All existing chapters of this story may be found at:
http://www.rigroup.com/~grayson/relentless

(continued from first half...)

- - - - - -

Ukyou sat back and regarded the campfire with satisfaction. All 
her chores for setting up camp were done, and she was ready to cook 
as soon as the guys got back from their foraging.  It was a bit 
unsettling to send Tarou and Ranma off into the woods - she was 
certain that one of these times, they were just going to haul off 
and beat the snot out of each other.  It hadn't happened yet, 
anyway.  

Ryouga had finished pitching the tents and was lounging against 
a tree.  He was every bit as good at finding food and provisions 
as the other two, but he wasn't so hot when it came to getting back 
to the campsite.  Usually, he went with one of the other guys, but 
today it seemed he had something else he wanted to do.  

Looking at him, it wasn't hard to tell what he was up to.  Ukyou 
watched him as he scribbled a few words onto the pad of paper before 
him, then stared moony-eyed off into space again.  The guy was an 
open book - he'd probably be a worse poker player than Ranma.  
Ukyou grinned and shuffled over to where Ryouga was composing what 
was assuredly a love letter to Akane.

"Hey, sugar," she said, grinning.  "Whatcha got there?"

Ryouga snapped out of his reverie and instinctively tilted the pad 
away from her so she couldn't read what was written.  "Oh!  Um... 
nothing."

Ukyou chuckled.  "You're writin' a letter to your true love?"

Ryouga turned beet-red in an instant.  Ukyou noticed that he was 
using green ink, and her grin widened.  She figured she'd leave the 
shy boy alone to finish his writing.  

"Well, say 'hi' to Akane for me in the letter," she told him.

"Um... yeah.  I was going to write her too," Ryouga mumbled.

Ukyou blinked in surprise.  "Hold on a second there.  You aren't 
writing a letter to Akane now?"

"Er... no."  Ryouga took a peek at his pad, then blushed again.

That was really strange.  There was no mistaking the kind of look 
he had on his face, but if he wasn't writing Akane, then who could 
he be...?  

Ukyou craned her neck over to peek at the letter.  Ryouga gasped 
and tried to hide it again, but he was too slow - she'd made out 
the name.  "Akari?" she said.  "Who's Akari?"

Ryouga was too tongue-tied with embarrassment to answer at the 
moment.  Instead, he reached over and picked up something which 
had been resting on the ground beside him and handed it to Ukyou.  
It was a little pocket billfold, which contained a picture of a 
cute, smiling girl.  She was, Ukyou noticed with dismay, terribly 
pretty - the photograph alone radiated more sweetness than a pound 
of chocolate.  She's also signed the picture:  "To my darling 
Ryouga," it said, with a couple of little hearts and a pig drawn 
underneath.  

"She's your sister?" Ukyou hazarded desperately.  "Or maybe a 
cousin?"

"No," Ryouga said in a strangled voice.  "She's kind of... she's 
sort of my..."  He cleared his throat and summoned a bit of 
composure.  "We've been seeing each other.  D... dates and stuff," 
he explained, smiling sheepishly and blushing crimson.

<This is bad,> Ukyou thought, her mind racing.  <This is not good 
at all.>  She still saw Ryouga as her best bet for getting Akane 
out of the picture.  As much as Ukyou bickered and fought with 
Shampoo, she knew that Akane was the real threat to her chances 
of marrying Ranma.  Ukyou had seen Akane show affection for Ryouga - 
she was certain they'd get together, if only the lost boy could get 
over his paralyzing shyness.  This was all part of her ideal picture 
of the future:  she'd end up with Ranma and they'd be happy, Akane 
would end up with Ryouga and they'd be happy, Shampoo would marry 
that weirdo with the glasses and they'd go away, and Kodachi would 
find a good therapist who prescribed Prozac or something.  
Everybody lived happily ever after.

