Subject: [Repost][TOS1]The Tales of Shampoo Vol I, Chap 9 (10/14)
From: Rob Barba/Ashita
Date: 9/4/1997, 9:50 AM
To: jcfiala@CSSLTD.com, fanfic@fanfic.com


And here we go!
===
--Rob, Ashita, whatever
ashita@rocketmail.com, calicatcafe@geocities.com
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"To produce a mighty book, you must produce a mighty theme.  No great and enduring volume can be ever written on the flea, though many there be who have tried it."
--Herman Melville







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**********************************************************************************************************************************Chapter Nine:  The Innocence of A Child


    The little girl was very very afraid. 
     Where was she?  Where was everything?  It was so nasty and awful where she was right now, and so very dark.  There was nobody around to tell her where it was nice, nobody to help her.  So she ran, hoping that there would be a light to run to, somewhere sunny and bright and safe and warm....
    But it seemed that she'd been running forever.  And nothing was different, nothing changed.  The sky was still that icky shade of gray, like when you colored something with a pencil.  And the ground like all like mud.  That's all there was.  No pretty colors at all, like flowers or a rainbow.  Even the really baggy long sleeve shirt and pants she wore were dark.  They were colored gray, and black, she thought.   She felt sad and lonely and lost, not because of the colors, but because she didn't know where she was.
    So she walked.
    And walked.
    And walked.
    And it seemed like she walked forever and ever and ever.  And even longer than that.  Maybe for a whole minute.  Or maybe five minutes.  Or maybe a million zillion billion minutes.  Maybe even as long as an hour.
    But it didn't help.  everything was still dark, every thing was still scary.  It was like the boogeyman was near, or maybe uu and oni--zombies and ogres--were going to get her.  Maybe ghosts.  Or maybe worst of all--that scary man who wore the blue suit and red cape, and had really mean look on his face, and really scary eyes.  He was a really bad man.
    So she called out to anybody who could hear her:  "Otoosan!  Okaasan!  Oniichan!  Where are you?"
    But no one answered her.
    So she sat down on the mud-colored ground and cried.


    Then all of a sudden, there was a voice.  A gentle, loving voice that sounded as if she would help the little girl.  "Why are you crying, child?"  The voice asked, the voice full of caring and love.
    Eyes still shut, the little girl sobbed, "Be-because...(sniff)...everybody's gone away!  I'm all alone, and I-I-I'm so...(sniff)... scared and I want my family!"
    The voice lowered to her level.  The little girl felt somebody wiping the tears away from her face, someone kiss her forehead, making all her fears and her hurt go away.  The little girl opened her eyes, and looked at the person who owned the voice.
    The person was a woman.  A grown-up, with red hair and dark blue eyes.  The woman wore a red shirt and black pants that looked just like what the little girl was wearing.  And the woman had a really pretty smile and she looked so full of light and color and love.  She looked like someone the little girl knew, but she didn't know who or why.  the woman had a sword on her right side that was really shiny and neat looking.
    "What's your name?"  the little girl asked.
    The nice woman said, "My name is Lao Jiukiu Tsesao, the Emperor of China's finest warrior, the First Chinese Amazon."  The little girl scrunched her face at that; how could she remember it all?  But the woman laughed softly and said, "I'm sorry, I forgot that that is sometimes a mouthful to say.  You may call me Jiu."
    "Okay!"  the little girl nodded her head enthusiastically.  "And you can call me...uh, um..."  She looked sad again. "I forgot my name."
    "That's okay, little one.  That is why I am here.  To help you find your name again, and to help you find your way home."
    "Domo arigato gozaimasu, Jiu-san." The little girl stood up and bowed politely, just as she was taught.
    The woman laughed again, making the little girl smile.  "Child, it is not needed.  Warriors such as we do not need to bow to one another, or use honorifics."
    "I am a worrier, too?" the little girl exclaimed.  Maybe that was her name.  Worrier.  And just what was an "Onerifik"?
    "No, young one.  I said 'warrior', not 'worrier.'  And you don't need to say 'Jiu-san', just Jiu."
    "Okay!"  The little girl beamed, a bright smile on her face.  
    "So are you ready to go, little princess?" Jiu asked.
    "Hai!" the little girl said, jumping up and down excitedly.
    "I cannot say I blame you.  This place reeks of death and sadness.  It is not for the likes of a bright sunbeam such as you."


