I'm sending this out a little earlier than I'd planned (I was hoping to
wait for a response from my third prereader- though he's more than welcome
to make a response now) because I'm trying to get it out of the way before
papers for my various new fall classes start piling up...  Chapter 3 will
be out whenever I have the time and the desire to write it.  Chapter 1 is
available on my web page.  C&C is STRONGLY encouraged...


Chapter 2:

The island's alarm sounded for the fifth time in two hours.  Once more, a
squadron of guards ran off to find the source of the trouble, and once more
they arrived just in time to see a horned man run off, leaving destruction
in his wake.

"Damn," Bird-Man cursed.  "He knows just where to strike, and how long it
will take us to respond."

"It means one of two things," Cologne, who had, along with Shampoo,
volunteered to help the patrol for this shift, began.  "Either he is both
very good and very lucky... or you have a traitor in your little army who
knows exactly what we are capable of doing."

Shampoo looked at her grandmother strangely.  Had she not heard, or was she
hiding what she knew from these men so as not to scare them?  Taking
special note that no-one other than Cologne and herself were Chinese, she
began speaking in her native tongue.

"<Great-grandmother, Ranma told me that Toma said the attacker was a man
possessed by an oni... surely he could not be considered a traitor if that
were the case,>" she noted.

The Amazon matriarch nodded.  "<Child, I had already heard that the
attacker was an oni, but it is better if these people think of him as a
traitor- they will do their jobs better, and be more willing to do what
might be necessary.>"

Shampoo frowned.  "<But... isn't the man who is possessed innocent?  They
might kill him, and while I do not mind killing in the field of combat, I
cannot consider him a willing fighter if he's just a puppet of an evil
spirit...>"

"<If he were truly as innocent as you presume,>" Cologne began, "<Then I
would not be telling these people what I have.  I am not needlessly
cruel... however, while a spirit may be able to force the possessed body to
fight and even die as its slave, it cannot force a mind to reveal knowledge
as intricate as would be necessary to avoid us this successfully without
killing the original body's spirit.  So either the man has cooperated with
the oni... or the oni has killed the man.  Since death is the proper
punishment for treason...>"

"<Either he is dead or he deserves to be,>" Shampoo sighed, nodding.  "<I
understand, great-grandmother.>"

Cologne nodded.  "<I would not worry about it, little one... I don't think
we shall witness it- we shall be off the island before the demon is
captured, I bel->"

Alarms went off again, halfway across the compound.  Everyone in the group
sighed, before the inevitable orders came down from Bird-man.

Before he gave them, however, he turned to the two Amazons.  "<If what you
say is true, honored elder,>" he began in perfect Mandarin, "<Then perhaps
the man should be killed.  But if you ever work with me again, let me know
something this important at the start- as commanding officer over these
troops, I have the right to decide what they should and should not know
about our enemies.>"  Leaving the two stunned women behind, he turned to
the rest of the tired platoon.  "Let's get going, men... don't worry, we
only have to keep this up for two more hours before our shift is over."

The men groaned when they realized they still had as much time to keep up
the hunt as they'd already given to it, but quickly fell into formation and
moved out.

Cologne turned to Shampoo as the soldiers were about to disappear from
view.  "Come on, child, we must not let my having overlooked one person for
the first time in over a hundred years stop us from carrying out our
duties.  You heard him, two more hours, then Ranma and Ryouga take over for
us..."

*	*	*	*	*

Akane sat, comforting Marie as she watched over Hideki Yoshii's comatose
form.  Up until a half hour ago, Ranma had been with her helping her out,
but he'd been forced to leave in order to join Ryouga in the oni patrol. 
Marie herself was not very good company at the moment- she had said little,
giving the occasional sniffle as she looked over her lover.  It left Akane
a lot of time to think alone- well, not quite alone.

'You know, you still haven't told me who you are,' she thought.