But here was this Akari girl chasing after Ryouga, and that threw 
everything off.  How should she handle this?  She considered flying 
off the handle and calling Ryouga a two-timer, shaming him to go 
back to Akane... but she didn't know if that would really do the 
trick.  In fact, it might backfire on her completely.  No, what 
she needed was some more information.  Then she'd figure out how 
to handle this.

She forced a cheery smile and sat down beside Ryouga.  "Akari, 
huh?  So, uh... what about Akane?  I thought you were in love 
with her."

Ryouga got a melancholy look on his face and stared off into the 
woods.  He sighed a bit before he answered her.  "My love for 
Akane will never change," he finally explained, his voice full 
of resigned sadness.  "No matter who she decides to love, I shall 
always protect her with my life.  Even if she never knows how I 
feel... perhaps it's better if she never learns."

<This just gets worse!> It sounded like Ryouga had all but given 
up on his chances of getting Akane away from Ranma.  That simply 
would not do at all.  Still, she had to find out more.

"So, uh," she tried to sound nonchalant, "how does this Akari girl 
fit in, hmm?  How'd you two meet?"

Ryouga scratched his head in thought.  "Well, it started when I 
defeated her pet pig in battle.  Her grandfather's dying wish was 
that she marry the man who could defeat it, you see..."  He trailed 
off, noticing that Ukyou was looking at him strangely.  "She has a 
pig farm," he explained lamely.

<Okay, this is promising,> Ukyou thought.  <Sounds like one of 
these stupid Amazon things, almost.  If it's a forced engagement, 
then maybe...>

"That's pretty weird," Ukyou said, trying not to sound too critical.  
"So she feels like she's obligated to marry you, is that it?"

"Well, that's not really the way she puts it," Ryouga muttered.  

"What's she like?"

Ryouga sighed and got that dreamy look again.  "She's really 
pretty, and sweet, and kind.  She's very gentle and... well, she's 
just great.  When we're together, she always... I don't know how to 
say it well."

<Uh oh,> Ukyou thought.  "So you really think she likes you, huh?"

Ryouga picked up a compact stack of letters and regarded them 
thoughtfully.  There looked to be at least a dozen envelopes, by 
Ukyou's guess.  "She says she does in her letters," he observed.  
"Yeah, I think she does."

"So she's a pig farmer!" Ukyou was floundering here.  "You think 
that's gonna be a bit weird when she figures out about your curse?  
You will have to tell her someday..."  

"Oh, she knows," Ryouga explained.  "In fact, she was very happy 
about it.  She loves pigs."  He frowned a bit at this.  Ukyou 
thought she saw an opening, and pounced.

"Oh, NOW I get it!  I gotta tell you, sugar, that sounds pretty 
warped."

"Warped?  What do you mean?" he looked worried.

"She likes you 'cause you turn into a pig?  You don't call that 
warped?"

"She likes pigs!" he exclaimed.  "There's nothing wrong with that!"

"Hey, sugar, I like okonomiyaki, but I don't want a boyfriend that 
turns INTO one," Ukyou shot back.  From his shocked expression, she 
could tell that one struck home.

"That doesn't matter!" he asserted, trying to rally his confidence.  
"She was willing to give up pigs entirely for me.  That just goes 
to show..."

"Oh SURE!" Ukyou cut him off, abruptly switching tactics.  "Well 
isn't that just typical!  What is it with guys these days, huh?  
Why do they want a woman to give up everything just to suit them?  
I expected better out of you, Ryouga.  But if a spineless woman 
with no personality of her own is what you want..."

"She's not like that!" Ryouga shouted.  But he sounded confused 
and desperate now.

"Look, let's think about this here," Ukyou tried to sound 
reassuring.  "What is it that you love about Akane, huh?"

The change of direction in the discussion seemed to throw Ryouga 
off.  "Uh... well.  I... um.  Let's see.  She's very kind, and 
sweet, and cute... uh..."

