The Dying of the Light

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic by Alan Harnum 

All Ranma characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, first
published by Shogakukan in Japan and brought over to North
America by Viz Communications.

This copy of the story is from my centralized fanfiction archive
at http://www.thekeep.org/~harnums/fanfic.  I can be reached by
e-mail at harnums@thekeep.org

Part 3 : Wings of the Storm

     Shigeki Kiyokuro stood in the depths of the alley, trying not to focus
on how cold he was.  Shivering slightly, he tugged the heavy coat tighter
over his thin frame and gazed unblinkingly at the small, dingy block of
apartments in front of him.

     Underneath the coat, he had enough firepower to ensure that he would
have been serving a very long prison term had any police known exactly what
he was carrying.  The situation probably would have been made even worse by
the fact that he carried no identification of any kind, and, in fact, did
not exist on any record of the Japanese government.  Or any other
government for that matter.

     He huddled back further into the alley, trying to ignore the cold of
the winter night.  He imagined it was around two or three in the morning,
but he hadn't checked his watch in a while.

     He was waiting in this alley because whoever the occupant of the third
floor of the building he watched was, she was his only lead in trying to
find out what had happened two months ago.

     Not for the first time, he cursed his stupidity in not being more
careful with the Effigy of the Sleeper.  More than anyone, he should have
been aware that there were forces beyond even Richard Stalford that had an
interest in the effigy, and yet he'd been fooled as easily as the others by
the trickery of whatever being Satoshi Okamoto had been.

     He had a very bad feeling about what was intended for the effigy; it
had only increased when he'd gone over his notes and recalled certain
things.  Now, he knew that he had very little time left to figure out what
was going on, and hopefully intercede.

     His only lead had been Uragiru.  He'd returned to the shop as soon as
he could, meaning to have a discussion about loyalty with the man who'd
apparently betrayed him to Stalford.  There, he'd found Uragiru, or, more
specifically, what was left of Uragiru.

     He'd hunted many things, but he'd never yet seen a predator that left
only the skin and skeleton while removing everything else in between.  Even
then, he'd had nowhere left to go until he'd heard of a similiar murder in
Yokohama.

     From there, he'd followed a string of them throughout the country, and
had found one factor in common with all of them; each had, for a short
time, been seen with a mysterious, incredibly beautiful woman who
disappeared as soon as the murders were commited.  After a while, he'd
discovered she had a name.

     Hibino Kyofu.  Who was now, supposedly staying in this small, run-down
apartment in Tokyo, where it had all began two months ago.

     There was another thing he'd discovered; while all the murders that
took place were of moderately high-profile men in business or politics,
there were also numerous disappearances in the area of street people and
transients beforehand.

     His guess was, whatever this thing was, she needed to feed frequently.
She had a preferred type of victim and a method of killing, but she needed
lots of food.  That was how he'd found her, finally.  An increase in
disappearances in this area of Tokyo had led him here, where he'd found
this building had a new tenant going by the name of Hibino.  Last name was
unknown, but, as with a lot of things, he had a hunch he was on the right
track.  He'd learned to go with his hunches.

     There was a slight scraping sound, barely audible.  He looked up at
the window on the third floor as it slowly opened.  A figure dropped and
landed in the snow, long black hair swirling around her she fell.  She came
to her feet in an instant, and he got a good look at her.  She did have a
beautiful appearance, but he could see there was something vaguely wrong
with the way she moved.  It was far too smooth, too sinous for even the
most agile human being.

     Also, she'd just dropped out a third floor window wearing only a light
kimono in the middle of one the coldest winters in Tokyo's history.  That
was a fairly big tip-off right there.

     Slipping a hand under his coat and putting it on the grip of one of
his more powerful handguns, he approached slowly across the street.  He
knew he was going to end up killing the thing, but hopefully it might give
him some answers before that.

     "Evening there, miss," he said, raising his free hand in greeting.
"You must be Hibino Kyofu."

     He saw the surprise on her face as he came into view, but that was
quickly replaced by a cunning look.  "Some have called me by that name."

     "Including Richard Stalford, maybe?" Shigeki said.

     The woman gave a long, drawn out hiss that put his teeth on edge.  "He
was a fool to think he could control me," she said with a smile.  "Now he
knows the penalties for defying my master."

     Shigeki sniffed the air and raised one eyebrow.  "Nice perfume.  Who
is your master, by the way?"

     "Why don't you throw all your weapons down in the snow and I'll tell
you," Hibino Kyofu said, starting to move closer to him.  "Wouldn't that be
a lovely thing to do?"

     "Nice idea," Shigeki said with the barest hint of a smile.  "But I
think not."

     He drew and fired in one practiced motion, aiming for the forehead.
Hibino moved with inhuman speed, dodged the bullet and was away through the
streets even as he fired a second time, and then she was out of range.

     Shigeki smiled grimly, and started to run after her.  It didn't look
as if he'd be getting any answers from this thing; the time had come to
finish the hunt.

     She left no footprints as she ran, seeming to dance lightly over the
snow as behind her he pursued, gun levelled and ready to fire as soon as he
had a good shot.

     Her reaction time and reflexes were incredible, but on foot she wasn't
any faster than he was.  He gained on her gradually, still not in range to
fire, but closing fast.  Finally, she made a move to the side, darting into
an alleyway.  The bullet pinged off the wall, barely missing her.

     Obviously she didn't know the area very well; that alley had no exit.
Unless she was getting ready to ambush him.  He cautiously advanced into
the alley, seeing no sign of her.  The buildings were probably too high for
her to have jumped, unless he'd greatly underestimated her.

     A sudden rustle of cloth drew his attention, just as Hibino leaped
from the wall she'd been clinging to and plowed into him from above.  He
got his legs up under her stomach and threw her off as they fell, her hands
missing his throat by only a little.  She hit the wall of the alley and
slumped down, making disturbingly human sounds of pain.

     He got to his feet and pointed the gun at her.  "Now.  Perhaps you can
answer my questions, monster."

     "You call me monster," Hibino hissed, raising her head.  "You whose
ancestors threw down the cities of my people, who-"

     "I've heard it all before," Shigeki said, putting a shot a few inches
above her head.  "You things are always full of self-pity even as you're
killing and eating us like cattle."

     "You were nothing but cattle," Hibino said with a laugh.  Her eyes
were serpentine and golden, glimmering in the dim light the streetlamps
cast into the alleyway.  "And you shall be cattle again; the time is
coming, human."

     There was that strange scent filling the alleyway again.  Shigeki
sniffed the air and looked at Hibino flatly.

     "Don't you ever give up?" he said.  "You should realize by now that
kind of thing doesn't work on me."

     "So you're the one," Hibino said.  "The one Stalford spoke of; the
hunter."

     "Probably," Shigeki said with a mild shrug.  "Now, are you going to
answer my questions or not?"

     "Why should I?  You will kill me anyway," Hibino said.

     "Got that right," Shigeki said.  There was the sound of something
whistling incredibly quickly through the air, and then the throwing dagger
slashed into his hand, making him drop the pistol.

     "My mother was right," said the cloaked figure as he dropped into the
alley from up above.  "You were threatening the life of a fair maiden,
traitor."

     "Your concept of maiden is a little strange, whoever you are,"
Shigeki said, backing up and moving his hand to get another gun.  The blade
of the naginata that appeared under his chin stopped him.

     "I suppose I could not expect you to remember me," the cloaked man
said, reaching up to pull down the fold of the cloak that covered his face.
"It has been so very, very long, traitor."

     Shigeki looked into the face he'd expected never to see again, and his
heart sank.  "Tensai..."

     "That's right, traitor," the cloaked man said.  "Do you know the
penalty for betraying my mother?"

     "I have betrayed no one," Shigeki said.  "Look into your heart,
Tensai.  You know what you are doing is wrong."

     "SILENCE!" Tensai shrieked, pressing the blade of the naginata forward
until it drew a tiny bit of blood.  "You lied to me!  You all lied to me
for years, until I saw the truth, and then you betrayed me when I would
have been the salvation of all!"

     "You know not what you do," Shigeki whispered.  "I forgive you,
Tensai."

     "I do not need your forgiveness," Tensai said, driving forward with
his weapon.  "My path is chosen.  My mother calls me to fight, and I shall
not rest until I have restored her to glory."

     Shigeki groaned and fell back from the fatal wound, slumping against
the alley wall.  Tensai stalked forward and looked down at him.

     "Dammit..." Shigeki whispered, his vision fading as blood poured from
the neck wound.

     The naginata swept through the air, and Shigeki was finally engulfed
entirely in darkness.

**********

     Hibino Kyofu watched as the cloaked man finished.  He did the work
methodically, as if he did not enjoy it.  He stepped back, and Hibino saw
the look on his face was strange and sad.

     Then she smiled; she knew now what had drawn her back to Tokyo, 
despite the dangers it represented.  Ever since her escape from bondage to
Stalford, she had gone back to her old ways, seeking men in positions of
power.  Finding none to her liking yet, she'd devoured them and moved on.

     Now, perhaps, she had found one to her liking.  

     The cloaked man, Tensai, bent down and searched through Shigeki's
clothing, emerging finally with a gold medallion on a thin silver chain.
He tucked it away in his clothing, and turned his attentions to Hibino.

     "Are you alright, fair one?" he said, staying back as if he did not
want to frighten her.  "He did not injure you, did he?"

     "No," Hibino said, smiling inside as she felt the shape of his mind
with her power.  "You were my salvation."

