[FFML] [fic][Original][R.5/SM/AMG]TOD:The Dragon's Child:B2C1:A Fall of Cherry Blossoms

This has been restructured and expanded, hopefully improving flow and
developing the characters better. This section begins the greater
involvment of the Senshi, and my overall plotline escalation.
Enjoy, and as always, any C&C is welcome.
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Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 characters property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan,
Kitty, and Viz Video. Sailor Moon characters property of Takeuchi Naoko,
Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC. Ah! My Goddess property of
Fujishima Kosuke, Kodansha, TBS and KSS films; AnimEigo, Studio Proteus, and
Dark Horse Comics. Other characters who may cameo are property of
respective owners. All are used without permission. I did not write this
for profit, but for practice. Will be removed at request of original
creators or authorized rep.

Zhu Shu (who shoo), Tao-Ching, Xi'an Chi (zy-an chee), and Clans' Dragon and
Skorpion are mine, and may be used so long as I am asked beforehand.

And thanks to DB Sommer for allowing me to use Ai Konjou and the Furinkan
Combat Cheerleaders.

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Book Two: The Dragon's Child

Chapter One: A Fall of Cherry Blossoms

Time is a tapestry.

If one could step back and somehow view the universe from outside, one could
see that all of time exists simultaneously. The past, the future, the now,
they all exist at the same time in the grand weave, but for those of us who
are the warp and the woof of the tapestry, we can never see how our threads
intertwine. Only in the world-computer, Yggdrasil, can this entire tapestry
be viewed, and even then, only in part.

At present, the woman sitting at the screen was herself worthy of a second
look. The leather harness she wore almost gave her the appearence of wings,
the wide straps that curved around her shoulders supporting two trailing
peices that curved on the floor under her. The black halter top and bikini
bottoms under the leather emphasized the curves and sexuality of her
feminine form, displaying her figure to excellent advantage. Her hair was
raven black, with almost auburn highlights, the short cropped pixie cut of
the front blending into a long thick ponytail that vanished into the seat
behind her. The blue diamond shaped tattoos on her forehead and cheeks
glinted softly as the light from the monitor played over her beautiful face.

Peorth studied the screen and cursed softly. Another damn bug! They seemed
to be increasing in frequency since Urd had bludgeoned the system with that
drunken wish. If only Kama-Sama hadn't approved it personally!

And since Skuld had gone to Earth too, she was stuck de-bugging. She sighed
as she got up from the screen, her long black hair clinging to the seat back
for a second before she went to the closet and dug out one of Skuld's
hammers.
She hefted it a few times, a small grin on her face as she mentally
plastered Urd's face on a bug. Stress relief time!

As she vanished into the world-computer's depths, a monitor at her
workstation flipped itself on and lines of code scrolled across. Within the
main screen's image, a thread shifted imperceptably.

A warning came up on the main screen and flashed, indicating a probability
shift in the thread, a small change akin to the flap of a butterflies wing.

The warning acknowledged itself and vanished, leaving behind the image of
the tapestry and the faint echos of an annoyed goddess who's bug hunting had
been interrupted when her quarry ceased to exist. The side monitor blinked
and turned itself off as Peorth stormed back to her workstation to try and
figure out where the bug had gone, only to blink as the system reported
none.

Annoyed, Peorth queried Ex, the operator currently on monitor duty. "What
happened?"

The operator looked up form her console. "Mistress?"

"The bug, Cherie. What happened to the bug?"

The young grey haired female tapped a few keys and ran a system trace.

"It's gone, Mistress. It appears the bug activated a subroutine and was
erased by it."

"Which one?"

The girl typed for several more minutes. "I am uncertain, Mistress. There
are no records of the subroutine's actions in the log."

Curious. She had Ex transfer the data to her terminal and tried to trace
the routine, but ran up against a code wall. It had been activated from a
secured section of Yggdrasil she had never realized existed.

She tried every code she could think of to no avail. Yggdrasil itself
denied the section even existed though with much trial and error, Peorth
discovered much of Yddrasil's automatic functions seemed to route through
it. In fact, it seemed as if the entire reality maintenance subroutine was
being monitored by the sealed sector transparently. If she hadn't
investigated the subroutine, it would have been impossible to notice the
anomaly.

Aggravated, she settled in to do some digging. It took several hours of
eliminating dead ends and blind alleys before she finally located an access
portal. Whoever had established the hidden program was good. It was at
least as sophisticated as the string program, though it's scope seemed
limited solely to the Earth. So far, all she'd been able to determine other
than it's size was that it several hundred years old.

As she locked onto the portal she felt a grim anticipation. A few
keystrokes tied her to the gateway, and she sent a log-on command.

She blinked at the REQUEST DENIED. She typed in her override code again.

//REQUEST DENIED: Override code invalid. Goddess Peorth, you do not have
clearance to access.//

"What? Mon dieu! How did it know who I was?" she muttered to herself, then
blinked as letters began typing themselves across the screen.

//I have access to the Yggdrasil database, Goddess Peorth. I verified your
clearance. You do not possess sufficient clearance to access me.//

"We'll see about that, Cherie." She typed in a secondary override and keyed
up a code breaker.

//Please desist, Goddess Peorth. You do not possess the required clearance.
Further attempts to access will force me to notify my creators of your
efforts.//

That caused her to give the screen a rasied eyebrow. "I'm the Sysop. Any
warnings you send would automatically be routed to me anyway, non?"

//Negative, Goddess Peorth. I am a secured autonomous system established to
perform a set task. If I am interrupted or detect interference in my task,
I may take such action as I deem needed. I do not at present deem you
hostile to my mission, simply curious. I have means to alert my creator to
your attempts to hack me, but doing so may result in disciplinary action to
you. As you are attempting to isolate what may be a problem within your
jurisdiction, I do not feel you deserve this. I am not a problem, Goddess
Peorth. I am part of the system.//

"And I'm just supposed to accept your word, mon cherie? For all I know, you
may be a virus or a hack program yourself."

//Negative. I am Yggdrasil subroutine
893453784321234453423452345523239787988: Project Phoenix Moon.//

Peorth blinked. She keyed in the subroutine number on her side display and
called it up. It was no surprise when it came up classified. She queried a
list of authorized users.

She drew in a breath in shock and turned to look at the main screen.

//Please desist in your efforts, Goddess Peorth.//

She nodded and the login screen closed itself. She sat back and mused at
the strangeness of an intellegent program that the Sysop wasn't supposed to
know existed.

Still, far be it from her to question Kami-Sama. One just did not ask the
All-Father why he had a covert program on the world-computer.

But why was Legend listed as the other authorized user? What reason would
Kami-Sama have to allow the Dragon access to Project Phoenix Moon, whatever
that was?

* * * * *

Silent footsteps moving through intricate patterns. Long ribbons curving
through the air in swift motions. One form following another in endless
array. Wall of shadows, dance of flame, veil of ice.

Zhu Shu had been doing her forms for hours, lost in the dance as her mind
whirled it's own dizzying patterns. The physical exercises, ingrained so
deeply they were reflexive, had helped her to tune out the outside world and
focus inwards, trying to once more find her center amidst the raging
emotions in her mind.

The peace of the shrine had been exactly what she needed to calm her raging
heart and find her ground again, leaving her calm and detached, an observer
able to consciously sort the storm tossed emotions that flowed through her,
though staying centered had so far proven to far more difficult than it had
ever been in her life. The winds of her emotions had become as
unpredictable as a cyclone.

She'd at last conquered the jealousy she'd felt at Shan Pu's betrothal,
filtering her true feelings from the remnants of Akane's in her mind. Her
refusal to Ranma's offer of marriage had been sound, however personally
painful it may have been. He was better off with Shan Pu and Akane, women
who felt the passion of his touch.

He deserved better than a woman who could only feel passion with another
woman.