    Jiu lifted her hand into the air, and it glowed with a soft blue light, like a pretty sky, or somebody's eyes, but she couldn't remember who.  There was a flash and a then a sweet song of music filled the air, a prettier version of same song the little girl had heard before.  In the distance, there was a bright, pretty light, and something moving in that light, coming closer to Jiu and the girl.
    As it got close enough, the little girl could see that it was a bird.  A really big bird, like an eagle, only bigger.  Really bigger.  At first, the little girl hid behind Jiu, frightened, but Jiu simply smiled, and said that the bird was a friend, and would take them away from here and help her to get home.  At this, the little girl moved out from behind and next to Jiu again.  If Jiu wasn't afraid, then she must be a warrior.  And if Jiu was a warrior and had called the little girl a warrior, then the little girl was not supposed to be afraid, either.
    So she wouldn't be.
    The bird landed next to the two, and it was bigger than the little girl imagined.  It was as big as a car.  No, a house.  No, bigger.  Maybe it was bigger than Otoosan.  But it was a really pretty blue bird, and it had the prettiest blue eyes, like those sparkly things that she always saw grownups wear.  But Jiu didn't wear any, and maybe it was because Jiu was a warrior.
So maybe when she got bigger, she shouldn't wear any, either.
    The big bird spoke to Jiu.  "Is this the one?"  the big bird had a strong voice, like her Otoosan, but it was also very good and very nice.  She could tell that he was a very nice bird.
    "Yes, she is," Jiu said, smiling.  And then she gestured at the little girl. "But she needs our help to get home."  Jiu turned to the little girl.  "Princess, this is the Phoenix of Heaven.  He has come to take us to a place where we can help get you home."
    The little girl bowed again.  "Konnichi wa, Mr. Big Blue Bird. Ikaga desu ka?"
    the big bird chirped something that sounded like a laugh.  "Such a sweet and polite child she is, Jiu.  She is without a doubt the one."  He then looked directly at the girl.  "Child I am quite fine.  You may call me Phoenix."
    The little girl nodded enthusiastically, really happy to have found two friends who would help her.  "Okay, Mr. Feniks."
    Mr. Feniks laughed his pretty bird laugh again, and Jiu laughed, too.  "Close enough," Mr. Feniks said.  "So, little one, would you like a ride?"
    The girl nodded once more.


    Today was becoming a very special day.  She was so lonely at first, but now she had found two friends.  She was flying!  She and Jiu were riding on the back of Mr. Feniks and they were high above the ugly ground.  And as they got higher and higher, the icky black sky went away and turned into a beautiful blue one!  This was fun!
    "Whee!" the little girl said, bouncing for joy.
    "You're not scared?"  Mr. Feniks asked.
    "No.  Jiu isn't scared, 'cause she's a warrior.  And she said I'm a warrior too.  So that means I'm not supposed to be scared," the little girl said, matter-of-factly.
    "It could be that she is beginning to remember who she is," Jiu said to Mr. Feniks.
    "It could be that," Mr. Feniks agreed.
    So they flew.
    And flew.
    And flew.
    And it seemed like they flew forever and ever and ever.  And even longer than that. Maybe for a whole minute. Or maybe five minutes.  Or maybe a million zillion billion minutes.  Maybe even as long as an hour.
    And the little girl wasn't afraid anymore.


