Hey, everyone.  It's been a while.

And it's been a while since you saw any chapters of
this, too, so if you would like to catch up, chapter
one is at http://www.thejohnsens.com/adp1.html and
chapter two is at http://www.thejohnsens.com/adp2.html
.

There's no Akane in this chapter.  Please don't worry,
though.  Chapter Four is all about her.

All comments and criticism are very welcome at
raye_j@yahoo.com .

Please enjoy!

Raye

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

A Different Path

by Raye Johnsen
raye_j@yahoo.com

******
	'Ranma 1/2' is copyright Takahashi Rumiko, Shogakukan
and Viz Communications.  'Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon'
is copyright Takeuchi Naoko and other interested
parties.  If you think I'm making any money or have
any rights to any of this, you are very, very wrong.
******

Chapter Three: Akane Tendou, Where Are You?
 

	Fujiyama Yuka liked to talk to people.

	That's what she told herself, anyway.  The truth,
shorn of all deception, was far harsher: Yuka was an
inveterate gossip.  A secret told to her in confidence
at breakfast would be common knowledge on the other
side of Tokyo by sunset.  It will probably come as no
surprise that Furinkan High's student guidance
counselor had written 'future society columnist' in
Yuka's file.

	The person she most liked to talk to was her best
friend Igarashi Sayuri, who was *almost* as dedicated
to the art of conversation as she was.  And the person
they most liked to discuss was their mutual friend,
Tendou Akane.

	Akane had always been the centre of events that had
been interesting and, to an observer dissecting them
for later recounting, exciting events.  Her mother had
died when they had been in primary school, making her
that tragic and notable figure, the Motherless Girl.  
In middle school, when everyone else had been into
ribbons and the latest idol, she'd been attending
kempo competitions.  This distinction had been both
unusual and even a little exotic.  Then in high
school, she had first attracted the attentions of
Upperclassman Kuno, who was rich and handsome and had
been, at that time at least, cool.  And then she had
been betrothed by giri to Saotome Ranma, and had stood
at the centre of the whirlpool of chaos that
masqueraded as his life.

	Being Akane's friend for a gossip was like being
given sole possession of a banana plantation for a
monkey.

	Yuka was happily planning her day as she came down to
breakfast that Sunday morning.  First she would call
Akane and Sayuri and organise an afternoon out - lunch
and shopping, or maybe a movie?  It depended on what
was playing.  She and Sayuri would pump Akane for the
latest on the Ranma Situation - although it had calmed
down a lot of late, and was probably best known as the
Shampoo Situation right now - and while she told them
about everything that had happened last night and that
morning, she and Sayuri would be taking mental notes
to share and discuss on the way home, with each other
and anyone else they happened to meet.

	All that, however, would come after breakfast.

	There was an envelope lying next to her plate.  Yuka
didn't often receive mail.  She was more a phonecall
kind of girl.  So she was understandably curious. 
Another aspect of Yuka's personality was that she
believed that curiosity, hers or anyone else's,
deserved to be satisfied immediately.  So she swiftly
ripped the letter open and read it.

	"Oh.  My.  God."

	She flipped open her mobile, hitting Sayuri's number
and waiting for her to open her own.  "Come on, come
*on*-"

	No sooner had Sayuri begun to answer than Yuka
overrode her.  "Sayuri, you're not going to *believe*
this!"

	{Yes, well, I don't believe you're ringing me before
breakfast, Yuka-}

	"Never mind that - I just got a letter from Akane. 
Sayuri, she's left!"

	{Left?!  What do you mean, *left*?}

	"I mean, left!  Gone!  Moved away!  She's left
Nerima!"

	{Read me the letter, Yuka.}  Sayuri's voice,
flattened by the mobile phones they were using, still
managed to convey the mixture of dread and dreadful
excitement that was churning in Yuka's own belly.

	"Okay.  Here it is.  'Dear Yuka, I am sorry to send
you this letter rather than talking to you in person. 
However, as you and Sayuri are my closest friends, I
feel I should tell you.  I call you my closest
friends, but really, we haven't been close for a long
time.  Since Ranma arrived.'"  She paused.

	Sayuri also paused,  then said, {Keep going, Yuka.}

	"All right.  'This isn't your fault - you both have
been there for me many times.  But the craziness that
my life has become doesn't touch your life, and it
isn't your fault that you can't really understand.  If
you could I think we'd all be in a lot of trouble.'" 
Yuka swallowed, and then continued.  "'I have
realized, finally, that I am responsible for my
problems.  Unfortunately, I have also realized that in
the situation I'm in here, I can't possibly change or
fix them.  So I am leaving them behind.  Yuka, I am
leaving Nerima, and I will not be back.  I will write
when I'm settled, to tell you I'm all right.  I wish
you all the best, Tendou Akane.'"