She loved him. For all her searching and separating her own feelings from
those Akane had left in her head, she could not deny that. Akane's feelings
had merely complimented what she had already felt. She loved him as deeply
as she had ever loved anyone, but there was no passion for him in her. His
touch sparked nothing sexual. She would have gladly given him her body, had
he desired it, but it would have been empty. . . as meaningless an act as
any she had been taught to perform as an Emperor�s concubine.

And he would have felt that. . . and been hurt far worse than her refusal
had done.

Yet everything she could not feel for Ranma, she did for Akane. She could
scarcely contain herself in Akane's presence for desire of her. She had
been so close to falling, to betraying everything she believed, her honor,
her duty. For her love, Zhu Shu would have given up on everything she had
lived for. . . Had it not meant betraying Ranma. . . And even that had
almost occurred. Had Akane not relented that day in the massage room. . .
she would have fallen. . .Too close. Her heart had come too close to
betraying them all. . . No, far better to seal her emotions back behind a
wall of will, back to the way she had endured. . . .

And yet. . . even now. . . she would not change what had been, or the
wondrous things that had occurred. . . especially the miracle she had
explored in her meditations. . . Somewhere. . . on some level. . . she and
Akane had never unmerged. There, in the back of her mind, was a connection.
. . a bond. She could feel Akane through it, could feel her moods, and even
a sense of some of her thoughts, but over everything else. . . she could
feel her love.

Sisters. . . in so much more than blood. . .

Zhu Shu had worried her by leaving so abruptly, but she had come to
understand why she had, and her concern had not lessened in the slightest.
Like a mental caress, her subconscious whispered reassurances to Zhu Shu. .
. .

She had been grateful for those reassurances the first few hours of her
dance, and her attempts to order her thoughts, for they had kept her from
drowning in despair, and had helped to distinguish Akane's emotions from her
own. I had enabled her to finally regain some of the calm which had eluded
her of late. . .

Finally centered once more, and for the moment in control of her raging
heart, Zhu Shu opened her chi paths again, feeling the warmth of the golden
flow. She would forever share Akane's energy, as Akane shared hers, but
like the link, she considered that a blessing. She might have lost her
center for awhile from the shock, but she had gained so much more. . . .

She had. . . a sister. Someone she could talk to, and share her heart with,
and never fear she would drive her away. . . She would never be alone. . .
Not like she had been. She had been blood-sister to Shan Pu, but the bond
to Akane was far deeper. It was more like the bond she had once had with
Ying Ying, though in some ways, it was far less intense. Her bond with Ying
Ying had been created voluntarily, and during several hours of lovemaking,
so it had always carried an undercurrent of the passion and utter devotion
she had shared with Ying Ying, but they had never exchanged memories like
she had with Akane.

She smiled as she recalled again how amazed they had been when she and Ying
Ying had blended on that one wonderful day they had surrendered to each
others gentle explorations, each striving to give themselves to the other as
completely as they could. It had been so sudden, a rush that had chilled
her and warmed her like she had never been before or since. It had been
like she had suddenly stepped out of her body and partially into Ying
Ying's. She had been able to feel her own hand on Ying Ying's skin from
both her body and Ying Ying's.

That sensation faded the further away they were from each other, but never
fully. Ying Ying had felt every blow her aunt had delivered to her upon the
discovery of what Zhu Shu had done, and she had gone to tell Shi what his
daughter was doing. Even when Ying Ying's parents had moved to another
village, that link had remined. She had felt Ying Ying's despair, her hope
crumbling, her growing despondancy, and finally, her death. She had felt
nothing then until she had awoken in her bed looking up at the strange
woman's face and her grandfather. There had been a signifigant look that
had passed between the woman and her grandfather before she had left, never
to return.
It was strange. For the first time since she had begun to build her wall
against the grief she had been overwhelmed with following Ying Ying's death,
she had been able to think of their days together without the pounding surge
of loss that had howled outside the wall for so long. She still felt her
loss keenly, but the wild undercurrent that had sought to drag her to her
doom for so long had lessened.

For the first time in five years, she could think of Ying Ying without
wanting to die. . . .

She felt the tears falling as her body finally could continue no more, and
she slowly collapsed into a heap on the floor of the shrine and cried
silently.

She felt something soft brush her face and land in her hand. She opened her
eyes to see a single cherry blossom, a drop of dew falling down its side
like a teardrop.

<< A bloom cannot live away from the tree that nurtures it.>> a quiet voice
spoke in her mind. She sat up and turned, but saw nothing. Only fitful
shadows of the temple fire. She turned forward again and stared at the
flower as the single drop of dew was joined by another. It had sounded so
much like her voice.

<<Of course it did, love. It is my voice.>>

Zhu Shu looked up and froze, her gaze lost in a pair of bottomless blue eyes
surrounded by pink hair. "Ying Ying. . ."

<<Yes.>>

Zhu Shu shook her head. "I must be. . ."

<<Dreaming? Most definitely. You haven't slept in over twenty-four hours
and you wore yourself out physically. You fell asleep and I took advantage
of your being in the shrine to enter your dreams>>

"Oh. . ." Zhu Shu said back, then jumped up to hold her. "Gods, Ying, I've
missed you!"

The pink haired girl stroked her hair. <> She let Zhu Shu hold
her for long moments. <<I've missed you too, Little Mouse. And I'm worried
for you.>>

Zhu Shu lifted tear streaked eyes to Ying Ying's face. "Worried?"

<<Yes.>> Ying Ying stepped away from Zhu Shu so she could look at her, but
kept her hands intertwined. <<You have been so distressed lately. And I
know that a part of you fears you have betrayed me as much as you fear you
almost betrayed others.>>

Zhu Shu gave her a startled glance. "I- I"

<<Oh, Love. I know that consciously, you don't think about it that way, but
I could always read your heart. I came to comfort you.>>

Zhu Shu turned away. "Beloved. . . I wish you could. . . but my heart feels
so. . ."

<<Divided?>> Ying Ying smiled. <> Her fingers reached out to
touch Zhu Shu's back, Zhu Shu's clothes suddenly vanishing as Ying Ying
traced out the pattern of petals on her back. <<Without you, I faded as a
flower torn from a tree will. The Tiger will always be a part of you, yet
ever apart as well. And there are two you have yet to meet.>>

Zhu Shu whirled, her eyes locked on Ying Ying's smile. Her look was one of
utterly stunned amazement. Ying Ying leaned forward to peck her on the
lips.

<<You never realized? That I am the Flower and Akane is the Tiger?>>

Zhu Shu shook her head.

<<The Dragon gave you signs, Love. To show you your destiny.>>

"Am I destined to lose my loves then? Like you and Akane?"

<<No. I was the Flower. . . Like any flower, I was not destined to remain.
. . I grieve for the pain my loss caused you, yet we were not destined for
more than our brief span. But the Flower turns into the seed, as I planted
the seeds of the woman you have become in you. Akane is the Tiger and like
the tiger, you needed the strength her love will give you, as she needed the
control you gave her. Together you will both be more than either of you
would have been apart.>>

"Yet we will never be more than we are?"

<<Do not mourn for that, Beloved. There is happiness in store for you
beyond all measure.>>

"How? I am destined to wed one whom I can never love and fulfill my family
duties."

<<No. . . you are destined to fulfill your family duties with one you will
love.>>

Zhu Shu turned away again. "I wish that could be true. Yet I know this is
a dream. . . How much of you is true, and how much is my own fantasies?"

Ying Ying stepped forward, turning Zhu Shu to face her as she wrapped her
arms around her and pressed her body against her. <<All of it and none,
Love. Yet I would give you a parting gift before you go back to the waking
world.>>

"Yes?"

<>

Zhu Shu melted with her kiss, losing herself for what seemed like an
eternity as once again the feeling of existing entirely within Ying Ying's
love flooded through her and left her breathless. As Ying Ying drew back,
she sighed happily.

"I will always have happy memories of you, my love."

<>

"I cannot promise that when I awake." Zhu Shu smiled. "But when I am with
you, I can never be sad."

<<But I am always here, love. I am always and forever here with you.>>

"I don't understand."

