Here's the second installment; conclusion to follow in a few days.

PLEASE C&C. The first part of this received NO response at all. Several of us
are regular C&Cers on the FFML; please help us out by returning the favor.
Whether you like it, hate it, or have mixed opinions, we'd like to know why.
Responses can be sent to the FFML, or to <kleppe@execpc.com>. If you need the
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FFIRC Presents....

Heart's Desire


Series Authors:

Ken Arromdee            Donny Cheng             TJ Hamilton
Sean Hayden             Ronny Hedin             Gary Kleppe
Thomas Schmidt          David Tatum             Ethan Tsai


Ranma 1/2 and all characters and backstory belong to Rumiko Takahashi



Chapter 6: Ranma Saotome
Sacrifices Must Be Made
                  
                

        'Unclean... I'm Unclean... all these years, and pop's never told me...' 
Ranma shook his head sadly, walking down the forest path.  In two days, he
and Shampoo, the girl he had LEAST wanted to marry (well, Kodachi might
have been worse, but Ranma rarely thought of her and marriage together- it
was too frightening an idea even for him), would be husband and wife.  And
if he did anything about it, he would basically be dead to his world-
practically unable to live in Japan, in fact.  'I wish... I wish I had
married Akane earlier- during the first wedding attempt.  If I had, then
Shampoo and the old Ghoul would have both been forced to give up.  Marrying
Akane wouldn't have been so bad... I can even accept, now that it's too
late, of course, that I do love her.  Now, though, Akane doesn't care.  She
wouldn't even listen to me when I tried to tell her why I was forced to
marry Shampoo- I even would have told her about that damn proof that
Cologne had, if she had let me.  I wish she would let me explain- maybe
together we could have figured something out.  I wish I had been able to
tell her I loved her before it was too late.  I wish I wasn't Unclean.'

        "MOST OF ALL, I WISH I DIDN'T HAVE TO MARRY SHAMPOO!"  He shouted at the
top of his lungs.  Ah, that felt good.

        "Sorry, can't do that one," a voice behind him said.  Ranma spun- he
hadn't heard anyone approaching him- who was that?  Ranma looked around,
and saw... well, maybe a faint outline of someone.  It was hard to tell
though.  "Other people's granted wishes cannot be directly reversed."

        "Who said that?"  he asked, amazed.  Few people could escape detection
from him for long, if he was REALLY looking for them.  "Who's there?"  

        "I am," said a voice coming from the outline.

        Ranma blinked.  "Well, who are you?" he asked.

        "I am..." the figure seemed to brighten to near visibility, but Ranma
still couldn't distinguish a single feature.  "Well, I am a caretaker of
destiny, and destiny has been circumvented.  I'm here to... well, minimize
the damage."

        Ranma frowned.  "Okay, you're a caretaker of destiny.  What do I have to
do with all of this?"

        The caretaker, if it had had a face, would have frowned right then. 
"Well, YOUR destiny was the one most affected.  Actually, everyone's was,
but yours was the most affected.  Gosunkugi was doomed to summon a demon
which would kill him in another year, Akane's mother returning hasn't
changed the future at all, and Ryouga was going to be split from P-Chan
anyway, by wandering to and falling in the Spring of Drowned Twins next
year, despite his wish.  Oh, and Mousse would have been killed by Cologne
if he hadn't made his wish when he had- he was becoming much too much of an
obstacle.  As it is, he was the one who warned me of your situation. 
Remember to thank him for getting me here for you."

        Ranma blinked at that- it almost sounded like this person was saying
Mousse hadn't died the way things had turned out. 

        "No, YOU have been forced to make a decision now.  Ranma, you can choose
to be returned to your old path of destiny, if you want.  It will be hard, and
you will have to make many sacrifices, but it can be done.  And on that path,
you and Akane will marry and be in love- truly in love- for the rest of your
relatively long lives. It will mean that you will have to reveal ALL of your
secrets to Akane, that you will ultimately lose Ukyou as a friend, and that
Shampoo will... well, it will be worse than death for her.  OR, you can take the
path that has been set for you now.  On that path, you and Shampoo will marry,
and you will grow to love her, to some extent- though never to the point that
you loved Akane.  And Akane will wither away, unwilling to love anyone again.
However, you will retain Ukyou as your friend, and your life will also be long
and satisfying, and the only sacrifice you will make is Akane.  Which do you
want?"

        Ranma was astounded.  Here he was, being told to pick his future- and he
was even told the consequences of his choices.  "Well," he began. "Assuming
you're really who you say you are, what will you do when I DO pick my path?"

        The spirit laughed.  "Well, unlike most of the others, you can't deal
with this situation yourself.  That was another reason I chose to visit you this
time.  I won't be able to DO anything, though- I can affect nothing of the
physical world.  I CAN, however, advise you on what to do."

        Ranma frowned.  "And if I pick a path, and refuse to take your advice?"

        "That is your choice, but it will make things much more harder for you."

        Ranma sighed.  'Enough stalling,' he told himself.  'Weren't you just
wishing you could have told Akane you loved her, before you were taken away
from her?  It is my time to be decisive.'  He fixed his gaze at the form,
right where he figured the eyes were.  "One more question:  will Akane be
hurt if I choose the first path?"

        "Well... yes, but less than she would if you chose the second."  The
apparition sighed.  "That's what happens when a demon like Happosai makes a
wish:  Everyone else affected by that wish- all those who saw Happosai's
summoned demon- are granted a wish.  And those wishes typically play havoc
with destiny.  I can tell you now, if you don't want more problems, you
warn Ukyou not to make a wish that involves you.  It will... well, you will
fix your own destiny, but it will hurt her even worse."

        Ranma sighed.  There was only one choice to make- he was just delaying
what he wanted.  "I choose to marry Akane- as much as I've fought against
it, she's the one I love... more than life itself- more than my own comfort
or peace of mind.  Akane must be protected.  And if it takes losing Ukyou
and hurting others... well, sacrifices must be made."

        The apparition solidified into human form.  Though the features were
still indistinct, there was a badge plainly visible on his pocked.  'Kami of the
True Fiancee # 116- Desix.'  Desix had been crossed out, and in its place
was the word 'Desaix.'  The apparition gestured to a path in the woods
Ranma hadn't seen before.  "Okay, the first step is to find something you
can make a wish with...

*       *       *       *       *

        Ranma was amazed at the item he possessed.  It looked exactly like the
medallion that had been found clenched in the hands of Mousse's body, and
its powers were apparently the same.  It would focus Ranma's wish enough
for it to actually manifest itself.  Now, to do what Desaix had asked of
him, and hire Nabiki to come up with a wish for him.

        Nabiki came down and sat in the restaurant next to him, her face cold
and angry.  She, as the others, had been angry when Ranma had agreed to marry
Shampoo.

        "Nabiki," Ranma said slowly.  "Thank you for coming.  I know you- and
pretty much everyone else- hates me right now..."  He shook his head.  "I
didn't want to marry Shampoo, but nothing can change that now.  My fate, in
that regard, is sealed."

        "Oh?"  Nabiki accused.

        "Cologne has... blackmail material on me.  Stuff even YOU wouldn't use
because it's too damaging.  There's NO way to get rid of the material in
time to stop the wedding... and there are other reasons I know the wedding
will happen as well.  But... I don't love Shampoo.  In fact, right now, I
want her dead.  Killing her, though, would only prompt Cologne to release
the blackmail material she has gathered.  I DO love your little sister,
though..."  Such an admission stunned Nabiki, but all that showed in her
face was a raised eyebrow.  "And want to find a way around all of this."

        Nabiki frowned.  "I need to know what the blackmail material is before I
can help you.  In fact, if you don't tell me what it is, I won't even
listen to you any more- I need to be sure it isn't too petty for a valid
excuse."

        Ranma nodded.  "He said you would..."

        Nabiki blinked.  "He?"

        Ranma's eyes widened.  He hadn't meant to say that out loud!  "Er...
I'll explain later."  Ranma hesitated, noticing Nabiki was getting a little
ticked at the delay.  However, gathering comfort from Desaix's assurances
that Nabiki wouldn't hold it against him.  "Okay, Nabiki... Cologne has
documented proof- a LOT of copies of it- that my father's ancestors are...
Unclean."

        Now it was Nabiki's turn for her eyes to widen.  "Good gods..."

        "Now do you understand why I had no choice?"

        Nabiki knew that Ranma had been right when he said that it was too
damaging even for her to touch.  However, that he admitted it to her said
something- it said that he trusted her, for one thing.  For another, it said
that he REALLY needed her help.  Nabiki, herself, didn't care about all of this
nonsense about ancestors being unclean, but she couldn't let it get out in the
open- for Akane's sake.  She knew that the girl loved Ranma more than she would
ever admit, so something which would hurt Ranma this much would hurt Akane as
well.  Nabiki nodded.

		"Good. Now, on to what I need you for.  One of the other reasons
I can't stop Shampoo is that... she won her marriage to me by making a wish,
which was granted, on a device similar to this one."  He held out the medallion,
which Nabiki recognized instantly as the same thing that Mousse had held in
death.  "I have a few hundred gods in heaven, trying to help me out, but they
are bound by their own laws- which read a wish granted cannot be taken back.
Shampoo, I think, wished to marry me."

        "And what do you want me to do?"

        Ranma sighed.  "I need to be able to talk to Akane without interruption-
and I need to be able to communicate to her well enough that we can form a
plan to stop Shampoo.  The person I was talking to was very clear on these
points- I need you to help me make the wish, and Akane to make the plans. 
I could change that, but it would hurt Akane more, and I asked him
specifically for the path which hurt her the least."

        Nabiki was a little awed that Ranma had asked for such a thing.  She'd
always thought he had some kind of attraction to her little sister, but one
that strong was far beyond her abilities to guess at.  "Okay... so you need
to be able to talk to Akane uninterrupted... hmm..."  She considered things
carefully.  "I suppose these wishes will do anything in their power to
backfire?"

        Ranma nodded- if he had understood Desaix correctly, that was a
good way of putting things.

        "Well... hmm... it would need to be something simple, yet direct.
Here..."  She pulled a napkin from the dispenser, and wrote a phrase on it.
"There you go.  But Ranma..."

        He looked at Nabiki curiously.  "Yes?"

        "I want that wishing stone when you're done with it."

        Ranma nodded.  "Consider it payment for helping me now."

        Nabiki clucked, but considering he was doing this for her sister...

*       *       *       *       *

        Ranma held the medallion and concentrated.  He had memorized the words
Nabiki had written, and so now was the time to say them.  "I wish I could
communicate to Akane all my thoughts, all my feeling, and all my emotions,
whenever I want to or need to."

        Somewhere up in heaven, a god with a misspelled name tag smiled.  The
floodgates were about to open- Nabiki had no idea what she had done. 
Desaix hadn't really been trying to put Ranma and Akane together THIS time
(though he had in the past, and would many times in the future) but what he
said was true- the gift, and curse, of the wish Ranma had made had been
JUST what he was going for.  Of course, the fact that it DID bring the two
of them together was a pleasant bonus, indeed.

*       *       *       *       *

        Akane had been crying during all the waking hours since she had realized
Ranma was lost.  Things would never be the same- Ranma wasn't in love with
her.  Her mother had tried to calm her, as had Kasumi, but this was as bad-
no, this was WORSE than when her mother had first died.  What could she do
now?

        Suddenly, she felt something in her head- or, more accurately, connected
to the inside of her thoughts.  What?!

        'Akane,' Ranma's voice said.  'It's me, Ranma.  Sorry about this...'

        "No way," Akane said aloud.  She was getting delusional- and all about
some silly boy, too.

        'No, Akane, you aren't delusional.  This really is Ranma talking... er,
thinking to you.  I... made a wish.  On a wishing stone...'  She felt that
connection surge for a second, latching on to a specific memory of hers. 
'Similar to this one- the one which brought back your mother.  It was meant
to give me a chance to explain why I had to marry Shampoo without getting
killed by you, and to ask you for your help in breaking that marriage when
it's done, but it seems to have backfired a bit and allowed me to talk to
you through our minds.'

        Akane frowned.  'If this isn't a delusion,' she thought, trying to keep
from speaking and making the others in the house think she was insane
(which she very probably was, she felt).  'Then if you really CAN tell me
why you need to do marry Shampoo... DO SO!'

        Akane felt a portion of her being grabbed and tugged.  'Okay,' Ranma's
voice said.  'As much as I hate to do it, here's a guided tour of my mind.'

        And suddenly, Akane saw it all.  All of Ranma's memories, all of his
thoughts, all of his... emotions.  She was shocked at the depth of his love
for her, and at the hatred he had for himself for being unable to tell her
or show her.  She was shocked at how fragile his psyche really was...

        And then she saw it.  At first she was frightened- Cologne possessed the
ability to show Ranma's family as Unclean?!  But then, she realized she
didn't care.  She, too, loved him- she had known that, even if she refused
to admit it very often- and wouldn't care if he, himself, was one of the
Unclean.  She WANTED him despite it all.

        Then she saw other things, not really related, that Ranma had been
trying to shield her from.  Ryouga was P-Chan at one time?!  The gods themselves
were helping the two of them sort out their problems with destiny?  And...
taking the path which held her meant extreme sacrifice...

        It was too much.  All too much.  Akane passed out- in body.  In mind,
though, she stumbled and recovered.  And she and Ranma, after conversing
some more, started planning.

