Our Own Damnation

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 Three: All Night Have the Roses Heard

     In her darkened room, under bedsheet imprinted with dozens of her
namesake, Kodachi Kuno slept the easy sleep of one who believes themselves
right in all their actions.  Most people in the world feel guilt or regret
for some things they do in their life; it was not so with Kodachi.  Guilt
was a foolish emotion; to avoid it, do nothing that you feel guilt about,
and feel guilt about nothing.

     Kodachi's dreams were easy and pleasant when she slept; since she
became the Black Rose, all her nightmares had stopped.  The dark mask she
wore protected her; cloaked in shadow and deceit, she could only be touched
by what she wanted to touch her.  All else slid off her as easily as water
off a duck's back.

     In her dreams, Kodachi lay upon a bower of black roses, clothed in the
wedding dress she'd commisioned on the day she'd first met the man who she
knew she was destined to marry.  It was the one she'd worn to that false
wedding of his, where he almost married that horrible Akane Tendo by
mistake.  He came to her in her dreams, clothed in white to contrast with
her black.  He lay down beside her, holding her close to him, whispering
words of a love that would last down through the ages.  They kissed; it was
like tasting heaven.

     Kodachi was patient; she knew that someday, her darling Ranma would
come to her in life as he came to her in her dreams.  They were the perfect
match; she the night and him the stars.  Until then, she was content to
know him only through her dreams.

     As deep and real as her dreams were, Kodachi Kuno was very light
sleeper, and she came awake in an instant when she heard her window being
opened.  She had made sure to lock it last night; as confident as she was
that any killer who attempted to make her the next victim would be in for
a suprise, there was no reason not to be cautious.  Perhaps she had merely
forgotten.

     Kodachi opened her eyes and watched as the slim, dark figure crawled
in through the thin gap of the window and perched on top of her desk.  It
was not just slim, even.  Skeletal would be the best description; its arms
and legs seemed to thin to support it.  She couldn't make out much more
than the form of it; her eyes had not yet adjusted to the darkness, and the
dim light of the moon outside seemed to flow away from the figure.  But it
glittered brightly on the silver blade in its hand.

     It sprang then, and Kodachi was out of her bed and onto the floor,
rolling sideways as the knife slashed into her pillow.  Her room was not a
gymnastics arena, and she wore a nightgown, not a leotard, but she kept
always a few tools of her art nearby.  Kodachi snatched the two clubs from
where she knew they lay upon the table and sent them flying at the figure
on the bed.  Perhaps it would dodge them, perhaps not.

     The killer slapped the clubs out the air with its free hand and sprung
from the bed, cat-like in its agility.  It was on Kodachi faster than she
would have fought possible, the knife slashing down at her throat.  Kodachi
brought up an arm to protect herself, and felt a hot line of pain burst
across it.  She screamed and kicked out with her legs, throwing the killer
off her long enough for her to get up.  She had to get to the door, get out
someplace she could run.

     Clutching her wounded arm against herself, Kodachi stumbled for the
door as quickly as she could.  She could hear her attacker scrambling to
its feet behind her, and as her hand reached for the doorknob, the knife
bit into her back near her shoulders.  The pain in her arm was forgotten
as she stumbled forward, still desperately reaching for the door.  A bony
hand closed over her mouth, wrenching her head back and exposing her
throat.  The knife was wrenched out, the agony even greater than when it
had been thrust in.  Kodachi knew a nightmare for the first time in many
years; but it was not like the nightmares of her youth, for this nightmare
was horrible, horrible reality.

     With desperate strength, she slammed an elbow back into the body of
her attacker.  The movement of her arm wrenched the wound on her back
terribly, but it let her slip free and try for the door again.  As she
finally reached the handle and got ready to turn it, a hand grabbed her
wrist and threw her sideways like a doll.  Kodachi tripped backwards over
the stool in front her elaborate dressing table and fell back, striking
her back on the dressing table and her head on the mirror of it.  A
numbing shock passed through her body, and behind her head she felt the
mirror shatter.  She struggled to get up, but then the dark figure was in
front of her again, the knife flashing, and she felt it tear across her
stomach.  She screamed, and screamed again as it drew back a hand and
slapped her hard across the face, taunting her.  The knife came up and drew
a light slash across her left cheek from eye to chin.

     "Pretty thing," it hissed.  "You will be my next one."

     The hand came up and slapped her again, splitting open her lip.  Then
the knife, marking her across the right cheek as it had across the left.
Her world was dissolving into pain; she felt as if she were slipping away
into it.  The hand grabbed her chin and tilted her unresisting head back.
The darkness was already engulfing her.  The knife drew back, glimmering
and already wet with blood.  Her blood.

     The door flew open, light from the hallway flooding into the room.
Her attacker hissed and let her go; Kodachi slumped back against the
dressing table, trying to hang onto her consciousness.

     Someone was yelling, screaming a battle cry.  Dimly, Kodachi could
make out two figures battling back and forth across the room, her brother
twirling his wooden blade overhead with impressive skill, making strike
after strike against the dark figure and its silver knife, pressing it back
across the room away from the door.  Kodachi closed her eyes; still the
sounds of battle echoed around her.

     She felt herself lifted, but for all of her effort, she could not open
her eyes now that she had closed them.  As she slipped in and out of
consciousness, blind to the world but still hearing, she felt gentle hands
bind her wounds, lay her upon a hard bed.  Then they were moving, as if
inside some great ship.  Someone was holding her hand tightly, weeping as
he spoke to her.

     "FLED!  The blackguard fled when I nearly had him, sister.  I will
hunt him to the ends of the earth, give tenfold to him what he has done to
thee, I swear it."

     Kodachi felt everything fading, and she slipped away into the darkness
even as she tried to answer.

**********

     The bathroom was crowded that morning, with two extra people in an
already crowded house, but eventually things were sorted and everyone
appeared generally ready to face the day.  Ranma, for one, was not looking
forward to what the papers might bring.  He headed to the front door to see
if it had arrived.  As if by some contrived coincidence, he was about to
reach for the handle when someone knocked.  Ranma shrugged and opened the
door, seeing no one there for a moment before he thought to look down.

     "Good morning to you, Master Saotome," Sasuke Sagurakure said from his
position of bowing so low his forehead touched the ground.  Ranma stifled a
groan; he had about as much tolerance for the obsequious little ninja as he
did for his blustering, arrogant employer.  The last thing he needed right
now was to have to deal with Kuno.  Sasuke was likely either delivering a
challenge from Kuno, or an offer of a date.

     "What do you want?" Ranma said, making no effort to disguise his
hostility.

     "I am sorry to disturb you so early this morning, but I regret to
inform you that Mistress Kodachi has had an accident," Sasuke said, still
looking at the ground.

     "What kind of accident?" Ranma said, feeling a coldness begin to seep
through him.

     "She was... attacked in her bedroom last night," Sasuke said, looking
up at Ranma.  "Master Kuno drove them off, but not before Mistress Kodachi
was gravely injured."

     "How... how is she?" Ranma said.  Inwardly, he cursed himself for a
fool.  The Kuno siblings were definitely not his friends, but Cologne had
said "someone close to you."  How had he forgotten them?

     "The doctors say her wounds are not life-threatening," Sasuke said,
"but she has not yet awakened since she was taken to the hospital.  She
lost a lot of blood."

     "Do they know how it happened?" Ranma said.

     "The police are at the mansion now.  They believe it to be the same
killer who has struck the two nights before this," Sasuke said.  "Somehow,
the killer managed to make his way through the security systems.  I had
double-checked them just that night, because of the murders, but the
cameras, the sensors, they registered nothing.  It would be as if nothing
had penetrated the grounds of the house, but for what was done to Mistress
Kodachi."

     Sasuke clenched his fist and stood to his feet, and in his usually
downcast eyes, Ranma saw real anger.

     "Tens of thousands of dollars of security equipment, days of work,
constant checking and rechecking, and what can I show for it?  Mistress
Kodachi half-killed, the only evidence that anyone else was even in the
house the fact that her window was open.  Not even any footprints on the
ground below her window.  It as if this killer is invisible," Sasuke said.

     "But she's going to be alright, isn't she?" Ranma said, suprised at
the concern he heard in his voice.  Sasuke nodded.

     "She will take time to heal, but she will heal," he said.

     "Can she have any visitors?" Ranma asked.

     "That was in fact the reason I came," Sasuke said.  "I had hoped that
your presence might help her from her state of unconsciousness."

     "I'll come right now," Ranma said.  He looked at Sasuke again.  The
little man looked almost dead upon his feet, and appeared to be having
trouble keeping his eyes upon.  "Hey Sasuke, when was the last time you
slept?"

     "I had a few hours last night," Sasuke said.  "Before Mistress
Kodachi was attacked."

     "You want some breakfast?" Ranma said.  "We were about to eat, and
Kasumi always makes more than we need."

     "I would be honored to accept your hospitality," Sasuke said.  Ranma
stepped away from the door and Sasuke followed him inside.  As an
afterthought, Ranma reached down and grabbed the paper.  There was nothing
on the front about Kodachi.  Sasuke saw him looking at it, and nodded.

     "The papers don't know yet," Sasuke.  "The police did not want them
running around the scene while they were investigating.  By this afternoon,
I am sure the news will be all over town."

     "This is gonna scare a lot of people," Ranma said.  "That whoever this
guy is, he got into a house so easily."

     Sasuke nodded.  "This madman must be stopped, and quickly.  If the
police are unable, then it falls to others."

     "Huh?" Ranma said as they walked towards where everyone else was most
likely already eating.

     "There are certain disturbing aspects to the attacker," Sasuke said
carefully.  "I will admit Master Kuno is given somewhat to his own
interpretations of things, but what he tells of his opponent, it sounds as
if they may not be quite what the police believe them to be."

     "Whaddaya mean?" Ranma said.

     "You should ask Master Kuno," Sasuke says.  "He can tell you more."

     They entered the room where the rest of the household was already
sitting down at the table.  It was already crowded, but they found room for
the two of them, as the rest of the table cast enquiring glances at Sasuke.

     "Good morning, Sasuke," Kasumi said cheerfully.  "What brings you
here?"

     "Good morning, Kasumi.  It is always a delight to visit your
household.  I wish only that it were under more fortuitous circumstances,"
Sasuke said.

     "Whatever do you mean?" Kasumi said.  Sasuke explained to the rest of
the table the purpose of his visit this morning; when he finished, everyone
sat silently for a moment.

     "That poor girl," Kasumi said finally.  "I do hope she recovers
quickly."

     The rest of them murmured agreement, then began to eat, but the mood
of the meal was subdued.  They finished quickly and in general silence,
no one feeling in the mood for conversation.  The murders had been
disturbing before; now that they had struck someone they knew, they had
become truly frightening.

     The four most affected, of course, were Ranma, Ryoga, Akane and
Ukyou.  They all knew of Cologne's warnings; had they come to fruition now,
or was there still more to come for them?

     With breakfast finished and the table cleared, Ranma excused himself
and motioned to Ryoga.  He stood by the entrance to the hallway that led to
the dojo, out of the general traffic area of the rest of the house as he
spoke to the other boy.

     "Look, Ryoga.  I'm gonna go visit Kodachi in the hospital; stick
around here with Ucchan and Akane till I get back.  I want us all to go
down to the Nekohanten and talk to Cologne together; we've gotta do
something about what's happening," he said quietly.

     "Isn't that a job for the police?" Ryoga said.  Ranma shook his head.

     "I'm not too sure now," Ranma said.  "Sasuke told me Kuno's been
sayin' some stuff about the guy he fought that makes it sound like he might
be more than the police think."

     "Like what?" Ryoga said, arching one eyebrow dubiously.

     "Well, whoever this guy is, he came through the security systems at
the Kuno's house like they weren't even there.  Sasuke's not much of a
ninja, but he knows his stuff when it comes to security; the Kuno's have
enough traps in that house of theirs to make Indiana Jones hang up his
hat."

