C&C are wecome. In fact, I expect it from each and
every one of you. ^_^
Arun

Destiny

By Arun Prabhu <arun2110@sancharnet.in>

Chapter#03 <Completed on 18/05/2003> <Revision#2>

A Ranma One-Half - Sailor Moon crossover with a pinch
of Ramayana.

Disclaimers:

Ranma one-half and Sailor Moon belong to their
respective owners. I do not own them.

Author�s notes:

	This one�s a biggie, but I think it�s tasty. It is
palatable and I hope you can consume it in one
sitting. Oh, and I hope you can keep it down, too. ^_~

	Refer to the numerical index at the bottom. I'm sure
you'll find it very helpful.




There was light. There was light and there was
darkness that surrounded the light.

	Inside the light, there was a table. Dozens of chairs
circled the table. An Ashura lord occupied each one of
them. All of them were dressed resplendently in silken
clothes of green, blue and saffron.

	Raja Chola stood at the head of the table and looked
around, his head held high and proud. He wore archaic
clothing and shadows veiled his face. He was dressed
in a single long strip of silk, very much like a toga
beneath which he wore a sarong. The folds of his stole
dropped sinuously from his hand to the floor. A
pigtail tied from his matt-black hair stretched to his
shoulder blades. A gold earring inlaid with a single
diamond hung from his left ear.

	�Vengeance is at hand,� he said. His eyes swept
across the table. �The Betrayers will pay.�

	The seated Ashuras nodded and murmured among
themselves in appreciation.

	�Ashura,� Chola said in a majestic tone, �thy time is
anon. The Walls that have bound us for so long are
weak and fragile. They shall crumble to dust soon and
when they fall, we will take what is rightfully ours.
The blood of our brethren will be avenged.�

	The Ashuras did not murmur this time. Instead, they
contented themselves with little nods of acquiescence.

	Chola shifted on his feet. His saffron stole brushed
against the table as he did. He fixed his gaze upon
the Ashura nearest to him and spoke.

	�Indira, wilt thou do my bidding?� he asked. His
words were soft and there was not a hint of an order
in them.

	�Yes, Milord,� Indiran [1], the Ashura sitting next
to Chola, said. He rose from his seat and knelt before
his liege. The gold emblem of his house, which he wore
around his neck, reflected the light shining down on
them off the jade dragon carved on its center and
shone brightly. �My soul is thine. Mine heart is
thine. My body is thine... Thy every word is my
command, Son of the Earth,� he said, and as he spoke
the last words, the emblem flashed once a shade of
iridescent green.

	Chola smiled and looked down at Indiran as he
extended the Ashura his arm. When Indiran grasped hold
of the proffered hand, light fluorescent green motes
blossomed from the insignia on Chola�s forehead.
Command had been given and accepted. Indira would
carry them out - at all cost.

	�Arise, Indira. Arise and be seated.�

	Indiran nodded. He straightened up and sat down. His
eyes never left his lord, however. Like a child�s,
they shone with unconditional love for his emperor.

	�The task I give thee is perilous, Indira. I have
sensed the Senshi on the mortal plane. When the wall
falls, they will assuredly try to defend the Betrayers
from our righteous wrath. I want them neutralized,�
Chola said. His eyes met Indiran�s and delved deep
into his soul, �Wilt thou kill them for me?�

	It was not a command, but a request and Indiran was
more than willing to oblige his liege.

	�It will be done, Milord.�

	Chola nodded once.

	�It is well then. Take Suryan with thee.�

	�Suryan, Milord?� Indiran asked. There was hesitation
in his words. �Art thou sure it is wise to use that
animal, Milord?�

	�No, it is not,� Chola admitted, �But he is our best
tracker and I trust that thou'lt be able to control
his vile urges.�

	�Very well, Milord, it will be as thou wishest.�

	�Thou shalt set out at the earliest opportune moment.
The tear in the wall is stable enough that you
shouldst arrive safely at your destination. Once on
the other side, should Surya�s base emotions take rein
of his dark soul and cause him to break The Code, thou
mayst kill him. But wait until he locates the Senshi.�

	Indiran nodded and rose from his seat. As he rose,
his stole, which was wrapped around his waist, and
arranged in such a way that the folds drooped from his
shoulders, slid off his arm to drag against the floor.
Indiran did not seem to mind getting his vestment
dirtied and paid no attention to it, as he bowed to
Chola. The tiny trees and fingurines on his stole
seemed to come alive as the light struck them. No poet
could have done justice with his poems to the tiny
forest of gold, nor could any artist with his
painting. It was beauty, - pure, simple and majestic
beauty, - in all its glory.

	Chola bent at his waist to bless Indiran and the
sigil on his head glowed brighter than normal as he
did. He gave Indira his blessings and whispered a few
long forgotten words of power and wisdom in his ears.
Finally, after receiving Chola�s wisdom, Indiran left.

	Chola turned his attention to the rest of the Ashura
lords. His chest was heavy with the massive burden he
had placed on Indiran�s shoulders, but he bore it with
a stout heart. The Senshi of the past were anything
but innocent. Their loyalties had always lain with the
enemy and they posed a small but significant threat to
his plans. As such, they had to die. He would tolerate
no obstacle that stood between him and his ultimate
quarry, the Gods.

	�Tamil Selva, arise!�

	Tamil Selvan, the Ashura at the far end of the table,
stood up. He paid his respects to his lord and stood
still, awaiting his orders.

	�Go beyond the wall and gather the surviving
Righteous Ones together. Learn the changes that the
mortal plane hath experienced since our banishment and
report back to me.�

	Tamil Selvan nodded.

	�Do you not trust Indira to return, Milord?� he
asked.

	�Son of my heart, how little dost thou trust me,�
Chola replied, �Indira will be sufficiently
hard-pressed controlling Surya and eliminating the
Senshi. I dare not overburden him with this task. It
would be most unwise of me if I did.�

	There was a pause.

	�I send thee, for thou art the most experienced scout
in mine army. Wilt thou obey me and do my bidding?�
 
	In response, Tamil Selvan bowed low, prostrating
himself before his lord. His sin was unpardonable and
he deserved a fate worse than death.

	�I offer my profound apologies for my presumptuous
speech, Milord! Ask and my life is thine.�

	Chola shook his head, refusing Tamil Selvan offer to
make amends.

	�Arise. Thou art forgiven, Selva.�

	Tamil Selvan rose to his feet once again.

	�I shalt set out at the earliest, Milord,� he said.

	�Very well, Selva. You hath my blessings for the
journey ahead,� Chola said, a small indulgent smile on
his face.

	Fade.

***********************************************************************

	It was not easy being the heir to one of the rulers
of the Joketsuzoku-Musk nation. You had to be the best
in everything. You had to beat your nearest competitor
by seven miles and six yards, and you had to make the
effort look easy. In other words, you had to be
perfect. Throughout her life, Shan Pu, the great,
great, great granddaughter of Guu Long, Matriarch of
the Joketsuzoku, trained to reach that elusive point
of perfection that marks the heir of one of the
Elders. She pushed herself farther, faster and harder,
until she was the best in her age group. Indeed, she
was easily one of the best in the village. Incredibly
long hours had been devoted to perfecting her manners,
her social and her language skills. Thank God, she had
learned them well, for without them, she would have
reduced Ranma into a pile of broken and bloodied bone
and flesh a long time ago.

	Not two weeks had passed since Ranma entered her life
and she already hated him with a passion. In addition,
to make matters worse, she had also fallen in love
with him. The man was a bastard, she knew, whose one
pleasure in life came from taunting her and acting
like the pompous twit he was all the time. Yet,
despite his numerous shortcomings, he had one thing
going in his favor. He had the cutest, tightest butt
in the whole world and to Shan Pu�s hormone crazed
teenage mind, that alone was enough to offset all his
other deficiencies. Like his rudeness, his lack of
manners, his pretentiousness, his pomposity, and his
ego. In short, her emotions were unnecessarily
complicating her life and increasing her sense of
insecurity, making her more miserable than she already
had reason to be.

	It had not been that long ago when her life was
simple - simple and uncomplicated. She trained and
guarded the Wise Ones, as one of the Elite. Sure,
there were intrigues aplenty, but she loved her job
and more importantly, she enjoyed it. Her venerated
grandmother took all of it away in a single stroke on
her much awaited return from Phoenix Mountain, when
she came bearing news about The Dragon. Guu Long
called an emergency session of The Council on arrival.
At the end of several hours of secret deliberations,
she abdicated to her most hated rival, Lian Qiao and
announced her plans to set out on a quest in search of
The Dragon. Moreover, with the entire village as her
witness, the former Matriarch requested The Council to
allow her the company of her heir-in-training, Shan
Pu, on her holy journey. They granted her request, and
both grandmother and granddaughter set out. Still,
disappointed as she was to leave her job, Shan Pu had
been overwhelmed by the honor and trust bestowed upon
her by The Wise Ones when they set out. She had
idiotically looked forward to the haj, and adventures
ahead with unbridled hope and joy.

	The exuberance lasted not three days into the journey
when she found out the truth. As it turned out, Guu
Long did not even have the faintest notion of where
they should start looking for The Dragon. All she had
was an informant who may or may not have been telling
them the truth. Even though she had been disappointed,
Shan Pu could have lived with this letdown, - when
they set out on the pilgrimage, she had looked forward
to meeting The Dragon within weeks of setting out of
the village, - and might have actually enjoyed the
search were it not for Ranma, that well-off pompous
scum of the earth who just happened to be their
informant � may the Gods be thrice damned. He forced
them to pay for his stay in the expensive penthouse
suite in Crowne Plaza Chengdu, and he taunted Shan Pu
every waking hour. He insulted her without pause, and
seemed to take pleasure in pissing the young
Joketsuzoku off in just about everything and anything.
She had made up her mind to reduce the bastard to a
pile of broken bones within hours of meeting him and
would have done so were it not for her grandmother,
who ordered her to be on her best behavior around
Ranma. Thus, like the dutiful granddaughter she was,
Shan Pu bore all the insults, the ridicule and the
taunts in silence, and even managed to put on a polite
act.

	It did not help. Her grandmother�s advice did not
help at all. The more politely she acted, the more he
provoked her. The incident that took place minutes
after their arrival in Tokyo was a great example of
their uselessness, but there were others, too. After
exiting the airport, they had just boarded Ranma�s
�cab,� a stretch limousine, when he asked Shan Pu
about her opinion on Tokyo. When she responded in the
negative, he launched into a rude speech that not only
insulted her, but also her ancestors, their children,
and the pigs in their sties. She almost killed him
then - almost. Ranma seemed to notice the barely
controlled anger in her eyes and he did not provoke
her any further for the rest of the journey, though he
shot a queer smirk at her every now and then. Soon
afterwards, they reached his home, which really was a
mansion, and he became the epitome of manners and
grace. It puzzled her to no end, this sudden
transformation of his. She wanted, - needed, - to know
which one of his masks was the true Ranma. Was it the
rude, obnoxious one, or was it the polite, courteous
one? The suspense was killing her.

	After showing grandmother and granddaughter around
the house, Ranma, acting well the part of the gracious
host, excused himself to the kitchen to prepare their
meal, while they retired to their rooms to freshen up.
It took Shan Pu an hour and Guu Long, half an hour
longer to finish their toilette, and when finally they
both walked into the dining room, a feast, - a very
expensive and tasty looking banquet, - awaited them.
Ranma sat calmly at the head of the table with a small
expectant smile on his face. He bade them sit in as
courteous a manner as possible and even though the
change in his conduct was a big mystery, Shan Pu found
herself intrigued by an even bigger one. How in the
world had he prepared such a meal in the space of an
hour? There were no servants around the house and no
single man could have prepared such a meal by himself.
Or could he?

	�Lobsters, Shan Pu?� Ranma asked, interrupting Shan
Pu out of her reverie.

	His voice was too polite and Shan Pu immediately
suspected his motives. Something was definitely up.

	�Yes, thank you,� she replied. She tried to hide the
curiosity and the distrust in her voice. She
succeeded, mostly.

	Ranma noticed her concern in the minute fraction of a
second that it was visible and smiled inwardly. His
granddaughter was very good at masking her true
emotions for someone her age. Even though she still
had a way to go before she could satisfy him in the
department, - her recovery from that last slip had
taken a little too long for his liking, - she was
definitely Matriarch material. He smiled briefly again
in spite of himself and served her a monster of a
lobster. Then, he turned to Guu Long.

	�How about you, Honored One, do you want one, too?�

	Guu Long shook her head.

	�No.�

	Ranma nodded.

	�And what about Tokyo, Honored One - do you like it?�

	�Yes, I think I do...� Guu Long paused with just a
hint of hesitation in her eyes, �It makes me wish that
I were not born a Joketsuzoku.�

	Ranma raised a questioning eyebrow. Shan Pu simply
gaped in disbelief. Had she heard her grandmother
correct? Those words could not have come from Guu
Long�s lips, could they?

	�Regrets, Wise One?�

	Guu Long shook her head.

	�Everyone has regrets - some more than others. But
no, my regrets are not nearly enough reason.�

	�But you say...�

	Guu Long took a sip of water while she formulated her
answer. The subtle inflections in Ranma�s voice
indicated that she was under scrutiny; that he was
examining her with a microscope. She felt sure that
her answers were going to influence him a great deal
in the way he saw her.

	�My life has been long, and it has brought joy and
sorrow in equal measures to a great many people. I
regret the sorrow I caused and I rejoice the joy my
presence brought others. My life itself, I do not
regret.

	�If I were given the chance to go back in time and
relive my life, I would not change anything - not even
a single mistake, or error in judgment. If I did, it
would dishonor all my friends and loved ones who
respected me and gave me a place in their hearts.

	�Still, a small selfish part of me cannot help but
wish that things had been different in my life... That
I was not the all-powerful Matriarch of the
Joketsuzoku; that I was wiser than I was in my younger
days; that I had not lived to see my children, my
grandchildren and my friends die,� she said and
paused.

	Ranma nodded, as if in understanding, which Shan Pu
noted out of the corner of her eyes. It mystified her
that one such as he could even understand the complex
issues her grandmother chose to address. The only way
he could understand Guu Long was if he were as old as
her grandmother himself and although there was a faint
chance that he was older than he looked, it was
remote. And even if he had aged well, he could not be
that old. No one could age that well, could they? She
focused her attention completely on Ranma and watched,
as he chewed on his supper thoughtfully. The silence
in the room, as he pondered his answer, was palpable.

	�I understand,� he spoke at length, �It is a curse
and a blessing, duty.�

	Guu Long nodded.

	�One should not survive one�s loved ones,� he
continued, �It is the worst curse possible.�

	As he spoke, his eyes lost their focus, and for just
a moment became impossibly ancient and wise.	Mirrored
in them were ancient pain and wisdom the likes of
which Shan Pu had never seen in her life � not even
the Wise Ones looked that old. She observed every
minute detail of his eyes, his face and most of all,
his eyes, and filed them away for future reference.
His haunted voice, too, spoke a great deal about the
pain he felt in his heart. She looked even closer at
him, now more curious than ever. �Who is he?� she
wondered. The abrupt change in manner and those
impossibly ancient eyes - they were all pieces of a
gigantic puzzle that she had every intention of
solving. Only she was afraid that it might prove too
complex for her - that she might have bitten more than
she could chew.

	Abruptly, Ranma�s eyes regained their focus. He
turned them towards both his granddaughters, a small
smile on his face.

	�But I digress. Will Shan Pu be attending school
while she is here, Honored One?� he asked, steering
away from the painful subject.

	Shan Pu looked at her grandmother, her eyes pleading
no, but Guu Long ignored her.

	�Yes, she�ll be attending school. Perhaps you can
suggest one, Ranma?� she asked.

	Ranma swallowed the mouthful of deliciously cooked
prawn meat he was chewing and carefully laid down his
chopsticks on his plate. He clasped his hands in front
of him as he leaned on the table, took a deep breath
and spoke.

	�Perhaps she could attend Juuban High. I have applied
for a job there and we can enroll her when I attend my
interview tomorrow.�

	Guu Long nodded in acquiescence.

	�But I do not want to attend school, Honorable
Grandmother,� Shan Pu objected. The school in the
village had been bad enough and she had no intention
of attending school in Japan, ever. However, before
she could continue with her objections, Guu Long
turned on her and glared her down with unusual
sharpness.

	�I have made my decision and it is final,
Granddaughter. You will attend school for the duration
of our stay and that�s that.�

	�But...�

	�Hush! Did I give you permission to speak? Do you
presume yourself my better?� Guu Long hissed, angry
that Shan Pu was behaving like a toddler in the
presence of their venerable grandfather. The
ex-matriarch wanted very much to impress Ranma with
Shan Pu, and her granddaughter was making her job
unduly hard.

	Shocked by the venom in her grandmother�s words, Shan
Pu felt sufficiently reprimanded to forego her
tantrum. She shook her head, squeaking only a small
�no� in reply.

	Still, Guu Long was not mollified. She stared long
and hard at Shan Pu, until the girl flinched under the
stern gaze. Then, with her eyes still focused on her
granddaughter, she addressed Ranma.

	�Please, forgive Shan Pu her folly. She�s usually
obedient, but needs to be shown the error of her ways
sometimes.�

	�Young people sometimes need guidance. It is the duty
of their elders to give it to them,� he replied,
shooting Shan Pu a knowing smile. He had been in his
granddaughter�s position many a time in his olden days
and his sympathies were entirely with her for Guu Long
had ridden the girl very hard; perhaps harder than she
deserved. Shan Pu did not pay attention to Ranma�s
reaction, however. She was too busy licking her own
wounds to pay attention to the world at large.

	Guu Long smiled, nodding in agreement and returned to
her meal. The conversation slowly drifted onto other
topics from there and by the time they finished their
meal, Ranma had both his granddaughters laughing with
one idiotic tale of his misadventures from earlier
days after another. He was careful, however, to leave
out the dates � he did not want Shan Pu to discover
his identity just yet. Afterwards, Guu Long retired to
her room, and Ranma and Shan Pu got down to clearing
the dishes. The leftovers and the china on the table
disappeared fast. With all the dirty dishes put in the
dishwasher, Ranma excused himself from Shan Pu and
stepped out into the night for a little stargazing
from the comfort of his favorite seat - a small
boulder by the koi pond. It did not take long to lose
himself, and he almost did not sense Shan Pu open the
front door and watch him from the porch - almost, but
not quite.

	�The stars are beautiful, aren�t they?� he observed,
intentionally keeping his eyes focused on the stars to
avoid her gaze.

	Shan Pu recognized his question for what it was - an
invitation to join him in his lazy pursuit. She mulled
over her decision but only for a moment, before her
curiosity got the better of her and she stepped
forward, a wee bit nervous in her mind, but a great
deal inquisitive. She halted a few feet from him and
flopped down on the ground, leaning back until her
back was flat on the grass and her eyes were staring
into the depths of the night sky.

	�Yes, it is... Who are you?� she asked and as she
did, turned and focused his eyes on him. It was not
one of her better opening moves, but it served her
purpose. The question was something she had been
meaning to ask ever since she stepped into his house
and came face to face with the polite Ranma.

	He smiled, his teeth sparkling in the moonlight.

	�Who do you think I am?� he asked in return. His
voice was cheery and playful.

	�Don�t kid with me,� she warned, narrowing her eyes a
little. She meant to find the truth even if she had to
kill him for it. With the way he had infuriated her
ever since she had known him, she might kill him just
out of spite even if he did.

	Ranma�s smile only grew larger.

	�I�m no one,� he replied, then turned slightly to
face her, �seriously!�

	Shan Pu gritted her teeth. It looked like the bastard
in him was back. Maybe she had been wrong, after all.
Maybe this was the real Ranma and the polite one was
just a mask worn to confuse people. If that were true,
she did not want anything to do with him and so, she
stood up to leave.

	�Don�t go,� he said. His voice was soft, almost
longing.

	It made her pause. She could not fathom the depth of
suffering in his voice and the pain in it called out
to her.

	�Why shouldn�t I?� she asked.

	�Because I ask you politely,� he replied in a haunted
tone. He did not add anything else to his arguments.

	Her resolve weakened.

	�Very well,� she said. She turned and flopped down
beside him once again.

	Thus seated, they remained silent for a few minutes.
During that time, he gazed absently at the stars and
she, too ill at ease to speak, remained silent.

	�Why do you hate school?� he asked, finally. He did
not take his eyes off the star-studded sky.

	She did not reply.

	�There is no need to fear, you know. A smart girl
like you can easily ace the courses if you put just a
little effort into your study.�

	Shan Pu did not reply immediately. She took several
moments and even then only because Ranma cleared his
throat rather impatiently.

	�It is not the work I�m afraid of. God knows I�m not
a shirker.�

	�Then what are you afraid of? Surely, you aren�t
afraid of the students...� Ranma began and fell
silent. �You�re afraid of children your age, aren�t
you? Why?�

	Shan Pu muttered something under her breath, thinking
that he would not hear her reply. Apparently, his
hearing was much better than she thought, for he
turned and his eyes focused on her.

	�Children are like that, Shan Pu. You have to trust
me on this. If they think you�re different then them,
they�ll be mean to you. It happens to every other kid
around the block. The important thing is whether you
learn to ignore them or not. You need to realize that
you can�t satisfy everyone at once. That�s an
impossible task. There�s always someone who�ll hate
you, no matter how nice you are to them. The sooner
you learn that, the happier you�ll be.�

	Shan Pu turned towards him.

	�Oh?� she asked. �And why should I listen to your
advice? You�re hardly older than me.�

	Ranma smiled and propped himself on his hand against
the ground, facing her.

	�Don�t trust your senses. Trust your heart. It never
lies.�

	She raised an eyebrow.

	�And what�s that supposed to mean?�

	His smile grew even wider.

	�That�s for me to know and you to find out.�

	�Argh! I hate you!� she exclaimed.

	He raspberried her playfully.

	�Yes, I got that feeling.�

	Pause.

	�Listen. I meant what I said. You can�t let them get
to you. It�ll only make your life miserable.�

	�I know,� she replied with a sigh, �It�s just
that...�

	Ranma nodded as if he understood her unspoken
comment.

	�I realize that growing up in the competitive
atmosphere in the village wasn�t conducive to forming
friendships, but I want you to put the past behind
you. I want to let you know that the situation and the
children are very different here. All I ask is that
you give up that defeatist attitude and try. Who
knows, maybe by the time you leave, you�ll have a
large number of friends who�d judge you for what you
truly are and not by your political standing in the
village,� he said, solemnly.

	Shan Pu thought about Ranma�s suggestion for all of
three seconds and then took a deep breath.

	�I suppose. Ah, what the heck, I�ll give it a try!�

	Ranma smiled in response. �As if my granddaughter
would choose anything else...�

	�You�ll make a good leader,� he observed after a
pause.

	�Huh?�

	�I said you�ll make a good leader.�

	�I already know that,� Shan Pu snapped, peevishly. As
if she could be anything else!

	�You are confident. Good. I saw the way you
controlled yourself when I goaded you on. You
demonstrated excellent control for someone your age.�

	Shan Pu raised an eyebrow. �So, that�s why he was
such an obnoxious bastard before! Well, that takes
care of one mystery. Now, for the other one...�

	�How old are you?� she asked.

	�Old,� he replied. His smirk did not falter any. If
anything, it grew larger.

	�No, I�m serious. Tell me how old you really are. Are
you thirty? Forty? Fifty? C�mon, you can tell me.�

	�Forty. Fifty. I�m a combination of those two,� he
replied. �And I�m not lying... At least, not
technically - after all, forty times fifty is two
thousand.�

	She smiled.

	�Forty-five.�

	He smiled.

	�You could say that.�

	�Oh?� From the way he spoke, it was clear that he was
having a laugh at her expense, but she did not care.
As long as he was not lying, she was not going to give
a damn about what he did or did not do. All that
mattered was that he was not The Dragon, which was the
best news she had heard so far. It would be bad if she
were to develop a crush on her own grandfather, not to
mention the thoughts about pounding him into a bloody
puddle. �So, you know where The Dragon is, huh?�

	Again, Ranma flashed his ever-present smile. She was
beginning to think it was a disease or something that
contorted his face and made him seem as if he were
smiling.

	�Theoretically, yes.�

	�Theoretically, yes - what is that supposed to mean?�

	�I ain�t telling you.�

	She narrowed her eyes.

	�Why not?�

	��Cause if I tell you, I�d have to kill you.�

	�Hmph! As if you could � I bet that you couldn�t even
lay your hands on me.�

	�You don�t want to find out what I can and cannot do,
Little Widdle Girly.�

	�Little Widdle Girly? I�ll show you a little girl.�
�Did he just threaten me?�

	�There�s no need to. I�m already seeing one in front
of myself.�

	 �Argh!� How dare he mock her? �I�ll show him a
little girl, the jerk!� she screamed mentally, all
thoughts of the �threat� forgotten.

	�Is widdle Shan Pu-chan losing her temper, already?�
he teased, jumping up on his feet before she could hit
him on the head with her bonbori. Two thousand years
of constant pummeling by friends and acquaintances had
made him an expert at diagnosing symptoms of the
dreaded �Die, Ranma, die!� syndrome.

	Shan Pu jumped to her feet, close at Ranma�s heels
and gave chase around the front yard. Try as she
might, she could not catch him, however, and by the
end of the first half an hour, she dropped in a heap
on the ground, her endurance at an end.

	Ranma sat down beside her, just out of the reach of
her bonbori. He could not help himself and laughed at
her plight. She, even as she suffered, noticed
absently that he had not even broken a sweat while she
was all but dead.

	�How,� gasp, �did,� gasp, �you,� gasp, �do,� gasp,
�that?� Gasp.

	Ranma looked around, feigning ignorance.

	�Do what?� he asked.

	�That!� she gasped, �You ran,� gasp, �just as hard,�
gasp, �as I did,� gasp, �without,� gasp, �tiring.�

	He acted comprehension.

	�Oh, that! I've had training - lots of training.�

	�You practice The Art?� she asked, surprised. She
panted heavily, as she spoke. She had not noticed
anything about him that indicated he practiced The Art
before, but now that she thought about it, it was
obvious. She realized now why his movements had always
seemed to remind her of a predator. It must have been
because he practiced The Art. That subconscious
realization must have contributed to her uneasiness
around him, too.

	�Yes,� he nodded, �As a matter of fact, I do.�

	�Oh! I hadn�t noticed before,� she admitted honestly.

	�Well, I try to keep all my cards close to my chest,
if you know what I mean.�

	She nodded. She understood, yes.

	He clasped his legs with his arms and tucked them
into himself, leaning a little forward to rest his
chin on his knee.

	�There are a lot of things that people don�t know
about me. Even my close friends are really not that
close,� he said, �I�m the kind of person who keeps
what I know to myself unless I feel there�s a good,
profitable reason to reveal it.�

	�In other words, you prefer to let others think of
you as a mysterious and wise figure, just so that you
can satisfy your ego�s need to feel important.�

	He smiled.

	�You�re correct, partly.�

	�So,� she drawled, scooting a little closer to him
for warmth, �Why tell me all this?�

	�Ah, we�ve come full circle. Have you ever considered
a career as a diplomat? You�d make a great one.�

	�I would?�

	�Yes, you would. You have their penchant.�

	�Oh!�

	Pause.

	�Hey,� she accused indignantly, raising the tempo her
voice a little, �You are avoiding the question,
again.�

	Ranma laughed and jumped to his feet.

	�Yes, I am. Catch me if you can and I�ll answer your
questions.�

	�Come back,� she shouted and straggled to her feet to
chase after him. This time around, the chase did not
last nearly as long and Shan Pu collapsed within ten
minutes. As she lay gasping, Ranma approached her with
a pout on his face.

	�You�re no fun.�

	�This,� gasp, �is,� gasp, �fun?� Gasp.

	He raised an eyebrow.

	�It isn�t?� he asked, dubiously.

	�Of,� gasp, �course,� gasp, �it,� gasp, �isn�t!�
gasp.

	�Oh, I�m sorry then. So, what questions do you want
me to answer?� he asked, propping himself against the
old chestnut tree not five feet from where she lay.

	�You�re,� gasp, �going to,� gasp, �answer,� gasp, �my
questions?� Gasp. �I,� gasp, �thought...� Before she
could continue any further, Ranma placed a finger on
his lips, and she fell silent.

	�Hush. I�ll answer your questions. You tried your
best to catch me and that�s all that matters. I�d say
you earned the right to ask me whatever you want.�

	�Oh!� gasp, �Who are,� gasp, �you?�

	�I�m Joketsuzoku.�

	Her eyes widened. She definitely had not expected
that answer.

	�How come,� gasp, �I have,� gasp, �never seen you,�
gasp, �before?�

	�That�s because I don�t live in the village,� he
replied with a smile.

	She stared at him.

	�Hey, you asked me the question and I gave you a
valid answer.�

	�Name someone,� gasp, �from the village,� gasp, �and
I�ll believe you.�

	He shrugged.

	�I�m Joketsuzoku by adoption. I haven�t visited the
village in a long time, though I used to live there
once.�

	�Oh! So, you really are old.�

	�Yes, I�m older than you,� he replied, �Much older
than you, but you don�t need to know that - yet.� �I
aged well. So, I look young.�

	�Are you old enough to be my father?� she asked,
curiously. If he was older than that, then her crush
was most probably doomed.

	�Older.�

	�Um... My grandfather?�

	He smiled. At the same time, his eyes twinkled with
mischief.

	�You could say that.�

	�Damn!� �You will not tell me your real age?�

	He laughed.

	�No, I will not. I�m sensitive about my age - just
like you are.�

	�Hey!�

	�Honest. It wouldn�t do to let cute, adorable
bombshells like you think that I�m an old geezer, now,
would it?�

	Her shoulders drooped. �He is a Casanova, all right!
And to think I thought he was a cute and adorable
angel just now!�

	�I suppose,� she said with a sigh, and then
inexorably brightened, �Does grandmother know how old
you are?�

	�Yes, she does. However, she wouldn�t tell you if you
asked her. She knows that I like to be all mysterious
and stuff.�

	�Oh!� �Damn, again!�

	�Anything else?�

	�Nah!�

	�Good. Now, I know that you think I�m rude and
everything, but I want you to know that it wasn�t the
real me you saw before. I was testing you.�

	�Testing me - what for?�

	�To see how far along you were in your training.�

	�Oh!�

	Pause.

	�Did I pass?� she asked after a while.

	He smiled.

	�Yes, you did - with flying colors! That�s why I said
you�ll make a fine leader someday.�

	�Oh!�

	Pause.

	�You married?�

	�Ah, the dreaded question session continues.�

	�Haha! Are you going to answer my question or not?�

	�Yes, I was. My wife has been dead for sometime now,�
he said, his eyes focused on the far distance.

	�I�m sorry.�

	He shrugged.

	�Don�t be. It was her time...�

	Silence.

	�Where did you learn to cook?� she asked finally,
trying to break the awkwardness that had crept in,
after she began to bore of staring at the sky.

	�I�ve been around the block a few times and I picked
up a thing or two.�

	�Yeah, right! A thing or two, he says! I�d say you
learnt a lot more than that. Supper was delicious.�

	�Thank you,� he replied with a bow, �We live but to
please.�

	�I bet.�

	He burst out laughing at her remark.

	�Friends?� he asked.

	She nodded.

	�Friends,� she said and unconsciously hugged herself
as the first pangs of cold hit her. Tokyo was not hot
at its hottest and the night was anything but hot. The
cold was almost as bad as in the village and to make
matters worse, she wasn�t wearing anything to protect
her from the environment, as she would have if she
were in the village either.

	Ranma noticed his granddaughter�s discomfiture and
came to a quick decision.

	�Why don�t we go in?� he asked, diplomatically, as he
pushed himself off the tree trunk. �It�s getting late
and we have an early appointment to keep in the morn.�

	She shot him a grateful glance. With his offer and
his excuse, he made sure she would not come off as
looking weak.

	�Yes, let�s,� she said and looked up.

	He waited by her side whilst she got up and then the
two of them trudged inside, he beside her. At the
porch, he turned around to look at the night one last
time and then followed her into the house. The door
closed and the lights went out soon after.

***********************************************************************

	It was early morning in Juuban, Tokyo, and Rei Hino,
always an early riser, was up and running before her
grandfather had even stirred. She woke up earlier than
usual, - at three O�clock to be exact, - as she
suffered from nightmares all night long - frightening
dreams that she could barely recall. They made her
queasy, these half-remembered visions. Wisely, she
decided that they were important enough for her to
explore them with a Fire Reading. She instinctively
knew that they had something to do with the Silver
Millennium and if a new enemy had come to haunt them,
they - she and her friends, the Sailor Senshi, -
needed to know who it was and what they wanted. Their
very lives might depend on the information.

	�Let�s see. Focus your ki and clear your mind,� she
thought, after she made herself comfortable in the
standard lotus position. She took a cleansing breath
to balance her pranayama and to clear her mind, and
once her breathing regularized, grabbed her Kundalini
Chakra with her mind. Like a seething serpent, ki rose
through her system in retaliation, reaching her
Sahasrara Chakra a tiny fraction of a second later.
Energy flooded her veins and she felt invigorated - as
if she could run a marathon and not break a sweat.

	�Rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, sai, zen,� she
whispered, her voice filled with ecstasy. Never before
in her life had she felt so alive and invigorated.

	Ki gushed out of her in a torrent into the Sacred
Fire. There was a violent flash, as the flames surged
forth. The heat of the unnatural flashover singed her
hair, her face and her hands, but Rei did not feel the
pain. She was too lost in the world of dreams and
visions to feel anything in the real world for her
astral form transcended the mortal plane and entered
the next - the dream plane.

	Flash.

	She flew through the air. The sky was pale red and
the ground was, too. There was a huge mountain in the
distance. The mountain looked vaguely familiar and
after a few seconds of introspection, recognition
flashed across her mind�s eye. She started as its name
hit her. It was Ares, the tallest mountain in the
solar system and she was on Mars.

	Flash.

	Without warning, Ares exploded, spewing out an
incandescent cloud of super hot dust and ash that
reached to the utmost reaches of the sky above. The
blast, the flash that she saw, was bright enough to
blind her astral form. When her eyesight returned, she
saw she was in a different place.

	More importantly, she was looking through the eyes of
another person. It was the person of Queen Serenity
the First, she realized with another start, and before
her raged a battle between a strange and powerful
looking six-armed monster and Silver Millennium
soldiers. It was a one-sided fight, - the monster was
too powerful a foe for the soldiers to overcome, - and
bodies of those who had not survived contact littered
the grounds.

	She, - the Queen, - looked at the monster and then at
the soldiers fighting it. �My people,� she thought and
whatever hesitation there was before in her mind about
a very critical, but unremembered decision
disappeared. She reached into herself and released the
energy pent up in her body. There was a flash.