'Every time I've tried, someone interrupts- almost like fate is keeping me
from doing so,' the Voice in her head replied cautiously.

Akane laughed mentally, but tried to keep her outside expressions somber
for her friend.  'Sounds a bit like me and Ranma trying to get closer.  I
think we're pretty safe here, though- just you, me, Yoshii, and Marie...
and I don't think either Yoshii or Marie will be wanting to say much to me
for a while.'

The Voice paused for a few seconds.  'There is something else, though,
which can break in.  And I think I just sensed it...'

'Oh, give me a break.'  Akane was starting to get angry.  'You can't expect
me to believe that-'

'Shh!' the Voice hushed insistently.  'Listen, the Oni is here!'

'Huh, what are you talking about?'

'The Oni!  You know, the thing that put Yoshii here- he's outside of the
room and-'

Akane, realizing what the Voice was talking about, leapt to her feet. 
"Marie, go, sound the alarm!"

Marie snapped out of her somber mood and blinked at Akane in surprise. 
"Huh?"

Akane stood up and tensed her muscles.  "No time to explain- just sound the
alarm!  GO!"

Marie looked at Akane, nodded once, and ran out a door.  It would take her
about a minute to reach the alarm and sound it, she knew- she just hoped
that whatever it was that had worried Akane so much would hold off until
then.

'Okay,' Akane's thoughts demanded.  'I'm ready... now where is this thing?'

'Getting closer,' the Voice replied.  'Akane, maybe... maybe I should take
over your body for this one...'

Akane blinked, this time both mentally and physically.  'Huh?  What do you
mean by that?'  Suddenly it dawned on her.  'Wait a minute- you don't think
I'm up to this, do you?  Listen, Ms. Voice In My Head, I am a martial
artist, and I'm perfectly capable of handling any fighting which needs to
be done!'

'Against ordinary martial artists, yes,' the Voice argued.  'But this is a
case where we have to face an oni- a hostile entity from the spirit world. 
You don't know as much about that as I do- after all, I used to live in the
spirit world myself...  Besides, last time I took over your body, I was
able to beat Ukyou and Shampoo with ease- I don't remember you ever doing
that unaided!'

Akane frowned.  'Hey, when did you take over my body before...'

*	*	*	*	*

While Akane was arguing with the Voice in her head, another man outside her
room was having an argument of his own with a similar adversary.

'It's time we stopped these pointless hit and run tactics- we're wearing
ourselves down faster than we're wearing the patrols down, and those
patrols haven't even given us a HINT that they're giving up.  In fact,
they're more determined than ever!' Perez complained.  'I KNOW that you, as
a demon, cannot bring yourself to trust me... but in this case you have
little choice.  You cannot, controlling me, even approach her without
sending both of us into a panic... and if you were to try and approach her
without using my body to pin her first, you know she could escape, given
how Happosai's curse has slowed you.'

'Akane Tendou is a better fighter than you alone- the memories of her
sister, Kasumi, showed her defeating hundreds of fighters of moderate skill
every day for nearly two years, before her fiance chased them away.  True,
she is among the least skilled of her friends now, if Hibiki's memories are
to be believed, but she should still be more than ten times your unaided
equal.  Returning control of your body to you will not help.'

Alejandro growled.  'If you have a better idea, I'm open to suggestions.'

The Oni sighed in Perez's mind.  'No...  If I had more time to plan,
perhaps I could, but...'  It paused for a moment.  'I will allow you to
assume control, provided you swear to me that you will do everything in
your power, regardless of how this turns out, to aid me in ridding myself
of this curse.'

'Very well, I swear!' the one-time Spaniard vowed.  However, as he did, he
briefly considered breaking his oath- honor would not be damaged if he were
to break his word to a demon, would it?

'Ah, you think you may betray me?'  The Oni seemed amused.  'Well, I think
you should know that you are required to keep an oath directly made to a
spirit.  If you break it of your own free will, you will die and your soul
will be trapped as a ghost forever!'