     "Indiana Jones?" Ryoga said.  Ranma ignored his confusion and pressed
on.

     "And there weren't any footprints, nothing.  I gotta talk to Kuno
before I jump to any conclusions," Ranma said.  "but the way this stuff is
happening, I gotta wonder if the police can deal with it."

     "Alright," Ryoga said with a nod.  Ranma went off to find Sasuke;
the ninja was in the kitchen talking to Kasumi while he helped wash the
dishes.

     "I'm ready to go, Sasuke," Ranma said.

     "Alright," Sasuke said.  He turned and bowed to Kasumi.  "I thank you
for breakfast."

     Kasumi smiled.  "So polite."

     Ranma let out a small snort.  Sasuke stood up and left the kitchen,
Ranma following behind.  The ninja walked out the front door and led Ranma
around the corner, where a large black limousine looked severely out of
place in the neighbourhood.  Ranma saw a few people on their front steps
looking at it with interest.  Sasuke ignored their gazes and took out a
key ring from his uniform, searching through it until her found the keys
for the car.  He unlocked the driver's side door and motioned Ranma around
to the passenger side; Ranma pulled open the door and stepped in.  The
inside of the limo was as impressive as the outside, and Ranma settled
comfortably back into the seat.  Sasuke got in and turned the key in the
ignition.

     The drive to the hospital was slow and in silence.  Neither of them
really had anything to say to each other.  Ranma spent the time trying to
think of what to do; would the next victim be someone else he knew?
Obviously, something had to be done.  He had to talk to Cologne, see what
she had to say.  Perhaps she would have some ideas.

     He had to talk to Kuno, as well, he remembered.  Sasuke had mentioned
that Kuno had fought with Kodachi's attacker; he might be able to confirm
the suspicions Ranma was having that there was a darker side to this killer
than even the police thought.

     Ranma was no novice to things the world considered extraordinary or
even impossible; he knew well the touch of magic.  As in all things, there
was a dark and light side to it.  The waters of Ryugenzawa could heal the
gravest wound, but their use was only made possible by the existence of
their terrible guardian.

     Was the killer something more than human, some being that could pass
through cameras and sensors to enter a house and leave no record of its
presence?  That left no fingerprints or footprints behind in the wake of
its brutality?  That would kill night after night until it was stopped?

     "I hope not," Ranma muttered under his breath.

     "What was that?" Sasuke said.

     "Nothin'" Ranma said.  They pulled up in front of the hospital a few
minutes later.  Ranma could see the half-dozen news vans parked there
already.  Sasuke cursed and banged on the steering wheel as he pulled the
limo into an empty space.

     "They've found out," he said.  "Let's just try to get through without
them realizing who we are."

     Ranma and Sasuke got out of the car, walking as unobstrusively as
possible towards the main entrance to the hospital.  The area beyond was
filled with reporters and cameramen, all of whom appeared to be asking
questions at once of a dark-haired man in a white coat, who seemed to be
growing angrier by the minute.

     "Yes," he said as they walked in.  "yes, the victim is in this
hospital.  Her condition is stable; police are investigating the matter as
we speak.  I know nothing more than that."

     "We've heard there was someone else," a short man clutching a notepad
said over the din, his pencil poised to write.  "A brother or something."

     "As I've said, I'm not at liberty to comment on that," the doctor
said.  "Now please, you're interfering in the hospital's business."

     Ranma and Sasuke walked around the huddled group of reporters, heading
for the elevators as quickly as they could without attracting attention.
The reporters seemed diverted in asking questions of the frustrated doctor,
and ignored them.  Sasuke pushed the button, and the doors opened almost
immediately.  It was with some relief that the two of them stepped aboard.

     "She's on the third floor," Sasuke explained as he pressed the
illuminated three button.  "They had her in surgery up until about an hour
ago."

     "Is she gonna have any permanent damage?" Ranma asked.

     "She took some stab wounds to her back and stomach, fairly deep and
serious.  She had a slash across her arm, probably from where she blocked
the knife with it.  Those will all heal, in time," Sasuke said.  "The
killer also did some damage to her face.  Most likely she will carry the
scars for the rest of her life," Sasuke said.

     Ranma sighed.  He didn't like Kodachi very much.  She was cruel,
ruthless and probably insane, but she was someone he knew, and he would
never wish something like this on anyone.

     The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened, Ranma and Sasuke
stepping out to let in several nurses.  Sasuke led the way, threading his
way through the mazelike corridors of the hospital until they reached the
room where Kodachi was.  The number over the door was 315; the door was
closed, and the sign on the door indicated that it was a private room.
Sasuke pulled it open and stepped inside, Ranma following him a bit
cautiously.  The room was airy and cheerful, with large windows and
blue-painted walls.  Kodachi Kuno lay in a hospital bed near the window, an
IV tube leading to her arm from the bag hung on a pole.  From here, Ranma
could see the bandages on her face and arm, but the thin blanket pulled up
nearly to her chin revealed nothing more.

     Tatewaki Kuno sat in a chair beside the bed, looking odd in a t-shirt
and pants.  They were rumpled, as if they'd been thrown on hastily.  Ranma
was pretty sure they had.  He was also without the bokken he always seemed
to carry.  The upperclassman looked a mess, to be frank.  His hair stuck up
places, and the dark circles under his eyes gave away his lack of sleep.
He looked up as Ranma and Sasuke entered.

     "I see you came," he said in a flat monotone as he looked at Ranma.

     "Yeah," Ranma said.  Kuno stood up out of the chair, and, to Ranma's
suprise, gave him a small bow.

     "I thank you," Kuno said.  "As much as we are rivals, your concern for
the welfare of my sister speaks volumes for you, though it but little
diminishes in my eyes the fiendishness I ascribe to you."

     "Thanks," Ranma said as he tried to figure out exactly what Kuno was
talking about.

     "I assume you wish to be alone with her for a few minutes?" Sasuke
said from Ranma's side.

     "I guess so," Ranma said, glancing at Kuno.  It might be easier if the
tempermental upperclassman wasn't in the room.  Kuno nodded in silence and
left the room with Sasuke, closing it behind him as he went.  Ranma looked
at the closed door for a minute, than sat down in the seat Kuno had been in
when he'd entered.  Kodachi was pale and still beside him, and her
breathing was soft and steady.  Ranma looked at her hand for a moment, then
decided it couldn't hurt, and there was no one around to see.  He put his
hand beside Kodachi's and twined her fingers through his, suprised at how
tight he found his grip becoming.

     "Hi Kodachi," Ranma said, looking at the delicate face, the white
bandages standing out across her cheeks.  "I... I don't really know what to
say to you at all.  I've known you almost since I first came here, but I
don't really know you at all."

     Something drew his eye to the hand in his; the white scar tissue stood
out upon the wrist, barely visible.  Two long slashes, forming a pale x
upon the arm.  They seemed stretched and fading, as if done years ago.

     "Yeah," Ranma said softly, carefully tracing the white lines with his
other hand, "I don't really know you at all."

     The scars upon her wrist were fading; they would never be totally
gone.  In time, perhaps, the scars she would carry from last night would
fade as well.  But what of scars upon the soul?

     Ranma closed his hand over his other one, handing Kodachi's limp hand
tightly between the two of his.

     "Kodachi," he said.  "I hope you can hear me.  We're gonna get the guy
who did this.  Me an' Kuno and everyone else, we're not gonna let this
happen to anyone else."

     Ranma sighed and squeezed Kodachi's hand.  "I want you to get better
real soon, okay?"

     "Ranma..."

     The words were soft and barely audible, but the voice that spoke them
was clear.  Ranma stood up excitedly out of his chair and looked down at
Kodachi.

     "Kodachi?" he said.

     "Ranma... you're here," she said, her eyes still closed.

     "Yeah... I'm here," Ranma said.  There was no response.  He stood
there for a moment, holding her hand in his, feeling how her pulse had
grown stronger and steadier.  Then he carefully laid her hand back down
upon the bed and stood up, still looking down on the injured girl in the
bed before him.  What had driven her to do such a thing, all those years
ago, that had left such marks upon her?

     Ranma didn't know, and wasn't sure if he ever would.  He crossed the
room to the door and opened it up.  Kuno and Sasuke leaned against the
wall, talking quietly among themselves.

     "Saotome," Kuno said anxiously as he came out, before his voice
returned to its normal cultured tones.  "did anything happen?"

     Ranma nodded.  "She spoke to me.  She knew I was there."

     Kuno sighed with relief.  "Praise the heavens.  I doubt not that she
will awaken soon."

     "Yeah," Ranma said, sharing some of Kuno's relief.  He remembered that
he still had to speak to Kuno.  As grateful as Kuno had seemed for his
presence, Ranma still wasn't sure if he could get many answers out of a man
who considered him to be a great rival.

     "Upperclassman?" he said, trying not to put a sarcastic edge to the
words.  "May I speak with you for a few minutes?"

     Kuno nodded and motioned to Sasuke.  The ninja turned and wandered
down the hallway away from them, leaving the two alone together.

     "What would you ask of me?" Kuno said.

     "Sasuke mentioned that you thought there was something odd about the
man you fought last night," Ranma said.  "The one who attacked Kodachi.
Could you tell me what it was?"

     Kuno's face darkened.  "No man was it, Ranma Saotome.  Some wear the
mask of humanity over their monstrosity, but some demons wear no mask at
all.  Such was the fiend I thought last night."

     "What do you mean?" Ranma said, a sinking feeling building in him as
he realized how right his theory might be.

     "No man lives who is formed of such skin and bones," Kuno said.  "And
if such a man did, they could not have one hundredth the speed and strength
of what I fought.  I was hard pressed to hold my own against it; I think
even that it may have fled out of suprise than from any real threat I posed
to it."

     Ranma blinked.  He'd never heard Kuno admit that there might be
anything he couldn't beat in combat, despite all evidence to the contrary.

     "If it perhaps had been a real battle, had I not had the advantage of
suprise, and the fiend not felt the need to flee upon discovery, I too
would be lying today in this apothecary with my dear sister," Kuno said.
"Or perhaps worse."

     "What did it look like?" Ranma asked.

     "Tight-stretched skin over ancient bone," Kuno said.  "And nought else
in between, flesh, muscle or tendon."

     "Kuno," Ranma said.  "Can you come with me for a while?  I want you to
talk to Shampoo's great-grandmother."

     "That withered old thing?" Kuno said disbelievingly.  "What aid can
she offer to me?"

     "She knows a lot," Ranma said.  "Please, upperclassman."

     "Very well," Kuno said.  "But I go for the sake of my vengeance for my
sister, and not because of your asking."

     "Whatever," Ranma said.  As much as he felt like responding to Kuno's
barbs and giving the upperclassman a good kick in the head, he was gonna
need to have Kuno talk to Cologne before he did that.

     "Sasuke!" Kuno called.  The ninja looked up from where he was getting
a drink of water at the fountain down the hall, and came up at a run.

     "Yes, master Kuno?" Sasuke said.

     "Go and get the car ready for us.  We will be down in a few minutes.
I wish to bid my sister farewell," Kuno ordered.

     "Very good, master," Sasuke said with a low bow before heading towards
the elevators.  Ranma stood in the hallway as Kuno stepped back into
Kodachi's room.  He emerged a few minutes later, with a small smile on his
face.

     "She knew I was there, Saotome," he said.  "Even if she did not speak,
I felt her presence as I held her hand."

     "I'm glad she's okay," Ranma said.  Kuno nodded absently and headed
towards the elevators without another word.  Ranma shrugged and followed
him.  They rode down in silence, but when the doors opened on the ground
floor, the flashes of cameras and shouted questions assailed them.  Behind
the crowd of reporters, the doctor who had been answering questions earlier
shouted ineffectually at them.

     "How is your sister, Mr. Kuno?"

