Chapter 7 - Faust

 God: Good, then: it is granted you!
      Divert this spirit from his primal source;
      Lead him, if you can grasp him,
      Down your own path with you - but stand dismayed
      If against your purpose you find
      A good soul, struggling in darkness,
      Still knows the true path.

 Mephistopheles: Good enough! It shall not take long.
      This is a wager my heart gloats upon,
      For all men may be bought, though the price be not coin.

          -Johann Goethe
   
   A series of kicks, a lunge, a thrust with a bonbori... and it 
was over. Her final opponent tumbled backwards, off the log. A 
cheer went up from the gathered crowd, and Shan Pu proudly 
raised her weapons in a salute. The contest was hers, hers in 
the first year she had been eligible to compete... even the 
young Koh Lon had been defeated in her first match! She would 
be the greatest warrior ever to lead the Joketsuzoku, the most 
famous matriarch, the...

   The cheers of the crowd, she suddenly noticed, were turning 
to murmurs of anger and shock. Coming out of the cloud of 
euphoria, she turned to look at the victory table, which every 
eye in the village seemed to be fixed on...

   Her eyes bulged.

   Two men, a young one and an old, fat one, were casually 
sitting on the bench that held the prize. Had held the prize. 
They were eating it. Two foreign... two Japanese MEN were 
eating HER PRIZE...

   A red haze began to obscure her vision.

   Dimly, though her anger, she could hear someone explaining 
that the two men had made a very big mistake, and were 
probably going to die now.

   The younger one laughed.

   The red haze vanished, and her senses began to sharpen. This 
one was dangerous.

   Slowly, the boy rose from the bench and stretched, his red 
shirt tight enough to show the rippling muscles beneath. Then, 
with an arrogant smirk, he jumped atop the hanging log that 
served as the field of battle.

   Her mind tracked the leap, noticed both the ease with which 
he had made the leap and the almost inhuman distance he had 
covered with it. This was not going to be easy.

   She made her own jump, landing upon the opposite end of the 
log. This was her village, her tournament, her glorious victory. 
The outsider would pay for marring her day with his presence.

   A bonbori rose in salute.

   The boy's eyes glittered a responce.

   Her weapon rose in a deadly arc, red against the blue sky and 
the blue sky and the and the theandtheskyblueandtheth

^_-

   She awoke, confused. Had she drunk too much at her victory 
celebration?

   Wincing, Shan Pu opened her eyes. Or tried to. For some odd 
reason, one of them didn't want to open. How curious.

   What had happened last night? She had won, and then there 
had been that boy, and then... then she had swung, and... 

   ...falling, blood dripping along her face, screaming...

   And she couldn't remember what had happened.

   Her vision was slightly off. Again she tried to open her left 
eye, and winced at the pain the effort produced. It must, she 
thought, be swollen shut. Never mind. She could see that she 
was in her grandmother's house, on the bed reserved for 
injured warriors who needed the matriarch's medical skills. 
Why was she in here?

   Gingerly, she tried to sit up. And quickly stopped. Trying to 
move sent jets of pain shooting through about half her 
muscles. It seemed she was injured.

   "I see you are awake, child. Good."

   Koh Lon's voice came from her left side, out of the vision arc 
of her good eye. Another attempt to open it, another jet of 
pain. "Great-grandmother? What happened to me?"

   The matriarch walked around to her good side. Her expression 
was not a pleasant one.

   "What is the last thing you remember, Shan Pu?"

   ...blood flowing, searing pain in her...

   "I... I was about to attack the foreign man... I was raising 
my..."

   ...the ground spun towards her like a giant's hammer, laugher 
cruel and mocking...

   "..my bonbori..."

   Koh Lon sighed. "Perhaps for the best."

   Shan Pu felt a chill move slowly through her. "Great-
grandmother?"

   "Yes?"

   "I.. I won, didn't I?"

   Silence for a second.

   "No, child. You did not. You fought bravely and well, but he 
defeated you."

    The enormity of it hit her. She had lost. She had lost to a 
MAN, a foreign man. Which meant, by the laws of the tribe...

   "No..." she whispered.

   ...shrieking a coward's shriek, not caring, the pain the pain 
make it stop oh god my eye my eye..... 

    By the laws of the Joketsuzoku, she had to marry him.

   "Great-grandmother... what's wrong with my eye?"

   She knew something was wrong when Koh Lon hesitated 
before replying.

   "Ranma... your opponent... struck your face with the shattered 
half of one of your bonbori. It pierced your eye."

    Shan Pu sank back into the covers.

   "Can it be..."

   "No. Too much was damaged."

   It was probably a bloody hole. A gaping, bloody, runny socket. 
Something for the children to point at, and the women to 
whisper about, and the men to wrinkle their noses in disgust 
at.

   Just this morning, she had been beautiful. And a warrior. And 
a champion. Just this morning, she had been free.

   ...smirk as he shattered the haft of her remaining weapon, 
snatching the fragment of the handle out of the air while 
kicking her off balance...

   And now she was going to be married.

   Tears began to slowly run from her one good eye.

   Koh Lon gazed at her for some time, and then turned to go.

   "Great-grandmother?"

   "Yes, child?"

   "Do... do not let Mu Tzu in to see me. I don't want him here. I 
don't want him looking at me, and telling me he still loves me 
no matter what I look like."

   Koh Lon sighed.

   "Mu Tzu will not be coming to see you, child. He can barely 
breathe."

   Oh. Oh no...

   "...he didn't..."

   "He attacked them the night after the tournament, as they 
were sneaking out of the village. He will live, I think. But it 
will be a long time before he fights again. Or walks, for that 
matter. I am going to change his dressing now, child. Try to 
rest."

   The door closed. Shan Pu shut her remaing eye tightly, and 
slowly wept.

^_-

   Her injuries were minor. Bruised ribs, a disaligned shoulder 
snapped back in place. Nothing rest wouldn't cure.

   Except for the pierced eye. Nothing would cure that.

   Her Great-grandmother had made her a patch, silk and 
embroidered with signs of force. It covered the socket nicely. 
Everyone in the village was very careful not to look at it.

   The village was waiting.

   Her husband had left. She was, of course, not yet well enough 
to follow him. But that would change. Her injuries were minor.

   And so she trained, and she rested, and she occasionally 
visited Mu Tzu. He wasn't awake very often, and she prefered it 
that way.

   It seemed everything in him was broken. There were no 
spinal injuries, and the blows to his head had not cracked the 
skull, but aside from that... ribs, arms, legs...

   How much of it, she wondered, had been done after he had 
fallen?

   Maybe she could ask Ranma Saotome that after she married 
him.

   She had to marry him. That was the law. Never mind that he 
had taken her eye, never mind that he had beaten poor, stupid 
Mu Tzu almost to death. Stupid Mu. She loved him

   Not the way he dreamed of, of course. He was like a little 
brother. The only one who's allowed to hurt them, annoying 
though they be, is you.

   She had to marry the man she had nightmares about, dreams 
that sent her rising screaming from her pallet.

   The village was waiting.

   No-one said anything out loud, of course. But she could feel 
them looking at her, gauging her. Can she travel yet? No. A few 
more days. A few more days, and then she must leave. Leave to 
bring back her husband.

