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 ^_- I L L   M E T   B Y   S T A R L I G H T ^_-
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by Susan Doenime and Mike Loader

Based on characters and situations created by Rumiko Takahashi, and used
without knowledge or permission.
We ask that you obtain permission from us before printing, posting, or
storing this story in any form.
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Previous Chapters At: http://www.humbug.org.au/~wendigo/imbs.html
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Chapter 12 - The Tempest

 The guilty get no sleep
 In the last slow hours of morning
 Experience is cheap
 Should've listened to the warning
 Into temptation
 Safe in the wide open arms of Hell.
 - Crowded House

	Jensson turned green, choked back a surge of vomit, and 
once again staggered to the head. It wasn't easy; the deck was 
doing a pretty good impression of a teeter-totter. He almost 
wished the ship would just sink and put him out of his misery.

	Another wave rocked the vessel, and he hastily retracted 
the idea. Then he threw up.

	Just his luck, he thought sourly. The PMEL ship 
_Chapman_, a fisheries vessel for the United States 
government, had just managed to blunder into one of the worst 
storms in the history of that part of the Pacific.

	And she was due to be decommissioned in a few weeks, 
too. Which wasn't entirely reassuring. Jensson would much 
rather have been in a ship _not_ at the end of her lifespan 
during a tropical storm.

	Gleeful laughter came from a few bulkheads down. That 
would be the weather researcher, delighted by the unexpected 
squall. Stupid bastard probably didn't care if the damn thing 
sent them to the bottom or not.

	Jensson was a haddock man. He studied haddock. Haddock 
didn't like storms, and neither did he. They made him puke, for 
one thing.

	He pitied the poor bastards in Japan, because that's 
where the thing was heading. And it was going to be a lot 
worse when it got there. This was just the fringe of it.

	There would be at least one death, he supposed. It was a 
big storm.

	Jensson threw up again.

^_-

	Akane waited five seconds longer than she thought she 
was able to bear, then raced down the stairs. Behind her, she 
could hear Ranma slowly following, the other girl's step silent 
and measured. 

	She darted into the entry hall, and almost ran smack into 
Kasumi. Her older sister took a step back and stared blankly at 
her, eyes glazed, and Akane felt a cold wave sweep over her.

	"Oneechan?" she finally whispered, afraid for some 
reason to make too loud a noise. "Are you okay?"

	Kasumi continued to stare at her for a second, the stains 
of tearlines down her cheeks suddenly very noticable, and 
smiled a absent, empty, pleasant smile. "I hurt my hand," she 
mumbled, voice somewhere between calm and shock. The arm 
with the wounded hand, Akane noticed, was pressed tightly 
behind her back, as if she wanted to hide it.

	Ranma walked over, her face a mask of barely contained 
anger. "Let me see your finger, Kasumi."

	Kasumi's smile stretched horribly across her face, more 
of a grimace than anything else. She started to shake her head, 
and then whimpered slightly as Ranma gently but firmly pulled 
her arm out from behind her back.

	The index finger of her left hand was at an unnatural 
angle, jutting out from the hand in a protrustion of puffy, 
purpling flesh. Akane swallowed down a touch of nausea, and 
felt the little flame of rage in the back of her mind leap 
higher. To do that to Kasumi...

	Steering Kasumi across the room and into the light of the 
hall lamp, Ranma bent to examine the injured digit. It was 
already badly swollen, and the martial artist frowned as she 
moved the hand closer to her. "I'm going to probe the finger, 
Kasumi. Tell me when it hurts."

	The answering nod could barely be seen. Taking her wrist 
in a firm grip, Ranma began to press along the finger, feeling 
the bone through the puffy, bruise-mottled skin.

	A line of sweat, shimmering in the lamplight, trickled 
down Kasumi's forehead. She swallowed, and made a low noise 
in the back of her throat.

	Ranma frowned slightly, then pressed down.

	A shriek erupted from Kasumi's lips, and she tried vainly 
to pull her hand away. Ranma's grip might as well have been 
made of iron for all the good it did her.

	"It's okay, Oneechan," Akane said, fighting down the urge 
to cry. Kasumi's eyes fastened on her almost gratefully, the 
stretched look of pain still trying to shape itself into a smile. 
Akane felt ill; why could she just either be the same old 
unflappable Kasumi, or a normal girl who'd just been hurt?

	"Hmm. Very nice of her. And skillfully done, too." Ranma 
glanced over to Akane. "Akane, I'm going to need you to hold 
Kasumi's arms for me."

	She studied him... her... what was the correct pronoun for 
his cursed form? "You're going to set the bone?"

	"Sort of. Mariko didn't break it, she just popped it out of 
the socket in a noisy and painful way. I can pop it back in, but 
it's going to hurt. A lot."

	Nodding, Akane moved behind her older sister, embraced 
her from behind, and looped her arms around Kasumi's, her 
hands clamping down on wrists in a viselike grip. "Okay. 
Ready."

	"Akane... I don't know..." Kasumi's voice was as close to 
shrill as she had ever heard it, and the arms she held began to 
struggle.

	"It's going to hurt a little, Oneechan, and then it'll be 
better." It was just like when she hadn't wanted to take her 
medicine when she was little, and Kasumi had to make her take 
it. Only now it was the other way around, and she was the one 
who knew best. Poor Kasumi.

	"No... Akane, let go of me..."

	Ranma smiled reassuringly at Kasumi, and stepped 
forward. "Don't worry, Kasumi-san. I'm very good with 
dislocations." His hand gently closed over hers. "This will hurt. 
Go ahead and yell if you like. Try not to move too much."

	"Akane... Akane, let go, please Akane..."

	She squeezed her older sister, tightening her grip as she 
did so. "It'll be over in just a second, Kasumi."

	Ranma's hand closed.

	A low moan rose in Kasumi's throat. Carefully, the 
redhead's hand moved along the injured finger, pushing, 
tugging, feeling for position. The moan spiked into short yelps 
of pain.

	"Hold her," Ranma said quietly. Akane's grip tightened 
further, and she braced herself.

	"No... no..."

	A hideous grating sound, bone sliding against bone, and 
suddenly Kasumi was screaming and struggling, fighting her 
sister's grip. Akane bit her lip and held on, trying to keep 
Kasumi from moving too much.

	There was a sickening pop, and Kasumi went limp.

	"What... is she okay?" Akane asked, frightened. Her older 
sister slumped back against her, murmuring in a low, 
miserable whisper.

	"Yeah. I popped the joint back in. It's gonna be stiff and 
swollen for a while, but it'll be back to normal in a month or 
two. Probably hurt a lot, though." He smiled slightly. "Kasumi's 
not like us, and she doesn't know pain as well as we do. She'll 
be fine, with a bit of rest."

	"Did you hear that, Kasumi?" Akane said gently. "It's all 
over. You don't have to do anything else."

	Kasumi mumbled something inaudible, leaning against 
her.

	"Why don't you take her up to her room and tuck her back 
into bed?" Ranma suggested, glancing towards the stairs. "I'm 
gonna change back to male form, and then we can discuss this."

	She nodded, and wrapped a comforting arm around her 
sister's waist. "All right. Come on, Oneechan. You'll feel better 
after some sleep."

	A low whimper came from her sister's throat, and Akane 
felt a bit of moisture form along the edge of one eye. "We're 
going upstairs now, you and I. Up we go..." Slowly, allowing 
Kasumi to lean on her, she guided her sister's unsteady legs up 
the stairs, down the narrow hall, and into the clean, spotless 
room.

	Kasumi allowed herself to be put under the frilly sheets, 
and stared at the ceiling, unblinking. For a short while, Akane 
sat down next to her and held her hand.

	"Close your eyes and go to sleep now, Oneechan," she 
finally said. "You'll feel better tomorrow."

	Her sister kept her eyes fixed on the irregular white 
expance of the ceiling.

	"I want Nabiki," she said.

	Akane gave her hand a final squeeze, walked out the door, 
down the stairs, and through the connecting hall to the dojo. 
For a few seconds she simply stood in the long, darkened 
training hall, breathing in and out.

	Then she screamed, a long, painful shout of rage, and 
slammed her fist down into a concrete block. It fell apart in 
jagged fragments, clattering to the ground in a shower of dust 
and pieces.

