Here's the sixth chapter.  I accidentally posted the fifth as chapter 6,
and I apologize.  Putting these up at 4:00 in the morning does that.

As usual, you can find missing parts of the fic at:

http://public.carleton.edu/~tsaie/fanfix.html

or you can send me email.

C&C is more than welcome and would be appreciated.  I'm still trying to
revise this monster, and it'd be nice to have a litle help along the way.

Ranma and all associated characters are owned by RUmiko Takahashi.  This
is a work of fiction written by a fan for fans.  This is not meant to
infringe on any copyrights whatsoever.  I mean no offense to Rumiko
Takahashi by writing this.  Please don't sue.
The characters introduced in this fic are actually copyrighted by me, and
hopefully will show up in a new original fic this year.

Happy reading!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Six

	"So why did you offer a room to Ken?"
	Ukyou raised an eyebrow at Akane.
	"What do you mean?" she replied.
	"Oh, c'mon!  Don't tell me you don't like Ken!" Akane smiled.
	Ukyou colored slightly.  She went back to the okonomiyaki she was
working on.  Akane toyed with a napkin as she sat across from Ukyou at the
counter.  The minute she saw Ukyou blush, she pounced like a cat.
	"Aha!"
	"Ken's just a friend!  Don't tell me you like Ken?" Ukyou asked
insinuatingly.
	"Hey!  I'm not the one looking at Ken that way."
	"What are you talking about?" Ukyou asked with a nervous laugh.
	Akane smiled knowingly.
	"Ukyou," she said, suddenly serious, "This is Ken we're talking
about.  I get the feeling that you guys have been talking and getting to
know each other; more than even Ranma.  Ken's said a lot to Ranma, and
they're really close friends now.  It's almost like they're brothers.
With you, it seems a little different."
	"You're trying to set me up, aren't you?" Ukyou asked with a
smirk.
	"Look," Akane said, "I know you're one of Ranma's fiances.  I know
you care about Ranma.  I-I- I care about Ranma too.  A lot."
	Ukyou was surprised.
	"You love Ranma a lot, don't you?" she asked.
	Akane nodded gravely.
	"Yes, I-I love Ranma a lot.  It took a while to admit it, but I
feel really relieved now that I can tell people.  I haven't told Ranma
yet," she said with a sheepish smile, "but I'm sure I'll get there
eventually.  It's just nice going through a more friendly phase first.
It's a lot like you and Ken right now."
	"What are you talking about?  I am not in love with Ken!" Ukyou
almost shouted.
	"Excuse me, Ranma and I were going to go out for a bit.  I'll be
back in five minutes."
	Ukyou turned quickly to see Ken looking at her from the door to
the back.  She colored slightly before smiling and waving.
	"Go on ahead.  Don't take too long, though.  We still have to get
ready for the dinner rush."
	Ken withdrew into the back room.  Ukyou could hear the back door
open and close.
	"Not in love?" Akane asked.  "Then why were you embarrassed when
Ken heard you?"
	"Wouldn't you?"
	"Not if I didn't have anything to hide.  Did you see the way he
looked at you?  It was like you slapped him."
	Ukyou sighed.
	"It's not like that.  You don't how what he's like.  He really
went through something terrible, and he really doesn't trust women that
much."
	"He seems to trust you a lot."
	Ukyou shook her head.
	"It's different.  It's very different."
	"I don't see how."
	Ukyou looked at Akane with a flat expression.
	"Since when did you become so insight in the ways of love?  You're
the one that used to beat Ran-chan senseless."
	Akane smirked.
	"Since I finally realized how much he means to me.  Look, Ukyou,
it's not a bad thing to like Ken more than as a friend.  I think he needs
someone like you.  Don't you?"
	Ukyou shook her head again.
	"How can you expect me to simply abandon Ran-chan?  I've been in
love with Ran-chan for a long time.  You think that doesn't mean
anything?"
	"Ukyou," Akane said quietly, "I've seen how you and Ken get along
together.  It's just like I'm seeing you and Ranma together.  The
difference is that where Ken needs something, you look like you need it
too.  It's the same way Ranma and I both seem to not want to be together,
but want to be together more than anything."
	Ukyou looked at Akane with a shocked expression in her face.
	"Akane, what are you saying?" she asked quietly.