*       *       *       *       *

        Akane was sitting in Ucchan's, eating an Okonomiyaki.  It was the day of
Ranma's wedding with Shampoo, and it was going to happen.  Akane saw that
it was unavoidable- and the plan the two of them had come up with would
mean that Ranma and Shampoo would stay married for at least a week.  But
now was the time to stop Ukyou from doing something rash- Desaix had warned
Ranma that Ukyou might die if she interfered.  And Akane, despite the fact
she ALSO knew Ukyou and Ranma would hurt each other a lot in the future,
couldn't let her die.

        "How can you be so calm!?"  Ukyou accused her.  "Today, you and I are
LOSING Ranma.  Are you just going to sit there and do nothing?"

        Akane sighed, and opened up to let Ranma speak through her.  "Ucchan,"
Akane began.  "I'm afraid the wedding cannot be stopped.  They will be
married- it would be suicide to try and stop it.  But there is an option
we've been planning."

        Ukyou blinked- when did Akane start calling her Ucchan?

        "In one week, a package will arrive.  When it does, I- uh, Ranma
will be able to exchange it in return for the blackmail material Cologne
holds on him.  When that is gone, Ranma can divorce Shampoo.  But until
then, we can't.  Sacrifices must be made."  Akane's body regained its
control, and she felt Ranma lower the link they had to the barest minimum.
"Sacrifices like... having Ranma lose his virginity before either of us
have a chance at him, and sacrifices like destroying Shampoo's life- which
I am willing to do, right now, but I might regret it five or ten years from
now."  She sighed.  "If I didn't know what the blackmail was that was
binding Ranma, I'd probably agree to go bomb her wedding much like you
bombed mine.  But..."

        Ukyou drew her eyebrows together in thought.  "You know what the
blackmail is?  Well... what is it?"

        Akane looked at Ukyou.  "Not Genma's fault, but his grandparents', or
possibly even great grandparents' fault.  It is dangerous to ALL of Ranma's
family, and was shared with me in confidence."  Akane checked something
with Ranma, and then sighed again.  "It's dangerous- even Nabiki wouldn't
touch it.  If it were to fall into the wrong hands, Ranma would be
forbidden to marry any of us..."  She shook her head.  "He only told me
because he needed help with his plan, and I don't think he'd tell you since
you aren't part of it.  Sorry- I'd tell you if I could."

        Ukyou nodded.  She wasn't surprised at that, just saddened.

        Akane frowned in distaste for a brief second, a look of sheer disgust
crossing her face.  Ukyou noticed this and blinked.  "Something wrong with
the food?" she asked.

        "Huh?  Oh, sorry, Ukyou.  No, the food's fine.  I just... realized, the
wedding just started.  And, given the shotgun nature of this wedding, I
suspect that it's probably almost done already."  Akane was beginning to
wonder exactly how much unpleasantness this new connection would cause for
the next week.

        Ukyou snorted.  "Yeah, I suppose it is..."

        Through their connection, Ranma and Akane congratulated each other.
Ukyou had accepted he would be married to Shampoo, so now their plan was set...

*       *       *       *       *

        Akane lay awake most of the night, trying to drive a very apologetic
Ranma from her head.  She wasn't mad at him- they had expected this, and they
both knew of ALL of the other's feelings in the matter, but still... she
didn't like feeling Ranma have sex with Shampoo.

        If there was any consolation at all, it was in that Ranma would have
experience doing this sort of thing when the two of them really were
married.  Akane now shook herself for suggesting that he try various things
with the Chinese girl, because it would be that much better for the two of
them when THEIR time came... The moment he felt her reluctance, however, he
froze and went like a statue in Shampoo's arms.  There was a certain
satisfaction in that Shampoo would get nothing enjoyable from her marriage
bet, but she still hated the idea of Ranma and Shampoo together.

        'Sorry, Akane,' he thought to her.  'I guess it just went wrong, like
everything else has in my life.  I wish...'

        'Ranma,' Akane thought back, interrupting.  'For one thing, we've BOTH
used up our one wish.  This only hurts in the short run, Ranma.  Remember that.
And remember that I love you, despite all of this...'

*       *       *       *       *

        Five days later, a certain device arrived from Herb's kingdom, on loan
(terms negotiated by Nabiki) to Akane Tendou for the necessary amount of
time.  The next day, Shampoo was locked as a cat by the Musk Dynasty's form
locking bucket.  Shampoo was captured and locked away, and not released
back to Cologne until ALL the evidence against Ranma's ancestors was
destroyed, and Cologne signed an agreement to leave Japan with Shampoo,
never to return.  Then, after getting Ranma a legal divorce (thus ensuring
that Shampoo's wish would remain fulfilled in that she HAD been legally
married to her, which a simple annulment would not do) the cat was returned to
her.

        Ranma wondered whether Shampoo would ever become human again.


Chapter 7: Nabiki Tendo
Unforseen Consequences
                


In the Tendou house, the relationship between Ranma and Akane was being taken to
new heights.  Or perhaps, new depths.  Akane had cooked Ranma dinner, and made
him eat it.

"I'd be glad to, Akane", said Ranma.

Akane looked at Ranma a little suspiciously.  "You're not going to say
anything bad?"

"Now, _why_ would I do that?" asked Ranma, as he took a forkful of Akane's
soup.  Akane suddenly screamed as Ranma turned the mindlink on, showing her
exactly how her food tasted.

"Baka!  You planned this!" shouted Akane.  She hammered Ranma into the floor,
yelling "And don't you dare show me how _this_ feels!" as her blow struck home.

                                *   *   *   *   *

Nabiki ignored the arguing downstairs and went into her room to make her wish.
There were all sorts of ways wishes could be corrupted, she thought.  Best to
make it immediately, and be specific, and not be too greedy.  She slightly
grimaced at that.  But she wasn't stupid enough to ruin the wish by asking for
too much; greed is no good if you can't get away with it.

Strange, thought Nabiki.  The biggest unselfish wish I'd want to make, Akane
already made.  So what do I want?  I can get money _without_ wishing, and
I'm not going to need a wish to get in a good university; I just have to study
hard.  Besides, those may be too selfish for the wish-granter.

Nabiki got an idea, though.  It would not be dramatic, it would not earn her
ten million yen, it would really not get her much at all.  But it would be
safe, and it would be fun.  Well, fun for Nabiki, anyway.

She wrote down her wish, looked it over, and then spoke it.  "I wish, without
any change in myself that's drastic by my standards, to be the granter and
final interpreter of all future wishes made with this wishing stone except when
I desire not to do so."

The stone grew red hot, and she dropped it into the bowl of ice cubes she had
prepared for that purpose, then picked it up and put it back on.

Desaix appeared before Nabiki.  "I'm impressed.  If you hadn't said not to
have any drastic changes, you would have been turned into a being like me.  So
who's going to get the stone next?"

"Ukyou", replied Nabiki.

"I wouldn't advise it."

"True enough", replied Nabiki.  "You wouldn't."  She walked out of the room,
leaving Desaix behind.

                                *   *   *   *   *

Nabiki explained the whole thing to Ukyou as accurately as she could.  "All
right, any questions?"

"So according to this Desaix person, Ranma's going to lose me as a friend?"

"Yup", replied Nabiki.  "As long as Desaix is telling the truth, anyway."

"And there's nothing I can do about it?  Don't I get any free will in this
matter?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean...  I don't want to hate Ranma.  I don't like that he's with Akane now,
but I still want to be his friend.  But you're telling me I _can't_. My
feelings are going to go towards hatred, and I have absolutely no choice in
the matter, because it's _destiny_ that I'm going to hate Ranma."

"I think indifference will work."

"Hate, indifference, whatever!" exclaimed Ukyou.  A little moisture developed
on her eyes, but she quickly wiped it away.  "I don't want this.  It's not
fair!  Losing Ranma would be bad enough as it is, but losing him because the
cosmic deck is stacked...  I can't even wish my way out of this!  You just told
me that 'destiny' has a special exception which says that if I use my wish on
Ranma it's going to be a disaster.  A special exception just to keep Ranma and
me apart."

"I'm sorry, Ukyou.  Ranma does care about you.  It was a very hard decision
for Ranma to decide to be with Akane."

Ranma entered, glancing hungrily at the hot okonomiyaki on the grill.  "Hi
guys.  Uh, Ucchan, I have something to tell...  I mean it's important that..."
His words trailed off into silence.  "Ucchan, I have to..."

"I told her, Ranma", interjected Nabiki.

"I'm sorry, Ucchan!" exclaimed Ranma.  "I'm really sorry.  But me and Akane are
going to be together, no matter who else gets hurt.  Nabiki, give me that
locket."  Nabiki barely got it off her neck when Ranma grabbed it and tossed
it to Ukyou.  "Ucchan, take this.  I hope you can figure a way to use it to
make yourself happy...."

Ukyou handed the locket back to Nabiki.  "I don't want this!  I'd just hurt
everyone!  Keep it, Nabiki.  If I...  if I ever change my mind, I'll ask for
it back...."

                                *   *   *   *   *

After that incident, Ranma had not visited the Ucchan for weeks.  But the idea
kept nagging at him, that he should try to talk to her, make her feel
better...  make himself feel better, even.  Martial arts gave him the courage
to strike mighty blows with his hands, but nothing to deal with people-to-
people situations.  Finally psyching himself up to go talk to Ukyou, Ranma
headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" asked Akane.

"I'm going to talk to Ucchan.  She's still my friend."

"Ranma!  You already talked to her."

"But I didn't really get a chance to say anything, Akane.  I hope you
understand."

"Okay, then show me why."

Ranma opened the mindlink.  Akane understood that Ranma did have feelings from
long ago towards Ukyou, and that they weren't like his feelings towards her. It
really was completely innocent.  She felt faintly disappointed at that,
since she had no reason to get jealous.  But no matter what it is now, thought
Akane, it could always become something else in the future.  "Go ahead, Ranma.
Just one thing."

"Hai?"

"Keep the mindlink open.  I want to know everything that happens."  There
would be no chance for anything to even start between Ranma and Ukyou this way.

                                *   *   *   *   *

"Hi, Ucchan", said Ranma as he entered.

"Long time no see", replied Ukyou.

"I'm here, to, uh..."

"Say goodbye?"

"Well, not really...  just to say that I'm sorry...  and to explain everything
myself, not through Nabiki."

<< Why don't you say goodbye? >> asked Akane.

<< Akane...  I'm trying to be nice to her. >>

"Ran-chan..." said Ukyou, and hugged him, crying.

"Ah, er, you don't have to..."

<< Get her off of you. >> commanded Akane.

<< It's not what it looks like!  You _know_ that, you're in my mind! >>

<< She's trying to separate us.  It's better if you don't let it go any
farther.  You said you're sorry.  You can come back now. >>

Ranma rapidly disentangled himself from Ukyou.  "Ucchan, I have to go.  Akane
wants me at home, now."

"What?  Oh, would you like some okonomiyaki?  To go."

"Yes, I'll..."

Akane's voice shouted into his mind.  << No, you don't. >>

"No, forget that.  I'm not hungry.  Got to go, see you."

                                *   *   *   *   *

"And *that's* for wanting to eat her food." said Akane as she hit Ranma again.

"No, I didn't!"

"I could tell!  I was in your mind.  I _know_ you think Ukyou's food is the
best you've ever tasted.  You can't lie any more, Ranma...."

                                *   *   *   *   *

"Hello, Nabiki." said Ukyou as Nabiki walked into the restaurant.

"Hi, Ukyou.  Akane's cooking today, so I decided I'd go pick up a bite here."

"Akane's...  Nabiki, you're the first person I've seen from the Tendo Dojo
for months.  Could you tell me what's going on there?  Ran-chan never comes
here any more.

"Well, they're, uh, doing their best to try to get along.  They're going to
have the wedding after they graduate high school.  Dad and Mom and Mr. Saotome
were really insistent about that."

"What do you mean their best?"

"How much do you want to pay me for that information?"

"Nothing, I'm going to go visit."

"Wait, Ukyou.  Don't.  You may end up making it worse."

"_What_ are you talking about?  Is something wrong?"  Ukyou ran out.

Great, thought Nabiki.  The argument should be about over now, but if Ukyou
appeared, it could all start up again.  She paid Konatsu for the food and
decided to eat; there was no way she could get home faster than someone with
the speed of a martial artist.

                                *   *   *   *   *

Ukyou rang the bell, to be greeted by Kasumi.

"Kasumi?  Is Ranma here?"

"No, I'm afraid he's temporarily busy.  Would you like some tea?"

"No, Kasumi, I want to see Ran-chan."

Kasumi smiled emptily and pointed Ukyou to the dojo.  "They're really very
energetic."

Ukyou slid the doors of the dojo open.  Ranma was sitting in the corner on
a mat, with several bruises on him.  Akane was holding a table above her head,
and as Ukyou watched she swung it at Ranma, so hard that pieces broke off each
time she hit him.  By now the table was barely a tabletop with one leg and
three corners.

"I worked hard to knit those gloves!  Even if they do have twelve fingers,
that's no reason to throw them out!" cried Akane as she walloped Ranma on the
head with the table, adding a lump.  Ranma didn't even try to defend himself.

"Akane, I wasn't going to throw them out!"

"Yes, you were!  I saw it in your mind!  You thought they were ugly and a
monstrosity and that you were going to put them in the trash and pretend to
lose them.  If I hadn't asked you to show me what you were thinking, you
would have done it and I would have never known!"

"Ran-chan!" yelled Ukyou.  "What...  what's going on?"

Ranma looked at Ukyou.  "Ucchan, please...  *ow*  Leave us alone."  Another
lump grew on his head as Akane hit him again with the table.