     "Is it true you fought the murderer?"

     "Do the police have any leads?"

     Ranma glanced over at Kuno.  The crowd of reporters made it impossible
for the two of them to leave the elevator, and the upperclassman was
starting to go red in the face.  Ranma cringed as he opened his mouth, and
then it began.

     "DOGS!  DEVILS!  Foul, leering jackals of the press!  Block not my
path this day, for I have no patience for you or any other serpents!" Kuno
shouted, striding forward, his tall form pushing a path through the crowd.
He simply walked through anyone who got in his way, and everyone learned
not to fairly soon.  Ranma quickly followed behind him, ignoring the
shouted questions.

     They followed them out to the car, trailing behind snapping photos and
repeating the same questions over and over.  Kuno's hand occasionally
twitched, reaching for the bokken he expected to be by his side.  Ranma was
pretty sure he would be using it on the reporters if he had it.  Kuno
pulled open the passenger door forcefully and leapt in, slamming it shut
behind him.  Ranma hopped into the back seat and watched through the window
as Sasuke backed the car out of the parking space, the reporters still
snapping photos.  As they left the parking lot, several news vans moved to
follow them.

     "Lose them, Sasuke," Kuno said wearily from the front seat.  Sasuke
nodded and stepped on the accelerator.  Ranma was thrown back into his seat
as the limo accelerated to speeds that weren't really reasonable for a car
of its size.  Sasuke screeched abruptly around a corner, and then Ranma
simply closed his eyes and settled back into the seat as the car jerked
suddenly left and right for the next few minutes.  When he opened them up
again, they were a few streets away from the Tendo house with the news vans
nowhere in sight.

     "I believe I've lost them, master Kuno," Sasuke said.  "But not for
long."

     "Very well," Kuno said.  "Come, Saotome.  Let us walk from here;
Sasuke may lead them off another way."

     "Alright," Ranma said, unbuckling his seatbelt and getting out the car
with Kuno.  The limo reversed and drove back the way it had came.

     "Can we stop by the Tendo's first?" Ranma said, remembering he'd
wanted to go in a group with Ryoga and the others.

     "Of course!  I shall visit with my love!" Kuno said.  Ranma gritted
his teeth but let it pass.  After Kuno told Cologne what he knew, he vowed.
Not before then, though.

     Away from the hospital and his sister, Kuno rapidly began to go back
to his normal self.  He'd gotten another bokken from somewhere.  Knowing
Kuno, he probably kept spares in the car.

     "I swear I shall smite the fiend, Saotome!" Kuno said, waving his
wooden blade for emphasis.  "None lay hands on the sister of Tatewaki Kuno
in such an untoward way!"

     "Yeah, whatever Kuno," Ranma muttered as they walked.  At least the
focus of Kuno's anger wasn't on him; as long as he was concerned with
smiting the killer instead of Ranma, he might be of some help in what was
to come.  Kuno wasn't a bad fighter, really.  Just limited by his weapon
based style and the fact that he was about as intelligent as podzol.  

     Arriving at the Tendo house, they went in through the unlocked front
door.  Kasumi came in from the kitchen and smiled at them.

     "Welcome back, Ranma," she said, before turning her attentio to Kuno.
"Tatewaki, I am so sorry to hear about your sister.  I hope she will be
well soon."

     "Your thoughts are appreciated, Kasumi Tendo," Tatewaki said with a
small bow.

     "Hey Kasumi, where's Akane and everyone else?" Ranma asked.

     "They're all in the backyard," Kasumi said.  "I just brought them out
some lemonade."

     "Thanks, Kasumi," Ranma said, heading for the back yard, Kuno
following behind him.  They found Akane, Ukyou, Ryoga and Nabiki sitting at
the edge of the front porch, sipping lemonade from tall glasses and
talking.  The four looked up as Kuno and Ranma approached, and mild suprise
showed on the faces of all but Nabiki at Kuno's presence.

     "My love!" Kuno said, reaching down as if to draw Akane into his arms.
Ranma clenched his fist, and tried to slow his breathing.  Akane brought up
her hand and smacked Kuno hard across the side of the head, spinning him
around like a top until he landed facedown in front of Nabiki.

     "Hi Kuno-baby," she said, taking a sip from her glass.  "It's such a
pleasure to see you."

     Kuno snorted.  "Thou art as two-faced and acid-tongued as always,
Nabiki Tendo.  It is nice to know that there are some constants in this
chaotic world."

     "Sit up, Kuno-baby.  I'm just teasing you; you make it so easy.  Have
some of Kasumi's lemonade.  It's really good," Nabiki said.  Kuno put on an
expression of weary acceptance and crossed his legs under him as he went
from lying on the ground to a seated position near Nabiki.  Nabiki poured him
a glass and handed it to him with a sly grin on her face.  Kuno took the
glass without returning the smile and took a long sip.  Lowering the glass,
he nodded his thanks silently before drinking again. Ranma sat down with
his legs stretched out and poured himself a glass, the ice floating on the
top of the pitcher clinking into the glass.

     "How's Kodachi?" Akane said quietly to Ranma.

     "I think she'll be up and annoying us again in a week or two," Ranma
said.

     "That's a relief," Ryoga said.  "As much as I owe her for what she did
to me during that gymnastics match, I'm glad she's alright."

     "But what did Kodachi do to you during the match?" Akane said, turning
to Ryoga with a quizzical expression on his face.  "I didn't even see you
there."

     "Ahhh... ahhh..." Ryoga said.  Ranma groaned behind Akane's back and
slapped a hand to his forehead.  Akane looked at Ryoga, expecting an
answer.  Ranma made frantic motions to Ukyou, indicating Ryoga and Akane
with his hands.  Nearby, Kuno and Nabiki talked quietly, apparently
oblivious to the others.

     "Ryoga, honey, can you fill up my glass for me?" Ukyou said, holding
out her empty glass to Ryoga.

     "Sure, Ukyou," Ryoga said quickly, glad for the distraction as he took
Ukyou's glass and poured from the lemonade pitcher with a slightly shaky
hand.

     "What did Kodachi do to him, Ranma?" Akane said, turning back to her
fiancee.

     "Ummm... I think she thought he might interfere in the fight, so
she..." Ranma said, trying to think.  "She... Ryoga, what was it she did to
you again?"

     Ryoga looked up and almost spat out his lemonade.  "She ambushed me
outside the arena and tied me up," he said desperately.

     "Oh.  Okay!" Akane said.  Ranma and Ryoga breathed sighs of relief.

     "Did Ryoga tell you two about what I wanna do?" Ranma asked Akane and
Ukyou.  

     "Uh-huh," Ukyou said.  "Do you think maybe we should call ahead
first?"

     "Yeah," Akane said.  "The restaurant is open for business today,
right?"

     Ranma nodded.  "Yeah.  I'd better call Cologne and tell her what's
happened."

     He stood up and started to head inside, nearly bumping into Kasumi as
she came out.

     "Oh, Ranma, I was just coming to get you," Kasumi said.  "Your
mother's on the phone."

     Ranma blinked his eyes in suprise.  That was a coincidence.  And why
would his mother be calling him, anyway?

     "Hello?" he said, picking up the phone on the table near the back
porch.

     "Hello, son," his mother said from far away on the other end of the
line.

     "Hello mother," Ranma said, the sound of his mother's voice making him
realize how much he missed her.  He'd grown so used to her absence in more
than ten years that her departure a few days ago to visit her friend hadn't
really affected him; he'd hugged his mother goodbye, wishing he'd known
what to say to her, but not finding the words he needed within him.

     "How are you, Ranma?" his mother asked.

     "I'm fine, mom," Ranma said, then blurted out spontaneously "I miss
you."

     He could hear the pleasure in his mother's voice as she responded.  "I
miss you too, Ranma.  I was reading the paper this morning and I came
across those horrible murders that have been happening around where you
are, and it made me very worried for you.  Is everything alright over
there?"

     Ranma didn't want to make his mother worry, but even more than that,
he didn't want to lie to her again.  "No, everything's not alright, mom.
Everybody's scared by what's happening.  Kodachi got attacked last night."

     "Is she one of those girls you know?" his mother asked.

     "Yeah, kinda," Ranma said.

     "Oh dear," Nodoka said.  "Is she going to be alright."

     "Yeah, she'll be fine.  I went to see her this morning," Ranma said.

     "That was very nice of you son," his mother said.  "I do hope the
police catch whoever's doing this soon.  I almost came home as soon as I
heard, but Tamiko had such a difficult pregnancy, and I don't know how
she'd be able to manage without me."

     "It's okay, mom," Ranma said.  "We'll be fine."

     "Ranma," Nodoka said.  "I want you to be careful, alright?  This kind
of the thing is a job for the police."

     "Mom, I'm gonna be careful," Ranma said.  "But I'm not gonna run away
and hide either."

     "I know, son," his mother said.  "You're a brave young man and you
make your mother very proud."

     "Thanks, mom," Ranma said.

     "I've got to go now," his mother said.  "I don't want to run up to
high a phone bill."

     "Bye, mom," Ranma said.

     "I love you, son," his mother said.

     "I... I love you too, mom," Ranma said, the words not coming out the
way he wanted them too.

     "Goodbye," Nodoka said.  There was a click on the either end of the
line, and she was gone.  Ranma put down the phone and dialed the number for
the Nekohanten.  There were two rings, and then Shampoo answered.

     "Nihao!" she said, "Nekohanten, how I help?"

     "Hey Shampoo," Ranma said quickly.  "Can I talk to Cologne?"

     "Ranma..." Shampoo said, her voice losing the cheerfulness she'd had
when she answered.  "I get great-grandmother," she said stiffly.  Ranma
sighed and massaged his temples with his free hand; he could feel the
beginnings of a headache.

     "Hello?" Cologne said.  "What is it, Ranma?"

     "Cologne, Kodachi Kuno got attacked last night, and almost killed.  We
can't sit back anymore and hope the police can handle this.  I don't think
they know what they're dealing with," he said.

     "And you do?" Cologne said with a trace of sarcasm.

     "Kuno saw the thing that tried to kill his sister," Ranma said.  "It
doesn't sound like it's human."

     "And what did it look like?" Cologne said.

     "Like a skeleton with skin," Ranma said.  "That's what he said it
looked like."

     There was silence on the end of the line.  Finally, Cologne spoke
again.  "Ranma, who else is at the house?  Aside from your family and the
Tendo family?"

     "Ukyou, Ryoga and Kuno are here," Ranma said.  "We were all gonna come
in and talk to you.  I told all of them, and Akane about what you said; I
thought we could use their help."

     "Very well," Cologne said.  "Business has been poor anyway.  Few
people are willing to leave the supposed safety of their houses, even in
the daytime.  Come in an hour or so; I need to talk to Shampoo and Mousse,
and look through some of my books."

     "Thank you," Ranma said.

     "I too have glimpsed impressions that made me think there is more to
this than the police think," Cologne said.  "But I cannot be sure.
Goodbye, Ranma."

     Before Ranma had a chance to respond in kind, there was a click on the
other end of the line, and then the buzz of the dialtone was all he heard.
He hung up the phone and rubbed his head again.  It didn't look like his
headache would be going away anytime soon.  And he really didn't look
forward to seeing Shampoo right now; Ukyou was sure to pick up what had
happened, and might form the wrong impressions about it.  Why did his
relationships with women have to be so convoluted?

     "And why the hell did I try to solve my romantic problems at a time
when we all need to work together," Ranma muttered.  Sighing, he looked out
onto the back porch, where the sound of the others laughing and talking
drifted out.  Did any of them feel the same danger that he did?  He'd told
Ukyou, Ryoga and Akane about Cologne's warning, but none of them had been
there to see Cologne like he had, to see the worry that had been in the
mind of the usually unfazeable matriarch.  To them, the killer was not the
supernatural being it had become for Ranma; but he was unable to think
anymore that it could simply be a human.  He didn't think he could have
made it through the Kuno's security system without leaving a trace, and
Kuno's description of the killer had certainly made it seem inhuman.  He
had to think, of course, that Kuno might just be interpreting the facts in
his own way, which he was prone to do.