	"Ukyou, please listen.  I don't mean to insult you in any way.  I
see Ken look at you and he has that expression on his face, in his eyes.
I think he's in love with you, but doesn't know that he is.  He likes you
a lot, Ukyou.  He really does.  Aren't you going to do something about
it?"	
	"It's just like Konatsu and Tsubasa!  Why do I always get the freaks!"
Ukyou spat.
	"Ukyou, do you really think Ken's a freak?"
	Ukyou closed her eyes tightly.
	"Ukyou?"
	"No," she finally managed through clenched teeth.  "I don't think
he's a freak."
	"Don't you think it's a little strange that you got him to buy
clothes that looked just like Ranma's?"
	Ukyou looked at Akane sadly.
	"I'm losing it aren't I?" she asked sadly.  She reached under the
counter and pulled out a box of Kleenex.  She hastily brought one out and
blew her nose quietly.
	"No, you're not losing it; although I'm amazed you picked up on
him in less than three days." Akane replied with a roguish grin.
	"You mean he picked up on me." Ukyou said with a smile.
	"So you do like him?"
	"I guess so.  I don't know.  Whenever I'm with him, it's just like
I'm with Ran-chan, but a little different.  He's always so sad, but then
he brightens up so much when we're together.  It's so nice to hear him
talk and laugh like we've known each other for ages.  He's just like
Ran-chan." she said.
	"He is a lot like Ranma."
	"He's a better fighter, you know." Ukyou said.  "Ran-chan told me
Ken beat him in a fight."
	Akane smiled.
	"Yeah, but I sometimes get the feeling he's not quite as good a
fighter as Ranma at the same time.
	"What do you mean?"
	"Do you remember how Ranma always threw himself into fights, just
to win?"
	"Yeah, he always does that."
	"When I saw them fighting, Ken didn't look like that.  It looked
like he simply went berserk and lost it.  It looked like he stopped being
Ken and turned into something else."
	"Do you think it has to do with that Ethereal thing he told us
about?"
	"I don't know.  Why don't you ask him?  I'm sure he'd be happy to
tell you all about it." Akane said with a grin.
	"Hey!  Stop that!  I said I like Ken a lot, but I'm not completely
in love with him!" Ukyou said defensively.
	Akane giggled.
	"It doesn't mean he's not any less receptive to you." she said.
	Ukyou grinned.
	"I guess you're right."
	Ukyou sighed.  It felt a lot better now that she figured out how
she felt about him.  Akane's voice broke her out of her reverie.
	"Ukyou?  The okonomiyaki's burning."

	"So you like Ukyou a lot?"
	Ken hefted a bag of trash and threw it into a dumpster in
frustration.  Ranma tossed a rock in after it from his perch on the alley
wall.
	"Yeah, but I guess she doesn't like me that much." he replied
sadly.
	"I heard." Ranma said quietly.  "I'm really sorry, man.  I know
you liked her from day one."
	"I don't know, Ranma.  I don't really know what love is.  I really
think I don't.  You and Ukyou have something together that I see, and wish
I had.  Then there's Akane" Ken trailed.
	"Whoa!  Hey!  I'm not some kind of Cassanova.  I'm just Ranma, got
it?" he said defensively.
	Ken smirked.
	"That's not what I'm talking about, Romeo.  All I'm saying is that
whenever you're with Ukyou, you two get along really well together."
	"So do you!" Ranma interrupted.
	"But it's different.  I have to wear stuff to look like you to get
along with her.  You think she got me to buy these clothes because I look
good in them?"
	"A lot of girls think so.  Even Nabiki seems a little gooey when
she's around you."
	"I'd rather not talk about Nabiki."
	"Hey, I'm sorry about that."
	"Not as sorry as I am.  I can't believe I fell for that deal."
	"Hey, forget about it.  I thappens to the best of us.
	"So what are you going to do about Ukyou?" he asked.
	Ken looked thoughtful for a moment.
	"Just work as usual.  I guess I'd like to be her friend more than
anything.  We get along well, and it's filling in something I lost a long
time ago.  I don't know what, but I feel a lot better with Ukyou."
	"You know, I feel the same way sometimes.  Well, not really
exactly the same, but Ukyou's been my best friend for a long time.