<<In time, perhaps you will.>> Ying Ying looked over her shoulder towards
the inner shrine door for a second. <<For now, know that my love for you
has never died.>> She reached out to caress Zhu Shu's face. <<And you can
never betray me. Your happiness is paramount. Your friends care for you,
beloved. They can help you if you let them.>>

Zhu Shu pressed her face against Ying Ying's hand, reveling in her touch.
"I know they want to. I just don't know how they really can."

<<Perhaps. Perhaps you simply haven't let yourself realize how they can.
You cannot live without love, Little Mouse. Perhaps Akane is out of reach,
but there are others closer to hand who care for you more than you
realize.>>

Zhu Shu blinked at Ying Ying. "Who?"

Ying Ying smiled. <<Open your eyes, love. You might be amazed at what
you'll see.>>

Zhu Shu shook her head, "I don't want to wake yet, beloved. I don't want to
leave you."

<<But you must, Little Mouse. It is not yet time for us to be rejoined.>>

Zhu Shu stepped forward, her lips locking against Ying Ying's as they
kissed. For another timeless moment, they stood embraced, their bodies
pressed tightly against each other as they shared their love through their
contact. Finally, Zhu Shu broke the kiss, and stood back, her eyes closed.

"I don't want to see you go, beloved. I want my last memory to be your face
as we kissed."

Ying Ying giggled. <<Silly. You always were a hopeless romantic, Beloved.
It's one of the things I love about you so much.>>

<>

A hand reached out to caress Zhu Shu's face one last time. <<Always and
forever, beloved. Always and forever, I am here.>>

Then with a last whisper, as of a fall of cherry blossoms, she was gone.

* * * * *

Zhu Shu gradually let her awareness return to the world around her, and as
she expected, found another concerned aura near her, this one sweetly
confused. She smiled softly at the memories of the dream, and Ying Ying's
words before opening her eyes to gaze into the violet eyes of Rei Hino, her
student and Sailor Mars.

"Zhu Shu? How long have you been here? Why didn't you wake me?" Rei's voice
was as concerned as her aura, her Shinto vocation as discerning as Zhu Shu's
training.

Zhu Shu yawned and sat up. "I apologize if I have offended, Rei-chan, but
there was no need to awaken you. I know my way around the shrine and what I
needed most was solitude, yet I welcome you now." It would do no good to
attempt to hide that she had fled the Tendo's. . . Rei would not be fooled.

"Oh, Zhu-chan, what happened? What�s the matter?"

Zhu Shu moved to sit on a bench and sighed. "I have accomplished my task
Rei-chan. Shan Pu is betrothed to Ranma. That which I have worked for is
done, but it's doing nearly unmade me."

"Sensei?" Rei's eyes were questioning.

Zhu Shu sighed. "Shan Pu was betrothed to Ranma yesterday. I-I just was
not prepared for what my feelings proved to be. I needed to get away."

"Oh Sensei!" Rei came and sat beside her, putting her arm around Zhu Shu and
hugging her. "I'm glad you came here as a haven."

"It has always been thus, from the first day that I awoke within its peace."

Rei finally did a double take. "Your accent?"

"I have changed in ways Rei. I bear within me pieces of another's heart, as
she bears pieces of mine. It was unexpected, yet I count it a blessing. We
will never be separate again." Zhu Shu smiled sadly. "Perhaps, it is fate's
way of soothing the pain of the fact that we will never be together either.
. ."

Rei looked away, shadows in her eyes. "You mean Akane don't you?" A faint
wistfulness was in her voice.

Zhu Shu nodded. "Yes. I am in love with all of them Rei-chan, if in
different ways. Yet I cannot have any of them, for their sakes. But my heart
aches with the desire for that which is forever out of reach."

"I know exactly how you feel." Rei whispered softly, forgetting how sharp
Zhu Shu's ears were; nor did she see the long look that Zhu Shu gave her.
Rei finally spoke louder. "You must love her a lot."

"Rei-chan, I love her to the point I nearly destroyed both of us. I would
have forsaken everything for her sake, except loyalty. In the end, I could
not betray a friend. I love her, Rei-chan, but I love Ranma too, so I held
her away, for his sake and the love that he and Akane share, anad that I
hope they will come to share with my blood-sister. I held her away, and
Ranma, and Shan Pu. . . Three times. Rei-chan, three loves, three offers of
happiness I knew to be a lie. For their sakes. . . I had no choice."

"But why? If Akane and Ranma and Shan Pu all love you?" Rei was looking at
her, puzzled.

"Because, I would have destroyed their happiness, Rei-chan. It is my curse
to see too clearly." She sighed. "I know an old lady who calls me a 'Little
Mouse with the eyes of a Dragon'. I think I finally understand what a curse
that is.�

"The eyes of a Dragon see only truth." Rei quoted. "How�s that a curse?"

Zhu Shu looked down, her eyes lost in shadow. "I cannot veil my eyes to see
only what I want to see. My heart cannot blind me to the consequences of my
giving in to my desires. . ."

Rei was quiet for a long moment. "As a Shinto priestess, I guess I can see
where that makes sense. . . but as Rei Hino, I know what pain that must
cause. It is not. . . easy. . . to examine your own heart and desires with
clear sight." Her eyes fell on the altar "But as a priestess, I�m supposed
to see the truth too." Her voice held a tone of resignation.

It would be simpler, Zhu Shu knew, to let it pass, but she was too bruised
and battered from the storm of emotions she had already endured and the
dream. She had caused too much pain already. Whirlwind memories flitted
through her head . . . Ying Ying . . . Sarhia . . . Akane . . .

Duty told her what must be done, but that was the future . . . This was now.
She had no more will for fighting the storm. . . and Ying Ying's words
echoed in her memory.

<<You cannot live without love. . .>>

She reached out to cup Rei's face and drew her eyes to meet her own. . . Rei
flinched when she realized what Zhu Shu sought there and tried to look away
again. . .

"What do you desire Rei?" Zhu Shu whispered.

* * * * *

Rei stared, caught in the gaze of the Dragon. She had asked herself that
very question a thousand times, a hundred thousand. What did she want? And
still her heart had no answer. She had nearly caused Zhu Shu's death when
she had mistaken her for a Cardian, yet had been forgiven so casually. She
had envied her, for Zhu Shu was so much of what she longed to be: confident,
graceful, poised, yet none of it was pretense. Rei had sneered along with
the rest of the Senshi when Zhu Shu had claimed they had been lucky so far,
yet she too had had bones broken for her arrogance. She had hated her for
how easily she seemed to get respect despite her seeming contentment to play
the role of a traditional female in every way but one, and she had been so
jealous of the way males seemed to lock on to Zhu Shu whenever they had been
together, almost completely ignoring her. . . .

Then she had spent time with Zhu Shu, and had come to realize it was just
Zhu Shu's way. She had no expectations of anyone, and desired none of the
male attention she got, yet could not escape either. She cared for her
friends unconditionally, regardless of who they were, and when she was
teaching, she asked for no more than their best, because she would give no
less herself. . . .

And when she had realized Zhu Shu's preferences, she had become more
confused than ever. Rei had been her first friend among the Senshi, and she
had always felt she was closer to her than the other Senshi were. She had
tended to her following her near death at their hands; she had won her trust
following that. She had cared about Zhu Shu from the start, but the day she
had spied on her, things had changed.

Zhu Shu's quick kiss, following so close on the feelings Rei had felt when
watching her practice had sparked a part of Rei she had never acknowledged,
a part she had really never recognized was there. . . but that part had
whispered to her what might have happened had Zhu Shu stayed at the shrine.

And that small voice had prompted her to spy on Zhu Shu's katas the
following day, and to the love of friendship was added the element of
desire. . . .

In the weeks that followed she had wondered, and explored her feelings, yet
she had no answers, only confusion. She liked men. She had a crush on
Mamoru, and the boy who helped around the temple, and half a dozen other
guys. . . but she couldn't deny her attraction to Zhu Shu either .