   And if she didn't bring back her husband, why, then there was 
no need to try returning. The Joketsuzoku had no room for 
those who could not meet the demands of tribal law.

   She could always simply move to another part of China. 
Forget about Saotome, live her life somewhere else, never 
return to the village...

   Except that she was a warrior of the Joketsuzoku, the heir of 
a matriarch, and the law was written in her heart and mind. 
She knew that she could no more break it than she could sprout 
wings and fly to the moon.

   The option of suicide, rather that marrying a loathed foe, had 
been taken before. It was deemed no great shame.

   Shan Pu didn't want to take that route. On the other hand, it 
seemed slightly preferable to giving her body and soul to the 
man who stalked her nightmares.

   When you have problems, Koh Lon had taught her, ask 
someone about them. Problems seem like they are yours alone, 
but they are like the cold you get every winter. Someone has 
had them before. And sometimes, someone knows the answer.

   On the fifth day of her recuperation, she felt that she would 
soon be ready to travel. And so she went to speak to her great-
grandmother.

   She found Koh Lon sitting in her study, withered hands 
flipping through the pages of a tome. "You look well, child."

   Shan Pu nodded. "Yes. I shall be ready to leave tomorrow."

   "So. You go to seek Ranma Saotome."

    Shan Pu gathered her courage, and then stared straight into 
Koh Lon's bright, piercing gaze. "No. I shall go to the cliffs 
east of the village, and I shall leave by them."

   The matriarch met her gaze for a small eternity, and then 
shook her head. "No. You will not."

   "Great-grandmother, I will not marry this..."

   "Oh, you can kill yourself. But not from the cliffs. I won't 
have a member for the tribe risk climbing down to retrieve 
your body." The clan elder tossed something, and Shan Pu 
snatched it out of the air without thinking. It was a knife, the 
point broad and sharp, designed to be driven swiftly through 
the ribs.

   "If you intend to leave that way, do it now. Tomorrow is 
planting day, and I will not have you interrupt it."

   Shan Pu stared at her grandmother, then at the knife. The 
sharp, sharp, glittering knife. She made her decision.

   Raising it, she drove it towards her chest in one swift 
stroke.

   A withered finger lashed out faster than the eye could track, 
and the dagger's blade shattered in an explosion of small metal 
shards. 

   Shan Pu closed her eye and swallowed, trying to get her 
heartbeat back under control. She was alive...

   "So. You are serious."

   Her eye still tightly shut, she nodded. Her breath was coming 
in gasps, as if she had run a marathon.

   "There is a way for you to obey the law, and not marry 
Saotome. But it requires a price to be paid."

    "I..." Shan Pu stopped to catch her breath. "I just tried to 
send myself to the next world. Whatever the price is, I can pay 
it."

   Koh Loh chuckled mirthlessly. "The reason you tried to make 
that journey, child, is because some things are worse than 
death. You may find this one of them."

   "This solution... does it leave me hope?"

   "It does. A chance. Not a great one. But a chance."

   "Then I will take it."

^_-

   For one of the few times in memory, the village of the 
Amazons lay deserted. The entire tribe had rose, taken 
weapons and travel rations, and left by the eastern gate.

   They gathered now at Jyusenkyou.

   The guide was nowhere to be seen; a sign on the door to his 
hut said that he was in Taikang undergoing physical therapy. 
This would have been a problem for many visitors. Not for the 
Joketsuzoku, not in this situation. They knew very well what 
they were doing.

   This particular pool had a ominous history. It was used when 
disease had decimated the tribe. It was used by certain types 
of lovers. And it was used by warriors in Shan Pu's situation.

   She stood in front of it, clad in a thin white robe. The chill 
wind whipped through it easily, and she shivered. Whether it 
was from the cold, or what she was about to do, not even she 
knew.

   As the last of the tribe took their places, Koh Lon motioned 
to her great-granddaughter. "It is time."

   Shan Pu jerked her head up and down, a movement intended 
as a nod of acknowledgement.

   "If you do not wish to do this, there is no shame. The last 
three warriors to come here all turned back when they saw the 
pool."

   Shan Pu thought for a few seconds. Then she doffed her robe.

   Gritting her teeth, she dived into the rippling waters of the 
spring.

    The water was warm, almost hot against her skin. Her mind 
almost had time to register surprise at this when the change 
suddenly began.

   Her chest flowed, melted. She opened her mouth to scream, 
and her abdomen seemed to push downward and outward from 
between her legs. Her body felt like it was swelling, and the 
warmth of the water was seeping into her flesh...

   With a cry, he surfaced.

   For several seconds, all he could do was stare down at 
himself, unheeding of the icy wind. Two of the amazon men 
eventually walked forward, put a thick robe around his 
shoulders, and led him to where Koh Lon waited.

   "Who are you, male child? You are of my blood, but you are 
not my great-granddaughter. Who are you?" she asked, her 
voice containing the stilted tones of ritual.

   The man pulled the robe about him, trying to remember the 
responce. "I am your great-grandson. I have no name."

   "Then I name you Tsen Wu." That was the name they had 
decided on.

   "I am Tsen Wu."

   "Where is Shan Pu, my great-granddaughter?"

   "She has left. It may be she will return when my task is 
done."

   "And what is your task?"

   "To kill Ranma Saotome, and thus release Shan Pu from her 
marraige oath."

   "Only one who has undergone the rite of adulthood may leave 
the tribe on their own. Do you feel you are ready to take the 
Rite of Manhood?"

   Tsen gritted his teeth. He had taken the female version of 
the rite two years before, which simply consisted of defeating 
a warrior of the tribe in combat. The Rite was different for 
the men.

   "I am ready."

   "Then let the warriors of the tribe come forward."

   One by one, the women who had passed their rites formed a 
line in front of Tsen Wu. The Rite, men told themselves, was 
meant to prove their control of pain and emotion.

   The women knew better. It was meant to show the men who 
ran the Joketsuzoku.

   Koh Lon was the first. Balling her shriveled hand into a fist, 
she struck Tsen Wu across the face. Then she walked away.

   Xian Tse was the next. She was a friend of Shan Pu's. They 
had played together, taken their Rites within a day of each 
other, discussed the merits of the tribe's eligible men 
together. Her punch was delivered with so little force that it 
resembled a caress, and her eyes were closed for it.

   Fung Lie was after her. Shan Pu had beaten her in the closing 
rounds of the tournament. Her punch was a savage blow to the 
stomach, and she grinned with delight as she delivered it.

   It took all of his control not to kill her. But a man of the 
Joketsuzoku does not attack his... betters.

   The rest of the warriors of the Joketsuzoku filed forward. 
Tsen closed his eye and waited.

^_-

   It was nearly nightfall by the time Tsen Wu trudged wearily 
into his hut.

   One of the unofficial traditions of the rite was for one of the 
women to be waiting in the newly-proven man's dwelling, to 
show him the rewards of obedience. Tsen was almost certain 
an exception would be made in his case, but still breathed a 
sigh of relief when he found the house empty.

   Flopping down on the bed, he opened his robe and examined 
his new form for a while. It filled him, he found, with 
curiously mixed emotions. On the one hand, only the sense of 
dreamlike unreality that had started the day was keeping him 
from screaming in horror and disgust. On the other hand... look 
at that! So _that's_ how they feel! How extrordinary! What an 
interesting sensation when pressure is applied there! 