     "I shall be all of Japan's salvation," Tensai replied, as if they were
words he'd learned to repeat long ago.

     "I am sure," Hibino said.  The mind she felt was slick as glass; there
was already something else there beyond his mind and spirit.  She could no
more have controlled him then she could have the hunter.

     But this one she had no need of her power to control him.  This was
the one her master had spoken of to her, in her dark visions of the past
few months.  Hibino stood up and brushed snow from her kimono before
bowing, hiding her smile from him.

     "My name is Hibino," she said, trying to sound as demure and ladylike
as possible.  "I believe we were destined to meet, brave warrior."

     "Perhaps we were," Tensai said.  "Perhaps we were."

     "We should find somewhere else to speak," Hibino said.  "There may be
others who wish to oppose you."

     "And you must be cold," Tensai said, stepping forward and unwrapping
some of his cloak.  "He must have surprised you greatly that you had to
flee in clothing so inadequate."

     Hibino let him wrap some of the heavy cloak around her.  She pressed
herself against his chest with a realistic sigh, and rested her head on his
shoulder.

     And then the two of them were gone, leaving only the body of Shigeki
Kiyokuro in the alley.

     A few hours later, when someone happened to glance into the narrow
space between the buildings, they would see the snow flecked with blood,
but no sign of anything else.

**********

     Mousse paused with his hand on the doorknob; inside, Shampoo had
stopped talking.  He'd awoken knowing something was wrong, and had heard
her speaking as he came down the hallway.  It seemed as if she in the the
midst of another dream.

     "Are these going to continue forever?" he said quietly as he heard her
begin to speak again, high and frantic.  "Will she ever have any kind of
peace?"

     "In time," Cologne said from behind him, causing him to jump in
surprise.  "The dreams are most powerful when they first come."

     He turned and regarded Cologne.  She looked the same as she had the
last time he'd seen her, the afternoon before when she'd gone out.  He and
Shampoo had gone to bed before she returned.

     "Don't you ever sleep?" he said.

     "Not much," Cologne said with a shrug.  "It's nearly sunrise anyway.
Come downstairs, Mousse.  I need to talk to you."

     "But Shampoo..."

     "The dreams are coming for a reason.  She must face them," Cologne
said.  "Now come."

     Relunctantly, Mousse followed Cologne down the stairs to the dining
room.  She took a seat at one table, and beckoned him to sit as well.  He
did, looking at her questioningly.

     "Shampoo has no doubt told you what I told her," Cologne said slowly.

     Mousse nodded.  "Yes."

     "I am now going to tell you what I did not tell her," Cologne said,
bowing her head and sighing.  "I wish I could have, but I do not think she
would have handled it well."

     "What do you mean?" Mousse said, adjusting his glasses a bit
nervously.

     "The gift the women of my family have is a rare and important thing,"
Cologne said slowly.  "There are few in the world who still carry it.  We
have always used it to seek out and combat certain forces within the
world."

     "Like when you had your dreams six months ago," Mousse said slowly.
He glanced at the missing fingers on his left hand, remembering how he'd
lost them.  "When the gaki was in the area."

     Cologne nodded.  "After that, I had no more dreams.  Not even when
Ranma and the others disappeared, and you and Shampoo tried to find them."

     Cologne looked at him, and her eyes seemed to trap and hold his gaze.
"The gift does not awaken when you reach a certain age.  It only appears
under one certain condition."

     "What is that?" Mousse said, knowing with a feeling of dread what the
answer would be.

     "When the previous holder is about to die," Cologne said, closing her
eyes.  "And I do not think I will go peacefully in my sleep, Mousse."

     Mousse sighed and bowed his head.  "Then... something is going to
happen?"

     "Something," Cologne said with a sigh.  "I do not know what, or when,
only that it shall be soon.  There are many in this world who covet the
power my line has, Mousse.  And Shampoo will not be able to ignore the
dreams.  They will not allow her to be free."

     "Oh gods," Mousse said.  "What's coming, Cologne?"

     "I... do not know, Mousse," Cologne said.  She looked older and more
tired than he'd ever seen her.  "I have no more dreams to have, Mousse.  My
time is at an end."

     "What can we do?" Mousse said.

     "Nothing right now," Cologne said.  "But there are things you must do
once I am gone, Mousse."

     Cologne got out of the chair, hopped atop her staff and headed
silently towards the storeroom.  "I do not use my position to make you do
these things, Mousse, though I could.  I ask them of you because I know you
love Shampoo with all your heart and soul."

     Mousse followed her in silence into the darkened storeroom, turning on
the light as he entered.  Cologne beckoned him over to the corner where she
already was.  He approached and knelt down beside her.

     Cologne seemed to reach into the wall and draw out a large wooden box
from nowhere.  Mousse's eyes widened as she pushed it back into the wall,
where it left no trace.

     "You try it," Cologne said, backing away.  Mousse reached out and
touched his hands to the bare wall.  Cologne clucked disapprovingly and
rapped him lightly on the head with her staff.

     "You're still thinking it's a wall, boy," she said.  "You know the box
is there.  Just take it out."

     He tried it again, and watched as the box melted into sight as if it
had always been there, tucked into a cavity in the wall.  He put his hands
on it and drew it out.

     "Good," Cologne said.  "I was fairly sure even you could handle that."

     Mousse put the box back and gritted his teeth.

     "When I'm gone, you need to give that to Shampoo," Cologne said.  "Do
you understand?"

     "Yes," Mousse said.  "I understand."

     "Why are you so angry, boy?" Cologne said as he turned around and
stood up.

     "Because I don't see why you can't tell her this yourself," Mousse
said.  "Why can't you tell her these things?"

     "Because then she may seek to prevent them," Cologne said.  "And the
results could be disastrous."

     She turned her back to him and began to walk from the storeroom, not
hopping on her staff but holding it at her side, as if she needed it to
support herself.

     "When my dreams began," Cologne said as they left the storeroom.  "My
grandmother told me the same things I've told Shampoo.  She said nothing of
what was going to happen to her."

     Cologne closed the door to the storeroom and looked at him intently.
"A week after I began having my dreams, a group of our warriors hunting in
our lands came upon an ancient thing out in the woods, an altar.  Two of
them got in a bit of a scuffle, and one fell and hit her head on the altar.
The blood... woke something up."

     Cologne looked far away, as she remembered something that had probably
happened before even his grandfather was born.  "There were a dozen women
in that hunting party; one of them made it back, and she only lived long
enough to tell us what it had done to her and the others."

     The old women gripped her staff tightly.  "The finest warriors in the
village gathered.  There must have been nearly a three dozen of us, elders
and young women alike.  I was among them, as was my grandmother."

     Mousse wondered for a moment why she was telling him all of this;
perhaps it was a story she had never told anyone, something she felt the
need to tell.

     "We tracked it into the hills around the Musk Dynasty lands," Cologne
said. "And there we fought with it.  We must have battled for hours.  One
by one, our warriors fell, and that... thing..."

     She spat the last word out, such venom and hatred in her voice that
Mousse shrank back from her for a moment.  "That thing laughed and moved
among us as if it were death given shape upon the earth.  The only thing
that saved us in the end was the arrival of the Musk warriors; when they
saw what it was we fought, they put aside any quarrel they'd had with us
for trespassing on their land and fought beside us.  My grandmother and the
strongest warrior among the Musk finally combined their power and sealed it
away again.  In its struggles to remain free, it sucked the life out of
both of them.  My grandmother died in my arms."

     Cologne sighed deeply.  "At the end of the day, only half of us still
lived, and many of those were wounded.  My father told me after about the
true nature of the gift, of how my grandmother knew what would most likely
happen to her."

     Cologne shook her head and smiled bitterly.  "I was so angry then, at
her, at my father, but now I know why she did it that way.  If I'd known
back then, being the person I was, I most likely would have died myself in
trying to protect her, even though I could have done nothing."

     "What was it?" Mousse said.  "The thing you fought."

     Cologne shook her head.  "I don't know.  A demon, perhaps, or maybe
some other thing, something even worse.  I remember so little about what it
actually looked like.  I think the thing itself wasn't sure, for it...
changed many times as we fought it."

     "I... I think I understand, Cologne," Mousse said after a moment.  "I
will do as you have asked."

     "I hope you do," Cologne said.  "There is more I have to ask, though."

     "Just say what it is," Mousse said.  "There is nothing I would not do
for Shampoo's sake."

     "She will carry a great burden when I am gone," Cologne said.  "It is
not an easy thing to do.  It changes you in ways none who do not possess it
could understand.  But she will need someone, Mousse.  And the only person
she has right now is you.  She'll most likely be very angry with you for
knowing what I've told you and not telling her.  You may lose any chance 
you have to gain her heart."

     "I do not care what happens to me," Mousse said.  "If only she will be
alright."

     "You've changed, Mousse," Cologne said, looking at him as if truly
seeing him for the first time.  "When you came here after her you were a
whining boy.  And now I see that somewhere along the way you have become a
man."

     "Thank you, honoured elder," Mousse said.  He tried not to show it,
but inside he glowed.  Cologne had not only just given her approval to a
relationship between him and Shampoo, but also to him as well.  He'd never
realized how much the old woman's words could have meant to him.

     "Go back to bed, Mousse," Cologne said.  "I think you'll be needing a
lot of rest for what is to come."

     He headed upstairs, Cologne's final words reminding him of why she'd
told him all this; because she believed she was going to die.  He'd never
liked Cologne.  Respected her perhaps, but never liked her.  But she had
always simply been there; he'd had the impression that she would be here
after he was gone.  And the thought of her death disturbed him, if only
because he knew how much it would affect Shampoo.

