Quick Notes: As I did with 1-3, I'm posting chapters 4-6 together for
anyone who needs a running start into Chapter 6.  For people keeping
current, just skip down to the Chapter 6 marker ***.  Author notes at the
end.


Chapter 4 - Secret Asian Man

[...]

	Kune awoke with a start, he nearly fell off the roof of the
Nekohanten.  The rain had ended before the sun rose.  It was a bright new
day, the sun was bright and the birds were chirping.  Obviously there would
be nothing but trouble.

	He didn't have to wait long before he heard the screams.  This time
he did fall off the roof, right in front of the restaurant.  His fall was
cushioned by Happosai, trying to make his escape.

	Fortunately landing on Happosai broke his fall, unfortunately that
meant he landed in Spice's line of sight.  The serving tray she threw at
Happosai nailed him in the head, which knocked him off of the old master.

	The angry mob of girls, upon catching up with Happosai took the
opportunity to beat the hell out of him.  "That's what you get, ya old
lecher!"

	Their business done, the lot of them wandered back to where they
came from.  A few decided to have a bite to eat first.  Spice waited for
the dust to settle before helping Kune to his feet.  "I so sorry Kunchan,
but you should have tell me you want to help with old pervert."

	Still a bit dazed he got to his feet.  "No problem, I was just in
the neighborhood."

	"Come inside, I get you breakfast."

	Kune followed meekly as Spice took him by the hand.  They were
almost to the door when a booming voice called to them.  "You will pay!"

	They turned back to the old man, picking himself up slowly from the
sidewalk.  He was glowing brightly as his battle aura began to flare.  "You
will both pay!"

	Happosai pulled himself up to his full height and suddenly there
was a lit explosive in his hand, a large one.  Spice was trained to deal
with many situations, but crazy perverts with explosives was not among
them.  Like Kune she stood frozen, unsure of what to do.

	The next thirty seconds felt like forever to Spice as she watched a
shape come down between her and Kune.  She saw the old man winding up for a
throw but he never finished the motion.  The stranger acted without
hesitation, he knew what he was going to do before his feet touched the
ground.

	He shoved the startled Kune directly at Happosai and tackled Spice
to the ground.  Unprepared, Kune fell into the old man whose eyes widened
as he realized he couldn't release the happodaikarin in time.

	He took the brunt of it as Kune plowed into and over him, the force
of the blast sent Kune into a nearby bush.  Time returned to normal as the
explosion rattled the walls of the Nekohanten.  Spice felt almost nothing
as the stranger took her share of the damage.

[...]

	Sakura and Noriko sat quietly over a go board.  Generally they
didn't like hanging out around Sakura's estate, but her mother and uncle
were both at school preparing for the summer session.  "What should we do
about dinner?"

	"Any leftovers in the fridge?"

	"I wouldn't trust the food in this house," Sakura sighed and placed
another piece on the board.

	Noriko shrugged.  "How about Chinese?"

	"We ate at the Nekohanten yesterday," Sakura said thoughtfully.
"How about okonomiyaki?"

	"I hope you're still talking about the Nekohanten," Noriko
continued playing.

	"Just a thought!  I always feel kinda sorry for Mr. Konatsu."

	"I thought Mr. Konatsu was a woman," she looked up with a puzzled
expression.

	"Shows how much you know," Sakura grinned at a particularly good move.

	"Why don't we just order some pizza," Noriko sighed.

[...]

	Kune rolled from the hedge he took out and got to his feet as best
he could.  He looked around quickly for any signs of the old man.  The
blast had knocked over the rain collectors and the area in front of the
Nekohanten was a total mess, but there was no trace of him except for blast
marks on the concrete.  He looked to Spice who was being helped up by
someone in a familiar chinese shirt.  The same someone he realized who
pushed him into the old man.

	"Hey you!"

	The stranger turned, it was then that Kune saw the facemask he wore
which covered everything below his eyes.  He didn't answer but examined
Kune for a moment and turned his attention back to Spice, who was still
shaken by her ordeal.

	Kune walked up to the pair and put his hand on the stranger's
shoulder.  "What's the idea?  Were you trying to get me killed?!?"

	The stranger turned his head and locked eyes with Kune.  "There was
no real danger," he turned away again and started walking.  "And you look
like someone who can handle himself."

	The voice was familar, but through the mask Kune couldn't place it.
Danger or no danger he didn't appreciate being someone's pawn.  "Care to
find out?"

	He stopped but didn't turn.  "Don't pick fights you can't win."

	"I never do," Kune took a breath and lowered himself into an attack
stance.