"And strong!" Ukyou supplied.  "She's a strong-willed, spirited 
girl, right?"

"Well, yeah."

"She's a martial artist, after all," Ukyou continued.  "This Akari 
girl isn't a martial artist, is she?"  She crossed her fingers 
behind her back as she awaited Ryouga's answer.

"No, no," he responded.  "She isn't."

"Well!  Look, I'll level with you here, sugar.  I don't know if 
this Akari is right for you."

"But..."

Ukyou held up a hand to silence him and smiled reassuringly.  "I 
know, I know, she's a very sweet kid, and very pretty.  It must be 
great for you to have a girlfriend like that for a while, since you 
don't have much experience with girls, right?"

"Yeah..."

"But let's think long-term here, okay?"  Ukyou tried to sound as 
knowledgeable and wise as possible.  "You're the kind of guy who 
needs a strong woman by his side.  You're a martial artist, a 
warrior, right?"

"Sure..."

"So you need a woman who's worthy of you!"  Ukyou glanced around 
and made sure Ranma hadn't come back without her noticing it - she 
wouldn't want him to hear what she was about to say.  "You need 
somebody like Akane, who's got all that sweetness stuff you like, 
but who's a martial artist too.  You're too good a guy to settle 
for some boring old homebody, even if she is cute.  You need... no, 
you DESERVE a woman of substance!"

Ryouga stared saucer-eyed at her.  "You... you really think that 
highly of me?"

"Sure I do!" Ukyou assured him glibly.  She punched him good-
naturedly in the shoulder.  "I'm a martial artist, and a woman.  
Believe me, I know what I'm talking about here."

Ryouga stared down at the half-finished letter before him, then 
at the picture of the sweet girl who loved pigs clutched in his 
hand.  A tear trickled down his cheek.  "Oh Akari... can it be 
true?  Are we really not meant to be together?"  He wrapped his 
arms about himself, hugging the letter and picture to his chest, 
and wept.

Ukyou felt a sharp pang of guilt over what she'd just done, but 
tried to ignore it.  Her arguments sounded reasonable... she was 
probably right about this!  Besides, she knew Ryouga and Akane 
would be good together.  Better to break the guy's heart a little 
now rather than let him drag this thing on with Akari...

Actually, she found that she was also feeling kind of lousy about 
slamming some girl she'd never even met.  This Akari sounded pretty 
sweet and harmless.  In a flash of inspiration, Ukyou resolved to 
set her up with Konatsu when they got back.  They sounded perfect 
for each other, after all!  And she was sure that Konatsu the 
legendary ninja could beat up some stupid pig.  Her "happily ever 
after" picture was restored, with a new addition.  

She patted Ryouga reassuringly on the shoulder.  "Hey, it's okay.  
Don't get all worked up about it."

Ryouga looked up at her, his eyes red from crying.  The green ink 
on his letter was damp and smudged.  "Th... thanks for talking to 
me, Ukyou-san.  I... I kind of want to be alone now, though."

Ukyou nodded, then got up and walked back to the fire.  This was 
for the best, she assured herself.  Everything would work out as it 
should, the people who belonged together would be together.  

Why, then, did she feel so low?

- - - - - -

It had become customary over the past few days for Akane and Nabiki 
to accompany one another to and from school.  Mostly, they walked 
together in relative silence, each absorbed in their own thoughts 
and difficulties.  Still, it was better to have some company than 
to be alone at times like this, even if a silent sister did not 
offer much solace.

Akane had taken to traveling with her sister in a large part because 
she couldn't keep up the pace that she had once maintained.  It was 
almost a week into her training, and she was perpetually sore.  The 
pads and gear that Dr. Tofu had provided did help, especially in 
preventing serious injuries, but the brutal impacts she endured 
night after night still took their toll.  