	Now, she was in a tropical forest. A river roared
down its age-old course somewhere in her background. A
man stood to her right and to her left were two
strangely dressed Gods. An aura of palpable hate
radiated from the man. It was targeted at the Gods,
who knew they were the focus of that bone-chilling
hatred just as she did. They were also afraid - afraid
of him. She could sense their fear. The scene shifted
and the man was now much closer to the Gods. He asked
for immortality, and they granted it to him. Then, as
per his request, they also crowned him king of the
Ashuras. She did not know what an Ashura was. Who are
they, she asked herself, racking her mind for
references. Her search was unfruitful.

	Flash.

	Now, she was inside a house. She was in a room with
two children and their mother. The youngest had brown,
curly hair. She played on her mother�s lap while her
like-haired big brother sat beside mom. The mother was
narrating a story, - perhaps a fable, or even a
fairytale, - to her children. All three of them were
dressed in the finest silk, but wore the queerest
clothes. Rei had never seen the likes of such clothes
before in her life.

	The atmosphere in the room was peaceful and tranquil.
In fact, the room was the epitome of peace and
tranquility. Suddenly, without any warning, chaos
broke loose. Screams from beyond the door startled the
mother and her children out of their reverie. The
anxious woman drew her children together and rose,
meaning to hide them somewhere safe, just as Rei would
have if she were in the other�s place. Cruel fate had
other ideas, however. The front door exploded with a
deafening bang before the mother and her children
could exit through the door on the far end of the
room. Flying shrapnel buzzed through the air and the
concussive blast slammed into the woman, knocking her
rudely to the hard ground. The blast picked up the
little girl as well and sent her screaming through the
air. The child hit the ground hard, flipped like a rag
doll a couple of times, and lay crying, her face,
hands and body bathed in blood. The mother tried to
reach for her daughter, but both her legs were broken
and she was pinned to the ground by a large piece of
dry wood that had once been part of the door. It had
torn into her right thigh and impaled her against the
floor. Blood flowed freely from the wound, and try as
she might, she could not extend her reach to her
daughter. She was completely helpless. And then, there
was the son. He lay by his mother�s side, senseless.
He bled copiously from a gash on his forehead.
Otherwise, he appeared to be in good health.

	Someone laughed from behind the cloud of smoke that
filled the room and veiled the doorway, making it hard
to breathe. The mother tilted her head and so did
Rei�s astral form. The smoke parted and as Rei watched
with disbelieving eyes, the mother�s eyes widened in
terror at the creature that came out of the smoke. It
was a God.

	A mean-looking man with a moustache, - the God, -
stood by what remained of the door, laughing. He was
dressed in blooded green silk and in his hands was a
wicked looking cutlass of the purest white crystal -
the same crystal as the Ginzuishou. Blood dripped down
the razor sharp edge of the blade to splatter in a
growing puddle on the ground.

	�Please!� the mother pleaded, her pain forgotten. Her
eyes were filled with a terrible horror that none but
a mother about to lose her child can feel, �do with me
as you wish. Don�t hurt my children.�

	The God laughed in reply. There was no mercy in his
eyes - only cruelty and perverted joy shone in them.
The doom of mother and progeny was in his hands, and
Rei saw, - knew, - that he would show no mercy. Mother
and children were about to die and it pained her that
she could do nothing to help them. Time slowed down
and rendered her senses unbelievably keen as the
fateful moment drew closer. Overcome by horror and
helplessness, Rei watched his hands rise ever so
slowly into the air. The mother, - Rei felt true pity
for her, - too, watched in numbed horror, as a gout of
purifying flame gushed forth from his palm to
incinerate the sobbing daughter where she lay. The
flames consumed the child, and as her flesh burned and
she was roasted alive, she screamed and wailed in raw
terror and agony. Thanks be to God, the screams did
not last long. They died almost as soon as they began,
but to Rei and the unfortunate mother, they might as
well have lasted an eternity. The mother, Rei saw in
her eyes, was alive and yet dead. Her soul had not
left her body, but her heart was dead. She would never
be alive again, not in the true sense of the word -
certainly not after watching her daughter burn to ash.

	Rei�s senses returned to normal. The cruel God�s
laughter echoed across the hallways and Rei felt
sickened by his very presence even as his voice
violated the sorrowful, never to be forgotten moment.
He must have known that his laughter was vulgar and
unnatural, and still, he laughed. It made her stomach
lurch, his laughter, but she could not make him stop
and neither did he pause. It was a game to him, she
realized too late, killing innocent mothers and their
children.

	Finally, Rei overcame her hatred and anger, and
focused her attention on him, as did the mother. The
terrible fate that awaited her son, - her life, her
soul, - had brought the mother out of her
grief-induced stupor. She did not cry, however, as the
situation demanded. One needs a heart to cry and hers
was dead - dead and gone, never to return.

	The God�s laughter grew merrier, if that was
possible. �How can a God be so cruel? How can anyone
be so cruel?� Rei asked herself and even as she did,
he swung his hand across the room to point at the boy.
The mother crawled to her son, having somehow wrenched
out the wood that had impaled her to the floor, and
drew him to her breast. She was going to shield the
boy with her body, as if that mattered. The God waited
until he safely was cocooned in his mother's grasp.
Then he spoke a few terse words of hatred in some
strange tongue and without another thought, torched
both mother and son.

	Flash.

	Now, she floated a thousand meters in the air. The
sky was crystal blue above. It was speckled with
snow-white clouds. Her astral body felt a faint breeze
in the air. The afternoon sun shone upon her. She
looked down. Below her, she saw a huge, sprawling city
that seemed to stretch forever in all directions. No
mortal hands could have crafted such beauty, she
thought. Not even the majesty of the moon capital in
its heyday could compare to this city and without a
shred of doubt, it was the single most beautiful thing
she had ever seen, � she would ever see, - in her
life. She felt like she could cry at the sight of all
that beauty.

	There was yet another blinding flash. It seemed to
stretch for an eternity. When finally the light faded
and disappeared, a huge fireball and mushroom cloud
rose into the air. It was ugly and revolting, the
cloud, and it was a blemish on the world. A powerful
shockwave hit her and hurricane force winds buffeted
her. It lasted for nearly a minute and then, it was
over. Just like that.

	When the thick veil of dust parted, she looked down
again. Beneath her, there was nothing left standing in
the city. Everything was gone and nothing survived.
Where the city once stood tall and proud, there now
was a crater of prodigious proportions. In one cruel
blow, the blast had destroyed the city and her people.
Rei felt sick. Who could have done such a heartless
thing? Who could have destroyed such a thing of
wondrous beauty?

	She looked around in search of the culprit. She got
the answer. Her eyes fell on a God who floated on air.
Beside him, also floating in midair, was a woman. She
wielded the Ginzuishou in her hand, but Rei had never
seen her before. Both had smug expressions on their
faces and the horrifying truth dawned to Rei. They
were the ones who did it. They were the ones who
destroyed the city.

	Flash.

	Now, it was nighttime. Before her was another God. He
was choking the life out of a dragon and he was
gloating as he squeezed it life out of it. She could
not understand what he said, and neither could she see
their faces for the dragon�s face was shadowed and so
was the God�s. There was another blinding flash.
Suddenly, an aura of power unlike any she had ever
felt or seen exploded around the dragon. It literally
threw the God away. Such was its intensity. The God
was as surprised as she was. However, as great as his
surprise was, it was exceeded by his fear of the
dragon. The dragon, even though he now had the
advantage in the battlefield, did not take it
immediately. Seconds passed before it raised its head
and its eyes met the God�s. It smiled. The God cringed
fearfully, but there was no escape. He was going to
die. The dragon was going to kill him.

	Flash.

	She floated in front of a king. It was the man from
before - the man from the forest. Whereas before, he
was dirty and grimy, now he looked majestic as he sat
on a throne of gold and jade. On his rightful seat, he
was as beautiful and fair as the golden sun. Six-armed
monsters, - his subjects, - littered the throne room.
They were dressed as resplendently as he was and she
knew that he was their king. She knew that he was
just. She knew that he was fair. She knew that he was
hope. She knew that he was forever. She knew that he
was her enemy. She knew that he was her worst
nightmare - the one adversary she could never hope to
destroy. He was her, - no, their, - nemesis.

	Flash.

	She and the other Senshi were facing one of the
six-armed monsters. Its eyes met her. There was no
mercy in its eyes, she saw, and yet, even though it
wanted to kill her and her friends, she knew
instinctively that it was not evil, unlike the God
from before. It could not be, for she did not see the
cold, calculated cunning and madness, which was
evident in the God. Instead, she observed something
that was almost akin to sorrow. She realized then that
even though it was acting out of its own free will, it
did not want to kill her. The realization confused
her. Why would it kill her when it did not want to?
she asked herself. However, before she could explore
more of those soulful eyes, they parted contact with
her and as it moved away, she felt a numb pang of
pain. She looked at herself and saw that blood
splattered her clothes. It was hers and she was
seriously hurt. Her eyes wandered around and she saw
that the all of her friends, except Ami, were badly
hurt, too. Some were hurt more and some less. Mamoru
lay prostrate by a jewelers shop and he was dead.
Someone had ripped his heart out of his body, she saw.
A pool of blood coagulated in his ripped open chest
cavity. Beside him lay another six-armed faceless
monster. It face had been ripped apart by something,
or someone and in its hands was Mamoru�s heart, still
beating feebly. A man, - or something that vaguely
resembled a man, - stood over the monster. Its form
was a black blur that even her spirit sense could not
penetrate. As a result, she could not tell whether it
was the murderer, or a would be rescuer. Usagi lay
propped up against the wall of the store beside
Mamoru. From where she lay, she could not see him and
she had a terrible wound on her abdomen. Minako had
not fared any better either and neither had Makoto.
They were all badly hurt - all close to death. Only
Ami stood between them and the endless infinity of
nothingness, for the monster would surely kill them.
He had that look, which promised death, in his eyes.
He did not want to, but he would kill them without a
thought. In fact, he was going to kill them.

	Flash.

	It was...

	Flash.

	There now stood...

	Flash.

	Swoon.

	�Rei!� she faintly heard her grandfather calling her.
His voice was distant and desperate. �Rei, are you all
right?�

	She opened her eyes, her astral form having once
again returned to her body. She was staring at the
ceiling, her view partly obstructed by grandfather
Hino's face. She felt incredibly weak.

	�Rei, are you all right?� he asked, again. He looked
very concerned and unbeknownst to her, had every
reason for feeling so. Her clothes smoldered, and
there were first-degree burn marks on her face and her
hands. Singes were prominent on her much prided
tresses, too, and her body was burning to the touch.

	�I�m okay, Grandpa,� she replied, her voice faint, -
almost inaudible, - before her eyelids slammed shut.
She had succumbed to exhaustion and lost
consciousness.

	Grandfather Hino picked her up, even though her body
was hot enough to scald him on contact, and carried
her to her room. He removed her clothes, laid her in
her tub and poured as much ice as they had over her.
Within minutes, he had an IV hooked to her and
running. Then, he waited, praying to the Gods and
hoping that he had not been too late to save his
granddaughter. He would never forgive himself if she
died on him now - on his watch.

***********************************************************************

	Meanwhile, at the Qin residence...

	Guu Long stood facing her toughest opponent ever, her
grandfather. Until now, they had kept their spar free
of ki. Yet, even with that concession on his side, she
was losing badly. Simply put, he was faster, stronger,
better and more experienced than she was.

	�There is as much chance of me beating him as old
decadent Happousai himself turning into a saint
overnight,� she thought to herself, as she stood
gasping for breath. Ranma, she noted, on the other
hand, did not appear even a little fazed from the
workout.

	�Ready for another round?� he asked.

	�Give me another minute,� Guu Long replied between
gasps.

	He nodded.

	�All right,� he replied, relaxing his stance just a
little.

	�So,� she asked, �what happened last night? Did you
two make up or what?�

	�Yes, we made up and yes, she definitely has a crush
on me.�

	Guu Long laughed.

	�That�s sweet. So, tell me, dearest grandfather mine,
what are you doing to do about it?�

	�Don�t tease me, Child,� he replied, mock-seriously,
�I�m your grandfather and I�ll not be mocked at.
Understand?�

	�Yes, O� Wise One.�

	�I see that your body begs for a few bruises. I�ll
just have to oblige you then. Oh, and don�t go calling
me grandpa just about anywhere. I haven�t told Shan Pu
I�m her grandfather, yet.�

	�Oh! Why?�

	He shrugged.

	�This old man does not feel like it. I�m sure that
she�ll find out on her own, without your help.�

	�Is this another test of yours?�

	�Yes, you can call it that if you want to.�

	�And what do you call it?�

	�Um... A test,� he replied, sheepishly.

	Guu Long eyed him for a moment with narrowed eyes,
quite forgetting that he was her venerable
grandfather, The Dragon. She knew that it was not
proper, her wanting to bash his skull in with her
staff, but the idea did not appear completely
unappealing and without advantages, either.

	�Yeah, right!� she retorted, sarcastically.

	Ranma appeared not to notice the sarcasm in her
voice. His mind had already moved on to issues of
greater import, like the disturbance he had sensed
last night on the lawn.

	�So, did you feel �it� last night?� he asked.

	�Huh?� she asked, clearly confused. He had not done
�it� last night with their granddaughter, had he? If
he had, she would never forgive him for taking
advantage of his innocent granddaughter, the pervert.
�Feel what?�

	�The changes to the Lung Mei - don�t tell me you did
not feel them.�

	�No, I did not.�

	Ranma nodded, thoughtfully. She must have been very
tired not to sense such far-reaching changes in the
spirit lines.

	�I felt it around midnight,� he explained for her
comprehension, �Right about the time Shan Pu and I
turned in. It was very powerful, but it was completely
natural. I don�t know what to make of it and I don�t
know what to do about it, either.� He did not add that
�it� came from Fuji-sama. It would probably spook her
more than he cared. That mountain was home to more
Gods than he cared to remember.

	�Do you think it�s dangerous?�

	Ranma tapped his lips thoughtfully. After a moment,
he shook his head.

	�No. It was positive, almost like a healing touch,
but it was so very powerful.�

	�Anything or anyone you know that could have caused
this change?� she asked.

	�No.�

	�So, let me guess. You don�t know who caused the
disturbance, how he, she, or they did it, or even why
they did it.�

	He smiled.

	�Yes. You�re correct on all accounts. You forgot to
include worried, however. Shall we continue?�

	�Huh?�

	�The spar - we can�t let you get away with mocking
your venerable grandfather, now, can we?�

	�But...�

	�Just to even the playing field a little, you can use
your ki this time. En garde,� he said and leapt at
her.

	Guu Long summoned her ki and tried to defend herself,
but unsurprisingly, he was still faster. She feigned a
pressure point strike to his legs and he fell for it.
Utilizing his imbalance to her own advantage, she
threw a very small ki attack at the back of his head.
He seemed to sense her attack even before she tapped
into her ki and somersaulted from an impossible
position to evade the attack with inches to spare. The
ki ball slammed into the grass behind him and dug a
small crater in the ground, detonating harmlessly. As
for Ranma, his somersault easily carried him over and
behind her. She turned to defend her exposed flank,
but was too slow. A blur, his outstretched leg,
rocketed towards her as soon as he hit the ground. She
threw up her arms to block the kick and she did, but
the force of the blow was too great. It carried her,
skidding across the dewy grass, for a dozen feet
before she could stop herself. He was upon her
immediately, and she struck him with a ki-enhanced
punch. He bent back at an nigh impossible angle and
again, her blow missed him, whereas, his retaliatory
strike to her solar plexus did not. The kick, even
from the cumbersome position that he was in, was
powerful enough to push lift her off the ground and
send her sprawling against the ground.

	She rolled end over end a couple of times on hitting
the grass and using her ki to slow her skid, halted
upright. She got into a stance by pushing her right
foot forward, noting that he had not pursued his
advantage, and summoned her ki once again.

	�Bring it on!� she said, a Cheshire cat grin on her
face. She had not enjoyed a battle this much in one
and a half centuries, when last she went full tilt
against an opponent.

	�As you wish,� he replied and shot forward.

	Thinking that she was ready for any attack he could
make, she made a mistake. She committed to a defense
and was therefore completely unprepared for the
fistful of dust that he hurled at her eyes from out of
nowhere. She threw herself backwards, her arms forming
a barrier to protect her eyes and he struck not less
than thirteen pressure points, ten of which she did
not know, on her body. When he withdrew, she staggered
drunkenly for a couple of steps and collapsed. Her
muscle clusters had frozen on her.

	�Hey, no fair!� she complained.

	�All�s fair in love and war,� he replied with a
shrug, �If you had truly been prepared for my
onslaught, you�d have sensed that one coming from a
mile away. Honor can only protect you in a spar. It
amounts to something less than nothing in a battle to
the death if your opponent is desperate enough.�

	Guu Long opened her mouth, a hot retort in her lips,
but before she could, the front door opened and a
drowsy looking Shan Pu stepped out.

	�Good morning, Shan Pu,� Ranma said, gaily, �Want to
join us in an early morning spar?�

	Shan Pu yawned, stretched her limbs and nodded, like
a mindless automaton. Obviously, she was still sleepy
and had not even understood his words.

	�Not a morning person, are we?� he asked.

	She simply grumbled under her breath in return and
joined her grandmother in the grass.

	�Hello, Granddaughter.�

	Bleary-eyed Shan Pu looked down. Only she did not
find her grandmother at the usual elevation, though
she did find Guu Long�s staff. Obviously, her head was
not at the correct inclination, her subconscious told
her. Her autonomous system compensated for the error,
and her eyes drifted further down. They did not stop
until they fell upon Guu Long�s paralyzed,
comical-looking form that lay prone on the ground.

	�Honorable Grandmother, what are you doing on the
ground imitating a roasted pig on a bonfire?� she
asked, blearily, making it clear to the other two that
her mental faculties were not quite up and running, as
she would never have spoken aloud what she did if they
were.

	�Hehehe! Real funny, Shan Pu. Want to join the
Honored One?� Ranma asked in between laughs. He was
clutching his stomach, as he spoke. The interaction
between the sleepy and the paralyzed granddaughter was
priceless. He had not had such a good laugh in a long
while.

	�Huh?� Shan Pu asked. Her befuddled faculties had
still a long way to go before they reached peak
efficiency.

	�Here, let me help,� Ranma offered.

	Shan Pu focused all her mental faculties on the
�offer,� but given the condition they were in, it was
a lost cause. Before she could interpret its
semantics, Ranma disappeared and reappeared before
her. She felt pinpricks all over her body and then,
peace.

	�Boo!� he shouted into her face.

	Her mind having awoken from its sleepy stupor by
Ranma�s sudden inexplicable behavior as well as shout,
Shan Pu tried to react, but found that she could not
move a muscle in her body. Something had completely
paralyzed them. All she could do was use her brains
and even her thought processes were not performing as
well as they usually did. She realized that somehow,
Ranma had paralyzed her body and adversely affected
the efficiency of her thought processes, and she had
not even seen him move. The revelation was
mindboggling and under ordinary circumstances, she
would have prostrated herself on his feet, willing to
do just about anything he asked to learn the technique
and its counter. However, as things happened,
circumstances were anything but ordinary and Mother
Nature, who has a knack for intruding into even the
most private of conversations at just the right
moment, took it upon herself to intrude upon Shan Pu�s
thought conversation with self. The nerve clusters in
her ears, - her physical gyroscopes, - kept on sending
signals to muscle groups on her legs and thorax to
constrict and relax so that she may balance herself,
but the muscles did not respond. Naturally, when a
somewhat strong wavefront from the refreshingly cool
morning breeze hit her, she toppled. Shan Pu, great,
great granddaughter of Guu Long, the most respected of
all Wise Ones in the Joketsuzoku village, tumbled onto
the ground with a rumble, as if she were a great, heap
big tree.

	Having anticipated such an eventually, Ranma, in
perfect synchronicity, shouted �Timber� at the top of
his lungs as his granddaughter hit the ground.

	He noticed that the girl hit the ground, awkwardly.
There was the slightest thud, as the ground broke her
fall and if one looked closely enough, one might even
have seen a small, imaginary dust cloud racing to meet
the dark clouds in the sky above. Shan Pu, from her
prone position on the ground, did not see the cloud
and she did not much care for it either, seeing that
she was now imitating a frog in mid leap. It was
easily the most humiliating moment of her life and as
the shock of the fall faded, her eyes narrowed and her
cheeks reddened. Ranma, if ever he were unfortunate
enough to find himself at her mercy, would suffer a
fate worse than death. Then, perhaps, - after he had
spent an eternity in the emergency ward, she might
consider forgiving him, but not before. No, never
before!

	Ranma, for his part, took his own sweet time
appreciating the fantastically artistic postures of
his granddaughters. At long last, his quest for
spiritual mana satisfied, he then cast a mischievous
eye at them and appreciated the silly exhibition even
further. The more he looked, the funnier his labor of
love appeared and he collapsed in a heap beside them,
clutching his stomach and roaring with laughter. In
riotous enjoyment, he struck the ground with his fists
as he laughed, and he laughed so long and so hard that
tears cascaded down his eyes. Guu Long and Shan Pu did
not appear much pleased with his reaction, but they
were helpless to do anything about it.

	However, their ire did not go completely wasted.
Ranma saw the look that promised a slow and very
painful death in their eyes, and it sobered him some.
The pressure points he used on them were relatively
short lived, and he did not want to be anywhere near
grandmother and granddaughter when they regained
control of their musculature.

	�Well, lookit that,� he quoth nervously. �It�s time
for little old me to fix breakfast. I�ll go make us
some toast, ramen and omelet, and then come to get you
two �animals.� Hahaha! That was a good one. Hahahaha!�

	�Ranma, come back here and set us free!� Shan Pu
shouted; screamed indignantly. She was now wide-awake
and very, very pissed. Her grandmother felt inclined
to agree with her, too. It was a mean thing to do, the
stunt that their grandfather just pulled.

	Ranma did not reply. In fact, he pretended not to
hear their cries and implorations. Tucking his fingers
into his pant pockets and whistling a cheery tune, he
kept walking, looking hither and thither, but never
under, where his poor, dear grandchildren lay
helpless, on the dew sodden, cold hard ground.

***********************************************************************

	Rei woke up with a start, the screams of the
daughter, as she was burned alive echoing loudly in
her ears. She immediately regretted moving her head.
It hurt like hell. �This is how purgatory must feel
like,� she thought to herself, as a wave of nausea hit
her. Bile gushed up her esophagus and she had to bite
back the overwhelming urge to puke.

	�Easy now,� she heard grandfather Hino say, �You are
still too weak from the Fire Vision.�

	�Fire Vision?� she asked in a weak voice. �What
happened? Ow! My head hurts.� Her memory of everything
in her immediate past, except for her vision, was
patchy at best and a complete blank at worst. She
half-remembered that it had something to do with the
sacred fire, but that was that.

	�I bet it does. You have to promise me, Rei, that
you�d never attempt to duplicate what you did today.
As it is, you almost died this time and I might not be
there next time to save you. I fear to think of what
would have happened if I had been even a few seconds
late.�

	�Huh? My throat feels dry, Grandpa.�

	Grandpa Hino rose up and checked Rei�s temperature
and pulse. She noticed for the first time the IV that
was connected to her hand. Patches of carefully
applied burn salves littered her whole body.

	�What happened to me?� she asked, as he fetched her a
glass of water.

	�Hush!� he whispered, soothingly. He took her in his
hands and cradled her head in his lap, as he
introduced the glass to her lips. She drank the water
greedily.

	�Better?� he asked.

	She nodded.

	�Now, lie down and don�t speak. Just you hear what I
have to say,� he said, drawing his chair near to the
bed.

	She nodded, again.

	�Suffice to say that I was woken up in the wee hours
of this morning by a large discharge of ki. You were
not in your room, and when I looked outside, I noticed
that the light from the Sacred Flame seemed to be
stronger than normal. It did not take me long to put
one and one together, and the conclusion so terrified
me that I instantly rushed downstairs, hoping
fervently that I�d make it in time to save your life.

	�Fortunately, thank the God, by some miracle, I did.
If I had been even a couple of seconds late, you�d
most probably be dead. Rei, what I�m sure happened is
this. You attempted a Fire Reading, but accidentally,
stumbled upon an age-old forbidden technique known as
the Fire Vision.�

	Rei tried to speak, but grandfather Hino stopped her
before he stood. He was not yet finished with his
tale.

	�No one knows who created the Fire Vision, or even
when it was created. Ancient lore tells us that it is
as ancient as time itself and that its creators have
long since disappeared from the face of the earth. The
technique itself is relatively simple. The Sacred Fire
is sacred because it taps into the mana lines in the
area, thus providing a direct connection to the Gods.
When you feed a little ki to the fire, you get a Fire
Reading. When you feed enough ki to the fire to shift
the source from mana to ki, you get the Fire Vision.

	�This change results in incredibly clear visions, but
there is a catch. Only Masters can safely hope to use
the technique, as it needs living ki. What this means
is that only the user and not the environment fuels
the fire, and thus, the visions. Since, no modern man
has a huge cache of expendable ki, active use of the
Fire Vision even for only a few seconds would drain
their reserves dry and in the process, kill them.
However, there was once a time when this technique was
as common as the Fire Reading. In those distant times,
there were highly skilled practitioners of the ki arts
and most of them were apt at using this technique.
However, times changed and Masters became an
endangered species. Still, the popularity of the
technique did not wane and increasing numbers of
unskilled or semi-skilled people began to attempt to
use it. All those who did died.

	�You have to remember that what I tell you happened a
long time ago - before the start of the civil wars
that plagued ancient Japan for centuries. Priests
everywhere tried to put a stop to the practice, but no
one paid them any heed. Eventually, they passed an
edict, declaring the technique as dangerous and
forbidding the use of the Fire Vision as a technique
for divination. The edict has remained in force for
millennia...

	�It is now seven O�clock. You have been out for
nearly three and a half hours and your ki reserves
have only barely recovered. You will not attend school
until you�re completely recovered,� he said, quietly,
but firmly.

	Rei tried to protest that it was the start of a new
semester and that she did not want to miss the first
day, but he stopped her.

	�Don�t try to argue with me. I will not permit you to
attend school. Not until your health has sufficiently
recovered. Nothing you can possibly say can change my
decision, so you might just as well accept it. Now,
I�m going to call your friends now and tell them that
you�re not well - that you won�t be attending school
for a week or more. If I�m lucky and if I hurry, I�ll
catch them before they leave for school,� he said and
moved to the door.

	�Grandpa!� Rei called, faintly.

	Grandfather Hino stopped in his tracks and turned
around.

	�Anything you want, Child?�

	She nodded and he approached her.

	�Can you call Usagi, or any of the others, and tell
them that I�m sick? They�ll want to see me.�

	He nodded.

	�I�ll do that. Now, go to sleep,� he said, patting
her head affectionately. Then he turned and stepped
out of the room.

***********************************************************************

	�So...� the Principal drawled, adjusting his glasses.
His voice was grave.

	Ranma leaned forward expectantly. Obviously, this was
the moment of truth.

	�You aren�t a trained teacher and you have no
diploma, but you have experience teaching martial
arts. Am I correct?�

	Ranma nodded.

	�Yes, that is correct.�

	The Principal�s eyes narrowed, slightly.

	�What assurance do we have that you won�t quit?�

	�None,� Ranma replied, �save my word of honor as a
martial artist.�

	The Principal allowed himself a small smile. He
looked almost relieved at the answer. Years of
experience had taught him that martial artist types
usually valued their honor, which meant that there was
a good chance that Ranma would not renege on his
words. Still, he was curious. Ranma had to be aware of
what he was getting into. The government might firmly
deny the existence of the Senshi and the monsters, but
everyone in Juuban knew the truth. There were monsters
and worse, there were their enemies, the Sailors. �He
must be very brave or very stupid to put himself at
this huge a risk and I�m willing to bet that it�s most
probably the latter... Twenty years on the job and the
morons still continue to amaze me!�

	�It�ll suffice for our purpose. However, before I can
hire you, I must ask you this: Are you aware of our
school�s reputation?� he asked, just to be on the safe
side. As desperate as he was for a replacement for the
old P.E. Trainer, the Principal was not a man without
conscience. Ranma would not survive for long in
Juuban, - Not with the rampaging monsters, the Sailor
Senshi and other weirdoes, - and the Principal wanted
to enjoy his beauty sleep at night without his
conscience bothering him. To do that, he had to be
sure that he had done all he could to dissuade Ranma.

	�Yes,� Ranma nodded. He had thought that it would be
a whole lot tougher than this to land the job, but he
was wrong. They were practically handing it to him on
a silver platter. �I wonder why...�

	�You know about the ghoulish monsters, the evil,
supernatural villains, and the Senshi that run amok in
this prefecture?� the Principal asked, unconsciously
shuddering at the mention of the last group. The
monsters and the villains, he could stand, but the
Senshi�s crappy speeches and their hidden agendas, he
could not. They almost made living with the monsters
bearable.

	Ranma nodded.

	�Yes, I do, and I�m set on this job.�

	The Principal nodded, gravely. Ranma was a fine young
man. He would have made a good husband to some girl
someday. Too bad, he was going to die soon. �And at
such a young age, too.�

	�You do?� he asked, not hiding his mild surprise.
�Despite all the dangers and the risk to your life,
you want to work here. Why?�

	�Because this school is close to my villa.�

	The Principal�s mouth slammed open, and then slammed
shut. Obviously, he was too stunned to speak. �What
kind of stupid answer is that?� he asked himself.
�What kind of stupid, idiotic answer is that?�

	�Run that by me again,� he asked, taking a deep
breath to calm himself down. �Of all the stupid
reasons...�

	�I said I want to work here because this school is
close to my house.�

	�Okay!�

	If there was one thing that the Principal had learnt
over the years, it was this: Humans are inherently
stupid. The man standing before him was a prime
example of that axiom. He had mainly asked Ranma to
repeat himself just to make sure he had not heard his
answer wrong the first time. Apparently, he had not.
Moreover, if there was one golden rule the Principal
followed in his life, it was this: Leave an idiot to
his folly. �Well, if the idiot wants the job, he is
damn well going to get the job, for there, sure as
hell, aren�t going to be anymore applicants aching to
throw their life away just like that.� �You have your
job. But I�m still not sure whether you appreciate the
dangers involved.� The last bit was nothing more than
token resistance. He had a conscience to bother him at
nights, after all, and it had to be fully satiated.

	�Oh, I do realize the dangers involved, and still, I
want to teach here,� Ranma confirmed, again, �And as
for the monsters, I think I can defend myself against
them just fine.�

	�Oh, really?� �And now he�s showing signs of being a
delusional schizophrenic. Why, God-Almighty-in-Heaven,
why? What did I ever do to deserve this?�

	Ranma nodded.

	�Yeah, if they show up, I�ll flash-fry them,� he
added, summoning a small ball of ki in his hands.

	The Principal�s eyes widened to the size of large
saucers. He had seen a great many things in his life,
but he had never seen that before. Whatever it was, it
felt and looked powerful as hell. And in light of this
new information, Ranma did not look like such an idiot
anymore.

	�Wh... What is it?� he asked. His voice was a
peculiar mixture of fear and curiosity.

	�Ki,� Ranma replied, offhandedly, �Like I explained
before, I practice The Art.�

	�Oh!� The Principal was too startled and awed by what
he had just witnessed to say anything more. He did not
need to. Ranma perfectly understood how he felt,
having experienced the same reaction in others
numerous times.

	�So, when do I join?� Ranma asked, when he felt that
he had given the Principal sufficient time to recover
control of his mental faculties.

	�Today would be great, but I don�t want you to think
that we are that desperate,� the Principal thought to
himself. Obviously, Ranma was one of the famed masters
of The Art and if that were true, then the school was
in better hands that he would have ever believed
possible. Still, he had to come off not looking
desperate, even though he was. He, and thus, the
school, would lose face if he did.

	�How about tomorrow?� he asked-replied after a few
moments. He put every effort into trying to sound
casual about it and he succeeded for the most part.

	Ranma noted the effort the Principal made to look
nonchalant, and found himself in complete agreement
with him. He made up his mind then. Juuban High was
now his school. He nodded in acquiescence and stood
up.

	�You have made me a very happy man by accepting me
into Juuban High, Sir.�

	�The pleasure is all mine,� the Principal replied,
�Is there anywhere else you need to be, Ranma-san? You
appear slightly ill-at-ease.�

	�Yes, Sir, you are correct. I have an urgent business
meeting to attend and...� Ranma said, making a move to
stand up.

	The Principal nodded, though he signaled Ranma to
remain seated with a wave of his hand. There was still
a little, though important, matter to attend to before
the affair could reach a successful conclusion.

	�Please remain seated, Qin-san. There is the matter
of finalizing your contract, which I believe won�t
take more than a moment and once we come to an
agreement on your salary, this meeting would be
concluded.�

	�I�m pretty well off, Sir,� Ranma replied, humbly,
resuming his seat, �And I have no need for the money.
I applied for this job because I missed teaching the
children.�

	�And...� �What�s he driving at?�

	�I teach The Art for its own sake, Sir. I could never
live with myself if I charged for it.�

	�I have to pay someone,� the Principal objected,
comprehension dawning on his face. Noble as Ranma�s
goals were, he still had to show something to his
higher-ups. Juuban High was a state run school headed
by a bureaucratic council, after all.

	�Very well, Sir. Draw up a standard contract, if you
must. I�ll sign it and as for the salary, you can
donate mine to charity. Can that be arranged?�

	�Yes, it can.�

	�It is settled then. By your leave, Sir...� Ranma
said, standing up.

	The Principal stood up disbelievingly and nodded.
Sure, the pay was paltry, and most teachers struck to
their jobs because they loved their work and nothing
else, but seldom had he met anyone with truly
altruistic goals as Ranma. He bowed at his waist in
deference to the master before him and Ranma exited
after giving a slight nod of acknowledgment. He closed
the door behind him as he did, and walked briskly
across the hallway, the corridors, and the classrooms,
making his way to the registration area. Finally,
after rounding his fourth corner and crossing his
third corridor, he found himself at his destination. A
brief survey confirmed what he had pictured in his
mind. Shan Pu and Guu Long were alone in the great
hall with no one to keep them company.

	�How is it going?� he asked, noting Shan Pu�s sagged
shoulders through the corner of his eyes. It looked
like they had run into some trouble enrolling her.

	Guu Long shook her head.

	�Not well. They say that they need Shan Pu�s papers
before they can sign her on. The papers are in the
village vault back in China and it�ll be another month
at least before those papers can be transferred here.�

	�Oh, is that so? Have you tried explaining our rather
delicate situation to them?� he asked.

	�Yes, but they still insist on those papers.�

	�Legal red tape?�

	Guu Long nodded.

