The Fine Line

  Only minutes after the gang left the tall grass, Tatewaki and
Kodachi Kuno entered the abandoned park. Stepping into the middle of
the field, one could discern signs of battle, but no blood or remains
were to be found.
  "Strange," noted Tatewaki, "it appears we have arrived late."
  Kodachi grabbed her brother's collar in anger. "You brought me all
the way out here to look at GRASS?!"
  "I was certain that Mother was here," replied Tatewaki.
  "How?!" demanded Kodachi.
  "She was 'calling' me, not by modern devices, but by... feeling,"
he replied, trying his best to describe the sensation. "Think of it
as a summons from Heaven, if you will."
  Kodachi's eyes narrowed. "Shut up. Let's go home."

  Ryoga ran at top speed away from the abandoned park, away from
the conflict, away from disgrace. Yet, at the same time, he was
running from Akane, who he wanted to protect, even though he could
not have her.
  How can I face Akane now? wondered Ryoga, wiping away the tears
in his eyes. How can I live with myself, knowing that I ran out on
her? At least she doesn't know....
  That thought stopped Ryoga in his tracks.
  Wait, she DOES know about my secret! Ryoga seized his head as if
he were in pain. She KNOWS!!! How could I have forgotten?!!
  With all his pent-up energy, Ryoga screamed into the air at the
top of his lungs.
  Waitaminute.... If she really DID know, then why hasn't she said
anything about it yet? Maybe I'm dreaming; maybe she DOESN'T know!!
  That's it!!
  "YEESSSS!!!" Ryoga yelled in triumph, forgetting his depression.
  Now I've got to go back and apologize to Akane! he decided. If all
I did was run out on her, then I can say I'm sorry and be done with
it! She won't know I'm the pig!!
  At top speed, Ryoga ran away from the park, away from the city.

  Ranma walked alongside his wife as the group continued back toward
town. Ahead of the pair was Shampoo, with Konatsu and Ukyo trailing
behind. The afternoon had been drawn on for quite some time; soon,
evening would come.
  "You know," started Ranma, breaking the silence, "when I woke up
this morning, I was going to do something important, but now, I can't
seem to remember what."
  Akane's eyes narrowed as they met her husband's. "You forgot?" she
asked suspiciously.
  "Hey, a lot's been going on lately," Ranma replied with a shrug.
  "You wanted to talk to Ukyo," she reminded him. No one could miss
the hint of anger in Akane's voice.
  "Now why... of course!" Ranma snapped his fingers. Turning to his
wife, the martial artist stated, "It'll only take a moment."
  With that, Ranma slowed his walking pace, allowing Akane to march
ahead-- alone.
  The change of pace had not missed Ukyo's attentions. "What's up?"
the chef asked.
  Ranma turned to Konatsu. "Keep Akane company for me, will ya?"
  The kunoichi glanced at Ukyo, as if looking for approval.
  "Sure, go on ahead," encouraged Ukyo.
  Wordlessly, Konatsu nodded, then quickened his pace to catch up with
Akane.
  "Okay," Ukyo said, "I'm all ears."
  Ranma cleared his throat, gathering his thoughts. "Where shall I
begin?" he wondered aloud. "Well, this morning, I realized there was
something missing in my life."
  The okonomiyaki chef peered at her old friend carefully. "Right."
  "Why'd you say that?" he asked.
  "Well, let's put it this way," she replied, holding out her fist.
Extending her index finger, Ukyo said, "For one, you're married, and
have a wonderful wife." She raised a second finger. "Two, everything
has been settled by your mother...."
  "Well, not really," interrupted Ranma, who seemed to be ready to
start sweating. "Mom's actually been 'suggesting' that grandchildren
would be nice to have around and all."
  Ukyo shook her head. "She's crazy."
  "It could be worse."
  The chef girl continued, raising a third finger. "Thirdly, there's
nothing left between us, so I don't see why anything I do matters to
you at all."
  "That's the thing, really," the young Saotome said, almost ready to
choke. "I don't know why... but... dammit, I... miss you?"
  Those words forced Ukyo to come to a grinding halt. "What?"
  Ranma paused. "Don't take it to mean the way it sounds...."
  "You're crazy."
  "No, no, no... let me explain...."
  "Ranma, you're MARRIED!"
  "I didn't mean it that way!"
  "Then what 'way' did you mean?!"
  "Well... I don't know!"
  Ukyo shook her head. In disgust, the okonomiyaki chef resumed her
march.
  Raising a hand, as if it would stop her, Ranma followed. "W...wait!"
  Without turning around, the chef replied, "Don't start with me,
Ranma." She tried her best to force back the tears welling in her
eyes. "I've tried my best these past months to bury my dreams, so
don't try to dig them up again." Ukyo raised her fist, shaking it in
frustration. "Before, I would've done anything for you... anything
that would make you happy. Then I realized that Akane makes you happy,
and not... me." With her other hand she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"After that, I've done everything I could to get you out of my life.
The last thing I need right now is... this."
  "But, but... I...." Ranma stuttered.
  "Remember your wedding day?" asked Ukyo.
  "Yeah?"
  "Remember how I gave you my first kiss?" she reminded him.
  "And?" Ranma knew where this was going; the first kiss was always
the one you remembered.
  "The only thing I could remember about it since then was... just
how much I was trying to enjoy it," explained the okonomiyaki chef.
"But, even then, I knew... you weren't kissing back."
  She forced a soft laugh, yet, her sniffling drowned it out.
"Kissing is overrated."
  Ranma was at a loss for words, slowing his pace in order to avoid
getting too close to his upset friend. Ukyo was right about one thing,
at least: the kiss.
  "I can't imagine how the hell you came up with these 'feelings,'"
continued Ukyo, barely maintaining control over her sobs. She glanced
back at Ranma, with both menace and sadness in her teary eyes. "But,
if you dare to say those words...."
  "Ukyo...."
  "I'll hate you for the rest of my life!"

