'lo, folks. This one, er, took a bit longer than we thought. Sorry.

Also, humbug.org.au is still having problems. What sort? Well, the web
page can still be read - but we can't update it, and Susan's normal email
(which is the adress on the page) is sealed off. So if you've written to
that addy, that's why there's been no answer. As soon as it gets fixed,
we'll respond to the backload. Gomen an all that.

Anyhow, some dark themes, yadda yadda, we're on bloody chapter 11 and I
should think you know the sort of thing to expect. ;)

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 ^_- I L L   M E T   B Y   S T A R L I G H T ^_-
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by Susan Doenime and Mike Loader

Based on characters and situations created by Rumiko Takahashi, and used
without knowledge or permission.
We ask that you obtain permission from us before printing, posting, or
storing this story in any form.
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Previous chapters at: http://www.humbug.org.au/~wendigo/imbs.html
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Chapter 11 - Heart of Darkness

 Such a muddy line between
 The things we want
 And the things we have to do
 - Sheryl Crow

	A boy, black school uniform spotless and impeccable, sat 
underneath a tree near Furinkan High School. He was, on the 
whole, very average looking; slender build, black hair, 
pleasant, slightly absent smile. Could have been anyone.

	But the eyes were chips of hot ice, and the gauze bandage 
on the side of his head was still fresh.

	He sat, and for a long time no-one came to disturb him. 
No-one even came near him. His part of the field was empty, 
and this was because it was, indeed, his part of the field.

	So when the footfalls sounded and a blue dress 
registered in his peripheral vision, he knew immediately who 
it was. 

	"Well, Asa?"

	The girl in the blue school uniform fidgeted, and he 
noticed with forced dispassion that she seemed upset. "Tendo 
Nabiki is in the hospital, and they say she's going to die."

	His eyes hardened, and a slight frown replaced the smile. 
"And 'they' are?"

	"The hospital staff. I made like I was a candy striper, and 
the nurses fell all over themselves to show me how blunt and 
unfeeling they were."

	He nodded. "Good job. Do we know how it happened?"

	"A car accident, that's all I was able to find out." She 
paused. "Hikaru... what's going to happen now that Nabiki's..."

	He smiled slightly. "What did you just finish doing?"

	Asa blinked, her unhappy face wrinkling in confusion. 
"Huh? I just reported to you..."

	"And that's what you'll keep doing."

	She nodded, not surprised. Tasaki Hikaru was the logical 
one to take power, now that Nabiki was gone. There would be a 
few attempts to challenge his authority, but they would be 
swiftly and easily crushed. Hikaru was Nabiki's equal in a lot 
of ways... some had quietly whispered, in the past few weeks, 
that he was her better. But then, he hadn't had a psychopathic 
maniac living in his house.

	Hikaru stared at the distant schoolyard, idly plucked a 
blade of grass, twisted it.

	"Tell our people watching Saotome and the Hibikis to 
stop. That operation is over."

	Asa frowned slightly. "We put a lot of time and effort 
into that, Tasaki-san. Nabiki thought..."

	"Nabiki's dead, remember?" He slowly pulped the grass 
blade in his hand, still gazing at the school. "Saotome's too 
dangerous. And not profitable. Tendo-san didn't have any choice  
except to focus on him, because her safety was threatened. But 
I _do_ have a choice."

	She nodded, but didn't seem happy. "He killed her."

	"He might have killed her. It might have been an accident. 
Any number of people could have struck me on the head after I 
had entered my login and password. But I think Saotome did it 
all, and I don't want to give him a reason to kill me. Or you, or 
any of the rest of our little corporation, for that matter."

	"So Nabiki just goes unavenged?"

	Hikaru gave a short bark of laughter. "Don't be stupid, 
Asa. You sound like a fucking samurai. Revenge is only good 
when it serves a purpose, which we call an 'object lesson'. 
Saotome isn't a gang member or a hustler, he's a force of 
nature. As our fearless leader found out."

	Again she nodded, but she didn't seem satisfied. Hikaru 
glared at her, mentally wondering how Nabiki had managed to 
use the girl so effectively.

	"If you feel that strongly about it, go get a katana and try 
to hack his head off. I'll send a nice bunch of flowers to your 
funeral."

	"Can't we even..."

	"Even what? Ruin his glittering social life? He has no 
friends to estrange him from, no reputation to sully, no 
interests to sabotage, and his girlfriend wouldn't abandon him 
after Nabiki,  _Nabiki_  for God's sake, tried to break them up 
for months. We're high school students, not Yakuza. The worst 
we can do is utterly ruin someone in the eyes of their peers, 
and Saotome Ranma happens to be the one person in the school 
who doesn't care if we do or not. Grow a brain, Asa."

	She nodded curtly. "I'll go tell the others."

	"Tell them that there will be a meeting at the usual 
place, 2 PM, Friday. We need to set up a new agenda."

	After she had gone, Hikaru took out the brown-wrapped 
package in his schoolbag, and hefted it appraisingly.

	He was going to miss her. Somehow he knew that he'd 
probably love running the show more than he'd grieve for 
Nabiki, but it hurt, right now. He had once actually considered 
asking her to the school prom for no reason at all, just to do it. 
Why? Who knew. Whim. Sentiment. The fact that they 
understood each other, which was next to unique for two 
people like them. The fact that each of them was capable and 
layered in ways that most of the sheep around them could 
never comprehend.

	But he hadn't asked, of course, and had instead invited 
someone who he felt he could easily maneuver into his bed, 
which he had done in under two days. He would never have tried 
that with Nabiki. He wouldn't have been sure who was 
maneuvering who.

	Asa was an idiot, but there was no way he was going to 
sit on the sidelines completely. Not when risk-free methods 
were available. Tendo-san had set things in motion, and it had 
killed her, but she had placed the motion above her survival. He 
didn't understand why, but he certainly wasn't about to halt 
any of her plans that he didn't need to.

	Idly, he turned the package over and over, a slight smile 
on his face. Nabiki was dead. Her arm still had great reach.

^_-

	The ride home from the hospital was quiet, with Ranma 
staring out the bus window as if in a daze. Ukyou tried to 
guess what he was thinking about, and was perturbed to 
discover that she didn't know where to begin.

	Akane had told her as much, the previous night. "I can't 
read him," the other girl had told her. "Not when he isn't upset, 
or happy. Sometimes not even then. I've gotten better at it, but 
he's still like a pitch-black room sometimes. You can't see 
anything."

	So she sat, and glanced at the passing scenery, and at the 
woman folding the paper duck, and at the other passengers, and 
waited for them to get to their stop.

	As they exited, she watched Ranma hop from the step to 
the pavement. He was favoring his left side, she could tell... 
but the way he would if it were badly bruised, not if his 
collarbone was broken. Either he was acting all tough and 
macho - which she doubted - or he really did heal at a greatly 
accelerated rate.

	How long would it be before he was back in peak 
condition? Judging the difference between his movements 
today and the day before, she guessed a week, maybe two 
weeks. She had heard of such regeneration before, but only in 
connection with the strongest masters of the Art. Just how 
good was Ranma?

	She supposed that she would probably find out the next 
time someone attacked him. Hopefully, that wouldn't happen 
any time soon. He wasn't as hurt as he should by rights be, but 
he still had a collarbone that was in more pieces than it was 
supposed to be in.

	They covered the distance from the bus stop to the dojo 
in wary silence, both seeming to understand the vulnerability 
of their position. When they arrived, Akane was sitting by the 
gate, waiting for them.

	"Shampoo's inside," she said tersely, not bothering with a 
greeting. "She says she wants to switch sides."

	Ukyou watched Ranma's expression move from surprise 
to worry to puzzlement, ending in a thoughtful frown. "Switch 
sides," he said, voice skeptical. "I dunno. Sounds like the 
beginning of a trap."

	Akane nodded. "That's what I thought too, but... she swore 
an oath not to hurt me or you, on her honor. And she strikes me 
as the kind who takes that sort of thing seriously."

	"They are," Ukyou said, remembering her talk with Tsen. 
He was bound by his honor to risk his life, to kill... things he 
would rather not do, unless he was the world's greatest actor. 
"If she has the same honor code as Tsen, I think she'd rather 
die than break that sort of oath."

	Ranma snorted, a disgusted look crossing his face. "Yeah, 
that's the Joketsuzoku. If honor demanded that they kill their 
children and fry them for breakfast, they'd do it without a 
second thought." He glanced at Akane. "I'm gonna want her to 
repeat that oath to me. She might have stuck some sort of 
loophole in it, and they're like lawyers when it comes to that 
sorta thing."

	Akane nodded. "She's waiting in the living room for us. I 
thought it was probably a good idea to explain things to you 
two, first." She glanced at his shoulder. "How's the 
collarbone?"

	"A lot better. Still broken. It'll mend."

	Ukyou pulled the combat spatula from its resting place, 
and turned to Akane. "How about you and me sit in between 
Ranchan and the Amazon? No sense in risking anything until 
we're sure."

	Nodding, Akane led them into the house. "Good idea. She's 
seemed docile enough, but I trust her about as far as I could 
throw the Tokyo Tower."