     But his description had been too simplistic for that; the attacker
he'd described hadn't seemed to be a great and powerful demon.  It had
looked like a being of skin and bone, inordinately fast and strong.  And
Kuno hadn't been raving when he'd talked about it, he'd sounded serious and
sure of what he spoke of.  

     Ranma sighed; he sure hoped Cologne knew what to do next, because he
certainly didn't.

**********

     Ranma walked into the Nekohanten, currently female, with an angry
expression across her face.  Ukyou and Akane followed her in, Ryoga
dragging the unconscious Kuno none too gently through the doorway by his
collar.

     Kuno had even been behaving remarkably tolerably; he hadn't made a
move at Akane after she'd decked him out on the porch, and he'd even kept
fairly quiet as they'd walked.

     Then, of course, they'd come across a little old lady tossing water
out of a bucket.  Ranma had been hit, and Ryoga had just dodged in time.
Kuno, of naturally, had grabbed Ranma into a fierce embrace upon realizing
that his beloved pig-tailed goddess had arrived.  Ranma had clocked him
with one precise shot to the chin and stalked off towards the Nekohanten.

     Her bad mood was fading when they arrived, but she still felt stressed
out and angry, and this was one time she needed to be calm.  Cologne,
Shampoo and Mousse were already seated around one of the large circular
tables in the restaurant, the centre of which was piled with old books and
several loose sheets of paper.

     "Welcome," Cologne said.  "Pull up some chairs, children.  We have
much to discuss."

     "I gotta get some hot water first," Ranma muttered.  Cologne reached
down to the floor and picked up a kettle, tossing it to Ranma.  The
red-haired girl caught it with both arms, pouring a bit over herself to
return to her normal gender.

     "Thanks, old ghoul," Ranma said, flicking water from his hair.

     "You're welcome, boy.  Now all of you, get some chairs and sit down."

     They did so, grabbing chairs from the tables nearby.  Shampoo was
sitting in between Mousse and Cologne, for which Ranma was grateful.  He
put his chair next to Cologne, and soon they were all sitting around the
table.  It was a tight fit, but they managed.  The semi-conscious Kuno was
propped up in a chair between Ryoga and Ukyou, the two of them keeping him
from flopping over on them through a system of mutual shoving that served
to keep Kuno upright.  When everyone seemed to have found their places,
Cologne hopped up onto the table and started to speak.

     "I think we all know why we are gathered here," Cologne said.  "We
have all come today to talk of the recent murders.  All of you have been
told, either by Ranma or I, of the impressions I have been getting over the
past few days.  They have come either as dreams while I slept, or sudden
flashes of insight that seem unrelated to anything else I am thinking of at
the time."

     "Can you tell us what these dreams are like?" Ranma asked.  He'd 
wanted Cologne to go into more detail about what exactly she'd been seeing
for a while now.

     "They are vague," Cologne said.  "But they have grown more clear,
though not by much, as the days have passed.  I first started having them
a few days before the first murder; they meant nothing to me then, and I
barely remembered them.  For the past seven days I have had the same dream
each night, and each night more becomes clear.  At first, I saw only
glimpses; many people stood around a tall, thin figure.  All were afraid
but determined.  The first face I saw was that of you, Ranma, only for a
short time on one of the people who surrounded the single figure.  I
noticed then that we appeared to be within an ancient Shinto temple; that
was the dream I had the night the priest was killed, that gave me at first
the idea that Ranma, at least was to become involved in this."

     Cologne paused for a moment and looked around the table at the others
before continuing.  "The night after that, I had the same dream as always;
only this time I could see that the confrontation took place on a dark and
deserted street of the city.  I caught glimpses of other faces; Ryoga
Hibiki's, Ukyou Kuonji's and Akane Tendo's.  That was the night of the
killing of the young couple on the streets."

     Cologne directed her gaze to Ukyou now.  "During the afternoon of that
day, I was cooking in kitchen when I felt an extreme danger to someone
Ranma knew; he assumed it was either you or Ryoga Hibiki."

     Cologne looked at Kuno now, who was beginning to come round.  "That
night, your sister was attacked.  In the dream that night, the scene was
the halls of a luxurious house; in the air was the scent of roses, overlaid
with blood.  I saw more faces, as well; that of my great-grandaughter and
Mousse, and of you and your servant.  I also saw the face of your father,
Ranma.  All of you were ready to fight this one tall figure, the only one
whose face I could not see yet.  And then, the figure in the centre turned
to look at me, and for a moment, it wore a terrible face, and it grinned at
me and laughed."

     Talk broke out as Cologne lapsed into silence, each of them offering
their own interpretations of what she'd just told them.  Cologne finally
banged on the table with her staff until everyone was quiet again.

     "Tatewaki Kuno, you out of all of us have fought this murderer,"
Cologne said.  "Do you believe it to be human?"

     Kuno shook his head.  "If a man can be but skin and bone, and still
fight with the strength of ten, than perhaps it might be human.  Otherwise,
nay."

     Cologne pulled a book from on top of the stack on the table and opened
it up in front of Kuno.  A wide, two page illustration was spread across
the tattered pages, and everyone crowded around to see.

     "Did what you fought look like one of these creatures?" Cologne said.

     The illustration depicted a barren plain, a vast desert in which
hundreds of inhuman beings roamed.  They appeared to be human skeletons,
with skin stretched so tight over their bones that all the details of their
internal skeletal structure could be made out.  They fought amongst
themselves, or sat upon the ground devouring those they defeated.  Some
stood in what appeared to be an empty riverbed, scooping dried mud into
their mouths.  In one horrific area of the illustration, several of them
gathered around an obviously pregnant female, feasting on what appeared to
be infant versions of themselves.  Tiny bones littered the ground around
them.

     "It's awful," Ukyou said.

     "Yes," Kuno said.  "These beings are unmistakeably the same as what I
fought."

     "The picture is a nineteenth century reproduction of an illustration
from a twelfth century text of Chinese Buddhism," Cologne explained.  "The
beings depicted are called gaki, and are receiving punishment for their
wastage of food in this world.  In the world they live in, they hunger and
thirst continously, but can never be filled no matter how much they eat.
To complete the punishment, they are sentenced also to never die from
thirst or hunger.  They eat anything in their vain attempt to satisfy their
appetites, but nothing can."

     "So you think that it's one of these gaki whose commiting the
murders?" Ranma said.  Cologne nodded.

     "From Kuno's description, it would sound as if it could be.  The monk
who wrote the text goes on to say that sometimes, a particularly powerful
gaki may manage to enter this world to feed," Cologne said.  "They have a
particular taste for human flesh."

     "That's why they weren't letting anyone even look inside the shrine,"
Akane said.  "They didn't want them to see the body."

     "And the girl who went missing..." Ryoga said, not needing to fill in
the end.

     "But why hasn't this thing been caught yet?" Ranma said.  "Or even
seen?  If it's always hungry, why is it only coming out at night?"

     "Gaki were once human, boy.  They still retain all their intelligence,
which, combined with their endless hunger and supernatural existence makes
them very dangerous.  They do not need to eat human flesh; they simply
enjoy it.  It may very well hide somewhere during the day, living off of
insects or rats, before emerging at night to hunt bigger prey," Cologne
said.

     "But what are we supposed to do?" Mousse said, taking off his glasses
and cleaning them on the hem of his robe.

     "My plan is this," Cologne said, pulling a sheet of paper from the
pile and laying it out on the table.  On closer inspection, it was revealed
to be a map of the Nerima ward, with three bright red dots connected
together to form a rough triangle.  "These three areas are the places where
the gaki has struck; the shrine, the street, and the Kuno mansion.  This
should give us an idea of its radius."

     "And?" Ranma said, not sure where this was going.

     "We're going to go hunting," Cologne said grimly.

     "WHAT?" everyone said in unison.

     "We are martial artists," Cologne said.  "We are better equipped than
the police to deal with this creature, if it is what I believe it to be."

     "It is true," Ryoga said.  "We have a duty to protect those who cannot
protect themselves.  I'm with you, Cologne."

     "Great-grandmother can always count on Shampoo," Shampoo said.

     "I'm in if Shampoo is," Mousse said.

     "For vengeance for my sister," Kuno said.  "I pledge my aid to thee."

     Ukyo and Akane were looking at Ranma, as if for guidance.  Ranma was
still reflecting on what Cologne had just said; it was a dangerous plan,
but he couldn't think of another.  This thing had to be stopped, and now.

     He looked at Akane; he knew the others could handle themselves.  But
Akane, he wasn't so sure about.  He knew she would want to join them; she
hated to feel that she wasn't skilled enough to be of help.  And any
attempt to talk her out of it wouldn't do any good; it would only make her
more determined, and make her mad at him.  But he had to try anyway, later,
when they were away from everyone else.  He couldn't have Akane face
something like this.

     "Yeah," Ranma said.  "I'm in."

     "Me too," Ukyou said.

     "I'll be there as well," Akane said.

     "Very well," Cologne said.  "My plan is that we will split into three
groups; we'll all patrol through a section, hoping to encounter some sign
of the gaki.  If we can, we will alert the other groups and converge on it
together; do not try to engage it by yourselves if you do not need to.
From what Kuno has said, the gaki is strong and fast, and it appears also to
be cunning and intelligent.  We must also to be aware of the police; the
curfew is continuing tonight, and we will be in violation of it when we are
doing this.  I do not believe it will be much problem; simply avoid them.
If you do get picked up, do not run or try to resist; the police are very
much on edge over this, and they may be carrying guns.  Any questions?"

     Kuno raised his hand.  "I am able to offer certain technologies that
might be useful in our hunt; I shall fetch them in the time we have now."

     Cologne nodded her head.  "Good.  I suggest we all meet back here
around seven; we can have dinner together and discuss anything else.  We
will start heading out around eight, an hour before the curfew begins, so
that you may gain an idea of the layout of your area.  This will be a test
of all your abilities; may we find success."

     Kuno stood up first.  "I must see to my home, and to the technologies
we shall need for tonight."

     With a quick movement, Kuno was on his knees beside Akane, clutching
her hand in his.  "Fair Akane, I await only the moment when I may see you
again."

     He leapt up to his feet, right before Akane was able to clobber him,
and glared at Ranma.  "And you, Saotome, give my regards to the goddess
with the pigtail when you next see her."

     "Whatever," Ranma said with a bored expression on his face.

     "Farewell!" Kuno shouted, turning and running into the closed front
door.  He staggered back, opened the door and stepped out in as dignified a
manner as he could, which wasn't much considering he was still dizzy from
running into the door the first time.

     Ranma pushed back his chair and stood up, the others who'd come with
him following his lead.  Cologne reached out with her staff and laid it
across his arm.

     "Ranma," she said.  "If you would stay behind for a while.  We have
matters to discuss unrelated to these murders."

     Ranma glanced at the others; Ryoga and Akane looked as if they
understood what Cologne was talking about.  Ukyou simply looked confused.
None of the three made a move to leave, however.

     "Alright," Ranma said, nodding his head to them.  "You guys go on
ahead of me.  I'll meet you back at the house."

     Ukyou stepped forward and made as if to grab the end of Cologne's
staff.  The old Amazon whipped it up and pointed it at her, and Ukyou
stopped.

     "What's this about, Cologne?" Ukyou said.  "Is this another scheme
between you and your bimbo grandaughter to get to Ranma?  I didn't think
even you would stoop to your trickery at a time like this."

     Shampoo looked as if she were stuck between bursting into tears or
attacking Ukyou.  Ranma saw Mousse lay his hand on her shoulder gently but
firmly.  Cologne glared at Ukyou.