"No!  Come on with me, Ranma.  You don't have to let her push you around like
that."

Akane finally noticed Ukyou.  "I can't believe you're still trying to get
close to Ranma.  Don't you understand?  It's destiny.  You can't stop it.
That's why I didn't want Ranma visiting you any more.  He has to sacrifice
you to make our relationship work.  Now leave us alone."

Ukyou walked closer, and tugged at Ranma's sleeve.  But Ranma stayed in place.
"No, Ucchan, I can't come.  I love Akane and I can't disappoint her by coming
with *ow* you."

"I...  see." said Ukyou, and slowly walked out.

                                *   *   *   *   *

Nabiki greeted Ukyou as she entered.  "Hello, Ukyou, I warned you."

"Oh, god, I didn't understand.  It's not _me_ that would keep me from being
Ranma's friend, it's Akane.  _That's_ what Desaix meant.  But I don't
understand.  Desaix said they'd be in love.  I hoped that Ranma could at least
be happy even if I couldn't be there for him."

"They are in love.  Haven't you ever heard of a dysfunctional relationship?
And Desaix never said 'happy'.  I messed up, Ukyou.  I gave Ranma the
wording for that wish."

"You didn't do...  _that_.  Don't blame yourself, Nabiki.  But if you want to
make up for this, there's one thing...  please...?"

"You want your wish now, right?"

"I want my wish.  And I want you to tell me how to avoid the special exception
which says that I can't use the wish on Ranma."

"That's all?  It'll cost you for the advice."

Ukyou sputtered.

Nabiki continued.  "This soda is free."  She didn't feel like charging for
_this_ advice, but didn't feel right asking for nothing at all.

"Oh.", said Ukyou.

"Well, it's really simple", explained Nabiki.  That clause only works if you
make the wish.  So you have to find someone else who has a wish, and trade
wishes with them.  You make the wish that they want, and they make the wish
that you want."

Ukyou looked around for Konatsu, but he was in the back washing dishes.

"Not Konatsu.  Ryouga."

"Ryouga?  But he got his wish."

"No, he didn't.  Tsubasa got a wish.  Ryouga just threw the stone away without
trying for a wish of his own.  And I just happen to have heard some news.
A strong boy wearing a bandanna just saved a village three kilometers north of
here from a dangerous bull.  He took off for the south, claiming he was trying
to find the ocean so he could swim back to Japan.  I'd expect him to turn up
in another day or so."

                                *   *   *   *   *

The next day, Ryouga arrived in Nerima after being lost, as usual, for several
months.  Nabiki dragged him to Ucchan's, and explained everything to him, with
Ukyou listening.

"Akane is so sweet!  How dare Ranma treat her like that?" said Ryouga.

"Never mind that", said Ukyou.  "Will you do it?"

Ryouga nodded.  He'd never quite admit it to himself, but he did realize deep
down that Akane did occasionally have bouts of temper and that everything
wasn't always Ranma's fault.  And he was very trusting of almost everyone
except Ranma, so he was quite willing to go along.

"What's _your_ wish, Ryouga?" asked Nabiki.

"I..."  Got to think of something, thought Ryouga.  "My sense of direction,
and my family's."

Nabiki prompted Ukyou, and she repeated the words.  "I wish that Ryouga's
family gain a normal sense of direction", she said, while holding the locket.

The locket suddenly glowed, and got hot.  And stayed that way.  Ukyou dropped
it, and then quickly picked it up and put it in her pocket, where it was no
longer in direct contact with her flesh.

"Something's wrong!" said Ukyou.  Ryouga looked at Nabiki with a little
suspicion.

Nabiki remained calm.  "Of course...  I see now.  I understand what happened.
We have to go to the woods and dig.  I'll show you where.  And everything
should still work out...."

                                *   *   *   *   *

The trip to the forest was uneventful.  Nabiki chose a mound of dirt that
looked like almost any other part of the forest.  Ryouga, on her orders, used
the breaking point technique on the ground, causing it to explode, a brass
lamp flying out.

Ryouga and Ukyou stood in suspense as Nabiki rubbed the lamp.  Out came a
puff of smoke, and from it appeared two ethereal figures.  And both figures
seemed very familiar....

Mousse and Shampoo.  No, not Shampoo, just a woman who looked similar.
Mousse was not wearing his glasses, and seemed to know exactly where he stood
and who he was looking at.

"Thank you, Nabiki", said Mousse.  "I never died when I made my wish.  I met
my guardian angel, and became one myself.  Right, Angel?"  The woman bowed to
Nabiki, and Mousse continued.  "I'll explain it for the others, Nabiki.  Of
course you know the whole explanation, already.  I was going to help Ranma.
But Desaix imprisoned me.  It was _your_ wish, Nabiki, that saved me.  You
realized there are limits to greed, and so you wished for something you
thought was trivial and quirky instead.  You wanted to grant wishes.  Well,
for you to grant wishes, Angel and I have to give you the ability, which meant
you had to find us, which meant you had to free us.

"Desaix has been around a long time.  Ever since Ranma arrived in Japan.  He
had tried to put Ranma and Akane together lots of times in the past.  That's
why, for instance, you, Ukyou, never got a chance to tell Ranma's mother that
you're his fiancee.  And it's why, when the principal came from Hawaii and
started cutting people's hair off, he never noticed your hair--Desaix made sure
he didn't, so that the situation would have Ranma rescuing Akane and working
with her, not with you."

Mousse and the woman each took one of Nabiki's hands, and their hands glowed,
the glow spreading to her.  The woman looked at her and said "you can now grant
future wishes from the stone, Nabiki, and you will always know enough to grant
them knowledgeably.  And there will be no other changes in you that you don't
want.  Go ahead."

It's so simple, thought Nabiki.  Well, simple once she was given the power.
First, Ukyou's wish.  She concentrated, and Ryouga and his family now all had a
normal sense of direction.  And without any twisting like Desaix would do
(not that Desaix had to twist Ranma's wish anyway); a wish like that could
have turned them into frogs, which after all do have a normal sense of
direction.  The locket cooled down and stopped glowing.

Nabiki took the locket from its position halfway in Ukyou's pocket and handed
it and a piece of paper to Ryouga.  Ryouga, true to his word, read off the
wish: "I wish that Ukyou's wish would come true, while otherwise being
considered to be mine."

The locket glowed again, and magic flowed through Nabiki's head.  She
commanded the wish to work straightforwardly, but made sure to specify that
she also got to interpret Ukyou's sub-wish.  Just in case she badly misjudged
Ukyou and Ukyou wished for something like mind control or killing Akane.

"Okay, Ukyou, what is it?", asked Nabiki.  "You wanted to do something about
this situation.  What Desaix said, that your wishes about Ranma must go bad,
doesn't count, since this is technically Ryouga's wish, not yours.  But it
can still go bad normally if you mess up.  Think wisely; you can change
destiny, and you may have to.  If you want some advice on what to wish for,
you can ask me or Mousse or Angel."

"No, Nabiki, that's all right.  I wish...."



Chapter 8:  Ukyo Kuonji
Third Step


"No," she broke off, looking down at the ground. "I'll wait," she said 
quietly.

Nabiki blinked.  Well, she herself wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. 
Besides, she wouldn't encroach on something that could very well be a 
life-altering decision. Perhaps this wasn't exactly the best setting to 
contemplate such a thing, she thought.

"Patience is the jewel in the crown of wisdom," the raven haired women 
next to Mousse said, her voice sounding like a gentle breeze blowing over a 
field. Ukyou looked up to her calm face. "Think carefully when searching 
for your heart's desire." 

Ukyou nodded, and as she looked up a second time, both Mousse and the 
woman faded from view in a most ethereal fashion. She looked back at 
Nabiki, who was wearing that smug look she always did, then down at the 
locket. With a deep breath, she placed it around her neck. "I need to 
think," she declared, with a swing of her hair. "Let's go back. I have a 
store to keep."

"And you owe me another soda."

________________________


At the Tendo Dojo, Mrs. Tendo and Mrs. Saotome sat at the living room 
table drinking tea, each looking to the other's mate as they played shogi 
on the outside walk, the doors to the garden wide open.

"Much mischief is in the air," Mrs. Tendo said suddenly as she watched the 
Panda reach for an extra piece from nowhere. She sipped lightly, closing 
her eyes as she did.

"Perhaps, dear, we are getting old. It doesn't seem to phase our 
children." Nodoka sipped as well, watching Soun swipe a piece from the 
board and stuff it in his mouth. "A sign of the times?"

"I think not. There is something in the air that I can almost feel." She 
set her ceramic cup down. "It greatly joys me that I can be with my 
daughters and my husband more, but I feel a sense of impending crisis 
everywhere. My memory was never terribly accurate, Nodoka, but only more-so 
now..."

"Oh?"

"I can't remember what we had for breakfast," Mrs. Tendo said calmly, 
looking at the table. "I forgot that I sent Ranma to the grocer the day 
before... and when he returned, the kitchen was a mess. It took a great deal 
of time to... put everything away, and I can't remember what I was fixing 
for dinner."

"My goodness." Nodoka knew that there would be something falling out in 
the days to come, but certainly the sequence of events was startling. That...
thing the Master had summoned must've been the starting point. It 
always started with him, didn't it? Then Mrs. Tendo's resurgence. Her 
memory wasn't exactly clear on why it was a 'resurgence' for her, and when 
she tried to force a memory, she would completely blank. Then that school 
boy's death, and the book that Chinese boy had given her and the Tendos, 
and then the sudden marriage to the Chinese girl, and divorce. . .Yet Ranma 
seemed unfazed, as did Akane. "Perhaps you should see the good Doctor?"

"I've thought that as well, but... would  you accompany me?" she asked 
diminutively, releasing her hold on the table.

"Of course! It would be the least I could do," Nodoka replied. Hearing an 
uproar of laughter from her left, she looked to see Soun and Genma, two of 
them trying to keep straight faces while their mouths bulged with shogi 
pieces.

__________________________

Ranma and Akane knelt in front of each other in the Dojo, the evening just 
beginning to roll around. Akane's eyes hid a calm anger in them, and 
Ranma's were nervous. "Okay," Ranma began. "The game is called 'twenty 
questions.' We ask fifteen yes or no questions, and five other questions," he 
explained, trying to sound like he knew what he was talking about. 

"And this is supposed to be fun?" she barked suddenly.

"No! Now that we've gotta. . .hear our thoughts, we can ask questions and 
get real answers! Nabiki said this would be somethin` you'd -want- to do."

Akane thought about it for a moment. This -would- be a great opportunity 
to pin him down and get an answer out of him. She smiled menacingly. "Okay, 
Ranma. I go first."

(Oh no,) he thought.

Ranma sat back on his heels and took a big breath. "Okay, Akane. I got 
nuthin` to hide from you."

"Uh huh," she said. "Okay, do you really love me?"

Ranma blinked twice, letting a silence hang.

(Why you stinking, no good, jerk. . ,) she began, when Ranma sat up and 
scooted in front of her.

Not a 'yes', not a 'no'; Ranma said, "Ore, omae ga suki, Akane."

Akane's face flushed suddenly, a heat rising through her chest. This was 
not at all what she expected from him, and he was really pouring on the 
emotion behind his words. Her animosity melted away quickly, her entire 
posture relaxing.

Ranma leaned back once more. "19 to go."

_____________

Nabiki sipped on her soda while Ukyou 'thought.' Ukyou's thinking 
consisted of an insanely immaculate cleaning process of her grill. "So, 
have any clue yet?"

Ukyou shook her head, scraping the grill for the fourth time.

"You still want Ranma, don't you?" Nabiki said frankly, taking note of the 
woodwork of the store.

She nodded, her scraping rhythm breaking for a moment.

"You...." Nabiki stopped to sip again. "You're not going to go after him, 
are you?"

Ukyou stopped altogether, her hands shaking as she held the scraper blade 
by the handles. "I really don't want to hurt anyone..."

"But?"

"BUT I WANT MY RAN-CHAN!!!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, causing 
Nabiki's soda to fizzle a bit. She dropped the scraper on the grill, 
resting her elbows and head on the counter top. "Why can't I have him?"

"I bet he still wants you," Nabiki said, gauging her reaction.

"I know he does, but he. .wants Akane more...." She sniffed loudly, 
propping her head on her hands. "That's why he was taking that
beating...."

Nabiki nodded as she finished off the rest of the soda, noticing that the 
day was darkening. "So, what else is there?"

"I... I can't think," she stuttered as she reached for her scraper and 
resumed her ministrations of the grill.

Nabiki sighed, and Ukyou continued.
______________________________

Ranma sighed heavily, now sitting Indian-style. "Okay that's sixteen."

Akane, her mood clearly lighter than before, thought of the next query for 
Ranma. "Hmmm...."

Ranma looked towards the doorway, noticing the day coming to a close. 
(Yeesh.) He looked over to Akane, kneeling there in a long sundress with 
sleeves, her hand on her head, apparently trying to draw an idea forth from 
it.

"Ranma? Why do you hate my cooking?"

"Because it tastes bad," he answered simply. "...and that's it."

Akane's annoyance started to shine through again. "Do you even want to 
marry me?"

"Not yet."

"And why is that?"

"Because I want to get to know more aboutcha."

"Like what?"

"Like how you feel now that that was your last question."

"Huh?"

Ranma grinned widely. "That all twenty. It's my turn now," he said, 
sitting up.