	They found her sitting in the living room, a cup of tea in 
one hand. Her eye seemed to harden upon seeing Ranma, but she 
stayed seated as he casually dropped into the chair across 
from her.

	"So. Akane tells me you want to change sides. Why?"

	The Amazon shrugged slightly. "Is too far. No want death, 
yours, Tsen's, Akane's. I join you, others give up, go home."

	Ranma smiled thinly. "I've got a better idea. Why don't 
you just take Tsen and go back to China?"

	"Tsen not Shan Pu's to order. He want you dead for honor."

	Ukyou watched as a grim, slightly amused comprehension 
dawned on Ranma's face. "He your brother or your husband?"

	"We have same mother. Term not translate well."

	"Half brother?" Akane suggested. For some reason, Shan 
Pu seemed to find this funny.

	"Yes. Yes, half brother good term. Very good."

	"So," Ranma said lazily, staring at a point near Shan Pu's 
breastbone. "Why should I trust you? What's to keep you from 
killing me in my sleep? You'll understand, I'm sure, if I'm a 
little skeptical that all of a sudden you're willing to be my 
best buddy."

	Shan nodded. "I give oath as warrior: Shan Pu protect you 
to best of ability. Not harm you or Akane in any way, no matter 
what circumstance. Not give information to any enemy. Swear 
this on honor and on blood."

	His eyes lit up, and Ukyou felt an unpleasant chill run 
down her back. "You do, huh?"

	"Shan Pu swear."

	Almost faster than the eye could follow, Ranma sprang 
across the table, a Chinese knife seeming to magically sprout 
from one hand. His arm arched back as he did, and then sped 
forward, point stabbing towards Shan Pu's throat.

	Ukyou opened her mouth to scream. Across from her, she 
could hear Akane's indrawn breath.

	Shan Pu didn't move as the knife ripped into her throat.

	It stopped perhaps a millimeter past the skin. A single 
bead of blood formed on the razor edge, slowly slipped down 
towards the handle.

	Still, Shan Pu remained perfectly motionless.

	Ranma smiled at her.

	"Good. If you ever betray us, do both of us a favor and kill 
yourself quickly."

	Slowly, voice shaking slightly, the Amazon opened her 
mouth. "No can betray you. Have given word. Is binding."

	He stood, wincing as his shoulder flexed, and the knife 
vanished back into his sleeve. "Okay. Welcome to the show."

	Ukyou slowly shut her mouth, heart pounding in her chest. 
She had been sure he was going to kill Shan... she had been 
positive that he was going to...

	She felt Akane's hand squeeze hers, and glanced at the 
other girl. Akane seemed calm... a little shaken, but calm. 

	Ranma slowly returned to his seat, gently easing himself 
down into it. It was hard to remind herself that he had a 
broken collarbone. He sure hadn't looked like it, leaping for 
Shan's throat like a panther, eyes glowing with the clear 
desire to kill...

	But he hadn't.

	"So," he said, keeping his gaze fixed on Shan. "Where are 
Tsen and the Hibikis hiding out, and what are they planning?"

	The Amazon shook her head. "No can say."

	"Are you trying to tell me you don't know?"

	She shook her head, not even bothering to wipe away the 
thin trickle of blood flowing down to her chest. "No can say. 
Gave oath not to. I help you not to die, I not help you attack. Is 
deal, take or leave it."

	Ranma actually seemed to relax slightly at this. "Good. 
Okay, I believe you. Nice to know you don't sell out your allies." 
He glanced over at Akane. "Can we put her up here, for a bit?"

	Akane frowned slightly. "I think so. I guess she..." Her 
expression turned miserable for a second, then moved back 
into place. "I guess she can stay in Nabiki's room."

	Ukyou watched Ranma's face. It looked, for a fraction of 
a second, like someone had hit him in the stomach. Then it 
changed to concerned sympathy. 

	"How about we stick her in with Ukyou?" he suggested, 
smiling faintly. "You don't mind, do ya, Ucchan?"

	"Not at all," she replied, frantically trying to figure out 
his motivation. Did he just want someone to keep an eye on 
Shan? Did he know she was female, and so wouldn't mind 
bunking with a woman? Or did he think she was male, and was 
trying to fix the two of them up? Was he just trying to defuse 
the sensitive situation of someone staying in the room of 
Akane's dead - almost dead - sister? "That's fine. Plenty of 
room."

	Shan Pu looked slightly uncomfortable, but nodded. "Is 
fine."

	"Well. That's settled, then." He yawned suddenly, a look of 
fatigue moving over his face. "I'm gonna go take a nap. Didn't 
sleep well last night."

	"I go check out of hotel," Shan Pu stated tersely, turning 
to leave. "Back soon."

	Ranma shrugged. "Go ahead." Purposefully turning his 
back on her, he slowly trudged up the stairs. Shan watched him 
for a few seconds, her eyes narrowing, and then strode out the 
door.

	Ukyou let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been 
holding.

	"Fooled you, didn't he?"

	She glanced over at Akane. "Huh?"

	The other girl shrugged. "You were absolutely sure he 
was going to kill Shampoo. Shan Pu. Whatever. He was about to 
shove that knife through her throat, and you were surprised as 
anything when he didn't."

	Ukyou blinked, and stared at Akane. "Yeah. That's it 
exactly. He was gonna cut her throat..."

	Akane smiled, a bit sadly. "I thought so too, even though I 
knew better. He's done this before. We're reading him all 
wrong, and I don't know if he does it on purpose or not."

	She frowned. "He might not of killed her, but he did cut 
her."

	Akane turned away. "I don't think he enjoyed doing it. But 
he had to be sure she was telling the truth. And if she would 
keep her oath even as he slit her throat, then she can be 
trusted up to a point."

	Ukyou's frown turned troubled. "So do you think she really 
can be trusted?"

	Laughing sourly, Akane sat down on the sofa. "No. I don't. 
But I think we can trust her not to kill us while we sleep, or 
stab us the minute we look away."

	She mulled this over in her mind. "It'd be nice if she was 
telling the truth."

	"It would, wouldn't it?" Akane chuckled wryly. "Who 
knows, Ukyou, maybe you've started a trend by showing up and 
not wanting to kill him. As it is, this just leaves Tsen, Mariko, 
and her brother. Four of us, three of them. Much better odds."

	Ukyou nodded. "I'm gonna see if I can get Shan to set up a 
meeting between me and Tsen. With a bit of thought, maybe we 
can come up with an alternative to killing Ranma."

	Shuddering, Akane eyed her dubiously. "Much as I like the 
idea, I wouldn't want to be alone with Tsen."

	She blinked. "Actually, he kinda struck me as an okay guy. 
Mariko was the one who gave me the creeps."

	"Heh. You're frightened by the girl, and I get all nervous 
about the guy. I suppose that makes a twisted sort of sense."

	"Tsen seems to have a sense of honor," Ukyou pointed out. 
"It's there, even if it isn't pointing in the right direction at the 
moment. Mariko... Mariko just hates him, and she wants to kill 
him. Tsen's forced to by his culture's code of honor, but 
Mariko's going to enjoy doing it."

	Akane nodded, looking unhappy. "She really isn't that bad 
a person, you know. It's that hate... I thought I almost got 
through to her a couple of times, but then it all came boiling 
back up. It's like she's convinced herself that killing him will 
make everything okay again."

	And here was a question Ukyou had been turning over and 
over in her mind, and there was no easy way to ask. So she'd do 
it the blunt way. "Did he really kill her brother?"

	For several seconds, Akane said nothing; she just stared 
at the far wall. Finally, just as Ukyou was beginning to worry 
that the question had been a major mistake, she looked up. 
"Yes. He did."

	Ukyou slowly nodded. "Why?"

	"It was a fight. He... he was hurt very badly by the other 
boy, and he thought he was going to die, and he snapped." The 
other girl's agonized look made it clear just how often this had 
gone through her mind, what it meant about him. "By the time 
he came out of it, his opponent was dead. It's been tearing him 
up for the past few years."

	"Mariko made it sound like..."

	"Who knows?" Akane said, voice dull. "I don't know if 
Mariko was even there. And if she were, I'm sure her memory 
of the fight got more and more lopsided as time passed, and 
the hate grew and festered. I'm sure he wouldn't kill anyone in 
cold blood, not... not just kill them. I'm sure. That's not who he 
is."

	Ukyou nodded. She wasn't nearly as sure, not anymore. 
"There's something else, though, isn't there."

	Akane nodded. "Something happened in between the time 
he left you and met the Hibikis. I don't know what. He never 
mentions it, and his father was pretty tight-lipped about it. 
But I'm sure it's there."

	Should she tell Akane what Genma had told her? Ukyou 
quickly decided against it. It was something Ranma needed to 
tell her himself, and the mere fact that he could tell someone 
would be a positive sign.

	"Have you ever asked him about it?" she asked instead.

	"No. When the time comes, he'll tell me." She paused. "You 
don't mind sharing a room with Shamp... Shan Pu, right? I know 
he was trying to be nice, but it's pretty close quarters for a 
man and a woman..."