    Finally, they arrived where they needed to go.  And it was the prettiest place of all.  It looked like a big pretty building, and there was grass and flowers and butterflies and birds--not as big or pretty as Mr. Feniks but still nice--and there were fluffy clouds in the sky and a nice yellow sun and everything.  The building was kinda white, but at the same time was a pretty rainbow, too.  Mr. Feniks said the color was called 'Iridescent', a really big word.  Jiu smiled and said it was also called 'Mother-of-pearl'.  The little girl smiled at this.
    She reached out to smell a rose, and a butterfly landed on her shoulder.  The butterfly said to her, "It is nice to see The One has graced us with her presence."  Then the butterfly flew away to play with the other butterflies.
    The little girl turned to look at Jade.  "Jiu, is my name 'The One'?"
    "No, princess.   It is an honorific, like 'san' or even 'princess'.   They call you that because it is easier to say than 'child' or 'young one' or 'little one'.  But it also means that you are special."
    The little girl smiled again.  Someone thought she was special!
    "Jiu, who lives here?" the little girl asked.
    "I do.  And so does the Phoenix.  There is also one other that lives here, and you shall meet him as well.  He is the wisest of the wise, and the kindest of the kind.  If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here."
    "Kind of like the cat girl who helped me a long time ago?"  How did the little girl know that?  She only knew about her parents and brother, and now the cat girl?  She didn't even know her own name.
    "Yes, very much like the cat girl, who is also the Mountain Woman," Jiu nodded.  "No, let me tell you ahead of time, child.  The creature that you are about to meet looks very very scary, but as I said earlier, and you said to the Phoenix, you are a warrior.  You cannot be afraid."
    The girl nodded her head in solemn promise.  If Jiu said that she must not be afraid, then she should not be afraid.  However, the little girl did ask, "Will Mr. Feniks be there?"
    "Yes, young one, the Phoenix will be there.  In fact, he is there now, talking to the one that you should meet.  Are you ready?"  Jiu held out her hand to the little girl.
    The little girl took the older woman's hand, and strode in, as brave as she could be.  And together, they walked into the pagoda, ready to face the next step in the adventure to get the little girl home.


    Finally, they arrived at a door.  Jiu opened the door for them, and they walked down the prettiest hall the little girl had ever seen.  The walls were covered in that Mother of Pearl stuff, and the ground was covered in a really soft and cuddly red carpet that tickled her bare feet as she walked on it.  And they walked and talked, and the little girl smiled and thought that she would like to be as brave as Jiu when she grew up, and that she wished she could play some more in the garden, and that she could do a million billion zillion other things.
    Jiu simply asked her one thing:  if she was willing to do what was right before she got home.  But before the little girl could answer, Jiu said, "Princess, do not answer that at the moment.  You will know when it is time to give your word on that.
    They continued to walk down the second corridor, until they got to what looked like a cave at the end of the hall.  But it wasn't one of those icky, dark, ugly caves.  It wasn't the kind with moss and rats and bats and worms.  It was a nice cave, with little puddles of water that glowed with pretty rainbow lights, and a clean floor, and nice walls with gold and Chinese pictures.  And sitting in front of them was Mr. Feniks.  And somebody else.


    The somebody else was a big snaky thing, kinda like an alligator that got pulled really long.  And it had hair that looked kinda like Jiu's and somebody else's but she couldn't remember whose. And even though Jiu said he would look scary, there was a light in his eyes that said he was like a really big puppy dog.  And besides, the little girl was a warrior.  She wasn't supposed to be afraid.  At all.
    So she wasn't.  And to prove it, she went up to the "snakigator" and hugged it.  The snakigator turned red for a second, while Mr. Feniks and Jiu chuckled.  Jiu smiled and said, "It appears that you have met your match, old friend."    
    The big snakigator spoke. "Perhaps, Jiu, perhaps."  He then turned to the little girl.  "Child, do you know who I am?"
    She shook her head.  "Gomen ne sai, but I don't know."
    The snakigator sort of smiled, and said, "That is okay, Jewel of the Nyannichuan.  I am the Leung of the Earth, the Ryu of the world, the mighty Dragon of the Orient.  But you may call me Leung."
    The little girl bowed her head, and said, "Pleased ta meetcha, Mr. Lung."
    Mr. Feniks looked at Mr. Lung and told him, "Get used to it."
    Mr. Lung did his smile again and said, "I can see that.  It is part of the myriad of events that proves her to be the one that we are looking for."
    Jiu looked at the others.  "But we may be nearly too late.  The demon has already victimized her.  She cannot remember who she is.  She remembers fragments of where she was and of those with her, but she does not know how to go back.  When I found her, I found her on the edge of Entropy.  If she had wandered in the wrong direction, all would've been lost.  As it is, we have a slim chance."  She then looked at Mr. Lung.  "Can you do anything for her?"
    Mr. Lung said, "She is within our world.  It will be difficult at best.  But all will rely on her to cross the void.  Only she can do that.  But before she can do that, the Phoenix must reawaken her."
    "And that I shall do."  Mr. Feniks walked right next to the little girl and told her, "Little one, what I'm about to tell you, you may not understand right now, but later you will.  The important thing now is that you listen to me, and try to remember every word I tell you.  Can you do that for me?"
    The little girl nodded her head and said, "I will try."
    "Good.  Then let us begin."


