Quantum Destinies
A Ranma Fanfic
By Steven Thesken (jurai-knight@home.com)

Editor: D.B. Sommer (sommer@3rdm.net)

This idea occurred to me after I finished the science-fiction novel 
"Paths to Otherwhere" by James P. Hogan.  Ranma and all other 
associated characters are owned by Kitty and the ever-creative 
Rumiko Takahashi.  Any new characters are the property of the 
author.  This is purely a work of fanfiction done for fun, so please 
read and enjoy.

Notes: Thoughts will be bracketed by a * on each end.  Any 
speech other than Japanese will be bracketed by < and >.



Chapter 12 - Mastering the Art

    Nabiki woke up early in the morning, even before her regular 
alarm went off.  Her muscles felt a little stiff from the extra efforts 
that she had put herself through last night, on top of her regular 
physical training at the Academy, but she felt great.  She knew 
that she was in great shape, but her experiences in the simulation 
had left her with a burning desire to be even better.  She wanted to 
be able to move with that grace and strength in real life, and 
Nabiki always got what she really wanted.

    Nabiki sat up in bed and stretched her arms up over her head.  
She sighed at the pleasant sensations that traveled up and down 
her arms and shoulders as she felt her muscles loosen a little.  The 
silk of her pale blue nightgown slid over her body at the motions.  
She yawned once, and got out of bed for a full body stretch.  She 
wanted to get stronger, but she also wanted to improve her body's 
flexibility as well.

    *When I get to the Academy, I'll have to persuade Ranma to let 
me have another session with his device,* she thought with a 
serious look.  *I may also want to think about studying 
gymnastics.  That should help my flexibility and strength.*  She 
bent down to touch her toes, and went through a moderate session 
of stretching over the next several minutes.  When she was done, 
she changed into her uniform and went down to get some 
breakfast.

                    ******************************

    Akane woke up when her alarm clock went off.  Her hand 
lazily smacked a button on the top, silencing the infernal noise.  
The aches of her injuries were a little less intense today.  Soaking 
in the hot water last night after working out had helped a lot.  She 
gingerly pressed her fingers against her ribs, and they felt a bit 
less tender this morning.  Most of her muscle pains were almost 
all gone already.  *When my injuries heal a little more, then I can 
start my training for Ranma's challenge,* she thought with a 
contented smile.  *I'm sure that Daddy will get him out of the 
Arena for me.  Something didn't look right about that fight at the 
end.*

    The thought of how skillful Ranma looked on television sent a 
pleasant quiver through her.  She lazily stretched from her relaxed 
position.  A few rather painful twinges from her injuries came in 
warning reply to her movements.  She took a deep breath and let it 
out.  *Oh Ranma,* she thought with a wistful sigh.  *How have 
you been hiding such strength from me for all this time?  I can 
hardly wait to fight you for real.*  The thought of fighting a boy 
who really challenged her abilities brought a faint blush to her 
cheeks.

    She felt a little guilty about not telling Nabiki about Ranma's 
current predicament, but decided that it suited her older sister 
right for trying to go behind Akane's back.  Nabiki would find out 
soon enough when she got to the Academy for classes.  Akane felt 
that it was only appropriate to hide that fact when Nabiki had all 
but bragged of her upcoming marriage meeting with Ranma's 
family.  She could have waited until after Akane's fight with him.

    *After all, fighting a strong opponent is fun, especially if it's a 
boy,* she thought with a warm smile.  *If I can also be married to 
a man who was my equal in fighting, then I would be able to have 
that fun for the rest of my life.*  That thought left her feeling a 
little breathless.  If Ranma managed to overcome her, as she was 
starting to suspect that he might, then she would have a worthy 
opponent that she could fight with every day.  She just had to 
make sure that Nabiki didn't get in her way.

    Akane got out of bed and stretched her arms out with a groan of 
mild pleasure.  She felt the taut muscles in her shoulders and back 
loosen up.  She formed a fist with one hand and smacked it into 
the open palm of her other hand.  She smiled at her reflection in 
her closet mirror for a moment as she did a few fighting poses.  
She only felt a little stiff as she spent several minutes admiring 
her form and doing a little shadow boxing with her reflection.  
*Yeah,* she thought to herself with a smile.  *Look out Ranma 
Saotome.  I'm expecting you to show me just how tough you can 
be.*

    She opened up her closet, pulled out a clean uniform, and 
began to dress for the day.  She hummed a cheerful tune as she 
changed her clothes.  After she finished with her uniform, she sat 
back down on the bed and pulled a pair of white socks over her 
feet.  Despite her lingering pains, she felt that life was looking up.

                    ******************************

    Tatewaki Kuno regained consciousness when a hand gently 
shook him awake.  He groaned and reached one hand up to the 
back of his head where a large lump currently rested.  It was quite 
tender to the touch.  *Curse the cowardly swine who would strike 
me from behind.*

    "Are you all right, Master Kuno?" asked a male voice near him.  
He immediately identified it as Sasuke, one of the house servants.

    "I am fine," he replied brusquely.  Tatewaki rolled to a seated 
position and the room lazily spun clockwise for a moment.  "I 
thank you for your concern, but it is nothing."

    "I see that you're awake, brother," said Kodachi from the 
doorway.  "I should have known that your head was hard enough 
to take such a blow."  She smiled at him.

    "Do you know who it was who struck me, sister?"  Tatewaki 
surged to his feet, ignoring the black spots that swirled in his 
vision for a moment.

    Kodachi blinked.  She smiled innocently.  "I'm afraid that it 
was I who struck the blow, my brother.  You had begun to rant, 
and it was all I could think of to calm you down."

    "You hit me, little sister?" asked Tatewaki in a shocked tone of 
voice.  "Why would you do that?"

    Kodachi shrugged.  "You weren't in a mood to listen to reason, 
and I could not allow you to try to harm Ranma," she replied.

    Tatewaki could not believe his ears.  *What manner of man is 
this Ranma Saotome that my own sister would turn against me on 
his behalf?  Is he some black sorcerer?  Is that the reason why my 
sister had changed so?*  His frown deepened as he ran towards 
her and grabbed her firmly by the shoulders.

    "What has that sorcerer done to you, my beloved sister?!" he 
shouted in her face.  Kodachi blinked.  "You used to be a sweet 
and innocent sort who would cause harm to none.  Is Ranma 
Saotome the reason why you would change?  Tell me!"

    Kodachi sighed.  Her brother was in one of his moods again, 
and talking wasn't going to affect him.  She decided to say 
nothing.  She looked away to one side.  It was the wrong thing to 
do.