	"Your move."

	Kune raced towards him with an open handed strike, it was a
controlled move to test the waters.  A simple shove to bring the stranger
down a notch.  Kune executed a flawless motion, both silent and direct.
Before he could connect, the stranger sidestepped and planted an elbow in
Kune's ribs.

	Surprised by the attack, Kune staggered back as the stranger turned
to face him.  His followup attack stopped short of the mark as Spice
stepped in and gripped his arm in mid flight.  Instinctively his free arm
went for a backhand strike against her but that too stopped before contact.

	Kune used the oppertunity to feign a head shot to cover his real
attack.  If he was going to lose a fight, at least he wanted to know who he
lost it to.  At the moment before impact he opened his hand and grabbed the
strangers mask.

	Expecting the blow he threw his head back to roll with a punch.  He
felt his mask rip away as his head swung back.  With a supreme effort he
broke free of Spice's grip and threw himself at his only salvation, the
large pool of water formed by the toppled rain collectors.  It only took a
second for the transformation to occur.  He felt his skin become a coat of
fur, from his head down to his paws.

	It stretched out on all fours, its tattered clothes forgotten.  It
turned its attention back to a startled Kune and gave out a massive roar.
Kune instinctively jumped for the safety of Spice's arms.  Like everyone
who didn't run, namely her and Kune, she froze dumbfounded.

	The tiger stared after them for a few seconds before picking up its
mask making a mad dash, sending people jumping for cover in all directions.
They watched as the tiger rounded a corner and vanished, leaving only the
shredded remains of his chinese shirt and pants behind.

[...]

	Midori rounded the corner with a slight spring to her step.  For
some reason it was really busy back at the pizzaria.  She skidded to a stop
as she heard a familiar voice call to her.  "Midorichan!!!"

	This was the moment she'd been dreading ever since she ran away.
She looked behind her slowly, prolonging the inevitable.  There he was,
just a few blocks away, her old master Happosai.

	He started to run after her, joy in his eyes.  She nearly fell
trying to get back in motion.  Even with rollerblades on, he was fast
enough to catch her eventually.  She rounded corner after corner until she
came face to face with her second surprise of the afternoon.

	Happosai leaped every obstacle in his way and ran along fences when
he could.  It kept Midori in sight constantly until she rounded the corner
by the Kuno estate.  The walls were too high for him to use effectively so
he hopped down and continued on foot.  The streets were empty, in the
silence he could hear Midori come to a stop.

	He rounded the corner and came face to face with a very large, very
annoyed tiger.  It roared directly at him for effect, its mouth wide enough
to swallow him whole.  With a massive swing, it sent him into a low earth
orbit to land somewhere in a neighboring district.

	Midori sighed in relief and gave the mighty beast a hug.  "Good kitty."

	It rubbed up against her and purred, the bass reverberating through
both their bodies.  The tiger shook her off and extended it's paw.  With
one claw it scratched out the words that Midori read aloud.  "Hot water and
towel please."

[...]

	Sakura and Noriko looked out from the second story window.  It only
took a moment to spot Midori.  The girls knew something was up as soon as
she asked them for the hot water and towel.  Since she said she'd bring it
right back, they knew whatever it was would be nearby.

	Neither of them were prepared for what they saw though.  A large
bengal tiger sitting patiently near their front gate.  Sakura was about to
yell out a warning to Midori, but was stopped by Noriko's hand on her
shoulder.  "Wait a second."

	They didn't have to wait long as the tiger knocked the kettle from
Midori's hand into the air.  It came down in an explosion of wate and the
tiger was gone.  It was miraculously replaced by a naked boy.

	He had his back turned to Midori, but from their vantage point both
girls could see what Midori could not.  Sakura placed a hand over her mouth
loosely.  "Oh my."

	Noriko tried to get a better look at his face but she only caught a
glimpse of it before he put a mask on.  "It couldn't be."

	He grabbed the towel from Midori's limp hand and wrapped it around
himself before she could react.  She didn't know what to expect from a
literate tiger, but this caught her totally offguard.

	He threw his wet hair back and checked his mask again.  "Thanks."

	Midori eye'd his muscular build and lost herself for a moment in
his deep blue eyes.  "Uh yeah.  Sure."

	"Anyway, I have to find myself some clothes.  See you later."

	She watched him for a moment before her brain connected the voice
to the night before.  "Hey wait!  You're the stranger from last night,
aren't you?"  He stopped allowing her to approach slowly.  He didn't react
as she stopped directly behind him, hope in her eyes.  "You promised."

