<Music is playing in the background.>
<A dark-cloaked, shorouded figure sits at a computer terminal.>
<The Author's Avatar speaks.>

   Once upon a time, there was a Far Side cartoon. Two panels. On one side
an elevator among the clouds, marked 'UP'. Before it, an angel greeted the
newly arrived. The caption was: "Welcome to Heaven. Here's your harp."
On the other side, an elevator among the flames, marked 'DOWN'. Before it
a devil gleefully prodded the newly damned. The caption was: "Welcome to Hell.
Here's your Accordion."

   Let me give you a hint. The music in the background is _not_ played on a
harp.

   Please note that a lot of this piece is talking heads, giving the
details on
Magic and ki powers and such in this fic. There's some action at the end,
and I tried to break it up a little, but ....
C&C anyway, please. I can't tell how well I did unless someone lets me know.


Disclaimer: The playground is by Rumiko Takahashi, I'm only swinging on
the monkey bars.  Remember to leave the grounds cleaner than you found 
them and please don't feed the Troll.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ranma and Akane: A Love Story
Chapter 3: The Third Day
Part D: Pursuit to Destruction: East Wind, Rain.

   Tendo Akane circled, frustratedly. It wasn't so much that her sensei,
Ranma, was better than her. One _expects_ one's sensei to be better, 
after all. It wasn't that she could not come close to beating Ranma,
either. She had received a demonstration of just exactly how good Ranma
was earlier that day, in the terror and exhilaration of the attack by
the monster Ranma had called Jei. It wasn't, even, that she was getting
thumped. No, the reason was, she knew she could do better, but she
couldn't even make Ranma block her attacks. Frustrating.

   Akane narrowed her eyes and launched a series of feints, testing the
extent of Ranma's defense. She detected a pattern (she knew that Ranma
was purposefully allowing it, but that wasn't the point) and moved to 
engage it, only to find herself upended before her last feint had been 
launched. Akane *whuffed* as she hit the floor on her back and rolled
upright, then sagged as she saw Ranma's upraised hand.

   "Hold up, Acchan, this isn't working."

   Akane nodded glumly, "I'm sorry, Ranchan, I just can't seem ...."

   "No ... no I don't think it's you. I think I'm trying to tell you to
do something that's wrong for your inherent style."

   "inherent style, Ranchan? What's that?"

   "That's the ... the style of action, call it, that you are most 
capable of. The one you go back to if you're pushed, if you see what I
mean." Akane nodded and Ranma continued. "I was thinking that your
style was Water, and that you were Malleable; but now I think that you 
must be a Fire stylist instead, and Static besides."

   "Is that bad?" Akane asked worriedly.

   "No, the styles are equal if you know what you're doing. It's just
that _I'm_ a Malleable and I'm not absolutely sure what the priorities
are for a Static form."

   "Malleable? Static? I don't understand, Ranchan."

   Ranma appeared not to hear, pacing back and forth with her arms 
clasped behind her, looking at the ground, and muttering. She paced and
muttered for five minutes or so before Akane asked again, "Ranchan?"

   Ranma started. "Uh! I'm sorry, Acchan. Did you say something?"

   "What is Malleable, Ranchan? Or Static?"

   Ranma had the grace to blush. "Errr. Hehehe. Malleable is .... Umm.
Okay. Let's start from the beginning, shall we?" Ranma sank into seiza,
putting her back to the dojo wall and indicating that Akane should do
likewise. Akane chose a spot within arms reach of Ranma and likewise
sat. Ranma cleared her throat, and bean to speak. "Okay, Acchan, let's
categorize fighting styles for a moment here. First, there are two
primary divisions between types of styles. Now a particular person's
style will rarely if ever fall absolutely into a single category, 
alright? But certain factors will predominate. The first factor has to
do with whether your style relies on perfecting a certain set of moves,
such that ... okay, let's say that you can do a particular punch. Say 
that you can do an eagle-claw to the upper body. Now, if you perform 
that move the same way against every opponent you face, and only change 
the target you aim it at, say, then you are being Static. If you vary 
the _way_ you perform the attack, change it to fit your particular 
opponent with every fight -- sometimes go in from underneath, say, or 
put power into the strike at a different point each time -- then you 
are being Malleable. With me so far?"

   Akane nodded with the beginnings of understanding on her face.