She was so tired these days, always so very tired.  Sleep had not 
come easily for Akane the past several nights - she was always too 
sore to get comfortable, and  it seemed that whenever she closed 
her eyes she could see the rock hurtling towards her through the 
darkness.  Dr. Tofu did what he could to keep her patched together, 
and Kasumi made her soothing tea to help her sleep, but nothing 
seemed to help much.  She still slouched through the days like a 
zombie.  

She couldn't even be sure if this training was really helping her.  
She hadn't even gotten to the point where she could face the stone 
without panicking and trying to writhe away from the impact in her 
harness.  How was she ever going to find the breaking point at this 
rate?  And was this perpetual cycle of physical punishment really 
helping her get tougher, or was it just wearing her down?  She 
didn't even have the energy for her normal training regimen 
anymore.  Was this lunacy really going to make her a stronger 
martial artist?  

Akane didn't know.  She remembered her reasons for starting this 
training, but they seemed so far away now.  Compared to the hard 
reality of the stone and the rope, her resolve seemed as intangible 
as a puff of steam.  

<Why am I still doing this?>  Akane asked herself.

Nabiki was asking herself the same question as well.  This matter 
with the restaurant had all but consumed her life.  She'd never felt 
so frustrated and ineffectual.  Business at Ucchan's had failed to 
pick up even after the grill had been fixed.  It had always been 
Kuonji Ukyou's sheer cooking brilliance which had kept the restaurant 
afloat through tough times, but Nabiki didn't have that safety net 
of talent to fall back on after the mistakes she'd made.  Konatsu 
was pretty good, but as her customers were so quick to point out, 
he was no Ukyou.

Nabiki hated this.  Managing the restaurant had made her feel clumsy 
and inept for the first time in her memory.  Her pride in her own 
competence had taken a serious blow, and she didn't like the way 
that felt at all.  

Was this really worth it?  She wasn't making any profit out of this 
venture anymore, that was for certain, and the time that it demanded 
of her effectively prevented her from running the little scams and 
schemes around school upon which she'd made her livelihood before.  
What's more, her reputation was in jeopardy.  She'd bragged too much 
about what a great deal this job was when she'd first taken up 
management of Ucchan's, and now people were starting to realize 
that she was having trouble.  She wondered what kind of whispers 
were going on behind her back.  She could just imagine her classmates 
snickering about her - the "high and mighty Nabiki, who drove a 
successful restaurant into the ground."  

<To hell with this,> Nabiki thought angrily.  <I'll get out while 
I still can, shut that dive down and find someone to blame it on.  
If I hear anybody talking about me behind my back, I swear I'll 
make them regret they'd ever been born!>

<This is pointless,> Akane told herself.  <I'm not up to this 
training... it's too hard.  I can't go on just beating myself up 
like this.  I can't go on...>

The sisters were jarred out of their thoughts by the familiar sound 
of a bicycle bell.  They stopped, then turned as one towards the 
noise.  

Shampoo zipped briskly along, steering her bicycle one-handed with 
astonishing balance across the narrow fence tops above the sidewalk.  
Her long purple hair billowed behind her in the breeze, and she 
smiled contentedly to herself as she pedaled on her way.

Akane glared at the Amazon girl, unable to pull her focus away from 
the everyday ease with which Shampoo performed this superhuman feat 
of balance and agility.  She had an overwhelming desire to find a 
bucket of water and splash her arrogant rival... because she knew 
that was the only way she'd ever been able to beat Shampoo before.  

Nabiki glared at Shampoo as well, or rather at the pair of take-out 
boxes that she balanced deftly on top of one another with her free 
hand.  Those boxes were full of delicious ramen noodles, or some 
other kind of food, and they were on their way to the doorstep of 
a contented, loyal, Nekohanten customer... who would assuredly 
give that wretched bimbo an immense tip, especially if it was  
a man.  Nabiki stewed in anger at the very thought of it.