'Oh, really?  I have never heard of a demon keeping his word- does this not
work in reverse as well?'  Alejandro did not really care about the answer,
he merely wanted to distract it while he tried to figure out what to do now
that he had literally made a deal with a devil...

'Beings such as myself may twist the wording of any vow so that it can
serve our purposes, but if we completely and totally violate it beyond any
possible interpretation, we will be torn apart and our fragments will be
sealed for all eternity with the thing which causes us the most agony. 
Even for one of us, that is enough deterrent to prevent us from breaking
our words without extreme provocation.'

'Oh?'  That got Perez thinking.  'Then I make a small request... I ask that
you vow to protect me from retribution- without causing harm to myself-
that may be dealt to me as a result of cooperating with you.'

'And why should I do that?' the Oni asked arrogantly.

'Because otherwise my aid of you shall merely be in my allowing you to
consult my mind when you need to know of how the security on this island
operates... which, with the special properties this island possesses, does
not give you many opportunities to rid your curse if this fails.  I can
justify this very easily, as this island's defenses and many languages are
my only area of expertise...  However, if you were to make this vow, I
shall agree to leave this island- with you- when we reach Japan, and you
will have a much greater chance of success.'

Laughter echoed in his head.  'Well reasoned, my disciple!  Very well, I
swear to protect you without harming you from any danger you may encounter
as a result of aiding me!'

Perez was uncertain if he liked being called the demon's 'disciple,' but
quickly shook it out of his head.  Soon, he would regain control of his
body... and immediately thereafter, he would have to fight.

*	*	*	*	*

Akane did not have time to receive an answer to her question before the
attacker entered the hospital room.  She quickly fell into a much more
defensive stance, noticing his polearm, and slowly sidestepped away from
Yoshii's bed to keep him from receiving further injuries in the fight.

'Akane, listen to me!' the Voice cried, panicked.  'Let me take over- I can
fight him better than you can!  I know how he thinks!'

'SHUT UP!' she shouted mentally back at it, just as she ducked underneath a
jab from the trident.  'He's not that good!  Just look at that move he
made- he's no more skilled than any of the other petty goons Toma's hired-
I can take him easy!'

The Voice had to admit she was right.  It looked almost as if the man had
retaken control over his own body, and was fighting with just his skill
alone- but the demon's presence was still there.

Akane sidestepped another thrust, and caught the weapon just behind the
blade.  The horned man yanked at it a couple of times before he realized no
matter what he did it wouldn't budge, and let it go.  Briefly, the light in
his eyes flared- panic behind them- before snap-kicking the polearm away
from her and catching it in his hands.  The fear was just too much, though,
afterwards, and the now oni-controlled man was only able to do one thing
before bolting away.

"Akane Tendou...  You haven't seen the last of us," he cried hideously,
just as the alarm sounded.

*	*	*	*	*

'Probably a good thing we left when we did,' the oni thought as it calmed
down from taking Perez's body in a rapid escape.  'If we'd waited much
longer, Toma's forces would have caught us...'

'We have to come up with a new plan,' Perez thought, as his body wheezed
slightly from the exertion.  'She's stronger and faster than I could ever
hope to match, and you could barely stay long enough to recover my weapon
after you took control.  We need some way of pinning her down for you that
doesn't involve trying to fight her.'  He paused.  'I still don't
understand why you just don't use female Ranma...'

'Something would go SERIOUSLY wrong- Ranma's curse would be activated at
the wrong time, when all four of the women chasing him are around, and I'd
bolt in a panic and never be able to find anyone again.  No, it has to be
Akane- less chance for error.'

'If she would just go to bed, you could sneak me in to her chambers when
she slept, but she's too determined to stay by the side of her friends in
the hospital!'

Perez thought for a moment.  'Perhaps... perhaps when we get to Japan...'