	�Any other reason?�

	�No. At least, he�s offering none.�

	�Come with me. Paperwork is not nearly reason enough
to stall you,� Ranma said and shot a glance at the
counter. He espied a middle-aged man sitting there,
who looked as if he was glaring at the two Amazons.
Ranma nodded to himself at the sight of him and moved
toward the counter followed closely by Shan Pu and Guu
Long.

	�Good morning, I�m Ranma Qin,� he said, smiling
politely, to the man behind the desk.

	�Good morning, can I be of any assistance to you?�
the man asked.

	�I�m here to enroll this girl into this school. Her
name is Shan Pu, pronounced S-H-A-N-space-P-U.�

	�Do you need an application form?�

	�No, I think we have one already filled in. Shan Pu?�

	The girl produced the said application form. Ranma
scanned it and noticed that Shan Pu had taken
painstaking effort to fill in the details correctly in
neat kanji. He made a mental note to praise the girl
about her handwriting later and handed it to the man
behind the counter. The man took it, absentmindedly
scanned it for a scant few seconds, crumpled it and
threw it into the waste bucket.

	�Was there anything wrong with the details we had
entered?� Ranma asked, innocently. He had an inkling
of the true reason for the rejection, but he wanted to
hear it from the man himself.

	�Yes.�

	�Can you point it out? And I�d like another form,
please, if you don�t mind.�

	�I thought the mistake was pretty obvious and we ran
out of forms.�

	�Is that so? What�s that I see on the tray to your
right? Maybe I�m wrong, but from where I stand, it
sure does look like another application form to me.�

	The man looked Ranma in the eyes, and as he did, took
the tray in his hands. He moved it out of Ranma�s line
of sight, never once blinking his eyes.

	�I said there is no form. Can�t you get the hint and
get lost?�

	�No, I don�t get the hint and no, I won�t get lost.
The form, if you�d please.�

	Ranma�s voice had dropped from warm to artic cold
during the course of the conversation, until it
reached the completely controlled tone it held now.
Guu Long recognized the signs for what they were and
took an involuntary step back, fully fearing what was
about to happen next. She also pushed Shan Pu behind
her, hoping that her ki shield would be sufficient to
protect the two of them. If the man behind the counter
had even an inkling of the danger he was in, he would
have apologized and made himself scarce before Ranma
vaporized him. Unfortunately, he did not, and to make
matters worse, he continued to meet Ranma�s level gaze
with an arrogant one of his own.

	�Well, if you want me to spell it out for you, I�ll
do that,� the man said, narrowing his eyes, �There�s
no place in this school for gaijin whores, and the
friends of gaijin whores. Get lost.�

	Ranma narrowed his eyes and focused them on the man�s
identity card. Obviously, killing the man was out of
the question, even though, in all probability, no one
would make a fuss over the bastard�s death, and as
much as he was tempted to blast the son of a bitch to
a million pieces, he did not feel that it was
necessary, yet. There were many fates worse than death
and the piece of pus-snot before him was going to get
an up close and personal introduction to one of them.

	�Well, since you put it that nicely, I�ll just have
to enroll her in spite of you,� he said, pulling out a
cell phone, �Oh, and if I were you, I�d make myself
scarce. I have friends in pretty high places, Mr.
Toshida, and they are going to make your life hell if
they get hold of your sorry ass,� he added, punching
in a number and waiting patiently as the phone rang at
the other end. He did not have to wait long, for at
the end of the second ring, a woman picked it up. It
was a voice that Ranma recognized.

	�Hello?� the woman spoke.

	�Hello, Yanagi-chan, this is Ranma Qin. Can you get
me the Minister of Education, please?� Ranma asked,
courteously.

	�Just a moment, please, Ranma-kun,� the woman replied
in a clear, crisp and sweet voice, before she put him
on hold.

	She came on again a few seconds later.

	�The minister is in the bath, Ranma-kun. He�ll be out
in a minute. How are you doing by the way?�

	�Excellent as always, thank you. And you,
Yanagi-chan? How are the husband and kids? Do you
still have that Banzai tree?�

	�They are fine, thank you. Yuki-chan called just last
night from the States. She said that she was fine and
reported doing great in her studies. Incidentally, so
is the tree.�

	�That�s wonderful, Yanagi-chan. Tell Yuki-chan that I
wished her happy birthday. Tell her she has to have
faith in herself and to study hard, and get good
grades.�

	�I�ll tell her that, Ranma-chan.�

	�I...�

	�Hello?� The voice that interrupted before Ranma
could continue was deep and had a rich, masculine tone
to it. A wry smile appeared on Ranma�s lips. He had
missed talking with the fat slob.

	�It appears that the Honorable Minister has finished
his bath - hello, Kaneda-san. Talk to you later,
Yanagi-chan.�

	�See you, Ranma-kun.�

	�Goodbye, Yanagi-chan. Hello again, Kaneda-san.�

	�Hello to you, too, Ranma-san. To what do I owe the
pleasure of this phone call?� he asked. He sounded
truly happy at the pleasant surprise. It was not
everyday that Ranma called, either at work or at home
and he missed speaking to the fat slob.

	�A business matter, actually. I�m trying to enroll a
very close friend of mine into Juuban High,
Kaneda-san. She�s a foreign national. Her name is Shan
Pu and the man at the desk here, - his name is
Toshida, serial #429-89A-87ABE, is trying to stall us.
In fact, he positively refuses to enroll her.
Apparently, he�s of the view that gaijin whores and
the friends of gaijin whores do not have a place in
Japanese society.�

	�Is that so?� the Minister replied grimly. �Can you
put him on line, Ranma-san?�

	�My pleasure,� Ranma replied. He covered the
mouthpiece of the phone with his right hand and turned
to face Toshida, who was just beginning to realize
that he might have bitten off more than he could chew,
�A gaijin whore is she? Well, the Minister of
Education wants to talk to you, Asshole, and he begs
to differ... I�m going to enjoy watching you, as you
squirm and try to crawl out of this deep ditch you
have dug for yourself,� he said and handed the
instrument to Toshida, �Speak.�

	Toshida took hold of the instrument, his hands
shaking uncontrollably. He had a very bad case of the
shivers already.

	�Hello?� he spoke into the instrument. His voice
sounded timid to even his ears.

	�What�s your full name?� the Minister asked, harshly.
Ranma might consider it poor form on his part if he
were to conduct a polite conversation with a
racist-nationalist. Even worse, Ranma might take
offense and God knew he had enough trouble without
having to contend with a very bad case of one of the
most powerful men on earth permanently on his back.

	�Kentaro Toshida.�

	�Your serial no?�

	�429-89A-87ABE.�

	�Your social security number?�

	�Mr. Minister...�

	�Your social security number?�

	�I can explain, really,� Toshida persisted.

	The Minister took a deep breath at the other end and
made up his mind. He would fry the idiot after hearing
his excuse. It was only fair.

	�You want me to hear your excuse and agree with you,
you mean?�

	�Er...�

	�Well?�

	�Yes... No... I thought...�

	�That just because you were native Japanese, you were
one step above the rest, right?�

	�I...�

	�If you are prudent, which I doubt you are, you�ll
shut up and hear what I have to say first. Now, are
you going to prattle on, or are you going to listen to
what I have to say?�

	Silence.

	�Well?� the Minister asked, impatiently. �I�m
waiting.�

	�I�m going to listen, Minister Sir.�

	�Good choice. Means you aren�t a complete idiot.
Means there might be hope for you yet...

	�Now, before we start, I want to ask you this. What
do you think of your Emperor? Is he virtuous? Is he
all-powerful? Is he just?�

	�My answer is yes to all the questions, Sir,� Toshida
replied, confusedly. What did the minister hope to
achieve with this line of questioning?

	�Good. Ranma, - the man you just pissed off, - is as
powerful, virtuous and just as the Emperor is. This
country, and thus, her people, - that includes both
you and I, - owe our livelihoods to him. As a result,
he enjoys special favor with our nation�s elite. You
get what I mean?�

	�Yes, Sir,� Toshida stuttered. He was sweating
bullets and was looking like a prime candidate for a
heart attack. He would have had one if he had not
found the narration slightly unbelievable.
Unfortunately, even with the doubt, he was stumbling
very close to the edge.

	�Now, Ranma is very loyal to his friends. He is also
one of the least forgiving of all people when he wants
to be. When he is angry, you get exactly one chance to
appease him, and if you fail, that�s it. Even the
Almighty is less vengeful than him. Do you understand
that?�

	�Yes, Sir.�

	�Good. Now, if what he tells me is true, you insulted
one of his friends. As I told you already, Ranma is
very loyal to his friends and companions. You can be
sure that he�ll take offense when you insult one of
his friends and whenever he takes offense, bad things
happen to whoever offended him. Are you still with
me?�

	�Yes, Sir.�

	�Excellent. Now, if you remember correctly, you made
the fatal mistake of offending one of his friends in
his presence. Naturally, Ranma �has� taken offense. To
put it short and sweet, you are neck deep in it and
still sinking, and you have as much chance of getting
out as there is of hell freezing over this very day -
that�s the kind of trouble you are in... Now, what are
you going to do about it?�

	�Sir...�

	�I�ll not be lenient on you. Ranma�s one of my
friends and frankly, I�d rather hang myself than act
in any way, which makes me look like I�m betraying the
trust he has placed in me.�

	�I... I did not know, Sir...�

	�Won�t work - you were not doing right in the first
place to plead such.�

	�My wife and children...�

	�I�m sure they�ll manage to scrape by after we banish
you. Oh and if I were you, I�d think twice about
emigrating to another country. Most of them think of
Ranma in much the same way as Japan does and many of
them will not be quite as lenient as we are. You
aren�t listening to me any more, are you?�

	Toshida, whose face had turned ashen, mumbled
something incomprehensible and shook his head. He
seemed to have forgotten that he was speaking to a
phone and not to a person. Such was his fear.

	�No,� he added, wiping the beads of sweat from his
face with his hanky. Like all bullies and nationalist
animals, he, too, was a coward at heart, and was
easily cowed whenever someone stronger stood up to him
- a fact that Kaneda had been well aware of and
exploited.

	�Well, I�m going to say this only once. So, you�d
better listen good,� the Minister continued, �I can�t
do anything unless Ranma-san forgives you. Kiss his
shiny behind, or kiss the ground he walks on...
Frankly, I don�t give a rat�s ass what you do, but if
you can�t produce a letter from him addressed to your
supervisor that says he forgives you for the
intentional insult you dealt to his person by five
this evening, there�ll be hell to pay. I�ll do my part
and make sure your head rolls. You should be thankful
that I�m going to leave your family alone.
Unfortunately, that status quo will not last long. If
the others get wind of this news, which they most
certainly will do, you can wish your family and
perhaps even your clan goodbye, for the others are
completely capable of doing that and a whole lot more.
Understand?�

	�Yes, Sir.�

	�Remember, five O� clock at the latest. A second
later and you are history. Now, give Ranma-san the
phone. I want to talk to him.�

	�Y... Yes, Sir,� Toshida blubbered. He stretched out
his hand, looked fearfully at Ranma and murmured, �The
minister wants to talk to you, Ranma-san.�

	Ranma smiled unpleasantly at Toshida and grabbed hold
of the instrument.

	�Hello yet again, Kaneda-san.�

	�Hello, again, Ranma. I think he won�t bother you
again. How does he look, by the way?�

	�Like he�s seen a ghost,� Ranma replied, shooting
Toshida a glance. The man was on his knees already,
rummaging through his wastebasket. Ranma smiled
unpleasantly at his plight. �Yeah, I think he�ll come
around.�

	�Good. Call me if he bothers you again. I�ll make
good on my threats and throw the book at him if he so
much as raises an eyebrow at you.�

	�I will, Kaneda-san. Thank you. I�m much indebted to
you.�

	�Just doing my job and helping out a friend,
Ranma-san. I�ll talk to you later. Right now, I have
to prepare for a meeting with the Emperor.�

	�Goodbye, then. Tell the Son of Heaven I wish him and
his family well.�

	�I�ll do that. I�ll also get back to you later.�

	�You do that,� Ranma said, and closed the line with
vastly exaggerated flourish before relinquishing the
instrument to his packet.

	�Shan Pu, I believe that the man has some questions
to ask you. Come, Wise One, we�ll retire to yon sofa
and catch a breath or two,� he said and moved off,
shooting a disarming smile at Shan Pu, as he did.

	Shan Pu looked at his retreating back for a couple of
seconds and turned towards the now very nervous
Toshida. Doubts were already forming in her mind about
her new friend and she did not like the things they
implied.

	Guu Long, for her part, shot a quick cursory nod to
Shan Pu before joining Ranma at the couch. There, they
began to talk, keeping an eye on Shan Pu and Toshida
as they did.

	�Will he carry out his threats?� she asked, quietly,
once she had made herself comfortable.

	�Nah! He won�t if the bozo behaves to Shan Pu�s
satisfaction. If he doesn�t, well, let�s just say that
his future has very few bright spots, if any at all.�

	�Oh!�

	�Shan Pu should be enrolled in a few more minutes.
Once she is, you two head off to the house. I have an
important appointment to keep. Oh, and tell the idiot
that he had better behave in the future. He�s on the
watched list, now.�

	�I guess we can do that. Business matter, I suppose?�

	�Yes. Financial affairs, to be exact, though there
are some other matters that needs attending to, too.�

	�All right.�

	�And I might need you in the afternoon - if you are
free, of course.�

	�Of course.�

	Ranma nodded, and focused his attention on a year old
copy of National Geographic. He began flipping through
the pages, and Guu Long, realizing that the
conversation was over, began to browse through some
magazines on her own. Neither of them was remotely
interested in the articles, but the pictures were very
good, and it was enough to keep their minds occupied
for the few minutes that Shan Pu spent answering
Toshida�s questions. Finally, he was done, and they
set out, Ranma to his meeting and the other two to his
house.

***********************************************************************

	One expects peace and quiet in a respected teahouse,
and one gets it. One expects excellent service in a
respected teahouse and one gets it, too. The Matoki
Teahouse, one of the most respected in Tokyo, was no
exception to these golden rules. Well over three
hundred years old, it existed when Tokyo was little
more than a small, insignificant fleck of dust on the
Shogun�s map. The establishment grew as the city did,
and was easily the most respected teahouse in modern
Tokyo with a clientele that rumor-mills said included
the emperor himself. And as all the truly good
teahouses, it was never empty.

	�Tomoyo-sensei?� Junko spoke, putting as much respect
as she could into her voice, as she sat seiza before
the dame. Tomoyo-sensei, who was a geisha and one
hundred and ten years old, ran the Matoki Teahouse.
She was also Junko�s sensei, and thus, was treated
with the respect and accolades reserved for such, even
though Junko was anything but young herself at
fifty-six.

	�Yes, Junko-san?�

	�Ranma-san�s come.�

	Tomoyo nodded.

	�Is his spot ready?� she asked. Ranma used only one
room in the establishment and used no other. The room
was reserved exclusively for him and was kept closed
at all other times.

	Junko nodded.

	�Yes, Tomoyo-sensei.�

	�And his guest?� Ranma, for personal reasons,
scarcely visited the teahouse and that too, only for
business. Even then, he kept his visits short and he
often visited alone. His guest, on those rare
occasions when he brought one, was usually a
high-ranking Japanese government official, or a
gaijin. In this particular instance, the guest was an
American.

	�He is being shown to Ranma-san�s personal room even
as we speak.�

	Nod.

	�Good. Make sure they want for nothing, Junko-san...
Can you request an audience with Ranma-san after the
meeting? I�d like to have a chance to speak with him
if he can find the time.�

	Junko nodded.

	�As you wish, Tomoyo-sensei,� she said, �I�ll go and
ask him right away.�

	Tomoyo�s eyes glittered for a fraction of a second
with gratitude, but she quickly overcame herself. Her
mask slid back into place and she nodded.

	�Go then.�

	Junko bowed, until her forehead touched the ground.
Then, she stood up and gracefully exited the room.
Once the door closed behind her, she abandoned all
grace and decorum and ran across the building, praying
to the Gods above that Ranma had not left.
Fortunately, the Gods must have listened to her
prayers, for Ranma was still entertaining his guest
when she stepped up to the rice-paper door of his pad.
She silently thanked the Gods, took a moment to regain
her composure and regularize her breathing, and then
knocked on the wooden doorframe.

	�Yes. Who is it?� Ranma�s voice questioned from the
other side of the door.

	�It�s me, Junko, Ranma-san.�

	�C�mon in, Junko-san.�

	Junko slid open the door and stepped in. Hopefully,
her breathing had returned to normal and Ranma would
overlook the signs.

	�Junko-san,� Ranma asked, looking her over and
allowing a tinge of curiosity to leak into his voice,
�What is it?�

	�I beg pardon, Ranma-san,� Junko replied; apologized
and took a deep breath as she bowed, �for disturbing
your meeting.�

	Ranma smiled. He looked at his friend and the man
nodded.

	�You�re forgiven, Junko-san,� he said, turning his
attention back to Junko.

	�Thank you, Ranma-san. I�m here to request an
audience with you in Tomoyo-sensei�s stead. She wishes
to speak with you.�

	For a miniscule fraction of a moment, the mask that
Ranma wore fell, just as it had with Tomoyo. Then, he
composed himself, just as Tomoyo had, and he nodded,
his face once again emotionless. Junko saw the brief
change in his features, but did not say anything. It
was not her place to comment, after all.

	�Tell her that I�ll visit her in her room once this
meeting is over.�

	�I will, Ranma-san... Thank you.�

	Ranma gazed at her long. He saw in her place the
child he raised. He remembered the little girl he fed,
bathed, clothed, and cared for. Finally, he nodded.
Their business concluded for the time being.

	�Thank you, Junko-san.�

	Junko nodded and quietly exited the room.

	�Shall we continue, Johnson-san?� Ranma said, turning
back to his partner when she closed the door behind
her.

	Johnson, for that was the American�s assumed name,
nodded.

	�Yes, well... Mind if I ask you a personal question,
Ranma-san?�

	Ranma smiled, gently. Even though Johnson and he met
at least twice a month, their relationship was
strictly professional. Only rarely did they discuss
their personal life with one another. It looked like
this was going to be one of those rare instances.

	�No, I don�t mind at all.�

	�Who is she - the girl who interrupted the meeting
just now?�

	�She�s the daughter I never had, Johnson-san.�

	�Oh?�

	�Her parents were killed when Truman dropped the
second bomb on Nagasaki. She was pretty close to death
herself when I got my hands on her. I nursed her back
to life and raised her as my own for the next fifteen
years.�

	Johnson remained silent, not knowing what to say or
do. This was not the first time he had heard stories
about the destruction caused by the A-bombs, but this
was the first time he had been confronted with a
real-life victim. It affected him in some strange
implacable way. Before he thought that President
Truman was right when he ordered the bombardment, -
after all, the order saved hundreds of thousands of
lives, - now, he was not so sure.

	�I�m sorry,� he said, eventually.

	Ranma nodded. He had a faint smile on his lips.

	�Thank you,� he replied and fell silent, his eyes
focused elsewhere. �Looks like we have observers,� he
thought, eyeing the wall to his left. �Anyways,� he
continued, �I wanted to talk to you about that
truckload of tuna you promised to ship to my business
partners?�

	Immediately, Johnson straightened. Tuna was the
codeword used whenever he or Ranma spotted someone
observing the meeting. �It�s most probably the
Chinese.� With the fall of the Berlin wall, the
Russians had ceased to be a superpower, and their
intelligence community had still to recover from the
massive budget cuts and layoffs that had paralyzed it
more than a decade before. Only the Chinese, with
their massive HUMINT resources still plagued Ranma
regularly.

	�Yes, what of it, Ranma-san?�

	�I�d like it delivered early the day after next, if
you please.�

	Johnson nodded. He scratched the back of his left ear
as he did, asking for non-verbal clarification on the
direction of the said observer. Tuna business was one
of the fronts he used to cover his real line of work.

	Ranma tapped the left side of his nose. Yes, the
interlopers are to our left, it said.

	�I�ll see to it, Ranma-san, that you get your
shipment at the earliest.�

	�Thank you, Johnson-san. It�s been a pleasure doing
business with you.�

	Johnson frowned, slightly. �The peeping toms must be
getting suspicious. That�s why he�s ending the meeting
so soon,� he thought. Over the years, he had taught
himself to trust Ranma�s judgment calls implicitly.
They were always correct.

	�Pleasure�s all mine, Ranma-san. Gidday to you.�

	�In another week, huh?� Ranma thought with a smile.
This, too, was part of their agreed upon code and he
nodded.

	�See you soon.�

	Johnson bowed and stepped out, leaving Ranma alone to
drink his tea in peace. Once outside he patted his
shirt, as if looking for his lighter and checked his
pockets. Sure enough, the CDs he brought for Ranma
were missing, exactly as he expected. �How does he do
that? Ten years and I still haven�t caught him picking
my pockets even though I know he�s going to... Still,
he got the disks and that�s all that matters,� he
thought, as he cheerily exited the teahouse and walked
into the street in a random direction, seemingly
unaware of the two Chinese spooks shadowing him. All
he had to do was find some poor sod to bump into in
the middle of a busy street and the Chinese would have
their hands full investigating the man for the next
week or two. �Serves the bastards right!�

	�The idiots never learn,� Ranma thought, looking out
through the window on the second floor of the
teahouse. �But then they can�t let themselves relax -
not when the stakes are this high... Hmm... Better go
and see what Tomoyo-chan wanted to talk to me about,�
he thought, placing his now empty teacup on the table.

	�Junko-chan?� he called.

	Junko arrived a few seconds later. She bowed, as was
wont and approached Ranma.

	�Yes, Ranma-san.�

	�You can speak freely, Daughter. They can�t hear us.�

	Junko nodded.

	�I know, Poppa.�

	Ranma raised an eyebrow.

	�Then why the formal speech - you aren�t angry with
your poor father, are you?�

	�I might be...�

	�Can I at least know the reason for your anger?�

	�You rarely visit us and when you do, you don�t spend
time with us. In addition, this last month, you did
not even care enough to pay us a visit or make a phone
call. How do you plead to that?�

	�Guilty as charged. I beg forgiveness. Can you find
it in your heart to forgive this old man?�

	Junko pouted. It was childish and immature, her
anger, a little part of her mind told her, but she
paid it no heed. She had every reason to be upset and
petty. After all, being petty is part and package when
you neglect your family, as Ranma had done for many
years.

	�I might. It depends on momma, entirely.�

	�Very well,� Ranma replied, resignedly, �I�ll do
everything I can to appease your mother, then. Lead
the way so that I may see her, Junko-chan.�

	Junko smiled in spite of herself and led Ranma to
Tomoyo-sensei�s room. She showed Ranma in and remained
by the door, ready to respond to their wants at a
moment�s notice.

	Ranma, for his part, entered the room and bowed
slightly, before kneeling in front of Tomoyo.

	�It�s good to see you again,� the old dame said, her
eyes glistening with tears. She served two cups of
tea, one for herself and the other for Ranma, and
waited for his reply.

	�It�s good to see you, too, Tomoyo-chan,� he replied,
allowing his mask to fall. Few had unfettered passage
to the innermost sanctums of his heart and Tomoyo was
one of those precious few. �I... I�m sorry. I have
neglected you and Junko-chan too long.�

	Tomoyo did not say anything. Rather, she took a sip
from her teacup, her eyes firmly focused on Ranma.

	�Gods,� he continued, �I missed you, but I couldn�t
bear to see you wither away. Not you, not her.�

	�I understand.�

	Her tone was not accusing and the acceptance in it
only made Ranma feel worse. He told himself that she
had not forgiven him, and that made him feel somewhat
better. He did not deserve forgiveness - not after
what he did to both mother and daughter.

	�But you do not forgive... Not that I have come to
beg forgiveness, Tomoyo-chan. It�d be too much to ask
- not after I broke your heart... Not after...�

	�Drink the tea, Ran-chan, before it goes cold,�
Tomoyo interrupted, her voice quiet and serene.

	Ranma looked at her for a long moment and finally
nodded. He took a prolonged sip of tea and set it down
gravely. The tea tasted just as good, if not better
than the best brew he had ever tasted. It came as no
surprise, though. Tomoyo was easily one of the best
tea makers he had ever met. In fact, it was her tea,
which snared his heart and made him fall in love with
her in the first place.

	�I understand and forgive you, Ran-chan. You risked
your heart when you fell in love with me. I accepted
it and resigned myself to this fate when I chased you
in my younger days. I do not blame you for leaving me.
I never have. I never will.�

	Ranma nodded. Tomoyo was too much of a traditional
Japanese woman to demand anything for herself. It was
his duty to see to her wants, as it was his duty to
care for her through sickness and health. He had
failed on both counts. He had abandoned her in her old
age because of his cowardice.

	�But you came, Tomoyo-chan. But, you came and what
did I do for you? Look around you. Look and see where
I�ve abandoned you - this is not the least of my
crimes. You have no one but Junko to keep you company
in your old age. And as much as I loved you, I did
not, could not bring myself, to give you your rightful
place by my side as my wife. I had you as my mistress.
Then come old age and I left you, for I was too much
of a coward to watch you while you grew old and died.
I have dishonored you and my shame knows no bounds.
I�ve been egregious as your lover and provider. Yet,
you forgive me. You have borne all my sins against you
without complaint and still, you love me. Just like
that. Why?�

	Tomoyo smiled, gently.

	�Because you are who you are. I fell in love with you
the day I saw you and I�ll never fall out of it. Not
while I�m alive and not when I�m dead.�

	�I...� Ranma began, his voice laden with emotion.
Words failed him and he stared at the woman before
him, his mouth hung open as tears cascaded down his
face in torrents. They were of remorse and of love.
Finally, he spoke, �Forgive me my sins, Tomoyo-chan...
I...�

	�Shh! It�s all right, Ran-chan. Don�t worry about me.
I�m fine. Really. Take courage and be strong. I�ll be
all right.�

	�All right?� Ranma croaked. �Look at you,
Tomoyo-chan. Don�t tell me it�s all right,� he said,
his voice full of anguish. Tears fell anew and his
face contorted in self-inflicted misery and pain, �I
remember the day when first I saw you like it was
yesterday. You were so young then - so young and
beautiful. I remember your laughter, so sweet and
lovely it was. You did not have a care in the world,
for you were her mistress. But now... Now, look at
you. The years have passed and you are nothing more
than a shadow of your younger self. You have fallen
from your throne and what a fall it has been. You lost
everything and it was all because of me. Only your
physical shell remains with you and it, too, has lost
much of its former glory. Soon, that, too, will fail
you. You will wither and die, and then, you�ll be no
more. You�ll be no more and I�ll live. How can I bear
it? How can it be all right? Where is the justice,
Tomoyo-chan? How can it be all right when everything
that I have ever loved is doomed to wither and die?�

	Pause.

	�Seventeen times I have loved and seventeen times I
have lost,� he continued, passionately, his tears
unrelenting, �Must I always lose? Am I cursed to lose?
Lose to the beast of time. Lose Lein, Anita, Amala,
Casandra and so many more... I have lost them all,
Tomoyo-chan. Lost everyone and everything that I ever
loved - and while they withered away, I could do
nothing but stand by and watch them die, whereas I
stand alive, unbroken like Methuselah, the great tree.
Even now, the beast is not satiated. It comes to take
you away, too. How can everything be all right when I
know you�re going to die and there�s nothing I can do
to stop it?�

	Tomoyo smiled, gently and wiped away his tears. She,
too, was crying herself, but hers were not of pain.
They were of love requited. She gently laid a hand on
Ranma�s shoulders.

	�Death is a part of life, Ran-chan. You have to
accept it and move on. I have lived a hundred years
and I have known happiness through most of them -
first with my parents, then with you and finally, with
Junko. I have lived life to the full and I have
enjoyed it like no other, and now, it�s time for me to
go. I�m not sad or angry about my fate. It�s just my
time and I gladly accept it, just as I gladly accepted
everything else. I did not resist when I fell in love
with you in those days on yon forests of India and I�m
not going to resist it now.

	�You must accept and resign yourself to my fate, too,
for you see, I�m like a flower. I budded and blossomed
in spring. Beauty, youth and love were my names. Now,
the season�s changed. Autumn is come and like the
trees that shed their leaves, I, too, must fade. I may
whither and disappear, but my beauty will never be
lost, nor my love�s labor lost. For I leave behind me
you and Junko-chan. I�ll live in you and her and my
grandchildren and their grandchildren for as long as
the sun rises,� she said, drawing Ranma into a hug and
consoling the immortal. Finally, after what seemed
like hours, they parted. [2]

	�I need to go, Tomoyo-chan. I�ll come and see you
again before... I promise,� Ranma said, standing up.

	Tomoyo nodded. Her face, as usual, did not complain,
even though her heart did.

	�Goodbye,� he whispered and without another look,
opened the door. He met Junko�s steady gaze and nodded
to her. Then, he stepped outside and closed the door
behind him.

	�Will you stay for lunch?� Junko asked.

	Ranma shook his head.

	�No, I have to go, Junko-chan. I�m sorry.�

	Junko nodded.

	�I understand. Visit us often, Poppa. Momma�s time in
this world will not be long now.�

	�I... I know. I�ll drop by twice or thrice every
week. Take care, Junko-chan.�

	�You, too, Poppa,� she said, giving him a hug before
escorting him out.

***********************************************************************

	Knock. Knock.

	Pause.

	Knock. Knock.

	�Who is it?� an old muffled voice enquired from
behind the closed door. The muffled clap of running
feet against wooden floor followed its wake.

	�It�s me, Usagi, Grandpa.�

	The door opened.

	�C�mon in, Children. How was school today?�

	Usagi, who had so studiously knocked the door until
then, smiled brightly at the elder Hino and entered
the house. She idly rubbed her sore knuckles, as she
surveyed the place. The wood was hard and her knuckles
hurt from the knocking.

	�It was great, Grandpa,� she replied, flashing a
smile.

	�You were not sent out to stand in the hall, I
infer,� old man Hino commented, an indulgent smile on
his lips.

	Ami, Makoto and the other assorted animals, � Minako
included, � broke into snickers. Usagi turned and
glared balefully at them.

	�You�re a mean person, Grandpa,� she replied, then
abruptly changed topic before he could embarrass her
further, �How is Rei doing?�

	Grandfather Hino immediately sobered at the mention
of his granddaughter.

	�Yes, well, she�s regained consciousness and is fully
awake now.� �She�s probably reading one of them mushy
mangas, I bet.�

	�Regained consciousness? You did not tell us that she
was unconscious when you rang us this morning!�

	�She was conscious then, but was very weak from the
exertion. She fainted right after breakfast and woke
up only an hour later. Apparently, eating bread and
cheese was too great a stress on her body in her
weakened state.�

	�Is she all right?�

	He nodded.

	�I guess. Physically, she�s fine - just a handful of
burns to worry about. Her spirit is badly hurt,
however, and her ki reserves are very low.� �And
recovering very fast � that�s one more mystery to add
to the evergoing list of mysteries that surround her.
How can she recoup her ki reserves so quickly when she
does not have the necessary skill and training in the
area?�
 
	�Can we see her?� Ami asked, timidly.

	�I suppose, but you have to be careful around her,
especially you, Usagi. Her ki reserves have improved
somewhat since she regained consciousness, but she
needs her peace and quiet, not to mention rest. You
must be very careful not to excite her too much.�

	The girls nodded as one.

	�We�ll be careful, Grandpa. We promise,� they said in
unison.

	Grandfather Hino nodded. A small wry smile flashed on
his face as he did. He knew they were going to break
their promise, but their presence would go a long way
in cheering his granddaughter up. The experience would
certainly tax Rei�s overstressed ki reserves and maybe
even make her faint again, but it absolutely
guaranteed to make her feel better in the end, which
made it the obvious choice to him. After all, was it
not true that the �shaman� had to tend to the body as
well as the mind for a proper and speedy recovery? 

	�All right, you girls have your visitor�s passes.
Remember, however, not too much excitement.�

	The girls nodded as solemnly as they could and raced
up the stairs, followed closely by the two cats. They
knocked on Rei�s door, as it was only proper that they
do so, only a muffled curse greeted them.

	�Damn it, Grandpa. How many times do I have to tell
you that I�m all right?� Rei growled from behind the
door.

	Makoto and Minako snickered.

	�It�s only us, Rei,� Usagi replied, �We�ve come to
see you.�

	There was a few seconds of frenzied scuffling inside
the room. Then silence.

	�Come in, Guys. The door�s open.�

	They entered as a solemn possession with Minako
leading them. Rei lay stretched out on her bed. She
was dressed in a red pajama that looked more than a
few years old. Her hair looked mussed and she looked
pale, but none the worse for wear. The burn salves and
the IV by the bedside made her look sicker than she
was.

	�Sit,� she said.

	They sat down. The room plunged into awkward silence.

	�How are you?� Ami dared to ask. �We were worried
about you. Usagi said that grandpa sounded very upset
on the phone when he called her this morning.�

	Rei laid down the Revolutionary Girl Utena manga copy
she was reading, carefully and focused her full
attention on her friends.

	�Yes, grandpa was pretty upset this morning. He said
I came very close to dying � that if he had been a few
moments too late, I would have died.�

	The girls� faces paled. The elder Hino had left out
that little detail out of his explanation.

	�How? What happened?� Makoto asked. Her voice was
laden with concern.

	�Apparently, I happened upon some ancient forbidden
technique called the Fire Vision while attempting the
Fire Reading early this morning. It nearly killed me.�

	�Fire Vision � it sounds dangerous,� Minako
commented.

	�Believe me, it is,� Rei replied, �I don�t ever want
to try that technique again. Not in this life or any
other, thank you.�

	�Thank God, you�re okay. I�m glad that nothing bad
happened.�

	�Yeah!� Usagi said, nodding in acquiescence. She
picked up Rei�s manga absentmindedly; completely
unaware of what she was doing, and briefly scanned the
page Rei had been reading. She saw what was on it and
blushed crimson. She had not known Rei was into that
kind of thing.

	She surreptitiously looked at Rei and found the girl
glaring at her.

	�Not a word,� Rei mouthed, silently.

	Usagi nodded. She was too shocked to do anything
else. She could have replied verbally, but she did not
trust her mouth just yet.

	�Not a word about what?� Minako asked, curiously. She
looked at Rei and then at Usagi for an answer.

	�Nothing,� Rei said as hastily as a wearied person
could. She felt like an idiot. �Warning Usagi like
that in a crowded room, especially with everyone�s
attention focused sorely on me. God, how stupid can I
be?�

	Minako gave her friend a once-over. The hasty reply
alone made Rei�s reply suspicious.

	�Are you sure?� she asked.