    Tatewaki reared back as if she had struck him.  His eyes 
seemed to flicker with flames for a moment, so great was the rage 
within him.  *I will have vengeance on this peasant for defiling 
my sister!* he swore in his mind.  *Ranma Saotome... you will 
pay for this!*

                    ******************************

    Khu Lon emerged from her house to greet the rising sun.  It felt 
good to know that she was leaving the village for a while.  She 
loved her home dearly, but it kept the body and mind fresh to see 
new things once in a while.  It had been too long since she had 
last left this place.

    She watched with a smile as Per Fum and Mu Tsu loaded the 
small truck with their luggage.  Actually, Mu Tsu was doing all 
the work of lifting and carrying, and Per Fum was supervising his 
efforts.  The Enforcer looked to be quite exasperated with him, but 
it appeared that they would be ready to leave on time.  The small 
truck was the only one in the village, and was used to get supplies 
from the provincial capital that could not be produced in the 
village.  They were using it to take them to the local airfield for 
the flight to Japan.  The driver waited in the shade of a nearby 
tree.

    Khu Lon took a moment to study Mu Tsu.  It had been close to 
six years since the boy had left the village, and Khu Lon had 
known almost immediately what his purpose was.  He had not 
chosen to exile himself, but to walk the Path of Challenge.  It was 
a rarely invoked area of Amazon law that allowed a male of the 
tribe to choose temporary exile in order to return and fight as if he 
was an outsider.  She was surprised that Mu Tsu had ever even 
been aware of it, but suspected that the Matriarch Lo Zhen had 
put the idea into his head.

    "<My great-grandson has returned, I see,>" noted a familiar 
voice behind Khu Lon.  She did not acknowledge the voice.  She 
knew who it was.  Lo Zhen, an ancient crone an inch or two taller 
than Khu Lon, stepped beside her.  Her robes were a pale green 
with golden dragons embroidered upon it.

    "<Your powers of observation must be growing feeble if you are 
only just now aware of this fact,>" replied Khu Lon without even 
looking in Lo Zhen's direction.

    "<Oh, I have been expecting him back for a month,>" said Lo 
Zhen with amusement.  "<He has written me regularly during his 
travels.  He looks forward to his challenge with Xian Pu.  I look 
forward to one of my bloodline humbling one of yours, even if he 
is only a male.>"

    Khu Lon chuckled.  "<Xian Pu has grown even stronger in the 
time that she has been in Japan, old rival.  What makes you think 
that the fool has any sort of a chance?>"

    "<You will not be so amused when the boy defeats Xian Pu, 
and claims her as any outsider male could,>" spat Lo Zhen.  "<I 
look forward to your pain when he becomes a part of your family 
line.  It will be a fitting revenge for your stealing my beloved all 
those years ago.>"

    "<Are you _still_ angry over that?,>" asked Khu Lon with a 
small amount of surprise.  <"That was almost three centuries 
ago.>"

    "<Time heals only some wounds, Khu Lon,>" said Lo Zhen 
with a sly smile.  "<However, my anger has cooled on that point 
over the centuries.  I have learned other reasons to hate you over 
time.>"

    "<You always were a poor sport, Lo Zhen,>" said Khu Lon 
with a sad shake of her head.  "<My ascension to rulership of our 
people was decided by the other Elders.  I have led our people well 
since that day.  You would have led us to destruction.>"

    "<At least we would have died with honor,>" said Lo Zhen in a 
low voice.  "<Now look at us.  Your own great-granddaughter 
performs for our conquerors like a trained animal.  We sit in this 
valley, and I feel that we are but a mere shadow of what we once 
were.>"

    "<You had the option of fighting,>" said Khu Lon, in equally 
low tones.  "<You could have joined the Musk Dynasty in their 
foolishness.  Look what it earned them.>"  Khu Lon pointed in the 
direction of where the Musk Dynasty once was.  "<We survived, 
as we always have survived, and as we always _will_ survive.>"

    "<Fighting alongside the Musk Dynasty...,>" murmured Lo 
Zhen with disgust.  "<Now _there_ was a choice.  I find myself 
glad that they are gone, but I still wonder if it was right to let 
them die alone.  Perhaps together, we could have driven the 
invaders out.>"

    "<Surrendering on favorable terms has served us far better than 
fighting would have done,>" said Khu Lon with her eyes turned to 
the east.  "<Our numbers have slowly grown, and we have a place 
of some respect in the Empire.  They leave us alone in our ways, 
and we cause them no trouble.  It has been a fair bargain.>"

    "<Be that as it may, I still look forward to seeing one of my 
descent claiming one of yours,>" said Lo Zhen with a smile.  "<It 
will ease the discomfort of my declining years to watch you 
squirm over having Mu Tsu as a son-in-law.>"

    "<We shall see, Lo Zhen,>" murmured Khu Lon in a mildly 
thoughtful tone as she watched the nearly blind boy finish loading 
the last of the luggage on the truck.   "<We shall see.>"

                    ******************************

    Ranma woke up rather abruptly in the morning when a cold 
bucket of water was poured on his face.  He jerked awake with a 
loud scream.  His hands clutched at his chest.  "YAHH!!!  What'd 
ya do that for?!"

    Tarou smirked.  *This Ranma guy sure doesn't look like much 
for someone who seemed to be giving Shampoo so much trouble.  
What a wimp.  A little cold water never hurt anyone.*  He set the 
bucket down casually.  As the top male fighter in Ranma's age 
category, he had been given instructions by the Arena Master to 
'welcome' Ranma Saotome to the Arena in any way that he saw 
fit.  The only limitation on Tarou's fun was the strict order that 
'the Arena's new addition was not to be seriously damaged in any 
way.'  Tarou saw it as a chance to let Ranma know his place in the 
Arena.  He looked forward to it.

    Ranma relaxed when he realized that he was still male.  *I've 
got to remember that I'm not cursed,* he thought with a shudder.  
He suddenly realized that he wasn't in the infirmary anymore.  
*They must have moved me while I was unconscious.*  His 
injuries didn't seem to hurt much today, so maybe he hadn't been 
beaten as badly as he had feared.

    Ranma was still trying to sort things out when Tarou growled 
in impatience.  The Chinese boy stepped closer to him.  Ranma 
looked up and was surprised at how quickly he recognized the 
other boy.  *Pantyhose?*  Ranma didn't get a chance to pursue 
that thought any further before Tarou reached down and grabbed 
Ranma by the front of his shirt.