	It was impressive, at least by her old standards. 
Breaking concrete with a closed fist and shattering it... her 
strength had gone up considerably since this whole mess 
began. But it was more than that. Her focus - her bending of 
her will and ki towards a goal - had improved a hundredfold. So 
much of what she had deemed simple awkwardness and innate 
clumsiness, she now saw, was simply a lack of attention and 
focus on her part.

	It still partially eluded her. The Bakusai Ten-Ketsu was 
not proving to be an easy technique to manage. In fact, it 
seemed more like an exercise in masochism.

	The first boulder to strike her had knocked her out for 
several minutes. If it hadn't been for the endurance training 
Ranma had given her, it might well have severely broken or 
crushed something.

	As it was, her legs had been decidedly shaky when she 
woke up, and she had picked up several ugly-looking bruises. 
She had kept going, though. That was something else Ranma had 
taught her. Nothing was more important than the training; not 
aches or pains or bruises or breaks. It was easy to stop before 
you were pushed past your limit, but easy never made a 
martial artist.

	Swing. Concentrate. Concentrate on the huge, massive 
piece of stone flying towards you, the one that's going to 
smash into you with incredible force and splatter you all over 
the ground, the one every instinct you possess is screaming at 
you to run away from....

	Blackness.

	Wake up. Take the cup of water and advice Shan Pu offers 
you. Feel the rain drip down your forehead and into your eyes, 
feel the blood from the jagged cut on your scalp do the same.

	Shan Pu learned it, so she could too. It wasn't 
impossible, so she could do it.

	All that day, boulders and lashing out with a single 
finger, and sudden, silent oblivion.

	Akane slammed her fist down into a second block. Like 
the first, it fell apart in a shower of fragments.

	Tomorrow she would learn it. It couldn't be that hard. She 
had almost had it, there, towards the end...

	Shan Pu learned it, so she could too.

	She turned, suddenly, feeling the ripples of ki in the 
room changing slightly. As she had expected, it was Ranma, 
male now, walking towards her with his noiseless glide. A 
slight wave of pride filled her, and she smiled thinly; no-one 
was going to be able to sneak up on her quite as easily as 
before. She had never dreamed she could be so aware...

	"Kasumi safely in bed?" he asked, frowning slightly.

	Akane nodded. "I'm going to hurt Mariko for what she did 
to her," she said quietly. "Of all the people who shouldn't have 
had that happen to them..."

	"She didn't seem too well," Ranma said neutrally. "Almost 
on the verge of a breakdown."

	She sighed. "I think Kasumi's been on the verge of a 
breakdown for several years now. We just told ourselves she 
was okay. After things... after things are settled, I think she's 
going to need to see a doctor of some sort. What she's been 
doing, the way she's been living - it isn't healthy."

	He nodded, then glanced pointedly towards the main 
house. "Shan and Ukyou are both still asleep. I'm wondering 
why."

	Akane frowned, catching his meaning. "There _was_ an 
awful lot of noise, wasn't there. I don't recall that room being 
particularly soundproof..."

	"If it were just Shan, I'd suspect her of purposefully 
staying out of it. But with Ukyou in there as well..." He snarled, 
and his eyes glinted with a hard, angry light. "They would have 
killed me if I hadn't been in female form.  It's sorta funny, 
really; the damn curse bought me enough time to save my life. 
Stupid, stupid... I've grown too comfortable here, too used to 
thinking of the house as safe, too used to thinking of my room 
as inviolate." He chuckled, the sound slightly mocking. "And 
once again, Tendo Akane saves my life. It's getting to be a 
regular habit."

	She smiled. "You can save my life on Mondays and 
Wednesdays, and I'll save yours on Tuesdays and Fridays."

	Ranma smirked. "What about Thursdays and weekends?"

	"We'll just have to try not to have anyone kill us without 
making an appointment first," she said, chuckling slightly. It 
wasn't very funny at all, but it was either laugh or cry. And 
she'd been crying too much, lately.

	He looked at her and smiled, and then turned away.

	"I'm leaving," he finally said, still not looking at her.

	Akane swallowed. "Why?"

	"Tonight. The attacks. Everything." he turned back to face 
her, and she could see a tear winding down one cheek, 
glimmering in the dim light. "It's too much like home here. It's 
too... it's too _good_. I just want to rest, and relax, and let 
Kasumi make dinner for me... and that's going to get me killed. 
Until things are resolved, it's just the illusion of a safe haven, 
waiting to lure me in." His mouth tightened. "And people are 
getting hurt who shouldn't be. Kasumi could have been killed. 
You could have been killed."	

	She slowly nodded. "Okay. When do we leave?"

	A startled look moved over his face. "We?"

	Akane nodded. "We. This will work either one of three 
ways, Ranma. You can stay here. We can leave together. Or you 
can try sneaking out in the middle of the night, and I'll follow 
you until I manage to catch up."

	"Well. You seem to have all the options covered." His 
voice bore slight traces of amusement, with something deeper 
just beneath the surface. "Look, Akane, this isn't going to be a 
weekend trip. It might not be safe for me to return here for 
years. Maybe never. What about school?"

	She shrugged. "What about school? I know what's 
important to me, and my grades don't top that list."

	"And Kasumi? You just said she wasn't well. Who's going 
to help her? Or your father?"

	Akane thought for a second, considering what he had 
said, and then shook her head. "That's the same mistake Kasumi 
made. Kasumi and Daddy have their own lives, and I've got 
mine. I love them, but I'm not Mother." Her mouth was strangely 
dry, and she swallowed, suddenly feeling very tired. "I won't 
try to be Mother. It would only destroy Tendo Akane in the end, 
just like it did to the real Tendo Kasumi."

	"I've got my own life too, you know," he said mildly, eyes 
shadowed and unreadable.

	She looked at him, heart pounding like a triphammer, and 
forced herself to smile slightly. "Tell me honestly that you 
don't want me to come with you. Tell me that you want to be 
alone on the road, day in, day out..."

	Ranma looked away. "I want you to come with me. But I'm 
not talking about what I want, I'm talking about what's best."

	Slowly, telegraphing her movements, Akane reached out 
and took his hand, squeezing it gently. "This is best."

	He closed his eyes, and his hand gave an answering 
squeeze. "I don't know... it might be a long time, Akane, a long 
time of bad weather and bad food and no shelter..."

	"I can live with that. Ranma, one way or the other, you're 
going to die if you don't take someone with you. And that's too 
much to ask me to bear."

	"I know," he whispered, eyes flicking open to meet hers, 
shining with a warm glow. "I just never thought you'd be 
willing to leave here..."

	"Nothing on the road could be worse than staying here 
without you." God, she was letting too much out too quickly, 
she was...

	His eyes moved closer to hers, deep and transfixing, and 
then he kissed her.

	With a low moan, she leaned into his embrace, the light 
from his gaze filling her mind. Her arms slowly wrapped 
around him, and she felt an almost electric jolt run through 
her as his hands moved along her back, caressing the ridges 
and valleys between her shoulders...

	She wasn't sure how long they stood there, pressed 
tightly against each other, tense and relaxed at the same time. 
When he finally broke the embrace, she couldn't help feeling a 
small tinge of regret. If only the world could just stop, and 
allow them to hold each other in the pale starlight forever...

	"We have a day or two before we leave," he murmured. 
"They won't try another attempt until they've worked out a 
plan, and they won't want to abandon the plan once they've 
come up with it. They aren't flexible enough."

	"What about Ukyou and Shan?" she asked, unsure of how 
she wanted him to answer. There was something frightening 
and wonderful about the prospect of being alone with him on 
the road...

	"I don't know. Shan's staying right here; I don't trust her 
at all. Ukyou..." He sighed. "It was a mistake to bring him into 
this. I don't think he understands how serious things are, yet. 
I'll decide about him when the moment comes. If nothing else, I 
can probably get him to lay a false trail for the Hibikis and 
Tsen."

	"Okay. There's a few things I need to do, and then I'll be 
ready to go." She paused, feeling suddenly wretched. "I need to 
say goodbye to Nabiki."

	Ranma's hand closed over hers. "Are you really sure you 
want to do this?"

	She nodded, sad but determined. "There's nothing I can do 
for Nabiki. Staying won't help her. I'll say my goodbye, and then 
I'll leave."

	"I'm sorry," he said softly.

	"Don't be," Akane told him, forcing a smile. "This way, at 
least, I'm doing something. Just stay alive, and don't be so hard 
on yourself, ne?"

