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soon, and from Tsuruko's smile, she preferred it that way.

	"Oh," Mutsumi sighed with a smile, putting her own letter down.  "My
family is proud of me for making it in!  Did you get a letter from
your brother, Ranma-kun?"

	Tsuruko released Ranma long enough for him to gasp out, "This spin is
rooming," before she attempted to hug him again.  This time, however,
Mutsumi managed to snag the man away from her.

	"Ranma-kun?" Mutsumi asked, pressing his face into her chest while
she hugged him tightly.  "Are you okay?  Is something wrong?"

	"Er....  I think he needs to breathe," Naru offered.

	Mutsumi and Tsuruko looked at her in surprise, the college-bound
young woman releasing Ranma to the floor, where he panted out, "It's
full of stars," before slumping and lying still.

	"Oh, dear," the kendoka sighed.  "Well, no matter.  Ranma-kun, have
you seen your brother lately?"

	"It's so beautiful," he slurred, sitting up laboriously.  "We should
have sent a poet!"

	"You're okay!" Mutsumi cheered, promptly seizing Ranma and smothering
him again.

	"Maybe I am a bit too enthusiastic," Tsuruko murmured, when Ranma was
able to breathe properly once more.  "But ... no matter.  I only came
by to ask how your training of my sister was coming, Ranma-kun.  I
imagine you'll be very busy with college soon."

	Ranma swallowed, and quickly outlined the situation with Ukyou,
incidentally updating Keitaro and Naru as well.  "A trap for you?"
Naru asked, incredulous.  "And you let two girls go in your place?
Oe...."

	"They insisted!" Ranma protested.  "So did Noriyasu!"

	"I suppose," she relented.  "Nothing could go wrong with him to look
after them."

	"Haruka said something like that," Mitsune contributed, walking into
the room after Shinobu, who was carefully bearing a heavily laden tea
tray.

	There was momentary silence until Shinobu had finished presenting
everyone with a teacup and seated herself next to Naru.

	"This sounds a fitting test," Tsuruko decided, nodding.  "If she
passes, then I think it will be time for her to move back home.  A new
term will be starting then, so she should not have to worry about
missing classes, and then you'll be free to study."

	"Uh," Ranma began, before he faltered and turned to offer the floor a
stupefied expression.

	"W...well, Oe-sensei's still training us," Shinobu offered quickly,
when the man fell silent.  "So he wouldn't really have any more time
free with Motoko gone."

	"Really?" Tsuruko asked.  "Well, I wouldn't want to feel as though my
family was responsible for holding you back, Ranma-kun.  I don't think
Motoko-han should be a part of that forever; I want her to learn from
you, but it's the family style she must master ... and eventually, of
course, teach."

	Ranma flinched, but nodded slightly.  "If you think she's done," he
said neutrally.  "When ... she gets back, ask her."

	"But you are her teacher," the woman pressed, when Shinobu opened her
mouth to speak again.  "It is your prerogative to decide if she's
ready, Oe."

	Ranma rubbed at his forehead.  "I think that Motoko's learned all I
can teach her," he said, not looking up.  "Unless she wanted to learn
Anything Goes, or the Oe Ryu."

	"And there you have it," Tsuruko said, nodding to herself in
satisfaction.  "Motoko will return home.  Unless something should
arise...."  Here Ranma did look up, studying Tsuruko guardedly.
"Well, I trust it won't.  But Motoko will want time to say goodbye.
I'll expect to see her at the same time you are attending your opening
ceremonies, Ranma-kun.  Ah ... sadly, I won't be able to be there.
But I'm certain that all will work out for you.  Now, I truly must be
off."  She rose, bowed to everyone in the room, and glided out the
exit.

	"You're letting her get away!" Mitsune protested.  "Oe, you can't
just give up Motoko like that!  Well, actually, you could.  But it
wouldn't be you!  What's going on here?"

	"Yeah," Naru chimed in, nodding earnestly.  "You two always talk
about Motoko like she can't make her own decisions -- at least, to
each other."

	"Hey, neither of you tried to stop her," Ranma grumbled.  "And
Tsuruko is right; I don't have anything else to teach Motoko-chan.
Not really.  I've opened her eyes, but she's ... got her own heritage
to take care of.  She doesn't need ... mine."

	"M...maybe I can talk to Tsuruko," Keitaro offered.  "Convince her to-"

	"Forget it," Ranma overrode him.  "She can give any order she likes.
It's really up to Motoko-chan if she's going to do what her sister
says."

	Keitaro blinked, digesting that.  "Do you think that Motoko would
disobey her older sister?" he asked cautiously.

	"Didn't she run away from Tsuruko-chan to come here?" Mutsumi asked cheerfully.

	"She did!" Mitsune agreed.  "Who told you?"

	"Good girl's exercise number one."