    "Come on, new meat," Tarou growled.  "You've had your bath.  
Now it's time for breakfast.  I know that the others must be just 
dying to meet you."  He smirked at Ranma, mistaking his look of 
confusion for fear.  *He _should_ fear me,* thought Tarou with 
supreme confidence.  *The wimp should know his place.*

    "P... pantyhose Tarou?" asked Ranma stupidly.  Tarou released 
his grip on Ranma's shirt, and he lashed out with a backhanded 
fist blow that sent Ranma tumbling to the ground.  Ranma felt a 
surge of pain in his bruised ribs when he hit the floor.  Tarou took 
a single step forward, intending to punish Ranma for calling him 
something so stupid, when he remembered that he wasn't allowed 
to do harm to Ranma in any serious way.  For his part, Ranma felt 
a sudden, strong desire to wipe the floor with the Chinese boy, but 
he realized that he was in no condition to fight... yet.

    "My name is Kibu Tarou," snarled the Chinese boy.  "Call me 
anything else, and I'll rip your lungs out."  He casually walked 
around the cot to Ranma as Ranma ignored the stinging pains in 
his cheek and ribs.  Tarou grabbed the front of Ranma's shirt 
again and hauled him up to his feet with one hand.  "Just think of 
me as God, and we'll get along fine," said Tarou pleasantly, with a 
hint of menace.  "However, you cross me in the slightest way, and 
you _may_ live to regret it."

    "I understand," replied Ranma.  *I understand that you're even 
_more_ of a bastard here, I think.  I swear that I'll make you 
regret this day, Tarou.*  Tarou let go of Ranma's shirt, and 
stepped back from him.  Ranma simply waited.  His mind was 
already assessing his options.  If he could master any of the 
special techniques in the next two weeks, then he planned on 
paying the Chinese boy back in full before he left.

    "Come with me," ordered Tarou.  He turned around and walked 
out of the dormitory room.  After a moment, Ranma sullenly 
followed along behind.  His stomach was crying for food.  He 
needed to build his strength back up before he could do anything 
else.

                    ******************************

    Dr. Tofu entered the infirmary area with a smile on his face.  
He always believed that patients recovered faster if they could tell 
that their doctor cared about them.  It was hard sometimes, but he 
was a dedicated man.  He checked through the patient charts, but 
he looked puzzled when he couldn't find the one he was looking 
for.

    "Nurse?" he called to the young woman seated behind the desk.  
"Where is Saotome's chart?"

    "He was moved out of here early this morning, Dr. Tofu," 
replied the nurse with a bored tone.  "Word came down from 
upstairs that Ranma Saotome was to be placed on a training 
schedule immediately.  Dr. Oniyama gave her permission already.  
The boy has been gone for a couple of hours."

    "Thank you, Nurse," he said with a small note of surprise in his 
voice.  He turned around and walked to his small office.  *Dr. 
Oniyama,* he thought with a frown.  *I should have known that 
she would agree with whatever the Director's office asked.*  Dr. 
Oniyama was the senior doctor on staff, despite her relative youth.  
She was only forty years old, and she was commonly known 
among the younger doctors as 'the Ogre Lady.'

    Dr. Tofu sat down in the chair in his office.  He wondered why 
the Director was so intent on getting Ranma into fighting practice 
so quickly.  *The poor boy's injuries would take at least several 
days or more to heal,* he thought with a puzzled look.  *What 
could the Director be thinking?*

                    ******************************

    Ukyou finished her morning sword exercises with a proud 
flourish.  Her short sword was returned to its sheath, and she 
picked up the next weapon.  The naginata spun easily in her 
hands as she started to run through her kata.  This particular type 
of polearm was one of her favorite weapons, and she swung it 
with a fluid grace.  The forest clearing around her was soothing to 
her as she went through fighting moves that were centuries old.

    She was not so engrossed in her practice that she failed to sense 
the presence in the woods behind her.  She pretended not to notice 
as she continued to slash and thrust with the naginata, allowing 
the presence to draw ever closer.  There was only one person other 
than her grandfather who ever came to this section of the woods.  
She let the intruder approach within striking distance.

    She smiled when she heard the distinctive sound of air rustling 
against cloth rising behind her.  The intruder had taken to the air 
in a long jump at her supposedly unprotected back.  Her ponytail 
bobbed around as she hopped to the left and whirled around.  Her 
naginata came up in a perfect block as the intruder's weapon 
slammed against it.  The two figures remained locked in that pose 
for a moment.

    The intruder was revealed to be Ryoga Hibiki, his distinctive 
bandanna holding back a mop of unruly hair.  A large backpack 
rested on his back, but it did not seem to hinder him in the 
slightest.  His determined expression was matched by one on 
Ukyou's face.  His umbrella and the shaft of her naginata pressed 
against each other as he slowly began to force her to give ground 
though sheer strength.

    "Hibiki-san," said Ukyou with a strained nod.  "It's been a 
while."  Her tone was pleasant, but the determined look on her 
face did not go away.  The soles of her shoes were leaving shallow 
furrows as Ryoga muscled her back.

    "Kuonji-san," replied Ryoga with a nod of his own.  "It looks 
like I get to settle things with you sooner than I hoped.  I'm ready 
to finish our fight now."

    Ukyou whipped the shaft of her naginata free, and Ryoga 
attacked again with his umbrella.  The stillness of the forest was 
only broken by that clash of their weapons.  Her longer weapon 
was proving to be a disadvantage at such close range, and she 
managed to avoid getting hit by the slimmest of margins.  She 
eyed the small pile of weapons that she had brought to her 
practice site for a moment as they circled around each other.

    Ukyou leaped backwards in a smooth somersault to put some 
range between her and Ryoga.  *He's gotten better in the last 
month,* she thought as she eyed her opponent.  *However, I've 
gotten better too.*  She forced Ryoga to stay at range as the blade 
of her weapon slashed at him.

    Ryoga came leaping in as Ukyou dropped her naginata to grab 
up a pair of cleaver-like short swords, or Butterfly Knives as they 
were known.  She blocked his strikes in midair with the small 
swords as she leaped clear of her weapon pile.  She almost flew 
over his head and landed gracefully on her feet about ten feet 
away.  She stuck her tongue out at him playfully.

    "Why, you...," growled Ryoga as he charged her once more.  
His umbrella strikes blurred by her head and body as she dodged 
and blocked with her blades.  She was supple grace and strength 
combined into one as she evaded his attacks like water.  Ryoga 
was growing frustrated.  "Stand still and fight like a man!"