	A tormented look flitted briefly across his expression, 
finally sinking beneath the crooked smile. "I'll do my best."

	Then he turned and left.

	After a few seconds, so did she.

^_-

	Night, and the campfire flicked dimly, sending distorted 
shadows flickering through the sheets of fog rising off the 
pond.

	The two figures sitting beside it watched the play of red 
light on mist in silence, as if afraid to speak. A teapot sat 
between them, two cups next to it. It was almost empty.

	The light writhed across the fog, and not a word was 
spoken.

	Finally, a teacup was set gently down on the log bench 
with a noise like thunder, the thin clack echoing through the 
campsite.

	"Did he break anything?" Mariko asked.

	"No."

	"Good."

	Silence returned for a few seconds, as the mist slid in 
and out, the glow playing across it like a curtain.

	"How about you?" Koji asked.

	"Bruises. That's all."

	"Good."

	More tea was poured, with a noise like a waterfall.

	"I just dislocated it," Mariko finally said, her voice flat 
and dull. "If she sees a competent doctor, it'll be good as new 
in no time."

	"That's good."

	"I didn't want to do it."

	"I know."

	She glanced over at him, his face hidden by the swirling 
mist. "Would you have done it?"

	Silence for a time, and the fog slid in and out, reflecting 
the flames.

	"No."

	"Not even if he'd had me in that headlock?"

	"I would have tried something else."

	Mariko slammed her fist into the log. "There wasn't 
anything else."

	He stared at the fire for a few seconds. "It wasn't what I 
would have done, but you're not me."

	"No. I'm not you." She looked away. "I didn't think I was 
the person I was tonight, either."

	Koji shrugged. "No-one's a saint."

	"You don't have to be a saint to refrain from snapping 
some poor girl's fingers while her family watches."

	"So what do you want?" Koji asked wearily. "Do you want 
me to tell you it was okay, that you're forgiven?"

	"I DON'T KNOW!" she screamed, smashing the teacup with 
the flat of her hand. "I don't know! God, I feel sick! I did what 
HE would have done! What the hell does that say about me?"

	"It says we've been doing this for too long," Koji said. 
"And that we need to finish it before it gets worse."

	"'When you talk about Ranma, you almost remind me of 
him.' Nabiki didn't know the half of it." Mariko laughed sourly. 
"I just lost any goodwill I might have had from Akane. Don't 
blame her, either. Ranma wasn't the one who came off looking 
like the psycho, back there."

	"No. But he did come off looking like several other 
things."

	Mariko shook her head in sickened amazement. "That 
bastard is one hell of an actor. The 'Miyabi' routine was 
perfect. I was ready to cry and hug the poor little thing."

	Koji spat into the fire. "I wonder how much of that story 
was real."

	A horrified expression slowly moved across Mariko's 
face. "You... you don't think..."

	"Maybe he did have a sister. Wouldn't be hard to guess 
what happened to her. Or maybe he was the one who got... used 
like that." Koji shuddered. "This shapeshifting business gives 
me the creeps."

	Mariko nodded. "If it hadn't been for Tsen, and Ranma's 
injured shoulder, I never would have guessed. I wonder why 
Nabiki never told us?"

	"Huh. You'd think she would have..." Koji stopped and 
slowly began to swear, pouring himself a fresh cup of tea. 
"Damn it, she did tell us. We just thought she was talking 
about Tsen."

	A low snarl escaped Mariko's lips. "Shit. You're right. We 
could have just walked in and killed her... we were going to kill 
her..."

	Koji stared at his tea. "I'm sorry."

	She shrugged. "Wasn't your fault. You made the right 
decision based on the information you had."

	"I suppose. If only Nabiki..." He sighed, shaking his head. 
"I'm going to go see her tomorrow."

	Mariko cast a long, steady stare at him. "Are you sure 
that's wise, brother mine?"

	"No. It probably isn't. But I'm going to do it anyway."

	She slowly nodded. "One of those things, huh?"

	"Yeah. One of those things."

	They sat for a while, and watched the trees appear and 
vanish in the flickering mist.

	"Mariko?"

	"Yeah?"

	"If... if tonight happened again, would you still do what 
you did?"

	The fog drifted in, drifted out, and the shadows cast by 
the fire danced in it.

	"Yes. I would. I'd break her whole damn hand if I needed 
to. I'm not going to let him hurt us again."

	Koji sighed, and sipped his tea. "Then I think he already 
has."

^_-

	Ukyou woke, stretched, and groggily struggled out of her 
futon. She couldn't remember the last time she had slept that 
deeply; it was all she could do to keep her eyes open, and it 
was almost nine already...

	On the other side of the room, she saw Shan roll over, 
mutter something in Chinese, and go back to clutching her 
pillow. She chuckled; the bloodthirsty Amazon didn't look half 
as fierce while asleep.

	Picking up her own pillow, she tossed it at Shan's head. 
"Up and at em, lady. We've overslept."

	The Joketsuzoku snarled irritably, pushed the pillow 
away, and then sleepily clambered out of her bedding. "Aiyah. 
Is too early."

	"Is almost nine. Get some clothing on."

	Shan nodded sleepily. It was a good thing, Ukyou decided, 
that she wasn't really a boy. Apparently the Amazon liked to 
sleep in the nude. 

	Did Tsen?

	She irritably pushed the thought away. It had certainly 
helped wake her up, though.

	Ducking into the bathroom, she exchanged the clothing 
she had slept in for a fresh boys' uniform. Maybe Shan had all 
the natural modesty of a rabbit, but she had a gender to 
conceal. And even if she didn't, she didn't think she would be 
comfortable wandering around in the nude anyway.

	As always, the chest bandage caused her to wince as she 
retied it. Maybe when this mess had been settled... maybe after 
everything was over, she could throw it away and just be a 
woman again.

	After Ranma and Akane were happy together.

	She swore. Why the hell was she feeling so jealous? 
Ranma wasn't exactly the ideal catch; he had some serious 
problems that needed to be worked through. If it weren't for 
the fact that she knew what he had been before, and for the 
chemistry that she could feel between Akane and him... if it 
weren't for that, she'd pity Akane.

	At the same time, she had practically tried to screw him 
in the bathing room the other day.

	Damn it, she did feel something for him. But not love. 
Affection, a little bit of raw lust mixed in - after yesterday, 
that would be hard to deny - but not love.

	So why did she feel almost resentful towards the two?

	Maybe because they had something, and she didn't. 
Because they had someone who really cared for them, and she 
didn't. Because as messed up as Ranma was, she got the feeling 
that he'd walk over hot coals for Akane, and vice versa.

	"Face it, girl, you're still just pissed that he ran out on 
you," she told her reflection in the mirror. Then she brushed 
her teeth.

	After she had finished, she strolled out towards the 
kitchen. Maybe Kasumi had already made breakfast.

	She hadn't.

	There were plates of... something... on the table. If 
Kasumi had cooked it, Ukyou would eat her spatula.

	Ranma and Akane were sitting at the table, staring 
glumly at the food. She assumed it was food.

	"Hi guys," she said brightly, falling into the male voice 
almost unconsciously. "What's for breakfast?"

	Gingerly, Ranma picked up a fork and poked the glop on 
his plate. "Well... Akane tried, I give her that. And it's a pretty 
complex recipe..."

	"I'm the worst cook in the world," Akane burst out, 
depression oozing from every pore. "I was trying to make 
omelets, but I think the mayo went bad, and the chocolate 
syrup caught fire as I was heating it..."

	Ukyou walked over and sniffed the glop. Her olfactory 
buds withered.

	"Um," she said, somewhat stunned by the sheer scope of 
the culinary waste Akane had spawned. "How about I make 
okonomiyaki for us?"

	"I'm sorry," Akane mumbled. "I thought maybe it wouldn't 
be so bad this time...."

	"Hey, no big deal," Ranma said, smirking. "You should have 
seen me when I was first learning to cook. I managed to burn 
water."

	"He was pretty bad," Ukyou confirmed, gathering up the 
implements for the grill. "I was able to make a better than 
average meal by age three, but then, that's the family business. 
Ranma here, when I knew him, was able to ruin any recipe I 
showed him."

	Akane perked up slightly. "I just get careless, I suppose. 
And I can't help improvising."

	Ukyou nodded, splashing oil across the grill. "That was 
Ranma's problem. He'd get distracted and burn the food, and he 
couldn't help trying to improve on the meal. Which is 
admirable, but only if you know what you're doing."