Shampoo banked around the corner of the fence top, making a 
near-impossible 90 degree turn at speed as easily as Akane or 
Nabiki might skip over a crack.  She disappeared out of sight, 
and the soft clatter of her bicycle died away shortly after.  
Akane and Nabiki stared after the Chinese girl for a long time, 
absorbed in their own thoughts, until they finally turned to face 
one another.

"I have to go train." 

"I've got to get to work." 

The sisters parted ways, each one wearing an expression of grim 
determination as she traveled on towards her own personal hell.

- - - - - -

Ukyou sat back and sighed as she stared at the campfire.  The 
routine on this journey was well established by now, and it always 
left her to set up camp and prepare to cook dinner while the guys 
went off and foraged for food and water.  She didn't really mind 
the work, and she wasn't about to let one of those thumping, 
fumble-fingered buffoons make a shambles of the cooking, but the 
tacit assumption that the division of labor should pan out this 
way was starting to irritate her, just a little.  Why couldn't she 
go hunting once and a while?  Did they think she wasn't capable of 
it, the jerks? 

She frowned and glared at the evergreens.  Lots of little things 
were starting to bug the hell out of her lately.  She could feel 
it - she was getting close to the end of her fuse.

She was starting to have some serious concerns about Tarou's 
feelings towards her.  At first, she thought the Chinese fighter 
was just nicer to her because she'd never done anything to irritate 
him, or perhaps he just had a grudge against people with a Jusenkyo 
curse.  But she was starting to see a pattern to his behavior, and 
she didn't like what it might mean.  

Her worries had escalated after her talk with Ryouga about Akari.  
She'd been feeling lousy about doing what she'd done ever since that 
evening, especially after she saw how hard the kid took it.  So 
she'd gone out of her way to be nicer to Ryouga, to try to cheer 
him up.  

If Ranma had gotten jealous, it would actually have been gratifying, 
but Ranma was his usual oblivious self about the whole thing.  Tarou, 
on the other hand, immediately widened the scope of his anger and 
abuse to include Ryouga.  He was quick to point out the lost boy's 
failings and weaknesses.  He played on Ryouga's credulous nature, 
tricking him into making a fool of himself, and tried to pit him 
against Ranma.  Ryouga was always "pig-boy" or "hambone" or some 
other derisive moniker about swine.  The most maddening part was 
the way Tarou would wink or grin at her before he took a pot-shot 
at Ryouga or Ranma, as if she were somehow his conspirator or 
something.  And tensions had escalated even further within their 
small party as a result.

She could swear that Tarou was jealous, that he was trying to 
impress her.  That was not a good sign.

"Ukyou."

Ukyou startled out of her reverie and whirled towards the voice.  
Pantyhose Tarou stood at the edge of the camp, leaning against a 
tree and smiling... almost shyly.

"Tarou!  Wha... hey!" She looked around.  "Where's Ryouga?  Weren't 
you keeping track of him this time?"

Tarou sniffed disdainfully.  "Oh, he's around somewhere.  We're in 
a box canyon, you know.  Even he can't get too far."

"Don't be too sure about that," Ukyou warned.  "If he gets lost..."

Tarou shrugged.  "I'll find him if he does.  He leaves a trail like 
an elephant."

Ukyou scowled.  "You still shouldn't have left him."

"Forget about him," Tarou said, stepping towards her into the glow 
of the firelight.  "I wanted to talk to you alone."

<Oh no.  Here it comes,> she thought.  She wished she'd realized 
what he was feeling sooner, so she could have had more time to 
prepare what she was going to say.  "Look, Tarou..."

"I think you're a very special girl," Tarou interrupted.  "There's 
something between us.  I've felt it, I think you have too."

She shook her head in resignation.  She wished she'd been wrong 
about this.  "Tarou, listen.  You know I'm engaged to Ranma."

Tarou sneered very slightly, then composed himself again.  "You 
deserve better than a forced engagement, Ukyou.  Nobody can make 
you marry that guy if you don't want to."

"But I do want to," she asserted.  "I'm sorry, Tarou, but that's 
the way it is.  I love Ranma."