     "Do not accuse me before you know all the facts, child," she hissed.
Ukyou opened her mouth to respond, but the look on Cologne's face stopped
her.  Ranma laid his hand on her arm.

     "Ucchan," he said.  "It's alright.  Go on back with Akane and Ryoga."

     "Are you sure, Ranchan?" Ukyou said.  Ranma nodded.

     "I'll be fine."

     Still looking suspiciously at Cologne and Shampoo, Ukyou left with
Akane and Ryoga.  Ranma sat back down and looked at the three Amazons.

     "Mousse, go upstairs.  You have no part in this," Cologne said.

     "Of course I have a part in this!  I love Shampoo-" Mousse shouted.
The slap Shampoo gave him echoed throughout the room, and he tumbled from
his chair to the floor in suprise.

     "Shampoo-" he said, standing up and touching the red handprint across
his face.

     "Get upstairs, Mousse.  You are stupid man," Shampoo said harshly.
"When you realize we never be more than friends?"

     Hurt showing in his eyes, Mousse walked to the curtain that separated
the area of the restaurant from the one where the three of them lived.  His
hand on the curtain, he looked back once at Shampoo, who sniffed haughtily
and turned her head away from him.  Head hanging low, Mousse pushed through
the curtain and left.  The sound of his footsteps going up the stairs
gradually faded away until they could not be heard anymore.  Ranma could
see Shampoo was no longer looking away from where Mousse had been, but was
staring at the curtain with an intense expression, sadness and anger
showing on her face.

     "Shampoo," Cologne said firmly.  "He has to understand that he can
never have you in the way he wants."

     "But great-grandmother-" Shampoo began.  Cologne cut her off, speaking
loudly in Mandarin.  Shampoo winced and replied in kind.  Cologne said
something else, more gently this time, and Shampoo lowered her eyes to the
table.

     "We must discuss this situation between you and Shampoo," Cologne said
to Ranma.  "It has gone on too long this way, with you seeking to avoid
marriage to her while not revealing your true intentions toward her."

     "I already told her," Ranma said, glad for a chance to finally speak,
"that I'm not going to marry her."

     Shampoo flinched as if struck, and looked as if she might start to
cry.  Ranma felt heartsick at the sight of the normally exuberant Shampoo
so depressed, but there wasn't anything he could do.

     "But by our laws, she must marry you, Ranma," Cologne said.  "She has
already returned once to our village dishonoured, for failing to carry out
her mission of killing a female outsider.  Would you have her dishonoured
again for not marrying the man who defeated her?"

     Ranma gritted his teeth.  "I don't want Shampoo dishonored, but I'm
not going to let a law I didn't know existed trap me into marrying her.  I
didn't defeat her so I could marry her; I was just trying to stop her from
hurting Akane."

     "Nevertheless, you have proven yourself her superior in combat,"
Cologne said.  "By our laws, you are entitled to marry her, and she must
marry you or no other man."

     "Oh, give me a break," Ranma said.  "I can tell you a lot of other
guys who could prove themselves superior to Shampoo in combat-"

     "Ranma, great-grandmother, Shampoo here," Shampoo said in a quiet
voice.  "Why you two talking as if she isn't?"

     Ranma felt ashamed; he and Cologne had been arguing over Shampoo as if
she weren't there.  "I'm sorry, Shampoo," he said.

     "I apologize as well, child," Cologne said.  "You are the one who
should speak to Ranma about this."

     "Ranma, Shampoo no understand why you not want to marry," Shampoo
said.  "Shampoo make very good wife."

     "Shampoo, what I wanna know is why you want to marry me?" Ranma asked.
"Is it because of your laws?"

     "Shampoo want to marry you for lots of reasons, Ranma.  Because you
defeat her in combat, because you are strong man," Shampoo said.  "But most
of all, Shampoo want to marry you because she love you."

     Ranma sighed.  "Shampoo...  This is a hard thing for me to say.  I've
avoided saying it for a long time, because I didn't want to hurt you."

     Ranma looked at Shampoo.  She wore an expression like the one she'd
had in the cafe the day before.  He remembered the words she and Cologne
had spoken as they sent Mousse upstairs.

     "Shampoo," Ranma said carefully.  "I don't love you.  We can never be
anything more than friends.  You can never have me in the way that you
want."

     Tears were streaming down Shampoo's face now, but there was no sobbing
to accompany them.  She simply put her face across her arms on the table
and continued to shake with silent crying as Ranma watched, helpless to say
any words that would make Shampoo stop hurting.

     "Very well," Cologne said crisply.  "If that is the way you feel,
Ranma."

     "I'm sorry, Cologne.  I can't marry Shampoo," Ranma said.  "No matter
how many potions or powders you throw at me."

     "I think it would be best if you go now," Cologne said.  "Shampoo and
I have things to discuss."

     "Alright," Ranma said, standing up.  Cologne gently patted Shampoo on
the shoulder, and looked up at Ranma.  There was anger in her eyes, but
understanding as well.

     "I am sorry it had to come to this," Cologne said wearily.  "Ranma, be
sure to speak to your father about tonight.  I saw his face in my dreams;
he too must be a part of this."

     "Okay," Ranma said.  He stepped outside, looked up at the sky and
shook his head.  He heard the tap of feet landing lightly behind him, and
turned to face Mousse.

     "Hello Saotome," Mousse said.  "How did it go?"

     "About as well as the day before," Ranma said.  "I think Shampoo and
Cologne might finally understand that I'm not going to marry her."

     Mousse nodded his head.  "May I walk with you for a while, Ranma
Saotome?  I would speak to you."

     "Sure," Ranma said.  He started to walk slowly, Mousse gliding
smoothly along beside him.  "What do you wanna talk about?"

     "I wish to make apologies for my behaviour of the past year," Mousse
said, looking ahead and away from Ranma.  "I am a stubborn person, and it
has taken me too long to realize that it is not truly you who is keeping
Shampoo and I apart.  The problem lies in me."

     "What do you mean?" Ranma asked.

     "I have deluded myself into believing for so long that you are the
only obstacle in my path to Shampoo's heart," Mousse said.  "This has led
me to actions I would consider reprehensible under other circumstances.  I
apologize.  Now that you have finally told Shampoo of your intentions, and
I find she still rejects me, I am forced to accept that the problem lies in
her or in me.  And since she cannot be at fault, it must be I who am
inadequate."

     "Mousse," Ranma said.  "Have you tried what I said the last time we
talked?"

     "Oh yes," Mousse said.  "And it always seemed to work so well.  She
told me about what you said to her, and when she cried I held her and she
didn't do anything!"

     Mousse's voice was exultant as he spoke, but then dropped back into
the low, depressed tone he'd had before.  "But when I told her that she
didn't need you, that she had me, and that I would love her forever, she
threw me out the window."

     Ranma slapped a hand to his forehead.  "Mousse, if you had a dog that
kept on coming back to you even if you kept hitting it, what would you
think?"

     "I'd think I had a pretty stupid dog," Mousse said.  "But I don't see
what that has to do... Oh."

     Realization dawned on Mousse.  "Are you saying... that's what she
thinks of me?"

     "I'm not saying it's that bad," Ranma said.  "But you keep on acting
like she's the greatest thing in the universe, even if she treats you like
a doormat, and it's no wonder she doesn't respect you."

     "But what can I do?  I cannot possibly lift a hand to stop her,"
Mousse said.  "I'd sooner drive a knife into my own heart."

     "Mousse, when I said to be her friend, I didn't mean be her friend for
five minutes and then go back to acting like you normally do," Ranma said.
"I meant be her friend.  Don't try to force her to love you.  This is
gonna be a hard time for her, and you can help her get through it.  But if
she wants you, let her come to you in her own time."

     "Act as if I do not love her?" Mousse said, stricken.  "How can you
suggest such a thing?"

     "Mousse... I don't really know what I'm talking about here, but love
isn't just about telling people you love them," Ranma said.  "Anyone can do
that.  It's when you help them when they really need it that you really
show your love."

     "Your words make some sense," Mousse said.  "Perhaps a change in my
approach is what is needed.  I am in your debt, Ranma Saotome.  Farewell."

     Mousse leapt to the top of a nearby building, waved once, and then
took off, white against the blue of the sky.

**********

     "So what was it you wanted to talk to me about, anyway?" Akane said,
sitting down on her bed.  As soon as he'd gotten home, Ranma had asked to
talk to her privately.  They'd left Ukyou and Ryoga downstairs and gone up
to Akane's room.

     "It's like this, Akane," Ranma said, seating himself backwards on a
chair and resting his arms on the back as he looked at her.  "I don't want
you to come along with us tonight."

     "Why?  You think I'll just get in the way, right?" Akane said.  Ranma
held up his hands in a gesture of peace.

     "Akane, that's not what I'm saying," Ranma said slowly.  "For once,
let me explain myself before you jump to conclusions."

     "Alright.  Explain yourself," Akane said, an angry frown on her face.
She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him hostilely.

     "Akane, for someone whose martial arts training has just been a side
thing, something you did for exercise, you're pretty good.  But everyone
else has been in training nearly all of their lives," Ranma said, hoping he
sounded convincing.

     "Oh, give me a break, Ranma.  Just because I didn't spend every day of
my life in training doesn't mean I don't hold the ideals or principle of
martial arts any less important than you.  It's my duty to use what skills
I have to defend others," Akane said.

     "Akane, this thing is dangerous.  It's not some guy who wants to go
out with you," Ranma said.  "It's a killer.  I'm worried something might
happen to you."

     "Ranma," Akane said, "it's nice that you care what happens to me.
But you can't say that you're worried because my skills aren't adequate for
what we're facing.  Kuno fought that thing off last night by himself, and
you know how easily I beat him up."

     "Kuno suprised it," Ranma said.  "And you know how much he holds back
when he fights girls."

     "Ranma, you don't want me to come because you're worried something
might happen to me, not because you don't think my skills are adequate,"
Akane said.  Ranma realized the truth in her words; Akane probably was as
good as Kuno, or at least smarter.

     "Yeah," Ranma said, nervously putting his hand behind his head as he
felt a blush creep onto his face.

     "You arrogant macho jerk," Akane said.

     "WHAT?" Ranma said.  "What are you sayin' something like that for?"

     "Ranma, you're always protecting me," Akane said.  "And this time,
when I have a chance to fight beside you all instead of hanging back while
the rest of you try to rescue me, you want to deny me that."

     "That's not it, I just-" Ranma began, but he was unable to complete
the sentence, not knowing what he could say that would make her words
untrue.

     "Ranma," Akane said, "you can't always protect me, like I'm some kind
of treasure you have to keep safe.  I can't and I won't live like that.
Sometimes, you have to trust that I can take care of myself.  Now, there
are two ways we can go about this.  Either you can agree to let me come
along, and we can continue to get along as well as we have the past few
days, or you can try to stop me from coming along and see exactly where
that gets you."

     There was silence between them for a few moments.  "Fine," Ranma
snapped.  "You can come along.  But be careful; I want you to be in
whatever group I am, okay?"

     "Why, so you can keep an eye on me?" Akane said angrily.

     "Yeah," Ranma said.  "I wanna be there to help you if you need it.
Also because, the few times we do manage to stop fighting long enough to
work together, we a pretty good team."

     "Do you really mean that?" Akane said, sounding suprised.

     "Yeah, of course I mean it," Ranma said.  Akane stretched out and laid
her hands over his where they rested on the back of the chair.

     "Thank you, Ranma," she said, giving him one of those smiles that made
her face light up.  "I'm glad to hear that from you."

     Ranma smiled and began to move his head down towards hers, knowing in
his heart that the moment was right.  He saw Akane close her eyes in
anticipation.

     Someone banged on the closed door of Akane's room.  The rapping was
like an electric shock through the two of them; Akane leaped back to sit
straight up on her bed, her hands folded primly in her lap.  Ranma whirled
around on the chair and looked at the door as if he could figure out who it
was behind it.  The knocking came again, and then the sound of Ukyou's
voice.