Akane's eyes went wide as she realized how open she was now. She visibly 
swallowed as she watched Ranma try to brew something up, realizing that she 
now owed him for the last two hours.

"Why do you always cook that stuff for me?"

"Cause I want you to like me," she said, not even thinking about the 
words. As if in shock, she threw her hands to cover her mouth, her eyes 
flaring.

Ranma blinked a few times, when Akane began to stutter further.

"I- I- I- I mean a want you to like it so... that you'll like me," her 
eyes went wide again. "I- I- I- mean...."

"Exactly what you said?" Ranma asked calmly.

Akane was hopelessly cherry-faced as she looked down in embarrassment.

Ranma dug in. The questions he was about to ask would probably embarrass 
him too.

"Um, why do you always call me a pervert?"

Akane gulped again. "Uhm... because... you... never... looame...."

"What was that?

"Nevlooka...."

"I couldn't hear ya, Akane."

"Cause you never looked at me!" she shouted, very angry all of a sudden.

"What's that supposed to have to do with it?"

"Cause you're always lookin` at Shampoo, or Ukyou, or Kodachi and you 
never looked at me!" she roared. "I was angry, you jerk!"

Ranma gulped, not expecting that kind of a reply. Apparently she had been 
avoiding him as much as he had her. Without thinking, he followed up.

"Do you ever want to kiss?"

Akane's face matched her name again as she nodded slowly. Ranma was softly 
prodding her thoughts the entire time, as was she his.

"Why didn't you want me to have an okonomiyaki?"

Akane fidgeted, looking away. "cause... I thought... if you loved her 
cooking so much, I'd... lose you."

"Even though we're sittin' here trading thoughts like baseball cards?"

Akane nodded, somewhat ashamed at how immature it now seemed to her. 
(Masaka... I just lost count!) she realized.

(I guess we'll have to start over,) Ranma thought to her, smiling brightly.

(Oh no. This is going to be a long night.)

(You got that right.)

___________________________
 
Nabiki was getting bored as she watched Ukyou put the finishing touches on 
what could now pass as a brand new, showroom grill. 

It -glistened-. 

Nabiki, however, was unimpressed. "Look Ukyou-san, I don't -have- to be 
here for your wish, so I'm going to go home. You just take your time, and 
don't lose that locket." She wasn't ready to find out what happened if the 
locket was lost.

"You're leaving?" she said, not looking up.

"I'm tired. Plus I think you need some time to yourself, ne?" Nabiki stood 
up. "Good night, Ukyou."

Ukyou still didn't look up, even as she heard the sliding door slam. She 
held her laxing focus on the shining metal which reflected her face. 
Looking at her worn features, she touched a hand to her face. "Shower," she 
said to no one in particular, setting the polishing materials aside. She 
walked from behind the grill and surveyed her store. Nabiki had gone 
through four more sodas before she announced her departure. Ukyou couldn't 
really blame her. She doubted that she would prove good company for anyone. 
She walked to the sliding doors and locked them with the chain as she usually 
did, and headed to the back where her living quarters were.

After a half-hour's shower, Ukyou emerged from the small stall with two 
towels around her, for hair and body. Sitting on the bed, she decided that 
now was as good a time as any to sit and think.

(What do I want?)

(Ran-chan,) came her answer without delay. (But I can't have him, because 
he doesn't want me.)

(Would I die without him?)

(I can't imagine living without him....) She sighed deeply. her life had 
centered around him affectionately for about 2 years. Him and this store. 
She was so happy to open this store, so happy to find someone trying to 
close the lot quickly, overjoyed at the interest rate for the time of year, 
and thrilled with the proximity to Ran-chan after she had caught up to him. 
(He's... all I've had... all I've ever had.)

She thought of the memories she had drawn while in the upper part of Tokyo 
in her pursuit of Ranma. She came to the conclusion that Ranma was her only 
real friend, and now she was losing that. Tsubasa and Konatsu were both 
infatuations, too young to realize the concept. Akane only tolerated her 
because of Ranma. Mousse and Ryouga were more like casual
acquaintances... much like her immediate family. And now Mousse apparently 
was some kind of ghost.

Okonomiyaki Ucchan had no friends in Tokyo. 

She curled up on the bed, feeling very, very alone at that moment. "Oh, 
Ran-chan... if you only knew... if I could just..." she said aloud, her 
voice squeaking in pain. "I... have nobody...." Her shoulder began to shake 
as her tears came to her. "I wish I had somebody...."

She sat up suddenly as the locket began to glow. (Oh no!)

She began to speak as quickly as she could think. "I wish I had someone 
nice like Ran-chan for my friend!" she exclaimed, rapidly wiping her eyes 
while trying to look at the pendant. (Oh god, I hope I didn't blow it,) she 
thought as the pendant grew warm. She suspected she already had, as the 
pendant cooled down and ceased its kaleidoscope. (oh, great. Now what else 
could go wrong....)

And a sudden crash came from the front of the store.

(Ask....) Ukyou reached for the Kick-ass spatula.

_________________________

Kasumi padded past the bedrooms, noting that both Ranma and Akane were not 
in their rooms. (Oh my, it's past 9 o clock, and they have school 
tomorrow.) Suspecting the usual of Ranma, she closed the doors and walked 
downstairs towards the Dojo.

Her duties done for the day, she was now making her rounds on the house. 
As she went to step outside, she changed into her outside slippers. (My, 
the wind has picked up tonight,) she thought as she opened the sliding 
door, a breeze picking up her low skirt. The light inside the Dojo was 
still on, and apparently they were inside, their slippers still at the 
stone steps leading into the Dojo. (They've been in there since dinner....)

In her typical soft-footed fashion, she made the short walk over to the 
Dojo. (What could they be doing?) As she stepped up the stone step, noting 
the neat, side by side placement of Akane's slippers and the pile of 
Ranma's much larger slippers. (Oh my,) she thought, withholding the impulse 
to straighten them. Instead, she stepped all the way to the door frame of 
the Dojo.

(Oh my!) she thought, raising her hand to her mouth.

Ranma and Akane were sitting side by side, facing each other, freely 
necking and petting at a slow pace. She gaped for a few seconds in sheer 
stupefaction before shaking off her haze. (Oh, dear. Nabiki shouldn't catch 
them like this, or Father for that matter.)  Taking a deep breath, she 
spoke. "Ranma-kun, Akane-chan, don't forget school tomorrow," she said 
softly.

Both froze, and at the same time, slowly rotated their heads to view 
Kasumi. There they sat, like deer caught in headlights. "H-hai, Oneechan," 
Akane answered. Satisfied, Kasumi turned back towards the house.

 __________

Nabiki sat up from her bed suddenly, taking in a deep breath as she did. 
(So this is what it feels like,) she thought detached, cursing the buzzing 
noise... no... signal issuing inside her head. (She must have made it. 
Now, what did she want?) Nabiki pushed the covers off and pulled her knees 
to her shoulders and folded her arms. (Hm... oh well... nothing 
really harmful in that, I guess. Who wouldn't want someone?)

After a moment of wiggling on her bed, she smiled to herself, as if 
satisfied by some change around her. A moment later she pulled the covers 
over herself and was asleep once more.

_________

Ranma and Akane gulped noisily from their embraced position. "That was 
close."

"You ain't kiddin'. I'd hate for that to have been Pop."

(Good thing it was only Oneechan,) Akane thought as she rested her head on 
Ranma's shoulder.

"Yeah," Ranma agreed, "And ya know? I think Nabiki was right."

Akane turned her head to face Ranma. "Yeah," she breathed, "this was a 
good idea. I thought I knew about you, and maybe I did, a little, but I 
sure didn't -know- you."

"Me neither," he answered, looking back into her eyes. 

After a bit of tight lidded thought that Akane didn't bother to read, 
Ranma sheepishly spoke again. "Um... you wanna... sleep together?"

Akane's eyes went wide, as they had done many times during the course of 
the evening. After another noisy gulp, she nodded wordlessly, and leaned 
towards Ranma's face again. 

Ranma moved towards her as well, but stopped. "Um... whose bed?"

"Mine," she said without hesitation, ending the matter with a kiss.

_____________________

Ukyou calmly prowled back into her restaurant, dressed in the Gi top of 
her okonomiyaki outfit. Only three people had ever tried to break into her 
restaurant. All of them were cat-burglars from out of town, and all of them 
were begging for cops by the time she got done with them. (I'm in no mood, 
you...) she thought nastily as she peered across the bar.

A large, somewhat misshapen figure was outlined by the front door and the 
door itself rattled violently and noisily. (Got a lot of nerve,) she 
thought, slinking across the floor, ready to make her move.

(Not even gonna letcha break my lock.) She lunged, intending to go through 
the door to get to the intruder.

"Hello?" a voice said just as she lunged.

CRASH.

"Augh!"

"Die! Trespasser!"

"Ukyou, its me!" a beaten voice squeaked from underneath the business side 
of Ukyou's spatula.

"Ryouga!?" she quailed, getting up quickly. Taking a look from the poorly 
lit street, she remembered why she didn't look on the other side of the 
spatula very often. Ryouga's face was somewhat related to the sidewalk 
pavement now. "Oh my god. Are you okay?" she said, kneeling down to him, 
concern washing over her face.

"Never better," he said in his nervous laugh, pushing off of the sidewalk.

"What the hell are you doing here? I thought you didn't get lost anymore!" 
she yelled, her anger coming back to her quickly.

"Keep your voice down, dummy!" Ryouga said, hushing at Ukyou, looking away 
from her. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Answer me!"

"Can we go inside? I don't want people to call the police!"

Ukyou, defeated by logic, nodded softly. "C'mon," she said, offering a 
hand to Ryouga.

"That's okay," he said, looking away again.

"What? Too good to take my help, jack-ass?" she said hotly at Ryouga, 
still on the sidewalk.

He looked up at her skeptically, then took her offered hand.

________

A cup of water and tea later, they were sitting at her bar, back in their 
usual positions whenever he stumbled back into her restaurant. Ukyou had 
only turned on one of the lights, leaving the restaurant with a dreary 
ambiance. It matched her mood well enough. Ryouga shifted in his seat 
uncomfortably, well aware that Ukyou was still reeling from earlier events, 
but another reason he didn't address immediately.

"So, why are you here? I thought you were going home." She muddled over 
her cup as she waited for his reply.

"I was," he said quietly, reserved in his tone.

"And?"

"I found out, just cause I don't get lost doesn't mean I can find my way." 
He sipped the water.

"Huh?" Ukyou said, her curiosity cutting through her depression.

"I mean, I know where I live, I just forgot how to get there."

"Oh, brother," she sighed, holding her sinuses and hanging her head in 
disbelief. "That's really somethin else, Sugar. But why are you... no 
lemme guess, you want me to show you the way home."

"Well, I'm sorry... but the police booth was empty, and this was the only 
place I've been since the...."

"Yeah, I know," she said cutting him off, caring not to remember the 
forest earlier. "What's your address?"

"Huh?" he sputtered, setting his cup on the bar. "You mean, now? No! I 
couldn't."  He began to flail his arms wildly. "It's too late, I couldn't 
ask you to do this. I don't want to put you out, I wouldn't think of 
troubling you...."

"So you stay here tonight and have me take you back in the morning, on a 
school -and- business day? Oh yeah." She shrugged. "That's a lot more 
convenient."

Ryouga ran out of material. After a moment of uncomfortable silence in the 
poorly lit restaurant, he reached for his gear. "Sorry to be a bother," he 
said dejectedly, standing up.

"Wait, Ryouga!" She stood from her stool. "I didn't mean it like that. 
Really." (Plus I really don't want to be alone right now,) she admitted to 
herself, looking at her reflection in the grill.

Ryouga turned to face her. "You can sleep in the booth," she continued. 
"Sorry, but I don't need a futon when I'm by myself."

"That's okay," he said softly. "I carry my own usually. . ." he said, 
stroking his umbrella on the trail pack. "Never had a reason to think about 
it."

"Am I green?"

Ryouga looked up at her face. She held no signs of humor in her 
expression. "Uhm... no?" he said nervously, setting his pack down again.

"Then why are you working so hard to look away from me?" she asked, a bit 
of tension in her voice.

"Aheh! What makes you think that!? Heh heh!" He rubbed the back of his 
head and regarded the light fixtures.

She walked out from behind the counter and began moving a table away from 
a booth, to clear space for Ryouga. "I dunno, sugar. Maybe that stupid 
laugh of yours set me off...."

"Yeah? Heh heh."

"Seriously. I'm sick'a you and Ran-chan dancin` around me like some kinda 
bonfire, afraid I'll burn ya," she said, her speech slipping into rough 
form.

Ryouga heard her words. They sounded different, tired almost. He let his 
hand drop to his side and cleared his throat.

"Out with it, boy," she ordered, finishing with the table.

Ryouga was about to do something he'd never thought he'd do. "Well, you're 
only wearing a Gi top, and not very tightly."

She gasped and held her arms over her chest in response, but Ryouga wasn't 
finished. 

"You kinda stood -over- me when you helped me up off the sidewalk; leaning 
forward on the counter at me like that," he gulped loudly, "and bendin` 
forward like that to move that table...." Ukyou sat down in the booth 
hard, but then decided to sit sideways, her face brightening to crimson. "I 
mean, not that I'm lookin`!" Ryouga squealed, arms flailing again, his face 
matching hers.

"Jack-ass," she said under her breath, staring at the floor with a fury. 

"I'm sorry, but you asked," he said, his voice sounding defeated.