	Rei nodded quickly, hoping and praying to the Gods to
help her avert disaster. Unfortunately, the
�concealed� glance she shot at the manga was much too
amateurish, and both Minako and Makoto caught her. Rei
realized her folly and moved to intercept the manga
before it fell into the wrong hands, but she was too
slow. Minako got to the manga first. Simultaneously,
she jumped out of Rei�s reach and opened the manga.

	Her mouth fell open. Her cheeks turned red in
embarrassment.

	�What?� Makoto asked. Her curiosity had reached its
apex.

	Minako flipped the manga and held it open for the
entire world to see.

	Makoto flushed.

	�Oh, my!� That was Ami, commenting on the manga.

	�Rei...�

	�Just shut up!� Rei snarled, glaring at them, �So,
what if I�m a fan of children�s manga? I think they�re
funny.� [3]

	Everyone chose wisely to keep his or her mouth shut -
everyone except Usagi.

	�Okay, Rei,� she snickered, �Whatever you say.�

	Rei glared at her best friend.

	�Shut up, Meatball Head,� she said, angrily. Her
voice sounded weary. God, she felt sleepy.

	Usagi opened her mouth to retort then remembered
grandfather Hino�s words. Rei sounded tired and for
once, Usagi did not whine.

	Rei looked smug at having won the argument. She
looked to the others challengingly. None dared oppose
the dead tired but majestic and sexy sailor suited
soldier of mars.

	�Um... Can I ask you a question?� Artemis queried, a
little fearfully. He knew he was treading on thin ice
and the short-tempered Rei, even though she was
exhausted, could still fry him at a moment�s notice,
but it was a risk he had to take. Such were the perils
that an advisor of his position faced.

	Rei�s head snapped around at him. He winced and she
regretted her hasty action. God, her head hurt.

	�Yes, what is it?�

	�What were you doing so early? Your grandfather told
Usagi that he found you unconscious besides the holy
fire in the wee hours of the morning.�

	Rei nodded, her anger forgotten. Her head hurt a
little, however, and she was grumpy.

	�I was coming to that. I think we�re about to face a
new enemy?�

	�That�s not possible, Rei,� Ami said with a shake of
her head, �Pluto assured us that Pharaoh 90 was the
last threat that we had to face.�

	�Yes, well, Pluto was wrong.�

	�Can you tell us anything about this enemy?� Luna
asked, pushing her way through the crowd and speaking
for the first time since the start of the
conversation. Playtime was over and now, as
regrettable as it was, it was time to get down to
work.

	�I saw a lot of things in the Fire Vision. I can�t
make head nor tail out of most of them. What I saw
is,� she trailed off with a shudder as she remembered
the immolation of the mother and her children, �I
don�t know what I saw.�

	The others began to murmur amongst themselves.

	�Just recite what you remember and we�ll take it from
there,� Ami said, helpfully.

	Luna shot the blue haired sensei a grateful look.
Come hell or high water, you could always depend on
good old Ami to keep a cool head. She was the lone
voice of reason amongst the Senshi, most of the time.

	Rei nodded and began to recount. Her eyes lost their
focus and became haunted, as she remembered the
individual details and experiences from the early
hours of the morning. The girls listened with rapt
attention throughout her narration and did not even
once interrupt her to venture a question. Normally,
they would have, but Rei was weak and they did not
want to push her more than was strictly necessary.
There would be plenty enough time for questions when
Rei finished, after all.

	�And that�s that. I don�t know what Ashura are, just
as I don�t know anything about what motivates them. I
also don�t know whether the part about The Dragon has
any relevance at all to the coming fight. As I said, I
can make neither head nor tail of it.�

	Silence.

	�Well,� Makoto commented, �That was certainly
different.�

	The girls nodded.

	�Yeah, whoever heard of an evil God? There is no such
thing,� Minako added.

	�Um... Actually...�

	�You know something, Artemis?�

	Artemis opened his mouth to reply, but Luna hushed
him. He, however, paid her no heed.

	�Gods have been known to do some decidedly evil stuff
from the human point of view. Of course, they did
things for the greater good, but in our narrow two
dimensional perspectives, their actions might appear
evil.�

	�So, a God could have committed those crimes?� Usagi
asked. Her face bore a frown.

	Artemis nodded. Luna tried to silence him again.

	�Stop it, Luna. They need to know. We owe it to them
to tell the truth,� he said to the she-cat in a rather
forceful voice that surprised the girls. They had
never seen Artemis adopt such a tone with Luna. He was
usually compliant to her wishes.

	Luna nodded, reluctantly, and Artemis turned towards
the girls again.

	�The Silver Millennium is a relatively small island
of peace in the otherwise chaotic ocean that is human
history. Even during the time of the Silver
Millennium, there existed pockets of chaos that
resisted the majesty of the Golden Path offered by
House Serenity. There were those, in whose point of
view, the Silver Millennium was the worst evil that
ever existed. The armies of the Silver Millennium were
usually enough to wipe these pockets out, but there
were exceptions. Some had mighty armies that even we
could not crush, even though the Gods were our allies.
We held them at bay, but every now and then, one of
them grew powerful enough to pose a serious challenge
to us on the battlefield. The army dealt with these
aberrations rather harshly and wiped out these states,
exterminating their people.�

	�All of them?� Usagi asked, her voice a whisper. Her
face had lost its color.

	Luna nodded.

	�Yes, it was regrettable, the loss of so many human
lives, but it had to be done for the greater good. We
could have shown them mercy, Usagi, but most of those
people would have refused to comply with the high
moral and ethical standards set by the ruling house,
and would only have disturbed the peace. It was our
duty to protect our citizens and for that, we had to
do away with these aberrations.�

	Usagi opened her mouth to say something, but stopped
herself before she did.

	�But isn�t that mass murder � a form of legalized
genocide?� Ami asked.

	Luna shook her head.

	�So is killing daemons, if you look at it from a
certain perspective. Trust me when I say it had to be
done for the greater good.�

	�Greater good? The end does not justify the means.�

	�Philosophy and reality do not mix,� Luna retorted,
�You have to make hard decisions on the field. They
aren�t always easy on your conscience, but you have to
make them. I remember one bastion of resistance that
was essentially a religion of cannibals. They raided
their neighbors, - and that included us, - for �food
and sacrifice.� Their army was large enough to be a
problem and governors of our provinces did not want a
war with them � they thought they could make peace
with the barbarians. They thought in their own
politically correct way that wiping out a people was
bad because of the expenditures involved, you see and
therefore, they ordered our commanders not to act. Our
commanders on the field, with their hands tied behind
their back, could do nothing. The barbarians grew bold
and they sacked a major city, slaughtering millions of
its citizens. Only then did we act. The war was long
because we had not prepared for it and they were, and
the cost in human lives was great. If we had acted
earlier, we could have avoided the whole mess, but we
did not. As a result, millions died. That�s just an
example of what happens when you sit on your behinds
and do not act. If you look at things from the
post-slaughter perspective, destroying their nation
was the lesser of the two evils.

	�Look at me, all of you, and pay heed to my words.
This is a lesson that all of you have to learn, but
one you sorely lack. The world is not made of white
and black. It is made of different shades of grey.
There is no white and there is no black � only shades
of grey.�

	�So,� Makoto said, steering the conversation in a new
direction before the argument got out of hand and
devolved into a fight, - as much as she wanted to
berate Artemis and Luna for their callous attitude,
she could not with a sick Rei nearby, - �How are we
going to deal with this new enemy?�

	�Is there a new enemy?� Artemis asked. �I�m still not
convinced.�

	�Nevertheless, we�ll assume there�s a new enemy.
Accordingly, we�ll plan for him.�

	Again, Luna shot Ami a grateful look. That girl was
worth her weight in gold.

	�That�s an astute suggestion. How do we suppose we go
about doing that?� she asked. She looked at Minako,
who shrugged and looked at Ami. Luna sighed. Good luck
getting ideas from me, Minako seemed to say.

	�Ahem. We don�t know much about the enemy, except
he�s six armed and uses cutting weapons. As such, we
can�t create any specific plans and tactics. We can,
however, review the records of the past enemies who
used bladed weapons against us and refine the tactics
we used against them,� Ami suggested.

	The girls nodded. The idea seemed reasonable to them.
Ami produced her computer and produced fact sheets on
everything from Daemons to Droids that had used bladed
weapons and the tactics they employed. The girls began
to bounce ideas and in no time at all, the
brainstorming session was in full bloom.

***********************************************************************

	Ranma rode to his house on a cab. Guu Long, who had
been awaiting his return, met him at the gates.

	He lowered his window and stuck out his head to her.

	�There�s no time to waste,� he said, urgently, his
voice brooking no argument, �I want you to come with
me. Inform Shan Pu that we�ll not be back until late
in the evening and get in.�

	Guu Long nodded and without a word, hurried into the
house. She returned barely a minute later, trailed by
Shan Pu.

	�Find something to pass your time for the rest of the
day, Pu-chan. The Honored One and I have important
business to attend to,� Ranma said to the girl, as he
opened the door for Guu Long.

	Shan Pu nodded silently and waved them off, as the
cab sped away. Then she rushed inside, praying that
she had not missed anything important on TV while she
was away.

	The cab, meanwhile, sped to its destination, and its
two passengers immersed themselves in a serious
discussion.

	�So, where are we going?� Guu Long asked when they
turned the street.

	�To Nerima � it�s another one of Tokyo�s prefectures.
We�re going to visit Ryuuken Saotome.�

	�Oh... Why are we going there?� she asked, dubiously.
What did her grandfather want of the Saotome kid? The
boy was skilled and had a lot of potential, but he
definitely was not worth the trouble her grandfather
was going through, was he? Or did her grandfather know
something that she did not?

	�Because he�s my brother,� he replied, producing a
sleek looking Apple laptop from the folds of his shirt
and booting it. Then, he opened a graphics file. �See,
this is the Saotome clan�s register and this line is
Genma Saotome�s. As you know, Genma Saotome is
Ryuuken�s father. Now, as you can see here, Genma had
two sons - a Ranma and a Ryuuken. According to this
register, Ranma has been dead for over ten years,� he
said, opening another document, �This is his death
certificate. Note that the cause of death is
unfulfilled. That�s because they never found his body.
Also, note the comment section, where the coroner
places his comments. Read what he had written, �The
victim�s father is a delusional maniac. He claims that
the boy disappeared, vanished, in front of his very
eyes. I find that hard to believe not to mention the
fact that such is scientifically impossible. It is my
sincere opinion that the victim�s father is not
completely forthcoming with the facts - that he is
intentionally hiding something. What it is I don�t
know, but I don�t think we�ll ever find out!� See?�

	�So?� Guu Long asked. �Just because he named his son
Ranma doesn�t mean that he�s your father.�

	�But he is,� he insisted, �You�re familiar with the
flavor of Ryuu�s ki, or more specifically, his
soul-hook, right?� [4]

	She nodded.

	�Well, taste mine and tell me how much of a
difference there is.�

	Guu Long remained silent for a short while, a look of
the utmost concentration on her face. Finally, she
nodded.

	�I accept there�s a resemblance, but...�

	Ranma shook his head. He opened another file. This
one was an old black and white picture.

	�There�s much more than a resemblance,� he replied,
�Mine and his are nearly identical. I have other
proofs, too. For example, see this. This is a photo of
Ranma Saotome, the son of Genma Saotome, taken two
months before his �death.� I looked like that when I
was his age. Do you remember the name of Ryuuken�s
school? It�s Musabetsu Kakutou Ryuu - the same school
as mine.

	�There�s no doubt about it, Granddaughter. Ryuuken
and I are siblings.�

	Guu Long nodded, at last accepting Ranma�s argument.
Weird coincidence could explain one or two
similarities, but not this many. Ryuuken, her student,
was almost certainly Ranma�s long lost family.

	�So, what are you going to do?� she asked. �Are you
going to tell them?�

	�No,� he replied with a shake of his head.

	�Why? Is this another one of your tests?�

	Ranma shook his head.

	�I wish things were so simple. Unfortunately, they
are not. As it turns out, Genma is a known felon and
crook wanted in much of the civilized world for petty
thefts and numerous other charges. Not one of the
charges is of grave consequence, mind you, but he is a
felon all the same. As such, I�m most disinclined to
call myself his son and I will not do so, until such a
time comes when he proves himself worthy of the
title.�

	�Oh? So, what are you going to do?�

	�Obviously, I can�t let my brother be influenced by
his father�s dishonorable ways any longer. I simply
will not allow it. I�m going to have to separate the
two of them. I can accomplish my goal in two ways. I
can take him out of Genma�s hands by exercising my
powers as the head of the Saotome clan - I�m clearly
the oldest Saotome alive. As such, I�m the default
head of the clan, - but I don�t think that particular
choice is prudent. They�d write me off as crazy if I
were to claim that something transported me back in
time, and it�d attract a lot of unwanted attraction
from some real unfriendly quarters. Moreover, I�m not
that keen on revealing to Ryuuken that I�m his dead
brother... At least, not yet.

	�So, after serious deliberation, I�ve decided to
challenge his father to a duel. I�m going to insult
the elder Saotome in such a way that he�d have no
choice but to do battle with me. We�ll see what
happens after that and improvise, as things develop.�

	Guu Long nodded, understanding the logic in Ranma�s
argument. She shifted her gaze to the window on her
side and fell silent. Her face assumed a thoughtful
look, as she brooded how this new revelation would
affect her and the Joketsuzoku�s near future. She was
still debating the pros and cons when they reached
their destination.

	�So this is Nerima?� Ranma asked none in particular,
as he surveyed the streets and buildings of the said
prefecture. �Hmm... This could work out for the best.�
�Can you take us to the Tendo Dojo, please?� he asked
of the cabbie.

	The cabbie nodded and drove on, now looking even more
silent and pensive than he had been throughout the
entire trip. He had good reason, too, for he was a
Nerimian himself and knew about the weird things that
went on at the Tendo dojo. He also knew that there was
a tendency for innocent bystanders to find themselves
mired in the chaos that reigned in the house, and was
willing to do everything in his power to stay out of
the mess. His life and his livelihood might very well
depend on it. Therefore, intent on getting rid of his
passengers as quickly as possible, he floored the
accelerator and reached the dojo in record time. He
did not step out for a breather either, waiting just
long enough for his two passengers to disembark and
pay his due, before he hightailed out of the street.
It was only after he put three blocks between himself
and the dojo that he managed to breathe freely. He did
not even realize that he had been holding his breath
until then.

	Ranma and Guu Long, for their part, stood still in
front of the dojo and tasted its wa before they
stepped into the property. With Ranma in front and Guu
Long following close behind, they went up to the front
door, where he knocked thrice.

	The door opened nearly a minute later. It was a woman
who opened it. She was dressed in a homely fashion and
wore an apron. She had a gentle, welcoming smile on
her face.

	�Good afternoon. Can I help you?� she asked, first
looking at Ranma and then Guu Long. She became
politeness personified when she bowed to them.

	The twosome responded immediately by returning the
bows themselves.

	�Yes, I believe you can,� Ranma responded, flashing a
polite smile, as was wont, �We�re looking for a boy...
Ryuuken Saotome is his name.�

	Kasumi returned Ranma�s smile with an earnest one of
her own.

	�You must be friends of Ryuu-kun then. Welcome, come
into the house.�

	They stepped in, taking care to leave their shoes
outside. Their hostess escorted them to the hall and
after they made themselves comfortable on the sofa
proffered to them, she retreated into the kitchen,
only to return moments later with a tray laden with
cookies and a steaming pot of tea.

	�I�m Kasumi Tendo,� Kasumi said, introducing herself,
as she set the tray and the goodies on the table, �And
you are...�

	�Guu Long. We�re friends of Ryuuken.�

	�Ranma Qin. You wouldn�t be related to Soun Tendo by
any means, would you, Kasumi-san?� Ranma replied;
asked.

	�I�m his daughter. You must be the one who rescued my
sister in China, Ranma-san.�

	�It is I. How�s she doing by the way?�

	�She�s recovered. I wish to thank you on the Tendo
clan�s behalf for saving my sister�s life.�

	�She played an even bigger part in the incident than
I did,� Ranma replied, �If it was not for her inner
strength, my task would have been a whole lot tougher
and I might even have failed.�

	Kasumi nodded in approval. By speaking what he did
the way he did, Ranma managed not only to save the
Tendo clan�s face, but also maneuvered himself out of
coming off as cocky and impudent.

	�Is your father at home?� he asked.

	�No. Father and Saotome-san are out. They�ll be back
within the hour, though. Did you come by to check up
on Akane?� she asked.

	�No, unfortunately, I did not,� he admitted, a wee
bit abashedly, �I�m afraid that I had all but
forgotten about Akane-san. I came with another person
in mind - Ryuuken to be exact.�

	Again, Kasumi nodded. She appreciated his honesty,
and his straightforwardness. It showed good upbringing
on his part.
 
	�Is Ryuu-kun in some kind of trouble?� she asked,
subtly changing the subject so as not to embarrass him
any further.

	Ranma and Guu Long smiled, gratefully. It looked as
if their hostess was an accomplished disciple of an
important branch of The Art, - the art of home
keeping, - herself.

	�By no means. Do you know where we may find him?�

	Kasumi nodded.

	�Ryuu-kun�s at school, right now,� she said and shot
a quick glance at the cuckoo clock, a very ancient
piece mounted on the near side of the wall, �Why don�t
you make yourselves comfortable? The school must have
closed by now and Ryuu-kun will be back any minute.�

	Ranma nodded.

	�Thank you for your generous offer. We�ll take you up
on it. And is Akane at school, too?�

	�Yes. Both Ryuu-kun and Akane attend the same school,
as do Ryouga and Nabiki, who is my younger and Akane�s
elder sister.�

	�She�ll be returning with Ryuuken, then.�

	�Yes.�

	�Excellent. We�re very fortunate, then. I�ll give
Akane-san a checkup after my business with Ryuuken
concludes and then we�ll be on our way. Is that
acceptable to you, Honorable One?�

	Guu Long nodded.

	�Perfectly.�

	�Wonderful,� he said and turned to Kasumi, �By the
by, these cookies are absolutely delicious.�

	Kasumi�s cheeks colored.

	�Thank you,� she replied.

	Ranma smiled, and so did Guu Long.

	�Perhaps you can share your recipe with me. I�d like
to think that I�m something of a chef, too.�

	�I�d love to.�

	�Thank you... Ah, I think our young friends are come.
Would you, please, excuse us, Kasumi-san? I think I�ll
need you, too, Honorable One.�

	Both the women nodded.

	Ranma stood up, dusted a couple of crumbs off his
shirt and followed Kasumi to the front door. She
opened it, and in stepped Akane, Ryuu and Ryouga.
Young Saotome looked as healthy and vigorous as ever,
whereas Akane looked a little peeved. Ryouga looked
embarrassed. Obviously, Kasumi noted, they had been
having one of their extremely vocal verbal arguments
in the street. Nabiki�s absence went unnoticed.

	�Welcome back, Ryuu-kun, Ryouga-kun, and Imoutochan.
How was school today?�

	�Fine, Oneechan,� one replied.

	�Great,� the other intoned.

	�Okay,� the third replied.

	�Hello, Ryuu, Akane, and hello, Ryouga,� Ranma piped,
mischievously. He had an indulgent smile on his face.

	�Ranma, what are you doing here?� Ryuu asked,
noticing Ranma for the first time.

	Ranma smiled. His appearance had startled Ryuu and
therefore, the teenager�s rude reaction was excusable.

	�I came to see you... And to check up on Akane-san.�

	�Please, call me Akane.�

	Ranma nodded.

	�See me? Whatever for?� Ryuu had still to get over
his surprise.

	�Have you been practicing the ki exercises I taught
you?� Ranma asked, dodging the question.

	Ryuu nodded. As startled as he was over Ranma�s
sudden arrival, he was glad that Ranma chose to visit
him. The advice he received during their walk out of
Jusenkyo had been priceless and he could not wait for
more pointers on The Art.

	�Yeah, I've been practicing them.�

	�Good. It�s nice to hear that you haven�t been
slacking off. Want to go outside? I want to talk to
you in private.�

	Ryuu nodded.

	�Okay.�

	Ranma turned to Akane and Ryouga.

	�I�ll conduct my checkup when we return, Akane. If
you�re willing enough, the Honorable One can do it for
you. Which do you prefer?�

	It was clear that Ranma preferred the latter, but
Akane had her doubts about the elder. Could the old
woman really be that skilled in The Art, she asked
herself.

	�I assure you that the Honorable One is more than
qualified, Akane. She�s very formidable, despite
appearances to the contrary.�

	Akane looked thoughtful for a moment. Then, she
nodded.

	�I guess. No offense meant to you, of course, Elder,�
she said, addressing Guu Long.

	�None taken, Child,� Guu Long replied.

	Ranma nodded.

	�It�s settled then. Come, Ryuu, lead on.�

	With that, Ryuu and Ranma left the company of the
others and headed to the dojo. They halted in the
center of the structure and Ranma cleared his throat.

	�While we were in China, you asked me to train you.
Do you still wish the same?�

	Ryuu nodded.

	�It won�t be easy. You�re very skilled for someone
your age and you have a lot of potential. If I teach
you, I can promise you that you�ll reach the limits of
that potential, but it won�t be easy. The road will be
tough and hard, and you�ll not be able to recognize
yourself when you reach its end. You�ll cease to be an
artist and you will become a warrior. You�re aware of
the differences between the two, aren�t you?�

	Ryuu nodded.

	�Yes, I am.�

	�Tell me.�

	�An artist practices The Art. A warrior lives The
Art. An artist don�t have blood on his hands. A
warrior does. An artist is without responsibilities. A
warrior is. An artist don�t have to make hard
decisions. A warrior does and he has to live with
them. An artist is just that - and artist and nothing
more. A warrior is a protector of life and innocence.
His honor is impeccable and his courage infinite. His
spirit is indomitable and he is fearless.�

	Ranma nodded.

	�You�re correct, except for the last part. A warrior
fears. He fears the demon within himself, and he fears
the demon within others. However, he is courageous
enough to wage war against his fears and master them.
Do you understand?�

	�Yes, Sensei.�

	�Then you accept me as your teacher?�

	�Yes, Sensei.�

	�I�m glad. However, I have one more thing to ask of
you before I can accept you as my student.�

	�What is it, Sensei?�

	�I want you to leave your father and the Tendos. I
want you to live under my roof while I train you.�

	�I... My family�s honor would be tarnished if I
walked away and broke my promise to the Tendos,
Sensei.�

	�I�m not asking you to abandon them. There�ll come a
time when I feel that you�re skilled enough to live on
your own without me to watch over you. At your present
skill level, you must undergo several years of
rigorous training before you reach that level. I�m
asking you to stay with me until such a time comes.
Will you?�

	�I... I accept.�

	�Fine. Go pack your things. We leave immediately.�

	�What... But?�

	�No arguments,� Ranma said, firmly, �We�ll await
Tendo-san�s and your father�s arrival. It�ll be best
if they hear your decision face to face from your
lips. Come, there�s no need for us to remain here any
longer,� he said and lead the way into the house.

	As it happened, they did not have to wait at all, for
they found Genma and Soun in the living room with the
rest of the crowd, Nabiki and even Happousai included.
Whatever conversation had been going on terminated
abruptly and the room fell into thunderous silence.
Everyone looked at them with expectant eyes. It was as
if they felt that something important had happened.

	�Saotome-san, Tendo-san,� Ranma said with a little
bow.

	�Welcome to my abode, Ranma-san,� the Tendo patriarch
replied. He stood up and returned the bow with one of
his own.

	�Thank you, Tendo-san. How is Akane?�

	�She�s fine. The Elder says that she�s fully
recovered.�

	Ranma nodded.

	�Will you sup with us, tonight, Ranma-san?�

	�No, thank you for your offer, Tendo-san, but I�m
afraid I must refuse. As it happens, the Honored One
and I are in a hurry today. Speaking of which, I
believe Ryuu has something important to announce to
all of you.�

	All eyes in the room focused on Ryuu. The silence and
the tension was even worse than before.

	�Uh,� the boy said, tugging at his collar. He was
obviously ill at ease, �I... Uh... Ranma-san�s agreed
to take me as his student. I�ll be leaving with
him...�

	�What?� Genma exploded, interrupting Ryuu�s
ill-rehearsed speech.

	�I said...�

	�Boy, I heard what you said,� the elder Saotome
shouted, �I won�t allow it.�

	�I did not ask for your approval. My student has
consented and that is approval enough for me,� Ranma
interrupted, stepping in between Ryuu and Genma.

	It was the worst kind of insult possible. Ranma was
challenging Genma�s authority as Ryuu�s father openly
in front of his friends and family, which given the
already estranged relation between father and son was
equivalent to rubbing salt on an open wound. Genma did
not like it one whit and naturally, he turned red with
fury. Ally or not, a line had been crossed and the
insult could neither be forgiven nor forgotten.

	�How dare you?� he began.

	�I don�t have to dare at all.�

	�Why, you...�

	�I think he�ll progress far better under my tutelage
than he�d do under yours. It�d be an insult to his
skills if he were to train under someone like you.�

	Seconds passed. Silence reigned in the room. It was
obvious now to Genma that Ranma had intentionally
goaded him to trap him in a catch-22 situation. He had
two choices now: Either he could back away, which
would result forever estranging Ryuu to him, or he
could challenge Ranma, lose big-time and still lose
Ryuu forever. Genma was no fool, even though there was
much evidence that pointed to the contrary, and he
knew that there was no way he could win a battle
against Ranma on Ranma�s terms. However, his hand was
forced and he had to act. Act to gain the boy�s trust
and respect. There was only one choice for the
cornered father and that was...

	�I see. You wish to challenge my authority as Ryuu�s
teacher, guardian and father. Well, I will not stand
for it.�

	Ranma�s lips curved into a smile. The encounter was
going almost exactly as he had expected. Genma�s show
of spine was a revelation, though, but other than
that, everything was proceeding according to plan. He
had thought that it would take a lot more before Genma
challenged him to a duel.

	�I challenge you to a duel,� Genma continued, �I
challenge you to a duel of honor.�

	Ranma�s smile grew even wider. It must now be obvious
to everyone in the room that he had intentionally
maneuvered Genma into a corner and that the duel was
what he strived for from the very start.

	�I accept.�

	�Tendo?� Genma asked, looking questioningly Soun. He
wanted to use the Tendo dojo for the duel, for which
he needed Soun�s permission.

	Soun understood immediately.

	�I�ll be honored, Friend.�

	Genma nodded, immensely grateful.

	�Fine. Step outside. We�ll fight in the dojo.�

	�I agree. I choose him,� Ranma said, pointing to
Happousai, �As the judge.�

	Genma shot his master a glance and shrugged. It did
not matter who officiated the match. All that mattered
was regaining the son he had lost. The odds were
stacked against him, but he would not, could not,
fail.

	They stepped out, the whole house close at their
heels, and took their position in the center of the
dojo. Ranma looked relaxed, not even bothering to slip
into a stance of his own, whereas Genma was the very
epitome of concentration and focus. A fierce aura
burned around him and though it was invisible to the
naked eye, Ranma and the others could sense and feel
it. It impressed everyone, Ranma most of all.

	�Shall we begin?� Ranma asked, nonchalantly.

	Genma nodded again and dropped into a stance.
Happousai signaled the fight to begin and immediately,
Genma leapt into the attack, hoping to catch Ranma by
surprise. His attempt failed.

	Against the power, speed and grace of Genma�s
attacks, Ranma wove like the skilled artisan that he
was, evading everything that the stout martial artist
threw at him. If Genma was the mountain, the desert
and the glacier, Ranma was the wind, the rain and the
fire. His opponent outmatched him in everything that
mattered in the field of battle, Genma knew and yet,
he attacked out of a need borne out of desperation.
Valiant as his attacks were, they were doomed to
failure, for he could only sustain such a blistering
pace for so long. He faltered finally after what might
well have been eternity, � for time lost its meaning
to both of them, - and Ranma was upon him like a
raging tsunami in an instant, striking at will,
exploiting the holes that no one else could see in his
father�s defenses.

	First one, then another and finally a cacophony of
blows sent Genma flying through the air and into the
wooden wall of the dojo on the other side of the dojo.
The structure creaked, threatening to fall, but it did
not. There was an audible sigh of relief in the room
when the shaking stopped and Genma stood up. He wiped
the blood dripping from his lips across the back of
his hand and dropped into a stance. He knew that
Ryuu�s respect was lost to him forever. He knew...

	The small crowd of spectators gasped in surprise, as
Genma made a set of ingei, - the set of hand gestures
used to invoke a technique, - and became invisible. Of
all the people in the room, only Happousai and Soun
were familiar with the technique, and yet, even they
could not believe their eyes. Genma had sworn on his
as well as his clan�s honor never to use his forbidden
techniques, after all.

	Ranma, too, was surprised by this sudden and
unexpected turn of events, and his respect for his
father grew manifold. He had encountered a cruder
version of the technique a long time before and had
been instrumental in hunting down its only
practitioner - a murderer for hire. He knew its one
fatal weakness, as such, and looked forward to giving
the old man a rude awakening, especially since Genma
seemed to have dropped all pretence of a defense.

	Genma saw Ranma�s apparent inability to see him from
behind the haze that was the distinguishing mark of
the Goshin Dai Ry� Sei Fu Superior. He developed the
technique to overcome the one obvious disadvantage of
the Goshin Dai Ry� Sei Fu in his younger days � the
need to have within arm�s reach a large piece of cloth
to cover oneself. He ran in a wide circle, hoping to
catch Ranma unawares from behind. He planned to knock
Ranma unconscious with one blow and secure the duel.
His plan seemed to work fine until the last moment
when his hand was inches away from delivering the
winning blow to the base of Ranma�s skull.

	With mere inches to contact, Ranma suddenly became a
whirlwind of motion. His speed was such that Genma
could not track him and even before the unexpectedness
of Ranma�s reaction registered in his mind, Ranma had
dropped to his knee and commenced his attack.
Perfectly balanced on his knees, he delivered a
devastating retaliatory strike, The Claws of The Demon
Snake, with the knife-edge of his right hand to
Genma�s diaphragm. The attack, when delivered right,
was usually fatal, but Ranma pulled it at the last
moment deliberately to spare Genma�s life, though the
elder Saotome would remain bedridden for another week
or so. The force of the attack and its suddenness
threw Genma into the air. He crashed on the floor and
lay writhing as he clutched his ribs and his throat.
He was in a great deal of pain and his heart�s rhythm
shot to hell, thanks to the damage it suffered from
Ranma�s attack. Breathing was a labor, too, and his
throat burned as the strike temporarily took the
ability to breath from him.

	Ranma slowly rose to his feet, his eyes firmly
focused on Genma. Lesser mortals would have died from
the blow, but as he was beginning to realize, his
father was no lesser mortal. He stood there silent,
ready to step in should Genma�s heart fail. It did not
and when a sense of normalcy began to return to
Genma�s ki, Ranma cast a glance about the room, and
found everyone�s attention firmly focused on Genma.

	Genma�s body slowly stopped struggling and writhing
in agony. After a few shallow breaths, he made to get
on his feet. Ranma stopped him before he could assume
a stance.

	�Yield, Saotome-sensei, you�re incapacitated. If
you�re intent on having satisfaction, we can continue
this duel after you�re recovered.�

	Genma shook his head, wincing in pain, as even that
movement cost him a sharp twinge of agony. How could
he make Ranma understand that he had to fight,
whatever the cost? How could he tell him that he had
to fight so that he may regain his son�s respect? How
could he tell him...

	Ranma nodded. Obviously, there was more going on then
he understood. Perhaps it had something to do with the
estrangement between father and son. He shot a quick
look in both their directions and he saw that he had
assumed correct. The young Saotome�s face shown with
surprise, and in his eyes, there was a new and
profound respect for his father. He was rediscovering
the hero he knew in his early years.

	�Very well, Saotome-sensei, we�ll continue this
battle.�

	Genma nodded gratefully. He attacked, favoring his
left leg, which surprised everyone in the room even
more. None expected him to regain his feet after
Ranma�s devastating attack, least of all launch into
an attack, feeble as it might be. They expected him to
give up and walk away, as he had done so many times in
his past, but this Genma, they had never seen before.
This one was cornered and fighting for his honor and
his family. This one had to fight lest he lost the
only thing he cared for anymore � his son.

	Watching Genma, Ranma�s eyes blurred for a moment,
before he regained his composure. He stepped forward
himself to meet his father�s challenge and just before
the two of them made contact, he dropped to the ground
and kicked Genma�s legs from underneath him. Genma
fell. His head hit the ground hard, but he did not
even so much as utter a yelp.

	Ranma withdrew and Genma stood up again. He stood on
his wounded right leg and assumed a stance. Bent at an
unnatural angle, his left knee was useless.

	Ranma chose to attack this time and Genma blocked
clumsily a punch meant for his jaw. Ranma caught
Genma�s arm in a vise-like grip and grabbing hold of
his father�s shoulder, twisted and pulled
simultaneously.

	Genma gasped and fell, his arm dislocated. Tears
cascaded down his face and his lips bled freely where
he bit them, but still, he tried to rise up.

	Ranma, seeing no other way, grabbed Genma�s head by
his nose and pulled it back rudely. He raised his
other arm, his fist poised to strike the fatal blow
and crush Genma�s throat.

	�Yield.�

	Genma shook his head. He was a broken and bloodied
mess, but he refused to accept defeat. He could not,
for it would cost him his son. He made to get up
again.

	Watching Genma�s struggles, Ranma sighed. He
unclenched his fist and grabbed hold of Genma�s ear
with the fingers of his free hand. He relinquished his
hold on the Saotome patriarch's nose and struck the
base of his skull hard enough to render him
unconscious. He looked at Happousai, who nodded. He
had won the fight. He was...

***********************************************************************

	The smell of gas was overwhelming in the room. He
inhaled it deeply and smiled, looking contendedly at
the shredded gas main � his work. Even though he was
not physically present in the room, he had enough
control over the lookalike �apparition� to feel and
influence physically the objects around him. The
technique required the utmost concentration of his
mind on his ki and soul, and was lost to the ages, but
he, too, was a remnant of the past that was lost to
time. With but a thought, he altered the ki flows
around his specter, increasing its temperature by
twenty odd degrees.

	A stray molecule of fuel gas and several stray
molecules of oxygen collided inside the hot zone.
Already on the brink of decomposition, the collision
gave the complex of carbon and hydrogen the energy
need to split. Chemical bonds shattered and the
molecule split into its individual atms, as did the
oxygen molecule. The nascent hydrogen and oxygen, and
carbon and oxygen combined, releasing heat energy and
light energy into the surroundings. The heat energy
induced several nearby molecules of fuel gas to react
with even more molecules of oxygen. They, too,
released heat energy and light energy as they reacted
and they, too, induced others to burn. The reaction
grew exponentially and quickly ran out of control. It
was barely a fraction of a second after the initiating
event when the energy released attained explosive
density.