*	*	*	*	*

"...was going well- I'd caught his weapon and he couldn't pull it away,
when suddenly his eyes flashed and he seemed to triple in strength for that
one kick to my hand," Akane was saying between sips of the tea they had
given her.

'That boost in strength was because the Oni took him over again, you know,'
the Voice said.  'I told you I should be the one to fight him- I would have
looked for that!'

'Will you shut up about it already?' Akane yelled internally.  She was
annoyed at herself for letting the possessed man get away, and she didn't
particularly like being scolded like she was.

Ranma, Toma, and Bird-man were all sitting around her as she related the
events to them.  Ranma was being surprisingly kind to her (in her mind),
not having once said anything about how she had let the attacker escape and
being especially concerned about her bruised hand- he'd even made sure the
island's doctors had examined it for breaks or other serious injury.  Now,
she had a small bag of ice held to her thumb, which had taken the worst of
the damage and was now turning a bruised purple.

"Hmm, you said he was Hispanic-looking?" Toma inquired.  When Akane nodded,
he continued, "Bird-man, have we heard anything lately from that man my
father picked up in Spain... seven years ago, was it?  Alejandro Perez?"

Behind his face mask, Bird-Man frowned.  "He IS on the list of people who
are unaccounted for, My Prince.  There was no reason to suspect him any
more than the other dozen or so men that have gone missing in the past few
weeks, though..."

Toma frowned at that.  When he had allowed his men to 'do what you will'
with the assembled concubines, almost his entire army had deserted to spend
time with their chosen women.  As soon as he had lost Akane and started,
with the help of his advisors, to restore order, they had returned- some
sheepishly, others with a renewed vigor, and still others with bruises on
their cheeks where the women had rejected their advances quite...
forcefully.  A few people, though, remained missing.  He had suspected that
the Oni was actually one of them possessed, and now this seemed to confirm
it.

"Except for the fact he's the only Hispanic on the island who might be the
right age.  See if you can find his records, will you?"

"As you command, My Prince."  Bird-man bowed and, with a flourish,
departed.

Toma turned back to Ranma and Akane and nodded once.  "I'm done here- I
have a few more things to check out, though, so I'll be on my way.  Ranma,
I'm putting Mousse on your shift for a while- I want you to stay here and
make sure that Perez doesn't try to attack Akane again.  If he tries to
follow up on his threat, I want to be sure that there's someone here who
can handle him."

"I'm a martial artist!  I can handle him myself!"  Akane shouted angrily.

"You're hurt," Ranma said simply, avoiding mention of her previous defeat.

"Not badly- I just sprained my thumb."

"And I happen to know you've been staying here with Marie and Yoshii for
the past three days, and that you haven't slept once in that time," he
countered.

Akane blinked.  "Three days?"  

Ranma nodded.

'Yeah...' the Voice confirmed.  'Normally, I'm not able to talk to you
while you're in the middle of a conversation with someone else, but as
tired as you are, it's impossible for you to focus on the person you are
talking to, and so I can break in every now and then, but you can still
follow what's going on around you.'

"Akane," Toma broke in.  "I'll tell you what- if you agree to go lie down
and sleep yourself out while Ranma protects you, I won't put an armed guard
around you twenty-four hours a day."

"But... I can't sleep now!" she argued.

"Then I'll get you some sleeping pills."

"That's not what I meant!" Akane sputtered.  "I mean, someone needs to keep
Marie company- she's been through a lot."

"Akane," Ranma said calmly, "If you want, you can sleep in the same
hospital room as he does, and I'll stay in there with you and keep Marie
company while you sleep."

Akane looked at him in wonder.  If she didn't know he'd just stammer out
some kind of insult rather than give an honest answer, she'd ask him why he
was doing this.  Oddly, though, the exhaustion she was suddenly feeling was
giving her a clarity of thought she never knew she had.

Still...  "I... I don't know..."

"Akane, it's that or the armed guards.  Your choice," Toma said.

"Oh... all right.  Come on, Ranma," Akane growled as she turned towards the
door leading to Yoshii's room.

