Although this is more or less a finished story, C&C is very much
welcome.

- Grayson Towler
http://www.talesfromthevault.com/relentless

               =========================
                      RELENTLESS
                A Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction

                   By Grayson Towler
               =========================

-----------------------------------------------------------
                      CHAPTER FOUR:
                    To Catch a Thief
-----------------------------------------------------------

"RYOUGA!" Ranma-chan screamed as she watched P-Chan's diminutive 
form vanish into the undergrowth.

"Oh no..." Ukyou gasped.  

Pantyhose Tarou beat his wings harder, accelerating away from the 
Reikoku as fast as he could.  

"Turn back!" Ranma-chan shouted.  She scrambled up Tarou's broad 
back, past the cluster of folded tentacles, towards his head.  "We 
gotta help him!"

Tarou ignored her.  It was too bad about the pig-boy - he wasn't 
nearly as bad as Saotome, in Tarou's opinion - but there was no 
way he was going to put himself on the line for someone like that.  
With that monster chasing down the piglet, they'd all have more time 
to get clear of the thing.  Hibiki was on his own.

"What're you doin'?" Ranma-chan demanded, thumping Tarou on the 
back of the head a couple of times to get his attention.  "He's 
helpless like that!  Turn around, damn it!"

Tarou gave a warning swipe at Saotome with one of his tentacles 
and growled angrily.  He'd be more than willing to drop another 
freeloader if fem-boy insisted on bugging him.  Tarou was the one 
providing the transportation, and his decisions about where they'd 
fly were not open for debate.

Ranma-chan had other ideas, though.  She reached into her pack and 
produced the portable kettle which they'd heated up earlier.  It 
still had plenty of hot water left in it.  She held it up over 
Tarou's head threateningly.  "Turn around NOW, or I swear I'll put 
us ALL on the ground!"

Tarou glared in fury at Saotome.  That moron couldn't possibly mean 
to follow through with a threat like that.  They were hundreds of 
feet up now - would the idiot really change him back into a human 
and risk the dangerous fall?  It had to be a bluff...

"I am not bluffing!" Ranma-chan snarled.

<Damn it all,> Tarou thought irritably.  Saotome did sound serious 
about this.  Why that perverted ingrate was so willing to risk 
dying over someone like Hibiki was beyond him.  Still, all he had 
to do was fly back a bit and drop them off.  He certainly didn't 
intend to hang around and search for a lost piglet while that 
monster was on the loose.

Tarou banked hard and came about, dropping back towards the forest 
floor.  The canopy of greenery was too thick for them to spot the 
pig-boy or that creature from above, but Tarou could feel the 
thing's presence.  The beast's fear-aura left him jumpy and 
unsettled.  In his cursed form, Pantyhose Tarou was a synthesis 
of five separate beings, and each animal part kept traces of its 
own instincts and behavioral patterns.  It was very disturbing 
to have portions of himself wanting to retreat from the terrifying 
presence they sensed.  The sooner he could get out of here, the 
better he'd feel.

But Ranma-chan thwarted his designs yet again.  The moment they 
touched down, the red-headed martial artist splashed Pantyhose 
Tarou with the hot water in her kettle, transforming him back into 
a human.  

Tarou gasped for a moment in disorientation - the radical shift 
between his monstrous cursed form to his human body could be rather 
wrenching if he wasn't prepared for it - then whirled on Ranma-chan 
in rage.  He hauled her up by the front of her shirt and cocked a 
fist menacingly.  "What the hell do you think you're doing, fem-boy?"

Ranma-chan grinned smugly at the enraged Tarou.  "What's it look 
like I'm doin'?"

"Idiot," Tarou hissed.  He shoved Saotome away - there was no time 
to waste beating up that pervert.  "There's a river right over 
there, fool.  You can't stop me from leaving."

"I wouldn't leave so quick if I were you," Ranma-chan warned.  
"You're in this mess now.  That thing's gonna keep chasin' you 
no matter where you go."

Tarou turned and began to leave.  "So?  I can take care of myself."

"You got into this trouble because you don't know what you're 
dealin' with!" Ranma-chan said.  "If you leave now, you're never 
gonna find out what that thing is, or how you can beat it."

Tarou stopped in his tracks.  Fem-boy had a point - he still 
didn't have a clue about what he was up against.  If Saotome was 
telling the truth, and that thing would hunt him down even if he 
did leave... that was a problem.  That monster was dangerous, and 
it wouldn't do to remain ignorant about it if the thing was going 
to continue to oppose him.  Right now, Saotome seemed to be the 
only one who would be able to tell him about the nature of the 
beast.  

"All right, cross-dresser," Tarou growled.  "But don't expect me 
to risk my hide to save you or your little piggy.  If it comes 
down to that, I'll take my chances on my own."

"Whatever," Ranma-chan said.  She turned to Ukyou.  "We gotta split 
up and look for him.  Whoever finds him, just start shoutin' and 
we should all hear.  Then we get back together at the river and 
fly the heck outta here!"

Ukyou nodded.  "Sounds like a plan, sugar."   

"Let's go!"

- - - - - - 

For Ryouga, it was the oddest sensation - it was like he was just 
a passenger in his own body.  P-Chan's animal instincts had taken 
complete control, and the piglet was in a state of utter panic.  
He charged headlong through the undergrowth at a full sprint, fleeing 
the terror of the Reikoku with reckless abandon.  The rational part 
of his mind - the part that was still Hibiki Ryouga - could no more 
control the horrified piglet's body than a man on a boat could 
control the current of the river beneath him.  

The situation was pretty hopeless.  He knew he was probably just 
charging around in circles, given his dismal sense of direction.   
He was going faster than the Reikoku right now, but he was running 
on panic and adrenaline.   Eventually, he'd burn out his reserves 
and collapse.  And then the Reikoku, the ever-patient and unrelenting 
hunter, would catch up to him.  

It was an embarrassing way to die.  

Still, he'd gotten into this by saving Akane's life.  On the balance, 
he knew his death would at least have meaning.  He'd have preferred 
to die as a human being, to go out fighting as a true martial 
artist... but if an undignified slaughter was the price he'd have 
to pay for saving Akane, he figured it was worth it.

He hoped Ranma survived, too.  Ranma probably would.  He was the 
lucky one, after all.  Ryouga hoped that Ranma would tell Akane 
and Akari that he'd died bravely, at least, and not mention that 
he'd been a pig at the time.  <If you humiliate me in death, 
Saotome Ranma, I swear I'll haunt you until the end of your days!>  
He wondered if his ghost would be a pig or a human...

P-Chan skidded to a halt at the edge of a sharp drop-off.  He'd come
to a dead end. Ryouga couldn't tell if he'd been there before 
or not.  The piglet whirled around and searched for another 
direction to run, but stopped short when he saw the figure in the 
woods.

It was a black, shambling thing, with three burning eyes.

The Reikoku had caught up to him.

P-Chan trembled in terror, paralyzed with fear and exhausted from 
his exertions.  Ryouga tried to force himself to run, but the 
piglet was trapped in a cage of his own panic.  The chase had been 
too much for P-Chan's animal mind, and now he was seized up 
completely, unable to think or act.

"There you are!" came a voice from the trees.  "Hey, I found him!"

The surprise of hearing a familiar voice shook Ryouga from his 
paralysis.  He whirled, squealing urgently, and saw Ukyou standing 
in the forest about a dozen meters away.  

The Reikoku was mere seconds away from the black piglet.  Ukyou's 
eyes widened as she saw the monstrosity bearing down on the helpless 
P-Chan.  It didn't look like the poor guy was going to pull himself 
together in time to get away...

Well, Ukyou had come prepared.  She knew that there was a chance 
that she'd have to fight this monster, and it looked like the time 
had come.  She would have preferred to fight to save Ranchan, of 
course, but she wasn't about to let it kill Ryouga either.  She let 
out a battle cry and leaped towards the creature, hurling a flour 
bomb ahead of her.  