    "What was that?" asked Ukyou, somewhat angrily, in the 
middle of another leap.  The amused look on her face had grown 
irritated.  She began going on the offensive.  Ryoga ducked under 
one of her swings, but a lock of his hair didn't quite make it.  It 
fell to the ground, unnoticed by both combatants.

    "If you're going to dress like a man, then you should fight like a 
man," said Ryoga tauntingly.  Ukyou's fist, weighted by the 
pommel of her weapon, slammed into his jaw.  Her following 
strike was a kick to his chest.  He blinked at the pain, but didn't 
seem much affected otherwise.  "Did I touch a nerve, ninja girl?"

    Ukyou growled and redoubled her efforts to attack.  Now it was 
Ryoga who was doing most of the blocking and dodging as edged 
steel slashed and thrust at him.  He managed to slow up her 
assault a bit with a couple of strikes that managed to connect, but 
they were off-center.  Ukyou shrugged off the pain.  *The nerve of 
this... this jackass!  Making fun of my femininity like that.*

    He managed to disarm her of one of her blades with a powerful 
strike of his umbrella.  It flew off and embedded itself deeply into 
a nearby tree.  Ryoga smirked at her.  She leaped up and kicked 
him in the face for the smirk.  Ryoga stumbled back, and his eyes 
crossed for a moment.  Ukyou knocked the umbrella out of his 
hand with a kick.

    Ryoga backed off, and she eyed him for a moment with a 
sudden smile.  She stepped over his umbrella, and blocked his 
path to it.  Ukyou smirked and tossed her remaining blade aside.  
"I don't need a weapon to beat you," she said with a grin.

    "Come on and try it," said Ryoga with a serious look.  He 
gestured for her to come forward with one hand.

    They leaped at each other in a blur of fists and feet.  Ryoga's 
superior strength was nullified by Ukyou's greater speed and 
ability to dodge.  He shrugged off most of her blows, but none of 
his strikes managed to touch her.  Her punches slipped by his 
guard, but Ukyou had to settle for trying to wear him down rather 
than a single knockout punch.

    The sound of a pair of hands clapping stopped them both in 
mid-struggle.  They were both so startled to find that they had an 
audience that neither of them took advantage of the other's 
distraction.  Ryoga noticed that he had the collar of Ukyou's tunic 
held tightly in his fist.  He quickly let go; a brief blush was on his 
face.  Ukyou didn't appear to notice.

    "That was a magnificent display, children," said the elderly 
man that seemed to materialize from out of the nearby edge of the 
forest.  His monk's robes whispered as he stepped closer and a 
faint twinkle was in his ancient eyes.  "I see that you have done 
some improving since I last saw you, Ryoga Hibiki.  You do your 
family proud."

    "Grandfather Kuonji," said Ukyou with some surprise.  "What 
brings you out this far into the forest?"

    "Just enjoying a walk among the wonders of nature," replied 
the elderly man with a smile.  He looked at Ryoga.  "What brings 
one of the wandering Hibikis to this area of the mountains?  I 
think it's been at least a month since your last visit, young Ryoga."

    "My guess is that the idiot has been practicing again up in the 
mountains, and wandered here by mistake," said Ukyou.  She 
smiled at Ryoga when he looked at her with a growl.  "Am I 
wrong?"

    The elderly Kuonji stepped between then before it got violent 
again.  "Don't tease the boy, Ukyou," he said reprovingly.  "The 
Hibiki's have been our allies for over two centuries.  You two 
should try to get along better."

    "Yes, Grandfather," said Ukyou with her head bowed.  A 
moment later her head snapped back up.  "He started it though.  
He jumped at me from the trees."

    "You're the one that's always bragging about what a great ninja 
warrior you are," growled Ryoga.  He pointed his thumb at his 
chest.  "I know for a fact that I'm more than a match for you, 
Kuonji.  I just thought I'd prove it to you.  If you're so great, then 
how did I manage to sneak up on you?"

    "What was that, you jackass?" snarled Ukyou right back.  "I can 
take you in a fight any day of the week!"  She poked her finger 
against Ryoga's chest.  "For your information, I _let_ you get that 
close to me.  The way that you stomp around, I'm surprised that 
you can sneak up on anybody.  Some great martial artist you are."

    "Children," said Grandfather Kuonji sternly.  They both looked 
at him guiltily.  He eyed them both, and the two of them wouldn't 
meet his eyes.  He sighed.  *I wish I knew why these two felt it to 
be so necessary to antagonize each other.  It's like watching some 
married couple squabble.*

    "You should be getting back to the house soon, Ukyou," said 
Grandfather Kuonji.  "Your parents are probably wondering 
where you are.  After all, you have a train to catch."

    "Ack!" she exclaimed.  "That's right!  I have to get going."  In a 
blur of motion, Ukyou gathered up all of her weapons, bundled 
them up, and sprinted down the road in the direction of the house.  
Ryoga watched her go with a surprised look on his face.  
Grandfather Kuonji studied Ryoga with a slight smile.

    "Walk with me, Ryoga?" asked the elderly Kuonji.  Ryoga 
shrugged and picked up his umbrella.  They walked out into the 
forest on one of the small trails.  It was quite peaceful.

    "Where is she off to in such a hurry?" asked Ryoga.

    "She's going to meet her potential new fianc�," replied 
Grandfather Kuonji.  "A promising young man named Ranma 
Saotome.  He lives in the capital."  He turned away to watch the 
wind blowing gently through the tree branches above.

    "She's... she's what?" stuttered Ryoga.  He stopped walking and 
looked surprised.

    "She's meeting her new fianc�, if everything goes right that is," 
said the elderly man.  "She has expressed some doubts about it, 
but she's going out of family obligation."  A very loud crashing 
sound started behind him and immediately began receding into 
the distance.  He turned around to find that Ryoga wasn't there 
anymore.  A meandering line of broken trees went off into the 
distance.  It looked like it was curving in the opposite direction 
from the Kuonji shrine.

    "Such a strange boy," he muttered to no one in particular.  He 
smiled as he looked once more up into the trees.  *I wonder how 
long it will take him to get to the capital?*

                    ******************************

    Shampoo ate her breakfast slowly.  The food was actually quite 
tasty, but she didn't seem to have much appetite.  She watched 
Running Deer consuming her food with gusto.  Her friend loved 
meal times, and always ate as much as she could.  She never 
seemed to gain an ounce of fat on her body though.  Shampoo 
continued to pick at her food.