   There was a certain guilty pleasure in being able to examine 
a naked man as much as you liked, with no thought as to his 
feelings.

   He sighed. Better get used to it.

   Officially, in the eyes of the tribe, he was a man, a separate 
person from Shan Pu the warrior. If he wished, he could stay in 
the village and grow old like this. But he would have to remain 
in this form, and he would _be_ Tsen Wu, a mere man, denied 
any chance of taking a place among the leaders of the tribe. At 
most, he could become a instructor of the styles practised by 
the men, such as Hidden Weapon or Animal Warfare. He had no 
desire for that.

   The other option was to kill Ranma. If he was dead, Shan Pu 
obviously could not marry him.

   The problems with this approach were formidable. First of 
all, Ranma would not roll over and die at his request. He was in 
this situation because Ranma had defeated Shan Pu. There was 
little reason to believe another fight would have a different 
result.

   Second, while Tsen Wu could and would challenge Ranma, 
Shan Pu could not. As her husband to be, she could not harm 
him in any way. In fact, she had a duty to protect him from 
harm.

   Which meant that if she met him in female form, she would 
be unable to do him harm. More than that, she would have to 
ask for his hand in marriage.

   He winced. Mental note. Do not fight Ranma near hot water.

   Koh Lon had offered to train him in certain secret techniques 
of the Amazons. Hopefully, this would equal the playing field. 
If not... 

   If not, the best way to die was in glorious battle, fighting to 
the last breath. 

   Yeah. Right.

^_-

   Shan Pu awoke, snorting as the water from the tub began to 
lap over her nose. She must have been even more tired than she 
had thought.

   Oh well. No profit in dreaming of the past.

   Stepping out of the tub, she poured a glass of cold water 
from the sink, and doused herself.

   Tsen shivered, and reached for the towel. Cold water after a 
warm bath was not pleasant.

   After drying himself off, he donned a loose robe and 
stumbled over to the bed. Setting the alarm clock for late 
morning, the Amazon fell into a deep sleep.

^_- 

   "Damn it! I had him! Damn!"

   Nabiki sighed, pulled off the black ski mask, and patted 
Mariko on the back. The Hibiki girl glared at her, and she 
hastily withdrew her hand.

   "Well, what were you supposed to do? The building was going 
to fall on us! And he was holding Akane."

   "So?"

   Nabiki returned the glare with one of her own. "So you aren't 
shooting at him while my sister is that close to him. 
Remember our deal? Nothing that endangers Akane."

   Mariko shrugged. "I wouldn't have missed."

   Slowly, deliberately, Nabiki leaned forward until her face 
was almost touching Mariko's. "Not. Good. Enough."

   The two stared balefully at each other for a second.

   From his seat on the park bench, Koji gave a small cough. "If 
you two are almost done with the staring contest...?"

   They broke their gaze with some relief to both, and turned to 
face him. He smiled in a conciliatory manner. They frowned.

   "I think it went rather well, considering."

   They gaped at him.

   "Well," he began, slowly, "we got Akane out alive. Ranma 
wasn't the one who saved her. Ranma didn't die, which is a 
minus, but now we know that there's someone else who wants 
him dead. Which means one more person to help end his 
miserable little life."

   "We didn't gain much," Mariko muttered.

   "And he didn't gain anything," Koji replied. "Let's count this 
one as a win, and get ready for the next try."

   Nabiki nodded. "Sensible attitude, Koji. Almost like a 
businessman. Okay, look; I'm going to head home now. Ranma 
probably took Akane straight to the clinic, but he might call to 
let Dad know where they are. Or he might not. At any rate, I 
don't want Ranma wondering where I was tonight."

   Koji frowned slightly. "Do you think Akane will be okay with 
him?"

   "Ranma's not going to hurt her, not yet. Until he gets done 
with his sick little game, she's probably safer with him than 
with anyone else." Nabiki's face turned dark. "But I will make 
sure they don't spend too much time alone together. I don't 
want Akane starting to feel grateful towards him."

   "The girl's head over heels in love with him," Mariko said, 
shaking her head. "She's still going to see him as her knight in 
shining armor. The only way to break those two up is to kill 
him. Either that, or..." Her eyes turned thoughtful. "Nabiki, have 
you tried maybe getting him on tape being his usual charming 
self?"

   Nabiki closed her eyes and slowly nodded. "Yeah. It didn't... it 
didn't work out very well." Shaking her head, she opened her 
eyes and stood. "I'm going to head home. Expect me to contact 
you tomorrow."

   As the Tendo girl walked off, Mariko turned to Koji. "Okay, 
brother mine, spill it. What's with the positive outlook all of a 
sudden? I'm supposed to be the optimist here."

   He shrugged. "I'm just actually beginning to believe we can 
really do it. Really kill him."

   Mariko smirked. "I could have told you that. Saotome has a 
fatal weakness."

   Raising his head slightly, Koji returned the smile. "Oh? And 
what's that?" 

   She pumped the umbrella, the sound echoing through the 
empty park. "He's allergic to lead."

   Her brother laughed. "That's not exactly unique to him, you 
know."

   "Yeah. Pity." She shrugged. "We'll get him, brother mine. It 
may take several tries, but he can't survive in the long run. As 
long as he kept moving he was safe, but now..."

   "Now he's ours," Koji finished. "Ours, or Nabiki's or whoever 
this Chinese fellow is."

   "The Chinese fellow sounded like he was losing the fight."

   "The Chinese fellow got Ranma really, really mad, Marichan. 
Probably hoping to get him to fight stupid."

   Mariko winced. "Poor idiot."

   "Yeah. Ranma doesn't fight stupid. He just gets faster and 
meaner. This guy had him really pissed, and lived. That's skill."

   "You had him pretty mad too, you know."

   Koji shook his head. "I had him confused, a bit scared. And I 
wasn't able to beat him, either, just put him in a situation 
where he could either kill me or not die. Not exactly a 
resounding victory."

   "But not a loss, either."

   "No." He smiled briefly. "You were right, though. Ranma does 
have a weakness."

   Mariko raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Tell, please."

   "Akane."

   She laughed. "Akane? He's going to kill her."

   "Yeah. But like Nabiki said, not until the game is over. And 
until it is, I think she's the most important thing in his life at 
the moment. I think he'd risk a lot for her."

   Grinning, Mariko poked him. "Very good. I was starting to 
worry that you were turning all warm and fuzzy on me."

   He laughed. "You can ask Saotome how warm and fuzzy I am 
when I rip his heart from his chest and feed it to him. But we 
did make Nabiki a promise, remember."

   Mariko smiled unpleasantly. "You made it, not me."

   "Mariko...."

   She made a dismissing gesture. "Yeah, honor and duty, I know 
the drill. I wouldn't want to kidnap Akane anyway." Her eyes 
narrowed, grew hard. "I still like the girl. And it really pisses 
me off that Ranma's using her as his little pet, or slave, or 
whatever the hell he's playing. Him and women."

   Koji looked curious. "Eh?"

   Mariko flushed. "Nothing. I just think that Nabiki's wrong. 
She's not safe with him. Not at all."

   "This from the person who almost blew her head off."

   "Yeah," Mariko said quietly. "That's right. The worst I'd ever 
do is kill her."