	Before she could react he turned and whipped his mask off.  Midori
only caught the briefest glimpse before he took her in his arms and kissed
her passionately.

	From their window, Sakura and Noriko began to tear up and sigh
longingly in typical schoolgirl fashion.  It had been some time since
either of them could even find a boy interested in them.  They all ran for
cover upon learning of the girl's respective families.  It was like
something out of the trashy romance manga they loved to read.

	Down below the action continued until finally the stranger decided
to make his move.  Midori had never before felt so full of life, it was
like her internal battery was charged to full from just the sexual tension
in the air.  She felt like she could skate to the top of Mt. Fuji and back.

	Then she felt it.  A familiar jab to her rear, and suddenly she was
bone dry and couldn't even open her eyelids.  Her mind started screaming.
"No!!!"

	She could hear a voice as she felt her body being laid against the
sidewalk.  "In another time or place, but here and now it wouldn't be fair."

[...]

	A shadow slipped from the Nekohanten.  He paused at the corner of
the alley to look out, the clothes he took were inconspicuous but it didn't
hurt to be careful.  Satisfied he stepped out onto the street.

	A strong hand gripped his shoulder from behind.  "Not so fast."

	Spice had also been trained in the ways of concelment and stealth.
She took her hand back as the stranger turned to face her.  "Yes?"

	"Your fight not over yet."

	He studied her briefly before coming to a decision.  "Yes it is,"
he turned back around an began to walk away.

	This only infuriated Spice more.  She launched a jump kick, which
he ducked.  She knew he would but it gave her the chance to cut him off.
She threw a number of attacks which he dodged.  Her brow furrowed as the
stranger parried her punches with ease.  It was like he could read her
moves and dismiss them before she even attacked.  At least twice he let
offensive openings go.  Spice saw them too which served to fuel her fire.

	She broke with her amazon training and went to more versatile style
she'd been working on since coming to Nerima.  A surprise kick caught him
in the ribs and sent him flying into a nearby lamp post.  He barely got out
of the way before she followed up with another kick which left a large dent
in the lamp post.

	Hits were beginning to connect, and the stranger could feel himself
slowing down.  Her constant attack kept him on the defense until a break in
her sequence gave him the chance to strike back.

	Strike back he finally did, with a double knuckle strike to her
shoulder.  Spice's arm went numb as she stumbled back.  On the verge of
victory she was unprepared for the tide to turn.

	Determined as ever she shifted her stance to account for her bad
arm and launched another attack.  It was too late for an energy attack, a
one handed blast wouldn't have to stopping power she needed and that was
all she could muster under the circumstances.

	He caught her punch in mid flight and gave it a quick twist to
knock her off balance.  Along the way he managed to hit another nerve
center which cut off the use of her legs.  She went down in a heap, unable
to get up and continue the fight.

	It all happened so fast everyone froze for a moment, as if time
slowed down until everyone could comprehend it all.  All eyes were upon
them, until people began shuffling away.  Most decided it was no longer a
public matter, and many had seen Spice in a tirade before.

	Spice sat there in a daze.  She'd lost.  There was no escape, she'd
lost publicly to this stranger.  The fight was over but she had one last
trick up her sleeve, actually two.  Two six inch metal ones.  With her good
arm she threw the first blade with all the skill her father taught her.
The blade tore his mask loose without so much as touching skin.

	He whipped his head around on instinct.  The mirror image facing
him was one of shock and surprise.  The store glass reflected his every
facial detail.  He locked eyes with himself and then to the girl sitting
beside him.

	"You!"  She said, her voice a mixture of shock and anger.  The
second blade slipping from her fingers.

	He turned back to look at her straight in the face, there would be
no escape this time.  No convenient puddles or buckets of water or freak
rainstorms.  Resigned to his fate, he turned back slowly and leaned back
against the glass.  He let out a sigh.  "It's not what you think Spice."

[...]

Chapter 5 - The Cat's Out of the Bag

[...]

	Spice looked up into a face she knew as well as her own.  "I not
think you have it in you."

	He crouched to face his sister sitting on the sidewalk.  "We have
to talk."

	She took on a faraway look and sighed.  "At least I not have to
marry you."

	"Damnit sis, will you shut up and listen for a sec?"  He waited for
her undivided attention and then did a quick scan of the area.  "Let's go
inside, someone might be watching."

[...]

	Midori opened her eyes with great effort.  She was recovering
faster than last time but she urgently felt the need for a bath or sleep or
both.  Noriko slapped her gently on the cheeks as Midori's eyes rolled
around loosely in her head.