    "What's the matter, Shampoo?" asked Running Deer as she 
paused in her eating.

    "Shampoo not sure," replied the Amazon.  "Shampoo maybe 
feel guilty still."

    "Hey, no need for any of that," said Running Deer.  "I'm fine, 
and I'm sure that Ranma's fine too.  In fact..."  Running Deer 
paused and looked over Shampoo's shoulder.  "Well, I'll be....  
Look who's up and walking around, Shampoo."

    Shampoo turned around and saw Ranma come into the mess 
hall area behind Tarou.  He looked beaten up and seemed to favor 
his side a little.  Shampoo had thought that she'd nearly killed 
him.  To see him up and moving so well was a great relief to her.  
Their eyes met for a moment.  Ranma gave a slight nod of 
acknowledgment in her direction.

    "You see, Shampoo?" asked Running Deer behind her.  
"Ranma looks like he'll be just fine in a few days.  Maybe you 
should go over and say hello."

    "Shampoo no think so," she said.  She attacked her breakfast 
with new vigor.  Running Deer raised one eyebrow slightly, but let 
the matter pass.

                    ******************************

    Mina Li watched the new arrival with a calculating look.  She 
examined how he carried himself.  He was injured and in some 
pain from his wounds, but he moved with surprising grace.  *He's 
actually pretty handsome,* thought Mina grudgingly.  *I wonder 
how he would be in bed?*

    She happened to glance over and saw the brief look that he 
exchanged with Shampoo.  The look in Shampoo's eyes was most 
revealing to her.  *Interesting,* she thought with a smile.  *This 
Ranma fellow could prove useful in _many_ ways.  I had no idea 
that Shampoo might find him of interest.*  She tapped her finger 
on the table as she pondered her options.  Her smile grew broader.

    *Perhaps I could seduce him and tell Shampoo all about it.  She 
might not care, but on the other hand, she might.  It would also 
certainly serve Tarou right for his treatment of me the other day as 
well.  Who did he think he was fooling?*  She knew full well that 
he had an interest in the Amazon, but it amused her to let him 
think that he was fooling her.  When Tarou ceased to be amusing 
to her, then she might simply snap his neck after one of their 
sessions.  It was one of the few moments that he let his guard 
down around her.

                    ******************************

    Ranma eyed the people in the room.  Most had turned to look at 
him when he first walked in with Tarou.  A few had smiled, in a 
grim sort of way, most likely at seeing an Imperial Citizen 
brought down to their level.  Shampoo had met his eyes briefly, 
but she had turned away.  The tall girl seated next to Shampoo 
had continued to eye him for a few moments longer, but her 
expression had been neutral.

    A few of the people in the room, both male and female, 
watched him with angry eyes.  Ranma made a mental note of the 
faces.  He wanted to avoid as much contact as possible with these 
people until he could get himself out of here.  He made a second 
note to watch his back.  He didn't seem to have any friends here.  
It was a disturbing situation, and it reminded him of the one 
prison that he had visited with his father during their travels.  The 
inmates had given them the same sort of animal-like looks.

    "Attention everyone!" announced Tarou in a booming voice.  
His usual smirk was back on his face.  "We find ourselves honored 
today with the presence of an Imperial Citizen.  I want everyone 
to make him feel... welcome... during his time with us.  I'm sure 
that he's eager to join our collection of warriors."

    Ranma wasn't sure what to do, so he just stood there.  He spied 
one person seated over in the corner who hadn't appeared to pay 
much attention to his arrival.  His back was to Ranma, and he 
seemed to be engrossed in eating his meal.  A few bruises and 
other minor injuries were visible on his arms.  Tarou noted the 
direction that Ranma was looking and smiled.

    "Ah," he said grandly to Ranma.  "I see that you've noticed our 
other representative of Imperial Citizenhood.  Let me take you 
over and introduce you."

    "No need to trouble yourself," said Ranma mildly.  "I just want 
to have something to eat."  He turned to pick up a tray.

    Tarou frowned and grabbed Ranma by one arm in a strong grip.

    "I insist," Tarou said coldly.  Ranma set the tray back down and 
let himself be led over.

    The boy stopped eating when their footsteps got closer.  He 
seemed to be Ranma's age, and he even had a build similar to his 
own.  The boy's brown eyes watched Tarou warily as they got 
closer.  His black hair was brushed back into a short, braided 
ponytail.  He was wearing an outfit that consisted of a white 
karate gi with the sleeves removed, and a pair of black pants.  His 
face had several bruises on it.  A few of them looked recent.

    "Ranma Saotome," said Tarou with a flourishing gesture as he 
pointed at the other boy.  "Allow me to present Ryuu Kumon.  He 
is our other example of what happens when one of you Imperials 
tries to defeat the Amazon princess over there."  Tarou laughed.  
Ryuu seemed to be trying to ignore Tarou.

    "Hello, Kumon-san," said Ranma with a slight bow.  Ryuu 
flicked his eyes at Ranma, but made no other acknowledgment 
that he had even heard Ranma.  Ranma could sense rage bubbling 
beneath the surface of the boy.

    "It appears that your countryman is not in a talkative mood, 
Saotome," said Tarou with an unfriendly tone.  "I may have to 
speak with him on this later."  The Chinese boy seemed to take a 
measure of pleasure in the brief look of fear that Ryuu allowed to 
appear on his face.  With another smirk, Tarou dragged Ranma 
back to the food line.

                    ******************************

    Ryuu balled his right hand into a fist under the table.  His mind 
focused on the name that he had heard.  It was one of the very last 
names that he had ever expected to hear in a place like this.  A 
place that the path of his life had led him to, because of the man 
who had destroyed his father.  He could feel the old anger as it 
began bubbling up within him.  *Ranma Saotome,* he thought 
with a frown.  *I have to determine if you're the son of the man I 
hate.  If you are Genma's son, then I will destroy your life as your 
father destroyed mine.*

                    ******************************

    After breakfast was over, Ranma was escorted to the main 
exercise area by Tarou.  It was a large room that was spartan in its 
design.  Various young men and women were sparring, and others 
were working out with various weight machines.  More people 
filed in as Ranma glanced around the room.  They gave him a few 
disinterested looks.

    "Here is where I leave you, Citizen boy," said Tarou with his 
usual smirk on his face.  "You should be able to find your way 
well enough from here.  I look forward to a day when we meet in 
the Arena.  I always enjoy beating on a weaker opponent."  Tarou 
laughed at his own joke and then turned and walked away.  As he 
left, Ranma glared at the Chinese boy's back.  He forced his anger 
back under control and let it strengthen him.