     "Ranchan?  You in there?"

     "Yeah, Ucchan.  Come on in," Ranma said, mentally trying to get rid of
the blush he was quite sure he had.  The door opened and Ukyou leaned in,
not setting foot inside the room.

     "I interrupting something?" she said half-teasingly.  "You two were in
here so long, I thought something might've happened."

     "Nahh, nothin' Ucchan," Ranma said, a little too quickly he realized.
"Just talking."

     "Okay," Ukyou said.  "I offered to cook okonomiyaki for lunch, so we
can eat pretty soon."

     "That sounds good," Ranma said.  He stood up from the chair and
stretched his arms over his head.  "I'm gonna go see if I can interest
Ryoga in a practice session."

     "Don't make it like that one you had last night," Akane said
chidingly.  "We're going to need the two of you in good shape for tonight."

     Ranma nodded.  "I'll go easy on him."

     Ukyou stepped out of the doorway and let Ranma by, then followed him
down the hallway to the stairs.

     "So what were you and Akane talking about?" Ukyou said as Ranma placed
his foot on the top step and started down.  He paused and thought for a
moment before giving what he felt was an intelligent response.

     "Stuff."

     "How come you can talk so much to Akane, but you can't seem to say
anything to me," Ukyou said from behind him, leaning down and patting him
on the head.  "Guess you're just the strong, silent type around me.  It
doesn't matter, I like ya anyway."

     Ukyou gave him another affectionate pat on the head and slipped by
him, her long hair brushing his face for a moment as she passed.  Ranma
stood still for a moment, then sighed.

     "I'm sorry, Ucchan," he whispered so softly that he wasn't even sure
if he heard it.

**********

     Rubbing his jaw, Ranma raised himself to a sitting position and waved
off Ryoga's offer of a hand up.  He stood up on his own, a little wobbly,
and looked his sparring partner in the eyes.

     "Geez, Ryoga, what did your parents feed you when you were a kid?"
Ranma said.  "Anabolic steroids?"

     Ryoga shrugged.  "The men in my family have always been strong."

     "And the women?" Ranma asked.

     Ryoga shrugged again.  "They're strong too."

     "Time for lunch, boys," Nabiki called from the dojo entrance.  "Your
father's going to eat your share if you don't hurry, Ranma."

     "He better not," Ranma said, sprinting towards the entrance with Ryoga
close behind him.  They passed by Nabiki quickly, leaving her short hair
waving in the breeze of their passage.

     "They really do work up an appetite doing that stuff," Nabiki said,
continuing after them at a more sedate pace.

     Ranma and Ryoga arrived at the table just as Ukyou was dishing out the
okonomiyaki.  As always, it looked and smelled delicious, and the entire
household was soon settled down to lunch.

     "It's so nice of you to cook lunch for us," Kasumi said, daintily
popping a small piece into her mouth.

     "It's the least I could do, Kasumi.  You've all been so hospitable to
me," Ukyou said, blushing and looking away.

     "Yeah," Ryoga said between bites.  "Thanks for letting us stay here,
Mr. Tendo."

     "It's been my pleasure, Ryoga," Soun said.  "After all, you are
friends of Ranma and Akane's.  And with these murders, you can't help but
be careful.  We all need to do what we can to protect ourselves."

     Ranma raised his head.  That reminded him that he still needed to talk
to his father about tonight.  Everyone else was going to have to know as
well.

     "I've gotta tell you guys something," Ranma said, directing his remark
to Soun, Genma, Nabiki and Kasumi.  "You know how we all went out this
morning after I came back from the hospital?"

     Ranma proceeded to launch into an explanation of what had been said at
the meeting at the Nekohanten that morning, with the the other three who'd
been there occasionally adding to it.  When they finished, Kasumi had a
slightly disturbed expression on her face, while Soun looked as if he was
even closer to hysterics than he usually was.  His father wore one of his
unreadable expressions, as did Nabiki.

     "So what you're saying," Soun said slowly, "is that you all want to go
out tonight, in violation of the curfew, and hunt for a serial killer who
you believe to be a supernatural monster?"

     Ranma nodded.

     "It sounds awfully dangerous," Kasumi said.  "Are you sure it's a good
idea?"

     "Dangerous," Soun said, his face creasing into a frown.  "Akane, you
intend to go on this?"

     "Yeah, dad," Akane said.  "Is there some kind of problem."

     "No, nothing at all, except for the fact that my little girl has taken
it upon herself to go out hunting flesh-eating monsters in the night," Soun
said, his lower lip quivering.

     Ranma winced.  It was coming now.

     "OH AKANE!" Soun sobbed.  "PLEASE DON'T GO!  I KNOW SOMETHING TERRIBLE
WILL HAPPEN!  IT'S TOO DANGEROUS!  THE POLICE CAN HANDLE IT!  WHAT WOULD
YOUR MOTHER THINK!  IT'S TOO PERILOUS!"

     "DA-AD!" Akane said.  "Why do you have to overreact to everything?"

     "Overreacting?  Overreacting?  Saotome, am I the type to overreact to
things?" Soun said, turning and clutching at the collar of Genma's shirt.

     "Well, yes, Tendo.  You've always been somewhat prone to losing
control of your emotions and sobbing like a three year old," Genma said,
employing the legendary tact and sensitivity that his son inherited.

     "You're all against me," Soun said, burying his face in his hands.
"Even my oldest friend has turned against me in my hour of need."

    Kasumi patted her father on the shoulder.  "There there, father.  If
Akane thinks she can handle this, I'm sure she can.  And you know Ranma
won't let anything happen to her."

     Soun raised his head up and lunged unexpectedly across the table,
grabbing Ranma by the shirt and yanking him forward until their faces were
around three inches apart.

     "Yes!  Of course!  You'll protect my little girl, won't you Ranma?
You are her fiancee, after all," Soun said, tears of joy streaming from his
eyes.

     "Yeah... Mr. Tendo... can't breathe..." Ranma gasped.

     "He's my fiancee too," Ukyou muttered under her breath.  Soun released
Ranma and looked at Ukyou.

     "What was that, Ukyou?" he said.

     "Nothing, Mr. Tendo," Ukyou said loudly.  Genma finished off the last
piece of his third okonomiyaki, which had moments before been Soun's
second.

     "Well," he said, wiping his mouth on a napkin.  "It looks like
everything's okay now, right Tendo?  Ranma will look out for Akane, won't
you son?"

     "I'll make sure nothing happens to her either," Ryoga said, then
realized the amount of attention that was now being paid to him and turned
back to his okonomiyaki, his ears burning.

     "That's so nice of you, Ryoga," Akane said.  "You're such a good,
loyal friend."

     Ranma saw Ryoga twitch slightly, and sighed almost inaudibly before
looking at his father.

     "Anyway, pop," Ranma said.  "We could really use your help on this."

     His father seeemed to swell with pride.  "Ah, Ranma.  You have finally
realized how useful the wisdom of your elders can be in battle."

     "Actually, I'm just asking you because Cologne saw your face in her
dreams like she did with everybody else," Ranma said.  The verbal needle
popped the balloon of Genma's ego, and his father scowled and began looking
around for something else to eat.

     "Make sure you're careful," Kasumi said.

     "We will be, Kasumi," Ranma said in what he hoped was a reassuring
tone.  Inside, he was still nervous as to what would happen tonight.  They
were a group of rivals, generally, though some of those rivalries were on
their way to being ended.  But they had worked together well in the past
when they needed to; Ranma was confident they could do so now.  But this
foe was unlike any they had faced before.  It held no martial ideals, no
thoughts of love or power.  From what Cologne had said, the only thing that
drove a gaki was the need to satisfy its endless hunger.  And before they
could even attempt to fight it, they had to find it, and that might prove
most difficult of all.

**********

     "Something has to be done!  If we're not safe in our own homes, where
are we safe?"

     The camera panned away from the woman and back to the reporter.  His
handsome face was creased into the same sombre frown worn by all members of
the media when they had to talk about something serious.

     "As can be seen, the mood in Nerima district is a fearful one.  With
the latest attack resulting in the serious injury of a teenage girl,
attacked in her own bedroom by the same man who is believed to be
responsible for the killing of fifty-nine year old Hiroji Nishiki and
twenty-sx year old Norio Iwakiyo, and the disappearance of nineteen year
old Etsuko Akamori.  In a televised plea yesterday, Etsuko's mother pleaded
for the return of her daughter.  Police say they have not given up hope
that the girl may be found alive," the reporter said.  "It is hard to
believe that only three days ago this area was considered one of the safest
in all of Tokyo.  Now, with a nine pm curfew and police patrolling the
streets, the question on everyone's mind is: when will it end?"

     "Tonight, if I have anything to say about it," Ranma said, clenching
his fist.  Akane laid a hand on his arm.

     "That poor girl's parents," Ukyou said.  "I'd like to think there's
some hope, but from what Cologne said about this creature..."

     Ukyou didn't finish, just put her chin in her hands and leaned
forward on the couch with a sigh.  She sat between Ryoga and Ranma, with
Akane sitting to Ranma's right.  The couch was just large enough to hold
all of them.

     "Well, we're gonna take care of this thing," Ryoga said, patting Ukyou
on the shoulder awkwardly.  She turned and gave him a small smile.

     "Thanks, sugar," she said.  "I just hope we all come out of this
okay."

     The afternoon news had been full of nothing but the murders; there had
even been some footage of Ranma and Kuno leaving the hospital, particularly
of the speech Kuno had given as they'd stepped off the elevator.  One of
the reports had featured a shot of Kodachi that appeared to have been
enlarged from a high school yearbook, and identified her as one of the most
promising young gymnasts in Japan.  There was also a lot of footage of the
crowd that had gathered outside the police station to demand greater effort
by the police to catch the killer.  One reporter suggested to a harried
looking sergeant that the police weren't up to the task of catching a
serial killer, and came close to having his microphone shoved down his
throat.

     Finally, Ranma turned the TV off and stood up.  "I can't watch anymore
of this," he said.  "It's just making me tense.  I'm gonna go for a walk."

     "Want me to come with you, Ranchan?" Ukyou said, starting to rise.
Ranma held up his hand in a stop motion and she sat back down.

     "Ucchan, I'm sorry.  I need to be alone for a while," Ranma said.
Ukyou's face fell for a moment, but then she smiled brightly at him.

     "Sure, Ranchan," she said in what sounded to Ranma like a cheerful
voice. "I understand."

     Ranma slipped on his shoes at the front door and walked out, looking
around at the neighbourhood and shaking his head.  It wasn't even four yet,
and the streets seemed deserted.  The familiar sight of children playing in
the empty lot near the Tendo house was gone, replaced by an emptiness that
seemed to hang over everything.

     As he walked down the street, the sound of water hitting the ground
could be heard ahead.  Ranma paused and scanned the street, finally seeing
the stooped figure of the little old woman throwing her water into the
street.  That drew a brief smile from him; he should have known that she at
least would be there.  Ranma ran ahead, trying to time it as well as he
could.  As the cupful of water splashed down on the street, and the old
woman's dipper went back into the bucket for more, he sprang forward and
over the growing puddle in the street.  He could have sworn he could feel
the water pass by him, but he landed on the other side of the puddle still
a guy.

     "Yeah!" he shouted triumphantly, doing a little dance.  "You didn't
get me that time!"

     He dashed off down the street, glancing back to see the old woman
looking at him strangely.  He didn't care right now; the small triumph had
been enough to partially lift him out of the dark mood he'd found himself 
in.