	There was a terrible crack and a huge, expanding wall
of hellish-blue flame that quickly became a shade of
devilish-yellow. Gas molecules were suddenly imparted
great amounts of energy and accelerated in all
directions. Wood, iron and plaster became as paper
under the onslaught, and they shattered into
innumerable bits, scattering everywhere and tearing
everything in their path.

***********************************************************************

	Boom!

	The earth shook and the wooden walls of the dojo were
as paper in a tornado. Shredded into thin slivers by
the explosion, the wood whistled through the air at
lethal velocities in all directions and a pillar of
flame burned everything in its path. Only Ranma�s, Guu
Long�s and Happousai�s timely reaction in raising
their ki shields saved the Tendos and the Saotomes
from instant immolation and death. Then, as suddenly
as it began, it was all over. Peace descended upon
Tendo-ke, or rather, what remained of it, once more.

	Ranma�s ki shield faded into nothing and he looked
around. The Tendos and the Saotomes were all right
physically, as was Happousai. The Tendo house was in
ruins. As far as he could tell, the kitchen was ground
zero for the explosion, which pointed to the gas mains
as the most plausible culprit. It had essentially
reduced the house to so many tons of useless and
burning rubble.

	As he watched, the neighbors arrived. Some of them, �
the calm ones, - even came bearing buckets of water.
The women headed straight to the Tendo girls, trying
to console them. Genma was still unconscious and Guu
Long was already attending to his wounds. She would
stabilize the elder Saotome. Happousai, Ryuu and
Ryouga stood in one corner, looking helpless. Ryouga
looked far worse than the other two.

	Soun stood paralyzed, gazing forlornly at the burning
ruin. He did not go to his daughters to console them
and he did not help fight the flames. He was easily
the hardest hit of the lot and he just stood there
staring at the flames, as a man lost. His face was
ashen and his eyes without hope.

	Sensing Soun�s plight, Ranma walked up to him. Soun
did not stir. He did not notice Ranma�s approach even
when The Dragon was within striking distance of him.

	�Tendo-sensei?� Ranma began, uncertainly.

	Soun did not respond immediately. It took him several
seconds to register Ranma�s words.

	�Huh?� He turned to face Ranma.

	�Are you all right, Tendo-sensei?� Ranma asked.

	Soun nodded, mechanically.

	�Yes...� he nodded, and then added, �Yes, I am.
Congratulations on your victory, Ranma-sensei.�

	Ranma nodded.

	�Thank you, Tendo-sensei.�

	Pause.

	�I�m sorry about your loss.�

	Soun nodded again, this time even more mechanically
then before. His mind was in a whirl. Never quite on
their feet after his wife�s premature death, the
destruction of their home was a deathblow to the
Tendos. There was no well-invested financial net to
help him and his daughters get through this hardship.
There were no living relatives to help them, either.
Worst of all, the house was insured for a paltry sum
because the premium rates were high. The money from
the insurance company wouldn�t be enough to rebuild
the house, let alone buy the furniture and everything
else that was lost. Simply put, the Tendo clan�s days
were numbered.

	When Soun did not answer, Ranma continued.

	�As one practitioner of The Art to another, I�d like
to offer your family my home. You and yours can stay
with me until Tendo-ke is rebuilt.�

	Soun looked up. He realized what Ranma was trying to
do. He was offering help to the Tendos. However, as
much as he needed such a gesture, Soun could not
accept the offer without losing face, which meant that
he must refuse. Face was all-important, after all, for
without it, life was not worth living.

	�I...�

	Ranma held up his hand, forestalling Soun�s refusal
speech.

	�I beg you to accept my offer, Tendo-sensei. Do not
take away my chance to repay a debt of honor long
owed.�

	Soun looked questioningly. What debt could Ranma
possibly owe the Tendo clan?

	Ranma�s eyes became dreamlike, as he remembered his
own distant past.

	�I, too, lost everything once. My friends helped me
get back on my feet. I owe them a debt of honor that I
could never repay. By helping you, I repay some small
part of it.�

	Soun was not convinced. Kasumi, too, joined him to
refuse Ranma, now.

	�Father, I implore you,� she said in a voice full of
raw emotion, �Do not accept his offer. Do not take
away our honor when it is all we have.�

	�If not as a stranger, then accept my help as an
ally, Tendo-sensei,� Ranma implored, relentlessly. He
was determined to help the Tendos and was willing to
do whatever it took to make them accept his help.

	As soon as he heard Ranma�s words, Soun�s eyes
widened in surprise. Kasumi�s reaction was not much
different, either.

	Ranma noted their reactions. He continued as before.

	�If clan Tendo would not accept my offer as a
stranger, I implore her and pledge myself to her as an
ally. Would she still refuse my offer?� he asked.

	Soun shook his head, slowly, once, twice, thrice.

	�No, she would not. Thank you, Ranma-sensei. She is
honored to have in you an ally, just as she is honored
to have your help.�

	Ranma nodded, sighing in relief. For a moment, he
feared that the Tendos would still refuse his help.

	�Thank you,� he said.

	Soun forged on ahead, seemingly unaware of the world
around him.

	�However she�ll repay her debts, I know not, but
someday she will. Woe is her if she does not.� His
eyes refocused. �Thank you again, Ranma-sensei. My, -
clan Tendo�s, - gratitude knows no bounds.�

	The firefighters arrived then. The yard descended
into organized chaos and it was all the spectators
could do to stay out of the way of the professionals
while they tended to the fire. The police arrived soon
after, and the Tendos and the Saotomes had their hands
full answering the questions the cops posed them.

***********************************************************************

	Once assured of his comfort, Ranma leaned back in his
seat and sighed. It was about ten O�clock and they, -
he, the Tendos, the Saotomes and other assorted
animals, - were on a train, headed to his house in
Juuban. It took a fair amount of talking to convince
the police detectives that no intentional mischief was
done to set Tendo-ke on fire, but when finally, they
were convinced, they let Ranma and the others go, free
to do what they pleased. Immediately, Ranma herded the
group to the subway station where they boarded the
last one to Juuban. Now, five-odd minutes into the
journey, Ranma allowed himself to relax. The day�s
work was more than satisfactory, as far as he was
concerned.

	Slowly, with practiced ease, Ranma released his ki a
little and probed the carriage. Sure enough, there was
Genma, who sat a little ways off. His ki was heavy
with depression and Ranma could not help sympathize
with him. Genma did not know that he was the true
winner of the duel and probably assumed that he lost
his son forever.

	�Looks like my work for the day is not yet done,�
Ranma thought and rose up. He approached the elder
Saotome and announced his presence in a quiet, polite
voice.

	�Saotome-sensei?�

	Genma, who was mentally torturing himself over the
loss of his son, - after all, it was his second time
and the reasons for this one were as inexcusable as
the other, - looked up slowly. His eyes met Ranma.
There was no trace of anger, or resentment in them,
Ranma saw, only resigned acceptance. His face was
pale. His eyes were devoid of hope and full of
self-loathing.

	�Is the seat taken?� Ranma asked.

	Genma shook his head. As much as he yearned to hate
the man before him, he could not. He lost Ryuu because
of the mistakes he made and no one else was to blame.
Moreover, how could he hate an opponent who behaved as
honorably as Ranma did in the field of battle? He
could not � not while he was in his right mind.

	�Please, do, Ranma-sensei.�

	Ranma nodded and sat down. He hesitated for a moment
then made up his mind.

	�I came to apologize, Saotome-sensei. My words at
Tendo-ke were rude and uncouth, and a ill-befitting
form of address to a Master such as thyself.�

	Genma looked at Ranma long and hard. Finally, he
nodded.

	�Apology accepted, Ranma-sensei.�

	Silence. It was painfully clear that Genma was not in
the mood for conversation and Ranma did not know where
to start, but he was not about to give up.

	�You�re very skilled, Saotome-sensei,� he said
finally, breaking the silence, �I was honored to do
battle with you.�

	�As was I,� Genma replied, �Not that my skill
mattered in the end. O� what a fool I was!�

	�Yes,� Ranma continued, speaking more to himself then
to Genma, �You impressed me a great deal during the
duel. I can see a number of uses for one as skilled as
you.�

	Genma raised an eyebrow. �Where is this conversation
going? Why do I feel like I�m in the middle of an
interview? And why is he sounding more and more like
an Yakuza thug by the minute?� he asked himself.

	�I wish to offer you a job as a tutor in the dojo I
plan to start. Will you be willing to take it?�

	Genma sat in thoughtful silence. He was essentially
ronin now that the estrangement between Ryuu and
himself was unbridgeable. Sure, he had Nodoka, but he
had not seen his wife in ten years and he knew she
would choose Ryuu if she had to choose between husband
and son � that is assuming she did not kill them both
first. It was her way. On the other hand, if he were
to get a job and somehow patch up his relationship
with Ryuu, Nodoka would be much more willing to spare
the two of them. Personally, Genma did not think
himself deserving of another chance in life and more
then looked forward for his tryst with the family
blade, but Ryuu most certainly did. �If not for me,
then for Ryuu!� he thought, making up his mind, �I
will not fail him again. I swear!�

	�I accept,� he said.

	Ranma nodded.

	�A wise choice... Would a starting salary of three
hundred thousand yen be enough?�

	Genma nodded in acquiescence with wide eyes. The sum
was more than enough. In fact, he had never, ever in
his entire life had three hundred thousand yen in his
hands at a time.

	�Of... Of course!�

	Pause. Ranma, a little unsure of where next to take
the conversation, drummed a tune on his seat for a
while. Then, he spoke.
 
	�You must feel lucky to have a son who is as proud of
you as Ryuu is.�

	Now, Genma was befuddled. What was Ranma saying? Ryuu
hated and detested his father.

	�I�m afraid I don�t quite follow you, Ranma-sensei.
My relationship with my son hasn�t been the best,� he
admitted.

	�Well, I�m not sure if I interpreted it correctly,
but I caught a glance of Ryuu during our duel and he
seemed enthralled by your performance. It is possible
that I could be mistaken, but I think I�m not.�

	Hope flared in Genma�s eyes. Joy and exultation
danced across his face, but Genma himself was
reserved.

	�Are you sure? Are you sure that is what you saw?� he
asked, his voice crackling with barely restrained
emotion.

	Ranma nodded.

	�Yes, I am sure.�

	�Oh, thank you! Thank you! You just made the happiest
man in the world.�

	Ranma smiled.

	�Oh, good, am I to assume that everything�s going to
be all right with your son?� he asked.

	Genma nodded vigorously.

	�There was once a time when I thought that I had lost
my son�s love forever and it was all because of
several stupid actions on my part. Your words have
given me confidence that the holes in our relationship
are patchable. It is a hope that I have not had for
quite sometime.�

	�A wise man is he who accepts his mistakes,
Genma-san... Can I call you that?�

	Nod.

	�Only if you let me call you Ranma-san,
Ranma-sensei.�

	Ranma smiled. His initial estimation of Genma from
the report had been wrong. The man was formidable once
you got past the rough outer shell he had crafted for
himself.

	�Judging by that axiom, you�re a wise man, Genma-san.
I�m thankful I have hired you as a teacher. Under your
guidance, the dojo will become a force to be reckoned
with and her students will learn much more then The
Art - things that only the gifted master can teach
them.�

	�You�re too kind, Ranma-sensei. If only I were as
deserving of them as you make me look.�

	Ranma waved Genma�s words aside.

	�Pshah! We all have our demons. You have to be really
strong here,� he said, pointing to his heart, �to
defeat them � like you.�

	�Huh?�

	�I know about your record. It impressed me the wrong
way. My insults were calculated and there was one
reason for them. I wanted to remove a future Master
from the clutches of a ruffian and a thug. I have
since realized that I made a mistake. I apologized
because of it. It is clear to me that you�re no thug.
Your strength of character is phenomenal. To fight as
you did required valor and inner strength. So what if
you have a few failings? I�m not perfect. I�ve long
realized that �perfect� is a relative term and have
long stopped looking for it in others and in myself.
It is not to say that I do not endeavor for
perfection. I strive to be perfect, but perfection is
a goal too lofty for anyone to reach. One can only
work toward it, and your courage and determination
show your heart�s heart. I�d be honored to work,
fight, or die beside you.�

	�So that�s why he was so hostile at Tendo-ke. It also
explains why he�s been so accommodating since then.�

	�Am I to assume then that I�ll be allowed near my
son?� Genma asked.

	Ranma smiled.

	�I wouldn�t dream of withholding him from you. Ryuu
has as much to learn from you as from me.�

	�You don�t know how much that relieves me.�

	�On the contrary, I think I do.�

	Pause.

	�Please, forgive me, Genma-san, but can we continue
this conversation later. I just remembered something
that needs my immediate attention.�

	�Oh?�

	�Yes, a famous, or rather should I say, infamous
Grandmaster with a fetish for female undergarments and
mop wielding angry women.�

	Genma�s eyes brightened in understanding.

	�I understand perfectly,� he said.

	�Thank you. Now, if you�ll excuse me,� Ranma said and
rose to his feet. He made for Happousai and Genma�s
eyes followed him, waiting impatiently for the
fireworks to start. For a start, he knew that Ranma
was much stronger than Happousai and it was high time
someone taught the Master a lesson he would never
forget.

***********************************************************************

	Happousai was suspicious. For the first time in
years, his mind was alert and focused with all his
hackles raised, thanks to Ranma. Happousai found Qin�s
arrival at Tendo-ke suspicious. He knew of Ranma�s
skill from Ryuu and the others when they returned from
China, but he had not suspected how skilled he truly
was. To defeat a Master of Musabetsu Kakutou Ryuu was
no mean task and to defeat Genma with such ease
indicated power and skill that were nothing to sneeze
at. A powerful God might have been able to defeat the
elder Saotome, with might being the operative word. Of
course, the God would also have turned the greater
part of Tokyo into a steaming crater of molten rock in
the process and that was assuming Genma did not use
his forbidden techniques. If he did, the chances that
the God would lose were about even.

	The point was, in the duel, Genma did unseal his
forbidden techniques and he still lost. �More like
blown aside, as if he were cannon fodder.�

	Happousai did not like the implications of such a
defeat. Who was this Ranma, who was so powerful that
he could brush aside a warrior as powerful as a God?
What did he want with the Tendos and more importantly,
what did he want with Musabetsu Kakutou Ryuu�s hope
for the future? Happousai would never accept it in
public, but the day he saw the young Saotome in
action, he knew his decades long search for an heir
was over. It was the determination in the boy�s eyes
that convinced the diminutive Grandmaster. The boy was
strong - stronger than his stubborn oaf of a father
ever was.

	Somehow, Ranma must have realized the boy�s untapped
potential, too. Nothing else explained his sudden
appearance and interest. Perhaps he had been watching
the boy from afar for years, waiting for the right
time. If so, was this the right moment and if it was,
what factors made it so? There were so many questions
and so few answers.

	Happousai realized that Ranma was more powerful than
he was. The speed with which Ranma created the ki
shield to protect the bystanders in the dojo spoke of
reflexes so fast that Happousai was not sure he could
match them even if he lived to be a thousand years
old. The power he sensed, too, put Ranma in another
league. For the barest of moments, when he reached
into his ki reserves to power his shield, Ranma
loosened his controls on it, allowing Happousai to
sense a virtually untapped ocean of ki. �If...�

	�Good evening, Grandmaster.�

	�Huh?� Happousai articulated, speaking as eloquently
as a startled man could. His ki senses had been on the
alert and still, he had not sensed Ranma creep in on
him.

	�You wouldn�t mind if I sit next to you, would you?�
Ranma asked, flashing a toothy smile.

	Happousai�s jaws worked feverishly, but no sound
escaped them. Ranma had caught him completely askew
with his little performance.

	�You look like you have seen a ghost, Grandmaster,�
Ranma said, and then leaned closer still, �Or is it
because you have seen The Dragon?�

	Happousai�s jaws kept working overtime without
producing any returns for the energy expended.
Finally, he got a few words through, but not without a
stutter.

	�You... You...�

	Ranma made a show of looking about. He was clearly
enjoying himself.

	�What about me? Is there a monkey on my head - a
monster with writhing tentacles behind my shoulders,
perhaps?�

	Happousai goggled. �This is The Dragon? This young
fool is the epitome of martial perfection?� he asked
himself. Somehow, he was disappointed.

	Ranma smiled.

	�Relax will you and stop having those thoughts about
strangling me. You know you really don�t want to,� he
said with a wink.

	Happousai snapped out of his stupor.

	�Argh! You... You...� he shouted-stuttered.

	Ranma�s face finally shed the carefree expression and
became serious.

	�Hush, Grandmaster. Get a grip on yourself. I don�t
much care for eavesdroppers learning the truth about
me and your blabbering is bound to attract unwanted
attention.�

	Happousai nodded. His lips were still, however. He
did not trust himself enough yet to speak.

	�My �slip� was intentional. You�re one of the few
with both the lore knowledge and the skill to divine
my identity. I was a little surprised that you had not
figured it out until now and my little performance
back there was merely to set you on the right track.�

	Again, a nod.

	�I could have let you figure it out on your own, but
I could not. I had no way of knowing what you would do
with your knowledge - whether you�d reveal it or not.
Thus, I had to act fast. I had to show you my true
identity. I fully intended to take the process slowly,
but seeing you, I couldn�t help myself. You looked
ripe for the plucking, sitting there with your
wrinkled forehead and that thoughtful look on your
face.

	�By revealing myself to you, it is my hope that I�ll
be able to influence you into keeping it to yourself.
Was I correct in my assumption?�

	�Yes, you were.�

	�Excellent. I knew that I could trust you,� Ranma
said, flashing another toothy smile, �Now that that�s
done and over with, we can discuss the less important
topics. We�ll start by addressing your concerns about
Ryuu.�

	Nod.

	�Yes, let�s. I have but this to say about Ryuu: He�s
my heir. You aren�t taking him away from me. I�m not
going to let you, Dragon or not.�

	�Not one to waste words, are you? Very well, you have
my word. I don�t intend to steal Ryuu from you or
anyone else. I see his determination and I wish to
teach him. When I�m done, you can have him back. Will
that work for you?�

	�Yes, it does. However, my question is, what can you
teach him? Musabetsu Kakutou Ryuu is the most powerful
school there is.�

	�I knew you�d see things my way. As for the power for
Musabetsu Kakutou Ryuu, yes, it is one of the two most
powerful of the surviving schools, but make no
mistake, it is not and has never been the most
powerful ever. That claim belongs to schools that have
long since been driven to extinction.�

	Happousai snorted.

	�If they were so powerful, why were they driven to
extinction?�

	�Times changed. People changed. The needs weren�t the
same. Have you ever heard of the Touch of the Mad God,
or for that matter, have you ever heard of the Claws
of Death? Developed during a time when chaos was the
order of the land, Masters of both these schools would
have had you for breakfast. That power, believe it or
not, was the reason for their downfall. With the
restoration of order that came with the rise of new
civilizations, there was simply no reason for such
powerful fighters, and so, their practitioners
abandoned them for lesser ones that were more in touch
with the times.�

	�Um... Does this mean you�re going to teach Ryuu
these forgotten schools?� Happousai asked, his eyes
lighting up.

	�No. Why would I do that? As I said, there�s no need
for such deadly schools today. I always thought that
the Joketsuzoku philosophy in the Art of War was the
most balanced. Theirs did not waver between the two
extremes. Rather, they struck a balance, which they
have never disturbed. Your school, too, is remarkably
like theirs. Both the weak and the strong can practice
it, only they�d do it on two completely different
levels, and therein lies the strength of Musabetsu
Kakutou Ryuu, not in its fancy attacks and maneuvers.�

	Happousai smiled, blissfully.

	�At last,� he announced joyously, �A man after my own
heart.�

	Ranma chuckled.

	�I�m delighted you agree with me. Next.�

	�Does Guu Long know?�

	�Yes, she does. Surely, you did not think that I
could hide the truth from someone such as her?�

	It was now Happousai�s turn to chuckle.

	�Yes, she was always snooping around intruding into
other people�s business, � business that often did not
concern her, � even in her younger days.�

	�A little rascal, aye?�

	�A big rascal and a spoiled brat would be more like
it, but you�re correct. Umm... She�s your
granddaughter, isn�t she?�

	Nod.

	�Damn! You won�t tell on me, would you?�

	Ranma raised an eyebrow and smirked.

	�Is this fear I sense? Grandmaster, have you been a
naughty boy?�

	�Oh, shut up! That woman can sure hit, you know. I�m
merely looking after myself.�

	�Sure, sure!� Ranma replied with a hearty laugh, �Do
not be afraid. I�ll not tell on you.�

	Happousai heaved a breath of relief.

	�That�s a relief.�

	�Heh. I bet it is. Next.�

	�You, sir, are looking at one completely satisfied
Grandmaster. I have nothing more to ask of you.�

	Ranma chuckled.

	�All right then. Friends?�

	�Friends.�

	Nod.

	�Umm... You wouldn�t be cross if I were to leave you
all alone and lonely, now, would you?�

	Happousai shook his head.

	�Be my guest. I�m looking forward to a few minutes of
peace and seclusion. My old bones need their rest.�

	�Right... Oh, I almost forgot. We have yet to discuss
perhaps the most important item on my agenda. You
wouldn�t mind putting a temporary halt to your, er,
hobby now, - as a favor, of course, - would you?�

	�Hobby?� Happousai asked, curious. What particular
fad did Ranma want him to abandon? God knew he had a
lot of them.

	�Yes, your hobby � your most favorite one to be
exact.�

	Happousai�s face dropped and he pouted, which did not
help Ranma any in holding the tuna sandwich he ate
just before boarding the train. Finally, the founder
of Musabetsu Kakutou Ryuu nodded.

	�I suppose...�

	�Thank you. See you later.�

	With that, Ranma bowed once and was off. Happousai
leaned back on his seat and closed his eyes, trying
hard to get the feel his silken darlings off his mind.
It was very hard and thrice he almost succumbed to the
temptations. Ranma had not been kidding when he called
it the most favorite hobby.

***********************************************************************

	Soun was the lone occupant of the carriage. He sat by
a window, seated on one of the seats in the carriage�s
center. His face was drawn and haggard. His eyes were
thoughtful and unfocused, as he reminisced about his
life.

	He knew he had not been the father he could have
been. By abandoning his daughters during the greatest
crisis of their lives, he became a coward and lost all
the moral authority a father has. Moreover, the
Tendos, never well off to start with, lost what little
savings they had in the months of apathy following his
wife�s death. In a way, he knew he was directly
responsible for the current situation � that had he
acted more like a man, the Tendos would have been
better off both financially and as a family. However,
he had not and that was the problem.

	By abandoning his responsibilities and his daughters,
and not doing anything to improve their finances, Soun
knew that he forced his daughters to grow up before
their time. Kasumi, whose smile was ever present
before her mother�s death, had to take control of the
house lest it fall apart. She had to grow up and don
the robes of an adult literally overnight. Nabiki
reacted to her mother�s death and her father�s
subsequent desertion by associating with elements of
the local yakuza. Having no one to show her the
difference between right and wrong, Akane became a
brat of sorts, throwing temper tantrums more often
than not.

	He grieved Kasumi�s loss of childhood, as he grieved
Nabiki�s loss of honor and he grieved Akane�s
parentless childhood, but he could do nothing to
rectify the situation. He was no more than a
figurehead in his home now and sometimes, he doubted
whether he was even that. It hurt him to see his
daughters bear stoically the weight that was his to
bear. It hurt him to see his daughters look lost in
those rare moments when they thought that no one was
watching them. Most of all, it hurt him to be a burden
on their shoulders.
 
	The way things were, Soun, the useless �father,� was
better off dead. At least, that way, he would not be a
burden on his children anymore. He had come to that
conclusion a long time ago, but had not been strong
enough to take his life. Now, he was.

	For Soun, watching Tendo-ke go up in flames was the
last straw. The way he saw it, there were two possible
courses of action for him to take. He could either
become more active in running his family, which he
doubted would work since there was nothing to do
around the house, or he could remove himself
completely from the equation, reducing the burden that
his daughters bore. The more he thought about it, the
more attractive the second option appeared. Seppuku
gave him an honorable way out of the mess and his
insurance policy ensured his family�s financial
security for the near future. It was, to put it
simply, in everyone�s best interests that he passed
away.

	�Tendo-sensei, is this seat taken?�

	Soun started at the sudden intrusion. It took him a
moment to gain a perspective of his environment and
when he did, he noticed Ranma standing respectfully to
his left. Soun stood up.

	�Please, Ranma-sensei,� he said with a little kowtow
bow.

	Ranma bowed as was wont and sat down at the same time
Soun did.

	�I could not help but notice that you looked alone,
Tendo-sensei. I thought I�d keep you company.�

	�Thank you. It was very thoughtful of you.�

	�You�re welcome. You trained with Saotome-san,
Sensei?�

	Soun nodded.

	�Yes, I did.�

	�You must be as skilled as he is, then.�

	Soun shook his head.

	�Genma is a prodigy. I could never compare to him in
The Art.�

	�But you don�t deny you�re one of the few serious
practitioners of The Art alive.�

	Soun smiled.

	�I haven�t trained seriously in a decade, Sensei. I
might have been a serious artist once, but I doubt you
could classify me in that category anymore.�

	�The spirit remembers what the body does not,
Sensei,� Ranma replied, �So what if you lost your
touch a little. You can regain the edge easily.�

	Soun nodded.

	�I could... Forgive me, Sensei, but I�m not sure
where we�re going with this conversation.�

	Ranma smiled.

	�A little while ago, I offered Saotome-san a post as
a teacher in a martial arts dojo I plan to start. He
accepted. Now, I offer you a post as his co-teacher.
Will you accept?�

	Soun became thoughtful. He was still inclined to take
his life, but if, � if, - he were to find a well paid
job, then his salary would solve the financial problem
and he would not be a useless burden anymore.

	�We�ll be teaching Musabetsu Kakutou Ryuu?� he asked.

	Ranma nodded.

	�Of course, it�ll be Musabetsu Kakutou Ryuu. We want
to give only the best to our students.�

	Nod.

	�Then I accept your offer.�

	Pause.

	�You mustn�t consider me rude, but what�ll be my
starting salary.�

	Ranma smiled.

	�Not at all. I�d have been amazed if you did not ask.
You�ll receive the same starting salary as Saotome-san
and that�s three hundred thousand yen per month. We�ll
sign the binding contracts tomorrow � after you read
through them, of course.�

	�Of course... I... My gratitude knows no bounds,
Sensei. You�ve helped Tendo-ke repeatedly during our
most dire hours when you have no moral or binding
obligation. I sincerely hope that we�ll be able to
satisfy the debt of honor someday.�

	�Forgive my insolence, Soun-sensei, but you�re wrong.
I do have a moral obligation and a binding one. As a
practitioner of The Art, I�m morally bound to help
you, one of its last great practitioners. I�m also
honor bound to help you, for a long time ago, I was in
much the same situation you�re in today. I would not
be here were it for the kind souls who took me in and
made a man out of me.�

	Soun nodded.

	�Even so, clan Tendo owes you a debt of honor I fear
can never be repaid.�

	�Then repay not. I ask but this of her: should Clan
Tendo find someone in dire straits, she must help that
poor soul just as I help her today.�

	Soun nodded, solemnly.

	�It shall be done.�

	Ranma smiled.

	�Then consider the debt paid, Sensei.�

	Soun found himself nodding again. Suddenly, he had a
reason to live. With a well-paid job under his belt,
he now had the authority to do something about the
family mess. Things were going to change in Tendo-ke
and for once, they were going to be for the better.

	�I�m glad, too. I was able to help you get out of
your rut,� Ranma continued, adding before Soun could
form a reply, �I bid you adieu for now, Sensei. Mayhap
we can continue this conversation later.�

	Then, he left.

***********************************************************************

	Meanwhile, in the next carriage...

	�Long time no see, Guu Long.�

	Guu Long, former Matriarch of the Joketsuzoku,
Grandmaster of Joketsuzoku brand of Wu Shu and
thirteen other martial arts, skilled politician,
master chef, mother of two, and wisest and most
learned of all Joketsuzoku, sighed in frustration. It
was nearly three hundred years since last she saw
Happousai and for Guu Long, the meeting was three
hundred years too early.

	Happousai pouted.

	�Oh, c�mon, you old hag. You aren�t still mad at me
for that little practical joke, are you?�

	�Mad?� Guu Long asked, coldly. �Now, why would I be
mad? After all, you only used me as a whore to get
into the village and then stole one of the tribe�s
most sacred artifacts. Now, I ask you, why would I be
mad?�

	�But it was just a harmless prank!� Happousai whined.

	Bonk!

	�A harmless prank, was it? I ought to kill you right
now and be done with it, Happi.�

	Happousai pouted and rubbed his sore pate.

	�Still grumpy after all this time, I see. Oh, well,
at least you�re talking now and hitting, too. You
still hit as hard as you ever did.�

	�Dry up and drop dead, you old fart.�

	�Old fart? Well, I suppose I am.�

	Silence.

	�What do you want?�

	�I want to be your friend again, if you�d have me as
one. Existence as a very, very old man in a nation of
children is lonely and the time for our rivalry is
long past, especially since you�re one of the few
people still alive who knew me in my younger years.�

	Guu Long gave him an onceover. He was serious and his
offer was attractive. She did not have many friends in
the village herself.

	�Very well, but on one condition: You must return the
Nanban mirror to the Joketsuzoku.�

	Happousai smiled.

	�Done. How�s old man time treating you?�

	�Old woman, you mean. She�s been treating me well,
thank you.�

	�That�s good to hear. And this Ranma, who is he?�

	�He�s a paid informant. He�s helping me track down
The Dragon.�

	�Oh! I�m surprised you people still believe that
stupid old legend.�

	�You take that insult back, Happi. The Dragon is not
a myth.�

	�Jeez, calm down, will you? I was just kidding. Ranma
told all.�

	Guu Long�s eyes grew to the size of saucers.

	�What? Why would he do that?� she asked, heatedly.

	��Cause I�m skilled enough to discover the truth
myself if left to my own devices.�

	�Oh... You better not tell anyone, or...�

	�Chill, Woman. I promised I won�t and you know I
always keep my word. It�s not as if I can go around
shouting, �I found The Dragon! I found The Dragon!�
now, can I? For one thing, people might think I�m
crazy.�

	�I suppose, but you still better had not.�

	Happousai shook his head.

	�Whatever! Are you staying with him, too?�

	Guu Long nodded.

	�Yes, I am; and my great, great granddaughter, too.�

	�Is she a beauty?�

	�I�m warning you...�

	Happousai threw up his arms, as a sign of
supplication.

	�Just kidding, just kidding. Jeez, you�re acting like
a bomb with a lit fuse. You�d better learn to ease up,
or you�ll get a heart attack or something.�

	Guu Long sniffed, contemptuously. Still, Happousai
was right. She was acting like a bomb with a lit fuse.
Something about him made her act this way around him,
always.

	�Her name is Shan Pu. She�s... Our terminal is come.�

	Happousai nodded.

	�Oh, damn! There are things I still want to talk to
you about, too. You know, reminisce about old times
and that sort of thing.�

	�I bet. Thank God your tirade was cut short.�

	�Come, let�s join the others,� she said and stood up.

	They proceeded out of the carriage and found the
others already assembled outside on the platform. They
joined the group and whilst chatting amongst
themselves, began the slow march out of the station.

***********************************************************************

	He was old. He was dressed in only a loincloth and he
was just over two and a half foot tall.

	Age clouded his eyes and made him blind. His ears,
too, were failing, as were his other senses. His skin
was dry, wrinkled and discolored. Years of use bent
his back and joints, making even a simple walk a very
painful experience, not that his numbed senses felt
it. His beard was long and well maintained, and
reached almost to the ground. It was the only thing he
wore that looked even remotely respectable. He was not
dirty, but his suggested otherwise to the casual
observer. At first glance, he looked very much like an
archetypical beggar from the Indian subcontinent, but
he was not. His steps were self-assured and his gait
was slow, but confident. Each step oozed of power,
dignity and character, and the Japanese security,
always on the lookout for troublesome characters,
spotted him immediately, but dared not approach him,
even though his presence was a blot on the otherwise
pristine station. Perhaps their unconscious minds
sensed the corona of power around him that shone like
the sun. Perhaps they felt pity on the old soul.
Whatever the reason, they left him alone, while he
patiently stood waiting on the platform.

	The last train from Juuban, - the last for that day,
in fact, - pulled up. A large group of people got out.
They waited while still others joined them and then
began their march towards the station exit.

	The old man stepped forward. Even though he was blind
and deaf, he had true sight and he walked toward them
with steady, well-paced steps. The station descended
into pin drop silence.

	The group stopped when they saw him, or rather, their
leader and several others did. They sensed the power
in him. The rest followed their leader�s example soon
after.

	The old man continued to walk toward them. Finally,
when he was less than a couple of feet from the
leader, he stopped.

	�O� wise and ancient Lion of the Sky [5],� he sang in
a singsong voice. None but Ranma understood him, for
they knew not the language he spoke, �I�m come as
messenger.�

***********************************************************************

	Ranma was the first to exit the train. Immediately,
he spotted Ryuu coming out with Akane and Ryouga. The
little Saotome was fooling around with his two older
friends. Ranma joined them and engaged in small talk
with the group while they waited for the others to
come out. The rest of the group took their own sweet
time and finally, the mob began its slow walk just as
the last subgroup trickled out.

	Laughing at one of Ryuu�s accidental slip of tongue,
Ranma spotted an old man approaching them and stopped
short. The more observant members of the crew noticed
his reaction and taking Ranma�s cue as an example, the
assembly ground to a halt. The old man, for his part,
continued walking and did not stop until he was only a
few steps from Ranma. His eyes, - his blind, opaque
eyes, - met Ranma�s steady gaze and he spoke.

	�O� wise and ancient Lion of the Sky, I�m Boomi
Pithan. I�m come as messenger.� he said in archaic
Tamil.

	�Welcome, Honored Messenger,� Ranma replied in
cultured Tamil, �What message dost thou bring?�

	�I bring tidings of war, O� Blessed Beast [6],� the
old man replied, �I bring tidings of a war terrible.
I�m also come to warn you.�

	�Warn me?�

	�You must side not with the Betrayers! The King of
Righteousness is come to punish them and he will brook
no interference.�

	Ranma frowned. The old man spoke as per the ritual
cited in The Code. There were precious few mortals
alive who had even heard of The Code and not one of
them knew it intimately enough to use it as the old
man did, which meant that the warring factions were
very old and very powerful, and had access to archaic
powers. �Could this King of Righteousness be a God, I
wonder.�

	�I�m afraid that I do not know this king of yours,
Honored Messenger. Is he a God?�

	The old man laughed.

