he threw the towel and bag into the canal.  The money he had retrieved from their bank accounts, he'd hidden elsewhere.  Best to get that afterwards.  He turned, facing in the direction of where he knew the dojo to be.  His perspective was a bit off, too slanted.  With a small, irritated noise, he reached up and straightened the broken neck.

It wouldn't take long at all.

*

It would be sunset soon, and the lengthening shadows were beginning to make their mode of transport more hazardous. Still, Ranma moved with ease as he followed Ukyou along the rooftops. He could have moved maybe half again as fast as she was, but he had to admire her style. The girl seemed to have a great deal of practice moving quickly and efficiently. For a moment, Ukyou paused and looked down from the lip of the building they had landed on. Frowning, she flipped open a city map she had pulled out and consulted it, then looked down at the street again.

"Haven't these people ever heard of street signs?" she muttered, before putting away the map. "It's that way," she said, pointing north. "Probably about ten more blocks."

The trip went relatively quickly, and there was no doubt they were at the right place once they arrived. The area below was a bustle of controlled chaos. The police box rested near the sidewalk, out of the main pathways but clearly available to anyone who needed it. It was dark and silent now, surrounded on all sides by flashing reflective police tape. A single police cruiser was parked nearby, and two uniformed officers were leaning against it, calmly directing the flow of humanity away from the incident. Near the corner, a newsvan was packing up its gear.

"Well, we're here," Ranma pointed out.

"Indeed..." Ukyou murmured softly as she surveyed the scene herself. They were too high up to be easily spotted by the people below, so their presence went unnoticed. Ranma began to fidget as time passed and Ukyou seemed content to examine the scene without pause. She was spinning a minature spatula between her fingers, but otherwise not doing anything.

"Whatcha lookin' for here, anyway?" Ranma asked when the silence finally got to him. He had been hoping for something blatant and obvious here. Maybe a lurking monster to beat up or something. That would have been cool.

"Small details," Ukyou said as she stepped back from the edge of the roof. "But this place has been cleaned up. Too much time has passed, I guess."

"Small details?"

Ukyou looked at him with an unreadable expression for a few moments, then shrugged. "Not much you'd really get. I have... a unique perspective. But nothing I see suggests this was anything but a regular murder."

"Except for the where," Ranma said.

"Yeah," Ukyou crossed her arms and leaned backward slightly. "Still, maybe I'm just being paranoid. This looks perfectly normal."

"So there's no danger?"

"Not here, at any rate." Ukyou looked up at the descending sun. "It's late, and I don't want to hang out here anymore. I could learn some more by questioning the people down there, but I don't think I want to get involved with this."

"Probably for the best," Ranma nodded. "I've dealt with the police before, they're nothin' but trouble."

"I'm not surprised you think that, given your father," Ukyou chuckled. Ranma grinned a bit himself. "Come on, let's get back. Akane's probably worried sick. I want to tell her this was all for nothing." Ukyou took a few steps forward, then paused and looked over her shoulder at Ranma. "But let's hurry anyway."

"Why?" Ranma shrugged. He wasn't really averse to another long run across the city, but was curious.

"Because I still don't like surprises."

*

Akane was really trying to do her homework. She understood how important math was. Normally she was very good at it. Or, at least, she was very diligent at it. But outside, the light was fading and the day was coming to a close, and Ukyou and Ranma were out there somewhere.

She was worried. What was Ukyou up to? Why get so concerned over an anonymous murder half-way across the city? It didn't make sense. Plus, Akane was a bit annoyed with her. Akane was a martial artist, too. Whatever problem Ukyou thought was coming up, Akane could help. She just knew it.

"Akane, you have a visitor," Kasumi called from downstairs. Akane bolted up, barely noting the distressed tone of her sister's voice. Her only thoughts were on Ukyou and Ranma. She had never doubted the girl would live up to her promise. Still... Akane grinned wickedly. That didn't mean Akane was going to spare her a stern lecture, or let her get away with anything less than a complete accounting of every detail.

At the bottom of the stair Kasumi was talking to someone standing just outside the door. Akane would have to remind her sister to let Ukyou in right away next time and-

The man outside the door was not Ukyou. He was tall and thin, and dressed in blue. It took Akane a few moments to note the glint of a badge on his familiar uniform. On his belt hung a leather holster and a simple firearm. For a moment, his face was cloaked in shadows by the angle of the light and the door. Akane stopped in place, a cold chill running up her spine to rest like a hard knot against the base of her skull.

The officer moved forward a bit into the light, and his face came into view. It was just a normal face. Not especially handsome, but not ugly either. Perfectly normal. When the man saw Akane he smiled, a wide and pleased grin that utterly failed to reach his eyes.

"Hello there," the officer said.  "You would be Miss Akane Tendo, I believe?"

Akane bowed deeply before responding. "Yes. I'm Akane Tendo. May I help you, officer?" Kasumi, seeing she was no longer needed, stepped around Akane and back into the house. Akane noticed her and Nabiki standing just out of the officer's line of sight in the background.

He bowed, slightly less deeply, in return.  "Yes you can.  I need you to come with me to answer a few questions."

Akane opened her mouth to ask why, but thought better of it. Still, she didn't want to be somewhere else when Ukyou showed up. Maybe if she cooperated right away, this could be over quickly. "Of course, officer. But can we stay here? I'm sort of waiting for somebody to show up..." Akane trailed off.

The officer bowed again, apologetically.  "I'm sorry, that won't be possible.  I need you to come back to the box with me, so I can fill out some forms.  However, I promise it won't take very long.  Your..." he hesitated, "...older sister, is it?  I'm certain she would be able to entertain your guest for a few minutes, correct?"

Akane resisted the urge to frown and nodded slightly. She turned towards her sisters. "Kasumi, if Ukyou shows up tell... him to wait for me. I'll just be a few minutes with the officer here." Kasumi nodded.

She felt, more than heard, a sharp intake of breath from behind her. But when she turned around, the policeman's expression was calm and composed. "All right, Miss Tendo.  Let's see if we can get this over with as quickly and painlessly as possible."  He smiled, but again the expression never seemed to reach his eyes. Akane suppressed a shiver but gestured for him to lead the way. She was going to be with a police officer, after all. Whatever premonition of danger she felt, she would be perfectly safe with him.

*

Aaron was about to leap down to the street when Ranma stopped him by laying a hand on his shoulder. He peered casually back, wondering what was up.

"Can, uh, we go in the back way?"

"Back way?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah," Ranma fidgeted. "I sorta wanna avoid... uh..." Ranma trailed off. Aaron smiled to himself. The way Ranma kept trying to avoid saying he was scared of something was kind of endearing in-

Aaron frowned and cut that line of thought off right there. He silently berated Ukyou to keep her feelings to herself. She gave him the mental equivalent of a raspberry. This caused them both to frown as the feedback gave them a small headache.

"What's up?"

"Well..." Then Ranma's eyes brightened. "You may want to avoid too much time with Akane's sister, ya know?" Aaron raised an eyebrow and stared at Ranma for a few moments until the other continued. "Well, they're real perverts, get it? They like, have this thing for girls... and if they ever find out you're a chick, with you being so cute and all, they might get some ideas in their heads and never leave you alone... why are you laughing?"

"Nothing, nothing," Aaron tried to stifle the chuckles with reasonable success. "I'm just... you've suddenly reminded me that I don't know how you and Akane met."

"Well..."

"I think I'll want to hear her perspective on this, too," Aaron said as he ran his hand through Ukyou's bangs. "Let's go in the back."

They landed in the backyard without preamble. Ranma seemed more than happy that none of the various residents were available.  "Since you're concerned about me, why don't you go in and fetch Akane?" Aaron teased before Ukyou could stop him. Ranma jerked a bit, then looked at Ukyou and sighed before wandering into the house.

Aaron began to pace casually about the yard. Ukyou wasn't too upset with him for playing with Ranma like that. It was her intention to play neutral mediator in their disputes. The Tendos were really very good landscapers, he noted idly as he waited for Ranma to make a reappearance.

Ranma emerged from a second floor window and dropped gracefully to the ground. Aaron rolled his eyes at the boy's antics. He really was going to have to learn what had happened here if he was going to be able to manipulate the situation to his needs. Not that Ukyou really liked to use the "M-word" when it came to Ranma, but Aaron had no illusions about how they were playing the boy like a ten cent flute.

"Akane isn't here," Ranma said with a shrug.

"What?" Aaron blurted out.

"I said-"

"Please hold the comedy for a moment," Aaron said as he held up his hands. Akane wasn't likely to have left. It wasn't in-character for her to... unless she decided to take off after them anyway. Which meant Akane could be halfway across the city right now. Damn, he should have seen this coming.

Without bothering to say anything to Ranma, Aaron directed Ukyou into the house. It didn't take long to locate Kasumi; she was busy cleaning up the kitchen and preparing it for tomorrow. Ukyou noted with a professionally critical eye that the place was kept meticulously clean and well-stocked. She would be okay with using this place herself.

"Oh, Ukyou!" Kasumi gasped when she looked up. "I didn't see you there."

"Sorry." Aaron shrugged. "Where's Akane?"

"Oh, she left. She asked you to wait for her," Kasumi explained cheerfully. Then again, Kasumi did everything cheerfully, including becoming a homicidal maniac.  Heh.  But...

"Indeed," Aaron said with a frown. "When did she leave, and why?"

"I think she and the officer left a little over ten minutes ago," Kasumi said as she tapped her finger against her chin.

"Officer?" Aaron stepped forward and did his best to loom over Kasumi, despite being shorter than her. Kasumi blinked. "What officer?" Aaron had a bad feeling about this. Too many coincidences.

"Officer Takashita," Kasumi pointed out, after another moment’s thought.

"Takashita..." Aaron stepped back and frowned. The name was unfamiliar to him, it certainly wasn't from any anime or manga he had ever read. At least, not the name of any major character. But why on earth would any police officer talk to Akane? No, this was just too convenient.

"Thanks!" he shouted over his shoulder as he dashed out into the backyard. Ranma was pitching small stones into the koi pond, staying well out of splash radius. "Ranma!"

Ranma leapt up, having heard the urgency in Ukyou's voice.

"We have to find Akane, quickly."

"Why?"

"Just being cautious," Aaron noted as he leapt up onto the roof of the Tendo home. Ranma followed him easily. Damn, it felt good being able to do that. Ukyou never really did appreciate how mobile she was until Aaron had arrived to show her what life was like without mad martial arts skills. "She's with a police officer, so she's likely at the local police box or station. You head off there and look for her. I'll check around here myself, see if I can catch up with them before they get where they're going."

"Okay..." Ranma murmured. He looked about to object, but Aaron felt time was of the essence. His horror movie instincts told him it was a bad idea, but splitting up really was the fastest way of finding Akane.

"I'll be fine," Ukyou pointed out for him with a genuine smile. "This is probably nothing. At least, it's nothing I can't handle."

"If you say so," Ranma grumbled before leaping off in one direction. Ukyou opened her mouth to point out that he didn't know where the police box was, then closed it and shrugged. He would find his way there soon enough. With a quick step Aaron propelled them in the opposite direction. Ukyou may not be much of a tracker, but it shouldn't be too hard to spot a police officer with the streets nearly deserted.

*

"This isn't the way to the police box, is it?"

The officer looked at her for a moment, then rubbed the back of his head.  "I'm sorry, I'm not from your local office.  We're going over that way," he said, and pointed vaguely in another direction.  "But it's not too far, I promise."

Akane mulled over that for a few seconds. They walked further onward, though Akane noticed they were actually moving away from the main thoroughfares to the other parts of the city. It was certainly possible to get to other places through the back roads, but not very efficient. She was opening her mouth to ask Officer Takashita about this when he cut her off.

"So," he said conversationally, "I'm sorry to have kept you from your friend.  Ukyou, wasn't it?  Are you two close?"

"Well s-," Akane stopped herself. She had promised not to reveal Ukyou's condition to anyone. Besides, the officer didn't really need to know details.

"Ukyou and I are... really good friends." Akane made herself smile a little wistfully, trying to affect the 'dreamy girlfriend' expression she had seen on more than a few girl's faces from time to time. "But it's not like we had a date tonight. He just wanted to talk to me. I'm certain it can wait a little while."

There was a long pause, and then the officer smiled again.  "Ah, young love. I remember being young myself.  How'd you two meet?"

"Uh..." Akane blinked. "Well he was stalk-" Akane cut herself off. Wrong word to use when you're talking to a police officer, you dummy. "He was... following me around and we just sort of, um, hit it off?" Akane ventured. She really wasn't sure she wanted the man to dig any further.

The officer seemed to have a small coughing fit, covering his mouth hastily. "Umm, yes," he continued.  "Well, I'm glad to hear you're... getting on well.  I'm sure you make quite a cute young couple."

They walked on in silence for a few more minutes. Akane tried to look anywhere but at the officer. The strange way he was looking at her set her nerves on edge. It was something about his eyes. Not the way Ukyou's eyes sometimes seemed guarded or hidden. These eyes were just.. .wrong, in a way she couldn't place her finger on. Akane sighed to herself as they passed a landmark she recognized. They were heading further into her neighbourhood now, going in circles as they entered increasingly deserted areas.

"Officer, are you sure this is the right direction?"

"Ah, yes.  Well, now that you mention it..." he hesitated, biting his lip, and then suddenly his eyes widened, and he pointed behind her.  "What's THAT!?"

Akane spun around, adopting a fighting stance. The shadows in that direction were deep, but empty. She frowned and turned around to ask the man what was going on.

There was a scream.

*

Ukyou propelled them across another street with a graceful leap. Aaron was letting her do the 'driving', as it were. He was too busy thinking, planning and theorizing. He did that a lot. He was trying to think of every anime series he had ever seen, remembering which ones involved the police in some fashion. Recalling faces and identities and names. But none of it was adding up in the back of her head.

But the number of possible things this COULD be was beginning to frighten Ukyou a bit. Akane could be the target of some soul-sucking plot by the minions of the Dark Kingdom, or whatever villain Sailor Moon was fighting this season. She certainly had energy to spare. And there were other things that were even worse. Psychotic demons from the Yuu Yuu Hakusho universe? Zoanoids? Insane martial artists with a thing for little girls, like M. Bison? The list was - almost literally - endless. But he wasn't willing to worry too much about it. It was just a strange series of badly-timed events to him.

Ukyou felt her heart beating like a triphammer as she bounced across another alleyway, glancing down to see if there was any movement. They couldn't find them. It was dark, Ukyou had never really trained herself to be a tracker, and while Aaron was good with directions, that only helped if they knew where to go. And they didn't.

Akane could be literally anywhere. Anywhere at all. It could already be too late.

Aaron warned her to calm down, but Ukyou wasn't willing to listen. The desperation seemed to lend energy to her flagging strength, which she definitely needed by now. Her legs seemed to be made out of lead, having already sprinted across the city not once, but twice. Plus it didn't help that she barely slept anymore.

Ukyou let out a small prayer of thanks to the Kami when she spotted them. They were walking in a street below, heading, oddly enough, towards the area of town where Ukyou was staying. That was not a nice part of Nerima Ward, and at night it was practically deserted and empty. Her first instinct was to leap down and ask what the hell was going on, but Aaron restrained her. The two were just walking, slowly and surely into the neighbourhood, and nothing was happening. It could all still be just something... innocent was the wrong word. At the very least, it wasn’t necessarily something to get involved in. Yet.

Aaron directed them to a rooftop across the street from them. Deliberately keeping the officer between himself and Akane. He wanted a good look at the man's face. Unfortunately, the officer was busy staring down at his feet, obviously thinking hard about something. They couldn't see his face, as the brim of his hat cast his face in shadow.

Ukyou fidgeted and slipped her hand up to her bandolier.

"Officer, are you sure this is the right direction?"

"Ah, yes.  Well, now that you mention it..." he hesitated as he looked up at Akane, away from Ukyou. "What's THAT!?"

He pointed, off into the shadows behind Akane.

Akane spun, adopting a fighting stance.

Ukyou looked up slightly. The shadows were empty. Her eyes drifted down. The man's hand was resting on his gun, gripping the handle.

"AKANE!"

Ukyou wasn't even aware she had screamed before her feet hit the pavement. The throwing spatula impacted into the man's hand with a meaty thunk. But he didn't react as if he felt the pain. Instead, he turned around and looked at her, his eyes narrowing. Ukyou pulled her battle spatula from her back with ease as she closed in.

He continued to stare at her as she approached. And then his eyes snapped wide at the last second as Ukyou body-checked him away from Akane. The man flew like a rag doll across the street and landed limply against the other sidewalk. Ukyou spun around and briefly checked on Akane, Aaron's practiced eyes noting a lack of any injury. Her mouth was open in a small 'O' of surprise, but that was okay. Ukyou turned her attention back to the man across the street without saying anything, shifting her grip on the spatula to bring the wide plate in front of her.

Damn, would this thing stop bullets?

"Ukyou! What on earth are you doing? That's a police officer!"

"He was reaching for his gun and-"

"He saw something! Oh my god! You're going to jail!"

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Let's see what he has to say about it."

Akane began calling out to the downed man - Ukyou refused to think of him as a police officer - as she tried to rush around Ukyou. Ukyou's arms moved as Aaron interjected her spatula in the girl's way.

"Ukyou, stop it! He's hurt!"

"I should hope so," Aaron pointed out coolly. "I hit him really hard."

Akane was gaping at Ukyou, but Aaron refused to look away. The man was lying there, seemingly unconscious. But his eyes were open and pointed in their direction. Still, there was a glaze to them. He really could be unconscious. Ukyou felt the first niggling threads of doubt begin to worm their way into her mind, but Aaron kept their expression icy and unreadable.

"Yes.  Yes, the young la... man did indeed hit me quite hard," came a weak voice.  Akane looked over, seeing the police officer rising to his feet. His good hand dropped to his pistol, but he made no attempt to draw it. "And I think you and I, young man, definitely need to have a talk."

"Indeed," Aaron said coolly. "Let's talk. First, you can tell me who you are, and why you were with Akane."

He narrowed his eyes at them again, penetratingly.  Then he glanced at Akane.  "Given the seriousness of the situation, I think you, young lady, should go home.  We will have to talk another time."

Ukyou and Aaron began a furious mental debate back and forth. Ukyou was all for getting Akane out of here, the better to lessen the amount of danger she was in. Aaron, on the other hand, was more inclined to keep her there. For one, there was no guarantee that Akane would go all the way home. For two, she would make an excellent witness if things began to become more serious than they were now. Ukyou tried to point out that things couldn't get much more serious than they were now, but Aaron only rolled his metaphorical eyes at that. Akane, for her part, was spending the few seconds Aaron and Ukyou spent psychically debating looking back and forth between Ukyou and the man.

"This is very serious."  His voice cracked like a whip. "Go home NOW, young lady."

That decided it.

"She's in no danger here," Aaron pointed out. "She makes an excellent witness. Why don't we just have her stay and keep notes."

"Believe me, she will undoubtedly be called as a witness.  But she has no reason to stay here to be picked up by the authorities.  I want her to go home, now."  His face softened a little.  "I'll make sure someone calls you later to update you on the situation and your... friend.  But please, go home, Miss Tendo."

"Doesn't that hurt?" Ukyou noted, pointing with her free hand at the spatula still resting in the man's hand. She didn't see any blood.

"Yes," he noted, "but I'm trained to ignore that sort of thing. Besides, it doesn't seem to have penetrated very far."

Aaron narrowed his eyes. This guy was good. He could see Akane hesitating out of the corner of his eyes. He was across the street and it was dark out. It was hard to tell exact details at this range, probably even harder for Akane, who he knew had the medical skills of a hyperactive second grader. Ukyou still felt that small butterfly of doubt in her stomach.

"Ukyou... I think I should probably go home," Akane said after another minute of hesitation. She began to edge away. "I'm sorry, but I don't think-"

"Akane, the only reason for you to leave is if you think I'm a danger to you in some way," Aaron pointed out calmly.

"I'm afraid I'd have to respectfully disagree," the man said.  "She has been told to leave the area by an officer of the law.  I've been patient so far... but as I said, this is a very serious matter.  Miss Tendo, if you insist on staying here, I'm afraid you will be obstructing justice."

"Bullshit," Aaron pointed out, still keeping his voice level. "No officer of the law would want a witness to leave the scene." He paused. "Why haven't you called for back-up yet?"

"You don't seem very familiar with how the law operates here, ma'am," he noted, with a hint of irritation.  "Miss Tendo has not committed a crime.  Her residence and contact information is known to the police.  She will be called upon to dispense her statement in due time.  I do intend to call backup, but as you have not made further threatening moves, I felt it more immediately necessary to get the innocent bystander out of the area."

"Hmm... fine," Aaron said, with a smile. He reached into his pocket and pulled out ten yen before flipping it to Akane. "Akane, be a dear. There's a payphone nearby, no doubt. Go find one and call the police. Tell them to send a few officers along."

Akane hesitated and looked at the coin in her palm before nodding and running off.

"I figure we have a few minutes before they show up," Aaron told the man laconically. "Whatever you have to do now that she's gone, I suggest you make it fast." Ukyou was a trifle worried about what might happen if this turned out to be all her fault. But Aaron was willing to spend a few days in jail, if this all turned out to be completely unfounded. But there was the fact the man wasn't bleeding. Aaron couldn't see for sure. But his and Ukyou's ears were quite good, and that had been a strong throw. There was no sound of dripping blood. Something was wrong here, he'd lay money on it.

The policeman glanced off in the direction Akane had run, hesitated a moment, then shrugged.  Grabbing the spatula, he removed it from his hand.

"Indeed," he noted.  "So let's start with who, exactly, you actually are, 'Ukyou'."  The snide emphasis on the last word was unmissable.

"What the hell do you mean, you jackass!?" Ukyou pointed at her chest. "I AM Ukyou Kuonji!" Ukyou felt her nerves fraying at that. That hit a little too close to home for comfort. "Why don't you tell me who you are, before I beat it out of you!"

The officer smirked.  "Ha.  Nice try, but Ukyou doesn't say 'indeed', 'bullshit', look at me the way you have been up until now with that icy, detached stare... and oh yes, Ukyou wouldn't attack someone out of nowhere and drive a spatula into their hand without provocation."  He spread his hands. "And, since you DID attack me first, I think it's only fair you give me a little bit of explanation, whoever you are."

"How would you know what I would or wouldn't do?" Ukyou replied evenly. All doubt had just evaporated from Aaron's mind, and thus, from Ukyou's mind as well. "No wait, don't answer that." She held up a hand to forestall him saying anything. Aaron began to think, trying to find a question that Ukyou could ask but that wouldn't play his hand too much, and would trap this man if he gave the right - or wrong - answer. "If you know so much about me that I can't possibly be Ukyou, then why don't you ask me something only Ukyou would know."

He paused for a moment, considering, then smiled again. "As I recall, I just said you owed me an explanation first.  And you should probably hurry, since I imagine Akane is already calling the police, and you're in a fair bit of trouble already.  I suppose you could run away - and be a fugitive - or try to pound my skull in with that spatula of yours - which I'm sure Akane would love to return to see - but wouldn't it be much easier just to cooperate a little?"

Aaron paused and considered. Then he and Ukyou shrugged as one. "Fine." Without taking her eyes off him she walked to the curb and sat down. "Let's sit down and wait, then. Unlike you, I have nothing to hide."

"Aside from attacking an officer of the law?"

"Then I'll go to jail," Aaron said with a shrug. "If I really did do something wrong, I'm willing to live with it. If not..." he paused. "Well, I just have a feeling that this has something to do with this." Aaron plucked his newspaper out of storage and flipped it into the centre of the street.

"Isn't that right, Officer Takashita?" Aaron put on his best poker face as he stared back at the man.

The man, whoever he was, just looked at them for a moment, his expression unreadable. Aaron didn't like to bluff like that. He had no clue whether this had anything to do with the murder last night. Except for those storyteller instincts of his. It was too good a coincidence. Akane hears about a murder at a police box, which leads to him hearing about it, which leads to a desperate flight across Tokyo, which leads to this moment. It was a pattern, and Aaron was good at recognising patterns. Ukyou had her doubts, and for that matter so did he. But he wasn't about to let that show on his face. The key to a good bluff was always appearing to know more than you did.

The pause stretched out another couple of agonising moments. And then the man suddenly laughed, twirling the mini-spatula around in his fingers. "All right, it seems we've both called the other's bluff.  Fair enough, then, 'Ukyou'.  I'll tell you what.  You can leave and we'll go our separate ways, or we can head off somewhere before Akane gets back and have a more candid talk while she worries herself sick.  Though you'll need to come up with a good explanation for the police, I'm thinking."  He paused, then smirked again.  "I can probably help you out, there, actually.  A little favour, if we can be civil."

Aaron opened his mouth to say yes. If this really was something beyond the pale, then he rather suspected the police would be ill-equipped to handle it. Plus, he had the power. But Ukyou wasn't about to let it go that easily.

"Before we go anywhere, tell me what you were doing with Akane." She looked off into the distance for a second and mimed hearing something, even though she couldn't. "And hurry."

The man pursed his lips, considering his words.  "As it turns out, I wasn't going to do anything to her.  I thought... but she's not the right sort for what I wanted.  You needn't worry.  Even if you hadn't showed up, she was perfectly safe.  And she will continue to be so in the future."

Aaron frowned. He certainly sounded sincere. Ukyou still didn't trust him, but was willing to admit that Aaron was right. The police would likely be completely unable to handle this situation. Now it just remained to defuse it when they showed up.

"Okay, I agree," Ukyou began, standing up and returned her oversized weapon to its harness. "But I don't relish explaining this to the proper authorities. What do you suggest?"

"As I said, let's get out of here first.  I've got a good story for you to give when you get back.  But come on... do you expect me to give everything away when you haven't told me jack?  A little good faith here, please."

"Fine." Ukyou paused, and then started towards him with her hand extended. "Your weapon?"

He laughed.  "As if I could hurt YOU with it.  But sure, whatever makes you happy."  He unbelted the gun holster and tossed it casually at her.  "Mind you, that's just a loaner.  I expect it back once our business is concluded."

Ukyou caught it with one hand and smiled back at him in a reasonably pleasant manner. Now that he was unarmed, she felt much better about the whole situation. Aaron might think a martial artist's skin could stop a bullet, but Ukyou wasn't anywhere close to wanting to test that theory. "I hope you don't get motion sick," she warned him before reaching out and grabbing his collar. In a few bounds she leapt clear of the street. Before she left, she did note one thing: there was no blood on the pavement.

*

She was looking for the blood.  Sharp of her to notice that.  Well, couldn't be helped.  But it distracted her attention, looking as she grabbed him, and he took that opportunity to study her closely.  She certainly LOOKED like Ukyou, or like what he had expected Ukyou to look like.

As she jumped up to the rooftops, he noted closely the rising and falling of her breast.  Mind you, his chest was also rising and falling, but... ah yes, the breathing sped up as they started to move.  Whoever she actually was, she was either a damn good actor with a lot of practice at looking natural, or that body was alive.  He was betting on the latter.  Interesting. Very interesting indeed.

Of course, that also neatly destroyed his previous theory.  So, if this 'Ukyou' wasn't like him... what was she?  Possessed?  A doppleganger? Shapeshifter?  Any way he sliced it, it didn't make sense.  Akane had had long hair, and he wasn't even sure if Ranma had arrived yet.  Ukyou had no business being here, and even less business being the one saving Akane from danger.

That thought left a bitter taste in his mouth.  All that preparation, that perfect plan... and he couldn't do it.  It was his own stupid fault for TALKING with her.  He should've found some other way to distract her, keep her quiet until they were alone.  But once they had talked... ah, it was like staring a rabbit in its innocent, frightened eyes before strangling it for dinner.  Not that he'd ever done that, but the concept was similar.

Of course, it turned out for the best.  He doubted he'd be having much of a civil conversation with this pseudo-Ukyou if he'd actually tried to kill Akane.  As it was, there was no way she could be sure killing Akane was actually what he'd planned to do.  And he intended to keep it that way... at least until he knew a little bit more about why this person didn't act like Ukyou should, talk like Ukyou would, and was in Nerima long before Ukyou was.

And on that note... she'd decided on a nondescript rooftop as their rendezvous point, apparently.  Smart idea; normal police probably wouldn't be looking there.  And Akane couldn't leap to rooftops to check.  They'd have some time.  She let him go, and he brushed himself down.  About time he took a more aggressive role in this conversation.  "So, I've cooperated with you and told you what you asked.  Now it's your turn."

Ukyou held up a hand to forestall him. She spent a few minutes examining the edges of the rooftop and checking about. "You asked who I am, and I've already told you. My name is Ukyou Kuonji. As for why I'm here..." she trailed off and stared at him in the placid, dispassionate manner that had first niggled at his perceptions. "I was looking for someone. I found him staying at Akane's place. Akane and I are friends. I heard about her going off with a police officer, so I followed her. When I caught up, I watched your conversation... right up until the point you distracted her and tried to shoot her."

He allowed himself to smirk openly.  Really, how stupid did this person think he was?  "Please.  I give you my good faith, and you reward me with this load of crap?  I asked for some answers, not a thinly-veiled attempt to get more answers from me."  He raised his hand to cut off her response, ticking off points on his fingers.  "First off, don't think I didn't notice how you evaded the question of who you really are.  Second off, don't treat me like I'm ignorant.  I KNOW Ukyou Kuonji.  You don't talk like her.  You don't act like her.  And Ukyou Kuonji is not, at this point in time, supposed to be in Nerima, being friends with Akane.  You can avoid it all you like... but I know the truth.  Thirdly, you obviously know more than you're letting on... since, after all, why on earth would you follow Akane if she'd gone to answer some questions for a police officer?  You were worried for a reason.  Now, I'm going to ask you again: give me some real information.  You've attacked me without warning, threatened me, taken my weapon, and spirited me away here.  I've cooperated with you up until now, and I'm willing to cooperate with you further.  But don't think I'm willing to keep spilling my guts while you sit there carefully avoiding saying a damn thing."

"I didn't lie at all," the not-Ukyou said simply with a shrug. "And what do you mean, I'm not supposed to be here yet..." She trailed off, and her eyes widened. "No... you can't be. There's no way that she sent you after me." She began to look around again, her expression worried and guarded. Then she looked back at him, her eyes alive with worry. Then she closed them and took a single deep, cleansing breath before mastering herself again. "It doesn't matter. Even if she did, I plan on clearing up that misunderstanding in the next few days."

'She', huh?  Heh.  He kept his expression neutral and waited for her to give more away.

"Listen, I don't like you very much," the girl pointed out as she grabbed her weapon's haft. "And while it isn't my style to kill people, that doesn't mean I'm not willing to beat you black and blue a bit, or just chain you down and give you a thorough medical exam to figure out why you don't bleed." She paused then, letting the threat sink in. "Or we can be civil about this. You've cooperated, I'll give you that, but I've also cooperated. You asked me if I'm Ukyou Kuonji, and I told you the truth. I AM who I say I am. If you don't believe me, that's your problem. I answered your question, now you answer mine. Quid pro quo."

First rule of debate: Never let them see you sweat.  Less of a problem when you didn't sweat anymore.  He glanced at her spatula with casual disinterest.  "Thorough medical exam, huh?  Kinky.  And kindly don't threaten me.  I am unintimidated by your oversized cooking utensil."  Not true, of course... he sure as hell couldn't even hope to escape from a superhuman like Ukyou.  But she didn't know that.  And she didn't know WHY he didn't bleed, or what it meant.  Best keep it that way.  "Fine.  You're Ukyou Kuonji.  You still evaded the real question, and you're hiding something.  If you actually WERE just the normal super martial artist/okonomiyaki chef you say you were, you'd be utterly confused that I thought you weren't yourself.  But instead, you're being evasive and defensive.  Just letting you know I noticed that.  But since you - technically - answered one question, I suppose you're right.  So, ask one question... Ukyou."

"Now we're being civil," the girl said cheerfully. He repressed the urge to react to how quickly her expression changed. Her entire face lit up and became much more animated in the space of a heartbeat. "Now that we know my name, all I have to do is know yours and we're properly introduced. So why don't we start with that. Tell me your name, and don't try to convince me you're actually Officer Takashita."

Hmm.  Easy answer.  Stupid answer.  Why'd she ask?  She had to know his next question wouldn't be so easily wriggled out of.  But, of course, he didn't know what she WAS, yet... fishing for a "true name"?  He couldn't think off-hand of a series that used that cliche, but there were probably some.  That could be bad, given his circumstances.  Well, two could play the semantical game.  "All right, simple enough question.  My name is Chris."

Chris blinked in confusion as the girl's mouth dropped open and she began to open and close it soundlessly. She stared at him, pointing a single finger in his direction for almost a minute. Then she physically closed her mouth with one hand and shook her head, seeming to regain control of her reactions again. "Indeed... your name is Chris." She paused thoughtfully. "That probably means you're from a long way from here..." she trailed off. "Okay. Pleased to meet you, Chris." She bowed. "I believe it is your turn."

Okay, what was THAT all about?  Unless... that "indeed"...but it didn't make sense.  That body was ALIVE.  Maybe it was a trick.  He frowned slightly, considering the phrasing of his next question.  Then he grinned a little bit as a recent memory occurred to him.  Chew on this, 'Ukyou'.  "Hmm.  So it is.  So, when you first met Akane, you were stalking her.  Might I ask why exactly you were doing that, or even knew who Akane was?"

Ukyou didn't react, keeping her face impassive. She considered her reply for a fraction of a second and then answered easily. "That's two questions. I was following Akane because I wanted to know as much about her and her family as I could. I was given to understand the person I was searching for would soon arrive at her household, and wanted to know exactly when that would happen. I had learned from a reliable source that the Tendo family had... has a family pact of honor with the person I am looking for, so I came here searching for them."

Slippery.  But he wondered who that "reliable source" was.  And he also wondered why she was looking for Ranma.  Did that mean Ranma hadn't arrived in Nerima yet after all?

Ukyou affected a look of concentration for a few moments, then finally spoke. "Since you asked two questions, I'll ask two questions, just to be fair. I'll even keep them related. What makes you so sure I'm not 'supposed' to be here, and, for that matter, how do you know me at all?"

Well, that was easy enough to be vague about.  "I know you're not supposed to be here because I know the sequence of events laid out to happen for you, Akane, and quite a few other people you may or may not know.  You - that is, Ukyou - should not even be in Nerima for... well, let's just say a while.  As for how I know you...” He grinned. "I've watched you from afar.  As you surmised before, I come from a long way from here."

Ukyou sighed. "Ah, you are a master of debate, I see." For some reason, despite her disappointed sigh, she was smiling to herself. "Now, let's keep this to one question at a time."

"Sure.  Who exactly was the 'reliable source' you learned about the Tendos from?"

"He never said his name to me," Ukyou said with an easy shrug. "He was pretty much average-looking. I do know that he's from the West. He certainly didn't speak very good Japanese until I helped him out with that. I trust him because he revealed a bunch of things to me that turned out to be true."

Chris clapped slowly, sarcastically.  "And you are obviously no stranger to the art of twisting words yourself.  Very unlike Ukyou, I might add... but it's your turn now.  Ask away."

Ukyou frowned at that. "Don't think you know me because you've seen snippets of my life from far off places," she growled out between clenched teeth. "Let's get to the meat of this, then. Why don't you bleed?"

He glanced down at his hand, smiling slightly, bitterly, to himself. Ah, that was the crux of it all, wasn't it?  And what was the phrase...?  "This body is just a vessel."  He looked up at her, stared her in the eyes.  "Just a vessel.  It doesn't bleed.  It's not even alive."

"A vessel..." Ukyou drew in a sharp breath. The anger seemed to drain from her face, floating briefly through that placid expressionless visage, before her mouth softened and her eyes, while still cold, were less angrily so.

"Wow. That's harsh." She stepped back from him and sat down on the rooftop with legs crossed. She reached up with one hand towards her face, stopped herself, and continued onward, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "So I guess it's your turn."

Harsh.  Ha.  She had no idea.  Unless she caused it, of course.  But he doubted that.  Hmm.  So, what was the next tease attempt in this little game? He thought for a moment.  Anything he asked that was 'different' about her compared to the real Ukyou - ah, irony - she'd just deny or chalk up to the mysterious unnamed gentleman.  It wasn't really that important why she had followed him and Akane, though he was curious.  What could he ask that would give him the real answer, what was really going on here?

Well, the direct line of inquiry wasn't working... let's toss out a non-sequitur and see how she handled it.  Maybe she'd let something slip. "So, this person you're looking for.  Why are you looking for him or her, anyway?"

"Hmm?" Ukyou quirked her head to the side. Chris got the impression that she hadn't been watching him until now, despite her eyes never leaving his face. "Oh. He dishonoured my family, stole our property and left with my best friend. I plan on beating him up a bit for it." She paused a moment. "Listen, I don't really care about you that much. Once I'm sure you're no threat to any of my friends, you can go on your way. You could be Lucifer or Susano-wo or Gendo Ikari for all I care... so long as you stay away from me and my friends, it doesn't matter to me. So my question is this; how would you convince me you're no threat to them?"

The words came out before he even thought about them.  "Why Ukyou," he noted softly, "I never knew you watched Evangelion."  It was giving it away, giving it away, a part of his mind screamed at him... but that slip-up she'd made... he had to know.  What the hell did SHE know?

She released a long, slow breath. "Well, the game is up, I guess." She flowed effortlessly to her feet. "You just answered my last unasked question. And if I didn't believe you were about to shoot my friend, I'd answer yours. But there is a question on the table. If you answer it to my satisfaction, I'll leave you be and we never have to meet again."

Bitch.  He clenched his fists, then forcibly relaxed.  "Actually, even when I answer your question, you still owe me one more before you go anywhere. I started with the answering, and thus it's only fair.  Now, about what you asked..." he paused, and then shrugged.  "I can't convince you I'm no threat to them.  Because I don't even know who your friends ARE.  As you say, Ukyou, I don't know nearly so much about you as I thought.  So how am I to answer if I might not be a threat to a completely undefined group of people?  For all I know, your friends might include a mosquito I swat, or someone who attacks me in the night and I have to defend myself against."

"And I can't guarantee I won't find more friends in the near future," Ukyou shrugged and began to fiddle absently with the gun belt hanging over her shoulder. "You could answer the question by telling me exactly why you took her all the way out here, in the middle of the night, and distracted her while reaching for your gun, but I guess you're not going to do that. But still, if I knew why you were after her, then I could be satisfied." She looked up. "I have a feeling our paths don't have to lead us to be enemies, unless you force the issue. I might even be inclined to help you, depending on the circumstances."

"Tch.  I did answer your question, Ukyou."  Now he felt better, slipping easily back into the verbal fencing of debate.  It didn't hurt to award himself a mental point for catching what the other had clearly missed.  "You asked me how I would convince you.  I told you I couldn't, under the circumstances.  That IS an answer, even if it wasn't what you wanted.  And that means, I believe, that it is now my turn again."

"Ah," she said, and nodded. "Point." She gestured for him to go ahead.

He considered.  Well, he'd been sharper so far.  It was worth a bit of a risk.  "I'm going to be a little unfair here, but I'll let you return the favour if you continue our game of twenty questions.  I want to know how you know the name Gendo Ikari.  And if your answer is that this mysterious unnamed stranger that you trust told you, I want to know how HE knows.  And if he never told you that - despite telling you enough that you listed him alongside Lucifer - then I want to know where to find him.  Because I want to talk to him."

She shrugged, as if expecting the question. "Yes, my mysterious unnamed stranger told me about him. According to him, Gendo is a man from a story where he comes from. And I'm afraid you'll never get a chance to talk to him directly." She looked down at her feet for a moment, her bangs falling forward and casting her eyes in shadow. "He's dead."

He laughed.  He couldn't help it.  The irony was just too much.  He laughed loud, and long, and hard.  Probably the police searching somewhere below could hear.  He didn't care.  This was just too rich.

Finally, he quieted.  She was just standing there, unreacting.  He felt a great weariness overtake him in the wake of the bitter laughter.  Someone else.  Someone else from his world, but they were dead.  Dead like him, except not like him, obviously.  And for some reason they'd hooked up with Ukyou, allowed her to mess up the plotline, and then died.  Why?  How?  Who cared? Maybe they'd tried bakusai ten ketsu training or something.  But whatever the reason, this avenue was closed.  He knew he should probably try to talk to Ukyou, gain her confidence, try to learn the clues she knew.  Maybe he would, later.  But not right now.  He just couldn't care enough right now.

"All right.  I guess you don't really have anything to help me with, then.  Fine.  As per our agreement, give me back my gun, I'll tell you how to get out of trouble with the cops, and I'm out of here."

Ukyou came out of her reverie only reluctantly, her face soft but unfeeling. "Okay. I don't think you're a threat to my friends. You know I know you, and no matter how you try to hide, I think I can spot you for who you are and act accordingly. I suggest you leave Nerima for a while." She stepped forward and pulled the gunbelt from her shoulder. "Before we part ways, I want to give you a gift. I suggest you keep an eye on the classified section of the newspaper. If you ever see an ad asking for Gendo Ikari to come to visit the Evangelion, then you'll know I'm trying to get in touch with you. Whatever your problem is, I have at least one way I think can solve it." She placed the pistol on the ground and backed off, cautiously.

He stared at her.  "You know I know you..." he repeated, slowly, almost tasting each word.  "What do you mean by that?"

"The game is over," Ukyou pointed out simply. "I believe you promised a way for us to clear this up with the police?"

The fact he knew Ukyou could crush him like a bug didn't stop him from stepping forward, fists and teeth clenched.  He was tired of being dicked around.  Extremely fucking tired. "If the game is over, then stop PLAYING with me.  What the HELL did you mean by that!?"

"No," Ukyou replied evenly. "I want you to think about that. Wonder what kinds of skills and abilities I may or may not have. Wonder what information I may or may not know. I want you to not be sure of anything but one thing, that I LET you go." She flicked her head, causing her hair to fall over her shoulder. "I don't enjoy playing with you. If you want complete and total honesty out of me, then you go first. If you aren't willing to tell me the whole truth, then live with not knowing the whole truth yourself."

He had to restrain himself.  The frustration threatened to overwhelm him.  He wanted to snap, to grab her around the throat and force the answers from her.  He wanted to... he realised he wanted to kill her, take the answers from her brain, pick it apart, get the knowledge and body he needed at the same time.  But that was stupid.  He couldn't do it.  And realising that, he calmed himself.  Somewhat.  He snatched his gun and rebelted it to his side, conscious of how she watched his every move.  He felt a vast wave of contempt.  As if I'd ever attack you like this, bitch, when you're on guard and hold all the advantages, he silently flung in her face.  But he could change that equation.

"Fine," he spat.  "For someone who doesn't enjoy playing with me, you certainly seem to be pursuing it to the point of masochism.  But that's fine."  He glared at her.  "We'll talk again, sometime.  Maybe you'll be more willing to come clean then."

A shrug was her only response.  Icy rage surged through him at the sight.  That was no more the real Ukyou than he was the real police officer whose body he was inhabiting.  She'd lied, whoever she was.  He'd find out the truth soon enough.  But he didn't say that, or let anything show on his face. Let her think she knew his measure.  Without further response, he walked to the edge of the rooftop, and stared down.  Once, he'd been afraid of heights.  He didn't have to be anymore.  Another broken bone or two wouldn't hurt.  A step forward, and he allowed himself to plunge into the inky darkness.

*

The rain came down suddenly and with unexpected ferocity. Aaron had to surrender control to Ukyou so as to keep from slipping as she propelled them across the rooftops back to where they had first confronted Chris. It was just as well, since he was too busy thinking about what he had done, and wondering if he had made a mistake.

Chris was here as well. That idea didn't really surprise him as much as he thought it would. The crash probably hadn't played any favourites, and if one boy could find himself catapulted across reality by such an event, then two could just as easily.

He hadn't enjoyed turning his face from his friend, but really, what choice had he had? Ukyou certainly didn't like him. His acerbic personality and continuing insults against her already-fragile sense of self had cemented her bad impression of him from Aaron's memory. Plus, she was convinced that they had interrupted him just before he shot Akane. But why would Chris do such a thing? He was a jerk, but not a murderer. There had to be some reason...

Not that it really mattered now. Aaron couldn't understand why Chris was so angry with them, angry enough to walk off without fulfilling his promise. Aaron had only decided it was best to play things close to the chest. After all, Chris appeared to have it better than Aaron himself. He wasn't stuck with a voice constantly in the back of his head. Whatever form he was in had improved his normal human host to the point where he didn't have to worry about breathing or falls from three stories up. It was obvious Chris could take care of himself in the coming months. Until then, Ukyou and he agreed that keeping him away from Nerima and their lives was for the best.

It was okay, in a few months it wouldn't matter. By then they would have The Sword. With The Sword they could make everything all right. Three wishes, one for Ukyou and Aaron and one to solve whatever problem Chris had as well. Until then, it was better to focus on their current problems then getting caught up in Chris's. No matter how close they were, Aaron barely felt a pang of regret at driving his old friend away. Or so he kept telling himself.

"Ukyou! You're all right!"

Ukyou landed on the familiar street, avoiding a puddle by a few inches. Akane was running up to her, and just behind the girl was a sopping wet and disgruntled-looking female Ranma. Behind them were no less than four police cars with various officers turning to regard the scene.

"Well, I asked you to call the cops Akane, but I wasn't expecting the entire force," Aaron deadpanned. Akane enveloped her in a brief hug before breaking contact. Ranma just slouched into position nearby and nodded a greeting, apparently willing to let Akane take the lead.

"What's going on?" Aaron asked.

"That's what we were about to ask you, young man," an officer asked as he stepped forward. His uniform was slightly different then the others, and his badge identified him as a Sergeant Ushio.

"Man, Ukyou, you certainly know how to get attention," Ranma pointed out. "These guys are all real interested in this police officer you disappeared with."

"Yes," the sergeant grunted as he pulled out a pad, but frowned as it began to be soaked by the downpour. "What happened between you and Officer Takashita?" The man was asking more than a question. His voice was slightly uneven, and he was trying to suppress a frown. Aaron took a logical leap and answered with almost the truth.

"After Akane left, he went off in that direction," Aaron pointed Ukyou's hand in the direction she had come. "I followed him as best as I could, but he escaped into an alley. I might have been able to catch him, but he had a gun."

"A wise decision," the sergeant muttered as he nodded towards some of his fellows. "I need you to come with us to the station for a few questions, Mr...?"

"Kuonji, Ukyou Kuonji," Ukyou pointed out and indicated how to write her name.

"Tell me, before we go..." the policeman looked around. "Did the man appear... disturbed to you?"

"He was very angry, when I last saw him," Aaron answered carefully.

"I see, I see..." the man sighed. "Let's go."

"Wow, Ukyou," Akane gushed. "How did you know? A dangerous rogue police officer! Who would have thought?"

"Indeed," Ukyou grunted. "A rogue police-officer? I think a bit more than that."

"What was that?" Ranma cut in.

"Nothing," Ukyou dismissed him with a wave. "It's taken care of. I have a feeling I'll never see Officer Takashita again."

Ukyou followed the officers over to their cars, with Ranma left in the pouring rain behind her.

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes:

Blade: Well, I promised to explain why I was in the author's notes last chapter, but I'm guessing you've figured that one out on your own by now.

Epsilon: Unless of course our readership has the collective intelligence of pond scum.

Blade: Please don't insult the readers, Aaron.  It's an endangered species thing.

Epsilon: That isn't an insult.  It's a backhanded compliment.

Blade: Suuuuuuuure it is.  Well, since certain people find our pretentious, self-absorbed banter to be uncomfortably pretentious and self-absorbed, we should probably move onto whatever actual points we wish to bring up.  Aaron?

Epsilon: I'm not really sure what to say at this point, actually.  The text pretty much speaks for itself, doesn't it?

Blade: Hmm.  And contrary to our practice in every other fanfic ever, we have yet to have climactic fight scenes, so no new special technique names yet.

Epsilon: I guess we could ask why you got involved in this project, since I gave my reasons last time.

Blade: Oh yes, good point.  It's not just hubris, because frankly, I would have rather had Aaron get working on the CoD rewrites than starting something new. But there was a very important reason I'm in here.  I'm involved in the plot, of course, but more than that, I'm involved in the writing process, and not in the usual way.

Epsilon: We're actually doing co-authorship!  You know, with Blade actually WRITING parts and everything, instead of his usual practice of just taking credit for all my hard work.

Blade: Le sigh.  Way to miss the point.  The thing is, yes, I'm writing my own scenes, but that's only part of what make this project somewhat unique.  I'm writing my own scenes... but I am NOT writing them according to a laid-out plot and plan.  I am, in fact, writing things Aaron has absolutely no idea I'm writing, and doing things he has no idea I'm doing.  That's the point.

Epsilon: Yes, which means that I'm also writing things that Chris has no idea what's going to happen.  And we have divided up the writing chores for characters inside the series as well, with the whole thing split about 70/30. And whenever we have characters in both of our quote/unquote 'camps', we write the scenes literally at the same time, with whoever's playing the perspective doing the bulk of the chore.  So don't expect to see many scenes from Chris' perspective.

Blade: Oh, go to hell.  Anyway, yes, that's it.  The idea here is to avoid a problem we've had in many of our fics, where we plot out things far in advance and get a large degree of ennui as we wade through the plot, always looking forward to the "good stuff" that's just a few chapters down the line.  But now, there IS no long-term plot, because I'm a force of chaos in the series that Aaron can't be sure (either in or out of character) of the long-term actions and impact of.  Thus, there's always a great degree of spontaneity.

Epsilon: Which isn't to say we don't have a Plan, and a Point, and a Purpose. The fact is we do have all of that for Hybrid Theory, and a backstory, all of which will be revealed piece by piece during the plotline to Ukyou, and Aaron, and Chris, and all the people they interact with.

Blade: But what we do NOT have is, for instance, any conception beyond the absolutely vaguest where we'll be in Chapter 12.

Epsilon: Aside from "things will get worse".

Blade: But then, that's always the case in our fanfics.  Anyway, I think enough of our improv skills (thanks, GRIT) that I think the long-term plotline will still be quite coherent, and the spontaneity keeps our interest keen and writing fresh.  I like the results so far, and hopefully you will too.

Epsilon: After all, it could lead to even MORE releases from C&A Productions in the future!  And everyone wants that!

Blade: Of course they do!

Epsilon: Don't they?

Blade: DON'T YOU!?

Epsilon: Okay, enough of our self-indulgent babbling inanity.  Here's the part where I say yadda yadda yadda, no rights to these characters, blah blah, archive where you wish, whoop-dee-do, fruitful and multiply, and so and so forth and do unto others as I would do unto a cockroach, and you know the rest.

Blade: But what you DON'T know is what's going to happen next.  So why not have a teaser?

"Damn it, Pluto," Ukyou lowered her arms and seemed to quickly compose herself. "You must have made some kind of mistake. If we can just talk this over like reasonable people..."

The tip of Setsuna's staff wavered slightly. This wasn't right, a voice in the back of her mind cried out. This girl didn't look like a threat to all creation. She looked like a scared teenager, a girl in over her head. Wasn't her mandate to protect the people of this world? Maybe there was an explanation.

Then she remembered the destruction. And the terrible energy she could even now feel inside the girl in front of her. Her grip on her weapon firmed up.

"I'm terribly sorry," Pluto aplogized, trying to put as much of the remorse she felt in her voice as possible. "Your death is neccesary... You may not know it now, but its best you never find out why."

Hybrid Theory, Chapter 3: Foreword

Yo.  Ranma here.  So, last chapter had more of me than the one before, so that was good.  I met Ukyou, and when I realised who she was, she threw up on me, because this guy in her head doesn't like thinking about how Ukyou thinks I'm sexy. Which woulda been weird, ya know, except Ukyou is a girl, which I didn't really know, ya know? Aw, whatever. I don't understand that stuff, but these guys won't let me get to sleep until I tell everyone about it.

So, Akane and me weren't really getting along, cause she's a crazy violent tomboy who molested me, but Ukyou gave us this big speech about being more mature.  Then she got all worried about this guy who got killed who she didn't even know. Turns out the guy who killed the cop can hop into corpses and he planned to kill Akane. So while we were out running around, he drew her off by herself.

Later, when we got back and started looking for the cop guy, me and Ukyou split up and she found him first, still with Akane. The dead guy was planning on shooting her in the head or something, but after they talked, he liked her too much to kill her.  But Ukyou thought he was trying to, so she attacked.  Then they had this big showdown... where they TALKED.

And talked.

And talked some more.

Then they got rid of Akane, leaped up to the top of a building where nobody could find 'em...

And TALKED some more!

Who writes this crap?

Anyway, they keep telling me I should mention the guy in the dead body was Chris, who used to be Aaron's friend, who is the guy in Ukyou's head. And Chris is all pissed at Ukyou because she won't trust him.

Whatever. Overall, I'd say last chapter had too much talking, and not nearly enough me.  Let's hope this one's better, huh?

Chapter 3: Foreword

Ukyou lay back on the bed, pillowing her head with her hands. Her long hair flowed out behind her, dangling from the lip of the mattress to brush along the edge of the floor. She was naked, able to breathe much more comfortably without the bandages binding her breasts to her chest. Aaron preferred not to think about such things, but couldn't help it as Ukyou felt the simple pleasure of relief from her restriction.

Their eyelids were heavy with weariness, and the lulling melody of the rain outside did little to aid them in staying awake. Still, they resisted sleep. Sleep had become an enemy. Aaron had been an insomniac for so long he had forgotten what true deep sleep felt like, and had once enthusiastically proclaimed that he would pay a thousand dollars for one full night's sleep. Now he dreaded it for much the same reason Ukyou did. Sleep was a surrender, one neither of them could afford to accept. So they stayed awake, meditated, and used methods both had developed to avoid slipping into darkness. But it was inescapable.

Slowly the room lost focus, began to swim in and out. Then it was dimmer, and sound seemed... duller. Distant. Her eyes closed despite the best wishes of Ukyou and Aaron, and their breathing began to settle into an ancient and peaceful rhythm. For an infinite instant they dangled on the lip of oblivion and then...

*

In the dream-memory, everything was both more and less real at the same time. Colours were sharper, more vibrant, but shapes less clearly defined. Objects of attention leapt out in every detail. Here, a man walking by was etched in their mind down to the tiniest follicle of hair in his beard, there the pop machine was tall and covered in beads of moisture and flecks of rust that numbered in the thousands and yet were easily countable. Yet things beyond their immediate focus faded away, dimming, becoming less in some way. The crowd walking about outside was nothing more than a blur of vaguely people-coloured motion, and the sounds of the airport had cycled back into an indistinct bass rumble with explosions of garbled speech mixed in.

They were standing just inside the doorway, positioned so they were out of the main path of the passing people, but so that they could see with no problem outside. Except it wasn't they, it was him. Aaron Peori, male, age twenty-five, resident of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Social outcast, by choice and by nature, here to meet up with one of the few other social outcasts who accepted him. Here to enjoy the company of a large collection of social outcasts of all types. Except Aaron wouldn't really enjoy it, but it pleased his friend to affect that he did, so he went through the motions.

It was at this point in the dream-memory that they felt the strange split, a surreal second as if they were viewing this scene from two detached perspectives at once. Then it went away. They were who they were, and this was the past and thus immutable to their attempts to change the course of events.

"Yo, Aaron."

They looked to the side and noted the approach of Aaron's/their longest and only friend. Chris was a dark-eyed man wearing amber rimmed glasses that reflected the spring sunlight in an unsettling way. He was grinning - no, more properly he was smirking - as he walked forward. He walked with a slight limp, a reminder of the accident he had survived years ago. His arms were at his side, hands stuck into the pockets of his jeans. He was dark-haired, with a ponytail that reached past the middle of his back and a string necklace of pseudo-Indian beads around his neck. He wore a leather jacket and black t-shirt. In the memory, they could count the hairs in his moustache and see the wrinkles of his jeans fold and ripple in the slight breeze.

Behind him were the others. Chris had his girlfriend, whose identity eluded them for a moment, and his other friend with him as well. Jenn and Rob: the names leapt from the back of their mind suddenly. But they were indistinct, less there than Chris was in some fundamental way. They focused their attention on the man in front of them, and spoke.

"You're late, again."

"Traffic was bad.  And the ride's free, so I'm not complaining."

Chris shrugged, and in the dream-memory the movement was full of complex and subtle motions. There were greetings from the other two, but they were there and gone like mist. One of them (Rob?) offered to carry their baggage but they waved him off. Despite Aaron's unexceptional build, they always surprised people with how strong they actually were. They offered mechanical greetings to the others present, satisfying the requirements of politeness in both cases, then basically dismissed them from their mind.

"Let's go. I hate airports."

Chris deferred to Rob to lead them outside to the car. The weight of the suitcase was heavy at first, but then it lessened and seemed to vanish into the same phantom substance that most things in the dream-memory had. They walked in relative silence the rest of the way. The three others made small talk, which Chris tried to get Aaron to participate in. They only grunted and nodded as appropriate to engage in a minimum of conversation. After a time, Chris noted their reluctance to talk, and allowed himself to get into discussions with the others.

For the duration of the walk, the only real thing was Chris. They thought about the boy, and for some reason in this dream-memory they recalled much more of the man than they usually ever thought of. They recalled that first meeting in the library of the Cape Breton high school, then how Chris had always managed to barge into his life, uninvited, until they'd grown used to him and finally grew to enjoy the stories they made up, talking outside in the crisp air of Aaron's mother's yard.  Until the day when Chris defied his father and fled with them to Aaron's house by the river for sanctuary. After that it was just the long years of separation... even now, it had been over a year since they had last seen each other face to face. Why did they consider this man friend? This man whom they barely ever saw? But beyond a doubt they did. They would trust Chris as much as they would trust anyone.

"As you can see, Rob got a new car.  Not that you'd probably have noticed, but he got in a nasty accident a bit back."

They looked up as Chris pointed out they had arrived. The car was also quite real. It was white, medium-sized and four-doored but for some reason the exact make and model eluded them. The paint still had the smooth texture and shine of either the new or the recently refurbished. Rob mentioned something about the accident of his old car and they responded with polite interest to his story.

"He hasn't named his new car yet.  I keep suggesting 'Kalia-chan', but for some reason he's reluctant."

"I can't imagine why."

Chris chuckled as the back was popped to deposit their suitcases. For some reason the interior of the trunk was less real than the rest of the car, nothing more than an indistinct black pit into which the luggage vanished from view, and their world, forever. Inside the car itself was another story. Rob and Jenn occupied the front seats, leaving Chris and Aaron to the back so they could sit together and talk. Chris had not lost his happy smirk the entire walk, and he sprawled comfortably in the foam seats. They looked about the interior of the car only briefly, but noted every detail instantly and permanently, from the stylish upholstering to the functional and advanced controls for the stereo and CD player (controls only, oddly...there was no actual CD player they could see).

Rob started up the car as Chris turned in liquid slow motion to address Aaron.

"So, how was the trip?"

"Expensive."

Chris laughed politely. He took his glasses off and cleaned them on his shirt. Jenn and Rob might have laughed, too, it was hard to tell.

"Isn't it always.  That's why I get YOU to come HERE.  Well, that and the fact that Ottawa's more interesting than Halifax.  And I've got all the cool stuff."

"Indeed."

They glanced out the side-window. The world was flowing past, a nauseatingly formless blur. They felt a niggling sense that they should be contributing more to the conversation, but failed to do so.

"So, you remembered to bring the Brigadoon DVDs back, right?  And the games?"

"Yes, yes. I even remembered this for once."

Between their feet rested a red backpack, its bottom caked with salt stains from the long Halifax winter. With what their hands felt was a practiced and familiar motion, they reached in and retrieved a green binder whose covers were worn and peeling from constant use. They handed the binder to Chris, who took it after he had finished cleaning his glasses. He opened it and flipped through, his eyes widening a bit and his smirk growing, in that impossible way, more pleased with itself.

"Wow. It's about time.  And even slightly before the third actual Star Wars prequel comes out, amazingly."

They shrugged a bit sheepishly... an affectation, but it helped smooth things over.

"Law of averages says I have to remember it sometime."

"This is true.  Unless it's the Altima Cycle... but we won't go there."

Chris closed the binder and placed it in his lap, his hands clutching it a bit protectively.

"I'll read it later.  And then type it.  Or rather, get Jenn to type it, since she so capably fills in for me in that role."

Chris grinned in his girlfriend's direction. Jenn interjected with an amusing comment at this point and they both laughed.

"So what's the plan for the day?"

Up ahead, the traffic was thinning. A large tanker truck, its metal finish gleaming and reflecting the world around it, was pulling up to the intersection. The light in front of them turned green; they distinctly saw that.

Chris gnawed at his nail for a moment, thinking, then noticed what he was doing and frowned. He retrieved a nail file from his pocket and set about repairing the damage.  Rob pulled into the intersection: he was saying something to Jenn, not looking at the truck. The truck wasn't moving. It was at a complete stop.

"Well, once we get you settled in, I figure I'll show you some new music vids and stuff.  Then maybe we can do some games or something."

Chris' smirk transformed into an amused grin. He was looking in the wrong direction to see the truck. He might not have seen anything at all. Maybe he was lucky and that was just what happened. Maybe he didn't feel anything, either.

"Maybe I can teach you to play Here Comes The Pain.  A wrestling game is, after all, just another sort of fighting game.  Some variety."

The truck was moving. Not just the slow rolling start of a lumbering behemoth combating its inertia for every inch of ground. This was the barrelling, high-speed blast of the highway. It had to be going over a hundred kilometers an hour! That wasn't possible. They rolled their eyes. Somehow, despite the clarity of the truck, it never entered their mind that they were in any danger. It was impossible.

"Problem not..."

Their voice trailed off. Rob's car had gotten just far enough into the intersection that the front half was beyond the point of the truck when it hit. The huge "Mack" logo was at window height when the collision occurred. Their mouth opened in a strange O as the doorway behind Chris crumbled inward in disturbing slow motion. Then Chris was gone, the pinwheeling wreckage slashing his body apart without even slowing. The shrapnel had slowed enough by the time it reached them that it merely stuck into their body in a dozen places, none of them immediately fatal.

The car was flipped by the impact, bouncing end over end to rest on its side several meters away. The gyrations sprayed the interior with blood and served to drive the shrapnel even further into their body. The pain was omnipresent. It was everything. It was so there that it ceased to matter.

"Oh, God! They're dead!"

The voice called out from the front seat. Jenn was looking back at them, her eyes wide and fearful. She was so real. So that was why Chris thought she was beautiful; she really was in her own way. Her face was flecked with blood, but none of it was her own. In some bizarre miracle, she didn't appear to be harmed at all beyond a bruise on the ball of her thumb. Rob was next to her, admonishing her to get out of the car, but she wasn't listening.

They coughed, and the pain erupted into new heights. So this was what it felt like to die. There was no encroaching darkness, no phantom light, just pain slowly consuming everything. He would have to remember to get a refund from all those corny writers some day...

*

The dreams of sleep were bad, but waking up was far worse. Ukyou

(Aaron)

emerged from sleep like a bat out of hell, screaming and thrashing. He tried to move his right hand but she was also moving it in the other direction, causing the hand to twitch and spasm. Eyes fluttered open and closed, turning the dim light into brutal flashes of colour and motion. She wanted to scream, but his voice wouldn't work. Their throat pulsed as they tried to swallow and expel at the same time, cutting off precious air. Legs flopped and rolled back and forth, trying to simultaneously walk and stand and kick.

As bad as the physical reactions were, the mental feedback was far worse. Aaron was lost in memories and emotions. She was a little girl, standing in the bright sunroom with her mother who had died two years ago while his brother ratted him out about destroying her GI Joes. In the background her father was preparing another okonomiyaki in his business suit that was slightly rumpled from a long day of office work and he did not look pleased. Brad, who was not his brother because he had none, was really playing up how much he had lost so Aaron pulled out his battle spatula and taught him a lesson. She didn't like being taunted because she had lost the

(fiancé)

toys in the backyard sandbox. Then the memory shifted and he was training furiously against the sea, contemplating his parent’s divorce and trying to figure out a way to conceal the fact that he was really a girl when he went off to boarding school in Prince Edward Island for the year and-

"Make it stop!"

The scream broke out of his/her throat in unison. But of course, it wouldn't stop, it couldn't stop. Not until they had made the sacrifice. The memories kept coming, but they kept contradicting and shattering one another, like bombs going off in their head. They couldn't think, they couldn't do anything but remember as their overworked brain tried to resolve the conflict. But so long as Aaron refused to accept Ukyou's memories as his own, and she did the same to him, they kept coming again and again.

It had taken them almost a day of non-stop disjunction, and the brink of insanity, before they stumbled upon the secret of releasing the pressure. It was like two balloons, expanding inside a confined space. The secret was to let out the pressure a little bit, until they could think again. Aaron and Ukyou seized upon memories and concentrated on them, forcing their minds not to waver. As the impossibilities began to emerge they refused to let them distract, instead focusing all their attention at maintaining the single image. Slowly the images merged, blended, and finally there were no contradictions.

As the pressure slowly died down, Aaron found himself able to think again, awareness of his surroundings returning. Tears were leaking from Ukyou's eyes, and a froth flecked her lips. It took them almost fifteen minutes to master themselves, release the pressure to the level where they could distinguish him from her and regain their feet. Ukyou staggered her body into the bathroom and began to scrub her face in the sink.

She hated this. Every time they woke up, another memory slipped away from them both. This time it was back during childhood, when she was training. Except in her memories she wasn't a she, she was a he. Her name kept waffling between Aaron and Ukyou in the memory now, and she remembered a mother she had never had calling her to dinner while her father had developed the traits of two separate men. She couldn't even recall the original memory anymore. It had become hopelessly mixed between the two of them. It even made sense, in some bizarre way. There was no discontinuity between it and the rest of her life. Any more than the growing list of other blended memories were.

Aaron sighed and finished up the cleansing. It was the price they had to pay, to be able to move and think at all. But every time they slept and their defences slipped like that, they had to create a new one. Every time they slept, a piece of their life was gone forever. A piece of them.

Just a few more months. A few more months and The Sword could end all this. But Ukyou was beginning to have serious doubts they would even last that long. Would anything at all be left of her or Aaron by the time they had the sword?

Best not to think about such things. That way lay madness.

Besides, it was time to deal with their other problem. Ukyou moved quickly, snatching up a clean outfit with one hand while Aaron set about re-binding her breasts with the other. Today they would find a few Sailor Senshi, and clear up whatever beef Setsuna had with them.

*

Once again Chris was hiding in a pipe, though not the same pipe, and he had not bothered to remove and hide his clothes this time.  He held the gun above him, had seen it dimly above the rush of the water for most of the day. It was tedious, but otherwise not really a problem.  He didn't get tired.

The arm was steady, but the softer, fleshy parts of it wobbled in the flow of the water in an unpleasant fashion.  The colour of the flesh was also going from the normal - or, at least, understandable - pallor to something darker and less pleasant.  It wasn't very noticeable yet...but he'd had little else to do that day except look for the signs.

A wave of revulsion overcame him.  He had to get out of this body soon. Inhabiting a corpse was strain enough.  But once it began to rot, to decay, the inevitable breaking down of the flesh... it threatened his grasp on sanity.  Such as it was.

He remembered awaking, or so it had felt like.  A homeless, nameless drunk in the central United States.   It didn't take that long to figure out his condition... when you didn't breathe, or eat, and everything felt so distant, so removed... no, it was easy.  But it hadn't even occurred to him what the consequences of this were until a few days later.  He could gain access to a shower, but the stench the body was emitting by then wasn't from dirt or sweat. And the horrible feeling that spread through him, that sickening softness...

By the third day, he was afraid to stay still, to sit anywhere, for fear that insects and rats would begin devouring him.  He was going insane; could feel despair, rage, frustration eating away at his mind.  Would he die, again, when the body finally decayed past the point of supporting him?  Or would he remain there perpetually, eventually nothing but a skeleton, fleshless, blinded, unable to move, lying there waiting to become dust?

Yes, he had come very close to insanity.  And he kept moving, always moving, the bum's ragged shoes wearing out underneath him, and then his equally ragged feet as well.  Late the third night, he had come upon a group of women, standing on a corner, assumed they were prostitutes, later would find out he was right.  At first, he barely noticed them.  But one called out to him.

He didn't, even now, know what she had said to him.  A proposition, a taunt, a greeting?  He didn't want to know.  But at the time, he had seen red, despising her, despising her useless WASTE of life that she held up to him, taunting him, and he had screamed and gripped her by the throat with his dead hands and...

He closed his eyes, willing away the memory.  Her companions had tried to stop him, beating him and kicking at him.  But he felt no pain, then or now. Or rather, he felt it, but it was just as distant as everything else.  Like a dull sound from far away, it could be noticed, but could just as easily be dismissed.  In his rage, he ignored it, and they disappeared from his view. Probably ran away to call the police.  But he wasn't paying attention to them.

As he stood, looking down at her body, he felt he should be overcome by the enormity of what he had done.  A part of him actually was shocked and horrified.  But the rest... empty.  He was just empty.  And then he became aware that the emptiness was not only inside, but outside.  Outside, in the woman's body, was an emptiness that awaited him, beckoned for him to fill it.  And without knowing quite what he was doing or how he was doing it, he did so.

He opened his eyes, awaking for the second time, and saw the rotting corpse that he recognised as himself... or, rather, what he had looked like... tumbling to the street.  He didn't look down at himself (herself)?  He didn't have to.  Male and female bodies didn't feel at all similar, even to him. He screamed, and the voice he screamed with was her voice.  And then he fled, not knowing why, just feeling a driving NEED to be away from that street corner, to be away from that body that once was his, the body that had killed the body that was now his body that now was dead dead dead like him.

He stopped running... some time later.  Hours, probably.  He had escaped from the whole city.  He stopped, not because of a tiredness that he could no longer feel, but because finally the emotions had died down.  It was the sun that had done it, he thought.  It was just starting to rise, bathing the world in crimson, distracting him, grabbing his attention and forcing him to think. He had to find shelter. Someplace cool.  Someplace where this new body would not be exposed to the heat of the day, which would cause it to rot faster.

And, once he had started thinking, he continued.  He sheltered in the overhang of a highway bridge for most of that day, and thought long and hard. Alright, so he was an undead possessing spirit.  Or something.  That was better than being trapped in a single rotting body, but only marginally.  There was no way he'd be able to, on a regular basis, find "replacement" bodies that were themselves undecayed enough to be useful.  Sure, there were morgues, but notwithstanding that he had no idea how he'd break into one undetected, it probably wouldn't take too many bodies getting up and walking away before there'd be some serious interest in the matter.

That left the option he'd unwittingly discovered the night before: creating his own fresh replacement bodies.  That was not an avenue he wanted to walk down.  He wasn't a murderer.  Except, of course, that now he was.  But the thought of stretching out months, years, decades (centuries?  eons?) of constantly killing to keep himself going... no.  He didn't put that kind of stock on his own worth.  Besides, practicality stepped in.  Eventually he'd get caught and exposed for what he was.  That would be unpleasant in any case, but not nearly as unpleasant as it'd be if he had left a trail of hundreds of murders behind him.

So, what to do, then?  He couldn't decide.  Obviously, he'd have to turn himself in to some authority to which he could prove what he was, and see if they could help him.  But who?  He was in the United States.  Maybe it was just his left-leaning paranoia... but he'd rather not put himself at the disposal of a government that might decide that he had useful military applications (which, of course, he undoubtedly did, in a whole number of areas).  Of course, any government might decide that... but the US was a lot more able to implement such an idea, and would have more use for him.  He wanted to be helped - not used, and certainly not replicated.  But he was also a long, long way away from Canada. Hell, he was closer to Mexico.  If he wanted to make the trip north on foot, even running all day and night, he'd have to replace his body along the way. And that would mean killing someone.  He didn't feel right doing that just because the US government bugged him.

Eventually, he decided he'd hitchhike north.  It wasn't the best of options... but it was possible.  With luck, he could get to the border before this body started seriously failing him.  It helped he wouldn't have to rest, or sleep.  And, of course, he was hardly worried about being accosted, kidnapped, or molested... if anyone had antisocial ideas and was too big to handle, he could just play dead, something he could do extremely well.  Then he figured he could just continue after his body got dumped by the roadway.  It wasn't a perfect plan, but it was the best thing he could think of.  He could always change his mind and get in contact with the US government if he was stalled along the way.

But, before he could do that, he had to go back to the city, because this look wouldn't do at all.  The skimpy clothes would be attracting the wrong type of ride, and his frantic run had snapped both the spike heels of the shoes. It was a wonder he hadn't broken an ankle or something, so little had he been paying attention to the state of his new body.

When dusk had fallen, he headed out.  Still considering plans for what to do in the future and how to do it, he found himself in the city limits almost before he knew it.  He idly wondered where he might find a store that sold shoes and was open in the evening.  A department store, probably.  But where could he find one...?

That was when he realised he KNEW where to find such a store.

How?  He racked his memory.  Had he passed by this store in the body of the homeless man, wandering in his attempts to avoid decomposition?  No, that wasn't it, he was sure.  Even if he had, he wouldn't have remembered where to go to find it; he knew his poor sense of direction well.  And yet, he DID know. And he had known precisely how to get back into the city, as well, recalled it so quickly and easily that he had barely needed to think about it as he returned, his mind occupied with other matters.

Trying to picture where he'd seen the store, he remembered purchasing the same shoes there that he'd broken in his run... and then he knew the truth. It wasn't his memory at all.  It was HERS.  Her memories had led him back to the city, and told him where to find the store.  Just like, he only now realised, the memories of the homeless man had before.  His wanderings had skirted the areas where he was likely to be questioned or picked up by the police for loitering; he had just felt safer in the places he decided to go, wandered on instinct.  But it wasn't instinct, it had been learned.

He couldn't find the old man's memories anymore.  They were gone with his body.  But hers were another story.  He thought, and remembered, and shared the experiences, the knowledge that he needed.  He knew where her run-down apartment was.  She had some money there, carefully hidden away.  But it would be too dangerous to go, he quickly realised.  Her pimp checked up on her every night.  He would have heard about what had happened the night before.  He would be looking for her.  In fact, it would be best if he got out of town right away.

Luckily, he also remembered that she had some money in her pockets, earned earlier that same evening.  He shook his head, making a wry mental vow to search the pockets of any subsequent bodies he found himself in right away.

First, he needed shoes.  Skanky clothes were one thing, but no shoes would just make her stand out, and he wanted to stand out as little as possible. Besides, less wear and tear on the body was good.

At the store he - or she - had remembered, he found a pair; cheap, knock-off brand sneakers.  People gave him mingled looks of pity and contempt, and some hastily moved away as he walked by...well, he couldn't blame them, given what he must look like.  The lady at the cash was heavy-set and looked at the young woman she thought he was with undisguised motherly compassion.

"Rough night for you, huh, Sheila?" she asked.

His name was Sheila.  Wait, no... HER name was.  Well, she'd shopped here often.  He paused for a moment before responding, trying to glean from her memory how the dead woman had talked.  But that wasn't something she THOUGHT about much... damn.  Then an idea struck him.  He kept his voice steady, low. Serious, maybe a hint of anger.  "Yeah, but it's gonna be the last one."

"Why's that?" the woman asked, looking at him strangely.  A pang of fear touched her eyes.  "You're... all right, aren't you, dear?"

He resisted a sudden urge to laugh.  About as all right as she'd ever be, unfortunately.  But he spoke, still in that low, focused tone.  "Yeah, I'm all right.  But I'm thinkin'...well, I'm getting out of here."  He gestured vaguely.

"Out of here?  To where, hon?"

"North.  Way up north, I think."  He paused, as if lost in thought. "Always wanted to go there.  I like the snow, you know?  And the cold don't bother me."

"Well, bless your heart, Sheila.  I hope it all works out for you."  The woman paused, obviously considering something, and when she spoke again, her eyes were kind.  "You'll be needing some warmer clothes than that, though, if you're going on the road."

He knew where this was going, but played his part anyway.  "I'd like to, but y'know..." he shrugged helplessly.  "I'm a little short, so new shoes'll have to do."

"Well..." the heavy-set woman paused, looking around shiftily.  Nobody else was nearby.  She smiled, with a bit of a conspiratorial air.  "I'll tell you what.  You just go pick yourself out a set of warm clothes.  It's a special sale, just for you."

He was tempted, but gave protesting a shot.  "Oh... no, I really couldn't.  It's not fair, and I could probably never repay you..."

"Don't you worry about a thing, dear.  If you go and make the most of your life, that's repayment enough for me and the Lord."

He kept his expression the same, although anger flared through him. Then he forced himself to relax, and felt more angry at himself.  He'd killed this body, lied about his identity and intentions to this kindly old woman, received a generous bit of charity for it, and was offended because she'd invoked her mystical cloud-man at him?  Asshole.  He graciously thanked her, and quickly moved on to the women's clothing section.

Besides, the US was full of religious nuts.  60% born-again Christians, or something like that?  Lucky the old woman hadn't given her a rosary or something to start her healing journey to make the 'most of her life'.  Ha. Maybe if some loving supreme being had been watching over Sheila, she wouldn't be dead.  Maybe if some loving supreme being existed, he wouldn't be... what he was.

But getting angry about it was pointless and petty.  Shrugging off the feelings, he browsed the clothing racks.  He didn't even buy clothes much for himself, much less for a woman, but luckily, this body knew what it was doing more than he did.  And jeans were unisexual anyway.  With a few pairs of them and some relatively warm - and unrevealing - long-sleeved shirts in his grip, he retired to a dressing room, making sure he went into the correct one for his apparent gender.

Inside, looking at the mirror, he winced involuntarily.  No wonder people were giving him such a wide berth.  The eyes were puffy, and a dark ring of bruises enclosed his - her - neck like a choker.

He was coming for her.  He was insane, his eyes wide and black and devoid of anything of rage and oh my god they were DEAD dead eyes his fingers were around her throat and she was pushing at them but they wouldn't move couldn't scream couldn't breathe and her vision was fading couldn't feel anything couldn't see anything but those eyes, those eyes, they were staring at her through her into her-

He snapped back to reality with a jerk, and cursed once, loudly, before remembering where he was and shutting up.  Damn.  That was one memory he didn't want to view.  He shuddered, and mentally apologised to Sheila.  For all the good it did.  Damn it.  He hoped nothing like that would ever happen again.  But if he started rotting again...

He firmly put those thoughts to the side.  Not productive.  Had to plan. He could get through this.  Somehow.

One pair of jeans and a shirt proved to be adequate fits.  They'd do. He exited the dressing room, handed off the remaining clothes to the attendant. For reasons not entirely clear to him, before returning to the cash, he detoured, heading off the electronics department.

Well, the electronics department had been his favourite part of these stores ever since he'd (mostly) outgrown the toy section.  He grinned to himself, the dark feelings receding a bit.  Attempting to wrangle a Game Boy Advance and some RPG out of the heavy-set woman would probably be ungracious. But no harm in looking.

Except there was no Game Boy Advance.  No PS2, X-Box, Gamecube... hell, no PS1 either.  There was a display set up with a Game Boy.  The original Game Boy, green screen and all.  Playing Tetris.  It was immediately both extremely nostalgic and disturbing.

As for consoles... there were Super Nintendos there.  And they were new. More than that, they were new and hyped like the latest of technology.  Small game selection, and the prices... those were new game prices.

What the hell?

He peered around the rest of the section.  No DVDs.  No DVD players.  He didn't even see a portable CD player, although it was a small section, so... no, that made no damn sense.  No sense at ALL.  The smallest, crappiest electronics section in the shoddiest mall in the most hillbilly US town wouldn't have this. This wasn't just where he'd lived... this wasn't WHEN he'd lived, either.

His mind worked furiously.  Of course, he hadn't stopped much to read newspapers in the last body... no money for them, although he guessed he could've gotten them from a garbage can or something.  But why would he?  He'd had other concerns, and there was no reason to look.

Except now there was.  Now there sure as HELL was.  He glanced around, eye latched onto a display of television sets.  They were showing some talk show.  He moved closer, wondered if he'd get in trouble for changing the channel.  Well, who gave a damn about that?  He didn't even know what year this was.  Super Nintendo new... early 90s?  Not his area of trivia.  He was reaching for the controls of the nearest television when the words "Sailor V" came from the speaker and arrested his attention.

He peered at the screen again.  Talk show, yeah... some guests there in odd costumes.  One was definitely done up as Sailor V.  He thought it was a girl.  Not a great-looking one, though.  He almost smirked at the fangirl humiliating herself on national television.  Probably going to decry the editing practices of those awful, horrible, censoring American companies.

Except... wait.  If this was the early 90s, anime wasn't a "thing" in the US then.  It wasn't even a blip on the radar.  And... well, he thought Sailor Moon was around, then.  Maybe.  But not in English.  Why would it even make it onto a talk show?

And then, the show itself answered his questions.  "...our next guest, who, as you can see, is a big fan of that mysterious British urban legend - or is that superheroine? - Sailor V, let's have a big hand for..."

Urban legend.  Superheroine.  British.  Distinctly not 'Japanese cartoon character'.  He stared, and as the following comments only confirmed his suspicions, he began to think furiously.

It appeared the plan would require some tweaking...

A loud splash, echoing through the water, startled Chris from his reminiscing.  He looked over, but didn't see anything.  He didn't need to breathe, but nothing had made him better able to see underwater.  Well, no need to panic.  Probably someone throwing a rock against the pipe, or into the canal or something.  He stayed still, anxiously scanning the entrance, but nothing darkened it, and he relaxed.

The setting sun was staining the water a brilliant orange, slowly fading to red.  It wouldn't be long now.  Once night fell, he'd move onto his next target.  He went over again, in his mind - or Officer Takashita's - police procedures, schedules, patrolling.  He'd be able to evade them, he thought.  If not, he could escape into the canals again, though that would ruin them as a future hiding place.  After that... well, there were other places.

The arm holding the gun was steady.  Good.  It wouldn't do for that to get wet.  After all, being dead only got you so far in SOME fights...

He settled back, waiting for the sun to set.  It would be time soon. Soon.  Soon, he mentally promised the being that called itself Ukyou.  Soon, we'll have our next meeting, a lot sooner than you expect.  And then he'd see if he couldn't have a more productive talk about exactly what she was, and what she knew about him.

Soon.

*

"Minato Ward?"

Ranma looked up as Ukyou flipped another okonomiyaki off her portable grill and onto his plate. Akane was still working on her first serving, but she looked to be enjoying herself.

"That's right, I have some business to take care of there," Ukyou explained cheerfully. Ranma was beginning to notice that Ukyou had two moods. In one mood she was quiet and serious, her voice and face betraying little emotion. The other Ukyou was energetic and cheerful, seeming to smile in secret amusement at everything and with an easy laugh on her lips. He hadn't figured out what triggered her sudden mood changes, but he was trying to put two and two together.

"How long will you be gone?" Akane asked. Ranma frowned at the girl sitting across from him. She was smiling at Ukyou in an overeager manner. Ever since last night, the girl hadn't been able to shut up about Ukyou for one minute. She was gushing to her family, to her friends and to anyone who would listen how Ukyou had saved her from a rogue cop with a gun. Ranma had managed to hear the entire story himself more than once, the details getting more impressive each time it got told. Ranma really wanted to know how Ukyou had known what was going on.

"The rest of today, most certainly," Ukyou said with a shrug as she began to clean up her grill. Ranma sighed as he looked down at his own half-finished portion and realized there would be no more free food today. She really had gotten much better at cooking over the years. "I doubt I'll be there overnight, but you never know. Sometimes it takes a while to tie up these kinds of problems."

"Right," Ranma grunted as he swallowed his remaining food in a single gulp, or tried to. The combination of too much food and trying to talk caused the morsel to lodge itself in the wrong pipe. Ranma choked and smacked himself in the chest as he tried to force the food out... then he realized that spitting it up would ruin this fabulous meal. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he was faced with a terrible choice: breathe, or finish Ukyou's okonomiyaki? He was probably turning blue by the time he managed to send the meal down the right pipe. He expelled a massive burp in a cloud of steam. Ukyou giggled a bit at his antics. Akane rolled her eyes and crossed her arms while trying her best to look down her nose at him. "So, when do we leave?"

"We leave?" Ukyou looked at Ranma with a puzzled frown.

"You're not leaving me behind this time," Ranma pointed out with a flip of his finger. "Last night I spent three hours talking to the police while you ran over town saving people from insane cops. You owe me."

"Uh," Ukyou ran her hands through her bangs and sighed. "Ranma, you don't know how much I would like to have a second pair of hands around for this, but I don't think it’s the best idea..."

"Well, why not?" Ranma crossed his arms and tried to put on an air of wounded pride, which wasn't as hard as he thought it would be. Ukyou gave him a blank-eyed stare for a few moments, then put her face in her hands with another sigh.

"Ranma, just trust me." Then Ukyou's head snapped up suddenly and she smiled, a pleased-with-herself grin. "Besides, I need you here, to look after Akane."

"Hey!" he and Akane screamed out at the same time. They both looked at each other and glared.

"Akane was targeted by something dangerous last night," Ukyou pointed out with a flip of her damp washcloth. "And it definitely wasn't human. I think we won't have to worry about it again, but I'd rather not gamble Akane's life on it." She reached over and patted him on his shoulder. "Frankly, I think you'd be an even better bodyguard than I would. You're certainly the better martial artist."

Well, Ranma couldn't really argue with that. But he'd rather try to tame a pit of poisonous vipers then willingly spend time with the pervert girl and her equally perverted family.

"Well, there's a simple solution to that," Akane pointed out as she handed her plate to Ukyou. "I'll just have to come with you both."

Ranma and Ukyou stared at her for a long second as they both tried to process that statement.

"Ohh boy," Ukyou said as she rocked back and braced herself with her arms. She looked up at the noon-day sun overhead, partially concealed by the tree they were sitting under. "I knew I should have just went off on my own without telling either of you." She continued to stare up at the sky for a few seconds, the breeze catching in her hair as it hung down between her arms and teasing it in gentle waves. How had he ever thought that this was a guy?

"Don't think you can get rid of me this time around," Akane pointed out, snapping Ukyou out of her reverie. Ranma glared at Akane, but wasn't sure why. "Last time you ran off without me, I was almost shot by some inhuman police officer."

"Well..." Ukyou frowned as she looked back at the two of them. "Can I appeal to your desire not to skip school, then? You both still have a half-day of classes left, and I have to leave now if I'm going to get there in time."

This seemed to give Akane pause, but Ranma didn't even hesitate. "I'm not really that attached to school, Ucchan."

"I figured as much," Ukyou grumbled half to herself. "Fine, Ranma, you can come." She slid to her feet in a single elegant motion. "Akane, you have to decide if you want to skip school or not."

"But that isn't fair!" Akane complained. "We have a test this afternoon!" Ranma stood up as well and stuck his tongue out at her. "Don't think I'm covering for you, jerk! You can get an F for all I care."

"I'm shaking," Ranma began but Ukyou cut him off by rapping him lightly on the back of the head.

"Be nice," she admonished with her amused grin.

"This is just no fair," Akane grumbled as she settled her chin into her hands.

*

The bus moved leisurely through the mid-day traffic. They had entered the Minato Ward almost a half-hour ago, making the entire cross-town trip almost an hour and a half total. An hour and a half alone with Ranma. It had been surprisingly simple to get him to go along with her. Just string him along, make him think it was his idea, play reluctant and stroke his ego at the same time and he would all but force himself to come along. That was the advice Aaron had given to Ukyou, and it had worked like a charm. Ukyou had even managed to get him to agree to take the bus with much the same tactic, despite them being able to run the distance in half the time.

Ukyou was staring out the window, or trying to. Her eyes and head kept swivelling to look at him. He was sitting there, calm and cool. There was no nervous energy in his posture, but instead an almost unsettling readiness about him. He was like a lounging cat, ready to pounce at the slightest sign of danger. With him, she wouldn't have to worry about protecting herself. He would always be ready to fight for her. He would always be ready to react to her every need-

Aaron jerked her eyes away from him before her thoughts could go much further. She felt her stomach roil as he reminded her of his limiting factor on her "little girl fantasies." Were they? Aaron reminded her again and again that what she felt for Ranma could not posskbly be love. She didn't even know him. Her image of Ranma was gathered from idealised childhood memories and...

And.

Memories of childhood and of the man he would be over the next year or so. Ukyou knew Ranma, perhaps even better than he did himself. She had seen his heart, displayed on pages in black and white. She could remember him during the moments when he was down and when he was on top of the world. He was arrogant, compassionate, stubborn, protective, possessive, imaginative, determined, juvenile... he was a person. He was much more than what Ukyou had thought he would be. He was much more than that "other" Ukyou had ever seen in him. He was all sorts of bad things and all sorts of good things.

Ranma Saotome was a real jerk. And she didn't care. She wanted to be with him, regardless. She wanted the fairy tale ending, even if the fairy tale ending was impossible. And she was looking at him again, despite Aaron's protests and the mild nausea. Ranma was looking back at her this time.

"Ukyou, you shouldn't always have that serious face," he pointed out as he wrapped his arms behind his head.

"Huh?"

"You should smile more, you look a lot better when you smile." Ukyou's heart skipped a beat and she felt heat rushing to her cheeks. Slowly she pushed past Aaron's numbing facial expression and smiled at him. He smiled back and nodded. "There, that's much better. Now you don't look so... I dunno, serious." His voice was cheerful and oblivious as he spoke. He turned his head back away from her and resumed people watching, since there wasn't much else he could do on the bus.

Ukyou ran her fingers through her bangs and released a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding in a long sigh. She wanted to be with him, there was no doubt in her mind now. She loved him, for whatever he was. And she could have him, too. Aaron might not like it, but he knew Ranma. Aaron knew all his triggers and traits well. And therefore so did she. It would take time, but it would be inevitable. The trick was patience, and Ukyou knew she could be patient. Just demonstrate a bit of sympathy, a bit of rivalry, a bit of compassion and a bit of sexual allure and Ranma would fall into her hands.

She could play him like a ten cent flute. Aaron's words, not hers. Aaron pointed out ruthlessly how much she would be manipulating him. He knew how to trick Ranma into loving her, oh yes. And Ukyou would be happy with that, but would Ranma? Ranma was nothing if not a free spirit. He lived to choose his own destiny. Trapping him in a love built on so many false pretences, would it be any different than trapping a wild bird in a cage? How could Ukyou say she loved him, when she was willing to go to any lengths to make him love her, and be damned what Ranma wanted out of life.

But that didn't matter! She wanted him to be with her. Was it so wrong how she did it? He would be happy...

Except she knew he might not be. Aaron was relentless. She might be able to lie to Ranma, she even might be able to lie to herself. But Aaron knew everything she thought and felt. She couldn't conceal her motives from him. The fact was that she didn't care how Ranma felt about it.

Now she felt like crap.

She was really tempted to smack herself and punish Aaron for the slight feeling of smugness he was projecting through her mind at the moment.

"Uh, Ukyou," Ranma pointed out and snapped her out of her internal bickering. "Wasn't that our stop?"

"Eep!" Ukyou began to ring the bell furiously as the bus began to pull away from the curb.

*

Ranma followed Ukyou up the steps leading towards the temple. There certainly were a lot of people here for a shrine, especially girls. Lots and lots of schoolgirls in the traditional sailor suit-themed uniforms. Many of them were giving him sly glances out of the corners of their eyes when they thought he wasn't looking. Ranma couldn't help but beam a little at that. Of course, this was nothing compared to the way they were reacting to Ukyou. At least a third of the them were staring at the masculine girl, many with their mouths open, strong blushes on their cheeks or affecting dizziness. Ranma frowned a bit at this, but then just had to chuckle about it. If only they knew.

Ukyou, for her part, wasn't paying much if any attention to them at all. Nor was she paying much attention to anything else. Ever since they had gotten off the bus Ukyou had been brooding, her face bent down so her long bangs fell over her eyes as she stared at her feet. Her hands were hooked into her pants, and Ranma noticed for the first time that today she wasn't wearing her usual school uniform, having adopted a more casual slacks and button-up shirt combo. She still sported her harness with the huge combat spatula on her back, however. Maybe that was why Ukyou was attracting more attention than Ranma was?

The top of the steps came up pretty quickly, with the steady long-legged pace Ukyou was setting. Ranma scanned the words set on the traditional archway. Hikawa Shrine, it stated in elegant simplicity. Ranma shrugged and looked down again. The name of the place didn't really matter to him. He'd seen hundreds of shrines and temples and holy places of all kinds over his life. Usually he'd been sneaking into them, so walking in like a regular guest was a bit of a novelty.

Ukyou stopped at the top of the shrine steps, looking left and right for something. Ranma sidled up next to her, rubbing the back of his neck as he craned to see over the heads of the crowded schoolgirls for any details. The place looked pretty typical. A booth had been set up nearby, selling little trinkets to the girls. They were gobbling up the tiny charms in droves, many of them cooing and gushing over them. More than half were holding them tightly and talking in hushed whispers to their friends while pointing at Ranma and Ukyou. A little old monk with a bald head and a tanned complexion was floating among the crowd, accosting the girls cheerfully. Further on, he could see a black-haired shrine maiden stalking through the crowd towards the old monk. A blonde guy was in the booth selling the little trinkets, and he seemed to be drawing as much attention as Ranma and his friend.

"What are you looking for?" Ranma asked evenly after a half-minute or so.

"I'm looking for a girl..." Ukyou trailed off. Ranma raised an eyebrow but failed to comment. "Aha, that's her there." She inclined her chin slightly as the raven-haired shrine girl passed in front of them. From the barely-restrained growl on her lips Ranma guessed that she was angry with someone, probably that old monk making a fool of himself in front of a trio of young girls. "But this seems terribly familiar for some reason." Ukyou pulled one hand from her pocket and tapped her chin thoughtfully. "This place isn't this crowded, usually..."

"They seem to be having some sort of sale or festival or something," Ranma replied with a shrug. He laced his arms behind the back of his head and nodded towards the booth set up nearby. Ukyou was shorter than him, so she must be having more trouble seeing over the heads of all the girls. She frowned a bit and pulled her hand from her chin.

"Let's get closer to that, I want to hear what's going on."

Ukyou didn't wait for Ranma to respond, instead stepping through the crowd with the same ground-eating strides she usually favoured. Ranma let his arms fall and followed wordlessly. So far this was turning out to be very boring. Not to mention he could do without all the girls talking behind his back; it gave him the willies. Ukyou stepped through the crowd just as the shrine-maiden finished scolding the old man about something. They were standing next to a trio of girls, probably a few years younger than Ranma from the looks of them. One had her hair up in a duet of giant ponytails that stood out in the crowd, but Ranma had seen weirder hair in his day.

"I sense evil energy!" the shrine maiden shouted suddenly. Moving with exceptional swiftness, she reached into her top and withdrew a long paper ward. Chanting quickly the girl seemed to fill it with some sort of energy: at least, the thing snapped rigid in her grip. Ranma cocked his head to the side as he watched. He had felt something happen when the girl chanted, but wasn't sure what. "Demon be gone!" she cried out, spun on one heel and firmly applied the ward to the forehead of the ponytailed blonde. This seemed to be received badly by the girl, whose eyes rolled into the back of her head as she fainted to the ground to the shocked alarm of her friend. That seemed like a pretty overdone attack for such a little bit of effect, Ranma mused.

"Ranma, we're leaving," Ukyou said evenly.

"Huh? Leaving?"

"Yes, right now." Ukyou grabbed his sleeve and began to tug him back into the crowd. Ranma looked down at her out of the corner of his eye. The shrine girl and the two anonymous friends were bending over to help the one that had fainted. Ranma's first instinct was to stay and see what he could do to help, but Ukyou had the same no-nonsense expression on her face she had worn the day that Akane had been attacked.

"Okay," Ranma murmured softly as he allowed himself to be led away. "But why?"

"I..." Ukyou trailed off. "I just realized I'm early. I need to come back another day." Ukyou kept looking back over her shoulder at the goings on as she led Ranma away. Ranma cast a few glances in that direction as well, but aside from the usual commotion over carrying an unconscious girl into a temple, there was nothing to see.

"Ukyou, are you sure we should be leaving?"

"Very sure," Ukyou replied calmly. "Hurry."

Now Ranma was sure something was up. There was no way that Ukyou would be in such a rush to get out of here if she was just early for a meeting. This was beginning to remind him a lot of last night, when Ukyou had sent him away while she got to have all the real action. Ranma looked back over his shoulders and tried to look at everything anew, with fresher eyes than he had used earlier. Ukyou had seen something that made her want to leave, but what?

Then Ranma noticed the man staring at them. He was standing just outside the booth now, apparently drawn out by the girl's fainting spell. He was tall, slender and blond, even if his build was mostly concealed by the enveloping garments he wore for his service at the shrine. He was staring at them with a dangerous frown on his pretty-boy face. Then for a moment Ranma's eyes met his, and Ranma felt something, a lot like what he had felt with the shrine girl but much stronger, flash between them.

"Wait up, Ukyou." Ranma pulled his arm from her grip with relative ease. Ukyou took several more steps down the stairway before noticing this. Ranma was already walking back towards the gateway by that time. "Hey, buddy, you want me for some reason?"

"Oh, was I staring?" the man said softly as Ranma approached. He didn't seem intimidated, but he wasn't hostile either. There was still something about him. Now that Ranma was closer, he could taste some nasty quality to the air. It was the same kind of feeling he got just before he was about to be ambushed or attacked, like a build-up of negative chi. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't help but notice how... energetic you seem to be."

"Right." Ranma settled himself just within the man's comfort zone and crossed his arms across his chest. "Don't try and fool me pal, you haven't taken your eyes off us since we got here."

"Ranma!" Ukyou hissed as she stepped up beside him and grabbed his shoulder. "We should leave. This doesn't concern us."

"What doesn't concern us?" Ranma asked, awfully curious. Ukyou opened her mouth to respond but then suddenly closed it again. She looked out of the corner of her eyes at Blondie and seemed to shake her head subtly.

"It’s not important," Ukyou pointed out in a clear and calm voice. "Besides, you're holding up this fine young man. I'm certain that R- er, the shrine maiden could use your help treating the girl who fainted." The last part was addressed to Blondie, who seemed slightly amused by the response.

He bowed slightly to Ukyou. "You're right, of course," Blondie said in an overwhelmingly polite tone. "I should attend to my duty to the shrine before satisfying my own curiosity." Ranma narrowed his eyes at the man. He was hiding something. The air around them had only grown more dangerous, not less. From the looks of Ukyou's face, she could feel it too.

"But since I seem to have offended, why don't I make it up to you?" The man held out his hand to Ranma, offering two tiny trinkets. "They aren't much, just little love charms, but I offer them as an apology for my rude behaviour." Ranma plucked one of them and let it settle into his palm. What use did he have for love charms? With his luck they might make those crazy Tendo chicks even more attracted to his girl side.

"No!"

Ukyou slapped Ranma's hand, displacing the charm and causing it to tumble to the ground. Ranma and Blondie stared at her, eyes wide, as Ukyou took a deep, calming breath. That had been close to real panic in her voice a second ago.

"I mean, we don't really believe in those kinds of things, so no thank you," Ukyou offered slightly lamely but in a much calmer voice. Ranma noticed Ukyou subtly, but deliberately, grind the charm under her heel as she moved in closer to Ranma. "Let's get out of here, Ranma," she said in a very serious, no-arguments-wanted tone. Ranma considered being stubborn, but decided that he'd get the full story out of her once they were away from the strange man.

"Let's go then."

Ukyou turned without so much as a nod to Blondie, and Ranma didn't feel much like saying goodbye either. The blonde pretty-boy waved at them anyway, calling out that he hoped to see them both again soon. Ranma relaxed a little as he felt himself stepping out of the man's aura. It was like walking out of a room filled with noxious fumes into a bright spring day. Ukyou was halfway down the stairs, taking them in short hopping steps that ate up three at a time, before she spoke again.

"Ranma, I want you to be on alert," she said without turning her head to see him. "I don't think that we're in immediate danger. But I think we just acquired the wrong kind of attention."

"Wrong kind?" Ranma grumbled. He was beginning to wonder if there was a right kind. Every time his father had managed to 'get attention' they had been chased out of town by a band of people wielding improvised weapons. Now that they had settled down he was receiving all kinds of the wrong attention from Akane, her sisters, their fathers and all the kids at school. "You owe me an explanation for all this," he pointed out as they came to the bottom of the stairs.

"Indeed," Ukyou murmured as she looked around. A bus stop was nearby, and she led Ranma over to it with fast determined paces. "But later, once we're back in Nerima ward."

"We could just run the rooftops," Ranma pointed out as they settled in with the crowd of school girls to wait for the bus. He glanced at the schedule posted on the stop and frowned. "The bus doesn't come by for another half hour."

"No, we've done enough to draw attention to ourselves," Ukyou said as she rolled her eyes. "Let's just try to act normal, for once." She was looking across the street and frowning. Ranma followed her line of sight. A newsvan was parked there, with a snappily-dressed woman standing in front of it talking to a man behind a camera. Guess this was a pretty popular sale, to get the TV people interested in it.

"Look, see, the bus is here already," Ukyou pointed out a second later. Ranma looked over her head and saw that she was right, the bus was here. Huh. Well, guess it must be running more often because of the festival. He looked around at all the girls crowded alongside them waiting for the bus. They certainly looked like they'd been waiting long enough for it to come. Half of them looked dead on their feet, and the other half just looked plain dead. He shivered.

The bus that pulled up was perfectly normal, but Ranma felt that same negative feeling creeping through the air as he approached the doors. It wasn't hard for him and Ukyou to get to the front of the line, nobody put up much of a fight for it. Ukyou was busy looking back at the shrine as she got in and handed the fare to the driver. The woman looked up from under the bill of her cap at them and sneered unpleasantly.

"Take your seat, please," she said, still sneering. Ranma gave her a wide berth as Ukyou led them down the aisle. Behind them, the girls from the shrine began to pour into the conveyance.

"There's something I'm not remembering," Ukyou murmured mostly to herself as she sat down. Ranma shrugged and sat down next to her.

"Don't ask me," Ranma grumbled a bit. "I have no idea what is going on." He yawned. Man, all this sitting around doing nothing was making him tired. No wonder all the girls on the bus seemed to be out of it, if this was what lack of proper exercise did to you. In fact, most of the girls were catching quick cat- er, a little shuteye. Not really a bad idea, now that he thought about it. He was certainly tired.

Ukyou yawned next to him, then her eyes snapped open. "Oh shit!" she gasped and tried to stand up in the seat without much success, her spatula getting in the way. "Ranma, don't fall asleep!"

"Huh?" Ranma blinked his eyes open. He had been halfway to dreamland, but now came suddenly awake at the insistence in her voice. He still felt tired, however; fatigue was weighing down his limbs. "What's going on?"

"I just remembered the plot!" Ukyou grabbed his collar. "We can't be in this bus..." her voice was beginning to acquire a serious drawl as she slumped visibly.

"Sit down!" the driver called from up front. "No one can stand while the bus is in motion!" For some reason the driver found this extremely funny. Her laughter was mocking and malicious. Ranma didn't like her tone, and didn't like even more being ordered around.

"Stop the bus!" he barked as he propelled himself to his feet. Still, he was swaying as he tried to stand, and his arms felt like lead weights as he lifted them up to a basic boxing position. "Don't make me tell you again!"

"Pitiful human," the woman said as she turned her head to stare at him; a deep red glow flashed from her eyes. "You can't fight our power. Even without the charms, this bus has been enchanted to relieve you of all your energy!"

"Take my energy?" Ranma mumbled. He hadn't felt this weak in years. It was like the strength, the very chi, was fleeing his body. "No! Ukyou, c'mon let's..." he couldn't finish the words, his mouth felt numb and his tongue too big. The air around him swirled with a grey fog - some of it was seeping out of his skin! He wouldn't go down without a fight...

Not without a fig-

*

Ukyou watched as Ranma toppled like a marionette with its strings cut. There went her big hope for not being drawn into this. She was slumped against the seat in front of her as well, barely able to find the energy to keep her eyes open. To her credit, she had only yelled at Aaron a few million times in their mental manner. It had taken her less than a second to do it, thanks to that whole speed of thought thing.

Aaron tried to level them back into a sitting position, trying to gain enough time to think by wasting as little precious energy as possible. Whatever this magic was, it drained their chi as quickly as Ukyou could produce it. By all rights, they should have already collapsed. Aaron really doubted that Ukyou had more chi at her disposal than Ranma did. Really, there was no real point in fighting this. Sooner or later Usagi would get her act together and save them from the evil Youma-of-the-week. Then they could go on with their lives as if none of this had ever happened.

Except Ukyou didn't think it would be so simple. She had seen the look in Jadeite's eyes. He had taken a personal interest in Ukyou and Ranma. With their exceptional strength, they might make perfect living batteries for the Dark Kingdom. Maybe waiting for Usagi to save them would be too late...

Aaron closed his eyes and considered that as Ukyou continued to let worry gnaw at them. Like it or not, she was right. They couldn't take that risk; they had to find some way of getting out of this without the help of Sailor Moon. Besides, in the long run, Sailor Moon would still come to the rescue, right?

The only question was how: they were still losing energy... or were they? Ukyou opened her eyes and noted that the grey fog that had been drifting from their body had stopped. The entire cabin was now full of the residual energy. The bus itself was beginning to arch into the air, judging by the sudden shift in her centre of gravity. A huge vortex of black light was forming in front of the travelling bus. If they went into that vortex, there would be no escape.

We have to move, now! Ukyou was desperate, searching for some spark of chi or strength within her, but she was drained. How was she even awake still? With an external growl she mentally browbeat Aaron into helping her search for some inner well of untapped power, and both were surprised when he immediately discovered it at his fingertips.

Of course! Aaron's chi had not been drained along with Ukyou's. Up until this point, even when Aaron was in charge, they had been using Ukyou's skills to tap into her reserves of fighting spirit. They had never even considered that there might be another pool of power available. Still, the energy was strange to Ukyou's senses. Not quite like the chi she was used to subconsciously channelling through her body.

Figuring out how to use it to fuel their motions was trial and error. The first few times they tried to rise, they collapsed back onto the seat again with a wuff. The thing driving the bus didn't seem to notice or care. Then Aaron stumbled on how to get the energy to flow correctly. It was all about the proper focus. Moving jerkily, they staggered out of the seat and stood in the aisle. The fatigue they had felt up until now was beginning to vanish, and with each moment they were gaining better and better control.

They didn't have any time to practice more: from the relative speed of this bus, they would be in that vortex in only a few more seconds.

"Stop this bus!" Ukyou cried out with far more confidence than she was feeling. She was already reaching for a few throwing spatulas on her bandolier while Aaron used her free hand to search through her hidden pockets.

"You're still awake?" the thing in human guise said with obvious surprise. It stepped away from the wheel and smiled at them, a cruel and vicious smile that nearly split her angular face in two. "Well, that makes this more fun than I had thought it would be."

"Here, catch!" Ukyou roared as she flung her projectiles quickly. The spatulas whizzed through the air almost too fast for her to follow, but evidently not too fast for the youma. It reached up and plucked the cluster of weapons from the air with both hands.

"Heh, you asked me to," the thing pointed out as it laughed.

"Of course I did," Aaron said coolly. "Otherwise you wouldn't have grabbed onto the explosive."

"Explosive?" The youma looked down into her hands and blinked. The blast erupted across the front of the bus, throwing a cloud of dust between the two of them. Ukyou braced herself as the cabin funnelled the shockwave into her. She lowered the hand she had used as a shield to see the smoke clearing and the entire front of the bus in tatters. The windshield, side door and windows down for three seats had been blown out in the explosion. There was no sign of the youma, but Aaron knew better than to believe that was the end.  They grinned, a little goofily.  But nothing could survive that much dust, right?

Aaron took over, propelling them forward in two quick steps. His chi seemed to be serving equally well as Ukyou's here. They were just as fast as before as they reached the steering column in under a second. Already the front of the bus was beginning to be swallowed by the dark energy portal. Not sure if it would do any good, but having no better options, he grabbed the wheel and began to spin it as hard as he could.

The bus lurched, and Ukyou had to brace them to keep from falling. For a moment, Aaron felt them being pulled into that void, like having a giant vacuum cleaner pressed against their side. Then the sensation was gone and he breathed a sigh of relief. Until he realised they were falling, from almost twenty meters up.

They both stood there, unable to respond until the impact. The force of the crash threw them from their feet and shattered any windows that had survived his explosive attack earlier. Metal shrieked and twisted into new and dangerous shapes around them, and many of the girls in the seats were flung bodily into the aisles. Still, nobody appeared to have died, although many of them might have to worry about broken bones later.

"You little bitch!"

Ukyou snapped her head up as metal remnants of the bus door were ripped away with a shrill squeal of protest. The youma had returned, but had shed its human shape. It was tall and ugly, a grotesque parody of a female figure. Stringy red hair framed a triangular face adorned with a mouth full of nice pointy teeth. Her skin was some sort of putrid green shade and was pulled taut over an excessively thin body. Either a coarse black coat of fur or some sort of garment preserved her modesty, thankfully for their sanity.

"I'll rip your head off!"

"I think we got it mad," Ukyou pointed out aloud. The creature hissed and leaped at them. This surprised Aaron, who had expected a typical youma ranged attack of some kind. Still, they weren't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Ukyou rolled backward, projecting her legs up. She caught the thing in the stomach with both feet. A woof of rancid breath erupted from the thing's mouth, and its clawed hands stopped only centimeters from Ukyou's face. But Ukyou was smiling as she continued her momentum and flipped the thing easily over her head and out the shattered window behind them. Aaron pointed out they needed room to fight properly, and Ukyou agreed.

Completing the backward roll, Ukyou landed in a crouch and paused not at all as she launched herself out of the bus. The crisp air outside the cabin felt refreshing on their face. Aaron turned them in mid-leap. They landed in a crouch, facing back towards the battered bus. Ukyou's hand reached up and loosed the spatula from her back. With a loud crack of displaced air and dust she swung it out from her body in one hand. The other raised in front of her, gripping a half-dozen throwing spatulas Aaron had retrieved.

They didn't have to wait for long. The youma leapt over the bus, easily clearing it. It came down at them claws-first. Aaron projected its landing spot, and Ukyou backed them away. She was already swinging her spatula back in a deceptively gentle arc by the time she was getting to her feet. The monster only had a chance to widen its eyes in wonder as Ukyou's attack struck it like a badminton shuttle. It screamed in pain as its head cracked against the tempered metal spatula and then there was a shriek of twisting metal again as its body was launched hard into the side of the bus. More glass rained down on top of the thing's body as it slumped down.

Where was Sailor Moon?

No time for that now.

Ukyou sprinted forward. Her grip shifted to two-hands, choking up on the spatula like a bat. The thing was just standing up when she struck again. This time it parried. Claws and metal clashed in a flare of sparks. It came back fast, launching a strike with its free hand. Aaron backpeddled, inching just out of range as Ukyou recovered her balance.

The thing recovered faster. With a roar it sprung up, pushing off the bus with one leg and swinging its other out in a kick so fast it cracked through the air like a rifle shot. Ukyou barely got her spatula in the way, absorbing the blow along the shaft between her hands. Even so, the strike was powerful enough to send them skidding back on the tips of their feet almost five meters, a contrail of dust forming in their wake.

This wasn't like fighting Kunou. This thing was dangerous, and out to kill them. Aaron began to pull back, running through their options in the back of their mind while Ukyou automatically took control of the main physical part of the fight. The thing was crouched in front of them, its claws cutting little lines into the pavement. Already they could feel bruises forming along their arms. Did that thing really strike that hard?

"You can't possibly be a normal human," the youma grinned, a dangerous expression for a thing with so many sharp teeth. "My master will be most pleased with the energy you provide us with, boy."

"Hah! I fear not your stock dialogue!" Aaron sneered as Ukyou shifted stances slightly.

"You dare mock me?" the thing roared as it galloped towards them, propelling itself with all four limbs like some wild beast. Aaron recommended a course of action, and Ukyou agreed. With a short hop they leaped into the air, twisting upside down and arcing over the thing's head. It rose up to slash at them but Aaron had already seen that move. With a brutal poke Ukyou thrust her weapon downward and clipped the thing's legs. Suddenly it had no more traction and fell face-first into the pavement, skidding along with enough force to dig a shallow trench in the street. Ukyou completed their flip easily, landing in a crouch with her spatula held to her side.

They charged. Two strides at full strength carried them to the beast. It flipped to its feet but was too late. "Do me a favor." The thing rocked back as Ukyou drilled a right cross into its cheek. Ouch. Thing had skin like rock. "And this time..." Ukyou followed through quickly, her spatula coming up and catching the thing's legs again, flipping it off its feet. It roared as it went airborne.

"Stay down." Ukyou continued past it, drilling her extended arm downward in an elbow strike that caught it right where the solar plexus would have been on a human. From the scream, youma must have had a similar anatomy. The thing landed in the ground again.

Ukyou didn't pause, running past it and coming quickly to the wall along the road. She took two steps up the wall and flipped backwards, landing on her feet facing the thing as it crawled out of the dent Ukyou had drilled it into.

"You aren't being very nice," she pointed out as she eased up her grip on her spatula and shifted positions again. Inwardly, Aaron was running through scenarios as quickly as possible. Really, fighting was a lot like chess. It was all about how many moves ahead you were.

"I'll devour your brains!" the thing hissed as it rubbed its chin with one arm. It was standing, looking not-much-worse for wear.

"I thought we already pointed out your dialogue problems," Ukyou drawled smugly. Now that they had settled down, she could feel her muscles screaming in protest. It was like she had been fighting all day, not for under a minute. This was definitely getting annoying.

"Halt right there!" a voice cried from the wall across the street.

"It's about time," Ukyou sighed. She looked up and saw Sailor Moon posing atop the wall. Aaron had always wondered if those poses would look as silly in person as they did animated. Apparently they did.

"You monster who seeks to abuse the trust of our city's public transportation- hey! I'm not finished!"

Aaron immediatly noted the youma's attention drifting to Sailor Moon and reacted. Dipping forward, Ukyou ran at the beast, one hand unleashing a dozen throwing spatulas at once. The thing screamed as the razor-sharp weapons lodged in its unprotected flank. Green blood began to seep from the shallow wounds.

"At least you bleed," Ukyou grumbled as she dashed in low. The thing growled and swung at her, but as Aaron had foreseen, it favoured its undamaged arm. With deceptive ease, Ukyou reversed her spatula and brought the ring up, allowing the thing’s punch to piston through the hole. Spinning past it, she locked the spatula behind her back with both arms and skidded her feet in the dust to stop on the proverbial dime. The thing roared as it was pulled back and to the side by its captured arm. Then Aaron made them grin. This was the fun part. With a kick into the thing’s back and a quick lever of the spatula, the thing found itself being pulled in two directions at once. There was a resounding crack as the monster's arm broke. "Don't wait for me to get away, Sailor Moon," Aaron called out over Ukyou's shoulder. "Finish this thing off before it recovers!"

"Uh, right..." Sailor Moon leapt from the wall and landed somewhat inelegantly on the ground. Her school girl fetish costume looked even more ridiculous in real life, and Aaron suppressed a surprise case of the giggles.

"Can I just ask..."

"Now, Sailor Moon," Ukyou sighed as she spun away from the beast and brought her spatula up in another whistling arc. This time she struck with the edge, ripping a deep gouge in the chest of the monster as it tried to regain its feet.

"Right!" The magical girl calmed down and reached up to her tiara. Ukyou could follow all her actions, but only because she was used to seeing people moving at slightly faster than human speed. It appeared stock footage attacks took a lot less time in the world than they did on screen. "Moon Tiara ACTION!" Sailor Moon screamed as she unleashed her finishing move. The already weakened monster could only howl as the golden discus of light impacted with its sternum. In a flash of magical energy, the thing screeched and disintegrated to dust. The swirling discus returned to Usagi's waiting hand and reverted to its simple tiara form. "Hah! Moon dusted!"

"You actually say that!?" Ukyou blurted out before Aaron could stop her.

"What's wrong with it?" Usagi frowned.

"Nothing, nothing just..." Aaron's eyes widened as a sudden fact occurred to him. "Oh no, the portal!"

"What portal?" Usagi blinked.

"That portal!" Aaron grabbed her shoulder and spun her to face the black vortex in the sky. The rapidly shrinking black vortex. "Without the Youma to sustain it, the portal is collapsing."

"Well good riddance," Usagi said with a sigh.

"No, there are still people trapped on the other side!"

"Oh, well that's bad. How do we help them out?"

"We?" Aaron blinked and looked at the girl for a long second. Oh man, he was going to regret this. He was going to regret this a great deal. But he had no choice. Not if he wanted to keep those people’s lives off his conscience. "Oh no, not we. You're the one with the magic powers, you keep it open."

"But I don't know how!" Usagi whined. Ukyou resisted the impulse to cover her ears. That girl had a powerful set of lungs.

"Well, I'm very sorry about this," Aaron leaned in forward and placed his hands on her shoulders. Sailor Moon's eyes widened as she stared at her, and Ukyou realized with a bit of chagrin  that Usagi didn't know she was a girl. "But you're going to have to figure out how the hard way."

"WhhhaaaaAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Usagi screamed as Ukyou hefted her and propelled her into impromptu flight, easily sending her up and through the portal. She sighed in relief. Usagi had figured a way out of the dark portal in the anime, she was sure to do so this time around as well. Almost definitely. Very possibly. Hopefully.

But the fact was, the crisis was averted. Now she could begin to address the muscle fatigue that was creeping through her body. She reached up and rubbed her hand across her mouth, coming away with something wet and slick. She looked down in puzzlement. Blood? The thing hadn't tagged her in the face. In fact, it hadn't laid a finger on her the whole fight. Why was she bleeding?

"So, you finally show your true colours. I knew it was only a matter of time."

Aaron spun them around in a tight circle. Standing only a few meters away was a tall, green-haired beauty who looked much better in her fetish sailor suit than Usagi did. That long key-shaped polearm in her right hand helped with the image.

"Pluto!"

Aaron cursed as the word slipped from his mouth before he could stop it. The woman in front of them frowned and raised her staff to point it at them. It was then Aaron remembered he had just tossed Sailor Moon through a portal into the Dark Kingdom. Way to look heroic and noble.

"Wait, I can explain! This isn't my fault!"

*

"Wait, I can explain! This isn't my fault!"

Sailor Pluto frowned but didn't answer, keeping her Time Key trained firmly on the girl in front of her. Pluto had arrived only a few seconds ago, drawn by the strange disturbance she had detected in the timeline. Sure enough, here had been Ukyou. Ukyou, throwing the reincarnated Princess into the clutches of the Dark Kingdom. Ukyou, again. That face was burned into her brain, a face she couldn't forget. A face she saw every night in her nightmares. Already she could feel the same terrifying energy flowing through the young girl's body as she backed up slightly in the face of the implacable Senshi's weapon.

"Don't make me use this," Pluto warned coldly. "I have a feeling you know what it does."

"Damn it, Pluto." Ukyou lowered her arms and seemed to quickly compose herself. "You must have made some kind of mistake. If we can just talk this over like reasonable people..."

The tip of her staff wavered slightly. This wasn't right, a voice in the back of her mind cried out. This girl didn't look like a threat to all creation. She looked like a scared teenager, a girl in over her head. Wasn't her mandate to protect the people of this world? Maybe there was an explanation.

Then she remembered the destruction. And the terrible energy she could even now feel inside the girl in front of her. Her grip on her weapon firmed up.

"I'm terribly sorry," Pluto apologised, trying to put the remorse she felt into her voice. "Your death is necessary. You may not know it now, but it's best you never find out why."

"No..." Ukyou growled. "I don't care." Her hand tightened on her bizarre weapon. "I'm not letting you kill me."

"You don't have much hope of defeating me in your condition."

"Right, well see if you can face my special attack!" Ukyou held up her hand suddenly. Pluto shifted her staff up to follow the motion; then she realised that Ukyou had thrown something at the ground with her other hand.

"FLOUR BOMB!"

Suddenly the world went white. Pluto blinked, then cursed herself. "Dead Scream," she whispered her attack name. The coruscating ball of purple light shot through the thick cloud, carving a path of visibility through the flour. Ukyou had already moved, and the attack did little more than blow an impressive hole in the wall of one of the nearby homes. Pluto stepped forward, searching blindly with her staff, but knew it was futile. By the time the flour settled down Ukyou was long gone, no doubt leaping across the rooftops again.

If only Pluto could track her movements! She could give chase on foot herself, hoping to catch up. But then she saw the closing vortex behind her and sighed. No, she had other business to take care of. Without Sailor Mercury here to hold open the portal, it would collapse, trapping the Princess in the Dark Kingdom alone and inexperienced. With a sigh, she turned and pointed her staff at the vortex, concentrating her energy into holding open the small tear in the dimensional fabric.

Behind her, a woman in a flour-covered skirt-suit turned to a man carrying a flour-covered camera.

"Tell me you got that all on tape."

The man only nodded mutely.

Pluto growled and ignored them. Ukyou may have escaped this time, but she couldn't do so forever. It went against everything she stood for. It was against all the laws as Time Guardian. It was against her basic human decency. But Sailor Pluto had seen the future. She knew what was coming.

If Ukyou Kuonji did not die, she would destroy the entire universe.

*

He emerged dripping from the canal in the evening, mentally going over the details of the murder he planned to commit.  His mind flinched from the term, but he refused to consider it a "step in a plan", or some other euphemism. If he let himself do that, it would become easier.  He didn't want it to become easier.  He didn't want to stop hating himself for it.  The moment he did... he shivered, and not from the cold and damp he could barely feel.

He had a certain degree of increased respect for all those angsty fictional vampires and undead (fictional?  did that even apply anymore?).  Oooh, all that superhuman strength and cool powers and turning into bats and fangirls hanging off of you, woe is you!  But you were DEAD.  Dead, and you could feel it, couldn't escape it, couldn't ignore the feeling, the vast weariness in your unliving bones.

He smiled a little.  All that, and he didn't even get the turning-into-a-bat or clinging fangirls benefits.  Terribly unfair, that's what it was.  He wondered, if he met a real vampire, if he could just take its body.  It was dead already, right?

That reminded him of the task at hand, and his momentary good humour faded.  He had a murder to plan.  And this time it had to go right, because he might not get a third chance if he screwed up against this target.  At the very least, with Akane undoubtedly on guard now, it would be much harder.  And there weren't many other suitable candidates he could locate just yet.

Suitable candidates... his mouth twisted.  Suitable victims.  The idea had occurred to him, the fevered rush of thought and planning and recalculation in the wake of realising where he was, back in the United States.  He had, still in the body of the woman, hitchhiked to another city, a little further north in the state.  He wanted to do some research, but getting some distance between himself and the problems Sheila had back "home" only made sense.

And once there, he had visited a library, and discovered to his chagrin that the Internet had not been invented yet... well, had been, but was not exactly at the level he was used to accessing for information.  Still, there were other ways to research.  He stayed all day in the library and discovered what he could, poring over newspaper microfiches, history textbooks, and nearly everything he could find about Japan.  He had smirked when he had confirmed the existence of a Tendo Dojo.  Sure, there might be one in the "real world" he wasn't in... but in Nerima Ward?  Doubtful.  Which meant that there was more here than just Sailor Moon.  Which meant, if he could reach Japan, he might be able to find people who could not only help him, but had experience with the walking dead.

And, he realised, that meant there were super martial artists in the world.  People with bodies harder than steel, people who could shrug off tank shells, strike faster than sound, move from the street to rooftops in a single leap.  A body like that... a body like that HAD to be more durable than a normal human body.  Instead of having a few days, maybe he could have weeks, months, even years.  Long enough for him to stop worrying about the rotting, and be able to seriously look for help.  And, learning those abilities from such a person, to be able to go beyond the limits of normal people... that was a powerful allure.  He couldn't deny it.  When younger, he'd been fascinated by superheroes, by fantasy novels; when older, by super martial arts-related anime and manga, and hell, he still read the occasional Americomic.  He LOVED the idea of that kind of power, the personal power that created the situation that did not exist in the real world, the individual who was truly individual, an island unto themselves, unconstrained by the ocean of society.  He knew that sort of thing would realistically lead to huge societal problems, but the possibilities of it still fascinated him.

And now the possibility of gaining that sort of strength was almost in his hands.  Yes, it was a powerful allure.  But it wasn't the only reason.  If he was right, and such a body was more durable than an ordinary one, it would not only make it easier for him to concentrate on finding help, but it would save the lives of other people.  Every day that superhuman body wasn't rotting was a day he wasn't desperately searching for someone else to steal the life of. That was worth it.  Right?

It was a justification, and he knew it, but it was a justification he could live with.  But there was a cost.  He had to get to Japan, and he had to find and kill a superhuman person.  And he couldn't get there with this body. He had next to no money.  And while he didn't get tired, swimming across the Pacific Ocean was just stupid.  He wasn't Ranma, and sharks wouldn't exactly be repulsed by a dead body swimming around.  Besides, what if he froze solid?  It wasn't like he was generating body heat to prevent it.  It wasn't winter, but still...

No, he had to get to Japan a more conventional way.  Which would mean killing again.  And as long as he was killing again, he might as well make it purposeful.  No more waste.

He was still thinking when they kicked him out of the library, but by that point, he had the gist of his plan down.  And he put it into action, knowing he had to act prior to this body starting to decay.

Thank goodness for stereotypes.  A nearby bar indeed had several trucks out back with shotgun racks.  He examined them all, carefully selected a target according to a few criteria.  Mud-splattered wheels, check.  A messy interior of the vehicle, check.  And most of all, the shotgun had to be in pristine shape, better than the truck itself, check.  Memorising the license plate, he went inside, made an audacious announcement.  Who owned that truck outside, because that was a dang good-looking gun, and she was always looking for a man who had one hell of a gun, if you know what she meant, wink wink.  It was corny, but these were drunk, single men at a bar.  And in this body, he knew almost instinctively the right things to do, the right words to say, the right way to stand, to look attractive to a man.  Which was unsurprising, useful, and repulsive all at the same time.  But this body also knew how to divorce real feelings from outward emotions, and he clung to that: smiling and chatting and further arousing the surprised man's interest, even as inside he was recoiling both from what he was doing and what he planned to do.  It had to be done.  That's what he told himself.  It had to be done.

What made your life worth more than his?

He couldn't answer that question, of course.  But he couldn't stand the rotting.  He couldn't.  And he didn't want to try to kill himself and die again, even if it was possible.  Not until he found out what - who - had done this to him. And... he didn't want to end it now, anyway.  Not once he had found this. The land of promise.  The land where he could be everything he'd ever wanted to be.

If only he could be alive again.

The man - his name was Roger - took them back in the dirty truck.  As Chris had hoped, he lived in a refurbished farmhouse outside of town.  He wasn't exactly a militant nutcase, but he liked his privacy, and he had a shooting range, and he undoubtedly thought that "bearing arms" amendment to the US Constitution (what one was that?  Second?  Whatever.) was the most important. Which meant he was exactly what Chris had wanted.

Now all he had to do was kill him.

He was grateful for the unliving nature of his body, a bit.  No cold sweat to worry about, and it was easy to keep his tone even.  In his bedroom, he steeled himself as Roger drunkenly removed his shirt.  It had to be now.  If he saw the bruises around  his... her neck, currently hidden by the shirt he'd chosen, he might be worried and on his guard.  He wouldn't be expecting an attack, of course, but... he needed an unguarded moment.  This man was certainly a lot stronger than this body.

The unguarded moment came easily, more easily than he'd imagined.  He was drunkenly pawing her body, hands slipping to places that had no feeling any more.  He turned his head a bit with one hand, drawing his full attention.  And then, with his other hand, he crushed the man's throat.  It was easy.

Roger didn't even realise what had happened right away, but when Chris shoved him back, the alcoholic fog - he was a drunk driver?  Chris hadn't even thought about that - seemed to clear.  His face turned ugly, and he made some indistinct gurgling noises.  That was good.  He couldn't talk.  His face was purple with rage, but maybe the lack of breathing had something to do with that, and sudden panic mingled with the anger in his eyes.

He lurched back, and Chris cursed himself suddenly.  If he went for the phone... he'd have to do something.  He couldn't afford the police coming to check things out.  He braced himself, he'd have to grapple with him and hope he could hold him off long enough for the lack of air to win the fight... and then almost sighed in relief as the dying man pulled a large-calibre revolver from the bed.  From under the pillow?  People really did that?  No wonder he was desperate for a woman to sleep with him.

The absurd thoughts dancing across his mind were driven from him as there was a sharp crack, and he staggered backwards as if someone had hit him. Looking down, he gazed at the hole in his chest dispassionately.  There was pain, of course, but he didn't feel it strongly enough to care.  A bit of fluid leaked from the bullet wound, dark and unpleasant, certainly not looking like blood.

He looked up and met the eyes of Roger.  The panic in the man's eyes had grown.  Not surprising.  Chris straightened, and was shot again, this time in the shoulder.  He didn't even bother looking at it.  His mind was already working furiously: keep his attention, and he won't even think about the phone. A third shot went wide; Roger's aim wasn't being helped by the lack of air.  Or maybe his hands were shaking.

He walked toward the terrified man, slowly, deliberately, and had to suppress a laugh.  He was sure acting like a real undead now, wasn't he?  He then regarded his own thoughts with a bit of astonishment.  Was this normal? Thinking absurd thoughts, trying not to laugh while killing someone?  Was that his mind's coping mechanism?

He felt another impact, realised with slight startlement that he had bumped into the man, who had fallen backwards.  Another bullet struck him, this time in the stomach.  He looked at the man; his face was beaded with sweat, and was definitely an unhealthy colour.  His whole body laboured to breathe: he could see the strain, the frantic contractions of his chest, but no noise escaped.

He smiled, a bit sadly, at the man.  "I'm sorry," he said.  Didn't reassure him much.  The gun had fallen from his fingers.  He looked around, and now his eyes locked on the phone.  Chris moved swiftly, pinning down his wrists with his own hands.  Or rather, Sheila's hands.  They were slender and Roger's much stronger, but most of his strength appeared to be gone... he struggled weakly, but Chris had no trouble holding him. It wouldn't be long now.  His eyes were rolling in his head, his mouth working soundlessly, his colour...

Chris closed his eyes.  He'd wanted to watch, force himself to confront what exactly he was doing.  But he couldn't.  "I'm sorry," he said again.  If the man had had any sort of reaction, he did not see it.  The struggles continued, faintly, then ceased, the man passing out perhaps, or just devoting all his remaining strength toward attempting to breathe.  It seemed like a long time after that when he felt the familiar emptiness beckoning.  Without looking at the face of the man he had just killed, Chris opened his eyes and sat on the bed, leaning his body against the headboard.  Then he allowed himself to flee it, entering and filling the emptiness next to him.