P-Chan darted away from the Reikoku an instant before the flour 
bomb hit.  At that moment, Ukyou could have chosen to pick the 
piglet up and make a break for it.  But Ukyou had her pride - she 
was confident that she could win this battle.  She'd heard about 
how both Akane and Shampoo had been too afraid to fight when 
they'd been faced with the Reikoku, and this was her chance to 
prove that she was better than they were.  

Ukyou charged in with her battle spatula ready to strike through 
the mist of flour, and the Reikoku nearly took her head off with 
its first attack.

Reflexes alone saved her.  The Reikoku's claws made a series of 
shallow gashes in her shoulder and clipped off a chunk of hair.  
Ukyou staggered back and frantically blocked the attacks which 
followed.  The creature shambled forward, launching strike after 
murderous strike towards the unbalanced and desperate martial 
artist.  It was obvious that it had not been even remotely 
impaired by the flour bomb - it pressed its assault with deadly 
accuracy and ferocity.

<Maybe this wasn't such a good idea...>

"Ucchan!"

Ranma-chan skidded to a halt as she arrived on the scene.  The 
sight before her made her heart pound with fear - Ukyou was 
locked in combat with that damned monster.  Even though she was 
fighting it at its weakest stage, the Reikoku was still a terrible 
opponent.  Ranma-chan knew full well that Ukyou had never faced 
anything remotely this dangerous in her experience as a martial 
artist.

Pantyhose Tarou ran towards the battle, close on Ranma-chan's 
heels.  "Oh, great," he hissed upon seeing what was going on.  
"Are you happy now, fem-boy?"

"Shut up!" Ranma-chan snapped.  

"Well come on, you twit!" Tarou snarled.  He'd taken two steps 
towards the battle before he was tackled from behind by Saotome.

Tarou twisted and slammed the red-headed girl to the ground, 
pinning her beneath him.  He cocked a fist back, ready to pound 
Saotome's face in.  "Are you INSANE?  What the hell do you 
think..."

"We can't help her!" Ranma-chan moaned in a voice full of anguish.  
"We can't!"

"What are you saying?"

"If we gang up on that thing, it just gets stronger!  She's got 
the best chance of winning if she fights on her own!"

Tarou pulled back and stood, letting Ranma-chan rise to her feet.  
It was clear to both of them that Ukyou was never going to 
overcome the Reikoku at this pace.  It continued pressing its 
merciless attack, slashing with razor-keen claws towards the young 
chef as she frantically dodged and parried with her giant spatula. 
Ukyou was sweating with exertion, and sported a number of small 
wounds which were beginning to wear her down.

Ryouga watched in helpless fury.  It was taking all of his will 
to keep P-Chan from bolting away again, but he couldn't allow 
himself to leave while this girl fought his battle for him.  He 
burned with deep shame and anger at this situation, at his own 
inability to act in the face of this dreadful fate.  All he could 
do was watch.

"Ucchan!" Ranma-chan shouted.  "You gotta counterattack!"  A 
defensive strategy was hopeless against the Reikoku - it would 
never let up, never tire, never leave an opening.  The only way 
to win, at least in the first fight, was to press a furious attack 
into the face of its assault.  

Ukyou tried to follow Ranma-chan's advice, but she couldn't find 
an opportunity.  She was terrified and hurt, too intimidated by 
this demon to fight back.

Ranma-chan could see that Ukyou was too psyched-out to mount a 
proper attack.  Her only hope was to somehow get her angry, get 
her to be more aggressive...

"Damn it, ya stupid bimbo!" she shouted.  "What kinda martial 
artist are you?"

Ucchan gasped in shock and ducked under another swing.  Why on 
earth was Ranchan picking a time like this to start insulting 
her?

"I thought Akane was a slowpoke!" Ranma-chan continued.  "What's 
the matter, Ukyou, can't fight unless you're dressed as a boy?"

"Be quiet!" Ukyou screamed.

"Is cookin' all you're good for?  Is a woman's place really in 
the kitchen?"  

"I said SHUT UP!" Ukyou howled.  She lashed out with her spatula 
in rage, catching the Reikoku full in the torso with the flat 
surface.  The monster staggered back a couple of steps.

"Get clear!" Ranma-chan shouted.

Ukyou didn't need to be told twice.  With a little breathing 
space, she was able to leap backwards away from the Reikoku, 
putting some distance between herself and the deadly beast.  

"Now run!" Ranma-chan commanded.  She swept up P-Chan and made 
ready to bolt.

"Oh no you don't!" Ukyou snarled in a ragged voice.  She had a 
berserk look in her eyes as she glared at the Reikoku.  "Take 
THIS!"

Adrenaline coursedthrough her bloodstream, her mind consumed by 
the primal instinct to kill.  Ukyou had come prepared to fight.  
She had guessed that she might need something extra in her arsenal 
if she had to face the monster in battle.  When it had been so 
close, she hadn't had a chance to use the weapons she'd baked in 
preparation, but now she had room to throw. 

With deadly precision and speed, she hurled a rapid series of 
okonomiyaki bombs towards the Reikoku.  The lethal confections 
exploded like sticks of dynamite as they struck home, the reports 
of each detonation thundering through the forest.  The Reikoku 
pressed forward through the cloud of smoke.

"Spatula swarm!"  She followed up the okonomiyaki bombs with a 
spray of small steel throwing spatulas.  The keen-edged weapons 
streaked towards the Reikoku, burying themselves deep in the 
black-robed figure as they hit home.

"Rubber yakisoba attack!" Ukyou howled, lashing out with the 
string of tough noodles.  The durable noodles whipped around the 
Reikoku's twisted frame, trapping it in a hopeless tangle of 
tough yellow strands.

"Final strike!" Ukyou launched herself into the air, battle 
spatula raised over her head.  She descended and swung the mighty 
weapon in a perfect arc, seeking to finish the Reikoku with a 
single blow of immense force.

The Reikoku ripped a talon free of the yakisoba prison and caught 
the spatula mid-strike.  It wrenched the weapon free of Ukyou's 
grip and cast it aside.  Ucchan stumbled backwards, gaping in 
horror as the monster tore effortlessly through the remaining 
bonds that held it.

She was out of bombs, out of tricks.  She wasn't even sure if the
bombs had damaged the creature at all.  Without her weapon, she 
didn't stand a chance...

"Heads up, Ucchan!"

Ukyou turned just in time to catch her battle spatula mid-air.  
Ranma-chan knew she couldn't help directly with the fight, but 
she was at least able to retrieve Ucchan's spatula for her.  

"Attack now!" the red-headed martial artist shouted.  "Don't hold 
back!"

Ukyou barely dodged away from the Reikoku's next blow.  She was 
in danger of going back on the defensive again, and if she did 
that, she would be lost.

"NO!" Ranma-chan bellowed.  "ATTACK!"

A scream of rage and horror tore itself free from Ukyou's throat.  
She launched herself at the Reikoku, heedless of the blow she took 
that dug into the flesh of her shoulder.  She had no more tricks, 
no more special weapons.  She attacked with all her strength and 
skill, slamming the beast with her great spatula.  She howled like 
an animal as she pressed her assault, calling upon deep reserves 
of strength that she had not even known she possessed.  She attacked 
again and again with the spatula's deadly edge, cutting deep into 
the Reikoku's armored hide with each murderous strike.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity of frenzied strikes 
and primal bloodlust, Ukyou's endurance failed her.  She dropped 
to one knee, all her strength draining away like water through a 
fissure.  Her vision blurred, and she felt as if she were about 
to faint.  She couldn't fight anymore, even if it meant that she 
would die.  She had nothing left.