	Akane nodded, then glanced at Ranma. "So how'd you get 
better?"

	He flashed the crooked smile. "Pop's idea. He made it 
seem like martial arts. If you lose your focus in a fight, you 
lose. If you try experimenting before you know the basics of 
your style, you can get hurt. It's the same with cooking.

	Akane blinked. "That makes sense. I wonder why Kasumi 
never..."

	Ranma laughed. "It never would have occurred to Kasumi, 
Akane. She's not like us."

	"Speaking of Kasumi," Ukyou said, flipping the first 
okonomiyaki, "where is she? I thought she was the usual 
breakfast chef here?"

	There was an uneasy silence.

	"The Hibikis attacked the house last night," Akane said 
quietly. "Kasumi got hurt."

	"Aiyah." As Ukyou straightened with shock and dismay, 
Shan sleepily entered the room. "When this happen?"

	"A little after two," Akane said grimly. "You both slept 
through it."

	Ukyou shook her head, still incredulous. "It must have 
been an awfully quiet fight..."

	Ranma laughed, a harsh, echoing chuckle. "Not exactly."

	Shan scowled. "Ukyou, you come here."

	Somewhat apprehensively, she moved towards the 
Joketsuzoku. Lifting her hand to Ukyou's chin, Shan peered 
intently into her eyes. The scowl deepened.

	"Eyes dilated slightly. There two Joketsuzoku sleeping 
powders that dilate as effect when used."

	Ukyou peered back. Sure enough, Shan's pupils were 
slightly larger than normal... "So we were drugged."

	Shan nodded. "Tsen have medical training. He know enough 
to mix powder. Handful thrown in room, we sleep whole night, 
hear nothing."

	"One mystery solved," Ranma said sardonically, eyeing 
Shan with a uncomfortably sharp gaze. She shrugged defiantly, 
and turned away.

	Ukyou frowned. She supposed that she should be grateful 
that it hadn't been something lethal as opposed to a simple 
sleeping aid... then again, Tsen wasn't the sort to kill 
indiscriminately, especially with his half-sister in the room. 
It had been, she grudgingly admitted, a pretty good tactic. 
"How close a call did you have?"

	"They would have killed me if Akane hadn't shown up to 
lend a hand. Kasumi had a gun put to her head, and one of her 
fingers was dislocated. On purpose."

	She swallowed. "Mariko?"

	He nodded. "She needed a hostage to get out after their 
attack fell through, and Kasumi walked in at just the wrong 
time."

	It didn't really surprise Ukyou, although she could tell by 
the hurt look on Akane's face that the Tendo girl had hoped for 
better. Not likely, Akane dear. Ukyou knew firsthand what that 
drive for revenge was like. Friendship would only take you so 
far before the need for blood and pain overwhelmed and 
drowned it.

	"Well," she finally said, "I guess we got lucky, then. 
We've probably got a day or two before they make a second 
try."

	"Probably," Ranma said, still staring intently at Shan. "I 
suggest that we go through the day a little less tense, relax a 
little. Staying on edge works in their favor."

	She nodded. "Good idea. I'm sure we can all find things to 
do." Like negotiate a bit more with Tsen. If she could just 
persuade him to ease up on the attacks, she felt sure that she 
could get a marriage proposal from Ranma to Akane. Or at least 
the tacit acceptance of the official engagement the two had.

	As for her own engagement... Ukyou sighed. She supposed 
the family honor would just have to stand being a bit besullied. 
It wasn't as if she had a choice.

	Akane stirred in her seat, glanced at the Amazon, and 
stood. "Shall we pick up where we left off, Shan?"

	"Is good idea. We go after breakfast."

	Ranma's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure that's wise, 
Akane? Not that Shan doesn't have some skill," he gave the 
Joketsukozu a sardonic bow, "but I'd hate to see you get used 
to fighting just one opponent."

	Akane shrugged. "Better than not fighting anyone at all. 
And you need rest and recovery at the moment, not a sparring 
session with me."

	He nodded, eyes still shadowed. "Just be careful."

	Smiling, Akane poked him in the arm. "Don't worry. If I 
can get through your training sessions, I can survive anything."

	"Not anything," he murmured absently.

	Ukyou placed the fresh, sizzling okonomiyaki in front of 
them, and the conversation quickly gave way to chewing and 
swallowing and the scrap of chopsticks on ceramic.

	When breakfast was done, and everyone had left the 
table, Ukyou drew Shan aside. "I need to make contact with 
your brother."

	The Amazon stared at her for a second, expression 
unreadable, and then nodded. "You know big reef, out pat 
breakwater?"

	She nodded; it had been in sight during her walk along the 
seawall with Tsen. "The one below the cliffs. I know it."

	"Wait on farthest point. Tsen arrive at three."

	"Are you sure?" She didn't want to wait on a spray-
tossed rock for someone who wasn't going to come...

	Shan grinned bleakly. "Oh, he be there. Shan guarantee."

^_-

	The boulder swung at her through the rain, the grey of it 
getting bigger and bigger as her muscles tensed...

	"BAKUSAI TEN-KETSU!"

	Akane's hand lashed out like a striking snake, a single 
extended finger moving forward unerringly to strike a certain 
point on the surface.

	Then the boulder slammed into her, and everything went 
black.

	When she opened her eyes, she saw Shan Pu sitting a few 
feet away, nodding approvingly. "You get better. Only out for 
thirty seconds this time."

	Spitting out a bit of blood - her lip seemed to be cut, she 
noted absently - Akane struggled to her feet. "How long does it 
take to learn this damn technique, anyway? My fingers are 
going to fall off if I keep slamming them into rocks like this." 
She wasn't sure that it was an exaggeration; her entire right 
hand was a mass of bruises. Still... most of her injuries from 
yesterday were almost gone. Her heightened training over the 
past few weeks had certainly paid off in the stamina 
department.

	"It depend. Some learn quickly. Other, they take long 
time. It hard for everyone at first." Shan smirked. "Human body 
no is meant to be hit by rocks, neh?"

	"Yeah, tell me about it," Akane muttered. Straightening 
she limped back to the position. "Okay, set up another one."

	Shan gave a brief nod, and laboriously pushed the next 
rock to the top of the hill. "Ready?"

	"Ready."

	A push, and the boulder sped down the hill, picking up 
speed as it rolled. Akane stood her ground; the urge to run or 
dodge had long since vanished. Now the urge to be resisted was 
to use her fist to split it in half. 

	On it came, and she stared intently at the rolling, 
tumbling surface. The breaking point was there... it had to be... 
her instincts kept shouting at her to strike a specific place, 
but so far nothing had come of it... how on earth was she 
supposed to be able to see it, anyway?

	Impulsively, she projected her awareness towards the 
oncoming rock, much in the same manner she had used to sense 
Ranma entering the room. She let the boulder part her outward 
probe, embraced it, caressed the surface...

	She almost screamed in excitement. THERE IT WAS!

	Her last, disgusted thought before the boulder smashed 
into her was to wonder how on earth Shan expected her to hit a 
molecule-sized point with her finger.

^_-

	They stood in the dojo, stance neutral, facing each other. 
The morning light filtered down on them through the walls.

	"Are you sure you're up to this, Ranchan?"

	He smiled at her, the expression almost predatory. "I'm 
fine. Consider the shoulder trouble as my handicap in the 
match."

	Ukyou nodded, still a bit uneasy. "Okay. Whenever you're 
ready, then."

	He gave a short bow.

	The combat spatula swept up into a ready position.

	Ranma strolled casually back and forth, a faintly 
mocking smile on his face, examining her crouch. He was 
relaxed, she noted. Not even in a ready stance. As if he wasn't 
expecting to fight at all.

	Well.

	She lashed out with a one-handed overhand swing, the 
wide blade scything down towards his head. As it descended, 
her free hand sent a barrage of throwing spatulas cutting 
through the air - not towards him, but along the paths he 
would need to take in order to dodge her main weapon. As soon 
as her hand released the darts, she began to reach with 
practiced fluidity for the pouch of flour inside her tunic.

	Ranma stood there, allowing the shuriken spatulas to 
pass him by. Then, just before the blade could touch him, he 
sidestepped, grabbed, and twisted.

	As he did so, Ukyou's flour packet sped towards his face.