He opened his eyes again as Roger.  He realised a flaw in his plan.  He couldn't speak, obviously, with his throat crushed.  He'd have to deal with that.  Raising himself from the floor, he wiped some flecks of spittle from his lips as he looked towards the head of the bed.  The blank eyes of Sheila stared back at him.  At least they weren't terror-filled this time.  He felt the emptiness her body offered him, but ignored it.  Indeed, he sighed in relief. In this new body, this fresh body, things felt... sturdier.  It was more muscular, obviously, but... she must've been closer to rotting than he'd thought. He shuddered a little and set about his business.

He'd worked the rest of the night.  First stashing the body in the cellar, where the chill would keep it from becoming too noticeable until he planned to be long gone.  He realised, doing this, that he was going to be staining this man's reputation forever.  He put it out of his mind, for the moment.  He'd KILLED him... kind of pointless to worry about how he'd made him look bad in the aftermath.  What mattered was doing what he had to, quickly, efficiently, so as few people had to die as possible.

It took some unpleasant work, but he managed to eventually "fix" the throat to the point where he could speak in a low, raspy tone.  Examining in the mirror, he decided the throat just looked odd, not like he was actually dead. At least to a casual glance.  He hoped.  Anyway, the raspy voice would help.  He called into the man's work, his fingers automatically pushing the phone number as if he'd known it all his life.  He was sick.  Might not be in for a few days.

And then he practiced.  He knew this sort of trick wouldn't be able to kill a superhuman martial artist, even a weaker one.  He needed a gun, and he needed to be able to use one accurately, to kill or at least mortally wound on the first shot.  So he learned how to do that.  Or rather, he REMEMBERED how to do that, going through motions that felt practiced and engraving them on his mind.  He knew he'd remember it later if he practiced, even in another body.  He still remembered, after all, how to seduce a drunken man.

A day later, he thought he was as good a marksman as he could reasonably be, which was in fact pretty good.  So he washed, changed, took the truck - hmm, he could learn to drive too, useful - and got all the money from Roger's account...and the wad stashed under his mattress.  He had also, almost as an afterthought, packed a small bag and taken a jacket, which would make him not stand out.  And he had a gun, of course.  A pistol, silenced... no, suppressed, his stolen memories told him.  He drove west, soaking up the knowledge of how to do it like he had never bothered in real life.  But of course, this was much easier than learning it the typical way.  He stopped only for gas along the way, idly hoping the truck wouldn't break down, though he had enough cash to rent another vehicle if he had to.

Eventually, he reached Los Angeles.  He had never seen it, and neither had Roger, but he didn't have time to take it in.  He felt the heat, faintly, a lingering warning that he had to move as fast as possible.  Did Roger's body feel a little soft already?  Or was he getting paranoid?  In the airport, he bought a ticket, it didn't matter where, but he picked Vancouver anyways.  He wondered if he would ever see Canada again.  But he didn't have time for that. He had to carry out his second - no, third - murder.

There were several Japan-bound flights.  A whole JAL booth, in fact. Not surprising.  He was nonplussed, however, by how many PEOPLE were at the airport.  That wasn't good.  He needed to be alone with someone.  He swallowed nervousness, the feeling of being watched by everybody, especially the security guards.  He'd be fine.  It wasn't as if anybody could possibly predict his actions.  He was just a normal-looking American traveller.  A tall, well-muscled man, just finished checking in his bags near the JAL booth, drifted towards a nearby bathroom, and he followed a moment afterwards.  This was it.

There was another man in there as well, using the urinal.  He suppressed a curse.  There was a lot of people there, it wasn't surprising.  But he couldn't keep going into and out of the bathroom, now could he?  He went into a stall to wait, two away from his target.  Nervousness overcame him.  Was the man even going to Tokyo?  What if he left first?  What if someone came in as he was... he swallowed those thoughts.  They'd just make him hesitant.  There, the man from the urinal was washing his hands.  He had left.  It was time.

He realised he couldn't open the bathroom stall door from the outside. Of course he couldn't!  All that planning, and he'd forgotten THAT?  Stupid!  He considered his options.  He could boost himself up from the stall next to it...no, too risky, too easy to miss or even just hit him in the shoulder.  If he made a commotion, it was all over.  Better for him to miss this chance than to blow all future ones.

He waited impatiently, near the sink, listening almost desperately for the sounds within the stall.  Someone walked by the door outside, but didn't enter.  Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the toilet flushed, there was the rustle of fabric.  He walked forward swiftly, his hand reaching inside his jacket for the concealed pistol.

The man never had a chance.  He was looking down, adjusting his grip on his bag, as he exited.  He looked up, and his eyes had enough time to widen before the first bullet slammed into him, the suppressed barrel emitting only a small 'phut' sound.  Then the second, and the third.  All in the chest, slightly to the left of center.  Not hard, at close range with some practice beforehand.

It seemed to have worked.  The man slumped, bag falling from his fingers.  Chris caught him and shoved him backwards to sprawl on the toilet, grabbing his bag and entering the stall himself, shutting the door behind them. Nobody had entered.

He couldn't feel the emptiness.  He almost panicked, reaching for the gun again, then stopped, forcing himself to think reasonably.  It took some time for someone to die like this.  He hadn't shot him in the head.  Give the brain time.

It took a few minutes, probably, but seemed like hours as he nervously paid attention to both the door and the other man.  But finally, he felt it and nearly leaped into the new body, then immediately rose again, fighting the disorientation and steadying the old one.  The gun fell from Roger's nerveless fingers, clattering, but luckily stayed within the stall.  Still, nobody had entered.

A few minutes later, he emerged, sliding under the stall and exiting through the one next so he could leave the door closed.  Roger's body was in there, with the gun.  Some blood had been splashed around, but nothing visible from the outside.  It'd be awhile before what had happened was discovered.  He hoped.  As long as the plane had already taken off, that should be good enough.

He had been lucky.  This man - Greg - had been here alone, as he hoped. So nobody would notice that he was in fact wearing a somewhat loose new, dark shirt (which he had luckily thought to pack), the old one tied underneath soaking up the still-oozing blood from the wounds.  And he was actually going to Tokyo, which was even better.  Chris had been lucky... for a certain meaning of the word, he supposed.

He had shaken his head.  There wasn't any point in berating himself. Yes, what he had done was horrible.  And it was more horrible how EASY it had been to kill this last one.  Maybe it was because he'd had a gun... maybe.  He hoped that was it.  But regardless, what was done was done.  He'd have time to hate himself later.  He needed to prepare himself, learn what he could, get ready to do what he had to.  Once he had the body of Akane, a body that wouldn't be rotting to pieces underneath him, then he could relax.  Then he'd have some time.  He hoped.

And in the present, he stopped walking, cursed a little bit as he realised he'd passed his goal, and began to backtrack.  He had to stop doing that.  He had to stay focused.  He was so close.  He couldn't screw up again. He HAD to do this.  Especially now.  Whatever that Ukyou-lookalike was, he needed to be able to fight it on equal terms to get some answers.

He hadn't been able to kill Akane.  That frustrated him, but made him obscurely happy at the same time.  He liked Akane.  She was a genuinely good person.  Of course, that only meant his knowledge of her, or of what he had read of her, had stopped him where it hadn't for the faceless, unknown people he had killed up until now.  But still... he couldn't do it.  That meant he hadn't totally lost himself yet?  Right?

He shook his head.  He'd killed four people.  Three of them in cold blood.  And now he was trying for his fifth.  But he couldn't help it.  Couldn't stop it.  Or could he?  Maybe he should have gone to Canada after all.  Maybe he should have turned himself in.  Roger, Greg, and Officer Takashita would still be alive, then.  Had he chosen right in coming here instead?

Of course he had.  He steeled himself.  This was unnatural.  And Japan was where all - or most - of the unnatural things happened.  It was here he could find answers.  Here he could find solutions.

And the proof of that he had already seen.  That Ukyou-thing.  She KNEW about him.  She had to be mixed up in what had happened to him.  Maybe she was a servant of whatever had done this to him.  Maybe she WAS what had done this to him.  He didn't know, but she obviously knew something.  And he had to know that something.  It had to be able to save him. Had to.

And all he had to do was murder one more person.

One more.

One.

*

It was dark out when Ranma struggled awake. He groaned and sat up, placing a hand against his forehead. Something had hit him real hard while he was unconscious.  Weirdly, though, he felt totally refreshed, like he had just slept for ten hours straight. Wait, what had happened? Where was he?

He was on a rooftop, somewhere in the city. The roof was just like a thousand others, with a small laundry line running from a nearby doorway to an antenna set up near the raised lip of the building. He sat up, looking around for landmarks, and almost immediately spotted Ukyou.

She was sitting against the squat hut that housed the door into the stairwell. Her legs spread before her and her spatula was lying a few centimeters from her outstretched hand. Her hair had fallen down over her face as her head nodded forward. She was still except for the occasional bob of her head.

"Ucchan?"

"Ranma..." Ukyou's voice came out coarse. She raised her head slightly and weakly lifted her hand to try and push the hair from her face, but then gave up after a second. "Oh screw it. I know you're alright. With the youma dead, your energy should have returned to you."

"Youma?" Ranma sprung to his feet. Something worried him about how tired Ukyou seemed. "What happened back at the bus? What was that crazy chick?"

"I think I shouldn't have spent so much energy getting you out of the bus when Pluto showed up," Ukyou coughed. Ranma blinked as a red spot appeared on Ukyou's pants. Now that he was getting closer, he could see a number of such red stains spread out across her clothes and the roof around her. "I think that pushed me over the edge."

"Ucchan!" Ranma raced forward, getting to her side in an instant. He pushed back her hair and took a long look at her face. She was grimacing in pain, lines of blood trickling from the corners of her lips. Similarly red stains were emerging from her nose and her ears. Disturbing red tears were falling down her cheeks from the corners of her eyes. "Holy... what happened to you!?"

"I wish I knew..." Ukyou coughed and a bit more blood emerged. "This doesn't make any sense... all I did was tap into my reserves..." Ukyou sighed out the last few words as her eyes closed and she went still. For a moment Ranma panicked, then he saw her chest rising and falling and released a sigh.

"Ucchan?" Ranma frowned down at her. She didn't look good. Understatement. "Crap, I wish I knew what happened..." Ranma was scanning her body for some sign of injury, but aside from the obvious there was, well, nothing obvious. He couldn't do anything for her here. He looked up, and with a nod picked her up in his arms. If Ranma couldn't help her, he would just have to find someone who could.

*

"Jadeite, before me!"

Jadeite materialiaed in Queen Beryl's throne room. The chamber was truly massive: shadows obscured the walls in all directions, and a small army of featureless youma stood behind him, mindlessly chanting litanies of worship to Empress Metallia's name. He appeared on bent knee, head bowed, and thus couldn't see her expression at first. He could imagine it, however. In his mind's eye, he could see her pale skin pulled back in a vicious snarl of annoyance so that her fangs were exposed. Her long red hair would be waving in the air behind her, and her hands gesturing impatiently over her glowing crystal orb.

"Well Jadeite, it appears you failed again, and this time yet another of those Sailor Senshi has appeared to oppose us."

"Yes, my queen, and this is even worse than it appears. The new Senshi is Pluto, the Guardian of the Time Gates," Jadeite admitted ruefully. He was annoyed with himself for fleeing at the first sign of the green-haired Senshi. But he knew he was no match for her power in one on one combat. Apparently the annoyance leaked into his tone, since Queen Beryl laughed in her vaguely disturbing manner.

"So, the famous Sailor Pluto finally sets foot outside her precious Gates of Time," Beryl hissed. "It is of no matter; she knew better than to meddle in our affairs when the Moon Kingdom fell. If she tries to stand in our way this time, Empress Metallia will crush her under heel like the rest of these pathetic humans." There was a pregnant pause that Jadeite knew better than to interrupt. "But that still does not excuse your failure."

"Actually, my Queen, I think my failure today has given me insight into how to further our plans even faster than before," Jadeite called out as he raised his head to look at her. Beryl looked intrigued, but from the way she was snapping her hands over her crystal ball, he knew her patience was thin.

"Very well, Jadeite. Explain your plan to me, but this had better be good," the Queen ordered haughtily.

"It wasn't Sailor Pluto who was responsible for my loss," Jadeite explained quickly. "There were humans there, humans with a great deal of energy. Two of them alone had more energy in their bodies then four dozen of the ones I had been targeting up until then. One was even so strong that after I drained him of most of his power, he still destroyed my servant Kigaan in hand to hand combat."

"What? This can not be! No mere human could have such strength," the Queen cried in annoyance. A murmur of assent emerged from the horde of nameless monsters behind Jadeite.

"I know it's hard to believe, my queen," Jadeite agreed. "But I saw it with my own eyes. If I manage to drain the life force from even a few of these humans, we will have a surplus of energy to revive the Empress." Jadeite smiled. He knew exactly which humans he would start with, as well. Nobody said he couldn't combine work with pleasure. And revenge was the best pleasure of all.

"Very well," Queen Beryl sat back in her throne and frowned down at him. "I will allow you to carry out this new plan. You had best hope it pays off well, Jadeite."

Jadeite nodded and stood up so he could bow properly. "You have no need to worry, my queen. I will enjoy this duty." As he raised himself up, he teleported away. Already thoughts of how best to capitalise on his new insight into humanity were running through his brain.

*

Kodachi Kunou strode briskly through the hallways of her home. In times when other, lesser, people could see her she deigned to affect a more sedate and ladylike stride, but rarely bothered with such empty frivolities when she was alone. Her time was precious and best not wasted on meandering from location to location. The sky outside had darkened and what few servants that her family kept had already retired for the night, so Kodachi was unconcerned with any of them seeing her. Not that they would have spoken of her nocturnal habits if they did see. She laughed softly into her hand in gleeful remembrance of the vengeance she had exacted on the last fool who had spoken out of turn about her.

Kodachi made it to her room with little incident. Her errand tonight had been rather simple; only a few drops of a new and exotic narcotic dripped into her brother's ear as he lay sleeping. She looked forward to seeing the results the next day. Maybe for once he would shut up about that Tendo girl and that Kuonji boy. It would certainly make breakfast interesting, a thing it had failed to be in far too long a time.

The room she entered was both elegantly lavish and disappointingly incomplete. Kodachi had spared no expense in decoration. She had an extravagant four-poster bed, surrounded by diaphanous curtains. Her vanity was carved of the finest teak by expert artisans commissioned especially for the project (and Kodachi had thoughtfully broken their fingers to ensure its uniqueness once it was completed). Wall hangings adorned the walls in just the perfect places, all depicting western-themed betrayals and romances. It was the perfect boudoir for the perfect romantic tryst. It was truly unfortunate that Kodachi lacked a suitable paramour to engage in it with.

She sighed elaborately and made her way to her bed. Sixteen years old, and still untried in the courts of love. What hell it was to be doomed to stay within the confines of a virtual nunnery! How was she expected to attract her Prince Charming if she could only practice her arts of deception on the members of the fairer sex? It was a tragedy of epic proportions.

She was halfway undressed when the noise attracted her attention. She frowned. That was no normal nighttime sound. It was sharp and loud, resounding with a dreadful echo. She stepped towards her doorway, dropping her outer layer of clothing so she could move unhindered in her leotard. This was a curiosity. She checked her person for her hidden weapons and stepped out into the hallway again.

The sound had come from the back yard and Kodachi made great haste in that direction. She resisted the urge to laugh to herself as she moved. It was only a short minute after she had first heard it that she emerged into the back yard. The garden was quiet, except for the lapping of waves in Midorigame's pool. The noise might have awakened her pet crocodile, so Kodachi made her way in that direction first. The only light was the gibbous moon overhead, and thus the entire area was cloaked in shadows.

Kodachi alighted on the short stone bridge over her pet's home. She could see her crocodile floating in the water beneath her, a darker shade amid the shadows. She called softly to it, but it made no move. She frowned again. Kodachi was not pleased with her beast's lack of response. She had raised that monster from a hatchling to obey and revere her. With a soft sigh she unfurled her gymnastics ribbon and snatched the reptile with it. A sharp tug, and the beast floated in her direction.

Something was wrong. Even if the creature was asleep, it should have reacted to that, but it remained as stiff as a log. Now that it was closer, she could see a spray of fluid across her animal's head. It was surrounding a small hole...

Kodachi had just leaned in closer to investigate when the figure burst from the water at her. She only had a moment to note that it was clad in blue and definitely male before he was upon her. She let out a short cry and lashed out, snapping her ribbon in a defensive arc. The slash caught the man across the neck and sent him spiralling into the water. He landed atop the all-too-still body of her pet and lay motionless.

Kodachi paused to catch her breath. Well, that had been most vexing, but it appeared to be over now. She looked over the man in the pond. He was wearing a police uniform, complete with pistol. His back was to her, so she could do little to see his features. She couldn't be sure if he was unconscious or dead, for he was far too still to be injured. It was as she examined him that she remembered the sound from earlier. A gunshot? Yes, now that she was able to look at her leisure, she saw one of the man's legs had been ravaged by Midorigame's teeth.

A quick scenario sketched itself out in her mind. The man had snuck in, but not counted on her faithful pet. Then it had caught him by surprise. With his leg being chewed on, he had used his pistol to dispatch her crocodile. Then she had arrived and the man, still in the pond, had hidden beneath the surface planning to surprise her. She allowed her head to dip backward and laughed long and hard. The pitiful fool had not counted on encountering a maiden worthy of battle, instead of a girl barely able to defend herself.

As she finished her laughter she hopped down to the side of the pond. She allowed herself to smile, cruelly and arrogantly. The man had best hope she had finished what Midorigame had started, or she would not allow him to escape so easily from her vengeance. The fool had dared harm one of HER possessions... he deserved whatever he received in payment. So, she would have to check first, to see what had happened to him.

Moving gingerly, she stepped up to her waist into the pond. She had exchanged her ribbon for a baton, one of her specially prepared ones. She reached forward and jostled the man with her free hand, but he didn't move. He wasn't, she noted after a moment, even breathing, and his neck was twisted at an unnatural angle. Kodachi sighed. She wasn't sure how to feel about that. She had never killed anyone before, but she didn't feel any guilt or remorse over it, either.  It was simply... unsatisfying. She looked more closely at the man, searching for the expression on his face.  Perhaps it would show something?  His body was sprawled across the mass of her dead pet, with one hand clasping firmly onto Midorigame's collar...

Wait.

That hand had not been on the collar when he had first landed. She was quite sure of that. She leaned in, and then the seemingly lifeless hand jerked suddenly, pulling on the collar. Her eyes widened, and she had a split second to remember the boobytrap she had implanted into the collar before

*

So that was what it felt like to be electrocuted.  It wasn't pleasant, as far as he could tell in the one-step-removed way he perceived such things. Not entirely unlike being shot, actually.  A hard jolt.  Heh, how appropriate.

Chris swung himself off the body of the crocodile, the smell of roasting meat - not just crocodile - rising faintly to his nostrils.  Must've....yes, his "good" leg had been dangling in the water.  Well, better than his whole being in the water, as he had planned.  He'd have been pretty toasty, if so.  Kodachi, it seemed, did not play around when it came to normal humans.  As if the late, lamented Midorigame itself wasn't deterrent enough.

There was no movement from the darkened house.  Kodachi had screamed, briefly, as the massive electric shock from the collar had coursed through her. But it wasn't that loud... he hoped.  No lights turning on, though, no answering shouts... it looked like he was safe.  Kunou must be a sound sleeper.  Or maybe he just ignored his sister.  Speaking of...

Kodachi was floating, face up, in the waters of the pond.  Her baton had floated away, out of her reach.  She was twitching a bit.  Still alive, but definitely unconscious.  He expected nothing less from a trap strong enough to knock out Ranma at full charge.  Thank goodness for his encyclopediac knowledge of the manga.  It would come in handy.  In fact, he really ought to make a journal and stash it somewhere, writing down every detail he could remember, so he could reference it.  That way, hopefully, he wouldn't forget anything important, though the faux-Ukyou's presence had already ensured things were going to alter significantly as time went on.  Not to mention what he was about to do.

What he was about to do.  Steeling himself, he moved away from the body of the crocodile and towards Kodachi.  He stumbled a bit... Midorigame had really mangled Officer Takashita's leg.  But the leg was necessary bait to get the head of the crocodile at close range.  Japanese police officer sidearms were insultingly poor, so that was the only sure way to do the job, albeit a somewhat risky one.  He hadn't really wanted to chance being devoured.

But Kodachi's superhuman body would significantly reduce the chances of that, wouldn't it?  And here she was, unconscious and helpless, floating in a pond.  Exactly as he'd planned.

So why was he hesitating?

Because he KNEW Kodachi.  Just like Akane.  And no matter how little sense it made, it was a lot harder to kill someone you knew - or felt like you knew - than some faceless victim who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. And there was no stress, no pressure of time... there was nothing stopping him from just leaving, leaving her here, letting her live.

Except he couldn't.  His gun was empty and abandoned in the dark water. His body was mauled.  He couldn't even hope to pass for a living person by this point.  If he didn't kill her, he'd not get another chance... he'd have to settle for a normal body.  And that meant he wouldn't be able to confront the faux-Ukyou.  And he had to do that.  He had to get the answers.

So Kodachi had to die.  He stood over her, and with a motion that surprised him with its suddenness, he grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her under the water.  She might wake up.  If she did, he was probably doomed. Maybe not.  Who knew how Kodachi might react to an undead?  Maybe she'd take a fancy to him, want him as a servant.  That'd be better than being ripped to pieces by her.  It wasn't if he'd be too put out if she whipped or stabbed him or whatever she did to servants.  And she'd probably be happy to provide opportunities for fresh bodies.  Or would she?  Kodachi wasn't the most fully-fleshed-out of the Ranma characters.  He knew she was insane; insane enough that Ranma and his friends usually reacted with fear to her appearances.  But was she actually a potential killer?  Hard to say, Takahashi wouldn't cover ground like that...

The matter, he realised by the void he felt yawning beneath him, had been rendered moot.  Already?  How long had he been thinking, his brain - his?  no, not his, but his thoughts nonetheless - compensating, dwelling on anything other than what he was doing?  He felt slightly ashamed.  You'd think he'd be used to killing by about the half-dozenth victim, wouldn't you?

Looking down, he saw her dimly in the water.  She looked peaceful.  Not that he could really make out the details of her expression.  She felt peaceful. Her posture was.  Or maybe that was wishful thinking.  But the deed was done. He couldn't turn back time and undo it.  He could only go on.  If he was right, this would be the last one.  If he was right, he'd be able to save himself and others before this body wore out.  If he was right.

But he'd have to move as soon as possible.  There'd be a lot of training and memories to experience by the morning.  Knowing this, he cast his doubts aside.  There was work to do.

He sent his spirit out, falling towards his goal.

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes:

Epsilon: At this point, we'd like to thank our prereaders.

Blade: Yes, Jenn and Rob, thank you for prereading!  We'd thank Talen too, but he never actually made it to chapter 3.  Anyway, in sign of our gratitude, they get cameos in this chapter!  Whee!

Epsilon: Please ignore the fact that the plotline more or less dictated that they make cameos no matter what.

Blade: Well, okay, then that means they made cameos and we didn't KILL THEM. Happy?

Epsilon: Not particularly, but then again, I'm me.

Blade: Which was a major theme in this chapter!  See, these things are relevant!

Epsilon: And maybe now people will stop asking "what's going on", since if it isn't crystal clear what's going on by now, we've utterly failed.

Blade: Not that that will stop us from forging on ahead, because goddamnit, we're going to finish SOMETHING in our lifetimes.

Epsilon: Other than that, that's pretty much it, I guess...there's no new special moves for me to explain or translate, anyway.

Blade: Well, it's been said by some acronym-for-name people that our banter here is too pretentiously self-absorbed.  But that makes perfect sense for this chapter, where pretentious self-absorption was the theme!

Epsilon: That's not exactly going to win over the readers, Blade.

Blade: Well, try this: after this chapter, you will never again get a chapter 50% composed of flashbacks to our semi-real lives.

Epsilon: This would be a good place to make fun of Evangelion.

Blade: Yes.  It would, wouldn't it?

Epsilon: Because if there's one popular series that's all about pretentious self-absorption...

Blade: It's Saint Seiya!

Epsilon: No, no, I'm talking about the one that all the fanboys insist is deep and meaningful, when really it's just...

Blade: Earth Girl Arjuna!

Epsilon: No, no, the one with all that absurd "symbolism" that...

Blade: Lain?

Epsilon: Fine.  Lain.  Whatever.

Blade: But I like Lain!

Epsilon: And that just says a great deal about you, doesn't it?

Blade: Uh... no, not really.

Epsilon: Quiet, you, I'm trying to sound wise.

Blade: Wow, this time it really was pretentiously self-absorbed.  Uh, we'll try to do better next time!  And never again will a chapter be focused so much on Chris and Aaron, without all the cool anime characters you actually care about being involved!

Epsilon: Unless it is.

Blade: But anyway, you'll want to tune in to the next chapter for sure!  Why? BIG FIGHT SCENE!  What else?

***NUDITY!!!***

Epsilon: No nudity.

Blade: Well, okay, just a big fight, then. And c'mon, anyone who reads us must have some appreciation for that, right?  Not to mention angst!

Epsilon: Angst and fight scenes!  They make fics good!

Blade: The only things that would make it better are explosions.

Epsilon: And Kero-chan.

Blade: And flashing clips of gore.  But now we're devolving into pretentious self-absorption (or at least in-jokes) again, so why don't we just leave you with your SNEAK PREVIEW from the next chapter?

Nabiki had never regained consciousness after being knocked out before, and she noted with some annoyance that she didn't like it much. Her head hurt, for one thing. Her mouth was also filled with some terrible aftertaste. It was probably the result of whatever drug she had been slipped. There really was no other explanation, unless everyone in her family had come down with a sudden case of fainting sickness.

She resisted the urge to swear as she opened her eyes. She was in some anonymous room, not really traditional Japanese style. There were no windows, and instead of a paper screen there was a solid-looking wooden door. She arched her aching head around, trying to get a good view of things. Where the hell was she? She tried to stand up, but found herself instead toppling over onto her side.

She blinked and looked down, noticing that her legs were tied with some sort of cloth around the ankles. A quick tug with her arms confirmed that those were tied behind her back at the wrist. A few seconds of futile struggle followed before Nabiki was forced to conclude that she was quite securely bound. She beat back her panic with a few choice curses, not bothering to try and cover them up now. As she did she twisted and bounced her body back into a sitting position.

Oh, whoever did this was going to pay. Nabiki didn't know how yet, but she was sure of that.

Hybrid Theory Chapter 4: Lying From You

Greetings, I am the rising young star of the high school kendo world, the one they call the Blue Thunder, and your gracious narrator, the noble, handsome and intelligent Tatewaki Kunou. Age Seventeen.

Apparently last chapter dwelled mainly on the lives of two peasants who managed to be both not me, and not interacting with me, at the same time. In fact, if I am to understand this correctly, I did not even appear last chapter! But I have faith, for is not my divine providence such that I can not help but fail to not appear? Truly, it is my fate that the pitiful lives of these pathetic beings shall lead up to events which only I can properly address in a satisfactory manner!

Therefore, I shall tell you, my adoring public, of what transpired. First, that horrid deceitful wizard Ukyou Kuonji went through elaborate preparations to make the readers think she was a woman (this involved taking off all her clothes... and she... uh... moving on...). Shortly thereafter Ukyou fell asleep and had terrible dreams, proving she is not a girl because they did not involve me in any way. It appeared in this dream she is actually somebody named "Aaron" and he died along with a young man named "Chris" in a horrible car accident.

Then we learned that Chris was not truly aware of this, but had woken up in the body of a shambling corpse that used to be a indigent living off the street in some place that isn't Japan. As if any place that isn't Japan could truly matter. Probably more of Aaron's foul sorcery, I say. Chris was reflecting on this while lying in a storm drain, which appears to be one of his hobbies, not that I shall pass judgement upon this. The poor must do something to pass their lives away, I suppose. It appears he killed a fine young woman named Sheila in a madness induced by the decay of his body, after which he found himself in HER body instead. Uh.... moving on... I shall have to remember to smite him for that.

Yes, I fully intend to remember all this.

Chris, intending to find asylum with the government of whatever country he comes from, went shopping for shoes, for the fine young woman's high-heeled shoes with which she had been innocently standing on a street corner with, were apparently not up to his satisfaction.  At least not after he broke them.  So he went to a department store to purchase new ones, and decided for some fool reason that this was what he considered the past, and that furthermore this was a comic book, or some such.  Apparently, the madness had not yet left him.

Aaron (who claims to be Ukyou) had used trickery to befriend my dear love Akane and... some pompous ass named Ranma, whomever he is. Aaron planned to traverse the city to accost some young women named the Sailor Senshi. Thankfully, he left with only Ranma and thus I feel less a need to visit holy vengeance upon him for taking my Akane away from my magnificent presence overlong.

Apparently Aaron (or Ukyou) quite loves Ranma. Which, aside from being strange in itself, just makes getting between me and my tigress all the more unforgiveable. He pondered this before arriving at the temple where the Sailor Senshi usually meet. There, he ran into a fine chap named Jadeite. Of course, Ukyou and Ranma were quite rude to Jadeite when they met, despite his humble manner and polite greetings. He can hardly be blamed for sending one of his servants to correct their manners, can he not?

Despite a valiant fight wherein the Saotome boy was laid low straight away, the servant was defeated by the mysterious evil power that dwells in Aaron's dark soul. A good-hearted woman named Sailor Pluto tried to punish him for this, but the coward ran away. Sailor Pluto seems to think that Aaron, or Ukyou, shall destroy the universe.

Nonsense. I am here.

After this, the dead boy Chris pointed out how he desired power (apparently so his bodies would last longer before rotting), and the only way he could get it was killing his betters. So he remembered how he had done that with a series of innocents before coming to Tokyo. I also learned that apparently Aaron's dark power causes him personal harm. Something I will put to good use in our next confrontation!

Then Chris killed my sister, Kodachi. Filial loyalty compels me to point out how much of a tragedy this was and...

What?

She'll never hear any of this?

Well, shit! Then I just want to tell that bitch once and for all that-

Chapter 4: Lying From You

Akane yawned and stretched as she stepped out of her room. She had already put on her school uniform and brushed her long hair until it looked fine, at least in her opinion. She ran her hand through the dark locks as she wandered down the stairs to where Kasumi was setting up breakfast. Doing so reminded her that it had been a long time since she had seen Doctor Tofu. In fact, she had barely even thought of him much in the last three or four days. She guessed it was forgivable, with everything that had happened since Ukyou and Ranma had stepped into her life. But she reminded herself firmly that she was going to take some time after school to go and see him. Maybe she could even arrange for Ukyou to give her a nice bruise or scrape in one of their sparring sessions...

"Hey Akane," Nabiki drawled from the table. "Your boyfriend's famous."

"What? Who?" Akane blinked and looked at the table. Her father was sitting at his usual position at the head, reading his daily paper. Genma, whose face drew a snarl to Akane's lips, was sitting next to him. Nabiki was the only other person at the table now, since Kasumi was busy in the kitchen. Which meant that Ranma wasn't here. Which meant he was... where?

"Take a look," Nabiki pointed at the paper in Dad's hand. Akane sat down, allowing her puzzlement to show on her face. That didn't last long as she got her first good look at the huge banner headline and the equally large picture underneath it.

MYSTERY BOY SAVES BUS FULL OF SCHOOOLGIRLS FROM MONSTER!

Underneath the huge block letters was a picture of Ukyou. The girl in boy's clothing was fighting... something. At first Akane thought it was a human being, but no human had a face like that. It was a monster, like the headline claimed; a grotesque parody of a woman with a fanged maw and deadly claws. In the picture, Ukyou was catching the thing's kick on the shaft of her combat spatula, a grimace of concentration on her face.

"I don't believe it..." Akane said after a moment, at a loss to say much of anything else.

"Neither do I, really." Nabiki buffed her nails on her blouse and shrugged. "I mean, magical curses are one thing. Monsters that capture schoolgirls and drag them off to another dimension for who-knows-what?" The way Nabiki emphasized the last words, she most definitely had an idea what 'who-knows- what' was and thought it was rather naughty. Akane opened her mouth to scold her, realised Nabiki hadn't technically said anything wrong, and closed it again.

"No, that I can believe," Akane said with a shrug. "After all, the police officer she saved me from wasn't even human either." The rest of the table stared at her, but she hastily continued before any of them could ask any questions. "What I can't believe is that she DITCHED me! Again! This is twice she's run off to confront some horrible evil danger and left me behind!"

"And you're complaining about this?" Nabiki pointed out, rolling her eyes. Akane could only grunt and cross her arms, mentally revising her earlier plan: she was going to give UKYOU a few bruises and scrapes as an excuse to go see Doctor Tofu later.

"Well I think it's wonderful," Dad called from behind the paper. He rolled it up in one hand and placed it on the floor beside him, beaming a cheerful smile at her. It was the same smile he used to give Akane when she learned a new form of the Anything Goes school. "You've certainly found a wonderful young man to be betrothed to!"

"Betrothed!" Akane blurted out. She felt heat rush to her cheeks, but she scowled. The idea of dating Ukyou still made Akane a little queasy, even if it was fake. That her father... oh god, what if he found out the truth about Ukyou and Genma? Then Akane would be really in trouble. He didn't seem to mind that Ranma was half-girl when it came to fobbing the boy off on Nabiki. Then again, he might not mind that Ukyou was one hundred percent girl if her special past came up. Thinking about that reminded Akane to glare at Genma again, who gave her a puzzled frown in return. What a pig, she mentally snarled, before turning her nose up at him.

"Breakfast!"

Kasumi came into the room with a tray of breakfast foods. It wasn't anything special, just miso, rice and a few pickles, but Akane didn't mind. Unlike some people - and here she specifically cited Ranma - she had the decency to be grateful for what was given to her. Thinking that, she remembered to thank Kasumi especially enthusiastically when the food was served in front of her. Her eldest sister blushed a bit at the praise but waved it off. She then stepped away and went into the kitchen to retrieve her own food.

"Well, it hardly matters about your fiancé now," Dad pointed out. Akane groused at the presumption but said nothing. Sometimes it was best to let her father live in his own fantasy world. Besides, if she protested too much they might not think she and Ukyou were a couple, and then she could be in Nabiki's position. "What's important is the lack of Nabiki's fiancé." Speaking of...

"Maybe he just ran out on me?" Nabiki said with a shrug, but her voice contained an equal mix of wistful hope and sarcasm.

"Ranma would never do that!" Genma defended his so-called son. "He is as dedicated to the family's honor as I am!" His words came out slightly distorted, because he was halfway through his own rice at the time. Taking this as her cue, Akane dug into her own bowl. The rest of the family followed her lead.

"If you say so..." Nabiki commented as she finished one of her bites. "I just think he might not be ready for a relationship with an actual girl."

"What do you mean by that?" Akane snapped. Nabiki looked at her oddly, and Akane closed her mouth. Of course, nobody here, besides Genma and her obviously, knew about Ukyou's true gender. That couldn't have been a sly insult. Nabiki opened her mouth, presumably to ask Akane what she meant, and the younger sister began to try to formulate a reasonable response.

Thump.

Akane and Nabiki turned to see Genma with his head face-down in the miso soup. Akane opened her mouth to ask if he was okay, but no words came out. It felt like her tongue had swollen up and turned into cotton. Her vision grew blurry, the lights seeming to both dim and flare at the same time. The room, it was spinning and spinning and Akane saw the table rushing up to greet her face-

*

It was almost too easy.  Slip down from the roof.  Only one person up... Kasumi, of course, having just dropped her own plate of food, staring in presumable shock at everyone else's involuntary reaction to the drugged rice. Whip out a baton, rap her smartly on the back of the skull.  She never knew what hit her.

Watching Kasumi Tendo crumple unconscious to the ground gave Chris a surge of only slightly guilt-tinged satisfaction.  So much for fanfic canon. Ooooh, nobody can hurt Kasumi!  Well, THIS undead possessing spirit sure could! Not that she was really hurt, aside from maybe a lump on the head, but it was the thought that counted.

He looked around the room.  Everyone else was definitely nicely unconscious already.  Ah, Kodachi's extensive practice in chemical warfare was an excellent skill to know, indeed.  There was Soun, Nabiki, Akane, Genma...

Genma.  Just Genma.  But no Ranma.

A sliver of fear ran through him.  Was Ranma here?  At this house? Somehow not at breakfast?  That didn't make sense.  He'd planned on the possibility of Ranma being there, but of course, had expected he'd eat the drugged rice.  He certainly couldn't hope to fight Ranma.

But he wasn't coming.  Maybe... he hadn't done anything too out of the ordinary for Kodachi yet.  Ranma didn't like hitting girls.  If he was around, Chris could talk his way out of this.  If he was around.  Better find out.  He crept up the stairs... man, it was weird, actually being IN the Tendo Dojo, cute little signs on the girl's doors and all.

There was the room.  He was sure of it.  It was nearly bare, that lamp hanging from the ceiling, two futons... and two big backpacks.  Just like he remembered.  But Ranma wasn't there.

That proved he at least lived there, though.  So why wasn't he here?  He certainly hadn't left early for school.  Walking back down to the dining room, he considered, then shrugged.  Ukyou.  Had to be.  As the only changed variable in the equation so far, the faux-Ukyou almost had to be the culprit.  Which meant... what?  Had she anticipated his plan and removed her most powerful potential ally?  Maybe.  But probably not.  Probably it was something unrelated. Hopefully.  But either way, he'd better get his business over with quickly, because Ranma - or Ukyou - coming back early was a dangerous possibility.

He swiftly tied Akane and Nabiki up in ribbon - whee, how kinky - and dragged them out of the room.  Then he placed the carefully prepared note on the centre of the table.  Good thing he'd accounted for the possibility of Ranma being there, at least.  How the faux-Ukyou responded to this would tell him a lot about how much she really knew, and how smart she was.

Finally, with a spin that he had never done before but simultaneously had performed hundreds of times, he twirled his ribbon around himself, spraying black rose petals all over the room and the unconscious remaining occupants of the house.  It seemed RIGHT to laugh along with it... and why not?  It was kind of cool to be able to laugh like that, anyway.

Then he picked up his two captives and bounded away.  Time enough to learn where Ranma and Ukyou might be once his bait had been properly secured.

*

Ranma blinked and opened his eyes. Something had prompted him awake, and he sat up rubbing his eyes as he tried to figure out what that was. His back hurt a bit from having slept hunched over on the chair all night, but that wasn't what had woken him up. Neither was the vague grumbling that reminded him he hadn't eaten since lunchtime yesterday. It was something moving next to him, or very near him. Something that was making a great deal of noise.

His vision started to clear, and he looked to his left. It was Ukyou, and she didn't look good. She was awake, or almost so, but her eyes had rolled back into her head and her body was thrashing around like a fish out of water. A shallow froth was forming along the edge of her lips, and her head kept jerking around. For a few seconds, all Ranma could do was stare in shock at the sight. Then he jumped from his chair, grabbing onto her shoulders.

"Ucchan! Snap out of it!" he shouted, jostling her, but she only rolled her eyes over him without even the slightest hint of acknowledgement. She continued to jerk and gyrate in place, her mouth opening and closing as strange half-formed words erupted from her mouth. "Doctor! Come quick! I need a doctor!"

Ranma continued to call out as he backed away from the girl. She seemed to be doing nothing to hurt herself, but Ranma had no idea what to do. Finally a nurse rushed into the room, drawn by his shouts. She was a short dark-haired girl in a modest uniform, and had a harried look about her.

"Sir, calm down for a moment and tell me-"

"Ukyou won't stop uh... what you call it, what she's doing!" Ranma cut her off as he stepped away from his childhood friend and indicated her with one hand. The nurse took one look at the thrashing girl and stepped forward to check her over.

"How long has she been like this?" the nurse asked brusquely.

"I don't know, I just woke up when she started I guess, a few seconds ago..." Ranma trailed off, unsure what to say.

"I need you to go get a doctor and-" she cut off as Ukyou gasped suddenly, her back arching. Then the girl on the bed visibly relaxed. Her eyes focused on the ceiling and her arms and legs stilled. She took a few more deep breaths.

"Ucchan? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Ranma," Ukyou breathed out slowly. She certainly didn't look fine. She sat up slowly in bed, only to find her path barred as the nurse placed a gentle hand on her stomach to restrain her.

"I'm afraid you can't get up just yet, miss," the nurse pointed out. "You just had a form of seizure or convulsion."

"I see," Ukyou said with a frown as she laid back again. "If you say so, nurse..." Ukyou let her eyes focus on the ceiling again. Her face had become that cold, expressionless mask.

"You don't seem surprised," the nurse pointed out slowly as she looked at the few devices hooked up to Ukyou. There were all kinds of medical stuff attached to his best buddy that Ranma couldn't even begin to describe, much less explain the purpose of. "Have you had these kinds of fits before?"

Ukyou took a long time answering the question. "Yes, but you don't have to worry about it. I have medication for the convulsions, but it is back at my apartment."

"Medication? What kind?"

"Anti-epileptics," Ukyou said with a shrug. "I'm not sure of the full name." The nurse frowned at this, but nodded and made a note on the chart hanging from the wall near Ukyou. "I think I was brought in here because I fainted?"

"Yes, your friend brought you in late last night," the nurse responded. She flipped through the pages of her chart. "You were suffering from massive blood loss, subdermal hematomas and... oh dear, you suffered some sort of massive attack. You were bleeding from burst capillaries in the mouth, nose, eyes, lungs and throughout most of your body."

"Indeed..." Ukyou sighed and raised her arm up to look at it. There was still a slight purpling around her limbs. "So, how am I doing now?"

"Fine," the nurse said. "I should have a doctor speak to you about it, but from all appearances, your bleeding stopped quickly.  You had a transfusion, and now you should be alright."

"I thought as much." Ukyou nodded.

"Let me go get a doctor, he can talk with you more about this," the nurse offered as she walked out of the room. Ranma released a sigh as she left and sat down in the chair he had vacated earlier.

"Are you okay, Ucchan?"

"Hmm? Ranma?" Ukyou turned and looked at him. "You're... here."  She seemed faintly surprised, as if she had just noticed him there.

"Yeah! Of course I am! Did you think I was going to abandon you?" Ukyou smiled a little bit at that and chuckled softly. There was a slight flush in her cheeks when she responded.

"No, I don't suppose I did." She looked at the towel laid out on the bedside table Ranma had been using as a pillow. "You really were here all night. How did you manage that?"

"Ain't nobody tellin' me I can't stay in the same room as my hurt friend!" Ranma blustered a bit. Then he sighed again and felt his face drop.

"Ukyou, are you really okay? What happened to you last night? What happened earlier? I have a feeling you don't have any drugs to take care of this."

Ukyou cast an eye over her shoulder at the door and shrugged. "You're right, Ranma. I just said that to throw them off the scent. They couldn't treat what I have. It... remember my curse, Ranma?"

"The one that means you can't act like a girl?"

"That one exactly," Ukyou said as she turned her eyes back to the ceiling. "What you saw last night, and just a few moments ago, were both caused by my curse."

"Geez!" Ranma blinked. "And I thought I had it bad. You mean you can bleed and have a convolution-"

"Convulsion," Ukyou corrected him.

"Whatever," he waved that aside. She knew what he meant. "You can have all that because of what happened to you?"

"Indeed," Ukyou answered dourly. "But that's for later. For now, I have to find a way to get them to discharge me quickly. I don't want a bunch of doctors running tests on me for stuff they'll never find."

"Okay…" Ranma said dubiously. "But you're still hurt."

"I'm fine, Ranma," Ukyou said with a shrug. "I think I recovered all my strength last night."

"Are you certain? I mean..."

"Ranma! I'm fine, really," Ukyou sighed and placed her hands over her face. "What I have, modern science can't help me with. I just... I just want to get out of here. Hospitals depress me."

"Why?"

She went silent for a moment. "My father died in a room just like this. It was only five or six months ago."

"I'm... I'm sorry."

"Don't be, he died in his sleep."

"Wow. That must suck, losing your dad like that..."

"Indeed..." Ukyou sighed into her hands, then pulled them away from her face. "Ranma... remind me to take you on a little trip when we get back to Nerima."

"A little trip?"

"There's someone I want you to meet." Ukyou sat up, the blanket falling from her shoulders. Underneath, she was clad only in a green hospital gown. Ranma blinked as he saw the swell of her breasts underneath the sterile fabric. "But I think I'll leave it a surprise for now. Let's just concentrate on getting back to Nerima as quickly as possible first."

"If you say so." Ranma shrugged and scratched the back of his neck. He casually made sure he was looking in any direction but at Ukyou, who was still mainly focused on the ceiling. One of these days, he swore he would figure out what was actually going on with her.

*

Nabiki had never regained consciousness after being knocked out before, and she noted with some annoyance that she didn't like it much. Her head hurt, for one thing. Her mouth was also filled with some terrible aftertaste. It was probably the result of whatever drug she had been slipped. There really was no other explanation, unless everyone in her family had come down with a sudden case of fainting sickness.

She resisted the urge to swear as she opened her eyes. She was in some anonymous room, not really traditional Japanese style. There were no windows, and instead of a paper screen there was a solid-looking wooden door. She arched her aching head around, trying to get a good view of things. Where the hell was she? She tried to stand up, but found herself instead toppling over onto her side.

She blinked and looked down, noticing that her legs were tied with some sort of cloth around the ankles. A quick tug with her arms confirmed that those were also tied, behind her back at the wrist. A few seconds of futile struggle followed before Nabiki was forced to conclude that she was quite securely bound. She beat back her panic with a few choice curses, not bothering to try and cover them up now. As she did, she twisted and bounced her body back into a sitting position.

Oh, whoever did this was going to pay. Nabiki didn't know how yet, but she was sure of that.

"Hey! Come here and get me out of these!" Nabiki yelled as loud as she could. She wasn't sure how thick the walls were, but yelling made her feel better. There was no immediate response so Nabiki repeated herself, annoyed at the dry aftertaste that left her voice slightly harsh and panicked-sounding. She took another deep cleansing breath before yelling a third time. After that she groaned and leaned back.

There was nothing to do but sit and wait now. If her first few yells hadn't caught the right attention, then a dozen more would not do much better. Besides, yelling was exacerbating her headache. Nabiki tried to rub her temples, before rediscovering that she was tied up. She settled for groaning.

Time passed. Nabiki spent it fidgeting and staring at the walls, trying to combat the dull pain and the even more dull boredom. She mainly did this by imagining various elaborate and exquisite revenge schemes she would launch once this was finished. Then there was movement at the door. Nabiki snapped her head up as her presumable captor stepped into the room.

The girl who entered moved with a haughty grace that was matched by her cold beauty. She was tall, with imperious features well-accented by lightly applied makeup. Her black hair was tied back in a ponytail that fell to the small of her back, and she was clad only in a form-fitting black leotard cut high on the hips. She was carrying a huge sack tossed over her shoulder with one hand, barely getting it through the door unobstructed.

She saw Nabiki was awake and smiled. It was an expression that utterly failed to reach her unblinking eyes. She carefully placed the bag on the floor.

"Ah, Miss Tendo, I see you've awakened." Her voice was cool and elegant.

"I see you know my name. Can I know yours, so that the police can put the proper one on the arrest warrant?" Nabiki tried to inject as much acid and false bravado as she could into her voice. That sack looked really heavy, and she hadn't failed to notice that this mystery girl hefted it with one hand. Nabiki lived with the former martial arts champion of Furinkan High... she knew exactly what a properly-trained fighter could do. She wasn't, however, about to let that show on her face.

The woman shifted her grip on the bag and moved it into the corner. It made a sound like many tiny metallic objects striking each other. "I'm surprised you don't know my name, Miss Tendo.  Perhaps you're not as well-informed as you think."  She flashed an insincere smile.  "I am Kodachi Kunou.  I believe you are acquainted with my brother... in fact, you're in the same class, are you not?"

"Tatewaki?" Nabiki blinked. Well, that explained some things. Nabiki did her best to shrug, a much harder process when you were bound than it looked. "I think you have the wrong sister. Akane is the one your brother is after."

"Oh no no no, Miss Tendo, I know EXACTLY who I have, and why."  Her voice lost some of its haughty edge and took on a level of cold malice as she continued. She leaned forward, practically in Nabiki's face.  "I want to ask you a few questions about someone you're also acquainted with. Someone by the name of Ukyou Kuonji." Nabiki refused to be intimidated, but found herself wishing she didn't have to stare into those hard, soulless eyes.

"Once again, wrong sister. Akane is the one dating Mr. Heroic Stranger, not me."

"And because of that, your knowledge is more valuable to me. You are the one who can tell me the facts, unswayed by emotions, or a willingness to protect the individual involved even at a risk to yourself."

Nabiki didn't like the implied threat. She liked even less the growing certainty in the back of her mind that this girl was capable of acting it out. She bit the inside of her cheek surreptitiously, and really wished she didn't have to look at those eyes anymore. They never wavered or blinked. The pupils didn't move at all.

"Since you seem to already know the facts, why bother questioning me at all?" Nabiki asked quickly to buy time. She hated to admit it publicly, or even to herself, but she knew very little about Ukyou Kuonji. She didn't have the pull to get a peek at his personal records, nor the money to hire a private investigator. There was practically no rumors about the boy at school aside from the usual lurid ones (half of which had begun to include Ranma, in both forms, among the usual suspects). Gosunkugi had never been able to catch the boy on film except in the most innocuous circumstances.

"No no no, Miss Tendo.  I know the facts about you, for I know of you through reputation and your dealings with my brother... oh, and a few other things.  But I don't know nearly enough about Ukyou Kuonji.  That's why you're here.  I want you to tell me everything you know about Ukyou Kuonji.  Everything you think about Ukyou Kuonji.  Everything you suspect.  Everything."  Kodachi moved back, standing to her full height once again. She smiled in a patronising manner at Nabiki. Nabiki resisted the urge to sigh in relief. It was much easier to keep her eyes on the other girl's face at this distance.  "Don't worry.  I don't plan to hurt you... as long as you're forthcoming with me.  I will be most displeased to find out you held something back, though... at any time in the future."

"Then I'll have to tell you what I did before," Nabiki groused softly. There was no hope for it but the truth. "Ukyou is dating my sister. He's some sort of martial artist. He knows Genma and Ranma Saotome from a few years back. And he seems to like playing the mysterious hero coming to the last second rescue. Other than that, you'll have to ask Akane." Nabiki tried to console her wounded ego by reminding herself that this was all unimportant information, the kind anybody with an ear to the ground and two eyes in their head could find out. Unfortunately, that only emphasised how little Nabiki knew about Ukyou herself. She sighed. No point in worrying about it now.  And besides... she'd really been too focused on getting out of her predicament with Ranma to worry too much about what her sister had going on the side.

Kodachi frowned, mainly to herself. Her voice took on an impatient tone, all its haughty elegance fleeing it.  "No, you know more than that. How did she arrive in your happy household?  How did you meet her?  How did Akane meet her?"

Nabiki grit her teeth behind her lips. What was so special about Ukyou Kuonji that this girl was going to such lengths to find out about him? Nabiki felt her own curiosity aroused now. Damn, her life had gotten much too complicated since that spatula-wielding boy had entered it. "He was looking for Ranma and Genma and followed Akane around. I don't know how they met exactly, but apparently they started dating shortly after Ukyou beat up your brother the first time. I'm sure he told you about Ukyou; he certainly doesn't stop carping on about him around me. I met him when he came to the house to confront Genma and Ranma." Again, it was all minor information. But now Nabiki resolved she was going to find out the real truth behind Ukyou Kuonji. No boy had such an extensive list of enemies as this boy did without having something in his past he wanted to hide. And if Ukyou had something to hide, Nabiki had leverage over him. If this worked out well, it could solve her problem with Ranma at the same time. Nabiki smiled unconsciously, a thin malicious smile of her own.

Kodachi gave Nabiki an incredulous look then stepped back a bit. She allowed herself a long pause as she apparently thought. Kodachi reached up to her face and grabbed for something near her eyes, then frowned when she realised that nothing was there. Did she usually wear glasses? "Dating... Ukyou Kuonji is dating your sister, Akane Tendo.  Has Akane said anything about this?  Any reasons? Your sister doesn't really like boys very much, does she?" Her voice was slow and careful as she spoke. Some of her imperious tone had filtered back into her speech.

"Akane?" Nabiki's smile turned into a sour grimace. She hadn't really been thinking about Akane much. But now that the girl in front of her had brought the subject back up, Nabiki couldn't help but consider it. Was Akane in danger because of her relationship with Ukyou? Already, someone had threatened her with a gun since the spatula-wielding mystery man had shown up. Could this be some sort of jilted lover? "I couldn't say. Akane and Ukyou spend a lot of time together, and Akane seems really happy-" Nabiki almost added 'for the first time in years' but cut herself off. "I guess it’s the same reasons any guy and girl date. Akane may be pissed off with what YOUR brother did to her, but she likes guys..." Nabiki almost added 'I think' to the end of that statement but allowed herself to trail off first. Honestly, Nabiki couldn't remember any time Akane had shown interest in any guy who wasn't Doc Tofu. And everyone had a crush on the handsome young doctor at some point, even half his male patients. There was something about this conversation that tickled the back of Nabiki's mind. Something that her captor had let slip, and Nabiki had missed.

Kodachi began to tap her finger on the side of her jaw as she thought about Nabiki's words.  "They spend a lot of time together, hmm?  And what about Ranma? What does he think of that?  Aren't they..." Kodachi trailed off as she ceased tapping her chin. Then she just stared at Nabiki, apparently expecting a prompt answer.

Nabiki grit her teeth behind her smile again. She hated not having control of this conversation, but there was little she could do about it. "I can't tell you what Ranma thinks. My darling fiancé spends more time hanging out with Ukyou than with me." Nabiki purposefully dropped the bit about Ranma, trying to make it sound angry, which wasn't hard. With narrowed eyes, she carefully analysed Kodachi's response.

Nabiki saw a flash of surprise on the girl's face for a fraction of a second before she composed herself. Kodachi smirked a little, and her voice was full of irony when she asked,  "So, Ranma Saotome is your fiancé, is he?  That sounds positively charming.  But you're so young.  How did that happen?"

"I thought you wanted to know about Ukyou," Nabiki said with another difficult shrug. "It was an arrangement between our families."

"And you just let yourself be pushed into it?"  This made Kodachi laugh, a slightly crazed cackle while she partially covered her mouth with the back of her hand.  "I'd have expected you'd at least have tried to volunteer one of your sisters for such an arrangement."

Nabiki blinked. That had been almost exactly what had happened, except Kodachi couldn't possibly know that. Suspicious, Nabiki phrased her words carefully. It was time to start skirting the truth, just a little. "I didn't exactly have much choice in the situation."

Kodachi's good humour evaporated suddenly. She affixed Nabiki with a far too intimidating glare from those cold, lifeless eyes. "You're not being very talkative, Miss Tendo.  I get a feeling you're not being entirely forthcoming. This displeases me.  It is not in your best interest to displease me.  I have a very long memory, Miss Tendo.  Now, I want to know everything about Ukyou Kuonji.  This I told you.  If there is anything... anything at all... in your thoughts, or in what you've observed that you haven't told me, you would do well to do so now."

"I told you everything I know about Ukyou," Nabiki answered with complete sincerity, unable to keep a bit of smugness from her tone. Nabiki still refused to be intimidated, but it was getting harder to ignore the impulse. "Everything else you could learn by picking up the newspaper or asking anybody at school."

Kodachi closed her eyes and sighed, than began to mutter to herself. Nabiki leaned in a bit and was able to just overhear her. "So much for the vaunted Nabiki Tendo, Super-Know-It-All-Genius."  When she looked up again, Nabiki was back to her former position, feeling a little insulted on top of everything else now.  "Very well.  If that's all you know, that's all you know. But I can still make use of you," Kodachi pointed out with an irritated growl. She made an elegant flourish with her hands and was suddenly holding a wide strip of some green fabric. Nabiki blinked, wondering what this was for, then she began to cringe away as the taller girl stepped towards her. Nabiki put up a token struggle as she was gagged. "Now stay here like a good little girl until I'm ready for the arrival of your friend."

Kodachi turned away from her, retrieved the sack and stalked from the room. Her graceful walk had been replaced by a brisk, irritated stride. The door closed behind her with a dreadful finality. For a few minutes, all Nabiki did was stare at the door and focus on her hate for Kodachi Kunou.

Then, when the silence grew heavy and the adrenaline ran out, Nabiki Tendo began to cry.

*

The trip back to Nerima was uneventful and short. Aaron had managed to bullshit his way out of the hospital, aided a great deal by the fact that there was nothing the staff could do to actually hold Ukyou against her will. Ranma had tried to strike up conversations a few times during the trip, but neither Ukyou nor Aaron were in a very talkative mood. At least, not in the mood to be talking to anyone outside their shared skull at the moment.

The fact was that they had screwed up. Ukyou wanted to lay all the blame on Aaron, but was unable to bring herself to do so. She knew every detail about the Sailor Moon anime that he did, whether she liked it or not. The fact that she had agreed with his plan, agreed with all his decisions at the scene, and gone along with them all without hesitation or debate made her as much to blame for this debacle as he was. Aaron seemed willing enough to blame himself for the problems, which didn't make her feel any better.

But regardless of that, it was clear Aaron had been running on instinct too much. He had hoped to coast along through all the hassles of living in an anime universe as a secondary character without having to do much of anything. He had been so caught up in trying to preserve his identity that he hadn't been paying attention to the world around him. It was tempting to wallow in self- pity, but instead he was more annoyed with himself.

There was the vague hope that this would all blow over, but both Aaron and Ukyou severely doubted that. Sailor Pluto still had it in for them, and now Jadeite might be interested as well. Not to mention they had probably alienated Usagi. It was time to start walking with one eye over their shoulders. It was also time to stop relying on Ukyou's inherent skills and start exploiting some of that encyclopaedic knowledge of anime and manga Aaron was so proud of. When next they encountered Sailor Pluto, the Dark Kingdom or whatever other surprises this universe had in store for them, Ukyou and Aaron both planned to have more tricks up their collective sleeve than a bag of flour.

Which brought them to their next problem: the mysterious "chi" that they had tapped into to fight Jadeite's youma. Aaron was still convinced that that energy was somehow 'his' chi, and the fact it seemed to be something distinctly different from Ukyou's chi supported his idea. Ukyou was not convinced. If it was chi, then why had it done so much harm to her when she'd used it in that fight? Ukyou had been tapping into her chi since almost as soon as she could walk, and doing so had never caused her to spit up blood, faint or develop bruises along her limbs that still hadn't faded.

But believing it was Aaron's chi also made her feel better. If he had a completely separate energy than her, it meant that this damn merger of minds wasn't also a merger of souls. Which meant that they could be free of each other. It was almost refreshing to feel it back there. Now that they had found it once, it was impossible not to feel that pool of energy deep in their gut.

"We're here," Ranma said somewhat reluctantly, causing Ukyou to look up. Sure enough, they had arrived at the Tendo compound. Ukyou sighed. She had put up a brave front for Ranma, but she still felt half-dead. Her every muscle ached and she was slightly light-headed. It would be good to be able to relax now that they were back.

"Let's go inside," Ukyou said as she walked through the main gate. "I have to explain what happened to Akane, at the very least."

"Thanks heavens you're here!"

Aaron blinked and looked down as a new growth suddenly attached itself around Ukyou's waist. It was Soun, with his arms wrapped firmly around her torso. He was sobbing like a baby into her midsection. Aaron was briefly thankful Ukyou had thought to "borrow" some medical bandages from the hospital before leaving. But even the best chest binding wouldn't stop Soun from realizing Ukyou's secret if he kept clinging to her like that.

With a sigh Aaron flipped Ukyou's combat spatula from his back and used it as a pry-lever to pop the Tendo patriarch off him. Soun landed in an undignified sprawl on the path. Ukyou regretted that for a moment, but was as aware as Aaron how irrational the mustached man could be. Hopefully the fall would jar some sense into him.

"What's going on?" Ranma asked as he stepped up beside his friend. Ukyou shrugged, waiting for Soun to recompose himself. She never had that chance, as shortly after his question Genma appeared on the path as well, looming as best he could over Ranma.

"Boy! How dare you run off when your fiancée is in mortal peril!"

"Mortal peril?" Ranma blinked. Ukyou took a step back. Genma had a tendency to overreact, so she and Aaron wanted to hear what was going on before leaping to conclusions.

"Ukyou! You have to save my baby girl!" Soun wailed as he flipped to his feet. He was remarkably spry for someone his age. Then again, it was easy to forget he was also a trained martial artist. Wait, what did he say?

"Explain!" Aaron barked shortly.

Soun stared at Ukyou's face for a moment, made a little whimpering sound and fell back on his ass. The scene almost caused Ukyou to burst out in a fit of laughter. Aaron kept rigid control over their features, but only barely.

"Yeah pops, what are you two going on about?"

"Ranma, someone has kidnapped your fiancée and her younger sister," Genma explained as he adjusted his glasses with one hand. The light glinted off the lenses. "As the heir to the Anything Goes school and as a man it is your duty to rescue them."

"Rescue?" Ranma looked perplexed. "Wait, back up a sec..."

Ukyou didn't hear the rest of what Ranma had to say. She was already striding briskly into the house. Aaron knew that getting a straight answer from either Genma or Soun was entirely unlikely, so he hoped that the only other person in the house might be able to help.

They found Kasumi in the living room, sitting with a frown on her face and holding an icepack to the back of her head. Warning lights went off in their mind.

"Kasumi, are you okay?" Ukyou said in her most consoling tone. She knelt down next to the taller girl and began to look her over, tapping into Aaron's extensive medical lore. She didn't look badly hurt.

"I'm fine, it's just a small bump," Kasumi pointed out mildly. Ukyou noted that Soun was entering the household and allowed Aaron to shoot the man a dangerous glare. This caused him to back off a bit. Apparently Ranma and Genma were still debating manly duties outside.

"What happened here?" Ukyou asked slowly and softly. Despite Aaron's preconceptions of her as a boring, one-dimensional character, the two of them had found themselves liking Kasumi the few times they had interacted with her.

"I'm not quite sure." Kasumi began slowly, but gradually grew more confident as she spoke. "I served breakfast, and everyone just sort of fainted in front of me as I was sitting down myself to eat. Then I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head. The next thing I remember, I woke up, and Akane and Nabiki were gone."

"Gone?"

"Just gone. Father and Uncle Saotome were still unconscious at the time."

"Indeed..." Aaron frowned, but only for a moment. Ukyou made them smile and she patted Kasumi reassuringly on the shoulder.

"There was a note," Kasumi pointed out as Ukyou began to rise. She looked down at the pseudo-housewife and allowed a curious frown to cross her features. Kasumi reached into her pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. Ukyou held out her hand and smiled at the long-haired girl, who smiled back and handed over the note.

"Dearest Ukyou Kuonji," Aaron read aloud. "I, the rising young star of the gymnastics world...blah, blah, blah, known as Kodachi Kunou, the Black Rose, am extremely anxious to meet with you, as well as Nabiki and Akane Tendo, who came ahead of you, at the Kunou Estate this afternoon.  The Tendo siblings have expressed their desire that you come alone, for this will be more pleasing to them.  I look forward to your timely arrival."

"See!" Soun burst into their field of view and snatched the note from their unresisting fingers. "Someone has kidnapped my baby girls! You... you're a hero! You rescue people! Rescue them!" He was really beginning to tear up now.

"Mr. Tendo, calm down," Ukyou told him with a bit of understanding in her tone. He had every right to be worried about two of his three daughters. It was just so hard to see the man behind the parody that Aaron knew so well. "I have every intention of helping out Akane and Nabiki."

They spent the next few seconds fending off the man's enthusiastic thanks.

When Ukyou stepped outside, she saw Ranma leaning next to the wall and grumbling. Genma was sitting cross-legged nearby, intently watching him. Ukyou rolled her eyes at the scene but stepped forward anyway.

"Ucchan, do you have any idea what's going on here?" Ranma blurted out when she was within a few paces of him.

"Yeah, we're going to save Akane and Nabiki from a kidnapper," Aaron pointed out evenly.

"We?"

"Yes, we," Ukyou smiled at him. "Or I could leave you behind this time."

"Oh no! Not that again!" Ranma waved both arms in front of her face. "I've already missed all the action twice now."

"Third time’s the charm," Aaron chuckled. Ranma blinked at this, but was cut off from responding as he walked Ukyou's body out the gate. Ranma leapt to catch up.

"Where are we going?"

"To get supplies," Ukyou said evenly. She wanted to sigh. This was not fair. She was still feeling weak from yesterday. And now Kodachi Kunou was deciding to get all-

Wait. Wait just one second.

Ranma walked on a few paces before he realised Ukyou had stopped in the middle of the street. He paused and glanced over his shoulder at the girl. Ukyou was too busy mentally debating with Aaron to really notice.

This made no sense. There was no reason for Kodachi to kidnap Akane and Nabiki. It wasn't even her style. No, there was something else behind this. Could it be the Dark Kingdom? With their magic, it might have been possible to track Ukyou down quickly... but this wasn't their style either. Maybe it was some other anime that Aaron hadn't yet identified that also inhabited this universe? Damn, too many unknowns.

"What's the hold up, Ucchan?"

"I'm just thinking about this," Ukyou stated simply. "Yesterday I walked right into an ambush because I forgot the simple lessons of warfare."

"Lessons of warfare?" Ranma murmured.

"But I'm not going to make that mistake again." Ukyou sighed. She ran her hand through her bangs. "Ranma, before we go any further, I'm going to tell you everything I know about Kodachi Kunou."

*

Chris surveyed the Kunou mansion courtyard with a feeling of smug satisfaction.  It was, if he did say so himself, perfect.  Or as close as could be reasonably expected under the time constraints given.  Thank goodness he didn't get tired... ever since he took Kodachi's body, he'd been moving, working, plotting, and training, sometimes all at once.

But now things were nearly set.  He'd worried 'Ukyou' might show up too early for the party, but it seemed that wasn't going to be a problem.  What WAS a problem was Nabiki, or rather her unexpected unhelpfulness.  He wasn't sure if she had been holding back, or just honestly was completely ignorant.  She didn't even seem to know Ukyou's real gender.  He'd referred to Ukyou as "her" a few times before realising that, but Nabiki seemed to be too concerned over her own situation to catch the slip.  No matter.

The problem is, he hardly knew any better than before what Ukyou's game was.  And what he did know just raised more questions.  Why was Ukyou posing as Akane's boyfriend?  Why had she interfered in the formation of the Ranma/Akane engagement?  And, of course, Nabiki wouldn't know how strong she was, or was pretending to be, or any unusual abilities she'd displayed.

Which left his other captive, whom he was now staring down at.  She was unconscious, of course.  He'd been very, very careful to ensure she would be. Akane was no helpless victim, and the stupid anime movies notwithstanding, had a habit of rescuing herself from these sorts of situations without outside help. The last thing he needed, during the fight with Ukyou, was Akane breaking out of her bonds and joining in against him.

But now... continued safety, or information?  He'd decided on the latter. Akane was strong, but he'd made sure she was tied up very firmly, even for a superhuman.  She got a burst of strength when enraged... he'd make sure she didn't get to that point. And if she did, well, there was that bouquet of black roses lying nearby.  Handy, that.  Especially when it couldn't affect you on account of the whole "dead" thing.

Moving Akane into a seated position, he uncorked a small bottle, vaguely noticing the strong smell.  Waving it under her nose a few times, he took a step back and awaited the results.  Kodachi wasn't Pink and Link or anything, but she was more than competent.  Akane would recover quickly.

She did.  After a few moments, she groaned and her eyelids fluttered.

"Wha..?" she muttered, then seemed to realise her circumstances.  Reflexively, her arms moved, muscles bunching... but the bonds held.  Thank goodness for martial arts death machine-worthy gymnastics ribbon.  Akane was looking around now, blinking away the last of her drug-induced sleep.  Her eyes had fastened upon him.

He took a step forward, carefully settling into Kodachi's arrogant, high-class speech pattern.  "Greetings, Miss Tendo.  You seem to have awakened. Did you sleep well?"

Her expression showed confusion, then flashed to anger.  It was very... Akane.  "Who the- what do you think you're doing!? Untie me!"

He burned with impatience, to demand the answers out of her.  Ukyou could arrive at any moment.  But Kodachi wouldn't do that.  Had to keep up the facade.  Calm and steady.  "I'm afraid I can't do that, Miss Tendo.  For the moment, you're my guest."  Cover mouth with hand, laugh that oh-so-stereotypical upper-class snob laugh.

That didn't exactly calm her down, unsurprisingly.  She struggled with her bonds again, banging the wall a bit. "Guests are usually invited, not kidnapped and tied up!"

"Ah, but you are a very special guest, Miss Tendo.  You are more than a guest, in fact... you are the bait on my hook, which will lure the fish to me." And that's the bait to make you interested, Akane.  He silently shouted at her to take it.

"Bait?" Her anger was again replaced by confusion.  She bit her lip, clearly considering the words, then looked up at him again. "You... you're just using me to get to someone else!? But who?"

He leaned forward, affecting a pleased expression.  "Why, none other than your... purported boyfriend, Miss Tendo.  Ukyou Kuonji."  He put a generous dollop of sarcasm on 'boyfriend'.  Let's see if Akane knew the truth.

She recoiled slightly from him, opened her mouth as if to say something, closed it again.  After a long pause, she spoke again, quietly.  "What do you want with Ukyou?"

Well, she didn't protest the sarcasm.  Or maybe she didn't notice it? Akane was not exactly noted for that kind of perception.  Still, now she was concerned for Ukyou, as well as angry at him.  That's what he wanted.  He crouched before her, grinning. "Would you like to know, my dear Miss Tendo? Marvellous.  There are some things I wish to know from you as well.  Tell me them, and I'll reveal my intentions to you.  A fair exchange, is it not?"

Akane turned her head away, avoiding his gaze.  "I won't help you hurt Ukyou," she said softly.  She seemed to struggle internally for a moment, then turned back, her face serious but no longer angry.  "Please, just tell me what your problem is here!"

Oh, it was Akane's Sympathy For The Devil routine.  Drug my family, kidnap me, be vaguely threatening towards my friend?  You can't be all bad!  How can I help you with your problems?  Heh.  Too nice for her own good.  But he could work with that.  He broke out of his crouch, sitting before her cross- legged, putting them at the same level.  He let the smirk fade from his face, and looked calm, maybe just the slightest bit sad.

"I'm sorry, Miss Tendo.  I can't tell you what my problem is, unless you tell me what I need to know - because until you do, I'm not sure what my problem may be, exactly."  True, after a fashion.  "I can tell you that if I know more, I may not need to hurt Ukyou.  But I need to know more about her."  Damn, slipped again!  Well, see how she reacted.  "And I need you to help me. Otherwise..." he shrugged.  "I'll have to find out what I need.  By any means necessary."

Akane stared at him strangely after the gender-slip.  Now what did that mean?  But she settled his doubts a moment later.  "I told you I can't help you hurt my friend," Akane said fiercely, gritting her teeth. "Ukyou has done too much for me to betray her!"  So she knew.  And Nabiki didn't.  Interesting.  But Akane was still staring at him.  Not angrily, just... determined.  "Maybe... maybe we can talk about this. Tell me what you want to know. If it isn't something dangerous, maybe I can help you after all."

Hmm.  He didn't want to lie to her.  Much.  So what was close to the truth?  A-ha.  This ought to work.  "I... knew Ukyou.  Before you met her.  But she showed up here, and she's... changed.  She's not acting like the same person. I'm worried she ISN'T the same person.  I want to know what you know about her. How you met her.  Anything unusual she's done.  Anything that can help me figure out what's happened to her."

"Huh? But Ranma seems to get along with Ukyou just fine..." Suddenly, her eyes widened. "You mean you knew Ukyou from before she met Ranma? Back before Genma ruined her life?" Her expression grew sad. "Yes, she must seem like a different person, after what that bastard did to her."

What the hell was she babbling about?  Why would he know or care what Ukyou was like before she was six?  Okay, sure, it sounded like a stupid anime plotline, but... maybe she'd jumped to conclusions.  He shook his head.  "No, you don't get it.  I knew Ukyou before she came here, to Tokyo.  She was a different person then.  And she just... vanished, and came here.  But now she's different. Completely different.  And I want to know why."

"That doesn't make any sense, then." Akane shook her head. "If what you're saying is true, that would mean Ukyou lied to me. And I'm much more inclined to believe her than you, considering how she saved my life and you kidnapped me."

"And what did Ukyou tell you?"

"Nothing about changing at all. She's always been... kinda private about her condition. She came here to find Ranma and Genma."

This was frustratingly uninformative.  And taking too damn long.  He strained to hold in his impatience.  "Yes, that's what I want to know.  How she came here.  How you met.  Why you're posing as a couple."

"She was following me around for a while, trying to see if I knew where Ranma and Genma were. Then I caught up with her and... well, it's kinda embarrassing. Anyway she told me her story. Then she noticed that I was having these problems with guys at school and offered to help me with it." She paused, and glanced down at her bonds. "I'd be much more inclined to trust you if you let me go. I promise not to try to run away or attack you."

Sounded credible, if again, frustratingly unhelpful.  'Ukyou' obviously wasn't giving much away.  And that promise... tempting.  He wouldn't have to worry about her escaping to fight against him, as long as he wasn't actually killing Ukyou.  Which he didn't intend to do.  At least not until he had answers.  He quickly rethought some plans.  Could work.  "I could believe you... but if I let you go, you must promise not to interfere at all when Ukyou comes here.  In return, I promise not to severely injure her.  But I will probably have to fight her.  I tried talking to her before... and she wouldn't tell me anything.  So I'll have to force her to give me the answers I want.  Can you accept that?"

Akane looked torn.  She wanted to help him, wanted to help Ukyou, clearly... was there something else?  She wasn't as easy to read as he thought. Guess those thought balloons in the manga really helped.  Suddenly, she brightened hopefully.  "Wait, I have an idea! Why don't you have me talk to Ukyou? We're really close friends. If I explain what's going on, maybe she'll tell us both?"

Hmm.  No, if the faux-Ukyou cared enough about Akane to respect a request from her, she wouldn't be lying to her in the first place.  He shook his head sadly.  "I'm afraid I already tried that, Akane.  She knows what's going on, and what my concerns are.  But she wouldn't tell me anything.  I doubt it'll be any different with you.  No, I'm afraid I'm going to have to incapacitate her before she'll talk."

"But Ukyou isn't that kind of person!" Akane insisted. "She never lies to me, she just chooses to keep a few things private. I mean, she's a hero! Didn't you see what she did yesterday?"

"Why no, I did not.  I was rather busy yesterday.  What did she do?"

"She only saved two or three busloads of innocent people from a real live monster! She even knew it was going to happen, and left yesterday just in time to stop them and everything..." here she trailed off, muttering just loud enough for him to hear, "...of course, she could have taken me along too." She shook off her irritation and was back to defence mode quickly, though. "The point is, Ukyou is a good person. If she's hiding something from you, she has a very good reason! Maybe if she sees that you just want to help, and I ask her too, then we can get her to open up a little bit?"

His mind worked furiously.  A monster?  Busloads of people?  The hell? Some series he didn't know about?  Or... it could be Sailor Moon, he supposed. Maybe.  Hell, it could be Blue Seed for all he knew (was that here too?).  And either way, no reason for Ukyou to be involved, busloads of innocent people or not.  And 'knew it was going to happen'... ah, but she knew.  She KNEW.  The dropped Evangelion reference.  So she must have been interfering in the plot of another anime.  But what?  And why?

And what to do about Akane?  Well, she obviously wasn't going to add much more to his information stockpile, though at least now he knew where Ukyou - and Ranma? - had vanished to.  He let anger flow into his voice.  It wasn't hard.  "No, Akane, that's just it.  Maybe I just want to help, and maybe I don't.  Helping Ukyou is one thing.  But that person you know looks like Ukyou, calls herself Ukyou... and is NOT Ukyou.  I'll guarantee it from the bottom of my soul.  Nothing that happened to her would explain the Ukyou I knew becoming the Ukyou you know.  I don't know if she's something else with the shape of Ukyou's body imitating her, or whether she's possessed, or... I don't know.  I don't know.  But the one thing I DO know is that she lied.  She's NOT Ukyou.  And I'm sorry if you don't believe me.  But I'm sure.  And I'm sure she won't tell either of us the truth just because we ask.  Like I told you, I tried that."

"But Ranma's known her since she was six and he believes she's the real Ukyou!"

He snorted.  "Akane, Ranma knew Ukyou WHEN she was six.  And didn't see her again until they met here.  He didn't even know Ukyou was a girl.  So I think I'm a slightly better judge than him."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Akane sighed. "I don't know if I believe what you say is true. If Ukyou has changed so much... what was she like before? I can't imagine her having changed so totally you don't even recognise her anymore."

He paused, then decided to go for broke.  Akane already knew enough to know she wasn't Kodachi anyway, as soon as she and Ukyou talked, and that was under the dubious assumption Ukyou wouldn't find out in the fight anyway. So let's see what might surprise her and what might not.  He scrutinised her reactions carefully.  "Well, for starters, the real Ukyou doesn't fight monsters.  She was training for revenge on Genma, but fighting wasn't her thing. Her only true hobby was cooking okonomiyaki.  She loved that.  Wanted to own her own restaurant, and she talked about it a lot.  And oh yes: she's been in love with Ranma for ten years.  She wants to marry him.  She certainly wouldn't have any interest in pretending to be your boyfriend and thus stalling that, even as a favour."

"Marry Ranma? But... that's just... you must be joking?" Then she blinked. "Well, there was the time she threw up on him, I suppose..."

"Threw up on him?  Um... okay, whatever.  Trust me when I say this, Akane: if that's the real Ukyou, she loves Ranma more than she loves anyone or anything else.  She spent the last ten years of her life pretending to be a boy and training hard in fighting even though she didn't like it because of him. Though I have no doubt Ukyou could be friends with you, she'd throw you aside or even beat the crap out of you to be with him.  I can't think of anything she values more."  Ah, nothing could beat the sincere ring of truth, when trying to persuade.

"Let me get this straight: she pretended to be a boy because she was in love with another boy?" She didn't sound sarcastic, just understandably confused. "Uh, right." Again she muttered mainly to herself. "Maybe that's why Ukyou keeps dashing off with Ranma and leaving me behind all the time..." Then she shook her head disbelievingly.

One more try.  "There are reasons, Akane.  I can't tell you them, because they're Ukyou's secrets to tell, not mine.  I only said as much as I did because I wanted you to believe me.  But now we've come to the crux.  Either you do believe me, and agree to our deal... or you don't, and I'll have to do things by myself.  The choice is up to you."

"I'm sorry, I can't stand by while you hurt Ukyou!" She sighed. "No matter what, she saved my life once. If you're so dead set on this, you'll have to fight me as well." She looked up at him, determined and defiant.

Zero for two.  He was really stressed today.  No matter.  Back to Plan "A".  He straightened.  "In that case, Akane, I'm very sorry.  Perhaps, once it's all over, it will be explained to you.  I guess we'll see if I win, then, won't we?"

As he turned to pick up the bouquet, he heard her voice again.  "I'm sorry."  She sounded like she meant it.  But of course she did.  She was Akane. And she was too nice for her own good.  Too stubborn, too.  He'd tried to let her in on things.  He'd let on too much; again, he'd tried too hard.  It wasn't his fault she had absolute loyalty to someone she'd known for a couple of weeks at most.

So why was it that he felt so utterly rotten about it?

He angrily shoved that away.  He didn't have time for doubt.  He pushed the bouquet into her face.  She tried to avoid it, but tied up as she was, didn't have much success.  Her body slumped bonelessly as she inhaled the fumes released.  Producing another strip of cloth much like he had used on her sister, he gagged her.  She wouldn't be able to speak very LOUDLY while paralysed... but better safe than sorry.

He didn't speak again as he left the room, shutting the door behind him. He felt her eyes on his back, but ignored it.  It was time to finish preparing. Ukyou would arrive soon.  And then he'd see just how much better than the real thing she might be.

Then he'd finally have his answers.

*

Ranma followed Ukyou along as she stormed down the street. The tail of her new black trenchcoat flapped along behind her. It had been one of the many purchases Ukyou had made over the last hour as she pulled Ranma along in her wake. He still wasn't sure about some of the stuff Ukyou had gotten. A lot of it seemed to be standard cooking ingredients, and other stuff she had been forced to buy from people with dark sunglasses and shorter-than-normal fingers. Not that Ranma was scared of their type; you dealt with them enough when you got in the occasional pit fight.

"I just wish I had been able to get more than one of these," Ukyou grumbled as she held up a small metal box in her hands. Ranma wasn't sure what it was, but shrugged as she slipped it into her coat again. "Ranma, if you see any clouds of gas, hold your breath and leap over it and get away."

"Man, you're being awfully paranoid, Ucchan." Ranma shrugged as he scratched at the back of his neck. "This Kodachi chick doesn't sound too bad. Maybe a little skewed in the head about the whole fair play deal, but otherwise not that dangerous."

"Always be prepared," Ukyou said as she ran her hands through her bangs again. "Anyway, no use crying over spilt milk. We're here."

"Yeah, I guess."

There was no doubt the place was big. It was surrounded by a wall, like the Tendo compound. But the wall was much longer, and the building which rose behind it much more... well, big.

"Okay," Ukyou sighed. "Let's get this over with." She looked at Ranma and smiled, and he smiled back. Her face shifted to its standard cold-eyed stare a moment later and she walked up to the huge gate. Then with a twin snapping of her knuckles she loosened herself up. And finally, she drew back one hand... and knocked.

There was a loud buzz and the door gradually swung open. Ukyou cocked her head to the side, then shrugged with a short chortle. She waited until the door was all the way open before stepping forward. Her manner was wary and slow as she moved in. Her huge combat spatula was kept slightly in front of her. Ranma waited a half-second then shrugged and idled on through himself. He wasn't really as concerned as Ukyou was by some psycho chick with a poison fetish.

Ukyou stopped Ranma with a raised hand as they entered the threshold of the compound. It was possible to see inside now. The place looked good enough, Ranma guessed. It had all the traditional Japanese points of interest. The yard was huge, by most standards, but not really impressive to a guy who had been wandering in the great wilderness wastes of China for the better portion of a year.

Beyond the front yard was the mansion itself. It was two stories high, with a traditional sloping roof with those weird tiles Ranma never did like the design of. They made the roof too slippery. The front doors were open. He could see something beyond the front doors, but not very well at this distance. Ranma gave the rest of the area a quick scan, noticing nothing unusual. He made a few mental notes of the tactical options the place offered, then just shrugged.

This was kinda boring. Where was the monster?

Ranma was about to step forward when Ukyou stopped him by tapping him on the shoulder. Leaning her spatula on the ground, she cupped her hands around her mouth.

"Oy, Kodachi Kunou! I believe you've kidnapped some friends of mine. If you hand them over now, I won't feel obligated to kick your ass!" Ukyou yelled as loud as she could. Ranma staggered back a bit and clutched his ears, shooting a bit of a frown at Ukyou. Man, that girl had a set of lun... er, a really loud voice.

"OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!  Welcome, Ukyou Kuonji.  I've been expecting you. Please enter my humble abode.  What you see there may interest you."

Well, that person certainly didn't sound very stable. He glanced around, trying to pinpoint the source of the voice. Aside from 'in front of him' he wasn't able to narrow it down at all. Ukyou ran her hands through her bangs and sighed. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking behind that ice-cold mask she called an expression.

"Okay, you asked for it," Ukyou said softly as she pulled a small packet from her coat. She flipped it through the air and the packet unraveled as it flew. A cloud of dust fell down behind it, slowly settling onto the ground. Then the ground exploded. Ranma yelped and leapt backward as a trail of fire erupted in a straight line between Ukyou and the doorway. "I hope you weren't too attached to your house, Kodachi!" Ukyou cried out again. "I don't plan on leaving much of it standing when I'm finished!"

Ukyou waited for the explosions to die down, then started across the burnt pathway she had created towards the doorway. Ranma rubbed his fingers in his ears and followed her.

"What the hell was that?"

"Tempura flakes mixed with gunpowder, at about triple my usual admixture." Ukyou grinned evilly. Ranma gave her a long, serious stare and then reminded himself never to get on her bad side.

Another laugh reached them as they neared the door.  "Dear me.  I guess you're not nearly as good a friend as a certain Miss Tendo told me you were, to so callously risk her life, now are you?"

"Hey, that's right, you can't exactly burn the place down," Ranma pointed out.

"I never planned on doing that... until Akane and Nabiki are safe," Ukyou pointed out as they neared the door. "After that, I'll probably beat Kodachi black and blue, torch a bit of her house and otherwise 'convince' her not to mess with me. Whatever problem she has, I'm going to solve it before it gets out of hand."

Ranma blinked as Ukyou spoke. Her voice was cold and certain. Those weren't idle threats. He found himself putting a little more space between them. This was a side of his friend that he had never seen before.

Ukyou looked around the interior with a critical eye. Ranma looked over her shoulder past the front hall. He could see that the hall was short and led to a back patio, maybe some sort of centre courtyard deal? There was a bit of smoke left over from Ukyou's stunt, but Ranma could see the bright sunshine bouncing off two figures standing back to back out there. He couldn't make out any other details.

"Hey, Ucchan, check it out!" Ranma tapped Ukyou on the shoulder and pointed towards the figures which were barely in view. Ukyou nodded and then stepped back a bit.

"Akane! Nabiki! Can you hear me? Can you respond?" Ukyou called out again. They waited a few seconds with no reply and Ukyou shrugged and spoke in a lower tone. "Probably drugged."

"Well, let's go get them out of there..."

"Wait." Ukyou grabbed his shoulder. She reached into her jacket and pulled out a dozen of her miniature spatulas. "Kodachi probably has the entire place rigged with booby-traps. Let's see if we can spring any before they become a problem." With that Ukyou tossed the blades into the house one at a time, taking special attention to hit any flowers she saw within line of sight. Ranma blinked as a few of the arrangements suddenly exploded into clouds of noxious-looking purple smoke. "Way too predictable." Ukyou pulled out her larger spatula and began to wave it around, dispersing the small clouds easily. Then, with a simple efficiency, she retrieved her weapons from the walls, making sure to clean them off on the outside of her jacket before returning them to storage.

Ranma walked forward into the room while she did that. Now that he was further in, he could get a better angle on the back patio. The outside was indeed some sort of interior courtyard. The first thing Ranma's eyes settled on were the two girls in the exact centre of the open space. They were bound to some kind of wooden post, black hoods over their heads. They were wearing Furinkan school uniforms and looked to be about the right height. Ranma glanced around the rest of the area. A few scattered pieces of kendo equipment were pushed against the walls, and a bunch of other wrapped bundles were scattered about in various places about the yard. The yard itself was grassy, but well-trimmed. It was fairly small, no larger than the Tendo's backyard. Ranma looked up and spotted their enemy for the first time.

She was standing imperiously on the top of the building straight across from Ranma. She was long-legged, a fact made evident by her high-cut black leotard that was tight enough to leave very little to the imagination. Then again, when one saw such things from Ranma's point of view often enough, they began to lose their carnal impact. Still, it was an interesting outfit. Her long black hair was tied up in a pony-tail that flipped and swayed behind her as it caught in the wind. Her elegant face was smirking down at them... until she seemed to notice Ranma, and then her mouth fell into a stern frown.

"It was requested that you come alone, Ukyou Kuonji.  This... interloper was not invited." Kodachi sounded irritated, and her posture reflected as much. Ukyou stepped in front of Ranma before he could shoot his own response back.

"And I decided to ignore your request," Ukyou pointed out coldly. "Now, I'll repeat what I said before. You can give up now and let me and my friends walk out of here, or I can rescue them, break your legs, and maybe burn your house to the ground."

"An uncouth response.  I think not.  Very well, Ukyou Kuonji.  I will not so insult you by offering you the chance to surrender."  She reached out, stretching a long thin ribbon between her hands. Ranma tightened his posture a bit; Ukyou had warned him not to underestimate that weapon.  "I will remember your threat to break my legs.  Let us see if you can carry it out."

"Ask and ye shall receive," Ukyou responded frostily. With a snap of her arms, Ukyou pulled a small swarm of throwing spatulas from her coat and sent them flying. Kodachi grinned and began to twirl her ribbon in front of her, obviously expecting to deflect the attack. It might have worked too, if Ukyou had been aiming for Kodachi. Instead the shuriken-like weapons let out a series of hollow thuds as they impacted into the post holding the two girls up. With deceptive slowness the ropes fell away, neatly bisected in a dozen places. Ranma kept his attention split between Ukyou and the girl on the roof. Kodachi dropped her ribbon, her annoyed frown deepening slightly. She gestured behind her back and then her hands reappeared with a pair of gymnastics batons. Ranma had also been warned that such batons often carried hidden surprises.

His companion, however, didn't even give Kodachi a second glance. Ukyou was already moving again, her motion efficiently transferring from one throw to reach inside her coat. With a cry she flipped her hands out, and long strands leapt from her fingertips.

"Woah," Ranma called as the bands slapped into the two toppling girls’ bodies, and adhered there. Now that Ranma could see the strands, they looked like super-thick noodles of some kind. He only had a few seconds to notice this before Ukyou jerked with all her strength, lifted the girls off their feet and propelling them through the air. Kodachi gasped in shock and pulled back her batons to throw them.

"Ranma, deflect them!" Ukyou barked.

"Right." Ranma pulled out a few of the miniature spatulas Ukyou had provided him and threw them on instinct. The weapons zinged over Ukyou's head, causing her hair to ruffle in their wake. His aim was true, and each of his weapons struck one of Kodachi's batons in mid-flight, knocking them off path. A second later, Ukyou grunted as the two bodies slammed into her and she fell towards Ranma as she tumbled under their weight. Ranma easily side-stepped the collapsing pile of females.

"You okay, Ucchan?" Ranma asked swiftly as he bent over to check on her. She was currently buried under a pile of girls. Ranma was about to help her up when he felt something snap tightly around his neck. "Gargh!" Ranma tried to scream as he hands flew reflexively to his neck. He could feel the thin ribbon rubbing against his flesh with the tip of his fingers, but couldn't get them under it.

Then he was flying. He gasped in pain as a force wrenched at his neck. The world spun around him. His hands grasped the ribbon and he righted himself. He briefly saw Kodachi as she jerked him skyward. She was standing on the post now. She smiled maliciously as Ranma reached the apex of his flight.

"OHOHOHOHOHO!  You fools!"

With a vicious tug Kodachi pulled him from the sky, sending Ranma flying towards the ground. Ranma tried to gasp, but he could barely breathe. The ground was really approaching fast...

"Ranma!"

Ukyou's voice caught Ranma's attention and he saw her sprinting across the grass towards him. Her expression had lost all its cold composure. She leapt, stretching her arms out and catching Ranma as he fell. Ukyou let out a gasp as Ranma smashed into her stomach. A split-second later they hit the ground, which gave with a resounding crack. Ranma grunted, barely feeling the impact.

He snarled, pulling one of Ukyou's mini-spatulas from his sleeve and slashed apart the ribbon holding him. Immediately the pressure on his throat ceased. He took a deep breath and sat up.

"Dammit," Ranma growled at Kodachi. The girl was still standing on the post in the centre of the yard, a self-satisfied smirk on her lips. "You crazy freak." Ranma looked down at Ukyou before the leotard-clad teenager could respond. "Ucchan, thanks for the assist, but it really wasn't necessary..." he trailed off.

Ukyou was staring up at him, her eyes glassy and her mouth slowly opening and closing. Ranma frowned. Ukyou's arms and legs twitched slightly, but otherwise she wasn't moving.

"Ukyou? Are you hurt?"

"Pppp..." Ukyou gasped between vibrating lips. "P-poison!"

"What?"

Ranma stepped off of Ukyou and looked down at her. Now that he had a better angle, he could see them. Dozens of tiny caltrops, all sticking into Ukyou's body from multiple angles. Each one glistened with some sort of strange fluid. Ranma looked around the yard. Now that he knew what to look for, he could see them. Tiny pieces of metal glinting throughout the entire grassy area. Who knew how many had been under Ukyou when she had landed?

Carefully placing his feet, Ranma turned and glared at Kodachi, who was smiling down at him.

"You hurt my friend," Ranma informed her coolly. "I won't forgive you."

Even as he said that, the girl was flipping back up, landing once more on the far roof. "Dear boy, your friend planned to hurt me rather badly.  Or did you perhaps not hear her threat?  Fair is fair... and I, after all, have not hurt her nearly so badly as that."

Great. If she left the courtyard, Ranma would have more room to manoeuvre without worrying about those caltrops. He grinned. Obviously, she didn't know that the Saotome School focused on mid-air combat.

"And you kidnapped Akane," Ranma said as he bunched his legs and followed her. "Don't think you're getting away with this!" Ranma flew straight at her. He cocked back one hand for a punch. But he was already planning ahead. She would likely evade. If she went right, he could tap off the roof and spin into a kick. If she went left, he would continue past her and rebound with a powerful thrust that should catch her off balance.

Left.  She was going left, he could see her posture shift towards that, and her hand was reaching down.  He grinned... but then Kodachi hesitated.  Her eyes widened as they focused on his approach - was that fear on her face? - and he was upon her.  His fist slammed into her gut.  He wasn't gentle about it... he didn't like hitting chicks, but this one had kidnapped girls and hurt Ucchan. She folded up and tumbled back, but something was odd.  Something wrong about how she'd reacted to the blow.  Normally that drove the wind out of someone, but she hadn't...

His feet touched the roof, and thoughts of Kodachi vanished from Ranma's mind, because suddenly he was falling.  Had he landed wrong?  He scrabbled for purchase, but his hands slipped over the tiles.  They were greased!  And that meant he was falling... towards the grass.  And those poisoned caltrops in it. He desperately flung out his hands, searching for something that would hold him... and caught it.  A leotard-clad form tumbled past him as he jerked to a halt, but he ignored her, looking at what he had grabbed.  It was another tile. But it wasn't greased.  Wait, it was where Kodachi had been standing.  She HAD flipped back to the exact same spot when she returned to the roof.  Hadn't thought anything of it at the time, but... he reached his other hand up to secure his grip.

And the tile broke.

He stared at the broken shard in his hand dumbly for a moment, then frantically dropped it and reached out with both hands.  But it was too late, because gravity had taken over, and he was falling, towards the eaves of the house, towards the grass below.  He looked around for something, anything, saw something dark, kicked himself towards it as he slid from the roof.

The world spun around crazily, then suddenly came to a halt.  Ranma lay still for a moment.  He didn't feel any pricks, no poison coursing through his veins, no inability to move.  Okay.  He carefully moved to his feet.  Where was Kodachi... oh.

Kodachi was below him, having served as his impromptu cushion.  Her haughty face was pale, and her eyes wide.  Her mouth hung open, and she was still except for a slight twitch of her cheek.  Her eyes stared up, but not at him.  In fact, they didn't seem to be focused on anything, or even conscious anymore.  Instead, they were glassy and blank.

It was over already? Damn. That was fast. Ranma was just getting warmed up.

"That was kinda disappointing," Ranma grumbled. Well, first job was getting to Ukyou. Ranma stood up on Kodachi's stomach, not really surprised by her lack of protest, and began to look for some way to go over and help Ukyou without risking getting poisoned himself. That was a bit of a pickle... then Ranma smacked his fist into his palm and grinned. "Excuse me," he told the unconscious Kodachi as he reached down and plucked her ribbon from her nerveless fingers.

Ranma leapt across the yard, landing on the central post. Then with a snap whipped out the ribbon a few times. The first few attempts didn't do much good, but on about the third try he got the trick of it. With that he snatched the huge spatula lying next to Ukyou and pulled it to him. A few second later he had flung it on the ground next to her. With a sigh of relief he leapt the short distance to land on the large flat of the blade.

"Hang on, Ucchan," Ranma murmured simply. He used the last of the miniature shuriken-like spatulas Ukyou had given him to carefully remove the caltrops from her body. Then he lifted her up and tossed her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. It appeared the thick leather of Ukyou's coat had kept most of the caltrops on her back from penetrating all the way through. "Right, now let's go get the others and..."

Ranma cut off as a soft sound came to him. He snapped his head to the side and saw Kodachi. She was standing on the eave again, carrying a pair of batons with spiked heads in each hand. She was smiling.

"What the..." Ranma reached up with his free hand and rubbed his eyes. "How did you get back up!?"

"Silly, silly Ranma.  Do you think I would be so easily hoist by my own petard?  Now, don't move, dear boy, there's a bit of a problem here for you." She held out the batons, poised for a throw.  "The spikes on these are coated with a very lethal little concoction I've brewed up.  A single hit... a single SCRATCH means certain death.  But, as I am merciful, I do not feel it necessary to use them.  Unless you make me, of course.  I have many of them, including these four I have ready to throw now.  You quite admirably deflected them before, but now unfortunately, you are burdened by your friend, whom you probably do not wish to drop upon the poisonous little surprises that were somehow left in the grass.  But you are fast and strong, I can see that.  You could probably save yourself and her from being touched by them.  Probably.  But could you save those other two girls as well?  They are rather far away, aren't they?  And you certainly can't let yourself be distracted, turning your back on me..."

Ranma stared at her dumbly for a few seconds. Then shook his head. "Wow, you are nuts. I didn't believe Ucchan when she told me about you." He stretched his neck. "Well... I guess I'll just have to stop you from using those things." Ranma narrowed his eyes, scanning the courtyard for something, anything, he could use to stop Kodachi before she carried out her threat.

With a soft sigh Kodachi flung one of the batons. Ranma didn't flinch as the weapon thudded into the ground in front of his feet. "Dear boy, you didn't listen.  I said, do not move.  Not a single muscle, save perhaps for that lovely mouth of yours, to respond to what I say.  There will be no further warnings, I am afraid."

Ranma frowned now. Kodachi sounded serious. But there was no way Ranma was going to back down. Kodachi had just gone from mildly annoying kidnapper to potential murderer. Worse, she was using the threat of harming his friends to try and get him to back down. Ranma tensed his muscles invisibly under his clothes, his eyes scanning across the area for some weapon he could use to defend himself, Ukyou and the two Tendo sisters all at once.

His hand tensed slightly and he realized he still had the ribbon. That could help, but at best he could snatch one baton in mid-air before it reached a target, and Kodachi had three of them left. If only he had a bit more practice with the unusual weapon...

"Excellent decision," Kodachi purred, cutting off that train of thought. "Now remember, not even a twitch until I tell you.  You're rather troublesome, boy.  You weren't supposed to be here.  Now what shall I do with you?  It simply wouldn't do to leave you as a proper factor here.  How unfortunate for you that I hold all the cards in this situation, hmm?"  Her voice suddenly grew ice-cold. "You have two choices.  Either leave, right now, or step on one of the caltrops and stay to observe what happens.  Think quickly."

"Nah." Ranma grinned happily. "You want Ukyou so bad? Catch." Ranma moved quickly, cutting off Kodachi before she could speak. With a mighty heave he thrust the arm holding Ukyou forward... and suddenly a cloud of billowing black flew towards Kodachi. But Ukyou wasn't in the coat anymore, Ranma having held onto her well enough to prevent that. Ranma didn't wait to see Kodachi's reaction as the obscuring black coat blasted towards her. Instead he muttered a soft prayer asking Ukyou for forgiveness as he spun on one toe... and threw her through a nearby window into the house proper. Ranma transferred the momentum of his spin even further, tapping off the spatula beneath him and leaping in the direction of the doorway Akane and Nabiki were in.

There was a triple thump as the batons slammed into the coat and the entire mass suddenly reversed direction. Ranma was barely leaping by the time it reached him, but he grinned as his gambit paid off. He could feel something brush past his leg as he leapt away, but it was just leather against his pants. Ranma saw Kodachi already reacting, pulling more of those batons from wherever she was storing them. She was reaching back for a throw and Ranma couldn't tell if she was aiming for him or the girls beyond. He grit his teeth. This had to work!

Ranma snapped his hand out as he flew over the ground. Time seemed to slow down as the ribbon unrolled towards the house. Was it too high? Had he missed? Could he adjust it in mid-flight? Should he? No! Trust yourself, Ranma! This WOULD work!

The ribbon wrapped tightly about its target... the door handle! With a triumphant yell Ranma pulled the improvised grapple sharply. The door slammed shut. Now, Kodachi was cut off from all three of the helpless girls! His leap had also looked like it was toward the house, but it really was just high enough to allow him to tuck in his legs and land on the roof itself. Unfortunately he had no time to unravel the ribbon, and was forced to drop it as he landed on the roof.

His triumph was short-lived as his legs suddenly shot out from under him. He fell backward, and felt more than saw the sudden passage of a pair of poison-tipped batons as they flew through the space he would have occupied had he landed upright. Ranma almost sighed in relief. Then he was falling off the edge of the roof, towards that damn trapped ground again!

With a yell Ranma punched downward. He could just see the glitter of metal amidst the grass... and his fist slammed down into the ground, barely a millimeter from the edge of one of the poison-coated spines. For an agonising instant his muscles fought gravity as he tried to support his weight on that one hand. Then he heard the whistle of incoming projectiles. Gritting his teeth and cursing whatever gods were supposed to be looking out for him, Ranma pushed.

He was airborne again. The batons slammed into the ground where his hand had been moments before. His push had achieved some altitude, but it wouldn't last forever and he could now see the cursing Kodachi seeming to dance in place as she launched batons at him in sequence, tracking his motion.

Ranma had lost the ribbon. He had no way to defend himself from the attacks. In a second his inertia would cease carrying him upward and then he'd be a sitting duck. His mouth cocked into a grin as his brain suddenly provided him with what might be an answer.

Ranma's hands moved fast. One hand clamped onto each side of his shirt and with a staccato of popping wooden ties he ripped it open. A quick shrug and the silk garment was pulled from his chest and swinging around ahead of him. It had worked before. But Ukyou's leather coat was much thicker than Ranma's silk shirt. Still he snapped the fabric with as much force as he could, wishing he'd bothered to learn that iron cloth thing.

The fabric collided with the first baton that would have caught him and he grinned as it flew off course. Then Ranma spun the cloth again, knocking a second and third weapon out of the way. He could hear the shirt ripping and tearing as he descended. It wouldn't last two more blows. But Ranma was almost down to the roof again. The slightly shining roof.

Ranma had almost forgotten the grease again. He needed some way to stay on the roof... to manoeuvre without restriction. Wait, that might work-

Ranma had no more time for thinking. He spun in place, putting his legs beneath him and kicked out with as much force as he could muster. The tile of the roof hit his foot and splintered into dozens of pieces. He was stable!

His shirt gave out at last, tearing into shreds as he knocked aside one last baton. Ranma couldn't afford to stay still. With a grin he used his stable footing to launch himself along the eave of the roof. Every time his foot came down it wasn't a gentle tap. His footsteps left a trail of splintered tile in his wake. Not elegant, but definitely effective. Now he just had to stay ahead of those damn batons and circle around to Kodachi's part of the roof!

It took Ranma a fraction of a second to realize he was no longer hearing the whizzing sound of projectiles, but instead the rhythmic sound of hands clapping. He slowed his pace a fraction and saw Kodachi applauding him. Noticing she had his attention, Kodachi spoke in a low, amused tone.  "Excellent, Ranma, excellent.  Masterfully played.  Truly, you are a wonder, a martial arts genius far beyond my stature."

"Heh, I am the best." Ranma grinned as he pulled to a stop. He was halfway around the courtyard to Kodachi at this point. A good solid leap would carry him to her, but leave him too vulnerable in the air. Best to keep running. But first, he'd give her one last chance to back down. "You might as well give it up. You ain't never gonna beat me. No matter what other tricks you have up your sleeve."

"However, as superb as you are, you couldn't think of everything. You got all three of the girls inside the house.  You guarded them.  You slammed the door." Kodachi stopped clapping and drew her hand up to her cheek. Her mouth dropped open into an overblown O of shock. "Unfortunately for you, you neglected to block the very window you just threw Ukyou Kuonji through.  And more unfortunately still, my aim was quite good enough to send several of my weapons through that while you were dancing around waving your shirt at me." Ranma felt his heart skip a beat. Ukyou! Kodachi smiled as she saw his reaction. Her next words were oily and slow, making sure he heard every word. "Miss Kuonji, most unfortunately, will expire within minutes.  Far too quickly to take her to a doctor.  But all is not lost.  I have an antidote, of course.  Merely throw yourself to the lawn below you and I shall be most happy to administer it to her."

"You're bluffing!" Ranma cried as he began to lunge across the roof towards her. Great geysers of debris erupted in his wake as he pushed with all his speed. She had to be bluffing. Nobody could make that kind of shot. Ranma had thrown Ukyou so she would roll out of the way. Hadn't he? It had been so fast, he might not have done the throw perfect. Plus Ukyou was a lot of deadweight at the time. "Dammit! You psychopath!"

Kodachi flipped down to the courtyard as he approached and Ranma skidded to a halt on the eave of the roof. Could he follow her down there and risk searching her for the antidote...  "You're wasting time, Ranma.  Precious time. YOU could have made that shot.  You know I could.  And I did.  I won't let Ukyou die if I can avoid it.  Talking to her is important to me.  But not so much that I'll surrender to you.  Beat me, bludgeon me... even if I break, how much time will it take?  Ukyou's time, Ranma.  What's more valuable to you?  Winning, or her?"

"I don't believe you..." Ranma growled but he could hear the fear in his own voice. He tensed his legs, ready to leap. He had to risk going down there blind.

Before he could move, Kodachi's hand flickered to her waist and returned holding a small vial of something.  "No more negotiations.  Do what I said. Now.  Or I'll smash it, and we see if you can brew another one in the remaining minutes of her lifespan."

Ranma could feel it. Feel the fight draining out of him. There was no way he could get down there faster than Kodachi could destroy that potion. Especially not with all those poisoned caltrops spread across the yard. He couldn't surrender! But... it went against everything he stood for. There was always a chance... always a possibility... except there wasn't. Kodachi held all the cards. His fists unclenched and his chin fell to his chest.

"Alright! You win!"

"Of course I do.  Now jump down on the lawn, landing with your whole body, if you please, not your very agile feet.  Don't leap towards me, as I am of course expecting that."

Ranma growled and nodded. He stepped forward, toppling off the edge of the roof. He spun once, spreading his arms and legs as he plummeted. The impact didn't hurt as much as he thought it would. He felt the burning points on his back as the tiny metal spikes drilled into him. He let out an involuntary gasp, and it was the last solid sound he made. The poison didn't creep through his system. It hit like diving into a pool of water, swallowing him all at once. He could feel, feel everything, but couldn't control any of it.

Ranma tried to scream as he watched three of the batons impact with his chest, drawing long lines of blood on his bared skin. It came out only as a strangled gurgle. That bitch! He would kill her! He needed to move, just enough to finish her off... He heard the ground crunching softly under footfalls as the girl approached. He rolled his eyes, trying to get a good look at her. If he could see her, he could will her dead with just his hatred! She appeared in his line of sight, looking slightly amused at his expression. She crouched down beside him. Then her entire posture and expression changed. Her shoulders slumped. Her smile went from gloating to relieved. Everything about her changed… except her eyes. Those cold, empty, dead eyes. When she spoke, she sounded barely like the girl he had been fighting. Every word she said was different, less haughty, less HER somehow.

"Geez, Ranma.  You scared the crap out of me.  I wasn't at all sure if I could handle you.  To put your mind at ease, neither Ukyou nor you are in danger.  My batons were poisoned, but only with the same chemical on the caltrops.  Paralysis, nothing more.  You'll remain perfectly conscious, if perhaps uncomfortable.  Which is good.  You should pay attention to what's going to happen.  You might learn a thing or two about your 'friend', Ukyou."

Then she sighed and smiled at him one last time before standing to walk away.

*

Being thrown through a window was not ever going to be high on Ukyou's list of favourite things to experience. Neither was being paralysed. Landing on a hardwood floor after having both done to you was definitely going on her 'never repeat' list. The fall might not have hurt that much, had she been able to roll with the impact. She had somehow managed to land face up in a small pool of broken glass as well. This was not turning out to be one of her best days.

Someone was going to pay, she and Aaron vowed silently. Kodachi wasn't really to blame, she was just a convenient scapegoat. There had to be someone else behind what was happening here with Kodachi. Once Aaron could figure out who that was, they would find out what it was like to be thrown through a window or two.

But the first priority was moving. Aaron couldn't remember how long Kodachi's paralysis concoctions lasted, but he knew moving anytime soon was probably a slim chance. In fact, he was inclined to wait. Ranma was out there, and he was more than a match for Kodachi in one-on-one combat. Even if Kodachi had booby-trapped every inch of the estate, Ranma was still likely to come out on top.

Except...

Except this wasn't just Kodachi. Someone had to have set her up on this errand.  There was no other explanation for her showing so much interest in Ukyou, a person she had no reason to have even heard much about. Someone else was behind this, and that someone could decide to step up and tip the scales in Kodachi's favor.

It was a chance Ukyou just wasn't willing to live with. Which left them both back at square one. How to start moving again?

Aaron frowned as an idea came to him, a radical and really stupid idea. But until they learned "anti-poison fu", then it was all they had. Ukyou wasn't too wild about the concept either, but she wasn't coming any closer to a solution than Aaron.

So they reached out, feeling for that small pocket of strange energy that was Aaron's self-destructive chi. With a gasp they filtered it through their body. Ukyou really didn't have much control over her chi, just the basics of how to enhance muscle strength, eliminate fatigue and otherwise render oneself superhuman. But Aaron built on that, focusing the strange energy using techniques he had mastered in 'his world' to control breathing and heartbeat. Aaron then concentrated the painful energy around the dozens of small punctures which Kodachi's hidden caltrops had punched into Ukyou's arms and legs.

They could feel the bleeding start almost immediately, and with it a slow release of the vicelike grip of the poison. He had been right: the poison was bleeding out of his system. But they couldn't afford to bleed it all out. Some had managed to work its way in too deep, and they had already lost a lot of blood the day before.

With some reluctance Ukyou stopped them. She tested her reflexes a few times and found them slow and sluggish, but there. Good, they could move again. It wasn't much of a struggle to get to her feet. She could hear the sounds of the battle outside the window, but didn't risk a glance outside. In her state, intervening directly in the fight would make her more liability than asset. Aaron first noted the clubs embedded in the wall nearby. Kodachi had probably missed them by centimeters with that throw.

Chuckling to herself, Ukyou strode over and plucked the clubs from the wood. All her tools had been left outside, so arming herself seemed prudent. A quick examination led to her finding a way to retract the spines. Best not to toy with a potentially lethal poison, though Ukyou wasn't sure she thought Kodachi capable of using something like that.

Though tempted to go outside and stick the things in Kodachi's thighs, Ukyou resisted the urge and departed via the handy doorway. She had other priorities now. Now, which way to where she had left the two unconscious girls? Ukyou had been tossed through a window on the opposite side of the house, and she would have to circle the entire courtyard to get to them. One way had to be faster than the other, however. Well, Aaron always claimed to have an excellent sense of direction, so she trusted him as he guided them down the hallway, the sounds of the battle outside slowly dimming as they left the room. Aaron blinked as the hallway swam for a moment, but managed to keep going. They had really lost a lot of blood. He sure hoped Ranma could take care of this without Ukyou's help.

Aaron guessed right, and in short order they entered the foyer. The two girls were still lying unconscious on the floor. Ukyou knelt down next to them as Aaron quickly went through normal first aid on them... and his hands hesitated. Something about these two seemed off. Frowning, he grasped the obscuring hoods and yanked them off without preamble. A brown-haired and a black-haired girl, but neither of them was Nabiki or Akane.

"A trick," Ukyou groused aloud. "I should have known." Then Aaron snapped their head to the side. He had felt the telltale tickle of the martial arts danger sense. Walking into the room in the same direction Ukyou had come from was Kodachi. Ukyou cursed under her breath and rose to her feet, flipping the twin batons in her hand into a defensive posture.

Kodachi did not look happy when she walked in: her pretty mouth was scowling, and her pace was hurried. Plus she seemed to be following something on the floor... ah yes, the blood trail. Then Kodachi looked up and spied Ukyou. She smirked, raising one hand to her cheek.  "Well, you managed to get up somehow, but didn't get very far, hmm?  I also see you noticed those aren't your friends. Well, then again, I never said they were.  Assumptions may well be the death of you."

"You beat Ranma..." Aaron said slowly. He almost added 'that shouldn't be possible', but his inherent distaste for stock dialogue prevented him. "You're more dangerous than you have any right to be, Kodachi Kunou."

Kodachi swung a pair of batons from behind her back. "Which makes us even, I suppose, since you're supposed to be lying helpless on the ground." Wait, that didn't sound very much like Kodachi. There was a twin set of snaps as the bulbs at the end of her batons extended their dripping spines.  "But you know, that's just peachy.  Because, me?  I've been under a lot of stress lately, and of all the people you and I brought here, you are the only one I do not feel the slightest bit guilty letting out all that stress on.  Please don't crumple too easily, and I promise I won't damage your mouth too badly."

Ukyou gasped as Kodachi leapt across the space between them. A desperate parry kept the first blow from smashing into her stomach, and a second deflection prevented the follow-up from catching her. Aaron backpedalled away, trying to gain manoeuvring room, but Kodachi pursued almost faster than he could follow. They were in serious trouble. Blood loss, poison and injury were slowing them down. Kodachi was fighting like she was fresh, and they couldn't risk touching those spines again.

Ukyou kept up a series of parries as Kodachi snarled and lashed out again and again. She caught a particularly strong swing with both of her own clubs and the sheer force of it sent her flying back into the wall. The wood splintered around her and Aaron cried out in pain.

The world swayed as the injuries and dizziness caught up with them. They didn't even see Kodachi charge in, just felt the sickening impact of the club driving into their stomach. Ukyou folded over the head of the weapon. She saw Kodachi smirk. The girl had intentionally retracted her spines? An uppercut with the other club caught them square on the chin. Stars erupted across the inside of their eyelids. They didn't even feel the wall behind them collapse until they were already falling into the next room.

Ukyou propped herself up on one hand. Aaron noted wryly that they had lost their clubs somewhere in the exchange. Kodachi stepped calmly through the hole in the wall she had created, smirking evilly. Her eyes weren't smiling, however. Ukyou spit a gob of blood to the side. With tremendous will she forced herself to kick out, trying to catch Kodachi in the ankles. The girl bounced up over the attack. Ukyou watched her curl into a ball to avoid clipping the ceiling, then vault off it down at them. With a curse Aaron pushed them to the side. Kodachi came down where they had been laying with enough force to splinter the floorboards. But they weren't fast enough to avoid her follow-up kick. Once again stars burst across their vision, this time accompanied by a disturbing darkness at the edge of her eyes.

"Oh my, are you almost finished already?  That simply won't do.  I suppose I'll have to take things just a little bit easier."  Aaron was struggling to lift themselves up while Ukyou tried to get a fix on Kodachi's position. They had landed on their side against the wall, and could only hear her approaching footsteps. Then an unkind hand grabbed a hold of their hair and jerked their face up. Before they could do more than note Kodachi's evil smirk they were thrust into the floorboards again. The floor didn't give way this time, but it certainly vibrated.  "Certain types of pain are almost as good as a cold shower for waking up.  Did that break your nose?  Should I try again?"

"Fuck you," Aaron hissed between clenched teeth, trying to rise. Their nose did feel bruised, but probably not broken yet.

"Goodness, such language.  Well, it's not like you weren't warned.  Oh, and you brought Ranma after I specifically told you to come alone.  Most vexing. This is for that."  Ukyou's head fell to the floorboards again as Kodachi released it. Then something snapped around her ankle. The ribbon? A second later she was airborne. A long scream erupted from her throat. They didn't see what they hit, but their back exploded in pain as it collided with something very hard. Whatever it was, it thankfully broke before their spine did. They flew through the sudden rain of broken statuary, and Aaron noted in one of those bizarre extremely lucid moments that he could see a bit of Principal Kunou's face smiling ridiculously at him. Then they collided with the wall again and collapsed in a heap.

The sound of footsteps approaching kept them from falling unconscious. Ukyou was still struggling to lift herself up, but wasn't doing too well. Aaron was just about ready to give up and just let them drift off.  "Well, that was... fairly satisfying.  I guess you probably can't take much more.  Too bad."  A none-too-delicate poke from Kodachi's foot flipped them over onto their side. She smiled down at them, but her eyes were not reflecting her glee. Reaching out with one hand, she grabbed the front of Ukyou's shirt and pulled them up to eye level. Ukyou struggled to keep her head up, but it bobbed annoyingly. "Or not. It does feel kind of wrong to be beating up someone who looks that much like Ukyou.  But, c'est la vie."  Huh? Aaron blinked. "You look like you could use some fresh air, and I haven't QUITE paid you back for last night, though, soooooooo..."  With a grin, Kodachi spun on one heel and flung them through a nearby window. Not another damn window, Aaron groused internally. But the passage was brief and now they were falling into the yard. The yard laced with poison-caltrops.

Acting on instinct, Aaron drew on a bit more of his own strange chi, somehow gaining the strength to push his hands in front of him and land with both palms against the grass. Tiny metal weapons glinted nearby. Ukyou took over, using the momentum of the throw and the pivot of their palms to complete a flip. It hurled them into the center of the courtyard. With a cry they slammed into the post there. Again acting on instinct, Aaron draped an arm around it, keeping them from collapsing.

Now that they weren't flying through the air, Aaron had a moment to think. What the hell had Kodachi meant there, at the end? Payback for last night? Was this actually some Dark Kingdom thing, after all? But that other sentence, it tickled the back of Aaron's memory. There was something here he was missing. He hated that.

His musing were cut off as the door into the courtyard exploded off its hinges. Kodachi strode out, stepping into the grass without a hint of worry. Nor did she move with any of Kodachi's characteristic grace, Aaron's critical eye noted.  "And you're moving... again!  Congratulations on your resilience.  Does that mean I get to beat you up a little more, or are you just about ready to call it a match for now?"

"What do you want, Kodachi?" Ukyou spit a gob of blood from the corner of her mouth. "I've never done anything to you!"

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong, Ukyou-who-isn't.  Last night..." She paused, and frowned.  "No, wait, it was the night before, wasn't it?  Damn my lousy time sense.  Well, you try staying underwater for nearly 24 hours and see how well you remember a day.  Anyway.  I told you then we were going to talk sooner than you thought.  And now we are going to.  And you are going to tell me everything.  Everything."

"Two nights ago..." Ukyou said slowly. Aaron stared at the girl before them. "No... it can't be. Chris?"

"Bingo!  Got it in one!  Not quite so arrogant now, are we?  Not quite so smugly superior, huh?  But gloating, as fun as it may be, is just a waste of time.  Tell me, whoever-you-are.  Tell me what you know.  Tell me why you look like Ukyou but don't act like her.  Tell me how you knew about Evangelion.  And while we're at it, tell me just what series you were messing with the plot of yesterday.  In fact, just tell me everything that may be of the slightest interest to me.  And be very convincing that you're doing so, because I'll be more than happy to try various methods of making sure you're not holding anything back."  'Kodachi's' voice rose with every word, growing more and more shrill and angry as she went on. By the time she finished her diatribe she was shaking with suppressed rage. Then she took a deep breath and visibly calmed down. "Heh.  You really did piss me off.  But I'm all better now.  So talk."

"Chris..." Aaron trailed off. Was he some kind of shapeshifter? No, that didn't make any sense. What had happened to him? More importantly, to Ukyou's mind, what had happened to Kodachi? Ukyou hardened her face, about to loudly tell the jerk to go fuck himself until he told her what had happened to the real Kodachi. But Aaron snapped her mouth closed. Why couldn't they tell him a bit of the truth? This was Chris. Aaron had trusted the man with more of his deepest secrets than anyone else on the planet. He needed to know what had happened to the boy. Ukyou was having none of it. The 'trusted friend' had beaten them within an inch of their life. Threatened her. Kidnapped Akane, twice. She could even see Ranma laying shirtless and bloody nearby. Let the boy beat them senseless, she wasn't giving him the satisfaction of breaking. The mental battle of wills waged inside their head, forming a new headache that somehow managed to make them feel even more pain then they already were. This might have continued for a good long time, if Chris-as-Kodachi hadn't gotten impatient.

Chris/Kodachi stalked forward, her face twisting into a vicious snarl. Her hand raised as if she was about to backhand Ukyou... and stopped. For a moment the hand quivered in the air, then it dropped to her side. When the Kodachi-lookalike next spoke her voice was weary, but it slowly grew in both strength and vehemence as she talked. "All right. All right.  Let me put things straight for you.  You had your chance to talk nice-nice with me.  But you dicked around and held back with clever answers and finally dangled your knowledge in front of my face like water in front of a man dying in the desert. You ASKED for this.  You damn near forced it, in fact.  And then you came here with Ranma, who was probably ready to kill me - ha! - by the end of this fight. I'm very, very tired of you right now.  You ARE going to give me answers.  Now, I'm trying to get you to give them willingly.  Believe it or not, I really, really don't want to hurt any of your friends.  I don't even want to hurt you, much. But I will.  So help me, if you push me I'll break every bone in your body one by one, and if that's not good enough Ranma and Akane are next.  And if that's not good enough - because god knows if you actually care about them, or are just acting - I will find SOMETHING.  Something WILL make you talk.  Let that something be a threat, whoever-you-are, because I will do more than threaten if you force me.  Capiche?"

"You... you would really hurt all of those people, just to get back at me because I didn't trust you? What happened to you? The Chris I knew, he would... well, he would..." Aaron trailed off. He couldn't bring himself to say that the Chris he knew would never do that. Aaron was, after all, a realist. He knew that Chris was only human. But what could drive the man to such lengths? When Chris lost his temper, he yelled and screamed and threw video game controllers at television screens. But no one got hurt. "My god, what happened to you?"

Kodachi froze.  "The Chris... you knew..." she repeated slowly.  "Who's the Chris you knew?  Who the fuck ARE you?"

"My name is Ukyou Kuonji!" Ukyou spat out, a bit of blood flying from her lips as she did so. Aaron couldn't stop her, nor did he really want to. Kodachi stared at them as Aaron tried to figure out what to say next. He wanted to tell Chris the truth, really he did. But how could he? What was the truth? Kodachi's face twisted. Her mouth became a vicious snarl, her nostrils flared. Aaron could literally see the bangs of her hair rising and flapping as her chi slowly bled into the visible light. But her eyes didn't change. Those dead, emotionless eyes. Why hadn't either of them seen those eyes before? Chris raised Kodachi's hands slowly, curled into strangling claws.

"You... you... you..." Chris hissed between clenched teeth. Ukyou's eyes widened.

"Jenn is alive!" Aaron shouted out as loud as he could. It was all he could think of to hopefully snap Chris out of what looked like a killing rage.

It worked. Kodachi's hands fell nervelessly to her sides. Then she took a deep breath and looked back at Ukyou again, her face still a tight mask of anger. "Damn you, you sneaky... you're toying with me AGAIN.  Not this time. The truth!  Who are you?  Now!"  Before Aaron could say anything, Chris cut in again. "And I swear, if you say 'I'm Ukyou Kuonji' again, I'm going to go over and break every one of Ranma's fingers before asking you a third time."

Slap!

Ukyou stared as she saw her own hand pulling back from the slap she had just delivered. She hadn't even thought about it. She'd just drawn on Aaron's chi enough to deliver the blow. But now that she saw herself do it, she couldn't help but feel... empowered by it. She was angry. This bastard... he didn't even... Kodachi was staring at her in mute shock, caught completely flat-footed, and Ukyou let loose before she could recover.

"My name is fucking Ukyou Kuonji, you jackass!" she shouted. "How the hell would you know differently?" Ukyou felt the anger building up in her. The frustration that had been mounting and mounting ever since she had woken up one day with this fucking stranger in her head. And here this self-righteous geek voyeur prick was attacking her at the core of her being. "How DARE you! What the hell do you know about Ukyou Kuonji that makes you such a fucking expert on the subject!? What have you really seen about her? Snapshots on a page! Ink on paper! You know NOTHING about who I am! Can you even name my father? My mother? Do I even have siblings? To you I'm nothing but a fucking caricature, aren't I!?" Ukyou snarled, she was really working herself into a good fever now. Aaron couldn't do anything to stop her. He was helpless before this sudden, unexpected swell of emotion. "Oh, let's have Ukyou fall in love with Tarou and have him break her heart! That'll be fun! Or how about sticking her in the body of an android and making her watch her own body die! Sounds great! No wait, let's clone her so much she has no identity, make the only person who cares about her a psychopath and drive her so insane she tries to kill all her friends! That's the best part of all! You self-righteous little prick! You can't see anything but your truth, you can't see anything but what you think is right. You've always been like that. To think Aaron likes you! To think he trusts you! To think he wants to tell you everything! I refuse! Threaten my friends all you want. If you touch one finger on Ranma's body, if you disturb one hair on Akane's head, I'll fucking finish what that truck started!"

Chris-as-Kodachi stared at them, her hand reaching up to her cheek. Ukyou snarled, breathing heavily. That attack hadn't cost her as much as she thought it would. The anger, the sweet anger rolled out of somewhere deep inside her, making the pain go away. Ukyou had never known there was anger like this in her soul. She had never suspected anger like this could exist. It was liberating. She almost felt like laughing.

Then it hit her. This wasn't her anger. This was Aaron's anger. He recognised it. He remembered it. The anger he had locked away, ever since he had understood what it meant. Aaron feared this freeing, satisfying anger more than anything. Feared it so much, he had spent the last decade and a half of his life a virtual robot.

Control. He needed to control it before it went too far. A grimace of self-disgust crossed Ukyou's features as she realised what she had tapped into. Yes. They needed to control themselves. Rein in the anger. Concentrate on her heartbeat. Will yourself calm. Emotionless.

"Aaron," Chris said softly with Kodachi's voice. Ukyou looked at him blankly. Had he discovered the truth? Did he know? A part of her, she wasn't sure whose part, wanted him to know the truth. A part of her wanted it secret.

"Aaron.  Aaron.  Of COURSE.  But that means..." The girl that had once been Aaron's friend trailed off and stared at Ukyou with those blank eyes. Aaron wanted to say something, but he was too busy helping Ukyou control the emotions they felt.  "Aaron was the person you knew that died?  Okay, him and me both here?  But... wait.  If you knew Aaron, and you knew of me, why the hell didn't you just say so?"

Here the Kodachi-Chris stopped. Then a look of incredulous disbelief crossed her face. Her next words came out short and sharp, but without real force behind them. "Because of fanfics?  Because we wrote some STORIES about you as a fictional character?  Holy fucking crap, Ukyou, that might've miffed you, but if you associated with him enough to learn all that... what the hell is going on here?  How did he even die?  As far as I can tell, that's next to impossible.  Unless... did he rot?  Or the body got destroyed or something? Wait... he WANTS to?  So he's not dead?  Where the hell is he?"  Kodachi's voice grew more and more frustrated as she continued talking, by the end her hands were clenched into fists. Her knuckles strained and should have turned white from it, but Aaron idly noticed that her entire hand was already pale. Not just her hand, either; her entire body was pale. He blinked. Rotted? A fleeting memory of clammy skin against Ukyou's hand as she delivered her slap came to mind. "Goddamnit, Ukyou, this isn't a fucking game!  If you know him, knew him, whatever, you should know that!  Why the hell couldn't you just tell me the truth?  Because of STORIES?  Shit, fuck, motherfucking... I'm SORRY I wrote stories about you.  Does that balance the scales?"  Kodachi's voice had become slightly shrill as real anger once again entered into it. "Yeah, I'm SO FUCKING SORRY I read about you in a comic book, Ukyou Kuonji, and never realised you existed somewhere, somehow.  That really is just as bad as taunting me and abandoning me as a rotting corpse when you could have given me some help and hope, huh? Jesus.  Fine.  Tell me where Aaron is, or if he IS dead, tell me what you know, and I'll get out of your life.  If you knew me, you should have known I never would have wanted to hurt you, or Ranma, or Akane.  You damn well forced me into this by refusing to tell me a damn thing.  But nobody's permanently injured or... well, none of your friends have been hurt except for some scratches on Ranma.  So just tell me what the HELL is going on here, please?"

Rotting corpse? Abandoning? Pale skin. Clammy flesh.

("This body is just a vessel."  He looked up at her, stared her in the eyes.  "Just a vessel.  It doesn't bleed.  It's not even alive.")

Dear lord.

"I don't know what's going on," Aaron answered truthfully. He opened his mouth to answer Chris, to finally tell all. Then the part of them that was Ukyou thought 'And what happened to Kodachi then?' and his mouth snapped shut. "You killed her. You killed Kodachi, didn't you?" they said in mixed shock and horror.

"I..." Chris clamped Kodachi's mouth shut and narrowed her eyes.  "No. No, I see what you're doing.  Getting me to answer questions without answering any of mine, again.  I'll answer you when you answer me, Ukyou.  You still haven't explained a damn thing.  And you're STILL not acting like Ukyou should, and I'm SORRY where I draw my knowledge from, but nobody else here acts so utterly different than what I expected.  So, fine, I'll believe you're Ukyou, since you're a damn good actress if you can fake that much anger.  But something obviously changed you.  So what was it?  Meeting Aaron?  What happened?  Why are you so damn determined not to tell me anything?"

"Meeting Aaron? Meeting him..." Ukyou snickered. She couldn't help herself. "Yes, it was meeting him. Aaron changed my life. Aaron ruined my life. Because of Aaron I can't tell Ranma how I feel about him. Because of Aaron I can't get mad at anyone without risking it blowing up into a berserk rage. Because of him Sailor Pluto is trying to kill me, and the Dark Kingdom is attacking me. Because of Aaron I've seen myself in ways I never wanted to see myself. Oh... and let's not forget, Aaron's 'friend' is threatening to kill me while in the corpse of Kodachi Kunou!" Ukyou took a deep breath, trying to let Aaron reign in the anger she felt again. "I hate Aaron Peori," she spat softly. She couldn't help it. She didn't want to do it. She could almost sympathise with Aaron. He was just as much a victim here as she was. Except she couldn't.

Chris stared at them mutely for a moment.  "What the hell are you talking about?" Kodachi's voice was dumbfounded.  "Because of Aaron, because of Aaron. Obviously he's no mind-controller..." Ukyou burst out into a short, bitter laugh. But Chris just gave her a funny look and continued."...so how he's doing all this stuff, I don't know.  And you obviously got mad at me just fine. Well, that makes us even, since I was certainly mad at you.  Although, just to make a point, I never threatened to kill you.  ANYway..." Chris reached up and massaged her temples, closing her eyes.  "You're evading the point again.  I don't think you're doing it deliberately, because you're obviously agitated about the whole thing.  I don't know why you hate him.  I don't know why you hate me, previous to today's encounter.  But I'm willing to let bygones be bygones.  However, you've got to give me a little here.  I need to know what's going on.  Hell, if you're having so much trouble with him, maybe I can help you."  Her voice was growing bitter. She opened her eyes and stared straight into Ukyou's.  "But you have to help me first.  Just spit it out, for christ's sake.  Get mad all you want, threaten all you want, but the fact is, you're not getting out of this situation without telling me anything, so let's deal with this situation rationally.  Trust me, no matter how much you hate that I wrote fictional versions of you to be angsty, I've suffered PLENTY for it, okay?"