^_-

   Akane woke up, winced, and opened her eyes. The clinic 
ceiling slowly moved into focus.

   She carefully moved to a sitting position in the bed, trying 
to piece together what had happened. She had been kidnapped, 
held in some building... and then the Hibikis, helped by 
Shampoo, had broken in and rescued her... Ranma had been 
fighting someone... and then the building exploded, while Ranma 
ran through the black with her, just wind and heartbeat and the 
two of them...

   She didn't remember anything else.

   The door to her room opened, and Dr. Tofu entered, smiling 
when he saw that she was awake. "Oh, good, you're up. How do 
you feel?"

   Gingerly, she felt the back of her head, noticing the bandage 
there for the first time. "My head still hurts a bit."

   The doctor nodded sympathetically. "You had a mild 
concussion. Nothing too serious, I think, but painful and 
disorientating. Let me just do a few tests..."

   He ran her through a few simple questions, asking her name, 
having her recite a number pattern, and checking motor skills. 
Finally, he gave her a reassuring smile. "Well. No permanent 
damage. You'll be right as rain in a day or two."

   Akane frowned slightly. "I still can't remember what 
happened the night before I was hit..." 

   Tofu nodded. "Short-term memory confusion is common with 
this sort of injury. You'll probably get the night back over 
time, or you may just never recover it. Unless you really need 
to remember something in that day, I wouldn't worry about it."

   "That's good," she said, somewhat relieved. "When can I go 
home?"

   "I'll have Ranma walk you back to your house at the end of 
the day. Which reminds me, I'd better go wake him up."

   Akane blinked. "He's here?"

   "Refused to leave. He sat by the bed for a few hours, then 
asked me to wake him when you came to. A good night's sleep 
probably did both of you a world of good."

   She smiled. That had been nice of him.

   Dr. Tofu left the room, and she felt her heartbeat quicken a 
little. She still wasn't sure what had happened, exactly... all 
she knew was that Ranma had come to help her, had fought for 
her. 

   Although she had been kidnapped for him, she reminded 
herself. Coming to get her was really the least he could do. And 
he hadn't been the one to save her....

   She shook her head, surprised at how petty she was being. He 
had thought she was dead, hadn't he? And then he had said...

   Funny, her memory refused to bring up the exact words. But 
the non-memory made her feel warm inside.

   Her door opened again, and Ranma walked in, looking slightly 
worried. "Hey, Akane. You okay?"

   "I'm fine. Just a bump on the head."

   He sat down by the bed. "You sure?"

   She smiled at him reassuringly. "Yes. Really, I'm fine."

   He lowered his eyes slightly. "I just... um, that Tsen guy told 
me he had, uh..."

   Akane chuckled a bit. "I'm obviously not dead, you know."

   Ranma flushed. "Yeah, well, he also said that he had, well..."

   It was her turn to blush. "Oh! No, he never touched me."

   "Are you sure? I don't know how much you remember, but you 
weren't wearing your shirt when I brought you here."

   She nodded. "I know. They took it off and smeared blood on it 
to get you to fight. Believe me, Ranma, I'd know if someone 
had... used me like that. There'd be pain, soreness." A curious 
thought emerged. "I thought you might know that, with your 
curse and all."

   He frowned. "I don't like to think about that kinda stuff. Guys 
don't have to think about it. Shouldn't have to." A shadow 
moved across his face briefly, and then he gave her the 
almost-familiar crooked smile. "Well. The doc says you'll be 
ready to go home by tonight. No harm done, I guess."

   "No harm done." Except there had been, and she wanted to 
know why. "Ranma?"

   "Yeah?"

   "Why were they after you?"

   He frowned. "Why do you keep saying Œthey'?"

   Akane blinked. "There were two of them. Tsen Wu and 
Shampoo."

   He nodded slowly. "Shampoo. That explains some of it. I 
wonder why she never appeared?"

   Akane smiled slightly. "She was helping me to escape. Her 
and the Hibikis. I think she felt guilty about kidnapping me."

   He scowled. "Yeah, well, she should. If she wanted another 
fight, she shoulda come to me."

   She raised an eyebrow. "Another fight?"

   Wincing, Ranma nodded. "Me and Pop visited their village on 
the way through China, and Pop ate some food reserved for the 
village champion. That was Shampoo. So she challenged me to a 
death match."

   Akane leaned back, stunned. "She called a death match over 
_food_?"

   Ranma shrugged. "She hit you over the head and kidnapped 
you, remember? That part of the world is a lot meaner. So I 
accepted the challenge, 'cause they would have tried to kill us 
anyway if I didn't, and anyway, I _am_ supposed to be a 
martial artist. We fought, and I won." He sighed, and hung his 
head slightly. "It may have been a death match for her, but not 
for me. I don't want to kill anyone. Not ever again. So I knocked 
her out, and we left."

   She nodded sympathetically. "And so now she wants 
revenge."

   Shrugging, Ranma's head sunk even lower. "Yeah. I guess the 
way she thinks, a death match doesn't end until one person or 
the other is actually dead."

   Akane paused as a thought struck her. "But she wasn't the one 
who fought you. She even helped me. Who _is_ Tsen?"

   Again a shrug. "I dunno. I've never seen him before in my life. 
Mebbe he's Shampoo's boyfriend or husband or something." He 
scowled suddenly, and his eyes glinted with the cold spark 
that still unnerved her a bit. "If I see him again, I'm going to 
hurt him."

   Hesitantly, Akane placed a hand on his arm. "He didn't really 
hurt me..."

   "Look at you! You're in a clinic bed with a bandage on your 
head! If he even thinks about touching you again, I'll..." He 
broke off, looking embarrassed. "I just.... you're... you've been 
really nice to me. More than I deserve. And all I bring is 
maniacs trying to hurt you." His expression turned from 
embarrassed to miserable, the hopeless look she had seen a 
few times before coming into his eyes. "Maybe I should leave, 
go before anyone else gets hurt...."

    "No! Don't you dare!" said Akane, more fiercely than she had 
intended. "You have a home here, Ranma. And... and I'd miss you. 
A lot. I really think you belong here."

   He smiled suddenly, eyes glinting again. "I do like it here. It... 
feels right, somehow. And I'd miss you too."

   Akane smiled. "I think even Nabiki might miss you a bit. I 
know she tries to get under your skin sometimes..."

   He paled slightly. "Yeah. She does."

   Frowning, Akane looked at him. "Has she been hitting you up 
for money?"

   Ranma's face went even whiter. "Sorta. Not really. I mean... I 
dunno. She... wanted something I didn't want to give her. Can 
we talk about something else?"

   Akane studied him for a minute, and then nodded. He seemed 
almost terrified of her sister, and a bit embarrassed. What on 
earth could Nabiki have wanted that...

   Her eyes widened. Could Nabiki have tried to have him.... she 
blushed. Well, he _was_ awfully attractive, and Nabiki could 
be very appreciative of the male form, and she knew for a fact 
that her sister didn't subscribe to the same moral code as 
most people... and she had seemed awfully odd lately...

   For a second she considered asking Ranma straight out, 
quickly decided against it. If she was wrong, it would be 
terribly embarrassing, and if she was right, well, it would 
still be terribly embarrassing.

   "We can discuss it later. If you feel like it," she added.