Sometimes I think I've really got something for her, but then sometimes I
don't.  I like her a lot, and I can tick off all the reasons why; but it's
different with Akane."
	"So that's why you two are still together?"
	"Yeah." Ranma said sheepishly.
	"I wish I knew what it felt like.  I'd tell you to go with it, but
I don't have any experience in these things."
	"So pretend."
	Ken smiled.
	"Ranma, you and Akane have a kind of magic together I've never
seen before.  It's absolutely inexplicable.  I'm jealous.  I wish I knew
something like that.  It's something really special and if I were you, I'd
never let it go."
	Ranma blinked.
	"Nice touch.  You're really good at that pretending bit." Ranma
said with a laugh.
	Ken looked down at the ground as he leaned against a wall and
kicked a rock.
	"Who says I was pretending?"
	Ranma jumped down from  his perch.
	"Hey, quit it.  You're making me depressed.  Let's go get
something to eat."
	"I can't," Ken said apologetically.  "I have to go back to work."
	"You know," Ranma said, "since you don't have anyone tailing you,
like me, why don't you just say it right out?"
	"That I'm in love with her?"
	"Yeah.  That you're nuts for her."
	"Am I in love with Ukyou?" Ken asked.
	"I think so.  Do you get that kind of warm feeling when you're
with her?  If you do, and it just gets stronger every time you hang out
with her, then it is."
	Ken looked skeptical.
	"You sure about that?  How do I know it's not just wanting to be
friends?"
	"Do you feel like, uh, you know"
	"What?"
	"You know, getting kinda close and, er.."
	"Personal?" Ken finished.
	"Yeah.  Personal." Ranma said sheepishly.
	"Sort of.  It's hard to explain."
	"More like you can't explain it."
	"Yeah." Ken said quietly.
	"You know, Kasumi told me that if I could list all the reasons why
I liked everyone, but couldn't list any reason why I liked Akane, then my
choices were simple."
	Ken looked at Ranma quizzically.
	"Is she right?"
	Ranma looked at the wall of Ucchan's.
	"I think she is.  After all this talk, I think I know what it
means."
	"So what if I can list reasons why I like Ukyou?"
	"Can you?  Honestly?"
	"And if I can't?"
	"Then you have some thinking to do." Ranma said with a serious
voice.
	Ken sighed.  He wished for the simple life he had when he had
first become an Avatar.  Life was good back then.  Learning to fight,
visiting worlds he'd never imagined possible, and traveling with all of
his friends and family.  What happened to me, he asked himself.  Ukyou had
told him that it was his friends and family that counted.  Where did she
fit in?
	Suddenly Ranma's stomach growled loudly.  It broke Ken's line of
thought.  He silently thanked Ranma for the diversion.
	"Let's go get you something to eat." Ken said with a laugh.
	When the two fo them got back into the restaurant, they saw Ukyou
cleaning the grill and Akane munching away at a free okonomiyaki.  Ranma
sniffed the air dubiously.
	"I don't think this smells like any of your new specials, Ucchan."
	"Shut up, Ranma.  I make mistakes like everyone else." she said
with a laugh.
	Akane swallowed the last vestiges of her okonomiyaki, looked at
Ranma dn pushed her plate forward.
	"Looks like Ranma's in here for some food." she said.  Ranma's
stomach loudly voiced its agreement as Akane and Ukyou laughed.
	"I'll clean out the dishes in the sink." Ken said and pulled out a
shallow tub from below the counter.  He dumped some dirty dishes and
silverware into it and casually walked back to the sink.  When he had
finally left the room, Ranma turned to Ukyou.
	"So what's the deal with you and Ken?" he asked with a smile.
	"I was just telling Akane about it." she replied.
	Ranma turned to look at Akane.
	"Hey, it's on a need to know basis, Ranma" she said.
	"And you don't need to know." finished Ukyou with an impish grin.
	Ranma had a pleading look on his face.
	"C'mon Ucchan!  I'm your best buddy!  You can tell me anything!
Hey, I'll tell you what Ken was saying in the back alley while he was
taking out the trash."
	"Gossip will get you nowhere, Ran-chan." Ukyou replied firmly.
"You're starting to sound like Nabiki."
	"It's free." Ranma said jokingly.  The three of them burst out
laughing at the joke.
	"C'mon Ukyou."