	Sakura let out a puff of air.  "That must have been some kiss."

	Midori could see she was inside the Kuno estate now.  She
recognized the two girls as the ones she delivered the pizza to.

	Noriko released Midori's head which fell back, producing a dull
thud as it hit the wall.  "So what should we do with her?"

	Sakura sat back on her haunches.  "Well she can't stay here, mom'll
be back in a couple hours."

	"Maybe we should find Xian," Noriko said thoughtfully.

	"Hey, keep your mind on the problem!"

	"I am!  I just figued if he did this he could undo it."

	Sakura sighed.  "Well it looked like he was heading to the
Nekohanten.  At least that would make the most sense."

[...]

	Spice followed her younger sibling to the back corner of the
restaurant.  He took a seat with his back to the wall where he could get a
good view of the front door.  The feeling began returning to her arm as she
took a seat across from him.  "You want talk, we talk."

	He took a moment to collect his thoughts.  He decided he would
start with the most pressing matter.  "Do you remember Tsu No?"  He
surprised her with his Chinese, Xian was always better with languages than
she was.  Rarely using their native toungue was one of the little things he
did to annoy her.

	She realized suddenly that it would be best to keep the
conversation private, she reverted to Chinese as well.  "Snow?  Always wore
white.  The only person to train with daddy besides us?  The crazy bitch we
grew up with?"  Spice started to fume, but caught herself.  "Yes.  I
remember her quite clearly.  I haven't seen her since she was banned from
the village last year."

	"Okay, well I guess you could say I have."

	Spice nearly jumped from her seat.  "She's here?  In Japan?"

	"Well yes, but there's more to it than that."

	"Where is she?!?  I'll kill her this time!"

	He sighed.  "That would make my life alot easier, but there are
some things you should know," he took a deep breath.  "First, you can't
kill her.  She is your sister by law."

	Spice stood up suddenly, fire in her eyes.  "That ended when she
was banished."

	He sighed again.  "True, but that was before she married me."

	Spice fell back into her seat, her fire doused.  "What."

	"She jumped me near the Great wall.  We fought.  I lost," he
shrugged.  "I couldn't do anything about it.  Insted of killing me she
decided we were married.  I've been running ever since."

	Spice stared straight down, her head resting on the table and her
arms splayed out around her.  "How long ago?"

	"Last month I guess."

	She remained motionless until it occured to her.  She looked up
with a puzzled expression.  "You weren't in China last month."

	"That's the other thing I should explain..."

[...]

	Seki dumped the first load of dishes into the sink.  His sister was
handling most of the customers while Spice and her brother sat at the back
table a few feet from him.

	Kune decided to hang around with Seki after lunch.  He didn't have
anywhere else to go so he figured he'd stay and help out.  He stood a
little ways from Seki and dried off some glasses that were just washed.
"Have fun the other day?"

	Seki had his attention focused on Spice who was too focused on her
conversation to notice.  "Huh?  What?"

	"When you kissed Megumi.  Did you have fun?"

	The mention of Megumi snapped his attention back to Kune.  "Oi
Kune, I'm so sorry.  I swear it wasn't my fault."

	Kune put his hands up to calm Seki down.  "Don't worry, it's
nothing like that."

	"So you're not going to kill me?"

	"Kill you?  I should be kissing your feet.  She's been nicer to me
in the last two days than she's been to me in the last two years."

	"Really?"

	"Yeah, I figure it's some sort of guilt thing."

	Seki pondered that thought.  "So you want me to do it again?"

	"Don't push your luck," Kune picked up a nearby cup of dishwater
and threw it at Seki.  Prepared for the reaction he ducked, sending the
water into the dining area.  Seki turned around to come face to face with a
slightly damp, very annoyed tiger.

[...]

	Ukyou tried in vain to stop the customers from running out of the
Nekohanten, but once the first person started screaming it was all
downhill.  She had been watching when the transformation took place, it was
the only reason she didn't run and scream herself.

	After the first wave ran out she threw her towel down and stomped
on it.  She took a deep breath and walked up to Spice and her feline
friend.  "I'm not even going to ask Spice."  She turned to the tiger who
was trying to remain incognito.  "I suppose you'd like some hot water?"

	The tiger nodded vigorously, an innocent grin on it's face.  Ukyou
grabbed it by the nape of it's neck and walked it into the kitchen.  Kune
and Seki backed away.  It gave them both an evil eye in passing.

	Ukyou pulled at the tiger's neck to keep it moving.  "Seki, go get
a change of clothes and a towel for kitty here."