	Except she wasn't a man, and it was entirely possible 
that Ranma knew this. "I think maybe he wants someone to 
keep an eye on her. Besides," she said, trying to sound as 
testosterone-ridden as possible, "most guys'd kill for the 
chance to share a room with a body like that, right?"

	Akane smirked. "Behave, you."

	No worries there, Akane dear. "I'll try to control myself."

	Laughing, forcibly shoving away the problems and griefs 
and fears, the two moved outside. The sun was bright, and the 
house was too oppressive for such a fine day.

^_-

	Shan Pu hopped nimbly across the stepping stones of the 
lake, feet barely touching the surface. A thin trickle of blood 
still wound its crimson way down her neck, vanishing between 
her breasts like a river cutting into deep hills. She paid it no 
mind. Her mission had succeeded.

	For a few terrible seconds, she had been sure she was 
going to die. So had everyone else; as Ranma's knife had driven 
toward her throat she had dimly glimpsed Ukyou's horrified 
face, a scream about to well up from it. Akane's had held 
surprise, apprehension... perhaps regret. She was his creature.

	But it had been a test, which was lucky. Because her 
word was her bond, and she was held by honor to it. Even if 
that meant letting him gut her like a fish.

	She cleared the stones, pushed aside the island's light 
trees, and trudged into the camp. The Hibikis sat there, 
expectant looks on their faces. On Koji's face, anyway. Mariko 
looked more sour than anything else.

	Striding over to the cooking equipment, she poured a 
glass of cool water and doused herself.

	Tsen straightened, and smiled.

	"Was success. Shan go to them, give oath not to hurt or 
give you information. They test, Shan pass."

	Smiling, Koji leaned back in his seat on the log. 
"Excellent. Can you sketch a plan of the house interior?"

	"Can do that. Also, is good news. Ranma hurt, bad 
shoulder. Think is broken."

	"One second, here," Mariko interrupted, glaring slightly at 
Tsen. "I thought you said you promised not to give us any 
information? Not that I object; promises like that are made to 
be broken, but I thought you were one of those 'Honor is life' 
freaks, like Koji here?"

	Tsen grinned. "Shan Pu give her word; Shan keep it. Tsen 
Wu, however, he promise nothing. Under Amazon law, Tsen 
different person. Promise Shan make bind Tsen to nothing, no 
more than promise you make bind Koji."

	Mariko considered this for a second. "You have a great 
future ahead of you as a tax lawyer."

	He shrugged. "Good honor not mean Tsen have to be stupid. 
Rules are for following, loopholes for taking."

	"Listen to the aquatranssexual, brother mine. You might 
learn something."

	Koji sighed, the sound holding equal measures of 
frustration and amusement. "Different sort of honor, Marichan."

	"Yeah," Mariko said, smiling slightly. "His is more 
intelligent."

	"His is the one that says he can't hurt Ranma when he's a 
girl, remember?"

	She chuckled. "Point. So he's hurt, eh?"

	"Is not bad as would like, but he hurt. Strong blow to left 
shoulder very painful to him, possibly immobilizing. Tsen not 
sure how long this true."

	Koji nodded. "If we know where he and the others sleep, 
we can launch a raid on the house, kill him while they slumber. 
If he's got a broken shoulderblade, Marichan and I can take him 
down with ease, especially if he's wrapped in blankets and half 
asleep."

	Tsen nodded. "Shan see you, she honor-bound stop you. Is 
oath."

	"So we arrange for you to be asleep while it happens. We 
go in, break his neck, and run like hell. And the world is a 
better place." Koji smiled like a shark. "I can just picture the 
expression on his face when he wakes up to find a hand 
crushing his windpipe. It's a fun sort of mental image."

	Mariko smirked, clearly enjoying the picture as well. 
"Don't count your chickens before they're strangled." She 
frowned slightly. "Tsen, how many people are in that house?"

	"Is Shan, Ukyou, Akane, Ranma, older sister, father. 
Sister not warrior. Father is."

	"That's six, brother mine. Hope you've watched a lot of 
ninja movies, because sneaking in without being noticed isn't 
gonna be easy."

	Koji rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm. Can you sketch 
me a quick map of the house? There's ink and paper in my 
knapsack."

	Tsen gave a short nod, and Koji rummaged through his 
pack, finally pulling out a calligraphy brush, inkpot, and a 
sheet of typing paper. Mariko raised an eyebrow.

	"You do brushwork?"

	He looked slightly embarrassed. "Hey, everyone needs a 
hobby. It's relaxing."

	Impatiently, Tsen grabbed the brush and began to draw 
with swift, precise strokes. The result, after several minutes 
of waiting, could almost be called artistic.

	The three stared at it in silence for several seconds.

	Mariko spoke first. "There. Nabiki's room."

	Her brother nodded agreement. "Perfect. Right down the 
hall from Ranma's room, empty, on the second floor of the 
house. We won't even have to set foot on the same floor as 
Shan, Ukyou, and the father."

	Tsen frowned slightly. "Is also next door Akane and other 
sister. You loud, they hear, wonder what noise in dead sister 
room is."

	"We'll just have to be quiet as churchmice, then," Mariko 
said, smiling unpleasantly. "I'd hate to disturb Akane's beauty 
sleep." The smile vanished, and a brooding look took its place. 
"Mebbe we can get this over with tonight."

	Koji frowned slightly. "I want it done as soon as possible 
too, Mari, but Ranma's likely to sleep a little lighter the first 
night he has Shan under his roof. Tomorrow night or the night 
after that will be soon enough."

	She nodded reluctantly. "I guess you're right. So what 
now? Just wait?"

	Tsen stood. "You wait. Shan go back Tendo house, make 
friend with Akane and Ukyou. Drop hint, work turn them." He 
smiled slightly. "They not bad people."

	"Yeah. They aren't," Mariko said glumly. "I wish I'd never 
met them."

	Koji hesitantly glanced over at the Amazon, an oddly 
helpless look on his face. "Listen, Tsen... do you know when 
Nabiki's funeral is going to be? I'd... I'd rather not hold the raid 
that day."

	Tsen shrugged. "She not dead yet."

	Koji sprang to his feet, eyes widening in shock and hope. 
"What! But you... you said she was..."

	"She good as dead. In hospital. They wait her to die. 
Tonight, tomorrow. Is dead with warm corpse."

	"I see." Heavily, he slumped back down onto the log, the 
spark of hope fading from his face. "God. What a hell of a way 
to die. He couldn't even make it a clean death, could he?"

	"Clean? Him? Don't be silly." Mariko spat into the 
campfire, the flames behind her eyes mirroring the dying 
embers. "He doesn't know how to do anything except destroy. 
Even whatever building he does is so that there'll be more to 
fall when he kicks out the supports."

	"He seem to like Akane," Tsen said. "Like to point of 
love."

	"I had a doll once, when I was little," Mariko said, her 
tone distant and slightly bitter. "Loved it a lot. My very 
favorite toy. And then one day, when I was really upset, I 
twisted its head off. I felt sorry later on, but I still had a doll 
with no head, and the fact was that the most intense feeling I 
ever had for the thing was at the moment I snapped its little 
neck." She glared at Tsen. "Akane's his favorite doll. I think he 
likes to break his toys."

	"I not think Akane break easy."

	Mariko sighed, suddenly looking very tired. "I hope she 
doesn't. I wish I could be sure. She's going to get hurt by him 
either way; if we kill him, she'll be fucking heartbroken and 
mourn her 'lost love'. That right on top of her sister's death, 
yeah, that's just gonna be great for her. Of course, if we don't, 
well... maybe she'll die quickly and painlessly. Knowing him, 
though, I doubt it."

	Tsen stared at her, somewhat bemused. "You her friend, 
or her enemy?"

	She chuckled, the worn look increasing. "Both. I'm her 
worst enemy and her best friend. I'll sacrifice my life to save 
her, and I'll kill her if it needs to be done. I see about a 
fifty/fifty chance of each, at the moment."

	"My, aren't we melodramatic today," Koji dryly 
commented. Mariko looked startled, then sheepish, then poked 
him hard in the side.

	"Meanie," he accused, poking her back. Several friendly - 
well, fairly friendly - umbrella swipes followed, delivered by 
both sides with great enthusiasm.

	Tsen rolled his eyes, poured a kettle of hot water over 
himself, and quietly left.

^_-

	It was early afternoon when Akane quietly made her way 
into Ranma's room, slowly pushing aside the door.

	He lay curled on the futon, half covered by a blanket, his 
face oddly clear and untroubled. Almost peaceful. He looked 
strangely vulnerable like that, she thought tenderly.

	For almost a minute she just squatted by the futon and 
watched him, occasionally sending an absent glance at the few 
furnishings in the room. A chair. A wardrobe. A low table, upon 
which sat the vase of cherry twigs and the picture of the 
woman in its silver frame. His mother? She could see an echo 
of his face in the woman's features, and a determined look she 
knew very well seemed to be hidden just beneath the surface 
of the smile she gave the camera.

	Ranma, she suddenly realized with a rush of excitement, 
had never so much as mentioned his mother. Why? Was she 
dead? Could that be...?