Behind Akane's back, Ranma mouthed a silent 'Thank you' to Toma and quickly
fell in step behind her.

*	*	*	*	*

When Ranma and Akane reached the hospital room, Marie was there again,
asleep in her chair.  Two additional beds had been placed in the room, as
well- one for Akane, the other for Marie.

"See, Akane," he whispered in her ear.  "You didn't need to worry about
keeping her company after all."

"Let's get her into bed, okay, Ranma?" Akane asked wearily.

Ranma nodded and, very gently, picked the sleeping woman up and lay her in
the bed next to Yoshii without waking her.  As an afterthought, he pushed
the two beds a little closer together so she could continue to hold his
hand as she had been doing.

"Okay, Akane, your turn," he said.  By now, she could barely stand on her
own, and didn't resist when he wrapped an arm around her waist to support
her as she walked towards the bed.

"Say, Ranma," Akane said deliriously as he helped her up onto the hospital
bed.  "You've either been with me or with the patrols since Yoshii was
hurt- how come I'm so tired and *yawn* you're not?"

Ranma smiled, adjusting the sheets over her body.  It didn't matter what he
said now, as long as he didn't upset her- she wouldn't remember it when she
woke up anyway.  "I don't know, Akane.  Maybe I nodded off once or twice
while you were busy with Marie and neither of us noticed it."

"Oh... okay, Ranma."  She yawned a few more times.  "Good night..."

Ranma waited until her breathing evened out before, after making sure he
wasn't observed, carefully bending down and giving her a gentle kiss on her
forehead.  For once, he was confident she wouldn't wake up when he did
that.  'I will protect you, Akane, no matter what,' he swore.

Taking a small bottle of sleeping pills from his pocket, he set it back in
the medicine cabinet where he'd found it.  No-one else needed to know that
her tea had been spiked with a sedative, after all...

*	*	*	*	*

The third of the four shifts was almost over.  Ukyou sighed slightly, glad
that it was over so she could escape the person who had been chosen to
replace Mousse in her patrol.

"Forsooth!  The hour in which I may depart draws neigh!  Then onward, to
the infirmary!" Kunou babbled.

Ukyou sighed again.  There hadn't been a choice, really- Happosai and Genma
had the next shift (a shift which, for the past three nights, had three
times the number of alarms as all the others... primarily because, while
the Oni seemed to be dormant during that period, those two jackasses were
committing a number of crimes themselves) and Soun refused to participate,
so as to keep the demon from taking over Kasumi again.  Also, he seemed to
want to keep an eye on Nabiki, who he was afraid might try some... well,
more than improper things to gain some money on an island which knew little
or nothing about women.

"Oh, really, Kunou?" she asked disinterestedly.  The Oni hadn't shown up
since it fought with Akane, and so tonight's patrol had been especially
boring.  "Why the infirmary?"

"There Tendou Akane rests, guarded by that fiend, Saotome. The foul heathen
is not to be trusted in the presence of her innocence."

Ukyou twitched.  Ranma and Akane had been getting closer for a while now,
and she was pretty sure that meant she would slowly be taken out of the
picture.  "Oh... really?"  Ranma had given her a bit of a dressing down
after the failed wedding- apparently, using explosives powerful enough to
tear his clothing to shreds was too much- Happosai could get away with it
only because Ranma couldn't stop him.  Putting on her sweet act, she turned
to Kunou and said "Only one of us needs to stay on duty for this shift,
considering how slow it is.  I'm taking off a little early, okay, sugar?"

Kunou nodded once, and Ukyou picked up her spatula and ran off.

*	*	*	*	*

"Halt!" one of Toma's soldiers ordered Ukyou as she appeared in the
hallway.  She froze.  "Approach slowly- prepare to be searched."

Ukyou walked up to the four people guarding the door to the hospital room
cautiously.  'What's going on here?' she asked herself.  'Why is this room
protected more than the others?'