	Ukyou shook her head.
	"Akane?"
	Akane shook her head.
	"Would it help if I said Ken really likes you Ukyou?"
	Ukyou's eyes widened and she blushed furiously.
	"We don't need to bring up that subject!  Would you like it if I
started prying about you and Akane?" she shot back.
	Akane blushed.  Ranma fidgeted with the napkins on the counter.
	"I get the idea." he replied.  "So is it ready yet?" he asked with
a grin as he reached out for the plate.
	Ukyou snorted derisively.
	"Always food." she said as she shook a small spatula at Ranma's
reaching hand.  He retracted quickly and Akane laughed.
	"I'm sure you can wait." she said.  Ukyou shared a laugh with her.
	"I'm dying here!" he complained.
	"Okay, okay!" Ukyou said in mock exasperation. She flipped the
okonomiyaki on the plate and pushed it forwards.  Ranma stared at it
appreciatively and was about to shove it in his mouth when the door
opened.
	"Where Ken?"
	Ukyou turned to see Shampoo in the doorway.  Mousse stood behind
her looking concerned.
	"What do you want with my waiter?" Ukyou asked sternly.  "I don't
want you fighting in here.  I had enough trouble getting it back on its
feet after Konatsu almost sold it."
	"Shampoo is here to apologize to the new guest of the Tendos."
Mousse replied.  Shampoo elbowed him in the stomach.
	"Great grandmother say Shampoo must apologize.  Chai Tse-Khan beat
Shampoo in fair fight."
	"I'll say." Ranma said through a mouthful of okonomiyaki.
	"Does that mean you're going to try to marry him?" Akane asked
hopefully.
	"Shampoo no need marry second in line." she said as she marched up
to Ranma with a seductive smile.  "Shampoo already have husband." She said
as she grabbed Ranma's arm and leaned into him with a sigh.
	"If you're here to apologize, then get it over with.  I don't like
loiterers." Ukyou said flatly.
	"Spatula girl stay out of this!" Shampoo spat.
	Ranma noticed Akane's aura growing and quickly tried to pry off
Shampoo from his arm.  She was incredibly strong at times like this, he
noted.
	"Hey, Ken!  Get on out here!  You have a visitor." he shouted.
	"What is it?" Ken asked as he walked out from the back room.  His
face darkened when he saw Shampoo and Mousse.  He reached around the
doorframe and pulled out his sheathed sword from the other room.  His
right hand descended to the hilt.
	Mousse noticed and tugged on Shampoo's arm.
	"Shampoo!  Remember what you're here for!" he hissed.
	Shampoo looked up to see Ken and slowly disengaged herself from
Ranma's arm.  Ken noticed Akane was fuming and decided it was best to make
it quick.
	"Are you here to challenge me again?" he asked in Chinese.
	"No.  I am here to apologize.  My actions were uncalled for and I
humbly ask for your forgiveness." she replied quietly.
	Ken frowned.  This wasn't what he expected.  It was nice, but
unexpected.  He walked up to Shampoo and tried to look in her face as she
stared at the ground pouting.
	"You're here to apologize?"
	"Yes." Shampoo said quietly.
	Ken reached out and lifted Shampoo's chin. He could tell she was
on the verge of crying.  She swatted his hand away and stared at him with
what appeared to be contempt.
	"My mother once told me that people that could apologize for their
actions and could feel remorse for their deeds were better warriors than
those that could destroy an opponent with a single blow."
	Shampoo's visage softened.
	"I-I'm sorry." she sniffled quietly.  "I hope that I may be able
to gain your respect.  You are a good man." she said as she wiped away a
tear.
	Ken sighed and put a hand on her shoulder.
	"You're very noble.  I have the utmost respect for a beautiful
warrior such as yourself.  Now please, stop crying.  I really feel
horrible when beautiful women cry in front of me."
	Shampoo laughed as she wiped her eyes.  Mousse offered a
hankerchief and she blew her nose it in before shoving it back at Mousse,
who accepted it rather reluctantly.
	"Thank you." Shampoo replied quietly.
	"Would you like something to eat?" Ken asked brightly in Japanese.
"Ukyou's the best okonomiyaki cook in Japan, you know."
	Ukyou blushed and Shampoo smiled.
