"Great Grandmother, Great Grandmother. Come quick." Shan Pu and
Ukyou burst through the doors of the Nekohanten half carrying Akane.
"What has happened?"
"Akane is sick, Great Grandmother."
"Put her here in the corner booth. Moshu, run upstairs and get my
medicine chest. Shan Pu, go to the kitchen and start water boiling to
make an infusion. And if there is any beef broth left from yesterday,
heat it up and bring it to me."
As the younger generation of Amazons rushed to do her bidding, Cu
Lon turned to Akane who lay unmoving in Ukyou's arms. Cu Lon peeled back
Akane's unresponsive eyelids and peered into her unseeing eyes. She
looked at her gums, smelled her breath and then began checking Akane's
pulse points and meridians.
"What's wrong with her? Can you help?"
"Look here. . ." Cu Lon pulled back Akane's lower lip as Ukyou
craned her head to see.
"See how the gum is pale instead of a healthy pink. . . and here,
the skin is cold and clammy. And her pulse is fading. These are all signs
of collapsing Yang."
"What can we do? Can I do anything?" Ukyou, already worried, was
beginning to get really disturbed at how passively Akane lay in her arms,
unmoving throughout Cu Lon's examination.
"You can help, if you will."
"Anything."
"First place her so. . ." Cu Lon shifted Akane in Ukyou's lap so
that Akane lay against Ukyou's left shoulder. "Then put your right thumb
and forefinger around the base of her ear just at the top of the lobe."
Cu Lon positioned Ukyou's fingers where and how she wanted them. "Now
make a semi-circular motion, moving up the ear with each half turn....
no, no like this." Cu Lon demonstrated the motion and had Ukyou repeat it
until the was satisfied.
"What does this do?" Ukyou asked as she took over following Cu
Lon's demonstration.
"You are manipulating a Qi pressure point. This is good for
people in shock or who have had a heart attack. It is better to do both
ears at once, but I think it best not to move her too much now. Plus I
expect 'Mr. Part Time' any minute with my medicines."
"I'm here 'old crab'"Moshu started indignantly but was silenced
by three pairs of eyes that told him that this wasn't the time for
feuding with the Amazon elder.
"Water is boiling Great Grandmother."
"Good, good. Now let me see. . ." Cu Lon opened the heavy wooden
chest, dark with age and began to pull out packets of herbs and powders.
"Shan Pu, here are Fuzi, Ganjiang and Gancao. Take these and prepare Sini
Jang. Hurry now."
Shan Pu snatched the packets and rushed into the kitchen.
"What's going on? What were those?"
"Fuzi is aconite root, Ganjiang is dried ginger, and Gancao is
licorice root. Shan Pu will use them to prepare Sini Jang, a formulation
to restore the life force of the shen and release the vigor of the p'i."
At Ukyou's blank look, Cu Lon elaborated. "The shen or kidney is where
the life force resides, while the p'i, spleen, controls the strength and
vigor of the physical body. The Sini Jang also acts as a restorative for
the hsin, the heart and mind."

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

Ranma, carrying Kasumi, and Ryouga carrying Nabiki entered the
Nekohanten just as Akane was finishing the last of the restorative.
"Oh, Akane, are you all right?" Kasumi's soft exclamation went
unheard by the cafe's occupants. Akane's pale features and trembling
hands seemed justification for Kasumi's concern. Akane's fragility was
only emphasized by the three Amazons who hovered attentively over her as
she lay back, half supported by an obviously concerned okonomiyaki chef.
"I'm fine, I'm fine." Akane was saying to the Amazons" Thank you
very much but. . ."
"You don't look fine Neechan, you look like something the cat
threw up."
Akane's head whipped around when she heard Nabiki's voice..
"N.n.nabiki, Kasumi? What are you doing here? And Ranma and
Ryouga?"
"Shan Pu want to know. . .what stupid Ryouga doing? He supposed
to take Nabiki to her room. How get lost on way up stair!?" The Young
Amazon stalked angrily toward the hapless lost boy.
"Hey, it's not his fault." Nabiki held up a hand to forestall the
'Wrath of Shan'. "When Kasumi decided to come, I couldn't let her go
alone. If Ryouga hadn't carried me, I'd have come on my own. And if
Ryouga was going to carry me, it was faster for Ranma to carry Kasumi."
Nabiki smiled brightly to the room, while Shan Pu muttered things in
Chinese that Ryouga decided he really didn't want to know.
