[FFML] [Ranma][Repost] Hearts and Minds, Part 8 of 10

[Gary Kleppe]

Reposting this since Part Nine is with the prereader and will be on the 
list soon (and because this part didn't get any response last time).


PREVIOUSLY:

* Seven years after the end of the series, Mongol soldiers under the 
command of Ha Bu ("Herb") invade and occupy the Amazon village, assisted 
by a renegade elder Amazon named Zhen Biaozi. Ranma and friends help the 
Amazons rout the invaders, but Biaozi escapes.

* Ranma's group sets out to confront Ha Bu, but with the assistance of 
someone in the group, Biaozi (who can somehow assume a much younger 
form) is able to find them and capture Mu Si and Kasumi. The rest of the 
group attacks a Mongol base and fights three American paranormal agents, 
freeing Kasumi and Mu Si, but the latter has no glasses and is forced to 
return to the village.

* Gosunkugi searches for a powerful Amazon artifact for use when the 
invaders return, but ends up drinking a potion by mistake. Meanwhile, 
Tatewaki and young Amazon Ti Pi are accosted by Mongol intelligence 
officer Amar. Nabiki travels back to the US after seeing evidence that 
the company she works for supplied assistance to Ha Bu, and Tsubasa 
heads to Jusenkyo with the intent of jumping into the spring of drowned 
girl.

* Back in Nerima, Ukyo is captured by Kodachi, who explains how her 
leotard and weapons are now animated by powerful battle spirits. The 
Golden Pair break into the Kuno estate in a rescue attempt, but are 
themselves captured instead, and Konatsu follows after them.



Previous chapters are at http://www.garykleppe.org/comics.html . Thanks
to the always mighty Yoiko for pre-reading.


                             HEARTS AND MINDS
                                PART EIGHT

                        Ranma 1/2 manga fanfiction
                              by Gary Kleppe

	The characters of Ranma 1/2 are the creation of and rightful
property of Rumiko Takahashi. They are used here without permission.
This story may be freely redistributed, but it should not be altered
substantially or used for profit in any way.


                                  ______


	The mannequin looked like one you might see outside a
restaurant. It sailed through the air at Jusenkyo, then landed, kicking
up a cloud of dirt as it skidded along a weedy embankment. A voice
called from inside it, "Charge!" It came to a stop with one of its drum
sticks wedged into a rock and its floppy pointed hat smushed into a
clump of weeds.

	Pu Lanmu watched with mild curiosity, straining to see in the
fading dusk light. "What's the big idea, Lord Sa Fulan?" she said.

	A head popped out of the mannequin, followed by the body of
what looked like a petite young woman. Definitely not who Pu Lanmu had
thought it was. "You are good?" the person said in barely intelligible
Mandarin. "My name is called Kurenai Tsubasa. I am Japan person."

	"Japan, huh?" Pu Lanmu said, switching languages. "I speak
pretty decent Japanese myself. That was a neat trick with the statue."

	"Thanks," Tsubasa said. "I can get inside things, and make them
move. I don't know how it works. Everyone needs a hobby, I guess. It's a
good thing you speak my language. I took some Chinese in school, but I
can't say I remember a lot of it."

	"No problem, sport." She offered a hand. "I'm Pu Lanmu. Pu
Yichi, that's my dad, and I are sorta the caretakers for Jusenkyo here.
We have some Japanese friends, the Saotomes, who send us DVDs and video
games, so I've learned a lot of the language from them."

	Tsubasa shook her hand. "I know the Saotomes. I came to China
with them along with some other friends."

	"I'm glad to hear that, chum," Pu Lanmu said, "'cause that means
I don't need to tell you how bad it would be for you if you fell into
one of the springs. Right?"

	"Actually, I came here *looking* for one particular spring. The
spring of drowned girl."

	Pu Lanmu peered closer at Tsubasa. "Um, aren't you *already--*"

	"I'm all man." Tsubasa lifted up his frilly shirt to flash a
glimpse of his scrawny, flat chest. "Don't let the way I look fool you.
Deep down I'm dirty, rude, unpleasant, just like all guys. I want to
change."

	"You wanna become a woman?"

	"Yeah. A woman." He smiled to himself at the thought. "Sugar and
spice, all that is nice. And what's even better is that when I become a
woman, I'll be a lesbian. Their relationships are always tender,
loving--"

	"Yeah." Pu Lanmu snorted. "I've seen the same animes you
probably have. Okay, mister girly man, I'll show you where the spring of
drowned girl is..."

	"Hooray!" Tsubasa jumped up. "Let's go! No time to--"

	"...in the morning."

	Tsubasa frowned.

	"Look, champ, you can go creeping around the springs at night if
you wanna," Pu Lanmu said. "But don't blame me if you slip and fall into
the spring of drowned warthog instead. It's not a video game. If it
doesn't happen the way you wanted, you can't just hit the reset button
and try again."

	Tsubasa paused to think for a moment, then slumped down. "Okay.
I'll wait. It's only for one night."

	"That's the spirit, pal." She pointed in a direction away from
the springs. "You can camp out for the night in that field over there.
Don't do anything dumb, and in the morning you can get what you came
for."

	Tsubasa took off his backpack, rolled his sleeping bag out onto
the ground, and settled inside it. Stars glistened overhead like lights
on a Christmas tree as he lay his head back on his pillow. He could
wait. One more day is all it would take. Finally.

                                  ______


	Back at the Amazon village, Ti Pi paced down pathways dimly
illuminated by pale lantern light, Tatewaki Kuno at her side. She
followed along, occasionally glancing back at Lieutenant Amar of Mongol
Military Intelligence who skulked behind the two of them with gun in
hand, ready to shoot one of them if they were to offer any resistance.