"I can't help you, Chris," Ukyou said slowly. "At least, not yet." She tried to straighten herself up, but her vision swam with black sparks. Giving up, she resumed her slump against the post. "I don't think you can help me either. Aaron... Aaron gave me a lot of baggage to carry, Chris. Up here..." Ukyou tapped her forehead. "Up here Aaron has done a lot of damage. But it's okay. I can help you, in the future. You already know how. The Sword, Chris. In only a few months, it will hit the magic number and I plan to be there when it does. I can help you then."

Before Chris could reply, Aaron cut in. "Chris. You have to believe me... I want to help you. But there's nothing I can say that can make what you're going through better. I have no clue why this all happened to you. I have no clue why it happened to me as well. And I wouldn't look for Aaron either, he can't help you now." Aaron dipped their head. "If that doesn't satisfy you, then I suggest you beat me up some more. Get it out of your system."

"Oh, trust me, I'm tempted."  The anger was clear in her voice.  "Once again, once again, you won't tell me CRAP.  And I don't know why, but I'm getting plenty sick of it.  The sword?  The Wishing Sword, you mean?  Who gives a shit?  Do you even know where it is?  Because nothing ever said that.  And even if it did..." She sighed and looked at her hands.  "Months.  Probably at least three months, maybe four, given the current circumstances.  I can't wait for that.  There won't be anything left of me by then.  Unless... but I can't take the risk.  If you want to help me, help me by TELLING ME.  You may not know why this happening - I don't even think you know WHAT is happening - but you damn well know more than I do.  Why won't you tell me what you do know?  Do I have to get on my knees and beg you?  Jeezus!  Goddamn... JEEZUS!"  She swung wildly, her fist whistling in the air. Ukyou didn't flinch.  "I don't care if you're Ukyou!  I'm not going to sit here like a good little corpse and, and, FUCK!  You WILL tell me what you know!  You gave me no reason to do anything other than twist the truth out of you, but I tried talking.  I believed you, I trusted what you told me.  And you're STILL dicking me around!"  Ukyou just looked on dully as the Kodachi-corpse turned her eyes back to her. "Don't. Don't do this to me, Ukyou.  You don't know me any more than I know you.  But I'm not the person Aaron knew.  You said it yourself.  What I've gone through... what I've become... you can't imagine.  I hope you can't.  But don't do this to me. Because I won't let you.  And I'm scared of what might happen. What I might... just tell me.  Please.  I AM begging you.  Tell me.  Tell me what happened to you.  What happened to Aaron.  What's going on.  I need to know.  I NEED it."

"I can't help you, damn it!" Ukyou said in exhaustion, tired of this. "You want to know what I know. Fine. You and Aaron were hit by a truck when he went to visit you. You died fast, he died slowly and painfully. Now you're here. End. Of. Story." Ukyou stared at the ground. It took her a few seconds to realise she was crying. "I'm not dicking you around, Chris." She brushed a few tears from her cheeks and noted with distaste that it was mixed with blood. "You want the truth... so do I. I want to know what fucking happened to me. I want to know why I remember things that haven't happened yet. You want to know what happened to Aaron? He died and I felt him die. I know everything he knew. I don't know HOW, okay?" Ukyou slumped down, no longer able to hold up her body. "Just, leave me alone. I can't take this anymore. Just leave me and my friends alone."

Ukyou stared at the ground, unable to work up the emotional or physical energy to look up and see Chris's reactions. A few seconds passed without any response. "So... some sort of soul-bond.  So you felt him, and you knew what he knew, and... no wonder you act so different.  You're... what, Ukyou with a dash of Aaron.  With all his memories.  And he's dead."  A short bark of bitter laughter erupted from above Ukyou's head. "Well, isn't that rich.  He's dead.  He's dead, and I'm dead, except he's more dead.  Or maybe I'm more dead.  How should I know?  I'm real good at that, I guess.  You know, having dead friends.  You should know, if you have his memories."

Ukyou didn't respond. Aaron didn't feel like doing so either. What was the point? They just continued to watch tears of blood drip from their face to the ground. "All right.  So you told me," Chris said in Kodachi's voice. She sounded weary. "Look, I believe you.  I'm not so horrible.  And since I promised, here's what I am. Yes, I killed Kodachi.  I killed her, and I killed the person whose body you last saw me in, and I killed someone before that, and before that, and before that, and before that I woke up in the body of someone I presume who had just died.  You say I'm dead in the real world?  Or my world, or whatever?  I guess that explains why I'm dead now.  And I AM dead.  I'm a walking corpse.  I don't breathe, and I don't feel things like I did before, and I don't have bloodflow or, well, any of the other things you probably could intuit me not having due to being a corpse.  But it gets more fun than that, Ukyou.  Oh yes.  I can kill people, and take their bodies, take their memories, their skills, and learn them.  You know that.  You've seen that.  You must think I'm horrible.  You're probably right.  But I'm not doing it for no reason.

“They're dead.  They're dead, and they start to rot.  Rot.  I can feel THAT.  I can feel myself rotting from the inside out.  It's like... I can't say what it's like without making it sound trivial.  It's…  my entire BEING is hollowing out, becoming softer and softer, decomposing, and then the insects come, and..." Kodachi's voice quivered and Ukyou could almost feel her shudder.  "I can't take it.  I was going insane, in that first body.  I kept running from place to place so the maggots and flies wouldn't get me.  I ran across someone, they called out to me.  I think they were making fun of me, that body was of a street bum.  I was so... ANGRY.  I snapped.  I killed them.  I didn't even realise what I did until I was standing over them... and then I felt it, I felt this void calling to me, and I was in her body, I WAS her, and I could feel what she felt, remember what she remembered."

Kodachi started pacing in front of them. Her voice came out in short bursts, like she was spitting up something unpleasant. "I didn't want to do it. I was horrified, you understand?  I was going to try and get back to Canada, give myself to the government.  But then I found out.  This wasn't my world.  It wasn't even the right year.  I found out that Sailor Moon existed, and then was pretty sure Ranma did too.  I knew, if I was going to get help, I needed to come to Japan. Because that's where everything was.  Where everything HAPPENED.  This was magic, it'd be in Japan or China I'd find a cure for it."

Another pause. This time the voice that drifted down to Ukyou's ears was heavy and drained. "But I couldn't get there in that body.  And, in fact, I realised the problem went deeper than that.  The body was already rotting.  Two, three days, they lasted, and then it'd happen again, and I couldn't take it.  I decided I needed a body.  A stronger body.  A superhuman body, like this world was full of.  It was horrible, but what choice did I have?  In a body like this, I hoped, I could stay for weeks, maybe even months.  Then I'd have TIME to look for an answer, for a cure, without it always being in the back of my mind, rotting, always looking for a new victim.  Less people would die.  The ends were worth the means."

Chris sighed.  "Small consolation for Kodachi, right?  I don't think my life is worth more than other people's.  You should know THAT courtesy of what Aaron knew. But I couldn't take just staying in the body while it rotted again. And I didn't know what else to do.  I wasn't even sure if I could kill myself. Yes, as you no doubt have already guessed, Akane was my planned target. But I couldn't do it.  Even before you interrupted... you saw, didn't you?  I didn't take the gun.  So Kodachi was next.  She was the only other target I could think of, that I knew I could have a chance of killing.  And she wasn't Akane.  It wasn't pleasant, but Kodachi's an evil bitch, and I could force myself to kill her.

"And the goal, of course: to find out about you.  What you knew. Because all I knew was that you looked like Ukyou, didn't act like Ukyou, and knew about me, knew something nobody from this world should have, and wouldn't tell me the truth.  For all I knew, you had the key to freeing me from this damn curse.  Or knew what had happened, which I could at least take to an expert. I'm sorry things turned out the way they did, but you didn't exactly help, you know.  I still don't understand why you wouldn't tell me the truth then. Didn't you realise something was wrong?  I dunno."

Aaron didn't respond. Let Chris paint them as the villain, if he wanted. It cost Aaron nothing to let him do so. He knew there was something wrong with what he had done. But then again, how was Aaron to know that Chris had been in such a bad position? It wasn't like he wasn't in a bad situation himself.

"Maybe you were just resenting getting in contact with someone who Aaron knew.  Maybe I can't blame you.  But you can't blame me, either.  It's not that I WANT to be like this.  I don't want to kill people, not you, not Akane, not Kodachi, not even the people I don't know.  It's easy to say I should have just tied myself up and sunk to the bottom of the river, or something. I don't know." Another sigh.  "Whatever.  Now you know my story, too.  That's what I promised. Now, I'll help you and Ranma get to a hospital, and free Akane and Nabiki.  I'll stay out of your affairs, I guess. If you do get the sword, I guess you can let me know, if I'm still stuck here. Hopefully this body will last long enough. Hopefully..." Kodachi's voice trailed off.

Ukyou shuddered. "No," she said softly. "Just... give Ranma the antidote. Get Akane and Nabiki. Let us go."

When Chris next spoke he couldn't quite conceal the resentment behind his voice. "Whatever suits you.  I'll go get the girls."  Fine. Let him dislike Ukyou. Maybe it would keep them away. Aaron couldn't stand to see him in that body anymore. It reminded Aaron of everything he had lost. Aaron could hardly stand to think of himself anymore. Ukyou's hatred for him was contagious. Maybe... maybe Aaron didn't deserve to live either. Was he so different from Chris, stealing second after second of Ukyou's life?  Kodachi's footfalls fell off slowly as she walked away from them.

Ukyou and Aaron were left alone, beaten and defeated, each in their own way.

*

Chris walked up the stairs with a scowl.  Maybe it was a little petty to be annoyed at how much Ukyou disliked him and wouldn't help him.  But maybe it was a little petty of her, too.  Everything that had happened was as much her fault as his.  She had figured out who he was, if not what he was, the other night.  Nothing stopped her from telling him the truth then, except her goddamn resentment of him.  For what?  Because Aaron had known him?  Because he wrote fanfics?  What a joke.

But he forced himself to calm down.  Ukyou might have been asinine, but she was a done issue.  Besides, she was young.  Very young.  It was easy to forget that.  Only sixteen.  So maybe expecting rationality was a bit much.

It was still very hard not to be angry at her.

He swung the door open to where Akane had been held captive.  Looking down, his eyes adjusting to the dimness, she was struggling weakly to free herself, and then she was staring at him.  Wait.  Struggling weakly?  That paralysing gas took Ranma out of commission for an entire night in the manga. Of course, Kodachi had caught Ranma by total surprise, whereas Akane could hardly have been shocked at the thought that the flowers would do something bad. She must have not inhaled much.  Sloppy.  He'd have to be more careful in the future.

Stepping inside, he opened a dusty wardrobe next to her, and retrieved the katana he had stored inside it earlier as a weapon of last resort. Thankfully it hadn't come to that.  Akane was still staring at him.  Not glaring, for which he was oddly grateful, but just staring, piercingly.

He unsheathed the sword, and sliced it down with a swift but delicate motion.  Akane flinched involuntarily, but his aim was superhumanly perfect, severing every strand of the ropes that bound her without touching even a thread of her clothing.  That made him feel good as well.  This whole thing might have been a total, stupid, useless waste, but at least he had his body, now.  His martial-arts-death-machine body.  That gave him hope.

He looked down again after a moment.  Akane has removed her gag, but had not said anything.  She was still staring at him with a half angry, half sad look.  For a moment they remained like that, and then she spoke.  "Why?"

"Why?" he repeated, confused.  "I already told you... oh.  That's right. You must've heard everything.  That's why I put you in this room."  He glanced towards the small window that peered into the courtyard.  "So you could hear the truth when I did.  Except it wasn't a truth I'd expected."  He gazed down at her again with a wry little smile.  "I guess you were right.  She is Ukyou, after all."

"Was it worth it? All this?"

He sighed.  "Who can say, Akane?  Who can say?  But you'll all be fine. You, your sister, Ukyou, Ranma... none of you are permanently injured.  It could've been worse.  It could've been much worse.  So, in that way, it isn't so bad.  And at least it's over."

"Is it?" Akane tried to stand up, and he instinctively reached down to help her with his free hand.  She flinched away from his touch, staggering back to the window.  Well, he couldn't blame her for that reaction. "I didn't understand half of what you two were talking about. I thought... Ukyou was just a normal girl who had been abandoned by Mr. Saotome. Now I find out all this. This all seems... bigger now."

He flipped the katana over his shoulder, tapping the blunt side against it for a moment.  "I'm not going to apologise for that, Akane.  I'll apologise for kidnapping you.  I'll apologise for beating up Ukyou.  And I apologise for what I almost did two nights ago.  But I won't apologise for what you found out today.  If Ukyou's your friend... well, friends share things.  Friends try to help friends in trouble.  Now you know more about the trouble Ukyou has.  I suppose, if anything, that's the one good thing for you to come out of this."

"I have so many... no. I have to help her..." She pushed past him, and staggered to the door, obviously woozy still. "She needs my help."

Typical.  He sighed.  "Wait a second, Akane." She kept walking, well, staggering anyway. "You said it yourself, I have to get her to a doctor... thankfully I know someone nearby who can help."

He walked out behind her.  "Yes, Akane.  A certain Doctor Tofu, right? A good idea.  But first off, if you won't let me assist you in walking, slow down a bit, because if you fall down the stairs and break your neck that leaves only Nabiki to take the three of you there.  Second, Ranma and Ukyou happen to be in the middle of a grassy area liberally covered with poisoned spiky bits of metal.  You're going to need some better footwear before you try to extricate them."

"I can take care of myself..." she began reflexively, and then stopped with a sigh. "Fine... wait. You said Nabiki was here?"

Whoops.  "Yes, actually.  I grabbed her and you both this morning. She's in another part of the house; I'll go free her while you help Ranma and Ukyou."

She paused, but then seemed to accept it.   "Okay. I need some sturdy shoes then."

He tapped the katana again.  Probably should have put that back.  Oh well, too late now.  "Yes... if you go down these stairs - be careful - you'll go into the main foyer.  If you then take a... right, you'll see a small door in the hallway on your left, which is a closet.  That's where the servants put the footwear, I believe.  You should be able to find something suitable."  He paused, then laughed a bit.  "I'm sorry.  Talking like this... it seems sort of surreal, somehow."

She looked over her shoulder at him.  Her expression was sad.  She opened her mouth, closed it again, then turned and walked away.  As she vanished down the stairs, he leaned against the wall and stared up at the ceiling.  There was a crack, probably from Ranma smashing up the roof.  A bit of dust hovered in the air.

Could things have gone differently?

He shrugged.  It wouldn't have mattered.  Ukyou was prejudiced against him from the start.  It was too bad Akane had gotten involved.  But he wasn't exactly counting on her help or anything.  And now she knew enough to get the truth out of Ukyou.  In the long run, that'd probably improve any friendship they had.  Especially since Ukyou had so conveniently taken Akane out of the Ranma sweepstakes.  So, probably, this would end up being good for them.  Not that either would likely see it that way.

Good for him?  Well, he had his body.  Once he got rid of them, he'd get to work.  Have to feed Kunou - currently tied up, drugged, and stripped to his underwear in his bedroom - a story to explain what happened.  Have to do something about the bodies of Midorigame and Officer Takashita, hidden and sunk under the bridge of the pond, respectively.  Maybe the police?  Maybe the yakuza?  Whatever.

And after that, he'd start using the money and connections he now had. Maybe he could find another series with the sort of expertise he needed.  If not... it'd be awhile before Cologne departed to come here.  Maybe a trip to China would be in order.

He walked away from the stairwell Akane had gone down.  He'd free Nabiki and get them out of here.  They could go home and commiserate about how they'd almost been killed by the awful, horrible, hateful monster.  Oh well.  At least they'd stay the heck out of his business from now on.

*

Getting Ukyou and the others to Doctor Tofu's place took a lot more work than Akane thought it would. First, there was the problem of the two other girls to deal with. Akane recognised their faces, if not their names. She wasn't about to leave the two of them here with Kodachi, or Chris, or whoever it was that had just done all this.

It was all so stupid!

Akane forced herself not to think about that while she worked. A set of wooden clogs protected Akane's feet while she got Ukyou and Ranma out of the yard. She remembered gasping when she finally got a good look at Ukyou. There was so much blood, coming from her mouth and nose and eyes and ears and all the small cuts on her body. Her face and hands were covered with bruises. Akane couldn't see the rest of her, but imagined it was much the same. Akane had went to help her but had been stopped by Ukyou's soft but insistent voice.

"Ranma first."

That had been all the girl had said, since Akane had shown up in the yard until she was back at the office recovering in one of Tofu's beds. Akane wanted to argue, but she just couldn't. So she had ended up carrying Ranma out of the yard first. By the time Akane was heading back out for her friend, Nabiki had shown up.

Nabiki seemed shocked by the level of damage done to both the Kunou estate and to both Ranma and Ukyou. Compared to that, the rope-burns on her wrists and ankles seemed unworthy of comment. After that, the two of them did their best to carry/drag the quartet back to Tofu's clinic. Akane ended up doing most of the work, though Ukyou was able to partially support her own weight.

Tofu took one look at the group Akane led into his offices and shooed out the rest of his customers. He wanted to get Ukyou to a real hospital, but the girl refused for some reason. Thankfully, all that Ranma and Akane's schoolmates needed was a few judicious pokes with Tofu's practiced hand and a dose of some vile-smelling concoction. All three were up and walking within an hour. Akane herself got a good swallow of the potion, and discovered it tasted about as bad as it smelled. It did clear her head.

Now... now she was just sitting next to Ukyou's bed. Ranma was sitting on a windowsill, staring alternately at Ukyou or out at the setting sun. A few minutes ago Ukyou had fallen unconscious. Tofu had left to go consult some texts of his. He seemed worried; far more worried than Akane had ever seen him. Nabiki had wanted to come in and speak with all three of them, but Akane had been forced to keep her out.

She remembered Ukyou's last words to her, before she had drifted off. "I don't want... anybody to know about what happened. Keep it secret... please." Akane felt kind of bad about keeping her sister away, and the look Nabiki gave her promised trouble down the line. Akane was just reminded of how stupid this all was by that.

How could it have come to this? Akane couldn't help but feel that if the two of them had just been willing to talk with each other from the beginning, if just one of them had been willing to trust the other with their secrets...

"Dammit!"

Akane snapped her head up as Ranma leapt down from the windowsill. He stalked over to the door, scratching idly at the shirt Tofu had been kind enough to loan him.

"Where are you going?"

"I can't..." He looked over at Ukyou and dropped his head. "I can't just watch her like this again."

Ranma walked out of the room. Akane sighed and set her chin on her palm. In a few minutes, she would probably have to leave herself. Her father was probably worried sick about her, not to mention Kasumi. But she didn't want to leave quite yet. There were too many questions swimming around in her head. Questions only Ukyou could properly answer. She hadn't heard everything the two had been talking about, but she had heard enough to know that there was far more going on here than Ukyou had once led Akane to believe.

Akane reached out and grabbed Ukyou's limp hand. However it turned out, Ukyou had friends. Maybe Ukyou had done something wrong. But Akane would be here when she woke up, and Ranma was going to be here too. Whatever problems Chris, or whoever that was, had... they were behind them now.

She hoped.

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes:

Blade: Well, that was about as much of us as any sane reader would ever want to handle, so we should probably keep our pretentious self-indulgence short.

Epsilon: And to think people were actually asking us to tone down the angst.

Blade: Feh.  "They don't know us vewy well, do they?"

Epsilon: Well, I really don't have anything to say here.  It pretty much explains itself.

Blade: What, no translations of Japanese names for Ranma's amazing Shirt Shield technique?  Or Tile Breaking Stance?

Epsilon: That sounds like a Charm from Exalted.

Blade: Oh jeezus.  Shut up about Exalted already.

Epsilon: (gleeful fanboy mode) I statted up Hybrid Theory Ukyou in Exalted!  It was COOL! (/GFB)

Blade: Well, this is a reversal of roles.  Anyway, so yeah.  Never fear, people who read this self-insert fic, but not for the self-insert elements!  It will be a good long while before there's as much Chris and Aaron as there was in this chapter.

Epsilon: Yes, other characters will have a chance to angst too!

Blade: Because god knows Ranma 1/2 is certainly well-known for all its rampaging angst.

Epsilon: Anyway, there's nothing much else to add...

Blade: And I'm horrendously sick, so I'm probably forgetting whatever brilliant geniusosity I normally would...

Epsilon: ...right.  So let's hit the next chapter preview!

"I woke up almost eight hours ago now. I spent a lot of that time lying here and getting very familiar with what that ceiling looks like. I also spent a lot of that time thinking. I was thinking about what I was going to tell you when you came and you had questions. Questions about me, about Chris, about Aaron and about how all three of us are connected. And I came up with a lot of things I could say to you. I spent a great deal of time refining the message over and over in my mind, editing it and revising it. I perfected it the same way a politician perfects a speech or a storyteller perfects a tale, introducing the right levels of drama and exoticism, playing to the emotional appeals of my audience. I came up with a brilliant way to give you what you wanted to hear.

"Now, sitting here, looking at the two of you, I can't say any of it. Because everything I was going to say to you was a lie. Oh, I could call it a subtle half-truth, or just a little white lie, or a harmless omission... but I seem to have lost the ability to deceive myself even as I become a better liar. I look at your faces and I feel like a bitch when I prepare myself to lie to you so openly. I can't do it. You two mean too much to me. So instead I'm going to tell you the truth, or a good part of it.

"There are parts of the truth I'm not going to tell you. Some of that is because I don't know the whole truth. Some of that is because there are things I just don't feel like telling anyone. There are secrets in my heart that I want to keep, and if it's wrong for me to hide them from you then I'm wrong, but that doesn't change how I feel."

Hybrid Theory Chapter 5: Session

Um yes, well, I'm Doctor Tofu Ono, and it seems I have the task of describing the last chapter to you.  It was truly very exciting!

It seems Chris was very angry at Ukyou, so he had killed Kodachi Kunou and taken her body so he could get stronger, and hopefully not rot away as quickly. Ukyou and Ranma returned from Juuban, Ukyou still not entirely well after having drawn on this painful dark power inside her. They found that 'Kodachi' had taken Akane and Nabiki and hurt K... K...

HE HURT KASUMI!

BETTY-CHAN, MY SWORD! He must die!

...

Oh dear, I appear to have lost track of time.

Then Chris was talking with both Akane and Nabiki and they had a very interesting conversation! And when Ukyou showed up with Ranma, Chris was very upset! They fought! Chris managed to poison Ukyou, and Ranma was forced to...

...oh dear, I've just been told I'm a terribly boring recapper.  I can't help it if my character hasn't had quite so much attention drawn to it as Alan Harnum did.  Perhaps it's simply that Mr. Harnum is a better writer...

...now I am being told to go back to being boring, or Chris says he shall twist off my head like a dandelion and mount it on a wall.  Then throw darts at it.  He seems a bit insecure, in my professional opinion.

Ahem. Yes. To make a long story short, Chris bluffed Ranma into defeating himself and then attacked the helpless Ukyou. After his brutal assault, he interrogated her. She told him a half-truth, leaving him with the impression that Aaron was dead and she had just inherited his memories. Chris, on the other hand, told Ukyou everything. They also appear to not like each other very much.

Chris, having won but feeling bitter about it, released all his hostages and Akane took them to my clinic for some much-needed medical attention. Which is where I come into this story, I suppose.

Chapter 5: Session

"So you're awake."

Ukyou sighed as her newly modified memory drifted back into the recesses of her consciousness. She had been rather fond of that memory before, or so she suspected. It was rather hard to tell.

Anyway, she and Aaron were awake now. The first thing she noticed was her complete inability to move. The next was the spoken phrase, which had just now registered. She opened her eyes and saw the plain white ceiling with its harsh neon lights overhead. In the corner of her vision she saw hanging partitions. Oh right, Akane had taken her to Doctor Tofu's clinic.

"Doctor Tofu, I presume?"

"Why yes. Though I don't believe we've had a chance to be properly introduced," the man said as he leaned in. Doctor Tofu was really a quite attractive man, Ukyou noted with idle dispassion. He had well-trimmed brown hair, kindly black eyes behind neat little glasses and the kind of mouth which was made for smiling. Aaron was curious as to why he wore a martial arts gi in the office, but couldn't work up the energy to ask.

"Ukyou Kuonji," Ukyou said in a bored tone. "And you are Tofu Ono. Pleased to meet you." Tofu seemed to find her deadpan manner slightly amusing, and chuckled to himself.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"No, actually, I feel terrible," Ukyou pointed out with a sigh. She wasn't exaggerating, either. Her muscles ached like she had just run across all of Asia, and her head felt like someone had set off a fireworks display in it a few moments ago. There didn't seem to be a part of her body that didn't feel like someone had worked it over with a baseball bat. "But you can unparalyse me, if that's what you mean. My seizure is over now that I'm fully awake."

"You sound like you're used to this kind of thing," Tofu noted idly as he moved his expert fingers to unfreeze her. Ukyou grit her teeth and hissed as the sudden return of vitality to her limbs only increased the pain. "I'm sorry," the doctor murmured softly when he saw her expression.

"Problem not." Ukyou sighed and rolled her head back on the stiff pillow Tofu had provided her. "It wasn't your fault."

"I can do something for the pain."

"Don't bother," Ukyou groaned. "It isn't that bad. Plus it will remind me not to be such an idiot in the future."

Tofu tsked and leaned in, placing his fingers on a few of the pressure points on her head. Slowly, much of the pain drained away. Now she only felt like she had been run over by a garbage truck. "I'll never understand how you martial artists can be so bull-headed about certain things."

"Like wearing workout clothes while tending patients?" Aaron chuckled. Tofu had the decency to look abashed, but still smiled in a winning fashion. Aaron frowned, however, looking back up at the ceiling. "I guess I should get the cliches out of the way. Like finding out how long I was unconscious, and what happened to everyone else."

"Well..." Tofu shrugged and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You were asleep for a good..." He checked his watch and whistled. "A little over thirty-eight hours."

"Thirty-eight?" Aaron blinked, followed swiftly by a groan from Ukyou.

"Yes, you were in much worse shape then you are in now when you came in. I didn't even try to wake you up."

"How bad?"

"Very bad," Tofu said with uncharacteristic seriousness in his tone. "Aside from the extensive internal and external injuries, coupled with the blood loss and broken bones... the most serious damage of all was to your chi."

Aaron snapped his eyes to the doctor's face and stared at him intently. The man seemed to barely notice as he leaned back on the stool he was using.

"I don't know what technique you were using, but whatever it was is extremely dangerous."

"Indeed..." Aaron sighed. "The truth is, doctor, that it wasn't a technique. It's a... condition I suffer from."

"Ah," Tofu commented softly as he nodded. "That makes sense. The damage done to your chi is too extensive for you to have done it voluntarily."

"Can you... tell me anything about it?"

"Hmm... not really, I'm not sure of the cause, It's certainly not anything I'm familiar with."

"Too much to hope for," Ukyou grumbled softly. She spoke again before Tofu could respond. "So, where are all my friends? I expected one of them to be here when I woke up."

"Don't be disappointed," Tofu said easily. "It's still school hours for them. Akane and Ranma have both been in to see you with all their free time. They're doing well. Ms. Hirozuki and Ms. Kanagata have not been back since I gave them an antidote to that nasty poison."

"Ah." Aaron nodded. He and Ukyou fell silent as the doctor moved back out of their sight and did doctor-things. In the silence of the clinic, the mental debate started. Calling it mental speech would have been a misnomer. It was far more... pure, more immediate than any speech could have been. The moment a concept entered Aaron's mind, it entered Ukyou's mind with the same potency. In exchange, her thoughts were experienced by Aaron simultaneously. Maintaining a sense of separation was difficult, but not impossible. Aaron had no trouble identifying which thoughts were "his" and which came from Ukyou's part of their shared psyche. It could still be confusing and annoying, however.

The first thing to enter their dual mind were recriminations, on both sides. Ukyou had deliberately pushed Chris away. Aaron had drawn them both into too many conflicts. But the attacks lasted only a few seconds. It was impossible to blame someone for something with any real vehemence when you became instantly aware of every nuance of thought they experienced. So, there could be no blame to dole out here. Whatever damage they had done to themselves and their friends, both past and present, they shared responsibility equally. It was the only fair way to see it.

That was the logic behind it. It didn't stop Ukyou's feelings. Aaron knew how to suppress his feelings, but that was one skill Ukyou never wanted to master. It left her with this dark pit of hate in her gut, a roiling toxic mix of guilt and anger and pain that she couldn't let out. It had been almost a month since she had woken up with Aaron stuck inside her skull, and that miasma of hatred had been growing every day since then. The fact that Aaron was as much of a victim as she didn't matter. The fact that she was being a bitch to his friend didn't matter. Her heart couldn't be swayed by logic; simple sense couldn't stop her from hating him for the mockery he had made out of her life.

Her constant hatred was inescapable for Aaron. It wore him down, eroded his meagre confidence. Ukyou's outburst against Chris the other day, when she voiced her hatred for the first time, had been the first time in his life that Aaron had ever considered suicide. Maybe it would be better if he could find some way to disappear.

Ukyou sighed aloud. Now his feeling bad was making her feel bad. Which only made her angry. Which only made her hate him more. Which only fuelled his growing depression. It was a vicious cycle, one which both of them realized existed, yet neither of them could do anything to avoid.

"You look sad," Tofu understated as he walked back into view. "You should cheer up. From what I gathered, it isn't all that bad."

"You didn't hear enough," Ukyou sighed again. "I..." Ukyou trailed off. "It doesn't matter, doctor. This is just something I have to live with, I guess."

"Well, if you need somebody to talk to..." Tofu smiled down at her and let the comment hang in the air. Ukyou forced herself to smile back. She didn't feel like smiling, but Aaron was a good actor and it was simple to draw on his skills in that area. "We're probably going to be together for a while. The level of your injuries... it would take someone weeks or months to recover fully from them. I don't even recommend you get out of bed for another week."

"I see..." Ukyou nodded. "Isn't this the part where you recommend I go to a normal hospital?"

"I would, except I don't believe that any normal hospital could properly treat you," Tofu responded. "At first, I would have thought that best, but now..." he trailed off. "You've had as close to a complete transfusion as you can get. The rest of the damage is too widespread and too minor to be corrected with even the most advanced surgical techniques. Not to mention the damage to your chi. Your average surgeon or resident wouldn't understand the concepts behind chi damage, much less the treatments needed to reverse it."

"So... that's why you work as a chiropractor?" Aaron mused aloud. "I always thought you were a bit too skilled to be a small-time practitioner."

"You sound like we've met before."

"We haven't," Ukyou said evenly. It was easy to forget how much they knew, thanks to Aaron's reading that damnable comic book. "I just make it a habit to learn everything I can about my friends and enemies."

"A strange habit in one so young," Tofu mused as he leaned back. He started for the door. "I think I can help you recover from your injuries, Miss Kuonji. I understand you fled medical care the last time this happened. I hope you won't do the same this time."

"I won't." Ukyou turned her head to the side and saw him standing at the door. "I insist on paying for your help. I'm not a freeloader, and I have money."

"Hmm? Oh, it doesn't matter much to me. Your case is so interesting; I've never seen a kind of damage quite like yours. I would love the chance to study it."

"Now you make me feel like some lab accident," Ukyou groused with as much good nature as she could manage.

"Hah! No, nothing like that!" Tofu laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

"Indeed..." Ukyou turned her head back to the ceiling. "Do me a favour, and tell Ranma and Akane that I'm awake if you can get in touch with them. I have... things I need to discuss with them."

"I will," Tofu said seriously. The sound of the door closing left Ukyou alone with her and Aaron's thoughts.

*

Nabiki splashed the cold water on her face and reached over to procure a towel to dry herself off. She couldn't stand this anymore. It was keeping her up at night. Remembering that day. Locked in a room, tied up, gagged, listening to the distant sounds of combat as it ripped up the Kunou estate...

She shook her head to free up those thoughts. No use dwelling on the past. Best to think forward to the future. With a yawn she leaned away from the sink and stretched herself out. She might have been able to let it go, if she had been able to make any progress at all with finding out things about Ukyou Kuonji. No such luck. But maybe today that would change.

Nabiki left the bathroom with a smile on her lips. She did not forget to take her schoolbag with her when she left. She wasn't letting that thing out of her sight. The school itself was relatively quiet today, which was a blessing, because Nabiki didn't want anything distracting her today. She made her way through the halls to class without any further incident.

Kunou was back in classes full time today. Without Ukyou around to give him his daily beating, he had even managed to show up for class on time. Nabiki had already cornered him the other day and bribed him with a few of the "less discrete" pictures she had of Akane until he blew the whole story to her. Once she managed to filter out the usual self-aggrandising idiocy from Kunou's responses she had managed to figure out quite a bit.

Apparently Kodachi had drugged him and locked him in his room for the totality of the "incident", which meant Kunou had seen about as much of what had happened as she did. The fact that he treated being poisoned, trussed up and locked away by his sister with such blasé familiarity was something Nabiki found vaguely disturbing. Apparently Kodachi had released him once everyone was gone, and then told him that she was going on an extended vacation of some kind. He had spent much of yesterday withdrawing his sister from the exclusive girl's private school she attended.

Kodachi herself had also been a busy bee yesterday. Apparently, the morning after the battle, she had 'discovered' the body of a dead police officer in a pond on the property. Nabiki might have dismissed it, except for the fact that her sister was attacked already by a police officer. This was rather too large a coincidence for Nabiki to dismiss, even if she didn't quite know what the connection was. Too bad the police, after swarming over the household for much of the day, seemed to accept whatever story she spun for them and moved along their merry way.

Nabiki briefly considered pressing charges against the girl. But the problem was, she was slightly intimidated. Kodachi had beaten Ranma and Ukyou, and Nabiki had seen both of them fight before. She doubted very much the police could protect her from Kodachi if she started flinging dirt about. But the idea was very tempting. Nabiki just knew she could poke a few dozen holes in whatever story Kodachi had come up with for them. Getting revenge on her kidnapper came in second to saving her own skin, however.

It was far easier to focus her efforts on the person that was going to be more available and of more immediate concern anyway. Which reminded her about her package.

Once she was safely in her seat, Nabiki took out the plain manila folder and began to flip through its contents. It was lucky she had established a reputation for scholastic excellence, and so could look through the information without being hassled by the teacher. Inside were all the public records available for one Ukyou Kuonji, and quite a few non-public records as well. It had cost her a pretty penny to get access to all these, but in Nabiki's opinion it would be worth it.

Throughout the day, the information proved to be naggingly incomplete. It contained all the usual backstory, which Nabiki was able to piece together quite well. It seemed Ukyou was a relatively normal student. Went to mostly all-boy's schools, worked on the side in a number of restaurants. No living relatives (his father had died just months ago, his mother died shortly after he was born) or much in the way of obvious friends. There was some sort of problem with his records from about ten years ago. All of Ukyou's identity papers, from birth certificate on up, were re-issued suddenly throughout that year. Which was interesting, but annoyingly unrevelatory. There was also the fact that Ukyou had suddenly withdrawn from school and all but disappeared off the map almost one month ago. That left two major events for Nabiki to find out about.

From what she remembered, ten years ago would be just about right for when Ranma Saotome first encountered him. That meant Ranma was still probably her best source of information on the mystery boy. Which was annoying, since he was proving amazingly stubborn about spilling the beans on Ukyou to her. He was obviously hiding something - he had the worst poker face - but he simply refused to talk about it. Hitting up Mr. Saotome for information was no better. He would just sweat until he somehow distracted her and then - splash - instant panda. It was frustrating.

A month ago would be just about right for Ukyou coming to Nerima, so that wasn't so much of a mystery. Considering his father had died only a few months earlier, he must have delayed only so long before departing on his quest. But the father's death did point out one interesting fact. It appeared that Ukyou Kuonji had inherited quite a bit from his life insurance and estate. Mysterious was one thing, but independently wealthy was a whole other kettle of fish.

Nabiki smiled and shuffled the papers back into the plain manila folder. The information she had gained had barely been worth the price she had paid. But it did at least confirm some of the Kuonji boy's story. Now the rest would be up to Nabiki. Well, it had been a few years since she had been forced to really dig for something. She was going to enjoy the challenge.

*

"I don't know, maybe we should have let Nabiki come along?"

"Forget about it, Akane," Ranma replied with a shrug. "Ucchan already asked us to keep what happened at the house between us three. Plus, she ain't exactly dressed up for preserving her secret right now, ya know?"

Akane sighed as she followed Ranma up the path to Doctor Tofu's clinic. He was right, even if Akane didn't feel very good about excluding her sister from the conversation. Nabiki had been kidnapped too; she probably deserved at least as many answers as Ranma or Akane did. But on the other hand, Nabiki finding out about Ukyou's condition would mean her father might end up switching the engagement between Ranma and her to Ranma and Akane. That just didn't bear thinking about. The two only barely got along now because of their friendship with Ukyou. No telling what being forced into that kind of relationship might do.

"Ah, you came quickly," Doctor Tofu said as he stepped out the door. Akane smiled and bowed, making sure to run a hand through her long hair so that the doctor would see it. Just because she was here to see Ukyou didn't mean she couldn't score a few points with Doctor Tofu in the meantime.

"We came as soon as we got your message!" Akane said enthusiastically.

"Yeah, why didn't you call us at school or something? I could have used the excuse to get out of classes," Ranma groused as he laced his arms behind his neck.

Tofu laughed and shook his head as he adjusted his glasses. "Now Ranma, school is serious business. You should concentrate on your studies a bit more." Ranma gave him a puzzled frown but otherwise didn't react. Tofu turned to Akane next, his soft brown hair blowing in the wind. "You two are both really good friends to Ukyou. I think she could really use some friends at the moment as well." Akane nodded a few times while Ranma rolled his eyes. "Come along, she's in here."

They followed the doctor into the back of his clinic. He only had three patient rooms, so it didn't take them long to reach the one where Ukyou was resting. Once they were inside, the doctor quickly excused himself. Two chairs had been placed in the room for them, one of which Akane availed herself of. Ranma, being Ranma, decided to perch himself in the windowsill again.

Ukyou herself was sitting semi-upright, propped up on a small mountain of pillows. Her hands were laced behind her head and she was staring at the ceiling with cold-eyed indifference. She looked a lot better now then she had when Akane had first dragged her into the clinic. The colour had returned to her cheeks, and the bruises had stopped growing. The one on her chin ended just below her lip and just before it reached her neck. But for some reason, she looked less healthy when she was awake. There had been something about the image of Ukyou when she was asleep that this awake Ukyou didn't possess. Akane didn't want to call it "peace"... but it was the only word she could think of.

"Ucchan..." Ukyou looked over at Ranma as he spoke. "Are you... feeling better?"

"I'll live," Ukyou shrugged. Ranma seemed to take that at face value, but Akane wasn't going to let her get off that easily.

"Are you sure you're alright?" she asked, trying not to sound too insistent.

Ukyou switched her attention to Akane and smiled, though it seemed forced. Akane had seen Ukyou smile before. When she did, her face lit up and the cold demeanour she often walked around with seemed to burn away. This time it did not. "I'm really fine, Akane. It's just a little beating. A week, maybe two, and I'll be better than ever."

Akane considered disputing that, but decided better of it. Ranma nodded along as Ukyou spoke.

"Heh. You know, I've always wanted to say this." Ukyou spoke up suddenly into the silence that descended after her statement. "I guess you're all wondering why I called you here today."

"Uh, no, not really. I figured you were going to tell us about this whole mess with that undead guy, er girl, er whatever."

"Ranma, you're messing with my cliche!" Ukyou teased.

"Sorry!" Ranma said as he raised his hands in front of himself. "I didn't mean to!"

Ukyou stared at Ranma's look of mute horror for a few moments with a totally blank expression. A second later she broke out into a fit of uncontrollable giggles. Akane found herself smiling along with her. Somehow that outburst of giggles made Akane feel better. Ranma, for his part, spent a few moments staring at them in confusion until he finally realised he must have said something stupid. This caused him to glare at them both and cross his arms over his chest, puffing out his cheeks in annoyance. The expression he put on only caused Ukyou to laugh louder. Akane began to giggle herself, and after a moment Ranma joined them.

The spent the next few minutes just laughing together. Everytime it began to die down, one of them would make some silly face and the guffaws would burst out all over again. It wasn't judgmental or harsh, it was just easy and companionable. Somehow the laughter infected them all, brought them closer together in a way they hadn't been until now. Akane clutched at her stomach. The laughter was beginning to hurt, but not in a bad way. Laughing like this felt so right, so good.

It felt like friendship.

As the chuckles died down for the final time, Akane spent a few seconds thinking about that while she wiped tears from her eyes. This was the first time Akane could remember feeling this way. Sure, she had Yuka and Sayuri for hanging around with. But those were just people she talked to at school. They didn't... they didn't understand her the same way. Everyone else at school either treated her like some weird tomboy, or some porcelain statue (albeit one they wanted to beat into a date). Ranma and Ukyou were people she had much more in common with. They had shared danger together, and now they had shared laughter. Akane found herself wishing the moment wouldn't go away.

But, of course, it did.

"I needed that," Ukyou said as she clutched at her own stomach. "I don't think even I knew how much I needed that."

"Uh... you’re welcome?" Ranma rubbed the back of his neck and grinned, trying to take credit for his slip-up earlier. His expression threatened to start Akane giggling again, but she stifled the urge as the cold, serious look reappeared on Ukyou's face.

"But anyway, you interrupted me before I could start..."

"EEEK!"

"What the..." Ranma leapt from the windowsill and ran towards the door.

*

Nabiki knocked on the door to Doctor Tofu's clinic. She suppressed the urge to laugh into her hand as she rolled back and forth on the balls of her feet, waiting for the man to respond. It took him a few moments, probably because he was used to people just walking into his reception area. When he did appear at the door, he blinked owlishly on seeing her, but smiled anyway.

Perfect. He didn't suspect a thing.

"Oh, Nabiki! What brings you here today?"

Nabiki smiled back and held out a plate full of (store bought) cookies and a (library) book of anatomy. "Oh Doctor Tofu!" she grinned, pouring on the false enthusiasm. "I just came over to give these to you. Kasumi wanted to bring them over herself, but was too busy. So I helped her out."

"K-Kasumi sent these..." Tofu said as he stared at the items in front of him. Nabiki could practically see the veins in his forehead throb. Just a little more of a push...

"Oh yes," Nabiki smiled even wider. "She said she made them especially for you. She wanted you to enjoy them as much as you would her company. She really does miss you, when she can't come over."

"She... m-m-misses me..." Tofu chuckled and adjusted his glasses. The poor man was practically steaming, and his glasses had already begun to fog up. "Oh... k-Kasumi!"

Nabiki thrust the goods into the doctor's hands and side-stepped him as he danced out into the yard. That'd take care of him for a good long while. Nabiki had seen him in his state of Kasumi-induced bliss quite a few times. He wouldn't notice if those cookies were store-bought, not when she had seen him eat pieces of ceramic plate without noticing it before.

Nabiki proceeded easily into the clinic proper. Thankfully, at this time of day it was deserted. Almost all of Tofu's patients were old men and women, and none of them liked being out this time of day when all the teenagers were about. Nabiki slipped into the back without incident and crept along the hallway. There was only one door closed back there, so it didn't take a genius to figure out which one Ukyou and the others were talking behind. Well, laughing behind, from the sounds of it.

Nabiki chuckled herself. They wouldn't even notice her. Nabiki calmly walked into another room and pulled a stethoscope off the wall before returning with the instrument. Unable to contain her glee, Nabiki slipped it into her ears and placed the metal cup against the thin wooden door. Perfect, she could hear everything they were saying in there. The laughter was dying down and Ukyou was thanking Ranma for something. It also appeared that Nabiki hadn't missed the meat of the conversation. This was going to be...

There was a bony hand on her shoulder.

"EEEK!"

Nabiki leapt away from the hand, spinning in mid-air with the kind of grace only gymnasts and the terrorised possessed. Behind her was Doctor Tofu with his anatomy skeleton. His glasses were still fogged up and he was grinning like a loon.

"I'm sorry!" he said with a smile. "Betty just wanted to thank you for bringing us the cookies! She's so happy to hear from Kasumi, you see." Nabiki wasn't sure what she found more frightening, the bones on her shoulder a second ago, or the way a grown man was making his teaching skeleton wave its hand at her.

Suddenly the door next to her flew open and Ranma stepped into view. He took one look at Nabiki and Tofu and then crossed his arms with an amused grin on his face.

"Can I... help you two?"

"Uh, no..." Nabiki said with a sigh. Ranma's sudden appearance seemed to have snapped Doctor Tofu out of his stupor. That meant Nabiki didn't have to be afraid of the man rearranging her body-parts in a playful accident while he was out of it. It also meant that Nabiki's chances of listening in were just about shot.

"Oh, Nabiki, what are you doing back here?" Tofu said as he bent his head to the side. Disturbingly, the skeleton tilted its head in the exact same way at the exact same time.

"Yeah... what are you doing back here?" Ranma said with a bit of suspicion in his voice. Nabiki realized as he stared at her that she still had the stethoscope plugged into her ears. That would explain why everyone's voice had been muffled. She pulled it off with a chagrined smile.

"I was just... helping the doctor put away some equipment!"

"Oh, really..." Ranma gave her a flat stare. Nabiki tried to edge past him, hoping to get a look into the room, but Ranma shifted to block her view. A moment later he was joined by Akane, effectively blocking out all line of sight into the room.

"Nabiki? Why did you come here?"

"I was..." Nabiki almost blurted out the excuse she had given Tofu earlier, but paused when she saw the man standing only a few paces from her. There was no telling what would set him off. "I just dropped some stuff off and... andnowI'mleavingbyebye!" Nabiki ran off as she finished her sentence, skipping around the motionless doctor and his pet skeleton agilely as she sprinted for the door. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment, but she wasn't about to be stopped by this little setback. Oh no... this wouldn't stop Nabiki Tendo!

*

Ranma closed the door firmly once Nabiki was out of sight and Tofu apologised for the interruption. Akane wasn't that mad, just vaguely disappointed in her sister. She went back to her seat, while Ranma leaned against the wall near the door. Close enough, Akane noted, that he would hear if anyone came down the hallway again. Ukyou had a slight smirk on her face, but shook it off quickly as she adjusted her position to better face them both.

"Well, as amusing as that was..." Ukyou trailed off a bit. "Where was I before we were interrupted?"

"You were about to start explaining all the stuff that happened two days ago to us," Ranma pointed out simply.

"Ah yes..." Ukyou ran her fingers through her bangs and sighed. "That's quite a tall order. I don't even know where to begin."

"Were you hiding so much from us?" Akane said, unable to keep the disappointment out of her tone.

Ukyou flinched. "I wasn't lying to you, exactly. Everything I told you was phrased so that what I was saying wasn't exactly a lie, you see..." Ukyou trailed off with another flinch. Ranma was giving her a flat look, and Akane guessed her own expression was remarkably similar. "I just didn't want to..." Ukyou trailed off as their expressions didn't change. "Fine. You're right. I lied to you. I'm sorry." Ukyou bowed her head, allowing her bangs to fall over her eyes.

Akane let out a sigh. "It's okay, Ukyou. You had good reasons for not telling us the whole truth, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Don't worry about it, Ucchan," Ranma added in. "We forgive you. Well, I'm guessing Akane does. I never really held it against you, myself."

"I know..." Ukyou raised her head up and smiled a little thinly at them. "You're not the kind to hold a real grudge, Ranma." Then she smiled a little viciously. "Not that you don't hide things from your friends on occasion, either." Ranma scratched the back of his neck in confusion while Ukyou gave him a slightly self-satisfied smile. "Like, about certain sauce recipes..." Ranma stared at her for another second then his eyes widened and he gulped.

"Huh? Sauce recipe?"

"Never mind. Think nothing of it, Ranma," Ukyou waved aside Ranma's obvious confusion. "I forgive you."

"Oh, well, that's good... I guess..." Ranma said with a shrug. Akane blinked a few times, feeling a little left out. It was still hard to accept that Ranma had actually known Ukyou longer than Akane had, especially since Akane had met her "first" here in Tokyo.

Ukyou seemed to relax a bit, releasing a long slow breath between thin lips. Her eyes closed and she ran a hand absently through her bangs. "Where to begin..." Ukyou mused aloud. "The beginning would be a good place. But it's not the right place. The beginning was over ten years ago, back when Ranma and I first met. The only important thing you have to know about those times is that Ranma's father stole my father's food cart, and abandoned me in the dust when he was supposed to take me with them."

"Wait... now I remember!" Ranma burst out, pounding his fist into his palm. "That day... I remember you running after us."

"Indeed," Ukyou nodded her head, still not opening her eyes.

"But I thought you were just there to say goodbye."

"I know, you were six. I blamed you at first but... in time I came to realise that you weren't at fault."

"So I was partly right," Akane mused aloud. "Mr. Saotome did abandon you. I thought he was... you know, really your..."

"That I was Ranma's illegitimate sister or something similar?"

"Something like that..."

"I guess I only have myself to blame," Ukyou sighed. "I was so used to lying that I just let you draw your own conclusions." Ukyou grinned sardonically. "That's the easiest kind of lie, you know? The one where you just give the mark only enough information, phrased just so, and they draw their own false conclusions."

Akane had no real response to that. Neither did Ranma, apparently. When Ukyou spoke next, her voice had taken on a new cadence. It was slow and rhythmic, drawing her attention in an odd way. There was something about the way it sounded that was familiar to Akane, but she couldn't place her finger on it.

"I woke up almost eight hours ago now. I spent a lot of that time lying here and getting very familiar with what that ceiling looks like. I also spent a lot of that time thinking. I was thinking about what I was going to tell you when you came and you had questions. Questions about me, about Chris, about Aaron and about how all three of us are connected. And I came up with a lot of things I could say to you. I spent a great deal of time refining the message over and over in my mind, editing it and revising it. I perfected it the same way a politician perfects a speech or a storyteller perfects a tale, introducing the right levels of drama and exoticism, playing to the emotional appeals of my audience. I came up with a brilliant way to give you what you wanted to hear.

"Now, sitting here, looking at the two of you, I can't say any of it. Because everything I was going to say to you was a lie. Oh, I could call it a subtle half-truth, or just a little white lie, or a harmless omission... but I seem to have lost the ability to deceive myself even as I become a better liar. I look at your faces and I feel like a bitch when I prepare myself to lie to you so openly. I can't do it. You two mean too much to me. So instead I'm going to tell you the truth, or a good part of it.

"There are parts of the truth I'm not going to tell you. Some of that is because I don't know the whole truth. Some of that is because there are things I just don't feel like telling anyone. There are secrets in my heart that I want to keep, and if it's wrong for me to hide them from you then I'm wrong, but that doesn't change how I feel."

Here Ukyou paused as she took a deep breath. Ranma's mouth opened and closed as he tried to find a way to respond to all that. Akane herself was far from speechless, she could think of a million questions and reassurances to give Ukyou. But even as she opened her mouth to say something, Ukyou's hand shot up and formed a wall between them.

"Please, don't say anything. Getting this out is hard enough. If you interrupt me now, my courage might fail and you'd end up just as misled as before. I need to get this out now, or I'll never get it out."

Ukyou flexed her neck.

"I am Ukyou Kuonji, the same girl you that you befriended all those years ago, Ranma. But to a certain extent I'm another person as well. A boy who died, and whom I managed to... inherit the memory of. He... is like a silent partner. He hasn't taken me over, like some parasite or anything. I'm still ME. But we are who we remember we are as well, and I remember all his life." Ukyou ran her hand through her bangs again.

"I can't really tell you how this happened. I don't know myself. It happened about a month ago, and ever since I've been struggling to deal with it. Having these extra memories in my head has also done things to me physically. As you've seen, I can damage myself by tapping into my chi too deeply and when I fall unconscious I wake up again having spasms and fits. Plus, I can't feel... comfortable as a woman like I used to. Aaron was a guy, and for some reason his presence changed my body so that I can't be much like a girl anymore. It makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about it..."

Ukyou opened her eyes and looked over at them. "And that's me. A girl who by some quirk of fate ended up with this bad thing stuck over her head. So, before I go any further, I'm sure you're both dying to ask me questions. So shoot."

Akane stood up and quickly crossed the room to Ukyou. Ukyou only stared as she leaned over and wrapped her up in her arms. It was kind of awkward, but Akane managed. Ukyou stammered for a few seconds, obviously not expecting this. Akane smiled and stepped back, brushing a scattering of tears from the edge of her eyes as she did so.

"Ukyou... I don't really understand what's going on, but I'm not about to let whatever it is get between us, okay?"

"Um, okay..."

Ranma, however, walked right past the bed, a frown of anger on his face. Ukyou gulped at his expression. Akane couldn't blame her, he certainly looked mad.

*

Nabiki smirked as she idly spun the stethoscope around her index finger. It was a bit of luck that she hadn't dropped it in her flight from the doctor's office. She would return it later, of course. Nabiki was no petty thief, at least not for things with no real value. Secrets, on the other hand, had a good deal of value.

Her problem before had been trusting to luck. Tofu's chaotic actions had worked against her. That was why this time she would eliminate any chance of Doctor Tofu interfering. So saying, she had waited outside his clinic until another patient had arrived, a young pregnant woman. With the doctor occupied with a patient, he was sure not to interfere with her reconnaissance. Thankfully it had only been a few minutes before a patient arrived, so hopefully Nabiki hadn't missed anything critical.

The back lot behind Doctor Tofu's clinic was deserted, basically just a muddy field dotted with the detritus of human society. It would probably cease to exist in a few months as the realtors of Tokyo eagerly gobbled up the precious open space. But for now, it was just another empty place in the world. That suited Nabiki just fine. She walked along the wall, using her free hand to run her palm along the painted facade. She mentally counted out the windows until she arrived just below the one in which her sister was talking with the mystery boy.

The problem was, she was below it. She craned her neck back and stared up at the narrow window in annoyance. It was quite a bit above her, which made her chances of overhearing much of what was going inside remote. But that wouldn't stop Nabiki Tendo!

Looking around, she quickly spotted a few abandoned boxes that looked sturdy enough. They proved a little heavier than they looked, but you didn't get a body as hot as Nabiki's without exercising a little bit. Still, she was sweating by the time she had piled two of them up. A quick hop and she found herself within easy reach of the window. She could even crouch, giving her a nice lap on which to lay her notebook. Suppressing the desire to snigger she fitted the stethoscope over her ears and reached up to place it against the windowpane, looking down with her eyes so she could write anything she heard down in the little notebook perched on her knees.

Hmm. That was funny. She waved the little metal cap around a bit, trying to touch it to the window, but it seemed like the window wasn't there. Was it recessed into the building? No, Nabiki could have sworn the pane of glass was flush against the side of the white-washed walls. Oh, there, it seemed to have hit something...

"HELLO, NABIKI!"

"AHHH!"

Nabiki tipped over and collapsed as her hands snapped to her head to cover her ringing ears. Then she screamed again as she fell on the empty crates, which splintered under the sudden impact with her bottom. Then she screamed again as she plummeted through to the next crate, which also smashed apart when her rear end collided with it. She didn't have the breath to scream when she landed on the ground, which thankfully didn't give way. For a few dizzying seconds she wasn't sure whether to cover her ringing ears or rub her sore behind.

It took her a few moments to recover her equilibrium and for the ringing in her ears to die down to any degree. Moaning, she reached up and pulled the stethoscope off her head. It didn't really help with the pain, but it made her feel better about it. She looked up above her, and only remembered what had caused her to crash when she saw Ranma's smirking face staring down at her. That arrogant little bastard had yelled into the amplifier!

He was saying something, but Nabiki couldn't hear him over the ringing in her ears. For a moment she thought it would be too undignified to cup her hands to her ears and yell "What?", then she remembered she was sitting on the muddy ground, surrounded by a pile of splinters. Her face burning red with embarrassment (and anger, don't forget the anger!) she made it clear to the boy that she couldn't hear him.

"I said, imagine meeting you here Nabiki, again," Ranma shouted a little louder. Nabiki could hear him now. It helped that the ringing was really dying down.

"Yeah, imagine that..." Nabiki chuckled dryly.

"Can I ask what you were doing outside the window?" Ranma said as he crossed his arms on the sill and rested his chin on them. His stupid Cheshire Cat grin wouldn't go away, however. Nabiki resisted the urge to glare at him, trying to put on her most pleasant front.

"I was... just trying to return Doctor Tofu's stethoscope?"

"Right..." Ranma drawled. "Here, I'll do it for you." He reached down for the instrument, which Nabiki reluctantly handed over. "Anything else?"

"No... I think I'll be on my way," Nabiki stood up with as much dignity as she could muster. Which wasn't much. The skirt of her uniform was plastered to her buttocks with mud, and she was more than a little wobbly on her feet.

"Are you sure you can get home okay? Maybe you should see the doc about that fall?"

"I'm perfectly fine!" Nabiki snapped as she strode away. Ranma stayed in the windowsill, watching her with idle interest until she turned the corner. Nabiki spit out a stream of unladylike curses as she leaned against the wall and rubbed at her sore rear. Damn.

Well, Nabiki wasn't about to let this stop her. Neither Tofu, nor Ranma, nor anyone else would keep her from finding out the secrets of Ukyou Kuonji! She smirked and nodded her head downward, covering her eyes with one hand as she tried to think of what to do next.

It was then that she remembered she had just been using that hand to rub at her skirt. Her skirt which had been covered in mud.

Nabiki sighed.

*

"Sorry 'bout that, Ucchan," Ranma said as he slid the window closed and turned back to the room. "Man, Akane. You seem like a nice enough person, you know, when you're not molesting me, but your sister is a real prize."

"Hey!" Akane shouted, doubly indignant.

"I thought we talked about this already," Ukyou said with a sigh.

Ranma grinned at her and leaned against the windowsill. One-upping Nabiki was enjoyable. The two of them had spent every moment together since they had been "engaged" shooting verbal snipes back and forth. Ranma felt kind of sore with how easily she outmanoeuvred him. Getting a bit of payback made him feel better about it.

"Well, Akane already said she doesn't have many questions, Ranma. What about you?" Ukyou asked calmly. Ranma dragged his attention back to the matter at hand and frowned a bit as he thought the question over.

"I guess this stuff does answer some questions. I mean, it seems a lot like my curse, only in the exact opposite."

"That's... actually a rather insightful way of putting it, Ranma." Ukyou smiled a bit at him. Ranma shrugged. She sounded relieved to hear he wasn't mad at her or anything. Ranma would have told her she didn't have to worry, but that really went without saying. Ranma knew what it was like to live with a problem that people just didn't understand most of the time. The fact that Ukyou had a certain bit of guyishness to her was something he found really easy to accept. Heck, it was much harder to think of Ukyou as a girl than to think of her as a guy. Though there was that bit about her 'true feelings' when she was yelling at that guy which Ranma wasn't sure about...

"Okay, well that explains you," Ranma said. "But what about this other girl? That Chris person?" Ranma didn't bother keeping the anger out of his tone. But Ukyou should be able to tell it wasn't directed at her. Nobody humiliated Ranma like Chris had.

"Hmmm..." Ukyou ran her hands through her bangs and let her palms rest against the back of her neck. "First off, she's not a girl. Chris is a man, like Aaron was. The two of them were friends, and they died in the same accident. I guess that something went wrong. Somehow Chris ended up being slingshot to our world as well, but he's stuck as a corpse person."

"Our world?" Akane asked as she leaned forward in her chair.

"Huh? Oh, well... that's probably the wrong term to use." Ukyou paused here and chewed on her lower lip a bit. "Aaron and Chris are from the future, from our point of view."

"The future?" Ranma snorted. "That doesn't make sense. They're like, time-traveling ghosts?"

"Don't be so quick to dismiss it, Ranma," Ukyou berated him lightly. "If you can believe in men who turn into women, why not people from the future?"

"Huh... I guess."

"That's part of the problem with him," Ukyou mused. "Chris knows the future, and thus has access to a lot of information that most people don't. It's how he was able to predict all our moves and beat us so easily-"

"I wasn't beaten!" Ranma snapped a bit. Seeing Akane and Ukyou staring at him, Ranma grunted and laced his own hands behind his neck. "Well, I wasn't. I was going to win that fight until she, he, whatever... until Chris convinced me you were dying."

"He what?"

"I only let myself be paralysed because I thought the poison she had hit you with was deadly," Ranma explained easily enough. "I... I wasn't about to let you die."

"Indeed..." Ukyou said in her oddly emotionless tone. She shook her head. "But we shouldn't have to worry about Chris. I think he'll leave us alone from now on."

"But why take that risk?" Ranma griped. "I think we should settle the score now." Ranma's fingers clenched along the back of his neck and he grit his teeth. That creature... had played him for a fool. Then beaten Ukyou to within an inch of her life while all Ranma could do was watch. He would... do something about it!

"Calm down, Ranma," Ukyou said soothingly. Ranma took a few deep breaths as he forced himself to ease up. "There's no need to pick a fight with Chris now, or any other time." She laid back on the bed, staring at the ceiling once more. "He's too dangerous to trust, but I think he won't be coming back."

"What makes you think that?" Akane asked.

"I know him," Ukyou stated simply. "He hates my guts now, which is good. I wanted him to."

"Why?" Akane continued.

"Akane... Chris is a dangerous man. He's... not human the way we are, not anymore. He doesn't see people like you or me as 'real' the same way he is. To him, we're just people he's read about in journals from the future. And he's already proven he's capable of murder... many times over. He says he wasn't going to kill you that night when I first met him, but can I really trust that? And what happens when his Kodachi form begins to decay on him? He'll go after another body then, and I know what he wants. A 'normal' person won't satisfy him. He'll want somebody at least as strong and fast as Kodachi is, which means we're not safe with him around. At least if he's gone away, he isn't our problem."

"You really want to abandon him like that?" Akane said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Abandon... no, I don't see it like that," Ukyou frowned and turned her full attention to Akane. "I'm protecting you, us... as much as I don't want to, I have inherited some of Aaron's feelings about Chris. Part of his friendship is with me. But I can't trust him. If I find a way to help him while I'm looking for a way to help myself, I'll do so. But he's too dangerous to have around."

"I agree," Ranma nodded sharply. "I've seen people with that kind of disregard for human life before on my journey." Ranma paused, trying to figure out how to phrase it. "Chris is our enemy, whether he likes it or not."

"I wish there was another way," Akane sighed and rested her chin on her palms. "It just seems so sad, the life he has to lead."

"I wish I could help him too," Ukyou sighed, leaning her head back against the pillows. "But there's nothing we can do to help him now. In time, that may change. Until then, we're best if he's as far from us as possible."

"I guess..." Akane sighed and nodded.

An uncomfortable silence fell as they all thought about what had been said. Ranma, personally, wasn't willing to give up the game yet. He knew that Chris would be back. It was only a matter of time. This time Ranma would be prepared. He would protect his friends, he would be ready to fight whatever tricks that undead bastard had up her... his... whatever's sleeve. Nobody hurt his friends like that. Nobody.

"So, what now? Where do we go from here?" Akane asked, pulling Ranma out of his own thoughts.

"That's a good question, isn't it?" Ukyou mused as she looked down into her lap, a wry smile twisting across her features.

*

Chris stared out the window of the plane, watching Japan vanish into the clouds below.  It was odd how he'd always loved the view from an airplane, even though he also had an acute fear of heights.  Though that particular phobia had faded with his current circumstances.

"Would you like something to drink, Miss Kunou?"

Turning, he waved the flight attendant away, and returned his attention to the recently-bought diary on his (or was it her?) lap.  He almost smiled as he looked at the first page, showing all the series’ he now knew to exist.

Sailor Moon, discovered by accident from a US talk show.  Reading the article in the paper, that was definitely the series Ukyou had been messing with.  For what reason?  Hard to say.  Didn't know how early it was in the series, but he'd do well to keep away from them regardless.  The Sailor Senshi needed to save the world a bunch of times, and in any case, he didn't want to chance being hit by one of Sailor Moon's purifying attacks in his current state.

Ranma 1/2, discovered from a library search and - obviously - confirmed in person.  Definitely early in the series, and Ukyou, with Aaron's memories, had also been messing with that to her own advantage.  But that was fine.  Still a rich source of possible allies and useful artifacts, and many things would happen on schedule no matter how much Ukyou screwed around with the events at the Tendo Dojo.

The video games Street Fighter and King of Fighters, drawn from the memory of Greg, the body he had occupied to get into Japan, who had been a martial arts fan and amateur enthusiast.  WHICH iteration of each series, he didn't know enough yet to know for sure.  Would be worth looking into in the future.

Phantom Quest Corp, aka Yuu-Gen-Kai-Sha, which had been confirmed through a simple search of Japanese business ads.  They might be useful, since they had experience with ghosts, spirits and the undead.  Of course, since that was because their business generally involved exorcising and destroying said beings, being cautious was definitely in order.

And finally, Blue Seed, checked out while waiting for Kodachi's family influence and liberal applications of money to speed along the permissions for the trip he was now taking.  Also easily confirmed: a simple schoolgirl, seduced by the handsome eyes and charming smile of the man she knew only as Officer Sugishita, wanting OH-so-badly to be able to get in touch with him again.  He didn't yet know where the TAC building was, but the heard-it-before groan and stock referral to a form she'd have to fill out to "complain about Officer Sugishita" pretty much confirmed it was there somewhere.  Where in THAT series? No idea.  He hadn't heard about giant frogs in Tokyo just yet, though, and neither had Kodachi's memories, so "early" was a safe bet.  They'd be good people to go to for help if he stumbled across an Ancient Evil or something, which he supposed was possible.  After all, he still didn't know why he had been brought here.

He was pretty sure there were other series’ out there somewhere, but he'd need more time to look into them.  The lack of the Internet was really frustrating in that regard, for sure.  And, of course, no guarantee everything that was here was something he knew about.  He was pretty sure El Hazard wasn’t here, though... there was two Shinanome High Schools he'd managed to find, but neither had had ancient ruins discovered there, and both had reacted with confusion when he asked to speak to Katsuhiko Jinnai.  Pity.  If he could've reached El Hazard somehow, the presence of powerful android bodies certainly presented possibilities.  But maybe he'd run into some here.  Androids were hardly rare in anime...

He leafed through the diary, glancing through his collected memories and notes on the series’ he knew to be there.  He'd probably want to have a separate journal for each series, eventually, for ease of reference.  Everything about every series he WASN'T sure was here would have to go down as soon as possible, too.  That would be a lot of work, but his memories would fade with time, and he had no way of referencing anything without asking Ukyou, which wasn't a tempting thought after the other day's events...

His eyes stopped on a particular entry.  "Pink and Link: First Appearance - Volume 29. Identical twins from a herbalist's village, presumably near the Nyuuchezu. Interacted with Shampoo when all three were children.  Pink (always smiling, wears red, cruel and malicious) nearly killed Shampoo while testing out a new herb strain, the Mandragora (separate entry in "techniques" section).  Link (always frowning, wears blue, generally nice) came across Shampoo and saved her life.  Shampoo couldn't tell the difference between the two and beat Link up afterwards. Calling herself the victim in the situation, Shampoo made a point of finding and beating the crap out of the twins every time she went to that village thereafter.  Pink and Link want brutal revenge on Shampoo, preferably one that leaves her dead.  In Volume 29, hearing about Shampoo's 'husband' Ranma from an interview Shampoo did for a Nyuuchezu paper, they came to Japan..."

The entry went on, but he knew what it said already, of course.  Still, it made him think.  He was already planning on going to the Nyuuchezu village in the hopes that Cologne might help him with his condition, and he wanted to find Jyusenkyou as well.  So why not look for Pink and Link?  As the most expert herbalists in the manga, they might be able to help him with preserving a body. Kodachi's body WAS still fresh and solid on this third day, which confirmed his hopes that superhuman bodies like hers would be more durable.  But how much more durable, he didn't know.  It wouldn't hurt to take precautions.  And, of course, Pink and Link could be easily bribed into doing anything with some smooth talking and a promise to help them exact some (non-fatal) revenge on Shampoo. Cologne probably wouldn't appreciate it, but Shampoo wouldn't be in the village, and in fact was probably going to head to Japan after Ranma fairly soon, so she wouldn't have to know.  It sounded like a plan to him.

Smiling, Chris leaned back.  The flight wouldn't be very long; then he'd just have to find transportation to the Bayankala Range in the Qinghai Province. But he had lots of yuan for that.  The altercation with Ukyou might have been a fiasco, but now things definitely seemed to be looking up.

*

Tofu Ono adjusted his glasses as he shuffled the papers in front of him. The charts on the papers were complex; the various annotations and notes appended to them written in obscure technical terms, and the entire thing was covered with a variety of formulae and equations. Very few laymen would understand the significance of any of it. But then again, very few trained medical professionals would be able to read the various charts with any success, either.

Oh, the statistics that medicine considered important were written in the files. It contained the proper notes on blood pressure, heart rate, T-cell counts - all the scientific indicators of health and vitality were there. But next to them were notes on her aura, her balance of the five Chi aspects, maps of her dragon tracks... the kind of things that most professionals in his business would dismiss as folk medicine and witchdoctory. It brought an amused smile to his lips. He had been forced to create his own terminology for almost the entire subject, working backward from ancient texts and applying modern variables and numbers to them. He had createed his own theories that fit all the facts together, mostly from scratch. Frankly, he was only half-sure that any of it made sense at all.

The point of the elaborate and arcane notes, however, was not really to have accurate information. It wasn't like he knew more than a handful of scientists and physicians who believed, really believed, in the existence of the concepts Ono was trying to quantify. For the most part, the entire thing served as a jog to his own memory. Looking at these papers allowed him to remember his patients and triggered his mind to think about what he had seen and felt and heard as he examined and treated them.

Now he was working on the case that had almost literally fallen into his lap and was proving to be the most... interesting he had ever dealt with. This girl, Ukyou... there was something odd about her chi that was more than just mere damage. He could struggle to figure out what was strange about it, but it came down to this: Ukyou's body looked, and acted, like it contained twice as much energy as it did. Yet no test Ono could perform would reveal the presence of this excess energy. At first he had thought she might have a store of magical energy in her body, but the test for magical infusion or contamination had turned up negative. He wasn't nearly as adept with magic as he was with the elements of chi, but he knew enough to believe that his tests should have picked up something. There had to be something else there, but he couldn't sense a whiff of it.

Ono sighed and let the various papers fall to the desk. He craned his neck and rubbed the back of it with one hand, expertly massaging the tension away. His free hand removed the glasses from his eyes and he closed both of them to block out the harsh light of the fluorescent overheads. He was getting tired, and his brain was running in circles. He had already covered this ground many times before, hoping for some spark of understanding to leap from the back of his mind. But such a thing wasn't happening. Perhaps it was time to get some sleep and take a better look at this in the morning. He did have a pretty full schedule...

A knock at his door drew the doctor's attention. He opened his eyes, realising he had been on the verge of drifting off propped up in the chair. He chuckled under his breath. You would think a chiropractor would know better. He slipped easily to his feet and made his way over to the door, making it a few seconds after a second knock.

He was hardly surprised to see that the person standing outside was Ukyou. They were the only people in the clinic at this time of night, after all. The girl in question was standing with her legs crossed and her right hand buried in her long hair to rub at the back of her neck. Her left hand was lowering from the act of knocking. Ukyou was wearing one of the shirts Ono had loaned her, and the doctor noted wryly that she had apparently borrowed some bandages to bind her breasts down again. He considered telling her that doing so wasn't a very healthy thing, but whatever lifestyle choices she chose to indulge in weren't his business. She appeared almost unnaturally masculine when she put her mind to it. Not in a brutish or butch manner, she was far too pretty for that. Instead she looked like one of those increasingly more common pretty boys that Ono had seen in a lot of shows on TV these days.

"Ukyou, you shouldn't be walking about like this," Ono said, trying to suppress the instinct to frown and injecting a note of geniality in his voice.

"I'm fine for walking around a bit," Ukyou pointed out. "Don't worry, I don't plan on trying anything more strenuous."

"Well, I guess you want to talk. So in the interests of getting you off your feet, why don't you come in and have a seat?"

Ukyou nodded and walked in as Ono eased to the side. The girl certainly moved like a martial artist, her strides brisk and confident. Her face was a mask of detachment, with unexpressive eyes. She slouched more than sat in her seat, running a hand through her bangs in a gesture Ono had grown very familiar with. Her hand remained in her hair as she looked towards the office window.

As Ono walked over to his own seat, he took a few moments to examine her with a doctor's eye. The swelling of her bruises had died down a good deal, and much of the colour had returned to her cheeks. She looked to be well on her way to recovery. On the other hand, she had dark lines under her eyes.

"So, you're still awake?" Ono asked as he sat down. Ukyou nodded silently. "You haven't slept for three days, ever since you woke up after your... altercation."

"I can see the question on your lips," Ukyou verbally jumped ahead of him. "I'm an insomniac. I might get some sleep tonight..." Her voice sounded tired, but not physically drained. Ono nodded to himself as he leapt to his own conclusion. Ukyou didn't want to fall asleep, he guessed. Was it bad dreams? Or more likely, it was connected to her seizures. "I didn't come here to talk about that."

"I see," Ono leaned forward, resting his chin on the back of his interlaced hands. "Well then, let's get right to that. You strike me as the type who likes to get to the heart of a problem."

Ukyou gave him a sharp look, but it softened almost immediately.

"Indeed, I suppose I am." Ukyou stretched a bit, repressing a yawn. "It's very simple, Doctor. I'm bored out of my skull. I need something to do."

"Well... that wasn't quite what I was expecting," Ono admitted. He wasn't sure what he HAD been expecting, but this wasn't it. "You have two friends who come by for several hours each day to entertain you, after all."

"That's four hours out of twenty-four," Ukyou pointed out. "I need something to do."

Ono smiled and leaned back. "You already have a proposal?"

"You need an assistant," Ukyou pointed out simply. "I know Genma Saotome applied for a job, but does he really meet your criteria?"

"Hmm, well, having a giant panda around would certainly liven this place up," Ono mused with a chuckle. "But you're right. From what I've heard about him, he's not exactly the most trustworthy fellow. That doesn't mean I'm going to jump at your proposal. First you have to convince me you'll be a help to me."

"Heh. Indeed," Ukyou sat up straighter. No, not just straighter, more commanding as well. Her lips were smiling confidently and her normally flat expression had taken on a new self-assurance. "Well, first off, I've been trained in first aid; in fact, I've been trained in techniques that are in some ways more advanced than standard procedures. I also know a good deal about anatomy and medicine. But I'm not going to be a doctor, so that isn't why you'll hire me." Ono nodded. "I'm good with numbers and finances. I can free up a lot of time from your schedule by helping you balance your budgets, payroll and billing. I'm familiar with customer service, both in person and on the phone. I've even been called charismatic by a few people," she grinned at that last point, adding an ironic flourish to her voice. "Plus, I have a big advantage over Genma: I'll work for free."

"Free?" Ono mused, egging her on.

"That's what I said," Ukyou laced her fingers together in front of her and nodded.

"You make a good case for yourself... but I have a feeling this free thing isn't all you make it out to be."

"Obviously," she shrugged. "You're providing me with free room, board and health care at the moment, despite me insisting that I can pay. I figure this will make up for that."

"Hmm, you have a point." Ono nodded along. "I still think I'm getting my money's worth just for the chance to examine your condition so extensively."

"I don't like playing the freeloader," Ukyou pointed out. But this was an old argument, and Ono turned it aside with a wave of his hand.

"You have some other reason for wanting to help me out," Ono pointed out, not really asking a question.

"Yes... I wish I could promise you that I won't get into any more fights as dangerous as the one that sent me here. But I'm afraid that won't be possible. I have dangerous enemies, and I'm not sure if I can hide out from them forever."

"I see..." Ono nodded, sensing the suddenly serious tone of the conversation. "What kind of enemies?"

"The kind you want no part of," Ukyou said flatly. "Let's just leave it at that."

"Very well. Then how can I help?"

Ukyou paused. Then she stood up and slapped her arms to her side, stiffening her entire posture. Moving with fluid grace she bowed herself down before the doctor, her long hair flipping briefly in her wake. While still bent low she spoke, injecting a note of humility in her voice. "Teach me, Tofu-sensei."

"T-teach you?" Ono blinked and adjusted his glasses. She was still bowing before him. He had never thought of himself as a martial arts sensei... the sudden formality had caught him off guard. "But what can I teach you?"

"A great deal," Ukyou said, still bowed before him. "I already know how to fight... what I want to learn is stuff about the secrets of chi control. I've heard that martial artists can improve the speed of their own healing, sense their opponent's fighting spirit, and do even more esoteric feats. You've already proven you have control over similar techniques. I want to learn the fundamentals of these arts."

"The fundamentals..." Ono mused. He smiled to himself as he rubbed his chin. Here was an opportunity he had been dreaming of for years, a student who seemed eager to accept all his accumulated wisdom from his studies of the ancient ways under the rigours of modern methods. No other doctor, no other student had ever been willing to entertain his 'crazy' notions. And she was right - she would have a great deal of time over the next few weeks to absorb his teachings. It was almost too good to be true.

"Of course, I'll teach you everything I know," Ono laughed and tapped her on the shoulder to indicate she should rise. Ukyou returned to her feet and smiled up at him. "I only have one condition."

"Which is?"

"Get some sleep."

"But..." Ono could sense the actual dread in her voice as she trailed off and her eyes darted to both sides instinctively.

"That's a double order, from your doctor and your sensei."

Ukyou sighed and nodded to herself. "If you say so..." she said wearily. "But you better be prepared when I wake up and start having convulsions again."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ono chuckled as he stood up himself. He felt suddenly energized. It would be good to pass on his teachings to someone as bright as Ukyou obviously was. Plus, she might actually clear up some of his workload. "If you need help getting to sleep, I can assist..."

"No... I won't need it" Ukyou sighed as she walked out of the office. "Good night, sensei."

"Good night, Ukyou."

*

Jadeite smashed his fist into the mirror before him, shattering the glass into a million silver splinters in his rage. This was intolerable. His latest youma had been destroyed by those annoying Sailor Senshi once again, and this time that other boy hadn't even shown his face. The entire thing had been for his benefit, and the boy hadn't even appeared. Worse yet, the girls had added another member to their team.

If only his magical scans could track any of them. But the Senshi were protected by powerful glamours that concealed their true identities. And while the boy had no such protections, it seemed that magic had a very difficult time tracing his passage. Only two days ago Jadeite had thought he had finally tracked the fool down... only to find a motel room covered in several days of dust.

After venting his rage there, he had returned to his home and thrown together a makeshift plan to gather some energy. Already Queen Beryl was growing impatient with him, and the failure of this plan was sure to lead to punishment. He shuddered as he thought of what awaited him when he went to report the failure to his queen. Compared to that, the minor scratches on his hand were nothing.

He needed to find the boy, and quickly. Just his energy alone would be worth more than Jadeite could gather in weeks of subtle scheming in the human city. If he could gain access to two, or three, or four of them... the energy could release Metallia months ahead of schedule. Jadeite smiled as he contemplated the rewards he would earn for such a successful operation.

Maybe... maybe he was going about this wrong. Relying on magical resources too much. Maybe he should let humans do the dirty work for him. At the very least, he could continue his own plans while he played them for pawns. He had already learned how effective the human media was in this world...

"JADEITE! BEFORE ME!"

The magical summons hung in the air around Jadeite for a few seconds as he cursed his bad luck. But now was not the time for recrimination. He would have to accept his punishment, and hope that he retained enough of his faculties to pull off his new plan when she was finished venting her rage. Composing his face into an obsequious mask, he teleported himself to Queen Beryl's throne chamber, already mentally preparing himself for the pain to come.

*

"I can't believe that idiot..." Akane grumbled as she stepped into the clinic again. "Hello, Doctor Tofu, I just came to quickly see Ukyou, hope you don't mind!" Akane called as she walked past the reception desk without looking up. She was far too angry to give the handsome young doctor the smile he deserved, so it was best not to tempt fate.

"Just a minute, Akane," Ukyou called from behind her. "I'm busy at the moment."

Akane stopped in mid-stride, unsure if she had heard correctly. A quick glance over her shoulder confirmed that, yes, Ukyou was out of bed and behind her. The girl was sitting behind the reception desk, helping an elderly woman fill out some sort of form. Ukyou was wearing a well-cut casual suit which emphasized her shoulders and made her look more mannish than usual. From the way the old lady was smiling as Ukyou chatted amiably with her, apparently Ukyou struck quite the dashing figure. Akane guessed she could see it...

Ukyou bade goodbye to the old woman and gestured for Akane to take a seat nearby. Realising she was staring, Akane stepped over and sat down. Apparently not done yet, Ukyou pulled several huge files of papers from the desk behind which she sat. Akane watched in silent awe as she efficiently laid out the papers in front of her and began to examine them each in turn, her expressionless eyes scanning each with critical ease.

"No wonder the guy disappears... he's been haemorrhaging money for months with all these special projects..." Ukyou mused aloud as she began to re-order the papers into three large piles.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Akane said finally.

"I'm helping Doctor Tofu out," Ukyou pointed out evenly, letting her eyes drift up to Akane for a second before going back to her work. "Just think of it as payback for all the free medical care."

"I thought you were supposed to still be in bed?"

"I'm fine to walk around, Akane, I just need to go easy for a few weeks," Ukyou pointed out. She bit lightly on her tongue and began to make notes on several of the pieces of paper with a red pen. "I guess it’s true that doctors know nothing about money. If I had half this man's operating capital, I could own a chain of restaurants..."

"Okay..." Akane blinked.

"Don't feel like you're disturbing me, Akane," Ukyou commented in a placid tone as she began to make notes and punch the buttons on a nearby calculator. "I can easily concentrate on two things at once." Ukyou let herself display a wry smirk. "It's a gift of mine."

"Right..." Akane stared as Ukyou's fingers literally flew across the papers beneath her. Every now and then the girl would tsk in a disappointed way and mark something with a huge red X or circle it in a giant red oval. Akane wasn't sure she wanted to disturb the girl, even with her statement a few seconds ago.

"Did Nabiki follow you here again?" Ukyou commented idly as she continued working. Apparently, if Akane wasn't going to start the conversation, Ukyou would.

"No, I don't think so," Akane sighed a bit ruefully. "I think she's still recovering from that sprained ankle from when she fell off the roof."

"Heh." Ukyou smirked a bit viciously. "I wish I could say I felt sorry for her, but she was asking for it. Your sister is quite the little snoop."

"I know," Akane grunted and crossed her arms. Nabiki was already pestering her day in and day out to reveal Ukyou's confidences. Not pleased with just berating Ranma and her, Nabiki had taken to trying to sneak into the clinic all the time so she could find out more about Ukyou. Sooner or later, Akane would have to have a talk with her about it. Thankfully, Daddy just thought Nabiki was sneaking out to be with Ranma. "I'll try convincing her to leave you alone..." Akane trailed off at a shake of Ukyou's head.

"Don't bother," Ukyou said a bit evenly. "I think having her after me all the time keeps me on my toes."

"I suppose it would," Akane sighed. She just hoped Ukyou knew what she was in for. Akane knew her sister could be quite sneaky when she put her mind to it. So far, Ukyou had proven to be just that one step sneakier. Frankly, the idea that Ukyou would enjoy the competition cheered Akane up a little. Ever since Ukyou had woken up, she had been... withdrawn. Well, even more withdrawn than usual. Akane could get her to grin, and Ranma could make her laugh. But Ukyou never did anything herself when the two of them were around. She seemed to spend most of her time just staring at the ceiling.

"By the way, where's Ranma? It's not like him to show up later than you," Ukyou asked as she continued to scratch notes all over the financial records.

Oh great, that reminded Akane why she was mad in the first place.

"That idiot decided he'd rather go get himself beat up than come see his best friend on her sickbed!" Akane snapped.

"Akane..." Ukyou said chidingly, not bothering to look up. Akane flushed. Whenever Ukyou used that impossibly mature tone, Akane felt ten years younger than her. Considering how often she and Ranma got into shouting matches, Akane had grown very familiar with that tone of voice. "I'm not exactly dying. Ranma has his own life, I'm not surprised that..." Here Ukyou paused and looked up at Akane for only the second time since she had walked in the door. "Wait, Ranma's having a fight... with who?" Ukyou's tone of voice was carefully neutral.

"Some guy named... Ryo... Ryouken? Ryougi?" Akane waved her bad memory away. "Some guy who showed up at school this afternoon and punched a hole in the pavement. Ranma didn't even really wait for him to introduce himself before the two ran off to have a fight."

"Indeed," Ukyou mused aloud. "Oh, one thing I keep forgetting to mention, Akane." Akane perked up as Ukyou leaned back in her chair, running one hand through her bangs and letting the palm rest on the back of her ponytail. "I have a pet pig that I haven't been able to see for a few days for obvious reasons."

"Ukyou!"

"It's not that bad, Akane. The pig can take care of himself. He's a pretty good forager, and has a tendency to wander about aimlessly when I'm not there to look after him." Ukyou grinned a bit, but her smile wasn't pleasant. "I just wanted to warn you to keep an eye out for him. He's about this big..." Ukyou held her hands apart, leaving about enough space for a housecat between them. "He's jet black and very cute looking. He has a yellow and black bandana tied about his neck, and can be hostile with people he doesn't know."

"I'll keep an eye out for him," Akane nodded.

"Good," Ukyou nodded. "If you do see him, could you grab him and bring him here?" Seeing Akane nod enthusiastically, Ukyou smiled. "Oh, and one last thing. The pig is a real pervert. Like to watch girls undress and all that. So don't cradle him or do anything mushy with him, since he's a rather sick piggy. That's why I called him H-chan."

Akane stared at Ukyou for a second. H-chan... short for hentai-chan? Little pervert? That was certainly a strange name for a pig. But if the little critter was as bad as Ukyou was saying, maybe he deserved it. Akane resolved to handle the pig at arm’s length, if she ever saw it. It seemed unlikely, however. "I understand, Ukyou."

"Good, good..." Ukyou said with a relieved sigh. Akane gave her a curious stare as the girl went back to working on Doctor Tofu's books. Her face was still as expressionless as ever, even as she went over the papers with uncanny ease. Akane shook her head and stood up. Ukyou seemed to be doing something, anyway... maybe now was a good chance for Akane to have a talk with the good doctor? Akane smiled a bit at that thought, allowing herself to indulge in a few mildly naughty fantasies.

*

Ranma groaned and wrung the water out of his pigtail as he leapt over the rooftops. Leave it to that loser Ryouga to disappear in the middle of a fight. At least when they had fallen into that canal, Ryouga had vanished before he'd had a chance to see Ranma change into this girl body. In a way, that had been convenient. Not that Ranma couldn't have won the match regardless of his current shape, but it might have been a closer fight. Still, it seemed pretty weird even for someone with a directional sense as bad as Ryouga's to disappear during a fight, but whatever.

It was only a few more hops before the clinic came into view. With a sigh, Ranma descended to the street outside. Maybe he could get the Doc to look at a few of these bruises while he was there. Not that Ryouga's punches had really hurt, Ranma thought, then winced when his slightly swollen ankle hit the payment. It was just better to be safe than sorry, after all.

Ranma was just walking up the path to the clinic when Akane stepped out, bidding goodbye to someone inside. She was probably gushing over the Doc again. Ranma grinned and shook his head. His pigtail bounced wetly against his neck. At least she seemed to be interested in guys, even if the guy in question was more into her oldest sister than Akane.

"Hey, Akane," Ranma nodded as he stepped onto the stairs.

"Ranma..." Akane looked down at him, and from the way her eyes dipped down to his chest she had noted his current gender. Ranma repressed the urge to growl in annoyance. "Wait, come with me for a second." Akane grabbed his arm and began to pull him down the stairs. He had to pinwheel his other arm and dance a bit to keep from being pulled off his feet entirely.

"But... but..."

"This will only take a second, and it's important. Besides, Ukyou is busy right now," Akane pointed out as she pulled Ranma around the wall.

"Okay, fine," Ranma grumbled as he pulled his arm free. He leaned against the wall and rubbed at the arm. Underneath the sleeve was one of his developing bruises, but he wasn't about to share that information with Akane. "What's so important, anyway?"

"I think something's wrong with Ukyou," Akane began in a somber tone. Ranma cocked his head to the side, idly batting his wet locks from his forehead. "Haven't you seen it yourself the past few days?"

"Well, she seems to be getting better, recovering from her injuries..."

"That isn't what I mean," Akane said with a bit of frustration in her tone, her feet scuffing the dirt a bit as she walked over to lean next to him. "Haven't you seen it yourself, the way Ukyou is almost totally in her... how do you say it... her withdrawn mode?"

"Withdrawn mode?" Ranma frowned and tried to figure out what Akane meant. She was probably thinking about the way Ukyou looked when her eyes took on that cold cast and her face didn't express much. The way sometimes his best friend would look at him like he was barely even there. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen much sign of the other side of Ukyou lately. The happy, excited Ukyou. The one with the infectious smile and boundless determination. "I guess I see what you mean..."

"Yes! Ukyou is depressed," Akane nodded as she crossed her arms. "I think the fight... her defeat at Chris' hands hurt her deeper than just the surface."

"That's kinda silly, Akane," Ranma said with a shrug. "I've beaten up Ukyou plenty of times when we were kids. Never quite as bad, but still I always won. It only ever made her more determined to fight me harder next time."

"No offense, Ranma, but you have the emotional sensitivity of a rock," Akane grumbled from beside him. "You can't even see how Ukyou feels about..."

"About?" Ranma asked as Akane trailed off.

"Never mind," Akane sighed and waved the question aside. "Not my place to say."

"Fine," Ranma grunted and crossed his own arms... or tried to. It took several tries with that stupid top-heaviness getting in his way. "I still don't think she's depressed. Maybe a little down, but then again so was I until today." Ranma grinned. Ryouga showing up had solved that. It was about time he'd finally gotten to take on an opponent who didn't do anything but use brute force. Ranma was almost curious what Ryouga's problem was. He was at least sure he had met the guy before and...

Oh wait, was this all about that stupid bread thing?

"We need to find some way to snap Ukyou out of this," Akane muttered, bringing Ranma back to the here and now.

"Well, maybe she just needs a challenge?" Ranma suggested. "Something that she can overcome, to give her some confidence back."

"Maybe..." Akane nodded. "Anyway, I have to get home... WE have homework for tomorrow, you know."

"Yeah, yeah..." Ranma waved her aside and skipped around her. "No sweat about that." Ranma didn't watch Akane leave. He was busy walking up to the clinic and thinking about what she had said. It was probably best to keep Akane's idea between the two of them for now. At least until Ranma could think of something to cheer Ukyou up with.

*

Rei Hino sighed as she sat down on the edge of her porch. Usagi was sitting nearby, laughing convulsively while she read a small graphic novel... wait, that was HER graphic novel!

"Give me that!" Rei shouted as she reached out to snatch the small book from the blonde's grasp. Usagi, displaying a level of agility she lacked in virtually all other pursuits, kept the book from Rei's grasping hand.

"I'm not finished yet!" Usagi complained in her best nasal whine. Rei felt the blood beginning to throb in her forehead, but took a deep sigh and forced herself to remain calm.

"Fine, you can read it, just ask permission from here on in, okay?" Rei grumbled as she went back to staring out across the courtyard of her family's ancestral temple. She didn't even acknowledge Usagi's agreement to Rei's terms. Honestly, what was Usagi even doing here? Rei wasn't sure why such a girl had been chosen to be one of the Sailor Senshi, the only thing between Earth and the forces of this evil demonic agency. Ami was a person that Rei could certainly see in the role... she was smart and sensible, and brave in her own way. Usagi was the exact opposite: air-headed, gullible and a coward.

Then again, maybe fate worked in mysterious ways. Rei herself didn't believe that she could be a magical soldier of love and justice, not until she had been forced to transform for the first time in that Dreamland amusement park. She still had trouble believing in all this, but it was hard to deny when she had herself flung flame from her fingers to save Usagi's life.

"Hi, everyone," Ami called as she walked up into view up the stair. Usagi waved vibrantly and Rei kept herself to nodding. The girl had agreed to meet the two here after her cram school, mainly at Rei's request. Rei felt it was important to discuss what was going on.

"Did you have any trouble getting past the vultures?" Rei asked when Ami sat down next to her. Ami gave her a curious look at first, but it didn't take long for understanding to dawn.

"Oh, you mean all the reporters," Ami said with a shy smile. "They are rather making a mess at the bottom of your steps."

Rei harrumphed and placed her chin on one palm, shifting her legs under her expansive hakama-style pants so she was more comfortable sitting on the wooden porch. "I don't know what they expect to find here. That guy hasn't been back since he saved everyone on that bus."

"I hear they're offering a one million yen reward for his location!" Usagi crowed happily from nearby. Rei noticed she had dropped the (formerly mint condition!) book onto the floor. She wanted to comment on it, but it was really rather a minor thing. Besides, they had better things to worry about - like what Usagi had just brought up.

"I think it's kind of suspicious myself," Rei mused. "This guy shows up just in time to stop Jadeite, then throws Usagi into the portal and runs away. Now he never shows up again and nobody has any idea who he is at all."

"That isn't quite fair," Ami pointed out. "That other Sailor, Pluto, she attacked him and scared him off." Ami leaned forward and sighed. "I wouldn't blame him if he didn't trust us enough to show up again."

"Oh ,who cares if Pluto scared him off or not," Usagi waved her hand through the air a few times. "Did you guys see his butt? It's fantastic! He's the cutest guy ever!"

"What about Tuxedo Kamen?" Rei snapped, remembering how Usagi had gushed over the masked man back in Dreamland.

"Eh, he's also very cute..." Usagi trailed off. "On the one hand you have the poetic, dark and mysterious gentleman... on the other the quiet, achingly handsome rebel... oh it's too hard to choose between them!"

"The guy threw you through a portal into an evil dimension!" Rei hissed.

"If he hadn't, all those people would still be trapped," Ami pointed out in a shy tone. Rei cast an aggravated look at her, but it died off quickly. She had a point, after all. Pluto herself had admitted in her talk with Usagi that she had only paused to keep the portal open to save Sailor Moon. But then again, Pluto seemed to think that this mystery boy was far more dangerous than whatever enemy they were currently fighting.

"See, Ami's right," Usagi nodded. "Besides, he doesn't even hide behind a mask. Granted, using a mask on a face like that would be a crime, but he doesn't, which is the point." Rei stared at her, giving a mental 'huh?' as she tried to figure out the meaning of that statement. "The point, Rei, is that someone that cute obviously can't be a bad guy. He may be rough around the edges, but all he needs is the right woman to smooth him out and..."

"I suppose you're the right woman?" Rei sneered.

"Maybe I am!"

Rei snapped her head up suddenly. Usagi gasped and fell over.

"Wah! Rei looks scary!" Usagi whined loudly.

"Be quiet," Rei hissed as she rose to her feet. Where was this feeling coming from? It was a great anger, flowing through the courtyard from... over there. Rei snaked a hand into her shirt, peering along the edge of the yard. She concentrated, unfocusing her eyes and allowing them to see beyond the physical. It was just like the meditation before the sacred flame. You had to perceive the energy that bound all things together... there! "I've got you!" Rei shouted as she sprinted across the yard. Her hand whipped out, trailing the paper strip of her ofuda ward. "Rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, sai, zen. Akuryou taisan!" Rei screamed as she thrust her ward forward between two fingers. Instinct and mystical energy guided her strike, placing it with unerring accuracy right on the... signpost?

Rei was not sure what surprised her more. The fact that she had just attacked a signpost, or the fact that the signpost suddenly sprouted a young woman's head and fell backward as the girl's eyes wobbled about.

"Ah! Some kind of signpost youma!" Usagi shrieked from behind her. Well, at least Rei wasn't going crazy.

"Wait, I don't think it is..." Ami cried as she began to tap the buttons on that tiny pocketbook computer of hers.

"Ow! That really hurt!" the girl's head on the ground complained. Rei could only stare in wonder as a perfectly normal-looking arm emerged from the side of the sign (it read "No sign posting please", Rei noted absently) and reached up to her head. "You crazy chick! What did you do that for?" There was a ripping sound as the girl pulled the paper ward from her forehead. "Yowch! I think I lost some skin!"

"Ah! The signpost monster girl resisted Rei's ward!" Usagi cried as she began to shake her head in alarm, pig-tails whipping back and forth with audible cracks.

"I don't think it’s a monster," Ami pointed out again. She was making futile calming gestures at the panicking blonde.

"She's right, no monster would have been able to pull off that ward," Rei said as she crossed her arms. "Not without a lot more effort, anyway. That does still leave the question of who it is, and why she was spying on us." Rei began to tap her foot impatiently.

"Spying on you?" the girl grumbled as she rose to her feet. This involved peeling off the remains of her elaborate disguise, a process that she made seem impossibly mundane, considering that she should have been unable to hide in the signpost at all. It gave Rei a slight headache to watch. She was wearing a rather frilly and flashy sundress, which looked almost normal on her. "I wouldn't talk if I were you. I'm not the one planning to snatch somebody else's sweetheart away like some street corner hussy!"

"What are you talking about?" Rei sighed as she placed a hand over her brow. She could feel the blood thumping in her temples again. She was also busy trying to remember if she said anything that let the cat out of the bag, so to speak, regarding their secret identities.

"Don't deny it!" the girl shouted. She pointed at Usagi and started to stalk across the courtyard toward her. Usagi eeped and toppled backwards onto the porch when she tried to back away. "This one here was talking about seducing my darling Ukyou!"

"Ukyou?" Ami piped in. She had slipped her pocket computer away to wherever it was that she stored it.

"Hah, you don't even know the name of your 'mysterious boy hero', do you?" the teenage girl snorted and crossed her arms under her bodice. She was probably about as tall as Rei, which meant she literally loomed over the cowering Usagi. However, upon hearing the mention of her latest crush (Rei had counted three boys she was desperate for so far) Usagi ceased the cowering act and sat up.

"Wait, you're saying you know who he is?"

"Yes, I know who 'he' is," the girl snorted, with an unusual emphasis on the word 'he'. "I've only been dating Ukyou for almost a year now."

"Dating!" Usagi shrieked and slapped her hands to her cheeks. "You're lying, I don't believe a guy like that could date a jerk like you!" Tears began to well up in the corners of Usagi's eyes. Rei sighed and walked towards the catfight in the making. If there was going to be a blow up here, she might as well have a good view of the fun.

"You better believe it." The girl smirked down at Usagi. "I am Tsubasa Kurenai, the one true love of the mysterious Ukyou Kuonji!" she introduced herself with a graceful pirouette that ended with her standing in a singer’s pose, complete with karaoke microphone.

"Oh, is that why you're here?" Ami said with a cheerful smile. "I guess you want to collect the million yen reward, since you know this Ukyou person so well."

"Ah..." Tsubasa stumbled back, her face going from rapturous to downtrodden in an eyeblink. "Well, not really. I was actually hoping that... that there would be someone here who knows where Ukyou is..." she admitted slowly and with obvious reluctance. However, Ami's cheerful and unrelenting smile seemed to wear down Tsubasa's nerve.

"Ah ha!" Usagi leapt to her feet and poked her finger at Tsubasa accusingly. "How can you claim to be Ukyou's girlfriend when you don't even know where he is?!"

"I have a lot more solid a claim than you!" Tsubasa shot back. "In fact, I know for a fact that Ukyou wouldn't give you a second glance, you... ugly girl!"

"UGLY!" Usagi shrieked, but in rage this time. Rei backed off. She had never seen Usagi angry before. It was mildly scary, the way her body seemed to glow with rage. "Did you call me ugly?"

"I just call them like I see them," Tsubasa smirked and crossed her arms under her bodice again. "But even if you were the prettiest girl on earth, you couldn't begin to get Ukyou's attention like I can."

"So you don't think I'm enough of a woman for him?" Usagi growled and mimed rolling up her sleeves. "I'm ten times the woman you are!"

"Bah!" Tsubasa stepped back and sneered. She waved her hand at Usagi like she was trying to dispel a bad smell. "I have something you will never have, girl. Without it, you're not even in the competition."

"Oh really," Usagi said in a dangerously calm voice. "I think that sounds like a challenge to me."

"Hmph, fine." Tsubasa stared into Usagi's eyes, and the other girl stared back. Rei backed up another step at the intensity of their gazes. She could see their auras clashing and sparking against each other thanks to her training, and wanted no part of this new contest. "We'll see which of us tracks down Ukyou and goes out on a date with her first."

"You're on!"

Tsubasa smirked again and spun on one heel, her shoulder-length hair bobbing prettily in her wake. She waved absently at them with one hand as she started down the stairs. Usagi clenched her fists as she watched her new romantic rival sashay down the steps.

"No one calls me ugly..." Usagi grumbled. Then she raised her hand and pointed at the sky. "I swear, in the name of the moon... forget Motoki, forget Tuxedo Kamen... Ukyou Kuonji will be my boyfriend!"

"So, does that mean Tuxedo Kamen is free now?" Rei teased. Well, sorta. He WAS kinda dreamy, with his top hat and cane...

"Well... " Usagi deflated. Then she sniffed and began to tear up. "It was such a beautiful dream, Tuxedo Kamen... but if I'm going to beat that jerk Tsubasa..." she looked at the sky and clutched her hands before her. "You have to forgive me, Tuxedo Kamen! You have to understand that I do this for the greater good!"

"How exactly is dating some guy you don't even know because of some stupid contest with a girl you don't even know for the greater good!" Rei burst out.

Usagi only looked at her in the same manner one might look at a child who had just asked a really stupid question. "You obviously don't understand how these things work, Rei." Usagi waved her fingers at her, as if she were deflecting Rei's common sense. "It would just take too long to explain."

*

Nabiki winced as she slid quickly around the corner. Her ankle protested the mistreatment as she moved too quickly for its taste. She had sprained it almost a week ago now, trying once again to sneak into the clinic to get the goods on Ukyou Kuonji. This made trailing her sister and her reluctant fiancé without them noticing all that much harder. Nabiki had already learned the hard way that Ranma seemed to have a knack for knowing when people were following him, what with all the pictures Gosunkugi took where the man/woman was obviously posing for the camera. But still, being five blocks back from them seemed to work, even if it made her job all that much harder.

Nabiki leaned down and rubbed her poor ankle. She sighed and peeked around the corner, mindful that unless she kept her eyes on them the duo could likely disappear without her getting a chance to notice. Thankfully Ranma was wearing that ridiculous red silk shirt of his, so he stood out like a sore thumb.

Also thankfully, the two seemed to have finally come to a stop. They were standing a few blocks away, staring across the busy street at an unassuming-looking motel. They had led Nabiki into a rather unsavoury part of town, the kind of place where a girl didn't want to be walking alone at night. The motel was a stereotypical example of the kind of dive that sprung up in these kinds of places. While it was well-painted and clean enough outside, it had a certain worn-down look that indicated that maintenance was done half-heartedly, if at all. Oh, and there was that giant blackened hole in it.

Nabiki raised an eyebrow and rubbed her chin thoughtfully. Ranma and Akane were taking more than a casual interest in the motel, which meant it was probably the place where Ukyou had sent them. Nabiki grinned to herself. Ranma might be a martial arts genius and have the senses of a hunting cat, but he really did speak too much for his own good and lied like a two year old. Nabiki hadn't yet managed to weasel the true story of his history with Ukyou out of him, but on occasion he let slip little details, like the fact he and Akane were spending today fetching some of Ukyou's possessions from this motel. Probably because the boy was working at Doctor Tofu's now, which meant he would be getting better housing for free.

Now the two were talking, making animated gestures to each other. Damn, what Nabiki wouldn't give to know what they were talking about. But there was too much space and too many noisy people between her and them, which made that impossible. So Nabiki instead decided to examine the building itself. The large hole in the building would have been, if Nabiki guessed correctly, just about large enough to account for one room in the complex. It was also obviously burnt out, but not in any way she had seen fire operate before. A blaze powerful enough to do that much damage to the structure should have burned down most of the building, shouldn't it? Somehow, this did not strike Nabiki as a coincidence.

Nabiki kept a sidelong eye on Ranma and Akane, and thus saw them moving in plenty of time to react. She carefully slipped back into the alley, hiding herself behind a rather unpleasant-smelling dumpster. The two passed her by without a glance and Nabiki smiled, even if she would need a bath when she got home.

Sauntering as much as her injured ankle would let her, Nabiki exited the alley and made her way down the street. Ranma and Akane might have given up easily on the matter of retrieving things from Ukyou's motel room, but Nabiki wasn't about to let a little fire stop her. Her mind worked overtime as she came up with a simple but efficient plan to get herself into the motel...

The inside of the motel was a great deal more scuzzy than the outside. The wallpaper peeled off the walls in a few places, and a bit of green mold could be seen growing in one corner of the ceiling. The foyer was a plain box, with one entrance into the rest of the building. The register was in an open window along one of the walls. A tall, sweaty man with a bad combover was sitting behind it.

"Excuse me, please..." Nabiki said as she tiptoed to the desk, her voice containing just enough tremble to sound scared yet eager at the same time. She made sure to look down, and blush, while subtly breathing in so her breasts stood out. That got the man's attention, all right. "Can you help me, please, sir?"

"Heh. Sure thing, little girl," the man replied roughly. His breath smelled minty; probably mouthwash, to cover up the occasional sip of alcohol. "What can I do for you?" He leaned forward across the desk. To his credit, he didn't leer, but he definitely wanted to.

"Well sir, I was supposed to meet my boyfriend here, because... because-" Nabiki cut herself off and shoved her fist over her face and shook it back and forth, making sure she breathed deeply while she did so. She spent a few seconds 'regaining her composure' then pulled her hands away. "I... was supposed to meet him here, and he hasn't shown up yet."

"Ah... that's too bad..." the man said, grinning widely to himself. Nabiki repressed the urge to smirk. He was fed just enough information to leap to the wrong conclusion. "For a guy to stand you up like that is a real crime."

"Oh, he didn't stand me up!" Nabiki gasped, making sure to put a bit of reproach in her voice. "I, actually... I was so... excited that I showed up..." Nabiki looked down and twiddled her toes with her hands laced behind her back, her blush was in full force. "I showed up a bit early, actually..."

"Oh, I see..." the man gave her a long look. "Well, what can I help you with?"

"Well, when I agreed to meet him here I didn't know what kind of neighbourhood this was... just that it was far away from our parents and... ahem... well, I'm kind of scared to wait for him outside."

"Ahhh..." the man said in sudden understanding. "And you want to wait inside, where someone can protect you, is that it?" Nabiki nodded. "Well, I don't have anywhere you can sit in the foyer..." he mused.

Nabiki squealed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I can't wait for him right here! Standing in the middle of the entrance, dressed like this, by myself? What will people think?" The man raised an eyebrow but didn't reply. "Maybe... maybe I can just wait in the room..."

"I see..." the man mused, rubbing his chin. "I suppose your boyfriend has all the money?" Nabiki flushed and nodded. He sighed. "Why am I not surprised? Okay kid, I'll give you a break. This is a special event." The man reached under his desk and came back up with a room key. "Here, go make yourself at home." At this point he did leer, just a little. "I'll be sure to tell your boyfriend you're waiting for him."

"Oh thank you, thank you!" Nabiki squealed in delight this time, and leaned over to take the key. She even allowed her hand to linger on his for a few seconds as a minor payment. Then she gave him a wink and skipped over to the room leading into the motel. Once she was inside she dropped the coquettish school girl act and dropped the keys in the nearest trash bin. It wasn't like she was ever going to need them.

Nabiki strolled along the hall in no particular hurry. It wasn't hard to spot the room that had been flash-fried; the door was missing, and ribbons of yellow police tape had been liberally placed across the threshold. Nabiki leaned down and ran her fingers along the carpet. It was even stranger up close. The fire that had burnt out this room had stopped exactly at the edge of the door. It sent a shiver up her spine for some reason...

Getting in through the police tape was easy; doing so without displacing any of it too badly was more difficult, but not impossible. Once she was inside, Nabiki felt vaguely disappointed. The room was a burnt-out shell, nothing but black ash from wall to wall... or what would have been the walls. The ceiling and floor were mostly intact, but the interior walls were full of scorch-edged holes. The remnants of a bed sat dimly in one corner, and the opening to the small bath proved that to be a blackened ruin as well. Nabiki kicked around for a few minutes, overturning anything large or unusual-looking with her good leg.

It was in the remains of what looked like a backpack that Nabiki found her prize. The pack was barely more than a lump of ashes, filled with even more charred and unrecognisable objects. Nabiki guessed some of it was clothing; other things she couldn't guess at. She did discover a set of short-handled metal spatulas like the kind Ukyou liked to use as throwing stars, but she discarded them. At least their discovery confirmed the former occupant of this room.

The real prize only even partly survived because Ukyou seemed to have gone to great lengths to make sure it would survive almost anything. It was packed in the remains of what Nabiki recognised as a brand of waterproof carrying cases, then packed in pink insulation, then sealed behind a (melted) plastic baggy. Nabiki held up the charred binder in her hands. This had been important to Ukyou, all right.

Unable to contain herself, Nabiki carefully flipped it open. She cursed and resisted to urge to throw the thing away in disgust. It was badly burned, at least half the pages missing or so burnt as to be unrecognisable. Still, Nabiki held out hope. Flipping through the pages, she discovered that some of them still contained legible text, and it was filled with quite a number of hand-drawn pictures of various subjects, some of which had even survived almost unscathed. But it was written in English, all of it, in a slightly messy but small and efficient hand.

Nabiki sighed. Her English teachers at school had always varied from incompetent to downright ignorant, so she wasn't that eager to test out her skills with the language on the fragments of pages left within it. With a sigh of disgust, she flipped the binder closed and stood up. Translating this thing would be long and difficult, especially if she didn't want anybody else to discover what might potentially be inside. But it was the first solid clue Nabiki had... and she wasn't about to let a thing like a freak fire or a language barrier stop her! Grinning, she stepped out of the room, located the nearest emergency exit and was gone in a flash.

*

Ukyou took a long sip from her cup. The pile of invoices and bills had finally shrunk down to a few stray sheets covering only the last few years. It had taken almost five days to get all the doctor's finances in order. Ukyou smirked as she ran a trained eye over the much larger pile of paperwork that she had managed to finish up. It made her feel better about herself, to help this good man with his mundane troubles. It also meant she had a chance to put all that time she had spent learning how to run a successful business to good use. After all, it wasn't like she was going to be able to open up her restaurant until she solved this whole brain-hitchhiker problem.

It also made her feel better that she had been the major contributor to this little project. Aaron was used to being more intelligent and more insightful than those around him. It was a guilty pleasure to be the one contributing the intellectual skills instead of the boy. It was also good that she could do most of this on her own; it kept him mercifully... quiescent for the majority of the week.

"Ukyou, this is... this is amazing!" Tofu said as he looked at the papers Ukyou had handed him a few minutes ago. "I never dreamed that my practice was doing so... so..."

"Disastrously bad?" Ukyou offered as she slipped her eyes over one of the last few pieces of financial data remaining to be dealt with. "Don't be too harsh with yourself. You were busy learning all you could, aiding the sick and injured... you know, being a decent human being. I've known far too many doctors concerned only with their bottom line."

"I guess..." Tofu sighed and adjusted his glasses. "I can't thank you enough, though. If I had known you were this good at keeping the books, I would have agreed to pay you more."

"It's nothing." Ukyou waved her hand dismissively. "It keeps my mind busy. I like being occupied."

"I really do need to thank you, however."

"This is my job, Tofu," Ukyou murmured. The man was taking this much too seriously.

"Ukyou!"

Ukyou looked up with a frown as Akane burst into the room. Ranma was peering over her shoulder, but Akane's position kept him from walking into the office. Akane's long hair was shiny with sweat, and her eyes were darting about fearfully. Ukyou's muscles tensed but she retained an outwardly calm expression. Ranma, after all, did not look very worried.

"Can we help you?" Doctor Tofu asked as he stood up. He was smiling, but Ukyou had used her recently-acquired skills of perception on him too much to be fooled. She could see the subtle signs of his worry. The way his eyes kept drifting along Akane's chakra pressure points as he examined her chi, for instance.

"Ukyou, we need to talk with you..." Akane looked at Doctor Tofu for a few seconds. "It may be private..."

"I see," Tofu nodded. "Well, I can let you young people use my office. If you'll get out of my way?"

Aaron came to a sudden decision, and spoke up before anyone else could respond. "No, you should stay, Doctor." Ukyou thought of protesting the unilateral action, but decided Aaron was right. If they were going to trust Tofu enough to let him be their instructor, then they had to trust him with other, more dangerous secrets. Besides, it wasn't like Tofu didn't already know most of what was going on. And anything he learned... it might just help him help her.

Tofu gave her a long look and then shrugged. He stepped back to his chair and slid down into it. Apparently he was willing to wait patiently for Akane to speak her mind, an attitude which Ukyou emulated, if didn't exactly feel. She gestured for the two of them to enter. Ranma gave Ukyou a questioning look, but shrugged when she raised no objection. He did, however, reflexively check the hallway to make sure there were no potential eavesdroppers before closing the doors.

Once Akane was seated, she spoke up. "Ukyou, I have bad news."

"I'm not surprised," Ukyou deadpanned.

"You know that motel you sent us to? The one you were staying at?" Ukyou nodded slowly. "Someone attacked it, burned it down." Ukyou opened her mouth, but no words came out.

"And not the entire thing either," Ranma added with a grumble. "It was pretty much just your room. No attempt at even makin' it seem like a normal fire." Ranma shoved his hands into his pockets and frowned down at the floor. "I think it was a message. I think someone wanted us to know it wasn't natural."

"Could this be Chris again?" Akane asked a bit fearfully. Aaron noted Tofu raise an eyebrow, but the man remained quiet.

"Not his style," Ukyou grunted dismissively. She stood up and walked over to the window. "This sounds more like the work of the Dark Kingdom. I suppose Pluto could be responsible, but it really isn't her style either..."

"Who? Where?" Ranma coughed. "You have more people after you?"

"A few..." Ukyou crossed her arms on the sill and laid her chin across them. Outside the wind had picked up, causing passers-by to shield their faces from the last lingering traces of the winter chill. In only a few short months it would be summer. How much longer... but Ukyou was drifting. Aaron forced them to stay on topic. "The Dark Kingdom is a group of dangerous people who have access to advanced abilities that resemble magic. They can summon a variety of demonic servants, much like the one which attacked us back in Juuban."

"That one that knocked me unconscious?"

"That's the one," Ukyou confirmed. "They want to gather human life energy, or chi, to fuel the resurrection of their demon empress Metallia. I think they might be interested in me, and Ranma actually, by dint of how much more chi we have than normal humans."

"So these people are after trained martial artists?" Tofu asked softly.

"Not directly," Ukyou sighed. The street outside was full of everyday people going about everyday problems. Aaron had never dreamed of being anyone more important than one of them, had never wanted to be anything but normal. Ukyou was beginning to wonder why she had once dreamed of being special, if this was what it felt like. "They aren't targeting martial artists especially, to my knowledge anyway. I think I just pissed off one of their generals, and he wants revenge. They're petty like that."

"You sound familiar with them..." Tofu pointed out slowly.

"I have sources of information." Ukyou shrugged. "Not really important at the moment." She spent a few more seconds watching the world walk by outside while the others talked in the background. Aaron kept a small bit of their combined attention on the conversation, but mainly let Ukyou focus her thoughts outward. He idly noted a young woman gasp in annoyance as the wind caught her hat and sent it skittering down the street.

"Are you listening, Ukyou?"

"Indeed," Ukyou sighed. The others had been discussing what they could do about the situation. "And before you ask again, there is nothing we can do about this, Ranma." Ukyou tapped her fingers idly along the sill. "The Dark Kingdom isn't an enemy we can defeat. First off, we would have trouble even finding them. They come from... a long way away from Japan and use their magic to get here. Plus, they are probably out of our league. We might be able to defeat their demon minions, but we can't hope to stop Metallia. And thirdly, there is already a group of demon hunters on their case." Ukyou stopped drumming her fingers. "Best we can do is lay low and wait for the problem to blow over. Jadeite will have to go back to finding other victims if he can't find me, and the Sailor Senshi will track him down once he does."

"You're serious?" Ranma asked, his tone becoming exasperated. "You just want to sit here and do nothing?"

"That's about the size of it," Ukyou agreed calmly.

Ukyou gasped as Ranma grabbed her shoulders and spun her to face him. He was right in her face, his blue eyes smouldering under his furrowed brow. For a few moments time seemed to crawl as Ranma stared into her eyes. Ukyou was transfixed, breathless. Then he sighed and released her. He stepped back, shaking his head slightly.

"I guess I didn't want to believe it..." Ranma muttered. "But it really is gone."

"Gone?" Ukyou whispered as she regained the ability to breathe.

"The fire in your eyes," Ranma said with a shrug. "Back when we were kids, you always had that fire. I'd beat you every day when we sparred for our breakfast, and every morning you came back with that fire in your eyes." He looked away from her. "But now... your eyes are so cold. I guess the fire just went out."

Ukyou stared back at him, unable to speak. As the silence descended on the room, Ukyou found the words sinking in. She had lost it, she realised. That fire that used to burn inside her and push her forward. She had always been motivated to exceed... but what now? Ever since she had woken up here, she had been delaying.

She had access to a world-class martial arts master, one who could improve her skills. One who had agreed to train her, and she had spent the last five days doing paperwork.

"Ukyou, Ranma doesn't mean it," Akane voiced suddenly. Ukyou realised that something must have shown on her face. Shown through the placid mask that she had become so used to. Aaron's placid mask. Ukyou suddenly felt like screaming. An irrational impulse to rip the skin from her face and scream and scream gripped her. Oh god, she had been slipping further and further from herself, even as she tried to provoke Aaron into being more and more a silent partner in their forced union.

"No, he does..." Ukyou sighed and slumped down. "I... I think I came dangerously close to just giving up here." She ran a hand through her bangs. "It's so tempting: to lose yourself in the mundane and just forget." Ukyou spoke from bitter experience. She remembered the brutal details of Aaron's life, and his steady descent from promising young intellectual to just another wage slave. All because of his inability to fight the inertia of his own apathy. It wasn't something that was going to happen to Ukyou, damnit! "I think Ranma is right. I've been sitting around on my duff for too long."

"Ukyou, that's hardly your fault, you've been recuperating..." Tofu began, but she cut him off.

"No. I thank you for helping me out, but you're wrong," Ukyou grunted. "I was like a little boy thrown from a bike and who got scared because he skinned his knee. I thought... I was so confident when I went in to fight Kodachi that I would handle it with ease. I knew," she spat the last word like a curse. "I knew that I could handle things. When I failed so badly..." She stood up, smirking angrily at herself. "Okay Ranma, you made your point. What do you want to do about this?"

"Hah!" Ranma walked over and clapped her on the back. "That's my old buddy Ucchan talking. First thing we have to do is train ourselves. If these guys are stronger than us, we'll just have to change that!"

"I'm helping too!" Akane shouted suddenly as she sprung to her feet. "You two always end up saving me or leaving me behind... I want to help here!"

"You're right, Akane," Ukyou nodded. "You should help us."

"Ukyou, she'll just slow u-ow!" Ranma cut off sharply as Ukyou and Akane smacked him in the back of the head at the same time.

"Children..." Tofu sighed. "You're all set on fighting this battle, are you?"

"Indeed," Ukyou nodded.

"I don't suppose I can try pointing out that Ukyou's former plan is really a good one. You're still teenagers. While tough teenagers, true, you aren't supposed to be responsible for these kinds of things."

"Ah, s'not a big deal, Doc," Ranma said with a shrug as he rubbed the sore spot on his scalp. "We can probably handle whatever these Dork Kingdom guys throw at us."

"Akane, I beg you to be the voice of reason here."

"I'm sorry, Doctor Tofu, but I've seen the kind of people that Ukyou has to deal with. I don't think we can talk them down."

"That only leaves me with one choice... I guess I'll have to help you all out." He stood up and smiled. "If I don't, I'm likely to lose the young woman who is the only thing keeping my practice afloat at the moment."

*

Chris gazed over the expanse of the Chinese countryside with a certain appreciation.  He had always liked travelling; not only through his native country, but also throughout the United States, the Caribbean, Britain and Africa.  Asia, however, had eluded him until he had stolen a body and come to Japan.  He had not really had the time or ability to appreciate Japan properly, however; aside from his obvious distraction in the few days he had been there, the bodies he'd occupied LIVED in Japan.  They knew it, and thus the surprise and wonder he felt exploring the new was dulled by the fact that he could easily, almost unconsciously, call up foreknowledge of it.  Hard to get too fascinated by the lights and bustle of Shinjuku when he was following Kodachi's memories to her favourite store to make a purchase of certain herbal ingredients.

But Kodachi had never been to China, and thus the experience was totally fresh to him as well.  Certain aspects of the usual tourist experience - the food, the entertainment, seeing and interacting with the people and their lives - weren't available to him, but what he had was still pretty gratifying.  The thing about the breathtaking landscape spread out before him that most caught his eyes were the mountain peaks.  The Bayankala range, he supposed.  They were not at all like mountains he was used to.  Oddly, almost abnormally thin, they were like enormous dead trees scratching at the sky with their branchless grey trunks.  He wondered if they were that way in the real world, or just the stylised backgrounds of the manga he'd remembered.

Below him, in that mountain range, were wonders that he knew weren't in the real world.  Jyusenkyou.  The Nyuuchezu village.  Phoenix Mountain.  The homeland of the Musk Dynasty.  He felt curiosity about them, almost like an archaeologist.  So many questions Takahashi's manga had never answered.  What happened to female children of the Musk?  What were Saffron's origins?  How was the Nyuuchezu village run, and how did they not know the Musk still existed? What were all the springs in Jyusenkyou, and how - or from whom - did the cursed springs originate?

Ah, so many questions.  And with luck, he'd have a lifetime to satisfy that curiosity and explore this new world.

But for the moment, there was this cliff.  He frowned, glancing down at the directions he'd been given.  Forty kilometers still, by his reckoning, and he'd have to continue the way he'd been going, before he reached the village. Given that he didn't need to stop to rest, he could probably easily reach them by early nightfall.  Which was good; camping out waiting for Cologne to wake up the next morning would be incredibly boring, and he didn't want to risk getting lost exploring away from his directed path.

Folding the paper with the directions, he placed it away in the pocket of his jeans - he hadn't exactly felt like travelling in Kodachi's leotard, though he had one in case of necessary combat - he looked down the steep slope, maybe a hundred metres total.  There was a path winding precariously down it; his eyes searched for how to reach it, but then suddenly a crooked grin spread across his borrowed face.

Path?  Who needed paths?

Taking off his travelling backpack, he spun it once by the strap and hurled it high into the air, far over the cliff.  Without pausing he then ran forward, hurling himself over the precipice, diving like a swimmer.

The slope was sleep, but not vertical; it hurtled towards him.  Two fingers stabbed down, touched the side, flipped him over and outward.  A moment later, a heel did the same.  He flipped down the slope like a human tumbleweed, his face and thoughts calm as the world whirled around him.  He was close, now; leg bunched up, found a protruding rock, shot down, pushing him off and up.  He descended in a graceful arc, flipped in the air one more time, and landed en pointe on the toes of one foot.  One hand reached up, almost as an afterthought, and caught the bag as it fell past him.

He laughed, and this wasn't Kodachi's laugh, but something very much like his own, ringing out over the empty countryside.  It was pointless showing off, and to nobody but himself, he knew that... but it was good.  It felt so GOOD.  He never regretted for a second losing his real body, even when finding out that both it and he had apparently died.  That crippled, weakened body. Here was a place where he no longer had to worry about it.  This was the land of promise.  The land where anything, literally anything was possible to the person who was willing to reach out and grasp it.  This was where the gods walked, casually performing things that in the "real" world were impossible.  And now he was one of them.  Oh, it felt good.

Almost as good as being alive.

Still grinning, he checked the directions again, carefully oriented himself, and strode briskly off.  Maybe his journey would end here.  Maybe Cologne could help him, or tell him what he needed to know.  He'd find out that night.

*

"And you must be H-chan," Akane sighed as she held the squirming black piglet in her hands. The damn thing had frightened her half to death, leaping out of the shadows at her like that. And she had really been hoping to get some sleep now that the noise from Ranma and Ryouga's brawl outside her window had died down. Maybe that barbell she had tossed at them had gotten the point across.

Outside the rain fell and the lightning flashed, followed only shortly thereafter by the distant peal of thunder. The flash of light gave her the first clear view of the piglet in her hands. She had been half-joking when she mentioned the name of Ukyou's missing pet piglet. But now she saw there was no doubt about it. It wore exactly the right yellow and black bandana around its neck.

The little pig was still trying to squirm out of her hands. Akane wasn't about to let it go, however. For one thing, Ukyou had banged into Akane's head how much the thing wandered. For another, she had pointed out what a little pervert it was. And since the beast had leapt at her bosom from the shadows, she had little reason to doubt Ukyou's word.

"Calm down, H-chan," Akane muttered to the pig as she shook it a little. Strangely enough, that seemed to get the pig to pause. It looked at her, its little head cocked to the side. It had the largest eyes she had ever seen on a pig, and they had an almost human intelligence behind them. Maybe it recognized its name, which was why it stopped moving so violently. "I guess I can see why some people consider you cute," Akane muttered as she shook her head. "If you weren't such a pervert..."

Akane trailed off as she looked around her room. There was no place she really trusted keeping the pig for the night. She wasn't about to let him sleep in her bed, and letting it wander around would be even worse. Akane was just glad the pet hadn't been deep-fried along with all of Ukyou's other belongings. The thought of letting H-chan wander off was unthinkable. Maybe seeing her companion would help cheer Ukyou out of her funk.

"Personally, I think you should just be neutered," Akane muttered, mainly to herself, as she walked out of the room. "That would solve both your wandering and your perversion problems." Akane blinked as the pig seemed to faint at her statement. She looked down in worry, then gasped as the little animal began to fight her grip with renewed vigour. Akane frowned as she was forced to exert all her strength and skill just to keep a hold of the animal. "You're a tough little bugger..." Akane grunted as she tried to wrestle the beast while simultaneously keeping it from touching any of her sensitive regions. It seemed a doomed prospect. "Stupid pig, if you keep this up I have half a mind to neuter you with a kitchen knife!" Akane shouted in frustration.

Ah, now the animal was being still. Almost unnaturally, completely still, with a large bead of sweat along its brow. Did pigs actually sweat?  She guessed so, but couldn't remember.

"Now that you're quiet, H-chan, let's see if I can find someplace safe to keep you till morning..."

Akane wandered downstairs. She paused as she passed the living room, wondering exactly what Ranma was doing sitting in her soaking wet nightclothes staring intently at the neighbour’s dog. But Ranma was prone to bouts of random insanity, Akane supposed. She really didn't know what Ukyou saw in her, er, him, er, whatever.

Finally Akane found an old leash, ironically enough from her old dog-walking days for the neighbours, and went about securing it to H-chan. "Now you be good, H-chan, and don't try to get away tonight. I'll be very cross with you if you do." Akane said to the pig. It looked at her as if it really understood, and so Akane didn't really feel foolish talking to a pig. She even made a little snip-snip motion with her fingers, which caused the pig to blanch and nod its head vigourously. Wow. It was easier having pets than everyone said it was. Maybe that was why Ukyou kept this thing around?

*

Nabiki strode into the office. She resisted the urge to check and make sure her hair was in place. She kept her eyes centreed forward, her back slightly arched and her arms steadily, but loosely, at her sides. The key was appearing more confident than you actually were. She didn't quite smirk, but she allowed the corners of her lips to lift slightly.

"Ah, you would be Ms. Tendo," the man behind the desk said with a smile. His voice was soft, almost languid. He was tall, and rakishly thin. His hair was short, blonde and curly, and he wore a set of pink-tinted sunglasses that made it hard to see his eyes. "Please, have a seat."

Nabiki smiled and graciously accepted his offer. She made sure to lean forward a bit more than was absolutely necessary when she sat down. It was hard to tell if he noticed, however. Whoever this guy was, he was a smooth operator. She glanced idly at the nameplate on his desk. J. Dight. Sounded foreign.

"I believe I have information that you advertised you were willing to pay handsomely for?" Nabiki pointed out. She felt a thrill of vindication with herself. It was finally time for her to pay that bastard Ukyou back for dragging her life through the mud the past few weeks. Of course, she would keep the remains of the journal she had found yesterday to herself, but having a little extra cash to help make up for her losses would be nice. "I will be betraying my good friend Ukyou to you, so I hope I can be appropriately compensated."

"Yes, Ms. Tendo," Mr. Dight said as he leaned across the table, tenting his fingers in front of his face. "And I'll make sure you get everything that's coming to you. But first, tell me... where is Ukyou Kuonji?"

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes:

Blade: Well, first off, we would like to send out a hearty "thank you" to our new prereader, Elin!  For, unlike all our other prereaders (except my girlfriend), she actually, you know, READS the chapters!  And comments on them! And catches some of Epsi's innumerable spelling errors that I miss!

Epsilon: Yes, and I might as well say "thank you" for probably the first time, since I don't actually talk to her.

Blade: Which might have a lot to do with why she's still prereading.

Epsilon: It might at that.

Blade: Anyways, for her invaluable service, Elin gets to read ahead!  That's right: while you guys are just now reading here, SHE'S about to read Chapter 8! Aren't you jealous?

Epsilon: If YOU TOO become a prereader, YOU TOO could get to read ahead!  Until you reach the point where we're still writing, and get back to that one-month delay.

Blade: In other news, this series is going to have a lot of different characters from a lot of different series', as hinted at in this chapter.  Most won't be very important, but a few, of course, will end up being storyline-centric.  We don't expect you to know every series involved; indeed, we don't expect you even to know Ranma or Sailor Moon.  Theoretically, anyone and any series we introduce will be in such a fashion that even someone who's never heard of it should be able to follow along.

Epsilon: But for people with the IQs of-

Blade: (smashes Epsilon with bokken) Let's not insult the readers, SHALL WE?

Epsilon: Oh, fine.  (rub head)  So if there's anything you're confused on, let us know and we'll try to edit things for clarity, or add more exposition on the character/series as we go along.

Blade: Unless we're making you confused on purpose!  You know, the whole "mysterious stranger" thing!  Far more likely than our flawless writing not being flawless, certainly!

Epsilon: That's right.  Our flawless writing!  Which contained NO spelling errors... at least until Elin read it!

Blade: She probably sneaks them in on purpose!  Can't trust those tricky Swedes!

Epsilon: Even if she does speak (or at least write) better English than most of the native speakers we know!

Blade: And she knows what an "infinitive" is.  I mean, really, what's up with that?  How suspicious.

Epsilon: I believe that she just made that term up.  You know, like other meaningless terms, such as "unobtainium", "blinkenspiel", or "compassionate conservative".