  "Seriously," ranted Akane, "what is it that Ranma could only talk
to Ukyo about that he couldn't talk to me?"
  Konatsu said nothing as he walked by the woman's side. Sometimes it
was best only to listen.
  Akane balled her hands into fists, waving them angrily in the air.
"That Ranma! Even when married he still chases after other girls!"
  Still the kunoichi refused to say a word. Although he knew Akane
knew that was not the truth, sometimes it was better to let it go.
  "Konatsu," someone behind the two said, "let's go."
  Both Akane and Konatsu glanced over their shoulders at Ukyo, her
head lowered enough so her hair hung over her eyes, concealing them
from view. Not far behind Ranma was running to catch up.
  "Ukyo...." the kunoichi whispered.
  "I said, let's go!" the okonomiyaki chef repeated angrily.
  With lightning-quick motion, Ukyo grabbed Konatsu's arm. With a
sudden burst, she sprinted off ahead of Akane, with the kunoichi
struggling to keep up.
  "Ukyo?" Akane whispered, forgetting her anger in turn for surprise.
She watched both Ukyo and Konatsu run off ahead of Shampoo, just as
Ranma, heavily breathing, reached his wife's side.
  "I'm telling you," Ranma said, trying to catch his breath, "that
stupid Ukyo's getting more and more stubborn."
  Akane folded her arms. "What did you say to her?" she demanded.
  "What do you want me to say?" Ranma asked honestly. "If she didn't
want to hear it, what makes you think YOU want to hear it?"
  "Because I'm your WIFE, stupid!"
  "You certainly don't make things any easier!"
  "What's that supposed to mean?!"
  "You don't want to hear it!"
  "Yes I do!"
  "No you don't!"
  "Yes I do!"
  "You two through?!"
  Both Ranma and Akane ceased their argument and turned to face
Shampoo. As if she were Mother, the Chinese Amazon stood, arms folded
across her chest, tapping her foot against the ground. Her gaze
suggested power, as man and wife shrunk to her imposing figure.
  "If you two not stop," she warned, "you die!"
  Walking up to Ranma, Shampoo slapped him across the face. "Treat
wife as you do, you die! How you live with defiance?!"
  Ranma rubbed his sore cheeks as the Chinese Amazon turned to Akane.
"Treat husband as you do, you die! How you live with no control?!"
  Bracing herself for an attack, Akane raised her arms in defense of
the attack that never came. Instead, Shampoo spat at her feet.
  "Stupid Japanese!" she cursed. "None know how to treat spouse right!"
  "Yeah?!" both Ranma and Akane shouted. "What do YOU know about being
married?!"
  Shampoo shook her head, throwing her arms up in frustration. "You
two DESERVE each other!"