	"Shampoo not hungry." she replied.  "Be with husband is good
enough for Shampoo." she finished and grabbed Ranma like a teddy bear.  
	Ken noticed Akane and Ukyou's auras flaring up.
	"Perhaps you and Ranma can continue with that outside?" he
suggested cautiously.  Akane and Ukyou glared at him.
	"You know it's really not nice to embarrass an engaged man in
front of his fiance." Ken chided.  Akane and Ukyou smiled and looked over
at Shampoo who had disengaged herself from Ranma.  She fawned at Ranma.
	"Shampoo need to work now.  Ranma take Shampoo on date later?"  
Ranma looked at Akane's furious look and held up his hands defensively.
	"Not today Shampoo." He replied uneasily.
	"Ken come to Nekohanten for something to eat?" she asked brightly.
	"Maybe later.  I have to work now, and I have to visit Ranma's
mother; but perhaps I will come to visit." he replied in Chinese.
	Shampoo winked at Ken.
	"Surely you wouldn't want to miss out on the food from back home!
Don't you miss all the wonderful food?" she asked in Mandarin.
	Ken laughed.
	"Only if it's done right."
	"The only person better than me is my great grandmother." she said
with a smirk.
	"Then how could I refuse?" Ken replied with a laugh.
	Shampoo waved and bounced out the door with Mousse in tow.
	"Well, that was interesting." Ranma noted.  Akane swatted the back
of his head.

	When Ken got to the Saotome residence, it was fairly late at
night.  Cleaning up Ucchan's took longer than usual as the female patrons
increased; but Ukyou promised to pay Nabiki the amount Ken owed her, so it
was worth working harder for her.  He'd called Ranma's mother to
reschedule and apologize, but she insisted on having him visit.  With a
look of slight uneasiness, Ken knocked on the front door of the Saotome's
house.  The door opened wide to show Nodoka Saotome in her usual blue
print kimono.  She smiled when she saw Ken before her.
	"Welcome!  I thought you'd never make it."
	"I apologize for the lateness of my visit.  I do not wish to make
an inconvenience of myself."
	Nodoka tsked loudly.
	"Nonsense.  You most certainly are welcome here, and you are not
an inconvenience.  I am quite pleased to see that a good friend of my son
has shown such good manners."
	Ken smiled sheepishly and fidgeted visibly.
	"Please come inside.  I will show you to the garden where
everything should take place."
	Nodoka led Ken through a small hallway and then to a set of
sliding doors that opened to a small yard.  A neatly kept rock garden was
laid before Ken's view.  It was impressive to say the least.  The
judicious use of a few bonsai and variation of the smaller and larger
rocks instilled as sense of order and calm throughout the area.  Ken
walked to the edge of the door and stopped.  Nodoka calmly walked into the
garden, taking two small mats with her.  She laid them close to each other
and motioned for Ken to follow.  He took the sword off from his back and
placed it by the door.  As he walked out to the mat near the center of the
garden, Ken took visible precaution to not disturb the rocks in place.
Nodoka laughed gently.
	"Do not worry about disturbing the garden at all.  The garden
itself represents a balance of order and disorder.  If you disrupt the
order, then so be it."
	Ken nervously kneeled on the mat next to Nodoka.  He looked to
make sure he hadn't distrupted the orderly nature of the pebbles he walked
on.  Nodoka looked at him evenly.
	"Why do you wish to learn self-control?  Is it because it is
something you wish to improve upon, or is it a chance to gain what you
lack?"
	Ken looked at the ground sadly.
	"My entire life, I've used my emotions to engage in combat.  I've
learned to unleash all the hate and anger I feel for someone and channel
it into raw power that I can use to destroy someone.  The last time it
happened, I lost myself in killing someone.  I'm afraid it will happen
again.  I want to learn control to control myself from hurting other
people.  The kata I know and the art that I practice doesn't help me in
any way.  I thought that perhaps another art or meditation would be more
helpful."
	Nadoka nodded.
	"Well, perhaps we should begin by first letting your emotions run
free.  Ifyou wish to learn to control them, you should know the nature of
them."
	Ken looked at her with a mix of apprehension and fear.  She placed
an arm on his shoulder and smile gently.
	"Don't be afraid of what will happen.  You must take this step to
begin your training in control."