     He sighed as he passed Shampoo's room.  He heard no disturbance from
inside; perhaps the dream had passed now.  But there would certainly be
more.

     And he would be there for her, now and forever, if only she would have
him.

     In the dining room, Cologne shook her head and gazed out the window.
"Such a good boy.  Such a good, foolish, stupid boy."

     The world outside was in darkness, but the sun would be rising soon.
Cologne wondered if today would be the last sunrise she would see.

**********

    "Wake up, Ranma."

    "Don't wanna."

    "Come on, son.  Please?  You have to go to school, after all."

    "Don' wanna go to school."

    "You have an exam today."

    "Stupid exams..."

    "You need to do well on your exams so you'll be ready for your college
entry tests."

     "Don' wanna go to college."

     "Let me try, Nodoka.  I've had more experience in handling these
things."

     "If you say so..."

     "Ranma, get up or I'll throw you out the window and into the pond."

     "Pond's frozen."

     "Not so frozen that your hard head won't break it, boy."

     "Dear, do you always talk this way to him?"

     "It's part of our father-son rapport."

     "What father-son rapport, old man?"

     "Boy, get up or we'll dump water on you."

     "Alright, alright, lemme have five minutes..."

     There was the sound of two people sighing in unison.

     "Is he always like this?"

     "I knew we should have just thrown water on him."

     It finally clicked in Ranma's head that if he didn't get up, water
might become involved in the whole equation, so he quickly opened one eye
and looked around.  He was immediately confronted by his father's face,
which was not a pleasant thing to wake up to, so he switched to the other
eye and saw his mother's face, which was a far more pleasant sight at any
time.

     "Good morning, Ranma," his mother said.

     "Hi mom," Ranma said.

     "Why don't you try both eyes now, dear?" she said kindly.

     "Alright," Ranma said.  "I'm up now, I guess.  How come you guys are
both waking me like this?"

     "We wanted to make sure you'd be good and ready for your exams,"
Nodoka said.  "Now, Kasumi's made breakfast, so you should hurry down,
alright?"

     "Okay," Ranma said, sitting up with a yawn.  His mother and father
left the room, their voices carrying back to him as he got up.

     "He's certainly not a morning person."

     "Some people just aren't."

     He smiled briefly; he was glad his parents seemed to be getting along
better these days.  He'd been worried about them for a while, but it seemed
that somewhere along the way they'd found each other again.

     He stretched his arms over his head and cracked his knuckles;
everything had been going so well these past two months, ever since he'd
finally managed to admit to Akane his true feelings.

     And now, things were starting to slide again.  Happosai had his hands
on the ring he'd been going to give to Akane, but even worse than that he
had the bad feeling that something else was coming.  Happosai certainly
seemed to feel that way; the old man hadn't been very good at hiding his
nervousness last night.

     The questions Hikaru had raised at lunch yesterday were ones he'd
asked himself, but never bothered to really consider the answers to.  It
wasn't in his nature to plan ahead; he waited for things to happen and
responded.

     Maybe he should talk to Hikaru again; they weren't exactly friends,
but they'd at least put a lot of their past behind them when they fought
together.  Hikaru might not know as much as Happosai or Cologne would, but
he'd probably be a lot more willing to share whatever it was he did know.

     He sighed and shook his head; he didn't like thinking this much.  He
wished there was something he could beat up that would solve his current
problems, but right now there was nothing in sight.

     He headed downstairs after dressing, hearing the sounds of the rest of
the household already having breakfast.  He took a seat beside Akane and
glanced around.  Happosai was nowhere in sight, to his immense relief.

     "Good morning, Ranma," Kasumi said.

     "Morning, everyone," Ranma said as he began to tuck into his food,
absentmindedly deflecting his father's attempts to steal his breakfast by
instinct.

     "So, first exam for you and Akane today, eh son?" Soun said from
behind the paper.  "Do you think you're ready?"

     "Hope so," Akane said.  "I did lots of studying, but I'm not too sure
about Ranma here..."

     "I'll be fine," Ranma said cockily.  "Don't worry about me."

     "I'm sure you'll do very well, son," Nodoka said with a smile.  Ranma
nodded and continued to eat.

     "Nabiki will be home Saturday morning," Kasumi said.  "All her exams
will be finished then."

     "Yeah, the winter break starts for us next week," Akane said.  "As
soon as we finish our exams."

     "It certainly looks as if it will be a cold one this year," Soun said.
"They've said we may get even more snow today."

     "Whoah," Ranma said between bites.  "Sure looks as if it's gonna be a
long winter this year."

     "Be sure to take your coat, Ranma," his mother said.  "And good luck
on your exams.  You too, Akane."

     "Thanks, mom," Ranma said as he stood up.

     "Thank you, Auntie Saotome.  Bye everyone," Akane said as she grabbed
her bag and headed towards the front hall with Ranma.  The two of them got
into their coats and boots and headed out the front door.  The cold gust of
wind that blew through them soon after immediately made them wish they'd
stayed inside.

     "What a day for the start of exams," Ranma groaned as they walked, the
crunch of their boots through the packed snow overlaying all conversation.

     "Seems pretty appropriate to me," Akane said.  "I wish we'd had more
time to study."

     "You always wish we had more time to study," Ranma said.  "I dunno why
we even have to have exams in the first place."

     "So they can tell how much we've learned," Akane said.

     "Why can't they just ask us?" Ranma said.

     Akane groaned slightly.  "It's just the way they do things in school,
okay?  I didn't write the rules."

     "Okay, okay," Ranma said.  He stretched his arms behind his head and
looked up at the grey of the winter sky.  "I hope this snow melts
sometime."

     "I kinda like it," Akane said with a shrug.  "It's nice."

     She glanced over at him.  "Don't even think about it."

     Grumbling, Ranma dropped the handful of snow he'd been forming into a
ball.  A moment later, Akane hit him in the side of the head with her own
snowball and ran off laughing down the street.

     "Hey!" Ranma called.  "Hey!  That wasn't fair!"

     "Well, what are you gonna do about it?" Akane called back, turning and
sticking her tongue out at him while she was still running.  Ranma smiled
and shook his head as he bent down, gathered up a handful of snow and took
off after her.
     
     His first throw missed her, but his second hit her in the shoulder,
sending a spray of snow into the air that powdered her dark hair with white
flecks.

     "I'll get you for that," Akane growled, turning around and charging
for him while scooping up a double handful of snow.  He ducked, and she
missed.  He grabbed her into a tight hug and lifted her into the air.

     "Gotcha," he said triumphantly.

     "Let me go, let me go," Akane gasped.  "We'll be late."

     "You're only worried I'm gonna dump you in a snowbank," Ranma said,
kissing her cheek gently and shivering both with the cold and something
else.

     "Oh, don't," Akane said.

     "Don't worry," he said, letting her down gently.  "I won't."

     He kissed her again, on the other cheek.  "Unless you want me to."

     "I don't," Akane said, touching her hand with his.  "Come on, let's
get going."

     He took her hand and started to walk.  After a few minutes, he glanced
over at her.  Her face was slightly flushed, and a few flakes of snow were
still settled in her hair.

     "I love you, you know that?" he said suddenly, not quite sure why.
Akane gaped at him for a moment, then blushed fiercely.

     "What's with you?" she said after a moment, looking away from him.

     "Nothin'," Ranma said.  "I'm just telling you I love you.  I thought
girls liked stuff like that."

     "We do," Akane said.  "Believe me, we do."

     She leaned over and kissed him for a long time on the lips.  "I love
you too, Ranma."

     They continued to walk, the snow crunching under their boots, the
winter wind now seeming only a gentle breeze to the two of them.

**********

     Happosai watched the two of them until they turned the corner.  With a
sigh, he leaned back against the wall of the alley and rummaged through the
layers of clothing he wore to keep off the winter chill.

     The ring box was cool and smooth in his hand.  In that moment, as he
watched them, his life seemed more meaningless than it had for many years.
He would never again taste the lips of any woman, hear his name spoken in a
voice that said so much more than simple words.

     He remembered his youth, over two centuries ago, when the world had
seemed to spread out before him like a bounty and offer all its treasures
for the taking.  He thought of friends long gone or changed.  Somewhere
along the way he'd lost himself; the tree of his life had become twisted
and bent.

     And now, the echoes of the past had returned again to haunt him.
Things he'd thought forgotten and buried were returning, and with them a
part of him he'd believed dead long ago.

     He put the ring box down in the snow, black against the white and
bowed his head.  He clapped quickly.  "Please, if there is anyone to here
me," he said, praying for the first time in he did not know how long.  "Let
me be strong enough.  Let us all be strong enough."

     He tucked the ring box away again, and walked slowly out of the alley.
"And let them find, perhaps, when all of this is over, some measure of
forgiveness for all I've done."

     The winter sky stretched overhead, bleak and empty and endless before
him, as he made his way out of the shelter of the alley and towards
whatever else awaited.

**********

     "Okay, everyone, put down your pencils, the examination is over,"
Hinako-sensei said cheerfully from up front.  "Wow, this microphone sure
makes my voice loud!  It's like a karaoke bar!"

     There was the sound of someone clearing their throat into a
microphone, and then a child's voice was attempting to reach ranges it
really wasn't intended to.  "Zankoku na tenshi no teize..."

     "Give me the microphone, please, Hinako..."

     "NO!  I'M SINGING!"