She did not feel the claws of the Reikoku dig into her, as she'd 
expected she would.  Instead, she felt Ranchan's arm around her 
shoulders, and heard her gentle voice in her ear.

"It's okay, Ucchan.  You won."

Ukyou collapsed in Ranma-chan's arms, sobbing uncontrollably.  
She trembled and wept, a release from the horror of the battle 
which she had just fought.  Her body was racked with the sobs - 
they seemed to tear themselves out of her lungs, burning like 
sandpaper on their way out of her throat.  

"We have to get moving, fem-boy," Pantyhose Tarou whispered 
urgently.  He didn't like to see a girl cry like that either, 
but he didn't want to be around when that monster rose again.

"Stow it," Ranma-chan snapped.  "That thing ain't gettin' up for 
a whole day, unless you're stupid enough to try to set it on fire 
or somethin'."

Tarou growled something unintelligible, but took a step back and 
kept his peace.

Ranma-chan awkwardly held her friend for a long while, until 
finally her convulsive sobbing tapered off.  She lifted the 
near-unconscious Ukyou in her arms, then turned to the others 
with a grave expression on her face.  

"Okay.  Let's go."

- - - - - -

She hated the way they looked at her now, the way they'd been 
treating her since Ranma was gone.  Everybody was SO polite and 
SO eager to help her with every little thing, everybody was 
walking on eggshells around her so as not to say the wrong 
words.  They treated her like... like she was a grieving widow.  
It's not as if she and Ranma were actually married or anything.  
And he wasn't dead anyway!  What was the big idea?  Why did it 
seem like there was a perpetual cloud of doom hanging over the 
Tendou family?

Ranma would make it.  Ranma always won.

Akane let out a half-hearted shout and planted her fist into the 
stack of boards.  Her concentration was off, but the wood still 
split obligingly under the blow.  She knew she'd have to 
concentrate a bit harder when she got to the cinder blocks, but 
this part of her workout was pretty much reflexive.

She sighed and stared at the broken planks for a moment.  Working 
out was the only thing that gave her any degree of solace right 
now, but even that brought unwelcome thoughts to mind.  She 
wished Ranma were here - he was a terrible sparring partner, 
never taking her seriously in their practices, but he was better 
than nothing.  Certainly, it WAS good practice trying to hit 
someone who moved like a dragonfly's shadow.  Drilling alone 
wasn't much of a substitute.  She would rather have had Ranma 
there, barely paying attention to her as she tried to land her 
punches and kicks, than to be stuck with just dummies and 
boards.

<That's about your speed, slowpoke,> came Ranma's familiar, 
jeering voice in her mind.  <If you're up against someone who's 
standin' stock still, you can take 'em two falls outta three.>

<Shut up, jerk,> she snapped back mentally.

Part of her desperately wanted to go after him, though she wasn't 
certain how she'd actually get to China now.  The stubborn, 
prideful part of Akane chafed at this business of sitting at 
home and waiting for Ranma to come back.  She couldn't stand the 
way that she'd been bullied into promising that she'd stay out 
of this fight.  She hated the implication that she couldn't handle 
herself, that she'd just be in the way.  She ached to prove them 
all wrong, as she had done many times before.  

But part of her knew they were right.  All it took was the memory 
of those three red eyes burning against the field of utter darkness 
that was the thing's face to remind her of how thoroughly she had 
been outclassed by that monster.  Akane was a pretty fair hand 
when it came to denial and overconfidence, but seeing the way it 
had taken Ranma apart in battle had told her all she needed to 
know about her own chances against the Reikoku.  

She wasn't good enough.  She would just be in the way.

A tear trickled down her cheek, and she wiped it away with the 
back of her hand.  "Oh Ranma," she whispered.  "Please come back 
to me..."

"Did you say something?" came an unexpected voice.

Akane pivoted, surprised.  She smudged the tear into the general 
layer of sweat on her face as she turned, not wanting anybody to 
see her distress.  Nabiki stood in the doorway of the Dojo, 
regarding Akane with her traditional cool and composed expression.  
At least the middle Tendou daughter had been behaving fairly 
normally since Ranma had left, unlike everybody else.  In fact, 
Akane could swear that her sister was actually in a good mood 
about something.

"Hi, Nabiki," Akane said.  She noticed how her sister was dressed.  
"You going somewhere?"

Nabiki grinned like a girl with a big secret that she's dying 
to tell.  "I'm going to be out for a while, so you can tell 
anybody who calls that they can reach me at Ucchan's."

Akane was nonplussed.  "Ucchan's?"

Nabiki nodded.  "I'm working there.  Remember?"

"Y... you're working at Ucchan's?"  Akane had known that Nabiki 
had gotten some kind of job, but in her general state of malaise
she hadn't bothered to get the specifics.

"I told you this, didn't I?"

"I..." Akane stammered.  "I... I'm not sure.  I think maybe... 
gosh, Nabiki, why are you working for Ukyou now?"

Nabiki snorted back a laugh.  This was a story she didn't mind 
telling again.  "Oh come now, Akane, who else could she turn to 
if she wanted her restaurant taken care of properly, hmm?  
Naturally, she looked to the best businesswoman she knows to 
manage things while she's away."

"Ukyou... she's still away?  I thought her vacation ended 
already."

"No, she went after Ranma.  You knew this, right?"

"No," Akane whispered.  "No."

Nabiki shrugged, still grinning to herself.  "It could NOT be 
sweeter, little sister.  This is the easiest job in the world.  
Konatsu does all the cooking, all the cleaning, all the serving... 
all the menial stuff.  And he works basically for room and board.  
The only problem is that he's not equipped to handle certain 
decisions about running the business.  And that's where I come 
in."

"Oh," Akane said in a small voice.  

"Thirty percent of the profits still go to Ukyou as the owner, 
and the rest is all mine," Nabiki said with a mercenary gleam in 
her eye.  "All I have to do is make sure the business stays afloat 
and the books are kept straight.  I mean, WHAT could be easier, 
hmm?  And you know what else?"

"No, what?"  Akane murmured.

"I get to use Konatsu!" Nabiki exclaimed.  "I get the services 
of one exceptional ninja, free of charge.  He's stealthy, he's a 
great martial artist, and he's completely obedient.  Can you 
imagine the schemes I can pull off with someone like that at my 
disposal?"

"Yeah.  Great."

"I'm dying here, Akane!" Nabiki laughed.  "This is just too easy!"

"Good for you, sis," Akane said in a flat voice.  "It sounds 
great."

Nabiki was too absorbed in her own dreams of easy prosperity to 
really notice her sister's distinct lack of enthusiasm.  "Y'know, 
Ucchan's is a nice little operation right now, but it needs some 
work.  Ukyou's problem is that she doesn't have much vision.  
We simply must expand the menu a little bit - this specialization 
thing she does can really limit growth.  And it's about time to 
break into delivery, too.  That's where the real money is.  Don't 
you think, Akane?"

Akane shrugged.  "Whatever you say."

Nabiki frowned a bit at her sister, finally noticing that the 
young martial artist seemed to have gotten herself into a bad 
mood  about something.  She was probably brooding about Ranma 
again.  "Uh, anyway, I'm off," she said.  "Ranma's supposed to 
call me sometime tonight, so just tell him I'm at Ucchan's, 
okay?"

Akane bowed her head and said nothing.  

"Right."  An emotional scene with Akane was the last thing she 
needed right now.  "See ya, sis."

Akane listened to her sister's footsteps fade to silence as the 
older girl departed.  The details of Nabiki's new employment had 
hardly registered with her - there was only one thing which had 
really mattered to Akane in the whole conversation.  

Ukyou had followed Ranma.  

Akane deliberately attempted to generate some anger, falling back 
on familiar lines of thought in her efforts to come to terms with 
this new development.  What did it matter if Ranma spent his time 
with her?  Why did SHE care if those two were off romping around 
China together?  It's not like it was any of her business what he 
did with his time, or who he was with.  It's not like either of 
them took this absurd engagement business seriously, after all.