Blade: I'd just like to remind everybody at this point that we're near-geniuses. Or, at least, I am.

Epsilon: I also think the term "self-deprecation" is made up.  I mean, come ON. What's with that?

Blade: But here's one word that has meaning: "preview"!  So enjoy this weak segue and, yes, this "preview" of our next exciting chapter, on its way in thirty days!

Cologne took another long draw on her pipe, savoured the flavour for a few moments, then exhaled an acrid cloud of smoke. "Interesting." She paused, looking him up and down. "You are no spirit, or ghost, or elemental, or demon." She tapped the ashes out into a small dish near her chair. "You are, as far as I can tell, a nothing. Ambulatory flesh with no more animating essence than a rock or a stream. Either you are an automaton, like those 'robots' I have heard about, or you are impelled by a force I can neither detect nor have heard the least amount on." With that, she began elaborately and carefully stuffing her pipe again.

He slumped.  "Well.  That doesn't exactly sound very hopeful, I must admit."

"Wisdom rarely does."

"Touche.  Well, is there anything you can suggest?  Any avenue I might take, source of information I might seek out, expert I might consult?"

"I never said I couldn't help you," Cologne noted as she finished lighting her pipe. She took another puff before continuing. "You came seeking my wisdom, and I gave it to you. Which is to say, I know nothing about what you are or how to solve your problem." Cologne smiled, more to herself than to him. "But the far better question for you to ask yourself now would be: why should I do anything at all to help you?"

Hybrid Theory Chapter 6: Breaking The Habit

Hiiiiiiiii~~~!  Tsubasa Kurenai here, and I am just SOOOO excited to be your recapper!  Are you reading, my dearest Ukyou?  *blows kisses*  I really don't like that guy who has been shoved in your head and is giving me threatening glares because I'm not getting to the point of this!

Anyhoo, last time on Hybrid Theory... not much happened! My beautiful girlfriend Ukyou decided, out of the goodness of her boundless heart, to save Dr. Tofu from falling down an open sewer and dying because his business was going bankrupt!  They also gave that little harridan Nabiki what she deserved and snubbed her from their social clique, leaving room for ME!

Speaking of ME, I appeared last chapter!  I'm soooooo happy!  And I'm totally going to embarrass that ugly klutz Usagi!  She's going to be SOOOOOO freaked out when she finds out my darling Ukyou is actually a girl, despite Usagi having a crush on her!

And is it wrong that I find that slightly arousing?

Nooooo, nooo, kyaaaa, naughty thoughts!

Ryouga showed up last chapter, but really, who cares?  Bad things happened to him, but really, what else is new?  What a boring old stiff.  Speaking of stiffs, that nasty old Chris guy/girl/corpse/whatever went to China and fell off a cliff or something.  My dearest Ukyou wasn't involved, so I didn't pay much attention!

That's pretty much it!  Thank you, thank you, and please, tip your wait staff!

Chapter 6: Breaking the Habit

Chris felt a bit of a thrill as he stood upon the hill and looked down upon the Nyuuchezu - he refused to call it "Amazon", even mentally - village for the first time.  It was like being in the Tendo Dojo... here was the proof, the stories come to life.  This was the world of wonders.  Of course, unlike the Dojo, he wasn't sure exactly what to expect from the Nyuuchezu village.  A crowd, a table, a banquet, and a log.  All that had been seen in the manga... not much to go by.

From this high up, the village probably seemed smaller than it actually was. The encroaching shadow of night and the lazy sprawl of houses made it hard to guess at the exact size of the community. It did not even begin to fill the valley in which it was located, but the rice paddies that spread out from its northern end certainly took up a huge amount of space. Only one building appeared to be over a single story high, and that looked like some sort of giant dome. A tribal meeting place? The house of a community elder? Capsule Corp? Heh, okay, maybe not that last one.

As Chris watched, lights began to appear in the windows down below. They weren't the flickering lights of bonfire or lamp that he had expected. Instead, they glowed with the clear, steady white of electric lights. But how had they gotten power out here? A quick scan to the west of the village showed several windmills. At first he had dismissed them as archaic throwbacks, but maybe they served some more modern purpose here after all.

The walk down to the village was almost disappointingly uneventful. The path he followed was well-worn, the dirt packed flat by the tread of many feet. Ruts too narrow to be tire tracks showed the passage of carts. Night continued to fall, but with an idle laziness that Chris had grown to expect in the wilderness. The village slowly grew in his view. It was definitely large, but nothing he would even call a town in a more civilised part of the world. But then, he had passed through highway "towns" that were both smaller and dirtier than this. Nonetheless, one probably could have walked from one end to the other in a half hour, and there couldn't have been more than sixty buildings.

Most were short, stocky affairs made of some dark, smooth wood. They looked like any number of other village houses he had encountered in his journey here. Perhaps more sturdily constructed, actually. There still couldn't have been more than three or four rooms to each. Only a few people walked between the houses, men and women moving together with the casual hurry of people going about their business anywhere.

A few of them looked up as Chris walked into the village proper, but none paid him any particular heed. A few curious expressions, but no yelled greetings, angry challenges by heavily armed warriors or rushes to escape the strange foreigner. Of course, why would there be? He felt a little silly for half-expecting it. Chris shifted his grip on his pack as he moved inward and took in more detail.

The village seemed like something lifted straight from a pre-industrial Chinese epic, mixed in with several obvious anachronisms. Aside from the electric lights (no power lines were in sight... did they have generators?) there were other signs of modern influence. Here and there a village man or woman wore a digital watch, or carried a small trinket of the modern world. One pair of young girls were huddled in a corner with a flashlight and several copies of some modern teen magazine, giggling to each other.

Chris soon arrived in the centre of the village, where the largish dome stood. It was made of stone, but masterfully erected. Chris was no architect, but he could detect no seam where they must have fitted the stone blocks together, nor was there any break to the smooth lines of its exterior. It was maybe two and a half stories tall, and twice that wide. A perfect hemisphere, at least to his untrained eye.

There was one entrance, and this was the first clue Chris saw of any martial presence. A tall, buxom brunette in one of those form-fitting Chinese breastplates Shampoo favoured was sitting in front of the building. A spear was leaning against the wall beside her, within arm's reach. She wasn't paying attention to much beside the game of solitaire she was dealing out on a patch of dusty earth.

He hesitated a bit.  Kodachi knew a little Chinese.  It was part of the proper education of the elite, such as she was.  But it wasn't something she'd had great interest in.  Her brother could probably get by conversationally, but he knew better than to try that.  Misunderstandings in dialogue could lead to bad things, when he didn't even know what this building was.  Maybe a shrine?  Well, first, let's see if the problem was moot.  "Excuse me," he said politely, "Do you by any chance speak Japanese?"

The woman - she looked to be in her early thirties - looked up without any surprise, or anything else beyond mild annoyance. She had muddy brown eyes which were clouded with confusion. Chris repressed a sigh and repeated his request, this time speaking the words more carefully. The woman seemed to get the message this time. She said something rapidly in Mandarin, pointing off at an angle to the direction Chris had taken entering the village. Chris couldn't make out a word she was saying, but she was shaking her head slightly. Guess that was a no.

Well, let's try something else she might recognise.  "Cologne."

The guard tilted her head to the side, obviously recognising the word. Then she grunted and pointed back in the same direction. Her voice was rough, but oddly musical. Then she said a few Japanese words. Chris recognised "traders", "morning" and "guests" past her horrible accent.

He nodded, and thanked her - he could at least do that in Mandarin - before turning and moving in that direction.  Cologne DID speak Japanese... aside from Mousse, it was entirely possible few or none of the others in the village did, depending on how often anybody there travelled.  In which case, he might well be being directed straight to her, which would certainly simplify things.

He moved through the village slowly, keeping an eye on every house he passed since he was unsure what he was looking for. The guard's directions had placed him on what was obviously the main thoroughfare of the village. After a half-dozen or so houses passed by, Chris came to what was obviously his destination. The building was about three times as long as any other in the village, and most of it was dark. The front door was wide open and white light spilled from inside. On the wall next to the door were signs in a half dozen languages, including Japanese and English, all of which basically said "Inn."

Well.  Didn't he feel stupid.  He walked in, wryly hoping he'd provided the bored guard a little amusement.  Although that still left the question open as to what exactly she had been guarding... but that wasn't important at the moment.

The inside of the building was furnished in a spartan but comfortable fashion. The light came from a few tasteful and expensive-looking lamps that hung from the ceiling. The part of him that was Kodachi recognised their value, and he was mildly impressed. The walls were covered in elaborate murals of Chinese art, as well as one piece of western art (a piece he did not recognise). The room he was in was small, with a pair of stuffed leather chairs in one corner. A man stood with his back to Chris behind a waist-high desk of carved mahogany, watering what Chris recognised as a cannabis plant.  Heh, maybe that's what Cologne smoked in that pipe of hers.  It'd explain her usual mellowness.

"Excuse me," he said in Japanese.

The man turned slowly. He was old... not ancient, but Chris couldn't place his age. He had short black hair and tiny black eyes. His cheeks and brow wrinkled with grandfatherly good humour as he smiled.

"Yes, may I help you, young lady?" his voice contained the same rough but musical accent as the guard, but his Japanese was impeccable, a fact for which Chris almost sighed in relief.

"Yes, hopefully you may.  Am I correct in assuming that I have reached the village of Nyuuchezu?"  Never hurt to be polite.

"You assume correctly." The man nodded and gestured for Chris to come closer. "You must have walked far. From your pack, you're either a martial artist here for training, or a trader here for barter. If you hoped to witness the tournament, I'm afraid you're almost two months late." He laughed, a loud belly-quaking sound. Not that he had much belly. He was thick and rounded, but there appeared to be not much fat to him.

He smiled in return.  "I have come far, but not for training.  I have come in search of the wisdom of one who resides here."  He paused for effect. "Her name is Cologne."

The man frowned, but only slightly. "Well, that is an odd request. But Cologne has always been a bit of an odd sort, hanging out with the strangest people." He shrugged. "I'm afraid you'll probably have to wait until morning. Cologne has spent many years acquiring wisdom and it shows in her health, which isn't what it used to be." He gestured towards the far wall, which had a single door. "I can offer you a room. Reasonable price. It’s the off-season, you know. Snow is just now melting out of some of the higher passes, so we don't get many but the really determined in."

He sighed.  Too late after all.  "Thank you... but as it turns out, I don't really need to sleep at the moment.  If Cologne is truly unavailable, is there perhaps something I could do for you or in the village to pass time until the morning?"

"No, we pretty much take care of ourselves around here," the man said with a kindly smile. "You best be careful offering help to anyone else in this village. I'm more worldly than most, but the people here are known for their pride for a reason. It's best you just keep your nose outside their business and stay out of sight until your dealings here are finished."

"I understand," he nodded.  "Well, in that case, I can at least practice my martial arts.  Is there an out of the way nook where I could do so, or should I have to leave the village until morning?"  He grinned.  "Don't worry... I do know better than to get into any fights with the women here unless they are strictly friendly sparring matches with no winners or losers."

"So I was right, after a fashion," the man said with a quick chortle. "If you want to practice, I suggest doing so outside the village. The square at the other end of the village is open up enough, but you'll probably attract the wrong kind of attention." He paused and gave Chris a long, piercing, and slightly discomforting stare. "Sometimes the people here have more pride than brains, and don't give you chances to turn down challenges, if you know what I mean. Like I said, best to keep a low profile if it can be helped at all. Outsiders here are tolerated, not welcomed."

He laughed.  "You're probably right.  And since I actually want to be able to be here tomorrow, I would do well to avoid joining them in that pride-overcoming-brains thing.  Fair enough.  I'll go outside the village for the night, then.  If anyone wants to fight me, they'll have to walk for it."

"Ah, good, good," the man nodded. "If you need any help tomorrow, just come ask me. Name's Bath. In case I see Cologne before you do, can I tell her who came calling?"

"I don't believe she'll recognise it, but my name is Kodachi," he responded.

Bath nodded, and gave him a jovial goodbye as he left.  As he exited the building, Chris scowled a bit.  This was exactly what he was hoping to avoid. But oh well.  He could wait until sunrise to see Cologne.  It'd be boring… but boredom was, after all, the least of his problems.

*

Ukyou ran her hand over the coat that was hanging on the rack Tofu had kindly set in her "room." Well, it appeared it would be her room, at least for the foreseeable future. She wasn't sure she wanted the coat here, and hadn't even touched it, or the large spatula leaning against the wall next to it, since waking up in this very same room a little over a week ago. The coat was the same one she had worn in that disaster at the Kunou mansion...

Ukyou sighed. It had been Aaron's idea to purchase the thing. It was supposed to help save their bacon, but really it was just because he was enamoured of the badass 'Matrix' look. She paused when her hand encountered an unexpected bulge in the material. Aaron frowned and reached in, pulling out the small metal container. It was an emergency respirator, a portable metal case filled with pressurised oxygen attached to a simple plastic mask. The idea had been to use it in case of gas attacks by Kodachi. A problem he would likely never have to deal with now. Because Kodachi was dead.

Ukyou growled and pulled the forearm-sized tank back, ready to pitch it out the window. But Aaron stopped her, holding Ukyou's arm in place with what was probably the first exertion of his will since... since that night. "It might still be useful, for other things," Aaron said out loud in Ukyou's voice. Ukyou was forced to nod reluctantly, then she slipped the container back into her pocket.

Next up was an inspection of her weapons. A visual check showed that her combat spatula had a few dinks and nicks, but no structural damage a good wetcloth and a few hours of polishing wouldn't fix. Her bandolier of miniature spatulas was hanging from it, and Ukyou sighed again. There were only three of them left. Moving on, she found a few bags of her Flour Bombs (patent pending) and a single tiny explosive. That was it.

That was it for all her physical possessions on earth. Everything else had been in the pack that had been blown up along with her ratbag motel room. Strangely, Ukyou couldn't bring herself to feel bad about losing most of it. It was just clothes, some cooking ingredients and some survival gear. Nothing worth getting worked up over. She wasn't sure if that was Aaron's influence or not, and that worried her in a small way she didn't dwell on.

The only thing she cared about, and that Aaron cared about even more, was the loss of their notebook. That thing had contained all the notes Aaron could remember about the timeline of Ranma 1/2 and a few other animes. It also contained all the information Aaron remembered about the history of his world. The important events that would shape history, like the election of presidents and prime ministers, the wars, the economic bubbles and bursts and new technologies, and the events like 9/11 and the other things the future held. But that was still fresh enough in his mind that he could recreate it all.

The real loss was the writing, the drawings, the musings and diagrams. Aaron had always been a writer, and his interest in drawing, while not as advanced, was definitely there. Strangely, he had found that Ukyou shared some of his passion for art. Unwilling as she was to admit it, she had quite a bit of talent and enthusiasm for drawing. It only stood to reason, he guessed, given her passion for creative cooking.

Ukyou shook her head and smiled. She did hate to admit it, but he was right. She liked drawing, a lot. It was probably the only thing she had found that she and Aaron could do well together. She was going to miss some of her sketches.

"Ukyou? Are you here?"

"Back here, Akane," Ukyou called over her shoulder. She stepped back from the coat and weapons, drawing a deep breath as she did. Ukyou would have to take the day off from helping the doctor. Today she needed to go and make sure her affairs were still in order, shop for new clothes, and while she was out she would acquire a few things to help in the days ahead.

"Ah, good morning," Akane called cheerfully as she walked into the room. "Here, you better take this: he's a bit of a handful."

Ukyou reached out reflexively to take the thing Akane thrust at her before even looking at it. She blinked when she realised she was holding a small black piglet, that appeared to be quivering and trying to retreat up her arm.

"Oh, H-chan..." Ukyou said as the memory of her conversation with Akane came back. She looked down at the piglet, giving it a quick visual inspection. "What's a matter, pig, did Akane scare you or something?" she said as she looked into his strangely human eyes. He nodded rapidly. Well, at least the pig hadn't fallen in love with her. "Heh. Good for her."

On an impulse Ukyou stored the piglet under her arm like a football (heh, pigskin, Aaron thought) before turning back to Akane. The cursed man struggled a bit, but Ukyou just squeezed a little to keep him from getting too excited. Akane was dressed for school, but that wasn't a surprise. "Where's Ranma?"

"He's out looking for that guy Ryouga," Akane said with a shrug. "He was chasing around the neighbour’s dog this morning with a tea kettle, screaming something about his curse."

Ukyou blinked, then sniggered, then coughed as she tried to keep herself from breaking out into fits of laughter. She pounded her chest a few times, wincing as she coughed again. "Never mind then," Ukyou coughed a third time. "I think we won't have to worry about Ryouga disappearing on us." She looked down at the pig under her arms. "Isn't that right, H-chan?"

Ryouga stared back at her with his little piggy eyes, obviously confused. It was amazing how human his expression looked, considering he was an animal at the moment. That tickled something, made Aaron do a mental double take, but the feeling passed quickly.

"I have this guy well in hand," Ukyou said to Akane. "You should probably run off to school..." Ukyou considered teasing Akane about visiting with Doctor Tofu, but let the idea pass unvoiced.

"Right." Akane stepped back towards the door. "Oh, just one thing." Ukyou raised an eyebrow. "Have you seen Nabiki at all this morning?"

"No..."

"Funny, she wasn't in the house when Kasumi got up," Akane muttered. "I thought she might have snuck off to spy on you again." Akane didn't bother trying to filter the exasperation from her voice.

Ukyou smirked. "No, your sister hasn't made a serious effort to catch me with my guard down for the past two days or so."

"Well, I'm sure I'll see them at school," Akane sighed. "See you later, Ukyou!" Akane waved cheerfully over her shoulder as she jogged from the room. Ukyou waved goodbye in return and smiled to herself. Something about Akane's visits always made her feel better. Then she remembered the cursed boy tucked under her arm.

"Hey, let's see if we can't find you some clothes," Ukyou grunted as she stepped out of the room. Damn, how was she going to ask Doctor Tofu for yet another loan of fresh clothes?

*

The morning finally came, in the form of strong enough sunlight that Chris's flashlight was no longer necessary to see the words on the page.  He switched it off and tucked both it and the journal back in his backpack.  As it turned out, he had practiced for awhile, further learning the nuances of Kodachi's art, but had eventually decided to continue writing his memories of various anime into one of the journals he had brought for that purpose.  Even spending eight or so hours doing so, frustratingly, was only scratching the surface.  He'd filled up one book already, and he estimated at least three more would follow before he even got a decent overview of everything that was reasonably possible to exist here.

He straightened to his feet, wryly thankful that corpses didn't experience discomfort due to staying in one place for long periods of time. Once he returned to Japan, he'd have to see about finding a less vulnerable method of storing all his thoughts and information.  Unfortunately, it'd be quite a while before CD burners would be commercially available, and he couldn't trust anyone else to take dictation.  Maybe tape-record himself...?  Well, he'd cross that bridge later.

He glanced down at the Nyuuchezu village from the same hilltop perch he had first seen it the previous evening.  Forms were beginning to move through the streets, doing whatever it was they did in the early morning.  He jogged down the slope, angling at the inn.  Bath struck him as the sort who would be an early riser; hopefully his intuition was correct.  He still didn't know exactly where to look for Cologne, after all.

Nobody accosted him as he made his way to the long building he remembered, for which he was grateful.  He didn't recognise anybody, but then, that wasn't surprising.  Shampoo shouldn't have been there anyway, and while that left her father and Mousse, the chances of stumbling upon them was probably pretty low.  Especially since Mousse had a decent chance of not being here either.

He stepped into the open door of the inn... and stopped.  Bath was indeed there.  So was Cologne.  Both of them were sitting in the stuffed leather chairs, enjoying a morning smoke on their long pipes.

Well, well.  How very convenient.  He wondered if Cologne had really been asleep the night before after all.

The old woman looked at him as he hesitated in the doorway.   "Come in, child, have a seat. You wanted to talk, yes?"  Her voice was old, scratchy, and very, very canny, much like he expected (and remembered).  It also didn't give away much.  He set himself, walking in.  This was it.  Ranma was one thing, but he seriously doubted his ability to get away if Cologne decided he had to be destroyed.  Hopefully she would be more curious than revolted by his condition.

As he entered, Cologne made a shooing gesture at Bath with her pipe; the old man swiftly arose and drifted out of the room, nodding slightly to Chris as he passed.  As he left, Chris sat down and tried somewhat unsuccessfully to relax.  He looked over at Cologne.  "Well, it seems you've been expecting me.  I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

"Not really." Cologne eyed him carefully, taking a long draw on her pipe.  He felt a tingling, a sense of... something at the back of his head as her eyes seemed to stare past him... and then it passed. "I get so few visitors, and have so little else to do I leapt at the chance to have a conversation. Please, tell me what wisdom it is you seek."

He shifted a bit.  Well, she hadn't attacked him yet.  "I have a bit of a problem, and I was hoping you might know something that would assist me in it.  However... the nature of my problem is a bit personal.  If we talk here, are we likely to be overheard?"

"Not any more than the rest of the village. And it would be unusual for business to be conducted elsewhere in the village or outside of it. Curiosity is a powerful lure, the mundane far less so."

"As you say, then." he nodded.  Oh well.  Best to be as cooperative as possible.  He settled himself in the chair, collecting his thoughts.  "Well, I rudely have not introduced myself as of yet, for which I apologise.  My name is Chris McNeil.  You were probably told something different by Bath, which was not precisely an untruth.  This person whose body you look upon was called Kodachi. But I am not her."

"Ah," she said, in a tone which indicated a complete lack of surprise. "An interesting statement, but not exactly a request for wisdom."

"You'll have to excuse me; it's my nature to try and explain things one point at a time."  He tapped his chin thoughtfully.  "To the best of my knowledge, I'm dead.  I believe myself to have died in a car accident.  But that car accident was not here, in this world, but in a world similar in some respects but very different in others.  I 'woke up', so to speak, in a body in this world.  But it too was dead.  It seems I am some sort of spirit, as I'm able to possess and animate other dead bodies, something I am unfortunately forced to do, as the bodies I inhabit start decomposing over time - a process I find quite unbearable as it progresses.  However, I don't really want to do this.  I want to find a way to be in a living body, or failing that, at least halt the decomposition of the body I'm in so I can stay within it indefinitely. I know you to be wise, and learned in many different subjects, both mundane and... not so mundane.  Thus I came to you in hopes you might be able to help me, or even just point me in the right direction."

Cologne took another long draw on her pipe, savoured the flavour for a few moments, then exhaled an acrid cloud of smoke. "Interesting." She paused, looking him up and down. "You are no spirit, or ghost, or elemental, or demon." She tapped the ashes out into a small dish near her chair. "You are, as far as I can tell, a nothing. Ambulatory flesh with no more animating essence than a rock or a stream. Either you are an automaton, like those 'robots' I have heard about, or you are impelled by a force I can neither detect nor have heard the least amount on." With that, she began elaborately and carefully stuffing her pipe again.

He slumped.  "Well.  That doesn't exactly sound very hopeful, I must admit."

"Wisdom rarely does."

"Touché.  Well, is there anything you can suggest?  Any avenue I might take, source of information I might seek out, expert I might consult?"

"I never said I couldn't help you," Cologne noted as she finished lighting her pipe. She took another puff before continuing. "You came seeking my wisdom, and I gave it to you. Which is to say, I know nothing about what you are or how to solve your problem." Cologne smiled, more to herself than to him. "But the far better question for you to ask yourself now would be: why should I do anything at all to help you?"

He chuckled a bit.  "Well.  I am willing to do what I can to repay anything you might do for me.  Whether that repayment be through usage of skills or information.  But I'd need to have an idea as to what you might wish in return for helping me."

"I have no needs you can fulfill and few wants these days. Retirement after a long life of prosperity and respect has left me with not much to want that I can not get, for much less effort, from virtually anyone else." She took another puff. "You say you can provide me with information. What kind of information?"

"I know a lot of things.  Some of which are likely to be of interest to you, because they relate to you, or your people, or your family.  How I know these things is, however, part of the information.  However, as proof that I am perhaps more knowledgeable than the average person, I will point to the fact that I came here, knowing who you were, and where you lived, and that you were indeed very wise and knowledgeable, despite you not particularly advertising these things to the Japanese public."

"I've never made my existence a secret. People who know where to look can find out my name and living arrangements. Though one thing I am curious about... the question of 'why me?' In this world, there are people who are both wiser and more widely known than me."

"Perhaps that is so.  But I knew about you, and knew enough to know how to find you.  I can't say that for any others."

She chuckled. "Then let me rephrase that. Answer my question, the question of 'why me', or walk out the door now."

He shook his head.  "I'm not sure what you mean.  The reason was that I knew about you, and didn't know about anyone else who had remotely the same sort of experience in odd, magical, unnatural things.  Truly, that's the only reason. Hmm, well, actually, to be fair, I have to say there's other things I wish to look for while I'm here in China, but the reason I'm here right now is because you were my best hope for being able to help, not because of anything else."

"Allow me to clarify the question again: HOW did you know about me, and not about others who are both more famous and more wise?"

He sighed.  "Fine.  As I'm coming to you for help, I suppose I have to also put my good faith in you first.  As I said, I do not come originally from this world you're in.  I know about you because I've read about you.  I've read about many things that have happened in this world, and about many that will happen in the future.  I know about many people in this world, and many more who may be in this world but I am not yet sure of.  That's how I know of you, and the source of most of the relevant information I could impart to you."

"Interesting," Cologne muttered. "Tell me about this world of yours. Is it a spirit realm? Are you a god of some kind who knows my future?"

"Quite the contrary, in fact."  He leaned back, grateful that she seemed to be interested again instead of hostile.  "It's a world much like this. Except there are no unnatural things.  No magic, no martial artists who can defeat legions of men singlehandedly, no cursed springs, no bird people, no gods, no spirits.  A world of, for lack of a better term, normalcy."  He paused. "Mmm.  I'll qualify that it's possible that there may be spirits, or gods, or other supernatural phenomena there... but there's no proof, and that's not for lack of looking on the parts of many people.  If there is anything, it's far less visible, accessible and common as such things are here."

"Sounds very boring," she said with an amused chuckle. "But how can such a world know my future?"

"That, I really don't know," he responded.  "If I were to guess, I suspect that events in this world - and perhaps others as well - might resonate somehow in the minds of people of that world, leading them to write down or otherwise create stories they think are made-up but are in fact chronicles of this world's events.  But that's just a wild guess... I really have no idea either way."

"Then what reason do I have to trust your information?" she pointed out easily with a tip of her pipe. "Nothing you have said to me so far indicates a knowledge of the world beyond that which other mere mortals can come to possess. Why should I take time from my hard-earned retirement helping you, when I have no reason to believe that anything you tell me will be accurate?"

"Well, for starters, I know my information is accurate up until the point where the events I know will or have occurred are interfered with.  I've seen that myself.  For instance, I have never met your great-granddaughter Shampoo.  But I know that right now she is searching for a girl who first ate the prize she was supposed to receive at a tournament in the recent past, and then defeated Shampoo when she understandably challenged the girl to combat.  I know that she is searching because the law of your village is that a woman defeated by an outside woman must kill that woman."  He leaned forward, and raised a finger.  "But perhaps I could learn that through another source, you think. Well, I know something that neither of you know, and that I could not learn from another source, namely that the girl Ranma who defeated Shampoo is in fact a man, who had recently fallen into the cursed springs of Jyusenkyou before coming to your village.  Indeed, he was not the only one, for the pet panda that was with him and also ate at the prize buffet was in fact that man's father, also recently a victim of the cursed springs."  He sat back again, and spread his hands. "That is the sort of thing I know.  What has happened, and to an extent what will happen.  I know a few other things I expect will be of interest to you, and perhaps other things that I do not realise will be of interest to you. I can't say how much they will be of interest, but since as you say you do not NEED anything, that is seemingly all I have to offer.  But, you also said you have little to do and are bored.  If nothing else, I daresay I present a riddle that is interesting.  Wouldn't that have some value to you?"

Cologne raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "I think you overestimate my boredom. If what you say about my great-granddaughter is true, then that is worth an equal share of information, at the very least." She took another long draw on her pipe. "I can not revive the dead. I am certainly not skilled at creating souls where none exist. I think, in fact, that there will prove to be nothing I can do for you at all. This is because you obviously exist outside the limits of the Two Circles."

She paused, obviously waiting for a response, which he did not disappoint her in.  "What are the Two Circles?"

"So, you're unfamiliar with the term." She nodded as if expecting that. "Don't feel bad. Most martial artists are. Indeed, so are most who practice the mystic arts." Cologne hopped down from the chair, making a large circular gesture with her staff. "The term refers only to the difference between the two disciplines, and as such has no use to those who practice one or the other exclusively." She made a somewhat smaller circle in the air with the tip of her staff. "The First Circle is the power of Chi. It is the animate force of will and life. All things have chi, and all can learn to access its secrets. The Second Circle is most often referred to as magic. Unlike chi, it is a force which exists outside of life. Also, only certain beings may wield the energies of the Second Circle. These two forces comprise the totality of the universe as we understand it."

"Hmm.  And thus, since I am from outside the universe as it is understood, I'm also outside these two circles?"

"That would be the logical conclusion," Cologne nodded. "Of course, it is also possible my skill with mysticism is not so advanced that I can detect the subtle strands of Second Circle working on you. But I doubt that."

"I doubt it as well." He grinned slightly.  "But what does that mean?  I mean, it's obviously the case that I can interact with this world.  And I can use the skills of this world, including the martial arts you say are First Circle-related.  So why would you be unable to help, aside from the fact you can't raise the dead?"

"In the same way that the currents of the ocean will never influence the orbit of the moon," Cologne said, making another circle with her staff. "The First Circle may never influence the workings of the Second Circle, even if the second can influence the first and often does. It is a sad fact, but magic is just MORE than chi. I suspect that since you CAN influence the First Circle, and exist outside it, then much the same laws might abide in what you are as well."

He spoke carefully.  "So.  What you are saying is... that, essentially, being from outside this universe I'm like a 'third' circle.  And thus, while I might be able to use chi or even magic, none of these things, nor anybody who wields them, can affect that which is ME in any way.  That in fact, nobody except someone who could also wield that same kind of energy, that is not native to this universe, could help me?"

"I would not go so far as to say that with certainty," Cologne said, but she nodded her head at the same time. "However, if what I suspect is true, then you are a person not of 'this' universe and such, you may exist beyond its laws."

"Well, that's... rather disheartening, to say the least.  Uh... let me think.  Hmm.  Well, if there's one, there may be others.  Have you ever heard of anything, or anyone, who might do something similarly inexplicable, that might be related to this third circle of energies?"

"No, not really," Cologne said. "I wouldn't get too disheartened. Just because you may exist beyond the laws of our world doesn't mean you are necessarily beyond saving. For instance, magic can create a stone from nothing. No amount of chi mastery can unmake the stone. But if you want the stone gone, then crushing it to dust with the power chi can give you is almost as effective."

"A good point, and thank you.  Well, is there any course you might be able to suggest to me?"

Cologne paused, looking thoughtful. "I would suggest looking for that which exists outside the two circles yourself." She tapped her staff on the floor. "To know the limits of things will help you in that. Know this: the power of chi is mighty, but it may not raise the dead, it can not reverse the flow of time, nor create things from nothing or the reverse, it can not linger beyond the will of its master, and in finale it can not influence effects of the Second Circle. The Second Circle has far fewer limits. It can do those things I mentioned. Its only limit is that magic may not alter the fundamental laws of reality. It can bend them, suspend them, even break them for a time. But it can not change things so that rocks fall up. This means that magic can not create something that is eternal. All things end: that is a law of existence. Magic can not break that final law." Cologne tapped her staff on the ground, frowning. "I can't be of much more help than that."

"Something eternal..." he mused.  Might be worth talking to Akio about. If he existed.  "All right.  Thank you very much.  You gave me rather more information than I gave you, so I should tell you something else, at the very least.  One thing does occur to me immediately.  When you were young, you knew for a time a man named Happousai - indeed, you knew him well enough to call him by the nickname 'Happy'.  That man, after being rejected by all the girls of this village, stole many of the village treasures and ran off into the night, never to be apprehended.  I believe my memory is correct in that?"

"Yes," she responded, in a short and curt voice.  Well, she'd been annoyed about that in the manga too.

"Hmm.  Well, as it turns out, that self-same man was also the martial arts master of Genma Saotome, who is the father of the faux girl Ranma I mentioned earlier.  Genma and his friend, Soun Tendo, both disliked Happousai about as much as most people seemed to, so about ten years ago they got him drunk and sealed him in a cave.  I don't know where the cave is... however, within a few months at the most, Happousai - who is apparently rather too tough to be more than inconvenienced by being sealed in a cave for years - will escape from his confinement.  He will go shortly afterwards to find his old students, both of whom are at Soun Tendo's dojo in the Nerima ward of Tokyo, in Japan.  He still has many, perhaps all, of the things he stole, and will bring them to that dojo shortly after arriving there."

"I see," Cologne said slowly. "Thank you. That is even more valuable information, should it prove to be true."

"I'm glad to have been able to help.  In a related note, I should say that Genma's son Ranma is also at the same dojo, where Shampoo will likely find them both shortly in her search for the girl Ranma.  Given Shampoo's lack of knowledge about the true situation, things are likely to get complex.  It probably does not help matters that Ranma has two other fiancées at the moment."

"I see..." Cologne paused. "Then I have a piece of advice for you, too." She waved her staff. "Things such as you... they do not 'just happen'."

"I agree.  I've been wondering what - or whom - might have brought me here.  But I haven't been left with very many clues to answer that question."

"I can't be of any help with that."

"I understand."  He rose from the chair.  "You've been a lot of help already, and I thank you for it.  If I may, then, I'd like to ask one more favour of you.  As I mentioned before, there are a couple of other locations I'm looking for, which are both in this general vicinity.  Could I trouble you to give me directions?"

"If I know the way." She nodded.

"You should, I believe.  The first I am going to is Jyusenkyou.  The second, which I wish to go to from there, is a herbalist's village which I do not know the name of, but which you have gone to in the past.  There are twin girls there, named Pink and Link, who are excellent herbalists and whom are decidedly unfriendly with your great-granddaughter Shampoo."  He rummaged around in his backpack and took out one of the empty journals and a pen.

Cologne paused, frowning. "Jyusenkyou will not solve your problems. Its waters do not change the dead." She tilted her head to the side. "And I've never heard of anyone named Pink or Link. The best herbalists in this region are a day's long walk from here. You go north through the mountains along the trails which travel downward, only going up when you have no other option. You should reach the village if you stay to that course."

"Hmm, that's probably it.  As for Jyusenkyou, I guessed as much, but there's other reasons for me to visit.  I'd like to get some samples of various waters from it."

"It is best not to toy with the waters there. Forces far too dangerous to trifle with have interests in that place."

He smiled a bit.  "Heh.  I know of the Phoenix, if that's whom you're referring to.  But it's for my own good, as well as that of others, to be blunt. As I said before, eventually the bodies I am in start to decay, something which nearly drove me insane before I escaped from my first body.  I can't help myself from seeking out new ones.  If I can get access to Jyusenkyou's waters, I can create new bodies from animals.  It's a far better solution than the alternative."

"You were warned then," Cologne said with a sigh. "The place you seek is further into the mountains, about three days travel on foot. When you leave this place, head towards the setting sun. Stay away from the paths which lead into forests or large valleys, take the left fork at the foot of the mountain of howling stones, always keeping the mountain to your right or over your right shoulder. Eventually you will walk into a large valley filled with a thick, unnatural mist. Travel through that mist and you will reach Jyusenkyou."

He carefully wrote that down, then looked back up at her.  "All right. Thank you.  Not just for the directions, but for listening to and attempting to help me.  Given what I am, there are many others that wouldn't.  While I did give you some information, I still feel indebted.  In the admittedly unlikely event that I ever can do something for you, you need but ask."

"I sensed no evil from you, and you made no hostile action towards me or my community," Cologne snorted. "Besides, you more than paid back your debt to me, if your words are truth."

"Well, that's good to know."  He packed the journal again and shouldered the bag.  "But thank you nonetheless."  He bowed deeply.  "I hope that you will be able to make good use of the information."

"I will, I will..." Cologne muttered.

He grinned.  "Take care of yourself, then.  Perhaps we may meet again."

*

"Don't tell me you got lost in there," Ukyou called over her shoulder. She laced her fingers together behind her head, tapping one foot rhythmically against the wall she was leaning against. The door next to her was closed, and she could hear the sounds of shuffling and grumbling from inside. At least he hadn't wandered out of the room. Not that she really expected he would. Ryouga's sense of direction was not nearly as bad as it tended to be portrayed in the fanfics Aaron had read.

"Don't tell me you need help getting dressed," Ukyou called over her shoulder again.

"Dammit! Leave me alone! These pants don't fit!" Ryouga snapped from behind the door.

"Beggars can't be choosers," Aaron commented philosophically.

Finally the door banged open as Ryouga walked out into the hallway. Ukyou raised an eyebrow as he strode into view. The pants he were wearing indeed did not fit, so Ryouga had torn the seams a little to fit his muscular legs into Tofu's considerably slimmer trousers. Not only that, the doctor appeared to have longer legs, so the boy had a huge mass of rolled-up cloth above his ankles. Thankfully, he hadn't even bothered to try on the loafers Tofu had been kind enough to lend Ukyou. He was also doing his best to wear Tofu's shirt, which was both too long and too tight, so the boy had left it unbuttoned and it trailed out behind him like a miniature cape. Ryouga grunted and tugged on the collar of the garment.

Ukyou did the only thing she could do in the situation: she burst into laughter.

"Hey! You're the one that gave me clothes that are two sizes too small!" Ryouga growled. Ukyou continued laughing, Ryouga's serious frown only causing the giggles to roll up from her lungs even harder. "Fine, I don't have to stand here being mocked!" Ryouga grunted, and turned to storm out of the clinic... and straight back into the room he had just left, of course. Ukyou slid down the wall, clutching her stomach and laughing so hard that nothing came out but a few shallow gasps for breath.

Ukyou spent a breathless minute trying to regain control. This was one of the few times Aaron wasn't of any use in that regard, since he was, if possible, even more amused by the spectacle of Ryouga than she was. Finally she succeeded in at least standing on her feet and putting on Aaron's standard emotionless expression. Taking a deep breath, she walked into the room.

Ryouga was standing in the centre of the room, obviously aware he had walked in the wrong direction, but unwilling to admit it. For some reason, he reminded her very much of a cat, standing there proudly after it had just fallen off the couch, staring at you as if it had meant to do that. The urge to laugh again was rising, but she squashed it with brutal efficiency after getting a good look at his face.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, okay," Ukyou held her hands in front of her, trying to calm down the boy. He gave her a long glare, then grunted and nodded.

"I'll forgive you, but only because you saved me from that crazy devil girl," Ryouga said sullenly.

"Crazy devil girl?" Ukyou blinked, cocking her head to one side.

"The one with the long hair who took me here this morning," Ryouga explained.

"You mean Akane?" Ukyou said incredulously.

"Yeah, her... the crazy devil girl." Ryouga nodded, wincing slightly. "I have never met anyone more scary in my life." Ukyou allowed the corner of her mouth to quirk up. It appeared her little plan had worked: Ryouga was certainly not in love with Akane at this point. Now all that remained was letting him and Ranma get this silly feud out of their system, and the so-called 'lost boy' would become a minor player in the drama that was her life.

"Whatever, not important," Ukyou said as she walked into the room. Seeing Ryouga wasn't sitting, she hopped up onto the bed and sat lotus-style. She gestured for him to take a seat in the chair provided. Reluctantly, he did so. "I'm sure you have questions."

"Huh?" Ryouga blinked.

"You do have questions for me, right?" Ukyou said in a leading tone.

"Oh... you're right, now that I think about it, how did you know that was me..." he paused. "And who on earth are you? We've never met, have we?"

"Nope," Ukyou nodded and crossed her arms over her hidden breasts. "We haven't met. I know you strictly by reputation, actually. But I've heard about your problem, and once I saw you were in town gunning for Ranma, I decided we needed to talk."

"Reputation?" Ryouga groaned and placed his face in his palms. "Great, I haven't had this curse for two months and everyone in Japan knows about it already."

"Nah, just people who have their ear to the ground when it comes to the supernatural." Ukyou shrugged. "I doubt anybody else in this town knows about your condition yet, except Doctor Tofu. As far as I'm concerned, we can keep it that way too."

"So, you'd be willing to keep my secret?" Ryouga looked up at her. Reading his expression was painfully easy as hope blossomed there.

"Yup, for a small favor," Ukyou said with a nod.

"Oh..." Ryouga's face fell, then he sighed and nodded. "Okay, I see how it is. What do you want from me, anyway?"

"Just some conversation, really," Ukyou said as she unlaced her arms and began to tap her fingers along the mattress. "I'm known as a bit of a peacemaker around these parts, and I was hoping I could play that role again."

"Peace-maker?"

"Between you and Ranma, obviously," Ukyou pointed out.

"Ranma?" Ryouga leaned forward, growling again. "So you're his friend?"

"Indeed." Ukyou ran her hand through her bangs. "You could say that. But I'm not here to help him ruin your life, or to aid him in beating you up, or even to get you to leave him alone." Ryouga stared at her, obviously unsure how to take that. "Quite the opposite. In fact, I want to see you two really go at it, beat each other to a pulp... whatever you want."

"You mean you don't mind if I beat Ranma bloody?" Ryouga said, a hint of suspicion in his tone.

"He's a martial artist. Getting into fights like this is something he does," Ukyou pointed out. "I understand that. I'm not about to stop a fight of honour. In fact, I heard you disappeared in the last fight, so I just wanted to make sure you stuck around for the next one."

"I never-"

"Not that I'm accusing you of running from a man to man fight." Ukyou smiled happily and leaned back on her arms. "I wouldn't accuse you of ditching Ranma in the middle of a fight because of cowardice, especially since it probably wasn't your fault." Ukyou watched Ryouga squirm a little. "I know I would be annoyed if someone suggested I ran out on a challenge, when I had no choice in the matter. So I'm not about to leap to conclusions."

"What do you really want from me?" Ryouga said in a low voice.

"Just to see this thing worked out between you and Ranma," Ukyou pointed out. "I need Ranma, I need him focused and ready... he's helping me with something very important and I can't afford to have you attacking him in the middle of a sensitive operation."

"Huh?"

"You wanted my reason, I gave you it," Ukyou noted with a shrug. "I don't really care what you have against Ranma, but I need him at one hundred percent and not worried about this little feud of yours. So the sooner you get it out of your system the better, as far as I'm concerned."

"But you said you wanted something out of this, didn't you?"

"Indeed." Ukyou nodded. She leaned forward slowly, staring hard into Ryouga's face. "I want your promise, your sworn oath, that this is the end of it. If you beat Ranma, then you've had your revenge. If you lose, you swallow whatever problem it is you have with him. And that's it." She held up one finger between the two of them. "One fight, one outcome, one decision. Period."

"What? That's-"

"Do you intend to lose?" Ukyou noted in Aaron's most dangerous tone.

"Of course not!"

"Then what do you care?"

"I... that... you..." Ryouga grunted and crossed his arms. "What if I don't agree to this condition of yours?"

"Then..." Ukyou sat back and shrugged. "I guess we find out how many other people want to know about your curse."

"That's blackmail!"

"Perceptive, aren't you?"

"I... you..."

"Don't make the decision right away, Ryouga." Ukyou slid off the bed and walked over to the combat spatula leaning against the wall. "Take a few hours if you want."

"No... I get you," Ryouga stretched to his feet. "I can-"

"Ukyou, you finished back there?" Tofu's voice suddenly called from the front of the clinic. Ukyou frowned as Ryouga trailed off. She shrugged and stuck her head out the door.

"Almost, I just need a few more seconds..."

"Well there's some people here to see yyyARGH!"

Ukyou gasped as the entire front of the clinic suddenly shuddered with an ear-ringing explosion. The shockwave funnelled down the hallway, forcing her to clutch the doorframe to keep from collapsing. Her hair snapped in the brief wind.

"TOFU!" she cried. There was no response. "Oh great, oh just fucking perfect..." Ukyou leapt back into the room and snatched her coat and weapon from the wall. "You," she called over her shoulder. "Stay here for a minute."

"What? Are you insane!?" Ryouga stalked forward. "That was an explosion! What's going on out there..."

"I'm not sure..." Ukyou admitted, but she had her suspicions.

"I'm certainly not staying here!" Ryouga growled and clenched his fists.

"Fine, but stay behind me..." Ukyou grunted and slid carefully out into the hallway.

*

Jadeite smiled as the human doctor flew across the remains of the office and impacted the wall. A spiderweb of cracks materialised in the gyprock. He lowered his hand, the mystical discharge seeping from under his glove as a cloud of firefly-like motes. Behind him, he felt more than saw Tethys drop her human guise and assume her warform.

He was glad the youma commando had come with him on this operation. She had been trying to curry his favour for centuries, but he had always brushed her off. Now he needed her to ensure his victory over the boy, Ukyou. But the fact that it had come to this annoyed him to no end. He was well aware that this would be his last chance, Beryl hadn't said as much... but she cared for Tethys in a way the witch queen did not about many other servants. Not that he doubted success... he just wished he could have found some other way to deal with this. Direct confrontation was not his preferred style.

"I sense two more humans coming down the hall towards us," Tethys reported as she stepped up beside him. He forgave the presumption, but noted it away in the back of his mind. "You're right... their energy is so vast compared to a normal human's... Even the doctor has an exceptional life force."

"Yes," Jadeite grinned. "This shall prove most useful an excursion." Jadeite left unsaid that a far more important goal than getting the human's energy was getting back in the good graces of Queen Beryl. The blue-skinned youma woman nodded; she knew exactly how serious the situation was for him.

The door into the back of the office opened violently and two figures rushed out. One was Jadeite's new nemesis. Ukyou was much as Jadeite remembered him, dressed this time in a long black coat and carrying his bizarre polearm in one hand. The boy that came in behind him was new, not the one that had been with him that day. He was shortish, muscular and wearing clothes that were poorly tailored, to say the least.

"Ukyou," Jadeite smiled and bowed mockingly. "Good to see you again. You left before we could be properly introduced last time and..."

"Ryouga, take my hand!" Ukyou called as he whipped something out from within the confines of his coat. Jadeite blinked as a cloud of white dust erupted all around him. Then he roared, raising his hand and unleashing a potent blast of electric pink magefire. Something beyond his range of sight exploded, but there was no shout of pain.

"Tethys, get rid of this cloud!" he roared.

"Right away!"

At first the water came in lightly, then with increasing force. Soon a virtual torrent of rain was pounding down on him, driving away the white cloud. Once his vision was clear, he scanned the room, noting only that the boy had fled.

"He can't have gotten far," Jadeite barked as he spun to face his lieutenant. For a being with nothing but a pair of glowing red eyes for a face, Tethys did a good job of cringing at his expression. "Find them!"

"They're..." she paused, staring upward into the miniature downpour she had created. "That way, heading down the street."

"Good," Jadeite growled. He wasn't about to let them escape so easily. "I need a portal to cut off their escape." She nodded wordlessly and drew magical energy out of her body with a deceptively simple gesture, forming a whirling blue portal in front of them.

*

Aaron grunted; someone had to tell Tofu to go on a diet. Thankfully, whatever attack Jadeite had used had blown open a significant hole in the wall, allowing him to get out of that office without rushing past Jadeite or his youma. Ryouga had even managed to keep up with them as Aaron sprinted down the road.

"What the hell is going on here?" Ryouga cried from behind them. Oh well, too much to hope that he would leave the questions until later.

"Not really much time to explain," Ukyou hissed. "Just leave it at this: that was a bad man who wants to hurt us."

"Why didn't we stay and fight?"

"Because Doctor Tofu is hurt, and I happen to live in that office, so I'm not going to get him or it hurt by brawling there..." Ukyou replied. Of course, there was also the fact that they were running towards Furinkan High School, where Aaron hoped their reinforcements were. But considering who those reinforcements consisted of, Aaron thought it best to keep that fact a secret for now.

Aaron was reacting even before he saw the attack, leaping up and tucking as the bluish humanoid dashed through the space he had been in seconds ago. His eyes narrowed. That wasn't like the youma woman from before. This one could be called humanoid in only the vaguest sense of the term. It was more like a blob of water than a real human figure... wait, this reminded him of an episode!

"Get away from me!" Ryouga roared as he smashed out towards the blob with one fist.

"No!" Aaron shouted. He was still in mid-air, carrying the doctor on his shoulders, and that left his options limited. Thankfully Ryouga was within kicking distance, and so a good swift one knocked the lost boy's attack off course. It did throw off his balance enough that the boy was sent skidding along the pavement.

"You bastard!" Ryouga growled as he kicked to his feet. Ukyou was just setting down, and didn't have time to answer him. The blob-like thing twisted its whole body like a towel as it swung to attack her. She tapped her foot to the ground only briefly, just enough to push her back out of range of a clumsy swing. Then her other foot came up in an air-cracking snap kick, neatly bisecting the beast. Its faceless head stared at her for a slow instant as it drifted apart, then the entire creature burst into a spray of water, dousing Ukyou.

"That's why I stopped you," she commented as she delicately landed, making sure not to jog Tofu too badly. That burn on his back looked pretty serious, but at least he was still breathing.

"It was made of water..." Ryouga muttered as he stared at the puddle on the ground. Aaron was already scanning ahead of them, however.

"Not it, them," Aaron pointed out in a resigned tone. Ryouga spun in place and saw the small army of gel-like water men crawling out of the alleys, and sewers, and over the nearby canal fence... or more accurately through it. Ryouga began to back up towards Ukyou, his fists going up into a boxer's stance.

"How am I supposed to fight these guys?"

"You don't..." Ukyou blinked and backed away suddenly. The puddle at her feet was slowly growing in size. She could see the beginning of a hand reaching out of it. "These things aren't that dangerous by themselves, but it looks like they're hard to put down."

"Yeah," Ryouga whispered as he backed towards her some more. The golems were slowly surrounding the two of them.

"Take Tofu for me, I can fight them better without my arms occupied," Aaron instructed. Ryouga wordlessly pulled the man off Ukyou's shoulders, and she grabbed her spatula from its harness. A few quick slashes bisected some of the golems that had gotten too close, but Ukyou knew better than to hope that was the end of them.

"Having a bit of trouble, boy?"

Aaron turned their attention to a nearby rooftop. Jadeite stood on top of it, his arms crossed and his neatly pressed uniform pristine. An arrogant smirk had etched itself firmly across his face. Behind him stood the youma whose name Aaron couldn't remember. He got a better look at her this time. She was blue-skinned, with no facial features except a pair of slitted red eyes. Some sort of antenna-like golden tiara held back her long blue bangs while the rest of her hair flowed freely down her back. She wore a skintight costume in a deeper blue than the rest of her body. Aaron didn't recall her specifically, but he remembered the episode of Sailor Moon she had appeared in.

"Not really," Aaron feigned a yawn as he slashed a few more of the mindless creatures in twain with expert slashes. He could already see a few of the ones Ukyou had destroyed earlier reforming. But he needed to play for time. Jadeite... what weaknesses did Jadeite have... think, goddamn it. Of course, he was arrogant. "These things are no threat to me. I've dealt with their kind before."

"You seem to be at a disadvantage," Jadeite pointed out in amusement.

"Only because I have to protect these helpless idiots," Aaron called back with his own smirk. Ukyou saw Ryouga about to say something and kicked him, hard. He shut up. "If they weren't holding me back, you'd already be dead."

Jadeite laughed. "Oh, I like your spirit, boy. If you hadn't annoyed me so much, I might even be sorry I have to kill you." Aaron's eyes narrowed. This was going to be a long shot, but if it worked...

"Ryouga," he hissed softly in the lost boy's direction. "When I make the signal, clear us a path with those bandannas of yours."

"A path..." Ryouga whispered. "Where?"

"Anywhere... just away from here." Aaron  whispered back and stepped forward. "Come on, Jadeite!" Aaron shouted as he put on the most condescending expression he could manage. "This is child's play and you know it. You're not up to taking me on face to face, so you're hiding behind a woman..." Aaron put enough stress on the last word that Jadeite couldn't help but snap his eyes back at the youma. "Are you so used to taking on little girls that you're not used to fighting man to man anymore?"

Jadeite ground his teeth together and pointed his finger at them as they walked forward. The golems backed away from Aaron as he walked. "So you want to take me on yourself? Is that it?"

"Normally I don't stoop so low as to fight obviously inferior opponents," Aaron yawned theatrically. "But in your case, I guess I can make an exception."

"Jadeite, don't!" The youma sounded distressed as it moved in front of Jadeite. "Let me destroy this impudent human..."

"Tethys-" Jadeite began but Aaron cut him off.

"Just as I thought, hiding behind your minions again." He ran his hand through Ukyou's bangs and shook his head silently. "We've all seen how well that's worked for you in the past. How many youma has Sailor Moon killed... oh wait, that would be ALL of your youma, wouldn't it?"

"Very well," Jadeite growled as he stepped around the youma. "I'll crush you with my bare hands!"

Aaron resisted the urge to make a Transformers quote, and just stood expectantly. Jadeite leapt from the roof, his body floating more than falling as he descended onto the pavement. The golems pulled back, forming a neat circle around the two of them. Ukyou pulled her spatula up into a defensive stance. Damn, why did she have to be out of flour bombs now, of all times?

Jadeite didn't move like a martial artist, but he definitely knew a thing or two about fighting. He walked forward, cautiously, his hands in front of him curled into fists. Ukyou held her ground. She had to hope she had a speed and strength advantage over him, and could keep the duel on a purely physical level. She wasn't sure she could handle him if he began to blast about with magic.

But the point of this fight wasn't to win, it was to buy them a chance to escape. Which meant playing defensive wouldn't do any good at all. Releasing a deep breath, Ukyou allowed her chi to flow through her limbs unrestricted. Suddenly everything began to move in slow motion. Jadeite's approach became a crawl, the swaying of the monsters virtually ceased, even her own heartbeat seemed to ring slower in her ears.

The sensation shattered like a mirror as Ukyou drove them forward. Dust flew up in her wake. Her spatula snapped out to her side, its blade trailing a path of sparks along the pavement. Jadeite's eyes widened, but it was too late. Her attack came in so fast the weapon was a silver blur. Water golems disintegrated into geysers as Jadeite flew through them like a cannonball. Finally three of them caught him before he smashed into the fence blocking off the canal.

Ukyou skidded to a stop. Aaron couldn't believe it had been that easy. They were completely flat-footed as they stared at the slowly rising Jadeite. The youma general was rubbing his side where Ukyou's spatula had caught him. They could hear the youma woman (Tethys, wasn't it?) calling out her obvious concern over his well-being. They could see him waving it aside. The man was mad. Very mad. Ukyou had caught him by surprise just as much as she had caught herself.

Then it suddenly struck her. She could win this. Not just buy time, or escape, or even get Ranma's help. She. Could. Win. Aaron would have preferred to stick to their original plan, but she overruled him with a vicious thought. Ukyou needed this. This victory would be hers.

"You'll pay for that, you brat," Jadeite growled as he stalked back into the makeshift circle. Ukyou didn't have to pretend to smirk this time.

"Do your worst," Ukyou said in a low, emotionless tone. She spun her spatula around her wrist, then spread her legs and shifted the weapon behind her back with a flourish.

"I'm about to!" the man cried as pink energy began to seethe around his hands.

Ukyou leapt, seconds before an electric pink lightning bolt slammed into the ground where she had been standing. She soared into the air, a gracefully gymnastic flip. Jadeite snapped his other hand at her, releasing another lightning bolt. Ukyou twisted in mid-air, allowing it to pass under her. Dust blasted out in a circle as she landed behind him. Jadeite tried to turn but Ukyou spun her spatula like a baton. There was a sickening crack as the ring collided with his skull. The man blasted across the road, momentum holding him up as his heels dragged the pavement. Finally the inertia died out, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Jadeite!" the blue-skinned youma growled and gestured towards Ukyou. "I'll kill you!" Several of her golems sprung at Ukyou, but they were destroyed shortly thereafter. Ukyou skipped forward, out from the press of monsters. Jadeite was beginning to regain his feet, but Ukyou had no intention of letting him do so.

Jadeite, however, was more resourceful than Aaron had thought. With a roar he pushed downward. The air around him seemed to bend and warp, and then he blasted into the air like a rocket. Ukyou passed underneath him. With another roar he lashed out, two bolts snapping from the ends of his fingers. Ukyou wouldn't have been able to dodge them, if Aaron hadn't seen him charging up. Guessing correctly, he snapped Ukyou's leg forward. The pavement exploded in a geyser from the force of his kick. They flew backwards, momentarily dizzied by the sudden g-forces. But the blasts of lightning impacted harmlessly into the pavement, doing nothing but kicking up concrete and dust.

"You are... annoying," Jadeite growled. Aaron landed a few meters back, crouching and spinning the battle spatula to his side. Jadeite was now floating five meters above the street. Ukyou frowned. She could make that jump, but not quickly enough that Jadeite couldn't float away. "But this ends here!"

Screaming, Jadeite launched another wave of energy at her. Ukyou was moving even before he finished the gestures, the blasts exploding behind her. Ukyou found her focus narrowing as she propelled herself along the road. The sounds of explosions raced her, and she could feel the heat and concussions on her heels. Again and again the blasts rained down around her, and Ukyou kept zigging and zagging just enough to throw off Jadeite's aim.

Aaron, however, could focus beyond that. He could see Ryouga grinding his teeth, prevented from attacking by the ring of water golems surrounding him on all sides. He could see Tethys standing on her rooftop, glaring down at her, but unwilling to interfere in Jadeite's duel any further. He could see the telephone pole only a meter away from where Jadeite was hovering.

Jadeite's attacks stopped for a second as Ukyou drove her legs forward, creating a small furrow in the pavement as she changed directions. But soon enough his attacks began to slam down around her again. Then the telephone pole was in reach. With a cry she leapt, the pavement exploding underneath her. Her legs bicycled through the air, until finally one of them touched the thick concrete shaft. But Ukyou didn't push off, she snapped her foot down, pushing herself up. Then again. Soon she was racing up the pole. A blast echoed beneath her. She almost slipped as the pole began to sway to the side. But she was already high enough.

Jadeite only realised what she was doing a second too late, and tried to fly higher. Ukyou somersaulted forward, stretching her weapon out. Her spatula flew out like a giant fly-swatter. Jadeite was caught dead-on, driven down by the metal peel. He hit the ground with enough force that a crater formed around him. Ukyou continued her somersault and landed on top of a wall.

For a few moments the street was quiet. Then a groan rose from Jadeite's crater. Sluggishly, the man managed to get a hand under him, then another. He pushed himself to his feet, and swayed there groggily for a few seconds. His face was a bloody mess, having caught Ukyou's attack full force. Trails of blood leaked from his nose and the edges of his lips. He spat, and a red stain appeared on the shattered roadway.

"This... this is... impossible!"

"Famous last words, Jadeite," Ukyou leapt to the ground. "You can't beat me. Surrender!"

"Never!" Jadeite roared and lashed out with another set of lightning bolts. Aaron had already dashed to the side, and Ukyou reached into their coat. Her hand came out holding a half-dozen spatula shuriken. With a cry she launched them. Jadeite gasped in pain as the weapons streaked past his body, leaving shallow cuts through his uniform in several places.

He didn't stop, however, striking out again with his lightning bolts. Ukyou tossed another handful of spatulas at him... and frowned as Jadeite waved a hand and vapourised them in a blast of lightning.

"Hah! You merely caught me off-guard," Jadeite hissed. His voice had a slightly nasal quality from his injury. "Now I'm ready for you!"

"Indeed..." Aaron murmured. The inkling of an idea was forming in his head. Ukyou dodged another blast of lightning and tossed some more mini-spatulas at Jadeite. These ones he again disintegrated with a wave of his hand. Then Aaron began to smile. Not a pleasant smile. "I'm pretty sure you'll run out of energy eventually," Aaron called out in his most taunting tone. Jadeite growled, and fired again.

This time while Ukyou dodged, Aaron reached into their coat and retrieved their weapon. Except it wasn't a mini-spatula. It was a small grey tank. With a roar, he lobbed it towards Jadeite as fast as he could. The man didn't have a chance, he only saw another grey blur. Reacting quickly, he waved his hand and produced another field of electricity to destroy the tank. Of course, the compressed oxygen inside did not react well to this.

The explosion was strong enough to throw Ukyou off her feet. Aaron blinked as they landed on their back. Then he heard Jadeite's scream, an agonised scream. Flexing their back, Ukyou managed an elegant kippup back to their feet.

Jadeite hadn't just fallen down, like Aaron had hoped. His entire left arm, from the elbow down, was simply gone. The grotesque red shreds of his sleeves dangled from the stump while blood poured from his wound. Jadeite's good hand reached up and clutched futilely at the flow. Ukyou could see the bloody gashes traced along his entire body now. Shrapnel, she guessed. But that had definitely knocked all the fight out of the man. Aaron couldn't help smiling. He felt like laughing.

"Jadeite!" the blue-skinned youma cried in shock and horror as she landed beside the man. She grabbed his head and cradled it in her lap. "You'll be okay!" she insisted, her voice filling with an odd choking. Then she snapped her head towards Ukyou, and her blazing red eyes narrowed dangerously.

"You want to be next?" Aaron said, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice. Apparently she didn't. With a gesture she formed a swirling blue portal behind her, and leapt through it with the injured Jadeite. Aaron didn't even try to stop them.

*

Akane burst into the hospital room, her breath coming in short gasps as she skidded to a halt. The lights overhead buzzed and hissed fitfully, and a number of machines near-by contributed their own whooshes, pings or beeps to the disconcerting ambiance of the room.

"Ack! Scary devil girl!"

Akane snapped her head to the side and saw someone slipping behind Ukyou. Despite wearing an outfit that appeared both too large and too small for him at the same time, Akane had no problems recognising Ryouga. He was still wearing that yellow and black headband of his, and his boyishly rugged face still had a mouth accented by pronounced canines. Ukyou smirked in her passive, distant way at the boy's antics.

"She isn't going to hurt you," Ukyou pointed out to Ryouga. "Are you afraid of someone half your size?"

"I... of course not!" Ryouga barked as he stepped out from behind Ukyou. Ukyou herself was sitting in a chair. Her black trenchcoat had been hung across the back of her seat, with her spatula and harness leaning against it.

"Where is he?" Akane asked breathlessly. It had taken her almost an hour to run across town to the hospital. She clutched her stomach, trying to force air in and out of her burning lungs. Ukyou gestured further into the room and Akane turned her attention away from the two martial artists.

Doctor Tofu did not look well. His face was pale and covered in a light sheen of sweat. His eyes were closed, but pinched as well and his lips twisted downward every now and then in a grimace of pain. His normally enticing messy hair seemed greasy in the harsh hospital light. It was impossible to see most of the rest of him, covered as he was in a green hospital sheet. Only his arms were uncovered, and one of them had a small tube hooked up to it. Akane walked over hesitantly, not wanting to disturb him.

"What... what happened?"

"He was shot in the back by some kind of magical lightning bolt," Ukyou pointed out from her chair. Akane turned and stared at her. "I think." Seeing Akane's expression, Ukyou frowned and ran her hand through her bangs. "He'll be okay. The blast knocked him out, and he might not be up until a few more hours, but he'll live. Basically, he got the equivalent of a really good electrical shock. Most of the stuff hooked up to him here is precautionary."

"That's good..." Akane sighed, honestly relieved. She turned her eyes back to Tofu, examining his face. Where had the handsome, charming man she'd fallen in love with disappeared to? This man lying on the bed seemed far too hurt, and vulnerable and... human to be Doctor Tofu. It made Akane shudder inside, but she wasn't able to pin down why.

"Where's Ranma? Didn't he get my message?" Ukyou asked.

"Ranma's coming here?" Ryouga said from where he had wandered over near the door.

"Yes, and if you want your clothes back, you won't wander out of the room," Ukyou pointed out.

"Whatever," Ryouga grunted. He squatted by the door and crossed his arms. He eyed Akane warily, but looked away sharply when she noticed him doing it.

"Ranma said he had to pick up that package you mentioned," Akane pointed out in the wake of Ryouga's statement. She turned from the supine form of the doctor and took a long breath, trying to return her breathing to normal. "Now, what on Earth happened to him? I went by the clinic on my way here. The entire front office has been gutted and the place is crawling with firefighters."

"Must have shown up after we left," Ukyou muttered. Seeing the question on Akane's lips, Ukyou waved her to silence. "I'd rather not tell the story more than once, Akane. We'll wait until Ranma shows up."

"Ukyou, I really want to know what happened!"

"Don't bother, he isn't talking," Ryouga said in his teenage tenor. "He won't tell me the whole story, and I was there." He? Akane blinked. Then she remembered that most people didn't know Ukyou's little secret. With that in mind, Akane decided to watch her words for the rest of the conversation.

"Ukyou..."

"Don't give me that look, Akane," Ukyou said, staring at her with her intense, but distant, eyes. "I fully intend to tell you guys everything, but I need everyone here first. It's a long story, and I don't want to have to tell it three times."

"Hmph," Ryouga grunted. "He really just wants a chance to rest because he pulled all his muscles in the fight."

"Ryouga!"

"Well, it's true," Ryouga laughed. "I was almost impressed. Then you collapsed halfway here once your adrenaline ran out."

"I'm recovering from very severe injuries!" Ukyou sniffed and crossed her arms, looking away out the window. Akane chuckled a bit, and decided it would be best to wait. In the meantime, at least she could introduce herself to Ryouga properly.

"Hi! I'm Akane Tendo, pleased to meet you!" Akane moved towards Ryouga and bowed just a bit.

"Ack! Scary devil girl!" Ryouga shouted and leapt away from her. Akane blinked. What was his problem?

*

"Get away from me!"

Tethys reeled as a wave of energy slammed her back. She staggered, unable to maintain her balance, and finally collapsed onto the floor. Her eyes squeezed shut, half-expecting a follow-up attack, but it never came. Timidly, she opened one eye to a slit, then the other.

Jadeite was leaning against the wall of his personal chamber. Sweat dripped from the edge of his perfectly formed nose. His lips had peeled back from his teeth, but his mouth refused to open as his breath came in deep, body-shuddering hisses. The left side of his body was still covered in rapidly drying red gore, some of which had flecked onto his face. The blood caked his normally severe grey uniform against his impressive physique. At least he wasn't bleeding any more. The magic of the Dark Kingdom wasn't meant for healing, but Tethys' control over water had helped a little. Blood was basically water, after all.

Seeing that he wasn't paying attention to her, Tethys slowly climbed to her feet. She had once again assumed her human guise, appearing to all eyes as an attractively svelte blue-haired woman in a tight blue mini-dress. The glamour was, literally, skin deep. But Jadeite preferred this appearance to her more economically designed warform, so she assumed it whenever she wasn't required to do battle.

"Jadeite..." she began slowly. She flinched as he turned his quivering, rage-filled eyes on her. Thankfully the rage in those eyes was not directed at her. If it had been, Tethys would have gladly committed suicide on the spot. For centuries, she had quietly adored this man from afar. The thought of him despising her made her flesh crawl.

"That bastard... he took my ARM!" Jadeite roared. The sound echoed throughout the massive chamber, and the youma commando felt the ground tremble slightly at his rage. Dark energy leaked from Jadeite's body like wisps of steam. There was a sharp crack, and Tethys saw the black marble at his feet crack slightly. "Nobody has ever... ever dared to..." Jadeite stalked forward, his movements swift and certain.

"I am going to kill that boy." His voice came out a dangerous hiss. Tethys forced herself to smile, but inwardly she felt her soul (or what passed for it with her kind) shrivel slightly at the thought. Knowing it would probably do no good, but still unable to prevent it, she opened her mouth.

"Jadeite... Master... perhaps you should wait until you are fully recovered. The boy already bested you at full strength and..."

The blow came swiftly and sharply, catching Tethys right above the cheek. Her vision exploded into a series of black stars and pain rocketed up and down her face in the stars wake. She collapsed to the ground again. A shudder ran up her body, and she reached up, rubbing a thin trickle of green youma blood from the edge of her mouth. She smiled.

That was the Jadeite she had fallen for. Cruel, ruthless and very, very dangerous. He had survived millennia in this twisted hell-prison beneath the Antarctic ice, and through sheer cruelty and twisted imagination had risen to the position of Queen Beryl's most trusted general. It had been during this rise in the ranks that Tethys had grown first infatuated, then... something deeper with him. She wasn't sure if it was love or not; youma were not designed to love. But it was close enough for her.

"Don't question me," Jadeite commanded in a quiet voice.

"Yes, Master," Tethys murmured submissively as she sat sprawled on the ground beneath his feet.

"I still have my trump card," Jadeite informed her as he turned to walk away. He hadn't given her leave to rise, but Tethys did so anyway. She may have submitted to him, but she was still one of Beryl's favoured servants. He could only treat her so much like lesser youma. "My mistake was challenging this boy in his own element. This time, I will control the field of battle."

"A trap?" Tethys cooed.

"Yes, a trap."

"What about my idea of the cruise ship..."

"No," Jadeite snapped over his shoulder. He was rubbing the stump of his arm, channeling dark energy through it in slow, steady bursts. "I already have in mind the place I will fight this boy."

"Master... I know this isn't my place..." Jadeite turned his eyes to her. They no longer quivered with rage, but their cold, seething hatred silenced her for a moment. The silence dragged on for a second, and it became clear he was still waiting for her to finish. "I think that we should confront this boy, Ukyou..." Tethys trailed off, unable to say the word without spitting. It was too bad Jadeite would surely claim the boy's life for his own. Tethys would have very much liked to drag him under the sea and watch him futilely struggle to breathe for a few minutes as she crushed him... but such pleasant thoughts could wait until later. "But given that he seemingly has many allies, it might be prudent to counter them with our own. I know some of the youma in the kingdom, many of whom would gladly assist us at this time."

"Hmm," Jadeite turned from her and strolled across the deceptively large room towards his furnishings. "Perhaps you are right. A few more youma could help balance this confrontation in my direction." He raised his stump and stared at it for a few moments. "It is certain that if the boy expects me to fight him 'fairly' this time around, then he is quite misinformed." He spun on her. "Go, fetch a few more of your siblings. I need time to recover my energies and plan."

Tethys nodded. With an arcane gesture, she raised her arm and formed a swirling blue portal into the depths of the Dark Kingdom. Then she vanished through it. She would not fail Jadeite this time.

*

"... and then Queen Serenity raised her hand, the silver crystal flaring to life as her tears dripped down her ivory cheeks. With her last breath, she willed the Ginzuisho to activate, and its power was awesome to behold. Like a nuclear explosion, its energy flooded the entire battlefield. In an instant the Dark Kingdom, which had stood on the cusp of ultimate victory, was no more. Those survivors of the initial onslaught were driven deep under the Antarctic icecap, where they dwell in darkness to this day.

"At the same time, the Queen wished for her daughter and court to be sent to the future. Their spirits floated forward, bubbles in the streams of time, travelling millennia into the future to be reborn as normal young women and men. And so it would have been forever. But such a happy ending was not to be. Now the Dark Kingdom stirs once more, its tendrils seeping out into our world. Its servants seeking to gather the life force of humans to shatter the seal placed on their Empress by the Silver Crystal."

Ranma leaned back as Ukyou wound up her story. He hadn't realised how caught up in it he had been. It was... he struggled for the word... epic? Like a fairy tale, or something. And Ukyou told it well. Her voice had been... quiet, yet firm. It made him kinda sleepy, and he could almost see the images in his mind.

"So..." Ryouga said, breaking the comfortable silence that had descended on them. He was dressed in his yellow tunic and black draw-string pants once again. The jerk hadn't even thanked Ranma after Ranma had gone through all the trouble of lugging his deceptively heavy backpack half-way across Nerima. "This guy, Jadeite, he works for the Dark Kingdom?"

"Indeed." Ukyou leaned back, running a hand through her bangs. It was impossible to read her expression, but that wasn't unusual. "Jadeite is one of four generals of the Dark Kingdom, and likely the weakest of them."

"He doesn't sound so tough," Ranma said as he clenched and unclenched his fists. "If you can do that to him, the two of us should have no trouble beating him up again."

"Maybe..." Ukyou rubbed her chin and stared at the still unconscious form of Doctor Tofu. "I still wish you hadn't been dragged into this."

"Dragged into this?" Akane spoke up for the first time since Ukyou had started her explanation. Ranma noted that her face was a little pale, and she looked somewhat green. He shrugged. The girl must not be familiar with life or death battles. Not that Ranma had ever done that much damage to another human being... but he knew he could, if it came to that. Accepting that was a part of being a martial artist.

"That's why I asked you to stay around after the story, Ryouga." Ukyou didn't take her eyes from the man on the bed. "I owe you an apology. Those two monsters were after me, and now I think that you may also be a target."

"A target?" Ryouga blinked.

"I told you, they need human life energy to revive their Empress," Ukyou reminded him. Ranma nodded as understanding struck him. "I see Ranma's got it. We martial artists have exceptional life energy, or chi, and they want it."

"So, we're like giant walking buffet tables!" Ranma crowed excitedly and raised a finger proudly into the air. Everyone else gave him blank stares. Ranma lowered his finger slowly.

"Great," Ryouga grumbled and rubbed his fist into his jaw lightly. "Ever since I've met you, it’s been one thing after another." Ryouga glared at Ranma. "This is all your fault, you know."

"Stop being so clichéd, Ryouga," Ukyou sighed and rolled her eyes. "It's my fault. I did the same thing with Ranma when I took him to Juuban. He's probably a target now, too."

"Bring it on!" Ranma grinned. "I've been looking for a decent challenge for months."

"Oh, and what about the beating I gave you the other day?" Ryouga snapped.

"You must have selective memory," Ranma pointed out in his calmest and wisest tone. "I clearly remember handing you your ass."

"Don't make me prove who's better on your face right here, right now!" Ryouga growled through clenched teeth. Ranma wasn't intimidated, but he admitted that toothy maw of his had probably won the lost boy a bunch of fights before they had started. "I'd rather not break the hospital."

"We can always take this outside-"

"Children!" Ukyou barked, bringing everyone's attention back to her. "This isn't the time or the place." She leaned forward and poked Ryouga in the chest. "Remember that deal we made?" Ryouga stared at Ukyou for a moment in defiance, then sighed and nodded his head in defeat. Ranma blinked. He had never seen Ryouga back down like that before. "Good. You can have your fight with Ranma later. For the moment, I need him in good health."

"Hey, guys," Akane called out. She was leaning against the window. "Does anyone know what's happening outside?" Curious, Ranma walked over to the window.

"Just looks like it's getting cloudy out," Ranma pointed out. It wasn't like sudden rainstorms were uncommon in this part of Japan, a phenomenon to which Ranma could attest with bitter familiarity.

"No clouds I've ever seen look like that," Akane shot back with a bit of acid in her tone. Ranma looked again, and had to agree with her. The clouds appeared to be... blooming from a single point over the centre of the city. As the dark, roiling mass expanded, blasts of grey-green lightning shot through them. He could hear the rumble of thunder growing steadily closer.

"Let me see," Ukyou said as she pushed between the two of them. Her eyes narrowed and she clenched her fingers into the windowsill. "This... doesn't look good."

As the three of them watched, the sky slowly grew clogged with the dark clouds. The unnatural lightning continued to streak across the sky. For a moment, Ranma thought he saw a pattern in the movements. Then he blinked, because he saw a giant face emerge on the underside of the mysterious clouds.

"Jadeite." Ukyou's voice was cold and steady.

Ranma recognised the guy now. It was the same jerk from the temple they had visited. He had curly blonde hair cut short, and a cruel, angular face. Ranma could just see his shoulders before the image dissolved beneath them into grey mist.

"What is it?" Akane breathed softly.

"An illusion," Ukyou pointed out. "Jadeite is about to tell us something."

"Why not come here in person?" Ryouga asked evenly from behind them.

"He probably doesn't know we're here," Ukyou answered with a nod. "We'd best listen to this."

"Ukyou Kuonji," Jadeite's voice boomed out across the city. "You have foiled my plans for the last time, boy. It is time we finished this once and for all. I'll be waiting for you at the Narita Airport at exactly midnight tonight. If you don't show up..." Here the image paused and reached to the right. Ranma gasped. The titanic vision had just dragged another face into view. The girl was clear for all to see, and appeared unhurt. But her eyes, they were empty, like she was drugged. Jadeite curled his fingers under her chin and lifted the unresisting head. "Friend of yours?"

"Nabiki!" Akane cried out. She reached towards the window, but her hand fell away.

"It's just an image, Akane," Ukyou pointed out in a calm, but sympathetic tone.

"Come and face me tonight, or your friend here faces a slow and painful death." The last words devolved into a loud cackle that crashed like thunder over the city. Then Jadeite smirked, and with that the entire image faded from view. Even the clouds disappeared, revealing the soft blue sky and the cheerful sun once again.

"I'm coming with you," Akane growled. Her tone left no room for argument. Ukyou nodded quietly.

"I'm coming too," Ryouga added. Ranma backed off from the window and stared at the slightly shorter boy. "Don't give me that look, Saotome." Ryouga stretched his neck, causing a sharp crack to resound through the room. "Ukyou told me that I'm involved with this whether I like it or not. Besides, I'm not going to sit back and let some innocent girl die just because I don't like any of you."

"Indeed," Ukyou nodded, as if expecting no less. She turned back to the window. "We have less than ten hours to get ready. I'll tell you everything I know about Jadeite's abilities in the meantime." Everyone nodded. Ukyou said something next, and Ranma had the distinct impression it was not addressed to anyone in the room. "Ask and ye shall receive, that's what I always say."

*

"This sounds like fun," the youma yawned and stretched. A thin mask of lilac-coloured fabric covered half her face, leaving only her black eyes and her long elfin ears uncovered. Her straw-coloured hair has cut in an efficient bob with a long widow's peak down her forehead. She raised her right hand, a hugely distorted claw of interwoven wooden tendrils, and tapped her chin thoughtfully. "It's just a bunch of humans. I don't see why you even need our help, Tethys."

"Don't underestimate this human, Grape," Tethys all but hissed. She was still wearing her human glamour, and thus looked out of place among her more obviously inhuman companions. The other two youma in the room both might have passed for attractive human females from a distance, but up close their chalk-white skin, pointed ears and the floral-themed unitards they wore marked them as something more. "You three are the best assassins I know, and I need your help."

Admitting such a thing was anathema to most youma like herself, but Tethys was willing to go that extra step. Jadeite was obsessed with the human boy, and she was going to stack the deck in his favour as much as possible when their inevitable confrontation occurred.

"Say no more," Suzuran, Grape's taller green-clad companion added from where she was lounging idly in a chair of carved basalt. The third of the youma assassins was leaning against the wall just within hearing range. Housenka had always been the least outspoken of the trio, preferring to defer to Grape's lead in most situations. "We'll be sure to help you with your pest problem."

Tethys glared at her, but kept her lips shut. How was she supposed to convey how dangerous this mission could potentially be, without revealing how badly Jadeite had been mauled? Not that the fact could be kept hidden forever, but it would look much better once Jadeite handed Ukyou's head on a platter to Queen Beryl. But at least with the three of them willing to come along, Tethys felt much better about the confrontation. It was rumoured that this squad had the power to defeat even one of the Generals in a fight, though of course nobody had dared test that theory. Of all the youma in the Dark Kingdom, only the DD Girls had a more fearsome reputation.

"Good, I need you three to come with me," Tethys added sharply. She refused to allow her relief to show in her voice. The three gave her stony looks for her tone, but she ignored them. Tethys spun on her heel and started to walk out of the chamber, but paused when she saw the figure floating nonchalantly in the entrance.

"Tethys," Zoicite said as he tossed his blond ponytail over his shoulder with a flip of his head. The deceptively young-looking Dark General gazed down at her with an amused grin on his face. "I leave for five minutes, and you're leading my servants off on some wild goose chase." His tone was flippant, but his eyes were icy.

"I thought you were busy looking for the Silver Crystal," Tethys said cautiously. She knew better than to be rude to Zoicite; he was known to hold grudges for a long time.

"I'll bet you did," Zoicite said and raised his hand daintily to his lips. He laughed behind his palm for a moment. "Weren't you supposed to be helping Jadeite with his energy-gathering operations? What are you doing commanding my servants?" Zoicite's voice had suddenly lost all the mock humor.

"This is a part of Jadeite's operation," Tethys countered hastily. "He... he ordered me to collect these three to help him destroy some pesky humans."

"Those Sailor Senshi?" Zoicite grinned once more and laughed behind his palm again. "What a laugh. Fine, if he needs my troops to kill some little girls, then go ahead and take them."

Tethys bowed quickly, then stepped rapidly around the floating general and out of the chamber.

"But I expect them back in perfect health," Zoicite called over his shoulder. "Or I shall be most cross."

"Yes... General Zoicite," Tethys responded coldly as she stepped down the hall. She lingered when she realised that Grape and her sisters weren't following immediately. Of course. Zoicite must be interrogating them and giving them last-minute instructions. Tethys ground her illusory teeth. If Zoicite played things right, he might be able to get some of the credit for this operation. Tethys dismissed the concern with a wave of her hand. There were bigger things to worry about.

*

Chris trotted at a swift pace across the Chinese countryside, idly watching nothing and everything.  He hoped he'd be there soon.  As much as he'd appreciated the view upon arriving, a few days of lonely overland travel made pretty much everything old hat.  He wondered briefly if the Kunou family was rich enough to afford a private jet, then dismissed the idea.  Too conspicuous. And besides, he didn't know how to fly one.

His lack of attention caused him to stumble a bit at a rise in the ground.  His superhuman reflexes easily avoided falling, but the slight lurch caused his backpack to jangle.  He smiled a bit.  That was the result of his trip to Jyusenkyou.  Well, and some smart packing and forethought, taking as many sturdy leather-and-steel canteens as he could shove in the backpack with his other things.  Now, all of them were full, as well as labelled with various cryptic references that would likely only make sense to him.  And their contents, of course, were precious indeed.

He'd gotten water from the springs of Man and Woman first, after contracting a day's services from the guide to get a proper tour of the springs. An elementary precaution; aside from making himself spare bodies, there were more than a few people in Ranma 1/2 he could bribe either to help him or get off his back with those waters, which would allow him to cure their curses.  He wondered idly if Ryouga had arrived in Nerima as of yet... he, certainly, would want it, and Chris liked him personally (as personally as he could a previously-fictional character he had not met) as well as respecting his top-class martial arts skills.  It might be a good idea to help him out.

Several other springs from the manga he'd found and gotten samples from. Tarou's spring, Yeti-Riding-Bull-Carrying-Crane-And-Eel, was first, and a no-brainer; having the ability to turn any ally into a giant flying minotaur-like beast couldn't help but be possibly handy.  By the same token, he'd gotten the Spring of Asura, Rouge's "curse", but the manga wasn't very clear on how much that affected the mind of the victim.  The guide didn't know either, unhelpfully, so he'd be cautious if he ever used that.

Spring of Octopus, which Tarou would use later in the series to enhance his cursed form.  Might be similarly handy if he ever gave someone that form. Spring of Twins, which Tarou had mistakenly tried to splash Happousai with in the same story.  Could be VERY handy.  If only it worked on someone already dead, he could have solved his body problem.  Still... it presented possibilities. Spring of Virtuous Person, which Tarou had been looking for.  The guide assured him anyone splashed with that water gained the personality of a true good samaritan.  He grinned at that.  Maybe it would have done Ukyou some good.  And finally, Spring of Youth, used by Happousai's "old friend" Lukkosai. A true fountain of youth, at least as long as one avoided hot water.  The guide didn't know, irksomely, if someone affected by the water would remain permanently young in their other form, or if it would age from that point on. Apparently no one who used it had stuck around long enough for him to check. Still, the number of people in the world who would want something like that was enormous.  If he needed to bribe someone - or several someones - in order to get help with his condition, this was a pretty damn good one.

The others he had gained weren't from the manga, and were the result of careful questioning from the guide.  Spring of Lecherous Person was fairly self-explanatory, as were the springs of Beautiful Woman and Amnesiac.  The first and third could once again be pretty handy if used right; the second was another good bribing possibility.

The last two he had gained were a bit more worrisome, but too potentially useful to pass up.  Spring of Suicidal Person was just that.  The guide explained, in no uncertain terms, that any human or animal cursed by that spring would immediately try to kill themselves by the most expedient method possible, and continue trying until the curse was lifted or they died. Dangerous, dangerous stuff, and the guide had tried hard to persuade "Miss Customer" not to take any.  He almost hadn't.  But while it was an awful weapon, it was also a very good one.  And he did have the springs that could cure any human of it, so finally he had taken it. He just wouldn't use it unless he had to.  Spring of Slave was the final spring he'd found interesting.  The guide didn't really know what it did, but like the spring of Suicidal Person, he had been even more wary of it than most of the other springs.  Chris had wondered, and accordingly taken some.  Did it make anyone splashed with it perfectly obedient?  Or something else?  Hard to say.  But it might come in handy, so he took it just in case.  Better to have it than not.

He returned his gaze to the road he ran along, straining to look around the curve of an upcoming hill.  He should be almost there, if the directions he had received were accurate.   The Jyusenkyou Guide knew of the village he'd been given directions to from Cologne, which shaved a good day from his travel time.

As he moved around the hill, he slowed down, gratified, as the path opened out onto a cheerfully pastoral scene. The village was built on a plateau in the mountains, only as wide across as two buses stretched end to end, though rather longer than that. The village was thus (not unexpectedly) small, consisting of barely two dozen houses, none more than a story tall and most built of sturdy-looking wood that must have been quite a chore to carry all the way here from the nearest forest. No rice paddies or huge fields of produce could be seen; instead, the ground was littered with dozens of small gardens, stretching between every house and full of plants of every colour and size Chris could imagine and some he could not have.

The plateau abutted a gentle rocky slope that formed the rest of the mountain, and Chris could see several goats walking about on it. A disinterested-looking boy with a long staff sat watching them, his attention idly turning to the newcomer every now and then. Further up the slope, at the apex of a series of carved stone steps, was a huge windmill. It was made of blocks of quarried stone, and stood nearly five stories tall, with blades that dipped all the way down to its base and stretched high into the sky above it. The canvas creaked and moaned audibly even from this far away.

A single path wound through the village, disappearing around the edge of the mountains on the other side. Each house had a small path leading to this one, and all faced inward. Maybe ten or twelve people were strolling between the buildings, stopping to chat or hurrying without pause as was their business. Maybe half again that number could be seen moving among the gardens, harvesting or tending or planting or doing a dozen other tasks. Unlike the Nyuuchezu, there was no evidence of modern conveniences around this village. But then again, it was still sunny out.

He walked into the village, looking for an inn.  Though small, it was almost certain the economy of this place was trading herbs, so maybe... ah, yes. To his left, on the cliffward side, one of the small buildings had a sign, the Chinese characters on it recognisable from the inn he had seen in the Nyuuchezu village.  No Japanese on this one, though, which could be problematic.  Still, he knew Pink and Link spoke fluent Japanese; if nothing else, he might be directed to them.

The room was small, but not cramped. There was a number of small rugs laid out on the floor. An old woman, bent and crooked with a face covered in fine lines, sat yoga style on a green mat. She had her face balanced on one hand and was snoozing softly.

"Hello?" Chris called in Japanese. The woman stirred, but didn't immediately respond. "Hello?" Chris tried again, a little louder. The woman hissed something in Chinese, and it was impossible to tell if her eyes had opened a bit or if the wrinkles on her face had just relaxed slightly. "I'm sorry, I don't speak Chinese," he said with a sigh.

"Room is booked for tonight," the woman snapped out in heavily accented Japanese. "You will have to camp outside."

"That's all right," he said, slowly and carefully, trying not to use any complex words.  "I am looking for Pink and Link.  You know them?"

"Pink? Link? Aiya. No good troublemakers. Everyone knows them. They outside."

He smiled.  That was a good sign.  "Could you show me where?"  He fanned out a few yuan.  "I would be grateful."

The woman's demeanour shifted so fast Chris could almost feel the wind from her bad attitude flying out the window. "Aiya. I can tell you where to find them," she said in what was still badly accented, but now obsequious, Japanese. "They live in small cottage around side of mountain. Not allowed to live with other peoples. Powerful enemies they have, always bring trouble they do." The woman grinned.  She was missing several teeth, but they had been replaced by ivory that glittered slightly in her shark-like smile. "Can't miss it."

"Thank you."  He smiled again and handed her the money, which vanished even more quickly than her former attitude.  Then he headed out in search of the cottage.  So much for melodramatic fanboy fantasies about the village living too much in fear of Shampoo to save the twins.  They might fear Shampoo, but it was pretty obvious they weren't overly concerned over the fate of their own.

Or it might just be that old woman.  But somehow he didn't think so.  He shrugged.  Considering Pink's personality, at least, he probably couldn't blame them.

The rest of the village was rather interesting. In front of about half of the houses, men or women in elaborate silk robes sat behind mats filled with unguents and ointments and baskets full of unidentified substances. They called out in Chinese, and once or twice in Japanese, to Chris as he passed. When he glanced over, they smiled boastfully and pushed forward a jar or flask, babbling something at him.

Halfway across the village, the steps of the windmill descended. A woman stood in front of it, her long hair blowing behind her. She wore a Takahashi-esque female Chinese breastplate and skin-tight leggings, an outfit remarkably similar to Pink and Link's. There was no kanji on it, however, and she carried her staff and body stiffly. Her dangerous eyes did not invite idle conversation. There was one other foreigner in the village that he saw. A man in a white gi, sleeves torn from his bulky shoulders, sat dickering with one of the merchants in Chinese. His back was to Chris, but white strips hung down to his mid-back from the headband in his short brown hair.

He had almost started to walk past when he did a doubletake, and then stared at the man.  "Ryu?" he said out loud, not really thinking in time to stop himself.

The man turned his head slightly, looking over his shoulder. Chris blinked. It certainly looked like Street Fighter's seminal character Ryu. His eyes were disinterested, but still gazed steadily at Chris. The man behind him seemed agitated by the interruption.

"My apologies," Chris said, bowing.  "Seeing you, I was startled slightly.  Are you, in fact, Ryu?"

"That's my name," the man said in a clear voice. It didn't sound exactly like Chris pictured it would. It took him a moment to figure out this must be a voice from the video games, and not any of the numerous anime made out of the franchise. He waved the man to silence behind him. "And you are?"

"Kodachi Kunou," he replied easily.  "I wasn't searching for you or anything, but I am something of a martial artist, and your name and likeness is rather well-known in some circles.  Again, my apologies for interrupting your business."

Ryu just gave Chris a long, odd stare for a moment. Chris could see the man's muscles tensing, and saw his pupils dilate the tiniest fraction. But then he breathed out, and seemed to calm down. "Okay." His gaze lingered for a moment, then he turned back to his negotiating.

Well, somebody just noticed his deadness.  He walked on, deciding it best not to give Ryu any more reason to worry.  He'd considered asking the man to spar - the fight with Ukyou and Ranma aside, he hadn't really gotten as much chance to 'field test' his abilities as he'd like - but the body wouldn't heal from any wounds he took.  Best not to risk it.  Odd coincidence for him to be there, though.

The village ended as the plateau curved around the mountainside, and with good reason, as the amount of land suddenly went from 'not much' to 'practically nonexistent'. The path dipped down back towards the valleys again, and Chris could see what looked like more herd animals through a thin layer of mist from a waterfall which gurgled merrily a dozen or so meters down the path. Next to that waterfall was a small cottage, partially built into the surrounding mountain. It was obviously well-cared for, but showed signs of wear and tear. A woman was sitting in the doorway, strumming on a lyre-like instrument.

Chris paused to take a better look at the woman. She was tall for an Asian, with long black hair that flowed gracefully down her body. She had a willow-like figure under a provocatively cut, but not especially revealing, blue and green silk pantsuit. She looked vaguely familiar, but Chris couldn't place from where.  The twins' mother, maybe?  He shrugged, and stepped towards her.

"Excuse me.  I am looking for Pink and Link."

The music stopped as the woman seemed to notice him for the first time. She stared at Chris, her blue-black eyes unreadable, and she murmured something under her breath before speaking aloud. "Whatever Pink did, I apologise." She spoke in an oddly deep voice for a woman, but it had a pleasant musical quality to it. Her Japanese was flawless.

He laughed lightly, with genuine humour.  "I'm sorry, you've mistaken my intent.  I don't wish any ill towards either of them; indeed, I've never met them before.  In fact, I only want to talk with them."

"I see..." the woman said. He noticed her relaxing, and in so doing realised he'd failed to notice the tension in her posture until this moment. "They're in the back, experimenting on something." She paused. "If you want to buy something from them, you'll have to wait. They don't like being disturbed about that." The woman gestured slightly inside the cottage. "I have a number of herbs and potions for sale, however."

"Thank you, but I'll wait, if you wouldn't mind."  He smiled a little bit.  "Do so many people come here seeking retribution?"

"Only the really determined ones," the woman pointed out with a weary sigh. "If you want, we can step inside...?" She stood up and moved into the cottage. Chris could now see past her into the room. Plants hung from every conceivable location, and some inconceivable ones as well. The walls appeared green and wet, with bright plumes of every colour imaginable appearing in a haphazard, yet strangely intriguing manner. A curtain led off to another room, and in the back a dark tunnel seemed to bore further into the earth. Out of it spilled a light green mist that clung to the floor like a cloud of creeping insects.

"Impressive," he noted, looking at the walls with interest.  Of course, where Pink and Link lived would be niftier than the makeshift garden they'd set up at the Tendos.  Stood to reason.

He continued to follow her until she came to a small table, where she gestured for him to sit down, and offered to make tea.  "Thank you, but no," he said.  Not wishing to seem impolite, he added "I'm currently fasting."  Which was certainly true, after a fashion.

She nodded and made herself some on a small stove nearby, humming to herself as she moved, her every action graceful and with purpose. Time flowed onward as the woman finished her tea, seemingly content to merely sit and enjoy the ambiance.

Eventually, he broke the silence.  "So, if you don't mind my asking... what is it they're working on at the moment?  Or would you know?"

"Some sort of poisonous concoction, no doubt," the woman replied easily enough. "It’s only a few weeks until..." she trailed off and coughed into her hand. "Well, they have odd habits, you see?" She laughed a little uncomfortably.

Hmm.  Did Shampoo come on a regular schedule?  How egotistical of her. Perfectly in character, he supposed, if so.  "I see," he nodded.  "They and you seem very talented and imaginative.  The gardens and plants I'd seen elsewhere in the village were impressive, but this seems even more so."

This caused the woman to smile, and her voice swelled with pride.

"They try twice... no, three times as hard as anybody else here," she noted with a nod. "None of the others admit it, but they do the best work in the entire village." She laughed, not nearly so uncomfortably this time. "Not that I really would know the difference, I suppose. They have quite surpassed my meagre skills."

"I understand," he noted.  "I know a bit about such things myself, but I see this is far beyond my own level of knowledge.  It makes me glad I made the trip here."

"So..." the woman nodded.  At this point there was a resounding explosion from the cave and a pair of shocked squeals. Chris blinked as a rush of air flowed from the cave mouth, causing his hair to flip and twist. A huge bead of sweat appeared on the woman's head, and she lowered her face to the table.

He stood up.  "There seems to be some sort of trouble.  Should we go see if they're all right?"

"They'll be fine," the woman waved him back down. "They should be out in a few seconds now."

"All right," he said, sitting back down. He was curious as to what they were working on that caused something like that.  They didn't have any sort of explosive plant in the manga, that he recalled.  Of course, the experiment seemed to have not been a complete success.

The sounds of bickering and approaching footsteps grew louder as he waited. In a few short moments, the two girls came into view. They looked much like Chris had pictured them. They each had the short hair, the colour-coded breastplates and tight leggings under floral skirts. The being covered from head to toe in some sort of viscous green slime part was new, admittedly. They were waving their hands at each other and chattering back and forth in Chinese, and what few words Kodachi's schooling provided him with told him the conversation was not a pleasant chat, even if their shouting and finger-pointing wasn't enough of a clue.

He couldn't help but grin a little; synchronisation on many things aside, they looked remarkably similar to any other squabbling sisters.  He stayed silent for the moment, though... best not to introduce himself by interrupting them when they were already annoyed. The twins continued to yell and bicker and shoot recriminations back and forth as they stalked purposefully into the room... and just as purposefully back out again. They hadn't even looked to one side or the other as they stepped out of the cottage. The sound of their yelling seemed to circle around to the side of the house, then a loud splashing commenced.

He chuckled, looking at the woman, who smiled apologetically at him.

"Distracted, aren't they?" he noted. "Then again, I might be too if I was just blown up and covered in green gook."

They were a little different than he expected, even aside from the squabbling bits.  But it made sense: the shift from manga to reality was a pretty major one for everyone else he'd seen so far.  Pink was not PERPETUALLY smiling while her sister perpetually frowned, for instance; he'd noticed their expressions had a bit more variety, but it was still a strong tendency... even arguing with her sister, Pink's expression could best be described as an 'angry smile'.

Still, their knowledge could be useful to him.  Or it might not.  But there was more to it than that.  Having little else to do during the long trips overland in China, he'd given a lot of thought as to why meeting Pink and Link and 'recruiting' them was such an attractive prospect to him.  After speaking to Cologne, he had serious doubts whether something so simple as herbal embalming could even do much for his body, especially in light of the fact it was obviously somewhat supernatural how long Kodachi's was taking to decay.  He'd hoped for that... but it also meant, realistically, that it'd probably take supernatural means to further prolong it by any major amount.  Granted, Pink and Link's plants were more or less supernatural... but he still didn't think the solution would be that easy.

But there was more to it than that.  Chris was never one to enjoy being surrounded by people all the time; he liked his privacy.  But he didn't appreciate having NO human contact either.  Ukyou was out, and by extension that cut out most of the rest of the main Ranma crew as well.  Few others did he want to approach; he'd explicitly rejected the idea of contacting Pantyhose Tarou even before he'd arrived in China... too anti-social, and too powerful.  If he reacted badly to finding out Chris's nature, or even worse, noticed before Chris could even make it clear he didn't want to fight Tarou, he might attack, and that was a fight Chris had no doubts he'd lose.  The Sailor Senshi, an even worse bet, given his status as... well, basically, an undead monster.  Plus he didn't want to mess with their plotline, if possible.

But Pink and Link were a perfect choice.  He could help them with their overriding character motivation, which meant he could actually talk and confide with them without (likely) driving them off.  Also, Link was a nice person, and Pink was, if nothing else, interesting.  He was himself interested to find out more about them than what the manga showed.  Neither of them were particularly stupid, though they were typically short-sighted in that Takahashi character way.  And they were no threat to him whatsoever, no matter what happened... poisons and noxious gases didn't bother corpses much.

And who knew?  Maybe they could help him.  He couldn't help but feel a little manipulative in his plan to gain some companionship, but hey, he was going to (hopefully) help free them from the endless cycle of being beaten up by Shampoo, so it wasn't as if they wouldn't benefit.

And besides... he really felt he needed someone he could talk to, who he didn't have to put up a false front against.  Just the thought of it made him feel a bit better about his situation.  And anything that made his situation more bearable was probably good for everyone.

The girls walked back into the cottage a few minutes later, now dripping wet and free of green gook but otherwise still going at each other like the proverbial cat and dog. They paused for a moment, yelled something loudly at each other simultaneously, and turned their back with symmetrical snorts. Pink was smiling and Link was frowning.  He grinned a bit at the sight.

"Girls," the woman called out into the sudden silence. Pink, who was facing in their direction, replied in Chinese through her angry smile. "This young woman came a long way to speak with the two of you," the woman informed them. "She's Japanese, so you might want to use her language."

"If you say so, over," Pink said flippantly. She gave Chris a thorough once over then seemed to lose interest in him. The smiling twin walked over to the curtain while the frowning twin sat down at the table.

"Where are you going, over?" Link asked.

"To change outfits. This one stinks, over," Pink pointed out over her shoulder. Link shrugged at that as her twin stepped through the curtain. Then she turned to Chris.

"What would you like, over?"

He leaned back, smiling a bit.  If only Pink knew.  "As she said, I've come a long way.  I've heard of Pink and Link.  I've heard you two are about the best there is when it comes to knowledge of exotic plants, herbs, poisons and medicines."  He glanced around idly at the jungle-like walls of the room.  "It would seem those rumours are correct."

The girl blushed prettily. "We're very dedicated to our craft, over."

He nodded.  "I can tell, and I'm glad I came.  I'd like to make a proposition for you two."  He glanced apologetically at the woman who had shown him in.  "I'm sorry, but if you wouldn't mind, could I speak briefly alone with the girls?  I'd rather only they knew about what I wish to tell them."

"Not at all," the woman replied. She retrieved her lyre-like instrument (the name of it danced on the tip of Kodachi's memory, but refused to solidify) and stepped out of the hut. Link didn't give her a second glance, staring intently at him.  That was one possible obstacle removed.  The woman, almost certainly the twins' mother, might not like the girls' 'association' with Shampoo - not that he could blame her for that! - and wouldn't necessarily be nearly as confident as Chris was that he could help the twins out in that area.

He leaned back, stretching his arms out.  "We'll just wait for your sister to come back, if you don't mind.  Out of curiosity, what was it you two were working on just now?"

"Fertiliser," Link replied, then wrinkled her nose and looked at her sleeve. "Pungent fertiliser, over." Chris took a reflexive sniff, but frowned a bit when the smell failed to reach him.

He paused a moment, not quite having planned to make this much small talk before getting to the point, then suddenly laughed a bit.  "I'm sorry, how very rude of me.  I know your names, but haven't given my own."  Rising from the table, he bowed at Link.  "My name is Chris."

Link nodded and bowed her head slightly. A minute or so later, the rustling in the other room stopped. When Pink re-emerged from behind the curtain, she was no longer wearing her archetypal breastplate and bodysuit. Instead, she was clad in a tight red Chinese dress with elaborate green piping up the right-hand side. It was hemmed to mid-thigh but cut to the hip. Over her heart was sewn a tiny kanji. She looked incuriously at Chris as Link introduced them, then sat down herself. Seeing some tea was prepared, she helped herself.

"What is this all about, anyway, over?" Pink asked her sister.

"I believe she was just waiting for you to arrive before she got to that, over," Link pointed out. There was a bit of scorn in her voice.

"Indeed," he noted, sitting again.  He leaned forward, steepling his fingers.  "Let me cut right to the chase and see if you're interested in what I have to offer."  Pausing a moment for effect, he then continued, "I know about your problems with Shampoo.  I know where Shampoo is going.  And I can help you defeat her."

That certainly got their attention. Or so he guessed, from the way Pink was shaking his head by the neck. "What do you know about Shampoo!? Did she send you!? Are you a spy!? Over!?"

He stopped his head from shaking, leaving Pink grasping it rather impotently.  Gotta love that Martial Arts Death Machine strength.  "The same way I knew about you two, no, and no, respectively.  I'd be an awfully poor spy if I was offering to help you beat her, wouldn't I?"

Pink didn't seem to notice his resistance to her efforts to strangle him, at least until Link pried her hands off. "Excuse my sister, over" Link pointed out with a bit of acid in her tone. "Shampoo has... what is the word... joked? Played? Tricked? She has made us think we had friends before when we did not, over."

"Hmm.  That is a problem, isn't it?  Now, how to prove I'm sincere..." he paused for a moment.  "Well, how about this?  I'll give you two a freebie. I'll tell you where Shampoo's going, and why.  You could track her down and make trouble if you wanted, or you could stay here and relax in the fact she won't be coming around for awhile, if you wanted.  But if you want to go and defeat her... well, for that, you might still want my help.  And just to make it even more fair, you don't have to do anything for me until after I've helped you. Sound fair?"

Pink and Link skimmed back like they had rollers on their knees before spinning their backs to Chris. They talked for a few minutes in hushed tones. Finally, Pink said something final-sounding. Link leaned away from her, her frown becoming somewhat worried. Pink repeated something in Chinese harshly. Chris grinned to himself as he realised he had figured out which word meant 'over'. Link nodded, and walked down the tunnel in the back.

"My sister will be back in a moment, over," Pink pointed out happily. She was leaning forward, rubbing her hands together and chuckling just under her breath. When she caught Chris staring at her, she forced herself to sit still... only to start chuckling and rubbing her hands again the moment she thought he was distracted.

"Are you going to try and drug me?" he said, bemused.  "You can try, if you like, but I don't think it will work very well."

Pink's smile cracked, and her entire body slumped to the side. "But... my plan was perfect! How did you see through it, over?"

He laughed out loud.  "Call it a hunch.  Also, I know about you from reputation.  Very fearsome in certain quarters, you understand.  So I made sure to be prepared." He couldn't help but grin.

"Then you'll have no problem submitting to our whims if you want our help!" Pink recovered with the speed of one of those blow-up punching dolls. "I refuse to listen to anything you have to say until you submit, over!"

He shrugged amiably.  "Sure.  I'll let you drug me, or even hit me if you want.  I won't try to stop you.  But I'll expect you to trust me just a little bit because of it.  After all, if Shampoo sent a spy, would they let you try to drug or beat them up?"

"No..." Pink mused. "I suppose not, over."

Shortly thereafter Link returned from the cave. She carried a clear glass flask filled with a thin blue liquid. Pink pointed out that Chris had already agreed to take the potion, and Link nodded. She turned to him and flashed him an apologetic frown (wow, that was a new one) before asking him to roll up his sleeve. Chris agreed amiably enough as the girl uncorked the flask with a small pop of displaced air. Then she frowned in concentration, produced a cotton swab from inside her outfit and carefully extracted a bit of the concoction. Chris watched this in mild fascination as the girl scanned along his arm, dabbing the swab here and there. The touch was so light that Chris couldn't even feel it through his dimmed senses. As Link continued her application, she seemed to pause longer and longer between attempts. Her eyes kept flickering to Chris' face, then back to his arm, and he saw increasing concern each time she did so.

"Sorry," he noted, "but I did mention that while I'd let you try to drug me, it probably wouldn't work.  I'm pretty well-defended against that sort of thing."

"The-" she used a Chinese word here Chris didn't understand "-isn't... it isn't even absorbing into your blood stream, over!"

"That's impossible," Pink snorted. "You must be doing something wrong. Here let me try, over." Pink snatched the flask from her sisters' trembling hands. The other twin staggered back, her eyes widening as she continued to stare at Chris. He felt something jab his arm and looked down to see Pink applying the concoction liberally and carelessly over his arm. She stopped suddenly, the swab she was using falling to the floor with a wet splotch. He watched the girl reach out and touch his skin with expert fingers. "But... there's no coating... that isn't possible... over..."

He sighed.  "Well, I at least know I came to the right place.  I didn't think there was any way for you two to notice that quite yet, but you surprised me."  He spread his hands.  "As you've noticed, I'm a little... different. That's part of why I came to you."

"What are you, over?" Link said, her voice trembling.

"What magic is this, that lets a dead woman walk..." Pink mused aloud as she touched Chris' arm again. Chris blinked as she failed to end her phrase with the usual code.

No point trying to be coy now, he supposed. "Well, Pink just said it. I'm not alive.  Or rather, this body isn't.  I had some sort of accident, and via a process I don't know, I'm stuck in a corpse body until I can find a way out of it.  That's bad, because corpses, as I'm sure you know, don't last forever.  The help I wanted to get from you, because you two are the best herbalists I know of in the world, was some research and perhaps experimentation in a preserving or embalming process.  Don't worry, I don't feed on the blood of the living or anything painfully stereotypical like that.  I'm mostly harmless." He smiled, he hoped reassuringly.  "But.  I know I can help you two.  I'm strong.  Stronger than Shampoo.  And like I promised, if you want, you two don't have to do anything for me until I help you beat her.  I'll admit I'd prefer it as soon as possible, but I want your help, and I'll be patient if that helps you trust me."

There was an uncomfortable silence as the girls digested that. Sensing it would probably be better to remain silent as they thought, he did so.  Link had stopped backing away, but she hadn't relaxed or returned to the table either. Pink, on the other hand, was eyeing him directly. There was no fear in her expression, only mild curiosity. The kind of curiosity a cat has for a bird with a broken wing. Chris repressed a frown at that analogy. What level of his subconscious had that bubbled out of, uninvited?

"I say we trust her, over," Pink said finally.

"But why, over?"

"She just told us the complete truth," Pink shrugged. "And I don't think Shampoo has access to this kind of magic. Nothing that could fool us, anyway, over."

"But this doesn't-"

"I just want to listen to her!" Pink cut her sister off harshly. "What harm does listening to her do, sister, over?"

Link rolled her eyes but stepped forward. Chris noted idly that the fear had evaporated from her posture as well. She was not looking at him like a monster to be avoided. Her eyes carried more... disgust? Pity? It was hard to tell with her expression being that nearly monotonous frown all the time.

"Well, thank you.  I'm relieved, really.  I didn't know where I'd go if you two had freaked out."  At least not for any sort of compatriots.  "All right, so is there anything else you'd like to know?  You know what I want, and what I'm offering."

"I'm very interested in-"

"Why don't you start with what you were going to tell us before, over?" Link cut her sister off. Pink glanced over her shoulder, but then shrugged.

Hmm.  Looked like Pink wasn't quite the obviously dominant one of the two she'd seemed to be up until now.  "Ah, yes, that.  Well, Shampoo was, say about a month ago, defeated by a female foreign martial artist.  You know about the Joketsuzoku law regarding that sort of thing?"

"Yes, over," Link nodded. Pink leaned back, idly gazing at the ceiling. Obviously she was content to let her sister run the conversation as she pleased, at least for the moment.

"Mm.  Well, the female martial artist in question wasn't interested in a duel to the death with Shampoo, so she fled China, and went to Nerima, which is a ward in Tokyo, Japan.  Shampoo hasn't followed her trail all the way there yet - or hadn't when I left, anyway - but she's persistent.  She's going to show up there pretty soon, and I think she'll be there for awhile."  Well, unless Ukyou decided to remove her from the equation, too.  But he doubted she'd kill her, so Shampoo being a Nerima regular was a pretty safe bet.

"Aside from moving our problem across the ocean for a few months, how does that concern us, over?" Link asked sharply.

"Ah, well you see, that's the fun part.  The female who defeated Shampoo isn't actually a female, but rather a guy.  That's going to come out sooner or later, and I'm sure you know what that means.  But the guy in question already has a fiancée.  Plus he's too strong for Shampoo to simply force to do what he wants.  So I suspect rather strongly that Shampoo's going to be in Japan for quite a long time.  She might even end up living there permanently."  He leaned back.  "That's good for you; you might want to leave it at that.  Of course, that lets Shampoo get away with everything she's done up to now.  But it's up to you, naturally."

"The girl... is really a guy.... over?" Link blinked. She shared a long look with her sister.

"And Shampoo is going to have to marry him, over?" Pink chuckled.

"That's kinda...."

"Hilarious, over?" Pink broke out into a sudden fit of laughter, clutching her stomach.

"I was going to say disturbing, over," the frowning twin harumphed and crossed her arms.

He grinned.  "Quite, on both counts.  I'm a little sorry I can't see her expression when she finds out.  But that's where she's going, and where she's likely going to stay for awhile, given the... weirdness of the situation."

"Well that's nice of you to tell us, over," Link said with a tone of finality.

"She has offered to help us, over," Pink pointed out in between giggling fits.

"We can take care of Shampoo ourselves," Link replied. "Now that we know what's going on, we can come up with some sort of suitable revenge. We don't need her help, over." Link's voice was stern, but there was a hint of a question in her tone.

"Well," Pink leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table and grinning predatorily at Chris. "I want to find out what she proposes to do to help us with Shampoo. We know what she wants from us. But in any good bargain, you find out how much the customer is willing to pay before closing the deal, over."

"Fine," Link grumbled. "But I think that this is our business, Pink. Our revenge is our revenge, over." Pink glanced at her, but said nothing.

"Hard bargainers," he noted.  He reached down and retrieved a ribbon, drawing it between Kodachi's slender fingers.  "I understand that your revenge is your business.  Something you want to accomplish on your own.  And I have no doubt you can do it."  A flick of the wrist, and the ribbon slashed out between the twins, flew into the mouth of the cave, and then was back in the blink of an eye.  He flipped the small rock thus retrieved up and down in one hand.

"Persistence pays off.  Eventually, everyone makes mistakes.  But in the meantime?  It's not been very pleasant for you thus far, has it?"  He caught the rock in his hand one last time, held it out. "Sometimes it's nice to know someone's got your back.  To know that if something goes wrong, if there's a problem..."  He clenched his fist, squeezed.  It took a bit of effort, but not really that much.  Turning his hand over, he let the rock dust fall onto the table.  "...you have a problem-solver.  I only have one condition.  You can't kill her with my help.  You'll have to do that on your own, if you want.  But I can beat her.  And once she's beaten, helpless... you can do whatever you want. Hit her a hundred times.  Five hundred.  And, you know, there's worse things than death, especially for a warrior like Shampoo.  Things like knowing she's been beaten by people she thinks so little of.  Things like knowing that everything she's done, all the bad karma she's gained, has come back and she's paid for it.  Wouldn't that be the right thing?  The just thing?"

Pink smiled dreamily, and even Link's frown lessened as they listened to Chris' words. But Link shook her head and threw the effects of his speech off.

"That isn't a big deal," Link pointed out with a flip of her finger towards the pile of rock dust. "I've seen Shampoo crush rocks before... usually with our heads." Her perpetual frown deepened. "You might be strong, but I bet she's stronger, over."

"You have so little imagination, sister," Pink pointed out. "Think about it. This girl isn't just strong like Shampoo is. She's also DEAD, over."

"And that means... what, over?"

"You saw it yourself," Pink shrugged. "She's immune to most of our herbal attacks, more than likely. How often have our plans gone awry, just because our ambushes blew up in our own faces? With her helping us, we don't have to worry about that. We don't even have to worry about how safe any of the plants we employ are, over!"

Link was wavering, Chris could see it in her eyes, but she remained firm for the moment. "I still don't think we should trust her," Link pointed out. "We can handle Shampoo ourselves..."

"Then let's do that," Pink laughed, cutting her twin off. "What harm could it be, following this one to this Nerima and laying a trap for Shampoo? If things work out as you say, then we hardly lose anything. If we fail, we have an ally to fall back on so we can try again, over."

"It sounds good to me," he nodded.  "Although, just to note.  Shampoo might be as strong as me, true.  Maybe even a bit stronger.  But you see, there's more to fighting than just that.  I don't feel pain.  I don't fall unconscious.  I don't get tired.  And not to put too fine a point on it, but I'm a lot smarter than Shampoo."  Insulting Shampoo would never go down poorly with this particular audience.  "So, rest assured, if it comes down to it, you're in absolutely no danger from Shampoo.  Not when you fight her, and not if she comes after you later for revenge."

"And if you can't trust the undead, who can you trust, over?" Pink said as she burst out laughing. Link grumbled under her breath and leaned back with her arms crossed.

He laughed too.  "I think I like your thinking, Pink.  Hmm.  So, then, I'll take you to where Shampoo will be.  When she shows up, I'll let you do what you want.  If you want my help, I'll give it, and if not, I'll stay out of your way.  That sound like a good deal?"

Link hesitated, but Chris could see Pink's smile transforming into a smirk. In a sudden epiphany, the living dead boy realised he had already won this round. Sensing the need to remain silent, he once again did so. Link took almost a minute to think everything over, her eyes looking everywhere but directly at Chris while she did so. Then she stood up.

"Yes, I'll go to this Nerima," Link agreed. "Now if you excuse me I have to go change. I feel unclean in these clothes, over."

Well, Pink seemed to like him better.  No surprise.  But hopefully Link would come around soon.  She wanted revenge on Shampoo just as badly.  He stood up as well, brushing the last of the rock dust from his hands.  "All right, then.  You two get whatever you need to go, and we'll be off.  No time like the present, after all."  The side of his mouth quirked up.  "And thank you, once again.  This, as they say, could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes:

Epsilon: Well, we already thanked Elin in our last author's notes, and Jenn in an author's notes before that...

Blade: But let's thank them again anyway!

Epsilon: We'd thank other people, too, but nobody else is prereading for us.

Blade: Except Rob.

Epsilon: Oh, right, since he HASN'T HAD ANY COMMENTARY FOR THREE CHAPTERS NOW, I completely forgot.

Blade: Actually, you just forgot because you forget everything.

Epsilon: Well, yes.  So, what issues to cover this time?

Blade: Well, a lot of people are saying Hybrid Theory is unrelentingly depressing.

Epsilon: Hey, Hybrid Theory isn't unrelentingly depressing!  We keep giving you moments of humour and joy, so when the inevitable depression crashes in on you, your guard is down!

Blade: Ignore him.  Though it's true to an extent.  Hybrid Theory ISN'T unrelentingly depressing.  But, to paraphrase the unintentionally ironic comment from a reader, "it isn't Ranma".  Because... well, it ISN'T Ranma.  It's not Sailor Moon either.

Epsilon: It's the result of self-inserts and multi-crossovers, treated and taken seriously with attention paid to actual consequences.

Blade: Amongst other things.

Epsilon: And with that, there isn't much else to say, soooo... NEXT EPISODO!

Akane threw her arms in front of her eyes as the explosions rocked the hangar. The light turned the whole world red for a second, and she could hear the blasts echoing in her ears long after they stopped. Cautiously she lowered her arms. Ranma appeared to have leapt back at the last second, but he had still caught the brunt of the blast. His entire shirt was burned off, leaving a nasty looking red and black burn on his chest. His pants had escaped the brunt of the damage, but scorch marks swirled up his neck and onto his face. He was moaning, lying spread eagle on the concrete.

Akane wanted to run to him, but she remembered the monsters were still here. She turned her eyes back in their direction, just as the smoke from the attack was clearing to reveal them. She heard more than saw Sailor Mercury step up beside her. The petite girl seemed to bring an aura of calm with her presence, and Akane breathed a little bit easier.

"Just two more pests to go," the tall youma informed her partner laconically.

"Let's finish them quickly then," the shorter one grinned visibly through the half-mask covering her face. Akane gasped as she thrust her palm at them and another cloud of cherry bombs flowed out. She backed up a step, knowing that there was no way she could leap away from the attack in time. Not to mention the fact that Sailor Mercury was slower than her. Gritting her teeth, Akane stepped forward, determined to absorb as much of the assault for the smaller girl as she could.

Hybrid Theory Chapter 7: Carousel

B'WAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  At last, my revenge is nigh!

Oh, excuse me.  I am Jadeite, soon to be supreme commander of the Dark Kingdom Generals!  But first, I will pay Ukyou back for TAKING MY ARM!  First, I will slaughter all her friends before her eyes, then slowly torture her to death, while taking out all her delicious 'chi' energy to revive our Empress Metallia!

Oh, wait, those are the events of THIS chapter, not last chapter.  Last chapter, that arrogant fool Ukyou dared to defy me, as she has been doing since Chapter 3.  But now I am holding the sister of her friend Akane hostage, and thus she will come to me on MY terms!

Also, other people did things, though it hardly matters, since soon Metallia shall scour the earth CLEAN!  I give a best estimate of "next Tuesday", so thus the actions of that fool Chris, who talked with Cologne and then recruited Pink and Link to his cause, are MEANINGLESS!

No, Tethys, I have NOT had too many painkillers!

Bah!  You all shall perish too, so I feel no need to narrate further!  Also, that was pretty much all the events!  Now, it is time for Ukyou to PAY!

V'WAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA...

Chapter 7: Carousel

"The sky over the Narita airport was clear that night. The stars shone down from the heavens - what few could be seen through the omnipresent glow of Tokyo's nightlife, that is. The moon was but a slit, tainted a sickly yellow by the thick layer of smog that hung over the city. The waters of Tokyo Bay were calm tonight, almost glassy. Only the gentle sound of the tide relentlessly lapping on the shore gave lie to the seas' seeming idleness. In the sky above, there was no whine of jet engines. All traffic into and out of the airport had been halted earlier that day, to deal with the 'terrorist threat' against the nexus of global traffic.

"The masses came in droves that night. Hundreds of officers from the Tokyo police were standing guard over the various entrances to the airport, their blue uniforms contrasted by the drab greys of the official security. Dozens of fit young men walked the perimeters of the fences surrounding the massive ocean-abutting runways with flashlights in hand, searching out any threat. And the last of them wore dark green, armed with weapons of war usually not seen in the placid Japanese isles. These few tens of members of the Japanese Self Defence Force were not on patrol or barricade duty, but were instead waiting next to their armoured personnel carrier to be rapidly deployed to any threat that might appear."

Click. Click. Whirrr.

"And time ticked on.

"As the sun set, the forces of order had finished securing the battleground. Then it was just the long wait. There was nothing to break the seeming monotony except the occasional polite refusal of entry to the curious or the foolhardy. The image in the sky had been like the foot that overturns the anthill, and it seemed all the crazies had wandered out that night. The chief operations officer had been fielding calls all day from 'demon hunters' and 'concerned citizens' that wanted to assist in the 'battle to come'. Always for a price. They were told politely - but firmly - that this was none of their business.

"The general consensus, after all, was that this was some large-scale hoax. Perhaps, at worst, a warning of a massive terrorist operation. But nobody really believed any of that. This was Japan. Things like that just didn't happen here. Certainly nothing so ludicrous as a magical man challenging a brave young hero to a duel to the death over his lady love."

Click. Click. Whirr.

"Hmm. Note to self: Use less flash bulbs. I think they saw me that time... oops, yeah, best move on!"

Ran Hibiki dashed from her hiding place, her mini-recorder bouncing against her vest as she sprinted across the tarmac. The police gave chase, but they were no match for her speed and youthful vitality, just like they hadn't been a match the other ten times they had spotted her so far today. She didn't really blame them: you didn't grow up in the most violent school district of all Tokyo without getting in pretty good shape. You especially didn't spend your time documenting the frequent and spectacular brawls of her neighbourhood (and running away from those who objected to that documentation) without learning to be quick on your feet.

Once she had safely left the well-meaning but misguided police behind, Ran slowed down and started looking for a better place to hide. There was no way she was going to miss the fireworks tonight. And she didn't doubt there would be fireworks for one second. She smiled, remembering some of the spectacles that she had witnessed at her own Taiyo High School. When you saw people summon lightning from the ground, light each other on fire with their kicks, leap two stories into the air and other such things with casual ease... the idea of a man in the sky holding a pretty girl hostage to provoke a young hero into a final duel became a lot more plausible.

Ran leapt up onto a convenient outbuilding to get herself a better glimpse of the area. It was almost midnight, and she figured that was when the excitement was most likely to start. She reached down to the recorder strung around her neck and flipped it back on. Now, where had she been?

"The entire airport seemed to be holding its breath. An unnerving quiet had descended upon the place, settling over the plaza like a funeral shroud. The mist began to roll in from the..." Ran paused. She had never seen mist roll out of a building before. She took a few quick pictures, hoping the flash didn't give her away. Still, something didn't feel right. She reached up to the zoom and twisted it, bringing the distant figures of the SDF troops into sharper focus. "They're... they're falling asleep?"

Ran watched, unable to fathom what she was seeing, but that was definitely what was happening... and all the police seemed to be falling asleep as well. She panned her camera in a wide circle, and everywhere she watched the rent-a-cops and soldiers were toppling over on their feet. A few more pictures of that later, she began to wonder what could be causing it. Then she remembered the one constant companion of all the falling guards. The mist.

Unease suddenly clenching her stomach in a clammy hand, she peered over the edge of the outbuilding she was standing on. The mist, a viscous, almost black morass, had risen to the very edge of her perch. She eeped and backed away from the edge as the noxious miasma lapped at the corners of her station like a dark sea. She could feel something about that mist, something inherently wrong. In her job, she had developed almost by necessity a 'sixth sense' for danger, and it was screaming at her now, sending that muted electric tingle up and down her spine.

"I never..." Ran spoke aloud and then frowned at the quaver in her voice. She cleared her throat and when she next spoke it was in the firm tones of the Professional Reporter. "The evil mist seemed to come from nowhere. Crawling across the tarmac and along the edges of the airport like a thief in the night. Where it went, brave men and women fell silent, their bodies toppling over in the darkness and their weapons scattered uselessly about their unconscious forms. It appeared that, whatever force had chosen this day for this meeting, it was not going to let the good intentions and valiant heroics of mortal man prevent the confrontation that was happening this night."

Ran spoke a bit more into her recorder. As always, the sound of her own narration calmed her. She was the Professional Reporter. She existed outside the conflicts, above them, beyond them. Hers was the voice and the eye of the everyman, and she would be there, no matter how dangerous the situation. She was in no danger here. She wasn't even involved. She just observed.

After an interminable time spent crouching on the top of the little outbuilding, Ran watched as the mist began to recede. She followed its progress with her camera, and watched it retreat back into the hangar where she had seen it first emerge. Reflexively, she glanced at her watch. Five minutes to midnight.

*

Tethys would have grinned, had she still had a mouth. Her eyes did narrow in pleasure as she watched the mist slowly retreat into the huge blue orb hanging in the air before her. To her right, Jadeite watched the display without emotion. His good hand rubbed absently at the stump of his left arm. To her left was the human girl, hanging from the ceiling on a simple rope. The three youma assassins floated in the air behind her, affecting bored expressions. Tethys almost wished they could see her smile. It might have put them on edge.

With this, there was going to be no chance of failure. All the energy of every human in this pitiful 'airport' had been collected here, for their use. For his use. And Tethys had prepared another special surprise, one that even Jadeite didn't know about, just in case.

"Is it ready?" Jadeite said once the mist had ceased its flow.

"Yes," Tethys said with a nod.

"And our prey?"

Tethys waved her hands over the orb, causing it to resonate and pulse with eldritch energy. She flicked her fingers delicately and precisely, pulling on the subtle strings of magic that connected the orb to the space around it. In short order the centre of the orb became clear, and through it one could see the world outside the cavernous building that Jadeite had chosen as his sanctum.

Four figures were visible through the window in space. One was that damnable bastard Ukyou. He walked in a steady stride in front of the other three, his long black coat flapping behind him. One of the others Tethys recognised from that morning, except he had changed his clothes to something more fitting, and walked with a red bamboo umbrella propped on his right shoulder. Tethys chuckled a bit at that. As if an umbrella could save him from her power.

The other two, Tethys did not recognise. One was a girl, shorter than all the others, with long hair. She wore a yellow uniform of some sort. The final one was dressed in a red shirt and black drawstring pants. He was the tallest boy there, and strode near the front with Ukyou, talking to the lead boy animatedly. Tethys wished that her scrying extended to sound.

"Four of them," Grape pointed out unnecessarily.

"I recognise three of them," Jadeite hissed. "But not the girl." He frowned and shook his head. "It is of no matter. They aren't important. If they have any energy to them, we'll turn them over to Queen Beryl. The truly dangerous one is the lead boy." He tapped the image, causing ripples to spread across it as if he had touched a pond. Which, in a way, he had. "I've seen enough. How soon until they get here?"

Tethys glanced at the filaments of eldritch energy wrapped invisibly around her outstretched fingers, and did a few quick calculations. "A matter of minutes. It looks like they'll be right on time."

"Good," Jadeite grinned ferally. He placed his right palm on Tethys' sphere and began to concentrate. Tethys quickly released her connection to the node before he painfully ripped it from her. The image went dark, but the pulse of the orb did not quiet. Instead it began to grow louder. A circle of blue light emerged from it for a moment, then retreated. A moment later this repeated, but with a larger circle. Then the light in the room dimmed, and Jadeite screamed.

Tethys watched as the sparks of unholy light leapt from the node up along his arm. The stolen energy here was not being stored for transportation to the Dark Kingdom: it was being channelled, straight into Jadeite's body. His back arched, twisting to the point where a human would break. His mouth opened, but instead of sound, an awful white light emerged. Sparks shot along the length of his body, and for a moment Tethys feared for his life. Then it ended, so suddenly she felt a moment of vertigo.

"Heh." Jadeite grinned and reached up with his good hand, curling it into a fist. "This is perfect. Come along, it's time to greet our guests."

*

"They're asleep."

Akane nodded as Ukyou stood back up. The police officer at her feet looked almost peaceful where he had fallen. Ukyou looked through the chain-link fence at the others and nodded her head once. Ranma and Ryouga both looked at each other and leapt up with a deceptively simple push. They both easily vaulted the five-meter fence and the meter of barbed wire on top of that. Akane watched this and gulped. But she set her face and leapt herself. She only made it half as high, but her hands caught in the links of the fence easily enough. Navigating the barbed wire was a bit tricky, but when Ranma offered to help she nearly kicked him. So she made it over with only a small scratch (or ten).

"So what now?" Ranma asked as he walked towards the tarmac.

"Jadeite will play his hand soon," Ukyou pointed out as she pulled her spatula from the harness on her back. "There isn't much we can do except wait for him to do so. This is a big place, and we don't know where he's keeping Nabiki. Just remember the plan."

Nabiki. Akane's pulse quickened. She had never really gotten along with her sister, but she loved her nonetheless with the fierce loyalty only siblings had. She couldn't help picturing Tofu lying unconscious and vulnerable in that hospital bed. The thought of Nabiki in that position, or worse... it ate at her inside. But she was determined not to let that show. Everyone else here was ready for battle, and she would be too.

"We have company!" Ranma shouted as he spun to face the end of the runway. Akane glanced in that direction sharply. At that end of the asphalt, the surface gave away suddenly to the choppy ocean. And out of that ocean crawled... THINGS. They couldn't be called human, even if they did affect human form. They were nothing so much as human-shaped blobs of water. Ryouga growled beside her and she heard him unfurl his umbrella.

"They're no threat to us," Ukyou pointed out with a wave of her polearm.

"That's easy for you to say," Ryouga muttered, almost too low for Akane to hear. She dismissed the odd boy's comment almost as soon as she heard it.

"Where are those girls, anyway?" Ukyou growled as she looked across the tarmac. "Well, we'll see how they like this. Remember the plan, Ryouga."

Ukyou stepped forward, reaching into her coat with one hand. The moaning horde of water-men slowly approached, but Ukyou didn't look worried. Once they were within two meters her hand shot out, sending a spinning grey packet into the air above them. Almost simultaneously, Ryouga snapped his hand forward, launching a spinning projectile after the packet.

The buzzing shuriken-like weapon ripped the packet to ribbons. A cloud of grey smoke exploded out in all directions. It quickly fell among the shambling golems, obscuring them from Akane's vision. As the dust settled the sound of shuffling slowed, then stopped altogether. When the last of the cloud dissipated, Akane stared out into a small army of perfectly still grey statues.

"Quick drying rubber cement," Ukyou answered their unspoken question. She raised her hand and ran it through her bangs. "Just add water."

Ukyou stared at the still figures for a moment, making sure that none of them started moving. Then she smirked and turned towards the airport. With a gesture for them to follow, she walked further out onto the tarmac.

"I hope that isn't the best you can do, Jadeite!" Ukyou cried into the darkness.