	Ken looked at the ground in front of him, and then his hands.  He
closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.  She told him to release all of his
emotions.  Let them run free.  It was a dangerous and frightening thing to
him.
	You wish to learn control, a voice told him.
	Fenrir and Janus.  Why do you choose to speak to me at this time?
	Control your emotions and it may be your undoing.
	Why?  Are you threatened by my want of self-control?
	On the contrary, Avatar, we are pleased.  It will further your
path to you destiny.
	Why do you speak in riddles Ethereal?
	Why do wish to learn self-control?  To weaken yourself?
	To become a better warrior!  To gain what I've lost!
	And what have you lost?
	Honor!
	What is honor without self-control?
	Nothing!  To be able to fight and control yourself when you fight
is honorable.  Would you rather have a clear mind and the ability to act
on reason, or would you rather fight recklessly and with a complete
abandon for your own safety?  You told me yourself that this deal is a
deal that will last for eternity.  You chose me to be your host!  You
chose!
	Tell me, Avatar, do you seek self-control to change your destiny
or to seal your fate?
	I seek self-control because it is right!  It is the way of a true
warrior!  I will not make the same mistakes I made before!
	And when you fight again, will you control your anger and hatred
and risk losing your life, or will you let loose those emotions that will
let you win?  A warrior that does not fight to his full potential is not a
warrior, but a coward.  Are you a coward?  Are you mouse or man?
	I am not a coward!  I am a man!  I am a man, Fenrir!  A man!
	Silence. Silence pervaded every part of his brain.  It was
deafening, and more frightening than anything he had ever experienced.
He was alone.  Once again, he was very alone.  It seemed to last for an
eternity.  Ken screamed.
	Nodoka watched as Ken's face relaxed as his eyes closed.  Then his
brow furrowed.  Then he began to sweat profusely.  His hands twitched and
started to convulse.  They quickly balled into fists that shook with an
unseen rage.  She hastily backed up, upsetting the rigid pattern of the
pebbles in the process.  She kept backing up in fear as she saw all of
Ken's muscles seem to lock up.  His whole body shook violently.  A blue
aura formed and black tendrils seemed to whip out from him like lightning.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open.  Twin beams of blue shot out from his
eyes, and for a moment he stopped and everything was still.  Then with a
hoarse cry of agony, he collapsed shaking violently, and curled up into
the fetal position.  Ken lay curled on the rocks whimpering softly.
Nodoka's heart broke and she rushed over to him to cradle his head.  She
slowly rocked his shaking form in her arms until he slowly calmed down and
the whimpering and tears stopped.
Ken slowly opened his eyes.  All he could make out was Nodoka's obi, and
some of the blue fabric of her kimono in the dim light.  He slowly sat up,
still shaking slightly.  There was a glazed look in his eyes as he slowly
righted himself and sat kneeling on the mat again.  A single tear fell
from his face and splashed on the rock below him.
	"Mom." he said in a whisper.
Nodoka gently placed a hand on his shoulder.  He didn't move.
	"There is a great deal you need to work out, isn't there?" she asked
softly.
	"I don't know."  It was barely a whisper.
	"You miss your parents a great deal."
	"Yes.  I miss them very much."
	"It's okay to miss them."
	"It's weak."
	"No it isn't." Nodoka said insistently.  "We all must miss loved
ones that pass on."
	"They were murdered."
	"It wasn't your fault."
	"It was.  I could have stopped them.  If only I broke free, I
would have killed those bastards." he spat.
	"Could you?  Could you have broken free?"
	An image of the chains, of the shackles, and the beatings he had
received formed in his mind.  He was helpless.  For an instant he had felt
helplessness, and for the ten thousandth time in his life, he felt afraid.
He felt alone.  Ken shut his eyes tightly.
	"No." he choked.  Tears began streaming.  "I couldn't stop them.
Why couldn't I stop them?  I should have been stronger."  Ken began
sobbing openly.
	"There wasn't anything you could have done."
	"I should have fought them all with everything I had.  I sat there
helpless and watched them kill my parents."
	"The guilt isn't yours to assume."
	"Then why can't I let it go?" he whispered.
	"Because you love them too much."
	"But there's so much more.  Everything I've done only worked to
humiliate myself, to disgrace myself before my brother.  Before, the only
vestige of family I had left was tied to my parents.  Their death was the
death of who I was."