     He ran through the nearly deserted streets, no destination in his
mind, taking joy in the feeling of the air blowing across his face, of his
pigtail fluttering behind him.  Those few people in the streets who saw him
looked at him as if they thought he might be crazy; perhaps he was a little
crazy right now.  His victory over the old woman and her water had been
more than that to him; it had proved he could accomplish anything, if he
tried.  He had avoided getting turned into a girl by the person who always
seemed to manage it.  He had gone ahead so far with Akane, done things he
had only dreamed of doing with her, and it had been as good as he'd
imagined.  He'd finally had the courage to do a thing he'd been avoiding 
for so long, settle his "marriage" to Shampoo.  Some sort of understanding
had been reached between him and Ryoga, and the friendship that had been
waiting under the layers of rivalry had emerged.

     Ranma stopped and looked around.  He was in the park where it had all
really began only two days ago, where in the branch of a tree Akane had
stretched over and kissed him.  Then, the park had been filled with people,
all of them free from worry and enjoying the summer.  Today, it was empty;
everyone was afraid to go out, afraid of the monstrous thing that roamed
the streets and seemingly could not be stopped.

     "A park shouldn't be empty," Ranma said quietly to himself.  "People
shouldn't be afraid to go out on the streets.  People shouldn't be afraid
that they're not even safe in their houses."

     Ranma looked up; the tree above him looked tall enough.  With a single
quick jump, he was ten feet above the ground, balanced carefully on the
branch.  Three more jumps brought him to the top of the tree, staring out
over Nerima.  He traced the route back to Tendo dojo with his eyes; from
there, he followed the maze of streets to Ucchan's and the Nekohanten.
Farther away, in the better area of town, was the Kuno house.  He could
make out the clock tower of Furinkan high school.

     This was his home; the only place since he was six years old that he'd
ever felt like he belonged.  The people he cared for, his friends and
family, they were here.  What right did some monsters have to threaten
their safety?  

     He was going to make sure people didn't need to be afraid anymore.  He
had his friends to help him; together, they were going to stop this thing,
and stop it tonight.

     Ranma dropped forward, hooking the branch he stood on with his toes
and dropping to grab the branch below.  He swung down on his hands and
bounced on the branch nearest the ground, throwing himself off and spinning
in midair to land on his feet on the ground without a stumble.  He took off
running back towards the Tendo house, confidence in himself and his
friends replacing the darkness that had been there before.

**********

     The five of them were preparing to leave for the Nekohanten, Kasumi,
Nabiki and Soun standing in the hallway with them to say their goodbyes.
Soun was currently fiercely hugging Akane, who was beginning to squirm
slightly in his grip.  The youngest daughter of the Tendo family was
dressed in her yellow gi, and breathed a sigh of relief when her father
finally released her.  He turned to Ranma as Kasumi bent down to hug her
sister.

     "Ranma, son," Soun said, putting a hand on Ranma's shoulder.  "I want
you to look out for Akane.  And you be careful too; I don't want to lose my
future son-in-law."

     Ranma was about to open his mouth, but then closed it as Mr. Tendo
gave him a slow wink and smiled before turning to Genma.

     "Saotome, old friend," Soun said.  "I wish I had kept up my training
so that I could join you in this."

     Genma reached out his hand and clasped the hand of his oldest friend.
"I'll fight for both of us, Tendo.  Don't you worry."

     "Take care, Ranma," Kasumi said, smiling as she put her hands on
Ranma's shoulders and kissed him gently on the forehead.  He blushed and
looked at his feet as Kasumi repeated the motion to Ryoga, and then gave
Ukyou a sisterly hug.

     Nabiki raised a hand in farewell from her position behind Soun and
Kasumi.  "Good luck," she said.

     "Ah geez," Ranma said.  "What are we gettin' so emotional about?
We're all gonna be fine, don't you guys worry."

     Akane stepped towards Nabiki hesitantly.  "Nabiki..." she said,
reaching out with her arms.  Nabiki gave an affected sigh and hugged her
sister lightly for a moment before letting her go and approaching Ranma.

     "You take care of her," Nabiki said to him.

     "I will," Ranma said.  "Come on, guys.  We're gonna be late unless we
get going."

     Waving and saying their final goodbyes, they stepped out into the
darkening street, the three remaining Tendos illuminated in a patch of
brightness as they stood in the open door, watching the others go.  Ranma
looked back, but he did not see the door close while he was still in sight
of it.

     When they arrived at the Nekohanten, Kuno and Sasuke were already
there, seated at the same table as they'd sat at earlier in the day.  Kuno
didn't acknowledge their presence when they walked in the door, but Sasuke
smiled and waved.  On the table in front of the ninja was a large black
attache case that looked very expensive.

     "Welcome," Cologne said, coming out from the kitchen.  "Please have a
seat at the table.  We'll bring out dinner in a moment."

     The five of them seated themselves around the table.  Ranma ended up
sitting next to Sasuke, with the other four seated to his right.  No one
sat next to Kuno.

     "What's in the case?" Ranma asked, pointing.  Sasuke patted the black
leather of the side as if it were a beloved pet.

     "You'll see in a few minutes," he said.  Shampoo and Mousse came out
from the kitchen, each carrying a tray with five bowls of ramen.  Fragrant
steam wafted from the noodles and filled the restaurant with a delicious
aroma.  Mousse and Shampoo laid the bowls in front of them and took their
seats.  Finally, Cologne emerged from the kitchen and took her seat between
Mousse and Shampoo.  With a flourish, she snapped her chopsticks out and
looked around the table.

     "Well," she said.  "What are you waiting for?  Let's eat."

     They did so; the food was wonderful, the conversation light.  It felt
to Ranma as if they were having a party instead of getting ready to go
hunting for a killer.  He couldn't help but join in, though.  It was a
chance for all of them to relax before what might be a very difficult
battle for all of them.  Ranma realized they all needed this; they needed
to feel they were among friends.  Taking a meal together was just the
prelude to what they would be doing tonight, which was relying on each
other.  Finally, the food was finished and the conversation ended; Cologne
rapped on her water glass with a chopstick and cleared her throat.

     "As much fun as this is," she said dryly.  "We do have something more
important to do than socializing.  All of you know what we are doing
tonight; there are a few details that need to be filled in.  Sasuke, if you
would?"

     "Thank you, honored elder," Sasuke said, standing up on his chair.
This served to raise his head to about the level of everyone else's while
they were sitting.  He bent down and picked up the attache case from where
he'd put it on the floor when the meal startd.  Pushing his meal into the
centre of the table, he laid it on its side and entered the combination
before flipping open the locks.  He raised the lid, and the entire table
leaned in for a closer look.

     Nestled in foam were three devices about the size of cellular phones.
Each appeared identical except for the colours; red, green and blue.
Sasuke carefully extracted the red one and held it up.

     "These are prototype positional locators from Aoshi Industries, a
company owned by the Kuno family," Sasuke said.  "They are intended for use
by military, security and law enforcement.  These three are part of a
linked set; Master Kuno, if you could help me demonstrate?"

     "Certainly, good servant," Kuno said, standing up from his chair.
Sasuke handed him the blue locator and stood up as well.

     "The switch on the side turns the power on," Sasuke said.  "They run
off a twelve-hour battery charge, so we'll have more than enough power for
tonight."

     Sasuke walked across the room to stand near the front door.  "Master
Kuno, turn on the locator.  If some of you want to gather around Master
Kuno, and the rest around me, please."

     Genma ended up standing near Kuno, with Cologne perched on his
shoulders to see.  The rest of them crowded around Sasuke.  Ranma could see
up close that the locator had a small screen taking up about half the space
of it, with a speaker and a microphone located underneath.  Three buttons
were at the bottom; one was round and black with an alarm symbol on it,
while the other two were square and had the numbers 1 and 2 printed on
them.  On the screen, a blue dot with a 1 in the centre flashed, the arrow
from it pointing in the direction of Kuno.  Along the arrow the number 13
flashed.

     "The blue dot indicates the direction of the blue locator, carried by
master Kuno," Sasuke said.  "The number by the arrow is the distance from
him in feet, and the number in the dot is the number button you should
press to communicate with the blue locator.  The arrow always points in the
direction of the other locator."

     Sasuke swivelled the red locator around in his hands.  The arrow
turned on the screen, still pointing at Kuno.

     "On master Kuno's screen, for those of you looking, the red dot and
arrow locates the direction and distance of the blue locator, carried by
me.  Is everyone clear so far?"  Sasuke said.  There were general murmurs
of assent; the technology, while sophisticated, seemed fairly simple to
use.

     "Ranma, if you would get the green locator from my case and turn it
on?" Sasuke said.  Ranma went to the case and took out the green locator,
pressing the switch on the side.  The screen lit up, displaying a red dot
and a blue dot and indicating the direction and distance of each.

     "This will allow us to know the location of the other teams," Sasuke
said.  "The round button, when pressed, sends off an alarm signal to all
the other locators linked to it.  Once this is sent out, it will not stop
until both other locators press the alarm button as well.  Don't press this
unless you're really in a lot of trouble; it's loud enough to give away
your location to anyone whose nearby, including the police."

     Sasuke took a breath and looked around.  "Does everyone understand
the locators?"

     Everyone affirmed that they understood the use of the locators.
Sasuke nodded and looked to Cologne, who was still perched on top of
Genma's shoulders.

     "As Sasuke has said, we will give one of these to each team," Cologne
said.  "There are three teams.  The red locator team will be Ranma, Genma
and Akane.  The green locator team will Shampoo, Mousse and I.  The blue
locator team will be Kuno, Sasuke, Ukyou and Ryoga."

     Cologne glared about the room.  "And before I hear any arguments, ask
yourself if you're arguing because you think your team isn't adequate.  If
it's for any other reason, I don't want to hear it.  Now is not the time
for bickering.  We must trust each other and work together.  After that, we
can all get back to bickering."

     There was strained laughter throughout the room at that.  They divided
up into their groups.  Akane was responsible for the locator of Ranma's
team, while Mousse and Sasuke held it for theirs.

     "Now," Sasuke said.  "You don't need to be that careful with these.
The components are encased in shatterproof plastic, and can continue to
transmit even if some damage is done to the outside controls.  If the
battery pack is pulled out, they will continue to run off a stored charge
for up to fifteen minutes."

     "If you do encounter the gaki," Cologne said.  "Radio the other teams
to bring them to your location.  Don't fight it unless you need to; it is
best if we all converge and trap it.  It is important we deal with it
before it realizes there is someone other than the police after it.  It
cannot be warned of our presence until we are ready to destroy it.  Sasuke,
I believe there is one more item?"

     Sasuke nodded and went to the attache case, pulling up a part of it so
that the area where the locators had been disappeared.  He took it off the
table and held it out.

     "Everyone take one of these," he said.  The contents of the lower half
of the case appeared to be ten small penlights with unusually wide tops.
Everyone took one.  Ranma looked at his; there were two buttons, a large
red one and a smaller white one.  Curious, he started to reach for the red
button when he felt Sasuke grab his arm.

     "No one touch the red button," Sasuke said quickly.  "These penlights
cast a very powerful beam.  They'll be useful if we have to go into a dark
location.  The white button turns them on regularly; the red button,
pressed once, will arm the penlight.  Press it again and the entire charge
will be poured into one brief second of illumination; this will serve most
likely to blind your foe.  Be careful in using this; look away or shut your
eyes if possible."

     Sasuke looked around.  "That's it, I guess."

     "Then we are just about ready to go," Cologne said.  She went to the
counter and took several pieces of paper, picking through them and handing
out a certain one to the members of each single team.  "These show the
streets you will be patrolling.  We are going somewhat beyond the area of
the triangle formed by the three incidents.  Hopefully, this will be
adequate to find the gaki.  The area is not that large; I believe the gaki
lairs in an area around the centre of the triangle, but I cannot be sure.
We should be able to come to each other's aid within ten minutes if we move
quickly.  When you are patrolling, be on the lookout for the police; we are
in violation of the curfew by doing this.  If you encounter the gaki, try
to follow it at a distance without alerting it.  Intervene if it looks like
it may harm someone, but try to gang up on it with the other teams if you
can.  It is important that we deal with it tonight; if it escapes, it will
know that we are after it and may take greater precautions."