"But who's home with. . . ?" Akane swallowed and tried again.
"How is Papa doing?"
"I don't know, and I don't care."
"Nabiki!" Somehow Kasumi didn't sound as scandalized as a good
Japanese daughter should. Akane however took up the slack
"Nabiki, you shouldn't say things that you don't mean."
"Oh, but imouta, I do mean them. We were hip deep and sinking
fast, and YOU saved all of us. And then DADDY. . ." Nabiki put a very
unflattering emphasis on the word ". . . gets all medieval on you. I
swear he thinks it's the 1590's not the 1990's."
"Nabiki, you don't understand. . ."
"Then EXPLAIN it to me, to all of us."
Akane dropped her head, and silence reigned until Cu Lon broke it
with a single word.
"Sakkiken."
"Blood thirsty fist?" Ranma thought. He'd never heard of that.
'Course he'd never heard of 'Cat Fist' until the old man wrapped him in
fish sausage and dropped him in a pit full of cats..
Akane raised her eyes to meet Cu Lon's. "You know?"
"A little. Many years ago when I was a child. . ."
"And dinosaurs ruled the . . .owwwie." Moshu rubbed his head .
"Many years ago when I was a child. . ." Cu Lon paused to look at Moshu
who remained prudently silent. ". . . when I was a child, an old man came
to the village. He was a walking skeleton and appeared to be dying, even
as he staggered out of the brush. One of our healers ran out to help him.
I could see him from where I stood by my father. . .saw him change, like
a lizard shedding it's skin in reverse. Bright green, yellow and red
spirals, like a coral snake."
"And I saw the healer, saw her die. I didn't even see him move.
She just fell, and he had her heart in his hands. Warriors attacked
immediately of course. Four of our finest died in an instant. He just
seemed to touch them, and they died." Cu Lon's voice was soft, and her
eyes distant as she looked again on that far away scene. Li Jizi, the
elder, called for a fighting retreat. We had no choice. We were Amazons,
but to come within reach of his hands was death. So we retreated into the
mountains, the men carrying the children and old ones while our warriors
formed a living shield with their bodies. Archers fired arrow after
arrow, and he plucked them from the air like thistle down . If he'd been
younger or had a companion, I think he'd have killed us all. But he was
old, and alone.
Cu Lon took a shuddering breath, and Ranma was astounded to see a
tear wind its way down a leathery cheek
"Tsu Lon was so beautiful." Ranma blinked at the non sequitur. He
looked over too see a sad look on Shan Pu's face, a look mirrored by
Moshu.
"Tall, taller than anyone else in the village and stronger. But
so beautiful. She pinned him with a boar spear. He killed her of course.
She knew she would die. But she pinned him with her spear, tangled him
for just a moment. And while she, dying, held him, an archer shot him in
the knee. This slowed him just enough. A storm of arrows pierced him. He
fell then, his legs broken, and someone got close enough to throw fire-
pots. I can still see him, covered with burning oil and sulphur. Even
blind, burning and crippled he came crawling after us. Finally, the fire
burned away his muscle, and he stopped. We ground his bones between
rocks, burned the powder and mixed it with mortar to make bricks. Six
Amazons carried those bricks to the coast, took ship as far out in the
ocean as they could and cast the bricks into the water.
Tsu Lon was my mother. I still miss her."
Shan Pu reached over and hugged the old woman, Ranma was
surprised to see Moshu do the same.
"You tell story of mother many times Great Grandmother, but you
never mention 'sakkiken'. . ." Shan Pu stumbled over the unfamiliar word.
". . . never say that man change color." Shan Pu sounded accusing. "Why
not tell?"
Cu Lon sighed. "I was going to tell you when you got older."
Moshu snorted. Cu Lon ignored him and went on. "We were afraid. If one
old man could do this, what would an army, or only one or two fit young
men do?
After we recovered, the Council of Mothers sent a party to back
track him. We were desperate to know who he was, where he came from,
anything at all. He wasn't hard to track. Most people our scouts found
knew only that he'd appeared from nowhere, slaughtered them like animals,
and vanished.