"No, you're right," she said, standing up and walking quickly, and 
carefully, back behind the grill. "I'm not really used to thinkin` about 
this modesty stuff all the time."

 "Muh... modesty?" he asked, still averting his eyes. 

"Get to sleep," she commanded. Once she saw him moving to spread his bed 
out, she scurried upstairs and slammed her room door. (That freaky jerk. 
What is he thinkin`?) She paced around the room. (What nerve! That messed 
up... pig!!)

_____________

[That Monday....]
____________

Akane slowly awoke to Ranma on her floor stretching vigorously. She sat up 
and stretched greatly, much to Ranma's interest. Akane blinked, catching 
Ranma's line of thought, and looked down. Her yellow nightie was quite thin 
in the morning light. Her dropped her arms quickly and stuck her tongue out 
at Ranma. "Pervert."

Ranma's brow furrowed, but rather than answer, he changed stretches.

Akane went to stretch and yawn again, but decided just to yawn. "You know...
we should probably move some of your stuff in here."

Ranma thought a lot, somewhat quickly for Akane to read, and then said, 
"What stuff? I just got clothes, and my pack."

Akane looked at her room. "Gee... I never thought about it, but I guess 
you don't."

"Don't what?"

"Have much," she explained, pushing the covers off and standing. "A lot of 
this stuff is just collected from when I was little." She began making her 
bed as she continued. "Like this... desk. This desk Daddy got Nabiki when 
she was thirteen, and when Nabiki got her own last year, she gave it to 
me." She reached to straighten the sheets, and Ranma came to the far end of 
the bed to help.

"Well, I still got my first Obi, I use it as a headband sometimes... but 
I don't think I kept much else."

"That's too bad," she sighed without much thought, tucking the comforter 
in.

"It is?" he asked, a bit confused. "If I had more stuff, that'd mean I'd 
have to carry it."

(It's kinda funny for me to think like that. Like you had a hard
life,) she thought to him, catching his eyes.

"Well, crazy... but hard? Nah... I got Pop, and as much as I yell, I'm 
still glad he's around."

"That's nice," she said smiling brightly. "Let's go to breakfast," she 
said, stepping into her closet. "You go on, I'll catch up."

"Okay."

______

Ukyou grumbled as she adjusted her black pants and chest bindings.
(Ugh... I can't believe I need another size up.) She grabbed the jacket 
and began buttoning it, but stopped at the top two. (Well, I'll get some 
new stuff on the way back from dropping him off.) That line of thought made 
her grumble again. (That's right, I almost forgot.)

With a renewed disgust, she set off downstairs. "All-right! Get up you, 
you lousy bum! You've mooched off one night... too..."

Ukyou's rampage died out as she reached the bottom of the stairs. The 
floor was shining. The glass was clean all the way to the ceiling and the 
cob-webs in the fixtures were gone. "This...." She saw her mop stood up in 
the corner and Ryouga, in full gear, save shoes, standing and brushing his 
teeth.

He turned, widening his eyes a bit. "Ohayo," he sputtered through 
toothpaste with a wave.

"What'd you..." she began, unable to finish.

"Oh, I just thought I'd clean a little to say thank you," he said 
energetically.

"How?" she asked, stupefaction on her features. Using her sneakers she 
tested the floor.

*SQUEAK*

"How did you get it this way? I don't even have wax!"

Ryouga went over to the sink behind the grill and rinsed his mouth. After 
a bit of gargling, he reached for something around her grill. "Your grill 
polish is made from the same stuff, just less liquid," he explained, 
dangling the packet in her direction. 

"Shouldn't we go if you're going to get back in time?" he asked.

Ukyou shook, her expression changing. "Yeah... let's... go." She grabbed 
her bandolier and a hair ribbon, cinching the shoulder strap first, then 
her hair. Ryouga opened the door and slipped on his shoes. "What's your 
address again?" she asked.

______

Akane and Ranma ate, Ranma under much mental berating on his eating habits. 
Others, of course, didn't notice. Nabiki glanced back and forth between 
them as Kasumi brought the last of breakfast in.

(Oh my, the table has become crowded with all our guests.) Kasumi had well 
economized the table space. Fortunately during Mrs. Saotome's stay, Mr. 
Saotome had remained a human most of the time. Ranma and Akane were sitting 
extremely close together, as were Mother and Father, so it almost made up 
for the space. It was nice that Ranma-kun and Akane-chan were... getting 
along well, but she hoped that their relationship wouldn't advance to the 
levels Nabiki had suggested.

_____

Nabiki, as usual, finished early, and headed on before the 'lower 
classmen' did. Out the door and walking the usual route to school, Nabiki's 
thoughts wandered. (Well, the last couple days of anger seem to be behind 
them,) she thought, remembering Akane's attitude the past few days. (She 
sure seemed affectionate today.)

(I wonder if Ukyou is satisfied with her wish?) she thought, her menacing 
smile playing across her face. Though she didn't notice it, several 
classmates scurried from her path when they saw her expression.

_______

"Are we there yet?" 

"NO!" Ukyou yelled. "You live in southeast bumble- you moron! You're 
almost in the next prefecture!"

Ryouga rubbed the back of this head, his weak smile playing on his face. 
"Sorry."

"No. It's all right. I just don't like walking... reminds me of the 
yatai."

They continued to walk down the sidewalk, silence filling the space 
between them. Ukyou had not recognized the School Fuku of the two girls she  saw
passing them. (God.) She checked a local store with a clock hanging in  the
window. (8:07. Yeesh, I'll never get back in time.) "Hey, I hope you're  payin`
attention so you'll know the way."

"Yeah. I'm tryin'...." Ryouga's eyes wandered around again. After a 
moment he cleared his throat. "You know...."

"What?"

"About what you said last night? About modesty?"

"Yeah?"

"You might want to button up the jacket to the top," he said, looking 
anywhere but at her.

Giving a small 'kya', she dutifully buttoned the rest of the uniform, 
covering her bonds. "Why didn't you say something sooner?" she hissed.

"I was gonna, but... Hey! I remember that ice cream place. I passed 
by it when I went after Ranma."

"Which time?" she asked sarcastically, not expecting an answer.

Ryouga looked down as they stopped at a cross walk. "The first time."

"Oh, sorry."

"S`okay. This just means I'm almost home!" he said, raising his arms 
triumphantly.

Unceremoniously, a few minutes later, they arrived at a nice, if vertical,
house with 'HIBIKI' on the outer wall. 

"This must be it," she declared, sounding unimpressed. Looking around a 
moment, she asked, "Don't you have a dog?"

"Several, but I bet they're looking for us."

"'Us?'"

"Yeah. everyday, they patrol the area, and whenever we get near home, they  lead
us back to the house... until we got lost again."

"Oh.... Well, I better head back."

"Thanks a lot Ukyou." Ryouga bowed deeply. "Sincerely."

"Oh, Ryouga." Her face flushed. "Stop it. It's okay. I'm just glad you 
could find your way. Just don't lose it, dope."

"I... guess I'll see you around."

"I guess." She stretched her arms and began walking back north toward 
Furinkan. 

"Hey! How do I find my way to your restaurant?"

"You remember the way here?" she asked without turning to face him.

"Yeah?"

"Just walk it backwards," she supplied, turning a corner.

"Oh... right." Ryouga watched her turn the corner, feeling as though 
he should have invited her in or something. "Oh well." He turned his head to the
front door, dutifully walked towards it, and as he usually did, opened the door
and yelled.

"TADAIMA!"

After all... a Hibiki homecoming was something to take notice of.

________________

Ranma and Akane said their goodbyes quickly, then took off running as they
usually did, each with one of Kasumi's lunches in hand. 

Kasumi returned to the living room as the seniors of the family also 
concluded their breakfast. "Kasumi dear, that was wonderful. You've 
developed quite an aptitude."

"Thank you, Mother," Kasumi said as she unplugged the rice steamer and 
gathered it. Mrs. Tendo moved and began clearing the table with her 
daughter. Nodoka, having tried unsuccessfully several days in a row to 
assist in domestic work, satisfied herself by taking her husband to the 
garden and Dojo, and straightening up from there. She decided to do the 
same for today, beckoning her husband with a turn of the sleeve on her 
kimono.

"Kasumi, let have something a bit more exotic tonight," her mother began 
as they cleaned in the kitchen. 

"Did you have something in mind?"

"Yes, I did. Are you familiar with Okonomiyaki?"

Kasumi's hand rubbed her neck very softly. "Somewhat... however, one of 
Ranma-kun and Akane-chan friend is quite the expert on the dish."

"Oh?"

"And her own restaurant as well."

"Perhaps we should ask her advice for the evening?"

Kasumi, no fool to what Ukyou may be feeling with Akane having becoming 
much more open to Ranma and vice versa, showed reluctance. "She may be busy
with her schooling."

"She still schools? Well, then, she must be a driven young woman."

"Oh yes, very much so. She reminds of Nabiki-chan sometimes."

"Well, I would like to meet a friend of Akane's. Shall we go after 
school?"

Kasumi was not good at hiding her body language as she placed the rice 
bowls aside.

"Is something wrong, dear?"

"This girl, had quite an affection for Ranma."

"I see...."

They resumed the cleaning, silence settling around them.

"Still... I would like to meet her," she slipped in.

"And I think you should, Mother. She's a wonderful girl."

"Then I will!" she declared, raising a wet wood plate, causing Kasumi to 
lean away. Then, much more quietly, she set it down. "...eventually," she  said,
a silly grin on her face.

"Oh Mother!" Kasumi laughed.



Chapter 9:  Nodoka Saotome
A Mother's Love


        Nodoka smiled as she looked at the pig sty that was Nabiki's room.
There were photographs everywhere.  A variety of business journals littered the
desk.  Clothes were strewn about the ground.  That was strange.  Why would
Akane's and Kasumi's clothes be in Nabiki's room?  All in all, a mess that was
worthy enough for her to clean.  Gods only knew how much they owed her friend's
family for their stay at the Tendo household.

        Nodoka went about picking up the clothes first and put them all into the
laundry basket that she carried with her.  The books were next as she placed
them all neatly on the bookshelf beside the desk.  When she got to the
photographs, she stopped.  Oh, my!  Most of the pictures were of her son in
varying degrees of nudity.  In female form.  She wondered if her friend knew of
her daughter's preference.  She was pleased that her son had attracted the
interest of a female, but she was not happy that that interest was directed to
Ranma's girl form.  Maybe she would talk her son into straightening Nabiki out.

        Moving along, Nodoka couldn't help but notice a shiny locket twinkling
at her.  Which was weird in itself as there was no sunlight in the room at the
moment.  She absently picked it up and tried to find a place to put it.  She
glanced about the room and noticed it was still pretty dirty.  What was wrong
with her?  Her skill in cleaning rivaled that of Kasumi's.  She should have been
done by now.

        Nodoka sighed.  In her heart she knew what the problem was.  Glancing
down at her hand, she noticed she had again unconsciously drawn the sword.  She
cursed it.  She hated it with a vengeance.  She knew that if she were to catch
Ranma in a less than manly act, she would have to use it on him.  She should
never have made Ranma promise her that when he was a child.  Every day she lived
in fear of the katana and what it meant.  She tried putting it away for good at
times, but then she would see something unmanly in her son and she would pull it
out again.

        "I wish that Ranma was manly enough that I would never have to pull this
blade out!"  Nodoka breathed deeply.  That felt much better. 
Sometimes it was good to let everything out.

                        * * * * *

        Nabiki blinked.  Damn.  She should have put that locket away the first
chance she got when Ukyo had given it back to her.  Oh, well.  That wish
Auntie Saotome made wasn't all that bad.  It was then she remembered
Aunties 'traditional' ideas of manliness.  She felt the intricate
workings of the wish take effect.  She found that by concentrating, she
could make out parts of what the wish's effect would be.  Her jaw
dropped.  Oh, boy.

                        * * * * *

        <Slam!>

        Nodoka looked up from her chores at the sound of the door slamming shut.
She watched as Akane stomped upstairs.  Ranma followed a little farther behind.
His expression was also dark.  She decided to find out what was the matter.
"Ranma, wait a moment.  What has gotten you and Akane so riled up?"

        "It's Shampoo.  She and her great-grandmother are back," Ranma growled
out.

        Nodoka couldn't believe the venom she heard in her son's voice.  "How?
I thought they promised never to return.  And isn't Shampoo supposed to be a
cat?"

        "Cologne couldn't go back to Joketsuzoku, so they decided to come back
to Japan under different names.  Cologne and Shampoo.  Cologne claims that
Shampoo turned back into a human just today and guess what? 
Shampoo's pregnant," Ranma related to his mother.

        "Weren't those their names already?"  Nodoka was growing more puzzled by
the minute.  "And you say Shampoo's pregnant?"

        "No, legally their names are Ke Lun and Shan Pu.  Yeah, that's what she
says at least.  It's a bunch of bull if you ask me."

        "Well, have they tried anything dreadful on you already?  They've made
you accept responsibility, right?"

        At this, Ranma faltered.  "Well no, but I know they will.  They always
do."

        Nodoka nodded in agreement.

                        * * * * *

        Nodoka looked up from her stitching and motioned for her son to stop
pacing.  It wasn't manly to be such a worry wart.

        "It's been two weeks already.  What have they got planned?  I know
they're going to do something."  Ranma was growing irritated at Cologne and
Shampoo for ignoring him.

        "Ranma, have you considered that they might not want anything to do with
you anymore?  They're banished from the village and thus no longer have to
follow its laws anymore.  I don't imagine that they would want another incident
like the last one to happen again."