Akane continued with her routine, piling up the cinder blocks in 
front of her and trying to convince herself that she didn't care 
that Ukyou and Ranma were together in China, while she was here 
alone.

Somehow, the arguments felt hollow, even in her own head.

Ukyou had followed Ranma.

Ukyou had to have known the danger.  She must have gotten an 
explanation of what had happened from somebody... Nabiki, 
obviously.  She'd talked to Nabiki about the restaurant, after 
all, and Nabiki was the one who knew how to find Ranma right 
now.  Her sister would have told the okonomiyaki chef the whole 
story, and how dangerous the Reikoku was.  And Ukyou had decided 
to go after Ranma anyway, knowing the peril that awaited her.

Well, so what?  The girl was nice enough, but it was clear that 
she was insane.  All of Ranma's so-called fiancees had demonstrated 
that they were certifiable maniacs when it came to trying to 
impress him.  Ukyou probably saw this as a great chance to get 
her "Ranchan" alone for a while, the scheming little tramp.  She 
was probably too blind and stupid to know how dangerous it was, 
and had gone skipping off to China in the hopes of having some 
great romantic adventure.

Akane couldn't even convince herself with that line of reasoning.

Ukyou had followed Ranma.

Ukyou knew the danger, but she was willing to face it anyway to 
help Ranma.  Akane could try to explain it away as stupidity or 
foolishness or insanity, but in her heart she knew that the trait 
Ukyou was really demonstrating in her decision to follow Ranma 
was courage.  

"Damn it!" she shouted, driving her fist through the cinder 
blocks in rage.

Ukyou had been brave, where she had been cowardly.  Ukyou might 
be killed - that much was certainly true.  Staying behind was, 
without a doubt, the prudent thing to do in this situation.  But 
Akane was not the kind of person for whom prudence was the most 
compelling motivation.  In her heart, she wanted to be a warrior.  
She wanted to be strong, to face challenges and overcome them 
with her courage and determination.  She'd succeeded often enough 
in the past... but this time she had failed.  This time, when 
the chips were down, she had folded. 

"DAMN it!" she howled, shattering another pile of cinder blocks.

Ukyou had followed Ranma.  Ukyou was stronger than she was.

"DAMN IT!" she screamed.  This time, her fist drove through the 
cinderblocks and into the floor of the Dojo.  

She extracted her hand from the wreckage.  She was red-faced and 
panting, not so much with exertion as with rage and shame.  This 
was simply intolerable.  There was no way she would let herself 
be beaten like this. 

But she'd promised Ranma that she'd stay here.

Well, that was too bad.  It had been a stupid promise for her to 
make, after all.  If he thought she would just sit by and let him 
get himself killed by some demon, he'd better just think again.  

Yet what could she really do?

<If you follow me,> Ranma's voice said in her mind, <you're just 
gonna get in the way.>

<That's not true!> she retorted.  <I'm a martial artist too!>

<'I'm a martial artist too!'> Ranma echoed back, mocking her tone.  
<You say that all the time, but you ain't in my league and you 
know it.  Heck, you ain't even in Ucchan's league.>

<Then I'll train!> she announced to herself.  <I'll... I'll learn 
the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken technique!  I saw how you trained 
for that.  I can do it too!>

<You?> Ranma's voice inside her was full of jeering contempt.  
<Learn that?  Oh, please!  Give it up, Akane, 'cause that ain't 
never gonna happen.  You may be strong as an ape, but you're slower 
than a slug.  You'll burn your hands off tryin' to master that 
one.>

<I'll learn the Hiryuu Shoten-Ha, then!  I was there for your 
training, I saw what you have to do...>

<Hey dummy,> Ranma's voice answered, <the Reikoku don't put off 
a battle aura, in case you didn't notice.  That technique wouldn't 
do you any good, even if you COULD learn it.  Which you couldn't.  
The idea of a violent maniac like you gettin' the hang of the Soul 
of Ice is pretty far-fetched, don'tcha think?>

Akane sobbed, angry at the voices inside her.  The Ranma in her 
head was a lot worse than the real one - she couldn't hit the one 
in her mind when she got angry, she just had to listen to his 
cruel but accurate words.  <There has to be something I can do,> 
she sobbed.  <There has to be something I can do to train 
myself...>

Akane wiped the tears from her eyes, then focused on the large 
pile of shattered rubble before her.  The remains of the cinder 
blocks she had demolished in her training were scattered across 
the floor of the Dojo.  

<You're strong as an ape...> Ranma's voice echoed in her mind.

Akane blinked away the last of her tears.  She reached down and 
scooped up a handful of jagged chunks of cement, sifting them 
about in her hand thoughtfully. Maybe she wouldn't ever be as 
fast as he was, but even Ranma admitted that she had muscle.  He 
teased her about it mercilessly, as if it were something of which 
she should be ashamed, but he didn't deny it.  

Maybe there was a way she could train herself after all.

- - - - - -

Ukyou stirred from her place by the fire when she saw Ranma rooting 
around in the packs.  "I can cook," she said.  "Really, I'm 
okay..."

"Just sit back," he said.  "We'll handle it tonight.  You rest."

She considered raising another protest, but she really was 
terribly exhausted.  The battle with the Reikoku had been unlike 
anything she'd ever experienced.  She'd spent the last of her 
physical reserves to overcome it, and now she was weary to the 
bone.  It was a rare moment when Kuonji Ukyou did not feel like 
cooking, but for tonight she was happy to hand the chore off 
to somebody else.

"Thanks, Ranchan."  She smiled weakly.

He grinned back.  "Yeah, well, we still got a few of Kasumi's 
leftovers.  We can feed you properly tonight, anyway."

She remembered something, and worked up enough energy to give 
him a small shove.  "Hey," she grumbled. "What was all that 'a 
woman's place is in the kitchen' crap?"

"He would know, wouldn't he?" Tarou quipped.

Ranma ignored him.  "Aw, I was just tryin' to get you riled up 
enough to fight back.  You know that, don't you?"

She nodded, unable to even pretend to be irritated for long.  
"Yeah.  Thanks, Ranchan.  I... I couldn't have won without 
you."

Her friend put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a smile 
of genuine warmth.  "You did good out there today, Ucchan.  Real 
good."

Something in her expression seemed to indicate that she didn't 
really believe this.  Ryouga spoke up as well.  "I was impressed!" 
he exclaimed.  "I... I owe you one.  You really..."

"Saved your bacon?" Tarou finished. 

"Will you shut up?" Ryouga growled back.

Tarou smirked, but then his face grew serious as he regarded 
Ukyou.  "I guess I sort of owe you one, too.  You... fought 
skillfully, Miss Ucchan."

Ryouga laughed, while Ranma looked a bit annoyed.  Ukyou chuckled 
a little at Tarou's misstep.  "That's actually Ranma's nickname 
for me.  My name is Kuonji Ukyou."

Ranma got a mischievous gleam in his eye.  "That's right!  We 
haven't made the proper introductions here yet, have we?  Ucchan, 
I'd like you to meet the one and only Panty..."

Tarou lashed out and belted Ranma in the chin, his face turning 
red with anger and embarrassment.  "Don't you dare, fem-boy!"

"What's the matter?" Ranma mocked.  "Don'tcha want her to know 
your name, Pant..."

Ranma ducked under Tarou's next swing, only to slammed by the 
Chinese martial artist's elbow on the back of his head.  He 
pulled back, still grinning with malicious glee.  

"Aw, now we can't run around with Ucchan not knowin' your name, 
can we?" he asked with an innocent look on his face.  "Come on, 
let's just get it over with."  He turned, partially addressing 
Ukyou but pretending that he was speaking to a large audience.  
"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we are proud to present: 
Pantyh..."