	Seki was eger to obey, jumping down from the counter and running
into the back.  He returned quickly, Ukyou already had the hot water from
the tap ready.  She grabbed a nearby bowl and filled it in the sink.  "Why
don't you two go check on Spice while he changes."

[...]

	Spice sat in an almost catatonic state.  She didn't even bat an eye
as Kune and Seki took seats on both sides of her.  They exchanged worried
glances.  Seki was the first to speak.  "Are you okay Spice?"

	She blinked slowly and continued to stare out into space.  "My
little brother is a bengal tiger."

	Kune sat back, relieved to hear her speak.  "So we've noticed."

	Seki smoothed back the burgundy hair on Spice's head.  "Are you
going to be okay?  Do you need to lie down or something?"

	Spice nodded meekly.  "That sound good.  I think I take a little
nap now."  Her body went limp as her head hit the table.  "Nite nite."

[...]

	The cries of 'Wild Tiger, run for your lives' could be heard for
blocks.  Sakura and Noriko just looked to each other as they got within a
couple blocks of the Nekohanten.  Between them they dragged along Midori
who was still too dazed to walk.

	They thought about leaving her behind, but it seemed kind of rude.
Progress was slow despite the excellent shape the girls were in.  It helped
that Midori was still wearing her rollerblades.

	Somebody pushed past Sakura and nearly knocked all three of them
over.  Like a white blur, it was gone before Sakura or Noriko could say
anything.  Sakura considered it briefly, for someone of their size they
were packing alot of weight.

[...]

	Kune started on his way home, he decided against waiting for the
dust to settle.  Things were getting too weird, and guilt or not Megumi
wouldn't be too thrilled to find out he spent the entire day in the
Nekohanten.

	As he rounded a corner he was nearly knocked over by a white blur.
It was female, but the only other thing he noticed was the wicked looking
battleaxe she produced while flying past him.  It nearly took his head off,
but Kune wasn't one to hold much of a grudge against a female.

	He looked once in the direction she came and by the time he turned
back she was gone.  Kune shrugged it off and tried to remember which way he
was going.  It was one of the strangest days he'd ever had and he wanted to
get home before it got any stranger.

	"Hey Kune, you missed a great movie."

	Kune sighed.   Too late.

[...]

	Ukyou gave Spice a little shake to wake her up.  She snapped up and
looked around quickly, unsure if she was still dreaming.  She spotted her
brother over Miss Kuonji's shoulder.  He was wearing some new clothes and
drying his hair with her 'Hello Kitty' towel.

	"You didn't mention Jusenkyo."

	"I was just getting to that part."

	"How long you cursed?"

	"It's not what you think Spice, there's more to it.  Hear me out on
this."

	There was a loud crash.  Everybody looked to the front door.  Spice
and Ukyou barely had enough time to dodge the giant battleaxe that came
flying at them.

	"Duck!"  Spice yelled to her brother.

	Used to projectile attacks he grabbed a nearby searving tray and
swatted it out of the air.  It hit the table next to him and spit it in
half.  He used the same tray to block the assortment of knives and shuriken
thrown by the same person.  "Dangit Snow, you have a serious attitude
problem."

	The stranger in white smiled at her prey.  "What can I say dear, I
don't take rejection too well."

	"I got two words for you: seek help," he emphasized his point by
throwing down his mutilated serving tray.

	Spice got back up to stand near her brother.  He readied herself
into a defensive stance which she mirrored perfectly.

	Snow took on a crazed look, reflected by the twin broadswords she
pulled from each sleeve.  She poised herself to pounce like a cat who has
her prey cornered.

	Suddenly Spice was noticably shaken, even moreso after looking at
her brother standing next to her.  The only difference was the grin on his
face.  It was the final taunt that prompted Snow to action.

	Before she could charge though, the world went dark and she
collapsed in heap.  Her swords clattered to the floor uselessly.  Xian bent
down to examine the fallen amazon grabbing another handful of movie popcorn
as he did.  The same hand he used to pinch the nerve in her neck.  "Do I
have to do everything myself?  I thought you said you'd handle it."  Xian
looked up to Spice.  "Hey sis.  Are there any leftovers?  The theatre
raised it's prices again."

	With one situation under control, Spice used every ounce of
strength she had left to remain calm.  "If you there, who the hell this?"

	The person next to her scratched the back of his neck and tried not
to look too sheepish.  "It's not what you think Spice."

	The Xian at the door swallowed his popcorn and took that as his
cue.  "Oh.  Well sis, meet your brother Xiang."