	�Gods are as insects to Milord. He is come to smite
them like the vermin they are.�

	Ranma�s frown deepened. There had been wars between
Gods and Demons before. They were very destructive and
the cost in human lives was always high. �This war
grows more and more distasteful by the minute.�

	�He is a demon then.�

	�Demon, he is not.�

	�Neither Demon nor God, and not a human, either. Who
thy master might be, I wonder.�

	�He is the first son of the earth � her most beloved
son. He is the heir to the Throne of Heaven.�

	Ranma�s frown deepened even further. He had never
heard of any of those titles, which meant that the
�king� that the old man spoke of was very, very
ancient. �And if he still hates the Gods enough to
want to exterminate them after all this time...� Ranma
shook his head. This did not bode well for anyone.

	�Um... Okay.�

	�Farewell, O� Blessed Beast. Thou hast been warned,�
the old man spoke, ominously and left.

	�Um... Ranma?�

	Ranma looked down and met Ryuu�s curious gaze.

	�Who was that old man?�

	Ranma smiled, enigmatically.

	�He was a messenger.�

	�A messenger?� Guu Long and Happousai asked,
simultaneously.

	�That old geezer?� Ryuu added.

	�Yes, that old geezer, - that centuries old geezer,
who just happens to be a Lore Master with extremely
well focused ki, - was a messenger.�

	�Oh!�

	�What message did he bring and what language was he
using? I could not understand a word of it,� Happousai
asked.

	�He spoke in the First Tongue, Tamil. As for his
message, it was a warning. He told me that a war is
coming and that I must not side with the Betrayers.�

	�Betrayers � who are they?�

	Ranma shrugged.

	�Beats me.�

	�And their leader?�

	�Beats me.�

	�Some messenger he is. His message raises more
questions than answers.�

	�He followed The Code to the word, Grandmaster. The
vagueness was deliberate on his part. The Code does
not require you to reveal your master�s identity in
situations such as this. He can, but he did not.�

	�Why?�

	�Perhaps he thinks I might unwittingly reveal his
hand to his enemies.�

	�And they are?�

	�The Gods. Come, it�s getting late and I�m sure that
we all want to turn in,� Ranma said, taking a stride
forward.

	Happousai opened his mouth, but thought the better of
it. It was obvious that Ranma did not want to continue
this conversation in front of the others. Perhaps he
feared that further conversation might give away his
identity. Therefore, he kept his questions to himself
and silently followed Ranma.

	Once outside the station, Ranma hired a couple of
cabs and took them to a restaurant, where they dined.
After they were well fed, he took them to his house
and acted well the part of the gracious host until all
turned in for the night. Then, after making sure they
were all asleep, Ranma crept downstairs and walked out
into the night. He stopped in the middle of his front
yard and spoke.

	�Show yourself. I know you�ve been watching me.�

	A shadow separated from the wall and approached
Ranma.

	�Your skills are as good as ever, Dragon.�

	�I wish I could say that I was happy to see you, God,
but I�m not. What do you want?�

	The God laughed. He stepped into the moonlight. He
was dressed immaculately in a suit and had a little
goatee. He had his hair drawn back in a ponytail and
wore a golden ring embedded with nine little diamonds
on his right ring finger.

	�It�s good to see you, too.�

	Ranma allowed himself the luxury of a little smile.

	�It�s been a long time, Yama-O.�

	�It has, has it not?� the God replied. �I come with
important tidings, Ranma.�

	�Of a war, I suppose?�

	Yama-O did not quite succeed in hiding his surprise.
He had so grown used to his omniscience that it
shocked him and threw him off balance to have it taken
away in such a rude manner.

	�Yes, how did you know?�

	�I have my means. What news do you bring me, Yama-O?
I�d like to hear it, if you don�t mind.�

	The God nodded.

	�A prison created at the very beginning of time has
been broken. Its inmates have escaped. They plan to
wage war on Gods as well as Humans. I�m come to secure
your allegiance for the war against this evil.�

	�And if I do not ally myself with you?�

	�The Gods are capable of handling this mess, but
humans aren�t - not when they have lost and forgotten
all the old wisdom. If you refuse to ally yourself
with us, humanity will fall.�

	Ranma shrugged. His dealings with the Gods had taught
him much about the supposed infallibility of the Gods
and their �altruistic� goals. Even the most benign of
them held humans in little less than utter contempt
and their plots always contained devious subplots,
which, in turn, contained even more devious subplots.
Nothing was ever what it seemed with them.

	�Thank you for your generous offer, Yama-O, but I
must humbly decline to take you up on your offer. As
you know, humanity may have forgotten the old wisdom,
but they have discovered new ones that are just as
powerful. They have me on their side, too. Therefore,
you�ll forgive me when I say that we humans can take
care of ourselves; you don�t need to worry about us.
Farewell.�

	�You dare dismiss a divine messenger so lightly?�
Yama-O asked, taken aback by Ranma�s reply. The Gods
choose him as their representative because he knew
Ranma best. If Ranma was willing to dismiss a friend
so casually, it did not bode well for the Gods. Either
Ranma was supremely confident in his abilities, which
he had every reason to be, or he knew something that
the Gods did not. Either way, it did not augur well
for Yama-O and his race.

	�Yes, I do. Face it, Yama-O, your time is long past,�
Ranma replied, before switching to Tamil, �As they
say, a cow needs but a single caress of the solder to
learn its lesson, where an ox needs many. We humans
may not exactly fit the description of a cow, but we
have suffered more than our share of burns under the
Gods' �wise� guidance. We have learnt not to trust the
Gods implicitly, and as such, we�re loath to take part
in any of your machinations.�

	�Very well, Ranma, I will leave now. I only hope that
you realize your folly before it�s too late.�

	�I much doubt that, but if I have, I�ll call you.
Until then, toodle-oo,� Ranma replied and without
sparing his former friend another glance, turned his
back on the God. He walked into the house and slammed
the door shut behind him, rudely.

	Yama-O stood in the yard watching the now closed door
long after Ranma disappeared behind it. Finally, he,
too, turned and walked away.

***********************************************************************

	The Chamber of Time...

	Pluto stood gritting her teeth before the Gates of
Time. Alarming eddies of chaos were appearing all over
the Stream and all her efforts to find their source
were as naught. The situation was beginning to
�irritate� her and heads were going to roll when she
traced the ripples to their source.

	For the glory of the Silver Millennium � that was the
only oath that a Senshi of Time had to uphold. They
dedicated their lives to the survival and glory of the
Silver Millennium. The oath had been different once,
but three generations before her birth, it was
changed. Other senshi followed a myriad of rules, but
not Pluto. She had but one clearly defined role to
play: Destroy the enemies of House Serenity outright,
or weaken them enough for the regular forces to finish
the job. It was a job that no Pluto had ever failed, �
none except the current one, - which explained her
fanatical attention to the security of Crystal Tokyo
at the cost of all else. She had failed once, but
twice, she would not. Crystal Tokyo and with it, the
new Moon Kingdom, would arise in all its glory, and
she would do everything in her power to ensure its
creation.

	�Hello, Guardian?�

	Pluto swerved around, gathering power and focusing it
into the Time Key for an attack. She caught sight of
the intruder at the very last second and instant
recognition flashed across her face. At once, she
dropped to her knees, releasing the energy she had
gathered for the attack.

	�As you were,� the man said.

	�Milord, this visit is most unexpected,� Pluto said,
not daring to look him to his face.

	The man chuckled.

	�This visit is unplanned, Guardian. However, there is
a reason for my coming. I�m come as advisor with a
word or two of wisdom.�

	�What insight does the master bring the servant?� she
asked.

	�A terrible war is coming,� he said, �Serenity is not
strong enough to win it on her own.�

	�Milord?�

	�I�m come to honor an alliance, - a compact, - made
between our people in times long since forgotten. We
will face this threat as one. Together, we will be
strong enough to defeat the enemy.� He waved his hand
and the pristine image of the Gates of Time clouded
for a moment. It solidified again into a close-up of
Ranma�s face. �Look at this face, Guardian. Do not
forget it for he is the fulcrum. The life of every
man, woman and child hangs on him. Should he fall,
should he ally himself with the enemy, then the world
and all that you have worked for will fall.�

	Pluto studied Ranma�s face. She filed every curve,
cut, nook and cranny of his face in her mind. Hatred
for him grew in her heart, clutching it like a vise,
for he had the power to destroy her dreams, her
splendid, long dreamt dreams. And Pluto could hate.

	�The following few days are crucial to the outcome.
We will not tolerate your meddling with the Well of
Time during that period. As such, we forbid you to use
the Well for divination, on pain of everlasting death.
Remember, should you fail, you will fall, as will
Serenity.�

	Pluto bowed until her forehead touched the ground.

	�Yes, Milord. Your word is my command.�

	�I doubt that, Guardian. Do not use the Well of Time
until I return to remove this bond. Farewell.�

	Pluto remained kneeling for several more seconds.
When she finally raised her head, he was gone.

***********************************************************************

	The Juuban ward of Tokyo had a very small population
of street thugs, who knew well the price of messing
around with civilians with the senshi around. As such,
they normally kept a very low profile and did not
attempt such risky heists as accosting old women in
dark alleys and such. The rewards of such crimes were
simply not worth the risks involved. The citizens of
Juuban, too, were well aware of the situation on the
criminal front and were particularly grateful toward
the senshi for getting rid of these social pests. They
exercised their newfound freedom and security by
wandering about the dark alleys at all sorts of odd
hours, with the senior citizens being the most
enthusiastic of the whole lot.

	The state of affairs being as such, no one, neither
the odd policeman nor the insomniac that was awake and
staring at the street well into the late hours of the
night, found anything strange with the lone six foot
something man who turned at a dark alley. Particularly
since the man looked as dangerous as death himself. He
walked, no, glided across the streets with a carefree
gait that reeked of power and self-confidence. He
negotiated well-maintained thrash bins in the darkest
corners of the alley, and even the wildest of the
stray cats abandoned their spots and shied away from
him out of fear. He came to a stop in front of one of
the said trash bins and tapped his cane impatiently. A
shadow slithered up to him from behind.

	�Hello, Yama-O,� a sinuous female voice whispered in
his ear.

	�Cease these games at once, Seductress.�

	The shadow pouted.

	�I do have a name, you know.�

	�And I have warned you to stop playing these games
with me.�

	The shadow stepped into the light. The woman was
extremely beautiful, but her beauty was spoilt by her
distasteful makeup, and she was dressed as a whore. It
was obvious to even the most casual observer, however,
that she was not a practitioner of that profession.
She was working undercover and she was very bad at it.
Still, her incompetency did not stop her any from
frowning at Yama-O.

	�If that�s the way you want it, very well, it�ll be
as you wish... I don�t like donning the mask of a
whore, you know. I find the stares of human-vermin
lewd and uncomplimentary.�

	Yama-O nodded.

	�It is regrettable that we have been reduced to
begging these humans. We have fallen far indeed!� he
said.

	It was now the woman�s turn to nod in agreement.

	�Very. Tell me, how did the reunion go?�

	�As bad as it could. He was very rude and refused
even to consider allying himself with us. Has Pluto
been warned?�

	�Yes. We warned her explicitly against tampering with
the Stream. We judged the woman too narrow-minded and
too fanatical to pay heed to veiled threats, so we had
to take the direct route.�

	�Does she agree?�

	Smile.

	�Yes, she does, but only because we made it clear
that Serenity�s safety depended on her forbearance.
She all but groveled when our �messenger� dropped in
on her.�

	�That�s nice. What do we intend to do with The
Dragon?�

	�We must have his support. Without it, we�ll fall
before Raja Chola�s might. Even with him on our side,
victory is a long shot, but at least there�s a chance
we�ll survive if we play our cards right. You know
that.�

	Yama-O nodded.

	�The Council has authorized me to do whatever is
necessary to secure The Dragon�s support for our
cause. I intend to follow their orders to the word,�
she added.

	�He�s powerful beyond measure and as dangerous as a
krait, too,� he replied, �He can kill you without a
second thought.�

	She shrugged.

	�If I fail, we�ll all die anyway. At least, death in
his hands will be quick and painless.�

	Yama-O shook his head.

	�Don�t count on it. The Dragon is no saint. He�s an
accomplished torturer with two thousand years of
experience under his belt.�

	�I�m sure he�s given up his uncivilized ways. After
all, as the humans say, these are civilized times.�

	He laughed.

	�Yeah, right, don�t tell me you believe that. Our
people are much more civilized than these
human-vermin, indeed! Have you forgotten what started
this mess in the first place? It was a God whom Chola
trusted as his friend that turned betrayer and killed
his family, earning the immortal�s eternal wrath
toward our race. Don�t assume that there are no
barbarians amongst us, because there are, just like
there are amongst the humans. The Dragon is one such
barbarian. He�s a predator hiding in a mass of sheep.
Don�t let his perfect diction, finesse and etiquette
fool you. If he thinks it is needed, he�ll unveil his
true colors and I know from experience that they
aren�t pretty. If you�d only remember, you�d recall
that this is the same man who struck fear into the
hearts of the Mongols with the depths of his cruelty
and barbarianism. That is no mean task, I remind you.�

	�Yes, well...�

	�Believe me when I tell you that you don�t want to
risk his ire,� Yama-O added, cutting her off, �There�s
no place to hide from him and The Council will just as
easily turn you over if it meant protecting their
sorry behinds from his wrath.�

	She nodded, after a moment of thought.

	�I�ll try to keep it in mind. Thank you for your
advice.�

	�You�re welcome. Good night and best of luck in your
mission.�

	�You do your part well, Diplomat. It�ll ease the
pressure on me a little.�

	�I�ll do that, but I don�t think there�ll be any
dividends worth the time and investment.�

	She nodded and turned her back on him. She had
suspected as much, but had hoped that her guesses were
wrong.

	�Good night,� she said.
 
	Fade.

***********************************************************************

	The ever vigilant crow sang its morning wakeup call
to the people of Juuban in the wee hours of the
morning. A blast of mana reduced it to ash and fine
fluff two seconds later. Ranma slept little, but
whenever he did, he hated being disturbed.

	�Damn thing,� Ranma growled underneath his breath,
cursing stupid crows, as he negotiated the stairs on
his way to the kitchen. A cup of tea was just about
the perfect remedy for a bout of morning grumpiness.

	To his surprise, he found Kasumi already up and perky
in the kitchen. She was boiling milk and humming a
little ditty to herself when he slid into a chair.

	�Morning, Kasumi-san,� he said with a yawn.

	Kasumi jumped a little. She had not sensed Ranma walk
into the room.

	�Oh, it�s only you,� she said, clutching her heart.
Once she relaxed, she realized her faux pas and
quickly made amends, �Good morning, Ranma-san, please,
forgive me my rudeness, but I was startled by your
sudden greeting. You�re up already?�

	�The crow woke me up � stupid thing!�

	Kasumi smiled, ignoring her grumpy host�s complaints
for the whining it was.

	�Would you like some herbal tea?�

	�Yes, would I ever? You�re up awfully early.�

	�Practice, I guess. In our house, I had to get up
early to cook breakfast.�

	Ranma noticed the way Kasumi�s face fell when she
alluded to clan Tendo�s now destroyed ancestral
dwelling.

	�You miss your house?�

	She nodded and poured them two cups of tea.

	�We lived there long before my birth. It had a lot of
memories.�

	�I understand,� he said. He accepted his cup with a
little nod and took a sip. �Hmm... This is very good.
Thank you, Kasumi-san.�

	Kasumi blushed. She took a sip herself, to hide her
blush. She did not succeed completely.

	�You�re welcome. Please, call me Kasumi. All my
friends call me that.�

	�Only if you call me Ranma.�

	She chuckled.

	�All right, Ranma.�

	�See, it wasn�t so hard.�

	Kasumi chuckled again.

	�Yes, it wasn�t.�

	Ranma smiled.

	�So, Kasumi, do you want me to help you out?�

	Kasumi�s eyes widened. No one had ever offered to
help her in the kitchen except Akane, but that did not
count. She knew Ranma for less than a day and already
he was well on the way to gaining entry into her
favorite persons list.

	�You really mean that?�

	�Um... No...�

	Kasumi�s face fell.

	�Just kidding, just kidding. What�s for breakfast?�

	Pout.

	�I don�t know.�

	�We�ll start with the menu and proceed from there.�

	Kasumi nodded. During the next few minutes, the two
�chefs� discussed the advantages and disadvantages of
various breakfast courses and after careful
deliberation finalized the menu. Then, it was time to
get down and dirty � prepare the curry, dice the
vegetables, the onions, the meat and stuff. Ranma
surprised Kasumi with the depth of his knowledge
regarding the kitchen world. She was in for even
greater surprise when he showed her his overstocked
freezer.

	�This is surprising,� she said, giving the freezer
full of frozen fish and meat a onceover, �Were you
preparing for a Nuclear winter?�

	Ranma laughed.

	�No, no, no,� he said, �You got it all wrong. The
stuff�s for my guests,� he said with a wink. �You
might not have noticed it, but my house is crawling
with them.�

	�Yes, but this much? You did not know that we�d be
coming yesterday. Yet, this,� she said, pointing to
the freezer, �seems to have taken into account both
the Tendos and the Saotomes. How is it possible?�

	�I ordered the stuff last night. They delivered it
after you were all asleep.�

	�Oh?� Kasumi had not heard any truck pass through the
street last night. She was a light sleeper and she
would have noticed a truck pulling up into the street.
�I did not hear them.�

	�They were silent,� he replied with a twinkle in his
eyes, �My men always are.� �Especially since they have
been dead for centuries.�

	Kasumi nodded. Something strange was going on here
and she felt like she was being left out, but there
was nothing she could do, was there?

	Ranma caught her baffled look and chuckled.

	�It�s a long story. I�ll tell it to you someday. Want
to rescue the tuna and the chicken now?� he asked,
jovially.

	Kasumi smiled.

	�Yes, they�ve been prisoners of this cold cage for
too long. Come to me, my Darlings,� she said, doing a
fairly good imitation of Happousai.

	Ranma shot her the look.

	�Grandmaster Happousai, I suppose.�

	She nodded.

	�Grandfather Happousai is funny, isn�t he?� she
asked.

	Ranma chuckled.

	�Aye, I suppose he is if you look at his antics from
a certain perspective,� he said, before slipping into
his Englishman imitation, �Aye�ll get me old trusty
axe. We�ll slay our enemies and rescue the fair tuna
from their prison.�

	Kasumi laughed and suggested an outrageous thing of
her own, much to Ranma�s amusement.

	Thus, laughing and bantering like very old friends,
the two prepared breakfast. It was the most fun thing
Kasumi did in a long time and she found herself
enjoying every moment of it. By the time the rest of
the house was up and about, breakfast was ready and
Kasumi discovered that she had found a good friend in
Ranma.

***********************************************************************

	Most of the denizens of Tokyo were yet to awaken. A
light mist covered the city from one end to the other.
They had yet to turn off the streetlights and the sun
yet to rise. Not many people were out in the streets.
It was cold, and only the foolish dared to brave the
elements in the wee hours of the morning.
Unsurprisingly, of the few that were out, there were
quite a few joggers, huffing and puffing on their
daily runs through the streets.

	Boomi Pithan stood in a clearing in the center of one
of Tokyo�s numerous parks, located on the south-west
corner of the city. The centurion wore only a
loincloth as before. He seemed unmindful of the bone
chilling cold. A dozen armed men armed with axes,
scythes, spears, swords, and bows and quivers full of
arrows, and dressed in cotton flanked him. Their
weapons were made of primitive materials, such as
obsidian, copper and such. They looked relaxed, but
were not. Anyone who made the mistake of attacking
them would not live long to realize what hit them,
lest alone live to tell the tale.

	Presently, a man dressed in rather primitive clothes
walked into the clearing.

	Boomi Pithan and his men knelt before the newcomer.

	�Milord, you�re come,� Boomi Pithan said in old
Tamil.

	�Yes, so I am. Arise. There�s no need for respect
between equals.�

	�Milord?� the centurion asked, confusedly.

	�My name is Indiran. Please, stand up.�

	The centurion stared disbelievingly. The legends
spoke of the uprightness of the Ashuras as a race and
he was prepared for their integrity, but this was
unexpected. Actually, the old lore told him to expect
such, but experiencing it in actual reality still came
as a surprise.

	�As you wish, Mi... Indira. I�m Boomi Pithan.�

	�Thank you, Boomi Pitha. As you can see,� Indira
said, throwing open his six arms in a bare all
gesture, �I�m no different than you and I�m certainly
not your better. I have as much to learn from you as
you have from me. Respect to the Lord is one thing,
but there�s no need for you to kowtow to any of his
followers. We�re all the same before his eyes,� he
lectured. His eyes scanned the rank of lined up men in
armor. �Are these your men?�

	Nod.

	�They�re well trained and well motivated,� Boomi
Pithan said to Indiran�s benefit.

	�Excellent.�

	�Is The Wall fallen, Indira?�

	�It will soon. My partner and I are come as assassins
to eliminate the senshi. Do you have information on
them?�

	�Our spies have been observing them for years now. We
know their identities, their tactics, their adresses
and everything else that is even remotely worth
knowing. I have also warned The Dragon. If he�s wise,
he�ll stay out of the battles to come.�

	�Is he ascended?�

	Boomi Pithan shook his head.

	�He�s in the plateau, but he�s not ascended. We
believe it�ll be a while before his ascension.�

	Indiran nodded. The only threat to Chola�s plans was
The Dragon predicted by the ancient prophets and even
he could not hope to defeat Chola before his
ascension.

	�Still, he is a threat. I commend you for your
presence of mind, Boomi Pitha. If we warn him not, he
would have taken offense at our show of disrespect.�

	Nod.

	�Are there more of your men?�

	Boomi Pithan nodded again.

	�Inform them I�m taking command for the duration of
the mission. When the senshi are dead, you and your
men will integrate with the scouts that come behind
me. Be forewarned, however, this is but a skirmish.
The war will begin within the month.�

	�As you wish, Indira.�

	Fade.

***********************************************************************

	�Breakfast�s ready,� Kasumi announced, happily, the
sorrows of yesterday already forgotten.

	The crowd trickled into the house and assembled
around the table. Ranma came in last, together with
Ryuu. He was busy advising Ryuu on some of the finer
points of The Art. Kasumi served the meal and
immediately, the food fight between the two Saotomes
began. Only when Genma�s chopsticks searched his
plate, there was not a grain of rice to be found on
it.

	�Who took my food?� the elder Saotome asked calmly
with narrowed eyes that glared at everyone at the
table but Kasumi.

	�Yeah, who stole Genma-san�s meal?� Ranma asked with
an impish twinkle in his eyes.

	No one answered. The food fight had been the center
of attention on the table, but they had not seen the
thief. One second the food was there and the next, it
was gone. There were three, who could move that fast
on the table and Genma did not want to confront any of
them. Not when there was still plenty of food around.

	Having decided upon the course of action, it took
another couple of seconds for Genma�s slow brain to
work out the solution, but in the end, he divined
correctly that Ranma was the culprit. He shot him an
evil glare and asked for a second serving without
having eaten a morsel. Kasumi served him a bowl of
rice and the fight started as before. It ended the
same way, too, with Genma�s food disappearing
mysteriously.

	�This is getting old, People,� Ranma said, in a mock
grave voice, �Stop stealing Genma-san�s food.�

	Kasumi�s eyes twinkled with laughter, as did everyone
else�s in the table. Everyone, but Genma, that is. He
shot a pleading look at Ranma and asked for a third
serving.

	Kasumi served Genma for the third time and the
fighting began for the third time. Again, the food
disappeared.

	�Ye Gods! Who�s the knave that dare steal in my house
when there�s so much to go around?� Ranma said,
striking a comical challenging pose with his
chopsticks over his head. �Show yourself, for if I
find you, I�ll kick you from here to Okinawa!�

	There were snickers aplenty this time around. They
were not fooled by Ranma�s display.

	Genma looked at the rapidly disappearing food by
Kasumi�s side and then at Ranma. He was starving. He
felt like he had to eat or he would die. Tears came
unbidden to his eyes. He did not want to starve to
death if he could help it. It would be a fate worse
than death. He understood Ranma�s message, now,
though. The food fights had to stop or his meal would
keep on disappearing before his eyes. Train his son or
eat � if anyone had asked him only two days before,
Genma would have replied that the decision was a tough
one, that he was not sure whether there was even an
answer, but now that he faced the situation in real
life, he found the choice unsurprisingly easy to make.
Especially, since he faced either death by starvation
or a tasty meal resulting in a well-fed, content
stomach.

	�More, Kasumi-chan.�

	Kasumi served the Saotome patriarch another serving.
This time, there was no food fight and as a result,
Genma�s food did not seek to imitate Houdini. The meal
continued quietly as it started and when it was over,
Kasumi sent Ranma, her sisters, Ryuu, Ryouga and Shan
Pu to school.

***********************************************************************

	Meanwhile, in another corner of Juuban...

	�Yawn! Good morning, Luna,� a sleepy Usagi said,
happily. She was perky this morning.

	�Good morning, Usagi. It�s seven. You�re late for
school.�

	Usagi jumped out of bed and into her uniform in
record time.

	�Wha?� she said, looking at the clock. �Why didn�t
you wake me up? Now, I�m going to be late for school.�

	Luna shrugged.

	�Who said I didn�t try to wake you up? You simply
refused to wake up.�

	Usagi spared a moment to glare at her cat before
scurrying about the room in a mad rush to get ready in
time for school. It would be a cold day in hell before
Usagi Tsukino was late for class this semester.

***********************************************************************

	The hallowed premises of yon Juuban High...

	�Usagi�s late!� Makoto observed, after consulting her
watch for the umpteenth time.

	Minako checked her watch for verification and bobbed
her head.

	�Yes, she is.�

	�Perhaps she overslept...�

	�Most probably.�

	�I thought she swore an oath to not be late for class
this semester.�

	�She did. But you know her...� The rest went
unspoken. Even though it was true, they did not like
to admit that their kind and beloved leader was a dumb
ditz at school. �Ami-chan, what do you think?�

	Ami, with a small internal sigh, put down the
hardcover she was reading and titled her head to meet
Minako�s gaze.

	�What do you think about Usagi being late for
school?� Minako asked.

	Ami shrugged.

	�Why don�t you ask her?� she replied, gesturing to
the school gates.

	Sure enough, there was Usagi at the gates. She had
ran all the way from home to school. She pulled to a
stop in front of her friends and keeled over
breathless.

	�Good,� gasp, �morning,� gasp, �all!�

	�Usagi, you�re late.�

	The leader of the senshi nodded in-between breaths.

	�I overslept,� gasp, �sorry.�

	Wry smiles bloomed on all three of her friends�
faces.

	�Don�t let it happen again lest you break your oath.
Come,� Makoto said, �Let�s go to class.�

	Usagi nodded, but signaled a time out. She was in no
condition to walk. She could still feel her heart
thumping wildly inside her chest.

	�I,� gasp, �need time,� gasp, �to,� gasp, �regain
my,� gasp, �my breath.� Gasp.

	�Here,� Ami said, offering Usagi her place on the
wall, �you can lean against the wall while you regain
your breath.�

	Usagi gratefully slumped against the wall and wiped
the sweat off her face.

	�Thanks, Ami-chan.�

	�You�re welcome.�

	A minute later, the penultimate school bell rang and
they had to run for class. They made it barely in
time.

***********************************************************************

	The short walk to Juuban High was anything but
eventful. Nabiki kept to herself at the back of the
troop, and the rest of the gang were silent most of
the way. Ranma tried to get a conversation going, but
the teenagers were uninterested in such a mundane
activity and finally, after several failed attempts to
strike up a conversation, he gave up.

	During registration, Mr. Kentaro was much more
forthcoming than the day before. He registered Ranma�s
wards with the least bit of fuss and even went so far
as to clear the bureaucratic red tape as best as he
could. It did not help improve Ranma�s opinion of the
man, but it did save them a lot of time. Afterwards,
Ranma sent his wards off to their respective classes
and he went searching for his office himself.

	Of the four, Ryuu had the least trouble in finding
his class. He gave the teacher his registration papers
and waited patiently as she pored over the documents.

	�Class,� she said, finally, �This is Mr. Ryuuken
Saotome. He�ll be joining us from today forth. Mr.
Saotome, please introduce yourself to your
classmates.�

	Ryuu turned to face the class. He bowed slightly and
spoke.

	�Hello, I�m Ryuuken Saotome,� he said, strictly
adhering to the standard Japanese that his new sensei
demanded he use. �I�m your new classmate. I practice
the Saotome branch of Musabetsu Kakutou Ryuu. I lived
in Nerima and studied in Furinkan High before moving
here.� There was nothing left to say and Ryuu looked
to the teacher for guidance.

	�Thank you, Mr. Saotome. Please, take the free seat
in the last row. I�m well aware of your former
school�s reputation and I want you to know that Juuban
High is nothing like it. I expect you to pay full
attention in my class. I�ll be all over you like a
Kansas tornado if you give anything less than your
best. Ms. Aino, would you be so kind as to share your
textbook with Mr. Saotome today and show him what�s
been taught and what�s not.� The teacher had taught a
couple of years in America and had picked up a little
of the local culture there.

	The blonde was only too happy to acquiesce, much to
her friends� and her classmates� envy. They wanted a
piece of the new boy, too. He had the tightest buns
they had ever seen.

	�Thank you. Mr. Saotome?�

	Ryuu bowed as was wont and took his assigned seat.
Minako leaned a closer to Ryuu then propriety demanded
and made a show of showing him the text. Not
accustomed to getting such attention from a girl, Ryuu
shifted uncomfortably in his seat, hoping that Minako
would get the message and ease off his case. Minako
did not.

	The teacher noted the interplay and shook her head in
resigned acceptance - some people never changed. She
turned her attention back to the problem on the board
and droned ad nauseum about exponentials, integrals
and other equally vague stuff. Listening to the
lecure, Ryuu knew it was going to be a long, long
semester math-wise before hour�s end. He could make
neither head nor tail of half the stuff written on the
board.

	The rest of the morning proved much the same, and
between his hunger, the never-ending torment and the
boredom, Ryuu could hardly wait for the lunch
interval, which took forever. Finally, the bell rang
signaling the end of the morning session and he filed
out of the class zombie-like, shell-shocked by the
tedious rigmarole of school life. Furinkan had been so
pleasantly different from other schools that he had
forgotten what a real school felt like.

	It was not long before he located Akane and the
others sitting under the shades of a tree. Shan Pu
waved to him enthusiastically and he waved back as he
trudged up to them.
 
	�So, how did it go?� Akane asked as he plopped down
beside her.

	Ryuu made a face at the youngest Tendo.

	�That bad?� Shan Pu asked. She, for one, thoroughly
enjoyed her new school.

	�Worse,� he replied, wearily, �I think I�m going to
need a tutor if I�m to pass this semester.�

	�Oh! Sorry.�

	Ryuu shrugged.

	�A man�s got to be stoic in the face of adversity.
Only I wish things weren�t so adverse most of the
time,� he said, doing a good imitation of the
self-righteous tone that came naturally to his father.

	This evoked a round of giggles from the girls and a
wry chuckle from Ryouga. The giggles stopped suddenly
as did the chuckle, when the culprits espied a
hitherto unknown blond girl approach their group.

	�Hi!� the girl said and waved nervously at them.
 
	�Hello?� Akane, the de facto leader of the gang,
replied, a questioning look on her face. The girl was
obviously the feeler, for her three friends stood in
waiting not too far away.

	�I�m Minako Aino. I�m one of Saotome-san�s
classmates.�

	A disheartened Ryuu, who had been
uncharacteristically poking at his bento, turned
around to face the new arrival for the first time. He
knew the voice and dreaded the encounter with its
owner. The girl�s three companions moved forward and
joined her as he did.

	�Hi, Aino-san, whaddya want?�

	�Yes, um...� Minako hesitated. The new kids were
sitting at the senshi�s traditional spot and her
original intention was to get them to leave, but Ryuu
was with them and she did not want to endanger her
budding �relationship� with him. Thinking quickly, she
improvised. �We were wondering if we could join you
for lunch...�

	�Um... Okay, I guess,� Ryuu said agreeably,
scratching the base of his head in a way that made him
look cute and cuddly.

	Minako nodded gratefully. A major social blunder
averted. She and the senshi took their seats around
the circle, and opened their bentos.
 
	�Hi, I�m Akane Tendo. My friends call me Akane,� she
said, introducing herself when everyone was
comfortable.

	This prompted a round of introductions. Everyone
bowed and shook their hands, and introduced themselves
to their new friends. Shan Pu introduced herself last,
and the new and much bigger gang sat in silence,
staring curiously at the strangers sitting in front of
them.

	�Are you Chinese, Shan Pu-san?� Ami asked, finally.
She had just about enough of the damnable silence.

	The Joketsuzoku warrior nodded.

	�That I am. I was born in the Bayankala Mountains of
my country.�

	�That�s in central China, right? You�re a long way
from home!�

	Shan Pu narrowed her eyes. She could be wrong, but
the question had all the hallmarks of a racist. Was
Ami one of those fucks?

	Ami noticed her slip and the glares directed at her
by her new friends, and flushed.

	�I�m sorry,� she apologized, �I should have phrased
my words differently. It came off not in the way I
intended.�

	Judging that the girl was telling the truth, Shan Pu
nodded.

	�Apology accepted. As for your unspoken question, my
grandmother and I came to Japan searching for The
Dragon.�

	�Dragon?� Usagi gasped. Having read too many Western
folktales as a child, she was a firm believer in the
evil dragons of the West. Not even her oriental
upbringing had been able to snap her out of it. �Do
they really exist?�

	Shan Pu nodded again. She introduced a pickle
cucumber to her mouth and eyed her companions with a
critical eye. Sure enough, everyone was looking at her
with expectant faces. News of her little quest had
made her an instant celebrity, it appeared. Not that
Shan Pu hated it or anything. The attention was a
welcome change to the hateful glares that girls her
age shot at her in the village.

	�Yes, they do exist. In fact, the one we search for
is the sacred guardian of my people. He lived with us
once some two thousand years ago.�

	�Wow!�

	Pause.

	�Why don�t you tell us more about yourself,
Ryuu-kun?� Makoto asked, smiling apologetically at
Shan Pu. The dragon was interesting, yes, but Ryuu was
more interesting and he was here now, as in right with
them.

	The Joketsuzoku warrior chuckled to herself and
nodded. Makoto breathed a little more easily and
returned the smile.

	�It is a long story. Do you want to hear it?� Ryuu
asked. He had completely missed the non-verbal
exchange between Shan Pu and Makoto.

	Minako and Makoto looked at each other, and nodded
enthusiastically. Both Ryouga and Ryuu were cute, and
they would have made great boyfriends. There was a
catch though. Ryouga was unavailable as he already had
a girlfriend in Akane, which meant that only the early
bird, er, girl, would get a boyfriend this day.