Her proclamation of love clearly did not sit well with Tarou.  "Oh 
come ON, Ukyou!  What do you see in a guy like that, anyway?"

"I know you don't like Ranma, but..."

"Don't like him?" Tarou barked.  "He's a perverted, cross-dressing 
little freak who..."

"He can't help his curse!" Ukyou snapped.

"I think it reveals his true nature," Tarou scoffed.

"Oh yeah?" Ukyou felt her temper flaring.  "Then what does your 
curse say about YOU?"

Tarou glared angrily, but then struggled to get his emotions back 
under control.  "Ukyou, why would you want a two-timer like that 
when you could have someone like me?  I'm smarter, I'm better-looking, 
I'm a better fighter..."

"Oh get over yourself!" Ukyou spat.  A small part of her screamed 
that she should try to be more diplomatic, to let him down easy, but 
it was no use.  She'd been keeping her anger and frustration pent 
up until now, but the dam had burst.  "You don't hold a candle to 
Ranma!"

"What did you say?" he snarled menacingly.  

"You heard me!  And even if I WASN'T engaged to Ranma, I still 
wouldn't want to go out with you!"

Tarou's jaw clenched in anger, and his eyes narrowed.  "Oh, so 
now it comes out, doesn't it?  It's my name.  You said it wasn't 
a big deal, but you really..."

"You jackass!" she groaned in exasperation.  "It's always about 
your stupid name, isn't it?  I said I didn't care about that, and 
I meant it.  But YOU seem to think that having a bad name gives 
you an excuse to treat everyone else like crap and be a jerk all 
the time!"

He took another step forward.  "You have no idea what you're 
talking about..."

"Do you think I'm impressed when you cut down my friends all the 
time?  Is that it?  I am SICK of it, Tarou!"

Tarou crossed his arms and sneered at her.  "I am so disappointed, 
Ukyou.  I thought better of you."

"What is THAT supposed to mean?"

He shook his head and chuckled harshly.  "I thought you were smart 
enough to realize it.  You'll never get your precious 'Ranchan' 
to marry you."

"Yes I will!"

"Oh please.  How naive.  He hasn't even looked at you twice during 
this whole trip except when he wants a second helping at dinner.  
You're just a little friend who cooks for him, that's all.  Do you 
really think he'll ever marry YOU?"

"Shut up!" Red was beginning to creep around the edges of Ukyou's 
vision.

Tarou laughed again.  "It's so obvious to everyone that the only 
one he really wants is that Tendou girl.  What she sees in him, I 
don't know, but it's only a matter of time before they tie the 
knot."

"You liar!"

"You look like a fool chasing him around, Ukyou.  Everybody's 
laughing at you behind your back, and you don't even..."

"SHUT UP!"  Ukyou hauled her great spatula from behind her back 
and swung it at Tarou with pulverizing force.  The Chinese boy 
ducked under the weapon and lashed out with an open palm, shoving 
Ukyou backwards.  The okonomiyaki chef sprawled to the ground, 
landing with a jarring thump to her tailbone.

Tarou took a single step forward.  Ukyou would never know what he 
actually intended to do at that moment, whether he'd intended to 
help her up, make sure she stayed down, or... or whatever.   But 
the single step was all he took.  At that moment a flash of bright 
red streaked between them.  Something smashed into the ground with 
enough force to crack the earth, sending out a shockwave that 
almost blew out the campfire.

It was a very familiar, very heavy, red umbrella.

"So THIS is what you ran off to do," snarled Ryouga.

Tarou recovered from his surprise almost instantly and flashed the 
bandanna-clad martial artist an angry glare.  "Stay out of this, 
pork-chop.  This is none of your concern."

Ryouga advanced and interposed himself between Ukyou and Tarou, 
his battle-aura flaring to life around him.  "If you want to get 
to her, you have to go through me!"