	"Hiya," Xiang wiggled his fingers as Spice turned to stare at him
dumbly.

[...]




****************************** NEW CHAPTER ******************************






Chapter 6 - Can't we all just get along?

[...]

	"About a year ago, I.. he.. we.. one of us fell into the spring of
the drowned twins.  We weren't really supposed to be there and neither of
us wanted to get into trouble so we figured if only one of us went back no
one would find out."

	"I went back to the village and acted as if nothing happened."

	"I wandered around China until Sleeping Beauty over here spotted me
near Beijing and trailed me to the Great Wall."

	"And the tiger?"

	Both twins shuffled their feet a bit at the question.  "Well we
couldn't really agree on who was going to who was going back so we ended up
fighting over it.  That's when we sorta fell into some other springs."

	"Wait, 'we' as in both of you change into something?"

	Xian clenched his teeth.  "I'd rather not talk about it."

	"Yeah, so anyway after that we found some hot water and we agreed
that I was better suited for travel."  He looked at his sister's confused
face.  "And that's when I took the name Xiang."

[...]

	Snow faught to open her eyes, not that she cared to be awake but
she learned long ago that nothing got done while she slept.  Her hair
covered her face, she could see the natural white stripe in it that set her
apart from others.

	She moved to brush it away when she she realized she couldn't move
her arms.  She struggled for a moment before she realized she couldn't move
anything below her neck.  With one fluid motion she swung her head back to
clear the hair from her face.

	The first thing she noticed was that she was tied to a chair, the
second thing she noticed was that people were looking at her expectantly.
For the first time she noticed Spice, her arms folded and a frown on her
face.  "Spicy.  Lovely to see you again.  Is your brother around?"

	Xian and Xiang walked around to the front of Snow's chair from both
sides.  She looked to Xiang first but noticed Xian a second later.  She
nearly gave herself whiplash looking back and forth between them.  Finally
she stopped and closed her eyes, she had to think.  Every other time she
had this dream Spice wasn't there, and she'd never been tied up in it
either.  Well, except for that one time.

	"Morning Sunshine," the twins said in unison.

	She opened her eyes again.  Spice was still standing in front of
her, but this time she was flanked by twin Xians.  She squinted at the
multiple images.  "How hard was I hit?"

	The one on the left spoke at this.  "Sorry, I couldn't have you
tearing up the restaurant."

	The one on the right smiled briefly.  "There's nothing wrong with
your eyesight, there are two of us."

	She looked back and forth between them a couple times and took a
moment to consider.  "Okay, but which one am I married to?"

	Both Xians looked away quickly and began whistling.  They subtly
tried to point at each other.  It was then that they realized they were
probably mirroring each other's actions and turned to face each other,
their hands quickly hidden from view.

	Spice sighed.

[...]

	Sakura propped Midori up on Noriko's back as they arrived at the
Nekohanten.  Oddly enough the sign indicated they were closed for the day,
but she could hear movement within.

	She knocked gently as she slid the door open.  "Hello?  Is anybody
home?"

	Three pairs of eyes turned to face Sakura.  There was a fourth but
Snow was unable to turn her head far enough.  "The more the merrier.  Pull
up a seat, all the rope's being used I'm afraid."

	Spice sighed and turned her attention to the newcomers.  "Ignore
her, she escaped mental patient.  Can we help you?"

	Noriko waddled in with Midori on her back.  "Yeah, do you have
someplace I can put this one?"

	Spice pulled a chair from one of the tables and placed it back to
back with Snow's.  "This one need to be tied up too?"

	Sakura found herself a seat and examined the situation.  "Oh no.
Nothing like that, we found her like this and we didn't know where else to
take her."

	Xian gave Xiang a puzzled look.  Xiang shrugged and winced under
his brother's scrutiny.  Together the knelt down to get a closer look at
the prone Midori.  Xiang spoke first.  "She'll be okay, she's just sleeping
now."

	Xian opened one of her eyelids, the eye turning slowly to stare
directly at him.  "Wahh!"  Xian let go.  "Yeah, what he said."

	Sakura cocked her head, noticing Xian and Xiang for the first time.
"Hey, are you guys twins or something?"

	They looked at each other briefly.  "Or something."

[...]

	Ukyou sat quietly on the roof of the Nekohanten.  Mousse had
brought her there on occasion to escape the pressures of managerial life.
She brought her knees up to her chin and silently wished he was there
beside her.

	Things were going badly all over.  She caught the tears before they
left her eyes.  "What am I going to say, what am I going to tell him."  She
gazed up to the sky, finally coming to a conclusion.  "The truth.  Since
he's been gone, business has dropped to the toilet, the restaurant needs
even more repairs, he has another son he didn't know about and a
psycopathic daughter in law."