    "Child, the first origins of your life began when Jiu sank beneath the waters of the Nyannichuan.  When your brother entered the pool himself, the connection created your spirit.  That is how you were created--you are partially the reincarnation of Jiu.  But that is not how you were born.
    "Once I told you that you were a Saotome, but that you were also a magical construct filled with hate and anger.  I did not explain how that came to be.  Child, the Heart of the Demon--what you all had thought to be the Phoenix Eye--did not create you.  It was the catalyst that brought you to the place of your actual, true birth:  not Osaka, Japan as your Birth Certificate states; nor Jusenkyo, China as your brother's 'curse' was concerned; but the Crystal Temple, the mystical palace of the despot Nguyen Tran Loc.  Your birth saved your brother from a fate worse than you can have imagined.  This, however, is not the point that I am trying to stress.
    "When you first used the power of the ruby, that awoke the demon from its ages-old slumber.  And because it was given to you, the purest soul available, it began to corrupt you in order to meet its ends.  And as it discovered that you were the reincarnation of its mortal enemy, it moved with a glee and a zeal to take its revenge out on you, an innocent who had never known what you had done wrong, who had never done any wrong.
    Child, you were born at age eighteen, then listed as seventeen to cover your innocence.  As you see yourself now, a six year old child, is the culmination of your total experiences on your own, minus the 'buffer year', and what the demon has done to you.  You were born with the life, loves, hopes, fears, and dreams of your brother--of another person.  You have not had enough of your own life experiences to totally be the adult that you are, but you weren't born as a child.  You have been battered and abused, nearly killed and used, and all without your own opinion involved--all this in the 'womb'.  In the years you have lived, you have been forced to grow up in far too fast of a way, something that should never be done to a child.
    "But now you are at the crossroads. An event has happened to you that will allow you to make your choice, an actual important choice that only you can make.  You can stay here with us as the child that you are, and live in peace; or you can return to your home as the warrior that you are.  If you stay with us, you will be happy, but many people will be hurt; even now there are people in need.  If you go home, you may never see us again--our time on Earth is done and it is time for new legends to come.
    "So the question lies to you, child:  will you stay or will you go to help those in need?"


    The little girl wanted to stay.  She really would have loved to have stayed in the garden and played with the butterflies, to ride Mr. Feniks and spend her time with Mr. Lung, and learn to be a warrior with Jiu.  But she knew that her parents had always told her that it was right to help those who needed it.  She knew her brother had always helped people when they asked.  She knew her younger sister was a result of her family's selfess actions.  So she knew that she had to help, too.  So she told Mr. Feniks, "I hafta go.  I hafta be a warrior."
    "Then we shall go,"  Mr. Feniks told her.  The big bird turned to the others and said "She is ready to go; I can do no more to prepare her."
    Jiu looked at the others.  "It seems our little fighter is ready to face the Canyon of the Void."  
    "Then it is time for the young warrior to go," Mr. Lung agreed.  He looked at the little girl and said, "Would you like a ride?"


    She was riding again!  And this was MORE fun!  It was more funner than any fun thing in the funnest, fun world!
    Riding on the back of Mr. Lung by herself (Jiu rode on the back of Mr. Feniks) was a really really special treat.  As they flew over a really pretty forest, now, Mr. Lung flew through the branches and really close to the ground, doing loops and being like riding a rollercoaster.  She yelped for joy, and the more she did, the more that Mr. Lung smiled and did more really fun stuff.  And she wasn't afraid, not one little itty-bitty bit.
    "It could be that she is beginning to remember her true self," Jiu said to Mr. Feniks.
    "It could be that," Mr. Feniks agreed.
    So they flew.
    And flew.
    And flew.
    And it seemed like they flew forever and ever and ever.  And even longer than that.  Maybe for a whole minute.  Or maybe five minutes.  Or maybe a million zillion billion minutes.  Maybe even as long as an hour.
    And the little girl wasn't afraid anymore.
    Because she was a warrior.