"Ryouga... it's okay, you don't..." Ukyou began.

"I've seen enough!" the enraged lost boy interrupted.  "Come on, 
Pantyhose Tarou... are you afraid of a man-to-man fight?"

Tarou laughed a mirthless, hateful laugh.  "Oh, Hibiki.  You don't 
know what you're saying."

Tarou wasted no more time with posturing, launching into an attack 
so quick that the eye could barely follow his movements.  He landed 
a three-punch combination against Ryouga's head, solar plexus, and 
abdomen, then followed up with a pair of lightning-quick kicks to 
the ribs.  He slipped each of his blows past Ryouga's defenses with 
ease, striking every target with fearsome accuracy.

Ryouga staggered back under the assault.  He launched a kick of his 
own, which Tarou dodged easily.  The Chinese boy unloaded another 
vicious series of body blows, then followed up with a fierce 
roundhouse kick to Ryouga's temple.

The kick connected.  Ryouga didn't even try to dodge it.  Instead, 
he reached up and caught his adversary's ankle in a vise-like grip.

Tarou tried to pull back, but it was like his leg was embedded in 
stone.  He realized with shock that Ryouga was hardly fazed by the 
blows he'd landed so far.  

The lost boy grinned at Tarou.  "I've had cherry blossoms in the 
wind hit me harder than that," he taunted.

Tarou leaped with his free leg, using Ryouga's own grip as leverage 
to launch another kick to free himself.  This time, the bandanna-clad 
martial artist caught his other leg in his crushing grip before the 
kick landed.  Before any part of Tarou made contact with the ground, 
Ryouga swung him around in a wide arc, releasing him after almost a 
full rotation.  Tarou hurtled away with terrifying force and slammed 
painfully into a thick tree trunk.  

"Ryouga, stop!" Ukyou called, but the two were beyond noticing her.

Tarou tumbled unsteadily to his knees, dazed from the force of the 
impact.  He'd dropped something when he hit... he reached out and 
picked up his water flask.  

Ryouga eyed the flask with suspicion for a moment.  Then, he crossed 

his arms and shook his head in contempt.  "So that's it, eh?  It 
always comes down to this.  They should call you 'Garden-Hose' 
Tarou, because the only way you win fights is by splashing water 
around."

Tarou rose unsteadily to his feet, wiping his mouth with the back 
of his hand.  His knuckles were white as he gripped his flask.

"Go ahead," Ryouga said.  "Use it.  Turn into a monster.  I think 
you like it better that way."

Tarou seethed with pure rage, his throat constricted so tight with 
anger that he couldn't even speak.  He could picture, with complete 
clarity, his fists driving into Hibiki's throat, could practically 
feel the crunch of the insufferable pig-boy's esophagus under his 
knuckles.  He wanted to pound that calm look off his face, to break 
his bones and hear him howl in pain.  

<Don't be a fool!> a voice from within regaled him.  <Can't you see 
that's exactly what he wants?  If you fight him as a human, he has 
a chance.  Are you really going to let a moron like him play you 
like an instrument?  Use the water, and the fight is yours!>

Ryouga just stood there, looking composed and calm.  It was as if 
the lost boy somehow thought that he'd already won, no matter what 
Tarou decided to do.

It might have made a difference to Tarou to realize that what he 
thought was composure and poise in Ryouga was really something else
entirely.  At the moment, Ryouga was concentrating with all his 
might on the most depressing things he could think of.  He assumed 
that Tarou was going to change into his powerful cursed form in 
a few seconds, and he knew that his only chance against such a foe 
was to use a Perfect Shi-Shi Hokouden.  Ryouga was attempting to 
work himself into a state of misery and despair so profound that 
he could manage his most powerful attack.

Tarou wavered with indecision for a long moment, torn between wanting 
to charge in to attack Ryouga as a human and thinking he should 
change into his cursed form to ensure his victory.  He never got 
the chance to decide which course of action he would take.