	She laid back against the roof and stared off into space.  From the
sound of things below it was still too hectic to go inside.  "Oh Mousse, I
promise when you get back we're going to have one evening all to
ourselves."  The image played gently in her mind.  "Candlelight.  Wine.
Dinner.  Just us."

	For the first time that evening a grin began to creep onto her
lips.  "Where ever you are, hurry back.  I promise I'll wear that Chinese
dress you like so much," she considered for a moment.  "And just that
dress."

[...]

	"I'm sure this is facinating stuff, but would someone mind cutting
me loose?"

	Spice turned back to the girl in restraints.  "No."

	Snow bounced in her chair.  "Oh come on Spicy.. Spice?  Sis?"

	Xian put his hand on Spice's shoulder.  "She is family now Sis."

	She shook him off.  "Not if we disown him too!"

	Xiang sighed, a little saddened by her response.  "Don't be that
way sis, I already said I was sorry."

	She turned to him sharply.  "Sorry?  You think explains this?!?"

	"What else can I say?"

	"You let psycopathic maniac with history of violence into family!
There is no sorry, there is 'I take myself and my crazy wife far far away.'"

	Snow stopped her struggling a moment to interject.  "Excuse me, but
I am still sitting right here you know."

	"It's not my fault Spice!  I don't even like the girl!"

	Snow turned a knowing look to Xiang.  "That's not what you said
that night in Beijing."

	All eyes except for Snow turned to Xiang.  He searched for the
proper words which didn't come to mind.  Finally he shrugged and looked
away.  "I had alot to drink in Beijing."

	Spice threw up her hands in disgust and walked out of the room.
"Do whatever you want, she your wife.  I going roof."

	Xiang knelt down before Snow's chair.  "If we untie you do you
promise to behave yourself?"

	Snow made a stupid grin and nodded her head violently.

	Xian crossed his arms and stood nearby.  "Are you sure about this?"

	Xiang considered, staring at Snow's silly grin.  "Well we can't
just leave her like this.  Even if she is crazy."

	"Hey!"  Her grin faded.

	Xian sat on his haunches and looked right at Snow.  "Alright.  You
promise you won't fight anyone, damage anything, or make any trouble?"

	"For the umpteenth time, yes yes and yes!"  She expressed as much
emotion as she could with only the use of her head and neck.

	Xiang got up to undo her ropes.  "Will you help us clean up your mess?"

	She sat there a moment before commiting.  "Oh alright, but just
because one of you is my husband."

	A shiver went down Xian and Xiang's backs.  Xiang gave his brother
a second look and took his hands off her ties.  "Maybe we should
reconsider."

	Snow's face scrunched up anxiously, she hated being tied up.  Both
brothers ignored her as she hovered on the edge of snapping.  Xian looked
about the room and then back to Xiang.  "You wanna to clean this mess up?"

	"Well no."

	"I didn't think so."

[...]

	"No don't leave, come over and sit with me.  Please?"

	Spice blew some air out of her mouth and walked over to Ukyou.
She'd never been quite happy with the okonomiyaki chef.  It was a
territorial thing she supposed, most days she shrugged it off.  It helped
her work, despite everything else Ukyou was a big help in the restaurant.

	"You don't like me very much, do you?"

	"I've hated worse."

	"Well it's a start I guess."

	Ukyou sighed inwardly.  She liked Spice, the girl reminded her a
little of Shampoo.  Although she never got along well with Spice's mother
there were still traits she admired in the purple haired amazon.  It took
her a few years apart from Nerima to realize it but she missed her favorite
rival.

	"Who's that girl downstairs?"

	"Tsu No," Spice said curtly.

	Ukyou decided not to press the point.  She made a mental note to
ask Mousse about it when he got back.  She felt like an outsider looking in
around Spice.  Xian treated her so completely different, but he treated
everyone a bit oddly.

	"I messed up."

	Spice turned to face Ukyou, an eyebrow raised.

	"In the short time your father's been gone I've nearly run his
restaurant into the ground," Ukyou hugged her knees again and started
rocking back and forth.

	"Nothing you've done."  Ukyou stopped and turned to look at Spice
who was staring out to the horizon.  "But daddy will fix anyway."

	A gentle smile crossed her face.  "You love him alot don't you?"

	Spice looked directly at Ukyou.  "Of course, why wouldn't I?"