   "Okay, now, there are four main classifications of methods; what are
called the Classical Styles. That is Earth, Air, Fire and Water. And
Void, but that's a special case. Each classical style is marked by
its own particular approach to opposition, and that implies that each
style moves in a particular way and chooses attacks and defenses by a
particular method. Earth is unsubtle -- it relies on its power and 
resilience to either put its opposition in an untenable position and
smash it, or simply to wear it down by attrition. Water is gradual --
it takes its time and flows through its opposition, finding weak points 
or creating them by erosion, and then building strength to exploit them. 
Air is indirect -- it stays out of the way and draws its opposition into
making a mistake, or simply overextends it by forcing it to cover more
than it has resources for. Fire, lastly, is focused -- it gathers all 
its strength into a single burst that cannot be withstood. Now, most 
people, of course, don't follow a single style alone, just as the 
differences between Malleable and Static get a bit blurred in real life; 
but the differences are real, regardless, and you need to respect them."

   Akane nodded again. "You're an Air stylist, aren't you."

   Ranma nodded in her turn. "Mostly, yes. Now the _other_ thing to 
remember is that, just as each style has its own methods and strengths,
each also has its own weakness. Earth bets it all that its opponent 
can't hit harder than _it_ can. Water bets that it _has_ time to spend;
Air bets that the attack _can_ be evaded, that the defense _does_ have
a hole somewhere, and so on. Fire, in particular, is an all-or-nothing
proposition. It concentrates its power, so if the attack hits, if the
defense blocks, it packs more power than anybody else; _but_, at the
same time, if it _doesn't_ work then the warrior is left overextended,
without any reserve. Also, it doesn't generally have a lot of endurance,
so it also has to win _quickly_, before it runs out."

   "Okay, I can see that. So what's the fix, Ranchan? What do we _do_
about it?"

   "There isn't a _fix_, Acchan, exactly. Nothing's _broken_, it's just
that we -- that is _you_ -- have to consider a different range of things
when you're training. Specifically, in your case, _control_ and 
_restraint_."

   "Saying that I'm uncontrolled, are you?" Akane quirked an eyebrow
teasingly.

   "It's nothing that anyone else wouldn't tell you, Acchan," Ranma 
patted her on the knee. "But, to return to being serious, what you need
to concentrate on is the _control_ of your strength. You need to hold
yourself in check until you _know_ that your attack will hit; until you
_know_ where the other guy's attack is coming. Then, you need to only
use the right _amount_ of strength; keep as much of yourself as you can
in reserve, centered, so you can move in any direction to match any
opportunity. Also, you need to concentrate on controlling the actual
strikes and defenses you use; on not letting them over-commit, and on
bringing them back into center as fast as you can." Ranma rubbed her
upper lip consideringly. "And also, I think, I'd better start your 
training on the paths of Breath and Spirit. I think, for you, that
_integration_ of all the paths you travel will be a key thing." She
frowned, looking down. "Which, come to think of it, I could have deduced
from how good you are at Void naturally, if I'd thought of it. *Sigh*
My fault."

   "It's not as if you've ever done it before, Ranchan."

   "What would _that_ have to do with it, Acchan?"

   "Umm, err." Quickly, "But, about control ... how am I supposed to 
use my strength if I have to _not_ use it all the time?"

   "You don't want to _not_ use it, Acchan. You want to use it _pre-
cisely_. After all," her hand shot out, suddenly appearing at Akane's
throat holding a knife just touching the skin, "you only need to use
enough strength to break the _defense_. After you get through, you've
got any number of options that don't need strength at all." The knife
vanished into jacketspace, and Ranma quirked an elegant eyebrow, "Ne?"

   Akane gulped. "Ahh. Yeah. That's right."

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

   Akane was seated, in seiza, in the middle of the dojo floor, eyes
closed. Ranma knelt behind her with hands poised above her shoulders.
"What am I trying to feel, Ranchan?"

   "You aren't trying to feel anything, Acchan; you're just trying to
_feel_. If you try to anticipate _what_ to feel, you will feel falsely."

   "Now you sound like a koan," Akane said, crossly.

   "The master came to a yatai which was selling hot dogs. 'What do you
want on your hot dog?' he was asked. 'Nothing,' he replied. Then the
hot dog was enlightened." Her hands descended, slowly, to just outside
Akane's theoretical peripheral vision, had her eyes been open, and 
around them a faint glow began to form.

