>From the Final Police Report of Sgt. Reiko Tsereba

    ...I picked myself up from the floor of my apartment. Saotome did 
likewise, brushing bits of glass from his clothes. 
    "Was she always like that?" I asked.
    "Not always," Saotome replied. 
    I assessed what I had seen. On the roof of the house just across 
the street from my apartment, I had seen a shadowy female figure 
witha large bladed weapon on her back. While this could have been any 
one of a number of people, I had also seen the luminescent eyes 
Saotome described in his statement. I was convinced that Saotome was 
telling the truth. That somehow Ukyou Kuonji had returned from the 
dead.
    Knowing that I was facing a serious aiding and abetting charge 
when this was all over, I told Saotome I believed him and asked what 
our next move should be.
    "We go see the one person in Nerima who always seems to know 
what's going on." 

    Saotome and I proceeded to the Nekohanten, a Chinese restaurant 
in the Nerima district. A sign on the door read "closed" but Saotome 
ignored it. I followed.
    Inside, I saw an ancient woman with a long staff stare at us when 
we entered. I could see Saotome was practically bursting with anger, 
and I began to get worried.
    "I want you to know that I am seriously resisting the urge to 
kill you right here and now." he said through clenched teeth to the 
old woman. From this statement, I assumed that the woman was the 
"Cologne" Saotome had made reference to during his interrogation.
    From Saotome's description, I expected Cologne to counter with a 
secretive smile and some enigmatic statement. Instead, she merely 
nodded gravely. I read fear in the old woman's face. 
    Saotome evidently noticed it too.
    "She's been here, hasn't she?" he asked.
    "Yes," said Cologne. "But make no mistake, that is NOT Ukyou,"
    Saotome and I stared at each other and back at the old woman.
    "Allow me to explain," she said. "The person you have seen on the 
rooftops is not the person you know, but rather, it is the disease 
that killed her."
    "What?" asked Saotome.
    "I said it was a disease more of the soul than of the body," 
Cologne continued. "The being that you have been dealing with is a Ki-
Spirit. More specifically, a negative Ki-Spirit."
    "Ki-Spirit?" I asked. Cologne looked at me sharply.
    "Every person posesses Ki," she said slowly. "Some in greater 
amounts than others. A martial artist uses his Ki in battle to give 
him an edge. Ki comes in both positive and negative forms, fueled by 
the emotions. Positive Ki comes from the feelings of peace, 
confidence, and tranquility. Negative Ki comes from anger, depression 
and jealousy. Both are equally powerful and both can be used 
effectively in combat."
    "How so?" I asked. Saotome told me to watch him. He stepped out 
the door of the restaurant and faced the sidewalk menu. In seconds, 
he was surrounded by a firecely glowing blue aura and with a cry of 
"Shishi Houkodan," send out a ball of energy that vaporized the sign.
    "Jesus!" I cried, astounded by the spectacle.
    "Indeed," Cologne said. "The technique you just saw is one of the 
ways negative Ki is used to power a martial artist's offensive 
capabilities. It also acts as a "release valve", if you will, for 
negative Ki. Others release negative Ki through expressions of anger, 
hatred or violence, such as Akane Tendo."
    "So, where does this Ki-Spirit come in then?" I asked.
    "Due to the society we live in, it is considered socially 
unacceptable to release negative Ki through expressions of anger or 
violence. With the result that the negative Ki is allowed to grow and 
fester. If it grows to a large amount, it can be fatal. Normally, 
since most people do not live in volatile areas, the Ki can be kept 
under control by the soul's natural dampening power of Ki. 
    "However, on occasion, the soul becomes overworked. This can 
happen due to a number of circumstances; stress, depression, or any 
other type of recurring negative experience," Here Cologne looked at 
Saotome. "If the soul becomes overworked, the dampening power 
decreases and the person can become deathly ill. But as the person 
dies from the influx of negative Ki, it is possible for that Ki to 
become, for want of a better word, sentient. And like all sentient 
beings, the Ki-Spirit, as it is called, has a strong sense of self 
preservation. In order for it to live, it's host must die."
    "And that's what happened to Ukyou?" Saotome asked. "All her 
negative Ki mutated into..."
    "The person you are currently pursuing." Cologne finished. "The 
Hanakatasha water has an effect on the soul, calming it and 
increasing the power of the dampening field. But, the Ki-Spirit knows 
this, and it is my assumption that it found some way to manipulate my 
thinking into preventing you from giving the water to Ukyou. Now that 
she is dead, it can wander freely."
    "That still doesn't explain why it's doing all this," said 
Saotome. "I assume it did whatever happened to Shampoo, right?"
    The old woman hung her head.
    "Yes," she said quietly. "There is more to the story, future Son-
in-Law. After the Ki-Spirit is released, it only has a limited 
lifespan. That of the residual Ki that leaves the body of it's host. 
If it wants to continue to live, the Ki-Spirit must find a new host 
before it's supply runs out. It currently wants you, Son-in-law."
    We both looked at Saotome. He was looking at the ground.
    "I guessed that was it." he said quietly. "That's what it meant 
when it told me to prepare to lose everything I care about. And then 
it attacked Shampoo."
    "It is even worse than that, Son-in-law," Cologne said. "The 
residual Ki I mentioned that it feeds on, is composed of Ukyou's very 
soul. If the supply runs out, she will be lost to us, forever."
    A thought struck me. "Ukyou's not really dead, is she?"
    "Yes...and no," Cologne replied. "Even though she died, her soul 
did not go on to it's final reward. Instead, it has been channeled 
into the Ki-Spirit, diverted if you will. If the Ki-Spirit is 
destroyed and her body found, it may be possible to bring her back."
    Saotome seemed to brighten at this news.
    "How?"
    "The current question is where, Son-in-law. I am telling you this 
not only because you want the information. *It* wants you to know as 
well."
    "What?!" Saotome shrieked. "You've been playing along with it?"
    "If I did not, Shampoo would have died. There has been too much 
death already. But, you have the information, what you choose to do 
with it is in your hands." 
    "So," I said, "We need to find out where this thing is,"
    "We?" Saotome looked at me. I nodded.
    "We. I've come too far to not see this through. And if it means 
the loss of my career and some hefty jailtime, so what? Fighting for 
truth and justice is what I became a cop for." 
    Saotome smiled. "You're not too bad for a cop."
    "Thanks, you're not too bad for a juvenile delinquent."
    "Time is wasting." Cologne said.
    "Okay," said Saotome. "How do we figure this out?"
    An idea occurred to me. "It told you to prepare to lose 
everything you care about, right?"
    "Yeah, so?"
    "So, what do you care about?"
    Saotome frowned. "Martial arts, becoming a great martial artist, 
my friends, my--" A look of horror crossed Saotome's face. He stood 
up and dashed out of the restaurant. Cologne and I followed.
    "What?" I called to Saotome's retreating form.
    "It's going after Akane!" he yelled back...
    
    
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    Next: Akane encounters the Ki-Spirit, and Ranma is forced to 
confront his worst fears.

                                            ---Erin 2.5