	"What is the purpose of the building on our left?" Amar asked.

	"That's the library," Ti Pi answered. "We have a good collection
of older books, plus some modern stuff. Though it got ransacked pretty
thoroughly when your men were occupying our village."

	"Ah, 'tis an uncouth business, this," Amar said. "Would that
such atrocities weren't deemed as necessary. Truly I commiserate with
you, madam. But war is war, and all of us must play the roles to which
we're assigned."

	"If I may, sir, you do not seem like the typical soldier," Kuno
said. "Clearly you have a touch of the poet in you. Rarely does one
encounter that, especially in combat."

	"Your perceptiveness does you credit, my good man," Amar said.
"I was a student of the arts at university when war broke out. I decided
that my dream of becoming a thespian would need to wait. When one's
country calls, one must serve."

	"You're serving General Ha, not your country." Ti Pi stopped and
turned to face him. "He's a madman who's usurped control of your country
and is using its armies for his own benefit."

	Amar sighed, saying nothing. Then he pointed. "What is that
building to my right?"

	"Combat practice hall," Ti Pi answered. "Both Tatewaki and I
have trained there."

	Amar smiled, and looked at Kuno. "It mystifies me that a people
would let the fairer gender engage in fighting to such a degree."

	"Tatewaki is perfectly qualified in combat," Ti Pi said. "I'd
put him up against most any of our junior warriors."

	Amar blinked, nonplussed.

	Ti Pi noticed a white bird standing on its two legs, regarding
the three of them with what looked like curiosity. *A duck,* she
thought. *I know that duck.* Casually she maneuvered herself so that
Amar would be between her and the fowl. "How long are you going to keep
us held up at gunpoint?" she said, a little louder than usual so that
you-know-who would hear it.

	"It will all be done soon," answered Amar. "My apologies for
such brusque treatment, but I must fulfill those duties that were
assigned to me, gathering information on your village for those I call
my superiors. After that I will gladly go and leave you alone."

	Ti Pi nodded. *Sure* he'd leave them alone -- after shooting
them and burying their remains where they wouldn't be found. The
intelligence he was collecting wouldn't do him any good if they were
still around to warn the Elders. Somehow she doubted that Amar carried a
supply of Formula Nine-One-One Shampoo with him. Therefore, she and Kuno
would have to die. Nothing personal. Terribly sorry. Nasty business,
this.

	But with any luck, it wouldn't come to that. From the corner of
her eye she saw the duck morph into a very naked Mu Si, who raised an
arm and crept up behind Amar. Ti Pi fumbled for something to say, to
keep Amar distracted long enough that he wouldn't see the blow coming,
and hopefully keep him talking so that Mu would be able to find him even
without glasses.

	Suddenly, a figure came running down the street, screaming
"Aaaaaaiiiiiieee!" It was Gosunkugi Hikaru. What the...?

	Amar whirled, gun in hand, as Gosunkugi's hands wrapped around
Mu Si's throat.

	Kuno grabbed Gosunkugi by the rib cage and pulled him away.
"What do you think you're doing?! Cease this behavior at once!"

	"Are you threatening me?!" Gosunkugi smacked Kuno's arm several
times in rapid succession, and was released. "I am *Gosunkugi!*" he
exclaimed.

	"Have you gone mad?!" Kuno said, eyeing him warily.

	Good question, thought Ti Pi. From the look in his eyes,
Gosunkugi was clearly crazed, as if under some malign influence. Had
something he'd found in Elder Ke Lun's secret storage affected him this
way? What had she been thinking, letting him stay and search on his own?
She moved silently behind him and reached around his back to jab it with
a finger. While far from an expert on pressure points, she knew a few
basic ones. This one was supposed to accelerate the body's natural
processes for eliminating toxins.

	Gosunkugi pitched forward, grabbing Ti Pi around her midsection
and pressing his lips into hers. "Aaaa!" she screamed. Her fists flailed
against his back.

	Kuno's staff crashed down onto Gosunkugi's head. He looked up
momentarily and then slumped to the ground.

	Amar smiled. "I do thank you for this bit of impromptu
entertainment, my friends. A bit mystifying, but aren't many of the
great works as such? In any case, I'm afraid we must return to the
business at hand." He raised his handgun. "Kindly stand together, and
walk that way."

                                  ______


	Azusa's cries echoed through the Kuno mansion. "Dominique,
please STOP!"

	It wouldn't do any good, obviously, but Ukyo felt like screaming
too. For a few brief moments, she'd held hopes that Konatsu might be
able to do something where she and Mikado had failed. The ninja had set
up papier-mache duplicates of himself that exploded on contact, and
attacked with a bewildering variety of thrown objects including
everything from razor-sharpened coins to ordinary saltine crackers. But
all of this only managed to confuse. Zipping and bouncing around the
room at random had so far kept him from being hit. But he seemed unable
to press an attack; Kodachi's animated weapons blocked all of his
strikes no matter how unexpected a direction they came from.

	*What would Ran-chan do?* she asked herself. But there was no
answer. Maybe she could hustle out of the house with the Golden Pair in
tow while Konatsu kept Kodachi busy. Ranma might do that. But Ukyo
wouldn't leave her friend in the lurch, and she didn't see much point in
it anyway. Kodachi would just catch up with her later on.

	A club finally caught Konatsu in the stomach. "Oof!" He flew
through the air and smashed into a wall. Well, that's it, Ukyo thought.
Kodachi had beaten them all. There was nothing to do now but take what
was coming to them.

	The ribbon rose menacingly in Ukyo's direction. "Please,
Dominique!" Azusa said to it. Ukyo privately wished that she'd give it a
rest. What was the point?