	Ukyou looked into the young girl's eyes, full of joyful innocence.
Mousse had told her one late evening about Spice's parentage.  It was
always in the back of her mind, when she saw that confident grin or those
bright eyes.  Sitting there looking at the young amazon she was struck with
a sudden thought.  'She could have been my daughter.'

[...]

	Mousse walked up to the Nekohanten slowly, his feeling of dread
growing with each step.  He raised an eyebrow at the closed sign, unless he
was mistaken it was only mid evening.  He reached for the door when he
heard the sound of wood splintering.

	He winced in anticipated pain and opened the door to his
restaurant.  He braced himself and stepped inside.  Words couldn't quite
express what he felt at the scene before him, confusion came closest.

	Snow dropped the table leg she'd been breaking down and spread her
arms out at Mousse.  "Father," she walked up to Mousse and gave him a hug.

	The twins looked at each other first before shrugging and joining
in.  "Father."

	With an extra three to four hundred pounds attached to his waist,
Mousse stood there stoicly and took a quick head count.  "Xian... Not
Spice...  Xian?!?  What the..."

	"Daddy!!!"  Spice jumped the foursome to give her father a hug.

	"What's going on here?!?"

	Sakura and Noriko got up and walked over to Mousse who was
surrounded by four rather tight lipped teens.  "Hiya, remember us?"

	Mousse adjusted his glasses and looked over the two girls.  "You're
Kodachi's daughter, and you're Megumi's sister.  Okay, I know for a fact
you two aren't my kids so spill it!"

	"We assume you already recognize Xian and Spice.  You see, Xian
fell into this cursed spring place awhile back and accidentally created a
twin of himself.  That other girl in the front is like his wife or
something."

	Mousse digested all they had to say and nodded slowly.  "And that
girl in the chair?"

	Noriko turned to Midori and then back to Mousse.  "We're not sure
about her yet, she's sorta dating one of your sons or something."

[...]

	Evening settled over Nerima.  Mousse toweled off his hair as he
walked back to his room.  He felt much more relaxed after a hot shower, it
had been one of the most active days he'd had in recent memory.

	There was a note taped to his door.  Puzzled, he threw the towel
over his shoulder and picked up the note.

	It read simply: 'come to the dining room.'

	He walked casually to the dining area, his steps creaking the
floorboards along the way.  The first thing he noticed when he walked in
was the candlelight.  The second thing he noticed was his rather attractive
assistant manager in an equally attractive Chinese dress.

	She stood from her chair and struck a mildly seductive pose.  "Have
a seat Mousse.  Dinner's on me tonight."

	He smiled and did as he was asked.  "And what's on the menu might I
ask?"

	She followed suit and gave him a sly grin.  "Okonomiyaki, as you
like it..."

[...]



Coming Soon to a ML near you?
Chapter 7 - The End is the Beginning is the End

Author Notes:
	That's right.  Due to the great abundance of dangling plotlines
I've decided to write at least one more chapter to the ANK series.  However
I've also decided this would be a good time to start other projects.
	Hopefully Chapter 6 ends the erratic nature of 4 and 5.  6 is the
beginning of the end or not depending on how you look at it.  I tried to
bring this as close to an ending as I could in case 7 never saw the light
of day.
	There is a glaring omission in Chapter 6 but I was to lazy to fill
in extra scenes to explain the absence.  I'll try to fix it later.

	Reviewers, C&Cers, etc. I ask you all to do your thing.  please.  =)
	The problem I've found with this series is that I don't feel myself
growing as an author, in fact I think I'm getting worse.  The only comments
I ever get fall along the lines of keep writing, not that I don't love
getting that.  I love any mail about my stories, but I don't get any
reviews, public or private.  I don't get any in depth C&C.  I just keep
writing.  I need to get out more, try other generes, improve my writing
skills.

	Anyway, ANK is on sabatical hope you enjoyed reading it.  Now all I
have to figure out is where to go from here... darkfic?  lemon?  crossover?
Oh well, I'm sure something will occur to me.  ciao4now...
	hmm... time to change the sig too...

MousseMousseMousseMousseMousseMousseMousseMousseMousseMousseMousseMousseMousse
      ,.            ,...,,,    "I can't face the thought of being alone
    ,;'     ....,   '   ;'           I sing for the song still carries on"
  ,;;:...;.    `"   .,;'`:,
  '"      `'       ::'    :;                       'Longing' by X-Japan
MousseMousseMousseMousseMousseMousseMousseMousseMousseMousseMousseMousseMousse
http://www.imua.com/mousse/     mousse@pixi.com, mousse@imua.com, lee@imua.com