	Smiling, seeming almost amused, Ranma wrenched the 
spatula from her hand, spun it into a new position, and 
smashed the packet back with the flat end. She watched it 
suddenly fill her vision, began to dodge, and then it hit her in 
the face with the force of a punch, bursting in a cloud of white 
powder.

	As she stumbled, gasping for breath, her legs were swept 
out from under her. A foot planted in her stomach speeded her 
descent to the mat.

	Ukyou lay on the floor for a few seconds, retching from 
the flour and the blow to the stomach, forcing herself not to 
cry. Get revenge on Ranma. Spend your whole life training to 
defeat the boy who left you. Gee, look how much good it had 
done her - she had only been completely defeated in six 
seconds.

	"Another match?"

	She looked up at him, glaring. "No thanks."

	He shrugged. "Just wanted to show you how things stood. 
The Hibikis won't give you the opportunity to recover."

	Ukyou winced, and took the offered hand to pull herself 
to her feet. "Are they that good?"

	"No. But they're pretty good, all the same. Koji is better 
than you. Mariko..." He frowned. "You could have held me off for 
a lot longer, y'know. If your heart was in it, if you were 
fighting for your life. You showed all the energy and 
adaptiveness of a dead fish, just now."

	She shrugged, uncomfortable. "We were just sparring."

	He grinned, eyes glinting unpleasantly. "But I still won. 
Quickly. That's the difference between you and Mariko. You'll 
hold back, and she won't. She'll fight to win."

	"If my life's at stake, I'm not going to hold back."

	The grin grew wider, and he laughed. "Your life is always 
at stake, Ucchan. I could have killed you just now. For reasons 
of my own. Or I could have used a move which would hurt you, 
and then you'd lose a later fight because of that injury, and die. 
If you assume that the person attacking you won't kill you, 
you'd better be very, very lucky. Because sooner or later, one of 
them will. Right when you aren't expecting it."

	"Like you and Ryouga?" She mentally swore the instant 
the words escaped her lips. Stupid, stupid....

	His smile flickered, and the light in his eyes grew hard 
and cold. "He's dead, Ucchan. I'm not. Even in a friendly fight - 
as if there were such a thing - assume the other person can 
and will kill you."

	"You don't ever relax your damn guard, do you, Ranchan? 
You have to trust someone sometime."

	"Sometime. Not now."

	She shrugged. "Akane would be a good start, you know."

	"Yes," he whispered, smiling faintly. "A good start."

	Encouraged, she pressed on. "Face it, Ranchan, you two 
really have a connection. Let her in. Tell her everything. I 
guarantee you'll feel a lot better afterwards."

	Ranma gave her an odd look. "Maybe in the future."

	Ukyou sighed. "Look, do you honestly think Akane would 
ever try to hurt you?"

	The crooked smile came out. "We'll see."

	She threw her hands up in mock frustration. "Okay, okay. 
One last thing, though... I understand you two are formally 
engaged. Have you given any thought to making the commitment 
more... I don't know... personal?"

	His smile grew. "Yes. I've thought quite a bit about it."

	"Good!" she said, pleased. "Gonna propose to her?"

	"I'm going to seal things between us by the end of the 
week. I've been looking forward to it."

	"I can imagine," she said, trying to analyze where the 
vague sense of wrongness she felt was coming from.

	Ranma studied her curiously. "And you don't object to 
your fiancee choosing someone else?"

	Ah, that would be it. "Not really," she said, flushing. 
"Look, that thing in the bath... that was just something that had 
been building for a long time. I guess I couldn't decide whether 
or not I should love you or hate you."

	He chuckled. "Which did you decide on?"

	Ukyou smiled. "Neither. I'm going to count you as an old 
friend, and enjoy seeing you and Akane together."

	The smile that appeared was different from his usual 
kind, was far more like the six-year-old she had known. 
Wordlessly he hugged her, his head resting over her left 
shoulder, his arms loosely around her torso.

	She returned the hug, memories flooding over her. Such a 
contrast to that night in the bath... that had felt so wrong and 
urgent, and this...

	A drop of moisture landed on her neck, making her skin 
tingle. Ukyou brought one hand up to caress his cheek, feeling 
the moisture along it. "Ranchan?"

	"I'm sorry, Ucchan," he whispered brokenly. "I'm sorry for 
all of this. I wish it were different."

	She tightened her grip around his chest, feeling the rise 
and fall of his chest through their clothing. "It can be 
different. You just have to keep trying."

	"I've tried. It gets worse." His arms pressed her tighter, 
and she swallowed, reminding herself that he wasn't for her. 
"I've tried for so long..."

	"Just relax," she said soothingly, moving her hands up and 
down along the back of his chest. "Relax. It's all right."

	His head rose from her shoulder, and they looked at each 
other for a long time. No masks, no illusions. She was 
surprised by the pain, and by the fear. And something else, 
which she could not put a name to. Some jagged need...

	Slowly, she lifted his hand and placed it inside her tunic.

	"She doesn't need to know."

	It was an offer of comfort. There would be no 
commitment, no promise of a relationship, no request to build 
new ties or break old ones. It was simply an offer to be less 
alone and hurt for the moment, together, and they both knew it.

	His hand slid across her breast, lightly stroking the skin. 
He leaned towards her and kissed her forehead, then stepped 
back. The hand withdrew from her tunic.

	Slowly, he shook his head.

	Ukyou nodded. "If you need me, I'm going to be here. So 
will Akane. Remember that."

	Ranma nodded, looking very alone and confused. "I... 
thanks, Ucchan."

	She smiled. "You're very welcome. Now... I have to make a 
meeting. Hopefully, we can get these lunatics off your back."

	He nodded, face slowly moving back into the familiar 
sardonic mask. "Be careful." 

	"Oh, I will be. And I'll remember what you told me."

	"Good." He turned, and slowly left the dojo.

	Ukyou left by the front gate, feeling a little better about 
things.

	He was behind her, now. She had confronted how she felt 
about Saotome Ranma and found that while she did indeed love 
him, it was not a romantic love. It was the love of two badly 
hurt people who have known each other for a long time, and 
who are able to ease each others' pain somewhat. He didn't 
want a physical relationship, but it wouldn't have mattered if 
he had. He was Akane's, and nothing they could have done would 
have changed that.

	She felt, for the first time in years, almost free.

^_-

	"You wake up."

	Akane's eyes flickered open. Above her, swimming in and 
out of focus, was Shan Pu's slightly worried face.

	She groaned. "I saw the breaking point. Shan, that thing's 
smaller than a dust mote!"

	The Amazon shrugged. "What you expect? It big and easy 
to hit, people blow things up by accident all time."

	Gritting her teeth, Akane slowly clambered to her feet. 
"It's not a question of it being easy or hard. I _can't_ hit 
something that small. My fingers are too big." She chuckled 
sourly. "Forget my fingers; a pin would be too big. It's 
microscopic!"

	Smirking, Shan poked her playfully on the forehead. 
"Akane learn half of Bakusai Ten-Ketsu. Now must figure out 
other half."

	She blinked. "Figure out?"

	The Joketsuzoku shrugged. "You clever girl. You figure 
out. Eventually."

	Sighing, Akane trudged back to the bottom of the hill. "Do 
I need to have the boulders rolled at me in order to get it?"

	A prosaic shrug. "It help, maybe. Not know."

	Furrowing her brow, Akane watched Shan move the next 
boulder into position. How did she hit something too small to 
be struck?

	With effort, she forced herself to go over what she knew. 
It was solvable, and she supposedly had all the pieces of the 
puzzle.

	Item: The technique was performed by striking at the 
breaking point with an outstretched finger.

	Item: The point struck was too small for the finger to 
actually hit it.

	Item: The point was located by using one's ki to perceive 
the fabric and connection of things.

	Assumption: Something must be striking the breaking 
point.

	Assumption: That something is both precise enough to hit 
the point, and unable to be seen.

	Akane smiled.

	Turning, she faced the top of the hill, where Shan stood 
with the massive boulder.

	"Ready!"

	The boulder lurched from it's resting place and rolled 
down the hill, picking up speed as it went.

	Akane flung out her ki, perceiving the almost atom-sized 
point in the boulder. One arm arched back. Her index finger 
snapped out.

	The boulder bore down on her, growing larger, and larger, 
and larger...

	"BAKUSAI TEN-KETSU!"