        Ranma waved that opinion off.  "No, I don't believe it.  Not after what
Shampoo did to me."

        "Shampoo?  What did she do?  She hasn't tried to talk with you since she
left.  It was you that went to the grand reopening of the
Nekohanten."

        "No, no.  It was before that.  It was during those five days of hell
they called a marriage.  She cast a spell over me."

        "Oh?  Perhaps I can help then.  That nice friend of yours gave us a book
to cure any such spells Shampoo might use against you."

        Ranma brightened at this.  "Why didn't you tell me this before?  Quick,
I need the cure."

        "Okay wait a moment, let me the ingredients for divining what spell
exactly was cast on you."

                        * * * * *

        "What do you mean there's no spell on me?"  Ranma grabbed the book off
the table and searched through it once again.

        Nodoka shook her head at the futility of Ranma's actions.  Wiping her
eyelids down again with the olive leaves she gazed at Ranma's aura. Other than
the warring forces of yin and yang, there was nothing else contained in his aura
that would suggest a spell was upon him.  "Ranma, perhaps you had better tell me
what happened between you and Shampoo."

        Ranma nodded warily.  His strength flowed out of him in defeat.  "She
must have cast a spell on me.  Why else would I feel sorry for her? 
There I said it.  I feel sorry for her.  I'm not in the least bit angry
with her."

        Ranma felt as if an anchor that had been tied to his soul had lifted as
he finally admitted his feelings.  "Every night of our marriage, Shampoo came to
me as a wife.  I never responded to any of her overtures.  But my body betrayed
me and she used that fact to ravish it.  And at the end of each night, she
begged me, pleaded with me to respond to her, but I wouldn't.  So, she would
cry.  She would cry until the sun came up.  She would then go to work and come
back again the next night.  This went on for four days.  On the fifth day, she
only cuddled up to my body and did nothing more.  Even in her sleep she cried."

        Nodoka turned her back on her son.  If she didn't see the tears, she
wouldn't see the proof against her son's manliness.  "I... see.  Ranma, she did
not cast a spell on you.  What you are feeling is natural.  You told me of the
two destinies Desaix had said you would have.  He said you would have eventually
grown to love Shampoo had you stayed on that path.  Did he tell you how long it
would take or what the first seed of that love would be?  No, I thought not."

        Nodoka sighed as she thought of all the implications of starting on the
path to one destiny and switching over to the other one at mid point. "I don't
think the other destiny he predicted for you is exactly correct because of the
length of time you spent on the path in which you were meant for Shampoo.  You
have Ukyo as a friend still, yet you are on the path to be wed to Akane.  The
two paths could very well have joined
together, or maybe a new destiny was forged."

        Ranma sighed.  It was just not his day.

        "Umm... Ranma, did you remember to control your thoughts?"

        The mindlink!  Ranma groaned.  Definitely not his day.

                        * * * * *

        Ukyo's face was expressionless as she watched the Tendo and Saotome
family sit down at one of the tables.  What could she have been thinking when
she agreed to let Ranma and Shampoo talk it out using her
restaurant as neutral ground?

        She cursed herself for her moment of weakness.  She had thought she
could finally accept Akane and Ranma as a couple, but the moment she saw him her
knees buckled.  He had only to ask her and she had been willing to grant even
such a favor as this.  She had been surprised to find that her friendship
remained even with Ranma apparently no longer available to her.  She began to
wonder about the true meaning of the wish she had made.  She had wished for a
friend as nice as Ranma.  Who else but Ranma could fit that description?  So,
she had basically wasted her wish.  She sighed when she came to that conclusion.

        Shampoo's face was a marble mask.  Ranma shivered as he remembered that
was the exact look Shampoo had given him during the reversal jewel incident.
"Look.  Just come out and say it.  Do you want me to marry you?  I won't, you
know.  I'm with Akane and that's that.  I will take responsibility for the
child, but nothing else."

        "Ranma drag Shampoo out of store to say this?  Shampoo no want Ranma
help.  Shampoo take care of child.  Ranma no need for concern."  Shampoo hoped
that she could hold out just a little longer.  Seeing him again threatened to
bring her to tears.  Oh, her ancestors forgive her, she still wanted him.

        Akane just sat there stunned.  The emotions she felt from Ranma in the
past couple of weeks shocked her beyond belief.  Her heart pounded with a dull
aching pain as she could feel Ranma's eyes gaze at either Shampoo or Ukyo.  She
felt guilty at all the times she forced Ranma to spar with her.  Ranma
absolutely hated hurting a girl under any circumstance.  How was Ranma able to
hide all of this from her with their mindlink in place?

        Akane could only think of one answer.  He held all of the pain within
himself to protect her from the brunt of it.  These past days were so hectic, he
must have lost some of that control.  For the first time, Akane began to see the
real Ranma and finally understood all that he had given up for her happiness.

        Through Ranma's random memories, Akane also felt for the first time true
sympathy for Shampoo.  She was no longer angry at Shampoo for having sex with
Ranma.  She had 'overheard' everything during Ranma's talk with his mother.
Shampoo had always cried in pain during and after the act.  Physical pain during
and mental anguish after.  It seemed that even now, both parties suffered from
that anguish.  That was a situation that Akane was going to rectify.

        Nodoka watched along with the rest of the people as Akane got up and
walked towards Shampoo.  She held her breath as she waited for what
Akane was about to do.

        Shampoo gasped as Akane's arms came around her.  Not to throttle her,
but to... hug her.  All of a sudden the tears came.  She grabbed Akane and
hugged her back fervently.

        Ukyo sighed.  What the hell.  You only lived once.

        Ranma stared at the scene before him.  Akane was crying, but she was
happy?  Finally, the girls' crying subsided.  Ranma struggled to listen in on
the conversation.  A few moments later the talking stopped.  He strangely felt
like a mouse being eyed by three hungry cats as the three girls turned and
looked at him.  Akane's thoughts had decidedly turned naughty.

                        * * * * *

        "Auntie Saotome, there's something I want to ask you."

        "What is it, Nabiki?"

        "Would you consider a baby to be ultimate proof of a man's maleness?"

        "Of course."

        "Three wives wouldn't hurt in defining a man as a man, right?"

        "If anything, I proves even greater manliness.  Why are you asking me
this, Nabiki?"

        "No reason."

        "Oh, wait a moment, Nabiki.  There is something I feel I must speak to
you about.  Your obsession with my son's cursed form has got to stop.  Don't
you think his male form is much more pleasing to the eye?"

        Nabiki bolted out the door.

                        * * * * *



Chapter 10:  Kodachi Kuno
Ohohohohoho My Goddess!


She walked steadily down the darkened streets, her footsteps
echoing like thunder. A cool breeze blowing through her hair did little
to calm the fire that burned within her. Don't think about it. Just keep
moving.

It had hurt to leave. It was as if she had spent most of her life
cooking what she thought would be the perfect meal, and had then had to
throw it out because the ingredients were bad. But it would have hurt
worse to stay. And she didn't even know who to blame, whose fault it was
that everything good in her life had turned sour. Ranma? The magic
wishing amulet? Nabiki?

She could see a figure up ahead, barely visible in the
moonlight. Who would be out on the streets at two in the morning? A
criminal, maybe. Her hand reached back to rest on the hilt of her
weapon. If he tried to mug her, he'd be in for a surprise. She almost
hoped that he would; beating someone into a pulp might work off some of
her frustrations.

She walked past the dark figure, not bothering to slow down.
"Whoever you are, if you're looking to mess with someone, I'm the wrong
person. Stay out of my way, or I'll teach you a new lesson in pain." She
was, after all, an expert on it by now.

"Hey, take it easy! I'm not looking for any trouble." The voice
was familiar. "Ukyo? Is that you?"

"Ryoga?" Stepping closer, Ukyo could see the outline of the
familiar bandanna. "What on Earth are you doing wandering out here at
this time of night? I thought that magic wishing locket gave you a sense
of direction?"

"Yeah. A sense of direction!" He spoke with an almost child-like
excitement in his voice. "I can go anywhere I want, and find my way
back! It's like I was blind, and now I'm not!"

"That's great. I'm happy for you, sugar," she said, trying to
sound upbeat and failing miserably.

"I know it's weird, but sometimes I can't even sleep at night,
knowing that there are places to go and that I can get to them." Ryoga
pointed. "Akane's house is down that way, about a couple of miles.
And her school is...." He stopped talking and looked down at Ukyo's face. "Are--
are you all right?"

"I'm fine." What good would it do to tell him? He probably
didn't really care anyway.

"You don't look fine." He moved a little closer. "Did you have a
fight with Ranma? Or with-- with someone else?"

"No. Not exactly. It's nothing important," Ukyo declared firmly.
"I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

"Uh... if you say so...." Ryoga stood silent for a moment,
pausing awkwardly. "Anyway, Furinkan is south from here, six blocks past
the...."

"Just tell me one thing." Ukyo grabbed onto the collar of
Ryoga's shirt. "Why the *hell* did I have to make a dumb wish like that
one? 'Someone nice like Ran-chan for my friend.' Of all the things I
could've asked for!"

Ryoga nodded slightly. "Um, yeah, that's...."

"And that Nabiki! Her wish made her the final interpreter of all
the other wishes. She must have *known* how things would turn out! Did
she *really* think I wanted to be one of Ranma's harem girls?"

"Well, I, uh..."

Ukyo noticed that her face was less than an inch away from Ryoga's. She abruptly
backed up. "But I don't want to talk about it."

"Look, Ukyo... is there anything I can do to help?"

"Yes." Ukyo could feel tears forming in her eyes. "Yes, there
is. Let's go to my restaurant. I want... I want to cook for somebody." She
desperately needed someone to eat her food, to tell her how good it was; to know
that she was the best at something. "It's two blocks from here."

"Actually, it's only a block and a ha--" Ryoga cleared his
throat. "Um, sure, that'd be great. Lead the way."

***

It was once said that the night has a thousand eyes. One such
pair of eyes, hidden in the darkness, watched the pair walk off. Their
owner suppressed the urge to laugh out loud.

Poor dear little girl, she thought with a sneer as she bounded
away in the opposite direction from that in which the pair had gone. No
doubt the girl had learned the truth -- that dear Ranma's heart did not
belong to her. So very touching. Kuno Kodachi was always one to
appreciate good tragic drama.

Kodachi's black cloak billowed in the wind as she moved silently
through the night, leaping from rooftop to rooftop. The wind's invisible
touch played over her body, like the caress of some secret lover. One
thing Ukyo had said stuck in her mind. A magic locket that could grant
wishes? It was the stuff of children's fairy tales; one would have to be
insane to believe in such a thing.

On the other hand, so many strange things had happened in Nerima
lately, while Kodachi had been on vacation. Two mysterious deaths, then
Ranma-sama marrying that Chinese barbarian waitress, and divorcing her
immediately after. Then the waitress vanishing, then re-appearing and
moving in with Ranma, along with that cook. Not that these events couldn't be
explained rationally, but they certainly indicated that something quite unusual
was afoot.

In the end, Kodachi had to trust in her intuition. Some inner
sense was telling her that there *was* something here -- something that
could lead to unprecedented opportunity for someone with the vision and
skill to take advantage of it. That last qualification eliminated most
of the population of Nerima, of course; Kodachi had to admit that the
idea of some of them having inadvertently wished themselves dead was
quite plausible.

The possibilities were intoxicating; a wish that could give
Kodachi anything she wanted; and there was oh so much that she wanted.
But even if the fairy tale was real, what guarantee was there that she
would get what she asked for? Any wish she made could be misinterpreted.
Kodachi knew better than anyone how playing by someone else's rules was
a recipe for failure.

Suddenly, as she neared the Tendo home, she remembered something
else that the cook had said. An idea crossed her mind, and she laughed, and
laughed, and laughed...

***

"It all seemed so good at first. Ranma living together with all
three of us. Marrying Ranma was what I'd always wanted. I didn't want to
share him, but it seemed like the best I could do."

"Uh..." Ryoga had no idea what he ought to say. Handling this
kind of situation wasn't something he knew how to do. "Was it... was it
really that bad?"

"Uh huh. What happened was Ranma and Akane were a couple, while
Shampoo and I were just sort of... extra. The way they look at each
other, it's like there's something going between them that we're just
not part of. Kinda like we were the family pets, y'know?"

"I know." Ryoga nodded. "Damn Ranma. How the hell could he do something like
that?"

"That's my Ran-chan. He can be sweet, and he can be a complete ass." Ukyo
sighed. "At the same time. Thanks for listening, Ryoga. You're a nice guy."

"Th- thanks." Ryoga had had no idea what to say, so he had
mostly just let Ukyo talk. That seemed to be good enough. "You're nice,
too. Thanks for the food, it was great! But I suppose I'd better go
now."

"Glad you liked it, sugar." Ukyo beamed with what seemed like
genuine happiness. "G'night! See you tomorrow. Like they say, it's
another day."

***

"Breakfast!"

Nabiki forced herself out of bed at the sound of her mother's
voice. Her mind was foggy, and she wanted nothing more than to just go
back to sleep. Still she managed to move her legs down the stairs, and
before she knew it she was seated at the table, half-listening to the
conversation.

"Shampoo, would you like some rice?"

"Hm? Oh. Thank you."

"Pass the soy sauce, will you, Tendo?"

"That's strange, I wonder where Ukyo is? Oh, hello! Look,
everyone, we have a visitor!"

Nabiki turned. Kuno Kodachi stood in the room, clad in her black
rose leotard. Her arms were folded across her chest, and a confident
smirk adorned her face.