   Akane snorted a giggle, then gasped. Suddenly, she was aware of 
senses she had never before known she had. All around her she sensed
flows of energy; whirls and spirals and forms of intangible luminescence
coexisted in her sight with the simple, everyday visions of floor and
walls and dojo; and outside the dojo she could see/sense/hear/smell yet 
more. A flaming tidal wave of information and impressions seemed to pass 
over her, and she felt herself burn, as though every limb had been set 
afire. A wash of energy filled her; she could tell that it was her own,
that in some sense it was _her_, yet it rebelled against her, fought 
her tooth and nail. She frantically searched for control, sought to reduce
the tide of data to familiar forms and modes; in front of her she seemed
to see a shadow, like a blanket to protect her from the fire, and she
grasped at it desperately; it tore in her metaphorical hands and yet she
somehow knew that it would heal itself, would cover her eyes and ears,
would shelter them, if only she could open herself to it. 

   She yearned for the protection the shadow blanket might offer, but
how do you shelter under a blanket that tears if you touch it? Then she
realized: you _ask_ it. And the shadow rolled over her, warm and envel-
oping. For a brief moment she welcomed the respite, and then the shadow
resolved itself into visions. Ghosts long gone and barely remembered
thronged her sight; some trailed behind her like beads of light tracing 
out the necklace of her past; others swarmed throughout the dojo, 
carrying out the many roles of decades of dojo life. She saw her father's
fading doppelgangers going through katas, her own following and growing
taller as they did so; saw her mother bringing snacks, Kasumi playing
about her feet; saw Nabiki strolling through in many guises, growing
from a toddler into herself; saw swiftly vanishing traces which seemed
to show the future, though how she could tell this she could not say.

   The thronging horde of ghosts was no better than the waves of energy,
overrunning her senses with too much input to survive. She tried to
cry out, to scream, but she sensed the weak and desperate energies of
the call smashed flat, drowned by the raging torrent of conflicting
energies that surrounded her and foamed through her; drowned, as she was
drowning; overcome, as she was overcome. 

   Then the raging sensations weakened, parted, blew aside; she emerged
into the prosaic world of normal sight and sound and touch like a diver
from deep water. Slowly and cautiously she extracted herself from the
sensations that had overwhelmed her, feeling them held back by a meta-
phorical wind generated by Ranma's vaguely glowing hands. Finally, she
pulled the last of herself free with a sudden jerk; and wobbled painful-
ly to her feet, staggering to the wall, where she sank down with a groan,
putting her face in her hands. A soft footstep announced Ranma, who
knelt at her side, puting her hand on Akane's shoulder. Weakly, Akane
held up her head, turning her face to meet Ranma's gentle, sad smile.

   "Second birth, Acchan; and Third. Welcome to the _real_ world."

   "It hurt, Ranchan." Weakly and somewhat petulant, like a child who
has been assured that a trip to the dentist involves candy.

   "Being born always does, in one sense or another. Rest awhile, and
I'll try to clue you in on what's going on."

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

   "Okay, I've talked about what we're going to be doing in the realm
of external training; strategy and tactics, and katas and moves, and 
such. Now it's time for me to talk to you about the _internal_ part. 
Specifically, there are at least four major areas in which a warrior must 
be accomplished. These are divided into Mind and Body along one axis; 
and into External and Internal along another. External and Body gives
you the category of Martial Practice; that is, katas, the maneuvers 
that make them up, and general training in physical capability. Exter-
nal and Mind gives you the category of Strategy; which also includes 
tactics and military theory, and also the mental exercises like medita-
tion. Now _Internal_ and Body give you the category of Breath. This is 
Ki of course, but many people get confused by it, because the word 
itself only refers to _one_ of the many types of energy that you have 
to learn to use here. Finally, Internal and Mind creates the category 
of Spirit. This path involves growth in several areas: moral inquiry, 
the worlds of ghosts and spirits, the celestial courts and the supernat-
ural balance, death and why -- and why not -- to avoid it, alchemy, and 
magic. The internal areas are the tough ones, because, by their nature,
just what's _happening_ in any given area of them is terribly obscure.
Normally, you would have to go through years and years of failure and
perseverance before you gained entrance to them, but we don't really
have the time, so I cheated, a bit."

   "Remind me to kill you for that, later. So how'd _you_ learn about
these things, anyway, if it takes 'years and years'?"

   "Oh ... I cheated. A bit." (Grin.)

   "Why does this not surprise me?"

   "It's because you've become old and cynical, Acchan. Anyway, to start
at the beginning, both the Internal Paths involve the manipulation of
energies. These energies exist throughout the world, and because all
the forms of these energies are pretty similar, it is possible to use
one kind of energy to affect another. For instance, you can use your
own energy of motion to grab onto and drag in the energy of motion in
your environment, thereby enhancing your own supplies."