	"Some day, I think you'll need to explain that to me, Turtle-girl."

	"I disagree," Mutsumi said politely, offering a bright smile.
"Anyway, I think Tsuruko-chan was giving a warning that she expected
Motoko-chan to go back home."

	"I don't think she wants to, though," Mitsune said, frowning.  "Why
do you say 'warning'?"

	"Because she expects Ranma-kun to tell Motoko to leave."

	"So it wasn't really a warning for Motoko at all!" Keitaro finished
brightly.  "It was a warning for Ranma!"

	"Yes," the man said dryly.  "I'd noticed.  Thank you, Keitaro."

	The manager winced.  "I did it again," he muttered.  "Er ... sorry, Ranma."

	"But now that we've come this far ... what are you going to do?" Naru asked.

	"Not worry about it," he said dismissively.  "There's nothing I can
really do now anyway -- it's Motoko's choice."

	***

	"You're sure she's in Hokkaido?" Ukyou asked, glancing out the
windows at the swiftly passing scenery.

	"Positive," Seta affirmed, rummaging through a bag set on the seat
next to him until he could produce a large map of the island, which
was quickly unfolded to occupy the majority of the space in the cabin.

	"The footage was quite clear," Motoko said from somewhere behind the
map.  "Even if Minami's assailant was well concealed."

	"If Ranchan didn't say it was a woman, I'd be able to tell that
much," Ukyou offered, frustrated, "but that's about it."

	"She knows some basic martial arts," Seta offered.

	"Well, of course," Ukyou and Motoko replied in tandem, before the
kendoka cut herself off.

	"But we all noticed that," the okonomiyaki chef finished.

	"She also dresses inconspicuously in a trench-coat and fedora,"
Motoko continued, while Seta meticulously folded the map down into a
single meter-wide section.  She straightened out her uwagi and shot
the folded paper a baleful glare.  "But while there was no sound on
that image ... Minami did not appear to be protesting aloud."

	"So you think Minami might be part of this, just playing along?"
Ukyou asked, frowning.  "That doesn't seem like her."

	"I didn't mean to suggest that," Motoko said, shaking her head.

	"It does mean that our kidnapper figured out some way to get Minami
to be quiet, though," Seta said with a frown.

	"They could have threatened her," Ukyou reasoned.  "Or her sister."

	"Reasonable enough," Motoko sighed, looking out the window.  "When
will we reach the Tsugaru Strait?"

	"About an hour from now," Seta said, studying the map.  "We'll get
off at the same station her train expressed to and check the security
footage there."

	***

	The winter chill was carried on the breezes, making the rooftop
inhospitable.  Because of that, Keitaro stayed inside and admired the
season through the window.

	Tsuruko had not long ago vanished from sight, presumably towards the
train station.  Since then, the manager had mulled the situation over,
wondering what would come of Motoko's situation.

	These ruminations were interrupted by the phone.  He answered it
quickly, greeting, "Thank you for calling Hinata-Sou, this is Urashima
Keitaro, how can I help you?"

	"Sempai?" the voice on the other end asked through a crackle of
static.  "This is Motoko."

	"Ah!"  Keitaro looked around frantically; Ranma had gone down to
Haruka's shop to speak with her about something or another.  "Ranma's
not here, I can go-"

	"There's little time," Motoko interrupted, just before all sound was
cut off in a squeal of shrieking noise.  When it faded, her voice cut
in, suggesting to Keitaro that she couldn't hear him at all.  "...the
pass.  We're headed there now, and should be back within a few days,
but we may get stuck in the snow.  Noriyasu assures us that all will
be fine, and...."  Then another burst of static sounded, followed by
nothing.

	"Motoko-chan?" Keitaro hazarded to the silence.  "Hello?"  Only a
buzzing disconnect tone sounded in reply, and he hung up with a
grimace.  A glance showed the source of the call as 'unlisted'.
"Well, Seta-san has a cell," he murmured, checking the listing near
the inn's communal phone.

	A moment later he reached the archeologist's voice-mail and left a
message asking him to call back.  That done, he set the phone down
again and turned to the task at hand: Giving what he'd gotten of the
message to Ranma.

	***

	A whistling wind bore another flurry of snow towards them.  Ukyou
shivered against the cold and raised her spatula to block off some of
the wind.  "Did he get it all?" she called.

	"I believe so," Motoko replied, her voice raised to carry as she
emerged from the tiny phone booth.  "Is this truly the only means of
communication this village offers?"

	"Noriyasu's got no signal on his cell," Ukyou said with a shrug.
"Let's get back indoors -- we've got to cross the mountain tomorrow,
and if there's heavy snow, it's going to be slow going."

	Motoko grimaced and nodded.  Ukyou smiled, then paused to survey
their surroundings briefly.  The phone booth itself was surrounded on
three sides by wooden walls which served as a wind-break, and a roof
that didn't keep out the chill.