	Akane's finger lashed out, striking the surface of the 
rock around the breaking point. As her finger touched the rock, 
she pushed a small, exact needle of ki through it directly into 
the point, hitting the microscopic target.

	It wasn't a very strong blow. A human wouldn't have even 
felt it.

	The boulder exploded.

	Shrapnel blasted around her, some of it drawing blood as 
it cut into her skin. Akane barely felt it.

	She had done it. Learned something powerful, something 
her father didn't know... something even RANMA probably didn't 
know... 

	Turning, her eyes fell on another rock. The sensing of the 
breaking point came more easily now; the point almost 
jumping out at her.

	"BAKUSAI TEN-KETSU!"

	Her arm lashed out. The rock flew apart with a roar, 
fragments arcing into the air, black against the grey sky.

	Akane threw back her head and laughed, the sheer joy of 
it filling her, the cuts and bruises healing as she stood, her 
own ki washing through her in waves.

	On top of the hill, Shan Pu slowly smiled. Another knife 
honed.

^_-

	It had taken in a long time to find the room, of course. At 
one point, he had simply given up, put on a pair of dark glasses, 
and pretended to be blind; that got a nurse to lead him to the 
right floor, cautioning him every step of the way not to trip 
over things. Simply reaching the right floor of the hospital 
was a major achievement for him; it had only taken him half an 
hour after that to find the right room.

	Koji walked in, slowly, still not entirely sure what he 
was doing here.

	He sat down in the chair by the bed, and looked at her.

	It didn't look like her. The thing that had attracted him 
the most, the air of energy and thought and activity - was 
gone. All that rested in between the light blue sheets was a 
pale, thin, broken shell.

	Her eyes were open, but there was no light behind them.

	He sighed. It had been a mistake to come. This wasn't 
the Nabiki he wanted to remember.

	"Thank you," he finally said, watching the thing in the 
bed. "Thank you for trying. You were braver than I could ever 
have been. I wish I could make you better, but I can't. All I can 
do is kill."

	Tears came to his eyes, and he wiped irritably at them. "I 
can kill. He won't outlive you long, Nabiki. I swear it."

	It seemed like such a meaningless, empty promise. But it 
was all he could do.

	"And I'll have the lunch you invited me to. I hope you'll be 
there, somehow. I'll have it somewhere high and beautiful, 
where you can only see success and fine things."

	Koji looked at her for a second, and then lightly touched 
the tip of her finger with his own. It was cold.

	"Goodbye. Thank you."

	Standing, he strode for the door, gathering speed as he 
went. Right now, all he wanted was to go home and cry. He 
wanted Mariko to hold his hand and tell him things would be 
okay.

	He reached the door just as someone else appeared in it.

	Akane froze, her eyes going wide with shock.

	Koji raised his hands wearily. "I was just leaving. Don't 
worry, I won't hurt you."

	The Tendo girl's expression slid into a hostile snarl, and 
her stance moved into a defensive crouch. "What the hell are 
you doing in my sister's room? Haven't you hurt my family 
enough?" A sudden angry fear bloomed in her eyes. "If you did 
anything to her..."

	He heard himself laughing, a harsh, bitter, broken sound. 
"Do something to her? Do something? What could I possibly do 
that hasn't been done already? How could I possibly hurt her 
any more? I can't hurt her, I can't make her better, I can't do 
ANYTHING!" He was crying now, and angry with himself for the 
show of weakness, angry with Akane for her words. "Just get 
out of my way and let me leave. Isn't that what you want?"

	"You knew her," Akane said slowly, a strange look coming 
into her eyes. "My God, you knew her... what was she to you? 
How did you..."

	"I didn't have enough time with her," he told her, pushing 
past her and walking swiftly away. "You can thank Ranma for 
that."

	Behind him he heard Akane's voice ask something, and 
then he was running, running and running, for once in his life 
wanting to be lost. Lost and alone.

^_-

	Ukyou walked along the low tidal shelf path, the wind 
whipping at her tunic. A few drops of rain landed upon her 
brow and she shivered, the sea air harsh and cold against her 
skin. 

	"This was an awfully stupid place to meet on a day like 
today," she muttered. Still, she could see the logic behind it. It 
was beautiful, and it was isolated. A perfect atmosphere for 
thought, compromise, and most of all security.

	The path she walked on was shielded on her left by a 
higher extension of the reef, rising jagged and knife-edged 
towards the grey sky. It offered some protection from the 
rising wind.

	Her destination was a natural tower of stone at the far 
end of the reef, jutting upwards like a crude thumb. Even from 
here, she could see the figure sitting crosslegged on top of it.

	Quickening her pace, Ukyou made her way up the stone 
formation, swearing slightly as her feet slid a little on the 
wet rock. Clambering up the tower, she pulled herself onto the 
ledge where Tsen waited. "You could've picked somewhere 
easier to reach, you know."

	He shrugged, smiling slightly. "Easy no fun."

	"Falling to my death off some soaked rock is no fun too," 
she retorted. "Still, it's sorta pretty. I'd enjoy it a lot more if 
the weather weren't so rotten."

	As if in reply, a gust of wind buffeted them, bringing a 
sprinkle of rain along with it. Tsen frowned slightly.

	"You have point. When done, we go teahouse, warm selves, 
neh?"

	The thought of sipping warm tea by a hot stove in a cozy 
teahouse sent a thrill through her. "Wonderful idea."

	He chuckled. "Is nice thing about unpleasant things. Make 
the pleasant ones seem so much better."

	Ukyou nodded, pleased. "Speaking of pleasant and 
unpleasant... I have hopeful news. Ranma's going to propose to 
Akane before the week is out."

	Tsen's eye widened. "Aiyah! He really do it?"

	"He's been planning to for some time. With luck, they'll be 
married in a month or two."

	The Joketsuzoku smiled. "Is good news. He married, Shan 
go home."

	Ukyou nodded eagerly. "So the best course of action now 
is to just wait. The problem will solve itself."

	Frowning, Tsen stared at the lashing sea. "Not know... if 
opportunity presents itself..."

	"Look, what if you have what looks like a golden 
opportunity to kill him, and it falls through? Like last night? 
You could easily be killed. I could be killed, or Akane, or one of 
the Hibikis, and what then? Then it's going to be full scale 
war, and you'll have lost your chance to get out of this 
peacefully." Ukyou sighed. "I know how much you want to 
satisfy honor, and I agree that it must be satisfied, but 
waiting is the route more likely to succeed without bloodshed. 
The harder route, in a way."

	Tsen looked at her appraisingly, and she blushed slightly. 
"Sorry to lecture. But it's the truth."

	He nodded. "Is truth. Okay. I wait. But Hibikis kill Ranma, 
so much better for them. And I wait so long, no longer. Ranma 
marry in months, or..."

	"I'll do what I can to speed it along," Ukyou told him, 
smiling slightly.

	A crack of thunder split the air, causing them both to 
jump. The light patter of rain became a steady downpour, and 
the wind began to pull at their forms a bit more insistently.

	"I think..." Tsen began.

	"...that we'd better get off this rock and into someplace 
warm," Ukyou concluded. "Right. This way."

	The two of them struggled down the rock tower, the wind 
and rain lashing at them with ever-mounting force. The sky 
was almost black now, and the waves churned and frothed with 
a violence that began to frighten Ukyou.

	"Come on," she yelled above the pounding surf, "I think 
we'd better hurry."

	Tsen gave a terse nod, and they jogged down towards the 
reef path, stumbling over the wet rocks and coral.

	They had just set foot on it when a wave reared up out of 
the sea, like a monster from a horror movie, and smashed into 
the path.

	Ukyou jumped for the reef wall, bracing herself as the 
wave slammed against her, pushing her into the jagged surface 
with painful force. Then it withdrew, and her grip tightened 
desperately to keep from being sucked off the path.

	"Tsen?" she yelled, spotting him further down the wall 
with a feeling of intense relief. "This isn't good."

	The Chinese boy nodded, grim faced. "Waves get worse. 
We stay on path, we die."

	Fear washed over her as she realized that he was right. 
There were other parts of the path that were lower, closer to 
the sea; a wave engulfing them there would crush them against 
the rocks and sweep their broken corpses into the deep.

	Pushing the mounting terror aside, she looked up at the 
jagged rock wall of the upper reef. "We're going to have to 
climb. It's the only way."