Tarou attacked again, forcing Ranma to dodge and retreat.  
"Saotome, I swear I'm going to..."

"It's okay!" Ukyou called out.  "Just cut it out, okay?  I 
already know his name."

Ranma looked a bit disappointed, but Tarou looked mortified.

Ukyou was too tired to deal with fighting right now.  She also 
knew that everybody was going to have to get along in this little 
group if they were to have a chance of surviving - she wasn't 
accustomed to the role of the peacemaker, but somebody was going 
to have to do it before these guys killed each other.  She tried 
out her best Kasumi imitation and gave Tarou what she hoped was 
an encouraging smile.  "Don't worry," she said soothingly.  "It's 
no big deal."

"N... no big deal?"

"Yeah!  No big deal.  You prefer to be called Tarou, right?"

The Chinese boy blinked.  "Uh... yes.  Yes.  Tarou."

"Right," she nodded, hoping she made it clear that everything 
was settled.  Ranma, however, was obviously going to give it one 
more shot.

"I don't know if that's proper etiquette," he said with artificial 
concern. "I think maybe we should keep it formal, since you just 
met and all.  You can call him by his full name, which is..." he 
grinned at Tarou, bracing himself for the next attack.

Ukyou summoned enough strength to chuck a small rock at the back 
of Ranma's head.  "Oh knock it off!" she scolded.  

Tarou tried to compose himself again, but he was clearly moved.  
Ranma shrugged at Ukyou.  "Okay, okay.  I get the idea.  Come on, 
let's get some chow goin' here.  Yo, Ryouga, you got that fire 
up to speed?"

Re-heating Kasumi's traveling rations didn't take long.  The four 
martial artists ate in relative silence, each absorbed in their 
own thoughts about the day's events, and what the future might 
hold.  They knew that the Reikoku had not had time to recover yet, 
and that Tarou had flown them a great enough distance that they 
should feel secure, but each of them was still nagged by a distinct 
sense of unease.  None of them could dispel the constant awareness 
that they were being hunted.  None of them could truly be at 
peace.

Tarou finally broke the silence, as the meal was drawing to a 
close.  "All right.  It's about time you explained to me what's 
going on here, Saotome."

Ranma lowered his head, so his eyes disappeared beneath his dark 
bangs.  He began speaking in a low, ominous tone.  "It is a terrible 
tale... um... a story of blood, death, and... er...unspeakable 
stuff.  The name of the thing that's chasin' us should not be 
mentioned in the darkness of night, so nasty... uh... so foul is 
this demonic sucker that we should not speak of it unless..."

Ryouga reached out and thumped Ranma on the head.  "H... hey!" he 
snapped, trying to control the chattering of his own teeth.  
"Quit it with that ghost story stuff!"

Ranma punched Ryouga back and looked miffed.  "I'm just tryin' 
to do justice to the mood, okay?"

"Well knock it off!"

Tarou shook his head, regarding Ranma with contempt.  "If you 
really think you can spook me with that sort of thing, you're 
even stupider than you look.  Or perhaps you're trying to avoid 
telling me what's going on, so you can keep me around longer?"

Ranma made a face like he'd swallowed a goldfish.  "No way!  The 
sooner we get rid of you, the better!"

Pantyhose Tarou made a small, derisive sound.  

"Ranchan," Ukyou muttered, "just tell him the story, okay?"  She 
sounded like she was already half asleep.

Ranma shrugged.  "Okay, okay.  Listen, Pantyhose, this is all the 
old geezer's fault."

"THAT doesn't surprise me," Tarou grunted.

"Yeah.  So that pervert did somethin' to somebody, and they got 
so ticked off at him that they summoned up this thing, the Reikoku, 
to chase after him."

"He did 'something' to 'somebody?'" Tarou looked incredulous.  
"That's not very specific, fem-boy."

"You think I don't know that?  That's why we're chasin' after 
him!  See, he managed to brush this thing off on me, so it ain't 
after him no more."

"How?"

"Well, he came along and challenged me, since he knew I'd clean 
his clock..."

Ryouga snorted.  "From what I hear, he threw the fight."

"What do you know?" Ranma snapped angrily.

"Oh please," Tarou laughed.  "Don't expect me to believe that 
you could actually beat Happosai in one-on-one combat."

"Well I did!" Ranma shouted.  "Now you want me to tell the story, 
or don't you?"

"Fine, fine.  Go on."

"Right," Ranma continued.  "So anyway, I beat up the old pervert, 
and then he says that makes me Master of the Anything-Goes School.  
By doin' that, he somehow swung it so the Reikoku started chasin' 
me rather than him."

Tarou scoffed.  "And you fell for it, like an amateur.  Now you 
know what it's like to be screwed over by that old bastard, don't 
you?"

"Yeah, well, I ain't gonna let him get away with it," Ranma 
grumbled.  

"So what exactly is the Reikoku?"

Ranma shrugged.  "I dunno.  Some kind of big spirit of vengeance 
thing.   The old woman said it was somethin' from the ancient 
times, or whatever.  Anyway, it goes after you once you attack 
it, so all four of us are gonna be hunted down now."

"And how," Tarou asked, leaning forward intently, "do we stop 
it?"

Ranma scratched his head.  "We ain't really sure.  See, even if 
you beat it in a fight, it comes back to life after a day.  Every 
time it comes back and fights the same person, it gets stronger... 
it develops new abilities to exploit your weaknesses and stuff.  
The old woman said that it can only come back three times against 
a single person, so if you could beat it four times, you'd destroy 
it."

Tarou looked thoughtful.  "A tall order."

"Nobody here's been able to beat it twice," Ranma observed.  

"I wonder if there'd be some way to compensate for its adaptations," 
Tarou mused.  "Perhaps if one were able to adapt as quickly as 
it does, one might stand a chance..."

Ryouga frowned.  "Like... maybe I could fight it in a hot springs 
or something.  That way, it couldn't change me!"

"Yeah, but what about NEXT time?" Ranma asked.  "It'd probably 
grow an arm that shot Chisuiton at you or somethin' like that."

"Chisuiton?" Tarou queried.

Ranma shuddered slightly.  "It's this water that leaves you stuck 
permanently in your cursed form."

"Where'd you hear about that?" 

"Musk Dynasty," Ranma answered.  "Anyway, even if you did adapt, 
it still gets stronger and faster and tougher.  From what the old 
ghoul said, it sounds like findin' some way to defeat that thing 
four times is near to impossible."

Tarou paused for a moment, his brow furrowed with concentration.  
"So," he finally asked, "what exactly IS your plan?"

"We gotta find that wrinkled old troll and find out who sent 
that thing after him," Ranma said.  "Then, we go to them and see 
if there's some way to... I dunno, revoke it or somethin'.  Tell 
'em they got the wrong people."

"And send it after Happosai again?" Tarou asked.

Ranma shrugged.  "Look, that ain't my style really, but if it's a 
choice between him and me, I sure as heck ain't gonna take the 
fall just to save his butt."

"But you've already fought it," Tarou observed.  "You said that 
it will pursue anyone who's attacked it, whether they were the 
intended target or not."

"Well there's gotta be some way they can make it stop huntin' 
us!" Ranma exclaimed.

Tarou snorted.  "Hmmph.  If there was a way, the old geezer 
would probably have done it.  I don't think your plan has much 
chance of success, fem-boy."

"Oh yeah?" Ranma challenged.  "You got any bright ideas, 
Pantyhose?"

Tarou glared at his rival, irritated by his insistence on using 
that abhorrent name.  "Maybe I do!" he shot back.  "I certainly 
don't need a female impersonator like you to tell me what to do!"