     "GIVE IT TO ME!"

     "HAPPO GO-EN SATSU!"

     A much more mature voice spoke through the PA system rigged up in the
gym where the English examination had taken place.  "Sorry about that, kids.
The exam is now over; please stop writing."

     Ranma groaned slightly and put his forehead down on the desk,
distressed at both the number of questions he'd left unanswered and the
number of ones he'd answered without really knowing what was going on with
them.

     "I trust you did as excellently as I've come to expect from you, Mr.
Saotome," Hinako said as she moved down the row and came to stand next to
him.  There was a somewhat weary sarcasm in her throaty adult voice.

     "Of course, Hinako-sensei," Ranma said.

     "You need to take your head off your exam so I can collect it," Hinako
said after a moment.  "Please do so."

     Ranma did so.

     "Thank you," Hinako responded.  She looked down at his morose 
expression and gave him a slightly sympathetic look.  "Buck up, Mr.
Saotome."

     She moved down the line past him, collecting exams as she went.
Behind him, Akane leaned forward and put a hand on his shoulder.

     "Don't worry about it," she said.  "I'm sure you did fine."

     "Thanks, Akane," he said, giving her a small smile back.  "I guess we
get outta here now, huh?"

     "Yup," Akane said.  "Back home and back to studying for the rest of
the exams."

     "Oh goody," Ranma said, slapping a hand to his forehead.  "I can't
wait."

     "Of course you can't," Akane said, rolling her eyes.

     "How'd you two guys do?" Ukyou said as she made her way over through
the milling crowds of students leaving the gym, raising a hand in greeting
as she came.

     "Pretty good," Akane said.  "I hope."

     "How about you, Ranchan?" Ukyou asked.  Ranma was still sitting at the
desk, occasionally sighing.  "That good, huh?"

     "Ranma's been out training at night with Happosai," Akane said.  "Or
so he claims.  I think he's just trying to get out of studying with me."

     "Of course," Ranma said as he finally got up from the desk.  "I'd
rather spend the evenings running around town with the old lech than trying
to make sure I actually pass."

     "Just why are you doing it, anyway?" Akane asked, looking at him a bit
suspiciously.

     "Well... uh..." Ranma said.  "Akane, I told you.  I can't tell you
yet."

     "Fine," Akane said, crossing her arms and glaring at him.  "If you
don't think you can trust me."

     "It's not that!"

     "Then what is it?"

     "Hey, hey, hey," Ukyou said, stepping in between the two of them with
her hands raised.  "None of that now.  No fighting."

     There was uncomfortable silence for a few moments between the three of
them, broken only when Hinako-sensei walked by holding a large stack of
collected exams and looked at them a bit curiously.

     "You three are the last ones I'd expect to see sticking around after
an exam," she said, raising one eyebrow.  "Shouldn't you be off engaging in
some kind of minor vandalism or property destruction?"

     "Oh, yeah, whatever," Ranma said, looking at the adult Hinako a bit
nervously.  He'd had the vague feeling he'd only been spared by her in
class yesterday by some chance of fate, and he wanted to avoid incurring
her wrath if at all possible.

     "Why don't you two come by my place and have some okonomiyaki?" Ukyou
said.  "You can say hi to Konatsu as well."

     "Alright," Akane said, smiling and nodding.

     "You kids have a good break, okay?" Hinako said with a nod as they
left.  "Don't get into too much trouble."

     "We'll try, sensei," Ukyou said, waving as she exited the gym with
Ranma and Akane.

     Hinako made her way to the front of the now-empty gym and looked down
at the drained body of the other teacher who'd been lucky enough to be
given supervision duty with her this year.

     "Oh, do get up," she said, looking down at him disdainfully.  "You
still have to mark all these exams."

     There was no response.  Hinako sighed and shook her head.

     "Some people simply have no dedication to their students," she said as
she walked away.

**********

     Ranma, Akane and Ukyou made their way out of the front entrance of the
school.  Here there were most of the students who'd been in the exam room,
talking and mingling among themselves for a few minutes in the yard before
they headed off in their separate directions.  The snow was tramped down in
most places from the feet of the milling students.

     "Hey!  Akane!  How'd you do?" a girl from one group called.  Akane
paused and walked over to talk to them, Ranma and Ukyou following.  Ranma
was a bit uncomfortable; he didn't know any of Akane's friends very well.
He stood back a bit with Ukyou and listened vaguely to the chit-chat that
filtered back and forth between Akane and her friends.

     He was hopping from foot to foot, a bit impatient to leave, when he
spotted Hikaru off at the far end of the yard.  The thin boy was
surrounded by four larger students whose poses tacitly suggested the
possibility of some kind of minor schoolyard violence taking place within
the next little while.  As was the usual procedure, the rest of the school
population was ignoring the occurence; they knew well the pecking order
that had been established.

     Ranma clenched a fist; he hated bullies.  He especially hated bullies
who gathered into little gangs like this.  

     "'scuse me a minute, Ukyou," he said as he walked in the direction of
the coming confrontation.  He remembered at the start of junior high,
even before he'd met Ryoga, when five guys a year older than him had
decided that the new student with the ponytail would make a nice target.
It brought a small smile to his face that quickly disappeared as he saw one
of the four give Hikaru a hard, sharp shove to the shoulder.  It was a
calculated move, one that didn't look strong enough to knock someone over
on purpose.  Hikaru fell, and to Ranma's suprise, he rolled with the blow
and got to one knee fairly quickly.  The move had been basic and simple,
but it had been well executed.

     The four began to move in, and then Ranma was behind them, tapping the
nearest on the shoulder.  "'scuse me."

     "Wha-" he began, and as he turned around, the words died in his
throat.  He grinned with a combination of stupidity and fear, and backed a
few steps away.

     "Hey Gos," Ranma said, looking at the boy in front of him.  "I
interruptin' something?"

     "Not at all, Saotome," Hikaru said with a sigh as he stood to his feet
and brushed snow off himself.  "Anything I can help you with?"

     The four boys occupying the space between the two quickly moved on to
other activities at a large distance away.  Ranma walked up to Hikaru and
looked at him.

     "You okay?" he said.

     "Fine," Hikaru said.  Then, after a hesitant moment, "Thank you."

     "No prob," Ranma said with a shrug.  "You took that blow well.  That
just lucky, or you been takin' lessons?"

     "Kodachi's been showing me a few things," Hikaru said guardedly.
"Just basic stuff.  That's the first time I've really needed to use it."

     "You though about taking any classes?" Ranma said.

     "Not really," Hikaru replied.

     "You oughta," Ranma said.  "That was an okay maneuver there.  For a
beginner, of course."

     "I don't know," Hikaru said with a mild sigh.  "I don't have a lot of
time."

     "Well, Kodachi can show you some stuff," Ranma said.  "But I don't
really know how good she is at hand to hand.  You ever feel like it, come
by the Tendo place and I can show you some things."

     "Thank you, Saotome," Hikaru said, giving him a somewhat hesitant
grin.  "Now, what do you actually want?"

     "I been thinkin' about that stuff you said at lunch yesterday," Ranma
said.  Hikaru's smile disappeared as abruptly as it had come.

     "Have you really?" he said, quirking one eyebrow.

     Ranma nodded.  "Yeah.  Have you tried to find out anything about that
little statue, the Effigy of the Sleeper?  Like why someone might want it
other than to wake up that thing or put it back to sleep?"

     A strange expression crossed Hikaru's face, and then he groaned and
slapped himself on the forehead.  "Idiot!"

     "HEY!" Ranma said.  "I'm just asking!"

     "Not you, me," Hikaru said, shaking his head.  "I can't believe I
didn't think of something so obvious.  I've just been looking for stuff on
the elder ones; I never thought about it, but any object connected with one
of them has got to have some kind of history."

     He grinned, a bit too widely in Ranma's opinion.  "This might be it,
you know.  This might be the piece of the puzzle that'll make the other
ones fit together."

     "You okay?" Ranma said.

     "I'm just excited, Saotome," Hikaru said.  "I've got a whole new line
of research to go down here."

     Ranma didn't understand how anyone could get so excited over research;
it sounded a bit too much like homework in his opinion.  But he just
nodded.  "Okay.  Glad I could help."

     "Thank you," Hikaru said with a nod.  "You did help.  A lot."

     "Hey, look," Ranma said.  "We're goin' to Ukyou's to get some food.
You wanna come with us?"

     Hikaru shook his head.  "Love to, but I've got to meet someone here."

     "Kodachi?" Ranma said with a slight smile.

     "Of course," Hikaru said.  Ranma saw him blush slightly.

     "Okay, I'll be goin' then," he said, clapping Hikaru on the shoulder.
"Look, if you find out anything you think's important, call and tell me,
okay?"

     "I'll do that," Hikaru said in a slightly strained voice.  "Now, could
you take the hand off?  It's hurting that bruise you gave me when you put
it on."

     "Oh, sorry," Ranma said, turning to go.  "See you, Hikaru."

     "See you, Ranma," Hikaru said, raising a hand in farewell.  Ranma
heard him murmuring softly under his breath as he left.

     "Now... where can I look... Not that one, that's no good..."

     Akane and Ukyou came to meet him halfway.  "What was that all about?"
Akane asked.

     "Not much," Ranma said with a shrug.  "Just guy talk and such.  You
wouldn't understand."

     A sort of invisible communication passed between Akane and Ukyou.  As
one, the two girls reached down and began to form snowballs.  Laughing,
Ranma ran out the front gates, kicking up a trail of powder behind him,
followed closely behind by the two girls.