   He grinned at her, looking somewhat sheepish. "Thanks. I  
appreciate the offer." He glanced up at the clock on the wall, 
and stood. "Well... I'm gonna go tell your folks that you're okay. 
I'll be back in a bit to walk you home." 

   He was almost out the door when she spoke. "Ranma?"

   "Yeah?"

   "Thanks. For coming for me."

   He smiled the crooked half-smile that usually never quite 
made it to his eyes. "I'll always come for you." 

   And then he ducked out the door, and was gone.

   Akane leaned back in the bed, and tried to sort things out for 
what seemed like the millionth time.

^_-

   Mariko had established a regular spot to perform her morning 
workout. Unlike her brother, she was capable of learning the 
way to a place through habit and repetition, and so she had 
little difficulty finding it after the first five times. The 
marks she had punched in the trees helped as well.

   Her spot was perfectly suited to her needs. A long, broad 
strip of turf bordered by trees on three sides and a stream on a 
fourth. Space, privacy, practice targets, cool water.

   And, she noticed sourly, as she walked into her spot, the 
pervert from a few days ago. "What do you want, hentai?"

   The pervert drew himself to his full height, and she noticed 
that he was dressed in a samurai hakama. "Hibiki Mariko, take 
this!"

   His hand, held behind his back, whipped out to throw 
something. Mariko reflexively snapped her own hand out to 
catch it, eyes tracking for sharp edges.

   About .37 seconds after grabbing it from the air, she 
realized it was a bouquet of flowers. Roses, in fact. Rather 
nice ones.

   "Beautiful," she murmured appreciatively. "These'll brighten 
up the camp nicely. Just for that, I'll give you ten seconds to 
start running before I beat you to a bloody pulp."

   "Hibiki Mariko, I, Kuno Tatewaki, rising star of the Junior 
Kendo Division, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High - would date 
with you."

   "Five seconds."

   "Your beauty doth rend the heart, and thy healthful 
complexion puts yon roses to shame. Truly, no finer sight in 
nature exists than your face, framed by the lush foliage of 
thine raven hair."

   "That was very eloquent. I liked it."

   "Thank you."

   "Time's up, though."

   "Eh?"

   *WHAM*WHAM*WHAM*

^_-

   The Tendo household awoke to find a note on the table.

   / Tendo -

        Matter in Kansai requiring my immediate attention. Vital
     that I attend to it. Shall return in a week. Leaving Ranma 
     here.

     - Saotome /

   Genma, as the note implied, was nowhere to be found.

   "Pity," Soun said, a note of disappointment in his voice. 
"Still, at least he left Ranma with us."

   "How lucky we are," deadpanned Nabiki.

   Soun nodded, totally oblivious to the sarcasm which had 
dripped from his daughter's voice. "Indeed. Why, this 
kidnapping business may have been for the best. Akane's fine, 
and rescuing your fiancee from foreign abductors is the sort of 
thing that advances a relationship nicely."

   Nabiki stared at her father. "You mean you _want_ Akane to 
marry him?"

   Soun smiled hopefully at her. "Well, I did make that pact 
with Saotome, and they are getting along wonderfully, and he's 
a superb student of the art..."

   "He's a raving psychopath," Nabiki interjected flatly.

   Soun firmly shook his head. "Nonsense. Ridiculous. The boy's 
just a bit... distant... at times. If he were a psychopath, would 
Akane like him so much?"

   "Akane has all the person-evaluation skills of a tree stump, 
daddy. A petrified tree stump."

   Glaring at Nabiki, Soun turned away. "This discussion is over. 
Ranma and Akane will be married if they agree to it when 
Saotome and I make the suggestion. And I think they will agree. 
I may be just your silly old father, but even I can see that they 
like each other more than just liking each other."

   Nabiki opened her mouth to make her next objection, then 
shut it again. Her father obviously had his heart set on this, 
and mere words wouldn't persuade him otherwise.

   She considered again telling her father about Ranma's 'chat' 
with her in her room, just as she had considered telling Akane 
about it. And again, she dismissed the idea. Either her father 
wouldn't believe her, in which case all credibility she had 
would be ruined... or he WOULD believe her, and would confront 
Ranma. Which might well prove hazardous to her father's 
health, and her health, and Akane's health. Nabiki didn't want to 
force the moment to its crisis until she knew for certain that 
none of hers would be hurt by it.

   And Akane wouldn't believe her without direct proof. Nabiki 
grimaced. No-one ever really trusted her, and not, she had to 
admit, without good reason. She was a player, and proud of it. 
Akane loved her, sure. Whether or not she trusted or even liked 
her was another story altogether.

   Which brought her back to Plan A: Kill Ranma.

   Poison? Too tricky. She wasn't a student of pharmacology, 
and introducing anything into one of Kasumi's dishes without 
her older sister noticing would be extremely difficult. Then, 
too, Ranma had near-inhuman stamina; a normally lethal dose 
might just make him very sick, or at least postpone his death 
long enough for a hospital to treat him. And finally, even if she 
pulled it off, the coroner would detect it immediately. And the 
only suspects would be her, Kasumi, Akane, and Soun.

   A gun? Well, the police would definitely get involved then, 
and would almost certainly catch her. Mariko could probably 
pull it off, being able to globetrot the way most people went 
for a sunday drive.

   An unfortunate accident? Definitely an option. Although how 
to manage it was something about which her mind was still 
working out the details. 

   From the entry hall came the sound of the door opening. 
Nabiki nervously sucked in her breath; that would be Ranma.

   "Mr. Tendo? Father? Nabiki?"

   "Ah, Ranma!" her father burbled. "We're in here."

   He strolled in from the hall, face set in a artifical-looking 
pleasant expression. Nabiki watched as he surveyed the room, 
saw him frown slightly.

   "Pop out shopping?"

   Soun gave a uncertain smile. "Genma had to go to Kansai on 
important business. The note said he'll be back in a week."

   "Well. Certainly he will," Ranma said flatly. The plastic 
smile seemed strained for an instant, either by muffled 
laughter or unhappiness. Then it snapped firmly back into 
place. "Akane's fine. She's got a small bump, but the doctor 
says she'll be able to come home tonight. I'll go a little before 
dinner to walk her home."

  "I'll come with you," Nabiki said quickly. She had no intention 
of allowing Ranma to get in more of his gratitude time with 
Akane, and he couldn't very well do anything to her when 
everyone knew they were walking to the clinic together. She 
hoped he couldn't.

   Ranma smiled faintly at her, his eyes glittering slightly. 
"Why, thank you, Nabiki. How very kind."

   She smiled back, putting a bit of ice into it, trying to keep 
from feeling so damn intimidated. "Just looking out for my 
sister."

   "Same here," he said. And winked.

   Then he straightened. "Well. I'm going to go take a walk for a 
while. I'll stop by the house to collect you before I go pick up 
Akane."

   "Enjoy your walk."

   He patted her twice on the arm before she could react, a 
gesture that would have been affectionate and friendly. Then 
he walked out, whistling something.

   "Well," Soun said, "you two seem to get along better than..."

   He broke off as the realized he was talking to Nabiki's 
rapidly vanishing back.

^_-

   Mariko finished her last kata, wiped the sweat from her 
brow, and picked up her sports bottle from its position next to 
an unconscious Kuno Tatewaki.