	The village was so small that there wasn't even power, except for
that which ran on generators.  The single phone operated unreliably on
a satellite uplink that had been installed some years ago.  According
to the villagers, high winds or thick clouds essentially kept it from
working entirely, but they'd needed to try; the trail had come this
far.

	According to what Seta had learned from the Archeologist's Guild,
Minami had gotten off the train and been met by a pair of burly men
and a woman in a kimono.  She had known to keep a folding fan between
her face and any cameras, while the men wore low, wide-brimmed hats
and kept their heads down.

	All that could be gleaned was that they were going to a remote
location in Hokkaido -- the kind of place that could only be accessed
irregularly in winter's snow, unless one had a helicopter.  Seta had
explained that this could be arranged, but not in the current weather.
 Ukyou didn't want to wait, and especially didn't want to give Ranma
enough time to decide to catch up.  Even if his tracking skills would
certainly make things easier.

	There were a few tiny cottages that weren't occupied, one of which
Seta had rented.  Motoko and Ukyou went there when they had finished
enjoying the chill, and opened the door, pleased to see that the man
had started a fire and the generator.  He had spread out an alarming
volume of papers across the room's single table, and was poring
through them.

	"So?" Ukyou asked, when Motoko went straight to the fire to warm her hands.

	"It's one of those two," he said with a shrug.  "Either she's gone to
an exclusive hot-springs resort hidden in the heart of Hokkaido, or
she's been captured by a band of ruthless thugs that are a part of a
rival expedition.  Or, I suppose, something I haven't thought of yet."
 He shrugged again, offering an apologetic smile.

	"Minami wasn't struggling," Ukyou offered.  "But somehow, I don't
think she'd abandon her sister to go to a resort."

	"Is there anything else around here?" Motoko asked.  "Hokkaido's core
is desolate."

	"Which is why the Guild figures that someone's out here," Seta
warned.  "We don't know who, but there has been evidence of people out
in the mountains.  From surveys, we can guess where.  But all of the
records I'm going through for the area ... I'm sorry.  There's just
nothing more to go on."

	"Well, Minami's not on vacation.  We'll find out whoever thinks they
can take her away, and what they want with Ranchan," Ukyou decided.
"Tomorrow's going to be busy, so I'm going to get some rest."

	"I wish that Oe-sensei could advise us," Motoko murmured quietly,
bowing her head slightly.

	"Sometimes we must learn to walk on our own," Seta said.  "And you
did ask him to stay behind, didn't you?"

	"W...well....  Yes," Motoko admitted.

	Ukyou shook her head and opened the door to the room she was sharing
with Motoko.  "Don't worry about it too much," she advised the girl.
"I'd like Ranchan to be here, too, but if they want to try and hurt
us, then it's time for some indiscriminate beatdown.  No time to worry
about him; he's going to watch over everyone else, remember."  She
paused, then licked her lips and looked away, into the darkened room.
"And ... Mutsumi can watch over him."

	"Yes," Motoko murmured.  "Of course."

	***

	Whistling to himself, Ranma ambled up the stairs from the teashop to
the inn, sparing a backwards glance at a cry from Suu.  "Mail!" the
girl called, waving an envelope and charging up towards him, Sarah a
half step behind.

	He nodded, turning around in time to block a leaping kick at his
torso from the little girl before she rebounded to land on both feet,
envelope extended towards him.  Sarah stopped short of launching an
attack, merely looking at him curiously.

	"Thanks," he said, taking the envelope from her and examining it.
"Ah, a letter from Aniki."

	"Neat!  Is he coming again?" Suu asked, while Ranma produced his
notebook and flipped through it.

	"Not sure."  Ranma paused when he came to another envelope, stuck
between two pages and forgotten.  Forcing away an uneasy recollection
of the first letter he had sent Keitaro, he quickly jotted down a new
note: 'Always read your mail as soon as you get it; it could be
important.'

	After that, he scanned over the return address on the previously
forgotten letter, and felt his heart skip a beat.  "The Tendo Dojo,"
he murmured.

	"...okay, Ranma?  Hmm.  I guess letters can make Ranmas go catatonic.
 It just takes two letters to overload his buffer.  Neat!"

	He shook his head, forcing away the shock.  Suu was peering at him
intently, having produced a clipboard from somewhere to jot down notes
of her own.  "Sorry," he said, tousling the girl's hair and mussing it
horribly.  "I gotta see what this is."

	She made an indignant noise as he leapt up the stairs to the
courtyard before the inn, then rebounded to the roof.  After slipping
through a secret passage, he quickly made his way to his room and
opened the letter, scanning it over:


	Ranma,

	Minami is fine.  She's being kept at a resort and being taken care of
well, which is more than I can say for your treatment of us.

