Chapter 5: Sadness, Joy, and Confusion

   Hikaru took in the city around her. She'd discovered she was in 
Nerima district, and, finding enough yen in her pocket for bus fare, 
she decided to go have a look at her home district, which was just 
outside of Juuban. <Good thing Ranma-kun keeps change on him,> Hikaru 
mused. <I haven't seen a yen since that day at Tokyo Tower.>
   As she sat waiting at the bus stop, something rubbed against her 
ankle and made a very cute "buii" sound. She looked down, and giggled.
 "Oh, how kawaii!" She picked up the small black piglet, which buii'd 
softly as she cuddled it. "I wonder if you belong to someone?" she 
asked. The pig shook its head. She giggled. "You're a smart one." The 
piglet said, "Bukii!" 

   Ryouga had excused himself to go to the bathroom as soon as Hikaru 
had left. He prayed just once he wouldn't get horribly lost as he 
splashed himself and snuck out of the Nekohanten.
   It had taken him a few minutes, but finally he'd spotted Hikaru at 
a bus stop. Concerned for the girl, he decided to comfort her, and to 
find out where she was going. <I have a bad feeling she's going to 
try to go home...that may not be a pleasant experience for her,> he 
reasoned. <Especially if she turns back into Ranma...>
   
   Hugging the kawaii black piglet, Hikaru mused out loud, "Should I 
find Umi-chan and Fuu-chan? Should I go home?" She sighed. "What do I 
tell them? The truth? And what about Ranma-kun..." She frowned. 
"Ranma-kun...what if he never wakes up? Oh, I hope he's alright, 
wherever he went to. I wouldn't like it if my living again cost 
someone else their life."
   Sighing, she finally decided, "I guess the only thing I can do is 
go to the cemetery and see if I have a grave."
   The piglet gave her a concerned look. <Uh oh,> he thought. <That's 
not one of the best ideas...>
   The bus arrived, and Hikaru and her newfound friend boarded.

   Fuu started. "Ara...! Umi-chan...I think I forgot the incense."
   Umi frowned. "Mou....we'll have to go back to your place and get 
it. That's special incense...it's the only thing that will do."
   Fuu nodded, and the two left the cemetery. "We'll be back in a few 
moments, Hikaru-chan," Umi told the cold granite marker.

   A short while later, Hikaru and the piglet made their way through 
the gates of a small cemetery that Hikaru remembered being in her 
district. She'd never gone there herself, having no close dead 
relatives to pay her respects to that were buried there. She didn't 
care much for graveyards, as a rule. She cared for them even less now,
 but this was something she had to do.
   Picking her way along the paths, she eventually came upon a simple 
granite marker, atop which sat a miniature iron replica of the Tokyo 
Tower. She knelt in front of the stone, and slowly traced the 
characters engraved there with the fingers of her left hand. 
   'Shidou Hikaru'
   A tear fell down her cheek as she read her name on the stone, 
thinking of how much it must have grieved her family and her close 
friends to believe she had died...how much it must have hurt Umi-chan 
and Fuu-chan, believing their comrade had been murdered before their 
very eyes, and never being able to tell a soul about what really 
happened...
   "Umi-chan...Fuu-chan...I wish you had known I was still alive..."

   Two solemn girls returned to the cemetery. Fuu bore a bundle of 
special incense, wrapped in a special piece of cloth. These were 
their parting gifts from Princess Emeraude, who made it possible for 
the items to cross back to Earth with them. The incense was a popular 
wildflower fragrance in Cephiro, and a personal favorite of Clef. It 
seemed fitting to light this special incense to honor Hikaru. The 
cloth was a reminder of Hikaru's strength, of how formidable she was..
.it was the slashed tablecloth she'd thrown over the mud monster 
which had attacked them at Presea's house. With that tablecloth she'd 
been able to confuse the monster long enough to shove it into the 
pond, where it dissolved.
   As they approached the memorial, Umi started. There was someone 
kneeling in front of the marker. A girl, with braided red hair, 
wearing a scarlet school uniform, and some light white armor. "Masaka.
.." She blinked. "Fuu-chan, I think I'm seeing things."
   "Hmm?" Fuu, who'd been lost in thought, looked up at her friend, 
who was staring, face pale, ahead. Fuu looked to see what had upset 
her friend so... and dropped the bundle. 
   "Impossible..."
   Umi blinked. "You...see her too?"
   Fuu nodded. "Hai..."

   Hikaru had been snapped out of her reverie by the sounds of voices.
 She stood and snapped her head around...and gasped, part with fear, 
part with joy. They were a little older, much prettier and more well-
developed, but she'd recognize them no matter what. "Umi-chan...Fuu-
chan..." she whispered. Realizing they were staring at her, she 
walked nervously toward them, tears streaming from her eyes and a 
beautiful smile lighting her face, making her ruby eyes twinkle. "Umi-
chan! Fuu-chan!"
   The girls took a step back involuntarily. This slightly saddened 
Hikaru.
   "Umi-chan...Fuu-chan...gomen nasai..."
   Finally, Umi managed to find her voice. "Hi--Hikaru-chan?" she 
gasped.
   Hikaru nodded, smiling. "Un!"
   Fuu breathed, "But...how? We saw...Zagato killed you..."
   Hikaru sighed, and looked at the ground. "It's a long story. Too 
long. And to be honest, I don't understand a lot of it myself. But, 
Zagato didn't kill me."
   "But...how? How did you survive...?"
   Hikaru suddenly ran towards her friends, setting the piglet down 
on the ground, and grabbed them both into a hug. The three stood 
together, crying tears of joy, marred slightly by confusion. 
   After a moment, when they released each other, Fuu finally noticed 
something. "Anou...Hikaru-chan..."
   "Hai, Fuu-chan?"
   Fuu grasped Hikaru's left hand. "How...how do you still have your 
armor?"
   Hikaru laughed. "That's one we haven't figured out yet. Listen...I 
want to tell you both the whole story..." She paused, and sighed. 
"Some of it isn't very pleasant..." Recovering, she looked into their 
eyes. "It's a long, and confusing story, and some of it is hard to 
explain. I'll tell you everything, but I can't tell you here. Would 
you two come with me? If it's not a bother."
   "Of course it's not a bother!" Umi half-snapped. Then, calmer, she 
said, "Demo...where are we going?"
   Hikaru smiled, and scooped up her small black traveling companion. 
"Just to Nerima."
   The other girls gasped. "Nerima? Why there?"
   "That's...that's where I woke up. And that's where the answers are.
"
   No hesitation was neccessary. Fuu and Umi, confused but glad to 
see their long lost friend again, followed the redhead to the bus 
stop.

   ***Interlude***

   Ranma stirred. Everything was blackness.
   He tried to move, and realized he didn't have a body to move. He 
opened his eyes, and gasped. Something was wrong here.
   He saw a bus stop, and he was approaching it. He tried to shift 
his gaze, only to find it wasn't possible. As he tried to figure out 
what was going on, the view shifted, to show two smiling faces, one 
framed with sky blue hair, the other with light brown hair and 
glasses. The view also showed a familiar piglet, and the object 
Cologne had shown him, which had somehow gotten onto his arm. 
   Ranma had no idea what was going on, but he intended to find out. 
And he was going to start by regaining control of his body.



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"If it looks like a duck, and walks like a duck, and quacks like a 
duck...pour hot water on it."
Ryodachi Kouma
"The Eternal Lost Lurker"
squn29a@prodigy.com
http://pages.prodigy.com/EtLostLurker

no da.