   "You're confusing me, Ranchan."

   "Alright, take a look at my hand," Ranma held up her hand, and drew
power into it. "Now, carefully, look at, and then _into_ the hand. See
the energy fields, the glowing shapes?"

   Cautiously, Akane attempted to regain the distancing of perception
she had felt earlier. "Yeah ... kinda."

   "If you look closely, you'll see that there are two types of energy
there. First, there the inherent energy that makes up the _reality_ of
the physical structure of the hand itself. You should be able to see
it lurking _inside_ the skin."

   "Okay."

   "Next is the energy that allows the hand to live and move. It pools
and flows through and around the hand, depending on how the hand itself
moves. See it?" Ranma turned her hand around and about under Akane's 
gaze.

   "Ye-ees. Is it supposed to look sort of like a glowing liquid?"

   "Yep. Now the best explanation of what you're looking at comes from 
Chinese Classical Alchemy. Basically, the energy of any given object is
divided into <chi> or 'stable energy' and <shi> or 'motion energy'.
Now there's also another way to classify physical energies, and it 
doesn't help that one of the words you use for it got stolen from the 
Chinese and then had its meaning altered. Chi, of course, means 'earth' 
and refers to the energies of _everything but you_. Ki means 'breath' 
and refers to those energies that are specifically yours. And the 
reason that this is important is that _your_ energies are influenced by 
your spiritual and emotional state, so that what you can use your ki 
_for_ gets set by what kind of influences you've given it. And 
everything else's ki gets influenced by its spiritual balance too, 
of course."

   "What does that mean in plain Japanese, Ranchan?"

   "Hmmf. Unenlightened slacker. What it means is that you can use one
type of energy to manipulate another. You could use your own <shi>, for
instance, to pull in <shi> from the area around you. Then you could
transform that <shi> into <chi> which you could then move into, lets 
say, your hand. Watch how I do it here." And, indeed, Akane saw flowing
energy spread out from Ranma's hand to touch energy flows in the dojo
at large; these, then, flowed back into Ranma, gathering around her
upraised hand, to coalesce into a complex shape of rod-like structures,
glowing brightly to the inner sight. "Now you've got a power source. 
The <chi> here will stay in this shape for some time without effort on
my part, because it is _static_ energy. Now, remember that I said that
the Path of Spirit also affects this process. This is because energy
that you have made your own, that has become your ki in other words,
is affected by your _spiritual_ state."

   Ranma moved her hand to just in front of Akane's face, so that she
could see closely. "What I mean by that is that magic, which is what
you're doing when you use energies outside yourself, is absolutely
defined by the purity of soul of the person using it."

   "You mean, like, evil people can't use magic, then?"

   "No. I mean that _unfocused_ people can't use magic. Magic depends
on focus; focus not just in mind, but in soul. Your soul must be pure
from distractions to speak clearly enough to the universe for what you
say to be heard.This is what meditation and the like is for; to remove
or suppress pieces of your soul that don't fit what you are trying to
say. What is going on when you do magic, you see, is that you are taking
an amount of energy and speaking to the universe, telling it to treat
that energy as something else. The more pure your soul is, the more 
softly you can 'speak' and still be heard. The more softly you can
'speak', the more complex and precise a change you can create. Also,
the more the universe 'likes' you and so the more 'real' the changes 
you make are."

   "That doesn't really make sense, Ranchan."

   "Look at it like this: when you do magic, which is what this is, you
have to start with your ki. You use your ki to 'speak' to the ... to
the Tao, I guess, and the Tao responds. Okay?"

   "Okay ... I guess. Still sounds weird though."

   "Can't help that. It _is_ weird. But you see that your ki is in-
fluenced by what you're doing inside, right? That is, if your soul is
angry, your ki is angry."

   "O-Okay...."

   "Now, you're trying to use _your_ energy, your ki, to 'speak' to
_something else's_ energy. _Or_, you're trying to tell some _part_ of
your ki to do something it wouldn't do naturally."

   "This is where you're losing me."

   "Ahh. Ummm .... Okay! Start from the top, and look at the hand. Now,
_first_, I take some <shi> from my ki. See it?" A glowing fluid seemed,
to the inner sight, to gather itself in Ranma's hand.

   "Okay."