	Kodachi hovered over Ukyo as the ribbon twirled patterns in the
air. "Whatever shall I do with you? You dumped my special water, so I
can't use that. It seems I'll have to get creative."

	"Whatever," Ukyo said. "Akane was still right. You were Ranma's
last choice. Anything you do to me won't change that."

	The ribbon cracked through the air. Stinging pain shot through
Ukyo's shoulder.

	"Dominique, you're hurting my friend!" Azusa said.

	"Wouldn't... wouldn't matter if you did turn all of us into Ke
Lun," Ukyo gasped. "He'd... he'd have even married *her* before you.
Even though she's dead."

	The ribbon cracked again. Ukyo's back screamed out in agony. At
least she knew how to make Kodachi lose her cool, although exactly what
this was supposed to accomplish, she hadn't quite worked out yet.

	"Dominique, I'm your friend... I want you to be my friend too!
You're so nice and cute... I know you don't really want to do this!"

	The ribbon wobbled in mid-air. Ukyo braced herself for the next
hit. It never came.

	Kodachi gaped wild-eyed at her weapon, as if unable to believe
what she was seeing. It refused to move.

	Azusa threw up her arms like a cheerleader. "Yay! Dominique!"

	"Azusa!" Ukyo called out. "Kodachi's leotard wants to be your
friend too! And her-- Oof!" She barely managed to roll with the blow as
Kodachi's fist struck her in the chest.

	Ukyo picked herself off the floor. The ribbon -- Dominique --
had interposed itself between Kodachi and the others. Kodachi stared up
at it in disbelief.

	For a few seconds, Kodachi and Ukyo eyed each other from
opposite sides of the hallway. A Mexican stand-off.

	Finally, Kodachi begrudgingly spat out, "Go."

	They went.




	For long minutes after the door slammed, Kodachi silently eyed
the ribbon which now lay in a heap on the floor, as if it were a
predator lying in wait in preparation to pounce on her. It was, as far
as she could know, back under control, but for how long?

	*Dominique.* That's what the girl had named it.

	She began to back away, not taking her eyes off the ribbon. If
this one could be made to defy her, then surely the others could as
well. Even the one she wore on her back. That thought made Kodachi want
to take off her clothes and run into the shower. Before, her animated
leotard had seemed like an invincible suit of armor. Now it seemed like
a bear trap that could close on her at any moment.

	*Dominique.* How very ridiculous.

	Kodachi had thought she'd understood this game called life. One
simply needed to learn the rules -- the *real* rules, not the ones that
so-called civilized society imposed on itself -- and work them to one's
advantage to triumph over one's competitors. Sometimes one had to adjust
one's understanding to reflect new understandings, as was the case when
she had discovered the existence of magical curses and animating
spirits. Still, the basic principles remained.

	But *this*... this made no sense.

	*Dominique.*


                                  ______


	*Just shoot me now,* Gosunkugi Hikaru thought to himself as he
walked through the outskirts of the Amazon village. Behind him and his
three companions, the Mongol officer followed behind, gun at the ready.
Every step he took felt like a well-deserved bludgeon to his head. No,
he didn't really want to die. But if this guy -- Amar, he'd said his
name was -- if Amar shot him now, at least it would make the headache
stop, and at least he wouldn't have to explain to Ti Pi what an
incredibly stupid blunder he'd made by drinking that potion.

	Hikaru felt inside his pocket. He still had the other item that
he'd found in Elder Ke Lun's secret stash. The gem. Would it help him
escape? From what he'd heard, Ranma had experienced a few of the items
made by the Amazons, and most of them were lemons that were likely to
fail in comical ways. But this one, if it was the one they'd been
looking for, was supposed to be different.

	Anyway, it wasn't like he had a lot of options. He furtively
pulled the gem from his pocket, hoping that Amar wouldn't see what he
was doing, as he continued to follow in line behind Mu Si, Tatewaki, and
Ti Pi. As before, a deep red light shone from within the gem. Hikaru
stared into it. *Can you get me out of this?*

	The red light coalesced into an image of Ti Pi. Clad in a skimpy
satin negligee, she smiled as her outstretched finger beckoned him to
her.

	"What the--?" Hikaru pulled back. He was still outside the
village. His arm bumped into something next to him. It was a super-sized
Happodaikarin, about twice as tall as Hikaru. The fuse at the top was
burning; he had only moments before it would explode.

	*Did I do that?* he wondered. But there was no time. He shoved
it in Amar's direction. It rolled into him, knocking him down like a
bowling pin.

	"Run!" Hikaru said, and he hurried forward, hoping he could get
away before Amar could put a bullet in his back. The three others looked
around and quickly followed. Then the Happodaikarin exploded. Hikaru
flew through the air, stopping abruptly as his head collided with the
trunk of a tree.

                                  ______


	Konatsu led Ukyo as they slipped through shadowy streets and
alleys to arrive at the Tendo home, with the Golden Pair following
behind. He knocked on the door, Tendo Soun answered, and within minutes
the four were sipping sake, relaxing in the relative comfort of Soun's
living room, Ukyo and Mikado clad in a pair of spare practice gis.

	"Should we expect Kodachi to come looking for you?" Soun asked.

	"Hard to say," Ukyo said. "But with her transformation water
down the sink, and her weapons starting to defy orders, I'm guessing she
might want to rethink what she's doing. At least we should be okay for
the next day or two."

	"It's late." Mikado stood. "I should take Azusa home."

	"Thanks for what you did, Azusa," Ukyo said. "You too, hon. If
the two of you hadn't come for me I'd probably still be locked up in
that house."