	Sayuri, very softly, said a very foul word, then
continued, {I'm coming over, Yuka.}

	"Good," Yuka said.  "We've got to talk."

******

	An hour later, the two friends were having a crisis
meeting in Yuka's bedroom.

	When Sayuri had arrived, she had been clutching a
similar letter in her own hand.  It had been waiting
for her at her own breakfast table.  The message was
the same, only a few words differing between the two
letters.

	"I can't *believe* we didn't realize she was feeling
this way!" Yuka nearly shouted, throwing the stuffed
kappa-chan she had been waving onto her bed, narrowly
missing Sayuri.  "What kind of fiends are we?"

	"Oblivious ones, apparently," Sayuri said dryly,
picking up the kappa-chan.  "But...."

	Yuka turned to her.  "But...?"

	"There's something 'off' about this letter," Sayuri
said thoughtfully.  "Akane isn't usually this
straightforward, is she?"

	Blinking, Yuka tilted her head.  "You're... right,"
she conceded.  "But this is definitely her
handwriting."

	"Yes," Sayuri replied.  "I don't know.  This is like,
oh, someone who knows Akane and knows her situation
wrote this, as if they were Akane, and they didn't get
it *quite* right."

	"So it's a fake?" Yuka asked eagerly.

	"No, I don't think so, not really," was Sayuri's
answer.  "It's true, isn't it?  We've been watching
Akane's situation as it's gotten weirder and weirder,
and we've always been on the outside and seeing it as
entertainment.  When did our friend's life become
entertainment, Yuka?"

	Yuka sagged into her desk chair.  "I don't know,
Sayuri."

	"But the bit about her leaving Nerima may be fake,"
Sayuri continued.

	"Let's go over her place and check it out!" Yuka
proposed.

	They ran down the stairs and opened the front door,
and Sayuri almost got a fist in the face.  Ryouga had
been just about to knock.

******

	"So we're agreed?" Ukyou asked.

	The six teenagers were perched around the Fujiyama
living room.  Kuno sat, limbs crossed and his bokken
leaning against his shoulder, just inside the door,
while everyone else perched on the living room suite.

	"I think so," Sayuri said dubiously.  "Yuka and I
will gather all the information we can and pass it on
to you.  We will also run the Ucchan in your absence
so you don't have to worry about it.  You go out and
look for Akane and rescue her - and you *will* keep us
up to date on what happens!"

	"Konatsu will be staying behind and he will help,
too," Ukyou added.

	"What I find interesting," Ranma said quietly, "is
that the person who kidnapped Akane sent *you* two
letters."

	"Yes, it is interesting, isn't it," Sayuri said. 
"It's as if the kidnapper knew you'd come to us."

	"I don't see-" Ryouga started.

	"It *means*," Yuka interrupted him, "that Akane's
kidnapper was watching us yesterday afternoon.  We
might even have spoken with him.  But I can't remember
anyone watching us."

	Kuno snorted.  "Maidens fair the pair of you may be,
yet e'en the least discerning may see that you are to
the beauteous Akane as the pale pinks are to the rich,
red rose."

	Yuka and Sayuri both glared at him.	

	"Would you mind moving into the Ucchan while I'm
gone?" Ukyou asked suddenly.  "It's small - I only
have two bedrooms, and one of them's Konatsu's - but
it'll make me feel better if I know someone's there
all the time."

	"But Konatsu - OW!" Ryouga said.

	"Oh, was that your foot?" Ukyou said insincerely.

	"We'll have to ask our parents," Sayuri said quickly.
 "But I'm sure they'll say yes."

	Yuka gave Sayuri an odd look.  "Uh... sure," she
said.  "I'll go ask my mother now."  She stood and
left the room.

	"Thank you," Sayuri said to Ukyou, "though I'm sure
it isn't necessary."

	"Necessary or not, you're my friend," Ukyou replied. 
"As I said, I'll feel better knowing you're there...."

	"And that a trained kunoichi is right next door?" 

	"A girl can never be too careful," Ukyou said.

******

	Three days had never seemed so long.

	It was the Tuesday after Akane had disappeared. 
Ranma and his friends had left to look for her,
leaving the rest of the family behind.