     Cologne looked at all of them.  "Do not underestimate your foe, and
work together.  I am sure that we will have success."

     Ranma looked around the room at the nine who would be his companions
on this hunt.  He was confident in their abilities.  But somewhere, deep
within him, he wondered if all of them would go through this night
unscathed.

**********

     Ranma pressed himself flat against the wall of the alleyway, focusing
his mind to erase all sense of his presence.  Beside him, Akane and his
father did the same.  His father was fairly good at stealth, and other
general sneakiness, but an experience martial artist would've found Akane
in a second.  What little she did know, however, was adequate to avoid the
notice of the small groups of police who roamed through the area in groups
of two and three.

     He heard the sound of footsteps passing near the alleyway, heard the
gentle murmur of the voices of the officers, that sounded so loud in the
total silence the three of them were attempting to maintain.  And then they
had passed away down the tangle of streets, and the three of them were on
the move again.  Ranma glanced at the red locator in Akane's hand; the blue
dot was a little over two thousand feet away, while the green dot was
nearly three thousand feet in the other direction.

     So far, the only thing they'd encountered in nearly two hours of
patrolling had been the police, who had been easily avoided.  They stuck to
the alleyways and rooftops, only going out into the streets if they had to.
Ranma was pretty sure the gaki would be doing the same thing, and they
would have a better chance of spotting it in areas of concealment than in
the streets the police were patrolling.

     Most likely it didn't even come out to hunt until later, after
midnight at least.  The first murder had been placed around then, and the
attack on the couple had taken place around eleven-thirty.  Kodachi had
been attacked at about two in the morning, from what Sasuke had told him.
But it was important that they get a feel for the areas they were
patrolling, and know how to move through them quickly if the need came.

     Ranma was itching for action though; he wasn't used to waiting around
like this, searching for something to happen.  He felt a need for something
he could fight, something he could strike out at.

     "Ranma, Mr. Saotome," Akane said quickly.  "Sasuke's transmitting."

     Father and son came closer to hear.

     "Repeat, red and green teams, this is blue.  Have spotted a single
figure moving carefully across the rooftops.  Red team, it is heading
towards your location.  We are in pursuit.  Be on the lookout for it."

     Mousse's voice came from the speaker.  "Blue, this is green.  We are
heading towards the location of red.  Perhaps we should spread out through
red's area and attempt to catch it... SHAMPOO!"

     The calmness of Mousse's voice was replaced by frantic worry in his
last word.  There was a crashing sound, as if the locator he'd been holding
had been dropped or thrown away.

     "Red team, this is blue.  We still have the figure in sight," Sasuke
said.  The tone of his voice was one of carefully controlled panic.  "We
will pursue.  Go and see what's happened to green.  Blue out."

     "Dammit," Ranma said.  "Let's go.  Akane, it'll go quicker if I carry
you."

     Without waiting for a response, Ranma scooped Akane into his arms and
took off across the roofs of houses and shops towards the blinking green of
Mousse's locator.  Akane kept her arms around Ranma's neck and held the
locator steady so he could see the way.  As he leaped the gap between two
buildings, Cologne's voice came on over the speaker.

     "Red, blue, this is green.  We have undoubtedly encountered the gaki.
It has escaped.  The duck has been injured.  Blue, we may be facing more
than a single creature.  Be careful.  Red, meet up with us."

     Ranma, Akane and Genma dropped into an alleyway a minute later.
Cologne was examining something on the ground as Shampoo held a torn off
bundle of cloth from Mousse's robe to the rapidly spreading red stain on his
side.  Mousse lay back against the wall of the alleyway, his face pale.

     "Is he okay?" Ranma said, setting Akane on her feet.  Mousse gave him
a weak grin and raised his left hand.

     "It's worse than it looks," he said.  With a start, Ranma saw that he
had a red-soaked strip of cloth wrapped around his little and ring fingers.
"Teach me to carry around sharp objects in my clothing."

     "Shut up, Mousse," Shampoo said.  Mousse groaned as she tightened
another strip across across the bundle, creating an impromptu bandage.  He
stood up carefully, then stumbled over to the side.  Shampoo caught him
gently by the shoulders and held him up.

     "Shampoo..." Mousse said.  Shampoo let him go when she was sure he
could stand and looked away.

     "Is only because you save Shampoo's life," she said quickly.

     "What happened?" Genma said.  Cologne looked up from whatever it was
she was examining.

     "Mousse spotted the creature leaping from the roof at Shampoo,"
Cologne said.  "He pushed her out of the way and took the knife himself."

     "Actually," Mousse said, holding up a nasty-looking curved sickle
blade attached to a chain, "the knife bounced off one of my weapons and
drove this into my side.  It was on top of me on the ground and I didn't
think to get a weapon out, so I just punched it in the head.  It grabbed my
wrist with the hand that wasn't holding the knife and bit the tips of two
of my fingers off."

     Mousse concluded by holding up his bandaged left hand.  Akane
scrunched her face into an expression of distaste.

     "I managed to get it in the side with one of these," Cologne said,
holding up a small throwing knife with a razor-honed edge.  "It got off
Mousse and ran, right before Shampoo would have smashed its cursed head
in."

     "Nearly smashed in Mousse's head instead," Shampoo said pleasantly.
"But Shampoo stop in time."

     "Crap," Ranma said.  "It knows we're after it now."  Cologne gave him
a smile and shook her head.

     "It doesn't matter," she said, reaching down to the floor of alleyway
and picking up something between her thumb and forefinger.  "It left this."

     Ranma walked over to see what she had.  It was an elegant tanto
dagger with a long, gently curved blade that looked sharp enough to cut
air.  The handle was carved from ivory, with complex designs of leaves and
flowers.  The beauty of the weapon was marred, however, by the dried
bloodstains on the blade.

     "Oh good," Ranma said flatly.  "We're now standing in an alleyway in
violation of the curfew, holding the murder weapon, while the real murderer
has escaped, probably to someplace we'll never find it."

     "Boy, what you've seen me do is nothing compared to what I can do.
Why, I once..."

     Cologne was interrupted when Sasuke's voice called from the locator
she'd laid down beside her.  "Green, red, this is blue.  We've lost
whoever we were chasing.  How are things over there?"

     "Fine, blue" Cologne said, pressing the transmit button.  "Meet us
back at base.  There's been a change in plans."

     "Alright, green," Sasuke transmitted, sounding doubtful.  "I guess you
know what you're talking about."

     "I always know what I'm talking about, blue," Cologne sniffed, picking
up the locator in her other hand.

     "You still haven't explained how this dagger is gonna help us find the
gaki," Ranma said.

     "With this object that was in the creature's possesion," Cologne said,
"I can trace a path to it through spiritual channels."

     "Thank you Jean Dixon," Ranma muttered.  Cologne bopped him on the
head with the locator and hopped onto the roof.

     "Don't think you know it all, boy.  I'll suprise you every time," she
called down quietly.  "Come on.  We have to get out of here before the
police arrive."

     "Shouldn't we take Mousse to the hospital?" Akane asked.

     "Too many questions," Mousse said.  "Besides, the wound in my side
isn't deep.  My work this night isn't over by a long shot."

     "What about your hand?" Ranma said.  Mousse snorted.

     "It's a good thing I'm a rightie," he said.  "Let's go."

     The six of them took off across the roofs, heading as stealthily as
possible towards the Nekohanten.  Police patrols they passed in the streets
didn't even look up.  When they arrived, the members of the blue team were
already there, emerging from the shadows of an alley near the Nekohanten
when the red and green teams dropped to the ground.

     "Is everyone okay?" Ukyou said, her gaze sweeping over the rest of
them.

     "Mousse got hurt, but he'll live," Ranma said.  Mousse nodded,
although his breathing was heavy and he was bent over.  Beside him, Shampoo
looked over in concern for a moment, then turned away without saying
anything.

     "So, the same fiend did injury to you who harmed my sister," Kuno
said.  Ranma noticed the upperclassman's everpresent wooden sword had been
replaced by a gleaming black sheath, the ornate hilt of the katana with in
pulled out slightly to expose a bit of the sharp blade.  "Then what of the
figure we pursued?"

     "I don't know," Cologne said.  "If more than one gaki has broken
through the barrier between their world and ours, this could be more
trouble than we expected." 

     "We'll have to be careful," Ryoga said.  "There may be more going on
than we thought."

     Cologne nodded.  "Now.  Let us get inside.  There is a ceremony I will
perform that will allow me to seek out the gaki, but I must be undisturbed
and alone to do it.  I will perform it in the storeroom; the rest of you
remain in the restaurant.  I will emerge, hopefully quickly, and we can go
and seek out the gaki.  The wound I gave it and the fact that it now knows
it is being pursued has most likely caused it to retreat to its lair.
Confronting it there will make it harder for it to escape than in the open,
but we will also be on its home territory."

     "It doesn't matter," Ranma said in a hard-edged voice.  "Whatever we
have to do, this thing goes down tonight."

     Cologne smiled grimly.  "My thoughts exactly."

     They filed into the restaurant, taking seats at a number of the dining
area tables to wait.  Shampoo ran upstairs and came back with a first aid
kit, sitting Mousse down and ordering him to be still while she fixed him
up properly.  Cologne went into the storeroom and closed the door behind
her, saying she should be out soon.  The rest of them sat around, nervous
energy running through the room.  Kuno had his katana out across his lap as
he sat cross-legged with his eyes closed against the wall of the room.
Nearby, Sasuke checked over the green locator for any damage it might have
suffered when Mousse dropped it to go to Shampoo's aid.

     Ranma sat at a table with his father, Akane, Ukyou and Ryoga.

     "We almost had it," Ryoga said.  "But we lost sight of it and it got
away."

     Ukyou was polishing the flat of her combat spatula.  "Yeah.  Ryoga and
me were in the lead, and it dropped into an alleyway and was gone like it
hadn't even been there."

     "Did either of you get a close look at it?" Ranma asked.  "Did it look
like it coulda been something else?"

     "It was hopping on rooftops like there was no tomorrow," Ryoga said.
"And it was fast as hell.  I don't know what else it could have been."

     There was a small gasp from Mousse.  Ranma turned to see Shampoo
dabbing iodine on the manled ends of his fingers.  From what Ranma could
see, he'd been left with the first two joints.

     "Shh, Mousse," Shampoo said gently.  "Don't want it getting infected."

     She proceeded to bandage up his hand gently, having already finished
his side.  She held the bandaged hand in hers for a moment longer than she
need to, then stood up.

     "Great-grandmother been in there a while," Shampoo said.  Ranma looked
at the clock on the wall; Shampoo was right.  It had been nearly ten
minutes since she'd gone in.  Then again, Ranma had no idea how long it
would take for Cologne to do whatever it was she was doing.

     "Better not disturb her, Shampoo," Ranma said.  Shampoo nodded and sat
down next to Mousse's chair on the floor.

     "Something feel wrong," Shampoo said.  Mousse put his uninjured hand
on her shoulder.

     "I'm sure she's fine," he said.  Shampoo smiled at him and laid her
hand acros his.

     "Thank you, Mousse," she said.  "For saving Shampoo tonight."

     Mousse blushed and hung his head, his long black hair hiding his face
from view.  "Sh... Shampoo..."

     "Don't get idea, Mousse," Shampoo said.  "I only thanking you."

     Ranma smiled briefly and turned back to Ryoga.  He was about to open
his mouth to speak, when the sounds of someone in utter agony ripped
through the room.  Terrible screams were coming from behind the door of the
storeroom.

     "GREAT-GRANDMOTHER!" Shampoo shouted, leaping to her feet and rushing
for the door.  Mousse was close behind her.  Kuno snapped his open and
leapt to his feet, katana in hand in a second.

     "Oh shit," Ranma said, hopping out of his chair.  This didn't sound
good at all.

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