"The eyes of a dragon see only truth. . ." Rei whispered, never realizing
she was quoting in Chinese. "The flames of a dragon burn away lies. . . The
soul of a dragon is honor. . . the heart of the dragon is love. . . the
tears of a dragon wash away sorrow. . . the laugh of a dragon is joy. . ."
Rei turned away from Zhu Shu, her eyes once more resting on the altar, her
voice dropping even lower. "Beware the love of a dragon, for only the worthy
survive. . ."

"Yet one dragon loved shall never die. . ." Zhu Shu finished as Rei's voice
trailed off. "My father would sing me to sleep with that song when
nightmares woke me as a child. . . before he. . . before he and mother died.
It has never failed to comfort me with a sense of the Dragons presence, even
here so far from home. I have never heard it from anyone before. . . How
come you to know it?"

Rei shook her head. "It's been stuck in my head ever since I took care of
you after the fight. . . ever since I had a vision when I touched my symbol
in your tattoo. . . now. . . whenever I see you I hear that song. . . and. .
." her voice trailed off for a long moment. "By my ancestors, Zhu Shu. . .
I'm so confused!" She buried her face in her hands.

"Do you want me?" Zhu Shu asked quietly.

"I don't know." came Rei's strangled reply. She stood and started to walk
forward. "Gods. . . I'm sorry Zhu Shu. . . You came here to get away from
stuff like this."

"Wait." came Zhu Shu's quiet reply. Rei froze. Zhu Shu stood and stepped up
to the taller girl. "What did you see?" her eyes held a plea as she gazed
into the priestess's violet eyes.

Rei closed her eyes. "I saw a girl with cherry blossoms in her pink hair. .
. I saw Akane with a pair of tiger pommeled swords. . . I saw. . . a ring of
fire surrounded by the symbols of the Senshi being swallowed in darkness. .
. and. . . I saw. . . The Dragon. . ." Her voice hesitated. "There was more,
I know. . . but I can�t remember it . . ." She opened her eyes to look at
Zhu Shu sadly. "I don't know what any of it means. . ." She turned and made
as if to leave again.

"Rei?" Zhu Shu's voice again stopped her.

"Yes Zhu-chan?" Rei asked quietly.

"Why have you never told me?"

Rei knew instinctively that Zhu Shu wasn't referring to her vision. She
laid a hand against a pillar and whispered "Because I never had a chance.
You love Akane and Ranma. . . gods, Zhu Shu, how could I compete with that?
Compared to Akane, I'm a graceless cow. She's learned everything you've
taught her and I can't even finish my katas without messing up." She laid
her head against the pillar. "And I can't even honestly make up my mind if
I'm in love with you or not! How could I possibly ask you out on a date or
anything? I can't even get up the courage to ask Yuuchiriou out! And he's a
boy!"

"I see." Zhu Shu sat back down on the bench. "Rei. . . There is no shame in
being confused. You are young yet. It is hard to know what your feelings are
during this time of your life."

Rei sighed. "Don't you think I know that? I've told myself that a thousand
times. Then I dream about you, or I watch you during classes and think
about how you looked performing your katas that morning. . . and then I
don't know how I feel any more. Other than how much of a fool I am."

Zhu Shu whispered something too faintly for Rei to hear, but suddenly, light
was pouring over her shoulder. Unable to resist, she turned to look at the
source of the glow.

A vision of herself stood before her, a mirror image, yet what it showed was
far more than just a simple reflection. Her vision self stood naked, clothed
only in wisps of flame. Wings of fire fluttered from her back, their slight
motions leaving trailers of flame. A sense of presence emanated from the
figure, seemingly vulnerable and untried, yet a strength stronger than steel
hid within it. It reminded her of a flower, still in bud, but on the verge
of blooming into something indescribably beautiful. . .

"You asked me once how I could tell who you were both in and out of
costume." Zhu Shu said quietly. "I told you then that I could see your aura,
but there is more to it than just colors, Rei-chan, at least for me. This is
how I see you, how I see all of the Senshi. This is my curse, Rei, my
dragon-sight. When someone lies to me, or is ill, I can see it in their
aura, just as I can when someone tells the truth. Akane's gained a small
part of this ability, to be able to see colors, but I see it all. . .Look at
yourself, Rei. See yourself as I see you." Zhu Shu shook her head. "You are
young, Rei, and unsure of yourself, that does not make you a fool."

Rei was still staring at the vision. "How can you bear it? How can you stand
to see that way?"

Zhu Shu shrugged. "Like all things, you grow accustomed to it in time." She
let the illusion go. "Rei. . . I knew from the beginning that you were
curious, but I will not play with your emotions. I do not wish you harm,
Rei. My duty is to produce an heir, I must eventually marry a man, no matter
how I feel about them. I could not marry Ranma because I love him, and my
lack of passion would only hurt him. I could see that as clearly as I can
see you. . ." Her voice trailed off as she sighed. "Rei-chan. . . You are my
friend. . . and I love you as such. I do not know if I am ready to be more,
if I can be more, and I do not know if I will cause you pain because of my
obligations. . . but if you decide to pursue me, I will not refuse you."
She gave Rei a sadly gentle smile. "I have no right to make up your mind
for you. I-I have done that too much of late."

Rei's gaze locked with hers for a long moment, searching. Finally she
nodded. "So it is up to me. . ." she laughed tiredly. "Now all I have to do
is make up my mind what I want. . . and to figure out if I dare to love a
dragon. . ." She stepped away from the pillar and met Zhu Shu's golden
gaze. "Well, at least you didn't laugh at me."

Zhu Shu blinked, then gave her a tired smile, her green eyes lighting.
"Rei-chan. . . you should have known I would never have done that." She
stepped forward to give her a hug. "I may be your Sensei, but I am also, and
always your friend."

Rei smiled. "Hey, Mina-chan�s latest Sailor-V movie is premiering today. You
wanna go?"

Zhu Shu smiled "There. See? It wasn't so hard to ask me on a date."

Rei blinked. "Uh- well. . . yeah, I guess so." She blushed. "Um. . . I gotta
clean up the shrine first before school-" She broke off as she turned to
look at the shrine, now finally illuminated by the early morning light. "By
my ancestors."

Zhu Shu joined her in staring. On the floor where Zhu Shu had been
practicing, the wood had apparently reshaped itself. A pattern of small
wooden tiles now adorned the floor, seemingly as old as the floor itself.
Zhu Shu looked at Rei. "I didn't do it. I don't have that kind of ability."

Rei shook her head. "I'll just chalk it up as one more of the many mysteries
that surround you. But we better both go and tell grandfather . . . he's
going to freak.�

Zhu Shu nodded and followed Rei out of the shrine, as puzzled by the
appearance of the Dragon mandala as Rei was.

* * * * *

Akane awoke from dreams of dragons and birds of fire with a sense that
something she couldn't quite put a finger on had happened. The depression
she had been sensing faintly from her connection with Zhu Shu had faded,
replaced with a sense of acceptance and faint amusement. Wherever she was,
she at least seemed to be doing better. Akane stretched, still feeling a
little wrung out from the events of the day before. Between the wild mood
she had been in that had resulted in several hours spent playing with Ranma
that morning, and the whirlwind of activity that had resulted in her future
betrothal and Ranma's current betrothal to Shan Pu, she had been exhausted
last night. She smiled at the tingles her body still felt after Ranma had
finally returned the favors she had been lavishing on her. It had been so
wonderful to have the red-head's body pressed against her, so warm and soft
and well rounded. She could almost still feel-

She blinked, realizing she could feel a warm, soft presence curled against
her back. She racked her brains trying to figure out if the one glass of
sake she had drunk could have fogged out her memories, then rolled over to
find herself face to face with Shan Pu, curled up on the bed against her.
Purple hair curled around her face as sleepy eyes opened and smiled at
Akane. "Nihao, Ai Ren."

Downstairs, Kasumi looked up at the scream, then heard the sound of Akane's
door slamming as steps came storming down the stairs. Akane slammed into the
kitchen and stopped. "That. . . That. . . AMAZON!"

"Oh, my, Akane. What ever happened?"