Ranma leaned forward, ready to argue with Tarou, but then he 
noticed Ukyou.  She'd fallen asleep as they'd spoken, and was 
now curled up by the dwindling campfire with a peaceful expression 
on her face.  Ranma wondered how long she'd sleep like that before 
the nightmares came.  Seeing her at rest and thinking about what 
she'd been through that day cooled his temper.   He sat back in 
silence, ignoring Tarou.

The Chinese boy also turned to look at the sleeping girl.  A 
strange expression crossed his features as he watched Ukyou, 
the flickering firelight creating a lazy dance of shadows across 
her body.  

"Still," he murmured, "it might be best to pool our resources... 
for the moment."

"Yeah," Ranma whispered.  "For the moment."

- - - - - - 

Nabiki glanced up from the ledger when she heard the door to 
Ucchan's open.  She was moderately surprised to see who it was 
that had come to pay a visit.

"Good day to you, Elder," Konatsu said in a friendly tone.

"Ah, hello child," Cologne said to the pretty young ninja.  "And 
how are you, hmm?"

Konatsu bowed deeply.  "Very well, Elder.  May I have the 
pleasure of serving you today?"

The old woman smiled.  "That would be very nice, Konatsu.  
I believe you know my favorite."

Konatsu bowed again, smiling.  "Yes, Elder.  Though I am an 
inferior cook compared to Kuonji-san, I shall try my hardest 
to prepare your okonomiyaki to your satisfaction."

"There's a dear," Cologne said absently, hopping over to take 
a seat.  She enjoyed eating here from time to time.  Ukyou and 
Shampoo got along poorly, and Ukyou was technically a rival in 
the Saotome Ranma fiancee competition, but Cologne had a fondness 
for the young chef just the same.  She also felt a great deal of 
affection for Konatsu, who was refreshingly sweet and polite.  
She'd even considered importing some Jusenkyou girl-water for 
the young ninja, but she wasn't quite sure if that would be the 
right thing to do in the long run.  Konatsu briskly gathered the 
ingredients together and began to make the old Amazon her meal.

Nabiki rolled her eyes.  Konatsu really overdid it sometimes 
with the whole formal bowing-and-scraping routine, but it seemed 
to go over pretty well with the customers.  She rose from her 
seat and strolled towards the old woman, leaning against the 
serving counter.  "So, what brings you by, granny?"

"Oh," Cologne swiveled to face her.  "Yes, I just wanted to see 
how the place is doing under new management."

Nabiki grinned confidently.  "Better than ever," she asserted.  
"Isn't that right, Konatsu?"

"Of course, Tendou-sama," the ninja agreed.

"It's Nabiki," she corrected.  If there was one thing she 
couldn't bear, it was an excess of formality.

"Yes... Nabiki-san."  

The old woman fished into the sleeve of her robe, then pulled 
forth a folded scrap of paper.  Nabiki recognized it immediately, 
of course - it was one of the fliers she'd sent out all across 
Nerima.  

Cologne regarded the flier thoughtfully.  "I see you're going 
into the delivery business," she commented.

"That's right."  Nabiki crossed her arms and looked smug.

"Yes, very good," the old woman murmured.  "Will you be making 
the deliveries, then?"

Nabiki laughed out loud.  "What, are you joking?  Me?"

"Oh?" Cologne made a show of looking around.  "I see.  So who 
have you hired to make the deliveries, then?"

Nabiki brushed a strand of hair back into place.  "I haven't 
hired anyone.  I don't have to.  Why pay another employee when 
you can get the job done for free?"

"Mmm?" Cologne looked intrigued.  "And how have you managed 
that?"

The Tendou girl smiled.  "Oh, there are a lot of people who owe 
me favors around here.  I'm letting them pay those favors off by 
running a few deliveries for me."

"I see.  That's a very clever plan," Cologne observed, nodding.  
Nabiki thought she detected just a touch of condescension in 
the old woman's tone, but she couldn't be sure.  "Very clever 
indeed.  I see you're covering a much wider area than we do."

"You only have one delivery girl," Nabiki pointed out.  "Are you 
afraid of the competition, granny?"

Cologne just smiled to herself.  Konatsu set the small okonomiyaki 
down in front of the old woman, who took a delicate bite.  "Mmm.  
Very nice, Konatsu.  Ukyou has taught you well."

Konatsu bowed so deep that he almost bent in half.  "Thank you 
very much, Elder Cologne."

Nabiki wasn't terribly pleased at the way she'd suddenly been 
ignored, but refused to let it show.  "Yep," she hummed, "I 
think this place is going to be the number one restaurant in 
Nerima by the time I'm done with it."

Cologne polished off her okonomiyaki, wiped her mouth daintily 
with a napkin, and hopped off the stool onto her staff.  "Here 
you go," she said to Konatsu, giving the ninja a small handful 
of coins.  "Don't let her take all your tips, dear."

"Please come again," Konatsu chimed.

Cologne took a couple of hops towards the door on her staff, then 
pivoted to regard Nabiki again.  "I wish you luck, girl."

Nabiki gave her a half-lidded look of pure self-satisfaction.  
"Luck is not a factor when you have good planning."

The Amazon matriarch chuckled as she turned to leave.  
"Nevertheless, I wish it to you.  I somehow think you're going 
to need it."

- - - - - -

Akane leaned back against a tree and mopped the sweat from her 
brow.  She now wished she'd been there when Cologne had set up 
the whole ungainly apparatus the time she'd trained Ryouga on 
the technique, just so she could have seen how the old woman had 
done it.  She suspected that the Amazon had liberally applied 
Ryouga's superhuman strength.  It hadn't just been a matter of 
lifting the heavy boulder, though certainly that had been a 
difficult task in and of itself.  She'd needed to devise a pulley 
scheme so she haul the boulder into a swinging position, then 
release both it and herself when she was ready.  Finding a tree 
that could support the whole operation had also been no mean 
feat.

Still, she'd been able to get the rock dragged up into place and 
set into the mechanism... with a little help from Mr. Saotome.  
The panda was collapsed on the turf a couple of meters away, 
panting from the exertion.   They'd had a few missed efforts 
before they got the whole contraption to work correctly.  Akane 
was winded, but she was proud of her achievement.  Besides, the 
heavy lifting was a kind of training all its own.

Now, though, the real training could begin.

"Okay!" she announced to the panda.  "I'm going up!"

Mr. Saotome dragged himself into a sitting position to watch 
Akane climb into her rope-and-canvas harness.  He held up a 
sign: [Are you sure this is a good idea?]

Akane gave him a reassuring smile.  "Of course!  This'll be 
no problem, really."

Saotome-panda flipped the sign around, where it read:  [Isn't 
there some other training you'd like to do?]

Akane shook her head vigorously.  "I've given this a lot of 
thought.  This technique works with my strengths.  It'll help 
me build up more muscle and more endurance.  Plus, I'll get to 
do that cool thing where you break rocks."

The panda took a long look at the boulder, then turned back and 
pulled another wooden sign from behind his back.  [That's a big 
rock.]

"It's the same thing I've been doing for years, really," Akane 
assured him.  "I'm just trying to do it on a slightly larger 
scale."

Saotome-panda spun the sign.  [Slightly?]

Akane took another look at the boulder, mentally comparing it 
to the cinder-blocks she normally pulverized in her workouts.  
It really was a formidably large piece of stone.  She felt a 
twinge of nervousness, but she willed it away.  "Don't worry 
about it!" she called.  

The panda sighed.  When Akane set her mind to doing something, 
there was no talking her out of it.  He wondered what her father 
was going to think when he found out about this.  He tried to 
formulate a strategy which would prevent his old friend from 
learning about his own involvement in this "training."

Akane finished strapping herself into the harness, mustering her 
determination for the task ahead.  The bakusai ten-ketsu regimen 
was one of the most brutal training exercises she'd ever 
witnessed, but the results had really been amazing.  Ryouga had 
gone from being totally outclassed by Ranma to nearly being able 
to beat him in a matter of a week.  She knew she wasn't quite as 
strong as Ryouga to begin with, so she guessed that it would take 
about ten days - with about six repetitions per day - for her to 
complete the training and master the technique.