   She didn't _think_ she had caused any permanent damage.

   Taking a long sip from the bottle, she tucked the roses under 
her trenchcoat and began the walk back to the camp.

   As she slowly strolled along, carefully counting off the 
landmarks she had carved or bludgeoned into the path, she 
tried to decide if the nutcase in the samurai costume had been 
more annoying than amusing, or vice versa. Granted, the roses 
were nice. It might even have been flattering if he wasn't an 
obvious mental defective.

   Stopping suddenly, she cocked an ear. Sounds of exertion 
came from the area just to the left of the path.

   Investigate? Going off the trail could wind up with her lost 
for hours. On the other hand, it sounded an awful lot like 
someone performing a kata, and if the park was being used by 
other martial artists she wanted to know about it.

   Curiosity finally won out, and she made her way through the 
trees towards the sounds. Entering a clearing, she stopped, and 
whistled appreciatively.

   A young man, stripped to the waist, was going through a 
series of sweeps and punches. She guessed him to be perhaps 
17... either Korean or Chinese, from the look of him.

   "Nice form," she said.

   The man turned fluidly, eyes holding a wary suspicion. 
"Hello?"

   Recognition dawned in the boy's face at about the same time 
she placed the voice. He was the one fighting Ranma last night.

   "You at the building last night. Why? What you want?"

   She smiled, trying to put him at his ease. The man was a 
tense as a coiled spring, and she was very unsure about her 
chances of successfully fending him off if he attacked. "Relax, 
handsome. We want the same thing you do."

   She thought he winced briefly. "That is?"

   Grinning, Mariko took another step forward. "We both want to 
kill Saotome."

   The boy first looked surprised, then viciously pleased. "You 
want kill Saotome? Is good. Needs killing."

   Mariko nodded, feeling the familiar hate begin sing in her 
veins. "Needs killing is right. So we might as well work 
together, eh?"

   He smiled faintly. "Is possibility."

   "Good. I'm Mariko. What's your name, handsome?"

   Again the uncomfortable look. Mariko grinned inwardly; this 
guy might even rival her brother for shyness with women. This 
promised to be fun. Besides, he _was_ cute.

   "Tsen Wu. Pleasure to make your meeting."

   "The pleasure's mine," she murmured, watching in delight as 
he visibly winced.

   "I'm glad I didn't hit you with any of that glass, then," she 
continued.

   He looked surprised. "That you? I thank, then. Saved life."

   "Did you hurt Ranma?"

   He nodded. "Few good hits. Words scored more harmful."

   Mariko grinned. "If you caused him any pain, that's all the 
thanks I need." She winked at him. "For now."

   Tsen turned pale. "You welcome. I go now. Much to do."

   She nodded. "You can find us - my brother and I - in the park 
if you feel like joining forces. Three is more than a match for 
one."

   He nodded, looking thoughtful. "Is true."

    On an impulse Mariko leaned forward and gave him a brief 
kiss on the cheek. "Good luck with Ranma."

   Tsen made a strangled noise.

   Mariko frowned. "Geh, you _are_ bashful. Here." Without 
warning she glomped him, and kissed him full on the lips.

    Tsen froze for a second. At least most of him did. From the 
way his lower torso was now pressed against her's, she could 
definitely tell that something was reacting.

    With a shriek, he ripped away from her and ran. Mariko 
blinked, shrugged, and carefully picked her way back onto the 
path.

   Why, she thought irritably, does every moderately attractive 
man I meet have to be a psycho or a weirdo?

^_-

   They walked along, quietly at first, the sun bleeding red and 
orange across the evening sky.

   Nabiki's step was purposeful, measured, steady, her face 
calm. Inside, she was counting the steps to the clinic.

   Her companion seemed almost amused by something. She 
didn't want to ask what.

   "You weren't home when I left last night."

   Nabiki shrugged, her gaze still fixed ahead. "I have a life. 
Things to do, people to see."

   "You have a life. At the moment."

   She managed a derisive laugh. "Please don't scare me, Ranma. 
Whatever happened at the Ichishi building, you know just as 
well as I do that I had nothing to do with it." I hope you don't 
know just as well as I do, she added silently.

   He was silent for a time. Then: "No, I suppose I can't blame 
you for that one. You were actually almost helpful."

   "I can't tell you how glad I am to have possibly been of help 
to you."

   "Oh, I can imagine." He smiled strangely, crooking his head to 
look at her. "You haven't shut things down, Nabiki-chan."

   She fought down the rush of panic, shoved away the 
memories of what had almost happened in her room. "You're 
just being paranoid, Ranma. I hear that's real common in 
psychos."

   He chuckled at that. "Oh, I don't think I'm a psycho."

   "They never do."

   The chuckle faded abruptly. "No, I suppose they don't. Shut it 
down, Nabiki. Soon. I'm losing patience."

   She gritted her teeth. "You bastard. I'm not doing anything. 
Tell me just what the hell you think I'm trying?"

   "I don't need to know. I just have to look at you twitch 
around, Nabiki-chan. Just like a rat trying to find its way out 
of a maze. Just like a cat." He place a hand on her shoulder in a 
friendly fashion, and squeezed a certain way, against a certain 
nerve.

   Nabiki didn't scream. She didn't think she would break down 
and scream in agony for another seven seconds.

   He let go at the count of six, and she glared at him, not 
bothering to wipe the tears from her eyes.

   "Why the hell are you doing this?" she finally spat. "Why don't 
you just go the hell away?"

   "I offered to. Akane asked me to stay."

   She laughed, bitterly. "Akane. I hear all psychos fixate on 
someone."

   He turned to regard her again, eyes and expression empty in a 
way she found even more frightening than the mocking smile. 
"She's mine. Like my shirt. If someone took my shirt, I'd go get 
it back. If it gets worn out, or I get tired of it, I throw it 
away."

   A cold fury welled up in Nabiki, pushing away the terror that 
had almost threatened to overwhelm her seconds before. "If 
you 'throw away' Akane, I swear by everything I hold dear that 
I'll make you suffer."

   "Take a number, little girl." He laughed, a bitter, mocking 
sound. "All of you are years too late anyway. But, if you insist, 
I'll keep a tight hold on Akane. After all, I'm her very best 
friend."

   "She's not stupid, you know," Nabiki said quietly. "It may take 
a few weeks, but she'll see you for what you are."

   "For what I am?"

   "A sick little boy playing games with people."

   He winced in mock pain. "You wound me."

   "I wish."

   "Yeah, I bet you do. For the last time, she's mine. There's 
nothing that you or anyone else can do to change that."

   "Maybe not. But there's something she can do."

   He thought on this for a while.

   "No," he finally said. "I don't think so."

   "Why don't you just leave us alone? Do you want money? I'll 
pay you to leave."

   "Why don't YOU leave US alone?"

   Nabiki laughed, sourly. "I love my sister. Enough to worry 
about her."

   "Love. What a silly notion, Nabiki-chan."

   "I would expect nothing less from you."

   And then they were at the clinic.

^_-

   A rustle in the trees drew his attention, and Koji glanced up 
from his manga to see his sister stump into the camp. "Hey, 
Mari. How was your workout?"

   She smiled. "It was fine. Met our friend from the Ichishi 
building."

   "You saw him? Who is he? What's he after?"