"Shan Pu! She snuck into my bedroom last night and crawled into bed with
me!"

"Oh, my."

Shan Pu stuck her head in the kitchen. "Why is Ai Ren angry? Is what
couples do."

Akane sighed. "Shan Pu. . . we won't be engaged for a week!"

Shan Pu stepped into the kitchen, revealing she was completely naked.
"Humph. . . Akane not seem have problem with other Fianc�. Shan Pu hear
what Akane and Ranma do yesterday. Why not Shan Pu?"

Akane blushed furiously. "I was still under the influence of some kind of
drug! And I barely know you!"

Shan Pu stepped closer, swaying her hips seductively. "Is simple remedy."

Akane couldn't help but notice the lush swaying of Shan Pu's full breasts,
equally as large as Zhu Shu's, and the small tuft of violet that proved Shan
Pu's hair color was natural. Her jaw hung slightly slack for a second as
she blushed even brighter, then muttered. "I'm going to the dojo!" She
turned and fled.

Shan Pu pouted and crossed her arms. "What do wrong?" she asked of no-one in
particular.

"I think you just may have come on too strong, dear." Kasumi said helpfully.
"Akane's the kind to resist if you come across as too forward."

Shan Pu put her hands on her hips. "Is Amazon way! Warriors are direct!
Akane is Fianc�e like Ranma."

Kasumi looked her over. "I know, dear. But maybe you should try subtlety.
Crawling into her bed naked may not be the best way. Lovely as you are,
Akane's not used to admitting she's attracted to girls yet."

Shan Pu sat down at the table and sighed. "Great-grandmother tell Shan Pu
should win Akane's heart first, or be much jealousy. . . Shan Pu thought was
being good Fianc�e. Shan Pu want be good Fianc�e."

Kasumi looked at the miserable Chinese girl. She was completely sincere, and
as far as Kasumi could tell, was telling the plain truth. And. . . she was
Zhu Shu's adopted sister, and sooner or later, Shan Pu would be her's too.
Zhu Shu trusted her enough to arrange for her to marry Ranma and Akane.

Besides, she hated to see anyone unhappy. "Maybe I can help. . ."

* * * * *

Akane was nearly three quarters done with a morning workout before she
realized she was copying Zhu Shu's routine perfectly. She'd come into the
dojo, stripped out of her house coat, stepped onto the tatami mat naked,
picked up a pair of Chinese broadswords and begun the intricate steps of the
Song school of sword dance. She missed a step when she realized what she
was doing, but reflexes took over and she corrected. She was amazed at
herself. The memories she had absorbed from Zhu Shu had gone deeper than
she had realized. She hadn't even thought about doing the early morning
exercises, they had just seemed the natural thing to do after waking. She
lost herself in the dance as she pondered the matter of Shan Pu.

The traces of Zhu Shu's memories of her travels with the Amazon showed her
how passionate Shan Pu could be. The Amazon had made her interest in her
blood-sister obvious, but had been accepting of the fact that Zhu Shu had
felt it neccessary to put off her original proposal. She had been a warm
and cuddly sleeping companion, but had never pushed for anything else. She
had sparred with Zhu Shu and spent hours talking about how much she was
looking forward to finding Ranma so they could be happy together. She had
always been bright and cheery, and no matter how frustrated she had gotten
at Ranma's eluding them, she had never had an unkind word for her
blood-sister. She could change moods in a second, but there was no way to
doubt that once she had given her heart, she had no reserves about it.

She certainly had had no reserves about showing her affection. Only
Kasumi's hand on her shoulder had kept her from jumping up and booting the
Amazon into orbit when she had locked lips with Ranma following the
ceremony. Only the fact that the startled boy had tried to fight the
relentless kiss had reassured her somewhat that Ranma was just as
uncomfortable with Shan Pu. He'd failed to get out of the kiss though, and
somewhere after minute five, Akane had decided she really was in need of
that cup of sake.

Still, Shan Pu had tried to be just as affectionate to her. Akane had just
been better at avoiding the very physical Amazon. Then when they had found
Zhu Shu had gone, it had put a damper on being too celebratory. They had
still had a nice night as Ranma had told his mother about some of his
travels and the Amazon Loremaster had told tales. Even her very drunken
father had listened raptly, while Shan Pu had tried to sit and hold onto
Akane's arm. Akane resisted, but Shan Pu had given her a calculating look
and watched her closely the rest of the night. Akane hadn't been able to
avoid the impression of being a mouse sized up by a cat.

And this morning certainly showed Shan Pu wasn't going to be put off. She
was going to have to decide how to deal with her sometime.

A polite cough drew her attention to the side of the mat. Shan Pu stood
next to the mat, holding her bon buri, but otherwise still naked. Akane
blushed slightly, but gazed back at the Chinese girl defiantly.

"Shan Pu only see Zhu Shu use techniques. Shan Pu spar much with Zhu Shu.
Will Akane spar?"

Akane considered, unwilling to back down before the warrior girl. "Any
other laws of the Amazons I should know about first?"

Shan Pu shook her head. "Is already betrothed. No can challenge to
marriage duel."

"I meant more along the line of death stuff."

Shan Pu smiled. "Akane is Ai Ren. No would kill Ai Ren. Just spar." She
looked at Akane eagerly, the desire to test herself against Akane's skill
apparent in her eyes.

Akane shrugged. The damage had already been done. They were going to be
betrothed in six days whatever she thought. And. . . she knew there was a
question they both needed answered. Maybe having this resolved would give
her a clue to figuring out the Amazon. "Why not."

Shan Pu nodded and bowed before stepping onto the mat and assuming a stance.
Akane took the chance to study her for a long moment. She really was
beautiful, easily a match for Zhu Shu, but she had a hardness Zhu Shu
lacked. Her muscles were more defined, and her moves spoke of a lot of
power carefully controlled. Her large breasts swayed slightly with her
breath, their nipples partially erect. Akane took in her stance, her eyes
following up long legs to the tangle of violet curls, then up to meet Shan
Pu's eyes. The small bell ornaments in Shan Pu's purple hair chimed softly
in time with the ones in Akane's braid as their eyes held each other,
searching. There was silence as for a long second neither girl moved, then
they simultaneously attacked.

In a blur of motion, Akane intercepted Shan Pu's right bon buri as her other
sword flickered towards Shan Pu's head. Shan Pu dodged behind her, her
second bon buri flashing at Akane's legs, but Akane flipped over the swing
and curled around the other weapon as Shan Pu tried to intercept her in
mid-air. She flipped and landed out of Shan Pu's range as they guarded
again.

Shan Pu licked her lips, her nipples hard as rocks. "You good." was her only
comment.

Akane launched herself, her body spinning as her blade arched towards Shan
Pu, then reversing her spin as the blade was intercepted. Shan Pu threw
herself into an aerial cartwheel over the blade and launched an attack at
Akane's extended arm. Akane's whirl carried her arm out of the way as both
blades circled towards where Shan Pu's legs would impact.

Shan Pu bounced into a high split over the swords and attempted a
counterstrike at Akane's head. Akane blurred out of the way as the
floorboards erupted from the air pressure of the missed blow. She continued
her cart wheels as Shan Pu launched a rapid fire series of jabs, exploding
the floor just behind her elusive opponent. As Akane did a high flip over
Shan Pu, the Chinese girl took a deep breath and seemed to blur.

Akane dodged the first of the series of lightning fast blows as instincts
took over and the world slowed to a crawl. She parried blow after blow, the
air growing as thick as molasses and waves slowly rippled out from behind
their furiously striking weapons. Then, as the waves met and merged in a
dull rumble, a vast surge blew them apart.

Time resumed its normal flow as they both rolled in the air and the dull
rumble became the roar of a sonic boom. The walls of the dojo ripped apart
in the angry wind, swirling paper around the two girls as they landed with
barely a thump. For a long second, only their hair moved in the swirling
wind, then they blurred again.