   "Now this <shi> is a part of my ki, which means it is attuned to the
state of my soul. Which means that if my soul is angry then the <shi>
will take on the characteristics of anger; that is, it will be aligned
towards anger or to things _like_ anger." The fluid changed color, and
seemed to begin to fizz, then calmed.

   "Okay."

   "And if the <shi> is 'angry', so to speak, it will affect what it can
do, and how it acts. Likewise if I have any other overriding emotion or
need in my soul when I gather it. Now, if my soul is _muddled_, that is,
if its like _most_ peoples souls, and concerned with many things at 
once, then it will not be able to do _anything_ easily. Whereas, if it
is _tranquil_ then it will be _responsive_; it will obey more easily 
and can do more."

   "Makes sense so far."

   "Now, even if I have a strong emotion, or a strong calmness, in the, 
the foreground, so to speak, of my soul, so that my <shi> gains the
influences I want, it doesn't mean that there's nothing else in my soul
at all. And this 'background' in my soul still has an affect on the 
<shi>; in a sense it creates static, like on a radio."

   "Still okay."

   "Furthermore, all the influences in your ki multiply themselves as
you express them. If your ki is angry, then what it affects will be 
angry too, or will be influenced towards anger. This, in turn, will 
rebound on you, and make you angrier yet, and so on. If your ki is 
staticky, that interference will show up in everything it influences, 
and will feedback into your soul and make it harder to retain concent-
ration ... you get the picture. So the more _pure_ and free from contra-
dictory impulses your soul is, the better you do."

   "Okay. I get it now."

   "Now this influence extends to all facets of your being, and it goes
both ways. That is, if your soul is troubled, it will rebound throughout
your body and mind. Likewise, if your body is damaged, or if your mind
is uneasy, it will rebound onto your soul. You can keep them separate,
of course, but it takes effort and energy; and even the best don't have 
an infinite amount of that. If you're using energy on maintaining your 
soul's tranquility, you can't be using it to get yourself out of jams. 
This is why honor is so important, and why the most successful people 
are simple."

   "Huh?"

   "Simple. Single, in a sense. Dedicated to one end, or one condition
of being. If one thing is most important to you, then that thing must 
be the center of your existence. Which is easy if you're only talking
about _one_ thing. _One_ thing you can handle. But if _two_ things, or
more, are most important, then inevitably some of them are going to
come into conflict. That is, to improve one thing you must sacrifice
another. This destroys tranquility. Again, honor implies singleness.
If you have honor, then you know _why_ you do things; you have a frame-
work to act on. But again, the best honor is the simple honor: the one
that has _one_, and only one, clear goal, and that sets how everything
else falls into place underneath that goal."

   "What if you make a mistake?" Akane leaned forward, concentrating. 
"What if you think that one thing is most important, but then you find 
out that something else is, instead?"

   "Then you need to adjust your thinking," Ranma replied. "If you dis-
cover that you have mistakenly attached your loyalties, or that you have
put something into a priority that it does not deserve, then you need 
to take the time to meditate and consider where your priorities rightly 
lie. Then you simply follow the correct way, since now you know what it 
is. Really, the only times you should have trouble are if you are 
acting on incorrect information or if you yourself are mistaken in what 
you think to be important. The first simply requires you to react to 
the correct information when you realize that the old was in error. The 
second is more difficult, because you have to know yourself well enough 
to know what you really value. This is a matter of sorting out what 
your soul values; which, of course, is easier if your soul is tranquil, 
so it all circles back on itself, really."

   "I was right," Akane grumbled, "it is Zen."

   "Getting back to the initial subject of discussion, from which, I 
note, we have digressed: using one kind of energy to influence another.
Also, the kinds of things you can do. The easiest things are to enhance
or degrade things that are already there; aiding someone's <chi> for
instance, to help them heal, or aiding your own <shi> so you can run
faster or hit harder. On the spiritual side this involves removing
unnecessary influences from your wa, or someone else's, and aiding 
tranquility. And damaging tranquility in other people too, of course."
Dryly, "Reducing your own tranquility is not something I recommend 
unless you're _trying_ to go berserker. Which is not something _you_,
in particular, _ever_ want to do."

   "I wouldn't be good berserker, huh?"

   "No, you'd be a _much too_ good one. You'd be so good at it that I
doubt you'd ever stop. Which is not a fate I want for my best friend."
Ranma punctuated this statement with a very stern look.

   Akane looked down. "No. I don't want it either. I'll remember, Ran-
chan."