	No. She knew what it was like to have your mother die. It 
was horrible, and it changed you forever, but it didn't drive you 
to snap and kill your friend. Accidentally kill.

	Still, it was significant that he had never spoken of her, 
she felt. She was clearly important in his life... considering 
Ranma's spartan lifestyle, a color photograph in a plain but 
expensive frame was the equivalent of an ornate shrine.

	"Hey," she softly called, knowing better than to shake 
him. "Wake up, you."

	Slowly, his eyes opened, and he smiled slightly. "Hey, 
Akane. Naptime over?"

	"Yup. Up and at em."

	He casually flipped into a sitting position, still smiling. 
"Shan Pu back yet?"

	"I think so." She frowned slightly, a question coming to 
mind. "Why did you stick her in with Ukyou?"

	His eyes flicked downward. "It's still Nabiki's room," he 
said quietly. "For a little while, at least."

	Akane nodded silently, a single tear slipping down one 
cheek. The fact that her sister was living dead lurked in the 
back of her mind like a cobra, just waiting for a word, an 
object, a memory... anything that reminded her of how 
important Nabiki really was to her, how it was too late to 
make it clear to her clever, untrustworthy sister that she 
loved her. Now and then it struck, and after so many bites all 
she could feel was a sick sort of numbness.

	They sat for a while in silence, and then Ranma smiled 
faintly. "Besides, it's not as much of a problem as you think."

	She raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

	"Ukyou ever hit on you?"

	She blushed a deep scarlet. "What? No! Of course not!"

	"What, no flirting? No hidden sexual tension?" His tone 
was amused and sardonic.

	She shook her head, baffled by the turn in the 
conversation, and a little uneasy at it. "None. Not a bit. He 
treats me just like one of the guys, really."

	"Bishonen, ain't he?"

	"Yes, he's..." What Ranma was getting at suddenly dawned 
on her. "Oh. Oh my. You think Ukyou-kun's..."

	"...gayer than a tree full of monkeys, yup." He smirked. "I 
knew there was something off, but I didn't realize what until I 
offered to fix him up with a date. You shoulda seen him look 
awkward, fumble... yeah, he definitely prefers men."

	Akane nodded, certain mannerisms and behaviors 
suddenly making more sense. "That... you're not uncomfortable 
with that, are you?"

	"Nah. If he were straight, he could be attracted to my 
girl-body, ya know? It's not like he's gonna come on to me or 
anything. What he does in bed is his own business." He winked 
at her. "Besides, he knows the competition's too much for him."

	She blushed. "Well, I guess rooming with Shan won't be a 
problem for him, then."

	The crooked smile came out. "Yeah, well, I also want 
someone I can trust looking over her shoulder. She'll keep her 
oath, I think, but still..."

	"She's the enemy," Akane finished.

	"Yeah. I think she'd still like to kill me, if she could."

	Akane frowned slightly, an absent question rising to the 
top of her mind. "Ranma, doesn't Tsen have one of those 
eyepatches too?"

	He nodded. "Sympathy wound. I've seen it before."

	She blinked, confused. "A what?"

	"Sympathy wound." The crooked smile grew broader, 
amused. "In some places, when someone very important to you 
is scarred or hurt, you do the same thing to yourself as a 
measure of devotion and understanding. So that someone else 
can know what it's like, and comfort them."

	Aghast, Akane stared at him, a queasy feeling in her 
stomach. "But... but that eyepatch probably means she lost an 
eye... one of them put out their own eye? For no reason?"

	He shook his head. "There's a reason. Shared pain. Deeper 
understanding. Proof of love. It sounds weird, but it makes a 
lot of sense to them."

	She shuddered. "Yeah, but to put out your own eye..." A 
picture of Tsen or Shan raising a knife to their own eyesocket 
rose, and she felt slightly ill.

	Ranma shrugged. "It was his choice. No-one made him do 
it. Although I'm sure he'll be wondering if it was worth it when 
he found out how she's betrayed him."

	"She's trying to save his life, I think," Akane said gently.

	"So? Whatever the reason, she's selling him out to his 
enemies. That bit about not telling me anything or helping 
attack, that's just to make her feel better about it. The simple 
fact of the matter is that all she's done is increase the chance 
that he's gonna get killed, because he's still gonna come to get 
me. That damn Joketsuzoku honor."

	She knew he was right. Tsen wouldn't stop just because 
the odds were against him. Neither would the Hibikis. They'd 
keep coming, and coming, and coming, and it wouldn't stop 
until they were all dead, until they were all like Nabiki who 
she had screamed at and told to die...

	Only after Ranma wrapped his arms around her did she 
realize that she had been crying. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

	"Shh," he whispered, running a hand gently through her 
hair. "It'll end. It will. Soon."

	"If I just hadn't been so mad at her..."

	He was silent for a moment, and then hugged her with 
renewed force. "Shh. Shh."

	Comfort and jagged pain warred within her, and finally 
she simply rested her head on his shoulder and wept. She had 
never felt quite this safe, or quite as helpless and shattered.

^_-

	"So. How we handle dressing?"

	Ukyou shrugged. "I'll change in the bathroom, and sleep in 
my clothes." She hesitated, and finally decided to take the 
plunge with a half truth. "You don't need to worry. I, uh, prefer 
men."

	Shan Pu raised an eyebrow. "Aiyah."

	"Yeah, aiyah. So it's not as bad as it could be. You don't 
really have anything I'm interested in." Thank heaven. She had 
worried about that, when she was younger... for a time, 
terribly confused about her gender identity, she had tried to 
like girls. No go. Whether it was hardwired into her, or if it 
was just a part of her personality, she liked men and found 
nothing sexually desirable about women.

	So which was she? Perhaps a bit of both?

	Thanks a bunch, Dad, she thought bitterly. She was prolly 
gonna have psychological problems up the wazoo from all this.

	Shan shrugged noncommitally. "Matter not. Japanese too 
modest anyway."

	Ukyou shrugged. "Suits us." She paused, then plunged 
ahead. "Listen, Shan... could you set up a meeting with Tsen for 
me? I think maybe I can cut a deal of some sort with him."

	The Amazon frowned. "Can manage meeting. Cut deal not 
likely. He kill Ranma, no room negotiate there."

	"Yeah, well, maybe not. But I'd like to make an effort, 
anyway. And the two sides shouldn't be totally cut off from 
each other, and I make a logical go-between."

	"Makes sense. Okay. Shan Pu set up meeting." The other 
girl stood. "You come."

	Ukyou blinked, surprised. "What, right now?"

	"What you want, engraved invitation?" Shan asked 
impatiently. "I know where he, we go now."

	For a second she hesitated, then shrugged. If it could be 
done now, why not? "Lead the way."

	They headed out the door, Ukyou pausing briefly to leave 
Ranma and Akane a note. It wouldn't do, after all, for them to 
think Shan had kidnapped her or something.

	Nerima was busy; hordes of people flocking along the 
streets and byways. She quickly sensed that Shan didn't like 
this, was set on edge by the crowds. When they passed under 
the trestle of an elevated train, the nervousness seemed to 
increase. The girl obviously wasn't a citydweller.

	They passed out of the shopping districts, and into the 
areas by the docks. The language grew rougher, the faces more 
sullen, the looks more guarded. Now Ukyou was the 
uncomfortable one; Japan was a safe place, but this area 
looked like a crime zone if ever Tokyo had one.

	The voices now spoke in Chinese and Korean, with other, 
stranger accents mixing in. She was out of place here, and 
knew it.

	Shan Pu strode down the street like she owned it. From 
the respectful berth she was being given, perhaps she did.

	Somehow sensing her line of thought, the Amazon turned 
and smirked. "They know Joketsuzoku, know we sent 
Kuomintang running, Triads smashed. They know. Not worry. 
Our vengance that of gods, but so much more reliable."

	"I believe you," Ukyou replied, and did.

	They stopped before a dingy boarding house, the air 
around it reeking of fish and tar. "You wait. Shan get Tsen for 
you."

	"Right," Ukyou replied, unshipping the combat spatula 
from it's place on her back. She put her back to the wall and 
leaned against her weapon, watching Shan climb the rickety 
outer stairs to the second floor and vanish through a door.

	After a few minutes, Tsen Wu stepped out.

	Smiling, she waved to him. "Hey, Tsen."

	He nodded politely, straightening the high collar of his 
shirt. "Shan Pu hear you have deal to make me."

	"Yeah." Ukyou glanced around, almost feeling the eyes 
staring at her from a hundred corners and windows. "How bout 
we go inside and talk?"

	Tsen shook his head. "Is not nice room. We walk along sea 
wall, yes?"

	She nodded, the idea striking her fancy. "Okay. Do you 
know the way?"

	He nodded. "You follow."

	They walked for a time, moving out of the squalor of the 
slums and into the fishing docks, along the wharves and quays 
and nets and boats, and finally up a stair of concrete steps to 
the top of a cement battlement built to shelter the harbor 
from the waves and storm.

	They strolled in silence for a few seconds, inhaling the 
salt air, and then Ukyou glanced at him.

	"I want to end this feud with Ranma," she said. Always 
best to start simple.