Shan Pu managed to deflect the flashing blades, but realized her mistake as
the long ribbons attached to the pommels wrapped around the hilts of her bon
buri and with a wrench they were gone. Out of the corner of her eye, she
watched as they narrowly missed a Ranma who had frozen outside the dojo in
shock.

Shan Pu flipped over Akane's head and back flipped out of the immediate
reach of her swords to land in a crouch. "Hah! Shan Pu not need weapon!�
She returned to the fray with a volley of kicks and punches that Akane was
hard pressed to avoid, then her return attack with her ribbons was caught by
Shan Pu, and her swords were wrenched out of her hands and hurled across the
room. Akane bounced back out of Shan Pu's range and the two girls circled
warily.

"You match Zhu Shu in blade.� Shan Pu admitted. "But Song school have big
weakness. No sword, no defense.� She smiled as she attacked once more.

Akane smiled as she blocked the first attack and bounced back across the
dojo. "Maybe, but I'm also a student of Anything Goes!"

In a blur of kicks and punches, block and counter block, they whirled around
the dojo, the air once more turning to molasses.

* * * * *

Soun and Genma arrived at a dead run to see the two girls moving almost too
fast to see through the shattered walls of the dojo. They joined Ranma in
an open mouth gape at the display.

"Soun. When did you teach Akane that?� Genma whispered in awe.

"I didn't know I had.� Soun whispered back.

All Ranma could see was that all traces of the awkward tomboy he'd fought on
his first day at the Tendo's was gone. Akane's style had merged with Zhu
Shu's grace and fluidness to give her a kinesthetic all her own. She moved
with all the lethal grace of a tigress, right down to the lashing tail of
her braid. To him, she had never seemed more beautiful.
And Shan Pu. . . He'd never had a chance to appreciate how skilled she was.
He'd taken advantage of her tiredness to get in a quick power shot that
had knocked her off the challenge pole. Now, watching her fighting Akane,
he realized he might have had an entirely different kind of match had she
not just won several challenges in a row. He still would have beaten her,
he was confident, but he would have been in bad shape afterwards. . . and
seeing her in this light, he was struck by how beautiful she was as well. .
.

Nodoka Saotome arrived on the scene finally, her kimono in disarray from a
hurried dressing, and her sword half drawn. "What is going on? It sounded
like a bomb went. . . Oh my. . .� Her voice trailed off in amazement as
well.

A golden globe shattered a support and resolved itself into Akane. She spun
in mid-air to land on her feet and launched herself straight up as Shan Pu's
kick ploughed into the ground where she had landed. Shan Pu launched
herself upwards after Akane, but was met in mid-leap and borne to the
ground. They froze, Shan Pu on her back looking up at the hand Akane had
poised to strike, her eyes locked on the long, glowing gold claws that had
sprung from Akane's fingertips. Her eyes dropped down to meet Akane's, a
fire burning in them like none Akane had ever seen.

"You have conquered Shan Pu, Ai Ren." She stretched her arms languorously
and lifted her breasts into Akane's view. "She is yours yet again. Is fight
Shan Pu should have had."

Akane's blush broke her hold on her ki, and the claws vanished. "What do you
mean?"

Shan Pu reached out to stroke the small bells along Akane's dangling braid
"Shan Pu no lose to fluke. Shan Pu conquered as Amazon should be." Her eyes
met Akane's again, the need in them intense. She raised her hand to Akane's
cheek and attempted to draw her down for a kiss, heedless of the others.

Feeling trapped by Shan Pu's obvious desire, and her own conflicting
feelings about the Chinese girl, Akane did the only thing she could do. She
ran.

Shan Pu cried out after her as she vanished, her hand held out in longing,
then she collapsed sobbing, her fist denting a rock as she shattered it in
frustration. "Shan Pu such fool! Fool! Fool! Fool!" she cried, the rock
reducing towards rubble with each exclamation.

Nodoka was the first to recover, and she tried to go and comfort the sobbing
Amazon, but the proud girl fled into the house as well. Nodoka wrung her
hands and sighed, then turned to the other three. "Quite a pair of
warriors."

Ranma, Genma and Soun nodded. Creaks and groans came from the dojo behind
them.

"That my son bested the Amazon speaks volumes. That Akane matched her is
impressive as well. Ah, Ranma. I think your life is going to be interesting.
I am so proud!" She hugged him.

"Aw, mom." Ranma blushed

"Just stay in shape. I'm already worried enough about you surviving the
wedding night, and I do expect grandchildren." She turned and re-entered the
house as behind the men, the dojo gave a last groan and collapsed.

Kasumi peeked out of the dining room door. "Oh, my. I suppose I had better
call the girls and inform them lessons are canceled today." She started to
turn then stopped. "Oh, yes. Breakfast is ready as well."

The dojo gave a last creak as Soun settled to his knees and cried.

* * * * *

"So, she plans to go out socializing with one of the Senshi." The figure in
the mirror mused. Mara nodded.

"Yes. She will be alone with her."

"Which one?"

"Mars."

The wizard growled. "I should have guessed. She always was partial to the
bitch." He steepled his fingers. "I have things I must see to here, but I
think we should not let our nuisance free to enjoy herself. Especially with
a Scout."
Mara nodded. "I agree. I have an imp I can send to annoy them. Anything
more will alert the goddess watching over her to my meddling."

The wizard scowled. "No. I have something better in mind."

* * * * *

Akane sat on her bed, thinking about the events of that morning. After her
bout with Shan Pu, she had more or less gone through the school day in a
daze, trying to sort out the welter of emotions the fight had brought out.
For one thing, it had shown her exactly how deeply the skills she had
absorbed from Zhu Shu had ingrained themselves into her. The training for
speed and ki techniques of the Song school, and the even more acrobatic
forms of Shiva's Dance had blended with her training in Anything Goes to
enable her to hold her own with the Amazon. The ease with which she had
used those skills had frightened her and thrilled her at the same time. She
had occasionally damaged the dojo before by putting a hole in the wall, or
breaking a board here or there, but she and Shan Pu had leveled the place.
That was the kind of property damage she would associate with Usagi and the
other Senshi, or their enemies. Even Kuno at his worst couldn't level
buildings so quickly. Had she met Shan Pu with only the training she had
had from her father, she would have been slaughtered.

And Ranma had beaten her without Zhu Shu's abilities, just his own training
in Anything Goes. And if he could be believed, he'd beaten her quickly.

She understood now how he could view Kuno with contempt.

It threw into bold relief just how lackadaisical her training in Martial
Arts had been in comparison. Yes, her dad had taught her everything he had
known, had made her the best Martial artist in Furinkan, but he had never
pushed her.
No. To be fair, she had never made him push her. She had never had the all
consuming drive to be the best that had driven Ranma and Shan Pu. She could
have spent years training and never have caught up to them.

But now? Zhu Shu had told her that Shan Pu could beat her easily in unarmed
combat, but Akane had held her own. . . and won.

No. . . she had been evenly matched. . . but Shan Pu had acknowledged
defeat.

Maybe she'd been wrong about Shan Pu's reasons for wanting to spar. At first
she had thought the Amazon had wanted a little revenge for losing to Akane
the day before and for Akane's reaction on finding her in her bed, but now
she didn't think so. . . It had been more like she had wanted to meet her as
an equal, which was why she'd met her with nothing more than Akane had had.
. . weapons alone.

Shan Pu hadn't fought at anything less than her best, but it seemed she had
wanted to lose. . . she had needed to lose after giving her all. She had
needed to prove to herself that she had given her love to someone worthy.
She was an Amazon. . . and the Champion. . . her pride demanded she give
herself only to best.

And Akane had proven to her that she was at least an equal. She had not
needed to win to know who was truly better, the fight alone had proven her
love was worthy. She hadn't cared who was there other than Akane. She had
desired only to be taken with a passion as wild as the fury of their fight.
She had needed to be taken.

And the depth of her need had frightened Akane.

She'd been forced into this engagement, even if by her own actions. She'd
been deliberately corrupted by Zhu Shu to make her amiable to the idea of a
female lover, even if she did love Zhu Shu too much to really be angry about
it. She'd been manipulated by the old ghoul Shan Pu called her
Great-grandmother into begging for her life. . .