	Mikado nodded, then turned and stepped out of the room, Soun
following behind him. Ukyo had no doubt that Mikado would've come to the
rescue of any other damsel in distress. Of course, tomorrow she'd have
to go back to trying to deal with the faux engagement that the two of
them had invented. He was still a jerk, even if he had other qualities
that she could appreciate.

	She turned to Konatsu. "Shouldn't you call your wife, sugar? I
imagine she'll be pretty worried by now."

	Konatsu looked away guiltily.

	"Sorry, did I say something wrong?"

	For a few long seconds, Konatsu hesitated. "I don't have a wife,
Ukyo-sama."

	"But you told me--"

	"I know." He stared at the floor. "I lied."

	"Why?" Ukyo asked, with more anger in her voice than she would
have liked.

	"You... you were always so nice to me, Ukyo-sama. And I was just
a burden. When I found out that you didn't feel the same way that I...
well, I figured you'd be better off without me around, and this was a
way of getting away without making you feel guilty about it."

	Ukyo shook her head, barely able to believe what she was
hearing. "You figured wrong," Ukyo snapped back. "You were a friend,
Konatsu. I could always use a friend."

	"Sorry," he mumbled, and turned to go.

	"No, wait." Ukyo took a breath. "I'm sorry. Look, things got
screwed up. But I could still use a friend. Let's talk, okay? Not
tonight. We're all tired. Maybe tomorrow."

	Konatsu looked back, nodded, and smiled.

                                  ______


	Kui Ziling lay prone on the ground, her squad of warriors
concealed behind her, staring ahead at the field on which the bomb had
obviously fallen. In the fading dusk light she could make out a wide
circle of blackened grass, with several figures sprawled out unmoving at
its outer edge.

	It had been about fifteen minutes since they'd heard the blast
at this location. Were more Mongol soldiers about to invade their
village? She didn't know the answer, but so far there had been only the
one bomb, with no apparent follow-up attack.

	For moments that seemed to stretch into hours, she watched.
Then, satisfied that there was no one else there, she stood and stepped
forward, motioning to her squad to remain as they were.

	From what she'd learned, it was a common tactic of modern armies
to bomb an area, then wait until other persons showed up to retrieve the
victims of that attack and bomb the same area again. If that was going
to happen here, at least this way they would kill only her, and no one
else. There was a certain irony there; Kui had collaborated with the
enemy to help open the way for their first invasion in a perhaps
ultimately vain attempt to prevent a total bloodbath. If her sisters
were to find out, they would surely put her to death. And now the other
side might kill her anyway, not knowing who she was and not likely to
care even if they did.

	She bent down to examine the persons on the ground. Kuno
Tatewaki groaned as his head began to turn. Nearby, the other Japanese
youth -- Gosunkugi, she remembered, was his name -- lay unconscious but
intact, his fingers clutched around some small object.

	"Over here!" she called to her warriors, who rose from their
hiding spot. "Bring stretchers."

	A flicker of moonlight reflected from the item in Gosunkugi's
grasp. Kui looked closer. It was a gemstone, in the shape of a tiny egg
that seemed to glow from within; she had never seen it before, but it
was familiar. Could it be...?

	"This one is bleeding from the chest, Elder," one of the squad
said.

	"Who?"

	"A stranger, Elder. I've never seen him before."

	"Put him on a stretcher and take him to the healers," Kui said.
"This one here as well."

	"Yes, Elder."

	Two warriors approached bearing a stretcher. Kui eased Gosunkugi
onto it as she surreptitiously slipped the gem into her own hand. Was
this the famous Linghungbao? Did the stranger somehow manage to steal it
from Shan Pu's hiding place, only to have it blow up in his face when
Kuno and the others confronted him? Perhaps when the youths recovered
they would be able to provide some answers. But for now, she would take
custody of the item, and no one else needed to know.

                                  ______


	"Mmmm." Hakano slurped down the last noodle from his bowl. "This
is most excellent ramen." The evening crowd had began to thin, and the
noise level of the restaurant died down to a low hubbub.

	"Yep," Fukumi answered. "Good stuff for sure."

	Nodoka drew a breath. "I don't wish to seem impatient, but you
gentlemen said you had something to discuss with me? A matter of family
honor concerning Kuonji Ukyo?"

	Hakano wiped his mouth with a napkin. "That is correct."

	"I'm surprised you chose to meet here," Nodoka said. "Why not at
Ukyo's restaurant? She could certainly use the business."

	"She always chases us out when we show up there," Fukumi said.
"She said we annoy her paying customers."

	Hakano shot his associate a disapproving look. "Never mind.
There is indeed a matter of honor here, Mrs. Saotome, and once you have
heard what we have to say I believe you will see a need for decisive
action on your part."

	"I'm listening," she said, hoping they would at last get to the
point. If this was all nothing more than a ploy to get her to buy them
free ramen, she would find a way to make them regret it.

	"Here," Hakano said, producing a manila envelope stuffed with
papers and slapping it onto the table. "This is a compendium of
information relevant to the history of Kuonji Ukyo and your son, Saotome
Ranma." He smiled self-approvingly. "It took many months of hard work to
obtain this."

	Nodoka picked up the envelope. "You spent months researching
Ukyo and Ranma?"

	"Not exactly," Fukumi said. "He worked for months at the gas
station, to get enough money to buy this info from Tendo Nabiki."

	"Fukumi, please." Hakano pushed his glasses up to the top of his
nose. "Madam, this material clearly documents the fact that Kuonji Ukyo
has the superior claim to your son's hand in marriage. Your husband," he
said with some disdain, "accepted the Kuonji family okonomiyaki cart
years ago as a dowry."