	He smiled, seeming amused. "Honor demands Tsen kill 
Ranma, and need follow honor. Want meet need, need win."

	"I understand that," she said truthfully. "But there are 
ways around it, there always are. We just need to look."

	Tsen was silent for a few seconds. "Tsen look, not find 
anything."

	"You're at the heart of the situation," she replied. "Lots 
of times that can blind you to options. Why don't you tell me 
exactly why you need to kill him?"

	He fixed her with a penetrating gaze, and she felt a tiny 
thrill run through her. "I tell you, you swear tell no-one? Not 
Ranma, not Akane, not Buddha himself?" When she hesitated, 
his face hardened slightly. "You promise, or is no more to say."

	Reluctantly, she nodded. "I won't tell. I promise on my 
honor."

	A satisfied nod. "He defeat Shan Pu in combat. By law of 
Joketsuzoku, she must marry him."

	Ukyou stared at him. "You're kidding."

	"No. Must marry. Honor demands it. She rather die than do 
it. He dead, obligation to marry dead too."

	She shook her head, floored by the sheer unlikeliness of 
the situation. "Ranma's head over heels for Akane, Tsen. Even if 
she wanted to, she couldn't marry him."

	"I not sure of that," Tsen replied grimly. "Law requires 
she do all possible to convince him. All. If offering her body 
work, she do that. If fight for him, she do that too. You 
honestly tell me, hundred positive, that Ranma turn down Shan 
Pu's bed if she come and ask?"

	Ukyou looked out at the waves crashing against the 
seawall and sighed. Men were pigs, sometimes. "He wouldn't 
marry her. He might very well sleep with her."

	"Is rape, Ukyou-san. Is rape by her honor."

	And he wouldn't let that happened to his half-sister, she 
saw. Not when he could simply kill Ranma, who's fault he 
percieved it as being. "How can the law's obligation end, Tsen? 
I'm sure not every Joketsuzoku who's run afoul of this has had 
to marry or kill..."

	He shrugged. "Joketsuzoku women very desirable wife; 
smart, beautiful, much spirit. Marriage usually common."

	"What if the man's already married?"

	"Is failure, then. Great loss of face, warrior return home 
with much bad honor for failure."

	"But it's better than dying, ne? Or marrying Ranma?"

	"Is moot. Ranma not married."

	Ukyou smiled. "Ah, but what if he were?"

	Tsen stared at her, eye crinkling in amusement. "You 
want set up Ranma and Akane, marry them."

	"Why not? They're practically drooling over each other. 
Probably have been sneaking into each others' rooms at night 
for weeks now."

	She could see that the idea clearly intrigued him. "Is 
interesting plan," he said cautiously. "But they no marry at 
drop of hat. Take some weeks. Also..." He sighed. "Also not know 
if want to do that to Akane."

	Ukyou nodded. "You don't think he's a very nice person."

	"That understatement. I think he rabid animal. Hyena on 
two legs." He shuddered. "Shan Pu think same."

	"He has problems," she admitted. "But beneath all of it, I 
think he's a nice guy, and I'm sure he really loves Akane a great 
deal. If half the world weren't trying to kill him, and if he had 
a few years to just be happy with Akane... I think there'd be an 
enormous improvement."

	"Is possible. Tsen doubt." He shrugged eloquently. "I hope 
you right, for Akane sake."

	"You know, I'm sure if they knew that they could get rid 
of you by marrying each other, they'd do it in a flash," Ukyou 
said quietly.

	A seagull cried, the sound stark and lonely. 

	"No," Tsen said regretfully. "Not yet. Not until other way 
hopeless. Is too much risk, too much chance that Ranma take 
advantage. You see? He have power over her, if he know. He say,  
'Shan Pu, be my whore and maybe I marry you,' she have no 
choice. Is last resort."

	She sighed. "If I can get them married without telling 
them about the law..."

	"You do that without hinting at law, we grateful."

	Ukyou nodded. "It might be easier than you think. Then 
there's just the Hibikis." She stared  moodily at the sea, 
watched the blue-green waves roll.

	Awkwardly, he put a hand on her shoulder. "It good of you 
to do this. To understand honor, work inside it. Too many 
people, they just laugh, say 'stupid Chinese'."

	"Honor hurts," she replied. "But what else does a man 
really have?"

	She turned, then, and the way his eyes met hers sent a 
wonderful ripple through her. Too wonderful.

	There was an awkwardly comfortable hearbeat of 
seconds, and then he removed his hand. "Shan waiting."

	She nodded, and they walked back along the wall, the 
gulls screaming at them above the roar of the waves.

	At the base of the steps, he smiled at her. "Was a good 
ground laid here. We talk again."

	"I'd like that," she said. And she would, damn it. Why the 
hell did she have to look like a man?

	Turning, they walked back into the dark part of the city, 
the smell of the sea trailing faintly after them.

^_-

	Kasumi arrived home at six, and once again Akane's heart 
curled into a ball the second her sister walked through the 
door.

	Giving her a tired smile and a short shake of the head, 
Kasumi deposited her handbag on a table and walked upstairs. 
Somewhat awkwardly, Akane trailed along.

	"Oneechan?"

	Kasumi paused at the door to her room. "Yes, Akane?"

	"How is she?"

	Her sister didn't look at her. "She's dying, Akane."

	She would not cry. She wouldn't. "I thought... it's been 
almost two whole days, and she hasn't..."

	"I know. One of the doctors told me that it was awful, 
that it was absolutely horrible that she had lasted so long."

	"What?"

	Kasumi stared at the wall. "Because it means that she 
doesn't want to go, and she's fighting very hard to live. And she 
doesn't know that she can't win. There's just too much 
damage." Her voice trembled a little. "I'll be down in a few 
minutes to make dinner, Akane. How many people tonight?"

	"Is daddy going to be..."

	"Father's staying at the hospital." The tone in her voice 
told Akane that her sister was not pleased at this.

	"Then five people, counting you and me."

	"All right. I'll be down in a few minutes." Mechanically, 
she opened her door and vanished inside.

	Akane sighed. She was worried about Kasumi; her older 
sister had always been so... untouchable. Panics would come 
and go, disasters would strike, life would deliver its petty 
insults, and through it all Kasumi would wade with an 
oblivious smile, seemingly secure in the knowledge that 
everything would be okay. Until now.

	She dimly remembered a time when Kasumi had been a 
reckless, snide girl with a wicked sense of humor and a 
fondness for slipping rubber snakes in the beds of her two 
little sisters. That was before Mother died. After that...

	After that, her memories of Kasumi and Mother started 
to blur together, because it was hard to tell where the one 
began and the other left off. 

	In fact, she realized, she didn't know what Kasumi 
wanted out of life. She didn't know if Kasumi liked anything 
besides cooking. She didn't know if Kasumi had ever been upset 
or happy or sad or disappointed or had even felt anything at all 
in the last ten years.

	She didn't know anything about Kasumi, except that she 
cooked and cleaned and tidied and was nice to her. The old 
Kasumi, before mother died, liked playing cards and insects 
and was the world champion at junken pow and thought 'Hello 
Kitty' was stupid. The old Kasumi had opinions and feelings and 
emotions, and had more personality than the 19-year-old 
housewife who had been her surrogate mother.

	It's our fault, she thought guiltily, trudging down the 
stairs. The new Kasumi had been so much easier, so 
convenient, so easy to call when you needed her and ignore 
when you didn't. So easy to assume that she really was happy 
and normal, when in fact she was probably a more than a little 
disturbed from so many years of repressing herself behind that 
mask. All the little things - the compulsive quirks (she'd stare 
at someone eating for hours), the 'accidental cuts' (like Kasumi 
would ever be careless enough to cut her arm with a pairing 
knife, always the same arm, always the same size cut), the 
'afternoon naps' (but she wasn't sleeping, because you could 
hear her pacing and throwing things), and above all the 
smiling, content, placid, happy face (the car ran the light and 
missed Kasumi by maybe an inch, and even when it looked like 
it couldn't possibly miss she just kept smiling, and didn't bat 
an eye as it almost killed her just like mother)...

	But she seemed happy, and was such a help, and it had 
been so easy to tell themselves that she was fine, and that 
they were lucky to have her, and that everyone has a few 
quirks.

	She had told Akane that no, she wasn't all right, and 
Akane somehow felt that that was the best thing in the world 
that she could have said. After this was over, she was going to 
have Kasumi see a doctor. This wasn't good for her, wasn't 
healthy.

	Dinner that night was quiet and subdued. Ukyou and 
Ranma and her exchanged idle conversation. Shan Pu ate. 
Kasumi smiled vaguely at nothing, and stared at the walls.

	After the food was gone, Kasumi brightly informed 
Ranma and Ukyou that they could help her with the dishes. 
They, of course, replied that they would be delighted to help, 
and the three of them vanished into the kitchen.

	Akane stared across the table at Shan Pu, and forced a 
smile. "Er, hi."

	The Amazon nodded, watching Akane with interest.

	"Um. Thanks for helping me. Back in that, uh, building." 
Real smooth, she told herself sourly. Next ask her about the 
weather, or baseball.