	Tsen said nothing, but he walked over and squeezed her 
hand. She looked over at him, startled, and then smiled. 

	Wordlessly, they began to climb.

	The rocks were wet and slippery, the best handholds 
encrusted with razor-sharp coral and jagged knives of stone. 
Cuts began to form on their hands, first one, then two, then 
three...

	Ukyou was halfway up when a wave the size of a small 
building engulfed her, drowning her in a world of black, 
choking, roaring water. She felt her hands slip, and desperately 
tightened her hold on the rock face, digging her knees and feet 
into the wall.

	After what seemed like an eternity of cold and darkness, 
the wave slipped from her, leaving her clinging in sodden 
misery to the side of the reef. Beside her, almost close enough 
to touch, Tsen was relaxing his hold on the rocks and preparing 
to resume the climb. His eyepatch was almost comically 
askew, giving him the appearance of a soaked pirate.

	Smiling slightly at the thought, she continued upwards.

^_-

	Akane trudged in the door, a feeling of numb 
apprehension filling her. Outside, the rain beat down; wind 
rattled against the panes, making her put some strength into 
closing the door. Securing it tightly, she brushed the rain from 
her forehead. In a few seconds, she would change out of her 
wet clothes and dry her hair.

	Koji had known Nabiki.

	She sighed. He had obviously known her very well. His 
hurt was not quite as raw as her own had been - how could it 
be? - but the sight in that room had caused him a great deal of 
pain.

	Could he have been her boyfriend? Akane was reluctantly 
forced to admit that she knew very little about her sister's 
love life. Nabiki had always seemed more the type for a non-
lasting relationship, a fun date. It was strange to try and 
picture her sister in love; calm, sardonic Nabiki swooning over 
a man.

	He might have been one of her friends or connections. 
Nabiki, she knew, had acquaintances from America to Zaire 
who she kept in contact with via letters and email. "Business 
is connections," she remembered her sister telling her once, 
"And the more people you know, the bigger you are. I'm going to 
cultivate my contacts before they become rich and famous. And 
some of them will, believe me."

	Although Koji didn't strike her as the sort Nabiki would 
associate with. He was about as likely to be a future leader of 
business as Kasumi was.

	There was one area - one horribly plausible area - which 
made perfect sense, though. And that was the business of 
Ranma. The business of getting rid of Ranma.

	Suddenly a memory leaped into her mind. That day in the 
park, when she had attacked Mariko... 'Oh God. What happened to 
Nabiki?' Mariko had named her sister, had _assumed_ that 
something had happened to Nabiki, and how should the Hibiki 
girl even know her sister's name? The shock, the strange anger 
and hurt, the furious, barely controlled depature... Yes, Mariko 
had also known Nabiki. Known her well enough to be affected 
by her death.

	Just as if they had been partners, comrades with a 
common goal...

	Akane shuddered. No, Nabiki would never do that... she 
didn't like Ranma, that had been clear, but to help kill him...

	"Hey. You okay?"

	Ranma walked slowly into the entry hall, the dim light 
pooling around him. She sagged, looking up at him with tired 
eyes.

	"I just got back from the hospital. Ranma... I found Koji in 
her room, crying. She knew him. I think she was working with 
him."

	He sighed, a long, slow, sad sound, and nodded. "She was."

	Akane stared at him, a sick feeling building in the pit of 
her stomach. "You knew?"

	His eyes refused to meet hers. "She... she was helping 
them. The Ooni Temple was her plan, and she and Tsen were the 
ones who arranged the trap at the Ichishi Building..."

	"No..." she whispered, "no..."

	"The argument we had, right before she... I warned her, 
Akane. I told her to leave us alone, and she got scared and 
angry, and..."

	"Why didn't you tell me?" she said numbly. Nabiki, poor 
Nabiki, Nabiki the attempted murderer and person who had 
kidnapped her... her sister... how could she...

	Ranma met her eyes. "After the accident... I didn't want 
to hurt you. She was your sister, and I wanted you to remember 
her for the good things."

	"Good things," she repeated dully.

	"She did... she did love you, you know."

	"I know," she said, tears sliding down her cheeks. "I'm 
sorry, Ranma, I can't blame her, I can't hate her, I love her too 
much and now she's gone..."

	He hugged her fiercely. "You don't have to hate her. No-
one's asking you to."

	Lightning flooded the hall with light, and a crash of 
thunder echoed through the hall, ringing in her ears long after 
the noise had faded. She leaned against his body, tears 
coursing silently down, trying to push away the feelings of 
betrayal. Nabiki...

	"I love you," she finally whispered, the words meant both 
for Ranma and her sister.

	His arms tightened around her torso, and he met her gaze, 
his eyes burning pools, reflecting her own.

	"Tonight."

	She gave a slight nod, heart pounding in her chest.

	He returned the nod, his hand caressing her lower back, 
and then broke the embrace. His gaze moved towards the 
window, the rain sliding along the panes.

	"Ugly weather."

	She gazed outside, at the wind whipping branches from 
the garden, and shivered. "I hope Shan and Ukyou aren't out in 
that."

	He shrugged. "I'm sure they know enough to come in out of 
the rain." He looked at her, smiling slightly. "Do you know the 
tea ceremony? The informal kind, for a rainy day?"

	Smiling in spite of everything, she nodded.

	He slipped his arm through hers, and together they 
walked into the kitchen.

^_-

	The waves roared.

	Tsen gritted his teeth, pain rushing through his back as 
the wall of water hammered into him, pressing him against the 
jagged rock face. For almost an hour they had climbed and 
climbed, and the water and wind and rain had tried to tear 
them off with ever increasing force...

	He was getting tired, the strength draining out of his 
muscles. Beside him, he could see that Ukyou was struggling 
too, nearly on the verge of collapse. They were both in almost 
peak physical condition, but the human body wasn't designed to 
climb rocks in gale-force winds while the sea tried eagerly to 
swallow them.

	But the top was in sight. Just a few more feet...

	He reached for the next handhold, and then a wave 
slammed into him from the side, and he lost his grip.

	There was a moment of sheer terror as he fell, 
weightless, and then a hand clamped around his arm, pulling 
him into the cliff. As he hit, he grabbed for a handhold, 
ignoring the coral that bit into his skin.

	Ukyou, off balance from his grab, cried out and fell.

	With all his strength, Tsen swung out in a kick, aiming 
his leg towards the other boy's falling body. Ukyou saw it, 
reached out, and clamped his hands around the limb.

	Tsen nearly lost his grip again as Ukyou's weight pulled 
at him. Muscles straining, he held on tightly until Ukyou was 
able to get a second handhold on the rock face and release his 
leg.

	The fall had set them back a few feet; but from their 
new position, he could make out a opening in the rock. Bone 
tired, knowing that he would lose his grip as soon as the 
adrenaline rush began to fade, he climbed for it as quickly as 
possible.

	The opening turned out to be the mouth of a cave. Pulling 
himself up into it, he leaned a hand out to assist Ukyou inside. 
They lay there for a second, panting, and then dragged 
themselves further up the small fissure.

	It was damp inside, but relatively dry. Tsen didn't think 
that the water would rise this high; it would probably be safe 
to stay here.

	"We... we wait here," he mumbled, a bit woozy from the 
exertion and the fear. "Til storm gone."

	"Yeah," Ukyou replied, wringing out his tunic sleeve. 
"Yeah."

	He was somewhat surprised when the other boy placed a 
hand on his arm. "Hey. Thanks for saving my life."

	"You save mine first." Which was the truth. Ukyou had 
done what a man should do, putting his life down for a comrade 
without thought or hesitation... so much different from the 
soft city people...

	They were looking at each other now, and he felt a 
certain stirring in him.

	Was this wrong? He wasn't a man.. well, he was, but he 
wasn't... No! He was a warrior of the Joketsuzoku and NOT a 
man, despite law and curse and anything else... a woman...

	He leaned forward and gave Ukyou a quick peck on the 
lips. There.

	Something odd moved in Ukyou's face, but he did not move 
away. Instead a hand reached out to move along Tsen's chest, 
tracing the flat muscle... wrongly flat...

	Frustrated by the urges his body was sending him, he 
leaned forward aggressively and kissed Ukyou again, not a peck 
this time but a hard, full thing. It was returned and the kiss 
became an embrace.