    *I can get through this,* he thought as he calmed himself.  
*I'm Ranma Saotome, and I'm the heir to the Anything-Goes 
School of Martial Arts.  I have two weeks to train and improve 
before my rematch with Shampoo.  I'd better get started.*

                    ******************************

    Ukyou stared out the window of the train.  Her chin rested in 
the palm of one hand as she leaned against the frame of the 
window.  *I wonder what sort of guy this Ranma person is?  Dad 
hasn't told me much about him other than that he's supposed to be 
a brilliant scholar.*  She plucked at the cloth of her yukata.  Her 
mother had insisted that she show up dressed in traditional garb.  
Ukyou was armed with only a few shurikens and her war fan at 
the moment.  Her mother hadn't wanted to shock the Saotome 
family, so she had purposely gone lighter than her usual amount 
of weapons.

    Ukyou glanced at her mother.  She was doing needlepoint as 
their train zipped across the countryside.  Her skilled hands didn't 
miss a single stitch as they moved.  Ukyou's own brief attempt at 
needlepoint sat in her lap, mostly unfinished.  She had accidently 
sewn it to her yukata twice now.  It wasn't very much fun doing all 
these traditional feminine things.  She would much rather have 
spent her time practicing her martial arts.

    Her father was reading one of the financial newspapers.  Ukyou 
hadn't seen him poke his head out from behind it ever since the 
train had started moving.  He occasionally turned the page and 
hummed at something or other that he saw.

    *I can hardly wait until this is all over,* Ukyou thought as she 
turned her face to look out the window once more.  *I doubt that 
this Ranma guy will be very interesting.  How exciting could it be 
to be married to some scholar?  He probably doesn't even know 
how to defend himself.*

                    ******************************

    Nodoka scurried all over the house to get everything ready for 
the arrival of their guests.  The activity had helped to keep her 
mind off of thoughts about her son.  Genma had left in the 
morning to pick up some of Ranma's things from the Academy.  
He had returned a little later with a box and some papers.  He had 
taken both into his workroom, and had requested that she not 
disturb him until the Kuonji family arrived.

    *First my son becomes all mysterious on me, and now my 
husband does too.  It's enough to drive me to distraction.*

                    ******************************

    Ranma stared at the papers in front of him.  The symbols and 
formulae were written in his handwriting, but they didn't make as 
much sense to him today as they had yesterday.  It was a rather 
frustrating feeling.  It had been a couple of days since his last 
blackout experience, and it had left him more changed than any 
previous ones.  The world had seemed to become a much bigger 
place.  The only comparison that he could make was that it was 
like he had been blind, and then he was given sight.

    That perfect clarity of vision that he had had for that first day, 
after his long blackout, hadn't lasted for long.  It was like his 
brain couldn't hold on to everything.  The perfect clarity had given 
way to mild color-blindness that had grown steadily more severe.  
It had stopped after a time, and he still knew much more than he 
had before.  However, it had been glorious for the brief time that 
he had understood it all.  Now, he could grasp basic concepts and 
remember most of it, but the deeper meanings escaped him.

    He hadn't wanted to let anyone know how much the blackouts 
had bothered him, since it made him feel weak to admit to having 
a problem that he couldn't deal with himself.  He had simply acted 
as if nothing was wrong, and everyone around him had let the 
matter drop.  Akane still seemed to suspect that something was 
wrong, but he couldn't even explain it to her.  How do you explain 
that you were possessed by another version of yourself?

    Most of his new knowledge had seemed to be in the sciences.  
Ranma had spent as much time as he could yesterday trying to 
figure out what the equations in his head might have meant.  He 
had researched quantum theory, and such ideas as the vibrations 
of superstrings in n-dimensional space.  Each new book had 
opened a new door in his mind, and he had forgotten his worries 
about how he knew what he did.  The thrill of discovery had given 
him a sense of satisfaction that only martial arts had before.

    It hadn't lasted.  He still spoke nearly-perfect English, and he 
could answer any problem in his classes that didn't involve a 
knowledge of history.  However, the math that explained how his 
other self had crossed over into his life was now beyond him.  The 
schematics for the device, the Quantum Neural Resonator, had 
been one of the first things that he had forgotten.  He should have 
written it down, but he hadn't realized that so much of his new 
knowledge would be so temporary.

    Ranma sat in the school library and found himself wondering 
what had been happening to his other self.  He had been surprised 
when he had remembered images of Akane and Nabiki as they 
were in that life.  *That Akane is like some warped reflection of 
the one that I know,* he thought with a frown.  *Nabiki is even 
worse.  I don't blame him for wanting to see how his life could 
have been different.*

    Ranma looked at the book in front of him, and found himself 
smiling a little.  School had been made a lot easier for the price of 
a few blackouts.  *He left me with much of what he had learned 
over his life.  I wonder what he might have taken from my life?*

    Ranma turned and looked out the nearby window.  It gave back 
a shadowy reflection of himself.  It was somehow comforting to 
know that no matter how bad things might get in his own life, 
there were millions of other Ranmas that were living lives of their 
own.  Each one different.  Some were better, and some were 
worse.

                    ******************************

    Ranma set down the small soldering iron.  He rolled his head 
from side to side to work out the kinks in his neck.  A couple of 
loud pops were heard.  He glanced at the door of his cell.  He 
hadn't heard the guard outside his cell for a little while.  It was 
almost too quiet.

    *If I can just have a few minutes more, then I should be able to 
leave this life behind.*  Ranma had suspected from the urgency of 
his interrogation that the Security Directorate was frightened of 
something that had to do with his father's technology.  He also 
was reasonably sure that his father was dead, and possibly his 
mother as well.  He couldn't help them, but he could use his 
genius to keep them from having access to this technology.

    He had made his choice after recovering from the drugs that 
Kasumi had pumped him full of.  He had spent an hour throwing 
up his guts and cursing the Tendo family name.  Akane had been 
next to try her hand at getting his cooperation, and Nabiki had 
decided to help her.  After enduring the non-existent mercies of 
Soun Tendo's three psychotic daughters, he had decided to escape 
in the only way that they had left him other than suicide.  He 
simply had to succeed in doing what they wanted just long enough 
to take it away.