She wasn't frisked, but someone patted her hair down- much to her
annoyance.  She drew in a deep breath- it would have been no trouble to
take all four of them out in a second, but she had to keep her temper
despite their liberties.

"Okay, no signs of the oni are detected.  We ask humbly that you leave any
weapons you may possess out here, however- unless you WANT us to have to
strip-search you..." the corporal apparently in charge of the detachment
asked.

Sighing, Ukyou started to remove her spatula and bandoleer.  "What's with
all the added security?"

"We believe that Akane Tendou, who is currently asleep inside, is the Oni's
target," the corporal answered.

'Well, that explains why Ranma-honey's here... but why the guards?'  Ukyou
frowned.  "Um, I'd been told Ranma was inside with her.  Shouldn't he be
able to protect her himself?"

One of the other soldiers stifled a giggle before the same corporal
answered her.  "Ranma justified to Ms. Tendou that she needed to sleep
because she hadn't in three days.  However, Toma knew that Ranma was also
just as lacking in sleep..."

"Huh?"  Ukyou asked, confused.  'What does that have to do with anything?'

"Oh, well, as Ranma was drugging some tea Akane drank, Toma arranged for
him to be injected with a slower-acting sedative himself.  The prince felt
as though they both needed their sleep more than they let on."

*	*	*	*	*

"Ranchan?" Ukyou whispered, shocked to see Ranma still awake as he hovered
around Akane's bedside.  He was looking very grey and ill, however.

He smiled wearily.  "Hi, Ucchan... let's keep our voices down, shall we? 
Akane really needs her sleep."

Ukyou frowned.  "Ranma-honey, you look as if you need sleep more than any
man I've ever seen has.  Why don't I arrange for a bed to be brought in,
and I can watch over the both of you?"

Ranma closed his eyes and shook his head sluggishly.  "Can't...  I trust
you not to hurt either of us, Ucchan, and to do your best to protect us-
when I can trust that you are you, that is.  But, for all I know, the Oni
is hidden somewhere inside you and could force you to attack me or Akane in
our sleep.  No, this time, the only person I can trust is myself... and
possibly Akane, here, as she's the one I'm protecting."

Ukyou frowned.  His logic was falling apart at the end there- why would the
fact he was protecting her matter?  "Ranchan, what do you mean by that? 
How can you trust Akane?"

Ranma smiled.  "Well, first of all, she's the Oni's target- I seriously
doubt the oni is going to target itself."  Well, that at least made sense. 
"And if she WAS possessed, I couldn't lift a finger to stop her, because
she's the one I'm supposed to be protecting.  Get it?"

Ukyou shook her head.  "What do you mean by that?  I thought you were just
protecting her from the oni..."

Ranma started to open his mouth, but then shook himself furiously.  'Gotta
remember who I'm talking to,' he thought to himself.  'If I tell her I've
vowed to myself to keep Akane safe, she'll ask why, and I'm not sure I'm
awake enough to convince her that it isn't because I love Akane...'

"Ukyou... just don't ask, okay?  I'm not even sure I understand myself at
this point..." he begged.

She didn't miss the look in his eyes, though.  'He really is in love with
her, that's why,' she thought to herself.  'Well... I'm still going to win
your heart, Ranma, whatever it takes!  But for right now... I think I'd
better do as you say.  I'm not sure how you'd react, as tired as you are.' 
She turned to leave, and smiled bitterly.  'For all I know, it's just the
drugs making you think that way.  Oh, that reminds me...'

"Say, Ranchan?" she whispered over her shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"I figure you should know- Toma drugged you as you were spiking Akane's
tea.  I was expecting you to be asleep in a chair when I came in..."

His eyes widened in surprise as Ukyou continued walking out the door.  To
her surprise, Ranma's quiet laughter followed her into the hallway.