	"You do realize that Ranma and Akane have already been married
for nearly five years?" Nodoka said. "Do you really want to--"

	"What *I* want is entirely beside the point, madam. Personally,
I don't even particularly like Ranma. Ukyo is clearly far too good for
him. Er, no offense intended. But it would be my hope that she would
forget about him and instead choose someone better."

	Fukumi smiled. "Someone like--"

	"Fukumi!" Hakano glared at his associate, then turned back to
Nodoka. "No, my own opinions do not enter into it at all," he continued.
What matters is the obligation that your family owes to Ukyo. It is, as
I said, a matter of honor. Honor trumps all other considerations, does
it not?"

	"It does." Nodoka stood, sighing slightly as she stuffed the
envelope under her arm. "I will read your compendium and do what needs
to be done, whatever that turns out to be. Good day, gentlemen."

	The men nodded, stood, bowed, and stepped toward the exit.
Nodoka lingered for a few moments then walked to the door.

	Briefly, she considered simply dumping the papers in the trash.
With most of her family in China fighting to save the Amazon village,
reopening a dispute that was settled years ago was not at all helpful.
These men had no connection to her family, no business involving
themselves in its affairs, and from what they'd said about Ukyo it
seemed that she didn't welcome their involvement either.

	But honor trumped all other considerations. Whatever problems
she had with Hakano, he had been absolutely right about that. And as she
walked home, she prayed that there would be a solution to this dilemma
that would satisfy the Saotome family's obligations to Ukyo, if any,
without breaking that family apart.

                                  ______


	Tsubasa noticed someone staring down at him. "Uh, hi," he said.

	"Hello."

	At first Tsubasa thought it was Pu Lanmu, but the face outlined
in moonlight wasn't hers. The face resembled that of Ranma's female
form, but somehow Tsubasa knew that wasn't who it was.

	"I hear you're looking for the spring of drowned girl."

	"Yeah, I am," Tsubasa said. His head felt foggy, sluggish. Why
couldn't this person let him sleep and talk to him in the morning? "Pu
Lanmu is going to show me where it is."

	"Why wait?" she said. "I can take you to that spring."

	On the other hand, there was no time like the present. Tsubasa
bounded out of his sleeping bag.

	"Follow me," she said, and strolled unhurriedly towards the
springs.

	A full moon dimly lit up the area as Tsubasa walked behind the
woman. The bottom of her Chinese-style dress flapped in the wind,
exposing her somewhat scrawny legs. "Look," Tsubasa said, "I don't want
to seem ungrateful, but are you sure you're taking me to the right
spring? I wouldn't want to accidentally end up as a warthog or
something. I mean, nothing personal, but anybody can make a mistake."

	She glanced back at him without slowing down. "I know exactly
which is the spring you want. It's been my home for about the last
fifteen hundred years."

	"You mean...."

	"I'm Feng Lili. My body drowned here all those years ago. Now
this is my home. I'm a ghost. I have to stay here, except when someone
lets me out for a little while."

	"Like Ranma did?"

	"Yes. That was a good union. Together we were strong, vital,
powerful enough to challenge anyone. We even gave birth to our child.
Ririko, he called her. She was beautiful."

	"I remember. Still is," Tsubasa said. "But you abandoned him?"

	"I left. I was tired of staying where I wasn't wanted, wasn't
welcome. But you can give me a new home." She stopped in front of one
particular spring, gesturing broadly at it. "The niangniquan. Spring of
drowned maiden. At your service."

	"This is it?" It was all too much for Tsubasa to take in. He
hovered over the pool, staring at the moon's reflection in it. *Okay,
here I come,* he thought. "Sorry about this."

	"Why should you be sorry?"

	"I mean for what this does to you. You have to share your
existence with a man, and be in a man's body about half the time. I bet
that makes you want to barf."

	"No, not at all."

	"Of course it does. How could it not? Men are filthy, disgusting
creatures. I know. I am one."

	Lili laughed. "I actually prefer being in the body of a man. I
always secretly wished I'd been born one. Girls are weak. Men are
strong. All my life I've stayed home and cooked and sewn while the men
did the important work."

	"You-- you can't be serious!"

	"It's not important. Jump in the spring, Tsubasa. You'll get
what you want. As will I."

	Tsubasa took a step closer.

	A voice suddenly screamed in his ear. "Sir!"

	Huh?

	"Mister girly man, sir!" A flashlight was shining in his eyes,
and he felt his arm being pulled. "Wake up, sir!" It was Pu Lanmu.

	Tsubasa blinked, looking all around. "I was... sleeping?"

	"Not only that," Pu Lanmu said. "You were sleepwalking. You must
be the luckiest guy in the world to be able to do that around here
without falling into a spring."

	"Nah. I had a guide."

	"Who?"

	Tsubasa looked where Lili had been, but nobody was there. "A
ghost," he finally said.

	"Go back to your bed," Pu Lanmu said, shoving her shoulders into
his chest to emphasize her point.

	Tsubasa started to protest, then decided there wasn't much
point, and stepped away from the springs back towards his campsite.

	Pu Lanmu walked alongside him. "I think maybe you *did* find the
spring you wanted. Tomorrow I'll check the maps to make sure."

	Tsubasa settled back into his sleeping bag. Pu Lanmu trudged
off. He would see her again tomorrow and he could jump into the spring
then... maybe. Then again, he might just forget the whole thing and go
back to the Amazon village.

	He still wanted to turn into a woman.

	But not *that* one.

	She was crazy.

                                  ______


	Nabiki dreamed.

	The man stood. implacable as a statue. She reached at the dark
fitted cloth that covered his head, and yanked it off. Finally, here was
the face of the person who had betrayed Ranma and the others by giving
their position away to Zhen Biaozi. It was Mu Si. But Nabiki didn't even
get a *Curses! Foiled again!* for her troubles; Mu Si merely stared
blankly ahead, not even reacting as she waved her hand back and forth a
few centimeters in front of his eyes. The lights were on, as it were,
but nobody was home.