	If you want her back, meet me at the address on the other side of
this letter on the seventeenth at 6:15 PM.  Come alone, or I can't
guarantee her safety.

					Regards,
					Tendo Nabiki


	His hand trembled as he lowered the page carefully to the tabletop,
fearful of tearing it before he could copy the address on the reverse
into his notebook.  Then he folded the letter away and took a deep
breath.

	"Damn," he murmured, closing his eyes.

	***

	Keitaro looked up from his study guide, blinking as he saw Ranma
marching towards the door through the front room.  Before he could say
anything, Mutsumi asked, "Oh, Ranma-kun, do you have time to study
with us?"

	"Really, can't right now," Ranma said absently, pulling on his shoes.
 "Maybe later."  Without another word, he walked out the door.

	Naru glanced around the room, though the only other people there were
Shinobu, Sarah, and Suu, who were watching a rerun of Liddo-Kun and
Friends.  "That seemed different somehow," she said with a thoughtful
frown.

	"Yeah," Keitaro agreed.  "Ranma hardly even noticed Otohime-chan.
That's weird."

	"Yep," Suu said, staring raptly at the screen, prompting Sarah and
Shinobu to glance at her.  The silver-haired girl shook her head.
"Ranmas inevitably want to fix things.  So something's probably broken
that he's trying to take care of."

	Naru stared at the young girl.  "What?"

	Suu turned to look at Naru, smiling sadly.  "There's no wind, and no
red moon, but I can feel fate."

	"Oh, my," Mutsumi murmured.  "This sounds ominous."

	"I don't know what's going on, but after that -- I'm going after Oe,"
Keitaro decided, pulling his still-sheathed sword from beneath the
table and rising to his feet.

	"You're not going alone," Naru said with determination.  "I'm going, too!"

	"Is there a party?" Mitsune asked, coming down the stairs.  "What's going on?"

	"We're following Oe," Keitaro announced.

	"Right," Mitsune cheered.  "I always wanted to do this!  First thing
first, though.  Sarah, I need you to run to the teahouse and get us
seven yellow kimonos and four farmer's hats.  Hop to it!"

	"Okay!" the little girl enthused, running off to follow the orders eagerly.

	Surprised, Naru asked, "You've got a plan specifically to take this
into account?"

	"Nah," Mitsune said with a shrug.  "Just to get rid of her.  Let's
run after Oe before she gets back!"

	"I'll stay here," Suu decided.  "It would be bad for me to be there.
And I can keep Sarah from following.  Good luck!"

	With that, the remaining residents chased after Ranma, just glimpsed
at the end of the stairway.

	"We're lucky he's not on his bike," Keitaro announced, once they'd
passed the teahouse, just managing to keep the martial artist in
sight.

	The procession followed with cautious deliberation, occasionally
ducking into shops or alleys to avoid glances.  Fortunately, Ranma's
course was almost unwavering, save constant pauses to consult with a
map.

	"I wish we could get closer and see where he was going," Keitaro murmured.

	"Why don't we want him to know we're following him?" Shinobu asked curiously.

	"Um ... because he didn't tell us where he was going?"

	"Looking back on it, that doesn't seem like a good reason to be doing
this," Naru muttered.

	Mitsune waved the complaint away, herding the crowd into another
convenience store when Ranma paused to consult his map again.  "It's
fun," she said.  "And anyway, we can claim we were just practicing
some of his stealth exercises."

	"As a group?" Naru asked doubtfully.

	"What better way?  It's a bigger challenge -- he'll eat up that excuse."

	Tamago nodded agreement from Keitaro's head.

	"Anyway," she said, peeking out the door, "we--  Oh, no!  We lost
him!  He got away!"

	The crowd spilled back out to the streets to peer around, but just as
she had said, Ranma had vanished.

	Shinobu sighed and shook her head.  "We should have let him know we
wanted to follow him," she said.  "It's not very nice to do it in
secret.  I think he noticed and snuck away."

	"Could be," Naru agreed.  "Anyway, he's lost now, so-"

	"Right!"  Mitsune slammed one fist into the opposing palm.  "Okay,
here's what we do -- Mutsumi, check down that street.  Keitaro, I want
you to go the opposite direction, see if he doubled back.  Tamago, I
need recon from the air.  Naru, follow me -- Shinobu, you wait here as
a home base.  First person to see Ranma doubles back and waves to
Shinobu.  If we see them waving back, we go to them because Ranma's
been spotted.  Go!"

	"But," Naru protested, before Mitsune grabbed her hand and hauled her
down the street.  "Wait!"

	Keitaro nodded.  It might take all of them, but working together, he
felt certain that they would find Ranma.

	--------------------------------------
     Author's note:  That last line took way too long.

-- 
Brian Randall