Finally, our scouts found a. . . man. . . a man with brightly
colored markings. His name was Louther." Cu Lon struggled a bit with the
foreign name. "Louther detected our Amazon scouts as if they were a herd
of elephants blundering through a glass factory. He laughed at them, but
for whatever reason was disinclined to kill them. Louther told them about
'sakkiken', told them that the man we fought, Wang Li, had lost to him,
then gotten away. He thought their story was amusing. Especially the part
about Li burning to death. They were Amazons, warriors all, and they fled
from him like children afraid of the dark
It was little enough he told us, but it was a start. From that
time to this, Amazon's have searched out any knowledge of the
'sakkinken'." Cu Lon turned to Akane, who had been listening, as
fascinated as the rest. "Show me your stigmata."
Akane hesitated for a moment, then nodded. With a little help
from Ukyou, she stood and let her robe drop to the floor.
"Oh, dear. I don't think Akane should be taking her clothes off
with all these boys around. It's not lady-like."
"Don't worry Neechan, These guys aren't lusting after our imotu-
san's virtue. They think they're going to learn a new technique."
Akane gave a small grin hearing that, then went to her special
place, the place where her Dragon lived. There was her Dragon, dark and
dreadful, bright and terrible, everything and nothing. Akane stretched
out her hands, seized the Dragon and . . .
Ranma watched again as a dark cloud erupted from under Akane's
skin. It swept across her body like a typhoon. Lightning rainbow flashed,
illuminating the darkness. Then an invisible wind came rushing, and that
mysterious world began to appear as if it had always been there, hidden
by fog. It was different this time, darker somehow. The crystal dragons
were gone, replaced by wyverns, spitting red poison across the sky. The
Unicorns were gone, as well as the scarlet glade. Instead basilisks
stared cruelly out of a blacked ruin, and harpies gnawed the bones of
dead men. Ranma shuddered. The only thing unchanged was the Dragon,
curled protectively about Akane's body. It stared fiercely over her
shoulder, feathered crest erect, green eyes glaring, snarling defiance to
the world.
"It different. That not picture we see before."
"She's right, That's nothing like before. Except maybe the
dragon. What do you think, Ukyou?"
"Yeah, Nabiki, 'cept the dragon looks angrier this time."
"Um. . . is Akane beginning to look a little strange?"
"Lost boy right. Akane beginning to look. . ."
ANGER! Akane felt it as soon as she began her ride. No, this was
beyond mere anger. This made homicidal mania look like mild irritation.
She, no her Dragon, was filled with a need to attack, to rip her enemies
into small bloody chunks, to bathe in their blood. . . Akane felt the
power of the Dragon build within her, and fury. Her body crackled with
energy, and through a red haze she saw small, dim creatures. Pitiful,
wretched creatures -she had been denied once today. She'd had her prey
snatched away from her, been locked away again before feeding. But no
more. NO MORE. The Dragon saw her prey before her frozen like a bug in
amber. The Dragon roared and prepared to feast. . . and Akane whapped it
over the head with a very, very large metaphysical hammer.
"We've had this discussion before!" came her stern mental
warning. "You don't kill anyone unless I SAY SO.. . AND I DON'T SAY SO."
Akane reenforced her command by grabbing the Dragon's head and twisting
it back. The Dragon screamed. And fought to break free of Akane's mental
grip. It had been denied blood earlier. It would not be denied twice.
Ranma watched as the "world" that covered Akane's body changed
yet again. Storm clouds raced across the sky of the "world", and the
beasts seemed to get hungrier and angrier. And the Dragon. It swelled
till it covered half her torso, fire curled from its mouth and poison
splashed from its fangs. Suddenly Akane was in front of Ukyou, her hand
inches from Ukyou's chest. . . and Akane froze. Then her body began to
tremble, her body rippling as if from some internal earth-quake. Without
conscious thought, Ranma reached out. . .
"Ranma stop. . ."
. . .and. . .
". . .she might. . ."
. . .hugged Akane to him.
". . .hurt you."
"Or not." Nabiki finished as she watched Akane relax bonelessly
in Ranma's embrace.
Akane was getting pissed. Which was the very wrongest thing to
do. The Dragon fed on anger. She wasn't worried about losing of course.
Akane's sublime belief in her ability to ride the Dragon, her absolute
confidence in her abilities was one of the reasons that she would win,
that she could control the "other". Another reason of course was that in
the entire universe the one thing more stubborn than Tendou Akane. . .
hadn't been found. She was concerned about how she was going to feel
later. A fight like this with the "other" always made her tired and
cranky. . . and hungry. She was wondering if there was an all night
butcher shop somewhere near by. . . when suddenly all the fight left her
Dragon. Startled Akane looked around with the over-mind to find. . .
"Ranma no baka."