	"His soul has been taken," came a voice from behind.

	Nabiki whirled around. Another man, this one a bit shorter and
bulkier, but dressed in the same black body suit and mask. Was this the
true culprit? Nabiki pulled off this man's mask, fairly sure what she
would find. Sure enough, Mr. Saotome's face lay underneath, showing the
same empty gaze.

	Still, it hadn't been his voice Nabiki had heard. Then who...?

	As if in answer, another figure appeared. This one had a woman's
build, dressed in gray robes with a hood that only partially obscured
her head. The subtle but definite movements of her torso and slight
curling of her lips told Nabiki that this one was not like the others.
So who was it? Zhen Biaozi? Feng Lili?

	"Er... you stole their souls?"

	"Stole? Goodness, no." The figure laughed. "I don't steal. I
took them as payment for services rendered. For Mu Si, I helped him get
away from his Mongol captors. I guess he didn't know that I was the one
who told them where to find him in the first place." Her head reared
back, and her hood fell open.

	"Kasumi!?"

	"Surprised? I don't know why you should be. I'm a trader, just
like you. A player in the free market. I just deal in a higher grade of
commodity. But don't worry, I'm not going to bargain for your soul."

	"You're not?"

	"Of course not. There's no need." Her smirk broadened into an
ear-to-ear grin. "I can take *yours* as recompense for debts unpaid."
She straightened, and Nabiki suddenly felt as though she were floating
upward....




	"Ma'am?"

	Wha...?

	A hand jostled Nabiki. "We're landing in Chicago O'Hare in a few
minutes," a flight attendant said over the whistle of jet engines.
"Please put your seat up."

	"Oh, right." Nabiki pushed her chair, and herself, back to their
original upright positions, marveling at the bizarreness of the dream
she'd just had. The lesson, she supposed, was never go to sleep after
pigging out on airline food.

	She'd been mulling over in her head the question of who had
betrayed the location of Ranma and the others to Zhen Biaozi. Obviously
her subconscious was trying to suggest ideas. That Kasumi could be a
traitor was just ridiculous, but the other suspects her mind had picked
out were worth serious consideration. The story Mu Si had told about
meeting Zhen Biaozi had some major holes. If an Amazon Elder had a way
to make herself look eighty years younger, why would she bundle up her
face on top of it? Why put a disguise on top of a disguise? And Mr.
Saotome... there was very little that Nabiki would put past him. The
only question was how he expected to get away with it. As soon as he
started spending whatever bribe he'd gotten from the Mongols, it would
take about ten minutes for everybody to figure out what he'd done, and
then the only thing the money would pay for would be his funeral.

	Whoever it was, it certainly wasn't Kasumi. But Nabiki
remembered something she liked to tell her subordinates at work: If you
believe in something so strongly that it seems like the whole universe
would end if it weren't true, but you can't articulate a rational reason
why it's true, then it's probably a load of manure; and if you can get
somebody else to believe something, anything to that degree, then you
can use it as a lever to manipulate that person into doing what you
want.

	The truth was, dealing with the magical-spiritual aspect of
these things gave Nabiki the creeps. Too often it took things way
outside her area of expertise. Sure, it had been there in the old days,
but back then it had always been the kind that you could avoid by
exercising a little common sense and not doing anything stupid. Stupid
things like letting yourself be knocked into a cursed spring after being
told what it was. But as Shan Pu had just proven, it wasn't like that
anymore, if it ever really had been. The bad weirdness can get you even
if you don't screw up, and there was no reason to expect that it
wouldn't.

	By now the plane was already on the ground and taxiing past rows
of parked jets. It wasn't that deeply held beliefs were always wrong,
she thought. The real lesson was that they were worthless as an
indicator of what was true. All that really mattered was information.

	Soon she would go through customs and then catch her scheduled
connecting flight which would get her to Philadelphia around ten in the
morning local time. Then a hot shower and a nap. Meeting with Mr. Kane
could wait until tomorrow when she would hopefully be fresher. In the
meantime, she could get word to her people and ask them to do a little
research.

                                  ______


	"Get up, everybody." Ranma scrambled from tent to tent, shaking
bodies awake. "We gotta get outta here."

	Ryoga's head popped out from underneath his tent's flap. "What's
going on?"

	"There's somebody on the way here." Ranma pointed into the
distance. The sun still hadn't risen, and the sky was only beginning to
light up on one side. "I saw a light beam sweeping the area. A little
later, there it was again, but closer. A few minutes later, closer
still. Whoever it is, they're headed straight here."

	"Good work, son," Genma said. He and the others emerged and
hurriedly began folding down tents and packing up belongings.

	Except one. "Hey, Doc," Ranma called. "Didn't you hear? C'mon
out! We need to be gone before--"

	The pale glow of a lantern suddenly lit up the area. Ranma
whirled. The man was unassuming, middle-aged with a thin build and
weather-beaten face.

	*Crap,* Ranma thought. *Too late.* "Look, pal," he said. "We
don't have to do this. I dunno if the people who sent you told you what
we're capable of. If it comes down to a fight, I promise you you'll hurt
for a long, long time. So maybe that doesn't need to happen. Maybe we
left five minutes ago, and you didn't see us, and your Mongol superiors
won't know the difference. I don't know how you found us, but--"

	"I told him where we would be," Tofu said, finally coming out of
his tent.

	*What the hell?* Ranma crouched into a fighting stance. Was the
doc working for the other side? If this guy had been tipped off, no way
was he going to be scared away; he surely knew exactly how tough Ranma's
group was and would have something ready to deal with them.