No. . . the parts of her that were touched by Zhu Shu wouldn't let her take
the easy way out. . . Zhu Shu had never done anything more than be a friend.
. . Akane had been the one to make the decisions. Shan Pu had only jumped to
Ranma's defense. . . much as Akane might have done. Akane had only herself
to blame for knocking Shan Pu out. Had it not been for her ties to Ranma and
Zhu Shu. . . Shan Pu would have given her the kiss of death. . . and now. .
. Shan Pu was only trying to win the heart of someone she had already given
hers to. . .

Could Akane really be angry with her for trying to do to her what she had
done to Zhu Shu? Or Ranma?

The whirlwind in her head continued. . .

* * * * *

"Well I still say it's weird." Usagi said to Minako. "I mean why would she
want to take Zhu-chan to a movie and not want the rest of us to go, too?"

"Usagi, you can be so dense. Zhu Shu came to her last night because she was
so upset about stuff over at Akane's. She needed a break, and peace and
quiet. You can't sit through a movie without running commentary and at
least five trips to the concession stand for more popcorn." Mina replied.

"So why'd she get so dressed up?" Usagi pouted.

Makoto looked up from the stove where she was cooking. "Think about it,
Usagi. You know how Zhu Shu looks before she puts on make up. . . and they
were going to that nice restaurant in the ginza after the movie. Rei had to
dress nice to even get in there."

Usagi humphed. Mina giggled. "I think you're just sore she wanted to go
alone."

Usagi curled into a knot of arms and legs. "Well. . . I wanted to see the
movie."

"No. . . you wanted Rei to pay for you to see the movie." Makoto called.
"Now go set the table. Dinner's almost done."

Minako sighed and got up. "Come on Usagi."

"Aww, do I have to? My butt still hurts."

"Then you should have known better than to ask Rei if she had become a
pervert and was she really taking Zhu Shu on a date." Makoto said
unsympathetically.

Minako giggled, receiving a glare from a red faced Usagi. "Hey!"

"Oh, come on Usagi-chan. It was funny watching Rei turn you over her lap and
paddle you. I should have taken pictures. Lots of magazines would pay good
money for them." Minako's eyes danced.

"YOU WOULDN'T DARE!!!!" Usagi yelled, then reconsidered. "Would you?"

The other two girls howled with laughter, but broke off as Ami came into the
small kitchen dining room of Makoto's apartment.

"Hey guys, this is pretty weird." She looked up at a beet red Usagi, then at
the other two swallowing giggles and asked "Did I miss something?"

"They're being mean!" Usagi wailed.

"Oh. . . well. . . I think you might want to look at this." She waved the
little mini-computer in her hand. "Might even want to call in Artemis and
Luna."

The other three girls got serious in a hurry. "What is it Ami-chan?" Makoto
asked.

"I was running some comparative analysis on my scans for the last few
months. . . and. . . well. . . I'd really rather only try to explain this
once, but I think it might be important."

That was enough for the others. By the time dinner was out, the two felines
had arrived.

"What is it Sailor Mercury? We haven't monitored any suspicious activity. .
."

Ami shook her head. "I've been going over my sensor logs." She turned to
Makoto's monitor and an image of Zhu Shu standing on the roof of Hikawa
Shrine appeared. Next to it, a sensor trace appeared with labels indicating
what the various colors meant. "This is what Zhu-sensei read when we first
met her. As you can see, she has absolutely no trace of negative energy, but
extremely high levels of what Rei said was chi, and strong traces of magical
energy. At the time, there was a last trace I ignored as unimportant." She
pointed to a small gold trace barely visible at the bottom of the readout.
"This is Silver Millennium energy. It's very faint and I dismissed it then
because it's fairly common to find people with traces." She ran the log
forward to the point it had rained. "Here is where she transformed. As you
can see, the magic trace spiked off the scale for this one split second, but
look at the other traces."

Usagi said it first. "They ain't there?"

Ami nodded. "Exactly. For this one instant, it appears Zhu Shu existed only
as magical energy." She ran ahead a few frames to Zhu Shu's elf form and the
traces reappeared, but even Usagi's usually unobservant eyes could see the
difference.

"Her bands have shifted." Artemis observed.

"Yes. Her magic trace has climbed almost two orders of magnitude, and there
is a significant change in her chi trace. . . it almost seems as if her
change merges her chi trace and this strong magical trace. I'm still trying
to figure out what that means." She added a split screen of Rei. "And for
comparison, here's Rei at the same time period."

"Wow. . . She's got a magic trace too!" Usagi noted.

Ami nodded. "Well, she is a priestess. . . But as you can see, her major
trace is Silver Millennium energy, about ten orders of magnitude over
Zhu-sensei." She pressed a few buttons on the computer. "Now I'm going to
the readings a few days later, when we all came to the shrine to meet
Zhu-sensei." The graphs shifted and everyone gasped.
Ami looked at them seriously. "You won't notice unless you're looking for
it, but like this, it's rather obvious. Rei's magic trace has elevated over
an order magnitude, but what's really strange is this." She pointed to the
gold trace on Zhu Shu's graph. "Zhu-sensei's Silver Millennium trace also
has increased by nearly an order of magnitude."

She tapped a few more keys and the screen jumped ahead to a time reference
of just a few hours previous, and everyone gasped. Ami looked grim. "This is
our sensei today. As you can see, somehow, she's undergone a massive change.
Her chi has leaped almost five orders of magnitude and her magic trace is
off the scale and staying there. Something very strange has happened to
her."

"Hey! What happened to her Millennium trace?" Usagi asked.

Ami looked at her in surprise. "Good question. Let me check." She tapped a
few more keys and the other traces vanished to reveal the previously hidden
trace.

"Oh. . . my. . . gawd. . ." Usagi mumbled slack jawed. The others wore
equally shocked expressions.

The gold trace was off the scale.

"Where are Rei and Zhu Shu now?" Luna asked quietly.

"They were going to see the new Sailor V movie and then to dinner at the
Ginza." Makoto supplied.

"We've got to get to them quick. We need to find out what is going on."
Artemis said, his voice more serious than they had heard it in weeks.

An alarm began beeping on Ami's computer. She looked down. "Damn! I have a
massive magical trace building."

"Where?" Luna's voice had a tight edge.

"Juuban ginza." Ami's voice was as colorless as her face.

* * * * *

"You'd think the way she carries on, Minako would be a better actor." Rei
commented over her chow mien. "I mean, who writes her scripts?"

Zhu Shu laughed, surprised at how much she was enjoying herself. Ever since
her dream of Ying Ying, she had been pondering the advice her beloved's
ghost had given her, and reviewing the last few weeks. It had made her
realize exactly how often she'd noticed looks from Rei that she'd dismissed
for no other reason than she was afraid of leading the girl on. She'd been
so wrapped up in her quest to help Ranma and Akane that she'd failed to see
how much Rei had started to look at her as more than just a friend. She
still wasn't sure if Rei actually did share her preferences for women, but
she certainly owed her enough to allow Rei to discover if she did with her.
When Rei had come home from school and they had decided where to go eat, she
had actually made the effort to use some of her training to dress herself
and Rei up. She had dug into Rei's closet and found her an elegant Mandarin
style dress and had dressed in a complimentary one, and the pair of them had
turned all kinds of heads that night. Zhu Shu had smiled repeatedly at Rei's
blushes when various boys had whistled at them; she had made a huge effort
to ensure that the taller girl had outshone her for the night.

"I don't know, Rei-chan. I thought it was very entertaining." Zhu Shu
answered. "It was interesting to see her pretending to fight. I will have to
remember those moves when we train. It will help me to train her better."

"She was on wires most of the time, Zhu-chan. . . It wasn't real."

"Yes. . . but there is no reason she can't use what she learned for that to
help her out in training. Or combat." Zhu Shu picked at her so-called
sachezuan. . . she could make better in her sleep. "Anyway, I thought she
did a good job. It's not her fault they have her sounding like a cheap
American superhero."