Once she had the bakusai ten-ketsu under her belt, she was pretty 
sure she'd have what it took to withstand the Reikoku, at least 
once.  Then, she could go to China, and even Ranma wouldn't be able 
to argue that she'd be in his way.  She had an idea about how to 
test herself after she'd completed the training, just to be sure 
of her new strength.

<I can't wait to see the look on his face when I use this 
technique,> she fantasized.  <I'll show him who's strong as an 
ape!  Ha!>

He'd probably make fun of her for being a tomboy.  Well, she 
couldn't help that.  If she was going to be a tomboy, she might 
as well be the toughest tomboy in the world.  

"Okay!" she shouted to Mr. Saotome.  "Here I go!"

Akane yanked the rope which triggered the release for both the 
harness and the boulder.  She dropped from her starting perch 
and accelerated into her long swing, finger extended towards the 
oncoming boulder.

It suddenly dawned on her how big that damned rock really was.

"Uhhhh..." she moaned as she continued to swing.  It occurred 
to her, with terrifying clarity, that the boulder was not only 
truly immense, extremely hard, and ponderously heavy, but that 
it was also moving at an frighteningly dangerous velocity.

"Aaaahhh..." she groaned as the boulder loomed larger in her 
vision.  This suddenly didn't seem like a very good idea after 
all.

But there was no way out.  She and the boulder were on a 
collision course, and she was now certain that she was going 
to get smashed to a pulp when they hit.  Panic seized her - 
she twisted sideways in her harness, trying to cover up her head 
with her arms, struggling vainly to escape the fate towards which 
she was inexorably rushing.  Akane let out a shriek of abject 
fear before the boulder slammed into her with devastating 
force.

Everything went black.

- - - - - -

"//EEEK!  Panty thief!//"

Ranma didn't know much Chinese yet, but he recognized what those 
words meant.  "This way!" he shouted to the other three martial 
artists.  "We got him now!"

The group of young fighters sprinted down the crowded Chinese 
street, weaving their way through the throng of people towards 
the cries.  None of them had caught sight of their quarry yet, 
but the disturbance he was making was hard to miss.  

"He's not getting away this time!" Ryouga vowed.  

Ranma jumped up to a street lamp and dangled for a second, 
analyzing the surroundings.  "You two!" he gestured to Tarou 
and Ukyou.  "Split up down there," he pointed at a side street, 
then towards another one, "and there!  You can cut him off if 
you hurry!"

"Okay, Ranchan!" Ukyou shouted, then took off down one of the 
streets.

"Don't screw this up, fem-boy," Tarou warned.  "We may not get 
another chance."  He raced away from the other two martial 
artists.

"Let's go, Ryouga!" Ranma leaped down and took up the chase 
again.  

"Right!" Ryouga followed close on Ranma's heels, matching his 
companion's moves as they tore through the crowd.  He knew 
better than to let himself get lost in a place like this, 
especially with so much at stake.

The two boys drew closer to the outraged shouts of Chinese 
women and girls.  They pulled up short in front of the entrance 
to a winding corridor between the rows of buildings, less 
crowded than the main thoroughfare.  They heard an indignant 
shriek from down the narrow side street.  

"This way!  Pantyhose ought to have him cornered!"

Ranma and Ryouga charged down the poorly-paved little street, 
vaulting obstacles and dodging pedestrians in their pursuit.  
They turned a corner and came upon Pantyhose Tarou so abruptly 
that they both bowled into him, knocking him flat.  

All three of them scrambled to their feet.  "What's the matter 
with you?" Tarou snarled.

"Where'd he go?" Ranma shouted.  "He came this way!"

"What are you talking about?" Tarou snapped.  "He's not here!"

"You didn't see him?"  Ranma looked around desperately.

"I'm telling you, he didn't come this way..."

The three of them heard a squeal of shock and rage emerge from 
further down the alleyway, past Tarou.  Someone was shouting that 
their underwear had been stolen from their clothesline.

Ryouga glared at Tarou.  "Didn't come this way, huh?"

The Chinese boy flushed with anger and shame.  "I don't know how 
he got past me!  There's no way..."

"Come on!"

The three of them pounded down the twisting path, which eventually 
doubled back on itself and led out to the main thoroughfare.  The 
martial artists followed the shouts of angry women once more, 
charging ever closer to their quarry.  

"//There he goes!//" an old woman called in a shrill voice.  
The martial artists turned towards that direction, only to see 
a figure dressed in black hop down an alleyway.  The person in 
question was carrying a large bag which looked to be stuffed 
with garments... but it was quite a bit taller and thinner than 
the person they'd been expecting to see.

"That... wasn't Happosai?" Ryouga couldn't believe his eyes.

"Another panty thief?" Ranma gasped.

"That little..." Tarou took off towards the alleyway. 

A loud noise echoed through the narrow passage.  It was the 
distinctive sound of an extremely large spatula making contact, 
at speed, with a human form.  The three martial artists rounded 
the corner into a plume of women's underwear, drifting through 
the air in dozens of soft, erratic parabolas.  Ukyou stood at 
the center, her spatula raised high and a questioning look on 
her face.  A figure squatted at her feet with its arms wrapped 
around its head, moaning in pain.

Ukyou stepped back.  "Hey... this isn't Happosai.  What gives?"

"That's what I want to know!" Ranma barked.  The martial artists 
arranged themselves around the unidentified panty thief, blocking 
off every possible escape route.

The panty thief they'd trapped was probably a teenager, though 
he had the sort of sullen and gaunt face that defied one's ability 
to predict his age.  He had large round eyes and was built like a 
bundle of pipe cleaners.  He scrambled to his feet and adopted a 
defensive stance, glaring at those who surrounded him with contempt 
and menace.  

"So," he hissed (in Japanese, fortunately), "you dare to interfere 
with Si Migou, master of combat and the art of thievery?"

Ranma rolled his eyes.  "Yeah, stupid.  We do."

The thief let out a quiet, evil chuckle.  "Very well, then.  You 
leave me no choice but to invoke my Ultimate Defensive Technique!"

Ranma braced himself, and the others did the same.  It was 
entirely possible that they were dealing with a very dangerous 
individual here, and it didn't pay to underestimate him.  
However, Ranma knew how these things worked, and he figured 
there was a good chance that this Si Migou was actually...

"Oh PLEASE don't hurt me!" Si Migou dropped to his knees and 
wailed piteously.  "Spare me, spare me, have mercy!  
Aaaagh!"

... a complete loser.

Ukyou shook her head in disgust.  "This is an Ultimate Defensive 
Technique?  It reminds me of something your dad would come up 
with, Ranchan."

"Yeah," Ryouga agreed.  "You sure he isn't stealing one of your 
special Saotome School secrets?"

The Chinese panty thief immediately stopped groveling and looked 
up at Ranma with an expression of total awe.  "Sao... Saotome?  
You're THE Saotome Ranma?"

Ranma blinked in surprise.  How had this guy heard of him?  
Well, he had done some pretty amazing things - he guessed word 
of his achievements had started to spread in the martial arts 
community.  He unconsciously adopted a smug pose.  "Yep, that's 
me."

"I can't believe it!" Si Migou chimed happily.  "I actually get 
to meet you!  The Champion of all Drag Queens!"

"Wha..." Ranma's jaw dropped.  The others began to snicker with 
varying degrees of intensity.

"Ah, how fondly the Master spoke of you," the young thief said 
dreamily.  "He told me of how you mastered the ultimate technique 
of cross-dressing, just so you could pose for him in the finest 
articles of silky clothing from his treasured collection..."

"Why you little...!" Ranma snarled, advancing menacingly on the 
Chinese boy.