	Tofu stood up. "It's okay, Ranma. He isn't with the Mongols. I
mean, he's Mongol, but not working for the government."

	The man raised a hand then extended it forward for Ranma to
shake. "You can call me Tsakhi," he said in passable Japanese. "I'm part
of what you might call the resistance. My group is organizing in secret
to oppose General Ha's regime."

                                  ______


	A short walk later, Ranma and his group hung on to seats as
Tsakhi's jeep rambled over bumpy ground.

	Ranma broke the silence. "Give us a little heads up next time,
Doc."

	"Sorry, Ranma. But I promised Elder Lan that I wouldn't tell
anyone. If Ha Bu found out how to reach Tsakhi's group, he'd infiltrate
and set them up to be wiped out. So the fewer people who knew anything
about it, the safer."

	"Okay, when you put it that way, I guess it was a good call."
Ranma crouched lower and gripped tighter as the jeep sped over some
particularly rough ground.

	"I am sorry we have had to be so secretive," Tsakhi said. "Thank
you for caring about my country's problems."

	"Your problems are our problems," Ranma said. "Unfortunately."

	"When General Ha usurped power, members of opposing political
groups were systematically slaughtered." Tsakhi looked back at Ranma,
who pointed forward as if to say *please watch where you're driving.* "I
lost some very good friends. I don't know how any human being could have
ordered such an act."

	"Ha isn't strictly human," Ranma said. "His people, the Musk
Dynasty, years ago, well... let's just say they brought a whole new
meaning to the phrase 'animal husbandry.'"

	Tsakhi braked hard and his jeep jerked to a stop in front of a
run-down cottage. "Here you will find food and clean clothes. There is a
water tank and makeshift heater with which you should be able to clean
yourselves up. There are maps which will show you the way into the city.
There are also pre-paid disposable phones in case you need to get a
message through to your comrades. What you do with all of this is your
own choice, and I don't want to know."

	Ranma shook Tsakhi's hand as he began to climb out of the jeep.
"Thanks, pal."

	"You are welcome. When General Ha took over the country, there
were many who spoke out against him. I said nothing. Those people are
gone and I am still here. This is the least I can do. After all, one of
those people was my brother."

	"We won't let you down," Tofu said.

	Tsakhi nodded as he started up the jeep again. It sped off into
the distance. Akane pulled open the door to the cottage.

                                  ______


	Captain Janibek stared down the road that led to the Amazon
village. "Scout patrol, report."

	"Yes, sir," the corporal who had just returned from
reconnaissance said. "They've posted extra guards, but apart from that
it's pretty much as expected." He handed over a small digital camera.

	"Thank you, corporal." Captain Janibek began flipping through
slides on the camera. "Were you spotted?"

	"I don't believe so, sir."

	"Good." A photograph caught the Captain's eye. "This tank must
be left over from the occupation."

	"I think so, sir. Its engines appear to have been completely
wrecked. I assume it was left there because no one in the village had
any way of moving it."

	"I don't suppose we do either. That's unfortunate. We could've
used that extra firepower on our side." He set the camera in his pocket
and peered through binoculars at the Amazon village where it lay nested
among craggy peaks and valleys. Then he turned to Zhen Biaozi, who had
been put in overall command of the mission by special order of central
command. "I don't like this, ma'am. According to HQ, the intelligence
agent they sent inside yesterday never even reported back. My force is
considerably smaller than the original one, and this time they'll be
expecting us. With all due respect, are you sure you've thought this out
long enough?"

	"I've thought this out for years, captain. I don't plan a
frontal invasion like last time. Your forces, at least initially, are
only here as a diversion. In twenty minutes, you'll bring your troops
into range and begin shelling the village. Meanwhile, I'll be sneaking
in to infiltrate it."

	"My apologies, ma'am. I didn't mean..."

	"That's all right. I have no desire to waste your life nor those
of your troops, captain. If you encounter opposition that is more
formidable than you're prepared to deal with, then withdraw. Otherwise
I'll return disguised as one of them and take you into the village,
ostensibly as prisoners. Once we're inside the belly of the beast, as it
were, we'll have no trouble taking control."

	"Yes, ma'am," the captain said as Zhen edged away. "But you said
they know you there. Won't they recognize your face?"

	"I'm counting on it," she said over her shoulder, and smiled.

	Janibek sighed as Zhen vanished behind an outcropping. Here he
was, taking orders from a woman who from all appearances wasn't even
thirty, but who swore up and down that she'd lived with the Amazons for
almost a century. But that wasn't the crazy thing. The crazy thing was
that he was starting to believe her.

	Back in Ulan Bataar he'd spent months working in administration.
When the war started he'd practically begged for the chance to get out
from behind his desk and into the field. But while the prospect of a
field mission was a lot more interesting, the problem was you never
quite knew whether you'd be coming back, and if so in how many pieces.

	He turned towards his convoy of trucks and jeeps that snaked
down the road. "Corporal, tell the convoy to stand by. We move..." He
glanced at his watch. "...in exactly eighteen minutes."

                                  ______


	Ranma, Akane, Tofu, and Kasumi sat cross-legged in a tight
circle around the small phone. Nearby, Genma and Ryoga kept watch,
standing crouched behind a dusty knoll. "Hello?" Akane said. "Are you
there, Karina?"

	Nabiki's voice came through, faint and slightly distorted. "Er,
hello?"

	"Karina, it's us! Cousins Henmei, Urana, and Imyo! Oh, we're
really enjoying this vacation in Mongolia! The scenery is just
breathtaking! And that, er, hostel service we hooked up with was just
marvelous. They helped us get this pre-paid disposable phone. We're in
one of the national parks now, but we expect to hit the big city by
tomorrow."