     They arrived at Ukyou's restaurant slightly winded and snow-covered,
with Ranma being the most snow-covered of all.  They stepped out of the
cold into the warmth of the restaurant, stamping snow from their boots on
the front mat before taking them off.

     "Hey Konatsu, I'm back," Ukyou called.  

     "Up here, Ukyou," a voice called.  "Hi Ranma.  Hi Akane."

     Ukyou looked up and groaned.  "Konatsu, why are you on my ceiling?"

     "I'm cleaning it," Konatsu said.  "You wouldn't believe the smoke
buildup you get from the grill."

     Ranma and Akane looked up as well.  Konatsu clung to the ceiling
beams, the occasionally teetering bucket hung over a nail making Ranma
distinctly nervous.

     Konatsu started to hum again as he cleaned the ceiling.  "I'll be down
in a minute, Ukyou.  Just let me finish this."

     "Konatsu," Ukyou said, putting a hand on her forehead.  "I told you
last night.  Sleep in, make yourself some breakfast, and wait for me to get
home.  And I specifically said no cleaning."

     "Well, I did sleep in," Konatsu said, dipping the spong back into the
bucket.  Hypnotized by the swaying of it like a mouse watching a snake,
Ranma didn't even think to move out from underneath it.  "For a half-hour
over my regular time.  Then I got up and made myself breakfast, but then I
had to clean up the kitchen of course, and I started cleaning some other
things and..."

     "Never mind," Ukyou said.  "Just come down from there before you get
hurt."

     "Alright, I'll finish later," Konatsu said, tossing the sponge into
the bucket and dropping off.  The slight jarring of the floor was enough to
cause the bucket to drop, as Ranma had known it would as soon as he saw it.

     "Oh, I'm sorry Ranma," Konatsu said.

     "That's alright," Ranma said from underneath the upside-down bucket.
"At least I got my jacket off first.  So not everything got soaked."

     Akane popped the bucket off and looked at the damp and frowning girl
underneath.  "Didn't you know the bucket was going to fall?  It sure looked
like it to me."

     "You coulda warned me," Ranma said, wringing out her pigtail until
drops of water fell on the floor of the restaurant.

     "It was kind of an accident waiting to happen," Akane said with a
shrug.  "Water usually is with you."

     "Thank you so much for your sympathy," Ranma said.

     "Don't pout, you'll get wrinkles," Akane said, patting the smaller
girl on the head.

     "Come on, Ranchan," Ukyou said.  "You'd better get out of those wet
clothes.  We can find you something to wear."

     Ranma opened her mouth as if to protest, then shut it again and
sighed resignedly.  "Okay."

     The two of them headed out of the dining area of the restaurant,
leaving Konatsu and Akane alone together.

     "Well," Akane said, trying to avoid staring too much at Konatsu.
"You've... changed.  A little."

     "Yes," Konatsu said cheerfully.  "I don't dress like a girl anymore."

     "Well... yeah," Akane said, suprised at the bluntness of the
statement.  Then she realized it wasn't bluntness, just Konatsu.  For a
ninja, he still didn't have much subtlety in a lot of things.

     "So how are you, Akane?" Konatsu said, smiling brightly.

     "I'm fine, Konatsu," Akane said.  "I was kind of wondering where you
went.  It's nice to have you back."

     "Thank you," Konatsu said.  His smile was still in place, but there
was an underlying layer of tension to it.  "I kind of had to find out who I
was.  On my own."

     Akane took the hint and backed off from the topic.  Whatever reason
Konatsu had for leaving, it was his business.  Probably Ukyou's as well,
she thought.

     There was an awkward silence for a moment as both of them tried to
think of something to fill the void in the conversation, and then they
were saved by the sound of a feminine voice in some distress originating
from upstairs.

     "Ucchan, I haven't worn one of these things since junior high!"

     "If you'd rather wear something more feminine, I have a few dresses."

     "I ain't wearin' a dress!"

     "Then unless you want to walk around naked or in wet clothes, you
don't have much choice, do you?"

     "Ahh..."

     "It could be worse.  It could be a girl's uniform."

     Ukyou came back downstairs after a moment, shaking her head.
"Honestly.  He's such a baby about some things."

     "You're telling me," Akane said, rolling her eyes.  Ukyou stepped
behind the counter and fired up the grill.  There was the sound of someone
trudging downstairs, and then a very unhappy and still female Ranma joined
the rest of them wearing a boy's school uniform that was a little too loose
in some places and a little too tight in others.

     "Very cute," Akane said.  "You look so manly."

     "Thank you so much," Ranma grumbled.

     "Don't sulk, Ranchan," Ukyou said.  "Your clothes will dry quick;
until then you'll just have to put up with it."

     "I'm a guy who is currently a girl wearing a guy's school uniform
belonging to a girl," Ranma said with a slight groan.  "This is real
confusing."

     "Makes my head hurt," Ukyou said with a shrug.  "Come on.  Let's have
some okonomiyaki.  Best remedy for confusion."

     "Really?" Konatsu said, taking a seat at the counter.

     "Not that I know of," Ukyou said.  "But it can't hurt, can it?"

**********

     "How'd your exam go?" Kodachi asked Hikaru as the two of them walked
away from Furinkan together.

     "Just fine.  My English is pretty good," Hikaru said.  "Some of the
books I need to read aren't available in Japanese."

     "Ah," Kodachi said.  "A true scholar."

     "Maybe," Hikaru said with a shrug, glancing over at her.  He wondered
sometimes, a lot of the time, actually, just what it was she saw in him.
He wasn't strong or good-looking like Ranma.

     She, on the other hand, was intelligent, beautiful and, when she
wanted to be, very charming.  She probably could have done a lot better
than him.

     "Are you alright, Hikaru?" she said.  "You're awfully quiet all of a
sudden."

     "Just thinking," Hikaru said.

     "What about?" Kodachi asked.  "Worrying about what the future may
bring as always?"

     "That and other things," Hikaru said.  "Thinking about us right now,
mostly."

     Kodachi looked at him.  "Hmm?"

     "Just about the way I am," he said with a shrug.  "And the way you
are.  And why we're together like this."

     "Because I like being with you, dear Hikaru," Kodachi said, slipping
her arm through his and moving closer to him.  "It's as simple as that."

     "You do that a lot, you know?" Hikaru said with a smile, looking over
at her.  "You make me feel better about it even if you don't know what I'm
worried about."

     "It's a talent," Kodachi said.  "Besides, I can read your mind."

     "What am I thinking about now, then?"

     "Kissing me."

     "You really are reading my mind, aren't you?"

     Her lips were cold in the winter air, but they warmed him all the
same.  They continued to walk, interested more in each other's company than
in any particular destination.  "It's funny, you know," Hikaru said after a
moment.

     "What's funny?" Kodachi said.

     "The way these things happen," Hikaru said.  "Like you and me, and
other things.  We met because I didn't have any money for the bus that
day.  And because of that, we ended up on that island.

     Kodachi frowned slightly.  "I hesitate to call the entire experience
funny."

     "Not what happened," Hikaru said, shaking his head.  "But everything
you and I ended up doing is a direct result of four guys beating me up and
taking my money.  If that hadn't happened, I wouldn't have been in the
right place at the right time to meet up with you and everyone else.  I
wouldn't have gone to the island, I wouldn't have stopped that thing
awakening with Ranma... It all goes back to little things, even though what
we ended up doing was hardly a little thing."

     "The butterfly flaps its wings on Hokkaido," Kodachi said.  "And
causes storms on Honshu."

     "Exactly," Hikaru said.  "The question I wonder about is whether it
happens purely by coincidence, or whether there's something else behind
it."

     "I can't really say," Kodachi said.  "I know one thing, however.
Whether it was destiny or coincidence that brought us together, I'm glad it
did."

     "Me too," Hikaru said.  They kissed again, as around them the crowds
of the late morning bustled, on business that they would never know.

     "You want to come back to the house for a while?" Kodachi said.  "I'll
make us lunch."

     "Sounds good," Hikaru said.

     "You can play with Midorigame again, if you'd like," Kodachi said.

     "I'd prefer not to," Hikaru said.  "He plays a little rough for my
liking."

     "He's really a big softie inside," Kodachi said.

     "It's not the insides I'm worried about," Hikaru said.  "It's the
outer bits.  Especially the mouth."

     "Oh, he'd never eat anyone really," Kodachi said.  "Unless I told him
to."

     "Well, that's..." he began.  Then he stopped dead, as an apparently
sourceless sense of dread filled him.  Cold chills ran up and down his
entire body, and he knew at that moment that it wasn't from the weather.

     He turned, Kodachi's worried questions seeming far away.  He
recognized this feeling now; the last time he'd felt it had been two months
ago, when he'd managed to tap whatever source of power it had been that
he'd possesed so briefly.  It was the feeling he'd gotten when he'd been
near Richard Stalford, or stood upon the Sleeper's Spire on the island; a
sense of wrongness emanating from some point he couldn't determine.  This
was similiar, but somehow different.

     Then it was gone; there was nothing, and he felt fine again.  He
looked about at the people around them, in groups or alone, and saw no one
who stood out particularly.  One woman caught his eye for a moment, but
only because she was astonishingly beautiful.  He only saw her face for a
moment, and then she was gone in the opposite direction, long dark hair
falling well past her waist like a cape.  He wasn't sure, but he thought
she'd smiled at him, maybe.

     He felt slightly light-headed, and shook his head once to clear it.
Gradually, he realized Kodachi was talking to him.