    And they flew into a dark, scary place.  It was like being in that ugly, icky place again, only worse.  This place was all black and really scary.  Finally they all landed and Mr. Lung said, "Here we are."  But she didn't know where "here" was.
All she could see was darkness and a big black hole, even blacker than the black that surrounded them.  And the only change was a gray stone bridge that was the same color as the icky pencil sky she had seen some time ago.
    And the truth became clear: she was afraid, and very very scared.  She wasn't a warrior, and could never be.  She didn't know what to do. All she could see was that the blackness was scarier than anything she'd ever
    So she sat on the black ground and cried again.
    Jiu came to her side and asked "Child, why do you cry?  Why are you afraid of that which is out there?"  She pointed out to the beyond, and at the farthest point away, two tiny specks of blue sparked to life.  "If you wish to be brave and be a warrior, then you must go to the light and begin your struggle."
    The little girl wiped the tears from her eyes and said stopped sobbing long enough to say, "But I don't know what to do!  And that place is *SCARY!*  It hurts even to look at it."
    Jiu nodded her head.  "Yes it does.  But you said you were a warrior.  That means that you must be stronger than the worst fear.  You must be stronger than the worst hurt."  She looked at Mr. Lung.  "Show her."


    Mr. Lung put his paw in the air, and a pretty sparkly light danced on the top of one of his claws.  Then the light moved away, and the air around all of them got really swirly and melty, like someone pouring fudge and caramel on the sky.  Then a pretty swirly bubble became in the center of all of them.  The little girl could see pictures in the bubble like she was watching a cartoon on TV.
    The scene showed a woman carrying two small squiggly knives and a man that had a big stick and a knife on the top of the stick.  The woman had long, flowing purple hair, violet eyes; she looked as brave as Jiu.  The man had dark brown hair and the same color eyes; he looked very brave, too.  They were both bleeding, but fought on, beating up really bad people.  They must be warriors, the little girl decided.
    The woman said to the man, "We're running up against shinobi again."  She flipped over a small black ball that blew up under her, landed on her feet and slashed a strange man wearing black.  "Tate!  How you holding up?"
    The man swung the stick so fast, the little girl could not keep track of the people he hit with it.  "Passably well, Shampoo, my old friend.  But it's obvious that they were keeping more of these lunatics in reserve."
    The man and the woman ran around a corner, and then she couldn't see them anymore.  As the picture began to disappear, the little girl could see the woman snarl a name that sounded like she thought it was icky.  "Kaguro...."  And then the bubble TV was empty.
    "Who was that?" the little girl asked Jiu.
    "Those are two brave warriors that are fighting against the army of the bad demon that Phoenix told you about," the older woman said.  "they could use a warrior of your bravery to help them."  She pointed at the twin lights in the distance. "All you have to do is go to the lights and touch them.  Then you will be on your way home."
    The little girl looked at the bubble again, then looked over the deep blackness and the stone bridge, towards the twin lights, then shook her head.  "I can't.  I'm scared."
    "It is okay to be scared, young one,"  Jiu replied, hugging the small child.  However, she added, "We all get scared sometimes.  I was afraid when I came to see the Leung for the first time.  I was afraid when I fought my way to the top of Jusenkyo mountain.  I was afraid every minute that I fought the demon."
    The little girl stopped crying, surprised that the brave and mighty Jiu could be afraid.  "You get scared, too, Jiu?"
    The Chinese Amazon nodded, then kneeled down to the little girl's height and looked her straight in the eyes.  "The reason I fought on and was brave is because I found a reason to fight.  the reason was because of my child and my people."  She smiled her special smile again--the one the little girl liked the most--hugged her, and said, "Let us find what it is you would fight the most for."


    The bubble TV glowed again, and showed a man walking through the streets of a city.  He was larger than many of the other men around him, and he dressed differently, too.  He wore a beige karate suit, and glasses.  He looked completely bald, but wore a scarf over his head.  He had a look of strength and bravery, but there was also kindness and gentleness in his piercing black eyes.  He was conversing with someone, but the little girl couldn't tell who.
    "Otoosan!" the little girl said, voice filled with cheer.  But she remained firm.  She loved her father dearly, but there was something about Pop (silly old man, she thought, then wondered where that thought came from) that didn't force her to move towards the bridge.
    "But I thought you loved your father," Jiu asked.
    "I love Otoosan lots an' lots, but I...I just...."  The little girl couldn't finish her sentence.  
    "I understand," Jiu said.  "Don't be saddened.  We may yet find what it is that will be your strength.  The Chinese warrior turned to Mr. Lung and said, "Next."
    The bubble glowed again, and showed the little girl's father...and the one that he was conversing with.  The woman had short, light brown hair with just a hint of silvery-gray.  She wore a kimono, and a sword at her side.  The look in her brown eyes said the same thing in her husband's eyes.
    "Okaasan!" the little girl squealed, and ran towards the bridge, but stopped.  the darkness loomed before her, ready to swallow her up.  She ran back, hiding behind Jiu; the fear of the black unknown was too strong for the little girl, easily defeating her love for her parents.  
    She looked to Jiu.  "I can't.  Too scared."  the little girl began to cry again.