"Huh?" Ranma said brightly. First he'd thought Akane was having
some kind of convulsions. . .now he suddenly realized he had a an armful
of very soft, very warm and extremely bare . . ..
"Eeeep. NO, no, no--it's not what you think!' Ranma tried
frantically to disengage. He remembered what she'd done for an accidental
peep. For this, his shadow would sing soprano. Thinking of the possible
loss of future generations of Saotome, Ranma tried to pull away. Akane
was having none of this however, and naked as a frog and twice as lively,
she twisted in his slackening embrace and clutched him around his waist
like her last hope of salvation.
"Aaaaaaaa" Ranma's higher brain functions called it quits.
"Ranma no baka." Akane repeated wryly. "Nothing female can resist
you can it?"
"Huh?"
"My Dragon. She likes you. Just let me hold you till she goes to
sleep
". . . . . ."

Later, with Akane dressed in clothes Kasumi had brought, the
questions began.
"How did you learn this technique child?" Cu Lon thought about
what Genma had done to Ranma with the Cat fist. "Surely your father
didn't. . ."
"Oh no, father threw me out of the house because of this." Akane
quickly gave them a condensed version of how she learned the 'blood
fist'.
"A book." Cu Lon said wonderingly. "I would never have
believed. . ."
"Is so sad" Shan Pu wept, hugging Akane. "You very, very brave
girl. Try rescue mother."
"Brave?" Ranma jeered. "What kind of idiot can't tell devils from
doc. . ."
Ukyou clocked him just behind his ear from where she sat beside
Akane, also hugging her.
"You. . .you. . .you. . .BOY!!" She couldn't think of anything
worse to call him. "Have you no heart? Are you made of stone?"
"Wha'd I say?"
"Never mind Ranma" Akane chuckled wetly through her own tears.
Reliving that time had been more traumatic that she'd thought it would
be. "It was kind of silly of me."
Shan Pu and Ukyou glared at Ranma, daring him to agree with
Akane.
"But you have to realize we all led a very sheltered life."
Kasumi stated. "Father was, and still is, very old fashioned."
"You mean crazy."
"Hush Nabiki."
"Sorry O-neesama."
"We didn't have a TV or a radio. Father only read the parts of
the paper he thought were suitable for girls."
Everyone stared at the other two Tendou sisters, who nodded
agreement.
"That's crazy. Why did your mother put up with that?"
"Oh no, Father was wonderful." Kasumi offered. "He played games
with us, and we went to the park, or to the beach or mountains. And he
hired a tutor to teach me calligraphy and music and traditional dancing."
Kasumi laughed a little. "We lived a lot like fifteenth century court
ladies. Papa believed that girls were very delicate and sensitive. He was
always afraid we would break."
"Akane must be adopted." Ranma muttered, then he shriveled under
the glare from six pairs of eyes.
"Father's attitude was really rather funny, since Mama was a
martial artist."
Everyone, including Akane and Nabiki stared at Kasumi.
"Oh yes, the doujou belonged to Grandfather. He adopted Father
into the Tendou clan with the understanding he take the Tendou name after
he married mother."
Akane just stared while Nabiki looked thoughtful. "I remember, I
think, seeing Mama dancing. . . with lightning?" Nabiki shook her head.
"But that's silly."
Kasumi laughed. "Oh no, that's what you used to call it when you
watched Mother practice." She looked at the others. "Mother was a master
of kai-kumi, jumonju-yari, kagi-yari and naginatajutsu." Kasumi looked
back at Nabiki. "You always said mother was dancing with the lightning,
and you wanted to learn too."
"I don't remember any of that." Akane said sadly.
"No, Mama started to get sick when you were about one year old."
Kasumi paused "Mother loved Father very much. I think she would have
changed his attitude eventually. She just ran out of time."
"Uh, Akane?"
"Yes Ryouga?"
"Uh, what are you?" Ryouga blushed under Akane's stare. "I mean,
what rank, what rank are you? Like first or second dan or what?"
"Sakkiken doesn't have ranks. You are either blood-fist or you
are not. There's no in between."
Ryouga's brow wrinkled in puzzlement. "But, how do you get to be
blood fist? I mean you mentioned some trips you went on, and it sounded
like you were testing for advancement."
Ranma interrupted.
"I've got a question. Where's that book now? And what's with all
those pictures on your body, and. . ."
"That's more than one question, son-in-law."
"I ain't your son. . ."
"I too am interested in answers to those questions." Cu Lon cut
Ranma off without a qualm.