    He powered on the small computer that he had wired to the 
Resonator case.  The small screen lit up, and it began to run 
through its initialization sequence.  Ranma let it run, praying that 
the monitor on his cell had been disabled sufficiently by his 
efforts.  He glanced up at it.  The small camera and sensor unit 
had a small box sitting next to it.  Ranma had put it together with 
some of the spare parts.  With a little luck, it was still feeding a 
video loop of his activities from ten minutes ago.

    The final stage of initialization began.  He hoped that he had 
gotten the programming correct.  His father's notes had been 
vague on the electronic control sequences, so he had made his best 
guesses as to the needed input parameters.  He looked at the line 
on the screen.

*SELECT QUANTUM BAND FOR SCAN:

    Ranma tapped in a pair of digits.  As far as he could tell 
without tests, it was the maximum range of his system.  The 
screen printed out the next line of the sequence.

*SET TIME DURATION FOR TEST:

    Ranma had no plans to ever return.  The small bomb that he 
had made was hooked up to the computer with a separate thirty 
second timer.  It would start counting down once the transfer 
sequence was complete.  He had made it from one of the spare 
capacitors for his equipment, and it should start an electrical fire 
sufficient to destroy all of the equipment on the table.  His father's 
legacy would be safe, and all that would be left would be his own 
empty shell.

*SET TIME DURATION FOR TEST:  1.00 MINUTE

    If nothing happened one minute after transfer, then he would 
consider himself safe.  As a secondary backup, should the bomb 
prove insufficient, the system would short itself out when it began 
the recall sequence.  Ranma expected to be either safe or dead in 
the next couple of minutes.  Anything was better than giving the 
fruits of his father's efforts to a madman like Soun Tendo.

    The final sequence printed out on the screen.

*WAITING FOR SIGNAL FROM NEURAL HEADSET

                    ******************************

    Nabiki entered the control room, and glanced at the monitor to 
Ranma's cell.  She saw nothing out of the ordinary as she 
massaged the knuckles of her hand.  She had gotten overzealous 
during the interrogation and bruised her hand.  She noticed a 
flickering on the monitor.  The guard assigned to watch the 
monitors hadn't noticed.  She bent down and watched the 
sequence of events.

    Ranma had his back to the monitor, and he was working on 
something on the table.  His body was blocking the exact sequence 
of movements.  Nothing looked out of the ordinary.  He had 
proven to be quite cooperative after the events of yesterday had 
concluded.  Nabiki smirked.  Her smirk faded when the monitor 
flickered once more, almost thirty seconds after the last one.  It 
was subtle, but Ranma's position had jerked slightly.  Nabiki 
frowned as she realized what was going on.

    She ran for Ranma's cell, all the while yelling for the guard on 
watch.  She had just reached it when there was a loud bang from 
inside the cell.  Nabiki looked through the small window and saw 
a billowing cloud of smoke rising from the small table.  Flames 
were licking away at the wood of the table, and she saw the 
precious notebook with Ranma's solutions to Genma Saotome's 
equations vanish in a ball of fire.  The pile of equipment on the 
table was smoking, and Nabiki was certain that the guts of the 
device had been rendered useless.

    Her father had been so confident in his control of Ranma that 
he had not bothered to make copies of Ranma's notes.  The 
original notebook was safe, but the genius needed to unlock its 
tantalizing secrets had just committed suicide.  Nabiki watched 
the smoke billow up from the table, obscuring Ranma.  For a 
moment, through the smoke, she was sure that he was smiling.

                    ******************************

    Ranma let out the breath that he had been holding.  The time 
for recall had come and gone, and he was still here.  He glanced 
out the window, and saw a strange flag flying on the school 
flagpole.  It had six white stripes, seven red stripes, and a large 
blue area in the top left corner with many small white stars.  He 
smiled at it.

    A flood of memories filled his mind.  In this world, the Empire 
never came to be.  He wasn't even in the islands of Japan.  He was 
in a country called the United States, where the Saotome family 
had emigrated to over a century ago.  He was still named Ranma 
Saotome, and he was a high school student.  His father ran a small 
Kempo school in town.  Ranma was the star student, along with 
his younger sister Ranko.  His mother had met his father when he 
had spent a year in Japan during college.

    He felt a little guilty about usurping the life of another Ranma, 
but that person was still there.  As time went on, more and more 
memories from this new life would mix with the memories of his 
old life.  Eventually, he would be a new person entirely.  Not the 
Ranma of this timeline, and not the Ranma of his old timeline.  
He would simply be Ranma, a fusion of two lives.  He made a 
silent vow to live that life to the best of his abilities.

                    ******************************

    Ranma worked his body as hard as he was able to.  The pain of 
his injuries had forced him to move more carefully.  He closed his 
eyes and went through the motions of a basic kata.  After he had 
completed a cycle, he began a new one and added new elements to 
his movements.  The kata became more and more complex.  If he 
missed a motion, he would pause and begin the current cycle of 
movements again from the beginning.  It became a little easier to 
move as his body loosened up.

                    ******************************

    Shampoo entered the workout room dressed in one of her silk 
fighting outfits.  It was one of her older ones.  Despite having 
been let out twice, it was still a little snug in the chest.  It was 
quite comfortable to her otherwise.  The outfit was a short-skirted 
and short-sleeved dress in light purple.  A pair of soft shoes were 
on her feet.  She liked it because it gave her complete freedom of 
movement.

    She went to her usual area of the large sparring mat, and she 
began to do a slow stretching routine.  Several of the male fighters 
paused in what they were doing to watch the lithe Amazon flex 
and stretch.  The majority of the female fighters made a large 
pretense of ignoring Shampoo.  Shampoo either didn't notice or 
didn't seem to care what her fellow fighters thought of her.  She 
concentrated on limbering up every muscle for her usual intensive 
practice.

    She stood back up with a graceful move.  The bruises from her 
fights the previous day were already fading, and she felt limber 
enough for her full workout.  She walked over to one of the heavy 
bags hanging from thick chains, and she began to do kicking 
practice.  Each kick was textbook perfect, and the bag jolted with 
each strike.  After a hundred strikes, she shifted her feet and did 
another hundred with the other leg.

    Several hundred kicks later, Shampoo shifted to punches.  It 
felt good to unload her anger against an unfeeling object.  She put 
more and more energy behind her punches.  Each fist strike 
landed in the precise same point.  After a few hundred strikes with 
each hand, she paused to wipe some sweat from her brow.

    "If you're done abusing that bag, we could do some sparring," 
she heard Running Deer say behind her.

    Shampoo turned around, a smile on her face.  "Ok," she said.