Akane snorted. "What do *you* want?"

"Why, to say hello to darling Ranma, of course! I've been out of
town, and I've just recently acquired a lovely little piece of jewelry
that I'm just dying to show him!" She let something shiny dangle from
her hand. Nabiki looked closer and saw that it was the wishing locket.

"Oh my, it looks lovely!" Kasumi exclaimed.

"What are you doing with that?!" Akane's eyes widened, as did
Ranma's.

Nabiki shuddered. The locket had been on her desk the evening
before. Kodachi had to have broken in and taken it. To Nabiki it was
disconcerting; like finding out that her room was infested with
cockroaches that crawled all over her as she slept. Nerima's favorite
psychotic gymnast would have to be punished soon, as an object lesson.

"Um, that looks kinda cool." Ranma inched a little closer to
Kodachi. "Mind if I see it once?"

"Oh, but I'm not through with it yet, darling." Kodachi smiled
evilly as she clutched the heart-shaped charm tightly in her fist. "Now,
let's see... if I could wish for anything I liked, whatever would it
be?"

"Go ahead and wish." Nabiki smirked. She was going to take great
pleasure in twisting Kodachi's request into something disastrous for
her.

"Very well, then." Kodachi raised her arm in front of her face,
the locket held between two fingers. "Magic amulet, I wish I were a
goddess."

"Okay." A now-familiar metaphysical opening appeared in Nabiki's
consciousness. Her mind reached inside and quickly issued instructions,
like a foreman to a building crew. She knew exactly how to give Kodachi
what she deserved. "There. You're a goddess."

"Thank you." Kodachi grinned. The locket tumbled out of her
grasp, falling to the floor.

All eyes turned toward Nabiki in puzzlement, as though she had
just made a joke and they were struggling desperately to comprehend the
punchline.

Kodachi began to laugh.

Something was wrong, terribly wrong. The wish should've
backfired already -- shouldn't it? Nabiki couldn't even seem to recall what
interpretation she had forced onto the wish. She had been certain that it would
lead to disaster for Kodachi; but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't
seem to remember what kind of disaster.

"Kodachi?" Akane said angrily. "What...."

"Mmmm." Kodachi gazed lazily through half-lidded eyes. "I think
you should all address me as Kodachi-sama."

A chill swept through the room. A pale yellow light surrounded
Kodachi, becoming brighter with each passing second. Her laugh grew
louder, louder, until it seemed to resonate into something beyond
physical.

*Oh, gods,* Nabiki thought. *What have I just done?* If there
was a joke here, it was on her. On all of them.

***

"You've just become WHAT?!" Ranma's jaw dropped. "You've gotta
be kidding!"

"A goddess, darling. Never mind. Just come to me!" Kodachi's arm
gestured toward him. A nebulous glow seemed to follow in the direction
she pointed, wafting over Ranma's body. He stood, suddenly blank-eyed
and expressionless, stepping slowly toward the gymnast, as if
sleepwalking.

"Ranma? What are you DOING?!" Akane grabbed Ranma's arm. He
continued his zombie march forward, not paying attention to her in the
least, until he stood next to Kodachi.

"I'm afraid darling Ranma is mine now," Kodachi said, her tone
condescending and mocking.

"Oh yeah?" Akane planted her legs into a fighting stance. Then
her eyes narrowed. "I've got a better idea." She bent down and picked up
the wishing locket. "Now that you've had your turn...."

"Akane, you've already had a wish!" Nabiki said urgently. "Give
it to someone else!"

Akane scanned the room, then threw the locket. "Mr. Saotome!
Catch!"

Genma caught the amulet. His mouth opened, his lips moved, but no sound was
heard.

"Mr. Saotome?! What's wrong?"

"Mmm." Kodachi's fingers lazily stroked Ranma's hair. "I think
silence is golden, don't you?"

"STOP IT!" Akane glared at the gymnast, her fists tightly
clenched. "Let him talk! Stop whatever it is you're doing to Ranma! Or I
swear I'll...."

"Akane, NO!" Nabiki shouted. Couldn't she see how dangerous
Kodachi had become? They needed a plan. They needed time to think of
one.

"Oh, I can see why you're upset. My taking darling Ranma away
leaves you with no one, doesn't it?" Kodachi flashed a haughty smile at
Akane. "How inconsiderate of me. Allow me to rectify my oversight."

Akane had no time to react. Her body seemed to swirl, colors
mixing together like cake batter. Her clothes slumped to the ground,
empty. From below, a voice squealed. "Buu-keeeeee!"

"There! I've made you just like that pet of yours. I'm sure the
two of you will be a wonderful couple."

"AKANE?!" Soun's head grew instantly into a twisted demon-mask.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY DAUGHTER?!?" He stopped short as a yellowish
translucent globe sprang up, surrounding him and his wife. His fists
banged against it, to no apparent avail.

"Now, then. Does anyone else wish to dispute my claim to Ranma
dearest?" Kodachi turned toward Shampoo. "You, perhaps?"

"Not fight you." Shampoo answered lifelessly, her eyes not
leaving the floor. "Can't."

"How very sensible of you, my dear. The rest of you might take
this as a lesson. Stay out of my way, and I'll leave you alone. Become
annoyances, and you will be dealt with."

Nodoka stared defiantly at Kodachi. "Young lady, there may be
nothing those of us here can do against you. But there are true gods in
this world, and you shall be held accountable to them."

"Perhaps I shall. Until then, au revoir." Black rose petals
suddenly filled the air around Kodachi and Ranma, as they began to fade
from view.

"Oh, dear. Oh, dear." Kasumi stared forlornly at the rose-petal
covered floor where Kodachi and Ranma had just disappeared. "I'd better
get started on cleaning this."

***

Ten rings. No answer. Ukyo kept the receiver tightly pressed
against her ear, Fifteen rings. Twenty. She finally gave up and hung up
the phone. Ryoga was probably out walking again. Hopefully, he'd be back
later.

Nice. He had said that she was nice. She felt a bit foolish,
like a schoolgirl infatuated with her latest heartthrob. But talking to
Ryoga had made her feel so good. And as she had lain awake afterwards,
she had thought about the wish she had made. *Someone nice like
Ran-chan.* Ryoga was nice. And he had appeared almost like magic, right
after she had made the wish. It couldn't have been coincidence.

*Mrs. Ukyo Hibiki.* That had a nice ring to it. Maybe the wish
hadn't been wasted after all.

***

Tatewaki Kuno stood on the grounds of the Kuno estate, his feet
planted firmly apart in a defiant stance. "I implore you, Sister. Cast
out whatever foul power it is that possesses you!"

Kodachi was quite unimpressed. "I am not possessed, Brother. *I*
am the power."

"No good can come to those who dabble in dark sorcery. I call
upon the demons that have tempted you with their evil deceit to release
my sister, and if they do not, I shall have to battle you for your own
good!"

"Brother, dear. I offer you one last chance to desist. If you
continue to pester me, I shall be forced to deal with you."

"I'll deal wid'em, Kotchi!" The father of the two moved toward
Tatewaki, grinning wildly, armed with a pair of scissors in his right
hand. "I thinkin' dis brudda goan' get a new haircut right about now."

Tatewaki casually swatted his father away with his bokken. The
would-be Hawaiian flew through the air, crashing face-first into an oak
tree. "I have no intention of allowing you to continue towards your own
destruction, Sister. For the sake of your own...."

Kodachi interrupted. Her brother was irritating her, and she no
longer had to put up with him. "Very well, then." She visualized
Tatewaki vanishing from this place and re-appearing at the south pole.
Flexing a muscle in her mind, she made it happen.

Of course, her dear brother would eventually find his way back
home. He was nothing if not persistent. Perhaps, though, a little time
in the antarctic would... cool him off.

"And what of you, Father? You have three choices. You may
worship my glory. You may keep out of my sight. Or you may meet with an
unfortunate fate."

Kodachi's father stared at the empty space where his son had
just been standing. "If dat's my choices, I t'ink I pick glory."

"A wise choice, Father. You may have the honor of being the
keeper of this, my first temple." Kodachi handed a piece of paper to her
father. "Here is a list of modifications to the building. Have these
made right away."

"I goan' get right on it!" The elder Kuno took the paper in hand
and marched away. He began to sing, loudly and off-key, "Glory, glory,
hallelujah! Worship Kotchi's what I do, YEAH!"

*My father is stranger than I thought,* Kodachi observed. Still,
he had his uses. Remodeling the mansion into a temple would give him
something to do.

And now, she had something to do. It was time to enjoy the
pleasures that her new status afforded her. Starting with darling Ranma.

***

A thought stabbed into Akane's consciousness. *Hello?*

*Ranma!? Where-- where are you?*

*I don't know. Someone's bedroom. I just woke up. The last thing
I remember is Kodachi making a wish. What the heck is going on?*

*She's-- she's got powers now. She turned me into a pig. Like
P-chan. I--*

*Akane, she's here. She just appeared from nowhere. What's she
doing? She's taking off her--*

Akane concentrated, trying to bring an image into focus. A
kimono being thrown to the floor. A book next to it? She tried to make
out the title. Sexual techniques of the gods? The kami s--*

Ranma's perceptions abruptly jerked toward a fully naked
Kodachi. *Oh my gods... I think she's-- she's gonna--*

*Ranma, what's she doing? What's happening?*

*Akane, my arms and legs and... are moving around on their own!
Like I'm a puppet! And I'm... oh gods, no!* Fear. Ranma was terrified of
what was happening. As a martial artist, he was willing to battle
against any opponent; but how could he fight when his body wouldn't obey
him? *No, please... she's making me... help me, Akane!*

*Oh, Ranma... I wish I could.* Akane's pig eyes were squeezed
tightly shut, but the images still flooded into her consciousness. No!
She didn't want to see! But something wouldn't let her cut off the
telepathic link. She could feel Ranma's mind, hanging on to hers as if
it were the only thing keeping him from drowning. She had to stay. As
bad as it was for her, it was infinitely worse for him.

In her imagination, Akane pretended that she and Ranma were
together. She followed along with Kodachi's movements, making love to
Ranma's mind while the gymnast ravaged his body. And Ranma did the same,
visualizing her in place of Kodachi. He wanted to be with *her.* That had always
been one of Akane's deepest fears -- that Ranma would find himself with one of
his other women, and he would *like* it. But it was happening, and he felt
nothing but revulsion from
Kodachi's touch. He wanted to be with her.

She held him in a mental embrace, sending all the warmth and
hope that she could summon up. A telepathic communion. It was the best
they could do for now.

***

By mid-afternoon, the Tendo living room had turned into a
staring contest. Everyone looked blankly around the room, not knowing
what else to do.

Nabiki glanced over at her sisters. Kasumi sat cross-legged on
the floor, with P-kane on her lap. The girl-turned-pig's eyelids were
pressed tightly together, as if she were desperately trying to will
herself to somewhere else. *Good luck,* Nabiki silently said.

She reached over to pick up the heart-shaped locket. "I still
think that this might be the key to --" The sound of her voice abruptly
cut off as she touched the heart. The locket loved to give people what
they wish for. But what did *it* want? What was *its* innermost desire?

Genma-panda held up a sign that read, THE AMULET SILENCES ANYONE
WHO TOUCHES IT. WE ALL TRIED IT. He set the sign aside and went back to
munching from a bag of potato chips.

"SAOTOME!" Soun stood, glaring angrily at the panda. "My
daughter's been turned into a pig, your son's been kidnapped, and all
you can do is hold up signs? Why can't you do something useful?!"

"Dear, please." Mother Tendo took her husband by the arm,
pulling him away. "He's trying his best. We all are."

"I'm sorry, Saotome." Soun sighed. "I should have gone to the
temple with Nodoka-san. Praying would be better than sitting here doing
nothing."

P-kane squealed. It was a high-pitched, pain-filled moaning
sound. Kasumi petted her, humming softly. "It's all right, Akane. It'll
be all right." P-kane nuzzled her head against Kasumi's stomach. Kasumi
was always there when her family needed her. In so many ways, she was
Nabiki and Akane's real mother; not the other woman who had given birth
to them, then went away for ten years, and who they still didn't really
know at all.

*Damn it.* It was no use. How the hell could Nabiki come up with
a plan to stop Kodachi when she had no information with which to work?
She needed to know Kodachi's capabilities, her limits and weaknesses. If
any.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Shampoo. There *was* one
thing left to try.

"Shampoo," she said. "Come with me, please. I need your help
with something."

The Amazon didn't look up. "Why you need Shampoo?" She had been
listless for the past few weeks. The doctors had diagnosed it as natal
depression. Nabiki wondered if it wasn't something more.

"Because you're the most familiar with that little cookbook that
Mousse left for us," Nabiki answered. "I can't even read Chinese all
that well."

Shampoo stood up, following Nabiki into the kitchen.

***

Unseen, a pair of eyes watched from a concealed position on the
porch. *Verrrrrry interesting,* the person thought.

He should've been more careful. It hadn't been at all smart of
him to leave an artifact of such power just lying around where anyone
could've found it. In retrospect, he was lucky that one of them hadn't
accidentally sunk Japan into the ocean. Not that that would've been any
great loss, but a lot of nubile young ladies would've perished, and he
might not even have been able to recover their underthings.

No matter. He had rested, but it was time for him to get back to
doing what he did best. And for all their careless bumbling, these
amateurs had accomplished something with the wishing locket that meant a
golden opportunity for him. The opportunity of a lifetime.