     "Staring at other women?" she said, arching one eyebrow and looking at
him from a few steps ahead with her hands on her hips.

     "Umm... uhh..." he stammered.

     "Don't worry," Kodachi said, waving one hand dismissively.  "The eye
shall wander at times, as long as the rest of you doesn't."

     "Sorry," he said, finally deciding that was the best thing to say.
Kodachi nodded.

     "Let's hurry and get back," Kodachi said, offering him her hand.  He
took it, and they began to walk again.  The strange feeling he'd had seemed
not to have happened at all; after all, he had lost any power he'd
possessed in transporting them all off the island.

     Hikaru sighed; he was feeling as if he might get a headache fairly
soon.  He was certainly finding it awfully hard to think about what had
just happened, so he decided not to.

**********

     Ranma and Akane stepped through the front door of the house, closing
it against the winter chill that tried to filter through and steal the
warmth within.  They doffed coats and boots, and headed through the
hallway into the living room.

     "We're home," Akane called.

     Genma and Soun looked up from their shogi game and raised a hand in
greeting.  "Welcome home, you two," Soun said.  "How did your exam go?"

     "Yes, how did it go?" Genma said, turning back to the board and taking
several of Soun's pieces off.

     "Pretty good, pop," Ranma said.  "Where's mom and Kasumi?"

     "They went out to shop together," Genma said, turning to look at Ranma
and Akane again as Soun took several shogi pieces from his pockets and put
them on the board in the exact positions the ones Genma had taken had
occupied.  He cocked his head to one side confusedly, then shrugged as
Genma turned back.

     "Alright," Ranma said.  "Wanna study up for tomorrow, Akane?"

     "Sure," Akane said.  "Why don't you go get changed into some dry
clothes first?  I'll be in my room."

     Ranma nodded.  His clothes were still a little damp, and he hadn't
been very comfortable on the way back from Ukyou's.  He took the stairs in
a few jumps, leaving Akane to walk up behind him after a moment.

     A few minutes later, in dry clothes, he sat crosslegged on the floor
of Akane's room with a stack of books in front of him.  "Okay.  So what
have we got tomorrow?"

     "Don't you know?" Akane said, looking down at him from her desk chair.

     "Of course I know," Ranma said.  "You think I'm stupid or something?
I was just seein' if you did."

     "Did you think I wouldn't?" Akane said.  "Modern Japanese Literature
in the morning, and Japanese History in the afternoon, of course."

     "What do you want to start with?" Ranma said, sorting through the pile
of books in front of him.

     "I don't care," Akane said.  "What do you want?"

     Ranma glanced up, a bit put off by her tone.  She seemed angry at him;
he sighed and stood to his feet.  "Okay, what is it?"

     "It's this whole thing with Happosai," Akane blurted.  "I don't like
it."

     Ranma winced.  "I don't like it either."

     "Then why?" Akane said, getting out of her chair and coming to stand
in front of him.  "If you don't like it, why can't you tell me?"

     "Because I can't," Ranma said after a moment.  "You have to believe
me, Akane.  You have to trust me."

     "Why should I trust you?" Akane said, then looked stricken at the hurt
look that passed across Ranma's face.

     "I don't know, Akane," he said.  "Why should you trust me?  If you
can't think of a reason, I'm pretty sure I can't."

     He turned his back to her and walked to the window, gazing out on the
backyard.  The trees hung heavy with snow and were barren of leaves, brown
skeletons draped in white cloaks to his gaze.  "I thought you trusted me,
Akane.  I hoped I'd given you reason to trust me in half a year, even if
before I did stuff that didn't give you any reason to trust me.  I've
tried, Akane.  I really have."

     "I'm sorry," Akane said, coming up behind him and wrapping her arms
around his waist from behind.  She leaned her head on his shoulder and
sighed.  "I do trust you, Ranma, I really do.  I should believe you that
this is necessary, but all I know now is that you're running around late at
night with the world's biggest pervert.  It makes me worried, Ranma."

     "Why?" Ranma said.  He placed his hands over hers where they rested on
his stomach.  "You know I'll be okay."

     "I know he has to be holding something over you," Akane said.  "I
don't think you'd do this unless he was making you somehow.  But even then,
it doesn't add up.  This isn't like him, Ranma.  Has he turned you into a
girl once since this started?"

     "No," Ranma said.  "He hasn't been stealing any underwear either.  But
he's still out all the time."

     "It's like he's looking for something," Akane said.  "He's seemed so
focused recently."

     "I know what you mean," Ranma said.  "I was talkin' to him, and I
brought up what happened two months ago, on the island.  I told him about
how that guy took that little statue we had, the thing everyone was after.
After I told him what Shigeki called it, the Effigy of the Sleeper, he got
a real strange look on his face."

     "What do you mean?" Akane said.  Her hands tightened around his waist,
as the two of them dredged up memories they'd rather forget about, and set
their thoughts to the trials they had faced upon the island.

     "Like he was scared," Ranma said.  "Not just scared, though.  Sad,
too.  I've never seen him get sad about anything except when his stupid
panty collection gets burned or something."

     "It all comes back to that, does it?" Akane said.  "Why Hikaru's so
worried, why you're running around all night with Happosai.  It all comes
back to what happened on the island."

     "Yeah," Ranma said.  "Hikaru was right.  This isn't over."

     "But what can we do?" Akane said.  "Dammit, why do we have to deal
with all of this on top of school and everything else?"

     "Because we chose to," Ranma said.  "Shigeki asked us."

     "I wish he hadn't," Akane said fiercely.  "I don't want to have to
live like this, Ranma.  I don't like it now, and I'll like it even less
later."

     "We can't turn our backs, Akane," Ranma said.  "Can we?  Can we just
pretend there aren't things like the gaki, that there aren't guys like
Richard Stalford in the world?"

     "Please," Akane whispered.  "Don't talk about him.  If I think about
him too much, I have nightmares."

     Ranma sighed.  "I'm sorry.  I shouldn't have brought it up."

     "I know, I know," Akane said, hugging him tightly from behind.  "It's
okay.  You're right; we can't turn our backs."

     "I wish I knew how to contact him," Ranma said.  "Shigeki, that is.
He'd be able to help us figure out what's going on, I know that."

     "You ever think about it?" Akane said.  "We don't know anything about
him, and yet we followed him to that island."

     "I trust him," Ranma said.  "I don't know why, but I trust him."

     "I know," Akane said.  "It's weird.  There's just something..."

     She paused, unsure of what to say next.  "I don't know.  Right about
him; like when you see someone for the first time, don't even know them,
they don't say a word, but you know you're going to like them."

     "I know what that's like," Ranma said.  He took her hands gently off
his waist and turned around.  She replaced them and leaned against him with
a contented sigh as he wrapped his arms around her in return.  "Ever since
I saw you, you know."

     "I'm worried, Ranma," Akane said.  "What's going on?"

     "I don't know," Ranma said.  "I wish I did.  All we can do is be
prepared right now.  Whatever's coming, we'll face it together.  Like we
always do."

     "I love you, Ranma," Akane said.  "A lot."

     Ranma basked contentedly in the words as he held Akane in his arms.
It was the first time she'd said the words without him saying them first;
somehow, that made it important.  "I love you too, Akane."

     They pulled apart after a moment.  "We should study," Akane said,
putting her slightly dishevelled hair back into place with her hand.  "Even
if it's less fun than this."

     "Yeah," Ranma said, sitting down again.  He opened a text and looked
across at Akane.  He told himself that everything would be alright.

     He wished deeply that he believed himself.

**********

     Nodoka and Kasumi walked the route back from the market to the house,
carrying a bag of groceries in each hand and warmly bundled against the
cold.  The crowds that afternoon moved around them, as the two women walked
through the snow towards the house their two families shared.

     "Thank you for helping me shop, Auntie Saotome," Kasumi said.

     "It was no trouble, Kasumi.  You act as if you asked me to go, rather
than the other way round," Nodoka said.  "As I've said far too much, I wish
you'd let me help more than I do."

     "Oh no, that's not right," Kasumi said.  "You are guests."

     "Guests who have been imposing on your hospitality far too long,"
Nodoka said.  "I really would like to move the three of us out so we would
be out of your hair."

     "Really, you are no trouble," Kasumi said quickly.

     "Kasumi, I know it's not an easy thing to care for a household,"
Nodoka said.  "You don't need to act as if you love every aspect of it."

     "But I do," Kasumi said.  Then, after a moment.  "Most of the time."

     "I didn't just invite you out to go shopping, dear," Nodoka said.  "I
can see something's bothering you."

     "It's nothing, really," Kasumi said, looking away.

     "I remember when I was a girl and I had a problem," Nodoka said, "I
would always talk to my mother."

     Kasumi closed her eyes for a moment, trying to force down whatever
emotions the thoughts of her own mother raised.

     "You can't do that," Nodoka said.  "You have to deal with everything
that goes on there, and at the end of the day you have no one you can turn
to, do you?"

     "No," Kasumi whispered, the admission coming out from beneath layers
of self-denial, of telling herself that she did not feel this way.

     "I know how hard it must be," Nodoka said.  "You see one younger
sister moving on to college, you see the other with opportunities still
ahead of her that you don't think you'll ever have.  And there seems to be
nothing you can do to change the way things are."

     Kasumi paused.  In her heart, she knew it was true, and yet all of the
things she'd told herself over the years told her now that it was not.  She
forced them down, for once, and let herself speak truthfully.  "Yes.
That's it, Auntie Saotome.  That's exactly it."