	The cave seemed to dim about him as the unfamiliar 
urges became a screaming need, hormones and adrenaline and 
fatigue bearing them both to the floor of the cavern. In a fog he 
felt his clothing fall away, felt Ukyou grasp him, guiding him 
inside. As he entered her he dimly became aware that the 
person under him was no man, but by then such distinctions 
had ceased to matter. Frantically he thrust over and over and 
over again, heard Ukyou make soft cries as he bore down, 
mindless, controlled solely by instinct and need and reflex...

	There was an eruption of some sort, his body went taut 
and convulsed, and then he felt himself falling, falling into a 
moist, wet, watery blackness at the bottom of the ocean. And 
then there was nothing.

^_-

	Night, and the Hibikis had gone to ground, huddling 
beneath a hastily built shelter of logs and trees.

	Koji had arrived home around evening, made himself a 
cup of tea, and cried himself to sleep. Mariko sat beside his 
slumbering form, gazing darkly out at the howling winds.

	"If there's any justice, Ranma's out in this mess as well," 
she muttered.

	The wind howled a reply.

	Sighing, she began to pull the waterproof tarpaulin more 
securely around the shelter, driving additional pegs in to hold 
it. It was a bad storm, and it was likely to get worse.

^_-

	Akane lay in bed, half-asleep, unable to take the final 
step into slumber.

	Tea in the afternoon, as the rain poured down outside. 
Warm, steaming bowls swirled slowly, sipped, the hot liquid 
savored. Wind and rain and thunder outside, unable to enter, 
their very presence making the house seem warmer.

	An offered bowl, the ritual examining of tea leaves, an 
offhand joke. A easy, happy laugh.

	Sitting together, no tension, just warm tea and rain and 
a cozy room.

	Dinner, Kasumi almost cheerful again, the dinner made by 
three people. Chopping vegetables. An onion, juggled to impress 
her. A sheepish look when it fell.

	And then to bed.

	Tonight.

	What did it mean? She had nodded when he spoke the 
word. Tonight. What did she mean? What did she want it to 
mean?

	She closed her eyes.

	Tea in bowls, and the patter of rain on the window.

	Tonight.

	She opened her eyes, knowing, and looked up. A shadow 
stood at the foot of her bed.

	Lightning, and before the thunder pealed, Ranma. In a 
light robe of white linen, the outline of his form clear beneath 
it.

	He stepped forward, the robe rustling softly, and climbed 
to the surface of the bed. She watched as he made his way 
forward on his knees, arms and legs on either side of her, until 
his face hung in shadow before hers.

	He lowered himself down onto her, and kissed her.

	Akane let her hands move under the robe, brushing across 
his skin, and one by one the buttons of her top were removed. 
The lips were moved to her right breast, and she gave a low 
sound of pleasure, watching him in the flashes of light from 
the storm.

	The robe fell away, ripped by her hands, and she felt her 
pajama bottoms be pulled away. Ranma raised himself, and in a 
swift stroke of lightning she saw what protruded from 
between his legs, daggerlike.

	He pushed down, and entered her.

	The pain was minimal. Years of daily highkicks had long 
since removed the obstruction. What discomfort there was 
seemed to add spice to the incredible sensation, as their 
bodies began to move, and the thunder echoed, and the wind 
howled and shrieked above their cries...

	At last, she thought, the world thrusting into her, filling 
her, impaling her. At last.

^_-

	Tsen woke.

	For a long time he knew nothing, stared in disorientation 
at the rock about him, the lightning searing occasional flashes 
into the cave. And then he looked down at the woman beneath 
him, the woman he was still mounted upon, the woman whose 
legs enfolded his in the embrace of lovemaking.

	The woman.

	Ukyou was a woman.

	He had done THAT with a woman.

	A sob escaped from his lips. That was it, then. He was 
male. He had rutted like a man with the first woman he could 
get alone, emptied his seed into her, and fallen asleep. Just 
like a man.

	Jyusenkyou had won.

	Some things are worse than death, Cologne laughed in his 
mind, sneering at her great-grandson. You may find this one of 
them.

	Fool. He had thought gender was like a shirt, something 
to be taken on and off at whim...

	Disgust filling him, Tsen stood, pulling himself out of... 
no! No, he would not think of it!

	Gods, his body was responding even now, wanting more!

	A low, choked moan. He lifted his foot, intending to bring 
it down on her neck with killing force, to blot everything out 
in her blood...

	No. No, there was only one person to kill, and that was 
Ranma. He had been foolish to think that things would end any 
other way. Foolish to trust lies of a peaceful solution. Foolish, 
just like a man. Like the man he was.

	Tsen clawed his way out of the cave, clambering up the 
rest of the cliff in a daze, and ran along the top of the reef as 
the rain and thunder lashed him. Time, and then he stood at the 
base of the dock, where they had stood after the walk on the 
seawall.

	An animal scream ripped from his throat. He could never 
be Shan Pu again. Tsen was branded into him, would be branded 
into his male soul until the end of time. He could never be Shan 
again, not really. Just a wretched thing, not male, not female, certainly
not the proud warrior that Shan Pu had been.

	Sobbing, he fled.

^_-

	Thunder rumbled, low and sullen in the distance, and his 
eyes flicked open.

	Akane lay nestled in the curve of his side, the dim light 
playing across her nude form. They had slept and woke four 
times, the moans giving way to the breathing of sleep, moving 
together in a haze of sleep. Like a long dream.

	His hand stroked lightly through her hair.

	They were young, and as fit as anyone their age could be, 
and their lovemaking had been much like their sparring 
sessions.

	She smiled slightly in her sleep as his hand slipped down 
along her neck, tracing the curve of it.

	The rain had pounded an accompaniment.

	His hand softly formed a semicircle around her throat, 
his fingertips brushing lightly against the hollows of it. 
Slowly, gently his other hand moved to trace the inside of her 
thigh, lingering briefly among the short, tangled hair.

	His eyes glowed with something, and his heartbeat 
quickened.

	Second by second, with infinite slowness, his hand 
tightened. Its mate moved up along her stomach, tracing along 
the muscles, until it came to lie above her heart. To feel the 
beating of it.

	His breath came shallow and fast, his eyes widened 
slightly. Muscles tensed.

	Akane gave a soft sigh, stirring in her sleep, and pressed 
against him. 

	His hand tightened, tensed, and then slipped away from 
her throat. His ring finger lingered for a second on the very 
hollow of her neck, feeling the veins and arteries pulse 
beneath the skin, and then moved on to stroke her hair.

	Ranma smiled, relaxed, and waited.

^_-

	Ukyou awoke, cold and stiff, and smiled. Last evening...

	Maybe it had been unplanned, at the spur of the moment, 
and unadvised, but it had been incredible. And she couldn't help 
but feel it marked the end of her decade-long life as a boy. No 
more bandage. Not more pretending. She was a woman.

	She stood up, and froze.

	"Good morning," Mariko said, smiling in a friendly 
fashion. "You've just won an all-expence paid trip to an island 
resort. I'd advise coming quietly."

	"I promise not to hurt Ranma or Akane," Shan Pu told her, 
eye shining with a cold, hard light. "Not say anything about 
lying bitch."

	Ukyou shrugged. "Guess I have no choice."

	She stood up, arranged her clothing, and then whipped her  
spatula around in an arc.

	There was a scream, the spurting of blood, and a brief 
glimpse of Shan holding her hand, screaming in fury and pain. 
And then Mariko's umbrella slammed into the side of her head, 
and all was blackness.

^_-

	It was the day after, and Akane was walking.

	She had woken up in his arms, the air clean and fragrant, 
the sparrows in the yard calling to each other. She couldn't 
imagine a better way to awaken. 

	It was the most wonderful thing, and it would be hers 
forever. He would be hers.

	Nerima was clean, silent, cleansed by the storm. Fallen 
branches lay on normally immaculate lawns as she passed, the 
air still, charged, waiting. It was like the first day of 
creation, unsullied and new. A new life.

	She would leave Nerima today. For a long, long time. This part of
her life was over. She had passed a threshold, and now 
her fate and Ranma's were irrevocably joined. They would 
stand or fall together, for the rest of their lives.

	"Tendo Akane?"

	She turned.

	"I've got a package for you," said Hikaru. "It's from your 
sister. From Nabiki."

-< End of Chapter 12 >-

Coming Soon: the finale of Ill Met By Starlight
Chapter 13 - The End of the Matter

C&C Welcomed.