   "Particularly since _I'd_ probably get the job of taking you down."
Akane shuddered, and Ranma patted her on the shoulder. "Now, more 
complex manipulations involve things like _changing_ energy into 
something that's _not_ there, or calling things from nothingness. And
the better you get the more complicated the things you can do. But we'll
get to that later. The final goal of all this is to gain in skill in all
four categories at a balanced rate. Because, if you climb the ladder on
all four poles at once you go up faster, and farther too. And at the
top of the ladder lies zanshin."

   "Okay, _that_ I'm _really_ confused about."

   "Not surprising. Even the master couldn't speak about it easily. It's
a lot like making love in that regard, really. 'Those who speak do not
know. Those who know are silent.' ... Why _Achhan_, you're _blushing_."

   "You _hush_ you." Akane mock-threatened with a raised fist, and 
Ranma grinned.

   "But to make an attempt; you could say that zanshin is like the heart
of the Tao, it is a balanced melding of opposites, leading to a state
of higher wa. If you wanted to you could speak of three stages between
the lowest manifestation and the highest. The first is called "Attitude-
no-attitude'. This stage reflects the 'attitudes' of combat, or the
'attitude' in which you hold a sword. What it deals with is reaching
the point at which you are always ready for combat, and always ready
_in_ combat, so that you never are made unready or unprepared for any
eventuality. You've already shown flashes of this stage, by the way, 
so it shouldn't prove to be _too_ difficult. The second stage is called
'Mind-no-mind' and involves expanding your consciousness to such an
extent that you don't need to think about what you're doing in combat,
instead you just _react_, or, rather, _act_; impressing the desires of
the will directly onto the world without the interference of conscious
thought. You showed this one too, that one time. The last stage is the
hardest and the most profound. It is called 'Will-no-will' or <Tao of
Void>. When you reach this stage you will achieve satori in combat,
instead of attempting to impress your will on an opponent, who is also
attempting to impress _her_ will on you, you will simply _become_ your
opponent's defeat and your own victory. Which doesn't seem to mean
much, I know, but it's the best that I can do, at the moment."

   "I suppose I'll just have to see, then. Where do we start?"

   "Well, for your first exercise, I was thinking that you should ...."

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

   Nabiki was speaking with Kasumi as Ranma left Akane in the furo. 
Akane had entered into the spirit of the training with alacrity, and
had become somewhat overheated as a result, thus returning to the bath 
as the light of late afternoon slanted in from the west, and was obscured
by gathering clouds. Ranma resumed her original clothing, which she
had washed with the assistance of some mild techniques of <shi> manip-
ulation and some minor magic, and returned to the hallway to speak to
Kasumi.

   "Oh! Ranma-san, did your training with Akane-imoutochan go well?" 
Kasumi asked calmly. She worried about the questions Nabiki had raised, 
of course, but she did so internally. It would never do to question a 
guest's truthfulness, but some kind of satisfaction must be gained.
Perhaps Nabiki could provide confirmation of some kind.

   "Very well, Kasumi-san. Exceedingly well, in fact. I retain the hope 
that Acchan will quickly rise to overtake my own skill level." (Nabiki
and Kasumi shared a single thought, '_Nani!?_') "But I did want to 
consult with you and Nabiki on a number of matters. The first of which
involves her diet."

   "Oh, my! Will she be requiring special foods or drinks?" Kasumi was
vaguely worried about this; Ranma-san had provided a significant fund
towards household expenses, but if exotic foods were going to be
joining the menu ....

   "No. In fact, just the reverse. A balanced and varied diet is best,
but she _will_ be eating more than she has been; I would estimate about
twice what was normal before."

   "Thank you for the warning, Ranma-san; I will adjust the amount I 
make accordingly," Kasumi said gravely.

   "Secondly," Ranma continued, "I will be involving Acchan in some
activities that will be either odd-looking or even somewhat dangerous.
I mention this because I am aware that the two of you have no particular
reason to trust my judgement, nor any good way to acquire one. This is
a problem that I wish to resolve quickly, and I would value any thoughts
you might have on the matter."

   Kasumi winced, and Nabiki straightened. "I know," she said, "that we
have to take your word for the conditions of Akane-chan's training,
Ranma-san. I doubt if even Daddy has the experience to properly evaluate
you in that area. The only thing I am concerned with is that your story 
is _so_ strange ...."

   "That you don't have any way to verify it. I understand, Nabiki-san."
A pause as Ranma chewed her lip. "Tell me, Kasumi-san, have you begun
preparations for dinner yet?"

