"Pick up spoon. Hard to do, no get better no try." Shan Pu
watched
carefully as the frail figure tried to lift a spoon full of soup to
her mouth.
Her trembling hand spilled half the spoon's contents before it reached
her
mouth. "Good girl . . .now do one more. Then Shan Pu read story."
"You're spending too much time coddling her." Ranma said coldly.
"You're
still hurt yourself."
"Is good San Pu take care. Make Shan Pu feel useful. Shan Pu like
help
heal. Make heart feel good."
"Very good Shan Pu. Perhaps I should have started you training
as a
healer." Startled, Shan Pu whirled toward the familiar voice, tangling
in her
crutches and almost falling.
"What do you want old bitch?" Ranma moved up behind Shan Pu,
clumsy still,
due to his healing ribs. He stared at the ancient Amazon, his hate hot
and
close to the surface.
"Still quick tempered I see." Ranma snarled and his hands
came together
for a ki blast.
"A moment if you please." The Amazon matriarch stood calmly
in place. Shan
Pu stopped Ranma with a clumsy arm, still in a splint.
"Kasumi no like you mess house by fighting. You listen great grandmother.
Fight later."
Ranma clenched his jaw, but made no further move.
"Thank you."
Cu Lon tilted her head consideringly. "I understand your feelings
toward
me . . .why are you so hostile toward Kuonji?" Cu Lon indicated
the scarred,
wheel chair bound figure.
"What the hell business..... He broke off as Shan Pu gently squeezed
his
arm. "We're lettin' her stay. That's more'n she deserves. After
what she did
to Akane she don't . . ."
"What did she do?"
Cu Lon broke in. "A lapse in judgment perhaps. She saw an opportunity
to
gain her hearts desire It is always easy to look at the path behind
and tell
you have made a wrong turning. The path ahead is hidden. To say which
branch
is correct and which leads to. . .error. If you can always tell with
certainty
I will call YOU master." Cu Lon paused, lost in thought. "I
did not come to
argue with you, merely to say goodby."
"Goodby?" Shan Pu looked shaken. "Great grandmother,
you sick? You need
help?"
"I'm sorry child, I didn't mean to frighten you. I'm only going
back to
China for a while. There have been some sudden . . .changes in the power
structure and I must return to help with matters concerning The People."
"Yeah? Well the only thing I want to hear about is your obituary."
"I don't blame you." Cu Lon responded. "However I was
desperate to save
Shan Pu. You have some idea of what Zhu was like. I couldn't confront
him
openly. He was too powerful. There was too much danger to The People.
I used
you. I used Akanesama."
Shan Pu's eyes widened at the honorific Cu Lon attached to Akane's name.
Cu Lon pulled back her robe showing a long puckered scar running from
knee to
hip. "Akanesama extracted her own vengeance. I am alive only because
she did
not chose to kill me. Though to be fair, she left me to rescue her sisters."
"You've had your say, now get out."
"I'm leaving." Cu Lon turned to go. "I thought you might
be interested to
know I looked around the remains of the love hotel. I didn't find any
trace of
Mu Tsu."
"So what? There wasn't nothing to find. Not after that fire."
Cu Lon glanced over her shoulder with a slight smile. "Every death
leaves
a sign, visible to any with eyes to see. I assure you that I have the
sight.
And there was no trace of Mu Tsu's death. I thought you should know,
Mu Tsu
may still be alive."
"But you ain't sure, are ya?"
"No, not sure . . .but I haven't lived three hundred years by taking
chances."
"Wait," Ranma hated the pleading tone in his voice. "You
said ya couldn't
find any trace of Mu Tsu. What about Akane? Did . . .did you find .
. .did you
find any sign of Akane?"
"I am sorry. Akanesama's chi was very distinctive due to her .
. .change.
I could find no trace of it."
*************************************************
The twisted figure lurched through the shadows. Moaning in pain he cursed
god, the devil and all living things. Especially he cursed the Amazon
people
and two Japanese clans. He bit back a sharp cry of pain as he slipped
and
stumbled in a pile of garbage. Reflexively his right arm shot out for
balance,
the stunted white wing beating frantically for an instant before he
forced it
back beneath his robes.
*************************************************
"Mama, mama." The little girl tugged urgently at her mothers
skirts.
"Yes, dear." The harried mother said wearily. "What is
it?"
"That man," the little girl pointed into the crowd on the
rail platform.
"that man has a tail. A long black tail."
The mother followed the girls pointing finger to see a kumuso, one of
the
wandering flute playing monks, disappearing around a corner. He was
wearing a
traditional dark blue kimono and tengai. The distinctive basket hat
completely
covered the figures head so that it was impossible to tell if it were
male or
female or . . . the mother laughed to herself, if it were even human.
To Be Continued...................
*****************************************************************************