"Hey guys!  Check it out... I found some wild turkeys!" 

Ranma strode into the clearing where they'd made their campsite, 
a pair of birds trussed up by their feet and slung over his 
shoulder.  His cheerful mood vanished immediately when he saw what 
was happening.

"Oh boy," he muttered.  "Here we go."  He set down the birds and 
dropped into a defensive stance.

It was one of the few times in history that Ranma actually defused 
a conflict by showing up rather than aggravating it.  Tarou regarded 
the three Nerima martial artists arrayed before him with loathing, 
but his rage abated and his head cleared.  He knew beyond a shadow 
of a doubt he could crush them easily if he changed into his cursed 
form.  He had nothing to prove.

However, there was the matter of the Reikoku.  He realized now that 
he'd been foolish to hope that Ukyou would ever go along with his 
plan, but that didn't matter.  He knew what he was going to do, and 
he knew he'd have to do it alone.  These three still had a purpose - 
they would keep the Reikoku occupied while he implemented his 
scheme.  If they were still alive when he was ready to execute his 
idea, he would let them witness his triumph.  And then, he would 
have his revenge.

Tarou let out an evil chuckle.  "I think I've put up with you 
freeloaders long enough," he announced.  "From now on, you're all 
on your own.  The Reikoku can have you, for all I care."

With that, he emptied the water flask over his head, transforming 
into the winged, tentacled minotaur.  With an earth-shaking bellow 
that echoed off the mountain walls, he launched himself into the 
night sky, leaving the three martial artists behind him in the 
darkness.

Ranma watched Tarou vanish into the night with dismay.  Tarou 
couldn't have picked a worse time to abandon them and fly off by 
himself.  They were in the middle of the mountains now, with many 
leagues of hard terrain between themselves and any kind of real 
civilization or means of transport.  Daylight hours were short at 
this latitude, up here in the mountains at this time of year, and 
even under the best of circumstances their traveling pace would be 
reduced to a crawl.

The Reikoku was still a long way back, but it never let up.  No 
terrain slowed it down, night or day did not matter to it.  It was 
going to close the distance between them now, and they might not be 
able to get out of the mountains before it finally caught up.

Ranma turned to his friends, his expression and voice grave.  "We're 
in trouble now.  We've gotta get prepared."


                    end of chapter five



-----------------------------------------------------------
                      AUTHOR'S NOTES
-----------------------------------------------------------

I'm going to try to give descriptions of the more obscure 
Ranma 1/2 characters who appear in this story.  If they haven't
shown up in the manga or anime currently released in the U.S., 
I'll endeavor to give them some introduction.  So...

AKARI:  Akari appears in the manga version of Ranma 1/2 only,
and she's pretty much as Ryouga described her in the story.
It is worth noting that her "pet pig" is actually a specially-
bred sumo pig of elephantine proportions, so the feat of 
besting it in combat is somewhat more impressive than Ryouga's
description might suggest.  Ryouga and Akari manage to have a
few dates throughout the series, which are always chaotic for
one reason or another.  She is clearly devoted to him, and
as the series progresses it seems that Ryouga begins to give
up on winning Akane's heart, turning his attentions towards 
the willing and sweet Akari.

My thanks to my wife Candi for her proofreading and support.
I also thank all those who have written me with their comments
and criticism.  

COMING SOON:  Ranma and company begin to train for their inevitable
clash with the Reikoku, while Akane continues to struggle with her
own brutal regimen.  Can Nabiki keep Ucchan's afloat through even
more trouble?  What will she do in the face of her greatest challenge
yet?  And what is Pantyhose Tarou's plan to conquer the Reikoku?     

COPYRIGHT STUFF:  All the Ranma characters belong to Takahashi Rumiko,
and are licensed in America by Viz Communications.    

GRT - August 1998
grayson@rigroup.net

All existing chapters of this story may be found at:
http://www.rigroup.com/~grayson/relentless

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