The response was almost immediate. Akane felt it. It was like someone had run a livewire up her back and stabbed it into her neck. She spun in place, suddenly on edge. And she saw them coming.

Akane had never seen a jumbo jet up close before. Oh sure, you saw them all the time on TV. But you never got an appreciation for how BIG they were until you saw one in person. And considering that one was rolling straight towards them, Akane felt a sudden satisfaction with having seen one quite close enough, and no desire at all to take a closer look.

"This old trick," Ukyou grunted. "Ryouga, could you do the honours?"

"What?" Ryouga cried out in shock. "Are you nuts? I'm strong, but not that strong!" He pointed to the accelerating airliner. Akane had to agree. No human could be strong enough to stop one of those in its tracks.

"You don't have to stop it," Ranma piped up happily. He grinned and shook his head. "I get what Ukyou means. Ryouga, you just have to stop its WHEELS." Ryouga blinked at this. Ranma sighed, then reached over and tapped the shorter boy’s umbrella with one finger. Suddenly Ryouga's eyes widened, before his face settled into a feral grin.

"Heh. Of course, why didn't I think of that!" Ryouga spun in place and drew back his umbrella with one hand. With a ferocious snap of his arm, he sent the ungainly weapon spinning forward like a top. Somehow the umbrella flew in a perfect graceful arc, its top spinning so fast it produced a loud hum like a buzzsaw. But it didn't just sound like a saw. With deceptive ease, the edge of the umbrella sliced through the strut of the airliners front wheel. The weapon reversed course a fraction of a second later, but it was still almost crushed as the front of the airliner collapsed into the ground with a thunderous boom.

Ryouga reached out with one hand and caught his weapon, stopping its spin with uncanny ease. The airliner ground forward, a sea of sparks erupting from under its nose, for a few more seconds before friction overcame inertia.

"You're more resourceful than you appear," Jadeite's voice boomed out from behind them. Everyone spun to face the waves of Tokyo Bay. Jadeite was floating a few meters above the darkened waters. His left sleeve was pinned to his side, but his right arm was gesturing grandly. Akane tore her eyes away from his empty sleeve with some effort. Beside him floated a woman only barely more human-looking than the water-men from before.  Her night-black hair stood sharply against her pale blue skin.  Her clinging outfit too was blue, leaving only a golden wire headdress and a small golden symbol under one eye contrasting her favoured colour. And those eyes... Akane shivered a bit.  The woman had no mouth, no nose, no recognisable facial features whatsoever... except those glowing red eyes, staring at them with undisguised malevolence.

"And you're too predictable for your own good," Ukyou shouted back. "Where is Nabiki? What have you done with her!?"

"She's alive," Jadeite almost purred in an amused tone. "Perhaps not for long, but she is alive." Akane felt her temper flare. A white-hot rush of emotion that blotted out all thought.

"You bastard!" Akane roared and charged forward. Ranma and Ukyou reached out and restrained her, or she would have leapt from the end of the airstrip to reach him. She struggled half-heartedly against their grips. "That's my sister! If you harm a hair on her head, I'll break you in two!"

"Are all humans like you so spirited?" Jadeite mused. He tossed his head. "It doesn't matter. The girl lives only so long as I let her live."

"Don't think you can make us surrender by threatening her," Ukyou pointed out in a calm voice. She gestured with the hand that wasn't currently holding back Akane. "As Akane just pointed out, you hurt her and we hurt you right back." Ukyou stepped away from Akane and left the task of holding her back solely up to Ranma. Akane was breathing deeply, forcing back her anger, so Ranma had no trouble preventing her from doing something stupid.

"I'm in control of this confrontation!" Jadeite roared suddenly, his eyes brightening with furious mania. "Don't think you can talk me into surrendering my advantage! I'll destroy you and all your little friends-"

"And your little dog, too," Ukyou said with a loud yawn, cutting Jadeite off yet again. "I've heard it all before, from much more eloquent speakers than you."

Jadeite growled and clenched his fist. A strange purple light flared between his fingers for a moment. Then he let out a long breath and smiled.

"You're trying to anger me into making a mistake again," Jadeite purred as he floated back in the air. "It won't work this time."

"It doesn't have to," Ukyou explained calmly, spotting something over her shoulder. "I was just stalling for time, you see."

"Stalling for..."

"Hold it right there!"

The new voice rang across the airport, sharp and clear. Akane turned and saw three figures standing in the nearby shadows. They were short, and had the silhouettes of young women. As the light from the moon overhead slowly drifted across the field, it illuminated them one by one. They were all girls, in color-coded short skirts and body-hugging white leotards. Each was standing in a slightly comical pose, arms and legs akimbo as they stared with fierce determination towards the nearby confrontation.

"Airports are places where people come to meet loved ones, not to fight for their lives! For spoiling this purpose I, Sailor Moon, will-"

"NOW!" Ukyou shouted.

Akane glanced over her shoulder only long enough to see Ukyou and Ryouga dashing forward, their arms blurring as they launched their buzzing projectiles towards the floating figures. Jadeite gasped and raised his hand, almost too late. A few of the weapons slashed through the fabric of his uniform and drew blossoms of red in their wake, but the remainder of the attacks bounced harmlessly off a hemisphere of yellow force. The youma woman next to him was not quite so lucky. She screamed as a half-dozen of Ukyou's spatulas caught her in the chest and sent her spiralling into the harbour.

But Akane couldn't afford to waste any more time watching the battle. She hated it, but she had another, more important job to attend to. Ranma was running beside her, keeping step easily as they approached the trio of startled young girls. Akane didn't waste any time locating the one with the short blue hair.

"Sailor Mercury!" Akane called out quickly.

"Oh... yes..." the girl stammered, her eyes shifting from the battle behind Akane to the martial artist in front of her. A trinity of explosions erupted in the silence, but Akane refused to turn her attention away. "You seem to have me at a disadvantage..."

"No time for introductions," Ranma pointed out, looking over his shoulder at the battle. "We're all on the same side here, though."

"Wait, I think I remember you..." the blonde-haired girl with the ridiculous dumpling-style ponytails gasped.

"Whatever," Ranma dismissed her with a wave of his hand. "You and... uh," he looked helplessly at the tall brunette.

"Sailor Mars," Akane offered. "Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars are supposed to help Ukyou and Ryouga fight Jadeite."

"Wait a minute," Sailor Mars growled, stepping forward. "We don't just take orders from anyone-"

"Please!" Akane stepped in front of her, throwing her arms to her side. Ukyou had warned her that Sailor Mars would be the most obstinate. "Those monsters kidnapped my sister! I need your help if I'm supposed to save her. You have to agree to help us, and we don't have time to come up with a different plan!" Akane could feel wetness on her cheeks and inwardly cursed herself for crying. Yet she couldn't stop herself. She had already lost... no, she wouldn't lose any more of her family!

"I think we should listen to them," Sailor Mercury said softly as she stepped up beside her partner.

"Yeah." Sailor Moon walked over and patted Akane on the shoulder. "We'll help you save your sister. Sailor Moon stands for love and justice! Saving families in need is what I do best."

"Thank you," Akane breathed.

"Besides, I want to introduce myself to that hunk in the trenchcoat," Sailor Moon giggled.  "We never really got to talk before..."

"Can't you ever stop thinking about boys!?" Sailor Mars berated her.

Akane and Ranma shared a long glance.

"Uh huh," Ranma coughed into his hand. "Yeah, you can do that later." He paused and glanced at the short-haired girl. "We need your computer thingie. It can tell us where they've hidden Nabiki, can't it?"

"Uh, yes..." Sailor Mercury nodded. "It should be able to locate her." The other two Sailor Senshi nodded to each other and dashed from the small cluster to help Ukyou and Ryouga. Immediately, the number of explosions behind Akane increased. Sailor Mercury reached up and tapped her right earring. With a synthesized hum, a visor of some clear blue material materialised across her eyes. Akane blinked when she realised the girl was holding a small pocketbook-sized device. Where had she gotten that from?

"Let's hurry," Ranma grumbled. Akane looked over at him and saw his eyes continue to glance in the direction of the battle. The boy hadn't liked being told to go with Akane. Ukyou had been insistent, however. And her argument about how he lacked a convenient projectile attack had finally won him over. But that didn't mean he liked it. Akane was kind of resentful herself. She didn't need a bodyguard.

"I think I've found her, over in that direction," Mercury raised her hand and pointed. Akane was already sprinting before she finished. Ranma caught up with her a moment later. A few seconds later, they were joined by the blue-haired Senshi as well.

*

"Fire Soul!"

Rei raised her hands in front of her, concentrating the energy she felt burning inside her. The power sparked, then ignited at the tips of her fingers. With a mental push she launched the ball of flames across the air, only to watch it impact harmlessly on the force field that Jadeite had erected. The man kept his arm extended, and she saw him wince as the fire dissipated around the orb he had created.

"Keep it up!" the boy, Ukyou, shouted as he dashed to the side and launched a series of his shuriken-like weapons with one hand. Jadeite shifted his aim, deflecting the weapons with his shield once more. It hadn't taken them long to figure out that their enemy couldn't maintain the shield and launch his energy attacks at the same time.

Sailor Moon launched her own attack in the wake of Ukyou's distraction. The glowing yellow frisbee streaked like a comet through the air. So far, it had been the only attack Jadeite seemed unwilling to meet head on, and this time proved no different. The man growled and seemed to flicker, then vanished into a haze. The discus passed harmlessly through the air before cycling back to Sailor Moon's waiting hand.

"Watch it," Ukyou shouted as she tackled the so-called leader of the Sailor Senshi from behind. Usagi screamed as she was thrown to the ground, and Rei saw a blast of pink lightning flash through the air above the duo. A few meters away the ground disintegrated in a hemisphere of light, the explosion loud enough that it drowned out Usagi's panicked cries for a few moments.

"That was fast," the other boy grunted as he leapt towards Jadeite's new position. His hand snapped up to his forehead in a blur almost too fast for Rei to follow and came away with a dozen of those yellow bandanas he wore.

"He teleported," Ukyou said as she got off the suddenly quiet Sailor Moon. Rei glanced down at the blonde and saw her giving the boy a dreamy stare from her position on the ground.

"I thought he couldn't do that in the middle of a fight," the boy growled as he spun the bandanas in his hands. They began to buzz, then hum as they became spinning disks in his hands. The Dark Kingdom general was just standing with his arm held loosely at his side, smirking down at them.

"I guess the boy doesn't know everything about me," Jadeite reported calmly.

"Let's not get caught up in talk," Ukyou warned the other boy in a voice that was both cold and hard. He pulled the starstruck Usagi to her feet and pointed at the bandana-wielding boy. "Remember the plan."

"Plan?" Rei snapped.

"Just keep him occupied," Ukyou stepped forward, his coat flapping in the breeze. Jadeite only smirked, then thrust his palm forward. Rei could feel the mystic energy gathering before the strike, but still could hardly move in time. Ukyou, however, moved in a flash. The lightning struck the ground and exploded under the leaping boy's feet. Ukyou flipped, riding the shockwave with the skill of a dancer before landing gracefully a few meters away. Jadeite's follow-up shot was aborted when several of the other boy's spinning bandanas cut through the air, forcing him to pull his arm back. Rei shouted herself, summoning another blast of Martian fire from her fingers. Once more it was absorbed by his shield.

"We'll never beat him like this!" Usagi cried, apparently having recovered herself. Jadeite teleported away from another swarm of Ukyou's miniature spatulas as if to demonstrate her point. Rei closed her eyes and breathed out, focusing her energy inward. She could feel his magic permeating the air around them. Flowing like a river through the entire airport. She felt a sudden pulse in the flow of that river, like a stone hitting a pond.

"Over there!" Rei shouted as she spun to face the reappearing general. She was already charging her Fire Soul attack once more, but Jadeite was faster. His magical energy lashed out at her like a striking snake, and Rei cursed as she threw herself to the side. The heat of the explosion rolled up her legs, and the concrete rubbed harshly against the flesh of her arm as she landed hard enough to knock the wind out of her.

"Careful!" the other boy suddenly appeared over her. He was thrusting his umbrella with inhuman speed, so fast that all Rei saw was a red blur. Then she felt and heard a thunderous boom and the world around her shook. She screamed and clutched the boy's legs, as they seemed to be the only stable things in the world. He only grunted, and slowly pulled back his umbrella. Rei stared up and saw that he had unfurled the bamboo and used it like a shield to absorb Jadeite's follow-up. "This guy's faster than he was this morning," the boy warned his friend.

"Indeed." Ukyou cocked her head to the side and stared up at him. "Well, we still have the advantage."

"Not for long!"

Ukyou noticed the attack too late. Rei had once seen a firehose used to put out a fire, and had been impressed by the sheer force of the white water. But this stream of water was easily ten times as large as anything man had ever harnessed. It wasn't a stream, it was a virtual river of destruction. Ukyou disappeared in the white foam, his cry cut off by the overpowering roar of the torrent.

"Ukyou!" Usagi cried in sudden despair.

"Who?"

Ryouga and Rei turned and saw that this was no longer four on one. The blue-skinned woman from earlier was floating above the ocean now, flanked on both sides by huge, spinning waterspouts. She gestured with one hand, and another torrent blasted out with pinpoint precision at them. Ryouga yelped in shock and dismay and leapt to the side, barely avoiding the pulse. Rei tried not to stare as the water tore a trench nearly a meter deep into the concrete runway.

"I can take this one," Rei shouted as she pulled her hands before her. She frowned as she reached for the energy that was within her. The fire within had dimmed considerably since the battle had started. It appeared that there was a limit to how much magic Sailor Mars could call upon in one battle. But it was still more than enough to see her through this.

Rei didn't even see the attack coming. It blasted into her back with a force stronger than anything she had ever felt. For a moment, her world dissolved into a cloud of white-hot pain and echoing explosions. The real world returned slowly, and only with frightening effort. She was on her hands and knees, gasping for breath. She couldn't feel the asphalt under her hands, or anything at all besides the burning agony on her back.

Her ears were filled with a high-pitched whine. She tried to stand, but her balance deserted her and she ended up sitting down hard. The world lost focus, everything doubling then trebling. Rei stuck out her tongue and bit down on it, hard. The sweet pain caused her vision to snap back into focus. A few seconds of concentration later and the whining in her ears dimmed until she could hear the echoing explosions once more.

Rei staggered into a half-crouch, glancing over her shoulder. It became clear that the only reason she hadn't been finished off was because Ryouga and Usagi were drawing the attention of the enemy. The girl and boy weren't able to do much but dodge frantically as Jadeite and his youma took potshots at them. Yet somehow they stayed one step ahead of the attacks, Ryouga moving with a grace and agility that seemed the total opposite of Usagi's frantic and clumsy leaps and dives.

"Are you okay?" a voice whispered into her ear. She felt an arm wrap itself under her shoulder and pull her fully to her feet. Rei looked to the side, seeing Ukyou's drenched face. The boy was wincing slightly, but seemed able to move.

"I think," Rei frowned. She focused her attention inward. She could feel the burns on her back and knew they were bad. Some instinct told her that the wounds weren't life-threatening, however, and that given time the magic of her costume should repair the damage. "I can still fight!" she hissed. That was true: Rei could still feel the magic of Mars burning in her soul.

"Good," Ukyou grunted. "They must think they KO'd us with those hits, so they're ignoring us. This is a perfect chance to end the battle quickly." Ukyou stepped away from Rei, but remained close as the girl swayed on her feet for a moment. "Charge up one of those wards of yours," Ukyou ordered briskly. "If we can get it on Jadeite, they should disrupt his control."

Rei bristled at the commanding tone, but reached down and extracted one of her ofuda wards from her storage pocket. Ukyou had a point: this was a good chance to catch Jadeite unguarded. Working swiftly, Rei spun the ward in her hand, channelling her chi and the magic of her patron into it at the same time. She acted partly on pure instinct, and partly with the calm certainty that only came from years of dedicated training. One short chant later and the ward snapped in her hands, an aura of fire flickering briefly along its edge before it became as stiff as a sword.

"I can't get up to him to use it..." Rei started and was cut off as her words suddenly became a small cry of panic. The ground had disappeared from under her feet and she felt a sudden rush of vertigo. Then she realised that the boy had grabbed her in both arms and then leaped. Rei pulled in her breath as they almost flew into the air. As a Sailor Senshi, she and the others could make impressive leaps, but this boy put them to shame.

"Stop daydreaming!" Ukyou hissed. Rei snapped her eyes forward and saw that they were approaching Jadeite with startling speed. The air around them screamed, but Jadeite couldn't see them coming. Grinning fiercely, Rei pulled back her hand, channelling the last bit of mystic energy into the ward.

"Akuryu Taisen!" she cried as they passed within inches of the floating man. Rei's hand darted out, neatly affixing the paper to the back of his jacket. As they descended, Rei flipped her head back, throwing her luxurious black hair out of her way as she looked back at the man. He screamed and plummeted towards the pavement. Jadeite shouted something in some strange dialect, and waved his arms, but his eyes widened when nothing happened. He landed badly, one of his legs turning at an unhealthy angle under him. His yell of pain was strangely satisfying.

*

Ranma wasn't even breathing hard when the cavernous hangar came into view. Akane was still in the lead, but he could have easily outdistanced her. Behind him, the other girl in the embarrassingly short skirt followed.

"This is definitely the place," Sailor Mercury called out. "She's been affected by some sort of magical field, and is only a few meters from a massive energy source."

"Good," Akane shouted back over her shoulder. Her long hair flowed behind her as she ran full tilt towards the shadowy entrance. Ranma frowned as they approached. He could feel something; something dangerous, within that place. It was that same noxious feeling he had felt from back at the temple. On top of that, he could feel the familiar electric tingle on the back of his neck. Considering the battle was now hundreds of meters away, that shouldn't have been the case. That was, unless...

"Akane, duck!" Ranma put on a burst of speed and slammed his palm into the small of Akane's back even before he had finished yelling. He saw the shadows twitch and suddenly a long green tendril emerged from them, almost too fast for Ranma to follow. Almost. His head cocked back and the tendril passed harmlessly through the divot formed by the angle of his jaw and neck without touching him. Akane tumbled to the pavement in front of him, a shocked gasp escaping her lips. He could hear the girl behind him stagger to a clumsy stop. Ranma almost snorted. It was apparent this Sailor Mercury didn't even have rudimentary martial arts training.

"Well, what do we have here?" an amused feminine voice emerged from the shadows. Ranma flipped backwards as the tendril beneath his chin jerked suddenly. He completed an elegant backflip, feeling the pressure of the air displaced by the sudden whipping of the bark-like weapon. When he regained his feet, it was just in time to see the tendril vanish back into the shadows.

"He's fast," a different voice pointed out.

"I'm the best." Ranma grinned. He slid his legs apart, snapping his arms out in a complex pattern as he settled himself into a northern horse stance. Out of the shadows stepped three feminine figures. Each was clad in a variety of foresty colors, wearing skin-tight leotards with silly floral motifs. The lead one was the shortest, with straw-coloured hair and a purple leotard. Her left arm seemed to be made of intertwined branches that Ranma figured was the tendril he had seen earlier. To her right was a taller woman with long black hair and a green leotard. The other one came in on the leader's left, with a single lock of red hair in an otherwise purple head and a light yellow outfit. "Normally I don't like hitting girls," Ranma pointed out with as much arrogance in his tone as he could summon, which was considerable. "But considering you gals ain't even human, I'll make an exception."

His eyes and mind were already working, flickering over the new battlefield intensely. He memorised the angles and distances to the door, the walls, the nearby cart full of abandoned suitcases and everything else he could see with practiced ease.

"You three are between us and an innocent young woman!" Sailor Mercury shouted as she stepped up beside Ranma. "I won't let you prevent us from saving her. I am Sailor Mercury, and in the name of the planet Mercury, I shall punish you!" The entire speech came complete with silly poses.

"Don't sweat yourself with these three," Ranma spoke softly. "You and Akane go in there and help Nabiki. I'll handle them by myself."

"Isn't he confident?" the tallest of the youma women noted with a chuckle.

"We're going to kill all three of you, boy," Purple-suit said with a slash of her wooden arm. "We thought we were going to miss out on the excitement, but thankfully you walked right into our trap."

"Ranma, I can help with this..." Akane began but trailed off when she saw Ranma's expression.

"You go and save Nabiki," Ranma said, his voice suddenly serious. "Once she's safe, you can come back and help me." He smirked, his voice taking on its usual taunting tones. "I even promise I'll leave one of them conscious for you."

Akane nodded and grabbed the short blue... bluette? Whatever. She ran with Sailor Mercury towards the hangar.

"Stop them!" the leader hissed. Yellow-suit leapt into the air, pulling back her hands and causing a number of small red objects to appear between her cupped palms. Ranma was already moving. Two long strides carried him over to the baggage cart. His leg lashed out, kicking one of the heavier-looking suitcases into the air. He flipped in its wake, his other leg coming up in an arc. He caught the bag in a perfect soccer kick and sent it spiralling into Yellow-suit. The youma cried out in pain as the alligator skin suitcase crashed into her cheek. The orbs in her hand fell down among her allies. With twin screams they leapt away as the orbs exploded in a series of staccato bangs. Ranma landed in a crouch and whistled when he saw the crater her aborted attack had caused.

"Now, ladies." Ranma languidly flowed to his full height. "I thought we had a date."

"Fine," Purple-suit shouted. "Get him first!"

The three came at him with speed that would have been impressive to a normal person. But they faced Ranma Saotome. He faded to the left, avoiding the leader's suddenly expanding arm as it punched a neat hole in the metal cart. A series of bomblets followed. Ranma was already in the air. The flames licked at his feet as he flipped gracefully.

His feet came down on top of the branches that made up the leader's arm. She gasped and began to retract them. Ranma dashed forward, light-footing it along the length of her arm. He frowned as a wave of vertigo suddenly hit him. His foot almost slipped... but Pops had trained him to fight on a greased tightrope hanging over a canyon in the middle of a windstorm. He could now see Green-suit with her arms extended, projecting waves of disorienting energy outward. He snorted and continued running, barely missing a beat.

The end of the woman's arm came up quickly and Ranma was ready. He backflipped, transferring all his momentum into a single perfect kick that caught her dead on the chin. He didn't pause to see what happened to her. As soon as his foot hit the ground he was pushing himself toward Green-suit. Her eyes widened and she leapt backward, but too slowly. Ranma pushed free of the ground, soaring into her fist-first. Green-suit's stomach gave and her entire body folded over his fist.

He landed, his hands curling into the fabric of her leotard. He spun around, dragging her with him. He could see Purple-suit pulling herself out of the dent in the metal wall Ranma had knocked her into. Beyond her, Yellow-suit was holding her hands down, building up a shot but obviously unwilling to strike while Ranma was so close to her friend. Ranma grinned.

"Catch!" he yelled and flung the youma at Yellow-suit. The woman cried in panic and dodged to the side, and Ranma was already sprinting to meet her. He had to shift his trajectory slightly as Purple-suit shot her thorn-arm at him again. But he ducked under the attack with barely a thought. Yellow-suit saw him coming. Using one hand, she launched a cloud of cherry bombs at him.

Ranma flipped forward. The blasts tore up the pavement. The hot wind brushed against his face and the acrid smoke tickled his nostrils. Then he was past it. His leg shot out, coming down in a vicious axe kick. The woman-thing gasped and tried to throw up her arms to protect herself. Ranma came down on her forearm with enough force to shatter stone. He heard a sharp crack, then pushed away from her. The smoke of her explosions hadn't yet settled, and Ranma skipped back through it, disappearing from the vision of all three enemies for a precious fraction of a second.

When he emerged, he saw Green-suit slowly and shakily regaining her feet and Yellow-suit collapsed on the ground clutching her broken arm. Purple-suit was dashing towards him, pulling back her distorted arm of thorns for a punch. Ranma almost laughed and slowed down enough so she could catch him. Her attack came in fast, the air cracking in the wake of her strike. Ranma leaned to the side and it flashed past his cheek without touching him. His counter did not miss. She staggered back, the breath knocked out of her by his knee. He stepped forward, twisting his entire torso at the hips and caught her straight on the chin with the ball of his hand. This time when she hit the metal wall of the hangar, it buckled and gave. Razor sharp bits of debris were thrown out in a blossom of destruction as the youma punched a hole straight into the hangar.

Ranma turned, pirouetting on one toe, to face the other two. He assumed his northern horse stance again. The two youma backed away from him, their eyes wide and quivering in fear. He didn't blame them. Man, he envied Ukyou if she got to do this kind of thing all the time. He stretched one hand forward and made the ancient 'come on' sign.

"Come on, don't run away yet!"

*

Tethys focused her magic behind her, skimming across the water as fast as she could. Jadeite was trying to stand again, but his leg was turning under him badly. She could see the strange paper on his back fluttering and sparking as the Dark General tried to gather his energy. The edges of the paper were beginning to burn, and in time he might have overwhelmed the ward, but time was one thing he did not have.

Tethys gestured, drawing on the magical connection between her and the water and one of her waterspouts collapsed across the runway. It formed a makeshift barrier between Jadeite and the four humans, enough to prevent them from taking advantage of his weakened state.

"Master, are you well?" Tethys crooned as she landed beside him.

"Of course I'm not!" he roared back. "Get this thing off my back!"

She nodded, slipping around behind him. Her hands reached out and grasped the edges of the ward. Immediately she felt a terrible heat radiating out from it and hissed in pain. Her fingers wanted very badly to release it, but she refused to listen to her survival instinct. Instead she clenched tighter, focusing all her energy into her limbs. She could see the barrier she had erected slowly dissolving as she lost the strength to maintain it, but that was of no importance. Sparks began to leap from the ward, blasting up the length of her arms. She screamed then, as the pain grew, but refused to let go. She would not fail him!

Finally there was a loud rip and Tethys staggered backward. The ward had come free in her hands, and it immediately vapourised in a flash of silver light. But Tethys collapsed to her knees. She was almost spent, and could even feel the edges of her being starting to unravel. She focused her mind, trying to hold onto the sense of herself. She was determined not to end up a pile of dust like so many of her sisters, but she felt so weak...

Jadeite didn't even thank her as he floated to his feet. But she didn't expect him to. That wouldn't have been the Jadeite she had grown so... fond of. The four humans spread out, their faces mixes of anger and a bit of fear. All except one. The boy Ukyou was circling to Jadeite's left, holding that bizarre polearm of his. His face was completely void of any kind of feeling, making it impossible to read. Tethys wished for a moment that she had put her whole strength behind her earlier attack. She had thought the strike she used would be enough to knock the boy out. And it would have, if Ukyou were a normal human.

Tethys watched as Jadeite fired a few more of his eldritch lightning blasts at them. Ukyou and the muscular boy were closing on him rapidly, both their weapons coming up for attacks. Sailor Mars was kneeling on the ground, but still building up for her Fire Soul attack. Even Sailor Moon was stepping forward with a frown on her face, her magic gathering for the deadly Moon Tiara attack.

Tethys had no choice. It was now or never. Even as she began to lose consciousness she reached out, her arms stretching forward and catching the metaphysical strands of energy she had laid in wait for this moment. She began to chuckle, then laugh at the irony. She could feel the aggressive energy flowing from all the humans in waves. Well, she had planned for that. With a harsh tug she pushed the last of her energy into her magical trap. She collapsed, her eyes closing slowly. She might die here, but these humans were finished.

*

Akane could hear Ranma fighting the youma-things outside, but forced herself not to pay too much attention. She had a much larger problem to deal with.

"How do we get her down?" Akane wondered aloud.

Nabiki was hanging from the ceiling. Akane thought her sister would have been mortified to realise that her skirt left nothing to the imagination from this angle, and suppressed a sudden surge of the giggles at the thought. She forced herself to focus. She could see the rope tying Nabiki to the rafters, but there was no obvious way to get up there to her. She wondered briefly how they had even gotten her up there in the first place. Then she remembered these maniacs could fly.

"I'm not sure," Sailor Mercury said slowly. She was looking up at the sky through her transparent visor; odd figures seemed to keep appearing on the inside of it. Her fingers were moving quickly over the pad on her miniature computer. "But that orb next to her is very fascinating. It’s like a giant energy pump of some kind. I think it's directing energy to someplace. If I can get a better reading, I can figure out exactly how it works and then..."

"That's great," Akane interrupted the rambling girl. "Can you leap high enough to get to Nabiki?"

"Hmm?" Sailor Mercury looked over at Akane as if just remembering she was there. "Oh, I'm sorry, no." She gestured with her computer. "It's a bit too high for me. Maybe there is a ladder or something else we can use to get up to the rafters?"

Akane nodded and began to look around. She kind of liked the blue-haired Senshi. She seemed practical and intelligent, qualities which Akane could admire. She walked away from her a little bit, peering into the shadows of the hangar in the hopes of seeing something that could help her reach her stranded sister.

Her search was interrupted by a loud crack from behind her. She spun and saw one of the youma women smash through the metal wall with enough force that it sent fragments spinning off in all directions. The disturbingly human figure collapsed on the ground in a heap. Well, she guessed Ranma was doing well. She was about to turn back to her search when she heard a sharp gasp from the Sailor Senshi.

"Oh no... this isn't good!" the girl cried. Akane looked over to see her looking back up at that floating blue orb. Her mouth had fallen open, and she was staring at it in obvious shock.

"What's going on?" Akane called over.

"This orb, it's not an energy pump... it's an energy trap!" Sailor Mercury cried back.

"What?"

"Someone just accessed it remotely, triggering a hidden function..." Mercury began to rapidly tap at her computer. "It was dormant, but now it's drawing in energy again!"

"Drawing in energy?" Akane frowned and walked towards her. "That doesn't sound good."

"It isn't... the magic is limited to only one type of energy, but..." Sailor Mercury snapped her head to the side, looking out the hangar doors. "Oh dear, I think Ranma's in trouble."

"What?" Akane blinked. "But he was winning..."

"This device, it’s absorbing all the aggressive energy in the area, just like the kind Ranma was channeling! It’s... drawing away all his strength!" She turned her eyes back to Akane, and they were wide with fright. "Whatever you do, don't get angry!"

"What are you talking about..."

Then she saw a figure fly through the hole in the wall again. But this time it wasn't a youma. Ranma smashed into the floor like a sack of potatoes. He groaned and pushed himself up with both hands. But Akane could see the energy leaking from his body. It looked like a thick vapour, flowing from his entire form and up into the sky. She followed the path of the vapour and saw it vanish into the orb.

"Ranma! Don't fight it!" Akane shouted.

"What?" Ranma looked up at her blearily. "Are you crazy? I'm not about to surrender!" he shouted, and Akane saw the vapour around him begin to flow faster as Ranma tried to fight the drain.

"Not so tough anymore, are you?" one of the youma women said as she stepped into the hangar through the open doors. Akane slid into her favoured kempo stance, trying to force her anger down. The woman was cradling one arm, and wore a yellow leotard with floral accessories. Behind her walked a taller woman with long black hair and a green outfit.

"Hey, Grape, are you okay?" the other called to the third woman, who was thankfully still lying on the floor. The youma didn't rise or make any response.

"Guess not," the yellow-suited one said with a shrug. "But that's okay; she isn't dead or she'd have dissolved already."

"Yeah," the other responded. "Hey look, he's getting up again."

"Heh." Ranma smirked and stood shakily on his feet. His body swayed dangerously as he tried to raise his fists, but couldn't seem to get them up past his waist. "You're not taking me down so easily. I don't know what you did, but it isn't going to work on me a second time."

"Oh shut up and die already!" the shorter youma roared and thrust out her good hand. Ranma stumbled back as a swarm of tiny red beads launched from her palm. But he wasn't able to dodge.

Akane threw her arms in front of her eyes as the explosions rocked the hangar. The light turned the whole world red for a second, and she could hear the blasts echoing in her ears long after they stopped. Cautiously she lowered her arms. Ranma appeared to have leapt back at the last second, but he had still caught the brunt of the blast. His entire shirt was burned off, leaving a nasty looking red and black burn on his chest. His pants had escaped the brunt of the damage, but scorch marks swirled up his neck and onto his face. He was moaning, lying spread eagle on the concrete.

Akane wanted to run to him, but she remembered the monsters were still here. She turned her eyes back in their direction, just as the smoke from the attack was clearing to reveal them. She heard more than saw Sailor Mercury step up beside her. The petite girl seemed to bring an aura of calm with her presence, and Akane breathed a little bit easier.

"Just two more pests to go," the tall youma informed her partner laconically.

"Let's finish them quickly then," the shorter one grinned visibly through the half-mask covering her face. Akane gasped as she thrust her palm at them and another cloud of cherry bombs flowed out. She backed up a step, knowing that there was no way she could leap away from the attack in time. Not to mention the fact that Sailor Mercury was slower than her. Gritting her teeth, Akane stepped forward, determined to absorb as much of the assault for the smaller girl as she could.

"Shabon Spray!"

Akane felt a sudden cold rush and goosebumps leapt up along her arms. A sudden mist settled over the room, a fog so thick she couldn't see more than a few meters in front of her. But she did see the small bombs spin harmlessly past her, a few even bouncing without effect off the front of her martial arts gi. Akane turned her head and saw the blue-haired Senshi slowly lowering her hands to her side. She smiled at Akane's startled expression.

"I wasn't sure that was going to work, either," she explained with a shrug.

A string of mild curses drew Akane's attention back to the problem at hand. She could see vague shadows walking through the fog towards them. She squinted, trying to make out what was happening, but no matter how she focused, the fog was impenetrable.

"They're coming this way," Sailor Mercury explained as she consulted her computer again. "We had better make a run for it."

"No!" Akane shouted back, then winced as she felt her legs begin to buckle underneath her. She took a deep breath, forcing her flare of anger back. "I mean... we can't abandon Nabiki or Ranma here. Those monsters will kill them."

"You have a point," Sailor Mercury sighed. "But I don't have an attack powerful enough to hurt them. Maybe if Sailor Moon was here..." the girl trailed off.

"Well, she isn't," Akane pointed out pragmatically. She raised her fists in front of her in a boxer's stance. "I can fight them."

"But if you draw on your aggressive energy-"

"Then I'll have to fight them without getting mad," Akane pointed out. She could see the duo approaching now, their bodies fading eerily into view as they exited the thickness of the fog.

"There they are," the short youma snapped.

"They didn't even run," said the tall one, sounding surprised.

"I'm not going to run from you," Akane affirmed.

"You should have," the tall one cried as she charged forward. Akane gasped as the distance between them vanished. She raised her arm, absorbing a punch with her forearm. Pain shot up the length of her limb and she could almost feel the bones vibrate in shock. She staggered back, her eyes fixing with the black eyes of her opponent. Akane saw only glee and malice in those eyes.

The creature smiled, the fabric of its mask twisting with the expression beneath. It drew back its arm slowly. It was mocking her. Akane breathed out, and punished it for its arrogance.

Her free hand came up and grabbed the thing just above the elbow. She stepped forward, twisting the youma's arm, causing it to make a sharp squeal and forcing its entire body to spin away from her. Akane followed up quickly, lashing out with her leg and catching the thing in the back of its suddenly exposed knees. She released her grip on the monster as it flipped into the air and came crashing down on its back.

Some instinct warned her to back off, so Akane was already backpedalling when the other youma struck at her with a wild haymaker. The thing moved so fast! She saw the fog part in the wake of its punch. A bit of resentment at not being able to finish the first youma was strangled stillborn as Akane forced herself to remain calm.

The fallen youma floated to her feet and Akane backed up a few more steps. She could feel Sailor Mercury behind her now, but the girl seemed at a loss for what to do. The two woman-things split up, circling around them in different directions. Akane tried to shift to keep them both in view, but it became harder with each passing second.

"Little maggot," the tall brunette hissed as she stretched her arms out to her sides. "We'll teach you to challenge your betters." Akane frowned slightly, but resisted the urge to retort. Then the first wave of vertigo hit her like a freight train. Akane reeled, her vision doubling for a moment. Before she could regain her footing, another wave of dizziness flowed over her. She gasped and staggered back, colliding with Sailor Mercury and sending the other girl sprawling.

Akane felt an intense flash of static from her danger sense, and spun her head. She saw a blurry form rushing towards her, and grunted. Another wave of vertigo slammed into Akane and she staggered, just in time for the youma's fist to collide with her face. Her mouth opened but her voice refused the scream as pain blossomed across her cheek and temporarily blotted out all thought. She felt herself slam into something hard, but the pain and increasingly disorienting vertigo prevented her from identifying it.

"Akane! Are you alright?" Sailor Mercury said from somewhere nearby. Akane shook her head, trying to clear it and focus on the other girl's voice. But it was impossible. Everything kept doubling or trebling, then snapping back into focus only to have changed its position radically in the meantime. Akane could even see the waves of energy that were doing this to her, but could do nothing to prevent it. Her stomach roiled as she forced herself back to her feet, standing in what she guessed was a half-crouch.

"Uppity human!"

Akane threw herself backward, away from the voice. But the attack came from behind. She screamed as something rammed into her back hard enough to bend her backward. She felt her feet leave the floor, and for one terrifying instant floated in a world with no up or down, only slowly fading pain. Then she collided with the ground, skimming along it painfully. She squeezed her eyes shut, tears leaking unbidden from behind her lids. Frustration welled up within her, but she fought it back as best she could. She couldn't get angry! Nabiki was depending on her! It didn't help that both those monsters were laughing at her.

Akane pushed herself up on her arms, her eyes still squeezed tight. Thankfully, the nauseating disorientation seemed to have stopped. Akane felt hands settle on her shoulder, and almost lashed out, but she forced herself to remain calm.

"Akane? Please be okay..."

"Sailor Mercury..." Akane allowed herself to be helped to her feet. She opened her eyes to try and look at the girl, but immediately the vertigo returned. The blue-eyed girl's face distorted and doubled in Akane's eyes, and Akane could feel her legs betraying her again. "I can't fight them..." Akane admitted ruefully.

"Of course you can't," the voice of the green-garbed youma rang out from somewhere nearby. "Surrender to the inevitable, and maybe we'll make your death short and painless."

"But I wouldn't count on it," the other added with a malicious chuckle.

"We have to get away from here," Sailor Mercury was saying as she guided Akane with her arms. Akane closed her eyes shut in frustration, not caring that she could feel the strength seeping from her limbs as she began to let her anger surface. A sharp breath later, Akane was pushing her pain back again. She had just noticed... the vertigo had vanished again. She blinked her eyes open once more, confirming what she had guessed. The youma's magic only affected you if you saw it!

"Sailor Mercury... can you see through this?"

"What?"

"Can you see through it? You seem to be able to move around. Does your magic protect you?"

"My visor screens out the distortion waves the youma is producing, yes," Sailor Mercury said. Akane nodded and suddenly pulled herself from the other girl's grasp. She stepped forward, her eyes clenched shut, but her strides steady. "What are you doing?"

"You have to be my eyes," Akane said as she slid into her most defensive kempo stance.

"Oh look," the green-clad woman's voice rang out from in front of her. "The little warrior wants to continue fighting."

"I guess I'll just have to beat her to death then," the other said from Akane's right with a hint of amusement in her reply. Akane shifted herself to face to the right, and she heard the youma's footsteps suddenly hesitate. Akane grinned, but forced herself to remain calm. She focused her thoughts inward, trying to forget the outside world. Her sister Kasumi had once told her how she got through most of her chores by just letting her body move, without really thinking about what she was doing. Akane tried to follow that advice now.

She heard the footsteps speed up again, becoming a steady beat. A run! Akane stepped back, raising her hands to her face. The blow sneaked in under her guard and caught her in the stomach. Air exploded from her mouth as her lungs emptied all at once. The soles of her feet slipped and skidded as the force of the blow knocked her back. She managed to retain her balance, however.

"Akane!" Sailor Mercury shouted.

"A little warning next time..." Akane hissed with a chuckle.

"I don't know what to do." Sailor Mercury sounded ashamed. "I don't know the first thing about fighting."

"Don't let your confidence waver!" Akane shot back as gently as she could. "You know how to do this." Akane raised her arms again. She could hear the youma circling to her left, and she did her best to follow it using just her ears. Thankfully the concrete here echoed nicely to the woman-thing's footsteps, at least. "I believe in you. I trust you won't let me down." Akane breathed out, hoping that worked.

"I'll... I'll try..." the girl said as she stepped up behind Akane. Suddenly the youma's footsteps changed beats, speeding up again. Akane forced herself to calm down. There was nothing she could do unless- "To your left!"

Akane waved her left arm in a wide circle. She felt something strong glance off her arm, then back away. Akane smiled.

"Now in front!"

Akane nodded and stepped back, feeling the air in front of her swish.

"Your legs!"

Akane hopped, and as she did so she snapped her foot forward. She was rewarded with a sharp crack and the feel of flesh striking her heel. A moment later there was a dull thud as the youma struck the floor. But that didn't last long; Akane could already hear it clawing its way back to its feet.

"I can't win at this rate..." Akane pointed out. She tried to remember more about the monster-woman. She had been cradling her left arm, and Akane hadn't felt her attack with that arm either. Maybe Ranma had crippled it earlier? Akane hoped so...

"She's coming back!"

Akane could hear that for herself, as the youma screamed loud enough to wake the dead as it charged. Akane gulped and shifted to her right. She had to take it down in one good shot. She would only have the one chance.

"It's leaping!"

"Which direction!"

"To your left- No, straight above!"

Akane dove to the side and felt the thing pass through the air behind her. The ground cracked and Akane heard the Senshi scream. She dared not open her eyes to see what was happening, and almost cursed as her anger rolled up from her stomach again. Then Sailor Mercury was shouting that it was behind her. Akane caught herself as she landed and pushed herself forward, tumbling as best she could. She did it badly, and lost control of her spin half-way through. With a startled yelp she smashed into the metal wall and something sharp dug into her side.

Her frustration was getting harder to bottle up. It was building like a pressure cooker, threatening to explode. Akane couldn't hold it back for long. But for now, she maintained control. She winced and reached down to her side. Something sharp and cold had torn a small gash in her side, and it was sticky with blood. Her fingers rolled along it... it was a strip of metal. A very sharp strip of metal. Akane frowned, and quietly palmed it as she raised herself to her feet again.

"You're okay!" she heard Sailor Mercury sigh in relief.

"This one is pretty tough," the short youma commented as Akane heard her closing in.

"Just finish her off quickly," the taller one barked. "You're embarrassing us."

"I don't see you helping much!"

"Shut up, I'm the only reason she hasn't knocked you reeling yet."

"Feh. I'll show you. This human is no match for me!"

Akane heard the creature running towards her again, the footsteps echoing lightly in the giant hangar. Akane tensed and pushed her back to the wall. It gave her less room to manoeuvre, but also gave the creature less room to attack her.

"High right!" Akane blocked, deflecting a palm strike with her forearm.

"Low left!" Akane snapped up her knee, absorbing a kick with her shin. The force sent an exquisite spike of pain through her body, but she ignored it.

"Your head, in front!" Akane ducked and felt her hair snapping as the creature’s hand passed through it. But seconds later she heard the shriek of tearing metal, and smiled. There was a moment's pause, and Akane could hear the metal twisting as the monster tried to pull her arm free from the wall.

"Now I have you!" Akane shouted and thrust forward with the palmed metal shard. For a moment, she felt resistance, then the creature’s skin gave as Akane's weapon plowed through. A sickeningly warm wet fluid spurted over her hand. Flecks of the foul-smelling liquid struck Akane's face. The creature gave a sharp gurgle of pain, but Akane refused to relent. Nabiki, Ranma... even Sailor Mercury's life depended on this. She pushed her legs against the wall and thrust with all her might, bracing the metal fragment with both hands. She roared, letting her rage loose for a moment, focusing the power behind it into her strike.

The wall behind her tore apart as Akane flung the creature from her. She staggered forward, feeling a lot of her strength ebbing away. She bit back the rage, damming the flow. A moment later the creature hit the floor in front of her with a loud crash. Akane dropped, placing her hands on her knees and breathed deeply. The monster did not rise.

"Hou-housenka..."

"I think your friend isn't going to be able to help you, anymore..." Akane grinned. She opened her left eye a sliver, and saw the world had returned to normal. The last of the mist was drying up, and the youma had dropped her arms. Whatever she had been doing to produce those waves, she had stopped. She was backing away, casting glances between Akane and the rapidly approaching Sailor Mercury. "This isn't possible! You're just a human! You don't have any magic in you at all!"

"I may be just a human," Akane forced herself to stand up straight and curl her hands into fists. "But you seem to have underestimated humans!"

"No!" the monster roared and raised its arms. "I'll tear you apart!"

"Try it," Akane bluffed. She didn't have anything left in her. She couldn't have fought to save her life. But somehow, she felt exhilarated! The creature before her would likely beat her silly even without her magic vertigo, but Akane didn't care. She laughed, and something in that laugh caused the youma to back up a step. "I'm not going to wait all day!"

The monster took one last look at her, turned, and fled. Akane breathed out, not sure how she felt about that. On the one hand, the thing was escaping...

Akane's eyes snapped wide as a ball of purple light streaked out from the shadows and caught the fleeing youma in the side. The thing gave a horrified yell as the ball collided with its body. Akane stared, unable to believe it as the youma's body seemed to... unravel as the ball advanced. An endless instant later the ball exploded outward, sending a ring of dust and wind that blew Akane's long hair back and forced her to cover her eyes with her arm. When she dropped her arm, there was nothing in front of her but a scorched circle in the ground.

"Where... who..." Akane stammered.

"Over there!" Sailor Mercury pointed. Akane watched as a woman stepped out of the shadows. She was dressed much like the other Sailors, in a bizarre skin-tight fetish costume with an embarrassingly short skirt. But somehow she wore it with an unstated dignity and grace the other girls lacked. It didn't hurt that this was obviously a full-grown woman, with agate eyes and perfectly coiffed green hair that tumbled to her waist.

"Who are you?" Akane asked softly. The woman didn't respond. Instead she lifted one hand, levelling the strange key-shaped staff she carried. Akane tensed, but realised a moment later that the woman wasn't pointing it at her.

"Dead Scream," the woman whispered. Akane gasped. A ball of indigo light bulged from the tip of her staff, before blasting forward like a rocket. Akane tried to follow the attack with her eyes, but it moved faster than she could see. She turned her eyes only in time to see the explosion, and watch it clear to reveal a scorch mark in the floor. Akane took a moment to realize that mark had been where the wood-armed youma had fallen earlier.

Akane snapped her eyes to where she guessed her own opponent had fallen. She paled a little at the sight of the frighteningly human-looking youma lying on the ground. The strip of metal Akane had used was sticking grotesquely from its stomach, purple blood oozing up around it. Akane looked down, seeing her hands covered with the substance, and felt a wave of repulsion. She barely heard the third whispered attack, and only looked up when the explosion had ceased and left a mercifully sanitary ring of scorched concrete.

"Wait, who are you? Why are you helping us?" Sailor Mercury shouted. Akane saw the woman walking calmly from the hangar. She paused, staring back over her shoulder at the young Senshi.

"I'm not here to help you," the woman replied in a level voice. "I'm here to clean up this mess." And with that she walked out of the hangar. Sailor Mercury looked about to chase after her, but it was just then that Akane's legs decided to give out. With a worried gasp, the blue-haired girl ran back in Akane's direction.

*

Ukyou slipped backwards, her arms quivering as she tried to maintain her grip on her spatula. The creeping numbness was emptying her limbs of strength, a sensation which she was already familiar with. She refused to panic, even as the chi exited her body in a visible cloud of blue vapor. When Ryouga took two steps in front of her before going down like a pole-axed steer, she still didn't panic. She snapped her weapon down, burying the edge into the concrete and leaning against it to keep herself upright.

When she saw Sailor Mars crumble to her right, the long hair of the fire Senshi pooling around her head, Ukyou began to worry a bit. Human beings were vulnerable to the energy draining traps of the Dark Kingdom, but didn't she remember that the Sailor Senshi were immune? Ryouga was still struggling, clawing at the flattop, the cloud of vapor only growing as he growled and cursed. A few moments later, his struggles ceased.

"Sailor Moon, he's using some sort of energy drain..." Ukyou called over her shoulder. Her eyes widened as she looked back and saw the girl swaying in place. Her skirt billowed around her legs as she staggered back a few steps. The magic frisbee slipped from her nerveless fingers, clattering to the ground as an unremarkable golden tiara. The girl's other hand reached up and clutched at her temple as she squeezed shut her eyes. "Sailor Moon! Stay with me!"

"What... but I feel so sleepy..." the girl murmured groggily.

"Don't give in! You're stronger than their magic!"

"I..." Sailor Moon opened her eyes, steadying herself with a shake of her head that sent her long pig-tails whipping. "I think I can stay up..." the girl gasped. "What happened to the others?"

"They almost fell victim to his magic," Ukyou pointed out, unable to keep the relief out of her voice.

"You mean the one which is making him glow like that?" the girl pointed out with a gulp. Ukyou spun her attention back to the floating Dark General, and felt the first real tremblings of fear since she had arrived. Everything had been going so well up until a few seconds ago...

Jadeite threw his head back, cackling insanely as the blue vapour of chi energy flowed into his body. A halo of purple light was flickering and pulsing around him, his limbs stretched out and his body shaking as if struck repeatedly. Ukyou shifted her grip on the spatula, pushing herself more upright. This was much too Second Stage Final Boss for her tastes. And Ukyou was still weak; not collapsing weak, but she could barely keep herself propped up. Most of her chi must have been gobbled up by the trap.

"This is magnificent!" Jadeite crowed as he bent forward. The flashes of energy around him ceased, but his hair and clothes rippled in an invisible breeze. "I never guessed there could be so much power in such small vessels." He stretched his hand forth, arcs of white-hot lightning snapping between his fingers like an electric ladder. "It's exhilarating... my body can hardly contain it!"

"Can you still fight?" Ukyou called back to Sailor Moon over her shoulder.

"Y-yes..."

"Good," Ukyou grunted. She stepped forward, pulling her spatula up in front of her. Her legs felt like rubber bands, her arms like lead weights, but she managed to pull together enough strength to stand upright and unshaking. Jadeite only grinned.

"I would have been so disappointed if the two of you had fallen with your friends," Jadeite purred. "The two biggest thorns in my side. I would have hated to kill you both in your sleep."

"I'll hold him down," Ukyou called back as she took a few steps forward. "You get that magic frisbee of yours ready-" Ukyou snapped her mouth closed as Jadeite vanished in a blur of energy. She felt a tingle from the back of her neck, and was just turning her head when Jadeite reappeared behind her. She watched, able to see his attack coming, but unable to move herself in time. The world felt like it was filled with molasses, and her leaden limbs pulled her sluggishly through it. His palm thrust right into her back, a ball of light floating at the ball of his thumb like a soap bubble. She didn't even get a chance to scream before it exploded.

Her world was white and painful for a timeless instant. Then she felt her eyes open, and became aware of the strange vertigo of flying upside down. Ukyou groaned, her back aching fiercely as she tried to spin herself to correct her course. The sudden collision with the chainlink made her scream in pain. Her voice was mainly drowned out by the repeated pangs of metal wires snapping. Space spun about her and the ground rushed up to greet her, blasting the last of the air from her lungs.

Awareness beyond the pain returned reluctantly. Ukyou groaned while struggling to free herself from the blanket of metal her crash had wrapped her in. In the distance, she could hear the explosions of Jadeite and Sailor Moon fighting. A part of her wanted to just lay back and let the Senshi handle this. It was her battle. But that part of her was the part she had begun to associate with Aaron. And she wasn't about to let his personality overwhelm her own. Gritting her teeth, she channelled her chi with as much focus as she could, ripping the metal segments from her. It didn't matter how logical, or sensical or proper it was to let Sailor Moon fight the villain she was destined to defeat. She had sworn to not sit back and let the world pass her by like Aaron had been so content to do, and she meant to live up to that promise no matter how stupid it turned out to be.

There were some principles more important than logic.

"... believe in your own power, Sailor Moon, and you can defeat any enemy," a new voice rang out across the tarmac as Ukyou stumbled forward. Ah, that would be Tuxedo Mask, or Kamen, or whatever he was called in this continuity. She scanned the air, easily spotting the flapping black cape of the tall man as he stood atop a convenient floodlight. Jadeite was saying something back now, but Ukyou was too far away to hear it. How far had that blast thrown her? An exploratory probe revealed that the explosion hadn't burned through the back of her coat: it seemed the leather had saved her from more severe damage.

Ukyou's attention snapped back to the outside world as a bellow of pain pealed across the airport. She was just in time to see the dark cape of Tuxedo Whoever falling to the ground. Floating next to the floodlights was a grinning Jadeite. Aaron couldn't help but roll Ukyou's eyes at this. At the very least, Jadeite had made the mistake of getting Sailor Moon mad at him by attacking her fantasy crush.

"You monster!" Sailor Moon screamed as she reached down to retrieve her tiara. "How can you do that to people?"

"With ease, apparently," Jadeite laughed. Ukyou had stumbled close enough to be able to make out his words, even if he wasn't shouting them.

"I won't forgive you..." Sailor Moon shouted through a choked sob. "In the name of the moon, I shall punish you!" The moon senshi stepped forward, pulling her enchanted tiara to her side. Energy began to stream out of her body, a steady blue mist. That wasn't right... "MOON TIARA..." Sailor Moon began her shout, but for some reason her tiara wasn't transforming. Her words had also begun to take on a slurred sound. "...ACTION!" The girl flung her weapon forward, but it was nothing more than a spinning metal decoration. Jadeite slapped it from the sky with contemptuous ease.

"What's the matter, feeling weak?" he laughed.

(She's losing her energy... but why?)

Ukyou frowned at the unbidden thought from Aaron's half of their psyche. She couldn't doubt his conclusion, however. Sailor Moon had already fallen to her knees. Jadeite didn't seem inclined to let the girl recover, either. He was already gathering a ball of energy in one hand. Ukyou cursed silently, forcing back an annoyed frown, and dashed forward with as much of her chi as she could muster. Jadeite laughed and launched the ball at the unmoving girl, shouting "Die!"

"Sailor Moon!" she cried. The girl looked back over her shoulder. Ukyou grabbed her as she sprinted past. A wave of heat rolled along the back of Ukyou's jacket as the ball passed within centimeters of her. The explosion, when it struck the ground lifted both her and the blonde into the air. Ukyou was much better prepared this time. She rolled with the shockwave, letting it lift her. Somehow she came down on both feet. The tarmac skidded by underneath her as she tried to slow their momentum without jostling Sailor Moon right out of her arms.

"Are you okay?" Ukyou asked once they had stopped. She cast a nervous look over her shoulder, but Jadeite had vanished.

"Soo, sleeeppy..." the girl in her arms murmured. Ukyou frowned slightly, resisting the urge to shake the girl. "I can't stay awake..." her voice trailed off as her eyes slid closed.

"Damn..." Ukyou cursed. There was no way she could carry the girl. She had lost far too much chi to keep herself mobile. There was always the possibility of tapping into Aaron's chi... no. No. That was stupid. It would do more harm than good.

"Don't you two make a cute couple?" a voice purred practically in Ukyou's ear. She snapped her head back instantly. Her reward was a sharp crack and a muffled curse, followed seconds later by the sound of someone collapsing. A vicious grin bloomed briefly on her face, but she was already moving before she had a chance to enjoy the small victory. She hated to admit it, but her only hope was keeping Sailor Moon alive long enough for her to recover and finish off the Dark General.

Decision made, Ukyou stopped long enough to gently lay the girl on the ground, then stepped quickly away. Jadeite was rising to his feet, a scowl of annoyance on his face.

"You wanted this to be between you and me from the start," Ukyou called out in her most mocking tone.

"Yes..." Jadeite hissed as he rubbed his nose. "Sailor Moon is a nuisance, but no real threat to me. You..." He reached over and touched his stump. "I have much more to pay you back for."

"Good, then you have to catch me first!"

Before she had even finished the phrase, Ukyou had sprinted past him. The ground flashed by under her feet, the air buffeting her violently as she forced her way through it at speeds man was not meant to reach. There was an instant's warning before Jadeite appeared in front of her. His hand snapped out in a backhand. She threw herself back, the palm of his hand flashing scant centimeters from the tip of her nose.

The next thing she knew, Ukyou was flying backwards. Her ears rang and her eyes refused to focus. What had happened? Then she recalled the spherical blast of energy that had erupted from Jadeite's hand. Even as she recovered her senses, she cursed inwardly. It appeared that he had learned to compensate for her speed by attacking with blasts she simply could not dodge.

Somehow Ukyou got her feet under her again before she landed. The soles of her shoes hissed as they skidded across the tarmac. Reaching down, her fingers dug small trenches in the pavement as she slowed herself. She licked her lip, and tasted the sharp copper tang of blood. She wasn't fast enough. She had lost too much chi. The lingering beat in the back of her mind beckoned her, but Ukyou frowned and rejected his help. She would live or die on her own.

A tinkle on her back later Ukyou was leaping skyward. The ground beneath her disintegrated in a massive ball of light. Rubble showered away from it, producing a sound like a downpour as small stones collided with the pavement. The smoke cleared, and Ukyou looked down to see Jadeite smirking up at her with his hand extended. She snatched her spatula from her back and flipped it in front of her, driving it down like a spear as she descended.

A blur of distorted light later and Jadeite was gone. The blade of her weapon dug into the crater. Ukyou grunted and landed a split-second later. The sky to her right blurred and a sound like air popping out of a corked bottle hit her ear. Her hand shifted on her spatula. A microsecond later she snapped it up, ripping loose a bit of concrete as she dragged the weapon in a tight spiral. Light flared around her, oven-hot air flashing past her cheeks. Her spatula shuddered and waved as it absorbed the brunt of the attack.

Even before the blinding flashes of the light blast's aftershocks wore off, Ukyou was moving. A cry escaped her lips and she shoved herself forward. Jadeite's confused face came into focus in front of her for a moment. Then she heard the air exit his lungs violently, followed a moment later by the satisfying quiver of her spatula that informed her she had hit home. She blinked the last of the afterglow from her eyes as Jadeite landed several meters away.

"You'll pay for that..." the man hissed as he rose to one knee.

"Send me a bill," Ukyou shot out. She winced. That hadn't been very witty. Oh well, they couldn't all be winners.

Jadeite roared and vanished. Ukyou sprang forward. Her hair whipped in front of her as she looked back over her shoulder. The Dark General materialised behind where she had been standing, cursed, and vanished almost as quickly. Ukyou snapped her feet forward, digging into the pavement. With all her might she flung herself sideways. Moments later, the air she had been about to enter filled with blistering heat and light. She pulled her spatula in front of her, deflecting the blinding light away.

The ground touched her feet again and Ukyou let her sneakers skid along the pavement for a precious second to reduce her momentum. Then she was leaping again, this time backward. Jadeite appeared in the air in front of her, roared something and thrust his palm at her. Pink lightning flashed from his palm. She had only moved her weapon halfway there when the blast ripped through the air in front of her and collided with her stomach. Pain dissolved the world into a white haze, and she heard someone screaming. Only when her back smashed into the tarmac did she realise it was herself.

She couldn't wait to recover, and was already kicking herself to her feet. But the sound of Jadeite fading in to her right filled her ears. One arm raised desperately to block, and was rewarded with another blistering wave of heat. She forced down a squeal of pain as the shockwave sent her skidding across the runway. Her eye opened slowly and she hissed at the throbbing scorches that extended up her forearm. The fabric of her coat had been entirely burnt away.

Clenching her teeth, Ukyou ignored the pain and thrust her spatula down. It caught in the concrete. The metal shaft bent as Ukyou slid into it, then she kicked down, propelling herself up. The entire weapon became an improvised pole-vault, snapping from the earth as she soared into the air. The ground exploded under her again, and this time she could hear Jadeite's curses over the sound of concrete vapourising.

Jadeite recovered quickly, his arm flashing through the air so fast it appeared as nothing more than a blur to her eyes. She pulled her spatula in front of her, and somehow deflected a blast of pink plasma. The blow sent her reeling, and her graceful landing turned into an undignified collapse on the hardtop. While she was waiting for the world to stop spinning, a jackboot rammed into her gut with enough force to drive all the air from her lungs. Her eyes snapped wide as she rocked forward, right into the increasingly bright glow of Jadeite's hand.

Ukyou had thought she knew pain before, but this time the blast drove all thought, all sanity from her mind. For an agonising, endless moment there was nothing but the echoes of pain and the roar of the explosion. The only pain that had ever compared to this was the pain of Aaron's fatal accident. And for a moment, she thought she WAS dying. Then the pain slowly released its clutches on her mind, and the world returned.

One hand stretched out and clawed at the blasted earth. Finding purchase, she levered herself into a sitting position. A moan escaped her lips. This was just great, she had just finished over a week in the clinic, and this guy was threatening to put her back in a coma. She opened her eyes, wondering why everything seemed to have a reddish tinge. Then she realised that was the blood seeping into her eye. With a sigh she rubbed the back of her good hand against it, clearing her vision.

Jadeite was floating a few meters away, his head thrown back and his entire body shaking as he laughed like a madman. A sharp, cold beat of anger welled up in Ukyou's heart. She pushed herself to her knees. That bastard was laughing at her. He was enjoying her torment. She knew that he had been holding back, playing with her like a cat. She rose slowly to her feet. It was just like the other one. Just like Chris. Beating her without caring about her. She spat, a gob of blood striking the pavement.

She leaned down and picked her weapon off the ground. Who cared about morality? She was taking that fucker down! A silent plea later and Aaron's previously marginalised presence returned with full force. With a roar, she dashed forward, dipping into the well that was Aaron's chi. And for a moment, there was no pain, no crippling numbness that slowed her.

Her attack came in low and without warning. She drove her entire weight, and all the energy she could muster, into one spear with the blade of her spatula. Jadeite's laugh cut off into a scream of pain as the long blade bit into his side. Blood sprayed out, some of it falling on Ukyou's face. His floating saved him from a deeper wound as Ukyou's attack sent him careening through the air. If he hadn't, that attack would have sheared all the way into his spine.

Ukyou huffed, taking a few steps forward. Aaron focused his attention on Jadeite, who was growling and raising to his feet. They both felt refreshed and powerful. It was like fighting at full strength once more. Like all the damage and fatigue of the last half-hour of fighting had simply vanished. Even the world around her seemed clearer than it had before. Edges of people and objects seemed cleanly defined. She could see the energy around Jadeite as he gathered it, like lines of force pushing inward. But no matter how good it felt, Aaron knew they couldn't afford to draw on this chi for too long. Already it must be burning up their body, and they had barely recovered the last time they had done this.

"You FOOL!" Jadeite snapped his head up, his eyes literally burning with energy. "You think you can defeat me?"

"Indeed," Aaron breathed, then shot forward. Ukyou readied their spatula as the world flashed by. She could almost see the speedlines as the airstrip blurred past. Jadeite only laughed and vanished. Aaron could see the lingering afterimage of his body for a split-second.

They skidded to a stop, and Aaron threw them to the right. Somehow Jadeite had anticipated them. He appeared right in their path. Ukyou swung out with the spatula, but his hand blurred and a hemisphere of force blasted the attack away. A moment later she gasped as his hand shot out and clutched around her throat. When the hell had he gotten so fast?

"You should have stayed down," Jadeite hissed as he pulled them closer. Ukyou tried to swing her weapon at him but he cast it a glare and lightning leapt from his pupils. Her hand spasmed as the blast struck her wrist and the weapon clattered to the hardtop. Aaron was already lashing out with their other hand, the burned one. It collided with Jadeite's gut. "That hurt," Jadeite informed them.

Aaron's eyes widened for a split second. Pain exploded across his body as Jadeite roared and pushed a corona of lighting into them. He could see the lightning arcing through his body, leaping from limb to limb. White afterimages burned themselves onto their retinas and Ukyou forced their eyes closed, but even that didn't keep the blinding arcs from flaring through her eyelids. Aaron became dimly aware of their feet rising off the ground. The pressure on his throat eased all at once and he gasped in air, only to have it pushed back out by his scream a second later.

Then the lightning faded, and they opened their eyes. Nearly twenty meters below them, the tarmac was a pockmarked ruin. Aaron brought their line of sight up, and saw Jadeite smirking while he hovered just out of arm's reach. Ukyou hissed and struggled to swing at him, but invisible bands of force kept her in place.

"You know, I think it’s time I repaid you for this," he smirked as he waved his stump at them. Ukyou gulped and felt her left arm jerk out to her side. Both her and Aaron struggled, pulling in the remainder of her strength and all of his, but it was no use. Whatever magic Jadeite was using, it was beyond their ability to counter. Jadeite stretched his hand out and gently, almost reverently, wrapped his fingers around their forearm. Light began to gather along the lines of his fingers. "This... is going to hurt a lot."

Ukyou screamed as his fingers clamped into a fist, with her arm still held between them. Her fingers twitched once, twice, then fell limp. He released her... and the arm fell numbly to her side. For a moment she wondered why it didn't hurt more. Then she dreamily realised she must be in shock.

Her eyes focused on the laughing Jadeite. He thinks he's won, the part of her that was Aaron pointed out. This was the part of the story where the hero made the ultimate comeback. Where he found the last reserves of strength and guts, and drew on powers he didn't even know he had. This was the part of the story where the hero called upon the secret trick his sensei had taught him, or the clever tactic he'd come up with at just this last second. This was the part of the story where despite all the odds against him, the hero managed to perform a miracle.

Ukyou was beginning to realise... she was no hero.

*

Pluto leaned down, her fingers deftly locating the pulse of her Princess. The girl was drained of energy and had fallen asleep, but would be fine. So far she had confirmed that all the Sailor Senshi and their unexpected human allies were all right. That ended her first priority. She looked across the airstrip towards her second priority.

Ukyou was being slowly but surely overwhelmed by the power of the Dark General. Sailor Pluto gripped her staff tightly as she watched the man hit her with another of his spherical explosions, sending her skidding across the runway. Instinctively she raised the business end of her staff and sighted where Ukyou should land. It would be so simple to catch the young woman off-guard. One 'Dead Scream' should be all that was required to finish her off.

Yet, again Pluto hesitated. The girl was fighting valiantly, drawing the man away from Sailor Moon. It was obvious she was fighting the good fight, just trying to save her friend. She wasn't even emitting any of that frightening energy that Pluto remembered like nothing else.

As the two continued to battle, Pluto let her mind drift. She had to remember why she was here. Her job was to safeguard time itself, and this Ukyou Kuonji was the greatest threat it had ever faced!

Those few who knew about the Gates of Time and Sailor Pluto's special connection to them tended to think that Sailor Pluto could foresee the future. In truth, she was no more precognisant than anyone else. In fact, she was specifically forbidden from looking forward in time by a promise she had made to a woman who had once meant more to her than life itself. If she could have looked forward in time, she could have foreseen the tragic end that would befall that woman and her glorious silver kingdom. It was a testament to her respect for her Queen that Sailor Pluto had never broken that vow in the millennia since her death. Never except once.

She recalled the first night she had woken up screaming in her bed. Oh, she spent a good deal of time in the Gates of Time. In fact, a part of her was always there, in that elusive neverwhen. But she also had a home, a career, a life outside of her stewardship. That, too, had been part of her promise to the Queen. "What use is a Guardian of Time, who forgets the very thing she is guarding time for?" the Queen had once said to her. And she had been right. Being grounded in the real world, enjoying its simple pleasures, acting like any other mortal... it all kept her mission tolerable. Without it, she guessed she might have gone insane. She might have become the kind of being she was sworn to oppose.

But she was digressing. She watched as Jadeite planted his foot in Ukyou's stomach and unleash a blast point blank into her face. Sailor Pluto winced. She really wished no ill will to the girl. It was obvious she did not know what she was destined to become, not yet.

That brought back the dream full force. Pluto shivered and clutched her arms around her breasts as the horrific images played themselves back in her mind. The images were vivid and indelible, which stood to reason: Sailor Pluto had woken up with them screaming from her lips every morning for the past three months.

"...I send you these images as a warning!" she could hear the temporally distorted voice which was still unmistakably her own. "You must not allow the events you see before you to come to pass!" In her mind's eye she was a young woman standing beneath a bank of clouds, three circles of light rotated around her body, the symbols that marked them rendered illegible by the speed of the rotation. "This is the final moment of our universe! And of hundreds of others besides!" The woman was clad in skin-tight black pants wrapped about the ankles with cords, her torso was covered in a turtle-necked skin-tight white shirt and over that she wore a long black trench-coat which was blown back and flared in an unseen wind. Her sleeves were rolled up and both arms were reaching out towards the heavens. On her left arm, five parallel scars glowed with eldritch light, on her right arm a tattoo of some kind snaked up to disappear under her sleeve. A power radiated from her, a power that Sailor Pluto could neither place nor understand. "The woman before you is Ukyou Kuonji. She has given herself to the darkness inside her! She prepares to battle a force of evil like none you have ever seen, a force without a face or a name! Their battle will tear our world apart!" Now Sailor Pluto saw the woman's face, and it was undeniably Ukyou's face, though a bright light flared from her forehead, and there was something terribly wrong with her eyes. "I know this because I have already seen it! I am the last survivor, and soon my small bubble of reality will fade away and my very being will be torn to shreds. You must stop this battle from happening. Do whatever is necessary! Damn the Queen's laws! Damn your own morality! Prevent this, or it all means nothing!"

And from the clouds descended another human figure, but this one Sailor Pluto could see no details of. All she could feel was a terrible, mind-numbing WRONGNESS radiating from it. Ukyou looked up at this horror made flesh, and smiled. And as Ukyou smiled, her hands reached up and clutched a dreadfully familiar weapon that had not been there before, and Pluto felt her intention to strike... Then the dream was ripped from her, becoming nothing but a flare of static and pain as her future self was torn apart. Sailor Pluto only felt a distant echo back through the streams of time of what happened to her counterpart, but what she felt made her blood run cold. For her other self was not killed, or destroyed. She simply ceased to be. Her, and everything else. For a horrifying instant she knew what it was to feel absolutely nothing. Then she always woke up screaming.

Sweat was forming on Sailor Pluto's brow as she forced the sensation away. But something had snapped her out of her reverie. She could feel it. The strange energy, that unplaceable power. Ukyou was attacking Jadeite again, and it appeared she was tapping that 'darkness within' the future Sailor Pluto had warned her about. Instantly the Time Key snapped up in her hand, and she was about to unleash her magic when Jadeite easily knocked aside Ukyou's attacks and grabbed her about the throat. Sailor Pluto sighed in relief.

It appeared Jadeite was going to finish off the girl for her. That was good. It was small comfort to know that she would not have to step in and deliver the killing blow herself. Technically Ukyou was still an innocent, and imposing such a harsh sentence for uncommitted wrongs went against everything the Sailor Senshi stood for. Maybe she was fooling herself by thinking that sitting back and doing nothing was any better than actively helping Jadeite do the deed, but it was the kind of self-deception she could live with.

Besides, it wasn't as if she couldn't finish Jadeite off the moment he finished with her. And if somehow Ukyou did survive, then she would be weak and in no condition to fight the Senshi of Time. Sailor Pluto smiled. This looked like a perfect win/win situation.

*

Akane dropped the tarp over Ranma's unconscious body before turning back to the Sailor Senshi. An unexpected side effect of her fog attack had triggered Ranma's curse, and now Ranma was not only covered in light burns from the waist up, she was also not decent. Sailor Mercury had been a bit nonplussed seeing Ranma's cursed form. Akane had tried to explain it away, but the blue-haired girl was still giving the unconscious former boy a lot of weird looks when she thought Akane wasn't looking.

"Did you find a ladder?"

Sailor Mercury returned her attention to Akane with a blush. Akane rolled her eyes. For someone who was supposed to be the reincarnated princess of a magic kingdom, the girl had a hard time accepting the supernatural.

"No, I'm sorry, I don't think there is a way up to the rafters," Mercury explained with a contrite grimace. Akane sighed and walked over to pat her on the shoulder. It was hard to remain mad at the girl; she seemed to obviously mean well. An explosion rang outside and Akane took a quick peek out the door. It was impossible to tell what was happening at the battle proper from this distance.

"Don't worry about it," Akane sighed and sat down slowly. Her legs still felt like someone had filled them with rubber bands. Most of her chi had already been drained away by the orb floating up next to her sister. She shaded her eyes with one hand and looked at Nabiki hanging up there. Her eyes were open, but the girl was staring sightlessly across the hangar. The thought of Nabiki being awake enough to see what was going on gave Akane goosebumps. For some reason, she didn't want her sister to have seen her fight earlier. Akane had already used Mercury's powers to help clean the blood off her hand, but she still felt soiled. "We'll figure out some way of getting her down."

"Hey, is there anyone in here?"

Akane thrust herself to her feet and almost immediately regretted it. The world swayed as a dizzy spell threatened to send her toppling back to the floor. She clutched the wound in her side, the sharp pain bringing back focus in an instant. Sailor Mercury had stepped protectively in front of her. The gesture both annoyed and relieved her. She may not be in much shape to defend herself, but she still had her pride.

"Whoa! I come in peace!"

The girl in the door was short, maybe about as tall as Sailor Mercury. She had black hair cut short in front, but had a large bouncy ponytail. She was wearing what looked like a blue and white school uniform, covered by some kind of blue... vest?  It looked almost like a lifejacket. In her right hand, she carried a very large and expensive-looking camera.

"Who are you?" Sailor Mercury called out cautiously. She had relaxed, but not completely. Akane dared not allow herself to relax. From the feel of her chi, the tension was the only thing keeping her standing.

"Uh, my name's Ran Hibiki..." the girl gulped. "But that isn't important!" She stepped forward, pointing frantically over her shoulder. "I know you two are the friends of that guy in the trenchcoat. You better get out there and help him, he's in a lot of trouble!"

"What... Ukyou?" Akane stepped around the Senshi, her voice trembling. "What do you mean, in trouble?"

"The blonde in the black suit is torturing him to death!" she cried. "Normally I just try to stay impartial... but... this isn't a very good end to the story? You know?"

"You're a reporter?" Sailor Mercury said with a slightly disapproving tone from behind Akane.

"Of course!" she smirked and sucked in her gut, thrusting out her chest. "Well..." she deflated. "Not really. I'm just a reporter for the school newspaper at Taiyo High..."

"Never mind that!" Akane barked. The others stared at her for a moment and she forced herself to calm down. She could see the wisps of chi leaving her hands from her brief temper flare. "What do you mean torturing he... him to death!" Akane frowned, she had almost let Ukyou's secret slip in her haste.

"Well, it looked like your friends were winning but then they all sort of collapsed. The only ones left standing were this Ukyou guy and the chick with the blue mini-skirt. But her and the guy in the tuxedo who showed up both went down and then it was just Ukyou versus the evil floating head demon guy!" Ran burned through the words almost faster than her mouth could keep up. She waved her camera around as she narrated, forcing Akane to duck back to avoid being struck. "I got some really great shots. But I thought this Ukyou guy was going to make a comeback, you know? But he didn't, and the blonde just kept blasting him around. Now he's hanging him up in the air and shocking him and... and..."

"It's okay," Sailor Mercury said soothingly. "You did the right thing and came to us for help."

"But how are we supposed to do that?" Akane cried, tears of frustration leaking from her eyes. "I can barely stand, and you said yourself you don't have any offensive techniques."

"I know..." Sailor Mercury tapped her earring, summoning her visor again.

"Wow! Could you do that again? I'd love to get a picture!"

"Uh... no time now..." Sailor Mercury blushed and stammered. "I have to see something." She pulled out her mini-computer and tapped on it. "It's just like I thought. The orb up there is feeding its power directly to Jadeite, even as it drains power from everyone else. If we could destroy the orb, Jadeite would lose all his extra power, and everyone else would probably get theirs back."

"How do we destroy it?" Akane sighed.

"I don't know..."

"Destroy what?" Ran piped up.

"That orb up there," Akane gestured.

"Oh, that thing..." Ran stepped past the two of them. "Hmm. Pretty high up, but I think I can hit it."

"What?" Akane blinked. But Ran wasn't listening to her. The girl had reached into the lining of her blue vest and pulled out several pages of newsprint. She smirked and snapped her wrist, the floppy pages flickering rigid between her fingers.

"I call this my Extra Edition!" Ran cried as she wound up and spun, the pages flashing from her finger tips and buzzing like shuriken. Akane stared as the papers spun through the air, passing neatly through the orb and disappearing into the shadows of the rafters. Several metallic clangs informed her they had hit the ceiling. For a moment, the orb hung in the air unaffected. Then a trio of perfectly parallel lines appeared along its flawless surface. Slowly the sections of the sphere began to drift apart. "Piece of cake!" Ran cried excitedly. Her camera flashed as she took a few pictures... and then the orb exploded.

"Nabiki!" Akane cried. She watched as a humanoid figure flew across the hangar in the wake of the explosion. She dashed after it, knowing she was too weak to catch it. But she was proven wrong. Even as she sprinted she could feel her strength returning. A gleeful grin spread across her features and she poured all her chi into her legs, focusing her energy on her speed. She arrived underneath her sister in plenty of time to catch her oddly limp form.

"I'm sorry!" Akane could hear Ran calling. "Nobody told me it would explode!" Akane shook her head, not really caring about that at the moment. She laid Nabiki gently on the floor and stood back up.

"Come on," she called out. "We have to go help Ukyou!"

*

Ukyou barely realised she was falling until she heard Jadeite's yelp of surprise. Everything seemed to have taken on dream-like qualities, and she couldn't even feel the vertigo as the scarred battlefield rushed up to embrace her. Aaron felt the same dizzy shock, but refused to embrace death so easily. He had died once already, thank you very much. With a burst of renewed strength, he snapped their good arm down and used it to absorb the force of the landing. It still sent a painful vibration through their body, but nothing more.

A moment later he heard a thud, and looked up. Jadeite had landed only a few meters away, and was lying prostrate, with half his body in a small crater. Aaron frowned as he stood up. He could feel strength returning to them: in fact, he could see it. A blue mist rippling into their body, filling their limbs with vitality again. It took a few seconds for his pain-fogged brain to realise that someone had reversed the flow of Jadeite's trap. All the energy he had stolen was being returned.

Ukyou smiled, and if she could have seen her own smile, she might have hesitated then. With a mental shrug she released her tap on Aaron's chi... and almost immediately collapsed screaming to her knees. Aaron gave a mental start and then tapped into that dangerous power again, and once again their senses filled with that wonderful clarity. The pain seemed distant and unimportant now. They could acknowledge it, but they could move despite it. Ukyou cast a quick glance at the wreck which was her left arm and winced. No wonder she was in so much pain. She didn't even know if that would ever heal properly.

But more important things were happening. Jadeite was getting back to his feet. Ukyou and Aaron turned their attention back to him.

"My power..." Jadeite gasped as he stood up shakily. "All that wonderful power..."

"Heh." Ukyou stepped forward, flexing her good hand and grinning again. Jadeite looked up at her and his face paled at what he saw. Good. Let him be afraid. "You made a classic villain mistake, Jadeite."

Ukyou dashed forward, and the world literally flowed around her. She didn't need to even think, her feet blasted across the ground at speeds even she hadn't thought possible. Jadeite was five meters away one instant, and the next she was sailing past him. Aaron had lashed out, burying their fist in his gut. The man screamed, carried on the momentum of their blow for a fraction of a second. Then Ukyou stopped. There was no screech of dust, she simply stopped moving with the same ease that she would cease a leisurely walk. Jadeite did not stop, he flew fast and far, tracing a lazy parabola into the hard pavement.

"You should never swallow an energy field larger than your head."

Ukyou laughed as she ran forward again. Jadeite hadn't even climbed to his knees before she reached him. Her kick struck him in the jaw and sent him flying straight into the air. Aaron curled their hand into a fist, watching with fascination as Jadeite flowed into the sky. He seemed to be moving in slow motion. But he only watched for a second. His fist drove punishingly into the man's sternum, right where the ribcage connected. There was a loud crack. Jadeite tried to scream, but couldn't.

He was driven back through the air by Aaron's punch, and Ukyou took off after him. To her surprise she flitted past him as he floated sluggishly through the sky. She smiled, then turned and spun their leg up into the small of his back as the man passed. His body folded backwards, and she saw blood fleck from his mouth. Then Aaron laughed and drove their fist in a tight arc, catching Jadeite on the back of the neck with both knuckles extended. There was a snapping sound and Jadeite's head flopped forward like a ragdoll. That last shot should have paralysed him from the neck down for at least a while.

The momentum caught up with the body as Jadeite flopped to the ground again. Ukyou took a long deep breath, feeling better than she had since this whole fight began. The monster shaped like a man lay face-first in the shattered concrete. Time seemed to have returned to normal as well. She ran her good hand through her bangs, the joy of beating him filling her like a pure light. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted her spatula. An impossibly quick duet of leaps later she was standing back over him with the weapon in her good hand.

"Are you still awake, Jadeite?" she purred down at him. Aaron probed out with one foot, nudging him over onto his back. His eyes were wide and staring, flickering back and forth between her and the rest of the world. His mouth opened and closed. "Good. I wouldn't want you to miss the coup de grace." She snapped the edge of the spatula along the ground, drawing a series of sparks.

"No... please..." Jadeite whimpered.

Ukyou smiled down at him and raised the spatula over her head. One perfect slice later and this bastard would be dead. It would be so easy. And it would feel so good to finally finish something. To win!

"Please, have mercy..."

"You, who are without mercy, now plead for it?" Aaron laughed as he quoted. "I thought you were made of sterner stuff!" Yes, it would feel so good to kill Jadeite... so...

"No..." Ukyou allowed the weapon to fall to her side. "I can't... I can't kill you..." For a moment Jadeite's eyes filled with relief.

"But I can," a new voice caught Ukyou's attention. She leapt back as a ball of purple magic flashed in from the near distance and caught Jadeite full in the chest. The man let out a silent howl as the ball seemed to... unravel him. Ukyou could see, with her enhanced senses, the very fabric of his being dissolving at the touch of the time-based attack. Then there was a burst of violet light. When the afterimages faded from her eyes, all that was left of Jadeite was a scorched circle in the shattered airstrip.

"Sailor Pluto," Ukyou said without looking. She looked up in time to see the woman raise her staff to face them. Aaron tensed their legs.

"Don't think you can escape me this time," Sailor Pluto said in a disturbingly conciliatory voice. "I have to end this here, you see. It is the only way."

"You won't even explain why?"

"You know why," Sailor Pluto replied sadly. Her red eyes locked with Ukyou's for a moment. "You just resisted it yourself. Your power... it can not be allowed to be fully unleashed."

"My power..." Aaron frowned.

"I'm sorry!" Sailor Pluto cried, tears literally streaming from her eyes. "Dead Scream," she whispered the attack. Ukyou pushed backward, wishing for that mysterious speed from before. Maybe it came, or maybe it didn't. But the sphere of deadly magic closed with her so fast she could only begin to move. It only barely registered that she would never dodge it in time. Then Aaron hurled her battle spatula forward, launching it like a trident. He watched, fascinated, as the weapon began to unravel... then exploded in a flash of light. Ukyou landed a meter away, breathing heavily.

"You only delay the inevitable," Sailor Pluto pointed out. Ukyou reached up with her good hand and rubbed at her lip. It came away slick with blood, blood she could feel pouring from her nose as well, and god knew where else. She didn't have any time left. There was no escaping this. She almost laughed at the injustice of it all.

"Charge!"

Pluto didn't know what hit her. Then again, Ukyou wasn't sure either. It looked like a giant plunger with little muscular legs and a giant toothy maw. The Senshi of Time shrieked as it collided with her with enough momentum to send her and it tumbling to the ground. Ukyou blinked as the Senshi began to wrestle with the two pairs of dainty arms that had extended from the thing's body.

"Oh, right..." Ukyou sighed and slapped her forehead. "I should have known he would show up."

"Get off me!" Sailor Pluto cried as she kicked up, driving Tsubasa off her. The cross-dresser smashed into the ground, his costume breaking apart with the force of the impact. There was a few muttered, and unladylike, curses as Tsubasa freed himself from the damaged bodysuit. He was wearing a frilly pink dress with taffeta trims and had large ridiculous bows tied into his well- groomed hair. He also looked mad enough to spit a devil.

"You lay off my darling Ukyou!" Tsubasa warned in a feminine shriek.

"Who said I was yours?" Ukyou grumbled and tried to cross her arms. Pain flared up her left side, reminded her that she was critically injured.

"You can't stop me," Sailor Pluto said as she flowed gracefully to her feet.

"No," a voice interrupted the Senshi as a hand clasped onto her shoulder. Pluto turned to see a very steamed-looking Akane with her other hand cocked back. "But I can!"

Ukyou almost cheered at the ridiculous look on Pluto's face just before the punch hit home. The force behind it sent her flying nearly five feet. Sailor Mercury was walking up behind her, her expression much more fretting. Another girl, one who looked vaguely familiar but who Aaron couldn't immediately place, was following her. She raised a camera to her face and took a few snapshots. Then it clicked in Aaron's mind. Even as Pluto was climbing to her feet again, Ukyou could see the others approaching. Sailor Moon led them, with Mars and Ryouga following. In the back she could see the tall figure of Tux-boy.

"Sailor Pluto?" Sailor Moon asked. Her voice contained no malice, only gentle curiosity. "Why are you attacking my friend?"

"No... I never wanted it to be like this..." Pluto hissed as she stepped back. She was virtually surrounded on all sides by Ukyou's allies. Once again Ukyou repressed the urge to laugh in relief.

"You wear the same costume as us, and you said you were our ally." Sailor Moon said gently. "If so, you don't have to fight this boy, he's our friend and..."

"Ukyou is not your friend!" Pluto snapped out. "He will be the death of you all!"

"Damn it, Pluto!" Aaron snarled. "Stop being so goddamn cryptic and just tell me what's going on!"

"I see now..." Pluto sighed and stepped back. "It can't be helped. You are too well-protected for our duel to continue." Pluto waved her staff in a short, but intricate pattern. Aaron watched as she vanished, seemingly to... fold sideways into space. It was fascinating.

"My god, Ukyou, your arm!" That was Akane. Ukyou nodded and looked down at the bloody mess of her arm. She certainly hoped it looked worse than it was. But she was safe now. So thinking, she released her tap into Aaron's 'chi', and let the pain and darkness claim her.

*

The air was crisp, the wind off the waters of Tokyo Bay making him shrug a little deeper into his coat. He sighed and pulled the binoculars away from his eyes, rubbing the fatigue from his face with the back of his other hand. He really hated stakeouts. Especially ones taking place so close to... well, he didn't know how to describe it. He pulled the binoculars back to his eyes and watched some more.

Things seemed to be winding down. They were carrying the boy in the trenchcoat off the field now, obviously all preparing to disperse in different directions. The one in the tuxedo had already vanished; to where, he wasn't sure. He grunted and spat into the grass next to him. He wasn't prepared to deal with this kind of thing. But, he had made a promise to an old friend, and that promise he was keeping. Even if this was going to be the last favor he ever did the man. There came a point in your maturity where the prospect of getting involved with people who could casually blast holes the size of Minis in concrete was no longer exciting.

So thinking, he reached into his pocket and flipped out his cell phone. A single button press later and he held it up to his ear. The other end didn't even ring, there was just a click as it was automatically picked up.

"Kunikida?"

"You were right."

"I see..."

"It's over now."

"How did it go?"

"I think the good guys won."

"That's a relief."

"Its not going to be cheap to clean up the place, however."

"I see... I guess I'll have to deal with that."

"Glad I don't have your job."

"Did you get it all?"

He looked to the side at the camera mounted on a tripod. The red light that indicated it was recording was still humming strong. Just like the other three cameras nearby.

"Yes."

"Good. I'll pick it up first thing in the morning."

"I'll meet you at the diner. You owe me a breakfast special for this."

The man on the other end laughed.

"I do, I do. Thank you..."

"Don't mention it. Just don't ask me to sit out in the cold again for you, okay?"

"I won't. You're... a good friend."

"Yeah. Well, I think you're going to need good friends."

He hung up the phone, watched a star fall in the southern sky, and said a silent prayer that this wasn't, as he expected it would be, just the tip of the iceberg.

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes:

Blade: Well, once again we're updating with less than half an hour to go before we're late, so these will be short.

Epsilon: Not that there's much to say.

Blade: Hey, did anybody else notice this entire chapter, except for the last bit, was one giant fight scene?

Epsilon: That's because this chapter and Chapter 6 used to be one chapter, until we realised it made Chapter 6 'OMGWTF!!!?!' huge.

Blade: Anyway, that'll be the only time THAT happens for, like, awhile.  At least not for five more chapters.

Epsilon: Yeah, all future chapters will contain at least TWO fight scenes!

Blade: Rejoice!  Also, for those concerned by the disturbing lack of me in this chapter, worry not, I'm just in transit.  Also, I wasn't in the fight scene.

Epsilon: Maybe all the EXP Ukyou earned here will give her a level up so she'll beat you next time.  After all, she has the double EXP advantage!

Blade: Bah.  Akane, Ran and Ami did all the real work.

Epsilon: But Ukyou was still conscious!  She gets experience just for that!

Blade: Also big gougy scars on her arm.

Epsilon: It's a character flaw!  She bought it for more EXP!

Blade: Okay, that's enough roleplaying geekery for now.  So, anyway, see you next time! And, on that note, it's time for our next chapter preview!

Epsilon: YAAAAAAAY!  (run around flailing arms like Kermit the Frog)

Blade: You know, every time I watch the Daily Show, I want to see Jon Stewart do that.  "It's the Daily Show, with our very special guest, John McCain! YYAAAAAAAAAYYYYY!"

Epsilon: ...right.  Next chapter, then, will not have Daily Show jokes.  But it WILL have this!

The figure above her was mainly hidden in the shadows, but was still clear to an alert viewer. She was spread-eagled. bracing her limbs against the beams in Akane's ceiling. Her long ponytail dipped down over her shoulder and she was wearing a loose white t-shirt and tight blue jeans. Her skin appeared remarkably pale, but that might have been the light. Chris. He... she... it was back. Akane opened her mouth to scream for help... then snapped it closed.

Maybe it was the weariness, or the sincerity of the note, or Akane's own recent thoughts about building bridges with her sister... but Akane remained quiet.

"Hi," the dead woman above her whispered in Kodachi's voice. "Mind if I come down?"

Hybrid Theory Chapter 8: Pushing Me Away

Hiiiiiiiii~~~!  Usagi Tsukino here, and I am just SOOOO excited to be your recapper!  Are you reading, my dearest-

-what do you mean someone did that already?

Tsubasa?

Grrrr, I HATE that girl!  Wait, he's a guy?  And Ukyou's a girl?  But... but... I just watched Ukyou be all heroic and everything last chapter, and I totally thought he... looked... but he's a she... and...

WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!

It's even worse because I won't remember any of this!

Well, anyway, last chapter was the big, dramatic showdown between us and Jadeite!  "Us" being myself and the other heroic - but not quite as beautiful - Sailor Senshi, not to mention our friends from Nerima!  Also this girl named Ran showed up, but she was just doing a piece for her student newspaper or something.  She took lots of pictures; I hope she got my good side!

Back to my dramatic victory!  Well, actually, I have to admit it was Ukyou's dramatic victory.  Well, actually, to be honest, it was kinda Akane's dramatic victory.  But I helped!  Well, actually, I ended up helping the bad guys, when the trap set by that youma Tethys took away all my energy and gave it to Jadeite so he became superpowered and things looked really scary and he ripped up Ukyou's arm and things looked really bad...

But we won!  Because the good guys, powered by love and friendship, will always prevail!  So, yay!  Jadeite has been defeated, Nabiki was rescued, and Tethys vanished somewhere along the way, so everything should be just fine from now on!

And that was pretty much it, since Chris and Pink and Link and everybody else who wasn't in the fight didn't appear.  Maybe they will this time!

Thanks a lot for reading, and remember, friendship and cooperation always triumphs over evil disco balls that steal aggressive energy!  Sailor Moon says! Tee-hee!

Chapter 8: Pushing Me Away

What was it Dave Barry had written about flying JAL first class?

'Feeling like one of the more decadent Roman Emperors' ...yeah, that was it.  Of course, there were probably more luxuries involved in a trans-Atlantic flight, but this was still pretty damn nice.

Pink, sitting 'next' to him (or the closest equivalent in the wide, semi-private seats), certainly seemed to be enjoying the experience, helping herself to the complimentary treats with gusto.  She'd been more than willing to help herself to the complimentary alcohol as well, but Chris has hastily waved the flight attendant on with a 'no thanks, we're underage' before that could happen.  The smiling twin had pouted briefly - seeing the two expressions juxtaposed was odd - but had apparently gotten over it.  Which was good, since the last thing Chris (or the other passengers) needed was a tipsy sadistic poisoner around.

Honestly, he hadn't expected to be returning to Japan by such a mundane method of transportation, instead thinking vaguely of crossing the Sea of Japan by some plant-assisted means, or perhaps the twins and he would bribe/drug their way onto a ship.  He'd been surprised to find the twins in fact had papers in good order, but hadn't looked a gift horse in the mouth.  A few bribes and two more plane tickets later, and they were on their way.  He wondered how they'd gotten to Japan in the manga.

Overland, the trip had been uneventful, if rather longer than his solo one.  Since the twins couldn't match his pace and of course had to sleep, he rented carts and later cars for them as much as possible, and passed the idle times writing in his journals.  Of course, Pink had promptly tried to peek at those when she thought his attention was elsewhere, but had been disappointed to find the contents were written in English.

"And what are you thinking about, over?" came the voice next to him.  He glanced over and met Pink's gaze, seeing amused curiosity in her eyes.

"About you," he replied honestly, and smirked a bit himself as Pink looked taken aback.  "Nothing too serious," he reassured her, "Just wondering if there was anything else I needed to tell you.  Which, in fact, there is.  When we arrive, you should know that people we meet probably won't know my real name. So they - and you when around them, please - will call me Kodachi."

Pink nodded, but on the other side of her, Link looked over at him for the first time since the flight had begun.  "If that's not your name, who's the real Kodachi, over?"

Chris sighed.  He knew this had probably been coming.  "I am.  Or rather," he corrected, looking down at Kodachi's body, "this is."  For a moment, the twins stared at him uncomprehendingly.  Then Link's eyes widened as realisation sunk in.  She opened her mouth, but he cut her off before she could say anything (or scream).  "Hear me out.  That's why I want to preserve this body for as long as possible: so I don't need a new one.  However, you needn't worry.  Kodachi was a nasty, nasty person.  At least as bad as Shampoo. That's the only sort I could bear to take the body of, you understand?"  Or at least that was the plan from here on in.  "And that's why I'm looking for a cure, as well.  So hopefully it won't even be a problem for much longer."

Link didn't exactly look reassured.  She hissed something in Chinese to her sister, and the two quickly got into an argument in hushed voices, the contents of which he could guess.  He waited silently for the outcome, thankful there weren't so many people in first class that anybody had likely caught more than bits or pieces of the conversation.  As for the disagreement between Pink and Link, there was no help for it.  They would have figured it out sooner or later anyway, and if the promise he'd given them wasn't enough, there was nothing more he could do to make them stay.  Hell, he wouldn't even blame them if they dropped the whole thing.  He wasn't sure he would have stayed with himself, no matter what the promise was.

The argument had heated up.  He heard 'Shampoo' several times, mostly from Pink.  Finally they seemed to reach a resolution, as Pink declared something with finality.  Link still didn't seem pleased at all, but made a sound that might generously have been construed as affirmative and then resumed not looking at him.

Pink, however, turned to him and grinned.  "You'll have to excuse my sister.  She's a little bit... nervous, over."

"I don't blame her.  I'd be nervous too."

Pink shrugged.  "It's not your fault what you are.  You have to do the best you can.  In your situation, I'd do the same, over."

Well, do the same minus the 'only kill bad people' part, he more than suspected.  But then, that was the same as him, wasn't it?  Still, he relaxed, feeling a weight lifting from his shoulders.  "Thanks," he said, and meant it. "Though I wish I hadn't dumped all of this on you so suddenly."

"Don't worry-" Pink began, and then cut off as the plane hit some turbulence.  Some clanking came from the bag Chris had under his seat.  He wasn't letting that - with the journals and cursed water cargo - out of his sight, and yet another sizeable bribe had kept the customs official from giving it more than a cursory glance.  Chris had decided there were definitely some advantages to corrupt dictatorships.

He glanced back at Pink, expecting her to continue her previous sentence, but she was now looking at the bag with undisguised curiosity.  "So what exactly do you have in there?  I wouldn't think corpses needed to carry much in the way of supplies, over."

He laughed.  "That was direct.  Well, I'll tell you, but keep out of it.  The contents are rather dangerous, and besides, I plan to keep it permanently within eyeshot.  And I don't even blink."  Pink didn't look too concerned about the warning, but he'd expected that.  "Before I came to your village, I stopped off at a place called Jyusenkyou, and-"

He was cut off by a piercing shriek that DID get the attention of the few other first class passengers, and proved himself a liar by blinking as Pink shot out of her seat and backed away from him to stand beside her sister.  Link was also looking at him once again, but the expression of horror and disgust on her face this time wasn't directed at him, but instead at the bag.

"Keep that away from us, over!" Pink snapped.

"Sure..." he said slowly, "But what's the big problem?  I guess you've heard of it, but the water I took is in sealed containers."

"Not good enough," Link growled.  "Jyusenkyou is... it's cursed.  Nobody with any sense goes near it, over."

"I have many dollars, but few sense," he quipped, but then seriously added, "It can't affect me.  But it IS magical, so I wanted to take some samples.  It might be able to help somehow, or to bribe someone else who can help."

The twins exchanged glances; something seemed to pass between them, but he couldn't tell what.  A really extreme reaction.  Was Jyusenkyou that ill-rumoured?  Or something else?  He made a mental note to find out later, after they hopefully trusted him a bit more. After a moment, Pink returned to her seat, though her good mood had seemingly evaporated and she had slid a little farther away from him.  "I understand," she said shortly. "But just make sure you be careful.  And keep it away from us, over."

"I was planning to anyway, so don't worry about it."  The conversation seemed to be at an end for a moment, so he leaned back, preparing to relax for the rest of the flight.  Strange girls.  But then, he knew that.  And he was pretty strange himself.  Chris smiled a bit.  Things would be fine.

*

"... and then the battle became serious when... ah damn," Ukyou groaned out loud. She had just reached the end of the page, and the article had one of those handy little 'continued on page A-5' notes. In a way it was flattering. Almost a week later and still appearing in the papers. It was also the best free publicity she could ever ask for. If she ever got around to opening her restaurant,

(Hey, remember that, my dream before you screwed up my life?)

(Yeah, yeah...)

then she would hardly need to advertise. It was also annoying, because her other hand was currently occupied with her lunch and that made flipping the paper with one hand, especially her bad one, rather difficult. Normally, eating an okonomiyaki with one hand was nearly impossible. But Aaron had suggested thinning up the crust and rolling it up like a burrito, stuffing it full of all the meatstrips and vegetables - and for once, Ukyou had listened to him. The result was rather nice, actually. The batter was a little soft; maybe she could crisp it up, make it more like a crust... add noodles...

Ukyou cut off that line of thought. Speculating about food was nice. It was still her greatest dream, and something she planned on throwing herself into fully once this whole mess was resolved. But it wasn't what she came out here for. So she focused her attention back on finding a way to flip the pages of the newspaper while keeping a grip on her lunch. The trouble was, she couldn't just put one down to free up a hand. That was the problem with sitting in a tree: no storage space.

Aaron spotted their targets approaching. Ukyou sighed and folded the paper up before deftly depositing it in one of the many interior pockets of her trenchcoat. She took a large bite of her lunch while sliding to her feet. She had to bend slightly to avoid hitting her head on another branch. Thankfully, she wouldn't have to stand like this for long, as the two were approaching quickly.

"Hello, can I have a minute of your time?" Ukyou called down once they were directly below.

Usagi stumbled to a halt with a startled squeak. The street she was walking down was practically abandoned at this time of day, a fact Ukyou was well aware of. The girl must be wondering where the voice that had called out to her had come from. Not really wanting to play with her too much, Ukyou cleared her throat loudly and called down, "Up here."

Usagi looked up, her long blonde pigtails whipping audibly and her large blue eyes blinking in confusion. The cat cradled in her arms looked up as well. It had human eyes. They weren't even slitted like a cat’s. For a moment, Ukyou's focus drifted, and she felt like she was falling. Then she shook her head and the feeling evaporated.

"Do you mean me?" Usagi asked in a small voice. Sometime during Ukyou's mental hiccup, Usagi had recovered from the shock of seeing a boy standing above her in a tree. She was even pointing timidly at herself, and her cheeks were red. Ukyou wondered if the wind made it seem colder when you weren't sheltered by a tree.

"Actually no, I was talking to your cat," Ukyou pointed out in a deadpan voice. Usagi laughed. The girl probably thought Ukyou was joking. Ukyou chuckled herself, remembering her brief conversation with Ranma this morning.

("I'm going with you!" he insisted.

"You really don't want to do that, Ranma."

"Yes I do."

"Trust me, you don't."

"What makes you think that?"

"I'm going to have a long conversation with a talking cat."

"Have fun! See you this evening!")

"I guess I have a few minutes to talk..." Usagi breathed with a small giggle. "If Luna doesn't mind." She held up the cat towards Ukyou, and the beast obligingly meowed. Ukyou rolled her eyes. She stepped out of the tree, plummeted four meters to the pavement below and landed on one foot without so much as a tremble. She felt her coat flap and billow behind her as it settled in the breeze her fall had created. Usagi made a small gleeful noise.

"That was so cool!"

"Uh, if you say so." Ukyou transferred her lunch to her bad hand and ran her freed fingers through her bangs. Seeing Usagi's eyes follow the motion, Ukyou held the surprisingly tasty concoction towards her. "I'm pretty full. You want the rest of this?"

"Sure!" Usagi cried and snatched it from her hand. Luna gave a screech of protest as she was unceremoniously dropped. Still, the cat managed to land with some semblance of grace. Usagi was blushing even harder now as she sniffed the okonomiyaki roll and bit into it. "Wow, this is really good," she said after chewing for a few seconds.

"Thanks," Ukyou replied with a short laugh. Maybe she should look into refining that recipe after all. "It's just something I came up wi-"

"Oh god! Your arm!"

Ukyou blinked at the girl's sudden exclamation. Then she remembered and looked down at her left arm. She guessed it would stand out. It wasn't like she could roll her sleeve down over it, with the fifty needles sticking through it at every angle, making it look like someone had turned her arm into a pincushion. Then again, if Doc Tofu hadn't been able to use his techniques to hold the arm together while it healed, it was likely it never would have. But even when the bones fully healed, the scars would remain. Five parallel gouges, the phantom remnants of the fingers of Jadeite as they had melted into her flesh.

"It looks worse than it is," Ukyou explained as she curled and uncurled the fingers of her wounded arm. "The needles are actually quickening the healing process."

"Wow..." Usagi stretched a finger towards one of the delicate silver needles and Ukyou jerked her arm back.

"They're very sensitive," Ukyou lied quickly. Remembering just how much of a klutz Usagi was, she wasn't about to risk it even if Tofu said touching them was safe. "I have to keep them relatively undisturbed."

"Oh..." Usagi backed away. She looked up at Ukyou's face and then down again, blushing suddenly. Ukyou tilted her head to the side, wondering what that was about. "You came to see me? Aren't you that boy from the papers and..."

Oh. That must be it. "Ah. Well, we've already been introduced but I guess we can do it again, if you insist," Ukyou shrugged. She stepped back and made a short bow. "I'm Ukyou Kuonji. And you are Usagi Tsukino, also known as Sailor Moon, also known as Princess Serenity also known as et cetera et cetera..."

"What?!" the girl shrieked and stepped back, her hands flying up. Ukyou watched her okonomiyaki-roll fly into the air and tumble towards the pavement. With a sigh she snapped her good hand out and snatched it.

"You dropped this," she pointed out as she handed the food back again. Usagi blushed again and grabbed it, clutching it with both hands so it wouldn't slip from her grasp.

"You must have me confused with someone else..." Usagi mumbled out.

"No. No, I don't," Ukyou shrugged. "But I didn't come to speak to you. Like I said, I came to speak to the cat." Ukyou turned her attention from the flustered girl and quickly spotted the small black cat standing nearby, watching her warily. Ukyou kneeled down and held her good hand out, palm up while she flashed her most winning smile. Luna quirked her head in a distinctly cat-like gesture, her ears flicking slightly. The golden cresecnt on her forehead caught the afternoon rays of the sun just right to make it sparkle a bit.

"Meow?" Luna said inquisitively. Ukyou let Aaron take over for a bit: he was always better with animals than with people. He fished a little treat from his coat and held it out to Luna, still smiling.

"Don't be coy with me," Ukyou said with a mock pout. "We can hardly have a civil discussion if all you do is meow at me." Aaron offered the treat again, and Luna seemed to consider it before walking over and licking it from her hand with her ticklish little red sandpaper tongue. Aaron flicked her fingers quickly and began to scratch the cat behind the ears. Luna rolled her head to the side, nudging a little closer and purring. "As much fun as this is, Luna, we really need to have an adult conversation."

The cat merely meowed and purred a bit more as Aaron used hands trained from twelve years of cat ownership to scratch and pet the moon cat with practised ease. Ukyou looked up at Usagi, who shrugged helplessly.

"Well, how do you get her to talk to you?" Ukyou said with a smirk.

"It’s getting her to shut up that's usually the problem!" Usagi laughed nervously.

Aaron scooped up the cat in the crook of his arm before it had a chance to scamper away and used Ukyou's bad hand to get to some serious petting. Not too hard, but not too soft either. In smooth, rhythmic strokes. That was the ticket. The little hedonist stretched and purred at the attention, occasionally shooting an accusatory 'why don't you do this' glare at Usagi.

"Luna, there's really no need to play at being a normal cat," Ukyou explained patiently. "I know all about you, the Sailor Senshi, the Silver Millennium and on down the line. In fact, I know more about all this than you do, which is the point of this meeting." She paused, but Luna only looked at her and meowed. "Okay, if you don't want the Ginzuishou, I guess I can find some use for it... maybe a paperweight or something..."

"The Ginzuisho!" the cat in her arms screeched aloud suddenly. Ukyou was taken aback for a moment. Luna sounded much too young... then she remembered that in the original Japanese the voice actress had gone for the typical saccharine headache-inducing voice, rather than the English version's mature, vaguely British matron's voice.

"It does speak," Ukyou laughed.

"Uh, surprise?" Usagi gulped.

"Don't worry, kid," Ukyou shrugged and allowed Aaron to resume petting Luna. "I'm on your side. Up until Jadeite decided to make this personal, I was content to sit out this little war. I think... no, I KNOW that you're more than capable of winning it on your own. I just want to tip the odds in your favour to repay this little debt the Dark Kingdom owes me." Ukyou waved her needle- perforated arm.

"How do you know all this?" Luna asked. It was weird watching the cat talk.

"I've seen the future," Ukyou shrugged easily.

"Really?" Usagi gasped. Luna looked more doubtful.

Addressing the cat, Ukyou explained. "You know about Sailor Pluto and the time gates. It's possible to travel back and forth to the future, so why can't I have seen it?"

"I suppose it's possible," Luna mused. "But the question then becomes how..."

"I just woke up like this one day." Ukyou frowned and looked up at the sky. The sun was drifting behind some thick white clouds. She hated thinking back to the day she had woken up with Aaron trapped in her skull. The day her life as she had known it had ended. "I didn't ask to be who I am now, I guess. Who does, really? I just have to learn to move forward, stop asking 'why?' and keep thinking 'what next?'"

"That's so deep," Usagi sighed. Ukyou shot her a look, but the girl had her eyes closed so she missed it completely. Ukyou shrugged it off, however. Usagi was destined to fall for Tuxedo What's-his-name, so it wasn't like she could be developing anything besides a harmless crush on her. And Ukyou was fine with women who let their gazes linger on her from afar. As long as it never really went beyond that... but that line of thought was making both her and Aaron uncomfortable, so she quashed it.

"The point is that I can help you a great deal," Ukyou continued. "Now you can look this gift horse in the mouth, or you can trust me and make this war of yours a lot shorter and easier."

"I suppose we can trust you..." Luna murmured uncertainly.

"Great!" Ukyou scratched her just under the chin as a reward. "I don't blame you for being apprehensive. I certainly would be, if the roles were reversed."

"What do you want for this help, anyway?" Luna asked sharply.

"Nothing," Ukyou replied with a shrug.

"Nothing? You can't expect me to believe that." Luna frowned. It was a far too human expression. She really did look nothing like a cat at all, at least when it came to her face.

"Believe what you want," Ukyou responded coolly. "Let's get down to business. First Luna, we'll need the... uh, Rainbow Moon Wand? Cutie Moon Dream Rod? I keep forgetting the name of that thing..."

"The what?"

"Just a sec..." Ukyou knelt down and deposited the cat on the ground. Once her good hand was free, she slipped it into one of her many interior pockets and retrieved her small sketchpad. "This thing," she said as she flipped it open to the correct page. She displayed the picture to Luna. It was crudely done, by her standards, but showed all the important features. The crescent moon top, the delicate handle, the circular connection with the three gems inset and so on.

"The Moon Stick..." Luna blinked.

"That's it!" Ukyou smiled. "Could you do the backflip thing and give the... stick to Usagi here? We're going to need it if we're going to fetch all the Rainbow Crystals." Ukyou paused and looked over at Usagi. "You might want to transform; we're going to be busy today, and it'll require a lot of explaining if I have to carry you from place to place."

Ukyou turned back to Luna before she could note Usagi's reaction. She was just in time to see the cat finish her graceful backflip. A swirl of silvery sparks floated in her wake like a tiny galaxy, coalescing together in a single point. With a final flash the 'Moon Stick'

(God, what an awful name)

materialised. The gaudy device floated just above the pavement.

"Well, it's your royal heritage, Sailor Moon." Ukyou stood up and ran a hand through her bangs. Usagi stepped forward, reaching out with a trembling hand, and retrieved the device.

"This stick is a very dangerous weapon," Luna pointed out to Usagi as she held it up. "But also a miraculous tool for peace. Its function depends on the character of the user as much as the magic within it. Having it and using it are great responsibilities, and you should take them seriously."

"And you work on remembering how to use that thing to remove the Rainbow Crystal from someone without turning them into monsters," Ukyou shot to Luna as she put away her sketchbook, while retrieving a similar notepad from one of her other pockets. "Now, we have to meet with a man known as Game Machine Joe..."

*

Shampoo sat in the small room.  The chair was uncomfortable, and she knew that was deliberate.  She had been waiting, she guessed, for over two hours, and that too was certainly deliberate.  That, however, wasn't what made her angry.

Angry?  No, that wasn't a strong enough word.  Enraged.  That was what she was.  Every time she closed her eyes, even to blink, she saw that face, that face she hated more than anything else in the world.

Ranma.  Ranma.  Ranma.  That damnable foreign girl.  Who had come to her village uninvited, eaten the feast Shampoo had won for once again becoming the champion of the Nyuuchezu's village tournament, and...

Humiliated her.  Humiliated HER.  Shampoo!  The greatest, most promising warrior of her village!  That damn girl had accepted her outraged challenge, and, before she had known it, Shampoo was beaten.  Just like that.  In front of the entire village, her victory had turned to ashes, her pride into shame.

She had thought she couldn't possibly hate Ranma even more, that there was nothing the foreign girl could do to possibly shame her further.  But she had been wrong.  Which was why she was sitting here now.  Because of Ranma. That damn coward!  But it wasn't the end.  Not yet.  She wouldn't let it end like this, no matter what happened.  She closed her eyes, seeing that smirking Japanese face before her.

Shampoo was going to enjoy watching Ranma die.

"Great-granddaughter, have you come home to fight a battle?  I warn you; I won't tolerate your wrecking my furniture."

Shampoo's head snapped up, her eyes opening again.  Great-grandmother Cologne was there now.  She hadn't heard the old woman enter, but that was normal.  Great-grandmother was perched on her staff; Shampoo couldn't read her expression, but she got a sense of displeasure from her body language.  But then, that wasn't surprising, under the circumstances.

"Let us get straight to the point, great-granddaughter.  Why have you returned?"

Shampoo felt her cheeks burn.  She hadn't wanted to come back, to compound her humiliation.  But the only alternative was unacceptable.  "I had no choice.  The girl, Ranma," she spit the name, "escaped across the ocean to Japan.  I..."  She gritted her teeth.  It was hard to admit her failure.  "I am unable to follow her there, as I don't know their language.  I need help if I'm going to find her."

Great-grandmother took a long draw on her pipe, and then exhaled slowly. Her face crinkled a bit.  "I believe there once was a little girl who informed her elders that she did not NEED to learn Japanese."

Shampoo flushed further.  But then, great-grandmother was right.  She hadn't thought anything like this could happen.  "I am sorry, great-grandmother."

"Sorry about not learning Japanese, or sorry for invoking an ancient custom you now cannot wriggle your way out of?"

"I will NOT wriggle out of it!" Shampoo snapped.  "I will hunt down-"

"Then, if you are not trying to wriggle out of it, why have you returned empty-handed to ask for my help?"

Shampoo swallowed her anger as best she could.  "I want to find Ranma. I will find Ranma.  But in that foreign country, I can't ask anyone of her whereabouts.  I need some way to communicate.  I know you can help me with that, so I am humbly begging..." She rose from the chair and then kneeled before the elder.  "I am humbly begging for you to help me."

Great-grandmother paused for a moment, obviously considering.  Shampoo remained in her supplicant position.  She had almost prostrated herself, but... even for great-grandmother, even for this, she couldn't do that.

When the elder spoke again, her voice was toneless, revealing nothing.

"Precisely what do you know of this... Ranma?"

Shampoo blinked.  Why did she ask that?  "I... don't know very much, great-grandmother.  She is a fast, tricky one.  Many times I thought to have caught her, but she and her pet panda would vanish right from under my nose." She paused, considering what else she had observed.  "She's a shameless one. Once I found her after bathing; she was strutting around topless for anyone to see."

"Right after bathing, you say?"  Cologne's voice was sharp.  "Bathing where?"

"Umm... why do you want to know?"

"Because there are things about Ranma that I suspect."

Shampoo was beginning to worry about her great-grandmother.  Perhaps old age was finally beginning to tell?  "I... don't really know where.  It was in a river... close to Shanghai?"

"A river, hmm?  Interesting..."  The old woman puffed seriously on her pipe.

Perhaps it would have been better to simply sneak in at night and borrow what she needed.  Except Shampoo didn't really know what she needed...

Cologne looked at her again.  "Tell me... you've fought this girl several times.  Has she ever done anything... strange in your battles?"

"Umm... strange?"

"Things that normal girls don't do to other girls.  Especially when fighting."

At first, Shampoo had thought great-grandmother was acting a little senile, focusing on meaningless trivia.  Now, she didn't know what to think.

"Umm... no.  Not that I ever noticed, no."

"What about the panda?"

"Umm..."

"Stop saying 'umm', child, it's undignified."

"Great-grandmother, are you feeling all right?"

"Yes, yes, perfectly fine," she snapped impatiently.  "Now answer the question."

"I never... uh... noticed the panda doing anything strange, no.  Except for the fact it walked around on its hind legs and talked to Ranma using signs. And ate human food.  And drank human tea... in fact, it also MADE the tea."  Now that she thought about it, it really was a very strange panda.  But why on earth did great-grandmother care?  "It kept running away with Ranma, too.  It was very fast, for a panda."

"Shampoo, what would you say if I told you that this person you've been trying to kill is actually a man?"

Shampoo stared.  Wonderful.  Great-grandmother had totally lost it.  Why couldn't she have waited just one more day for senility to set in?  "Great-grandmother," she said in her most patient tone, "That is silly.  I told you, I saw this girl almost naked."

"Yes, yes, but that hardly matters, child."

Shampoo felt the beginnings of a headache coming on, but kept her voice steady and tried not to grit her teeth too much.  "Yes, great-grandmother, it does.  She was not at all fat enough to have those on her chest.  It was definitely a girl."

The old woman chuckled. "Ah, the naivete of youth.  Just for a moment, Shampoo, forget what it was you saw and believe what I say.  What would you do, if Ranma were a man?"

She decided to play along, for now.  Needed to get the help.  Had to remember that.  "Well... I guess, if Ranma were a man, then I'd have to marry him."  Except it would be hard to marry a corpse, which Ranma was very soon to be, but she kept that to herself.

"So that would be your decision?"

"No," she said firmly.  "That's the law.  My decision is to hunt down Ranma and pin her to the ground like a squealing pig, then-"

"Yes, yes, child."  She waved absently.  "But what I'm saying is that if this Ranma is a boy, you are going to marry him, for that is the law, and you chose to observe the ancient laws?"

Shampoo sighed.  "If somehow that was true, I... suppose I would have to do it.  But I'd rather just kill him...HER!  Now you've got me saying it!" she added a little resentfully.

"Well, then, that settles that, I suppose."  Cologne nodded vigourously.

"Now that this game of make-believe is over, can you please help me, great-grandmother?  I want to be back after Ranma as soon as possible."

"Of course I can help you, child.  We leave in the morning."

Shampoo blinked.  "We?"

"We."

"But why would you come along?"

"If you can tell me the true secret of Jyusenkyou, I will answer that question for you."

Shampoo wanted to break something.  A lot of somethings.  Violently. She wished her favourite identical twin punching bags were here.  "Jyusenkyou is a forbidden place.  Nobody goes there, so who cares what secrets it has?  What does that have to do with anything?"

"I fear that is a question you will have to discover the answer to yourself, child."

*

The water rolled over her body in a gentle river. The soft trickle of it was soothing, almost hypnotic. Her eyes almost closed from their own weight once or twice as she lay there waiting. Her body felt weak. Weaker than it ever had before. She could feel her physical self, her very essence, threatening to unravel. That was why she could not allow herself to fall into sleep. Sleep was death. Sleep was giving up. Sleep meant she would never have her revenge.

She clawed at the porous stone around her, finding thin handholds. Moaning, she pulled with all her strength, and slowly her face and then her entire body emerged from the soft trickle of the grey water. Her other hand reached out blindly, groping, until she felt it settle on one of the iron rungs of the nearby ladder. The ladder led up to the light. The unforgiving light...

She took stock of her surroundings with a single glare. Tethys was not familiar with human customs, but even she could recognise a sewer when she saw one. She snorted. It was an appropriate place. She hardly even remembered dragging herself to this dank pit to escape. The last clear memory she had was of ripping the ward from Jadeite's...

A shudder ran up her body. What was this feeling? Sorrow? A human failing! No, it must be anger and rage, but unlike any she had felt before. And the reason for that was equally clear. Always in the past, she had been the cat with the mouse. When her anger grew, she merely killed the mouse and was done with it. But now that was beyond her ability. The mouse was out of her reach, and her anger was growing. This feeling, then, was anger gone sour from age. The all-consuming need for revenge. Yes, if she could revenge herself upon those who had taken everything from her, she would feel better.

She tapped her critically low reserves and forced herself to begin climbing. She would never get her revenge in this sewer. Tethys needed energy to restore herself to her full strength. And she needed more than that. Jadeite had been brimming with power, power she had hardly seen even in the hands of Queen Beryl, and still he had lost. Clearly, power alone was not enough.

So what secret did this Ukyou command that would allow her to topple so mighty a man as Jadeite? Tethys forced down another bout of sour rage at the thought of his ignominious death. She had not seen it herself, but she knew the truth of what had happened. All she needed to know now was the method.

Metal rasped against stone as Tethys lifted the cover of her sanctuary free. As she climbed out she noted that night had swallowed the land above, its darkness feebly held back by the light of a street lamp she had glimpsed from the bottom of the ladder. That too suited her mood. She stumbled over to the nearest wall and leaned against it. She was taking a great risk by coming out in the open like this. In her natural form, she was quite conspicuous and lacked any ability to blend in with the humans. But the need outweighed the risk. She appeared to be in some narrow, dirty, untraveled backroad of the city. There were no humans to see her.

As if summoned by her thoughts, she felt two radiant energy sources enter the alleyway. She shied back, hiding behind a trash receptacle. She need not have bothered. The humans were totally intent on each other. The male was draped over the female. His rumpled suit was partially removed. The female wore very little herself, and what she did wear seemed designed to come off with very little force. Tethys would have sneered, had she a mouth with which to do it. It appeared she had stumbled upon a human mating ritual.

That was good. She knew from long study that one of the human energy peaks occurred during their mating. It was so unlike mating with her kind. For the youma, sex was about dominance and power. You took who you wanted when you wanted, to show that you were higher on the magical food chain than they were. Humans seemed to get some bizarre pleasure out of it for its own sake, without it proving anything. She almost pitied them.

She would have no better opportunity than now. Gathering up the very last of her reserves, Tethys stepped around the dumpster and strode purposefully towards the pair. They were much too involved in their activity to notice her. That suited her fine. Once she reached them, her hands pistoned out and grabbed both by their necks. Screams died stillborn in their throats as Tethys cut off their oxygen. Then she began to feed.

The essence of the two humans flowed into her body in a viscous cloud. She felt the strange tang of human arousal in their energy, now mixed with the sweet ambrosia of human terror. She drank in their power, growing slowly in strength. She continued feeding long after the humans had lost consciousness, long after their bodies died. She continued feeding until there was nothing left of these two fools but withered husks that she dropped to the pavement.

It was glorious. She hadn't fed like that... since... since before Serenity had banished all her kind beneath a cold arctic prison. She paused to exult in the feeling of it. Why had she denied herself like this for so long?

The answer came to her immediately. Because for millennia, there had been nothing to feed off of but her fellow youma. And while destroying your fellows was permissible in certain circumstances, it had become a serious crime once Queen Beryl realised that such cannibalism only weakened her forces in the long run. So they had all learned to feed in moderation. To hold back their hunger. They had become so good at it that ritual had become habit had become instinct. Now, if she had a mouth, she would have smiled. To hell with that lesser feeding. From now on, she would feast!

Tethys laughed as she evoked her glamour and cloaked herself in the appearance of a human being. She then strode out into the neon-lit streets of the human city. So many meals... no. She had to be quiet. The Sailor Senshi still patrolled this city, and they had an unsightly talent for turning up at the worst possible times. She would have to feed sporadically, never in the same place twice. It would not do to encounter her adversaries again until she was ready.

That left her only with the need to find some place to stay. Once, she could have simply returned to her home, but she knew that would now be suicide. Even if Queen Beryl did not vapourise her on the spot for being part of such a disaster, Zoicite would never forget what Tethys had cost him, and his revenge would involve a much more agonisingly slow demise. She was on her own. Just her versus the human Ukyou.

She started down the street, whistling a tune that had ceased to exist on this planet thousands of years ago. She would find out the secret of Ukyou's power and turn it against the boy. Strong and resourceful he might be, but he was still just a human. Once the playing field between them had been levelled, there could be only one outcome to their next encounter.

*

"Mysterious Hero Saves City!"

That's what the headline said, emblazoned in a huge typeface right above the picture of Ukyou battling with Jadeite that took up about half of the front page.  The other, more "respectable" papers had been a little less overtly enthusiastic.  They'd also cribbed from Ran Hibiki's - that added Rival Schools to the series' he knew existed - original story without shame (or credit). Chris wondered if that backhanded acknowledgement had pleased or annoyed her.

The other papers had toned things down, left out a few details, or given different spins on the facts of Ran's article, but they were faithful enough that Chris figured Ran's original 'extra special publication issue' had to be fairly accurate.  And that was something that worried him a great deal.

From the story and accompanying photographs, he had gotten the gist. Nearly a week ago, Ukyou, Ranma, Akane, Ryouga and the Sailor Senshi (well, the first three Senshi) had fought Jadeite and some youma, to rescue Nabiki.  That should have been an unholy beatdown, and in fact it was, but on the wrong end. Jadeite was somehow superpowered, and he took out pretty much everyone before Ukyou had made a 'miraculous' come-from-behind victory.  The next part, only Ran had mentioned, and she was very vague on the details, but apparently there'd been some sort of argument between Ukyou and her friends and the Senshi; then they'd gone their separate ways.

He leaned back in the chair, massaging his temples.  What a lovely mess to come home to.  First off, Ukyou was apparently assembling herself a nice little army to go fight menaces with, which didn't exactly make him feel terribly secure.  Even more importantly, Ukyou was messing around in the Sailor Moon plotline.  Chris really didn't know the series very well - certainly not compared to Ranma 1/2 - but he did know that they would be responsible for saving the world from destruction not once, but several times.  As well, the sort of foes they fought were generally paranormal magical beings of great power; not, by any stretch of the imagination, Ukyou's area of expertise.  So what was she thinking, messing around with the plot of a series upon which the fate of the world rested?

"Hey," came the voice from over his shoulder.  "You've been staring at those papers ever since you got that weedy little guy to get them.  Do you know that person, over?"

He glanced back, unsurprised to see Pink.  "Yeah, I know her, more or less.  I just don't know what happened, or why."

"Well, seems like what happened is pretty weird," Pink noted.  "Does stuff like this happen in Japan all the time, over?"

He turned around in the chair with a shrug, noted idly from the corner of his eye that Link was at the back of the room, apparently talking in a low voice to a potted plant.  "More or less," he replied to Pink, "It's pretty weird here."

"So what's the problem?  If you know her, go ask her what happened, over."

He chuckled.  "I'd try, but she'd probably attack me on sight.  Not everyone's as tolerant of my condition as you are."  Pink seemed to find that very amusing.  "I take it you two have looked around by now, then.  How did you find the gardens?"

"Acceptable, over," noted Link curtly.  She didn't look at him.

"You have some interesting plants," grinned Pink, "even if they're all pretty normal, over."

"Good good.  You two can plant whatever you like, as long as you leave the plants I noted alone.  I need them on occasion."

"So you need to paralyse people," Pink smirked.  It wasn't a question. "I wonder what for, over?"

"Not for what you think," he quickly replied.  "It's simply a good way to keep me out of fights I don't want to get into."

"Of course," came the smug response.  "And speaking of that, what are you going to do about your little problem, over?"

"Actually," he said, rising to his feet, "I think I have an idea about that."  It was true Ukyou probably wouldn't even listen to him, much less answer his questions... but there was someone else who might.  "I'll need to go out for a little bit.  Don't get into trouble while I'm gone."

"Of course not, over," said Pink, and smiled.

*

"...the only thing that makes sense!"

"Ranma, first off, that's crazy. Second off, you're crazy for thinking that up. Third off, you're even crazier if you think I'm going to entertain the idea for a minute."

"Then I hope you have a better idea, because that's all I can come up with."

"Don't you believe the explanation Ukyou already gave us?"

"Of course I do but... oh, hi, Nabiki."

Nabiki nodded in acknowledgement. Ranma had come around the corner first, followed shortly thereafter by her little sister. The two rarely even talked to each other during school hours. Except to talk about HIM. Nabiki felt her neutral expression turning sour as she thought about it.

"So, uh, nice day and all, huh?" Ranma shot his mouth into the uncomfortable silence that had descended over the three of them. Nabiki just turned around and began to walk in the other direction. She did not need their empty pleasantries. She definitely did not need to be reminded of how conversations about Ukyou stopped the moment she entered the room.

"Nabiki, wait up!"

Nabiki didn't stop at her sister's shout. She did not stop until Akane grabbed her elbow and pulled on her gently. Only then did Nabiki pause and look down at the offending hand. Akane snapped it away quickly, a distinct metallic 'ching' sound accompanying her movement. There was some sort of bulge under the sleeves of her uniform, something she was hiding.

"What do you want, Akane?" Nabiki allowed a layer of frost to coat her words. Akane blinked but smiled.

"I just wanted to talk. We are still sisters, aren't we?" Nabiki refused to look at her little sister's smile any longer. The smile was infectious. Akane had been flashing it all over the house the last few days. She was always finding some excuse to be close to Nabiki and talk to her like they were suddenly best pals. And the topic of conversation always returned to how Akane was going to 'be there' for Nabiki when she needed her. It always focused on how Akane wanted to 'look out' for her and 'make sure you're safe' and how 'thanks to Ukyou, I'm a lot stronger now!'

"I think your friend is waiting for you." Nabiki pointed with her chin over Akane's shoulder. Sure enough, the man of the hour was standing at the gate, or on it to be more precise. Everyone was gathered around the pedestal he had climbed up on, shouting and waving for his attention, but he ignored them. His gaze was entirely fixed upon Ranma and Akane... and her. Nabiki knew that it was impossible at this distance, but she imagined their eyes met for just a moment and Nabiki saw mockery in those eyes. It wasn't much of a stretch. Ukyou had made no secret of his feelings for her.

Nabiki remembered clearly how she had walked, alone, into Ukyou's hospital room. The boy had been leaning against a pillow, his arm filled with tiny needles. He had looked over at her, and before Nabiki could say anything had opened right up with "You don't need to apologise, Nabiki. Just never fuck with forces you can't understand again. Okay?"

Apologise! The nerve of that arrogant little prick. Her hand tightened on her bookbag until her knuckles turned white.

"Nabiki, it doesn't have to be like this," Akane sighed. "Ukyou is a nice... guy, and if you just give him a chance..."

"I'm certain he is," Nabiki stepped away from her sister and turned her back. Hearing her sister defend that man made her nauseous. "So go have fun with him, if he's so nice. And take my 'fiancee' with you."

Nabiki heard Akane call out to her a few more times before she rounded the corner of the building, but there was no pursuit this time. Once she was out of eyesight, Nabiki turned and placed her hands against the wall. She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing back the tears she knew were threatening beneath her eyelids. Nabiki hated feeling like this. She hated feeling like she didn't know what was going on. She hated being lied to. She hated...

She hated feeling afraid.

There, she'd admitted it. She felt afraid and helpless. She knew better than to blame her recent string of humiliations and life-threatening dangers directly on Ukyou, but he was their source nonetheless. He was the one who had dragged her kicking and screaming into his world. He was the one who had made her - Nabiki! - into the victim in his little dramas. Well, it was time to stop being the helpless one.

She took one final cleansing breath and stepped away from the wall. She glared around her at the few loitering students who had been watching her, and they scattered. She dismissed them from her mind. Her reputation in this school was already shot to hell; there was little else she could do to ruin it now. Despite her best efforts, her 'engagement' to Saotome had leaked out, and his curse had also leaked out. Now that she found herself tied to him, and through him to Ukyou, she was the target of all the school's gossip and not the source. She had heard every rumor imaginable. From those which suggested that Nabiki was Ukyou's secret lover, to the ones which suggested that the only reason she was with Ranma was because of his female side. The latter had grown a strong set of legs, considering how much Nabiki went out of her way to avoid Ranma at school, where he managed to maintain his manhood most of the time.

These thoughts flew through her head and were dismissed as unimportant. She quickly strode back into the school. The halls were empty but not silent, as the unlucky students were still within their classrooms cleaning them up. She walked briskly past the doors to all the classes without pausing. Then she walked straight into the library.