"Don't hurts us!" the thief squealed, immediately dropping back 
into his groveling stance.  "Not nice, mustn't hurts us! No, no, 
we can't stands pain, no..."

Ranma backed off, utterly disgusted by the craven display.  How 
could you hit someone like that?  It was pitiful.

"The Master?" Ryouga said, frowning.  "Does he mean Happosai?  
Hey, you, is Happosai your Master?"

The thief continued to crawl around on the ground, whimpering 
and whispering to himself.  Ryouga glared and took another step 
towards the cowering boy.

"Hey!  Answer me, you little rodent!"

"Stop scaring him," Ukyou said.  "You're not going to get 
anything out of him by threatening him like that, Ryouga..."

"Ryouga?" Si Migou popped up like a cork, his face and voice 
full of rapt admiration.  "Hibiki Ryouga?  Is it really you?"

"Uh..."

"Oh, how amazing!" the youngster sang, dancing around with joy.  
"To think that I managed to meet the guy who developed the 
ultimate disguise technique, allowing him to sneak into the 
bedrooms of women at night and crawl into the sheets with..."

"SHUT UP!" Ryouga bellowed, drawing a fist back to pound the 
Chinese boy.

"Nice martial artists!  Don't hurts us!" The lad was back on 
the ground in a flash, crawling around on his belly and wriggling 
like a worm.  "Mustn't hurts us, no, no.  Tells them what they 
wants to hear, won't we precious?  Yes, yes, we shall tell them, 
but they mustn't hurts us..."

"Why are you talking like that?" Ryouga growled in rage, but he 
couldn't bring himself to strike the pathetic creature before him.  
There really was something to this so-called technique.

"So Happosai is your master, then?" Ranma yelled.

"Yes, yes," the boy hissed.  "Master he is, yes.  Came to us, yes 
he did, showed us... many, many interesting things.  Said he was 
taking students, didn't he precious?  Yes, said that he would 
choose the one who stole nice, silky precious panties for him as 
his disciple..."

"Wait a minute!" Ranma snapped.  "How can he be doin' that?  I'm 
the Master of Anything-Goes Martial Arts now!"

"Anything-Goes?" Si Migou repeated in confusion, pulling once 
more out of his groveling act.  "No, the Master teaches an ancient 
style called Free-For-All Martial Arts."

Ranma gaped, so outraged for a moment that he couldn't actually 
speak.  Pantyhose Tarou let out a bark of contemptuous laughter.   

"Oh, that's rich," Tarou sneered.  "Why not let you have the old 
school, fem-boy, when he can just go off and start up another 
one?  I have to hand it to the old goat, he really managed to 
shaft you coming and going..."

"Shut UP, Pantyhose!" Ranma shouted.

"P... Pantyhose?" the young thief turned to face Tarou, his voice 
filled with sheer reverence.  "You're really the one who worked 
so hard to please the Master that you were awarded a name that 
would befit a pervert of your stature..."

"How DARE you!" Tarou advanced, his face flushed with anger.

"DON'T HURTS US!" the boy squealed, dropping once more to his hands 
and knees.  "Nice martial artists!  Don't hurts us precious, we 
didn't MEAN to make them mad, did we?  No precious, no!"  He 
moaned and whimpered piteously, pawing at Tarou's feet in a 
truly pathetic fashion.

Tarou's fists trembled, but even he couldn't force himself to 
pound on this wretched creature before him.  All he could bring 
himself to do was to shove the thief away with his foot.  Si Migou 
tumbled away, skittering about on the ground like an insect and 
making a low, guttural noise from deep in his throat.

"This is really revolting," Tarou snarled.

"Um..." Ukyou spoke hesitantly.  "You, uh... you haven't heard 
of me, have you?  Kuonji Ukyou?"

Si Migou padded about in a circle, making his throaty noise, then 
squatted like a frog before them.  "No, hasn't heard of it.  We 
doesn't remember that name."

Ukyou sighed with relief.  "Well, okay.  Great."

"I still want to smash his head in," Ryouga growled, seething in 
rage.  The other boys seemed to feel the same way.  The thief 
covered up his head and began to wail like a baby.

"Oh, come on guys," Ukyou placated.  "He can't help it if the 
old guy told him a bunch of lies, right?"

"Yes, nice martial artists!" Si Migou whined.  "We can't helps 
it, can we precious?"

"Look," Ukyou addressed him in a gentle voice.  "Do you know 
where Happosai is?  We need to find him..."

"Doesn't knows, does we precious?  No, we doesn't.  Master said 
he was traveling, yes traveling all around China, looking for 
disciples.  Yes, that's what he said, remembers it, we does."

Ukyou sighed.  "This is a problem."

"Yeah," Ranma agreed.  "If that old goat's been runnin' around 
recruitin' other panty thieves, then we..."

"...We've been chasing shadows this whole time!" Ryouga finished, 
his voice full of dismay.  "How are we ever going to find him at 
this rate?"

"Feh," Tarou spat.  "You give up too easily.  I'll think of a way 
to track that damned troll down, since you two," he addressed 
Ryouga and Ranma, "seem incapable of it.  He won't escape me."

"Yeah, whatever," Ranma said in an unimpressed voice.  He was 
already getting tired of listening to Pantyhose blather on about 
how smart he was all the time.  "Let's get out of here."

"Then they'll lets us go, the nice martial artists?" Si Migou 
pleaded hopefully.

"Just stop stealin' underwear, or we're gonna come back and 
pound you into a fine paste, okay?" Ranma threatened.

"Nice martial artists!  Precious will do as they says, very nice, 
very sensible..."

"Oh, shut up."

The four of them turned and walked away down the alley.  They 
were almost around the corner and back onto the main thoroughfare 
when they heard Si Migou calling out from behind them.  

"Kuonji Ukyou?" he yelled.  "You're THE Kuonji Ukyou?"

The four of them pivoted slowly.  Ukyou's face was full of dread.

"I remember now!" The boy was beaming with positively rapturous 
delight and awe.  "You're one of the Saotome love slaves!"

"Wha... what did you say?"

"You're the cook, right?  The one whose body gets so hot that she 
can actually cook on herself?"  Si Migou's eyes sparkled.  "The 
master told me how you writhe on the griddle, pouring hot oil 
across your heaving bosom, until you're ready to smear sauce across 
your naked..."

Ryouga took one glance at Ukyou, had a split-second's worth of 
visualization, and then passed out with twin fountains of blood 
streaming from his nose.  Pantyhose Tarou doubled over, coughing 
so hard that it sounded like he was going to hack up a lung.  Ranma 
desperately and vainly tried to hold back Ukyou, who was charging 
down the alley with a truly homicidal look on her face.

"Stop it, Ucchan!"

"DON'T HURTS US, PRECIOUS!"

"I'll show you PRECIOUS, you little PERVERT!"

CLANG!< >CLANG!< >CLANG!<

"AAAAAGGGHH!!"

                    end of chapter four



-----------------------------------------------------------
                      AUTHOR'S NOTES
-----------------------------------------------------------

A little nod there to the finest groveler in all of literature.

COMING SOON:  Tensions rise between the traveling companions - how
long can they keep the peace amongst themselves?  Akane is 
desperate to learn the bakusai ten-ketsu, but can she really
survive the training?  And Nabiki learns that some things are
not as easy as they might seem...   

COPYRIGHT STUFF:  All the Ranma characters belong to Takahashi Rumiko,
and are licensed in America by Viz Communications.    

REVISION NOTES: A few continuity fixes. This chapter has been a
favorite many fans who've written me. Kind of scary to think that
I wrote this BEFORE any of the Lord of the Rings movies were
released.

GRT - July 1998
MODIFIED - April 2005
thunderstruck_comic@comcast.net

All existing chapters of this story may be found at:
http://www.talesfromthevault.com/relentless





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