"The book's somewhere at home, I haven't seen it in years." Akane
lied. "It's just basic conditioning exercises to prepare you for the
'soma'. Without it, the book's no good."
"Soma?"
Akane looked at Cu Lon. "I think that's what it's called. I never
got very good at translating the text. I think the contents of the glass
vial were called 'soma'. Have you heard of it?"
"Yes. That is also the name of a drug or plant used in esoteric
rites in India centuries ago. The secret of 'soma' was lost eight or more
centuries past. Except, perhaps, to the 'sakkiken'."
"Yes, well," Akane fidgeted under Cu Lon's stare "The 'family'
doesn't talk much. It may not be the same stuff. And they're not likely
to volunteer any information."
"Yes, I suppose not. Still, it is no great loss."
"What?" Ranma came up out of his chair "No loss? I want to learn
that technique. I say we go find one of these sak-whosits and make 'em
give us some of that stuff."
"Um, well, . . ." Akane twisted her fingers
"I want to know how you get those pictures, they're gorgeous."
"Shan Pu think so too. Shan Pu look like that, she never wear
clothes."
Moshu, his neurons fried by this picture of a garment challenged
Shan Pu, hit the floor with a thunk like an ax chopping wood.
Shan Pu looked disgusted while Akane giggled at the sight. Then
continued with her edited explanation.
"Ok, the pictures are a manifestation of the 'soma'. And don't
ask me how or why." she finished quickly as Ranma's mouth opened for
another question. "All I can tell you is after my fir. . . after I first
took the 'soma' I would get what looked like a big bruise all up and down
the left side of my body whenever I got angry or excited. I also got a
lot faster and stronger. When I went on my 'trips'. . . "Akane nodded in
Ryouga's direction ". . .I learned to 'spread' the bruise. First stage,
Yang, along my left side, second stage, Yin, along my right, 'third' and
final stage Mu, void, my chest and belly. As I got more practice, as I
got stronger, the 'pictures' got more detailed, more colorful, for
example this dragon picture. I started thinking of a dragon when I would
practice 'sakkiken'; after awhile the Dragon appeared. It's been with me
ever since. Also, the pictures kind of reflect emotions, sort of like a
mood ring. That's all there is to it really." she lied, willing them to
believe her.
"Yah, but..."
"That's enough son-in-law. Akane needs her rest."
"But I want to learn the technique." he whined like a child whose
candy has been snatched away.
"You may of course do what you wish." Cu Lon said indifferently.
"However I expected better of you."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I mean that a 'great' martial artist would already have seen the
flaw in this technique."
"Flaw. . . uh yeah, I can see that."
"I thought you might. While impressive and useful as a surprise
attack, the sakkiken is no challenge to a true martial artist."
"Uh, right. . . no challenge at all."
"You might be interested in some of the techniques the Amazons
developed to counter it. Come by tomorrow and I shall show them to you."
Distracted by the thought of new techniques, plural, Ranma was
blissfully unaware of the look that passed between Akane and Cu Lon.
Later as Cu Lon helped Akane settle in for the night, Akane
turned to her.
"Why?"
Cu Lon smiled thinly. "Why, what?"
"Why are you doing this?" Akane waved at the room that Shan Pu
had vacated, the meal that Cu Lon had prepared and served with her own
hands, new clothes. . .
Abruptly Cu Lon bowed, one equal to another. "This is for my
granddaughter's life. Anything that I can give is yours."
"What. . .?"
"The first time that Shan Pu shouted 'Obstacles are for killing'
you could have destroyed her."
Akane looked horrified. "But I never thought. . .I couldn't. . ."
"I know you will not harm Shan Pu. Because you choose not to. And
for that I thank you, and tell you that you always have a home with the
Amazons."
Akane squeezed the elder Amazon's hand, unable to speak.
After Akane had regained her composure Cu Lon spoke again. "Now I
have a question . Why did you lie?"
"I told the truth."
"Some of the truth. And of that truth mostly half truths. Much
more was left unsaid. And a lie of omission is still a lie. So again I
ask you. . . Why did you lie to your friends and family. And have me
support that lie? They will find out eventually."
"Who from? Not from Daddy. Not from you. And I'm not going to
tell anyone.
"No secret lasts forever. Trust someone who has kept and lost
several lifetimes worth of secrets. Tell them."
"Tell them what?" Akane rejoined bitterly "Tell them that I
killed six men and ate their hearts?"

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