The library was one of the few parts of the campus that was open after school hours. Along with the gymnasium, the library had its own entrance and exit into the school grounds, and students were allowed - indeed, encouraged - to come after hours to cram for finals or work on near-due projects. The librarian was a sleepy, fat little man with an awful comb-over and a nasal voice. But he spent all his time behind his desk playing solitaire, and ignored everything that happened in the rest of the small library. So Nabiki was not worried about him interfering with her.

She spotted her prey easily and walked quickly over to him. Zaitochi was a rabbit of a boy. His build was slim, his eyes beady and his nose had a tendency to twitch when he got nervous. He was also a fabulous sprinter, thanks to his years of evading pursuits from bullies in one school after another. Despite all that, he was gregarious and intelligent. He often helped others with their homework, charging only mild fees for his impressive tutoring skills.

"Zaitochi," Nabiki called once she was standing behind him. The boy started and spun his head to see her. His nose twitched, and his entire body tensed as if to flee. Then he saw her and relaxed.

"Nabiki," he sighed. "Don't sneak up on me like that."

"I need it."

Zaitochi raised an eyebrow at her simple statement. Then his eyes widened and he thumbed the side of his nose as comprehension dawned.

"I'm not finished translating."

"How much have you finished?"

"Almost all of it, actually," he admitted as he turned back in his seat. He produced a bookbag from under his table and placed it next to him. A few seconds of blind groping within and he pulled out two manila folders. Nabiki strode around to the other side of the table and sat herself down. It would look to any curious onlookers as if she was just getting homework advice. "The trick is reassembling all the damaged portions. Some of it is beyond retrieval, but not all of it. I have to use a lot of educated guesswork to fill in the blanks. Unfortunately, the fire left it so that without that educated guesswork, a lot of it's been useless."

"You've been reading it," Nabiki said with a frown. Of course he had been reading it. How else was he supposed to translate it? She had also forgotten about Zaitochi's inquisitive streak. But he was the only person she knew who spoke fluent English - a legacy of his grandfather, who had been an American soldier.

"Some of it is very fascinating," Zaitochi explained as he flipped open one of the folders and pointed to the top page. "This, for instance, seems to be a timeline... for events that haven't happened yet."

"What?" Nabiki grabbed the paper and swung it around to face her. Zaitochi's neat, simple handwriting had translated a list out in kana, with dates and notes attached.

"Yes," the boy leaned forward and his nose twitched. "It talks about the election in America this fall. Claims Clinton is going to win." Nabiki only paid passing attention to American politics, but since she knew Bush was the current president, she guessed Clinton was the other guy. "It also has the results for the next two elections, and the elections in Canada as well. It also has some data on who is going to be prime minister of England, Germany and even Japan. Though the data is missing or lax on a lot of countries, but that might be because of the damage."

"That isn't anything special," Nabiki pointed out. "Just someone playing at politics."

"And sports, and economics, and warfare," Zaitochi pointed out. "Look at this." He tapped a part of the paper.

"Tokyo, 1996... Sarin Nerve Gas Attack In Subway...?" Nabiki read aloud. "What is this?"

"I don't know," Zaitochi admitted. "But there is a lot of other stuff in there. And a lot of it is pretty specific. Stuff about a 'dotcom crash' on Wall Street, some sort of big terrorist attack in New York in 2001, wars in Serbia and Mogadishu and Afganistan and Iraq... pretty scary stuff."

"Scary stuff," Nabiki repeated as she read down the page, and the next five pages as well. There was too much data here, covering too many different things, for this to all just be speculation. But what did it mean? "What else was there?"

"A profile of you," Zaitochi said as he flipped the page for her.

"Nabiki Tendo; Age Seventeen, Middle Tendo Daughter... Mostly Harmless?"

"That's what it says."

"But... mostly harmless?" Nabiki didn't know whether to feel insulted or not.

"There was a picture that accompanied the profile," Zaitochi pointed out. "From what survived of it, it looked like a good likeness."

"Were there more?"

"Yes. Profiles of your sisters, and Ranma, and Kunou... and profiles of people I've never met before." He looked up at her. "Do we have a principal? I can't recall ever seeing him."

"He's on some sort of extended leave of absence." Nabiki shrugged. "Has been since before I came here. The vice-principal runs the school, and seems to be doing an okay job. I think there are statues of the guy somewhere on campus."

"Well, I think whoever wrote this has met him," Zaitochi flipped a few pages. "Here: Principal Kunou; Age Unknown, Father of Tatewaki Kunou, Hawaii fetish, obession with haircuts, general nuisance." Nabiki gave him a long look. "I'm not the one who wrote all this. A lot of the profiles were badly burned. I have some names to go with some pictures and a few snippets of descriptions."

He leaned back and laced his hands behind his neck. "But you may want to keep flipping forward. I put a special surprise a few pages in. I'm sure you'll realise what it is when you get to it."

Nabiki gave him a long look, but complied. He was right; it didn't take her long to figure out what the surprise was. It was a single piece of the burned notebook, almost intact. On it was a picture of a man, or three pictures. One facial shot, one full body shot and a profile. Next to it was a stream of neat little English letters. Zaitochi hadn't translated the English to kana on a seperate page, he'd just written down the translation in the ample white space left over.

"Jadeite," Nabiki read to herself as her stomach sank. She recognised that face. She still saw it in her nightmares. Saw it leaning across the table from her with dark hunger in his eyes... she shook off the image and continued reading. "The first of four Generals of the Dark Kingdom. Prefers to engage opponents through proxy by use of 'youmas', a sort of parasitic malevolent entity. Jadeite is defeated for the final time at the Narita Airport..." she trailed off. "No way."

"Heh, my thoughts exactly," Zaitochi said from behind a grin. "You gave me this notebook three whole days before the battle at Narita."

"Who are you?" Nabiki said as she looked down at the notepaper in her hands. Zaitochi didn't catch the meaning of her question, so he remained silent. Finally Nabiki stood up, reached into her pocket and extracted a large roll of bills. She slammed it down on the table. Normally, getting her to actually pay her own money for something was like pulling teeth.  Not this time. "Have you finished translating all the text?"

"Technically, yes," Zaitochi said with a frown.

"Then I have no further need of your services."

"But what am I supposed to do about..."

"Nothing," Nabiki said as she gathered up both folders. "Forget you ever saw these."

"I can hardly do that," the boy chuckled.

"I suggest you figure out a way," Nabiki advised icily. "I have a little sister and a fiancé who can help me survive this insanity. Do you know anyone willing and able to do the same for you?"

Zaitochi blinked, staring at her for a moment. Then slowly his face drained of all colour. "You mean..." he croaked.

"Keep this to yourself, don't speak of it to anyone but me." She paused. "In fact, you'd best not ever speak to me again. You should forget you ever saw this. It's too dangerous."

"I see..."

Nabiki didn't wait to see his reaction. She had already stowed the papers in her bookbag and started towards the exit. She really did hope the boy followed her advice, and never tried to follow up on what he had learned from this notebook. Just being associated with Ukyou Kuonji was dangerous, triply so for mere mortals like herself and Zaitochi. What danger could you lead yourself into if you knew his secrets?

Nabiki fully intended to find out. She would go carefully, but she would go forward. There was simply no other conceivable direction.

*

Tofu Ono balanced the tray of drinks with one hand, pocketing a jar of burn ointment with the other. He nodded politely to one of the workmen as he stepped out of the way. The men Ukyou had hired to work on getting his clinic rebuilt were decent, hard-working fellows from what he could tell, and they seemed to be ahead of schedule. He called out a cheerful greeting to a few of the people in the neighbourhood as he walked around the block to the vacant lot. He was glad everyone had understood his circumstances. It meant he wouldn't lose any customers, at the very least.

"Doctor Tofu!" Tsubasa cried out as she stepped out of a mailbox along his route. Ono took her appearance in good humour. After seeing the young Saotome boy change gender at the slightest shower, he figured there was no reason to be surprised about how strange Ukyou's friends were. "Are you going to visit Ukyou?"

"Bringing her friends and her a drink," Ono replied as he continued along. Tsubasa fell into step behind him. She was a rather cute girl, her long brown hair decorated by a single large yellow bow. She was wearing a deep navy blue school uniform, which fit her well but left her looking curiously underdeveloped for a girl her age. At least she wasn't wearing the giant mutant street sign with the suction cup feet outfit. That one had been vaguely disturbing.

The first thing Ono heard as he stepped into the clearing was the crackle of the bonfire. Ranma sat cross-legged in front of it, staring into the flames that roared slightly taller than his head. Sweat rolled down his cheeks, but whether it was from the heat or from his obviously intense concentration, Ono couldn't say. He noted the boy's aura was much more focused today than it had been the day before. Despite his own incredulity, Ukyou's training seemed to be producing results.

"Hey, Doc," Ranma called out as he looked up for a minute. He grinned, and cracked his knuckles. "Check this out!" Ono obliged him and paused while Tsubasa stepped around the fire without stopping. Ranma reached back with one hand and then thrust it into the bonfire, again and again. Ono could follow the motion of his hand, but only after reflexively enhancing his vision with a bit of chi. To a normal human, Ranma's arm would have disappeared into a red blur.

"Gotcha!" Ranma cried triumphantly as he held up a double handful of steaming chestnuts. "Heh. This ain't so tough."

"Very good, Ranma." Ono coughed politely. "Your sleeve is on fire."

"ACK!" Ranma dropped the chestnuts back into the flames and began to beat at his burning clothes. Unfortunately, his frantic waving was only fanning the flames. Sighing, Ono flipped one of the glasses from his tray towards the boy. Seconds later Ranma was female and covered in sticky lemonade, but at least he wasn't on fire.

Ono still found the transformation itself fascinating. If he could study how it worked, he could expand his knowledge of magic a great deal. Of course, he doubted Ranma would like being treated like a guinea pig. Therefore, the subject had never been brought up.

"Thanks, Doc," Ranma grumbled. She rolled up her charred sleeves, trying to salvage some of her outfit. Ono noted the burns on her palms and knuckles and refrained from clucking his tongue in disappointment. His father had passed that habit along to him, but Ono always made sure to repress it. The less he acted like his father, the better, all things considered.

"Don't worry about it, Ranma," Ono called. He fetched the burn ointment from his back pocket and handed it to the boy as he passed. "Here." Ranma thanked him as Ono stepped past the bonfire into the clearing proper. Ono wasn't really worried about the boy injuring himself. Not only did he have a chi-enhanced resistance to damage, but he healed with amazing alacrity.

"-don't think so much about your attacks, Akane," Ukyou's voice faded into hearing as Ono stepped away from the roaring flame. The girl was dressed in a pair of loose slacks and a button-up shirt. As usual, she was concealing her feminine traits with remarkable ability. Akane was on the ground at her feet and Ukyou was offering the other girl a hand up. Akane's yellow training gi was stained with dirt and sweat, and her forehead shone with a light sheen as she took deep breaths. Ukyou appeared immaculate in comparison.

"Easy for you to say," Akane groused good-naturedly.

"It isn't about knowing your enemy, Akane," Ukyou pointed out once the other girl was back on her feet. Her voice had taken on the strangely gentle steel edge that Ono had begun to call her 'teaching voice'. "It's about knowing yourself, and trusting in that. You can't be second-guessing yourself in the middle of a battle. You have to commit yourself totally to an action. If you don't... your chi won't respond."

"So when I try to hit-"

"Do or do not, there is no try," Ukyou quoted happily. "You can't doubt that your attack is going to hit." Ukyou stepped away from her and began a slow kata. Ono watched her, as her aura snapped tight and focused. "The key to accessing your chi is knowing that it will respond." She began to speed up her technique. Her aura was taut and almost crackled around her, barely any leaking away from her body. Ono was impressed. He had never actually gotten a chance to see Ukyou use her aura like that. All his tutelage had focused on imparting knowledge of the accelerated healing techniques to her. He hadn't even taught her about his Five Chakra theory, but she was definitely focusing almost solely through her Wind Chakra. "Chi is not a force we bend to our will, Akane. It does not come to our command. It flows to match our desire! You can't just want it, or wish it... you have to need it, rely on it... make it a part of you!"

By the time Ukyou completed her speech, she was blurring through the motions of her kata. Her aura had leaked into the visible spectrum and sheathed her body in a quiet white glow. But there was something... an emptiness in her spirit that Ono could just barely make out. But before he could focus further, she had ceased her exercise and turned back to Akane. Her aura returned to its normal state.

"Wow! That was way too cool, Ukyou!" Tsubasa cried as she ran up to her old friend. Ukyou seemed to brace herself for the girl to leap on her, but Tsuabasa stopped a few steps away and just clasped her hands together as she bounced on her heels.

"Hey, Fungus," Ukyou said in her deadpan tone. Akane had asked Ukyou about that nickname a few days back, but Ukyou had just responded that it was 'a long story' and refused to explain further. Tsubasa always frowned when Ukyou called her that. "Okay... let's go through the list." Ukyou held up five fingers. "One; I will not go out with you today. Two; I will not change my mind. Three; yes, just going for a walk counts as a date. Four; I am flattered by your love letter, but can not accept it. Five; I am not interested in talking about any of the above." Ukyou lowered a finger after each point until she was holding up a fist. "Does that about cover the usual idiocy?"

"Ukyou, you can't mean to be so mean!" Tsubasa pouted. Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears. "Ever since I found you again, you've done nothing but be mad at me."

"Ever consider the reason I didn't leave a forwarding address was because I didn't want to be found by you?" Ukyou grumbled and sat down. "Ono," Ukyou called as she turned her attention away from the girl. "Why don't you sit down while I start up lunch?"

"Ukyou, look... you're making Tsubasa cry," Akane pointed out in a slightly chiding tone.

"Some people just don't understand gentle rejection," Ukyou said with a glare at her old 'friend'. "I've been turning down Tsubasa for almost three months."

"But I love you, Ukyou!"

"Indeed?" Ukyou crossed her arms. "The only reason you pursued me so much was because you were the only person at my old school that knew my secret."

"Wait a minute..." Ono was slightly surprised to see Ranma sitting nearby. He had missed the boy-turned-girl's approach somehow. "You know Ukyou's not a guy?"

"Well, of course," Tsubasa said. She then did a double take and stared hard at Ranma's breasts. "Wait... weren't YOU a guy?"

"And I still am!" Ranma growled and made a fist. Ono smiled, but concealed it by pretending he had lost his grip on the lemonade tray. Ukyou didn't bother to conceal her smile as she set up her mobile grill.

"Wow... that's impressive!" Tsubasa smiled and leaned forward. Ranma sat in a sort of stunned horror as the girl reached out and began to massage both of Ranma's breasts vigourously. "They feel so real!" she chirped. "Soft and warm and-"

"Ah, that's quite enough..." Ono cut the girl off as he snatched her hands away. Ranma had turned as red as a fire hydrant, and her eyes had taken on a hollow quality. Her left eyebrow twitched, once. Akane took one long look at Ranma's face, then broke out into a fit of laughter. This snapped Ranma out of her stupor.

"I wouldn't laugh, you! Don't think I forgot about what happened in the dojo!" Ranma growled at her. Akane's laughter choked off and she blushed deeply.

"Wait? Who did what in the where now?" Ukyou cried in confusion as she looked up from their lunch.

"I see now..." Tsubasa had, at some point during all this, begun to glare at Ranma. "So you think you can replace me in Ukyou's heart, do you? Just because you have better breasts than I do!" Tsubasa stood, pointing accusingly at Ranma. Ranma blanched.

"What? Are you insane?"

"Don't deny it! Well, I know you won't replace me! You're ugly and have absolutely NO sense of fashion!" Tsubasa accused imperiously. She ended her brief tirade by smirking and placing her hands on her hips.

"You take that back!" Ranma shouted and leapt to her feet. "I'll have you know I am incredibly sexy!"

"Oh please, you couldn't even get a guy to ask you out on a date..."

"I could too!"

"Ranma," Ukyou interrupted in a flat, laconic tone. "Think for just a second about what you are saying."

"I knew he was a pervert all along," Akane stage-whispered to Ukyou.

"Like... take the Doc here!" Ranma grabbed Ono's collar and dragged him down to her eye level. "You've seen me mostly naked. I have a fantastic body, one that any guy would drool over. Agreed?" From the tone and the dangerous glint in her eyes, Ono thought it best just to nod. Ranma smirked and let him go.

No sooner was he released than Tsubasa was holding him by the lapels and pulling him towards her. "Yes, but that's just because of his massive chest. You agree that far more men would be interested in a girl with an adorable face and killer fashion like me. Correct?" Her tone and the glint of her eye almost exactly mirrored Ranma's. The mute nod Ono gave her exactly replicated the one he had given Ranma.

Ono found himself released again, only to feel someone tap on his shoulder. It was Akane. She was staring at him with earnest, wide eyes. "Doctor Tofu... do you... really find girls like them attractive?" Her tone wasn't dangerous, but Ono somehow sensed there was a deeper subtext to her question. What that subtext could be, he hadn't a clue.

What had he done to get dragged into the centre of this?

Ono looked to Ukyou for support. Ukyou had always shown a remarkable level of maturity for her age. Sometimes, when they talked late into the night, Ono felt as if he could close his eyes and he would be sitting across from someone his own age. But Ukyou was no help. Her face was a stony mask. Except for the violent twitching of her lips as she tried to suppress her smile. Her hand continued to go about the mechanical act of preparing her specialty food without pause, but the rest of her body shuddered slightly as laughter attempted to squeeze out of her mouth.

"There's only one way to settle this..." Tsubasa hissed dangerously as she glared at Ranma. Ranma glared back. Ono scrambled back a few steps as he saw their auras clashing and sparking off each other like two storm fronts.

"Is that a challenge?" Ranma grinned. "Because if it is... then I'm more than ready for anything you got!"

"Then it's agreed? We'll settle this like honourable men!"

"You're on! Name the time, name the place!"

"WHAhahaHOAHAHAHAHAAAH!" Ukyou collapsed, unable to keep it in any longer. She had managed to finish preparing everyone's meal first, even Tsubasa's. Everyone turned to her as she rolled about helplessly on the ground, clutching her stomach. She was laughing so hard now that nothing but a strangled whistle escaped her lips. Her cheeks were turning blue, Ono noted with some concern.

"She can't breathe!" Akane cried in alarm.

"I'll give her mouth to mouth!" Tsubasa shouted and leapt for Ukyou. Ranma intercepted the girl by catching the back of her collar.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Saving her life?" Tsubasa offered hopefully.

"I think she made it clear she don't want nothing to do with you," Ranma noted dryly.

"So I was right, you ARE trying to replace me!"

"Okay... okay... I think this has gone on long enough," Ukyou gasped between breaths as she finally recovered. She rolled to a sitting position. "Ranma, are you really feeling your femininity is threatened by Tsubasa here?"

"What? No... I..."

"Good. Because I can assure you that you are more of a woman than Tsubasa will ever be," Ukyou said with a chuckle.

Tsubasa backed away from Ukyou, her body frozen and her hands held up in demon-warding gestures. "Can... can it be..." she gasped.

"Because Tsubasa is a guy," Ukyou pointed out when she saw Ranma's obvious confusion.

"A guy?" Akane gasped.

"Yes... in drag," Ukyou chuckled. "You know, dressed up to look like a girl."

"So you mean she, I mean he... I mean... Tsubasa is really a MAN!?" Ranma waved his hands helplessly in the transvestite's direction. Ono gave the 'girl' another look. How could he have missed something like that? He was a trained doctor. He was supposed to have developed skills of observation, both mundane and mystic, that should have made such a ruse impossible. But as Ono focused his attention on the boy, he began to see how he had pulled it off. It was... a field of chi. Very unfocused, totally uncontrolled. It was the same kind of unconsciously strong chi aura he had seen in concert violinists or exceptionally well-liked politicians. Tsubasa wasn't aware of it, but he was using chi to 'smooth' out his disguise. Now that Ono knew what to look for, he could see past the subtle illusion to the boy's adam's apple and other physical features. Ono had never considered such an application of chi control... the repercussions were fascinating.

"Oh, like you didn't know," Tsubasa said cattily. "With the amount of work you must have put into that, you had to have picked up my tells."

"Put into what?"

"He's trying to imply that you're a cross-dresser, Ranma," Ukyou explained in level tones. But she was smiling in a manner that reminded Ono of a cat playing with a mouse.

"I am NOT!" Ranma shouted and picked up Tsubasa by the lapels. "I don't care if you are a guy or a girl or whatever, nobody calls me a fairy!"

"Geez, you should come out of the closet..."

"You freak! Take that back!" Ranma shouted and pulled the boy in girl's clothes off his feet. She held Tsubasa up with one hand, seemingly without effort. Tsubasa had begun to look distinctly nervous. Ono stepped forward, intending to intervene before this got out of hand.

"You're just a violent brute!" Tsubasa shouted back. "You don't deserve Ukyou!" Apparently his nervousness wasn't going to hold back Tsubasa's tongue. Ono reached out and gently placed a hand on Ranma's shoulder. His artful fingers prodded a few pressure points there without being seen, and Ono let his chi flow into the Saotome boy's. Almost immediately the angry energy began to shrink in Ranma's aura. Ranma was beginning to lose her furious scowl.

"And who said I was yours?" Ukyou replied calmly. At the same time, she bapped Tsubasa on the back of the head. Ono blinked, having completely missed her standing up behind the cross-dresser. He saw Tsubasa's eyes loll back and then the boy went limp. Ono recognised the technique: he had taught it to Ukyou himself. "Stupid fungus, never could take no for an answer..." Ukyou walked back to her grill. "Just get rid of him, Ranma."

"Uh... right..." Ranma began to look around for someplace to 'get rid of' the unconscious body in her arms. Ono ignored him and considered having a very stern talk with Ukyou about how she was treating Tsubasa. He had been meaning to say something since the first time he had seen the disguise-wearing young man. After recovering from the attack on the clinic, Ono had managed to get out of his own bed and into Ukyou's room. There with all her friends (including some girl with a camera whose name Ono couldn't recall), he had waited for her to awaken. When she had, she had seemed pleased to see everyone. And they had been pleased to see her recover.

Then a nearby cardiac monitor had sprouted arms and a face and joyfully proclaimed how glad it was that Ukyou was okay. That had been Ono's first introduction to Tsubasa, though he hadn't have learned her... his name until a few days later. Ukyou had stared at the cardiac monitor/girl hybrid that had clutched onto her for a few seconds, then calmly raised her good hand and hit them about ten times in the head until Tsubasa was thoroughly unconscious. Ono was still trying to digest what was going on when Ukyou had asked Akane to open the window to her hospital room. Mechanically, Akane had done so. This allowed Ukyou to toss Tsubasa out the window... her third story window.

Horrified, Ono had asked what was going on. Ukyou had only laughed and said "That's just the Fungus. He'll be back. Unfortunately." Ono hadn't been able to think of anything to say to that. Considering he had been ambushed by extra-dimensional energy vampires only a day ago, he was willing to accept anything. And the thing was that Tsubasa HAD come back, the next day and every day since. And always Ukyou would put up with him for about ten minutes, then she would hit him and toss him away. Ono wasn't sure if that was a decent way to treat another human being, but he really had no idea what to say about it.

Finally, after seeing Ranma toss Tsubasa onto the back of a passing truck, Ono sighed and resolved to deal with this problem like he dealt with so many other problems: he ignored it. He sat down and enjoyed the fine meal that Ukyou had prepared for the four of them. They ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes, a once again male Ranma taking a triple serving that Ukyou was more than pleased to serve. She was a very good cook, especially when it came to her favourite food. She obviously enjoyed it, too. Once she had told him that when 'this' (whatever this was) was all over, she was going to open her own restaurant. He fully believed her. She hadn't let him cook his own meals since moving in with him, and he wasn't about to complain.

"I'm glad to see everyone is doing so well with their training," Ono said to break the post-meal silence. He still couldn't believe that his student had two students of her own. Especially one that was so obviously more advanced in the art than she was.

"Heh, this is a snap," Ranma grinned as he wolfed down his second helping. Well, that might have been what he said, it was hard to tell from behind his mouthful of food. Ranma swallowed. "I'm just not sure what the point is. Grabbing chestnuts and all, I mean."

"I already told you," Ukyou said in a level tone. "It's tantric training. Half the point of doing it is to figure out WHY you are doing it." Ukyou allowed a grin to emerge on her usually impassive face. "Or are you saying you can't get it?"

"No way!" Ranma growled and slammed a fist into the dirt. "I can handle any training!"

"Uh, doesn't that hurt?" Akane asked, pointed down at the large burn Ranma was grinding into the dirt.

"Not at all," Ranma moaned as tears emerged in the corners of his eyes. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious."

"Well, I wouldn't want to step on Ukyou's toes..." Ono mused aloud. "But I think she's trying to increase the chi flow through your Wind Chakra."

"My who in the what now?" Ranma blinked.

"You never taught me about anything like that," Ukyou said as she blinked as well.

"I didn't, did I?"

"No."

"Huh," Ono removed his glasses and cleaned them on the edge of his shirt. "Well, that's odd. The Five Chakra theory is just the entire basis of my theory on martial arts and chi control." He grinned and put his glasses back on. "I guess, with all the excitement, I kind of forgot about teaching you about it!"

Ono's head rocked back on his neck as Ukyou bapped him lightly on the forehead. The girl rolled back to a kneeling position, her fist still clenched and her eyes narrow and dangerous.

"In my own defence, you seemed so intent on learning the rapid healing technique that I didn't really want to slow you down with a lot of pure theory," Ono cried as he held his hands in front of him to ward off another attack.

"I wanted to learn chi theory!" Ukyou grunted as she crossed her arms over her chest. "That was the point of you teaching me. I know about specific training techniques..." she trailed off into a sigh. "No, it's not your fault." Ukyou gestured with her left arm. "I'd still be in the hospital if you hadn't taught me as much about accelerating healing as you did."

"Wait... Chakras? Chi theory? Accelerated healing?" Akane waved for attention and everyone turned to her. Strangely, once everyone was, she blushed and refused to look at Ono directly. Instead she addressed Ukyou. "I think you've lost me. Dad never taught me anything like this."

"Yeah." Ranma tapped his fingers against his knees. "Pops never mentioned nothin' about Chakra either. He just sort of... taught me stuff, ya know? Like he kept punching me until I learned to block or dodge it."

"Hmm, well I guess a little primer wouldn't hurt for everyone," Ono said before chuckling to himself. He looked around and located a long thin piece of wood. He snapped it up and tested it in the dirt, finding it served as a good pencil. Nodding, he quickly sketched in a human diagram. "Let's see... well you all know what chi is, right?"

Seeing everyone nod, he proceeded, "Beyond the basic concept that chi exists, people have always been working on finding ways to measure, classify and otherwise divide chi down into a more useful form. The ways they have done this have varied across cultures. Western theory proposed four alchemical elements; fire, water, wind and earth. Chinese alchemy had five; wood, metal, fire, water and earth. Taoist philosophy divides all chi into yin and yang. Other theories divide chi into hot and cold flows, heavy and light and every flavour in between.

"I think that all these theories understood a part of the truth, but not the whole picture. I started from the base of the old secrets and worked from them. I combined them. I've come up with my own theory, through rigourous application of the scientific method and years of trial and error. The difference between my theory and the old ones is mine always works!"

Ono coughed and chuckled. "Sorry if I sound a little egotistical. But I am very proud of my work. I've been trying to get it accepted for years and..." he trailed off. "Never mind that, I'm rambling now. Back to what's important."

"My theory separates chi into five natural channels in the human body, each of which is linked to a certain type of chi and a certain type of natural task." Tofu drew a line to the brow of the diagram and quickly labelled the line with a symbol and some text. "This is the Wind Chakra, located in the temple. It's through this chakra that we draw the energy which enhances our intellect and our speed and agility." He drew a second line to the sternum of the figure.

"Just here, is the Water Chakra. Water chi is our link to health and vitality. Next, we have the Earth Chakra." Ono drew a sign linked to the stomach of the figure. "Traditionally seen as the seat of chi itself, I believe this is because of the stability of the Earth Chakra. This chi leads to stamina and resistance to disease." He drew a final line, this time into the crotch of the figure. "And here we have the Fire Chakra, which is the link to passion and strength."

Ono leaned back, making sure he had gotten all the details right. Not that he needed to worry in such a crude picture, and there was a lot more to it than he had said, but the basis was all there.

"Wait, you said five chakra points... where's the fifth one?" Ukyou asked. There was something about the way she asked the question that made Ono look at her sharply. Akane was peering at the diagram in puzzlement, and Ranma was only giving it a passing glance. Ukyou, however, was staring at the diagram intently.

"The fifth Chakra is not actually located in the body." Seeing everyone's puzzled expression, he elaborated, "the fifth Chakra is an invisible one that surrounds us from every direction." He drew a circle around the diagram. "It is the barrier that separates what is US from what is not us. Our sense of this chakra is what makes for our perceptions of things outside our body. Mainly, this Chakra is defined by what it is not. So I named it the Void Chakra." He labelled the final part of the diagram and put the stick aside.

"Earth, Fire, Water, Wind and Void..." Ukyou said, her voice taking on a slightly incredulous tone. "You're not serious... are you?"

"Quite serious."

"Stop pulling my leg, Doc," Ukyou said from behind a deep frown. "It isn't funny. You must have taken a peek at my journal and I don't appreciate that. Rubbing it in my face like this is kind of low."

"I... have no idea what you're talking about," Ono said with a blink. He was genuinely confused. This was the first time Ukyou had ever been mad at him directly. Looking into her impassive eyes, he felt just slightly intimidated.

"You mean... you really did come up with this totally on your own?" Ukyou suddenly shifted from anger to confusion.

"That's what I said," Ono confirmed. "Though I also spent a good deal of time studying previous theories, refining them and..."

"No," Ukyou shook her head. "That's not possible..."

"What isn't possible?" Akane asked, her tone curious.

"It's just that..." Ukyou looked up at the sky. "It's nothing. Not important."

"No, it is something," Akane insisted.

"It's nothing!" Ukyou growled back. "Just that what Ono was describing sounds remarkably close to... something someone told me once."

"Really?" Ono asked, enthused. If someone else had come to the same conclusions about chi, entirely separate from him, that was great. It would be like parallel development. It would reinforce his own theory. And maybe if this person was well-respected, it could even allow Ono to bring his theories to the mainstream! "Can you tell me who?"

"He's dead now," Ukyou said softly.

"Oh..." Ono trailed off. There was no sorrow in Ukyou's voice. More... a kind of quiet anger. He probed her aura and saw it swirling with the familiar kinesthetic greens and reds, all in dark shades... some so dark they had turned black. It was an aura that looked sickly to his eyes. He had seen that aura on Ukyou the first time she had woken up in his clinic. Not before that. When she slept, her aura calmed down to a uniform grey. But that aura had been with her since the first time he had met her, and it had only grown more violent since. But Ono had spent so much time looking at books and studying arcane history that he didn't know how to talk to her about it. He could be polite to people, even charming in his own way. But the thing was that he didn't really understand them. He had barely passed his mandatory psychology courses in university. So, like most problems related to people, he ignored this one too.

After all, Ukyou would be fine.

"Well, like I said, the type of chi determines what kind of activity it's best suited for," Ono continued his explanation, deciding to let Ukyou's odd statement pass. "That isn't to say that you can't use one type of chi to accomplish virtually any task... but you will find it's really inefficient. The reason I've been teaching you to meditate on your heart beat and the flow of your blood is because that ties into your Water Chakra, which is linked to your overall health and makes it easy to regenerate the damage you have taken. But if you wanted to increase your speed, you'd be focusing on your Wind Chakra; your Fire Chakra is for strength and your Earth Chakra is for stamina. The Void Chakra is used for esoteric skills and perception."

"Indeed..." Ukyou nodded, but her nod was perfunctory. It was like someone hearing something they already knew confirmed.

"So, all you have to do is learn to use the right Chakra to do the right skill?" Akane asked.

"Well, it's more complex than that." Tofu sat back and rubbed his chin. "You see, each person has a natural inclination towards one kind of chi over the other types. Whether this is an inborn trait or a result of personality and development I can't say, as I don't have enough data. But the important thing is that this inclination exists. What that means is that it is much harder for a person to use chi not compatible with their natural inclination and much easier to use chi techniques based on it. For instance: if you were a natural Wind aspect, you would find yourself hard-pressed to gain access to Fire aspect abilities. Both because your Wind chi is not suited to using Fire abilities, and because your Wind chi opposes Fire chi and makes it harder for you to draw on that Chakra."

"So it's just a fancy way of saying everyone has strengths and weaknesses," Ranma pointed out with a shrug.

"Can you determine your own aspect, Doctor?" Ukyou asked pointedly.

"Uh, yes... quite simply in fact." Ono picked up his glass. "I'll be right back." He walked over to the water tap and cleaned out his glass before filling it half-way with cold water. Finding a leaf on the ground, he placed that atop the glass and walked back to the group. Ukyou blinked as he set the glass down.

"Wait! Wait!" Ukyou shot her hand up. "We test our chi with a glass of water and a leaf?"

"Yes..."

"You don't read comic books, do you?"

"No..."

"Just checking..." Ukyou murmured and sat back.

"What you have to do is release your chi and hold your aura over the glass for about a minute. Depending on how the water reacts, that determines what your most natural Chakra aspect is. Allow me to demonstrate."

Ono closed his eyes and focused inward, synchronising his breathing and the beating of his heart. When he opened his eyes he could see the chi flowing down the length of his arm, gathering in-between his palms. With an incandescent flash, the chi passed the critical point that allowed it to be seen by the untrained eye. He heard Akane gasp, but didn't let that distract him. Moving skillfully, he slid his hands around the glass without touching it. His aura flowed over the water as he breathed slowly and easily. Finally the leaf atop the water twitched once, then twice and at last it began to spin around in tight circles. Ono released his hold on his aura and the light vanished while the leaf's spin stopped.

"As you could see, the leaf moved," Ono pointed out. "That means my best aspect is the Wind Chakra. If the leaf had sunk, that would have been a sign of a strong Earth Chakra. If the water level rises, then you are strong in your Water Chakra, and if it lowers you are strong in your Void aspect. With a Fire aspect there is no obvious visual sign, but you can tell by the fact that the temperature of the water increases. Why don't you all give it a try?"

He was then subject to three blank stares.

"Uh... how do we do that?" Ranma asked, finally seeming to have taken an interest in the conversation for the first time.

"Oh, uh... you just sort of release your aura between your hands..." Ono gestured lamely. "Let's see." He paused to think about it. "Okay, try to clear your mind and focus all your attention between your hands. Don't try and force anything, just let yourself go. If you have any personal ritual for when you access your chi, you might want to try using that first."

He watched as the three shifted position and pushed their arms in front of themselves. For the next few minutes the lot was silent save for their slow breathing and the soft rustle of the breeze through the grass. Ranma was the first to open his eyes with a cry of glee as the nebulous white light formed between his palms. Ukyou followed shortly thereafter, though she greeted her achievement with only a satisfied nod. Akane opened her eyes to gaze at them, only to close them again and screw her face up into a frown. Her brow furrowed and a bead of sweat trickled down her nose.

"You can do it, Akane," Ukyou said softly as she clapped the other girl on the shoulder. "Like he said. Don't force it. Just feel it."

Akane looked at her friend, grinned and nodded. A minute later, Akane cried out in delight as the light began to flicker between her hands.

"Well, let's all see what we are." Ukyou gestured for her friends to go first.

Ranma eagerly slid forward and placed his palms around the cup. He smirked and summoned up his aura. It didn't take long before the effect became obvious, as water began to spill over the lip of the cup. Ono stopped him by pulling the cup away before the leaf could float off.

Ukyou let Akane take the next turn. It took a little longer for Akane to summon up her chi than Ranma, but she seemed much more comfortable doing it the second time around. Ono waited as a minute passed with no obvious effect, then stuck his finger in the glass. He nodded at what he had suspected all along.

"You're a Fire aspect, Akane," he said with a smile.

"Oh... I was kind of hoping for Wind..." She frowned.

"There are no good or bad aspects, Akane."

"Yeah, you should be proud to have the crotch chakra!" Ranma chuckled. Seconds later he was chuckling through a layer of dirt with Akane standing over him brandishing Ono's discarded drawing stick. Or at least part of it. It must have splintered in two when she hit him.

"I guess it's my turn," Ukyou said from behind a wry smile. She retrieved the glass and placed it in front of her. Ono watched as she summoned her aura, noting with some pleasure that while Ranma had created a chi aura far faster, Ukyou had created one that was much brighter and more stable. Then Ono's eyes widened as the water in the glass suddenly turned from a pristine picture to spinning maelstrom. Everyone stared as the leaf spun like mad around the glass, before it suddenly hit the bottom. There was no water left. "Huh... what does that mean?"

"Do it again," Ono ordered after he filled the cup with more water. Ukyou complied and the results this time were much the same. But Ono distinctly saw the water both spinning and shrinking away. He stopped her before the water could disappear entirely. "I've never seen anything like that before. Now granted, I haven't done it on a wide scale... but it looks like you have an equally strong Wind and Void Chakra. Which shouldn't really be possible."

"But I guess it is," Ukyou pointed out. "Because we just saw as much."

"It's still strange..." Ono murmured.

"If you say so." Ukyou stood up and dusted off her hands. "But we really should get back to serious training now, don't you think?" The question was addressed to Ranma and Akane, who both nodded. Ono sat back and watched them drift off towards their various pursuits. He was sure what he had just seen was not possible. Maybe he could talk with her more about it later...

*

Akane groaned as she stepped into her room and slid her door closed behind her. Ukyou, she decided inwardly, was a madwoman. And Doctor Tofu, good, sweet, friendly Doctor Tofu, was a madman. And when the two of them got together, they were madness incarnate. Case in point, the huge lead weights that Akane was even now removing from her arms. She was tempted to let the damnable things fall, but she wasn't convinced the floor could survive the impact. So instead she crouched and gently laid them down. Thankfully, this gave her easy access to the weights attached to her ankles, and Akane gratefully took the chance to remove them as well. She spent the next few minutes trying to rub the feeling back into her legs.

Akane wasn't sure she was ready to go through with this. All this talk of chakras and mantras and sutras and tantras and foci and dragon paths and... it made her head rattle when she tried to grasp it all. The worst part was how easily Ukyou seemed to be understanding it. Akane had even caught Ranma staring in befuddlement as Ukyou and Tofu threw ideas back and forth like pros at a tennis match. She definitely wasn't used to working out this much, which was to say she wasn't used to working out constantly.

But Ukyou had insisted. 'If you want to break past the limits of your art as it exists, Akane, you have to go beyond seeing martial arts as a tool or a means to an end, and more as a lifestyle,' Akane heard her mental reproduction of Ukyou say (perhaps the voice was slightly more condescending than the real one, but Akane wasn't being fair at the moment). 'These weights will turn the act of walking, of picking up a pencil, even the simplest acts into training. Once you can move around in them like you could without them, we increase the weight. And then again, and then again. Eventually when you take off the weights, you'll be ten times as strong as before.'

Akane could almost see the logic in it. But that hardly mattered to her now. What mattered was that she was sixteen years old, and this kind of physical exertion was only the tip of the torture sessions that were her daily training with Ukyou and Tofu. She just hoped they never expected her to stick her hands into a bonfire like they were making Ranma. No chestnuts could be worth that.

She smiled a little and shook her head. Now that she was thinking more clearly, she realised how... childish? Yes, childish, that was how she sounded even to herself. Akane had asked to be trained at the same level that Ranma and Ukyou trained, and she would just have to endure the pain to do so. The way Ranma hadn't even batted an eye while he was set to his own tasks made Akane just a bit cranky, however. It would help if Ukyou didn't spend her days either sitting with Tofu in quiet meditation or getting them to attack her while she danced around that spiral she had drawn in the ground.

Akane yawned and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. Fatigue hit her suddenly and she felt the concerns drain from her mind. She realised she was too tired to even change into her nightclothes. Oh well... she would just have to iron her dress in the morning. Stretching and yawning, she half-walked, half- crawled over to her bed and pulled back the covers.

The paper that fell from them to the floor almost escaped her attention, but Akane still caught it out of the corner of her eyes. Some note from Kasumi? Maybe even Nabiki? The latter thought sent a thrill through Akane. Maybe Nabiki was finally willing to start talking to her again. The cold shoulder treatment her sister was giving her and everyone else was beginning to worry Akane. She would have raised the issue with the others, but to what end? Ukyou made her dislike of Akane's elder sister plain, and Ranma's distrust for his 'fiancée' was nearly legendary around the school.

She picked up the note and sat on her bed. Oh man, this bed was comfortable. Maybe she could read the note in the morning and just sleep a little right now? Her muscles said yes, but the better part of her nature said no. Thus Akane scanned the note, her eyes widening with every sentence.

"Akane Tendo,

I really need to talk to you.  Ukyou or Ranma would likely attack me if I tried to talk to them, so I'm hoping you'll be willing to listen.  Just listen, that's all I want.  I'm not going to attack you or kidnap you or try to harm anyone.  If I wasn't sincere in this, I wouldn't write this note, would I? So please don't scream or try to get Ranma, because then we'll never be able to speak peacefully.  I am above you.

Chris"

Above her? Was that some sort of backhanded insult? Then the meaning struck Akane, and her head snapped up, her long forelocks flashing in the corner of her eyes, as she stared at the ceiling.

The figure above her was mainly hidden in the shadows, but was still clear to an alert viewer. She was spread-eagled, bracing her limbs against the beams in Akane's ceiling, removed shoes clutched in the tips of her left hand's fingers. Her long ponytail dipped down over her shoulder and she was wearing a loose white t-shirt and tight blue jeans. Her skin appeared remarkably pale, but that might have been the light. Chris. He... she... it was back. Akane opened her mouth to scream for help... then snapped it closed.

Maybe it was the weariness, or the sincerity of the note, or her own recent thoughts about building bridges with her sister... but Akane remained quiet.

"Hi," the dead woman above her whispered in Kodachi's voice. "Mind if I come down?" Akane shook her head mutely. Chris dropped feather-quiet to the floor, landing with grace and panache. From the way he was smirking, he was obviously enjoying the abilities he had stolen from the girl along with her life. Akane forced that thought aside. True as it was, getting into a shouting match here would do no good. She would never forgive Chris for what he did, but she would... forget it, for now.

"Thank you," Chris said in a low voice.  He sat cross-legged on the floor, carefully setting his shoes aside.  "I'm sorry I had to sneak in here like this, but I couldn't think of another way to talk to you alone."

"If you want me to trust you" - Akane crossed her arms, trying not to let the wince of pain the motion caused show on her face - "this wasn't the best way to do it." Akane kept her voice low. "Now what do you want?"

He sighed, and sounded genuinely regretful in so doing.  "I can see you haven't exactly forgiven me.  Well, I suppose I can't blame you.  I'll try to make this short so I can let you get to sleep."  Akane nodded curtly, and he sighed again before continuing.  "Shortly after we last saw each other, I headed to China in order to look for some people and places that might help me find a solution to my problems.  This took me about a week, so I only got back earlier today.  Shortly after returning, I found out about what had happened at the airport, and it concerned me quite a bit."

"Why would it do that?" Akane asked, partly suspicious and partly genuinely curious. Akane wondered how much Chris had heard about it, or about her own involvement. She blushed a bit as she thought of getting to be the hero for a few minutes there. It was that night, more than anything else, which kept her putting on those damn weights every morning. A part of her even resented being almost entirely left out of the articles Ran had written about the fight except as 'the poor victim's sister' and 'Ukyou's true and loyal friend'.

"I'll admit I was a tad concerned about the fact Ukyou seemed to have a large ally group now, but I think that's just paranoia on my part.  The real problem is bigger than that, and bigger than me.  The Sailor Senshi..." he paused.  "Did Ukyou tell you who they... no, she probably didn't.  I'm not sure what she told you about how I knew so much about you guys, either.  But I know about them, too.  The Sailor Senshi are... important.  Very important.  That's what really concerns me.  Because if someone messes with them, and it goes wrong... it could doom the entire world.  You, me, Ukyou, everyone else, gone. So I don't understand why Ukyou's getting involved in their..."  he paused again. "Let's say affairs.  Please note, I'm not saying Ukyou's trying to kill everybody or anything, but she might not realise how dangerous the situation is."  He frowned, as if suddenly thinking of something, but seemed not about to say anything further for the moment.

Akane rolled her head to the side, and irritably reached up to push one of her hairlocks from her face. Man, long hair was a pain... but Akane didn't know what the living dead girl meant. Ukyou had warned them about the Sailor Senshi, about the Dark Kingdom, and told them the entire history of their conflict. "Ukyou didn't choose that fight," Akane said slowly. "It chose her." Akane considered elaborating, but decided against it. Friendly as he was being for the moment, Chris was still a dangerous enemy and a potential threat. She decided to keep things close to her chest, for now.

"So I heard.  Jadeite kidnapped Nabiki and all that.  I don't blame you for going to the fight then.  But... it doesn't explain why Ukyou was involved with the Senshi in the first place.  I mean, they're from a different," another pause, "...part of Tokyo.  Why would she be involved in their battles?"

"You wouldn't know... I guess." Akane frowned slightly. What harm would it do in telling him just this much? None that Akane could see. Maybe it would even scare him off. "The Dark Kingdom is after the energy of human beings. Or, as we martial artists have learned to call it, our chi. And we martial artists are like giant batteries of chi to them. Just one of us seems to have more energy than an entire roomful of normal people. So they come after us."

Of course, Akane didn't even bother to voice Ranma's particular opinion of that. The idea that Ukyou was secretly some sort of demon-slaying legendary warrior was... patently ridiculous. The idea that she was training the two of them to be her partners, even more so. Ukyou certainly wouldn't keep something like that from them. She certainly would NOT drag them into that kind of situation without at least asking them what they thought first. Would she?

Chris, meanwhile, seemed to be greatly relieved, and his whole frame relaxed and slumped visibly.  "Superhuman martial artists are chi batteries... that makes sense.  Wonder why they didn't notice before...?  But anything could make the difference, I suppose."  He looked up at her, smiling a bit.  "If that's the case, I feel a lot better about it, and I'll trust Ukyou to have the discretion not to screw anything up for them.  Thank you for telling me."

Akane had a brief moment of hope that this would be the end of the whole conversation, so she kept silent. When it became clear from the thoughtful frown on Kodachi's face that Chris wasn't finished, she remained quiet more out of social inertia than anything else.

Finally, he spoke.  "Just one more thing, then.  I was thinking about something.  I'd like to share a secret with you.  If you know it, it might make things a bit easier on both of us, and may even help prevent any further conflict.  Or it might make no difference.  But because it involves things I and Ukyou know are going to happen, it might make you uncomfortable.  So I won't force you to listen.  It's up to you if you want to hear it."  He looked up at her, his expression unreadable.

Akane stared. Wow. Maybe he could have been more vague, but he would have had to try hard. She tried to parse the sentence, figuring out eactly what she was or was not saying no or yes to. Finally, she gave up. "What are you talking about?" she snapped in frustration.

He blinked in confusion, then laughed a little.  "I'm sorry.  Okay, I'll try to phrase that in a less convoluted manner.  Something is going to happen. Ukyou and I know about it.  What Ukyou doesn't know is that I have to do something about it.  If I tell you what I'm going to do, hopefully you can help make sure Ukyou and I don't end up butting heads.  But because it requires me telling you what's going to happen in the future, it might make you uncomfortable, so I wanted your permission to tell you.  Did that help?"

Akane remembered now... Ukyou's ghost was supposed to be from the future. Just like this boy. Maybe... maybe he was trying to do something to prevent the accident that would kill him in that future? Something that would stop the whole awful series of events before it even started? Possible... but still, there seemed to be something wrong with that conclusion. It was impossible to read the eyes of this dead woman, but his voice didn't betray any sense of urgency about it like Akane would have expected.

Once she dismissed the possibility of this being an urgent thing, Akane began to really consider the proposal. She had never really thought about it up until now, but Ukyou, and Chris, they had knowledge of the future. They might know many things about her and everyone else. Things that Akane could learn and... and what? She remembered once, when Ukyou and she had been brawling in the park, back before Ranma arrived. Ukyou had put her to the ground once again, overwhelming her with her superior speed and strength. Akane had asked, half-jokingly, why Ukyou was so willing to spar with Akane when she obviously wasn't at her level. Then Ukyou had stopped, and her face had grown serious and thoughtful. She reached out and clasped Akane firmly on the shoulder and had said to her, 'Because I see potential in you, Akane. Potential that goes beyond how fast you throw a punch, or how well you take a hit. I see you not just for who you are, but for who you could one day be. And I want to be the friend of that person, just like I'm your friend now.' Akane had walked away from that interlude with a deep and secret joy in her heart. Now... now she wondered if Ukyou was speaking metaphorically. Or was Ukyou instead talking about some future Akane she had seen...

Akane held her hand to her forehead. The implications of this... did she really want to know her future? "Before I answer you, I want to ask one question," Akane said slowly. "Is the future you know... is it... fixed? Stuck? Can we change our future?"

He bit his lip, seeming to consider his words carefully.  "I can't say for certain whether you can - but I expect, with knowledge of what will happen, you could change nearly anything.  Ukyou and I can, I know.  I, of course, have already changed the future.  And Ukyou... Ukyou has already, apparently, changed one of the biggest things your future was going to hold.  So no, I don't think it's fixed for either of us."

"Then I don't want to know," Akane said before she realised it. "The future... if the future isn't fixed, then I don't care what you saw in it." Akane waved him quiet as she continued. "If you want to give a message to Ukyou about this, I have some paper and pens on the desk next to my school supplies. Write it down, fold it up and I'll deliver it to her in the morning. Then she can decide whether she wants to listen to you or not."

He stood up, shaking his head.  "No.  I'll just do my best to stay out of Ukyou's way.  It's not a large thing... it wouldn't even concern Ukyou much, except I think she's inclined to think the worst of me and thus could try to stop me without even trying to find out what I was doing, or why."  He looked down at her with a small, sad little smile.  "It's not your problem, in any case.  I don't blame you for not wanting to know.  It's probably an intimidating thing, or at least one with vast implications, to know even the tiniest bit of your own future."

Chris stepped towards the window, white fingers reaching up to slide it open.  A few strands of Kodachi's black hair flipped in the breeze as he stared out into the night.  "As I promised, I'll leave you alone.  And I'll try my best to make sure not to intrude upon your life from now on.  Nonetheless, thank you, Akane.  Thank you for listening, and for telling me what you knew honestly. You're a good person.  And, I realise, I don't know that because of anything I read, but because of what I've seen, and it means more for it.  I'm sorry we couldn't have met under different circumstances."

And with that, he flashed out the window and was gone.

*

Ukyou leapt over the wall of the Tendo compound in a single bound. The door was usually closed this early in the morning, but Ukyou had never let that stop her from visiting. Usually she brought along some breakfast okonomiyaki to treat the house to, but today she was getting ready for other business, so hadn't bothered. Today was a day to be keeping promises.

"Good morning, Ukyou," Kasumi called from the kitchen window as Ukyou strode past. "I was just making breakfast, did you want to join us?"

"Nope," Ukyou shook her head and stuffed her hands into her pockets. "Got some serious business today with Ranma. Thanks, though." Ukyou didn't really like Kasumi, but she admitted the girl was nice, and treated her kindly in return. Aaron was as close to despising Kasumi as he was capable of, but as with so many of Aaron's desires, Ukyou ignored this.

She found Ranma behind the main building, sparring with his father. She spent a few seconds watching the two of them hover in mid-air. Each stroke and counter was meant to steal momentum and lift from the opponent, tricking gravity into allowing them a few more seconds of flight. Ukyou felt a touch of jealousy at the ease they showed.

Noticing that Genma was gaining something of an upper hand, Ukyou smiled diabolically. "Genma!" she shouted in her angriest tone. The man somehow spun in mid-air, his entire body tensing to flee. Ranma's eye glinted as his father turned from him.

"An opening!" the black-haired boy shouted as he spun his body in a perfect mid-air axe kick. Genma didn't have a chance as the blow struck him in the back of his skull and sent him plummeting into the reflecting pond. Ranma had used the rebound from his strike to propel himself back, so he avoided the geyser of water. He clutched his stomach and laughed. "Take that, old man!"

The panda looked none too pleased as it crawled out of the water. Ranma gave it a wide berth as he strode over to Ukyou. The dawn light caressed his unblemished face, and the breeze caught his hair with just enough grip to make his bangs dance along his brow. Ukyou reflected that the shadows and light made him seem as a person caught between two worlds. And maybe he was; caught between male and female, child and man. He certainly looked attractive, but not heart- rendingly so.

"Heya, Ucchan," Ranma greeted as he got close. Ukyou smiled at the use of the childhood nickname. "Thanks for the assist. Not that I needed it..." Ukyou chuckled. Ranma Saotome: the ego that walks like a man.

"Indeed," Ukyou agreed. "Just because they don't need it doesn't mean friends can't help each other out."

"I guess," Ranma shrugged. "So... you bring breakfast today?" Ranma grinned and tried to look behind her. Ukyou pulled out her hands and showed him how empty they were. His face fell briefly, but he recovered quickly.

"I actually came to fulfill a promise today, Ranma," Ukyou explained obliquely.

"I won't allow it!" Genma shouted as he ran out of the house. His head was still steaming, which matched his expression perfectly. "You can't..." Genma trailed off.

"I can't what?" Ukyou asked flatly as she glared at him. Genma backed away from her a step. Ukyou felt a dull rage whenever she looked at the pathetic man. It was a dark and dangerous anger. She bit back some harsh words she wanted to shout. She couldn't allow herself to get angry at him, not really. For months she had been avoiding him, despite wanting very badly to beat him into a bloody pulp. All because she thought that if she started... she might not stop.

"This has nothing to do with what is between me and you, Genma." She spat the name out like she had tasted something vile. "This isn't even something between Ranma and me. This is about Ranma, and Ranma alone."

"Very well... but I have my eye on you!" Genma grunted as he began to walk away. Ukyou frowned slightly as he turned his back to her. It was a perfect opportunity. Her hand lashed up and caught him on the back of the head, precisely at a pressure point. The middle-ages man wasn't even able to sense it, much less react in time. She watched as he staggered forward a few steps and then collapsed on the porch. Ono had taught her that attack a while back, and she was already finding good use for it. Granted, such a precise attack was virtually impossible to pull off in the heat of battle. But it worked wonders when you wanted to knock out someone without hurting them.

"So what's the big deal?" Ranma asked as they stepped away from the house.

"It's a surprise," Ukyou said back with a cheerful smile. She had to resist the impulse to quote Xelloss.

"Hey guys?"

They both turned and looked up to see Akane leaning out her window. She was dressed in a pair of pyjamas, but during the night the first few buttons had come undone and that, combined with her leaning forward, gave them both an unobstructed view straight into her cleavage. The sunlight was shining directly onto her face, and the breeze came from her right. Her long hair hung free and billowed around her body in the wind. She was smiling in that dazzling way she had. She was so beautiful. Ukyou was glad she had manipulated everyone so she didn't have to compete with that.

Not that Ukyou thought she was ugly... except for the scars that would now mar her arm forever. She just... never felt as beautiful as Akane looked right now. Oh, who was she kidding? Ukyou had spent so much time being a boy she had basically forgotten what being a woman meant. She could probably put on a good show. But in her heart, it wasn't beauty and wifely devotion that she was dedicated to. She had dedicated her life to...

To Ranma? To being a world-class chef?

Yes, they were both true. She still loved Ranma. And it was her dream to be a chef. But in the last few months, she hadn't exactly been going out of her way to win his heart. And while she made lunch for Akane and Ranma every day at school, and had taken over the cooking for Ono... she hadn't opened up her restaurant. Her dream had been put on hold. It had to be put on hold, until this hitchhiker could be forced out of her skull.

That was it. She wasn't losing touch with what was important. It was all Aaron's fault! He had forced her to hold back her feelings from Ranma. He had put her in a position where opening a restaurant, and declaring her location to the world, would be nigh-suicidal. She allowed the hatred against the bastard to build, and she felt Aaron writhe under the assault. But as always, the hatred peaked and burned away quickly. It was impossible to hate him intensely all the time, because even as she forced him to experience her hate (and thus, forced him to hate himself) she could feel his pain and guilt and loss. But she had every right to hate him!

So why did she still feel like what she was doing was wrong?

Ukyou tore herself away from her reverie and forced those thoughts back into her subconscious. Ranma was talking to Akane now. Or more accurately, he was shouting insults at her while dodging various thrown accessories. From the way Akane was clutching her collar closed, she guessed he had told her about her compromising position with his usual lack of tact. Ukyou sighed and reached back to get her spatula so she could deflect a few items and...

Oh, right. She would have to remember to replace that. But getting ahold of a specialty battle spatula was more difficult than it sounded. Ukyou had never bothered to learn where her father had bought the things. Occhan, a good friend who had allowed her to apprentice in his okonomiyaki restuarant, might know, but he was unfortunately still living in Kyoto. She knew, from Aaron's memories, that he would move to Nerima sometime in the future. The problem was she knew neither when nor why. Well, maybe some simple replacement could be found... but first, other matters were more important.

"Akane, you're getting your stuff all dirty," Ukyou pointed out. It was enough to make Akane pause and look at her. "I need Ranma in one piece today; you can break him tomorrow." Akane grinned at the small joke, Ranma reacted with an offended exclamation. "We'll see you later." She waved at Akane as she grabbed Ranma and leapt to the top of the Tendo's exterior wall.

"Wait! I want to come with you!" Akane shouted. "Just let me get dressed..."

"Sorry, Akane," Ukyou chuckled. While seeing her reaction to what she had planned might be funny, it was also a bit too likely to blow up in Ukyou's face. "This is... a personal thing. Just Ranma comes along. Don't worry, we're not going off to fight monsters."

"No, wait! I have something I need to tell-"

Ukyou ignored Akane and leapt away across the rooftops. She noted how much easier it had become. Apparently she was improving. Ranma caught up with ease, then slowed to match her pace.

"I think Akane's a bit upset," he shouted over the wind that rushed past their ears.

"She'll get over it," Ukyou replied flippantly. "I meant what I said, Ranma. This is a very personal errand. Having Akane around... while not bad, it just doesn't strike me as right."

Ranma murmured something that sounded like an agreement, but whatever it was got drowned out by the wind.

*

Pink wasn't sure exactly what had happened when Chris had gone out to act on her 'idea', but the results had clearly not been good.  The undead girl had returned quickly last night, as promised, but had been distracted and closemouthed.  Today, if anything, she seemed even worse.  If Pink had to guess, she'd say their unusual ally was depressed.  She was basically spending the day staring out the window, responding only to direct questions and then only with short, curt responses.

Well, this wouldn't do.  This wouldn't do at all.  Link was already skittish enough about working with Chris: if the dead girl continued being so moody, Link might just decide to leave.  That wasn't a bluff Pink wanted to call, and she certainly wasn't willing to give up this weapon before she'd had a chance to use it.

She walked over to her, peering over the top of the large chair Chris was slumped in.  The dead girl slowly raised her head to peer at her.  As always, Pink felt a small surge of mingled trepidation and fascination as she looked into those glassy, dead eyes.  "Would you like something?" Chris asked drily.

"Actually, yes," Pink replied.  "You've been upset and depressed ever since you got home last night, over."

The girl's eyebrow quirked up, and she looked faintly amused.  "Oh, were you concerned about me?"

"No," Pink answered honestly.  "But my sister is, and she already is worried about this entire operation.  So why don't you tell me what the problem is, over?"

Chris looked back out the window, the afternoon sun reflecting from her eyes.  For a long moment she was silent, and Pink was just considering what tactic to try next when she finally spoke.  "I'm not sure you'd.. .well, never mind.  Consider, for a moment, then... think of someone with a heart of gold. Someone so generous, so giving, so full of kindness that it's sometimes hard to believe.  Someone who, if kidnapped by an apparent lunatic, would instead of hating them try to help them and find out their problems.  Someone who would help their worst enemy without a second thought, and would try to get others to help them too.  Someone like that."  She looked at Pink again, soulless eyes revealing nothing.  "And that someone, that someone who can not hate, who can forgive anything... hates YOU.  Can not forgive YOU for what you have done.  And looking at them, you somehow feel there's nothing you can do, nothing that can make it up, nothing that could make the person who doesn't hate stop hating you. Maybe what you've done - no matter the reasons - can't be forgiven.  Maybe... maybe you deserve to be hated."

She fell silent again, and glanced away, seemingly in embarrassment. Pink, for her part, could barely keep from laughing.  Here was this undead monster, wearing the skin of a girl she'd killed (was Chris even originally female?), and getting mopey because really nice people didn't like her very much?  It was too funny.  Guess some people were just not cut out for certain jobs.  Still, she said it might be a week or two until Shampoo would show up, so best to put a lid on this situation.  She smiled at the dead girl, considering carefully what to say.  "Well, it's like I said before, over... it's not your fault what you are.  What could you have done, other than what you did?  You seem to be doing the best you can, over."

Her expression didn't change.  "Am I?  Have I?  I don't know."

This wasn't working, so Pink changed tactics.  "Well, if it's bothering you, maybe you should do something that will make you feel better about yourself, over."

That got her attention; she looked over.  "Okay... like what?"

"Well, if it's the opinion of that person that bothers you, maybe you should do something that proves they were wrong about you, over."  Pink almost giggled as she thought of the undead girl passing out candy to children or helping kittens out of trees.

Chris, however, looked thoughtful, tapping the side of her jaw with a single finger.  "I'm not really sure what-" she began, then cut off as Link rushed into the room.

"Are you listening to the news, over?" she asked, so preoccupied she even seemed to be ignoring the presence of the dead girl.

"No.  What is it, over?"

"There's some sort of giant plant monster, over," Link said with a trace of excitement in her voice.  "It's attacked a subway!"

A giant plant monster?  It really was weird in Tokyo.  Pink wondered who created it... but who cared?  "I want to go see it.  This could be interesting, over."

The noise of the chair scraping back caused both twins to look in Chris' direction.  She was suddenly grinning.  "Do something, huh.  Yes, I think I want to go look at the ara... I'd like to see the plant monster too."  She looked apologetically at Link.  "Do you still want to come along?"

"We go everywhere together, over," Pink said instantly.  That was all their ally needed to know.

"Fair enough," was the response.  "Then let's get going."

*

Ranma walked along uncomfortably. The girl on his arm wasn't quite cutting off his circulation, but she kept pulling and tugging and throwing him off his stride. That and she wouldn't shut up. Ranma allowed his ears to tune back into her words again-

"...so Joshi was saying that I can't possibly be a good mother, and I was so not going to let her get away with that and the next day I asked Davin about it and he got all blue-faced and refused to talk about it and then I realised he thought I was talking about us and I explained it and we laughed but he never quite looked at me the same way and so we broke up and now Joshi, that slut, is going out with him and I think that she set it all up in the first place and I really wish I could prove it because I know that she's a bitch and I don't want to talk to her anymore but we are both on the cheer squad so I don't know what to do and we have been friends since grade school back when she gave me her ice cream when mine fell on the beach and we played together all afternoon and neither of us had a care in the world and it was great but this is just unforgiveable if it is true because it’s the biggest betrayal ever and she had to know that because I really liked him and..."

Ranma allowed her voice to return to a high-pitched buzz in the background. Trying to follow what she was saying was harder than trying to follow a fish swimming underwater in the middle of a monsoon so you could catch it, and Ranma knew this from personal experience. The girl, whose name started with a A or E or something, was pretty to look at and seemed pleasant. She had long black hair, with brown roots and a freckled but slender face. She wore some sort of shirt with a huge collar that fell down over her entire bust and most of her forearms, but incredibly tight jeans.

Ranma might have been interested in her if she ever shut up. He would have much preferred to be with one of the girls that Ucchan was talking to. Frankly, the idea of his best friend helping Ranma pick up girls was kind of unnerving. Especially when that friend was a girl. It was even more unnerving that Ukyou was proving to have more success at it than Ranma. Not that she was better at it. Ranma was just off his game today.

"Ranma, you having fun back there?" Ukyou called over her shoulder. The two girls walking on either side of her took the chance to glare at each other. Either Ukyou didn't notice the growing aura of imminent violence, or she chose to ignore it.

"...can you believe that she wanted to wear pink on her first date and that Joshi didn't seem to care at all and we won't even get into how Davin has no fashion sense and he shouldn't be giving advice to anyone about how well they look with his little mustache that he thinks is so cool but really makes him look like a caterpillar crawled onto his lip and died so you can understand why..."

"I'm overjoyed..." Ranma moaned. Ukyou tilted her head slightly and smiled, just a little bit. He could tell from the sparkle in her eyes that she saw just how uncomfortable he was, and apparently didn't care. Ranma harumphed and crossed his arms... or tried to. He had forgotten that his 'date' had glomped onto his arm almost the moment they had left the mall.

"Don't worry, Ranma," Ukyou laughed as she turned back to her companions. "We're almost to our real destination." Ranma let the comment pass as he concentrated on saving his few remaining brain cells from the assault of his date's high-pitched, endless rambling. Ever since Ukyou had led him to the small mall, Ranma had been asking her what they were doing out today. She refused to answer with anything more definite than 'it's a surprise' or 'you'll enjoy it when we get there'.

Ranma had been willing to let her lead him around from then on. He hadn't even protested that much when the girl had begun to (literally) push him in the direction of eligible-looking young women and crow on about how Ranma needed a date for today. Ranma had actually kind of liked chatting with girls his age who didn't seem to want to fight or fleece him. He had grown kind of worried when Ukyou had started picking her own girls out of the crowds. Was it possible Ukyou was... that way?

The more Ranma thought about it, the more it kind of made sense. Ukyou was a tomboy, and had gone out of her way to get in a relationship with Akane. Then there was the whole Tsubasa thing. Why else would Tsubasa think Ukyou was interested in girls... and Ukyou be so rejecting of him despite the fact that he was actually a guy underneath his disguise? Plus there was the ease with which Ukyou had picked up the girls. Not that Ranma was jealous of how quickly his friend was able to charm the ladies. Ranma, after all, hadn't really had his heart in it.

He perked up when he saw Ukyou turn back to him and allowed his ears to open...

"...it was getting dark out and no matter how much I hated the guy I wasn't about to walk home in the dark and the rain so I insisted he drive me home and can you believe how much of a jerk he was because he said no and I just had to slap him and he yelled at me and I yelled back and well one thing led to another and you know how these things go and we ended up kissing but I want to assure that this is over between us, by which I mean Davin and me and not you and me after all..."

"I'm sorry," Ranma muttered as he cleared out one of his ears. "Could you repeat that, I didn't catch it."

"I said, 'We're here,'" Ukyou pointed out with a wave of her hand. They had stopped in front of a traditional Japanese house behind a low wall. It was two stories with a sloping roof. It didn't look like anything special to Ranma, but Ukyou looked excited. Well, excited by Ukyou standards, anyway.

"What's this?" Ranma scratched the back of his neck with his free hand.

"You'll see," Ukyou called over her shoulder with a mischievous wink. "You girls wait here with Ranma, I just have to talk to someone on my own."

"Ack!" Ranma didn't feel a string of panic as the other two girls gave one last glance at Ukyou before turning to face him. Ranma Saotome did not panic. Especially not because of girls. Even if they did have predatory gleams in their eyes. Even if he could no longer feel his hand because his 'date' was squeezing too tight. Ranma tried to think of a way to call out to Ukyou... not for help... certainly not! No, just to... remind her that she was responsible for all these girls and that it was her job to look after them! That was it.

Ukyou, however, was ignoring his plight. She had marched briskly up to the door and knocked just loud enough to draw attention. Ranma was forced to juggle the attentions of the three girls they had picked up this morning, and could only watch what happened next.

The woman who answered the door seemed... vaguely familiar to Ranma. She was just slightly taller than Ukyou and dressed in an elegant, but threadbare, kimono. She was pretty, in a motherly sort of way, with black hair pulled back so it looked shorter than it was.  She seemed surprised to see Ukyou, and soon the two were talking. Ranma strained to hear...

"...oh please Kairi don't give me that excuse like the last time you tried to poach on my man back when we were twelve and you couldn't stand to see Davin with an actual girlfriend for once instead of someone who was just looking for a boy with a cute ass since we know perfectly well that is what you are..."

...but found he couldn't hear what they were saying over the din of the girl's talking. Even the two girls who had been with Ukyou seemed to have been stunned into silence by the sheer volume of words that came out of his 'date's' mouth.

Ranma saw the woman look at him closely. Then look at Ukyou and ask something. She nodded and the woman looked back. Ukyou nodded in Ranma's direction and waved slightly. Not sure what was going on, he waved back as best he could. The woman took one stumbling step forward. Ranma found himself suddenly loose from the pack of girls, an unbidden fear gripping his heart as he thought the woman might fall. But now she was walking towards him, mouthing something to herself but no words were coming out.

"RANMA!" the woman finally cried and before he could react Ranma found himself enveloped in her arms. He stiffened, but the woman's embrace was not possessive or romantic... it was... soft and hesitant, like the woman believed that if she squeezed too hard Ranma's body would dissolve into mist and dreams under her touch. He found himself relaxing. There was something... nice, nice and strangely familiar about the way she held him. "Oh, Buddha be praised... Ranma, it is you! Isn't it?"

"Uh, yeah..." Ranma blinked.

"My son! After so long, you've finally come home..." the woman had to stop as her voice grew choked with tears.

"M... mom?" Ranma stammered. His mother? No... that couldn't be... his mother was dead! Wasn't she? He had always just assumed, since Pops never talked about her, that...

"Yes..." the woman who Ranma found himself hugging replied. He wasn't sure how to feel. He had thought, for so long, that he was alone except for his father. But here was this woman, and he could see the approval in Ukyou's eyes. She believed this woman was his mother. And she just might know... and... and Ranma felt it. Somewhere buried under twelve years of memory was some primal feeling.

"Mom!"

Men didn't cry. So that must have been something else Ranma felt on his cheek as he leaned in to embrace this woman who, until three seconds ago, had been a stranger. He didn't know how much time had passed until he felt them break apart. Mom was patting her sleeve against her cheek, drying the moisture there.

"Oh, you've grown so well... you must be so manly..."

Ranma fidgeted a bit as she ran her eyes appraisingly up and down his body, a small satisfied little grin on her lips. "But how rude of me," Mom cried out as she looked over Ranma's shoulder. "Here you are with all your girlfriends and I'm forcing the group of you to stand on the street. Come in, come in. Everyone come in and we'll get a chance to catch up over tea!"

*

The three of them bounded over the rooftops, following Link's lead. Pink noted that Chris certainly seemed to be in a hurry; after Link had come in with the news, she had only paused long enough to grab a large bag of some sort, and had then urged them to run as fast as possible 'or we'll miss it'.

"Hey," said the dead girl as they leaped to the next building, "What sort of plant creature was it, anyway?"

"Actually," said Link, breathing a little heavily from the exertion, "the news first reported an anomaly in Tokyo's water supply.  But then they showed a monster looking like it was made of water attacking the subway line near Ichigaya station, over."

Pink looked oddly at her sister.  "So where's the plant, over?"

"That's just it, over," said Link.  "It looked like water, but it was a plant.  Some sort of algae.  I was sure of it, over."

"Talented," murmured Chris.  She, unsurprisingly, wasn't breathing heavily.  "It must have moved, though... this isn't the way to that station."

"I don't know where it's going," Link said, "but it's moving."  She frowned.  "I can... feel it, somehow, over."

Chris laughed.  "Well, aren't you a regular little Kushinada.  Can you feel it too, Pink?"

"Not like that, over."  Though, as they moved, Pink was beginning to feel something.  She wasn't sure what it was yet, but... "Link's better at the empathy stuff.  But, what did you mean when you said she was a Kushi-"

She was cut off as Link cried out, pointing directly ahead.  Even as they looked, streams of water exploded from a large building in front of them.

As they watched, the streams of water coalesced into a vaguely humanoid shape.  It was at least twenty metres tall and translucent, with recognisable limbs and head.  Pulsing within the head and chest of the creature were some sort of green organs.  And between the organs... something... something warm...

"Right, I remember this," Chris noted.  She put the bag down and rummaged around inside, retrieving a large gymnastics hoop.  She swirled it around the inside of her wrist, and there was a metallic gleam from the outer rim.  "Should be a snap."

Then she leaped, soaring through the air with practiced grace. The distance to the creature, whose attention seemed currently occupied by something else, was crossed in an instant, and at the apex of her leap, Chris hurled the hoop.  The gymnastics tool sliced through the monster with ease, separating the right arm at the shoulder.  But even as the limb crashed to the ground and dissolved into liquid, another one grew in its place.

The dead girl, however, now had the creature's undivided attention.  It lashed out at her, one limb flashing into a torrential cascade of water that whipped out at its opponent.  Chris, however, quickly flipped out of the way. Several following attacks were similarly easily avoided.  Pink thought that their ally must be enjoying herself... her huge grin was visible even at this distance.  She was also fairly impressed with the undead's martial prowess. Dodging, leaping, and rolling out of the way, she flowed seamlessly from defence to offence.  Her motions combined dodge and counterattack, chopping chunks from the creature with ribbon and baton.  Pink felt a tiny thrill of exultation. Chris' graceful dance around the creature looked effortless: she was playing with it.  Pink was sure of it.  With that kind of power... she didn't get tired, or feel pain, couldn't be knocked out... Shampoo would fall.  HAD to fall. Victory was within their grasp.

Pink started to laugh, long and loud and hard.  Or at least she would have, if Link hadn't almost immediately waved a hand at her to shush her.  Pink opened her mouth in curiosity, but her sister impatiently waved again.  She seemed to be concentrating, holding her other hand up as if trying to listen to something.  Pink recognised the technique her sister was using, even if she'd never bothered to develop it herself.  Why was she trying to get a focus on a plant's health?  What plant?  The monster?

Link suddenly swore in Chinese, causing Pink to look over inquiringly.

"It's... communicating," Link explained.  "It's intelligent!  Not as much as a person, but I can hear it.  It's like it's speaking, saying something about 'its place'.  I was trying to talk to it, but it's too angry!  It's not listening, over!"

Intelligent?  Interesting.  Pink had talked to plants... but they didn't generally talk back.  "Should we get Chris to back off, over?"

Link shook her head, frustrated.  "That's not what it's angry about. It's taking out the anger on her, but it's something else, over..."

There was a loud sound, and Pink looked back to see the monster dissolve its entire form into a vortex of water.  It arced through the air, forcing Chris to leap to the side as it smashed into and through the street, disappearing into the hole it created.

As she watched, a girl in some sort of uniform ran up and began talking animatedly at Chris.  She seemed young, rather plain, with shoulder-length brown hair.  And... Pink started.  She could feel that warmth from her, that same feeling as from the monster.

"There's something strange about that girl, over," Link stated.

"You feel it too, over?" Her sister nodded in response.  "I want to know what that is."

"Me too, over," Link agreed.  "Let's go talk to... her. To both of them, over."

They leaped down from the rooftop. Just as they touched down, the earth rumbled.  The creature, still looking like a swirling waterspout, exploded from the ground beneath Chris and the brown-haired girl.  Chris appeared to have anticipated this attack, however, and had nimbly leaped out of the way at the last moment. She also seemed to have yanked the other girl out of the way with her gymnastics ribbon.  The girl was struggling to untangle herself (while showing her cartoon-animal-decorated panties, Pink noted with amusement) as the twins approached.  Chris looked at them, raising an eyebrow.  Pink bypassed the undead for the moment, however, to focus on the girl.

"You," she said.  The girl, who had been rearranging her skirt to a more modest position, looked up at her.  "There's something strange about you," Pink said bluntly.  "Something... strange that I can feel from you and the monster both.  Who are you, and what are you doing here, over?"

The girl gasped, backing up a step and reaching up to her chest.  "You know... you know about-"

Chris cut in.  "Huh, you two can sense it?  That's the mitama, the 'soul' of the monster.  It's what's animated and changing that algae.  Momiji here has one implanted in her chest, but since she's somewhat more intelligent than algae..." she grinned, "...it can't affect her mind."

The girl apparently named Momiji's eyes had widened at every word.  "How do you know all that!?" she burst out.  'Who are you people?  Do you work for the TAC too... oops... I'm not supposed to say... I mean..."

Pink ignored her, looking seriously at Chris.  "Can you get that mitama thing, over?"

"Sure, I was planning to anyway.  You want it intact?"

"Yes," Link responded instantly.  "I want to talk with it, over."

Chris nodded.  "Problem not.  So where is it right now?"

She looked around.  She could feel the warmth of its 'mitama', the trembling of the ground from its movement.  But not underneath... instead... she looked up, just as Momiji screamed "It's in the building!"

A column of water exploded like a spear from the side of a building on the other side of the road.  Pink didn't even have time to scream before the sheer force of the water's passage hurled her through the air.  As she landed and rolled back to her feet, she saw Link and that Momiji girl climbing to theirs, but Chris was gone.  Looking over, she saw a dark, gaping hole in the side of the building that had been behind them.  The monster had already left: she could feel it once more moving beneath the earth.

At that point, a military jeep screeched down the road and pulled up alongside them.  At the wheel was another woman, this one in a loud pink jumpsuit, with orange hair that was held out of her eyes by a headband.  She seemed quite agitated: also, Pink couldn't help but notice, her back seat was occupied by a variety of military-type weapons.  "Momiji!" the new girl cried, "I've been looking all over for you!  Get in already!"

"Koume!" Momiji cried in obvious relief.  "I'm so glad to see you! But... these people..."

"Huh?" said the new girl, and looked at them.  "Oh, okay."  She stood up in the seat and glowered at them.  "All right, you civilians, get outta here!" she barked. "Let us professionals handle this!"

There was a slightly derisive laugh, and everyone turned to see Chris emerge from the hole in the building.  She was soaked, and her t-shirt and jeans were torn in multiple places, showing a greater but not quite obscene amount of pale skin.  She had a wide, almost maniacal grin on her face.  "Civilians, huh?" she said, walking over to a nearby lamppole.  "That barely cracked a few ribs." Almost casually, she gripped the pole in one hand and swung her fist, smashing through the metal as if it was made of glass.  Hefting the improvised weapon, she grinned first at the monster which had regenerated itself down the street, and then at the girl in the jeep.  "Whattaya say, Koume?  Shall we see who beats it first?"

Koume glared at her.  "Another freak, huh?  You're on!"  With a squeal of tires, she took off towards the monster with Chris in pursuit, leaving Pink, Link and Momiji behind.

"Oh dear," said Momiji, looking even more flustered.  "This isn't good... umm, who are you people?  How did that girl do that?"

Pink looked down the road. Chris was leaping around slashing at the monster with the pole; the Koume girl was firing at it with some sort of big gun. They'd probably win, but... Pink exchanged a glance with her sister. They both nodded and then turned on Momiji, who was still looking at them expectantly.

"We're curious, over." Link began.

"Yes." Pink added. "Very curious about that mitama you have on your chest, over."

Momiji backed up a step. "Um... yes?" she squeaked.

"We'd like to see it, over."

"Yes, so please take your shirt off, over."

Momiji turned red. "Why... I mean... no, I couldn't..."

She was going to be difficult. Pink stepped forward. If the mitama thing was alive, she didn't want to risk harming it. No Mandragora, then.  Guess just a regular old knockout poison... boring, but effective.

Pink was almost within reach of the girl when an orange and red blur interspersed itself between them. The new arrival was a man, tall, wearing a shirt, slacks and a red trenchcoat. Somewhat more notably, he had green hair, orange skin, and eyes with pupils slit like a cat's. More notable still... Pink looked at her sister and received a nod in acknowledgement. This man - or whatever he was - radiated that feeling, that warmth, of those mitamas, like Momiji… but far, far stronger. He had more than one. Five, six? Pink couldn't tell, exactly. But there was a lot.

"Hey, there you are!" the strange man (?) said.  "I've been looking all over for you, Momi-"

"Kusanagi!" the girl broke in.  "These people just... they came and said... she's really strong..."

The man apparently wasn't paying much attention to the girl's babbling, instead looking over at the developing fight.  "Looks like you brought some company.  Who's the new girl?"

"I don't know!  That's what I'm trying to tell-"

"Heh," the orange-skinned man grinned.  "Then I guess I'd better go up and introduce myself!"

Before Momiji could protest further, the man ran towards the fight. Pink glanced after him, then found herself staring in amazement: as Kusanagi ran, some sort of thorn-blades... grew from his arms, sliding out almost like a switchblade.  Definitely unusual.  Chris had also noticed the newcomer: as Kusanagi ran towards the fight, the dead girl redoubled her efforts to kill the watery monster.

Well, all that ought to prove a useful distraction.  And Momiji was still staring after that orange-skinned man... Pink moved forward, dipping her hand into a hidden pocket for a Lullabye Blossom-

Pink paused as she felt a dull echo of pain.  For a moment she wondered what it was, and then she heard and felt her twin cry out.  Turning, she saw Link fall to her knees, her hands flying up to clutch her temples.  "Link, Link, what's wrong, over?" she said and rushed over to her sister, Lullabye Blossom forgotten.

She was vaguely conscious of the girl, Momiji, also beside her, asking Link if she was all right.  But both twins ignored her.  "There's something..." Link said slowly, then flinched.  A fresh throbbing flashed through Pink's head.  "Something they feel," her sister continued after a moment. "It's moving... it's in the earth... it's hurting them, over!"

"Hurting who?  What's hurting?" Momiji asked, obviously confused.

"The plants," Link hissed between clenched teeth.  "Something's in the ground... their root systems can feel it.  It's shredding the roots, over!"

"The roots?"

"Shut up, over," snapped Pink.  The throbbing in her head was annoying, and the pain Link felt was worse.  "What is it?  Another one of those monsters, over?"

Link made a tiny shake of her head.  "No mitama.  That's what she said: the mitama animates it, right, over?  There's not one.  It's almost like there's an earthquake... but it's moving, and only in one place at a time, over." She pointed down the road, where a small green space was still undisturbed by the melee.  "There!  It's following the fight, over!"

Pink looked where her sister indicated.  Now that she knew where, she could see... something.  The lawn of the small park was rippling, ever so slightly, like the surface of a pond.  She moved a step towards it.  What was that...?

She felt more than saw Momiji run past her, towards the fight.  Before Pink could react, the girl was shouting out to that strange man.  "Kusanagi! There's something else here!"

"Momiji!" he yelled back. "Where is it?  Where's the mitama?"

She paused, looked at the monster for a moment.  "It's... it's between the head and the chest!  But I think you should look at-"

Kusanagi ignored her as he grinned viciously and plunged his hand deep into the monster's head.  He reached out, seemed to be straining... and then leaped back to avoid the swing of a lightpole.  "What're you doing!?" he demanded.

"I made a bet." Chris grinned.  She raised the pole high, preparing to thrust down...

And then there was a loud retort and a projectile streaked over Pink's head before smashing into the throat of the monster.  It shrieked, and something glittering flew out of its back... something she could feel... "That's it, over!"

"I know!" responded Chris, leaping from the monster even as it began to shrink and steam, still roaring unintelligibly.  Kusanagi flashed past her, but Chris reacted quickly, whipping out one of those ribbons and lashing out.  It streamed past Kusanagi, wrapped around the tiny gleaming object... and then one of Kusanagi's arm blades slashed through it as he dropped past.  Almost instantly, Link cried out.

"You killed it!  You killed it, over!"

Kusanagi and Chris both landed lightly, and the orange-skinned man brushed the dust off his hands, grinning.  "Looks like I win the bet."

"Oh no you don't!" came a female voice.  The other woman walked up, still brandishing a smoking bazooka. "I got that one fair and square!"

A screech of tires drew Pink's attention; a car had pulled up behind them.  Two people emerged: a balding older man and a woman with glossy black hair that covered one eye.  They held guns, which were levelled directly at Chris, but she noticed the woman looking suspiciously at her and Link.  Who were they?

"Freeze!" the man barked.  "Who are you!?  What are you doing here!?"

Chris glanced back.  Her lip twisted up.  "Tch.  Next you'll be asking me to 'state my business'." Turning around fully, she glanced at Pink and Link. "Later, TAC."

Before anyone could react, her hand twitched suddenly and a thick cloud of white smoke enveloped her.  The smoke wavered, as if a strong breeze passed, just as shots rang out from the two newcomers... and then Pink was flying.  And just as suddenly, set down again, which was when she realised she had been grabbed.  And so had Link, who was standing behind her.  "What, over-"

"Run!" said Chris in a low voice.  "Before they think to start looking!"

She took off, running down the narrow laneway she had deposited them in, and the twins followed her.  After a few moments, they reached a blind alley, only dimly lit by a crack of sunlight filtering from the rooftops overhead. Chris slowed to a stop here. "Kusanagi's faster than me, but I caught him off-guard.  They'll stop looking in a few minutes and start comparing stories, at which point we can head back."

"Who were they, over?" Pink asked.

Chris shrugged. "The TAC.  A governmental organisation devoted to dealing with problems such as the one we just saw."

Link took a deep breath.  She clenched and unclenched her fists.  And then she looked up to the nearly invisible sky and began cursing.  Not so loud as to carry beyond the alley, but loud enough to clearly show her displeasure. She walked in circles, gesticulating angrily with both hands while cursing Kusanagi, his ancestors, his descendants, his manhood, his father's manhood, and throwing in several unkind insinuations about his mother, her sexual proclivities, and her choice in species to mate with.

Pink watched all this with bemusement.  Link didn't get angry often, but when she did, it was... colourful.

"Oookay..." came a somewhat hushed voice, and Pink glanced over at Chris.  The dead girl was staring at the ranting Link, eyes wide, with a large bead of sweat on her head.

"What're you staring at, over?" Pink asked, further amused by the reaction.  Link also looked over, a dangerous gleam in her eye, and obviously also interested in why their undead companion was staring.

"Uhh... it's just... I'm a little surprised," Chris finally said. "I didn't think you swore... I mean-"

"Of COURSE I'm fucking swearing, over!" Link snapped.  "That son of a bitch killed it!  KILLED IT!  And he's got so many!  I didn't even get to LOOK at it, over!"

Chris held her hands up placatingly.  "Okay, okay, just relax.  It's not that big a deal.  Those monsters, the aragami... there'll be more of them.  Don't sweat it.  I'll be able to get you one before the TAC even get there next time, with any luck.  All right?"

"It's more than that, over!" Link growled.  "It was ALIVE, and now it's DEAD.  You of all people should understand THAT.  It was alive..." she paused, considering. "It was alive in a way I'd never felt any plant before.  And now it's dead.  Getting another won't replace THAT.  It was like... it was like killing a child.  How DARE he!"

Chris pursed her lips, apparently thinking carefully about her response.

"Very well.  But it was hurting people, so you have to consider their position-"

"Who gives a damn, over!  Lions can hurt people, but they're endangered; you just can't kill them out of hand!  That 'monster' was just looking for... it was LOOKING for something!  Something humans took away!  Whose fault is that? Why shouldn't it be angry, over!?"

"I don't necessarily disagree with you," Chris said seriously.

"Well, who gives a flying fuck about what you think!  It's not like you understand anything about the natural order, over!"

"Now now, over," said Pink soothingly, stepping between the two just as Chris's eyes narrowed dangerously.  "Let's just calm down here.  What's done is done.  If there are more of those plant creatures, like Chris said, we can get to them before that group does, and both get our own mitamas AND save them from being killed.  That's the best option, over."

Link's lip twisted, but she nodded in assent.  Chris shrugged, and the anger faded from her expression.  "Sounds good to me," she noted.  "Anyway, they've probably gone back to talking by now.  Let's go."

*

Ukyou leaned back with a smirk on her face and let the events of the scene play themselves out. Nodoka had reacted exactly like she had known she would. Being overjoyed at Ranma's arrival, not to mention the company of three beautiful young women, had driven all thoughts of that stupid contract from the woman's head. Ukyou had basically let everyone else do the talking, and kept her eyes out for possible disasters. It hadn't taken much effort to keep Ranma away from cold water.

Not that Ukyou thought she could conceal Ranma's curse from Nodoka forever. It would just be much easier for her to accept if she already thought of her son as a playboy. She wondered if she could conspire to make it so that Nodoka caught Ranma trying to sneak into a girl's locker room in his girl form. It might take a bit of doing... but Ukyou thought she could pull it off.

The three girls were playing their part perfectly, even without a script. Ukyou had picked them out specifically for the traits that would best serve Ranma here. Of course, she had been forced to walk around in circles basically talking Ranma up to the other two so that instead of focusing their attentions on Ukyou, they would both go after him. The third had taken to Ranma right away.

Right now their jealousy was starting to win out over their sympathy for Ranma's situation. The catty comments and acidic snipes were coming out in full force. Nodoka was looking on in approval as Ranma tried to play peacemaker between the three girls. Ukyou was enjoying Ranma's discomfort so much she almost wished that Akane could be here to see it with her. But Akane would have been a stumbling block in the plan, so she would have to come along to meet the Saotome mother later.

"That's just shameful behaviour," a voice whispered into Ukyou's ear. She found herself nodding along... until she recognised it. Then she gasped and leaped away from the potted plant she had been leaning against.

"Ukyou?" Nodoka said with a blink.

"Fungus! What are you doing here?" Ukyou growled and pointed at the plant.

"No, that's a fern," Ranma pointed out helpfully. Even as he did, his words were made lies when the plant sprouted a head and two arms. "Oh... it's just Tsubasa," Ranma grunted.

"That's right, Saotome!" the Fungus laughed as he pulled himself completely free of his hiding place. He had changed since this morning, and was now clad in a dress that contained far too much pink and far too many frills to be considered legal. "At last, I've seen your true personality! How could you do this, you two-timing lecher!"

"Oh no!" one of the girls cried.

"You already had a girlfriend?" another whined reproachfully.

"...this is just like the time Joshi and Azako found Mina in the closest and..."

"Are you really dating behind your girlfriend's back?" Nodoka asked in an entirely too cheerful tone. Sometimes that woman scared Aaron.

"Oh no you don't," Ukyou growled as she grabbed the Fungus by the lapel. "You are not ruining this," she informed him, dragging him towards the backyard.

"Ukyou!" Nodoka cried out, forcing the girl to stop. She looked over her shoulder to see Nodoka glaring at her. "Gentlemen don't treat ladies with such disrespect! Especially not in my house." Ukyou was in the process of weighing the danger of potentially pissing off Ranma’s mother versus the damage Tsubasa could do to her plan when the point became moot, as the Fungus slipped free of her grip.

"Tsubasa is not... " Ukyou hissed as the tranvestite slipped into a comfortable position between Ranma and her. Nodoka offered the Fungus tea without pause, which he gratefully accepted. Ukyou considered just spilling the beans, as far as the Fungus' gender went, but decided against it. Too much possibility of backfiring.

"You wound me!" the Fungus moaned dramatically, holding his forearm against his brow as if he felt faint. "What about all the times we have spent together? The exchange we've had between our deepest hearts? All the secrets we share?"

"Go to hell!" Ukyou shouted. She hadn't wanted to shout. She hadn't wanted to do anything but glare and try to figure out how to get him to leave. But... it had just slipped out. It was probably Aaron's fault again. She had never had so much difficulty controlling her temper before he showed up.

"Wow, sounds like they had a bad break up..." one of the girls stage-whispered to her friend.

"Oh yeah, they have all the signs," the other answered while nodding vigourously.

"...Davin wasn't about to let that big guy run off with Azako and Mina watching, so he assumed the Spitting Cobra Stance and charged at the guy with the bandolier..."

"Really, Ukyou, you'd think you'd be glad I showed up when I did," the Fungus smiled and waved a finger in her face. It took all her self-control not to break it on the spot. "Look at this cad, stringing along three different girls!" Nodoka sighed and smiled. "Even if he is much better at dress up than I am, that's no reason to hang out with him considering all his other flaws."

"Dress up?" Nodoka frowned slightly and looked at Ranma.

"Maybe Ranma's a secret fashion designer!" one of the girls cried.

"Just my luck, a hunk and a great fashion sense and he's already taken... by someone with even better fashion sense!" Ukyou gave the other girl a long look. She hated to see what the girl considered bad fashion sense if Tsubasa was considered good.

"...I couldn't just stand by and let Davin unleash the full power of the Seven Seals of Set Style without moral support so I had to go along with him to the warehouse where Master Dingo was holding Joshi hostage..."

"Hey pal, don't even compare me to you! I ain't got no choice, you're just sick!" Ranma growled. Uh-oh. Ukyou had to put a halt to this before it spiralled out of control. Aaron was convinced that if Nodoka had a chance to get to know her son well beforehand, then learning about the curse would only give her a slight pause before she ripped up that stupid contract. The trouble was giving Ranma that time before his curse, and the Fungus, ruined any chances he had. Ukyou searched her mind frantically for an answer... and leapt at the first choice that came to mind.

"My god! It's Tom Cruise!" Ukyou shouted, pointing out the door.

"Where?" Nodoka cried as she spun in place. Everyone else did so as well, turning to look quickly out through the patio door. Ukyou smiled and lashed out, her backhand catching the Fungus high on the temple. There was a crash as the wall behind the two of them gave out when the unconscious body went flying through it. So it wasn't an elegant solution, but it would shut the Fungus up for a few minutes. During that time Ukyou knew she could come up with some way of dealing with him. If she grew desperate enough, maybe she would even let Aaron try and come up with a solution.

"Where did the young lady go?" Nodoka asked as she turned back.

Ukyou was in the middle of a shrug when she heard the shorter girl shriek practically into her ear.

"You... you killed her!"

"What...?"

"I saw it all!" the girl pointed at her accusingly. "I was turning to look, but you... and she flew through a wall! A wall! People don't go flying through walls!"

"They don't?" Ranma asked, in genuine confusion.

"I certainly have never seen it happen," the taller girl said to him. Ukyou frowned as she tried to remember their names. But she seemed to have inherited Aaron's talent for names, which is to say she couldn't recall them for the life of her.

"...nobody was expecting the zombies (really, who ever does expect zombies?) but we were all grateful for them as long as it meant Master Dingo couldn't complete his evil experiments on Joshi, so Azako, Mina and I looted the armory..."

"I did not kill hi... er, her!" Ukyou shouted back. The girl cringed away from her, eyes wide and shaking.

"Don't bully poor Hayako!" the less whiny one yelled back at Ukyou. Ukyou turned her passively dangerous eyes on her and the colour drained from her face.

"Ukyou, did you kill Tsubasa?" Nodoka asked, in the same tone of voice one would use to ask if it was raining outside.

"No!" Ukyou groaned. "H... she's just outside, perfectly fine!" Ukyou stood up and walked over to the hole in the wall and stuck her head out. A fine drizzle immediately coated her hair and face. Great, it was raining out. This was just wonderful. "See, she's right..." Ukyou trailed off. There was no sign of Tsubasa. "Great, now he's hiding..." she murmured.

"The body disappeared?" Hayako moaned.

"How convenient!" her friend said with a smirk as she crossed her arms.

Ukyou pulled her head in and glared at them both.

"Ah, Ukyou, is it raining outside?" Ranma asked in the same tone of voice one would use to ask if you had just murdered someone.

"Just a little, don't worry, I brought an umbrella..." Ukyou began to reach into her trenchcoat.

"No!" Hayako shouted and dived behind Nodoka. "He's got a gun!"

"You do?" Ranma blinked.

"No, I don't!" Ukyou growled as she pulled the umbrella free. The handle did look kind of gun-like, with its 'trigger'-style opening mechanism...

"Young man, I won't have you frightening young ladies or killing them in my house," Nodoka informed Ukyou.

"But I didn't kill anyone!"

"...there was nothing to do but hope Davin's unlocked potential was enough to face down the Zombie Master Dingo, since we were all occupied sealing the doors to the Secret Government Alien Lab with blowtorches..."

"A likely story!" Hayako's friend smirked and pointed at Ukyou. "If so, where did that girl go?"

"She probably turned into a clock or a painting or something..." Ukyou murmured. She ran a hand through her bangs and looked around for anything that seemed out of place.

"...Space Nazis are a pain in the butt, I tell you from personal experience, what with their Nazi Death Borg Commandos and everything, I swear if I hadn't been carrying that Personal Fighting Familiar that looked like a ball of lime jell-o I would have been in a lot of trouble..."

"She probably has someone helping her!" Hayako cried from behind Nodoka.

"Like who? A ninja assassin death squad?" Ukyou growled. This was getting seriously annoying.

"Aha! See, she admits to having a ninja assassin death squad!"

"I did no such thing!" Ukyou began to wave her arms as she rebuked Hayako's friend. "Haven't you ever heard of sarcasm?"

"Yeah, Ukyou isn't a ninja, she's a demon hunter!" Ranma backed her up. Ukyou paused. Wait, what? She looked at Ranma askance.

"Demon hunter?" Nodoka said with a blink.

"You mean... you're that boy!" Hayako's friend gasped.

"Waaah! The hero of Narita is a murderer!" Hayako sniffed from her position behind the elder Saotome.

"Then again, maybe Ukyou is training me and Akane to be part of her Anti-Demon Ninja Death Squad?" Ranma said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"I'm not sure I approve of you joining a ninja clan, Ranma," Nodoka opined primly.

"Wah! We know too much about her now! She'll kill us all like that poor girl with the great fashion sense!"

"C'mon mom, it would be cool!"

"I'll protect you from her, Hayako!"

"She's scary!"

"Ranma, I am your mother and I say you are not joining a ninja clan, even if they fight demons."

"...so then we had Space Nazi Zombie Commando Borgs made out of green Jell-O (tm) coming out of the woodwork and even with Davin's Invincible Serpent Uncoiling Technique it looked like we were all about to be eaten and that was the absolute WORST possible time for Joshi to accuse me of being a bad mother, I mean, you lose one little Fighting Familiar to the forces of darkness and everyone is all over you..."

"ENOUGH! Everyone SHUT UP!"

Blissful silence fell over the room, except for the pitter-patter of rain on the roof. Ukyou was standing now, partially hunched over, breathing deeply. She felt... cold. It was like her entire body had dropped ten degrees. She wanted to not say anything. She wanted to apologise and explain. But she felt her control slipping. She realised with a shock that she didn't care about these people's feelings at the moment. She realised she didn't care about Ranma or his mother or the three idiots... it was remarkably freeing.

"You idiots don't even bother to listen, do you? Tsubasa is not dead! I just punched him, and not even that hard! I wished I had punched him harder, but he's still awake. And you..." she pointed at Hayako. "You shouldn't leap to conclusions about people you know nothing about. And you, whoever you are, I don't know where you get off being such a bitch to me but I am about this close..." Ukyou held her fingers a centimetre apart. "...from shutting your mouth the hard way. And you, I don't know what the hell kind of sugar rush you're on... but shut the hell up!"

"But I was just getting to the end of my story..."

"What did I just fucking say!?" Ukyou roared. A flash of shame surged from her gut at the way the girl cringed, but Ukyou was far too angry to really care.

"Ukyou..." Nodoka's voice was cold and hard. Ukyou spun towards her like a cat and met the woman's cold glare with an equally dangerous gaze. "I think I've heard just about enough. This may be my husband's house, but I am in charge of it! I forbid you from setting foot in it again!"

"You... you forbid me..." Ukyou growled. "After all I went through to take your son back to you, after everything your stupid husband did to me..."

"And furthermore, I won't have you associating with my son anymore." She turned to Ranma. "Ranma, I don't know how you came to meet this person, but I ask you never to speak to him again."

"Mom!" Ranma gasped. "Ukyou's... Ukyou's my best friend!"

"Forget it, Ranma," Ukyou hissed. "She's having a power trip. Let her do what she wants, I don't give a shit about her anymore."

Ukyou stormed out of the house, not bothering to look back.

*

"That was kinda fun, you guys!"

"You would think so..." Usagi whined.

Rei shook her head and allowed the others to lead the way. She didn't know what to think of the new girl. Makoto was both taller and more physically capable than any of them, as proven by how well she had taken on that tennis-ball-throwing youma. But she was also supposed to be a violent thug. In fact, she was in the middle of an expulsion hearing from her old school because of all the fights she was getting into. Makoto had laughed off the subject when Ami had brought it up, saying she probably wouldn't fight it like she usually did. After all, if she was expelled from her current school, the next closest was Juuban.

Rei adjusted her umbrella, shifting it to her left hand for a moment. No, it wasn't that which set Rei ill at ease. It was... that boy. Ukyou. Ukyou had led Usagi and Luna right to Makoto Kino, and apparently convinced her that her help was needed fighting the Dark Kingdom. With her height, cocky attitude and (from what Rei had heard) love of cooking, Makoto reminded her a bit too much of Ukyou.

"I'm just glad you were there," Ami said in that shy, self-effacing way she had. Rei had considered trying to get her to come out of her shell a bit, but Usagi had adopted that task and was doing... an almost competent job. Besides, they needed someone with a level head in the group.

"Yes, goodness knows we couldn't count on Usagi," Luna said in a sing-song voice.

"Luna, that's a bit harsh, don't you think?"

"Waaah! Luna, stop being harsh to me!"

"You know, I think I should be freaked out by a talking cat, but I'm really not. This strikes me as very... familiar somehow," Makoto called over her shoulder. "Anybody else get that feeling?"

"Now that you mention it..." Rei mused aloud. No matter how she had felt about Makoto, there was no doubting the fact that they were all getting along famously. Makoto had integrated herself into their new little clique almost immediately. Her and Usagi and Ami were all talking like they had been friends for years, not just days. It was almost eerie.

"Plus being a kickass Sailor Senshi has other perks," Makoto laughed. "Like all the cute guys! First that Ukyou guy from yesterday, and then that Tuxedo Kamen guy!"

"Hey! Tuxedo Kamen is mine!" Usagi shouted.

"Oh, I thought you liked Ukyou?"

"I... oh... I can't decide between them!"

"Hmm, you may have a point there," Makoto mused. "Do you go for tall, dark and mysterious, or beautiful, cool and a great cook? I can't decide myself..."

"I wouldn't get too hung up on Ukyou, if I were you two," Rei warned. Now seemed like a good enough time to bring up her worries.

"Huh? Why not?"

"Yeah, Rei. You just want to stomp on my fun again."

"Be serious, Usagi!" Rei hissed. "Tuxedo Kamen is one thing, but he is clearly on our side. He always shows up to help us. Can we say the same about this Ukyou? Where was he when we fought that youma that had possesed your friend, Usagi?"

"But he helped us a lot! You saw him fight Jadeite. And he got us all these Rainbow Crystals..." Usagi reached into her pack and brought out one of the six crystals she and Luna had collected yesterday.

"And there are supposed to be seven of them," Rei pointed out. "What about the last one?"

"The guy doesn't live in Tokyo..."

"Maybe... but Ukyou has admitted he has a hidden agenda! He doesn't really care about... how did he put it, Luna?"

"'Our little war'," Luna chimed in. "And I agree with Rei on this one. We can't trust Ukyou. Something about that boy raises my hackles."

"Plus, there is Sailor Pluto," Rei said, crossing her arms to signify the argument was over.

"Who?" Makoto blinked.

"'The Guardian of Time, Mysterious Woman Representing the Planet Pluto, Sailor Pluto,'" Ami quoted. "She's a fifth Senshi, but we don't know much about her. Luna seems to recall that she was a very important person and one to be trusted implicitly. The strange thing is that she and that boy Ukyou appear to be enemies. Neither one has really been forthcoming with why this might be."

"Ah, maybe it’s just a lover's spat?" Makoto grinned and nudged Rei with an elbow. Rei raised an eyebrow and gave her a long hard stare. Makoto coughed into her hand and backed up. "Or not."

"Well, I don't care what Sailor Pluto or Rei says," Usagi declared while pointing into the sky. "Ukyou is too cute to be evil, and I'll trust him with my life!"

"You're hopeless," Rei groused and started walking again. She heard the others begin to talk again in the background. Luna and Usagi were arguing about boys. Ami and Makoto were talking about possibly getting her transferred to Juuban so she could be closer to Usagi, the Princess they needed to protect. That is, if you believed Ukyou.

Rei sighed. She hoped Usagi was right about that boy. But something had struck her as wrong about him from the first time they had met. And when they had met again the other day, after Usagi introduced Makoto to the group, Rei had done something she usually didn't do. She had focused her chi and tried to read the spirit of this Ukyou Kuonji, much like Rei read the spirit of her fire or read the spirit of her youma opponents to discern their weaknesses. There had been a layer of cold energy, like a shell around Ukyou's spirit. And when Rei had probed further she had been forced to stop, because Ukyou had started looking directly at her. Not like she knew what Rei was doing, but more like she was curious.

And Rei had let herself stop. Because she had felt enough to just pierce the tip of Ukyou's cold shell. And what she found under that shell scared her more than all the vague suspicions or Sailor Pluto's attacks ever could. Because under that shell, Rei had sensed... nothing.

Nothing at all.

*

Ono wisely stayed out of Ukyou's way when she walked into the small apartment they shared until his clinic could be rebuilt. Or, he did once he pointed out that she was dripping wet, despite carrying an unfolded umbrella in one hand. Ukyou had taken one look at it, and let out a vulgarity so loud that it had woken up a neighbour’s dog (who was still barking) and smashed the umbrella over her knee. Then she had growled something about making his own dinner and retreated to her room. So Ono was willing to let her have her privacy. All he did was set out a box of Midol in an inconspicuous location.

Hey, he was a doctor, but he wasn't suicidal.

Ono had been almost reluctant to answer the knock he heard from the entrance. But he could feel the urgency in the other person's chi, even through the door. So, he had answered. Akane had blushed a bit at seeing him. She must have forgotten that he and Ukyou shared quarters. The girl had begun to stammer something out, fumbling over her words.

Ono had saved her from embarrassment by saying he would fetch Ukyou for her. Akane was really a nice girl. Not a beautiful girl like her eldest sister, but... He paused in the hallway, shaking his head to clear the fog from it. Hmm? When had he removed Ukyou's door from its hinges? And why was Ukyou pressed against the wall?

"Ono, are you okay?" Ukyou asked slowly.

"I'm fine... but it appears someone broke your door." He chuckled.

"Yeah, someone..." Ukyou walked towards him. "Kasumi isn't here, is she?"

"Huh? No. Akane is, though..."

"Great..." Ukyou sighed. "Listen, I'm in no mood to have a civil discussion with anyone... tell her to come back tomorrow."

"It seemed rather urgent," Ono pointed out. He felt that whatever was troubling Ukyou, talking would probably help her more than brooding in her room. Besides, Akane was a girl. Maybe she would have better advice about that than Ono would.

"Indeed..." Ukyou ran her fingers through her hair, then nodded. "I'll go get rid of her then. It's probably nothing serious. Thank you."

Ono allowed her past him and down the small hallway to the living room-slash-foyer. For a second his gaze lingered in her wake. His better nature warred with his curiosity and lost. Soon enough he was pulling a cloak over his chi and stepping down the hallway as quietly as he could.

It wasn't really eavesdropping. It was just looking out for his charges. How was he supposed to help, if they kept him in the dark all the time? Look where that had gotten him last time. And maybe if he kept thinking about it like that, he would eventually justify it to himself.

"...no, I haven't seen Ranma all day," Akane was saying. This was close enough; Ono didn't want to risk getting any closer. His cloak wasn't exactly reliable, and nothing close to true invisibility.

"Damn... have him call me the moment he gets in, okay? I need to talk with him about what happened at his mother's..."

"Mother?"

"It's a long story. You had something you needed to talk to me about?"

"Ukyou... I don't know how to say this, so I'll just come straight out with it."

"Indeed?"

"Chris visited me last night."

"WHAT! That bastard! Are you hurt? He didn't do anything to you...?"

"NO! No... I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes... I'm sure. You can let go of my arm, Ukyou. Your grip is a little tight."

"Sorry..."

"I had to talk with him, Ukyou. He surprised me in the middle of the night-"

"Why didn't you call out to Ranma?" Ukyou's voice had taken on an edge of anger.

"He asked me not to... he was actually very nice about it."

"Damn! Akane, you can't let him talk to you. His words are poison. He is very good at earning people's sympathy."

"But Ukyou, I think he..."

"Don't think about him! Trust me, Chris is a monster! If he's trying to win your trust, he's only using it for one of his own twisted purposes. Either that, or he wants to get you to believe in him to make himself feel better. He's sick like that. He can justify anything to himself, as long as someone he respects believes in him."

"He respects me?"

"Yes, yes... that isn't important! No matter what, you can't believe anything he says. Chris is from the same place as Aaron. He knows more about you than you may even know about yourself! Using that knowledge he can manipulate you, make you think you're doing what you want when all you're really doing is playing into his hands!"

"I don't think it was like that. He was just asking us to leave him alone..."

"US! Leave HIM alone! That bastard!" Ono jumped as something cracked sharply. "He has no right! Wasn't beating me to a pulp once enough? Does he have to play these games with my friends as well?"

"Ukyou, calm down," Akane's voice had taken on a frantic tone.

"I'm sick of being fucking calm! I'm not calm and I don't want to be. That monster ruined my life! You have no idea... no idea..."

"Ukyou..."

"Tell me everything he said!"

"I... I don't know exactly..."

"Fuck! What did he say, Akane? You do realise what this is about? He's probably going to kill someone else! Do you want that on your conscience?"

"Of course not!"

"Then tell me! Everything you know may help."

"He said something about the future, and you knowing what's going to happen, and Chris having to do something about it... it was very confusing."

"Damn it... riddles. Wasn't he more specific?"

"Well, he could have been. He actually asked me if I wanted to know exactly what was going on, but I refused. I don't want to know about-"

"You refused! What kind of an idiot..." There were a series of loud stomps. Ono frowned.

"But, Ukyou-"

"We could have known exactly what he was going to do, and you refused to listen? That's... that's the stupidest thing you've ever done, Akane!"

"I... I..."

"I mean, I've seen you pull some bone-headed stuff, but even I never thought you would be this dumb!"

"You just told me to never listen to a thing he said!" Akane cried. Her voice was a mixture of fury and despair. Ono felt he should do something. But what? He really had no idea how to deal with people. What if he did step out there? What would it accomplish?

"Don't try and make this about me," Ukyou hissed. "I'm not the one who screwed up. Fuck! Why is everything unravelling NOW?"

"Ukyou..." Akane was fighting back a sob now.

"Get out of my sight!" Ukyou shouted. "Just... get out! I'll find some way to fix this mess you created." There was a pregnant pause. "And you wonder why I leave you behind all the time..."

"Ukyou... you... why?"

"Didn't I just tell you to get out?"

A few seconds, and a few hiccuping sobs later, and the door to Ono's apartment slammed closed with dreadful finality. Ono stood dumbstruck, and was still standing there like a statue when Ukyou rounded the corner. She gave him a look. It was filled with cold anger. He could literally feel the wind chi pouring off her body in nearly visible waves. Then she pushed him aside and stalked over to her room. Ono turned towards her and opened his mouth at her retreating back. But what was he going to say?

To be continued...

Author's Notes:

Blade: Man, Ukyou/you is a real bitch/bastard.

Epsilon: Well, that's what you keep telling me, anyway, so I thought I'd just be true to character.

Blade: Meanie.  Akane's totally gonna be MY friend now.

Epsilon: Maybe if you stopped killing people.

Blade: But... but... there are so many people with kickass supernatural abilities for me to steal that noone will miss anyway!  Like Kodachi!  Who needs her?  Pink is like Kodachi, only better!

Epsilon: ...right.

Blade: Well, okay, Kunou probably cares, but that presupposes anybody caring about what Kunou cares about.

Epsilon: Well, much as I hate to interrupt you demolishing whatever goodwill you built up with readers this chapter... it's convenient segue time!  So, speaking of people with supernatural abilities that other people care about... like the readers...

Blade: That was a really lame segue.

Epsilon: Lame segues are my middle name!

Blade: So you're Aaron Ukyou Epsilon Lame Segue Peori Kuonji?  That sounds like some retarded college fraternity.

Epsilon: A college fraternity where a bunch of anime characters go!  And, speaking of anime characters...

Blade: (facepalm)

Epsilon: ...I hereby warn the readers that Hybrid Theory contains... yes, SPOILERS!

Audience: *gasp*  *shock*  *amazement*

Blade: Yeah.  Specifically, there will be spoilers for Sailor Moon, Blue Seed, Ranma 1/2...

Epsilon: Like they needed to be told that.

Blade: Hmm.  Well, there's also going to be spoilers for other series' the readers don't as of yet technically know exist!  Indeed, the fact they exist in Hybrid Theory are in and of itself spoilers for Hybrid Theory!

Epsilon: So we can't tell the readers what series are going to be spoiled for them until you've already been spoiled?

Blade: Umm...

Epsilon: I see.  Our recommended solution, then, is to watch every anime series and read every manga and play every video game ever made before the next chapter comes out.  That way, you will be protected from all spoilers.  (checks watch) Which gives you... 28 days. Better get moving.

Blade: Way to kill off our already pitifully small readerbase.  Actually, in truth, the spoiler problem is NOT so bad... Blue Seed will get sort of spoiled, but who really cares about Sailor Moon or Ranma spoilers?  I mean, really: if you care, you know them already.  However, this is one series I feel obligated to warn people about and it ISN'T much of a problem to note it's here somewhere: Revolutionary Girl Utena.  It will, unfortunately, be spoiled the HELL out of. Since it's the Greatest Anime Of All Times, I recommend you try and check it out if you haven't already: you've got more than a couple of months before this becomes any sort of issue.  Sorry!

Epsilon: Or you could just do what I do and not care about spoilers.

Blade: Or that, yeah.

Epsilon: And speaking of things people don't care about, how about the preview for the next chapter?

Blade: I'd like to remind you I once again possess a bokken and the will to use it.

Epsilon: But can your bokken get the Hybrid Theory cast and crew out of THIS situation!?

"Oh, Ranma!" The voice was Kasumi again. "A kind lady is here, and she says she's your mother. Isn't that nice?"

"GAH!"

Ran blinked. Then she rubbed her eyes. Then she blinked again. Yes, Ranma had really disappeared. Ran hadn't thought anyone could move faster than her eyes could follow. Ran shrugged and looked around, quickly locating the young martial artist clinging to the ceiling directly above his former position. She sighed. The boy had a lot to learn about a successful vanishing act if that was the best he could think of doing.

"Ranma, what are you doing up there?"

"SHH! I don't want her to find me!" Ranma hissed insistently.

Akane was now looking up at him as well. "Don't want who to find you?"

"My mother!" Ranma hissed back down at her.

"Wow, some juicy family problems you have?" Ran grinned as she whipped her pad and pencil into her hands.

"Ran!"

"Sorry, Akane. Force of habit." Ran put away her pad. She did not, however, turn off her tape recorder.

Hybrid Theory Chapter 9: Hit The Floor

Blade: Yeah.  I bet the readers are TERRIFIED for poor Ranma's fate.  He'll never make it out of THIS one alive, folks!

Greetings, my name is Nodoka Saotome. I want everyone to know I am here under protest; I really want nothing to do with the awful man who is inhabiting that equally awful girl who is ruining my son's life.

Look at the trouble Ukyou keeps getting my darling son into! She gets him involved in some foolhardy scheme to win my affections, and explodes at everyone, including her closest friend Akane, when it doesn't go her way!

Then there are the nasty people Ukyou hangs around with. Like that boy Chris. He keeps trying to fool me by being sympathetic when he talks to Akane or fights monsters, but I can see past him! I just know he's going to mean trouble for my precious child down the line.

Plus there is that girl my son is supposed to be engaged to, Nabiki. Which is all Ukyou's fault, I would like to point out. Nabiki seems to be getting into quite a snit with everyone else. Plus now she has access to most of Ukyou's notes about the future. And there is that youma-girl Tethys, who is still alive and I just KNOW is going to be nothing good for dear Ranma. And speaking of nasty girls, apparently this one named Shampoo is on her way to Nerima along with her great-grandmother.

I can't seem to blame that on Ukyou... but that's only because I'm not trying hard enough!

So, you'll have to agree with me: Ranma would be much better off if Ukyou just vanished. Well, let's hope that will happen this chapter, shall we?

Chapter 9: Hit The Floor

“Ah, Akane Tendo, my one true love. Come, now that your oafish companion is no longer here, there is nothing preventing you from..."

"Could you leave this until later?" Akane asked, allowing only a hint of her exasperation to surface. Even with all he had done to her, she made it a point to at least be civil to Kunou. "I really just want to get home..."

"Then allow me to escort you, my lady fair!" Kunou shouted as he swung himself in front of her. His arms opened wide, as if he expected her to leap into them.

"No, Kunou, I'd rather be alone..." Akane kept her voice level. She was really not in the mood for Kunou's own special brand of idiocy today. After what had happened yesterday... no, don't think about that. Let Ukyou apologise if she really wanted to. Akane wasn't going to dwell on how much of a jerk the girl was turning into.

"Foolishness! Am I not Tatewaki Kunou, the scion of the great Kunou legacy, the unrivalled prodigy of the great art of Kendo, the undefeated master of the martial arts? Surely that is so! So there can also be no doubt that, in comparison to any other situation, my presence can only improve a person's life. Who, then, would turn down the chance to be near my magnificent visage? None! None I say! Therefore, you must be mistaken and in fact, truly desire to be with me this day."

Akane opened her mouth to reply to that. She closed it when she couldn't really think of anything to say. There were times when Kunou said something, and the best option was to just smile and nod and back away slowly.

"Thus I shall accompany you back to your abode. And perhaps there I shall inform your father that I intend to woo you. Thus can our true courtship begin..."

"Kunou!" Akane raised her voice just enough to catch the upperclassman's attention. "I just want to be left alone today. I had a very hard night last night and I need to think about it, alone."

"A hard night..." he mused. Then he leaned forward, his eyes squinting as he deeply examined her face. Akane backed away, not really sure if she wanted to be close enough to feel Kunou's breath on her cheek. "I see... you have been crying, and deeply. Truly the tracks and shadows on your face tell the dark tale of yesterday."

"What?" Akane reached up and touched her cheek. It was times like this that Akane wondered if Kunou was actually very observant, and just refused to exploit that talent for some reason.

"It must be... that you had a fight with that vile cad, Ukyou!" Kunou declared as he snapped his body into a heroic pose. Akane grimaced. That was a little too close to the truth for her taste. "Fear not, fierce tiger Akane Tendo. I shall always be here with open arms for you!" Akane guessed what was coming, but still wasn't fast enough to avoid it. Before she could protest, Kunou was enveloping her in a fierce embrace, his arms forcing her face against his shoulder. She could feel more than see the tears rolling down his cheek. "Cry on my shoulder! Unburden your wounded heart to me, my love, and I shall bathe you in the hot passionate healing energy that is my pure emotion!"

Kunou folded up nicely when Akane buried her fist into his gut. His grip loosened up just enough for her to smash her forearm into his chest, sending him tumbling away. Akane growled something she would never admit to saying and flipped one of her long forelocks back over her shoulder. Kunou remained sprawled on his back only briefly, unfurling from the ground to his naturally impressive height in a matter of seconds. He smirked at her in that way she hated the most and brushed a hand through his short black hair.

"I see being subjected to that fool Kuonji's presence has not dimmed your spark overmuch, my dear."

"Just get lost, Kunou. You're not half the man Ukyou is." She smirked herself. Even if Kunou didn't get the joke, Akane found it personally amusing. Especially since, from what she had seen, it was mostly true.

"You two there!"

Akane jerked her head as a new voice broke into her confrontation. It was deep, but strangely hollow. Kunou followed her gaze as well, and saw the new figure standing in the school gate. For a brief moment he was silhouetted by the sun, and all Akane could make out was that he was tall and clad in a bulky coat.

"Did you say the name Ukyou? Ukyou Kuonji?"

"Yes..." Akane answered slowly. Her suspicions rose. It seemed unfair, but every time something had happened because of Ukyou it had led to trouble. And... Akane was worried about her. If this person was here to hurt Ukyou, Akane would stand between him and her friend. No matter what problems they might be having just at the moment.

As the man stepped forward, the first thing Akane noticed was the mask. It was rather hard not to, after all. He was wearing some ridiculous children's mask, an octopus face with giant eyes and a snout, complete with a silly headband tied into a neat little bow. His upper body was clad in a checked coat that seemed a size too large for him, and dipped down almost to his knees. On his back was a bizarre apparatus whose purpose Akane could not immediately guess. It resembled some cross-breed of a screwdriver and a club, with a huge weighted end and a long slender spear coming from the other end. One of his arms was held crooked to his side, and on that arm rested a tiny octopus no larger than a pet cat.

"Tell me... tell me where Ukyou is, right now!" he demanded in that strange echoing voice.

"Heh, you are too late," Kunou said as he strode forward. Akane blinked, having forgotten for a moment that he was still there. "I have run that miscreant out of town."

Despite his eyes being hidden behind that huge childish saucer of his mask, Akane could feel the newcomer measuring up Kunou quickly. Then he leaned back, and she could hear the smirk in his voice. "I don't think so."

"You would call me a liar?"

"I'd say you aren't a very honest person. I can tell by your stance that you aren't a match for Ukyou."

"Tatewaki Kunou shall not stand for such an insult! Defend yourself!"

Akane frowned. Kunou was moving slightly slower today. She could easily follow him as he drew his bokken and sprinted across the field towards the newcomer. She remembered watching many of Kunou's fights with Ukyou, and how she could barely follow most of his strikes. It had annoyed her at the time, proving how far behind she was compared to all the serious fighters in the district.

Apparently the masked man was at least as quick as Akane. He hopped back and casually freed his strange weapon from its harness. Kunou swung his sword down with all his strength, and Akane could see the wind ripple and snap in its wake. That attack could shatter concrete from ten meters away. And yet, the boy deflected it with a deceptively elegant swipe of his cumbersome weapon. Akane's frown deepened. He was no ordinary fighter.

"Just as I thought," the boy chuckled darkly. "You're nothing but form."

"I have mastered the subtle perfection of Japanese swordplay," Kunou retorted as he forced the boy into locking up with him. Kunou growled and shoved with all his might, but against the boy's implacable strength it was in vain. "It is the greatest technique in all the world, and nothing can stand against it."

Akane blinked. She hadn't seen the masked boy move, but somehow Kunou had ended up flying over his shoulder to collide with the wall. The boy twirled his weapon in one hand... and it was only then that Akane realised he hadn't yet moved his other one. His pet octopus hadn't even been disturbed by the fight.

"Unfortunately for you, I've studied the technique of Kendo and I know all its flaws. You don't stand a chance against me using such a rigid style!"

Kunou pulled himself free of the wall, leaving behind a man-shaped dent in the concrete. "Ha! I hardly felt that." With a graceful flourish he spun to face his opponent again. Then with a fierce kiai the taller boy charged in for his classic Kendo overhand strike. The masked boy shifted his stance, gripping his weapon by the very tip and met his charge with a single thrust.

The sword came down in a powerful chop... only to find itself hovering in the air a good four centimeters from the tip of the mystery boy's 'snout'. Kunou, meanwhile, was dealing with the massive bulk of the warclub that had crashed into his chest. His mouth worked silently for a few seconds. Finally his eyes rolled back into his skull, and he collapsed.

"Heh, too easy." The mystery boy shouldered his weapon again. "With the reach of his weapon, he was no match for me."

"W-who are you?" Akane called, impressed despite herself. She had seen both Ukyou and Ranma defeat Kunou, and beyond that had fought real monsters, but the sheer casualness of that fight had been surprising.

"My name is Hayato Myoujin," the boy introduced himself. "I have come for Ukyou, and won't leave until I defeat her and pay her back for this face!" He gestured angrily towards his mask. Akane blinked. Then she heard a sharp crack and saw a small line bisect it. "What... my mask? The air pressure from his strike..." Desperately Hayato reached up with his free hand and clutched the mask, holding it together.

"Your face... what did Ukyou do to your face?" Akane wanted to believe that Ukyou would not have done anything bad to this man... but she remembered hearing about her brutal battle with Jadeite, and found her mind filling with doubts.

"Damnit, this mask is useless now..." Hayato growled and looked at her. "You're Ukyou's friend, aren't you?"

"I..." Akane knew she was, but didn't feel like saying as much now. She was still mad at the girl, after all.

"Tell her to meet me here tomorrow, or I'll destroy everything she holds dear!"

Before Akane could say anything, the boy vanished. Akane blinked. She had seen nothing more than a blur of lines - like the afterimage of a photograph - then Hayato was gone. Her gaze then came to rest on Kunou, who was laying spread-eagled upon the pavement. Finally her eyes settled on the crowd. At least half of the student body had stuck around after school just long enough to watch the show. Akane sighed. She was right: it seemed that everyone who showed up looking for Ukyou was nothing but trouble.

*

"Don't turn your back on me, Saotome!"

"Look, Ryouga, I really don't need this right now," Ranma informed his old rival, not turning around. "I have to find somebody, so if you could just..."

"NO! We've already delayed your defeat long enough!" Ryouga cried. "Vengeance demands blood!"

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Ranma grimaced. "I got it just as bad as you at Jyusenkyou, if not worse."

"You dare compare your tragedy to mine? I'll show you tragedy, Ranma!" Ryouga roared. Ranma heard the boy's pace shift and was already starting his dodge by the time the first of Ryouga's footfalls fell like hoofbeats behind him. The air at his back ripped and tore, violent gusts teasing at Ranma's shirt as he nimbly avoided the strike. The sky and ground somersaulted in his vision before he landed behind his opponent. Ryouga wore the same travel-worn shirt and pants as always, and his left hand held tightly to the deceptively heavy bamboo umbrella he used as a weapon.

Ranma danced back on his heels, raising his arms loosely before him. Ryouga was already turning to face him, but had made a mistake and came in facing right instead of left. Ranma grinned. He stepped forward. His fist lashed out. Ryouga's head snapped back, and the heavier boy followed it a second later.

He didn't give him a chance to recover. His fists blurred out and caught Ryouga on the chin once, twice, three more times. Finally, Ryouga collapsed. The heavy umbrella rolled from limp fingers. His body was shuddering, but the fight had leaked out of him. Still, he was trying to rise to his feet as best he could. Ranma shook his head and decided to take pity on the poor guy. He was obviously out of his element.

"C'mon Ryouga," Ranma crouched down and offered his hand. "Let's call it even. I'll even swear to help you out with your curse, kay?"

"Don't touch me!" Ryouga snarled and slapped his hand away. He did a sloppy push-up followed by a tighter forward flip to land on his feet. "This fight isn't over!"

Ranma leaned back, feeling only another harmless puff of air as the fist sailed over his head by inches. Man, when had Ryouga gotten so slow? When they'd fought only... three weeks ago? Well, when they'd last fought, Ranma had been pushing himself to the limit to stay a step ahead of him. In comparison, Ryouga was fighting underwater today.

"Man, you got real slow real fast, pal," Ranma pointed out as he crabcrawled back away from a devastating-looking axe kick from the lost boy. Ryouga snarled wordlessly, his tiny fangs poking over his lip. "No offence or nothing, but are you sick today? Maybe we should hold this off?"

"First you ruin my life, and then you mock me!" Ryouga charged forward. Ranma turned his crabcrawl into a backflip, staying a half-meter away from all of Ryouga's wild strikes. Oops, that wall was coming up fast. That might have been a problem for a lesser man, but for Ranma Saotome, it was an opportunity! "I don't care you fast you've gotten, I still only need one clean hit!"

"That ain't happenin'!" Ranma informed him. At the last second, Ranma sprung back and planted both feet against the wall. Rebounding like a superball, he shot over Ryouga's head. The lost boy was a black and yellow blur under him as he tried vainly to halt his forward momentum. "An opening!" Ranma declared. Moving with fluid grace, his somersaulted in mid-air and pistoned both feet into Ryouga's broad back. For some reason, Ranma swore he saw a flash of light just as his feet struck.

The wall exploded as Ryouga cannonballed through it. Bricks and mortar started pelting the ground, but Ranma avoided the debris with almost unconscious ease. He was guessing that his little joyride wouldn't be enough to take Ryouga out, but when the dust cleared, there was no sight of his rival. Not even his stupid bandana.

Ranma sighed and poked his head into the massive hole. No water, so Ryouga's curse hadn't been activated. He had been surprised to learn about his old friend... er, enemy's condition. Mostly because he hadn't thought even Ryouga would be stupid enough to follow him all the way to China. Heck, even Shampoo appeared to have given up now that he was safely out of her homeland, and she had some crazy blood feud thing going on.

The only other conclusion was that Ryouga must have gotten lost. Never really had a hard time believing that. He'd heard people that claimed that Ranma, and the people he hung around with, were 'weird'. But he really had no idea what they meant. To him, Ryouga's direction sense, Ukyou's cross-dressing and mood swings, and even Akane's perversions and temper... they were all just normal. Like his mother. Ranma shuddered. Best not to think about that for now.

"Hey, Ranma!"

He looked up. He knew the girl approaching him, but couldn't place a name. She'd been with Akane and that Sailor chick when he'd woken up at the airport. She was still wearing her ridiculous blue life-preserver vest and had a huge camera dangling from her neck.

"Uh... hey... uh..." Ranma rubbed the back of his neck.

"Ran, Ran Hibiki," the girl introduced herself with a short giggle. She was kind of cute when she laughed, Ranma noted. "Thanks for the shot, by the way."

"The shot..." Ranma blinked. "Oh, you mean you were taking photos of my fight?"

"'Never miss the good shots!'" she replied while thrusting her finger into the air.

"Uh, right..." Ranma decided to let that one slip by. After all, she was just acting like pretty much everyone else he had ever met.

"Mind if I ask you a few questions about the fight? Gotta flesh out the article with something resembling the truth," she said, with a grin to show she was kidding. Ranma shrugged and told her fine, but it would be best if they could talk while they walked. He was busy today.

"So, who was that you were fighting, anyway?"

"Name's Ryouga..." Ranma trailed off and looked at her. "Hey, you don't happen to be related to a Ryouga Hibiki, do you?"

"Huh? No." Ran paused and tapped her pen idly against the pad she had produced from one of her numerous pockets. "I have a cousin Ryuchiro, but he's like sooo over the hill, almost thirty. Definitely not a young stud like the guy you were fighting. So, his name's Ryouga Hibiki?"

"Yup."

"Hah! Must be a curse on the Hibiki name. The other biggest loser in martial arts also has that last name," Ran commented idly as she wrote things down furiously. Ranma tried to see what she was writing, but couldn't make out a word of it. "Good thing I decided to dedicate myself to journalism first."

"Nah," Ranma shrugged. "Ryouga's a decent fighter. One of the best I've ever seen, really. He just ain't no match for Ranma Saotome… but then, no one is."

"Wow, humble and arrogant in the same breath." Ran giggled again. Ranma shrugged, not sure what she meant, so he assumed it was a compliment. "So why were you fighting?"

Ranma opened his mouth, remembered his promise not to spill Ryouga's secret, and closed it again. "Personal reasons," he replied easily when Ran repeated the question.

"That sounds like a challenge!" Ran grinned and Ranma could see a twinkle in her eye. "But if you don't have anything else to say, I should get on to my real business."

"Oh?"

"Have you seen Ukyou around? I really need to talk to him."

Ranma deflated a little. He would never tell his best buddy Ucchan that her getting all the headlines in the local papers was a bit annoying. Because it wasn't, really. Ranma didn't need recognition for the fact that he was a better fighter than her. Just that it would be nice to have been mentioned in more than passing in any of the articles.