	Kasumi hung her apron up on its designated peg, on
the inside of the door.  Her kitchen was spotless,
lunch had been cleared up, the house was perfectly
clean, and it wasn't time to start dinner.

	She wandered out into the spotless living room, and
wondered why she'd never realized how much life Ranma
and Akane had brought with them into her little world.

	There were letters sitting in the postbox beside the
gate.  She moved calmly, unhurriedly towards it.  More
bills for Nabiki - it must be that time of year -
circulars - and a letter, addressed to her, in Akane's
writing.  She didn't even bother to walk into the
house before ripping it open and reading the short
note it contained.

   Dear Elder Sister,
      This is just a note to tell you not to worry.
      I have found a nice place to stay, changed my
   name, and I'm starting to meet people.
      I'm sure everyone else is well, but I said a
   prayer for you all anyway.
			I love you,
				Akane

	"Father!  Mr. Saotome!  It's a letter from Akane!"

	That brought a stir.

	"Come, my dear!  Let me see it!" her father called,
from his shogi board.  

	She brought it to him.  That proved to be a mistake. 
Soun took one look at the handwriting of his youngest
daughter, and began to weep so fiercely that she was
later forced to take up the living-room rug and hang
it up outside to give it a chance to dry.

	She showed the note to Nabiki when she came home from
school. Nabiki looked at the note, said "Hmm," and
went to her room. Kasumi had heard the <clak-clak> of
her computer shortly thereafter. After an hour, Nabiki
stalked out of her room, muttering words that Kasumi
was quite shocked to hear her sister saying.

	"She's within two days of here, and she's near a
temple," Kasumi heard Nabiki mutter. "Unfortunately,
that's almost all of Tokyo by bus or foot, and if she
took the bullet train, that's practically all of
Honshu." Then she spat another oath.

	"Nabiki?" Kasumi asked timidly. "Are you... trying to
find Akane?"

	Nabiki had swung around to face her sister. She
looked as if she was about to say something cutting,
but then sighed, and merely said, "Yes, Kasumi."

	Kasumi frowned. "But, Nabiki, Akane specifically does
not wish to return here."

	Her younger sister glared.  "I don't care!  Akane
can't just run out on us.  I won't let her!  She is
supposed to be Ranma's fiancee - what if Daddy dearest
decides one of us can fill the role instead?  I'm not
going to put up with the insanity.  She is going to
come back and she's going to marry the man she loves
and she is going to fulfil her responsibilities!" 
With that, Nabiki spun on her heel and stalked off.

	When Ranma telephoned that evening, Kasumi read the
note to him. He was silent for a long minute.

	{So... she doesn't say anything about the guy who
kidnapped her?}

	Privately, Kasumi wondered where Ranma had picked up
that particular notion, but didn't mention it. "No,
just that she's found a nice place to stay and that
she's met some people."

	{She didn't say where, I guess.}

	"Well, no, Ranma, she doesn't *say* where she is. 
Ranma... perhaps it would be best if you returned -"

	{No!}  A pause, and then, Ranma's voice came back,
stronger, but with a brittle edge.  {I can't give up
on her, Kasumi.  I just - she's - this is too
important.  I've got to get her back.}

	"Ranma, perhaps if she is happier where she is...."

	{I can't believe that, Kasumi!  Not until I see her
for myself.}  And then Ranma hung up.

	Kasumi looked down at the envelope that lay in her
hand.  Nabiki had not wanted to see it when she'd
shown her sister the note, and Ranma had not chosen to
hear the information that she'd tried to give him.

	It was postmarked 'Juuban'.

*******

Author's Notes:

	1. Stuffed, Sanrio-type (think Hello Kitty) versions
of the kappa, a mythological water monster, seem to be
an enduring type of plushie among Japanese children
(in much the same way that *everyone* in the West
either has or has had a stuffed bear).

	2. I didn't explain this last time and for that I
apologise.  A kunoichi is a female ninja.
	On an historical note, ninjitsu is the only form of
Japanese martial arts that, during its history, has
officially recognised its female practitioners, hence
the separate designation.  Interestingly, kunoichi
appear to have been regarded as more ruthless and
deadly than ninja, and much more subtle in carrying
out their designated missions.
	Although Konatsu is male, he identifies himself as a
female, so the designation of the kunoichi is more
appropriate for him.

=====
raye_j@yahoo.com
http://www.thejohnsens.com/index.html

"I am not stupid, I am not expendable, and I am not going."
   - Avon, 'Blake's Seven'

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