	Shan Pu shrugged. "Was nothing." A gleam appeared in her 
one good eye, and she smiled slightly. "You martial artist, 
yes?"

	"Yes. I'm the heir to the Tendo-ryuu," she replied. Months 
ago, she would have been very proud of that. She still was, but 
now she knew just how far she had to go.

	The smile grew. "You spar with Shan Pu?"

	Oh ho. "Sure," Akane agreed, apprehension and eagerness 
mixing in her soul. Shan Pu was undoubtably a fine martial 
artist, probably at least her equal... but Akane was sure that 
she'd learn more about the Amazon's style than Shan would 
learn about hers. Anything-Goes was an analyst's nightmare of 
conflicting patterns, tendencies, and forms; its main strength 
was that it constantly shifted, changed, and incorporated new 
material. "I'd be glad to. Shall we take this to the dojo?"

	The Amazon nodded, and Akane led the way to the 
connector hall. "Right down there. I'm going to go throw on a gi; 
I'll be right with you."

	On the way back down from her room, she stopped in at 
the kitchen, and leaned over the spot where Ranma was drying 
a pan. "Hey. I'm going to be sparring with Shan Pu. Just so you 
know."

	He glanced up from the pan and nodded, eyes unreadable. 
"Okay. Just don't pick up any bad habits. We're going to resume 
training in a day or two." Then he smiled slightly. "Beat the 
crap outta her."

	She gave him a fierce grin, and dashed off to the dojo.

	Shan Pu had used the time to go through a series of 
warmup stretches; she now stood casually in the middle of the 
fighting hall. Akane moved into the spot opposite, and bowed. 
Shan returned it.

	She moved into her new favorite fighting stance, one she 
had developed following a training session with Ranma after 
considering some of his fighting principles. It looked for all 
the world like she wasn't paying attention, like she was 
absently lost in thought.

	Actually, it offered her a large range of motion and a 
rapid lead-in to several defensive forms. It wasn't much for 
offensive motion, but she wanted Shan to make the first move.

	The Amazon did. Perhaps knowing full well that the pose 
was a concealed form, but not caring, Shan leapt to the attack, 
foot spinning towards Akane in a blinding arc.

	She had been expecting the attack, yet it almost 
connected. Akane instantly abandoned her idea of deceptive 
blocking and launched into a random pattern of blocks and 
sweeps, darting to one side as she did.

	Shan was fast, Akane thought clinically. Very fast, 
possibly even faster than Ranma. Her attack pattern was an 
offshoot of some form of Wing Chun, probably Yuen Kay Shan, 
and she was more comfortable fighting with a weapon than 
unarmed.

	The Amazon jumped forward, spinning at her in a 
terrifying whirlwind circle of arms and feet. Instantly 
realizing she would not be able to avoid it, Akane stood her 
ground and flowed into the circle, lashing out into its center 
with rapid, fast punches, trying to ride the pattern like a boat 
in a whirlpool.

	She landed against the far wall with a crash, and felt the 
boards break slightly. Leaping to her feet, she jumped at the 
recovering Amazon, who was still slightly off balance. Her 
mind ran through and stored the information, as Ranma had 
taught her: Shan really is faster than Ranma, but oddly has less 
control over that speed, lessening its effectiveness. Shan is 
strong, but I am stronger, and she prefers the standard Yuen 
Kay Shan Wing Chun pattern of circles and lines, keeping her 
opponent away from her center. Combine this with preference 
for weapons, and this means her grappling skills are weak, and 
if I close and hold her in a lock, I can win.

	As Akane descended, Shan launched a vicious upwards 
kick, taking her in the stomach with awful power. Forcing 
herself to ignore the pain - she had taken worse in Ranma's 
sparring sessions - Akane grabbed the Amazon's leg, lifted her, 
and threw her into the ceiling with enough force to shatter the 
beams.

	Every muscle in her right side screamed at her in 
protest, and she stumbled back as Shan plummeted into the 
dojo floor amidst a shower of broken wood and fittings. That 
had been easier than she had expected...

	Shan Pu stood up, and slowly yawned.

	Oh shit, Akane thought. 

^_-

	Ukyou carefully closed the door to the changing room, and 
gratefully stripped off her clothing. She had forgotten how 
grimy dishwashing could be, and the dirt of the city was still 
on her.

	Off came the shirt and pants, then the tight bandage she 
wore wrapped around her chest. It was always a relief to take 
that off, although slightly painful. The first year she had worn 
it had been agonizing. Now, well... her breasts were slightly 
flattened, and would probably stay that way. Not unattractive, 
she supposed. She hoped.

	Picking up the small washcloth, she entered the furo 
room. Fairly standard; a sunken tub, a shelf with a faucet for 
pouring the cold water, and a bucket and stool. She had never 
really enjoyed the cleaning process, but the soak afterwards... 
ah, that was the true pleasure of the bath.

	Filling the bucket, Ukyou squatted on the low stool and 
doused herself, shivering slightly at the temperature. Icy, she 
thought critically, scrubbing with the washcloth. The Tendos 
must like to freeze themselves before they entered the hot 
tub.

	She had decided that she liked Kasumi, and was hurting 
for the poor girl. It must be hard to maintain that kind of 
polite decorum with her little sister dead. And she had also 
noticed that Ranma was very polite to Kasumi, respectful. Odd, 
that. Respect for anyone wasn't a part of his makeup.

	Who knew? Maybe Kasumi reminded him of his mother. 
Maybe he just liked her, or felt comfortable around her.

	Idly, she wondered how Akane's match was going. It 
would be nice if the girl could win, but somehow she didn't 
think that was going to happen. Akane struck her as sturdy and 
competent, but Shan Pu was as sharp and dangerous as the 
Chinese knife Ranma had pierced her throat with. Still, you 
could always...

	A hand brushed lightly through her hair, almost 
inperceivably.

	Instantly she leapt to her feet and spun, in the process 
crashing into the person standing behind her. She tottered for a 
second, almost falling, and then hands firmly reached out to 
seize her upper arms in a tight grip.

	Ranma smiled slightly.

	"Boy, Ucchan. You've filled out. Too many upper body 
exercises?"

	He was nude, her mind noted in shock. "I... I was..."

	"Shouldn't have bent your arms like that, washing the 
dishes. Guys' elbows are hinged all different from women. You 
learn these things." She stared at him, transfixed by the light 
burning in his eyes, boring into her. "So, my old friend turns 
out to be a rather attractive girl. How about that."

	Dear God, she thought dazedly, I'm right against him and 
that thing pressed against my stomach is...

	The stare blinded her, sucked her in, and she knew that 
even without the grip on her arm she wouldn't move. Didn't 
want to move.

	A fingertip danced lightly along her breast. "Who ever 
would have thought it." The hardness pressing into her stomach 
seemed to be burning into her skin, molten...

	She wanted this, she suddenly realized, she had wanted 
this ever since he had cast her aside all those years ago, had 
wanted this even as she had hated him for leaving her. All that 
hurt, all that rejection, she needed him to be hers and hers and 
to love her, and the reason she had come as a boy was because 
she had been scared to death of this very moment, which she 
wanted so badly...

	Leaning forward, she kissed him savagely, pushed into 
him, felt her breasts press into his chest as his length slid 
against the smooth skin of her lower body...

	And then he shoved her, sending her sprawling on her 
backside upon the smooth tiles.

	"Do you try to screw all your best friends, Ucchan?" His 
voice was sardonic, slightly amused, and suddenly she felt 
filthy. 

	"Bastard," she spat, struggling to a sitting position, 
ignoring the dull pain in her buttocks. "You're my fiancee, 
asshole. You don't know how much I wish you weren't."

	She had the slight satisfaction of seeing shock move 
over his face. "What the hell are you talk..."

	"You father engaged us," she snarled, furious with him, 
furious with herself, feeling sick and dirty and used. "Why'd 
you think I was so upset that you left? You asshole! You 
destroyed me, ruined my reputation, and my nutcase of a father 
made me his 'son'! Eight years of this, eight fucking years, and 
you have the gall to... to..." Fury choked the words off. Shaking, 
desperately trying to avoid crying, she stumbled to her feet.

	The sardonic expression vanished. "I didn't know that."

	He did look... no. He looked awkward, stiff, like someone 
who'd just done something terrible in front of a crowd of 
witnesses.

	"So?" she choked bitterly. "You still... you came in here, 
and you touched... you were supposed to take me with you..."

	"I thought it was all another part of the game," he said 
slowly. "Part of the net they have for me, all of them, and you 
lied to me..."

	"Asshole!" she screamed, enraged. "You enjoyed that! You 
enjoyed it!"

	He sat down, heavily, and his face contorted. "Yes."

	Ukyou stared at him, pity and disgust warring in her. "I 
should leave. I should get the hell out of Tokyo and just go back 
to Kansai, but I'm not, for three reasons. One, because I like 
what you and Akane have, and I don't want to see it die with 
one of you. Two, because you're my friend. I should have my 
damn head examined, but you're my friend."

	He stared at the floor, hands twisting. "What's reason three?"

	"Your father told me what happened when you were 
eight."