"Actually, I'm looking for he...him myself," Ranma informed her as they approached the Furinkan campus. "After what happened yesterday, I really need to talk and..." Ranma trailed off, realising that Ran was writing all this down in a flurry. He wasn't sure if he wanted his personal life splashed all over the papers. Even if it was just school rags.

"So that was you three yesterday? Fighting the giant water monster in Shinjuku?"

"We did what to the who in the where now?" Ranma blinked.

Ran snapped her hand out and produced a newspaper. Ranma blinked again. Where the heck had she been keeping that? She handed it to him wordlessly. Ranma skimmed over the article which was plastered all over the front page. Some sort of monster made of water, fought by a bunch of martial artists, a guy in a trenchcoat, and a paramilitary group?

"Uh... this wasn't me or Ucchan," Ranma pointed out. "We were busy with... personal business yesterday."

"What about Akane or the Sailor Senshi?"

"I'm pretty sure it wasn't Akane," Ranma mused, scratching the side of his neck. "The girls in the skirts could have been some of the Senshi, I suppose. I don't really know them personally."

"Ah... damn," Ran muttered. "Still, my nose for news is twitching. And your friend is news, whether he likes it or not. Mind if I stick around with you until we find him?"

"Uh, I don't see why not." Ranma wasn't really sure he had much choice in the matter. If he wanted to ditch Akane, he could just go roof-hopping. But from what he'd seen, Ran could keep up with him if he tried that.

*

"Hayato Myoujin

First Appearance: Volume 30+

Age: Sixteen

Features: Mask, Pet Octopus, Takoyaki utensil (giant)

Class: MADM..."

Nabiki frowned. She had seen that term "MADM" written out in English on quite a few of the entries, but she still had no idea what it meant. The rest of the entry was laid out much the same. There was even a well-done sketch of the boy that had only been partially burned away, which made it impossible to mistake him for anyone else.

Nabiki had watched the confrontation in front of the school with a great deal of interest. Normally she would have been long gone by the time Akane and Kunou had begun their little dance, but lack of petty cash had forced her to take her own turn in cleaning up the classroom. When everyone had paused to gawk at the fight, Nabiki had as well. Of course, none of the other students had a file folder full of information to consult so they knew exactly what was going on.

According to the files, the boy was a former enemy of Ukyou's, a master of a martial arts style based on the preparation and use of takoyaki balls. It sort of made sense, Nabiki supposed, since takoyaki was made from much the same ingredients as okonomiyaki, which was Ukyou's culinary specialty. The problem was that the data seemed to indicate that his goals were pretty standard. He wanted to defeat Ukyou to resolve an old debt concerning his face mask, and that was it. Which meant that he was useless to Nabiki.

She needed someone who was both strong, and easily manipulated. Someone who hopefully had a reason to dislike Ukyou or his friends from the start. She needed, in other words, a patsy. Which the book seemed to be full of, but only one had actually appeared so far.

She flipped pages in the book until she came to the entry for one Ryouga Hibiki. A cruel smile curled across her lips as Nabiki ran her finger down the partially obliterated data. This boy would be perfect for her. Now... how to find him?

Nabiki had never been a big believer in Fate. If pressed, she might have said that life sometimes threw people the oddest curves of coincidence on occasion. But Fate was a concept which made her skin crawl. Her future would be determined by the actions and choices of Nabiki Tendo, and no one else! Yet, in the next six seconds, she would have reason to question this conviction.

Because, even as she was closing the file folder and turning the last corner on her way home, Nabiki literally ran into Ryouga Hibiki. At first she didn't know who it was. She was far too busy cursing herself for not paying more attention to where she was walking. Not that she was doing so out loud. Externally, she put on her most disappointed frown and began to quietly gather up the scattered sheets of paper that had fallen out of her folder.

"Can I help you with that, Miss?"

Nabiki nodded. "Sure, if you wouldn't mind." She didn't really recognise the voice, but it sounded familiar somehow. She was thus defaulting to her most polite and deferent tone. The boy crouched down beside her and began to gather up the papers in his large, calloused hand. Nabiki could just see the yellow edges of his sleeves.

"I'm very sorry about that," the person told her, in a voice that was deep but trembling. Like that of a boy who had been thrust into manhood far too soon. "I have this... problem with directions, and I guess I didn't see you because I was paying too much attention to my map."

"It's fine..." Nabiki grumbled. Some of the papers had landed in a gutter that was still half-full of rainwater from yesterday. She hissed in disgust and began to fish them out and dry them as best she could. This was just great... "Hey, could you get some of these papers out for me? I really don't want them to be ruined, and they're already kind of delicate."

"Uh..." a nervous tremor entered the boy’s voice. "I'm... busy with these ones here!" He spoke in a rush, and Nabiki turned to give him a dark glare. She was not in the mood for some boy who was just using this as an excuse to crouch behind her and peek up her skir...

"Ryouga Hibiki!" Nabiki gasped before she could stop herself.

The boy stared at her in confusion. He had a wide, honest face with thick, wild black hair that was only partially tamed by the orange and black checked headband he wore. "I'm sorry, do I know you?" Ryouga asked between a pair of startled blinks. One could just make out his fangs.

Nabiki spent a few seconds catching her mental balance and studying him. He wasn't at all bad-looking. His features were just wild enough to be called rugged, but not so messy that he looked like he had never been taught about hygiene. Despite wearing a pair of loose black pants and a long-sleeved orange tunic, Ryouga's muscular figure was quite obvious. Nabiki smiled. Well, if he wasn't that bad looking, this would be much easier.  She took a quick glance around: the two of them were alone in the street.  Perfect.

"R-Ryouga..."  she put a deliberate catch in her voice. As the boy sat, expression totally clueless, Nabiki carefully arranged her own face into an expression of wide-eyed devotion. She dropped her papers almost carelessly and clasped her hands beneath her chin. Bat the eyes. Smile. Blush. Force out a crocodile tear by biting lightly into her tongue. Perfect.

"Uh... Miss..." Ryouga stammered.

"You... you don't remember me?" Nabiki turned her face away and looked into the pavement. "I guess. I guess I understand."

"What?" Ryouga gasped. "No! I... I remember you! You're... you're..."

"Nabiki Tendo." She eased out her name like she was fanning a small flame. "You... you rescued me from a fate worse than death!"

Before Ryouga could react, Nabiki 'fell' forward and leaned against him. Ryouga had gone stiff as a board. Thankfully he couldn't see her vicious grin. Maybe someday Nabiki would thank Ukyou for telling her, in a roundabout way, of how hopeless Ryouga was with girls. But then again, maybe not.

"I've been dreaming about you ever since," Nabiki stage-whispered. "Your flashing smile, your thick hair, your..." Nabiki blinked. Oh damn, what colour were his eyes? Forget it, cover yourself quickly. "Your strong arms... encircling me..."

"Ah! Ah!" Ryouga seemed incapable of actual words at this point.

"I've been trying to think of the best way... the best way to reward you for your selfless actions..." Nabiki pulled back and artfully bit her lower lip. She could see Ryouga still crouched nearby, looking like nothing so much as a pole-axed cow. "But I don't have anything to offer you..." Nabiki had already started her skillful manoeuvre before pulling back, so that her hands were now resting on her shoulders without making it seem like she had placed them there deliberately. "Except... except..."

"Except..." Ryouga choked out. A thin red trickle was running from his nose.

"Except... for my body..." Nabiki cried and pulled down her blouse in a single, seemingly spontaneous and apparently unpracticed motion. There was a thick liquid gurgle, followed by a thud. Nabiki had closed her eyes (it was expected) and when she opened them, she saw that Ryouga had collapsed face-first into the pavement. A pool of blood was growing around his head. Nabiki smiled and carefully pulled her blouse back up over her exposed bra. Thankfully, she had been wearing one of the frillier and skimpier ones today. "What a dope," Nabiki muttered to herself.

Now all that she needed to do was move him to the next location for part B of her plan and... and...

"What the...?" Nabiki tugged on the boy's arm again, but he refused to budge. She licked her lips and set herself with both feet this time. A few seconds of heaving later and all Nabiki had accomplished was gaining a sheet of sweat on her face and losing her breath. Growling, Nabiki shifted her stance again. What was this guy made out of? She doubted Akane could move him!

She was getting desperate now. She needed to move him to the next location... or her entire plan would fall to pieces. Taking a deep breath, she curled her fingers into the fabric of his tunic. It was coarse, but the texture was oddly comfortable. She spread her feet as wide as her hips would allow. She pulled in a deep breath and tried to recapture those lessons in the martial arts that Daddy had taught her so long ago. She would not let this lump ruin her plan just by being heavy!

With an almost primal roar Nabiki pulled... and for a second she felt the body shift. Then she realized that it wasn't Ryouga moving, it was his sleeve. She wasn't sure if she heard the rip or her own curse first, but either way she fell ass-first into the gutter before she could recover. A small cloud of grey water erupted around her. Nabiki sighed... that was just her luck.

"This is all your fault..." she began to berate the unconscious Ryouga, only to realise he was no longer there. Instead, buried partially under his huge backpack and the empty folds of his clothing was a small black piglet. It was dripping wet. Nabiki opened her mouth, and sat there for a second. Her finger came up, then down. Finally she closed her mouth.

"I see... just like Ranma and his father, huh?" Nabiki laughed. Well... that was actually a bonus. It would make things work much more smoothly. She reached down and jerked her new pawn free. Yes, much more smoothly.

*

"Would you come here for a moment, Momiji?"

Momiji smiled and nodded as she walked across the room. Mrs. Matsudaira was smiling in a pleasant manner, which she seemed to do a lot when she wasn't frowning in concentration at the computer screen or one of her numerous research projects. Mrs. Matsudaira was an older woman, clearly past her prime but retaining most of her youthful beauty. She might have looked better, but she had a distracted quality to her, and her clothes and hair seemed to always be maintained at the minimum level of cleanliness to not be considered actually disheveled. That, and she always had subtle bags under her eyes from the many sleepless nights she spent up studying the latest data on the Aragami.

Momiji really didn't know what the woman found so fascinating about science or her research, but didn't begrudge her that fascination. She had sometimes wished that she had the kind of ambition that Mrs. Matsudaira had, towards something. It would have made her feel more useful when surrounded by such a group of competent professionals.

"I have some presents for you," Mrs. Matsudaira explained as she reached under her desk and began to pile a variety of bizarre (to Momiji's layman eyes) devices on the surface.

"Oh... wow... I don't know what to say?" Momiji said as she watched the woman place more and more objects on the table. Was she supposed to know what most of these things were? Did she miss some pamphlet along the way explaining what she was supposed to do with them? She was curious about what most of it did, but after yesterday's disaster with Ms. Sagakuchi's personal arsenal, Momiji was just slightly afraid to touch anything until she knew exactly what it was.

"These will help us track down and deal with the Aragami," Mrs. Matsudaira explained. "It's all highly experimental, but quite sophisticated."

"Oh!" Momiji exclaimed with relief. So she wasn't expected to know what Mrs. Matsudaira was talking about here. Momiji smiled keenly and nodded vigorously as her colleague explained what most of the stuff on the counter did. She used a lot of jargon and technical talk that Momiji hadn't the slightest hope of understanding, so she just tried to appear cheerful and attentive. She even carefully packed each piece of equipment into her backpack, where she would probably never touch it again. Except maybe to show it off to Kusanagi. That would show that big jerk that she was an important part of the TAC!

"There you two are..."

Momiji turned and called out a happy good morning to her host and boss. Mr. Kunikida was still mostly a mystery to her. He looked like a decent enough man. Definitely approaching the distinguished end of the age spectrum, with a growing widow's peak and a long face. Momiji could never look him in the face for too long without staring at the giant wart on the side of his nose, so she tried to look away a lot without seeming to. He treated her well enough, but there was always a hint of sadness behind his smiles and encouragement. Was he seeing her sister when he saw her? The sister Momiji herself had never known? Was Kusanagi?

"I somehow knew you would be here, Matsudaira, and I think I'm going to have to get used to you showing up early, Momiji," Mr. Kunikida laughed.

"Just doing my duty!" Momiji called and tried to snap into something resembling a disciplined military stance. Not that she was that sure that the military was disciplined, after spending yesterday with Ms. Sagakuchi...

"But seriously, Momiji, you have to wait for the rest of us to leave before coming here. As much as I appreciate your efforts, I don't want you walking the streets alone, even if it is just to work and back," Mr. Kunikida declared in his most somber tone. That was the other thing that put Momiji ill at ease with her mentor... his sudden shifts in mood. "Anyway, I was wondering if you two would come up to the office for a few minutes; I have something I want to discuss with the entire staff."

"Uh, yes, of course..." Momiji declared cheerfully. She heard Mrs. Matsudaira agree from just behind her as well. Before Momiji knew it, she was back upstairs in what passed for the TAC's office. When Momiji had first arrived, the place had been a mess of papers and garbage and other assorted knickknacks. Her first duty, and the one she still relished because it made her feel... useful, was to clean the place up. Everyone but Ms. Sagakuchi had thanked her for that. A short glance at the buff redhead confirmed that they probably still weren't on the best of terms. Momiji just flashed her a smile. She had really hoped to use yesterday to clear up any bad air between them, but then the Aragami attack had come along and... oh well. Maybe tomorrow?

"Is everybody here? Good." Mr. Kunikida sat behind his desk at the head of the office and leaned forward. "Everyone please have a seat. I have something I want to ask you all about." Momiji noticed that he had set up a small television and video player behind his desk. She briefly wondered why as she sat behind her own desk.

"I hope that this doesn't take long. I have important research to get back to," Mrs. Matsudaira pointed out.

"It won't take long," Mr. Kunikida replied. "First, let me bring everyone up to speed. Yesterday, Momiji and Koume encountered an Aragami." Everyone nodded. "At the same time, they met up with our mysterious 'friend' Kusanagi, and a trio of new faces."

"Ah, I see where this is going," Ms. Takeuchi said, nodding to herself.

"Yes. During the confrontation with the Aragami, this trio displayed superhuman physical prowess and an ability to sense the movements and... moods of the Aragami. They also attempted to capture the mitama for themselves, but were prevented from doing so by the intervention of Kusanagi. Am I correct?"

It took Momiji a second to realise he was addressing her. Repressing the urge to gulp or grin nervously, she nodded.

"Yeah," Ms. Sagakuchi drawled while stretching in her chair. "So what's your point, boss-man? We told this to you yesterday."

"I was just making sure that everyone knew what had happened," Mr. Kunikida informed her. "Now, I want you all to take a careful look at the following tape. Tell me if anyone you see on it is at all familiar."

Without looking, Mr. Kunikida pointed a remote over his shoulder and clicked a button. He stared forward at them intensely as the word "Erase" began to flash quickly in the corner of the otherwise black screen.

"Uh... Mr. Kunikida..." Momiji trailed off, not quite sure what to say.

"Boss," Mr. Yaegashi cleared his throat quickly. "I think you hit the wrong button."

"I... did?" Mr. Kunikida turned to look at the screen. His eyes bugged out. He shouted something very naughty that made Momiji blush. He began to beat on the tape machine and yell for help. Mr. Yaegashi ran to his aid, while Ms. Sagakuchi nearly fell out of her chair laughing. The other two members of the TAC seemed to be more blasé about the affair, though Ms. Takeuchi looked mildly concerned.

A few minutes later, Mr. Yaegashi had cleared up the problem. He even did something to fix the damaged portions of the tape. This time Mr. Kunikida allowed him to run the machine.

Momiji wasn't sure what she was seeing at first. It was a long grey field with a large group of people walking across it. Teenagers, about her age from the looks of it. Three guys and four girls. Three of the girls were dressed in similar... uniforms. Though Momiji wasn't sure she would call them that. True, she wore a short skirt with her TAC uniform... but at least she wasn't wearing it over a body-hugging leotard. Then the area seemed to fill with a fine mist, and the view panned left to show a large number of humanoid... things climbing out of the bay and...

"Hey, that's Narita Airport!" Ms. Takeuchi pointed out.

"Indeed, this was taken about ten days ago," Mr. Kunikida replied.

"That would make it..." Ms. Takeuchi trailed off, and Mr. Kunikida nodded. Momiji briefly wondered what they were talking about... then it hit her. The terrorist attack! The heroic face-off between that boy - what was his name? - and the Evil Kingdom! It had been all over the news for almost a week.

"Everyone please pay attention," Mr. Kunikida pointed out. They all did. Momiji found herself enthralled by the events that unfolded on the screen. She had seen the pictures in the paper and read the stories, but there was something different about seeing the (almost) real thing. She found herself cheering when the boy and his allies foiled another one of the evil mastermind's plans, and wincing in sympathy as the monstrous man vented his anger on the young hero. She couldn't watch when the man had him held in the air, torturing him. And even though there was no sound, she swore she heard the final snap. But good triumphed in the end. And even when the hero had the villain at his mercy, he chose to let him live. Even if one of the women in the mock-school uniforms decided to take matters into her own hands. The tape continued past a confrontation between the schoolgirls and the heroic boy that Momiji had never read about in the papers, and then stopped.

"What... where did you get that?" Ms. Takeuchi asked once Mr. Yaegashi had popped out the tape.

"Connections," Mr. Kunikida explained. "The important question here is, did any of you recognise any of the people on that tape from the fight yesterday?" The question was addressed to the group, but he was looking directly at Momiji when he said it. This time she did gulp, a little. She had never seen Mr. Kunikida so... intense.

Surprisingly, it was Mr. Yaegashi who answered. "The girls in the school uniforms are called the Sailor Senshi." Everyone turned to look at him. His face burst out in a fierce blush and he began to twitch and stammer as they continued staring. "They... uh, they're kind of superheroes... uh... that is... not really superheroes... they don't fight crime... just monsters, really... and... they... well..."

"And how do you know so much about them?" Ms. Sagakuchi asked in a suspicious tone.

"I'm... kinda a fan," Mr. Yaegashi pointed out. He was sweating slightly now. Mr. Yaegashi was a short, unassuming man; the kind your eyes would have passed over without pause in a crowd. He wore a neat suit, a neat pair of glasses that seemed one size too small for his face, and had a neat, unassuming hairstyle. "Well, not really of them, but I'm a big fan of Sailor V! And it's almost the same thing..."

"Sailor V?" Mr. Kunikida asked with a frown.

"I know that one," Momiji declared. "Sailor V is a character from a popular comic and animation series! She even has video games, and they're supposed to be working on her movie." Momiji had never really been into the 'magical girl' genre, but it was hard for a girl her age to not be familiar with the Sailor V phenomenon. Especially how it had appeared out of virtually nowhere only a few months ago. Well, at least to Momiji it had.

"Actually, her exploits are based on those of an actual girl from England," Mr. Yaegashi pointed out. He gestured to a small statuette of a girl in a comically sexy sailor suit uniform and huge opera glasses on his desk. "She fights crime and monsters there, just like the Sailor Senshi do here. Some people think that the Senshi based their own uniforms off of hers, due to the obvious similarities..."

"Yes, I see... but you didn't see either them or this Sailor V at the fight yesterday?" Mr. Kunikida interrupted him just as Mr. Yaegashi began to trail off.

"Nah," Ms. Sagakuchi pointed out. "Two of the girls wore weird outfits, and the third was in a leotard, but nothing like those Sailor Scouts..."

"Senshi," Mr. Yaegashi corrected her.

"Whatever." Ms. Sagakuchi rolled her eyes. Momiji wouldn't have accused anyone else of dressing in a weird manner if she habitually walked around in a pink jumpsuit, but wasn't about to say as much. "My point is, I didn't see them, or any of the people on the tape there."

"I see..." Mr. Kunikida leaned back and cupped his hands together in front of his mouth. "So... it appears we have more of these... meta-humans out there. Three more, plus this Sailor V girl, if Yaegashi's claims can be believed."

"If I may ask, sir... what is the point of this?" Ms. Takeuchi was always all business. Her dress-suit was all business. Her personality was all business. Her actions were all business. Even her hairstyle was almost all business, except for a long bang which seemed to have gotten out of her control and covered half her face.

"I was hoping one of you could tell me," Mr. Kunikida explained with a soft chuckle.

"Well, from a scientific standpoint it really is quite intriguing," Mrs. Matsudaira pointed out, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "The people on that tape seem capable of performing feats of strength, speed and energy manipulation that quite exceed even the most well-trained Olympic athletes or combat experts." She turned to Ms. Sagakuchi. "No offense intended."

"What? By Jojo the jumping man and his girlfriends in the skirts of fetish fantasies?" Ms. Sagakuchi laughed. "I don't think that any of them are a match for an AK-47 or even a good Glock, much less a TOW missile."

"Uh... yes..." Mrs. Matsudaira coughed. "I would love to know more about how they accomplished those feats. Or whether they are even human at all. After all, the only beings we have encountered who can exceed conventional abilities so far are the Aragami. However, I wouldn't even want to speculate on how they accomplish what they do, or whether they are connected to the Aragami, without more evidence."  She paused thoughtfully for a moment. "Though, actually, I'm not surprised. If the Aragami exist, can it really be that much of a stretch to posit the existence of other seemingly mystical forces in this world?"

Momiji found herself nodding along with Mrs. Matsudaira's words. Even if she had no idea what 'posit' meant. Then again, for her, all of this was new. It was only two weeks since she had first even heard the word "Aragami", much less found herself helping a (semi-) secret Japanese agency fight them. She wouldn't have been that surprised at this point if Buddha himself had appeared before her.

"Nonetheless, the evidence exists. These people are real, and powerful, and potentially dangerous..." Mr. Kunikida was back to frowning now.

"Once again, sir. What is the point of this exercise?" Ms. Takeuchi broke in.

"Hmmm?"

"It's not our job to worry about random supernatural beings," Ms. Takeuchi explained. "Our mission mandate is the find a way to defeat the Aragami and protect the Kushinada." She smiled at Momiji when she said that last part, and Momiji smiled back. Okay, maybe Ms. Takeuchi wasn't ALL business. "The fact that these people exist is irrelevant. Until and unless they begin to interfere with our mission, that is."

"I see..." Mr. Kunikida nodded. "So you're suggesting we just sit on this for now?"

"Precisely," the woman nodded. "The ones that Momiji and Koume encountered yesterday seemed to be on our side, at least. But we can't really do anything until we know more, anyway."

"You have a good point..." Mr. Kunikida trailed off. Momiji could sense something else on the tip of his tongue, but he cut himself off. "Nevertheless, I would like you to do me a favour, Ryoko."

"Yes, sir?" Ms. Takeuchi responded.

"Contact your friend Sugishita at the police department," Mr. Kunikida said as he stood up. "I want to find out everything I can about the person all those articles talked about at the airport..." He paused and consulted a small notebook. "Ukyou Kuonji." Ms. Takeuchi nodded. "Good. Even if this isn't part of our mandate... I'm still concerned because we have had people step into the fights with the Aragami. If it happens again... I trust you can handle this little side project without it interfering in your duties here. You've never disappointed me in the past."

"I understand, sir," Ms. Takeuchi said with a deep smile. Momiji stared at her for a moment. Was she blushing? Could she be...? Nah.

"Good," Mr. Kunikida said, then started smiling again. "Now let's all get back to work. We have a country to save, after all."

*

Link regretted the fact that they'd never gotten the chance to look at Momiji's mitama.  Chris had described them: a blue, seed-like object in the shape of half of a yin-yang symbol.  But that wasn't the same as actually seeing it, feeling it... Link felt vexed once again over what had happened the day before.  Not just that that orange-skinned man had so callously killed the aragami - his own kind! - but the reactions afterwards.  Even her sister didn't understand the importance of what was lost, and that undead monster certainly couldn't.  If a child was killed, did you say "That's all right - there's plenty more"!?

She stared down at the chrysanthemum.  It was beautiful, well-cared-for, and yet seemed so... inadequate.  She could feel its life, its simple wants and desires, but all she could think of were those others.  Those plants that were mobile like animals, and whose thoughts... if not on the level of humans, were close enough.  They could SPEAK, not just convey primal desires.  She and her sister had been developing and experimenting with plants all their lives.  They were considered geniuses, their creations nothing short of astounding.  But this... this was beyond anything she'd ever dreamed.  Ever even conceived of.

How could she have possibly never heard of these before?

The sound of a throat clearing interrupted her thoughts.  Turning, she saw Tatewaki Kunou standing in the entrance to the room.  They hadn't had much contact with the dead girl's brother since arriving; Chris had introduced them as 'my dear friends from China' and laughed in a disturbing fashion.  She later explained that that would keep Kunou from bothering them.  It seemed to have worked - since then, the extent of their interaction had been a curt nod in passing in the hallway.  So what did he want now?

For a few moments, there was silence as Kunou merely stared probingly at her.  She had almost decided to ask him what the hell he was doing when he finally spoke.  "Are you the one named Pink?"

Link frowned.  Pink was, as usual, out in the gardens, but it wouldn't be very safe for Kunou to go there.  "No, I'm Link.  My sister is busy.  What did you want her for, over?"

Kunou seemed to consider his words before speaking slowly.  "My sister is... unwell.  She requested that I bring the one called Pink to her."

Link felt her frown deepen.  If Chris was unwell, why would she ask for Pink?  Healing illness wasn't her sister's specialty - and what illness could affect a dead thing, anyway?  She made a decision.  "Where is she, over?"

"In her room."  Link knew the way, but allowed Kunou to lead her.  He kept glancing at her as they walked, but said nothing.  Did he think she and her sister had something to do with 'Kodachi's' illness?  Link could almost have laughed.  The illness Kunou's sister had was incurable.

They reached the door to the dead girl's bedroom, and Kunou stepped aside to let Link enter.  Inside, the room was dimly lit.  She could make out a form on the bed, presumably Chris, hidden behind gauzy curtains.  Link's nose wrinkled.  There was an unpleasant odour permeating the room.  It reminded her of meat that had been left out too long and spoiled-

Oh.

"Please close the door."  Chris's voice sounded wet, almost choked, like she had a bad cold.  Link complied with the request, feeling somewhat numb.  Of course, the undead had told them about this, but smelling... she felt nauseous. What did Chris look like?  And how fast had this happened?  Link hadn't noticed any particular odour the day before.

"Thanks," the moist voice responded as Link turned to face the shadowy figure again.  "As you can see, a bit of a problem has..." she paused, and Link saw her silhouette shift.  "You're Link.  Did Kunou get confused?  I asked him to get your sister.  Sorry if he bothered you."

Link shook her head, trying not to think about the eyes watching her. "No, my sister is occupied in the garden.  When he said you seemed unwell, I thought I'd come see what was wrong with you, over."

Chris paused for a moment before responding.  "Well, thank you.  I appreciate the thought."

"It was habit, over," Link replied coldly.  She was not this abomination's friend.  "I had forgotten about your... problem."

A moist chuckle, and a shadowed hand reached to the curtain.  "So had I, almost."

The curtain peeled back, and Link steeled her expression, staring impassively.  It wasn't as hard as she feared it would be.  The creature that stared out at her was not quite the putrid, rotting corpse she had anticipated. But she definitely was not well, either.  The skin of Kodachi's body was no longer uniformly pale, but instead was covered by multiple dark, wine-coloured blotches.  The hand touching the curtain was not the smooth, supple one Link remembered; the skin had shrunken back around the fingers and split in several places.  Indeed, all of Kodachi's skin seemed to hang almost loosely, as if the muscles underneath had shrunken overnight.  And her eyes... that almost did make Link shudder.  They were milky white, the pupils and irises all but invisible behind the necrotic coating.  They were now truly the eyes of a corpse.

"As I was saying, and as you can see, there is a problem.  Not unanticipated, but unwelcome nonetheless."

"Yes, I see that.  So what did you want my sister for, over?"

The dead girl spread her hands.  "I figured Pink would be more comfortable.  But I wanted to tell her, and let her know I had to go out. And..." she hesitated.

"Going out, over?" She knew why.  She could hardly have forgotten.  But she needed to hear.  Hear it from the monster's own mouth.

The milky eyes stared unblinkingly at her for a few moments, then closed.  "Going out.  I'm going to need... I need a new body."  She opened her eyes again.  "I'm sorry."

Link repressed another shudder.  'Need a new body'... it sounded so casual, like needing new clothes.  Had this walking corpse looked at them hungrily, considering how well their bodies would fit?

No.  No, that wasn't possible.  Chris wanted them to help her, that was why she had found them.  Except... they hadn't even TRIED to do anything to preserve the body yet, and even with this happening, Chris didn't seem upset. Unhappy, yes, but she had not even mentioned preserving the body since they'd met in China, and she didn't seem even slightly resentful now.

But if getting them to try to preserve her body wasn't that high a priority for Chris, then why did she seek them out in the first place?

At that point the door banged open, and Link spun to see Pink stride in, smirking.  "So there you are," she began, and then looked at Link.  "And you too.  This is a surprise, over."  She raised an eyebrow inquiringly.

"I had asked Kunou to get you, but Link came instead," Chris explained. "She said you were occupied."

Pink shrugged.  "I was out in the garden, but I finished." She grinned, adding, "Now I just need someone to test it out on, over."

"That'll have to wait," Link said. "There's something that needs to be dealt with first, over."

"Wait, over?" Pink grinned.  "No need.  Someone left a perfectly good brother out in the hallway, over."

Chris chuckled.  "Nothing lethal involved, I hope."

"Hard to tell until it's been tested, over."

"Stop it," Link snapped.  It was so hard to get Pink to take anything seriously sometimes.  Except Shampoo, of course.  "I told you, there's something we have to deal with first, over."

"Yeah, yeah, I noticed.  It stinks in here, over."  Pink wrinkled her nose.  "You should thank me.  Before I took care of him, that Kunou guy was trying to listen at the door."  She put her hands on her hips and stared at Chris expectantly.  "Well, over?"

The dead girl blinked.  "Well... what?"

"The urgent problem is obvious - you told us about it before.  We'll have to go get you a new body.  So are we leaving or what, over?"

Chris chuckled wetly, seeming to find her reaction amusing.  "Well, there's a few things to be taken care of.  You two should get your things together.  I'll go out and see about the body situation, and when I get back, we'll have to head out."

"Wait a moment," Pink said.  "Why are we leaving?  The only person that lives here is Kunou, right?  It'd be easy to take care of him, so why not stay, over?"

The dead girl sighed.  "Yes, we could do that, but that would hardly be very nice to him, would it?"

"Neither was killing his sister, over," Link interjected coldly.  Not that she really cared about what happened to Kunou, but it was disgusting watching this monster quibble about what was 'nice'.

Chris looked at her expressionlessly, and she met the undead gaze without flinching.  "You are, of course, correct.  Thus, it is all the more important that we don't do anything else to him."

"So what are WE going to do?" Pink complained.  "You brought us here, so it's your responsibility to get us a place to stay, over."

"Don't worry about it," Chris said.  "I was dealing with that most of the morning, after I realised what happened.  There won't be any problems."

"All right," Pink said.  "Link and I will get some things together, and then we'll go, over."

"We?" Chris replied, arching an eyebrow.  "I was thinking I'd go alone on this one."

"Won't do, over," Pink said.  "You'll be gone goodness-knows-how-long, and you won't be coming back as Kodachi.  Kunou already saw you, right?  So he'll be suspicious, and you didn't want us to do anything to him.  If his sister vanishes after speaking to us and then some strange person shows up, there'll probably be trouble, over."

Link stayed silent during this.  She'd agreed (reluctantly) to this before they had even arrived in Japan.  Pink wanted to see 'how she did it'. Link didn't want any part of this, but... it would happen anyway.  At least she wouldn't have to watch.

Chris looked hesitant.  "You have a point, but still..."

"What are you worried about?" Pink interrupted.  "We know what's wrong and what you're going to do.  Why get so squeamish about it now, over?"

"It's more consideration than squeamishness," the dead girl drawled. "But fine.  If you want to come that badly, I can certainly use that."  She turned towards Link.  "Maybe we can find someplace for you to stay..."

"No," Link said immediately.  "I'll stay with you, over."

"Are you sure?" Chris asked, obviously surprised.  "I didn't think you'd want to..."

"Don't worry about me," Link snapped.  It wasn't any of this creature's business.  "I can take care of myself.  So let's just hurry up and go, over."

*

"The sky was a dagger of clouds, stabbing into the horizon. It was going to rain. The citizens of the city stared up at the dark storm with rueful apprehension. Everyone could feel the tension in the air. That tingle on the tiny hairs of your arm that sweeps in just before the big one. But there was something beyond the storm, something everyone could sense but no one could name.

"Life-stealing monsters in Minato ward. 'Terrorist' explosions destroying schools and offices around Mount Narisawa. Sentient tsunamis tearing up the Tokyo Dome. Ghosts haunting the national museum. UFO's spotted in the vicinity of the bridge that was destroyed last week. But look even further out and see the chaos expand. Occult slayings throughout London. The White House and Library of Congress destroyed by 'freak lightning storms'? A valley in Romania where they say the sun hasn't shone for over a month!

"We can all feel it, tickling at the back of our skulls. That strange sensation that the Americans call 'someone walking on your grave'. And maybe that's exactly what's happening. Some primitive reptile brain reaction to the supernatural in our world? Could that be the reason for the anxiety I see in the face of my father when he opens his copy of the paper in the morning? Is that the only reason for the blank stares I see staring at the evening news as the talking heads tell us how the amount of violent death in Tokyo over the last three months has now equalled that recorded over the last three decades?

"Or maybe it's because we realise that we are just seeing the first gusts. That the few squalls that have hit our shores are nothing more than warning signs. We as a race have always been fascinated by stories about the end of the world... why should we act so surprised when it seems the harbingers of the apocalypse keep popping up in prime time?

"But I personally don't believe this is the end. I think there are people out there, standing against the storm. You've heard the rumors, probably know someone who knows someone who was there the day the Sailor Senshi destroyed a monster, or the night the stranger in the white gi destroyed a Shadowloo cell. But perhaps the best known of the stormwardens is Ukyou Kuonji. The hero of Narita. The saviour of Cherry Hill. A man of mystery. A man of few friends and many enemies.

"And now, Ukyou has vanished.

"Fear not. This mystery shall not go unsolved! This reporter will dig into the soft loam of this enigma and unearth the truth! Has Ukyou fallen foul to the forces of darkness? Or perhaps he has abandoned his protection of our city?"

"Hey!"

"Or maybe it’s something more prosaic? A good old-fashioned romantic tryst with one of the many female admirers..."

"Hey! Ukyou ain't like that!"

"...female admirers all across Tokyo. Or it could be that Ukyou never intended to save us, that maybe he is just as much a victim as..."

"You shouldn't be talkin' about Ukyou like that."

"Shush, you! I'm trying to do the dramatic narration!"

Ran snapped off her recorder and glared at Ranma for all she was worth. Her hands were on her hips and her face in the innate feminine expression of disdain. She had known that expression to cow even the most macho jerks into silence. But apparently Ranma was a step above your usual macho jerk.

"I didn't agree to let you tag along so you could write some stupid trash story about my friend!" He started waving his arms around in frustration. Ranma wasn't tall, or TOO handsome. His hair was mussy and his clothes travel-worn. But on the other hand, his body was taut with muscle and his motions as smooth and hypnotic as a cat's. If Ran had to think of a single word to describe him... it would be... 'sidekick'. He just didn't seem like the kind of guy who could carry his own stories. But as the friend of a main character? Yeah, Ran could see him like that.

"You're just afraid of me unearthing the truth!"

"No I ain't!" Ranma shot back. "Listen, Ukyou just had a bad day yesterday and she probably needed a day or two to cool off. I just wanted to find her and offer my support."

"A likely story," Ran murmured as she adjusted her equipment. She wasn't really paying attention to Ranma. He was making a bit too much sense. But Ran NEEDED this story. For nearly a week she had seen her name in the big papers. She had talked with eager editors, been interviewed live on national TV and written enough follow-ups that her poor old typewriter had finally conked out.

Then... the stations and syndicates had figured out the truth: it had been a fluke. She had just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Ran had sat by the phone for three days straight, like a pathetic ex-girlfriend. No one had called. None of the promises of contracts had panned out. She had blown all her advances on a fancy new computer and professional photography equipment. For everything she had earned, she had practically nothing to show for it.

Ran needed a story. Any story. But something preferably big. She was not a one hit wonder. She would prove those idiots wrong about that. They would rue the day they doubted the talent of Ran Hibiki. She would show them, she would show them all!

Wait. Where had Ranma gone?

Ran spun around on her heel. Then blinked as she heard a creak overhead. Pivoting her neck back, she saw Ranma clinging to a lamppost right above her. His eyes were quivering like jell-o molds and his pigtail was standing straight out from his neck.

"Hey, what are you doing up there?" Ran asked slowly.

"N-nothing! I certainly wasn't afraid of your laughter, if that's what you're implying!"

"I didn't imply that at all..." Ran blinked. Laughter. Well, she had been chuckling a bit.

"Good. Because I wasn't," Ranma said as he landed beside her.

"If you say so," Ran muttered and shrugged.

"I damn well do say so!" Ranma growled as he waved his fist at her.

"Woah, yeah, yeah!" Ran backed off and waved him calm. "I believe you... you must have really been... uh... been..."

"Getting a bird's eye view of the area!" Ranma insisted vehemently.

"That's it exactly!" Ran agreed.

"Because that would help me look for Ukyou!" Ranma added, just as forcefully.

"Makes perfect sense," Ran nodded.

"Good... just keep that in mind," Ranma muttered and started down the street again. Ran discreetly made a note about his violent bouts of paranoia. Was that related to Ukyou's disappearance? Possible. Must investigate further.

While she was writing and catching up with him, Ranma had entered a large complex. Well, large for Japan. It appeared to be a form of traditional dojo. There was even a sign asking all challengers to please use the back entrance. Cute.

"Oh, Ranma, you're home!"

The voice belonged a tall brunette with a willowy figure and a conservative dress. She was pretty, in that way someone's mother was pretty. Her face contained the kind of smile which you couldn't doubt she used often and without restraint. She approached Ranma, who paused uncomfortably in the middle of the main path. For some reason, he wasn't able to look her directly in the face.

"Yeah, Kasumi. I actually came to see Akane. She back from school yet?"

"She actually just got back a few minutes ago. She's in the dojo, I believe."

"Thanks!" Ranma started to run past her.

"And who's your friend?" Only to find himself tripping over his own feet as Kasumi's question caught him off guard.

"Huh? Wha? Oh, you're still here?" Ranma blinked as he looked back at Ran.

Ran gave him her best feminine scorn look again, but it was like water off a duck's back with Ranma. "Of course I'm still here! I still haven't gotten my story."

"I thought you weren't going to write any more lies about Ukyou!"

"I don't lie in print!"

"Would you like some tea?" Kasumi asked in the middle of the shouting match.

"Oh no, thank you very much for asking," Ran smiled and bowed to her. "You won't threaten me away from this story!" Ran shouted at Ranma strongly enough that his face became covered in a fine layer of spit.

"Gah! I didn't threaten you, crazy chick!"

"You're interfering with my right to a free press! I'll have you charged! I have friends in big places!" After all, Ran had only told him she didn't lie in print. In person was a whole other kettle of fish.

"Ah! You're impossible! Fine, you can tag along." Ranma threw up his hands in defeat.

"Victory!" Ran shouted, jumping lightly.

"You don't have to rub it in," Ranma grumbled.

"But where’s the fun in that?"

Ranma apparently had no reply to that, so he just turned and walked past Kasumi and towards the dojo. Ran, grinning like the Cheshire Cat, followed him. She vaguely heard Kasumi saying something about not being introduced behind her...

In the dojo proper was Akane. She looked at first glance to be a traditional Japanese schoolgirl. Even when she was wearing her bright yellow workout gi, she looked very... normal. Her face was a kind of neutral beautiful, the kind of face that looked just at home whether it was smiling or screaming. That was until you scratched under the surface and found out she was a martial arts expert with an iron will and a personality that was best described as explosive.

"Ran!" Akane called out happily. "Wow, what are you doing here? I haven't seen you in ages!"

She found herself resisting the urge to struggle against the sisterly hug that was bestowed upon her. But Akane let her go quickly enough and backed off. Ran actually liked Akane, mainly because Akane seemed to like her a great deal. Ran guessed you earned that kind of adoration when you saved a person's sister from a Fate Worse Than Death. Not that Ran liked to think about that. She was an objective observer. She reported; she didn't participate. As far as the world knew, Akane had saved her sister all on her lonesome. And Ran was quite comfortable letting them believe that.

Plus, she had promised herself never to save Akane's sister again. Lest she tempt fate to have Akane send her another batch of 'thank you' brownies.

"Just following my nose for news, Akane," Ran replied easily. Ranma gave a terrific snort at that, but Akane ignored him. Akane, from what little she had seen of her, was very good at ignoring Ranma.

"She's helping me find Ukyou," Ranma spoke up when it became clear Akane wasn't going to acknowledge him. The long-haired girl's face darkened. Ohhh... now what was that about?

"I see..." Akane knelt back down behind a pile of concrete blocks. "Ukyou's very popular recently, it seems." With a loud kiai Akane smashed all five cinderblocks to a fine mist. Ran, who had seen people summon lightning from their fingers and drive volleyballs through brick walls, was only slightly impressed.

"Yeah, and... uh... seeing as how you're Ukyou's... girlfriend, I thought you might know where... he is?"

Ran glanced sharply at Ranma. The boy had to be the worst liar she had ever heard. Even as she watched him, his face broke out into a cold sweat, and his grin grew until it swallowed up most of his face. He stopped blinking entirely.

"Uh... right..." Akane sighed. "I'm not really sure if that's true anymore."

"What?"

"Ukyou... he made it clear he didn't think much of me last night," Akane muttered as she finished setting up another five blocks. They followed their brethren into that great dust cloud in the sky. Literally. Ran had to pinch her nose to keep from sneezing.

"Wait, what do you mean? Ukyou yelled at you, too?"

"Did she tell you off?" Akane asked with a blink.

"No... more my mother..." Ranma's body pulsed as a shiver ran up and down the length of his body. "And a buncha girls she wanted me to date or somethin'..."

Ran drifted back and started taking notes.

"Well, I don't know where Ukyou is. Last I saw, she was still at Dr. Tofu's."

"Nah, I tried there first. The doc said she wasn't in her room this morning. He also wants to talk with her really bad, but he wouldn't tell me about what."

Akane sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Of course." She sat back. "I guess I can't stay mad at Ukyou about last night. How many times has she calmed the two of us down? Maybe I should find her with you and we can talk about-"

"Oh, Ranma!" The voice was Kasumi again. "A kind lady is here, and she says she's your mother. Isn't that nice?"

"GAH!"

Ran blinked. Then she rubbed her eyes. Then she blinked again. Yes, Ranma had really disappeared. Ran hadn't thought anyone could move faster than her eyes could follow. She shrugged and looked around, quickly locating the young martial artist clinging to the ceiling directly above his former position. She sighed. The boy had a lot to learn about a successful vanishing act if that was the best he could think of doing.

"Ranma, what are you doing up there?"

"SHH! I don't want her to find me!" Ranma hissed insistently.

Akane was now looking up at him as well. "Don't want who to find you?"

"My mother!" Ranma hissed back down at her.

"Wow, some juicy family problems you have?" Ran grinned as she whipped her pad and pencil into her hands.

"Ran!"

"Sorry, Akane. Force of habit." Ran put away her pad. She did not, however, turn off her tape recorder.

"Why wouldn't you want to see your mother?" Akane asked with a tilt of her head. Her tone adopted a wistful sadness as she continued. "I would give anything to see my mother again..."

"Yeah, well your mother ain't no psychopath!"

"And yours is?" Akane shot back, raising one eyebrow in a challenging manner.

"The woman wanted me to... ya know... well, she was telling me to... it was three girls... at once..."

"Most guys would see that as the perfect mom," Ran pointed out with a laugh. Then the expression on Ranma's face told her he hadn't been joking. "Wait, you're not kidding?"

"No! I don't think it’s a joke when your mother starts herding you and the girls upstairs!" Ranma growled out. "She was practically undressing us the whole time..."

"Wow..." Ran blinked. She had never quite heard of mothers that bad before. A few dads, maybe a grandfather or two... but no mothers. "So you and your mother were undressing with three girls upstairs..."

"No! I didn't want to have nothin' to do with any of 'em!" Ranma shouted as he tugged at his hair in frustration. His expression went from frustrated to panicked quickly when he realised that he had just lost his handholds on the ceiling. His arms pinwheeled crazily for a few seconds before he was able to recover his old position. "I just wanted to go find Ukyou. But Mom has this thing against Ukyou. I think it was the whole killing girls with the ninjas thing..."

"Wait... Ukyou kills girls?" Ran coughed out.

"NO! That's just the thing! She doesn't, but that's why Mom's so mad at Ucchan..."

"So your mother was trying to get Ukyou to kill girls, and you to have sex with three of them?"

"Huh?"

Akane, who had been growing steadily more red as the conversation continued, decided to break in at this point. "For crying out loud, Ranma! Are your whole family perverts!?"

"Hey! Are we forgetting who molested who when I first showed up?"

"I thought you were a guy!"

"I was a guy!"

"That isn't what I meant!"

"Is it, Akane? Is it really?" Ranma asked sagely.

Akane threw a cinderblock at him. Somehow Ranma managed to dodge while still clinging to the ceiling.

"Isn't that expensive?" Ran said, pointing to the new skylight.

Akane threw up her hands in frustration and stalked away to the other end of the dojo.

"But anyway, that isn't the worst part. It all went downhill when Mom found out about my curse when I went to chase after Ukyou, and that was when she got all those weird ideas about those three-"

"Curse?" Ran perked up.

"Uh... nevermind!" Ranma gulped and rubbed the back of his head.

"Never mind what?" Ran narrowed her eyes and stared directly into Ranma's. Somehow, despite her being three feet below and in the wrong orientation, he managed to shrink back from her glare. She smirked. She hadn't lost her interrogator's edge.

"Just never mind!" Ranma snapped back. "The point is that she can't know I'm here!"

"Who can't know you're here?" a new voice announced to Ran's right. Ran looked over her shoulder to see a tallish, matronly woman wearing properly coifed hair and an expensive but threadbare kimono. Ran's keen photographer's eye immediately processed her soft features and noted the resemblance to Ranma's.

"M-mom!" Ranma gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was having a nice tea with this darling young woman Kasumi, waiting for you to come out and greet me. I came to check when you took so long, and was ready to be quite cross. But I see you had a good reason to be so busy." The woman nodded happily. "I commend your technique, son. But if you want to look down a woman's shirt, you have to make sure she doesn't notice you."

Ran stared at the traditionally dressed woman for a second. Then turned her stare to Ranma. He was suddenly blushing. Then Ran looked down. Yes, from that angle he would have just enough clearance to...

"YEEK!" Ran leapt away, clutching her collar tight with one hand.

"MOM!" Ranma cried. "Will you stop it with the girl stuff?"

"But Ranma," his mother cried back earnestly. "I just want what's best for you. And with your condition, you need all the manly reinforcement you can get!"

"Condition?" Ran, who had calmed down, asked casually.

"Oh, my son turns into a girl when you splash him with cold water," the perky woman explained. "But he can fix it with some hot water, so don't let that scare you off... Miss...?"

"Oh! How rude of me!" Ran stepped forward and clasped her hands in front of her before bowing slightly. "Ran Hibiki, Ace Reporter! At your service."

"Nodoka Saotome," Ranma's mother introduced herself with a slightly more curt bow.

"I'm Akane!" the long-haired girl introduced herself with a cheerful smile and a bow.

"Pleased to meet you both," Nodoka said with genuine good cheer. "I'm glad to see my son is still able to attract such beautiful young women, despite his condition."

"I wouldn't say beautiful..." Akane stammered, blushing. Ran smirked at her embarrassment.

"I'm not dating them either, Mom!" Ranma shouted again.

"Dear, why don't you come down from the ceiling? I'm getting terrible neck strain talking to you like this."

"Oh, sorry." Ranma monkeyed himself down to the floor. "Better?"

"Much."

"Now... where was I?"

"You aren't dating us," Ran helped.

"That's it exactly!" Ranma shouted into the air.

Ran tilted her head to the side, watching as a robust man in a dirty white gi stepped into the dojo. He was wearing a kerchief over his baldness and a pair of wire-rim spectacles which he was adjusting with one hand. His mouth opened to say something...

"Are you saying, Ranma... that you aren't interested in girls?" Nodoka spoke softly and began to stroke a wrapped bundle on her back. Ran did a double-take. How had she not noticed that before? Replaying her memories, Ran realised that the woman moved so easily with the bundle that it almost seemed a part of her. The room had gone quiet in the wake of Nodoka's question, except for the near-inaudible sound of a pair of glasses falling to the floor.

Ran turned to see that the heavy-set intruder had vanished from the doorway, leaving behind only his glasses on the threshold.

"Huh? No! That ain't what I'm sayin' at all!" Ranma beat his chest with one fist. "I'm as red-blooded as any guy! Why, I even find Akane attractive, and she's barely a girl!"

Ranma rocked forward as Akane beaned him on the scalp with one fist.

"Gee, thanks," Akane said acidly, veins bulging on her forehead.

"Well, that's good..." Nodoka said in her usual perky tone. Ran shifted, wondering why the room suddenly felt like a lot less oppressive then it had a few seconds before. "It means that your nasty curse hasn't messed with your mind. But we have to be thorough in stamping out any womanly impulses! That's why you have to start fooling around as soon as possible!"

"I ain't foolin' around with nobody!"

"Nonsense, you have two perfectly attractive young women here to fool around with!"

"Hey! Leave me out of your Saotome perversions!" Akane shouted.

Ran wondered if it was a good idea to do a quick fade. She backed up to the wall, trying to get out of Nodoka's line of sight. She was beginning to see what Ranma's point about her was. As she pressed against the wall, she could just barely hear a pair of voices coming from the house.

"...what are you doing, Saotome?"

"Just packing up, Tendo."

"I see. Why?"

"Going on a quick training trip. Nothing to worry about, certainly no reason to tell anyone which direction I went in at all!" This was followed by nervous laughter.

"I see. That explains why you are packing. But not why you are packing up MY things."

"I am? Oh, sorry, Tendo. Force of habit."

"Speaking of your curse... where is your father? I really came to speak with him..." Nodoka asked casually. Ran shivered. That oppressive feeling was back in the air now.

"I dunno. Off somewhere, I guess," Ranma shrugged. He seemed to have calmed down, now that the subject had moved off his sex life.

"I guess I'll have to look for him." Nodoka frowned. "You three have fun now. And remember to be safe."

"Be safe with what?" Ranma asked as Nodoka walked out. Then his face turned red when it hit him. It took a few seconds for it to return to normal once she had left. "Man, I'm glad Pop has to deal with her and not me. I can't take anymore of that girl talk..." Ranma's voice changed pitch in mid-sentence and he trailed off as he realised he was now a she.

Ran stared, fascinated, as she replaced the cap on her water bottle.

"Wow, she wasn't kidding. You really do turn into a girl!" Ran reloaded her camera with a practiced flick of her wrist and began to buzz around her, snapping pictures. "This is amazing! How do you do it? Does it hurt? Where do you put all the extra mass? Is the change just physical?"

"ARGH!" Ranma shouted and threw her much more slender arms into the air.

*

Nabiki was quite satisfied with how her preparations had turned out. One of Akane's uniforms had been torn up artfully and tossed at the foot of the bed. It would have been her own, but Nabiki was nothing if not pragmatic. Her own clothing was stored safely in a small duffel bag in the closet - except for her underwear, of course. The bed looked suitably... abused. And the seedy motel room she had found was both dirty and battered enough that it would be impossible to tell if there had been a tornado inside it, much less a struggle.

Satisfied with the room, Nabiki examined herself in the full-length mirror. Stripped to her underwear, with her bra barely hanging on by one strap, she cut quite the fetching figure. She fingered the torn strap, making sure it looked authentic. It wouldn't do for Ryouga to think it had ripped merely due to neglect, rather than violence. She also schooled the smirk from her face, forcing herself to feign shock and dismay. It looked pretty good, if she was a good judge of facial expressions (and she was). The creative use of make-up to give her a black eye and a bit of a bloody lip only helped to add to the illusion she was projecting.

That left only one ingredient yet to be added. The pig was sleeping peacefully next to the bed. Nabiki had worried the cursed boy might stir while she prepared, but he had been strangely quiescent. In fact, things had been going very well for her today. First, everyone had become too distracted by that Hayato boy to notice her sneaking off. She had found Ryouga and then this hotel; everything had fallen into place without a hitch. If Nabiki believed in luck, she would have been thanking her stars.

She gently slipped the boy-pig under the sheets and used a small glass of water to turn him back into a man. Once again, she found herself almost entranced by the transformation. It happened so fast that her eyes couldn't catch more than a flicker of motion; a brief afterimage of pig that lingered for a fraction of a second where the boy now was. The blankets were only now settling down, having been billowed into the air by the sudden introduction of Ryouga's mass.

Ryouga hadn't woken up, which was good. Nabiki took a moment to study his features. He looked so peaceful when he was asleep, not much like the confusion or anger that had dominated his face all the other times she had seen him. He looked so... gullible. Nabiki chuckled. Just like a child. A naive, trusting child.

Nabiki slipped under the sheets with him, making sure she wasn't touching him. She cringed herself into a fetal position, erased her pleased expression with one of fear and began to shiver. It took a few minutes for Ryouga to notice the vibrations in the bed. When he did, he came awake slowly and groggily. His hands fumbled out awkwardly, pawing at the blankets and pillows and finally trailing his fingers along her naked back.

That's when he froze.

"Wha-what?" Ryouga's voice was strained and still groggy. "Where? Who?"

Showtime.

"NO! Please! Please don't hurt me again! I'll do whatever you want! Just don't hurt me!"

*

"So there you are..."

Ukyou glanced over her shoulder as Doctor Tofu walked up behind her. She didn't deign to respond with anything more than a nod. Her headache was making it hard to think, and the fucking voice in her skull just wouldn't shut up, which made it worse. She rubbed her temples, trying to will Aaron silent, but he wasn't cooperating today. His thoughts kept running a mile a minute. They had been ever since last night.

"You haven't been sleeping," Tofu noted chidingly.

"Inde..." Ukyou cut herself off. "No, I haven't."

"You need to rest. It's beginning to affect your judgment..."

"NO!" Ukyou shouted. Tofu went silent. Aaron was pointing out how the man just wanted to help her. Well, what did he know that could possibly help her? Aaron had no answer to that. He wanted to sleep even less than she.

"Fine," Tofu said as he eased down next to her. They sat in silence for a few minutes, looking out over the length of Tokyo. Ukyou wondered briefly how the man had known to look for her here. She had come to this park specifically because it was nowhere near her usual stomping grounds. It was a quiet place, far from Nerima and Juuban, far from the hell that was her life. It should have been a place where she could relax her guard, let herself be... normal for a few minutes.

But even as she had arrived, she had seen her. Sailor Pluto, in the near distance. The woman had been in her civilian form, and from the way she noted Ukyou and left, must have thought Ukyou didn't recognise her. But she did. She always did. Not a day had gone by when Ukyou hadn't seen some sign that the so-called "Guardian of Time" was nearby. Just waiting for a chance to kill her.

Why?

Fuck that. Who cared about why anymore? She could just join the list of enemies. Sailor Pluto and her stupid vendetta. The Dark Kingdom and their insane plans. Nabiki and her irritating snooping. Tsubasa and his annoying obsession. And Chris...

Chris.

Ukyou released her grip on the armrest. The metal had twisted and deformed in her hand. Aaron was always silent on the subject of Chris. He knew how dangerous his former friend was... but refused to condemn him. Why couldn't he just go along with her on that one judgment?

Because...

Because there was something deeper to her hate than just Chris's condition and his deeds. Aaron knew that. Aaron had an all-access pass to the deepest secrets of her soul. He knew what she wouldn't admit to herself. And because he knew, Ukyou knew.

"We need to talk," Tofu said finally.

"I'm sorry about last night... I just need time to think about what I did... find some way to make it right with you and Akane..."

"That isn't what we need to talk about," Tofu noted simply.

"Oh so?" Ukyou felt relief and apprehension stirring in her gut. Relief, because Tofu had distracted her and Aaron from a confrontation that Ukyou did not want. Apprehension, because his tone did not carry the hint of good news.

"I've been looking into what you did the other day, and I think there is something... special about you."

"What I did?" Ukyou sighed. There were so many things she did. She was having trouble keeping track of them now. It was getting hard... hard to tell the lies from the truth.

"With the water, when we tested your chi," Tofu explained.

"Oh... that," Ukyou responded flatly. Aaron's interest perked up, however. Ever since Tofu had told him about his 'theory', the young man had become... curious. It had amazed him that Tofu had come up with a way of explaining the working of chi that was not seen in any anime, manga or video game that he had ever seen. Oh sure, there were plenty of justifications that came close... but none were quite the same.

Plus, the fact that his five elements theory matched the one Aaron had come up with in his world was also interesting. And not that it matched it slightly, or that it used similar terms. It was the fact that it was perfectly the same. Aaron had brainstormed that system over a few weeks, cobbling together bits and pieces from a variety of role-playing games, anime and myths into what he saw as a coherent whole. He had grown quickly enamoured of it, and had planned on using it as a basis for the powers in one of his online games... until his accident.

It struck him as awfully convenient that Doctor Tofu, a previously fictional character to him, had stumbled upon exactly the same explanation, without any of the references.

"What you did was simply impossible," Tofu pointed out. "You tapped into two types of chi at once, on the primal level."

"Isn't it possible to do that, though?"

"No... not on the unconscious level. We all have a balance of chi within us. One of the chi aspects is always dominant. Even if they all were in perfect balance, your chi should have read as Void, which it didn't. It read as some combination of Void and Wind..."

"What are you saying?" Ukyou had a pretty good idea why she could accomplish the 'impossible' in this case, but wanted to hear the doctor’s insights. Maybe, thought a part of herself that might have been her, or Aaron, or maybe both... maybe they should tell him the truth.

"I think I know what might be wrong with you," Tofu said. "Why you have seizures and injure yourself when you tap into your deepest wellspring of energy." Ukyou held her breath. "Your spirit... is touching into a new level."

"A new level?" Ukyou blinked. This was beginning to sound like a bad Dragonball Z episode.

"Somehow, your spirit is channelling something that isn't chi... something that I can't sense or even understand. Something that your body is rejecting. You've tapped into a force I've never even heard mention of before, and if you continue to tap into it... it will tear you apart."

Ukyou and Aaron thought back and forth furiously for a fraction of a second. To Tofu, they would have just looked thoughtful and distant. "Can I cut it off?"

"I don't know..." Tofu said. "I don't even know what caused it, or what it is."

"Can I push it out?" Ukyou hissed, determination filling her voice. "Excise it? Like a tumor? Is there some way you can slice it out of my soul?"

"What? I'm not sure what you mean..."

"Nothing... I... nevermind..."

"Ukyou... I just wanted to tell you for now, that you can't use that energy like you would chi. It's dangerous."

Yet he didn't say we couldn't use it, just that we couldn't use it like chi, Aaron thought before she could stop him.

"Ono... I think I need to tell you something now," Ukyou sighed. "It may help you-" Ukyou cut herself off in mid-sentence. Aaron had sensed something. He had been pushed to the back of her mind so much, that his attunement with her senses had perhaps become deeper than her own. Ukyou snaked a hand into her trenchcoat and waited for him to spot it again. Tofu went silent, sensing the sudden tension in the air as easily as she did.

"There!" Ukyou shouted, releasing a spatula towards the flitting shadow in the nearby bushes. There was a meaty thunk as the metal collided with something fleshy, followed by a bizarre squeal of pain. Ukyou shot to her feet. Her long strides carried her to the bushes before the squeal had even died down. She flicked her hand out, grabbed something small and rubbery within the shadows, and dragged it into the light.

"An octopus?" Ukyou blinked.

The creature in her hand was about the size of a human head. It looked like nothing so much as one of those monsters from the Zelda games... then it clicked.

"HAYATO!" Ukyou shouted and held the animal up in the air. "I know you aren't far away! Come out and face me in the open!"

"What's going on?" Tofu had risen to his feet. His face had become pinched and his eyes flickered around the park. Was he afraid?

"Some jerk is trying to be cute..." Ukyou growled. Damn that bastard for showing up now. Ukyou had hoped to have... a good twenty or thirty volumes worth of time before she even needed to think about him. "Hayato, if you don't come out, I swear I'm going to make sushi out of your pet." Ukyou was not in the mood to deal with him. She had enough problems on her own. Plus... Tofu had sounded like he might be onto a breakthrough.

"You can put Patoratsyu down now," an unfamiliar voice told her coldly.

Ukyou spun on her heels. Somehow Hayato had managed to appear in the centre of the park without her noticing. Her eyes narrowed. Once she could see him, the image clicked in Aaron's memory. Parka-like shirt, bulky pants, giant takoyaki-balling awl/screwdriver thing and, of course, that stupid kiddie octopus mask all became instantly familiar.

"You still haven't taken that stupid thing off, I see." Ukyou sighed and tossed the octopus across the air towards him. Hayato snapped out one hand and easily caught his pet. The thing shivered in his grasp as Hayato soothed it with calm strokes of his hands before placing it on his shoulder. Once placed, the thing started glaring at Ukyou. How on earth did octopi glare?

"I see you remember our battle," the boy hissed in a peculiar, vaguely muffled voice. "Which is good, because I have been forced to think about it every day since then!"

"Actually you haven't, you're just an idiot who takes childhood promises too seriously and..." Ukyou trailed off.

"You just don't understand what I've been through," Hayato told her. He shifted his stance, spinning the giant awl from his back and pointing its tip at her. "This is about more than a promise now!"

"Whatever," Ukyou sighed. She eased herself into a fighting stance. "Let's get this over with, then..." Ukyou knew that this wasn't really a problem. She'd throw the match to him, let him get his revenge and that would be the end of that.

"Heh. Not today, Kuonji." Hayato spun his weapon back into its harness. "I don't want anyone to think I swindled you out of victory because you weren't ready for me. I'm sure the 'hero of Narita' isn't afraid of making this match... a little more public?"

Ukyou frowned. What did she care about losing? She had never asked to be glorified in the press, or by anyone else. So why did the thought of throwing the match to him in public make her stomach quiver uncomfortably?

"Fine, name the time and place and I'll be there," Ukyou grunted.

*

Ryouga finally stopped running when he felt the asphalt turn to grass under his feet. He opened his eyes, looking around, hoping for the first time in his life that he was lost. There were trees and the sky was dark with clouds. It was threatening rain. His umbrella... it was gone. Lost somewhere between meeting her and... and...

"NO! It didn't happen!"

Ryouga fell to his knees. He needed to think. His hands gripped at his temples, fingernails digging uncomfortably into his scalp. Maybe the pain would clear his mind, let him focus.

But every time he tried to think back, his mind kept flashing to that face. That battered face, staring at him with horror and shame. Could he have really...

No. Ryouga didn't... couldn't think of himself like that. He wasn't a monster. He was a victim, but he was a good person despite that. Sure, Ranma had ruined his life, and that guy Ukyou had been dicking around with him and he was angry about that and he knew that he tended to underestimate his own strength... but he couldn't have!

Ryouga looked up. He had heard the first few drops of rain falling to the ground. The sun had fallen, and now the skies would weep. Maybe it would feel better, to be an animal for a little bit. Just like when he had been fighting Ranma and...

The fight. The fight this morning. Ryouga had finally returned to Nerima and found Ranma. He had been so excited. He could feel his heart race at the very thought of the battle. It always felt so good to be filled with the righteous anger. The anger that cleansed away fear and doubt and sadness. And it was so easy to give into it because it was so right. You didn't have to think. You just had to be RIGHT.

Then the fight had turned against him. Ranma had been so fast! He was mocking Ryouga, taunting him as he slipped through Ryouga's guard and away from his best strikes. Ryouga had felt a deep thrill run through his body at that time. The thrill of battle against a superior opponent, he guessed. But then there had been that voice in the back of his mind, the voice that sounded mysteriously like Ranma's friend.

("If you lose this fight, that's it.")

But Ryouga knew that even if he lost, Ranma wasn't that far beyond him. Maybe he could train, come back stronger and faster and better overall...

("If you do that, everyone will know your secret.")

And that had been it. The turning point. Because if Ryouga lost his fight with Ranma, there would be no second chance. There would be only humiliation and then... what? Beyond that... what?

So Ryouga had fallen through a wall, and spotted a small trickle of water. A single, thoughtless, action later and Ryouga had vanished. How could he be expected to fight as a pig? Obviously the fight was over, but there had been no victor. He could challenge again, later, when he was better. He had thought to himself at the time that it had been an accident, a lucky break.

But he knew it hadn't been. He had deliberately reached out, he had deliberately vanished. He had run away.

He had run away, because losing was unacceptable.

If he was capable of that... what else was he capable of?

The downpour came and Ryouga barely noticed the change. He crawled out of the puddle of his clothes. He wasn't even sure where he had gotten them. All he could remember was the girl, Nabiki... her name was Nabiki. All he could remember was the look on Nabiki's face and the fact that he had woken up... excited. Then everything was a blur. Somehow he had run away, gotten dressed, arrived here.

But he couldn't run away from his own conscience. The longer he sat there, on top of the soaked pile of clothing, feeling the heavy drops pound into his skin, the more convinced he became that he really had done that. He couldn't remember it. He couldn't even think about it. He must have lost control, like he had sometimes lost his temper. Except this time someone had been hurt.

Well... Ryouga wasn't going to live as an animal. Even if he looked like one. He was a human being. He would find her. He would apologise. He would accept whatever punishment she and society deemed necessary. There was no forgiving what he had done... but Ryouga wasn't going to let himself run from it either.

Setting his eyes in what he hoped was the direction of Nerima, Ryouga began to walk.

*

Pink sat in the bushes, watching with interest as Chris twitched.  She had observed the dead girl fairly closely in the week they'd been together. This was partially for self-preservation purposes: the existence of one undead body-swapper implied there might well be more, and Pink wanted to have a more reliable method of detecting such irksomely poison-resistant creatures than the paleness of their skin.

One of the more noticeable things Pink had observed was the dead girl's lack of unnecessary movements.  No blinking (except when surprised) she had expected, as well as the lack of breathing at any time Chris wasn't actually speaking.  But those could be easily faked by a savvy undead.  The other strange behaviour - or lack of it, more accurately - seemed more promising.  Chris didn't MOVE like a living being.  A normal person would cough, fidget, tap their foot, shiver, or twitch their fingers... any of a thousand little unconscious movements.  Chris, however, did none of those.  When she stood, she was truly, unnaturally still, with only a slight movement of the air through her long black hair distinguishing her from a statue.

But not now.  The dead girl couldn't seem to stop moving: shrugging her shoulders repeatedly, shifting her sitting position, and clenching and unclenching her hands.  It looked as if she had an itch deep inside and couldn't scratch it.

Hmm.  So the dead couldn't be poisoned, but COULD be made uncomfortable. Pink considered what sort of plant could take advantage of that. Perhaps something to create an irritating powder?  No, she remembered Chris saying something about how physical sensations were dulled for her.  So she'd need to go to the source somehow, accelerate the rotting process.  That would take some experimentation.  She wondered if there were many rats or domestic animals on the loose in Tokyo.

Putting that thought aside for the moment, she looked at Chris again. The three of them were hidden in a copse of trees on a small hillock overlooking the street.  Chris, for all her fidgeting, appeared to be intently focused on watching the road, a somewhat disturbing sight with her milky white corpse-eyes.

"I'm curious, over," Pink said in a low voice.

She couldn't see the eyes move, of course, but the undead's head turned in her direction.  "This person we've come for," Pink continued.  "Who is it, over?"

"That's a pretty ghoulish question," Chris gurgled.  Her voice was getting worse.  She sounded like someone choking to death on noxious fumes. Pink giggled a little at the thought.  Too late.

"No more ghoulish than what we're here to do, over," she responded, still smiling.

"Touché," replied Chris.  Pink blinked.  What language was that? French?  Before she could ask, the dead girl continued.  "Well, I'd have had to tell you sooner or later.  The person we're waiting for is a man named Sentarou Daimonji."

"A man?" Link said, turning suddenly to face them.  "Why a man?  What were you when you were alive, over?"

"I was also male," Chris said.  "Not that it matters much now."

"I suppose not," Pink said.  "So, this guy... does he have a nice house too, over?"

"As it turns out, yes," Chris replied.  "But it doesn't matter, since we won't be staying there."

"Why not, over?"

The dead girl - boy - waved his hand.  "It's dangerous there.  Not so much for me, but I wouldn't want to put you two in any danger.  Don't worry, I'll make sure we're set up properly."

Pink noticed Link had once again turned away, looking intently at one of the trees.  Her stance was stiff and cold; Pink could tell her sister was even less happy knowing their ally was actually male.  But it wouldn't be a problem. She turned back to the undead.  "So how'd you pick this Daimonji guy, over?"

Chris shrugged.  "I knew how to find him, and he fit my criteria."

"So he's an evil person, over?"

"Yes, he is," Chris said.  He paused a moment, as if thinking.  "He's ruthless and amoral, with no care for anyone in the world but himself.  He'd kill his own fiancée without hesitation, just because he saw a girl he liked more."

"Sounds like scum," Pink agreed.  "I've been thinking about that.  If it's only evil people that you're willing to kill... why don't you just let us kill Shampoo, and then take her body, over?"

"I have my reasons."

"And what are they?" Pink smiled.  "Shampoo is just as evil as these people, right, over?"

Chris smiled slightly.  "Possibly, but beside the point.  No Shampoo-killing on my watch.  That was the deal, after all.  Besides," he noted, leaning back, "killing her, while no doubt satisfying, is a poor repayment for years of suffering, isn't it?  Think about it.  After you do it, what then?  It's over, and you've taken years of torment and exchanged it for a few minutes.  When it comes down to it, wouldn't it be more satisfying - more RIGHT - if she had to go on, a proud warrior having to live with the shame of knowing she'd been beaten?"

"Yes, yes, you've given us that line before.  Sounds marvellous, until Shampoo comes back and beats us up, over," Link groused.

The corner of Chris' mouth quirked.  "Yes, well, we'll see about that. At least you're safe with me around."  Link made an inarticulate growl, but Chris smoothly continued, "Plus there's those mitamas you're interested in.  I can help you with those, remember."

Link glowered, but fell silent.  Pink decided she'd have to have a talk with her sister.  At first her irrational hate for their ally had been amusing, but now it was starting to become annoying.  It was as if Link wanted to drive Chris away.  Wanted to, when he was providing them such a service for essentially nothing!  Link needed to remember what was important; then she'd come around.

Pink stared at Chris speculatively, watching the dead man in the female body shudder and twitch.  Why WAS he so set against killing Shampoo?  He didn't seem to object to classifying her with the other 'evil' people he selected as victims, so what was saving her?

Her musing was interrupted by a commotion from down the street; people shouting in surprise and alarm, and some sort of repetitive clicking sound Pink couldn't quite place.  Chris's head snapped to the side, the dead eyes narrowing.  "At last," he breathed.

Chris stepped to the edge of the trees.  His movements, despite the condition of his stolen body, were once more fluid and graceful; the twitching had vanished.  As Pink moved up behind him, the reason for the noises and the shouts become apparent: there was a rider on a horse barrelling full-speed down the street, forcing pedestrians to leap out of the way.

As the rider drew near, Chris held up a small cloth pouch.  Just as the rider passed below them, Chris hurled the pouch.  Pink saw the man on the horse suddenly look up towards them, but he was too late to react as the projectile struck the ground in front of them.  Instantly both man and beast were enveloped in a thick cloud of noxious green smoke.  As it cleared, she saw both bodies sprawled on the pavement, unmoving.

Chris wasted no time in slashing out with Kodachi's ribbon.  The long strip of cloth wrapped around one of the fallen man's arms, and a single yank sent him flying towards them.  As the unconscious man hit the ground, Chris quickly dragged him into the copse of trees, which gave Pink a chance to get her first good look at him.

Sentarou Daimonji (or so she assumed) was a young Japanese man, fairly tall, fairly handsome, not outstanding in either respect.  He wore old-fashioned Japanese clothing and sandals, and his plain black hair was in a bowl cut.  His eyes were closed, and he appeared to be sleeping deeply.

"Why put him to sleep?" she asked the undead.  "Just poisoning him in the first place would have made more sense, over."

Chris shook his head.  "That only makes more sense if I'm willing to risk poisoning any bystanders, not to mention the horse.  This was safer."

Pink shrugged.  "Whatever.  So now what, over?"

Chris reached into a pocket of his jacket and retrieved a small, opaque bottle.  "You should know," he said shortly.

Pink watched with keen interest as Chris opened Sentarou's mouth, unscrewed the top of the bottle, and carefully poured the liquid inside. Holding the unconscious boy's nose and mouth shut, the undead then massaged his throat until he swallowed.  Then he sat back, expression unreadable, and waited.

It only took a few moments before Sentarou began convulsing.  Chris watched this for a second, then suddenly swore (in English, how odd) and whipped his leather jacket off, shoving one sleeve into Sentarou's mouth.  "Won't do me much good if the tongue's bitten off," the undead said, mostly to himself.

All told, it took about two minutes.  Pink was impressed - a normal human would have been dead in under fifteen seconds.  Chris hadn't exaggerated about the resiliency of these 'martial arts death machines'.  The dead man-in-woman's-body crouched grimly over his victim, holding down the spasming limbs and keeping the jacket shoved firmly in his mouth.  The unconscious man's flailing, Pink noted, knocked several large gouts of earth from the ground. Chris had picked well.  Despite his unassuming appearance, this Sentarou was obviously formidable.

Then, all of a sudden, it was over.  Chris seemed to know instantly when death occurred, stepping back and releasing Sentarou even as the boy was still twitching.  He removed the jacket from the mouth; Pink noted idly that it had teeth marks embedded deeply in it and was flecked with foam.

Pink felt... strange.  Of course, she'd tested out many deadly plants and poisons before, but Link was just as assiduous in using her medicines and cures to save those victims.  Aside from the odd small animal, this was the first time one of her lethal creations had been permitted to run its natural course.

This was the first time Pink had watched a human being die.

Standing there, looking down at the corpse, she felt somehow distant, detached, as if her feet were a hundred miles away, and she was staring down from the clouds.  She couldn't see Link, but could feel her presence, her closeness, strangely strongly.  She had to know what happened.  A tingling ran through Pink's limbs, electric, as if she was awaking from sleep.  All of it, the confused mix of feelings rushing, the sensations, made Pink feel almost light-headed.  She wondered what Chris felt like when he killed someone.  Was it like this?

And just as that thought crossed her mind, Chris collapsed in a heap, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.  Except that was no longer Chris, but Kodachi, for at that moment Sentarou's eyes snapped open and he sat up.  The corpse wrapped his arms around himself, closing his eyes again, whispering a quick, fast mantra to himself.  "Ohgodohgodohgodohgod..."  The language was English, again.

"Are you all right, over?" she asked.  Chris seemed to be... something. Upset?  Relieved?  The dead man opened his new eyes once more and looked at her, but as usual, there was nothing to be read in his gaze.

"Better than fine, really," he said.  The new voice was somewhat high-pitched for a man, but not unpleasant, especially compared to the sickly wetness of moments before.  "It feels so... solid.  So real.  I didn't realise how far, I mean, I didn't realise how empty it was..." he shuddered, then quickly stood up and moved his arms and legs experimentally.  "But I'm fine now.  This worked great, thank you."

Pink heard the sharp intake of breath from her sister, saw her spine stiffen.  She could almost feel the wave of anger flow hot, as if Link was glaring at her back instead of facing resolutely away.  Pink ignored it.  There was no reason for her sister to be upset.  She'd just indebted their ally to them a little further, that was all.

Smiling secretly to herself, Pink turned back to Chris.  "So what do we do now, over?"

"Well, first, I'm going to have to deal with Kodachi," he said, glancing down at the crumpled corpse.

"Why bother?" asked Pink.  "Just leave her here for the police to find, over."

Chris shook his head.  "They'd investigate.  And Kodachi's been actually dead for so long, and yet still walking around... I don't know what they would do, but it's probably best avoided.  Besides..." he paused, and then spoke in a softer tone, "It's kinder to her brother this way.  More practically, it'll hopefully ensure that he doesn't come looking for us."

"You mean he'd come looking for US," Link noted acidly, still not looking at them.  "He wouldn't have any reason to be looking for 'Sentarou', over."

Chris sighed.  "True, but on the very off-chance that ever happens, go ahead and tell him the truth, and then he can come for me."

Pink laughed.  "I doubt it'll be a problem.  That idiot couldn't track anyone down.  Besides, he only knows our names, over."

"You'd be surprised how persistent people here can be," Chris noted, then shrugged.  "But I agree, it probably won't be a problem."  Kneeling down, he scooped up his former body, placing the jacket over her staring eyes. "Thanks for your help, by the way."

"No problem, over," Pink said, and almost rolled her eyes as her sister spun to face her.  Of course, Link knew it already, but this confirmation seemed to have enraged her even further. "What is it, Link, over?"

"You... you HELPED this..."

"Correction," Pink broke in.  "Chris was looking for a suitable agent that would not harm the body, but could deal with someone this strong, over." She held up a hand to forestall Link's response.  "Sister.  He would have died anyway.  All this did was make it quicker and safer.  And the better shape the new body is in, the longer until he needs another one.  Everyone wins, over."

Her sister didn't have a reply to that, turning away again.  Pink smiled at her back.  All this protest was silly.  There was no question of being more or less deeply involved with this.  Once they had agreed to take the undead's help, and help him in turn, they'd become involved.  The reward was worth it.

Link would realise that.  Sooner or later.

*

"It would be hard to find a more excited crowd then the one that has gathered here today. The entire student body of Furinkan High School must have come to this deserted construction site to witness what will surely be an epic struggle between two lifelong, bitter rivals.

"Awaiting the challenger is none other than Ukyou Kuonji, the hero of Narita. He stands in the centre of the site, away from all the crowds. His friends and proteges, Ranma and Akane, also wait along with the others..."

"Protege?" Ranma snapped at Ran. "What do you mean, protege?"

"It means you're his student and stuff like that," Ran explained carefully as she waved her tape recorder at him. "Now shush, I'm trying to write a story."

Akane giggled at Ran's teasing. Doctor Tofu just sighed and adjusted his glasses. Akane was standing next to him, just enjoying his presence. Even if he barely noticed hers.

"But I'm not really Ukyou's student!" Ranma protested. "I'm actually the better fighter!"

"Whatever you say, stud," Ran giggled.

"No, really, watch!" Ranma picked up a I-beam and threw it into the air. "I'll break this thing in half with one punch!"

"NO! Don't kill me!" The I-beam pleaded.

"Huh?" Ranma blinked and stopped dead. That was when the beam landed on his foot. Ranma's eyes bugged out as it toppled off him. Seconds later he was hopping around, clutching his foot and howling.

"Impressive," Ran deadpanned. But Akane could see the twinkle in her eye.

"You jerk, you scared me half to death!" the I-beam complained. Akane gave it a level glare, but could see Ran glancing at it curiously. Seconds later Ran's curiosity was answered as Tsubasa unzipped himself from his newest costume. Ran took the scene of a cute young ‘girl’ climbing out of a giant metal bar rather well, Akane thought.

"Uh... who are you?" Ran asked, thrusting her recorder into Tsubasa's face. "And how did you do that?"

"Ohhh... you're with the press!" Tsubasa cried happily, his face looking much too cute to ever be mistaken for a guy's.

"Well, yes..."

"I..." Tsubasa cleared his throat and posed dramatically with one foot on the pile of I-beams. "I am the one and only true love of Ukyou Kuonji." He drew a microphone out of somewhere and began to talk into it. "The lovely and talented master of disguise, and the only person worthy of Ukyou's heart: I am Tsubasa Kurenai!" Tsubasa paused, then pulled the recorder from Ran's suddenly nerveless fingers. "Take that, Usagi! I got here first! Nanny nanny poo poo!"

"Give me that!" Ran shouted, snapping the recorder from Tsubasa's hand. "I recognise you now, from the fight at Narita..."

"That's right!" Tsubasa tried to wrestle the recorder from Ran's hand again, which was turning out to be more difficult than it looked. "You see I, unlike certain blonde-haired bimbos, am willing to fight beside my one true love!"

"Get off!" Ran shouted, trying to dislodge Tsubasa with one foot while viciously clinging to her recorder with both hands. Veins were bulging in her forehead and her teeth were grinding together. "What are you, a lunatic?"

"I won't let go until you agree to print my interview verbatim!"

"This isn't an interview, this is assault and theft!"

Akane turned her attention from the impending catfight back to Ranma, who had returned. He shook his head. "Man, this place just keeps getting nuttier."

"No kidding." Akane sighed. "You should see this guy Hayato; he's even loonier than Tsubasa."

"Hey, I resent that remark!"

"Stop shouting into it! You'll ruin the mic!"

"Children, if you don't stop you'll hurt each other," Doctor Tofu pleaded.

"Whatever. I bet I could beat this jerk Hayato with one hand tied behind my back." Ranma grumbled and crossed his arms. Ukyou looked up sharply at the mention of Hayato's name. Akane nodded to her, and Ukyou barely acknowledged her presence. Akane still hadn't found a chance to talk to her. Doctor Tofu had told her about the fight this morning, and that Ukyou was back at the clinic... but Akane hadn't had the time to get away from school until now. Ranma would have, but he had spent the day hiding in the school from his mother.

"Oh yeah," a guy that Akane vaguely recognised from her class called from nearby. "Prove it, Saotome!"

"Nah," Ranma waved his hand dismissively. "This is Ukyou's fight. I wouldn't even think of stepping in."

"So you think Ukyou's going to win?" Ran asked in her 'reporter voice'.

"Of course," Ranma chuckled, leaning back against a pile of I-beams. "I've had my doubts about Ukyou's fighting spirit since we met each other again. But back at Narita, s... he was the only one still fighting. There is a strength in Ukyou I don't even think he realises he has. I don't just think Ukyou will win, I know it. I believe in Ukyou."

Akane could only stare at Ranma. Ran was also speechless, unable to do anything but move her tape recorder away from him. He was staring across the site, straight into the eyes of Ukyou. Akane could see the young woman's face had gone slack. She had heard every word he said. And it had hit her like a physical blow. Why?

"Are you ready?"

Everyone looked up to see a large figure standing on the second story of the skeletal construction. The angle of the sunlight was just perfect to cast his face into shadow, except for the gleam off the tiny eyeholes in his mask. In one hand he carried his strange awl-like weapon, and on the other hand he supported his pet octopus.

Ukyou stood beneath him for a long time. She was dressed for battle, her legs clad in loose denim slacks, her body wrapped in the rippling folds of her trenchcoat. Her long hair billowed gently behind her in the stiff breeze, and her bangs fell forward, covering her eyes. She wasn't even looking up at him. Instead her gaze seemed fixed on some invisible point between her feet.

"I don't have all day," Hayato growled. "The only reason I brought all these people here was so that your defeat could be as humiliating as you made mine!"

"I'm ready to fight," Ukyou said in a soft voice that carried surprisingly well. When she looked up, her expression was hard and cold. She reached behind her and pulled out a long wooden staff, taller than her. Akane had never seen Ukyou with such a weapon before, and briefly wondered where Ukyou had acquired it. "I have friends who believe in me. I'm ready to fight you with everything I have." The air whined as Ukyou spun her staff in a tight circle before gripping it behind her back. Her free hand came up and she gestured in the universal signal for "come on" at her opponent.

"About time," Hayato grumbled. He lowered his arm and let his pet crawl away to safety before leaping down in front of Ukyou. His stance was strange, not quite like anything Akane had ever seen before. There was a flash as Ran documented the moment. "You don't stand a chance, Ukyou. I know exactly how to defeat you!"

"Just shut up and attack me," Ukyou growled.

So he did.

Akane gasped as Hayato sprinted across the dirt towards Ukyou. The girl barely brought up her staff in time to deflect his first three strikes and couldn't reverse her parry fast enough to avoid the third. A meaty smack echoed across the construction yard as Ukyou was propelled into the air. The crowd sat in silence for a second, then erupted in a chorus of cheers.

The only ones not cheering the battle were herself, Ranma, Ran... and one other. Across the yard Akane could just see Nabiki standing on the edge of the crowd. But then she vanished from Akane's thoughts as the din of battle drew her attention back to Ukyou.

Somehow Ukyou had recovered and was now dancing along the girders, Hayato in hot pursuit. Akane could see that he was taking two meters for every meter she travelled - there was no way Ukyou could get away. Akane turned to ask Ran what she thought, only to find the girl gone. A quick scan showed that she had leapt up to the second story herself, her body spinning acrobatically, camera flashing nearly continuously as she did.

"Happiyaku Randa!" Hayato screamed as his hand flashed. A swarm of tiny balls streaked through the air at Ukyou, threatening to catch her in mid-leap. Ukyou only smirked and kicked out, catching a beam and bouncing clear. Akane blinked as the balls drilled dents into the thick steel girders. Ukyou didn't even give them a second glance before landing on the third story of the building to be.

Hayato hesitated for a moment, then leapt to join her. He shifted his grip on his weapon, clutching it by the needle-thin point. He landed and began to swing it like a mace. Ukyou backflipped, avoiding each strike by a hair's breadth. Metallic clangs echoed across the yard as his misses knocked welts into the I-beams.

"We better get moving," Ranma sighed as he leapt up. "We'll miss everything unless we keep up!"

"Hey! Wait for me!" Akane frowned. He knew damn well she couldn't leap that well.

"Hurry up, Akane," Ran called down as she sprinted after the departing fighters. Akane could hear the crowd moan and whine in disappointment. Well, she wasn't going to hang around to bear the brunt of their complaining. Sighing, Akane adjusted the weights on her arms and jumped... only to land easily on the second story. "Stop looking so shocked," Ran called back as she continued to pursue the battle.

"Uh... right," Akane mumbled. It was only a second before she caught up with everyone else. Ukyou and Hayato were now fencing back and forth on the third level.

"You can't run away!" Hayato shouted as he drilled his needle at Ukyou. Ukyou only smirked and faded to the right. The dodge took her feet off the beam, but she just let herself drop. A quick flip of her staff and it caught firmly between two beams. Ukyou spun, looping around her weapon like a gymnast and launched herself airborne again. Hayato had already leapt down to pursue her. Akane almost regretted not being able to see his expression when her feet rocketed into his gut.

"What's the matter, Hayato?" Ukyou called as she landed easily on the fourth story of the building. This level was only half-completed, and huge gaps existed between several of the upright beams. Hayato had still managed to land on one of them. He crouched there, clutching his gut and glaring at her through his mask. "Afraid I might leave the site, and take away your advantage?"

"W-what?" the boy shouted.

"You don't think I didn't know your plan?" Ukyou sneered. "You knew I was at a disadvantage here, that's why you set the fight in this site."

"I see..." Hayato chuckled. "You saw through my plan. But you still can't win. I've spent eight years studying your style! You can't possibly defeat me!"

Hayato exploded from his perch. His needle drove towards Ukyou's chest, and she casually snapped her bo to intercept. Hayato crowed in triumph and twisted his weapon, spinning it so fast Akane only saw a blur. Ukyou's staff spun with it, and for a moment Akane thought the spin had wrenched it out of her hands. But Ukyou didn't look like she had been caught off-guard. In fact, she was already dropping to her knees and driving a perfect sweep into Hayato's unguarded shins.

"NO!" Hayato shouted as his balance left him. He released his needle, and grabbed desperately for the beam. His hands grabbed it just seconds before Ukyou finished her second rotation, swinging her other leg up into his face.

The retort of her foot driving into his mask echoed in the silence of the yard for a second. Then Hayato started shouting in pain as he flew across the site. Still he managed to right himself and land on his feet instead of dropping four stories to the ground. Ukyou was already leaping down, retrieving her bo staff before it clattered to the floor.

"Go Ukyou!" Akane shouted. She had landed next to Ranma, but could see him looking on with a frown on his face. "Hey, what's the matter, Ranma?"

"Huh? Oh... nothing..." Ranma mumbled in distraction.

"How...?" Hayato adjusted his mask as he began to walk towards Ukyou. "I know all your moves..."

"You knew the moves I used ten years ago, idiot," Ukyou chuckled. "Did you really think I wouldn't improve in the meantime?"

"I guess I underestimated you," Hayato called back. Akane could hear the smirk in his voice. "Then this time, no fancy tricks!"

Akane could only barely follow as Hayato sprinted across the beams towards Ukyou. She met him, blocking a flurry of punches and kicks with her nimble staff. Akane cheered. Ukyou was holding her own, even beating him back!

Then Ukyou rocketed back, her body going limp until it collided perfectly with a horizontal beam behind her. Hayato was left standing, his fist extended from his punch. He drew back his hand even as Ukyou slid down to sit straddling another I-beam. Hayato was massaging his knuckles.

"We should step in, Ukyou's in trouble," Doctor Tofu said, startling Akane with his proximity.

"What? But she's doing so well..." Akane responded.

"No, watch the fight. Ukyou's just... weaker than Hayato," Tofu answered softly. Akane turned to Ranma, but she could see him staring intently at the battle. His fingers quivered, wanting desperately to form into the fists that he was refusing to let them. "Hayato is faster and tougher; stronger, too, from the looks of it."

"You're wrong," Akane hissed back. "Ranma just said that he knows Ukyou can win."

"Ranma doesn't know what I know," Doctor Tofu informed her. "She could win. But her heart isn't in this battle. She's not willing to risk what it would take to achieve victory. And that's a good thing."

"I hope you're wrong, Doc," Ranma muttered. Nearby, Ran only took pictures. But her expression was worried too.

*

Ukyou leapfrogged over Hayato's kick. Her staff sung through the air. Its arc should have connected with Hayato's temple. Somehow, he blocked with one forearm, leaving the other arm free to grab her ankle. The world flashed and spun as he threw her towards the ground. Aaron regained his balance before her, and turned a potential face-first crash into a merely painful feet-first collision. They'd managed to hold onto their staff, however.

Acting on instinct, Ukyou rolled forward. The ground gave off an almost musical crash behind her. Aaron could feel Hayato, like a breath of hot air, turning to strike them. Ukyou flattened them against the ground and felt something heavy pass through her hair. Their foe had retrieved his needle-like weapon, it seemed.

Ukyou handsprung backward, hoping to catch Hayato off-guard. She almost did. Her foot connected with his chest, but it didn't drive him from his feet. Bouncing off his rock-hard muscle, Ukyou spun in the air to land a few meters away, facing him.

Hayato wasn't taunting now. His needle came in fast and often. Its vicious metal point scraped the fabric of her coat as she backpedalled furiously. Her counterstrike drove Hayato back. He backflipped away as a cloud of dust billowed in the wake of Ukyou's slash.

Unwilling to surrender more of the momentum, Ukyou charged. Aaron had trained with the staff, and Ukyou knew the fundamentals from her own polearm techniques. That was the reason they had paused to purchase this weapon before the fight. It had been a strange impulse, considering that until Ranma had made his speech they had been planning on throwing this fight. But now she was just as glad she had given into that impulse.

Hayato was now on the defensive. The synergy of her and Aaron's skill was something Ukyou could draw on. It allowed her to spin the weapon about her and strike from odd and deceptive angles. Again and again she seemed committed to an attack, only to halt the motion with one of her own limbs and suddenly reverse it back at him. The staff bent and warped like a piece of rubber in her grip and Hayato's cumbersome needle could barely keep up.

But it WAS keeping up.

Ukyou knew she wasn't getting anywhere three seconds into her assault. When her arms began to tire and the breath in her lungs began to burn, she knew she had to change tactics. But she couldn't think of anything else to do. Hayato knew all her okonomiyaki-based tricks, and had trained for years specifically to defeat them. Aaron was no help, his vaunted tactical expertise having failed them.

He was too fast to catch! Maybe... maybe with Aaron's chi supplementing her own Ukyou could meet or exceed his speed. But it wasn't worth it. It was just Hayato. Even if she lost, it was just humiliation that awaited her. So what if she disappointed Ranma? Killing herself to defeat one man was not a good bargain.

When Ukyou made her first clean miss, Hayato punished her with a vicious thrust to the gut. Even as pain exploded through her brain Ukyou was grateful she had forced him to switch to his blunt end. Her face and side screamed and burned as she was sent skidding across the dirt.

Ukyou clawed into the ground, dragging herself to a stop. She was already rolling to her feet as she did, and thus avoided a swarm of takoyaki balls. Unthinkingly she snapped her hands into her pocket and flung some of her spatulas in return. She didn't even see how Hayato dodged them, she just assumed he did. Even as she threw, she turned her roll into a backflip.

The world spun as she arced up into the second story. The metal she landed on quivered. She couldn't see anything except the stretch of the girders in all directions. Then Aaron felt her danger sense twitch in the back of her neck and she ducked.

A second later she was tumbling forward to the ground. As she did she saw Hayato with his needle jammed into the girder she had been standing on. The veins in his neck bulged as he tried to withdraw it. He was vulnerable!

Acting on impulse, Ukyou swung her staff in a tight circle and flicked it towards him. The bo spun in the air like a buzzsaw. Hayato gasped a millisecond before it collided with his face. Ukyou smirked in victory. Thankfully Aaron had the presence of mind to finish their tumble and land feet first on the hard-packed dirt.

Hayato was plummeting in front of them, stunned by the face shot. Ukyou could see their weapons tumbling just behind him. She dashed forward, ignoring her weapons, hoping to catch him still vulnerable. She saw his face jerk in her direction too late, and his kick caught her dead in the chest.

Ukyou stopped cold. The air had been driven from her lungs and her breasts had exploded in agony. Hayato wasn't finished. He caught her chin with a simple but effective haymaker. Ukyou collapsed, flashing stars blurring everything out of her vision. Somehow she found the presence of mind to roll away. All she needed was a few moments to catch her breath. Just a few moments!

Amazingly, she found them. Ukyou blinked the stars from her eyes, and gulped air until her lungs felt steady. She rose to her crouch; then, using a beam for support, fully to her feet. She even managed to pull herself into a competent stance once the world stopped rocking underneath her.

"I'm very impressed, Ukyou," Hayato called from behind her. She turned around to face him. He had retrieved his weapon and stood with it balanced on his shoulder, samurai style. Ukyou narrowed her eyes, able to see her own staff lying in the dirt at his feet. "You want this?" Hayato nodded his head towards it. Ukyou paused, unsure how to react. "Have it."

Hayato kicked the weapon into the air and Ukyou caught it just before it collided with her. She spun it a few times and then settled herself down with one tip pointed straight at him.

"Thank you," Ukyou said sincerely.

"It won't matter," Hayato replied with a chuckle. "You fight with it like an amateur!" Ukyou felt anger rising in her chest. "In fact, this style you are using now... you're even more sloppy with it than you are with your old one!"

"If the only reason you stopped was to make fun of me, we might as well begin fighting again," Ukyou growled.

"I'm not making fun of you," Hayato switched to an aggressive stance. "I'm just honestly curious about why you would abandon your art. I thought your family's art meant something to you. I thought this fight was about a noble dedication to your fighting and your cooking. But you have abandoned that."

"Abandoned..." Ukyou gasped. "I haven't abandoned my cooking! It's still my dream to open an okonomiyaki restaurant!"

"Is it?" Hayato cocked his head to the side. "Maybe it is, but you certainly don't have the respect for it you once did! I bet your cooking is terrible."

Ukyou felt her knuckles straining as she gripped her staff tightly. How dare he! What did he know about her life? He couldn't judge her and her dedication to cooking! She loved cooking. She just... hadn't had enough time to focus on it. It just... didn't seem as important anymore.

"Listen, Hayato," Ukyou strained out. She was getting angry, and she knew that probably wasn't healthy. She pulled the rage back. Forced it down, deep into her soul and buried it. She didn't want to lose her temper over this jerk. "Listen, Hayato," she repeated much more calmly. "This fight is meaningless. I came here intending to throw it. It's only about a stupid childish promise. I have no grudge with you, and you have no reason to fight me. If it makes you feel better, than consider this my submission. You win the fight. Now you can take off that stupid mask."

Ukyou breathed a sigh of relief. She could see that her words had caught Hayato off-guard. He was standing there like a man who had just had just discovered his most trusted ideals were a pack of lies. Ukyou didn't really care about what he thought. This fight was over. She wasn't going to get beaten up anymore over it, and she couldn't win. So why bother?

Ukyou turned away. She could see her friends gathered nearby now. Akane and Ran and Tsubasa and Tofu and, especially, Ranma. Ukyou wasn't sure if that was disappointment or relief she saw on Ranma's face. She wasn't sure if it mattered. Either one struck her to the core. But she knew that it was pointless to continue. She wasn't the hero. There was no need to win this battle. There was no point...

"FINE! Abandon your honour, you asshole!"

Ukyou glanced idly over her shoulder. Hayato had steadied his stance. Now his shoulders quivered and his head shook with rage. Ukyou could even see it, his aura, rippling lightly around his body, a deep and angry red.

"You're right, I was stupid to come here. I was stupid because I expected to meet an honourable opponent! I thought you would be the same fighter who defeated me all those years ago. I thought you would be proud and dedicated and strong in your belief. I didn't come here to challenge you just because I wanted to get rid of this mask!" Hayato jerked a thumb towards his face. "What do you think I am? A fool? Sure, every day I lived with this thing on my face was a year in hell. But I endured it! I endured because I believed that it reminded me that you were out there, ahead of me. I knew that when you defeated me that day, it was because you had achieved a higher level of commitment to your art than I had.

"How could I ever take this mask off, until I had achieved that same level of commitment? That same level of attunement to the essence of cooking and fighting that you had? I wore this mask because I respected you too much to ever take it off. Everyday I woke up with it on, I knew I had yet to exceed you. I respected you, I admired you... I think, a little bit, I wanted to be you. But I see that was a lie."

Hayato's voice had grown melancholy as he spoke. Ukyou could only stare at him. There was nothing like this from Aaron's manga memories. There was no depth to Hayato beyond his joke and his fighting style. Was there?

"Seeing you like this... I know how pathetic you really are. You're a fraud, Ukyou!" Ukyou staggered as if struck. Hayato's voice contained so much menace. "The warrior I once knew is dead, if that Ukyou ever even existed." Ukyou stared at him. Her mouth opened...

(Kodachi froze.  "The Chris... you knew..." she repeated slowly.  "Who's the Chris you knew?  Who the fuck ARE you?")

"I AM UKYOU KUONJI!" Ukyou roared. She could feel her temper unravelling, slowly, like a fruit peel. And she didn't care.

"You may be," Hayato spat. "But you aren't the person I grew up with. You're a fraud, and an embarrassment to the memory of your ancestors."

"SHUT UP!" Ukyou screamed, her voice cracking hoarse. Aaron moaned in the back of her mind. She could feel his anxiety, feel him getting wrapped up in her anger. He knew what was coming, but like Ukyou could do nothing to stop it. It was like watching a train wreck, unable to stop it, too horrified to turn away. She could feel darkness creeping in at the edge of her awareness...

"Don't like to hear the truth?" Hayato said with a sneer in his voice. "Now you know how I feel. I believed in you, Ukyou, even as I hated you. Imagine how I feel, knowing that I spent my life dedicated to the defeat of a person who no longer exists."

In the stories, when the hero finally snaps, finally loses all control, it is usually accompanied by words like 'explosion', or 'inferno' or even 'break'. The hero usually feels that mental snap, like a twig cracking in their mind. Then it's all screams and roars and bloody battle to the death.

But Ukyou was no hero.

She recognised this feeling. This odd disconnect that came over her. She couldn't remember from where, but it must have been one of Aaron's memories. It was like all her rage, her pain had been snuffed out at once, leaving only an icy emptiness. The world, her problems, everything... it was like they had suddenly become crystal clear. Everything seemed so simple, so small and pointless. Even Aaron's presence, his incessant pressure in her brain, had been eased. He was still there, but it seemed like they were clashing less. Then she realised why... they were thinking less contrarily now. Not two minds in one, constantly battering thoughts and emotions and impulses off each other. Instead, it was like they were running along the same tracks now. Beyond the darkness, she felt suddenly free from anger and fear and pressure.

She liked it.

When Ukyou began to laugh, Hayato stopped cold. She dropped her eyes to the ground and closed them, still chuckling. What did she care what Hayato thought now? What did she care what anyone thought? Even Tofu. She could feel that place inside her now. The strange energy that she had called Aaron's chi throbbed there. It seemed to be... resonating with her thoughts. With Aaron's thoughts as well.

Hayato dodged Ukyou's attack, but only barely. Her staff cut the air, shaving a few hairs from his head. Ukyou could see the air ripple, then break before the force of her attack. She stared, fascinated. The wind was ripping apart in front of her. It wasn't some cheap special effect. It was the very air, parting for her strike!

Hayato thought she was vulnerable and stabbed his needle at her side. Aaron smoothly rolled their staff into position to block. Hayato was moving slower now; it was easy to deflect his attack. Even as he did so, Ukyou shifted her weight. Hayato stumbled, suddenly thrown off-balance as the staff was caught and released. Then Ukyou stepped behind him and elbowed him in the spine.

The boy's feet floated off the ground, a bubble of dust blasting out in front of him as his body went limp. Aaron knew Hayato was going to fly forward any second, but before he did Aaron drove a vicious palm into his kidney. The palmstrike was like a cannon shot, and Hayato flashed across the construction yard. He crashed face-first into a horizontal beam, just like Aaron had planned.

"Ukyou, no!"

She turned to see Tofu running towards them. His face was so concerned. Ukyou turned away from him and began to walk towards Hayato again. Aaron had seen him stirring. It looked like she would get to beat him up some more. She smiled at the thought.

"Ukyou, you have to stop using that power!" Tofu grabbed her shoulder. "It'll kill you!"

"Remove your hand," Ukyou informed Tofu coldly. "I have a fight to finish." Hayato had already risen to his feet. Somehow he had managed to retain his hold on his weapon, and he was using it to brace himself.

"Ukyou, you have to stop... you're already bleeding..."

Ukyou rubbed her lips with the back of her hand. The blood she saw smeared on her fist confirmed his statement. She couldn't keep this up much longer. But everything was working now...

"Ukyou, if you keep using that non-chi you'll kill yourself!"

"Thank you, Doctor," Aaron said slowly, then removed Tofu's hand. That was it. It wasn't chi. They couldn't use it like chi. In fact, they shouldn't be able to use it like chi. Ukyou started them forward. She could see the anger and fear radiating from Hayato in waves.

Aaron concentrated, focusing chi through their body. In a moment they could feel it seeping out of their skin. Their aura must have become visible just then. Their muscles and nerves sang as they became supercharged. Then Aaron focused that strange energy... and he felt no more chi seeping from Ukyou's skin. It wasn't chi. But it was altering the chi... forcing it through channels that Ukyou had never conceived of before. It wasn't working like chi, it was altering the way chi worked... that's what was hurting them.

"So I see you were a fraud all along," Hayato hissed once they were within earshot. He had managed to regain his balance, and stood ready to face them. "Come on then, let's finish this!"

"Yes... let's," Ukyou murmured. Aaron already had an idea. A dangerous idea. But neither of them could care less if it turned back against them. They laughed. "Come at me, Hayato. I'll finish this fight with one blow!"

"So will I!" Hayato screamed and dashed towards them. He was no longer moving in slow motion, now that they had stopped forcing their chi to work ten times as hard. His speed was startling, and Ukyou could see the glint of his needle as he drove it at her. Aaron reached out; he could still see the angry chi radiating from Hayato. He could touch it, moments before Hayato himself approached.

It was a bit more Wind Scar than Hiryuu Shoten Ha, but Aaron let the energy collide with Ukyou's. Hayato's hot spirit rolled and sparked against the cold detached energy that flooded Ukyou's body and her aura. It formed a crack, a void where the hot and the cold cancelled each other out. Aaron drove his own chi into that crack like a wedge, felt it widen as Hayato's aura split apart around him. It was working! The power of Hayato's aura swirled around them, a plume of dust tracing its path as it spiralled away from Ukyou's outstretched hand.

"It's over!" Hayato shouted as he reached them. His needle thrust forward, coming within an inch of Ukyou's stomach before she completed the technique. It took only one uppercut, a single strike with all her chi focused right through that crack!

"SPIRITUS FRACTA TURBONIS!"

Ukyou timed her attack just right. Her strike not only caught the crack, but flashed past and impacted dead centre on Hayato's mask. For a fraction of a second, time seemed to stand still as the boy hung in the air on the edge of her fist. Then the maelstrom came. To call it a whirlwind would have been an insult. The air literally sheared apart, forming a funnel of complete emptiness around which the winds of the earth shrieked and circled. Hayato floated for a second in that void, the flakes of his mask falling from his squashed and ugly face. His mouth gasped for precious air that wasn't coming... then the laws of nature reasserted themselves and all the air rushed in to fill the vacuum Ukyou had created. For Hayato, it must have been like being hit by a Mack truck from every direction at once.

Ukyou threw her hand in front of her face, her feet digging briefly into the ground as it threatened to drag her in. Then the maelstrom ended, and there was a deceptively quiet thump as Hayato collapsed to the ground. She pulled down her arm and looked at him. He was finished. His eyes were still open, but he had curled up into the fetal position and was moaning in agony.

"You... won..." Tofu called out breathlessly.

"Woah... Ukyou... how the... how did you do that?" Ranma cried as he ran over. Ukyou just stared at him, feeling odd as she watched him approach. He seemed so excited, so proud, so curious all at once. But for some reason Ukyou didn't feel as... concerned about his feelings as she had before. She realised the mental numbness was only now beginning to wear off. She felt... woozy and strange.

"That was quite the finishing move," Ran said as she moved in behind Ranma.

"It's... not over..."

Ukyou looked down. Hayato had grabbed weakly at her ankle. His face was squashed and covered in dark circles and smudges from the years it had spent hidden by his mask. Thin red lines oozed across his cheeks from where Ukyou's attack had driven shards of the plastic into his skin. He had crawled over to her on his belly, like a worm. She felt a flare of hot annoyance and a bit of fear.

"I won't let a fraud like you... beat me..." Hayato gasped. "I'll be back... stronger..."

"No," Ukyou informed him. She kicked her ankle free and raised it up. It was really the only convenient solution to the problem. "You won't." With a brief burst of Aaron's chi, she drove her heel straight into his spine, right at the shoulders. The crack was almost silent, and yet echoed deafeningly across the yard. Hayato's mouth opened but no sound came out. His eyes seemed to fade, then he collapsed in front of her. Ukyou pulled her foot away.

"UKYOU!" Tofu shouted. He moved faster than Ukyou had ever seen him move, virtually materialising by Hayato's side. "He's... not dead..." Tofu sighed in relief as he checked the boy's vitals.

Ukyou didn't mention how she had altered the trajectory of her kick at the last second. It would have been so easy to kill him. But breaking his spine would be just as effective in getting rid of him. Still... Ukyou didn't feel right. The numbing cold had mostly vanished from her brain. The action she had taken a few seconds ago had seemed so logical, so right... now... now...

"My god, Ukyou, you broke his spine!" Tofu looked up and glared at her, and she couldn't meet his accusing eyes. "He was defeated! You didn't have to..." Tofu trailed off.

"I... didn't mean to..." Ukyou lied. Aaron shuddered inside her mind. They had meant to. They had meant to do more than that, but hadn't. Thank whatever gods existed, they hadn't.

"Ukyou..." Akane's voice was full of fear. Ukyou couldn't look at her either. She stumbled away. She felt nauseous. Her staff was lying nearby, and for some reason she tumbled to her knees beside it. She had dropped it before her final attack. "Ukyou, what happened there, it was like you became a maniac..."

Before Aaron's final attack! It had been his idea! He was to blame!

(And who decided to break Hayato's spine?)

"SHUT UP!" Ukyou shouted to the air.

She turned, realising that the others must have thought she was talking to them. She could see everyone standing away from her. Even Ranma. Sweet, forgiving Ranma. He was looking at her in a way he never had before. She couldn't stand that look in his eyes. Unable to endure their stares, Ukyou scooped up her staff and fled.

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes:

Blade: Well, there goes our readership.

Epsilon: What readership?

Blade: The readership we had that thought the fanfic was too dark back in chapter, I dunno, three.

Epsilon: Maybe if we start with Ukyou having hawt lesbian SEXXORZ each chapter, they'll come back!

Blade: What an odd suggestion, coming from you.

Epsilon: Well, since I don't have any interest in sex, I don't write the sex scenes, which means you have to,

which means less work, which means... BONUS!

Blade: ...

Epsilon: In other news, I remember promising you (the readers, that is, not Blade) way back in Chapter 1 that I'd explain any of the special move names that needed to be translated.  Sure, it wasn't in Japanese, but hey, if you're going to have a pretentious move name, why not have it in the most pretentious language of them all: LATIN!

Blade: ...

Epsilon: Spiritus Fracta Turbonis means "Spirit-Breaking Tornado", or close enough.  So now you know!

Blade: ...I hate you.

Epsilon: Apparently I have to do all the talking this time, so I'll also point out that we've now added summaries at the top of each Hybrid Theory chapter, some of which are amusing!  Assuming you find our brand of humour amusing.

Blade: ...I still hate you, you spine-snapping jerkoff.

Epsilon: Also, we've gotten someone to reformat the fics so they are legible on fanfiction.net and its ilk.  Not that we LIKE that formatting, and we still encourage people to come to triple-w dot bladeandepsilon dot com (spelled that way because fanfiction-net strips out URLs, even non-clickable ones) and see the PROPER book formatting, as well as all our neat extras... but at least if you're reading from ff.net and other such places, you can actually READ it now.  Which has to be considered an improvement.

Blade: Thanks to David Barbour for his hard work and tireless attempts to tell me that it doesn't matter how its formatted!  Okay, only for the former.  Thanks also to anybody who actually had the tenacity to read it on these sites up until now, because god knows I wouldn't have.  Also, I still hate you.  By "you", I mean Epsilon.

Epsilon: I'll live somehow.

Blade: Next time we meet in the fic, I'm TOTALLY going to kick your ass.  Again.

Epsilon: Sure.  Perhaps that will happen... NEXT CHAPTER!?

HER 'OLD FRIEND' OCCHAN HAD A FUCKING SPATULA FOR A HEAD! Where did he put his goddamn brain!?

Hybrid Theory Chapter 10: One Step Closer

Blade: Wait.  That's it?

Epsilon: I thought it was poignant and moving.  Also, everything else is a big spoiler.

Blade: ...I hate you.

Extra! Extra! Catch it here first, folks! This is your one and only chance to get THE straight scoop. One hundred percent pure authorial oversight perception is what this plucky reporter has been granted, and since these meanies tell me I'm going to lose it soon, I better make it count!

Your humble narrator, the beautiful and eloquent Ran Hibiki, has found herself increasingly drawn into the world of Ukyou and her friends. It appears Ukyou has problems, as her bizarre split personality is getting to her and making her more violent. Just last chapter, she went nuts and broke the spine of her old arch-rival Hayato Myoujin. This is after she went totally uber-bitch on Ranma's mother, then Ranma, then Akane. And now, she has vanished!

Meanwhile, Chris the undead body-stealer is up to his old tricks, so to speak. He got Pink and Link to help him kill Sentarou Daimonji so he could replace his rotting old body and steal the boy's martial arts tea ceremony mad wind ninja skills! In exchange for their help, Pink and Link are looking to grab some of the mitama... which are these funky blue seeds that turn things into monsters and which Chris failed to retrieve last time he tried because this carrot-skinned guy named Kusanagi broke it.

In other news, Nabiki is trying to acquire Ukyou's title of queen bitch by tricking Ryouga into thinking he raped her. Also, Cologne is trying to defend her old title by toying with her great grand-daughter's destiny by using the info Chris gave her way back to push Shampoo into a confrontation in Nerima Shampoo isn't really prepared for.  Darn, that sentence ran on... oh well, that's what editors are for!

So lay down your bets folks, because the Tokyo bitch-fest contest continues! Who IS the most vile, manipulative customer in all of Hybrid Theory? Find out next, because your humble reporter does not have a clue!

Chapter 10: One Step Closer

"Hey, stud, you heard the latest news?"

Ranma looked up from the spiral he had etched into the sand in the lot behind Tofu's. Ran was leaning on the fence, her head resting on her folded arms. Her ever-present camera was hanging down in front of her, and she was carrying a rolled-up newspaper in one hand. Seeing she had his attention, Ran vaulted the fence, her long black ponytail streaming out behind her as she landed in the back lot.

"I thought that was your department," Ranma grumbled. He wasn't very happy with Ran at the moment, and let that show in his voice.

"What's your problem?" Ran asked, puzzled. She knelt down next to him.

"You're the one who printed that stuff about my best buddy going psycho and breaking somebody's spine!" Ranma accused.

"Uh... Ranma. Ukyou did go psycho and break somebody's spine," Ran pointed out mildly. "I just told the truth. That's kind of my job."

"Oh..." Ranma blinked. "I guess I hadn't thought about it like that."

"Well, do so next time, you lummox." Ran snickered as she rapped his head with her knuckles good-naturedly. Ranma made a show of rubbing his head and frowning at her, but there was no real malice behind it. Ran was right. It was just the truth. Heck, he wasn't sure he really wanted to think that deeply about it himself. So... he didn't.

"Anyway," Ranma said, dismissing the previous subject. "What brings you here?"

"The giant monster attacking the ship out in the middle of Tokyo Bay," Ran pointed out with a shrug.

"Well, Tokyo Bay is all the way over on the other side of town, so what... did you say giant monster?"

"Yes," Ran giggled.

"Oh." Ranma nodded. "Just checking."

"I just thought I'd come over to see if you guys knew anything about it." Ran shrugged, adjusting her thick vest with her free hand. "With all the weirdos that keep showing up around you guys, I just thought I'd check before heading over."

"You're going to the monster attack?"

"Naturally." Ran smirked and held up her camera. "Of course, I won't get the scoop on this one. But I plan on at least getting some good shots I can sell to local papers."

"Well then," Ranma stood up from the spiral and dusted off his knees. "Let's get going, then."

"Us?" Ran blinked.

"Yeah, us." Ranma frowned. "You want a scoop, right?" He smirked and cracked his neck. "How does, 'Ranma Saotome kills monster! Saves city!' sound to you?"

"Heh. Trying to follow in Ukyou's footsteps?"

"Nah. I'm just thinking, you know. Ukyou is a monster hunter. There is a giant monster to kill. So if I show up and help, I'll probably get to talk to Ukyou again. Which I kinda need to do after what happened yesterday. The fact that I will get some of the glory never entered my thinking at all!" Ranma shot out the last part in indignation.

"Right," Ran drawled and rolled her eyes.

"Besides, you're going and it could be dangerous," Ranma said as he led the way out of the lot. He and Ran leapt up to a neighbouring rooftop, where they paused to orient themselves. "If anything goes wrong, I want to make sure someone's there to protect you."

"I'm capable of defending myself," Ran pointed out as they took off at a brisk pace across the rooftops. It might have been faster to go by car or bus, since Ranma still hadn't learned how to maintain top speed for an extended period of time. Yet he preferred the direct approach, and Ran didn't seem to have any objections.

"I know that," Ranma chuckled. "I didn't say I needed to protect you, Ran. I said I wanted to protect you."

"I..." Ran trailed off oddly. Ranma looked over at her and saw she was blushing a little and giving him an odd look. He shrugged it off. Girls always acted weird, and just because he turned into one on occasion didn't mean he understood them any better. "Right..." Ran cleared her throat. "But you're mainly going to try and find Ukyou?"

"Yeah." Ranma nodded seriously. Their conversation paused as they both sprinted to build up speed for a leap over a wide road. Ranma made it with ease, but Ran only got her toes on the edge of the roof. He caught her hand and pulled her up, accepting her silent nod of thanks with a nod of his own.

"Why?"

"Huh?"

"What do you see in him? I mean, besides him being a better fighter than you and you can learn from him..."

"Ukyou isn't a better fighter than me," Ranma interrupted her. Seeing her disbelieving look, Ranma decided it was time to remove a few false impressions from her mind. "It's true. Ask anyone who knows the two of us well. Tofu, Akane... I'm just faster, stronger, tougher, more skilled. I am better, in every way, than Ukyou." Ranma said it without a hint of conceit in his voice. It wasn't bragging if you were just telling the truth.

"But you were studying under him, weren't you?"

"Yes." Ranma nodded. "Just because I'm better than Ukyou doesn't mean I can't learn from... him." Ranma swished his tongue around in his mouth, searching for the right way to say what he meant. "I respect Ukyou, as a fighter. He may not be as good as me... but he has the same spirit. The same drive to win. Maybe even more. The people Ukyou has fights with are... good. Real good. They're tricky and strong. Yet... Ukyou wins. Not by being strong or tough, but by sheer force of will. By thinking fast and never giving up, ya know?" Ranma wasn't sure if his point was getting across, so he tried rephrasing it one more time. "When I win, it's because I'm better than my opponent. When Ukyou wins... it's because she wants it more than the other guy." Ranma nodded again. "That's why I respect Ukyou's skill. That's the talent I want to pick up."

"I see..." Ran trailed off again. "Wait, did you just say 'she'?"

"Did I?" Ranma laughed nervously. "Wow! That was stupid! Why would I say something stupid that might suggest Ukyou is really a girl? That's just silly!"

"Ranma..." Ran drew out his name menacingly. "Are you hiding something from me?"

"No!" Ranma insisted, starting to sweat.

"Aha! I knew it! Sorry to say, but you are a terrible liar, stud." Ran smirked. "So spill the beans. You know I'm just going to get you to tell me anyway, so why fight it?"

"Fight what?" Ranma laughed, quickening his pace so he was slightly outdistancing Ran. She pushed to catch up.

"You can't escape from the free press!"

"We'll just see about that!" Ranma upped his speed a notch, and Ran continued to chase him across Tokyo.

*

Chris hopped down from the rooftop and began walking along the street. A quick glance back confirmed that Pink and Link were there, though he couldn't tell which was which under the cloaks they were wearing.

"Why are we slowing down, over?"  An irritated tone; that one on the left would be Link, then.

"We're close," he replied.  "I saw a police helicopter, so I want to avoid attracting attention until we're closer."  Link made an impatient noise, but seemed to acquiesce for the moment.  Chris, however, was a little anxious himself.  Police helicopter, or the TAC?  If they beat the jellyfish aragami before he could get there, it wouldn't be good.  Still, he was pretty sure that in that episode, they hadn't succeeded until very late at night.  It was only around one in the morning; plenty of time, with any luck.  Maybe.

Hopefully this would help smooth things over with Link.  She was his favourite of the twins, and more importantly, definitely the nicer of the two, always running around saving people from Pink's poisons.  She'd even saved Ranma's life twice in the manga... granted, once was when she didn't know the female Ranma was 'Shampoo's husband', and once was to save her own skin, but still.  Link was essentially a good person, unlike her sister.  She was no Akane, but it still bothered him how much she disliked him.  Was his very existence that distasteful to her?

He shook off those thoughts.  With any luck, he'd be alive again soon. But first things first.  They were growing near to Tokyo Bay now.  In the distance, he could spot the target, though he couldn't make out any other details in the gloom.  Still, there was no mistaking it: a single ship in the water, with nothing else anywhere near it.

Nothing at all?  He saw police boats moored nearby, but nothing visibly near the ship.  They must have been pulled back.  Irksome, but not a big problem.  "Pink?  Let's get a boat."

He could almost sense her grin.   "No problem, over."

He glanced around as the poison-loving twin did her work.  Nobody seemed to be around other than the police; cleared out, or was this just not a popular spot for drunken salarymen?  Maybe a bit of both.  In any case, he stepped forward as the last few police slumped over, sleeping peacefully.  None of them had had a chance to raise any sort of ruckus.  After removing the occupants of one of the small boats, he and the twins climbed in.  Good thing he could drive a boat.  Well, sort of.  Well, at least enough to go in a straight line.

"Are you two ready to go?" he yelled over the roar of the engine. Another reason to be glad the twins were here.  He remembered from the anime Blue Seed that this monster Link had sensed was like a monstrous jellyfish, and its flesh was very acidic, styming all attempts by Kusanagi and the TAC to defeat it until Matsudaira (the scientist) had come up with the idea to solidify its mostly-liquid form with a large quantity of the polymers they used in diapers to solidify liquid waste, thus rendering it able to be destroyed.  He'd at first been thinking that he'd get some large bags of salt to do a similar trick, but Pink and Link pooh-poohed the idea upon hearing it.  After all, they pointed out, water was something plants consumed.  They were confident that they could come up with something to suck out the fluid from the creature, making its mitama easy pickings.

"Don't worry about us," Pink yelled back.  "Just make sure you keep that plant-guy out of our way, over."

Oh well.  Wouldn't be too glorious-looking for him this time, fighting off the heroes.  But worth it for a little peace of mind with his allies.  "I'll make sure of it, but you two be careful.  Remember, that thing has lots of tentacles to attack with, and it's acidic enough to eat through steel."  It was true... as they drew nearer the afflicted cruise ship, he saw the dark shape looming over the bow.  The metal there was quite damaged from the creature's corrosive form, the hull eroded and split.  Not down to the waterline yet, though.

"Don't worry about us.  Just do your job, over," Link called back.  She didn't sound as annoyed or standoffish as usual, though.  More... excited.  She must have been already looking forward to finally getting her hands on the mitama... or maybe it was simply the thrill of the moment.

Either way, it made this worth it.  Chris smiled.  "Can do.  You two ready to jump?"

"Ready, over!"

"Then let's do it!"  Wheeling the boat parallel to the cruise ship and cutting the motor, he stepped back, grabbed the twins around their waists, and leaped.  Legs far stronger than any on the Earth he'd been born to carried them easily up and over the railing.  He landed lightly on a walkway just behind the bow and released Pink and Link.  This was it.

The first thing he saw was Kusanagi.  The orange-skinned man was standing about eight meters in front of them, one hand in the pocket of his red trenchcoat, the other rubbing the back of his head.  Before him was the likely object of his consternation.  The jellyfish aragami was about two stories tall, and twice that wide.  It was a dark purple in colour, aside from the dozens of glistening red eyes (well, eye-like things) ringed around its 'lip'.  And there was the tentacles.  Thankfully, none of them were phallus-shaped, but there were dozens of them; pale, and flailing around threateningly.  It seemed to still be agitated from Kusanagi (presumably) attacking it before they'd arrived.

He stepped forward.  Time to be a suitable distraction.  "Hey, Kusanagi. Having a little trouble with this one?"

Kusanagi whipped around, glanced at him, obviously dismissed him in an instant, and started to turn back around again.  "I don't have any idea who you are, but unless you want to get hurt, you should probably get out of here."

Chris rolled his eyes.  Kusanagi was such an arrogant twat, at least before Murakumo showed up to kick his ass every other episode.  "I don't think so.  Actually, I'm here to retrieve the mitama from our translucent friend over there.  I trust you have no problems with that?"

That got his attention again.  "You what?"

He smiled.  "Just what I said.  I'm here to beat the aragami and take its mitama."

Kusanagi ran a hand through his short green hair and blinked oafishly a few times.  Then he raised one finger and pointed it at Chris.  "Okey-dokey.  I have no idea who you are, but you obviously have some sort of problem, so for your own good I'm going to knock some sense into you and then, I dunno, drop you off the side of the ship."  He paused, then added sarcastically, "If that's okay?"

Well, that was easier than he'd expected.  Grinning, he leaped back onto the superstructure of the cruise ship.  "Bring it, carrot-boy!"

*

Link glanced idly in the direction Chris had drawn the strange hybrid plant/man with his taunts. She resisted the urge to follow. While the... whatever that boy Kusanagi was seemed fascinating, it wasn't their objective. Also, she had spotted at least two of those mitamas on the backs of his hands. Maybe once she had her hands on one of them herself, she could figure out everything she needed to know.

"Stop daydreaming, over," Pink hissed in her ear as she strode out onto the now empty deck. The crew of the ship had obviously been evacuated already. Link frowned more deeply than usual and followed her. Her sister paused just out of the reach of the aragami's tendrils. Link joined her, pulling back the hood of her cloak so she could more easily reach her stores of unguents and powders.

"It seems to be content to just sit there and dissolve things," Pink pointed out as she shook her head. "What a waste, over."

"You would prefer it start attacking us, over?" Link said as she rolled her eyes. Pink had, by now, joined her in laying out a selection of their most potent potions and infusions. Link ran a trained eye over the selection her sister was offering up, and began to remove those she saw as worthless for the current situation, while replacing them with ones she thought applied more. Pink mimicked her actions, correcting Link's mistakes even as Link corrected hers. This silent and comfortable exchange continued for a few seconds while they talked.

"Well, it needs to have a strong root system, over."

"Yes, but... it needs to also be able to drill through its hide and resist that acid, over."

"Unfortunately, most hardy plants like that don't absorb water quick enough, over."

"It can't rely on topiary, because there's not much sunlight, over."

"So, how about... if we splice something new and interesting together, over?"

"You always want to splice things. What's wrong with the tried and true approach, over?"

"Unless you missed it, this is not exactly a situation we have dealt with before, over."

"Yes, but you have to look at it from a different perspective! There are no plants that deal with this situation... but there are plants that suck up a lot of water because there isn't much available. We just have to... hypercharge one, over."

"Right, like a cactus! And it has spines, for the drilling! But for protection against the acid... we'll need something like the ironwood tree! Only... more iron-y, over."

"Hmm, I'm not sure about that, over..."

"You're right! It'll need to defend itself against the attacks of the aragami. So we mix in a little venus flytrap. You know, to eat the tentacles, over."

"No, what I meant was... is it really a good idea to randomly use an untested superweapon plant on this plant-based acidic monster whose origins and powers we do not even begin to understand, over?"

"What sort of nonsense is that, sister?! We are the masters of plants and all things flora! What could possibly go wrong, over?"

"You're right. How silly of me. So, you ready now, over?"

"Yep, over."

"Then on three. One... two..."

*

"Stupid ocean," Ranma complained as she hauled herself out of the water. Ran snickered down at her and couldn't resist getting a snapshot of her expression. Ranma crossed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Ran. Ran dutifully ignored her and scampered up the anchor chain to the deck. It had been Ranma's idea to swim out to the ship, after all. She had no one to blame for her current gender but herself. Besides, she deserved a gentle ribbing for calling her carefully selected and economically useful Vest of Many Pockets (tm) a lifejacket.

The deck itself was deserted. Ran backed away, letting Ranma vault onto the woodpaneled deck. Ranma spent a few seconds wringing the sea water out of her shirt... a process which made Ran raise an eyebrow since it consisted of removing said shirt.

"Ever hear of feminine dignity, Ranma?"

"Is that the thing that makes girls always act stuck up?"

"Yes," Ran replied flatly. "That's it exactly."

"Then I guess I have," Ranma murmured as she replaced her shirt. Ran rolled her eyes at Ranma's casual insensitivity while checking to make sure their swim hadn't damaged her precious (and expensive) equipment. From what she had seen, there were no other reporters on the cruise ship. That meant only one thing...

Exclusive!

"Hey, earth to Ran," Ranma snapped her fingers in front of Ran's face. "We're on the other side of the ship and if I want to, ya know, save the day and everything... we'll have to go that-a-way." Ranma jerked her thumb towards the curve of the ship's hull.

"Lead the way then... look out!" Ran leapt back, only a fraction of a second slower than Ranma herself. The huge wire-mesh frame crashed down between them a moment later, caving in the wooden floor and sending a shower of sparks flying in all directions. Ran landed, shaking the ringing aftertone of the impact from her ears. It looked like a radar... thingie of some kind.

"What the..." Ranma muttered and looked up towards the top of the ship.

"STOP SITTING DOWN AND MOVING SO FAST, YOU JERK!" a voice echoed from on high.

"Friend of yours?" Ran asked.

"Uh..." Ranma rubbed the back of her neck. "Hang back a second while I check this out, will ya?"

"I thought I told you-"

Ran was cut off by a pair of feminine shrieks of pure terror. You know, the kind that always filled the soundtracks of horror films.

"Oh man," Ranma grumbled. "And it sounds like there's a cool battle going on up top, too." Ranma shook her head and dashed around the side of the ship. Ran glanced up, then after Ranma. Well... follow the story, you know.

She pursued Ranma. It took them only a few seconds to cross the deck and come along the bow of the ship. There Ran paused.

Well, she could certainly understand the shriek now. The thing that was perched on the bow was about four stories tall, covered in a thick purple shell that had thousands of spiny needles growing out of it in all directions. Each of the spines was dripping a noxious ooze that, when it hit the ground, ate through the steel with both disturbing speed and a painful-sounding hiss. Out from under that shell stretched dozens of tentacles, each tipped with a horrible, slime- covered mouth large enough to swallow a cow whole. A heart-stopping alien screech was being blasted from each of the mouths... reminded Ran of nothing so much as King Ghidora. A comparison she did not find exactly comforting.

"I thought it was supposed to be a jellyfish," Ran said through a nervous gulp.

"Sure don't look like no jellyfish I ever seen," Ranma felt the need to point out.

"...'what could go wrong', over! That's what you said, over!"

"There you go, blaming me for your own lack of forethought, over."

"MY LACK, OVER!"

"You're supposed to be the cautious one. It's your job to stop us from doing stupid things like this, over."

Ran looked down to see two teenage girls, wait, make that two identical teenage girls, huddled nervously just under one of the creature's many mouthy tendrils. Gobs of lethal acid were raining down about them, a fact they seemed to be ignoring in favour of continued recriminations.

"You two! Hold still, I'm coming!"

Ran didn't even bother to glance in Ranma's direction as she sprinted across the deck towards the... Cthuloid Monstrosity. Oh, she liked the ring of that. "Cthuloid Monstrosity Attacks Tokyo Bay!" Ran quoted into her recorder. That would sell a few papers.

Ran then realised she was missing the show. Flipping up her camera, she began to click rapid-fire pictures of Ranma's dramatic rescue. She had to admit, the boy-turned-girl had quite a few tricks up her sleeve. She zigged and zagged, flipping over and rolling under the flailing limbs of the Cthuloid Monstrosity with the ease of a trained circus monkey. The girls didn't even notice Ranma's approach until she had scooped them up, one in each arm. With a deceptively simple twist of her step, Ranma somehow reversed her momentum and backflipped away from the creature, seconds before one of the gibbering mouths slammed into the girls' previous position with enough force to send a shower of debris in all directions. Ranma then made her way back through the hell of swirling tentacles, the wide-eyed passengers on her arms clinging tightly to her (and flinging accusations at each other, but Ran would leave that part out of her article).

With a final grunt, Ranma flipped clear of the Cthuloid Monstrosity's reach. She spun elegantly, landing with a flourish directly in front of Ran. Somehow, she had twisted the two girls out of their vicelike grips on her and placed one on either side so Ranma could pose with her arms around their shoulders and fingers on both hands making "V"-signs. Ran lowered her camera.