     "Dear, don't worry," Nodoka said soothingly.  "You have your whole
life ahead of you.  You're only twenty years old; there's plenty of time to
do anything you want."

     "It's not just that," Kasumi said.  Now that she had admitted the
first part of her dissatisfaction, the rest was coming out.  "I don't feel
as if I can.  I still have to worry about father."

     "Soun?" Nodoka said.  "Kasumi, your father is not a child, despite how
he and my husband may act at times.  He'll be able to take care of himself.
Now, what is it you're looking for?  Do you want to go to college, get
married?  Is there some lucky young man you have in mind?"

     Kasumi thought about it for a moment, then shook her head.  "It's not
any of those things."

     "Then what is it?" Nodoka asked gently.

     "I guess..." Kasumi said.  "I guess I'm looking for me, Auntie
Saotome."

     "I'm not quite sure I understand you, dear," Nodoka said.

     "Since mother passed away," Kasumi said.  "I've had to take care of
father and my sisters.  I've had to tell every part of myself that wanted
to do anything else to just go away."

     "Ah..." Nodoka said softly.

     "I've always tried to be the person other people's eyes saw," Kasumi
said.  "Maybe it's time I tried to be the person I want to be."

     "Perhaps it is," Nodoka said.  "May I ask you something, Kasumi?"

     "Yes, Auntie Saotome?"

     "Has there ever been any young man who has shown interest in you?"

     Kasumi paused, then nodded after a moment.  "There was one.  I think."

     "And?" Nodoka prompted.

     "I used to go and visit him," she said.  "He was a nice man.  A
doctor.  Akane had a crush on him for a very long time.  Whenever I was
around, he was very silly, but nice.  He was supposed to be quite
different when I wasn't around.  People were afraid to be around him when I
was, in the fear that he might hurt them."

     "What happened?" Nodoka said.  Kasumi sighed.

     "I gave him many chances," she said.  "I gave him a lot of time to try
and tell me what he wanted to tell me, even though I wasn't quite sure if
he did have anything he wanted to tell me."

     "And then?" Nodoka said.

     "Then, I finally got tired of making people frightened of him," Kasumi
said.  "I didn't want to make people fear him; he didn't deserve that, and
it made them afraid of me, and I didn't want that.  I finally just stopped
visiting him after a while.  He was one of the few things I had outside the
house, and I finally gave him up."

     "Did you ever think of having your father talk to him?" Nodoka said.
"Tell him you were interested?"

     "I wasn't even sure if I was," Kasumi said with a shake of her head.
"I never dated in high school, even if I got asked out a lot.  I told
myself I didn't have time."

     "Have you seen him recently?" Nodoka asked.

     "No," Kasumi said.  "Not for a long time.  Akane and Ranma still go to
him when they get injured, I think, but I haven't seen him for a long
time."

     "Do you know if he ever asks them about you? Nodoka said.

     "They've never said anything to me," Kasumi said.  "Perhaps it's
better that way."

     "I'd be interested to meet this young man," Nodoka said.  "Very
interested.  Perhaps you could introduce me to him one day?"

     "Oh, no, I couldn't," Kasumi said.  "After not seeing him for so long,
it would be..."

     "Only if you want to, Kasumi," Nodoka said.  "What's important is what
you want."

     "Auntie Saotome, can I ask you a question now?" Kasumi said.

     "Anything you want, dear."

     "What's it like to be in love with someone?"

     Kasumi regretted the question when she saw a sad expression pass
across Nodoka's face for a moment, but the regret vanished when she saw it
replaced by a small smile.

     "It's so hard to describe," she said, with a small laugh.  "It changes
over time.  It's wanting to be with someone all of the time, and knowing
that isn't possible.  It's being willing to ignore flaws, no matter how
numerous, and focus on what is good within someone.  I... I wish I could
tell you more."

     "I'm sorry I asked you," Kasumi said.  "With Mr. Saotome and all, it
wasn't..."

     "It's alright," Nodoka said.  "I know Genma and I have our problems,
but we're trying."

     "I'm glad to hear that," Kasumi said.  Nodoka nodded and smiled, but
there was sadness behind it as she looked up at the winter sky.

     "Genma didn't have an easy childhood," she said after a moment.  "A
very hard one, in fact.  He always used to talk to me about how he never
wanted to become the man his father had been.  I worry a lot that he may be
turning into that man, but then he manages to do something that seems to
prove he'll never be like his father."

     "You don't have to tell me this," Kasumi said.  "Unless you want to."

     "I do," Nodoka said.  "When I met Genma, he was hurt so badly inside.
On the outside, he was so strong, but there was sadness in him.  That
called to me; I wanted to heal him, let him become the best person he could
be.  I didn't succeed on every level, but I like to think that he's a good
man underneath it all."

     "I think he is," Kasumi said.  "He's always been such a good friend to
father."

     Nodoka nodded.  "Genma always wanted Ranma to be happy, to have the
happy life he never did until he met me.  Kasumi..."

     "Yes, Auntie Saotome?"

     "Do you... do you think my son is happy?" Nodoka said.

     Kasumi smiled as she thought of the ring Ranma had shown her.  For
some reason, he seemed to be holding off, but she knew he'd come around in
time.  She could always talk to him if he didn't.  "Yes, I do.  And I think
he's only going to become happier."

     Nodoka beamed.  "I'm glad to hear that.  I can only hope the same can
be said for you, Kasumi."

     "I hope so too, Auntie Saotome," Kasumi said.  "Thank you.  For
talking to me like this."

     "Thank you for letting me, Kasumi," Nodoka said.  The house was
approaching, and within it the warmth and companionship of their families.
The snow wreathed the streets in winter chill, but inside the Tendo house
that chill could not yet reach.

**********

     Dinner at the Tendo house that night was a lively affair.  Nodoka and
Kasumi had outdone themselves with the meal, and there seemed to be
something in the air that even stopped Ranma and his father from fighting
over the food.

     "So how's your studying going, boy?" Genma asked as they ate.

     "Pretty good, pop," Ranma said between bites.  He was sitting as close
as was possible to Akane without attracting undue attention.

     "Yes, the two of you hardly left that room once you got back," Soun
said.  "Such dedication to your education is admirable.  I'm very proud of
both of you."

     "Thanks, dad," Akane said, looking a bit embarassed.  Ranma looked
around the table, then frowned slightly.

     "Wonder where Happosai is?" he said, not really meaning to say the
words out loud.

     "He wasn't here at breakfast," Kasumi said.  "And I haven't seen him
all day."

     "Let's hope he stays away for a few more weeks," Genma said.  He
looked at Ranma.  "Why are you frowning, son?"

     "Nothin', pop," Ranma said.

     "Actually, it probably would be a good idea to go ask him to join us
for dinner," Kasumi said.  "He might not have heard me call.  Perhaps his
hearing isn't too good these days?"

     "Maybe his age is catching up with him," Soun said.

     "Well, it's put it off long enough," Genma muttered.

     Kasumi ignored them.  "Ranma, why don't you go see if he's in his
room?"

     "Alright," Ranma said, getting up from the table.  "Be back in a
minute."

     He headed upstairs, and knocked carefully on the closed door to the
room Happosai had claimed as his own.  There was no answer, so he pushed it
open.  The lights were out inside, and his hand was reaching for the switch
when he heard Happosai's voice.

     "Leave them out, please."

     In the light from the hallway, he could see now that the old man was
sitting in the middle of the room, legs crossed.  He made no movements, and
Ranma couldn't even hear him breathing.

     "Umm... it's time for dinner," Ranma said.  The floor was bare except
for a sleeping mat.  The last time Ranma had seen Happosai's room, it had
been a mess of stolen underwear that had covered the floor, in some areas
rising nearly up to the ceiling.  Now, it was all gone.

     "That's alright," Happosai said.  "I'm not hungry."

     Ranma frowned, vaguely troubled.  Happosai's voice sounded tired; he
wasn't used to hearing the old man speak so calmly.  "You're not sick or
anything, are ya old man?"

     After a moment's silence, Happosai responded.  "No.  I'm alright."

     "Okay," Ranma said, starting to close the door.

     "Wait."

     "Yeah?"

     "We'll be going out again tonight, Ranma.  Leaving at eleven."

     Ranma clenched his fist, reminded of why he'd been wondering where
Happosai was in the first place.  "Fine."

     He closed the door and headed back downstairs.  Kasumi looked up as he
entered the dining room.  "Not there?"

     "Doesn't feel like eating, I guess," Ranma said.

     "Perhaps he's ill," Genma said.

     "Let's hope so," Soun muttered.

     Ranma saw Akane looking at him concernedly.  He nodded and smiled at
her, relieved at seeing her relax at the gesture.  He wished he could do
the same thing.

**********

     Happosai sat in the dark room, trying to maintain control.  On the
surface, he imagined himself as a cool and silent underground pool, water
so still and pure it gave a reflection as perfect as a mirror.

     Inside, though, he felt as if he were a storm-tossed sea.  Sweat
rolled down the side of his head, but he resisted the temptation to wipe it
away.  He tried to force the inside to become as the outside.

     He thought longingly for a moment of his collection, of how easy it
would have been to go down to the garbage cans and dig it out, revel in the
silky feel, imagine the soft forms that would fill it.

     He'd thought of how easy it would have been before, of course.  That
was why he'd burned them this morning instead of simply throwing them out.
It had taken all his control to light the match to the pile, and he'd felt
as if he would be sick as he watched it burn.  He resisted the temptation
to throw snow atop it and salvage what he could, and he'd forced himself to
watch it burn.  With it, he tried to burn away whatever part of him desired
them.  But that he could not do.