   Mariko shrugged. "Said his name was Tsen Wu. He wants to 
kill Ranma." She grinned wickedly. "He's cute, too."

   Koji watched with puzzlement and alarm as she pulled a 
bouquet of roses from under her coat, and began to rummage in 
her pack for a jar or vase. "He gave you FLOWERS?"

   She smirked, obviously enjoying herself. "Don't be silly, 
brother mine. The other boy gave me these."

   Koji had the distinct sensation that he was missing several 
things, and that this was probably for the best. "What other 
boy?"

   "The pervert."

   "A pervert boy gave you roses."

   "Yup."

   "And you...?

   "Hit him repeatedly."

   "This was after he gave you the roses?"

   "Well, he couldn't very well give them to me if he was 
unconscious, could he?" She held one out to him. "Here, sniff."

   He did.

   "Um. Smells very roselike."

   "Feh. I think they're beautiful. He was awfully shy."

   Koji felt a headache coming on. He had forgotten how much 
fun his sister liked to have at his expense. "The pervert?"

   "No, Tsen. Really uncomfortable with women."

   "But fine with hitting them on the head and ripping their 
shirts off."

   She frowned. "Point. I'd forgotten that."

   "Marichan, I really wish you wouldn't forget minor details 
like that. I'd worry a lot less."

   Laughing, his sister poked him. "You worry too much, Koji. 
Relax."

   He tried to take her advice, and mentally recited a calming 
mantra. The headache began to recede.

   "He ran off after I kissed him. Weird guy."

   The headache returned full force. "You KISSED him? Why?"

   "I wanted to get on his good side."

   Koji stared. Mariko adopted an innocent look. "His good side!"

   "Well, he might make a good ally."

   "Oh, right, silly of me. What are you going to do to cement 
relations, sleep with him?"

   She glared at him, a bit of the playfulness slipping away. 
"Oh, you're allowed to be practically in Nabiki's lap, but I can't 
kiss someone?"

   "I never kissed her!"

   "Yeah, I just found you half naked with her."

   "She walked in on me!"

   "Uh-huh."

   "You can't honestly think..."

   "I honestly think you're honestly thinking about how to get 
her in the sack."

   He started to protest, then shook his head in disgust. 
"Women."

   Mariko laughed. "Men." She leaned forward slightly. "Don't 
worry, Koji. Tsen's cute, but before that he's a martial artist 
we can use against Ranma. I say we send our Chinese friend 
charging into battle, wait til he has Ranma's full and undivided 
attention, then nail the murdering bastard."

   Her brother frowned slightly. "Three against one?"

   She cast him an exasperated glance. "You're never going to 
beat him one on one, you know. It's either a group attack or let 
him live."

   Koji nodded reluctantly, feeling a bit guilty. "It just seems... 
wrong."

   "Killing Ranma?" 

   "Hell no. That's as right as breathing. I mean ganging up. It 
lacks honor."

   She sighed and stared at him. "Look. I'm getting sick of your 
honor. I love you, and so I'm going along with all this for now, 
but if he doesn't die soon I'm going to find a nice window along 
his route and wait for him to pass by. And then I'll blow his 
fucking head off and run like hell. Don't push it, Koji. If we 
were doing this my way, Saotome would be rotting as we 
speak."

   He started to speak, thought better of it, and poked the 
campfire with a stick.

   "Don't worry, brother mine. You'll be the one to kill him."

   He had been worrying about that, he realized.

   "Yeah. It shouldn't be important, Mari. It scares me."

   She looked at him, and he thought for a second that he saw a 
bit of wetness in the corner of her eye. "Yeah. It scares me 
too."

   Koji tossed on a dry branch, and the fire leaped toward the 
darkening sky.

^_-

   The door opened, and Akane looked up from her magazine to 
see Ranma and Nabiki enter. "Haven't you two ever heard of 
knocking?"

   Nabiki shrugged. "Well, it's not as if we were going to catch 
you in here making out with some guy, right?" She smiled, 
suddenly. "How are you doing, little sister?"

   Akane rubbed the back of her head gingerly. "I'll be fine. It's 
just a bruise, really."

   "It's more than a bruise," Ranma said quietly. "She had a mild 
concussion, Nabiki. And they let her fall asleep during it."

   Akane poked him in the arm. "I'm fine, really. At least, I will 
be as soon as you two get me home." 

   "Well, then, let's get you home," Nabiki said. "Need someone 
to lean on?"

   She shook her head, faintly amused by how attentive Nabiki 
seemed. "Thanks, oneesan, but I can walk on my own. Here, I'll 
prove it." Standing, she did a brief spin. "See? Perfectly 
steady. C'mon, let's go."

   Ranma opened the door, made an exaggerated bow. "After you, 
ladies."

   Akane laughed, already feeling better. "Shall we, Nabiki?"

   Her sister smiled, the expression looking stretched and 
forced. "Yeah. Sure thing, Akane."

   Mentally, Akane frowned. She knew Ranma and Nabiki didn't 
like each other, but she also got the feeling... that each of them 
scared the other in some way. She could see it in Ranma's face 
at times, a black, nameless dread that seems wholly 
inappropriate to be about Nabiki. As for her sister... Nabiki 
didn't show fear or pain unless she stood to gain from it. But 
she did get edgy, and the quips came faster, and the smile 
grew tighter. And Akane thought that at times it almost 
seemed as if her sister were terrified.

   Something just didn't fit. There were lots of things lately 
that didn't fit.

   The walk home was silent. The sun bled its last drops, and 
night rushed over Nerima.

^_-

   Tsen wanted to vomit. So he did.

   He didn't feel any better afterwards.

   That insufferable Japanese bitch had _kissed_ him. On the 
LIPS. And then had pressed herself against him.

   And the worst part was that his body had responded.

   He sighed. If it hadn't been for that, the episode would 
merely have been unpleasant. As it was, he was scared to 
death.

   Did this mean that he was becoming male in mind as well as 
body? Would he soon start whistling at attractive women and 
feel the urge to visit a brothel? Would the male form no longer 
catch his eye?

   Or was it just a reflex hardwired into his current body? An 
involuntary reaction, like a leg kicking when the doctor taps 
your knee with the hammer?

   The urge to strip and douse himself in hot water came again, 
and he resisted with difficulty. The code would allow bathing 
as a time for reverting back to the natural form. No-one 
expected you to marry while you were in the shower. But he 
couldn't just revert back any time he felt uncomfortable, 
either.

   Stupid code, he thought blackly.

   He tried very hard not to think of the way he had felt during 
the kiss. Horrified, yes. Disgusted, certainly. Repelled. But 
there was also a surging warmth, a demand to return the 
embrace, to let the hands roam.

   Tsen almost screamed. Don't think, he commanded himself.

   It was almost certainly a built-in reflex, because he had 
never been that way before. It wasn't considered shameful 
among the Joketsuzoku, but it really, really wasn't her cup of 
tea. So it had to be just an annoying by-product of the gender, 
right?

   And the way she had pressed her chest against his....

   Tsen gritted his teeth and refrained from ripping out clumps 
of his hair.

   He tried an experiment. Closing his eyes, he pictured his 
female friends at home, in the nude.

   Nothing. Not the least stirring. The image wasn't even the 
slightest bit arousing.