	Nodoka peered into Ken's eyes intently.
	"Is that true?  What is it that died?"
	"The warrior I used to be.  I was a person who fought for
everything I felt was right.  I upheld a moral code that embodied
everything I knew was good and right.  My brother and I fought with our
lives by these ideals."
	"And what was that?"
	"Honor.  Virtue.  Compassion and mercy.  Honesty.  Loyalty."
	"Bushido?"
	"Yes.  Very much like bushido."
	"I think you miss some things then."
	"I know."
	"Bushido is more than a warriors code.  It is more than a
philosophy for people who engage in combat.  Honor and virtue are things
everyone must live by if they wish to be good people.  Honesty and loyalty
are the hallmarks of love and friendship.  Compassion and mercy balance
hate and anger.  All people should live by those things."
	"But I've failed already.  I've been disgraced by the people I
knew as my peers; by people that lived where I believed to be my home.  I
don't possess any of those things."	
	"But not here," Nodoka said with gentle smile, "here is a place
that is different.  People here care about you.  I can see it in the eyes
of people when they look at you.  My son has already taken you to be the
brother he never had.
	"Honor and virtue and all those things aren't things that can be
possessed or held.  You must accept them as parts of who your are and live
by them, just as others try to live by them.  There is no end to living by
a ideal like bushido.  You can only stop trying the day your soul leaves
you."
	"And if I have no soul?"
	"Stop that." Nodoka chided firmly.  "I will hear none of that.  I
can see all too easily that you have lived far too long thinking of these
things.  It is time to let it go, Ken.  You have to let go if you want to
begin healing."
	"Thanks mom." Ken replied instinctively.  He clapped a hand over
his mouth and blushed in embarrassment.  "I-I'm very sorry.  I meant no
disrespect."
	Nodoka smiled gently.
	"I don't mind.  It's nice to hear that from you.  Perhaps I can
help you in that way.  I very rarely have the chance to hear my son call
me that nowadays.  He's a very busy boy." she said with a smile.  "You
should head home.  It's late, and I'm sure you will have to work hard
tomorrow."
	Ken smiled and got up from the mat.
	"Will you be back tomorrow evening, Ken?" Nodoka asked.
	"Yes.  I have a great deal to learn; and to let go." he said
quietly.
	"I'm glad."
	Ken turned to the far wall.  He held out his hand to the door
where he place his sword.
	"Long-tzu.  In my hand." he said simply.
	Genma had walked up to inspect the sword after watching the
interaction between his wife and Ken.  He recoiled in shock as the sword
glowed and flew across the space between the door and Ken to land firmly
in his grasp.  Ken turned with a smile and a wave to Nodoka and vaulted
over the wall into the night.
	"He is an impressive youth." Genma said as he walked casually over
the where his wife was rolling up the two mats.  "Perhaps an even better
fighter than Ranma is now."
	Nodoka stood up and stared at her husband intently.  They had come
a long way in reconciling differences since they had been reunited as a
family.  She sighed and shook her head.
	"Always thinking of the art.  Yes, Ken may be a superior to Ranma
in that aspect; but he lacks a great many things that Ranma had.  Ken has
no family, few friends, and carries with him the enormous guilt of the
death of his parents.  He is, in that respect less a person that Ranma.
Ranma has friends, people who love him, and a family.  Ken has grown up,
from what I gather, bereft of such things.  Yes, husband he is a superior
fighter, but he is less the person Ranma has become.  I am very concerned
for him."
	"Like a distressed mother, No-chan."
	"Yes.  It is something he needs desperately.  He wants it very
much.  I can sense that much."  Nodoka smiled warmly.  "Perhaps we should
have another son?  It may do you good to try establishing a better
relationship between father and son, ne?"
	Genma blanched.
	"No-chan, are you saying you want another baby?" he asked
incredulously.
	Nodoka laughed gently and walked towards the house shaking her
head, leaving her husband shocked in the garden. 

 
* * * * * * * * * * 
Ethan Tsai 1 N. College Street Northfield, MN 55057

Member of SAUCE (it's what should* go on the okonomiyaki)
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	Free Consultation on a Referral Basis
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TSAIE@Gridley.ACNS.Carleton.edu
http://public.carleton.edu/~tsaie/ethan.html