   "Err. No, not really, Ranma-san. We don't usually eat until later."

   "Ah. Well, the problem is solved, then. Acchan will be coming out
of the furo in a little while, and I've no doubt that she'll be hungry,
so we'll simply go shopping. Yes." Ranma rubbed her chin. "You might
want to change into kimonos, though."

   Nabiki and Kasumi blinked at the non-sequitur, 'Shopping?' but went
off and changed anyway. When they returned they found Ranma with the 
Mirror in her hand, looking into it seriously.

   "Ahh, good," Ranma muttered, "the way is clear. Nabiki-san, Kasumi-
san, I must be careful or you will over shine me entirely."

   Kasumi blushed at the compliment, and Nabiki ahhed, "ahh, Ranma-san,
aren't you going to change too?"

   "Oh, no, they're used to me."

   "Oh, my," Kasumi said, "where are we going, Ranma-san?"

   "Well, I know a number of places," Ranma replied, "but I've a mood
for Tai at the moment, so I thought we'd go to Okitsu."

   "Okitsu?" Nabiki queried, "That's a hundred miles away! Are you 
going to take a train just to get fish?"

   "Not a train, no," Ranma grinned, "and it's not miles we'll be trav-
eling." She raised the Mirror to chest height.

	"The past and future are the same,
	 The present's merely but a game,
	 A stage where players strut and stare,
	 Nanban Mirror, take us _there_!"

   A breeze blew softly through the suddenly empty hall.

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

   Akane stretched again, rubbing her hair dry with a towel. She had
stayed in the tub for an indulgently long time, soaking off the bruises.
Nonetheless, she could not remember a time when she had felt so good,
or been so happy. She whistled happily as she dressed in the new clothes
Ranma had gotten her, and indulged in a brief fantasy of training with
Ranchan forever, getting better and better as the years passed and
occasionally saving _her_ from some unspecified menace or other. In fact,
she felt _so_ good that ... yes, she felt that she _could_ do it this 
time. She would go see if Kasumi was in the kitchen, and then ... she'd
cook Ranchan a meal! And she'd get Kasumi to help, and _this_ time, 
damnit, it would _work_!

   She wandered out of the furo and went toward the kitchen. Then she
heard Kasumi calling "Taidama!" and wondered where Oneechan had gone 
out to. She went to see and found Kasumi, Nabiki and Ranma in the 
dining room, unloading an array of packages wrapped in rice paper or
in little boxes from which rose a whole raft of delicious aromas.
"Ohh! You went off and got dinner without me! I wanted to help cook.
Wait a second; Oneechan, why are you and Nabiki-oneechan in kimonos?"
Nabiki and Kasumi only gave her slightly shell-shocked looks as they
wobbled upstairs to change and Akane put her hands on her hips and 
turned to her friend. "Ranchan! What'd you do now?"

   "Well, after all, Acchan, you can't get good kuri-shioyaki or kuri-
kinton except from Seikenji chestnuts _I_ don't think. And you certainly
can't get fresh salt-steamed Tai except in Okitsu." Ranma placed the
browned, salted chestnuts next to their boiled cousins in their honey-
sweetened bath of yams as the centerpiece of a rapidly growing spread
of foods in which large plates of filleted Sea Bream, from which a 
truly mouth-watering smell was rising, figured prominently.

   Later, around the table, Akane leaned back and patted her stomach.
"I must admit, Ranchan, that you were right. I had no idea I could eat
a whole plate of that Tai, but ...." She gestured to her empty plate
indicatively. 

   Even Soun had been coaxed from his lair, and had praised the foods 
exhaustively. It was, he said, a clear example of the superiority of
the true Japanese spirit; as had been strong in ancient times. Kasumi
and Nabiki just shuddered faintly, Ranma merely grinned. And ate a great
deal of everything in sight too, of course. But that goes without
saying, for Ranma. And Kasumi nibbled at another slice of kamo-no-
kuwanamaki, licking the sweet sauce off the broiled duck. And Nabiki
munched another half-dozen boiled chestnuts. And Akane eyed a plate of
uzura-dango, wondering if the sweet quail patties could actually be 
made to fit in her stomach. And the clouds closed in above Nerima, as 
the sun went down.

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

   "What are we out here for, anyway, Ranchan? More clothing?" Akane
leapt to another rooftop. The sky had darkened completely now, and the
moon was hidden behind the ominous clouds, but streetlights provided
adequate illumination.