   Right, he thought, relieved. Purely physical reaction.

   Almost certainly.

^_-

   Punch. Kick. Sweep. Kick. Jab. Punch. Punch.

   Akane finished the kata, stood panting for a second, and 
frowned at the dojo walls.

   That had been one of her best attack/defense patterns. She 
had worked on it tonight for over an hour, and she had brought 
the speed and rhythm up slightly. Only a few weeks ago, she 
would have been proud of it.

   Now it seemed almost useless.

   Mariko would have carefully, warily, painfully gotten through 
it eventually.

   Koji would have waded into her defense, ignored the punches 
and slammed her to the ground.

   Ranma would have slid through the kata like water through a 
sieve, effortlessly piercing her defenses to strike.

   She didn't know what Tsen or Shampoo would have done, but 
she had a pretty good idea she knew what the result would be. 
It involved Akane losing.

   In short, her fighting skills, only recently the best in 
Nerima, were now only a distant fifth. Possibly sixth, if Kuno 
had been holding back even more than she had suspected.

   She really, really didn't like that. At all. Akane didn't like to 
lose, especially when it came to the martial arts. It was part 
of her identity, really. She was a good student, but not the best 
in the class. She was attractive... the hordes at the school 
gates proved that... but that was really only a passing bit of 
group hysteria, probably brought on my Kuno's rantings. There 
were girls far more physically attractive than her. She was 
the officer of no clubs, the star of no team, the focal point of 
no group or clique. But she was one of the most dangerous 
people on the planet in unarmed combat, with multiple Dan 
rankings in both Tendo-ryuu and several other forms. She could 
demolish the average black belt in a matter of seconds.

   It galled her that almost everyone she seemed to meet in 
combat these days was better than her. Aside from the fact 
that it was a dangerous position for her to be in, it seemed as 
if they were usurping her rightful place.

   Akane shook her head. Brooding about it wasn't going to help.

   "How's the workout going?"

   She spun, relaxing in mid turn as her mind tagged the voice 
as Ranma's. Standing only a few feet from her, her eyes 
confirmed, the half-smile grinning at her.

   "Why is it I never hear you enter a room?" she asked, voice 
frustrated. He shrugged.

   "Pop made me walk through a room full of angry bees until I 
could get through without being stung. After that, I kinda have 
a tendency to not be noticed. Has to do with removing your 
presence from the person's..." He stopped suddenly, looking 
embarrassed. "Sorry. Didn't mean to bore you."

   She shook her head vigorously. "It's amazing. Your father put 
you in a room full of bees? How old were you?"

   "I was about eight, I think."

   "That must have been horrible." Her father would certainly 
have never dreamed of doing anything like that. She was 
beginning to realize that Genma, who had seemed to her like a 
benign, lazy, kindly relative, had in fact done some pretty 
brutal things to his son in the name of training.

    Of course, they seemed to have worked. You didn't get to be 
one of the best martial artists in the world by being coddled.

   So did the fact that her father had never thrown her to angry 
bees mean that she had been 'coddled'? She doubted it.

  "It wasn't fun, but I was glad I did it. He did ask. And I chose 
to."

   Akane stared at him. "You willingly went into something like 
that? Didn't you know what he was asking you to do?"

   "Yeah, I knew. But I also knew it would improve my skills, 
and that was the important thing."

   Akane looked away. "I could never have done that."

   "Sure you could have. You just never thought about it." She 
smiled, and something in his eyes glowed dimly. "If you could 
become a better martial artist just by getting stung by a few 
bees, wouldn't you do it?"

   She thought about it, and slowly nodded. Of course she would, 
she realized. She'd do it in an instant.

    "You're really good, y'know. But you haven't trained, not 
really."

   "I train every day!" she protested, feeling both stung and 
pleased by his remark.

   Ranma shook his head. "You go through katas and break bricks. 
It's not the same thing." The glow seemed to grow brighter, 
locking her eyes on his. "Training is doing something that you 
think is insanely extreme the first time you hear it. Training 
is fighting against a superior foe. Training is breaking yourself 
and reforging the pieces."

   "I fight a lot of superior foes these days," she said, voice 
slightly sour.

   "Yeah. I know. I worry a bit about that." He broke eye contact, 
and she blinked, startled by the sudden lack of focus. "Akane, 
I'd... well, I've got an offer for you. If you want, I mean."

   "What is it?"

   "I wanna train you." He paused, studying her, gaze lingering 
over her arms. "You've got a lot of natural potential, as much 
as me. And I'd really feel a lot better if you were an even 
match for Shampoo or Mariko."

   She thought about it. Ranma's own training had been harsh, 
and there was no reason to expect that hers would differ from 
his. It would require a great deal of effort, regardless...

   Akane suddenly realized that she didn't care. She wanted to 
be the best, wanted her place back. She probably would never 
reach Ranma's level, but she wanted to treat with Mariko and 
Shampoo as a superior.

   "I'd like that, Ranma."

   He smiled. "I thought you might say that. Here's the deal. 
You're going to have to trust me in my instruction, and when I 
tell you to do something I'll be expecting you to do it. Some of 
the things will be dangerous, a few will seem impossible, and 
most of them will hurt a great deal. The only promise I make 
to you is that I won't ask you to do anything I don't think you 
can deal with. Still want to do it?"

   She only hesitated for a second. "Yes."

   "Yes, sensei."

   She gave a short bow. "Yes, sensei."

   "Agreed, then." He glanced outside, at the streetlight shining 
starkly on the road. "We're going to spar for a few hours, to 
start with. Consider this a trial run. You might not want to do 
this after all, or might at least want to wait."

   She shook her head. "I don't think so."

   He bowed, and leapt for her throat.

   Akane desperately tried to block, to fight back. One hand 
slapped ineffectively against his side as his fist slammed into 
her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. A kick swept her 
feet away, and she crashed into the floor like a fallen tree.

   She lay there for a second, clasping her midsection, then 
slowly stood.

   Ranma stared at her, expression unreadable. "Now. What did 
you do wrong?"

   He didn't seem the least bit sorry for... well, she thought 
irritably, of course not. He had told her ahead of time what 
this would be like.

   "I... I panicked. I didn't really think, I just went into a form."

   He nodded. "That's part of it. Do you know what you'd do 
differently?"

   She nodded.

   As he soundlessly leaped, she lunged forward, sliding low, 
fists forming a defensive wall as her foot lashed out.

   Her kick took him in the shoulder, and then his left hand 
clamped around her ankle and savagely twisted. She gave an 
involuntary cry of pain as his foot smashed into her chest, and 
she fell to the ground.

   "Better," he said.

   Wincing, Akane stood up.

   "What did you do wrong?"

^_-

   The hill was still there.

   Genma slowly walked up it, staring at the night sky far 
above. It had been a long time.

   "Well. It's been a long time."

   He turned, startled by the sudden vocalisation of his 
thoughts. At the foot of the hill stood a young man, features 
hidden by the darkness.

   "Excuse me?"

   "I never thought you'd be stupid enough to actually come back 
here, Saotome Genma."

   A uneasy feeling grew in his stomach. "Do I know you?"

   The young man started up the hill. "I'm really not sure," he 
commented, unshipping the giant spatula from the sheath on 
his back. "I'm really not sure."

-< End of Chapter 7 >-