 
     The look on the little girl's face nearly broke Jiu's heart.  Jiu grew determined, her lips became a thin line of strength.  "What of her younger sister, the one they call Shiva?"
    The bubble cleared glowed once more, to show just the barest hint of a woman with platinum blonde hair.  Then the bubble went blank.
    "Sorry, friend Jiu, little one," Mr. Fenix said.  "There is something about the woman named Shiva that defies description.  We cannot sense her presence.  There is a mystery about that girl, I reckon."
    "It is unimportant; there is still the most important member of her family to reveal."  Jiu tuned back to the little girl, and told her, "I just remembered what it was that you will fight for."  As a puzzled look wrinkled the little girl's face, Jiu smiled sweetly once more.  "Don't worry, even I make mistakes.  That's what makes you such a great warrior--learning from your mistakes."  She turned to Mr. Lung again.  "Please show the face.  The most important face to this little girl."
    "I cannot," Mr. Lung said.  "My power is weakened by this place."
    "Then I shall help you,"  Mr. Feniks said, as he put his wing on Mr. Lung's paw.  "The princess told us that she is brave.  We must be brave for her."
   The bubble glowed once more, and showed a different scene.


    The bubble showed the inside of an airplane.  There was a man wearing clothes just like Jiu's.   He had black hair in the same style as Jiu's, but she couldn't see the color of his eyes; she knew who it was, nonetheless.  He was being held by a woman who looked both angry and sad at the same time.  She had short black hair, and in her teary brown eyes, a barely controllable anger could be seen. 
    Seeing the pair, the little girl's heart snapped.  "Oniichan....  Akane-chan...."  she whispered.  She turned to Jiu.  "Why are they crying?"
    Jiu opened her mouth to speak, but was beaten by Mr. Feniks.  "Because they miss you very much, little princess.  Your brother and sister-in-law know you are missing and are looking for you."
    That did it.  The girl ignored the darkness and began to race towards the bridge.  At the last, she was caught by Jiu.  "Let me go!" she screamed.  "I hafta help my brother and Akane-chan!"
    Jiu bent down and whispered something in the little girl's ear.  Speaking aloud again, she said, "It will help you when you face your final obstacle getting home."  She then gave the little girl her sword.  "This is the sword of a warrior.  You shall need it.  And with that, now it was time to say good-bye."
    "Good-bye?" the little girl asked.
    "Child, our time on earth is done.  It falls upon you to be the one to carry on."  She hugged the little girl to her.  "Dear one, my child, daughter of my past, you may not see us ever again.  But we will always be there for you."
    She hugged Jiu, promising herself she wouldn't cry.  "I-I'll miss you."  She then went over to Mr. Feniks and hugged him as well.  "Thank you for everything."  
    "It was nothing, child," the bird said.
    She then turned to Mr. Lung, but he was already gone.  Jiu explained, "He is not one for good-byes, child, so please forgive him.  He would tell you that you are quite welcome."   Jiu pointed toward the twin lights.  "Now go to your home, and your brother.  You are sorely missed."  
    With that, Lao Jiukiu Tsesao and the legendary Phoenix of Heaven disappeared into the darkness.
   

    The little girl wasted no time, and began to race across the bridge.  She ran and ran and ran.  She began to glow red, and the darkness fell away. After a while, it got darker and darker,  and the little girl began to falter, slow and then stopped.  She wanted to run back, but she couldn't see where she started.  The darkness closed in around her and she became afraid again.
    She swung the sword, about her size, but light as a feather in her hand, but the tendrils of darkness seemed to close in deeper and deeper.  It was slowly choking her, drenching her, enveloping her and claiming her to be the defeated in this game where the stakes were all too high.  
    The brightness of the lights dimmed to nearly nothing at her hesitance and began to gutter and fade.  It was clear that the little girl would give up, and lose all.  Truth be told, she would've given up right there and then if it wasn't for something in her mind.  A memory....