   "No, no. We need to get some training supplies for the dojo though.
And rectify a couple of glaring lapses in the armory, too. Now, if you
were a criminal with a lot of money, where would you be? And if you
say 'In the government,' Acchan, I'm going to hit you."

   "Hmm. Well, there's _something_ happening over there."

   "Let's take a look. Oh yes. Oh my yes, Acchan. That's a nice _big_ 
one. And in its natural habitat too, you'll notice. Let's sneak up on
it, and see how it's doing, shall we?"

   "Oooh, oooh, can we lurk, instead, Ranchan? I've always wanted to 
lurk."

   "If you want, Acchan, we can even skulk."

   "Oooh, goody."

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

   Akane vaulted over a leg sweep and kicked its perpetrator in the face
as she went. Ranma's lessons of the day seemed to flow through her as
she moved among the eight thugs she had chosen as her share, and bodies
flew through the air, describing limp and sad rainbows in their haste
to become one with the walls. A final slide sideways and twist, getting 
out of the way of a clumsy rush and intercepting it in the midriff with
a backwards spin kick and it was done. Ranma's thugs, she noted had been
unconscious long enough to be half looted, already; 'Oh, well. Need to
get faster, I guess. I wonder if that's a ki technique, or if it's some
of her 'magic'? I suppose I should ask, at some point.'

   As they walked away from the heaps of unconscious bodies, Ranma
remarked, "One million, forty thousand yen; that's only fifty thousand
each. Pffff. Still, I guess you have to trade quality for quantity
sometimes."

   "I still don't believe that street trash has so much cash on it, or
such good stuff to fence, Ranchan."

   "It's the Ronin's Salvation, Acchan. Jobs may come, and patrons go,
but street thugs shall be with us always; and if you ask them right,
they're always willing to share."

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

   		We are brief Summer lightning,
		We are swift as swallows' flight.
		We are sparks that spiral upwards,
		In the darkness of the night.
		We are frost upon the window,
		We won't pass this way again,
		In the end only love remains.

   They had fenced the loot, and spent some time finding the supplies
Ranma wanted. Then they had moved deeper into the warren of Nerima's 
Ginza, seeking for weapon sellers. They had laughed and sung snatches
of song; whistled and bought candy and snacks; ignored the gathering
clouds. Then they had sent the merchandise to the dojo by delivery,
and taken to the air.

	Well who scattered these diamonds, through the vault of Heaven?
	Who drew the curve of the magpie's wing?

   The wind questioned, and the flame responded. The bonfire summoned, 
and the breeze answered.

	Who shaped your face, and what made you love me?
	Where is the heart of every living thing?

   The rising wind commanded, and the snapping flame obeyed. The blaze 
flamed higher, and the wind grew with it, and fed it, and drove it on 
before.

	Well, I guess I don't know, and I don't care either.

   Wind roused flame to life, dancing from rooftop to walltop, leaping
from power line to telephone pole; caroling across the sky, feet
dancing on nothing at all but air.

	I know you love me, how could it not be?

   Flame drew wind's reply, flickering along a ridged roof, alighting
a moment on the rooftip of a fake pagoda, before blazing across forty
yards of open air to set a warehouse roof alive and singing.

	And I am your's, now and forever,

   Feeding now from each other's power. Flinging melody and harmony one 
to the other. Changing and exchanging the lead, to join again in rising
triumph at the last ...

	'Till my lips fall silent, and my eyes can't see.

   And the wind blew the flame into a wildfire...

		We are brief Summer lightning,
		We are swift as swallows' flight.
		We are sparks that spiral upwards,
		In the darkness of the night.

   And the wildfire whipped the wind into a storm.

		We are frost upon the window,
		We won't pass this way again,
		In the end Dear, only love remains.

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

   And later, in the hush after midnight, when both Ranma and Akane were
long asleep, the clouds over Nerima opened, and the quiet rain began to
fall. A still, silver curtain, walling off the near from the far; 
softening the silhouettes of wall and cornice; filling streams and
watering parks and hedges; sending small animals into hiding, and pets
into shelter; and cleansing the stains in the yard of Furinkan; and
washing the blood away.

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

Next: We have a funeral, and Ranma and Akane visit people in the 
Hospital. Depressing, ne?

Ranma and Akane: A Love Story
Chapter 4: A Tapestry of Stars and Shadows
Part A: A Requiem for Solo Voice

Eric Hallstrom  hallcon@mindspring.com