He moved silently down the street under the cover of the
evening's shadows. Now was his chance. Soon, his greedy little hands
would be fondling the underwear of a goddess.

***

The phone was answered after five rings. "Hello?"

"Hello? Ryoga?"

"Oh, hi, Ukyo! I just walked in the door a minute ago."

"What a coincidence! Anyway, how are you, sugar? Been out
walking again?"

"Yeah. Walking, and... thinking."

"About what?" *About me?*

"Oh, this and that... about my life, mostly. I used to wander
around all the time because I had no sense of direction. Now that that's
over, I've decided that I want to do something more."

"Like what?"

His voice trembled with nervousness. "Ukyo, I... I'm talking
about starting a family. There's... someone I know who I want to ask to
marry me. She's really nice, and I'm pretty sure she likes me a lot.
I'm... I'm thinking about proposing to her."

"Oh, YES! I mean, I'm sure that's what she'd say."

"You really think so?"

"I do! I mean, of course that's what I think." *Oh. please! Ask!
ASK!*

"All right, I'm going to ask her! Yes! I've got to do it before
I lose my nerve! I'm going to call Akari RIGHT NOW!"

The name struck Ukyo like a sword through the chest. "Ak--?"

"Thanks, Ukyo. You gave me the confidence boost that I needed.
You're a good friend. Talk to you later!"

"I-- no problem, hon." She tried to keep from crying. "I'm sure
she'll want to marry you. I mean, who wouldn't?"

A dial tone buzzed in Ukyo's ear. She set the receiver back onto
its cradle, as carefully and gently as if it were a newborn child. For a
few moments, she paused, gazing idly at the telephone. Then the giant
spatula came off her back and into her hands.

"AAAAAIIIIEEEEE!!" The spatula crashed down onto the phone,
cracking open the casing. "DIE! DIE! DIE!" Another blow tore the cord,
sending the receiver flying across the room. Another, and another, and
the telephone was soon mostly reduced to debris, as was the table it had
been sitting on, though that didn't stop Ukyo from continuing to pound
on them.

Drained and exhausted, she collapsed onto her futon, asking
herself the same question over and over. *Why? WHY?*

And she remembered the wish she had made. *I wish I had someone
nice like Ran-chan for my friend.*

That's what it had given her. Someone like Ran-chan. Exactly like...

And as Ukyo clutched her pillow tightly, sobbing into it, she
wished that she'd never heard of Ranma. Or Ryoga. Or magic lockets.

But no one answered her wish.

***

It was early morning. Nabiki strode purposefully down the
streets of Nerima. The sun had only risen about an hour ago and, she
observed dryly, she had already acquired two shadows.

"Are you going to the Nekohanten?" Mousse asked. He stood ahead
of her, walking backwards.

"Yep." Nabiki quickened her pace, making Mousse and his
companion move faster to keep up.

"Are you going to see Cologne?" the woman asked. She looked
almost but not quite identical to Shampoo. A tight silk Chinese dress
covered her shapely yet slender form. She wore tan hose on her
well-toned legs. Both she and Mousse had an ethereal quality, as though
you could almost see through them if you stared close enough.

"Yup." *That's eight; twelve questions left,* Nabiki silently
quipped.

"Is this part of a plan to stop Kodachi?" Mousse asked.

"Maybe." Nabiki was getting rather irritated. "I don't know if
Kodachi worries you in your current state, Mousse, but if there's
anything you can do or suggest to help us, feel free."

"We can't do anything against Kodachi," the woman said, flatly,
as if reciting a prepared stock response. "She's made a wish, and it's
been granted. All we can do is let it run its course."

She hadn't taken the same attitude towards Mousse's wish. Funny,
that. Nabiki scratched her head. Something was odd here. "Um, Miss
Guardian Angel, or whatever your name is... do you mind if I ask *you* a
question?"

"Not at all. Go right ahead."

"Why are you wearing western-style nylons with a classical
Chinese dress?"

"The nylons were the result of another wish. I granted one for
some young man before Happosai brought the locket to your home."

"He wished for a pair of nylons?"

"No. His wish was that he had a name that was truly appropriate
for him. Then he vanished, and these appeared in his place. Strange,
really."

Nabiki winced hard. Then she noticed that she had arrived. She
knocked loudly on the Nekohanten's door.

Cologne poked her head out. "I'm sorry, we're not open yet.
Please come back at eight."

"I'm here to feed you, not the other way around." Nabiki held
out a glass of liquid. "Drink this, if you would."

Cologne sniffed at the liquid. "No, I wouldn't. I know Amazon herbs when I smell
them. I happen to be a bit more intelligent than you evidently think."

"Oh, I think you're very intelligent. You're smart enough to
know that nothing in that cookbook of yours -- let alone anything *I*
could come up with -- is strong enough to affect you for more than a few
hours. I'm not stupid either. I'm smart enough to know that if I tricked
you, you could make me regret it in many, many ways."

Cologne stared at the liquid. "What is it?"

"A memory restorative. Drink up."

"Nabiki, what are you doing?" Mousse protested. "Don't you know
how dangerous she is?"

She shot back with an irate glare. "Kodachi, right now, is more
dangerous. I don't have a clue how to stop her. Neither do you,
apparently. Information that we need might be stored in Cologne's
memory." She spat out the words with hostility and impatience. "Now, do
you have a better idea?"

Mousse didn't answer. Nabiki handed the potion to Cologne, who
began to drink. Nabiki hoped that she hadn't just handed Ranma over to
Shampoo. But then, that could hardly be worse than his current state of
affairs.

"Thank you, child." Cologne's expression seemed to sharpen as
she handed the drink back to Nabiki. About a quarter of it remained.

"Don't you want to finish it?" she asked.

"No. I want you to. I need you to tell me everything that's
happened because of this magical locket, and I don't want you to neglect
a single detail."

***

Ranma woke as he felt someone's lips meet his own.

"Good morning, Ranma darling." Kodachi leaned over him. She was
dressed in a brightly-colored floral kimono.

He stretched lazily on the bed. "Mornin'."

"How are you feeling? Better?"

"Yeah. I had this really weird dream. I was gonna marry Akane,
and then you turned her into a little piglet."

"A pig?" She laughed. "How amusing. I only hope that Akane is
getting the help she needs."

"It don't matter to me. All she ever did is beat me up and make
me eat her lousy cooking. You were always the one who was my best
friend. Every time she and I had an argument, you were always there to
hear my side of it."

"Mmmm. Leaving Akane doesn't make you sad?"

"Nope. You were always the one for me. I musta been crazy not to
see it." He pushed himself backwards, sitting up with his back against
the bedboard. "So, what are you planning for today?"

"You'll see." She grinned. "Yesterday, I found out for myself
how much I could do. Today, the world will learn." She sat next to him,
stroking a hand over his chest hairs. "Of course, I could stay here a
little while longer...."

"Um, I'm still kinda tired. Lemme take a rain check, okay?"

"As you wish. I'll return shortly." She kissed him, then pulled
back. "Until then, goodbye, my love!" Kodachi abruptly disappeared from
the room.

Ranma sat back and waited, his vision scanning several times
back and forth around the bedroom. After a few moments, he was satisfied
that she had gone.

*Akane? Are you there?*

*I'm here. Are you all right?*

*Yeah. I think I managed to fool her. She really thinks I'm
brainwashed.*

*You nearly had me fooled too, you know.*

*Hey, c'mon. All that stuff about best friends? It'd take a
complete idiot to believe that crap!*

*Yes, well...* Akane decided that she had better say something,
and quickly. *It's just that... she's so powerful!*

*Yeah, I know. Actually, she nearly had me.* If he hadn't had
Akane's mind with him, anchoring him to reality.... *But at least this
way, she's not controlling my body anymore. And she thinks I'm on her
side now.*

*Good. That's an advantage for us.* They would certainly need
any advantage they could get.

*How are you doing? Did you sleep OK?*

*All right, I guess. Kasumi let me sleep with her in her room. I
hate being a pig!*

*Yeah, I don't blame you.* It was that idiot Ryoga's fault. If
he hadn't kept acting like Akane's pet....

*Ranma!* Akane's thoughts suddenly burst into happy excitement.
*That's right! P-CHAN WAS RYOGA!*

*Um... uh huh, so...*

Ranma felt a quick mental kiss. Then the link went off. He lay
back down on the bed, thinking over what to do next.

***

Akane scampered across the floor, leaping over the base of the
bathroom door. Everything seemed to have grown to gigantic proportions.
Clouds of steam filled the room. Her father could be heard, humming a
tune as he scrubbed himself clean.

Taking as deep a breath as her tiny lungs would allow, she
pinched her nostrils shut and dove in. When she stood, the room had
resumed its normal size. She looked down and noticed human arms and
legs.

"Akane!" Soun stared with wide-eyed astonishment. "You're--"

"I'm human again, Dad! I figured that since Kodachi had made me
the same as P-chan, hot water would bring me back to normal, the same
way it did for Ryoga!" She began to stretch her arms, her legs, her
torso, reveling in the feel of personhood.

Soun continued to gape at her. She followed his gaze and noticed
that it was aimed somewhere below her face.

"Eep!" Akane grabbed a towel off one of the racks, covering
herself. It was a little easier now to understand why Shampoo had used
to turn up naked in bathrooms so often.

***

"So, that's what I know," Nabiki finished. "Any ideas?"

"Hmmm." Cologne rubbed her chin ponderously. "Yes, I know just
the thing that might help. But I'll need the ingredients to make it up."
She produced a notepad and quickly scrawled some Chinese characters onto
it, then handed it over to Mousse. "Here's a list of them."

Mousse's eyes bulged. "Quite a lot of rare items here. You
really need all of this?"

"Yes. And being in spirit form, the two of you can obviously
procure everything much more quickly than I or Ms. Tendo."

The woman who looked like Shampoo scanned down the list. "Even
so, it'll take us quite a while."

Cologne smirked. "Then you'd better get right on it, hadn't
you?"

Nabiki watched as the two spirit-figures receded away. After
some time had passed, she spoke. "Is it just my suspicious and paranoid
nature making me think so, or did you just send them on a... wild Mousse
chase?"

"You are very astute, young lady." Cologne sipped from a cup of
tea. "Whatever plans you and I make will need to be out of earshot of
the enemy."

"Those two are the enemy?" Nabiki stared quizzically at the old
woman. "Just what are we up against here anyway?"

"A rare and powerful type of spirit. Arabian legends know them
as djinn. They possess enormous magic, but not the imagination with
which to use it. By themselves, they literally cannot think of anything
to do with their power."

"So they grant wishes for people?"

"Yes. Thereby tapping into and feeding upon the imagination of
their -- for lack of a better word -- victims. It's from this that their
human embodiments, such as that imitation of my great-granddaughter, are
constructed."

"Ah. So Mousse is in love with a figment of his imagination?"

"Precisely -- though, in truth, he always was. You know how
infatuated he was with Shampoo. Naturally, he dreamed up his 'Guardian
Angel' as an idealized version of her."

"And the others? What about Desaix?"

"From Ranma's subconscious, obviously. He claimed to be a
personification of destiny. Don't you think that's how Ranma would see
destiny -- as divided into narrowly-defined paths, with various powers
trying to force him along one or another of them?"

"So then all of that stuff he said about Ranma's possible
futures was a load of...."

"Yes." Cologne chuckled. "If there's one thing I've learned in
my hundred years, it's that destiny is just not that simple."

"Okay... so...." Nabiki's mind began to scan through past
events, replaying through them like a VCR on fast-forward, trying to fit
them into what Cologne had just told her. "What about the time around
when I made my wish? Akane was acting really strange; almost like a
caricature of herself. Do you think the spirit whatever-it-is was
affecting her?"

"Possibly. That may be the way that Ukyo sees your sister. It
may have tapped into her mind and imposed her version of things. On the
other hand, it may have merely been a side-effect of the telepathic link
between Akane and Ranma. Perhaps some low-level feedback providing a
constant subliminal irritation -- like a toothache that makes one
cranky. I don't know enough about telepathy to do more than guess about
such things."

Cologne finished her tea, and set the cup onto the table. "And
what of you? Can you remember what made you choose the particular wish
that you did?"

"Yes, I can." Being able to recall things in vivid detail
certainly came in useful. Nabiki made a mental note to save the recipe
for the memory potion. She only hoped she wouldn't forget about it. "I
wanted to prevent anyone further from making stupid wishes and
unwittingly -- or even wittingly -- causing disaster." Even to her own
ears, the words weren't completely believable. "At least I *think*
that's why I made that wish. Could be that the power was affecting me,
too." It was a difficult and uncomfortable admission to make. Nabiki had
always thought of herself as a user, not someone who could be used.

"Perhaps." Cologne smiled, like a teacher whose student had
finally mastered a lesson. "But it didn't work in the case of Kodachi."
She leaned back in her chair. "I must admit that I'm puzzled about that
myself."

A memory came unbidden into Nabiki's mind. Kodachi's voice.
*When you hear me make my wish, you will allow it to be fulfilled
exactly as intended. There will be no need to twist its meaning.*

"Damn! A hypnotic suggestion! That's how she did it! She was in
my room the night before she made the wish. She must have done it then.
Probably used some sort of chemical to drug me." Nabiki hoped she'd get
the chance to pay Kodachi back for what she did, with interest.

"So that was it." Cologne nodded. "At least now we know what
we're up against."

"That we do. Now what can we do to stop it?"

For an instant Cologne looked her age as she slouched in her
chair. "I'm... not certain."

TO BE CONCLUDED