     So now he was trying to force it down, shove it deep down within
himself and pile upon it layer by layer his old feelings of honour and
duty.  He'd been here ever since he'd done the burning, and he hadn't moved
or opened his eyes once.

     There was less than five hours until eleven, less than five hours
until he'd said he'd be out on the streets with Ranma again.  He had only
that much time to ensure he would be focused and controlled and ready for
what was to come.

     He hoped that it would be enough.  He knew that it would probably not
be.

**********

     The skyline of Tokyo approached ahead, as the tiny lifeboat wove
between the huge ships entering and leaving the harbour.  It should have
been a conspicious site, amidst the huge tankers and transport ships.  And
yet no one whose vision it passed across gave it more than a cursory
glance, before they went about their business, trying to recall what it was
they'd seen and finding themselves unable to.

     In the boat, something looked out from behind the dead eyes.  It
struggled inside, looking upon the tall skyscrapers and wide docks, at the
masses of people still at work.  And it laughed, remembering times before
and cities of a different sort.

     The word tore free from the dead throat almost involuntarily, from a
source unknown.  "Tokyo."

     The horrible laughter echoed again, and those who heard it shivered
even as they convinced themselves they had not heard it.  "Tokyo, Tokyo,
Tokyo."

     It discovered it liked the sound of the word, and wondered what other
words might be lurking.  "Tokyo.  Tokyo.  Nippon."

     It laughed again.  "Nippon."

     That one was even better.  "Free."

     That set off another wail of keening laughter.  "Tokyo.  Nippon.
Free.  Free."

     A memory, an image this time, instead of a word.  The city burning,
the buildings twisting and melting like candles, and the screams sweet
music.  A memory of the past or the future?  As the boat bumped against the
side of the harbour, the laughter rang again.

     The dead man leapt from the boat, clinging to the concrete wall like
an obscenely huge spider, and scrambled up the side in a few seconds.
People continued their business around him as if he was not there, for to
them he wasn't.  If there was a quickening nervousness to their movements,
they put it down to the rapidly growing darkness and the cold of winter.

     The eyes looked upon the city.  It ran itself across minds like a
caress, plucking from them the fragments it needed to put together the
puzzle of itself.  People shuddered as they felt it, for a reason they
could not explain.

     As it touched more and more minds, a personality began to take shape.
It formed itself from knowledge, from memory, from experiences, but most of
all it formed itself from fear.

     As it became more and more aware, it laughed at how much weakness it
saw.  People glanced up at the laughter, but their eyes saw only a
well-dressed foreigner, small and intelligent and scholarly, who seemed to
be laughing at some private joke.

     Finally, it took something from inside itself.  That mind had no fear,
had carried none even until the end.  But it had ample supply of hate and
pain and rage, more than any human mind should have been able to take
without breaking.  The human mind that had been in this human body though,
had not broken so much as it had changed.

     The dead eyelids closed, and when they snapped open again there was a
new and terrible awareness to the eyes.  The dead man who had once been
called Richard Stalford looked upon the city, and smiled.

     "Tokyo.  Nippon.  Free."

     He began to walk, terribly and purposefully.  There was much to do.

     "Tokyo.  Nippon.  Free."

     A pause, and then laughter again, a mix between human laughter and
that inhuman keening wail.  "Free..."

**********

     "Nineteen-fifty-nine," Ranma said, looking up at the ceiling from
where he lay on the bed.

     "Right," Akane said, turning the page.  "What was the principle behind
the-"

     They were interrupted by a banging on the closed door of the room.
"Ranma!  Let's go!"

     Akane glanced up at him.  Ranma sighed and hopped off the bed.

     "Ranma!  Move it!"

     "I'm coming, old man," he called back, gritting his teeth.  Akane
shook her head.

     "You're not getting enough sleep," she said gently.  "This isn't going
to help your exams, running around all hours of the night with Happosai."

     "I can't avoid this," Ranma said.  "Believe me, I can't."

     He stepped out of the room and closed the door, looking down at
Happosai with distaste.  "Alright, let's go."

     The two of them headed out of the house, Ranma stopping to grab his
coat.  In a quiet area like Nerima, the streets didn't have a lot of people
on them this late.  Ranma followed behind Happosai, thankful that this
winter night was warmer than the last two had been.

     "Happosai?" he asked after a while.  "Just why are we doing this?"

     "Training, boy," Happosai said.

     "All we've been doin' is running around all night," Ranma said.  "I
know there's more to this than what you're telling me.  Put all this stuff
with the ring aside, and you've been actin' more tolerable in the past few
days than ever.  So level with me, Happosai?  What's going on?"

     Happosai sighed.  "That's not for you to know now, boy.  In time."

     "How much time, Happosai?  How can you be sure it isn't running out?"

     Happosai didn't answer.  Ranma frowned. "Hey, listen old-"

     "Quiet."

     Ranma shut up.  He looked around; there was no one in sight.  They
were in one of the more remote areas of Nerima.  The winter wind swirled
snow about the two of them, as they stood in the centre of the street.

     Ranma shivered; it seemed colder now than before.

     Happosai walked back to stand by Ranma.  "It's nothing.  Never mind."

     "Hey, old man, you never answered my question," Ranma said, resisting
the urge to lean down and grab Happosai by the collar.

     "Some questions are better off left unanswered," Happosai said.  Ranma
glanced around the streets; he was getting the feeling there was someone
else here.

     Happosai gave a mild sigh.  He rummaged in his clothing, and pulled
out a familiar black box.  "Here," he said, offering it to Ranma.

     "Hey, uh," Ranma said, quickly taking the box.  It was reassuringly
cool and solid in his grip.  "Thanks."

     "Don't mention it," Happosai said.  "Now go on home.  As fast as you
can.  And don't come back here, at least not till tomorrow."

     "Happosai, what's going on?" Ranma said.

     "Perhaps I'll tell you later," Happosai said.  "But for now, you just
go home.  This is something I must do myself, I just realized."

     "Why'd you have me come along if you were just gonna make me go when
everything starts happenin'?" Ranma asked.

     "Go, boy.  Please," Happosai said.

     Ranma hesitated for a moment, and then turned and walked away quickly,
not looking back.  Happosai lit his pipe and watched his student go until
he couldn't see him anymore.

     Then he looked around.  "Thank you for waiting."

     "I have no wish to harm the innocent," the cloaked man said as he
dropped off the roof and into Happosai's view.

     "Then it's a little too late for that," Happosai said softly.

     "Give it to me," the cloaked man said.  "And it will be quick and
without pain.  Unlike your friend Lukkosai."

     Happosai bowed his head at the thought of his old friend.  "I'm sorry
I have to do this."

     "Do not feign any kind of honour," the cloaked man hissed, hate and
anger in his tone.  "You cannot ever redeem yourself."

     "I know that," Happosai said.  "But I can at least stop you from doing
this."

     "No, you cannot," the cloaked man said, pulling out his naginata and
getting it into a ready position.

     Happosai pulled out his pipe, and let the calm of battle slip over
him.  He'd known he couldn't keep Tensai talking forever.

     He only hoped he'd given Ranma time to get far enough away.

**********

     Ranma ran until he was nearly back at the Tendo house, before a
thought came over him.  He frowned and moved under a streetlight, taking
out the box and looking at it appraisingly.  He opened it and gazed on the
contents.

     The ring was considerably more expensive than the one he'd bought,
made of a strange, almost white gold.  There was a large blue gem that he
thought might be a sapphire, held between the beaks of two intricately
carved birds who rose up from the ring to grip the stone.

     It was a beautiful ring, but it wasn't his ring.  He sucked in a
breath, clenched his fist, and began to run back towards where he'd left
Happosai.

     "Wait," someone called.  The tones were soft and sweet, and they made
him slow to a halt and glance to the side.  There was a strange, pleasant
scent in the air.

     The woman who stood nearby was the most beautiful one he had ever
seen.  She was perfectly formed in every way, and her long hair was a dark
waterfall that he longed to envelop himself in.  The smell wrapped around
him like a warm blanket.  He noted vaguely that she wore only a thin white
kimono, and that she seemed to walk atop the snow rather than sinking into
it, but that seemed unimportant in the face of her beauty and that
pleasant, numbing smell.

     "You are a very handsome young man," she said, sweeping closer with
grace that seemed too perfect to be human.  She raised a cold hand and
gently caressed his cheek.  "A fine specimen."

     "Thank you," Ranma whispered, her touch seeming the most pleasurable
thing he'd ever experienced.  It made everything he'd shared with Akane
seem banal and worthless and foolish.

     "I like handsome young men," the woman said.  She smiled and put her
other hand on his face, leaning forward to kiss him lightly on the mouth.
He longed for it to continue, and could barely keep from weeping when it
did not.  "Would you help me, young man?"

     "Anything," he said, aching with the need to obey her.

     "What's your name?"

     "Ranma Saotome," he whispered.

     "Well, Ranma," she said.  "Could you give me that box, first of all?"

     "Of course," he said, as something small and buried screamed at him to
disobey.  He handed it over.  She smiled and tucked it within the folds of
her kimono.

     "Thank you," she said.  "That was a very good beginning, my Ranma.
My name is Hibino Kyofu.  Now, let us see what else we can do this night."

     And her smile was cold and terrible and hungry, but to him it was the
most wondrous thing in the world.