	�We don�t mind,� they chimed in unison. They smiled
at Ryuu then turned to glare at each other.

	Ryuu felt a sudden unease. It felt as if a herd of
elephants had stampeded over his grave. Unconsciously,
he shivered.

	Ryouga, who was all too familiar with the sudden
feeling of a impending sense of doom, recognized the
shiver for what it was. Ryuu was a dead man and he did
not even know it, yet. He was convinced, however, that
he owed it to Ryuu to push the little guy headfirst
into the melee and make him face it like a man.

	�Don�t be rude, Ryuu,� he said, smiling predatorily,
�Tell them the story.�

	Ryuu glared at Ryouga, all but forgetting the strange
queasiness in the pits of his stomach. Then he turned
to the girls.

	�Are you sure?�

	The girls nodded.

	�Jeez, would you get to the story al... oof!� Akane�s
elbow, judiciously applied to Ryouga�s midrib with
�lan, cut off the rest of his speech.

	�Take your time, Ryuu-kun,� she said, affably. She,
too, wanted Ryuu to suffer, but unlike Ryouga, she had
the patience and the presence of mind to wait. Ryuu
was dumb enough to walk into this trap on his own
without their helping him. Vengeance was sweet, yes.

	Shan Pu snickered. This was going to be fun.

	Ryuu, mistaking Akane�s punishment as a gesture of
goodwill, shot her a grateful glance and turned to the
senshi. He cleared his throat and began his tale.

	�Like I said, I�m the heir to the Saotome branch of
Musabetsu Kakutou Ryuu. Only two families practice it
� the Tendos and the Saotomes. Anyways, I�ve been on
the road most my life with my pops, practicing The
Art. That is how I met Shan Pu. She�s a Chinese
Joketsuzoku and we wandered into their village one
day. Her grandmother, the Honorable Elder Guu Long,
took me as a student and taught me for three years.

	�At the end of those three years, pops came for me,
and he and I returned to Japan � to Nerima and the
Tendos to be exact. We went to them �cause there�s an
honor pact between the Tendos and the Saotomes. I�m to
marry a Tendo and unite the two schools. Our fathers
agreed that I would decide whom I would marry on my
eighteenth birthday, and that we should stay with the
Tendos so that I could get to know Akane and her
sisters better.�

	�Have you decided?� Makoto asked, her fingers crossed
behind her back.

	Ryuu shook his head.

	�Nah! Anyways, we have been staying with the Tendos
for the past year. I went to Furinkan with Ryouga and
Akane.�

	�Excuse me,� Usagi interrupted, �Sorry for
interrupting you, but are all the rumors about
Furinkan true?�

	�Um... Which one are you talking about? There are a
lot of rumors about Furinkan, aren�t there,
Akane-chan?� Ryuu asked, looking at Akane and Ryouga
for clarification.

	Akane nodded, as did Ryouga.

	�The ones about the Fierce Goddess and the
Were-magicians...�

	Akane�s face dropped. Ryouga paled and inched
slightly away from Akane. He was feeling that sudden
unavoidable impending sense of doom himself. Ryuu
snickered.

	�Have I got a tale to tell you, or have I got a tale
to tell you?� he said. �You wouldn�t mind if I tell
the story, would you, Akane-chan?�

	Akane muttered something incomprehensible under her
breath.

	�I�ll take that as a yes,� Ryuu said and turned to
the senshi, �It depends on what you have heard. For
example, I wouldn�t call them Were-magicians or
anything like that. In fact, I happen to know that
they are very good people.�

	�But the rumors...�

	�Are just that... Kuno is a crazy idiot. He thinks
that the Fierce Goddess, - that�s Akane here by the
way, - is in love with him when the whole world knows
she hates him. Do you love Kuno, Akane-chan?�

	Akane shook her head, vehemently.

	�See? What did I tell you?� Ryuu said, victoriously.
�I think you�d better continue from where I left,
don�t you?�

	Akane nodded. The girls turned to her.

	�A little over a year ago, Kuno began lusting after
me. Ryouga and I were going steady even then, but that
little fact did not bother Tatewaki. He�s that kind of
a man. Anyways, he announced one day that no boy could
ask me out on a date unless he�d first beaten me in
combat. Ryouga could have put a stop to the idiocy
fast, but he was on a �sightseeing� trip.�

	Ryuu snickered.

	�Sightseeing trip � I suppose you can call it that if
you want. Oof!�

	Ryouga skillfully extricated his fist from Ryuu�s
abdomen. He had a very satisfied smirk on his face.

	�Watch it, Punk,� he warned.

	�Or what, Lost Walker? What are you going to do?�
Ryuu retorted, jumping to his feet in preparation for
the coming fight.

	�Stop it, both of you,� Akane said, getting between
the two boys before the argument devolved into a
fistfight. She did not want to play nursemaid to
Ryouga again.

	The boys glared at each other, but resumed their
seats.

	�Thank you. Please, excuse these two Neanderthals.
They�re always testing the other�s skill by starting
slugfests. Anyways, as I was saying, Ryouga was on a
sightseeing trip and Kuno took full advantage of his
absence. He cajoled most of the boys in school into
attacking me en masse and things steadily went
downhill from there. I was able to protect myself from
the idiots, but the situation was driving me crazy.

	�That�s when Ryuu came into the picture with his
father. Our parents enrolled him at Furinkan and on
his first day, he saw what the boys were trying to do
to me. He stepped in and beat some sense into them.
The boys learnt their lesson well, but Kuno continued
his attacks. He declared war on Ryuu and refused to
accept defeat even though Ryuu punched him out at
least a dozen times before the entire school � he
claimed that Ryuu was using dark magic to aid him in
battle and that Ryuu was trying to bed me. He called
me Fierce Goddess and Ryuu Were-magus. It must have
spread from there.�

	�I�m sorry, we didn�t know,� Usagi apologizing,
realizing now that they had touched one of Akane�s
tender spots.

	�Thank you. Anyways, in a way I�m glad we transferred
here. I don�t have to deal with Kuno anymore.�

	�Did you have any other reason for transferring
here?�

	Akane nodded.

	�Yeah, our house was destroyed yesterday. We�re
currently staying with a family friend in Juuban until
it is rebuilt.�

	�Destroyed, how?�

	�We don�t know. We think it might be a leaky gas
main, but we can�t be sure.�

	The senshi gasped. Tokyo and fire did not mingle
well. The very few instances the two met for a cup of
coffee, the city had burnt, as it did during the
allied bombings in WWII.

	�I hope no one got hurt.�

	�Oh, no one did, thank you. We were very lucky as we
were in the dojo at the time. Even then, we might have
been hurt but for Ranma-san,� Ryouga replied.

	�Ranma-san � who is he?� Makoto asked. If this Ranma
was anywhere near as cute as Ryuu and Ryouga, she
wanted him.

	�Ranma�s my new sensei. He�s a very powerful martial
artist and we�re staying with him.�

	�And...�

	�And I don�t know anything else about him. Why don�t
you ask Shan Pu? She knows him best.�

	Makoto turned enthusiastically to Shan Pu. The
Joketsuzoku smiled at her and spoke.

	�I don�t know much about him either. I�ve known him
for only a couple of weeks and he was taking me on a
ghost chase for most of that time.�

	�What do you mean?� they asked.

	�Well, Ranma is hard to understand. One minute he�s
polite and the next he can as obnoxious as hell. Said
he was testing me by acting obnoxious and stuff, but
you don�t learn to be that snotty in a single day. It
takes years of practice. Anyways, he�s extremely
skilled in The Art and he�s got a weird sense of
humor,� she said, remembering the morning before,
�He�s a good cook and he�s the new PE trainer here.�

	�He is?� the senshi crowed.

	The Nerimians and the Joketsuzoku nodded.

	�Yes, he�s also helping us search for The Dragon.�
She did not add that she suspected he might be The
Dragon.

	And thus, the conversation continued, drifting from
one topic to another until the bell rang, signalling
the end of the lunch break. Having idled away their
freetime until then, the Nerimians as well as the
senshi had to scamper to class lest they be late.

***********************************************************************

	Ranma walked into the middle of the dojo. He bade the
students, who had stood up at his arrival to sit and
cleared his throat.

	�I�m Ranma Qin. I�m your new coach. I�ve gone through
your records for the last couple of years year and I
must say I�m very disappointed in your performance. I
think it is shocking that this school has not won any
prize worth a damn in nearly a decade in the sports
department. It is a record that I intend to change. If
it means that I have to drive you harder than you have
ever driven yourself before, then that is what I will
do. If any of you fail to meet the standards I�m going
to set, - god forgive you if you don't, - I�ll have
your stinky carcass carved up, sauteed and cooked for
dinner. Am I clear?�

	Silence.

	�When I ask you a question, you will give me an
answer, preferably �yes, sir,� �no, sir,� �three bags
full, sir.� Now, I asked the whole lazy lot of you a
question. Where are my answers?�

	�Yes, Sir!� some of the students replied sulkily.

	�I did not hear you!�

	�Yes, Sir!� the entire student body shouted.

	Ranma nodded and pointed to a boy in the third row.

	�You, what�s your name?�

	�Yuji, Sir!�

	�Well, Yuji, step up front. C�mon, I ain�t got all
day to dick around. Is there something wrong with my
mouth, Yuji?�

	Yuji shook his head.

	�Then why are you staring at it. You, there, what�s
you name?�

	�Kenji, Sir!�

	�Kenji, step up front beside Yuji,� Ranma said,
threateningly. As Kenji stepped forward, Ranma
continued addressing the class, �Now, Yuji and Kenji
have volunteered to demonstrate their knowledge of The
Art. When I say go, the two of you will go perform all
the katas you have learnt. Is that clear?�

	�Yes, Sir!�

	�Good! What are you five doing here? Why aren�t you
in your class?� Ranma barked at Ryuu, Usagi, Ami,
Makoto and Minako. He had spotted them as they stood
panting at the entrance of the dojo in their gym
uniforms.

	�This is our class, Sir!� Minako replied.

	Ranma smiled a wicked smile.

	�Oh, tardy, are you? Well, what have you got to say
for yourself? Yuji, Kenji you may begin your
demonstration. Go.�

	�We lost track of time, Sir!� she replied.

	�Lost track of time, she says,� Ranma repeated, �Next
you�ll forget your name, I suppose, Ms. Smarty-pants.�

	Minako did not reply.

	�And you, what�s your name?�

	�Ami Mizuno, Sir!�

	�Well, Ms. Mizuno, do you have an excuse for being
late?�

	�No, Sir!�

	�That�s right. Nothing can ever excuse your being
late for my class. All five of you will do ten laps
around the track after close of school this evening.
What�re you smiling at, Shorty?�

	�Nothing, Sir!� Ryuuken replied. He was asking
himself whether this hardass was the same soft-spoken
Ranma who walked him to school in the morning?

	�Well, just for thinking nothing, you earned yourself
a further thirty laps around the track. I figure
that�ll give you time to think and provide ample
exercise to your ill-used brains.�

	�Yes, Sir!�

	�Come in, the five of you. You can sit at the back
and watch your classmate�s performance. Yuji, what the
hell are you doing?�

	�I... I...� Yuji�s eyes began to water. He was trying
very hard to put a good performance and yet, he was
going to get his ass chewed off.

	�Oh, Jeez, you�re a crybaby! Put a sock in it, will
you? I will not tolerate boys who cry in my class.
That�s better. Now, do you really need me to tell you
that with the way you reinvent The Art, you�re a
danger unto yourself and the world around you, Boy!
Stand straight, tuck up your flabby belly, lower your
center of gravity, breath right, and put some force
into those punches. The way you perform them now,
you�d be better of blowing air at your opponent. And
you, Kenji...�

	�I don�t like our new coach. He�s rude, he�s mean,
and he�s obnoxious,� Minako muttered to Ami as Ranma
continued barking in the background.

	Usagi nodded in acquiescence, but Ami was not so
sure. Their new coach actually seemed to know what he
was talking about. Before she could voice her doubts,
however, Ryuu interrupted them.

	�No, he�s not.�

	�Are you kidding me?� Minako retorted. �He told you
to run forty laps around the track. Do you know how
long that is?�

	Ryuu shrugged.

	�No problem. He knows I can do that.�

	�Huh?� Usagi and Minako asked eloquently. Ami just
shot him a questioning look. He probably likes to
boast about his endurance and strength, they thought.
And they were not wrong. Ryuu did like to boast a lot.

	�He�s the Ranma we were talking about. Don�t tell me
you�ve forgotten about him already. He knows I can do
sixty-seventy laps without breaking a sweat if I
wanted to. He probably thought he was letting me off
easy.�

	�But...�

	�Smarty-pants, what are you yapping about?� Ranma
barked from the front.

	Minako went red with embarrassment and indignation,
but she stood up.

	�We were discussing Kenji�s moves, Sir!�

	�We? Who are we?�

	�Me and Ryuuken Saotome, Sir!�

	�Oh, is that so? Shorty, get your ass up front.�

	Ryuu shot in Minako�s way a sarcastic �thank you, I�m
very grateful to you for getting me into trouble� look
and made his way to the front of the class.

	�So, you think you can do better, huh, Shorty?�

	�Yes, Sir!�

	�Prove it.�

	Ryuu nodded, and Ranma halted Yuji�s and Kenji�s
performance. Ryuu slipped into a stance and began one
of the Musabetsu Kakutou Ryuu�s katas. Ranma watched
him with an upraising eye without saying anything
until Ryuu was halfway through the kata. Then he
called a halt.

	�Come again with the last throw,� he said.

	Ryuu nodded and started again from the throw under
question.

	�Hmm... Attack me using nothing but the moves in that
kata.�

	Ryuu nodded again, and both he and Ranma moved to the
center of the dojo. They bowed to each other and Ranma
took a second to speak to the other students.

	�I want all of you to watch the coming exchange
closely and tell me what you think about it at the
end. Is that clear?�

	�Yes, Sir!�

	�Excellent. Shorty, attack.�

	Immediately, Ryuu leapt at Ranma, his fists flying.
Ranma stood where he was, and blocked the punches and
the kicks. He did not take the offensive until Ryuu
attempted the throw. When he did, Ranma hit him on his
chest with a powerful openpalm strike that sent Ryuu
flying a dozen feet. Gasps of disbelief echoed around
the room and one girl screeched hysterically, �Oh, my
God, you killed him!� Only Ryuu was not killed. He
stood up and bowed to Ranma.

	�Can you see now where you left your defenses open?�
Ranma asked.

	Ryuu nodded vigorously.

	�That�s good then. You can go back to your seat,�
Ranma said. He waited until Ryuu was seated and then
turned his attention to the rest of the class. �As you
can see, your fears that I had killed Ryuu were
unfounded. As his teacher, both inside school and out,
-- that�s right, I�m one of his senseis in The Art --
I�d have been seriously disappointed if he died from
such a puny blow. In fact, I bet he did not even feel
that blow. Do you feel pain where I hit you, Mr.
Ryuu?�

	Ryuu shook his head.

	�See, Ryuu does not hurt. That�s because he�s a
martial artist, unlike the rest of you. The blow that
he did not feel would have collapsed your ribcage and
killed you on the spot if I had used it against anyone
else in this room. Then, how, you ask, did he survive?
The reasons for his miraculous survival are simple.
One, he knows how to take a blow without taking too
much damage. Two, his ki absorbs most of the energy of
the blow and dampens the impact. Three, his body is
incredibly tough, thanks to the years of rigorous
training he�s been through. Am I correct on all three
counts, Mr. Ryuu? You don�t have to stand and answer.�

	�Yes, Sir.�

	Ranma nodded.

	�Now, ideally, I�d have liked the whole bunch of you
to be martial artists, but we are a dying breed and...
Yes, Miss...�

	�Aino Minako.�

	�Yes, Ms. Aino Minako. Do you have a question?�

	�Yes, Sir.�

	�Well, what are you waiting for? Shoot.�

	�It�s not exactly a question, Sir.�

	�Any contribution is welcome, Ms. Aino and that goes
for the rest of you, too. I�m not really the hardass I
pretended to be at the start of the class. I was
having fun at your expense by acting like the coach
from hell.�

	�I think you�re full of crap, Sir.�

	�Oh,� Ranma asked with a twinkle in his eyes, �What
makes you say that?�

	�I have a friend who is a shrine maiden and she tells
me that what you say is impossible. No one alive has
deep enough ki reserves to do the things you said.�

	�You�re correct, yes, but you�re wrong at the
sametime, too. The average Joe and Jane does not have
enough ki to do the things you see in Dragonball, but
with enough training, you can do some pretty
unbelievable things. You don�t believe me, Ms.
Minako?�

	Minako nodded and Ryuu, who was sitting next to her,
just shook his head.

	�It�s not that hard, believe me,� Ranma continued,
shooting her a smile.

	�If it�s so easy, Sir, then why don�t you show us,
say, a ki attack,� Minako retorted.

	�That�s easy. In fact, producing a ki ball is so
easy, that I�m not going to waste my time proving it
to you. I leave that task to your classmate, Ryuu.
He�s going to show you a chi-attack he created. Mr.
Ryuu, please, step in front of the class and show your
classmates your attack.�

	Ryuu walked to the front of the class once again. He
extended his right hand in front of him and closed his
eyes in concentration. Within moments, a swirling ball
of confidence fueled chi formed in his hands. It grew
in his hands until it was the size of a beach ball.

	�That�s enough. How do you feel, Mr. Ryuu?�

	�I feel fine, Sir.�

	�How long can you hold that ball for me?�

	�As long as you want, Sir,� Ryuu replied, puffing his
chest proudly.

	�Over confident, isn�t he?� Ranma asked the class.
More than half, - the entire boy population, to be
exact, - nodded agreeably. �That�s because his ball
and he are currently supercharged with confidence.
Take that confidence away from him and his ball will
sputter out and disappear. This, my dear students, is
what we call chi - impure ki produced by using
polarized emotions. Learning to control chi is
relatively easy. You need only two basic ingredients:
Enough skill and experience to access ki, and your
strongest emotion. The more emotionally unstable you
are, the easier it should be to learn to control chi.

	�Ryuu, here, has an ego the size of Tokyo. He�d be
the first one to admit it, though he�ll call his ego
confidence, self-belief or some such nonsense, if you
ask him. He�s currently learning to control his ki
without his emotions as a channel, a job that is much
tougher for adept chi users like him for reasons I�ll
not delve into. However, with enough training, he can
overcome his bad habits and become a skilled ki adept.
This is because ki is the pure form whereas chi is the
impure, diluted form. For this reason, forming a ki
ball is much harder. You have to be highly skilled to
produce one such as this,� Ranma said, producing a
small ki ball the size of a dime that hovered
centimeters above his palm, �This might appear puny to
the big one that Ryuu has in his hands, but believe
me, mine is much more powerful. Ryuu would have to tax
almost all his reserves to produce one as powerful as
the one I have in my hands, while I have to expend
very little. That�s because raw ki is much more potent
than chi. And that ends todays lesson on ki. Shorty,
you may return to your seat. Do you believe me now,
Ms. Minako?�

	Minako, who had expected everything but the little
performance she just saw, nodded mechanically.
Already, interesting questions were beginning to form
in her and her fellow senshi�s minds. If Ranma was
really the ki Master he claimed to be, then perhaps he
could help Rei.

	�Do you have any other questions?�

	Minako shook her head. What else was there to ask?
She did not want to be embarrassed in front of her
classmates again.

	�Thank you, Mr. Ryuu. You may return to your seat,�
Ranma said. He waited until Ryuu was seated and
cleared his throat. �Now, I�m not asking you to become
ki masters literally overnight, but I want you to
learn more than the mere posturing that you called The
Art until now. I...�

	And so continued the rest of the class. By the end of
the hour, Ranma had everyone listening intently to the
program he proposed to implement to better their
martial skills. Not that they needed the pep talk or
anything, for half the class had made up their minds
about the new coach as soon as they saw his tight buns
when he turned his back on them. His demonstration of
a ki attack helped a little, too. Of the other half, -
the ones that weren�t overtly interested in their new
coach, - the boys joined to impress the girls and the
girls joined to impress Ryuu, the new school hunk.

	When the bell rang at the end of the hour, Ranma
dismissed the class, and returned to his desk, where a
huge pile of papers awaited his perusal and signature.
Only, the senshi did not plan to leave him alone to
work in peace. They �recruited� Ryuu and dragged him
to Ranma�s desk to plead their case.

	�Um... Sir?� Usagi asked, hesitantly. Still
traumatized by their encounter with hardass Ranma at
the start of the class, she was half afraid that Ranma
would blast her to smithereens with his ki attack. 

	Ranma shot the fivesome a quick glance. He sighed at
the look on their faces, and laid down his pencil. He
would have to wait until later to fill the requisition
form.

	�Yes, do you require my assistance, Miss... What did
you say your name was?�

	�Usagi Tsukino, Sir.�

	�Yes, Ms. Usagi, can I do anything for you and your
friends?�

	�I... Well... You tell the sensei, Mina-chan,� she
said, suddenly losing what little courage she had. She
pulled Minako, who had been standing at the back till
then and pushed her to the front.

	Ranma chuckled at Usagi�s nervousness and shook his
head.

	�Yeah, you tell me, Mina-chan.�

	�Um... We need your help, Sir.�

	�Help?� Smile. �Looks like you did not hear me when I
said this before, Children. So, I repeat my words ad
verbatim for your benefit. Do you require my
assistance?�

	The three senshi nodded vehemently, but Minako still
looked at a loss of words. She did not have the
faintest clue as to how she was going to approach him.
She confirmed Ranma�s suspicions about the state of
her mind seconds later.

	�Oh, I don�t know where to start. Ami-chan, you tell
sensei.�

	Ranma grinned and turned to Ami, who was fidgetting.

	�Now, don�t tell me you�re going to give up and let
your last remaining girlfriend do the talking.�

	Ami shook her head.

	�Well, that�s a relief.� Pause. �You can start
anytime you want, you know.�

	�Yes, Sir,� Ami began hesitantly. She drew little
circles with her fingers on the desk. �We�ve a friend
who is sick. We were hoping that you could help her.�

	�Oh, you�ve come to me for advice, have you. I�ll
give it to you free of charge this time,� Ranma said,
winking mischievously at them, �Take your friend to
the hospital. That�s where they take sick people who
want to get better.�

	�The hospitals cannot help her, Sir,� Ami pleaded, a
note of desperation creeping into her voice, �The
problem�s with her ki.�

	The expression on Ranma�s face turned serious. He
leaned forward on his chair and nodded.

	�Go on.�

	�She�s a shrine maiden and she accidentally performed
a technique called the Fire Vision while attempting a
Fire Reading...�

	�Hold on. When did the accident happen?�

	�Two nights ago.�

	�Interesting. Is this friend of yours trained in The
Art?�

	The girls shook their head as one. Rei practiced
Karate, yes, but her training would not fit whatever
Ranma defined as training in The Art.

	�And you say she survived the Fire Vision. Very
interesting, indeed. How did that happen? Untrained
hands and that technique do not mix well.�

	�Her grandfather, the temple priest, recognized what
was happening and saved her before she could die,� Ami
said, honestly.

	Ranma nodded, accepting the explanation.

	�She�s very lucky to have such a wise grandfather.
What do you want me to do?�

	�We were hoping that you�d perform a ki transfer and
replenish her ki reserves...�

	Somehow, Ranma managed to look thoughtful while
glaring at Ryuu.

	�Where did you learn I can perform a ki transfer? Did
you tell them, Ryuu?�

	Ryuu shook his head vehemently in refusal and smiles
bloomed on all the senshi�s faces.

	�Does this mean you can perform a ki transfer, Sir?�
Minako asked.

	�Perhaps I can. I�ll need to examine this girl as
soon as possible before deciding upon an appropriate
course of action. Tell me, where does your friend
live?�

	�We can take you to her this evening, if you want,
Sir,� Ami replied quickly.

	�Very well. I�ll meet the four of you at the track as
soon as school is over. You�ll do your ten laps, -
forty laps in your case, Ryuu, - and then, we�ll visit
your friend. What subject do you have now?�

	�History, Sir.�

	Ranma nodded and scribbled a nearly illegible excuse
slip on a small scrap of paper.

	�Take this to your teacher. I�m sure you don�t want
to be punished for the second time in the day for
being late for a class. Now, leave me in peace. I�ve a
ton of paperwork and less than an hour to do it.�

***********************************************************************

	Indiran was one pissed Ashura. Despite all the
threats and warnings he had issued to Surya, the
latter had broken The Code. Worse yet, after
committing the murder, he devoured the heart of his
victim, - a flabby middle-aged businessman, - even
before it stopped beating. He had been in high spirits
since then and was currently having a pleasant
conversation with a group of Righteous Ones as if he
had not a care in the world. Perhaps he thought his
crime had gone unobserved and was celebrating a job
well done.

	Breaking The Code was bad enough in Indiran�s
opinion, but eating the victim�s heart was just about
the worst thing that anyone could ever do to another
living being. Only demons did that, as the act
enslaved the victim�s soul to one�s own. It broke the
Cycle of Life and kept the victim�s soul from ever
attaining nirvana, dooming him to wander the planes as
a restless ghost forever. And Surya had done just
that. His crime went beyond unpardonable. Surya had
broken the Cycle of Life that all Ashura were sworn to
uphold, and that made him a traitor. There was only
one punishment for all traitors and only Lord Raja
Chola, as the first son of the earth, had the right
and the authority to bestow it on the deserving. The
Code was clear enough on the subject, and as much as
Indiran wanted to skin Surya alive and tear his heart
out, he could not do it. That was Lord Raja Chola�s
job.

	�Boomi Pitha.�

	�Yes, Indira?� the old timer asked.

	�How goes the work on the trap?�

	�It goes well. The men should have it completed
within the hour.�

	�Good. We�ll spring the trap today itself then. Lady
Justice has waited too long a time for her tryst with
the mass murderers of the House of Serenity and she
should not have to wait any longer than is absolutely
necessary.�

	�As you wish.�

	�Tell your men it is imperative they do their job
well.�

	�They know the importance of their mission, Indira.
We need not remind them.�

	Indiran nodded.

	�You have more experience with your men than me. Do
as you see fit.�

	Pause.

	�Detail some of your men to keep an eye on Surya in
secret. I fear Surya�s broken The Code.�

	Boomi Pithan nodded silently, not trusting himself
enough to speak just yet. Had he heard right? Could an
Ashura really break The Code? Everything he read in
the old lore indicated that the Ashuras were the
paragon of perfection - that they could do no wrong.
But the proof stood right before his eyes mocking
them. �Glad to know that they are as fallible as we
are,� he thought to himself.

	�I regret wasting our meager resources on a traitor,
but it must be done. Only the Lord has the authority
to punish Surya for his crimes,� Indiran said, his
voice filled with regret.

	Boomi Pithan could not help uttering a gasp of shock.
There were four forbidden crimes in The Code. Only
Chola had the right to punish those four and they were
easily the most despicable things anyone could ever
do.

	�Do you understand the import of your orders, Pitha?�

	�I do. I will put my best five on the job
immediately.�

	�Thank you. Inform me as soon as the trap is
completed. I�ll be in this room preparing for battle
until then.�

	Fade.

***********************************************************************

	Once they were sure that their new coach was going to
help Rei, the four senshi became much more casual
towards Ryuu. By the end of the school day, all four
were chatting away with Ryuu as if they had been
friends all their lives. For Ryuu, it was a pleasant
change from Furinkan, where he had been avoided by
most of his schoolmates like a pariah for his martial
skills, and he grasped the extended hand of friendship
like his life depended on it.

	Thus, when the final bell of the day rang, the five
left the class together. They met with the
neo-Nerimian gang sans Nabiki, bade them goodbye and
proceeded to the school grounds, where they found
Ranma waiting for them. He put them to their
punishment immediately without allowing them the
luxury of stretching their bodies first and goaded
them with insults as they ran.

	For Usagi, the first three laps were a breeze. The
fourth and fifth were uncomfortable, but the last five
were the stuff of nightmares. Somehow, she ran her
quota, and collapsed on the ground beside Ranma, Ami,
Minako and Makoto, wheezing like an asthma patient.
Ranma patted her on the shoulder, a very annoying,
self-righteous smirk on his face, and spoke.

	�It�s all right, Ms. Usagi. Not everyone is cut out
for this kind of physical punishment. I bet your
muscles feel like raw mush now.�

	Usagi managed to nod a yes, barely. Her legs were
mush, her lungs burned with the lack of oxygen and the
blood vessels in her head thudded loudly enough to be
heard miles away. She just knew she was going to die
from overexertion before the end of the semester.

	�You just lie there now and catch your breath. Ryuu�s
got another twenty laps to go and he�s going to take
another thirty minutes or so to go,� Ranma said,
kindly to her.

	Usagi groaned, rolled onto her back and closed her
eyes. She lay thus, with her arms and her legs
spread-eagled. She sighed in relief and the other
senshi, quickly followed her example.

	Ranma shook his head at their sight and turned his
attention back to Ryuu.

	�C�mon, Shorty, you think I�m going to spend all of
eternity just standing here and looking at you while
you drag you sorry ass around the field. Speed up, or
do another forty laps. Now!�

	Ryuu, who had been lapping twice as fast as any of
the sailors, heard Ranma�s threats and sped up, all
the while muttering curses about his new sensei under
his breath. Finally, all forty laps were run and he
doubled over, laboring for breath, which came in
shallow gasps. Ranma patted him on the shoulder, and
handed him a towel and several bottles of gotorade,
all of which Ryuu emptied.

	�That feel good?� Ranma asked, a wicked glint in his
eyes.

	�Yes, it did,� the younger Saotome replied,
sarcastically.

	�I bet it did,� Ranma replied, grinning even madly
than before, �All of you go and freshen up fast. When
you�re done, come back here. We have to visit your
sick friend, yet,� he said.

	The fivesome nodded and trudged into the school,
where they took a quick shower. They returned a
quarter of an hour later squeaky clean and freshened
up. They rendezvoused with Ranma and all six walked to
the Hiwaka shrine, chattering like only four teenage
girls, a teenage boy and a very, very, very old geezer
can. In no time at all, they were standing in front of
the Hiwaka shrine and Minako looked at Ranma
questioningly. He nodded and they stepped onto the
holy grounds.

	�Well, what are you waiting for?� Ranma asked the
girls, as they stood fidgetting on the veranda of the
Hino house. �Knock on the door.�

	All four swallowed the lumps in their throats, - they
did not know how Rei would react to their bringing two
complete strangers into their secret, - and knocked
simultaneously.

	�Coming, coming!� came the muffled shout of the elder
Hino from the direction of the kitchen in reply.
Moments later, the front door opened. �Hello?� the old
priest articulated uncertainly when Ranma�s taller
frame caught his eye. Then, his eyes fell on the
senshi and a smile blossomed on his face. �Welcome,
Children. Come in.�

	Makoto smiled and stepped in.

	�Grandfather, this is Ranma-san, our new coach at
school, and this is our friend Ryuuken Saotome. He�s a
classmate,� she said by way of introductions.

	�Hello, Ranma-san, Saotome-san,� the priest said with
a bow.

	�Hello, Hino-san,� the two brothers said, politely,
returning the bow. Ryuu�s bow was deeper, but Ranma�s
was slightly shallower than the elder Hino�s, a fact
that did not escape the observant priest�s attention.

	�Welcome to the Hiwaka shrine,� he said, warmly,
eyeing Ranma with ill-concealed interest. Who was this
young man who thought that a priest was beneath his
station?

	�Thank you, Hino-san,� Ranma replied with the same
warmth, �I consider it a boon to have my feet tread on
such holy grounds as these.�

	Hino�s eyes nodded approvingly at Ranma. Apology
accepted, they said. He shot a questioning glance at
Usagi and cleared his throat, when she did immediately
understand his non-verbal question. Still, Usagi did
not get it, but the ever perceptive Ami did.

	�Oh, excuse me,� she said, �I forgot to tell you the
reason for sensei�s presence, Grandpa. He�s here to
give Rei-chan a ki transfer.�

	Hino looked dubiously at the girls and at Ranma.
True, the lore said that ki transfer from one person
to another was possible and that at one time there had
even been Masters who were skilled enough to
successfully pull off such a transfer, but he was
loathe to believe that there were martial artists
skilled enough to perform one alive. The skill of the
practitioners had nosedived considerably over the
years and the current crop of �Masters� of The Art
were jokes compared to those even fifty years before.

	�Um... Perhaps you�ve made a mistake, Ami-chan. Ki
transfers are practically impossible to perform and
mistakes during the procedure can be fatal. You girls
are well-meaning, I know, but I have to refuse - no
insult meant to you, of course, Ranma-san.�

	The senshi appeared dejected by this outright
refusal. More than one opened their mouthes to argue
their case, but Ranma beat them to the punch.

	�You�re correct, Hino-san. Ki transfers are hard to
perform and there is an inherent danger involved in
them, but they are not impossible and as Ryuu here can
tell you, I have successfully performed them before,�
he said.

	Hino�s eyes practically began to glow with joy.

	�You can help my granddaughter?� he asked.

	Ranma nodded.

	�Yes, I can.�

	�Oh, thank you, thank you!� the priest gesticulated
excitedly, losing all vestiges of self control. Oh,
how he had prayed in the nights for just such a
miracle!

	Ranma bore the �thank yous� and the �I�m so
gratefuls� good-humoredly, and waited until the priest
had regained some measure of self control.

	�Perhaps you can take me to the patient�s room,
Hino-san. I�m very anxious to examine your lucky
granddaughter,� he said.

	Light dawned at the end of the tunnel in Hino�s eye
and without wasting another moment, he nodded and took
them upstairs to Rei�s room. The door was closed, as
usual, and he indulged in a little explanation.

	�She�s probably sleeping,� he said to Ranma as he
knocked on the door, �Rei?� Ranma made sure to nod
agreeably.

	A few seconds passed before Rei replied. The interval
was filled with the muffled sounds of scuffling.

	�Yes, Grandpa?�

	�Can I come in? I have visitors who want to see you.�

	�Okay, the door�s open,� came the reply.

	At that, Hino opened the door and showed them into
the room. Rei, who was lying on top of the bed wearing
a thin bare pajama that showed everything underneath,
yelped at the sight of the two strangers and quickly
scrambled under the covers. She felt that the
situation demanded such an action, even though she
knew that the exertion would leave her weak for
another couple of hours.

	�Grandpa!� she shouted indignantly from below the
covers.

	Hino, truly embarrassed by the experience, did the
only thing he could. He shot a �you squeak, you die�
look at the senshi and Ryuu, and cleared his throat
for some serious kowtowing.