  Far from three bickering teenagers, far from the battle which they
had come, but certainly not far from the trio's destination, one lone
man stumbled through the dark room. He yelped in pain as he ran his
foot against yet another heavy file cabinet.
  "Hell with it," muttered the man, turning on a small flashlight.
  The shadowy man shined the light against all the cabinets around
him, searching for the right cabinet.
  Light shined over one labeled 'Doco.'
  Satisfied, the man produced a lock pick. Holding the handheld
flashlight in his teeth, he inserted the pick into the keyhole,
carefully listening for the tumblers to fall in place.
  After several tense minutes, the shadow man had the locked cabinet
drawer open. Carefully, he thumbed his way through the folders,
stopping when he found the one labeled 'Contracts.'
  Glancing over his shoulder, the man slowly removed the folder,
glad to note that nobody was on to him yet. "Certainly, none of the
Tokuyama execs would appreciate this intrusion," he mused. "I
wouldn't, if this were my company."
  He removed the flashlight from his teeth, running his free hand's
index finger down the pages which outlined the terms of the contract.
Several crossed-out areas, and many more written in-- marred the
otherwise clean contract, as if last-minute additions and corrections
were made on the final contract sheet.
  None of that surprised the intruder. After all, both Nabiki Tendo,
the general manager, and President Tokuyama, were hard sellers.
  "Damn," the man cursed silently, pausing at one particular side note.
"This is it!"
  Replacing the flashlight in his teeth, the intruder produced a
small, palm-sized camera. Carefully steadying the light, the shadow
man took several snapshots of the contract, careful to make extra
snaps in case the first did not develop correctly.
  Carefully replacing the folder, and shutting the drawer, the shadow
man shut off the flashlight. "This coming evening will be most
interesting indeed, Nabiki Ten...."
  The intruder yelped in pain as he ran into another file cabinet.

  "This place doesn't look like Tokyo..." Ryoga Hibiki told himself
as he passed through the forested path. "Either way... I can't kid
myself. How in the world am I going to go on if I can't face an
opponent that's a woman?"
  Walking along the quiet path, the Eternally Lost Boy continued to
recite his thoughts. "Nemesis... I don't even know what that's really
all about. What is the big deal about this opponent that's so
different from other guys, like Herb or Pantyhose Taro?"
  "Yet... in the future... can I stay true to myself? Can I never
fight a woman?"
  You fought Ukyo, you idiot, he told himself mentally.
  "That's right... I forgot about her. Yet... it was alright...
because I didn't know.... I mean, yeah...."
  "But, what if this Nemesis were to get close to someone I care
about.... Akari. Akari... geez, I wish you could be here... you would
probably make me forget about all this! I wish I could, but I can't...
not as long as this mess goes on. If it came down to it, would I
fight for Akari, and throw away myself?"
  "Would I do it?" Ryoga wondered, staring at his hands.
  There was only one way to find out, he decided, wandering the path
before him.

  "It was a complete success," Nemesis announced as she stepped into
the dark chamber whence she had come.
  In place of the stone slab where Lady Kuno had been bound was a
fountain-like device, cascading water over the rim at the top of the
device into a large, bathtub-sized pool below. Serving as a sort of
fountain head was a small statue of a dragon with eight heads, spewing
the liquid in eight directions. Standing around it was three men: the
principal, the Shinto priest, and the short man.
  "Excellent," Warmage said, using the principal's voice. "The energy
font is ready for your disposal."
  Nemesis undid her pony tail, allowing her dark hair to fall freely
behind her back. "I welcome my next meal...."
  Strand snorted. "Can I stay and watch?! Pleazzzzeee!!"
  Shifter kicked the small man in the stomach. "Absolutely not!"
  Untying the sash of her kimono, Nemesis said, "I will certainly
enjoy relishing the pain...."
  Warmage nodded, exiting the chamber as Shifter dragged Strand behind
him, leaving Nemesis alone to disrobe.
  Speaking only to herself, Nemesis continued, "What better way to
soak up extra energy than to bathe in it?" She gently slid a toe into
the pool, allowing the warmness of the liquid to adjust to her body.
"Twenty-four hours is all that is necessary; then I can find my own
source of energy. Pain is a more rewarding energy than this method,
but I will not complain."
  Sinking her naked body into the pool, Nemesis relaxed her muscles,
her eyes fluttering to welcome sleep. "I think I will dream of the
new world... of greenery... of my son...."