	"Er, I'm glad to hear that you're all right. What about that
young Chinese man who was with you as a guide? You know the one I'm
talking about?"

	"Oh yes. I think he's gone back home. We never saw him, but
Urana got word that he had left the area."

	"I thought I was Henmei, Akane," Kasumi said.

	Ranma shook his head. "No, Akane is Henmei. You're Urana, and
I'm Imyo. I wrote it all down."

	Akane slumped as she banged her forehead into the palm of her
hand, again and again.

	"Akane, don't worry about it," Nabiki said.

	Akane blinked. "Er, I... that is..."

	"Look, I get it. You're worried about somebody listening in on
the call. I don't think that these guys have the technology to sort
through a multitude of voices on four different carrier networks. But if
they can then this little charade isn't going to fool them. If us
speaking Japanese isn't enough of a dead giveaway, they can just check
my number and look up who owns it. It's okay. Just don't mention any
specifics about your plans, and ditch the phone after you're done so
they can't locate you by tracing the signal."

	"Sorry. Any news?"

	"Ukyo is safe. She said the whole story was too much to explain
over the phone, but she and the others got away from Kodachi and she
thinks she'll be safe at least for the time being."

	"Thank gods... kami... whoever," Ranma said.

	"I will," Kasumi said.

	"The Amazons are expecting an attack but it hasn't come yet. I'm
back in the states. Tomorrow morning I'll talk to my boss and try to get
some answers. But in the meantime, there's something else I'd like to
discuss with you."

	"What?" Akane asked.

	"I have certain associates who are very good at tracking down
information through computers." Nabiki paused to take a breath. "I asked
them to do a search and they came up with some results that I find...
interesting."

	"What results?" Ranma asked.

	"I was curious as to who had given away your group's location to
the Mongols so that they were able to capture Kasumi and Mu Si. My
people, through a rather unlikely bit of dumb luck, discovered what
might have been the payoff made in exchange for that information. A
secret international bank account with ninety million Yen, in the name
of Saotome Ranma and Saotome Akane."

	"Huh?" Ranma gaped. "We never-- It's a trick! I didn't tell them
where to find us and I don't know nothin' about no ninety million yen.
Obviously they planted it to get us to fight with each other."

	"I rather doubt that it's a plant. Like I said, we were very
lucky to come across it. If they expected us to find it then they've got
a lot more faith in my team than I have. But I never thought *you* had
anything to do with it. Let's face it, brother-in-law, you're just not
that great at keeping a secret."

	Ranma let out a breath of relief, then his heart jumped as he
saw where the others were looking.

	Akane fumed. "You can't seriously think that *I* would ever do
something like--"

	"I don't know," Nabiki said. "You tell me. Did you sell us out,
Akane?"

                                  ______


	Kui Ziling crouched inside a small copse of trees that lay
within a shallow ravine. The carrier bird chirped softly as Kui looped
the leather carrier straps around its body. And she paused. Kui, the
consummate Amazon warrior, always sure of herself, had no idea what she
should do next.

	It had seemed so simple just a few minutes ago. Ha Bu had made
it clear that he wanted the Linghungbao. It was a primary reason, if not
*the* reason, why he was intent on taking over her village. If she
turned it over to him willingly, he might take it and go on his way and
leave the Amazons alone.

	But what if he didn't? What if he decided to conquer or destroy
the village anyway? As things currently stood, the Amazons would have
very little chance of defending themselves against an all-out attack.
With their most powerful artifact in the hands of the enemy, they would
have none at all.

	The Linghungbao was a conduit into the wielder's true feelings
and emotions, much like its sister artifact, the Reversal Jewel; but
while the latter item turned those energies inward, affecting the
wearer's behavior, the Linghungbao brought them outward. It worked as a
ki amplifier, capable of producing impressive force even when used by
someone like the Gosunkugi youth. In Ha's hands, there would be no
telling what it could do.

	For long seconds Kui stood, as if waiting for something to
happen. Had she felt that she had the right, she would have prayed to
the goddesses for divine inspiration. But she had never really been a
believer in such things, always of the opinion that reason and logic
were better guides than any sort of supernatural power.

	Without warning, an explosion rocked the area. Kui stumbled,
then pushed herself to her feet in time to watch the bird soaring into
the distance. For a moment she considered chasing after it, but it was
already a shrinking dot in the northern sky.

	Kui sprang out of the ravine. The decision had been made. She
could only hope it would turn out to be the right one. But there would
be more bombs, and she needed to join up with her warriors.

                                  ______


	The ground shook and bits of stone fell from the ceiling. A wave
of force knocked Shan Pu from her chair. With one fluid move she pivoted
and landed squarely on her feet.

	*They're back,* she thought. Her eyes darted to the door of her
storage closet in which her weaponry was stored. She just needed a sword
or even a club and she'd teach these Mongols a very hard lesson they had
obviously failed to appreciate the last time.

	Another bomb exploded, this one sounding closer than the first
had been. Shan Pu bounded across the room, not bothering to slow down.
She felt eager to finally have another chance to get back at the men who
had ruined the lives of so many of her friends, but fearful of the
damage that those men's bombs and guns might do to her village.

	She swung open the closet door and unexpectedly caught a faceful
of a greenish gas that came out. She spun around and tried to back away.
But her legs no longer seemed to work, and the room was spinning,
fading.

	Looking up from the floor, she was vaguely aware of a figure
entering the room, smiling, laughing at her.

	But, she thought as the last trace of consciousness left her,
this had to be a hallucination. It couldn't be real.

	Because the figure's face was her own.