	Ranma looked up at her, fear and shock and terror running 
through his eyes. "You don't know. You can't. He doesn't know all 
of it... I chose to do it... he asked me and I CHOSE..." His voice 
was a ragged snarl, hysteria running through it like an electric 
current, and Ukyou almost drew back in sudden fear.

	"You need to tell Akane, Ranchan."

	"No... no, I can't, never, I chose... I can't get out, Ucchan, 
I've tried..."

	"She can help, Ranchan." All the anger and shame ran out 
of her, replaced by pity and horror at what she was seeing. 
"You've got to. It's the only..."

	"NO!" he screamed, jumping to his feet, violence seeming 
to suddenly surround him like a cloud.  For a second he stood 
there, hands balled into fists, fear and rage and horror and fury 
written across his face. And then, shaking, he turned and left.

	Ukyou sat back down on the stool.

	I should have killed Genma, she thought wearily. What 
he's done. It was all up to Ranma, now. Him and Akane. Poor 
bastards.

	She needed a bath. She still felt filthy.

^_-

	Akane slammed into the wall face first, blinked, and 
passed out.

	Panting, Shan Pu slumped to the ground. That had not 
been as easy as she had expected. Nowhere near as easy. If the 
training her great-grandmother had given her in the Bakusai 
Ten-Ketsu hadn't boosted her stamina to superhuman levels, 
Akane might well have won. Useful technique, that.

	The Kashuu Tenshin Amaguriken wasn't proving nearly as 
helpful. Oh, her speed was now better, and she could do the 
clever multiple punch trick... but it was like driving a fast car 
with bad steering. She couldn't control the movement at top 
speed, and she slowed down just enough when male so that the 
Amaguriken punch wouldn't work.

	Still... she was faster, more durable, and more skilled 
than Akane, which was a great comfort. Because the other girl 
attacked like a force of nature, sheer, relentless destructive 
power in human form, and it was terrifying to think of what 
she'd be like with more speed, endurance, or skill. The 
ancestors help her, if Akane had also been trained in the 
Bakusai Ten-Ketsu...

	Hmm.

	Akane groaned slightly, and Shan walked over, an idea 
germinating in her mind. "You fight good."

	The other girl blinked dazedly at her, eyes slightly 
unfocused. "Thanks. You fight better."

	"Great-grandmother train. She best teacher." Taking 
Akane by the arm, she helped the other girl up. "Akane train 
with father?"

	"With Daddy and with Ranma, yes." Akane smiled, a 
certain hard edge behind it. "I still have a long way to go, I'm 
afraid."

	Shan Pu made her decision. "Is secret technique of 
Joketsuzoku. Shan teach you, you interested."

	As she expected, the other girl eyed her suspiciously. 
"What sort of technique?"

	Smiling, she walked over to a stack of cinder blocks in 
one corner. "You see brick? Shan Pu shatter it."

	"I can already break bricks, thanks," Akane replied, 
looking slightly irritated. 

	"Bakusai Ten-Ketsu."

	The brick exploded in a shower of concrete fragments. 
Shan smiled slightly as Akane gaped at the single extended 
finger that had done the strike.

	"Is secret technique, passed down to generations. Shan 
Pu teach, on condition you not teach to Ranma. Is deal?"

	Akane swallowed, still staring at her finger. "Does... does 
Tsen know this..."

	"Some. He not know version that work on humans. Shan 
know full version, teach you. You agree?"

	For five seconds, nothing was said.

	"I agree."

	Shan Pu smiled warmly. "Is good. Shan Pu teach you 
tomorrow. Now, am tired, go to sleep."

	Akane nodded, swaying slightly. "Same here. I'll see you 
in the morning."

	They filed out of the dojo, and Shan Pu had to fight down 
her laughter. Oh ko, Great-Grandmother's favorite ploy! She 
would teach Akane the Bakusai Ten-Ketsu and thus gain a 
twofold advantage... the Tendo girl would be a hidden danger to 
Ranma, for with the blasting point training her endurance 
would be at levels matching or exceeding his, and so when the 
time came to turn her against him they would have surprise on 
their side. Second, and this was Koh Lon's cunning, she would 
believe wholeheartedly that she would be able to kill by 
striking a person's breaking point with her finger. Nonsense, of 
course. But should things go awry and Akane attempt to kill 
her or her allies, she would be very surprised for the few 
seconds she had left to live.

	And finally, as an extra bonus, teaching Akane such a 
valuable thing would raise her trust in Shan. All the better to 
subvert her.

	She smiled, and quietly slipped into the room she shared 
with Ukyou. He lay stretched on his futon, asleep, a slight 
frown on his face. 

	A soft sigh escaped her lips. She wondered if she had 
done the right thing.

	"Your brother's cute," he had told her, then chuckled. "But 
don't tell him I said that. Don't want to scare him."

	"Oh," she had said, heart pounding, "no worry. He like men 
too."

	Ukyou had stared at her, and she thought she had seen 
either dismay or hope there.

	Why the hell had she told him that? Did she really want 
him flirting with Tsen?

	She wanted him flirting with her, she told herself 
stubbornly. She liked him. A lot.

	But then what? He liked men. She wasn't a man. Well, she 
was, sort of, but... Shan wasn't. 

	The whole thing gave her a headache.

	Still, no harm in a little innocent flirting, right?

	Sighing, she took one last look at his sleeping form and 
curled up on her futon. Silently she damned Ranma, and drifted 
off into sleep.

^_-

	Kasumi was gone when the rest of the house awoke. The 
day had opened with rain and mist, and she had vanished into 
it.

	Akane and Shan left early as well, leaving a note that 
they would be down at a nature park, training. Ranma frowned 
slightly upon reading it, and his eyes narrowed. But he said 
nothing.

	And so his day was spent with Ukyou, a flurry of shogi 
and idle conversation that made it clear that last night had 
never happened. Shortly after noon, he vanished into his room 
to begin his ki therapy.

	Shortly before dinner Akane and Shan returned home, wet 
and weary and begrimed, and Ukyou was shocked at the bruises 
and battering that Akane seemed to have taken. She ate a quick 
dinner, excused herself, and went up to her room to sleep.

	Ranma came down for dinner, and he coldly interrogated 
Shan as Kasumi stared at the walls and Ukyou fidgeted.

	"Remember your oath, Joketsuzoku. You protect us from 
harm, on your honor. Me and Akane."

	"Training not 'harm'. Or need Shan protect her from you, 
then?"

	He had smiled at her. "I don't want to have to break her of 
your bad habits."

	And then the day was over.

^_-

	They sped over the rooftops like wraiths, the fog lashing 
around their ankles as they raced onward.

	Mariko's heart howled as she jumped, vaulting over the 
drops and tiles. Adrenaline sung in her veins. Here was the 
payoff, the reward from a day and a half of tying those damn 
red ribbons in the rain around chimmey pots so that they 
wouldn't get lost.

	Koji would have gotten lost anyway, but she could follow 
a trail if it was marked out in no uncertain terms. As this one 
was.

	So she ran and leaped, slashing through the fog, and her 
brother ran beside her, face obscured in the swirling mist. For 
a fanciful moment she imagined that she was dashing along a 
cloud, high above the earth.

	The last ribbon, border edged with black, loomed out of 
the fog around a chimney. Below was the yard next to the 
Tendo household.

	She stopped, and peered down at the large dog tethered in 
it.

	Her brother looked, nodded, and made an unmistakable 
sign with one hand. Without hesitating, she jumped.

	The dog whirled, startled, and then Koji fell upon it like 
a thunderbolt from above. It didn't even have time to bark.

	Silently, they scaled the wall to the Tendo household, 
and slipped through the shadows of the garden. No lights were 
on within, and Mariko allowed herself a slight smile.

	The wall of the house was almost sheer, but they had 
been prepared. Rapidly they swarmed up the side, slamming 
pitons into the plaster with muffled thumps. Within five 
seconds, they were at Nabiki's window. Within seven, they 
were inside the enemy stronghold.

	Out came the map, and a pocket flashlight. After 
memorizing a short segment of it, Mariko led the way into the 
hall.

	Her hand explored the wall outside, and soon found the 
push-pin tacked into the plaster. Removing it, and taking her 
brother's hand, she slowly, silently proceeded down the 
corridor until she found the next one. And the next one.

	And finally, on a door, a push-pin with the very tip sliced 
off. She signaled to her brother and he nodded, bracing himself. 
Quietly, slowly, they opened the door and slipped inside, 
closing it after them.

	The dim light inside illuminated a sleeping figure in a 
corner futon, curled slightly, a thin sheet covering it.

	Koji motioned to her, flashing three fingers. Plan three. 
On his mark.

	One finger was lowered.

	Another. She tensed.

	The last finger flicked down and they sprang.

	Koji's left hand clamped down over the sleeper's mouth, 
pinning the head to the futon and muffling any shouts, and his 
right slammed into the chest to hold him to the mattress. As 
the sleeper burst into struggle, Mariko savagely thrust her 
umbrella down to crush the monster's skull...

	"No, don't!"