"Hey, this is a great shot!" Ranma complained.

"I'm a reporter, not a PR rep, Ranma," Ran pointed out. Then she took the picture anyway.

"Hey, you're not Chris, over!" the one on the right shouted accusingly.

"Who are you, over?" Lefty added.

"Are you trying to steal my mitama, over?" Righty continued.

"Hey, I just saved your lives. You could be grateful," Ranma grumbled.

"Oh, fine, if you insist. Thank you for saving our lives. Now go away, over." Lefty said through her sneer.

"Yes, thank you, but we have this totally under control, over." The other frowned seriously.

"Uh-huh... right..." Ranma drawled sarcastically.

"Uh, guys..."

"We did! I'll have you know we had the perfect plan for killing that thing, over!"

"There were a few unexpected variables. But nothing outside our area of expertise, over."

"Guys..." Ran said, backing up a step.

"You have to be the most ungrateful chicks I have ever saved since that... wait... did you say 'Chris'?"

"GUYS!" Ran shouted, waving from her safe position ten meters down the deck.

"What? I'm busy!" Ranma shouted back.

"Monster!" Ran pointed.

"Oh, right," all three said simultaneously. With the twins adding "over". Then Ranma leapt straight up, barely avoiding another giant maw as it tried to swallow them whole.

"Geez," Ran muttered as she snapped pictures of their... 'heroic' escape. "Can't a girl remain a neutral observer around here?"

*

"STOP SITTING DOWN AND MOVING SO FAST, YOU JERK!" Kusanagi spat as the radar tower tumbled down behind him. The boy was smirking at him and sitting only a few meters away, looking calm and collected in his jeans and black t- shirt. Kusanagi was beginning to hate that insufferable grin, and most of the face it was attached to. He smiled as he thought about how entertaining it would be to rearrange it into a more pleasant configuration.

"Hmmm. Let me consider your proposition carefully and... NO!" The boy snapped his arms up, and Kusanagi dodged this time. He had learned his lesson the hard way last time, and still had some of those damn tea spoons embedded in his right arm. But really, who the hell threw spoons, anyway? Kusanagi landed a few meters away in a crouch. He grimaced and flexed his left arm, extending his second arm-blade with a wet popping sound. The boy only smirked wider.

"You have a lot of fancy tricks," Kusanagi grunted. "But that won't save you... I have tricks of my own!" he roared and punched towards the boy. The jerk would be caught flat-footed when Kusanagi's arm extended forward with the power of a battering ram and... "HEY! You're not supposed to dodge!"

The boy spread his hands apologetically. "Well, you keep dodging my teaspoons. So it's only fair."

"But... they're TEASPOONS!"

"What, you don't like tea? What sort of half-plant mitama-implanted Japanese citizen are you?"

Kusanagi responded by whipping his still extended arm towards the boy, only to shout in frustration as he seemed to fade away from the attack. Kusanagi blinked. The jerk had vanished into thin air! How the hell did he do that? And for that matter, how did he move without even standing up? And how did he know so much about the mitamas? And... and... Damnit! Why couldn't more people just be simple idiots he could intimidate into obeying him? Like the TAC?

"Yoo-hoo, up here," the boy's voice called, drawing Kusanagi's line of sight up along the side of the nearby smokestack. He was kneeling on a gantry that surrounded the top of the stack. Except he was underneath it. And upside down. And still sitting there, defying gravity. Kusanagi mused that it took a special kind of arrogant bastard to ignore the laws of physics when they didn't suit him.

"Aw, man..." Kusanagi moaned. "Can't you just fight like a normal person?"

"Have you ever heard of the word 'irony'?" the boy called back. Then for some reason his eyes widened and his attention slipped away from Kusanagi for a second. A perfect opening!

With a cry Kusanagi propelled himself from the ship, spreading his arms out. The boy didn't even notice him until it was too late. With a bone-jarring thud they collided and Kusanagi clamped his arms around the slippery bastard with a cry of triumph. "Dodge this, you little worm!" Rebounding from the smokestack, Kusanagi flipped down at the deck, screaming in joy all the time.

"Oh fuck off, Kusanagi! We just got a bigger prob-" the rest of the little worm's sentence was cut off as Kusanagi drove him headfirst into the metal deckplates. The retort of the roof buckling under their impact caused Kusanagi's ears to whine annoyingly. But he could barely notice over the rushing blood of triumph!

It was about that point that the worm kicked him off and rolled to his knees. Kusanagi thumped to the ground a few meters away and rose slowly, rubbing his gut. The insufferable little worm was fingering the top of his head gingerly.

"It doesn't look like you split the skull..." he muttered in obvious annoyance. "Thanks a lot, Kusanagi. Do you know how much of my time you would have wasted if you'd killed me?"

"Huh-what?"

"Never mind that!" he growled, waving his hands. "Look. Bigger problem!" The worm pointed over Kusanagi's shoulder.

"Like I'm gonna fall for that," Kusanagi growled and rose to his feet.

"Oh for crying out... don't tell me you're using that old schtick?" the worm groaned and put his palm to his forehead. "Listen. I will use small words. Giant. Monster. Eating. Ship. Behind. You. Look. Now."

"Oh that, it's not really a big threat..."

"It is now."

Kusanagi was about to retort again. But then he became aware of an odd sound. It was like... tearing. And dripping. And shrieking. Inhuman shrieking. Also some human shrieking, come to think of it. Well, maybe a quick peek...

"HOLY CRAP! That ain't no goddamn jellyfish!"

"That was about what I was thinking when you cheaply attacked me from behind," the worm offered.

"This is all your fault, isn't it?" Kusanagi accused.

"Well... no. But I think I know whose fault it is."

"Great..." Kusanagi frowned. He had to warn those jerks at the TAC not to come on the ship. He could... feel the energy off that thing. It was resonating with the seven mitamas embedded in his hands, feet and chest. And it was still growing. If those idiots brought Momiji too close... "Stand back," Kusanagi shouted and waved his arm towards the little worm. "I'll handle this thing." For a moment, he considered using his battle form. But then again... it was just an aragami, still.

"Of course you will." The worm had somehow moved up next to him, still kneeling. "I'll just come and observe."

"Whatever..." Kusanagi grunted. "Just don't get in my way and..."

Kusanagi trailed off as someone landed on the roof two meters in front of him. Well, actually, it was three someones. It was some punk kid and two girls on her arms. Twins, actually. Twins clinging tenaciously to the girl in the centre, the reptilian hindbrain portion of his mind noted with interest.

"You two can let go now," the girl in the centre pointed out dryly. "I kinda need my hands free."

"Oh, sorry, over," the one on the left replied. The girls let go simultaneously and stepped away... only to be grabbed back a moment later.

"Wait a second! I'm not finished askin' you about Chris yet!"

"Make up your mind, over!" the one on the right said with an annoyed smile.

Wait a minute.

"Hey! You're those girls that tried to molest Momiji!" Kusanagi shouted and pointed.

"Huh?" the girl in the oversized (but wet!) shirt glanced at him. "Who are you? And why do you look like a walking carrot?"

"None of your business, little girl!" Kusanagi snapped. "I want to have a talk with those two-"

"CHRIS!" the worm shouted from behind him. Kusanagi blinked, wondering who he was calling out to. Had some other idiot decided to go aragami hunting today?

"AHA! I knew it! Where is he!?" the punkette released the girls from her grip.

"Girls! You've found a mighty warrior. Thank god!" The worm pointed at Kusanagi. Kusanagi blinked again and pointed his thumb at his chest. "Please, you have to help us stop Chris. That undead BODY-SWAPPING monster is too strong for the likes of us!"

Everyone stood still for a moment. The only sound was the horrible crunching of the aragami eating the front half of the ship.

"Uh... what are you talking about-"

"Right, girls?" the worm shouted as he seemed to teleport to the smiling girl's side and elbow her in the ribs. "That's Chris, the evil monster that has tormented us for days and unleashed this mutated horror upon the earth!"

"Oh... right. Him, over."

"Yeah, beat him up for us, will you, over?" the frowning one asked the punkette.

"Heh. My pleasure," the girl grinned maliciously and cracked her knuckles. "I've been waiting a long time for a rematch with you."

Kusanagi felt that the situation was slipping through his fingers. "But we've never fought before!"

"You fool! When you last fought me, I was a man!"

"HUH?"

Kusanagi was caught totally flat-footed when the fist slammed into his cheek. Stars exploded across his eyes and he could feel the metal of the deck skimming away under his toes. Oh. He must be flying backward at an improbably dangerous speed.

Oh shit.

The smokestack Kusanagi collided with actually held, right up until the punkette slammed her shoulder into his chest with the force of a freight train. As Kusanagi emerged from the blossom of shrapnel, pain radiating from his chest, he reflected that some days it just didn't pay to get out of bed.

*

Chris almost felt like dancing as he rushed away from the impending Clash Of The Gullible Morons, but he was still practicing Sentarou's 'glide around on the tips of his toes while sitting in proper Martial Arts Tea Ceremony position' technique, so he stayed seated.  Still, that couldn't really have worked out better if he'd planned it.  His new body was fast, even faster than Kusanagi, especially when he really hadn't been trying to hurt the plant-man. And now, those two would likely be keeping each other busy for a good long time. It would probably end with Ranma beating Kusanagi to a bloody pulp, in his expert opinion, but that was okay, since Ranma wouldn't kill him.

Which left him to deal with the aragami.  Or whatever the hell it was now.

"What exactly did you two DO to that thing?"

"Merely failed to take into account a few minor variables," Pink said defensively.  "It'd work perfectly next time, over."

"Right."  Chris sized up the situation.  Giant, protected by shell, still acidic, tentacles more dangerous, drill-like spines everywhere... oh, and it could SHOOT them at things, he mentally added as he dodged.  Great.  "I think next time I'll just bring the salt, if it's okay with you."

"Excuse me!  Could I get your names on the record, please?"  This was accompanied by the bright flash of a bulb going off.

The voice wasn't one he knew, but it was definitely a familiar character... hey, it was Ran Hibiki!  What the hell was she doing here?  Oh, right, she wrote the articles about Ukyou.  Must've whetted her appetite for this sort of thing.  Wait, if she was here, and Ranma was here...  "Hey, is Ukyou here?"

"Hey, I thought I was asking the questions!  And watch out, it's trying to eat you again."  They both casually dodged another tentacle strike.

Chris grinned a bit.  "Perhaps you were, but it's a cardinal rule of news that information is traded, stolen or bought, hardly ever given for free."

"Well, I guess you don't keep up on the news much," Ran shrugged. "Ukyou hasn't been seen since he broke that guy's back this afternoon."

Oh, well, that made sense- WHAT!?  The hell?

"Monster, over!" Pink yelled from the twins' relatively safe perch below.  Chris waved in acknowledgement as he dodged another spine.

"Wait a minute," he said, landing.  "Broke a guy's back?  Who?  Why?"

Ran grinned maliciously.  "What were you just saying about the exchange of information?"

Well, he'd walked into that.  "Fair enough.  I'm Chris, and those two are... hmm... the Astounding Chinese Floral Mistresses."

"We're the WHAT, over?"

"Do you want you-know-who to know who's waiting for her when she gets to Japan?  She CAN read."

"Are you certain, over?" Pink asked skeptically.

"Pretty certain, yeah."  He flipped over another tentacle slash, and as he landed, Ran was waiting with a newspaper in her hand.  He found himself staring at an article headlined 'Is Mystery Hero In Fact Mystery Psycho?' Riiiiight.  He filed that away for later.  Giant monster first, Ukyou acting un-Ukyou-like (again) later.  And there was suddenly a microphone in his face to replace it.

"And just who exactly is this mysterious stranger that your sidekicks don't want to reveal their location to?"

"I am NOT that thing's sidekick, over!" Link yelled, indignantly and predictably.

"Never mind that," he said, waving the microphone away.  "Sorry, Ms. Hibiki, but I must stop this monster before it causes even more damage."  That ought to play well, he thought, striking a dramatic pose, and was gratified by an immediate camera flash.

Well, with the playing to the press out of the way, he hopped down to the twins' sides.  "Okay.  Is this thing still basically an aragami?"

"It still has that mitama thing, if that's what you mean, over," Link said.

"Good.  In that case, it's alive, because the mitamas attach to unintelligent host organisms.  Sometimes more than one host organism, it seems. But it's still a host organism, plant or animal, and that means you guys should be able to whip up something to kill it rather thoroughly, no?"

"But we don't want to kill the mitama, over," Pink objected.

He shook his head.  "Not a problem.  It's separate from the host; the TAC's beaten at least one that I can recall by poisoning and killing the organism it's inhabiting."

"I guess we can work something out," Link frowned.  "But we'll need a sample of it, over."

Chris nodded.  "All right.  Any particular part?"

"Not really," said Pink, "but the fresher the better, over!"

Without bothering to respond, he leapt up, unfolding his legs beneath him.  Kodachi's techniques would serve him better here.  Judging the position of the tentacles, he angled himself towards one stem.  From there, he could leap nearer the main body and...

...a huge spotlight shone from above, glaring in his eyes.  His dead eyes didn't need to squint, but as he looked over at it, he could only see the silhouettes of helicopters.

"HALT WHERE YOU ARE!" shouted an authoritative-sounding voice.

Chris considered the difficulty of doing that in mid-leap for only a moment before he touched delicately down on the stem of one of the tendrils. Before the acid had a chance to eat through more than the soles of his socks he was away again, threading a ribbon through his hands.

"THIS IS THE TERRESTRIAL ADMINISTRATION CENTRE.  BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT, YOU ARE ORDERED TO CEASE YOUR CURRENT ACTIVITIES AND LEAVE THIS AREA IMMEDIATELY!"

He continued to ignore them, on account of doing otherwise in his current position was to invite... well, not death, but at least severe unpleasantness.  He located a spine on the thing's... hide? Carapace? Whatever... and snapped out his ribbon.  The moment it wrapped around the protrusion, he yanked with all his might, causing it to pull free and skitter across the deck.

Well, couldn't get much fresher than that.  Flipping in the air, he avoided a tentacle strike and landed back on the deck.  Spotting the spine he'd dislodged, he hurled a baton at it, sending it careening towards where Pink and Link were hiding, though not so fast they couldn't dodge it, probably.

Okay.  NOW to deal with the TAC.

One of the helicopters was closer than the rest.  A door was open in the side, and a figure in it.  She was holding some sort of long tube... oh, that must be Matsudaira, with her diaper-polymer-gun-bazooka-thingy.  He watched with idle curiosity.  There was a flare of light, he saw the projectile arc gracefully into the hide of the monstrosity... and then explode harmlessly in a burst of orange smoke.

Well, that wasn't surprising: it was a mite tougher now than the jellyfish aragami had been.  Wait, Matsudaira had lost her balance and fallen from the helicopter.  But then, he remembered she'd done that in the anime too.  Well, no problem, Kusanagi would rescue her just like he had in...

Aw, shit.

Also around then, the aragami reminded everybody of its projectile weapon capacity by blowing the helicopter out of the sky with one of its spines.

Chris mentally retracted his earlier comment about how everything was working out perfectly.  Or even well.  Or even 'not half-bad'.  He looked around for Ran.  She wasn't hard to spot, given the large flashes of light emanating from her position.  He leaped beside her.  "Okay, I need a favour."

"Is it worth the name of your friend's mystery nemesis?" she called cheerfully, continuing to take pictures of the Helicopters vs. Aragami battle.

He felt a headache coming on, and that was quite a feat in his current state.  "Ran, I know you're a good person.  Really.  So listen.  That woman just fell from the helicopter into the water over there.  Someone has to rescue her before she drowns."

Ran arched an eyebrow at him.  "Annnnnnd... you can't do this... why?"

Because I'd sink like a stone, he thought sardonically.  Out loud, he composed his voice and said patiently, "Because there's you, me, and two non-combatants here.  Someone has to swim a little ways to save someone, and someone has to fight the giant monster.  Do we have to rock-paper-scissors for this, or do you have a preference?"

At this point, Ranma walked up beside them, the unconscious form of Kusanagi draped over his shoulder.  His clothes were in tatters (though not so much as to make his currently female body indecent) and he had a few bruises on his face, but otherwise seemed fine.  Actually, seemed pleased as punch.  "Heya, Ran!" he enthused.  "This bastard wasn't so tough.  Well, maybe a little tough, but no match for me!  See, I told you!  Want a picture?"

"Sure."  *CLICK*  "By the way, Chris here was just saying someone needs to swim out there to save a woman, and somebody needs to stay to fight the Cthuloid Monstrosity."

Ranma blinked, and Chris felt that headache intensifying. "Chris?"

Think fast, oh yeah, okay.  "YES, CHRIS!  IN A NEW BODY, RIGHT OVER THERE!"  He pointed dramatically behind Ranma.

Ranma, being, well, a Gullible Moron, promptly turned to look.  That was when Chris grabbed Ran by her vest and hurled her out in the general direction of Matsudaira.

"HEY YOu jerrrrrrkkkk..."

So much for his good writeup in the paper.  Ranma whirled, dropping Kusanagi, who landed on the ground with a grunt of pain.  "There was nobody there!" he declared.

"That's because he threw Ran into the ocean!" Chris cried, hoping desperately Ranma would actually care.  "You have to rescue her!  And the other woman, too!"

Ranma waved that aside.  "Aw, Ran can take care of herself."  Then he leaned forward, staring intently at his face.

"But the other girl can't... aw, the hell with it.  Ranma, go talk to the two girls over there; they've got something that can kill the monster instantly, or close enough.  Just please let them get the... uh... blue thing, okay?"

Ranma backed up a step, pointing accusingly at him.  "Hey!  YOU'RE Chris, aren't you!"

Headache...increasing...  "Ranma... just... hit me later, okay?  There's a ship and two innocent women to save, and I don't really care if you kill the monster or go save them, but they're both more important than revenge, right?"

"How do I know this isn't some other trick, like last time?" he said suspiciously.

Well, there was a fable about 'crying wolf' or somesuch that applied here.  "Because, Ranma, there IS a monster, and there IS two women in the ocean, and... frick."  He stepped forward, and pointed at his chin.  "Okay.  Tell you what.  Hit me.  Once.  Then go save something.  Anything.  I don't care.  But act like a hero.  You don't need ME to tell you how to do that, do you?"

Ranma considered that for a fraction of a millisecond, and then Chris felt himself flying back into the ship's railing with enough force to dent it. His jaw was apparently dislocated.  But, he noted with a vague pleasure, he'd actually seen the punch coming.  He also saw when Ranma leaped past him and into the water.

Huh.  He would've figured Ranma would have gone for the glory of beating the monster.  Maybe he didn't trust Chris to actually save them.  Oh well.  He ran over to where Pink and Link were, dodging spines and popping his jaw back into place as he went.  "You guys done?"

"Yes, over."  Pink handed him a giant Chinese medicinal herbal bead, roughly the size of a chair.

"Wow, that's pretty big.  But then, it's a big monster.  Anyplace I need to apply it?"

"Internally, over," Link noted.

One of the big problems with being dead was that aspirin wouldn't work.

"Okay... uh ...would shoving it into one of those mouths work?"

The twins exchanged glances.  "Maaaaaaaaaybe, over."

The fact that the headache was, literally, only in his mind wasn't a comforting thought.  "Right."  He looked around.  The monster had actually eaten most of the bow at this point, and the ship was starting to lean forward as it took on water.  How to insert, how to insert... ah-hah.

Walking forward, he took hold of the edge of some of the exposed metal plating of the deck.  Yanking off a good-sized chunk, he rolled it into something approximating a cone.  That ought to do.

Running forward, he dodged another spine and leaped a tentacle swipe. Touching down only a few meters away from the thing, he pushed into the air once more.  Raising the makeshift 'hypodermic' over his head, he drove it into the thing's hide with all the force he could muster.  The glistening carapace - looking like nothing so much as thick, knotted wood that just happened to be purple - cracked and split around the funnel.  The fluids oozing out quickly began dissolving it, but he only needed a moment.  Shoving the ball down inside as far as it could go, he used the funnel as a perch to leap back from, sighted, and hurled a baton down at the ball, pushing all his energy down into the strike.

Wait a second.  When he did that, it felt... weird.  Like a jolt had just run up his arm.  Glancing down at it, he didn't see anything, and it now felt fine, meaning it felt like nothing at all.  What the hell?

He touched the ground once more, and looked up to see the result of his attack.  His eyes widened.

He had intended the baton to smash the ball of poison and drive as much of it as possible into the wound through the crack opened by the funnel.  Which, he supposed, it had.  And then some.  Where he had thrown, he had apparently ripped a enormous hole in the creature, at least three meters wide, with no sign of either funnel or ball.  The creature staggered back, and his ears picked up another loud retort as something exploded from the other side of it.

Was even Sentarou that strong?  Maybe...

The mouths of the creature shrieked as if they were in pain.  Its surface turned from purple to an unhealthy-looking red, first in a blotch surrounding the wound, but quickly spreading throughout its form.  Then, as he watched, the creature... rotted.  That was the best description he could put to it.  The flailing tendrils slapped wetly against the deck, pieces breaking from them.  The spines turned a sickly yellow and started falling off, raining onto the ship and into the water below.  It thrashed around but grew weaker and weaker; now its skin had lost its shine, and was collapsing in great mushy craters as it could no longer support itself.  In an astonishingly short time, its mass halved, and halved again, and finally its last structural integrity failed it and it dissolved into glop, tumbling into the ocean.

"THERE, OVER!"

Link dashed up beside him, pointing frantically.  Chris lashed out with the gymnastics ribbon before even thinking, but his eyes caught the tiny gleaming object with ease.  A moment later, the end of the ribbon snapped around it before it could hit the water, and he yanked it back towards him.  He wiped the remainder of the slime off on his shirt and presented it to her.

"Well, it didn't exactly work out great, but it worked out.  Now let's get the hell out of here."

*

"Geez, one of you needs to go on a diet," Ranma groaned as he hoisted himself up onto the dock. This was more difficult than it sounded, considering he was carrying an unconscious person over each shoulder. Water sloshed over the wooden planks as he slumped down and gently placed each of them on the dock. He sat down and eased back, stretching the kinks out of his spine. He frowned as his breasts bounced uncomfortably under his wet shirt.

"Stupid curse." If Ranma had been a man, he could have won that fight against the guy in the red trenchcoat sooner. That might have prevented Chris from getting away with tossing Ran out into the ocean. You'd think the girl would have been able to stay conscious after such a short throw, but she had been sinking almost as fast as the old broad.

The lady was obviously middle-aged, but still something of a looker. Her hair was plastered all over her sodden lab coat and she was pale and shivering from her plunge into the icy waters of the bay, but she was breathing. Which was good, because Ranma knew how to patch up scrapes and cuts and even put a splint on, but Pops hadn’t told him anything about dealing with drowned people.

Well, he knew enough to figure it'd be best to get them warm. Ranma reluctantly rose to his feet and located some tarps that nobody but a few crates were using. They'd make good blankets to help keep the ladies warm, he guessed. At least they weren't shivering as much. Ranma tucked in Ran first, then moved to the older lady.

As if cued by his attention, the woman began to cough and roll on the ground. Ranma reached out and steadied her shoulder as she moaned her way back to consciousness. Her eyes fluttered open and she began to brush vaguely at her forehead.

"What... happened...?" she muttered weakly.

"You went for a swim," Ranma chuckled.

"I did?" The woman tried to sit up, but Ranma's firm but gentle pressure on her shoulder held her down.

"Whoa, you better not be moving around too much," Ranma pointed out. "You might be hurt. The ambulance should be here soon." Ranma wasn't sure about the ambulance part. But since the docks had been crawling with cops when he had shown up, he figured it was only a matter of time before one of them stumbled onto them.

"I... thank you, you're probably right," the lady agreed. "Did you rescue me?"

"Yeah." Ranma smirked, but it faded quickly. The fact that he had saved the two of them was fine. But more importantly, Chris had used them against him. Chris... Ranma was going to get another shot at that jerk. Next time, there would be no innocent victims for him to use against Ranma.

"I'm sorry, I must be such a bother... I thought I could help fighting the aragami..."

"Aragami?"

"You don't know?"

"Uh-uh."

"Then what were you doing out there? Aren't you with the... no... you're too young to be with the police or the coast guard..." The woman was looking at him oddly now. Ranma felt a kind of self-consciousness under her gaze that he was unfamiliar with. She looked at him like he was a specimen, not a human being. "Who are you, exactly?"

"Ranma Saotome," he said without hesitating.

"I'm Azusa Matsudaira," the woman replied, nodding politely. "Thank you for saving me..." Matsudaira turned her head and spotted Ran lying nearby. The other girl was shivering slightly, and sneezed when their attention focused on her. "And this girl as well? You've been busy tonight."

"Yeah, just comes with the territory, I suppose," Ranma shrugged. "Frankly, dragging you two out of the water was nothing compared to fighting that carrot-skinned guy." Ranma pulled up his shirt to display the shallow cut up his ribs. "Damn jerk should watch it with those blade things. Almost ripped my guts open. I'm kinda glad I punched his lights out. Even if it was because I thought he was that body-stealing undead monster guy. Guess I owe him an apology, really..."

"Wait... are you saying you fought Kusanagi... and won?" The woman seemed more animated all of a sudden.

"Kusanagi?"

"He's tall, has orange skin and green hair, wears a red trenchcoat..."

"Oh, him." Ranma rubbed the back of his head and chuckled. "Yeah. He was pretty tough. But I'm the best."

"But... you're just a human being!"

"Well, duh." Ranma rolled his eyes.

"That's simply not possible!" Matsudaira insisted.

"Neither was turning into a girl with cold water a few months back."

"What?"

"Nevermind," Ranma waved the question aside.

"Ugh, please tell me someone got a shot of the truck that hit me?"

Ranma scooted over to Ran. He helped her cough herself awake with a few encouraging pats on the back.

"Man... you'd think you could have taken a fall like that, Ran," Ranma joked once she was fully awake.

"Hey, I was busy trying to protect my camera..." Ran trailed off and began to pat down her vest. She shot up so suddenly that Ranma could do nothing to stop her. "MY CAMERA! NO!"

"What about it?" Ranma scratched his neck.

"I lost it... no... you saved me. So... YOU lost it!" Ran pointed at him. Her eyes quivered with rage and sadness. Ranma backed up, unsure how to deal with this. "How could you save me and not save my camera? Do you know how important that was to me? Do you!?"

"Uh... no..." Ranma admitted slowly.

"Of course you don't, you insensitive jerk!" Ran moaned and rubbed her face with both hands.

"I'm sorry, miss," Matsudaira spoke up. "I'm afraid your friend was too busy helping to pull me out of the bay to catch your camera."

"Yeah, what she said!" Ranma gave a grateful look to the scientist lady. She smiled back. Hey, she didn't look half-bad when she smiled. If you were into the middle-aged woman type, he guessed.

"You were..." Ran blinked and looked at Matsudaira. "I... that still doesn't excuse you! You... you have to get it back!"

"What?" Ranma shouted.

"Go back in there and get my camera back!" Ran pointed imperiously out towards the water.

"One camera? That's all of Tokyo Bay you're talking about..." Matsudaira pointed out.

"I know... but... but that camera was everything to me..." Ran crossed her arms over her chest and hunched her shoulders. "It cost me... I can't possibly replace it. Especially since without my shots, I don't even have a story and..." Ran began to shudder. "...and..." Ran began to sob and hiccup. Ranma stared, unable to do anything but watch the tears begin to flow out of the corners of her eyes.

"Oh man, stop crying," Ranma stood up and began to stretch. "I'll go get your stupid camera." He turned and walked over to the edge of the dock. In the distance the ship was still finishing its long slow sink into the ocean. Helicopters and coast guard cutters flickered the surface of the dark water with spotlights. Too bad none of them would cut all the way to the bottom of the bay. It was really going to suck stumbling around in the dark for the next few hours. Oh well, best just to jump in headfirst and get it over with...

"Ranma, stop!"

"What is it now, Ran?" Ranma called over his shoulder.

"You're... really going to do it?"

"I said I would, didn't I?" Ranma rolled his eyes. Ran just didn't know that a promise from Ranma Saotome was worth his weight in gold.

"No... Ranma, don't do it."

"Can't you make up your mind?" Ranma grumbled, while inwardly sighing in relief. That job might have tested even his considerable limits.

"Yes," Ran was smiling at him now. Her wet hair was plastered along the simple curve of her cheek and her eyes shone with the sparkle of fresh tears. Ranma blinked; wow, how did someone go from so angry to so... cute so quickly?

"Thank you, but I'll live without it."

Ranma shrugged and sat down. Then spent the next few minutes fending off Matsudaira's endless questions until the ambulances arrived.

*

Shampoo was impatient.  She was standing in the living room of this 'Tendo Dojo' great-grandmother had brought her to.  The nice girl with the brown hair had served tea, and was now sitting at the table looking pleasant and... well, that was about it, really.  The other girl, with the shorter brown hair, was staring at her oddly, and flipping through some sort of scrapbook.  Shampoo was preferring to ignore that.  Maybe that was the perverted girl great-grandmother had asked about?

And yes, great-grandmother.  She was perched atop the table, talking in that damn islander babble-talk at two old men.  They were sweating heavily and obviously nervous, while great-grandmother was insistent.  This was supposedly a training hall, but if there were any real warriors here, Shampoo didn't see it.

Shampoo also didn't see Ranma, and that was what was making her impatient.  She hadn't followed the elder here so she could watch her talk to broken-down old men, she had been told this was where Ranma was!  So where was she?

She stamped her foot.  "Ranma!"  Everyone in the room was looking at her, now.  The fat old bald man, especially, was looking even more nervous than before.  Did he know where she was?  "Where... Ranma?"  She knew at least that much of their primitive gibberish.

The brown-haired nice woman started talking.  She heard 'Ranma' mentioned at least once, but couldn't really make out most of the rest. Something about her being somewhere... "Great-grandmother," she said, reverting to her native tongue.  "What did that girl say?  Where's Ranma?"

"Not here," Great-grandmother said simply.

"But they know her!  They know that name!  Where is she?"  Shampoo was feeling frustrated.  "And what's with that old fart?  He looks like he's about to run away any minute!"

"He's afraid of Happousai," she explained, which didn't really explain anything.

"Who's that?  Do they have something to do with Ranma?"

"That is what I'm attempting to discover.  Really, child, you should have been taking the time along our trip to practice your Japanese.  That is why I gave you the Stone of Acclimation, after all."

"I had you with me, Great-grandmother," Shampoo replied.  "Why bother learning Japanese then?  I was training!  Now, can we hurry up and find Ranma, whereever she is?"

"Ranma will be here soon enough.  This is HIS home."  The emphasis was clear.

Shampoo rolled her eyes.  Again with the 'Ranma is a boy' garbage.  But she remained quiet for the moment.  Around that point, the short-haired girl went, "Ah-ha!", closed her scrapbook and tapped it on the table a few times, and walked out of the room.  What was that all about?  Japanese people were weird.

Just as the short-haired girl left the room, she apparently ran into someone.  Shampoo heard her footsteps stop, and she said "Hello," and then something else.  From her voice, she obviously didn't like the person she was talking to very much.  Shampoo turned to size up the new arrival and...

And.

It.

Was.

"RANMA!" she cried in a mixture of joy and fury.  At last!  Whipping out her twin maces, she assumed a battle position.

The sopping wet girl's eyes widened in fear.  Sweet, sweet fear.

"Shampoo!  Uhhhh..."

Before she could say anything further, Shampoo attacked, whipping one of the beachball-sized maces at her enemy's head.  Ranma bent back like a reed, allowing it to whistle harmlessly through the air and take a large chunk out of the doorframe.  All the more room to manoeuvre.  Shampoo pressed the attack, swinging down the other mace to crush her.

Ranma scuttled backwards on her hands and feet like a crab.  Ripping the mace from the splintered remains of the floor, Shampoo pointed it at her.

"Ranma... Shampoo kill!" she threatened in Japanese.

Ranma seemed distracted, however, as the short-haired girl with the scrapbook was yelling at her, pointing angrily at the holes in her house.  Ranma turned somewhat away, yelling back.  An opening!  With a fierce yell she leaped forward, whipping both weapons together as she did.  Ranma's chest would be crushed like an overripe melon between the two mace heads.

Or that was the plan, except a staff was suddenly thrust out before her, and the heads of her weapons bounced off it harmlessly.  "Great-grandmother!" Shampoo screamed in rage.

"Calm down, child." the old woman said from her perch on top of Ranma's head.

"I will NOT be calm!" she roared.  "Great-grandmother, you are my revered elder, but this is going too far!  You cannot interfere in my quest of honour!  Remove yourself from the field of battle at once!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that," the old bag said, adroitly dodging Ranma's attempts to remove her from her head.  "You do not quite have all the information necessary to fulfill your actual obligations."

Shampoo's hands were shaking in rage.  "Not this again!  Look, you stupid old woman!  That is a GIRL!  Her breasts are bouncing around more than you are as she moves!"

The old woman ignored her!  She turned, instead, asking the nice girl for something, and received a happy acknowledgement as the girl bustled off to the kitchen.

A noise caused her to whip her head back around towards Ranma, just in time to see her foe get knocked to the ground by the old woman in the middle of trying to escape.  "I don't need your help!" she growled.  "Get out of my way and let me kill her!  Or take her shirt off if you have to!  Hell, strip her naked!  But then she's mine!"

"Fine," the old woman said, grinning that obnoxiously smug grin.  "I shall strip her naked, and afterwards, you may do as you like.  But first... I want my tea."

Shampoo roared in pure rage and punched through a nearby door like it was made of paper.  Actually, it WAS mostly made of paper.  Stupid Japanese, that wasn't satisfying at all.  She smashed her fist through a wall, which was made of sturdier building material.  That felt better.  But only slightly.

"Great-grandmother, you can't do this!  This is against every law and protocol to interfere with me for your own insane ends!"

"Actually, great-granddaughter, you gave me the right when you made the promise to me back at the village.  If Ranma is a boy, you will marry him, correct?"

Shampoo gritted her teeth.  At that point, great-grandmother whipped around and yelled something at Ranma while casually deflecting the girl's latest attempt to knock her off her head.  Ranma was shouting something that sounded insulting back, about her being old.  Well, she was.  Old and stupid and senile. First thing Ranma had ever been right about, probably.

The brown-haired girl arrived a moment later, smiling and bearing a pot of tea.  Shampoo waited impatiently as the old bat picked up the teapot and... poured it over Ranma's head?  Whatever, at least this idiocy... would be... over... wait, something was wrong here...

A fraction of a second later, great-grandmother waved her staff and disintegrated Ranma's clothes.

...

"Oh dear," the nice girl said, and walked quickly out of the room.

"You... you're not Ranma!" Shampoo said, staring as the obvious boy tried to cover himself up.  "Where's the real Ranma!?"

"Right here," the elder said, tapping the not-Ranma-boy on the shoulder.

"Wrong," Shampoo growled.  "I told you, I SAW HER ALMOST NAKED.  That was a girl, and this... is..."

Shampoo trailed off as great-grandmother poured a bucket of water over the man's head, and he... ceased being a man.  Shampoo didn't quite know what to say to that.  A moment later, the old woman poured the rest of the tea, and Ranma was a man again.  He was also yelling at the elder, but they both ignored him.

"That's.... that's not possible."

"It's quite possible, Shampoo.  There is, as you know, a place near our village called Jyusenkyou.  What you did not know was, if you fall into one of the springs at that cursed place, you temporarily take on the form of whatever creature perished within it.  If you are splashed with hot water, you will be returned to your natural form, but cold water repeats the process forevermore."

Shampoo stared.  But what the old woman had splashed Ranma with... "Then that means... Ranma was originally..."

"A man.  Just as I told you.  Perhaps you should start listening to your elders with more respect."

Shampoo clenched her fists.  This was impossible!  "Why didn't you tell me about this?" she demanded.

"I tried, but you didn't want to listen."

"You didn't tell me anything about Jyusenkyou!"

"Yes I did."

"Nothing that would have helped!  You just fed me this ridiculous story about a girl being a man!"

The old woman tore Ranma's hands away from his groin.  "Ridiculous story, eh?"

Shampoo wanted to punch something really, really hard again. Thankfully, there were more walls around.  With that done, she turned her back on the sobbing long-haired old geezer (the bald one had apparently disappeared) and pointed an accusing finger at the elder.  "It was ridiculous how you told it!  You tricked me!"

"You tricked yourself, Shampoo."  Great-grandmother knocked away another frantic attempt by the boy/girl to attack her and escape.  "You should have known better than to assume I was either a fool or mistaken."  She grinned that insufferable grin again.  "I haven't lived this long by being either very often."

"Well, it doesn't matter!" Shampoo snapped.  "Stand aside, so I can kill her, him, whatever!"

"Ah ah ah," she responded, waving her staff like the proverbial finger in her face.  "You made a promise, on ancient tradition and sacred honour."

"I didn't make any damn..."  Shampoo trailed off.  But she had.  And it was as inescapable as the Kiss of Death.  "No.  NO!  I won't marry this half-man cowardly freak!"

Great-grandmother didn't even respond.  She knew she didn't have to. She sat on Ranma's head, and began smoking her pipe, still with that unforgivable smirk on her face.  She was still fending off Ranma's attempts to attack her with her other hand, too.  Damn her!  She'd led Shampoo right into this!  Her own flesh and blood!

And now she had to marry him.  HIM.  The person she despised more than... well, right now he felt like only her second-worst enemy in the world, but that didn't make it any more palatable!

And her first-worst enemy was looking at her again expectantly.  Oh, right, just like the Kiss of Death, the law meant to seal the tradition she'd have to...

Oh NO.

But there was no escape.  She walked forward, stiff steps carrying her towards her... betrothed.  Even thinking the word left a vile taste in her mouth.  She tossed her weapons aside.  The old woman 'helpfully' propped Ranma up to receive her.

"Ranma..." Shampoo forced through gritted teeth.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Ranma cried, waving his hands frantically.  Shampoo agreed with the sentiment completely.  He then babbled some other crap, but she cut him off by grabbing his head in a vice-like grip and dragging his lips to hers.

A moment later she shoved him away.  He was staring at her, scratching the top of his head.  Like a monkey.

"You... I... love."  Then she turned to the side and spat.

*

Nabiki sat down lazily on the park bench. Her luck seemed to be on the rise. First Ukyou had proven how ruthless he was, vindicating Nabiki's feelings. It even seemed to have finally struck to Akane's heart. At least, her sister had seemed shocked and disgusted by what had happened. Of course, Nabiki had no idea how she was taking it now. The youngest Tendo had spent the entire night at the hospital with Nerima's newest cripple. 'I need to do something about it' had been Akane's reason. Personally, Nabiki just thought she was trying to make time with Dr. Tofu.

Now that girl Shampoo had shown up. With any luck, Nabiki would be able to use her as a way to get rid of this nagging engagement with Ranma. Truthfully, their so-called engagement hadn't really inconvenienced her that much. She and Ranma barely talked, and mostly actively avoided each other. Even the rumour mongers at school had let the torrid tales of their tryst diminish.

But it was the principle of the thing. Nabiki was used to playing her own tune, setting her own rhythm. Ranma's engagement had forced her to adapt to his presence. Getting rid of him would be a more symbolic step than a necessary one, but Nabiki would enjoy it nonetheless.

"Father... it is obvious that Ranma and Shampoo love each other very much and I, being a true lady, can not stand between such affection so I must... BWAHAHAH!" Nabiki clutched her gut and shook her head. No, this would never work unless she kept a straight face. Her father was a gullible idiot, but even he would catch on to her scheme if she was laughing like a loon. That was why she had come out here to practice. She had to make sure her speech was perfect: disarming all his objections before he even had a chance to raise them. The problem was that Shampoo so obviously hated Ranma, it was hard to take their pairing seriously.

Nabiki smirked. At least she had advance notice of what all the commotion had been about. She had read the data on the Chinese newcomer. In time, Shampoo would fall madly in love with Ranma. Although why Ukyou had bothered to list Shampoo as his 'main rival' was still something that perplexed Nabiki.

She was deep in thought, trying to figure out what to say when she returned home when something caught her attention. It was a small, pathetic sound. Nabiki wouldn't have even noticed it were it not for its persistence.

Glancing down, she spotted the little black pig sitting patiently at her feet. Nabiki resisted the urge to smile. Her luck was really on the upswing. She hadn't expected to see him back for at least another week. Now that he had her attention, the tiny animal was gesturing to the side. Nabiki turned her head and blinked. There was a tea stand not far down the pathway. Two and two became four and Nabiki knew what Ryouga wanted. Of course, she had to play dumb. Technically, she didn't 'know' about his curse yet.

"What do you want, you cute little piggy?" Nabiki leaned down, letting loose with her most sweet and innocent tone. Her position would also give Ryouga a nice peek down her blouse. The pig's eyes crossed and then, quite deliberately, he shook himself and looked away. Nabiki smiled, genuinely. Good. Shame was what she needed. Shame and honour.

Nabiki allowed the man-turned-animal to play charades with her for a while longer. She knew her make-up from the other day was long since washed off, but it appeared Ryouga hadn't picked up on that. Good. That might have ruined her plan. After about fifteen minutes of tormenting Ryouga with her false niceness and an occasional naughty glimpse she finally carried the pig to a more secluded area of the park with a cup of hot tea.

As the pig indicated she should place them both down, Nabiki did so. She then crouched down, making sure her back was to the soft grass. "Well, Mr. Pig... this is what you wanted?" The pig nodded. "I don't see why. You must be a very smart pig."

Ryouga bent his head, unable to meet her eyes. She watched, fascinated, as the pig began to drag the cup of tea towards a nearby bush. Of course. He didn't have any clothes. Oh, that would make this even better.

A second after the pig disappeared into the leaves the entire bush shuddered. Ryouga popped out of it like some X-rated jack-in-the-box. Nabiki screamed on cue and fell back. His expression at her scream was just the right combination of shame and horror.

"NO! You... stay back! I'll scream!"

"No! Please!" Ryouga cried. Literally. Fresh tears trailed down his cheeks. "Don't scream! I won't... I won't hurt you again..."

"Haven't you already done enough..." Nabiki said in a tiny voice. She began to scramble backward, but not very quickly.

"Please... don't leave. I..." Ryouga crouched, disappearing up to his chin in the bush. "I have to say this to you. Then... you can leave. You can summon the police, or do whatever you want. I won't resist."

"Say what?" Nabiki was proud of the fearful but hopeful tremble she put into her voice.

"I'm sorry." Ryouga ducked his head, planting both fists into the dirt in front of his concealment. "I know... that means nothing. After what I did to you. I know it can't take back what I did. I just wanted to say that."

Nabiki remained silent. Her poise had to look agonised but also sympathetic. Yet even so, she had to let a bit of anger show on her face. It was a delicate balancing act of emotional manipulation, and Nabiki always cursed the fact that you couldn't figure out how well the performance had gone until the mark reacted.

"You hate me..." Ryouga moaned. He rubbed the balls of his hands into his eyes. More tears leaked down his cheeks.

"Of course I hate you," Nabiki said in a small voice. Ryouga only looked at her slowly. His eyes were filled with anguish. "You... ruined me. You destroyed me. I can't talk to anyone about it. Just remembering that... makes me sick and angry." Nabiki's voice had been slowly rising as she spoke. Now it was time to approach the crescendo. "Of course I hate you! I hate you because now I hate myself! I can't stand to look at myself in the mirror. I know I'm never safe. I thought... I thought people like you were here to protect me. I hate myself because I trusted you!"

Nabiki turned away, sobbing on cue. She mainly turned away because even she couldn't force out enough crocodile tears to look realistic. Instead, a few dabs of water ruined her light makeup, making it look like she had been crying much more than she had.

"Whatever punishment you want," Ryouga croaked. "I'll accept it. Exile. Jail..." He paused. "If you want me to die... I will."

"Die?" Nabiki snapped her head around to face him. "Death is too good for you. You think I want you dead? I want you to suffer like I have!"

"I'm suffering..." he trailed off.

Nabiki snarled. "If I had my way, you'd suffer ten times more."

"Name it..."

"No..." Nabiki sighed and rubbed her eyes. "I can't. Even asking you to die. I can't." She stood up. "I'm not taking you to the police. I haven't told my father about this. It would kill him to know." Well, it would kill someone if he 'knew' about this. "The police... everyone will know." Nabiki shook her head. "I'm taking this secret to my grave. Nobody needs to know. Nobody can ever know. If you want to promise me anything, promise me that."

"I will..." Ryouga nodded emphatically. "But... is that it? I..." He looked down again. "I can't... just, this can't be the end of it!"

"Isn't this better for you?" Nabiki hissed. "You've cleared your conscience. You've offered contrition and penance. You never have to fear me revealing to anyone what you did."

"I can't... I won't let it end like this!" Ryouga cried. "I have to do something. I can't live with this..."

"Do what?" Nabiki snapped. "I don’t want your death on my conscience. And I'm never letting this go beyond us. Get lost. There's nothing else for you here."

"But..."

Nabiki began to walk away. She took seven measured steps. Then she stopped. She tilted her head to the side. When she spoke, her voice was soft. "Do… you mean it?"

"Mean what?" Ryouga replied.

"Would you die for me?"

"Yes," he said without hesitation.

"You would die for me... would you die to protect me?"

"Protect you?"

"This world... is a dangerous one. Monsters. Psychos... predators..." she allowed the last word to linger. "I'm just a normal girl. I can't fight like my sister. I don't have magic powers like a Sailor Senshi. I need... someone to stand up for me."

"I... I can do that! I'm good at fighting!"

"Yes..." Nabiki hissed. "I know how good you are at hurting people." That shut him up. "Never mind. I don't know why I told you. I can never trust you to protect me..." Please let him say what needed to be said next. It would be so much more reasonable if he said it.

"Wait!" Ryouga gasped happily. "You can trust me. In fact, I can guarantee that you will never need to fear me. All you need... is cold water."

"Cold water?" Nabiki said slowly. Inwardly she was doing mental cartwheels.

"I have a curse. When I'm splashed with cold water... I turn into that helpless and harmless pig you saw me as earlier."

"Like Ranma and his father?"

"Ranma's cursed?"

Uh-oh. Better not distract him. "Show me."

Ryouga snapped his attention back to her. "I'll need some cold water."

"Then stay right here. I'll be back."

Nabiki walked away slowly. Her back was to Ryouga, so she could safely smirk. Things were going exactly as she planned. Now... she had her own patsy. A strong patsy. She flipped out the notebook containing all the information recovered from Ukyou's files once she was out of his sight. The page she needed was already dog-eared. "Bakusaitenketsu..." she read the title aloud. Yes. Ryouga would be a strong patsy, one that Nabiki was going to make even stronger.

*

"You should go home."

Hayato didn't open his eyes. The doctor wasn't talking to him.

"I want to be here when he wakes up. He needs... someone to help him. Even if I don't know what I could possibly do to help."

Hayato felt nothing special as the girl's words reached his ears. He didn't even know her name. What did he care about her empty platitudes, anyway? They only left ashes in his mouth.

"You need to rest. Go home."

"But..."

"Go home." The doctor's voice was gentle. He was forgiving her. For what?

"I guess..."

"Here, take this note to your teachers. They'll forgive you for missing the class time."

"Thank you."

The sound of the girl's footsteps rang across the linoleum, followed shortly thereafter by the opening and closing of the door. Hayato heard the doctor drag a chair over next to the bed and settle himself down.

"You can open your eyes now. She's gone."

"How did you know I was awake?" Hayato asked slowly. He wasn't really curious.

"I have a knack for it," the doctor explained with a chuckle. "But could you open your eyes?" The sudden seriousness in the doctor's tone prompted Hayato to open his eyes and look. The doctor was much as he remembered him before he had lost consciousness; tall, young, with short brown hair and a pair of thin glasses. "Good. How long have you been awake?"

"A few hours," Hayato answered. "I'm paralysed, aren't I?"

The doctor took a second to respond. "Yes. One of your vertebrae was driven into your spinal cord, almost totally severing it. The damage has resulted in a complete loss of motor function in all four of your limbs."

"I guessed as much when I couldn't move..." Hayato replied neutrally.

"You... don't seem that upset..." the doctor said in confusion.

"No. More I'm... so upset I don't know how to feel."

"Excuse me?"

"Nevermind," Hayato sighed. There was no way he could explain it to the man. Hayato was more than just upset. He was... enraged. He had come to this town, seeking to absolve a debt of honour. He had come here to find a worthy opponent, and what had she done to him? She had destroyed him. It would have been kinder to kill him.

What good was his years of training now? He had dedicated everything to his art. Perfecting his fighting skills, his cooking skills... both at the cost of everything else. He had no friends. He had no skills beyond cooking and fighting. He had dropped out of school, forsaken everything else in his quest to gain the power and technique that would take him above Ukyou.

Now... now what? He would never walk again. He would never even cook again. What difference was there between this and death? But Hayato was not the kind of person who allowed himself to get depressed. He had not let his humiliation and daily hell of living with The Mask bring him down. No, Hayato had channeled all his frustration and sadness into rage. That was how he had survived. Rage had driven him forward where lesser men might have faltered. Rage had allowed him to keep his word and remember that he was wearing The Mask as a lesson.

So when he had discovered his condition, Hayato had done the thing that came most naturally. He had channelled his depression into anger. But he had found, finally, that there was a limit to anger. A point where the rage had built up so much that his mind simply couldn't handle it anymore. He felt that, maybe, his mind had snapped. Maybe he had gone mad. He didn't feel mad. In fact his mind felt calmer, more in control than it had ever been. For all the use that was, considering he was totally helpless.

"Hayato... I'm sorry about what happened. I know it's a difficult time for you. But you are actually in a better situation than most would be if they were you," the doctor said after a minute of thinking.

"How so?" Hayato replied.

"Most quadriplegics require assistance of some sort. Thankfully, you have a very intelligent little friend to help you out."

"Patoratsyu..." Hayato sighed. The girl had shown up earlier, carrying his faithful companion under her arm. Now the little octopus was sprawled on the foot of the bed, looking as forlorn as one would expect. The girl had explained that Patoratsyu had fought like a demon to keep from being separated from him. Hayato had even smiled a little bit at that. He had not lost everything, it had seemed at the time. But as the hours rolled by and the gravity of the situation came down on him... "He is very smart, I'll admit. But even he knows that I've lost everything."

"You're alive," the doctor intoned formally.

"Am I?"

The doctor seemed to have no good answer for that. He said some more things after a minute of silence. Hayato tuned him out. He was probably explaining the specific medical problems that Hayato would have to live with. He hadn't even begun to think about them, and didn't want to. Eventually the doctor left.

Hayato was alone for only a few minutes. When the nurse sauntered into view, he blinked. The beautiful woman was almost impossible to ignore. Her hair was strikingly long and a dark blue shade, her eyes entrancing and sea-green. Her white nurse's uniform was next to skin-tight, and she wore it with a sensual awareness of how it presented her. Hayato found his breath catching at the mere sight of her. The golden amulet she wore on a chain around her neck further caught his eye. It was a crescent, open at the top, with a stylised lightning bolt on the bottom. Despite her stunning beauty, Hayato couldn’t help but notice he wasn't reacting much like a man should. Great. One more thing to blame Ukyou for.

As the nurse approached, Hayato's attention was distracted by a sudden harsh sound. He looked down to see Patoratsyu had raised himself up on his tentacles and was hissing at the woman.

"You humans are such fragile creatures," the nurse purred as she sat down beside the bed. The woman made a production of crossing her legs, allowing her skirt to ride up her thighs. Hayato blinked. Wait, had he heard her correctly?

"And so pathetic as well. I can't believe they didn't just kill you the moment they discovered your injuries were permanent."

"Excuse me?" Hayato frowned.

"I mean, what good are you to anyone now? You can't fight. You can't even move." The nurse ran a finger along her cheek. "Rather a pathetic state. I could kill you, if you like? My people aren't very big on mercy… but I could use a snack, and you are still full of life energy."

"What are you talking about?" Hayato snapped. This woman was surreal.

"Oh?" The nurse smiled seductively and leaned forward. "I suppose I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Tethys. I am... well... we call ourselves 'youma', but you humans have so many names for demons, what is one more?"

"You must be kidding me! Did you walk out of the mental ward or something?"

Hayato had no trouble tracking the blow, but could do little to dodge as the woman slapped him, hard. "Don't risk my ire, human. Or else I'll leave you like this."

Hayato snarled. That slap had barely hurt at all. He twisted his head back to look at her. "That's your big threat? That you'll leave me be? Fine. Go ahead."

Tethys chuckled. "You won't be saying so once I tell you what I came here to do for you."

"I'm not interested in your insanity now..."

The nurse stretched out a hand and gently grabbed his forearm. He couldn't feel a thing as she began to rub her fingers along his flesh. He opened his mouth to protest... then stopped. He could see beads of water trailing in the wake of her fingers. But more importantly, he could feel them now. Slowly, he felt the numbness receding from his arm. His fingers jerked once, twice... then he could wriggle them freely.

"My god..."

"This has nothing to do with your god," Tethys snickered. She released his hand. Instantly, he felt the numbness return. His fingers went limp and his arm flopped back to the mattress like a dead fish.

"What did you do?!" Hayato shouted.

"It's a little complex... but I'll try to explain." Tethys chuckled and leaned back in her chair. "We youma are not flesh and blood like you humans. We are energy beings. Our matrix, if you will, inhabits physical matter. This gives us form and substance. The matter we inhabit need not be inanimate, either. In fact, we can... share our energy with a human. That is what I did. I granted animation to your flesh when it had none, just like I can do so with water."

"I don't care how you did it," Hayato growled. "Do it again!"

"Why?" Tethys grinned seductively. "You seemed to want me gone a few minutes ago."

"I... take it back..." Hayato replied. He swallowed the bile in his throat. This woman... could heal him. He could walk again. He could cook again...

"Good." Tethys sat up straight. "I came here, to you, because we share a common enemy. The boy, Ukyou. He took away the things most precious to both of us. I want to destroy him. I want you to help me."

"Heal me and I'll defeat Ukyou-"

"No. I want more than to defeat Ukyou. I want him dead." The woman stretched herself to her feet. A dark, malevolent red light began to pour from her eyes. Hayato could feel all his instincts screaming at him now. They warned him of danger. They wanted him to flee. Patoratsyu suddenly leapt in front of him. The little octopus began to flail its tentacles in a threatening manner.

"Get out of my way..." Tethys hissed and swatted Patoratsyu aside. Hayato gasped.

"How dare you-!"

"Shut up," Tethys shot out, cutting him off. "Understand this, human. I did not come here to form a partnership. I have the power here. I can give you your legs back, or I can kill you with equal ease. Your existence to me is merely a convenience."

Hayato swallowed his anger. He nodded. He needed to at least hear her out. The prospect of being cured, of not having to spend the rest of his life in beds like this one - it was too good an opportunity to pass up. And if her price was too high... well, what did he care if she killed him?

Tethys raised her arms and a dark aura formed around her. As the energy flowed up her body, her image rippled like water. Then she was transformed. Her hair grew darker, her skin turned a light blue and her outfit became a skin-tight body stocking. The most dramatic change was to her face - she no longer had one. Only a pair of demonic red slits adorned the smooth curve of her ‘face’, where normal people had eyes, a mouth and a nose. Her golden amulet had somehow migrated to her forehead and trebled in size.

"Because of what I need from you, I can't just take it. So I propose a deal. I will grant you my power. I will animate your limbs and give you abilities you have not even dreamed of. In exchange, I will gain from you knowledge... of your fighting art. I will learn everything you know." Tethys lowered her arms. "Don't fool yourself, boy. I am not an angel. My intention is to destroy Ukyou Kuonji. I will destroy him, his friends, his family... and anyone who stands in my way. You will help me do so. You will do so willingly." Tethys chuckled. "I have heard tales on this world that you think demons want your souls. I have no interest in that. I want your body, your skill... your life and your obedience. You will serve me and I will give you the ability to do so. That is the deal. No negotiation." She leaned over him and ran a long-nailed finger across his cheek. "Choose."

*

Akane caught her breath as the elevator rose up to the tenth floor. She should have been half-way home by now, but she had forgotten her bag in Hayato's room. Not that she really minded running all the way back here. She still hadn't much liked the thought of leaving in the first place. Maybe the boy would finally be willing to talk to her. He hadn't said more than a few perfunctory thank yous after she had returned with his pet octopus.

The hallway Akane took to Hayato's room was nearly deserted. Akane did not like being alone in hospitals. They always gave her the chills. So long as she could be around people... she was fine. But the thought of standing by herself in one of those sterile-smelling, stale lighted corridors caused goosebumps. It was really too bad that Akane had been forced to spend so much time in hospitals ever since she had met Ukyou.

Ah. There it was. The thought she had been avoiding. Akane stopped. She might as well admit it to herself: she had decided to stay with Hayato because she knew that was the one place Ukyou would not show up. Oh... there was something to say about being there for the boy. But Akane knew there was nothing she could do for Hayato. He didn't know her, and he clearly didn’t want her comfort. But Ukyou...

Akane wasn't sure she knew who Ukyou was anymore. And the person she was beginning to see Ukyou as frightened her.

She dispelled those thoughts as she opened the door to Hayato's room. Her cheerful greeting died on her lips. The bed looked to have been torn apart. Pieces of it were scattered to the four corners of the chamber. Puddles of water lay among the debris. The rest of the furniture was intact but toppled about. Akane gulped and stepped inside.

"Mr. Myoujin?" Akane whispered. "Are you okay?" A short search of the room revealed no sign of Hayato. What on earth could have happened here? Akane started as a piece of furniture fell over behind her suddenly. Swinging about into a martial arts stance, she shouted "Who's there?"

'Who' turned out to be 'what'. The tiny octopus pet of Hayato lay beneath a pile of furniture, quivering so much it was sending tiny ripples through the puddle of water it was in. Akane sighed and walked over to it. "Hey, I'm sorry, little guy. Are you okay?" She crouched down and reached out her hand towards it. The octopus cringed back, and Akane froze in place. "Patoratsyu? Isn't that your name? I don't want to hurt you..." Akane said in her most soothing voice. Slowly the animal opened its big black eyes and looked at her. Then, moving almost too fast for her to follow, it pushed forward into the nook of her arm. She cradled the poor creature and stood up. "Where is your master? Hmm?"

Patoratsyu merely blinked a few times. Akane saw its eyes shimmer. It was crying? Well... that couldn't be good. It was time she got some help.

"Dr. Tofu!" Akane cried as she ran out of the room, still cradling the octopus to her chest.

*

Ukyou frowned and readjusted her new staff in its harness again. One of these days, she was going to learn how to store these things in the aether, or a subspace pocket or hammerspace or wherever it was that all these huge weapons disappeared to when martial artists weren't using them.

(Maybe if we use that strange energy...)

Ukyou pushed that thought out of her mind with a snarl. There was no way she was even touching that damnable power again! It was Aaron's tainted chi that had pushed her into going too far in the fight against Hayato. She had been... corrupted by him. No. Let him rot without his precious power.

Ukyou felt Aaron's mental cringes as she directed her rage inwards. She knew how much it hurt him, this constant barrage of hatred and accusations. But she couldn't stop it. Aaron had no one but himself to blame.

Ukyou sat down and began to breathe deeply. This would get her nowhere. There were more important things to do than lose herself in recriminations. Like finishing what she had started a few weeks ago. Ukyou looked up, watching as the trains passed by. The rhythmic clatter of their wheels and the gentle whoosh of their engines seemed to fill her with a tenuous peace. Here was the place to where she had tracked the boy down. The last of the holders of the seven Rainbow Crystals. All she had to do was find him and drag him over to Sailor Moon so she could use that stick to remove the crystal from his heart. Then, with the Silver Crystal in her hands, victory for the Senshi would be assured.

That was the least Ukyou owed the Dark Kingdom for putting her through so much trouble.

She turned around quickly, having sensed a brief tingle of danger on the edge of her awareness. Had Pluto decided to show her face again? Apparently not now, as there was no sign of the green-haired annoyance. Ukyou just wished Pluto would stop dicking around with her and confront her. They both knew it was coming. Whatever reason Pluto had for attacking her, Ukyou had long since ceased to care.

For a moment her eyes settled on a young woman standing near the entrance to the train station. She was nothing special to look at, but Ukyou couldn't help but feel she should know her from somewhere. Some anime that Aaron wasn't very familiar with? She was young, maybe seventeen at the most, with a short feathered bob cut and a serious expression. She wasn't even looking at Ukyou; instead focusing all her attention on the schedule. It occurred to Aaron that this was what was making her stand out. Unlike everyone else, who was glancing conspicuously at the teenager in her leather trenchcoat with accompanying bo staff, this girl wasn't even giving her a first look.

Ukyou dismissed her after a moment and whirled to find the boy. More important matters now, she had to remember. It had taken forever to track down this 'Ryo Urawa', especially considering he should have been one of the easiest to find. Now, Aaron's memories of the story were sketchy and he had only seen the DIC hackjob dub, but he knew that Ryo had been one of the smartest kids in the nation, competing in some sort of genius contest when he had first met Ami. Japan was not exactly the kind of place that kept genius kids a secret.

Still, every time that Ukyou had thought she had tracked him down, the boy had moved out of his home to some other part of Tokyo. But today was not going to be such a day. Ukyou had managed to get one step ahead of him by tracking down his father. A short conversation with the man and a bit of the Kuonji charm had allowed her to learn where the boy would be this afternoon. Now, Ukyou just had to wait for him to show up.

The only problem was that waiting left her with nothing to do but think. Think and remember. Remember the sweet sound of Hayato's spine snapping. Remember Tofu's harsh words. Remember Ranma's blank face and Akane's horrified stare.

Thankfully, before her memories could grow any more painful, the boy's train arrived. Ukyou drifted away from the wall, the bottom of her coat swishing around her slacks as she walked forward. She could spot Ryo Urawa stepping out of his car now. Now that she saw him again, Aaron's memory crystallised and she knew this was the right boy. He had ear-length brown hair and a sallow complexion. He was short, probably not having hit his second growth spurt yet. Ukyou smirked to herself at how young he looked. She kept forgetting she was only two years his elder. She felt so much older now.

As Ukyou stepped out of the crowd, Urawa looked up and spotted her. Their eyes met. Ukyou knew something was wrong when she saw the fear in them. Her forward momentum ground to a halt. The boy stepped back, trembling. His bookbag fell from nerveless fingers. Ukyou raised her hand towards him, slowly. The boy took another step back. Suddenly he was pinwheeling his arms. His left foot had slipped from the platform and his body balanced precariously on the edge of the tracks.

Ukyou summoned her chi, bursting across the distance so fast that quite a few people fell over in her wake. Her fingers snapped tight around his wrist, but he didn't latch onto her. Instead his mouth opened and he began to scream.

"NO! NO! You're a dream! A nightmare! You can't be real!"

"What?" Ukyou dragged him back onto the platform. A few armchair good samaritans began to approach, asking if everything was okay. Ukyou waved them off. "What are you talking about? Why are you so afraid-" Then Aaron remembered. Urawa could see the future...

"Let me go!" Normally the bookish boy's attempts to escape Ukyou's grip would have been laughable. Yet when he yanked, his arm slipped free like it had been greased. "I won't let it happen!" Then Urawa was sprinting away.

Ukyou took a few seconds to gather her faculties. Then she frowned. She could see the crowd parting around the racing boy. A single bound carried her up and over them, so she could land directly in front of him.

"You aren't leaving here yet. Not until you answer my questions..." Ukyou realiaed she was growling when she talked. She tried to force her face to look pleasant and remove the anger from her tone, but she was finding very few pleasant things to think about at the moment.

"I won't help you do it..." Urawa gulped and backed away. "I won't let you bring about that future!"

"I have no idea what you are talking about!" Ukyou shouted. "What future?"

"The one where everything goes wrong... the battles, the war, where everyone dies... where time itself ends..." he trailed off. He was gulping for air and his eyes shimmered on the verge of tears. Ukyou glanced to the side self-consciously. She suddenly realised that perhaps this wasn't the best place to have such a private conversation.

"You're coming with me," Ukyou said and grabbed Urawa's wrist again.

"NO!"

"You misunderstand," the vicious little part of Ukyou made her say. "It was not a request."

Ukyou hauled Urawa forward, clamped her arms around him tightly, and leapt. A few bounces later and she set down in a small park. The park wasn't deserted at this time of day, but there wasn’t anyone nearby and Ukyou felt the boy would be more comfortable here than on top of a building where he thought he would have nowhere to run. As she released him, Urawa collapsed to his knees.

"It's all going to come true..." he gasped. His eyes had become distant, and tears ran down his cheeks.

"Oh no." Ukyou crouched in front of him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "You aren't freaking out on me that easily. Explain yourself."

"You already know..."

"About your precognitive powers? Yes." Ukyou backed away. "But I swear, I don't know what it is you've seen." She reached out slowly and cupped his chin in her hand. Delicately, she lifted his face to meet her gaze. "Look into my eyes and know I'm telling you the truth. I have no idea what kind of horror you've seen. And the only thing that will guarantee it comes about is keeping it to yourself."

"You..." Urawa stared into her eyes for a minute. Then he blinked and rubbed his tears away with the back of one hand. "You really... don't know what's going to happen?"

"I know some of it," Ukyou admitted as she released his chin. "I know about the crystal in your heart and the monster in your soul. I know about how you feel about Ami and how much you don't want to hurt her. I came here to help you with that... you have to believe that."

"I think I do." He chuckled weakly. "You're not nearly the monster I thought you would be."

"Thanks... I think." Ukyou forced herself to chuckle as well. She had to keep him talking.

"You're right. I have had the ability to see the future, ever since I was a child. For the most part it's been little things - vague glances, nothing really useful. But over the last few months my power has been growing, and they keep getting stronger and stronger." Ukyou nodded. Aaron knew this part.

"Then, three months ago the real visions began. I thought I knew what nightmares were before, but I had no idea.

"It starts with a woman's voice. Every night, the moment I close my eyes. She is telling me that she is sending these visions as a warning. Standing before me is a young woman. You... but older. I can't tell how much older. You're different in some ways... the same in some others. You wear that coat, for example... but you have on tight leggings and a kind of shirt that doesn't hide your body nearly as well. You have the scars on your arm... but your right arm has some kind of tattoo on it. Like... ribbons? No. More like circuits. Three glowing circles, full of figures and symbols rotate around your body. The voice of the woman tells me your name... tells me that you have surrendered to some great darkness inside of you. You are preparing to fight an enemy... then I see your face. There is a bright symbol on your forehead. So bright I can't make it out. And your eyes... they're so wrong...

"The woman gives one final plea. She claims to be the last survivor. I believe her. I don't much understand what she's saying, but her voice is too urgent... too sincere to be faked. Then the clouds part and out of the sky comes a figure whose features I can't make out. It just... it just feels wrong, in a way that words can't describe. You reach up and I think you're grabbing or creating some kind of weapon... a staff or something... then you smile. And then it ends."

Ukyou stared at him. "The dream? The dream ends?"

"No... everything ends. I see what happens next and I see the result of the first blow. The entire world... no... the entire universe! You destroy it! You unmake it! I feel it," Urawa cried and beat his chest. "In here. I feel the ultimate nothing. A complete emptiness. Mercifully, at that point I always wake up."

Ukyou staggered back as if struck. That... wasn't possible! He must be mistaken. Something had gotten to him. Something that wanted to turn him against her...

"Every night, I have that nightmare. But that is only the worst. I keep getting visions, clearer and clearer, during the day. A dead prince giving life to three young women... The return of a pure light, deep inside a lonely mountain... A blonde girl crying in the flaming ruins of a great city... You standing over a bloody mask...  Two serpents with eight heads devouring each other...  A girl born to death, who will be abandoned to endless life... A laughing man with blue eyes and the girl who kills for him... A woman with two faces standing over a dead queen... One child is lost, another is found, and the world trembles..." Urawa trailed off. Ukyou had fallen backwards, her jaw gaping. "I can't make sense of any of them. There are places I haven't been... people I haven't seen. I can't tell what order they come in. That's why I've been avoiding you."

"Avoiding... me?"

"I saw you coming to me." Urawa sighed and stood up. "I wanted to avoid it, my fate. I knew that THIS moment, it was important, like one of the dominos that has to fall. But you can't sidestep fate... Every time I saw you coming for me, I would try to run, but it appears the future can't be so easily turned aside." He paused and looked up at the sky. "I only wonder what changed this time. Every other time I saw you coming. Why I didn't see it this time..."

Ukyou stood up slowly as well. Only one thing had been different this time: Aaron had been the one who had found Urawa. Ukyou had guided the investigation all the other times. But she had been too busy trying to figure out what to do about her... accident to concentrate on it. So Aaron had guided her hands when locating the boy. He had walked them here.

It was his fault.

(...no...)

It was all his fault! He would cause all

(...no...)

the pain Urawa had described. After all, what was he but some stupid pretentious self-insert asshole? He even had the powers! That strange energy of his! What other dark force could the warning from the future refer to but Aaron himself? He was

(No.)

a dangerous man. He admitted it himself. He didn't care about human beings. He didn't feel the same way that normal people felt. For him, killing was no more important than stepping on a blade of grass. He had never done so in his world...

(I haven't. I won't.)

But who cared? She knew he talked big. Liked to frighten people with how crazy he was. What little it would take to push Aaron over the edge... Ask anyone who knew him. 'He was such a quiet boy. Never did anything wrong...'

(NO! THIS IS NOT MY FAULT!)

Ukyou screamed and clutched her head. Urawa started and backed away.

What right... what gall did Ukyou have to blame Aaron for this? She was right about one thing: you could only push him so far before he snapped. Even Aaron's self-control could not last forever. And this was too far. He would not sit mutely in the back of her mind, absorbing her hate and bile until he became the monster she wanted him to be!

Who was behind the mess they were in now? Ukyou was. It was Ukyou that had been the acting force. It was Ukyou that had decided to lie to her friends. It was Ukyou that had hid the truth from them. It was Ukyou that had pushed away Chris. It was her that had turned the closest thing Aaron had to a one true friend into a bitter enemy. Ukyou resisted Aaron's will, but Aaron kept attacking her with the one thing she could not deny. The truth. Aaron knew it. Ukyou knew it. Until now, he had been content to let them deceive themselves.

But no more.

Ukyou had chosen to fight Jadeite. Ukyou had chosen to fight Hayato. Ukyou had chosen to attack them both when they were down. Aaron was to blame as well. He had liked breaking their bones as much as her. But he had not decided to do so. That had been all Ukyou. Ukyou had yelled at Akane, driven her away. Ukyou had gone ahead with that 'cute' plan involving Nodoka... Aaron had thought of it, but never would have done something so inane. Ukyou had decided to go with that plan, almost as if she wanted to do so to spite him. Ukyou had done all these things... and why? Because she hated Aaron. Not for stealing her life. Not for drawing enemies to her.

It went deeper than that. Ukyou hated Aaron because he was REAL.

Silence filled the small park. Ukyou had been screaming. Roaring for Aaron to shut up. Urawa had tumbled down and was staring at them in horror. But neither of them could care about that. The final fatal thought had entered their minds, and there was no denying it now.

Aaron was real. He had been born and raised and lived in a world that was nothing like her own. In his world, Ukyou was a figment

(not gonna think about this)

of the imagination; nothing more than ink on paper, or dots chasing each other across glass. Aaron had seen all her adventures. Discovered

(not gonna think about this)

a great deal about her. But Ukyou had never read "Aaron Peori", the manga. There was no way she could have created him out of whole cloth. She knew too much about him. She knew English through him. She knew his life, intimately.

But could the same be said in reverse? Was it possible that this was all a fever dream? Maybe Aaron was on a bed in a hospital,

(Please please please please)

comatose and wasting. Without input from the outside world, his mind had snapped. Maybe it was Ukyou who was the intruder in his mind... rather than the other way around?

"STOP IT!" Ukyou shouted and fell forward. She curled into the fetal position. She was real. She was real. She wasn't a dream. She wasn't less than him. She had a family... who were all dead. She had memories... wacky adventures... but how many had not happened in Aaron's manga? And how much sense did it all make? Her one true love was a boy she barely knew who spent half his time as a girl. She had mastered a style of fighting based on bad puns and okonomiyaki cooking. Her enemies were strange. Her friends even stranger.

HER 'OLD FRIEND' OCCHAN HAD A FUCKING SPATULA FOR A HEAD! Where did he put his goddamn brain!?

Aaron felt her pain, her uncertainty. How could he not? He realised that he was just doing what she had done to him for so long. Ever since they had met Chris... but knowing and wanting were two different things.

And speaking of Chris. Oh yes. Don't think that Aaron had forgotten about that. The real reason Ukyou hated HIM. Ukyou hated Chris because he was like Aaron. He was from outside. But he was safe to hate. Hating Chris didn't echo in her mind. Her special hate for his potential realness had blossomed into true rancor. It had festered in her mind... and in Aaron's. Aaron forced himself to admit it. He had let that hatred gather so deep in their shared psyche that he could no longer see Chris as a friend.

That was his fault. He was willing to accept his share of the blame. He had always been a great hypocrite. He encouraged people to vote, to step up, to intervene and to care. Yet he did so little of that himself. For Aaron, responsibility was a burden to be avoided at all costs. He saw ambition as a waste of time and energy. Thus... it had been so easy. When he had arrived in her mind, Ukyou had been so full of conviction and ambition. It was so easy to do what he always did and let somebody else take the reins. And look where it had gotten him. Look where it had gotten them.

Ukyou might not like it, but Aaron was through taking a backseat to her desires. He wasn't going to live as her sinkhole for all her hate and self-doubt. Aaron opened Ukyou's eyes.

Sailor Pluto was standing over them. The tip of her key staff was an inch above Ukyou's nose. The woman looked sad.

"Now you know why this has to happen. You deserved at least that much."

*

Pluto walked over to the thrashing form of Ukyou. She spared a glance at the boy she was with. Pluto knew about him, of course, and his ability. She always knew that his ability would cease functioning long before he became a possible threat to the fabric of time. He wasn't a priority. Still... best to play it safe.

"Ryo Urawa," Pluto intoned as she held up her staff. "You must leave this place. Go... to Juuban Middle School. There you will meet the woman of your destiny. She will heal you and bring you peace. Go."

Urawa didn't really need more than that. The boy shot off like the hounds of hell were at his ankles. Pluto smiled. At least, with him getting to Sailor Moon before the Dark Kingdom discovered him, there would be no chance of unleashing the monster lurking within him. Pluto drove concerns for him from her mind. There was one final thing to do... and this time there would be no chance of failure.

"Dark Dome Enclose!"

Pluto staggered as the power radiated from her key staff. This was the one truly forbidden power of her office. By driving her staff into the streams of time, she could interrupt its flow. Even now the leaves halted their rustling, and the wind ceased its howl. The trickle of a nearby fountain went silent as the droplets froze in mid-air.

The strain of maintaining this power was terrible. If she had been forced to hold more than this small area out of the flow of time, it might have killed her. As it was... she knew she was going to die from this. Because she still had to deliver the final blow. Normally, the Dead Scream would strain her no more than walking. To cast it now, however, was suicide. But it would be suicide with a purpose.

At least, if she died, she knew that she could not be the last survivor to witness that horror at the end of time.

Standing over Ukyou's head, she levelled the staff at the teenager’s face. She was so still now, compared to her thrashing and screaming from earlier. Sympathy threatened to unmake Pluto, but she reaffirmed her resolve by thinking of Urawa. He, too, had seen the future. There was no doubt now.  There couldn't be.

"Now you know why this has to happen. You deserved at least that much," Pluto sighed. "Dead-"

Pluto's voice cut off as Ukyou's hand clasped around the edge of her staff. How?

Suddenly the earth escaped from Pluto's feet. The sky tumbled back in her vision. Pain blossomed up her shins. Ukyou had kicked her. Pluto could see a bird floating overhead, its wings caught between beats in that eternal instant.

Her head collided hard with the ground. She felt the time key staff fly from her hands. Her connection to the gates weakened and time rushed back forward. Pluto gasped as the force of all that time collided with her body. It was like a thousand trucks striking her at once. Unconsciousness threatened to consume her...

Then Ukyou was picking her up by the collar and shaking her awake. Pluto gasped. She was alive. Her body has survived the strain of stopping time... but just barely.

"You bitch," Ukyou hissed into Pluto's face. "Setsuna... why couldn't you just TELL me!? If you had told me sooner... so much could have been avoided..." Ukyou released her and Pluto collapsed to the ground. "You secretive little psychopath! You knew about those visions. That's why... that's why you want to kill me. For something I MIGHT do!? What gives you the right?" Ukyou clenched her fists and her posture became calm... colder somehow. "Why don't you go back in time and kill Hitler? Or some other monster?" She leaned down over her. "You want me to guide you to Osama Bin Laden? Kill him and you'll prevent the death of three thousand people... and a series of pointless and evil wars."

"This is different..." Pluto gasped, barely finding her voice. Who was this Bin Laden person, anyway? "Those are wars. Man always has wars. People always die. But time... time is eternal. It goes on. That is what defines it." Pluto propped herself up on one hand. Anger was beginning to restore her strength. "I am the Senshi of the Ninth Planet, Sailor Pluto. I am Guardian of Time, holder of the key to the Gates of Time. My task is not to guard a princess. My task is not to protect our world from invasion. My task is not to slay the enemies of peace and justice. My task is to protect the one thing that can never be allowed to end! I must forever ensure the continuum of time itself! Without it... there is no universe! That is why you must die. Because you will destroy it. You will bring an end to time!"

"No," Ukyou said with cold finality. "I don't believe in destiny or fate. My future... everyone's future... Time is what we make of it! I refuse to bow my head down and die because you think I will become a monster! I refuse to become a monster because a voice from the future tells me it is so. I refuse to believe that fate can not be changed." She backed away, smirking. "I've already changed it, after all. I've changed the destiny of those around me. I will do so again."

Ukyou stepped away and pulled her staff from the harness on her back.

"This world... there is something terribly wrong with it. I know that it can't be a coincidence that I am here and this is happening to me. I'm no hero. I don't intend to save the world. But I sure as hell won't destroy it either. First, I'll have to learn about this world. I've let it pass me by. I was too focused on my own goals..."

Ukyou swept her staff out. Pluto's eyes widened. There was nothing but a blur of motion... and then the staff came to a quivering halt a centimeter from Pluto's throat.

"We don't need to be enemies. But if you choose to be my enemy... I will no longer fight to escape or to turn you aside. If you come after me again, Pluto, I'll defeat you. Don't make me do it."

Ukyou spun, her coat swirling as she restored her staff in a single smooth motion. Pluto watched as the young girl strode purposefully out of the park. She had never TRULY understood it until now. That Ukyou could somehow destroy everything. But Pluto had now seen the proof. She had stopped time itself... and Ukyou had still moved. That was impossible. Not just hard. Not just improbable. Literally impossible.

Ukyou Kuonji had within her a power that could threaten all existence. And now... Pluto would risk facing that power directly if she wanted to confront Ukyou again.

"So be it," she intoned calmly.

*

"Not again..."

Rei stumbled as she landed, holding her stomach. Her lunch lurched dangerously inside of her and she strode dizzily into the deserted park where her friends were waiting. She couldn't have stood another minute of that. That was why they had all fled. The police, the witnesses... the body.... the missing girls... it all added up, didn't it?

"Why didn't things turn around... we did so well the last time..."

That was Usagi, again. She was taking this the worst of anyone. Luna was trying to console her, telling her there was nothing they could have done. They had just arrived one step too late. Again.

"DAMNIT!" Makoto screamed and smashed her fist into a tree. Her magically enhanced strength knocked a dent into the wood. Rei felt like joining her, but instead sat down. Luna was right: this wasn't Usagi's fault. It was Rei's.

Shibakawa had gone to the school near hers. She had known about him. She should have seen the signs. Maybe when he suddenly started doing portraits instead of landscapes? Maybe Rei would have known something was up, if she had been paying attention. But nobody had been paying attention to Kijin Shibakawa lately. His first place in a national photography contest had been buried deep in the local papers and wasn't even being reported elsewhere. The news was too full of disasters lately for something as... normal as that to catch anyone's attention.

"I thought we did so well last time..." Usagi murmured again. She was crouched on the ground, her arms wrapped around her knees. The tails of her hair were lying in the dirt. Rei frowned. She didn't state the obvious fact: that the victim of that attack had been Usagi's own home economics teacher had been all that had allowed Usagi to act in time. This time... they had been too distracted to even notice what was going on. Just like the time before.

"We can't let this stop us," Rei declared suddenly. She stood up straight, catching the attention of all her fellow Sailor Senshi. Even Ami, who hadn't looked up from her computer since they'd stumbled out of the indoor pool. Rei knew she struck an impressive figure in her red and white Sailor uniform, so she played it up a bit. After all, somebody had to take charge, and Usagi didn't seem up to it. "The Dark Kingdom has been one step ahead of us a few times. But we can defeat them... we just have to change strategies. We can't joke around about this anymore. We're going to have to get serious about protecting these people if we ever want to be able to do it!"

"Rei has a point," Luna confirmed with a nod. "It is about time you girls started getting serious about being Sailor Senshi."

Usagi just looked at Luna, then went back to burying her face between her knees. Rei could hear her crying. Her heart felt for Usagi, it did. She didn't want to be cruel. She had to be. It was for Usagi's own good.

"Snap out of it, you airhead!" Rei shouted. "You're useless to everyone if you just sit there crying!" Usagi's head snapped up and her eyes shook with fear. Then her face vanished as the green-skirted Makoto interposed herself between her and Rei.

"Rei! That was uncalled for!" Makoto was the kind of person who wore her emotions on her sleeve, and her anger was obvious. Her face, her posture, her voice... Rei knew she was treading on thin ice. But she couldn't afford to let up now.

"It is exactly what's called for. We've all been distracted lately. I'm as much to blame for what happened here as all of you, if not more. I admit that," Rei said, the words leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. "We can't just keep hoping to randomly run into the Dark Kingdom's agents anymore. Three times they've escaped clean..."

Rei trailed off. Her voice had been on the verge of cracking. Why her? She was fourteen years old. Did she really have it in her to save the world?

"And who made you the boss!?" Makoto shouted back. "Last I checked, Usagi was the princess reborn. She's our leader."

Rei narrowed her eyes. Yes. She had it in her. She had it in her because Usagi was crumbling. One more lost life and the kind-hearted girl might not be able to take it. Rei wouldn't let that happen.

Before Rei could shout something back, Ami cut in. "Perhaps Rei has a point," the normally unobtrusive girl said simply. Rei turned to her with a smile. You could always count on Ami to be the voice of reason. "According to my data... all the people that have been targeted by the Dark Kingdom have been people with high levels of talent in a single field. People that have either had their work go unappreciated, or who are on the verge of reaching their full potential. I speculate that our enemies must be seeking to harvest this potential, this unrealised talent, as a source of energy."

"How can you say that so coldly? Aren't these people, not crops?" Makoto muttered. Ami recoiled as if slapped. The smaller girl blinked rapidly, her eyes shimmering.

"Mako!" That shocked Usagi out of her self-pity. She was standing up now, her face thrust into Makoto's. The much more physically imposing Senshi backed away from something she saw in Usagi's face. "In case you're forgetting, one of those people was Ami's friend!"

Rei looked down. She had been too busy with a date that day to be there to help the old man. The kicker of it was that she had been about to walk right into the park with Mamoru that day, but then the two of them had run into Makoto ,and Rei had gotten jealous when the other girl started flirting with her man and... Rei sighed. No time to regret the past now.

"Of... of course... I'm sorry. Ami... you have to believe I didn't mean to imply..."

"It's okay, Makoto," Ami said with a forced smile. "I know you're just upset. I know you want so much to aid us in fighting. It must be frustrating to not be able to even show up for the battles." Makoto nodded. "As I was saying, I think I can figure out a pattern from this. Maybe predict who the next target is going to be..."

"How?" Rei sighed and leaned back against a tree. "What you've just described probably covers hundreds... if not thousands of people right here in Tokyo. Unless there was some other connection?"

"None," Ami sighed, then immediately added, "That I'm aware of. Maybe with more data..." Ami trailed off. Everyone let the implications of that statement pass unremarked upon.

"Maybe what we should do is have Ami get a list of these people, and then we can..." Makoto raised her fists. "Do something. Limit the Dark Kingdom's options."

"Huh?" Rei blinked.

"You know... break their legs or something. Make sure they never reach their potential. What? Why are you all staring at me like that? It's better than them dying, isn't it?"

"Mako! The Sailor Senshi stand for love and justice! Not random acts of senseless violence!" Usagi cried.

"Do you have a better idea?" Makoto sighed and tugged on her ponytail briefly.

"Maybe we can ask for help. Tuxedo Mask, or that boy Ukyou..."

"Will you stop it with Ukyou!?" Rei snapped. "He's a dangerous man! I showed you that article on how he crippled a boy, didn't I?"

"But still..."

"But nothing. I want nothing to do with Ukyou. He's dangerous," Rei growled out. She wasn't even sure where her anger at the boy had come from. There was just something about that boy that frayed at Rei's nerves. It was dumb and without reason, but Rei couldn't help but feel like somehow Ukyou was the cause of all their troubles. Her entire life had been spent honing her trust in her instincts, a necessary part of her Shinto training. Yet she couldn't quite pin down why she distrusted him.

While the others debated what to do about the situation, Rei strode a little bit away. She had tried before to pin down the feeling that made her dislike Ukyou. Yet she never could. Rei focused on her feelings... trying to discover some truth and-

The earth had eyes!

Rei started. What was that? She stared down. She had been facing directly at the earth when she had felt it. An overpowering feeling of being watched. Being watched from all over. Being watched from all angles. Something heavy and oppressive and... alien. Rei closed her eyes and spun slowly on one heel. Yes... the feeling was still there. It was still everywhere.

"Everyone! Get out! Get out of the trees!"

"What?" Luna cried back.

"There's something here!" Rei was already running towards them. They were just standing there, like sheep. Couldn't they feel it? Rei knew it was moving now. It knew it had been discovered. "Don't just stand there... run!" Rei reached out and scooped up Usagi in both arms before leaping free of the small copse the Senshi had concealed themselves in. A moment later she heard the leaves rustle as Ami and Makoto followed her. She could only hope one of them had thought to grab Luna.

"What's going on, Rei? Have you gone nuts!?" Makoto demanded as she landed and released Luna. Rei tried to release Usagi, but the clearly terrified girl was whimpering and clinging tightly to her.

"No... I can see it too," Ami said, staring back into the trees. She had her clear blue visor on, and arcane symbols traced a path across her vision. "Some sort of bio-energy pattern infused with all the trees and the ground..."

"Wh-what is it?" Usagi gulped.

"I don't know..." Rei frowned. The feeling had not lessened. But it wasn't moving anymore. In fact the entire copse had become eerily silent and still. Rei reached behind her and withdrew a ward.

"Fascinating... this is like no youma I've ever seen. It appears to be a bio-entity... very similar to human in fact from the readings and-ah!"

Ami was hurled back as a root burst from the ground and smashed into her like a whip. Her compact computer flew from her hand and clattered to the ground. Rei watched as the root rose into the air above it. In a moment of clarity, Rei knew that this attack wasn't against Ami. It was against the computer.

"Oh no you don't! Fire Soul!" Rei snapped her hands forward, gathering her energy at the tips of her fingers. With a flash, fire erupted from them and Rei screamed, sending the ball spiralling into the root. Thankfully it was no more resistant to flames than normal wood.

"This is more like it!" Makoto cried. "Supreme Thunder!" Thunder crashed as a bolt of lightning fell from the heavens and collected around Makoto's head. Then she released it into the trees. There was a burst of fire and a shower of wood chips, but not much else. "Did I get it?"

"No..." Rei frowned. "It's still... underneath!" Acting on instinct Rei leapt into the sky, a split second before a hole suddenly opened up in the groundwhere she had been standing, as if to swallow her.

"Sailor Moon, don't just stand there, help them!" Luna cried.

"But how? Where do I fire?"

Rei landed. She could sense the thing homing in on her landing spot but could do nothing to halt her momentum. Sure enough, as she touched down, the earth around her erupted. She threw her arms in front of her face as the liquid earth rose around her in undulating waves. It would have crashed down on her, but then a blast of thunder rang out and Rei was surrounded by a shower of stones.

"Sailor Moon..." Ami gasped. She was lying on the ground and clutching her side. But she had managed to retrieve her computer. "The enemy is permeating the earth. It's a bio-chemical agent. You'll have to hit it all at once!"

"How?"

"The moon stick!" Luna cried. "Use the power of the moon stick!"

Usagi nodded and snapped her hand out. Suddenly the pink and gold crescent moon wand was there. Rei had never seen the thing used. For all she knew, its only purpose was to locate and retrieve the fragments of the Silver Crystal... apparently it had more martial uses. But even as Usagi began to spin in place, gathering the energy for her attack, the earth roared and struck.

And Rei meant that literally. A huge face, a distorted earthen parody of a man, formed from the sediment and let loose an inhuman roar. Fingers of stone burst from the ground, encircling the distracted Moon Senshi in a giant brown fist. Usagi screamed, her head snapping back and her hair whipping about wildly. Rei said something very unladylike and raised her hands. She could see Makoto doing the same nearby.

With twin shouts they both unleashed their attacks. Somehow Rei knew just how to sync up with Makoto so that their attacks collided in mid-air. Instead of exploding against each other, the magic combined, becoming a roaring ball of flame with flashing sparks along its surface. The doubled attack struck the fist, blowing it into chunks. Usagi was sent flying from the explosion, and Rei wondered in horror for a moment if they had accidentally hurt her.

Then she landed and began to cry. "Rei, Mako! That hurt!"

Rei sighed in relief. Usagi was fine. Affixing her with a firm glare, she shouted "Stop crying and finish it off!"

The giant face looked worried now. It was sinking back into the earth. Rei turned to face it, unsure how to stop it. She could sense fear now. It was retreating. Damn... if they didn't stop it now... It had overheard their entire conversation! It knew their real names!

Rei blinked when the red rose stabbed into the forehead of the monster. She whipped her head back, following the projected flight path of the weapon. Sure enough, there was Tuxedo Mask standing atop a nearby lightpost, cape rippling.

"Sailor Moon, this wicked monster is using the very forces of nature against you. Believe in yourself and the friends you have to protect you, and it cannot win!" the masked man declared eloquently once he had everyone's attention.

"Right!" Usagi snapped her arm out, holding the moon wand in ready position again. The monster seemed to have been stunned by Tuxedo Mask's attack, and wasn't able to respond as Sailor Moon completed her pirouette. "Moon Healing Escalation!"

Rei shaded her eyes as Sailor Moon suddenly became a beacon of blazing silver light. She could barely make out orbs of energy flowing from the tip of the moon stick and pouring into the face of the monster on the ground. Its face grew incandescent, blurring out of Rei's sight. Then the light began to fade.

When Rei could see again, there was a man on the ground. He was curled up in a fetal position. He was totally hairless... a fact that was easy to tell since he was also totally naked. Rei felt her cheeks burn and she spun away. She heard more than saw Tuxedo Mask leap down behind her.

"It's okay... you can look now," he said after a moment. Rei turned and saw that the masked mystery man had taken off his cape and draped it over the man on the ground like a blanket.

"Who is that?" Makoto was the first to speak. "What just happened?"

"He's... totally human," Ami declared after a moment of consulting her visor. "His genetic code is almost exactly identical to that of the monster..."

"How is that possible?" Luna stated as she approached the man.

"I don't know," Tuxedo Mask declared and stepped back. "But I'll leave him in your capable care. Until next time." With a flourish, the man in the top hat leapt away, despite Usagi's protests for him to wait. Rei ignored his departure, more concerned with the strange hairless man. She focused her senses on him, but could sense none of the oppressive presence from before.

"I think... I think he used to be human and then someone, or something, turned him into that monster," Ami said slowly into the silence that followed Tuxedo Mask's departure.

"How horrible!" Makoto hissed.

"He's coming around..." Luna pointed out. "Perhaps he might be scared if he found himself suddenly surrounded by several hostile-looking Sailor Senshi..." she hinted.

"Yes," Rei nodded. "Let's not give him any more shocks. He probably doesn't even remember anything about what happened." Or at least, Rei hoped he didn't.

Transforming from Sailor Mars back into plain old Rei Hino always left Rei with a vague feeling of loss. Like she had been on the verge of something profound, and then turned away from it. Even so, she often felt better as plain old Rei instead of a superheroine. She brushed out her skirt and sat down next to the man, thinking about what to tell him.

"AHHH!" the man sprang up like a punching dummy. His hands grasped his head as he sat on the grass and screamed. "NO! What happened? What have you done to me!?"

"Calm down, sir," Rei said, laying a soothing hand on his shoulder. "You're safe now."

"Safe? What?" the man turned and blinked at her. "Who are you? What happened to me? Where did the Sailor Senshi go..."

"You shouldn't be straining yourself," Ami said from where she was sitting nearby. She was still clutching her side from where the monster had struck her. "You seem to have been through quite an ordeal. We only came because we saw all the fireworks. The Sailor Senshi said they transformed you back into a human, then left you with us."

"With you..." the man blinked. "Wait... human... human..." He kept repeating the word 'human' over and over again. He wrapped his hands around his bald head again and began to hyperventilate. "No... I'm human... I'm human..." Rei patted him gently. The poor soul. It must have been very traumatic being turned into a monster. He still couldn't believe his nightmare was over.

"Don't worry, sir. You're safe now. We'll go get to the police and they can help you get back home... though, what is your name?"

"Name?" the man turned to her and blinked. "I... I am Dyme..."

"Well, Dyme, I'm Rei. I'll stay with you while my friends go get help."

"Rei..." the man stared at her. His face suddenly grew calm. "Yes, Rei. I think I would like that."

*

Ranma stared into the flames. They were hot. His hands kept telling him this. Stupid hands. They would learn. Heat was nothing. Blistering, burning, skin-melting heat would not stop Ranma Saotome! He would have those chestnuts. He had never wanted any food so much as he wanted those chestnuts now.

Except for that soup he'd stolen from that guy in China.

And the time Pop had starved him for a week as "endurance training" and...

Well. Let's just say Ranma wanted those chestnuts really really badly, and leave it at that. He raised his hands, cracking and popping the joints as he flexed in preparation. Oh yes... they would be his. It was just a matter of speed and accuracy... focus... concentration! Just one perfect movem-

"Ah, there you are, Son-in-law."

"AHHHHH! MY HANDS!" Ranma ran screaming from the fire and dunked his burning digits into the convenient koi pond. He turned a glare back over his shoulder at the old troll that had interrupted him. She was sitting - no, she was perched like a vulture on top of that stick of hers. She didn't seem to be paying attention to him. She was more interested in staring into the flames.

Did she want his chestnuts? No! They were Ranma's!

"Hey, back off old hag!" Ranma shouted in what he was hoping to be his most intimidating tone. He grimaced as it came out about two octaves too high. Stupid curse.

"What... exactly are you doing here, Son-in-law?" the old hag asked, still not bothering to look in Ranma's direction. She had at least leapt down from her walking stick. Ranma wanted to walk over and punt her away like a football, but he kept a healthy distance. The old lady was fast, and like nearly every girl he had met, seemed interested in ripping off all his clothes. Not that he was afraid of her beating him. But he had been naked quite enough today, thank you very much.

"None of your business, old hag!" Ranma shouted.

"You weren't trying to do this, were you?"

Ranma blinked. He saw something. A blur of motion around Cologne. Then she turned to him, holding a double-handful of roasted chestnuts. She was smiling. Ranma's mouth opened.

"How'd you do that?" he demanded.

"Maybe if you tell me what I want to know, I'll tell you what you want to know," the old hag said through her smirk. Ranma was beginning to see why that girl Shampoo was always yelling at her. Not that he agreed with much else Shampoo wanted. Especially since her two motivations seemed to be 'kill him' and 'marry him', possibly in that order.

"I was trying to get the chestnuts, okay. Now tell me how you did it?"

"And where did you get such an idea? From your father? Or perhaps a friend of his?" The old hag's voice had lost all its amusement, taking on a deadly serious tone.

"Huh? No." Ranma laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "My Pop is too dumb to come up with anything like that."

"Then where?"

"My buddy, Ucchan," Ranma said with a shrug. He couldn't see the harm in talking about her training here. It wasn't like Ukyou had ever sworn him to secrecy or anything.

"'Ucchan' is it?" Cologne narrowed her eyes. "And why did 'Ucchan' teach you this?"

"To make me stronger. Something about wind and fire and chakras or some junk. I never really understood it." Ranma shrugged again and knelt down. Now that the old hag wasn't trying to strip him or make him marry that psychopath, she was almost tolerable to talk to. Besides, talking shop always interested Ranma. "I think Ukyou must have already mastered that technique, though. She was working on some spiral thing while she had me doing it. Then she did this neat thing with a tornado to that octopus guy." Ranma grinned and stared into the sky. "Now that was a technique. I'm definitely going to learn that from her once I get this one down pat."

"Spiral... tornado..." Cologne said. Ranma didn't miss the dangerously level way she said that; he simply didn't think much of it. After all, even Kunou could sound dangerous.

"Now you do your part, old hag," Ranma insisted. He pointed accusingly at her handful of rapidly-cooling chestnuts. "Teach me how to do that!"

Ranma recoiled as the old woman beaned him off the head with one of the nuts. "Not until you can speak with respect," she informed hi.

"Hey! We had a deal, you little frea-ow!" Ranma rubbed his forehead.

"Stop doing that you crazy old-ow!" Ranma shielded his head with his hands.

"Hah! Try to hit me now... ah! MY CHEST! That hurt!"

"I should hope so, it was meant to."

Ranma had the best comeback ever. He was going to deliver it with such wit and panache that it would have left Cologne stunned and unable to recover. She would have bowed down to his superior skills and instantly taught him everything she knew. Too bad the moment he opened his mouth, his words were drowned out by a giant explosion that literally rocked the entire Tendo complex.

"Not again," Ranma grumbled and turned to look at what was causing the ruckus this time. "I hope this isn't those Dork Kingdom losers again..."

Ranma stared as the smoke from the front of the house cleared. There was a giant, unopened rose where the front gate to the Tendo home should be. It stood nearly three stories tall. The afternoon light glinted off its perfect bulb.

"Oh, it's those plant things again. Come back for a rematch, huh?" Ranma stood up and began to roll up his sleeves. Then he paused. The bulb was unfolding, and standing in the middle of the delicate leaves were two girls. Twins really. They even had identical outfits and...

Wait a minute. Where had he seen those two before? As he wondered about this, the girls rose up, striking mirrored poses like circus acrobats about to perform an elaborate stunt.

"At last the flower of justice has bloomed, over!" the smiling one on the left sung out triumphantly.

"And so quail, Shampoo. Quail, for this flower of vengeance has been growing for ten years, over!" the frowning one on the right added in.

"Beware, the hundred blows of pain! The hundred times one hundred blows, even, over!" the first girl declared and, as if on cue, both girls spun in place and pointed down into the courtyard of the dojo.

"Uh.... Shampoo's inside," Ranma told them and jerked his thumb over his shoulder.

There was a long pause as the duo stared at him.

"We knew that, over!" the smiling one shouted angrily.

"It was all part of our plan, over!" the other said as they both stood with hands on hips.

"You didn't really expect us to unleash our deadly sneak attack after declaring our intentions openly, did you, over?"

"I dunno. Maybe?" Ranma shrugged. More fruitcakes, he supposed. Surprisingly familiar fruitcakes, but still just another pair of psycho girls. Why were all the women Ranma met crazy? Even Ukyou was a little nuts. At least they weren't his problem.

"Come along, sister. The time to strike is nigh, over!" the smiling one informed her twin in a voice that still rang out over half the neighbourhood. The other girl nodded and both turned around and began to sneak down the enormous stem of their three-story tall rose bloom.

"Friends of yours?" Ranma said, turning back to Cologne.

Cologne, who was back on her stick, only shrugged. "I think I might know who they are. But I've never met them personally."

"Shouldn't you go save your great-granddaughter?" Ranma paused. "Not that I care." He paused again. "Don't mistake that for concern or nothin'."

"Whatever you say, boy." Cologne pulled a long pipe out.

Ranma would have gone back to berating Cologne at that point. He might have even used his Comeback Of Doom on her, but he never had a chance. Because that was when another figure bounced over the wall of the Tendo dojo and landed right beside Ranma.

"YOU!" Ranma shouted.

"Oh, uh... hi Ran- yaah! Watch it!" The undead bastard ducked under Ranma's opening punch. He looked just the same as before. And hey, that's where he'd seen those two girls before!

"Of course! I knew it all along!" Ranma growled as he backflipped away and settled into a horse stance.

"Of course what?" Chris said mildly. He looked confused. But Ranma wasn't fooled.

"You know what! I don't have to spell it out to you!" Ranma grinned. He had been hoping that something like this would happen.

The undead thing quirked his head to the side and stared at Ranma for a second. Then he sighed and threw up his hands in a defeated gesture. "You're right, Ranma. I should have known I couldn't fool you." Ranma smirked. "There's just no way to hide it, is there?" Ranma nodded and flexed. "I have come here... for one reason. And one reason only, as you know." Ranma gestured for the undead creep to bring it on. "To NOT, in any way shape or form, get into a fight with you," Chris said forcefully as he stared right into Ranma's eyes.

"Huh?" Ranma blinked. "But that's not how it's supposed to go!"

"Sorry, Saotome. Other business today. Come on, you got to punch me the other day."

"That doesn't count! You weren't fighting back!"

"Okay, fine. You know, your honour as a martial artist requires that you issue a formal challenge before beating me into a pulp."

"Oh, right." Ranma slammed his fist into his palm. "Great. Then I, Ranma Saotome, challenge you, Chris uh... whatever your last name is, to a duel of honour!"

"Sorry. I refuse," the boy-thing said with a shrug.

Ranma gaped. Ah man. Now what was he supposed to do?

"Friend of yours?" Cologne said as she leaned in front of Ranma.

"Uh... no. Not really. More like bitter lifelong enemy... really. When I think about it."

"Uhh..." Chris trailed off. Ranma looked over and saw the undead boy's formerly smug face had fallen into wide-eyed staring at the old ghoul.

"And you..." Cologne spun in place, not even noticing when her hair whipped harshly across Ranma's cheek. "I can't help but feel your arrival is uncoincidental with that of those girls."

"Hey, old hag! Watch where you're...oof!" Ranma clutched his stomach in pain. He only realized he was spiralling back through the air when he landed in the koi pond.

"Let the adults speak for a moment, Son-in-law," Ranma heard her say as he emerged.

Chris was rubbing the back of his head and grinning like an idiot.

"Heheh. So... I guess you recognise me? Long time no see." He bowed respectfully to the hag.

"Suck up," Ranma muttered as he strode to shore. "OW! Hey, I thought you dropped those chestnuts!"

"One does not encounter many like you. No matter what face they are wearing."

"Indeed..." the boy replied heavily. "Yes, well... about those two... It's sort of a long story."

"I'm sure we'll find time to talk about it," Cologne stated ominously.

"AIYA, OVER!"

"AGH, OVER!"

"THE PAIN, OVER!"

"MY SPLEEN! MY, PRECIOUS, PRECIOUS SPLEEN, OVER!"

"That's my cue," Chris said with a nervous chuckle. "Why don't I explain everything to you on the way in?"

*

Shampoo twisted the old bald man's arm behind his back.  "I'm NOT marrying your son," she hissed.

He said something in that damn islander babble.  She twisted his arm even further, savouring the sound of Ranma's kin's tendons straining.  She reached for the words in Japanese.  "You... kill... Ranma."  It made perfect sense.  Father could atone for the sins of the child, and Shampoo wouldn't have to marry him.

The old fat man started blubbering like a baby.  Shampoo thrust him away in disgust.  Wasn't there a single Japanese man with a sack?  She needed SOMEONE to do the job, since the damn laws - and that twice-damned old woman - kept her from it.

After a few minutes, she gave up on the other old man too.  He was, if possible, even more pathetic.  What kind of rotten martial arts training hall was this?  No wonder she didn't see any students.

The girl with the long black hair who'd recently arrived shouted something at her, tending to the long-haired old man.  Oh right, that was her father, wasn't it?  Shampoo shrugged.  "Sorry," she said.

The girl didn't seem to be mollified.  As if some temporary discomfort to her pathetic father was in any way comparable to the lifetime of hell Shampoo was looking forward to.

The girl was still talking, and gesturing angrily at her.  Oh, wait, she was taking a fighting stance.  Was she challenging Shampoo?  She looked almost competent, too.  Shampoo grinned viciously, flowing to her feet.  If she couldn't kill Ranma, she could at least indulge in some satisfying violence. Just what the doctor ordered, that's what it would be.

At this point, there was a tremendous explosion that literally rocked the dojo, causing dust to fall lazily from the ceiling.  An earthquake?  Bomb? Great-grandmother doing one of those weird ancient techniques?

The long-haired angry girl looked back towards the source of the explosion, back at Shampoo, then waved her finger at her and shouted something about "waiting" before running off to investigate.  How disappointing.

And then, the most wonderful sound came to Shampoo's ears.

She didn't know what they were saying (why on earth were they speaking in Japanese, anyway?), but THOSE voices were ones she'd never forget.

Forget the angry girl.  There was no more therapeutic violence, when Shampoo was having a bad day, than the violence she could inflict on Pink and Link.

Shampoo settled back down, lacing her hands behind her neck.  They'd be here soon enough.  Shampoo had trained them well.

Ah, she could hear them coming.  They were walking on tip-toe.  They were even saying "sneak, sneak, over".  What, did they think they were ninjas? The long-haired girl was yelling at them.  They yelled back at her, and then went back to 'sneaking'.  Oh, this was too funny.

They had stopped near the door.  Actually they were peeking through, one on each side, staring at her.  Shampoo feigned a theatrical yawn, and watched as the two idiots darted through the entrance and hid, one under the table, one behind the cowering fat bald guy.  Shampoo continued to pretend she didn't see them as they darted from stupid hiding place to stupid hiding place, gradually converging on her location.

The long-haired girl was still in the doorway, only now she was staring at Pink and Link.  She said something to them, and they both turned and shushed her.  Shampoo successfully disguised her laughter as a cough.  This was their most ridiculous attempt to take her by surprise since the time they'd 'disguised' themselves as wish-granting fairies.

They finally managed to reach their positions, standing triumphantly behind her, one on each side.  They were pulling out smoking, poison-covered knives.  They were raising them high in the air.  They cried out in triumph and plunged the knives downward.

With a single lazy motion, Shampoo disarmed them and grabbed both their throats.  "Hello, Pink, Link," she said pleasantly.  "It was nice of you to come all the way to Japan to see me."

"Oh, Shampoo, that's you, over!" Pink said with a weak smile. "We thought you were...were..."

"Someone else, over!" Link finished.

"Someone bad, over!" Pink agreed enthusiastically.

"Ah, but Pink, Link, you forget..." Shampoo smiled reassuringly, and pulled them close, in a gesture that might almost have looked like a friendly embrace except for the fact her hands were still firmly gripping the two idiot's throats.  "I AM someone bad.  Bad for you."

Shampoo proceeded to engage in some senseless, rather basic, but highly satisfying violence.  She noted idly that for some reason their screams of pain were in Japanese, but ignored that minor quirk.

And then she was flying backward, the wall of the living room cracking as she collided with it.  Who?  Oh, the long-haired girl.  She was pulling her hands back from her palm thrust and shouting something angrily at her again. Shampoo wanted to tell her she didn't speak her stupid language, but it didn't really matter anyway.  This was really just an opportunity to have twice as much fun.

Seeing Shampoo glide slowly and dangerously to her feet, the long-haired girl assumed her martial arts stance again.  Pink and Link, not quite as much idiots as they usually seemed, hid behind her.  Shampoo grinned.  It wasn't as if they'd even try to escape, as long as they thought their new friend could fight Shampoo.  And by the time they figured out the futility of their hopes, it'd be too late.

Shampoo had just taken a step forward when something silver flashed in the corner of her eye.  She jerked back her head involuntarily, but the projectile was clearly not meant to hit her. It flew by a good half-meter in front of her and embedded, quivering, in the wall.  Everyone in the room followed the path of the weapon back to its source.

She wasn't impressed by the boy.  Japanese, bowl cut, casual clothes that didn't look at all suited to fighting, and something about his face that she instantly didn't like.  He was standing in the doorway, and... great-grandmother was there, too?  Why had she let him attack her?  Or stop the fight, anyway.  And also there... Shampoo snarled.  Ranma backed a step involuntarily from where he, actually now a she, had been peeking over the new boy's shoulder.

"Who are you?" Shampoo demanded.

The boy grimaced, and looked at Great-grandmother, who said something in Japanese to him.  Great, another ignorant islander who couldn't speak a proper language.  What did he want?  And why was Great-grandmother with him?

The boy beckoned Pink and Link over.  They paused for a moment, still cowering behind the now-confused black-haired girl.  But then they rushed over and hid behind him, instead, pushing Shampoo's - ugh - husband out of the way. Oh, so that explained it.  A protector.  How quaint.

The boy spoke to Link briefly, who nodded and peeked her head out at the side.  As he spoke, she translated it to Chinese.  "Hello, Shampoo.  As you've probably guessed, I'm a friend of Pink and Link.  That being the case, I'm afraid I'm going to have to stop what you've been doing to them for the last ten years, over."

Shampoo was bemused.  Another lamb to the slaughter.  Where DID they find them?  "I see.  And how do you plan to do that?"

Link started to say something, but Great-grandmother interrupted and seemed to translate for the new idiot.  He nodded, and turned back to face Shampoo.  "I'm challenging you.  If I win, I want several promises.  One, that you will never again raise so much as a finger against Pink or Link unless they attack you first.  Two, that in order to atone for the ten years of torture you've inflicted on them, that you become their servant for one year, obeying any order they give you that isn't directly harmful to you, over."

Shampoo noticed her so-called 'husband' had crawled from underneath them and gone over to the long-haired girl.  He was whispering in her ear, pointing at Pink and Link's guardian.  The girl looked, in turns, shocked and then concerned.  They didn't seem to be interfering, though.  Looking back at the presumptuous boy, Shampoo smiled slowly.  "That's a lot to ask.  And what will I get when I win?"

The old woman translated once more.  The boy shrugged.  "Ask for it. Anything.  Anything at all, over," came Link's translation of his words.  She didn't seem happy, though.  In fact, both her and Pink were staring at the boy. Didn't they even know their own pathetic plan?  What idiots.  But it was going to work out well, anyway.  For Shampoo.

She whirled and pointed at Ranma.  "Fine.  If I win, you have to kill him!  Or her!  Whatever!  Kill it!"

Cologne translated.  The boy blinked at Shampoo.  And Ranma... began to cheer?  Shampoo gaped at him.  He was jumping up and down and pointing at the newcomer, shouting cheerfully.  The long-haired girl seemed about to protest, but Shampoo's imbecile betrothed clamped a hand over her mouth to prevent her.

The mystery boy was still staring at her.  Then his eyes narrowed, and he said something to the long-haired girl.  She couldn't reply due to the idiot covering her mouth, but the selfsame idiot certainly could, waving his finger at Pink and Link's friend and crowing something joyfully.

The boy turned back to Shampoo, and his words came through Link.  "As you wish.  If you can defeat me, I swear that I will kill Ranma Saotome, over."

Shampoo smirked.  It wouldn't be such a bad day after all.  She could just help the mystery man a little.  Maybe she'd even steal some of Pink's poisons (the non-lethal kind) to do it, just for fun.  She opened her mouth to agree to the duel-

"Child."  The old woman's voice was deathly serious.  "Were I you, I would think long and hard before you accept those terms."

Shampoo gritted her teeth.  Always, always interfering!  The stupid old bat!  This mess was all HER fault to begin with!  "Great-grandmother, with all due respect, stay out of my affairs."

"Are you absolutely certain you do not wish my aid or advice in this matter, Great-granddaughter?" she said formally.

"You've 'aided' me quite enough, thank you," Shampoo snapped.  "Tell this idiot boy I accept his terms."

"So be it."

*

Akane followed the quiet procession into her family's dojo. This was just too much. First, Ukyou had gone psycho yesterday on that poor Hayato boy. Then, that same boy disappeared from his room in some sort of explosion, leaving nothing behind but his pet land-octopus. He could be dead, for all Akane knew. And then, worried sick about that, Akane had walked home to discover this.

First, there was the crazy Chinese girl with the purple hair who was supposed to marry Ranma and wanted to kill him. Plus, she had her annoying old grandmother with her, who had spent most of the time Akane had been there intimidating Dad into accepting Shampoo's betrothal to Ranma. Then the psycho girl had attacked her father, and just when Akane was going to teach her a lesson, these two completely incompetent ninja (?) girls had arrived in their giant rose and tried to kill Shampoo.

Of course, Akane couldn't stand by and let Shampoo torment them, even if they had initiated the fight. She had already seen one fight go too far. She would be damned before she watched more people get hurt that didn't need to be.

And now Chris was here. And he was in a new body. Akane's mind shied away from the implications of that. Of course, Ranma seemed happy at the prospect of having to fight him to the death if Chris lost this duel.

Which about brought her back to the present, and the two figures standing in the middle of her dojo. She stared at the combatants. Who was she supposed to be rooting for? Everything seemed to have been turned upside down lately. Ukyou had seemed so nice... and now she wasn't. Chris had seemed so much a monster, then he'd been so sad when they'd talked. And he seemed so reasonable now. Ranma had...

Well, okay. Ranma had always been an idiot.

Chris stretched his neck and sat down, kneeling on the wooden floor. Shampoo was standing a few meters away from him, twirling a pair of over-sized, brightly coloured maces in her hands. She seemed amused by his position, and gestured for him to rise.

"I'll stay like this," the undead boy said, opening his arms invitingly. "Come whenever you're ready."

One of the ninja twins translated this to Chinese. Well, that's what Akane thought she did. She yelled something at Shampoo, anyway. It seemed to take a considerably longer time and involve a lot more rude gestures than the boy had made.

Akane narrowed her eyes as Shampoo darted forward. The girl moved fast, but not as fast as Ranma did, and Akane could still easily follow her attack. Apparently, so could Chris. A fraction of an instant before Shampoo's mace would have crushed his head, the boy vanished in a blur. Shampoo's eyes widened and she stumbled through the space he had occupied a second before, pinwheeling her arms for balance. Akane snapped her eyes to the side as she heard Chris chuckling from the other end of the dojo.

Shampoo steadied herself and spun in place to face her opponent. He was still kneeling on the floor, as if this were some formal dinner and not a fight to the finish. Shampoo grit her teeth and charged again. This time she moved faster, but was still no match for his speed. That time, and three more times thereafter, Shampoo growled and charged, and each time the boy simply faded away before her strike, only to reappear behind her.

"Not bad," Ranma muttered. She was stroking her chin and examining the fight with a critical eye. "You have to be really fast to move like that."

"Can you follow him?" Akane whispered back.

"Of course!" Ranma laughed. Akane gave him a sidelong glare before turning her attention back to the important stuff.

Even as Akane watched, Chris vanished before another of Shampoo's charges. This time his chuckle came not from behind, but from above. Everyone looked up to see him sitting in calm defiance of gravity, upside down on the ceiling.

Shampoo gasped out something, causing her grandmother to chuckle and respond in their language. Growling, she shot something over her shoulder at the old lady and turned back to Chris. This was just in time for Chris to flick his fingers at her negligently. A silver streak passed through the air next to Shampoo and the girl leapt aside. Akane saw the quivering teaspoon... Teaspoon? Oh, never mind. If she could accept spatulas and octopus balls, who cared about teaspoons?

A clatter brought Akane's attention back to Shampoo. The purple-haired girl was staring at the shaft of one of her maces, from which the head had fallen off.

"Ah, I see," Ranma said with a smirk. "He's using his toes!"

"To decapitate Shampoo's weapon?"

"No, stupid. To cling to the ceiling. It's how he's moving without walking, too."

Akane resisted the urge to elbow Ranma in the gut.

"Getting worried yet?" Chris called down in amusement. One of the twins shouted something rude-sounding in Chinese to follow him up.

Shampoo merely shrugged and snapped her arm up, releasing her shaft like a javelin at the undead boy. He vanished once again, and an instant later Shampoo gasped as suddenly her feet flew out from underneath her. Chris was sitting behind her now, holding a rigid napkin out in one hand. Shampoo flopped forward and rolled away from him before springing to her feet.

"Translate this one accurately, Link." Chris said over his shoulder in an unconcerned tone. "It's not very much fun fighting an opponent you have no chance of defeating, is it?"

Shampoo didn't wait for Link's translation to finish before she was rushing forward again. This time she leapt up, snapping out a perfect thrust kick at Chris' head. There was a crack as her foot collided with a ceremonial teapot that appeared in his hands. Shampoo bounced away from him and landed in a crouch only a meter away. She didn't pause, immediately swinging out her leg in a sweep.

Chris skittered backwards, his hands flashing as streaks of silver leapt from his fingertips. Shampoo gasped as her leg suddenly stopped, pinned to the ground by a series of teaspoons through her pantleg.

"Stop playing around and beat the hell out of her, over!" the smiling girl screamed at Chris. The undead boy glanced at Cologne, whose expression was unreadable. He turned back as a loud ripping sound rang through the dojo. Shampoo had escaped in the most expedient way possible, by simply removing her pant leg.

She rushed in again. Akane frowned. Didn't she see that tactic wasn't working? Shampoo seemed to have a lot of speed and power, but not much in the way of experience of fighting someone with more of either. As if to prove her point, instead of dodging this time, Chris tripped her with a tea ceremony ladle. Shampoo had thrown everything into her rush, and wasn't able to recover before her face slammed into the wood and she skidded a half-meter down it. Akane winced in sympathy.

Chris paused and looked at Akane. His unreadable dead eyes met her for a moment. He deliberately stood up as Shampoo did the same. The girl's beautiful face was covered in smudges and her red eyes were blazing with hate. She began to yell at the boy in Chinese, gesturing angrily with her remaining weapon.

"It's over," Ranma declared. He leaned back and crossed his arms. "Heh. Looks like I'll need another excuse to drag him into a fight."

Chris was standing with an unconcerned casualness, looking down his nose at Shampoo. "You may, if you wish, surrender."

Cologne translated that before either of the twins could. She even glared them into silence when they tried to follow up.

Shampoo frowned and walked over to Chris. She paused within arm's reach of him and opened her mouth... then spit into his face. Chris raised an eyebrow and, all bemused, wiped it off with the back of one hand.

Shampoo waited only a moment, obviously hoping for more of a response. She shouted something unkind-sounding in Chinese at Chris and swept her mace up at his stomach in a vicious backhand. Her attack didn't even get close before the boy's hand snapped firmly around her wrist. She blinked, then gasped as he yanked her forward and cut her legs out from under her.

As Shampoo plummeted he slid to the side, almost ghostlike, and extended his free hand. A familiar black ribbon unfurled between his fingertips. With a quick motion the ribbon had spiralled firmly around the falling girl's ankles. Shampoo shot her hands down, trying to brace herself for the impact. Chris only chuckled and then twisted his ribbon between his fingers again. Somehow he shot forth the free end and twirled it around her wrists as well.

Shampoo's breath burst from her lungs as she smashed into the floor. Akane watched as Chris flipped elegantly over her, spinning the ribbon in place and wrenching Shampoo's wrists and ankles towards each other. Before the Chinese martial artist could recover her wits, she found herself lying face down on the floor, hogtied.

"Tricky," Ranma muttered. "It would've been kinder to knock her out..." Akane glanced at her. Her voice sounded... more thoughtful than it normally did. The boy in girl's flesh stood up and walked from the room. Akane felt like saying something to her, but found her attention drawn back to Shampoo.

The girl was thrashing and screaming to wake the dead as she struggled to escape her bonds. Chris was standing over her, his arms crossed and his expression oddly neutral.

Akane blinked. For a moment, just a moment, he looked remarkably like Ukyou.

The boy glanced over inquiringly at Shampoo's grandmother. Cologne raised an eyebrow at him. Something seemed to pass between them, then Cologne sighed and shook her head in resignation. Slowly she made her way over to Shampoo. The old lady took her time sitting down in front of her granddaughter. She tapped her staff on the ground to get the thrashing girl's attention. Then spoke in Chinese for a second.

Shampoo snapped something angry back. Cologne shrugged, then pointed at Chris and said something. Akane tensed up, expecting another violent outburst.

But it never came. Shampoo's entire body shuddered for a moment, as if she had just swallowed something repellent. Then she slumped, no longer struggling against her bonds. "You... win..." Shampoo's accented voice was taut.

Chris looked as if he was about to say something, but he was interrupted by a raucous cheer. Akane stared as the twins began to swing each other around by the hands, singing (offkey) as loud as they could.

"DING-DONG! THE BITCH IS DEAD, OVER!"

"Not so much," Cologne said, appearing between them. With twin gasps they released each other and fell promptly onto their behinds. "This is still my great-granddaughter. And I mean to hold you both to the exact terms of the agreement." Akane's eyes widened as the dojo grew dim, even as Cologne began to radiate a quiet but ominous blue aura.

"Umm... yes ma'am, over," the girls gulped out in unison.

And then the lights returned to normal and Cologne was suddenly smiling at them. "Good, good. I think this will be quite a learning experience for everyone, then." She chuckled and hopped over to Shampoo. Chris had swept out one of his teaspoons, neatly severing Shampoo's bonds.

The defeated Chinese girl rose slowly to her feet. She was looking down at the ground, her back to Akane and everyone else in the room. The twin ninja girls danced over to her and began babbling back and forth between each other.

"She's going to carry my bags back to the condo, over!"

"No, she's going to carry MY bags, over!"

"Wait... we don't HAVE any bags, over!"

"Then we'll have to borrow some, over!"

"Hey you, over." Akane pointed at herself in response. "Yes. Can we borrow those big rocks in your backyard, over?"

"Uh..."

"Thanks, over!"

The two latched onto Shampoo's wrist and began to drag her out of the dojo, babbling at her in Chinese. Akane wasn't sure who to feel sorry for anymore.

"Hmmm? Do you want to stay with us too?" Chris asked the old lady.

"It would seem the wisest decision," Cologne replied as she started towards the door. "After all, I said this would be a learning experience. For everyone involved."

"Fair enough," Chris said, tapping his cheek. "I'll catch up with you guys in a little while, okay?"

"Hmmm?" Cologne paused and looked at Akane meaningfully. "I see." Without another word, the Chinese grandmother bounded from the dojo after her kin.

Then Akane suddenly realised she was alone with Chris. She backed up a step involuntarily and turned to look at him.

The boy's expression became sad. Everywhere except his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I won't bother you for long. I just wanted to know if you were all right."

"I'm fine," Akane said, unable to keep the confusion out of her voice.

"Are you sure? I heard what happened with Ukyou."

"I'm... I'm fine. Really," Akane insisted. She looked down suddenly. Hayato's pet octopus had reappeared again. Apparently after Shampoo had scared him off, he hadn't run away, just hid until she was gone. The little creature was staring up at Akane with wide, forlorn eyes. She crouched down and scooped him up into her arms again. "Poor guy..." she said soothingly.

"That's... Hayato's pet, isn't it?"

"Yes. His name is Patoratsyu." Akane paused. "I'm... taking care of him for a while, I guess."

"What happened to Hayato? Is he in a coma or something?" Chris didn't sound so much concerned as confused.

"He... vanished. This afternoon, in the hospital. There was some sort of explosion..." Akane sighed and sat down, stroking the amazingly dry skin of the land octopus. She wasn't sure she really wanted to start thinking about that again.

"Explosion?"

"It's... well. You know about as much as me. He was alone in his room, and when I went in to find him, his entire room had been destroyed and only Patoratsyu here was left."

Chris let out a long breath. "Do you think it was Ukyou?"

"NO!" Akane snapped her eyes back to him. "How can you even suggest that?"

He grimaced sardonically. "Well, Akane... mmm... I know you like her. But she's snapped his spine in cold blood. And she's the only enemy he has. Who else could it have been?"

Akane opened her mouth to protest. Then she forced it closed. She had to remember that Chris didn't see Ukyou the same way she did. To him, that was a perfectly reasonable assumption. To anyone else, it might have been a perfectly reasonable assumption.

To Akane...

"Akane," Chris began, dragging her out of her reverie. "Look. I'm concerned about you. Ukyou... I don't know what's going on in her head. It seems obvious she's..." He sighed. "Well, to put it bluntly, she's not what you think she is."

Akane shook her head slowly. But now, what he was saying made sense in a bizarre sort of way. Not that Akane believed him. She could just see where he was coming from.

"Ukyou is still my friend," Akane told him. "She believed in me. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't do the same?"

Chris twitched as if he'd been struck. "What kind of friend..." he trailed off ominously. Akane quirked her head to the side. The octopus in her lap had noticed Chris now, and seemed to be curious about him. She restrained it gently. "Akane, you're a great friend. I have no doubts about that. But..." Chris crouched down next to her. "Ukyou is not the friend you think she is, and she never has been," he declared with solemn finality.

"Chris..." Akane sighed. "I know you believe that. But you and Ukyou, you don't exactly have any reason to believe in each other, do you?"

"It's not that, Akane!" he snapped in frustration. "I know what she's done!"

"Done?" Akane blinked. "I do too. And while I think it's wrong, I think even Ukyou knows that and that-"

"No, no, you don't know," Chris cut her off insistently. "Because - damn it, I didn't want to say this. Ukyou's been using you since the moment she met you. Don't you get it? SHE KNOWS THE FUTURE!" Chris let that hang in the air for a second. Akane recoiled a bit. That... that was exactly what Akane had thought to herself many times.

"Do you think it was a coincidence that she met you?" Chris asked. Akane started to respond, but paused. Chris took that as a cue to continue. "No, it wasn't. Remember, I told you. Ukyou loves Ranma. You can see that now, right?"

Akane nodded slowly. She had known it for a while now. Everything Ukyou did seemed to be about Ranma somehow. Only the time she spent with Akane wasn't related to him in some way. Except when it was.

"That's right. And Ranma came here to be engaged to a Tendo daughter. And I know. I KNOW, without even knowing exactly what happened, that Ukyou did something. When you first met, Ukyou did something to make sure that you wouldn't be the one engaged to Ranma. Right?"

"Actually, she did that to help me out with the boys at school," Akane pointed out weakly. Then she started. "Wait. Why would she want to make sure Ranma and I never got engaged?"

"Because, Akane, in the future that Ukyou and I know, you got engaged to Ranma. And your engagement made you two fall in love. Now I know that seems strange to you. I know you can't believe you could ever love Ranma, but just think about it. Whatever happened to stop you from getting engaged - that was her idea, wasn't it? She came up with it. She came here, and deliberately met you, and then did this before he arrived so he couldn't be engaged to you. Because it doesn't matter if YOU believe it, Akane. UKYOU believed it. And she was willing to take away your love so that she would have a chance at her own."

Akane stared at him, aghast. That was... "No." Ukyou was her friend. She had said as much. They had trained together and laughed together, fought together and cried... no. Ukyou had never cried together with Akane. Ukyou had never cried at all. But that was just Ukyou. Ukyou 'The Machine' Kuonji was what they called her at school. Because her expression was always cold, flat and watching. And most of the time, when she did laugh or smile or get angry... it was so sudden. It was like Ukyou was just turning on a switch inside, without going to any of the emotions between. "That can't be right..." Akane murmured.

"It is, Akane. It is." Chris paused. "If you doubt it, go up to her and ask her. Look into her eyes when she responds. You'll see it. Ukyou knew what she was doing. She did it to trick you out of the competition without you even knowing it. She did it because she knew that Ranma could never fall in love with your sisters."

"If that's true..." Akane said reluctantly. "Then why hasn't she done anything about it? She still dresses like a guy. She refuses to even try to attract Ranma to her. Heck, she gets sick when she even thinks about it."

"Is that true, Akane? Is that really true? Or is that just what she's told you? Have you been there whenever she and Ranma are alone? How often has she gone somewhere with him and found an excuse to leave you behind?"

Too many times.

"But Ranma... he's so... he doesn't act like he likes Ukyou that way, or that Ukyou is trying anything..."

"Does he strike you as perceptive enough to notice?" Chris smiled. "Here's the thing. He likes Ukyou, doesn't he? She's his best buddy. And isn't that what Ranma would like? A girl that could keep up with him, that could challenge him? That he could hang around with, just like one of the guys?" Chris tapped the bridge of his nose. "Sounds like someone trying to get in good with him, doesn't it?"

Akane stood up, nearly leaping to her feet. This was too much. She had to get out of here. "I'm sorry... I can't... It can't be true." Akane began to spin on her heel, but stopped at the sound of Chris's voice.

"Akane, when we first met I tried to tell you the truth. But Ukyou, you found out, was lying to you from day one. Have I ever failed to tell you the truth, Akane? And can you say the same for Ukyou?"

"No..." Akane said, not sure which question she was responding to. Or if she was responding to any. She wanted to believe in Ukyou. No. She wanted to believe that Ukyou believed in HER. "Please... I've been awake all night..."

Chris sighed. "I'm sorry, Akane. I didn't want to hurt you... But I didn't want to see anyone else hurt you either. Just... I don't know..."

Akane searched for something to say. There had to be something. A magic phrase that would make everything better again. That was the way it worked, wasn't it?

"Go get some sleep." Chris stepped back. "Just... please think about it, alright?"

"I will..." Akane whispered too low for anyone to hear and walked from the dojo.

End Hybrid Theory Book 1: High On Emotion

Have I ever thought of this before? Did I have a look behind the door? Have I ever tried to understand? Did I listen to the other hand?

Have I ever tried to see? Points of view that are not part of me? Did I ever really wanna know? Or am I just drifting with the flow?

(chorus) Lead me to the angle of your eye Let me see from there Lead me to the angle and I try To see your world from there

Why is it that I'm so full of hate? Why am I so dumb and so afraid? Have I ever tried to understand? Did I listen to the other hand?

Why am I so dumb? Why am I so blind and narrow-minded? Why am I so dumb?

(repeat chorus x2)

Lead me to the angle Lead me to the angle Lead me to the angle and I try To see your world from there...

-"The Angle", by Core

*

Before Link could come up with another excuse, he walked over to the door, kicking away a few of the more aggressive plants as they attempted to devour/poison/fertilise him.  As he made his way into the hallway, he listened carefully, but surprisingly didn't hear much in the way of brutal violence. Maybe Pink hadn't sprung her trap yet.

It didn't take him long to find Pink. He immediately looked around, and felt vastly relieved to see Shampoo sitting near the corner of the living room, looking kind of pissed off but otherwise seemingly not harmed or threatened in any way.  In fact, Pink looked almost benign, sitting studiously reading a book. The only thing that was odd was the strange monocle-like thing she was reading through.

Though, wait a sec, that book looked familiar.  He took a step into the room, opening his mouth to ask what was going on, but at that moment Pink looked up and saw him.  She smiled.

"This Rumiko Takahashi bitch is a complete hack, over."

Hybrid Theory Chapter 11: Papercut