    The crowd of fighters gathered around a wounded Ranma, an equally injured Akane, and the mysterious girl that looked like Ranma's alter ego.  The three of them marched out of the remains of the Crystal Temple, towards the their friends, the wounded, the grieving, and the dead....

    "....who is she, Ranma?" Nabiki asked, completely perplexed.  All the others who were still conscious, were just as stunned.
    Ryoga and Natsumi voiced the same words, not believing that this--what it appeared to be--was possible, could be possible:  "Ranma-chan...."
    "No, not 'Ranma-chan'.  Ranko." Genma himself somehow knew the answer, and was at a near loss for words.   A look of true astonishment and wonder crossed his face as he whispered to no one in particular:  "She's my *daughter...."*

    ....Ranma put one arm around his fiancee, and held her.  He put his other arm around the redhead, and said with a note of pure pride in his voice, "This is my *sister,* Ranko.  Anybody who has a problem with that will have to deal with *me."*  He then looked at his sister, and there was no mistaking the love, joy, and pride he had in his eyes.  "You did good, sis.  Thank you."
    Akane looked at the girl in the same way.  "Welcome to the family, sis...."

    ....A teary-eyed Ranko smiled, and would've said something, if it hadn't been for Genma putting his arms around the three, holding his children and future daughter-in-law close to him....

    The little girl got up, picked up her sword, and began to glow red again, the sword becoming a torch of impossible brightness.  She screamed at the darkness, "I'm not going to give up!" With that, she began her rush towards the small lights again.  As she ran, her aura began to change.  It began as a red aura, then faded to the color of white, then became a bright blue ball of lightning as she raced towards the stars.  The darkness closed in on her again, but her power flared brighter, and the enclosing darkness gave way to her brightness.
    She saw the lights, emanating from two small sparkly marbles.  Shouting a cry of "I'm coming, Ranma!" the little girl leapt on the marbles and touched them....

*   *   *

    Thus, the six-year-old child that had never been, that had inexplicably once was, and that somehow would always be, once again became the 25-year-old martial artist.  The colors of her body regained their normal tones, her eyes blinked, and with a momentary loss of equilibrium, she got to her knees.   Unaware of anything for the moment, of where she was or what had happened, barely noticing the still forms of her friends Libby and Mousse at her side, she sat, looking at the true Phoenix Eyes in her left hand, and the sword of Lao Jiukiu Tsesao--her sword, now--in her right.
    So she sat.
    And sat.
    And sat.
    And it seemed like she sat forever and ever and ever.  And even longer than that.  Maybe for a whole minute.  Or maybe five minutes.  Or maybe a million zillion billion minutes.  Maybe even as long as an hour.
    And Ranko Saotome wasn't afraid anymore.
    Because she was a warrior.


    Ranko leapt to her feet from the sitting position, pausing long enough to put the Phoenix Eyes in her pocket, and the Jusenkyo Sword in her sash belt.  She didn't pause to wonder how she'd managed to change into her red short-sleeve tang and pants; she just knew.  She was at least glad that her hair wasn't in her old pigtail style.
    She wanted to "tell" Ranma that she was okay, but she couldn't; the bond had somehow vanished.  A moment's worry crossed her mind, but she thought about it for a second, then reasoned that it was a side effect of her "death".  {So long as that demon's around, my bond's been neutralized.  They don't know I'm okay, and they're truly hurting, because they love me, and think I'm a goner.  So demon bitch has made Ranma and Akane distraught.  That little factoid makes me very pissed.  The demon doesn't realize that people get hurt when I get pissed.}
    She formed a fist, and her aura flared angrily.  Her red aura was gone, supplanted by the electric blue aura she had just developed.  She noticed that her new battle aura wasn't so much of a regular ki aura than a storm of plasma energy.  She looked at her fist, and noticed the small arcs of electricity dancing around it like an organic storm cloud.
    She smiled wickedly, the stubborness clearly etched on the face of the Japanese redhead.  "Okay demon girl, you'd best be ready.  'Cause it's payback time."  
    By force of habit, she punched her fist into her open palm.
    The energy discharge shook the room.