	�I�m sorry, Rei. Please, forgive me. I did not know
you changed to that pajama.�

	Rei did not reply, nor did her head emerge from under
the sheets. She was one seriously embarrassed girl,
who had made up her mind about living under the sheets
for the rest of her life and dying under them.

	Hino started to apologize again, but before he could,
Ranma laid an arm on his shoulders and nodded once at
him. Accordingly, Hino stood up from where he was
kneeling beside the bed and Ranma took his place,
though he did not kneel like Hino had.

	�Rei-san, my name is Ranma Qin and my little
accomplice is Ryuuken Saotome. I�m a Master of The Art
and he is my student. We came here today because I
heard of your condition and wanted to help you. I
apologize for not announcing our presence before we
came into the room. Can you forgive me?�

	Rei did not reply. She suddenly became utterly still
under the sheets and even stopped breathing. It was as
if she was hoping that Ranma would disappear if she
ignored him long enough.

	�Rei, please, come out,� a soft voice scarcely
identifiable as Usagi�s said, �You know we did not
mean to walk in on you.�

	For a moment, Rei appeared to consider her friend�s
words. Then, the blanket slowly slid down, revealing
her face one inch at a time. She was very careful to
not lower it any lower than her chin.

	�Hello, Rei-san, how do you feel?� Ranma asked
without further adieu.

	�Fine,� she replied in a slightly squeaky voice.

	Ranma nodded.

	�Do you feel tired when you exert yourself
physically, like when you did just now?� he asked.

	Rei�s head bobbed up and down ever so slightly.

	�That�s acceptable, I suppose,� Ranma muttered, �Your
friends tell me that you performed a Fire Vision. Is
that true? Blink once for yes and twice for no. I
don�t want you exerting yourself too much in answering
my questions.�

	Rei blinked once.

	�You�re a very lucky girl, you know that? Not many
who attempt the Fire Vision live to tell the tale.
Precious few, in fact.�

	Again, Rei blinked once.

	�Where did you learn the technique, anyway?�

	Pause.

	�Oh, nevermind, it does not matter where you learnt
the accursed technique. Wherever you learnt it from,
you must promise me you will never use it again, for
next time, you might not be so lucky.�

	Blink.

	�Good. Now, I need you to lower the blanket to your
knees. I can send your friends and Ryuu out of the
room if you want, but your grandfather will remain.
Will you lower the blanket for me?�

	�Can I change into something else before you examine
me?� Rei asked, her face blushing several shades of
crimson.

	�I think it�s better you remain in your present
clothing, Child. One, changing clothes will sap your
strength, and two, even if it did not, you�ll have to
remove the top and your pants for the coming
examination.�

	�Oh!�

	�So, do I send them out?� he asked.

	Rei looked at her friends and the boy who stood in
their midst. They nodded at her unspoken question.
They trusted him. And Rei, who felt much stronger with
her friends near her, decided that if Usagi and the
others had no qualms about Ryuu�s presence, then
neither would she. She took a deep breath and blinked
twice. She would think of them as doctor and nurse.

	�All right,� Ranma said with a nod. Next, he turned
to the crowd and addressed them. �Ryuu, you and the
girls are not knowledgable enough to help me in what
I�m about to do. Therefore, you will move to the other
side of the bed. Girls, I think Rei feels strengthened
by your presence and you can provide that strength
from that side of the bed as well as you can from this
side. Ryuu, you can sense ki, but you do not know the
theory well enough to help me. I�m sorry. The best you
can do is observe and learn, that is if Rei-san wants
you to stay here.�

	Rei blinked once. Now that she thought of Ranma as a
doctor and Ryuu as his helper, she did not feel so
uncomfortable anymore.

	Having got the patient�s approval, Ranma continued
with his instructions.

	�Ryuu stand where you have a clear line of sight for
the duration of the examination. You�ll not learn much
if you cannot see what I do.�

	Ryuu nodded and thoughtfully moved to the foot of the
bed. This way, he would have a clear, uninterrupted
line of sight and her four friends could be closest to
Rei-san.

	�Hino-san, I need you by my side to help me.�

	Hino moved closer to Ranma.

	�Thank you. Now, Rei, I�m going to unbutton your
shirt and pull down your pant. If you�re embarrassed,
as I�m sure you are, feel free to close your eyes and
cover them with your hands. I�m told it helps a
little.� Of course, Ranma would have preferred to have
Rei�s eyes open for the duration of the procedure, but
with her being embarrassed the way she was, he felt
that it would be better if she had her eyes covered.
Strong emotions such as embarrassment threw the
chakras off kilter and made his job that much harder.

	Hino smiled at Ranma�s advice and shook his head.
Rei, who did not find Ranma�s advice amusing in the
least, blinked once and followed his words to the
letter. He, for his part, waited patiently while she
prepared herself mentally for the coming psychological
ordeal. Finally, she took a deep breath and Ranma
spoke.

	�If it helps, you can imagine that the others are not
really here,� he said, as he unbuttoned the pajama and
exposed Rei�s chest. Next, he went to work on her
pants and released them without the slightest bit of
fuss. He pulled the garment to her knees before he
spoke again. �Now, I�m going to examine your chakras.
I need to touch and prod them with my fingers. I need
you to remove your hands from your eyes briefly so
that I can examine your Ajna Chakra, though you can
keep them closed. You can cover them again after I�ve
finished the examination. You will probably feel
slight discomfort at first and I will be touching you
near some really awkward areas. We can make do without
this part of the procedure, but then, any cure I give
you will only be skin-deep. It will take weeks,
possibly months for your chakras to find their balance
themselves and during that period, you�ll need to be
careful to not exert yourself physically or
psychically. I can administer the simple cure if you
want or I can examine you now and determine the exact
remedy for your sickness. The decision is really up to
you.�

	Rei temporarily unsheathed one of her eyes and looked
to the elder Hino for advice. Hino, who had a fairly
good idea of the treatment from the scrolls he had
read on the subject the previous two days, knew that
Ranma was doing the procedure by the book. He gave his
seal of approval with a slight nod, and Rei closed her
eyes again after blinking once.

	�Thank you,� Ranma said, heaving a little breath of
relief. Even at first sight, he could tell that Rei�s
ki was badly askewed. That being the case, the simple
cure would only have been a very temporary preventive
measure and she would have reverted back to the sick
state anytime. He started with the Sahasrara Chakra,
moved down, to the Ajna Chakra, the Visuddha Chakra,
the Anahata Chakra, Manipura Chakra, the Svadhisthana
Chakra and finished with the Kundalini Chakra. The
examination took perhaps five minutes and during most
of that time, Rei was very thankful to have her face
hidden from the rest of her friends, for it would not
do to have them see her with a very pink face, which
was what her face must have looked like with all that
blood gushing on it.

	�Is she all right, Sensei?� Hino asked. After
watching the expert manner in which Ranma conducted
the examination, he was sure that it was a Master who
stood before him.

	Ranma looked thoughtful for a moment.

	�Mostly, yes. Her Ajna is severely imbalanced and her
Anahata only slightly so. With the exception of those
two, you have a very healthy granddaugher here,
Hino-san.�

	�Can the imbalance be rectified?� Hino asked,
fearfully.

	Ranma took a moment to answer the question.

	�Yes, yes, of course. Forgive me, Hino-san, but I was
lost in my thoughts. The cure for the imbalances are
easy enough to administer. I was just wondering about
Rei-san�s impressive affinity for mana and ki.�

	�Oh!� Hino quoth, curiously. He had known about Rei�s
ki affinity from practically her birth, - one of his
senseis informed him of her gift during an informal
visit in her first year, - but this was the first time
he had heard anyone comment about her mana affinity.

	�Then she will be well?�

	Ranma smiled.

	�Yes, she will. Rei-san, I need you to keep your
hands off your eyes for just a few more minutes. I
need to manipulate some pressure points and you know
what that means. Can I proceed?�

	Rei nodded a yes with her eyes closed.

	�Thank you. Tell me when you feel a tingling
sensation in the area of contact,� he said and went to
work, skillfully manipulating a plethora of pressure
points and infusing them with ki.

	�It tingles,� Rei reported after Ranma had prodded
her for the better part of a minute, biting back a
laugh. It tingled bad.

	�Do feel free to laugh if you must,� Ranma said, a
smile on his face.

	Rei did exactly that, and her friends and grandfather
laughed with her. Her laughter sounded weak to their
ears, but still it succeeded in bringing tears of joy
in all their eyes. Rei was cured.

	�How do you feel?� Ranma asked when the last peals of
laughter faded away from Rei.

	�Fine,� she replied. She still had her eyes closed,
but her muscles were relaxed and she had a smile on
her face.

	�That�s great. Now, I need to do the ki transfer and
we�ll be done. Can I proceed?�

	Nod.

	Ranma looked to Hino, too, for the go ahead and after
receiving it, introduced his hand to Rei�s forehead.
His hand glowed translucent white for a few seconds
before it became opaque again. He removed his hand and
sighed in relief. The whole procedure had gone better
than he had hoped it would.

	�Ryuu, you go stand guard outside the door. Rei-san,
you can cover up. Hino-san, can I have a word with you
in private?�

	Hino nodded, and Ranma and he moved to the corner of
the room. The senshi, - all five of them, - whose
hackles had been raised by Ranma�s very strange
request, tried to eavesdrop on their conversation, but
could catch only a word or two. Ranma and the elder
Hino spoke in extra quiet voices for whatever reason
and during the whole time, Hino�s head kept bobbing up
and down as if he was agreeing with whatever was being
said.

	�Rei,� Hino began when he and Ranma had both
returned, �I�m concerned that you�ll use the Fire
Vision again and so is Ranma-sensei. I know you
promised me to stay away from it, but he assures me
that the technique is addictive - that once you
perform it, you�ll want to perform it sometime again
in your life. Therefore, he�s asked me to give him
permission to put a restraint on your ki reserves
limiting the amount of ki you can spend in one outing.
He assures me that the procedure is painless and I
think you should let him do it.�

	Rei, who had her eyes closed, even though the blanket
covered her body once again, opened them, and looked
at her grandfather and then at her friends. Usagi, who
had taken Rei�s hand in hers, pressed them lightly and
Rei nodded.

	�Okay, Grandpa, you can do it.�

	Hino looked to Ranma, who stepped forward. He pulled
the blanket to her waist, and put one hand on her
Sahasrara Chakra and another on her Manipura Chakra.
Next, he closed his eyes in concentration and tweaked
them both with a little ki.

	�It�s done,� he announced, opening his eyes, �Why
don�t you try accessing your ki?� he asked her,
removing his hands and restoring the blanket.

	Rei did exactly that. Her eyes narrowed as she
concentrated on her ki, but she found that even though
she could access it, she could not increase or
decrease the flow at her will. It remained constant no
matter what she did.

	�I can access enough ki to write tofudas, or do a
Fire Reading, but even that is pushing the limit,� she
said.

	Nod.

	�That�s good. How do you feel physically?� Ranma
asked.

	�I feel enlivened,� she replied.

	Ranma nodded, again.

	�Your ki level�s back to normal and physically,
you�re in a very good state of health. Still, I want
you to take it easy for a couple of days. Will you do
that for me?�

	Rei�s head bobbed once.

	�Your granddaughter�s cured, Hino-san,� Ranma
announced to the very grateful looking elder Hino.

	�Thank you, Sensei,� the priest replied, his voice
dripping with gratitude. He bowed deeper than he ever
had in his life to Ranma as he did.

	�You�re welcome,� Ranma replied, returning the bow,
�Come, let�s go downstairs. I think Rei-san wants to
spend time alone with her friends.�

	Hino looked at the pleading looks on all five girls
and shook his head in mild amusement.

	�You know what? I think you�re right,� he said, as he
led Ranma out. He paused at the door and called,
�Remember what Ranma-sensei said, Rei. Don�t exert
yourself.�

	With that, they, - Ranma, Ryuu and Hino, - made their
way downstairs and there, Hino offered his guests some
tea. Ranma graciously accepted the priest�s concoction
and for the next half an hour, they spent their time
chatting about this and that, until finally, it was
time to leave. Hino saw them to the shrine entrance,
where they parted ways.

***********************************************************************

	The road had a Y-fork at one end and a T-fork at the
other. At the head of the T-fork was a multi-storeyed
building, - a skyscraper, really, - with hundreds and
hundreds of panes of glass facing the road. On its
roof stood Indiran, his true hands on his hips. The
other four were clasped behind his back. He was
dressed in traditional Ashura battle dress - a white
sarong tied tightly around his waist and folded into a
katcham, and an intricately stitched malleable armor
of wooden plates made from an ancient Neem tree on his
chest. He had a sickle tied around his waist over his
dhoti and a long, cutting sword that was curved
inwards at its head, - a veecharuval, - on his back.
Both his weapons were grown from the tusks of two very
long-lived mammoths. His face was completely serene
and pacified, and was devoid of even the slightest
hint of indecision, as only those who had
wholeheartedly committed themselves to an action can
have.

	At the other end of the road, at the head of the
Y-fork, stood another multi-storeyed building. It was
not a true skyscraper, unlike its brother on the
opposite side, but its windows were made of glass and
it was tall enough to suffice for Indiran�s purposes.
Atop it stood Boomi Pithan and Suryan. They were
dressed in battle garb, too, and were armed in much
the same way as their compatriot on the skyscraper.
The other buildings on each side of the street were
tall enough to make it practically impossible for the
senshi to jump over them and they were close enough to
each other to make the handful of alleyways killing
fields. It was in essence a fairly good trap. The only
weaknesses were the four exits in the form of the
roads leading in and out of it, and if Indiran�s plan
worked the way it was supposed to, they, too, would be
sealed.

	From his vantage point, Indiran examined the
battlefield with the a critical eye borne from
experience and nodded unto himself. He released a
little ki into the air and passed final orders to his
subordinates using ki battle language. Then, he
stepped up to the edge and leapt with casual grace to
the street below.

	He landed and...

***********************************************************************

	It was evening in Juuban, Tokyo, and Hitoshi Tameda
was one dead tired, but extremely satisfied engineer.
He had been working his tail off for practically the
entire week to get his firm�s software project
completed in time to meet the management�s deadline,
and had slept little, if at all, the whole time. Early
this afternoon, the final glitches had been sorted,
and the recompiled software package when installed on
the test systems ran better than the programmers had
hoped it would. The rest of the afternoon was spent
celebrating the successful completion of the
multi-million dollar project and now, he was taking a
leisurely stroll home, - the first one in months, -
enjoying the smell of the evening air and the feel of
the breeze in his hair.

	Everything appeared and felt faultless, and Hitoshi
was thinking that the evening could not be more
perfect when a six-armed monster armed to the teeth
with deadly looking weapons and dressed in armor
landed in front of him. It had fallen from God-knew
where, and Hitoshi backstepped thrice in quick
succession as he tried to put as much distance as he
could between it and himself, and finally fell flat on
his back. The monster�s eyes fell on him then and he
scrambled, or rather, tried to scamper away from it,
but it did not let him run away. It closed the
distance between itself and him, and leaned over until
its face was inches away from his. Scared out of his
wits, and silently praying to the Gods to make his
death a quick and painless one, Hitoshi vaguely heard
a woman scream monster at the top of her lungs and
cars screech to a halt all along the road, but paid no
attention to the commotion. His attention was sorely
focused on those razor-sharp blades and the terrifying
glint in the monster�s eyes that promised a very slow
and very painful death.

	�Hello, Mortal,� it said with a throaty laugh, �I�m
Indiran of the Ashuras. I�ll let you live if you�ll
run fast enough screaming loudly at the top of your
lungs. What do you say?�

	Hitoshi did not have to think twice before accepting
the offer. In fact, he made the decision even before
it asked the question, - never had he reached one so
fast in his entire life, - thus proving whoever said
that the Japanese cannot make a fast decision even if
their life depended on it wrong. He scrambled on all
fours for another couple of feet, then got on his feet
and ran the hell out of there, screaming incoherently
until his voice was hoarse. In fact, he did not stop
screaming until he reached his house and even then,
only because his neighbor, a practicing physician,
shot him with an extra large dose of sedative.

	Indiran watched Hitoshi run screaming with his wet
pants, - Hitoshi had wet himself early into his
ordeal, - and fought hard to keep a straight face. He
summoned his ki again, and blasted a few objects here
and there, taking care not to hurt anyone accidentally
until all the humans had run off. When the last of the
civilians had escaped, he signalled his subordinates
to set fire to both exits of the T-fork with ki-fire
and returned to the entrance of the skyscraper, where
he stood still, awaiting the arrival of the senshi.

***********************************************************************

	After leaving the Hiwaka shrine, Ranma took Ryuu on a
circuitous route home. He wanted to have a long talk
with his younger brother and the walk home was as good
a time as any to have it.

	�Sensei, what is the Fire Vision?� Ryuu asked. He had
been meaning to ask Ranma the question all afternoon.

	�It is a very accurate method of divining the future
and exploring the past. Sadly, people began misusing
it and it was abolished a long time ago.�

	�Divining? As in telling me when I�ll die and stuff?�

	Ranma chuckled.

	�Something like that, yes. Fire Vision is useful in
exploring the hidden meaning of dreams, and since
dreams are gateways to both the past and the future,
the Fire Vision is useful in divining the past and the
future.�

	�Oh! Why did they banish it if it was so useful?�

	�You�re really hooked, aren�t you?�

	Nod.

	�The technique was banished because a lot of
unskilled people, - like your friend, Rei, for
example, - started using it.�

	�So?�

	�Using the Fire Vision without the proper knowhow is
equivalent to committing suicide. You have to have
complete control of mind, body and ki to use the
technique properly, and if you were found lacking in
even one of those three, you�d die a very gruesome
death.�

	�Oh!�

	�Yes. Are you satisfied now?�

	Nod.

	�Good, you can then tell me what you learnt today at
the Hiwaka shrine, the part about proper ogling of a
half-naked female body notwithstanding.�

	�Sensei!�

	�C�mon, Ryuu, admit it. You liked what you saw,
didn�t you? There�s no use lying to your sensei,�
Ranma teased.

	Ryuu�s cheeks, which had already reddened at the
mention of Rei, reddened even further.

	�I�m not a pervert.�

	�I�m not saying you�re a pervert. It is perfectly
natural to appreciate the beauty of the female body,
unless, of course, you�re a doctor and your patient is
a woman. In fact, it would have raised doubts about
your sexuality in my mind if you had not appreciated
today.�

	�But Akane...�

	�Akane is a tomboy... I hear she�s got quite a
temper, so don�t tell her I told you that. She�ll
probably try to bash my head in for suggesting such.�

	Pause.

	�Does this mean that you accept having ogled Rei?�

	�It does not.�

	�It does, too.�

	�Not!�

	�Too! Oh, bother, I�m acting like a toddler. You�re a
bad boy, you know that?�

	�I�m not.�

	�See, you�re throwing a tantrum.�

	�Argh!�

	Bonk!

	�First lesson for the evening. Do not lose your
temper at your sensei. He is infintely more
experienced and powerful than you,� Ranma said,
skillfully retracting his extended arm with a stylish
flourish.

	Ryuu glared at his sensei, as he rubbed his now very
sore pate. Ranma, it seemed, was an expert boxer,
skilled in the ways of the fist and the hardhead.

	�Come now, my dear Student, let bygones be bygones.
We�ll start anew and stray away from embarrassing
truths and aphorisms in the future. Is that
acceptable?�

	Ryuu nodded, while at the same time muttering that he
had nothing to be embarrassed about under his breath,
that is, he had not acted like a pervert at the
shrine. Ranma chuckled at the display and patted him
on the shoulder.

	�So, what did you learn at the Hiwaka shrine?� he
asked.

	�Um... Let�s see,� Ryuu said, ticking off his
fingers, �I learnt a little about the seven chakras
and the importance of inter-chakra balance.�

	�Very good.�

	Silence.

	�Senshi, when are you going to teach me to ki shields
and such?� he asked.

	�When you get the basics right. That�s when. Why
would you want to learn such an advanced application
of ki so soon in your ki training? You haven't even
mastered the basics of ki yet.�

	Ryuu shrugged.

	�I just want to,� he replied.

	Ranma thought for a moment.

	�Does it have anything to do with the blast at
Tendo-ke?� he asked.

	Ryuu nodded.

	�Yeah. I have never felt so helpless in my life. I
mean, if it weren�t for you, the Elder and the old
goat, they�d be having my funeral right now.�

	Ranma smiled, slipping into loco parentis mode, and
patted his little brother on the shoulder.

	�Well, we were there, and you aren�t dead. So, don�t
bother.�

	�But what if something similar happens again?�

	�What makes you think I, the Grandmaster or the Wise
One won�t be there when it happens again?�

	�I...�

	�One step at a time, Ryuu, remember that. You have to
learn to stand before you can learn to walk and you
have to learn to walk before you can learn to run.�

	Ryuu nodded.

	�Good. Now, what is this with the name calling? I
hope you weren�t referring to the Grandmaster. If you
are, you better stop it. I will not have my students
insulting their elders.�

	�Yes, Sensei,� Ryuu replied, even though he did not
want to. Happousai deserved that and a lot more for
sullying the school's name so.

	Nod.

	�Anything other doubts or questions?�

	�When are you going to teach me to manipulate the
chakras directly, Sensei?� Ryuu asked.

	�When I think you have earned the right, Ryuu.�

	�But why?�

	�Because manipulating the chakras is very dangerous.
Even more so than the Fire Vision. At least, when you
play with the Fire Vision, the worst that can happen
is you�ll die, but infinitely worse fates await those
who mess around with the chakras.�

	�Huh? What can be worse than death?�

	�How about being doomed to be a wandering ghost
forever? How about the complete and utter destruction
of the soul? Are those two good enough for you, or do
you need more?�

	�If they are as dangerous as you say they are, then
why aren�t I dead already? I have been hit more times
than I can count on the Manipura Chakra.�

	Ranma smiled pensively.

	�When dealing with the chakras, brute force will
accomplish nothing. Gently prod them with your ki and
the results will surprise you...�

	�Oh!�

	�I recognize that look on your face, Ryuu, you can�t
wait to practice what I have told you, can you? Well,
don�t. At least, not until I give the go ahead. If you
try it now, you�ll kill yourself or whomever consents
to act as your guinea pig.�

	�But...�

	�I said no and I mean it. Don�t make me erase your
memories of the technique forever. I don�t want that
and neither do you.�

	Ryuu looked like he might argue, but Ranma stopped
him with a glare.

	�If you don�t have the commonsense to follow your
sensei�s advice, I don�t see much point in training
you. Either you abandon all thoughts about the chakra
manipulation now, or you can start searching for a new
teacher.�

	Faced with such a daunting prospect, - after all,
where else would he find someone as skilled as Ranma?
- Ryuu decided that there were not many paths left to
choose and selected the wisest one. He would not
tinker with his chakras, for the time being.

	�Yes, Sensei.�

	Ranma stared long and hard at his student, and
finally nodded once.

	�That�s better. Made any progress yet on your ki
technique?� he asked.

	Ryuu shook his head.

	�That can�t be helped. You�re trying to circumvent
several steps in the learning process as it is. Do you
need advice?�

	�Yes, very much.�

	�Okay! First, you have to...�

	Just then, a madman ran by straight at them screaming
at the top of his lungs. The man�s hair was disheveled
and his pants were wet. Ranma moved two steps left to
let the man pass and after he passed them, stood
watching his back until he disappeared.

	�What do you think that�s about, Sensei?� Ryuu asked
when another one came running from the same direction.
He looked only marginally better off than the first
one.

	�I don�t know,� Ranma lied, even though his ki senses
had told him the truth seconds before, �But let�s go
and find out.�

	Ryuu started toward the direction the two men had
come from, but Ranma pulled him back.

	�Let�s go this way,� he said, taking a side alley. He
did not want to walk directly into the �trap� if he
could help it.

	The two of them negotiated a maze of alleys until
they came upon an oddly dressed stranger, whom Ranma
recognized as Indian.

	�You don�t want to go this way,� the stranger said in
perfect Japanese.

	�But we�ll be late for my son�s class,� Ranma lied,
timidly.

	The stranger shrugged.

	�Not my problem.�

	�It is, now,� Ranma replied, grabbing the stranger�s
throat and strangling him, �What�s going on here?� he
asked.

	The man made choking sounds and clawed at the air for
air, but when Ranma released him hoping to get his
answer, the man tried to scream a warning to his
compatriots.

	�Ignorant fool,� Ranma spat, knocking the stranger
unconscious. He turned to Ryuu, an angry,
half-murderous look in his eyes. This was his city and
they dared start a war in his backyard without
informing him first - the vague warning given by Boomi
Pithan did not count, of course. �Find something to
tie this one up and hide him somewhere. I think that
dumpster might help. I�ll go and see if I can find out
what�s going on.�

	Ryuu nodded, silently, fearful of saying anything
that might upset his very pissed-off looking sensei.
He watched Ranma use something similar to the
invisibility technique Genma used during the duel
before setting off to God knew where and set about his
task. He knew they were neck deep in trouble, but he
trusted his skills and his sensei enough to get him
out of a tight corner should it prove necessary. For
now, he would content himself with following Ranma�s
orders.

***********************************************************************

	Rei stood at the window, watching her grandfather
send Ranma and Ryuu on their way. After the two
visitors had left and they disappeared around the
corner, she turned around and looked questioningly at
her friends.

	�So,� she drawled in her usual, healthy voice, �Who�s
this Ryuu?�

	�He�s a new student at school. He�s cute, isn�t he?�

	Rei nodded, a slight blush on her cheeks. She had
caught him checking her out the few times she had her
body exposed and her eyes opened simultaneously.

	�Yes, he is. Ami-chan, have you discovered anything
about the Ashuras?� she asked, changing subjects. Cute
as Ryuu was, she was more interested in the Ashuras.
The dream was only too vividly imprinted in her
memory.

	Ami shook her head.

	�No, I�m sorry, Rei-chan, but there�s nothing in the
records that survived from the Silver Millennium.
There�s a chance that there might have been a
reference in the files that were lost, but I think
that possibility is far-fetched. There�s no way every
file relating to a particular subject was wiped out.�

	Rei sighed. Her friends did not understand her
fixation with the Ashuras and thought she was
needlessly obsessed, but she knew the truth. She was
the one who looked into those soul-captivating eyes,
not they. She was the one who saw the resolve in them,
not they. No, they could not understand her fixation
until they experienced, firsthand, an encounter with
the Ashura from her dreams and by then, it would be
far too late.

	�Take your mind off it, Rei. If there is a new enemy,
we�ll deal with them, as we have dealt with all the
others that came before,� Makoto said.

	Rei shook her head. Why could they not see the quiet
desperation in her eyes? Why did they refuse to
believe that things were going to be different this
time around?

	�No, you don�t understand, Mako-chan,� Rei replied, a
bit sharply than she had intended, �None of you do.
This time, it�s not going to be like any of the other
battles we have fought so far. I can�t even begin to
describe what I saw, but I can tell you for sure that
we aren�t going to be fighting mindless monsters. That
Ashura I saw in the vision had the most expressive
eyes I had ever seen in my life and it was
intelligent, too. Oh, how can I explain what I saw? It
was going to kill us all, but it was not without a
conscience as all the other monsters we had fought so
far were. It did not want to kill us, but it was going
to kill us, you understand what I�m trying to say?�

	The others shook their heads. Even now, they did not
understand, Rei saw. She opened her mouth to explain
further, but Ami�s computer beeped, cutting off her
explanation ever before it started. Ami excused
herself and took the machine, which had been resting
on the bed, in her arms. She switched on the display
and the other four sailors crowded behind her to catch
a glimpse of whatever it was that was going on. Of
course, they did not understand a shred of the jargon
that scrolled across the screen.

	�What is it?� Usagi asked.

	Ami looked at them and took a deep breath.

	�You know I hacked into the police emergency radio
channel some months ago and set the computer to
monitor the traffic on it. All the work paid off today
and I think we hit paydirt. In the past five minutes,
there have been a hundred and twenty calls from people
reporting a six-armed monster on the rampage in the
business district and less than a minute ago, orders
were sent out to patrol cars to take part in the
evacuation and the containment of the monster. No
casualities have been reported so far, but the figures
are tentative and not reliable,� she announced, and
turned to Rei, �I think your nightmares came true,
Rei. We�re about to have our first encounter with the
much vaunted Ashuras.�

	Rei did not utter so much as a single word. On
hearing Ami�s announcement, she slumped against the
bed, a hopeless look of desperation painted on her
pale face.

	�We are going to die today,� she said, quietly,
shifting looks from one beloved friend to another, �It
was nice knowing all of you. I hope and pray that
we�ll be reborn again as one family in our next
reincarnation.�

	�Nonsense,� Usagi retorted, passionately. Usually,
Rei was one of the more optimistic of the senshi, and
this sudden pessimism on her part was affecting
everyone of the senshi in a negative way. As team
leader, it was up to Usagi to discount Rei, as much as
she hated to do it, and rebuild their confidence.
�You�re wrong, Rei. The Deathbusters, the Daimons,
Wiseman, and Beryl - they all looked undefeatable at
one point or another, but we beat them in the end,
just as we will beat these Ashuras.�

	Rei shifted her gaze to her leader, her eyes dull
without the faintest shred of hope in them. She had
seen the future and knew what was going to happen.
Usagi did not.

	�I wish it were true, Usagi,� she said with a forlorn
sigh. She stood up, seized her transformation pen in
her hands and addressed her friends, �Come, let�s
transform for we have a tryst with destiny to keep and
innocents to protect. We�ll go and face our enemies as
one.� Even now, she bore no hope that anyone would
survive the coming battle, but at least they would die
saving civilians, which would give some meaning to
their deaths.

	Usagi sighed and shook her head at Rei�s defeatist
attitude, as she took out her transformation pen, and
transformed. There was no changing Rei�s pessimism,
was there? The others followed Usagi�s example and
transformed themselves, and the senshi raced out into
the evening to meet the Ashuras and do battle with
them face to face.

	�How far away are they?� Makoto asked well into the
second minute of their hop across the rooftops.

	�We are at most a minute away from the scene of the
commotion,� Ami hollered back. She had her computer
out and was operating it even as she ran. �There,� she
shouted, pointing to a greenish wall of fire that
burned right across a road.

	�What is that?� Minako asked, eyeing the towering
flame with wide eyes.

	�I don�t know,� Ami replied, running a scan through
her computer. The flames did not seem to be fed by any
fuel that she could see and they did not give off any
smoke that could be examined. �But I don�t want to get
close enough to find out. The core temperature is
nearly seven hundred degrees centigrade.�

	�Who do you think put it there?� Makoto asked. All
five sailors had now stopped in their tracks and were
staring at the fire.

	�The Ashuras, who else,� Rei remarked, staring
unflinchingly at the flames, �They wish to control our
movements so that we will walk into their trap.�

	�Nonsense, Sailor Mars,� Minako said as daintily as
ever, but Ami appeared ill at ease. Rei�s arguments
had a measure of commonsense in them.

	�If they have set a trap, then we�ll walk into it.
Only we will not allow them to dictate the terms. I�ll
try to put out that fire using my Shabon Spray
attack,� she announced, making everyone take their
eyes of the fire to look at her. So saying, Mercury
stepped forth before the fire and banished her
computer for the time being.

	�Shabon Spray Freezing!�

	The fire continued to burn - the attack had no
visible effect on it and it continued unabated.
Mercury tried repeating the attack, but it did not
work. After her fifth attempt, she gave up and
returned.

	�I can�t put it out. My attack has no effect at all
on the fire.�

	Usagi nodded, grimly. A part of her had suspected
that this would happen.

	�Are there any other entrances to the area?� she
asked.

	�There are three possible entrances. The third one�s
too dangerous, which means there are only two
entrances available and we can be sure they are being
watched,� Ami replied.

	�Define dangerous,� Usagi asked, stepping into her
role as the team leader.

	�We can climb over those buildings on the side of the
road and jump into the road unannounced, but it won�t
make any difference. The only path that is guaranteed
to secure us the initiative is if jump over that
skyscraper and I think we can discard that. We�ll not
survive to speak of the experience and even if we
could, we�d be disabled and in no condition to fight,
which brings us to the other buildings. The thing is,
I don�t think we can safely jump them, too, and if
we�re hurt from the jump, we�ll all die.�

	�Then we have no choice, do we?� Usagi asked.

	The others nodded.

	�Mercury, choose either one of those two entrances.
We�ll take that one.�

	Ami chose the left one and grim-faced, the sailors
made their way across the rooftops to it. They found a
relative short building a couple of blocks from the
entrance and used it to get back to terra firma before
retracing their steps to the entrance of the trap.
They found their entry into the road unopposed and
sure enough, there was an Ashura standing at the other
end of the road. Slowly, with extreme caution, they
walked into the street and stopped halfway.
Immediately, the two open entrances burst into
greenish flames, effectively sealing them off from the
rest of the outside world. The senshi stared a couple
of seconds at the new conflagrations with a vague
sense of premonition before turning to face the
Ashura. They had known they were walking into a trap
built specifically for them. So what if it was sprung?

	He smiled at them from afar in an almost cordial
manner and stepped up to them. As he drew closer, the
features of his face became clearer and Rei gasped as
she recognized him. It was the Ashura from her dreams.

	�My name is Indiran, Lord General of the Ashuran
Army. I�m so glad you accepted my invitation,� he
said.

***********************************************************************

Notes:

1. All the Indirans, the Indiras, the Suryans, the
Suryas, the Boomi Pithans and the Boomi Pithas are
correct. They satisfy the syntax and semantics of
Tamil.

2. Yes, Junko, Ranma�s adopted daughter, has children
of her own. I�m not going to bring them into the
story, however, and complicate it further. It is too
long and too complicated as it is.

3. Thought it was an adult manga, didn�t you? Well,
belated April fool�s greetings. Heh!

4. A new term of my own creation. The soul hook is the
bridge that connects the soul and the ki together. It
fades when the balance between the ki and the mana
reserves in the body tilts too greatly in either one
side or the other. And when the soul hook fades, you
die.

5. There is no word for Dragon in Tamil. This is
another invention on my part.

6. This is another of Ranma�s names. He got it by
virtue of what he is - a true dragon.

	And thus ends the chapter. It is a cliffhanger, isn�t
it? Will Indiran follow his orders and kill the
senshi, or  will he try to negotiate peace with them?
Who is Boomi Pithan? Why are his men and he helping
the Ashuras? What will Ranma�s reaction be to this
battle? Will Ryuu have perverted dreams of Rei? Who is
the strange apparition that blew up Tendo-ke? What
will Pluto do? All that and a lot more in the next
exciting chapter of Destiny.

	Heh. I have always wanted to do that. And now that I
have done it, I see that it is all that it is cooked
up to be. Yay!

	And finally, I wish to thank my pre-readers. They
have been of great help and this chapter wouldn�t
nearly be as polished as it is without them.

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