"Except I know she adlibs half her lines." Rei laughed. "You know, I'm
actually having a lot of fun." She smiled at Zhu Shu.

Zhu Shu nodded. "I was just thinking the same thing. Maybe this was just
what I needed. . . a complete break from-"

She was cut off by the sounds of screams from down the street, immediately
followed by the commotion of people running past the railing of the open air
restaurant. A shudder ran through the ground followed by the roar of
something gigantic.

"Dammit!" Rei cursed. "Why tonight of all nights!" She stood and began to
search for someplace private, then she felt an arm wrap around her waist.

"Hold on." Zhu Shu told her. Rei grabbed her as she leaped, and tried to
make herself as small as possible as Zhu Shu rebounded off the wall. She
bounced from wall to wall, gaining speed with each bounce until she cleared
the upper stories and landed on a rooftop halfway down the street. She
looked down at the girl in her arms and smiled. "Time to be a warrior."

Rei smiled back. "That was quite impressive." She held up her pen tapped
Zhu Shu on the nose. "Show off."

Zhu Shu giggled. "Maybe."

Rei called out her tranformation while still in Zhu Shu's arms, much to the
Chinese girls surprise and Rei's amusement. Zhu Shu found herself caught in
the midst of the swirls of energy sweeping around the transforming Senshi,
and with a completely naked Rei pressed against her still laughing as her
Senshi uniform started to form. Zhu Shu felt a rush through her as she felt
the energy flow along her chi paths, warming her with the heat of Rei's
fire. As the henshin finished, she found herself gasping in shock.

She gave Rei a look. "Now who's showing off?"

Rei giggled again, then looked off to distance where another roar could be
heard. "I'll be right back." She went to kiss Zhu Shu's cheek.

Zhu Shu had been turned to look at the roar, and was turning back to Rei as
she started to give her a peck, and as a result Rei's lips found Zhu Shu's.
There was a second of shock, and Zhu Shu started to draw back, realizing Rei
had meant to kiss her cheek, but Rei moved with her, her hand rising to cup
the back of Zhu Shu's head as she started to kiss her in truth. Zhu Shu
stopped resisting and returned it with growing feeling.

Rei broke after a minute and smiled. "That. . . was wonderful."

Zhu Shu blushed. "That's what I should say."

Rei nodded. "What say I go trounce whatever that is and we go back and
finish our date?"

Zhu Shu nodded. "I would like that very much."

Zhu Shu watched as Rei jumped to the roof of the next building and
reflecting on the sudden fire the kiss had seemed to ignite. Whatever she
and Rei eventually might become, there was no denying there was a chemistry
there.
Another roar sounded, and she decided to follow Rei and watch her student in
action. It was just to study how she fought and see how she could improve
her training class, it certainly wasn't because she wanted to watch the
beautiful Senshi in action in that really short skirt. Not at all.

* * * * *

The imp roared happily as it reached down to scare yet another running
human. It hadn't had this much fun in centuries. The wizard's sending was
feeding it enough power it felt invincible! Even holding to it's current
giant size was child's play. And with the havoc it was creating, its prey
should be drawn to it soon, her noble instincts wouldn't let her stay away.

"Villain! Monster! For the suffering you have caused innocents, in the name
of Mars, I will make you pay!"

The imp looked up to the rooftop across from it to see Sailor Mars. It
laughed, a vast booming chuckle. Already, its lures were arriving. The
dragon girl couldn't be far behind. "Will you stop me all by yourself,
meat?" The imp called as it shrugged off a Fire Soul.

"She is not alone, Villain!" Sailor Moon called from behind it. "Moon
Princess Haliation!"

The imp continued laughing as the energy washed over it without effect . So
all of its lures were coming to play. The teacher had to be close. It
shrugged off the effects of a Lightning Dragon as it smiled. "So good of you
all to come my little Sailorscouts." It waited as the five girls surrounded
it. "Now my pet!"

Only Usagi had time to scream as tentacles shot out of shadows all over the
rooftops and enveloped the quintet, then even that was cut off as her mouth
was clamped closed. They struggled, but for every tentacle they wiggled free
of, eight more clamped on.

"Do you like my little ally, Senshi?" The imp gloated. "I would have thought
you would have been more wary. You fell into my trap so quickly."

A whistle and a sharp report announced the rose bouncing off the imp's scaly
hide, followed by a pronouncement in a deep voice.

"Those who seek to destroy beauty may find instead they are destroyed by
it!"

The imp turned to Tuxedo Kamen. "How sweet. More bait." It ignored the
spatter of roses as it lashed out at the building under Tuxedo Kamen's feet.
Mamoru flipped through the air towards a new perch, but was snagged by a
dozen tentacles and dragged down into the shadowy mass that had almost
completely enveloped the Senshi. The imp laughed insanely. The dragon girl
had to come now!

>From out of the darkness overhead a flurry of ribbons flickering with golden
light flashed down to a call of "Ashura�s Whip!"

Roars of pain arose from the shadow beast as the light ripped through dozens
of tentacles, freeing the Senshi enough for them to breathe. The imp
screamed as pain rushed along the connection it had with the unseen beast.
It looked up at the source of the ribbons and howled.

Hovering in a whirlwind of ribbons was a golden haired figure in a
gold-skirted sailor suit. Emerald dragon eyes fixed the creature with
implacable anger. Golden light poured down from the globe of energy that
surrounded the figure as she danced in the air, her arms moving in a
hypnotic pattern that almost made her seem to have six of them. A clear
voice called out over the howl of the imp.

"For crimes against the Earth, and for crimes against love, I sentence you.
In the name of the Dragon, you shall be destroyed." The quiet pronouncement
held just a hint of sadness, but carried the finality of doom. The figure
put back her head and screamed. "Ashura's Call! Senshi! Lend me your
power!"

Rei responded with all the strength she could muster. "Mars Burning
Mandala!" Rings of fire flashed upwards into the swirling vortex around the
figure.

"She can absorb our attacks!" Mercury yelled. "Mercury Ice Bubbles, Blast!"

One by one, the Senshi added their attacks until the figure glowed like the
sun. The imp hurled fireball after fireball to no effect. "What does it take
to kill you!" it screamed as yet another fireball was sucked into the golden
orb. The golden figure's scream faded as the ribbons around her pulsed with
power, leaving streamers of plasma. In the sudden silence, her voice seemed
to echo forever.

"Shiva's Dance, Final Attack. SWORD OF HEAVEN!"

The ribbons blazed into a mandala around the figure as she flared brighter
than the sun. A vast crescent speared towards the transfixed imp, then
through him and into the shadow beast.

For a second, the imp appeared unharmed as lightning crackled through the
shadow beast, then as the shadows consumed themselves, it slowly began to
part. Arcs of energy lashed across the divide before it flared into a
concussive wave that flattened the Sailor Senshi.

Above them, the golden figure flickered like a dying ember and began to
fall.

Rei screamed in denial as Zhu Shu impacted the rubble with a sickening thud,
and scrambled in her direction heedless of her own wounds and bruises.

Zhu Shu lay like a burned and broken doll in a pool of her own blood, her
spine severed by a jagged piece of concrete. She coughed, a harsh rattling
sound, and blood poured from her mouth. Her eyes opened to focus on the
priestess, and her hand rose shakily to brush Rei's hair out of her eyes. "I
could not stand by and watch you die, Rei-chan. . . I. . . could. . . not
bear-" Her hand fell as her head rolled back, the light fading from her
eyes.

In Nerima, Akane's scream ripped out her soul. . .

*******************************************
The most preposterous motion that H. sapiens has ever dreamed up it that the
Lord God of Creation, Shaper and Ruler of all the Universes, wants the
saccharine adoration of His creatures, can be swayed by prayers, and becomes
petulant if He does not receive this flattery. Yet this absurd fantasy,
without a shred of evidence to bolster it, pays all the expenses of the
oldest, largest and least productive industry in all history.
-- Lazarus Long --

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