  "Are you sure this is wise?" Shifter asked Warmage as soon as the
three Orochi cultists left Nemesis to her own devices. As an after-
thought, the Shinto wizard kicked Strand a second time, who was
feasting his eyes on the room he had left forcefully.
  "What are you talking about?!" demanded Warmage.
  "Keep in mind that this is the first time Nemesis has been on the
planet for ages," started Shifter, "and that this is the first time
the creature has actually been summoned. If we keep feeding Nemesis
more power, he might not need us for much longer."
  "That doesn't concern me," the principal replied, unconcerned.
"I don't care if you die, because I'm already dead. Your brother's
already dead. The only one left to die is you."
  Thanks a lot. "Also, at this rate the host vessel will not last
Nemesis for any longer than two weeks," calculated Shifter. "At
that point Nemesis can fashion a body without needing a vessel; at
that point we won't be able to banish him if necessary."
  "You STILL trying for the bitch?!" snorted Strand, taking his
attention from the woman in the other room for the first time. "As
far as I'm concerned, she's DEAD already!!"
  "Forget about human life," suggested Warmage. "For when Nemesis
recreates the world, the Orochi will have won, and everything will
be back to as it was!" He placed a hand on Shifter's shoulder. "When
you die, you do it for the future!"
  Turning to the short man, the leader commanded, "Come! There's
much work to be done."
  Both Warmage and Strand departed, leaving Shifter alone. Shifter
sighed as he watched the short, ugly assassin trod after Warmage like
a dog; he never used to be that way.
  The Shinto wizard turned to enter the room where Nemesis bathed in
the strange liquid. The woman lay asleep in the pool, with only her
head above the surface, in a calm, relaxed position. Almost serene.
  Only one glance at the woman's face made up Shifter's mind. With
new determination the Orochi assassin marched toward the exit of the
underground compound.
  Damn the Warmage, and damn Nemesis, Shifter thought. There must
be another way!
  The assassin was lost in thought, that he almost ran into the
man standing in front of the exit.
  "Where're you going so late?" the guard asked, reaching for the
sword sheathed over his back.
  "There must be matters to be taken care of before tomorrow,"
Shifter answered honestly. "Inform the Warmage that I will not be
back until tomorrow."
  "As you wish, then," replied the guard, releasing his grip on the
sword. He folded his arms, the right arm against another arm that
simply wasn't there.
  The assassin certainly knew the meaning of that.
  Shifter pushed open the gate that lead to the outside world.
Taking one last glance at compound he was leaving, the Orochi
assassin walked off into the growing darkness of the setting sun.


"For a time, I considered sparing your wretched planet Cybertron.
  But now, you will witness... it's DISMEMBERMENT!"
						-- Unicron,                                                       
Transformers

					*  *  *  *  *

(continued in Part 3)

----------------------------------------------------------
This has been yet another exercise in interpretation.
"Decepticons FOREVER!!" --Ravage, former Decepticon
"If you go to Z'ha'dum, you will die." --Kosh, Babylon 5

"[Y]ou're lamer than your signature and screen name indicate."--Chris Davies
"The FFML exists to judge the writing, not the writers."--Richard Lawson
"There was a recent case where a fanfic author put together his work with 
only another fanfic serving as his primary resource.  *I* started writing 
fanfiction that way, and consequently I never grew attached to this whole 
idea of remaining true to the original.  I call it "correction."--Reverend 
Prez

--Razorclaw X
Author: "Wheel of Fire", "The World's Worst Ranma Fanfic!", "The Geometry of 
Shattered Souls", "The Balance of Power".
"I sold my soul to buy a copy of the dubbed 'Ukyo Can Cook'"
"Pathetic authors beg for flames. Wait, that's me."


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