'I can't believe he did the same thing to me I did to Akane,' he thought,
trying to control himself to keep from waking her up.  Then he started
pacing to keep himself awake- Akane'd only been asleep for about seven or
eight hours, and as tired as she was she shouldn't be awakening for several
more.  As tired as HE was, it would be a struggle to stay awake until she
did...

*	*	*	*	*

Several hours later, Akane awoke to find Ranma slumped on the floor,
dozing.

"Gotta... stay... awake," he was mumbling in his sleep.

Akane rolled her eyes- here he was worried about her needing rest, and he
had passed out himself from lack of sleep.  Nevertheless, she decided he
deserved a more comfortable resting place than he had passed out in, and
tenderly placed him on her old bed, covering him up much as he had covered
her up hours ago.  And, like he had done more than half a day ago, she
secretly kissed him on the forehead when she was certain he was asleep,
blushing furiously.

Noticing Marie was still asleep, she headed out for the bathroom.  To her
surprise, there were four of Toma's footsoldiers outside her room.

"What's going on?" she asked, concerned.

The same corporal who had talked to Ukyou was still there, and he smiled as
he turned towards her.  This time, it was going to be fun to explain
things.

"Well, see, Toma was worried that Ranma hadn't been getting any sleep like
you hadn't, so he drugged Ranma and ordered us to guard you two instead."

Akane's eyes widened.  "He DRUGGED Ranma?"

The underling who had chuckled when Ukyou showed up burst out laughing. 
"Oh," he gasped, "I don't think Ranma will mind- after all, your fiancee
did the same thing to you for the same reasons!"

Akane very nearly turned and stormed back into the infirmary to get a
confession out of her fiance before the Voice broke into her anger.

'Look, I know what it's like to get mad at someone,' it said, 'But don't
you think getting mad at Ranma for being justifiably worried about your
lack of sleep is at least a BIT uncalled for?'

'B-but he-' she sputtered.

'He was drugged, and yet he was still trying to stay awake when you woke
up- he was looking out for you as much as he could.  When I first met you
and Ranma, I learned that he would gladly take any punishment from you and
not think it amiss.  He'd throw himself in the path of danger because he
merely SUSPECTED you were in trouble...  Maybe he doesn't respect your
ability to take care of yourself as much as he should, but his heart is in
the right place.'  Akane was silent for a few moments, so the voice
continued, 'You're too hard on him sometimes... though he DOES sometimes
deserve it.'

Akane started heading for the bathroom, followed by a couple of guards. 
'Maybe...'

*	*	*	*	*

A day later, both Akane and Ranma were well rested, and had assembled with
the rest of the Nerimites in preparation to leave the island and return
home.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to let us go?" Ranma asked.  "I mean, maybe
we should stay until that Oni's caught..."

"No, no need to worry," Toma answered authoritatively.  "My men can handle
it... besides, I'm transferring Yoshii to a hospital in Tokyo- they have
better facilities than we do here.  Ms. Desaix will want to go with him,
and I'm sure Akane will want to go with her... and I'm just as sure you
don't want her to go back home alone."

"Uh, right," Ranma nodded.

"Good luck, Toma," Akane said, smiling.  "I hope we all can see you again,
some day."

"I hope so, too, Akane."  He returned his smile.  "Maybe when you get
married," he whispered.

"Huh?"  Akane blushed.  "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, nothing..."

With that, everyone made their final farewells and boarded the rubber
dinghy that was all that remained of Kunou's yacht, before starting the
engine and motoring off towards Tokyo bay.

Clinging to the bottom of the boat, Alejandro Perez and the oni that
possessed him waited in his scuba gear for the ride to stop.  Finally, the
Oni had returned home...

Thanks to Freemage, H-Packrat, and The RAMS who've acted as prereaders for
this fic.  I feel a little short of prereaders, so if you're interested,
e-mail me...

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---
Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee
                             desaix@sysnet.net
    http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/7872
                           fanfics available at 
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/7872/fanfics.htm