                    ******************************

    Ranma opened his eyes to see Shampoo and another girl doing 
some sparring practice on the other side of the room.  He studied 
Shampoo's movements carefully, and he began to get a feel for her 
patterns of movement.  It wasn't anything conscious on his part, 
and he chalked it up to the fighting skills of the other Ranma.  He 
could tell that her style was strongly kung fu based, but with an 
even mix of circular and linear elements.

    Ranma found himself in a unique perspective.  He had an 
intellectual appreciation for the physics of her movements from 
his own scientific background.  He also had an unspoken intuition 
forming in the back of his mind about _how_ she was going to 
move at any given moment, but a moment before Shampoo 
actually made the movement.  *So that's the secret,* he realized 
with a smile.  *Don't think.  Trust instinct, and act on it.*

    That had been his mistake.  He had been trying to think and 
reason, and a combat situation went too quickly for something as 
slow as logical thought.  *It is all a question of speed and intuitive 
movement.  The way of the true martial artist is something to be 
lived, not something to be learned.*  Ranma smiled.  It was all so 
simple in concept.  He wondered why he hadn't seen it before.

    Ranma closed his eyes once more.  He began his exercises 
again, but this time there was a difference.  Instead of trying to 
follow patterns of movement that he saw in his head, Ranma 
emptied his mind.  He allowed himself to simply be, instead of 
trying to do.  He began the kata again, but this time there was no 
pattern to his movements.

                    ******************************

    Mina had been watching Ranma as he went through his first set 
of katas.  His kata patterns were easy to predict, even when he had 
added the advanced movements.  In a straight fight, there wasn't 
anything that he could do that would catch her by surprise.  *No 
wonder he was beaten by Shampoo.  I'm surprised that he lasted 
as long as he did.*

    Mina began doing her own workout routine.  She loved to feel 
her body move through the patterns of her Tae Kwon Do routines.  
It made her feel free.  As she moved, she fantasized about some of 
the glorious battles that she had had in the past.  She shifted her 
practice to freestyle movements and imagined herself fighting a 
phantom opponent.

    She took a brief break in her exercises, and she noticed that 
Ranma had paused.  She glanced over in the direction where he 
was looking and frowned.  He was watching Shampoo.  She 
frowned when she saw his face break out in a smile.  *What is it 
with that Amazon that every man finds her to be so _damn_ 
attractive?  Even after she almost killed him, he _still_ looks at 
her that way.  I'm twice the woman that Shampoo is, but I don't 
see him looking at _me_ that way.  Damn him!*

                    ******************************

    Shampoo paused in her own practice with Running Deer when 
she noticed something different about Ranma when he started his 
second set of exercises.  His first exercises had been hesitant and 
more easy to read.  Even accounting for his injuries, he should 
have moved more smoothly than he had been.  Last night he had 
moved the same way, almost right but not quite as flowing as the 
moves should be.

    What caught her attention was the faint nimbus of bluish light 
that hovered on the edge of her perception around Ranma during 
his second set.  It wasn't a full power ki aura, but even at full 
power most people weren't aware enough to ever notice one.  
Shampoo had been taught the trick of seeing them when she was a 
young child.  *I wonder why he didn't do this yesterday?*

    "Why are you smiling, Shampoo?" asked Running Deer.  The 
Apache girl looked over where Shampoo was looking.  All she 
saw was Ranma doing some form of unstructured kata.  It was 
interesting to watch, but Shampoo looked like she was seeing 
something else.

    "Huh?" Shampoo replied after a moment.  She looked at 
Running Deer with an embarrassed smile.  "Shampoo sorry.  
Shampoo thought she saw something about Ranma."

    Running Deer smiled.  "It was his butt.  Right?  I noticed it too. 
Kind of cute, but a little too tight for my taste."

    Shampoo looked disconcerted.  "That not what Shampoo looking at!"

    Running Deer looked back over at Ranma.  The Japanese boy 
was leaning against the wall, and he looked tired.  "I'm surprised 
that he had the strength to walk around today," she said in a more 
casual tone.  "His endurance must be considerable."

    Shampoo nodded, but her thoughts were troubled.  Raising an 
aura of ki was an advanced ability, drawn from the inner essence 
of a warrior.  It was the sign of a great fighter, and could allow a 
warrior to do things that most people would call impossible.  That 
Ranma had been able to summon one, and hold it in his weakened 
condition, was a sign of great inner strength.  Shampoo decided 
that she should watch Ranma more closely.

    *There's more to him than I thought,* she thought with a slight 
smile.  *Can you defeat me, Ranma?  Do you have the strength?*

                    ******************************

    Ranma leaned against the wall and took in several gasping 
breaths.  *I'm pushing myself too hard,* he thought with a 
grimace.  *I need to give myself time to heal.*  He settled down 
into a seated position with his back to the wall.  He noticed that 
Shampoo and an attractive taller girl were both watching him.  He 
smiled at them after they turned their attentions away from him.

    He raised his hand to look at it.  During his exercises he had 
felt something happen.  It was a feeling that had come over him, 
like a rush of warmth over his entire body.  It had seemed to arise 
from within him, and it felt a little like what had happened to him 
last night.  It had only lasted less than a minute or so this time.  
He tried to bring it forth again in his hand, but nothing happened.

    Ranma leaned his head back against the wall.  Whatever that 
feeling had been, it apparently was beyond his control.  He had 
felt drained of strength when it faded, but the pains of his injuries 
seemed less.  *Is this the power of ki that I'm experiencing?* he 
wondered as he made a fist with his hand.  *Is something from the 
other Ranma awakening inside me?  I must learn to control it.  I 
don't have much time before I must face Shampoo again.  I have 
to defeat her.*

                    ******************************

    Ryoga ran through the forests.  He cursed himself for running 
off without thinking.  He had been lost in the woods for most of 
the morning.  Every tree looked alike.  His face was set in a 
determined look.  *Where the hell am I now?!* he thought as he 
came to a stop.  He was on the edge of a roadway.  No signs were 
visible, so he decided to pick a direction at random.

    "Let's see...," he wondered aloud.  "Tokyo is on the eastern side 
of the island, so I just have to go in the direction of sunset, or is 
that sunrise?  Argh!  I can't remember!"  He looked at the sun 
directly overhead.  He looked at the road in front of him.  He had 
to pick a direction.

    Ryoga turned to the left and began to run down the road.  
*Don't worry, Ukyou,* he thought with a serious look.  *I'll put a 
stop to this travesty.  I won't let you be forced into a loveless 
relationship.  I just have to find this guy, Ranma Saotome.  I'll 
make him give you up.*