	Her umbrella continued down, and she wondered what 
Koji meant, and then his hand flicked away from the sleeper's 
chest to knock her weapon off line.

	She stared at him in shock.

	"It's not Ranma!"

	"Wha... bullshit!" She stared down at the figure, seeing 
the ponytail dimly through the black. "Are you nuts? Of course 
it's..."

	The sheet fell away, revealing a bare and very female 
chest.

	Mariko gaped. "What the...?"

	The girl had stopped struggling, and now stared up at 
them, her eyes wide with terror.

	"I'm going to remove my hand," Koji said, his voice still a 
low whisper. "We're not here to hurt you, but if you scream... Do 
you understand?"

	The girl nodded, shaking slightly. Slowly, Koji removed 
his hand from her mouth, and the girl shrank back against the 
wall, panic in her eyes. She was smaller than Ranma, Mariko 
noticed absently, and barely fit those boxers she was 
wearing... who the hell was she, and what in the name of the 
Christian Jesus was she doing in Saotome Fucking Ranma's 
goddamn room?

	"Please don't hurt me," the girl whimpered. "I won't be 
bad. Don't hurt me. Did he send you?"

	"We aren't going to hurt you," Koji said soothingly. "Who 
are you?"

	"I'm... I'm Saotome Miyabi. Please don't hurt me, I'll be 
good, really I will, please...."

	"You're his sister?" Koji said, incredulous. "You're 
Ranma's sister?" Mariko just stared.

	Miyabi flushed, and huddled into a ball, turning her face 
away. "I didn't want to," she mumbled wretchedly. "I didn't 
want to. He made me."

	"Made you?"

	The girl whimpered, and seemed to try to press herself 
through the wall. "I was 11. He told me he would kill me if I 
didn't do what he told me, and then he took off my... it hurt... I 
washed all day but it didn't help, and then he did it again, and 
again... and then he gave me to his friends... are you his 
friends?" She looked up at them, eyes dull and empty, and 
reluctantly began to undo the drawstring waistband of 
the boxers. "I won't fight, honest. I'll be good. Don't beat me."

	"Oh my God," Koji breathed, a sick look of horror moving 
to cover his face. "Oh God, that... he..."

	Mariko just stared at the shivering, pathetic girl in the 
corner, and fought down the urge to throw up. "Miyabi? We 
aren't going to hurt you, and, uh, you can keep the shorts on. We 
aren't gonna hurt you like that, either. We just wanna know 
where Ranma is."

	The girl stopped her clumsy fumbling, and looked up, eyes 
sharp and fearful. "Don't tell on me, please, don't tell him I was 
bad..."

	She could hear Koji choke back something, either a curse 
or a sob, and silently agreed. That... God, how could something 
like him exist? "We're going to get rid of him, Miyabi. So he 
can't hurt anyone again."

	An impossible hope bloomed in the girl's eyes, and she 
scrambled across the futon to clutch Koji's sleeve. "You... you 
mean it? You... I won't have to anymore? Please?"

	He nodded, a tear glistening in the dim moonlight. "Where 
is he?"

	"He's... he's in Akane's room... I wanted to warn her, but 
he'd punish me, I'm punished when I'm bad... I tried to kill 
myself, but he made me throw up the pills and then he...." She 
clung to his shirt, shaking uncontrollably. "Please don't hurt 
me..."

	Aghast, Koji gingerly patted her on the shoulder, and 
turned to Mariko. "Akane... oh God, we'd better hurry before 
he..."

	Mariko watched the girl wince in pain at the light pat.

	'Ranma hurt, bad shoulder. Think is broken,' Shan Pu 
whispered in her mind.

	A picture. River water splashing over Tsen, his form 
shrinking, breasts appearing, but the eye still covered by the 
patch, oh my God...

	"KILL HER, IT'S RANMA!" she screamed, leaping for the 
girl.

	Koji hesitated for a split-second, eyes widening.

	"Surprise," purred Miyabi, and brought her knee up into 
his groin as her fist slammed into his stomach. She dived to 
one side, Mariko's thrust clipping her as she did, and came up 
in a spinning kick that sent the Hibiki girl staggering.

	Gasping, Koji staggered backwards, folding at the waist. 
Mariko howled, and swung her umbrella in a vicious arc at 
Ranma's legs. It missed, but as Saotome leapt, a thrown stool 
hurled through the air to crash into his injured shoulder, 
bringing a snarl of agony. Koji grinned through the pain, still 
bent double, and looked for something else to heave.

	Mariko's next few attacks slammed past Ranma, but the 
smaller girl was obviously in trouble. The dodges were slow 
and jerky, the shoulder wound clearly crippling her. Mariko 
gave a fierce grin, snarled, and pressed the attack. He was 
dead. It ended tonight, she would end it here and now...

	The door exploded inward in a sudden shower of wood 
shrapnel. With a howl of rage, Akane burst through the shattered portal
and leapt for Mariko's throat like a jaguar.  

	She barely had time to bring her umbrella up before 
Akane crashed into her, ignoring the first few defensive blows 
Mariko threw at her. In desperation, panicked, Mariko left 
herself open to a punch and slammed her umbrella full-force 
into Akane's stomach. Both girls staggered back, reeling, pain 
flooding them.

	"That's enough!"

	Mariko turned toward Ranma's voice, and went numb. The 
pig-tailed girl stood behind a still-dazed Koji, an arm wrapped 
around his throat. A knife glittered at the end of it.

	"Give up, or I'll..."

	A shape appeared in the doorway. "Oh dear, is..."

	Driven by instinct, Mariko dived for the speaker, a 
powerful arm wrapping itself around the slender throat. 
Whipping her other arm around, the tip of her umbrella shot up 
to position itself against an ear.

	"Kasumi!" Akane shrieked, fury and fright streaking 
through her voice. "Damn you, let her go!"

	The sister, the older sister. Not a fighter. Still...

	"Sure, Akane," she said calmly. "Just have the bitch there 
let Koji go, and we'll be off."

	Ranma smiled coldly. "I don't think so."

	With a flick of her thumb she clicked off the safety, and 
the metallic sound seemed to echo through the room. "Let him 
go or I'll blow her brains all over the ceiling."

	Kasumi whimpered slightly, and struggled a bit. 
Growling, Mariko tightened her hold warningly, hating herself 
for it. The struggling stopped.

	"You do, and your brother's going to need a new throat. 
Let Kasumi go, now."

	"I'd say we have a standoff, then."

	Kasumi shuddered slightly, and a slight sob escaped.

	Ranma shook his head. "Akane, go get Ukyou and Shan. 
We'll wait her out, or even better, call the cops..."

	No. She couldn't let that happen, something had to be done,
something...

	She swallowed, silently asked for forgiveness, and 
seized Kasumi's trembling hand. And tightened her grip.

	Kasumi wailed, then screamed, then shrieked, and then a 
nauseating snap echoed through the room like a gunshot.

	"That's finger one," Mariko said, forcing her voice to stay 
hard and cold, speaking loudly above Kasumi's shrieks of pain. 
"Nine more. Then we get to start on the ribs. Let him go, or 
you're going to get back a heap of broken bones."

	Koji made a strangled noise, a sick look in his eyes. She 
met his gaze, and then glared at Ranma. "Thirty seconds til 
finger two."

	Ranma glared at her, the stare calculating and full of 
hate. Then she glanced at Akane, standing to one side, face pale 
and furious.

	The arm around Koji's throat vanished, and he stumbled 
forward. Mariko slowly retreated out the door, arm still 
clamped around her sobbing hostage. "C'mon, Koji."

	Ranma and Akane began to follow, and she came to a stop. 
"You two stay here. We'll let her go as soon as we're out."

	Akane glared coldly at her, and the amount of hate in that 
dreadful look hurt but did not surprise. "You're going to pay for 
what you've done. I swear to God you will."

	"My sentiments exactly, Akane. We all have to pay for 
what we do. Seeya later, everyone."

	Koji behind her, she backed down the stairs, through the 
lower floor.

	It took a while to find the door, and several seconds to 
reach the gate of the yard. Kasumi's sobs had stopped; she just 
stared at her captor, quivering and wide-eyed, like a rabbit 
caught in the headlights. Mariko winced.

	"I'm really sorry, Tendo-san..."

	To her horror and surprise, Kasumi weakly tried to rip 
away, crying. "No.... no, don't kill me..."

	"I'm letting you go now! I just said I was sorry, really!" 
The girl was clearly terrified. She didn't blame her; if a 
psychopath with a shotgun had tortured her and put a gun to 
her head...

	"They always say sorry before they kill them... in the 
movies.. that's always what happens... please, don't kill me..."

	Sick at heart, Mariko let go of her. "I hope you can manage to
forgive me some day, Kasumi-san. God only knows 
how."

	Then she darted into the fog, and ran, and ran, and ran, 
knowing with a horrible despair that the thing she was fleeing 
from was running just as fast as she was and would always 
keep pace with her.

	Koji followed, his face expressionless except for the 
tears, and then the mists swallowed them up. And then all that 
was left was a sobbing figure kneeling by a gate, weeping in pain 
and terror.


-< End of Chapter 11 >-


C&C, comments, welcome.